From a press release issued by Suzuki:

SUZUKI SAYS THANK YOU TO TELEFÓNICA MOVISTAR

October 31st: Team Suzuki says goodbye to their sponsors of three years, Telefónica MoviStar, after this weekend’s Valencia GP. This brings to an end a successful association between the Japanese racing factory and the Spanish telecommunications giant – a partnership that has yielded five Grand Prix wins, and victory in the 500cc World Championship in 2000.

“We joined forces with Telefónica MoviStar in 2000, after starting negotiations the previous year, when the team had regained its usual championship-winning potential – Kenny Roberts Jr. won four GPs in 1999. and finished second in the World Championship,” said team manager Garry Taylor.

“The next year was even better. Kenny won four more races, but more importantly scored highly in almost every event to win the World Championship. It was a great year for the Suzuki team, and for Telefónica MoviStar as well.

“Last year we added another win with Sete at Valencia – a home triumph for the rider and the sponsors,” continued Taylor.

“We understand that this sponsorship has now run its course, and on behalf of Suzuki Motor Corporation, I would like to take this opportunity to thank them for their support.

“Telefónica MoviStar has been a fantastic sponsor to the team and to the factory race department –very professional, always supportive in good times and bad, and above all highly enthusiastic at every level. It’s been a pleasure working with them over the past three years, and we all wish them well in their new venture.

“For our part, I’d like to think we’ve made a very positive contribution to their increased brand awareness. We’ve certainly learned a lot from them,” Taylor said.

“Next year Team Suzuki will continue to contest the MotoGP World Championship with an all-new Mk2 version of the 990cc four-stroke machine V4 GSV-R,” he added.

“We have signed Kenny Roberts Jr. for at least two more years, while the factory has redoubled its commitment to turning our new four-stroke racer from the first-year prototype to a serious championship contender. We are very focused on winning the championship again.

“We hope to make an announcement shortly about our second rider, and new sponsorship plans,” Taylor concluded.

Roadracing World contributer Beth “Wednesday Addams” Wyse and Website Editor
Melissa “Cheerleader of the Beast” Berkoff. Photo by Bob Branam/Branam’s Photography.

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From a press release issued by FIM:

Road Racing World Championship Grand Prix

Valencia Grand Prix: wild-card riders

125cc class:

51 – Alvaro Bautista, SPA – Aprilia, Team Atietico de Madrid

52 – Julian Simon, SPA – Honda, Telefonica Movistar Jr. Team

59 – Vincent Braillard, SUI – Honda, Team Philippe Coulon

71 – Ruben Catalan, SPA – Aprilia, MIR Racing

98 – Chris Peris, CDN – Honda, Bikecards.com

250cc class:

34 – Eric Bataille, FRA – Honda, Cibertel Honda BQR

38 – Alvaro Molina, SPA – Yamaha, Kolmer Racing Team

39 – Luis Manuel Castro Garcia, SPA – Yamaha, Cordoba Patrimonio Human

74 – Angel Rodriguez, SPA Aprilia, PS Racing Team

90 – Chuck Sorensen, USA – Aprilia, Team Stargel Aprilia

MotoGP class:

29 – David Garcia, SPA – Proton, Proton Team KR

84 – Andrew Pitt, AUS – Kawasaki, Kawasaki Racing Team

From a press release issued by Honda Racing Information:

2002 MotoGP World Championship, Round 16
Comunitat Valencia Grand Prix, Valencia, Spain
November 1/2/3

HONDA RIDERS JOUST FOR FINAL SHARE OF MotoGP GLORY

The inaugural season of four-stroke based MotoGP racing screeches to a breathless halt this coming weekend at the Circuito Ricardo Tormo, Valencia, with the majority of the top riders setting out to underline the supremacy of Honda men and machines yet again.

The new breed of 990cc four-strokes, introduced into MotoGP at the first round at Suzuka, way back in April, have won all the 15 races so far and Honda RC211V riders have wrought victories in 13 of those. This virtual monopoly of the top step of the podium has seen Honda win the Manufacturer’s Championship in some style, with the current Honda score of 365 points proving to be incredibly close to the theoretical season maximum of 400 and with Valencia still to be counted, a final total of 390 is a distinct possibility.

