Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

World Supersport Race Results:

1. Karl Muggeridge, Honda, 16 laps, 34:05.948
2. Chris Vermeulen, Honda, -0.263 second
3. Katsuaki Fujiwara, Suzuki, -3.959 seconds
4. Stephane Chambon, Suzuki
5. Sebastien Charpentier, Honda
6. Fabien Foret, Kawasaki
7. Jorg Teuchert, Yamaha
8. Gianluca Nannelli, Yamaha
9. Werner Daemen, Honda
10. Barry Veneman, Honda
11. Alessio Corradi, Yamaha
12. Michael Laverty, Honda
13. Dean Thomas, Honda
14. Jan Hanson, Honda
15. Robert Ulm, Honda
16. Christian Kellner, Yamaha
17. Thierry Vd Bosch, Yamaha
18. Matthieu Lagrive, Yamaha
19. Didier Vankeymeulen, Kawasaki
20. Stefano Cruciani, Kawasaki

27. Simone Sanna, Yamaha, -3 laps, DNF
28. Iain MacPherson, Honda, -8 laps
29. Jurgen Vd Goorbergh, Yamaha, -10 laps
30. Pere Riba, Kawasaki, -14 laps

Fastest Lap: Katsuaki Fujiwara, Suzuki, 2:06.922


More, from a press release issued by Honda Racing:

HONDA’S MUGGERIDGE LIFTS ASSEN WIN

Honda CBR600RR rider Karl Muggeridge took a spectacular win–his first for three years–in Sunday’s ninth round of the World Supersport championship at Assen in Holland.

The Ten Kate team, CBR600RR ace snatched the lead from team-mate Chris Vermeulen with half a lap to go in the 16-lap battle to secure a welcome win and the second successive Assen 1-2 finish for the Ten Kate Honda squad.

Winner Muggeridge said: “It’s been a long time and it feels absolutely brilliant to win again. I knew I was capable of it when I held the lead in the early stages of the race and was comfortable with the pace. It’s all credit to the team and the work they’ve done on the CBR600RR motor in the build-up to Assen.”

Runner Vermeulen now leads the championship by 42 points–needing an eighth place finish from either of the final two rounds to be crowned champion. He commented: “I wanted to win but, at this stage of the championship and with the situation as it was on the last lap, I’ll take second.

“I was lucky to finish. When Jurgen van den Goorbergh crashed he hit my machine and damaged the exhaust. It reduced the power a little and I was confused as to what was happening.”

The Suzuki pairing of Katsuaki Fujiwara and Stephane Chambon were third and fourth with Klaffi Honda’s Sebastien Charpentier fifth after holding third place on the opening lap.

“I would have liked to have been on the podium like the last round at Brands Hatch but I’ll take fifth,” said Charpentier. “I chose the wrong rear tyre but the result moves me into 11th place in the standings and I’m happy with that.”

Fabien Foret was sixth aboard his Kawasaki with Jorg Teuchert winning an epic 11-rider battle for seventh place. Gianluca Nannelli was eighth with Van Zon Honda¹s Werner Daemen ninth and Barry Veneman 10th on his wild card Kobutex Honda.

Daemen commented: “That was a terrific battle I was involved in. I chose the wrong front tyre but I’m still happy with ninth place. It’s a good finish for us and the new motor we got from Ten Kate was very, very strong.”

Robert Ulm, on the second of the Klaffi Hondas, took the final world championship point for 15th place, the Austrian said: “Now the machine is perfect but it’s taken us to the race to find the right set-up ­ just because of the wet practice yesterday. I was in the battle for the places between seventh and 15th ­ I suppose I was the loser!”

Van Zon Honda’s Iain MacPherson crashed out on the ninth lap after holding sixth place, he escaped injury and commented: “I chose the wrong front tyre and that’s what caused the crash. It’s my own fault but we weren’t helped by the weather conditions during qualifying yesterday.”


More, from a press release issued by Yamaha Belgarda:

DAY OF DISASTER FOR YAMAHA BELGARDA AT ASSEN

The ninth round of the 2003 Supersport World Championship is one that Yamaha Belgarda would be happy to forget, though the early signs were full of promise. But today’s sixteen lapper saw both Yamaha Belgarda riders Jurgen van den Goorbergh and Simone Sanna crash and end the day without a point to their names. Jurgen made a good start and was second after one lap and looked as if he was settling in for an attack on the lead, but then crashed out on seventh lap – fortunately without serious injury. His team mate Simone Sanna managed a further seven laps, but he too took a tumble and ended up in the dirt. Karl Muggeridge won the race, with Honda team mate Chris Vermeulen second and Katsuaki Fujiwara (Suzuki)) third, Stephane Chambon (Suzuki) fourth, Sebastien Charpentier (Honda) fifth and Fabien Foret (Kawasaki) sixth.

JURGEN VD GOORBERGH – DNF
Well that wasn’t what I planned at all! I made a good start and was happy in the top three when, on the seventh lap, I think I braked a little later then usual and got into a bit of trouble. I was very, very close to Vermeulen and I didn’t want to take him out, so I also used the rear brake and that was enough to crash. I banged my left elbow and a blued a fingernail, but otherwise I was OK. I’m very disappointed because I wanted to do well in front of my home fans and also keep up title challenge. But this time Assen wasn’t kind for me and I now will have to try and make up for it in the next two races.

SIMONE SANNA – DNF
I didn’t get a good start and soon I was involved in a battle with a lot of other riders. I was fighting to get past, but it wasn’t easy, so maybe I was pushing a bit too hard and then I lost the front end and that was that. I like this track a lot, but today was not my day here. Imola is next for us and that will be a ‘home’ race for us, so I really have to do well there.

Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

MotoGP Race Results:

1. Valentino Rossi, Honda, 28 laps, 46:48.005
2. Max Biaggi, Honda, -2.094 seconds
3. Loris Capirossi, Ducati, -5.254 seconds
4. Sete Gibernau, Honda, -5.269 seconds
5. Tohru Ukawa, Honda, -10.581 seconds
6. Troy Bayliss, Ducati, -14.246 seconds
7. Marco Melandri, Yamaha, -16.143 seconds
8. Carlos Checa, Yamaha, -18.083 seconds
9. Nicky Hayden, Honda, -18.284 seconds
10. Makoto Tamada, Honda, -21.815 seconds
11. Alex Barros, Yamaha, -24.059 seconds
12. Shinya Nakanao, Yamaha, -27.082 seconds
13. Olivier Jacque, Yamaha, -27.651 seconds
14. Colin Edwards, Aprilia, -31.505 seconds
15. Noriyuki Haga, Aprilia, -57.118 seconds
16. Ryuichi Kiyonari, Honda, -61.412 seconds
17. Kenny Roberts, Suzuki, -61.542 seconds
18. John Hopkins, Suzuki, -66.601 seconds
19. Jeremy McWilliams, Proton, -70.958 seconds
20. Nobuatsu Aoki, Proton, -71.523 seconds
21. Andrew Pitt, Kawasaki, -78.550 seconds
22. David De Gea, Harris WCM, -1 lap
23. Garry McCoy, Kawasaki, -2 laps, DNF, mechanical

Chris Burns, Harris WCM, DNS

More, from a press release issued by Harris WCM:



PORTUGESE GP- ESTORIL
RACE DAY ­ SUNDAY 7TH SEPTEMBER
HARRIS ­ WCM

David de Gea – 22nd
“It’s very good to finish the race on the new 4 stroke, good for me and for the team. It’s given us a chance to see how the engine is working and how the tyres perform. There is still some more horsepower to come from the WCM engine and I am told that we will have this for Brazil.

“Today, I had some problem early on in the race with the braking, but I am happy to have finished and to be able to give my team some valuable feedback.”


Chris Burns ­ DNS crashed during warm­up lap
“I am sure my year has to turn around soon and it can’t come quick enough, it is such a shame what has happened with my bike this weekend. I crashed in warm-up today, the mechanics seem to think that the head gasket blew and I just lost rear grip totally. The bike ran on its side for about 2 minutes and we elected not to run it until the mechanics could inspect it closely.

“We came here knowing it would be tight for parts and spares and I guess I felt the brunt of that today. It’s good that David finished the race and for Rio, I know we will at least have one spare engine.

“All I can hope for is to finally finish a race this year, maybe that will happen in Rio.”


Peter Clifford ­ Team Manager
“Tremendously satisfying weekend overall although after David’s great qualifying yesterday, we all hoped for something a little more than a finish today.

“Realistic though, that is an achievement in itself and only by finishing the first race, could we learn what we need to improve for Rio.

“I’m sure that the next steps forward are quite achievable and we all hope that we can put an end to Chris¹s frustration at the same time.”


More, from a press release issued by Ducati Corse:

Marlboro Portuguese GP, Estoril
Race Day
Sunday, September 7 2003

DUCATI MARLBORO TEAM SCORES THRILLING PODIUM FINISH

Ducati Marlboro Team rider Loris Capirossi scored a breathtaking, last-gasp podium finish in this afternoon’s Marlboro Portuguese GP, using the awesome power of his Desmosedici to out-accelerate Sete Gibernau (Honda) to the finish line. Team-mate Troy Bayliss, riding his first race at this arduous venue, finished a determined sixth. In warm but blustery conditions Capirossi battled throughout for third place with Gibernau while Bayliss had a serious fight on his hand to keep sixth place. As ever, neither Ducati Marlboro Team rider gave up.

“That was a very hard race with a very fast pace but we made the podium again which is always our goal,” said Ducati Corse managing director Claudio Domenicali. “The leaders were incredibly quick and Loris rode a fantastic race to stay in the fight for a podium result. He made a little mistake mid-race that dropped him from third to fourth but he never gave in after that. He knows his engine is very fast, so he stayed close to Gibernau at the end of the last lap and was able to beat him to the line. That was a great moment! Troy also rode a great race, fighting all the way and maintaining a fast pace.”

Briton Neil Hodgson completed a great day for Ducati by securing the World Superbike championship at Assen. This is Ducati’s tenth riders’ Superbike crown.

CAPIROSSI STARTS FROM POLE, FINISHES A BRILLIANT THIRD

Loris Capirossi scored his fourth podium finish of the season at Estoril today, coming out best of a race-long tussle for third-place with Sete Gibernau. The ultra-determined Italian, who started from pole for the third time this year after clocking the fastest-ever lap of Estoril in yesterday’s final qualifying session, ran third in the early stages, then slipped behind Gibernau before mounting his final-lap attack. The pair swapped places three times on that last lap, Capirossi finally drafting past the Spaniard down the 320kmh/199mph main straight to take third by 0.015 seconds to strengthen his fourth place in the World Championship.

“Rossi and Biaggi set a very, very fast pace which I couldn’t quite match,” explained Capirossi. “I tried to follow them but in the end I ended up chasing Sete after I made a little mistake at turn one just before half distance. During the final few laps I managed to get back with Sete, so I could plan my attack for the last lap. I got by him at turn one but then I had a big slide out of turn seven which allowed him to re-pass me at the chicane. After that I stayed very close, then took an outside line at the final corner, using my bike’s excellent engine to overtake him 20 metres before the finish. I really wanted that podium!”

BAYLISS TAKES DOGGED FATHERS’ DAY SIXTH
Ducati Marlboro Team rider Troy Bayliss rode a dogged race to finish in sixth place in his Estoril debut on Australian Fathers’ Day. Starting from the second row, the Aussie ran in fifth place for the first few laps, holding that position until just before half-distance when he was relegated to seventh. In typical fashion Bayliss fought back, reclaiming sixth and staying close to Tohru Ukawa (Honda) until the Japanese edged away in the final laps.

“All I want to do is win races so I don’t like finishing sixth, but it’s not bad and it’s the best I’ve been all weekend,” said Bayliss, who consolidated his fifth place in the World Championship, making him by far the best MotoGP rookie of the moment. “This track is very physical and we didn’t get the bike set-up as good as we had it at Brno a few weeks back. We need an exact set-up for every track but we sure learned a lot today, which will hopefully pay off next year. Like we ran a very high first gear today which wasn’t so good at the start, but that means we’ll know what to do next time we come here.”


More, from a press release issued by John Hopkins’ publicist:

UNEVENTFUL DAY FOR HOPKINS IN GRAND PRIX OF PORTUGAL

ESTROIL, Portugal – John Hopkins had a rough go of it in the Grand Prix of Portugal in Estoril on Sunday. The factory Suzuki rider from Southern California finished 18th, a minute and six-seconds down to race winner Valentino Rossi and five seconds behind his teammate, former world champ Kenny Roberts, Jr. Hopkins started 17th and ran as high as 16th on the first lap of the MotoGP and ran as low as 19th in the middle stages. Once Hopkins was able to get past Jeremy McWilliams on lap 13 of 28 he ran 18th for the rest of the day.

