Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Neil Hodgson has launched a new website at www.neilhodgson.com.

Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

By David Swarts

Belgarda Yamaha World Supersport racer Jurgen van den Goorbergh and his wife Misha had a daughter, Quincy Tamara, March 8 in Monaco.

From a press release issued by AMA Pro Racing:

PRIDMORE OPENS LOCKHART PHILLIPS USA FORMULA XTREME TITLE DEFENSE AT CALIFORNIA SPEEDWAY

PICKERINGTON, Ohio – Jason Pridmore will be gunning for his second Lockhart-Phillips USA Formula Xtreme title starting at the series opener on April 6, at California Speedway in Fontana, Calif. The 2003 season promises to be the most competitive in the seven-year history of the series. The traditional top teams of Formula Xtreme – Attack Suzuki, Valvoline Suzuki and Erion Honda will all be present, but a new chapter will be written into the series this year with the addition of Yoshimura Suzuki and its rider Ben Spies. Since the inception of the championship the factories have competed with one another via supported teams, but this year marks the first direct factory entry into Formula Xtreme.

Pridmore, 33, of Ventura, Calif., won a tight championship battle last year over Bruce Transportation Honda rider Jake Zemke. The two actually finished tied in the final point standings, but Pridmore won the title by virtue of having earned more race wins. Pridmore had Spies as a teammate last year on the Attack Suzuki squad and Pridmore helped the young Spies along as he moved up the ranks. Pridmore even said that he felt that Spies would be a champion one day, but he’s now hoping that it won’t be this season that Spies picks to break through and wins his first AMA championship.

“Ben is going to be tough for sure, but the whole series has taken a big leap forward,” said Pridmore, son of three-time AMA Superbike champion Reg Pridmore. “This year we have top Superbike riders like Doug Chandler and Jamie Hacking coming into Formula Xtreme in addition to the strong field we’ve always had in the series. Fontana is great for me since it’s just an hour-and-a-half drive from home. So I’ll have a lot of friends and family there to support me.”

Three-time AMA Superbike Champion Doug Chandler comes to Formula Xtreme for the first time riding for No Limit Honda. Chandler’s presence in the championship immediately adds to the prestige of Formula Xtreme and the Salinas, Calif., native should be a serious contender for the title. Hacking will also add spice to an already tasty series lineup. He comes in as part of Yamaha’s stepped up commitment to Formula Xtreme and joins the always competitive Damon Buckmaster, who happens to be the winningest rider in Formula Xtreme over the last two years and winner of the season opener at Fontana last April.

Two-time AMA Superstock champ Jimmy Moore also joins Formula Xtreme this year riding for the Corona Suzuki squad to add to the list of top-name riders.

In other support racing action at Fontana, Tommy Hayden leads the Genuine Suzuki Accessories Superstock Series after winning at Daytona on Kawasaki’s new ZX-6R (aka the 636). It marked the first time a machine with less than 750cc displacement won the Daytona Superstock race. Hayden hopes to make the Kawasaki the first non-750 to win the AMA Superstock title. He won the Fontana Superstock race last year.

Rich Oliver, of Auberry, Calif., leads the MBNA 250 Grand Prix Series coming into Fontana. Oliver, a 23-year AMA Pro Racing veteran and Team Oliver Yamaha owner, announced at Daytona that this will be his final season of pro racing and he hopes to go out with a fifth AMA 250 GP title. Oliver last won the series in 1997. He’s sure to face a serious challenge from defending champion Chuck Sorensen who rides for Stargel Aprilia.

The Lockhart Phillips USA Formula Xtreme race will be televised on Speed Channel at 10:20 p.m. and, 3:20 a.m. (EST) on Tuesday, April 15, and again at 5 p.m. on the 22nd.

From a press release issued by Octagon Motorsports UK through the World Superbike Championship press office:

SILVERSTONE AND BRANDS HATCH SUPERBIKE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP ROUNDS

With reference to the various rumours and speculations referring to the Silverstone and Brands Hatch homologation for the forthcoming Superbike World Championship rounds Octagon Motorsports UK would like to clarify the following:

· The Silverstone track is already homologated by the FIM for 2003.

· At Brands Hatch the FIM Circuit Inspector Claude Danis will make a visit to the track in April in order to check the modifications already completed at Dingle Dell corner and Stirling’s bend. He will also examine the works to be carried out at Paddock Hill bend in order to issue a new homologation license.

In this respect, Octagon UK management has no cause to have any concern that the regulatory process will not proceed as planned and the annual Superbike World Championship meeting take place as usual.

NOTES:

Octagon is the global marketing-led sports and event marketing company. It offers worldwide expertise across all eight major sports and event marketing disciplines: athlete representation, event management, consultancy, property representation, TV rights sales and distribution, TV production and archive, interactive and licensing and merchandising.

