From a press release issued by Yamaha Australia:

2003 Shell Advance Australian Superbike Championship
Round 3, Winton Motor Raceway, Victoria
Event preview

YAMAHA STARS REJOIN THE BATTLE AT WINTON

The past two months have proven to be a very difficult time for a number of the leading Yamaha stars, but this weekend, they will all be aiming to get their championship prospects back in order as they head to the third round of the Australian Superbike Championship at the northern Victorian Winton Motor Raceway.

Nikon Yamaha stars Kevin Curtain and Daniel Stauffer were involved in a horrifying high-speed fall at the last round of the championship at Phillip Island and after sacrificing points lost in the second and third races of that round, will be aiming to get their Yamaha YZF-R1s back amongst the major points over this weekend. The month’s break between rounds has allowed both riders to recuperate as best they can, but both are looking forward to getting back aboard their bikes once more.

Curtain currently holds down third place overall, just six points shy of points leader Shawn Giles (107 – 101), while Stauffer sits in fifth place with a total of 62 points.

Another in search of a good result will be Stafford Yamaha’s Stephen Tozer. The Victorian veteran has been in good form this year, but like Curtain and Stauffer suffered injury at the Island. Currently ninth on the table, he is recovering from a broken wrist but will be fit to give the young guns another run for their money.

The Australian Supersport Championship features a quality line up of Yamaha supported riders at this event. Leading the way once more is Curtain as he continues to double up his race duties where he currently holds a handy 15-point lead in the championship chase aboard his Nikon Yamaha YZF R6.

He will be ably supported by a strong contingent of youngsters aiming to do well. On the second Nikon Yamaha R6, Queensland teenager Brendan Clarke sits third in the championship, one place ahead of Sydney Yamaha privateer Glen Allertion, who is growing in confidence after taking a race win from Curtain at the Island and then took victory at the last Formula Xtreme round in Queensland two weeks ago.

Three more Yamaha runners lie in the top ten of the championship at this stage, with Sydney’s diminutive Shaun Geronimi (Procycles Yamaha) seventh, one place ahead of Queensland’s Judd Greedy, while Melbourne’s Glen Holland (Geoff Taylor Yamaha) rounds out the top ten.

Not to be overlooked by those in the top ten, will be South Australia’s Michael Brenton (Yamaha World), Victorian brothers Deon (Gary O’Brien Yamaha) and Jordan Coote (Pakenham Yamaha) and New South Wales hard charger Mark Stanley (Lismore Motorcycles). Each are more than capable of running within the top ten at Winton and could spring a surprise amongst their more fancied rivals.

Taree teenager Alex Cudlin (Fineline Motorcycles) trails Leigh McKenzie by 47 points as they head to the third round of the Australian Superstock Championship. The 16-year-old has shown a huge amount of potential in what has been his debut season of senior road racing. He continues to improve with each outing and will eat into McKenzie’s early points advantage.

Qualifying for the weekend’s round commences on Friday morning, before racing commences on Saturday afternoon, followed by a full program of action on Sunday.

AUSTRALIAN SUPERBIKE CHAMPIONSHIP (Points after 2 of 5 rounds)

1. S Giles (Suzuki) 107; 2. C Coxhell (Suzuki) 105; 3. K Curtain (Yamaha) 101; 4. S Johnson (Honda) 71; 5. D Stauffer (Yamaha) 62; 6. B George (Honda) 56; 7. S Charlton (Honda) 39; 8. A Maxwell (Honda) 37; 9. S Tozer (Yamaha) 37; 10. J Taylor (Honda) 36.


AUSTRALIAN SUPERSPORT CHAMPIONSHIP (Points after 2 of 5 rounds)

1. K Curtain (Yamaha) 122; 2. S Johnson (Honda) 107; 3. B Clarke (Yamaha) 88; 4. G Allerton (Yamaha) 85; 5. R Holland (Kawasaki) 57; 6. J Brookes (Honda) 54; 7. S Geronimi (Yamaha) 51; 8. J Greedy (Yamaha) 45; 9. M Aitchison (Suzuki) 28; 10. G Holland (Yamaha) 25.


AUSTRALIAN SUPERSTOCK CHAMPIONSHIP (Points after 2 of 5 rounds)

1. L McKenzie (Suzuki) 119; 2. A Cudlin (Yamaha) 72; 3. A Tomasetti (Kawasaki) 65.

Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Vermeulen hot in scorching Misano

By Glenn Le Santo

Chris Vermeulen went into provisional pole for Sunday’s San Marino round of the World Supersport championship.

