Copyright 2004, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

British Superbike Race One Results From Brands Hatch:

1. John REYNOLDS, Suzuki, 20 laps, 33:42.324
2. Sean EMMETT, Ducati, -5.561 seconds
3. John McGUINNESS, Kawasaki, -5.665 seconds
4. Yukio KAGAYAMA, Suzuki, -7.231 seconds
5. Michael RUTTER, Honda, -10.231 seconds
6. James HAYDON, Yamaha, -12.736 seconds
7. Tommy HILL, Yamaha, -12.791 seconds
8. Leon HASLAM, Ducati, -16.842 seconds
9. Sam CORKE, Suzuki, -21.069 seconds
10. Dean THOMAS, Ducati, -22.890 seconds
11. Dennis HOBBS, Suzuki, -25.060 seconds
12. Chris PLATT, Kawasaki, -25.694 seconds
13. Jon KIRKHAM, Suzuki, -26.953 seconds
14. Craig COXHELL, Honda, -27.844 seconds
15. James ELLISON, Yamaha, -31.856 seconds
16. Iain MacPHERSON, Ducati, -33.577 seconds
17. Adam HITCHCOX, Suzuki, -51.299 seconds
18. Ryuichi KIYONARI, Honda, -71.144 seconds
19. Nick MEDD, Ducati, -92.705 seconds
20. Kiel BRYCE, Honda, -1 lap
21. Gary MASON, Yamaha, -2 laps, DNF
22. James BUCKINGHAM, Suzuki, -5 laps, DNF
23. Denver ROBB, Suzuki, -8 laps, DNF
24. Malcolm ASHLEY, Ducati, -10 laps, DNF
25. Scott SMART, Kawasaki, -12 laps, DNF
26. Steve BROGAN, Yamaha, -16 laps, DNF
27. Noriyuki HAGA, Ducati, -17 laps, DNF
28. Chris MARTIN, Suzuki, -20 laps, DNF

Fastest Lap: John REYNOLDS, 1:34.820

Copyright 2004, Roadracing Publishing, Inc.


Two weeks after he crashed while training on a motocross bike and dislocated his left elbow and broke bones in his left hand (which were surgically pinned together), Robbie Dowie removed a medical brace, fit his leathers over a soft cast and rode his GSX-R1000 Suzuki to a commanding victory in the 20-lap, 50-mile Solo GTO race at Willow Springs Raceway Saturday. The WSMC race was run in relatively mild conditions with ambient temperature about 90 degrees F with moderate wind. Marte Cooksey finished second on his Suzuki GSX-R750.

J.T. Roberts topped the provisional Solo GTU results ahead of Matthias Jezek.

In the combined 20-lap, 50-mile Solo GT-GP and Solo GT-Lights race, John Ulrich won overall on his TZ250, marking his first race win since May 1996. The victory means that Ulrich, 50, has now won motorcycle road races in the 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, and the 2000s.

The battling duo of Bradley Adams on a Suzuki SV650 and Ritchie Thorup on a Yamaha FZR400 finished second and third overall, and first and second in the Solo GT-Lights class. Mark Wilson ran second overall on his Honda RS250 for most of the race but then highsided in the closing laps. Joel Manes finished second in the Solo GT-GP class on another Honda RS250.

Official Results:

SOLO GTO:
1. Robbie Dowie (Suz GSX-R1000);
2. Marte Cooksey (Suz GSX-R);
3. Jerry Mendzar (Suz GSX-R);
4. Martin Szwarc (Suz GSX-R);
5. Rich Gann (Suz GSX-R);
6. Andrew Krajacic (Suz GSX-R).

SOLO GTU:
1. J.T. Roberts (Suz GSX-R600);
2. Matthias Jezek (Kaw ZX-6R);
3. Alex Eisner (Yam YZF-R6);
4. Romeo Jereza (Yam YZF-R6)
5. David Brown (Yam YZF-R6);
6. Mark Hargis (Yam YZF-R6).

SOLO GT-GP:
1. John Ulrich (Yam TZ250);
2. Joel Manes (Hon RS250);
3. Keith Giglio (Apr RS250);
4. Jamie Lenore (Apr RS250);
5. Gordon Wood (Yam TZ250);
6. Jay Pilster (Hon RS125).

SOLO GT-LIGHTS:
1. Bradley Adams (Suz SV650);
2. Ritchie Thorup (Yam FZR400);
3. Craig Smith (Apr RS250);
4. Brienne Thompson (Suz SV650);
5. Arnold Tuason (Yam).

Copyright 2004, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

WSMC racer Lazarus Landin was seriously injured in a first-lap, first-turn multi-bike crash at Willow Springs Raceway Sunday, and was evacuated by helicopter.

Landin was apparently hit by at least one other bike in the incident, which involved four or five motorcycles and happened in the 750cc Modified Production race at the Rosamond, California racetrack.

