Copyright 2004, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Saturday MotoGP Qualifying Results:

1. Makoto TAMADA, Honda, 1:37.933
2. Max BIAGGI, Honda, 1:38.069
3. John HOPKINS, Suzuki, 1:38.323
4. Marco MELANDRI, Yamaha, 1:38.367
5. Colin EDWARDS, Honda, 1:38.438
6. Valentino ROSSI, Yamaha, 1:38.479
7. Sete GIBERNAU, Honda, 1:38.588
8. Kenny ROBERTS, Suzuki, 1:38.740
9. Alex BARROS, Honda, 1:38.824
10. Carlos CHECA, Yamaha, 1:38.862
11. Shinya NAKANO, Kawasaki, 1:39.157
12. Loris CAPIROSSI, Ducati, 1:39.392
13. Norick ABE, Yamaha, 1:39.635
14. Jeremy McWILLIAMS, Aprilia, 1:39.815
15. Troy BAYLISS, Ducati, 1:39.836
16. Alex HOFMANN, Kawasaki, 1:39.852
17. Neil HODGSON, Ducati, 1:40.202
18. Ruben XAUS, Ducati, 1:40.466
19. Michel FABRIZIO, Aprilia, 1:40.896
20. Nobuatsu AOKI, Proton, 1:41.279
21. James ELLISON, Harris WCM, 1:42.284

Not qualified (Out 107%) 1:44.788

22. Chris BURNS, Harris WCM, 1:48.817



Combined Final MotoGP Qualifying Results:

1. TAMADA, 1:37.933
2. ROSSI, 1:38.036
3. GIBERNAU, 1:38.067
4. BIAGGI, 1:38.069
5. BARROS, 1:38.215
6. HOPKINS, 1:38.323
7. MELANDRI, 1:38.367
8. EDWARDS, 1:38.438
9. ROBERTS, 1:38.740
10. CHECA, 1:38.862
11. CAPIROSSI, 1:39.071
12. NAKANO, 1:39.157
13. BAYLISS, 1:39.279
14. ABE, 1:39.635
15. HODGSON, 1:39.677
16. McWILLIAMS, 1:39.815
17. HOFMANN, 1:39.852
18. XAUS, 1:40.259
19. FABRIZIO, 1:40.586
20. AOKI, 1:41.279
21. ELLISON, 1:42.284
22. BURNS, 1:43.293


More, from a press release issued by Dorna:

Tamada takes debut pole at Estoril

Makoto Tamada took pole position for the first time in his career in a dramatic end to the final qualifying session for the Grande Premio Marlboro de Portugal today. With a wet morning practice limiting grip on the Estoril track surface despite sunny and warm conditions in the afternoon there were barely any changes to the provisional grid as the riders struggled to lower their times from yesterday. However, a stunning last lap from Tamada saw him snatch pole position from Valentino Rossi with a record time of 1’37.933.

“I am very, very happy and I would like to give my thanks to Bridgestone, who came up with a great tyre,” said Tamada, who gave the Japanese rubber manufacturer their first win at Rio three races ago. “I am still a little bit worried about the weather but it should be okay and I am hopeful of a good race tomorrow.”

Rossi and Sete Gibernau both start from the front row despite failing to improve their times, Gibernau lapping over half a second off his pace from yesterday. Max Biaggi came up with a lap which threatened to dislodge his team-mate Tamada from pole position at the very last breath but fell short in the final section and the Italian had to settle for a second row start in fourth place.

Biaggi is joined on the second row by Honda colleague Alex Barros, who was fastest in the morning free practice despite crashing for the second time this weekend, and John Hopkins. Sixth place for the American youngster represents his best grid position for Suzuki since signing at the start of the 2003 season and equals the previous best grid of his career riding a Yamaha in 2002.

Marco Melandri climbed to seventh on the grid after surprising the large Portuguese crowd with a new colour scheme. The flamboyant Italian youngster appeared in ‘Spiderman’ style leathers, boots and helmet, with his Yamaha M1 also decorated in the colours of the comic book hero. Melandri is planning to auction off all the gear, including the fairing of the bike, in aid of the ‘Emergency’ charity, who provide medical relief to war and landmine victims around the world.

Melandri is joined on the third row of the grid by American pair Colin Edwards and Kenny Roberts on a Honda and Suzuki respectively, whilst his Yamaha colleague Carlos Checa completes the top ten. Ducati rider Loris Capirossi, set to make his 100th premier-class start, was another rider unable to improve his provisional time and he starts alongside Checa on the fourth row in eleventh place, just ahead of Shinya Nakano on the Kawasaki.

Dani Pedrosa upstaged his title rivals with a stunning performance in the final qualifying session for the 250cc race, clocking a record lap as both provisional pole holder Sebastian Porto and second placed Toni Elías failed to improve their times from yesterday. Pedrosa’s time of 1’41.417 was 0.221 seconds quicker than the previous record set by Porto and moved him from provisional third to the front of the grid for just the second time this season. Whilst Porto was relegated to second place and Elías third, Randy de Puniet hung on to the remaining front row spot, as fifth placed Alex de Angelis failed to improve his provisional time. De Angelis therefore remains at the head of the second row, where he is joined by Fonsi Nieto, Alex Debon and Manuel Poggiali.

Andrea Dovizioso remained untouched on pole position for the 125cc race and was the fastest rider in the final qualifying session despite failing to improve his provisional time. Casey Stoner was the only rider on the front row to do so and moved up one place to third, relegating Roberto Locatelli to fourth but failing to break up a first ever qualifying one-two for Kopron Team Scot Honda in Dovizioso and Simone Corsi. The main mover further down the grid was Mirko Giansanti, who moved up from thirteenth to sixth to join Marco Simoncelli, Jorge Lorenzo and Steve Jenkner on the second row.


More, from a press release issued by Kawasaki Racing Team:

NAKANO LEADS FUCHS KAWASAKI SQUAD AT ESTORIL

Fuchs Kawasaki rider, Shinya Nakano, qualified his Ninja ZX-RR in twelfth place for tomorrow’s Portuguese Grand Prix at Estoril.

Nakano improved his best time by more than half second this afternoon, to secure a start from the fourth row of the grid tomorrow. Nakano’s Fuchs Kawasaki team-mate, Alex Hofmann, will start the 28-lap Portuguese Grand Prix from 17th position, after carving three-quarters of a second off his previous best time.

Final qualifying was run on a dry and warm track, which was a dramatic contrast to the rain-hit morning free practice session that reduced today’s dry track time to just one hour.

This left Hofmann and his hard working Kawasaki crew little time to solve the front-end set-up problems which had troubled the 24-year-old German yesterday during his first appearance on a four-stroke MotoGP bike at Estoril.

However, by the end of the session, Hofmann was much happier with his ZX-RR set-up for the race on the twisting and technical Estoril circuit. Despite the unsettling process of many pit stops for set-up changes, Hofmann’s efforts took him to within 0.5s of 13th on the grid.

Both Nakano and Hofmann recovered strongly after a troubled first day of qualifying, that had seen Nakano restricted to just one bike after exhaust problems sidelined his preferred ZX-RR machine.

Tomorrow’s race is the 11th round of the MotoGP World Championship, with both Nakano and Hofmann hoping for a repeat of this afternoon’s warm track conditions.

Shinya Nakano: 12th (1’39.157)
“I pushed really hard to get into the top ten, but just missed out in the end. It’s not ideal, but I guess a fourth row start is okay for tomorrow’s race. The front end braking stability is improved from yesterday, although today I lacked some control at the rear. It’s not such a big thing, but I will try to make further improvements with some slightly different engine and suspension settings in warm up tomorrow. After the rain the track felt like it had a little less grip, but I improved my time from yesterday, so I can’t complain. I think we have an excellent race tyre choice for this track tomorrow, as long as conditions stay dry.”

Alex Hofmann: 17th (1’39.852)
“I’m not exactly happy to be back in 17th position on the grid, but with only one hour of dry track time in which to overcome many set-up problems, it could have been a lot worse. At least it was dry this afternoon; if the rain had persisted into qualifying we’d have had some serious problems. It was a tough session, and we had to make a lot of big changes to solve the lack of front end feel I experienced yesterday. But, overall, I made good progress with the settings today, although my final fast lap was not perfect. The times around me on the grid are close, so this gives me some incentive for a competitive race and some points.”

Harald Eckl: Team Manager
“This was a productive day in terms of race set-up and tyre choice, and I think we have the race speed for Shinya to be challenging for a top ten finish. I’m also confident that Alex’s crew have found a set-up on the bike that will allow him to finish in the points tomorrow. Overall, today’s results show the potential of the ZX-RR at this time, and our development focus must continue to be on engine performance and power delivery. I’m hoping for a sunny day tomorrow, because our wet set-up, both bike and tyres, definitely needs more work.”


More, from a press release issued by Gauloises Fortuna Yamaha:

ROSSI ON FRONT ROW FOR PENULTIMATE EUROPEAN ROUND

Valentino Rossi will start from second position on the grid for tomorrow’s Portuguese Grand Prix, after being edged off pole position in the last minute of final qualifying in Estoril. His Gauloises Fortuna Yamaha team-mate Carlos Checa improved his grid position slightly and will start from 10th position tomorrow, at the head of the fourth row.