Octagon is part of The Interpublic Group (NYSE:IPG), the world’s largest advertising and marketing communications group. The Interpublic Group is the only marketing communications and services group with a global sports marketing capability. Octagon employs over 1500 people in 24 countries on all major continents. For further information please visit: www.octagon.com or www.octagonmotorsports.com

Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Saturday Morning World Supersport Practice Times:

1. Chris Vermeulen, Honda CBR600RR, 1:36.305
2. Katsuaki Fujiwara, Suzuki GSX-R600, 1:36.747
3. Karl Muggeridge, Honda CBR600RR, 1:36.805
4. Broc Parkes, Honda CBR600RR, 1:36.822
5. Gianluca Nannelli, Yamaha YZF-R6, 1:36.823
6. Pere Riba, Kawasaki ZX-6RR, 1:36.869
7. Jurgen Vd Goorbergh, Yamaha YZF-R6, 1:37.084
8. Stephane Chambon, Suzuki GSX-R600, 1:37.144
9. Fabien Foret, Kawasaki ZX-6RR, 1:37.201
10. Kevin Curtain, Yamaha YZF-R6, 1:37.240
11. Alessio Corradi, Yamaha YZF-R6, 1:37.308
12. Christophe Cogan, Honda CBR600RR, 1:37.345
13. Iain MacPherson, Honda CBR600RR, 1:37.394
14. Christian Kellner, Yamaha YZF-R6, 1:37.542
15. Simone Sanna, Yamaha YZF-R6, 1:37.638
16. Werner Daemen, Honda CBR600RR, 1:37.814
17. Jorg Teuchert, Yamaha YZF-R6, 1:37.984
18. Robert Ulm, Honda CBR600RR, 1:38.201
19. Thierry Vd Bosch, Yamaha YZF-R6, 1:38.243
20. Shannon Johnson, Honda CBR600RR, 1:38.251
21. Kai Borre Andersen, Kawasaki ZX-6RR, 1:38.994
22. Gianluigi Scalvini, Honda CBR600RR, 1:39.073
23. Matthieu Lagrive, Yamaha YZF-R6, 1:39.245
24. Stefano Cruciani, Kawasaki ZX-6RR, 1:39.340
25. Didier Vankeymeulen, Kawasaki ZX-6RR, 1:39.835

From a press release issued by Ducati Corse:

DUCATI MARLBORO TEAM – PRESS INFORMATION
March 28 2003

DUCATI MARLBORO TEAM SET TO OPEN A NEW ERA IN MotoGP

The Ducati Marlboro Team opens a new chapter in Grand Prix history at Suzuka this weekend. The legendary Italian marque, which has dominated World Superbike for the past decade or so, now embarks on its first attempt at conquering GP racing’s premier championship.

The 2003 MotoGP season will be a period of development for the brand-new Desmosedici, even if the machine has already showed stunning speed in preseason testing and looks like being a real force when the racing starts on Sunday. Last month, Ducati Marlboro Team rider Loris Capirossi topped the official MotoGP prologue test session at Catalunya in Spain (time 1:44.634; all-time record at 328.2kmh/203.9mph), with team-mate and MotoGP newcomer Troy Bayliss also showing impressive speed (time 1:44.893, 322.8 kmh/200.6 mph).

But, as team personnel are keen to point out, testing is not racing, which is why the sense of anticipation around this year’s season-opening Grand Prix is arguably greater than any other. Everyone is waiting to see how the Desmosedici performs in anger for the first time, an extra gravity attached to the event because the race will unfold on Japanese tarmac.

While Ducati’s involvement has sparked new interest in MotoGP, there’s also unprecedented interest in Japan, with more top-grade riders contesting the championship than ever before. This year there are ten world champions fighting for MotoGP glory – current MotoGP king Valentino Rossi, former 500 champ Kenny Roberts Junior, World Superbike winners Colin Edwards and Troy Bayliss, 250 champs Max Biaggi, Loris Capirossi, Marco Melandri, Daijiro Kato and Olivier Jacque and World Supersport winner Andrew Pitt.

Sunday’s Japanese GP is the first of 16 that constitute the first all-four-stroke MotoGP World Championship. The fixtures continue with the South African GP on April 27 and then the Spanish GP, which starts the European season on May 11.

DOMENICALI’S EARLY SEASON PREDICTIONS
Months of anticipation end when the Ducati Marlboro Team lines up for its MotoGP debut this weekend at Suzuka, one of the fastest tracks on the GP calendar. The squad’s Desmosedici bike has already proved that it lacks nothing in the way of speed – at Catalunya last month, Capirossi and Bayliss headed the top-speed charts, the Italian establishing an all-time record at 328.2kmh/203.9mph, Bayliss not far behind at 322.8 kmh/200.6 mph.

The bike’s 220-plus horsepower output will be vital on Suzuka’s two long straights, but Ducati Corse managing director Claudio Domenicali isn’t making any great predictions for Sunday’s race, because he knows his crew is only just embarking on its long journey down the MotoGP road.

