Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Four-time 500cc World Champion Eddie Lawson will race a Lexus IS300 in a Grand American Cup race at Phoenix International Raceway this coming weekend.

Lawson is driving for Team Lexus in the event.

Grand Am is run by former CCS boss Roger Edmondson.

Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Please let everyone know I am alright. I crashed in turn 12 during the WERA races at Carolina Motorsports Park on April 13. They transported me to Columbia via helicopter. I had a card with my name and emergency contact numbers inside my leathers but I think they got excited because I was unconscious for so long, that they forgot to look at it.

I was registered as “Male Trauma” and that’s what all the nurses called me: “How are you feeling, Male Trauma? Can I get you anything Male Trauma?” Etc. It was cool.

I got a sprained ankle, three broken ribs, a bruised lung and a crack in C7 vertebrae…and a severe concussion. I took turn 12 too fast.

And thank you so very much to all the racers who gathered up all my gear for me and lashed my motorcycle into its trailer. My brother and his wife went to pick up my car and motorcycle–they said they couldn’t believe how nice all the racers were to them.

Sincerely,

Alan Axson, MD, JD, FCLM
WERA Novice #443
CCS Amateur #444
Seneca, North Carolina

Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

MotoGP Results
28 laps
1. Sete Gibernau, Spain, Honda, 44:10.398
2. Valentino Rossi, Italy, Honda, 44:10.761
3. Max Biaggi, Italy, Honda, 44:15.471
4. Troy Bayliss, Australia, Ducati, 44:23.004
5. Alex Barros, Brazil, Yamaha, 44:29.328
6. Tohru Ukawa, Japan, Honda, 44:29.511
7. Nicky Hayden, USA, Honda, 44:30.554
8. Norick Abe, Japan, Yamaha, 44:31.268
9. Carlos Checa, Spain, Yamaha, 44:32.523
10. Olivier Jacque, France, Yamaha, 44:35.616
11. Shinya Nakano, Japan, Yamaha, 44:46.301
12. Nobuatsu Aoki, Japan, Proton, 44:49.656
13. John Hopkins, USA, Suzuki, 45:00.628
14. Makoto Tamada, Japan, Honda, 45:11.839
15. Kenny Roberts, USA, Suzuki, 45:14.540
16. Andrew Pitt, Australia, Kawasaki, 45:33.481
17. Garry McCoy, Australia, Kawasaki, – 1 lap
18. Noriyuka Haga, Japan, Aprilia, -16 laps, crashed, DNF
19. Loris Capirossi, Italy, Ducati, -20 laps, mechanical, DNF
20. Colin Edwards, USA, Aprilia, -28 laps, crashed, DNF
21. Jeremy McWilliams, UK, Proton, -28 laps, crashed, DNF

250cc GP Results
26 laps
1. Manuel Poggiali, San Marino, Aprilia, 42:14.305
2. Randy De Puniet, France, Aprilia, 42:14.920
3. Franco Battaini, Italy, Aprilia, 42:19.946
4. Sebastian Porto, Argentina, Honda, 42:26.452
5. Robero Rolfo, Italy, Honda, 42:27.272
6. Anthony West, Australia, Aprilia, 42:33.874
7. Fonsi Nieto, Spain, Aprilia, 42:37.385
8. Toni Elias, Spain, Aprilia, 42:41.601
9. Sylvain Guintoli, France, 42:44.492
10. Naoki Matsudo, Japan, Yamaha, 42:45.752
21. Katja Poensgen, Germany, Honda, -16 laps, DNF, mechanical

125cc GP Results
24 laps
1. Daniel Pedrosa, Spain, Honda, 40:46.694
2. Andrea Dovizioso, Italy, Honda, 40:47.050
3. Steve Jenkner, Germany, Aprilia, 40:47.242
4. Youichi Ui, Japan, Aprilia, 40:47.448
5. Pablo Nieto, Spain, Aprilia, 40:47.533
6. Alex De Angelis, San Marino, Aprilia, 40:48.659
7. Mika Kallio, Finland, Honda, 41:00.691
8. Lucio Cecchinello, Italy, Aprilia, 41:01.484
9. Masao Azuma, Japan, Honda, 41:03.484
10. Casey Stoner, Australia, Aprilia, 41:07.343

More, from a press release issued by Fortuna Yamaha:

African’s Grand Prix
Sunday, 27 April 2003
Welkom, South Africa

FORTUNA YAMAHA TEAM SURVIVES A DAY OF DRAMAS

The Africa’s Grand Prix, held on April 27 at the Phakisa Freeway, Welkom, proved to be an eventful and emotional 28 lap race after Sete Gibernau (Honda) claimed victory over Valentino Rossi (Honda) and Max Biaggi (Honda), in honour of his team-mate Daijiro Kato – who passed away on Saturday, April 19 after crashing heavily during the Suzuka Grand Prix. Gibernau was one of 17 riders to survive a four bike collision on the main straight only moments after the start when Colin Edwards (Aprilia) clipped another rider. His out of control machine collided with Jeremy McWilliams (Proton KR) who in turn forced Noriyuki Haga (Aprilia) into the outfield.

Fortunately both Fortuna Yamaha Team riders Carlos Checa and Norick Abe – the latter filling in for the injured Marco Melandri – escaped the incident unscathed. In fact Abe made the most of the chaotic situation to improve on his 18th place grid position; finishing the opening lap fifth, behind Troy Bayliss (Ducati), Gibernau, Biaggi and Rossi. In an impressive display the Japanese continued to hold his ground on an unfamiliar machine until an electronic glitch robbed his M1 of power on the final lap – losing three places to finish eighth.

“Today I made a perfect start, already on the first lap I was in fifth position,” said Abe. “After that my lap times were not too bad. I followed Ukawa and kept behind him as much as I could. I think if I had passed him I might have lost my pace but staying behind him kept me fast. Around the middle of the race I managed to pass him and I wanted to go faster but then Barros passed me. On the last lap I tried to overtake him but I went wide. In the last section something went wrong with the bike and Hayden and Ukawa passed me. So the end of the race was not so good. Throughout the weekend my team has worked so hard and I want to thank everybody.”

After surviving the start line mayhem Checa completed the opening lap eighth before a five-way scrap for fifth ensued with eventual fifth placed finisher Alex Barros (Gauloises Yamaha Team), Tohru Ukawa (Honda), Nicky Hayden (Honda) and Abe. Although the Spaniard improved to be as high as seventh he never really found the grip he needed to break through to the front of pack, and eventually finished the day ninth.

“In the beginning I had no grip with the rear, or stability. I couldn’t brake hard although towards the end of the race the balance changed a bit and I was able to keep the pace better. Sometimes when I was off the gas I lost the rear, which didn’t give me any confidence. At the end of the race I understood the bike a bit better and was able to go on the gas earlier. If I was able to stay in the ’34s I could have kept up and fought for fifth position. Anyway, that’s another race for me to learn from – we’ll keep trying.”

There was a further glitch in the weekend programme when, in addition to the start line crash, the Suzuki of Kenny Roberts dropped a substantial amount of oil on the racing line through turns four, five, six and nine after the V-four four-stroke suffered a mechanical failure. Initially efforts were made in an attempt to stick to the scheduled start time, but the extent of the spill was too significant and a full restart was called causing a 50 minute delay.

Davide Brivio, director of the Fortuna Yamaha Team, commented about the day, “It is fitting that Sete won the race and good to see his team on the podium. I hope that this can help them to find the encouragement to keep going. Regarding our team, Norick had a great race. He confirmed that he’s a racing rider more than a qualifier. We must apologise to him as there was a problem with his bike at the end of the race, which looked like an electronic problem. He came back into the pit lane, and the team are checking out what happened. Congratulations to him for his ride.

“For Carlos it wasn’t such an easy race, it seems that the bike started to get better in the second half of the race. He only got a good pace at the end when it was a bit too late. Anyway he rode well this weekend, now back to Europe, and time to start again. I would like to say thanks to Norick for all he has done. It looks like Melandri’s recovery is going well and we look forward to having him back in Jerez.”

WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS
1. Valentino Rossi 45
2. Sete Gibernau 38
3. Max Biaggi 36
4. Troy Bayliss 24
5. Alex Barros 19
6. Nicky Hayden 18
7. Loris Capirossi 16
8. NORICK ABE 13
9. CARLOS CHECA 13
10. Shinya Nakano 12

More, from a press release issued by Ducati Corse:

Africa’s GP, Welkom
Race Day
Sunday, April 27 2003

DUCATI MARLBORO TEAM IN THE THICK OF THE ACTION AT WELKOM

Ducati Marlboro Team rider Troy Bayliss was one of the main men in this afternoon’s dramatic Africa’s GP, leading the first ten laps and taking a well-earned fourth-place finish in his and his team’s first visit to the ultra-demanding Welkom circuit. Team-mate Loris Capirossi, who yesterday scored the Ducati Marlboro Team’s first front-row start, had a less successful day, withdrawing from the race on lap nine.

“For sure that was a wonderful race for the fans to watch, but not so good for us because the overall result wasn’t as good as Suzuka,” said Ducati Marlboro Team technical director Corrado Cecchinelli, referring to the team’s remarkable third- and fifth-place debut performance in the season-opening Japanese GP. “We did a good job, but not a perfect job! We’re kind of happy because the bike and tyres lasted and we showed once again that we have very fast riders. Loris pulled out because he had a lot of trouble with the mess from the oil that someone dropped on the warm-up lap.”

Today’s race was delayed for 50 minutes while oil was cleared after a rival’s bike leaked lubricant during the warm-up lap.

BAYLISS LEADS, SCORES BEST MotoGP RESULT

Ducati Marlboro Team rider Troy Bayliss rode a storming race this afternoon – snatching the holeshot from the third row of the grid and leading the race until after one-third distance. And the hard-charging Aussie had never even ridden Welkom before Friday! Bayliss enjoyed a frantic mid-race battle with World Champion Valentino Rossi (Honda), then eased his pace in the late stages as he found himself all alone in fourth place.

