From a press release issued by MonsterMob Ducati:

MonsterMob Ducati British Superbike and Supersport Championship Team

British Superbike Championship
Rounds 5/6
Snetterton
24th/25th April

FRONT ROW FOR EMMETT

MonsterMob Ducati rider Sean Emmett will start rounds five and six of the THINK! British Superbike Championship at Snetterton from the front row of the grid after a dramatic final qualifying session this afternoon.

Having set fastest time in this morning’s first timed qualifying, the 34 year old Londoner was holding provisional pole position when with around ten minutes of the session to go, the red flag came out when James Haydon’s ETI Ducati blew an oil seal.

Despite the pain of a broken finger sustained in a race crash at Brands Hatch over Easter, Emmett was bumped back in the dying throes and despite setting a faster time, clung on to third place for an all important front row start. Remarkably, Emmett and Suzuki rival John Reynolds set identical times but Emmett got the nod by virtue of the fact that his second fastest lap was quicker than Reynolds’.

“I’m quite satisfied with that and it seems that me and Michael (Rutter) were the quickest on race tyres. However, one lap of qualifying is always a lottery as there are always those guys who can do one quick lap but doing twenty five of them is a different matter. The front row is what we wanted so I’m happy” said Sean.

Meanwhile, Emmett’s team mate Michael Laverty will have to battle through from row three of the grid having posted ninth fastest time during British Supersport qualifying. The 23 year old Ulsterman was comfortably in fifth place for much of the session but missed out late in the session.

“It would have been good to start the race from further up but we were concentrating on perfecting our race set up rather than doing one fast lap. We managed to do OK from even further back at Brands so I’m feeling confident about tomorrow’s race” said Laverty who won at Snetterton last season.

Superbike Qualifying
1, Michael Rutter (Honda) 1:05.713
2, Dean Thomas (Ducati) 1:05.766
3, Sean Emmett (MonsterMob Ducati) 1:05.909
4, John Reynolds (Suzuki) 1:05.909
5, Ryuichi Kiyonari (Honda) 1:06.098
6, Scott Smart (Kawasaki) 1:06.150
7, Steve Plater (Yamaha) 1:06.407
8, Yukio Kagayama (Suzuki) 1:06.449
9, Glen Richards (Kawasaki) 1:06.492
10, James Haydon (Ducati) 1:06.947


Supersport Qualifying
1, Karl Harris (Honda) 1:08.673
2, Luke Quigley (Suzuki) 1:08.721
3, Pere Riba (Kawasaki) 1:08.840
4, Tom Sykes (Suzuki) 1:08.967
5, Simon Andrews (Yamaha) 1:08.971
6, Tom Tunstall (Honda) 1:09.077
7, Jay Vincent (Honda) 1:09.095
8, Leon Camier (Honda) 1:09.099
9, Michael Laverty (MonsterMob Ducati) 1:09.101
10, Iain MacPherson (Honda) 1:09.135


More, from a press release issued by MSS Discovery Kawasaki Team:

British Supersport/National Superstock Championships
Round three ­
Snetterton, April 25 2004

Saturday April 24 2004

RIBA SCOOPS FIRST FRONT ROW START ON MSS DISCOVERY KAWASAKI

Pere Riba will make his first front row start on the MSS Discovery ZX-6RR Kawasaki after taking third place in Saturday¹s British Supersport Championship qualifying at the Snetterton circuit in Norfolk.

Riba, second in the Championship points standings, was just 0.1s away from a debut pole position in the class and is confident of a first podium finish after taking fourth place in the previous rounds at Silverstone and Brands Hatch.

“I’m very, very happy with what we’ve achieved today,” said Riba. “The machine and tyres feel better than they have done at any point this year. Everything continues to improve with the new ZX-6RR and this weekend feels like a major step forward in that development.”

Riba added: “There are some good, quality riders in the Supersport class so to be third on the grid, and on my first visit to Snetterton, is good. We also have a good race tyre – I was only 0.3s slower on the race tyre than the soft compound Metzeler we use for qualifying.”

