Copyright 2004, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Both American Honda CBR1000RR Superbikes hit the ground Monday during tire testing at Daytona International Speedway Monday afternoon.

After completing two, 18-lap endurance runs, Miguel Duhamel lowsided at low speed in the International Horseshoe, according to Crew Chief Al Ludington.

Duhamel and his machine were relatively undamaged, but Duhamel chose to sit out the rest of the test and handed his bike over to Erion Honda’s Jake Zemke.

Moments later, at 1:12 p.m. local time, word came in that Ben Bostrom had crashed big in the chicane while in the middle of a long-distance tire test.

“I’m cutting laps, and I’m like, ‘I’ve got to keep this tire in the 1:48s and 1:49s. That way I can leave here a happy person.'” Bostrom told Roadracingworld.com. “I was in the 1:48s, then I climbed up to the low-1:49s. So I’m like, ‘How am I going to get this thing back into the 1:48s?’ Then I saw (Jason) DiSalvo. I was catching him. I thought if I could catch him in the chicane I’ll get a big draft off of him, and that’ll bring back into the 1:48s for sure.

“I ran it in there pretty big and I was kind of focused on him and not what I was doing. I knew I was going to have to trail brake the thing pretty hard because I was in there pretty deep. I started trail braking and just lost the front. Just being greedy because I wanted to catch a draft off of him, which is so stupid for testing. But I wanted to do fast laps. I wanted to stick with those lap times for 15 laps. I thought if I could get this thing back into the 1:48s after 10 laps I would be pretty happy.

“I broke real hard, started to trail it, tucked the front and the worst part is you bounce off the ground, BAM! When you’re trail braking from a straightaway you don’t have too much lean angle. When you have lean angle it’s no problem because you’re so close to the ground. But when you crash like that you fall a ways and it kind of slingshots you to the ground.”

Bostrom said he suffered a contusion to his left arm near the elbow plus assorted scrapes and bruises on his left side. At post time Bostrom was “contemplating” whether or not he would take a trip to the hospital to have his arm checked out.

Bostrom’s day, and test, ended with a best hand-timed lap time of 1:48.70, turned on a race tire during his long run.

Copyright 2004, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

By Beth Wyse

Greg Moore was the top qualifier for the Festival of Speed at No Problem Raceway on Saturday, turning a time of 1:14.032 around the 1.8-mile Louisiana track on his Suzuki GSX-R1000.

The third Festival of Speed is being hosted by the Church of Speed, No Problem Raceway’s road racing organization. For qualifying, the riders were divided into two sessions. The first group was for Expert only, while the second was comprised of Novice and non-race-licensed street riders.

The two groups rotated during the afternoon, riding 20-minute sessions at a time. At the end of the day, the top times for all riders were combined. The top third will race in the Expert division on Sunday, the middle third will be grouped in the Novice division and the final third will be in the Street, or “Trophy,” class. Each group will have two races, with all sizes of bikes combined.

Mike Sanchez qualified second with a 1:14.588 on his Suzuki GSX-R750. Shogun Racing’s Heath Small was third with a time of 1:15.197 on his Yamaha YZF-R6. Jamie James is on hand this weekend to assist Small in setting his bike up and even took the bike out for some laps during the practice sessions.

Shane Stoyko was the fifth qualifier after setting a time of 1:15.930 on TheRacerSupply.com Suzuki GSX-R1000.

The Church of Speed will be a CCS affiliate for the 2004 season, hosting two events at No Problem Raceway. For this weekend’s event, CCS provided some transponders and additional AirFence modules.

Races will begin on Sunday, January 25, at 1:00 p.m. CST. The longest race of the day, and the one with the largest payout, will be a 25-lap Expert race. In addition to the three classes, there will also be an 8-lap Buell/Motard race.

Copyright 2004, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

A tire test for AMA teams and riders is set to start Sunday morning at Daytona International Raceway.

The test was scheduled following two catastrophic tire failures at high speed during recent Dunlop tests at Daytona. The test is believed to be to determine if the tire failures are a Dunlop-specific problem or a problem related to the speed and weight of the current 1000cc Superbike and Superstock bikes.