“The result wasn’t what I’d hoped for,” said Hopkins, who suffered his worst running finish of the season. “At least I had a bike that was much more ridable and I pushed it to its limit. We’d like to finish in the points, but at least we’re finishing the races, which is a start.”

Hopkins reported the race to be fairly uneventful.

“I got into it a little bit there with McWilliams,” he said. “After I got by him I got in behind Kenny and rode there the rest of the race. I wasn’t able to make any more passes.”

A third straight non-points paying result cost Hopkins a position in the world championship standings. He now is 17th in the standings with 22 points after 11 of 16 rounds.

Hopkins will return home to California and train in preparation for the next MotoGP at the Nelson Piquet circuit in Brazil, on September 20.


More, from a press release issued by Fortuna Yamaha:

Portuguese Grand Prix
Sunday, 7 September 2003
Estoril, Portugal

BEST RACE SO FAR FOR MELANDRI IN ESTORIL; DIFFICULT DAY FOR CHECA

In perfectly sunny conditions at today’s Portuguese Grand Prix, Fortuna Yamaha Team riders Marco Melandri and Carlos Checa put in solid performances to finish seventh and eighth respectively. Melandri rode his strongest race of the season so far at the Estoril circuit, achieving consistently fast laps while battling for his best finish of the season to seventh place. Team-mate Checa had a difficult race, despite having a rather positive weekend overall and a reasonable qualifying, eventually ending the contest in eighth. In another far from dull battle for the MotoGP podium finish, Valentino Rossi dominated the second half of the 28-lap race. The reigning MotoGP World Champion once again emerged as victor with a time of 46:48.005, and has increased his championship lead to 46 points.

Fortuna Yamaha rider Marco Melandri’s season took another decided turn for the better as he produced consistently high lap times including some ’39s during the Estoril onslaught. The Italian rider claimed to have a tricky start but quickly passed several riders by the third lap. He then entered an impressive lap-by-lap battle for sixth position with Honda rider Tohru Ukawa and Ducati’s Troy Bayliss, eventually ending the contest seventh and gaining a well-earned nine championship points. The MotoGP rookie has progressed impressively in his first season riding the Yamaha YZR-M1, and despite missing the first two races of the season due to injuries sustained in the first round of the year, the MotoGP rookie now lies fifteenth in the championship standings.

“I am quite happy,” said the twenty-one-year-old. “The bike went very well and I could keep a good pace with my average lap time in the ’40s, and even a few ’39s. At the same time I am a bit angry because I had some problems with my right arm and I couldn’t brake properly on the esses. I know why and it won’t happen again. It was a very nice race though, and I had fun.

“I knew yesterday that I would do better in the race than I have done all weekend because in this morning’s warm-up we improved the problem I had cornering in the last sections of the track. We made some adjustments to the set-up and they worked – and I could suddenly complete the last section properly. I had a good rhythm throughout the race, and I’m optimistic that I can make even more progress for the next races. I am also happy to be the fastest Yamaha today!”

Having started from pole to finish second here last year, as well as putting in consistently fast lap times in both of this weekend’s qualifiers, Carlos Checa ended his weekend in Estoril today disappointed with his eighth-place finish. The Spanish rider is fond of the Portuguese circuit and was confident that today’s race could have been his first podium of the season but it was not to be. Starting from sixth on the grid, Checa had a difficult start and stayed for the first part of the race in the ninth spot, finally improving his lap times and overtaking fellow Yamaha rider Alex Barros before the chequered flag. The Fortuna Yamaha Team rider explained that he had experienced problems in the earlier stages of the race due to the weight of his fuel tank, which diminished later on.

“I had some problems at the beginning, braking with a full tank of gas”, said Checa. “During the first ten laps there was too much pitching, and I think if it hadn’t been for that I could have finished in the first five. My crew did change my suspension slightly during the weekend but unfortunately it didn’t pay off today. We have discussed the race and agree that we need to alter the geometry again, and have a clear direction of where we need to go now. We tested some different tyres yesterday but it was too risky to try them out today. We know the base of the problem, and we’re all working hard in the same direction to sort it out.”

The director of the Fortuna Yamaha Team, Davide Brivio, was pleased with the impressive performance of the team’s protégée Melandri but realises that both riders and the team still have a way to go, “It was a very good day for Marco,” said Brivio. “Of course it could have been even better if he hadn’t got some pain in his arm. Seventh position is a good result and his best so far, as well as the best of the Yamahas. I hope this helps to give him even more confidence. We still have more races to go and I expect a good end of season for him.

“Carlos showed at the end that he could have had a bit more pace. This certainly wasn’t the result we expected for him. At the beginning of the race when he had a full tank he said he found it difficult to go fast but towards the end he could. His result is quite disappointing and we’ll have to look into that problem to ensure it doesn’t happen again and that Carlos feels confident for Rio.”


More, from a press release issued by Proton Team KR:

PROTON KR V5 TAKES LANDMARK FIRST DOUBLE FINISH

Round 11: Portuguese GP, Estoril
Race, Sunday, September 7, 2003

Jeremy McWilliams: 19th
Nobuatsu Aoki: 20th

Team Proton KR’s infant MotoGP four-stroke racer took a significant step on its journey towards maturity in today’s Portuguese GP, with the pair of howling racers finishing in close formation, ahead of the factory Kawasakis and within sight of the factory Suzukis, with McWilliams just six tenths of a second ahead of Aoki. It was the first double finish for the new machine, in only its fifth race.

The Portuguese GP, round 28 laps of the technically and physically challenging 4.182km Estoril circuit outside Lisbon, was the first for a new power-up version of the radical 60-degree V5 engine, as well as the latest development chassis. Both contributed to a significant improvement. But the real achievement was to get both bikes to the finish line, proving that the teething problems are being solved one by one, and offering a promise of further improvements over the last five races of the 2003 season.

McWilliams and Aoki started from 16th and 23rd places on the grid, after both riders had worked their way through problems in qualifying. McWilliams set his time after reverting to the old 500cc two-stroke Proton KR3, but then fell off the lightweight three-cylinder bike when he tried to improve.

There was never any question of racing the 500cc machine, however, with team and riders fully focussed on pushing forward the development of the brand new V5. And the machine repaid their faith, with the riders holding their own among the lesser bikes from the Japanese factory teams, and ran hard all the way to the chequered flag.

The race was won by defending champion Valentino Rossi (Honda), further extending his championship lead. Now the team join their rivals on the gruelling round of four flyaway races, in Brazil, Japan, Malaysia and Australia, before the November 2 finale at Valencia.


