Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

125cc Race Results:

1. Daniel Pedrosa, Honda, 19 laps, 40:59.354
2. Stefano Perugini, Aprilia, -3.961 seconds
3. Alex De Angelis, Aprilia, -10.454 seconds
4. Mika Kallio, KTM, -11.052 seconds
5. Hector Barbera, Aprilia, -12.351 seconds
6. Andrea Dovizioso, Honda, -12.968 seconds
7. Mirko Giansanti, Aprilia, -21.109 seconds
8. Gino Borsoi, Aprilia, -21.513 seconds
9. Youichi Ui, Aprilia, -24.841 seconds
10. Gioele Pellino, Aprilia, -34.942 seconds
11. Gabor Talmacsi, Aprilia, -35.213 seconds
12. Jorge Lorenzo, Derbi, -41.042 seconds
13. Masao Azuma, Honda, -41.362 seconds
14. Marco Simoncelli, Aprilia, -41.540 seconds
15. Mike De Meglio, Aprilia, -41.662 seconds

17. Roberto Locatelli, KTM, -43.010 seconds

29. Pablo Nieto, Aprilia, -8 laps, DNF
30. Thomas Luthi, Honda, -8 laps, DNF

32. Lucio Cecchinello, Aprilia, -10 laps, DNF
33. Steve Jenkner, Aprilia, -10 laps, DNF
34. Simone Corsi, Honda, -11 laps, DNF

125cc World Championship Point Standings:

1. Pedrosa, 162
2. Perugini, 137
3. Dovizioso, 112
4. De Angelis, 108
5. Cecchinello, 105
6. Jenkner, 98
7. Nieto, 88
8. Barbera, 78
9. Ui, 71
10. Stoner/Giansanti, TIE, 60


More, from a press release issued by KTM:

Flying Finn Mika Kallio Fourth in Painful KTM-Red Bull Debut

Flying Finn Mika Kallio rode through the pain barrier to finish a courageous fourth in a sensational debut race for the KTM-Red Bull Team. Kallio required the permission of the track doctor to start the race after receiving two pain killing injections in the fifth finger of his left hand which suffered a bone fracture and tendon damage in a Saturday qualifying crash. While over-joyed with this unexpected result Kallio will have no time to celebrate as he returns to Helsinki for an operation on his finger this Tuesday. The second KTM machine ridden by Roberto Locatelli finished 17th today.

Fourth in the Czech GP is the best career result for Kallio, the 20-year-old from Valkeakoski in Finland and the best performance so far by the new KTM squad. In 2002 Kallio was fifth in the Spanish GP. In last month’s British GP KTM had achieved 8th with Arnaud Vincent. After starting 17th Kallio stormed into 8th place on lap two and come on even stronger in the later stages to take advantage of opportunities presented to him over the final laps. From midway of the 19 lap race Kallio engaged fellow young guns Hector Barbera and Andrea Dovizioso in a tight battle for fifth before breaking clear to secure fourth and challenge the fast finishing Alex de Angelis for the final podium spot. Kallio missed the podium by just half a second.

#10 Roberto Locatelli
17th

I’m disappointed with my own result but congratulations to Mika for a great ride. This is a good result for the KTM team.

#36 Mika Kallio
4th

I didn’t expect this result after getting two injections in my hand before the start. I finally got permission from the doctor just before the start. I had my fifth and fourth fingers strapped together and it was very painful especially on the brakes and then when I was using the clutch. I’m so happy because I thought tenth was the best I could do before the race. The bike was perfect, especially the handling and if I could have gone with the front group early maybe an even better result was possible.

Harald Bartol
Team Manager

I’m very impressed with Mika today. After Friday practise I thought he could do a good job but then with the crash on Saturday and the bone and tendon damage to his finger I thought it would be a problem.

Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

250cc Race Results:

1. Randy De Puniet, Aprilia, 20 laps, 41:45.354
2. Toni Elias, Aprilia, -0.527 second
3. Manuel Poggiali, Aprilia, -0.951 second
4. Roberto Rolfo, Honda, -5.492 seconds
5. Sebastian Porto, Honda, -10.407 seconds
6. Fonsi Nieto, Aprilia, -10.875 seconds
7. Franco Battaini, Aprilia, -15.278 seconds
8. Sylvain Guintoli, Aprilia, -15.565 seconds
9. Naoki Matsudo, Yamaha, -32.752 seconds
10. Hector Faubel, Aprilia, -36.167 seconds
11. Hugo Marchand, Aprilia, -36.608 seconds
12. Eric Bataille, Honda, -50.700 seconds
13. Dirk Heidolf, Aprilia, -52.299 seconds
14. Chaz Davies, Aprilia, -52.870 seconds
15. Christian Gemmel, Honda, -53.063 seconds

20. Katja Poensgen, Honda, -119.070 seconds

27. Anthony West, Aprilia, -17 laps, DNF, mechanical
28. Erwan Nigon, Aprilia, -20 laps, DNF
29. Radomil Rous, Aprilia, -20 laps, DNF
30. Alex Debon, Honda, DNS

250cc World Championship Point Standings:

1. Poggiali, 145
2. Nieto, 136
3. Rolfo, 135
4. De Puniet, 130
5. Elias, 126
6. Battaini, 117
7. West, 104
8. Porto, 98
9. Matsudo, 67
10. Guintoli, 60


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

APRILIA RULES, POGGIALI INCREASES HIS SCORE ADVANTAGE

Just one detail to understand how hard won was the 250 race in Brno: in the last lap the three Aprilia riders – De Puniet, Elias and Poggiali, passed each others for 7 times. Manuel achieved the third position but he is not so satisfied even if the San Marino rider increased his score advantage on Fonsi Nieto who finished 6th today.

Manuel Poggiali: “The last lap has been simply great but dangerous as well. I was searching the victory but it’s hard to get it if in the last lap you must be careful because the other riders treat you like a skittle! I believe Elias’ behaviour was not correct and his passing are too extreme. We risked to crash both a couple of times. Anyway I hope to get more points in the next races and to beat him at Estoril. Moreover I already knew the Portuguese track as we tested there last winter. As always I do not want to say anything about the title because is not my objective”.

Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

MotoGP Race Results:

1. Valentino Rossi, Honda, 22 laps, 44:18.907
2. Sete Gibernau, Honda, -0.042 second
3. Troy Bayliss, Ducati, -0.668 second
4. Carlos Checa, Yamaha, -5.390 seconds
5. Max Biaggi, Honda, -8.729 seconds
6. Nicky Hayden, Honda, -11.043 seconds
7. Alex Barros, Yamaha, -11.439 seconds
8. Tohru Ukawa, Honda, -13.574 seconds
9. Makoto Tamada, Honda, -23.273 seconds
10. Marco Melandri, Yamaha, -26.404 seconds
11. Olivier Jacque, Yamaha, -26.685 seconds
12. Colin Edwards, Aprilia, -30.728 seconds
13. Noriyuki Haga, Aprilia, -39.531 seconds
14. Shinya Nakano, Yamaha, -41.240 seconds
15. Ryuichi Kiyonari, Honda, -44.623 seconds
16. Andrew Pitt, Kawasaki, -55.499 seconds
17. John Hopkins, Suzuki, -55.677 seconds
18. Garry McCoy, Kawasaki, -60.700 seconds
19. Alex Hofmann, Kawasaki, -68.130 seconds
20. Kenny Roberts, Suzuki, -74.524 seconds
21. Loris Capirossi, Ducati, -3 laps, DNF, mechanical
22. Jeremy McWilliams, Proton, -10 laps, DNF, mechanical
23. Nobuatsu Aoki, Proton, -11 laps, DNF, mechanical
24. Chris Burns, ROC Yamaha, -13 laps, DNF, mechanical
25. David De Gea, ROC Yamaha, DNS

MotoGP World Championship Point Standings:

1. Rossi, 212
2. Gibernau, 178
3. Baiggi, 141
4. Capirossi, 97
5. Bayliss, 96
6. Checa, 78
7. Ukawa, 74
8. Barros, 71
9. Hayden, 67
10. Nakano, 65
11. Jacque, 55
12. Tamada, 47
13. Edwards, 46
14. Haga, 33
15. Norick Abe, 24
16. Hopkins, 22
17. McWilliams, 18
18. Aoki, 17
19. Melandri, 15
20. Kiyonari, 14
21. McCoy/Hofmann, TIE, 8
23. Roberts, 7
24. Yukio Kagayama, 4
25. Pitt, 3


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

SCORE ZONE FOR COLIN AND NORI

After a complicate week end due to some chattering problems, the Alice Aprilia Racing Team found again the competitiveness during the race and both riders reached the score zone. The solution of the chattering problem has been found during the sessions and it has not been possible to work for the result. This race has been positive anyway for the points and the experience.