The strength in depth of the entire Honda effort is further exemplified by the number of total podium places scored by Honda riders so far, 32 from a possible 45, a ratio of over 70%. Of those 32, no fewer than 27 (60% of the total) were scored by riders of the awesome RC211V V5 four-stroke, the dominant machine of the new MotoGP era.

The pre-eminent rider of the modern era, Valentino Rossi (Repsol Honda Team RC211V), has been an equally assertive force in the Rider’s Championship, cantering to his latest crown with four rounds left to run, and taking 11 race wins thus far.

The most recent of his successes came at the penultimate Phillip Island round on 20 October and it proved to be Rossi’s 50th career win in all classes of Grand Prix competition. One more maximum points score would bring Rossi’s total to 12 premier class wins in a season, a mark which would equal that previously set by another Honda GP legend, Michael Doohan.

Valencia could well bring yet another record to the prolific 23-year-old Italian rider, as only a further five points will improve his current haul to equal Michael Doohan’s total of 340 in a single year. Having only one DNF on his copybook this year, and no other finish worse than second, the formbook favours Rossi to set a new points record once the Valencian dust has settled.

The Ricardo Tormo track has not been the kindest circuit to Rossi or Honda in the three-year history of the most recently inaugurated Spanish-based GP, with no premier class Honda rider having ever won at the 4.005km circuit near Cheste, situated in the outskirts of the city of Valencia itself. Rossi, now four-times a world champion (125cc in 1997, 250cc in 1999, 500cc with Honda last season and now the first ruler in MotoGP) has never won at Valencia in any class, despite his frequently demonstrated speed. Second-quickest in qualifying last season, Rossi’s chances of the win were overturned in the race after a downpour in the run up to the start made it a lottery in terms of tyre choice – a gamble that Rossi ultimately lost to finish 11th.

Rossi’s Repsol Honda Team has tested at Valencia this season, shortly before the Estoril MotoGP race, with Rossi setting comparable times with his best of the 2001 weekend, while working his way through a series of potential suspension and chassis set-ups.

Capable of winning on every sort of circuit, Rossi is confident that the tight and compactly laid-out Ricardo Tormo track, with a plethora of tricky sections inside a stadium-sized boundary, can be added to his outstanding tally of 11 different 2002 season winning venues.

“We tested at Valencia earlier in the year and I hope that the information we gathered then will help us in the effort for another win,” said motorcycle sport’s latest Superstar. “The championship fight is over but I really want to win another race.”

One championship battle very much alive is that for overall second, with Tohru Ukawa (Repsol Honda Team RC211V), injured at a crucial part of the season, now only one point behind Yamaha rider Max Biaggi. Valencia will thus be a man-to-man showdown for Rossi’s team-mate Ukawa, who feels up to the task. Having been faster than Rossi in testing in August, Ukawa has every right to feel that Valencia will be a good circuit for him.

“I have to beat Biaggi again next weekend to finish second in the championship, and that is what I intend to do,” asserted the resurgent Ukawa.

With a win first time out on the awesome RC211V, at Twin Ring Motegi in early October, Brazilian firecracker Alex Barros (West Honda Pons RC211V) has been something of the star of the MotoGP show ever since, securing third and second places immediately after his first race on the V5 four-stroke. Pushing Rossi all the way in the most recent races, Barros will be out to score another notable success at Valencia, the home country of his Honda Pons team.

Said Barros after an impressive ride in Australia; “Phillip Island was a great race between Valentino and myself. Since I have ridden the same bike as Rossi we are equal on victories with one apiece, and in the last Grand Prix I will try and win again.”

The two-strokes may be an endangered species in the new MotoGP world, but some riders have been able to upset the expected finishing order in individual races, notably Barros before he was given the RC211V and his team mate Loris Capirossi (West Honda Pons NSR500).

