HONDA HIGH FLIERS REACH FOR THE SILVERSTONE SKIES The ex-airfield layout of Silverstone normally means speed is the dominant factor, but with the 2005 World Supersport races to be held on the shorter 3.561km International circuit, the onus for Honda’s five support riders this coming weekend will be on handling, manoeuvrability and tyre choice. With 28 laps of a predominantly right-handed circuit to complete, optimum tyre choice is expected to play a bigger part in proceedings than usual. The 2005 version of the Honda CBR600RR, uprated from the double championship-winning version first launched in 2003, has proved adept on any type of racetrack already this year, having taken wins at Losail, Phillip Island, Valencia and Monza. Winston Ten Kate Honda riders Sebastien Charpentier and Katsuaki Fujiwara have now shared out the winners’ spoils evenly, with Fujiwara scoring the first and most recent race wins and Charpentier the middle two, in Australia and Spain. Charpentier leads his team-mate by a slender seven points, with eight races still to be run. The ambitions of Charpentier and Fujiwara to win their first World Championship are plain for all to see, but in Fabien Foret (Team Italia Megabike Honda CBR600RR) Honda already has a proven World Champion in its line up. The Frenchman secured his title on a Ten Kate Honda CBR600FS in 2002, and at Silverstone Foret will be particularly determined to take his first 2005 win, having been disqualified from the event at Monza due to a misunderstanding on the rules which limit pre-race testing and racing at championship venues. Michel Fabrizio (Team Italia Megabike Honda CBR600RR) has taken a podium finish already this season, but he too is looking for not just his first win of the year, but the first win of his short but impressive World Supersport career. Finnish rider Tatu Lauslehto (Klaffi Honda CBR600RR) is a World Supersport rookie, but his status as reigning European Supersport Champion has helped him to an impressive ninth place in the championship standings already, with a personal best of sixth in full-on race conditions at Monza. Charpentier, who has simply dominated qualifying on all four occasions this year, knows that his biggest threat this weekend should come from directly across the floor of his team’s pitbox. “Everything is great for me this year – fantastic bike, fantastic team and fantastic team-mate. I was disappointed not to win at Monza because I do not like to come second but it was a good result for the team and the championship. I am OK with Silverstone although I am sorry they have decided to race on the short circuit; but it is the same for everyone I guess, so we will just have to go out and put on another good show. I know who my strongest rival will be, although the team cannot relax for a minute. I haven’t had much success at Silverstone in the past so maybe the new circuit will be good for me after all!” Fujiwara has enjoyed his first Honda-mounted year in World Supersport, battling hard with Charpentier at Monza to secure his latest win – a pugilistic experience he expects will repeated in multiple doses until the season’s completion at Magny Cours on October 9. “I like to win so much, so Monza was very, very good for me! I enjoyed the first win of the season at Qatar but watching Sébastien win in Phillip Island and Valencia was not good for me. But he is riding very well so I have to push very hard. It is good for the team that we are leading the championship but it also shows how good the team is working and how strong the Honda CBR600RR really is. I have never finished on the podium at Silverstone so I will at least be aiming for that this weekend. But winning races is the best thing so that is my real target.” Fabrizio, who had his first taster of World Supersport in the final races of 2004, has stepped right up to the top echelons of the discipline, lying fourth in the championship fight. “I learned the lesson in Monza and from Silverstone I will keep more concentration during the warm-up lap. In Monza I lost a big chance to return on the podium after the Qatar race and I not want to repeat the mistake. The bike is better compared to the previous races and we need only a little step to run together with the Winston Ten Kate guys. I hope from Silverstone on we can demonstrate our real power.” Foret, after his recent race experiences and set-up breakthroughs feels he is now in a position to challenge for the biggest prizes again. “In Monza I was so fast during the Italian Championship race and with the technicians we also found a good set-up for the suspension. But I lost the possibility to take the podium in the world round because of a mistake. I know that I must run a positive race Sunday in Silverstone: last year I had a fantastic result and this year my target is to be on the centre of the podium again. I know that I have the bike and the conditions to do it. I can’t lose another chance.” Lauslehto approaches yet another new track in his debut WSS season with a mood of quiet determination. “I thought Silverstone would be another big, fast track but on the shorter layout it will be different – for everyone, not just for me. Another new WSS circuit for me, in my first year. But almost all of them are.” World Superbike Round 5 of 12 ROUND FIVE PRESENTS ANOTHER NEW CHALLENGE TO HONDA QUINTET After the first Honda-mounted win of the 2005 championship trail was secured at the previous Monza