Copyright 2002, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

An e-mail from Jeff Wilson, who handled American Suzuki’s road racing support teams prior to leaving the company and becoming a Kawasaki/Suzuki dealer in Yuma, Arizona:

An open letter…

Okay, so now I am just a motorcycle dealer and no longer involved in the AMA Superbike series on a day-to-day basis, but I have watched with interest the proposed changes to allegedly help the sport grow and can’t help but wonder who is guiding the future here. In my 3 short years of involvement, I watched the series grow, the classes increase in size, more support teams and “paid” riders being added and the attendance increasing. Wasn’t there record attendance at several of the rounds again this year? They even have eliminated the most unsafe racetracks. Sounds like it is good to me.

Now some misguided individuals are trying to “improve” things by changing the rules for Superbike, turning it into a Super Pro Thunder class. Who is really guiding the mission here? Do the promoters really want a double feature of 4, maybe 5, top-level riders with 20 or 30 obstacles to race through as their main entertainment? The Superbike class, with a few exceptions, is already not the most exciting race of the weekend. Sure, it has all the stars and the fastest lap times, but the Supersport, Superstock and Xtreme classes had the best, closest racing as I recall. Why? Because the bikes are more evenly matched.

The V-Twins have had a 250cc advantage for some time now and technology has improved to allow them to increasingly gain an advantage. No replacement for displacement. Why haven’t they been restricted as their advantage increased to keep parity and close racing? Why is there even a thought of restricting 1000cc 4-cylinder engines, if they are included in Superbike, when even the best built Formula Xtreme race bikes from Suzuki, Yamaha and Honda are still down on lap times from the 1000cc V-Twins? And some of these ridden by ex-Superbike riders. It does invite one to speculate on political involvement from the manufacturers. Look at World Superbike, for example….

Is there an answer? Of course! Same rules for everybody – 1000cc limit, same weight (whatever they determine), same modifications for Superbike. If they want to limit engine parts, limit them for every manufacturer. Bring your best stuff. Will anyone disagree? Of course. Ducati for one, but they don’t even care about the AMA series. I think that is evident. Honda too, but they have a motorcycle already to fit into these rules. They can race their RC51 in the WSB Pro Thunder series with Ducati.

What does this do for the overall AMA series? It improves everything. The Formula Xtreme riders will be allowed in Superbike and will have a better shot at a good finish and should be less likely to be lapped (another problem). The factory stars will stay in the premier classes – Superbike and Supersport. The up and coming future stars will have the Superstock and Xtreme classes to develop in and still have hopes of being picked up. And, best of all, there should be good, close racing. Oh yeah, keep the factory stars out of the Superstock class. This is a pro entry-level class.

There you go. Four classes for your 3-day race events. More track time for everybody. Less work for the AMA because of fewer classes. The factories have their “show your stuff” Superbike class. The other racers competing on motorcycles and equipment readily available to anyone. The fans have an event that has good, close racing all weekend. And with the fans come the sponsors….

Just my opinion,

Jeff Wilson

PS: I have left out the 250 GP guys and I apologize. I know there is a lot of history there and they have been racing longer than the 4-cylinder sleds, but with only 2 maybe 3 manufacturers building motorcycles and supplying them through limited sources….



More, in an e-mail from reader Steve Ryberg, who is obviously not a Honda fan and who sees signs of an evil conspiracy:

Now, let me see if I have this straight. AMA will allow the four-cylinders to expand displacement to 1000cc, but will not allow modifications to take advantage of them.

The FIM has changed the rules to allow four-strokes into the 500cc GP class, re-naming it MotoGP. The brand-new, hadn’t-been-tested-for-very-long V5 Honda smokes the field. Yes, Rossi is driving, but so what? He would be just as fast on a NSR, wouldn’t he? Hmm?

The common denominator to these things, Honda. Honda pulling strings. Honda will next dominate AMA Superbike with no real competition. Ducati!, I hear you cry. Again, so what? You are trying to say that HMC is getting all of the juicy fast stuff? Perhaps Honda is getting the revenge they want after losing Marty Tripes’ RC250 to the AMA’s claiming rule? A rule that was quickly corrected, by Honda and the other three. Ever since, I have seen AMA rules change by the moment, driven by the whims of the factories (Honda, the gang leader). The most I can say about this AMA Superbike change, as a racing fan, is goodbye and good riddance.

