From a press release issued by Honda Racing:

Day two Isle of Man TT Festival
June 2, 2003

Palmer and McGuinness Victorious for Honda

Chris Palmer and Shaun Harris both enjoyed maiden glory as the Isle of Man TT Racing Festival continued on a busy day that also brought a third victory for John McGuinness.

Lancastrian McGuinness was delighted with his performance, especially as he had only clinched the deal to bring his race winning Honda to the Island on the Wednesday of practice week, and clocked only three laps aboard it prior to the race.

That hardly showed as McGuinness set the pace throughout the four lap Lightweight 400TT, always ahead of the action as Ryan Farquhar tried everything he knew to reel him in, but that pursuit was in vain, as he trailed into the pits for the half distance fuelling halt some 22 seconds down.

McGuinness was cruising it, taking the victory from Richard Britton, with Farquhar having to settle for the first of his two third placings of the day.

“That was a fantastic race there were absolutely no problems it was just a case of getting my head down and getting on with it and I had the luxury of being able to turn it down a bit on the last lap.” McGuinness said.

“I only sorted the deal for the bike last week and had no time to work on the settings, but that did not matter after the disappointment of Saturday when I finished third, this was great the bike was absolutely flying.” Concluded the Lancastrian.

Honda RS125R rider Palmer, having shrugged aside the frustrations of a three hour delay to the start of the 125cc Ultralightweight race because of low cloud, was another man in a hurry to romp to victory. First he had to overcome the speedy challenge of Michael Wilcox, but he was ahead of the Lincoln rider just into the second lap, and then powered into the distance.

Now living at Castetown, Palmer had vowed back in 1991 when he twice crashed, never to race at the Island again. He changed his mind last year, and it paid dividends, with the former British champion saying . “I never dreamt that I would win a TT, and now I live here, it would be rude not to ride here wouldn’t it.”

Harris, riding a big Suzuki, was another comfortable winner, leading throughout the three lap 1000 Production TT to head up a Kiwi one-two ahead of Bruce Anstey. He was ahead from the start, though the threat of Saturday’s TT Formula 1 race of Adrian Archibald was growing until the third placed Ulsterman ran out of fuel yards from his scheduled pit-stop after two laps.

He ‘legged’ the bike back, but had lost vital seconds. Harris and Anstey made the most of it as they forged clear with Farquhar taking third, ahead of Richard Britton with Chris Heath fifth after Ian Lougher had retired at Bungalow with machine problems.

“I knew that I would win–the bike was superbly
prepared. That was not a case of being cocky, rather being totally confident. I have been trying to win here for ten years, and knew this would be my race. There will be no celebrations though, there are more races to be won this week,” said Harris while Anstey, having to settle for second best commented: “the bike went well but it was a bit windy out there.”

Hard luck story of the race belonged to McGuinness. He retired after two laps, totally exhausted. His Ducati had run out of fuel and he had pushed it the half mile from Governors to the pits, and was unable to continue.

Results:
125cc TT four laps
1 Chris Palmer, Honda, 1:23:20.56
2 Michael Wilcox, Honda, 1:24:00.46
3 Ian Lougher, Honda, 1:24:21.03
4 Robert Dunlop, Honda, 1:24:47.24
5 Nigel Beattie, Honda, 1:27:15.22
6 Paul Owen, Honda, 1:28:43.71
7 Ted Roebuck, Honda, 1:28:51.06
8 Nigel Moore, Honda, 1:29:12.02
9 Mark Tyrrell, Honda, 1:29:30.66
10 Matt Jackson, 1:29:53.77

Lightweight 400 TT four laps
1 John McGuinness, Honda, 1:22:40.97
2 Richard Britton, Honda, 1:23:07.29
3 Ryan Farquhar, Kawasaki, 1:23:23.21
4 David Madsen-Mygdal, Honda, 1:24:28.95
5 Robert J Price, Yamaha, 1:26:00.41
6 Alan Bennie, Yamaha, 1:27:34.27
7 Craig McLean, Yamaha, 1:27:53.95
8 Michael Hose, Kawasaki, 1:28:05.57
9 Peter Jarmann, Kawasaki, 1:28:21.25
10 Robert A Price, Yamaha, 1:28:32.77

1000cc Production TT three laps
1 Shaun Harris, Suzuki, 55:39.38
2 Bruce Anstey, Suzuki, 55:55.42
3 Ryan Farquhar, Suzuki, 56:10.50
4 Richard Britton, Suzuki, 56:20.87
5 Chris Heath, Suzuki, 56:52.84
6 Jason Griffiths, 57:07.66
7 Paul Hunt, Suzuki, 57:26.07
8 Adrian Archibald, Suzuki, 57:27 51
9 Martin Finnegan, Suzuki, 57:42.87
10 Colin Breeze, Suzuki, 58:31.75