As of 8:45 a.m. local time some wet spots on the track were being dried by a jet blower. Teams are expected to take to the track shortly after 9:00 a.m. Local weather forecasters are calling for good conditions over both days of the test.

Teams are set up in garages according to tire brands.

Dunlop-sponsored teams (American Honda Ben Bostrom and Miguel Duhamel, Erion Honda Jake Zemke, Kawasaki Tommy and Roger Lee Hayden, Yamaha Jason DiSalvo) are set in one garage, Michelin-backed teams (Parts Unlimited Ducati Austin Eric Bostrom, Team Valvoline EMGO Suzuki Steve Rapp and Vincent Haskovec) are in a second garage and Pirelli-supported riders (Lee Acree, Michael Barnes, Geoff May) will use a third garage.

Pirelli shipped new development tires, specifically made for this extra test, to the track, but the tires are currently being held in customs at the Daytona International Airport, according to newly-appointed Pirelli Road Race Manager Jeff Selbert. Selbert is currently working with a customs agent to get the tires released as soon as today, but in the meantime, his riders will work with Pirelli’s existing 17-inch and 16.5-inch slicks.

Copyright 2004, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

American Honda’s Miguel Duhamel turned the fastest lap time of all riders Sunday during day one of a special, two-day AMA team tire test at Daytona International Speedway.

Riding the same CBR1000RR Superbike that Jake Zemke rode in the morning session, Duhamel turned a 1:47.650 on a “soft race tire” to lead all times and to beat his best lap time from the Dunlop tire test at Daytona in December by 0.8 second. Small set-up changes were the key to the fast time, according to Duhamel.

“Al (Ludington, Crew Chief) and I did our little voodoo we do, a couple of clicks here and there, and the bike just turned perfect, beautiful. The bike was great, said the all-time AMA Superbike win leader. “We put on a race tire, but it was a softer race tire, and we were able to drop over three seconds. I know the bike’s got more if we need it.”

Asked about the tire he used, Duhamel said, “We use it for qualifying, but it’s a race tire. I think (Neil) Hodgson raced on it at Laguna (in 2002). The tire was really predictable, and we got two fast laps (second lap 1:48.05) out of it. Then we put some more race tires on it, just to confirm the set-up because I thought it was really sweet, and we got some 1:49s out of it. I’m really pleased with the bike, the team and I’m really pleased with Dunlop too.”

In addition to the quick time, Duhamel did a 16-lap endurance test without incident and was clocked at 193.5 mph through the tri-oval on his team’s radar gun. Duhamel was clocked at 192.3 mph in December.

After giving up his CBR1000RR to Duhamel, Erion Honda’s Jake Zemke jumped on Ben Bostrom’s Superbike. Due to a difference in a few components between the two bikes, like brakes, and the fact that he hadn’t ridden Bostrom’s bike since December, Zemke could not improve on his Sunday morning lap times.

Parts Unlimited Ducati Austin’s Eric Bostrom switched to his second bike Sunday afternoon when his first bike’s engine started feeling tight. Eric Bostrom went faster on the second bike, with a 1:49.92, and said the bike had more to give but he wasn’t able to give the bike what it wanted. The younger Bostrom brother said the day ended up, however, with an uneventful 12-lap endurance run on his Michelins.

Jason DiSalvo was able to improve his best lap time while chasing Eric Bostrom for a few laps Sunday afternoon. In fact, DiSalvo’s time of 1:49.79 on his Graves Yamaha YZF-R1 Superstocker was marginally quicker than Bostrom’s best Superbike time. Several racers watching the action commented that DiSalvo’s bike was as fast if not faster than Eric Bostrom’s Superbike on the banking.

Riding on Michelins, Team Valvoline EMGO Suzuki’s Steve Rapp turned his fastest time, and the second-fastest Superstock lap time, a 1:50.81, right after lunch. At the end of the day, Rapp’s team discovered that his GSX-R1000 had lost compression in one cylinder and essentially finished the day running on three cylinders.

Kawasaki’s Tommy Hayden went nearly as quick as Rapp with a 1:50.97 before handing his bike off to teammate and younger brother Roger Lee Hayden. The younger Hayden got only 10 laps, during which his bike threw its chain, but he still managed a time of 1:51.90.

