From a press release issued by HM Plant Ducati:



Walker stars in Almeria test

Chris Walker has successfully completed a two-day test at Almeria in Spain Friday. The HM Plant Ducati star recorded a superb time of 1:36.9, which eclipsed all the other Superbike riders at the Andalucia circuit.

“I’ve put in a lot of laps over the past two days and feel really at home with HM Plant Ducati and my new team,” explained Walker. “I have definitely found a good base setting from which to fine-tune everything in time for the first round of the championship next month. The whole package is awesome and I am delighted with how my ankle is standing up to the physical pressure it has been subjected to over the past week.”

Walker’s time – set on Dunlop race tyres – was over half-a-second inside the fastest lap recorded on qualifying rubber by factory Ducati rider and former World Champion Troy Bayliss during a pre-season test last winter.

However, the team’s joy was dampened slightly when Walker’s team-mate James Toseland had to withdraw from the test with a swollen right hand. He had sustained the injury in a practice crash at Valencia last week and was unable to cope with the demands of the technical Almeria track.

Toseland was optimistic after being sent home early for further medical consultation: “I tried a few laps yesterday morning, but my hand was too badly swollen to continue. The main problem I had was with braking and cornering, which is critical on a tight and twisty circuit like this. At least I was able to get on the first plane home and I’m on my way to see a specialist. That was definitely the best course of action under the circumstances.”

HM Plant Ducati Team Manager Colin Wright had mixed emotions after a hectic testing schedule over the past week. “Chris has once again confirmed his status as one of the leading contenders for this year’s World Superbike series. His performance was very encouraging and he looked extremely comfortable on the HM Plant Ducati. I would also like to thank Dunlop for the excellent work they have done with Chris. It’s just a shame that James had to withdraw, but at least we are taking the right steps to ensure that he is ready for the next test at Valencia in February.”

HM Plant Ducati was originally scheduled to complete a third day of testing at Almeria on Sunday but the team will now return to the UK after making such good progress at the Spanish circuits.

From a press release issued by Tony Meiring’s agent, Norm Viano:

Tiger laps Laguna

Monterey, CA. Teenage factory Kawasaki pilot, Tony “The Tiger” Meiring had a productive test at Laguna this past week, putting the new Kawasaki ZX-6RR through its paces by lapping feverishly throughout the three day test. Thursday alone saw Tony put in over seventy laps.

Riding a vastly different beast than last year’s Kawasaki 600, Tony is enjoying the new bike while simultaneously sharing in developmental duties with team-mate, Tommy Hayden. The two hope to show the world its capabilities in the coming season.

“We are learning a lot about this new bike. We tried different things with the (new for this year) fuel injection and are trying to get the most out of the new upside-down forks. My bike last year was really great and fun to ride. But this year’s bike has even better handling and brakes. When I get on the brakes, it’s just so stable. I’ll come up over Turn One, for example, and where my old bike would normally shake over the hill, the new ZX6-RR doesn’t shake at all.”

As this will be only Tony’s second season as a factory rider, he is benefiting from having some fast friends to learn from. “I was going down the straightaway and something started to grab my leg. At first, I thought it was something on my bike. I looked down and here is Kurtis Roberts on his Superbike, passing me and giving me a little tug! He and I are good friends, so I started following him and he showed me around the track. Showed me his lines. Then I had Eric (Bostrom) show me around as well. I followed him for a few laps, and then he followed me for a few laps in order to critique me. He’s really helping me with my corner speed.”

The squad will continue their preseason testing at Fontana in just a few weeks, where Tony plans on putting those lessons to good use.

FORTUNA YAMAHA TEAM TESTS

Valencia, Spain

25 January, 2003

From a press release issued by Fortuna Yamaha:

FALLS INTERRUPT FIRST DAY OF VALENCIA TEST FOR FORTUNA YAMAHA TEAM

Fortuna Yamaha Team riders Carlos Checa and Marco Melandri both had unfortunate crashes in today’s testing in Valencia, Spain. Despite warm and sunny conditions Spaniard Checa lost control of his YZR-M1 early on in the day, which meant he was forced to use his second bike in the afternoon. New Fortuna Yamaha Team rider Melandri also tumbled in the early stages of the test but was able to continue setting up the same bike during the afternoon.

Checa, who recorded a best time of 1:34.1, was disappointed with the time lost due to the fall, “We were working on engine-braking and mapping with my first bike when I lost control. The bike was damaged quite badly so we had to stop the job we were doing and switch to my second bike for the afternoon, which has a different set-up. We will continue chassis set-up with this bike tomorrow.”

Melandri’s first day of testing was not affected so badly by his small spill. “I braked too late going into the first turn”, commented the Italian, “I wanted to turn regardless but there was some dirt on the line I was taking and I couldn’t turn properly. The bike was ready again after about an hour, and we made some small adjustments to the chassis, which we will continue with tomorrow. For me it has been quite a positive day.”

Yamaha riders Alex Barros and Shinya Nakano also tested at the Spanish circuit but Barros’ team-mate Olivier Jacque was not present. He had an operation on his hand before Christmas and has decided to stay at home and return when his hand is strong enough for the IRTA tests next month. The first of the IRTA tests will take place in Jerez, Spain on 21,22,23 February.

LAP TIMES

Alex Barros, Gauloises Yamaha Team 1:33.4

Shinya Nakano, Team Yamaha D’Antin 1:33.7

Carlos Checa, Fortuna Yamaha Team 1:34.1

Marco Melandri, Fortuna Yamaha Team 1:34.7

Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

WERA Racer Luis Eduardo Leon and wife Sheila Michelle had a daughter, Cynthia Michelle Leon, January 22nd in Jacksonville, North Carolina.

Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Don’t park your bike in a trailer outside for long periods of time without checking it, and if you do leave it in a trailer and it gets stolen, know the VIN # in case somebody comes across it.

As in the following case:

STOLEN!



Rising Sun Cycles’s company TZ250 has been taken from our trailer which was parked in southern MA since we returned from Homestead, FL in mid-December. We discovered the loss on 1/23/03. It may have happened over the holidays as we have not looked in the trailer for a few weeks. If anyone hears of a 1995 TZ250 for sale or being parted out please let us know. If the people who have it do not know what to do with it, please return it, no questions asked.

Please call 860-916-3696 , email [email protected] or FAX (508) 646-0915

Or contact Steve Aspland at Vanson Leathers 508-678-2000

From a press release:

Women’s Motorcycle Expo
Saturday, March 29th, 2003 at
MotoExotics / Southern California Triumph
515 W. Lambert Rd. Brea, CA 92821
714-256-6700
9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

There will be vendors, food, music, raffles and motorcycles. Join us for a fun-filled day of women in motorcycling. Women from the motorcycle industry as well as women who ride for pleasure, racing and commuting will be attending.

For more information contact:
Robin Graf
626-917-1675
[email protected]

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!”