JEREMY McWILLIAMS
I’ve never seen so many happy people after finishing four places from the points. It wasn’t so much fun – we still have some real difficulties that slowed us in the race, and we obviously still have a little problem with straight line speed. Something went wrong about 12 laps out, with the engine making funny noises, but though it slowed me down a bit, it kept going to the end. The new power has increased our chances a lot, but I was having some electronic problems downshifting the gears, and some handling issues as well. But it’s the first time I’ve run full race distance, and that’s how you find these things out.

NOBUATSU AOKI
That was really a tough race, physically, and also because my bike wasn’t working quite right. For the first ten laps it seemed okay, and I could ride as I like, and push. But I was behind Jeremy, and though I could hear his engine was making noises … I couldn’t pass him, even if I slipstreamed him on the straight, because his engine was pushing better than mine. I also had some problems with the engine management – it was jerking, and after that it lost power again; and the rear wheel was hopping into the corners in the last ten laps. I just had to make it to the finish, and we did that.

CHUCK AKSLAND – Team Manager
It’s a milestone – the first time we have got two of the new machines to the finish. Considering the level of the competition, and that all but two of the starters made it to the end, the result is good. We got them both home, and made a lot of progress with the latest engine, and with chassis direction. We know we need more power, but we have a lot of guys working on that. It’s good to go to the flyaways knowing that we can now make full race distance.


More, from a press release issued by Pramac Honda:

MAKOTO TAMADA IN TOP 10 AT ESTORIL

A hard-fought race for Makoto Tamada, a rookie this year in the MotoGP but once again up in the top ten of the ratings. A good result. The Japanese rider of the Pramac Honda Team tried to maintain a constant pace throughout the race so that he could make an aggressive move forwards the end. And indeed Makoto managed to make some good passes that took him up to 10th place from 13th at the end of the first lap.

In some parts of the race Makoto attempted to open up the gas a bit further but, as he later explained to the technicians, he was suffering from poor traction as he came out of the corners. Makoto will indeed have to improve his performance in the sliding phase on his Honda RC211V as well as at the start, and he will need to make a more determined move when the entire group rushes into the first corner of the race.

Makoto used an intermediate front tyre on his RC211V: this has a new shape already tested at Brno, but adopts a different compound, combined with a medium-hard rear tyre of a type also tested during the mid-August trials. Having got into the points zone again today, Makoto Tamada is now 12th in the world championship.

MAKOTO TAMADA (PRAMAC HONDA TEAM): 10TH – 47:09.820
“I was pushed rather to the outside at the first corner and I was pushed back some places. So I immediately went into attack mode and tried to move up the field. I made some good passes and ended 10th. But I was hoping for more: I’m very demanding and I’m determined to do better. The difficulties I had in this race were like the ones I had at Brno – before opening up the throttle completely when coming out of a corner, I have to wait a bit: I have to delay things till I’ve got enough grip to deliver all the power down to the ground. But we’re working to improve, and we’ll get there soon. We’ve got the settings of the bike right now and in every race we’re getting closer and closer to what we want. We’ll carry on working and we’ll make sure we do even better next time, in South America.”


More, from a press release issued by Fuchs Kawasaki:

MOTOGP WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP 2003
ROUND 11 – GRANDE PREMIO MARLBORO DE PORTUGAL
7TH SEPTEMBER 2003 – MOTOGP RACE

FUCHS KAWASAKI TEAM BATTLE TOUGH DEBUT RACE AT ESTORIL

Former World Supersport Champion Andrew Pitt battled his way to a 21st place finish in today’s Portuguese Grand Prix, run at a warm and breezy Estoril Circuit.

Pitt battled an energy-sapping cold and fading grip levels over the final stages of the race and had to unwillingly concede two places to Jeremy McWilliams and Nobuatsu Aoki with five laps remaining. Pitt had raced hard against Suzuki and Proton rivals from the start and was disappointed he could not mount a response to their late race challenge.

Pitt’s team-mate Garry McCoy had a forgettable day at a circuit which has been kind to him in the past. McCoy started 22nd but never got on the race pace and failed to finish, retiring his Ninja ZX-RR machine with two of the 28 laps remaining. McCoy stopped as precautionary measure after a spray of water hit him from under the front screen.

The Kawasaki MotoGP team came to Estoril with no previous race data at a circuit that was always going to prove a huge challenge and provide a steep learning curve during the first year of development of the Ninja ZX-RR project.

However team boss Harald Eckl believes some valuable lessons have been learned and data gathered this weekend will be important to the next evolution of the ZX-RR, which is expected before the end of this season.

Andrew Pitt 21st
“The bike was fine and from the start I really thought I could have finished on the pace of the group I was running with. But over the final laps I just couldn’t get off the turns, the side grip had gone away and then when I tried riding the front tyre to hold the pace I had a couple of big moments; there was nothing to do over the final laps. With about 12 laps to go it felt like I was in good tyre shape and the other guys looked like they were spinning up, but it was a downwards spiral late in the race. It was hard work but I felt okay physically; I just need to get rid of this cold before Rio.”

Garry McCoy – DNF
“With a couple of laps to go a big spray of water hit me from under the front screen and I wasn’t sure where it was as coming from. The temperature looked okay, but I thought the water might be leaking onto the tyres so the best idea was to stop. This is a huge difference from when I won here three years ago, not finishing is hard to take. The team worked hard over the weekend, but we had a few problems and in the race I just didn’t have a good level of rear grip almost from the beginning. The same tyre had shaped up consistently in practice, but I never really got going. I hate not finishing; hopefully Rio will be good for us.”

Harald Eckl – Team Manager
“We knew this circuit was going to be hard work for us, but even so, days like this are still disappointing. What has been emphasised here is that our main focus needs to be on developing the chassis to improve the handling of the bike. We will be doing our homework after this weekend and I’m sure we will rebound at Rio, which is a track more suited to the Kawasaki Ninja ZX-RR.”


More, from a press release issued by Alice Aprilia Racing Information:

BAD START AND GOOD RECOVERY

Estoril – Rising race for the Alice Aprilia Racing Team bikes: a bad start for Edwards and some traction problems for Haga. Then the situation changed especially with the great recovery of Colin who passed many competitors. So the European phase is gone and the team will travel to Jerez for some tests planned for Tuesday and Wednesday. Colin and Marcellino Lucchi will be engaged in two days of practices whilst Haga will go home in Japan to meet again his little son Ryota, born the 25th of August.

