From a press release issued by Team Yamaha Belgarda:

THE YAMAHA YZF-R6 IMPROVES. CORRADI IMPRESSES.
Team Yamaha Belgarda completed two days of testing at Valencia and were well satisfied with the progress they made. Now they feel that they are almost ready for the opening round of the Supersport World Championship on March 2nd – at Valencia. The debut of Yamaha Belgarda’s satellite team – Team Five Racing on the 2003 YZF R6 – saw Alessio Corradi put in a superb lap of 1:38.3 – well under the official record. The Parma rider (and ex-European champion) confirmed his growing talent after having been the revelation of 2002, and is now surely a true title contender.

PROGRESS AT LAST
Yamaha Belgarda’s two riders Dutchman Jurgen van den Goorbergh (substituting for the convalescing Paolo Casoli) and Jamie Whitham took advantage of the favourable conditions. Van den Goorbergh soon began to post fast lap times at the 4.005 kilometre circuit, ending with a best of 1:39.3, with Briton Jamie Whitham marginally slower with a time of 1:39.6.

RELIABILITY
The main purpose of the tests was to develop the new YZF R6 and make sure that it is fast, competitive and reliable – instead of chasing quick lap times. With so many new elements to test, the team were happy that the weather allowed them to get a lot of work done in a more than satisfactory manner. At what the team felt was its first true outing, the Yamaha YZF R6 confirmed its title-challenging potential. The team are also very happy with the reliability of the four-cylinder engine and fuel injection system that the Iwata technicians have produced.

GOOD JOB DONE
At the end of the test, Team Manager and Sporting Director Maio Meregalli said, “These have been two intense, but very profitable days. Whitham has worked well – limiting himself to a bike in almost standard configuration. Meanwhile, Van den Goorbergh (only riding a Supersport bike for the second time) showed his skill and experience and posted some excellent lap times. Towards the end, he had the chance to improve his times by using softer rubber, but he preferred to concentrate on race tyres instead.”

WAITING FOR GASOLIO
At the moment, Yamaha Belgarda is waiting on
tenterhooks for the result of the medical examination which Casoli will undergo.

Casoli has been convalescing (since suffering a cranial trauma at Valencia in November) and is now waiting for the doctors to give him a definitive OK before he can return to the racetrack. “We still have some time before we make our final plans for the season,” said Meregalli, “but before we do that, we will wait for Gasolio’s news. If he is able to ride, we could go to Misano at the beginning of February and test again. Everything will be decided in the next few days.”

From a press release:

Yamaha And Nikon Join Forces In Assault On Australian Road Race Titles

Yamaha Motor Australia and photographics giant Nikon, have joined forces in a new look official Yamaha entry that will compete in both the 2003 Australian Superbike Championship and 2003 Yamaha Formula Xtreme Tri-State Trophy Series and will be known as the Nikon Yamaha Racing Team.

The new team which has campaigned under the Bio Magnetics Sport Yamaha team over the past two seasons, will comprise four of Australia’s leading riders and will boast the #1 plate in three classes of the Yamaha Formula Xtreme Tri-State, those being the premier Formula Xtreme, Supersport and NakedBike.

The highly competitive Nikon Yamaha Racing Team will compete in the Australian Superbike Championship and Yamaha Formula Xtreme Series aboard Yamaha’s potent YZF R1. This will be strongly supported by their participation in the Australian Supersport Championship and FX Supersport Championship aboard the all-new fuel injected Yamaha YZF R6, plus the exciting Yamaha FZ1 in the FX NakedBike class.

From a press release issued by Ducati Corse:

Spanish rider Ruben Xaus (Ducati Fila) continued development work on the new Ducati 999 in the second and final day of Ducati Corse Superbike testing at Valencia. The Ricardo Tormo circuit is the venue for the upcoming SBK Winter Tests, scheduled for February 21 thru 23, as well as the opening round of the 2003 World Superbike Championship, which gets underway on March 2.

Today Xaus completed a total of 71 laps to add to his 100 yesterday, due to conditions (air 10° C/ track 13° C) that were slightly worse than on Friday. During the morning the 24 year-old from Barcelona continued to concentrate on front tyre testing, in collaboration with technicians from French manufacturer Michelin, setting a best time of 1’35.3, exactly the same as the time he recorded during the first day of the test. Ruben constantly lapped on this pace with race tyres, but was unable to improve due to strong winds in the afternoon.

