From a press release issued by Honda Racing:

HRC winter test Sepang, Malaysia, February 20,2003.

HRC Complete Successful MotoGP Test at Sepang

The two-day HRC MotoGP test session at the Sepang circuit, Malaysia, ended with all teams and riders in up-beat mood. HRC are pleased with the progress they have made, and the results achieved, over the two-days of non-stop testing with the latest version of the RC211V 990cc five-cylinder four-stroke grand prix machine.

Reigning MotoGP World Champion Valentino Rossi was in scintillating form over the two days and set consistently fast times. Italian Rossi, and his teammate Nicky Hayden, the AMA Superbike Champion, both improved on the times they set on the opening day. Rossi circulated the 5.548km circuit in a time of 2:02.9. MotoGP new comer Hayden lowered his time by half-a-second, ending the day with a best time of 2:04.8.

Valentino Rossi: “Basically very happy with the results of the two-day tests. The whole point of this session has been to test set-up on the 2003 bike and not go just for fast time, which we were really trying to do with the tests here last month. The team has worked hard and we are happy with the results. We did some long simulated race runs and are happy with the way things went especially with the way the Michelins worked. I feel much more comfortable on the bike today. I’m recovering from a little surgery on my butt and yesterday was pretty uncomfortable! Today I’m much happier. I can concentrate on riding now, not thinking how much it hurts! I’m going to have a few days rest here in Malaysia before travelling directly to Australia and onto Phillip Island.”

Nicky Hayden: “The two days here have been not so bad. I guess it’s a little frustrating at times ’cause I want to make progress faster but it’s coming. I just gotta keep plugging away – I know it’s there. The team seem happy with some of the times – my fastest one was on a long run and all the laps were consistent in being pretty fast. The new bike feels good and I’m learning just how the little tweeks make a big difference. We’re off to Phillip Island next which I’m really looking forward to. I’m really keen to learn more circuits before the season starts.”

But it was diminutive Japanese star Daijiro Kato who did the most to impress. Kato is much more at home on the new bike than his 2002 model and he put in the best lap of the day at 2:02.8 to top the unofficial time sheet. The Telefonica MoviStar Honda Gresini rider has been in superb form on the new RCV since he arrived at Sepang. Fastest man on both days of the test, Kato goes into the HRC test at Phillip Island next week in buoyant mood.

Daijiro Kato: “Today I am again very satisfied with my results; the team’s work here in Sepang has been great, they have supported me a lot and enabled me to improve my personal best on this circuit. I believe we are working well and in the right direction, my results prove it. Next test is scheduled at the Mugello circuit, a racetrack where I never rode too fast; it will be very important for me.”

Kato’s teammate, Spaniard Sete Gibernau had a good second day at Sepang, setting a personal best lap time at the circuit, slashing a second off his best time on the opening day.

Sete Gibernau: “My crew did a great job today and I am satisfied with my results. I feel like at home in this new team, we all get along very well and thanks to my mechanics and technicians I managed to improve my personal best. Little by little I am becoming faster and faster and I hope to keep on improving. At Mugello we will keep on working on the bike’s set up; I am extremely motivated!”

Fausto Gresini Team Manager: “Another positive day, actually the whole trip to Malaysia has been positive. I am extremely satisfied with both my riders: Daijiro was incredibly motivated and aggressive, while Sete keeps on improving little by little. This testing session at Sepang has been very important for us, since we had the opportunity to test new materials and tyres; the team’s morale also took some benefits, there is a lot of co-operation and thanks to the brilliant results, everybody is satisfied. It is especially rewarding to see my team so happy. I believe during this year’s championship we will be one of the teams to keep an eye on”.

Camel Pramac Honda rider Max Biaggi has settled in well with the Camel Pramac team, and his new technicians. Biaggi worked hard over the two days of testing and pronounced himself satisfied with the results.

Max Biaggi: “The two days here have been good training for me, we have covered many kilometers at this test. Today we again tried several different things on machine set-up but ended the test with settings close to those we used at the January test at Sepang, and set around the same lap times. This shows we did a good job in January, the team is able to find a good set up quickly. The other riders tried many things at Sepang so we hope to have something new next time we test. Now I go back to Nice, then on to a Moto Exhibition, in Lanciano, with my fans.”