As far as the FIM is concerned, if those limp dicks had actually stood up to Honda when threatened. “It will be by our rules or we’re leaving and taking our ball with us,” I wager. I would still tell Honda to stick it and give the fives the same weight penalty as the sixes. The others will not let Honda keep its superiority? They will catch up? Maybe. But it will be many years before it will be allowed, allowed to happen. MotoGP is Honda’s dream, their invention, their monopoly.

Someone more wise than I once said that all glory is fleeting. Honda should know this, F1 should give them a clue. Honda’s current F1 engine is giving the performance I snicker at.

I can only hope I’m not the “raving lunatic” you mention in your letter policy. But when Honda benefits immediately (!) from rule changes, what is one supposed to think? That it is only just a coincidence? Is it really that simple?

Steve Ryberg
Henderson, NV

Copyright 2002, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

By David Swarts

The Formula USA National Road Race Series has several changes in the works for the 2003 season and announced most of them at a meeting with racers and team owners Friday night, August 23 at Pocono International Raceway.

To start with, 600cc Sportbike will be the premiere class in the 2003 Formula USA National Road Race Series, CCS Event Manager Kevin Elliott told reporters Saturday, August 24.

“We chose to go with Sportbike because it is in line with the original concept of the series. It’s competitive, it’s fairly well paying and it’s attractive to both local guys and national-level traveling teams,” said Elliott. Based on input from what Elliott called “the powers that be and the people affected,” the Sportbike class will retain its current 115-horsepower (maximum) and 365-pound (minimum) limits and will run in a single leg of still-to-be-determined length, based on how long DOT-labeled tires can reasonably be expected to last.

Unlimited Superbike will convert from 750cc machines to 600cc racebikes. The possibility of adding 250cc, two-stroke Grand Prix race machines also exists. “It’s an interesting point that we will consider,” said Elliott. “But we’re afraid it will bring in an overdog.” Elliott elaborated by saying a very good rider on a very good 250 could dominate the series but stopped short of naming any specific racers.

Ducati 748/800s will be legal for the new Superbike class and will continue to be legal for the Sportbike class.

The switch to 600cc-based Superbikes comes from a request by motorcycle manufacturers for a class to do research and development work in. As a result, Formula USA will probably run the Superbike class with a 660cc displacement limit and a minimum weight limit of 330-340 pounds. The class will require that machines start with a production frame and production engine cases, with no horsepower limits.

“This is our opportunity to show the naysayers that the manufacturers will step up and support the class,” said Elliott. The “naysayers” Elliott refers to are racers currently in the F-USA series who doubt the manufacturers will provide the support, to individual teams and the series as a whole, that they promised in exchange for the new 600cc Superbike class.

“The manufacturers said they are also interested in rider development,” explained Elliott, who then went on to say the factory men like Formula USA’s revival of the Grand National Championship series, which combines 600cc Sportbike road races and Pro Singles dirt track races into a single Chamionship.

Plans call for Sportbike to keep its current $50,000 Championship points fund, Pro Singles to keep its current $50,000 Championship points fund and the $50,000 Championship points fund for the combined Grand National Championship series to remain.

Superbike will have a $5000 event purse supported by entry fees.

Formula USA officials are also trying to refine horsepower and weight limits to increase competitiveness in the Thunderbike support class. Thunderbike is a class similar to the now-defunct AMA Pro Thunder class, only F-USA does not allow Ducati 748/800s in Thunderbike. Currently, the class is popular with Buell Lightning Series riders and Suzuki SV650 racers.

When asked what stage the proposed 2003 rules were at, Elliott said, “They are proposed changes, but we will have no more open meetings on them, only fine-tuning instead of wholesale revisions.”

Under the reorganization of the Formula USA National Road Race Series, Elliott will control all at-track race operations in 2003 because the National Road Race Series will always run with a CCS event next year. Current F-USA Road Race Event Manager Kenny Abbott will move laterally into a position that centers around marketing and promotions.