“All I can say is that we are reasonably happy and that our engineers have good reason to be very proud of what they’ve done so far,” says Domenicali. “We are only at the start of this project and we are already at a reasonable level of performance. We’ve done some good development work and we know that the bike has a very high potential, but we need more time to fully understand it and to extract its full potential. At the moment I’d say that the engine is only at 80 per cent of its capability.”

The Ducati Marlboro Team have been helped in their successful search for speed by fuel and lubricants partner Shell, who have worked closely with Ducati Corse since 1999. “The Desmosedici’s incredible speed at Catalunya was helped by Shell,” reveals Domenicali. “We used a new fuel called V-Power RD 0502, which had already showed promising results on the dyno, with an increase in peak power of almost one per cent.

“Every month we should be able to make the bike faster, but others are also getting faster. Our results will also depend upon how much room our rivals have for improvement, so it’s very difficult to predict results for the first few races.

“At the moment there’s no clear area in which the bike is lacking, it’s just a case of achieving a good overall balance, which will only come with time. The bike is still very young, we still need to achieve the best-possible balance and then learn how to achieve that balance at every track. We are on a steep learning curve, we still have a lot of small steps to take before we are really good!”

And yet the pre-season mood in the Ducati Marlboro Team is high expectation tinged with optimism. Most of all though, the mood is happy, as team director Livio Suppo points out: “It’s a happy team and that’s important to us. We have a tough season ahead, so we need to enjoy ourselves, we like to have a good feeling about the way we go racing.”


CAPIROSSI’S FIRST FOUR-STROKE RACE
Three-time World Champion Loris Capirossi hits the big ‘Three Oh’ at Suzuka on Friday – the day he officially commences his first-ever four-stroke GP season. The Italian’s 30th birthday provides an excellent opportunity to reflect on his career so far, as well as taking a peak into his future.

One of only a handful of riders to have won GPs in three classes – 125, 250 and 500s – Capirossi has been a major-league star since 1990 when he won the 125 world title at his first attempt, aged just 17. Over the past two seasons he has fought bravely on now uncompetitive 500cc machinery – in 2002 he was one of only two riders capable of running with the four-strokes on his ‘old’ 500 two-stroke. This year he is finally back where he deserves to be.

Some people wondered whether Capirossi would be able to adapt to the four-stroke Ducati Marlboro Desmosedici after a career spent exclusively on two-strokes, but he soon dispelled those doubts, breaking lap records within weeks of his first ride on the Italian V4.

“The four-stroke is great – much more comfortable than the two-stroke, so you can have a lot of fun spinning the rear tyre!” smiles Capirossi, who’s never ridden anything as powerful as the 220-plus horsepower Ducati. “The bike is already at a very good level, our lap times from winter testing tell us that, but we have a lot more work to do before we can properly claim to have the best bike. Anyway, it’s coming better step by step, and I’m really excited because I think we can fight for some good results from the very first race.”

Suzuka is a particularly special event for Capirossi for two reasons: firstly because it’s always a privilege to race an Italian bike in Japan, and secondly because he adores the high-speed circuit with its unique figure-of-eight layout. Capirossi started the 2001 Japanese GP from pole and was second quickest in qualifying last year, even though his 500 had 30 less horsepower than the fastest four-strokes.

“Suzuka is a lovely track, one of the best in the world,” he affirms. “And, of course, it’s a very important race for Ducati, like Ferrari in the Suzuka F1 car GP! I think it could be good for our bike because it’s not the kind of circuit where you get a lot of wheelspin. Everyone can see that we’ve got a lot of horsepower, so we are working to reduce wheelspin, and we’re making good progress with different solutions, both on engine and chassis set-up.

“I don’t have any big expectations for the first race. Much will depend on how the pre-race tests go. They will be especially important for us, because unlike the other factories, we haven’t been to Suzuka before. If we can fix the set-up during the tests, I think we can have a good race.”


TROY’S BIG NEW CHALLENGE
The Ducati Marlboro Team isn’t alone in opening a new chapter in racing history at Suzuka this weekend – rider Troy Bayliss is also embarking on a new adventure. After five years on Superbikes the easygoing Aussie is making the move to MotoGP, and he’s not underestimating the magnitude of the challenge.

Winner of the World Superbike crown in 2001 and a nail-bitingly close runner-up last year, Bayliss may have shown great promise during winter testing with the Desmosedici, but he’s got plenty to learn once the racing gets underway. Not only has he got to learn a whole new class of racing and get to know a grid-full of new rivals, but he’s also got to compete on 13 tracks where he’s never raced before, starting on Sunday.