“My start wasn’t so bad, but I only missed Nakano by millimetres after he seemed to stall!” said Bayliss who amazed with his awesome getaway. “I was thinking: ‘I shouldn’t be out front just yet, maybe not for another couple of races!’. I took it a little steady, checking the mess from the oil, then it was just nice to be part of the action, because that’s what it’s all about. I had a good go with Valentino, it was good to be in the race, it’s been a while. The bike was working really well, the only problem was that we’d lifted the footpegs a little, and that was really uncomfortable for my knees. I kind of cruised the last ten laps because I knew then that I couldn’t do any better than fourth. The team’s done a great job here, we’ve still got some things to learn, but we’re all looking forward to Jerez.”

CAPIROSSI EXITS AFTER FRONT-ROW START

Loris Capirossi had high expectations for today’s race but his hopes were dashed on the very first lap when he ran off the track at turn two. The Ducati Marlboro Team man rejoined the race, ending the first lap down in 13th, then found it very difficult to make up places because the oil mess prevented him from taking the lines he needed to make a pass. After moving into 11th he ran off the track again on lap eight, ending up at the back of the pack. After that he
decided to retire.

“Not such a great day,” said a disappointed Capirossi. “The start was hectic, Biaggi and I collided on the way to turn one, which lost me some places, but the bike was running perfect, so I was confident. But then I ran onto the grass at turn two because of the oil mess, which was a real problem for me after that. When I ran off again and had no chance of making the points, I thought it sensible to stop. It’s a shame because I had hopes of a good race, the bike has once again shown that it’s very strong.”

Capirossi’s Desmosedici headed the top-speed charts at Welkom, just as he did at Suzuka three weeks ago, with a best speed of 274.5kmh.

More, from a press release issued by John Hopkins’ publicist:

Hopkins survives collision with Edwards and finishes 13th at Africa’s GP

WELKOM, South Africa – Suzuki’s John Hopkins survived a scary start of the Africa’s Motorcycle Grand Prix and went on to finish 13th for the second straight race. Aprilia rider Colin Edwards lost control of his bike on the start and shot across the track, impacting Hopkins. Edwards and Proton Team KR’s Jeremy McWilliams both crashed out of the race, but somehow Hopkins survived the hard hit from Edwards’ bike and continued on.

“I got a good jump at the start and all of a sudden I saw Colin’s bike coming across the track,” Hopper explained. “I knew we were going to collide and I just braced myself for it. I thought for sure it was going to be a big one. His bike smashed my clutch lever into my fingers, but somehow I didn’t go down. I looked up and I was still on the track, so I just kept going. We nailed each other hard. It smashed up my bike’s fairing and banged up my fingers pretty good. It was pretty wild. I was lucky to make it through that.”

Hopkins ran 11th early in the race behind Alex Barros and Olivier Jacque. He then battled with Loris Capirossi, before Capirossi retired his Ducati to the pits. Just past midway Japanese riders Shinya Nakano and Nobu Aoki got by Hopkins and after a short battle he rode a lonely race in 13th to the flag.

“I tried like crazy to stay with Nakano and Aoki,” Hopkins said. “But I was taking too many chances and they were still pulling away. There was a 10-second gap back to Tamada (in 14th) so I just settle in and brought it home safe and earned a few points.”

It marks the second straight MotoGP that Hopkins has finished 13th, but he feels this race was much better than the opening round in Suzuka, Japan.

“We’re definitely moving in the right direction,” he added. “This week we were able to do consistent lap times and got the bike feeling a lot better. We’re supposed to have some major updates for the bike at Jerez. I doubt if we’ll make a big leap there, but we have testing scheduled afterwards and I’m sure the Suzuki will improve as the season progresses.”

Hopkins is 14th in the world championship standings after two of 16 rounds.

He and girlfriend Desiree will now head to their European base of Austria where John hopes to get in some snowboarding before the ski season ends. Then he’ll turn his attention to Jerez on May 11.

More, from a press release issued by Proton Team KR:

AOKI SCORES, MCWILLIAMS OUT IN START-LINE CRASH

Round 2: Africa’s GP, Welkom
Race: Sunday, April 27, 2003

Nobuatsu Aoki: 12th
Jeremy McWilliams: DNF – crash

Proton Team KR rider Nobuatsu Aoki claimed the team’s first points of the season with a solid ride to 12th place today, in what might be the last time the lightweight 500cc two-stroke Proton KR3 races against the much more powerful new-generation 990cc four-stroke MotoGP machines.

Team-mate Jeremy McWilliams had a very different afternoon, after qualifying ahead of Aoki and with his eyes firmly on a top-ten finish. Instead he didn’t even make the first corner … innocent victim of a start-line crash that eliminated one other rider on the spot, and later caused a third to retire.

The incident was caused when Aprilia rider Colin Edwards lost control on the launch, spearing across the track at an angle and hitting several other machines before falling off. McWilliams was right behind, and though he narrowly managed to avoid the fallen rider he ran off the track himself and fell without injury.

Aoki’s race saw him stick with fellow-Japanese rider Shinya Nakano’s Yamaha – outpowered on the straights, but using the KR3’s legendary good handling to regain lost ground on the 4.242km Phakisa Freeway’s technical turns. Only in the very last of the 28 laps did he lose touch with the more powerful machine, finishing three seconds adrift.

The race was won by Spain’s Sete Gibernau (Honda), with the similarly mounted defending champion Valentino Rossi second and Max Biaggi third.

The Proton riders are now looking forward to testing the team’s all-new V5 990cc four-stroke for the first time on Thursday. The target is to debut the new machine at the Spanish GP at Jerez in two weeks.

NOBUATSU AOKI
For the first few laps, Capirossi’s Ducati was in front of me, and it was spraying water all around. I was expecting he would stop, but he continued, so I left a little gap behind him. If something happened to his bike, then I could also have crashed out. Then Andrew Pitt got between us, and it became his problem, not mine. After Capirossi went off I was behind Nakano. Everything was going well – the tyre stayed quite high-performance, and the bike was running okay. I just couldn’t pass him. I had to wait until he made a mistake … but he didn’t. But I am really happy that I rode 100 percent to the end.

JEREMY McWILLIAMS
I’m really frustrated. I was determined to finish in the middle of the field, and I believe a top ten would have been possible. Instead I was out because of a crash that had nothing to do with me Everyone was shoved to the left because Nakano was slow off the line, then Edwards came across. I saw him hit another bike and he fell right in front of me. It’s a nightmare when that happens. No matter how hard you brake, you can’t slow down faster than a rider sliding along the track. It would have been better if he’d been sliding straight, but he was coming across at an angle. It was all I could do to get off the track, and I thought I’d still run over his arm. Luckily I didn’t. It’s so disappointing. It seems every time we have a decent chance, something goes wrong.

CHUCK AKSLAND – Team Manager
What happened to Jeremy was very unfortunate. It’s lucky nobody got hurt. Nobu did a great job, with a good pace, and keeping it on two wheels to get some points. There was no way he was going to get past Nakano, being so out-powered. The whole team did a great job for a trouble-free weekend, aside from Jeremy’s incident. Now we are flying straight back to work on the four-stroke. I spoke to Kenny Roberts today, and he was quite positive about what is happening with the engine tests. We’re still on schedule to test on Thursday.

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

SUZUKI CLAIM POINTS AGAIN IN STH AFRICA

Welkom, South Africa – Sunday, April 27, 2003

Team Suzuki riders John Hopkins and Kenny Roberts Jr. both finished in the points again, after an up-and-down South African GP for both riders.

Hopkins, who finished 13th, was the innocent victim of a start-line pile-up, when he was struck by an out-of-control Colin Edwards, who subsequently crashed, also bringing down rider Jeremy McWilliams. “Hopper” stayed upright, but the impact crushed his clutch lever against his left hand, leaving him in severe pain for the rest of a race in which his main goal was to make the finish line in safety.

Former World Champion Kenny Roberts had a different kind of drama when a freak mechanical glitch caused the whole race to be delayed by 50 minutes. On the pre-race warm-up lap an oil pipe fractured, explained team supervisor Yasuo Kamomiya. It sprayed oil at high pressure over the machine and onto the track. This was something the team had never experienced before.

The delay came as the track was cleaned; Roberts switched to his spare machine, and finished a disappointed 15th.

The race, second of 16 rounds in the World Championship, was eventually run to full distance – 28 laps of the 4.242km Phakisa Freeway circuit outside Welkom, in front of a big crowd enjoying hot and sunny conditions. It was won by ex-Suzuki rider Sete Gibernau.

JOHN HOPKINS – 13th Position
That wasn’t a typical race! At the start when Colin Edwards got sideways I was the first one he hit. My clutch lever came back and smashed hell out of my fingers. My hand was pretty sore for the whole race. For the first laps I saw a few people in trouble on the oil and dust on the track, and I made sure to keep myself clean from that. I got in a group for a while, but when I lost touch with them I concentrated on bringing the bike home. I was pushing the front some, so I just tried to stick at it and get to the finish.

KENNY ROBERTS – 15th Position
At the first try, my bike leaked oil. That’s all I know. And that this bike is unrideable for me the way it is at the moment. I’ve nothing else to say, except congratulations to Sete. It shows what a good rider on a good bike can do.

More, from a press release issued by Honda Racing:

Grand Prix of South Africa at Phakisa Freeway
Raceday Sunday April 27

GIBERNAU WINS EMOTIONAL ROLLERCOASTER RACE

Under yet another burning South African sun in a cloudless sky, 44,000 race fans prepared for a race that was already charged with atmosphere. But the Africa’s Grand Prix in the aftermath of Daijiro Kato’s death was brimming with an extra emotional content that was palpable even before the pitlane observed a heart-rending minute’s silence for the hugely missed Japanese star.

The drama unfolded even before the race began when the Suzuki of Kenny Roberts laid a trail of oil around the first third of the track when an oil line fractured and sprayed the racing line with the treacherous fluid. The start was delayed for 50 minutes while the marshals cleaned up the mess and rendered the 4.242km track race-ready again.

Then the delayed start itself was a chaotic affair with Colin Edwards (Aprilia) clipping another machine after losing traction on a dirty part of the track. His bike collected his team-mate Noriyuki Haga, while Edwards himself mercifully slid through the field unscathed largely thanks to the efforts of Jeremy McWilliams (Proton) who took to the grass to avoid the Texan.