Riba’s team-mate Rob Frost will start from 19th place on the grid, escaping injury after he crashed on the final lap of the qualifying session.

Frost explained: “We’d tried just about everything in the session in an effort to get the machine set-up right. Eventually we got the front end of the machine working good but it began bringing the rear around, going sideways on me.

“That’s exactly what happened with the crash, it came around and I knew it was my final lap so there was no way I could roll the throttle off. The race will be a battle but I’m ready for it and Snetterton is a good, open circuit for racing.”

The team’s National Superstock Championship rider, Steve Allan will start from 18th place on the grid after a qualifying day to forget for the Scotsman who took pole position for the opening round of the series four weeks ago at Silverstone.

Allan, less than one second off a front row start, said: “Everything about the ZX-10R is great–it’s the circuit which is causing us trouble this weekend. We’ve had trouble with the brakes since we got here. It’s the same
for every rider out there and it’s just how you can handle it best.

“The characteristics of Snetterton and its long straights mean you’re travelling from 160 mph down to about 30 mph as quick as you can, with
standard brakes it takes its toll. The team have got some ideas though and I’m hopeful we’ll get around the problem by the morning warm-up.”

British Supersport Championship final qualifying times:

1 Karl Harris, Honda, 1:08.673
2 Luke Quigley, Suzuki, 1:08.721
3 Pere Riba, Kawasaki, 1:08.840
4 Tom Sykes, Suzuki, 1:08.967
5 Simon Andrews, Yamaha, 1:08.971
6 Tom Tunstall, Honda, 1:09.077
7 Jay Vincent, Honda, 1:09.095
8 Leon Camier, Honda, 1:09.099
9 Michael Laverty, Ducati, 1:09.101
10 Iain MacPherson, Honda, 1:09.135
19 Rob Frost, Kawasaki, 1:09.779


National Superstock Championship final qualifying times:

1 Tristan Palmer, Suzuki, 1:08.047
2 Andy Tinsley, Suzuki, 1:08.147
3 Ben Wilson, Suzuki, 1:08.371
4 Mark Heckles, Yamaha, 1:08.433
5 Les Shand, Yamaha, 1:08.494
6 Danny Beaumont, Yamaha, 1:08.557
7 Marshall Neill, Suzuki, 1:08.725
8 Ryan Rainey, Yamaha, 1:08.880
9 John Crockford, Suzuki, 1:08.881
10 Aaron Zanotti, Suzuki, 1:08.949
18 Steve Allan, Kawasaki, 1:09.431



More, from a press release issued by Hawk Kawasaki:

BSB Championship, Round 3, Snetterton, Norfolk

Track length: 1.952 miles

Weather: dry, bright sunshine, slight breeze, 24° C

Track: 36° C

COMBINED QUALIFYING

TRAFFIC ROBS SMART OF FRONT ROW START

Hawk Kawasaki’s Scott Smart missed out on a front row start for tomorrow’s two BSB races at Snetterton, Norfolk, by two tenths of a second when he was baulked by slower traffic on his final few laps of qualifying.

Smarty held a strong third position for more than half of the sun-drenched second session and was looking to guarantee a front row start with a flying lap in the closing minutes of qualifying. Unable to avoid slower riders, Scott was forced to settle with sixth quickest time and a second row grid position.

“I had to back off on my last three laps when I was trying for a quick time,” he said afterwards. “It wasn’t the other riders’ fault, they were just mid-corner when I was trying to get through the turn faster and that’s just the way your luck runs sometimes. I ran a .61 and it could have been a .59 no problem if I hadn’t been slowed and that would have been good enough for the front row of the grid.”

His Hawk Kawasaki team-mate, Glen Richards, was also forced to abort his final few flying laps when his ZX-10R developed an miss-fire, leaving the Aussie unable to best his time of 1:06.492. He starts tomorrow’s tow races from ninth.

“It’s really frustrating,” said Glen. “I know I could have gone faster but my number one bike started cutting out and there was nothing I could do. It’s going to be hard starting from the third row, so my aim now is to get away as cleanly as I can.”

