From a press release issued by the World Superbike press office:

Round 6 – Great Britain – Silverstone,
12 June – 15 June 2003

SILVERSTONE WELCOMES SBK BACK AGAIN

Silverstone will host a World Superbike race for the second year in succession this forthcoming weekend and completion of the pair of Superbike races on Sunday 15 June 2003 will mark the mid-point of the 12-round season. Commencing at Valencia, Spain in early March, the SBK season has wound its way across the globe, from Australia to Japan, from Italy to Germany and now across less than 50km of water to the British mainland.

Silverstone, albeit somewhat featureless in terms of elevation changes, is one of the fastest and most evocative circuits on the SBK calendar, providing an object lesson in fast cornering – for the main part. Track modifications for safety reasons mean that the fastest laps set in the races will automatically become new lap records. A very slow chicane reduces speeds onto the main straight, improving safety but presenting a challenge to even the best riders – as they have to make the best speeds possible through this section of track on chassis settings more suited for the fastest corners.

Until the second race at the previous Oschersleben round, Neil Hodgson (Ducati Fila 999 F03) had monopolised the top step of every single one of all nine podium ceremonies to that point. Official factory rider Hodgson had to give best to his former team-mate James Toseland (HM Plant Ducati998 F02) riding a year old factory bike to great effect on Dunlop tyres. The resurgence of the tyre battle, in a class with Michelin, Dunlop and Pirelli all represented by strong entries, is one of the most welcome developments in the 2003 season, during which a total of seven riders have found themselves on the podium.

Only Toseland and Hodgson may have won races, but for Ruben Xaus, Hodgson’s team-mate, the top step of an SBK ceremony is familiar territory from previous seasons. In third place overall, only six points adrift of Toseland, Xaus is one of many riders disputing the second spot in the championship standings. Regis Laconi (NCR Caracchi Nortel Ducati 998RS) is the highest placed ‘pure’ privateer rider in fourth, just a quartet of points behind Xaus, with the factory Alstare Suzuki of Gregorio Lavilla just 21 points from second place man Toseland.

This year’s SBK rules allow 1000cc four cylinder machines into the fray for the first time, running air intake restrictors downstream of the throttle bodies to limit the potentially vast power output such an engine could make under normal Superbike rules. Despite this regulatory handicap Lavilla has taken his GSX-R1000 – still at the beginning of its ultimate development path – to a handful of podium places, and has pushed Hodgson to the line on two occasions.

Having suffered some injury and misfortune in races this season, Chris Walker, Toseland’s team-mate in the HM Plant team, has earned to third places and led an SBK race for the first time at Oschersleben.

On home tarmac all British riders are expected to perform at their absolute best, but one more rider is almost as popular in the UK as he is in his native Italy. Pierfrancesco Chili (PSG-1 Ducati 998RS) has shown some quite breathtaking form for one of 39 years of age, and has finished on the podium in the majority of the races his bike has allowed him to complete.

A ‘home’ race for the Anglo-Malaysian Foggy Petronas FP-1 team will give the British public its first chance to see the unique three-cylinder in serious action, after its unveiling in front of a packed Brands Hatch grandstand last season. Troy Corser and James Haydon have had rollercoaster seasons so far; with front row start for Corser at round one the highlight of their combined ceaseless endeavours.

Steve Martin (DFX Pirelli Ducati 998RS) heads a three-rider challenge on Pirelli tyres; Juan Borja and Marco Borciani being the other two riders well capable of a top ten finish in front of the expected large Silverstone crowd – as is Lucio Pedercini on his self entered machine, flanked by his team-mates Nello Russo and Serafino Foti.

Of the other regular SBK competitors, Walter Tortoroglio rides a WET Honda VTR1000 twin while his fellow Italians Ivan Clementi and Mauro Sanchini run ex-factory Bertocchi Kawasaki 750s.

