From a press release issued by OMS Sports:

OMS Sports Opens New Southern California-based Headquarters

In the shadows of Edison International Field, OMS’ Anaheim office opens for business

FLORENCE, Ky.–In the never ending pursuit of improving the client and customer service of its all-important client base, OMS Sports announced the opening of its new West Coast headquarters based in Anaheim, Calif., next to Edison International Field – home of the World Champion California Angels.

According to OMS Sports founder Fred Bramblett, OMS’ new West Coast office fulfills one of the long term goals of the original business plan of OMS Sports. “Though we live in a global village where telephone, cell phone, pager and Internet communication make it easy for us to do business and maintain relations with our clients, we felt that there was a need to have closer personal contact with our West Coast-based clients,” said Bramblett.

Bramblett, who admittedly spends a “great deal of time in Southern California,” added that this expansion will put OMS Sports right in the hub of the motorcycle industry, within a reasonable drive to all of the industry OEMs, after market companies, enthusiast and trade publications and, most importantly, OMS’ clients who reside in Southern California. “The other strategic benefit of OMS Sports’ West Coast office is with our growing business in Asia,” he said. “The Pacific time zone makes it easier for OMS to do business with our new Asian client base.”

Dan White, Sr. Director of Client Operations, agreed: “With the rapid growth of OMS, we wanted to relocate our client and customer services division to the heart of the motorcycle industry. We feel this is necessary move which will allow us to better serve our client and customers needs.”

Located adjacent to Edison International Field, OMS Sports new West Coast operations are located at 2300 E. Katella Ave., Suite 430, Anaheim, Calif., 92806. The phone number is (714) 935-0790.

OMS Sports is a global, full-service sport marketing agency specializing in athlete representation, strategic marketing partnerships, industry relations, licensing and merchandising opportunities in the world of Extreme Personal Powersports. For more information, contact Pat Schutte at (734) 222-0688.

From a press release issued by Proton Team KR:

Banbury, England – January 24, 2003

History was made today as Proton Team KR is proud to announce that its new V-5 four-stroke engine came to life for the first time. The 990cc Proton KR MotoGP engine ran successfully on an engine dynamometer for initial data generation. Staff are evaluating the data and performing initial post-run hardware inspection.

Those present noted that the engine had a very unique and “sweet” sound. “It will be a very nice motor,” commented one of the engineers present at the test.

Kenny Roberts – Team Owner:
“We’ve been through all of this before. I’m really happy to see it finally run. Now the hard and interesting work has just begun. It will be nice when we get it on the racetrack.”

From a press release issued by Foggy Petronas Racing:

Foggy In Action At Sepang



Carl Fogarty today experienced the Foggy FP1 at first hand in the searing heat of the Sepang circuit in Malaysia.

The three days of Foggy PETRONAS Racing action started today with a press conference for the local Malaysian media, who were eager to find out about this unique project.

Prior to that, Carl came briefly out of retirement to run some demonstration laps for photography purposes.

And, after Troy Corser had wheelied his way down the spectacular start/finish straight to the delight of PETRONAS and their guests, he and James Haydon got down to business for the final private work-out before the official World Superbike test next month.

Carl said: “I was obviously a bit rusty and also a bit nervous. I knew nothing about the circuit and I felt cramped up on Troy’s bike, which started to hurt my injured leg straight away.

“But it’s obvious how much potential this bike has got, as we proved at the last test in Phillip Island.

“It was very important for us to have the chance to show to PETRONAS at first hand exactly what the bike can do, because without them such an exciting and challenging project could not have happened.

“Now we have some important work to do out here. It will be useful to test the bike in the intense heat of Malaysia and this will also test the fitness of the riders over race distances.”

Today the team concentrated on engine and ignition mapping as the riders familiarised themselves with a circuit that is new to them both.

Test diary: It was soon clear just how long Carl had been out of action for. When putting on his leathers, he needed a couple of attempts before remembering that his Dainese racing suit legs went outside the boots – and not tucked inside. And a proud Michaela was clearly delighted to see hubby back in action and – in her words – ‘thrupenny bitting’ around turn one (roughly translated as stop-start braking that produces an edgy racing line, similar to the outline of a 20p piece or the old thrupenny bit in English coinage!)