Checa was one of the first riders to better yesterday’s time, moving from 11th to ninth position with nine minutes left on the clock. As the session drew to a close Rossi still held onto pole position, but then Honda rider Makota Tamada stormed into the top slot with a lap of 1’37.933. Rossi made a small mistake on his flying lap shortly after and could not beat the Japanese rider’s time, leaving him in second place with yesterday’s lap of 1’38.036 still his fastest. Sete Gibernau (Honda) makes up the front row in third position after also failing to improve on yesterday’s time of 1’38.067. Meanwhile Checa was pushed back down one place to 10th, with a final fastest time of 1’38.862.

VALENTINO ROSSI (2nd, 1’38.036)

“The track is a little bit worse than yesterday because last night and this morning it was raining. The surface was dry this afternoon but it wasn’t the same as yesterday. I made a mistake with my qualifying tyre and I couldn’t improve the time from yesterday. However I’m in second position for the start and I’m fairly happy. We had a few problems with the tyres; the rear moves too much after a few laps, so I hope we can improve this for the race.”

CARLOS CHECA (10th, 1’38.862)

“I was not able to use my qualifying tyre as I had expected, so my best lap was done with one of the two possible race tyres I have for tomorrow. I’m still not 100 percent comfortable and we need to try to use the warm-up session tomorrow to try to get a better feeling. My pace is good, but the only handicap is that I will start from the fourth row. This could make turn one a little bit difficult.”

DAVIDE BRIVIO, TEAM DIRECTOR

“A strange day; one session wet, one dry. For sure on positive thing is that we improved our rain settings a lot and had a good session this morning. Yamaha and the team worked very well on this. In the afternoon, despite Valentino not being able to use qualifying tyres in the best way, he stayed on the front row and this is very important for tomorrow. Carlos unfortunately couldn’t move up much from yesterday so will have a difficult race, but I’m sure he’ll try his best to be on top.”


More, from a press release issued by Proton Team KR:

Aoki cuts a second at Estoril

Nobuatsu Aoki: 20th, 1:41.279

Proton Team KR rider Nobuatsu Aoki made the biggest improvement of any MotoGP rider in today’s final qualifying session for tomorrow’s Portuguese GP, cutting more than a second off his previous best lap time. But the Japanese rider remained in 20th position on the grid.

With team-mate Kurtis Roberts out of the race, recuperating from wrist and shoulder fractures sustained at Brno two weeks ago, Aoki is riding alone at the Estoril circuit, the slowest track of the season.

Yesterday he suffered oil control problems with both bikes, but today these were all but solved, with only one bike suffering a slight leak. Unfortunately, it was the machine he preferred, a factor in being unable to improve his grid position.

Another was a near collision with Honda rider Alex Barros, when he was going for a fast lap at the end of the session. Aoki survived without falling, but his chance of further improvement had gone.

Today began with torrential rain, and the free training session took place on a streaming track. With dry weather forecast for tomorrow, this cost all riders set-up time. In Aoki’s case, it meant that while he was able to select a promising race tyre from among the promising new Dunlop developments, he was unable to peform endurance tests. He was hoping for dry weather in tomorrow morning’s race warm-up, to verify his choice.

Tomorrow’s race is the 11th of 16 rounds this season. On the days after the race, Proton Team KR will stay to test, and will run the hybrid KTM-engined Proton KR for the V4 motor’s first serious track tests.

Nobuatsu Aoki
I think I could have made a bigger improvement – a few tenths anyway, except on my last lap Alex Barros passed me on the straight and then he pushed me almost off the track at the first corner. I had some oil problems with the bike with the engine that pushes better, so I had to use the other one, which wasn’t running so well, but in the afternoon I did find a good rear tyre. It might be the race tyre – the grip is better, but I wasn’t able to do enough laps to check the durability. We’ll have to see about that tomorrow morning.

Kenny Roberts – Team Principal
We had a bit of trouble in the dry sessions, and with the rain this morning that has put us a bit behind. We are starting to show some improvement, and it’s even quite competitive in the wet … but everybody else has moved on too.


More, from a press release issued by Camel Honda Racing Informarion:

Makoto Tamada on pole in Estoril. Max Biaggi on second row.
The yellow Camel Honda bikes steal the limelight

It was pole today for Makoto Tamada, the only rider to break the one minute 38 second barrier on the Estoril circuit today. With the fantastic victory at Rio under his belt since July, today Makoto took his Honda onto the most sought after spot on the grid and with it his first ever pole position in the MotoGP World Championships. It was a great result for the entire Camel Honda team, with Max Biaggi fourth and just behind Tamada on the second row, and ready to get involved in the show for what should be a spectacular and hard-fought race tomorrow.

Sito Pons – Camel Honda (Team Principal)
“This is a good team result here at the GP of Portugal, where both our riders showed they have a good rhythm and have ended the session with the fastest and fourth fastest times. I’m very confident about the race therefore and I’m hoping for some stable weather which would allow for a fantastic battle which wouldn’t be affected by the rain. I think the yellow RC211Vs of our Camel Honda team could really shine tomorrow.”

Max Biaggi – Camel Honda (Michelin Tyres) – 4th – 1’38.069
“I’m quite satisfied with today’s practices, even though I missed out on the front row by a whisker. Today the team and Honda together helped us improve the bike’s handling and getting a faster and more efficient weight transfer from the rear to the front. Perhaps this means we lose a bit in the braking zone, because the bike is a little more sharp, but the overall feeling is undoubtedly better. That’s why we were able to ride at a higher pace than yesterday. There’s still a couple of places on the track where I’m losing time though, and in tomorrow’s warm-up we will try to fine-tune the set-up a bit more. Of course, the big thing will be the weather, which like today could change radically in an instant, from rain to sun or vice versa. In any case, as ever I’ll give my all to do a good race.”

Gianluca Montiron – Camel Honda – (Makoto Tamada Team Manager)
“We have worked a great deal on the bike’s set-up even during the morning rain. In the afternoon session we were then able to optimise these settings, and that allowed Makoto to take his first ever pole in his career, but not only that, also to a good pace which will see him as one of the leading lights tomorrow. After a series of races having to make up ground due to a less than ideal grid position, Makoto is right at the front tomorrow, and he can run the race as he likes best, up there fighting with the leaders.”

Makoto Tamada – Camel Honda (Bridgestone Tyres) – 1st – 1’37.933
“I had already made sure of a good grid position yesterday in case it rained today. So then today I concentrated on improving the bike for the race. After this morning’s rain, we did a huge amount of work this afternoon and the results came straight away. The tyres I used to get pole were fantastic but I’ve also tried some interesting tyres for the race tomorrow. With the weather unstable today we haven’t been able to do an endurance test on them, but I’m confident about the race, I think it will go well. I’m starting from the very front, and I’ll be able to get involved in the battle with the top guys straight away which will be fun and that’s how I love to race.”


More, from a press release issued by Telefonica Movistar Honda/Gresini Racing:

HOMEWORK STILL TO DO IN THE WARM-UP

Sete Gibernau kept his date with the front row of the grid (9 out of 11 so far) at the Portuguese Grand Prix, which was swamped by even more Spanish fans than ever today. However, the Telefónica MoviStar rider was unable to improve his best time from yesterday and tomorrow’s 20-minute warm up session will be important to the preparations for the race. The final qualifying practice was a complicated affair, with several changes to the setting of the bike not giving the expected results. The session was openly contested, with the first four riders within a tenth of a second. American rider Colin Edwards knocked three tenths of a second off his time from yesterday and lines up on the third row of the grid.


SETE GIBERNAU (3rd, 1’38″067): “We haven’t completed the job as we would have liked today – it was a tough session, a lot of things were done but we haven’t made the necessary steps forward to find a good rhythm. Now we have! to sit down with the team and find out why because I actually felt better yesterday than I did today. We will have to work hard tonight and decide what solution to go for tomorrow, and Michelin will have to help us as well with the tyres. It will be a hard race and I just need to improve on the rhythm I had yesterday.”


COLIN EDWARDS (7th, 1’38″738): “We have changed a few small things on the bike, working from the base we found yesterday. I feel better on the bike but we’ve still got chattering, especially on race tyres. We still haven’t chosen the tyre for the race but I think we’ll go soft. Even though there’s less grip, at least the chattering isn’t so bad. I think the race rhythm will be around 39″5 but it will be tough to stick with the pace from half distance.”


FAUSTO GRESINI (team manager): “We had a bit of everything today – rain in the morning and sun in the afternoon. Sete’s crash in the free practice was nothing really, but even though we tried to improve the setting of the bike, the times didn’t come. Hopefully tomorrow we can find that little bit we are missing to go into the race with the best possible chance. Colin improved his time and will start from eighth but we are looking for more improvements from him in the morning.”


More, from a press release issued by Ducati Corse:

Ducati Marlboro men ready for tough race

Ducati Marlboro Team riders Loris Capirossi and Troy Bayliss completed this afternoon’s final qualifying session for the Marlboro Portuguese GP in 11th and 13th positions, suggesting that they have a tough day ahead of them tomorrow.
Yet again the weekend has been disrupted by changeable weather conditions which greatly complicate the art of achieving the best-possible bike set-up. Yesterday started damp and this morning’s session was run in pouring rain, the sun finally shining during final qualifying. Engineers reckon that this morning’s rain, which followed an overnight downpour, have robbed the track of some of its grip, which is why nine riders, almost half the grid, didn’t improve their Friday lap times this afternoon. Sixth of 11 races so far this year have been effected by rain.

