Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

By Glenn Le Santo

Brands double for Byrne

Shane ‘Shakey’ Byrne fought off the persistent challenges from his British Championship rival John Reynolds to take an historic double win at Brands Hatch. World Superbike regular James Toseland completed the second all-Brit podium of the day with third place.

Sean Emmett stole the start, leaping from seventh on the grid to lead into the first turn. Officials were quick to rule against his start, charging him with jumping the lights and asking him in for a stop and go penalty. When he failed to come in, he was black-flagged out of the race.

Chris Walker, Byrne, Reynolds, Regis Laconi and Toseland followed Emmett into Druids for the first time, with the huge crowd cheering as another wildcard led the way around Brands Hatch. Emmett was black-flagged on lap six after failing to comply with the stop-and-go penalty.

Walker tried hard to stay in the top three, but crashed on lap 16 after a succession of passes had him down in sixth place.

Ruben Xaus threatened Toseland for third but the continual sideways action of his Ducati 999 must have taken its toll on his tyres in the final laps and he dropped off the pace.

The last lap saw Reynolds in with a chance of the win but as they headed in to Clearways for the final time Reynolds seemed to have lost time somewhere in the back section. Byrne took victory number two while Reynolds crossed the line in second.

The result means that Hodgson still hasn’t tied up the title race, although it would take a supreme effort from Xaus and a total disaster on Hodgson’s part for him to lose the title; the championship is still open to dispute.




World Superbike Race Two Results:

1. Shane Byrne, Ducati 998F02, 25 laps, 36:25.639
2. John Reynolds, Suzuki GSX-R1000, -0.539 second
3. James Toseland, Ducati 998F02, -2.891 seconds
4. Ruben Xaus, Ducati 999F03
5. Neil Hodgson, Ducati 999F03
6. Gregorio Lavilla, Suzuki GSX-R1000
7. Pierfrancesco Chili, Ducati 998RS
8. Regis Laconi, Ducati 998RS
9. Yukio Kagayama, Suzuki GSX-R1000
10. Leon Haslam, Ducati 998RS
11. Alex Gramigni, Yamaha YZF-R1
12. Dean Ellison, Ducati 996
13. Ivan Clementi, Kawasaki ZX-7RR
14. Marco Borciani, Ducati 998RS
15. Mauro Sanchini, Kawasaki ZX-7RR
16. Lucio Pedercini, Ducati 998RS
17. Sergio Fuertes, Suzuki GSX-R1000
18. Michael Rutter, Ducati 998F02, -4 laps, DNF
19. Juan Borja, Ducati 998RS, -8 laps, DNF
20. Chris Walker, Ducati 998F02, -11 laps, DNF
21. Nick Medd, Ducati 998RS, -12 laps
22. Jiri Mrkyvka, Ducati 998RS, -16 laps, DNF
23. Walter Tortoroglio, Honda RC51, -17 laps, DNF
24. Steve Martin, Ducati 998RS, -18 laps, DNF
25. Luca Pedersoli, Ducati 998RS, -18 laps, DNF
26. Sean Emmett, Ducati 998RS, -19 laps, DNF
27. Troy Corser, Foggy Petronas FP1, -22 laps
28. James Haydon, Foggy Petronas FP1, -23 laps, DNF
29. Giancarlo De Matteis, Ducati 998RS, -24 laps, DNF

Fastest Lap: John Reynolds, 1:26.767


More, from a press release issued by Ducati Corse:

HODGSON (DUCATI FILA) CLOSER TO WSBK TITLE WITH SECOND AND FIFTH AT BRANDS HATCH – DUCATI CLINCHES TWELFTH MANUFACTURERS’ TITLE

Brands Hatch (England), 27 July 2003: Neil Hodgson edged closer to the 2003 World Superbike title with a second and a fifth place in the two races at Brands Hatch, as Shane Byrne picked up both race wins for Monstermob Ducati. Team-mate Ruben Xaus retired from race 1 with an oil leak then finished fourth in race 2. It was a triumphant day for Ducati however as they won the World Superbike Manufacturers’ title for the twelfth time.

“I was a bit nervous before the start of race 1 because I was feeling the pressure here at Brands” declared Neil. “When you’ve had such a bad weekend in qualifying you still have to go out and do it in the race and pass everyone when you are eleventh on the grid. With six laps to go when I was behind Chris, and Shakey had gone, I thought this is what the crowd had come to see, Hodgson versus Walker so I couldn’t let my fans down!. Race 2 was also really difficult because the pace was hotter and the other riders didn’t break down. I was catching up on the leaders but then I hit a false neutral two times into the corner off the back straight and had to back down. We were at a bit of a disadvantage on this circuit, not having tested here and with very little dry weather track time and the wild-cards were always going to be a threat because they know the circuit so well. Now I’m looking forward to Assen to take that title.”

Ruben Xaus retired from race 1 with an oil leak but then battled for a hard-fought fourth place in the second race. “I was going to be second for sure” he commented after race 1 “because Walker was slower than me in some parts of the circuit. It’s a real pity because I was feeling good and the bike was going really well. Race 2 was not bad even though I didn’t get as good a start. The only problem was that the tyres started losing grip six laps before the end when I was close to the lead and after that I was sideways all the time.”

