Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Superstock Qualifying
Provisional Times
1. Tommy Hayden, Kawasaki ZX-6R, 1:27.637
2. Josh Hayes, Suzuki GSX-R750, 1:27.861
3. Adam Fergusson, Suzuki GSX-R750, 1:28.003
4. Chris Caylor, Suzuki GSX-R750, 1:28.037
5. Vincent Haskovec, Suzuki GSX-R750, 1:28.184
6. Tony Meiring, Kawasaki ZX-6R, 1:28.347
7. John Haner, Suzuki GSX-R750, 1:28.481
8. Jason DiSalvo, Yamaha YZF-R6, 1:28.570
9. Eric Wood, Suzuki GSX-R750, 1:28.733
10. Scott Harwell, Suzuki GSX-R750, 1:28.811
11. Steve Rapp, Suzuki GSX-R750, 1:28.839
12. Matt Furtek, Suzuki GSX-R750, 1:28.898
13. Chris Ulrich, Suzuki GSX-R750, 1:29.007
14. Lee Acree, Yamaha YZF-R6, 1:29.166
15. Jake Holden, Suzuki GSX-R750, 1:29.286
16. Brian Stokes, Suzuki GSX-R750, 1:29.623
17. Mike Ciccotto, Suzuki GSX-R750, 1:29.818
18. James Ellison, Suzuki GSX-R750, 1:30.127
19. Jeremy Toye, Suzuki GSX-R750, 1:30.185
20. Darren Luck, Suzuki GSX-R750, 1:30.386
21. Chris Peris, Honda CBR600RR, 1:31.317
22. Marty Craggill, Honda CBR600RR, 1:31.478
23. Jason Peters, Suzuki GSX-R750, 1:31.513
24. J.J. Roetlin, Suzuki GSX-R750, 1:31.717
25. Corey Eaton, Suzuki GSX-R750, 1:32.105
26. Danny Eslick, Suzuki GSX-R750, 1:32.130
27. Tom Wertman, Suzuki GSX-R750, 1:32.952
28. Steve Atlas, Suzuki GSX-R750, 1:33.025
29. Nathan Dressman, Yamaha YZF-R6, 1:33.930
30. Mickey Lane, Suzuki GSX-R750, 1:34.263
31. Dirk Sanchez, Kawasaki ZX-6R, 1:34.638
32. Gio Rojas, Triumph TT600, 1:34.893
33. Crash Loew, Suzuki GSX-R750, 1:34.920
34. David Bell, Suzuki GSX-R750, 1:35.020
35. Jeremiah Johnson, Suzuki GSX-R750, 1:35.168
36. William Johnson, Suzuki GSX-R750, 1:35.460
37. Adrian Jones, Suzuki GSX-R600, 1:35.620



More, from a press release issued by Team Valvoline EMGO Suzuki:

Team Valvoline EMGO Suzuki Back In Action At Virginia

Following a month-long break in the AMA road racing schedule, Team Valvoline Suzuki got back onto the track Friday at Virginia International Raceway. The day produced mixed results for the Michelin-equipped squad, with all three riders will looking to improve on their Friday times as the weekend progresses.

Steve Rapp has grown accustomed to running up front in Superstock competition, having scored three podiums — including two race wins — over the past four events. So the Californian was understandably less than impressed by his third-row qualifying performance on Friday.

“I’m not quite sure what the problem was today,” admitted Rapp, who qualified eleventh with a 1:28.839. “I felt pretty fast, but the times just weren’t there. I’ll have to look over the splits, but I’m confident we’ll get everything sorted and move back up front.”

The new AMA rules designed to keep factory riders out of certain classes ended up hurting Rapp and Team Valvoline EMGO Suzuki this weekend at VIR. Rapp, who has entered the Superstock, Formula Xtreme and Superbike classes at many events this year, was initially told he would be forced to only enter Formula Xtreme class and not be allowed in Superbike this weekend. Eventually the AMA relented and allowed Rapp to choose Superbike over the Formula Xtreme class. Steve was 12th in Superbike on Friday with a time of 1:28.907.

Youngster Matt Furtek also qualified on the third row aboard his Michelin-shod GSX-R750. Just one spot behind Rapp in 12th with a best lap of 1:28.898, Furtek has continued to show improvement over the course of the season.

Afterwards he commented, “Today went really well for me. This has been my best day at the track this year and all the hard work is starting to pay off. Thanks to the team for having faith in me. It helps too that my arm is feeling a lot better since the surgery I had for the nerve problem earlier this summer. Hopefully tomorrow will be even better day for us.”

