Copyright 2002, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

By David Swarts

Sete Gibernau has signed to ride a Honda RC211V alongside Daijiro Kato on the Honda Gresini team in the 2003 MotoGP series. Gibernau, 29, has collected one win (Valencia 2001) and six podium finishes over the past three seasons.

Suzuki has not announced who will replace Gibernau as teammate to Kenny Roberts on the second GSV-R for 2003.

From a press release issued by Honda Racing Information:

TETSUYA HARADA ANNOUNCES HIS REIREMENT AFTER 10 GLORIOUS YEARS

Tetsuya Harada, one of the top Japanese riders of the MotoGP World Championship, announces his retirement from competition after the GP of the Comunitat Valenciana.

Born in Chiba on June 14th 1970, Tetsuya began his career in the world championship in 1990, finishing seventh in the GP of Japan, in the 250cc class. In 1993, Tetsuya conquered his first world title. From his first world title, the Japanese rider has run 145 GP’s; 97 in the 250cc class, gaining 17 victories, and 48 in the 500cc/MotoGP class. Harada’s numbers are incredible: a total of 55 podiums of which 53 were in the 250cc class and two in the 500cc class, and 21 pole positions.

Tetsuya’s unique riding style allowed him to excel in the 250cc class both with Yamaha and Aprilia. A rider with rare qualities, Tetsuya gained respect both for his outstanding professional behaviour and for his extremely quiet, yet very warm personality. Kind, reserved and respectful, that is what makes Tetsuya a special person in and out of the paddock. Few riders have gained the respect of their “antagonists” and this has given a boost to Tetsuya’s career.

“At the end of a very difficult season,” said Tetsuya, “I took this difficult decision as I see no chance to pursue further success. During all these years, my winning determination has been my faithful companion but now, my rivals are way ahead of me and there is no reason for me to compete if I can’t stay in the front row. I want to thank everyone that has contributed to making my career unforgettable. During these ten long years of world championship racing, I really enjoyed myself: Thanks to everyone! I don’t know yet what I will do next year: for the moment I am thinking of a breathtaking holiday with my wife Miyuki. Then, together with her, we will decide what will be of our future”.

This year, Tetsuya competed with the world’s top riders with a Honda NSR500 and Pramac, an Italian team that wishes to thank this special champion for the fantastic year together.

“I began working in the world championship”–these are the words of the team manager Gianluca Montiron, that knows Tetsuya better than anyone else–“with Tetsuya, an extraordinary person, a great champion. Special characteristics that stand out even more when working together and I feel fortunate to have had the possibility of living such unforgettable moments with him. Tetsuya has an incredible talent and must be remembered as one of the most extraordinary riders in the world championship. During his career he won countless races, but he didn’t win as many times as he deserved. Now, unfortunately, he decided to retire but his accomplishments will remain in my heart as well as in the hearts of all the lovers of this incredible sport.”

Copyright 2002, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

By David Swarts

At a press conference Saturday at Valencia, KTM CEO Stefan Pierer announced that his company will field a 125cc Grand Prix team in 2003 and plans to run a V4 four-stroke in the 2005 MotoGP season. The Austrian manufacturer has hired Harald Bartol and Warren Willing to build the team, has acquired sponsorship from Red Bull and plans to begin testing in February 2003 with former 125cc World Champion Roberto Locatelli.

KTM has had success in off-road racing, and recently signed seven-time Supercross Champion Jeremy McGrath to a four-year agreement.

According to Pierer, KTM’s sales have grown from 6000 motorcycles in 1991 to 62,000 units sold in 2001.

Copyright 2002, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Saturday Morning 125cc GP Practice Times:

1. Daniel Pedrosa, Honda, 1:39.794
2. Pablo Nieto, Aprilia, 1:40.001
3. Arnaud Vincent, Aprilia, 1:40.284
4. Alex DeAngelis, Aprilia, 1:40.435
5. Hector Barbera, Aprilia, 1:40.531
6. Manuel Poggiali, Gilera, 1:40.611
7. Gino Borsoi, Aprilia, 1:40.616
8. Max Sabbatani, Aprilia, 1:40.854
9. Steve Jenkner, Aprilia, 1:40.905
10. Gabor Talmacsi, Honda, 1:40.943

37. Chris Peris, Honda, 1:49.915

Copyright 2002, Roadracing World Publishing, INc.

Final MotoGP Qualifying Results:

1. Max Biaggi, Yamaha YZR-M1, 1:33.211
2. Alex Barros, Honda RC211V, 1:33.584
3. Daijiro Kato, Honda RC211V, 1:33.641
4. Garry McCoy, Yamaha YZR500, 1:33.794
5. Carlos Checa, Yamaha YZR-M1, 1:33.815
6. Valentino Rossi, Honda RC211V, 1:33.855
7. Tohru Ukawa, Honda RC211V, 1:34.053
8. Jeremy McWilliams, Proton KR3, 1:34.139
9. Shinya Nakano, Yamaha YZR-M1, 1:34.177
10. Sete Gibernau, Suzuki GSV-R, 1:34.242
11. Olivier Jacque, Yamaha YZR-M1, 1:34.276
12. Loris Capirossi, Honda NSR500, 1:34.280
13. Regis Laconi, Aprilia RS3, 1:34.480
14. Kenny Roberts, Suzuki GSV-R, 1:34.525
15. Jurgen vd Goorbergh, Honda NSR500, 1:34.536
16. Nobuatsu Aoki, Proton KR3, 1:34.579
17. John Hopkins, Yamaha YZR500, 1:35.044
18. Andrew Pitt, Kawasaki ZX-RR, 1:35.107
19. David Garcia, Proton KR3, 1:35.186
20. Norick Abe, Yamaha YZR-M1, 1:35.333
21. Jose Luis Cardoso, Yamaha YZR500, 1:35.337
22. Tetsuya Harada, Honda NSR500, 1:35.606