Smart’s speed aboard the team’s new Kawasaki ZX-10R surprised many – even Hawk Team Principal Stuart Hicken. “I was concerned about speed, but people said we wouldn’t do anything with the 750 and we did, and we’ve proved that again today with a new bike,” he said. “It’s also nice to see our bikes pass others in a straight line, rather than on the brakes. Being able to do that makes life much easier.

“Overall I’m really happy because it’s very, very close at the top. Scott thought he could’ve gone quicker, Glen definitely could have gone quicker but we were a little bit unlucky to get a miss-fire at the end of the session on Glen’s number one bike. The good thing is that through the speed trap on the back straight we were second and third.”

From a press release issued by d’Antin Ducati:

RUBEN XAUS SUPPORTS THE ONG “MOTOS SOLIDARIAS”

The d’Antin MotoGP rider Ruben Xaus has been appointed honour member of the “Motos Solidarias” organization during a function celebrated in the NH Podium Hotel in Barcelona.

“Motos Solidarias” is the Spanish branch of “Riders for Health” ONG founded in the year 1989 and devoted to saving lives supplying means of transport to canalise medical resources in different African countries. This ONG is dedicated to intensify its actions at present.

Spain is a very caring country and the passion for the two tyres sports takes root. That is why all the actions undertaken by “Motos Solidarias” have been a success in the same way it has happened in Great Britain.

The main World-Championship rider’s involvement is complete and this week Ruben Xaus went along with other riders such as Sete Gibernau and Carlos Checa to pick up the organization’s honorary member award from one of the main responsible hands, the ex-rider Randy Mamola.

Xaus is pride of having a chance to help to the development of this project: “I am very glad that they have counted on me and I can assure that my implication is going to be complete. I will attend as many acts called by Motos Solidarias as I can and I will contribute as much as I can taking part in the auctions or in any other activities. I think that even giving little help we can not lose the chance of doing so”.

From a press release issued by Ducati North America:

THREE TIME AMA SUPERBIKE CHAMPION DOUG CHANDLER TO RACE DUCATI 749R IN AMA FORMULA EXTREME

HMC Ducati Milwaukee Racing pairs up with Ducati and three time AMA Superbike champion Doug Chandler for their 2004 Formula Extreme effort.

Doug Chandler will race a Ducati 749R in the AMA Formula Extreme championship for 2004. The 749R was released last month and is the most technologically advanced Ducati ever.

HMC Ducati Milwaukee Racing is excited to be involved with both Chandler and Ducati. Mitch Hansen, team owner of HMC, has a history of winning with Ducati. In 1999 and 2000, HMC raced a 748RS in the now extinct AMA Pro Thunder class, winning the championship in 1999 with Shawn Conrad. In 2002, Doug Chandler rode a Ducati 998RS for HMC finishing the season with 3 podiums. Excited about the future of the new team, Mitch Hansen said, “I feel that the team we assembled with Doug and the 749R is capable of getting on the podium and winning consistently through the year. We’ve entered the season late but we know that anything can happen in racing and we hope to pull off the championship”

The 39-year-old California resident, Chandler, is a well-respected, accomplished racer. He has already won the AMA Superbike Championship three times and raced four years in Grand Prix. Chandler says he is excited to be on a Ducati again, “I’m really looking forward to Barber, its too bad we didn’t get to start the season in Daytona but I know we can go out there and win races. And I’m really excited to be back to roadracing especially on the Ducati.” Chandler’s first race with the 749R will be at Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, Alabama on May 14-16.

The Ducati 749R is technically the most advanced twin-cylinder bike ever produced. It features a short stroke engine and the revolutionary testastretta head design. This bike was designed to mark Ducati’s return to World Supersport racing but will be extremely competitive in the US-based Formula Extreme class.

HMC Ducati Milwaukee Racing is sponsored by Dunlop, Options Italia, Silkolene, D.I.D., Dowco, Bucci, and EBC.

