From a press release issued by Dorna Sports:

Losail, 2nd October 2004
STATISTICS 2004
Marlboro Grand Prix of Qatar ROUND 13
Official statistics compiled by Dr. Martin Raines

SATURDAY GUIDE

MotoGP

· With less than six tenths of a second covering the top ten riders, this is the closest grid of the year in the MotoGP class.

· Carlos Checa starts from pole for the third time in his career and for the first time since 2002 at Estoril. Checa is the top Yamaha rider on the grid for the second time this year, the other being at Le Mans in May.

· Alex Barros starts from the front row for just the second time this year, his other being at Brno. For the first time in 2004 Barros is the top Honda rider on the grid.

· Sete Gibernau, who starts from the front row for the tenth time this year, finished on the podium at the first six races of 2004 but has had just two podium finishes in the last six races.

· For the third time this year Shinya Nakano starts from fifth place on the grid. Nakano’s third place finish in Japan was the first podium for a Kawasaki rider since Kork Ballington finished third at Imatra in Finland in 1981 riding the square-four two-stoke machine.

· For the eighth time this year Loris Capirossi is the top Ducati rider on the grid.

· Seventh place on the grid equals Ruben Xaus’ best qualifying result of the year, which he achieved at Catalunya.

· If Valentino Rossi wins the Grand Prix of Qatar it will be his seventh win of the year. This would equal the record for most wins in a season in the premier-class by a Yamaha rider, previously achieved by Eddie Lawson in 1986 and 1988, and by Wayne Rainey in 1990.

· Rossi’s eighth place on the grid equals his worst qualifying of the year at Rio. This is only the third time in 2004 that Rossi has not qualified on the front row.

· Following his victory at Motegi, if Makoto Tamada wins in Qatar he will become the first Japanese rider ever to take back-to-back wins in the premier-class.

· Qatar becomes the 27th country to hold a round of the MotoGP World Championship in its 55-year history

· Nicky Hayden has not scored any points since Donington Park in July.



250cc

· Sebastian Porto starts from pole position for the seventh time in 2004. The only GP at which Porto has not started on the front row was the last race at Motegi.

· Dani Pedrosa has finished on the podium ten times from the twelve races in 2004, his debut year in the 250cc class.

· Alex De Angelis has already had nine top six finishes in his first year in the 250cc class.

· Randy De Puniet is the only rider in all three classes to have scored points at each of the first twelve races of 2004.

· Hiroshi Aoyama, who has now scored points in ten consecutive races, scored his first podium of the year at Motegi.


125cc

· For the first time this year there are four different manufactures represented on the front row of the grid.

· Jorge Lorenzo starts from pole for the second time this year and for the third time in his career. Lorenzo has not won from any of his previous pole starts.

· Andrea Dovizioso, who starts from the front row for the eighth consecutive race, has finished in the top four in eleven of the twelve races this year.

· Following his victory at Motegi, if Andrea Dovizioso wins the 125cc race in Qatar he will end a record sequence of thirty-five races without a rider taking back to back victories since Arnaud Vincent won at Donington and then Sachsenring in 2002.

· Steve Jenkner starts from the front row for the first time since his home race in Germany.

· Casey Stoner has not scored any points since he finished second at the Rio Grand Prix in early July.

From a press release issued by Team Suzuki:

GARRY TAYLOR TO STEP DOWN


Suzuki MotoGP Team Manager Garry Taylor, the most experienced and longest serving team manager in the GP paddock, is to step down at the end of the 2004 season after almost 30 years with the Suzuki factory GP team.

Taylor (55) will be bringing to an end an illustrious career with the team. He first worked with them in the mid-Seventies when Barry Sheene won two consecutive 500cc World Championships. During more than 20 years as team manager, the Englishman has guided the Suzuki Team to two more individual world titles – with Kevin Schwantz in 1993 and Kenny Roberts Jr. in 2000 – and to 40 individual race wins.

“Being team manager for Suzuki has been the greatest job in the world and I have enjoyed practically every day of it. It’s been a privilege to work with some of the world’s greatest riders, not only the title winners, and I would like to thank Suzuki for such an enjoyable career with them.

“I had always planned to step down at 55 and the factory was aware of that,” said Taylor. “I’ve decided to do so now and to take a less active role, for several reasons.

“Firstly, with the pressures of the job increasing year by year, along with the popularity of MotoGP, I find I am spending more and more time on the road … next year’s schedule, including testing, would have meant more than 200 days away. I have an eight-year-old daughter, Phoebe, and I have already missed too many landmarks in her life. I have never been home for her birthday, for example, or indeed for any of my wife’s birthdays.

“Secondly, my health has been deteriorating, and while there is nothing that cannot be fixed, I need to stand still long enough to be able to give the doctors the time they need.

“With the Suzuki GSV-R coming to the end of its current development stage, the factory and I decided that the end of this year would be the right time to step down. I believe I will be able to hand on to my successor a well-established and highly motivated team, as can be seen from our improving results during this season.” said Taylor.

Suzuki racing manager Masahito Imada said: “Suzuki would like to thank Garry for his long and dedicated service to our racing efforts. Together we have achieved some great things. Now we start a new era determined to continue the improvement in our results.”