Tohru Ukawa’s best lap time on day two of the test was close to teammate Biaggi. After spending the opening day chasing a good set up for his new RCV Ukawa went looking for fast times today. He was successful, ending the session just two-tenths of a second slower than Biaggi.

Tohru Ukawa: “The results of this test are very satisfying. On the first day I spent my time setting up the machine to suit my riding style. Today we were after a fast lap time in race simulation and I was two seconds faster than my fastest time at Sepang last year. I feel good with my new team and I really like the new RC211V. I’m very optimistic about the season.”

The Pramac Honda Team rider, Makoto Tamada, and Bridgestone tyre development rider Shinichi Itoh completed their test schedule on time and both they and the team leave Sepang in positive mood.

Shinichi Itoh spent two very disciplined days tyre testing. The near veteran Japanese rider had a stack of different tyres to evaluate and was never in a position to look for a fast time at Sepang.

Makoto Tamada: “Confidence is growing, with both the bike and tyres. I am deeply involved in testing with Bridgestone and they have made a big step forward at Sepang. I would have loved to go for a real fast lap but my job here is to give feedback. We go onto Phillip Island now, a track where Bridgestone performed very well at the GP down there last year. That could be the place for me to go for fast times.”

Shinichi Itoh: “I am happy with the results of this test and we will see the benefit later. I spent the whole day yesterday testing front tyres, and today concentrated on rears. We go to Phillip Island now and I will be able to gauge progress as I raced with Bridgestone’s at Phillip Island last year where they performed really well, in qualifying and in the race.”

Daijiro Kato, JPN, Telefonica MoviStar Honda Gresini, 2:02.8, 60+ laps

Valentino Rossi, ITA, Repsol Honda, 2:02.9, 60 laps

Max Biaggi, ITA, Camel Pramac Honda, 2:02.9, 61 laps

Tohru Ukawa, JPN, Camel Pramac Honda, 2:03.1

Sete Gibernau, SPA, Telefonica MoviStar Honda Gresini, 2:03.7

Nicky Hayden, USA, Repsol Honda, 2:04.8, 69 laps

Makoto Tamada, JPN, Pramac Honda, 2:04.9, 44 laps

Shinichi Itoh, JPN, Pramac Honda, 2:05.3, 50 laps

Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

By Michael Hannas

CBR600RR Hondas will not be available in dealerships until after the upcoming races at Daytona, according to various Honda dealers across the country. The bikes were originally scheduled to be released to dealers on March 28, which would have put them on dealership floors and available for purchase around April 1. But now American Honda has notified dealers than they will receive one red unit by mid-April and one yellow unit in early May, with the balance of their ordered CBR600RRs to be delivered “from mid-May through June.”

Which means that racers planning to compete on a new Honda in either the AMA (March 5-9) or F-USA (February 26-March 2) series will be out of luck at Daytona–unless they’re one of 11 factory-supported Honda riders.

After several readers complained about the lack of CBR600RR availability in time for Daytona, Roadracingworld.com checked with several Honda dealers and then called up AMA Pro Racing National Technical Manager Rob King.

When asked if the Honda CBR600RR would be eligible to race at Daytona even though it won’t be available to the general public, King said, “Yes. The homologation procedure that has been in place for around 10 years requires that the bikes be available to the public by June 1. It used to be that the bikes had to be available in order to be raced, but it was changed since some of the manufacturers couldn’t do that. The policy has been that way for at least the past eight years that I’ve been here. Yes, it’s unfortunate for the privateer, but…”

An interesting scenario has been created here, in which an AMA racer could compete in the Supersport race at Daytona, then claim the exhaust system off Miguel DuHamel’s factory Honda for the bargain price of $650 and have a factory exhaust for his CBR600RR before he even has the bike. Also available for claiming are the fuel injection electronic control module for $750 and the ignition control module for $400, although only one successful claim per rider is allowed per season. (Since fuel injection and ignition are usually controlled by the same black box, we’re not sure if that means a combined box would cost $750 or $400 or $1150.) See the AMA Pro Racing rulebook for more details.

