From a press release issued by Yoyodyne:

Marvic Sponsorship for AMA Pro Racers

Magnesium World (Marvic Magnesium) and Yoyodyne have reached an agreement to support racers in the AMA Superbike and Formula Extreme classes in the 2003 championship series. This race support program is open to all racers with a current AMA Pro license. This race support program is designed with the privateer and small team as the top priority.

Marvic magnesium’s Piuma wheels in 16.5″ diameters will be available to racers who compete on Ducati, Suzuki GSXR 750 and 1000, Honda RC51 and 954, Yamaha R1, Kawasaki and Aprila’s Mille.

The Piuma is Marvic’s top of the line wheel. These wheels are the lightest cast magnesium wheels currently available, and lighter than forged aluminum wheels. These are the same lightweight wheels used by a top Ducati team in the USA, as well as the US Corona Suzuki team for their US Formula Extreme effort, and their Super Production bike that won at Suzuka.

Marvic’s North American importer, Yoyodyne, is handling the Race support program, as well as the contingency payout program. Pay out is to be structured so that the top Marvic equipped finishers will receive CASH at each AMA National event. Details will be released as the AMA schedule is finalized

For additional information, please contact Yoyodyne race support directly at 973-401-1954, or Fax at 973-401-1284

From a press release issued by Team Suzuki News Service:

SUZUKI MEN LOOK TO ESTORIL FOR FRUITS OF HARD DAYS OF TESTING

MotoGP Preview, Round 11
Portuguese GP, Estoril
September 8, 2002:

TELEFONICA MoviStar Suzuki riders Kenny Roberts Jr. and Sete Gibernau go to Estoril for the Portuguese GP with two days of testing under their belts – and a mass of new data, as the race-development programme of the new-this-year Suzuki GSV-R four-stroke prototype continues with its second phase.

The MGP season resumed two weeks before at Brno, where Gibernau attained his best result of the year – a hard-fought fourth, after fighting through to challenge for the top-three rostrum. This was also the best placing for the hugely powerful 990cc V4 racer since its brilliant second in wet conditions at the opening round in Japan, ridden by Japanese factory rider and sometime wild card entry Akira Ryo. It was proof positive that the in-the-open development programme, driven by the factory racing department and the racing team, is continuing to bear fruit.

The Brno race came after the long summer break, during which testing was banned at GP circuits. The Telefónica MoviStar team took advantage of the resumption of business for two long and hard days of testing at the Czech circuit on the two days after the race, assessing new chassis and engine development parts, and acquiring a mass of vital data to help them continue to move forward with a motorcycle that was brought to the circuits a full year earlier than was originally planned.

The tests were a further demonstration of the success of surgery to Kenny Roberts’s’ right arm before the summer break, aimed at solving a fast-worsening “arm-pump” problem. Kenny completed several times race distance, riding all day for two days, with no problems.

The Estoril circuit poses a very different challenge from Brno, with the second-slowest lap record time of the season, in spite of a fast and long main straight. This shows just how intensely twisty the back section is, with slow corners looping round a hillside to run onto a difficult final corner at ever-increasing speed, making a fast run onto the straight.

The engineers will have to find the best setting combination for an overall lap time – shifting the balance towards the slower turns or the faster section to find which will give the best prospects for the race. At the same time, Estoril could offer another chance to the die-hard 500cc two-strokes, which have yet to win a single race this year against the new-generation four-stroke prototypes like Suzuki’s GSV-R.

Estoril has one particular quirk – in the hills overlooking the Atlantic, it is often subject to strong winds, which make life hard for the riders and also blow dust over the surface.

This is also the last race in Europe until November, with teams packing up for a gruelling quartet of “flyaway” GPs, that will take contestants to Brazil, Japan, Malaysia and Australia over a five-week period, before returning for one last hurrah at Valencia to close the season. The Brno tests were aimed at getting ready for these races as well, said team manager Garry Taylor.

“Testing is never a magic switch that suddenly gives you a second or two improvement in lap,” said Taylor. “Rather than looking for a breakthrough, it’s a chance to take a long hard look at various items of equipment and setting options, and measure their value.

“Two days at Brno was however an opportunity to run through a huge list, and achieve a great deal of comparative testing. We got a lot of valuable information, and now our engineers will process the data and put it all together to give our riders the best possible options not only for Estoril, but for the other tracks to come,” he said.


KENNY ROBERTS – KIND OF CREEPING UP ON IT
“Brno was not one of our tests when we found something a lot better – but we did run through a lot of settings. I was following one line, and technical adviser Warren Willing had some other ideas, and at the end we kind of combined them and came up with a promising direction. It was pretty windy, but I was getting some competitive lap times for the conditions. I rode until 6pm every day, and in fact we could have used even more time. We didn’t find anything gigantic, but we’re kind of creeping up on it, and we have a lot of information for the guys to put together for the next races. It’s hard to know how Estoril will be, because the bike has gone against our expectations at several tracks, often being better than we expected at what we thought would be bad tracks – though I had a hard time at Brno, where I had expected to go well. We do know Estoril will probably be windy and dusty, and we’ll keep plugging away to make inroads on the competition.”


SETE GIBERNAU – THIS TIME, SOME BETTER LUCK PLEASE
“The last two times at Estoril have promised me a lot, but then taken it away again. Two years ago I was on the second row of the grid and actually led the race – then I had a big, fast crash with eight laps to go. Last year I was on the second row as well, but I didn’t get past the first tight corner. Somebody ran into me from behind, and my bike was too badly damaged to continue. At Brno, I think I proved that my team and I are prepared to work to the maximum and that I will ride to the maximum. I’ve said we need help from the factory, and the tests after the race showed that they are working very hard to get our bike to the next stage. We’re not there yet, but we’re pulling together to get there as soon as possible.”




ABOUT THIS RACE
This is the fifth Portuguese GP, but only the third at Estoril. The previous two races actually took place in neighbouring Spain. The first in 1987 was at Jarama outside Madrid. The second was at Jerez one year later, and underwent a last-minute name change to become the Expo 92 GP after a controversial sale of the naming rights. Later attempts to include Estoril on the calendar foundered on track safety grounds, but modifications to the track have solved these issues, and the race took its place as a fully fledged new GP in 2000. It returns this year, as one of four races on the Iberian Peninsula, and penultimate round of the European calendar.


ABOUT THIS TRACK
The Autodromo Fernanda Pires da Silva at Estoril circuit is west of Lisbon, close to the coastal resorts of Cascais and not far from the historic town of Sintra. In hilly country, it comprises a long downhill straight, leading to a series of 13 predominately uphill slow corners, and distinguished by a highly technical and twisty section leading on to the fast and crucial final corner. A newly built pit complex was erected last year – part of a programme of updating and rebuilding to bring the track up to motorcycle GP standards.


GP DATA
Estoril

Circuit Length: 2.598 miles / 4.182 km.

Lap Record: 1:40.683 – 92.914mph / 149.531km/h. L Capirossi (Honda), 2001

2001 Race Winner: V Rossi (Honda)

2001 Race Average: 47’25.357 – 92.057mph / 148.152km/h.

2001 Fastest Race Lap: see lap record

2001 Pole Position: M Biaggi (Yamaha) 1:40.076

2001 KENNY ROBERTS: SIXTH, Qualified 11th (Telefónica MoviStar Suzuki)

2001 SETE GIBERNAU: DNF, qualified seventh (Telefónica MoviStar Suzuki)




More, from a press release issued by Marlboro Yamaha:

MARLBORO YAMAHA TEAM GRAND PRIX PREVIEW

MARLBORO PORTUGUESE GRAND PRIX, ESTORIL
September 6/7/8 2002

MIGHTY M1 MEN AIM TO WIN AGAIN
Marlboro Yamaha Team stars Max Biaggi and Carlos Checa come to Estoril this weekend aiming to repeat Biaggi’s stunning Czech Grand Prix win of two weeks ago.