Capirossi is the most successful season-long Honda two-stroke rider, despite his injurious crash at Assen, which put him out of the points in three straight races. Two third places have been his best reward so far on his way to seventh in the table, but the former 125 and 250cc World Champion has attacked wherever possible on his nimble but outgunned NSR. Held back by a problem with vibration from the front end of his machine during the last round in Australia, Capirossi has made his feelings plain about the Valencia race.

“It has been difficult to predict which circuits allow the two-stroke riders to compete for at least a podium, but I hope Valencia is one of them, so that I can add to my score of top three finishes,” said the quietly-determined Italian.

Equipped with an RC211V since the Brno race, way back in round 10, Daijiro Kato (Fortuna Honda Gresini RC211V) has had some excellent rides, albeit frequently marred by ill fortune in the final analysis. He will thus be particularly keen to prove his undoubted talent with a race win before his rookie premier-class campaign winds down to a halt on Sunday evening.

He stated after his fourth place at Phillip Island; “Now I can relax a little then go to Valencia where I hope to finish the season in the best possible way.”

Conducting valuable real race development work for the Bridgestone tyre company, Jurgen van den Goorbergh (Kanemoto Racing Honda NSR500) has been in improving form in the last couple of races, his fifth place at Phillip Island easily his best finish of the year, especially after it backed up a glorious front row qualification. A podium finish was a tantalising prospect after his good PI start, but his eventual fifth was more a product of being out-accelerated down the straights by the four-strokes than any other factor. Encouraged by his ride at Phillip Island, van den Goorbergh hopes to improve on even his season highpoint of fifth place.

“I would like every race to be like Phillip Island, because finally I had an opportunity to show my true abilities,” said the satisfied NSR rider. “Bridgestone’s progress has been amazing and I hope we can continue this level of competitiveness at Valencia, especially as most of the track is all about cornering speed and changes of direction.”

Tetsuya Harada (Pramac Honda NSR500) scorer of three top ten finishes earlier in the year, has been swamped by the increasing numbers of four-stroke machines on the grid in 2002 and now sits 17th in the table.

Robby Rolfo (Fortuna Honda Gresini NSR250) has now secured third place in the 250cc series, and as such is Honda’s highest-placed rider. A race win is missing from his otherwise fulsome season-long CV, and if he can overcome some consistent machine set-up challenges in qualifying, Rolfo will confirm himself as one of only two or three favorites for the Valencia race win.

“I have suffered with a front end feel problems all season. If we can use our time in qualifying well and find a good set-up then anything is possible,” said Rolfo. “I hope to use my hard cornering style to the maximum on this twisty track and I will be trying to win as usual.” Rolfo’s team-mate Emilio Alzamora (Fortuna Honda Gresini NSR250) has had a difficult season in many ways, but the Spanish rider sees Valencia as the perfect place to make his mark.

“I’m waiting for Valencia to put in a good race and to give my fans a good result,” said the former 125cc World Champion.

For Daniel Pedrosa (Telefonica Movistar Jr Team Honda RS125R), his chances of taking the 125cc crown evaporated during the last three long-haul races, but the young Spaniard knows that another win, to add to his Assen and Motegi triumphs, will be particularly appreciated on his home soil.

“No matter what happens at Valencia I will be third in the championship but my only aim is to win the race in front of the Spanish crowd.”

In addition to Pedrosa’s team-mate Joan Olive, another Junior team member will ride as a wild card at Valencia, Julian Simon.

The 125ccc Championship title is the only one yet to be decided but the unquestioned enthusiasm of the large Spanish crowd will ensure that the ground-breaking 2002 MotoGP year will end on a high note even if the frequent bouts of inclement autumnal weather return once more.

Copyright 2002, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.



By John Ulrich

American John Hopkins may have arrived in MotoGP on a Yamaha YZR500 one year too late. Despite his team’s hope that new 990cc MotoGP four-strokes would have teething problems in 2002, giving riders on the tried-and-tested two-stroke 500s a good chance, it hasn’t turned out that way.

Still, Hopkins’ best qualifying result in 2002 to date has been 6th and his best finish to date has been 7th, not bad for a teenager racing a 500 for the first time on GP tracks.