We also gave Formula USA’s Kevin Elliott a call. When asked the same question we asked King, Elliott said, “Yes. Our policy has always been along the lines of, ‘Well, it happens every year,’ the manufacturers just release the bikes to their factory-supported teams and everyone else gets them later. This is the first time in a long time we’ve had a problem like this, but we’ll let them run. The rules only say that the bike must be sold as a streetbike, there is no number requirement or date. With the weight and horsepower limits, the really strong existing teams like Arclight are already right at these limits, and it would be hard for a new bike to come right out and start beating them anyway. Miguel DuHamel and Doug Chandler have entered CBR600RRs in CCS events at (this coming) Daytona, but no F-USA events so far. If they do I would expect it to be in the Superbike class so they don’t have to show everyone how much power they have, since there is no horsepower limit in that class.”

From a press release issued by Ducati Corse:

ORACLE AND DUCATI TOGETHER ON THE RACING TRACK

Milan, February 20, 2003 – Oracle Italia, a subsidiary of Oracle Corporation (Nasdaq: ORCL), the world’s largest enterprise software company, announced today that it has struck a partnership with Ducati Corse, to become the official sponsor of the Ducati teams participating in the World MotoGP and Superbike Championships.

Highly innovative technologies delivering a competitive edge: this is the foundation on which this prestigious partnership between Oracle and Ducati is based. A combination of two enterprises, both accustomed to “pushing” to the max to achieve success, on the racing track just as on the markets.

From Valencia to Magny Cours, through Monza and Mugello; Oracle therefore will be present at the races of the World MotoGP and World Superbike Championships to contribute to Ducati’s successes.

The agreement plans for future co-marketing and e-marketing activities aimed at making the companies win both on and off the racing track.

Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

From Gordon Lunde, via e-mail:

In addition to the complete resurfacing of Blackhawk Farms Raceway in South Beloit, Illinois, the owners are in the process of more safety-related changes.

An unintended benefit of the repaving is lower curb heights in the turns. An inch-and-a-half of surface was ground off the track. Then two layers of new asphalt (1.5 inches each) were laid down, resulting in raising the surface 1.5 inches total and effectively lowering the curb heights by the same amount.

I spoke with owner Mike Irwin on New Year’s day about changes to the turn five area for more run-off room. There has always been a problem there due to a creek that runs under the track from inside to outside of the turn. In the past the Illinois DNR would not let any changes occur that would possibly impede the flow of the creek. There were also numerous trees and heavy underbrush along the creek and a guardrail fronted with tires only a couple of feet off the track’s edge.

About mid-January Mike called me to inform me changes were underway in turn five. I had the chance to check out the progress about a week ago.

Workers went in and took out 18 trees and all of the underbrush in that area. Culvert pipe was installed to extend the existing pipe under the track further away from the racing surface and the area will be back-filled over the pipe. This has considerably increased run-off room before and after the apex of the corner. The guardrail will still exist but in a much abbreviated form just in front of the creek and it is moved back at least 15 feet from the track edge. A dirt berm about 5 feet high will replace guardrail that was previously in front of the creek but some 20-30 feet further back from the track and will be fronted with a tire wall. The area beyond the apex where most incidents have occurred has been cleared of all brush and will be filled and leveled for much better run-off room also.

Other areas (outside of turns one, six and seven) are being filled-in to provide a more level run-off area. Also the entrance to pit road has been extended toward turn seven and widened. A dirt berm extending from inside turn seven along the front straight has been moved back at least 15 feet and several trees were removed in the process which drastically improves the line-of-sight from turn seven to the control tower. No other changes were made to the track layout.

Another improvement is that all the grindings from the track have been laid on the infield roads and as soon as weather permits will be melted and rolled to provide a fully paved infield. Any one who regularly races here can tell horror stories about the dust during dry spells. Now just a memory.

I think the CCS racers will be happy to see all the work that has been done by the track when they arrive for the first event in April.

Although it may be a bit of a mess if work is still in progress, the safety improvements will be obvious.

From a press release issued by Dr. Rob Tuluie:

Robert Jensen to Race Tul-aris in Formula USA Unlimited GP at Daytona.

AMA Pro 750 Supersport and Superbike racer Robert Jensen will race the Tul-aris in the Formula USA Unlimited GP class on Sunday, March 2nd at Daytona International Speedway. Regular Tul-aris rider Steve Johnson cannot attend Daytona due to a work conflict.

Robert Jensen has been making a name for himself in the AMA Superbike and 750 Supersport classes, with several podium finishes in Supersport and top-ten finishes in Superbike. His best 2002 finishes were a 2nd in AMA 750 Supersport and a 6th in AMA Superbike. Robert is also the 2001 Suzuki Cup Champion.