“It’s been a strange and difficult day,” said Ducati Marlboro Team director Livio Suppo. “And it’s a pity that at the moment we seem to have stopped making the positive trend we had made at the last few races. From Assen onward we had been making improvements but we’ve not been able to maintain that progress here. Neither of our riders improved their times from the first qualifying session and Loris wasn’t as quick as last year when he got pole. But it was a strange session because a lot of other riders also didn’t improve on yesterday’s pace, which is very unusual. Anyway we will now check our data and go from there. Thanks as always to our riders who are still giving us 100 per cent as always. And thanks too for the continued support of our technical partners Michelin and Shell Advance.”

Capirossi preparing for 100th premier-class GP
Loris Capirossi this afternoon qualified for his 100th premier-class GP on the fourth row of the grid after failing to improve on his Friday best. Like many other riders the Ducati Marlboro Team man found the track more slippery than yesterday.

“I think the lack of dry track time has caused us more difficulties than the others because our bike is a bit difficult to set up at the moment,” explained the Italian. “Also the track was more slippery than it was yesterday. We tried a different set-up today but it didn’t give us what we wanted, so we went back to yesterday’s settings. Thus we hope to exploit tomorrow’s morning warm-up. If we make some good adjustments I think we can run up front, so long as the pace isn’t much faster that high one minute 39s.”

Bayliss has plans for morning warm-up
Ducati Marlboro Team rider Troy Bayliss will start the Marlboro Portuguese from the fifth row of the grid. But Ducati’s former World Superbike champion does have a few ideas to improve things in morning warm-up. Bayliss escaped unscathed from a minor spill in this morning’s wet session.

“This afternoon was a strange session, we struggled a bit,” said the Australian. “The track seemed to be down a little on grip, but that was the same for everyone. Tomorrow morning we’ll make a few changes to see if we can make the bike a bit better. We’ll make a few suspension adjustments and make one bike a bit longer because this track has got a few fast, bumpy corners which make the bike shake its head, making it difficult to put a good lap together. If we don’t make it better, it’s going to be a hard day.”


More, from a press release issued by Team Suzuki:

HOPKINS AIMS FOR ASSEN ROSTRUM
Team Suzuki Press Office, Estoril, Portugal – September 4, 2004.

Team Suzuki MotoGP rider John Hopkins put his head down and held his Suzuki GSV-R’s throttle wide to set third-fastest time in the final timed qualifying session for tomorrow’s Portuguese GP, making the most of the bright sunshine to slash half-a-second off his previous best lap time in a session when almost half the riders failed to improve.

Team-mate Kenny Roberts Jr. made an improvement of three tenths to place eighth in the session, but was left with more work to do after niggling problems spoiled his progress.

Hopkins ended up sixth overall, taking yesterday’s times into account and will start from the second row of the grid. This is a significant boost after he had been among the fastest riders in the dry at the previous round at Brno, but had to start from 21st position because of rain in the timed qualifying sessions.

The 21-year-old Anglo-American rider was highly satisfied with his position after spending time in the session circulating with the world championship leaders Gibernau and Rossi and finding no problems in matching their pace. Roberts still had work to do with machine settings with the wet morning session proving costly to progress in this respect.

Roberts was one row back, placing ninth overall, with a brainstorming technical session ahead to try to make up for lost time in his troubled practice sessions.

Tomorrow’s race, round the track with the slowest average speed of the year, is expected to take place in dry weather. The 11th of 16 World Championship rounds, the Portuguese GP, marks the end of the European season.

JOHN HOPKINS – Sixth position, 1:38.479:

“We put a good session together this afternoon. We made some changes from yesterday that definitely helped out and I’m definitely thankful it was dry in the afternoon so we could test them properly. I made two or three runs adding up to 18 or 20 laps on the race tyres we picked out yesterday to check them out and I was able to run low-end 39s and a couple of 40s consistently. On one of my runs I was following Rossi and had no problems to stay with him. Another time I caught and passed Gibernau. These are the guys I want to be racing with tomorrow. It’s nice to start on the second row instead of 21st. I’ll aim to get away with the lead group and see if I can end up on the podium.”

KENNY ROBERTS Jr. – Ninth position, 1:38.740:

“We’ve had a lot of problems with things this weekend that sneaked up and caught us off guard. Nobody’s to blame because that’s racing, but it meant I wasn’t able to put any runs together. I’m not happy with the bike on race tyres. We’ve had very little dry time and at one point I was down to one bike and we didn’t have things on that bike that we thought we had. We’re going to have a meeting right now to see what we can do. There were some issues with the ignition. It was doing some funny things that were really throwing me. I need the back wheel to turn at the same rate I am opening the throttle and at the moment it’s not doing that so I’m not happy with that.”

GARRY TAYLOR – Team Manager:

“John is finally putting his injuries behind him and showing the strong form and potential he did during winter testing. Kenny is very close behind in spite of having had a lot of frustration in his practice sessions. Both are starting a lot nearer the front than at Brno and I’m sure they can both build on that.”


More, from a press release issued by MS Aprilia:

McWilliams makes big strides in Portugal


MS Aprilia Racing’s Jeremy McWilliams is confident he can add to his 2004 MotoGP world championship points tally in tomorrow’s Estoril GP.

The British rider knocked 0.899s off his provisional time to end up in 16th position on the grid for tomorrow’s 28-lap clash at the 4.1km Portuguese venue. Only one other rider managed to slash more time from their provisional best, and McWilliams was much more upbeat after he’d struggled to qualify 19th yesterday. Today he was only denied a top 15 grid placing in the closing seconds.

McWilliams said: “That was more like it. I was so far off yesterday I thought there was no way we would be able to turn it around. I would not have believed we could have got so close to a decent set-up. At least I’m not praying for rain anymore like I was yesterday. We took it steady in the rain this morning and didn’t take any risks, and after this afternoon I’m happy that we’ve a set-up that will let me challenge for the points no matter what the conditions are like for the race. I’m still struggling with a bit of chatter in T3 and T4. It is particularly bad in the last section. I just get chatter in the middle of the corner, especially in the slower stuff.”

Speaking about an experimental Alpinestars leather suit, which McWilliams tested in both morning free practice sessions this weekend, he said: “It has lots of sensors that are designed to monitor body motion. They gauge how much force the body is under inside the leathers. There are also impact sensors at the crash points where you are most likely to hit the body in a crash. I can’t think why they gave it to me to test.”

Italian Aprilia debutant Michel Fabrizio is hoping he can claim a top 15 finish on his one-off RS3 Cube ride. This morning’s torrential downpours only served to steepen the learning curve for the 19-year-old, who had never ridden the Cube in wet conditions. He’s never used Michelin’s wet tyres before either, and in this afternoon’s dry final qualifying, he dropped down to 19th position. “It wasn’t a bad second day, “said the former European Superstock champion. “I missed the chance to better my time on the qualifying tyre and I lost the tow with some of the riders in front of me. I pushed to improve my time but I just couldn’t manage it. I am still satisfied and I’ll start the race in a positive frame of mind. I just hope to be able to learn a lot and that will be the end of my adventure – for the time being it will be anyway.”


More, from a press release issued by d’Antin Ducati:

A DIFFICULT DAY FOR HODGSON AND XAUS

Estoril (Portugal) – The d´Antin MotoGP riders were unable to improve their times as hoped in the second day of qualifying at the Portuguese Grand Prix today. Neil Hodgson ended up in fifteenth place with teammate Rubén Xaus eighteenth on the grid, meaning a fifth and sixth row start respectively for the duo.

The morning free practice session took place in the wet, when suddenly the climate changed completely for the afternoon qualifying session, with bright sunshine throughout, but the timesheets didn’t see many changes until the final few moments.

NEIL HODGSON only managed to improve his impressive Friday time by a few thousandths of a second, “We’ve tried many things and aimed to change the set-up, but we’ve gone in the wrong direction and we didn’t get the results we wanted to. I’m a little unhappy really because everything went well yesterday and I hoped to make more progress today, although I’m confident that tomorrow things will go right again.”

RUBEN XAUS meanwhile was unable to improve his qualifying time from Friday, “I’m a little frustrated because we had a few technical hitches and I spent a lot of time in the pit garage. I couldn’t do that much because you lose your concentration a bit after that and when I finally got out and tried to set a good time, there was a lot of traffic on the track, and it was impossible to get a good lap in. I was very hopeful before this session and that hope still remains for tomorrow.”