COLIN EDWARDS: “I made a good race probably the best of my career in MotoGP class. I do not feel satisfied about the final position but for the first 25 laps I had a good pace and a good feeling with the bike as well. There were a lot of riders to overtake but I did my best. In the end I had the same chattering problem again because the fuel tank was almost empty and the distribution of the weights changed so I lost some positions. Next days I will travel to Texas for a short holiday to recharge the batteries”.

NORIYUKI HAGA: “It was difficult to end the race: I have a big headache since yesterday. Moreover I made a mistake in the start so I had to recover many positions. Although the bike was jumping again in the end of the race I have been able to get many positions”.

GIGI DALL’IGNA (Project Leader): “As explained yesterday we worked in the warm up obtaining a good solution about the chattering problem. All my technicians and the Michelin staff made a good work. We feel satisfied about it even if we did not set up the bike for the race: we concentrated our efforts on that problem so we lost time. Checking the lap times of our riders we understood that they had a good pace and they lost time to overtake the others but this race has been helpful for us in order to get more information for the future”.


More, from a press release issued by Fortuna Yamaha:

CHECA CHALKS UP A BRILLIANT FOURTH IN BRNO GP SCORCHER

In one of the closest and most unpredictable races so far this season, Fortuna Yamaha Team rider Carlos Checa produced a brilliantly consistent 22-lap performance to finish fourth at today’s Czech Grand Prix. Checa was elated with his result, having started from the second row of the grid for today’s main event. The top five riders were covered by just 1.171 seconds at mid-race distance and the race win claimed by a mere 0.042 seconds by Valentino Rossi (Honda) from in-form Spaniard Sete Gibernau (Honda). With tactics thrown out the window from the outset – except for the desire to win – the leading pack put on a show where positions changed not only every lap but virtually every corner.

Checa’s start placed his Fortuna Yamaha YZR-M1 sixth into turn one, before the top seven set a pace that saw a gap build over the remaining MotoGP field. Then, as the intensity grew, ‘El Toro’ took the bull by the horns and, lap by lap, closed in on a podium result. He powered by Max Biaggi (Honda) on lap 12 and went by Loris Capirossi’s floundering Ducati as he retired with two laps remaining. Checa could not quite get close enough to strike at third-placed Australian Troy Bayliss, but claimed an excellent fourth on the day, and sixth place in the championship standings.

“Today had a taste of victory,” said Checa. “We have worked well all weekend and today was a successful day. My practice went quite well this morning, during the race I got some great lap times, and it was one of the best races ever. I was able to overtake Biaggi but only to follow the others. I made a small mistake at one point, when I went in too hard on the brakes, and lost a bit of time. I tried to catch the others but it was impossible. It’s the first race where I have been able to follow the leading group and ride consistently fast all race. Hopefully this is just the start of a confidence in set-up that will last me for the rest of the season and I’ll be looking to be on the podium next time.”

In what is becoming Marco Melandri’s forte, the Fortuna Yamaha Team rider made yet another lightning start to pounce from 17th on the grid to ninth by turn one. After a difficult qualifying performance it was just what the Italian needed. The 20-year-old MotoGP rookie then found himself in a scrap with Makoto Tamada (Honda) and Olivier Jacque (Gauloises Yamaha Team) until half race distance before securing a respectable tenth place.

“I just haven’t had a good feeling all weekend so this morning we lowered the geometry of the bike and it felt better,” explained Melandri, who celebrated his 21st birthday last week. “I trusted Fiorenzo (Fanali, Marco’s crew chief) and our Michelin man Daniel Croispine on tyre choice and settings for the race. I started well but just couldn’t really keep the pace in the early stages. Once the fuel load had gone down a bit I started going better and managed to get past Jacque, but Tamada was already too far ahead. Today our objective was to finish the race and get a better feeling from the bike after the terrible qualifying, so I think this was a pretty good result. I’m now looking forward to an extra day here for testing.”

Team Director Davide Brivio was happy with the team’s progress this weekend: “Congratulations to Carlos, he produced a good race. His pace was very consistent and it was as fast as the top riders, which was very important for us. We now need to move to the podium, but this race has given us some more confidence for the end of the season.

“Marco’s final position was tenth but we are very glad that he managed to finish the race and come out well from a very difficult weekend. He has faced many difficulties getting comfortable on the bike so he did well to finish with a solid result. I think this has been a good experience for him, to know that he can work his way through the difficulties and improve gradually. This weekend has been very demanding for the team and Yamaha, there has been a lot of extra work on set-up, so thanks to them.”


More, from a press release issued by Pramac Honda:

MAKOTO TAMADA MAKES TOP TEN IN FANTASTIC MID-AUGUST RACE

Makoto Tamada ended ninth in a race that was an important test-bed for gaining further experience. Makoto showed that he can put on a consistent performance and maintain the same pace from beginning to end. A bad start unfortunately meant he lost a number of places right at the beginning. This is a crucial moment in the race and one that the Japanese rider for the Pramac Honda Team must sort out as quickly as possible to make sure he no longer builds up a ten-second gap that is then very difficult to claw back. This is not a technical problem but is just due to the rider’s lack of experience.

During the race, Makoto had a lack of traction when coming out of the corners, and this often meant he was not able to make the most efficient use of the throttle. This was why the talented Japanese rider’s attempts to overtake when braking were often not successful: Makoto was simply not able to be aggressive enough when accelerating.

Every effort will be made to find the right settings for the rear of Makoto’ s bike during the circuit tests that the Pramac Honda Team will be carrying out tomorrow, here in Brno, in the sessions that have been on the books for some time now.

Makoto Tamada (Pramac Honda Team): 9th – 44:42.180

“There’s no doubt about it: I’ve just got to improve my start. I slip back and then it’s very hard to make up lost ground. Then I had the problem of a lack of grip at the rear when coming out of the corners, as I had to wait till the bike was not leaning down so much before opening up the throttle. When it’s like this, I can’t be as aggressive as I’d like. It means I lose all the advantage I gain when braking. I’m not satisfied with ninth place in today’s race. I wanted to do better, especially here in Brno, as it’s a track I really like. We’ll be working hard tomorrow to solve this problem: we’ve just got to find a way to deliver all the power of my RC211V’s engine down to the ground.”


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

HOPKINS SUFFERS SUB PAR DAY IN CZECH GRAND PRIX

BRNO, Czech Republic (Aug. 17, 2003) – John Hopkins experienced an off day in the Czech Grand Prix Sunday. The 20-year-old factory Suzuki rider finished a disheartening 17th despite riding as hard as he could on the final lap of the race in a futile attempt to pass Kawasaki’s Andrew Pitt. It marked the fourth time this season that Hopkins finished out of the points. Hopper finished 55 seconds behind winner Valentino Rossi.

Hopkins got a mediocre start in the race but managed to run in the points early before falling off the pace in the 22 lap Grand Prix. He ran his fastest lap around the 5.4 kilometer Brno Circuit on the second go around and somehow managed to find the speed to push his factory Suzuki GSV-R to his third fastest lap time on the final circuit during his chase of Pitt.

“It wasn’t a real good day,” said Hopkins, who at least improved on his DNF in the Czech event last year. “Kenny and I battled early on before he fell off the pace. I tried the best I could to hang on to the second Telefonica rider (Ryuichi) Kiyonari for a few laps but then the front end started pushing really bad and I couldn’t hold a line through the turns. We were really working the front end here.”

Hopkins spent most of the race in a frenetic effort to keep his ill-handling machine from running off the track exiting corners, but late in the race he was sparked by the goal of catching the Kawasaki factory machines. He battled and passed Garry McCoy with three laps to go and then tried to chase down McCoy’s teammate Pitt.

“On the last lap I decided I was going to either catch Andrew (Pitt) or crash trying,” Hopkins said with a grin. “I rode on the edge the entire lap and got right up to him, but every time I tried to get a good drive out of the corners the rear was just spinning.”

Hopkins said the team has exhausted all possible settings on the GSV-R and added the crew feels it will take a complete redesign to make the bike competitive.

“Right now we need to start looking to next year,” Hopkins conceded. “I’ll do my best the rest of this season and hopefully things will go our way a time or two, but the biggest factor will be what Suzuki does in the off-season to give us the major improvements we need to be competitive.”

Even though Hopkins scored no world championship points in Brno he remains 16th in the MotoGP standings. He will next race in Estoril, Portugal, in round 11 of the 16-race championship, on September 7.


More, from a press release issued by Harris WCM:

CZECH REPUBLIC GP

RACE DAY

David de Gea – DNS
“Many problems with the bike during warm-up today and big problems with the gearbox so I was not able to start the race. I am looking forward to testing the 4 stroke tomorrow and to the next race in Portugal.”

