Copyright 2002, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Tamada wins action packed race two at Sugo

By Glenn Le Santo

Makoto Tamada powered to a win in race two at Sugo, and incredibly set a new lap record on the seventeenth lap.

Britain’s Neil Hodgson headed the pack for the first two laps before Haga pushed his way past. Then Hodgson got back in front of Haga to lead for a further eight laps until Tamada reeled him in on lap 16. Once Tamada was in front there was no stopping him.

Colin Edwards also got by Hodgson but just couldn’t catch Tamada. Meanwhile behind them Bayliss had started to close in on the leading group. But Bayliss couldn’t find enough steam to get past fellow Ducati rider Hodgson and had to settle for a fourth place finish, but that was probably far more than he expected before the start of the weekend. The result leaves Bayliss 24 points in front of Edwards.

Ben Bostrom looked on for a good finish early in the race but slipped back to seventh. Noriyuki Haga again started well and yet again faded as the race wore on, leading to speculation that his fitness is not what it might be for such fierce world championship competition.

Sugo World Superbike Race Two Results:

1. Makoto Tamada, Japan, (Honda), 37:26.628s,
2. Colin Edwards, USA, (Honda), 37:29.925s,
3. Neil Hodgson, GB, (Ducati), 37:30.097s,
4. Troy Bayliss, Australia, (Ducati), 37:30.308s,
5. Noriyuki Haga, Japan, (Aprilia), 37:34.084s,
6. Akira Yanagawa, Japan, (Kawasaki), 37:36.190s,
7. Ben Bostrom, USA, (Ducati), 37:39.361s,
8. Wataru Yoshikawa, Japan, (Yamaha), 37:47.325s,
9. Ruben Xaus, Spain, (Ducati), 37:54.849s,
10. Takeshi Tsujimura, Japan, (Yamaha), 37:55.163s.

14. Eric Bostrom, USA, (Kawasaki), 38:05.139

Championship points after four of 13 rounds:
1. Bayliss, 174 points
2. Edwards, 150 points
3. Hodgson, 98 points
4. B. Bostrom, 95 points
5. Haga, 87 points
6. Xaus, 86 points
7. Toseland, 57 points
8. Walker, 52 points
9. Hitoyasu Izutsu, 47 points
10. Tamada, 45 points.

More from an Aprilia press release:

SUPERBIKE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP – Fourth Round

JAPAN – Sugo Circuit, 3.737 m. – Race (two 25-lap legs)

APRILIA MAKES PODIUM IN SUPERBIKE JAPAN GP

SUGO (Japan), Sunday 21 April 2002 – Noriyuki Haga scored a third-place finish in the first leg of the Japan GP, in the fourth round of the Superbike World Championship. The Playstation2-FGF Aprilia Team ace had secured a brilliant pole position in the qualifying sessions, placing the Aprilia RSV Mille for the first time ever ahead of the entire pack on the home circuit of Japan’s industrial giants. In the second leg, Haga had some problems with grip and came in fifth. Nevertheless, Aprilia was out in front for nine laps, showing off its potential in the most difficult round of the season. As in the test sessions, the RSV once again proved to be the fastest bike on the track with a speed of 276.9 kph.

NORIYUKI HAGA (Playstation2 – FGF Aprilia Team rider) said: “I wanted to win, and after I took the pole in the qualifying sessions, I was sure I had the potential to do it. Making the podium is a great result, but I’d have liked to do better. The Aprilia RSV Mille has a great engine but we’ve got to do more on the settings to climb up even higher than we did today.”

GIACOMO GUIDOTTI (Technical Manager, Playstation2 – FGF Aprilia Team) commented: “We decided to start out with a different tyre from the one used by the winner, Tamada: we didn’t know it and didn’t want to make a shot in the dark. In the first leg, Haga pushed really hard and held the lead for many laps. He came in just four seconds from victory. So in the second leg, we opted for the same choice of tyres, making just a few tweaks to the set-up. Haga had never ridden Aprilia on the circuit, and just four test sessions weren’t enough to accumulate the same number of references available to Honda, which is on its home track here. Outright victory would have incredible, but third place is still a great result.”

More from a HM Plant Ducati press release:

Superbike world Championship
Round four: Sugo, Japan
Sunday 21 April 2002
Race two

HM Plant Ducati/GSE Racing take to the podium

HM Plant Ducati/GSE Racing star Neil Hodgson scored his best result of the year so far in race two of the fourth round of the Superbike World Championship at Sugo, Japan. The 28-year-old Briton rode an incredible race to take his first podium of 2002. With this impressive third placed finish, Hodgson moves up to third place in the championship standing. His team-mate James Toseland rode a well-judged race and picked up five points for his 11th placed finish to maintain a solid seventh placed championship ranking.

After leading the race for ten of the 25 laps, Hodgson showed remarkable composure and strength of character as he fought tooth-and-nail to hang on to the 16 points that his position carried. The race was eventually won by home-turf wild card Makoto Tamada, but not before the lead had been valiantly contested for by the rider of the #100 HM Plant Ducati and another Japanese rider, Noriyuki Haga.

Hodgson rocketed to the head of the field after getting a great launch from the line. The next 15 laps became a high-speed game of cat-and-mouse in which the Burnley-born rider acquitted himself admirably. A commanding display of aggressive and defensive riding kept Hodgson on point, and it wasn’t until lap 16 that Tamada was able to pass the orange Ducati 998.

The final stages of the competition saw Hodgson just pipped to second place by Colin Edwards, but he would not let the American get away and it certainly could not detract from Hodgson’s fantastic achievement. “That was unbelievable,” said the Englishman. “I was so pleased to get the lead – it relaxed me – and to be the top Ducati rider in both races is really encouraging. I’m very happy with the HM Plant Ducati, my Chief Engineer understands me perfectly now and I have the kind of set-up I need to begin to push the bike hard. The team has gelled really well and my confidence levels are sky-high, so I can’t wait to get to Monza and get on with it.”

James Toseland rode a good race, again holding off the challenges of more experienced riders. “I’m really pleased for the team, ” said the 21-year-old from Sheffield, “we’ve had four rounds and eight decent point-scoring finishes. Things aren’t going to be any easier on our return to Europe, but it’ll be good for everyone not to be away from home for as long. Personally, I know that I have to go faster from the start and that’s what I’ll be working on for the next round.”