From a press release issued by FGSport:

Noriyuki Haga Makes Welcome Return to SBK with Renegade Ducati

Pre-season Update 26/01/04

Japan’s spectacular and very popular Noriyuki Haga has signed today in Rome at the FGSport headquarters with the British Renegade Ducati team and will rejoin the World Superbike Championship this year as teammate to rising U.K. star, Leon Haslam.

Haga (28), who has eleven SBK wins to his credit (third among active participants), will test his new Ducati 999 RS for the first time at the Ricardo Tormo Circuit of the Valencian Community on February 2nd and 3rd.

The signing of Haga, coming only weeks after the news that Australia’s Garry McCoy will ride for the Caracchi NCR Ducati team, means that the championship has now been bolstered by the entries of two of road racing’s most exciting riders, both world famous for their broad-sliding, tire-smoking styles and both out to challenge the defending champion Ducati Fila team of Britain’s James Toseland and France’s Regis Laconi.

Renegade is one of several new teams joining SBK for 2004, along with the World Endurance Champion Zongshen squad, entering Italian Piergiorgio Bontempi and Australian Warwick Nowland on GSX-R1000 Suzukis, and the Dutch Ten Kate Honda team, dominant in World Supersport over the last two seasons and now moving up to the Superbike class with reigning the World Supersport Champion, Australian Chris Vermeulen (22), entrusted to campaign Honda’s much-awaited and very promising CBR1000RR Fire Blade.

The start of the 2004 SBK season at Valencia on February 29th is now just five weeks away, but two weeks prior to Round One the World Superbike and World Supersports teams will converge for their final pre-season tests at Valencia on February 11-13, giving all teams an opportunity to try the latest compounds from Pirelli, exclusive supplier of tires for the World Superbike, World Supersport and European Superstock classes under the new rules intended to level the playing field for competitors.

With Haga now signed, the already strong Superbike entry list now promises an even more exciting season, the seventeenth in the history of the FIM’s premier series for 1000cc production-based machines.

Paolo Flammini, FGSport C.E.O. said: “We are delighted to welcome back Noriyuki Haga to the World Superbike. He is a Superbike symbol and we are sure he will grant the fans unmatchable emotions throughout the current and future seasons.”

Mark Griffiths, Renegade team principal added: “In Haga and Haslam I believe we have a very formidable partnership to contest the 2004 Superbike World Championship. The tyre rule enables fair competition for everyone, and we are delighted to be joining the series perhaps at the beginning of a new era for WSBK.”

Noriyuki Haga: “I am really happy to be returning to the Superbike World Championship and to be riding a Ducati for the first time in 10 years! I can promise my fans that I have not lost my exciting style and I intend to finally claim the WSBK title.”

Copyright 2004, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Suzuki MotoGP rider John Hopkins and Lee Cycle’s Jeremy Toye represented road racing in the Suzuki Crossover Challenge Saturday night, during the San Diego, California round of the AMA/Clear Channel Supercross series, and neither had good results.

Hopkins crashed in the first practice session coming up short on a jump and injuring his ankle, forcing him to sit out the remainder of the night. He is seeking medical attention today.

Toye, on the other hand, made it to the main event, and had a strong start. Toye was second going into the first turn, and during the first two laps battled for the lead. He took the lead for second time on the second lap, and tried to extend that lead by doubling the long triple section but over-jumped it and hit the face of the third jump, crashing.

Toye was helped off the track, with, like Hopkins, an ankle injury.

Professional mountain bike racer Karim Amour won the race.

The Crossover Challenge is an invitational event put on each year by Clear Channel Entertainment Motor Sports and Suzuki. The event gives celebrities and athletes from other sports the chance to compete aboard identical Suzuki RM125s.

Copyright 2004, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Greg Moore underwent surgery at Lady Of The Lake Regional Medical Center in Baton Rouge, Louisiana Sunday night, as a result of injuries suffered when Moore crashed out of the lead of the featured race at a Church of Speed event, slid past a row of Airfence soft barriers and hit a bare concrete wall at No Problem Raceway in Belle Rose, Louisiana Sunday afternoon.

Moore was airlifted to the hospital, and surgeons inserted a rod in his left femur. Moore also suffered a fractured hip and torn tendons in his left knee, but surgeons opted not to repair that damage Sunday night.

Moore is expected to remain in the hospital until Friday, according to his wife, Misty.