TWELFTH MANUFACTURERS’ TITLE FOR DUCATI: With a double-win by Byrne today at Brands Hatch, Ducati have clinched a record twelfth World Superbike Manufacturers’ title. The full-house of 450 points that took Ducati to its twelfth world title in 16 years of World Superbike racing have been scored by the Ducati Fila duo of Neil Hodgson (11 wins) and Ruben Xaus (3 wins), together with Byrne (2 wins), Toseland (HM Plant Ducati) and Chili (PSG-1 Ducati), who took one win apiece. Ducati have dominated this year’s championship, winning all 18 races so far, with the victories being shared by three different models:

– Ducati 999 Factory ’03 exclusively ridden by Hodgson and Xaus

– Ducati 998 Factory ’02 ridden by Toseland and Byrne

– Ducati 998RS ridden by Chili

In creating the new-for-2003 Ducati 999, which was mated to the successful Testastretta engine, Ducati engineers have continued the Italian firm’s winning tradition that started with the 888, the first Ducati to clinch both Manufacturers’ and Riders’ titles (with Doug Polen) back in 1991.



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

MISERABLE DAY FOR TROY
Troy had a miserable raceday at Brands Hatch in the ninth round of the 2003 Superbike World Championship today ending with a pair of no-scores. A spark plug problem out him out of the first race with just three laps to go. In the second, his Petronas FP1 suffered an oil leak and he took to the gravel trap rather then risk crashing on the exit of the turn. The weekend’s difficult and varying weather conditions didn’t help Troy and the team either ­ and they were well short of good dry set-up time in the four sessions. But in the end, the weather played no part in Troy’s misfortunes today and for the second time this season he was unable to score any points. Both races today were won by local rider Shane Byrne (Ducati), with Britons completing all the other podium positions in the two 25-lappers. Series leader Neil Hodgson (Ducati) took second in the first race, with Chris Walker (Ducati) third. The second race featured a superb dogfight between Byrne and fellow ‘wild card” John Reynolds (Suzuki), with Reynolds taking runner-up spot. Third went to James Toseland (Ducati) to complete a tremendous day for the 120,000 home crowd.

TROY Race 1: DNF, Race 2 ­ DNF
Today (and the whole weekend) was very frustrating and I’m not very happy. The weather didn’t do us any favours in qualifying, but little did I know that worse was to come. In the first race I was twelfth with three laps to go and on course to get a few points at least, when the spark plug went and that was that. In race two, I felt that something wasn’t quite right in the double right-hander but initially I thought that the tyres weren’t warm enough, but when the back end came round again I knew it was an oil leak. At least I was T Druids, so I knew I could just run the bike off then the track rather then risk going round a corner and crashing. It’s been a very frustrating weekend especially considering all the hard work the team has put in.


More, from a press release issued by Team Suzuki News Service:

GREGORIO FIGHTS FOR TOP SEVEN SPOTS

Team Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra rider Gregorio Lavilla fought his way up superbly from the fourth row of the grid to take sixth and seventh places in today’s ninth round of the Superbike World Championship. Despite being somewhat less than 100%, due to his injuries sustained in the last round at Laguna Seca, Gregorio rode with tremendous determination in both the 25-lappers today. A poor start hampered his progress in race one and he lost touch with the leaders, but he managed to take seventh place, setting the third quickest lap of the race in the process. The race was won by ‘wild card’ Shane Byrne (Ducati), with fellow Britons Neil Hodgson (Ducati) and Chris Walker (Ducati) second and third.

Gregorio made a much better start in race two and was at the rear end of the six-rider battle for the lead for all but three or four laps from the end. Then a backmarker got in his way, causing him to lose touch with Hodgson, and he couldn’t recover. He finished sixth, with Hodgson in sight, and had been waiting to make his move until the slow rider upset plans. Shane Byrne once again won, but this time fellow ‘wild card’ John Reynolds (Suzuki) took second, with James Toseland (Ducati) third. Both Byrne and Reynolds have already raced at the revised Brands Hatch circuit and their extra knowledge and dry track time during the British Superbike Championship round proved crucial to their success.

GREGORIO LAVILLA Race 1: 7th, Race 2: 6th
The start of the first race was not good for me, but my lap times were quite good. It was very difficult top pass James (Toseland) because we both had a very good rhythm and he didn’t make any mistakes. I think if we had been able to get more set-up time in the dry, we would’ve been in a much better position for today’s races. In the second race, I got a better start and I was catching the leading group. I spent a long time with Walker, but when he crashed in front of me I lost some time. Then I managed to catch Hodgson and I thought I could get past him. But with about four laps to go, I got held up by a backmarker and by the time I passed him Neil had pulled out a small advantage. After that there wasn’t enough time to catch him again, so I had to settle for sixth place. I’m happy that John (Reynolds) got second place today in one of the races. He and the other ‘wild cards’ have had a lot more dry track time here then the rest of us and it certainly helped them. But, with John finishing second, I still have a chance to be the first Suzuki GSXR1000 rider to win a World Superbike race.


More, from a press release issued by MonsterMob Ducati:

BYRNE DOUBLES UP!

