From a press release issued by Daytona International Speedway:

Halsmer Hoping To Follow Uncle’s Four-Wheel Success at Daytona on two wheels

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla.– The Halsmer name is well known in sports car racing circles. Pete Halsmer was a three-time class winner in the Rolex 24 At Daytona during the 1980s at Daytona International Speedway.

Pete Halsmer’s nephew Thad Halsmer hopes to carry on the Halsmer legacy at Daytona, but this time on two wheels.

Halsmer, 23, an Indiana native who recently moved to Southern California, is racing in the Pro Honda Oils Supersport event next Friday at the Speedway and is hoping to get some seat time during this weekend’s Championship Cup Series and Formula USA events.

“(Uncle) Pete did well here and I’ve had some success as well, but I’m still moving up,” said Halsmer, who is racing for the newly formed Dream Team Racing. “I’m looking forward to improving and getting the same type of results here in motorcycle racing.”

Dream Team Racing comes to Daytona with a strong squad headed up by Larry Pegram, who’ll ride a Ducati-backed Superbike. Halsmer was slated to race a new Honda in Supersport, but at the last minute the team had to switch to Yamaha R6 Supersport machines when Honda told the squad that it wouldn’t be able to get the new Honda to them until after Daytona.

“We had the choice of missing Daytona and running the Honda later this season or getting the Yamaha and making Daytona,” Halsmer said. “The Yamahas are good bikes and have been setting some of the fastest times in testing so I don’t think it’s going to be a disadvantage. It would have been nice to run the Honda, but that’s OK. We’ll go on with the development of the Yamaha.”

Halsmer only got two days to shake down the new bikes in pre-season testing and was hoping to get some racing in this weekend in preparation for next week’s AMA season opener. But rain on Friday kept him off the Speedway’s 3.56-mile road course.

“I’ve come close to throwing on some rain tires and going out to ride,” an antsy Halsmer admits. “But my logical side says don’t do it. At this point we go out in the rain and risk tearing something up and this weekend is about testing.”

Halsmer, who raced in MBNA 250 Grand Prix last season, is moving into the most competitive class in AMA Pro Racing in the Pro Honda Oils Supersport Championship. There are over 20 factory-backed riders in the class making it tough for a new rider like Halsmer to get noticed.

“The team has discussed that,” Halsmer said of setting expectations for this season. “I don’t want to come off being cocky or anything, but the goal is certainly to be the top privateer (non-factory) rider in the series. Beyond that we’ll just have to see. We’re going to do the best we can with what we’ve got and by the end of the year if we can start coming inside the top
five that would be awesome.”

The racing bug bit Halsmer while watching his uncle, who was a top sports car driver as well as open-wheel ace.

“I got to hang out with him at a race out at Pikes Peak back when I was a teenager and I thought it was awesome. I figured I’d give it a try on bikes.”

So what does the Halsmer family think of young Thad racing motorcycles?

“Mom keeps promoting other career options, but they’re supportive,” Halsmer laughs.

He attended Purdue University for a semester before deciding on concentrating on his racing career.

Tickets for any of the motorcycle events at Daytona are available online at http://www.daytonainternationalspeedway.com or by calling the Speedway ticket office at (386) 253-7223.

From a press release issued by AMA Pro Racing:

SPEED CHANNEL TO BROADCAST 10 HOURS OF RACING FROM BIKE WEEK 2003

PICKERINGTON, Ohio – Motorcycle racing fans will enjoy a veritable smorgasbord of racing from Bike Week 2003 on SPEED Channel. SPEED Channel will broadcast a total of 10 hours of race programming from Bike Week — from AMA Supercross to AMA Progressive Insurance U.S. Flat Track and everything in between. Highlighting this year’s coverage will be the live broadcast on March 9, of the 62nd annual running of the Daytona 200 by Arai, the opening round of the 2003 AMA Chevy Trucks U.S. Superbike Championship.

Bike Week coverage kicks off on Friday, March 7, at 2 p.m. Eastern with the 16th running of the Daytona AMA Genuine Suzuki Accessories Superstock race. Defending champion Jimmy Moore, of Eugene, Ore., will be gunning to become only the second rider in history to win back-to-back Daytona Superstock races.

