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.

From a press release issued by Michelin:

MICHELIN AIMS FOR MotoGP CLEAN SWEEP

This weekend Michelin aims to maintain its unbroken record in the new MotoGP World Championship – bike racing’s fastest and most demanding race series. The French company has totally dominated the enthralling first season of this new category, winning all 15 races so far. No surprise there, since Michelin had monopolised the top step of the podium throughout the last three seasons of 500 GP racing.

Michelin has already wrapped up the first MotoGP world title with Valentino Rossi (Repsol Honda Team RC211V-Michelin), though the runner-up spot is still to be decided between Tohru Ukawa (Repsol Honda Team RC211V-Michelin) and Max Biaggi (Marlboro Yamaha Team YZR-M1-Michelin). Rossi’s 2002 crown is Michelin’s 22nd premier-class title from the past 27 years and its 11th consecutive success. But Michelin’s strength isn’t only up front, Michelin riders have filled all but one of the 45 podium-finishing positions so far, all but eight of the 60 front-row slots and currently occupy the top ten places in the points standings.

The company’s all-dominant S4 profile rear slick – designed for the new four-strokes but equally effective with the traditional 500 two-strokes – is a crucial development of the company’s groundbreaking 16.5in tyre, offering a fatter footprint for more grip, extra traction and cooler running for extended endurance.

THE RIDERS AND VALENCIA

Sete Gibernau (Telefonica Movistar Suzuki GSV-R-Michelin) and team-mate Kenny Roberts Junior (Telefonica Movistar Suzuki GSV-R-Michelin) know that this weekend’s Valencia GP is their last chance to give Suzuki’s V4 four-stroke a debut-season MotoGP victory. And considering the duo’s performance in last year’s rain-affected Valencia race, in which they finished first and third aboard their RGV500 two-strokes, they’ve got to be in with a chance.

However, the 2002 World Championship hasn’t been easy for the Spaniard and American. Unlike their rivals at Honda and Yamaha, they came into the first-ever four-stroke-based MotoGP season without a year of development behind them, because Suzuki had originally planned to continue racing its RGV500 this year, introducing the GSV-R in 2003. But a change of plan commenced the GSV-R’s track-testing programme in January, just three months before the first MotoGP race.

To further complicate matters, Gibernau and Roberts started the season with a rival tyre manufacturer but soon switched to Michelin as they searched for improved competitiveness. Since then they’ve been on the pace on occasion, Gibernau leading September’s soaking Portuguese GP before falling with just three laps remaining, and Roberts scoring his first GSV-R podium at September’s Brazilian GP.

“It’s been tough – that’s inevitable where you’re racing and developing simultaneously,” says Gibernau. “But with a little more luck we could have already had a win and a few more podiums. I believe in this project and it’ll come good with a full winter of testing behind us.”

At least Gibernau and Roberts have been able to rely on race-winning rubber since they fitted Michelin for May’s Spanish GP – the pair has access to exactly the same tyres as all Michelin runners.

“Michelin has done an awesome job with its four-stroke tyres,” adds Gibernau. “The tyres are better than they were and they keep improving – they keep giving us more feel and feedback, which really helps us. And that’s even though the four-strokes give the tyres a harder time than the 500s – the bikes are heavier, faster and have more torque. Michelin definitely has the advantage over the other tyre manufacturers, the others have some catching up to do.”

Gibernau is still working to get the best out of his GSV-R. “I’ve pretty much learned to understand the four-stroke, the only real trouble we’ve had is with engine braking into corners. The four-stroke is easier out of the turns because you can control the tyre with the throttle, it’s less critical than the 500.”

Gibernau will never forget last year’s Valencia win – his first world-class success – and would love nothing more than to win again on Sunday. “I like the track. It’s nothing special, but I’m at home so I have to make it special. I need a good result, and I know what it takes to win at Valencia, so I’ve just got to put the pieces together to make it happen again.

“It’s one of those circuits where every corner is important, it all counts, so you’ve got to be good at every spot of the track. There’s no place where you can make up a few tenths all in one, it’s all a tenth here and a tenth there. You need a lot of front tyre for turning in on the brakes, because there’s a lot of tight corners, then you need good rear traction for acceleration.”


MICHELIN TYRES AND VALENCIA

Michelin tyres are unbeaten in the premier class at Valencia – taking pole position, fastest lap and race victory at the 1999, 2000 and 2001 GPs. This weekend the French tyre brand aims to maintain its unbeaten GP record at the Spanish track, the shortest and one of the slowest on the GP calendar. But if Valencia is short in distance, it’s not short on action, packing 14 corners into its 4.005km.