The young Australian battled with heat and hangers-on to take the provisional pole with a time of 1:36.996. Vermeulen reckoned he could have gone quicker on his Ten Kate Honda but on his last fast lap he found himself towing several other riders around the circuit.

“I had about 20 guys trying to get a tow off me so I rolled around trying to get a bit of clear track,” said Vermeulen, “but by the time they cleared off my tires had gone cold.”

Alessio Corradi took second on the provisional grid on his Yamaha R6, a popular showing from the flamboyant Italian at an Italian circuit. He’s just 0.073-second down on Vermeulen. Fujiwara was beaten down to third by Vermeulen and Corradi, the Japanese rider recorded a best time of 1:37.427 on his Alstare Suzuki. Jurgen VD Goorbergh joins them all on the provisional front row.

World Supersport championship
Round seven, San Marino, June 20 – 21 – 22
First qualifying practice, fastest laps:
1. Chris Vermeulen, AUS, Honda, 1:36.996
2. Alessio Corradi, ITA, Yamaha, 1:37.069
3. Katsuaki Fujiwara, JPN, Suzuki, 1:37.427
4. Jurgen can den Goorbergh, NL, Yamaha, 1:37.459
5. Simone Sanna, ITA, Yamaha, 1:37.615
6. Broc Parkes, AUS, Honda, 1:37.758
7. Stephane Chambon, FRA, Suzuki, 1:37.834
8. Pere Riba, ESP, Kawasaki, 1:37.893
9. Karl Muggeridge, AUS, Honda, 1:37.977
10. Fabien Foret, FRA, Kawasaki, 1:38.044


More, from a press release issued by Honda Racing:

HONDA’S VERMEULEN STRIKES IN MISANO HEAT

Honda CBR600RR rider Chris Vermeulen set the pace with the fastest time in Friday afternoon’s opening qualifying session for round seven of the World Supersport championship at Misano, San Marino ­ almost two seconds inside the lap record.

Championship leader Vermeulen was in dominant mood as he put the new Ten Kate CBR600RR through its paces on its Misano debut and in blistering heat at the 2.52-mile (4.06km) circuit.

“I managed my best lap mid-session but I’m really struggling to get a clear lap ­ there’s a load out there waiting to follow me and it makes it tricky ­ and a bit dangerous,” said Vermeulen.

He continued: “I got faster and faster as the machine set-up got better and better. As we’ve never tested here it’s all credit to the team.”

Alessio Corradi on a Yamaha was second quickest with Suzuki’s Katsuaki Fujiwara third and Dutch Yamaha rider Jurgen van den Goorbergh fourth to
complete the provisional front row for Sunday’s race.

Van den Goorbergh’s team-mate Simone Sanna leads the provisional second row after the Italian took fifth place while BKM Honda¹s Broc Parkes ­ fastest in the morning’s free practice session ­ was sixth.

Parkes said: “My best laps today came on a rear race tyre so I’m looking forward to getting the machine set up a little better for tomorrow then
we’ll try a softer compound rear tyre for the fast lap.”

Stephane Chambon took seventh while Kawasaki¹s Pere Riba bounced back from a morning practice crash to take eighth. Ten Kate Honda’s Karl Muggeridge was a frustrated ninth while Riba¹s team-mate Fabien Foret completes the top 10.

CBR600RR ace Muggeridge commented: “I was in a bit of a rush towards the end of the session and just failed to make it around to start a fast lap but, there’s always tomorrow!”

Iain MacPherson was 14th fastest on his Van Zon Honda, the British rider said: “I didn’t really get a good lap on my soft rear tyre. I was held up on the warm-up lap and my tyre wasn’t hot enough. I had a couple of slides in the first few corners and decided to call it a day.”

Just 0.1s down on MacPherson was his team-mate Werner Daemen, on the second of the Van Zon CBR600RRs. Daemen commented: “Forgetting the lap time, the main achievement is the improvement of the machine. We’ve got rid of a front end problem I had this morning which was a major concern.”

Robert Ulm spent the day chasing a race set-up on his Klaffi Honda and the Austrian rider, who celebrated his 30th birthday yesterday, said: “The machine is really starting to feel good but I made a mess of what should have been my fast, qualifying lap.”

Parkes’ team-mate Christophe Cogan, on the second of the BKM Hondas, ended the opening day in 22nd place, he said: “I was busy testing race tyres and getting dialled into the circuit ­ it’s a difficult track for me. There’s no panic though, I know I can get a much faster time tomorrow.”

