From a press release issued by Honda Racing Press Information:

THE CATHEDRAL CALLS FOR HONDA’S HOPEFULS

After an extended summer vacation the World Supersport Championship contenders gather together in Northern Holland this Friday, to challenge at the unique and timeless Assen circuit once more. Sometimes referred to as the ‘Cathedral’ of bike racing, sometimes called the ‘Riders’ Academy’, Assen is a modern classic with a long history. Its current 6.027km length and 24 corners present a genuine challenge even to riders of the calibre of runaway World Championship leader Chris Vermeulen (Ten Kate Honda CBR600RR)

With five free weekends since the previous round at Brands Hatch for most of the competitors, many have made use of their leisure time to relax and recharge their batt eries for the end of season push. For some, like Vermeulen, the thrill of competition has punctuated the holiday period.

The young Aussie, only 21-years-old and one of eight supported Honda riders in this year’s championship fight, competed at the shorter national-level Assen circuit some four weeks ago, as part of the Dutch Championships. Vermeulen’s experience of Supersport machinery and his rapid Ten Kate Honda have been a devastating combination this year, pushing him fully 37 points clear of his closest competitor Jurgen van den Goorbergh (Yamaha), with only three races to go.

Vermeulen, an uncomplicated character with a mature head on young shoulders, acknowledges that his recent experiences at Assen even the shorter version of the multiple cambered track may give him an edge on many of his regular competitors.

“Assen should be good for us, partly because the track is so close to the team’s base, and it will be a home round of sorts,” said Vermeulen in the run up to the Dutch event. “We did a National Championship race and although we didn’t use the full track we’ll be racing on in the World Championship event, it does give you a feel for it. I think it will be an advantage for us, especially if it rains, because we have good base settings for the bike in the dry. We don’t have to worry too much if practice is wet but the race itself is dry.”

One of four factory Honda riders to have already tasted the Assen circuit in the aforementioned Dutch National race was Vermeulen’s team-mate, Karl Muggeridge (Ten Kate Honda CBR600RR).

“It was good to be able to race at Assen and we have already got reasonably good settings for the race. So a lot of the set-up work is no longer ahead of us anymore and that makes us confident for the race itself,” said Muggeridge. “We only raced the last time on the shorter National circuit but all the information we gathered will be useful this weekend.”

Broc Parkes (BKM Honda CBR600RR) acknowledges Assen is a difficult circuit to master, but nonetheless is looking forward to another high-speed run through the Dutch countryside.

“I have had some reasonably good results there is Superbike and I like the layout of the track,” said Parkes. “I think it’s a place you have to go at least twice before you get it really right. It’s not an easy place to set good lap times right away, because it’s so long. You also have to have a fast bike for Assen it’s a horsepower circuit. You can gain to some extent in the corners, unlike Monza for example, but you do have to have a lot of power.”

Christophe Cogan (BKM Honda CBR600RR) has been a consistent threat to the top ten positions all year but feels that a lack of testing in the run-up to the Assen round will not help his cause.

“We did not get a chance to test in the break so we will have to see how we get on when we get there,” said Cogan.

Robert Ulm (Klaffi Honda CBR600RR) eagerly anticipates one of his favourite circuits of the season, an unusual choice for a rider who normally prefers slower tracks such as Valencia or Misano.

“I have only tested a racebike in my head since the break but I have had two Supermoto races, one in Germany and one in Austria,” said the long time World Superbike rider. “The race results themselves were not so good but it is very good training for machine control so I am happy and ready for Assen. It’s a nice circuit for me, a safe track, and I like the fact that there are so many corners.”

Sebastien Charpentier (Klaffi Honda CBR600RR) grabbed the unexpected chance to shine in the Klaffi Honda team this year with both hands, and he sees Assen as another circuit he has a realistic chance to score a podium at.

“My feel for Assen is very, very good,” enthused the Frenchman. “I like the track because last year I was fifth in practice, even though my bike was not the fastest. This year the machine is much better so to be at Assen, with the new bike, the new team, my physical condition being OK this is perfect! Assen is normally a pleasure for me in any case.”

Iain Macpherson (van Zon Honda CBR600RR) sharpened his Assen build-up at the recent Dutch National Championship race, behind the two Ten Kate Machines of Vermeulen and Muggeridge.

“I was third at the Assen race but Vermeulen and Muggeridge pulled away from me a little,” stated Macpherson. “I couldn’t understand it at first because I knew I was riding quite well and the bike set-up was good. Those two are riding particularly well but I found out later they were also trying out some new parts. If you do not have quite the same level of equipment as the opposition it’s even more difficult. At Assen we should have exactly the same spec of machine as them so that’s going to be very welcome.”

Werner Daemen (van Zon Honda CBR600RR) turned around his misfortune in the Dutch National at Assen to plan his strategy for the forthcoming WSS round.

“I also raced at Assen after Brands only on the little circuit,” stated the Belgian protagonist. “It was useful for set-up and we learned some good information about race tyres. The tyre I used in the race was unable to go the full distance so we know which tyre to use for the World Championship race distance if the temperatures are the same of course.”

After the Assen race round ten of the championship will take place at another classically sculpted race circuit, Imola in Italy on September 28.


More, from a press release issued by FGSport:

FIM SUPERBIKE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP

The Netherlands Round 10 – Assen
Assen Race Preview

A SHIFT TO THE CENTRE

The importance of the Assen race to the whole World Superbike paddock is immense, and for more than just the reasons of the Circuit van Drenthe’s long and proud history as a motorcycle racing venue.

Traditionally falling towards the end of the SBK calendar, Assen has frequently been the venue for some titanic battles on track, many of them deciding championships outright or firming up which of any particular year’s hopefuls will be going into the final race or two with a genuine chance of securing the coveted World Championship.

This year may be no different, as championship leader Neil Hodgson (Ducati Fila 999 F03) enjoys a monumental 150 point lead over his team-mate Ruben Xaus, the only man capable of overhauling his total. It will take a Herculean winning run from now to the season climax at the French circuit of Magny Cours on 19 October for Xaus to snatch the laurels from Hodgson, plus a huge amount of misfortune would have to befall the Englishman for anything other than Hodgson’s name to grace the championship trophy.

The last Ducati World Champion, Troy Bayliss, won his single title in 2001 at Assen and Hodgson’s side of the Ducati Corse garage at least will be hoping for a similar trick at this most challenging of circuits.

Fast and curvaceous, long and festooned with cambered corners, Assen belies its completely flat topography by being one of the most challenging and technical circuits imaginable. Much modified from its original closed road nature, being purpose built by the standards of the day in 1954, Assen is a true classic rider’s track, exclusively aimed at motorcycle racing, and despite being widened, shortened and continually remodelled for safety reasons, it is still something of a breathtaking final exam of any rider’s all round abilities.

Machine speed is King at Assen, but it has to be allied to a cool use of racecraft and no little expression of rhythm on behalf of the rider.

Of the current SBK crop, only Pierfrancesco Chili (Ducati PSG-1 998 RS) has been able to score a win at Assen thus far, although in past years there have been close calls for riders like Xaus and Troy Corser (Foggy Petronas FP-1).

Chili has a win under his belt already this year, and he approaches Assen as one of a select band of only five riders to have done so.
Hodgson’s runaway lead is peppered with 11 race wins, Xaus has taken three victories, Chili and James Toseland (HM Plant Ducati 998 F02) one apiece and in the previous round Shane Byrne (Monstermob Ducati 998 F02) took both Brands Hatch victories as a preamble to securing the British Championship.

Arguably the most improved rider in the series this year is James Toseland, who has already suffered pain and injury for his high-speed art, but is now reaping the rewards in status and respect from a watching world. On one of the best bikes in the field, podiums at Assen are a genuine prospect for Toseland, but as the rolling mauls for the top points scoring places have shown this season, the competition will be as stiff as ever at Assen.

Regis Laconi (NCR Nortel Caracchi 998RS) has been close to a win this year and his fourth place in the championship makes him the top ‘true’ privateer, running a fast customer machine rather than a new or season old factory machine.

The awesome early season performances from Gregorio Lavilla and the Alstare Suzuki GSX-R1000 have stumbled a little of late but each has done enough to show they have what it takes at true world level. Once more the impressive Vittorio Iannuzzo will be in company with Lavilla, on a somewhat less full factory spec machine.
Injury and drama have been constant companions for Toseland’s team-mate Chris Walker this year, putting him sixth overall at present, by the slender margin of 13 points.