Copyright 2004, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Provisional F-USA Formula Sportbike Qualifying Results:

1. Blake Young, Suzuki GSX-R750, 2:24.055
2. Shawn Conrad, Suzuki GSX-R750, 2:24.611
3. Scott Greenwood, Suzuki GSX-R750, 2:25.302
4. Scott Harwell, Suzuki GSX-R750, 2:25.367
5. Brian Stokes, Suzuki GSX-R750, 2:26.025
6. Chris Ulrich, Suzuki GSX-R750, 2:26.763
7. Robert Jensen, Suzuki GSX-R750, 2:26.998
8. Brian Hall, Suzuki GSX-R750, 2:28.752
9. Kane Lasky, Suzuki GSX-R750, 2:28.980
10. Matt Malterer, Suzuki GSX-R750, 2:32.144
11. Kevin Gordon, Suzuki GSX-R750, 2:32.999
12. John McGarity, Suzuki GSX-R750, 2:33.846
13. Dave Rosno, Yamaha YZF-R6, 2:34.143
14. Joe Riberio, Suzuki GSX-R750, 2:34.763
15. David Tullier, 2:34.932
16. Montez Stewart, Yamaha YZF-R6, 2:34.971
17. Ivan Garza, Suzuki GSX-R750, 2:35.543
18. Morgan Broadhead, Suzuki GSX-R750, 2:36.133
19. Eddie Bingham, Suzuki GSX-R750, 2:41.005
20. Calvin Martinez, 2:43.544
21. Michael Casey, Suzuki GSX-R750, 2:47.804

Copyright 2004, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Provisional Formula USA Unlimited Grand Prix Qualifying Results:

1. Mark Junge, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 2:23.017
2. Geoff May, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 2:25.868
3. Scott Greenwood, Suzuki GSX-R750, 2:26.707
4. Dave Ebben, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 2:29.420
5. Kane Lasky, Suzuki GSX-R750, 2:29.628
6. Brian Hall, 2:30.798
7. Brian Boyd, 2:31.797
8. Jason Swan, Suzuki, 2:32.249
9. Matt Malterer, 2:32.589
10. Shane Stoyko, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 2:33.080
11. H. Locum, 2:34.747
12. Roger Hendricks, Suzuki, 2:37.420
13. Morgan Broadhead, Suzuki GSX-R750, 2:38.572
14. A. Conner, 2:38.959
15. J. Knupp, 2:39.086
16. Ivan Garza, Suzuki GSX-R750, 2:39.151
17. Geoff Maloney, 2:42.374
18. Calvin Martinez, Suzuki, 2:44.089
19. J. Bentz, 2:45.008
20. M. Williams, 2:57.842

Copyright 2004, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Two Buell factory-supported teams are making their 2004 AMA debut in the AMA Formula Xtreme class at Infineon Raceway on XB9R Firebolts.

Hal’s Performance Buell, with rider Mike Ciccotto and Crew Chief Terry Galagan, and Kosco Buell, with rider Michael Barnes and Crew Chief Rich Cronrath, will both be fielding Firebolts this weekend at the Sonoma, California racetrack.

Barnes and Cronrath won a Formula USA Buell Lightning Series Championship together, and Galagan and Ciccotto won the last-ever AMA Pro Thunder race at Laguna Seca in 2002 on a Firebolt Superbike.

“This bike is making more power, it’s more dialed-in suspension-wise but it’s more stock,” said Ciccotto, when asked how his 2004 bike differs from his 2002 race winner. Ciccotto pointed out the stock 17-inch wheels, Showa forks and single-perimeter-rotor Zero Torsional Load (ZTL) brake on his new bike.

The bike Ciccotto ran in 2002 had 16.5-inch Marchesinis, dual front brakes rotors and factory-spec Nissin six-piston brake calipers.

“We’re trying to make the stock bike work, and it seems to be working pretty good so far,” said Galagan, when asked why leave the bike relatively unmodified in a class that allows many modifications.

Galagan admitted that he is probably giving a weight advantage to some of the Japanese 600cc inline four-cylinder bikes in the class, but said he has improved on the 135 horsepower his bike produced in 2002.

“It’s doing everything I want it to do,” said Ciccotto. “It turns, it stops and it’s making awesome power. I haven’t really been trying yet, and I’m having a blast. I expect to be in the top five, maybe on the podium.”