“There’s no way I’m going to go to Suzuka and win,” says Bayliss with refreshing frankness and honesty. “Then we go to Welkom, which is another racetrack I haven’t seen, so I just want to get a couple of half-decent races under my belt, see what I can do, then hopefully my real season will start when we get back to Jerez, where I’ve tested a bit and where I feel pretty comfortable. The bike’s starting to come good, it’s just a matter of taking it step by step.”

Bayliss had never even see Suzuka before he rolled up for the all-team test session on March 30 (when he celebrates his 34th birthday), at least not in reality, but he had ridden a few laps on his PlayStation, racing against his seven-year-old son Mitchell. “Anything we do that’s not to do with racing he beats me!” smiles Bayliss. “I usually do a few laps on the PlayStation before I go somewhere new, it just shows you which way the track goes.”

Renowned for his awesome on-track aggression and radically spectacular riding style, Bayliss can’t wait for the racing to get under way for real. “I’m excited, after all, I’m a racer!” he adds. “I think a lot of riders feel the same way after a long winter of testing. But I know the first few races won’t be easy because it’s hard to find the limit at any track you don’t know. At tracks you do know it’s easier to find little things with the bike, so you can improve its performance. The Desmosedici is already not too bad, we’re pretty much where we expected to be at this stage. Early on, we know we’ll have some good days and some bad days, but we’re making progress and that’s what we want to do.”

Sunday’s Japanese Grand Prix will be the second GP of Bayliss’ career – he made his GP debut with a one-off ride in the 1997 Australian 250 GP.


THE TRACK
Suzuka was constructed by Honda in 1962 as Japan’s first international-standard racetrack and still rates as one of the world’s best motorsport venues. The circuit staged its first World Championship rounds in ’63, ’64 and ’65 but those events only catered for the smaller-capacity classes and it wasn’t until 1987 that Suzuka hosted a premier-class GP.

Since then the fast, varied and supremely challenging track has gained a reputation for serving up some of the closest, most thrilling GP encounters. Suzuka is the longest circuit on the GP calendar and unique for its figure-of-eight layout which gives a good mix of left and right-handers, varying from fast sweepers to the dead-stop chicane and hairpin. It is also one of the few current GP tracks where MotoGP riders can give full rein to their 200-plus horsepower machines.

The track has undergone several safety improvements in recent years, including two major changes carried out for this weekend’s race. The daunting 130R corner at the end of the back straight has been modified, as has the chicane that precedes the start-finish straight.


DUCATI MARLBORO TEAM DATA LOGS

TROY BAYLISS
Age: 34 (date of birth March 30 1969)
Lives: Monaco
Bike: Ducati Marlboro Team Desmosedici
First GP: Australia, 1997 (250)
World Superbike victories: 22
World Championships: 1 (Superbike: 2001)
Suzuka 2002 results: DNS

LORIS CAPIROSSI
Age: 30 (date of birth April 4 1973)
Lives: Monaco
Bike: Ducati Marlboro Team Desmosedici
GP victories: 22 (2×500, 12×250, 8×125)
First GP victory: Britain, 1990 (125)
First GP: Japan, 1990 (125)
GP starts: 184 (14xMotoGP, 59×500, 84×250, 27×125)
Pole positions: 33 (5×500, 23×250, 5×125)
First pole: Australia, 1991 (125)
World Championships: 3 (125: 1990, 1991, 250: 1998)
Suzuka 2002 results. Grid: 2nd Race: 9th

From a press release issued by California Speedway:

Yamaha Superbike Challenge Pre-Race Party

The official kick off to the Yamaha Superbike Challenge weekend will take place on Wednesday, April 2nd, from 7-9 p.m. at the new Hooters in Ontario (725 N. Milliken Ave. 909-989-2209).

The SpeedFreaks, heard locally on Sunday nights on ESPN Radio 710 AM, will host the “Freakin’ Superbike Party,” which will feature AMA pro racing riders, ticket giveaways and promotional item giveaways.

Riders scheduled to appear include Rich Oliver, Doug Chandler, Jason Curtis, Jason Pridmore, Josh Hayes, Craig Connell, Ty Howard and Jimmy Moore. (Riders subject to change without prior notification).

The Yamaha Superbike Challenge is scheduled for April 4-6 at California Speedway.

Tickets for the 2003 Yamaha Superbike Challenge are available by calling 1-800-944-RACE (7223) or purchase your tickets online.

Single-day tickets for Saturday and Sunday are $30. Tickets for Friday are $10. Children 12 and under are free for this event in the general admission areas.

A great way for fans to purchase tickets is through participating Yamaha dealers. The dealers are offering $5 off a Saturday and/or Sunday ticket.

From a press release issued by Proton Team KR:

The 2003 season begins at Suzuka in Japan on April 6. For Proton Team KR it has come a little bit too early. With their all-new V5 four-stroke still undergoing tests back at base in Britain, MotoGP racing’s only truly independent manufacturer will race field last year’s 500cc KR3.