While all this unfolded Troy Bayliss (Ducati) took the opportunity to make headway at the front of the pack with Sete Gibernau (Telefonica Movistar Honda RC211V) behind him and Max Biaggi (Camel Pramac Pons RC211V) and Valentino Rossi (Repsol Honda RC211V) in unfamiliarly distant pursuit.

Bayliss was making the most of his chance at the front but Gibernau was relentlessly pegging the Aussie back and by lap 11 he scythed past him and prepared to put more daylight between his RC211V and his pursuers. His biggest threat would prove to be Rossi who hunted him down in the closing stages of the race, but could not catch the scintillating Spaniard.

Gibernau won by 0.363 seconds from Rossi with Max Biaggi in third just over five seconds adrift of the winner. Gibernau’s win was one of the most warmly received victories MotoGP has seen and his dignified determination under dreadful circumstances will be long remembered. “There are no words that can say how I really feel,” he explained. “I felt Daijiro with me in qualifying and in the race and I’d like to thank everyone in the sport for giving me the courage to do this for someone we will hold in our hearts for the rest of our lives.”

Valentino Rossi (Repsol Honda RC211V) who had been suffering form flu all weekend recovered sufficiently to feel reasonably satisfied with second. “That was a very fun race and I am very happy with the result,” he said. “Really this is the best second place I’ve ever had. I am so happy for Sete, he rode very well and really had the feeling he was riding with a little help from Daijiro. I had a good battle first with Bayliss, then Biaggi and in the end Sete. Who knows what would have happened if there were a few more laps.”

Max Biaggi (Camel Pramac Pons RC211V) suffered a slight drop in power that was enough to prevent him making as strong a challenge as he would have liked. “On the warm-up lap I’d already noticed that the engine had lost about 10% of its power,” he said. “It was a shame because I think that we could have done even better in this race. But in any case I’m happy that Sete won, which was the best way to remember Kato.”

For a man who won here last year Tohru Ukawa (Camel Pramac Pons RC211V) had every right to feel slightly deflated with sixth. “I hoped for more from this weekend,” he said. “We picked a tyre that was too hard and the grip was not great in the first few laps. Despite that I pushed hard but it was really impossible to go any quicker. I wasn’t physically perfect after my Friday crash and set-up wasn’t perfect either.”

Nicky Hayden (Repsol Honda RC211V) continues to impress in his rookie MotoGP season and his determined attitude continues to reap results. He finished seventh. “I got a really good start,” he said. “Then some guys got past me and I fell back. But I just stayed calm and went to school on these riders and learned something. It’s another seventh place but I’m happier about this seventh than at Suzuka. I felt I really earned this one.”

Makoto Tamada (Pramac Honda RC211V) had a torrid time in qualifying but toughed it out in the race for 14th place. “I braked hard at the start to avoid hitting the riders who’d collided in front of me,” he said. “I was already back on the fifth row and the fact I had to slow down prevented me from achieving my main objective of moving up through the pack. Even so I think the race was important for my technicians.”

The MotoGP World Championship points table now shows a Honda top three with Rossi leading with 45 points, Gibernau second with 38 and Biaggi in close touch with 36.

Manuel Poggiali (Aprilia) won the 250cc race from Randy de Puniet (Aprilia) after making up for a poor start with a steady progress into the lead by lap six. The pair exchanged fastest laps throughout their battle but Poggiali never relinquished his lead despite the best efforts of de Puniet on the final lap. Franco Battaini (Aprilia) was third.

Sebastian Porto (Telefonica Movistar Junior Team RS250RW) made the utmost of a finely-tuned chassis set-up to compensate for a lack of power that plagued him all weekend. He finished fourth after dicing with Roberto Rolfo (Fortuna Honda RS250RW) for the final third of the race.

“The early stages of the race were not so good for me,” said the tough Argentine Porto. “I was short of grip for the first half of the race which I didn’t expect although we knew the engine was down on power. In the second half of the race everything worked better although I want to be fighting for wins, not for fourth place.”

The same power shortfall plagued Roberto Rolfo (Fortuna Honda RS250RW) but once again astute machine management kept the Italian at the right end of the points table with a fifth place. “The race was not too bad,” said Rolfo. “Although the weekend itself has been a bit of a struggle. I had a clutch problem at the start and then I made a mistake a few laps from the end which let Porto past. At the start I lost touch with the group I needed to be with, but the chassis was good enough for me to make progress in the race. I’m feeling better about this result considering the problems we had.”

Eric Bataille (Troll Honda BQR RS250RW) was 13th while his team-mate Alex Debon (Troll Honda BQR RS250RW) was excluded from the results for failing to enter the pits for a stop-go penalty. Poggiali leads the World Championship standings with 50 points, with Battaini second on 27. Porto is third with 26 while Rolfo has now clawed his way into the reckoning with 20 in sixth position.

Daniel Pedrosa (Telefonica Movistar Junior Team RS125R) won the 125cc race with a last lap charge from third into the lead in the space of two consecutive turns. He then held the lead despite the close attentions of Youchi Ui (Aprilia) who had led the race from the start after starting from pole.

Pedrosa had only qualified on row 2 after suffering engine problems over the qualifying period, but his team found a solution and Pedrosa was always in touch throughout the race. “It’s been a difficult weekend for us,” he said. “But today was good. I’d like to dedicate this win to Daijiro Kato’s family and the Gresini Team.”

Andrea Dovisioso (Team Scot RS125R) scored his first ever podium finish with a fighting second place after qualifying on the front row for the first time. “I’m really happy,” said the Italian. “The only trouble I had was with the front tyre towards the end. But this is a good result.”

From a press release:

Event 3, 2003 Yamaha Formula Xtreme TT Series
Winton Motor Raceway, Victoria

Event Preview #2

FORMULA XTREME MOTORCYCLE RACING ACTION INVADES WINTON RACEWAY THIS WEEKEND

Once a year Victorians get the opportunity to experience Australia’s largest and most successful motorcycle road racing series when the Yamaha Formula Xtreme TT Series comes to town. A top class field of entries will descend on Winton Raceway this coming weekend to do battle to decide who will lead the various championship classes at the mid point of the Xtreme TT series. Winton proved to be a major turning point in the series last year as the demanding track tested the skills of the racers from NSW and Queensland. The northern hordes invade the sleepy little Victorian track each year to test their skills against the local Victorian stars. Last year it was nearly a clean sweep for the northern invaders, will the locals take the spoils of victory this year? No matter who wins on the track the spectators will end up being the true winners when they see first hand the greatest road racing action in Australia today.

Winton Motor Raceway, which lies approximately 190km north of Melbourne and is ringed by the nearby towns of Benalla, Wangaratta and Shepparton. Fans from further a field such as Albury, Wagga, Canberra and capital cities Sydney and Melbourne will be making the pilgrimage to a circuit that offers spectators one of the best on-track viewing opportunities to watch motorsport in the country.

A feature aimed at maximizing the live spectacle of the racing action at each of the Yamaha Formula Xtreme TT series rounds is the giant Superscreen, which is placed in a location where the fans in the main viewing area can witness first hand all of the action as well as live post race interviews and the latest news from the pit area.

The Victorian round of the series offers fans a unique opportunity to witness some of Australia’s best riders in action, which will be highlighted by battles between the very competitive contingent of Victorians up against their interstate rivals, as well as the battle of the brands. Yamaha, Suzuki, Honda and Kawasaki all have a lot at stake as the series receives the largest and most impressive national free to air TV coverage of any two wheel series in Australia. The old adage of what wins on Sundays sells on Mondays makes sure the brands have a huge vested interest in the outcome of the on track action.

In the premier Xtreme class, veteran Stephen Tozer (Stafford Yamaha) will lead the Victorian assault and will be ably supported by a long list of talented youngsters. These include Nicholas Barton (SCR Engines Yamaha), Cameron Donald (Gary O’Brien Yamaha), Shepparton teenager Nick Henderson (.id.auracing Honda) and the strong Honda CBR954RR Fireblade mounted Team Brown Gouge Nova Racing pair of Scott Charlton and Brent George.

They will have their hands full as they go up against the very strong Queensland based Nikon Yamaha Racing Team that includes current Xtreme points leader Daniel Stauffer, four-times Xtreme champion Kevin Curtain and former 500GP rider Brendan Clarke. And as if they aren’t strong enough, they will be joined by fellow Yamaha YZF R1 riders Benn Archibald and Ben Attard racing under the Aluma-Lite Racing colours.

Leading the Suzuki GSX-R1000 attack is young David Butler (Gulf Western Oils) who has come into his own this year has graced the top ten on a number of occasions and only just finished off the podium at Oran Park after holding down a strong second place for most of the race. Butler was a strong performer at last years corresponding round and is looking forward to returning to the tight and twisty Victorian circuit.

The action will not be left to the Xtreme class only as they will be ably supported by a number of equally competitive classes such as Supersport, NakedBike, Pro-Twins, Xtreme Ultra Lites, Formula Oz and Formula X Unlimited)

With Daniel Stauffer leading the Xtreme points table, teammate Kevin Curtain has an unblemished record in the Supersport class, having won all eight races held this season aboard his Nikon Racing Yamaha YZF R6. Teammate Brendan Clarke has got further to grips with the R6 that he is riding for the first time this year and is posing to be a strong threat to Curtain’s unbeaten run.

The FX Pro-Twins class has seen defending champion, Wagga’s Craig McMartin struggle with bike problems and injury this year. The Ducati Sydney rider suffered a broken wrist and ribs at the opening round and ahs found it a little harder than expected in setting up of his new Ducati 999S. He finds himself well down on the points table as the dominance shown by Ducati in the class in recent years appears to have been broken by a new breed of Aprilia RSV riders, led by Aprilia Racings diminutive Shaun Geronimi. He along with Zac Davies (Belray / Australian Security Concepts) and John Allen (Aluma-Lite Racing) have jumped into prominence as has Roland Kruck on the Doin’ Bikes Honda SP1 in the big-bore twins class

The NakedBikes have been equally competitive as defending champion Craig Trinder (Nikon Racing Yamaha FZ1) has come under a huge amount of pressure from fellow Yamaha riders Graeme Wilshaw (Procycles) and Matthew Waldron mycontrolroom.com.au) and the Aprilia Tuono of John Allen. Wilshaw and Allen have taken victories from Trinder already this season and that could well be on the cards again this weekend.