That victory proved that the team’s mighty YZR-M1 is a winning motorcycle, and the hard-working Marlboro Yamaha crew stayed on at Brno after the race to continue testing the latest upgrade parts from Yamaha and Öhlins. And they’ll need all the engine and chassis performance they can get at Estoril, one of the most technically complex racetracks on the GP calendar.

Sunday’s Marlboro Portuguese GP concludes the long run of European events that constitute the bulk of the MotoGP World Championship season. The MotoGP circus has been performing on the Continent since May’s Spanish GP, but after Sunday’s racing the action moves out of Europe, with riders and teams embarking on a gruelling intercontinental tour that takes them from Brazil to Japan and from Malaysia to Australia, all in the space of five weekends. They return to Europe for the season finale at Valencia on November 3.


M1 FACES CHALLENGING WEEKEND AT ESTORIL
Following the M1’s maiden victory at Brno two weeks ago, the Marlboro Yamaha Team is now focusing on achieving further success in the final six races of the first four-stroke-based MotoGP World Championship. At Brno Biaggi benefited from a new fairing and radiator, parts that contributed to his M1 being the fastest bike on the track, and this weekend the Italian and his Spanish team-mate Carlos Checa may benefit from improved chassis performance, thanks to an upgraded chassis first tried at Brno, and new Öhlins front forks.

“We’ve now achieved our first target, to win a race, now we want to win more at the last six Grands Prix,” proclaims Marlboro Yamaha Team director Davide Brivio. “That first win has given a good boost to everyone in the team and at Yamaha. It’s also very good for Max, he was fantastic at Brno, taking pole position and then leading all the way under some real pressure. And I think his win should also boost Carlos.

“Estoril is one of the tracks where we had a hard time during winter testing, but it’s also where we started to learn the correct way to develop the M1, so it should be interesting to see how far we’ve come since we tested there in February.

“I think Estoril will be harder for the four-strokes than Brno, but with one win behind us, I think we can have a good weekend if everything goes to plan. Of course, we haven’t stopped working since the win, we tested our new chassis and front suspension at Brno and we’ll now see if they suit Estoril.”

YZR-M1 project leader Ichiro Yoda, who stood atop the Brno podium with Biaggi, also expects a challenging weekend in Portugal. “Estoril is the most difficult track for set-up, even more difficult than Jerez,” he says. “You need a bike that does everything well – hard braking, good turning, good cornering, good low-rpm power and good top speed. But after Brno I hope that we can challenge again.

“Looking at the last six races, I think that we will have our best chance at tracks that are hardest on tyres, like Sepang and Phillip Island. It seems that our bike is more gentle on tyres than the Honda. Biaggi used the same tyre as Valentino Rossi at Brno, no problem. The M1 has good traction and its power delivery is more gentle on tyres.”


BIAGGI GOING FOR SECOND OVERALL
Max Biaggi’s masterful performance at the Czech GP has brought him to within six points of second overall in the MotoGP World Championship. After a steady start to the 2002 season, the Italian hasn’t finished outside the top four in seven GPs, and his Brno win was preceded by three runner-up results, at the Italian, British and German GPs. Not only that, the Marlboro Yamaha Team rider scored a landmark 50th pole position at Brno, his second of the year.

“Brno was a good day, I tried my best for the team and I offered my thanks to them for helping me to that win,” says Biaggi. “At the beginning of this year we weren’t able to fight for victory but Yamaha made a great recovery, the bike improved and now we’re in the fight for winning races. It’s never easy to build a good bike, if it was, everyone would have good bikes!”

Biaggi’s Brno success also laid to rest the memory of his crash during last year’s Czech GP, which blunted his push towards the 2001 500 crown. And he’s hoping for a similar change of fortune at Estoril, where he slid off last year, remounting to finish fifth. The Portuguese venue, situated not far from the Atlantic ocean, is often lashed by strong winds which can blow dust and sand onto the tarmac, resulting in sudden and unexpected loss of grip.

“The worst thing about the track is the wind,” adds Biaggi. “It’s often very windy in this area, and quite dusty too, so when the wind blows, sand and dust get thrown onto the track, which makes the surface very slippery. It’s unpredictable too, because one lap there might not be dust at a certain corner, and the next lap there is dust, and of course, you can’t see it. This makes it complicated to work on tyre choice with my Michelin engineer Daniel Croispine, because you never really know where you are with the grip level.

“The track layout is so-so, Estoril isn’t bad but it’s not my favourite. I like the final few corners because they’re quite fast. But the slowest corner just before that section is so slow, you can’t even believe how slow!”

Biaggi started the 2001 Marlboro Portuguese GP from pole position. He finished the previous year’s Portuguese GP in fourth position.


CHECA WORKS TO GET BACK UP FRONT
Spanish favourite Carlos Checa contests the third of four GPs on the Iberian peninsula this weekend. And the Marlboro Yamaha Team man is determined to put himself back into the hunt for victory after a couple of frustrating races in Germany and the Czech Republic.

Two weeks ago at Brno, Checa rode to a fifth-place result, equalling his lowliest finish of the season. And at July’s German GP he was fourth, albeit just 2.3 seconds away from victory.

“We had a few set-up problems at Brno,” explains Checa, currently fourth in the 2002 MotoGP World Championship. “We lost our way with settings on the modified chassis, so we stayed on after the race to test the chassis, plus new front forks and some new Michelin tyres. We just needed more time to evaluate the full range of different settings, and now that we’ve done that, we should be in better shape for Estoril.”

Checa has already proved that he can run up front aboard the M1. He’s so far scored three podium finishes on the bike – at the Japanese, Catalan and Dutch GPs – and he’s led several races this year. Now he wants to follow Max Biaggi’s Brno win with his own success. But he knows that Estoril won’t be the easiest of races for the 210bhp-plus M1. The track features several ultra-slow corners, which make it the slowest circuit on the GP calendar, and these corners will suit the 500 two-strokes more than the big-bore four-strokes.

“Estoril is bumpy and the slow section is very slow,” he adds. “I think the slowest part is better for go-karts than MotoGP bikes! We will have to work very hard to find a set-up that will give me a good feeling and allow me to be very fast. We need to be as quick as possible through all the slow corners, then use the advantages of our bike through the faster part of the circuit. For sure, the bike will be much better than when we tested at Estoril in February, we’ve come a long way since then.”

Checa finished fourth in last year’s Marlboro Portuguese Grand Prix, after qualifying in eighth position. In 2000 he rode to 12th, struggling with the strong winds that affected that year’s event.


WHAT THE TEAM SAYS
Fiorenzo Fanali, Max Biaggi’s chief engineer
“Yamaha have worked so hard since the start of the season, they really deserved to get their first win with the M1 at Brno. But that race is already in the past, we’re looking ahead to Estoril. We worked with the new chassis and forks during tests after Brno and we hope these may help at the next races. The Estoril track has many contrasting features, so we have to work at finding the best compromise. That doesn’t mean changing the whole set-up, you just work out which part of the track is the biggest problem, work to fix that, then go on to the next problem.”

Antonio Jimenez, Carlos Checa’s chief engineer
“After Brno we need to improve our overall set-up. Estoril will be interesting for us, a real challenge, because there’s many different kinds of corners at this track. From the start we will focus on getting the bike working well for hard braking and for the slow turns, then we’ll go on from there, hoping all the time that the track doesn’t get too dusty. It’s not the kind of circuit where the four-strokes will be able to make the best of their advantages, so I think we could have a bit of a battle with the two-strokes during the weekend.”