At the same time, Suzuki announced that Paul Denning will take over the position of team manager from the beginning of 2005. Denning is the owner of the UK-based Crescent Suzuki team that has secured the 2004 British Superbike title. In addition to Paul’s new assignment, Crescent Suzuki intends to defend the 2005 British Superbike championship on the new GSX-R1000.

“Garry has done a fantastic job for Suzuki.” said Paul, “We aim to carry on building on the continuing improvements and success of the team and the GSV-R. Suzuki has a high quality, consistent team in place and it is thanks to Garry’s efforts that we are inheriting a team with such high potential. It’s a great opportunity and an honour for us to be entrusted with the next stage in the GSV-R development programme and we are looking forward to the challenges ahead.”

From a press release issued by AMA Pro Racing:

Suzuki Lightning Nationals doubleheader at VIR to close 2004 AMA Chevrolet Superbike Championship

Mladin poised to win his fifth championship

PICKERINGTON, Ohio (Oct. 1, 2004) — Virginia International Raceway will host the final two rounds of the AMA Chevrolet Superbike Championship on Oct. 9-10 in Alton, Va. The event, originally scheduled for Sept. 17-19, was postponed due to complications from Hurricane Ivan. The 2004 AMA Superbike Championship is up for grabs and four-time champ Mat Mladin, the Yoshimura Suzuki ace, is hoping to once again take home the championship trophy.

Three riders, Mladin along with Honda riders Jake Zemke and Miguel Duhamel, are still in the hunt for this year’s AMA Superbike Championship, but it is Mladin who is clearly in control. A win in race one of the weekend’s doubleheader would clinch the title for Mladin and give him an unprecedented fifth AMA Superbike Championship. Mladin can already lay claim to being the only rider in the history of the series to win four championships and is also the all-times wins leader.

Mladin has praised his Yoshimura Suzuki team for making late-season improvements on his GSX-R1000 that gave him the edge over the newer-generation Hondas of Zemke and Duhamel. Those improvements added up to a Mladin sweep at the last event; the doubleheader at Road Atlanta in September. Those victories boosted his series lead from 19 points to a solid 42 coming into the final event of the year. Mladin was also reportedly happy with the results of a recent test session at VIR and is confident coming in the event.

Mladin has one more incentive at VIR. A pair of wins would give him 10 victories on the season. That would tie the long-standing record held by Motorcycle Hall of Famer Fred Merkel, who won 10 rounds in 1984 while riding for Honda.

Zemke comes into Virginia happy about his performance in his first full year of AMA Superbike racing.

“Things probably have gone about like I expected,” said the former flat track racer. “Of course, I would have been a little happier if I were leading the series, but realistically it’s been a good first season and I’ll give it everything I have at VIR. The chances [of winning the championship] are slim, but unexpected things are known to happen in racing so I’m going in with a positive outlook.”

1995 AMA Superbike Champion Miguel Duhamel was squarely in the title chase until a crash at Mid-Ohio in July dropped him to third. Duhamel would still like to put a couple of victories in the books at VIR so he could end the season tied with Mladin on the all-time AMA Superbike wins list. Mladin has 32-career AMA Superbike victories to Duhamel’s 30.

Ducati will add a taste of international flare to VIR by entering World Superbike Series leader Regis Laconi and Lorenzo Lanzi to race alongside Eric Bostrom in the season finale. Had the race been run as originally scheduled, Bostrom would have been absent due to injury. The postponement gave him extra time to recuperate. With three bikes entered, Ducati is obviously looking to make a statement at VIR.

Last year’s AMA Superbike Rookie of the Year Geoff May is on track to earn the highest year-end ranking in AMA Superbike by a privateer rider since Dale Quarterley finished fifth in 1995. May has tallied 13 top-10 finishes this year on his Team Prieto Racing Suzuki, including a season best fifth at California Speedway in April.

VIR’s Suzuki Lightning Nationals doubleheader AMA Superbike races will be shown back-to-back on SPEED Channel starting at 12 p.m. Eastern on Tuesday, Oct. 19, as part of the network’s Two Wheel Tuesday lineup. For additional information on the event contact VIR at (434) 822-7700 of visit the website www.virclub.com .

Schedule of Events

AMA Chevrolet Superbike Championship

Presented by Parts Unlimited

Suzuki Lightning Nationals

Virginia International Raceway – October 9-10, 2004



Friday, Oct. 8

3:00 – 7:00 – Registration: Riders, Crew, Sponsors & Guests

6:30 – Post-entry Closed for all Classes

3:00 – 7:00 – Tech Inspection

Saturday, Oct. 9

7:30 – 3:00 – Registration: Crew, Sponsors & Guests

8:00 – 5:00 – Tech Inspection

8:00 – 8:30 – AMA Repsol Superstock Practice

8:35 – 9:05 – Pro Honda Oils Supersport Championship presented by Shoei Helmets Practice

9:10 – 9:40 – Chevrolet Superbike Championship presented by Parts Unlimited Practice

9:45 – 10:15 – Lockhart Phillips USA Formula Xtreme Practice

10:20 – 10:50 – AMA Repsol Superstock Practice

10:55 – 11:25 – Pro Honda Oils Supersport Championship presented by Shoei Helmets Practice