As an interesting diversion, we compared Hopkins’ qualifying times from 2002 with the pole position time from the same race in 2001, when everybody was on two-stroke 500s. The results show that Hopkins, if he had turned the same times on the unchanged-for-2002 YZR500 in 2001, would have taken pole three times.

Of course, this is just speculation, a case of what might have been, and all that really matters is what did happen. In 2002, what did happen is that MotoGP rookie Hopkins was at a distinct disadvantage to rivals on 990cc four-strokes.

Complicating any attempt at comparison is the fact that Hopkins is one of only three regular MotoGP riders on Dunlops in 2002, and the fact that Michelin’s latest MotoGP tires are significantly better than the Michelins used by the entire field in 2001.

The comparison follows:

Suzuka, Japan
Hopkins 2002 Qualifying Time: 2:06.302
Hopkins Qualifying Position: 18
Finishing Position: 12
2001 Pole: 2:04.777, Capirossi, NSR500

Welcom, South Africa
Hopkins 2002 Qualifying Time: 1:36.092
Hopkins Qualifying Position: 17
Finishing Position: 14
2001 Pole: 1:34.629, Rossi, NSR500

Jerez, Spain
Hopkins 2002 Qualifying Time: 1:43.916
Hopkins Qualifying Position: 16
Finishing Position: 13
2001 Pole: 1:42.739, Rossi, NSR500

Lemans, France
Hopkins 2002 Qualifying Time: 1:37.707
Hopkins Qualifying Position: 19
Finishing Position: 11
2001 Pole: 1:38.421, Biaggi, YZR500

Mugello, Italy
Hopkins 2002 Qualifying Time: 1:52.923
Hopkins Qualifing Position: 13
Finishing Position: 12
2001 Pole: 1:52.554, Rossi, NSR500

Barcelona, Spain
Hopkins 2002 Qualifying Time: 1:45.148
Hopkins Qualifing Position: 6
Finishing Position: 10
2001 Pole: 1:45.507, Rossi, NSR500

Assen, Holland
Hopkins 2002 Qualifying Time: 2:02.764
Hopkins Qualifying Position: 10
Finishing Position: 7
2001 Pole: 2:00.743, Capirossi, NSR500

Donington, England
Hopkins 2002 Qualifying Time: 1:31.977
Hopkins Qualifing Position: 6
Finishing Position: 8
2001 Pole: 1:31.964, Biaggi, YZR500

Sachsen, Germany
Hopkins 2002 Qualifying Time: 1:26.551
Hopkins Qualifing Position: 14
Finishing Position: DNS, injury
2001 Pole: 1:26.097, Biaggi, YZR500

Brno, Czech Republic
Hopkins 2002 Qualifying Time: 2:00.241
Hopkins Qualifying Position: 7
Finishing Position: DNF, mechanical
2001 Pole: 2:00.347, Biaggi, YZR500

Estoril, Portugal
Hopkins 2002 Qualifying Time: 1:41.092
Hopkins Qualifing Position: 15
Finishing Position: 8
2001 Pole: 1:40.076, Biaggi, YZR500

Rio, Brazil
Hopkins 2002 Qualifying Time: 1:51.624
Hopkins Qualifying Position: 14
Finishing Position: 14
2001 Pole: 1:51.431, Ukawa, NSR500

Motegi, Japan
Hopkins 2002 Qualifying Time: 1:50.849
Hopkins Qualifying Position: 16
Finishing Position: 14
2001 Pole: 1:49.800, Capirossi, NSR500

Sepang, Malaysia
Hopkins 2002 Qualifying Time: 2:06.857
Hopkins Qualifying Position: 19
Finishing Position: 18
2001 Pole: 2:05.637, Capirossi, NSR500

Phillip Island, Australia
Hopkins 2002 Qualifying Time: 1:33.424
Hopkins Qualifing Position: 14
Finishing Position: 16
2001 Pole: 1:31.984, Biaggi, YZR500

From a press release:

EXCLUSIVE – Ride the new DUCATI 999 or APRILIA RSV1000 at Willow Springs!