THE TRACK
Estoril is the slowest circuit on the GP calendar, with a lap record of less than 150kmh. Nevertheless the track presents a real challenge to riders and engineers. The contrast between very slow and very fast corners demands some tricky compromises in chassis set-up, with riders requiring manoeuvrability in the tight corners and stability in the sweepers. These two characteristics aren’t mutually exclusive but it’s not easy to create a motorcycle that excels in both situations, so compromise is the only answer. It’s the same with the engine – the contrast between the fast start-finish straight and the many slow-speed corners requires maximum peak horsepower as well as gentle low-rev performance.

But perhaps the greatest concern for riders is the track’s proximity to the Atlantic. High-speed winds whip off the ocean, blowing bikes and riders off course, and throwing dust onto the circuit, with potentially disastrous results.

Estoril hosts its third Grand Prix this weekend, though this is the fifth Portuguese GP. The nation’s first two GPs were held at Spanish tracks in 1987 and 1988, because Estoril failed stringent track safety standards.


ESTORIL
4.182km/2.599 miles
Lap record: Loris Capirossi (Honda), 1m 40.683s. 149.530kmh/92.914mph


MARLBORO YAMAHA TEAM RIDER DATA LOGS

MAX BIAGGI
Age: 31. Lives: Monaco
Bike: Marlboro Yamaha Team YZR-M1
GP victories: 38 (1xMotoGP, 8×500, 29×250)
First GP victory: South Africa, 1992 (250)
First GP: France, 1991 (250)
GP starts: 159 (10xMotoGP, 62×500, 87×250)
Pole positions: 50 (2xMotoGP, 15×500, 33×250)
First pole: Europe, 1992 (250)
World Championships: 4 x 250 (’94, ’95, ’96, ’97)
Estoril 2001 results. Grid: pole. Race: 5th

CARLOS CHECA
Age: 29. Lives: Yorkshire, England
Bike: Marlboro Yamaha Team YZR-M1
GP victories: 2 (500)
First GP victory: Catalunya, 1996 (500)
First GP: Europe, 1993 (125)
GP starts: 130 (10xMotoGP, 92×500, 27×250, 1×125)
Pole positions: 1 (500)
First pole: Spain, 1998 (500)
Estoril 2001 results. Grid: 8th. Race: 4th


More, from MS Aprilia:

Estoril, Portugal, eleventh round of the World Championship, prior to the South American event.

The Estoril circuit is located 28 kilometres from Lisbon, just by the Atlantic coast, and will be the venue for the eleventh round of the World Road Racing Championship. Built in 1972, the Portuguese track hosted a number of Formula 2 races in the 1970s before being “consecrated” at world level with the arrival of Formula 1 in 1984. Since 2000, it has been the Portuguese venue for the world motorcycling tests of the Grand Prix. This a is difficult track to interpret, since its layout comprises all those difficulties which make it technical and selective. There are many slow-speed corners to negotiate, followed by rapid accelerations. There are other, faster turns leading into the tight chicanes where the change of direction needs to be tackled with great skill. But that is not all: extreme braking is needed for overtaking, and then there is the long straight, where engine power can make all the difference. This means that Estoril has all the characteristics of a track that is difficult for both technicians and riders to interpret. And the weather is an unknown factor: its proximity to the Atlantic coast makes the area susceptible to rapid changes in the atmosphere.

The circuit. Length: 4,182 metres – 4 left corners – 9 right corners – longest straight: 986 metres – Maximum width: 14 metres – Constructed in: 1972 – Modified in: 1999.


2001 winners. 125 Class: Poggiali (Ita) Gilera – 250 Class: Kato (Jap) Honda – 500 Class: Rossi (Ita) Honda.


Circuit records – 125: 1’46,329, Ui, 2001 – 250: 1’42.285, Kato, 2001 – 500: 1’40.683, Capirossi, 2001.


APRILIA

After 10 rounds out of 16 in the 2002 MotoGP, Aprilia tops the charts in 3 out of the 6 championships:


1st in the 250 Class riders’ championship with Marco Melandri

1st in the 250 Class manufacturers’ championship

1st in the 125 Class manufacturers’ championship


In the 125 class, Aprilia is inching closer to the top spot in the riders’ world championship. Arnaud Vincent’s third place on the Brno podium reduced the gap separating him from the top of the tables, and he is now just two points away from leader Manuel Poggiali, the Gilera standard-bearer.


In the 250 class, Marco Melandri has increased his lead over second-place Nieto to 39 points, and Aprilia now boasts a 95-point lead over the Japanese Honda in the manufacturer’s championship.


MARCO MELANDRI – 250cc Class – Aprilia RSW 250

Back in London, the city where he currently lives, straight after his great victory in Brno (his sixth win in a row, equalling the records set by Spencer in 1985), Marco Melandri took off for Nottingham. Macio is actually planning to move from the great metropolis to the capital of Nottinghamshire in November and has started house-hunting to find the place best suited to meet his needs. Marco loves sport, but more than anything he has a passion for off-road and motocross racing, and the Midlands countryside offers the best opportunities for the open-air sports Macio likes best.


“I’ve been up in Nottingham looking for a house. I’m thinking of moving to the Midlands after having spent an exciting time in London. Nottingham’s a great city, possibly more on a human scale than London, which is a vast and fascinating metropolis but one that lacks the natural areas of sport you find outside Nottingham. In the countryside in the middle of England, you can practise motorcross and other sports, you can live the outdoor life, and it’s a city which encourages you much more to use a motorbike. But let’s see about Estoril: it’s not one of my favourite tracks. It’s technical and hard to interpret. The circuit’s got lots of slow corners, and you’ve got to negotiate no fewer than four of them in first gear. There’s often strong wind and the tarmac’s full of holes. The bikes just got to have really good handling, but the engine’s also very important for the long straight. It’s a track where every single part of the bike has to be working to perfection. One good thing is that it’s wide, so you can take the trajectories in different ways and last-minute braking makes it easier to overtake. We’ll need to find a very special set-up to make the bike easy to ride, making it possible to open up the throttle very early. My opponents are the same as always: I think Nieto and Rolfo should be good on this track. I just have to be the same as the other times: doing what I have to do, and knowing that the enormous motivation I have in me can take me to victory.”


REGIS LACONI – MotoGP – Aprilia RS3

Régis Laconi ended last week with some hectic days. The Cube was once again back on track for a series of tests at Mugello on Thursday and Friday. The official Aprilia rider was thus able to get a better feeling for the new components on his bike which he used during the last weekend at Brno. But the two days were also very useful for sorting out the problems Regis had come up against in the Czech Republic and finding some solutions to improve things. But that was not all, for the technical similarities between the circuits at Mugello and the Estoril, where the 11th round of the World Road Racing Championship will be held this weekend, let Régis find a good initial set-up for the Cube for the Portuguese track. Then he was off for two days of sunshine in Liguria and today he leaves for Lisbon.

Laconi knows the Estoril very well. In 2000, Régis crossed the finishing line in fifth place in the top class. He was preceded by McCoy, Roberts, Rossi and Biaggi, in that order.


“The two days in Mugello were very important. We did more tests on the Cube, working on the details of the bike’s new step, which I used for the first time during the Brno weekend. We also need to try out some other tyres, with different configurations and sizes for the front wheel. This is because I had some problems on the front during the last race in the Czech Republic: chattering and lack of grip made things difficult. Strong vibrations meant I had difficulty bringing the Cube into the corners. The important thing, at Mugello, was to acquire further data to give Dunlop as references for their development work. The similarities between the technical characteristics of Mugello and Estoril also helped us work for Sunday’s race, and we achieved a set-up which makes the Cube much easier to handle. The last part of the track in Portugal is not easy to interpret – it takes some violent braking, rapid acceleration, and then there’s the straight which is almost a kilometre long, where you can easily reach over 300 kph. Lots of righthanders and… you have to watch out for lots of potholes just about all the way along the track.”

