Copyright 2004, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Provisional Saturday Morning AMA Supersport Practice Times:

1. Jason DiSalvo, Yamaha, 1:52.227
2. Roger Lee Hayden, Kawasaki, 1:53.207
3. Aaron Gobert, Yamaha, 1:53.455
4. Ben Spies, Suzuki, 1:53.730
5. Tommy Hayden, Kawasaki, 1:54.000
6. Michael Barnes, Yamaha, 1:54.046
7. Jamie Hacking, Yamaha, 1:54.445
8. Steve Rapp, Suzuki, 1:54.452
9. Aaron Yates, Suzuki, 1:54.545
10. Tony Meiring, Kawasaki, 1:54.862
11. Scott Greenwood, Yamaha, 1:55.085
12. Damon Buckmaster, Yamaha, 1:55.273
13. Chris Peris, Suzuki, 1:56.776
14. Jeff Tigert, Honda, 1:57.301
15. Jason Perez, Yamaha, 1:58.000
16. Pedro Valiente, Yamaha, 1:58.012
17. Lee Acree, Suzuki, 1:58.201
18. Alan Schmidt, Yamaha, 1:58.846
19. John-O Bowman, Yamaha, 1:59.284
20. Nathan Hester, Yamaha, 1:59.371

Copyright 2004, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

The Corona Extra Suzuki team is not at Daytona International Speedway, but the squad will join the AMA series at round two at California Speedway in April.

Team Principal Tim Saunders, who is at Daytona, told Roadracingworld.com that his team’s plans were put on hold due to conflicts between sponsor obligations with Corona, which wants more television exposure, and racing objectives of the manufacturers, who want support teams to campaign certain classes.

Once the necessary compromises were made and the major deals finalized, said Saunders, it was too late to get motorcycles in time to race in the season opener.

According to Saunders, his team will run in Supersport, Superstock and select Superbike races with veteran racer Marty Craggill and 2003 Suzuki GSX-R750 Cup Champion Ben Attard. The pair of Aussies will ride Suzukis on Dunlop tires.

Saunders said Corona’s involvement with his team will increase, including more Corona Extra Suzuki display bikes at retail locations around the country.

Copyright 2004, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

The AMA Supersport race at Daytona International Speedway was stopped on lap five of 18 for a crash in the chicane.

At the time of the crash, a lead group consisting of Aaron Gobert, Jason DiSalvo, Roger Lee Hayden, Tommy Hayden and Michael Barnes was contesting the lead; Jamie Hacking and Damon Buckmaster were swapping sixth; and Aaron Yates was eighth, leading Ben Spies, Steve Rapp, Tony Meiring and Scott Greenwood.

First-year Expert William Meyers, III was the rider who crashed in the chicane. From a video feed of the crash, Meyers lost the front going into the chicane and came to rest on the inside portion of the track. Because Meyers needed medical attention in an impact area, the race was stopped.

According to track announcer Roger Lyle, Meyers was seen sitting up at the accident site.

The Supersport race will be re-started from the original grid for 15 laps.


Update:

The AMA Supersport race was red-flagged a second time on the third lap of the 15-lap restart.

The cause of the red flag was a blown engine spilling oil on the track. Race officials anticipate a lengthy delay to clean up the oil spill.

At the time the race was stopped Aaron Gobert had made a small breakaway, 0.6-second at the line.

Roger Lee Hayden, Tommy Hayden, Barnes, Hacking, DiSalvo, Yates, Buckmaster, Spies, Rapp, Meiring and Greenwood were in a large pack racing for second.

Gobert had also made a small breakaway in the first race start and was reeled back into the group by teammate DiSalvo.

According to Daytona track officials, William Meyers was transported to Halifax Medical Center with complaints of back pain.

The race will be restarted from a new grid based on the running order, for 14 more laps.

Copyright 2004, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Paul Teutel, Sr. and Paul Teutel, Jr., the father/son team who star in the hit Discovery Channel reality show “American Choppers,” made an appearance Friday night during the opening ceremonies of the AMA Supercross race at Daytona International Speedway.

The Teutels and a third member of their crew rode past the very appreciative crowd on their custom bikes: the “Old School” chopper, the famous “9-11/Fire Engine” bike and a new bike the family fabricated for Dixie Choppers.

“It’s pretty cool, man,” Teutel, Jr. told reporters after the ceremony. “The thing we liked about it was using the lawnmower engine instead of the standard V-twin to break it up a little bit.” The bike also has custom “spinner” style wheels, more commonly seen on customized SUVs.

The Teutels made the Daytona appearance without compensation and without the Discovery Channel cameras filming.