SPEED Channel’s Bike Week coverage continues right after the Superstock race with Daytona on-air personalities Brian Drebber, David Sadowski, Ralph Sheheen and Greg White. The hour-long, live pre-race show will lead right into one of the most highly anticipated races of Bike Week, the 17th Annual AMA Pro Honda Oils Supersport final, live at 4 p.m. Eastern. A deep and talented field of riders will strive to give their respective manufacturers a victory in this race that is considered enormously influential on the season’s sportbike sales. Suzuki’s Aaron Yates is the defending winner, but he will face completely newly designed factory racing machines from Honda, Kawasaki and Yamaha all intending to dethrone the reigning champ.

On Saturday, March 8, the action shifts from the paved high banks to the sandy triple jumps of the 33rd Daytona Supercross by Honda. Honda’s own Ricky Carmichael is looking to tie the record four-straight Daytona Supercross races won by Motorcycle Hall of Famer Jeff Stanton. Both the AMA 125 East Region race and the AMA 250 Supercross final will be shown in primetime starting at 7:30 p.m. Eastern, Saturday evening in a two-hour show.

Grab an industrial-sized bag of tortilla chips and plenty of salsa and get ready for a daylong celebration of speed on Sunday, March 9. Showtime begins at 10 a.m. Eastern with live coverage of the AMA MBNA 250 Grand Prix season opener. This year marks the 40th anniversary of the race that used to be called the International Lightweight 100. All-time AMA MBNA 250 Grand Prix wins leader Rich Oliver is hoping to win his sixth 250 Grand Prix at Daytona. Next up is the BMW BoxerCup live at 11:30 a.m. Eastern. A number of international and American riders will race on equally prepared BMW R1100RS machines. This will be the only U.S. running of this international series.

Attention then turns to the granddaddy of Bike Week events, the Daytona 200 by Arai. The pre-race show begins at 12:30 p.m. Eastern and the live, flag-to-flag coverage of the 200 starts at 1 p.m. The potential headlines for the March Classic are almost too numerous to mention. Honda’s Miguel Duhamel is seeking his fourth win; Mat Mladin tries for his third after missing last year’s race; Eric Bostrom is set to battle his big brother Ben, who returns from World Superbike; Kurtis Roberts hopes to follow in his father’s footsteps to become the only the second father and son combo to win the prestigious race; and Ducati pins its hopes of winning its first Daytona 200 on Anthony Gobert and Larry Pegram.

Flat track fans aren’t going to be left out. The season opener of the AMA Progressive Insurance U.S. Flat Track Championship will be broadcast on March 11 at 10:20 p.m. Eastern and repeated early at 3:20 a.m. on March 12. Chris Carr begins his title defense at Daytona Beach’s Municipal Stadium. The short track race is easily the most unpredictable race of Bike Week and perhaps in the entire AMA U.S. Flat Track Championship.

Motorcycle Hall of Famer Dave Despain will head up a veteran broadcast team that not only includes Drebber, Sheheen, Sadowski and White, but also multi-time AMA champion Rick Johnson, who will be featured in the AMA Supercross race, and Motorcycle Hall of Famer Larry Maiers, who will be working the AMA Flat Track race.

From a press release:

STAR MOTORCYCLE SCHOOL TO SPONSOR WERA NATIONAL CHALLENGE SERIES 600 SUPERSTOCK NOVICE CLASS

WERA Motorcycle Roadracing announced that it has finalized an agreement with STAR Motorcycle School to sponsor the 600 Superstock Novice class in the 2003 WERA National Challenge Series.

“The STAR School is excited to join forces with the WERA program, and the 600 Superstock Novice class is where tomorrow’s superstars will come from,” said Mark Gallardo, co-owner of the STAR Motorcycle School with 2002 AMA Formula Xtreme champion Jason Pridmore. “This is the perfect way for new racers and sportbike enthusiasts of all levels to learn about the benefits of attending a STAR school near them. Every rider learns something new every time they go out on the track.”