“The weather hasn’t been too good the last two days and as a result we lost a lot of time” declared Ruben, “but despite this we still lapped on the same pace as last year’s race. I’m feeling pretty good with the 999 now, and even though the bike is still new, it’s coming on well in view of the official SBK tests here in a month’s time. Basically, the bike is fast and we’ve found some good front tyres over the last couple of days.”

Briton Neil Hodgson, still recovering from corrective surgery on his left wrist, will be back in action together with Ruben at the pre-season tests here in a month’s time.

From a press release issued by Mat Mladin’s Publicist Steve Reeves:


MLADIN PLEASED WITH MALAYSIAN SUPERBIKE TEST

Sepang, Malaysia (18 January 2003) – Rated as “It’s the most productive test that I’ve ever been involved with, it was that good” has given Australia’s Mat Mladin a major confidence boost as he prepares his new Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000 for the upcoming American AMA Superbike Championship.

The comments were made after Mladin completed a very hectic four day test at the Sepang circuit in Malaysia that included his AMA Superbike teammates Aaron Yates and Ben Spies, along with Suzuki’s World Championship MotoGP (Kenny Roberts and John Hopkins) and Superbike (Gregorio Lavilla) teams. The test ran from Monday (Jan 13) to Friday (Jan 17) with the teams having the Wednesday as a rest/preparation day.

Mladin’s Yoshimura Suzuki team elected to be involved with the test after poor weather disrupted their test at Daytona in early December, with many other circuits in America not being suitable during the Winter period.

“Just to get on a good race track where you can push hard and get the most out of the bike made it a really good test,” said Mladin, who will race the Suzuki GSX-R1000 for the first time in this year’s 18-round American AMA Superbike Championship.

“It’s been a long time since I’ve been able to test outside of America and we got so much done. In four days here we got as much done that would have taken us about ten days to achieve in America at this time of the year”, added Mladin.

“Another major benefit of the test was having all of Suzuki’s top technicians here. With the MotoGP, World Superbike and AMA Superbike teams here, they could gain a lot of information and in return we were able to get a huge amount out of it as well. Having the people who build the bikes in Japan here at the test to help make them better was great.

“The new Suzuki GSX-R1000 is working good, Suzuki have put a lot of work into the bike and we have more parts being sent back to America for our next test at Fontana on February 5 – 6 and at the moment I am looking at getting the season started.

“The weather was good, a bit tropical, but other than that we had a lot of good runs and on the final day I was able to do over 350km on the track.”

Mladin was able to post a lap time within two seconds of that set by Suzuki MotoGP rider and former World 500cc champion Kenny Roberts Jnr. Given the nature of the circuit and the top speeds achieved by the MotoGP machine, Mladin was more than pleased with his lap times and the performance of the new bike during the test.

The three times American Superbike champion returns home to Australia briefly after the test before returning to America to prepare for the team’s next test at Fontana and the start of the AMA Superbike Championship at Daytona on March 9.

From a press release issued by Team EMGO USA/1888FASTLAP.com:

For immediate release: January 13, 2003
Contact: Craig Stewart: huey130@BBCracing or 678.772.9779 c/o Marietta Motorsports 1685 S. Cobb Dr Marietta, GA 30060

Chris “Opie” Caylor Prepares to Battle for 2003 Championship

Marietta, GA – Chris “Opie” Caylor and Team EMGO USA / 1888FASTLAP.com unite again to pursue this year’s AMA Pro Racing’s, Genuine Suzuki
Accessories Superstock Series championship. Caylor is more determined than ever to continue the success of his second place finish at last
year’s season finale.

Opie is proud to announce new sponsorships with Arai helmets and Freewheeling Honda / Suzuki / Triumph of Douglasville, Georgia. During
their year-end riders’ banquet, Freewheeling’s race team president, Tom Addington, stated, “We are proud of Opie winning the Horizon Award. He
will be a great role model for the newcomers to our sport.” A supporter of all forms of motor sport since 1975, Freewheeling is the 2002 winner
of the Georgia Promoter Group Championship Series. Its contingency program paid more than $15,000 in “Freewheeling Bucks” to 65 sponsored
racers during the 2002 season. “I’m proud to be a member of the Freewheeling family,” Opie said during the banquet. Opie is also very pleased he will be wearing Arai’s new RX-7 Corsair helmet for the 2003 season.