With many a DNF to his name Chili matches his race number 7 to his championship position, but he is nonetheless a whopping 62 points ahead of Aussie privateer Steve Martin in eighth place, the Pirelli shod rider just ahead of his team mate Marco Borciani and another perennial SBK privateer, Lucio Pedercini.

The spread of talent this season extends not only to those in possession of a machine currently capable of race wins. The Foggy Petronas effort, a high profile and high class affair has yet to show engine performance capable of taking either Corser or second rider James Haydon to the podium, but few doubt that when the machine is as developed as its unique 900cc three cylinder format allows, top results will be within reach.

As well as four local wild cards, there will be a proliferation of ‘foreign’ competitors, the most high profile being proven SBK race winner John Reynolds on his Rizla Suzuki GSX-R1000. The huge attendance of British spectators at Assen, just a ferry hop across the North Sea from the UK, will be entertained by another of their compatriots, Leon Haslam (Renegade Ducati).

In the World Supersport Championship, now approaching round nine, Chris Vermeulen (Ten Kate Honda CBR600RR), still enjoys a comfortable 37 point championship lead over Jurgen van den Goorbergh (Yamaha Belgarda R6), but the fight for second at this moment in time is as close as it is possible to be.

Katsuaki Fujiwara (Alstare Suzuki GSX-R600) has been as potent a threat as ever, scoring a win, like his team-mate Stephane Chambon, who secured the last race at Brands Hatch. This trio, all chasing Vermeulen as three races remain, are some way clear of fifth place man Christian Kellner (Yamaha Motor Germany R6).

The only other man to have won a race this year is reigning champ Fabien Foret (Kawasaki Racing Team ZX-6RR), who sits in overall eighth place.

A huge 19 factory supported machines have been competing for the World Supersport crown this season, making Vermeulen’s win tally of four an outstanding achievement. This is tempered by the knowledge that all four competing manufacturers have scored at least one win.

Each race weekend from now on features a full card; as the season completes its calendar in Europe – the remaining rounds taking place Imola (September 28) and Magny Cours (October 19).

Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Kurtis Roberts says he is 99 percent sure he will be racing in the MotoGP World Championship next season.

“It’s 99 percent, pretty much. I don’t know with who,” said Roberts Wednesday via cell phone from North Carolina. “There’s a few things we’re working on right now. You know how it is over there. It’s so f**king hard to talk about because they’re in such a changing process. There’s new teams coming, and there’s a few things going on, possibilities, things like that.”

The only way Roberts would stay in the AMA? “If I have another year with a guaranteed two years in Europe after that I might possibly stay, but I’m not really interested at all to be here (AMA),” said Roberts.

Roberts said one of his MotoGP opportunities is with his father’s Proton Team KR.

Roberts has been racing in the AMA with American Honda for the last six years, 1998-2003, and has won two AMA Formula Xtreme (1999 and 2000) and one AMA 600cc Supersport (2000) Championships.

As for recent reports that Eric Bostrom will be riding Kawasaki’s Ninja ZX-RR MotoGP bike in 2004, Bostrom’s manager Norm Viano calls those reports “speculation” but did confirm again that Bostrom is contracted to Kawasaki in 2004.

Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Ever wonder why factory team riders and managers often suggest that Thursday practice should be eliminated from AMA National road race weekends?

The reasons tossed about by team managers include complaints that their semi-trucks have to show up to park on Wednesday instead of Thursday, that their mechanics are away from home too much and risk burn-out, and that it increases costs in terms of hotel bills, food, etc.

But it may just be because their riders don’t need it, thanks to extensive stand-alone testing.

(Note here that any increases in incremental costs or mechanic time away from home associated with participating in Thursday practice are tiny compared to the cost of stand-alone testing, which includes additional travel expenses and time.)

Since January 1, Chino, California-based Yoshimura Suzuki has tested at the following locations, for the indicated time periods:

Sepang, Malaysia, 4 days

Laguna Seca, Monterey, California, 2 days

Road Atlanta, Braselton, Georgia, 3 days

Pikes Peak International Raceway, Fountain, Colorado, 2 days

VIR, Alton, Virginia, 3 days

Barber Motorsports Park, Birmingham, Alabama, 3 days

VIR, Alton, Virginia, 2 days

Daytona International Speedway, Daytona Beach, Florida, 2 days

That totals 21 days, or, more than twice the number of Thursday practice days (9) available to non-factory riders prior to AMA race weekends this year.

And during those 21 test days, very few riders were on the track at any given moment, and the track was open all day instead of being divided into separate sessions.

Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Major delays in the AMA race program Sunday at Virginia International Raceway can be traced to one loose oil drain plug, but the burning question posed by fans who attended the event or tuned into SPEED to watch the races is, why did AMA Pro Racing run the Supersport race instead of the Superbike race when it had the chance on Sunday?

Sunday’s race schedule at VIR was slated to start with the 18-lap Supersport race at noon, but a rain shower just before the race forced an adjustment to the plan. AMA Pro Racing officials gave teams extra time to change to rain tires, quickly scheduled a short rain practice (something they have been criticized for not doing in the past) and planned to start the race following an additional two, consecutive warm-up laps. The race would have started at approximately 12:30 p.m. if had not been for one oversight – the tightening and safety wiring of racer Chris Peris’ oil drain plug.

On those two, consecutive warm-up laps, Peris’ drain plug fell out of his Honda CBR600RR and dropped several quarts of oil in turns three and four. Peris escaped injury when he fell in turn four, but the damage to the track was done. Such an amount of oil would be time-consuming to properly clean off of a dry racetrack, but removing the oil from the wet surface was extremely difficult.

After cornerworkers’ best quick-fix efforts, Supersport riders were sent back out for another warm-up lap prior to proposed 2:00 p.m. race start. Racers returned to the grid to immediately tell AMA officials that the track in turns three and four was in no condition to race on. Ben Spies said he had to put his foot down to keep from crashing on the warm-up lap, and Spies’ foot kicked up enough “white stuff” to completely cover Tony Meiring’s faceshield. Lee Acree said, “I can’t believe they sent us out on that.”

Cornerworkers went back out and tried to clean the track with a fire hose. Since the rain had stopped and the majority of the track was dry, workers then had to dry turns three and four with brooms and a few blowers. At approximately 4:00 p.m., Supersport riders went out for another 10-minute practice session to assess the track before their race, found it to be in relatively good condition and held an exciting 12-lap final, which was televised on SPEED well beyond the Superbike race’s live TV window, originally scheduled for 3:00 p.m..

Roadracingworld.com asked AMA Pro Racing Road Race Series Manager Ron Barrick why the Supersport race was run and not the Superbike race?

“The plan was to try and continue in the order we were running,” said Barrick Wednesday. “The 600s had already been out; they had had a little bit of wet track practice. It’s not so easy to all off a sudden make a decision, ‘OK, as soon as we get the track ready we’re going to bring Superbikes up.’ Because one, it’s impossible to say exactly how long it was going to be before the track was ready. The teams always want to prepare and have the tire warmers on for a certain period of time and so forth. It’s never easy to shift gears and tell one crew to go put their equipment away and tell every one else to bring their Superbike stuff out. In that transition time while you’re waiting for all that to happen you could have the track come good and be ready to race, and the 600s were ready to race. We could have actually wasted time by doing that, potentially, if the track had dried quickly. And of course they were drying it as quickly as they could with the blowers and so forth they had available, but it was difficult with the humidity and the heat, the conditions that they were working under.

“Had it not rained again, which it was impossible to predict with 100 percent certainty, we would have been able (with available daylight) to get the Superbike race in after the Supersport race. Or some race in after the Supersport race. Obviously, it started raining while we were doing the podium for the Supersport race, and that brought the oil back out of the track…The track was absolutely not raceable with the oil on the track at that point.

“The track promoter and myself evaluated the situation. We owed it to the spectators to make a decision and get the program moving again. So we rescheduled for Monday.

“We’ve been getting a lot of e-mails from spectators wondering what was going on. We’re even being accused of not racing when the track was ready just to wait for a TV window and stuff like that. Maybe through your magazine you could make it a little bit clearer to the public that we started racing as soon as we possibly could with the conditions of the track. It had nothing to do with waiting for television. Our goal is to put on a show for the spectators but on a surface that is safe for the competitors.”