Copyright 2002, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Friday Morning 125cc GP Practice Times:

1. Max Sabbatani, Aprilia, 1:41.063
2. Manuel Poggiali, Gilera, 1:41.223
3. Daniel Pedrosa, Honda, 1:41.291
4. Pablo Nieto, Aprilia, 1:41.298
5. Lucio Cecchinello, Aprilia, 1:41.587
6. Hector Barbera, Aprilia, 1:41.869
7. Mirko Giansanti, Honda, 1:42.006
8. Alex De Angelis, Aprilia, 1:42.038
9. Arnaud Vincent, Aprilia, 1:42.058
10. Gino Borsoi, Aprilia, 1:42.241

36. Chris Peris, Honda, 1:50.278

Copyright 2002, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

This just in, via e-mail, from Jerry Wood:


I have been reading with interest about the Boxer Cup at Daytona and Erik Buell’s response to the elimination of the Pro Thunder class. I would like to add the following:

I was in the AMA offices years ago when they were discussing eliminating the old Sportster class. They brought up the fact that they were down to six or seven entries at some events and interest was at an all-time low.

I asked that they consider running a series that ran all of the air-cooled Twins together along with Singles and some of the Triples, much like the BEARS class. They might be able to keep Harley-Davidsons support and let them compete with their real sportbike – Buell against other machines with similar performance and price. I pointed out that it would have more publicity value for Harley-Davidson to compete with other motorcycles in the same market.

The other key players like Ducati with their air-cooled two-valve Supersport line along with Moto Guzzi, BMW and others are often bought for daily riding by hard-core enthusiasts that are likely to attend the AMA road racing series and become AMA members. The class could also could be a good place for a new racer to get noticed.

They said that it sounded good and asked me to put it on paper. When I wrote the paper, the points that I stressed were that to keep any one machine from dominating they DO NOT ALLOW the new Triumph 955 Water-cooled Triple and the Ducati 748.

Well, somehow some Triumph folks lobbied hard and got the machine in. The Triumph won six of the top 10 spots in the Championship the first season.

The next time I spoke with the AMA Pro Racing guys I politely asked what they were going to even up the chances for other brands and they told me that they were going to include the 748. I stated in the strongest terms that the 748 would TAKE OVER the class and the only other bikes near the front would be a few factory supported Buells. they said that they had it all figured out and that would not happen.

We all know what did happen and now the class is to be eliminated.

Even today they could make a set of rules that would allow for a number of different brands to compete. Air-cooled Twins up to 1000cc and water-cooled Twins up to 650cc would work reasonably well. Many of us enjoy the sound of the twin-cylinder machines on the track.

I think that it a shame that the AMA and AMA Pro Racing have become two entities. If they could go back to having the same goals of attracting members rather and being inclusive rather than exclusive I think that we will all be better off for it.

The elimination of the 250GP class is another mistake that is certain to alienate AMA members and enthusiasts as well.

As a long-time AMA supporter I hope that something can be worked out.

Jerry Wood

Copyright 2002, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Friday’s MotoGP Qualifying Times From Valencia:

1. Alex Barros, Honda RC211V, 1:33.584
2. Max Biaggi, Yamaha YZR-M1, 1:33.638
3. Daijiro Kato, Honda RC211V, 1:33.641
4. Valentino Rossi, Honda RC211V, 1:34.159
5. Shinya Nakano, Yamaha YZR-M1, 1:34.177
6. Carlos Checa, Yamaha YZR-M1, 1:34.264
7. Jeremy McWilliams, Proton KR3, 1:34.458
8. Garry McCoy, Yamaha YZR500, 1:34.518
9. Loris Capirossi, Honda NSR500, 1:34.604
10. Regis Laconi, Aprilia RS3, 1:34.618
11. Kenny Roberts, Suzuki GSV-R, 1:34.641
12. Tohru Ukawa, Honda RC211V, 1:34.884
13. Olivier Jacque, Yamaha YZR-M1, 1:34.902
14. Sete Gibernau, Suzuki GSV-R, 1:35.280
15. Jurgen vd Goorbergh, Honda NSR500, 1:35.403
16. John Hopkins, Yamaha YZR500, 1:35.636
17. Nobuatsu Aoki, Proton KR3, 1:35.857
18. Tetsuya Harada, Honda NSR500, 1:35.907
19. Norick Abe, Yamaha YZR-M1, 1:35.955
20. Jose Luis Cardoso, Yamaha YZR500, 1:35.964
21. David Garcia, Proton KR3, 1:36.102
22. Andrew Pitt, Kawasaki ZX-RR, 1:36.659