Although he recorded the slowest time on the day, Lee Acree concentrated on endurance testing tires for Pirelli, putting 20 laps, over two stints, on one tire in the morning session and running 16 straight laps on another tire without problem in the afternoon. Acree was riding a stock GSX-R1000 borrowed from the Kevin Schwantz Suzuki School and fitted with an Ohlins shock and a bolt-on Yoshimura muffler.

No tire problems were reported or observed during day one of the tire test.

Sunday’s Unofficial Lap Times:

1. Miguel Duhamel, Honda CBR1000RR Superbike, 1:47.70
2. Jake Zemke, Honda CBR1000RR Superbike, 1:48.91
3. Ben Bostrom, Honda CBR1000RR Superbike, 1:49.29
4. Jason DiSalvo, Yamaha YZF-R1 Superstock, 1:49.79
5. Eric Bostrom, Ducati 999 Superbike, 1:49.92
6. Steve Rapp, Suzuki GSX-R1000 Superstock, 1:50.81
7. Tommy Hayden, Kawasaki ZX-10R Superstock, 1:50.97
8. Roger Lee Hayden, Kawasaki ZX-10R Superstock, 1:51.90
9. Vincent Haskovec, Suzuki GSX-R1000 Superstock, 1:52.45
10. Michael Barnes, Suzuki GSX-R1000 Superstock, 1:53.00
11. Geoff May, Suzuki GSX-R1000 Superstock, 1:53.99
12. Lee Acree, Suzuki GSX-R1000 Superstock, 1:54.31

From a press release issued by BMW North America:

Even more agile, more powerful and lighter for maximum riding pleasure on and off the road.

The new BMW R 1200 GS fulfils the old dream of the ideal touring enduro: Superiority in every respect, outstanding performance and superior comfort even on the longest tour, equally superior handling and agility for maximum riding pleasure on winding country roads and mountain passes give the rider exactly what he wants. Add to this low weight of just 225 kg or 496 lb quite unique in this class, plus outstanding chassis and spring qualities, and you can be sure to enjoy even the toughest tours on the roughest terrain.

The BMW R 1200 GS offers an unparalleled synthesis of harmony in its
combination of offroad an onroad riding qualities. With its predecessor,
the R 1150 GS uniquely successful over so many years, setting the standard in its segment consistently throughout its lifecycle, the R 1200 GS now takes you into a new dimension, raising the outstanding features of its predecessor to an even higher level on all important counts.

At the same time it goes without saying that the R 1200 GS continues all
the traditional features and fortes so characteristic of all BMW motorcycles:
First-class and extra-safe riding conditions ensured by even more stable running gear with the unique BMW Telelever for the front wheel and a newly designed weight- and geometry-optimised Paralever at the rear.

High-performance brakes of the highest caliber together with BMW’s unique Motorcycle Integral ABS guarantee supreme safety even in a critical situation. Superior environmental compatibility, in turn, is ensured by a fully controlled three-way catalytic converter with the most advanced emission management – a technology, incidentally, which has been a natural feature on all
BMW motorcycles for years.

Equipped with dual ignition, brand-new Digital Motor Electronics featuring integrated knock control, as well as further improved catalytic converters and separate oxygen sensors for each cylinder, the R 1200 GS increases the leadership of BMW motorcycles in the large-volume touring enduro segment to an even higher standard than ever before.

A further feature not to be forgotten is the maintenance-free driveshaft avoiding the need for unpleasant and time-consuming service particularly on long trips. The sophisticated new luggage system as well as the wide range of accessories available straight from the factory and tailored to the R 1200 GS also help to clearly prove that this new machine is powerfully continuing the tradition of large-capacity BMW touring enduros which now goes back almost 25 years to the R 80 G/S launched in 1980: This is most certainly the original straight from the inventor of this type of motorcycle, a machine once again setting the standard in this class.

From a press release issued by Mat Mladin Motorsports:

Yoshimura Suzuki team test
Sepang, Malaysia

MALAYSIA TEST SEES MLADIN SHARE TIME ON BOTH SUZUKI SUPERBIKE AND MotoGP MACHINES


Four times American Superbike Champion Mat Mladin has returned to Australia after completing a solid four-day test session at the Sepang Circuit in Malaysia where he shared track time with fellow Team Yoshimura Suzuki rider Aaron Yates and a number of the factory supported MotoGP teams.