COLIN EDWARDS: “This was one of the worse start of my career. In the first corner I was amongst the last riders. In the first laps I was not able to overtake the others: to much traffic and the traction was not so good. I took many risks but I feel satisfied cause I rode with interesting lap times”.

NORIYUKI HAGA: ” After a difficult week end the situation improved during the race: especially the chattering problem has been reduced. My feeling with the bike was not so good in acceleration because of some regulations that I was not comfortable with. In the corners I was a bit clumsy but my bike was very fast in the straight”.

GIGI DALL’IGNA (Project Leader): “I am sure we could do better but the bad start of Colin ruined our plans. The pace was very slow.. it’s a pity! Compared with last race in Brno we took a step forward especially regarding the chattering problem. Now we are going to test in Jerez where we will work hard with Edwards and Lucchi in order to find the right chassis setting with the support of Michelin staff as well. In the mean time the bikes are leaving for Brazil and I expect a better result there!”

Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

World Superbike Race One Results:

1. Ruben Xaus, Ducati 999F03, 16 laps, 33:07.249
2. Neil Hodgson, Ducati 999F03
3. Pierfrancesco Chili, Ducati 998RS
4. James Toseland, Ducati 998F02
5. Chris Walker, Ducati 998F02
6. Troy Corser, Foggy Petronas FP1
7. Leon Haslam, Ducati 998RS
8. Ivan Clementi, Kawasaki ZX-7RR
9. Steve Martin, Ducati 998RS
10. Mauro Sanchini, Kawasaki ZX-7RR
11. Alex Gramigni, Yamaha YZF-R1
12. Lucio Pedercini, Ducati 998RS
13. Horst Saiger, Yamaha YZF-R1
14. Gianmaria Liverani, Yamaha YZF-R1
15. Jiri Mrkyvka, Ducati 998RS
16. Robert Menzen, Suzuki GSX-R1000, -1 lap
17. Paul Mooijman, Suzuki GSX-R1000, -1 lap
18. Luca Pedersoli, Ducati 998RS, -7 laps, DNF
19. Marco Borciani, Ducati 998RS, -8 laps
20. Regis Laconi, Ducati 998RS, -8 laps
21. Gregorio Lavilla, Suzuki GSX-R1000, -12 laps, DNF
22. John Reynolds, Suzuki GSX-R1000, -13 laps, DNF

Fastest Lap: Gregorio Lavilla, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 2:03.081


More, from a press release issued by HM Plant Ducati:

Hard fought fourth for Toseland

Today’s first Superbike World Championship race at Assen went according to plan for Fila Ducati’s Neil Hodgson, whose second place netted him the 2003 Superbike World Championship title. HM Plant Ducati’s James Toseland rode superbly to finish in fourth place, while his team mate Chris Walker, whose participation in today’s races was in doubt due to a heavy crash in yesterday’s practice session, finished a creditable fifth place.

Despite a flying start from the second row of the grid straight up to second place behind Neil Hodgson, Walker soon dropped back as Lavilla, Xaus and Chili forced their way through. However, the Nottingham rider soon composed himself and tagged behind the leading pack of riders while his team mate, James Toseland was closing fast behind, lapping consistently faster than the leading riders.

As the fitter of the two riders (due to Walker’s injury) Toseland found a way past his team mate just before half race distance and began to hunt down Frankie Chili and move into the top three. He did this with just three laps to go and managed to run with the pace of the two factory Ducati riders in front of him until the very last lap, when Chili forced his way through and secured the remaining podium slot.

“I made a terrible start to the race,” said Toseland, “but managed to ride well once I got going. My race set-up was perfect and I was able to run consistently fast laps. I was riding tactically for third place and when Frankie Chili got past me fair and square, I still thought I had a lap to go, but it wasn’t the case and I had to settle for fourth place. I’m looking forward to the next race though – all I need to do is get a good start and I should be on for a podium finish.”

Chris Walker’s fifth place finish is all the more impressive considering the beating he took during yesterday’s practice crash: “I made an absolutely brilliant start to slot in right behind Neil and the adrenaline kept me going during the early laps. However, when the pace was upped, I just couldn’t go with it. I saw Lavilla and Laconi go out and knew that I had to think about improving my championship position, so I didn’t take any unnecessary risks. I’ll have a good rest before race two and then try the best I can. I’ve got the HM Plant Ducati working well – the rest is up to me.”


More, from a press release issued by Foggy Petronas Racing:

Corser an excellent sixth for Foggy PETRONAS Racing at Assen

Troy Corser finished the first race of round ten of the World Superbike championship in an excellent sixth place after a thrilling final lap at Assen.

With Foggy PETRONAS Racing team-mate James Haydon ruled out with a hand injury sustained in yesterday’s crash, Troy was in eighth place going into the final lap of the opening race, won by Ruben Xaus and in which Neil Hodgson clinched the world championship.

But he overtook Kawasaki rider Ivan Clementi at turn one and then disposed of wild card Leon Haslam at the second chicane to clinch his best finish on the FP1 – the Malaysian superbike – since the second round in Australia.

Troy said: “That’s what I thought we were capable of going into this round so I am happy for myself and glad to give the whole team a lift. I knew I had a big gap behind me and that I didn’t have to push too early. So I sat there in eighth and saved the tyres a little bit. With two laps to go I upped the pace and, when Clementi missed a gear in the final chicane of the penultimate lap I was able to out-draught him down the straight and take him going into turn one. Then I got right on the back of Leon and, coming out of the hairpin, I knew I was quicker than him through the second chicane.

“The bike ran consistently thoughout the race and the temperature stayed consistent. My Michelin tyres were also good, sliding a little but, again, consistently. I won’t want to change anything with the chassis for race two.”

Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

250cc Grand Prix Results:

1. Toni Elias, Aprilia, 26 laps, 44:37.770
2. Manuel Poggiali, Aprilia, -4.731 seconds
3. Randy De Puniet, Aprilia, -5.987 seconds
4. Roberto Rolfo, Honda, -6.470 seconds
5. Sebastian Porto, Honda, -25.023 seconds, crash
6. Franco Battaini, Aprilia, -25.273 seconds
7. Sylvain Guintoli, Aprilia, -27.791 seconds
8. Naoki Matsudo, Yamaha, -27.913 seconds
9. Fonsi Nieto, Aprilia, -43.047 seconds
10. Anthony West, Aprilia, -43.112 seconds
11. Alex Debon, Honda, -44.796 seconds
12. Eric Bataille, Honda, -70.765 seconds
13. Hector Faubel, Aprilia, -71.702 seconds
14. Alex Baldolini, Aprilia, -71.714 seconds
15. Christian Gemmel, Honda, -73.983 seconds
16. Erwan Nigon, Aprilia, -79.238 seconds

24. Hugo Marchand, Aprilia, -16 laps, DNF, crash
25. Joan Olive, Aprilia, -21 laps, DNF, crash
26. Jakub Smrz, Honda, -21 laps, DNF, crash

28. Katja Poensgen, Honda, -26 laps, DNF, crash

Johan Stigefelt, Aprilia, DNS


More, from a press release issued by Fortuna Honda:

Porto’s crash keeps Rolfo from podium finish

Estoril – Portugal, September 7: Roberto Rolfo was prevented from stepping onto the podium at the 250cc Portuguese GP when he became the innocent victim of rival Sebastian Porto’s last lap crash. The machine was damaged but it didn’t prevent Rolfo from taking something out of the Portuguese race.

