Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Freelance motorsports journalist Evan Williams is engaged to marry Tabatha Winfree on June 14, in Gallatin, Tennessee.

Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

By David Swarts

Road America announced late Tuesday that construction on an addition to its 14-turn, four-mile road course has begun and may be finished in time to be used for the AMA Superbike weekend June 5-8.

“Grading has already begun. Depending on the weather, it could be (ready for the AMA Superbike event),” said Road America Communications Manager Cheryl Barnes. “If it’s ready and the AMA wants to use it, it will be up to them or any other sanctioning body as to which track they use.”

The existing section of track between the exit of the Carousel, turns 9-10, and the entrance to the Kink, turn 11, will remain unchanged and available for use, but a new section of track is being added to rider’s left between the exit of the Carousel and the entrance to the Kink. The Bend (turn 10A), as the new, off-camber right-hander is being tentatively called, will slow the speed of vehicles and change the angle of entry to the high-speed Kink.

Road America’s Kink is one of the most dangerous turns in all of motorcycle road racing as a permanent wall sits just a few feet off the outside edge of the high-speed right-hand corner. Superbikes go through the Kink at approximately 120 mph. CART cars rip through the Kink at speeds approaching 140 mph.

Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Via e-mail:

I would like to clear up a mistake that was made. I am not a racer and have never been a racer. I am a mechanic that has worked with several racers at Loudon since 1998. I am sick and tired of hearing my friends complain about the poor treatment that they receive while at the track. And just like the Iraqi people, they do nothing about it.

I also was not truly comparing the LRRS weekend to the war in Iraq. My post was in response to the release about how the WERA racers honored our troops in the Gulf and I was being sarcastic. I would never seriously compare any military action to something as insignificant as a race. I was honestly surprised to see me comments posted on Roadracing World’s site. I was hoping that my post would peek the curiosity of the editorial staff and they might look into the conditions of Loudon and do a small story about it.

Seeing how Mr. Constentino is the spokesman for the entire motorcycle racing community at NHIS I think that he could expend his efforts in a more productive manner and maybe racers would not be forced to race on a sub-standard racetrack that is “good enough.” When the racers paid their entry fees, did they pay the full fee or the “good enough” fee? Maybe that way there no one would have to race on a track with over an inch of snow on it as they did in the past.

The racers are paying customers. Most of them there are not very satisfied with the service, yet do nothing about it. This is where the stupidity comment was derived from. I am glad that Mr. Constentino is insulted by my comment. Maybe it will motivate him to stand up for himself the next time the officials walk all over him and his friends.

I do not expect you to become Kevin Road Racing Opinion. I will understand not printing this rebuttal. But could you please forward this email to Mr. Constentino.

Kevin Fegan
Franklin, Massachusetts

From a press release issued by MonsterMob Ducati:

British Superbike Championship – Round 4 – Oulton Park, Cheshire – Monday May 5th 2003

TEAM MONSTERMOB HOPING TO CONTINUE WINNING WAYS

Following on from a superb hat-trick of victories last time out at Thruxton, the MonsterMob Ducati pairing of Superbike star Shane Byrne and defending Supersport champion Stuart Easton head for round four of their respective championships at Oulton Park this Mayday Bank Holiday determined to repeat the feat.

26 year old Byrne extended his lead at the top of the series to 41 points with his first ever BSB double and sees no reason why that form cannot continue into the Ducati-friendly Cheshire circuit this weekend:

“I’ve got the strongest package in the paddock at present and I’m aiming to repeat what I did at Thruxton. I’m surprised that I’ve had it relatively easy so far and hopefully we can continue our dominance but I know that it will get tougher as the season progresses. The team is good, the bike is fantastic and I’ve no worries whatsoever” said the laid back Londoner who jetted out to France for a week’s holiday after his Thruxton success.

Also planning on repeating his Thruxton dominance is 18 year old Easton who decimated the opposition with a start to finish Supersport win over Easter and the young Scot is still fired up following some remarks earlier in the season that cast aspersions on his ability to defend his title aboard the ageing 748 Ducati.

“I proved a point at Thruxton and made some people eat their words. Just because I’ve done that doesn’t mean I’ll be backing off at Oulton, it’s one of my favourite tracks and the Ducati will be awesome there. Anything less than a win and I’ll be extremely disappointed” said the Hawick ace who as a result, now lies second in the standings.

Team owner Paul Bird has the added pressure of Oulton Park being his and his sponsor MonsterMob’s local track but he’s confident his team can put on another great show for the dozens of guests:

“We’re riding high at the moment and we need to ram home our advantage whilst we’re in the driving seat and I see no reason why we can’t do that again this weekend. I’ve never had a treble at Oulton so now would be as good a time as any” said the Penrith businessman.