“We got invited by Steve (Wheat) from Cyclestar.com. He brought us out here. It sounded cool,” said Teutel, Jr. “We just wanted to come out and support the whole industry. Bikes are bikes. We’re into choppers, but we’ve kind of overwhelmed the whole V-twin industry with media exposure. We just thought we could bring it into this spectrum. We appreciate what these guys do. I think it’s just an overall appreciation.”

“We don’t do NASCAR,” said Teutel, Sr. “We’ve done a little bit on TV, but we don’t really watch it. I think it’s really cool, but I like this better than the cars, you know?

“What they do tomorrow (road racing) , that’s that high-speed racing, I think that’s really cool!”

“You mean this?” Roadracingworld.com asked, handing an April 2004 issue of Roadracing World & Motorcycle Technology to Teutel, Sr.

The cover shot shows Chris Ulrich, Ed Sorbo and Steve Atlas ripping around California Speedway on the 2004 Honda CBR1000RR, Suzuki GSX-R1000 and Kawasaki ZX-10R.

“Yeah, these guys are nuts. All balls! And they’re loving it too,” said Teutel, Sr.

At the end of a long, casual question and answer session with reporters, the Teutels said they were going to the Florida Keys after Bike Week for a much-needed vacation before heading home to Orange County, New York to finish their new “Statue of Liberty” bike.

From a press release issued by Honda Racing:

BARROS AND HAYDEN BACK IN TESTING ACTION IN SPAIN

Alex Barros and Nicky Hayden completed a valuable first day of a two-day test at the Ricardo Tormo circuit on the outskirts of Valencia today (Saturday) in preparation for the 2004 MotoGP season that kicks off in South Africa in six weeks time.

Hayden returns to the track where he secured his first front row start during his debut GP season last year. The 22-year-old MotoGP Rookie of the Year had a good day on the 2004 Honda RC211V and cocked up 70 laps round the twisty 4.005km circuit.

Barros continues to make great progress since his winter shoulder operation and looked forward to getting back on the Honda RC211V at a track he notched up a victory at during the last race of the year in 2002.

Alex Barros
“A good day. I’m happy with the shoulder – no problems and it seems to be recovering well. After the high speed flowing tracks at Sepang and Phillip Island we’ve been getting the bike to work and a different circuit. We’ve made some changes to the gearbox and I’m really happy that the times are very similar to the times form the race that I won here in 2002. The rhythm was good and many of the laps were of constant pace to the race here. We have much date from today that will hopefully help in tomorrow’s progress.”

Best lap 1:33.5 81 laps


Nicky Hayden
“It was important to ride a completely different circuit in the build-up the start of the season. We’ve spent time at Sepang and Phillip Island and got the bike going pretty well there. This circuit is very twisty and I am pretty pleased with the set-up we have after the first day. We worked a lot on the suspension and are all pretty pleased with how the new chassis and the swing arm are improving things. The weather broke the day up a little – some rain – but mostly sun and wind. A positive day and am looking forward to moving on tomorrow.”

Best lap 1:33.7 70 laps



More, from a press release issued by Ducati Corse:

POSITIVE DAY FOR DUCATI MARLBORO TEAM AT VALENCIA

Valencia (Spain), March 6 2004: The Ducati Marlboro Team has returned to the Valencia circuit in Spain to continue development work on the new Desmosedici GP4 in preparation for the 2004 MotoGP championship, which promises to be one of the most hard-fought and exciting in recent years.

The new bike, which had its first shakedown in the torrid heat of the Sepang circuit in Malaysia, followed by the cooler climate of Phillip Island in Australia, appeared for the first time today at a European circuit. However strong winds hampered the day’s session and showers in the afternoon twice interrupted testing for riders Troy Bayliss and Loris Capirossi.

Despite the changeable weather, the temperature remained between 18° and 20° C (track between 17° and 27° C) for most of the day and the Ducati Marlboro Team engineers were able to complete the scheduled workload.

Troy Bayliss completed a total of 70 laps today, stopping the clocks at 1:33.56 (on race tyres), and knocking more than one second off the time he set in qualifying for the final race of last season on the same track. The Australian was pleased with today’s session. “Today we got through a lot of hard work. Despite the gusty wind, I put in a lot of laps” he commented. “We continued with front tyre development and now I’ve got a good feeling with both the 16.5″ and the 17″ tyres”.