Had it not been for the oil on the track, the day would have continued with a little tire juggling in the half-wet/half-dry conditions. Will any action be taken against Peris?

“His father, who, I guess, acts as his mechanic, had an apology e-mailed to me,” said Barrick. “I’m sure Chris feels as bad as he possibly can about the situation. You know, nonetheless, the rules do state, the technical rules, that safety wire on the drain plug is one of the mandatory items. There will be something, but I haven’t taken any action yet. It’s sad that the economic impact to everyone was so great and a lot of fans were disappointed, but we had to do what we had to do to create a safe racetrack.”

Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

The cost of the extra day and the fact that it was already over budget for the year led Speed Channel executives to decide crews would not stay to tape the AMA races that were postponed from Sunday to Monday at Virginia International Raceway.

“If you think about it, we have 50 crew people. The majority of them are freelancers, (and) some of them had to work on Monday. So we would have had to source some new people. Plus you all of a sudden have to go to the hotel and extend it on a holiday weekend. Plus you have the (production) truck rental, the camera rentals, all that stuff. It’s somewhere close to $100,000 to run an extra day on Monday. Who’s going to write that check?” said one member of the SPEED Channel production team who asked to remain anonymous.

“SPEED Channel already lost money because they went three hours live for one, 12-lap (Supersport) race. So now they’re in jeopardy of losing another $100,000 on top of that, if the race did run (on Monday). So that’s really why those things happen.

“If you look at it, all of the races that have gone over this year, SPEED has stayed with them. The other factor too is we are at the end of the season. Any budget that was available to do something like this has been spent because we’ve gone over at Daytona and during the hours when a race has been red-flagged we’ve stayed. It’s gone an an hour 45 (minutes) sometimes or a two-hour program. So all those things add up.

“But you hear it all the time (from viewers and fans), ‘You guys are f**king a**holes!’ Look, it is a business. We’re not out there for our health, and we’re not out there to make sure Kurtis Roberts has a great career. It’s one of those things. The racers I’ve spoke with understood.”

Even if SPEED had stayed to tape Monday’s AMA Superbike race, airing it would have been another story, according to our source.

“When are you going to run it? There are already contractual obligations to shows to run on Monday. The programming lineup is full on Monday. So when are you going to run it? 2:00 a.m.? There are so many factors involved with other racing series, other television shows, advertising dollars. Some (advertisers) pay for very specific spots in very specific places. So that’s all under consideration.”


Reaction from a reader:

FIRST PERSON/OPINION

Via e-mail:

SPEED’S best excuse for not staying is that they’re already over budget?

Any business plan has a certain contingency factor based on the variables inherent in whatever endeavor you’re planning to undertake. Racing is an outdoor activity. The weather can affect your activities outdoors. If it rains, you may have to reschedule things. I’m quite sure SPEED executives knew this about racing as the 4-500 NASCAR events they televise daily occur outdoors as well. I’m fairly sure there are rain days figured into the budget.

They complain that even if they had stayed to tape the race, they wouldn’t have been able to fit it into the line-up? I’ve got an idea. How about bumping a couple episodes of American Musclecar or power boat racing that you’ve aired 12 times each that week already. As for the advertisers who paid to be in a specific spot at a specific time, Bulls**t! They paid to be aired during the broadcast of an AMA Superbike race because those are their target customers. Show it live on Monday morning and the viewership undoubtedly will be less due to people’s work schedules, but re-air it prime-time Monday evening with some teasers throughout the day and the advertisers will get their money’s worth. As an aside, when SPEED sells advertising packages to sponsors, these contingencies and many more you’d never even think about are covered in the contract.

I’m quite sure if they postponed a big NASCAR race, make that any NASCAR race, SPEED would be there to pick up the pieces regardless of any outside factors. Surely they would claim the popularity and income generation NASCAR provides as the reason, but how do they think NASCAR got that way? Major networks made a major commitment to covering their series in a comprehensive manner. Lo and behold, a fan base was created. This must be the way it happened, otherwise, I defy anyone to explain why millions of people will sit willingly in front of a television set and watch cars that all look alike going around in circles at an almost constant speed. Gee, I wonder if people might find motorcycle racing as exciting as NASCAR if it was presented to them in the same format i.e. professional quality broadcasts with informative (read non-Greg White generated) trackside commentary, rider personality profiles, and a look into the great and storied history of the sport?

To paraphrase one of your contributors on the website, it would be just swell if SPEED would stop torturing the sport and its fans and just admit defeat. SPEED, you don’t support motorcycle racing in any meaningful way and it shows. Give it over to someone who will at least make an honest effort to showcase this exciting and diverse sport.

The AMA is complicit in this poor showing also. They may not feel they have many options as they do not have the know how, budget or infrastructure to televise their own series, but this is no excuse to sit back and let SPEED air the series as an afterthought. Tell you what, AMA, I’ll even help bail you out of the jam. What say we set up some development meetings with the big three and pitch the series in a provocative manner? We could spend around 250K on a super slick demo reel and fly a few key executives out to some events for some VIP treatment. I’ll even chip in, but you’ve got to share profits down the road.

Have some faith in your own product and market it like any other business. You’re giving up multiple revenue opportunities. Remember five years ago when no one knew what the hell the X-Games were? Now you can buy Tony Hawk dolls for God’s sake! Is it unrealistic that a Ben Bostrom doll or a die cast Mat Mladin GSX-R1000 (with cooperation from Honda and Suzuki of course) wouldn’t work if properly marketed? Just imagine it… AMA racer trading cards, a Barber Motorsports Park slot-bike track with a little life-like Aaron Yates, the mind boggles…

Tony Shortman
Southwest Commercial Real Estate
Director of Land and Investment Services
Las Vegas, Nevada



More reaction, from another reader:

FIRST PERSON/OPINION

Via e-mail:

There has been an outcry against SPEED TV for limiting their motorcycle programing. SPEED cites ratings and economic issues as their reasoning. It is hard to believe that some of the shows that have replaced motorcycle programing on TV will have a bigger audience, and an audience that buys products like motorcycle owners do. Speedvision provided motorcycle programming at a level that had never been seen before. The new operators of SPEED made promises concerning keeping the motorcycle programming, then promptly broke them. So here we are today. This change in programming will have far reaching consequences beyond viewer entertainment.

SPEED has put out that they will only run races once. Unfortunately most races are run in the prime riding/racing season when many motorcyclists are not at home watching. The placement of “Two Wheeled Tuesday” in the line-up shows that SPEED wants failure of motorcycle programming, the show itself is proof that they want motorcycle programming to fail. In the winter, after the seasons are over, what will SPEED show? Will they show anything racing related? Will we at least get European speedway? Maybe this year. The “insider” letter put it plainly, SPEED will not make any more concessions then it already has for motorcycle racing. Motorcycle racing on SPEED then is in effect in a death spiral.

While the European circuits will be largely unaffected the AMA will feel it. The advertising value of AMA road racing sponsorship will diminish, so will advertising dollars. Event promoters will see less money for their events, less money, less promotion of events. The road racers themselves, even the well financed factory teams will feel the pinch. From the factory perspective if the overall advertising worth of road racing is decreased their efforts will decrease – fewer factory rides. The less-well-heeled teams will feel it first, many won’t survive the next few years. AMA road racing will return to a being a very large club event. What that means for track availability, safety measures, payouts, and participation is also bleak.

Television, for better or worse, decides the long-term viability of a sport in today’s world. SPEED has made it clear that there is no room for motorcycle road racing in their future vision. Some will say this is a good thing, that the sport became too big, too expensive. Well if the fans, the racing participants, the promoters, the motorcyle manufacturers, and the AMA don’t work together to keep the sport on television then it certainly will not be too big or expensive, we may even be referring to this time as the “last great years of AMA Road racing” for some time to come.

Joe White
Boone, Iowa



Yet more reaction, from yet another reader:

FIRST PERSON/OPINION

Via e-mail:

To add a little more fuel to the Speed TV fire, and I do hope they burn, I have given up writing e-mails to them because I realized it is a complete waste of time. I have written loads of messages over the past few months ever since I saw the bike programming boat start to sink and have never even received an acknowlegement let alone a reply. I have talked to Greg White face-to-face this year at Road America, Laguna Seca and Mid-Ohio and I am pretty damn sure that he is very frustrated with this whole deal but couldn’t say anything because you don’t bite the hand that feeds you.