From a press release:

2003 Yamaha Formula Xtreme TT Series
Round 4, Queensland Raceway, Queensland
Race Report

YAMAHA PRIVATEER RIDERS SHINE AT QUEENSLAND XTREME ROUND – TRINDER SEALS
SECOND NAKEDBIKE TITLE

Star riders Daniel Stauffer and Kevin Curtain may have been missing from the penultimate round of this years Yamaha Formula Xtreme TT Series at Queensland Raceway, but that did not slow the flow of race wins for Yamaha riders in the series as Melbourne’s Cameron Donald and Sydney’s Glen Allerton emerged as potential new stars of the series after claiming the overall round win in the Xtreme and Supersport classes respectively.

The results attained by the two up and coming riders were further enhanced as Craig Trinder made it two consecutive NakedBike crowns when he swept his Nikon Yamaha FZ1 to four straight wins over the weekend to build an unassailable lead as the series heads to its final round at Eastern Creek on July 13.

“What can I say about the Yamaha FZ1, it’s just a great bike,” said Trinder. “It is such a good bike for the NakedBike class. It’s got a great combination of power and handling that allows you to go out and enjoy your racing. Even though we were able to wrap up the series title with 14 wins from 16 starts, the competition has been a lot closer providing some great race action at each of the four rounds so far.”

The Queensland round of the Yamaha Formula Xtreme TT Series offered a great number of opportunities for a number of riders to showcase their talents.

Cameron Donald claimed the first overall round win by a privateer for a number of years as he remained consistent in each of the four races to guide his Gary O’Brien Yamaha YZF R1 to the round win courtesy of a pair of seconds and a pair of thirds. It was a great day for the Victorian as he also took the overall points lead in the A Grade privateers battle and gave Pirelli their first overall Xtreme round win as well.

“I couldn’t be happier,” said Donald at the end of a very impressive day. “To win an overall round as a privateer just goes to show how well our small team is working and how good a bike the Yamaha YZF R1 is, it’s fantastic. I’ve put all my energy into the Formula Xtreme series this year and even though it is only our third race meeting with the bike it just gets better and better. Pirelli as well have done a great job with us. It’s nice to have another brand of tyre out there as well and it’s good to be able to repay them for their support. We have a couple of goals still ahead for us as I would like to stay at the top of the A Grade privateer battle, but I would also like to have a good shot at taking out third place overall in the series.”

Nikon Yamaha’s Brendan Clarke scored his maiden win in Xtreme in Saturday’s opener, before backing that up with a second win on Sunday morning. Unfortunately for the Brisbane teenager he became the innocent victim in a fall by guest team rider Tony Rees at the end of the back straight in race three which denied him a continued run of wins. A fourth place finish in race four rewarded the youngster with third place overall for the day.

Another Brisbane rider who stood up to the plate was Aluma-Lite Racings Ben Attard who rode a superb race to take a flag to flag win in the final race of the day to give him second overall on the day to Donald.

Heading to the final round, Stauffer holds a slender 6-point lead over Curtain (251 – 245), with Clarke third with 178, followed by Donald (165) and Attard (133) setting the scene for a great finale.

The very competitive Supersport class saw a new face at the top of the points table as 22-year-old Sydneysider Glen Allerton piloted his privateer Yamaha YZF R6 to an a very well deserved round win.

Allerton kept the pressure on all day and was rewarded with a win in race two, along with two seconds and a third.

“The weekend started out pretty tough for us as we were struggling with tyre tear, but we got the chassis sorted out and solved the early problems,” said Allerton. “We did the best we could with what we had and obviously it was enough this weekend. It was a bit of bad luck for Brendan (Clarke) to have fallen in the third race, but I’ll still take the win. Straight out of the box this Yamaha YZF R6 has been a rocket. It’s very well suited to the Dunlop tyres we’re using and couldn’t be happier with it.”

Nikon Yamaha’s Brendan Clarke took out three race wins over the weekend and has now moved to within 20 points of class leader and teammate Kevin Curtain as the prepare for the final round at the Creek.

Lismore Motorcycles rider Mark Stanley maintains eighth place overall in the class, but his weekend was cut short when he fell from his YZF R6 at Turn Four while within striking distance of the leaders in race two. He finished seventh in the opener, but was unable to have his machine repaired for the final two races.

Taree teenager Alex Cudlin continues to lead the Yamaha Superstock class and completed a busy weekend by taking three wins and a second in the class, to further extend his class points lead. Adding to his Superstock duties, Cudlin also made his first appearance in the big bore class as he rode the YZF R1 formerly ridden by older brother Damien. His natural ability showed as he finished third overall in Formula Oz and took out second place in the Formula X Unlimited C&D Grade feature race.

