Copyright 2004, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

“I thought it went exceptionally well,” said three-time AMA Superbike Champion Doug Chandler after his first-ever ride on his new HMC Milwaukee Ducati 749R AMA Formula Xtreme racebike during promoter practice Friday at Pikes Peak International Raceway (PPIR).

“Anytime you get something all brand new put together, you expect a lot more gremlins than really occurred,” continued Chandler. “For its first day on the track, it went around exceptionally well. The bike has been flawless. I think it’s more me getting myself up to speed than the bike. The bike seems to be ahead of me right now.”

Fully recovered from leg injuries that knocked him out of AMA Supermoto racing last season, Chandler said he has only done two days of riding on a road race track (at Laguna Seca during a Keith Code California Superbike School) since early in 2003 and just needed to knock the rust off.

“We’re as prepared as we could be with the short notice,” Team Owner Mitch Hansen told Roadracingworld.com. “We have one bike ready. We’re waiting on some more parts to get the second bike ready. I think we’re prepared pretty well, but once we get out in practice we’ll find out how prepared we really are.”

Hansen said his team is being supported by Ducati North America, and Ducati Corse in Italy is helping out with World Supersport kit parts, which result in Chandler’s 749R producing over 140 rear-wheel horsepower.

“We’ve got Gary Medley, Elliott Cho, Richard Boyd, myself – we’ll see how it works. We’ve got good chemistry on the team, and Doug has worked with everyone before. So hopefully we can hit the ground running,” said Hansen.

Copyright 2004, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Yamaha/Graves Yamaha’s Damon Buckmaster has a non-displaced fracture of the navicular bone in his left wrist and is currently deciding whether he will sit out races for treatment or continue to ride with the injury.

“It’s still intact and it’s still recoverable for the season,” Buckmaster told Roadracingworld.com Saturday afternoon. “Like, I can get it repaired and come back and still finish pretty well at the end of the year. Our big concern is if I damage it or fall or get knocked off. I might not even have to get knocked off. If I damage it more at all, I could finish the year on the sidelines. So we’re trying to make the right decision here, but it’s just a very difficult decision for me to make and say, ‘OK, let’s quit,’ because I’m not a quitter.”

Buckmaster has consulted with his normal physician, Dr. Thomas Bryan, and with famed orthopedic surgeon Dr. Arthur Ting, both of whom recommended that Buckmaster stop riding and have the fracture repaired.

“So I have it on pretty good authority it needs repair and to continue riding is a pretty stupid thing to do,” said Buckmaster. “I’m just going to talk to (Yamaha Team Manager) Tom (Halverson) a bit more, and we might give Keith (McCarty, Yamaha Racing Supervisor) a call and try and get the information from a few different angles. I don’t want to make a decision that someone isn’t happy with.”

If he stops riding to get the fracture repaired, Buckmaster said he may return for the Brainerd AMA round in late-June.

Buckmaster injured his hand/wrist in a crash during practice May 16 at Barber Motorsports Park.

Update: Buckmaster has decided to withdraw from the races at PPIR and immediately return to California for treatment to his injured left hand.

Copyright 2004, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

FIRST PERSON/OPINION

Via e-mail:

Let the whining begin.

I can already hear the factory Superbike stars complaining about lappers screwing up their program at Pikes Peak. It’s not bad enough that the track is extremely short, with lap times under one minute. Now, they take away an entire day from the schedule! So the privateers will now get, what, three total practice sessions all weekend? Is it any wonder they can’t get close to the times set by the factory riders? Any wonder why you see some guys getting lapped 4 or 5 times at PPIR?

The factories send their teams to every track in the country during the off-season, and between races, so their riders can turn literally hundreds of test laps. By the time the race weekend comes along, those guys know exactly what suspension settings to use, what kind of gearing to run, which tire compounds will work best, and the perfect line through every turn.

The privateers – some of which have never seen the track before – have to figure all of that out in just a few dozen laps. After the race, they have to endure all the derisive comments by the superstars – or in some cases, physical attacks – because they’re “idiots who have no business being out there”.

Gee, why not get rid of practice altogether, and send everyone to the starting grid right off the trailer?