From a press release:

Road racer Tim O’Connor was named the recipient of the 2003 John Bettencourt Memorial Sportsman of the Year award during the Loudon Road Racing Series annual Championship Awards presentation banquet.

O’Connor was recognized for his long-time support of the club and his assistance to fellow competitors since beginning road racing in 1986. The award was presented by the Penquin Road Racing School.

“Having personally known John Bettencourt, this is a really special honor for me,” said O’Connor. “John’s enthusiasm for our sport was contagious, he was always willing to talk about racing to anyone who asked and never had a big ego over his accomplishments. This is definitely the best thing I’ve ever won, and means the most to me.”

O’Connor started racing in 1986 in AAMRR, which became LRRS, winning class Championships in Lightweight Grand Prix in 1989, and GTU in 1993. He started his professional career in 1989 in the AMA 250 Grand Prix class. O’Connor carried National Number 56 on his Yamaha TZ250s for many years until the class’ demise this year.

Copyright 2004, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Both American Honda CBR1000RR Superbikes hit the ground Monday during tire testing at Daytona International Speedway Monday afternoon.

After completing two, 18-lap endurance runs, Miguel Duhamel lowsided at low speed in the International Horseshoe, according to Crew Chief Al Ludington.

Duhamel and his machine were relatively undamaged, but Duhamel chose to sit out the rest of the test and handed his bike over to Erion Honda’s Jake Zemke.

Moments later, at 1:12 p.m. local time, word came in that Ben Bostrom had crashed big in the chicane while in the middle of a long-distance tire test.

“I’m cutting laps, and I’m like, ‘I’ve got to keep this tire in the 1:48s and 1:49s. That way I can leave here a happy person.'” Bostrom told Roadracingworld.com. “I was in the 1:48s, then I climbed up to the low-1:49s. So I’m like, ‘How am I going to get this thing back into the 1:48s?’ Then I saw (Jason) DiSalvo. I was catching him. I thought if I could catch him in the chicane I’ll get a big draft off of him, and that’ll bring back into the 1:48s for sure.

“I ran it in there pretty big and I was kind of focused on him and not what I was doing. I knew I was going to have to trail brake the thing pretty hard because I was in there pretty deep. I started trail braking and just lost the front. Just being greedy because I wanted to catch a draft off of him, which is so stupid for testing. But I wanted to do fast laps. I wanted to stick with those lap times for 15 laps. I thought if I could get this thing back into the 1:48s after 10 laps I would be pretty happy.

“I broke real hard, started to trail it, tucked the front and the worst part is you bounce off the ground, BAM! When you’re trail braking from a straightaway you don’t have too much lean angle. When you have lean angle it’s no problem because you’re so close to the ground. But when you crash like that you fall a ways and it kind of slingshots you to the ground.”

Bostrom said he suffered a contusion to his left arm near the elbow plus assorted scrapes and bruises on his left side. At post time Bostrom was “contemplating” whether or not he would take a trip to the hospital to have his arm checked out.

Bostrom’s day, and test, ended with a best hand-timed lap time of 1:48.70, turned on a race tire during his long run.

Copyright 2004, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

By Beth Wyse

Greg Moore was the top qualifier for the Festival of Speed at No Problem Raceway on Saturday, turning a time of 1:14.032 around the 1.8-mile Louisiana track on his Suzuki GSX-R1000.

The third Festival of Speed is being hosted by the Church of Speed, No Problem Raceway’s road racing organization. For qualifying, the riders were divided into two sessions. The first group was for Expert only, while the second was comprised of Novice and non-race-licensed street riders.

The two groups rotated during the afternoon, riding 20-minute sessions at a time. At the end of the day, the top times for all riders were combined. The top third will race in the Expert division on Sunday, the middle third will be grouped in the Novice division and the final third will be in the Street, or “Trophy,” class. Each group will have two races, with all sizes of bikes combined.

Mike Sanchez qualified second with a 1:14.588 on his Suzuki GSX-R750. Shogun Racing’s Heath Small was third with a time of 1:15.197 on his Yamaha YZF-R6. Jamie James is on hand this weekend to assist Small in setting his bike up and even took the bike out for some laps during the practice sessions.

Shane Stoyko was the fifth qualifier after setting a time of 1:15.930 on TheRacerSupply.com Suzuki GSX-R1000.