More, from a press release issued by John Hopkins’ publicist:

HOPKINS MATCHES CAREER-BEST QUALIFYING RESULT AT PORTUGUESE GP

ESTORIL, Portugal – Suzuki’s young gun John Hopkins matched his career-best MotoGP qualifying performance by earning a second row starting position for Sunday’s Portuguese Motorcycle Grand Prix at Estoril. Hopkins’ time of one minute, 38.323-seconds on the 4.2-kilometer Estoril c

Copyright 2004, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Saturday Morning’s Provisional AMA Superstock Practice Times:

1. Aaron Gobert, Yam YZF-R1, 1:24.597
2. Ben Spies, Suz GSX-R600, 1:24.856
3. Jason DiSalvo, Yam YZF-R1, 1:25.455
4. Tommy Hayden, Kaw ZX-10R, 1:25.561
5. Jamie Hacking, Yam YZF-R1, 1:25.694
6. Roger Lee Hayden, Kaw ZX-10R, 1:25.884
7. John Haner, Suz GSX-R1000, 1:26.156
8. Damon Buckmaster, Yam YZF-R1, 1:26.248
9. Josh Hayes, Kaw ZX-10R, 1:26.460
10. Jason Pridmore, Suz GSX-R1000, 1:26.744
11. Eric Wood, Suz GSX-R1000, 1:27.266
12. Vincent Haskovec, Suz GSX-R750, 1:27.275
13. Steve Rapp, Suz GSX-R750, 1:27.565
14. Alex Gobert, Hon CBR1000RR, 1:27.966
15. Jeff Tigert, Hon CBR1000RR, 1:28.523
16. Jesse Janisch, Suz GSX-R1000, 1:28.756
17. Scott Greenwood, Suz GSX-R1000, 1:29.171
18. Jason Curtis, Suz GSX-R1000, 1:29.862
19. J.J. Roetlin, Suz GSX-R1000, 1:30.536
20. James Kerker, Hon CBR1000RR, 1:31.950
21. Kevin Pate, Yam YZF-R1, 1:32.058
22. Michael McAllister, Hon CBR1000RR, 1:34.227
23. Johnny Rock Page, Yam YZF-R1, 1:34.491
24. David McPherson, Yam YZF-R1, 1:34.808
25. Dave Loikits, Suz GSX-R1000, 1:35.839
26. Tony Larocca, Suz GSX-R1000, 1:44.907

Copyright 2004, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Saturday Morning’s Provisional AMA Formula Xtreme Practice Times:

1. Miguel Duhamel, Hon CBR600RR, 1:26.870
2. Jake Zemke, Hon CBR600RR, 1:27.231
3. Vincent Haskovec, Suz GSX-R600, 1:27.773
4. Jason Pridmore, Suz GSX-R600, 1:28.073
5. Doug Chandler, Duc 749R, 1:28.237
6. Alex Gobert, Hon CBR600RR, 1:28.620
7. Chris Caylor, Suz GSX-R600, 1:29.156
8. Mike Ciccotto, Buell XB12R, 1:29.235
9. Larry Pegram, Yam YZF-R6, 1:29.348
10. Michael Barnes, Buell XB12R, 1:29.742
11. Heath Small, Yam YZF-R6, 1:30.857
12. Logan Young, Suz GSX-R600, 1:31.045
13. Blake Young, Suz GSX-R600, 1:31.060
14. Mike Smith, Yam YZF-R6, 1:31.141
15. Jason Farrell, Kaw ZX-6RR, 1:31.714
16. Chris Peris, Suz GSX-R600, 1:31.577
17. Perry Melneciuc, Yam YZF-R6, 1:32.043
18. Carlo Gagliardo, Yam YZF-R6, 1:32.056
19. Tom Montano, Hon CBR600RR, 1:32.154
20. Darren Eli Edwards, Suz GSX-R600, 1:32.210

Copyright 2004, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Saturday Afternoon World Superbike Practice Times:

1. Pierfrancesco Chili, Ducati 998RS, 2:03.334
2. Noriyuki Haga, Ducati 999RS, 2:04.043
3. Chris Vermeulen, Honda CBR1000RR, 2:04.091
4. James Toseland, Ducati 999F04, 2:04.256
5. Troy Corser, Foggy Petronas FP1, 2:04.570
6. Gianluca Nannelli, Ducati 998RS, 2:04.698
7. Regis Laconi, Ducati 999F04, 2:04.873
8. Leon Haslam, Ducati 999RS, 2:05.052
9. Lucio Pedercini, Ducati 998RS, 2:05.175
10. Garry McCoy, Ducati 999RS, 2:05.359
11. Marco Borciani, Ducati 999RS, 2:05.480
12. Steve Martin, Ducati 999RS, 2:05.770
13. Giovanni Bussei, Ducati 998RS, 2:05.778
14. Chris Walker, Foggy Petronas FP1, 2:05.853
15. Piergiorgio Bontempi, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 2:06.683
16. Mauro Sanchini, Kawasaki ZX-10R, 2:06.943
17. Ivan Clementi, Kawasaki ZX-10R, 2:07.369
18. Sergio Fuertes, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 2:07.814
19. Warwick Nowland, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 2:07.973
20. Alessio Velini, Yamaha YZF-R1, 2:08.769

Copyright 2004, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Yoshimura Suzuki’s Mat Mladin took a narrow victory over American Honda’s Miguel Duhamel in AMA Superbike race one during the Suzuki Superbike Showdown at Road Atlanta in Braselton, Georgia Saturday.

Mladin took control of the re-started race early and held a one-second lead over Duhamel for much of the final 19 laps of the 25-lap event. Mladin extended his lead late with the help of lapped traffic, but backmarkers in the final turns allowed Duhamel to erase all of Mladin’s advantage and challenge for the lead. Slicing through a battling group of three slower riders, Mladin crossed the finish line 0.4 second ahead of Duhamel.

Duhamel’s teammate Ben Bostrom came back from a bad start to finish third, eight seconds behind the lead pair. Erion Honda’s Jake Zemke edged out Yoshimura Suzuki’s Aaron Yates for fourth by a fraction of a second.

John Haner finished sixth, top privateer, on his Hooters Suzuki GSX-R1000, well clear of Prieto Racing’s Geoff May, Haner’s teammate Eric Wood, KWS Millennium Suzuki’s Shawn Higbee and NASTI’s Chris “Opie” Caylor, 10th.

Eric Bostrom crashed out of the race shortly after the original start, coming off the highside of his Ducati Austin 999F04 and injuring his right shoulder.

The first portion of the race was stopped when Josh Hayes (who was racing with Zemke for fifth) highsided his Attack Kawasaki ZX-10R in the new turn three/four chicane, spilling synthetic fluids on the track and causing a lengthy clean-up delay. Hayes’ crew repaired his motorcycle, allowing him to make the re-start from the back of the grid, but a flat tire forced Hayes to retire early.

Provisional AMA Superbike Race One Results:

1. Mat Mladin, Suz GSX-R1000, 25 laps
2. Miguel Duhamel, Hon CBR1000RR, -0.400 second
3. Ben Bostrom, Hon CBR1000RR, -8.056 seconds
4. Jake Zemke, Hon CBR1000RR, -9.382 seconds
5. Aaron Yates, Suz GSX-R1000, -9.746 seconds
6. John Haner, Suz GSX-R1000, -60.593 seconds
7. Geoff May, Suz GSX-R1000, -66.469 seconds
8. Eric Wood, Suz GSX-R1000, -67.091 seconds
9. Shawn Higbee, Suz GSX-R1000, -68.778 seconds
10. Chris Caylor, Suz GSX-R1000, -1 lap
11. Brian Stokes, Suz GSX-R1000, -1 lap
12. Mike Smith, Yam YZF-R1, -1 lap
13. Chuck Sorensen, Yam YZF-R1, -1 lap
14. Byron Barbour, Suz GSX-R1000, -1 lap
15. Jesse Janisch, Suz GSX-R1000, -1 lap
16. J.J. Roetlin, Suz GSX-R1000, -1 lap
17. Andrew Deatherage, Suz GSX-R1000, -1 lap
18. David Weber, Suz GSX-R1000, -1 lap
19. Jeremy Toye, Yam YZF-R1, -1 lap
20. Cory West, Suz GSX-R1000, -1 lap
21. Reuben Frankenfield, Suz GSX-R1000, -1 lap
22. Roger Bell, Suz GSX-R1000, -1 lap
23. Matt Lynn, Suz GSX-R1000, -1 lap
24. Dean Mizdal, Suz GSX-R1000, -1 lap
25. C.R. Gittere, Suz GSX-R1000, -1 lap
26. Marty Craggill, Suz GSX-R1000
27. Josh Hayes, Kaw ZX-10R, DNF, mechanical
28. Larry Pegram, Yam YZF-R1, DNF, mechanical
29. Mark Ledesma, Hon CBR1000RR, DNF
30. Lee Acree, Suz GSX-R1000, DNF, mechanical
31. Chris Ulrich, Suz GSX-R1000, DNF
32. Jake Holden, Suz GSX-R1000, DNF, mechanical
33. Heath Small, Yam YZF-R1, DNF
34. Jeff Tigert, Hon CBR1000, DNF
35. Jason Curtis, Suz GSX-R1000, DNF, mechanical
36. Eric Bostrom, Duc 999F04, DNF, crash
37. Jason Pridmore, Suz GSX-R1000, DNS
38. Scott Greenwood, Szu GSX-R1000, DNS


More, from a press release issued by Parts Unlimited Ducati Austin:

EARLY EXIT FOR BOSTROM IN RACE 1 AT ROAD ATLANTA

Braselton (Georgia) – September 4, 2004: Parts Unlimited Ducati Austin’s Eric Bostrom saw his Saturday at Road Atlanta end unexpectedly after a crash on the first lap of the race put him out of the event.

“I was trying to make a pass and highsided. I’m not sure if I got into the marbles or what, but the rear came all the way around on me. It’s a real shame, because the Parts Unlimited Ducati Austin team was going good this weekend. I think we would have been up there in the race. Our times on race tires were consistent,” explained Eric.