Copyright 2002, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

By David Swarts

American Honda’s Nicky Hayden won round 15 of the Progressive Insurance AMA U.S. Flat Track Championship, a short track race, Saturday night at Rodeo Arena at the Illinois State Fairgrounds in Springfield, Illinois.

After winning the fastest qualifying heat race of the night, Hayden started from pole position but was second through the early going. Hayden took the lead from Kevin Varnes just before the halfway point in the 25-lap final and rode away to take the win on his White Brothers-backed Honda CRF450F.

After each winning their respective qualifying heat races, Tommy Hayden finished sixth on a Rotax while Jake Zemke finished 16th on a Honda CRF450F.

Among the other professional road racers competing at Springfield, Roger Lee Hayden DNF in his semi qualifying heat with a mechanical problem, and Larry Pegram took fifth in his semi, where only the winner advances to the main.

In all, 106 riders tried to qualify for one of the main event’s 16 starting spots.

In addition to winning the 2002 AMA Superbike Championship, Hayden has won four of the six AMA U.S. Flat Track Championship races he has entered in 2002. The riders with the next highest total of wins are series leader Chris Carr and Rich King, each with two wins.

On Sunday, Hayden will be shooting for a win in the Springfield Mile to complete the Grand Slam of motorcycle racing — a National win in a short track, a TT, a half-mile, a mile and a Superbike race.

Main Event Results:
1. Nicky Hayden, Honda, 25 laps
2. Jake Johnson, Honda
3. Kevin Varnes, CCM
4. Bryan Bigelow, Honda
5. J.R. Schnabel, Honda
6. Tommy Hayden, Rotax
7. Chris Carr, Rotax
8. Kevin Atherton, Honda
9. Joe Kopp, KTM
10. Cory McDermitt, Rotax
11. Terry Poovey, ATK
12. Johnny Murphree, ATK
13. Shaun Russell, Rotax
14. Ken Coolbeth Jr., Rotax
15. Steve Beattie, Honda
16. Jake Zemke, Honda

Copyright 2002, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

By Glenn LeSanto

Edwards on a roll

Colin Edwards kept up his winning ways with another win in the first World Superbike race at Oschersleben.

The Texan led the race from start to finish on his Honda and never really came under any real pressure, finishing the race almost 2 seconds up from second-place-finisher Troy Bayliss. It seems the parts Edwards’ Honda received after the Suzuka 8-hour race are working! The win is Edwards’ fourth in a row and closes the title gap by another 5 points. Edwards is now 34 points back from Bayliss with a maximum of 125 points available in the last five races.

Behind Edwards a race-long battle between Bayliss and Neil Hodgson gave the spectators some action in what was otherwise a fairly quiet race. Bayliss got the better of the fight when he passed Hodgson in the closing stages.

Ruben Xaus, who had been catching Hodgson, threw it away in the final turn at the end of lap 23. Behind him Frankie Chili had been overhauled by Ben Bostrom. James Toseland and Nori Haga were also enjoying a race-long scrap. Toseland won the fight to claim sixth with a very brave last-lap, last-turn pass, diving up the inside of Haga.

Gregorio Lavilla was the first man on a 4-cylinder machine, taking eighth place on the Suzuki just ahead of Chris Walker on the Kawasaki.

Peter Goddard had his best result of the season so far, finishing 12th on the Benelli Tornado, a result that will give a much needed boost to the team.

Oschersleben World Superbike Race One Results:

1. Colin Edwards, Honda RC51, 28 laps, 40:55.744
2. Troy Bayliss, Ducati 998F02, -1.741
3. Neil Hodgson, Ducati 998F01, -4.317
4. Ben Bostrom, Ducati 998F02, -23.715
5. Pierfrancesco Chili, Ducati 998RS, -26.523
6. James Toseland, Ducati 998F01, -30.228
7. Noriyuki Haga, Aprilia RSV1000, -30.358
8. Gregorio Lavilla, Suzuki GSX-R750, -42.526
9. Chris Walker, Kawasaki ZX-7RR, -42.727
10. Broc Parkes, Ducati 998RS, -48.833
11. Hitoyasu Izutsu, Kawasaki ZX-7RR, -59.381
12. Peter Goddard, Benelli Tornado 900, -82.101
13. Lucio Pedercini, Ducati 998RS, -85.033
14. Serafino Foti, Ducati 996RS, -90.080
15. Mark Heckles, Honda RC51, -1 lap
16. Mauro Sanchini, Kawasaki ZX-7RR, -1 lap
17. Yann Gyger, Honda RC51, -1 lap
18. Thierry Mulot, Ducati 996SPS, -1 lap
19. Ivan Clementi, Kawasaki ZX-7RR, -3 laps, DNF
20. Ruben Xaus, Ducati 998F02, -6 laps, DNF, crash
21. Marco Borciani, Ducati 998RS, -7 laps, DNF
22. Jiri Mrkyvka, Ducati 996RS, -21 laps, DNF
23. Alessandro Antonello, Ducati 998RS, -28 laps, DNF


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

HM Plant Ducati on form at Oschersleben

Neil Hodgson finished third in race one at the 11th round of the Superbike World Championship at Oschersleben behind championship leaders Colin Edwards and Troy Bayliss. The 28-year-old HM Plant Ducati rider battled throughout the 28-lap race with reigning champion Bayliss in an epic dice for second place, while Colin Edwards maintained a consistent advantage at the front of the field.

“My plan was to put Colin Edwards under as much pressure as I could in the early stages of the race when he beat me off the line into the first corner,” explained Hodgson. “I didn’t know who was behind me, so I relaxed and kept riding as quickly as I could.

“I put any thought of pressure to the back of my mind and so I was able to concentrate on my own race. Troy got past me on the way into turn three. I was probably a bit weak into that corner on lap 22 and paid the price. It was a clean move and I was unable to make up the ground that I lost over the closing six laps after we got caught up in traffic.”

Meanwhile the other HM Plant Ducati rider James Toseland was involved in his own private battle for sixth place with Noriyuki Haga. The 21-year-old Sheffield rider passed the Japanese star on lap 13, only for Haga to regain the advantage with six laps remaining. It was left to Toseland’s amazing last-corner out-braking technique to clinch a hard-earned top six position.

“I’ve felt good all weekend and I was determined to make a big impression here,” said Toseland. “I didn’t get off the line that well, but I was soon up to Haga and was able to get past him. However, I wasn’t able to make a break and he got me back in the closing stages of the race.

“After he had pulled out a short gap, I sat back, took a deep a deep breath and moved back onto his rear wheel. He bottomed out on the penultimate corner and I decided to go for it. I guess it was an all-or-nothing move, but I didn’t want to come back into the pits without giving it my best shot.”



More, from a press release issued by Benelli:

Best ever WSB finish for Benelli

Benelli Sport enjoyed their best ever World Superbike Championship finish today when Peter Goddard powered the Benelli Tornado to twelfth place in race one at Oschersleben.

“We found some good settings on Saturday,” commented Goddard. “Unfortunately just a little too late as I reckon that if we had used them earlier in qualifying we would have made it into Superpole.”

Goddard had qualified back in eighteenth so he had his work cut out in the race. “I got a great start in race one,” said Goddard, “and then lost a couple of places and settled into twelfth. I was able to hold Pedercini off for the entire race and kept twelfth place to the flag. That’s our best-ever finish and I’m really happy about that.”

Race two was a different story, “I didn’t get such a good start but I reckon I still would have finished well. But, on lap 22, while I was chasing down Pedercini the bike stopped and that was that.”

The team now pack away for the journey to Holland for the Assen round next weekend. “I hope that some of the improvements we made this weekend will put us in good stead for the last two meetings,” said Goddard. “A top ten finish before the end of the season would be great!”

