Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

By Glenn Le Santo

Chris Walker waited until late in the delayed Superbike qualifying session to take provisional pole at Sugo Sportsland in Sugo, Japan.

All the Michelin riders struggled–they haven’t tested in the wet at all during the off-season. But Dunlop riders had no such problems. Regis Laconi, James Toseland and Frankie Chili joined Walker on the provisional front row, all of them using Japanese-produced Dunlops. It was Walker’s first-ever ride on the HM Plant Ducati and his first-ever provisional pole in World Superbike.

Ruben Xaus crashed twice, as did James Haydon, both on Michelins. In at least one of the crashes, both riders were almost upright when they suddenly lost traction and crashed. Xaus was seen kicking his rear tyre after his second crash. Fastest Michelin rider was Hitoyasu Izutsu, normally fast at the Japanese circuit, and he struggled into sixth, behind Gregorio Lavilla.

The session was finally red-flagged with nine minutes left as the fog that had delayed the start for almost four hours descended again. The forecast is for more bad weather on Saturday but fine for Sunday.

World Superbike Championship
Round Three, Sugo, Japan
25-26-27 April 2003-04-25

Friday Qualifying, best lap times:

1. C. Walker, GBR, Ducati, 1:43.829
2. R. Laconi, FRA, Ducati, 1:44.227
3. J. Toseland, GBR, Ducati, 1:44.588
4. P. Chili, ITA, Ducati, 1:45.135
5. G. Lavilla, ESP, Suzuki, 1:45.845
6. H. Izutsu, JPN, Honda, 1:47.545
7. N. Hodgson, GBR, Ducati, 1:48.629
8. A. Watanabe, JPN, Suzuki, 1:48.914
9. J. Borja, ESP, Ducati, 1:49.234
10. K. Nakamura, JPN, Honda, 1:49.533


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

Rain doesn’t stop play for HM Plant Ducati

Bad weather affected the first qualifying session of round three of the Superbike World Championship at Sugo in Japan. However, the HM Plant Ducati duo of Chris Walker and James Toseland might argue that there is no such thing as bad weather. Despite the rain and fog that descended on the Japanese circuit, the British pair put on a magnificent display. Thanks to some skilful riding and the obvious superiority of the team’s Dunlop wets, both riders qualified on the provisional front row of the grid with Walker taking pole and Toseland in third place.

Many riders found the conditions much harder to deal with, most notably factory riders Ruben Xaus and James Haydon – both of whom crashed twice on the wet track. When the final minutes of the second session were abandoned due to poor visibility, the top five provisional places were occupied by Dunlop riders, with wild card Izutsu coming in sixth, ahead of championship leader Neil Hodgson.

Claiming his first provisional World Superbike pole is a great boost for Walker, who struggled to get to grips with the Sugo circuit on his visit last year. However, his best lap on this occasion of 1:43.829 was almost half a second faster than that of his nearest rival.

“I wouldn’t say that I like the wet,” he said. “But I do seem to go pretty well and it really won’t bother me if it rains all weekend. The team has done a great job with the HM Plant Ducati and I’ve got some pretty good wet settings. The Dunlops are working perfectly but the weather is supposed to improve over the next couple of days, which might not leave us with long to find a good dry set-up. I know I’m going to have to work hard to hold onto pole but with a little bit of luck it’s definitely not out of the question.”

Toseland is fast becoming recognised as a serious championship contender and is feeling more at home in the upper echelons of the grid with every round. The 22-year-old from south Yorkshire was happy with his performance in the adverse conditions and expects to maintain the momentum throughout qualifying and beyond.

“It wasn’t exactly the best weather for racing,” said Toseland, “but it seemed to work for us. Dunlop has done a lot of testing at Sugo in all kinds of conditions and it really paid off today. I suppose this means that I should be doing a rain dance for the rest of the weekend because if it stays like this there’s a good chance of two HM Plant Ducati riders making it onto the podium – in fact either of us could win a race. But we’re not pinning all our hopes on the weather and are confident that we’ll go well no matter what happens.”