A troubled Sebastien Charpentier, on the Klaffi team machine, was 26th, he admitted: “Misano has always been a difficult circuit for me. I struggle for feel on the fast left-handers onto the back straight and they are crucial to a fast lap. We’ll have a good look at everything tonight and work it out for tomorrow.”

Friday’s World Supersport championship qualifying times:
1. Chris Vermeulen, Australia (Honda) 1:36.996
2. Alessio Corradi, Italy (Yamaha) 1:37.069
3. Katsuaki Fujiwara, Japan (Suzuki) 1:37.427
4. Jurgen van den Goorbergh, Holland (Yamaha) 1:37.459
5. Simone Sanna, Italy (Yamaha) 1:37.615
6. Broc Parkes, Australia (Honda) 1:37.758
7. Stephane Chambon, France (Suzuki) 1:37.834
8. Pere Riba, Spain (Kawasaki) 1:37.893
9. Karl Muggeridge, Australia (Honda) 1:37.977
10. Fabien Foret, France (Kawasaki) 1:38.044
14. Iain MacPherson, GB (Honda) 1:38.439
16. Werner Daemen, Belgium (Honda) 1:38.580
19. Robert Ulm, Austria (Honda) 1:38.810
22. Christophe Cogan, France (Honda) 1:39.002
26. Sebastien Charpentier, France (Honda) 1:39.628

Friday qualifying
Superside (Sidecar) World Championship
Misano Adriatico, San Marino:
1. Steve Webster, GB, Suzuki, 1:39.374
2. Jörg Steinhausen, Germany, Suzuki, 1:39.815
3. Steve Abbott, GB, Suzuki, 1:40.310
4. Klaus Klaffenböck, Austria, Yamaha, 1:41.328
5. Tom Hanks, GB, Yamaha, 1:41.363
6. Martien van Gils, Holland, Suzuki, 1:42.160
7. Mike Roscher, Germany, Suzuki, 1:43.873
8. Sepp Doppler, Germany, Yamaha, 1:45.047
9. Bill Philp, GB, Yamaha, 1:45.071
10. Richard Gatt, GB, Yamaha, 1:45.323

Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Giovanni Bussei has a two-race deal with Ducati Austin and may or may not continue with the team after Brainerd and Laguna Seca. And the private Yamaha World Superbike team he currently rides for will wait and see what happens before making plans to replace him.

“Giovanni may, or may not, still be riding for us at the end of the year,” said one team source. “But for his own good the team decided to release him for this very good opportunity in his career.”

From a press release issued by MonsterMob Ducati:

SHAKEY HOPING FOR HISTORY AT HOME

After a five week break in the 2003 British Superbike Championship, MonsterMob Ducati rider Shane Byrne is eager to get back into race action as the series heads to the half way stage at Brands Hatch this weekend.

The Minster, Isle of Sheppey rider is hoping to continue his dominance having stamped his authority on the championship with eight wins out of the ten races held to date and with a brace of second places also for good measure ‘Shakey’ holds a massive 104 point advantage over nearest rival Michael Rutter (Ducati) going into revamped Kent circuit.

Seven of those wins have come in the last seven races including successive doubles at Thruxton, Oulton Park and in the last round at Knockhill and if the 26 year old can emulate another such feat, he will go into the record books as the only rider in the history of the championship to score four consecutive doubles in a season.

But despite his recent run, the local ace is under no illusions as to the task in hand, even though he can undoubtedly count on the support of thousands of his fans at his local track:

“Five weeks is a long time and I can’t wait to get back on my bike. Some of the other riders have been racing or testing since the last round but I’m confident we can get up to speed fairly quickly at Brands. I’m really looking forward to racing at my home circuit and hopefully I can give the fans something to cheer about” said Byrne.

Team mate Stuart Easton is also hoping for success at the circuit where he impressed at last season. The 18 year old Hawick rider won the corresponding Supersport race by over fourteen seconds last season and also posted a top ten placing in the World Supersport Championship round on the same track during 2002.

However, this season the young Scot has not had it all his own way and is desperate to get back to winning ways having taken just one victory all season aboard the 748cc MonsterMob Ducati but still lies second in the points table.

“I really need to win this weekend and hope that Karl Harris (series leader) drops some points so I can close the gap on him. We’ve suffered through various problems in the opening few races but when everything’s gone well, I’ve cleared off and I aim to do that again on Sunday” said the defending champion.