round, all five supported Honda riders, spread across three quality teams, will be out to increase the total at the new-look Silverstone. Chris Vermeulen (Winston Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR) scored the race two win at Monza, firming up his pre-season promise and adding to his four Honda CBR1000RR wins from his rookie SBK season of 2004. Vermeulen, like his entire peer group, was surprised to find that the Silverstone event would be run on the 3.561km International circuit, this season, not the usual full Grand Prix track – instantly transforming Silverstone from one of the fastest circuits on the calendar to one of the slowest. Thus the Silverstone 2005 experience will be a new one, even for the most seasoned rider in the class, Pierfrancesco Chili (Klaffi Honda CBR1000RR), who currently sits in 10th place in the overall championship table. Despite breaking his left collarbone for the third time in four seasons, in practice for the Australian round in March, Chili is recovering well and posted two seventh place finishes at Monza three weeks ago. A recent run of injuries for the Klaffi Honda riders sees Silverstone mark itself as the comeback race for the impressive young talent that is Max Neukirchner (Klaffi Honda CBR1000RR), who was forced to miss the Monza event due to broken thumb on his throttle hand. Karl Muggeridge (Winston Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR) overcame some early-season misfortunes to post his two best results at Monza, and climb up the championship ladder to 12th, with the promise of even stronger results as he continues in his rookie season of SBK racing. Ben Bostrom (Renegade Honda Koji CBR1000RR) continues his reintroduction to World Superbike at Silverstone, and is one rider at least who looks forward to the shortened track, which should simplify his set-up tasks somewhat. Vermeulen, the 2003 World Supersport Champion, admitted to having ridden on the short Silverstone International track before, in his tenure as a British Championship rider. “I remember the shorter circuit from my days in the British championship but it’ll take a few laps to familiarise myself with it again. The second race win at Monza was long overdue but it felt pretty good all the same. We found the right direction at Monza and we’ll definitely be looking to carry that progress through to Silverstone. We basically lifted the bike at the front and the rear and changed the offset to keep it steering good and it seemed to work pretty well. Silverstone is a place that holds good memories for me, having won the Supersport race there in 2003 and then taking my very first Superbike victory last year.” Muggeridge is another Aussie rider with British racing experience, but he will be looking to his much-improved Monza results for inspiration this weekend. “It finally started coming together at Monza, although my raceday luck looked like continuing when I was hit at the start of the first race and lost the clutch lever. It was tough coming back from about 20th on the first lap to take sixth but the bike was that much better right through the weekend and that allowed us to qualify on the front row for the first time. I enjoyed race two at Monza and felt I might have got on the podium but for a mistake on the last lap. We’ll be getting some things underway again when we hit Silverstone and try to carry on that Monza form. The two tracks used to be pretty similar but now they’ve cut all that cool stuff from the back of Silverstone – the Hanger straight and Stowe corner – which is a shame, I think. We’ll have more to say on Friday when we’ve been round the International circuit.” SBK stalwart Chili is looking at a new experience at Silverstone and has reserved his judgement until he rides the circuit for the first time in qualifying. “The change to the track layout was big news for me because I like the parts out on the back of the track, the faster corners. I think they have done this for the show, to allow more overtakes and more laps for the spectators. When I go there I will see the difference. I think I will be able to improve the feeling from the bike, by working with the suspension and balance of bike.” Neukirchner knows that the condition of his injured hand will determine his entire Silverstone weekend. “Riding on the different track is not ideal for me, as I know the layout of the old one from last year. I think I would prefer the longer, faster circuit layout anyway. But I am more interested to see how my injured right hand will hold up. I go out on Friday to practice but I think even if the strength will be OK I will be in a lot of pain. We will have to wait to see how it is when I get there.” Bostrom, a serial SBK race winner earlier in his career, displayed his usual unquenchable enthusiasm before the Silverstone race. “I think it will be a real benefit for us that we’re riding on the International circuit. My only real race experience of the longer track was in the rain so I’m not losing out so much experience. The more laps we do the better because we can spend more time concentrating on set-up for each section, seeing where our improvements are. The bike is supposed to be quite a bit different from the previous spec I have ridden, so I can’t wait to get out there in practice.” The sixth round of the WSS and SBK championships, and the second to be held in Italy this year, takes place at Misano Adriatico, on 26th June.