From a press release issued by Kawasaki:

GARRY MCCOY BACK IN ACTION

Kawasaki Racing Team’s star Garry McCoy was back in action on the third and final day of testing in Phillip Island. The “King of Slide”, who had suffered a heavy crash on the first day on his home circuit, tried different pivot positions for the rear swing arm of his Fuchs Kawasaki Ninja ZX-RR. When a small crack was discovered on his chassis later on, McCoy spent the remainder of the day with cross-checks on the motorcycles of his team-mate Andrew Pitt and test rider Akira Yanagawa.

Pitt tried a different swing arm and a different chassis set-up in the morning, but wasn’t able to improve his lap time, and went back to previous settings in the afternoon. Yanagawa spent most of the day on improving the fuel injection system, whereas Alex Hofmann went through another marathon of tyre tests, until his first-generation, carburetted prototype machine surrendered with a broken sixth gear.

Garry McCoy: 33 laps – best time 1:34.83
“Yesterday, I was still a bit giddy after my crash on Tuesday. I was not feeling too well and I had headaches. But this morning, when I got up, I didn’t feel too bad. I still had a slight headache, and once I got out on the bike, I just took it easy for a few laps. I was still, how can I say, lost in my own mind about what was going on, because the team had been here for two days, and I had to start all over again. It was more or less like day one for me, and I had to get used to everything again. We had a different chassis, the one that had been held in customs, and we tried a few things. We didn’t get very far though. The bike started to feel strange, and my mechanics found a small crack close to the lower engine mount.

“This gave me the chance to do some cross-checks with the machines of Andrew and Akira. Harald likes these cross-checks, and they are certainly not a bad idea, but of course there are too many differences between the bikes to really go fast. Andrew has a set-up, Akira has another one, and I am somewhere in between with what I like. Probably a bit closer to what Akira’s got. Anyway, it’s good thing to compare, and to find pluses and minuses for yourself.

“Now, there are a few weeks before the next tests end of February in Jerez, and my main aim is to enjoy myself a little bit and have fun with my new Kawasaki Jet Ski, to train lots and to arrive at the next session in the best possible shape!”

Andrew Pitt: 88 laps – best time 1:34.01
“We didn’t have the best of all days. We tried a new chassis and swingarm set-up, and I really wasn’t getting the feeling I had yesterday. After lunch, we got everything back into the position were it was yesterday, and the bike started to work again. We tested some tyres then in the afternoon, and tried to put some distance on them. Later on, I just had enough, because I did 85 laps yesterday and even more today, and I just was at a stage where it didn’t make much sense to keep going.

“All in all, we are in pretty good shape, and even though I would have liked to go quicker here, we made good progress. The bike is much easier to ride now, I also feel that I am riding it pretty well!”

Akira Yanagawa: 72 laps – best time 1:34.18
“We tried different mappings for the injection system, but different mappings create different problems, and therefore, we still haven’t found the ideal solution. Still, in comparison to our last session in Sepang, the fuel injection has improved a lot, and all we need now is more time to get the set-up perfect.

“The other thing is that we were able to confirm the qualities of my new and stronger chassis that gives me more confidence without causing chatter problems. Now it looks as if we found a base, a starting point from which we can build up. I’m sure that we can climb the next step at the IRTA test session in Jerez end of February!”

Alex Hofmann: 66 laps – best time 1:34.61
“We went through a big stack of tyres again, and we wanted to conclude the day with an endurance test. We had anything from 20 to 25 laps planned, but after 15 laps, sixth gear broke, and I had to pull in. But we were happy with those 15 laps, because I was riding in the low 1.35s consistently, my 15th lap was even a 1.35.00, and I probably could have done some 1:34s also. For a race distance, the performance with this older version of the Ninja ZX-RR wouldn’t have been all that bad. I’m happy also because my colleagues on the new bike were only eight tenths of a second faster than me!”

Harald Eckl: Team Manager
“All in all, it was a very good test for us, despite Garry’s bad luck on the first day. More than anything, we were able to confirm some trouble spots on the bike, some areas that we have to work on over the next weeks, with the crack on Garry’s chassis and the overall strength of our frame in the main focus of our attention. We also confirmed that our in-line four-cylinder engine remains our strong point, in terms of performance as much as in terms of durability. The speed is there, and now we have to get the chassis strength and geometry right to match the level of the engine!”

From a press release issued by No Limit Motor Sports Honda:

Doug Chandler’s 2003 Honda Debut

No Limit Motor Sports Honda’s Doug Chandler appeared at Mazda Laguna Seca Raceway, his home track, on January 17 for the grand opening of new pit-row suites and garages.