On Monday, Nov. 4. Aprilia-Ducati of Oceanside and GP Motorcycles of San Diego are hosting their trackday at the Streets of Willow Springs.

Customers will have the opportunity to test ride the brand new Ducati 999 as well as the Aprilia RSV1000. Besides the demo rides, the trackday also features one-on-one instructions, catered lunch, coffee and drinks throughout the day. The sign-up fee is $180 and space is limited, so sign up quickly. If the demand is big enough, they may add another day on Tuesday, Nov.5, possibly on the big track.

Celebrating the arrival of the new bikes, both stores will reimburse the cost of the trackday and include a free Ducati or Aprilia helmet with the purchase of a new Ducati 999 or Aprilia RSV1000. Please call Aprilia-Ducati of Oceanside (760) 722-7704 or GP Motorcycles (619) 233-4762 to sign up.

From a press release issued by Infineon Raceway, formerly Sears Point Raceway:

Top AMA Riders Invited to Infineon Raceway,
Give Input on Two Areas of Track

SONOMA, Calif.- Several top riders on the AMA Chevy Trucks Superbike Championship Series circuit were invited to Infineon Raceway on Monday to offer their expertise on two areas of the circuit that will be modified for safety purposes.

Aaron Yates (Suzuki), Eric Bostrom (Kawasaki), Ben Bostrom (Honda) and Miguel Duhamel (Honda), along with Ron Barrick, Road Racing Manager for the AMA, spent most of the day at Infineon Raceway, at the request of track President and General Manager Steve Page.

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Miguel Duhamel and Steve Page

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“I think that the commitment the raceway is showing the riders is great,” said Eric Bostrom, who placed second in AMA Superbike last season. “This place is going from one of the most dangerous tracks in the past to becoming one of the more safer tracks. The track is showing that it wants to make a commitment to rider safety and that’s important. We don’t see that everywhere we go.”

“This is the first time I’ve seen a track ask the opinion of riders. It kind of surprised me but I think that’s the way it should be,” added Ben Bostrom.

Barrick and the riders spent the day with Page, as well as track architect Bob Davis and Jere Starks, vice president of facilities, looking at Turns 1 and 9 on the 12-turn, 2.32-mile road course. The riders offered various options that will both increase rider safety, as well as maintain fan excitement when the series visits the Sonoma Valley in 2003 for the Supercuts Superbike Challenge, presented by Honda of Milpitas (May 2-4).

Track officials will incorporate the riders’ input when designing alternative track configurations for those two corners. There will be a manufacturer test date once the work is complete for teams that are interested. That date has not been determined.

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Ron Barrick, Aaron Yates, Eric & Ben Bostrom, and Steve Page

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“It’s definitely a good thing and it makes me feel good that the track is interested in what we have to say,” said Yates, one of the most vocal riders regarding safety when the series visited Infineon Raceway last season. “It makes you feel like the track appreciates what you have to say. Whatever they do will be an improvement safety-wise.”

“I think the input from the riders is going to help make this placer safer, and that’s the important thing,” said Duhamel, who was the last rider to leave the track with Barrick at 7 p.m. “We want it safer and more fun for the riders but we also want it to be exciting for the fans. That’s the ultimate mix. I’m just glad the track took the time to get our input.”

The work continues the commitment by track officials to make Infineon Raceway as safe as possible for motorcycles. Increased run-off was added at virtually every turn on the road course during a $50 million Modernization Plan, and the racing surface was also permanently separated from the slick drag strip.

“We are very appreciative that these riders took the time to travel here and spend the day with us,” Page said. “Nothing we do with engineers around a table can match the perspective of the guys who are actually out riding this track and the input they provided has helped to bring our alternatives very much into focus.”

From a press release issued by Proton Team KR:

For immediate release

FINAL CONFLICT FOR PLUCKY PROTON TWO-STROKE

The Ricardo Tormo circuit at Valencia will be a fitting venue for the last hurrah for the racing two-strokes. With its towering grandstands and steep hillsides crammed to bursting with avid fans, and a slow and tight circuit that should favour the 500 two-strokes against the clumsier 990cc four-strokes, Sunday’s Valencia GP should be a dramatic show-down.