*Motorcycle Races at Moroso-Sunday & Monday (Memorial Day)* The Championship Cup Series of Florida will be at Moroso Motorsports Park this Memorial Day weekend. Marco Martinez of Davie, Florida is the defending expert champion and winner of the March event at Moroso. He will compete on a Ducati 998. What: Motorcycle Road Races Where: Moroso Motorsports Park, W. Palm Beach, Florida When: Sunday & Monday (Memorial Day) May 29-30, 2005 General Adm. & Pit Pass: Sun. $10, Mon. $20, 2 Day Pass $25. Children under 12 Free, Free Parking Sunday Schedule: Gates Open: 8:00am Practice: 8:30am-4:00pm Monday Schedule: Gates Open: 7:00am Practice: 8:00-9:00am GT Races: (5) 9:30-11:30am Sprint Races: (14) 12:00-5:00pm Championship Cup Series/Florida 16871 Hollow Tree Ln. Loxahatchee, Fl. 33470 Phone/Fax: (561) 793-3394 E-mail: [email protected] Contact: Henry DeGouw The track is located on Moroso Memorial Hwy. (Beeline #710), Across from Pratt & Whitney Aircraft, West Palm Beach, Florida. For further information call: before race (561) 793-3394 or on race days 622-1400.

Foggy looks for home comfort at Silverstone Foggy PETRONAS Racing are hoping to take some home comfort from this weekend’s fifth round of the Superbike World Championship at Silverstone. Riders Garry McCoy and Steve Martin used their time in England this week to test a new ignition system that is helping to solve a deceleration problem which had contributed to a troubled start to the season. Sunday’s races will be staged on the shorter International track at the Northamptonshire circuit and FPR owner Carl Fogarty is hoping that the tide of adversity is turning for his team. Carl said: “The test at Mallory this week was really useful in improving some of the deceleration problems and we are hoping to make further progress in this direction this weekend. We have also taken steps to improve the reliability of the engine, although that may mean we lose a little top end power for the time being. The shorter circuit might level things out a little bit, though, so we would like to come away with some decent points. The riders, and the rest of the team, have been very positive so far and hopefully we will get some reward for that. And we also maybe need a little bit of luck to help get us through this sticky patch.” Garry, who was fourth in last year’s second race at Silverstone, said: “As the team is based in England, we are hoping that the English round will be the first where we can score good points. Everything we tested this week was positive and made the bike a lot more rider-friendly and easy to control, although there is still more fine-tuning to do and more to come. We are hoping that using the shorter International circuit might suit our bike better. The final chicane is real tight, but you just have to deal with it and it makes it exciting for the fans.” Steve said: “We have been testing an awful lot of new parts over the last few months and this weekend will be the first time we have had the whole package. I’m not saying we will be able to go out and win but we are hopeful this is now the right package to go forward with. I have never ridden the International circuit at Silverstone but a lot of riders will be in the same boat and the small bit there is to learn looks pretty straightforward. It is the first time I have ridden in Britain for a British-based team so I think there will be lots of support, which will add to the atmosphere.”

