From a press release issued by Kawasaki:

KAWASAKI STAR GARRY MCCOY BACK IN ACTION
Sepang ­ Monday, December 16th, 2002

Team Kawasaki Racing’s new star Garry McCoy is back into action. A pin and several screws in his right tibia bone, the last memories from a practice accident in February 2002, were removed in a Vienna hospital in November, as well as another pin in his wrist from a previous injury.

Free from any metal remains in his body and well recovered after several weeks of rest, the Australian “King of Slide” happily joined his teammate Andrew Pitt and Kawasaki test riders Alex Hofmann and Akira Yanagawa for his first real test session aboard the all-new Kawasaki Ninja ZX-RR in Sepang, Malaysia.

Yanagawa, who had suffered a broken pelvis when he crashed out of Kawasaki’s Grand Prix debut race in Motegi back in October, also celebrated his comeback aboard the MotoGP prototype machine, after long weeks of strict bedtime rest in order to cure his complicated injury.

With all four riders fully fit, Kawasaki successfully completed the first of three days of testing in dry and hot conditions, with another three-day session in Malaysia scheduled for January 15th ­ 17th, followed by a three-day-test in Phillip Island, Australia, on January 21st to 23rd, before joining the other MotoGP teams for the official IRTA tests in Spain in February, 2003.

Garry McCoy (57 laps ­ best time in 2:09.1):
“When the pins, screws and staples taken were put into my leg back in February, the doctor said they could stay there for about six or seven months, and any more was going to be a little long. I obviously couldn’t get them removed half way through the season, so I had to wait until the last race in Valencia. After that, I went back to my surgeon in Austria and got all the metal taken out, and recovered from that in the weeks since. I basically went straight back to Australia and had a bit of time off, keeping my leg working and trying to get it right as soon as possible and to get ready for this test here. Now here we are, and things aren’t looking too bad. It’s really my first test on the bike apart from a few laps that I did straight after the race in Valencia, and there are still a lot of things that we have to work out. I’ve got to get comfortable with the bike and find a few settings to make it feel comfortable, and I think it’s just going to take time. Obviously, the new Kawasaki four-stroke machine is very different to the old two-stroke. It’s got a lot more acceleration right through the powerband, but it’s not as aggressive, not as snappy as a two-stroke, so it doesn’t feel as fast. There are a great deal of changes to be made before I’ll get comfortable and before I can start dropping the lap times. The power of the engine seems to be great, there is no need for improvement in that department. But the chassis at the moment seems to be quite challenging to ride. On the exit of the turns, I seem to be having the biggest problems, and we need to go through different settings and hopefully find something we like. Going into the turns is a little bit difficult for me also, because the bike has a slipper clutch that you don’t use on a two-stroke. Forcing a two-stroke into a turn is all about brakes, whereas on the four-stroke, you just back off, let the clutch out, and it starts to pull up on its own!”

Andrew Pitt (75 laps ­ best time in 2:08.0):
“The bike has stayed quite similar to the one we used at the race and during our last test session here in Sepang, there are just a few little technical changes here and there. I’ve just been trying to work on my riding style, to suit the big horsepower bike a bit more, and I feel I’m starting to get closer and closer to that. Today I felt pretty comfortable on the bike, we made a few changes, found a good direction to go, and it feels a lot easier to do a good lap time than last time I was here. But I suppose a lot of that is down to me being used to the bike now. First time I was here, I was using the wrong gear in every corner, whereas now I feel I’m starting to ride the bike properly, and as a result, everything is getting better!”

Alex Hofmann (67 laps – best time in 2:08.6):
“Today, I put more laps in than in all the three days of our last test session here at Sepang.I mainly concentrated on tyre testing, and went through ten different rears with different constructions and compounds. Instead of the new fuel-injected Grand Prix machine, I used Kawasaki’s first development prototype with carburetors, and I was surprised how easy it was to ride. It is almost as fast, but much less aggressive than you would think it is, much closer to a Superbike than to a thoroughbred GP racer. The reason that we’re using this bike for tyre testing is that there aren’t enough new chassis ready yet, and it’s definitely powerful enough for our purposes. Dunlop is working with different constructions, different compounds and different dimensions in order to find the general direction in which to go in the future, and it’s my job to help find this direction. Once they decided on the right construction, they will start working on the compounds all over again. Today, it was easy to find two highlights out of my choice of ten!”

Akira Yanagawa (46 laps ­ best time in 2:09.6):
“I am very happy to be back on a racing bike, because I had to stay in bed for most of the time in the last two months which was very frustrating. Compared to my previous tests here, the lap time wasn’t so good today, but I’m still happy because firstly I didn’t crash, and secondly, we got some good data. We tried different mappings and some different parts on the injection system, and the result was really good. We have tried many changes before, and they weren’t really effective, whereas today’s changes made a real difference. Especially at the initial throttle opening, this injection system used to be on or off, really hard, but now, it seems to be smoother. We have two more days of testing here, and I hope we can confirm what we established!”

