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.”

Copyright 2002, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

By David Swarts

The tentative 2003 WERA race schedule includes both regional and national race events at the yet-to-open Barber Motorsports Park near Birmingham, Alabama. The 2003 WERA schedule, as posted on www.wera.com, includes an April 19-20 event at the Barber track for WERA’s North Central, Mid-Central and Southeast regions. The WERA/G.M.D. Computrack National Endurance Series schedule also lists a TBA September date at Barber.

WERA’s tentative schedule also includes a return to Grattan Raceway park in Grattan, Michigan and a first-ever National Endurance round at Carolina Motorsports Park in Kershaw, South Carolina. WERA also hopes to add dates at BeaveRun Motorsports Complex near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

WERA President and CEO Evelyn Clarke and WERA Operations Manager Sean Clarke are currently traveling to the AMA Pro Racing awards banquet scheduled for Saturday, November 23, in Las Vegas, Nevada, and could not be reached for comment.

To view the tentative 2003 WERA race schedule, go to www.wera.com.

Copyright 2002, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

From a press release issued by Ducati Corse:

DUCATI CORSE PRESS INFORMATION
Jerez de la Frontera (Spain)
Tuesday 19 November 2002

SECOND DAY OF TESTING FOR CAPIROSSI AND BAYLISS WITH THE DUCATI DESMOSEDICI DISTURBED BY BAD WEATHER

Today’s Ducati Corse test session at Spain’s Jerez de la Frontera circuit was disturbed by bad weather, ruining any attempt by the Italian team’s two riders Loris Capirossi and Troy Bayliss to put in some consistent laps during the second day of the scheduled three-day session.

After rain had fallen throughout the night and most of the day, Loris and Troy were only able to take to the track late in the afternoon, when it was still wet but the rain had ceased. Troy completed 32 laps and Loris 18.

The Desmosedici, which ran on a wet surface for the first time, satisfied both riders. Despite the considerable power available, both Loris and Troy were enthusiastic about the engine’s performance and the bike’s ‘driveability’ even in low-grip conditions.

Capirossi also completed 6 laps with the engine in ‘Twin Pulse’ configuration, receiving positive indications.

The Jerez tests will conclude tomorrow and, weather conditions permitting, both riders will run with both versions of the V4 engine.

N.B. Ducati Corse is unable to supply any images or rider comments of Loris Capirossi until the end of 2002.

From a press release issued by Ducati Motor Holding S.p.A.:

DUCATI MOTOR HOLDING ANNOUNCES RESULTS FOR FIRST NINE MONTHS OF 2002

Gives guidance for Full Year 2002.
New 999 Superbike voted 2002 Motorcycle of the Year

Bologna, Italy – Ducati Motor Holding S.p.A. (NYSE: DMH and Borsa Italiana S.p.A: DMH), a leading manufacturer of high performance motorcycles, today announced results for the nine month period ended September 30, 2002.

As previously reported, the Company announced consolidated revenues for the first nine months of 2002, of Euro 298.9 million, up 5.5% from Euro 283.4 million during the same period in the previous year. Revenues from Ducati motorcycles for the period increased 2.4% to Euro 242.1 million and represented 81.0% of revenues. Motorcycle-related products reached Euro 55.8 million, up 20.2% over the same period last year.

For the first nine months of 2002, gross margin was 40.8% versus 41.1% in the previous year, mainly due to a positive product mix effect from related products and production efficiencies which were more than offset by a negative country mix and foreign exchange effects.

EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization) for the first nine months of 2002 was Euro 38.8 million and represented 13.0% of sales, down from Euro 48.6 million, or 17.2% of revenues, in the comparable period last year. This is mostly due to costs related to investments for the development of the Ducati Desmosedici GP motorcycle, the restructuring of Ducati’s US distribution network, promotional activities such as the biennial World Ducati Week and the negative impact of foreign exchange rates.

Net earnings for the first nine months were Euro 2.0 million compared to Euro 9.0 million in the prior year period. This is mainly due to factors mentioned above, along with increased depreciation, amortization and foreign exchange losses.

“The nine month period has been characterised by the combination of a slower-than-expected recovery of our US operations, an adverse foreign exchange rate effect and a notable contraction of the Ducati Relevant Market – after a decade of steady growth – exacerbated by a generally weak macroeconomic environment,” said Enrico D’Onofrio, Ducati Chief Financial Officer. “We therefore think it prudent to reduce our expectations for the 2002 full year to revenue growth between 2 and 3%, with an EBITDA margin around 14%.

“We are confident that our new targets are reasonable and will be met by the Company,” said Carlo Di Biagio, Ducati Chief Executive Officer. “Our visibility for the last quarter of 2002 is clear. In the US, we have seen rising registrations which are driving a de-stocking of the dealer network, in line with our strategy. Worldwide, we currently have sufficient orders in hand to meet our new estimates for the full year, particularly driven by great demand for the 999. As a consequence the improved product mix will help to counterbalance negative foreign exchange rate effects.

“Despite the challenging selling environment in 2002, we are continuing to invest in innovative products and brand-building activities to lay the ground for strong and sustained future growth,” added Carlo Di Biagio. “I am pleased to report that on November 7th, Ducati swept the board at the UK-based Motorcycle News awards in Birmingham, winning three major prizes, including Manufacturer of the Year for the company deemed to have the best relationship with its customers. Our new 999 Testastretta Superbike was chosen as Overall Machine of the Year across all categories. And just yesterday, the 999 was voted overall winner of the 2002 Motorcycle Design Trophy by the members of the prestigious Motorcycle Design Association. We could not ask for greater recognition. The 999 has been the result of a huge amount of effort and determination from the whole company – congratulations to everyone involved.”