I grew up in the UK where motorcycles are the norm, motorcyclists have rights and motorcycle racing has an enormous following. I’ve been here since 1977 and still cannot understand why anyone would be interested in NASCAR. I don’t like any racing where they only turn in one direction even if it’s bikes…BORING.

Having now given up any hope of ever seeing any decent bike race coverage on Speed/NASCAR TV ever again I think we should concentrate our hopes and efforts on getting them to give it up altogether and let Outdoor Life Network, or even the Wheels TV mentioned in an e-mail, have the contract. I hope the likes of you guys, the AMA and any other organization that derives income or enjoyment from motorcycle road racing will join us in the fight to get rid of any association with Speed TV.

And to Mr Carl Jensen, where have you been watching quote, “3 or 4 hours of the greatest sport on earth”? Sure as hell ain’t been on Speed TV lately. They make enough money off NASCAR that they could subsidize our entertainment very easily. Forget them…I’m for OLN or even Wheels TV (have to get more info on them).

Mike Hughes
Rockford, Illinois

Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

FIRST PERSON/OPINION

Via e-mail:

I have posted several complaints to SPEED offices and their motorcycle message board about what they are doing to motorcycle road racing coverage, but the majority of posters seem to be more concerned that their complaints will somehow reduce road race coverage, if they care at all. Face it, SPEED is looking for lapdog viewers anyway.

I wrote a letter to VIR management encouraging them to take any action they could to create an economic impact on the AMA and SPEED for their loss of revenue, since they seemed to be the only group interested in seeing the event promoted, but who knows where the money falls out in this deal.

” . . . And Nothing” [Now the AMA has joined SPEED in imitating Reuben Xaus to provide explanations for ruining motorcycle road race promotion in the U.S.] I guess pretty soon we’ll be reduced to watching leftovers produced with European advertising dollars.

John Cone
Marion, North Carolina


FIRST PERSON/OPINION

Via e-mail:

I can remember a time in the not so distant past when motorcycle racing was on Speed for the main event, usually live, and re-aired on Fox Sports Channels and Speed throughout the rest of the week. Motorcycle racing galore!

Alas, those times have gone the way of the dodo.

Now we are relegated to appetizers of motorcycle racing when the NASCAR programming “gods” feel the need to throw us a crumb.

Perhaps the reason why there is no outcry about the loss of motorcycle road race programming is that we all know this patient is a terminal case. We are just waiting for it to die.

I have never understood the fascination that America has with the mindless circling of good ol’ boys being passed off as exciting racing. Maybe marketing has not been that good for motorcycles, or maybe the view of motorcycles being ridden by lawless rebels is too much to overcome. In any case, I believe that motorcycle racing has never gotten a fair shake or enough exposure to bring it to the forefront.

And obviously SPEED has no intention to try to invest any time to it. This is understandable, as they can make more money showing a boring racing series, commented upon with mindless drivel from the announcers.

Well SPEED, at the very least then, relinquish your rights to the series and let someone else have a go at it. If I remember, the Outdoor Life Network expressed a serious interest in showing motorcycle road racing on their channel. Perhaps next year, you can have your precious NASCAR channel, and we motorcyle road racing fans can see what we want on another channel, and boycott yours altogether. I might call that a perfect world.

Or maybe I can just move to Europe, where they
actually show motorcycle racing on TV, not the morsels you haphazardly throw at us.

But at the very least, let someone interested in showing these races to the public have a stab at it.

Give it up, SPEED!

Steve Sturm
Glendora, California


FIRST PERSON/OPINION

Via e-mail:

Why is it that Fox TV does not show motorcycle racing anymore? Like it was said earlier you could turn on the TV and run up and down the Fox TV channels and find the latest AMA race shown for the entire week after the event. Now there is nothing and their programming seems to be in need of help. Is the viewer attendance to these reruns really that poor?

And, yes Speed TV’s recent change has left most of us road racing devotees holding the empty bag. Two Wheel Tuesday, what a farce!

Damn it, I want my motorcycle road racing coverage!

Jeff Short
Sacramento, California



FIRST PERSON/OPINION

Via e-mail:

I have written to SPEED many times over these last few months asking them why the are slowly putting our sport to death on their channel. I never get a reply. Go figure.

Ever since the NASCAR kings took this network over we knew this was coming. They are slowly and systematically erasing motorcycles from their network so they can show rerun after rerun of “old” NASCAR races.

Let’s face it, unless WE do something, within 2 years, Motorcycle racing will be gone completely from SPEED’s lineup. 2 wheel Tuesday was just the start ladies and gentlemen, maybe it’s time to start boycotting the network and getting some Congressional help for our cause. I know we have at least one Congressman that rides bikes.

Lloyd Magruder
Birmingham, Alabama


FIRST PERSON/OPINION

Via e-mail:

As an addendum to my earlier comments and after finding out more about the situation, I get even sicker.

Let’s start with the AMA not having a requirement in their contract that the TV crew cannot leave until racing is finished. Then the AMA had to negotiate with the VIR just to run the races because the contract with VIR guaranteed TV coverage, which was now driving down the road. You would think that weather has never caused a problem with a racing event before. The only organizations that are run with so many publicly displayed blunders than AMA Pro Racing where upper management keeps their jobs are all run by the government.

Then we have Chet Burks coming out and saying that the network did their job and were willing to stay until nightfall Sunday if that’s what it took. What a crock. I cannot think of a
race I was watching that was delayed to the next day because of rain or a problem with the track where there was TV coverage that the TV crew was not there the next day. Races of all kinds happen on holidays and some races get postponed due to rain. That is part of racing and it happens in NASCAR and they stay. The only reason that the Speed Channel crew left was because they didn’t care enough and because of the mismanagement of the AMA, there was no legally binding need for them to stay.

I have been watching all kinds of races for almost 40 years on TV and I have never seen such a debacle. Not too mention Kurtis Roberts’ first Superbike win and no TV.

All 2Wheel Tuesday did was to put up the top ten finishers and the point standings of the 3 races on Monday with some stupid music playing in the background. Granted they interviewed Kurtis, but there was more to talk about what happened Monday than that.

There, I almost feel better now.

Paul Trautman
San Jose, California



FIRST PERSON/OPINION

Via e-mail:

I was at VIR this weekend and I can partially understand SpeedTV packing up. SpeedTV no longer NEEDS motorcycle racing to survive. They get bag loads of money from NASCAR.

There is a new channel in the works called WheelsTV that wants to be about the enthusist market, although specifically cars they have some motorcycle programming in the works.

Could you lobby WheelsTV to pick up motorcycle racing? I’m sure you have more influence than a few random e-mails from enthusiasts.

Kirk Robinson
Scranton, Pennsylvania



FIRST PERSON/OPINION

Via e-mail:

Who sez there was no outcry about the lack of VIR Monday racing coverage? As soon as you guys posted the fact SpeedTV had folded tents and stole off into the night, I sent them a scathing e-mail, and I bet I’m not the only one!

I generally post to Greg White. Occasionally he will answer.

Bill Hiller
Prescott, Arizona



FIRST PERSON/OPINION

Via e-mail:

After reading some of the viewer mail on your site, I just had to write. Am I the only one who appreciates the fact that Speed shows any motorcycle racing at all? Motorcycle programming has consistently been one of the most poorly-viewed genres on Speed, but they still bring us Moto GP, WSB, and AMA on a regular basis.

One of the highlights on my weekend is to wake up Sunday morning, make a good breakfast, and watch 3 or 4 hours of the greatest sport on earth without having to wake up at 2 in the morning in order to do so. I, for one, am very glad that Speed spends the money to continue to bring us this programming.

Showing the race on Monday live obviously did not make fiscal sense for Speed, which is in the business to make money, not to cater to the wants of a very small segment of its viewership. Stop whining, guys, and just be glad we have what we have. If viewership continue to be as low as it it, we may not have it for long. This would really ruin my weekends.