Team-mate Loris Capirossi made a lengthy series of a few laps aimed at finding the best set-up for the Spanish circuit. “We are going well and our ideas are clear. Today we did a lot of work on the suspension and I am quite happy with the set-up of my Desmosedici” declared Loris. “There are still a few things that we will be working on tomorrow however. I’m sure we will get our lap time down, but for the moment I’m not really thinking about that, I prefer to focus on the development of the bike and prepare it for the championship”. The Italian rider completed a total of 46 laps, recording a best time of 1:34.00.

Ducati Corse test-rider Vittoriano Guareschi was also present at Valencia with a ‘laboratory’ bike, the Italian concentrating on the development of the Desmosedici.

The Ducati Marlboro Team will conclude testing at the Ricardo Tormo circuit in Spain tomorrow, Sunday.

Copyright 2004, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Not only did Eric Bostrom’s lap of 1:46.8355 during qualifying for the 63rd running of the Daytona 200 by Arai set a new motorcycle lap record for Daytona and earn him a new Rolex watch, it also reduced the field to a scant 37 riders.

With the new Superbike qualifying cut-off reduced from 112 percent to 110 percent of the fastest qualifying time in 2004, Daytona 200 hopefuls needed to turn a lap of 1:57.518 to make this year’s field.

The higher-than-normal cut-off time eliminated 18 racers, including AMA Superbike regulars Chuck Allen, Kevin Hanson, Eric Haugo, James Kerker, Greg Fryer and all-time Daytona 200 mileage leader Rick Shaw.

Had Shaw made the 2004 field, it would have be his 23rd Daytona 200 by Arai start and another new record, but trouble during qualifying resulted in Shaw just missing the cut-off with a 1:57.987.

“I got caught behind with the crash (in qualifying Wednesday),” Shaw told reporters. “We’ve played catch-up all week long, and I never got caught up. I’ve got no one to blame but myself. This is the hardest thing I’ve ever felt.

“I thought I might have made it on the last lap, but we ran out of gas.”

Because the Daytona 200 has the largest purse on the AMA Superbike circuit, the 37th and last rider on the grid Saturday will make at least $750. That’s $50 more than Damon Buckmaster earned for finishing fourth in Thursday’s hard-fought Superstock race.

A quick calculation of the purse structure and the 33 empty spots on the Daytona 200 grid showed that $12,750 in purse money – or more than the entire Superstock purse at Daytona – will go unclaimed.

From a press release issued by AMA Pro Racing:

DUCATI TO SPONSOR AMA SUPERBIKE EVENT AT BRAINERD INTERNATIONAL RACEWAY

PICKERINGTON, Ohio (March 5, 2004) — AMA Pro Racing today announced that Ducati North America will be the title sponsor of the AMA Chevrolet Superbike Championship event at Brainerd International Speedway.

The event, to be called the AMA Superbike Trofeo Ducati, is set for June 25-27 and is Round Seven of the 11-Round Championship.

Ducati, who has had past Superbike victories by Ben Bostrom, Alessandro Gramigni and Doug Polen on the Minnesota track, will help transform the event into a top destination for owners of the exotic Italian marque. Special viewing areas, parking corrals, bike show, Ducati owner’s club dinners and Ducati demo rides will all be available throughout the weekend at the nearly 900-acre circuit.

Ducati, which strengthened its commitment to AMA Superbike in 2004, sees the sponsorship as part of a bigger marketing thrust in the United States.

“The hiring of Eric Bostrom to ride our new 999R in the AMA Superbike Championship is just part of our renewed focus on the core values of the Ducati brand,” Ducati North America Director of Marketing John Porter said. “Now that Eric and the team are in place, a natural progression was to sponsor a top-notch AMA event. We’re thrilled to sponsor the Brainerd round. The campground, superb road riding nearby, and the excellent facilities will let us present not only a fantastic race, but also a camping rally to celebrate the Ducati experience with our fans.”

Copyright 2004, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Former Congressman Bill Janklow is seeking early release from jail while his lawyers appeal his manslaughter conviction in the August 16 death of motorcyclist Randy Scott.

His appeal apparently will be heard by judges Janklow appointed while serving as Governer of South Dakota.

For more, see a story on argusleader.com

http://www.argusleader.com/news/Tuesdayarticle1.shtml

From a press release issued Team Suzuki:

RIZLA SUZUKIS VALENCIA TEST

Team Suzuki Press Office – Yukio Kagayama put his aggressive riding style on show during today’s pre-season British Superbike test session at the Valencia circuit in Spain.

Yuki, riding his new 2004 liveried Rizla Suzuki GSX-R1000 at the demanding and twisty Spanish track, completed 52 laps.

The 29-year-old Japanese rider finished just over a second off the fastest lap of the day set by his team mate John Reynolds. Yuki, who is still recovering from the horrific crash he suffered at Cadwell Park last August, was testing new Ohlins gas forks and new electronics that are designed to reduce engine braking.