The three-time AMA National Superbike Champion from nearby Salinas was center stage for the famed circuit’s celebration, which marked the first official sighting of Doug atop a 2003 Honda.

Suited up in his No Limit Motor Sports Honda leathers, Doug signed autographs and greeted invited VIPs, media representatives and Laguna Seca brass.

While the media eagerly anticipated an opportunity to take photos of Chandler’s not-yet-publicly-unveiled Gary Medley-prepared Formula Xtreme, Supersport 600 and Superbike race machines, the team chose to instead promote the new production CBR600RR.

Asked about the upcoming AMA season, Chandler said, “I am really looking forward to it and I’m very optimistic thatthe No Limits Motorsports Hondas are going to be fast and consistent right from the start.”

Doug Chandler will be on his No Limit Motor Sports Honda racebikes at a multi-team test scheduled for February 5-6 at California Speedway in Fontana, California.

Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc. Parts Unlimited PJ1 Erion Honda’s Kurtis Roberts set the fastest lap time Thursday during AMA team testing at Laguna Seca Raceway in Monterey, California. Despite riding his RC51 Superbike with a heavily bruised and weakened right thigh, Roberts turned a best time of 1:26.220. Roberts’ effort, however, was not good enough to take fastest-lap-of-the-test honors away from Kawasaki’s Eric Bostrom. Bostrom turned a 1:26.215 on his 750cc ZX-7RR on Wednesday to lead all times from the test. As promised by Kawasaki Team Manager Michael Preston Wednesday evening, Bostrom’s crew was indeed able to revive his new 770cc engine for more laps on Thursday. Eric Bostrom’s brother Ben, on the other hand, could not solve his problems and was only able to lower his best lap time by one second over the course of the test and is nowhere near his usual form at Laguna Seca. “I’m having no fun,” said American Honda’s Ben Bostrom. “I could have easily gone home after the first hour of the first day (of the test). I haven’t been able to slide it (RC51) all week. It’s been three days of torture.” Ben Bostrom’s teammate Miguel Duhamel was fast on both his RC51 Superbike and his Honda Supersport bike, posting the fastest CBR600RR time of the test on Wednesday, a 1:29.342, backed up by his 1:29.451 on Thursday. The Yamaha YZF-R6 proved to be the fastest Supersport bike around Laguna Seca with the three fastest 600cc times Thursday belonging to R6 riders. Jamie Hacking held onto the top spot with a 1:28.757 Thursday, even faster than his sub-lap-record 1:28.808 on Wednesday. Hacking’s mechanic Jefferson Burks returned to Los Angeles Thursday to be with his pregnant wife, who went into labor. Damon Buckmaster made significant progress over the three days, lowering his time to 1:28.970 on Thursday, just off the AMA Supersport lap record of 1:28.904 for Laguna Seca. Yamaha’s Aaron Gobert appears to be regaining his past strength and speed, and recorded the third-fastest 600cc lap time Thursday at 1:29.357. The eldest Gobert brother, Anthony, did not ride his Ducati Austin 998RS Thursday due to illness. According to Gobert’s Crew Chief Vic Fasola, “Go-Show” was fighting a stomach illness all week and took a turn for the worse Wednesday evening. Tommy Hayden returned to Laguna Seca Thursday but did not ride. In fact, Dr. Arthur Ting has instructed Hayden to not do anything more strenuous than walking for at least 10 days. Hayden told Roadracingworld.com’s Bob Dragich that the concussion he suffered in his crash on Tuesday left him too dizzy to walk down stairs easily. The next known AMA team test session is at California Speedway in early February. Thursday’s Fastest Lap Times: 1. Kurtis Roberts, Honda RC51, 1:26.220 2. Eric Bostrom, Kawasaki ZX-7RR, 1:26.488 3. Miguel Duhamel, Honda RC51, 1:26.764 4. Larry Pegram, Ducati 998RS, 1:27.123 5. Ben Bostrom, Honda RC51, 1:27.129 6. Jake Zemke, Honda CBR954RR, 1:27.808 7. Jamie Hacking, Yamaha YZF-R6, 1:28.757 8. Damon Buckmaster, Yamaha YZF-R6, 1:28.970 9. Aaron Gobert, Yamaha YZF-R6, 1:29.357 10. Miguel Duhamel, Honda CBR600RR, 1:29.451 11. Jake Zemke, Honda CBR600RR, 1:29.515 12. Jason DiSalvo, Yamaha YZF-R6, 1:30.053 13. Alex Gobert, Honda CBR600RR, 1:30.064 14. Tony Meiring, Kawasaki ZX-6RR, 1:30.681 15. Roger Lee Hayden, Honda CBR600RR, 1:31.780 Overall Fastest Lap Times of the Test: 1. Eric Bostrom, Kawasaki ZX-7RR (750cc), 1:26.215 2. Kurtis Roberts, Honda RC51, 1:26.220 3. Anthony Gobert, Ducati 998RS, 1:26.4713. Miguel Duhamel, Honda RC51, 1:26.764 4. Larry Pegram, Ducati 998RS, 1:27.123 5. Ben Bostrom, Honda RC51, 1:27.129 6. Jake Zemke, Honda CBR954RR, 1:27.808 7. Jamie Hacking, Yamaha YZF-R6, 1:28.757 8. Damon Buckmaster, Yamaha YZF-R6, 1:28.970 9. Miguel Duhamel, Honda CBR600RR, 1:29.342 10. Aaron Gobert, Yamaha YZF-R6, 1:29.357 11. Jake Zemke, Honda CBR600RR, 1:29.455 12. Jason DiSalvo, Yamaha YZF-R6, 1:29.945 13. Alex Gobert, Honda CBR600RR, 1:30.064 14. Tony Meiring, Kawasaki ZX-6RR, 1:30.681 15. Roger Lee Hayden, Honda CBR600RR, 1:30.770 16. Tommy Hayden, Kawasaki ZX-6RR, 1:30.927 All times provided courtesy of AMA Pro Racing Timing & Scoring.