Chris Burns ­ DNF
“I am yet to finish a GP and I pulled into the garage after 9 laps today after the bike lost power lap after lap. We put in new pistons this morning so the bike would be stronger for the race, but I just got slower and slower each lap. The bike was worse then ever, unbelievably slow. All I can say is I hope for better things and I am really looking forward to Portugal.”

Peter Clifford ­ Team Manager
“Unfortunately David’s motorbike blew up in a big way in this morning’s warm up and in the race Chris’s bike suffered a mystery ailment. Unfortunately its not the best way to end our stop-gap run on the 2 strokes.”


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

Tough Race at Brno
Forward step but no result for Proton KR pair


Jeremy McWilliams: Did Not Finish
Nobuatsu Aoki: Did Not Finish

Team Proton KR will mark the Czech Republic GP as a step forward in the all-too-public development programme of their radical new V5 four-stroke prototype MotoGP bike. But a double non-finish at the fast and sweeping Brno circuit was a poor reward for riders and engineers, after weeks of flat-out work had yielded a marked overall improvement for the GP infant.

Nobuatsu Aoki retired after 11 laps of the race, round 22 laps of the 5.403km track; and team-mate Jeremy McWilliams lasted just one more lap before he also pulled into the pits. Aoki had a fuel delivery problems, and McWilliams was suffering a loss of rear grip.

But while the team was licking its wounds, engineers were also measuring data that showed not only what had gone wrong, but also what had got better, with a comprehensive round of improvements covering engine durability, power output and engine-braking management. Proton KR is testing more than racing, explained team owner Kenny Roberts, and each fresh race takes the project further along the road towards turning the five-race-old prototype into a fully fledged competitive challenger.

The race was a thriller, narrowly won by defending champion Valentino Rossi from Sete Gibernau (both Honda), avenging the defeat the defending champion suffered at Gibernau’s hands three weeks ago in Germany.

There are now two more weekends off before the next round at Estoril in Portugal, by when Proton KR expect to have consolidated the latest improvements, and added still more.

Jeremy McWilliams
I was using my second-best engine, and I don’t really know what happened. It was losing some power, and I wasn’t really racing, just riding around in 22nd position. I was going slower and slower each lap. Lack of rear grip was my biggest problem, and I wasn’t sure of the reason. I thought it might be that there was a bit of oil getting to the rear tyre, which is always a bit of a worry. In the end, I really didn’t see much point in carrying on.

Nobuatsu Aoki
I pulled into the pits after the sighting lap, but that was a scheduled stop. The team wanted to check something with a new engine management map they had fitted. When the race started, I was having fuel pump problems from the very first lap. I was wondering whether I should pull into the pits, but I decided to carry on for a while, but the power was dropping away, so in the end I pitted. That was after the rear wheel locked going into one of the corners and I ran off the track.

Chuck Aksland- Team Manager
It wasn’t a good result for the weekend, but some positive things have come out of it. We had a lot of new components to try to push development forward, and we learned a lot. The engine braking situation is a lot better. We need to increase the power again, but we’re making steps towards building a decent race bike. We did take a step this weekend, and that shouldn’t go unnoticed by everyone involved, including the riders.


More, from a press release issued by Ducati Corse:

Mixed feelings for dynamic Ducati Marlboro duo

Ducati Marlboro Team riders Troy Bayliss and Loris Capirossi played a starring role in this afternoon’s breathtaking Czech GP, Bayliss taking a brilliant third-place finish, Capirossi in the thick of the battle for victory until his bike stopped three laps from the finish.

“We have mixed feelings today,” said Ducati Marlboro Team director Livio Suppo. “In one way we can consider this our best race so far, because both our riders were fighting for the win and we thought that they could both finish on the podium for the first time, which shows that the bike is very good and getting better. Troy rode an unbelievable race, the improvement in his pace since Friday has been incredible. Of course we feel very sorry for Loris, he looked good, like he was waiting to attack on the last lap. We’re not yet sure what happened to his machine, but maybe it was an electrical fault. This is our first season in MotoGP, so it’s inevitable that we’ll have the occasional little problem. As always I’d like to thank everyone involved in the team and at the factory.”

Bayliss and Capirossi raced with the new frame they tried for the first time on Friday, the new unit’s efficacy proving the effectiveness of Ducati’s MotoGP test team. The pair also used new fairings, designed to boost engine performance and improve rider comfort. Both men will take part in a full day’s testing here tomorrow, when they will focus all their efforts on improving the new chassis still further.

Bayliss leads at Brno, finishes 0,668 seconds off victory

Ducati Marlboro Team rider Troy Bayliss rode his best race of his rookie MotoGP season at Brno today. Although the hard-riding Aussie had previously taken third in May’s Spanish GP and last month’s German GP, this is the closest he’s finished to the front since he joined the MotoGP circus. Bayliss led the first ten laps, then got stuck into several skirmishes with team-mate Loris Capirossi and Honda rivals Valentino Rossi and Sete Gibernau. As ever, he never gave in without a fight, finally crossing the line just 0.668 seconds down on winner Rossi.

“Loris and I have always had good starts this year, so I was hoping to be at the pointy end by turn one,” said ‘Baylisstic’, who used his Desmosedici’s awesome power to grab the holeshot from the second row of the grid. “I felt comfortable out front, I wasn’t pushing over the top, and I knew they’d come by some time, though when they did I was surprised they didn’t have more left in them. Maybe I should’ve had some more self-belief! This is a learning year for us, things are coming together slowly. Today I felt more comfortable on the bike than I’ve done for some while, and up front is where I think I should always be.”

Capirossi runs with leaders until minor fault ends his race

Loris Capirossi also rode a great race today, running with the leaders and waiting for the final laps to make his attack. But it wasn’t to be. Two and a half laps from the flag his Ducati Marlboro Team Desmosedici stopped with a suspected electrical fault. At the time Capirossi had been in third place, less than a second behind the leader.

“In the early stages I wanted to take things steady and conserve my tyres,” said the Italian who had qualified fourth fastest and ran fifth until half-distance when he overtook Max Biaggi (Honda). “I lost some time behind Max, but after I overtook him I was able to catch the three guys out front. I passed Troy and then I was waiting to unleash my challenge in the last lap or two – anything was possible in those final laps. Then the bike suddenly stopped. It’s a pity because we lost the chance of scoring another victory, but these things happen in racing. The main thing is that the bike is working really well, the new chassis is great and we know we should be able to fight for the win next time out.”


More, from a press release issued by Team Suzuki:

Both Suzukis finish at Brno

Brno, Czech Republic – Sunday, August 17, 2003: Team Suzuki riders John Hopkins and Kenny Roberts Jr. finished today’s Czech Republic GP in 17th and 20th positions, after a difficult afternoon dashed their hopes of claiming more World Championship points in the tenth round of the season.

Hopkins and 2000 World Champion Roberts had qualified on the fourth row of the grid, with Hopkins in particular hoping for a good finish at a favourite circuit.

The race brought bad fortune instead, with both riders caught up in the close pack from the start, and battling to regain ground. Then Roberts ran into an engine management glitch that prevented him from fighting for position, while tyre wear left Hopkins fighting a close but losing battle with his nearest rivals.

The 22-lap race, run in sunny conditions in front of a crowd of 44,000 fans at the spectacular 5.403km Brno circuit, was won by defending champion Valentino Rossi.

The Suzuki team are staying on at Brno for two days of testing, where French motorcycle racing hero and Suzuki Endurance Racing Team rider Jean Michel Bayle will be joining Roberts and Hopkins, to help with the task of taking the 990cc V4 GSV-R racing prototype’s closer to its full competitive potential.


John Hopkins– 17th Position
It was a bit iffy from the start, and I had a couple of close moments, which meant I didn’t get the start I wanted. After a few laps I got right behind Kenny, and when a couple of people came past us I tried to stay with them. We fixed the rear grip problem for the race, but the front was pushing and sliding all the way. The rear kinda dropped off to about half distance, then stayed consistent. Then with five or six laps to go the front really went away. In the last lap I really worked to get in front of Andrew Pitt – there weren’t any points in it, but I wanted to beat him anyway. I gave it everything I could, but made a couple of mistakes, and I just didn’t make it.

Kenny Roberts Jr. – 20th Position
The race went pretty much as I expected for the first few laps, then I got some sort of engine management problem that made it really erratic through and out of the corners. I don’t know the technical reason, but it just felt inconsistent, and it was very difficult to ride. Towards the end it seemed to fix itself and I was able to pick up my pace a bit, but then in the last laps the problem came back.


Garry Taylor – Team Manager
A bad day at the office. With all the work and effort the riders put in, as well as the team and the factory engineers, we really deserve better results. We have to keep focused, and concentrate on improving our situation.

“With all the work and effort the riders put in, as well as the team and the factory engineers, we really deserve better results. We have to keep focused, and concentrate on improving our situation.”


