From a press release issued by Team Suzuki News Service:

RM-Z450 TO MAKE ALL-JAPAN MX DEBUT



Suzuki’s all-new RM-Z450 four-stroke motocross machine is to make its world debut at this weekend’s final round of the All-Japan MX Championship series.

The development program on the prototype RM-Z450 machine will continue throughout the winter and then make its international debut in the World MXGP class next year in the hands of multi-world champion Joel Smets.

The new RM-Z450 features an all-new, high-tech DOHC, four-valve, 449cc, liquid-cooled motor, housed in a new-concept aluminium frame, utilising various race and championship-winning technologies from the ultra-successful GSX-R development program. New technologies from the multiple-world championship winning RM motocross development program have also been incorporated.

The production version of the new RM-Z450 will become Suzuki’s flagship model in its expanding four-stroke motocross range and will be ready to hit Suzuki showrooms in August 2004.

Team Suzuki’s All-Japan MX Champion, Akira Narita, will debut the new RM-Z450 at this weekend’s final round of the 2003 series. Narita secured his second title in a row at the previous round of the series and is aiming to give the new machine a winning debut.

From www.cdnsuperbike.com:

The Canadian motorcycle industry lost one of its own last week when journalist Piero Zambotti was killed in a motorcycle crash.

Zambotti, who worked for Cycle Canada Magazine, passed away Friday, October 10 after crashing a Honda Gold Wing during a road test.

Zambotti was also an accomplished road racer and competed in a round of the Parts Canada Superbike Championship this season.

I had the opportunity to work with Piero last January during Honda’s CBR600RR press launch in Las Vegas. Although I didn’t get the chance to know him as well as others, it was a pleasure to ride with him both on the track and on the street.

Our sincere condolences to the family and friends of Piero Zambotti from cdnsuperbike.com.

Rob O’Brien
Editor, cdnsuperbike.com

Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

FIRST PERSON/OPINION

Via e-mail:

I saw the “racer who lost money to a Nigerian scam” article and the reply from the gentleman from Morgan Hill, so as a road racer/Michelin distributor/bank manager, I thought I might be able to shed some light on the subject.

A LOT of banks give their good customers immediate or next-day credit for checks they deposit. This is a “good-faith” practice and really like a short-term loan since it is physically impossible to process a check and collect the funds in such a short time. Cashier’s checks in particular often receive special treatment either due to the bank’s policy or state banking regulation since they are supposed to be “guaranteed funds.” At the end of the day, the customer is responsible for depositing “good checks”, not the $10/hr. college student/teller. There is no bank procedure that I’m aware of that can mitigate the risk of depositing bad checks (either insufficient funds or fraudulent), so often times it may be best to accept that “hold” on the check and not use the funds until that check clears the other institution. If the bank called in the afternoon that the check was bad, their risk/fraud department had probably already blocked the funds early that morning based on information they had received the previous night, so that’s probably the reason they didn’t hand over another $4200 (which incidentally the customer would’ve STILL been responsible for when the check was eventually returned).

There were also some major red flags in that transaction: Buying a bike sight unseen, sending a cashier’s check for significantly more than the sale price, asking to wire money right back and a $1500 “gift” for changing his mind about the purchase. There is quite a bit of bank fraud out there, so if something seems too good to be true, it’s best to go with your gut feeling and walk away.

Alex Florea
AFM #49
AF Motorsports Michelin
San Jose, California


(Additional information on Nigerian check frauds is available from http://www.scamorama.com, and thanks to reader Stuart Gregg for the tip.)

Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

FIRST PERSON/OPINION

Via e-mail:

This e-mail is in reference to the Toyota 200 “results.” My name is Scott Jensen – AMA Superbike #61. On Sunday I was scored as finishing 6th place, on Monday I was scored as finishing 9th, as of Tuesday I was scored as finishing 16th, and now in the “final results” I am scored in 13th.

After repeated calls to the WSMC head office and several conversations with different officials, they had a discrepancy in the number of laps that I had completed (they showed me as being lapped on lap 30, 32 and 37). My crew had scored me as completing 77 laps (my Mychron lap timer still has the laps and times on it) which would have placed me inside the top seven somewhere.

WSMC told me on Monday that I had completed 76 laps, on Tuesday said I had completed 74 laps, and now show that I had completed 75 laps, each time saying that this was the definite result. I have repeatedly asked for the lap chart of the race, the lap times of the top 10, the winner, or even just for myself, which WSMC never supplied to me to verify the results.

Being a privateer and funding my own race program the $1000 difference is very substantial. If they are unable to score a 200-mile race, then they should not hold a 200-mile race!