Shane ‘Shakey’ Byrne made unique history at Brands Hatch today when he became the first ever British wild card rider to score a double victory when he added a thrilling race two win to his first ever World Superbike Championship triumph in front of another massive crowd.

The leader of the British Superbike Championship followed up an easy win in the opening leg with a harder fought victory in race two to outline his class and more importantly, show the series regulars he means business when he makes the jump to a full time berth in the world championship next season.

The Minster, Isle of Sheppey rider took the lead on lap eleven and had to fend off a concerted late challenge from fellow wild card John Reynolds on his Suzuki to claim another fantastic win, this time by a mere half a second but understandably, he was ecstatic with the performance of his career to date:

“This has to be one of the best days I can remember. I knew it would be hard but it was tougher than I expected, especially in race two but I’m absolutely made up. It was vitally important to do well and I’m glad the weather held out but this is going to stay with me for a long, long time” said Byrne who led home yet another all British rostrum.

Team boss Paul Bird was overjoyed at his rider’s performances which he said ranked alongside the highlights of his own illustrious career.

“Days don’t come any better than this. This has got to be up there with the best and I’m so pleased for Shakey and the team as well. They all did a fantastic job under a lot of pressure and it just goes to show how good our team is at this level” said the Penrith poultry magnate.

Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Yoshimura Suzuki’s Ben Spies ran away from the field to win the Formula Xtreme race at Mid-Ohio, on a GSX-R1000.

Jake Zemke finished second on his Erion Honda and Jason Pridmore was third on his Attack Suzuki after running sixth on the first lap; the FX race ran immediately after the second Superbike race and left Pridmore exhausted.

Movers in the last half of the race included Attack’s Josh Hayes and Graves Yamaha’s Jamie Hacking.

Steve Rapp pitted, rejoined the race and finished 12th. Roger Lee Hayden pitted and did not rejoin the race.

1. Ben Spies, Suzuki, 16 laps
2. Jake Zemke, Honda, -4.092 seconds
3. Jason Pridmore, Suzuki, -6.610
4. Adam Fergusson, Suzuki, -7.409
5. Josh Hayes, Suzuki, -7.601
6. Jamie Hacking, Yamaha, -8.833
7. Damon Buckmaster, Yamaha, -10.37
8. Marty Craggill, Honda, -26.784
9. Vincent Haskovec, Suzuki, -43.037
10. Geoff May, Suzuki, -56.066
11. Jason Curtis, Honda, -65.364
12. Steve Rapp, Suzuki, -67.323
13. Doug Duane, Suzuki, -76.233
14. Mike Scruggs, Suzuki, -90.028
15. James Kerker, Honda, -1 lap

Provisional, Unofficial Point Standings
AMA Formula Xtreme
1. Spies, 250 points
2. Buckmaster, 229
3. Zemke, 217
4. Hayes, 215
5. Fergusson, 212
6. Hacking, 204
7. Rapp, 176
8. Pridmore, 172
9. Craggill, 167
10. Hayden, 135

Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Erion Honda’s Jake Zemke took his first AMA Supersport race win of the season and the second of his AMA career in a hard-fought battle Sunday at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.

Series point leader Jamie Hacking fought back on the final lap to bring his factory Yamaha YZF-R6 home second and extend his point advantage over title rival and teammate Damon Buckmaster, third Sunday.

Yoshimura Suzuki’s Ben Spies raced with the leaders for the second half of the contest but was bumped back to fourth by an aggressive pass by Buckmaster through lapped traffic in the next-to-last corner.

Pascal Picotte finished fifth on his Picotte Yamaha YZF-R6. Yamaha’s Jason DiSalvo faded back from the front group to finish sixth. Erion Honda’s Roger Lee Hayden led early-on before fading to seventh in front of Yamaha’s Aaron Gobert and Kawasaki teammates Tony Meiring and Tommy Hayden, ninth and 10th respectively. Alex Gobert finished 11th.

Bruce Transportation Group Honda’s Marty Craggill and American Honda’s Miguel Duhamel both crashed out of the race.

Darren Luck raced Chris Rankin and Chris Peris for 12th before crashing; Jason Curtis was 14th and Dirk Sanchez 15th.

Provisional AMA Supersport Results:

1. Jake Zemke, Honda, 16 laps
2. Jamie Hacking, Yamaha, -0.597 second
3. Damon Buckmaster, Yamaha, -0.651 second
4. Ben Spies, Suzuki, -0.770 second
5. Pascal Picotte, Yamaha, -2.211 seconds
6. Jason DiSalvo, Yamaha, -6.558 seconds
7. Roger Lee Hayden, Honda, -7.754 seconds
8. Aaron Gobert, Yamaha, -8.239 seconds
9. Tony Meiring, Kawasaki, -10.154 seconds
10. Tommy Hayden, Kawasaki, -10.253 seconds
11. Alex Gobert, Honda, -22.479 seconds
12. Chris Rankin, Honda, -40.782 seconds
13. Chris Peris, Honda, -40.876 seconds
14. Jason Curtis, Honda, -52.340 seconds
15. Dirk Sanchez, Kawasaki, -65.537 seconds


Provisonal AMA Supersport Point Standings:

1. Hacking, 285 points
2. Buckmaster, 254 points
3. Spies, 202 points
4. Alex Gobert/Zemke, 198 points
6. Roger Lee Hayden, 189 points
7. Meiring, 187 points
8. Aaron Gobert, 185 points
9. Tommy Hayden, 181 points
10. DiSalvo, 180 points

Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Yoshimura Suzuki’s Mat Mladin took another AMA Superbike race win, his eighth of the season and 23rd of his career, Sunday at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.