Although he ran as high as third on the Ducati 999R during Saturday’s qualifying session, Bostrom eventually took seventh spot and was trying to continue his string of good starts in 2004 when he fell.

“I’m in a bit of pain,” Bostrom said after the race. “I’m not sure what we’re going to do for tomorrow but I’m going to see Doug Polen’s doctor. I have some extra hardware in there from my Laguna Seca crash last year so I want to be careful with the shoulder.”

“Things looked promising after some good lap times on race tires in the morning compared to the other riders,” said Racing Manager Tom Bodenbach. “We’ll see what Eric’s condition is in the morning and see how things turn out for tomorrow’s race.”

Race two of the doubleheader at Road Atlanta is scheduled for tomorrow at 3:00 EDT.

RACE: 1. Mladin (Suzuki); 2. Duhamel (Honda); 3. B Bostrom (Honda); 4. Zemke (Honda); 5. Yates (Suzuki); 6. Haner (Suzuki); etc.


More, from a press release issued by Mat Mladin Motorsports:

MLADIN EXTENDS AMERICAN SUPERBIKE SERIES LEAD WITH SEVENTH WIN OF THE SEASON

Braselton, Georgia, USA (Saturday, 4 September) – Hot on the heels of his lap record breaking run during yesterday’s opening qualifying session for this weekend’s double header American AMA Chevrolet Superbike Championship round at Road Atlanta, Australian Mat Mladin blasted that record even further during today’s final session before turning that pole position into his seventh race win of the season later in the afternoon.

Mladin and his Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000 have been the fastest combination around the fast 4.087km (2.54miles) Georgian circuit since Friday’s opening session, culminating in his 37th career AMA Superbike pole position.

His time of 1-min 22.065-secs shattered his pole winning time from last year by 1.455 of a second and set the foundations for today’s 25-lap Superbike national.

Chasing teammate Aaron Yates, Mladin moved into the race lead on lap two and held that position till lap seven when the race was red flagged due to a fluids left on the circuit after Kawasaki’s Josh Hayes crashed at Turn Four. After a considerable delay to clear the debris from the circuit, Mladin again had to work his way past Yates on the restart, taking the lead on lap two. Once out front, the four-times American champion controlled the pace of the race, working his way steadily through lapped traffic and maintaining his margin over second placed Miguel DuHamel (Honda). The final lap saw Mladin caught in traffic, allowing DuHamel to close the gap significantly, but Mladin held his place at the front, crossing the line 0.400 of a second clear of his rival. The pair finished well clear of a battling trio consisting of Ben Bostrom (Honda), Jake Zemke (Honda) and Yates.

Mladin was pleased that the hard work and effort that his team have put in recently was paying off on the track, not only during qualifying, but also under race conditions.

“Qualifying was good for us, it’s always great to get that extra point, especially as we put a good lap together,” said Mladin. “We put a qualifier in and got a good lap on that tyre. Suzuki Japan along with our Yoshimura team have been working really hard over the past few months and if it wasn’t for that, this championship would have been much harder to chase. That hard work is what winning championships is all about.”

“It was also good to come away with maximum points from the race this afternoon, allowing us to open up a 32-point break over our nearest rival (Zemke) and hopefully we can repeat that again tomorrow.”

“Today’s race did go according to plan somewhat for us. Miguel managed to hang on throughout the race. He was about a second or so back and I had a comfortable break over him heading into the last lap, but we came across three backmarkers in the last chicane that saw the gap between us drop to 0.4 of a second as we crossed the line.”

“I don’t think that we need to change much on the bike for tomorrow’s race. It felt really good pout there today, but we’re getting to a point now in the championship where we have to start thinking about it a little bit, so we’ll just see how tomorrow pans out.”

With fifteen of the scheduled eighteen races that make up this year’s championship now complete, Mladin heads into tomorrow’s 25-lapper holding a 32-poin lead over Zemke (495 – 463), with DuHamel maintaining his third place with a total of 445 points.


More, from a press release issued by Proforma:

ACREE AND CAYLOR RUN STRONG AT ROAD ATLANTA

Suzuki teammates Lee Acree and Opie Caylor had opposite results on Saturday at round ten of the Chevrolet Superbike Series at Road Atlanta. Opie finished seventh in the Formula Xtreme final and tenth in the Superbike final, while Lee had to pull out of the Superbike race when his bike quit after running as high as seventh place.

Opie Caylor
Saturday’s Lockhart Phillips USA Formula Xtreme Final – 7th Place

Opie got a bad first start, but got a second chance when the race was red-flagged on the first lap. “The second start was a little bit better, but I’m still struggling, getting used to launching this slipper clutch,” said Opie. “I had to work my way back through as far as I could. I caught Mike Smith and passed him. He and I started going back and forth. The white flag lap came out and I said, ‘This is it, I gotta go’. I got by him on the brakes and we both got into ten deeper than I think we wanted. I made a mistake and got both feet off the pegs at one point going in. It ended up we were right there together.”

Saturday’s Chevrolet Superbike Final – 10th Place

“I thought to myself at one point, ‘The Georgia boys are going at it!’, said Opie after a race-long battle with fellow Georgians Mike Smith and Brian Stokes. “We didn’t change our front tire at the red flag, and it really started to shred about halfway into the restart. Luckily, Brian and Smitty started battling and slowed the pace down. I just hung in there and waited for the white flag. My bike was maybe a tad quicker than theirs, and I knew I had that card to play. All I had to do was put that last lap together. I got Brian going into turn one, and I passed Smith on the back straightaway.”

Lee Acree
Saturday’s Chevrolet Superbike Final – DNF

Lee’s crew was still diganosing on Saturday evening what caused his bike to stop running.


More, from a press release issued by Proforma:

HANER FINISHES SEASON BEST SIXTH IN SUPERBIKE AT ROAD ATLANTA

John Haner of Hooters Suzuki finished sixth in Saturday’s Superbike race at round ten of the AMA Chevrolet Superbike Championship at Road Atlanta. John got two of his typically great starts in the red-flagged race, and ran as high as fifth during the first lap of the second leg. John settled into a pace on his Superstock-spec Suzuki GSX-R1000 that pulled him away from the rest of the field.

Saturday’s Chevrolet Superbike Final – 6th Place

“I was joking with Jake (Zemke) on the starting line, and I told him I was gonna lead until turn five, and he could pass me on the straightaway if he wanted to,” said John with a laugh. “But everyone seemed to get a good start that time. I think I was fifth, and the factory bikes came on by. Three laps into it Josh (Hayes) came by down the back straightaway just moving. I tried to hang on with him as much as I could, but he was gapping me about 20 yards a lap. I guess something happened to Josh, and I ended up having a pretty long race by myself.”


More, from a press release issued by Proforma:

SHAWN HIGBEE FINISHES NINTH IN SATURDAY SUPERBIKE AT ROAD ATLANTA

Shawn Higbee of the Millennium Technologies Suzuki team finished ninth in today’s Superbike race during round ten of the AMA Chevrolet Superbike Championship at Road Atlanta.

Shawn Higbee
Saturday’s Chevrolet Superbike Final – 9th Place

“The finish was good,” said Higbee. “I felt like I ran pretty consistent. Before the restart, I was struggling with the bike being stable. During the red flag, we changed the steering damper, and that made it better. We might try different gearing tomorrow. I was bumped up against the limiter a couple of times.”


More, from a press release issued by Proforma:

GEOFF MAY FINISHES SEVENTH IN SUPERBIKE #1 AT ROAD ATLANTA

Geoff May was back into the top ten again in Superbike on Saturday at Road Atlanta, site of round ten of the AMA Chevrolet Superbike Championship. Geoff battled with Lee Acree, Larry Pegram and Eric Wood throughout the red-flagged race. Geoff continues to hold down a solid sixth place in season Superbike points.

Saturday’s Chevrolet Superbike Final – 7th Place

“That was a tough race,” said Geoff. “I definitely had to earn that one. Eric Wood definitely didn’t give that one up to me. I just kept my head down the whole time. Those guys were leaving me on the back straightaway, but luckily I could make it up on the brakes.”


More, from a press release issued by Proforma:

HEATH SMALL HAS ANOTHER STRONG FINISH IN FORMULA XTREME AT ROAD ATLANTA

Heath Small of HAS/Shogun Racing finished ninth in today’s Formula Xtreme final at Road Atlanta, and continues to hold down seventh place in season points. Heath was not able to finish the Superbike race after the Yamaha R1 he was riding began to overheat.

Saturday’s Lockhart Phillips USA Formula Xtreme Final – 9th Place

“We went out and just tried to run the best race we could,” said Heath. “We didn’t have the motor we wanted for this weekend. Due to (crew chief) Dave Sanders getting hurt, we had to run a Supersport motor in the bike. I really just tried to watch and stay behind Blake (Young), I knew he had more power than me. I couldn’t even stay in his draft down the back straightaway. I thought, ‘I don’t want to pass him too close to the straightaway, because I want to try to get a gap’. So I went inside him on the white flag lap into turn one, and I just tried to ride as hard as I could. We came down out of seven, and he went past me before we even got to the kink.”

Saturday’s Chevrolet Superbike Final – DNF

Heath completed only six laps before his bike began to overheat and lose power. Heath pulled into the pits in the interest of safety.