Chris Ulrich was just one position behind Furtek, qualifying 13th for Saturday’s 17-lap Superstock final. Chris might have turned in a better time but the beginnings of a rainstorm on his fast lap made him think better of it.

Ulrich explained, “I was going pretty well today until the end when it came time to do one quick lap. On my fast lap, I was catching Matt (Furtek) but I noticed some rain drops on my windscreen. I was faster than him in the first section but it was a judgment call. I eased up, he didn’t. After that, I was watching him go around in front of me and thinking he would crash but he never did. It turns out he made the right move.

“Race day will be a different story because some of the other guys in front of us used soft tires that won’t last the race,” Ulrich said.

Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Jimmy Moore is attempting to come back to AMA racing this weekend at VIR after missing the previous three events due to injury.

“I’m just going to go out and see if I can ride,” said Moore Friday morning at VIR. “I’ve been trying to ride here ever since I got hurt. I was told it was going to be eight weeks, and this is eight weeks since my crash.”

Moore was seriously injured June 26 in a 160 mph crash during Thursday practice at Brainerd International Raceway. He suffered fractures to his hip, ribs, left arm and shoulder as well as a ruptured spleen, and it is the lack of strength in his left arm and shoulder that most hampers Moore.

“I know it’s pushing it to be here, but I want to be here trying instead of not trying, you know?” said Moore.

Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Friday Morning AMA Superbike Practice Times:

1. Mat Mladin, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:25.354
2. Aaron Yates, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:26.296
3. Giovanni Bussei, Ducati 998RS, 1:27.054
4. Miguel Duhamel, Honda RC51, 1:27.072
5. Kurtis Roberts, Honda RC51, 1:27.230
6. Ben Bostrom, Honda RC51, 1:27.294
7. Jason Pridmore, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:27.903
8. Shawn Higbee, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:28.343
9. Steve Rapp, Suzuki GSX-R750, 1:28.430
10. Jordan Szoke, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:29.213
11. Chris Caylor, Suzuki GSX-R750, 1:29.354
12. Geoff May, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:29.362
13. John Haner, Suzuki GSX-R750, 1:29.469
14. Michael Barnes, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:29.897
15. Eric Wood, Suzuki GSX-R750, 1:29.991
16. Mike Ciccotto, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:30.027
17. Vincent Haskovec, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:30.222
18. Chris Ulrich, Suzuki GSX-R750, 1:30.333
19. Jake Holden, Suzuki GSX-R750, 1:30.435
20. Scott Harwell, Suzuki GSX-R750, 1:30.609
21. Matt Furtek, Suzuki GSX-R750, 1:31.670
22. Jeremy Toye, Suzuki GSX-R750, 1:31.717
23. Chris Voelker, Ducati 996, 1:32.327
24. J.J. Roetlin, Suzuki GSX-R750, 1:32.396
25. Monte Nichols, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:32.468

Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Three-time AMA Superbike Champion and current AMA Superbike Championship points leader Mat Mladin says AMA Pro Racing has made a big mistake with its new 2004 Superbike rules for 2004, and complains that the new technical regulations will give 1000cc V-Twins an advantage over 1000cc four-cylinder racebikes.

“I think the AMA has made an absolute massive mistake in what they’ve done with the rules. All because one guy’s winning races this year they decide to change it? That’s crazy,” said Mladin, nine-time race winner in 2003.

The 2004 rules will require 1000cc Fours, like the Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000 ridden by Mladin, to go back to stock airboxes and stock fuel-injection throttle bodies while 1000cc V-Twins will be able to run near their current state of tune.

“They’re saying, yeah, but they can only have the same gearbox (one homologated and one standard gearbox) option as us, as the four cylinders, but Ducati doesn’t change their gearboxes anyway. So essentially they’re allowing a full V-Twin Superbike and we’re going to be handicapped by, who knows, 10-15 horsepower. So all the AMA’s gone and done is put the advantage straight back into the V-Twin’s hands, like the V-Twins have had.

“I think a better way is Ducati needs to abide by everyone else’s rules for once and not have everyone play by Ducati’s rules. Simple. How many years have V-Twins had an advantage over four-cylinder motorcycles? Ever since they’ve been around.”