“The reason I took my current job with Formula USA in the first place is because I thought I could make things better for teams and riders,” said Abbott. “I still think I can by doing this new job, but it takes a dedicated person to work with all of the manufacturers, the local dealers, the local sponsors and still do hospitality, group ticket sales, media relations and things like that. I will be looking to produce creative revenue sources.” When asked what his title would be if he could select it himself, Abbott said it would be something similar to Road Race Promotions Manager.

Copyright 2002, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

By David Swarts

Fourteen CCS regional sprint races scheduled for Saturday at Pocono International Raceway have been postponed until Sunday due to thick fog reducing corner-to-corner visibility at the Pennsylvania racetrack.

With the fog showing no signs of dissipating, CCS officials and racers waited until 4:15 p.m. Eastern Time before it became inevitable that there would be no racing at Pocono on Saturday.

Finding it ironic that they could’ve run the CCS races in the rain but not in the fog, Formula USA National Race Referee Phil Sberna announced in a special riders’ meeting that Saturday’s 14 races would be combined with Sunday’s schedule of 11 races. After combining as many races as possible, Sunday’s schedule now calls for 20 races plus practice.

Although CCS and Formula USA officials said they have received special permission from the track to start on-track activities at 7:00 a.m., planning Sunday’s crowded schedule demanded that timed qualifying for F-USA Unlimited Superbike, 600cc Sportbike and Buell Lightning Series be eliminated, an unpopular decision. Those classes will be gridded by points and no bonus point for pole position will be awarded.

F-USA racers at the meeting lobbied for timed qualifying instead of the warm-up/practice sessions on Sunday’s schedule, but F-USA officials refused their request, stating that, for safety, they would rather have racers spend the time working on their race set-ups rather than on single fast laps. F-USA officials also pointed out that not every racer was at the meeting to offer feedback.

Some Formula USA series regulars left the track earlier in the day after timed qualifying for the three featured classes was postponed due to rain.

Racers at the meeting then asked for the pole position bonus point to be awarded for fastest lap of the race, for most laps led or to the race winner. All of these suggestions were turned down by F-USA officials, who said that scenario was prohibited in the rulebook.

One racer particularly affected by the elimination of timed qualifying was Synergy Racing Technologies’ Brian Parriott. Riding a Honda CBR954RR in the Unlimited Superbike class as a tryout for the 2003 season, Parriott has no points in the class and must start from the rear of the grid.

Kosco Harley-Davidson/Buell’s Rich Cronrath pointed out how the elimination of the pole position bonus point hurt his rider, Michael Barnes. After two DNFs in the last two Buell Lightning Series events, Barnes is trailing Clint Brotz by 21 points in the Buell Championship and needs every possible point to recapture the title. Barnes is actually third in the Buell Championship behind second-in-points Bryan Bemisderfer.

Sunday’s (August 25) F-USA/CCS Schedule:

7:00 a.m. Practice as follows:

– CCS & NRRS Even-numbered Amateurs
– CCS & NRRS Odd-numbered Amateurs
– CCS & NRRS Even-numbered Experts
– CCS & NRRS Odd-numbered Experts

8:00 a.m. CCS Sprints (4 laps)

1. $1000 Unlimited Grand Prix (Amateur)
2. Middleweight Supersport (Expert)
3. Lightweight Grand Prix (Amateur & Expert)
4. Middleweight Superbike (Amateur)
5. Middleweight Superbike (Expert)
6. Heavyweight Superbike (Amateur)
– Pro Honda Oils 600cc Sportbike Warm-up
– Buell Lightning Series Warm-up
– Lockhart-Phillips Unlimited Superbike Warm-up
7. Super Twins (Amateur & Expert)
8. Lightweight Superbike (Amateur & Expert)
9. Unlimited Supersport (Expert)
10. Heavyweight Supersport (Amateur & Expert)
11. Formula 40 (Amateur & Expert)
12. Middleweight Grand Prix (Expert & Amateur)

1:00 p.m. Formula USA NRRS Races as follows:

13. Buell Lightning Series (10 laps)
14. $1000 NRRS Amateur 600cc Supersport (10 laps)
15. Pro Honda Oils 600cc Sportbike (18 laps)
16. $3000 NRRS Thunderbike (10 laps)
17. Lockhart-Phillips Unlimited Superbike Race One (18 laps)
18. Lockhart-Phillips Unlimited Superbike Race Two (18 laps)
19. $1000 NRRS Open Supersport Amateur (6 laps)
20. $3000 NRRS Speedscreen Unlimited Grand Prix Expert (6 laps)

In the event of morning delays, F-USA officials have stated that National Road Race Series classes will take a precedent starting at 1:00 p.m.

