From a press release:

American Pearson scores first win “Down Under”

American road racer John Pearson won in the Formula One class and placed second in the Open Superbike class at round 4 of the RB Racing series held at Wakefield Park Raceway in Goulburn, New South Wales, Australia on August 29th.

Race day weather was unpredictable; starting out cool and overcast, then changing to light rain that came down harder as the day went on.

John was riding his Lee’s Cycle Racing-built Suzuki GSX-R750 with an 813cc-engine kit on Dunlop tires. Allowed only in regional and club races, John’s Suzuki was ruled ineligible for competition in the Australian National Superbike series earlier this year by the series’ governing agent, Motorcycling Australia. Currently, the Australian Superbike class is based on production-model, 1000cc machines with 17″ wheels and other limited modifications. Fortunately, John has been able to compete on a national level in the Pro-Twins class on a Honda RC-51 sponsored by Doin’ Bikes of Lansvale, New South Wales, Australia.

“The weekend went really good, my bike was fast and handling the bumpy circuit well, but the most important thing was making the right tire choices during the changing conditions. In my last race the rain was really coming down, it was like synchronized swimming out there instead of road racing!” John said.

John is still racing with the plated collarbone he severely broke in a practice crash last September at Eastern Creek Raceway. “There hasn’t really been time to go in for the surgery and then heal up between races, so I plan on getting the plate and screws removed during the Christmas break.”

The 5th and final round of the RB Racing series will be a 6-hour team relay event held at Eastern Creek Raceway on October 3rd.

John’s next race will be riding the Doin’ Bikes Honda RC-51 at Phillip Island in the Pro-Twins category for the final round of the Australian Superbike Series, September 10-12.

A Chief Petty Officer in the U.S. Navy, John is currently living and working in Sydney, Australia as a part of a military exchange program.

From a press releas issued by d’Antin Ducati:

Another weekend of discovery for Xaus and Hodgson

The d´Antin MotoGP riders this weekend are faced with yet another unknown track, with neither Rubén Xaus nor Neil Hodgson ever having ridden at the Estoril circuit. However the Briton and the Spaniard are prepared to discover the Portuguese track, which is well known as one of the slowest on the whole calendar.

The challenge begins with Friday morning’s free practice, when the riders will begin work on the set-up of their Ducati Desmosedici, trying to make the bike work efficiently around a circuit so full of contrasts, where the additional problem of high-winds can also play an important role.

NEIL HODGSON completed another good race in Brno, but he did so under the effects of painkillers due to an incident during practice which brought back the pain in his ribs from an earlier crash in France:

“It was a shame because it’s a delicate zone, and when I got another blow to the area it set back my recovery a little. I’m carrying on in pain, but it won’t stop me being excited about another race at a circuit I know nothing about. When I raced in the World Championships beforehand, this event wasn’t on the calendar and I’ll be beginning from zero basically, but it is always exciting to discover a new track and I think that this one is particularly different. The wind can be an issue, but I understand that it’s a circuit with lots of contrasts, and so I’m sure to like it.”

RUBÉN XAUS left the Czech Republic with a bad taste in his mouth, but the impetuous Spaniard hopes that he can enjoy the Portuguese circuit a bit more:

“The weather dealt us a bad hand in Brno and I couldn’t get comfortable in the race, but there was also a technical problem which led to a crash and stopped me from reaching my aim of finishing the race. Now it is all water under the bridge and I’m looking towards Estoril, but as on other occasions this year, I have no references at this track having never ridden there before. I have been told that the set-up can be quite complicated at the track, but I’m confident I can get comfortable and can work hard from the very first session. On top of that, because of its proximity to Spain I think lots of Spanish fans go there, so that will be an extra bit of motivation for me.”

From a press release issued by Dorna Sports:

MotoGP waves goodbye to Europe at Grande Premio Marlboro de Portugal

The MotoGP World Championship heads to the western edge of Europe this weekend for the last of nine rounds on the continent before a five week jaunt across Asia, the Middle East and Australia which will bring the 2004 season to a rising crescendo ahead of a mouth-watering final race at Valencia. The Grande Premio Marlboro de Portugal marks the eleventh of sixteen rounds and provides Sete Gibernau with another chance to close the gap on series leader Valentino Rossi in front of a partisan crowd.