HOT RIDES AND HOT-RODS He possesses a phenomenal riding talent that has set international motorcycle racing alight since he burst onto the World Supersport scene in 2001 and won that title two years later. Last year his first in World Superbikes Chris Vermeulen took four race wins on the all-new Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade, finishing fourth overall. His talent was spotted early by GP legend Barry Sheene, who persuaded the then 17-year-old Vermeulen that his best chance of success lay outside his native Australia. And so, in 2000, the teenager moved to Europe to contest the British Supersport and Superstock championships, before joining the Castrol Honda World Supersport team the following year. Being away from home for extended periods and kicking his heels when not testing or racing has forced Vermeulen to keep his mind active with a range of hobbies and leisure pursuits. Of course, a lot of his time is spent training and keeping fit; he is currently working towards his pilot’s licence; being an Aussie, he loves surfing; and he enjoys a bit of motocross to keep his riding skills sharp. But there is a passion that Vermeulen shares with his father Pete, involving not two wheels, but four; not the state-of-the-art machinery of a modern racing motorcycle, but the nostalgic lines of veteran motor vehicles except these classics get a bit of Vermeulen treatment that turns them into fully-fledged hot-rods. Most dictionaries define a hot-rod as ‘an automobile that has been rebuilt or modified to increase its speed and acceleration’ but there are certain aesthetic values that must be incorporated, too. The term ‘hot-rod’ was first used in the US in the 1940s, but the craze was actually started in California during the Depression by young men who began to play around with the early mass-produced cars like the Model T Ford. Hot-rods also became a way for these often poor enthusiasts to gain some automotive status and so, in addition to their mechanical improvements, the cars became symbols of independence and resourcefulness. “I’ve always had an interest in hot-rods,” says Vermeulen, “and me and my mates at school were always into bikes and cars. We always tried to drive V8s because they’re just so much cooler and sound great much better than a hot-hatch and its ‘boom-boom’ music!” Around the time he was preparing to become a professional motorcycle racer in Europe, Vermeulen bought a 1962 Ford F100 pick-up. “I was really after a mid-’50s version,” he explains, “but they’re incredibly rare.” As luck would have it, no sooner had Vermeulen bought his ’62 model than the Holy Grail of a 1954 version appeared. “I’ve still got the first one in bits but I had to have the ’54,” he says, “even though it was no more than a chassis and a cab. There was no engine, differentials or axles and the floor was virtually rusted away. “Dad did more than half the work because I was away so much,” he adds, “but we found a 5-litre V8 from a 1986 Mustang, got a 9-inch diff from a drag racer and a 4-speed manual gearbox. There’s independent front suspension from a Mitsubishi L300 van and steering from an old Ford Cortina. It all took about 18 months and cost me more than double my original budget of 30,000 Australian dollars, but it really is my pride and joy.” Pete Vermeulen looks after the F100 while his son is away and has even won prizes after entering it in a couple of hot-rod shows. “I always tinker with it a bit whenever I come home,” says Vermeulen Jr., “and like to just cruise around in it. A mate of mine has a Ferrari but the pick-up gets a lot more admiring looks!” The pick-up, however, is 12,000 miles away from Vermeulen’s European base and the 22-year-old has recently been yearning for a toy to play with and cruise around in during the racing season. “I haven’t really got the time to do a proper restoration job like we did on the F100,” he laments, “so I started looking for a finished Model B Ford Coupe. They were made in the early 1930s and came after the original Model T from the late 1920s, which was followed by the Model A. “There were a heap of different Ford models then,” he adds, “but the two-door, two-seater Coupes do up really well and look so cool. I eventually found a 1933 model in America and it’s on its way over to Europe now.” This latest weapon also boasts the obligatory V8 engine developing around 400bhp, which works with a three-speed semi-automatic gearbox and diff taken from another drag racer. “We reckon it’ll do a standing quarter mile in under 10 seconds,” smiles Vermeulen, “which is pretty quick!” Perhaps not quite as quick as his Winston Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade and, at around US$50,000 including shipping and import costs perhaps not quite as expensive. But for a would-be world champion, the bright yellow hot-rod Model B Ford Coupe is perfect for just ‘cruising around’.