Sponsors continuing to back Opie’s efforts for the championship include EMGO International Ltd., 1888FastLap.com, Pirelli Tires, Pit Bull
Motorcycle Stands, Traxxion Dynamics, Penske Shocks, M4 Performance Exhaust, VP Racing Fuels, Vortex Racing Components, MPA Paint Services,
Red Line Oils, EBC Brakes, Sharkskinz Racing Bodies, Zero Gravity Windscreens and BBC Racing.

Crew chief / lead mechanic Terry Gardner and race mechanic Chuck DiGregorio return for another season with Opie to tune and maintain the Team EMGO USA / 1888FastLap.com Suzuki GSX-R 750s. Gardner’s experience and attention to detail combined with DeGregorio’s diligence were
instrumental in putting Team EMGO USA / 1888FastLap.com on the box at the VIR Lightning Nationals in 2002.

Rodney Vaughn of 1888FastLap.com’s race engine building services will build the engines for the Team EMGO USA / 1888FASTLAP.com GSX-R 750s.
Vaughn built engines for half of the 12 podium spots at the 2002 WERA / Suzuki Cup Finals. Caylor has been racing-and winning-with Vaughn
engines since 1999.

Craig “Huey” Stewart joins the team as public relations liaison. Stewart has worked with Opie in the past as builder and crew chief for his
WERA-winning Suzuki SV-650.

Look for Opie Caylor and Team EMGO USA / 1888FastLap.com at the front of every Genuine Suzuki Accessories Superstock race this year.

For more information please visit www.ChrisCaylor.com throughout the season or contact [email protected]

From a press release issued by Ducati Corse:

DUCATI CORSE PRESS INFORMATION
Valencia (Spain)
Friday 17 January 2003

XAUS BACK TO WORK AT VALENCIA WITH THE DUCATI 999 SUPERBIKE


First day of testing today at Valencia for the Ducati Corse Superbike team, which resumes track activity after the winter break in view of the 2003 season, which gets underway on March 2 at the Spanish circuit.

Only Ruben Xaus is present for the Italian squad in the two-day test. The other Team Ducati Fila rider, Neil Hodgson, underwent delicate surgery on a left wrist bone before Christmas, and is still in the middle of a 6-8 week recovery period. Nevertheless the British rider will be back on the track at Valencia for official WSBK testing, scheduled for 21-23 February.

In far from ideal conditions (air 12° / track 14°), today Xaus put in a notable amount of work, completing 100 laps. In collaboration with Michelin technicians, he focussed in particular on the development of new front tyres for the Superbike championship, with positive results. Xaus also concentrated on set-up work, in particular on rear suspension links.

Despite the considerable amount of mileage recorded today, the Spanish rider constantly lapped at a rapid pace throughout the afternoon, and ended up with quickest time of the day in 1’35.3″.

“I really needed this test here at Valencia to shake off some Christmas rust” declared Ruben. “We tested a load of new front tyres which were really good, and I’m pretty happy with the times. We are already more or less on the same pace as we did in the tests here at the start of December, despite the colder temperatures. We’ve still got a few things to try tomorrow to further improve the bike set-up, but I’m starting to feel much more at home now on the new Ducati 999.”

Copyright 2003 Roadracing World Publihsing, Inc.

Racers continue to enjoy perfect conditions at Willow Springs Raceway in Rosamond, California, today, despite weather forecasts that called for blustery winds.

While the wind is blowing in canyons and passes on the other side of the San Bernardino mountains, conditions at Willow Springs are sunny and calm with 60-degree F ambient temperature.

Similar conditions were seen during practice on Friday.

Several AMA racers are testing at Willow Springs this weekend including Attack Suzuki’s Josh Hayes.

The annual WSMC awards banquet will be held tonight at the Park Plaza Hotel in nearby Lancaster.

From a press release issued by Suzuki:

SURPRISE NEW SUZUKI SHOWS BIG PROMISE AT FIRST TESTS

Sepang, Malaysia – January 16, 2003: First tests of Suzuki’s all-new 2003 MotoGP four-stroke prototypes have left riders and team raring to go, after highly promising first tests and fast lap times on the machine’s first outing in the hands of the full-time GP riders in Malaysia last week.

Kenny Roberts Jr, champion on a Suzuki in 2000, described the new machine as “the biggest jump forward since I joined the factory in 1999,” and his comments were echoed by a team infused with enthusiasm.

