From a press release issued by Daytona International Speedway:

Dunlop Tire Test Wraps Up At Daytona

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla., (Dec. 12, 2002) — The annual Dunlop tire test in preparation for March’s Daytona 200 Week wrapped up on Thursday as motorcycle teams got about 90 minutes of track time in the morning before rain once again moved over the 3.56-mile road course at Daytona International Speedway.

The Dunlop tire test was originally scheduled for three days, but the sessions on Monday and Tuesday were washed out. The teams were able to log some significant hours on Wednesday and the test was extended for a half a day on Thursday because of the rain.

Ben Bostrom will leave the Dunlop tire test as the fastest rider. He posted the fastest lap of the test on Thursday morning when he toured the “World Center of Racing” with a lap of 117.965 mph (1 minute, 48.651 seconds) aboard his Honda RC51.

Bostrom, 1998 AMA Chevy Trucks U.S. Superbike champion, is returning to the United States after competing for three seasons in World Superbike. He replaces 2002 Daytona 200 By Arai winner Nicky Hayden in the American Honda family of riders as Hayden has moved to Europe to compete in MotoGP.

Rounding out the top three on the speed chart on Thursday was two-time Daytona 200 By Arai champion Mat Mladin (117.806) and Anthony Gobert (117.287).


Anthony Gobert on his Ducati Superbike at Daytona. Photo courtesy Daytona International Speedway.

Gobert is preparing for the March 9 Daytona 200 By Arai with his new team Ducati Austin. After riding the last two years for Yamaha, the Aussie is returning to Ducati, which he rode in 1998 and 1999 with Vance & Hines.

Ducati has never won the Daytona 200 while Gobert is also lacking the victory. He managed to score a podium finish last year despite being banged up from a crash in the Pro Honda Oils Supersport race earlier in the week.

“We’ve struggled a lot with setup,” Gobert said. “We’ve been running the same setup as what I did in 1999. I kind of wasn’t happy with the setup that year. I felt like we needed to do some work on it. We kind of struggled a bit with that. We’re trying to improve that.

“Unfortunately with the track time, we really couldn’t do a lot. We’re trying to test the tires for Dunlop and do a lot of things. It’s difficult to fit everything in. We’re doing the best we can. We do have a direction that we want to go in, but we just need time to test everything.”

Next up on the testing agenda at Daytona International Speedway is a three-day ARCA RE/MAX Series test session beginning Dec. 20. A section of the Oldfield Grandstands will be open and free to the public with access through the lobby of DAYTONA USA.

Tickets for Daytona 200 Week are available online at http://www.daytonainternationalspeedway.com or by calling the Speedway ticket office at (386) 253-7223.



More, from a press release issued by Mat Mladin’s publicist, Steve Reeves:

MLADIN POSTS SECOND FASTEST TIME AT DAYTONA

Daytona Beach, Florida, USA – Australia’s Mat Mladin has posted the second fastest time during the annual Dunlop tyre tests conducted at the famous Daytona International Speedway this week.

Making his first appearance aboard the all-new Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000 that he will campaign in the 2003 American AMA Superbike Championship, Mladin recorded his fastest ever lap on race tyres around the ultra fast Florida circuit with a time of 1-min 48.789-secs on the final morning of the test. The three times American Superbike champion, along with American Honda’s Ben Bostrom were the only riders to break into the 1:48 barrier, with Bostrom setting the fastest time of the test with a 1:48.651.

The annual three-day test was severely hampered by wet weather, with the opening two-days being washed out completely, before clear skies allowed for a full day of testing on day three. The test organisers arranged for an additional half day of testing, but this again was cut short due to rain showers on the American east coast.

“My initial impressions of the new Suzuki GSX-R1000 that we will be using next year is very good and I feel that it has a lot of potential,” said Mladin, a two-times winner of the Daytona 200 Mile classic. “The main difference is obviously in the engine. The 1000 produces a lot more torque than the 750 did, but revs a bit lower than the smaller engine at the moment. There is still a lot of work to be done with the bike. It is brand new and we’ve had about a day on it. I didn’t get that much of an opportunity to match it against too many of the others out there, but I do know that we are a bit down on speed at the moment, but I’m sure that will come once we get some more testing under our belts.