Carl Jensen
Sacramento, California

From a press release issed by Fortuna Yamaha:

CHAMPIONSHIP HOTS UP AGAIN AFTER SUMMER BREAK

After a string of races across northern Europe, the Fortuna Yamaha Team makes its way with the rest of the MotoGP paddock back to the Iberian peninsula this weekend for the Portuguese Grand Prix in Estoril. This weekend’s race marks the end of the European sector of the season before each team packs its equipment into freight cases for the string of four ‘flyaway’ races in Brazil, Japan, Malaysia and Australia. The nomadic paddock then returns to Europe for the final showdown in Valencia, Spain on 2 November.

After a six week lull, interruputed only by the Gauloises Czech Republic Grand Prix in Brno in mid-August and the ensuing Michelin tyre test at the Czech circuit, the MotoGP riders will be looking forward to getting back to the action in what has turned into an unusually close championship . The excitement reached its peak at the last race in Brno, when at mid-race distance the top five riders were covered by just 1.171 seconds, and the race win was claimed by just 0.042 seconds by Valentino Rossi from Sete Gibernau. The leading pack didn’t just change positition on every lap but virtually every corner!

Fortuna Yamaha Team rider Carlos Checa was one of the strongest race contenders in Brno. Although he followed the leading five riders for the majority of the race, his times improved lap by lap and he closed in on the top group to finish in a solid fourth. His team-mate Marco Melandri had a more difficult weekend, struggling to get comfortable with his Yamaha YZR-M1 four-stroke machine but eventually overcoming his difficulties to finish what was an impressive tenth place, considering his seventeenth place starting grid position.

Checa and Melandri came away from the group Michelin tyre test which followed the Czech race feeling the benefits of the day. Checa continued to set impressively fast and consistent lap times, and Melandri made more progress conquering the troubles that had affected his performance during the race weekend. Both riders and their crews will return to Estoril this weekend not only with the confidence that they left the test with, but also fully relaxed and focused after the two week break since. The team’s Italian director, Davide Brivio, knows how much extra effort his team has put in recently, and the result is making a difference. He is sure that the enhanced performances of both riders will improve even more this weekend.

“Carlos got pole position in Estoril last year so has a proven track record with the M1 there,” said Davide Brivio about the elder of his two riders. “Also he’s come from another positive race in the Czech Republic and at the races before it, with Brno probably the most positive. We are looking forward to this end of the season for Carlos – he was fighting again in Brno with the top group so his confidence is improving. We’re working to get him on the podium soon.

“With Marco, his weekend in Brno was not as positive as we were expecting but I think that probably that track doesn’t perfectly suit his riding style on the M1. However, he made the best of a difficult situation and by race day had made adjustments working closely with his crew, which made a lot of difference, and he was able to achieve a solid result despite a difficult grid position. This was all part of an important and steep learning curve! Estoril will hopefully be a different story. During the winter testing Marco had a small fall on the wet there, and hurt his shoulder but now he is so much more confident with the bike. I think we can have him back on good form this weekend.

“Both riders were pleased with the chance to test at Brno on the Monday after the race in the Michelin tyre test. Carlos’ lap times were as good with the tyres he was testing as they were in the race on Sunday. His times were also consistent and the same as the pace setters were achieving in the race, so he has come away from the test feeling confident. The test was also positive and useful for Marco – a chance to clarify some doubts and improve some settings.”


CHECA SIXTH IN THE CHAMPIONSHIP AND DETERMINED FOR HIGHER
Carlos Checa’s season did not start out as one of his best but he is making up for lost time, and now just needs a podium finish to reestablish himself as one of the top protagonists in motorcycle racing’s premier class. His season has improved slowly but surely, his change in luck starting at his home Barcelona Grand Prix in June when he finished fourth. Since then he has achieved another fourth in Assen, sixth in Donington, a frustrating eighth in Sachsenring, and then back on track to finish fourth at the Czech Republic Grand Prix three weeks ago. He has moved up to sixth position in the championship standings – eighteen points behind Ducati MotoGP rookie Troy Bayliss and nineteen points behind Bayliss’ team-mate Loris Capirossi.


Checa will need to use every ounce of his determination this weekend to achieve Fortuna Yamaha’s first podium finish of the season. Last year he finished second at the Portuguese circuit after a pole position start, and a hard-ridden race in harsh wet conditions. The Spaniard is looking forward to getting back into the championship after the break, and feels that the Portuguese circuit can provide the platform for his first podium of the season.

“I got the pole there last year, so obviously it’s a track that I quite like,” said the Spanish rider. “At all tracks you need good front and rear balance and good stability on turning, that’s the basic character, and then you build on that from circuit to circuit. Estoril has a long straight, and you need hard braking on T1. Then about seventy percent of the track consists of slow turns where you need hard braking. The last section has the slowest corner, and for me it’s the slowest corner of all the GP circuits. You need good handling there and connection with the throttle. The bike becomes very heavy at that point.

“The track doesn’t look like it has any grip but actually when you’re on the track the grip level isn’t so bad. The last section is quite important for the lap time, and by the last section I mean the last two turns. It’s easy to lose a lot of time in the slower area. I like the track in general but not the bumps, especially on the exit of turns one and two. That last slow section is too slow for us four-stroke riders really, it’s too slow for 200 horsepower.”


TWENTY-ONE YEARS OLD AND READY FOR ACTION
Marco Melandri has spent the two short season intervals training, hanging out with friends, looking forward to the next race, and turning twenty-one! He celebrated his birthday just before the Czech Grand Prix, and the Brno Grand Prix was certainly a test of his maturity. The 250cc World Champion had a tricky weekend, struggling to find a set-up that he felt comfortable with, and didn’t find a compromise until morning practice on race day, when he and his crew made adjustments that set him up for a steady race. He finished in tenth place, and now lies nineteenth in the championship.

His current championship standing belies the progress he has made in his rookie MotoGP season. Having missed the first two races of the year due to injury, and spending the following few races relearning the ropes, he amazed everyone by claiming his first MotoGP front row start at the French Grand Prix in Le Mans, then claiming a second front row start at the British Grand Prix in Donington when he fought with the race leaders before tumbling out of the race from fourth place. At the ensuing German Grand Prix in Sachsenring he brilliantly fought his way as high as second after a twelfth place start, unluckily falling off when he had difficulties changing gear.

Melandri’s weekend in Brno was more complicated. Despite a reasonable test at the Czech circuit in mid-July, he struggled to find a set-up that he felt comfortable with during the race weekend. He and his crew worked harder than ever to overcome the difficulties, and after lowering the front geometry of his YZR-M1 on race day, the young Italian went on to complete a steady race, finishing tenth. The same set-up helped him complete a positive Michelin test the following day at the group tyre test in Brno. Now he moves on to Estoril

“Last year I finished second in Estoril, I was hoping for another win but couldn’t quite make it. I was still winning the 250cc championship at that stage anyway so I have good memories of this circuit. However in winter testing this year I had a tumble when I was testing Michelin’s wet tyres in the rain. I slid on an uphill chicane on my second lap in the wet, and had to be taken to the Clinica Mobile. They confirmed that my right collar bone had separated from my shoulder blade, it really hurt! At least I got to ride about 22 laps before the fall, with a reasonable time, so I do have some experience with the M1 on the Estoril circuit.

“All through the summer break I haven’t been able to relax properly because I’ve been so focused on racing. After having such a good feeling with the bike in Donington and Sachsenring, I was so disappointed in Brno when I couldn’t ride as I wanted to. It seemed that no matter what we did on Friday and Saturday, it didn’t get any better. My crew worked so hard all weekend and then we made another change on Sunday and it immediately felt better.

“Now I’m just desperate to get back to the racing, and I really want to finish the race in a good position in Estoril. In some ways the frustration in Brno was good for me because it taught me that if you can’t get the feeling you want at the start of the weekend, you have to be patient sometimes, trust your crew, and keep working without making too many changes.”


TECHNICALLY SPEAKING
In some ways many of the issues that plague the South African circuit, Welkom, also make racing at Estoril interesting, to say the least. The combination of its design and geography make it a technically challenging venue. Situated 32km west of Lisbon on the western coast of Portugal, 7km from the beach resort of Cascais, Estoril is regularly hit by offshore winds – resulting in a light film of dust on the track surface. This, combined with the circuit’s flat camber and irregular use, means that grip levels are always minimal for the first couple of days during the Portuguese Grand Prix, until a clean racing line is formed.