The race started the same way as Saturday’s race with Mladin and Erion Honda’s Kurtis Roberts running nose-to-tail from the start. Roberts led until lap five when Mladin took the lead with a pass into turn one to start lap six.

Roberts stayed close to Mladin for several laps before fading back slightly in the second half. Then, on lap 24 of 26, Roberts suffered a mechanical problem, slowed and retired.

Roberts’ retirement allowed Attack Suzuki’s Jason Pridmore to repeat his second place from Saturday.

American Honda’s Ben Bostrom beat Mladin’s teammate Aaron Yates in a late-race fight for third.

Corona Extra Suzuki’s Jordan Szoke raced with Ducati Austin’s Giovanni Bussei flag-to-flag with Szoke fending off Bussei for fifth.

Shawn Higbee, Geoff May, Vincent Haskovec and Mike Ciccotto completed the top 10.

Roberts was credited with four points, for 27th place.

Miguel Duhamel crashed out of the race coming on to the front straightaway at the end of the first lap. Duhamel walked away from the incident.


Provisional AMA Superbike Race Results:

1. Mat Mladin, Suzuki, 26 laps
2. Jason Pridmore, Suzuki, -6.668 seconds
3. Ben Bostrom, Honda, -10.071 seconds
4. Aaron Yates, Suzuki, -10.203 seconds
5. Jordan Szoke, Suzuki, -35.063 seconds
6. Giovanni Bussei, Ducati, -35.280 seconds
7. Shawn Higbee, Suzuki, -53.803 seconds
8. Geoff May, Suzuki, -72.562 seconds
9. Vincent Haskovec, Suzuki, -73.150 seconds
10. Mike Ciccotto, Suzuki, -1 lap
11. Jake Holden, Suzuki, -1 lap
12. Scott Jensen, Suzuki, -1 lap
13. J.J. Roetlin, Suzuki, -1 lap
14. Troy Green, Yamaha, -1 lap
15. John Haner, Suzuki, -1 lap
16. Chris Caylor, Suzuki
17. Chris Voelker, Ducati
18. Dean Mizdal, Suzuki
19. Tom Wertman, Suzuki
20. John Jacobi, Suzuki

27. Kurtis Roberts, Honda, DNF, mechanical



More, from a press release issued by Mat Mladin Motorsports:

DOUBLE AMERICAN SUPERBIKE WIN FOR MLADIN AT MID-OHIO

Lexington, Ohio, USA (Sunday, 27 July) – Mat Mladin emerged from this weekend’s double-header AMA Chevy Trucks US Superbike Championship round at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course with maximum points after scoring his second AMA Superbike national race win in two days at the Ohio circuit.

Mladin’s double victory was his eighth for the season with fourteen races now complete, but more importantly for the Australian, who hails from Camden on the south-east outskirts of Sydney, he has increased his points advantage at the top of the championship table to 33 over Yoshimura Suzuki teammate Aaron Yates, who finished fourth in today’s 26-lap national.

Starting from pole position, Mladin diced closely with Erion Honda’s Kurtis Roberts in the first half of the race with the pair swapping the race lead on a number of occasions before Mladin got down to business and eased away from his rival in the second half of the race.

The pair were been in close company in both of the weekend’s Superbike races with Roberts crashing out of yesterday’s opening race on the final lap while dicing with Mladin for the lead and today was forced out of the race with two laps remaining. Second place in today’s race went to Jason Pridmore (Attack Suzuki), finishing 6.668 seconds adrift of Mladin. Followed by Ben Bostrom (American Honda) who claimed the final podium position.

“Everything went fine for us this weekend,” said a very satisfied Mladin. “It was a good weekend where we scored maximum points and that has given us a good points break in the championship before we head to the second last circuit of the year at Virginia.

“Kurtis (Roberts) got into the lead early, but wasn’t setting a real fast pace, so I passed him and picked it up a little, before letting him by again to see what he was able to do out front. I could sense that he wasn’t able to get away from me so I got back past him once more and put some pressure on which worked out well in the end, as I was able to pull away fairly easily in the second half of the race.

“It was quite a bit warmer out there today and it definitely took its toll, it was hard on both the riders and the tyres. It was very hot and humid which made the tyres feel very greasy early in the race, so all I did was spin them up and go for it. Even though we have had a few tyre problems this year, I didn’t worry about taking it easy on them out there and just gave it to them and hoped that they would hang on throughout the race and they did.

“Two more double header rounds remain, so I hope we can repeat these efforts at Virginia before we go to the last round at Alabama.”

Mladin’s maximum points haul at Mid-Ohio included the championship point for pole position, along with points for both Superbike race wins and for leading the most number of laps in each race. The three-times American Superbike champion now has a total of 431 points, 33 clear of Yates (398), while Ben Bostrom (376) has passed brother Eric (350) for third after Eric was forced out of the weekend’s meeting due to injuries he received at the combined AMA / World Superbike round at Laguna Seca two weeks ago.