“I’m happy that the team has made the decision to race the GSX-R1000 rather than overbore the 750 as per the rules for next years championship,” Mladin added. “It’s a new challenge for the team and I which adds to the motivation for the season ahead. I’m also happy that the championship is being run over more races as well. Having 18 Superbike races, with the possibility of a further round is all good. It makes for a better championship and does allow some scope if you do have a bad round. I’m looking forward to it.”

Mladin will return home for the Christmas break, before returning to America early in the new year to continue the testing program with his Yoshimura Suzuki team.

The 18-round 2003 Chevy Trucks US Superbike Championship commences with the Daytona 200 on March 9 and will feature seven ‘Double Header’ Superbike rounds.

From a press release issued by CCS:

Championship Cup Series Announces

2002 Regional Championship Awards Ceremonies



AURORA, Ill.–Clear Channel Entertainment’s motor sports division proudly presents 2002 Regional Championship Awards to Championship Cup Series Regional Champions at annual awards presentations and banquets. “Entering the 20th season of Championship Cup Series (CCS), we are proud to continue these prestigious award ceremonies. They allow the CCS Champions in each region the opportunity to accept their awards earned through their hard work and dedication to the sport of motorcycle road racing in front a larger, more appreciative crowd,” says CCS Competition Director Kevin Elliott. Elliott adds, “We are excited to move forward in 2003 with plans to expand CCS and bring this great opportunity to even more dedicated racers across North America.”

Elliott also plans to attend the awards ceremonies to show support from the CCS office for the many racers who have earned these honors. “They deserve to be honored for their efforts, very few people ever win a championship of any kind and we are happy to show them we respect their accomplishments,” Elliott added.

In response to the large number of racing competitors crossing over the traditional regional boundaries, Championship Cup Series announced today the combination of several awards ceremonies that recognize 2002 CCS Regional Champions. The new formula allows far more people to attend, brightening the occasion for everyone and give more exposure to the rider and their accomplishments. By centralizing the crossover regional awards presentations into one larger ceremony, this should also result in a reduction of expenses for competitors, friends, and supporters to attend the banquets usually held over the winter off-season months.

Championship Cup Series’ newest region, the Pacific Roadracing Championship, will host its 2nd Annual Regional Champion’s Awards Ceremony at The Desert Inn in Lancaster California on February 1st, 2003. The address for The Desert Inn is 44219 Sierra Highway in Lancaster and the banquet will start at 7:00 pm. The Desert Inn will also act as the host hotel for the event and room reservations can be made by calling 661-942-8401. CCS rates are set at $60 per night. The cost for the banquet is $20 per person, which will feature a cash bar and a festive Mexican buffet. The annual banquet will be held in conjunction with the 2003 CCS season opener at the Streets of Willow facility in Rosamond California, which is the first round of racing for the CCS Pacific and Southwest regions.

The Mid-Atlantic and Southeast Championship Cup Series Regional Champion’s Awards Ceremony will be combined this year to create one glorious event at Virginia International Raceway’s Pagoda Restaurant on April 13th, 2003 during CCS’ first of three visits to the facility in 2003. This event is also a Mid-Atlantic and Southeast CCS regional points event. The CCS banquet will start at 6:30 pm. The Pagoda Restaurant is located on the grounds of VIR and has been the site of many motor sports banquets since the track’s renovation several years ago. The CCS banquet cost is $15 per person for a Southern-style barbeque dinner.