Copyright 2002, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Dick Maxwell, a former AMA Vice President of Sports Marketing, was killed Saturday afternoon while on a street ride with friends.

Prior to taking over what was at the time AMA Pro Racing’s top spot, Maxwell had a successful career in car racing, notably running racing programs for Dodge.

Maxwell worked for the AMA in the early 1990s.

Since leaving the AMA, Maxwell and his wife, Sandy, have continued to live in the Columbus, Ohio area, less than a mile from the AMA’s new headquarters in Pickerington.

Maxwell, who was 67 years old, is survived by his wife and five children, Patricia Costigan, Amy Maxwell, Eric Maxwell, Katherine Neimczak and Susan Stevens. Funeral arrangements are being handled by Dwayne R. Spence Funeral Home in Pickerington, Ohio.

No further details were available at post time.


More, from a press release issued by the AMA:

DICK MAXWELL, FORMER AMA VP, DIES IN MOTORCYCLE ACCIDENT

PICKERINGTON, OHIO — The American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) has learned that Richard E. “Dick” Maxwell, 67, of Pickerington, Ohio, died Saturday, August 31, 2002, at The Ohio State University Medical Center in Columbus, from injuries sustained in a motorcycle accident earlier that day.

A graduate of the University of Illinois and the Chrysler Institute, Maxwell served as the AMA’s Vice President of Sports Marketing, managing professional motorcycle competition, from 1991 to 1993. He was the manager of Dodge Motor Sports for Chrysler, and was a member of the National Hot Rod Association Hall of Fame, the National Street Rod Association Hall of Fame, American Motorcyclist Association, the Honda Sport Touring Association, and the Society of Automotive Engineers.

Maxwell is survived by wife of 18 years, Sandy; children Patricia Costigan, Katherine Lynn Niemczak, Eric Maxwell, Susan Stevens, and Amy Maxwell.

Calling hours will be held at the Dwayne R. Spence Funeral Home in Pickerington on Wednesday, September 4 from 2 p.m. to 4 pm. and from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., with a service of remembrance at 7:30 p.m. Funeral services will be held 10 a.m. on Thursday at Seton Parish Catholic Church, adjacent to the funeral home.

In lieu of flowers, friends may make memorial contributions to the American Cancer Society or to The Ohio State University Medical Center in Dick’s memory.

From a press release issued by Castrol Honda:

SURPRISE AWARD FOR DOUBLE WINNER EDWARDS

Colin Edwards collected a surprise award on Sunday evening after his double win at the Oschersleben circuit in Germany.

The Castrol Honda rider was presented with a commemorative decanter by team manager Neil Tuxworth for notching up the team’s 50th World Superbike win ­in the day’s opening race.

Edwards also set a number of new records and reached a number of milestones with his performance in Germany, his achievements included:
–His fifth successive win of the year

–The 50th (and 51st) win for Castrol Honda

–The 99th and 100th win in World Superbike for the USA

–A record 21st consecutive podium finish (previous record = 12)

–Equalling a record 21 podiums in one year (set by Doug Polen in 1991)

–Moving to joint second in the all time wins tally for World Superbike (sharing 27 wins with Doug Polen)

The decanter presented to Edwards was engraved with details of Castrol Honda’s 50 wins; it read:

Colin Edwards, 26 (1998 – 2002)

Aaron Slight, 11 (1995 – 1998)

John Kocinski, 9 (1997)

Carl Fogarty, 4 (1996)

Edwards said: “I’m not big on statistics but this made me realize what we’ve achieved in my five years with Castrol Honda. It’s great for me that I get all the glory but without the team behind me I’m going absolutely nowhere so it’s them I have to thank.”

Copyright 2002, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

By Glenn LeSanto

Edwards grabs his second double in a row

Colin Edwards led the second race at Oschersleben from start to finish to take his second win of the day and his second double win in a row.

Edwards got a great start and roared into a commanding lead very early in the race. Building up a lead of several seconds by half distance, Edwards was able to relax and control the race from the front. He eventually finished nearly four seconds up on title rival Troy Bayliss after cruising a little on the last lap.

With his two wins here and a double at Brands Hatch added to his victory in the second race at Laguna Seca, Edwards is on run with five wins in a row.

Despite getting a slightly better start than in race one, Bayliss couldn’t catch the charging Texan. Bayliss had to settle for second after his sliding rear tyre made it plain to him that he simply wasn’t going to catch Edwards today.

Neil Hodgson and Nori Haga provided some of the race’s best action. Hodgson started from pole but was back in third place early in the race. Haga fought his way up through the field, passing Ben Bostrom and Broc Parkes on the way. Haga was all over the back of Hodgson’s Ducati, but the Hodgson was able to hold off Haga with a combination of late braking and outright top speed. With a handful of laps left, Hodgson was able to break Haga’s challenge and crossed the line just over a second clear of the Japanese rider.

Ruben Xaus was another rider who had a fairly lonely race. The Spaniard was determined not to mirror his race-one crash and he took his Ducati over the line in fifth place. Ben Bostrom rounded out the top six, but he was way back, 14 seconds behind Xaus.

Gregorio Lavilla was the leading four-cylinder rider, finishing in ninth place. He had been involved in a long battle with Chris Walker, but the Kawasaki rider was robbed of a chance to keep the battle going to the flag by a melted clutch on the penultimate lap. Walker was able to coast round and eventually finished in 15th place.


1. Colin Edwards, Honda RC51, 28 laps, 40:56.724
2. Troy Bayliss, Ducati 998F02, -3.861 seconds
3. Neil Hodgson, Ducati 998F01, -7.023 seconds
4. Noriyuki Haga, Aprilia RSV1000, -8.297 seconds
5. Ruben Xaus, Ducati 998F02, -12.175 seconds
6. Ben Bostrom, Ducati 998F02, -26.149 seconds
7. Pierfrancesco Chili, Ducati 998RS, -31.145 seconds
8. James Toseland, Ducati 998F01, -32.391 seconds
9. Gregorio Lavilla, Suzuki GSX-R750, -45.277 seconds
10. Broc Parkes, Ducati 998RS, -61.786 seconds
11. Marco Borciani, Ducati 998RS, -74.784 seconds
12. Lucio Pedercini, Ducati 998RS, -79.512 seconds
13. Ivan Clementi, Kawasaki ZX-7RR, -89.806 seconds
14. Mauro Sanchini, Kawasaki ZX-7RR, -1 lap
15. Chris Walker, Kawasaki ZX-7RR, -1 lap
16. Mark Heckles, Honda RC51, -1 lap
17. Thierry Mulot, Ducati 996SPS, -1 lap
18. Serafino Foti, Ducati 996RS, -4 laps, DNF
19. Peter Goddard, Benelli Tornado 900, -7 laps, DNF
20. Hitoyasu Izutsu, Kawasaki ZX-7RR, -7 laps, DNF
21. Jiri Mrkyvka, Ducati 996RS, -19 laps, DNF
22. Yann Gyger, Honda RC51, -22 laps, DNF
23. Alessandro Antonello, Ducati 998RS, -26 laps, DNF


World Superbike Championship Point Standings:

1. Bayliss, 481
2. Edwards, 452
3. Hodgson, 289
4. Ben Bostrom, 229
5. Haga, 228
6. Xaus, 204
7. Toseland, 149
8. Walker, 134
9. Chili, 127
10. Lavilla, 104


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

Double podium joy for Hodgson

HM Plant Ducati’s Neil Hodgson scored a podium double at Oschersleben after he matched his first race performance by finishing third behind race winner Colin Edwards and championship leader Troy Bayliss. Edwards made the holeshot once again, but this time he was pursued by Troy Bayliss with Hodgson taking a watching brief in third.