Scott Willock
Tucson, Arizona

Copyright 2004, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

1. Jake Zemke, Honda CBR600RR, 55.346
2. Miguel Duhamel, Honda CBR600RR, 55.544
3. Doug Chandler, Ducati 749R, 55.932
4. Vincent Haskovec, Suzuki GSX-R600, 56.053
5. Alex Gobert, Honda CBR600RR, 56.113
6. Jake Holden, Suzuki GSX-R600, 56.737
7. Jason Pridmore, Suzuki GSX-R600, 57.026
8. Larry Pegram, Yamaha YZF-R6, 57.108
9. Danny Eslick, Suzuki GSX-R600, 57.269
10. Mike Ciccotto, Buell XB9R, 57.305
11. Michael Barnes, Buell XB9R, 57.518
12. Mickey Lane, Yamaha YZF-R6, 57.569
13. Heath Small, Yamaha YZF-R6, 57.997
14. Nicky Moore, Suzuki GSX-R600, 58.470
15. Perry Melneciuc, Yamaha YZF-R6, 58.628
16. Marty Sims, Yamaha YZF-R6, 58.978
17. Nathan Hester, Yamaha YZF-R6, 59.175
18. Shannon Moham, Suzuki GSX-R600, 59.487
19. Hector Romero Moreno, Honda CBR600RR, 59.804
20. Bob Siebenhaar, Honda CBR600RR, 60.036
21. Michael Applehans, Suzuki GSX-R600, 60.174
22. Chad Rolland, Yamaha YZF-R6, 60.391
23. Tim Knutson, Yamaha YZF-R6, 60.438
24. David Lambert, Suzuki GSX-R600, 50.560
25. Charles Sipp, Buell XB12R, 61.740
26. Larry Doe, Honda CBR600RR, 62.046
27. James Davis, Yamaha YZF-R6, 62.113

Copyright 2004, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

The elevation of Pikes Peak International Raceway is approximately 5300 feet above sea level, and that elevation puts unique demands on the engines of AMA racebikes, reducing horsepower output and causing overheating problems, according to experts.

The lack of oxygen at the altitude of the track causes engines to lose anywhere from 15-18 percent of their horsepower output.

“When we came here in 2000,” said Attack Kawasaki’s Team Owner/Crew Chief Richard Stanboli, “Our bike (Mark Miller’s Yamaha YZF-R1 Formula Xtreme bike) made 155-157 horsepower when it normally made 180-182 horsepower.”

Kawasaki engine development specialist Theo Lockwood backed up Stanboli’s horsepower loss figures and then pointed out that they also have to deal with the engines running hotter.

“You have a lower boiling point (for water) at higher altitudes, less barometric pressure and less oxygen molecules passing through the radiator to carry away the heat,” said Lockwood.

On the overheating issues, Stanboli added, “The bikes also tend to run hotter due to the track being shorter, and the engines revving harder to make up for the loss in horsepower.”

The factory Kawasaki team has re-installed the original equipment cooling fans on the radiators of Tommy Hayden’s and Roger Lee Hayden’s Ninjas. Stanboli said he will wait to see how Tony Meiring’s and Josh Hayes’ Ninjas deal with the heat before deciding whether or not to re-install the cooling fans, which are normally removed during race prep, to reduce weight.

External cooling fans and blowers are being used by several AMA teams on pit lane at Pikes Peak.

The weather forecast for Fountain, Colorado is calling for average temperatures with highs of approximately 80 degrees F.

From a press release issued by Vreeke & Associates, Dunlop’s advertising and PR agency:

Dunlop previews AMA road races at Pikes Peak International Raceway

Fountain, CO-Dunlop Motorcycle Tire Company, winner of 18 American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) Superbike titles, including the last 14 in a row, anticipates another exciting round of racing at Pikes Peak International Raceway (PPIR) in Fountain, Colorado this weekend, the fifth stop on the 2004 Superbike tour.

“We’re bringing about 1650 tires with us,” said Jim Allen, U.S. manager of road racing. “The road course at PPIR generates a lot of heat on the left side of the tires, because so many of the turns are left-hand oriented.” Indeed, left-hand turns dominate the road course and the one-mile, counter-clockwise oval compounds the tire challenge.

The greatest demand on tires is exerted by the Superbikes, highly-modified, 1000cc versions of production-based open-class sport motorcycles. The factory teams of Honda Racing, Erion Racing and Yoshimura Suzuki will have a selection of four different Dunlop front tire compounds – and an equal number of rear tire choices – to select from during practice and qualifying. In addition, riders will have extra-high traction rear “qualifying” tires available to set the fastest lap times possible as they jockey for the coveted pole-position on the front row.