As part of the sponsorship, STAR Motorcycle School will award a free school day to the points leader of the 600 Superstock Novice class at the mid-point of the season, following the WERA National Challenge Series round at Talladega Grand Prix Raceway in June. The lucky rider will be able to attend a STAR school at a venue of his or her choice with no tuition fees, and get one-on-one instruction from Jason Pridmore and the rest of the staff.

Evelyne Clarke, president of WERA, said, “We’re pleased to have the STAR School involved with one of the most exciting classes in WERA’s National Challenge Series. The 600 Superstock Novice class features talented, up-and-coming riders that are taking the initiative to run a National series and show what they’ve got. The competition should be fierce to see who can win a day with the STAR School.”

Look for the STAR Motorcycle School 600 Superstock Novice class at the WERA
National Challenge Series opener at North Florida Motorsports Park, March
28-30, 2003.

From a press release issued by Yamaha Motor Corp.:

YAMAHA FJR1300 DEMO RIDES AT DAYTONA BIKE WEEK

In response to overwhelming consumer demand, Yamaha will be offering demo rides on a limited number of 2003 FJR1300s at Daytona Bike Week. This will also mark the first opportunity for the public to see on display the recently announced 2004 FJR1300 with ABS (Anti-Lock Braking System). In addition to the much-sought-after FJR1300, Yamaha will also have their Star Cruiser line well represented with everything from the performance oriented Road Star Warrior, the venerable Road Star models, the popular V Star 1100 and 650, and the luxurious Royal Star Venture.

Slots are allocated daily on a first-come, first-serve basis. Please remember to bring a valid motorcycle license, a helmet with eye protection, and over the ankle boots, pants and a long sleeve shirt. See you at bike week.

Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Fujiwara tops first 2003 Supersport qualifying

By Glenn LeSanto

Katsuaki Fujiwara took his Alstare Suzuki to the first provisional pole position of the 2003 season at the Ricardo Tormo circuit, Valencia, Spain.

Despite many riders complaining of slippery conditions, caused partly by dust on the track surface, Fujiwara managed to find enough grip to lap at 1:37.687, that’s within a hundredth of a second of Fabien Foret’s best qualifying lap here in 2002.

He was pushed hard all the way by Australians Chris Vermeulen and Karl Muggeridge, who both ride the new CBR600RR for Ten Kate Honda this year. Vermeulen finished the season-opening qualifying session in second place but wasn’t resting on his laurels, “I’m riding like a wuss!” joked the youngster from Queensland. “The circuit is very slippery even more than it was when we tested here last week,” commented Vermeulen, echoing the views of many riders. His fastest lap was 1:37.839, just 0.152 back on Fujiwara.

Robert Ulm, riding for Team Klaffi Honda, put a third Honda CBR600RR into the provisional top four, slotting in behind Muggeridge with a best lap of 1:37.940. Jorg Teuchert was the fastest of the Yamahas, lapping at 1:38.101 to make him provisional fifth on the Yamaha Germany YZF R6, just in front of Italian Gianluca Nannelli on the Lorenzini by Leoni Yamaha.

The new Kawasaki France team, fielding ex-Ten Kate pairing Pere Riba and Fabien Foret were next in the list. Riba was the fastest of the two ZX-6RR riders, his 1:38.355 made him seventh fastest just in front of Foret who lapped at a best time of 1:38.401.

Fujiwara’s team mate, Stephane Chambon was unable to ride as a result of back injuries sustained when he high-sided during the SBK test here last week.

World Supersport Championship
Valencia, 28 Feb to 2 March, 2003

Friday Qualifying, best times:

1. K. Fujiwara, JPN, Suzuki, 1:37.687
2. C. Vermeulen, AUS, Honda, 1:37.839
3. K. Muggeridge, AUS, Honda, 1:37.927
4. R. Ulm, AUT, Honda, 1:37.940
5. J. Teuchert, GER, Yamaha, 1:38.101
6. G. Nannelli, ITA, Yamaha, 1:38.282
7. P. Riba, ESP, Kawasaki, 1:38.355
8. F. Foret, FRA, Kawasaki, 1:38.401
9. C. Kellner, GER, Yamaha, 1:38.423
10. W. Daemen, BEL, Honda, 1:38.597


More, from a press release issued by Honda Racing:

HONDA’S NEW RR ON FORM IN SPAIN

Honda’s new CBR600RR flooded the provisional front row of the grid after Friday’s first qualifying session for the opening World Supersport championship round of the year at Valencia, Spain.