One class that has flourished this season has been the Xtreme Ultra Lites. Appearing on the program for the first time, they have provided huge grid sizes with equally good race quality. Sydney’s Jai Curtis (Caringbah M/C / Staintune) leads the points table aboard his Honda CBR400, but has had strong opposition from Caleb Stalder (Gold Coast Aprilia and Taree M/C) who heads the list of 2-stroke competitors in the class aboard his Aprilia RS250 and sits second on the points table.

With 24-race scheduled over the two days, race fans are certain not to be spared any of the close hard fought action that Australia’s best road racers have to offer.

The Yamaha Formula Xtreme TT Series includes:
– Yamaha Xtreme
– Yamaha Supersport & Superstock
– EXEL Aprilia FX Pro-Twins & B.E.A.R’s F1
– Aluma-Lite Racing Formula Oz, 250/125 GPs & Clubsport 600
– NakedBike, Streetfighter NK Lites, Forgotten Era 4-Stroke
– Australian Security Concepts Xtreme Ultra Lites
– Formula X Unlimited


TRACK FACTS – Winton Motor Raceway
Location: Fox St, Winton, Victoria
Situated approx 190km north of Melbourne.
Circuit length: 3.00km
Direction: Clockwise


ON TRACK
Saturday, Qualifying commences at 09:00am,
with racing from approx 12:30pm. (8 Races)
Sunday, Races begin from 10:00am (16 Races)


WHAT YOU CAN EXPECT AT A FORMULA XTREME TT SERIES EVENT
The 2003 Yamaha Formula Xtreme TT Series again will provide a number of new and valued additions to their racing program that benefit both the racers and the fans.

To enable fans to get as much of the action as possible, the addition of a giant Screen Co Superscreen located in front of the main spectator viewing areas at each venue. You won’t miss any of the action around the circuit or post-race presentations and interviews.

To further enhance to viewing and listening opportunities at a Yamaha Formula Xtreme TT Series round is the exciting new addition of Xtreme TV and Xtreme Radio. For those racers and fans that may not be able to see the Superscreen or hear the PA system, all you need now is a UHF TV or a FM Radio and you won’t miss any of the action.

Xtreme Merchandise is also available at each round of the series. The Xtreme Merchandise van has a vast array of supporters merchandise available at each round. Items include T-Shirts, polo’s, caps, women’s lycra tops, bucket hats, flags and more.

Rider safety is of paramount concern in motorcycle sport and thanks to the initiatives for Formula Xtreme Promotions, each round of this year’s series will see the strategic location of protective Air Fence to offer any rider added safety in the case of an accident. Air Fence is used at most major international events. Formula Xtreme Promotions is the only promoter of a series to take advantage of this safety barrier at all of its events in Australia.

With all of the attractions at each event, all that remains now is for you to sit back and enjoy all of the on-track action that has no fewer than 24 action-packed races.

Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

By Glenn Le Santo

Katsuaki Fujiwara was beside himself with disappointment after crashing at the chicane while in a championship leading position in the World Supersport championship race in Sugo.

At the time of the crash Fujiwara was chasing wild card and race leader Ryuichi Kiyonari. He didn’t need to win the race to take home a championship lead, because rival Chris Vermeulen was back in fifth at the time. But Fujiwara was determined to take the race win in front of his home crowd and the Suzuki officials. His determination proved his undoing when he lost the front in the first turn of the chicane and crashed out on lap nine. He later blamed a last-minute set-up change for the crash.

With Fujiwara out of the way Kiyonari must have thought the race was his to win. But he failed to consider the efforts of Christian Kellner who passed Stephane Chambon, caught Kiyonari and engaged him in battle, Supersport style. Although Kellner passed Kiyonari a couple of times the Japanese Honda rider kept the lead for nine laps – only to lose it when it mattered – right at the end of the last lap! Kiyonari’s disappointment was so severe he was almost in tears after the race despite taking second place.

Chambon finished third in front of another wild card rider, Tekkyu Kayo. Chris Vermeulen took fifth and a 10-point championship lead. Fujiwara re-mounted his bike to pick up a single championship point that could possibly prove crucial when the season draws to its conclusion in October.



More, from a press release issued by Honda Racing:

HONDA MOVES AHEAD AFTER SUGO BATTLE

Honda’s new CBR600RR sits at the head of the World Supersport championship after a dramatic third round race at the Sugo circuit in Japan on Sunday.

BKM Honda wild card rider Ryuichi Kiyonari led for 18 of the 25 laps, only to be passed on the final lap by eventual winner Christian Kellner.

Runner-up Kiyonari, who started from 13th place on the grid, said: “I tried as hard as I could on the last lap to stay in front but I’m gutted to lose the race with four corners to go.”

Stephane Chambon ­ last year’s Sugo race winner ­ took third place after watching his team-mate Katsuaki Fujiwara crash out on the ninth lap. Fujiwara remounted to take 15th place. Wild card rider Tekkyo Kayo took fourth with Ten Kate Honda’s Chris Vermeulen fifth.

Fifth place was enough for Vermeulen to open up a 10-point gap over Fujiwara at the head of the championship while Kiyonari’s second place takes Honda to the head of the manufacturers’ points standings.

Vermeulen commented: “It was a tough race. The temperature increased by 15 degrees from yesterday which made tyre choice difficult. I chose the wrong front tyre but, for a point-scoring ride, I’ll take fifth.:

Vermeulen was followed home by team-mate Karl Muggeridge, finishing sixth after leading in the early stages, he said: “When I was in front I wanted to slow the race down but it was inevitable that someone was going to pass me.”

Broc Parkes rode to a brave seventh place on his BKM CBR600RR despite suffering from a virus. “We improved the machine a lot and I wasn’t too unhappy with the finish but for the first six or seven laps I couldn’t see properly and it was so difficult to concentrate.”

Dutchman Jurgen van den Goorbergh finished eighth despite running wide on the fourth lap with Kawasaki’s Pere Riba ninth and Italian Alessio Corradi 10th. Battling Christophe Cogan completed the trio of BKM Honda finishers, in 11th place, after qualifying in 19th spot, Cogan admitted: “I made a mistake in the early stages of the race and it lost me time but it’s not a
disappointing finish considering my qualification place.”

Werner Daemen was the first of the Van Zon Honda team finishers in 12th place despite suffering a near crash, he explained: “Jorg Teuchert crashed in front of me, I had to run wide and I lost a lot of time. Overall the race was a good one for me after struggling in qualifying.”

His team-mate Iain MacPherson was not so lucky despite finishing 17th, after two crashes in practice the damage took its toll in the race, MacPherson admitted: “The crash in the warm-up this morning left me guessing settings on the other bike for the race ­ but at least I didn¹t crash in the race!”

A debut 19th place was Sebastien Charpentier¹s reward for perseverance, he admitted: “It was my first race for six months and I always knew it would be difficult. I wanted to finish and after one or two more races I¹m sure I will be in the top 10.”

Charpentier’s Klaffi Honda team-mate Robert Ulm crashed out on the seventh lap, the Austrian recalled: “I really wanted to push for a good result today but I braked too hard going into the first corner and my race was over. I am really disappointed for the team more than myself.”

World Supersport race result (25 laps ­ 93.425km):
1 Christian Kellner, Germany (Yamaha) 39:19.896
2 Ryuichi Kiyonari, Japan (Honda) +0.243
3 Stephane Chambon, France (Suzuki) +3.192
4 Tekkyu Kayo, Japan (Yamaha) +10.334
5 Chris Vermeulen, Australia (Honda) +14.272
6 Karl Muggeridge, Australia (Honda) +16.326
7 Broc Parkes, Australia (Honda) +16.532
8 Jurgen van den Goorbergh, Holland (Yamaha) +17.596
9 Pere Riba, Spain (Kawasaki) +18.516
10 Alessio Corradi, Italy (Yamaha) +28.626
11 Christophe Cogan, France (Honda) +30.582
12 Werner Daemen, Belgium (Honda) +37.443
17 Iain MacPherson, GB (Honda) +51.550
19 Sebastien Charpentier, France (Honda) +1m 16.875

World Supersport championship points after three of 11 rounds:
1 Vermeulen 56
2 Fujiwara 46
3 Kellner 37
4 Van den Goorbergh 31
5 Muggeridge, Chambon and Corradi 29
8 Cogan and Jorg Teuchert, Germany (Yamaha) 21 10 Kiyonari and Riba 20
12 Parkes 18
14 Daemen 12
18 Ulm 6.

Manufacturers points:
1 Honda 65
2 Suzuki 61
3 Yamaha 57
4 Kawasaki 20

Next round: May 18 ­ Monza, Italy.



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

ANOTHER PODIUM FOR CHAMBON

Team Alstare Suzuki rider Stephane Chambon took a hard-fought fight for a podium in the third round of the Supersport World Championship at Sugo today. But it could have been both Alstare Suzuki riders on the podium ­ just like last year ­ until Fujiwara crashed on lap nine and had to restart from dead last. Up to then he had been in third place, closing in on the two front-runners and looking strong enough to take the win he so desperately wanted in front of his home fans. Fuji’s fall came at the chicane, but he remounted and then remorselessly tore his way up through the field and managed to score a valuable championship point. The race was won by Christian Kellner (Yamaha), who shadowed ‘wild card’ rider Ryuichi Kiyonari’s Honda for the second half of the race, before outbraking him on the last lap. He took the flag by just two tenths of a second, with Chambon three seconds further back.

STEPHANE CHAMBON ­ 3rd
I’m happy to be on the podium ­ especially after the difficulties with the weather on the opening day. The temperature was hotter today, but I used the same tyre as yesterday and maybe it wasn’t the best choice. There was no way I could catch the front two, so I just rode steadily for third place. This championship is very long and the level of competition is very high, so it’s important to score points whenever you can. I’m very happy with my Alstare Suzuki ­ it’s a good all-round package.