The Mid-West, Great Plains, and Great Lakes Championship Cup Series Regional Champion’s Awards Ceremony will all be combined this year to create one grand event at Kendall’s, an upscale bar and grill in Chicago’s Lincoln Park district. The banquet will be held on the same weekend as the Chicago Cycle World Motorcycle Show, February 8th, 2003 from 7:00 pm until 10:00 pm. The cost is $25 per person for an all-you-can-eat buffet and an open bar. The address for Kendall’s is 2263 North Lincoln in Chicago, Illinois. For more information on Kendall’s you may contact them directly by calling 773-348-7200. Host hotel for the event will be the AmeriSuites in Itasca, less than one mile from Kendall’s and rooms are set at $79 per night. (Shuttle service to the Awards Ceremony is included in this cost) For AmeriSuites hotel reservations, call 630-875-1400 and ask for the CCS Award Weekend rate.

To make reservations to attend any of these ceremonies, contact Tiffiney Ingram at 817-332-4822.

The Southwest, Northeast, and Florida CCS banquets regional awards banquets are still to be announced. For further information visit www.CCSracing.com.





Championship Cup Series 2002 Regional Champion Awards Banquet Info:

Pacific Region Banquet:
When: February 1, 2003, 7pm
Where: The Desert Inn
44219 Sierra Highway
Lancaster, CA 93534
Host Hotel: The Desert Inn, (Ph: 661-942-8401) *mention CCS rate of $60 per night
Cost: $20 per person
Highlights: Cash bar and Mexican buffet, Mr. Kevin Elliott presenting



Midwest/Great Plains/Great Lakes Regions Banquet:
When: February 8, 2003, 7-10pm
Where: Kendall’s, (Ph: 773-348-7200)

2263 N. Lincoln

Chicago, IL
Host Hotel: Amerisuites, (Ph: 630-875-1400 mention CCS reserved room block)
Cost: $25 per person
Highlights: OPEN BAR and all-you-can-eat buffet, Mr. Kevin Elliott presenting



Mid Atlantic/Southeast Regions Banquet:
When: April 13, 2003, 6:30pm
Where: Virginia International Raceway Pagoda Restaurant, (Ph: 804-822-7700)
Cost: $15 per person
Highlights: Bar-B-Q Dinner, Mr. Kevin Elliott presenting

Southwest Banquet:
Still to be determined

Copyright 2002, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

By David Swarts

Daytona International Speedway has purchased 500 linear feet of Airfence Bike soft barrier for use during motorcycle events.

Airfence Safety System’s Andy Coffey and a contingent of WMRRA club road racers have been at Daytona for the past week assembling foam blocks into 80, two-meter sections of non-inflatable Airfence Bike safety barriers.

Even though the purchase was just finalized in recent weeks, Coffey had hoped to have the safety devices available for the Dunlop tire test. The back log of shipping at the Los Angeles Port, however, delayed delivery of the foam blocks’ covers. The covers were flown from Los Angeles to Atlanta Tuesday night, where Coffey and his crew picked them up and trucked them to Daytona via rented U-Haul truck. Coffey and seven workers are feverishly putting the covers on the devices in hopes of putting them in place overnight for use during the Thursday extension of the tire test.

Retail price for Airfence Bike is $650 per section, bringing the total for Daytona’s purchase to approximately $52,000.

Combined with the 35 sections of inflatable air barriers owned by AMA Pro Racing, over 1500 linear feet of soft safety barriers could be in place for the March 2003 AMA races at Daytona International Speedway.

From a press release issued by Daytona International Speedway’s PR Department:

Motorcycles Hit Full Throttle In Dunlop Tire Test At Daytona

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla., (Dec. 11, 2002) — The wait finally ended for motorcycle teams on Wednesday at Daytona International Speedway.

After getting rained out on Monday and Tuesday, pit road at the “World Center of Racing” was busying with activity as teams worked on their motorcycles and assisted Dunlop in developing a tire for Daytona 200 Week in March.

“It’s a bit of a rush,” said Yamaha’s Damon Buckmaster. “We’re trying to squeeze in as much as we can in the short amount of testing that we have now. The track is a little green but it’s coming in better.