After masterminding a successful TT campaign for Ducati which saw them achieve a pair of rostrum places in the capable hands of John McGuinness, team owner Paul Bird is keen to carry on where the team left off at Knockhill in Scotland:

“Shakey knows we can’t rest on our laurels and he’ll be going all out to increase that championship lead this weekend. He’s under a lot of pressure to perform but he can handle that and if he keeps going the way he has been in recent weeks, there’ll be no stopping him. Stuart dominated here last year and he’s expecting another good result so hopefully we can come away with another hat-trick” said the Cumbrian businessman who promised at the start of the year that if both riders took their respective titles, the reward for the team would be an all-expenses paid trip to the Caribbean at the end of the season!

Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Martin tops first qualifying in Misano heat

By Glenn Le Santo

Steve Martin took a surprise provisional pole at Misano in the first timed qualifying session ahead for round seven of the World Superbike championship.

The Australian has found it hard to make a mark in World Superbike racing on his Pirelli-shod DFX Ducati, struggling for grip on the development tires. But today Pirelli engineers provided him with a new tire to try, and it seems to have worked well for him.

“This is all new to me,” said Martin after the session, “but obviously I’m very happy to have press guys turn up at my garage for quotes for a change! Basically we’ve just tried a new compound, and importantly, a new carcass, and it worked really well!”

Although he’s doing well in qualifying, Martin admitted that things might not be quite so good for the race; “Everyone here will struggle on race tyres, and we’ve still got some work to do on our race set up.”

Pierfrancesco Chili took provisional second ahead of Regis Laconi. Ruben Xaus is the lone factory rider on the provisional front row. Runaway title leader Neil Hodgson languishes down in sixth, a strangely familiar position for him on a Friday, despite his brilliant form this season.

World Superbike championship
Round seven, San Marino (Circuit Santa Monica, Misano, Italy)
June 20-21-22

First timed qualifying, best lap times:

1. Steve Martin, AUS, Ducati, 1:35.276
2. Pierfrancesco Chili, ITA, Ducati, 1:35.290
3. Regis Laconi, ITA, Ducati, 1:35.365
4. Ruben Xaus, ESP, Ducati, 1:35.422
5. Lucio Pedercini, ITA, Ducati, 1:35.571
6. Neil Hodgson, GBR, Ducati, 1:35.781
7. James Toseland, GBR, Ducati, 1:36.022
8. Chris Walker, GBR, Ducati, 1:36.066
9. Mauro Sanchini, ITA, Kawasaki, 1:36.094
10. Gregorio Lavilla, ESP, Suzuki, 1:36.225


More, from a press release issued by Ducati Corse:

XAUS AND HODGSON (DUCATI FILA) FOURTH AND SIXTH AT SCORCHING MISANO – EIGHT DUCATIS LEAD THE FIELD

Ruben Xaus (Ducati Fila) set fourth quickest time today in first qualifying for the San Marino Round of the World Superbike Championship at a scorching hot Misano Adriatico circuit. The Spanish rider was two places ahead of team-mate and championship leader Neil Hodgson as eight Ducatis from six different teams filled the top eight positions on the provisional grid.

“That was not so bad, much better than Oschersleben and Silverstone for sure” commented Ruben, who was just one-tenth of a second away from provisional polesitter, the surprising Steve Martin (DFX Ducati). “It’s really hot out there and the new surface is not so ‘grippy’ so it’s sure to be a hard weekend. For me what is important is the race, not running quick tomorrow morning or even in Superpole. We did a lot of work today and I’ll be testing a lot more things tomorrow morning because I need to know the bike better and the only reference we have is from last year. The front is a lot better than this morning, but I still need to work a lot to get the right feeling”.

Hodgson was half-a-second away from the provisional pole time but was not too disappointed to be in sixth position after Friday qualifying.

“Everything feels pretty good” he declared, “and I’m consistent on race tyres which is important. Now it’s just a case of fine-tuning the 999 and getting the right gearing for this circuit because it’s a bit of a compromise really. Today has been better than usual, probably the best Friday I’ve had since Valencia, that’s how confident I am. I only ran on race tyres today, I’ve already chosen the front now I’m down to the rear selection. After the morning session I will have the final choice and then I’ll choose after the long-run in the afternoon. With this temperature the track feels greasy, but tomorrow morning I’m sure I can improve because it’ll be cooler and I’m not yet on the limit”.

Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Racer Woody Deatherage, who broke his back when he crashed and slid into a bare concrete wall at Road Atlanta last month, hopes to return to AMA Superbike racing at Mid-Ohio July 25-27.