As the circuit naturally becomes cleaner and faster over the course of the Grand Prix weekend, the chassis characteristics and the ideal setting continually change, making bike set-up difficult for all. The engine alone must cater for all extremes here; predictability, due to the low grip levels; low to midrange power, which must satisfy the drive needed off the half dozen second gear corners; and top-end over-rev, essential to make the leap between each bend.

Chassis wise the first target is a balanced, neutral geometry; offering good turn-in characteristics while also catering for the big braking areas, such as turn one. The base setting will be similar to that used at Donington, only with slightly higher rate fork springs to deal with the extra weight transfer under deceleration. Meanwhile the rear spring will be softer to improve feedback under power. This will be done while the technicians and riders focus on a set-up suited more on the latter part of the race, at which point the tyre grip levels will be fading, rather than on a one-off ultra fast time on new rubber.



More, from a press release issued by Pramac Racing Press Information:

ESTORIL: ELEVENTH MOTOGP RACE BEFORE TRANSFER TO SOUTH AMERICA

The Estoril circuit is located 28 kilometres from Lisbon, just off the Atlantic coast, and will be the venue for the eleventh round of the World Road Racing Championship. Built in 1972, the Portuguese track hosted a number of Formula 2 races in the 1970s, before being “consecrated” at world level with the arrival of Formula 1 in 1984. Since 2000, it has been the Portuguese venue for the world motorcycling tests of the Grand Prix.

The Estoril circuit is difficult to interpret and its layout contains all those complexities that make it technical and selective. Many corners to be taken at slower speeds are followed by rapid acceleration while other are faster, leading into tight chicanes where a change of direction needs to be negotiated with great skill. And there is more: extreme braking to enable overtaking, and then the long straight, where engine power can make all the difference. This means that Estoril has all it takes to make things difficult for both technicians and riders – and the weather remains an unknown factor: its proximity to the Atlantic coast makes the area susceptible to rapid changes in temperature.

The circuit. Length: 4,182 metres – 4 left-handers – 9 right-handers – longest straight: 986 metres – Maximum width: 14 metres –

Constructed in: 1972 – Modified in: 1999.

2002 winners.
125 class: Vincent (FRA) Aprilia
250 class: Nieto (SPA) Aprilia
MotoGP class: Rossi (ITA) Honda.

Circuit records:
125: 1:46.329, Ui, 2001
250: 1:42.285, Kato 2001
MotoGP: 1:40.683, Capirossi, 2001.

MAX BIAGGI THIRD IN WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP RATINGS

CAMEL PRAMAC PONS TEAM SECOND IN TEAM RATINGS

Four-times world champion Massimiliano Biaggi finished the Brno race in third place, gaining 11 precious points that keep him firmly in third place in the world championship standings. The arrival of some updates for his RC211V required some extra work on setting up the bike and there is a good chance that it will be right here at Estoril that Max Biaggi will be able to show what he and such a powerful machine are really capable of. The gap separating him from the top is now 71 points – a lot, and hard to claw back, but nothing is impossible. Assisted by Ukawa’s eighth place in the Czech Republic, the Camel Pramac Pons Team still maintains second place in the special team standings. Tohru Ukawa is currently seventh in the world championship with 71 points.

MORE TRACK TESTS FOR MAKOTO TAMADA AND THE PRAMAC HONDA TEAM

There was no respite for Makoto Tamada and the Pramac Honda Team as they carried out tests on the Monday following the Brno race. The same track, with hot summer conditions like during the race the day before. A good opportunity to carry on Bridgestone development work and to carefully examine with the technicians the set-up of the bike as it had been used for the race. The Japanese rider clocked up a total of 72 laps, posting a best time of 2:00.4. The Brno tests were used to try out some new materials from Bridgestone: evolution plies and profiles on which this end-of-season’s work will concentrate, but also the basis for the work to be carried out next year.

After the race in the Czech Republic, Makoto went back to Japan and will be flying in directly to Portugal in time to take part in the promotional event for the Estoril GP promotional event slated for Thursday afternoon.


More, from a press release issued by Marlboro Ducati:

DUCATI MARLBORO TEAM – PRESS INFORMATION
Marlboro Portuguese Grand Prix, Estoril
September 5/6/7 2003

DESMOSEDICI REFINEMENTS INSPIRE DUCATI MARLBORO MEN
The Ducati Marlboro Team goes into this weekend’s Marlboro Portuguese Grand Prix confident of once again being in the hunt for victory. At last month’s Czech GP Ducati Marlboro Team riders Loris Capirossi and Troy Bayliss were in the thick of the action, and while the Desmosedici has already proved itself a winning force in MotoGP, this was the first time that both riders have been in with a chance of victory.

New chassis parts helped Capirossi and Bayliss fight for the win at Brno, and further refinements have been made since then to give the pair an even better chance of success at Estoril on Sunday. Capirossi still holds fourth in the World Championship standings, just one point ahead of Bayliss, who has scored podium finishes at the last two GPs. And Ducati is still running strong in the manufacturers’ championship, currently holding second place in its debut MotoGP season.

Estoril is MotoGP’s final race in Europe before the paddock heads oversees for a gruelling run of four flyaway races in Brazil, Japan, Malaysia and Australia over just five weekends. The GP circus returns to Europe for the season finale at Valencia, Spain, on November 2.

AWESOME DESMOSEDICI KEEPS MOVING FORWARD
Ten races done, six to go, and the Ducati Marlboro Team Desmosedici continues to improve with every outing. Three weeks ago at Brno Loris Capirossi and Troy Bayliss both raced with a new frame, designed to speed the bike’s progress through esses and chicanes. And this weekend at Estoril the pair will have at their disposal a new, larger diameter Ohlins front fork, designed to further improve the bike’s behaviour in direction changes, as well as increasing stability under braking.

“We tested the new fork at Brno the day after the race,” explains Ducati Marlboro Team technical director Corrado Cecchinelli. “Loris really liked the new fork and also some new front tyres that Michelin wanted us to evaluate. He went even faster than he did during the race, even though he was using race-compound tyres. Troy also bettered his race lap times from the race on race tyres, so we go to Estoril in confident mood. We went well there during winter testing and the bike is much better now, we’ve made some good steps forward over the past few weeks.”

Ducati Marlboro Team director Livio Suppo believes Estoril will provide an interesting gauge of just how far the Desmosedici has come since winter testing. “The bike was very young when we went there in February,” he says. “So it will be nice to see how far we’ve come since then. Both riders are happy with the latest new parts, it seems like the bike is getting better and better. It’s also good that Troy is now really used to MotoGP and getting more and more confident, he rode a great race at Brno. Loris also rode a wonderful race, it’s just a pity that he lost points due to an electrical fault. We can sure that he’ll be very hungry at Estoril! Finally, I think we will all arrive at Estoril nice and relaxed, because most of us have had some time off for holidays since Brno.”

CAPIROSSI TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF LATEST UPGRADES
Loris Capirossi has already proved that the Ducati Marlboro Team Desmosedici is a winning machine. The super-determined Italian won the bike’s first MotoGP success at Catalunya in June and he looked capable of repeating that success at Brno last month until a minor electrical fault halted his victory assault three laps from the finish. This weekend Capirossi will be out to make up for the misfortune and bolster his championship position.

“We put what happened at Brno behind us,” says Capirossi. “At least that race proved just how good the bike is at the moment, so Estoril shouldn’t be bad for us. We went okay there during winter testing but the bike has changed quite a lot since then, so we will have to work carefully on set-up. We’ve made good progress this year, and we’re now at a very good level. The new frame we received at Brno helped improve the overall balance of the bike, and the new Ohlins fork and Michelin front tyres we tried during the tests make the bike even better in direction changes and also more stable on the brakes. I think everyone can see we’re moving in the right direction. The test team is working really hard to help us, we appreciate their input.”

“I like Estoril and the bike seems okay there, though I’m not so keen on the tiny chicane which is a bit awkward, but I think it’s the same for everyone in MotoGP. Anyway, we have a lot of speed and that will be good for us down the two straights.”