The AMA Chevy Trucks US Superbike Championship heads to Virginia International Raceway in five weeks time for the penultimate Double-Header round of the season on the weekend of August 30 – 31, before the final round of the championship takes place at Barber Motorsports Park in Alabama on September 20 – 21.


Rd 14, AMA Chevy Trucks US Superbike Championship
RACE RESULT, 26 Laps – Top 10

1. Mat Mladin (Yoshimura Suzuki), 38:29.75 mins

2. Jason Pridmore (Attack Suzuki), +6.668 seconds

3. Ben Bostrom (American Honda), +10.071

4. Aaron Yates (Yoshimura Suzuki), +10.203

5. Jordan Szoke (Corona Extra Suzuki), +35.063

6. Giovanni Bussei (Ducati Austin), +35.280

7. Shawn Higbee (KWS Suzuki), +53.803

8. Geoff May Suzuki), +72.562

9. Vincent Haskovec (Hooters Suzuki), +73.150

10. Mike Ciccotto (Hooters Suzuki), -1 lap

2003 AMA Chevy Trucks US Superbike Championship (points after 14 of 18 rounds)
1. M Mladin (431); 2. A Yates (398), 3. B Bostrom (376); 4. E Bostrom (350); 5. K Roberts (349), 6. M DuHamel (332); 7. J Pridmore (315); 8. S Higbee (299), 9. V Haskovec (221), 10. J Szoke (212).




Mat Mladin:

1992 Australian Superbike Champion

1999, 2000, 2001 American AMA Superbike Champion

2000, 2001 Daytona 200 Champion

2000 American AMA Pro Athlete of the Year

Career AMA Superbike Race Wins – 23

Career AMA Superbike Pole Positions – 30 (All time AMA record)

Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Supersport:

1. Damon Buckmaster, Yamaha, 1:29.753
2. Jamie Hacking, Yamaha, 1:30.361
3. Jake Zemke, Honda, 1:30.414
4. Jason DiSalvo, Yamaha, 1:30.616
5. Ben Spies, Suzuki, 1:30.863
6. Aaron Gobert, Yamaha, 1:30.900
7. Alex Gobert, Honda, 1:30.958
8. Roger Lee Hayden, Honda, 1:31.001
9. Miguel Duhamel, Honda, 1:31.215
10. Tommy Hayden, Kawasaki, 1:31.373
11. Jamie Stauffer, Suzuki, 1:31.601
12. Pascal Picotte, Yamaha, 1:31.651
13. Chris Rankin, Honda, 1:31.825
14. Tony Meiring, Kawasaki, 1:32.059
15. Marty Craggill, Honda, 1:32.094
16. Jason Curtis, Honda, 1:34.343
17. Dirk Sanchez, Kawasaki, 1:34.579
18. Giovanni Rojas, Yamaha, 1:35.189
19. Darren Luck, Suzuki, 1:35.536
20. Nathan Dressman, Yamaha, 1:35.573


Formula Xtreme:

1. Ben Spies, Suzuki, 1:27.418
2. Jamie Hacking, Yamaha, 1:27.679
3. Adam Fergusson, Suzuki, 1:27.903
4. Damon Buckmaster, Yamaha, 1:28.099
5. Jake Zemke, Honda, 1:28.813
6. Josh Hayes, Suzuki, 1:28.873
7. Roger Lee Hayden, Honda, 1:29.152
8. Marty Craggill, Honda, 1:29.447
9. Steve Rapp, Suzuki, 1:30.130
10. Jason Curtis, Honda, 1:31.919
11. Mike Scruggs, Suzuki, 1:35.215
12. Kevin Hanson, Suzuki, 1:36.284
13. Rick Narup, Suzuki, 1:37.566
14. Matt Malterer, Suzuki, 1:37.740
15. Michael Kosta, Suzuki, 1:37.893
16. David Bell, Suzuki, 1:38.514
17. James Kerker, Honda, 1:39.057
18. Vincent Haskovec, Suzuki, 1:43.563


250cc Grand Prix:

1. Rich Oliver, Yamaha, 1:31.667
2. Chuck Sorensen, Aprilia, 1:32.467
3. Simon Turner, TSR Honda, 1:33.517
4. Perry Melneciuc, Yamaha, 1:34.006
5. Ed Sorbo, Yamaha, 1:35.797
6. Chris Pyles, Honda, 1:35.803
7. Colin Jensen, Aprilia, 1:35.857
8. Greg Esser, Honda, 1:36.719
9. Barrett Long, Yamaha, 1:37.155
10. Bill Himmelsbach, Yamaha, 1:37.184
11. Sean McNew, Honda, 1:37.214
12. John France, Honda, 1:37.379
13. Geoff Maloney, Yamaha, 1:37.874
14. Sean Wray, Yamaha, 1:38.022
15. Sandy Noce, Yamaha, 1:38.094
16. Ed Marchini, Yamaha, 1:38.585
17. Steve Scott, Yamaha, 1:39.667
18. James Bonner, Yamaha, 1:39.717
19. Keith Floyd, Yamaha, 1:40.460
20. Mark Stiles, Yamaha, 1:41.129


