Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Yamaha’s Aaron Gobert will sit out the AMA Championship event at Brainerd International Raceway June 26-29 due to injuries suffered in a recent crash. But the 22-year-old Australian, who rides in Supersport and Formula Xtreme, expects to be near 100 percent fitness for the Laguna Seca AMA event July 10-13.

“It looks at this point like I’m screwed. It’s not official yet, but I’ve pretty much called Brainerd off,” said Gobert Tuesday on his way home from an examination at Dr. Arthur Ting’s Fremont, California office. The appointment was a checkup following June 9 surgery to screw and plate together bones in Gobert’s left wrist and thumb, broken in a crash during practice at Road America June 6.

“The problem is they had to put aside the tendons for the thumb, and that sort of creates a bit of tightness and tension in the thumb,” said Gobert via cell phone from the back of a taxi on the way to the San Jose, California airport. “He (Dr. Ting) said if I ride at Brainerd, I will more than likely displace the bone, and he’ll have to operate again and put them back into alignment, and I’ll miss Laguna and the rest of the year. I was going to try to ride at Brainerd, but I’ll probably have to miss it.

“I’m not worried about it,” said Gobert. “I’m bummed out that I can’t ride, because I really was looking at the (Supersport) Championship this year, even though I was consistently finishing in third place.

“I’m still looking at the Championship because there are still five races to go, and that’s a long time. And the points are tight, and I was getting better every weekend. I feel like I had just taken it to a new level, you know, at Pikes Peak? I feel that I lifted up a level, then this happened. I’m not disappointed, because I’m pretty confident when I come back it won’t take a race to get back into it. As long as I don’t have a wrist problem. As long as I can use the clutch, I’ll be alright.”

Gobert has finished on the AMA Supersport podium three times in 2003 and even though he didn’t race at Road America is still third in the Championship standings. Gobert’s deficit to Supersport points leader Jamie Hacking grew from 12 to 39 points at Road America, however.

On his way out of Dr. Ting’s office, Gobert said he was introduced to Suzuki MotoGP racer Kenny Lee Roberts, who was there “to get his shoulder looked at.”

On Wednesday, Kneedraggers.com Yamaha’s Matt Wait has an appointment to have Dr. Ting examine his right scapula, which was broken in two places by a crash last Saturday, during qualifying for Formula USA races at New Hampshire International Speedway.

From a press release issued by BMW:

BMW Motorrad BoxerCup – Round 5
Circuit de Catalunya Grand Prix
Final Summary – That’s Racing!

Baseball legend Yogi Bera once said “It ain’t over till it’s over”, that adage perfectly summarizes Round 5 of the BMW Motorrad BoxerCup held at the picturesque Circuit de Catalunya, located on the Medetereanan coast of Spain, just north of the city of Barcelona. With track temperatures soaring to 116 degrees Fahrenheit, the 15 lap sprint would be a test of skill and stamina for the international field of 36 riders. The usual suspects filled the grid for Saturday’s race, with Austrian Thomas Hinterreiter posting a session best qualifying time of 1:58.587 seconds to take the pole. Hinterreitter was joined on the front row by series points leader Roberto Panichi (I), Markus Barth (D) and Sebastian Legrelle (B). The second row was lead by VIP entrant and former World 250 GP rider “Fast” Jurgen Fuchs (D). Also on row two were Richard Cooper (GB), Fernando Cristobal (E) and Andy Hoffman (S). The top 12 qualifiers were rounded out by Norbert Rebholz (D), Brian Parriott (USA) Peter Ottl (D) and Laurry Fremy (F).

It’s Panichi again…or is it?

Italian Roberto Panichi, appearing to have been shot out of a cannon, got the holeshot as the riders left the grid for lap one. Panichi continued to build on his lead as the laps clicked away, surging to as much as a :5.786 second lead. A pack of 6 riders, Hinterreiter, Legrelle, Cristobal, Hoffman, Barth and Cooper, swapped positions in the early going, but could not seem to gain ground on the Italian. This group was separated by as little as 0.35-second, making for some of the most exiting racing since the nail-biting BoxerCup race in Daytona in March of this year. Panichi had just about checked out for good from the field when he suddenly lost the front end on turn 7 and crashed out of the race. Feeling dejected and disappointed, Panichi commented “It was just a stupid mistake on my part. I got a little too far over on the turn and touched my cylinder head to the ground and the next thing I know, I am in the gravel area.”

The group of 6 riders left at the front of the race was quickly reduced to 5, as Spanish rider Fernando Cristobal crashed from the fourth position, one lap after Panichi’s mishap. With Panichi and Cristobal out of the race, new race leader Thomas Hinterreiter was left to pick up where the Italian left off. And pick up he did, stretching out a nearly 7-second lead going into the final two laps of the race. Belgian Sebastian Legrelle would make a hard charge on Hinterreiter in the final 3 laps, but could never close the gap to less than 3 seconds as Hinterreiter took the checkered flag. Legrelle would finish 2nd, 3.567 seconds behind Legrelle. Andy Hoffman got a fantastic drive out of turn 13 to edge Markus Barth by a scant 0.033-second at the line to steal 3rd place. Richard Cooper would round out the top 5, finishing 0.511-second behind Barth.