More, from a press release issued by Yamaha Racing:

Checa closing in on championship leaders

In one of the closest races and the most unpredictable this season so far – with the top five covered by only 1.171 seconds at mid race distance and the race win claimed by a mere 0.042 seconds – Fortuna Yamaha Team rider Carlos Checa produced a brilliantly consistent 22-lap performance to finish fourth at today’s Czech Grand Prix. The 30-year-old was elated with the result following a difficult start to the weekend, which placed the Spaniard on the second row of the grid for today’s main event. With tactics thrown out the window from the outset, except for the desire to win, the leading pack put on a show that saw positions changing not only every lap, but virtually every corner. This was a race run on the edge of out-of-control, and to survive was equal to a race win.

Checa’s start placed the factory YZR-M1 sixth into turn one, before the top seven set a pace that saw a gap build over the remaining MotoGP field. Then, as the intensity grew, ‘El Toro’ literally took the bull by the horns and, lap by lap, closed in on a podium result – powering past Max Biaggi (Honda) on lap 12, before taking advantage of Loris Capirossi’s floundering Ducati. The latter retiring with two laps remaining, leaving Checa to claim fourth on the day, and sixth place in the championship standings.

Although Valentino Rossi (Honda) took his fourth win of the year it has become increasingly clear the Italian will have to work hard to defend his MotoGP World Championship title this season after a determined effort by Sete Gibernau (Honda) – who has also claimed four wins this season – and third placed Troy Bayliss (Ducati).

Alex Barros (Gauloises Yamaha Team) completed the tenth round of the 2003 season with an admirable seventh place after tough qualifying sessions, during which he crashed on his final hot lap, and was left with a less than ideal start position. The Brazilian currently lies eighth in the championship, behind Tohru Ukawa (Honda) and Checa.

In what is becoming Marco Melandri’s forte, the Fortuna Yamaha Team rider made yet another lightening start to pounce from 17th on the grid to ninth by turn one. After a difficult qualifying performance it was just what the Italian needed. The 20-year-old MotoGP rookie then found himself in a scrap with Makoto Tamada (Honda) and Olivier Jacque (Gauloises Yamaha Team) until half race distance before securing a respectable tenth place.

Fortuna Yamaha Team
Carlos Checa 4th: “Today had a taste of victory. It was a successful day – my practice went quite well this morning, during the race I got some great lap times, and it was one of the best races ever. I was able to follow the others, but at a distance, and to overtake Biaggi. I made a small mistake at one point, when I went in too hard on the brakes, and lost a bit of time. I tried to catch the others but it was impossible. As I said, it’s a bit like a victory for us, as it’s the first race where I have been able to follow the leading group. Hopefully this is just the start of a confidence in set-up that will last for the rest of the season.”

Marco Melandri 10th:”I just haven’t had a good feeling all weekend so this morning we lowered the geometry of the bike and it felt better. I trusted Fiorenzo (Fanali, Marco’s crew chief) and our Michelin man (Daniel Croispine) on tyre choice and settings for the race. I started well but just couldn’t really keep the pace in the early stages. Once the fuel load had gone down a bit I started going better and managed to get past Jacque, but Tamada was already too far ahead. Today our objective was to finish the race and get a better feeling from the bike after the terrible qualifying, so I think this was a pretty good result. I’m now looking forward to an extra day here for testing.”

Gauloises Yamaha Team
Alex Barros 7th: “I made an OK start but seemed to spend a lot of the race behind Ukawa, watching Hayden pull away! Then three laps from the end I finally got past him for good and, if I had one more lap, I’m sure I could have overtaken Hayden. A couple more again and I would have taken Max. Still it was my fault; I should have woken up earlier in the race. In spite of that I feel pretty happy with how everything has gone. It was good to finally make it all the way to the finish line and feel comfortable on the bike. For that I have to thank my team and Michelin for the excellent work they did this weekend. Now I have another ‘mini-break’ during which I will be able to work on my fitness. Hopefully I’ll go to Portugal in top form and rearing to go.”

Olivier Jacque 11th: “I didn’t really enjoy myself much out there today. Straight away I could see that I lacked acceleration compared with the other Yamaha riders. That, combined with the fact that we never managed to solve our front-end chatter problem, meant that the race was pretty hard work.”

D’Antin Yamaha Team
Shinya Nakano 14th: “It was a difficult race for me, but I’m very happy to finish and take two points,” said Nakano. “I didn’t see my crash, yet, but I want to. During the race it was difficult to open the throttle in the turn where I crashed. It’s a pity because I was very confident for this race and I expected to get a good result. Now I’m going home to Barcelona for two weeks. I will have a rest to ensure I will be 100% at Estoril.”


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

Rossi scores Brno win after classic race

Valentino Rossi (Repsol Honda RC211V) had to ride at lap record pace to secure the win in a breathtaking Brno GP, and kept his absolute fastest lap for the very last. His new record of 1:59.966 even involved passing another rider, his race long companion and rival Sete Gibernau (Telefonica Movistar Honda RC211V).

Troy Bayliss (Ducati) was third after leading for the first ten laps, ending his race only 0.668 seconds behind Rossi.

For Rossi himself the race was a vindication of his self-belief after some relatively lowly results of late. “That was one of the best races of the year,” said the Italian. “For the first time we fought without tactics. Sometimes this year we have thought too much about the moves. Today there were four or five really fast guys who all wanted to be at the front. We pushed the bikes very hard and I made some mistakes. Sete made some and I crossed the line first. It was very special.”

Gibernau was full of praise for his rival, even in defeat. “Every race we have this year seems to be better than the other ones,” smiled Gibernau. “We are battling very hard and we tried 100% from the start. Congratulations to Valentino, he deserves it. Today he was the best – I tried my best to win, but he won. I heard that Valentino was in a crisis – I hoped he was in a crisis. If this is his crisis I do not want to know about it when he is not having a crisis!”

Having run with the leading bunch in the early laps, Brno specialist Max Biaggi (Camel Pramac Pons RC211V) slid down the order to finish fifth after experiencing turn in problems, running wide and almost losing the front. Biaggi was one place behind the Yamaha of Carlos Checa.

“This is certainly not a good result,” said Biaggi. “I did not enjoy riding and this has been a terrible race because I know I can go much faster at this track. At one stage I nearly fell but I jolted the handlebar with my left hand and that miraculously redressed the balance – but by that time Checa had overtaken me. I think the three hours we had in practice were not enough to set-up the bike correctly.”

The unhappy Biaggi was three seconds ahead of the quick learning Nicky Hayden (Repsol Honda RC211V) who held off the unwanted attentions of Alex Barros (Yamaha).

Another weekend of progress for Nicky Hayden was not enough to satisfy the young American’s hunger for success.
“Generally a positive weekend,” he acknowledged. “It was good being up the front in qualifying but this weekend I wanted a little more. I just seemed to be missing a little bit – me and t

From a press release issued by Pacific Track Time:

Robinson family is home and recovering after rollover crash

As many of you in the track day industry may have heard, Todd Robinson, his wife Mindy, and 3 of their children were injured on Interstate 5 on Sunday 8/10 in a rollover collision caused by a blowout on their 2000 Ford Excursion while on their way to a host a Pacific Track Time track event at Thunderhill Park in Willows, CA.

Todd was not breathing and was airlifted to University Medical Center in Fresno CA (about 130 miles north of the crash site). His wife and children were all stabilized at the scene and were transported via ground ambulance to the same location.

Todd sustained two broken ribs, a separated shoulder, a fractured skull, severe facial lacerations and blood loss. His wife Mindy broke several vertebra (C1-C2-C3) but was fitted with a halo and is recovering well.

Their three young children (affectionately called the “water nazis” by their track riders) had various fractures and lacerations of a more minor nature.

As of Friday, 8/15 all 5 family members have returned home and are recuperating well and regaining mobility with Todd rejoining shop staff at Cal-Sportbike starting on Saturday 8/16. The Robinsons ask that you NOT call, rather emails can be sent to Todd at [email protected] or cards/flowers may be sent to: POB 518 / 5966 Cedar Street Wrightwood, CA 92397.

The Robinsons would like to extend a warm thank you to everyone who responded from those who visited them in the ICU to volunteers who helped run Cal-Sportbike’s Wrightwood shop for a couple days.

Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

MotoGP Final Qualifying Results:

1. Valentino Rossi, Honda, 1:58.769
2. Sete Gibernau, Honda, 1:58.899
3. Max Biaggi, Honda, 1:58.908
4. Loris Capirossi, Ducati, 1:58.916
5. Carlos Checa, Yamaha, 1:59.295
6. Troy Bayliss, Ducati, 1:59.373
7. Nicky Hayden, Honda, 1:59.432
8. Tohru Ukawa, Honda, 1:59.629
9. Alex Barros, Yamaha, 1:59.765
10. Makoto Tamada, Honda, 2:00.145
11. Olivier Jacque, Yamaha, 2:00.165
12. Colin Edwards, Aprilia, 2:00.627
13. John Hopkins, Suzuki, 2:00.740
14. Shinya Nakano, Yamaha, 2:00.800
15. Ryuichi Kiyonari, Honda, 2:00.862
16. Kenny Roberts, Suzuki, 2:00.891
17. Marco Melandri, Yamaha, 2:00.892
18. Noriyuki Haga, Aprilia, 2:01.303
19. Garry McCoy, Kawasaki, 2:01.320
20. Alex Hofmann, Kawasaki, 2:01.753
21. Jeremy McWilliams, Proton, 2:01.809
22. Andrew Pitt, Kawasaki, 2:01.994
23. Nobuatsu Aoki, Proton, 2:02.704
24. David De Gea, ROC Yamaha, 2:04.638
25. Chris Burns, ROC Yamaha, 2:05.083


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

HOPKINS ENCOURAGED BY IMPROVMENTS IN BRNO QUALIFYING

BRNO, Czech Republic (Aug. 16) – Suzuki MotoGP rider John Hopkins was encouraged by the progress made by his team Saturday in qualifying for the Czech Grand Prix at the Brno Circuit. Hopkins qualified the factory Suzuki GSV-R on the fourth row (13th position) with a time of 2:00.740. World Champion Valentino Rossi won the pole with a time of 1:58.769.

“We’ve made a lot of progress since the German Grand Prix,” Hopkins said. “I qualified a half-second slower than I did here last year and that’s a bit disappointing, but at least we seemed to be finding some solutions to problems that have plagued me all year. The big issue we have here in Brno is rear tire grip. We tried some things that made that better, but it compromised the bike’s turning ability. I think we’re close to finding a good set-up. We’ve got a 20 minute session tomorrow morning to get things sorted out.”

Hopkins said he enjoys the Brno Circuit.

“It’s a long flowing track,” he explained. “You’ve got to hit your marks and when you get it right it’s a good feeling. It has a good combination of turns and elevation changes. It’s a fun place to ride.”

Hopkins is feeling very fit and ready after the break in the schedule. He traveled home to Southern California during the break and put in some intense motocross training that he hopes will pay off during the long GPs.

“I feel refreshed and ready to go,” he added. “In addition to motocross riding, I did a lot of hours on my bicycle and I’m in the best shape of my life right now.”

Hopkins is eager to race on Sunday.

“If we find the proper set-up I think we have a good shot at a top-10 finish.”

Hopkins qualified seventh at Brno last year, but his Yamaha suffered mechanical problems during the race and he did not finish.


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

TENTH QUICKEST, MAKOTO TAMADA MAKES GOOD POSITION ON GRID

By the time the qualifying sessions for the starting grid line-up came to an end, Makoto Tamada had secured a good overall position. This means he will be starting from the third row in tomorrow’s race. In the morning, Makoto had made a good improvement on the time he posted yesterday, while in this afternoon’s sessions he waited for the closing moments before going for his best lap time. Up to then, the Pramac Honda Team’s Japanese rider had worked on finding the right choice of tyres for the race, and this had kept the team technicians and Bridgestone staff very busy.

Makoto had been complaining that insufficient traction when coming out of the most important corners had made it difficult for him to be fast on the Brno circuit. The Bridgestone materials tried out here in the Czech Republic during the tests one month ago proved to be the most suitable and they solved the problem that Makoto had encountered. As well as starting from a good position on the grid, Tamada also appears to be able to maintain a good pace, and this should enable him to be consistently fast during the race.

Makoto Tamada (Pramac Honda Team): 10th – 2:00.145

“I feel I’m pretty close to the limit, so I don’t have much room for improvement any more. This means I’m going to have to find a constant pace tomorrow so as to be competitive right through to the end. However, I’d also like to go into attack mode, especially because this circuit gives lots of opportunities and there are plenty of places where it’s possible to go for your adversaries when braking. The most suitable tyres turned out to be the ones we tried out during the recent tests in July and, quite frankly, considering how fast I went during those tests, I really had been hoping to be a bit more competitive now. For the moment, I haven’t been. But we’ll see how things turn out tomorrow. During most of the session today, I didn’t have enough grip on the rear wheel when coming out of the corners.”


More, froma press release issued by Harris WCM – Moto GP Team:


CZECH REPUBLIC GP

SATURDAY QUALIFYING SESSION

David de Gea – 24th 2:04.638

“Many problems with the bike, the crankshaft broke this morning and I started late in this afternoon’s session as the mechanics were still working on the bike. The clutch was also sliding during this qualifying session. We have a clear direction on what we are doing with the rear tyre for the race and we have a good choice for the front tyre.

We have many problems with this bike, but next race we will be on the 4 stroke, so its only one more day on this bike.”

Chris Burns ­ 25th 2:05.083

“We have a good race set up for tomorrow after sorting out a few chassis problems this moring in practice. The race tyres are good from Dunlop and we are working tonight on a few issues with the steering.

I am still sore, real sore in my collarbone area, but its strong enough for me to race, I just have to take it a bit steadier than usual and ride within myself a bit, Its hard though, once you are out on the track to think like that.

Hopefully, I will finish this race, I have to finish.”

Peter Clifford ­ Team Manager

“Both guys did a superb job throughout practice and I really don’t think there is anything more to come from their motorcycles. A real achievement for the guys to go so quick on the equipment we’ve got without making any mistakes.

A big thank-you to Dunlop for giving us such superb tyres as well.”


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

CZECH REPUBLIC GP/ SECOND QUALIFYING SESSION

A POSITIVE SESSION

The chattering problems that slowed down the Alice Aprilia Racing Team riders in yesterdays session have been reduced. The Team worked hard with good results. There’s a bit of regret for the time lost yesterday but the warm up session will be helpful in order to achieve a good level. Then Colin and Haga will do the best to catch the firsts.

COLIN EDWARDS: “The chattering problem we had yesterday has been reduced but there’s still a lot of work to do. I still have some doubts regarding some technical solutions but I hope to get the right choice in the warm up session”.

NORIYUKI HAGA: “Something improved but I was not able to get the lap time as I thought. I am sorry about the loss of a complete session because of the chattering problem”.

GIGI DALL’IGNA (Project Leader): “We took a step forward but we are still searching the right setting: we want to increase our competitiveness during the warm up tomorrow. There are several solutions to solve the chattering problem: distribution of the weights and the forks set-up. We must find the correct solution without ruining the setting”.


More, from a press release issued by Fortuna Yamaha:

CHECA EDGED OFF FRONT ROW IN LAST MINUTE RESHUFFLE

It was a tale of drama for the Fortuna Yamaha Team during day two of the Czech Republic Grand Prix today. Team-mates Carlos Checa and Marco Melandri were hindered respectively by a snapped drive chain and yet another low speed crash, during today’s final qualifying session in Brno. Despite the unexpected setback, and a long run pushing the bike back to pit lane during the closing stages of the session, Checa managed to find a 1.387 second improvement over his best time yesterday. Checa will now head the second row in tomorrow’s 22-lap race.

Checa’s greatly improved form gave him a best lap time today of 1:59.295, however this personal best was still 0.526 seconds shy of Valentino Rossi’s (Honda, 1:58.768) fastest ever official lap of the Czech circuit. Following yesterday’s first timed session the 30-year-old Spaniard was confident he would break into the 1:59s, and as today’s session progressed he placed the YZR-M1 on the front row with the second fastest lap. But then, with only one minute remaining, Sete Gibernau (Honda, 1:58.899), Max Biaggi (Honda, 1:58.908) and Loris Capirossi (Ducati, 1:58.916) all broke into the 1:58s in an effort to keep defending MotoGP World Champion Rossi within reach, relegating Checa to the second row. Despite this the Spaniard is pleased with the team’s performance and is looking forward to a competitive race.

“I’m very happy to have done this lap time, which is my best ever here,” explained the Spaniard. “I have to admit that I didn’t think I had gone that fast during the lap. It’s a shame not to be on the front row, but we’ve worked very well here and the most important thing is to feel ready for the race. We’ve worked with a base set-up with fairly small modifications and a few little engine improvements. We’ve got the chassis well balanced. The race will not be easy, for sure. We still have our limitations, but we’re working well and I hope we can be more and more competitive as we head into the last part of the season.

“The hardest thing for me today was pushing the bike back along the whole length of the pit lane after I lost my chain! I guess that will help my fitness for a long race tomorrow! If I can keep the rear stable tomorrow and put in consistent lap times I hope we can get a good result.”