BAYLISS PRAISES ‘PRETTY PERFECT’ DESMOSEDICI
Troy Bayliss comes to Estoril this week anxious to get back to work after his best-ever MotoGP ride in last month’s Czech GP. The Ducati Marlboro Team rider scored his third MotoGP third-place finish at Brno, but this time he was less than a second away from victory, proving that the hard-riding Aussie has the talent and the equipment to go all the way.

“The bike is starting to feel pretty perfect, I feel a lot more comfortable on it now,” says Bayliss. “Brno showed that we can run right up front, that’s where I want to be and I think I should be there all the time. Estoril is another place we visited during the off-season, but the bike has come on a long way since then. It’s bumpy and twisty, but I enjoy the track, it’s fun. The bike is really coming on now. We got a new chassis at Brno that makes the bike easier in direction changes and I’m looking forward to working on the new front fork when we get to Estoril.”

Bayliss and wife Kim are expecting their third child within the next few weeks. Baby boy Oliver is expected in early October. The Bayliss family already has two kids – son Mitchell (seven) and daughter Abbey (five). “We’re hoping that Oliver will arrive a few days early so that Troy can say ‘hello’ before he heads off to the three flyaway races in Japan, Malaysia and Australia,” says Kim.

THE TRACK
Estoril is the slowest circuit on the GP calendar, with a lap record of less than 150kmh. Nevertheless the track presents a real challenge to riders and engineers. The contrast between very slow and very fast corners demands some tricky compromises in chassis set-up, with riders requiring manoeuvrability in the tight corners and stability in the sweepers. These two characteristics aren’t mutually exclusive but it’s not easy to create a motorcycle that excels in both situations, so compromise is the only answer. It’s the same with the engine – the contrast between the fast start-finish straight and the many slow-speed corners requires maximum peak horsepower as well as gentle low-rpm performance.

But perhaps the greatest concern for riders is the track’s proximity to the Atlantic. High-speed winds often whip off the ocean, blowing bikes and riders off course, and throwing dust onto the circuit, with potentially disastrous results.

Estoril hosts its fourth GP this weekend, though this is the sixth Portuguese GP. The nation’s first two GPs were held at Spanish tracks in 1987 and 1988, because Estoril failed stringent track safety standards.

ESTORIL: 4.182km/2.599 miles
Lap record: Loris Capirossi (Honda), 1m 40.683s, 149.530kmh/92.914mph (2001)
Pole position 2002: Carlos Checa (Marlboro Yamaha Team), 1m 39.793s


DUCATI MARLBORO TEAM DATA LOGS

TROY BAYLISS
Age: 34
Lives: Monaco
Bike: Ducati Marlboro Team Desmosedici
First GP: Australia, 1997 (250)
GP starts: 11 (10xMotoGP, 1×250)
World Superbike victories: 22
World Championships: 1 (Superbike: 2001)
Estoril 2002 results: DNS

LORIS CAPIROSSI
Age: 30
Lives: Monaco
Bike: Ducati Marlboro Team Desmosedici
GP victories: 23 (1xMotoGP, 2×500, 12×250, 8×125)
First GP victory: Britain, 1990 (125)
First GP: Japan, 1990 (125)
GP starts: 194 (24xMotoGP, 59×500, 84×250, 27×125)
Pole positions: 35 (2xMotoGP, 5×500, 23×250, 5×125)
First pole: Australia, 1991 (125)
World Championships: 3 (125: 1990, 1991, 250: 1998)
Estoril 2002 results: Grid 7th. Race DNF


More, from a press release issued by Yamaha Racing:

ROUND: 11, PORTUGESE GRAND PRIX
September 7, 2003
Circuit: Estoril
Country: Portugal
Track length: 4182 m
Opened: 1972
Fastest Lap Ever: 1:39.793 (Carlos Checa, 2002 – MotoGP)
MotoGP lap record: 1:40.683 (Loris Capirossi, 2001)
Last year MotoGP winner: Valentino Rossi
GP250 lap record: 1:42.285 (Daijiro Kato, 2001)
Last year GP250 winner: Alfonso Nieto
Circuit tel: +351 21 4691462
Circuit web site: http://www.fpak.pt

2002 race summary
The 11th round of the 2002 MotoGP World Championship came under the attack of not only the most exotic two-wheeled motorcycles on the planet, but the temperamental Portuguese weather too when wind and heavy rain lashed the 4182m Estoril circuit. Defending MotoGP World Champion Valentino Rossi (Honda) was the man who splashed his way to yet another win, to close in on his second MotoGP title; while Portuguese polesitter Carlos Checa (Yamaha) recovered from a difficult opening few laps to clinch a gutsy second place finish on the ever-improving YZR-M1.

The Spaniard suffered excess wheelspin of the start line, relegating him as far back as 12th on the opening lap, before finding the momentum to climb eight places in three laps. Once on the tail end of the leading quartet Checa began the progress of inching his way to yet another podium performance. Tohru Ukawa (Honda) was unable to match the pace of the #7 machine and settled for a safe third.

However, the man robbed of the win was fellow Spaniard Sete Gibernau, who shot off the grid to take the race lead on lap three, building a buffer of nearly six seconds, before victory slipped through his fingers with four laps remaining. The Suzuki man was one of nine riders to be caught out by the treacherous conditions; seventh placed finisher Norick Abe (Yamaha) being the first victim. Abe’s misfortune began on the sighting lap when he lost the front of his YZR500 at walking pace – forced back to the pits to mount his spare machine he started from the rear of the grid. The Japanese completed the race one place behind sixth placed Max Biaggi (Yamaha).

Set-up report YZR-M1
In some ways many of the issues that plague the South African circuit, Welkom, also make racing at Estoril interesting, to say the least. A technically challenging venue, due to a combination of its design and geography, make it so. Situated 32km west of Lisbon on the western coast of Portugal, 7km from the beach resorts of Cascais, Estoril is regularly hit by offshore winds – resulting in a light film of dust on the track surface. The common problem between the two circuit. Combined with its flat camber and irregular use, grip levels are always minimal for the first few days during the Portuguese MotoGP, until a clean racing line is formed.

As in Welkom, this makes setting up a MotoGP bike difficult. As the circuit naturally becomes cleaner and faster over the course of the GP weekend the chassis characteristics continually change – as will the ideal setting. This combined with the fat that the actual layout sees to it that an ideal chassis is, in itself, difficult to find. With its high-speed straight – topping 310kmh – combined with some hard braking – especially into turn one, the most popular passing point. Add in a sequence of tight twists and turns, a few fast sweepers, the meanest chicane on the championship calendar, and the best race set-up is a compromise.

The engine alone must cater for all extremes here – predictability, due to the low grip levels; low to midrange power, which must satisfy the drive needed off the half dozen second gear corners; and top-end over-rev, essential to make the leap between each bend.

Chassis wise the first target is a balanced, neutral geometry; offering good turn-in characteristics while also catering for the big braking areas, such as turn one. The base setting will be similar to that used at Donington, only with slightly higher rate fork springs to deal with the extra weight transfer under deceleration. Meanwhile the rear spring will be softer to improve feedback under power, although it is a fine line, with the circuit reasonably narrow and the limited amount of grip off the racing line there is little room to understeer and run wide.

All this will be done while the technicians and riders focus on a set-up suited more on the latter part of the race, at which point the tyre grip levels will be fading, rather than on a one-off ultra fast time on new rubber – more so than at any other circuit. The different grip characteristics as the tyre wears will make a substantial difference and will ultimately determine the outcome of the race. Again the low grip levels are a factor, as are the repetitive bumps in the track surface on the exits of the turns, which can unsettle a fast bike on old tyres easily.


More, from a press release issued by Team Suzuki:

PORTUGUESE GP ANOTHER STEP FOR SUZUKI

Team Suzuki Press Office Friday 29th August 2003.
Next weekend’s Portuguese GP marks the end of the European season, and closes off a phase of racing in 2003 – for the Suzuki team, as well as the MotoGP rivals.

Held at Estoril, in the coastal hills near historic Sintra, the race is the 11th of 16 rounds, and the last of a non-stop European series that began at Jerez in Spain back in May. The next four races follow the gruelling flyaway schedule, spanning South America, Malaysia, Japan and Australia.

It is an important juncture for one of the most exciting championship battles for some years – with defending champion Valentino Rossi fighting back after a mid-season lull in race wins. And Estoril is the last race where teams will have the full range of facilities at their disposal –from now until the grand finale at Valencia on November 2, they will be operate out of crates and containers, with only the tools and spare parts they can carry with them.