Team USA Turns It On

BMW Motorrad Team USA would show the most improvement among the field of 36, as riders Brian Parriott and Jason Perez would improve by 9 and 7 places, respectively, from their order of finish in last weekend’s round 4 at Mugello, Italy. Parriott crossed the line 7th with Jason Perez finishing 10th. “I got a really good start for the first time since Daytona, that really made the difference for me today,” stated Perez. Perez further commented, “Coming into the race I was really disappointed with my qualifying (19th). I made a couple of mistakes today that cost me a couple of places, but I’m really happy with my finish.” Equally pleased with his performance, Parriott felt he could have caught the lead pack had it not been for one thing: Turn 5. Reflecting on his difficulty in handling Catalunya’s downhill left hander, “Every time I’d begin to separate from the group, I’d get to 5 and just not hit the right brake point,” stated Parriott. In fact, French rider Guillame Dietrich made a daring inside pass on Parriott in turn 5 on the final lap of the race to steal 6th place from the young Californian. “It feels really, really good to score some decent points again. The real difference for me this weekend was that I learned the track pretty quickly and that we raced on consecutive weekends. With a practice coming up this week at Sachsenring and then consecutive race weekends at Assen and Spa, I think I can move up in the points a few places,” stated Parriott.

Also happy with Team USA’s performance was BMW Motorrad Team USA crew chief Richard Dampf. “We’ve all been working really hard since Daytona and it was good to have it payoff for us today,” stated Dampf. “It has been a tough road for us since Daytona. Coming to Europe and competing with the level of talent in the pits and on the grid is a real challenge. I’m happy for the team to have placed so well this week,” stated Dampf. No stranger to racing himself, Dampf was the mastermind driving force behind the popular “Battle of the Legends” race series organized by BMW in the late 90’s. In fact, the genesis of today’s BMW Motorrad BoxerCup has its roots in the “Battle of the Legends” series.

Speed Channels White Joins The Action

Participating in round 5 of the BMW Motorrad BoxerCup was Speed Channels Greg White. The trackside reporter for Speed Channel broadcasts of AMA Road Racing events and host of the very popular Speed Channel Two-Wheel Tuesday”Greg’s Garage”, White was impressed with the quality of the competition. “You’ve got some really good talent competing in this series”, stated White commenting on the BoxerCup field of pilots. “Guys like Panichi, Barth, Hoffman and our own Brian Parriott from the USA have competed at some of the highest levels of road racing competition in the world. You even have an ex-250 GP racer in Jurgen Fuchs who’s running as a VIP rider that sweetens the field even more. I can’t believe how fast these guys can ride such a heavy bike.” White was also on the grid for the inaugural race of the 2003 season in Daytona and plans on racing in Spa as well as the season ending race in Brno, Czech Republic. “Any time you can join a race weekend like MotoGP, I’m there. It’s a lot of fun coming here and racing with these guys and getting to hook up with some old friends like Nicky Hayden, John Hopkins and Colin Edwards of the MotoGP circuit. I just wish I had a little more time on the bike to improve my results. It’s pretty tough to do 2, ½-hour qualifying sessions and then go out and race. But it was still fun and I could feel myself getting better each time around the track. BMW has been really great to us this weekend and I look forward to coming back for the race in Spa.”

On to Assen

The BMW Motorrad BoxerCup moves to Assen for round 6, as part of the world famous Dutch TT weekend of race action. BMW racing history is rich at Assen, with Klaus Enders and Ralf Engelhardt winning a world championship for BMW with a sidecar outfit here in 1973. The Dutch TT weekend is equally renowned for the “Night of Assen”, as 200,000+ race fans flock to this small city 160 Km from Amsterdam to celebrate through the night prior to the race. Assen marks the 4th time this season that the BMW Motorrad BoxerCup joins the MotoGP race series on it’s schedule. Race day is Saturday, June 28th, and will be run on the same day as 125cc, 250cc and MotoGP World Championship races. Watch for updates and results on www.BMWMotorrad.com.

From a press release issued by Pramac Honda:

Pramac Honda Team Press Information
Montmelò – Catalunya – (Spain)
Private Tests
Monday 16 June 2003

Tarmac sizzles at private post-race tests at Montmelò

Scorching heat – 56°C on the ground in the afternoon – really pushed the determination of the Pramac Honda Team to the limit as they went out once again to test their Bridgestone tyres.

After his fine seventh place in yesterday’s race, Makoto Tamada again did his bit to help develop the new tyres, and he clocked up 67 laps on the Montmelò circuit. Best time: 1:45.3.

His work programme included an in-depth examination of the range of tyres used for the last two races at Mugello and Catalunya: they gave excellent results and showed the Tokyo tyre manufacturer’s technicians that they are working along the right lines. In actual fact, the technicians wanted to improve the balance of the bike with the clear aim of improving performance even further.