Further information on Landin’s condition was not available at post time.

Copyright 2004, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

British Superbike Race Two Results:

1. Leon HASLAM, Ducati, 20 laps, 32:19.096
2. Sean EMMETT, Ducati, -5.576 seconds
3. Yukio KAGAYAMA, Suzuki, -7.274 seconds
4. James HAYDON, Yamaha, -8.810 seconds
5. Scott SMART, Kawasaki, -9.638 seconds
6. John McGUINNESS, Kawasaki, -10.474 seconds
7. John REYNOLDS, Suzuki, -17.478 seconds
8. Tommy HILL, Yamaha, -18.122 seconds
9. Craig COXHELL, Honda, -22.165 seconds
10. Gary MASON, Yamaha, -27.601 seconds
11. Steve BROGAN, Yamaha, -30.862 seconds
12. Sam CORKE, Suzuki, -31.888 seconds
13. James ELLISON, Yamaha, -37.582 seconds
14. Michael RUTTER, Honda, -42.648 seconds
15. Dennis HOBBS, Suzuki, -49.490 seconds
16. James BUCKINGHAM, Suzuki, -50.139 seconds
17. Iain MacPHERSON, Ducati, -54.139 seconds
18. Chris PLATT, Kawasaki, -62.929 seconds
19. Chris MARTIN, Suzuki, -70.276 seconds
20. Ryuichi KIYONARI, Honda, -73.174 seconds

Fastest Lap: John REYNOLDS, 1:34.315


More, from a press release issued by Hawk Kawasaki:

MAN OF THE MEETING McGUINNESS ON PODIUM FIRST TIME OUT ON HAWK ZX-10R

Hawk Kawasaki’s decision to replace injured Glen Richards with TT-winning star John McGuinness proved inspired when the Lancastrian stormed to his maiden BSB podium and the Man of the Meeting award at a wet Brands Hatch today.

Dark clouds threatened to dampen proceedings all weekend, but it wasn’t until minutes before the first THINK! British Superbike race that the heavens opened. Both Scott Smart and McGuinness charged through the field in the early laps of the wet race, jumping from twelfth and ninth on the grid to fifth and sixth by lap three.

Unfortunately Smarty was forced out of the running with electrical problems on lap nine, elevating his team-mate to fifth behind Reynolds, Emmett, Mason and Rutter. After a four lap mid-distance stint behind the safety car, due to a crash at Paddock Hill, McGuinness took fourth when Yamaha’s Gary Mason left the track at Druids.

The Hawk rider was right with the leaders on the drying track and was able to outbrake and pass Michael Rutter at Surtees two laps from the end before chasing after Sean Emmett, who looked to be in a safe second place. On the final lap McGuninness looked to have the measure of his Ducati mounted rival before electing to bring his Hawk ZX-10R home in a superb third place for his first ever BSB podium.

“I was expecting a reasonably good result in the wet because I don’t mind it, but to be on podium is unbelievable,” said John of his first race on the Hawk machine. “I could have got past Sean Emmett on the last lap, and in any other situation I would have had a go, but it was my first time on the bike, I was in a podium situation and I thought ‘let’s just bring her home’. The bike worked brilliantly in the wet, it was superb, and I was getting better drive than a lot of the guys. I got away really well, but Yukio was in front of me sliding all over the place and nearly took half the field out. That held me up a bit but it was a long race and I was just picking them off one by one and I quite enjoyed scalping a few of those factory boys.”

The 29 year-old backed-up his superb first race aboard the Kawasaki with a fine sixth place in the second, in equally treacherous conditions, earning him Niall Mackenzie’s Man of the Meeting award. “I tried to keep my head and pick a few off, but I got held up by Tommy Hill for a long time,” he said. “Once I got past him I seemed to pull away. My results show that I’m bike fit, back on the scene and this is where I want to be – in BSB, and this is a great start to it.”

Scott Smart made amends for his first race disappointment, in which an electrical problem forced him to retire, with a gritty fifth place in the second outing. The former 250 champion fought his way through to second behind Emmett in the opening laps, but was unable to sustain the pace when his rear tyre started to wear heavily on the drying track.

“I think I could have got past James Haydon in the closing stages, but at the end of the day I would have struggled to do it,” said Smarty. “I planned to try in the last couple of laps, but we got split up by a back marker. I was catching him but he was having as many out of the seat moments as me. My tyres were gone and it was spinning up everywhere. I got up into second in the early laps and then James and a few others came by because I didn’t have the ultimate pace, but the good thing is that we weren’t a million miles away.

“I’m gutted I had to retire from the first race because I got a great start and was in fifth by the third corner,” he continued. “My bike kept cutting out, which isn’t what you want when you’ve got 180bhp in the wet. I felt comfortable out there too and I’m sure I could have finished fourth or on the podium if the bike had been ok. I just had no choice but to pull in and see if we could fix it.”