Superbike:

1. Mat Mladin, Suzuki, 1:27.315
2. Kurtis Roberts, Honda, 1:27.932
3. Jason Pridmore, Suzuki, 1:27.964
4. Aaron Yates, Suzuki, 1:28.282
5. Ben Bostrom, Honda, 1:28.469
6. Miguel Duhamel, Honda, 1:28.825
7. Giovanni Bussei, Ducati, 1:29.218
8. Josh Hayes, Suzuki, 1:29.493
9. Jordan Szoke, Suzuki, 1:29.695
10. Steve Rapp, Suzuki, 1:29.978
11. Shawn Higbee, Suzuki, 1:30.252
12. Chris Caylor, Suzuki, 1:31.820
13. Geoff May, Suzuki, 1:32.246
14. Chris Voelker, Ducati, 1:32.525
15. Chris Ulrich, Suzuki, 1:32.576
16. Vincent Haskovec, Suzuki, 1:32.969
17. Scott Jensen, Suzuki, 1:33.169

Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Sunday Morning Practice Times:

MotoGP:

1. Valentino Rossi, Honda, 1:24.521
2. Max Biaggi, Honda, 1:24.676
3. Nicky Hayden, Honda, 1:24.893
4. Loris Capirossi, Ducati, 1:24.967
5. Sete Gibernau, Honda, 1:25.013
6. Jeremy McWilliams, Proton, 1:25.048
7. Troy Bayliss, Ducati, 1:25.070
8. Carlos Checa, Yamaha, 1:25.313
9. Marco Melandri, Yamaha, 1:25.324
10. Alex Barros, Yamaha, 1:25.339
11. Tohru Ukawa, Honda, 1:25.383
12. Makoto Tamada, Honda, 1:25.644
13. Shinya Nakano, Yamaha, 1:25.695
14. Nobuatsu Aoki, Proton, 1:25.822
15. Olivier Jacque, Yamaha, 1:25.879
16. Colin Edwards, Aprilia, 1:25.982
17. Noriyuki Haga, Aprilia, 1:26.008
18. Norick Abe, Yamaha, 1:26.034
19. Ryuichi Kiyonari, Honda, 1:26.115
20. Kenny Roberts, Suzuki, 1:26.152
21. John Hopkins, Suzuki, 1:26.383
22. Garry McCoy, Kawasaki, 1:26.571
23. Alex Hofmann, Kawasaki, 1:26.620
24. Andrew Pitt, Kawasaki, 1:27.541
25. David De Gea, ROC Yamaha, 1:28.764

Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

By Glenn Le Santo

Chambon emphatic at Brands

Stephan Chambon dominated the World Supersport race at Brands Hatch which was shortened by a second-to-last-lap crash involving Stefano Cruciani. Jurgen van den Goorbergh fought off a late charge by Klaffi Honda’s Sebastien Charpentier, but the podium positions could well have changed if the race had gone to full distance.

Karl Muggeridge got the holeshot, but Chambon slid up the inside into Druids on the first lap with van den Goorbergh in third and Championship points leader Chris Vermeulen in fourth. Both Ten Kate Honda riders were suffering with lack of drive after choosing a too-hard rear tire.

Fabien Foret reeled in Vermeulen on lap eight and it was clear that Vermeulen was struggling with drive out of corners.

Charpentier passd Muggeridge and set off after van den Goorbergh, but Cruciani’s crash and the subsequent red flag ended any last-lap attempts.

World Supersport Race Results:

1. Stephane Chambon, Suzuki GSX-R600, 21 laps, 31:28.121
2. Jurgen van den Goorbergh, Yamaha YZF-R6, -7.045 seconds
3. Sebastien Charpentier, Honda CBR600RR, -7.310 seconds
4. Karl Muggeridge, Honda CBR600RR
5. Fabien Foret, Kawasaki ZX-6RR
6. Chris Vermeulen, Honda CBR600RR
7. Christian Kellner, Yamaha YZF-R6
8. Jorg Teuchert, Yamaha YZF-R6
9. Katsuwaki Fujiwara, Suzuki GSX-R600
10. Alessio Corradi, Yamaha YZF-R6
11. Iain MacPherson, Honda CBR600RR
12. Tom Sykes, Yamaha YZF-R6
13. Pere Riba, Kawasaki ZX-6RR
14. Christophe Cogan, Honda CBR600RR
15. Broc Parkes, Honda CBR600RR
16. Stefano Cruciani, Kawasaki ZX-6RR
17. Matthieu Lagrive, Yamaha YZF-R6
18. Robert Ulm, Honda CBR600RR
19. Barry Veneman, Honda CBR600RR
20. Jamie Robinson, Yamaha YZF-R6

24. Thierry Vd Bosch, Yamaha YZF-R6
25. Werner Daemen, Honda CBR600RR, -10 laps, DNF
26. Simone Sanna, Yamaha YZF-R6, -13 laps, DNF
27. Dean Thomas, Honda CBR600RR, -20 laps, DNF

Fastest Lap: Stephane Chambon, 1:29.149


More, from a press release issued by Chris Vermeulen’s publicist:

CHAMPIONSHIP LEAD EXTENDS

A mature Chris Vermeulen has ridden to a conservative 6th placing in round 8 of the World Supersport Championship at Brands Hatch in England.