“Everything went to plan today, three wins and a second, so I don’t think you could ask for much more than that, it was good,” said Cudlin. “I think we’ve got a strong lead going into the final round, but it’s still a long way from being over yet. It’s been great to have had time on the R1 as well and we picked up some pretty good results today which is very encouraging for us.”


YAMAHA XTREME Overall points standings after round 4 of 5:
1. Daniel Stauffer (251); 2. Kevin Curtain (245); 3. Brendan Clarke (178); 4. Cameron Donald (165); 5. Ben Attard (133); 6. David Butler (132); 7. Nicholas Barton (130); 8. Stephen Tozer (110); 9. Robert Bugden (106); 10. Benn Archibald (101).


YAMAHA SUPERSPORT Overall points standings after round 4 of 5:
1. Kevin Curtain (300); 2. Brendan Clarke (280); 3. Russell Holland (225); 4. Glen Allerton (170); 5. Simon Rattenbury (152); 6. Wayne Maxwell (146); 7. Mark Aichison (138); 8. Mark Stanley (82); 9. Christopher Seaton (76); 10. Rory Rock (60).

YAMAHA SUPERSTOCK Overall points standings after round 4 of 5:
1. Alex Cudlin (335); 2. Alex Tomasetti (301); 3. Jarrod Curren (246); 4. Benjamin O’Brien (200); 5. Scott Evans (155).

NAKEDBIKE Overall points standings after round 4 of 5:
1. Craig Trinder (385); 2. John Allen (282); 3. Graeme Wilshaw (262); 4. Matthew Waldren (211); 5. Lee Munro (176).

Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

The new Road Atlanta chicane was not built to the plans shown to AMA Pro Racing officials, and the final configuration was a surprise.

That shocking revelation was made in the paddock at Pikes Peak International Raceway by AMA Pro Racing Board Member Kevin Schwantz and by AMA Pro Racing Director of Road Racing Ron Barrick.

The chicane was heralded by track officials and in an AMA Pro Racing press release as improving safety by keeping riders away from a concrete wall on the outside of what AMA officials referred to as turn four, a sweeping left-hander prior to the start of the Road Atlanta esses.

No active AMA road racers were consulted prior to the chicane being built, and it has met with almost universal condemnation by riders.

At Pikes Peak, Roadracingworld.com asked riders who had tested at Road Atlanta in April–the first time the chicane was used by AMA teams–if they were consulted prior to the track change being made. All said they had not been consulted, and several said they knew nothing of the change until they saw it on the Internet a few days before the test.

When asked at Pikes Peak why no current riders were contacted before the changes were made, Barrick was quick to point out that former 500cc World Champion Schwantz was consulted.

But Schwantz himself said at Pikes Peak, “I was consulted with regard to the (track) changes beforehand and they looked fine, but what I saw was different than what they actually did. The pictures showed the track going further right into the old turn four before going left. It would have made it less of a straight shot, and more of a chicane.”

Asked if he thought the changes improved safety at Road Atlanta, Schwantz said, “I think the changes help move you away from the wall outside of turn four, but make it more of a straight shot down the hill, and that brings the wall on the inside, at the end of the esses, into play.”

This was clearly shown at Road Atlanta, first when Steve Rapp’s Suzuki hit the inside, and unpadded, wall at the base of the esses during Friday’s Superbike qualifying, and then again when Woody Deatherage crashed into the same, still unpadded, wall during the second Superbike race on Sunday.

Rapp saw the impact coming and bailed out early, avoiding personal contact with the wall. But Deatherage followed his bike into the wall and broke his back.

Like Schwantz, Barrick said that he saw designer Dick Lane’s original design, but that the end result was different. Barrick also said the track didn’t tell him that the chicane design had been changed until after construction was completed, and that the changes to the design were made to keep race cars from tearing up the new chicane’s curbing.

Roadracingworld.com asked some of the riders what they thought of the new section and the general consensus was that it hurt the flow of the track and created new problems.

Yamaha’s Jamie Hacking, the 2002 Road Atlanta 600cc Supersport race winner, said “It’s rinky-dink, flip-flop. All they needed to do was move the outside wall, or just knock it out and add a gravel trap and everything would have been fine.”

Hacking’s teammate Jason DiSalvo said he thought the chicane wasn’t bad, but that it did hurt the flow of the track. He also said he didn’t think it was needed and that all it did was increase the speeds going down the hill.

Austin Ducati’s Anthony Gobert, who in 2002 crashed in the old turn three, breaking his leg, said “I was hurt there but that was a fluke deal, I crashed because of a problem with the bike. They did the same thing at Sears, and I don’t think they are helping anything by just adding some chicane.”

Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

By Glenn Le Santo

Toseland Wins!

James Toseland took his inaugural World Superbike victory in Race Two at Oschersleben, breaking Neil Hodgson’s nine race winning streak for an emotional win. Hodgson was second from Toseland’s HM Plant teammate, Chris Walker, making an all-British podium.

Toseland took the holeshot and led through the Hotel corner from Hodgson, Walker, and Ruben Xaus, with Regis Laconi and Frankie Chili close behind.

Hodgson, looking to lead the race, went deep into the Shell Esses on lap two, passing Toseland by the exit. But his line caused his Ducati 999 to run wide, allowing Toseland back underneath. The two collided heavily, knocking Hodgson from the seat and damaging his fairing, but both riders continued.

“I thought my race was over,” commented Hodgson, “I looked down and couldn’t see my clutch lever! But it’s on a pivot, designed to spring back from just this kind of incident, I pulled it back up, it wasn’t right, but it worked.”

Hodgson had to fight back after Walker took advantage of the collision, and was clearly trying very hard to catch Toseland. But Toseland was smooth and consistent with his Dunlop-shod HM Plant Ducati, breaking both Hodgson’s streak of wins and ending the longstanding Dunlop win-drought in WSB.

“I can hardly believe I’ve won,” said an emotional Toseland after the race. “I want to dedicate this win to my family, without their support I wouldn’t be here.”

Hodgson was obviously gutted to miss an entry in the record books, but was quick to congratulate his former HM Plant Ducati team mate;

“I have to take my hat off to James, I have no excuses, he beat me fair and square.”

The win leap-frogs Toseland into second in the championship from Hodgson, and sets up for an exciting home round at Silverstone in two weeks time.

World Superbike championship
Race 2, Round Five, Oschersleben, Germany
30-31 May – 1 June 2003

1. J. Toseland, GBR, Ducati, 41:20.103
2. N. Hodgson, GBR, Ducati, -7.416 seconds
3. C. Walker, GBR, Ducati, -15.314
4. R. Laconi, FRA, Ducati, -19.277
5. R. Xaus, ESP, Ducati, -24.228
6. S. Martin, AUS, Ducati, -43.648
7. J. Borja, ESP, Ducati, -46.868
8. V. Iannuzzo, ITA, Suzuki, -47.807
9. M. Borciani, ITA, Suzuki, -48.930
10. L. Pedercini, ITA, Ducati, -1:02.514


More, from a press release issued by Ducati Corse:

DUCATI CORSE PRESS INFORMATION

HODGSON (DUCATI FILA) AND TOSELAND (HM PLANT DUCATI) TAKE A WIN APIECE IN GERMANY

Neil Hodgson (Ducati Fila) equalled Colin Edwards’ (Honda) nine-race World Superbike winning streak with victory in race 1 at Oschersleben after a superb battle with Pierfrancesco Chili (PSG-1 Ducati) but had to take the runner-up slot in race 2 behind James Toseland (HM Plant Ducati) who took his maiden WSBK win.

Hodgson took the lead from Chili on lap 9 and clinched victory despite coming under pressure from the Italian who was never more than a bike’s length behind. “I didn’t get a good start but the Hodgson luck is flying around at the moment because if I had, then I would probably have been taken out in the carnage at the first corner” declared Neil.

After some fairing-bashing with Toseland in the early stages of race 2, Hodgson then had to take second-best to his former GSE team-mate who led an all-British podium with Chris Walker coming home third. “It was a tough race and it’s a tough track for overtaking” added Neil, “so that’s why I made the move on James. We made contact and I thought I had no clutch lever. I glanced down and the lever was facing down so I banged it back. It wasn’t quite right but I could continue the race. I waited for James to make a mistake but it didn’t come. I was trying to stay behind him, but we got the back-markers and it was all over then. I was pleased to match Colin’s record but you can’t win them all! James totally deserved his victory and the best man won on the day.”

Team-mate Ruben Xaus crashed out from third place on lap 10 at the fast right-hander leading onto the back straight in race 1 and then finished fifth after the break. “In the first race I had problems with the front of my bike and unfortunately simply fell off. Then fifth place in race 2 was not so good, because I still had a few problems with the front” declared Ruben. “I didn’t have a good feeling with the bike all weekend. I know I am a fast rider, but at the moment I don’t feel that it is my bike. Tomorrow we’ll be here for a day’s testing and I’m sure we’ll get some good results”.