The Church of Speed will be a CCS affiliate for the 2004 season, hosting two events at No Problem Raceway. For this weekend’s event, CCS provided some transponders and additional AirFence modules.

Races will begin on Sunday, January 25, at 1:00 p.m. CST. The longest race of the day, and the one with the largest payout, will be a 25-lap Expert race. In addition to the three classes, there will also be an 8-lap Buell/Motard race.

Copyright 2004, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

A tire test for AMA teams and riders is set to start Sunday morning at Daytona International Raceway.

The test was scheduled following two catastrophic tire failures at high speed during recent Dunlop tests at Daytona. The test is believed to be to determine if the tire failures are a Dunlop-specific problem or a problem related to the speed and weight of the current 1000cc Superbike and Superstock bikes.

As of 8:45 a.m. local time some wet spots on the track were being dried by a jet blower. Teams are expected to take to the track shortly after 9:00 a.m. Local weather forecasters are calling for good conditions over both days of the test.

Teams are set up in garages according to tire brands.

Dunlop-sponsored teams (American Honda Ben Bostrom and Miguel Duhamel, Erion Honda Jake Zemke, Kawasaki Tommy and Roger Lee Hayden, Yamaha Jason DiSalvo) are set in one garage, Michelin-backed teams (Parts Unlimited Ducati Austin Eric Bostrom, Team Valvoline EMGO Suzuki Steve Rapp and Vincent Haskovec) are in a second garage and Pirelli-supported riders (Lee Acree, Michael Barnes, Geoff May) will use a third garage.

Pirelli shipped new development tires, specifically made for this extra test, to the track, but the tires are currently being held in customs at the Daytona International Airport, according to newly-appointed Pirelli Road Race Manager Jeff Selbert. Selbert is currently working with a customs agent to get the tires released as soon as today, but in the meantime, his riders will work with Pirelli’s existing 17-inch and 16.5-inch slicks.

Copyright 2004, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

American Honda’s Miguel Duhamel turned the fastest lap time of all riders Sunday during day one of a special, two-day AMA team tire test at Daytona International Speedway.

Riding the same CBR1000RR Superbike that Jake Zemke rode in the morning session, Duhamel turned a 1:47.650 on a “soft race tire” to lead all times and to beat his best lap time from the Dunlop tire test at Daytona in December by 0.8 second. Small set-up changes were the key to the fast time, according to Duhamel.

“Al (Ludington, Crew Chief) and I did our little voodoo we do, a couple of clicks here and there, and the bike just turned perfect, beautiful. The bike was great, said the all-time AMA Superbike win leader. “We put on a race tire, but it was a softer race tire, and we were able to drop over three seconds. I know the bike’s got more if we need it.”

Asked about the tire he used, Duhamel said, “We use it for qualifying, but it’s a race tire. I think (Neil) Hodgson raced on it at Laguna (in 2002). The tire was really predictable, and we got two fast laps (second lap 1:48.05) out of it. Then we put some more race tires on it, just to confirm the set-up because I thought it was really sweet, and we got some 1:49s out of it. I’m really pleased with the bike, the team and I’m really pleased with Dunlop too.”

In addition to the quick time, Duhamel did a 16-lap endurance test without incident and was clocked at 193.5 mph through the tri-oval on his team’s radar gun. Duhamel was clocked at 192.3 mph in December.

After giving up his CBR1000RR to Duhamel, Erion Honda’s Jake Zemke jumped on Ben Bostrom’s Superbike. Due to a difference in a few components between the two bikes, like brakes, and the fact that he hadn’t ridden Bostrom’s bike since December, Zemke could not improve on his Sunday morning lap times.

Parts Unlimited Ducati Austin’s Eric Bostrom switched to his second bike Sunday afternoon when his first bike’s engine started feeling tight. Eric Bostrom went faster on the second bike, with a 1:49.92, and said the bike had more to give but he wasn’t able to give the bike what it wanted. The younger Bostrom brother said the day ended up, however, with an uneventful 12-lap endurance run on his Michelins.

Jason DiSalvo was able to improve his best lap time while chasing Eric Bostrom for a few laps Sunday afternoon. In fact, DiSalvo’s time of 1:49.79 on his Graves Yamaha YZF-R1 Superstocker was marginally quicker than Bostrom’s best Superbike time. Several racers watching the action commented that DiSalvo’s bike was as fast if not faster than Eric Bostrom’s Superbike on the banking.