Edwards was setting a record breaking pace at the front, which left Hodgson in a fierce confrontation for the last podium position with Noriyuki Haga. “I rode just as hard as I had done in race one,” said Hodgson. “The pace was hot, but as always I gave it 110% and got a just reward for my grit and determination.

“I have increased my advantage for third in the championship points table to 60 points, so I’ve got to be happy with that. This was a poor round for me last year, so I’m equally happy to have secured a couple of podium finishes at Oschersleben.”

The other HM Plant Ducati of James Toseland came home in eighth position to consolidate his seventh place overall in the Superbike World Championship, with two rounds remaining. “I came here determined to make up for the disappointment of the last round at Brands Hatch,” admitted the 21-year-old Sheffield rider. “I achieved my objective and am going to Assen in a positive frame of mind.

“I have been consistently fast here at Oschersleben during qualifying. I have also been happy with how I have been able to translate my practice form into race pace. Now, I’ve got to get better starts and work hard in the early stages of each leg. I left myself with too much to do in today’s races.”



More, from a press release issued by Playstation2-FGF Aprilia:

CRESCENDO FINISH FOR HAGA IN GERMANY

Oschersleben (Germany), Sunday 1 September 2002 – Noriyuki Haga made a good fourth place in Race 2 of the German Superbike GP at Oschersleben. His long duel for the podium with British rider Neil Hodgson was one of the most spectacular episodes of the day and had the television and public riveted for much of the race. In Race 1, the Japanese rider of the Playstation2 – FGF Aprilia Team finished seventh.

Haga had never raced at Oschersleben before with the Aprilia RSV and, considering the situation, the day’s result is indeed positive. Nitro-Nori is now just one point away from fourth place in the World Championship, currently held by Ben Bostrom.

NORIYUKI HAGA (Playstation2 – FGF Aprilia Team rider) – “In Race 2, we went pretty well. However, Hodgson in front slowed me down: I had the distinct feeling that if I’d been able to get past him, I’d have been able to up the pace. But it’s hard to get past on that track and I never found the right gap. Next Sunday at Assen, I’m sure we’ll be able to do better: I know the track and I love it.”

GIACOMO GUIDOTTI (Technical Manager of the Playstation2 – FGF Aprilia Team) – “We weren’t pleased with the first race, so we changed a number of things for the second, including both front and back tyres. We also worked on the suspension and the whole set-up of the bike was better. We didn’t get the final gearing absolutely perfect: during the practice sessions, Haga had obtained slower times and during the race he was often on the RPM limiter. This meant that on the straights we weren’t able to get quite the speed we needed to overtake Hodgson.”



More, from a press release issued by Ducati Corse:

BAYLISS (DUCATI INFOSTRADA) TWICE RUNNER-UP AS EDWARDS (HONDA) TAKES THE HONOURS

Reigning champion Troy Bayliss (Ducati Infostrada) will go into the penultimate round of the World Superbike Championship next weekend at Assen (Netherlands) with a 29 point lead over his chief rival Colin Edwards (Honda) after twice finishing runner-up to the American, who led both Oschersleben races today from lights to flag. Both Ruben Xaus (Ducati Infostrada) and Ben Bostrom (Ducati L&M) were unable to challenge on the day, while Neil Hodgson (HM Plant Ducati) completed an identical podium in both races with two thirds.

Bayliss (Ducati Infostrada) spent much of race 1 trying to latch onto second-placed Hodgson but he eventually got underneath going into Turn 3 and passed Neil in a clean move on lap 22. “It was a tough race for me, but that’s the best I’ve been all weekend. It’s not much fun being on the second row and I was a bit worried about the first corner but it turned out well for me. When I did get past Neil it didn’t start from under the brakes, it started from the corner before, Neil got the smallest of slides, and that gave me just enough run to get up the side of him and make my move at the next corner. I was then happy to stay in second place.”

In race 2, Troy got a better start to follow Colin into the first corner and eventually finish over three seconds adrift of the American. “I couldn’t do anything more otherwise I would have been in the gravel. After two-thirds of the race, you know you’re not going to make up three seconds in a couple of laps so I settled for second. I can honestly say my weekend started this morning, because I was just unable to get things right in qualifying. I couldn’t do anything about Colin here, he’s had a great weekend, but now we go to Assen, which is one of my favourite tracks”

Xaus (Ducati Infostrada) lost time at the start of race 1 with a loose knee-slider and when he was trying to catch Hodgson in third, he lost the front under braking at the final curve on lap 23. In the second race he recovered from a slow start to finish fifth. “My lap times were good today so I’m quite happy with my performance” declared Ruben. “In race 1 I had to fight and work hard to recover from the gap I lost at the beginning when I was stuck behind Ben. I got really close to third place but fell off. I got a bad start in race 2 and was eighth on the first lap. It took a long time to pass Ben again, but the rest of the race I was pushing hard and calculating whether I could reach Haga and Hodgson before the end. I finished four seconds from them so I’m quite happy with my second race”.

A fourth and a sixth place today for Bostrom (Ducati L&M), which still leaves him in fourth place in the championship, one point ahead of Haga. “I tried very hard, we just needed a bit more grip in that first race” commented Ben. “In race 2, I put the same tyre as Neil on but it worked worse on my bike, all we did was go backwards. I should have stuck with the same tyre because maybe with the hotter conditions in the afternoon it would have not been so bad. I had to try something, I just wish I could have got some better results today”.



More, from a press release issued by Castrol Honda:

GERMAN DOUBLE FOR EDWARDS AND HONDA SP-2

Castrol Honda¹s Colin Edwards blitzed to victory in today’s second race of the 11th round of the World Superbike championship here at Oschersleben in Germany.

Edwards led from start to finish in the 28-lap race to reduce the points deficit to 29 points as he bids to overhaul championship leader Troy Bayliss.

Victory for Edwards was his seventh of the year and his fifth in succession, it also extended his record run of successive podium finishes to 21. It takes Edwards’ career tally of World Superbike wins to 27 ­ in his five years with Castrol Honda.

“All I can do is keep winning and keep the pressure on Troy,” said Edwards. “Honda, Michelin and Castrol are all playing their part with technical improvements and making my life easy. It’s Assen next Sunday and I’m ready to keep my run going.”

He continued: “I got the signal after the first lap that Troy was in second so I had to just try that bit harder and open a bigger gap at the front. After that I was just concentrating on counting down the laps. It’s great to get the win and I’m pleased for the team; when Troy was winning every race at the start of the year it was no fun for us.”

Edwards set a new lap record on the fifth lap of the race with an incredible time of 1:26.549, faster than his Superpole time of 1:26.595.

Copyright 2002, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

By Glenn LeSanto

Casoli wins it as Foret bins it!

Paolo Casoli was gifted a race win when Fabien Foret threw a sure race win away when he lost the front end on the penultimate lap.

Casoli was back in ninth at the start of the race, but barged his way up through the tightly-packed Supersport field to join the fun up front.

Chambon took the holeshot but couldn’t escape and the usual Supersport freight train developed with six riders fighting hard for the race. Fabien Foret, Stephane Chambon, Katsuaki Fujiwara, Karl Muggeridge and Christian Kellner had all been fighting up front early in the race. But both Muggeridge and Kellner crashed out in separate incidents.

Series leader Foret looked to be on for a win after riding to the front, dropping a few places and then fighting back hard to take the lead again with just two laps to go. Then he lost the front end of his Ten Kate Honda after trailing the front brake into a turn way too late on the penultimate lap. He remounted to finish in sixth place to minimize the points damage. His crash means that he is now only three points ahead of Fujiwara in the Championship with just two rounds to go.

Paolo Casoli couldn’t believe his luck when Foret gifted him back the lead. The Italian managed to hold off a determined charge by Chambon on the final lap to take the win. Fujiwara, on the second Suzuki, came home in third place.