Thousands of Spanish fans traditionally flood over the border to the Estoril circuit on the outskirts of Lisbon and have more reason than ever to swap their sofa for a grandstand seat at the Estoril circuit this weekend as Gibernau looks to repeat victory over Rossi in the last round in the Czech Republic. Rossi’s lead currently stands at 17 points over the Spaniard, with a maximum of 150 still up for grabs, and both riders will be looking to make the most of improvements made to their machinery in two days of tests which followed the Grand Prix at Brno last week.

Rossi’s Yamaha team worked intensively to further develop the engine of his M1, which was also fitted with a new fairing exclusively for the test. Meanwhile, Gibernau was able to experiment with the new exhaust system brought to Brno by Honda, which he declined to use in the race after adverse weather conditions had limited dry set-up time during practice. Any improvements to the bikes will be tested to the limit at Estoril, a circuit notoriously critical of engine and chassis set-up, where some of the fastest and slowest corners on the MotoGP calendar intensify the need for a good overall compromise.

Yamaha and Honda were not the only factories making progress at Brno, with their rivals Ducati, Suzuki, Kawasaki, Proton, WCM and Moriwaki all staying on for extra tests as the need to close down the gap to the lead riders becomes ever more apparent. Gibernau, Rossi and Max Biaggi consolidated their top three positions in the championship by filling the podium in the Czech Republic for the seventh time since four-stroke motorcycles were introduced to the series at the start of the 2002 season and at least one of the three has been on the podium at each of the 42 races since then, including a total of 37 victories.

One man unlikely to be challenging the lead trio for his debut win this weekend is Honda rider Nicky Hayden, who faces a late fitness check after breaking his collarbone in a training accident in Italy on Saturday. Meanwhile, Shane Byrne has definitely been ruled out as he continues his recovery from a dislocated wrist. Aprilia have not announced a replacement for the British Superbike Champion, who is hopeful of a return to action in the next round at Motegi.

Like Gibernau in the MotoGP class, Dani Pedrosa will be hoping strong Spanish support can lift him another step towards the 250cc World Championship title. Pedrosa is out for revenge after being relegated to third place by Sebastian Porto and Randy de Puniet in a controversial race at Brno. Light rainfall just three laps from the end saw Pedrosa surrender a clear lead as he called for the race to be stopped, but the rookie still leads the series by 30 points from De Puniet, with Porto a further 13 behind.

Porto took Aprilia’s 100th win in the 250cc class at Brno and will be hopeful of a repeat performance in Portugal, where he took a podium finish in 2002 after starting from pole position for the first time in his career riding a Yamaha. However, De Puniet will be confident of success himself having also finished on the podium here last year and motivation could not be higher for the Frenchman, who has won just once this season but is the only rider in the class to have taken points in every race.

Andrea Dovizioso holds a similar record to De Puniet in the 125cc class but finds himself 36 points clear at the top of the standings thanks to a remarkable run of top four finishes in all ten rounds. Dovizioso is the first rider to achieve the feat since 1987, when Fausto Gresini won the opening ten races, whilst a new record of eleven would be set with a repeat performance this Sunday. However, the Italian is sure to face another stern test from Spanish teenagers Hector Barberá, who holds the lap record at Estoril, and Jorge Lorenzo, who is looking to end a run of 33 races without a back-to-back winner in the class after his a dramatic victory at Brno.

From a press release issued by Camel Honda Racing Information:

Camel Honda team in Portugal before the intercontinental challenge

A glance at the MotoGP standings with six races left before the end of what has been a fantastic season, offers more than a moment of satisfaction to the Camel Honda riders. Max Biaggi and Makoto Tamada have respectively picked up 17 and 22 points more this year in comparison to last year, and the team can count two victories to last year’s one with six races to go. The first of those six is the Portuguese event, the last round before the breathtaking jet-set succession of intercontinental races which includes the big unknown of the Qatari event. The Portuguese circuit, a semi-slow track topped off with a super-fast final straight, is one of those which challenges engineers and riders to the limit, and coming straight off the back of a two day test in Brno the Camel Honda crew are ready for the contest.