From a press release issued by Proforma:

HAS/SHOGUN RACING TESTS AT INFINEON RACEWAY PRIOR TO AMA NATIONAL THIS
WEEKEND

HAS/Shogun Racing riders Heath Small and John Haner tested at Infineon Raceway last weekend, competing in an AFM North event in anticipation of Round Three of the AMA Chevy Trucks U.S. Superbike Championship, coming up this weekend May 1-4 at the Nothern California facility. Neither rider had been to this facility before, so the track time that they each got was valuable in learning the twisty 11-turn track, even though the event was shortened due to rain on Sunday afternoon. Both Small and Haner compared
Infineon Raceway favorably to one of their favorite tracks back in their native Texas, Oak Hill Raceway.

“I like it, I like it a lot,” said Heath Small, who rode only one of his two Yamaha R6s to get familiar with the track. “It’s a lot like Oak Hill, with the elevation changes and the blind corners. I only got two races in, but I got down to some respectable times. I also got more seat time on the new bike, which is a big plus.” Look for Heath on his #278 Yamaha R6 in the AMA 600 Supersport class.

John Haner simply rolled his Suzuki GSX-R750 out of the trailer and rode it without changes from the last event. “The bike wasn’t set up, I just rode it to the bike’s potential as it was,” said Haner. “The track’s cool, it’s my kind of track. I got some valuable time. I was about eight-tenths off the fast time of the day, so I feel good going into Thursday’s promoter
practice.” Haner will compete on his #44 Suzuki GSX-R750 in the AMA 750 Superstock class.

HAS/Shogun Racing is sponsored by Shogun Motorsports, Motion CycleSports, Pirelli Tires, Yoshimura R&D, Sharkskinz Racing Bodies, Vesrah Brakes, Vortex, Dynojet, Woodcraft, Lockhart Phillips, Helimot Leathers and HJC Helmets.

From a press release issued by FGSPORTGROUP:

Imola 200 – World Endurance Starts This Weekend
Teams go Head to Head – Stars Return to Track

The opening round of the World Endurance Championship takes place this Sunday. The 200 Miglia di Imola is the San Marino round of the championship, and the first chance for the leading teams to measure themselves against the competition.

World Champions Zongshen have kept their two-bike team line-up stable since last year, after clinching both first and second place overall. GMT94 finished third last year, and have switched from Suzuki to Yamaha over the winter. Fourth placed Endurance Moto 38 are another Yamaha team but with better backing for 2003 and a stronger rider selection. In fifth place last year and confident of improving, Suzuki GB Phase One have also worked to stabilise their line-up, chasing the consistency vital in world endurance.

Until the bikes roll out on to the track, the competition will remain verbal. Zongshen’s Warwick Nowland, world champion in 2002: “My goal last year was to win every race and I was disappointed, so it’s the same goal again for 2003; there’s no excuse not to win. Our main rivals for this year will be GMT94 and Phase One when Jason [Pridmore] is riding for them. Yamaha Austria could be a good team as well. I’m looking
forward to some great races with Sebastien Scarnato.”

Russell Benney, team manager of Suzuki GB Phase One (5 th in 2002) is equally confident: “Going into Imola, we can beat GMT94 based on their recent performance, but it’s going to be an almighty scrap. When James Ellison and Jason Pridmore are paired up we will beat Zongshen. I’m really excited about the coming year.”

The 200 Miglia di Imola also sees the return to the track of two great names of Italian – and world – motorcycle racing. Former world 500cc champion Marco Lucchinelli will ride the Cuneo Ducati 998R alongside Serafino Foti and Marco Gerbaudo. Lucchinelli first rode in the Imola 200 in the nineteen seventies. Another ex-grand prix star, Doriano Romboni, will ride the No.101 DRE Ducati with Mori and Tessari.

The Imola 200 begins at 2:00pm on Sunday the 4th of May with the traditional endurance “sprint across the track” start. It will be the climax of a full weekend of action both on and off track, but only the first of eight races which decided the championship.

From a press release:

Hello everyone!



I painted this after my race win at Fontana CA. It reminds me of that special day when we had our blue rocket really flying!

I hope you like it, but if not, there are many other selections to browse through at http://richoliver.net

That is of course, if you’re interested in other things besides super-fast racebikes!

Thanks for checking it out,

Rich Oliver

Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

(And note that the handling of Chris Walker at Sugo last Sunday was no better, so it isn’t just a Suzuka problem, it’s country-wide.)

(Other readers who sent reactions to this same deal, please re-send those e-mails, which were lost due to a technical problem.)