The wild cards for the Silverstone round have been announced and thus John Reynolds and Yukio Kagayama (Rizla Suzuki GSX-R1000), Michael Rutter and Sean Emmett (Renegade Ducati) and Dean Ellison (D&B Racing Ducati) will line up to take on the best in the world. Reynolds is a proven SBK race winner, Rutter a podium finisher, and any of the others are capable of making a real impact.

In the World Supersport Championship class the Ten Kate Honda of Chris Vermeulen has delivered him three wins out of five races, the other victories being taken by Katsuaki Fujiwara (Alstare Suzuki) and Christian Kellner (Yamaha Motor Germany).

Vermeulen now enjoys a seemingly impossible 38-point cushion in a season with a bewildering 19 factory bikes competing at every round. Karl Muggeridge, Vermeulen’s Ten Kate team-mate, has taken the last two pole position starts, and seemingly all the bad luck going, having scored only a single point in the subsequent races.

Several of the big names in Supersport this season have yet to win races and Jurgen van Den Goorbergh (Yamaha Belgarda R6) is as likely as any to make the breakthrough first, although former champions Stephane Chambon (Alstare Suzuki), Jörg Teuchert (Yamaha Motor Germany) and Fabien Foret (Kawasaki Racing Team) will all be out to add to their own personal win tallies.

After the retirement of James Whitham due to medical reasons this year, Iain Macpherson (van Zon Honda) is the most likely British winner, having scored third place at Monza last month. Simon Andrews (Red Piranha Racing Yamaha) and John Crockford (Padgetts Motorcycles) will vie for the right to call himself top local wild card rider.


More, from a press release issued by Honda Racing:

World Supersport Championship 2003 – Round Six
Silverstone Race Preview
12 – 14 June 2003

SECOND HOMECOMING FOR LEADER VERMEULEN

Having originally risen to prominence in the British racing scene, after cutting his racing teeth at home in Australia, Andorran based Queenslander Chris Vermeulen may find the Silverstone World Supersport race to be a sort of homecoming.

His British racing career was a short but glory-laden one, and the promise the current Ten Kate Honda CBR600RR rider showed as a teenager has matured at a fast pace on the global stage. The 20-year-old now leads the World Championship by an impressive 38 points, having scored the most recent of his three 2003 season wins at the previous Oschersleben round.

The sweeps and fast straights of Silverstone could well be another happy hunting ground for the clear points leader, as he goes for maximum score number four. A new chicane complex at the final sector of track breaks the flow of the otherwise fast and flat Midlands circuit and because of the altered length of the surface, new records will have to be set this year, even if the monsoon conditions of 2002 are repeated.

Competition in World Supersport has reached near saturation level this season, making the performances put in by Vermeulen and the CBR600RR all the more impressive. His machine, like the other seven factory supported Hondas in Supersport, is an all-new model, still at the beginning of its ultimate development path.

No one to this point has ridden the full new Silverstone GP track, as the British Championship competitors have used a shorter version during the first round of the year – albeit with the new chicane incorporated in the existing domestic layout. Vermeulen has been doing his homework in the lead up to the race, to help him maintain his push for the title.

“My mate Glenn Richards has raced at Silverstone this year and he tells me that the new chicane is even tighter than at Sugo, so that’s not too good,” said Vermeulen pre-race. “The rest of the track is really nice though. Last year I was quick from the start there and qualified second in the dry so I really like the place. We had some problems in the wet so hopefully it will be dry again this year.”

Broc Parkes (BKM Honda CBR600RR) finds himself second best Honda rider in the overall championship race, ninth overall, but feels the best from man and machine is yet to come. “We still had power problems at Oschersleben and at Silverstone power is important,” said Parkes. “I hope we can get things sorted for the weekend, especially as I felt I was riding well in Germany, and just chose a too soft front tyre.”

One place behind Parkes is yet another Aussie Honda rider, Karl Muggeridge (Ten Kate Honda CBR600R). Blisteringly quick in qualifying at Monza and Oschersleben, ‘Muggas’ has suffered from poor fortune in races, but maintains a high level of self-confidence. “I’m looking forward to Silverstone, it’s good, it’s wide and it’s fast,” said Muggeridge. “I’m not sure about the new chicane, I haven’t seen it yet but I’ve heard that it’s very tight and bumpy as well. Silverstone is a good track for me and I’m starting to feel better on the bike now and I’m working better with the team. I’ve been unwell since the start of the year and now my health is better so hopefully we can start taking some of these trophies away.”