RACE 1: 1. Hodgson (Ducati Fila)
2. Chili (PSG-1 Ducati)
3. Toseland (HM Plant Ducati)
4. Laconi (NCR Ducati)
5. Walker (HM Plant Ducati)
6. Martin (DFX Ducati)

RACE 2:
1. Toseland (HM Plant Ducati)
2. Hodgson (Ducati Fila)
3. Walker (HM Plant Ducati)
4. Laconi (NCR Ducati)
5. Xaus (Ducati Fila)
6. Martin (DFX Ducati)


POINTS (after 5 of 12 rounds):

Riders:
1. Hodgson 245
2. Toseland 132
3. Xaus 126
4. Laconi 122
5. Lavilla 111
6. Walker 95
7. Chili 84

Manufacturers:
1. Ducati 250
2. Suzuki 127
3. Petronas 52
4.
Kawasaki 46
5. Yamaha 32
6. Honda 21.


More, from a press release issued by Team Suzuki News Service:

IANNUZZO GRABS A PAIR OF EIGHTHS

It was a disappointing afternoon for Team Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra rider Gregorio Lavilla at Oschersleben today. A fall at the first corner in the first race left the Spaniard bruised and battered and frustrated at the lack of points. His luck didn’t get any better in race two ­ a suspected electrical problem caused him to pull in after sixteen laps. But there was some joy for Team Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra, their ‘wild card’ rider Vittorio Iannuzzo put in a superb performance and finished eighth in both 28-lappers.

Briton Neil Hodgson (Ducati) won the first race, after a titanic struggle with Frankie Chili (Chili), to take his season’s tally to nine and equal the record for consecutive wins set by Colin Edwards last year. Third was James Toseland, ahead of Regis Laconi, Chris Walker and Steve Martin ­ all on Ducatis. The second race was another two-rider dogfight ­ this time between Hodgson and Toseland. But this time, Hodgson lost out to his younger rival and Toseland recorded his maiden World Superbike win. Third went to Walker ­ completing an all-British 1-2-3 for the first time in World Superbike history.

GREGORIO LAVILLA ­ Race 1: DNF, Race 2: DNF
To say that was a disappointing and frustrating day would be an understatement! It all started before the first race even began when I felt some problem with the clutch on my bike on the inspection lap. I pulled in and jumped on to my number two bike and maybe the tyres weren’t up to temperature or something. Going into turn my brakes wouldn’t work properly and I went in a bit hot. I tried not to touch anybody and I can’t say if somebody hit me, but either way I crashed and that was that for the race. I was bruised a lot, but not bad enough to prevent me from starting race two. At the start of the second race, the engine revs dropped. I didn’t make a good start and the rear grip didn’t feel good from the start. After a few laps I felt something wasn’t right, but I carried on. I thought that maybe the bike had dropped a valve, so I pulled in. If there had been two or three laps left, I would’ve risked staying out and getting some points. But, as there were twelve or so laps left, I thought it safer to pull in and completely destroy the engine. The mechanics looked at my bike afterwards and they think the problem was probably electrical, but we will not know for sure until they take the engine apart next week. Obviously, I’m very disappointed and very frustrated.

VITTORIO IANNUZZO ­ Race 1: 8th, Race 2: 8th
I am very happy today, because I wanted a pair of solid top ten finishes and I managed a pair of eights. Every time I ride this Suzuki GSXR1000, I learn a bit more about riding a Superbike and get more experience. I am particularly happy with my second race, because the gap to fifth place was very small.

Results

Race 1:
1 Hodgson (GB-Ducati)
2 Chili (I-Ducati)
3 Toseland (GB-Ducati)
4 Laconi (F-Ducati)
5 Walker (GB-Ducati)
6 Martin (AUS-Ducati)
8 IANNNUZZO (I-ALSTARE CORONA EXTRA)
DNF ­ LAVILLA (E-ALSTARE SUZUKI CORONA EXTRA)

Race 2:
1 Toseland
2 Hodgson
3 Walker
4 Laconi
5 Xaus
6 Martin
8 IANNUZZO (I-ALSTARE SUZUKI CORONA EXTRA), DNF ­ LAVILLA (E-ALSTARE SUZUKI CORONA EXTRA)

Points
1 Hodgson 245
2 Toseland 132
3 Xaus 126
4 Laconi 122
5 LAVILLA (ALSTARE SUZUKI CORONA EXTRA) 111
6 Walker 95
15 IANNUZZO (ALSTARE SUZUKI CORONA EXTRA) 27,

PODIUMS FOR STEPH AND KATS!

Team Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra riders Stephane Chambon and Katsuaki Fujiwara took second and third places in the fifth round of the Supersport World Championship at Oschersleben today. Both had to work hard for their places, and once in second and third, they fought each other throughout the second half of the race ­ entertaining the 68,000 strong crowd with their close-quarter racing. The race was won by series leader Chris Vermeulen, who made a flyer of a start and was then never challenged, headed on the way to his third win of the season. By the second lap, he had already opened out a small gap on his pursuers and from then on in, the rest had to grind away and try and catch him. At the end, Vermeuelen took the chequered flag nearly two seconds ahead of Chambon.