Sito Pons – Camel Honda (Team Principal)

“The Portugal GP is particularly important for us. Our objective is to not make any mistakes and to pick up points on our main rivals for the championship. If we look back on our season so far, we have only lost precious points in Barcelona and Donington, and it shouldn’t happen again. In the Czech Republic, despite having started a little down the order, Max made the podium whilst Makoto magnificently clawed himself up to fourth place. Then we had two days at the test, and together with the practice at this GP should allow us to optimise the set-up of the latest parts on the bike.”

Max Biaggi #3: (Michelin tyres)

“I like Estoril, last year I got onto the podium and if we get the bike working well we can do even better this year. In Brno we did a lot of work in the two test days after the race and even if we haven’t got all the answers we were looking for, we will give our everything to be competitive on this track from Friday onwards. The track is okay, it reminds me a little of Spain’s Jarama circuit, not fast, apart from the main straight, but quite technical. The only thing I really don’t like is the asphalt, because it’s very bumpy in places. So I’ll be relying on my engineers and the Honda engineers to find a set-up which neutralises this factor.”

Luca Montiron – Camel Honda (Makoto Tamada Team Manager)

“After the summer break we made another step forward in Brno thanks to the new tyres that Bridgestone brought along, which helped us come out superbly from a weekend dampened by the poor weather. Now we go to Portugal with the aim of backing up all the progress we have made and try to make things even better. The two test days in Brno gave us some satisfying results and this giving us immense motivation. Once again the gap to our rivals has been closed and now we just need a further little step forward on Bridgestone’s part to show that we can perform on all tracks, because we firmly believe it.”

Makoto Tamada #6: (Bridgestone tyres)

“I quite like the Estoril track, or should I say there’s a part I really like, with the fast turn leading onto an even faster straight, and a slow part, which I don’t like so much. It doesn’t matter though, if the weather is good and we manage to get both the bike and the tyres in a good shape in the practices, we can do an even better race than in Brno.”

2003 Podium

1. V. Rossi (Honda)
2. M. Biaggi (Honda)
3. L. Capirossi (Ducati)


Pole Position Record
Capirossi (Ducati -2003)
1:38.412


Official Record
V. Rossi (Honda – 2003)
1:39.189


No. of Laps
28 ( km 117,096)



MotoGP timetable:
14.00 (GMT)



Estoril Circuit Characteristics
Length: 4,182 m
Width: 14m
Right corners: 9
Left corners: 4
Constructed in: 1972
Last Modified: 1999

From a press release issued by Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation:

Ride for Kids(r) events in Asheville, NC and Ann Arbor, MI raise money for childhood brain tumor research


The rumbling sound of 425 motorcycles filled the air of the Biltmore Square Mall parking lot in Asheville, NC on Sunday, August 29th as motorcyclists prepared to depart on the 11th Annual Asheville Ride for Kids(r). Families around the country who have children with brain tumors know that the sound of motorcycles means hope. Since 1984, the Ride for Kids(r) has been raising money to fund the research and family support programs of the Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation. The parade of motorcycles and their police escort wound its way through the majestic mountains of Western North Carolina before arriving at Lake Lure, the site of the Celebration of Life program. There, under the blue and white striped celebratory “Big Top Tent,” the 750 motorcyclists, volunteers, fundraisers, patient families and researchers celebrated the fact that $109,986 had been raised for childhood brain tumor research.

The Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation was honored to have two of its Scientific Advisory Board members present at the Asheville Ride for Kid(r). Dr. Francis Ali-Osman and Dr. Darell Bigner, both of Duke University, were on hand at this year’s festivities. Dr. Bigner, who is also Director of the Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation Institute at Duke, told those gathered that grants from the Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation have allowed his team of researchers to concentrate on childhood brain tumor research. He also told the motorcyclists that progress could not be made without their fundraising efforts.

The 2004 Asheville Ride for Kids(r) was in memory of young Mary Ann, a precious young Asheville girl who lost her battle with a childhood brain tumor in 2003. Her father, Rocky, told the motorcyclists that “I am truly humbled and honored by your fundraising efforts. Because of angels like yourself, Mary Ann’s spirit will live on forever.”

