From a press release issued by UmbrellaGirls USA:

THE NEW GIRLS TO ADD GLAMOUR TO THE GRIDS

A new class of UmbrellaGirl have strutted into the American motorsports to liven up the grids of racetracks across the nation. UmbrellaGirls USA is a modeling/marketing agency with a difference, specializing in gorgeous women who have been selected specifically to work in the fast paced world of motorsports.

Each woman either works in the industry or has a passion for high-octane sports. Many of the UmbrellaGirls are bilingual, making them perfect for the likes of Laguna Seca’s World Superbike or the Indianapolis Formula 1.

When appearing on behalf of their own agency, the UmbrellaGirls will tote their own signature pink umbrellas and sport custom designed outfits ala World Superbike (with the exception of the West outfits used to launch Noriyuki Haga’s sponsorship). UmbrellaGirls USA will also design custom outfits for their clientele that will not only be attractive and eye catching, but will stand apart on the grid and in the paddock.

The motivation behind UmbrellaGirls USA came when owner, Ann Asiano, a civil litigation attorney with Bradley Curley Asiano & McCarthy and part owner of Ducati Triumph Yamaha of Marin in San Rafael, attended Misano’s WSB race earlier this year.

“The male energy of looking for the pretty girls, at Misano, was absolutely palpable,” says Ann. “I saw how the Europeans recognize the importance of having young, beautiful women associated with their motorsports events and how much it adds to the experience. I noticed there was not the same concentrated effort at the American WSB round and felt many teams and manufacturers had missed a golden opportunity to market themselves and their products.

“That is when I decided to introduce the first organized motorsports modeling and marketing agency, supplying women who are not only striking but who know the sport, are conversant in the products and can communicate with fans, teams and riders. I was pleasantly surprised at the number of young women that fit these criteria. The UmbrellaGirls models are very excited to support the motorsports industry and to convey their true enthusiasm for the sports and products they will represent.

“The fans will appreciate the added dimension UmbrellaGirls USA brings to the events and we also hope to serve our goal of raising female awareness within the industry.”

UmbrellaGirls USA specializes in: Models (both promotional, print and fashion), Hospitality Hostesses, Trophy and UmbrellaGirls.

They have made their official debut at the International Motorcycle Show in San Francisco at the San Mateo County Fairgrounds on November 8th-10th. Judging by the attention and the hits to the website, they will be a force in the industry.

The next official appearance of UmbrellaGirls USA will be at the Indy Dealer Expo 2003 in Indianapolis February 15-17th, 2003.

For more information call Ann Asiano direct at: 415-472-1965 or visit the website at: www.umbrellagirlsusa.com.

From a press release issued by the AMA:

AMA: “Safety, Costs Important In Streetbike Emissions Rules”

PICKERINGTON, Ohio — The American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) told the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency that its proposed new streetbike emissions standards must not compromise the safety of riders, dramatically increase costs, or reduce motorcycle performance.

In written comments submitted to the EPA on Nov. 20, the AMA also stressed that the proposed rules should continue to allow for the installation of after-market products, and allow owners to work on their own motorcycles.

“The AMA and the motorcycling community remain concerned that certain provisions in this (proposal) may result in fewer choices, higher prices and even tighter restrictions on future highway motorcycle models,” Edward Moreland, AMA vice president for government relations, said in the comments. “Again, safety, cost, performance, continued availability of after-market products and self-maintenance are paramount in the minds of the motorcycle owners we represent.”

The AMA also disagreed with the EPA’s assertion that highway motorcycles are a “significant contributor” to air pollution. But the Association agreed with the EPA proposal to give small manufacturers of custom motorcycles more time than other motorcycle manufacturers to meet the new proposed emissions standards.

The EPA is considering implementing revised national emissions standards for new road motorcycles that would require those bikes to meet strict emissions standards beginning with 2006 models, although small manufacturers would have a 2008 deadline. The federal standards would be the same as those adopted by the state of California, but would go into effect two years after California’s standards.

A second tier of national emissions standards would be in place for 2010 models. It would be decided later whether small manufacturers would need to meet those standards.

Some motorcycles sold in the United States already meet California’s strict 2008 standard, which is the same as the proposed federal 2010 standard.

The new national emissions standards are expected to result in an increased use of fuel injection and catalytic converters on new motorcycles.

Moreland commented that catalytic converters, designed to operate at high temperatures, may not be appropriate for some motorcycles where the exhaust system is placed near the legs or feet of a rider or passenger, creating a possible safety hazard.

In addition, the AMA fears that new and replacement exhaust emission control components, coupled with the cost of repair and maintenance of complex equipment, will drive the cost of motorcycle ownership out of the reach of some owners.

“Increased costs at all levels of the motorcycling industry will result in fewer choices and reduced sales,” Moreland said. “This will result in economic hardship for many, especially small businesses involved in sales, services, and parts and accessories from non-OEM (original equipment manufacturer) suppliers.”