“We’ve got a whole truck load of stuff that we’ve got to test. It’s a bit of shame (with the rain), but that’s how it goes.”

The tire test is imperative to Dunlop as they prepare tires for the high speeds that motorcycles produce on the 3.56-mile road course. It’s also a great opportunity for teams to measure where their new equipment stands.

“It’s a Dunlop tire test and they want you to access their tires, but it’s our first chance to get to ride our new bike,” said Yoshimura
Suzuki’s Aaron Yates, winner of the Pro Honda Oils Supersport event at Daytona in 2002. “So my goal is to get out there and do some laps on the new 1000 and see how it goes. Hopefully put some fast laps in. I’m sure when it comes down to
it, the tires will be good and we’re going to go fast.”

As the test was winding down in the late afternoon on Wednesday, Anthony Gobert, aboard a Ducati, had posted the fastest time of the test with a lap of 117.068 mph.

One of the more anxious riders to see the start of this tire test is Aussie Mat Mladin.During Daytona 200 Week in 2002, Mladin was on a quest to win his third straight AMA Chevy Trucks U.S. Superbike championship and his third straight Daytona 200 By Arai.

But on the Friday before the Daytona 200, Mladin lost control of his No. 1 Yoshimura Suzuki in the International Horseshoe during a practice session. He suffered an injury to his arm that prevented him from competing in the Daytona 200 and dealt him a setback in the points standings.

Mladin’s woes continued throughout the season as he struggled with his Suzuki GSXR-750 and went winless. As he waited out the rain earlier this week, Mladin laid down the challenge to his team to return to their glory days with their GSX-R1000.

“Certainly a lot things need to be proven inside the team before we’re going to get back to the state we’re in a couple of years ago,” Mladin
said.

One of the surprise visitors to the Dunlop tire test is sports car and open-wheel driver Max Papis, who was part of the 2002 Rolex 24 At
Daytona overall winning team. Papis said he was visiting friend Ben Bostrom, who is returning to the AMA with Honda after three seasons in Europe.

From a press release issued by Yamaha:

YAMAHA FACTORY TEAM TESTS
Jerez, Spain
Wednesday December 11 2002

DISMAL WEATHER BLIGHTS YAMAHA FACTORY TEAM TESTS IN JEREZ

The Yamaha Factory Team will leave Jerez in Spain today after a disappointing three days of testing. Heavy and continuous downpours have flooded much of the area surrounding Jerez as well as the Jerez circuit, making productive testing time impossible for riders Carlos Checa and Marco Melandri.

The rain was continuous on Monday and most of today and intermittent showers on Tuesday meant that the track never dried fully. The only positive to come from the three days was that Melandri was able to test the Yamaha YZR-M1 in the wet for the first time and Checa evaluated Yamaha’s fuel injection system in wet conditions. Both riders were also able to give feedback to tyre partner Michelin.

“It has been pretty miserable here,” admitted Team Manager Geoff Crust. “It’s a real shame to end the year with a wash-out! We just hope that we have better luck with the weather for all our tests at the beginning of next year. We’ve obviously had time to get to know our new rider, which is nice”.

The Yamaha Factory Team will test again in Jerez from Monday 20 to Wednesday 22 January in 2003.

From a press release issued by Honda Racing:

HONDA RACING INFORMATION
HRC Winter Test Jerez, December 11, 2002.

Weather Spoils Final Day of HRC Winter Test

Persistent rain ensured the final day of the rain-swept three-day HRC winter test at Jerez was no more productive than the opening two days. Heavy overnight rain and persistent showers in the morning again ended any hopes of serious testing being completed by three of the four riders.

Nicky Hayden was the one rider to put in serious track time on his RC211V. The US Superbike Champion, who joins the MotoGP championship in 2003, put in a total of 57 laps today, the majority of them on a wet track.

Hayden has little experience of full wet tyres in rainy conditions and the inclement weather while disappointing in many ways, was in others, a Godsend to Hayden, who waited until after lunch to take to the track. Hayden was also lucky enough to get in a few laps on a fast-drying track at the end of the day. But with the sun going down he had little chance of looking for a fast time.