The Fortuna Honda rider made a good start and was in the leading group throughout. It was only when Toni Elias came passed and changed the rhythm of the race that Rolfo began to control the situation to ensure he took second place at the finish.

Within the race situation Rolfo was satisfied with the way the race was unfolding because the bike was working perfectly, only his bad luck on the last lap kept him from taking the result his riding had forged in the race.

“The race was very sad for me because I was convinced that I could pass Poggiali on the last lap. I knew I was faster than him at the chicane complex. But when Porto hit the rear fairing of my machine I did just enough to avoid crashing myself.” Explained the rider from Altadis.

“All weekend the development work we did went like clock work and that made me confident for the race. I made a good start and was with the leading group, I had the situation well under control but the incident prevented me from attacking and overtaking Poggiali and finish second. It was sad because I really like this track a lot and I knew the podium was certain.” Added the Fortuna Honda rider.

“The bike was in optimum condition and it was only a question of time before I took second place. But sometimes these things happen in racing and today it was my turn. Anyway I’m happy with the way we have worked here and I have high hopes for the remaining races. We let a few points slip away today.” Concluded Rolfo.

Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

World Superbike Race Two Results:

1. Neil Hodgson, Ducati 999F03, 16 laps, 32:57.759
2. Ruben Xaus, Ducati 999F03, 0.466 second
3. Gregorio Lavilla, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 7.799 seconds
4. Regis Laconi, Ducati 998RS
5. Pierfrancesco Chili, Ducati 998RS
6. Leon Haslam, Ducati 998RS
7. Ivan Clementi, Kawasaki ZX-7RR
8. Chris Walker, Ducati 998F02
9. Troy Corser, Foggy Petronas FP1
10. John Reynolds, Suzuki GSX-R1000
11. Steve Martin, Ducati 998RS
12. Mauro Sanchini, Kawasaki ZX-7RR
13. Marco Borciani, Ducati 998RS
14. Lucio Pedercini, Ducati 998RS
15. Alex Gramigni, Yamaha YZF-R1
16. Juan Borja, Ducati 998RS
17. Stefan Nebel, Suzuki GSX-R1000
18. Robert Menzen, Suzuki GSX-R1000
19. Gianmaria Liverani, Yamaha YZF-R1
20. Karl Truchsess, Yamaha YZF-R1

22. James Toseland, Ducati 998F02, -2 laps, DNF
23. Luca Pedersoli, Ducati 998RS, -2 laps, DNF

Fastest Lap: Neil Hodgson, Ducati, 2:02.649


More, from a press release issued by Troy Corser’s publicist:

SUPERB SIXTH FOR TROY!

Troy took a superb sixth place in the first Superbike race at Assen today and followed it up with ninth in the second 16-lapper. Troy and the Foggy Petronas FP1 team were understandably pleased with their result in race one and also with consistency of their new engine. Towards the end of the first race, Troy felt that the bike was losing power, but a post-race check revealed nothing, so Troy used the same bike in race two. But almost from the start of that race, the bike didn’t perform as well as it had done in the first race and Troy couldn’t push as hard. In the end, Troy rode as hard as he could and brought the bike home in ninth. Race one was won by Spaniard Ruben Xaus with Hodgson’s second place (and 20 points) in enough for him to clinch the title. Third went Frankie Chili (Ducati), ahead of James Toseland (Ducati), Chris Walker (Ducati) and then Troy. The second race featured a tremendous three-way battle between Xaus, Hodgson and Gregorio Lavilla (Suzuki). When Lavilla’s tyres faded at the three-quarter distance, Xaus and Hodgson went at it hammer and tongs to the flag. When Xaus made the smallest of errors, Hodgson took his chance and ran out the winner by six tenths of a second. Lavilla took third, with Laconi (Ducati) fourth, Chili (Ducati) fifth and Leon Haslam (Ducati) sixth.

TROY Race 1: 6th, Race 2: 9th
That was probably one of our better weekends of the year and I was happy because the bike ran more consistently then it has done all season. The new engine mods are an improvement and the water temperature stayed constant. After Clementi and Haslam got past, I relaxed a bit and I think that helped me ride the bike better. I then sized them up and was able to pass them to take sixth. Towards the end, I felt that bike wasn’t at 100% and asked my team to check it, but they said all was OK, so we used the same bike But it didn’t work as well and in the end, I just rode round as hard as I could and grabbed as many points as possible.


More, from a press release issued by Foggy Petronas Racing:

Corser shows Foggy PETRONAS Racing progress at Assen

Carl Fogarty heaped praise on his Foggy PETRONAS Racing team following a weekend of sustained progress at round ten of the World Superbike championship at Assen, The Netherlands.

Four times World Superbike champion Foggy saw Australian rider Troy Corser clinch a thrilling sixth place in the first race and follow that up with ninth place in race two, won by new world champion Neil Hodgson. Troy’s team-mate James Haydon was declared unfit after suffering a hand injury in a qualifying crash.

Carl said: “It is nice to get a result like that at Assen, where there are so many British fans and which was always a special place for me as a racer. Troy’s top six was probably better than we could have hoped for at this stage of the project. He rode a great race and the fact that his bike was more consistent, and running cooler, shows that there is a lot more to come next year. Today was great for the team who have worked hard all year and never complain.

“I am pleased for Neil Hodgson. I know what it’s like to win a world title here, which is like a home from home. He will just feel relieved at the moment as he has been under pressure all year because he was expected to win. He can now enjoy the last few races, although I don’t think the fact that you are a world champion ever sinks in.”