Harald Eckl ­ Team manager:
“We have achieved a lot today. Alex completed a good program of tyre testing, Garry and Akira got back into action, and I’m confident that we will see Garry matching Andrew’s lap times tomorrow. We will re-build all of our chassis for tomorrow, and we have to wait and see where this gets us. But so far, so good ­ we are not only having all our four riders, but all of our new crew with us for the first time, and even though it will take a while for everything to run smoothly, everybody has done a great job so far!”

From a press release issued by Marietta Motorsports:

Marietta Motorsports, aka 1-888-FASTLAP and 1888FASTLAP.com, has announced that long-time racing engine builder and tuner Rodney Vaughn has returned to work at Marietta Motorsports.

Rodney worked full time at Marietta Motorsports until 1998, and now returns to head up the new FASTLAP engine building department, designed to offer professional level services to all racers.

In 2002, Rodney Vaughn motors were on the podium in 4 AMA races, set the AMA Superstock track record at Mid-Ohio, and occupied 6 out of a possible 9 podium spots in the WERA 600, 750, and 1000 Suzuki Cup Finals at Road Atlanta.

Copyright 2002, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Racer Ty Stranger-Thorsen married Misty Patterson December 11 in San Antonio, Texas.

Stranger-Thorsen is a Research and Development Specialist for ICE Prototyping, a manufacturing company specializing in laser-based production of titanium products.

Copyright 2002, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Ducati North America’s Marketing Department will be in place in new offices in Cupertino, California by the third week of January, according to new PR & Events Manager Joey Madrigal.

Madrigal takes over the PR function most recently handled by Gary Schmidt and the Events function most recently handled by Jim Viola; Schmidt and Viola both have left the company, being unwilling to relocate from New Jersey to California, Madrigal said. Schmidt’s last day was December 13.

All of Ducati North America’s operations should be in place in Cupertino by mid-February.

Dave Friedman photo/Don Emde Collection

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

Huge Number of Permanent Teams

A record number of permanent teams have already signed up for the 2003 World Endurance Championship.

Two of the top Yamaha teams are strengthened for next year, and Germany looks set to be a key player in the championship. Rider details are starting to be confirmed, and another Junior team will be entering the series.

Permanent Entries

About twenty permanent teams have confirmed their entry into the 2003 World Endurance Championship. This is a higher number than expected at this stage in the run up to the new season. Current World Champions Zongshen have confirmed that they will again run two teams. All the other major teams from 2002 have also confirmed that they will be entering next year.

Strong Yamaha Teams

Yamaha’s challenge to the dominance of the GSX-R1000 is expected to be much stronger in 2003.

Endurance Moto38 and Yamaha Racing France have announced close links, and the Yamaha94 tie up of GMT94 and Laurent Naveau will produced another very strong R1 based outfit. Will this year see Yamaha’s R1 take its first World title?

New Teams from Germany, Slovakia

Amongst the new entrants are two teams from Germany (Abbco Motorradwelt Kassel and Hofmann R.T.) and Maco Moto Racing of Slovakia – the latter widening the geographical profile of the championship still further. With rumours of two new Italian teams and a new entry from the Netherlands, the entry list is in very healthy shape for the forthcoming season.

International Racing Starts Here

QB Phase One are again running a senior and junior team, as are fellow British team Trackdaze. The World Endurance Championship is now regarded by many young riders as the perfect launch-pad for an international career.

Police Nationale have confirmed that their rider line up for 2003 will be Paolo Blora (ITA), Gwen Giabbani (FRA) and Takaharu Kishida (JPN) – details on their bike choice are expected soon. Yamaha Austria will run an all Austrian line-up of Karl Truchsess alongside Horst Saiger and Erwin Wilding, with team manager Manfred ‘Mandy’ Kainz as reserve.

From a press release issued by GPX Partners:

GPX PARTNERS TO DEVELOP BOUNDLESS MOTORPLEX,
A NEW RACING COMPLEX IN WAXAHACHIE, TEXAS



DALLAS–GPX Partners, L.L.C. has announced the acquisition of a 1,420-acre parcel of land in Waxahachie, Texas, for the development of Boundless Motorplex, a master-planned multi-faceted racing complex. The complex will consist of three main race venues, the focal point of which will be a 3.2-mile-long road racing course, which will be both Federation Internationale de L’Automobile (FIA) and Federation Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM) approved. Boundless Motorplex will be developed over the next 18 to 24 months with racing events scheduled for the 2004 racing season.

At present there are no racetracks in the United States with FIA/FIM approval. In addition to the road racing course, the Boundless Motorplex complex will include a motocross village consisting of five tracks and a 50-acre jet ski and jet boat racing lake.