Valencia is therefore dominated by tight, in-and-out corners and a short-ish main straight, so bikes run ultra-low gearing here, making their low-gear acceleration more vicious than ever. Life at Valencia is complicated by the track’s left-biased anti-clockwise layout, with nine left-handers and just five right-handers, which generates boiling heat in the left side of tyres, but minimal warmth in the right side. Riders must bear this in mind every time they attack one of the circuit’s right-handed turns.

“Riders have to consider this especially at turn four, because the last time the right side of the tyre did any real work was in turn 11 on the previous lap,” says Michelin Grand Prix manager Emmanuel Fournier. “Our job is to make sure that riders have tyres that will cope with the many left-handers, while also holding enough heat for the rights. We have various solutions that work well, and we’ve already tested here this year – at the IRTA tests in February and with HRC in August.

“Valencia is very tight, with a lot of short turns, so the priority for most riders is light handling, and I think it will be a challenge for the four-strokes to beat the lighter two-strokes here. The front end is especially important, because most of the turns are quite short, so riders need good turn-in. Some of our riders will probably experiment with narrower wheel rims, which ‘sharpen’ the profile of the tyres, giving lighter handling and faster turn-in.”

Most MotoGP riders now limit their rear wheel rim choice to two sizes – 6.0in and 6.25in (the maximum width permitted by MotoGP regulations) – and their front alternatives to either 3.5in and 3.6in, or maybe 3.7in and 3.75in, depending on individual preference. The difference in these sizes might seem negligible but even a tenth of an inch (2.5mm) in rim width can have an effect on bike behaviour.

Juggling these rim widths with different compound and construction Michelin tyres, along with an endless possibility of suspension and geometry settings, should deliver a rider’s preferred handling and steering characteristics. It’s a labyrinthine task that demands expert know-how from engineers and intricate feeling from riders.

“Although most of the corners are quite short, riders still need good edge grip, as well as good driving traction at high lean angles because the engine character of the four-strokes allow riders to use the throttle very early,” continues Fournier. “There are also some long turns at Valencia, like the sweeping uphill left-hander near the end of the lap, and the long, downhill left Turn 13 that tightens into the final corner. That last turn is the opposite to the last left at Phillip Island, it really tightens up, rather than opening out, so riders need a strong construction front to help them brake while leant over.

“We won’t have anything ‘brand new’ at Valencia, just the latest evolution of our front and rear MotoGP tyres that we’ve developed this season, in compounds and constructions suited to the special demands of this track.”

Michelin’s efforts to maintain its position as the supreme creator of high-performance motorcycle tyres demands year-round hard work from its engineers and chemists. So it should be no surprise that Michelin’s MotoGP crew will get just two days off before commencing pre-2003 season testing with the new Ducati Desmosedici V4 at Valencia! “That’s not such a bad winter break!” jokes Michelin’s chief of motorcycling competition Nicolas Goubert.


VALENCIA DATA

Lap record
Alex Crivillé (Repsol YPF Honda NSR500-Michelin)
1:36.085 150.054kmh/93.239mph (2000)

Pole position 2001
Max Biaggi (Marlboro Yamaha Team YZR500-Michelin), 1:34.496

Recent winners at Valencia
1999 Regis Laconi (Red Bull Yamaha WCM YZR500-Michelin), 53:23.825 (damp race)

2000 Garry McCoy (Red Bull Yamaha WCM YZR500-Michelin), 48:27.799

2001 Sete Gibernau (Telefonica Movistar Suzuki RGV500-Michelin), 54:39.391 (damp race)


Michelin’s partners

Repsol Honda Team-Michelin (4S)
Valentino Rossi
Tohru Ukawa

Marlboro Yamaha Team-Michelin (4S)
Max Biaggi
Carlos Checa

Telefonica Movistar Suzuki Team-Michelin (4S)
Kenny Roberts
Sete Gibernau

West Honda Pons-Michelin (2&4S)
Loris Capirossi (2S)
Alex Barros (4S)

Fortuna Honda Gresini-Michelin (4S)
Daijiro Kato

Gauloises Yamaha Tech 3-Michelin (4S)
Shinya Nakano
Olivier Jacque

Antena 3 Yamaha-d’Antin-Michelin (2&4S)
Norick Abe (4S)
Jose Luis cardoso (2S)

Copyright 2002, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Roadracing World GP Editor Mat Oxley, responding to a reader who wanted to know which would be the best MotoGP event to go to in 2003:

Mugello is undoubtedly the best choice, Jerez second. Mugello–great fans, great track (layout and environs), great food, Florence just down the road, etc. etc. etc.