Qualifying times: 1. C. Walker (HM Plant Ducati) 1:43.829; 2. R. Laconi (Ducati) 1:44.227; 3. J. Toseland (HM Plant Ducati) 1:44.588; 4. P. Chili (Ducati) 1:45.135; 5. G. Lavilla (Suzuki) 1:45.845; 6. H. Izutsu (Honda) 1:47.545; 7. N. Hodgson (Ducati) 1:48.629; 8. A. Watanabe (Suzuki) 1:48.914; 9. J. Borja (Ducati) 1:49.234; 10. K. Nakamura (Honda) 1:49.533


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

Rain and fog halt Foggy PETRONAS Racing progress in Japan

A wet first day of the third round of the World Superbike championship prevented progress for Foggy PETRONAS Racing during their first outing in Japan.

Both Troy Corser and James Haydon had trouble finding grip in treacherous conditions, after the afternoon qualifying session was delayed for an hour because of low-lying clouds over the Sugo circuit.

Neither rider was able to post a qualifying time before the session was red flagged with nine minutes remaining, due to poor visibility. And with further rain forecast for tomorrow, the team was liaising closely with Michelin to find suitable wet weather rubber. Team manager Nigel Bosworth said: “Today’s conditions were not what we needed, to put it mildly!

James was perhaps too eager to go quickly at a new circuit, considering the conditions, and paid the price by crashing. But the fact that Troy did not set a qualifying time for the first time in his career provides an indication of the problems we faced. We desperately need to find a wet weather tyre that works.”

Troy said: “I have never felt like that in the wet. There was no grip and I couldn’t move the bike from dead straight. It was sliding when tipping into a corner, even without getting on the gas. But at least it didn’t happen tomorrow and we are all hoping that it is dry for the rest of the weekend. We needed as much track time as we could get, as it was going to be hard enough here even if the tyres had been great. And it was also the first time we have been out with this new specification engine and throttle connection in the wet. On the positive side I think we made progress by making the gearing longer after the morning session.”

James said: “Unfortunately, due to a number of factors I found the afternoon session very difficult, which resulted in me falling off. But I realise these problems affected us both. This morning went really well, although not as well as it might have done as problems with the bike occurred during the middle part of the session, when the track was at its driest and people were taking up to eight seconds off their best times.”

Friday afternoon qualifying times: Round three, World Superbike championship, Sugo, Japan
1 Walker (HM Plant) 1:43.829; 2 Laconi (NCR) 1:44.227; 3 Toseland (HM Plant) 1:44.588; 4 Chili (PSG-1) 1:45.135; 5 Lavilla (Alstare Suzuki) 1:45.845; 21 Corser (Foggy PETRONAS Racing) 1:59.414; Haydon (Foggy PETRONAS Racing) – no time recorded.

From a press release issued by Honda Motor Company:

HONDA RACING INFORMATION
To Members of the Press Corps

Corporate Communications Honda Motor Co., Ltd.

Accident Investigation Committee to be Established to Probe Cause of MotoGP Rider Daijiro Kato’s Accident

April 25, 2003 – Honda has announced that it will establish an independent third party Accident Investigation Committee, to be chaired by Professor Ichiro Kageyama of Nihon University’s College of Industrial Technology, to conduct minute analysis on Daijiro Kato’s MotoGP accident at Suzuka Circuit, in an attempt to identify the cause of the crash.

Since immediately after the crash, Honda has been analyzing the accident vehicle with Honda Racing Corporation in order to clarify the cause of the accident, however, there has been no analytical data retrieved thus far which would suggest that there was any type of irregularity with the motorcycle.

Committee members to serve on the Accident Investigation Committee will be chosen shortly hereafter in an effort to promote identification of the cause of the accident.

Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Provisional 250cc Grand Prix Qualifying Results:

1. Fonsi Nieto, Aprilia, 1:36.777
2. Manuel Poggiali, Aprilia, 1:36.998
3. Franco Battaini, Aprilia, 1:37.025
4. Randy De Puniet, Aprilia, 1:37.058
5. Sebastian Porto, Honda, 1:37.098
6. Toni Elias, Aprilia, 1:37.387
7. Matsudo Naoki, Yamaha, 1:37.974
8. Anthony West, Aprilia, 1:38.094
9. Roberto Rolfo, Honda, 1:38.153
10. Hector Faubel, Aprilia, 1:38.585
11. Johan Stigfelt, Aprilia, 1:38.603
12. Eric Bataille, Honda, 1:38.986
13. Alex Debon, Honda, 1:39.117
14. Joan Olive, Aprilia, 1:39.142
15. Sylvain Guintoli, Aprilia, 1:39.204
16. Dirk Heidolf, Aprilia, 1:39.269
17. Chaz Davies, Aprilia, 1:39.271
18. Erwan Nigon, Aprilia, 1:39.323
19. Alex Baldolini, Aprilia, 1:39.495
20. Jaroslav Hules, Yamaha, 1:39.584

25. Katja Poensgen, Honda, 1:43.311

From a press release issued by Infineon Raceway:

Lafayette’s Stanton Eyes Second Straight
AFM Motorcycle Championship

LOCAL RIDER ONE OF THE FAVORITES DURING FIRST WEEKEND OF CYCLE GEAR SONOMAFEST 2003 AT INFINEON RACEWAY

SONOMA, Calif. (IMMEDIATE RELEASE) — There’s nothing like a three-year break to get the old batteries recharged, at least if you’re Lafayette’s David Stanton.

Stanton, an Acalanes High School graduate, took a three-year break from motorcycle racing from 1997-2000. He had been racing competitively since 1989 in the American Federation of Motorcyclists (AFM) and the American Motorcyclist Association (AMA).

“I had to take some time off,” said Stanton, 33, who works in software development at PeopleSoft in Pleasanton. “It was becoming like a regular job. It just wasn’t fun anymore. When it becomes a job it loses that euphoric feeling. I had to take a step back.”

As it turns out, that step back was the best tonic for Stanton, who returned to competitive racing in 2001 and has taken the AFM by storm, culminating in winning the coveted No. 1 plate in the premier Formula Pacific class for the 2002 season. Stanton will be one of the favorites when the AFM kicks off Cycle Gear Sonomafest 2003 at Infineon Raceway, April 26-27.

Sonomafest is a nine-day motorcycle bonanza, highlighted by the AMA Supercuts Superbike Challenge, presented by Honda of Milpitas, May 2-4. More than 800 AFM riders will take center stage that first weekend in 23 divisions, and Stanton will be one of them. Practice takes place on Saturday, with main events set for Sunday.

Stanton will debut his 2003 Arclight Racing Suzuki GSX-R1000 and is looking to rebound after a seventh-place showing in the AFM’s first race of the season in March at Infineon Raceway. The AFM features an eight-race series for 2003, with three events in the Sonoma Valley.

“I was essentially riding a 750 Superstock bike and was running in fourth place and saw the leaders getting away from me,” Stanton said. “I got frustrated, pushed it too much and ran off the track. This time I’ll have the new bike and I’m looking forward to it.”

Stanton began his passion for motorcycle racing as a student at Acalanes High School. His neighbor had a number of street bikes and dirt bikes, and Stanton began riding. After watching his first AFM race, he caught the bug and attended a motorcycle race school at Riverside International Raceway in Southern California.

“After I watched that first race, my eyes got huge,” he said. “I knew that was what I wanted to do. Everything developed after I watched that first AFM race in Sonoma.”

Stanton took first place in his debut AFM race in the Novice class in 1989, and it has been a wild journey ever since. He took three years off from 1997-2000 to focus on his career and family (he has a 7-year-old daughter and 5-year-old son).

In addition to AFM, Stanton will also compete in the AMA Superbike events on the West Coast, riding for Arclight Racing. He will participate in the U.S. Chevy Trucks Sueprbike division, as well as Formula Xtreme. He has a number of top-five finishes at the premier AMA level, but has never won. To pull a double victory at Sonomafest in AFM and AMA would be the ultimate storybook ending.

“Even to get to the podium for AMA would be great,” he said. “I’d like to do that before it’s all said and done with my career.”

With the batteries recharged, don’t count Stanton out.