Copyright 2002, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

125cc Grand Prix Qualifying Results From Brno:

1. Alex De Angelis, Aprilia, 2:08.746
2. Simone Sanna, Aprilia, 2:08.992
3. Daniel Pedrosa, Honda, 2:09.000
4. Manuel Poggiali, Gilera, 2:09.105
5. Steve Jenkner, Aprilia, 2:09.244
6. Lucio Cecchinello, Aprilia, 2:09.307
7. Pablo Nieto, Aprilia, 2:09.406
8. Arnaud Vincent, Aprilia, 2:09.506
9. Hector Barbera, Aprilia, 2:09.514
10. Gino Borsoi, Aprilia, 2:09.563

Copyright 2002, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

By David Swarts

Qualifying for Formula USA National Road Race Series classes, scheduled for Saturday afternoon at Pocono International Raceway in Long Pond, Pennsylvania, has been postponed until Sunday morning due to rain.

The announcement, made by Formula USA officials in a riders’ meeting early Saturday morning, was met with a surprise reaction. “The racers cheered the decision,” said F-USA National Race Referee Phil Sberna. “I almost fell off the chair I was standing on to make the announcement.”

Sberna said that F-USA officials began discussing the weather situation Friday night and made their decision first thing Saturday morning when they saw the forecast for rain was accurate.

“We wanted to get to them before they got to us,” joked Sberna about beating typical complaints and requests by Formula USA national regulars to not qualify in the rain.

Each of the three Formula USA classes that grid by qualifying times – Lockhart Phillips USA Unlimited Superbike, Pro Honda Oils 600cc Sportbike and Buell Lightning Series – will qualify Sunday morning during the time previously allotted for practice. Each class will get 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, CCS regional races are running Saturday at Pocono, as thick fog allows.

Copyright 2002, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Czech Republic 250cc GP Qualifying Results:

1. Fonsi Nieto, Aprilia, 2:03.037
2. Marco Melandri, Aprilia, 2:03.563
3. Sebastian Porto, Yamaha, 2:03.711
4. Roberto Locatelli, Aprilia, 2:03.919
5. Franco Battaini, Aprilia, 2:03.957
6. Roberto Rolfo, Honda, 2:04.051
7. Toni Elias, Aprilia, 2:04.266
8. Naoki Matsudo, Yamaha, 2:04.311
9. Randy De Puniet, Aprilia, 2:04.537
10. Ralf Waldmann, Aprilia, 2:04.583
11. Alex Debon, Aprilia, 2:05.241
12. Haruchika Aoki, Honda, 2:05.252
13. Shahrol Yuzy, Yamaha, 2:05.415
14. Jay Vincent, Honda, 2:05.654
15. David Checa, Aprilia, 2:05.681

Copyright 2002, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

By David Swarts

CMRA Expert Eric Falt and CMRA Amateur Michael Sanchez have won sponsorship of racing-related expenses for the CCS Race of Champions in Daytona, October 16-20.

CMRA (Central Motorcycle Roadracing Association), the South Central Region CCS affiliate, teamed with Blockworks in the 2002 “Race To The Beach” competition.

The “Race To The Beach” program was started by Blockworks owner and CMRA officer/racer Eric Kelcher as a way to help deserving racers represent CMRA at the CCS Race of Champions.

Blockworks is a Dallas-based company that specializes in installing decorative glass-block walls.

Contest winners earn free transportation for up to two bikes with equipment and spares, one set of new tires of their choice, paid entry for up to five classes, paid entry into the Team Hammer track ride/practice day and a hotel room for the long weekend in Florida. All the winners have to do is get themselves to Daytona Beach, list Blockworks and CMRA as sponsors on their entry forms and run CMRA and Blockworks stickers on their bikes.