Reached by phone on Friday, June 20, Deatherage said that his doctor had cleared him to start working out in a swimming pool and on a stationary bike, and that he had gotten a new frame and was rebuilding his racebike.

Deatherage said that he hopes to see safety improvements at various tracks hosting AMA Superbike races, including Mid-Ohio.

“We’re thinkin’ about comin’ back, and safety is a big thing,” said Deatherage. “Like at Mid-Ohio, I’d like to see them grind down the edges of the concrete patches, the lips that people are always losing the front end on. And that back section where you wheelie over the hill and they have all those trees back there, I’d like to see them rip all that stuff out and make the sand trap bigger. And take out that bridge abutment.

“Sometimes I try to talk to (AMA Pro Racing’s) Ron Barrick but he always gets so defensive about it. I’d like to be able to sit down with him and maybe some track owners and see what we can do to make things better. I’ll go to tracks, take a ride around the course with them, talk about some things that can be done to make it safer.”

Meanwhile, Deatherage’s friend Michael Sturdevant has made a $100 donation to the Roadracing World Action Fund for dirt track Airfence, stating that he made the donation to “convince Woody to go to Lima” to watch the upcoming AMA dirt track race.

“We have to get Woody out of the house,” said Sturdevant in an e-mail to Roadracingworld.com.

“Leverage” donations to the Action Fund are a great way to convince people to do things.

Total donations to the Roadracing World Action Fund for dirt track have reached $18,697. The Action Fund deployed Airfence soft barriers at the recent IMDA-promoted AMA Springfield Mile as part of an education program demonstrating the safety and economic advantages of using soft barriers at motorcycle races.

Readers who wish to encourage Woody Deatherage to go to Lima, or to comment on his planned return to Mid-Ohio and his hope to open a dialog with AMA Pro Racing and track owners on improving safety, can e-mail him at [email protected].

From a press release issued by Proforma:

STAR MOTORCYCLE SCHOOL TO AWARD FREE SCHOOL TO WERA 600 SUPERSTOCK NOVICE POINTS LEADER AT TALLADEGA

Round five of the 2003 WERA National Challenge Series will be held this weekend, June 20-22, at Talladega Gran Prix Raceway. One of the highlight races of the weekend has to be the STAR School 600 Superstock Novice event, where four riders are in contention to win a free day at a STAR Motorcycle School of their choice, which will be awarded to the class points leader following this round.

Riders Matt Lynn and Diego Rojas are currently tied for the points lead in the class, each with 57 points and identical results in the first four
rounds of the series. Adam Durham is a close second with 52 points, while Eddie Robinson, with 38 points, still has a mathematical chance of winning should the three riders ahead of him falter at this event.

In addition to its sponsorship of the WERA National Challenge Series 600 Superstock Novice class, STAR Motorcycle School will award a free school day to the points leader of the class at the mid-point of the season. The winner will be able to attend one of the upcoming STAR schools on the 2003 schedule with no tuition fees, and get one-on-one instruction from 2002 AMA Formula Xtreme champion Jason Pridmore and the rest of the STAR school staff.

“I’m not surprised that the points battle is this tight,” said Evelyne Clarke, president of WERA. “The 600 Superstock Novice class always has new up-and-coming riders that want to show what they can do. Having the STAR School involved is a great incentive for these guys, with an opportunity to attend a free school day and work on making their riding skills even better.”

Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Larry Pegram’s shot at riding a spare 998RS for Ducati Austin at Brainerd was derailed by a tire problem, sources close to the situation say.

Specifically, sources said, Dunlop would not supply tires for Pegram, who finished on the podium in the second Superbike race at Road America two weeks ago using Michelin tires.

The fact that Pegram recently put it on the box on Michelins was one factor, and the other is that Dunlop’s racing budget is already stretched, the Goodyear-owned company holding a virtual monopoly on the AMA Superbike grid.

Ducati Austin team owner Terry Gregoricka declined to comment when asked about the situation.

Pegram is looking for a ride because Dream Team Ducati has imploded. “I’ll ride anything, Superstock, whatever,” said Pegram. “I just don’t want to go to Brainerd and stand around.”

Pegram said he has physical possession of the Dream Team Ducati truck, trailer, bikes and equipment at his home in Ohio and is seeking a lien toward contract payments he says the team owes him.

In related news, Pegram said that the team has not yet paid Mitch Hansen for the semi-trailer, which Dream Team Ducati took possession of last year. Pegram said that he bought the tractor himself, and has also not been reimbursed.