Copyright 2004, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Final World Supersport Qualifying Results:

1. Sebastien Charpentier, Honda CBR600RR, 2:06.930
2. Karl Muggeridge, Honda CBR600RR, 2:07.539
3. Kevin Curtain, Yamaha YZF-R6, 2:07.596
4. Broc Parkes, Honda CBR600RR, 2:07.638
5. Andrew Pitt, Yamaha YZF-R6, 2:07.820
6. Alessio Corradi, Honda CBR600RR, 2:07.846
7. Fabien Foret, Yamaha YZF-R6, 2:07.904
8. Jurgen Vd Goorbergh, Yamaha YZF-R6, 2:08.135
9. Matteo Baiocco, Yamaha YZF-R6, 2:08.641
10. Max Neukirchner, Honda CBR600RR, 2:08.867
11. Kai Borre Andersen, Kawasaki ZX-6RR, 2:08.908
12. Werner Daemen, Honda CBR600RR, 2:08.934
13. Arie Vos, Kawasaki ZX-6RR, 2:09.059
14. Katsuaki Fujiwara, Suzuki GSX-R600, 2:09.121
15. Lorenzo Lanzi, Ducati 749R, 2:09.129
16. Stephane Chambon, Suzuki GSX-R600, 2:09.213
17. Jarno Janssen, Suzuki GSX-R600, 2:09.287
18. Matthieu Lagrive, Suzuki GSX-R600, 2:09.409
19. Stefano Cruciani, Kawasaki ZX-6RR, 2:09.514
20. Christian Kellner, Yamaha YZF-R6, 2:09.580


More, from a press release issued by Yamaha Racing:

SUPERB FRONT ROW FOR PITT ON DEBUT

Yamaha Racing Italia guest rider Andrew Pitt surprised everybody by posting the third quickest time in qualifying and with it, a place on the front row of the grid. Despite only four forty-minute sessions on the Yamaha Racing Italia R6, Pitt managed to get in the groove quickly and get to grips with his Pirelli tyres straightaway. Fabien Foret was another star today – despite broken bones in his right ankle, he grittily set the sixth best time of the day. Championship hopeful Jurgen van den Goorbergh ran out of time in final qualifying, but is well-placed alongside his team mate Foret on the second row of the grid. Australian Karl Muggeridge continued his domination of qualifying and took pole position – his seventh in eight races this season.

ANDREW PITT – 3rd, 2:07.038

During my fastest lap, I was held up a little by a couple of slow riders and who knows what would have happened if I’d been able to complete the lap without any problems? But I’m on the front row of the grid and that’s all that matters really. The Yamaha Racing Italia team is very professional and it’s been a dream racing for them here. The technicians have helped me a lot to understand the bike and make it work for me – especially the front and rear suspension. The Hondas are very fast, but I hope to make a good start and stay with them until the end.

FABIEN FORET – 6th, 2:07.165

I’m racing here thanks to the skill and support from guys in the Clinica Mobile and my French physio Bernard. He has helped me tremendously here and in the past few weeks. It’s difficult riding with a broken ankle and now I’ve got to see how it will stand up to a full race distance. But my aim is to try and finish – at the very least.

JURGEN VD GOORBERGH – 7th, 2:07.301

My race pace is very good and I’m happy about that. I lost the front row because we ran out of time and I wasn’t able to try my last tyre. I’m not worried about being on the second row at all, because I know I can ride an aggressive race here and get a good result.

CLAUDIO CONSONNI (Racing Manager)

The choice to put Andrew Pitt in this race to help Jurgen was the right choice. He’s very fast and we’re giving him the right conditions so that he can help Jurgen. The race will be very hard, but our Yamahas are more than ready to fight it out with the Hondas.

Copyright 2004, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

World Superbike Superpole Results:

1. Pierfrancesco Chili, Ducati 998RS, 2:03.103
2. James Toseland, Ducati 999F04, 2:03.755
3. Regis Laconi, Ducati 999F04, 2:03.856
4. Chris Vermeulen, Honda CBR1000RR, 2:04.018
5. Leon Haslam, Ducati 999RS, 2:04.266
6. Marco Borciani, Ducati 999RS, 2:04.280
7. Noriyuki Haga, Ducati 999RS, 2:04.654
8. Gianluca Nannelli, Ducati 998RS, 2:04.681
9. Troy Corser, Foggy Petronas FP1, 2:04.831
10. Lucio Pedercini, Ducati 998RS, 2:05.183
11. Giovanni Bussei, Ducati 998RS, 2:05.276
12. Garry McCoy, Ducati 999RS, 2:05.276
13. Ivan Clementi, Kawasaki ZX-10R, 2:05.807
14. Chris Walker, Foggy Petronas FP1, 2:06.436
15. Mauro Sanchini, Kawasaki ZX-10R, 2:06.638
16. Steve Martin, Ducati 999RS, CRASH


More, from a press release issued by FG Sport Group:

CHILI TAKES CLEAR SUPERPOLE WIN AT ASSEN

THE BOLOGNA EXPRESS: After several close calls earlier in the season, Pierfrancesco Chili (PSG-1 Ducati 998) took his first Superpole win of the 2004 season, running out the victor with a time of 2:03.103 – the fastest official lap of the weekend so far. The 40-year-old phenomenon, the holder of the fastest ever SBK lap of Assen set in 2003, was in untouchable form. He won the otherwise closely contested Superpole by over 0.6 seconds, an age even at such a long track as Assen. Currently fifth in the championship fight, two wins for ‘Frankie’ on Sunday would make the championship battle a five-way affair with two rounds to go.

FILA FORCE FIELDED: After some difficult times in recent events, there were smiles all round in the Ducati pit at the post qualifying prowess of the official factory Ducati Fila squad members, James Toseland and Regis Laconi. Toseland just edged out Laconi for the second best grid position by 0.101 seconds as he strove for his first Superpole win of 2004.

YELLOW PEARL: The Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR of Chris Vermeulen set the fourth best time of the Superpole session, earning a front row start, nut only after the 22-year-old Australian experienced some front end chatter problems in regulation qualifying. In front of his Ten Kate team’s home crowd, a front row start for the second placed championship contender was a popular result in most areas of the expansive Assen grandstands.

HASLAM STEPS ON UP: Leon Haslam (Renegade Ducati 999RS) put a disappointing 14th place qualifying position firmly behind him with an outstanding lap of 2:04.266, taking fifth place in the Superpole rankings. He managed to overhaul not only experienced DFX rider Marco Borciani but his own team-mate Noriyuki Haga, who is himself chasing outright championship glory from an overall third place. The second row was rounded off by the dramatic, all-action style of class rookie Gianluca Nannelli (Team Pedercini 998RS) who took his two year old machine to eighth, using all the track and more in his desperation to make another good impression.

CORSER THIRD ROW: With more revs and power from his three-cylinder Foggy Petronas FP-1 at this race, Troy Corser still could not quite reach the pace of his peer group at Assen, finishing Superpole in ninth position. His team-mate Chris Walker took 14th fastest time, for a fourth row start. The well sorted 998 Ducatis have been a force all weekend at this most classic of all current SBK tracks, and thus Lucio Pedercini was inside the top ten, demoting previous qualifying sensation Giovanni Bussei to 11th. Garry McCoy, an experienced Assen campaigner, dropped from seventh in regulation qualifying to 12th after Superpole.

MARTIN OFF: Ducati DFX rider Steve Martin had the misfortune to fall on de Strubben corner, as his front tyre lost adhesion around what is the first left-hander for almost half a lap. Failing to record a Superpole time, Martin will thus start from 16th position, one worse than his 15th starting position in Superpole.

WORLD SUPERSPORT: Karl Muggeridge (Ten Kate Honda CBR600RR) extended his run of pole positions this season to seven in eight attempts, ripping the record books asunder once more with his 14th career Supersport pole. His Friday time of 2:06.249 was sufficient to hold off the challenge of Sebastien Charpentier (Klaffi Honda CBR600RR) and wild card rider Andrew Pitt (Yamaha Italia), the 2001 World Champion on a Kawasaki. Broc Parkes, Muggeridge’s team-mate, starts from the front row, while another Aussie Kevin Curtain (Yamaha Motor Germany) heads up row two. Walking wounded rider Fabien Foret (Yamaha Italia) starts sixth after some heroics in qualifying, while would-be champion Jurgen van den Goorbergh (Yamaha Italia) was seventh fastest on aggregate.

EUROPEAN SUPERSTOCK: Gianluca Vizziello (Yamaha) took the pole position from his team-mate Lorenzo Alfonsi, by the margin of 0.5 seconds. The two-man championship battle thus continues, with this weekend Bernat Martinez (Yamaha) their closest challenger, ahead of Ilario Dionisi (Suzuki) and Kenan Sofuoglu (Yamaha).

The Superstock class kicks of Sunday’s action, with the 16-lap Superbike and Supersport races taking place in the afternoon.


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

FRUSTRATION FOR TROY

Troy finished Superpole with the ninth fastest time and will start tomorrow’s pair of 16-lappers from the third row of the grid. Troy’s disappointment came about because he was forced to use his spare bike in Superpole qualifying after his preferred number one bike suffered a problem in the afternoon session. Up until that problem, Troy was on course for at least a second row spot. Superpole was won by that veteran campaigner Frankie Chili (Ducati). The Italian used all his guile and skill to post the fastest lap in the 16-rider shoot-out. Second was James Toseland, with Ducati team mate Regis Laconi third and Chris Vermeulen (Honda) fourth.