WHAT: Cycle Gear Sonomafest 2003: AFM Two-Wheel Challenge.
WHEN: April 26-27.
WHERE: Infineon Raceway.
NOTABLE: Lafayette’s David Stanton is holder of the No. 1 plate and the defending AFM Formula Pacific Champion.
OF INTEREST: The weekend will also feature motorcycle demo-rides by Aprilia and Buell.
TICKETS: $5 Saturday, $10 Sunday, $10 weekend ticket. Children 12 and under free. All tickets can be purchased at the gate.

Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Testing continues for a third day at Barber Motorsports Park, the lavish new track located near Birmingham, Alabama that features Muzak piped in over the loudspeakers and giant bug sculptures adjacent to the course.

Three teams have been testing at the track since Tuesday, including Valvoline EMGO Suzuki, Annandale Honda and Kawasaki Canada. Annandale packed up and left this morning, to get ready for the AMA National at Infineon Raceway May 1-4.

Weather conditions were fair and sunny with moderate wind and a high of about 79 degrees on Tuesday and fair and sunny, slightly cooler and calm-to-light winds on Wednesday. Conditions today are cloudy with light mist at times; predictions call for scattered thundershowers, and Valvoline EMGO Suzuki and Kawasaki Canada riders are staying on track during what would have been the lunch break to take advantage of all available dry track time.

In between practice sessions on Tuesday, Team Hammer Advanced Riding School & Track Ride sessions were held.

Michelin is at the test, working with Valvoline EMGO Suzuki and Annandale to sort through both slick and DOT-labeled treaded tires. Kawasaki Canada is a Pirelli team and brought its own tire-changing equipment.

The Kawasaki Canada technical effort is being led by suspension expert Dale Rathwell.

GMD Computrack’s Kent Soignier is working with the Valvoline EMGO Suzuki crew on suspension set-up, and was seen measuring various team bikes at the track on Tuesday, using the Computrack measuring machine.

Track workers placed a row of haybales in front of a guardrail outside turn four after Steve Rapp said he came close to losing the front while coming over a rise in slightly windy conditions. Riders have also expressed concerns about the exit of the final turn, leading onto the front straightaway.

Haybales were used because no soft barriers were available or could be accessed immediately.

Despite early reports that the track features plenty of run-off room, several areas will require soft barriers (such as Airfence or Alpina modules) for motorcycle racing events.

Cornerworkers on site report that Rapp turned a 1:27.0 on his Superbike-legal Valvoline EMGO Suzuki GSX-R1000 on Tuesday.

The involved teams have not released any lap times.

From a press release issued by Foggy Petronas Racing:

Corser aims for further improvement in Japan

Troy Corser is aiming to make the most of the latest developments to the FP1 in order for Foggy PETRONAS Racing to meet the challenges set at the third round of the World Superbike championship in Japan this weekend.

Following a fifth-placed finish in the previous round at Phillip Island, Corser is hoping that further progress in Sunday’s races will help banish painful memories of the Sugo circuit.
The Australian crashed and ruptured his spleen in the morning warm-up for the final two races of 1998, resulting in his new boss, Carl Fogarty, securing a third world title. And, while grip remains a constant issue at the hillside circuit near the northern city of Sendai, Corser realises that he and team-mate James Haydon will have to contend with the inclusion of local Japanese wild card entrants in order to maintain current progress.

Troy said: “I’m confident the bike will handle well round here and I’m just hoping that our latest engine developments will give extra power and torque, especially coming out of the last chicane before going onto the uphill start-finish straight. I’ve done well there in the past and have nearly always been near the podium but it’s
always a difficult race because of the fast Japanese wild cards.”

The FPR team has been working closely with Swiss engine developers Suter Racing Technology to constantly improve the FP1 package. Team manager Nigel Bosworth said: “A development of the camshafts should give more power and torque which will be important, especially out of the last chicane. We also have a revised exhaust system, with new balance pipes to provide extra power. And we’ve also worked hard on fuel and ignition mapping, to produce a far smoother curve.”