Since this will be the first time that Robert is riding the Tul-aris, we have arranged a special test with him at North Florida Motorsports Park on Monday, February 24th, to get him used to the bike. Robert is excited to race what is currently the fastest home-made as well as the fastest US-built racing motorcycle. We are equally excited to have Robert push the limits of the bike in an effort to win the most competitive race of the year.


The Tul-aris project is sponsored by:

Michelin Tires, Nutec Racing Fuel, Hot Seat Performance, Ohlins USA, Lofgren Racing/Manley Cycle, Mason Racing Tires, MTS Systems Corporation, Yoyodyne Titanium, GP Tech, Carbon Fiber Specialties Products, DCM Services and Deus Ex Machina.

Robert Jensen is sponsored by Butler Machinery, Michelin, Arai Helmets, RS-Taichi Leathers and Sidi Boots.

Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Ducati North America is scrambling after a cross-country move of its headquarters and the subsequent departure of CEO Joe Piazza, a little more than one year after he took control of the company.

The company has just finished moving its headquarters from Pompton Plains, New Jersey to Cupertino, California, near San Francisco; only one New Jersey-based employee made the move to California, leaving the bulk of positions to be filled by new hires.

Piazza had no OEM experience when he was hired to run Ducati North America; before taking the job he was Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Global Motorsports Group/Custom Chrome, an aftermarket company. His first day as CEO of Ducati North America was February 5, 2002.

Piazza’s departure comes on the heels of news that Ducati’s revenues dropped in the latest fiscal year; a Ducati press release referred to the Italian company as being “burdened by the restructuring of our U.S. subsidiary.”

Nicola Greco, who was Ducati Vice President of Global Sales and Marketing when he hired Piazza in the first place, is expected to take over the reigns of Ducati North America. When he introduced Piazza to the press in February 2002, Greco said “I was not happy with the performance of the overall U.S. operation. Since it is our most important market (and) I know the U.S. quite well, I just put by my side my global sales and marketing role and took over the States for a couple of months to select a new manager and to restructure the company. These things happen. They’re normal corporate things.

“Basically, companies go through periods where they need to re-assess what they are doing. We looked at what we were doing in the States, and we came to the conclusion that the time for change had come…After many years of growth, we came to a stop last year, and there were many reasons for that.”

Fast-forward to 2003, and the company is making more changes.

An official announcement of the latest changes is expected by Monday.

From a press release:

The Barden Corporation, a world leader in the manufacture of high performance ceramic bearings, will be supporting Eric Wood’s 2003 AMA race effort as Team Barden Bearings. The team is slated to make select appearances in AMA Superbike and Superstock action riding Suzuki GSX-R750s. Woodcraft, owned by racer Eric Wood, will be the primary source for Barden Bearings to the sportbike market.

Barden 2003 Contingency: Barden Bearings will be paying contingency money in both the AMA and Formula USA series in 2003. Riders wishing to participate in the program will be required to purchase either a complete ceramic engine-bearing or wheel-bearing kit, run Barden decals and complete a one-time product registration/contingency form. The payouts for 2003 are as follows:

AMA: Superbike & Formula Xtreme (Paid to first non-factory riders)

Formula USA: Sportbike & Thunderbike

1st – $300
2nd – $200
3rd – $100
4th – $75
5th – $50

For further information please contact Woodcraft at (508)339-5772

From a press release issued by California Superbike School:

Expanding California Superbike School
To Conduct Classes in 12 Countries in 2003

Los Angeles / — The California Superbike School (www.superbikeschool.com) announced it will conduct classes for motorcyclists in 12 countries during the 2003 calendar year. Founded in 1980 by motorcycle racing legend Keith Code, the Los Angeles based school established permanent branches in England and Australia in the 1990s. This year, in addition to its operations in the US, England, and Australia, Code’s school will hold classes for riders in Ireland, France, Spain, Germany, Greece, Norway, Sweden, Malaysia, and the Philippines.

“Once foreign students come to one of our schools they immediately want to share their new skills with friends at home – and this rider-to-rider, word-of-mouth dissemination is what’s fueling our global expansion,” says Code.

Code’s school, which provides state-of-the-art on-track instruction focused on cornering for motorcyclists with previous riding experience, annually conducts approximately 60 school sessions in more than a dozen locations throughout the US.

“Our biggest problem is keeping up with the demand,” says Code. “It usually takes one to two years to train a riding instructor in our procedures, and we only accept one out of every twenty-five who try out.