KATSUAKI FUJIWARA ­15th
My start was not so good and I was in fourth position at the end of the first lap. I then began to push hard because I didn’t want the front three to get away. On the ninth lap I fell at the chicane, when I lost the front end. We had made a small suspension change before the race and although the rear felt better, the front was pushing a bit and I think I was caught out. I got back on the bike and rode as hard as I could and I was happy to score a point, because you don’t know how valuable it may be at the end of the season. I’m disappointed for all my family and fans who came here to see me get a good result, but I’ll make up for it as soon as I can ­ maybe in the next round at Monza.

Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

By Glenn Le Santo

At the start Ivan Clementi ran onto the grass on the inside of the track as the pack ran into turn one after being bumped by Troy Corser. Unable to brake properly for turn one as he was by now riding on the grass, Clementi rode straight across the track going into turn one. Clementi broadsided Corser, who was now tipping into the turn, and the pair went down in front of Chris Walker and Frankie Chili. Both Chili and Walker crashed and several riders had to take to the grass to avoid the melee.

Some riders assumed that the crash, which had dragged dirt onto the track, would bring out he red flag. Ruben Xaus actually sat up in the saddle and backed off the throttle. The crash served to split the pack into essentially two parts. In the front pack Hodgson, Toseland and Atsushi Watanabe were pursuing Laconi, who had taken the lead going into turn one.

Hodgson overhauled Laconi on lap four and from there on out there was no holding him back as he powered away to his fifth win in five races.

“I passed Regis on the main straight purely because my bike is so fast, there was no skill in it but I was relieved to get by him,” admitted Hodgson after the race.

Laconi pushed hard to keep on Hodgson’s tail pipes, but a mistake convinced him that second was better than nothing. “I got a good start but when Hodgson went by I tried a little too hard to keep up and made a mistake. Then I decided second was possible and first wasn’t so I calmed down and tried to stay smooth.”

James Toseland took third, someway ahead of Xaus who was himself ahead of a titanic scrap between Gregorio Lavilla and Hitoyasu Izutsu. They traded places a few times, but Lavilla managed to clinch it at the end of the race despite riding on a pair of thoroughly overcooked tires.

The result means Hodgson extends his lead at the front, to 32 points. Toseland meanwhile leaps up from sixth to third place ahead of Lavilla and Laconi.

World Superbike Results
Race One
Sugo Sportsland, Japan

1. Neil Hodgson, UK, 999F03, 37:57.829

2. Regis Laconi, France, Ducati 998RS, 38:04.996

3. James Toseland, UK, Ducati 998F02, 38:12.682

4. Ruben Xaus, Spain, Ducati 999F03, 38:26.128

5. Gregorio Lavilla, Spain, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 38:30.211

6. Hitoyasu Izutsu, Japan, Honda RC51, 38:30.413

7. Lucio Pedercini, Italy, Ducati 998RS, 38:58.444

8. Atsushi Watanabe, Japan, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 38:59.983

9. James Haydon, UK, Petronas Foggy FP1, 39:05.261

10. Juan Borja, Spain, Ducati 998RS, 39:09.275

11. Mauro Sanchini, Italy, Kawasaki ZX-7RR, 39:15.183

12. Giovanni Bussei, Italy, Yamaha YZF-R1, 39:16.799

13. Marco Borciani, Italy, Ducati 998RS, 39:25.675

14. Kenichiro Nakamura, Japan, Honda RC51, 39:25.877

15. Steve Martin, Australia, Ducati 998RS, 38:00.830

16. Walter Tortoroglio, Italy, Honda RC51, 18 laps, DNF

17. Noriyasu Numata, Japan, Ducati 996 RS, 16 laps, DNF

18. Ivan Clementi, Kawasaki ZX-7RR, 0 laps, DNF

19. Troy Corser, Australia, Petronas Foggy FP1, 0 laps, DNF

20. Chris Walker, UK, Ducati 998F02, 0 laps, DNF

21. Pierfrancesco Chili, Italy, Ducati 998RS, 0 laps, DNF

Fastest Lap: Hodgson, 1:29.999

From a press release issued by WCM:

Non participation in the Africas Grand Prix

view a pdf version of the ruling here

It is with some sadness that I have to confirm that we are unable to take part in the Africas Grand Prix following a ruling by the FIM stewards that they consider our Harris WCM machine illegal. An opinion that we completely disagree with.

The decision of the FIM Stewards overturned a 3 to 1 vote by the Race Direction that there were no grounds to exclude us from the event. The single vote was from the FIM representative on the Race Direction. The FIM appealed that decision to the FIM stewards. The FIM stewards agreed with the FIM.

I notified the stewards that we shall appeal this decision and requested most strongly that we be allowed to race pending the appeal. That request was refused even though I believe such a refusal is unprecedented in anything like similar circumstances within the history of the FIM World Championship.

It is quite beyond me to imagine how the sport is in any way compromised by our team being able to compete pending appeal. If the appeal goes in our favour we cannot be given back the chance to compete in this Grand Prix.

Our whole Harris WCM project has been carried out with absolute commitment to the spirit of MotoGP racing, to develop this season a prototype machine entirely of our own design and that of our technical partners.

We agreed with Harris at the beginning of this project that we would each put in the maximum effort because the potential was so huge. Though the immediate goal was to compete successfully in 2003 World Championship we realised that it go far beyond that. Developing a WCM engine not only presented a large potential racing market but also opened up the opportunity to produce our own road bikes.

We realised that we were initiating a project of unlimited scope. It was a perfect example of what on the face of it was a very difficult situation presenting the chance to do something we would not otherwise have contemplated. We are fully aware that the window of opportunity to achieve success in this was small. Every race is vital to us for so many reasons. The most obvious being we need the track time to develop the engine and bike and we need the public exposure to attract backers to the project. Missing any race has a terrible knock-on effect on our competitiveness for the rest of the season.

The window of opportunity is so small because if we don’t succeed in making progress this season we will probably have to take the Easy option of forming a partnership with one of the major manufacturers for the 2004 season. To that end Mr. Carmelo Ezpeleta, CEO of Dorna has been tremendously supportive, stating that no matter what the outcome this year our contract with Dorna and the two valuable places that it secures us on the grid in the long term is secure.

It would be incredibly sad though if the FIM’s decision not to let us race while we are appealing their decision aborts a new motorcycle industry. We have not previously publicly made reference to our hopes for this project but this has been a major part of the motivation for us.

The effects of the FIM’s actions are hard to exaggerate, not just for WCM and Harris but for the riders and our other technical partners all of whom have generously committed to a team that was in an extremely difficult situation at the end of the 2002 season.

The imbalance is quite extraordinary; the damage done to us in not allowing us to compete compared with damage done to no one that I can see had we raced while under appeal.

Peter Clifford
Director of Racing
World Championship Motorsports

Welkom
26/4/2003



A point-by-point response from Peter Clifford to the FIM decision:

WCM Engine

Addressing the legality points raised by the FIM with respect to the WCM MotoGP engine

According to the document that they submitted to the Race Direction the FIM claim that our motorcycle is illegal on two points within regulation 2.2.1 of the Road Racing World Championship Grand Prix Regulations

FIM Point 1. Original design

I believe that every important power and performance-producing component, profile and dimension within the engine is unique to our motorcycle. Specifically; –

The bore and stroke.
The size of the valves, both inlet and exhaust.
The shape of the combustion chamber.
The design, dimensions, material and manufacturer of the valve seats
The shape of the inlet and exhaust tracts.
The length of the inlet and exhaust.
The shape of the crankcases both internally and externally.
The lubrication system, i.e. oil flow rate, oil pressure, sump design, surge control.
The wall thickness of the cylinders.
The weight of the crankcases.
The electronic engine management system.
The design, dimensions, material and manufacturer of the pistons.
The design, dimensions, material and manufacturer of the valves.
The design, dimensions and manufacturer of the cams.
The design, dimensions, material and manufacturer of the conrods.
The design, dimensions, material and manufacturer of the crankshaft.
The design, dimensions and manufacturer of the clutch.
The design, dimensions and manufacturer of the primary gears.
The design, dimensions and manufacturer of the gears.

I am sure that our design is just as original as other manufacturers’ in MotoGP.

On Wednesday we gave the FIM unrestricted access to any and all of our engines including one that was disassembled. They took some digital photos but made no measurements so how they determined that the design is not original is entirely beyond me. It is after all for them to prove that we are not original rather than the other way round. There is no homologation requirement in MotoGP.


FIM Point 2. Industrial production.

Last week I emailed the FIM pointing out that I felt that the term ‘Industrial Production’ had no meaning in this situation. I said:

All crankcases and indeed all motorcycle parts are made by ‘industrial production’ so any cast engine will “use castings of the crankcase, cylinder or cylinder head derived from the industrial production.”

Either all cast engines are legal or all are illegal. Please tell me which it is.

I received no response.

I cannot see how the term ‘Industrial production’ provides any definition at all. The FIM are well used to putting numbers to such definitions as they do for homologation of superbikes etc. There is no number in this definition at all so it is irrelevant if our cases are cast in their 10s or 1,000s. They are equally ‘Industrial production’ as are the cases cast by Honda, Yamaha etc. for their MotoGP machines. It is impossible to make an engine that is not ‘Industrial production.’

According to the FIM’s definition of illegality as they have applied it to us the sport is faced with the prospect of the entire MotoGP grid being protested and found illegal on exactly the same point.

During his submission to the Race Direction the FIM’s Mr. Oriol Puig Bulto (CTI President) stated that the rule did need some clarification and that he intended to make changes at a later date. He repeated the same assertion before the stewards. We are found illegal by the FIM on a point that the FIM says needs clarification and the rule re-writing.

Peter Clifford
Director of Racing
World Championship Motorsports

Welkom
26/4/2003

From a press release issued by Mat Mladin’s publicist:

MLADIN RELISHES SUPERBIKE TESTING PROGRAM

Australia’s Mat Mladin may be leading the 2003 American Superbike Championship at present, but this position has not altered his Yoshimura Suzuki team’s attitudes to continually improve the Suzuki GSX-R1000 that they are campaigning for the first time in the championship.

Fresh from a double victory at the California Speedway in Fontana (April 6), Mladin has had little time to relax as he and his Yoshimura Suzuki team have completed two valuable test sessions at Road Atlanta (Georgia) and Pikes Peak (Colorado) over the past week.