Riding on Michelins, Team Valvoline EMGO Suzuki’s Steve Rapp turned his fastest time, and the second-fastest Superstock lap time, a 1:50.81, right after lunch. At the end of the day, Rapp’s team discovered that his GSX-R1000 had lost compression in one cylinder and essentially finished the day running on three cylinders.

Kawasaki’s Tommy Hayden went nearly as quick as Rapp with a 1:50.97 before handing his bike off to teammate and younger brother Roger Lee Hayden. The younger Hayden got only 10 laps, during which his bike threw its chain, but he still managed a time of 1:51.90.

Although he recorded the slowest time on the day, Lee Acree concentrated on endurance testing tires for Pirelli, putting 20 laps, over two stints, on one tire in the morning session and running 16 straight laps on another tire without problem in the afternoon. Acree was riding a stock GSX-R1000 borrowed from the Kevin Schwantz Suzuki School and fitted with an Ohlins shock and a bolt-on Yoshimura muffler.

No tire problems were reported or observed during day one of the tire test.

Sunday’s Unofficial Lap Times:

1. Miguel Duhamel, Honda CBR1000RR Superbike, 1:47.70
2. Jake Zemke, Honda CBR1000RR Superbike, 1:48.91
3. Ben Bostrom, Honda CBR1000RR Superbike, 1:49.29
4. Jason DiSalvo, Yamaha YZF-R1 Superstock, 1:49.79
5. Eric Bostrom, Ducati 999 Superbike, 1:49.92
6. Steve Rapp, Suzuki GSX-R1000 Superstock, 1:50.81
7. Tommy Hayden, Kawasaki ZX-10R Superstock, 1:50.97
8. Roger Lee Hayden, Kawasaki ZX-10R Superstock, 1:51.90
9. Vincent Haskovec, Suzuki GSX-R1000 Superstock, 1:52.45
10. Michael Barnes, Suzuki GSX-R1000 Superstock, 1:53.00
11. Geoff May, Suzuki GSX-R1000 Superstock, 1:53.99
12. Lee Acree, Suzuki GSX-R1000 Superstock, 1:54.31

From a press release issued by BMW North America:

Even more agile, more powerful and lighter for maximum riding pleasure on and off the road.

The new BMW R 1200 GS fulfils the old dream of the ideal touring enduro: Superiority in every respect, outstanding performance and superior comfort even on the longest tour, equally superior handling and agility for maximum riding pleasure on winding country roads and mountain passes give the rider exactly what he wants. Add to this low weight of just 225 kg or 496 lb quite unique in this class, plus outstanding chassis and spring qualities, and you can be sure to enjoy even the toughest tours on the roughest terrain.

The BMW R 1200 GS offers an unparalleled synthesis of harmony in its
combination of offroad an onroad riding qualities. With its predecessor,
the R 1150 GS uniquely successful over so many years, setting the standard in its segment consistently throughout its lifecycle, the R 1200 GS now takes you into a new dimension, raising the outstanding features of its predecessor to an even higher level on all important counts.

At the same time it goes without saying that the R 1200 GS continues all
the traditional features and fortes so characteristic of all BMW motorcycles:
First-class and extra-safe riding conditions ensured by even more stable running gear with the unique BMW Telelever for the front wheel and a newly designed weight- and geometry-optimised Paralever at the rear.

High-performance brakes of the highest caliber together with BMW’s unique Motorcycle Integral ABS guarantee supreme safety even in a critical situation. Superior environmental compatibility, in turn, is ensured by a fully controlled three-way catalytic converter with the most advanced emission management – a technology, incidentally, which has been a natural feature on all
BMW motorcycles for years.

Equipped with dual ignition, brand-new Digital Motor Electronics featuring integrated knock control, as well as further improved catalytic converters and separate oxygen sensors for each cylinder, the R 1200 GS increases the leadership of BMW motorcycles in the large-volume touring enduro segment to an even higher standard than ever before.

A further feature not to be forgotten is the maintenance-free driveshaft avoiding the need for unpleasant and time-consuming service particularly on long trips. The sophisticated new luggage system as well as the wide range of accessories available straight from the factory and tailored to the R 1200 GS also help to clearly prove that this new machine is powerfully continuing the tradition of large-capacity BMW touring enduros which now goes back almost 25 years to the R 80 G/S launched in 1980: This is most certainly the original straight from the inventor of this type of motorcycle, a machine once again setting the standard in this class.