11:30 – 12:00 – Chevrolet Superbike Championship presented by Parts Unlimited Practice

12:05 – 12:35 – Lockhart Phillips USA Formula Xtreme Practice

12:35 – 1:25 – Lunch Break

12:45 – Rider Briefing

1:25 – 1:50 – AMA Repsol Superstock Qualifying Group 1

1:55 – 2:20 – AMA Repsol Superstock Qualifying Group 2

2:25 – 2:50 – Pro Honda Oils Supersport Championship presented by Shoei Helmets Qualifying Group 1

2:55 – 3:20 – Pro Honda Oils Supersport Championship presented by Shoei Helmets Qualifying Group 2

3:25 – 3:50 – Chevrolet Superbike Championship presented by Parts Unlimited Qualifying Group 1

3:55 – 4:20 – Chevrolet Superbike Championship presented by Parts Unlimited Qualifying Group 2

4:35 – AMA Repsol Superstock Race (60k – 17 laps)

Sunday, Oct. 10

8:30 – 12:00 – Registration: Crew, Sponsors & Guests

9:00 – Tech Inspection Opens

9:00 – 9:20 – Chevrolet Superbike Championship presented by Parts Unlimited Practice

9:25 – 9:45 – Pro Honda Oils Supersport Championship presented by Shoei Helmets Practice

9:55 – 10:25 – Lockhart Phillips USA Formula Xtreme Qualifying Group 1

10:30 – 11:00 – Lockhart Phillips USA Formula Xtreme Qualifying Group 2

11:00 – 12:00 – Lunch Break

11:20 – Nondenominational Chapel Service

12:00 – Chevrolet Superbike Championship presented by Parts Unlimited Race 1 (100K – 28 laps)

1:15 – Pro Honda Oils Supersport Championship presented by Shoei Helmets (60k – 17 laps)

2:30 – Chevrolet Superbike Championship presented by Parts Unlimited Race 2 (100k – 28 laps)

3:45 – Lockhart Phillips USA Formula Xtreme Race (60k – 17 laps)

Copyright 2004, Roadracing World Publishing Inc.

Sebastien Gimbert, the “unknown” privateer who is on provisional pole for World Superbike at Magny-Cours, is the current Endurance World Champion, riding for the GMT94 team.

Gimbert joined the World Endurance series in 2001 after spending three years chasing the Grand Prix circuit. Gimbert rode a V-Twin Honda in the 1998, 1999, and 2000 500cc Grand Prix World Championships for the French Team Tecmas. In 2000 Gimbert raced both 500cc GP and 250cc GP.

From 2001 to 2004 Gimbert rode for Honda, Suzuki and Yamaha in the Endurance World Championship, finally winning the title with Guyot Motor Team 94(GMT94)this year.

From a press release issued by FG Sport Group:

WILDCARD DELIGHT ON DAY ONE AT MAGNY COURS

GLORIOUS GIMBERT: Local hot-shot Sebastien Gimbert, following on from his impressive showings at the Brands Hatch round two months ago, propelled himself to the top of the provisional qualifying sheets at Magny Cours. Riding in his home race, Gimbert’s machine is a Yamaha France YZF-R1, a true privateer entry. His time of 1:42.599 beat even the best of the factory Ducatis in this most important round of the year.

FILA FORZA: Despite some ups and downs the Ducati Fila pairing of Regis Laconi and James Toseland enter the final round of the championship in first and second place respectively. After one day in France, and with the benefit of a pre-race test session behind them earlier in the year, Laconi and Toseland are neck and neck, in both championship and qualification times. Only 0.026 seconds separates Toseland from provisional pole, with Laconi only 0.87 seconds from his countryman Gimbert.

MARTIN INVASION: Aussie privateer Steve Martin worked hard on his set-up to take the final slot on the overnight front row, another high point in the season of the DFX Ducati squad. His team-mate Marco Borciani secured ninth fastest time of the day.

TRIPLE TICKLE: Foggy Petronas duo Chris Walker (Foggy Petronas FP-1) and Troy Corser (Foggy Petronas FP-1) were competitive during the opening exchanges, their unique three-cylinder machines pushing them up the order, Corser going fifth fastest and running only 0.233 seconds from the fastest time of the day. Walker was less than half a second shy of provisional pole, making the most of the experience gained from testing at Magny Cours.

HONDA HANGS TOUGH: Chris Vermeulen (Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR), his Ten Kate Team and the CBR1000RR Honda have had their work cut out for them on the first day of qualifying at each round this year, as all are novices in the premier SBK class. The opening day at Magny Cours was a challenging experience for Vermeulen and co, as the 22-year-old Aussie rider is still carrying wrist, hip and ankle injuries from Imola, and the whole team is trying to cure a lack of rear end traction. Nonetheless Vermeulen went seventh fastest, after his first run out on a qualifying rear tyre.

INCLEMENT WEATHER: Ivan Clementi continued his recent run of good form on the Bertocchi Kawasaki ZX-10, going eighth fastest on day one, and good enough to be the first Kawasaki finisher. Borciani in ninth was still better off than the toiling Pierfrancesco Chili (PSG-1 Ducati).