From a press release issued by OMS Sports:

Ducati Austin Wraps Up Successful Test At Laguna Seca

Despite a stomach virus, Gobert blazes to top time on first day and “just a click off” the lead on second day – opts for rest on final day

LAGUNA SECA, Calif., (Jan. 23, 2003) – The Ducati Austin race program and rider Anthony “Go Show” Gobert cranked out some impressive lap times at this week’s Laguna Seca test session, featuring the major factories and teams participating in the 2003 AMA/Chevy Truck U.S. Superbike Championships.

Ducati Austin’s Gobert, who for a number of years held the lap time record at Laguna Seca (1999 to 2002) on the legendary Ducati 996, battled a painful stomach virus, a new fork set up and bad weather conditions, en route to the fastest time of the day on Tuesday – a 1:26.8.

“The first day we didn’t get out until about noon,” said Ducati Austin Crew Chief, Vic Fasola. “It was foggy, generally bad weather, and Anthony rode well despite being under the weather himself.”

On the second day (Wednesday), Gobert put the Ducati 998RS03 up in the lead for much of the day before being edged out by rival Eric Bostrom, 1:26.2 to 1:26.4.

“We were testing some new Ohlins forks, working on the rear shock settings, bike geometry, fuel mapping – all the typical stuff for getting going on a race track and Anthony up to speed on the Ducati,” said Fasola. “It was a very successful test. Despite being sick, Anthony was the fastest rider on the first day and only a click off the lead on the second day. And you’ve got to remember, Eric (Bostrom) was on the same bike at Laguna last year.” Note: The gas-filled Ohlins forks, fairly new to the States, are being used by many number of the World Superbike teams.

By the third day of testing (today), Gobert’s stomach flu got the best of him and the team decided to pack it in a day early. “If push came to shove, and it was race day, he’d have run,” said Fasola. “He’s gone home to see his doctor. We think it’s some kind of flu bug.”

The Ducati Austin race team’s next test session will be Feb. 5-6 at Fontana Speedway (Calif.). In the meantime, Fasola and some other members of the team will travel to Italy to visit the Ducati factory for what Fasola calls “A little show & tell.”

From a press release issued by Octagon Motorsports, organizers of the FIM Endurance World Championship series:

FISHERMAN’S FRIEND RENEW SPONSORSHIP OF
FIM ENDURANCE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP

Rome, Italy: 23 January 2003; The FIM Endurance World Championship has announced that Fisherman’s Friend, the international lozenge brand, has renewed its “Associate Sponsor” agreement for the forthcoming year.