Race To The Beach winners are determined by points earned in no more than three classes at CMRA events through a pre-determined part of the season, in both Expert and Amateur classes.

2002 CMRA/Blockworks Race To The Beach Results:

Expert Point Standings:

1. Eric Falt, 1526 points
2. Troy Green, 1407 points
3. Craig Montgomery, 1363 points


Amateur Point Standings:

1. Michael Sanchez, 1545 points
2. Tony Rodio, 1324 points
3. Manny Poulis, 1259 points

For more information on the Race To The Beach contest, go to www.cmraracing.com or e-mail [email protected].

Copyright 2002, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Valentino Rossi was the fastest in the first qualifying session for the Czech Republic Grand Prix, at Brno on Friday afternoon. Americans John Hopkins and Kenny Roberts were 14th and 15th fastest. Times follow:

1. Valentino Rossi, Honda RC211V, 2:00.161
2. Max Biaggi, Yamaha YZR-M1, 2:00.340
3. Daijiro Kato, Honda RC211V, 2:00.390
4. Sete Gibernau, Suzuki GSV-R, 2:00.567
5. Alex Barros, Honda NSR500, 2:00.619
6. Jeremy McWilliams, Proton KR3, 2:00.724
7. Garry McCoy, Yamaha YZR500, 2:00.968
8. Tohru Ukawa, Honda RC211V, 2:01.023
9. Carlos Checa, Yamaha YZR-M1, 2:01.030
10. Loris Capirossi, Honda NSR500, 2:01.038
11. Norick Abe, Yamaha YZR500, 2:01.239
12. Shinya Nakano, Yamaha YZR500, 2:01.399
13. Tetsuya Harada, Honda NSR500, 2:01.435
14. John Hopkins, Yamaha YZR500, 2:01.498
15. Kenny Roberts, Suzuki GSV-R, 2:01.582
16. Nobuatsu Aoki, Proton KR3, 2:01.720
17. Regis Laconi, Aprilia RS3, 2:01.726
18. Jurgen v.d. Goorbergh, Honda NSR500, 2:02.025
19. Olivier Jacque, Yamaha YZR500, 2:02.435
20. Akira Ryo, Suzuki GSV-R, 2:02.870
21. Sylvain Guintoli, Yamaha YZR500, 2:03.941
22. Pere Riba, Yamaha YZR500, 2:04.808


More, from a press release issued by Team Red Bull Yamaha:

CZECH REPUBLIC GRAND PRIX

After a four week summer break, Red Bull Yamaha riders Garry McCoy and John Hopkins return fit and focused to the second-half of the MotoGP calender. This weekend in Brno in the Czech Republic the duo feel refreshed and ready to race on the fast flowing 5.4km circuit.

Hopkin’s left hand now bears the scar from his recent surgery in the United States. The operation repaired his middle finger – metacarpal bone that he fractured in the final qualifying session at German GP. Hopkins now has 3 permanent pin-size screws in his left hand. Dr. Arthur Ting (John’s Surgeon) is in the Czech Republic for the Grand Prix and visited John today in the Red Bull garage. Immediately after the operation John resumed light aerobic training and built up to endurance level training and strength training two weeks before the Grand Prix.

McCoy enjoyed the summer break at his home in Andorra and spent his “time-off” working on his physical fitness. McCoy’s daily physical training program is extensive (to say the least) and combines a minimum of 3 hours on the stationery cycle each morning with upper body strength training in the afternoon. “I’m feeling strong and fit after pushing to new levels in the training sessions and the gym assessment shows I’ve really climbed the ladder in terms of fitness. I’ve got a couple of trailbikes in the garage in Andorra so Dad and I have been up in the mountains doing a lot of riding together, it’s great and a good test for my ankle and leg. I can now put pressure on it and push off the rocks and there have been no problems, it’s been a good strength test” he said.

Both riders were welcomed to Brno by the Czech Republic Media in a special Red Bull event staged on top of the International Business Centre in the heart of Brno on Wednesday evening.