More than 100,000 riders, including more than 15 US Superbike champions, have benefited from Code’s cornering technology.

“With all the interest in schools, I have to admit it is fun being number one in the world,” says Code.

Those wanting more information (or wishing to contact Code) can call the Los Angeles office at 323-224-2734, or fax 323-227-7877.

For school dates and locations visit www.superbikeschool.com.

Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

By David Swarts with files from Bob Dragich

Kawasaki’s Eric Bostrom continued to show his mastery of Laguna Seca and the development progress made on his over-bored ZX-7RR Superbike by turning a 1:25.6 during testing Thursday at the Monterey, California circuit.

Bostrom’s time is better than both his 2002 AMA Superbike pole time of 1:25.716 and his 2002 World Superbike qualifying time of 1:25.875, approximately one-tenth of a second off Anthony Gobert’s AMA Superbike lap record, and Bostrom told Roadracingworld.com’s Bob Dragich, “I could’ve done that time on any tire they (Dunlop) had in the truck.”

Bostrom’s Kawasaki crew, led by Crew Chief Dan Fahie, has completely abandoned its 750cc machine in favor of two different over-bore engine configurations, one fitted into each of Bostrom’s Superbikes. The 26-year-old Californian said he didn’t know the exact differences between the two engines but knew that one was definitely faster, smoother and overall better than the other one.

Bostrom’s teammates Tommy Hayden and Tony Meiring continued to work on their ZX-6RR Supersport racers with some progress, according to Hayden. While Meiring worked mainly on his set-up and technique, Hayden developed two better fork settings that he wants to “marry” into one best configuration.

Both Hayden (1:29.29) and Meiring (1:30.3) recorded their best 2003 off-season lap times at Laguna Seca Thursday and all but matched the times set by Yamaha’s Aaron Gobert (1:29.14), Jamie Hacking (1:29.2) and Damon Buckmaster (1:29.8) from Tuesday and Jason DiSalvo’s 1:29.6 from Thursday.

However, the Yamaha trio only rode their YZF-R6 Supersport bikes for a few laps Tuesday with Buckmaster, for instance, only doing 19 circuits before all three switched to the development of their Graves Motorsports YZF-R1 Formula Xtreme weapons with great success.

All three Yamaha riders recorded lap times under the existing AMA Formula Xtreme lap record for Laguna Seca (held by Buckmaster at 1:27.855) Thursday with Buckmaster fastest (1:27.1) followed by Hacking (1:27.3) and Gobert (1:27.55).

Also in attendance Thursday were Annandale Honda’s Ty Howard and Craig Connell. Leaving the set-up of their CBR600RR Supersport bike to be completed during the CCS weekend at Daytona International Speedway, the Annandale Honda riders visited pit lane frequently to work on the chassis of their new CBR954RR racebikes.

Howard told Roadracingworld.com that his bike had “a wobble,” and Connell said his 954 had “a skip and a jump,” but Annandale Honda’s Jerry Daggett said that the team had found the right direction to go and was focusing on the steering head of the chassis.

In a limited number of laps, Howard turned a best time of 1:29.99, while Connell lapped at a best of 1:31.80.

Meanwhile, Universal Studios/American Honda’s crew returned from an annual bike-building expedition to HRC in Japan to do a shake-down test of their newly-constructed 2003 Hondas Thursday at Willow Springs International Raceway in Rosamond, California, before heading to Daytona. According to sources on the scene, most of the Honda team left about halfway through the day, about the same time that gusting winds died down – which is the opposite of the normal weather pattern at Willow Springs.

Thursday’s Best Unofficial Lap Times From Laguna Seca:

1. Eric Bostrom, Kawasaki ZX-7RR, 1:25.6
2. Damon Buckmaster, Yamaha YZF-R1, 1:27.1
3. Jamie Hacking, Yamaha YZF-R1, 1:27.3
4. Aaron Gobert, Yamaha YZF-R1, 1:27.55
5. Tommy Hayden, Kawasaki ZX-6RR, 1:29.29
6. Jason DiSalvo, Yamaha YZF-R6, 1:29.6
7. Ty Howard, Honda CBR954RR, 1:29.99
8. Tony Meiring, Kawasaki ZX-6RR, 1:30.3
9. Craig Connell, Honda CBR954RR, 1:31.80