A brilliant third place qualifying result in Donington and impressive race performances amongst the top three riders in both the British and German Grands Prix provided a glimpse of the talent that lies within Melandri. Unfortunately the young Italian slid off during both onslaughts. Since returning from his three week summer break the 20-year-old has had difficulty finding his former confidence with his YZR-M1 machine. The MotoGP rookie tumbled off for the second time this weekend, in the opening segment of today’s final session. As a result the 250 World Champion was unable to improve on his Friday performance, a 2:00.800, and now languishes back in 17th place – 2.123 seconds behind pole.

“I have fallen off twice over the past two days and I don’t know exactly why,” said the slightly despondent Italian. “I’m still not confident with the front, and today I lost the front on the exit of T9 and slid off. My feeling with the bike this weekend is like I am riding it for the first time. I couldn’t follow the other riders and I ran too wide in all the corners. I’m disappointed because I’ve been in the front group at the past two races. Hopefully I will be able to get up front, like I did in Sachsenring, despite not having a great grid position.”

Team Director Davide Brivio commented, “We’re quite pleased with Carlos who has improved a lot today compared to yesterday, in fact by more than a second. He has made good progress this weekend, despite the small inconvenience this afternoon when his chain broke. That was very strange because it’s never happened before. Carlos should be in good shape to make a good race and stay amongst the top riders.

“Unfortunately Marco had a small tumble again and never really felt comfortable. When we tested here last month he felt quite good but for some reason this time it’s not going as he would have liked, and we’re not exactly sure why. We will try again tonight to make some improvements but it could be quite a difficult race for him.”


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

Brno Final Qualifying
Aoki moves forward, McWilliams hits problems

Jeremy McWilliams: 21st, 2:01.809
Nobuatsu Aoki: 23rd, 2:02.704

Team Proton KR rider Nobu Aoki made a significant step ahead in today’s final qualifying session for tomorrow’s Czech Republic GP, cutting almost 1.5 seconds off his lap time by adapting his riding style to help the radical new V5 four-stroke Proton KR V5 round the 5.403km Brno circuit.

The Japanese rider had been plagued by rear-wheel slides on the corner entries, and although chassis geometry changes improved his situation, it was not by a significant amount. Aoki tried a different approach, going into several corners a gear higher than previously. It cost him some acceleration on the exit, but the faster entries more than made up for it, with a valuable lap time improvement.

The new bike is still in its infancy, lining up for only its fifth race in a fast-forward development programme that is perforce taking place in public. Jeremy McWilliams’s Saturday afternoon experience illustrated the possible pitfalls, when one of his two bikes suffered an entirely unexpected primary gear failure, while the other had clutch problems. He did only one slow lap in the hour-long session, and had to be content with the lap time he set yesterday.

At the same time, forward progress of the new machine continues on an almost day by day basis, with new ideas and solutions constantly being factored in to the equation. The 990cc V5 took a significant step in the break before this race, with more power and improved durability. Further detail changes from yesterday to today have yielded another noticeable improvement for McWilliams, although mechanical gremlins stopped him from exploiting it.

Pole position on the second-closest-ever front row went to defending champion Valentino Rossi, with a flying lap in the closing minutes of practice.

Jeremy McWilliams
That was an easy afternoon – I only did one lap! But I’m not getting upset about it. It’s one of those things. Though I am a little annoyed that I couldn’t improve my time, because some changes overnight meant it was going to be a bit easier. I tried them this morning, but in the afternoon I had a problem on my better bike on my first lap. We got the spare bike set up the same way, but found there was a clutch problem with that one, so that was that. The changes help the bike turn in to the corners. It feels more like a two-stroke now. We just need a little more speed, and we’re a long way further ahead than when we started.

Nobuatsu Aoki
We made a small chassis modification – longer triple clamps on the front forks that shifted the weight a little bit towards the rear. That worked pretty well, but the biggest difference was that I changed my way of riding. I used third gear instead of second into a lot of the corners. In second, it was impossible to stop the rear sliding, but staying in third it was much easier. Of course the rpm were lower, so it was a kind of a compromise and the corner exits were not so good. I would prefer the better responses of higher rpm, but the total lap time was better. We did try a slightly lower ratio third gear, but we ran out of options. We should have more gearing possibilities for the next race.

Kenny Roberts – Team Owner
We’re not ready to race yet – far from it. Jeremy had a primary gear fail for some reason, and problems on the other bike. But we’re still testing, and that’s what happens when you’re testing. The performance is better, but it’s not in race condition yet.


More, from a press release issued by Camel Pramac Honda Pons:

Max Biaggi and Tohru Ukawa optimistic going into tomorrow’s race

Max Biaggi was unable to maintain yesterday’s position at the head of the starting grid, but the Camel Pramac Pons rider will start the Czech Republic Grand Prix, the tenth race of the MotoGP World Championship taking place tomorrow, from the front row of the grid. As has been the case in his previous ten outings at the Brno Circuit, Biaggi was among the fastest and not even a fall in the fourth minute of the session kept him out of the leading positions, underlining his real chances for the important race tomorrow. Elsewhere, there was great equality between the other riders with the top four being separated by only 147 thousandths of a second. Tohru Ukawa, who also improved on his time by over half a second from Friday, will start the race from the second row of the grid and is confident of scoring his first podium finish of the season at a track where he has finished in the top five in the last two seasons.

3rd Max Biaggi
“I crashed on my second lap out because I saw that the bike in front was smoking and losing oil so I probably fell when I hit an oil patch on the track This incident forced me to use the second bike for the rest of the session. I did not feel as comfortable with this bike and for this reason I set a realitively discreet time. However I know that I can go quicker and this gives me confidence for the race”.

8th Tohru Ukawa
“I improved notably on my times from Friday but clearly it is not enough. I have a good feeling with the bike though, and I hope to make a good start and stay with the leaders. I am not concerned about starting from the second row of the grid at this circuit with these characteristics and I am certainly motivated although I know that we must work more during warm-up on the correct tyre-choice for the race as the hot conditions are complicated for the tyres.”

Sito Pons:
“I think that Max is in a good position to have a good race as he has a clear idea already about the tyres and settings to use for the race. The fall he suffered early in the session had an effect on his times and we have had very little time to set up the new engine parts. In this respect the training session scheduled here for Monday will be of great help in optimizing the performance of the bike. The differences between the riders is minimal and, even though he is on the second row of the grid, Tohru has a lot of pace and has shown that he has improved greatly on his performances in previous races. I think he is also in a good position to have a good race tomorrow and has a chance of finishing on the podium”.


More, from a press release issued by Ducati Corse:

Ducati Marlboro men grab first-and second-row starts

Ducati Marlboro Team riders Loris Capirossi and Troy Bayliss rode to first and second-row grid positions in baking-hot conditions at Brno this afternoon, putting the whole team in confident mood for tomorrow’s Czech GP.

The second day of practice and qualifying at this challenging high-speed track proved the efficacy of a new chassis being used for the first time by the team. The new unit features optimised stiffness for improved performance during direction changes, an aspect of handling that the team’s engineers have been working on for some while. Bayliss set his fastest lap with the new chassis, Capirossi was also delighted with the improvement, though he was unable to use that bike for his fastest end-of-session run after it encountered a minor technical glitch.

“We’re very happy,” announced Ducati Marlboro Team technical director Corrado Cecchinelli. “The first and second rows is a great qualifying result for our first GP here, and we’re feeling confident for the race because we’ve been working on race performance rather than one-off qualifying laps. Both riders like the new chassis, which has improved stiffness and is slightly lighter than the previous unit. Loris would’ve used it for his final run but the bike stopped, probably due to an electrical fault. There’s not a night-and-day difference between the two chassis, but we can already say it’s not worse than the existing chassis! We’ve not made a final decision for the race but it’s possible that both guys will use the new unit.”

Fourth-Quickest Capirossi predicts trilling race

Loris Capirossi had a productive second day of practice today, qualifying fourth quickest while focusing his efforts on the new chassis. The Ducati Marlboro Team man cut 0.823 seconds from his Friday best to grab a front-row start in a frantic final qualifying session, during which track temperature soared to 44 degrees. Capirossi’s best lap was just 0.147 seconds off pole, producing one of the closest front rows in MotoGP.

“We worked very hard and very well today,” said the Italian. “We’ve got the new chassis working really nicely, I was using that bike until we had a little problem with it this afternoon, after which I switched to my other machine, riding my fastest lap with that bike. We’ve made some big improvements since we tested here last month, but I know that tomorrow’s race is going to be really tough, because it’s so hot here and because there are four or five of us running a very similar pace. Anyway, it should be an exciting race for everyone!”

Bayliss goes 1.8 seconds faster to qualify sixth

Ducati Marlboro Team rider Troy Bayliss rode a superb second day of qualifying at Brno today. The Australian, who has never raced here, ended day one on the fourth row, improving to the second row this afternoon after cutting a massive 1.830 seconds off his Friday best.