After a tough qualifying Hawk Kawasaki Team Principal Stuart Hicken was delighted to see one of his machines on the podium again, especially in the hands of rookie McGuinness.

“The thing I’m really pleased about is that we’ve never raced the bikes in the wet and we’ve proved that the development we’ve done with the engine has made the bike really easy to ride,” he said. “John has ridden 10 times better than I thought he would after coming back from the island, which is real hard work, plus he’s riding against guys who have been hard at it all season. He rode tremendously well and I’m over the moon with the way he’s ridden. I couldn’t have asked for a better stand-in for Glen. Scotty was really unfortunate in the first race, but you can’t do much when electrics go wrong because they were in excellent condition before the race. He had a great second race, where he got up to second and battled hard all the way through. It bodes so well for the future of the bike and as we keep developing it WILL get better, that’s for sure.”

The eighth round of the BSB championship will be held at Knockhill, Scotland, on July 3.

From a press release:

Monday! Monday! Monday! The Racing to Save Lives Event Kicks Off Tomorrow!

Denver, CO – A fundraising event of unprecedented proportion is taking place this week at Second Creek Raceway in Denver, CO. This event will showcase a week-long motorcycle endurance race to raise money for children’s charities, by completing as many miles as possible on a closed-circuit road racing course.

The Racing to Save Lives Crew is very pleased to announce that over 60 riders are slated to participate, and with 26 sponsors so far. the event has generated over $40,000.00!!! The lights haven’t even turned green yet! The event kicks off tomorrow, June 21st and continues to Friday, June 25th.

Besides providing riders with very affordable track time, spectators and participants are encouraged to hang out and “bench race”. Bench racing will have plenty of time at the big party Friday night. There will be live music, food and a preview screening of the movie Faster. While huge donations are certainly welcome, Racing to Save Lives has made the closing party available to the general public for a minimum donation of just $5.00.

For information: http://www.racing2savelives.org
Contact: [email protected]
Phone: Tony Baker at 303-680-7024, or Ralph Forsythe at 303-907-7499

From a press release issued by Hawk Kawasaki:

BSB Championship, Round 7, Brands Hatch GP, Kent

Track length: 2.608 miles

Weather: dry, overcast, breezy 21°C

Track: 32°C

18 June 2004

FREE PRACTICE

McGUINNESS MAKES TOP 10 IN HAWK DEBUT

Hawk Kawasaki stand-in John McGuinness made a superb debut for the team at Brands Hatch today by posting ninth quickest time in free practice.

His time of 1:27.729 was a mere 1.1 seconds off provisional pole, despite today being the first time McGuinness has competed aboard the Hawk Kawasaki ZX-10R and 12 months since he last rode a superbike.

“I’ve really enjoyed working with the team today,” he said. “There’s been no pressure from anybody and my times are right in the ball park. The last time I rode a superbike was here last year on the short circuit, so to be ninth today is a great start. I’ve had a few wheelies out there because it’s so powerful ­- the bike’s a rocket ship! I think I need to boss the bike about a little and maybe play about a bit with the rear brake to keep the front wheel on the ground. We’ve done 40 laps today and it’s gone well.”

His Hawk team-mate, Scott Smart, found it hard to adjust to the fast GP circuit and ended the day an uncharacteristic 14th quickest, but he’s confident his times will tumble during qualifying.

“My performance is down to me more than anything else today,” explained Scott. “My back’s been great for most of the last two weeks and I’ve been training hard, but I spent most of the last few days hunched up in a seat sneezing my head off. I’ve taken some medication to cure my hay fever, so that’s better, but my back’s not feeling good today and, to be honest, I’ve ridden like a beginner today. It’s just not been flowing for me today. At the moment the bike isn’t filling me with confidence, but we’ll get that better tomorrow with a few changes we’ve got in mind. It’s only the first day of the meeting and I know I’ll find more speed tomorrow.”

Combined BSB Practice times

1) Yukio Kagayama, Suzuki, 1:26.825. 2) Sean Emmett, Ducati, 1:26.847. 3) Jon Kirkham, Suzuki (P), 1:27.037. 4) Dean Thomas, Ducati, 1:27.111. 5) Gary Mason, Yamaha, 1:27.115. 6) Michael Rutter, Honda, 1:27.272. 7) Tommy Hill Yamaha, 1:27.720. 8) Noriyuki Haga, Ducati, 1:27.777. 9) John McGuinness, Hawk Kawasaki, 1:27.729. 10) James Haydon, Yamaha, 1:27.879. 11) John Reynolds, Suzuki, 1:27.963. 12) Leon Haslam, Ducati, 1:28.153. 13) Kieran Clarke, Yamaha, 1:28.328. 14) Scott Smart, Hawk Kawasaki, 1:28.505. 15) James Ellison, Yamaha (P), 1:28.510


HICKMAN TAKES PROVISIONAL POLE IN SUPERSTOCK CUP

Hawk Kawasaki’s Peter Hickman took provisional pole during practice for the sixth round of the National Superstock Cup at Brands Hatch, Kent, today. The 17 year-old, who is the youngest rider in the series, was 0.8 of a second quicker than his nearest rival and lapped consistently in 1:33s and 1:34s through the 25 minute session.