Starting from 4th on the grid, the young speedster wasn’t able to add to his winning total in 2003, however he did manage to out strip his nearest rival for the world crown.

Katsuaki Fujiwara finished in 9th spot to slip 38 points behind in the race for the title. Jurgen van den Goorbergh’s 2nd saw him move to outright 2nd in the series, 37 points behind the young Aussie.

“It wasn’t a win or the top 5 I was hoping for, but I did manage to extend my lead for the championship so that’s a real positive,” Vermeulen said.

With three rounds remaining, Vermeulen and his Tenkate Honda CBR600RR edged ever so close to the title, after the race was red flagged in the final lap due to a minor crash.

“We had a pretty good race package but just seemed to be a touch off the pace, no matter we get another month off to think about things and then it’s on to Assen. Another solid result there and the championship will be close.”

The series now enjoys a months break before resuming at Assen in the Netherlands on September 7.


More, from a press release issued by Honda racing:

HONDA’S CHARPENTIER SCOOPS FIRST PODIUM

Honda CBR600RR rider Sebastien Charpentier took his first World Supersport championship podium finish with third place in Sunday’s eighth round of the championship at Brands Hatch, GB.

Charpentier finished behind winner Stephane Chambon and runner-up Jurgen van den Goorbergh as he took the Klaffi CBR600RR machine to third place. He said: “I felt I could get a good finish today but you never really know until the race is under way.

“I got into third place and although the race was red-flagged with a lap to go I don’t really think I could have got ahead of van den Goorbergh, he looked smooth and in the end I was happy to take third place for my team.”

Ten Kate Honda’s Karl Muggeridge held second place in the early stages before settling for fourth place and 13 world championship points, the Australian commented: “I chose the wrong rear race tyre and within five laps the rear started spinning. From that moment on I just wanted to finish the race.”

Behind fifth-placed Fabien Foret came championship leader Chris Vermeulen, taking sixth place on his Ten Kate Honda to maintain a 37-point lead in the series with three rounds to go.

“I went for the wrong rear race tyre and I knew early on that the race was going to be a struggle,” said Vermeulen. “The temperature was a lot higher today and it caught us out with tyre choice. It’s disappointing but there are some races when finishing is important–today was one of those.”

The German Yamaha pairing of Christian Kellner and Jorg Teuchert finished seventh and eighth respectively with Suzuki’s Katsuaki Fujiwara ninth and Alessio Corradi 10th.

Iain MacPherson took the Van Zon Honda to 11th place despite brake trouble for the Scotsman, he explained: “My right arm pumped up after about nine laps when the brake was coming back to the handlebar, I was in agony at the end.”

The BKM pairing of Christophe Cogan and Broc Parkes completed the list of points scorers, taking 14th and 15th places respectively, Cogan said: “I found the race very difficult. The suspension didn’t feel quite right and, as soon as I let the brake off, the machine was moving around too much in the corner.”

Parkes commented: “I’ve had one of those weekends to forget. The exhaust developed a crack so I lost a little bit of power but I wanted to finish in the points and I just made it. In the last round I was in with a chance to win with five laps to go and then this weekend I’ve struggled ­ that’s supersport for you.”

Robert Ulm took 18th place on the second of the Klaffi Hondas, the Austrian rider admitted: “The feeling from the machine wasn’t quite right and I found it difficult to push hard. It really was a struggle throughout and that really sums up my weekend here.”

Van Zon Honda’s Werner Daemen escaped injury when he crashed out of the race on the 12th lap, the diminutive Belgian explained: “I was struggling to select third gear and the machine dropped back into second gear on the left-hander after Druids.”


More, from a press release issued by Ten Kate Honda:

Vermeulen extends championship lead by two points

Chris Vermeulen increased the gap at the top of the World Supersport Championship with a steady sixth place at Brands Hatch.

The title leader struggled for grip during the race after taking a tyre-choice gamble that didn’t pay off.

“Both myself and Karl chose a hard tyre for the race after the morning warm up,” explained Vermeulen. “Unfortunately morning warm up isn’t the best time to test tyres and the temperatures changed just enough for the race to make our choice the wrong choice.”

It was a similar story for Karl Muggeridge who finished a creditable fourth despite suffering the same grip problems.

“The tyre was awesome this morning so we really thought it would be the right one for the race,” said Karl. “I got a great start and the CBR600RR and the WP suspension were really working well and things felt good. But I soon realised we were in trouble because I just couldn’t match the other guys for drive out of the turns. I worked really hard going into the turns just to try and keep position.”

Although it wasn’t the result he was looking for, with no Ten Kate Honda riders on the podium, Team Manager Ronald ten Kate was satisfied. “Of course I prefer to win races,” he said, “but the main thing is the championship and we are still ahead even after a fourth and a sixth. We have two tests to complete prior to Assen so we’ll be arriving there fully prepared for the biggest race of the year for the team, at home in Holland in front of the fanatical Dutch crowd – we’re all really looking forward to it.”