From a press release issued by Monstermob Ducati:

BYRNE AND EASTON TO LEAD TITLE DEFENCE

Double champions from 2002, Paul Bird Motorsport have today announced that Shane Byrne will join Stuart Easton in the MonsterMob Ducati team for the 2003 British Championship season.

25 year old Byrne, from Sittingbourne in Kent, will replace British Superbike Champion Steve Hislop aboard the 998cc Ducati Testastretta and having finished fourth in this season’s title chase on his first year with Ducati, ‘Shakey’ is confident of success:

“I’ve learned a lot from this season and can’t wait to start testing. The opportunity to join the most successful team in the British Championship at present was one I didn’t have to think twice about. I’ve been so excited about this since Paul Bird told me the deal was on and I’m confident we can have a very successful time next season in the British Superbike Championship”.

Winner of the National Supersport title last season, 18 year old Scot Stuart Easton has re-signed for the team for a fourth successive year and will defend his title aboard the all-conquering 748cc Ducati. The Hawick rider won seven races last season as well as scoring world championship points at Brands Hatch and is planning on continuing his domination:

“I have never raced two consecutive seasons on the same bike so I’m hoping the experience I gained this year will come in handy next season when the championship reverts back to British level. I know the competition will be stronger but I also know that both the bike and I are capable of winning again”.

For team boss Paul Bird, who has endured the wrath of Hislop fans since announcing he wasn’t renewing the Scot’s contract, is also confident that this team can achieve the same level of success next season:

“This is the start of our three year plan to take some very good and in particular, young British riders into the world championship, hopefully with ourselves. Both Shane and Stuart have talent in abundance and I see no reason why both shouldn’t make it to the very top”.

Mobile phone entertainment and communications specialists MonsterMob have also agreed to the title sponsorship of the team for a third successive year and along with Fuchs Silkolene, will be sporting the majority of logos on the Ducatis.

“We are proud of what Paul and his team have done for both ourselves and motorcycle racing in general and we are very happy to maintain our association with his team. Hopefully, Shane can emulate Steve’s success and Stuart can continue his rise to stardom next season” said Managing Director Martin Higginson.

The MonsterMob Ducati riders will kick off their season with a couple of tests in Spain prior to the season starting at Silverstone on March 30th 2003.

Copyright 2002, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Funeral arrangements for Buster Roberts are as follows:

Calling hours at Franklin And Downs Funeral Home, at the corner of 12th and G Street in Modesto, California will be Saturday, November 2 from 1:00 to 6:00 p.m. and Sunday, November 3 from 10:00 to 2:00 p.m.

A reception will be held from 3:00 to 6:00 p.m. Sunday at the same location.

The burial will be private.

In lieu of flowers, the family has requested that donations be made to the Roadracing World Action Fund, P.O. Box 1428, Lake Elsinore, CA 92531 or to the Clayton Memorial Foundation, 3505-M Cadillac Ave., Costa Mesa, CA 92626.

From a press release issued by Team Suzuki News Service:

SUZUKI RETURN TO HAPPY VALENCIA FOR FINAL SHOOT-OUT

MotoGP – Round 16, Valencia, Spain, November 3, 2002

The debut MotoGP season comes to an end at Valencia next weekend, at the track that saw Suzuki’s best result last year. This year, the new GSV-R 990cc four-stroke prototype is nearing the end of its first season of on-track race-development. The Telefónica MoviStar Suzuki team hopes the omens will be good for the new bike to finish its first year as it started.

The big baritone Suzuki, youngest of the new-generation Japanese GP four-strokes, aced its first-ever race, with factory wild card rider Akira Ryo leading the first half of the Japanese GP at Suzuka, and finishing a close second to eventual champion Valentino Rossi.

Seven months and 14 more hard races later, the GSV-R and riders Kenny Roberts Jr. and Sete Gibernau face the 2002 machine’s last GP from a position of greater strength. The 200-plus horsepower four-camshaft V4 is now a race-hardened and much more mature motorcycle, with a string of improving results to prove it. The GSV-R has developed in leaps and bounds from the first prototype raced at Suzuka.