Mladin believes 1000cc four-cylinder bikes and 1000cc V-Twins under the 2003 rules are competitive with each other and points out Honda’s 1-2-3 finish at Daytona and other strong V-Twin showings at Road America and Mid-Ohio.

“I believe our bike comes off the turn fractionally better, but I believe the V-Twins still have top end on us,” said Mladin.

Al Ludington, Crew Chief for American Honda’s Miguel Duhamel, disagrees with Mladin and complains that the AMA should have already done something to make V-Twins more competitive, mid-season. On Honda’s radar gun during the recent Dunlop tire test at Daytona, Ludington said Mladin’s GSX-R1000 hit 187 mph, RC51 Hondas ridden by Duhamel and Ben Bostrom hit 181 mph and a 2004 Superstock-spec GSX-R1000 ridden by Aaron Yates hit 181 mph.

“The 2004 rules will probably even things up (on horsepower),” said Ludington, “but the four-cylinder is going to be the way to go. The way the weight bias is on the Four helps its handling too much. They all have the power to blow away the rear tire. The Four gets turned and stood up on the big part of the tire quicker, allowing them to get on the gas sooner.

“The AMA doesn’t address the difference in parity in a timely manner,” said Ludington. “Look at NASCAR. I know people say it’s boring, but $2.2 billion in revenue isn’t boring. NASCAR has its own R&D facility with its own wind tunnel and engine development program.

“And NHRA. Have you seen that bike that Vance & Hines is drag racing now? They won a couple of races in a row, and NHRA called them up and told them to add 10 pounds to the bike for the next round. The problem lies in the AMA’s adjustments to the rules.

“You can’t write rules in the winter and hope they’ll be good for the next eight months.”

From a press release issued by WERA:

WERA NATIONAL SERIES HITS THE MID-WEST FOR ROUND EIGHT AT HALLETT

TULSA, Okla.- Round eight of the WERA National Challenge Series and the Dunlop/WERA National Endurance Series will be held this weekend, August 29-31, at Hallett Motor Racing Circuit.

Friday, August 29, will be an all-day practice for the racers. Many of the National Series competitors have never visited Hallett and will be busy learning the 1.8-mile, 10-turn road course.

The Dunlop/WERA National Endurance Series race will start at 11:30 am on Saturday, August 30. It will be the final six-hour race of the season, and riders will be faced with the physical and mental challenges of endurance racing.

Vesrah Suzuki will aim for their eighth consecutive win overall on their Suzuki GSX-R1000. Army of Darkness, who has won the Mediumweight Superbike class in every round, also hopes to continue their season-long winning streak.

Sunday, August 31, will feature the WERA National Challenge Series as well as the Mid-Central Sportsman Series races. There will be 15 sprint races, and each one will be eight laps long.

The National Challenge races include Open Superstock, Pirelli Formula 1, 125 GP, 600 Superstock Expert, STAR School 600 Superstock Novice, and expert and novice divisions for 600 Superbike, 750 Superstock and Superbike, Lightweight Twins, Heavyweight Twins, and Formula 2.

Hallett Motor Racing Circuit is located just 35 miles outside of Tulsa. Three-day tickets are available for $30, Saturday/Sunday tickets are $20, and Sunday only is $15. More information about the track, including directions, can be found on Hallett’s website, www.HallettRacing.com.

More information about WERA, including a full schedule for the weekend at Hallett, can be found at www.WERA.com.

Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

British rider James Ellison will race a Suzuki GSX-R750 in the AMA Superstock race at Virginia International Raceway (VIR) this weekend.

Ellison, 22, will ride the STAR Suzuki School machines left vacant by Hawk Mazzotta; Mazzotta is still recovering from knee and foot injuries suffered in a crash during an AFM race in July at Thunderhill and will not ride at VIR.

According to STAR Suzuki School Crew Chief Jeremy Daniel, Jason Pridmore and Mazzotta collaborated on the deal to bring Ellison over for the race.

In addition to riding with Pridmore on the Endurance World Championship-leading Suzuki GB Phase One team, Ellison has raced in 23 European Superstock Championship events, has won seven and has finished on the podium 12 times.

Attack Suzuki’s Josh Hayes, who raced with Ellison recently in the Oschersleben 24-hour Endurance World Championship race, said Ellison is “a cool kid. I’m glad he’s coming over. It’ll be fun to have him here. I think he’ll do well.”

From a press release issued by Foggy Petronas Racing:

Foggy Feels His Age at Valencia Test

Carl Fogarty took to the saddle of the PETRONAS FP1 during Foggy PETRONAS Racing’s first day of a two day private test in Valencia, Spain for further development of the Malaysian superbike.