From an e-mail:

The recent loss of Daijiro Kato at the opening MotoGP race at Suzuka Circuit, Japan is a tragedy of criminal proportions, not only because the world has lost a very talented 27-year-old rider, but because his injuries were very likely aggravated by his handling post-crash by turnworkers at Suzuka.

I’m an EMT (Emergency Medical Technician), which is the lowest medical certification that a health-care worker can hold, but I am also a member of the National Motorcycle Patrol, which are the blue NMP jackets working all AFM and many AMA races in Northern California. I have tended to hundreds of fallen riders at Sears Point, Thunder Hill, Button Willow, and Laguna and I have never seen a rider with the “mechanism of injury” (IE: being spit-off a motorcycle at high speed) that Kato sustained, simply tossed onto a stretcher with no regard for cervical immobilization.

I have tended to fallen racers who have become almost combative with me because of the caution we are trained to exhibit in this type of injury, but cautious we have to be and Kato is am example of what happens when that caution is ignored. The most recent information released on Kato’s death noted that he had a fractured C1 vertebra. The upper cervical vertebra (C1 & C2) house the portion of the spinal nerve that controls involuntary motor functions: That is breathing and heartbeat. When the fractured vertebra is allowed to move and cut the spinal nerve, the patient no longer has respiration nor pulse. It doesn’t appear that cornerworkers even bothered to check Kato’s vitals before tossing his unconscious body on a stretcher to get him out of the area so the race could continue.

It is lucky for those malfeasant track workers that Japan has almost no civil litigation. The Japanese tradition is to apologize to your victims and their families publicly. I can’t see how a country that advanced can be so draconian at the same time.

Rene LaPrevotte
AFM #44W
Novato, California

Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Via e-mail:

Since people are starting to talk about the new class, I figured I’d say something also.

I’m not sure that AMA really knows what it wants to do, They want to streamline the program but they sure missed that one. What they have managed to do is make it confusing for the general public.

Have you ever been to an SCCA National and all of the sudden there a bunch of different cars on the track in the same race, all you are left to do is wonder what the hell is this. I can see that happening here now–not very professional.

What is the problem just leaving the 250 GP class as is? Right now when we are on the track everyone knows what class it is. The changes that the AMA is making with the other classes makes more sense.

I don’t believe we will be that competitive against full-blown 600cc Superbikes mainly because of the limited development the manufacturers want to put into 250s now. At least you can buy a competitive 250, unlike the 600cc Supersport front-runners. But that is another subject altogether.

I really believe the 250 GP class is more popular than it gets credit for and that in the long run it will prove itself worthy of remaining as it is.

Thanks for hearing my point of view.
Greg Esser
#26 250GP
Pompano Beach, Florida

From a press release:

The Honda Superbike Classic Launches Website

The 2003 Honda Superbike Classic is on the web at www.superbikeclassic.com

DENVER, CO – RPM (Race Promotion Management) is happy to unveil the official website for the 2003 Honda Superbike Classic at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, July 11, 12, 13. This premier event features rounds of the AMA Chevy Trucks US Superbike Championship and the SBK Superbike World Championship and a full weekend of motorcycle racing and fun for the whole family. Plus a new addition this year – the AMA Red Bull Supermoto Championship with 3 exciting classes and past champions competing head to head, including 7-Time Supercross Champion, Jeremy McGrath, Scott Russell, Jeff Ward, Kevin Schwantz, Chris Carr and Mike Metzger.

The Home page highlights the latest news on the event with links to more stories in the News Archive. There is a Meet the Riders slide show that gives you a “Who’s Who” of AMA and WSBK riders. You can purchase tickets, 2003 HSC Gear or enter contests only available to visitors of the website. There’s even a special section called “Ask the Doctor” for your racing related medical questions.

But that is only the tip of the iceberg, the Weekend Events section contains loads of information about all the happenings for the weekend, not only a detailed, up to date race schedule but also previews of all the other events at the track including; the Amazing Stunt Shows, the Kids Corral, the Motorcycle Mall, the Fan Party and more! The Location section gives you some background on the track itself and the surrounding Monterey area with a link to the Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca website for even more info.

The Photo Gallery section is overflowing the pictures of last year’s event, both on and off the track. Look for your favorite riders in the Racing section, tour the paddock in the Trackside section, take a walk down memory lane in the HSC Archive and don’t miss our Umbrella Girls, past, present and future. And yes, all the photos can be enlarged for a better view!

There are dozens of related links to the websites of friends and partners of the Honda Superbike Classic, plus there’s plenty of useful information on Sponsorships and available Hospitality Suites for our corporate visitors and a Contact page for any questions that the site doesn’t answer for you.

This site will be updated regularly so be sure to bookmark www.superbikeclassic.com and visit often. Don’t forget your tickets and we’ll see you in July!