James said: “Obviously, having never ridden here before, I know it’s going to be a difficult weekend but I am still really looking forward to it. I am pretty good at learning circuits so I want to concentrate on getting the FP1 working
how I need it to work. So far I haven’t been able to prove what I can do and the pressure will be on until I am running up at the front all weekend.”

Team owner Carl Fogarty, whose surgeon advised against long-distance flights within a week of an operation to remove a plate from his leg, is unable to attend the event.

Circuit information: Sugo, Japan

Best lap: Makoto Tamada, 1:28.658 (2001)

Superpole record: Makoto Tamada, 1:28.797 (2001)

Race record: Makoto Tamada, 1:29.108 (2001)

Pole position: Left. Circuit length: 3.737km

Corners: 6 left, 9 right. Corner radius: 250m maximum, 20m minimum

Maximum slope: 10 per cent

Race times: 0400 and 0730 hours, GMT.

From a press release issued by AMA Pro Racing:

HACKING LOOKS TO EXTEND AMA PRO HONDA OILS U.S. SUPERSPORT CHAMPIONSHIP PRESENTED BY SHOEI POINTS LEAD AT INFINEON RACEWAY

Duhamel shoots for fourth AMA Supersport win at Infineon

PICKERINGTON, Ohio – Infineon Raceway has not been kind to Yamaha’s Jamie Hacking over the years. Hacking has suffered more than his share of misfortune at the challenging Sonoma Valley circuit. Since first racing at Infineon Raceway (formerly Sears Point) in 1997, Hacking has finished only one Supersport race – that was last year when he finished third. Prior to that Hacking crashed out of every Supersport race at the circuit, or sat out the race after crashing earlier in the weekend. The 31-year-old South Carolinian hopes to turn things around this year and is shooting to win at Infineon on Sunday, May 4.

Hacking comes into the AMA Supersport event at Infineon with a 14-point lead over teammate Aaron Gobert. He feels he’s ready to turn around his luck at Infineon.

“It’s definitely not been one of my better tracks, that’s for sure,” Hacking admitted. “It was a track that I really didn’t like before and I don’t think I was concentrating on the proper things there and I crashed a lot. But the track has improved a lot over the last few years and while it’s still probably not one of my favorites, I think I can do well there. Last year I finally was able to finish the race, so I don’t see any reason why I can’t win it this year the way we’ve been going.”

Hacking has put a small gap on the rest of the field after only two rounds. The battle behind Hacking is wide open with seven riders within 10 points of one another.

Perhaps Hacking’s biggest threat at Infineon will be Miguel Duhamel. The Honda rider has won the Supersport race at the track three times and will be the only former winner in the field. He is third in the series standings coming into this race. This year will mark the 10th anniversary of Duhamel’s first AMA Supersport win at Infineon Raceway.

Aaron Gobert is experiencing a strong comeback this year after sitting out most of 2002 while recovering from serious injuries suffered at Daytona last year. Gobert would love to break through and win his first AMA Supersport race at Infineon, a circuit where his older brother Anthony has won both Superbike and Supersport races in recent years.

Damon Buckmaster finished fourth in the race last year. The Aussie veteran is looking to earn his first Infineon Supersport podium finish to keep in the thick of the championship chase. The youngest of the Yamaha factory riders, Jason DiSalvo, comes into the event fifth in the series standings and is hoping to take his first career Supersport podium this weekend. Erion Racing’s Jake Zemke has two top-10 Supersport results at Infineon and he is shooting for a third this year.

Ben Spies, ranked seventh, is the leading Suzuki rider in the series so far. Spies will get some help when Aussie Jamie Stauffer joins the Yoshimura Suzuki team after showing great potential in the first two rounds on a privateer Yamaha. Reigning champion Aaron Yates will not contest the Supersport series for the remainder of the year choosing to focus instead on the Superbike class.

Tommy Hayden is counting on continued improvement to his factory Kawasaki at Infineon. After finishing a disappointing 13th at the season opener in Daytona, Hayden came back strong with a third last month in Fontana. That result moved him into eighth in the series standings and he’ll be looking to improve on that ranking. Hayden was runner-up to Yates in the Supersport series last year.