Riders Jeremy McWilliams and Nobuatsu Aoki will be on the only two-strokes in the class. But the distinction need not be negative. Bad weather could play into their hands in terms of race results, since their lighter weight and lower power would become an advantage rather than a drawback.

More importantly, not only the riders but also the latest Bridgestone tyres will be gaining track time and getting polished up, ready for the arrival of the radical new four-stroke in the near future.

“We always knew there was a chance we would run the two-stroke at the first race, and at this stage I’m not going to put a date on when the four-stroke will be ready,” said team owner Kenny Roberts.

“We won’t run the four-stroke until we are confident it is ready. That doesn’t mean we’ve ruled it out for the second race,” the former triple champion and racing legend continued.

“The project always did have a crazy time scale,” “We’re just a little behind at this point. With the engine on the test bench, we found some details that are taking time to get settled. So while the engineering team carries on work in England, for this race we’ll be giving everyone a last chance to look at a racing two-stroke 500 – I guess we’re the last of the breed.”

The Japanese GP is the first of 16 rounds in the 2003 MotoGP World Championship. The next race is the South African GP on April 27, with the European season starting at Jerez in Spain on May 11.

Jeremy McWilliams: Underdog again
Obviously it’s disappointing to be on the old bike when we’re all looking forward to the new one. The four-strokes have so much speed in a straight line, and though we had some fun last year beating them through the corners, we were always the underdog. Same again for Suzuka. But look on the bright side: we’re out there racing again, and you never know what might happen on the day, if it’s rainy, or if the weather changes during the race.

Nobuatsu Aoki: Home track Runner
This is the first of two home GPs for me, and there will be a lot of friends and family and fans there. As always, I will try to give us all something to be happy about. For sure the race will be hard if it is dry. Last year, we had some results that surprised us, as well as other people, so I never say there is no chance. I’ll do my best, and see what happens.

Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Two customer 998RS Ducatis led the way in the Friday World Superbike qualifying session at Phillip Island, Australia, with the first factory bikes third and fourth.

Pierfrancesco Chili was fastest at 1:33.729, ahead of Regis Laconi at 1:33.941, both riding private Ducatis.

Neil Hodgson was third-fastest on his factory Ducati 999F03 at 1:34.273 and homeboy Troy Corser was fourth-fastest in his works Petronas Triple at 1:34.508.

Hodgson’s teammate Ruben Xaus was sixth fastest on his works Ducati 999F03 at 1:34.585, behind Lucio Pedercini on another Ducati 998RS customer bike at 1:34.572.

James Toseland (Ducati 998F02) at 1:34.661, Juan Borja (Ducati 998RS) at 1:34.760, Gregorio Lavilla (Suzuki GSX-R1000) at 1:34.811 and Chris Walker (Ducati 998F02) at 1:34.906 rounded out the top 10.


More, from Glenn LeSanto

Chili goes to provisional pole at Phillip Island

Pierfrancesco Chili is the surprise provisional pole-sitter after the first WSB qualifying session at a windy Phillip Island.

After totally dominating proceedings at Valencia Neil Hodgson was obviously expected to come to Phillip Island and repeat the process, but Chili had other ideas. Despite the wind, which was blowing into the faces of the riders on the main straight, Hodgson still managed to record a top speed of 291.4 kph (181.1 mph). But without the power of the 999 engine, it wasn’t as easy for Chili. “The wind is holding back our top speed,” he said.

Top speed or not Chili and Regis Laconi, who like Chili is riding a privateer Ducati, both managed to lap under 1:34. Chili’s best time of 1:33.729 compares with 1:33.941 for Laconi and 1:34.273 for Hodgson.

Bizarre as it may sound, the fact that Hodgson is on the latest version of the venerable Ducati V-Twin could be counting against him. “We have an-all new bike so our 2002 data is not much use to us – we have to work it all out from scratch and that’s held us up a little today.” Hodgson also said his bike felt nervous at speed and while they were able to make substantial improvements before Hodgson ran out of time. Meanwhile Chili was busy getting down and getting fast using all his vast experience and the advantage of a well-proven bike to put in some really impressive looking laps.

Troy Corser’s also on an all-new bike, the Foggy FP1, but he has the advantage of having been here testing in the winter. He used that advantage well, finishing the session fourth fastest with a 1:34.508.