As he has been for much of this season, Mladin was the fastest rider at the three-day Road Atlanta test which was held last week. With all of the major teams present, Mladin recorded a best time of 1:23.88 around the Georgian circuit, outpacing teammate Aaron Yates who recorded the second fastest time of the test with a 1:24.18.

“It was a good test for us at Road Atlanta as we were able to get further ahead with the bike,” said Mladin. “With the new bike we have had a lot more input and attention from Suzuki, who sent out two of their leading technicians for the test. To have these people present at the test is invaluable. We can learn so much from it and getting a better understanding of what we are doing with the bike.

“At the end we were consistently quicker than the other guys, so that’s the main thing. We were quick from when we first rolled the bike out of the truck on the first day, so that’s a nice feeling in itself.

“We have been able to improve the chassis set up of the bike immensely over what it was early in the year. It’s a shame we aren’t heading back to Daytona to race this year, because the bike is running so much better now than what it was in March and we have sorted the chassis out to a point where we are getting much more improved tyre wear.

“The new Suzuki is coming along nicely, but we are still down a little bit on top end speed, which does come down to the aerodynamic package that we have. Some of the other teams have spent a lot of time working on this area, but we are still to do so.”

With the Road Atlanta test completed, the team headed to Pikes Peak in Colorado where they tested for two days. In contrast to the Road Atlanta test, they were the only team present at Colorado.

“Pikes Peak is certainly one track that I’ve struggled on in the past, so it was good to come up and get our bike onto an oval type track and see what happens. The lap times were encouraging compared to what we did last year, so we were very happy with what we have achieved here along with last week’s test.”

With this series of testing completed, Mladin is preparing himself for the upcoming double header round (rounds 4 & 5) of the championship at the Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, California on May 3 & 4. The three-times AMA Superbike champion heads the championship points chase with a total of 99 points, seven clear of Honda’s Miguel DuHamel.

From a press release issued by World Superbike:


PRESS RELEASE
Round 3 – Japan – Sugo,
Sugo, 27 April 2003

Six Motorcycle Manufacturers on the Sugo Starting Grid

The Japanese round of the World Superbike Championship promises to be a breath-taking show at the highest technical level. The starting grid brings together six manufacturers and seven different models. This year’s change of regulations, made at the beginning of this season, has opened the class to four cylinder 1000cc machines, enriching and broadening the technical panorama by bringing together two, three and four cylinder bikes ranging in displacement from 750cc to 1000cc. In 2004 the rules will change again, establishing a 1000cc limit for all machines regardless of the number of cylinders. Performance will be equalized for engines from two to six cylinders by minimum weight limits and inlet tract restrictors, used at present only on four cylinder 1000cc models.
Here are the magnificent six manufacturers prepared to square off against each other at Sugo.

DUCATI – The reigning manufacturers champion enters two models, the all-new 999 and the glorious 998F02. The new machine has made the best of possible debuts, winning the first four races of the 2003 season in the capable hands of Neil Hodgson. The 998 is also putting in good results. Both bikes are fuel injected, twin-cylinder machines with trellis frames. The works Fila Ducati bikes are shod by Michelin, the satellite, works-supported GSE team runs Dunlop tires while the satellite DFX squad is working to develop tires for the Pirelli company, a firm that is becoming more and more involved in World Superbike.

HONDA – In 2002 the Japanese giant won the riders’ championship with Colin Edwards. For the Sugo race HRC (Honda Racing Corporation) has entered a works VTR-SPW 1000cc twin, ridden by the newly-signed Hitoyasu Izutsu. The big twin was first entered by Honda in the World Superbike Championship in 2000 and took the title in two of the last three seasons. At Sugo the VTR-SPW has won three of the last four races, and now it is up to Izutsu. The factory Honda will run on Michelin tires. This model will be retired in 2004 and will probably be replaced by a four cylinder machine to continue the fascinating battle with Ducati and the other seasoned challengers.

SUZUKI – Suzuki is the first brand to accept the four cylinder 1000cc challenge. Although development of the GSX1000R began only in January, the results so far are very promising. In Australia the new Suzuki allowed Gregorio Lavilla to earn a place on the podium and record the second fastest lap of the day. At Sugo Suzuki will add a second machine in the hands of national champion Atsushi Watanabe. The big Suzuki makes a claimed 200 horse power, ten more than the Ducati and Honda twins. The works Suzukis are equipped with Dunlop tires.

PETRONAS Foggy FP1 – This is the big news in the 2003 Superbike season. The giant Petronas concern, the world’s fourth largest petroleum company, has taken up the challenge to build a large capacity road bike, starting from scratch to take on the world’s leading manufacturers. The ambitious project is headed up by four times World Champion Carl Fogarty, the most successful rider in World Superbike history. Petronas has managed to build a three-cylinder 900cc bike in only a year and managed to start the first race of the season on the front row. In 2004 Petronas may convert the Foggy FP-1 to full 1000cc displacement and become a true threat to the other factories. These future challengers are being ridden by former World Champion Troy Corser and young James Hayden. The Petronas is equipped with Michelin tires.

YAMAHA – The Iwata factory is present via the UnionBike GiMotorsport team that enters the capable Giovanni Brussei on the R1 1000cc fuel injected four cylinder machine, running on Dunlop tires. The Yamaha R1 won the opening round of the Italian Superbike Championship, ridden by Alex Gramigni.

KAWASAKI – The ZX-7RR, homologated in 1996, is the oldest bike on the grid. The Italian Bertocchi team is running the 750cc fours, ridden by Mauro Sanchini and Ivan Clementi. The factory from Akashi won the World Championship in 1993 with Scott Russell and carefully following the evolution of the Superbike regulations with an eye to the probable entry of a new 1000cc machine in 2004.

SBK Press Office

Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

By Glenn Le Santo

Although he didn’t actually win it, Gregorio Lavilla was the real glory man in the second WSB race in Sugo.

Neil Hodgson took win number six at Sugo in race two, but only after he had to work really hard to shake off a determined challenge from Lavilla on the constantly improving GSX-R1000 Suzuki.

Lavilla actually led the race in the early stages, for three laps, before Hodgson blasted past him on the main straight to claim the lead. But Lavilla didn’t give up, and chased Hodgson all the way home.

“I was struggling for rear grip,” said Lavilla, “I simply couldn’t get on the throttle as early as Neil and this gave me a disadvantage on the straights.”

Hodgson enjoyed the pressure supplied by the Alstare Suzuki rider, “That was the best race of the season for me without doubt,” he said. “If you win a race by a distance then it just becomes like qualifying. I am a racer and I want to race with other bikes like today, it was fun!”

The pair were chased all the way by Frankie Chili, who was unhurt in the spectacular first-race, turn-one pile-up. At the end he’d used up too much rear tire catching them and just didn’t have the grip left to make a move.

“At the end of the race Neil just opened the throttle and I simply couldn’t stay with him,” said Chili. “At that point I decided third was a good result!”

Ruben Xaus took fourth, just under a second in front of James Toseland. Hitoyasu Izutsu was the first wild card home, in sixth place.

Results
World Superbike Championship
Round Three, Sugo, Japan
Race Two

1. Neil Hodgson, UK, Ducati 999F03, 37:56.499, best lap 1:30.207

2. Gregorio Lavilla, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 37:57.317, best lap1:30.247

3. Pierfrancesco Chili, Italy, Ducati 998RS, 37:57.969

4. Ruben Xaus, Spain, Ducati 999F03, 38:06.969

5. James Toseland, UK, Ducati 998F02, 38:07.632

6. Hitoyasu Izutsu, Japan, RC51, 38:18.103

7. Regis Laconi, France, Ducati 998RS, 38:18.452

8. Ivan Clementi, Italy, Kawasaki ZX-7RR, 38:45.356

9. Juan Borja, Spain, Ducati 998RS, 38:58.269

10. Mauro Sanchini, Italy, Kawasaki ZX-7RR, 39:01.788

11. Giovanni Bussei, Italy, Yamaha YZF-R1, 39:05.824

12. Troy Corser, Australia, Foggy PETRONAS FP1, 39:11.783

13. Marco Borciani, Italy, Ducati 998RS, 38:03.204

14. Kenichiro Nakamura, Japan, Honda RC51, 38:06.205

15. Walter Tortoroglio, Italy, Honda RC51, 38:15.758

16. Atsushi Watanabe, Japan, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 13 laps, DNF

17. Noriyasu Numata, Japan, Ducati 996 RS, 7 laps, DNF

18. James Haydon, UK, Foggy PETRONAS FP1, 7 laps, DNF

19. Steve Martin, Australia, Ducati 998RS, 4 laps, DNF

20. Chris Walker, UK, Ducati 998F02, 2 laps, DNF

21. Lucio Pedercini, Italy, Ducati 998RS, 0 laps, DNF

Fastest Lap: Chili, 1:30.146

Championship Point Standings after race two, round three:
1. Hodgson, 150
2. Xaus, 106
3. Lavilla, 75
4. Toseland, 67
5. Laconi, 63


More, from a press release issued by the SBK Press Office:

HODGSON DOUBLES UP AGAIN IN PERFECT STYLE

A truly dramatic day of race action at Sugo saw Neil Hodgson (Ducati Fila) secure two wins on his full factory 999 machine, giving him a perfect six-from-six start to the 2003 season.

The clear championship leader, now by a margin of 44 points, had to start from fifth place in each race, but enjoyed a seven second win over second place man Regis Laconi (Ducati NCR) in the 25-lap opener. Laconi had started from pole, and took his first podium finish of the year in race one, a seventh in race two.

A four-rider crash at the first corner of race one saw Troy Corser (Foggy Petronas), Ivan Clementi (Bertocchi Kawasaki), Pierfrancesco Chili (PSG-1 Ducati) and Chris Walker (HM Plant Ducati) all crash, without serious injury. The race continued, with some riders having to make up significant ground after being run off track, even if they did not fall.

James Toseland (HM Plant Ducati) escaped the first corner collision, and ended up third, after local wild card rider Atsushi Watanabe (Team Suzuki) went straight on at one corner on lap five, returning to finish eighth after restarting in last place, only 1.470 seconds behind Hodgson.