The off-season Malaysian test saw 31-year-old Mladin continue to work on the development of his Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000 in preparation for his title defence in this years AMA Chevy Trucks US Superbike Championship that commences at Daytona on March 6.

While at Sepang, Mladin was provided the opportunity to complete a number of laps aboard Team Suzuki’s factory prepared GSV-R MotoGP machine. Reports from the circuit had Mladin circulating at 2 – 3 seconds off the pace of regular team riders Kenny Roberts and John Hopkins. A remarkable effort given the short period of track time, difference in machine performance and characteristics and different brand of tyres that he is familiar with.

“I had about an hour on the bike which saw me do about a dozen or so flying laps,” said Mladin. “It turned out to be rather frustrating actually as I was initially told that I could have a full day on the bike to try and put an independent evaluation in it. In the end I didn’t get enough time on the bike to give them too much to work on.”

The main focus of the four-day test was for Mladin and his crew to take advantage of clear weather conditions and maximise track time aboard the Superbike. Rule changes that affect the performance of their championship-winning GSX-R1000 for this coming season have the team searching for the best possible overall package that will allow them to remain at the top of the championship.

“There wasn’t as much new stuff to test as we had here last year”, added Mladin. “We’ve run the bike for a season now, so we were here just trying to sort things out to comply with the rule changes for this year. The altered rules that have seen us go back to standard throttle bodies and air boxes has robbed us of a lot of horsepower, so we just have to work on making the bike better for that situation.”

“We’ll reconfirm a lot of what we did when we return to America and go to Fontana (California Speedway) in a couple of weeks time.”

“It was a tough test, where I had a few other things on my mind, so I’m actually looking forward to heading back to the States next week and knuckling down to the work that we have and make sure we are ready for the start of the season.”

No official lap times were available for either Mladin or Yates from the test.

Mladin will be aiming to stretch his unprecedented tally of American Superbike Championship titles to five as he heads into this years 18-race Championship.

Copyright 2004, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

The AMA team tire test at Daytona International Speedway is being attended by a virtual who’s who of AMA Pro Racing officials.

Attending the test are:

Merrill Vanderslice – Director of Competition
Ron Barrick – Superbike Series Manager/Race Manager
Rob Hallam – Assistant Superbike Series Manager/Race Manager
Rob King – Technical Manager
Bobby Lemming – Starter/Equipment Steward
Kerry Graeber – Vice-President, Director of Communications
P.J. Harvey – Chairman, AMA Pro Racing Board of Directors
Mike Buckley – Vice-President, Dunlop Tire Corp./AMA Board of Directors/AMA Pro Racing Board of Directors

AMA Pro Racing CEO Scott Hollingsworth is expected to attend the test on Monday.

Ken Vreeke and Ken Lee of Vreeke & Associates, the Public Relations agency representing Dunlop and Honda, are at Daytona.

The test is also being attended by several tire engineers from Dunlop, Michelin and Pirelli.

From a press release issued by Yamaha:

YAMAHA FACTORY RACING TESTS
Sepang, Malaysia

Sunday, January 25, 2004

Introducing MASAO FURUSAWA General Manager, YMC Technology Development Division

YAMAHA ‘CHEF’ PREPARES FAST-FOOD FOR HIGH-SPEED ‘DOCTOR’

The recently appointed head of Yamaha’s new MotoGP Sports Department is gearing-up the famous Japanese Yamaha factory for a full-throttle assault on the 2004 MotoGP World Championship. The 52-year-old Masao Furusawa, who has worked with Yamaha since the early 1970s, heads up the factory’s massive effort to wrest the World Championship from its biggest rival.

Reigning MotoGP World Champion Valentino Rossi rides for Yamaha this season and Furusawa likens his head of development role to that of a chef – a chef preparing winning high-speed machinery for the Champion known as The Doctor. “We have prepared some ingredients, now we are mixing them together and soon we will be able to taste the result,” he said at Yamaha’s first tests of the year here in Malaysia.