Proton Team KR riders Jeremy McWilliams and Nobuatsu Aoki expect to be at the forefront of the final conflict. The Proton pairing have given the lightweight three-cylinder KR3 its strongest ever season of racing. The elegant and agile little two-stroke has not only mercilessly harried the big new 990cc four-strokes, which have dominated the reshaped premier class in their first season, but more significantly challenging the remaining four-cylinder factory two-strokes that were the KR3’s original target.

McWilliams and Aoki have been getting stronger and stronger in the Proton KR3’s final season – each rider’s first on the lightweight alternative racer. Challenging one another in a perfect example of friendly in-team rivalry, the two riders have forced the pace of development of the soon-to-be-retired racer. As a result, it has achieved new levels of performance as the dedicated team of England-based engineers apply the final polishing touches to a mature and well-integrated design.

Next year, Proton Team KR wheels out its own purpose-built 990cc V5 prototype four-stroke, to tackle the major factories head on with an equivalent heavyweight. This is a change of policy, after six years of David-and-Goliath struggle with the lightweight three-cylinder machine, which traded ultimate horsepower for better handling, braking and higher corner speed.

Team owner Kenny Roberts – racing legend and former triple World Champion – admits that even he was taken by surprise at how competitive his new pairing proved. “To tell the truth, it cost us some time on the four-stroke project, because they kept our engineers busy. They were riding the bike harder than it had ever been ridden, and finding some new weaknesses as a result. It took some time to improve our reliability record,” said Roberts.

By the midpoint of the season, the Proton was serving up one surprise after another, even at tracks not reckoned to suit its particular strengths. In Brazil and Australia McWilliams not only qualified on the front row of the grid, but also set the fastest-ever two-stroke laps of those circuits … records that are likely to stand when two-strokes are phased out for 2003.

Valencia is a last chance for the team to show what the Proton two-stroke concept can do.

The team is fielding test rider David Garcia at his final home GP as a wild card entry, bringing strength up to three. It will be the first top-class GP this year for the rider from Almeria, who turned 24 in September, though he competed at Brno as a replacement 250 rider.

“Our first aim to have all three fiish the race,” said team manager Chuck Aksland. “But we’re thinking that we could do better than some people expect.

“Valencia is another circuit where the emphasis is not on top speed, and our bike has gone well there in the past.

“The key this year will be the Bridgestone tyres. At the IRTA test there before the season, with very low temperatures, we left with the understanding that there was a lot of work to done to make the tyres competitive. Since then we’ve seen that Bridgestone have done a lot of work, and made very big steps. This time temperatures will be higher, which will also help them,” said Aksland.

“Maybe it will be another surprise GP,” he concluded.

The Valencia race is the 16th and final round of the MotoGP championship, which started in Japan on April 7.

JEREMY McWILLIAMS – HARD BRAKING WILL HELP US
We struggled a bit on our first outing at Valencia – but everything is a lot different now, especially the tyres. Generally we go better at circuits with faster corners, where we can really exploit our higher corner speed. Valencia is a very tight track. But at the same time it’s not a place where there are straights after the corners, and the bigger bikes won’t really be able to use their extra power. We’ll gain in all the hard braking and the corner entries, and I’m sure I can get a good result in what might be my last two-stroke race.

NOBUATSU AOKI – SOMETHING TO RIDE HARD ON SUNDAY
The way the team has been able to get the most out of my bike at the last few races has given me such a lot of confidence. Also the way the tyres have improved. On race day I always have something that I can push really hard. Valencia is that sort of track anyway: you need to be aggressive to make any progress. I think the Proton will be very good round there, and much easier to ride fast than the heavier motorcycles.

BUSTER ROBERTS – AN APPRECIATION
Buster Roberts, father and grandfather to world champions Kenny Roberts Senior and Junior, passed away on the night of Sunday, October 27. aged 82. Buster was a popular figure not only to Team Roberts but also throughout many spheres of racing, and all in Proton Team KR express their condolences to the Roberts family.