STEPHANE CHAMBON ­ 2ND
That was good fun! Fighting Kats is always good fun, but safe. It is a shame that Vermeuelen got away from the rest of us so soon and it was impossible to catch him once he had that advantage. Our Suzuki may be the oldest bike out there, but Kats and I showed that it is still very competitive. Today my Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra GSXR600 worked very well and I’d like to thank the team for all their good work.

KASTSUAKI FUJIWAR ­ 3RD
I am pretty happy today ­ especially after the problems in practice. Also, my right boot zip split and I spent most of the race with the boot flapping about and it was difficult to use the rear brake. Also, my foot kept slipping on the pegs. But the end result was good and I’m very happy with my bike and all we achieved today.

Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

The rains in Colorado have stopped, the track has been dried and the 48-lap AMA Superbike race is scheduled to start at 3:40 p.m. Mountain Time.

From AMA Pro Racing:

“Due to the late start and the possibility of further rain later in the afternoon, all support classes will run 20-lap finals.”


The Supersport, Superstock and 250cc Grand Prix support races were originally scheduled for 29 laps.

Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

On-track activities at Pikes Peak International Raceway are on hold due to rain and high winds.

The Supersport race scheduled to start at noon, didn’t.

Stay tuned.

Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Kawasaki’s Eric Bostrom maintained a lead from the second lap to win the red-flag-shortened AMA Superbike race Sunday at Pikes Peak International Raceway.

Erion Honda’s Kurtis Roberts passed Anthony Gobert, who had gotten the holeshot, on lap three and held second until the race was stopped eight laps short of its scheduled distance.

Gobert finished fifth.

Yoshimura Suzuki’s Aaron Yates earned the final podium spot after a race-long battle with fourth-place Ben Bostrom.

Yates’ teammate Mat Mladin was third for most of the race before Mladin started dropping backward on lap 20. Mladin pulled into the pits for a new rear tire on lap 35 and, after a quick pit stop for a new rear tire, managed to salvage a ninth-place finish. According to monitored transmissions on the AMA radio network, Mladin tripped the AMA radar at 68 mph on his way into the pits; prior to the start of the race, an AMA official walked through the grid displaying a sign that read “Penalty For Speeding On Pit Lane During A Race Will Be A Stop & Go.” The pit-lane speed limit is 50 mph. After his stop, Mladin was seen signalling with one finger at an official with a radar gun at the exit of pit lane; Mladin may have been signalling that the official was #1 or that he (Mladin) was complying with the pit-lane speed limit.

The race was stopped on lap 41 for a crash which left Hooters Suzuki’s Mike Ciccotto pinned underneath his GSX-R750 on the racetrack.

Scoring was reverted to the running order of lap 40.

AMA Superbike Race Results:

1. Eric Bostrom, Kawasaki, 40 laps
2. Kurtis Roberts, Honda, -5.257 seconds
3. Aaron Yates, Suzuki, -11.599 seconds
4. Ben Bostrom, Honda, -12.579 seconds
5. Anthony Gobert, Ducati, -21.838 seconds
6. Jason Pridmore, Suzuki, -29.945 seconds
7. Miguel Duhamel, Honda, -34.621 seconds
8. Jordan Szoke, Suzuki, -38.263 seconds
9. Mat Mladin, Suzuki, -40.097 seconds
10. Steve Rapp, Suzuki, -50.703 seconds
11. Ricky Orlando, Suzuki, -1 lap
12. Dan Tuner, Yamaha, -1 lap
13. Shawn Higbee, Suzuki, -1 lap
14. Pascal Picotte, Yamaha, -1 lap
15. Mike Sullivan, Suzuki, -1 lap
16. Jeff Tigert, Suzuki, -1 lap
17. Larry Pegram, Ducati, -1 lap
18. Vincent Haskovec, Suzuki, -1 lap
19. Michael Barnes, Suzuki, -1 lap
20. Geoff May, Suzuki, -1 lap
21. Scott Jensen, Suzuki, -1 lap
22. Jake Holden, Suzuki, -1 lap
23. Tom Wertman, Suzuki, -1 lap
24. Mike Ciccotto, Suzuki, -1 lap
25. Dean Mizdal, Suzuki, -2 laps
26. Brian Stokes, Suzuki, -2 laps
27. Eric Haugo, Suzuki, 2 laps
28. Jeremiah Johnson, Suzuki, -2 laps
29. Jason Knupp, Suzuki, -2 laps
30. Kevin Hanson, Suzuki, -3 laps
31. John Haner, Suzuki, -21 laps
32. J.J. Roetlin, Suzuki, -27 laps
33. Michael Kosta, Suzuki, -28 laps
34. Greg Glennie, Yamaha, -39 laps


Provisional Superbike Championship Point Standings (After 8 of 18 races):

1. Yates, 244 points
2. Eric Bostrom, 239 points
3. Mladin, 234 points
4. Ben Bostrom/Roberts, TIE, 221 points
6. Duhamel, 187 points
7. Pegram, 162 points
8. Higbee, 159 points
9. Pridmore, 150 points
10. Haskovec, 140 points

Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Pikes Peak International Raceway has been the site of a series of controversial penalties in the Supersport class, some of which may have serious Championship implications.