Ten Kate’s Chris Vermeulen, the fastest rider at the Valencia test session five days before, closed to within 0.2s of Friday¹s pace-setter Katsuaki Fujiwara.

Second-placed Vermeulen couldn’t repeat his 1:37.331 lap of last week but remains in confident mood, he said: “I think we got everything right apart from the fast lap. But the new tyre rule means we’re watching how many rear tyres we use and I made sure I saved some soft tyres for tomorrow afternoon.”

Vermeulen’s team-mate in the Dutch team, Karl Muggeridge, took third place on the provisional grid after a 45-minute session focused on improving the Australian rider’s race set-up. Muggeridge commented: “The bike feels great. We played around with the fuelling a little bit and improved the performance but overall we have a great package for the season.”

Completing the provisional front row is Robert Ulm on the Klaffi team’s Honda. Yet the dismayed Austrian said: “I made a mistake on my last lap, in the last section of the track, otherwise I could have been fastest ­ but there’s always tomorrow!”

Van Zon Honda¹s Werner Daemen completed the top 10, overjoyed with the race set-up of his 600cc machine, he revealed: “To have the race setting sorted on Friday afternoon is great. The fast laps were relatively easy today. And, but for a crash in front of me, I should have recorded a better lap time.”

BKM’s Christophe Cogan expects a better performance tomorrow than his 11th place today as he explained: “We only received a lot of the engine parts in the last couple of days so there will be a few changes to the gearbox and motor tonight now we have a direction to work in.”

Daemen’s team-mate Iain MacPherson bounced back from a crash to record the 12th best time, the Scotsman said: “I’d been having a few problems with the front suspension and the front wheel just tucked under as I came out of the
right-hand hairpin in the middle of the circuit.”

BKM Honda’s Broc Parkes also suffered a crash, putting his preferred machine out of action. The Australian ended the day in 16th place, he explained: “We had a lot of parts to test today and that crash really set me back. I crashed at the left-hander at the end of the back straight, the same place I crashed at last week¹s test!”

Gianluigi Scalvini took his Klaffi Honda to 17th place after only a handful of test days aboard the machine as the Italian makes his World Supersport debut. Scalvini commented: “The temperature was a lot warmer today than last
week’s test, that’s changed the setting of the bike and we’ll be having a re-think tonight.”

Friday’s World Supersport championship qualifying times:
1 Katsuaki Fujiwara, Japan (Suzuki) 1:37.687

2 Chris Vermeulen, Australia (Honda) 1:37.839

3 Karl Muggeridge, Australia (Honda) 1:37.927

4 Robert Ulm, Austria (Honda) 1:37.940

5 Jorg Teuchert, Germany (Yamaha) 1:38.101

6 Gianluca Nannelli, Italy (Yamaha) 1:38.282

7 Pere Riba, Spain (Kawasaki) 1:38.355

8 Fabien Foret, France (Kawasaki) 1:38.401

9 Christian Kellner, Germany (Yamaha) 1:38.423

10 Werner Daemen, Belgium (Honda) 1:38.597

11 Christophe Cogan, France (Honda) 1:38.646

12 Iain MacPherson, GB (Honda) 1:38.817

Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

It continues to pour rain at Daytona International Speedway, with some paddock garages starting to flood.

CCS races for both Experts and Amateur classes are continuing as scheduled.

Brian Shaw, nephew of Daytona veteran Rick Shaw, ran away with the 30-minute Amateur GTO race on a Suzuki GSX-R750, leading by 44 seconds at the finish. Bill Card was second on a Yamaha YZF-R6 and David Loikits was third on a Suzuki GSX-R1000.

The Expert GTO race was red-flagged with a few minutes to go when Geoff May and Darren Luck both crashed in the chicane while May was racing for the lead with Michael Barnes and Luck was battling over third place with Brian Stokes. When scoring was reverted to the last lap completed, Barnes was credited with the win.