Christophe Cogan (BKM Honda CBR600RR) may have taken a fighting fourth at the opening round at Valencia but has otherwise found his season shrouded in bad luck and injury. He looks forward to a less painful and more rewarding experience at Silverstone. “I’m looking forward to Silverstone where I hope to be much fitter than I have been recently,” he stated. “Hopefully my back injury will have healed enough to let me ride more freely.”

Sebastien Charpentier (Klaffi Honda CBR600RR) feels another good showing is in the offing, after two impressive rides at Monza and Oschersleben. “After Oschersleben my mind is very strong and I am looking forward to Silverstone,” said the likeable Frenchman. “This is only my third race in a long time and my fitness on the bike still needs to improve, but so I am confident of better results for the rest of the year.”

A podium place of third for Iain Macpherson (Van Zon Honda CBR600RR) at Monza in Italy has been his highlight so far and he shows no trace of nerves before the start of the first of two home races for the British rider. “I’ve heard all about the modifications to the circuit and I’ve been told some negative things about the new chicane which leads onto the start finish straight. I’m looking forward to the race anyway and I’m aiming to get another podium finish at least. It’s no different to me riding in the UK or abroad because you have to be fast everywhere. You meet more people you know in the paddock at Silverstone but that’s about it.”

Werner Daemen (Van Zon Honda CBR600RR) had the misfortune to be knocked off his machine by another rider at Oschersleben, but knows the 2003 season is generally going his way. “In Oschersleben it went very well and I was sitting in sixth place before I was taken out,” said the rejuvenated Belgian. “When I stay on the bike and have good results from qualifying I have shown I can race well. Last year at Silverstone I was only one day out off the clinic after illness so there may be problems because of the lack of familiarity with the track, but that’s all.”

Robert Ulm (Klaffi Honda CBR600RR) is another for whom Silverstone will be something of a secret until he starts qualifying for real this year. “I have never been to Silverstone and therefore I have no idea if I will have a good feeling for the track or not,” said the pragmatic Ulm. “I’m relaxed, the bike is good and although it will not be easy for me at Silverstone, I am really ready for it.”

Race seven out of a total of 11 follows quickly on the heels of the Silverstone event, and will be held at Misano Adriatico on June 22. With no Supersport action at Laguna Seca, the WSS riders return to action at Brands Hatch on July 27.



More, from a press release issued by Foggy Petronas Racing:

Haydon fitness in doubt for Silverstone

Foggy PETRONAS racing rider James Haydon will wait for the results of a scan on his neck before deciding whether to race in the sixth round of the World Superbike championship at Silverstone this weekend.

The English star was involved in a spectacular somersaulting 100mph crash two weeks ago in Germany.

Having returned to England this week from his home in Andorra, James consulted a specialist who recommended the MRI scan.

He said: “We first thought the neck muscles were in spasm, but it has been even more painful this week and I have been feeling quite sick. I am hoping that the results of the scan tomorrow will show there is nothing damaged and that there will be no danger if I race. But, even so, it will not be ideal. I cannot believe that this has happened before Silverstone, when I was looking forward to racing in front of my British fans.”

Following two challenging rounds in Europe, team owner Carl Fogarty had been hoping that James and team-mate Troy Corser could break back into the top ten in his team’s first race action in Great Britain.

Foggy said: “It would be good to have both riders in the points for both races, and back in the top ten. James has been having a run of bad luck so we all hope he will be fit and can have a good weekend. The last few rounds have been frustrating. I know where everyone in my team wants us to be – at the front. We just might have to wait a little while before we achieve that.

“The fans have been very supportive and knowledgeable about our efforts. They realise how much work ourselves and PETRONAS have put in to get the FP1 to this point in such a short space of time. I think a lot will be there just to have a look at us and, hopefully, we will be able to give them something to shout about.”