The Top Individual Fundraiser was Ray Hobby, who raised $29,410 in memory of his son who had a childhood brain tumor. The Top Club was GWRRA NC Chapter M2 whose members raised $12,545. MR Motorcycle of Asheville, NC was the Top Dealer with its customers raising $12,614. Kim Moore, of Spruce Pine, NC was the winner of a brand new Honda motorcycle donated by the American Honda Motor Company.

Special thanks to Asheville Ride for Kids(r) Task Force Leaders Terry and Shelba Murray, Dave Huey and their team of dedicated volunteers for a very successful event.



More than 600 miles away in Ann Arbor, Michigan, the 13th Annual Ann Arbor Ride for Kids(r) also took place on Sunday, August 29th. Despite the unseasonably cold and rainy weather, 425 motorcyclists, fundraisers, volunteers and patient families gathered to raise $106,239 for childhood brain tumor research.

After enjoying a police-escorted ride through Michigan’s lush and green rolling countryside, the motorcyclists gathered for the Celebration of Life program. There, the participants listened to eight young brain tumor survivors, the “Ride for Kids(r) stars”, being interviewed on-stage. Denni, a mother of one of the Ride for Kids(r) stars, commented, “Most of you think that PBTF stands for Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation. Many of us believe that it stands for Persistent Blessing and True Friend.”

The Top Individual Fundraiser was Randy Horton who raised $11,315. The Top Club was Cycle Conservation Club of Michigan whose members raised $21,876. The Top Shop was Maurell Products of Owosso, MI whose customers raised $12,985. Denni Proctor, of Allegan, MI, was the winner of a brand new Honda motorcycle donated by the American Honda Motor Company.

Thanks to Ann Arbor Ride for Kids(r) Task Force Leader Bill and Kathy Chapin and their dedicated team of volunteers for a well-run event.

The next Ride for Kids(r) event is on Sunday, September 12 Puget Sound (WA).

For more information about the Ride for Kids(r) and the Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation, please visit www.rideforkids.org or www.pbtfus.org or call (800) 253-6530.

From a press release issued by Motonation:

Sidi boots now accepting resumes

With the 2005 season approaching, it’s time once again to start seeking riders to represent Sidi boots at the local and regional level.

Support rides are available for all forms of competition as Sidi offers a boot for every need. Whether the rider is a MX/SX specialist, an off road racer, a street or dirt freestyle competitor or a road race kinda guy Sidi has a boot to fit every need.

Resumes can be sent to Kyle Smith at [email protected] or to the address/fax below.

Kyle Smith
Motonation
1100 North Magnolia Ave, ste A
El Cajon CA 92020
Phone (619) 401-4100 x 105
Fax (619) 401-4108
www.motonation.com

Copyright 2004, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

The Parts Canada Superbike Championship, participating as an exhibition-only/non-point-paying support race for the August 27-29 CART Molson Indy Montreal car race in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, ran into front of 133,726 spectators, according to the official Parts Canada Superbike series website.

The event drew 32,912 on Friday, 47,494 on Saturday and 53,320 race fans on Sunday.

Newly-crowned 2004 Parts Canada Superbike Champion Pascal Picotte won the 12-lap race on a Dunlop-shod Yamaha YZF-R1.

From a press release issued by AMA Pro Racing:

Roger Lee Hayden closing in on big brother Tommy in AMA Supersport Championship

Two straight wins puts youngest Hayden just 13 points out of series lead

PICKERINGTON, Ohio (Aug. 30, 2004) — Roger Lee Hayden, the youngest of the three racing Hayden brothers, has come into his own this season. In his sixth year as a pro he finally earned his first AMA road racing victory in Birmingham, Ala., in May. Since then the 21-year-old Kawasaki rider from Owensboro, Ky, has been on a tear in the Pro Honda Oils Supersport presented by Shoei Championship, winning the last two rounds and has pulled within 13 points of his oldest brother and teammate Tommy with just two races remaining.