Defending Champion Andrew Pitt finished in fourth place after a race-long battle with his countryman Chris Vermeulen that was only decided on the final lap when Vermeulen’s Honda expired with an engine failure.

Local boy Christian Kellner had looked a potential winner but made a mistake and crashed out to the disappointment of the German crowd. His teammate and fellow German Jorg Teuchert had crashed on the second turn on lap two, taking the unfortunate Iain MacPherson down with him.

Australian Kevin Curtain had a good result finishing in fifth place on his OPCM Yamaha.

World Supersport Race Results:

1. Paolo Casoli, Yamaha YZF-R6, 28 laps, 42:42.079
2. Stéphane Chambon, Suzuki GSX-R600, -0.085 seconds
3. Katsuaki Fujiwara, Suzuki GSX-R600, -0.921 seconds
4. Andrew Pitt, Kawasaki ZX-6R, -6.292 seconds
5. Kevin Curtain, Yamaha YZF-R6, -7.499 seconds
6. Fabien Foret, Honda CBR600, -25.076 seconds
7. Jan Hanson, Honda CBR600, -26.871 seconds
8. Alessio Corradi, Yamaha YZF-R6, -26.913 seconds
9. James Ellison, Kawasaki ZX-6R, -49.239 seconds
10. Jürgen Oelschläger, Honda CBR600, -49.512 seconds
11. Laurent Brian, Honda CBR600, -50.589 seconds
12. Matthieu Lagrive, Yamaha YZF-R6, -51.331 seconds
13. Sebastien Charpentier, Honda CBR600, -51.711 seconds
14. John McGuinness, Honda CBR600, -64.185 seconds
15. Gianluca Nannelli, Ducati 748R, -74.717 seconds
16. Claudio Cipriani, Yamaha YZF-R6, -86.608 seconds
17. Chris Vermeulen, Honda CBR600, -2 laps, DNF
18. Christian Kellner, Yamaha YZF-R6,-8 laps, DNF
19. Michael Schulten, Yamaha YZF-R6, -9 laps, DNF
20. Karl Muggeridge, Honda CBR600, -18 laps, DNF
21. Robert Ulm, Yamaha YZF-R6, -19 laps, DNF
22. Robert Frost, Yamaha YZF-R6, -23 laps, DNF
23. Werner Daemen, Honda CBR600, -25 laps, DNF
24. Antonio Carlacci, Yamaha YZF-R6, -25 laps, DNF
25. Piergiorgio Bontempi, Ducati 748R, -25 laps, DNF
26. Rico Penzkofer, Ducati 748R, -28 laps, DNF
27. Jörg Teuchert, Yamaha YZF-R6, -28 laps, DNF
28. Christophe Cogan, Honda CBR600, -28 laps, DNF
29. Iain MacPherson, Honda CBR600, -28 laps, DNF



More, from a press release issued by Team Ten Kate Honda:

Foret still ahead despite crash

Fabien Foret lost the front end of his Ten Kate Honda CBR600FS on the penultimate lap of the World Supersport race in Oschersleben, Germany. He remounted to finish sixth, winning ten points and just keeping hold of his championship lead.

Foret was leading the race when he crashed, having battled for most of the race with several other riders. Luckily for Foret, the leading six riders had built up such a big lead over the rest of the pack that Foret had time to remount without losing too many places. His sixth place finish earned him ten valuable championship points, keeping him just three points ahead of Fujiwara, who finished the race in third place.

“I want to win every race I ride in,” explained Foret. “Especially when I am leading the world championship with only a few races left in the season. So I always push to the limit, and when you do that sometimes you crash. There’s now only two races left this season and I’ll continue to give my maximum effort and try to win the Championship for Ten Kate Honda.”

Foret’s team mate Iain MacPherson had a very short race, he was punted off by Jorg Teuchert at the only the second turn of the first lap, ruining what had been a very promising weekend for the Scotsman.

“I’m obviously pretty disappointed,” said MacPherson, “I had no idea what was happening, one minute I was thinking that I had made a pretty good start, and then I was in the gravel trap!”

“I’m especially upset for Iain,” commented Team Manager Ronald ten Kate. “He has looked very strong all weekend and his performance in this morning’s warm up showed he was right on the pace.”

MacPherson had been second fastest in the morning warm up, just 0.024 seconds behind Foret.

“If he hadn’t been taken out in the first lap,” continued ten Kate, “I’m sure he would have had a brilliant race.

“As for Fabien Foret, what can I say? He was very lucky to be able to continue the race after his crash and salvage some points. I was very surprised that he managed to keep hold of his championship lead after crashing. All season his riding style has been able to get him to the front of a race, and to the front of the championship. But today I think the same style has cost him a race win, and almost cost him his championship lead. Now everything is wide open for the last two races!”


More, from a press release issued by Van Zon Honda TKR:

A promising weekend finishes in disappointment

The Van Zon Honda TKR World Supersport team left Oschersleben empty handed.

It had been a promising weekend, with championship points and podium finishes looking very likely. Chris Vermeulen qualified in fifth and got a great start in the race. Werner Daemen, only recently back from injury, lined up 16th on the grid. But it all ended with double disappointment for the team with Daemen crashing and Vermeulen failing to finish after his machine developed a mechanical problem on the final lap.

“I’m really disappointed about the last lap,” said Vermeulen after the race. “I had a great start but had a few problems in the race. We hadn’t got the bike set up absolutely right before the race and I’d opted for a front tyre that proved too soft in the race. It started to cause me trouble so I adapted my riding style, holding the bike upright more and trying to square off the turns. This worked and I started to make up places again. I reckon I could have got by Pitt again and was lining him up for a pass at the last turn. Then the bike stopped and I had no choice but to park it and walk back to the pits.”

Werner Daemen’s luck was similar. He was taken out early in the race in a three-bike pile up. “I got tangled up with two other riders and crashed,” explained Daemen. “Carlacci apologised to me after the race, as he had hit me from behind when we crashed. But to be honest I think by the time he hit me I had already lost the front end and so would have crashed anyway!”

The team now have to pack up for the trip to Assen for what is effectively the Belgium-based team’s home round, held at the historic Dutch track next weekend.

From a press release issued by Team Castrol Honda:

CASTROL AND HONDA BREAKING NEW GROUND

Castrol Motorsport completed a debut double win in Sunday¹s 11th round of the World Superbike championship at Oschersleben, Germany as Castrol Honda team rider Colin Edwards took advantage of a new, four-stroke development oil.

The oil contains an anti-friction system, unique to Castrol, which offers increased power and improved clutch efficiency.

Following extensive tests at the Honda Racing Corporation in Japan and at Castrol’s own laboratories in the UK, the oil made its debut at the gruelling Suzuka 8 hours race on August 3, sharing success with technical partner Honda.

“We now hope that this technical contribution from Castrol will be able to further assist Colin Edwards’s efforts to regain the World Superbike title,” said Castrol’s Motorsport Technical Manager Lee Morton.

He added: “The Castrol Motorsport team constantly look for areas of improvement which could deliver that extra performance required for success. It is through these advances in technology that Castrol can provide maximum performance for road machines with its R4 Superbike product.”

Castrol Honda’s Edwards commented: “For the past few years Castrol has been testing with us and developing product and the performance of that product can only be judged by race results–it doesn’t get better than two wins with this new oil’s first World Superbike races.”

Copyright 2002, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

By David Swarts

Orion Motorsports Honda’s Kevin Lacombe led Sunday’s Parts Canada Superbike race at Shannonville Motorsports Park flag-to-flag on a Honda RC51 to score his first Superbike win.

Lacombe’s Superbike win made up for his disappointment from crashing out of the 600cc Sportbike race and title chase earlier in the day.

Kawasaki Canada’s Owen Weichel took second in the 15-lap final on a ZX-7RR, six seconds behind Lacombe.