From a press release issued by Ducati Corse:

DUCATI CORSE PRESS INFORMATION

WORLD SUPERBIKES BACK IN ACTION AT VALENCIA
HODGSON AND XAUS LINE UP FOR TEAM DUCATI FILA

The World Superbike Championship swings back into action this weekend at the Ricardo Tormo Circuit in Valencia, Spain for its sixteenth season. In the five months since the memorable end to the 2002 championship, Ducati Corse has been hard at work preparing for the new season, which it will tackle with a new rider, a new bike and a new sponsor.

Britain’s Neil Hodgson, who moves up from the ranks of the HM Plant satellite Ducati team to race for Team Ducati Fila, and Spain’s Ruben Xaus, confirmed for a third successive year with the factory squad, will spearhead the Italian manufacturer’s attack in the World Superbike Championship in 2003.

Hodgson and Xaus are the first riders to get their hands on Ducati’s latest Superbike, the 999, and they will ride the 1000cc twin-cylinder machine exclusively throughout the 2003 season. The Ducati 999 Factory ’03, which sports an exciting new design married to the successful Testastretta engine, has tested well throughout the winter and promises to continue Ducati’s successful tradition, which has seen them take Riders’ or Manufacturers’ titles with every Superbike machine produced to date (851, 888, 916, 996, 998).

With the arrival of globally-renowned Italian sportswear manufacturer Fila as partner, the bikes also sport a totally new livery for the first time in four years. The 999, resplendent in its exciting new colour scheme, was revealed in a spectacular media event last Monday in Milan, which marked the start of a two-year partnership with Fila.

Hodgson smashed the Valencia lap record at last weekend’s pre-season testing session, leaving the new unofficial mark at 1:34.01. Even at this early stage, the 29-year-old British riders is not letting himself be overawed by the tag of #1 favourite for the title: “I’m really looking forward to weekend now because I had a really good test last week and that took a lot of the pressure off me. The Valencia track has not been one of my favourites in the past but as I finally got to know it well at the weekend, I feel a lot more at home on it now. The Ducati 999 is a big improvement on my last year’s bike and I feel really comfortable with it and confident about the season ahead.”

Xaus, who finished sixth overall in last year’s championship, starts his third season with the factory Ducati SBK squad full of confidence for the year ahead is one of the most difficult tracks for me, because it is the way the corners are, they are very tight, with hard braking and changes in direction, not long and fast corners as I like. It’s my home race however and with the new Ducati 999 I’m enjoying it much more. The 999 seat is wider than the 998 and it’s easier to move the bike around so I feel more comfortable.”

CIRCUIT
World Superbike comes to Valencia for the fourth time since the ‘Circuit de la Comunitat Valenciana’ opened for business in 1999. The circuit is 25 kms from Valencia along the motorway to Madrid and can accommodate over 110,000 spectators surrounding the 4.005 km track. Valencia has many slow turns, mainly left-handers and a long pit straight measuring almost 900 metres.

STATISTICS
Lap record: Bostrom (Ducati) 1:35.306 (2002); Qualifying: Bostrom (Ducati) 1:34.649 (2002); Superpole: Bayliss (Ducati) 1:34.814 (2002). Race distance: 2 x 23 laps/92.115 kms.

2002 WINNERS
Race 1: 1. Bayliss (Ducati), 2. Haga (Aprilia), 3. Bostrom (Ducati). Race 2: 1. Bayliss, 2. Haga, 3. Edwards (Honda).


More, from a press release issued by Honda Racing:

HONDA RACING INFORMATION

World Supersport Championship 2003
Valencia Race Preview
28 February to 2 March 2003

Honda Riders Ready For Season Opener

World Supersport is shaping up to be the most closely contested streetbike-based class of all this season, and Honda riders have proved to be in the forefront of recent test results. Buoyed by their own shakedown results in recent weeks, the majority of the eight officially backed Honda pilots in the series approached the official SBK sessions at Valencia (21-23 February) in confident mood – and with good reason.

The prime focus for their high spirits is the all-new Honda CBR600RR, the most race-ready middleweight the world’s largest motorcycle manufacturer has ever produced.