In race two the hard charging Gregorio Lavilla (Alstare Suzuki) had an excellent race with Hodgson, losing out over the line by only 0.8 seconds after having led three laps in the early stages. Pierfrancesco Chili put in another of his gritty rides to take third place on his 998 Ducati.

For Ruben Xaus, Hodgson’s team mate, Sugo proved to be a major obstacle to his championship ambitions, as he fought his way to a pair of fourth places. Remote from the leading group.

Toseland’s third in race one was converted to fifth in the second race and his team mate Walker ended the day with two no scores after he crashed, re-started and was forced to retire in race two.

With Lavilla fifth in race one, surging through from an off track excursion after the first lap pile up, local wild card rider Hitoyasu Izutsu (HRC Team) could only finish sixth on both races, failing to emulate his Kawasaki double race win in the 2000 SBK season.

Ivan Clementi made up for his exit in race one with a fighting eighth in the re-run, ahead of Juan Borja (DFX Ducati) and Mauro Sanchini (Bertocchi Kawasaki). The last top ten places in race one were shared out between Lucio Pedercini (Pedercini Ducati) in seventh, through Watanabe, James Haydon (Foggy Petronas) to Juan Borja (DFX Ducati) in tenth.

In the overall championship standings, Hodgson has a perfect score of 150, from Xaus on 106 and Lavilla on 75.

In the Supersport World Championship, Yamaha rider Christian Kellner made it three different winning manufacturers in as many races this season, holding off a spirited challenge from long term leader Ryuichi Kiyonari, who was entered as a wild card rider by the BKM Honda team.

In third place early leader Stephane Chambon (Alstare Suzuki) took the last podium position, with Yamaha wild card Tekkyu Kayo fourth and World Championship leader Chris Vermeulen (Ten Kate Honda) fifth, one place ahead of his team-mate Karl Muggeridge.

This result puts Vermeulen ten points clear of Suzuki rider Katsuaki Fujiwara, who fell while in second place and remounted to finish 15th. Kellner’s win promoted him to third overall.

The next rounds of both Superbike and Supersport championships take place at Monza on May 18.


More, from a press release issued by Steve Martin’s publicist:

A weekend to forget for Steve Martin

It was another weekend in Japan that will be best forgotten for Steve Martin after a finishing 15th in race one and pulling out with an oil leak in race two.

It was never going to be an easy weekend at what is in effect Dunlop’s test track, appalling weather on Friday and Saturday just made matters worse.

“We had so little dry weather track time during qualifying that in race one my set up was way out,” explained Steve.

His team worked hard during the interval to get a better set up for race two.

“We changed just about everything, including tyres, ride height, springs, damping, you name it, we changed it,” said Steve.

It was a risky strategy but one that could have paid off if it hadn’t been for an unforeseen problem early in the race.

“The bike was much better, it was competitive. But when my foot started slipping off the peg I realised I had a big problem, I looked down and there was an oil mist coming from the motor. I had no choice but to retire from the race,” he said. Frustratingly for Steve the oil leak was caused by an engine cover fastener that had worked loose.

Steve now travels direct to Italy to prepare for the next round in Monza. “I’ll be glad to get to Europe and forget all about this weekend!”



More, from a press release issued by Ducati Corse:

DUCATI CORSE PRESS INFORMATION

HODGSON TAKES DUCATI WSBK VICTORY TOTAL TO 199 WITH DOUBLE WIN IN JAPAN

TWO FOURTHS FOR DUCATI FILA TEAMMATE XAUS

Britain’s Neil Hodgson scored Ducati’s first victory in Japan since 1995 as he powered to his fifth and sixth wins of the season at the Sugo Sportsland circuit. Fellow Brit Carl Fogarty was the last rider to take the honours for the Italian manufacturer when he won race 2 in his 1995 championship-winning year. Neil’s third successive double win of the year also took Ducati’s total race win haul to 199 in 16 years of World Superbike.

Hodgson’s superb start from the outside of row 2 helped him avoid the first corner pile-up that eliminated three top riders, Corser (Foggy Petronas), Walker (HM Plant Ducati) and Chili (PSG-1 Ducati). Hodgson then passed Laconi for the lead on lap 4 and took the chequered flag a comfortable 7 seconds ahead of the Frenchman. “If I hadn’t got such a good start, I might have been involved in the crash” declared Neil, “so I was really pleased with my start. Because of the limited practice time in the dry, I’d only tried my race tyre once so I took things easy on the first lap and then in the middle I eased off a bit as well. We are on a brand-new bike and when you come to a new circuit, you’ve got no baseline settings so we had to work that bit harder than usual”.

Hodgson was made to work much harder for his win in race 2. After swerving at the start to avoid Laconi (NCR Ducati) on the front row, he then took the lead on lap 5 from Lavilla. The Suzuki rider pressured him until lap 20 before Hodgson broke away to take his sixth successive win. “It was pretty scary at the start because Laconi almost stopped in front of me and I had to shut the throttle” declared Neil. “Gregorio gave me a hard time today, he kept the pressure on and his Suzuki and my Ducati were pretty evenly matched. Five laps to go I picked up the pace deliberately and that was enough. The old Neil Hodgson wouldn’t have done that but I’m starting to use my head a bit now and administer the races better!”

Ruben Xaus came away from Sugo with two fourth places, which keep him in second place in the table. The Spanish rider was lucky not to get caught out in the first corner incident in race 1 and lost a lot of time. Then in race 2 he had a good start and moved into fourth on lap 9, a position he held to the flag after a great scrap with Toseland. “I started 12th and finished 4th twice today so that’s quite good” declared Ruben. “I was really slow in the first split and it was here that I lost the race and the whole weekend. That was the only reason – between the second corner entry and third corner exit, everyone was faster than me. The bike felt mine today, and only today. In the warm-up we improved a lot and I had a better feeling with the bike in both races today. I think if I hadn’t lost all that time in the first split, I could have been fighting with Lavilla and Chili for sure”.



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

PODIUM SECOND PLACE FOR GREGORIO!

Team Alstare Suzuki rider Gregorio Lavilla stormed his way to a superb second place of the Superbike World Championship race at Sugo today. He took the lead on the second lap and held off Neil Hodgson (Ducati) for three laps before being overtaken. He then stuck to Hodgson’s rear for rest of the 25-lapper, taking a well deserved second place. The Ducati’s superior performance allowed Hodgson to pull out the smallest of margins with a couple of laps remaining and that was enough to ensure victory. Gregorio took a comfortable second, with Chili(Ducati) nearly one and a half seconds behind the Alstare rider. Gregorio’s runner-up spot followed a tremendous fifth in the first race. Gregorio had been forced into the gravel on the opening lap after a four-rider incident in turn one, but managed to keep his Alstare Suzuki upright and steer it through the mud and slush from yesterday’s heavy rain. By the time he rejoined the race he was one place off last, but he put his head down and charged back into the reckoning. Lap after lap, he moved his way up through the field and by lap eight was up to fifth behind fellow countryman Xaus (Ducati). He began to close in on Xaus, but had worn out his tyres in the chase and had to settle for fifth instead. Hodgson won the race comfortably, with Laconi second and Toseland third ­ making it a clean sweep for the Bologna marque. Gregorio’s second in race two will get the glory, but his performance in the first race was no less impressive.

GREGORIO LAVILLA Race 1: 5th, Race 2: 2nd
If I can do races like today, I’m happy. If I had finished 30 seconds behind the leader, I would not have been pleased, but to lead the race and be right with Hodgson for the whole race is a good feeling. Hodgson’s Ducati has been developped over many years, but our Suzuki is brand new and we only received it in January, so I think we are doing very well. Our top speed is still not as fast as we’d like and I’m losing grip exiting the corners, but we’re working hard at making the bike as good as possible. I lost ground to Neil (Hodgson) on the exits and couldn’t keep with him there, so I had to make up for it on the brakes. It’s a pity that I was forced off the track in the first race, because I was certain I could get a podium. I could’ve pulled in, but I thought I might as well push hard and see what happens and that’s what I did. It was very satisfying to get all the way up to fifth from nearly last ­ almost as good as my second place in race two! We still have a lot of work to do, but if we can get the bike to work a bit better in some areas, I’d like to think I can win a race this year.



More, from a press release issued by Troy Corser’s publicist:

2003 World Superbike Championship
Round 3, Sugo, Japan, Sunday 27th April 2003
Circuit: 3.737 kms, Weather: Dry, sunny 18-21 Deg C.

WEEKEND TO FORGET FOR TROY
The third round of the championship was one that Troy would happily forget, thanks to a DNF in the first race and a lowly twelfth in the second. The DNF was not of his own making, but the no-score and the four points in the second meant that is the worst weekend so far this year. Troy didn’t even get further then turn one in the first race. A collision on the front straight caused an incident, which ended up taking out four riders. For a while it looked like the race would be red-flagged, but it carried on leaving Troy and three others out of contention. Troy injured his left calf and thigh in the fall, but no bad enough to cause him to take part in race two. Neil Hodgson (Ducati) went on to win it by a comfortable margin, with Laconi (Ducati) second and Toseland (also Ducati-mounted) third. Troy was in ninth place at the end of lap one in race two, but after two or three laps the rear tyre started spinning and then his left foot began to slip off the gear lever. A small oil seepage was the cause and soon it also affected the right footpeg. Troy kept an eye on the situation, but decided to carry on and ended up by taking twelfth place. The race was once again won by Hodgson, but this time he faced a fierce challenge from Lavilla (Suzuki) throughout the 25-lapper. The Spaniard hounded him right to the flag, but could not find enough to pass the Briton. Chili (Ducati) took third spot, ahead the Ducatis of Xaus and Toseland, with Izutsu (Honda) slotting into sixth.

TROY – Race 1: DNF, Race 2: 12
Well, what I’d like to say is that this is a weekend to forget! It didn’t start particularly well and it just got worse. The first race was a disaster, because I never even got to complete a lap! On the way down to turn one after the start, somebody hit me and then I got tangled up with Clementi I think, My elbow had been hit and I was hanging off the front of the bike trying to recover. Clementi went on to the grass and then came back onto the track and then hit me. After that it was bikes and bodies flying everywhere – I think I hit Chris (Walker) and we both hit Frankie (Chili) and that was that. My left ankle was a bit sore, but otherwise I was OK.