“We weren’t ready,” Galagan said as to why his team didn’t join the AMA series until Infineon Raceway. “We weren’t sure we were going to get the factory technical support we needed until too late. We didn’t want to come out and get in the way or oil the track down. We have more respect for the teams in the semi-trucks than that. We didn’t want to come out until we were ready.”

Asked about the appearance of the factory-supported Buells in Formula Xtreme, American Honda’s Al Ludington, Crew Chief for FX Championship-leading Miguel Duhamel, said, “The more the merrier.”

From a press release issued by MSS Discovery Kawasaki Team:

British Supersport/National Superstock Championships
Round three ­
Snetterton, April 25 2004

MSS DISCOVERY ACES CHASE GLORY IN NORFOLK

The MSS Discovery Kawasaki team is looking to its trio of Pere Riba, Rob Frost and Steve Allan to secure success in Sunday’s third round of the British Supersport and National Superstock Championships at the Snetterton circuit in Norfolk.

The team’s British Supersport title hopes are firmly with Pere Riba presently after two solid fourth place finishes have left the Spaniard second in the series and just seven points from the lead.

Riba believes: “Snetterton could well be a circuit for us to at least climb the podium for the first time. It’s not that much of a technical circuit and I’m really hoping to take a victory.

“We’ve got two rounds out of the way and scored about the amount of points we may have accepted to get our season under way. Now it’s time to get the ZX-6RR dialled in and go for the win.”

Rob Frost, Riba’s team-mate in the MSS Discovery Supersport side of the team, is looking for his first finish of the year after twice becoming entangled with other riders and crashing out, in the Silverstone and Brands Hatch races.

“I’ve had a nightmare start to the year,” admits Frost. “But I’ve had a lot of success at Snetterton before and I’m looking to be up with the leaders on Sunday. Staying out of trouble is important but I know this weekend provides a really good chance for me.”

The MSS Discovery team’s Superstock rider Steve Allan is out to make amends. Allan crashed out of the last round at Brands Hatch, all after a fantastic pole position and third place finish at the opening Silverstone round four weeks ago.

“The Brands Hatch crash was a major blow,” recalls Allan. “I needed points but I’m still very confident about the ability of the ZX-10R ­ especially at high speed circuits like Snetterton.”

Allan adds: “We’re definitely improving the machine every time I’m out on it and there’s an awful long way to go in the championship so we’re well aware that getting back into contention for the title is easily possible.”

Team owners Stuart Simmonds and Nick Morgan continue their quest for a British Championship victory and are optimistic about their Snetterton prospects.

Simmonds believes: “We’ve put an immense effort into the 2004 season and we¹ve already seen the result of that ­ coupled with the experience and ability of Pere. Now we need to move up another gear and ensure our prominence becomes more evident in both classes ­ Nick and myself are confident of achieving that with the ZX-6RR and ZX-10R Kawasakis.”



British Supersport Championship points after two of 13 rounds: 1 Jay Vincent, Honda 33, 2 Pere Riba, Kawasaki and Michael Laverty, Ducati 26, 4 Karl Harris, Honda and Luke Quigley, Suzuki 25, 6 Craig Jones, Triumph 20, 7 Kieran Murphy, Honda 19, 8 Simon Andrews, Yamaha 16, 9 Tom Tunstall, Honda 14, 10 Leon Camier, Honda 11.

National Superstock Championship points after two of 13 rounds: 1 Andy Tinsley, Suzuki 45, 2 Ben Wilson, Suzuki 38, 3 Tristan Palmer, Suzuki and Danny Beaumont, Yamaha 29, 5 Les Shand, Yamaha 20, 6 Steve Allan, Kawasaki and Mark Heckles, Yamaha 16, 8 Kelvin Reilly, Ducati 15, 9 Craig Fitzpatrick, Suzuki 14, 10 Darren Mitchell, Suzuki 11.