Shinichi Itoh was once again back on the saddle of his Pramac Honda Team RC211V bike. The micro-fracture he received during the IRTA tests in March, right here at Montmelò, had kept him away from the MotoGP for about two and a half months. Even so, he has already taken part in two Superbike races in Tukuba and Suzuka, Japan, again on Bridgestone tyres, and today he made his ‘return’ on the five-cylinder machine.

Shinichi put in 72 laps, getting a feeling once again for the exuberant power of the RC211V and posting an excellent 1:46.3. The official Pramac Honda Team test rider mainly concentrated on trying out new Bridgestone prototypes, and provided some useful information for future development.

After this intense day of tests, Itoh will be going back to Japan but it won’t be long before he is back in the old continent for another round of tests.

Makoto Tamada – 67 laps – 1:45.3

Shinichi Itoh – 72 laps – 1:46.3

Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Official confirmation of a new track record set at Spokane Raceway Park by Mike Sullivan, on May 25, in the form of an e-mail sent to Sullivan by track manager Troy Moe and copied to Roadracingworld.com:

After reviewing the Official results for the WMRRA (Washington Motorcycle Road Racing Association) races this past weekend I’m happy to confirm that in the Open Supersport race, a new track record was set by you at Spokane Raceway Park on its 2.5 Mile Road Course at a lap time of 1:28.739. Also congratulations are in order for winning 4 out of the 4 races you were entered in this past race. Good luck to you the rest of the season in your pursuit of retaining the # 1 plate.

Troy Moe
Spokane Raceway Park Inc.

From a press release issued by AHRMA:

Three-time AMA Grand National Champion Jay Springsteen will compete on an Hourglass Racing-sponsored Harley-Davidson XR-750TT in AHRMA roadracing July 19 and 20 during AMA Vintage Motorcycle Days at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington.

Springsteen will race in the Formula 750 and Formula Vintage classes both days. He has made appearances on the Hourglass machine this year in AHRMA Pro-Flo/Progressive Suspension Historic Cup nationals at Daytona Beach, Florida, and Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Other AHRMA action at Vintage Motorcycle Days includes a Friday night dirt track at Ashland, Ohio, a Saturday trial and Sunday vintage motocross, both at Mid-Ohio.

From a press release issued by the event organizers:

Event: Mosport Bike Week
Dates: July 12 to 20, 2003
Location: Mosport International Raceway
Bowmanville, ON

Motorcycle racing returns to Mosport International Raceway July 18th, 19th & 20th with the Chevy Trucks Mosport Double Header of the Parts Canada Superbike Championship presented by Miller Genuine Draft.

This year’s event will be action packed and features all the top Canadian Factory Team Riders, a full card of ASM Superbike Series Pro/AM Support Races, the Diablo Can-Am 125 Grand Prix and Can-Am 250 Grand Prix. This is the only Double Header of the Superbike Championship and promises to be the biggest event of the National Series.

For those enthusiasts looking for a break from the action, Honda, Suzuki, Yamaha, Buell and BMW will host FREE demo rides. Fans will also enjoy free access to the paddock where they can meet their favorite Factory Team, tour the vendor displays, witness the Dyno Horsepower Shootouts and even view the races by Helicopter!

Mosport Bike Week kicks off on July 12th & 13th with the McBride Cycle sponsored ‘Mosport Rally for Sport Bikes’ and continues on July 14th, 15th & 16th with Super Playdays. Motorcycle enthusiasts can ride Mosport’s world famous Road Course on their own motorcycle in organized sessions. All makes and models are welcome. For riders looking to improve their techniques and skill, personal instruction from top Canadian Racers will be available.

For more Mosport Bike Week information and admission prices visit www.supershowevents.com or call (905)655-5403.

Advance tickets and weekend Super Tickets for the Parts Canada Superbike Championship are available at www.mosport.com.

Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

FIRST PERSON/OPINION

By Roger Lyle

Pete Wysocki, 55, ex-linebacker for the Washington Redskins, father, and bicycle and motorcycle racer, passed away on Saturday June 14 of non-Hodgkins lymphoma cancer.

Mr. Wysocki, (call me Pete) raced his Yamaha motorcycle along with his 35-year-old son Bannon. Pete was a barrel chested man built like an ice cream cone. Pete attended motorcycle racer Tune and Test Days at Summit Point Raceway along with Bannon and always had a smile on his face after some fast laps around the 2-mile road race course. “This racing is so invigorating, I wish more people could experience it. It gives you a whole new outlook on life!” The female EMTs swooned over the famous Washington Redskin player and would not let him alone until he gave them their autograph. He loved people and loved life.

After his first chemotherapy treatment in 2000, Pete was released early by his doctor, went home, then got on his Yamaha and rode 60 miles to Summit Point Raceway where his sportbike club and son were spending the weekend. “I wanted to feel vital,” he told The Washington Post. “I wanted to feel alive. I wanted my son, Bannon, to see me without tubes running into my body. When he saw me, he was very surprised and guys were going, ‘Whoa, what is he doing?’ I’ll tell you what I was doing, I was riding my butt off. It was one of the better days of my life.”

In 2001 Pete emceed a fund raising dinner for the Lombardi Cancer Center and they raised $1 million to battle cancer and try to find the cure for this terrible disease that takes the lives of so many people.