“We made slow progress today but we got there in the end,” said a delighted Bayliss, who ended up just 0.604 seconds off pole. “We spent most of this afternoon’s session on race tyres and the times came when we fitted a softer rear – I did three 1m 59s in a row, which is good. I got into a groove and things finally clicked, I’m really happy. The difference between the two chassis isn’t chalk and cheese, but the new one is definitely a little better in direction changes.”


More, from a press release issued by Team Suzuki:

Roberts Slashes Lap Time to Move up at Brno

Brno, Czech Republic – Saturday, August 16, 2003: Team Suzuki riders John Hopkins and Kenny Roberts Jr. will start tomorrow’s Czech Republic GP from the fourth row of the grid, after both improved their lap times in today’s second and final qualifying session, held in bright sunshine and warm conditions at the sweeping Brno circuit.

Hopkins qualified 13th, after cutting half a second off his previous best lap time, maintaining the provisional grid position gained yesterday.

Roberts made a huge leap forward, slashing more than 2.5 seconds off his first-day time to move from a lowly 22nd position up to 16th, on the same row as his younger team-mate.

Brno is one of the longest tracks of the year, with a lap time of more than two minutes. Even so, times were very close, with the front row covered by 0.147 seconds, the second-closest front row in GP history. Hopkins was less than two seconds off pole, and Roberts only just over that.

Roberts’s day went smoothly, as he carved away at his lap time. It was Hopkins’s turn to run into problems, as his squad worked to improve a rear-wheel grip problem he complained of yesterday. But he ended the afternoon running faster, and hopes to tie up a few remaining loose ends in tomorrow morning’s warm-up session.

Sunday’s race is the tenth in the 16-round series, and comes in the middle of the summer break, with two more weekends off before the next round in Portugal.

John Hopkins – 13th Position, 2:00.740
We made a bit of an improvement on race tyres – but only in one area, and that compromised other areas, so overall there was no improvement. We improved the rear grip so I can come out of the turns better, but that meant I was losing time on the way in. I need to go over things with Stu (Shenton, race engineer) to see if we can change that. We’re a little behind, after losing yesterday morning’s session because the track was wet, and at the end I went back to the original set-up, put in a new tyre, and went for it. I have some things to try tomorrow, and I’m still undecided on choice of race tyre, so we have some work to do tomorrow morning. But I’m looking forward to the race, and still aiming for the top ten.

Kenny Roberts Jr. – 16th Position, 2:00.891
Everything went smoothly today. As I said in Germany, there are a couple of guys in front of us who are probably a little slower, and a couple behind who should be faster. Without really trying anything silly, it’s about the grid position I expected. For the race, I’ll try to make something fun out of it, or something interesting, anyway. There’s nothing really new or different for this race, so I’ll try and stay out of trouble for the first three or four laps. This track is one where everything seems to take forever. You’re always on your side and trying to get the thing to steer, no matter if you’re in first or 25th. The team did a good job today getting the bike a little better than when we started.

Garry Taylor:Team manager
Both riders are in good spirits and looking forward to the race. I am sure that as always they will give of their best, and get the best possible result.


More, from a press release issued by Yamaha Racing:

Checa turns a day of drama into a fifth place start

It looked like a tale of drama for Yamaha during day-two of the Brno Grand Prix when a dramatic high-speed crash, during the early stages of practice, claimed Shinya Nakano (d’Antin Yamaha Team) – putting him out of action for this afternoon’s final qualifier. Marco Melandri (Fortuna Yamaha Team) and Alex Barros (Gauloises Yamaha Team) were two other victims of the Brno circuit, both escaping injury when they went down, while a snapped drive chain hindered Carlos Checa’s (Fortuna Yamaha Team) progress. Yet despite this unexpected setback, and a long run pushing the bike back to pit lane, Checa managed to find a 1.387 second improvement over his Friday best and will now head the second row in tomorrows 22-lap race.

Checa produced an impressive performance during the final qualifying session – in the form of a 1:59.295 – yet, despite clocking a personal best, he was still 0.526 seconds shy of Valentino Rossi’s (Honda, 1:58.768) benchmark. Following yesterday’s first timed session the 30-year-old Spaniard was confident he’d break into the 1:59s, and as the session progressed Checa placed the YZR-M1 on the front row with the second fastest lap. But then, with only one minute remaining, Sete Gibernau (Honda, 1:58.899), Max Biaggi (Honda, 1:58.908) and Loris Capirossi (Ducati, 1:58.916) all broke into the 1:58s in an effort to keep defending MotoGP World Champion, Rossi, within reach – relegating Checa to the second row. Despite this the Spaniard is pleased with the team’s performance and is looking forward to a competitive race.

Although frustrated, after missing an opportunity to place the Gauloises Yamaha Team YZR-M1 on the second row when he crashed out of contention on the final lap, Barros is reasonably confident he’ll put in a respectable show tomorrow, even after starting as far back as ninth on the grid (1:59.765).

Meanwhile Nakano placed himself 14th fastest, despite missing the second session due to a frighteningly fast crash in practice, which saw the likeable Japanese hit the circuit tyre wall at nearly 200kmh after highsiding his 220-horsepower machine. Although battered and bruised, Nakano escaped relatively unhurt, but spent the afternoon at the Brno University Hospital just as a precaution. He will attempt the morning warm-up before making a final decision on whether he will race or not.

A brilliant third place qualifying result in Donington, and impressive top three race performances in both the British and German MotoGPs – despite eventually crashing out – provided a glimpse of the talent that lies within Melandri. But for reasons beyond explanation this impressive learning curve did not continued during the two days of qualifying in the Czech Republic. With little confidence in the way he has ridden the YZR-M1 since returning from his three week summer break the 20-year-old MotoGP rookie crashed, yet again, in the opening segment of the final session. As a result the 2002 GP250 World Champion was unable to improve on his Friday performance, a 2:00.892, and now languishes back in 17th place – 2.123 seconds behind pole.

Fortuna Yamaha Team
Carlos Checa 5th, 1:59.295: “I’m very happy to have done this lap time, which is my best ever here. I have to admit that I didn’t think I had gone that fast during the lap. It’s a shame not to be on the front row, but we’ve worked very well here and the most important thing is to feel ready for the race. We’ve worked with a base set-up with fairly small modifications and a few little engine improvements. We’ve got the chassis well balanced. The race will not be easy, for sure. We still have our limitations, but we’re working well and I hope we can be more and more competitive as we head into the last part of the season.

“The hardest thing for me today was pushing the bike back along the whole length of the pit lane after I lost my chain! I guess that will help my fitness for a long race tomorrow! If I can keep the rear stable tomorrow and put in consistent lap times I hope we can get a good result.”

Marco Melandri 17th, 2:00.892: “I have fallen off twice over the past two days and I don’t know exactly why. I’m still not confident with the front, and today I lost the front on the exit of T9 and slid off. My feeling with the bike this weekend is like I am riding it for the first time. I couldn’t follow the other riders and I ran too wide in all the corners. I’m disappointed because I’ve been in the front group at the past two races. Hopefully I will be able to get up front, like I did in Sachsenring, despite not having a great grid position.”

Gauloises Yamaha Team
Alex Barros 9th, 1:59.765: “It is a pity that I fell just before the end of the session, as I was on target to improve my time and would have almost certainly finished on the second row. Still, that aside, I’m pretty happy with how everything has gone so far this weekend. I haven’t been fit for quite a while now, and although I still have some pain in my shoulder, I feel much better than I did at Sachsenring. I’m also pretty happy with how we have set up the bike and overall I feel confident for the race. It is obviously difficult to say how it is going to go, but hopefully I can make a good start and stay with the front group. It will be difficult to fight with Valentino, Max and Sete, but I think I should be battling with the riders just behind them.”

Olivier Jacque 11th, 2:00.165: “We went back to the old spec’ forks, but still haven’t managed to eliminate the front-end chatter that has been plaguing us yesterday. It is causing the bike to run wide in the corners and costing me quite a lot of time. It is strange because I have never suffered from this problem before, especially since we switched to the four-stroke. Having tried pretty much everything we can think of, as far as the suspension is concerned, I think we’ll now have to start looking at the chassis to see if we can find a solution for the warm-up.”