TROY – 9th, 2:04.831

I know I should have been on the second row at the very least – if things hadn’t gone wrong in the afternoon session before Superpole. I was all geared up to use my preferred bike in Superpole and then it suffered a problem and I had to switch to my spare instead. Although there aren’t many differences between the two, the clutch was slipping differently and the front end geometry was a bit different – to make it steer better. I really felt that I could’ve gone into the 2:03s on the number one bike, but it began to make a funny sound after I had done my fastest lap on it and our chief engineer Steve Thompson decided that we couldn’t risk it in Superpole. Tomorrow, I’m just going to have to push 100 per cent on every corner of every lap. Everybody will be struggling with tyres slipping and sliding, but we’ll be struggling more because we have to try and carry that much more corner speed as we are still a little down on power.


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

Third row for Garry McCoy at Assen

Garry McCoy will start from the third row on his 999RS Xerox Ducati Nortel Networks for the two 16-lap races scheduled tomorrow here at Assen as ninth round for World Superbike. The Australian rider recorded the seventh fastest after the final qualifying in the morning, but a mistake in the final stage of Superpole ruined his session relegating him in the twelfth position on the starting grid.

“I used the wrong gear in the second split and I lost a lot of time.” – said a bit disappointed Garry McCoy at the end of the session. “That’s a pity because after the first split I recorded just a small gap from the leader that I could easily recover. To start from the third row will make everything more difficult and I’m facing one of my toughest races of the season just to gain a good finish position on this narrow circuit which doesn’t allow to pass. During the qualifying session we found a good set up, the bike is very fast with the second top speed and we select the race tyres that are looking to work correctly, so I’m confident in a good performance for tomorrow’s races.”

Satisfied for his result is also Miguel Praia, which improved about two seconds his fastest lap and will start from the sixth row.

“I’m quite satisfied.” – confirms the young Portuguese rider – “This track is very demanding and I’ve been faster as yesterday. Now I hope to get some world championship point in the race tomorrow, I feel that I’ll be able to do it.”


More, from a press release issued by Ducati Corse:

DUCATI FILA DUO OF TOSELAND AND LACONI POWER TO FRONT ROW STARTS AT ASSEN

Assen (Netherlands), 4 September 2004: Ducati Fila riders James Toseland and Regis Laconi confirmed their positive weekend qualifying performances in Superpole to take front row grid positions for tomorrow’s Dutch Round of the World Superbike championship behind Pierfrancesco Chili (PSG-1 Ducati), winner here in 1998.

Second for Toseland and fifth for Laconi after qualifying became second and third as the British rider and the Frenchman sliced three and seven-tenths respectively off their times in the one-lap dash.

“I’ve always enjoyed riding here, it’s just a great place to race at and I’m sure there’ll be thousands of British fans here cheering me on. Hopefully I’ll not let them down again!” commented Toseland. “We’ve been going well all weekend, apart from a mishap in free practice 2 when the brake stuck on and I fell off but we got it all back together for Superpole and I did a good lap. We’re as fast as anyone on race pace and have been consistently so all weekend. I’m happy with my race tyre, we’ve got the bike working well, I’m feeling comfortable and the way things are going there’s no reason why we can’t have two good results tomorrow.”

Laconi declared: “Superpole here at Assen is very special, it’s very long with lots of fast corners, and you have to be very precise and not make any mistakes. My lap was a good one, it wasn’t enough to beat Chili and James but I’m pleased to be starting the races from the front row. It’s important to start on the front row because although it’s not difficult to pass, there are a lot of changes of direction and you have to be at the front. I’m very happy with my performance this weekend because I’m learning more about the bike with the new setting and improving my riding. This afternoon we tried something different for the rear and also for the race too, so I’m feeling really good about tomorrow.”


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

FPR frustration with Assen grid positions

Foggy PETRONAS Racing riders Troy Corser and Chris Walker both expressed dissatisfaction with their grid positions for tomorrow’s races at the ninth round of the Superbike World Championship at Assen, the Netherlands.

Troy will start from the third row after qualifying in ninth while Chris was 14th fastest in a Superpole session dominated by pacesetter Frankie Chili, who produced the quickest lap of the weekend of 2:03.103 to claim pole position.

Troy went into the one-lap shoot-out having just recorded his own best time of 2:04.570 in the afternoon free practice session. However, a problem with his preferred bike at the end of that session forced him to switch to the spare bike for his Superpole lap of 2:04.831.

He said: “I should have at least been on the second row. There is not too much difference between bikes but the clutch was slipping differently and the geometry was shorter in the front on the other bike to make it steer better. I knew I could do a 2:04 on the number two bike but I thought I could have gone under 2:04 on the other. But that bike had started to make a funny sound after I had done my fastest lap and our chief engineer Steve Thompson decided we could not risk it for Superpole. I am just going to have to push 100 per cent on every corner of every lap tomorrow. Everyone is in the same boat with the tyres spinning and sliding but maybe we are struggling more because we have to try and carry that much more corner speed as we are still a little down on power.”

Chris, who has been receiving treatment for a bad cold, opted to use a race tyre for Superpole but was unable to match his best time of 2:05.395.

Chris said: “I have struggled to be as quick on the second half of the lap – the fast part of the circuit – on qualifiers as I have on race tyres. So for Superpole we decided to use the race tyre that I used for my fastest lap in the morning. Unfortunately, maybe because the track temperature was so much hotter in the afternoon, it didn’t seem to work. So we now have a mountain to climb, especially as there is a long drag to the first corner off the grid. But we have made progress today as we are now consistently going 0.8 of a second faster on race tyres than yesterday. We have got the front to work a little better, which gave us more grip going into the corners as the rear wheel wasn’t lifting off the ground.”


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

Muggeridge Maintains A Tight Grip At Assen

Karl Muggeridge (Ten Kate Honda CBR600RR) secured his seventh pole start in the 2004 season, thanks to the provisional pole time he set on the opening day of qualifying. His mark of 2:06.249 was not seriously threatened for most of the final 45-minute session, which was interrupted after an oil spill reduced track adhesion during the early stages.

Muggeridge’s team-mate Broc Parkes (Ten Kate Honda CBR600RR) secured a front row start with his fourth place time, a time which could have been improved on but for an inopportune bit of timing; the chequered flag stopping him from securing one final quick lap by the margin of only three seconds.

The front row for the 16-lap Supersport race on Sunday comprises Muggeridge, Honda rider Sebastien Charpentier, Yamaha wild card Andrew Pitt (Yamaha) and Parkes. Jurgen van den Goorbergh (Yamaha), Muggeridge’s closest championship challenger, could only finish seventh fastest.

Muggeridge’s seventh pole of the year took his career total to 14, yet another high for the all time World Supersport pole position record. Muggeridge was nonetheless disappointed not to improve on his Friday time, despite spending almost the entire session working on a race set-up. “So far so good. I was disappointed not to improve my time from yesterday but I should have put a new front tyre in and we didn’t have time to with the interrupted session. But the bike is good on race tyres and we’re fast. We’ll see what happens tomorrow.”

Parkes was disappointed to miss out on a possible better grid placing but satisfied with a front row start and a good machine set-up. “The front row is OK. I’m pretty confident for the race, and happy with the front row. I’m supposed to be a racer so I hope I can do better tomorrow.”

Team Manager Ronald Ten Kate stated, “We didn’t worry about the lap time so much. We saw people getting a little bit close to us so at the end Karl gave it another shot, but at that time his front tyre had passed it best. Broc was unlucky because he missed out on a final clear lap by three seconds. He was the first man to see the flag. There is a particular problem round here with the lap times being so high it is easy to miss out. We thought we had it all covered. He was going well and we could have expected an improvement on his time but a front row start is always good work. I’m happy. I’m particularly pleased that Karl has done so well at this stage of the season, with a big points lead. It shows how mentally strong he is at the moment.”

Final Qualifying
1. K. Muggeridge, AUS, Ten Kate Honda CBR600RR, 2’06.249
2. S. Charpentier, FRA, Honda CBR600RR, 2’06.500
3. A. Pitt, AUS, Yamaha YZF R6, 2’07.038
4. B. Parkes, AUS, Ten Kate Honda CBR600RR, 2’07.052
5. K. Curtain, AUS, Yamaha YZF R6, 2’07.159
6. F. Foret, FRA, Yamaha YZF R6, 2’07.165
7. J. vd Goorbergh, NED, Yamaha YZF R6, 2’07.301
8. K. Fujiwara, JPN, Suzuki GSX-R 600, 2’07.675
9. A. Corradi, ITA, Honda CBR600RR, 2’08.009
10. B. Veneman, NED, Suzuki GSX-R 600, 2’08.083


Assen: Vermeulen On Front Row

Chris Vermeulen (Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR) secured a front row start for his team’s home SBK race after a Superpole lap spent fighting some peculiar traction concerns around the high speed Assen circuit. Vermeulen chose to use the same spec of rear qualifying tyre as he had tested in regulation qualifying, but could not quite replicate third place in these circumstances and had to take fourth in Superpole.

Finishing in the top quartet still leaves him in an excellent position for Sunday’s race, sharing the front row with Superpole winner Pierfrancesco Chili (Ducati), James Toseland (Ducati) and Regis Laconi (Ducati).