Total development cost of the complex is estimated to be $100 million. The firm of Alliance Architects has been selected to develop the masterplan. Waxahachie is 25 miles south of Dallas on Interstate 35 and 35 miles south of Fort Worth via Highway 287. The subject tract is located on Hwy. 287 minutes from I-35 and I-45 and is within 45 minutes of DFW International Airport. The property has more than a mile of highway frontage along Hwy. 287.

The road course will be surrounded by 100,000-grand stand seat, 120 track-side condominiums, more than 150 skyboxes, a luxury RV resort, five racing schools, manufacturer and racing team testing facilities, a racing-related business park, motorsport storage, and permanent garages. An 18-hole championship golf course will be built adjacent to the racing amenities.



“We are very pleased that has Boundless Motorplex selected Waxahachie as the site for their racing complex,” said Joe Jenkins, Mayor of Waxahachie. “A project of this magnitude will have a significant impact on the Waxahachie economy and provide a direct economic stimulus for our area.”

Les Wulf, president of GPX Partners, said, “We feel that the Metroplex as a whole and the City of Waxahachie in particular will be the ideal host partners as we hold international, national and regional events at the race complex. We hope to bring significant economic value to the area. This modern, state-of-the-art road racing course will set a new tone and standard for road racing courses in the USA for years to come and our overall complex will make it one of the premier sporting venues in the country.

“Our emphasis will be on safety, having the most modern and technologically advanced road track for both cars and motorcycles,” Mr. Wulf added.



Having both FIM and FIA approval will allow Boundless Motorplex to attract national racing events as well as international events that presently do not race in the USA. “We are in discussions with numerous racing organizations all over the world about staging events at our complex in the 2004 racing season and beyond, and we should have some very exciting announcements over the next two months,” said Bobby Hartslief, chief development officer for GPX Partners.

Jesse Shelmire, GPX chairman, added, “Boundless Motorplex will rank among the top world class racing venues in the world, and its success will be bolstered by the unique group of individuals we have assembled in GPX Partners. To address every aspect of this project, we have handpicked board level people that have world class experience in building, promoting, participating, or managing a complex like the one we are developing. I felt it was important to build this project in the DFW area due to the absence of a true road coarse in one of the best racing demographic location profiles in the world. (A listing and background sketch of each of those individuals is included herewith.)

Placing the land under contract was the culmination of a five-month search by GPX officials encompassing the entire DFW area. The search and contract were negotiated for GPX Partners by Coldwell Banker Commercial SA. from properties owned by Ted R. (Rick) Ezzell and Sherry Conyers, principals of TREE Development, Inc.

For more information contact Leslie Wulf by email, [email protected] or by telephone 214-679-5263.

From a press release issued by the World Superside (sidecar) Championship series:

Sizes and compounds for the world championship

Do you want to know more about the specially made equipment used in world championship sidecar racing? Read on…

Wheel sizes for sidecars evolved in the 1970’s to pretty much what we have today. Tyres on the other hand have evolved a great deal, mainly due to the development by Yokohama Rubber Co, Japan.

The tyres are specifically designed for sidecar racing use and each tyre is hand made in the factory in Japan to stringent quality control, before export to Germany for distribution.

The major changes to Yokohama tyres in the previous decade have included the change to the 14″ rear rim size and the evolution of the Yokohama wet tyres. The 14″ rear was designed because the 13″ rear suffered from traction vibration – a problem that occurs on the exit of corners under hard acceleration. The unique design of the 14″ rear by Yokohama engineer, Ihno san, drastically reduced this problem via a complex construction.

Yokohama wets, renowned throughout the wet race circuits of the world, were designed with a specific ‘bounce’ factor. This allows the tyre to better contact the track surface for better wet weather grip and control.

Each wet tyre is hand cut to a specific pattern by the Yokohama tyres service crew.

World championship sidecars currently use 210mm wide front tyres on either 8.5 inch or 9 inch rims. Three compound options for slick tyres (dry weather) were available for use in the 2002 season; I, P and Q compounds.

I compound is the hardest of the three fronts, and only used by some at circuits with either very hard right hand corners or a combination of abrasive surface, tight corners and high track temperatures such as Oschersleben and Misano.

P (medium) and Q (soft) are the everyday compounds for the world championship contenders. The choice between the two depends on driver ability and corner speed, chassis setup and even the type and power of the engine.

The sidecar tyre is often overlooked to the detriment of the overall performance. In fact, they are often considered to be the most important wheel on the machine. High corner speed through right handers for the length of the race can only be achieved through correct use of the sidecar tyre.

Setup problems are increased by the variety of options for negative camber and toe in for the sidecar wheel (which must change between different circuits) as well as the different wheel size options between chassis. The current model Windle chassis uses a 14″ side wheel whereas LCR, ART, Klose and Hock chassis all run 13″ rims.