Friday’s World Superbike Qualifying Results:

1. Pierfrancesco Chili, Ducati 998RS, 1:33.729
2. Regis Laconi, Ducati 998RS, 1:33.941
3. Neil Hodgson, Ducati 999F03, 1:34.273
4. Troy Corser, Petronas Foggy FP1, 1:34.508
5. Lucio Pedercini, Ducati 998RS, 1:34.572
6. Ruben Xaus, Ducati 999F03, 1:34.585
7. James Toseland, Ducati 998F02, 1:34.661
8. Juan Borja, Ducati 998RS, 1:34.760
9. Gregorio Lavilla, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:34.811
10. Chris Walker, Ducati 998F02, 1:34.906
11. Steve Martin, Ducati 998RS, 1:35.034
12. Marco Borciani, Ducati 998RS, 1:35.094
13. Mauro Sanchini, Kawasaki ZX-7RR, 1:35.149
14. Ivan Clementi, Kawasaki ZX-7RR, 1:35.404
15. Nello Russo, Ducati 998RS, 1:35.577
16. David Garcia, Ducati 998RS, 1:35.630
17. James Haydon, Petronas Foggy FP1, 1:36.111
18. Giovanni Bussei, Yamaha YZF-R1, 1:36.709
19. Walter Tortoroglio, Honda RC51, 1:37.049
20. Jay Normoyle, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:38.780
21. Steven Cutting, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:39.545
22. Alistar Maxwell, Honda CBR954RR, 1:40.856
23. Davide Messori, Yamaha YZF-R1, 1:41.622


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

HM Plant Ducatis in close formation

The HM Plant Ducatis of James Toseland and Chris Walker have finished seventh and tenth respectively after the first day of qualifying at Phillip Island in Australia. However, with just over a second covering the top ten riders, it looks like the second round of the Superbike World Championship could be one of the most hotly contested events for years around the 4.445km circuit near Melbourne.

Frankie Chili topped the time sheets after the first day, with Regis Laconi second and double Valencia winner Neil Hodgson in third. Only the Foggy Petronas team has tested at Phillip Island over the winter, so the majority of the 23-strong field spent the free practice and first qualifying sessions looking for the best race set-up. However, the mood is optimistic in the HM Plant Ducati camp, with both riders already ahead of their Superpole qualifying times from last season.

James Toseland has made a promising start to his third season in World Superbikes and is confident that he can continue the good from that he has shown. “Today’s times may not look that impressive, but it’s early days and there’s a lot more to come from me this weekend,” said the 22-year-old Sheffield star.

“I’ve found it really hard to adjust to the different circuit configuration here at Phillip Island after all the testing and racing that we did at Valencia. In many ways, I feel that I’ve hit a brick wall and I need to sit down with the team overnight to assess where I’m losing time. This is such a fast circuit compared to the slow first gear corners at Valencia, that I’m almost having to learn to ride the bike again in a different way – I’m sure that I’ll be OK.”

Chris Walker shares third place in the Superbike World Championship after the first round with his team-mate, so there’s all to play for between the popular British riders. “I felt really comfortable out there today – this is my kind of track,” said the Nottingham rider. “We worked hard on improving the set-up of the HM Plant Ducati from the base setting that we had for Valencia. So far, we’ve made good progress and I’m pleased with my times on race tyres. In fact, it was going so well that I decided not to go out on a qualifying tyre and conserve my energy for tomorrow.”


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

Corser on provisional front row at Phillip Island

Troy Corser qualified on the provisional front row of the grid after Foggy PETRONAS Racing’s first day of action at the second round of the World Superbike championship at Phillip Island.

The Aussie former world champion made the most of home advantage to set the fourth fastest time on the FP1 on Michelin race rubber. And, with the two fastest times of the afternoon being set on qualifying tyres by Frankie Chili and Regis Laconi, Troy was effectively second fastest behind series leader Neil Hodgson, with a time of 1:34.508.

Troy, who made the front row in the first two races of the season at Valencia, was consistently fast throughout the first day of qualifying for Sunday’s two races. He said: “I was reasonably happy with today and I know there is more to come tomorrow. We are already closer to the front than we were in the first round and I think we will be close to running at the front for the race.

“This is the kind of circuit where, if you can get out in front by yourself and do consistently fast lap times, you will pull away because others will slow themselves up by dicing with each other. So the aim will be to get out in front and I think I can make the front row again tomorrow. It wasn’t important for me to use a qualifier in the second session as were just concentrating on finding a race tyre that would have durability and consistency. We have narrowed the choice down but still have some way to go.”

Team-mate James Haydon also concentrated on race tyre selection during the two one-hour sessions and is confident that overnight set-up changes will provide improvement. Having finished 15th in the morning free practice, he managed to take 0.8seconds off his time in the afternoon but slipped two places.

He said: “I only used four of my tyre allocation today, which means I will have lots to try tomorrow. In hindsight I wished I had used another race tyre option or a qualifier in the afternoon, as that would have knocked a second off, because I am pretty horrified to find myself in 17th position!”


More, from a release from Troy Corser:

FRONT ROW FOR TROY!
Local hero Troy Corser didn’t disappoint the home fans today – putting the new Foggy Petronas FP1 on the provisional front row of the grid after the first day of qualifying. Troy’s time of 1:34.508 was well outside the lap record he set here in 1999, but the two sessions today were beset by strong winds and a greasy track. At the end of the day though, Troy was happy to be fourth quickest – especially as he hadn’t used any qualifying tyres.