LEON LIFT: With Noriyuki Haga somewhat subdued in 12th place, Leon Haslam managed to outdistance him by a small margin to secure 11th place on his Renegade Ducati Koji 999R. Haga is the fourth rider in with a chance of the championship, although Laconi, Toseland and Vermeulen have to go experience some devastating bad luck for Haga to come close to toppling any of them.

McCOY ONLY 13TH: After a couple of relatively happy outings at Imola last week, Garry McCoy (Ducati Scuderia Caracchi 999RS) bumped to 13th after day one in France. The final three riders in Superpole, for the time being at least, are Lucio Pedercini, Piergiorgio Bontempi and Sergio Fuertes

SUPERSPORT: Crowned Champion last weekend, Karl Muggeridge (Ten Kate Honda CBR600RR), had to give best in France to his fellow countryman, Kevin Curtain (Yamaha Motor Germany YZF-R6). Curtain, out to defend his overall championship position, was just 0.031 seconds above Muggeridge, but ahead nonetheless. Third fastest rider was expert Klaffi Honda exponent Sebastien Charpentier, another top rider at Magny Cours with French blood rampaging through his veins. Ten Kate Honda rider Broc Parkes was fourth fastest, still to find a perfect set-up on his CBR.
The Yamaha Italia machine of Jurgen van den Goorbergh took the first position of the provisional second row, with the Breil Ducati 749R of Lorenzo Lanzi in sixth.

SUPERSTOCK: With Gianluca Vizziello, the championship leader ruled out of the race due to injures sustained at Imola, his team-mate and only potential championship nemesis, Lorenzo Alfonsi was second fastest. A repeat of this placing in the race would make Alfonsi champion, anything less would give Vizziello the spoils. Fastest man on the day was Yamaha Motor Germany rider, Kenan Sofuoglu. All classes have one more regulation qualifying session, before the races commence on Sunday 3 October.



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

FPR riders on the pace in France

Foggy PETRONAS Racing riders Troy Corser and Chris Walker enjoyed a promising opening day of qualifying for the final round of the Superbike World Championship at Magny-Cours, France.

Just two tenths of a second separated the FPR men in fifth and sixth places after the Friday afternoon qualifying. And, encouragingly, Troy was just another quarter of a second behind pacesetter Sebastien Gimbert, a local French wild card on a Yamaha YZF R1.

Both Troy and Chris were able to try out a new specification engine in the PETRONAS FP1, designed to reduce inertia, and reported the desired increased torque in bettering their times from a recent test at the French circuit. However, this was at the expense of some top end power, a factor most relevant through the first sector in the drive out of Estoril and up the Golf straight.

Chris said: “I broke down on the bike that I set my best morning time and the new engine felt different so it took a few laps to get used to. And I was disappointed not to have gone a bit faster. I should have been doing the time I did on a qualifier on race tyres. We still need to look at turning in on the brakes and work on the chatter I’m still experiencing. But I am happy because it’s the best position I have been for a while.”

Troy, third in the ideal times of combined best sector splits, said: “I concentrated on the new engine this afternoon. The acceleration was a lot stronger bottom to mid-range but we lost something off the top end. We will try to make the gearing a bit longer before it peaks out but that might mean we lose some of the torque. The bikes are handling well and we haven’t changed too much. The front tyre is okay and the new rear tyre we have tried is not too different from the one we found at the test. I made a small mistake in my fastest lap so to be 0.2 off pole is pretty encouraging and I was doing nearly the same time on race tyres as I did on a qualifier.”

Friday qualifying times, Superbike World Championship, round 11, Magny-Cours: 1 Gimbert 1:42.599; 2 Toseland 1:42.625; 3 Laconi 1:42.686; 4 Martin 1:42.832; 5 Corser 1:42.855; 6 Walker 1:43.082; 7 Vermeulen 1:43.205; 8 Clementi 1:43.235; 9 Borciani 1:43.367; 10 Chili 1:43.443

Friday morning free practice times: 1 Laconi (Ducati Fila) 1:42.554; 2 Toseland (Ducati Fila) 1:42.981; 3 Gimbert (Yamaha France) 1:43.051; 4 Martin (DFX) 1:43.085; 5 Corser (Foggy PETRONAS Racing) 1:43.182; 6 Chili (PSG-1) 1:43.430; 7 Haga (Renegade Ducati) 1:43.673; 8 Walker (Foggy PETRONAS Racing) 1:43.674; 9 Clementi (Kawasaki Bertocchi) 1:43.827; 10 Vermeulen (Ten Kate Honda) 1:44.174



More, from a press release issued by Ducati Corse:

PROVISIONAL FRONT ROW FOR TOSELAND AND LACONI (DUCATI FILA) IN OPENING WSBK SESSION AT MAGNY-COURS

Magny-Cours (France), 1 October 2004: Both Ducati Fila title chasers James Toseland and Regis Laconi placed their Ducati 999 F04 on the provisional front row of the grid for the World Superbike championship finale at Magny-Cours. Chris Vermeulen (Honda), the only other real challenger for the title, could only manage seventh quickest time, while provisional pole went to local rider and Bol d’Or racer Sebastien Gimbert (Yamaha)

Toseland’s time of 1’42.635 was just a fraction away from Gimbert’s pole mark, but the 23-year-old from Sheffield was more than pleased with his performance. “It was a good qualifying session today, nice and consistent. We’ve made a few changes to the bike, the main problem at the moment is the tyre is moving on the rim and that is stopping me doing more laps than I want to. We’re running a new rear tyre here and it looks like it’s going to be a good one so I want to do as many laps as possible on it, but unfortunately I haven’t been able to do that today.