“It feels great to be back on my Rizla Suzuki GSX-R1000,” said Yuki. “I am feeling good and we are starting to make progress with new parts. But as I am still healing, I am riding very safe and taking no risks. I really want to ride harder, but I am holding back as this is not a race, only a test. I am very pleased that my lap times are good without pushing hard.”

Rizla Suzuki’s JR was happy with the parts he was testing on his GSX-R1000 and he also spent time trying out new Dunlop tyres.

“It’s back to business as usual,” smiled JR. “Yesterday we learnt some lessons and today we put them into practice and took well over a second off our lap times and I am happy with that.

“I tested some Dunlop tyres for race distance and enjoyed myself on track today, helped a bit by the weather which was much better than yesterday. I am looking forward to testing again at the weekend and seeing what further progress we can make. There is still a lot of potential in the Rizla Suzuki GSX-R1000.”

Team manager Paul Denning said: “Watching Yuki on track is awesome. He looks completely at home on his Rizla Suzuki GSX-R1000. He is a pure, natural racer and his improvement in lap times today, despite holding back because he doesn’t want to risk a crash, is impressive. I can take nothing away from Yuki. His first ride on the bike has been much more positive than any of us would have expected.

“JR did a good job today and set a quick lap time on race rubber. There’s a lot more to come from John as he is still riding within himself and testing parts. We are all looking forward to see what sort of improvements both riders can make when they test here again at the weekend alongside the MotoGP teams.”

Rizla Suzuki continues to test at Valencia this weekend before returning to the UK and the official British Superbike Championship test at Donington Park on Sunday March 14th. The first BSB round is at Silverstone on March 28th.

From a press release issued by Triumph Mmotorcycles (America) LTD.:

INTRODUCES 2005 TIGER

Popular Adventure Touring Bike Updated with Styling and Handling Refinements

New Models to Arrive in US Triumph Dealerships in May

NEWNAN, Georgia – March 5, 2004 -Triumph’s 2005 Tiger continues its tradition of delivering exceptional dual-sport styling, high performance, a commanding riding position, and unmatched comfort. For 2005, Triumph has further refined this long-time favorite.

The 2005 Tiger features the same class-leading three-cylinder 955cc fuel-injected engine that has made it a preferred bike among adventure-touring riders. For 2005, Triumph has enhanced the Tiger’s impeccable handling by sharpening the chassis geometry for quicker steering and increased agility and retooling the suspension for a more composed and controlled ride. The 2005 Tiger sports cast wheels and tubeless tires – giving riders more choices for replacement tires. This versatile machine sports a new silver frame finish, and updated tank graphics. It is scheduled to debut at Triumph dealerships throughout the US in May.

“The 2005 Tiger’s refined chassis and suspension sharpen a motorcycle that’s always been known as the best handling adventure-tourer in the market,” said Todd Andersen, Triumph Motorcycles (America) Ltd., Vice President of Marketing. “The cast wheels give riders access to the best new tires on the market, and the new graphics update the look of this great bike.”

This venerable member of Triumph’s product line features a torquey 3-cylinder engine, compliant long travel suspension, hard-luggage, and a large comfortable seat. It is a highly versatile motorcycle that is equally at home traveling the back roads as it is navigating the urban jungle. The Tiger has long been popular with long distance tourers, commuters, and those who appreciate a bike that handles all road conditions well.

The 2005 Tiger comes complete with hard saddlebags and the MSRP is $10,500. Like all of Triumphs models, the Tiger is covered by a comprehensive 24-month warranty.

This Tiger is available in Aluminum Silver, British Racing Green or Lucifer Orange. A full range of Triumph accessories is available to tailor the bike to the riders riding style.

Technical changes for 2005:

a. Revised front suspension – new single rate springs with revised rebound damping
b. Revised rear suspension – increased spring rate, compression and rebound damping
c. Revised steering geometry – rake: 25.8 degrees (was 28 degrees) and trail 87.9mm (was 92mm)
d. Wheelbase reduced from 1550mm to 1537mm
e. Spoked wheels and tubed tires changed to cast wheels with tubeless tires
f. Revised shift and rear brake levers with weight relief slots

Cosmetic changes:

a. New silver frame finish
b. Updated graphics

Triumph Motorcycles (America) Ltd., is a wholly owned subsidiary of Triumph Motorcycles, Ltd., the manufacturer of Triumph motorcycles and accessories. Triumph Motorcycles (America) Ltd., is located in Newnan, GA and services the Triumph dealer organization throughout the United States, Canada and Latin America.