The AMA’s newly-revised Superstock class, which features nearly-stock 1000cc open-class sport motorcycles, also puts great demands on tires. The factory teams in this class – represented by Erion Racing, Kawasaki Road Racing, Attack Kawasaki, Yoshimura Suzuki and Graves Motorsports Yamaha – will have three compound choices each for front and rear racing tires. Qualifying tires will be available, as well.

Dunlop also supplies tires for nearly all of the leading teams in 600cc Supersport and Formula Xtreme competition.

“It takes a big effort to handle this many tires for one event. We only run one Superbike round at PPIR, compared to two Superbike races at most venues, which means we have just one chance to nail down the setup,” said Allen. “But we’ve got a very experienced crew and we look forward to helping these guys getting around the course as quickly as possible, lap after lap.”

Entering round eight of the Superbike series, Suzuki’s Mat Mladin leads with 243 points, followed closely by Honda’s Miguel Duhamel with 218 and Erion Racing’s Jake Zemke with 216. Mladin and Duhamel have taken one race each in the last two doubleheaders. The two veterans have won a combined 57 AMA Superbike races between them (Mladin leads Duhamel 29 to 28) while rookie Zemke has missed his first Superbike victory in the last three races by the narrowest of margins. A strong performance last week at Barber Motorsports Park by Dunlop-supported Josh Hayes of Attack Kawasaki saw him finish in sixth-place, right behind the five Dunlop-supported factory riders – Duhamel, Zemke, Mladin, Suzuki’s Aaron Yates and Honda Racing’s Ben Bostrom.

In the hotly-contested Superstock series, Graves Motorsports Yamaha’s Jamie Hacking leads his teammates Aaron Gobert and Damon Buckmaster 135 to 118 and 115 points, respectively. Kawasaki Road Racing’s Tommy Hayden sits in fourth with 112 points, followed by Yamaha’s Jason Disalvo, Hayden’s teammate and brother, Roger Lee Hayden, and Suzuki’s Ben Spies.


About Dunlop Tires
Dunlop Tires is the largest supplier of original equipment and replacement motorcycle tires in the U.S. and the only manufacturer of motorcycle tires in North America. With North American operations headquartered in Buffalo, NY, Dunlop has been making and selling high-quality tires in the U.S. since 1923. For more information, please contact visit www.dunlopmotorcycle.com.

From a press release issued by series organizers:

Steve Webster and passenger Paul Woodhead won a thrilling race as the Eastern Airways Sidecar Championship got under way at Mondello Park in Ireland on Saturday.

Castrol Suzuki driver Webster tailed rival Tim Reeves until the halfway stage in the 15-lap encounter before the nine times World Champion edged ahead for victory in the opening race of the 2004 series.

“I’ve watched Tim get faster and faster so it was no surprise that he made the early running,” said Webster. “But I was struggling, it seems like there are numerous passing places around Mondello Park but it’s very hard to make a pass stick.”

Runner-up Reeves, along with passenger and brother, Tristan, secured the 20 points for runner-up place and the Kent driver was pleased with his opening display aboard the M & M Suzuki.

“I knew my only chance was to get the holeshot, which I did,” explained Reeves. “Then it was just a case of holding off Steve for as long as I could. I really feel a lot closer to beating them than I ever have so tomorrow’s race may have a different outcome.”

Derek Brindley finished third aboard his Readymix Suzuki, inheriting the final podium slot after hounding Bill Philp for 13 laps before Yamaha-mounted Philp spun out, re-joining to take fifth.

Greg Lambert took fourth on his Suzuki while Bryan Pedder put in a spirited performance, moving from 12th on the opening lap to take sixth.

Eastern Airways Sidecar Championship, round two, race one result
(15 laps, 32.649 miles)
1 Steve Webster (Suzuki) 26:48.251, ­73.08 mph
2 Tim Reeves (Suzuki) 26:53.798
3 Derek Brindley (Suzuki) 27:33.561
4 Greg Lambert (Suzuki) 27:53.767
5 Bill Philp (Yamaha) 27:54.592
6 Bryan Pedder (Suzuki) 28:16.935
7 Ben Birchall (Yamaha) 28:23.802
8 Steve Norbury (Yamaha) 28:26.368
9 Andy Peach (Suzuki) 28:27.288
10 Stuart Woodard (Yamaha) 28:35.475