Provisional pole today was a bit of a surprise. Instead of a factory bike occupying the top spot, it was privateer Pierfrancesco Chili who set the day’s quickest time. The Italian, riding a private PSG-1 Ducati, lapped in 1:33.729 – nearly three-quarters of a second outside the official lap record. Second was another privateer – Regis Laconi (Ducati) – with Neil Hodgson on the factory Ducati in third place.

TROY

I’m pretty happy with today. The track felt a bit greasy and the wind caused a few problems for sure. If conditions are perfect then I think it’s possible to beat my 1999 lap record time, but everything needs to be right.

Today I didn’t use any qualifying tyres because we had some new stuff to try and we needed to put in the laps. But doing that, made me just ride the bike and that was good. We’ve got some better tyres here, but this morning I used tyres I knew we wouldn’t use in the race – because we had to put in the laps. Since Valencia, I feel we’ve made a step forward with the engine and the chassis of the bike. The chassis is great – it changes direction well and the bike is very stable on the brakes. All we’re lacking is a little acceleration coming out of the turns.

The bike is easy to ride and I’m getting more confident with it. Don’t forget that until Valencia, I hadn’t been in a race for over a year and it takes a bit of getting used to again. I’m glad to have those two races (Valencia) under my belt and I’m getting back to just going out and racing without having to think what I’m doing. I know I still need to concentrate more, but that’s coming. Every time I get on the bike, it’s improving. You can practice as much as you like, but there’s no substitute for actually racing.

The limited number of rear tyre we all have has helped the non-factory boys (and us) quite a bit, because you just have to ride the bike now. I like Phillip Island and if we can make a bit of a jump tomorrow (which I think we can) then a podium could be on the cards on Sunday. That’s what I’m after.


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

Laconi second fastest in first qualifying

Exciting debut day in Australia for Regis Laconi; in a cloudy and windy day, hot and humid, able to weaken most of the riders, the French rider of 998RS Ducati della Scuderia Caracchi NCR Nortel Network recorded the second fastest in the first qualifying session of Australian round of 2003 Superbike World Championship to be run on the 4445 meters of Australian circuit of Phillip Island.

“We worked a lot to find the good gearbox ratios, because on this track the wind always changes.” – commented at the end of the day a satisfied Regis Laconi – “At the end we found the best compromise and we recorded a good result. We worked a lot on the new front fork too that looks to be better and that I feel better, but I’m sure that we could still improve something in front setting. The qualifying tyres worked perfectly, but you have to do everything OK in the fastest lap, because this tyres didn’t allow you a second chance. I’m sure that we could get something more tomorrow, because today the track was quite dirty and the hot and humid weather make me weak me because the otitis that worries me from some time. So I’m confident that tomorrow we could improve a little bit, of course also the other riders will do it, but today we scored really a very important and fantastic result.”

Sixteenth fastest David Garcia, suffering from influenza that keep him from the start to Australia and that he’s not jet been able to combat, neither with the help of Clinica Mobile, also because most of the medicines could bring secondary effects for the doping test and so he could not force too much the medical therapies.

“I feel very weak.” – says Garcia – “The fever worries me from the moment I let my hometown in Spain and I’m able just to ride for a couple of laps and then I must join the pits. That’s a pity because I like this track, but unfortunately in those conditions I’m not able to give any help to my technical crew too for setting the bike that also today was very very fast, scorog the fourth top speed in the speed trap. If I’ll be not better in the next days for me everything is going to become very difficult.”


more, from a press release issued by Alstare Corona Suzuki:

GREGORIO NINTH

Team, Alstare Suzuki rider Gregorio Lavilla ended the first day of qualifying in a steady ninth place. On a day affected by strong winds,Gregorio and the team continued their development of the new 2003 GSXR1000 Suzuki and were content with the progress made. Provisional pole today was set by Italian Pierfrancseco Chili (Ducati) – a surprise, as the privateer was quicker then the factory Ducatis of Neil Hodgson and Ruben Xaus. Chili posted a time of 1:33.729 – three tenths of a second quicker then the official lap record – despite the winds coming in from the Bass Straight.


GREGORIO LAVILLA – 9th, 1:34.811 We started here at Phillip Island with the same set-up we used at Valencia and then began to make progress little by little. We tried little changes today, because we are afraid that a big change will make things worse, so we’re taking a cautious approach for the moment. We really need a big jump, but we don’t want to ruin the work we’re doing. Basically we just need to improve the rideability of the bike and get the set-up of the balance right. We’re not there yet, but it’s a new bike and we’re having to develop it at the racetrack. There’s a lot of work to do, but we’re working 100% and we’re definitely making progress. At the start of the season, I said that it would take until Monza to be competitive and I think that’s still true. The Suzuki seems to like Phillip Island a bit better then Valencia, so I’m hoping that the work we do tomorrow will give us a good chance for a better result on Sunday.


