Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

By David Swarts with files from Bob Dragich

Ducati Austin Racing’s Anthony Gobert was the fastest rider Tuesday during AMA team testing at Laguna Seca Raceway in Monterey, California with a best time of 1:26.595 on his Dunlop-sponsored Ducati 998RS Superbike, while Yamaha’s Jamie Hacking led all Supersport times with a 1:29.793 on his factory YZF-R6.

Anthony Gobert; Kawasaki Road Racing Team’s Eric Bostrom, Tommy Hayden and Tony Meiring; American Honda’s Ben Bostrom and Miguel Duhamel; Parts Unlimited PJ1 Erion Honda’s Kurtis Roberts, Jake Zemke, Roger Lee Hayden and Alex Gobert; Yamaha’s Hacking, Damon Buckmaster, Aaron Gobert and Jason DiSalvo and Dream Team Ducati’s Larry Pegram arrived at Laguna Seca Tuesday morning to find the track damp from recent rains. After waiting for the track to dry, the first riders went out on track at approximately 10:30 a.m. and ran until 5:00 p.m. local time. Temperatures were in the mid-60s Fahrenheit.

Pegram’s team arrived in the HMC Ducati race transporter, which it will use all season, and Pegram rode 2003-model Ducati 998RS “customer” Superbikes (the same as those ridden by Anthony Gobert) on Michelin slicks.

Eric Bostrom’s Kawasaki Superbike was equipped with a new 770cc engine, but the team had to work to stop the bike from “cutting out” on the bottom and top of the rev range. The new bike’s problem seemed to be fixed by the end of the day, and Eric Bostrom set his fastest time with the 770cc engine.

Tommy Hayden was the only rider to crash at Laguna Seca Tuesday. At approximately 3:30 p.m., the eldest Hayden brother highsided his Kawasaki ZX-6RR in turn three, directly in front of teammate Meiring and Anthony Gobert. Hayden told Roadracingworld.com’s Dragich that he didn’t know what happened before sitting out the rest of the afternoon with a bump on his head.

The Yamaha factory Supersport team was not accompanied by the Graves Motorsports Yamaha Formula Xtreme team, which is aiming to make its first testing appearance of 2003 at California Speedway in early February, according to a source within the team.

Jake Zemke split his track time between his CBR600RR Supersport and his CBR954RR Formula Xtreme bikes. Zemke’s teammate Roger Lee Hayden concentrated on his Supersport machine Tuesday.

Kurtis Roberts arrived at Laguna Seca black and blue from a recent motocross crash at his father’s ranch. Roberts did only a handful of slow laps before leaving the track before the end of the day. Roberts team members did not know if Roberts would return to ride for the final two days of the test.



Fastest Lap Times From AMA Pro Racing Timing & Scoring:

1. Anthony Gobert, Ducati 998RS, 1:26.595
2. Eric Bostrom, Kawasaki ZX-7RR (770cc), 1:26.680
3. Larry Pegram, Ducati 998RS, 1:27.868
4. Ben Bostrom, Honda RC51, 1:28.194
5. Jamie Hacking, Yamaha YZF-R6, 1:29.793
6. Miguel Duhamel, Honda CBR600RR, 1:29.990
7. Aaron Gobert, Yamaha YZF-R6, 1:30.407
8. Damon Buckmaster, Yamaha YZF-R6, 1:30.494
9. Jake Zemke, Honda CBR600RR, 1:30.564
10. Tommy Hayden, Kawasaki ZX-6RR, 1:30.927
11. Jake Zemke, Honda CBR954RR, 1:30.949
12. Alex Gobert, Honda CBR600RR, 1:31.291
13. Jason DiSalvo, Yamaha YZF-R6, 1:31.612
14. Tony Meiring, Kawasaki ZX-6RR, 1:31.882
15. Roger Lee Hayden, Honda CBR600RR, 1:32.374