“We’re not far away, we just need a bit of tweaking here and there. It’s a technical circuit, and it’s especially difficult to get round the tight hairpins, because the lean angle is so sharp. You’re going that slow that you need to have a lot of momentum through those curves. It’s just a question of concentration really this weekend because every lap counts”.

Team-mate Regis Laconi was also within one tenth of a second of Gimbert’s time, but he was not entirely satisfied with the set-up on his 999. “I think I am just not entirely happy about the feeling on the bike” he said. “We tried to change it to improve but we didn’t find the right setting today so we just tried to learn and see what’s happening with the tyres.

“My position is OK and the lap times are very close. I made the fastest lap with the race tyre, I was surprised about that while with the qualifying tyre I was slower. It looks like it was not only for me. It’s tight at the top, but we must try and do something better for tomorrow.”

TIMES: 1. Gimbert (Yamaha) 1’42.599; 2. Toseland (Ducati Fila) 1’42.625; 3. Laconi (Ducati Fila) 1’42.686; 4. Martin (DFX Ducati) 1’42.832; 5. Corser (Petronas) 1’42.855; 6. Walker (Petronas) 1’43.082; 7. Vermeulen (Honda) 1’43.205; 8. Clementi (Kawasaki) 1’43.235; etc.

SIXTH QUICKEST TIME FOR LANZI (DUCATI BREIL) IN MAGNY-COURS OPENING SESSION

Magny-Cours (France), 1 October 2004: Lorenzo Lanzi (Ducati Breil) produced another convincing performance in Friday qualifying for the final round of the World Supersport championship at Magny-Cours with sixth quickest time. The 22-year-old Italian, who finished just off the podium in last week’s Imola race, kept the momentum flowing for the Ducati Breil team around the 4.411 km circuit, and his performance today puts him on course to end the season with another positive result.

“Considering the fact that we have never tested on this circuit with this bike, we are better placed than usual for Friday” declared Lorenzo.

“Furthermore I was almost always up against traffic on my quick laps, so I’m sure I could have shaved a few tenths off here and there. All things considered, we’re not far away from the leaders.

“The red flags also came out for another bike that blew its engine, leaving oil all over the track, which after that was a bit slower. Despite everything therefore I’m sure I could have improved my time. We’ve still got tomorrow, but I am pleased, my Ducati Breil team has worked well and the 749R is going well.

“We are improving race after race and that’s the most important thing at this end of the season” concluded Lanzi.

TIMES: 1. Curtain (Yamaha) 1’44.199; 2. Muggeridge (Honda) 1’44.230; 3. Charpentier (Honda) 1’44.579; 4. Parkes (Honda) 1’44.954; 5. VD Goorbergh (Yamaha) 1’45.341; 6. Lanzi (Ducati Breil) 1’45.370; 7. Foret (Yamaha) 1’45.481; 8. Fabrizio (Honda) 1’45.750; etc.


More, from a press release issued by Belgarda Yamaha:

Yamaha Racing
Yamaha Italia World Supersport Team Newsletter
Date: Friday, October 1st 2004
Circuit: Magny Cours, m. 4.411
Friday Qualifying
Weather: dry, sunny/cloudy Temperature: air 22° track 30°
Crowd: 3.000

JURGEN DEFIES PAIN

Yamaha Racing Italia rider Jurgen van den Goorbergh rode through the pain barrier to finish fifth quickest at the end of the first day of qualifying at Magny-Cours, France. The Dutchman is suffering a reoccurrence of the discomfort he experienced at Imola, but is determined to continue riding this weekend. His team mates Fabien Foret and Andrew Pitt ended the day with the seventh and ninth fastest times, but both know that they can improve their positions tomorrow. Aussie Kevin Curtain (Yamaha) posted the day’s fastest lap, with a time of 1’44.199. Second is newly-crowned Supersport World Champion Karl Muggeridge, with fellow Honda riders Sebastien Charpentier and Broc Parkes third and fourth.

JURGEN VAN DEN GOORBERGH – 5th, 1’45.341

My physical condition is not so good at the moment (a bit like Imola last week) so, after the weekend, I will undergo an intensive medical check-up. In the meantime, I am trying to concentrate on riding my bike and so far it is pretty good. For the next two sessions though, we will make some changes and see how much we can improve it.

FABIEN FORET – 7th, 1’45.481

I think that this has been a really unlucky season for me and I hope it ends soon. I was very fast today when Chambon’s bike blew up in front of me and that cost me quite a bit of time. After what I have gone through this year, I want to end this season in style. I won the Bol d’Or 24 hours here on a Yamaha in 2000, so I would like to be on the podium again – on Sunday.