Troy said: “This weekend has given everyone a lift and shows that we are making progress. The sixth place in the first race was what I thought we were capable of going into this round. I knew I had a big gap behind me and that I didn’t have to push too early. So I sat there in eighth and saved the tyres a little bit. With two laps to go I upped the pace and, when Clementi missed a gear in the final chicane of the penultimate lap I was able to out-draught him down the straight and take him going into turn one. Then I got right on the back of Leon and, coming out of the hairpin, I knew I was quicker than him through the second chicane. The bike ran consistently thoughout that race and the temperature stayed consistent. My Michelin tyres were also good, sliding a little but, again, consistently.

“The second race was more difficult as the bike did not feel the same and was dropping off throughout. The same riders that I could catch in the first race were just pulling away as I had lost a bit of torque.”

James said: “I had cortisone and ant-inflammatory injections last night but was still in agony this morning and there was no way that I can race. I am gutted because I love Assen and there are so many British fans. I had been really hoping I would be able to go out on a high at the end of this season.”


More, from a press release issued by HM Plant Ducati:

Walker carries torch after Toseland retires

Today’s second Superbike World Championship race at Assen was a difficult one for both HM Plant Ducati riders. James Toseland was forced to retire due to tyre problems and Chris Walker showed determination and true grit to finish in eighth place, despite riding while injured.

As the sun shone at the Dutch circuit, both Toseland and Walker made reasonably good starts to the 16-lap race, slotting into sixth and eighth place respectively. As the battle out front raged between the new Superbike World Champion, Neil Hodgson, Ruben Xaus and Gregorio Lavilla, Toseland got his head down and concentrated on closing down Regis Laconi and Pier Francesco Chili.

Toseland caught and passed Regis Laconi on lap eight to move up to fifth place and make sure he didn’t lose sight of the leading quartet of riders. The 22-year-old rider then managed to pass Chili on lap ten to move up to fourth place and set his sights on the podium position he narrowly missed out on in the first race.

Unfortunately for Toseland, his rear tyre began to disintegrate on lap 13 of 16 and he was forced to retire from the race. Chris Walker came home in a respectable eighth place – a great effort considering the injuries he was carrying.

Down but not out, Toseland is already looking forward to the next round of the championship: “Obviously I’m disappointed that my tyre went off but these things can happen to any rider. Everything was going so well out there and I’m convinced that I would have made it on to the podium, given the opportunity. My thoughts are already on the next round.”

Chris Walker added vital championship points to his tally by finishing the second race at Assen. “I did the best I could out there and despite 110% effort, I just wasn’t able to match the pace of the leading riders. It’s not often that I am glad when a race is over, but I couldn’t wait for the chequered flag today. Now I have to rest and get myself fit again for the next round.”


More, from a press release issued by Scuderia Caracchi NCR Nortel Networks:

Black an white for Regis Laconi today at Assen

It has not been a lucky day today at Assen for Scuderia Caracchi NCR Nortel Networks: David Garcia preferred to renounce at the race due the posthumous of the bad crash of yesterday in the free practice session, while Regis Laconi, forced to stop for electric troubles in race-1, ended 4th in race-2 limiting the damages for the championship standing in a wrong day. The biggest trouble has been because, after a warm up run on a half wet track, the race-1 stop didn’t allow to upgrade the set up and in race-2 some unattended problem appeared while they could be easily solve with more time available.

“I’m unhappy because, as Lavila and Toseland stopped, we could get a better standing in the championship.” – said a bit disappointed Laconi back in the garage – “It would be sufficient to earn a few points in race-1, on the contrary we made a stupid mistake when I enter the garage for an electric trouble: the guys have done immediately their job and I rejoined the race; I was running very fast, with laptime around 2’03” like the front of the race; but unfortunately they have done their work on the bike inside the garage and to be disqualified it has been unavoidable. So in race-2 the bike was running well ,but it wasn’t perfect, and Assen is strong heavy for the tyres and you must have a perfect setting to be competitive. However the championship standing is still good and in practice nothing changed because all three, Toseland, Lavilla and me, we lost a race today.”


More from a press release issued by the organizers of the Sidecar World Championship:

DUTCH DOUBLE FOR WEBSTER AT ASSEN

Steve Webster and passenger Paul Woodhead clinched their sixth victory of the 2003 campaign to extend their lead in the Superside World championship in round eight at Assen, Holland.

Reigning world champions Steve Abbott and Jamie Biggs got a terrific start to lead at the start but Webster and Woodhead were back on top by lap two and never looked back to clinch their third consecutive win.

Webster said: “It’s been a good weekend and the team did a fantastic job. Lap times were a bit slower but it was the same for everyone out there.”

Klaus Klaffenböck and Christian Parzer staged a terrific fightback and passed Abbott and Biggs on the final lap to take second, making it two podiums for the 2001 World champions.

“I am happy with second place. There are still two races to go and 50 points so everything is possible,” said Klaffenböck.

Abbott and Biggs got their first podium of the weekend in third following on from fourth in race one. “We had a problem with the water temperature and I didn’t expect to finish. Klaus came from nowhere and fair play to him,” said Abbott.

Superside World championship race result (13 laps-78.35km/48.97miles): 1 Steve Webster, GB (Suzuki) 28:33.867, 2 Klaus Klaffenböck, Austria (Yamaha) -6.413 seconds, 3 Steve Abbott, GB (Suzuki) -6.679, 4 Tom Hanks, GB (Yamaha) -16.377, 5 Martien van Gils, Holland (Suzuki) -16.482, 6 Jörg Steinhausen, Germany (Suzuki) -41.685, 7 Tim Reeves, GB (Yamaha) -1:15.543, 8 Billy Gällros, Sweden (Suzuki) -1:18.158s, 9 Bill Philp, GB (Yamaha) -1:18.955, 10 Chris Founds, GB (Yamaha) -1:28.543.

Championship points after eight of 10 rounds:
1 Webster 166, 2 Klaffenböck 146, 3 Steinhausen 111, 4 Abbott 91, 5 Hanks 81, 6 Van Gils 75, 7 Roscher 63, 8 Philp 59, 9 Gällros 39, 10 Hauzenberger 37.

Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

125cc Grand Prix Results:

1. Pablo Nieto, Aprilia, 23 laps, 41:08.307
2. Hector Barbera, Aprilia, -0.022 second
3. Alex De Angelis, Aprilia, -0.308 second
4. Daniel Pedrosa, Honda, -0.560 second
5. Arnaud Vincent, Aprilia, -3.326 seconds
6. Jorge Lorenzo, Derbi, -8.143 seconds
7. Gabor Talmacsi, Aprilia, -8.287 seconds
8. Andrea Dovizioso, Aprilia, -13.353 seconds
9. Simone Corsi, Honda, -13.574 seconds
10. Mirko Giansanti, Aprilia, -13.869 seconds
11. Roberto Locatelli, KTM, -24.879 seconds
12. Fabrizio Lai, Malaguti, -39.570 seconds
13. Masao Azuma, Honda, -46.623 seconds
14. Mika Kallio, KTM, -46.646 seconds
15. Stefano Bianco, Gilera, -46.983 seconds

20. Emilio Alzamora, Derbi, -85.014 seconds

23. Stefano Perugini, Aprilia, -10 laps, DNF, crash

25. Steve Jenkner, Aprilia, -13 laps, DNF, mechanical

27. Thomas Luthi, Honda, -17 laps, DNF, crash

32. Gino Borsoi, Aprilia, -23 laps, DNF, crash
33. Lucio Cecchinello, Aprilia, -23 laps, DNF, crash

Youichi Ui, Gilera, DNS
Marco Simoncelli, Aprilia, DNS

Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Saturday Morning MotoGP Practice Times:

1. Sete Gibernau, Honda, 1:38.910
2. Loris Capirossi, Ducati, 1:39.013
3. Valentino Rossi, Honda, 1:39.126
4. Tohru Ukawa, Honda, 1:39.603
5. Max Biaggi, Honda, 1:39.874
6. Olivier Jacque, Yamaha, 1:40.076
7. Carlos Checa, Yamaha, 1:40.158
8. Nicky Hayden, Honda, 1:40.160
9. Marco Melandri, Yamaha, 1:40.205
10. Makoto Tamada, Honda, 1:40.345
11. Kenny Roberts, Suzuki, 1:40.421
12. Troy Bayliss, Ducati, 1:40.510
13. Alex Barros, Yamaha, 1:40.547
14. Shinya Nakanao, Yamaha, 1:40.833
15. Noriyuki Haga, Aprilia, 1:40.946
16. John Hopkins, Suzuki, 1:41.058
17. Colin Edwards, Aprilia, 1:41.060
18. Jeremy McWilliams, Proton, 1:42.262
19. Ryuichi Kiyonari, Honda, 1:42.317
20. Andrew Pitt, Kawasaki, 1:42.426
21. Garry McCoy, Kawasaki, 1:42.634
22. Nobuatsu Aoki, Proton, 1:42.642
23. David De Gea, Harris WCM, 1:43.128
24. Chris Burns, Harris WCM, 1:44.034


250cc Grand Prix Practice Times:

1. Randy De Puniet, Aprilia, 1:42.585
2. Roberto Rolfo, Honda, 1:42.609
3. Toni Elias, Aprilia, 1:42.653
4. Sebastian Porto, Honda, 1:42.835
5. Manuel Poggiali, Aprilia, 1:42.887
6. Franco Battaini, Aprilia, 1:43.072
7. Anthony West, Aprilia, 1:43.174
8. Fonsi Nieto, Aprilia, 1:43.600
9. Naoki Matsudo, Yamaha, 1:43.766
10. Sylvain Guintoli, Aprilia, 1:43.865
11. Alex Debon, Honda, 1:44.610
12. Johan Stigefelt, Aprilia, 1:44.733
13. Christian Gemmel, Honda, 1:44.807
14. Alex Baldolini, Aprilia, 1:44.835
15. Eric Bataille, Honda, 1:44.865
16. Hector Faubel, Aprilia, 1:44.877
17. Hugo Marchand, Aprilia, 1:44.879
18. Erwan Nigon, Aprilia, 1:44.916
19. Dirk Heidolf, Aprilia, 1:44.932
20. Chaz Davies, Aprilia, 1:45.158

29. Katja Poensgen, Honda, 1:48.818


125cc Grand Prix Practice Times:

1. Daniel Pedrosa, Honda, 1:46.322
2. Stefano Perugini, Aprilia, 1:46.694
3. Alex De Angelis, Aprilia, 1:46.865
4. Arnaud Vincent, Aprilia, 1:46.915
5. Gabor Talmacsi, Aprilia, 1:46.983
6. Steve Jenkner, Aprilia, 1:47.000
7. Hector Barbera, Aprilia, 1:47.027
8. Gino Borsoi, Aprilia, 1:47.038
9. Jorge Lorenzo, Derbi, 1:47.113
10. Simone Corsi, Honda, 1:47.237
11. Mika Kallio, KTM, 1:47.355
12. Thomas Luthi, Honda, 1:47.412
13. Pablo Nieto, Aprilia, 1:47.476
14. Andrea Dovizioso, Honda, 1:47.558
15. Marco Simoncelli, Aprilia, 1:47.563
16. Mirko Giansanti, Aprilia, 1:47.690
17. Lucio Cecchinello, Aprilia, 1:47.739
18. Stefano Bianco, Gilera, 1:48.301
19. Gioele Pellino, Aprilia, 1:48.383
20. Alvaro Bautista, Aprilia, 1:48.558
21. Masao Azuma, Honda, 1:48.729

23. Roberto Locatelli, KTM, 1:48.848

28. Youichi Ui, Gilera, 1:49.690

Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

FIRST PERSON/OPINION

Via e-mail:

I know you guys are the ultimate racer resource, so I’m coming to you for help. I’m a brand new racer in the MRA (#191) this year and my racebike and my trailer were just stolen last night from in front of my house, between midnight and sunup. (It’s the second time this bike has been stolen–first time was when it was still my streetbike–can you believe the luck?)

I had the trailer locked to my car and my bike locked to the trailer and the thieves actually cut the trailer off my car.

Anyway, here are the details:

2002 GSX-R600, Sharkskinz upper and lower bodywork. Cheetah tailsection with a white plate and 25 on the tail (loaner bodywork while mine is getting painted, in case you’re wondering why it’s not my race #). Stock “Telefonica Moviestar” gas tank and a Yoshimura RS3 carbon fiber slip on can. FABBRI windscreen – not terribly common as far as I know. The VIN# is JS1GN7BA622104637.

2003 Voyager 3 rail trailer. Fairly unique trailer with wooden slats between the rails. Also had an extended tongue with a roughly 2×2 gas can rack just in front of the center rail. The VIN# is 4JVM013113A014388. Had Colorado plate on it, 667JEJ.

Thanks in advance for any help you can give me. My contact info is (719) 266-1178 and (719) 310-5530 cell (usually the better #). Please call me if you need any more info or have any questions. Any help at all is appreciated.

Lisa Kary
MRA #191
Colorado Springs, Colorado