“We are pleased that Fisherman’s Friend’s first involvement with motorsport has been successful and we are looking forward to achieving even greater results together in the future” said Vincenzo Lamaro, Vice-President, Octagon Motorsports.

Jon White, Area Business Manager, Fisherman’s Friend, added; “We were happy with the exposure that association with the FIM Endurance World Championship gave to Fisherman’s Friend in our first year of co-operation. I am confident that this year will beeven better”

The FIM Endurance World Championship benefits Fisherman’s Friend will enjoy as an Associate Sponsor include name and logo presence on all Championship collateral materials, VIP Hospitality and sampling rights at all events.*

About FIM Endurance World Championship
FIM Endurance World Championship is a unique and gruelling test of power and long distance motorcycle racing encapsulated in an outdoor festival. It is one of only three world road racing Championships sanctioned by the FIM (Federation Internationale de Motocyclisme) the sports official governing body.

The Championship comprises of 8 motorsport weekends in 8 different top circuits and is experiencing the third season of growth since its re-launch by Octagon Motorsports in 2001.
In 2002 the events were broadcast globally to over 879m potential homes across 5 continents. Eurosport, the Official Championship broadcast partner and Europe’s premier satellite sports channel, broadcast live and deferred programmes that attracted more than 10m viewers.

About Lofthouse of Fleetwood Ltd
Lofthouse of Fleetwood Ltd, a family-owned company, first created Fisherman’s Friend Original Extra Strong Lozenges in 1865 in Fleetwood, Lancashire. Today they are now available in 120 countries worldwide, and have grown to become a major international brand.

Fisherman’s Friend Original Extra Strong lozenges are still manufactured to exactly the same formulation as in 1865. They are now available in 8 different versions including Original Extra Strong, Aniseed, Original Tooth-friendly, Mint Sugar Free, and Lemon Sugar-Free

Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

By Michael Hannas

Thieves stole a trailer and crashed racebike belonging to a racer who was airlifted with head injuries following a crash at Willow Springs International Raceway Sunday in Rosamond, California.

Racer Craig Raines, WSMC #68, suffered a closed head injury and was helicoptered to the hospital following a multi-bike turn-nine pile-up in the combined 750cc Superbike/Open Modified Production race late in the day during the opening WSMC weekend of 2003.

Raines’ father loaded up his son’s crashed GSX-R750 into his trailer and took it to his own house Sunday evening, where it was stolen sometime Monday night.

Raines is heavily sedated because of his injuries but is responsive; according to WSMC Operations Manager Kenny Kopecky, the family expects Raines will make a full recovery. Raines also suffered a broken collarbone and collapsed lung in the incident.

Kopecky noted that Raines’ father was rather upset but doesn’t think that the theft was related to the accident. The VIN # of the stolen bike was unavailable to Roadracingworld.com at post time, but Raines’ late-model Suzuki GSX-R750 is silver with blue trim and sported #68, and has obviously been crashed.

From a press release issued by Honda Racing:

HONDA RACING INFORMATION

HRC Winter Test Sepang, January 22, 2003.

HRC Complete Successful Three Day Sepang Test Session

The HRC RC211V winter test at Sepang, Malaysia, ended on a high note with all teams and riders satisfied with the results and the data logged for future reference. Overnight rain lingered at the 5.548km circuit during the morning of the final day but by 13.30. the track was dry enough for the riders to get in track time in good conditions.

Most riders spent the afternoon testing tyres for their 2003 suppliers. The Repsol Honda team of Valentino Rossi and Nicky Hayden pronounced themselves satisfied at the end of the day. Rossi happy with the amount of technical set up and tyre testing work he completed, Hayden happy with the progress he has made to date.

Valentino Rossi: “A good three days and for me the best part is to understand the problems we have had in braking. We got some good settings yesterday and today we have found some good Michelin tyres. The grip on the edge has always been a problem but today we have the tyres and the settings to get good grip on the edge. The engine and chassis feel strong and now we understand the braking better it is possible to make a good time.”

Nicky Hayden: “I’ve gotta be pretty pleased with the tests here. It’s an awesome place and although it’s been hard learning the track on the new bike – I’ve leaned heaps and the important thing is I’ve stayed upright and the times are getting faster. Things seemed to get better when we set most of the bike to standard settings and I could concentrate on the tyres and just riding the bike better. I’d like to be able to go harder into the turns. It’s a question of confidence really. I know I can be far harder on this bike than I could be on my VTR. I’m enjoying it. I’m sure it’ll come!”