Four teams – Ten Kate, van Zon, BKM and Klaffi – will be running the in-line fours under a factory banner this year and five riders from these teams featured in the top ten at the Valencia tests.

New 600cc Supersport machines from three manufacturers will do battle with Suzuki’s factory effort this season in this important class of racing, where success on track is often translated into sales of road machines in an already cutthroat sector of the market.

Ten Kate Honda produced the machinery for Riders’ World Championship winner Fabien Foret last season, and once more started the run up to the season’s first race in almost perfect form. Chris Vermeulen (Ten Kate Honda CBR600RR) was fastest at Valencia and his team-mate Karl Muggeridge set the third quickest official test time.

Although delighted to have performed so well in the only official SBK tests of the season, Vermeulen did not lose sight of the fact that there are no points for his excellent pre-race showings. “We’ve had a good test and the bike is working very well,” confirmed Vermeulen. “It’s very adjustable and we’ve tried lots of tyres to select good race options. The main thing is the race next weekend, not this test, so we spent most of our testing time working towards a proper race set-up.”

No other rider in the Valencia tests could get near Vermeulen’s best of 1:37.331 but behind the young Aussie the times were nonetheless very tight – as always in this category of racing.

Muggeridge was the closest Honda man to his fellow Aussie Vermeulen, after spending a lot of time working on chassis set-up in race trim. Ronald Ten Kate, team boss of the Dutch team explained the impact the new CBR has had on his riders’ pre-season progress. “When we started testing this bike the riders’ first impression was of how easily adjustable the machine was and how sensitive it was to set-up changes. At first Karl felt more comfortable on the machine with a tank pad fitted, because he felt that the he needed to push some weight backwards under braking. Now both riders have taken the pads off, after they got used to the more purposeful nature of the new bike.”

The tall figure of Austrian Robert Ulm (Klaffi Honda CBR600RR) spent much of his time at Valencia working through set-up on the small and compact machine and, even though much time was lost due to adverse weather, he left the test satisfied with his state of readiness for the first race.

Christophe Cogan from the BKM Honda team hopes to translate his seventh place after Valencia testing into an even better race result for his Belgian team. Broc Parkes, also from the BKM Honda team, should be a force at the Valencia race if he can continue his good form in readiness for his ‘rookie’ WSS season.

Gianluigi Scalvini (Klaffi Honda CBR600RR) used all his GP experience and his test mileage on Supersport bikes in 2002 to get to grips with Honda Supersport machinery at Valencia, proving his natural aptitude at an early stage of his learning curve on the CBR600RR.

The CBR600 Honda has played a key part in the career of Iain Macpherson (van Zon Honda CBR600RR) in the past and his acquaintance with the latest version has been largely successful. He has shaken off the effects of a crash during testing and his looking forward to scoring more than the single podium finish he took in 2002, while competing for the Ten Kate Honda team.

Werner Daemen (van Zon Honda CBR600RR) is racing for a career best finish in the coming season, and with what is already a well-developed Supersport machine at his disposal he has never been in a better position to finish in the highest echelons.

The 4.005km Valencia circuit, now a well known venue for even the newest of teams and least experienced Supersport riders, will provide a tough test for all, not least because of the expected cold weather, and the possibility of rain anywhere in Spain at this time of year.

From a press release issued by FIM:

Superbike World Championship
2004 Regulations
Decision of the Superbike Commission

In a meeting held today at the circuit of Valencia, the Superbike Commission, composed of Messrs. Claude Danis (FIM), Paolo Alberto Flammini (SBK International), Takanao Tsubouchi (MSMA) and Giulio Bardi (Team representative), has unanimously approved the following proposal concerning the restrictors for 1000cc Superbike machines, for application in 2004:

The engines must be fitted with restrictors as follows:
2-cylinder: 50 millimetres
3-cylinder: 39 millimetres
5-cylinder: 27 millimetres
6-cylinder: 22.5 millimetres

All the other specifications concerning the restrictors (Art. 2.4.4.1 of the Road Racing World Championship Regulations for Superbike) remain the same.

For the 4 cylinder 1000cc engines, the restrictor rule of 32.5 millimetres has already been enforced for the 2003 season.