Scott Jensen
AMA Superbike #61
Phoenix, Arizona

Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Editorial Note: Last weekend’s races at Willow Springs involved two separate entities, Willow Springs International Raceway (WSIR), and Willow Springs Motorcycle Club (WSMC), which is owned by WSIR. The Toyota 200 was organized and promoted by WSIR officials, who directly contracted an independent timing and scoring service for the event. WSMC officials handled non-timing-and-scoring-related operations. The following e-mail is from WSMC Operations Manager Kenny Kopecky.


FIRST PERSON/OPINION

Via e-mail:

Thank you for the opportunity to respond to Scott Jensen’s e-mail today.

First off, on behalf of WSMC, we extend our apologies to the racers and crews for the delay in finalized results. The timing and scoring was handled by a group contracted by WSIR, and I have already made my personal verbal recommendation to a member of the ownership group of WSIR that a different timing and scoring company be utilized at any future Toyota 200 races. I have also recommended that should WSIR run a 250cc Grand Prix 50-mile race next year they also utilize electronic timing and scoring for that event. Also, we are experiencing server difficulties with our ISP and have not yet been able to update our website at www.race-wsmc.com. We expect this to be resolved shortly. Thank you all for your understanding.

Regarding Mr. Jensens’ e-mail specifically…he and any other racers who contacted our office were all told the same:

A) Any results that were announced or viewed at any time Sunday were unofficial and were in fact incorrect, as the timing and scoring personnel had not yet audited the race.

B) At no time was anyone told the results were ‘definite.’ I specifically told Mr. Jensen I would contact the T&S people AGAIN to review his race event, which was done, thus the change from the provisional results. Our office in fact, never had any provisionals indicating Mr. Jensen was sixth.

C) WSMC does not have the computer, the software, the paperwork, etc. regarding the timing and scoring, and this was explained to Mr. Jensen, and as such we cannot provide this information from our office. I did advise the timing people of this request – to date we have not received any further information. When we do we will be happy to forward a copy to Mr. Jensen.

The timing and scoring person did, in fact, ask me to invite Mr. Jensen to join him for lunch; in order to detail Mr. Jensen’s race in person and review the information that they have. Mr. Jensen unfortunately does not live in the southern California area yet the invitation stands should he be visiting the area in the future, and this was advised to him yesterday morning during his telephone call to our office.

The timing and scoring person did explain to me that the fantastically rapid pace throughout the event of race leader Josh Hayes put quite a few people many laps behind…more than several of them thought and as such that was one of the delays as they reviewed a number of rider claims to have not lost as many laps. I also understand the frustrations of the crews, yet one rider was mistakenly told by his crew that the leaders pitted three times. As noted in the RoadracingWorld.com post Sunday, Hayes ran “a blistering pace in the mid-1:20 range for the first 23 laps” and “continued to click off laps in the 1:21 and 1:22 range for the remainder of the race to take the win by over 20 seconds.”

I personally apologized to Mr. Jensen during his telephone call, and again I extend our apologies to all the riders and crewmembers involved in the event. As a fellow racer, I most certainly understand Mr. Jensen’s concerns and frustrations, and as a current employee at Willow Springs I can and WILL be most vociferous in demanding a higher quality of service for all of the racers at future special events. We certainly hope Mr. Jensen and others will continue to support such events in the future, and we thank him for his participation in the first two Toyota 200s.

Thank you also to all the friends and spectators who came out for the event…and to the WSMC staff members who did a fantastic job in an event-filled weekend.

Yesterday, the 2004 Toyota 200 was scheduled by WSIR track management for the weekend of October 15-17, 2004. All of the monthly 2004 WSMC events are on calendar as well. The races are to be held on the 3rd Sunday of every month with street group and racer track days on Friday and licensed racer practice/New Racer Schools on Saturday of the event weekends. The complete ’04 schedule is online at www.race-wsmc.com

Most sincerely,

Kenny Kopecky
WSMC Operations Manager
WSMC #7
www.race-wsmc.com
[email protected]
Rosamond, California



See related posts:

10/23/2003 Trouble With Toyota 200 Results

10/22/2003 Three Days After The Fact, Willow Springs Issues Revised, Final Results For Toyota 200

From a press release issued by Kawasaki Motors Corp., U.S.A.:

VINCE IORIO ASSUMES NATIONAL MARKETING MANAGER RESPONSIBILITIES AT KAWASAKI

IRVINE, Calif. (Oct. 23, 2003)–Kawasaki Motors Corp., U.S.A. (KMC) has announced a replacement for Mark Homchick, who recently resigned his position as national marketing manager to pursue other interests. Vince Iorio, who holds the position of retail marketing manager, will assume current responsibility for guiding the company’s national brand advertising programs.