Garry McCoy: 7th ­ 2:00.968
“This morning my bike felt like it was a bit down on power but this afternoon after some changes it felt better. I’m a bit surprised because I didn’t think the two strokes would be this competitive here against the four strokes. I did my fastest lap on the final run, right at the end (lap 21/21) We just have to wait and see what happens on Sunday.”


Christophe Bourguignon (Race Engineer ­ Garry McCoy)
“We have improved the bike from this morning’s session and we tried a different front tyre this afternoon and we are very happy with the results. I really think this morning we made it difficult for Garry in the Free Practice Session with too many different settings so we made the decision to keep it simple this afternoon and now we have a good result.”


John Hopkins: 14th ­ 2:01.498
“I’m happy with my ride today and I was on the pace early on. We began the session with a race tyre and tried a bunch of Dunlops throughout the session. The first tyre we had for qualifying was really good but unfortunately I made a few little mistakes toward the end of the lap and that cost me today. So we will work on that for tomorrow.”


Colin Davies ­ Race Engineer for John Hopkins
“We need to do some work tonight to get the right race set-up and we have already found a decent race tyre for Sunday.”


Peter Clifford ­ Director of Racing
” It’s great to see Garry back in the groove and I think that there is every chance that John will join him tomorrow.”



More, from a Marlboro Yamaha press release:

CZECH REPUBLIC GP, BRNO
First Qualifying, Friday August 23 2002

NEW PARTS GIVE MARLBORO YAMAHA NEW SPEED
Marlboro Yamaha Team star Max Biaggi took advantage of a raft of new parts for his YZR-M1 to come within 0.179 seconds of provisional pole position at baking-hot Brno this afternoon. Team-mate Carlos Checa is taking a little longer to adjust the modified chassis to his liking; he ended the session ninth quickest and is confident of better tomorrow.

Both men have one modified chassis apiece, to allow them to compare the different rear-shock pivot and revised geometry against the older chassis. They also have a new, sleeker fairing and new radiator, to improve straight-line speed (by around 2kmh) and engine cooling.

“Max rode all this afternoon’s session with the new chassis, while Carlos switched between the new and the old,” explained YZR-M1 project leader Ichiro Yoda. “We changed the chassis to improve front traction. The weight transfer is different, which improves grip and feel as the riders brake into corners and let off the brake. Max already likes the changes, though Carlos had some front-end push which his crew aim to dial out for tomorrow. This evening both riders will make adjustments, to suspension and maybe also geometry.”

BIAGGI LIKES NEW M1 CHASSIS
Max Biaggi didn’t take long to prove the efficacy of Yamaha’s latest engineering efforts, challenging for provisional pole position during the final moments of this afternoon’s opening qualifier on his upgraded M1. The Marlboro Yamaha Team man concentrated on his modified chassis and is delighted with the improvements.

“We’ve been experimenting quite a bit and I think this revised chassis brings us many possibilities,” said the Italian. “It doesn’t feel so different when you’re riding, but it’s much better for attacking the corners. We found a better set-up after this morning’s session and I felt much faster this afternoon. I’m trying very hard out there, and I think we can make some small adjustments to help me go even quicker tomorrow, when I hope to make pole.”

During GP racing’s midsummer break Biaggi took a boating holiday around Sardinia, also attending the Marlboro Masters event at Zandvoort earlier this month.


CHECA TESTS BACK-TO-BACK
Carlos Checa spent much of today swapping back and forth between his new and older M1 chassis, proclaiming the revisions a success, though he wasn’t able to extract the best out of the bike this afternoon. The Marlboro Yamaha Team ace ended the session ninth, just 0.869 seconds off provisional pole sitter Valentino Rossi (Honda).

“We made some changes to the modified chassis at the end of the session and it felt better, though I was still getting some front-end push which was losing me time,” said the Spaniard. “We’ll make some adjustments to the base set-up for tomorrow and with those settings I think this chassis will give me a better feeling, so I should be able to push harder. For sure, we’ll concentrate on the new chassis from now on, I just wanted to do some back-to-back testing today.”

Like Biaggi, Checa performed at the Marlboro Masters during his midseason vacation, then kicked back with a brief holiday in the Pyrenees.