More, from a press release from Ducati Corse:

Ducati Corse Press
Team Ducati Fila riders Neil Hodgson and Ruben Xaus set third and sixth quickest times respectively in first qualifying for Sunday’s Australian round of the SBK championship at Phillip Island, as Pierfrancesco Chili (PSG-1 Ducati) and Regis Laconi (NCR Ducati) claimed the top two slots.

Neil’s quick lap came in the final few minutes of the session when the 29-year old Brit posted a 1:34.273 around the 4.445 km circuit. “Today was quite difficult because we’ve only tested the 999 at Valencia and this track is as extreme opposite as you can get,” commented Neil. “As we don’t have any base marks, I’m using Valencia settings which I changed a lot after the first session. The bike is still a bit nervous at speed so we are trying to smooth things out by changing the settings to be more and more perfect on the line. My quick time came on a race tyre at the end of the session when we made a couple of changes and stayed out for more laps.”

Ruben Xaus escaped unhurt from a high-speed crash at the entrance to turn 12 during qualifying, but stepped onto his second Fila Ducati 999 bike to post the sixth quickest time. “The bike this morning wasn’t bad for the first time here,” said Ruben, “but I thought it was moving around a lot so we changed direction in the afternoon and made the settings softer. But then I fell off after losing the front. We need to work a lot more on the bike, because the set-up is still not perfect. If tomorrow the grip is better than today, I’m sure Neil and I can both ride in a low 1:33 with race tyres. I used a qualifying tyre to set my time today but it is not as good as what I need for the race.”

From a press release issued by Ducati Corse:

DUCATI CORSE PRESS INFORMATION

WORLD SUPERBIKES HEAD DOWN UNDER FOR AUSTRALIAN ROUND

The World Superbike championship heads down under for round 2 of 12 at the Phillip Island circuit south of Melbourne this weekend. After their resounding double 1-2 victory in the Valencia season opener, Team Ducati Fila riders Neil Hodgson and Ruben Xaus aim to continue their positive form at the Australian track.

The Australian round will mark the first appearance outside Europe for the brand-new Ducati 999 in the colours of globally-renowned Italian sportswear manufacturer Fila, whose partnership with Ducati was successfully inaugurated at Valencia. The twin-cylinder Factory ’03 machine has already proved to be a worthy successor to the all-conquering Ducati 916-996-998 family of superbikes, winning straight out of the box in Spain.

Britain’s Neil Hodgson, who picked up a fifth and a fourth in last year’s two Island races, says that he enjoys the fast flowing nature of the track but will be approaching this weekend in his usual way. “I love Phillip Island. It’s a real rider’s circuit with great corners and a mega-fast straight”, declared Neil. “I was fastest through the speed trap all weekend in Valencia and I think that Phillip Island will be good for the 999. If you can have a couple of k’s advantage on the straight then you can get past in the easy places and reduce the risks in others. But the only thing that I’m predicting is that I’ll do my best in every practice and every race. I’m just going to take this season one step at a time and then we’ll see how it turns out.”

Spanish rider Ruben Xaus is also enthusiastic about the 4.445 km track after twice finishing third behind Bayliss (Ducati) and Edwards (Honda) last year. “The Phillip Island circuit just has to be one of the very best circuits in the world and it is one I enjoy very much” said Ruben. “I think the Ducati 999 will be fantastic there. The chassis is very good and it has the power, but as we haven’t tested there, then we are going to have to work very hard on getting a good set-up for the races.”



CIRCUIT

World Superbike comes to Phillip Island for the thirteenth time since the championship started in 1988. The spectacular 4.445 km seaside circuit is 150 km south of Melbourne and can accommodate 150,000 spectators. Phillip Island is one of the fastest tracks on the calendar with an average speed of over 170 kph, 7 left and 5 right hand corners, and a finish line straight measuring almost 900 metres.


STATISTICS

Lap record: Corser (Ducati) 1:33.019 (1999); Qualifying: Corser (Ducati) 1:32.623 (1999); Superpole: Corser (Ducati) 1:32.193 (1999). Race distance: 2 x 22 laps/97.790 km.


2002 WINNERS

Race 1: 1. Bayliss (Ducati), 2. Edwards (Honda), 3. Xaus (Ducati). Race 2: 1. Bayliss (Ducati), 2. Edwards (Honda), 3. Xaus (Ducati).


POINTS (after 1 of 12 rounds): Riders – 1. Hodgson (Ducati Fila) 50; 2. Xaus (Ducati Fila) 40; 3. Toseland (HM Plant Ducati) 29; 4. Walker (HM Plant Ducati) 29; 5. Martin (Ducati DFX) 21; 6. Lavilla (Suzuki) 19. Manufacturers – 1. Ducati 50; 2. Suzuki 19; 3. Foggy 13; 4. Kawasaki 8; 5. Yamaha 5.