Steve Crevier finished third on another Orion Motorsports RC51 Superbike.

Jordan Szoke crashed his Coors Light Racing/Fast Company Suzuki GSX-R1000 out of the race. Szoke clinched the 2002 Parts Canada Superbike Championship at the previous round of the series.

Parts Canada Superbike Shannonville Race Results:

1. Kevin Lacombe, Honda, 15 laps
2. Owen Weichel, Kawasaki
3. Steve Crevier, Honda
4. Benoit Pilon, Yamaha
5. Andrew Nelson, Honda
6. Darryn Wilbur, Yamaha
7. Ugo Levert, Suzuki
8. Philip Onisto, Suzuki
9. Bruce McDonald, Yamaha
10. John Brundl, Honda
11. Corey Warren, Yamaha
12. Gaston Labrie, Suzuki, -1 lap
13. Dave Hodge, Suzuki, -1 lap
14. Francis Martin, Suzuki, -1 lap, crash
15. Derek Vammus, Honda, DNF
16. Dave Young, Suzuki, DNF
17. Clint McBain, Suzuki, DNF
18. Jordan Szoke, Suzuki, DNF, crash
19. Jeff Sneyd, Yamaha, DNF, crash
20. Frank Trombino, Honda, DNF, crash
21. Jean-Francois Cyr, Yamaha, DNS
22. Joel McDonald, Yamaha, DNS
23. Jeff Williams, Suzuki, DNS
24. Michael Taylor, Yamaha, DNS
25. Thomas Elsaesser, Ducati, DNS
26. Victor Paiva, Kawasaki, DNS
27. Trevor Brooking, Yamaha, DNS

More, from a press release issued by series organizers:

LACOMBE WINS FINAL ROUND

SHANNONVILLE, ON – Kevin Lacombe dominated the final round of the Parts Canada Superbike Championship at Shannonville Motorsport Park Sunday.

The Granby, QC rider grabbed the holeshot at the start of the 15-lap race and was never challenged en route to his first ever national Superbike win on his Orion Motorsports Honda RC51.

Huntington Beach, CA’s Owen Weichel placed second on the Canadian Kawasaki Motors Kawasaki ZX-7RR, 5.714 secs. behind Lacombe. Outgoing class champion Steve Crevier of Maple Ridge, BC took third on an Orion Honda RC51.

“I was so focused on the start, just waiting for the green light,” said the 19-year-old Lacombe. “Then I put my head down every lap and kept pushing.”

Brantford, ON’s Jordan Szoke had already clinched the Parts Canada Superbike crown. But the Coors Light Racing/Fast Company Team Suzuki rider saw his bid for a record sixth straight race win end when he crashed unhurt on lap 5 while lying third.

Weichel’s runner-up finish assured him of second place in the final standings. His closest rival, Sherbrooke, QC’s Francis Martin, fell on lap 10 while lying fifth. The Coors Light Racing/Fast Company Team Suzuki GSX-R1000 rider rejoined to finish 14th.

Frank Trombino was another of the frontrunners to hit trouble. The Kleinburg, ON rider crashed his Orion Honda RC51, without injury, on lap 10 while running third.

Benoit Pilon of St-Jerome, QC took advantage of the attrition to finish fourth on his Paquin Yamaha YZF-R1 ahead of Kars, ON’s Andrew Nelson on a Honda CBR600F4i.

In other action at Shannonville, Martin claimed the International Motorcycle SUPERSHOW Open Sport Bike title with a sixth place finish in the feature race. He edged Calgary’s Clint McBain on the Blackfoot Suzuki and the Brooklin Yamaha of Joliette, QC rider Jean-Francois Cyr, who placed fourth and third, respectively, in the 12-lap event.

Trombino led all the way to win the race aboard his Orion Honda CBR954RR. Nelson was second on his Honda CBR600F4i.

McBain clinched the Yoshimura 600 Sport Bike title with a sixth place finish at Shannonville Sunday. He was assured the crown when Lacombe crashed his Orion Honda CBR600F4i on lap 2.

Weichel won the race on the Canadian Kawasaki Motors Kawasaki ZX-6R. Lorraine, QC rider Ugo Levert was second on a Diablo Suzuki GSX-R600 and Szoke placed third on a second Blackfoot Suzuki GSX-R600.

This weekend’s action will be televised on TSN Sunday, Oct. 13 at 3:30 p.m. EDT and on Quebec’s RDS Saturday, Sept. 21 at 7:00 p.m. Extended hour-long coverage will air on the Outdoor Life Network on Thursday, Nov. 7 at 6:00 p.m eastern.

Results of Sunday’s seventh round of the Parts Canada Superbike Championship at Shannonville Motorsport Park, showing finishing position, rider name, hometown, type of motorcycle, laps completed and reason out, if any:

1.Kevin Lacombe, Granby, QC, Honda RC51, 15 laps; 2. Owen Weichel, Huntington Beach, CA, Kawasaki ZX-7RR, 15; 3. Steve Crevier, Maple Ridge, BC, Honda RC51, 15; 4. Benoit Pilon, St-Jerome, QC, Yamaha YZF-R1, 15; 5. Andrew Nelson, Kars, ON, Honda CBR600F4I, 15; 6. Darryn Wilbur, Maple, ON, Yamaha YZF-R1, 15; 7. Ugo Levert, Lorraine, QC, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 15; 8. Philip Onisto, Bolton, ON, Suzuki GSX-R750, 15; 9. Bruce McDonald, Mt. Albert, ON, Yamaha YZF-R6, 15; 10. John Brundl, Toronto, ON, Honda CBR954RR, 15; 11. Corey Warren, Oakville, ON, Yamaha YZF-R6, 15; 12. Gaston Labrie, Brossard, QC, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 14; 13. Dave Hodge, Ballinafad, ON, Suzuki TL1000S, 14; 14. Francis Martin, Sherbrooke, QC, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 14 DNF.Frank Trombino, Kleinburg, ON, Honda RC51, 10, Crash; DNF. Jeff Sneyd, Mississauga, ON, Yamaha YZF-R1, 9, Mechanical; DNF. Clint McBain, Calgary, AB, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 5, Mechanical; DNF. Jordan Szoke, Brantford, ON, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 4, Crash; DNF. Dave Young, Woodstock, ON, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 4, Mechanical; DNF. Derek Vammus, Orangeville, ON, Honda RC51, 3, Mechanical

Time of Race: 28:30.000
Margin of Victory: 5.714 secs.
Fastest Lap: Owen Weichel, 1:45.600 on lap 5

Parts Canada Superbike Championship point standings following the final round at Shannonville Motorsport Park Sunday, showing position, rider name and point total:

1.Jordan Szoke, 320; 2. Owen Weichel, 256; 3. Francis Martin, 204; 4. Kevin Lacombe, 200; 5. Benoit Pilon, 159; 6. Frank Trombino 146; 7. Michael Taylor, 138; 8. Jean-Francois Cyr, 132; 9. Ugo Levert, 127; 10. Philip Onisto, 126; 11. Darryn Wilbur, 115; 12. Bruce McDonald 108; 13. Steve Crevier, 73; 14. Gaston Labrie, 50; 15. Tim Easton, 49; 16. Jeff Williams, 48; 17. John Brundl, 48; 18. Geoff May, 29; 19. Andrew Nelson, 29; 20. Dave Young, 27; 21. David Klassen 27; 22. Dave Hodge, 25; 23. Nick Ienatsch, 21; 24. Michael Leon 21; 25. Matthew McBride 19; 26. Jerome Plourde, 18; 27. Corey Warren, 17; 28. Greg Boki, 15; 29. Clint Hines 15; 30. Tony Bouffard, 12; 31. Mike Desmarais 10; 32. Joel McDonald, 4; 33. Jim Proulx 4; 34. Pauly Sherer, 1