But Silverstone is not a circuit that Carl, or his two riders, is particularly familiar with. It was only used as a World Superbike venue for the first time last year, when torrential rain affected both races, and James and Troy have both only ridden the full circuit during an initial one-day test of the FP1 last September.

Carl said: “I have mixed memories of Silverstone. I won my first televised race there, when I overtook Darren Dixon on the last bend of a Marlboro Clubman race that was on Grandstand in 1985. I watched the recording every night for the next two years! The following year was my first Grand Prix ride when I finished 11th, just outside the points in the 250cc race. Then, in 1987, I crashed and broke my leg while leading the 250cc British championship. The only other time I have raced there was as a privateer in the British Superbike championship in 1992. Now the circuit has completely changed. It used to be really fast but there are new corners everywhere.”


More, from a press release issued by Ducati Corse:

CHAMPIONSHIP LEADER HODGSON (DUCATI FILA) GOES FOR HOME WINS AT SILVERSTONE

Championship leader Neil Hodgson (Ducati Fila) returns home this weekend for the British Round of the World Superbike Championship at the legendary Silverstone circuit in Northamptonshire. Hodgson’s nine-race winning run was brought to an end at Oschersleben two weeks ago by fellow-Brit James Toseland (HM Plant Ducati) but that won’t stop the Isle of Man resident from aiming for a double win again on Sunday in front of thousands of his home fans.

Although pleased to be back on home territory, Hodgson said he was not impressed with the new part of the circuit just before the start-finish straight. “I’m not pleased to be racing at Silverstone because they’ve made changes without consulting the riders, the chicane is way too tight and it doesn’t make for good racing” declared Neil, “but I am pleased to be racing at home for all the spectators. My job is to go out and race on Sunday and it doesn’t change the way I ride or approach the race however. I’ve not been able to exercise much this week because I’m a bit full of ‘flu. It’s nice to have a points cushion over everyone else and I’m really enjoying the season so far as you can expect!”

Despite a third place finish here last year in the wet, Ducati Fila team-mate Ruben Xaus insisted that conditions at Silverstone always made life tough for the riders. “So far this season has been difficult for me because I still haven’t got a good feeling with the bike. Valencia was good because we tested a lot there and Phillip Island also but in the last few rounds I’ve been having a few problems” said Ruben. “Silverstone is quite a new track for us with a new chicane for ‘scooters’ but for me it’s dangerous. Conditions are also difficult here, especially in the wet, like last year. I went OK here in 2002 but now I need to find a good set-up and try to get the new 999 to work as well as possible for me”.

CIRCUIT: Since its beginnings as a grand prix circuit in 1948, the bleak, wind-swept Silverstone track has changed totally beyond recognition. Major improvements and development work have been carried out to the circuit access roads and the track itself, which now measures 5.036 km after a tight new chicane has been inserted between Luffield and Woodcote. In 2002 Silverstone hosted the British Round of the WSBK championship for the first time and welcomed a massive crowd of 61,000 for the three-day event.

POINTS (after 5 of 12 rounds) : Riders – 1. Hodgson 245; 2. Toseland 132; 3. Xaus 126; 4. Laconi 122; 5. Lavilla 111; 6. Walker 95; 7. Chili 84; etc. Manufacturers: 1. Ducati 250; 2. Suzuki 127; 3. Petronas 52; 4. Kawasaki 46; 5. Yamaha 32; 6. Honda 21.

STATISTICS: Lap record: Bayliss (Ducati) 2’02.145 (2002). Superpole: Bayliss (Ducati) 1’47.729 (2002). Qualifying: Edwards (Honda) 1’48.913. Race distance: 2 x 20 laps/101.880 km.

2002 RESULTS: Race 1: 1. Edwards (Honda); 2. Haga (Aprilia); 3. Hodgson (Ducati). Race 2: 1. Bayliss (Ducati); 2. Edwards (Honda); 3. Xaus (Ducati).