While four riders still have a shot at the prestigious Supersport championship, it’s the Hayden brothers who are clearly in control. Tommy Hayden took over the series lead at the second round of the championship in April. He pulled out a solid points lead after winning four races in seven rounds. Roger Lee showed as early as May that he would be a rider to contend with after nipping his older brother at the finish line of the Barber Motorsports Park race to take his first win. Last month Roger Lee made his charge. He won the Supersport races at both Laguna Seca and Mid-Ohio to move within sight of the series title.

The story coming into Road Atlanta is that of the brothers both vying for their first AMA road racing championship. For Roger Lee the equation is simple. “I have to win, that’s all there is to it,” he says. “Tommy’s not going to just roll over and let me catch him. I’m going to have to earn as many points possible, including pole and lap leader points, to have a real shot.”

If either Tommy or Roger Lee wins the Road Atlanta Supersport race they will follow in the footsteps of middle brother Nicky, who won the race in 1999. Nicky is now racing MotoGP for Honda.

The other two riders who still have an outside chance at the championship are Yoshimura Suzuki’s Ben Spies and Yamaha rider Aaron Gobert. Spies is the defending race winner at Road Atlanta and is one of the four riders to have a win in Supersport this year. Gobert put a serious damper in his title hopes after crashing while leading at Laguna Seca in July. Now the Australian native needs a lot of luck to get back in the title hunt.

Defending AMA Supersport champ Jamie Hacking, of Yamaha, joins Spies as the only other former Road Atlanta winner. Injuries forced Hacking to miss the last two rounds of the series and he will not be able to defend his title. However, if the South Carolinian is healthy enough to race at Road Atlanta, one of his favorite circuits, he’s certain to be a leading contender.

The Road Atlanta Supersport race is scheduled to be nationally televised on SPEED Channel’s Two Wheel Tuesday on Sept. 7 at 1:00 p.m. Eastern. For additional information on the AMA Suzuki Superbike Showdown by Makita, call (800) 849-RACE or visit www.roadatlanta.com .

From a press release issued by FGSport Group:

ASSEN HERALDS THE DASH TO THE FLAG

EIGHT DEGREES OF SEPARATION: Few nations on earth have a passion for motorcycle racing like the Dutch, something the World Superbike Championship contenders have experienced for the past 12 seasons without interruption. This year the usual large Assen crowd will bear witness to one of the most intense battles in the 17-year history of World Superbike. Four table topping riders approach the tenth round of the year with only eight points separating them, in what is shaping up to be the most competitive World Superbike Championship in history.

ANCIENT AND ULTRA MODERN: Assen, in its many and ever shortening layouts, has featured road racing long before the formal construction of a purpose-built racing circuit in the van Drenthe region of the Netherlands, way back in 1954. The current layout is just the latest of many, as modern trends and safety parameters have all played their part in redrawing Assen’s black ribbon of tarmac, which nonetheless still weaves between the drainage ditches and banks that surround this ultra-fast track. The current 6.027km long venue is the second fastest on the SBK Calendar, and always one of the most spectacular.

CLOSE, CLOSER, CLOSEST: With 150 points still up for grabs in the last three rounds at Assen, Imola and Magny Cours, anything could happen yet in SBK. But as we approach Assen it is shaping up to host the closest ever finish to a World Championship event. On the eve of the Assen race Regis Laconi (Ducati Fila 999F04), Chris Vermeulen (Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR), Noriyuki Haga (Renegade Ducati Koji 999RS), and James Toseland (Ducati Fila 999F04) lie in first to fourth place respectively, with even tail-ender Toseland only eight points off the lead. The closely matched machinery (thanks to regulation changes for this year) and the control tyre rules (whereby everyone chooses from the same pool of Pirelli rubber) have allowed every team in SBK an equal crack at race wins – hence the unremitting competitiveness of this remarkable season.