ANDREW PITT – 9th, 1’45.755

This is my first time at the track, so all I’ve really concentrated on today is learning my way round and trying to make some small adjustments to the bike.

Friday qualifying

1 Curtain (Aus-Yamaha) 1’44.199, 2 Muggeridge (Aus-Honda) 1’44.230, 3 Charpentier (Fra-Honda) 1’44.579, 4 Parkes (Aus-Honda) 1’44.954, 5 VAN DEN GOORBERGH (NL-YAMAHA RACING ITALIA) 1’45.341, 6 Lanzi (Ita-Ducati) 1’45.370, 7 FORET (Fra-YAMAHA RACING ITALIA) 1’45.481, 8 Fabrizio (Ita-Honda) 1’45.750, 9 PITT (AUS-YAMAHA RACING ITALIA) 1’45.755, 10 Chambon (Fra-Suzuki) 1’46.027, 11 Baiocco (Ita-Yamaha) 1’46.265


More, from a press release issued by Team Suzuki:

SET-UP PROBLEMS HAMPER ALSTARE
Team Suzuki Press Office – October 1, 2004.

Team Alstare Corona Extra riders Stephane Chambon and Katsuaki Fujiwara placed 10th and 14th in today’s first qualifying session for the final World Supersport round at Magny Cours in France after struggling with the set-up on their GSX-R600s.

But the duo and their technicians, who have a realistic chance of taking fifth and sixth in the series, will be working into the night in the hope of finding an ideal race specification before tomorrow’s final qualifying session.

Aussie Kevin Curtain took provisional pole position today with Karl Muggeridge, Sebastien Charpentier and Broc Parkes filling the next three places.

STEPHANE CHAMBON – 10th, 1:46.027:

“I think I probably could’ve gone a bit faster if I did not have the problem with one engine. I was happier on that bike, so maybe I could have gone quicker. The story of practice here is similar to the first days at the other rounds. It has been a hard season for us all, but I’d still like a good result to end it on a positive note.”

KATSUAKI FUJIWARA – 14th, 1:46.492:

“I am not so happy to only be 14th quickest so far. Today I had a few problems with the rear suspension and also the set-up of the bike and that meant I could not push as hard as I wanted to. We’ll change quite a few things tomorrow and I hope we can improve a lot.”

Friday qualifying:

1 Curtain (Aus-Yamaha) 1:44.199, 2 Muggeridge (Aus-Honda) 1:44.230, 3 Charpentier (F-Honda) 1:44.579, 4 Parkes (Aus-Honda) 1:44.954, 5 VD Goorbergh (NL-Yamaha) 1:45.341, 6 Lanzi (I-Ducati) 1:45.370, 7 Foret (F-Yamaha) 1:45.481, 8 Fabrizio (I-Honda) 1:45.750, 9 Pitt (Aus-Yamaha) 1:45.755, 10 CHAMBON (F-ALSTARE SUZUKI CORONA EXTRA) 1:46.027, 14 FUJIWARA (J-ALSTARE SUZUKI CORONA EXTRA) 1:46.492.


2004 European Superstock Championship Qualifying:

Team Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra riders Riccardo Chiarello and Vittorio Iannuzzo spent today learning the Magny Cours circuit and finished 13th and 15th fastest respectively in first qualifying.

Turkish rider Kenan Sofuoglu set the fastest time of the day with a lap of 1:44.844, ahead of Lorenzo Alfonsi, Didier Vankeymeulen and Gregory Fastre.


More, from a press release issued by Xerox Ducati Nortel Networks – Scuderia Caracchi:

No luck in the opening day at Magny Cours for Xerox Ducati Nortel Networks Team


Unlucky day the opening day of the final week end of 2004 World Superbike Championship on the 4311 meters of French circuit Magny Cours.. Garry McCoy spent most time to set the bike for a track absolutely new for him. Miguel Praia too looked for the best setting of the bike, looking at the final qualifying session tomorrow. An avoidable evaluation mistake put Gialuca Nannelli out of the fight just at the first lap of afternoon qualifying session, because a crash outing the Lycée corner after opening too quick the throttle when tyres were still cold.

“I’m not actually satisfied of the position I recorded in the provisional grid.” – said Garry McCoy at the end of the day. “I spent all today’s sessions to know the circuit, unknown for me. I like the track and during the afternoon session I improved my lap time of about a second. The bike performs well, I have no problem; there’s just something to improve at Adelaide hairpin, where I have still problems, but in this points the track has falling-in which makes the bike jumping and a loss of grip in the front. However the bike is quite OK and tomorrow we’ll try to do still better.”

Quite satisfied also Miguel Praia, despite a problem at the quickshifter.

“I focused myself in the setting and to learn the track.” – commented his performance Miguel Praia – “With the qualifying tyres I have a good feeling and I believe I found a good setting for tomorrow’s final qualifying. The track is difficult and new for me, but I like it, so I’m confident to improve my laptime tomorrow.”

I was angry with himself Gianluca Nannelli. The crash at the first day of final session took him away an hour of very important practice and, if tomorrow the weather could be bad everything will become very difficult.