The new California standard that begins with the 2004 model year, and the proposed federal standard that would take effect for the 2006 model year, require new motorcycles to emit no more than 1.4 grams per kilometer traveled of hydrocarbons and nitrogen oxides, and 12 grams of carbon monoxide.

The California standard for 2008, which would also be the national standard beginning in 2010, sets a limit of 0.8 grams per kilometer of hydrocarbons and nitrogen oxides and 12 grams per kilometer of carbon monoxide.

The current federal emissions standards for street motorcycles are 5.0 grams of hydrocarbons and 12 grams of carbon monoxide per kilometer traveled.

The EPA is accepting written comments on its proposed street motorcycle emissions rules until Jan. 7. You can e-mail comments to [email protected], or go to the Rapid Response Center at the AMA website at www.AMADirectlink.com to send comments. You can see the proposed rules, and the entire text of Moreland’s comments, in the “Protecting Your Right to Ride” part of the website.

From a press release:

BRP, the U.S. importer of Champion Equipment, is currently accepting racer resumes for the 2003 season.

For more information visit www.fastbikes.us or call 866.462.7770.







BRP RACER SUPPORT TEAM

Copyright 2002, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

By David Swarts

MB Motorsports co-owners Frank Strohman and Matt Blashfield have decided to end their two-year partnership and concentrate on their separate businesses.

“He’s got to concentrate on his sign business (Blashfield Signs/Communications),” Strohman told Roadracingworld.com Wednesday from his shop in Fayetteville, North Carolina. “He has a lot at stake there, and he’s been real busy this past year and hasn’t had much time to devote to MB Motorsports, as he would like to. So he basically just wanted to get out.

“Basically our philosophies were a little bit different,” continued Strohman. “I was more racing oriented and wanted to do the racing and the R&D (research and development) through the racing, and I think Matt wanted to go in the direction of more marketing for parts and stuff like that. So you know, just a little bit of difference of philosophy, but more than anything else he had to have the time to concentrate on his business.

“He does a lot of military work (for the U.S. Army post, Fort Bragg). He hasn’t had the opportunity to travel with the team and help like he kind of wanted to. So he just needed to back out. I think he’s going to do some of the little regional races, he teaches at that Learning Curves school and I think that’s about all he has time for right now.”

With several National road racing Championships as a rider and a tuner to his credit, Strohman plans to continue doing engine building, chassis tuning and race-prep work for lightweight Twins under a new company name, Twin Works Factory, and says he will start expanding into big-bore Twins. “I figured that we’d go ahead and start another company and have that company carry the race team through next year and so on,” said Strohman. “So nothing’s really changed except the name, and it will be a sole proprietorship. We’re busy getting a website together to put up right now.

“Nothing’s really changed except for one less partner. Everything else, all the services remain the same, same race team, same people on the race team, nothing’s changed, except the name. Bradley (Champion) will be riding. Bobby Fisher is coming back next year; so he’ll be back. So between Bradley and Bobby and backing them up with Zoran and Bernie Huntt, we ought to be pretty damn good to go.”

MB Motorsports won the 2002 SV650 Suzuki Cup Championship with Bradley Champion and the 2001 CCS Lightweight Superbike National Championship with Robert Fisher, also on a Suzuki SV650, as well as many other Championships. For more information on Twin Works Factory, call Strohman at (843) 665-9255.

Reached by phone and asked to comment, Blashfield said, “Until my legal representation has completed the dissolution process, I have been advised not to comment on the situation.”

Copyright 2002, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

By David Swarts

Corona Extra Suzuki is planning on fielding two-time Canadian Superbike Champion Jordan Szoke in the 2003 AMA season alongside returning riders Jimmy Moore and Adam Fergusson.

“That’s the plan,” said Corona Extra Suzuki team principal Tim Saunders Wednesday.

Szoke rode with the Corona team at the beginning of the 2002 AMA season, scoring a close second-place finish in the Superstock race at Daytona behind winner Moore, and finished third in the Superstock race at California Speedway to take the AMA Superstock Championship points lead.

But Szoke ran into visa problems trying to enter the United States to race at Sears Point in May. Szoke’s visa troubles lingered and the 23-year-old Canadian decided to race in the Parts Canada Superbike Championship. Szoke ran away with that title, his second, on a Coors Light-sponsored Suzuki GSX-R1000.

Later in the year, Szoke teamed up with his replacement, Fergusson, on a Corona Extra Suzuki GSX-R1000 to finish 10th overall at the Suzuka 8-hours Endurance World Championship race.

“Everything’s been resolved,” said Saunders when asked about Szoke’s visa troubles. “All that issue is behind him, or at least I have it on good authority that it’s behind him.”