D’Antin Yamaha Team
Shinya Nakano 14th, 2:00.800: “I can only remember that I found Tohru Ukawa in front of me, running

Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Saturday Morning MotoGP Practice Times:

1. Valentino Rossi, Honda, 1:58.840
2. Loris Capirossi, Ducati, 1:59.448
3. Sete Gibernau, Honda, 1:59.533
4. Max Biaggi, Honda, 1:59.720
5. Nicky Hayden, Honda, 1:59.856
6. Carlos Checa, Yamaha, 2:00.180
7. Tohru Ukawa, Honda, 2:00.382
8. Alex Barros, Yamaha, 2:00.432
9. Makoto Tamada, Honda, 2:00.745
10. Troy Bayliss, Ducati, 2:00.913
11. Shinya Nakano, Yamaha, 2:01.028
12. Ryuichi Kiyonari, Honda, 2:01.145
13. Colin Edwards, Aprilia, 2:01.244
14. Olivier Jacque, Yamaha, 2:01.489
15. John Hopkins, Suzuki, 2:01.555
16. Kenny Roberts, Suzuki, 2:01.687
17. Noriyuki Haga, Aprilia, 2:01.690
18. Marco Melandri, Yamaha, 2:01.763
19. Jeremy McWilliams, Proton, 2:02.185
20. Andrew Pitt, Kawasaki, 2:02.445
21. Alex Hofmann, Kawasaki, 2:02.458
22. Garry McCoy, Kawasaki, 2:02.564
23. Nobuatsu Aoki, Proton, 2:04.518
24. David De Gea, ROC Yamaha, 2:06.499
25. Chris Burns, ROC Yamaha, 2:06.541

From a press release issued by The PR Group on behalf of Willow Springs International Raceway:

WILLOW SPRINGS RACEWAY OPENS “HORSE THIEF MILE”

Designed with Help from Racing Veterans Keith Code, Rod Millen, & Eddie Lawson, One-mile Paved Course Emulates Challenge of Winding Mountain Highway

ROSAMOND, Calif. — Featuring numerous elevation changes, tight turns, and scenic panoramic views, Willow Springs Raceway’s new one-mile course, Horse Thief Mile, (AKA “The Mile”), was created to let drivers experience the physical and visual challenges of a winding mountain road.

“I noticed there was nowhere to learn how to negotiate the twists you might encounter riding up a mountain course, so I decided to create a track that emulated a mountain highway,” said the track’s chief designer, Willow Springs Raceway owner Bill Huth.

With its demanding sharp corners, sweeping crests, and 11 degree rises, Huth designed “The Mile” in consultation with racing veterans Keith Code, Rod Millen, and Eddie Lawson.

“The Mile is unique,” said motorcycle cornering instructor and California Superbike School founder, Code. “It’s probably got more elevation changes in its one mile than any other circuit around – and it’s got an aspect of canyon riding that other tracks don’t have. Because you find yourself riding into crested corners where you really can’t see the other side, the course also presents some very good visual challenges. The only level section of the course is a 500 foot stretch at the start/finish line.”

To ensure the course had the necessary elements to accommodate drivers on four wheels, Huth called upon champion off-road racer Rod Millen. Huth said one of Millen’s major contributions was ensuring the course had a straight segment long enough to give drivers a sufficient passing opportunity.

“The Mile adds variety to the whole Willow Springs complex,” said Millen. “It’s a different type of course, demanding different skills of the rider or driver. I like that, because from a testing standpoint, you always like something new and challenging and demanding because it helps you develop a better machine.”

Huth also obtained advice on the course layout from multi-time motorcycle champion-turned Cart racer Eddie Lawson. “On this track you can overdo the speed pretty easily and riders will learn that,” said Huth. “Just like on a paved mountain road, you have to use judgment on how fast you can go.”

Huth said The Mile will be used for all types of vehicle racing, but predicts the course will become best known as a place to learn how to control a bike or car on tight corners.

Huth said, despite the winding layout, there are sections of the track where riders can jump on the gas – if they’re smart. “The third turn of The Mile was built to duplicate a turn located up on Highway 101 running along Oregon’s Gold Coast. You’ll go down into a dip and then swing around, but you can get on the gas just as hard as you want when you get near the bottom because the down-force won’t let you slide away. It’s a great turn,” said Huth.

“I think The Mile is similar to a road rally course in that it winds, going up and down hills — kind of an all-terrain road course,” said track manager Stephanie Huth, who predicts the track will become a favorite with riding schools.

“The track is very scenic and photogenic, and we’re purposely not allowing any garish signage,” said manager Huth. “We’d like to establish The Mile as a place where magazine and film crews can come to shoot beautiful footage of vehicles and their drivers in action.”

Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

125cc GP Final Qualifying Results:

1. Alex De Angelis, Aprilia, 2:08.100
2. Steve Jenkner, Aprilia, 2:08.330
3. Lucio Cecchinello, Aprilia, 2:08.421
4. Daniel Pedrosa, Honda, 2:08.562
5. Stefano Perugini, Aprilia, 2:08.755
6. Pablo Nieto, Aprilia, 2:08.817
7. Thomas Luthi, Honda, 2:08.857
8. Gabor Talmacsi, Aprilia, 2:09.253
9. Hector Barbera, Aprilia, 2:09.268
10. Andrea Dovizioso, Honda, 2:09.322
11. Casey Stoner, Aprilia, 2:09.477
12. Mirko Giansanti, Aprilia, 2:09.532
13. Gino Borsoi, Aprilia, 2:09.553
14. Jorge Lorenzo, Derbi, 2:09.602
15. Youichi Ui, Aprilia, 2:09.702

18. Miko Kallio, KTM, 2:10.089

27. Roberto Locatelli, KTM, 2:11.160


More, from a press release issued by KTM:

Bad Luck for Kallio, Locatelli 27th

After a sensational debut in his first ride on the KTM-Red Bull, Mika Kallio suffered a setback in final qualifying at the Brno Circuit, site of round 10 of the 125cc World Championship. Teammate Roberto Locatelli improved his time from Friday’s practice, but lost positions, and ended the day 27th fastest.

From the very beginning of the session Kallio had trouble with the electronics on his race bike, switching back and forth between his race bike and his spare during the session, causing him to lose valuable time. With time running out, Kallio was pushing hard to improve his position and crashed, breaking the little finger on his left hand. He was taken to the Clinica Mobile and the prognosis is good for Kallio to start his first grand prix for the KTM-Red Bull team. Nevertheless, an operation will be necessary on the damaged finger. Locatelli experienced front tire chatter when he chose wrong on the tire, preventing him from improving his time. For the race, Locatelli has opted for the softer, more compliant front.


#10 Roberto Locatelli
27th 2:11.160

Because the race will start two hours earlier than today’s qualifying session, and the temperature will be cooler, I can use the softer tire which will solve the problem with chattering. In free practice this morning it went perfect and I was 0.7 seconds faster than in qualifying. I’m certain I can go faster tomorrow in the race.


#36 Mika Kallio
18th 2:10.089

I’m disappointed because I was looking forward to my first race for KTM-Red Bull tomorrow. The front end slipped away and there was nothing I could do. I’m going to do all I can to try to race tomorrow. Whatever it takes to get me on the grid, I’ll do it.

Harald Bartol
Team Manager

Bad luck for Mika, we lost a lot of time at the end. He risked everything and he risked too much. I hope the injuries won’t prevent him from giving 110% tomorrow in the race. For Roberto, I’m confident we can find a solution to the problems he had in qualifying.

Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

250cc Grand Prix Final Qualifying Results:

1. Manuel Poggiali, Aprilia, 2:03.872
2. Randy De Puniet, Aprilia, 2:03.920
3. Fonsi Nieto, Aprilia, 2:04.037
4. Toni Elias, Aprilia, 2:04.088
5. Franco Battaini, Aprilia, 2:04.233
6. Roberto Rolfo, Honda, 2:04.413
7. Sylvain Guintoli, Aprilia, 2:04.663
8. Anthony West, Aprilia, 2:04.771
9. Naoki Matsudo, Yamaha, 2:04.909
10. Sebastian Porto, Honda, 2:05.054
11. Radomil Rous, Aprilia, 2:05.157
12. Hugo Marchand, Aprilia, 2:05.563
13. Alex Debon, Honda, 2:05.995
14. Hector Faubel, Aprilia, 2:06.018
15. Eric Bataille, Honda, 2:06.032

28. Katja Poensgen, Honda, 2:10.193


More, from a press release issued by MS Aprilia:

ANOTHER POLE FOR POGGIALI AND APRILIA

The second day of practices was helpful to Manuel Poggiali to define the work already done yesterday. After having achieved the 4th position in the free session Manuel made 6 laps with the qualifying tyres getting the pole position as well. The session has been stopped at 30 minutes to go because of a Antony West’s crash. Then the riders came in again but the time was not enough and the standing did not change. This is a triumphal day for Aprilia with 5 bikes in the firsts 5 positions.

Manuel Poggiali: “Unfortunately I am not bale to improve in those 30 seconds.. Joking aside I feel very satisfied about this second day on this track. I did my best lap with the tyres I am going to use tomorrow for the race as I have not been able to use the soft tyres in the best way. I just want to verify another tyre during the warm up that probably could give more advantage. I like this track on 250 because my Apirlia is very fast”.