Race two started OK, but then I felt the rear spinning and my left foot began to slip. I looked down and saw what looked like a little bit of oil; so I thought I’d take it steady and see what happened. Later, my right foot started slipping and after that it was just a case of trying to nurse the bike home and get some points. The only good news is that we’ve taken part in another race and I’ve given the mechanics lots of data to analyse. There’s still lots to improve, but it’s a brand new bike and we’re learning all the time. Here’s to Monza!



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

PODIUM SECOND PLACE FOR GREGORIO!

2003 Superbike World Championship.
Round 3, Sugo, Japan.
Sunday 27th April 2003

Team Alstare Suzuki rider Gregorio Lavilla stormed his way to a superb second place of the Superbike World Championship race at Sugo today. He took the lead on the second lap and held off Neil Hodgson (Ducati) for three laps before being overtaken. He then stuck to Hodgson’s rear for rest of the 25-lapper, taking a well deserved second place. The Ducati’s superior performance allowed Hodgson to pull out the smallest of margins with a couple of laps remaining and that was enough to ensure victory. Gregorio took a comfortable second, with Chili(Ducati) nearly one and a half seconds behind the Alstare rider. Gregorio’s runner-up spot followed a tremendous fifth in the first race. Gregorio had been forced into the gravel on the opening lap after a four-rider incident in turn one, but managed to keep his Alstare Suzuki upright and steer it through the mud and slush from yesterday’s heavy rain. By the time he rejoined the race he was one place off last, but he put his head down and charged back into the reckoning. Lap after lap, he moved his way up through the field and by lap eight was up to fifth behind fellow countryman Xaus (Ducati). He began to close in on Xaus, but had worn out his tyres in the chase and had to settle for fifth instead. Hodgson won the race comfortably, with Laconi second and Toseland third ­ making it a clean sweep for the Bologna marque.

Gregorio’s second in race two will get the glory, but his performance in the first race was no less impressive.

GREGORIO LAVILLA Race 1: 5th, Race 2: 2nd
If I can do races like today, I’m happy. If I had finished 30 seconds behind the leader, I would not have been pleased, but to lead the race and be right with Hodgson for the whole race is a good feeling. Hodgson’s Ducati has been developped over many years, but our Suzuki is brand new and we only received it in January, so I think we are doing very well. Our top speed is still not as fast as we’d like and I’m losing grip exiting the corners, but we’re working hard at making the bike as good as possible. I lost ground to Neil (Hodgson) on the exits and couldn’t keep with him there, so I had to make up for it on the brakes. It’s a pity that I was forced off the track in the first race, because I was certain I could get a podium. I could’ve pulled in, but I thought I might as well push hard and see what happens and that’s what I did. It was very satisfying to get all the way up to fifth from nearly last ­ almost as good as my second place in race two! We still have a lot of work to do, but if we can get the bike to work a bit better in some areas, I’d like to think I can win a race this year.


More, from a press release issued by HM Plant Ducati:

Toseland moves up to fourth in championship

James Toseland has moved up to fourth place overall in the 2003 Superbike Championship after taking fifth place on his HM Plant Ducati in the second race at Sugo, which was won by former team-mate Neil Hodgson. Chris Walker was once again out of luck on the second HM Plant Ducati as he crashed out of contention on the third lap of the race.

The Superbike field successfully negotiated the tricky first turn at the start of the race and the HM Plant Ducatis were riding in close formation among the leading group. However, with Toseland running in a strong top five position, Walker lost his mount at turn 10 (Horse Back Corner).

“It didn’t feel like I had made a mistake,” said the unfortunate Nottingham rider who has slipped from third to sixth in the overall standings as a result of his two DNFs in Japan. “I went into the corner as normal and the front end just went from beneath me. With so little dry track time and being taken out on the first corner of the first race, I hadn’t really had the benefit of running a full race distance. My feet are in agony after the crashes I’ve had this weekend, but I had to have a go in the second race in an attempt to score some points.”

With Hodgson, Lavilla and Chili making a break at the front of the field, Toseland was left in a titanic battle with Fila Ducati’s Ruben Xaus. Try as he might, the HM Plant Ducati rider was unable to take the advantage over the Spaniard in the dash to the chequered flag.

“It was a struggle for everyone out there today,” said Toseland. “I was getting good side grip, but then was struggling to get traction out of the corners. That meant that I wasn’t able to carry the momentum of the HM Plant Ducati past Xaus – it was a case of swings and roundabouts on our set-up. That was a faster race than the first one and I didn’t finish that far behind the race winner, which was a good performance in front of our guests from HM Plant and Hitachi Construction Machinery at their home event.”



HM Plant Ducati Team Manager Colin Wright summarised the mixed fortunes experienced by his riders: “You get good and bad days in racing. Fortunately for James, it was one of his good days. Unfortunately, for Chris it was one to forget. As a result, I’ve got mixed feelings from today, but I’d like to thank the team for all the hard work they’ve put into this weekend. I think we’ll all look forward to getting back to Europe and the next round of the series at Monza next month.”


More, from a press release issued by Foggy Petronas Racing:

Haydon highlight of tough Japanese debut for Foggy PETRONAS Racing

A second race dogged by mechanical problems completed a frustrating third round of the World Superbike championship at Sugo, Japan, for Foggy PETRONAS Racing.

Having secured his first top ten fnish of the season in race one, James Haydon was forced to retire after seven laps of race two when the FP1, the Malaysian superbike, showed signs of engine seizure. Team-mate Troy Corser, who was involved in a four-man crash at the first corner of the first race, was able to compete in the afternoon repeat, but was also the victim of mechanical misfortune on his way to a 12 th -placed finish.

Team owner Carl Fogarty said: “It has been a frustrating weekend for us and it’s clear we have some issues to sort out before the championship gets back to Europe. The one positive was James’ performance in the first race, his best result of the season, and at a new circuit for him.”

Team manager Nigel Bosworth said: “We didn’t really expect to be both competitive and reliable at this stage of the project but the good start to the season probably hid the fact that we still have a long way to go and a lot of hard work to do. James slugged it out well in the first race, considering the fact that his bike was over-heating, and found a better set-up for the future. It was unfortunate that Troy suffered intermittent miss-firing in the second race.”

James said: “Obviously I’m pleased with the first race and we made some changes for the second, stiffening the rear. I felt that was a step forward until my water bottle started filling up and spraying over me, the first sign of an engine problem. It then tightened a couple of times and slowed as though I was on the back brake. It then cut out and I started to feel like I was going to crash so I thought it was best to come in so we could identify the problem, rather than blowing the engine. It has been a difficult weekend but I think we will be able to take some positives into Monza and make some changes.”

Troy said: “That was a day I want to forget! After the crash in race one I had problems from the start of race two with the electrics and also leaking oil. I thought I would have to come in but I basically slowed down so I could at least score some points.”


More, from a press release issued by Steve Martin’s publicist:

A weekend to forget for Steve Martin

It was another weekend in Japan that will be best forgotten for Steve Martin after a finishing 15th in race one and pulling out with an oil leak in race two.

It was never going to be an easy weekend at what is in effect Dunlop’s test track, appalling weather on Friday and Saturday just made matters worse.

“We had so little dry weather track time during qualifying that in race one my set up was way out,” explained Steve.

His team worked hard during the interval to get a better set up for race two.

“We changed just about everything, including tyres, ride height, springs, damping, you name it, we changed it,” said Steve.

It was a risky strategy but one that could have paid off if it hadn’t been for an unforeseen problem early in the race.

“The bike was much better, it was competitive. But when my foot started slipping off the peg I realised I had a big problem, I looked down and there was an oil mist coming from the motor. I had no choice but to retire from the race,” he said. Frustratingly for Steve the oil leak was caused by an engine cover fastener that had worked loose.

Steve now travels direct to Italy to prepare for the next round in Monza. “I’ll be glad to get to Europe and forget all about this weekend!”


More, from a press release issued by Scuderia Caracchi NCR Nortel Networks:

Laconi runner-up at Sugo!

In a splendid springtime day Regis Laconi rode the 998RS Ducati Caracchi NCR Nortel Networks onto the winner rostrum in Race-1 at Sugo, with a fantastic second place behind the Neil Hodgson’s factory 999 Ducati. The French rider started in a pefect way from the pole position, leading the race for three out of 25 of scheduled laps, then Hodgson overtook him in the long line downhill and Regis could only manage his runner-up, defending it from the attacks of evo factory Suzuki of Watanabe and from Toseland. In race-2 instead at the start the Laconi’s bike broke the O-ring of hydraulic clutch shaft and the bike started a bad wheelie; Laconi lost several positions, ending the first lap only in 11th position. Despite the clutch troubles he remounted very fast, stopped only by Izutsu’s factory Honda; the two riders fighted for several laps, then Laconi finally overtook his rival, but at the last braking for the chicane the gearbox failed remaining neutral, just due to the clutch trouble, an Izutsu passed him again, scoring the final sixth place under the chequered flag.

“The clutch’s trouble has been really a pity.” – commented Laconi back in the pit – “The bike has done a bad wheelie and a lot of riders overtook me, so I found me in the middle of the group and to pass I needed several lap, also because the clutch wasn’t running well anymore. In the start confusion I believe also that I touched Pedercini and I am sorry about it, just because I couldn’t manage correctly the bike. When I reached Izutsu I spent a lot of time to pass him, because on this track isn’t easy to pass, finally I’ve been able to overtook him, but just at the last lap braking at the chicane, the clutch failed once more and the gearbox got the neutral position, so the Honda passed me and in the hill climbing I’ve been not able to recover. Race-1 has been fantastic. I started very fast, then during the fourth lap Hodgson passed me, but I was able to manage al the other rivals and to finish second has been great. They have been three days of hard work, most of all for the weather conditions, but at the end this result pays for all the work all the team has done, and also the problem in race-2 is not due to the team work. It’s a pity for the Championship standing, because after race-1 I was only 2 points behind the third position, but also if now the gap increased I’m still very close and now I’m waiting for Monza. I must thank all people of the team and I’m happy to give them this satisfaction, and of course I’m happy for me too!”