Saunders added that his team has agreed to terms with American Suzuki, saying, “We’re just waiting to sign contracts.”

Which riders will be riding in which classes is still up in the air, however. “That’s up to Suzuki’s negotiations with the riders. Obviously, we’ll be in the same classes (Formula Xtreme, Superstock) as before,” said Saunders, who explained that American Suzuki contracts directly with some riders, and determines which classes they will compete in.

Copyright 2002, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

By David Swarts

Peter Goddard claims that Italian motorcycle manufacturer Benelli will not race the Tornado 900cc Inline Triple in World Superbike in 2003. Goddard, the sole Benelli rider over the past two years, made the announcement Wednesday on his personal website, www.petergoddard.com.

“Benelli have told me they won’t be in next year’s championship, but I want to keep racing in World Superbikes and there are some options with other teams I’m looking into,” Goddard is quoted as saying on his website.

Goddard, age 38, is hoping to land a competitive ride for 2003.

From a press release issued by Aprilia:

Aprilia Racing Press Information
Jerez de la Frontera (Spain)
20 November 2002

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Noriyuki Haga

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Tests for Aprilia RS Cube and next season’s works riders come to an end at Jerez.

Three days of tests in Jerez came to an end today for the Aprilia Racing Department’s RS Cube and for the two works riders Colin Edwards and Noriyuki Haga. This is the very first test session of the winter season and it was unfortunately marred by bad weather. Yesterday, atmospheric conditions kept the bikes away from the circuit for a long time. So the programme for this first round of tests had to be radically rethought, with many laps, and indeed many hours being spent in the wet, making the work very different from what had been originally planned.

Even so, a huge amount of work was successfully carried out, as Ing. Gigi dall’Igna, head of the MotoGP division of the Racing Department of Noale confirmed: “The two Aprilia RS Cubes went out onto the track with the same configuration as in the last races this year. We sure haven’t been too lucky in terms of the weather conditions over the past few days, but we still managed to complete a number of tasks we had scheduled. At the beginning, we needed to find exactly the right position on the saddle for the two riders, and this of course took time, but then we carried out a number of tests on adjusting the settings, and then worked on the ignition software. We’ve certainly gathered a lot of data and this means we’ll be able to establish a work programme for the next tests in a fortnight’s time. We also got some good references from the first tests on Michelin tyres. Fickle weather conditions during the three days meant we’ve been out on rain tyres, intermediates and slicks. As you can imagine, we’re hoping for more stable weather conditions for the next test sessions in December so we can concentrate better on one detail at a time.”

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Colin Edwards

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Colin Edwards was back on his bike as usual, despite Monday’s fall that left him with a jagged, bruised wound on his left elbow. The American champion wasn’t too affected by the accident that brought his first day of tests to an abrupt halt, and he got straight back onto his RS Cube to complete the programme for the following two days. The important thing for Colin was to get a good feeling for the three-cylinder from Noale and it was today that he best got to grips with it. “Monday’s fall was my first real ‘contact’ with the system the RS Cube uses to unleash its horsepower. I’ve spent 24 years of my life learning to open up the gas on a racing bike and on Monday I suddenly discovered a completely new way to do it. What actually happens is you give the command to a computer that sends it to the engine. It’s something new and has to be learnt. My very first experience, my debut with this system was pretty powerful. I closed the throttle at the moment I thought best, then there was a delay of a fraction of a second, the rear wheel started slipping and I went for a slide. It wouldn’t have made any difference if it had happened immediately or after an entire day of testing: it’s a reaction in the system that I’ve learned to understand. I’m amazed by the Cube, it’s an extraordinary bike. You can customise it as much as you like with no end of different settings – it’s a lab on two wheels, really special. I was expecting a lot of power, but certainly not that much. We did a lot of work, in spite of the rain. It must be said you can’t feel changes in the set-up nearly as much when you’re riding in the wet, but I think we’ve been able to do some good work that’ll help us in the forthcoming sessions. So I’m very pleased and even though my elbow does hurt a bit when I think about it, it never bothered me when I was actually on my bike and riding. Now I can’t wait for the next tests to carry on developing the Cube, a bike I think has all the potential of a winner, and one I really want to get a good feeling for.”

Noriyuki Haga also did some successful testing although, after the very first sessions in the early autumn, this was actually the second time he had been on the RS Cube.

“I tried many different settings on the RS Cube. I knew it a bit already so I carried on working on the settings of the bike to make sure it suits my style of riding,” said Noriyuki Haga. “Sure, the rain didn’t let us do what we’d expected but it didn’t stop us from carrying on with our work programme either. The tests on the full rain tyres went well, and we got some good feedback by trying out different settings on the bike. I’m particularly pleased about the power of the engine, even though I rarely found myself able to open up fully and examine the finer details really carefully. But I’m very happy with the way the tests went and with all the work we’ve done.”