Camber and toe in are generally increased for circuits with tighter right hand corners, but this will reduce top speed. Circuits such as Assen, for example, with fast, flowing right hand corners would run much less toe in than Oschersleben which, consists of tight corners.

Sidecar tyre compounds for 13″ rims are either P (medium) or T (soft) compounds, made with a very stiff construction to control sidewall flex. Windle runners with 14″ rims have been found to be less sensitive tyre compound choice, and have the rear tyre construction and compound available.

Choice of tyre compound for the sidecar wheel is predominantly dependent on driver style and chassis setup.

The rear tyre gets the most bad press, and often without just cause. A damaged tyre, or blistered as it is described, is one that has grossly overheated causing the rubber to boil on the surface of the tyre, dramatically lessoning the grip as seen in 2002 in Misano.

Excessive heating of the rear tyre can only be caused by wheelspin. The wheelspin can be caused either by violent throttle action or improperly set rear suspension, but abrasive surfaces and higher track temperatures accentuate these factors.

14″ rims are widespread throughout even national championships, with compounds including S04 (hard), B (medium plus), C (medium minus), and P (qualifier).

The S04 compound replaces the S compound of previous years, providing increased traction with the same tyre life in extreme conditions such as those seen at Misano. Most Suzuki 1200cc runners would generally use B compound as a rule, but the change to lighter 1000cc engines, coupled with the slightly reduced race distance at world championship level, has the C compound predicted as the new favourite. P compound is not an option for race distance, as it only lasts for three or four laps when placed in the right hands.

Armed with this information, you might think that it would be just a matter of fitting the correct tyres for the race, once the chassis has been set up through the practice settings. But there is more to do to ensure the proper use of the rubber.

Measuring the tyre temperature during a practice or qualifying session is crucial to setup for two reasons; to determine if the tyre is within operating temperatures and to determine if the tyre is working with an even temperature spread across the available tread. The results of these measurements outside the set parameters indicate the need for some adjustment of tyre, chassis or both.

The tyre pressures must also be set correctly to allow the rubber to work at optimum temperatures for grip and tyre longevity.

The crucial measurement involved is the setting of the optimal air pressure at operating temperature. By setting the tyre pressure to 1.1 bar when at operating temperature and then measuring again when cold, the cold starting pressure can be obtained.

So next time you watch a race, have a think about the preparation and the individual choices that each team has to make before each race. But then sit back and smile as the rubber is put through the most extreme test, leaving big black lines and more than a faint hint of tyre smoke.

From a press release issued by Foggy Petronas Racing:

“Incredible” Valencia Test For Foggy PETRONAS Racing

CARL Fogarty described the progress of his new Foggy PETRONAS Racing team, backed by Malaysian petroleum giant PETRONAS, as “incredible” after their latest track test in Spain.

The four-times World Superbike champion was on hand to see his two riders, Troy Corser and James Haydon, set promising times at the challenging Valencia circuit.

Australian Troy Corser, a former team-mate of Foggy, made the most of the warm sunshine on the final day of the three-day test to record some encouraging lap times of one minute 36 seconds, just over one second off race pace. With several key areas already earmarked for improvement, the team is hoping for further strides forward before their next test.

Three further tests are also planned for early 2003, before the team makes its eagerly-awaited debut in the World Superbike championship at Valencia on 2 March.

Carl said: “I’m really pleased with the way it has gone again. I think our performance at this stage of the project is incredible and we know there is more to come.

“This was our first test with other World Superbike teams present and so I wanted us to look our best, which I feel we did. Sure, it has been frustrating at times over the weekend, but that is what testing is for. If things are going wrong now and then come right for the first race, then that’s fine. Having said all that, we know we have still got a long way to go and a lot of work to do.”

Troy, who won both races at Valencia in the 2001 season, added: “Considering I had a few technical problems on the first day, this test has ended on a really positive note. I spent the final day trying to vary everything to find the best feel. But I still wasn’t really pushing the bike, as I wanted to stay at around the same lap times so that we could evaluate the changes. I also think a slightly harder front tyre helped me towards the end.”

The final morning was marred by an injury to James Haydon, who high-sided when his rear wheel locked as a result of the clutch problems he had been working on throughout the test. The 28-year-old suffered bruising to his hip and elbow and was unable to complete the session, but is expected to be fit for the next test.

James said: “It’s such a shame that this happened when it did as I was having a particularly good run. My lap times were progressing well with each lap and I was starting to achieve lap times not far off Troy’s pace, which is encouraging considering he knows this circuit so well. I was just starting to get a much better feel for the bike at this circuit, which was new to me at the start of the test.

“My rear wheel locked going into turn three and I was thrown off. I am a bit sore but considered going back out before deciding to play safe. I’m looking forward to returning to Valencia and making further progress with the bike.”