“Well I’ve learned a lot this week,” said Hayden. “I needed the wet track time and I like the positive feel of the RC211V in the wet. When the track was more or less dry I got in some time with a dry set-up but it was very cold, and we couldn’t do much, but again it was good experience. We go to Malaysia next so I guess we will get a lot of dry track time there. I’m going home for the holidays. I hope everybody in racing enjoys the Christmas holiday and I wish you all a Happy New Year.”

Japanese stars Daijiro Kato and Tohru Ukawa had done as much as they could do with their RC211Vs on the opening two days and did very little today. Both men preferring to wait for test sessions in the finer weather the Southern Hemisphere has to offer HRC in the New Year.

MotoGP World Champion Valentino Rossi was a disappointed man at the end of the three days, in which he had not completed 20 laps of the 4.423km Andalucian track.

“What can we do?” Said Rossi, before setting off for the airport and home. “Very unfortunate that we lost so much time. A great pity because we had some important tyre testing to do with Michelin. We will have to do that at Sepang, Malaysia, in January.

“We get to take a holiday now and I wish all in motorcycle racing a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. See you at MotoGP in 2003.”

From a press release issued by Dr. Rob Tuluie:

Hello Everybody,

just a quick update:

We have been hard at work getting the Tul-aris ready for the next event, which will be at Willow Springs, Ca., on Dec 13-15. Besides testing new Michelin tires, we will also test our new 800cc Powervalve motor, with new Hot Seat Performance-developed exhaust pipes, re-valved Ohlins suspension, new body work and fresh paint. So far, indications are that the new motor is a quite a bit more powerful that what we had before. A quick run on the Doug Lofgren/Manley Cycle dyno showed over 155 hp and more than 105 ft-lbs of torque (both at the rear wheel), with safe jetting and without even trying hard to optimize everything. In addition, the powervalves (machined from titanium billet by DCM Services) help improve midrange power by over 20 hp–it should be a blast! If you can make it out to Willow for the race, please be sure to visit us in the pits.

best,

Rob

From a press release issued by CMRRA:

Twice the Excitement at Willow

You should be able to get all the motorcycle road racing you can handle this weekend, December 14-15, when Willow Springs Raceway will feature two separate motorcycle races.

WSMC will be racing the big bikes on the main track and CMRRA will be racing 50cc-80cc road race motorcycles on the Willow Kart Track.

CMRRA is where riders such as John Hopkins, Chris Ulrich, Jason Perez and many others started their careers.

Be sure to check it out.

From a press release issued by Team Hammer, Inc.:

Registration Now Open For Team Hammer Talent Search Presented By Alpinestars

Preliminary details of the 2003 Team Hammer Talent Search Presented By Alpinestars have been released and rider registration for the program is now open.

The Team Hammer Talent Search Presented by Alpinestars is designed to help participants reach the highest level their talent will allow in motorcycle road racing. It covers riding, bike set-up, sponsorship, dealing with the media and other major components of professional motorcycle road racing. Participants in the program will receive honest advice and evaluation, and straight answers to their questions, including The Big Question: “How do I get from where I am to where I want to be in motorcycle road racing?”

The program is being run by Team Hammer, Inc., which currently races primarily in AMA Pro competition as Team Valvoline EMGO Suzuki.

Two participants in the program will earn full rides for the 2003 Suzuki Cup Finals held in conjunction with the WERA Grand National Finals, including the use of one Team Valvoline EMGO Suzuki racebike for the event weekend, the full-time attention of a team mechanic at the event, tires, entry fees and a set of brand new Alpinestars leathers, boots and gloves in team colors. One of the two finalists will be considered for a 2004 season ride with the team.

Included in the program are three set-up seminar and instruction dates, at Daytona in February, California Speedway in March and Barber Motorsports Park in April.