It is an important race also for Suzuki, working this year to find the right combination to unleash the full competitive potential of the GSV-R MotoGP prototype racer. Radically redesigned for its second season in the new 990cc four-stroke premier class, the ground-breaking eight-valve V4 has cracked the 200mph barrier and finished in the top ten. The target of challenging for race wins has so far proved elusive.

The machine has been undergoing constant improvement, however, and now a new racing department head has pledged to speed up the rate of development over the last races of the season, at the same time as laying the foundations for the 2004 MotoGP racer.

Masahito Imada, who took control in July, is a veteran race engineer who was a key member of the RG500 team during the square four two-strokes’ years of serial success. Imada-San has returned to find a racing department where the racing team and the factory engineers work even closer than formerly, but where increasing size has complicated the overall structure. His aim was a return to the quicker decision and technical response times of the Eighties.

Imada-San said: “I believe the riders, the mechanics and engineers and the race department have the capabilities we need. The machine is not good enough yet, but we have set new deadlines and objectives, and are already working on new designs and parts for the next development, to realise its full potential.”

As well as tests after the last round at Brno, the Portuguese GP represents another chance to push the machine forward, as well as to prove progress so far with better race results for both riders.

Last year, the race was hit by bad weather, and came within a few laps of giving Suzuki’s new four-stroke GSV-R a first race win. Rider Sete Gibernau was comfortably in the lead when he slipped off with only four laps left to go. Team-mate Roberts finished fourth, his best result of the season so far, followed by a rostrum third in the next round at Rio.

KENNY ROBERTS – LOOKING FORWARD TO HAVING FUN
At this stage, we’re racing to the machine’s potential at the same time as working on increasing that potential. For the race, I’ll do the best

From a press release issued by series organizers:

ASSEN TO SERVE DELECTABLE DOUBLE HELPING

The Superside World championship returns after a six-week absence for rounds seven and eight at Assen in Holland with more than 100,000 fans expected at the annual Dutch festival.

The three-wheeled flying machines will do battle at the legendary circuit in an unprecedented double bill that will keep the fans on the edge of their seats for the entirety of the weekend.

Steve Webster and Paul Woodhead took over the championship lead thanks to a hard-fought win at the last round at Brands Hatch, GB. But the Austrian pairing of Klaus Klaffenböck and Christian Parzer – who held top spot since round two at Monza, Italy – are hot on their heels, only six points adrift.

“Assen is my favourite circuit and whatever the conditions I always enjoy racing there. It should be a great weekend’s racing for the spectators,” said Webster, who won last year’s race at the 3.75-mile (6.05km) circuit near Groningen, in the north of the country.

Third-placed duo, Jörg Steinhausen and Trevor Hopkinson are brimming with confidence following a win at Misano, San Marino and second place at Brands Hatch in the last two rounds.

“We look forward to Assen, are well prepared for the two races and can’t wait to get there. We think that we can push them [Webster and Woodhead] harder,” said Hopkinson.

Reigning world champions Steve Abbott and Jamie Biggs are looking to build on their fourth place at Brands Hatch. “Having two races is a good thing for us and hopefully we can win one of them and make a move in the championship,” said Abbott.

Race one takes place on Saturday at 17.10hrs local time with the second race on Sunday at 16.30hrs. Both races are over 13 laps (78.351km/48.969 miles). The ever-popular ‘taxi’ rides are scheduled for Friday (18.10 to 18.30hrs).

Saturday’s race will be broadcast live on British Eurosport TV.

Superside World championship standings after six of 10 rounds:

1 Steve Webster, GB (Suzuki) 116, 2 Klaus Klaffenböck, Austria (Yamaha) 110, , 3 Jörg Steinhausen, Germany (Suzuki) 81, 4 Steve Abbott, GB (Suzuki) 62, 5 Mike Roscher, Germany (Suzuki) 58, 6 Tom Hanks, GB (Yamaha) and Martien van Gils, Holland (Suzuki) 57, 8 Bill Philp, GB (Yamaha) 42, 9 Gerhard Hauzenberger, Austria (Yamaha) 37, 10 Dan Morrissey, GB (Yamaha) 30.

From a press release issued by Dr. Rob Tuluie:

Tul-aris Patent Granted

One of several unique designs of the Tul-aris GP bike was recently granted a US design patent. The Tul-aris link was granted US patent no. 6581711 B1 under the title “Suspension Assembly with Compact Design and Low Center of Gravity Application.” The patent office allowed all claims without requiring any modification.

The Tul-aris link was conceived as one of the very first and integral designs of the Tul-aris has been used on the Tul-aris for over three years now. It was instrumental to the success of the project, which includes a lap record and local and national race wins. The Tul-aris link is pictured in one of several patented variations below:



Dr. Rob Tuluie, inventor of the linkage, describes its advantages as follows:
The Tul-aris link is a unique arrangement of two lever arms and pivots, which allow the shock absorber to operate in the normal fashion (compression under a bump input), while being placed underneath the engine at the same time. It connects to the lower swingarm box section on one end and to the engine case on the other, thus creating a very rigid mounting arrangement without the need for a heavy subframe or mounting braces. Not only does the Tul-aris link have low unsprung mass, it has a very low unsprung moment of inertia as well, as only one of the two links (the floating link) rotates about its center, while the other (the flexure link) is nearly stationary. In addition, the linkage positions the shock closely underneath the engine to minimize roll, yaw and pitch moments of inertia for the entire bike and places it away from exhaust heat. The compact assembly, with low overall inertias, allows the bike to turn very quickly, without the need for a radical steering geometry or ultra-short wheelbase, which can sometimes result in a lack of stability and front tire feedback. As we found during our track testing and lab simulation development work, the adjustable nature of the linkage yields kinematics such that the desired linkage ratio can be achieved with easy track-side adjustments. These adjustments allow independent changes in both first and second derivatives of shock vs. wheel travel. We found these types of adjustment to be instrumental to the performance and feel of the rear suspension. Finally, the linkage only has 4 pivots (counting all pivots, including the shock mounting points), which is one fewer than the linkages used on modern sport and racing motorcycles. The 5th joint of the linkage is a flexure joint, similar to those more recently used on Formula One car front suspensions. This type of joint reduces backlash and friction and results in a more controlled connection between damping at the shock and actual damping at the rear wheel. Lastly, the linkage was engineered using fatigue analysis software for a satisfactory fatigue life.

Another aspect of the patent is that the entire linkage assembly can, in principle, be placed into another motorcycle, with some modifications of the motorcycle required. This allows for a fundamental upgrade of the rear suspension as a whole, something that cannot be achieved by re-valving, re-springing or re-mounting of the shock alone.

From a press release issued by Team Suzuki News Service:

RIZLA SUZUKI TEAM FOR ASSEN WSB ROUND

Rizla Crescent Suzuki British Superbike Championship rider John Reynolds is to make a special ‘wild-card’ entry at the Assen World Superbike Championship round on September 7th. It was originally planned for both Reynolds and Rizla team mate Yuki Kagayama to race at Assen, but the Japanese star crashed at last week’s British Superbike round at Cadwell Park, breaking his pelvis and putting him out of action for the rest of the season.

The wild-card entry was made at the special request of the Crescent Suzuki team’s main sponsor Rizla, as the company’s European headquarters is based in the Netherlands. Reynolds’ GSX-R1000 race machine will also swop its British Superbike ‘Rizla Blue’ colours for a new ‘Rizla Red’ livery for the Assen event.

Both Reynolds and Kagayama have already scored World Superbike points this year in the two UK based rounds at Silverstone and Brands Hatch, with Reynolds taking a superb close second place in the second race at Brands.

Announcing the decision to race at Assen, Rizla Crescent Suzuki team owner Paul Denning said, “Making the final decision to race at the Assen WSB round wasn’t easy until we asked Yuki what he thought. Yuki is a world class rider and without his presence it would have been easy to pull out, but he is as eager as any of us for JR to race. We will do our best to put on a good show for Rizla, Yuki and all the team’s fans.

“Our Rizla Suzuki GSX-R1000 is undoubtedly the bike to beat at the moment and JR is riding better than ever. We have a really good chance of getting a couple of top finishes and that’s our goal.”