From a press release issued by the PR Group:

MOTORCYCLE CHASSIS & SUSPENSION SEMINAR BY INTERNATIONAL EXPERT!

On November 29th in Redwood City, California, Keith Code (www.superbikeschool.com) and Doc Wong of Doc Wong Rides (www.docwong.com) are co-hosting an all day seminar with suspension and chassis guru Tony Foale. The seminar attendance will be a maximum of 50 people. Price for the event is $89 advance registration is required. e-mail Doc at [email protected] for payment, registration and directions to his clinic in Redwood City where it will be held.

Tony Foale’s newest book, “Motorcycle Handling and Chassis Design, the art and science” will be available as will question and answer periods following his lectures. Foale’s work has received wide acclaim among chassis and techno-handling wizards world wide and his newest string of articles in Motorcycle Consumer News have shown his ability in bringing his understanding down to street level.

The interaction of chassis adjustments and tire performance is a hot topic and will be one of the subjects covered in the 8 hours. Foale says, “Tyre behaviour is at the heart of nearly all aspects of bike behaviour, and there is very little accurate information available from easily accessible sources. Topics such as feel, the requirements of suspension to allow the tyres to work, the differing requirements of comfort and performance and many other things will be covered.”

The seminar will be from 9AM to 5PM, Saturday, November 29th.

LOCATION: Wong Chiropractic Clinic, 1391 Woodside Road, Suite 200, Redwood City, CA 94061

(In the San Francisco bay area, just south of the city on Hwy. 101. Also near Hwy. 280.)

To register – email: [email protected]

Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Tokyo-Chunichi Sports is reporting that Shinya Nakano will ride a Kawasaki MotoGP bike in 2004, as teammate to Alex Hoffman, on Bridgestone tires.

According to sources in Japan, Suzuki may also switch to Bridgestone tires for the 2004 MotoGP Series.

Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

MRA officials say that MRA President Andrew Drattlo has resigned over charges that he wrote MRA checks and used an MRA debit card to pay non-MRA bills, including a $2100 motorcycle shop (TK Motorsports) rent payment and a $4000 downpayment on a personal truck, with several other charges–including automatic debit charges for a life insurance policy–remaining unexplained.

The amount of unauthorized personal expenditures may exceed $10,000 although Drattlo’s partner in TK Motorsports has since repaid the $2100.

Colorado-based MRA also missed scheduled payments on a $54,000 AMB transponder scoring system, including a $37,000 payment due September 1.

During an MRA Board of Directors meeting November 5, the organization revealed that it is trying to determine the exact amount of unauthorized charges and unpaid bills, has sent a $10,000 good faith payment to AMB and will pay the $27,000 balance due AMB as soon as possible, and is considering filing criminal and/or civil charges against Drattlo.

In the future, the MRA will require two signatures on organization checks, and copies of all checks and bank statements will be reviewed by the entire Board.

Roadracingworld.com reached new MRA Treasurer Brian Destarac, (who, with Drattlo, is co-owner of TK Motorsports), by phone Thursday afternoon, and asked him several questions.

Roadracingworld.com: Is it true Andrew Drattlo is no longer MRA President?

Destarac: He was asked to resign, which he did on the 3rd.

RW: Did he use MRA funds for his own personal use?

Destarac: Yes, we do have documentation of that.

RW: Is any action being taken?

Destarac: The whole situation is still under investigation and we have some issues which we are trying to resolve before we determinate if we are going to take further action.

RW: Is he still part of TK Motorsports?

Destarac: He hasn’t been in for a few weeks. We are currently trying to buy him out of the business. Actually his wife is the co-owner, he just acts as the managing partner for the two.

At post time, Drattlo had not returned a phone call from Roadracingworld.com seeking comment.

Read the official statement released by the MRA Board here:
http://autos.groups.yahoo.com/group/MRA-Racing/message/6136?unwrap=1

More information is posted on the MRA BBS, at
http://autos.groups.yahoo.com/group/MRA-Racing/message/6065

From a press release issued by the FIM:

Superbike & Supersport World Championships

New date for Brands Hatch – Supersport rounds

The event to be held in Brands Hatch will take place on August 1st, instead of July 25.

The Supersport World Championship races will be held in all the rounds in Europe and also in Phillip Island (Australia).

A round in Mont Tremblant, Canada, is to be confirmed.

Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Roadracing World correspondent Mat Oxley has confirmed that MotoGP World Champion Valentino Rossi is taking most of his crew with him as he defects from Honda to Yamaha for 2004.

The crew, led by Jerry Burgess, was helped along in the decision by incentive payments made by Rossi himself, thought to be in the range of $50,000 each.

Prior to working with Rossi, most of the crew members worked with Mick Doohan.

First priority for the crew will be to sort through the massive adjustability of the Yamaha YZR-M1 and to find a workable baseline setting by averaging the wild range of settings used on the bike during the 2002 and 2003 seasons.