Evaluation and judging of program participants will be based on 2003 race results; riding improvement seen during the season; and performance in designated special events, including CCS races at Daytona in February, AMA Sports races at Mid-Ohio in July and WERA races at Barber in September.

Additional information and registration forms are located online in the News section at www.teamhammer.com and can also be ordered from Team Hammer, Inc. at (909) 245-6414.

Copyright 2002, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

By David Swarts

American Honda’s Ben Bostrom and Yamaha’s Jason DiSalvo recorded the fastest Superbike and Supersport lap times, respectively, on the first day of the Dunlop tire tests at Daytona International Speedway.

Bostrom recorded a 1:49.322 on his ex-Nicky Hayden Honda RC51 to lead all Superbike riders even though Bostrom only spent a few hours with the 999cc V-Twin and rode on Hayden’s set-up most of that time.

“It was Nick’s race-winning set-up from last year,” said Bostrom. “It worked great for Nick; it just didn’t work for me.”

Bostrom said Hayden’s set-up was “more dirt track…real high in the front, real stiff in the rear. He must have been burning the thing around the track.

“I tend to have the bike a little more biased toward the front and a bit soft in the back. Just two different riding styles.

“We left Nick’s set-up and burned through the (test) tires. At the end of the day, we changed it kind of to what I like, which is just softer everywhere. It’s like a new bike. That thing’s almost raceable right now. It’s pretty cool!”

Bostrom also survived a tense moment en route to his fast time. “I found a false neutral between downshifts in the second (west) horseshoe. I was like da-da-da-da-da, like I had plenty of time to stop, which you usually do if you go off the left side. But at the last minute, I locked the front. I was like, ‘Oh, no! I’m not going to stop!’

“When I lost the front it put me a little bit off angle. (makes gesture of not being straight up and down) Right before the (hay) bales, I fell off under it. It was strange because the bike bounced off the bales, then kind of did this wrestling move and body-slammed me.

“I had myself stuck under the sprocket and chain. The rear tire was still spinning. It spun a hole through my suit. I was stuck. I’m like, ‘I can’t believe it. I’ve never been stuck under a bike before, and I’m stuck!’ The bike didn’t get a scratch, just me.”

DiSalvo, 18, impressed with the fastest lap time among the Supersport riders in his first official appearance as a factory rider. DiSalvo said he got slightly lucky on his fastest lap, catching a draft from a Superbike down the back straightaway and then catching a second draft from Erion Honda’s Alex Gobert around the east banking to record a 1:53.032 on the new, fuel-injected Yamaha YZF-R6.

American Honda’s Miguel Duhamel was listed as doing a 1:51.247 on his Honda CBR600RR on the AMA Pro Racing timing and scoring system, but Duhamel told Roadracingworld.com that he cut through the chicane on that particular lap. Duhamel’s best actual lap time was a 1:53.628.

Even with the first two days of the test rained out and a late start on the third day, Dunlop National Road Race Manager Jim Allen was pleased at the end of Wednesday. “We’re pretty darn happy at the moment,” said Allen. “We’ve got race times going on right now with both types of motorcycles (Superbikes and Supersport bikes).

“I think it’s fair to say the new crop of 600s is probably improved, but I think we’ve addressed the issues that those things brought along and integrated by the track as well. So we’re pretty happy with the lap times on the 600s, and real happy with our times on the big bikes right now.

“We got good distance on the two Hondas today. We got race distance or segment distance on two of those with no problems at all and good lap times. So we’re happy.

“If there was an issue brought up by the track changes, and I really think there is, I think we’ve addressed those problems. When we designed the tires for this test, we took into account what we learned in October (at the Formula USA races), and I think we seem to be OK at the moment. Overall, things seem to be going OK. We’ll have a meeting tonight; all of us technicians will get together and pool what we’ve learned and try to figure what we can get out of (Thursday) morning.”

The Dunlop tire test at Daytona was scheduled to last until 1:00 p.m. Eastern Time Thursday.