Rodger Howe, director of communications, said the transition will be a “seamless one due to our internal departmental structure which integrates all aspects of Kawasaki’s branding and promotional activities.

“Primary responsibility for daily supervision of KMC’s advertising agency is a key component to maintaining continuity, and Vince’s parallel involvement with the agency for the past several years will assure a natural transition,” said Howe.

“Mark’s knowledge of the enthusiast community and his commitment to our branding efforts will be missed,” said Howe. “However,” he continued, “our plans for the coming year are fairly well cemented and Vince has been involved at every step in the process.”

Iorio, who joined KMC in 1995 as its public relations manager, served as a marketing manager responsible for the company’s all-terrain vehicle and utility vehicle product categories prior to assuming his most recent position.

Kawasaki Motors Corp., U.S.A., (KMC) markets and sells at wholesale Kawasaki motorcycles, ATVs, JET SKI® watercraft, MULE™ utility vehicles, power products and small engines. Kawasaki’s tagline, Let the good times roll™, is recognized worldwide for the spirit of fun, adventure and high performance that characterizes the Kawasaki recreational vehicle line. Kawasaki product lines are sold through a network of more than 1,500 independent retailers. The company and its affiliates employ nearly 2,400 people in the United States, with approximately 400 of them located at the Irvine, California headquarters.

Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Racer Rich Conicelli has quit racing and is going to work for Dunlop as a Test Engineer.

“I won’t be racing anymore,” said Conicelli in a phone call to Roadracingworld.com.

Conicelli will be testing Dunlop tires at the company’s Huntsville, Alabama test facility, starting on Monday.

From a press release issued by Fortuna Yamaha:

ABE TO REPLACE INJURED MELANDRI FOR VALENCIA GRAND PRIX

The Fortuna Yamaha Team has announced today that Norick Abe will ride as a replacement for Marco Melandri at the season-closing Valencia Grand Prix in Spain on Sunday 2nd November. Melandri will undergo an operation to his right shoulder on Monday 27th October in Forli, Italy so will be forced to miss the last round of the 2003 MotoGP World Championship. Abe will compete in Fortuna Yamaha Team colours for the third time this year, having already stepped in to replace Melandri at the season-opening Suzuka and Welkom races in April.

Twenty-eight-year-old Japanese rider Abe is a former GP regular who finished sixth in the 2002 Championship. In 2003 Abe has ridden as Yamaha’s factory test rider and competed in several rounds as a wildcard.

MotoGP rookie Melandri suffered a dislocation to his right shoulder and haematoma to his left heel when he fell during last Sunday’s Australian Grand Prix at Phillip Island. The 21-year-old was in the midst of a mighty battle amongst the top three riders when he highsided and fell from his M1 machine halfway through the race.

Melandri made a characteristically quick recovery, with his dislocated shoulder popped back in place at the circuit clinic even before the race was over. However, further examinations in Italy this week have revealed that the damage to the young Italian’s right shoulder cap is worse than was initially diagnosed, and that an operation is necessary for it to heal correctly. After consultation with Melandri and the team it was agreed that it made sense for Melandri to undergo surgery now so as not to risk further injury and to ensure a full recovery in time for the 2004 pre-season testing in January.

“I’m feeling quite okay, I have a little bit of pain in my shoulder but not all the time,” said Melandri today. “Since I got back from Australia I have had an extensive check-up with Doctor Costa and a shoulder specialist who operated on my left shoulder two years ago. The check-up revealed that everything around my shoulder is broken, and that only an operation will repair it for good. I had exactly the same operation on my left shoulder and that is absolutely fine now, so I know that it will heal without a problem.

“To ride a MotoGP bike you must be 100 per cent fit. The four-strokes are so heavy to control and your shoulders carry a lot of that weight. If I tried to ride in Valencia it would be very painful and I wouldn’t get a good result. I’m going ahead with the operation now because it will give me time to recover and to be in perfect health for the start of 2004. After the operation I will need one month of rest, one month of physiotherapy, and one month of training. I’m sorry to miss Valencia but this way I will be ready to ride again in January.”

News of Melandri’s progress after his shoulder operation on Monday will be issued next week.


Name: NORICK ABE

Born: 7 September, 1975 in Tokyo, Japan

Number: 17

First GP: 1994 500cc Japanese Grand Prix (retired)

Career:
1993 All Japan GP500 Champion
1994 500cc World Championship debut
1995 9th 500cc World Championship
1996 5th
1997 7th
1998 6th
1999 6th
2000 8th
2001 7th
2002 6th MotoGP World Championship