“Which stupid mistake I’ve done!” – related a very disappointed Gianluca joining the pit after the crash. – “I just joined the track and I was riding slow when Laconi passed me, I put myself behind him and outing the corner I opened the throttle with too much decision, without any respect for the tyres which have not had time to warm, so I finish on the asphalt. In the morning, during the free practice session, the bike was running well, but became too light opening the throttle, so the team made an hard work before the qualifying session. Unfortunately this crash ruined all this work. Now I must hope that the weather will remain dry for tomorrow, because in this moment they didn’t record me any qualifying time.”


More, from a press release issued by Ten Kate Honda:

Vermeulen Seventh In Opening Magny Cours Exchanges

Chris Vermeulen (Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR) fought against the hand, ankle and hip injuries he suffered at the previous Imola round during the first day of Magny Cours qualifying, but still finished strongly inside the top ten fastest times of the day. Working to improve rear end traction during corner exit, the team has found the final venue of Magny Cours a real challenge, but one they are confident of conquering before raceday. His time of 1’43.205s compared well with that of surprise fastest rider, Sebastien Gimbert (Yamaha), who set a 1’42.599s lap on his privateer machine.

Vermeulen is fully aware that his pre-race preparations have been compromised by his injuries, and the fact that all his main rivals for the championship itself have tested at Magny Cours this year. Vermeulen is going for the championship title this season, currently 13 points from leader Regis Laconi, and nine from second place rider James Toseland.

Said Vermeulen, “My hand is a little sore but it’s not my biggest problem. My arm is a bit painful under braking but the biggest thing is trying to get the bike working properly. I don’t have a lot of rear traction and we have tried lots of different tyres. Now we have to change the bike to make it work for a tyre. It’s worse out of the slower turns. It’s such a different track and it’s a shame we didn’t get the chance to test here. But what the team is very good at is turning the bike around between Friday and raceday. I’ve got confidence in them.”

Team Manager Ronald Ten Kate, was justifiably satisfied with his team’s best efforts, stated “We’re putting a big effort in to improve the times. We are far from satisfied now, but Chris’s body is reacting fairly well now he has got into the swing of it after a couple of sessions. Adrenaline is taking over. We will be working hard to make up the gap to the guys in front, who have all tested here this year.”

Final qualifying and Superpole take place on Saturday 25th September.

World Superbike Championship
Round 11 / Magny Cours, France
1 – 3 October 2004
1. S. Gimbert, FRA Yamaha YZF R1, 1’42.599
2. J. Toseland, GBR, Ducati 999 F04, 1’42.625
3. R. Laconi, FRA, Ducati 999 F04, 1’42.686
4. S. Martin, AUS, Ducati 999 RS, 1’42.832
5. T. Corser, AUS, Petronas FP1, 1’42.855
6. C. Walker, GBR, Petronas FP1, 1’43. 082
7. C. Vermeulen, AUS, Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR, 1’43.205
8. I. Clementi, ITA, Kawasaki ZX 10, 1’43.235
9. M. Borciani, ITA, Ducati 999 RS, 1’43.367
10. P. Chili, ITA, Ducati 998 RS, 1’43.443




Muggeridge Second and Parkes Fourth After One Day

Karl Muggeridge (Ten Kate Honda CBR600RR) had to leave it late in the first timed session to take second fastest time of the day, with his team-mate Broc Parkes (Ten Kate Honda CBR600RR) in fourth place overall. The session itself was interrupted with just over ten minutes left to run, after another rider’s blown engine left oil on the track.

Muggeridge, the new World Champion in Supersport, had to work his way through a tough first couple of sessions, to set a time of 1’44.230s, only 0.031 seconds from provisional pole man Kevin Curtain (Yamaha). Sebastien Charpentier, on home tarmac, was third fastest, with Parkes’ 1’44.954s good enough for fourth on the provisional grid.

Magny Cours, despite the annoyance of the oil spill, was a warm and welcoming place compared to last year, when low temperatures contrasted with the pleasant 22°C which was experienced this afternoon.

Said Muggeridge of the first day, “I went a bit faster at the very end and that was good, especially because of the problem of oil on the track. I was trying to make sure there was no oil anywhere else and with ten minutes left, there were a lot of people all revved up to go. We had a few things go wrong this morning, and that cost us a lot of time. Even my kneeslider got ripped off at one stage. I don’t know how I managed to set 14 laps this morning – I must have been in and out 14 times to adjust settings and so on. We haven’t quite managed to get the bike to work properly over the bumps, but we will, and when we do it will be really good.”

Parkes was disappointed to be fast early on and then lose some pace in the later stages. “I had a few problems towards the end of the session and I had hoped for a bit better in terms of the lap time. The oil spill on the track did not help and it made me a bit hesitant. The bike feels pretty good and I didn’t change it much from the Imola race. I put in the same times on a race tyre as I did on the softer one I used at the end so I think there is a fair bit still to come.”

Team Manager Ronald Ten Kate made it plain that there was much still to do before raceday. “Both riders are on the front row which is good, but still we have quite a lot to do. The interruption did not help us in some regards but it did give us some time to discuss the set-up and how to make the bike work better. We gained a bit towards the end but the oil on the track did not make the circuit any faster. Nonetheless, I’m happy with our progress. We’ve found we cannot make practice with the same set up as last year. It was cold last year and the warmer conditions have made things much different now.”