The Infineon Raceway Supersport race will be shown on Speed Channel during primetime on Tuesday, May 6 at 8 p.m. Eastern. For ticket information contact Infineon Raceway at (800) 870-RACE or visit www.infineonraceway.com.

From a press release issued by the AMA:

Federal Safety Agency Sets Hearings on ATVs

PICKERINGTON, Ohio — The federal Consumer Products Safety Commission — the agency that banned three-wheeled all-terrain vehicles in the 1980s — will hold a new series of public hearings on ATV safety beginning in June, the All-Terrain Vehicle Association reports.

According to a notice published in the Federal Register today, the commission will hold a public hearing June 5 in Morgantown, W.Va. The hearing will begin at 10 a.m. at West Virginia University in the Robert C. Byrd Health Science Center.

The commission states that it is “concerned about the dramatic increase in ATV-related injuries and the continued increase in ATV-related deaths, and believes that holding a hearing will provide an opportunity for the interested public to share their concerns about ATVs and ATV safety.”

The commission will take testimony on issues ranging from the availability of safety training to whether there should be “performance standards” set for ATVs. The commission notes that there has been an increase in the number of injuries to riders using ATVs with engine sizes of 400cc and greater.

The commission also will take testimony on a proposal by a coalition of groups made up of the Consumer Federation of America, the Natural Trails and Waters Coalition, the Bluewater Network and others seeking a ban on the sale of adult-sized ATVs sold for use by children under 16.

The coalition originally called for a ban on all ATV use by those under the age of 16 but the CPSC said that it could not enforce such a ban. ATVA Director Doug Morris noted that under a longstanding agreement between the ATV industry and the federal agency, only the smallest ATVs
— those with engines displacing 90cc or less — have been sold for use by riders in that age group.

In addition, Morris questioned the motivation behind some of the groups involved in this attack on ATVs. He noted that the Natural Trails and
Waters Coalition and the Bluewater Network have never had any involvement with, or interest in, ATV safety. Instead, their agenda has been to block access to public lands for ATV riders and others involved in motorized recreation.

“Including these anti-access organizations in this coalition makes for an odd alliance at the very least,” Morris said, “since the interests of
two of the coalition partners are in eliminating ATVs, not making them safer.”

To testify before the Consumer Product Safety Commission in West Virginia, contact Rockelle Hammond, Office of the Secretary, Consumer
Product Safety Commission, Washington, D.C., 20207. Tel: (301) 504-6833. Fax: (301) 504-0127. E-mail: [email protected].

You can also send written testimony until July 5 to Attn: ATV Hearing, Office of the Secretary, Consumer Product Safety Commission, Washington,
D.C., 20207.

From a press release issued by CRA:

Central Roadracing Association kicks off the 2003 Racing Season

The Central Roadracing Association kicked off the 2003 racing season in Council Bluffs, Iowa, at the Midamerica Motorplex, April 11-13. Great weather and fierce racing depicted the first weekend of the year for many Midwesterners. Many top racers from around the Midwest, including Robert Jensen, Shawn Conrad, and Larry Denning, put on a great show in the battle for the CRA Championship.

In the racing action, Robert Jensen dominated the Middleweight and Unlimited Expert Classes, while Steve Atlas rode away in the Heavyweight Classes. In the Lightweight and 250GP Expert classes, Brett Donahue, Brent Juusola, and Mark Sorenson took the field of racers. After the weekend of racing, Brett Donahue is the point leader for the expert class, while Sean Edget leads in the novice class.

For 2003, CRA has another event scheduled at Midamerica Motorplex for August 23-24. Four weekends are scheduled for Brainerd Intl Raceway, located in Brainerd, Minnesota: May 2-4, June 21-22 (weekend prior to AMA National), July 19-20, and September 12-14.

CRA would like to thank all of our great volunteers, racers, fans, and sponsors! If you are interested in learning more about becoming a volunteer, racer, or sponsor, please check out www.cra-mn.org or call (612) 332-4070.

Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Rain ended testing at Barber Motorsports Park today at about 1:00 p.m.

Team Valvoline EMGO Suzuki and Kawasaki Canada are packing up as this is posted.