Ducati’s net debt at September 30, 2002 was €Euro 100.4 million in line with €Euro 101.6 million at September 30, 2001, improving versus the indebtedness of €Euro 113.9 million at June 30, 2002, mainly thanks to a reduction in working capital. The company’s net debt to total capitalization ratio was 39.0% at September 30, 2002 versus 40.0% at September 30, 2001, and 41.1% at June 30, 2002.

These results have been approved by the Ducati Board of Directors, pending limited review by Company auditors.

A conference call with management will take place today at 16:00 Italian time, 15:00 GMT or 10:00 EST. To access the call, please go to www.ducati.com, and click on Ducati Investor Relations in the Ducati News section. All historic Company data are available at the Ducati Investor Relations page.

Founded in 1926, Ducati builds racing-inspired motorcycles characterized by unique engine features, innovative design, advanced engineering and overall technical excellence. Ducati has won eleven of the last thirteen World Superbike Championship titles and more individual victories than the competition put together. The Company produces motorcycles in four market segments which vary in their technical and design features and intended customers: Superbike, Supersport, Monster and SportTouring. The company’s motorcycles are sold in more than 40 countries worldwide, with a primary focus in the Western European and North American markets. For more information about the Company, please visit our web site at http://www.Ducati.com.

This press release contains statements that are forward-looking and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated, as described in documents previously filed by the Company with CONSOB and with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

From a press release issued by Rizla Suzuki:

SUZUKI’S Japanese factory rider Yukio Kagayama will race a GSX-R1000 in the British Superbike Championship in 2003 and he isn’t afraid of upsetting the regular contenders by taking them on and trying to beat them in their own backyard.

A formidable line up

Kagayama rode for Suzuki’s full factory MotoGP team as recently as July this year at the Sachsenring in Germany and will join former double BSB Champion John Reynolds in a formidable line-up of machinery and riders for next season.

A first for BSB

He will be the first ever Japanese rider to take part in the BSB Championship. An even more significant milestone is the fact he is the first factory rider to be appointed to the BSB Championship. Suzuki Motor Corporation has placed him in its UK BSB team, demonstrating its commitment to the acclaimed British series, as well as its determination to win.


Kagayama, from Yokohama in Japan, is a factory Suzuki rider who has been competing since 1990. He has been a full-time factory Suzuki rider since 1993, when he started testing for the 500cc GP team. The fearless 28-year-old is coming to the British Superbike Championship to make his mark in what is widely recognised as the strongest domestic Superbike Championship in the world.

Yukio Kagayama:

Kagayama said: “I am really looking forward to riding in Britain next year. It is known as a very competitive Championship and I couldn’t ask for a better proving ground for my talent. With the Crescent Suzuki squad, I will be riding for a professional team that already has a long history with Suzuki and knows our bikes and how to get the best from them. I do not think I have anything to worry about and will be going for race victories right from the start. While I respect the riders in the Championship, I am not afraid of riding with them…and trying to beat them.”


Learning the tracks will be one of Kagayama’s biggest challenges, but at Sachsenring this year, on Suzuki’s GSV-R MotoGP racer, he not only learnt the track in four-hours of practice before the race, but he out-qualified his Suzuki team-mate and regular GP rider Sete Gibernau by taking 11th on the grid, only 0.474s off pole position. “I would like to challenge for the British Superbike Championship. It will be difficult, but I think the new GSX-R1000 is capable of winning, I’ll be on my familiar Dunlop tyres and I know I am able to win. I will certainly have one of the best teams supporting me and I will be giving 100 per cent,” he said.

Suzuki GB’s Nick Barnes:

Suzuki GB’s General Manager for Motorcycle Sales, Nick Barnes, said: “Yukio has worked hand-in-hand with the Factory to develop the GSV-R into a machine that is improving race by race in MotoGP. He probably would have finished well up the top 10 in his MotoGP ride at Sachsenring this year if he hadn’t been taken out by another rider. His background and pedigree are fantastic, and on top of that, his ability to work on a machine and make it into a winner is a talent that we can benefit from. He will strengthen the Suzuki team in British Superbikes in 2003 and with the latest version of the awesome GSX-R1000 to use, I’m sure Suzuki can look forward to an exciting and successful 2003.”

Paul Denning:

Suzuki team boss Paul Denning said: “Yukio Kagayama is a factory rider who has ridden against the best riders in the world and proved his ability. We are proud that Suzuki Motor Corporation trusts our ability as a team to do one of its top factory riders justice and we aim to repay that faith with good results.

“Having Yukio ride for us next year when he could have been in MotoGP or World Superbikes is a real thrill. It is also a boon to the BSB series, proving once again it is one of the most highly regarded and competitive Championships in the world. Not only does it mean we have one of the strongest rider line-ups in the series, but a new talented rider who is going to come to the UK and shake up the establishment. His talent is beyond doubt and with John Reynolds beside him, both of them on highly developed GSX-R1000 Superbikes, and with the telemetry and data we have from 2002, we will start next season at a run.”

Yukio Kagayama – Career Profile

Date of Birth: 7th May 1974 Nationality: Japanese Hometown: Yokohama April 1990: First race 1993: Suzuki test rider (500GP) 1995: All Japan Superbikes – 11th 1996: All Japan 250cc – 11th 1997: All Japan 250cc – 3rd Japan GP 250cc – 6th Australia GP 500cc – 7th 1998: All Japan 250cc Japan GP 250cc – 6th Malaysian GP 500cc – 6th 1999: GP wildcard rider 2000: All Japan Superbikes – 7th 2001: All Japan Superbikes – 4th 2002: All Japan Superbikes on prototype GSV-R Three wins, three second places – all non points scoring