“To take provisional pole is great,” said Peter. “I’m really pleased with that because I wasn’t trying too hard as it’s only the first day. We need to make a few changes to the front suspension though because it’s diving too much and taking the weight off the rear end into the turns. When we’ve done that I’m sure I can go even quicker.”

National Superstock Cup Practice times

1) Peter Hickman, Hawk Kawasaki, 1:33.021. 2) Simon Wright, Yamaha, 1:33.834. 3) Jamie Hitter, Suzuki, 1:34.339. 4) James Hurrell, Suzuki, 1:34.716. 5) Neil Faulkner, Yamaha, 1:35.040. 6) Rory Rock, Yamaha, 1:35.137. 7) Mark Turner, Kawasaki, 1:35.318. 8) Stan Watt, Suzuki, 1:35.571. 9) Graham Seward, Suzuki, 1:35.577. 10) Barry Teasdale, Suzuki, 1:35.898. 11) Phil Sanders, Suzuki, 1:35.957. 12) Stu Wilson, Suzuki, 1:36.057. 13) Alan Moreton, Yamaha, 1:36.168. 14) John Fisher, Suzuki, 1:36.313. 15) Ian Higson, Kawasaki, 1:36.564

From a press release issued by Mat Mladin Motorsports:

MLADIN CHASES ELUSIVE BRAINERD SUPERBIKE VICTORY

Minnesota’s Brainerd International Raceway remains as one of only two circuits that Mat Mladin has never won a round in the eight years that he has competed in the American AMA Superbike Championship.

The four-times American AMA Superbike champion will be attempting to remedy that situation when the series heads to BIR for round 11 on Sunday, June 27.

“I’m looking forward to the race, it’s going to be a tough one for us, very similar to the last round at Road America, but hopefully we can be a bit closer at the end,” said Mladin.

“With a mile long front straight, Brainerd is one of the fastest tracks on the calendar. It won’t be pretty for us down the front straight, but hopefully we can make up some time around the back part of the circuit.

In the corresponding round last year, Mladin looked as though he may break through for his first race win, but a failing rear tyre, forced him to pit part-way though the race, eventually finishing seventh.

The tyre woes that affected his campaign have been addressed with Mladin not expecting any repeats of last year’s problems.

“Last year we were in the midst of the tyre problems that we were having then and I was forced to pit for a new tyre and finished down in seventh. I don’t expect those sorts of problems again at this round as Dunlop has worked hard on addressing those issues.”

After a blistering start to the season where Mladin scored five race wins from the opening six rounds aboard his Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000, he arrives at Brainerd holding a 10-point lead in the championship over Honda’s Miguel DuHamel. The second half of the season is shaping up to be a classic battle between two of the champions of the sport.

“At recent rounds, our rivals have taken some points away from us, but the bottom line is that I still have the lead and prefer to have that rather than be chasing it. We’re definitely not out of it yet.”

The determination to succeed which has become such a strong part of Mladin’s character is certain to shine at Brainerd as he chases every possible point that is available to be earned at the round.

Practice and qualifying for round 11 of the AMA Chevrolet Superbike Championship is scheduled to commence on Friday (June 25), with the Superbike competitors taking to the circuit on Sunday for their 21-lap national.


BRAINERD INTERNATIONAL RACEWAY – FAST FACTS

Circuit length: 4.828km (3.00 miles)

2003 Pole position: Mat Mladin (Yoshimura Suzuki) 1:35.622

2003 Results:
1. Aaron Yates (Yoshimura Suzuki)
2. Miguel DuHamel (American Honda)
3. Kurtis Roberts (Erion Honda)
7. Mat Mladin (Yoshimura Suzuki)

Superbike lap record: Mat Mladin (Team Yoshimura Suzuki) 1:35.320 (2001)

2004 AMA Chevrolet Superbike Championship (Points after 10 of 18 rounds) 1. Mat Mladin (329, 5 wins); 2. Miguel DuHamel (319, 4 wins), 3. Jake Zemke (311), 4. Eric Bostrom (235, 1 win), 5. Geoff May (220); 6. Ben Bostrom (184), 7. John Haner (183), 8. Aaron Yates (165), 9. Eric Wood (161), 10. Lee Acree (156).