Furusawa and Rossi are united in the goal of winning the World Championship in the Italian’s debut season with Yamaha and the Japanese boss has the highest regard for his new rider. “I like his character and I appreciate his grasp of the technical matters that need attention. His crew is also a great help.

“I started mid-season and have looked carefully at what we need to upgrade. One area is horsepower and we have increased maximum speed too, but this is not everything in MotoGP. We investigated the chassis and introduced a new one at Valencia last year.”

But it’s this season when the results of Furusawa’s direction will show. “We have prepared different specification engines and chassis and many smaller items. We currently have four types of engines and four types of chassis to try. We have five more tests before the first race and we will test them all
and then combine the results to make a good bike.”

Furusawa has forged even closer links between Yamaha’s renowned Research and Development department and his MotoGP set-up and he fully appreciates the pressure time puts on the factory’s brave bid for World Championship glory – the first race at Welkom in South Africa is on April 18. “So the deadline for making the best bike is two and a half months,” he said plainly.

From a press release issued by Yamaha:

YAMAHA FACTORY RACING TESTS
Sepang, Malaysia
Sunday, January 25, 2004

Ambient temperature: 29 degrees C
Track temperature: 41 degrees
Humidity: 60%

YAMAHA TEAM RIDERS STEP UP THE PACE IN STEAMY SEPANG

As track temperatures matched the scorching 41 degrees of the Malaysian Grand Prix in October 2003 Valentino Rossi (Gauloises Fortuna Yamaha Team) cut his lap time down to a best of 2:03.17. This was more than six tenths of a second faster than his best time from day one of this three-day session. The Italian completed 66 laps, among them a brief ride on a Yamaha M1 with a different engine specification.

“I’m very happy with today’s work,” said the reigning MotoGP World Champion. “I had a good rhythm with the bike today and all the changes we made helped us towards consistent lap times. The suspension settings with the 16.5-inch Michelin front tyre are quite good now and although we need to do more work with the engine, I’m happy with what we’ve achieved at this stage. The other engine was good, but it’s very new and needs a few more development kilometres before we can really tell how good it is.”

Rossi’s Crew Chief Jerry Burgess was typically realistic about today’s improvements but was quietly satisfied with the progress made. “We’re going forwards,” he said. “We’ve been playing around with the little things, now we’re up and running fairly consistently and we made a minor mapping change to the engine which was slightly better.

Spanish star Carlos Checa (Gauloises Fortuna Yamaha Team) put in 58 laps of the 5.548km track with a best time of 2:03.57. He tried a selection of different front tyres and believes he has found an effective set-up with a 16.5-inch front tyre.

“We tried a lot of different front tyres today,” he said. “The bike has been working well in some areas, but we didn’t quite get the consistent results I wanted. I managed four laps in the 2:03 bracket but we have more work to do tomorrow, as well as tyre endurance tests.”

Marco Melandri (Fortuna Gauloises Tech 3 Team) completed 36 laps and fell without injury at turn six in the morning session. But the gritty Italian bounced back to record a best lap of 2:04.90 in the afternoon after finding a front tyre that allowed him to fully exploit the power and nimble chassis of his Yamaha M1.

“This afternoon was much better,” he said. “Once I found a front tyre I liked things started to work for me. The crash was as strange as the one I had here at the Grand Prix last year. But my shoulder is getting better and today I could do five laps at a time. But each lap I got slightly weaker and it felt like someone was adding 10kg to the bike on each lap! It will be stronger tomorrow and we’ll work on improving engine response.”

Norick Abe (Fortuna Gauloises Tech 3 Team) worked his way steadily through a total of 61 laps and the Japanese ace is methodically carving down his lap times. Today he recorded a best of 2:04.90 – a full second faster than his best of yesterday.

“Things are getting better,” he said. “We’ve got some work to do still on the front suspension, but to achieve this improvement on several sets of one type of tyre shows we are going in the right direction. We’ll go step-by-step tomorrow and see what improvement we can make.”

Fortuna Gauloises Tech 3 Team Director Herve Poncharal was happy that both riders broke through the 2.5 second barrier and he expects bigger improvements on tomorrow’s final day. “We have good bikes now for the individual needs of both riders and now we’ll see how much we can improve again on new tyres.”