Fausto Gresini’s Telefonica MoviStar Honda squad is in much the same position as their rivals at Repsol Honda. Team leader Daijiro Kato spent the day evaluating tyres for Michelin while new teammate Sete Gibernau continued to learn all he could about the RCV.

Daijiro Kato: “I wanted to go for a good time in the last hour, but I still had to work on four sets of new Michelin tyres, both rear and front pairs. When I got to the last set of tyres I was going to go for it, and try and put in a quick lap, but this last pair weren’t as good as the previous ones. Despite this, we did find out some good tyres, which of course is the most important thing. Valentino and Max were very quick, but I am happy with my performance over the past three days. I was setting constantly fast times and that is the best way to be. I get the brand new bike in a month’s time, but I don’t think it will be radically different, and as things are going well with the New parts we have tested here, I am excited about getting on it.”

Sete Gibernau: “It has been a perfect three days for me personally, and I could have stayed on longer to lower my time like all the other riders did, but we stopped early because the team felt we had accomplished everything we had set out to do. I feel that despite this morning’s delay, and Monday afternoon’s washout, that I have put in enough laps here, we were regularly doing times in the mid-fours, and that was the objective really. We have lots more time to get quicker and there is no need to rush into it, I felt more comfortable every time I was on the bike, and now look forward to the next test here in a month’s time.”

New boy at Honda Pons, Tohru Ukawa, was another satisfied with his trip to Sepang. Ukawa has been involved with testing the RC211V from the start of the project and feels he is ready for to test the 2003 version of the machine.

Tohru Ukawa: “I’m reasonably happy with my time at the end of this test, but I think it could maybe have been a little better. Anyway, the important thing is that we have done the things we needed to and we can now look forward to getting the new machine here in February and beginning work on that. Today I focused on tyre testing, when we eventually got out onto the track, and I ended up with a good compound which offered both good balance and grip, so that was pleasing. These have been a good three days with the team, as I improved with every lap on the bike.”

Max Biaggi settled on a good set up for his RCV and towards the end of the day began to increase his pace, matching or bettering the times set by his fellow Honda rides at Sepang.

Max Biaggi: “I can look back on this test and say it was very positive. Two and a half months without riding a motorcycle. But within 10 laps of riding this bike I felt comfortable, at the end of the test I felt quite good about it. Today we finalised the set up and covered a lot of kilometers. Michelin asked us to do an endurance test with the tyres. The test went well, Michelin are doing a great job for us for 2003. The last 10 minutes of the test I pushed hard looking for the limit. I got close but I didn’t want to make a mistake on the first test with the bike. The team and I are beginning to understand each other and I feel comfortable. We now have one month before we test again. I will keep my concentration, I want to ride the bike again as soon as possible. I’m having a lot of fun with it!”

As soon as conditions permitted the Pramac Honda Team took to the track on the final day concentrating their efforts on tyre testing for Bridgestone. Makoto Tamada and Shinichi Itoh completed a full afternoon of testing confirming the data already collected and testing several sets of tyre combinations.

Makoto Tamada: “I’m pleased with these three days of tests, even though I still haven’t found the perfect set-up for my bike. I’m not worried about it though, because I know my potential and these tests helped me get a better feeling for the bike and adapt it to my aggressive style of braking. We’ve got lots of information from these tests that will help us improve even further in the next sessions.”

Shinichi Itoh: “I tried out many different tyres and different solutions to get a good idea about everything we need to analyse. I think I’ve been able to do a good job, and we’ve sure got a huge amount of data. I think we’ll soon be able to bridge the gap between us and the leaders.”

Testing times Sepang January 22, 2003.

Valentino Rossi, ITA Repsol Honda, 2:02.65, 55 laps

Max Biaggi, ITA Pramac Honda Team, 2:02.8, 48 laps

Tohru Ukawa, JPN Honda Pons, 2:03.4

Daijiro Kato, JPN, Telefonica MoviStar Honda, 2:03.7

Sete Gibernau, SPA Telefonica MoviStar Honda, 2:04.3

Nicky Hayden, USA Repsol Honda, 2:05.47, 60 laps

Makoto Tamada, JPN Pramac Honda Team, 2:06.5, 30 laps

Shinichi Itoh, JPN HRC Honda, 2:06.5, 31 laps