World Supersport Championship
Round 10 / Magny Cours, France
1 – 3 October 2004
1. K. Curtain, AUS, Yamaha YZF R6, 1’44.199
2. K. Muggeridge, AUS, Ten Kate Honda CBR600RR, 1’44.230
3. S. Charpentier, FRA, Honda CBR600RR, 1’44.579
4. B. Parkes, AUS, Ten Kate Honda CBR600RR, 1’44.954
5. J. Vd. Goorbergh, NED, Yamaha YZF R6, 1’45.341
6. L. Lanzi, ITA, Ducati 749 R, 1’45.370
7. F. Foret, FRA, Yamaha YZF R6, 1’45.481
8. M. Fabrizio, ITA, Honda CBR600RR, 1’45.750
9. A. Pitt, AUS, Yamaha YZF R6, 1’45.755
10. S. Chambon, FRA, Suzuki GSX-R 600, 1’46.027


More, from a press release issued by Troy Corser’s publicist:

GOOD FIFTH ON DAY ONE!

Troy finished the first day of qualifying at Magny-Cours with the fifth fastest lap of the day and is happy about his prospects for tomorrow. Troy had one new specification engine in one of his two bikes today and was forced to give it a good run through when his other bike suffered throttle problems. The surprise of the day was that provisional pole was set by ‘wild card’ rider Sebastien Gimbert. Gimbert has a lot of track experience though, having recently completed a 24-hour race here, so he should know his way round a bit! Second quickest toady is Briton James Toseland, with his factory Ducati team mate Regis Laconi just behind. Completing the provisional front row is Aussie Steve Martin – also on a Ducati.

TROY – 5th, 1:42.855

One of my two bikes here have a new ‘spec’ engine and normally I would not be putting more miles on it then my regular bike. But my regular bike had some throttle problems, so I had to use the new ‘spec’ one instead. The acceleration felt stronger in both the bottom and mid-range, but it wasn’t as fast at the top end. So tomorrow we will try to make the gearing a bit longer before it peaks out, but we might lose some of the torque. The bike is handling well here and we have not changed too much today. The front tyre seems OK, and the rear tyre is not so different to the one we tested here not long ago. I’m pretty happy to be only two tenths of a second off pole and hope for further improvement tomorrow.

Friday qualifying
1 Gimbert (F-Yamaha) 1:42.599, 2 Toseland (GB-Ducati) 1:42.625, 3 Laconi (F-Ducati) 1:42.686, 4 Martin (Aus-Ducati) 1:42.832, 5 TROY CORSER (AUS-PETRONAS FP1) 1:42.855, 6 Walker (GB-Petronas FP1) 1:43.082, 7 Vermeulen (Aus-Honda) 1:43.205, 8 Clementi (I-Kawasaki) 1:43.235, 9 Borciani (I-Ducati) 1:43.367, 10 Chili (I-Ducati) 1:43.443

Copyright 2004, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Final Qualifying Times:

250cc GP:

1. Sebastian PORTO, Aprilia, 2:02.710
2. Daniel PEDROSA, Honda, 2:03.181
3. Alex DE ANGELIS, Aprilia, 2:03.894
4. Randy DE PUNIET, Aprilia, 2:04.385
5. Toni ELIAS, Honda, 2:04.391
6. Hiroshi AOYAMA, Honda, 2:04.568
7. Franco BATTAINI, Aprilia, 2:04.837
8. Fonsi NIETO, Aprilia, 2:05.364
9. Sylvain GUINTOLI, Aprilia, 2:05.998
10. Anthony WEST, Aprilia, 2:06.244
11. Alex DEBON, Honda, 2:06.425
12. Hector FAUBEL, Aprilia, 2:06.513
13. Chaz DAVIES, Aprilia, 2:06.531
14. Joan OLIVE, Aprilia, 2:06.817
15. Alex BALDOLINI, Aprilia, 2:06.842
16. Roberto ROLFO, Honda, 2:06.862
17. Jakub SMRZ, Honda, 2:06.971
18. Erwan NIGON, Aprilia, 2:07.067
19. Dirk HEIDOLF, Aprilia, 2:07.180
20. Naoki MATSUDO, Yamaha, 2:07.290


125cc GP:

1. Jorge LORENZO, Derbi, 2:09.644
2. Andrea DOVIZIOSO, Honda, 2:09.928
3. Steve JENKNER, Aprilia, 2:10.496
4. Casey STONER, KTM, 2:10.519
5. Roberto LOCATELLI, Aprilia, 2:10.807
6. Pablo NIETO, Aprilia, 2:10.875
7. Marco SIMONCELLI, Aprilia, 2:10.956
8. Julian SIMON, Honda, 2:11.466
9. Mirko GIANSANTI, Aprilia, 2:11.615
10. Mika KALLIO, KTM, 2:11.784
11. Simone CORSI, Honda, 2:11.878
12. Alvaro BAUTISTA, Aprilia, 2:11.977
13. Thomas LUTHI, Honda, 2:12.067
14. Hector BARBERA, Aprilia, 2:12.139
15. Mattia PASINI, Aprilia, 2:12.408