“I am officially old!” commented a surprised Carl. “It’s amazing how different it felt to be back out on track after three and a half year. I did a couple of runs of three or four laps but when I came back in to the garage my head was spinning. Going down the start finish straight I was finding it difficult to comprehend the speed and then found I was braking early and cruising round the corners really slowly!

“It would have been easier if I was at a circuit like Donington, which I know well, and also on a bike that I know as I’m obviously not familiar with the handling, characteristics and sounds of the FP1. I’ve only ever tested, not raced at Valencia which is a technical track and I didn’t find the seating position on the FP1 comfy, particularly given my injuries and dodgy knees!

“That said though, today’s ride round certainly put an end to any joking thoughts I may have had about racing again. It was hard work and every part of me was aching when I got off the bike. I managed to knock seconds off my lap time with every lap but I couldn’t, and didn’t want to, push to the limit. It was an experience for sure but that’s it – I can’t believe I have to say I’m now too old for this,” Carl concluded with a smile.

James Haydon was unable to ride having woken up with seized neck muscles, leaving team-mate Troy Corser to work through the testing programme, although joined by British rider Jamie Morley on a second FP1. He achieved promising lap times for his first outing on the bike and commented to be impressed with its chassis and handling.

Team Manager Nigel Bosworth commented, “We have a number of areas to test which wouldn’t necessarily be most productive for Troy and James to work on, so it was good to have the opportunity for Jamie to ride the bike and also obtain a third opinion and good feedback for the team and engine manufacturer.”

Troy Corser was happy with the day’s work having made valuable in-roads particularly with clutch settings. “It’s been great to have time to really test different areas today as we understandably never have enough time during a race weekend. We tried different combinations of spring and pre-load settings and found something I’m very happy with. I’m comfortable with my lap times, averaging around 1:37s, as that’s about the same as in the race here at the beginning of the season and I’ve not been trying as hard as I was then and, the track condition is also not as good. Being back at Valencia I’ve been able to benchmark just how much improvement we have made since the first race here 6 months ago, and there is no doubt that the bike package as a whole is stronger.”

From a press release issued by Proforma:

HAS/SHOGUN RACING BACK IN FULL FORCE AT VIRGINIA

HAS/Shogun Racing rider Heath Small will be back in action at Virginia International Raceway this weekend for Round 10 of the AMA Chevy Trucks U.S. Superbike Championship, after recovering from hand injuries sustained at the Pikes Peak Raceway round. Heath joins teammate John Haner, who has been flying the HAS/Shogun flag solo for the last four rounds.

Both riders took the opportunity to race in last weekend’s WERA regional event at V.I.R., and Heath was able to test his left hand in real racing conditions. “I’ve been riding dirt bikes for the last week or so, but it’s not the same as road racing. The WERA weekend went well. My hand’s a little sore, but it’s getting better all the time,” said Small. “I’m not trying to rush it, just take my time and get myself back up to speed after being off for three months.”

John, fresh off a sixth place finish in Superstock at Mid-Ohio, used the WERA event to try out new fork settings after having them serviced over the weekend. “The forks are way better, it makes the whole bike feel better,” said Haner, who is currently tenth in Superstock points and looking to move up. “There’s only 22 points between 6th and 10th place in points. With a good result this weekend I could move up a few spots in the standings, which would be good for next year.”

Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Faster!, the full-length feature movie about MotoGP racing, could be in American theaters by November, according to the film’s director.

“We don’t have any date definite yet,” Faster! director Mark Neale told Roadracingworld.com in a telephone interview. “We’re still talking to a lot of studios – Sony, Fox, HBO. We have several offers, but we want to make sure the offers are solid and right.”

Even if Hollywood’s major movie studios don’t show the interest in the film that he would like, Neale said he and Executive Producer Ian MacLean and Spark Productions will do a limited release of the film in at least six major U.S. cities in November followed by a DVD and video tape release of the film soon after. “I’m really impatient to get it out there,” said Neale.

Faster! has already met with a warm reception when viewed by MotoGP racers Valentino Rossi, John Hopkins, Garry McCoy, Olivier Jacque, Colin Edwards, Loris Capirossi and officials from MotoGP rights holder Dorna at the Cannes Film Festival in France during May.

“I think the film itself is great, I enjoyed it a lot,” Rossi told reporters at Cannes.