Team manager Garry Taylor describes why. “It’s a brand new bike, which the factory had kept pretty quiet about. And it’s a big jump from last year’s bike, in every respect.

“I don’t think any of us could believe how much work the factory had done. The mood is fantastic. It has made everybody that much more motivated to try that much harder this coming year,” added Taylor.

The comments came after a week of testing at Sepang, the Malaysian GP circuit, where factory test rider Kosuke Akiyoshi joined the regular GP riders. World and American Superbike teams were also testing their new Suzuki GSX-R Superbike.

Second rider John Hopkins also spoke about the massive promise of the new 990cc V4, developed from the lessons learned in the four-stroke GP machine’s first season last year. “It’s much better than the bike I rode at the end of last season, and we’ll get it better still before the season begins,” the Californian rider said.

The tests began with a pleasant surprise on Monday for the regular riders and team staff. They had been expecting to test an interim version of the 200-plus horsepower GSV-R. Instead, they found the first version of the all-new 2003 machine waiting for them.

The on-track performance of the sophisticated new iteration gave the team’s spirits a further boost. “This is the first version of the machine, and straight away it was doing better lap times than last year’s,” said Taylor.

“Since the bike is at the beginning of its development, it will get better still before the first race,” he added. “The whole team is really excited and optimistic.”

This is the first of a series of tests in Malaysia, Australia and Spain for Team Suzuki, before the first race of the season at Suzuka in Japan on April 6.

KENNY ROBERTS – “A LOT OF PROMISE”

These first tests went really well, and the new bike has given us reason to be optimistic for the coming year. There are a few major things that still need doing to win races, and improving the top speed is one of them. But the factory has already taken the biggest step forward that I’ve know, even compared with introducing the new four-stroke last year. The new bike has a lot of promise. There’s still a ways to go, but everyone in the team is really enthusiastic. It’s been a great start to the year after a winter lay-off that seems to have gone past in the blink of an eye.

JOHN HOPKINS – BETTER EVERY DAY

This is my second ride on the Suzuki GP bike, and I can notice a big improvement compared with last year’s bike. This one gives me the feeling that I’ll be able to get out and do some real racing. There are still improvements before the machine is fully competitive, but every day so far its getting better, and you can’t ask more than that. It’s my first four-stroke GP season, and of course there’s still some learning to do. But there always is, right up until the last race of your career.

From a press release issued by Buell American Motorcycles:

BUELL ROADRACING SUPPORT PROGRAM ANNOUNCED
$61,000 F-USA Thunderbike Contingency Program Announced

MILWAUKEE, WI (January 16, 2003) – Buell Motorcycle Company recently announced its roadracing support program for 2003, with $61,000 in contingency paid back to 15th place for racers aboard Buell motorcycles in the eight-round national Formula USA Thunderbike class, including $5,000 for the series champion, if aboard a Buell for the entire series.

“This is a lucrative support program for our customers and dealers which gives them the opportunity to compete at a national level in roadracing. We’re proud to support their efforts,” said Erik Buell, Chairman and Chief Technical Officer of Buell Motorcycle Company.

The Formula USA Thunderbike class, which pits Buell racers against single-cylinder, twin-cylinder, triple-cylinder and four-cylinder motorcycles from many other manufacturers, will be a featured event at all eight Formula USA National Road Race Series rounds. The events will be held at Daytona International Speedway on March 2; Mid-America Motorplex on May 25; New Hampshire International Speedway on June 15; TBA on July 20; Virginia International Raceway July 28; Road America on August 10; Summit Point Raceway on September 8; and the Daytona finale on October 20. Buell’s Henry Duga and the Buell Racing Support Van will be present at each F-USA National event to provide assistance to Buell racers.

Defending Formula USA Thunderbike class champion Jeff Johnson of Hoban Brothers/Appleton Buell will compete in the series, along with Formula USA Buell Lightning Series champion Bryan Bemisderfer of Harding H-D/Buell and many other Buell racers. The Buell Lightning Series, a horsepower and weight restricted spec class, will go on hiatus in 2003.

To learn more about Buell motorcycles, visit your local Buell dealer today and experience the pure streetfighter attitude, style and performance only found on board a Buell. Call 1-800-490-9635 for the Buell dealer nearest you. Or pull into www.buell.com.