Yoshimura Suzuki’s Ben Spies was fined $2000 and penalized 20 Championship points for a technical violation found following his Supersport race win at Road Atlanta. Parts from Spies’ GSX-R600 were impounded after the Road Atlanta race, and later inspected against control production parts.

The Yoshimura Suzuki team learned of the judgment against Spies on Wednesday, May 28 at Pikes Peak International Raceway, but the final determination of Spies’ violation wasn’t announced by AMA Pro Racing until a little after noon (Mountain Time) Sunday, June 1–in response to a SPEED TV report by Greg White, who broke the news of the penalty.

According to Yoshimura Team Manager Don Sakakura, Spies was found to have an “oil pressure relief valve…different than the production sample.” Asked how the part got into Spies’ Suzuki, Sakakura declined to comment.

“The ruling is fine,” continued Sakakura, “as long as, again, (the AMA is) consistent as far as the way they enforce the rules. I understand the penalty, and we’ll abide by the penalty.”

Then, after Spies was penalized but before Spies’ penalty was announced, AMA Pro Racing pulled “about 10 bikes,” into technical inspection following Supersport qualifying May 31, according to AMA Pro Racing’s Ron Barrick. Mechanics were asked to remove the exhaust systems and oil pans from the racebikes.

During those inspections, bikes ridden by American Honda’s Miguel Duhamel, Erion Honda’s Jake Zemke and Bruce Transportation Group Honda’s Marty Craggill were found to have “non-standard oil pressure relief valves.” In addition, Craggill’s Honda was found to have a “non-standard charging system,” according to a May 31 AMA Pro Racing release.

The penalties against the Honda riders were immediately announced by AMA Pro Racing, while the penalty against Spies was not announced until after the SPEED TV report aired the next day.

Duhamel and Zemke were each fined $2000, penalized 20 Supersport Championship points and moved to the last grid spots for Sunday’s Supersport final.

That penalty–combined with his still-healing shoulder injury– resulted in Duhamel withdrawing from the Supersport race at PPIR.

For his dual penalties, Craggill was penalized 20 points, disqualified from the Supersport race at Pikes Peak and fined $2500. Craggill did not return to the track Sunday.

“We felt we were legal and in compliance with all rules and production pieces and everything,” Honda Racing Teams Manager Chuck Miller told Roadracingworld.com Sunday in the Pikes Peak paddock. “Even our liaison here (from Japan) expressed that thought. So when we found out that the AMA found inconsistencies in our part versus their part, we suggested to take the production bike down there and pull it apart and see what’s in it. Because we feel ours is the same as that.

“So we did do that, and we did find out it was different. And that there was a change in the vendor (part supplier) from early-production to a production version. And in doing so there was a different tension rate on the spring. So we were found illegal.

“We accept responsibility for that fully. We aren’t going to appeal the process, in that regards. It wasn’t done intentionally, and we are now undergoing a thorough investigation of every other part to make sure there wasn’t any inconsistencies from early production versus production.

“As you know we got these bikes prior to Daytona to race at the Daytona event.”

The part in question was an oil pressure relief valve spring located in the oil sump of the Honda CBR600RR. The two-inch-long spring is visually identical to the production part but had a different spring rate, which was checked by the AMA Pro Racing technical staff with an Intercomp spring tester. According to Miller, the non-standard part could theoretically reduce oil pressure and allow the engine to rev more freely. Miller said that the modification would not increase horsepower or torque and, at best, would provide a “minimal” advantage.

In addition to the same non-standard spring, Craggill’s CBR600RR was found to have what Miller believes was a race kit ignition stator/rotor.

According to Bruce Transportation Group Honda Crew Chief Joey Osowski, the original engine cover and stator/rotor assembly were damaged in a crash earlier this season and the standard Honda parts needed to replace the cover and ignition parts were on back-order from Honda.

Osowski said that during the inspections, the AMA Pro Racing technical inspectors saw that the engine cover was different and then asked to see the entire charging system. “The cover and the winding were aftermarket, just different than the U.S. model,” said Osowski.