Albacete 8H Race Review Suzuki Castrol took the Albacete 8 Horas Nocturnas race win by finishing three laps clear of second placed Folch Endurance and a further two laps ahead of Yamaha Austria. Further down the field many of the finishing positions were more closely fought”¦ Kawasaki Bolliger vs Yamaha Phase One Endurance Both of these teams had seemed to have a podium position within their grasp for much of the race, Bolliger confident after a second place at Assen and Phase One much improved after testing between races. In the end Bolliger finished a lap behind third placed Yamaha Austria, and Phase One saw third and then fourth place slip from their grasp as an overheating engine forced the team to pit twice in the last hour of racing. Sapeurs Pompiers vs Shell Endurance Academy vs Diablo 666 Bolliger The battle for sixth place ran for the full eight hours of the race, with Kawasaki Diablo 666 Bolliger, Yamaha Shell Endurance Academy and Suzuki Team 18 Sapeurs Pompiers taking sixth place in turn every hour as their rivals pitted for fuel and tyres. In the end it was the experienced French Sapeurs Pompiers team that took sixth position at the flag by stretching out their final stint to well over an hour while the two British junior teams made stops for fuel. The Shell Endurance Academy finished just 3.2 seconds behind Sapeurs Pompiers, with Diablo 666 Bolliger less than a minute behind their fellow countrymen. Suzuki No Limits & RT Motor Team vs Suzuki Fabi Corse Two Italian teams fought over ninth and tenth place, with Suzuki No Limits & RT Motor Team eventually pulling two laps clear of Suzuki Fabi Corse after a tough race for both teams. Also in the Points”¦ Suzuki Bridgestone Bikers Profi finished just 37 seconds clear of Ducati Spring Team to take eleventh place, Yamaha Power Bike were thirteenth, MV Agusta Burger King Lust fourteenth, and Projecteam Honda took the final championship point available in fifteenth place.

World Superbike Championship leaders Troy Corser and Yukio Kagayama are aiming to increase their series lead on their Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra GSX-R1000s at this weekend’s British fifth round at Silverstone. The Northamptonshire track has hosted the event twice before, but this year the layout will be different; a slightly shorter circuit – 3.561 kilometres – will be used and fans will see the competitors complete eight more laps than before. Corser currently leads the 12-round series on 182 points with six wins from eight races. Kagayama holds second on 130 points which includes a race win and four second places. Troy Corser: “I am not sure why they have changed the layout ¬unless it is to do with safety issues. There were a couple of ‘so-so’ spots on the track so maybe they have changed the layout because of them. I quite like Silverstone ¬except for the final chicane which is just plain crazy and far too slow. My results last year were not bad so I am really looking forward to racing at Silverstone on the Alstare Suzuki GSX-R1000 and taking a couple of podiums.” Yukio Kagayama: “Unusually it seems I may be one of the few riders who has raced this layout at Silverstone before. I think I have raced this layout in the past two years in the British Superbike championship. It is quite different to the full circuit but I like it and, as I have been on the podium there in my first BSB season, it has good memories for me. “I was disappointed to DNF in the second race at Monza in the last round and I want to make up for that with a pair of podium finishes in Silverstone. I have many fans in Britain and so it is a bit like a home race for me. I think the Alstare Suzuki GSX-R1000 will be a good bike for Silverstone and maybe this time I can get the better of my team mate Troy-san.” 2004 Results: Race 1: 1 Haga (Ducati), 2 Vermeulen (Honda), 3 Chili (Ducati). 7 Corser (Petronas). Kagayama DNS. Race 2: 1 Vermeulen, 2 Haga, 3 Laconi (Ducati). 9 Corser. Kagayama DNS.