It had been a tough qualifying all round for Vermeulen, at his first Assen meeting on the Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade. “We had the same tyre in as during qualifying but it just didn’t react the way I thought it would. Despite that, the bike is getting better and better around here. Set-up has proved difficult so far and we have a lot of chatter, especially under braking from high speed and we haven’t had that all year. No matter which tyre we use, or what suspension setting we’ve tried we haven’t got rid of it yet. The rest of the bike is working well. There are a lot of people going fast and we’re certainly in that group. It’s going to be really close tomorrow.”

Team Manager Ronald Ten Kate gave his pre-race comments. “Chris was on it for two splits and he thought he could do it, but he couldn’t finish it on the last split. It was good that he could still stay on the front row. With the race set-up we are close but it has been very hard work. It’s a compromise here always but we have a lot of knowledge of this track, so there are still some set-up question marks. For tomorrow, in warm-up, we will try to make it better so that he can hang in there during the races. We are sure he can stay in the front group, and then it will come down to the nerves and the tactics.”

World Superbike Championship
Round 9 Assen – The Netherlands
3 – 5 September 2004
Superpole Qualifying
1. P. Chii, Ducati 998RS, 2’03.103
2. J. Toseland, GBR, Ducati 999 F04, 2’03.755
3. R. Laconi, FRA, Ducati 999 F04, 2’03.856
4. C. Vermeulen, AUS, Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR, 2’04.018
5. L. Haslam, GBR, Ducati 999 RS, 2’04.266
6. M. Borciani, ITA, Ducati 999 RS, 2’04.280
7. N. Haga, JPN, Ducati 999 RS, 2’04.654
8. G. Nannelli, ITA, Ducati 998, 2’04.681
9. T. Corser, AUS, Petronas FP 1, 2’04.831
10. L. Pedercini, ITA, Ducati 998 RS, 2’05.183

From a press release issued by series organizers:

SHANNONVILLE, ON Granby, QC’s Pascal Picotte continued his mastery of the Parts Canada Superbike Championship at Shannonville Motorsport Park Saturday.

The 2004 series champion dominated qualifying on his Team Yamaha / Picotte Performance Yamaha YZF-R1 to claim his fifth MPM Array Pole Award of the season.

Picotte shattered his own track record in the 45-minute session with a time of 1:42.820. The old mark, which he set last year was 1:44.079.

“The bike was handling perfectly and we haven’t had to make a lot of changes, so it’s easy to stay ahead of the game,” said Picotte, who clinched his second straight Parts Canada Superbike crown two weeks ago at Le Circuit Mont-Tremblant. “I tried to get the time done as soon as possible and then wait to see if anyone could beat it.”

No one else was able to get within a second of Picotte in qualifying. Maple Ridge, BC’s Steve Crevier placed second on his DXS Diablo Racing Team Suzuki GSX-R1000 with a time of 1:44.126 and Frank Trombino of Kleinburg, ON qualified third at 1:44.236 aboard the Brooklin Cycle Yamaha YZF-R1.

Calgary’s Clint McBain completes the front row for Sunday’s 14-lap race after recording a lap of 1:44.389 on the Coors Light Racing / Blackfoot Suzuki GSX-R1000.

Less than a second separated second place Crevier from seventh fastest qualifier Kevin Lacombe in the session.

In other action at Shannonville, there was no change at the top of the International Motorcycle SUPERSHOW Amateur 600 Sport Bike Championship standings as none of the main title contenders earned points Saturday.

Guelph, ON’s Tyler Kennedy was fastest at a record 1:49.756 on his Honda CBR600RR.

Darren James goes into Sunday’s race leading Rudy Raposo by four points in the standings and is 14 ahead of Dominic Lavoie. Levis, QC’s Lavoie qualified fifth fastest on his Kawasaki ZX-6RR. Raposo, from Mississauga, ON was eighth and North Vancouver’s James placed 12th. Both Raposo and James are aboard Yamahas.

Class champion Picotte also qualified on pole for the Hindle Exhaust Pro 600 Sport Bike national support class with a record time of 1:44.770 on his Yamaha YZF-R6. Crevier was second at 1:45.990 aboard his Suzuki GSX-R600 and Matt McBride of Mississauga, ON placed third at 1:46.241 riding the Canadian Kawasaki Motors Kawasaki ZX-6RR.

Feature races in all three national classes will run Sunday afternoon. Practice opens at 8:30 a.m. with the first race set to go at 12:45 p.m.

This weekend’s event will be televised on TSN on Saturday, Oct. 23 at 2:00 p.m. EDT and on Quebec’s RDS on Sunday, Oct. 31 at 2:30 p.m. Action from Shannonville will also air later this fall on Toronto1 and A-Channel stations in Winnipeg, Calgary and Edmonton.

For more series information, visit www.cdnsuperbike.com

Starting line-up for Sunday’s eighth and final round of the Parts Canada Superbike Championship at Shannonville Motorsport Park, showing starting position, rider name, hometown, type of motorcycle and qualifying time:

1.Pascal Picotte, Granby, QC, Yamaha YZF-R1, 1:42.820; 2. Steve Crevier, Maple Ridge, BC, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:44.126; 3. Frank Trombino, Kleinburg, ON, Yamaha YZF-R1, 1:44.236; 4. Clint McBain, Calgary, AB, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:44.389; 5. Jordan Szoke, Brantford, ON, Honda CBR1000RR, 1:44.886; 6. Jeff Williams, Harrowsmith, ON, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:44.937; 7. Kevin Lacombe, Granby, QC, Yamaha YZF-R1, 1:44.993; 8. Andrew Nelson, Kars, ON, Honda CBR1000RR, 1:45.195; 9. Francis Martin, Rock Forest, QC, Kawasaki ZX-10R, 1:45.927; 10. Matthew McBride, Mississauga, ON, Kawasaki ZX-10R, 1:46.511; 11. Michael Taylor, Toronto, ON, Ducati 999S, 1:46.553; 12. Jean-Francois Cyr, St-Lin Laurentides, QC, Honda CBR1000RR, 1:46.647; 13. Hugo Brisson, St-Sauveur, QC, Kawasaki ZX-10R, 1:48.315; 14. Stuart Nodell, Ajax, ON, Kawasaki ZX-6R, 1:48.721; 15. Dave Young, Woodstock, ON, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:48.773; 16. Zenon Nelson, Bowmanville, ON, Suzuki GSX-R600, 1:49.358; 17. Brent Strong, Mississauga, ON, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:49.408; 18. Derek Vammus, Orangeville, ON, Suzuki GSX-R600, 1:49.474; 19. Bill Card, Wellesley, ON, Honda CBR600RR, 1:49.874; 20. Larry Orde, Peterborough, ON, Yamaha YZF-R1, 1:49.987; 21. Michael Leon, Beaconsfield, QC, Suzuki GSX-R600, 1:50.161; 22. Barry French, Brampton, ON, Yamaha YZF-R6, 1:50.538; 23. Elie Daccache, Ottawa, ON, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:52.014; 24. Dean Plater, Ottawa, ON, Yamaha YZF-R6, 1:52.510; 25. Yannick Morin, Repentigny, QC, Kawasaki ZX-6RR, 1:53.232; 26. Paul Penzo, Toronto, ON, Suzuki GSX-R1000, No Time

Copyright 2004, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Provisional AMA Superstock Qualifying Results;

1. Ben Spies, Suz GSX-R1000, 1:23.700*
2. Jason DiSalvo, Yam YZF-R1, 1:23.801
3. Tommy Hayden, Kaw ZX-10R, 1:23.943
4. Aaron Gobert, Yam YZF-R1, 1:24.127
5. Roger Lee Hayden, Kaw ZX-10R, 1:24.372
6. Jamie Hacking, Yam YZF-R1, 1:24.612
7. Damon Buckmaster, Yam YZF-R1, 1:24.926
8. John Haner, Suz GSX-R1000, 1:25.557
9. Josh Hayes, Kaw ZX-10R, 1:25.606
10. Jake Holden, Suz GSX-R1000, 1:25.676
11. Jason Pridmore, Suz GSX-R1000, 1:26.260
12. Vincent Haskovec, Suz GSX-R750, 1:26.348
13. Eric Wood, Suz GSX-R1000, 1:26.717
14. Alex Gobert, Hon CBR1000RR, 1:27.508
15. Steve Rapp, Suz GSX-R750, 1:27.948
16. Scott Greenwood, Suz GSX-R1000, 1:28.193
17. Jeff Tigert, Hon CBR1000RR, 1:28.404
18. J.J. Roetlin, Suz GSX-R1000, 1:28.512
19. Jesse Janisch, Suz GSX-R1000, 1:28.795
20. Jason Curtis, Suz GSX-R1000, 1:30.281
21. Kevin Pate, Yam YZF-R1, 1:30.980
22. James Kerker, Hon CBR1000RR, 1:31.582
23. Montez Stewart, Yam YZF-R1, 1:32.507
24. Dave Loikits, Suz GSX-R1000, 1:34.959
25. David McPherson, Yam YZF-R1, 1:35.061
26. Michael McAllister, Hon CBR1000RR, 1:35.385
27. Johnny Rock Page, Yam YZF-R1, 1:35.917
28. James Bonner, Yam YZF-R1, 1:37.320
29. Tony Larocca, Suz GSX-R750, 1:45.322

*Beats the existing lap record of 1:26.760, set by Josh Hayes on a Suzuki GSX-R750 in 2003.