As for Osowski’s reasoning for using the aftermarket/kit parts, Miller acknowledged that the parts were back-ordered at the time of Craggill’s crash but added, “That’s not an excuse because the parts are fully available at this point.”

AMA Pro Racing sources did not agree with Miller’s assertions regarding the effect reducing oil pressure relief valve spring pressure would (or would not) have on horsepower production, stating that because it takes horsepower to drive the oil pump, reducing oil pressure also reduces mechanical power losses and increases power reaching the rear wheel.

Attack Suzuki’s Richard Stanboli said, “It should benefit a 600 more than a 750. You can figure one horsepower for every 10 psi you take off the oil pressure. For instance, if your bike makes 60-80 psi at maximum rpm, if you can bypass the pressure relief valve at 30 psi, you gain more than 3 horsepower.”

Kawasaki engine builder Theo Lockwood said that the World Superbike team he used to work for got a different oil pump assembly two years ago, and that it made a 2-3 horsepower gain on a 150-horsepower engine. Lockwood said reducing oil pressure would typically result in a 1-2 percent gain.

As far as Honda claiming the Honda, Erion and Bruce racebikes had a pre-production part, Lockwood said “We had pre-production bikes and parts, too, but we made a concerted effort to make sure we showed up at Daytona with a production bike. Every team starts with pre-production bikes and it’s up to them to make sure it’s legal.”

AMA officials actually tested 9 bikes after Supersport Qualifying at Pikes Peak, specifically taking one from the American Honda team, one from Erion Honda, and one from Bruce Transportation Honda, as well as two Yamahas, two Kawasakis and two Suzukis.

“We’re looking at more things,” said a source in AMA tech. “We’re trying to make a level playing field. Now we have some new equipment that allows us to check more things with confidence. We knew Spies’ oil pump was bad at the track at Road Atlanta, but we wanted to do more testing on it for research.”

From a press release issued by Team Suzuki:

DAVID JEFFERIES

Team Suzuki Press Office. May 30 2003.
David Jefferies, 30, the fastest-ever rider on the TT Mountain Course, died (Thursday May 29th) when he crashed his 1000cc TAS Suzuki during practice for this year’s races in the Isle of Man.

The burly Yorkshireman was on his second lap of the dry-roads, afternoon session when his machine left the road at the flat-out-in-top-gear, 160-mph left-hand kink between Glen Vine and Crosby. On the opening lap he recorded a speed of 125.20 mph.

The afternoon practice season was stopped and then abandoned with an extra session for solo riders being scheduled for Friday morning.

In an official statement, the race organising ACU, said that an enquiry into the details of the incident would be instituted immediately.

Nine time TT winner, Jefferies, opened his score in 1999 when he won the Formula One, Senior and 1000cc Production races on V&M Yamahas. The following year, with similar machines, he again won the Senior and Production events and added a first place in the Junior Supersport race.

Following the cancellation of the TT because of foot and mouth disease in 2001, Jefferies joined Suzuki for last year’s event and added yet another victory treble in the F1, Senior and Production races.

Also last year Jefferies won the Superbike race at the North West 200 and the production 1000cc race at the Ulster GP on TAS GSXR Suzukis

Jefferies, from Baildon, West Yorkshire ran a motorcycle dealership at Shipley and came from a family long associated with the motorcycle trade and sport. This dated back to the early post-second World War days when his grandfather was a bike sport all-rounder.

Philip Neil, the Team Manager of the TAS Suzuki team: “The death of David has left the team shocked and devastated. Not only had David become a very close personal friend of the whole team, but he was a fantastic motorcycle rider and a real ambassador for our sport. Our thoughts are now with Pauline, Tony and the rest of David’s family circle,”

Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

AMA Pro Racing officials first notified the Yoshimura Suzuki team that there was a problem with Mat Mladin’s Superbike pole-time from Friday qualifying when 7 minutes remained in the final qualifying session on Saturday.

Mladin was already off the bike and walking back to the team truck to change into his street clothes when AMA Pro Racing’s Ron Barrick came to Yoshimura Suzuki Team Manager Don Sakakura and Mladin’s Crew Chief Peter Doyle and said that due to timing & scoring problems, Mladin’s time from Friday would be disallowed.

“The problem I have with it is the way they did it,” said Doyle. “It was too late. We didn’t have a chance to respond.”

“I was already back in the truck when I found out about it, and by then there were four minutes left in the session,” Mladin said Sunday morning. “Yesterday (Saturday) I just concentrated on race set-up. We were done about 55 minutes into the (one-hour) session, and didn’t worry about trying to do a fast lap because we figured the lap time was safe.”

“As soon as I discovered Mladin’s time was not valid I came down and showed Don (Sakakura) what the real time was,” said Barrick. “I would have liked to have been able to give them the information sooner.”