ROSSI ON TOP BUT UNDER PRESSURE
World Championship leader Valentino Rossi started the second phase of the 2002 MotoGP season as he ended the first phase last month, out front. But this time it took the Italian until the very last lap to topple Daijiro Kato from provisional pole. Kato rode the first nine races of the year aboard an NSR500 but has now been equipped with RCVs. He ended the outing third quickest.

“We had some rear traction problems but we fixed that and my last lap was very, very fast,” said Rossi, who expects a strong challenge from his new RCV rival.

Kato said: “I was really fast when I tested my 500 here in June, but the RCV feels easier to ride.”




More, from a press release issued by Team Suzuki News Service:

FRONT-ROW RESTART PROMISES STRONG RACE FOR SUZUKI

MotoGP – Round 10, Brno, Czech Republic, Friday August 23, 2002.

Team Telefónica MoviStar Suzuki riders Sete Gibernau and Kenny Roberts Jr claimed fourth and 15th places respectively in today’s first qualifying session for Sunday’s Czech Republic GP at Brno, the race that marks the start of the second part of the season after the long summer break.

Kenny’s relatively low position was the result of a minor tumble at the end of the hour-long session, preventing him from joining the final scramble for lap times. But Sete’s fourth place, on the provisional front row, reflected a mood of optimism throughout the team, with confidence buoyed up not only by a refreshing holiday but also by continuing improvements to GSV-R V4 four-stroke prototype, introduced a full year earlier than planned at the beginning of this year.

It came in spite of a glitch in delivery of a redesigned chassis – one for each Suzuki rider – which should have been at Brno in good time for today’s restart to the MGP season. Instead they were held up in customs at Prague, and arrived after practice had already begun. Today’s times were set using the old chassis, which performed well enough to leave both riders expecting even more progress tomorrow, when they will try the latest version for the first time.

Today’s first practice was especially significant for Roberts, who skipped the last round before the break for corrective surgery on his right arm, which had been suffering “pump-up” problems all season. During testing at home, he had already established “it feels better than ever before.” Today was his first chance to test the improvement on a 200-horsepower GP machine.

SETE GIBERNAU – Fourth Position, 2:00.567
“My time came at the end of the session when I was with Rossi. It shows what the bike is capable of, but I have to say I’m still not at a comfortable pace. We’re chipping away at things all the time. Suzuki have been working hard to try to give us what we think and what they think we need to take the next step. Tomorrow I’ll try the new chassis and see if that does the job. It’s not so much to improve the lap time, which is okay, but the overall pace for race distance. We’ll keep working, and hope to keep improving.”

KENNY ROBERTS – 15th Position, 2:01.582
“It’s good to be back. I feel strong physically, and so far the arm feels great. And this track is nice for these bikes – it’s big enough so you can really gas it up and use the power. We made a lot of setting changes this morning and this afternoon, and we have a new engine setting that feels better. I ended up using the other engine, because that bike had a front suspension that meant I could be more aggressive. I was running 2:01 laps that I imagine will be a pretty fair race pace, and I was feeling confident and comfortable on the bike, which hasn’t been the case for a while. I can obviously get higher on the grid, but there are a lot of bikes up there which have just done a one-off lap time that they won’t be able to keep up in the race, and I know I can start well and move through anyway. We’ll try the new chassis tomorrow, including some changes that we found today. In a way, we were just preparing for the new chassis. There’s not much to say about the crash. I was trying a narrower tyre, and I was probably ten or 15km/h slower into the last corner when I hit a bump and the front tucked. It wasn’t significant, except I missed the last few minutes of practice.”

GARRY TAYLOR – Team Manager
“Both riders are back and refreshed from the break. It’s a pity we had the hold-up with the new chassis, because these things seldom work perfectly out of the box, and we’ve lost half the time we had to get the settings right. It means our technicians will have to think hard and work hard to get the best out of the old or the new chassis tomorrow.”


More, from a press release issued by Proton Team KR:

McWILLIAMS WELL UP TO SPEED AT BRNO

Round 10: Czech Republic GP, Brno First Qualifying: Friday, August 23, 2002

Jeremy McWilliams: Sixth, 2:00.724
Nobuatsu Aoki: 16th, 2:01.720

Jeremy McWilliams was the second-fastest two-stroke in today’s first qualifying session for Sunday’s Czech Republic GP, claiming sixth-fastest time and a second-row provisional grid position to confirm the Proton Team KR hopes that the fast and sweeping Brno circuit will once again bring out the best in the sweet-handling KR3 lightweight triple.