2004 British Supersport / National Superstock Championship calendars


1 March 28 Silverstone, Northants.

2 April 12 Brands Hatch, Kent

3 April 25 Snetterton, Norfolk

4 May 3 Oulton Park, Cheshire

5 May 23 Mondello Park, Ireland*

6 June 6 Thruxton, Hants.

7 June 20 Brands Hatch, Kent

8 July 4 Knockhill, Fife

9 July 18 Mallory Park, Leics**

10 August 15 Croft, North Yorks

11 August 30 Cadwell Park, Lincs.

12 September 12 Oulton Park, Cheshire

13 September 19 Donington Park, Derbys.


* No Superstock round
** Two Superstock races

From a press release issued by AMA Pro Racing:

Hayden heads Pro Honda Oils Supersport Championship Presented by Shoei for the first time

Oldest of the racing Hayden brothers likes his chances at Infineon Raceway

PICKERINGTON, Ohio (April 23, 2004) — Tommy Hayden is in his ninth year of racing in the Pro Honda Oils Supersport Championship presented by Shoei. The oldest of the famous trio of Hayden brothers, Tommy has finished in the top five in the AMA Supersport Championship a total of five times and was runner-up twice. Hayden is ranked sixth on the all-time AMA Supersport wins list and he has the distinction of winning an AMA Supersport race by one of the largest margins in the history of the series when he smoked the rest of the field by over 16 seconds in the rain at Laguna Seca in 1999. In spite of his impressive accomplishments, the one thing Hayden has never done is lead the series point standings – until now. Hayden finds himself atop the championship as it moves to round three on April 30-May 2, as part of the Kawasaki AMA Superbike Showdown at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, Calif.

Hayden is coming off a victory on his Kawasaki ZX-6RR at California Speedway earlier this month. That win moved him past Daytona winner Jason DiSalvo into the championship lead. His younger brother Roger Lee Hayden is third in the series, also riding a Kawasaki. While the elder Hayden is happy with his position at this point in the year, he’s not thinking too far ahead.

“Yeah, it’s great to be on top of the series, but it’s not like I’m going to celebrate yet,” Hayden said. “It’s really early and there’s a lot of racing to be done. I am happy because it seems in the past I’ve always started the year slow in Supersport and have had to charge back to get into the championship race. This year I’ve gotten off to a good start so I need to keep my momentum going.”

Hayden tested a couple of times at Infineon and feels he has as much of an opportunity as anyone to win.

“I comfortable with the bike,” Hayden added. “The handling is great and we now have the power we didn’t have last year. Now I can just concentrate on riding the bike and not worry about anything else. My ZX-6RR is dialed in and it seems to work well on any type of track so I like my chances at Sears (Infineon Raceway).”

The one thing working against Hayden at Infineon is history. In the years he’s raced Supersport there Hayden has never finished better than fifth, plus a Kawasaki rider has not won at the track in Supersport since 1996 when Thomas Stevens rode a Kawasaki to victory. Then again, history was against Jamie Hacking last year. He’d suffered a miserable past at Infineon only to finally break through and earn a victory last year. He went on to win the AMA Supersport title.

Hacking will be one of the favorites again this year. The No. 1 Yamaha rider comes into this weekend tied for fourth in the standings, but is only 12 points out of first. It’s a tight race overall in Supersport with the top seven riders separated by only 20 points.

Local hero Steve Rapp of Valvoline EMGO Suzuki leads Suzuki in the points. Rapp, an Oakland native, is seventh in the series after scoring a pair of top-10 finishes in the first two rounds. Yoshimura Suzuki’s Ben Spies also figures to make a big leap from his current 11th-place in the point standings this week. After blowing out a shock and not scoring a single point at Daytona, Spies charged back to finish second at California Speedway. Look for the talented Texan to be a serious contender.

Privateer Michael Barnes is experiencing resurgence this year. The Floridian veteran has raced AMA Supersport since its inception and finds himself in a solid sixth in the standings. Those who like to root for the underdog need to look no further than Barnes to find a favorite.

Call 800-870-RACE, or visit www.infineonraceway.com or www.ticketmaster.com for additional information on the Kawasaki AMA Superbike Showdown. The Infineon Supersport race will shown live at 4 p.m. Eastern on SPEED Channel on Sunday, May 2.