PREVIOUS ASSEN FORM: Despite such a compression of points at the top of the field, there are innumerable other potential winners or podium finishers active in World Superbike today. Possibly the only reliable indicator of who could win either or both of Sunday’s 16-lap races will come from the recent past. Of the 21 full time SBK combatants, only two have tasted victory champagne in Holland – Haga and fifth place championship contender, Pierfrancesco Chili (PSG-1 Ducati). The championship leader at one stage this year, Chili is still a force to be reckoned with and is one of six riders who have win races in 2004. The full list so far is Laconi (5), Haga (5), Vermeulen (3), Toseland (1), Garry McCoy (Ducati Xerox 999RS) and Chili himself (1).

PODIUM POWER: In addition to the aforementioned championship high fliers, there have been a further four riders on the podium. In seventh place overall, one behind McCoy; Steve Martin has secured a quartet of third places, and more than his fair share of diabolical luck. Leon Haslam, Haga’s 21-year-old team-mate, has taken a solo third place thus far, helping him to eighth place overall thus far, with more to come no doubt.

END OF THE DECADE: The Anglo-Malaysian co-operation of the Foggy Petronas Racing is spearheaded by the riding duo of 1996 World Champion Troy Corser and rapid Briton Chris Walker. Equipped with the 900cc, three-cylinder FP-1, a unique interpretation of the SBK theme, Corser has taken a second place and Walker a third. The pairing round out the top ten in the championship, with eight rounds and 16 races gone. After some recent engine modifications the Petronas machine should be a more potent force at fast circuits like Assen than ever before.

PRIVATE PRANCERS: In a championship with more than its fair share of competitive machinery on which to compete, the Ducati 999 and 998 series machines still predominate at the top of the table. Ducatis have long been the weapon of choice for the private teams in SBK and despite a recent rise in competitiveness of the multi-cylinder Japanese machines, most operate on Ducatis in the top ten positions. The balance of power is slowly shifting, however, if we look outside the top ten places. Marco Borciani (DFX Ducati 999RS) is 11th on the eve of Assen but the thrust of Kawasaki Bertocchi’s 1000cc machinery has put the ZX-10R pilots Mauro Sanchini and Ivan Clementi 11th and 12th overall. The Zong Shen Suzuki of Piergiorgio Bontempi has steadily gathered points to the point of being 14th, ahead of former Supersport rider Gianluca Nannelli (Team Pedercini Ducati 998RS).

SUPERSPORT: In the World Supersport Championship there is one clear leader, the experienced Aussie rider Karl Muggeridge, from the Ten Kate Honda team. Riding his fast CBR600RR with great aplomb through the seven races so far, Muggeridge has won four of the seven races so far and given these figures he is a clear championship leader. He leads his closest challenger by a full 24 points.
That challenger is none other than Team Italia YZF-R6, Jurgen van den Goorbergh – a tantalising fact given that Assen is van den Goorbergh’s home race.
Third placed rider Broc Parkes (Ten Kate Honda CBR600RR) has yet to win a race, as have the following two riders, Kevin Curtain (Yamaha Motor Germany) and Sebastien Charpentier (Klaffi Honda); despite all coming close more than once. The only other regular rider to have won this year is van den Goorbergh’s team-mate Fabien Foret. Despite suffering a nasty ankle break at the last event at Brands Hatch, Foret intends to return to race at Assen, but his team will be swelled by a famous WSS name from the past, Andrew Pitt, the 2001 World Champion. There will be a staggering 35 riders attempting to qualify at Assen, proving the popularity of both Supersport racing and Assen.

SUPERSTOCK: Team Italia Lorenzini by Leoni Yamaha riders Lorenzo Alfonsi and Gianluca Vizziello will continue their season-long battle for supremacy in Superstock, with the Yamaha Germany team of Kenan Sofuoglu and Didier van Keymeulen among other fighting them all the way. At present, Vizziello leads Alfonsi by 140 to 119 points, with no other rider able to take a win so far.

OPEN HOUSE: From 15.00 to 18.00 on Thursday 2 September there will be an opportunity for all the fans to meet the riders and visit the Paddock and the garages on Thursday afternoon, free of charge. The riders from Superbike, Supersport, and Superstock will be available for an autograph session that will take place in the SBK Paddock Show, located in the centre of the paddock. All Teams will also be available in either their Hospitality Unit and/or Pit Garages to meet/greet the public. Also there will be the chance to see three national races, which will be held that afternoon.