Team-mate Nobuatsu Aoki was left struggling, searching for front-end grip to be able to exploit the machine’s high corner speed potential, and unable to put himself higher than the fourth row.

Brno is the fourth of a quartet of highly technical circuits, where the KR3’s strengths outweight a relative lack of top-end speed compared with the four-cylinder two-strokes, and more especially the new-generation 990cc four-stroke MGP machines.

McWilliams switched back to the standard chassis after testing the newer “wideline” version in the morning. The newer chassis offers several advantages, but the older version has not only an excellent record at Brno, but also offers better engine performance in certain areas because of better internal air flow through the highly-developed airbox.

As usual, the KR3 top speed times were relatively slow, with McWilliams more than 20km/h down on the fastest speed, 271.3km/h compared with Max Biaggi’s four-stroke Yamaha, at 293.6km/h.

Provisional pole went to championship leader Valentino Rossi’s V5 four-stroke Honda. There is one more day of qualifying tomorrow before Sunday’s race.

JEREMY McWILLIAMS
“It’s better than I expected. Being second-fastest two-stroke is like being second on the road to us. This is a good track for our bike – it hates the straights, but loves the bendy bits. I’m using the standard chassis because it gives the engine more punch onto the straights, and that makes more difference at this track than some others. But we’ve also fitted a new rear suspension link that makes it feel more like the new chassis. We haven’t really had any problems so far. We got to the settings quite quickly. I’ve gone quicker than the bike’s ever been here before, so I’m not exactly just sitting on it. But there is more to come by taking more risks, though I’d be happier if we could improve the front feeling so I could go into the corners harder.”

NOBUATSU AOKI
“I’ve been struggling for front grip, especially when the bike is right on the edge, even though I am using the softest tyre. It’s the same as at the last two races, only worse. It feels strange … as though it is chattering, but I think it’s not chatter, but just a shortage of grip. We’ll have to work again on the suspension and chassis side – try to figure it out. My team has been able to do that for me at the last races, and I hope we can do it again tomorrow.”

CHUCK AKSLAND – Team Manager
“I thought that the standard chassis might be better here, because we have a lot of data on it from the past, and it suits this circuit. Turned out to be right. Jeremy is going well as always, and we’ll do some thinking to try to improve Nobu’s situation.”

Copyright 2002, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

The AMA Superbike field in 2003 will consist of American Honda, Ducati teams and privateers.

That’s the word from industry insiders, who say that Kawasaki, Suzuki and Yamaha will abandon AMA Pro Racing’s designated premier class in 2003.

The three are reacting to the as-yet-unannounced final AMA Pro rules for 2003, which, rivals say, guarantee Honda’s full-factory program the Superbike Championship by allowing the RC51 Superbike to compete in its current configuration without giving Kawasaki, Suzuki and Yamaha 1000cc four-cylinder machines any hope of being competitive.

Kawasaki will race in 600cc Supersport and Superstock with the ZX-6R, Yoshimura Suzuki will compete in Formula Xtreme and Supersport with the GSX-R1000 and GSX-R600, and Yamaha will compete in Formula Xtreme and Supersport with the YZF-R1 and YZF-R6.

With Kawasaki running a full factory, ZX-6R-based effort in AMA Superstock, the other Japanese factories may also run front-line factory bikes and riders in what used to 750cc Supersport. The effect will be the same as if there were two Supersport classes instead of one Supersport class and one Superstock class.

That, combined with full factory teams in Formula Xtreme, will eliminate any hope a private rider or team has of success (if success is defined as winning races) at AMA Nationals–unless they’re running in the 250cc Grand Prix class, which is scheduled to be eliminated for 2004.

The rules package is also expected to reduce the number of support teams and paid rides in AMA Pro Racing, since manufacturers will not be competing in as many classes, and thus will not need additional teams and riders to compete in the place of dedicated Superbike teams and riders.