From a press release issued by KTM:

Stoner celebrates first victory by signing for KTM

Casey Stoner, who picked up the 125cc Rookie of the Year Award to add to his first Grand Prix winner’s trophy on Sunday at Valencia, has signed to ride for KTM in the 125cc World Championship 2004. The Australian teenager will team up with Mika Kallio as part of the Austrian factory’s fresh push for Grand Prix success after a disappointing season which started with reigning World Champion Arnaud Vincent alongside former champ Roberto Locatelli. “I think we’ve made a good decision – their bike has been getting better and better all season so hopefully we can come out next year and fight for the championship,” said Stoner, who added that he was looking forward to working for the revered 125cc tuner Harald Bartol. “Personally I think that, alongside Jerry Burgess, Harald is the best in the business and he obviously knows how to make a motorcycle go fast, as his track record with Derbi has shown. I was behind Kallio for a couple of laps in qualifying at Valencia and I was impressed with the speed of the bike, so I am looking forward to seeing how far we can take it.

“In any case, it will be a massive experience for me to work with someone like Harald and I am looking forward to learning as much as possible from him.”

On his debut win, Stoner admitted it was a dream fulfilled after several years of hard work. “My Mum and Dad brought me over to Europe a few years ago to compete in the British and Spanish Championships and it was a big commitment for them,” explained the 18 year old, who celebrated his birthday before his home race at Phillip Island two weeks ago. “We spent a lot of hours dreaming about this first Grand Prix victory and it is a nice feeling to have done it. My true aim though is to win a MotoGP race so hopefully this can be the first step towards that goal.”

From a press release issued by Pramac Honda:

Pramac Honda Team Press Information
Valencia – (Spain) – 4/5 November 2003
PRIVATE TESTS

Makoto Tamada and Shinichi Itoh end two days of tests in Valencia after last race in World Championship

The curtain had just come down on the 2003 racing season, when the two standard-bearers of the Pramac Honda Team took just one day’s rest and then went back out on track for a tough session of tests. Together with official team rider Makoto, Shinichi Itoh, the official test rider, spent two days testing, in spite of the after-effects of a fractured collarbone he got in the Superbike contest in Japan – but the expert rider still managed to show he was on top form.

Makoto Tamada tried out the new frame for his RC211V – he had already received it during the season, but did not use it for the final race. Use of the frame was postponed until the post-championship tests so that all the development work could concentrate on the Bridgestone tyres during the closing races of the season.

So tests were made on different settings to let Makoto get a perfect feeling for the special features of the new frame. The results appear to show quite clearly how Makoto was able to make the very most of this new component after just two days’ work. Always and exclusively with race configuration, the official Pramac Honda Team rider managed to slice one second off the time he made during the race last Sunday. The 15-lap long-run endurance test showed how Makoto’s pace was extremely constant.

Shinichi Itoh, the official test rider, got a real insight into the evolution tyres being made for 2004: yesterday he concentrated on the rear tyres, today on the front.

In all, the two riders covered: Tamada 131 laps, and Itoh 145.

The next rendezvous on track for the Pramac Honda Team riders is scheduled for mid-November in France and for the first week of December in Spain.

MAKOTO TAMADA (PRAMAC HONDA TEAM) – best time in the two days: 1:33.0

SHINICHI ITOH (PRAMAC HONDA TEAM) – best time in the two days: 1:36.4

From a press release issued by Fortuna Yamaha:

FORTUNA YAMAHA TEAM TESTS
Valencia, Spain
Wednesday November 05 2003

FORTUNA YAMAHA LEAVE VALENCIA SATISFIED WITH PROGRESS

The Fortuna Yamaha Team completed the second of a two-day test today in Valencia, Spain, and take with them crucial data on the new evolution of Yamaha’s Deltabox frame. The frame was first introduced on Saturday during the MotoGP race weekend in Valencia, and was used by Carlos Checa and Norick Abe on their YZR-M1 machines during the 30-lap race on Sunday. Both riders gave positive impressions about the latest spec chassis, and continued to test with it yesterday and today.

Carlos Checa continued set-up of the new chassis today, riding a total of 74 laps with a best time of 1:33.6. Checa’s crew chief Antonio Jimenez explained the next step in the winter test programme for Carlos.

“We carried on using the new chassis with Carlos today to try to find a better setting for race distance,” commented the Spaniard. “It looks like the way we are heading is good, and for our next test in Malaysia we will start from this set-up. Carlos was fast at the Malaysia GP during qualifying so we have a good target to aim for. His race pace was not as good there, so basically with the new chassis our aim for Sepang is to improve his race pace with race simulations.”

Japanese rider Norick Abe spent the day continuing work on engine parts and different suspension settings on his M1. Abe stepped in to replace injured Marco Melandri for the Valencia GP, and stayed on for the two days to assist Yamaha with their test programme. He was also joined by fellow Japanese Yamaha test rider Wataru Yoshikawa. Abe completed a total of 58 laps today with a best lap time of 1:34.9 but unfortunately Yoshikawa had a fall this afternoon and a visit to the local hospital revealed that he had fractured his ankle. He will now fly to Japan for a further examination.

Yamaha’s test programme will continue at the Sepang circuit in Malaysia on 28/29/30 November.