Faster! was shot on location at several Grands Prix from June 2001 to July 2002, and, thanks to the full cooperation of Dorna, Neale and his film crews had unprecedented access to the bikes, teams and riders–as well as to archival film footage.

“It’s an action documentary,” said Neale of his 100-minute product. “It’s a documentary that shouldn’t be any less exciting than an action movie, especially when considering you’re dealing with a sport as exciting as this.”

A motorcycle racing fan before he started Faster!, Neale said he hopes the film appeal to a wide audience and will be different things to different people. “Some people who are less into the sport will get more into the stories and hopefully open their eyes to the sport,” said Neale. “And it will take the enthusiast further into the sport than they’ve ever been.”

Some of the stories followed by Faster! include the heated rivalry between Rossi and Max Biaggi (with footage taken seconds after their famous physical altercation behind the podium at Catalunya). Interviews with former greats Kenny Leroy Roberts, the late Barry Sheene, Wayne Rainey and Kevin Schwantz give first-person insight into racing rivalries.

The film also follows the story of young MotoGP star Hopkins and his meteoric rise to the highest level of motorcycle road racing, McCoy’s roller coaster ride from winning more GPs than Rossi or Biaggi in 2000 to spending a large portion of the next two seasons injured and watching from the paddock garage, and the transition of the World Championship from 500cc two-strokes to 990cc four-stroke racebikes. The stories are narrated by actor and motorcycle racing enthusiast Ewan McGregor.

“The director Mark Neale called me up and showed me the movie while I was working in the U.S., and I had never seen such a good motorcycling film,” McGregor told reporters in Cannes, France.

“It’s the definitive action movie about Grand Prix motorcycle racing,” said Neale.

From a press release issued by the Wegman Benefit Fund:

The 17th Annual Wegman Benefit Fund auction was a resounding success this year raising just over $17,000 for seriously injured road racers. This is a new record amount again this year.

The directors and volunteers that worked so hard to make this event happen would like to thank everyone that contributed to the auction and certainly those that spent their hard earned money to make this possible. The list of donors and helpers is long but worthy of noting here so they can be acknowledged for their support of the Wegman Fund and injured road racers across the country.

Alexa & Roger Krueger, Alvarez Restaurant, Ben Bostrom, Bill & Claudia Ritger, Bill & Granny Beyers, Blackhawk Farms Raceway, Bob Delie, Brandon Kupczak, Brian McLaughlin, Championship Cup Series, Chris Onwiler, Clear Channel Motorsports, Corner Ten Store, Corona Suzuki Racing, Dave Bergeron, DDM Motorsports, Ed Kwaterski, Edna Ringenberg, Eric Bostrom, Fox Valley Cycles/Jim Cromwell, Fritz Kling, Gayle Wagner, Hal’s Harley- Davidson, Henry Chin, Hooker’s Resort, Ideal Mfg. Solutions, Illinois Harley-Davidson, Jane Styles, Jason DiSalvo, Jim Schaefer, John Dries, John Wytack, Kegel Motorcycle Co., Kim Berg-Olsen, Kurtis Roberts, Larry Pegram, Layke Tool & Mfg., Learning Curves Racing, Ltd./Rick Breuer, Lucky Devil cycle Sports, Lucky Dog Racing/Roger Hendricks, Marilyn Shock, Matco Tools, Matt Gerard, Matt McNall, Matt Mladin, Matt Schmidt, MCJ Motorsports/Vesrah, MD Racing, Miguel DuHamel, Mike Langenfeld, Mike Schaefer, Neal Manske, NEC Racing, NESBA, Nick Manske,Norris Racing, Patty Prince, Polar-Optics, LLC, Ray Irwin, Rhiannon Lucente, Rick Schertzl, Safety First Racing, Sharkskinz Body Works, Speedgear.com, Spyder Leather Works, Starnet USA/Russ Intravartolo, Steve Faust, Team Motorsports of Green Bay, Team Stumpy Racing, Tim Berry Motorsports Art, Torque Center, Traxxion Dynamics, Valley Racing, Vincent Haskovek, Visionsports, Inc./Dave Rosno, Yoshimura R&D of America, Young America, 4&6 Cycle.

If I missed anyone I’m truly sorry but please know that your support is greatly appreciated.

Gordon Lunde
Wegman Benefit Fund, Inc.
3741 S. 71 St.
Milwaukee, WI 53220-1814
414-321-2338
gplunde@starnetusa,net