More, from a press release issued by Yamaha Belgarda:

SUPER SECOND FOR JURGEN!
Team Yamaha Belgarda rider Jurgen van den Goorbergh took a superb second place at the eighth round of the Supersport World Championship at Brands Hatch today in front of over 120,000 spectators. Jurgen made a good start and was third at the end of the first lap and then charged past Karl Muggeridge (Honda) and into second on lap seven. But by then, Stephane Chambon (Suzuki) had already built up an advantage and Jurgen was unable to rein him in. The race was red-flagged two laps from the end, but Jurgen was comfortably in second at the time and that’s where he finished. Third went to Sebastien Charpentier (Honda), who also overtook Muggeridge, with Fabien Foret (Kawasaki) fifth and series leader Chris Vermeulen (Honda) sixth. But there was disappointment for Team Yamaha Belgarda rider Simone Sanna, who had a gearshift problem and went into the gravel trap at Druids corner and then crashed on lap nine. The Italian had not had a good qualifying and his tip-off was the end to a poor weekend.

JURGEN VD GOORBERGH ­ 2nd
I’m very happy to be on the podium again and I think we’re very close to our first win. This is the third time I’ve been second, so now it’s going to have be a win ­ maybe at my home track at Assen in the next round? My start was good and everything went pretty well except that Chambon got away at the beginning and we all couldn’t catch him. It is my first time here and although it’s a bit dangerous in places, the crowd makes it such a wonderful event. Fortunately the weather was much better today then the last couple of days and that helped us all. Now I am 37 points behind the series leader and it’s probably too difficult to catch him, but if I can’t do that I want to finish second. Now let’s go for a win ­at Assen!

SIMONE SANNA DNF
The crash ended what was a disappointing weekend for me. The track is spectacular but we never got enough good dry time to get to know it very well and find a good set-up. I think I had a gearshift or gearbox problem because I either found a false neutral or the wrong gear, but whatever happened I had to go straight on into the gravel at Druids and down I fell. There’s no more to say. I’d just like to forget about it.

RESULTS
1 Chambon (F-Suzuki), 2 Jurgen vd Goorbergh (NL-Yamaha Belgarda), 3 Charpentier (F-Honda), 4 Muggeridge (AUS-Honda), 5 Foret (F-Kawasaki), 6 Vermeulen (AUS-Honda), 7 Kellner (D-Yamaha), 8 Teuchert (D-Yamaha), 9 Fujiwara (J-Suzuki), 10 Corradi (I-Yamaha), Simone Sanna (I-Yamaha Belgarda) DNF

POINTS
1 Vermeulen 141, 2 Jurgen vd Goorbergh (NL-Yamaha Belgarda), 104, 3 Fujiwara 103, 4 Chambon 100, 5 Kellner 78, 6 Corradi 63, 7 Muggeridge 59, 8 Foret 54, 9 Riba and Teuchert 49, 17 Simone Sanna (I-Yamaha Belgarda) 18

Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Saturday Afternoon AMA Superbike Practice Times:

1. Kurtis Roberts, Honda RC51, 1:27.651
2. Mat Mladin, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:27.816
3. Aaron Yates, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:27.965
4. Miguel Duhamel, Honda RC51, 1:28.206
5. Ben Bostrom, Honda RC51, 1:28.752
6. Giovanni Bussei, Ducati 998RS, 1:29.275
7. Jordan Szoke, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:29.277
8. Steve Rapp, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:29.411
9. Chris Caylor, Suzuki GSX-R750, 1:30.691
10. Shawn Higbee, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:31.002
11. Geoff May, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:31.227
12. J.J. Roetlin, Suzuki GSX-R750, 1:32.593
13. Chris Voelker, Ducati 996, 1:32.810
14. Scott Jensen, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:35.054
15. Jeff Bostrom, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:35.431

Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

AMA Supersport Championship leader Jamie Hacking took pole position for Sunday’s AMA Supersport race at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course with a new lap record time of 1:29.406. Hacking’s time beat the old mark of 1:30.419 set by Tommy Hayden in 2001.

The top six Supersport qualifiers Saturday were all under the old lap record.


Provisional AMA Supersport Qualifying Results:

1. Jamie Hacking, Yamaha, 1:29.406
2. Ben Spies, Suzuki, 1;29.582
3. Damon Buckmaster, Yamaha, 1:29.924
4. Jason DiSalvo, Yamaha, 1:30.053
5. Miguel Duhamel, Honda, 1:30.105
6. Pascal Picotte, Yamaha, 1:30.342
7. Roger Lee Hayden, Honda, 1:30.421
8. Aaron Gobert, Yamaha, 1:30.597
9. Tommy Hayden, Kawasaki, 1:30.633
10. Jake Zemke, Honda, 1:30.698
11. Alex Gobert, Honda, 1:31.055
12. Lance Isaacs, Honda, 1:31.295
13. Marty Craggill, Honda, 1:31.474
14. Tony Meiring, Kawasaki, 1:31.518
15. Jamie Stauffer, Suzuki, 1:31.594
16. Chris Peris, Honda, 1:32.633
17. Chris Rankin, Honda, 1:32.635
18. Darren Luck, Suzuki, 1:33.263
19. Jason Curtis, Honda, 1:33.560
20. Giovanni Rojas, Yamaha, 1:34.308