History is on the side of the Suzuki riders, in two ways. There is the build-up through this season, as new hardware, software and ideas have been applied to the Mk1 MotoGP machine race by race. It has become increasingly competitive. Since the summer break, Roberts and Gibernau between them have led races, and racked up top five and even top-three results.

There is last year’s history. Late summer rains on race day opened a window of opportunity to the Telefónica MoviStar Suzuki pair, as others struggled to cope with the conditions. Roberts and Gibernau fought a breath-taking tooth-and-nail battle with Brazilian Alex Barros. At the finish they were still separated by inches, with Gibernau taking his first GP win and Suzuki’s first of the year, Roberts joining him on the rostrum in third.

Nobody is under any illusions that it will be easy, at a punishingly tight circuit against a field of rival four-strokes in ever-increasing numbers. They also have the benefit of a full season behind them. The tortuous Ricardo Tormo circuit will also favour a last chance for the die-hard 500cc two-strokes, which have challenged strongly towards the close of the first season that allowed the 990cc four-strokes to compete in their traditional stronghold.

It will be a tough contest for the final honours.

For Suzuki, this last race draws a line under the first stage of an impressively rapid development programme put forward a full year during last winter after very promising bench-tests of the all-new low-friction high-output V4 motor. Instead of a year testing in private followed by a debut in 2003, Suzuki took the bold step of throwing the new baby in at the deep end, ironing out teething troubles in full public gaze, while competing with other MotoGP machines with a year or more of extra development.

The focus at the final weekend is not only on giving the first prototype version of the machine a strong final race, but also to gather yet more data for next year’s GSV-R. For 2003, though development will continue as always, the aim is to be race-ready from the start of the year, for an uncompromising full-scale championship assault.

“We worked closely with senior factory personnel at the last rounds in Japan and Malaysia, with everyone making the most of the chance of face-to-face discussions between riders, mechanics and design engineers,” said Team Manager Garry Taylor.

“Suzuki promised the team an all-out effort this season, and that’s exactly what we got. The factory has worked non-stop to improve the basic machine, with ideas, personnel and equipment coming almost on a race-by-race basis,” said Taylor.

“As the riders have been able to go faster they have unearthed new problems that needed solving. That is the nature of development.

“Along with new levels of performance for this year’s motorcycle, we’ve also been working on ideas and techniques offering further improvements. Next year’s machine is on the drawing board already,” said Taylor. “It will take everything we’ve learned this year to the next level.”

After a full winter test programme, that machine will make its debut at the season-opening Japanese GP, scheduled for April 6 at Suzuka.

This year’s Valencia GP is the 16th race of the season, the fourth on the Iberian peninsula, and the third in Spain. Established in 1999, the race reliably draws big crowds to the spectacular stadium circuit, which packs GP length into a relatively small area, with all the action close at hand.

KENNY ROBERTS – ANOTHER YEAR LIKE BEFORE
“It’s strange. I really don’t like the nature of the Valencia circuit, and it’s hard to ride one of these things there. But I’ve had a lot of luck at this circuit. Last year, I was third after battling for the lead to the finish, the year before Rossi fell off trying to beat me. Seems like I’m always on the podium there. So while I don’t like to go there, I always come away happy. That’s my whole outlook for this year too.”

SETE GIBERNAU – BE READY TO TAKE WHAT COMES
“Valencia is a different sort of race track – nice for the crowd, but tough on the riders. I don’t mind working hard. We’ve been doing that all year, chipping away at our problems and doing the best with what we have. And that has meant some good races and results in both wet and dry, from Brno onwards. Last year the race came to us, and we were ready for it. For sure, it was a fantastic moment, to win my first GP at home in Spain. This year, we’ll make sure we’re ready for it again.”

ABOUT THIS TRACK
Named in honour of the late former World Champion Ricardo Tormo, the track at Valencia was first used in 1999, and typifies the new-millennium style of stadium circuit, with huge grandstands and natural hillside terraces offering spectators a view of almost the entire 2.489-mile length from a number of possible vantage points. To achieve this, the distance has been crammed into a very compact area, looping back and forth, and then back again in front of the massed spectators. Inevitably this means a lot of hard braking and only a few overtaking opportunities – but careful design has given the track a fast straight and some challenging faster corners as well. The lap starts with an epic left-hander, and closes with a series of medium-speed corners taken at high lean angles, but requiring both braking and acceleration – a stimulating riding challenge.

ABOUT THIS RACE
The European season started in Spain at Jerez, and closes at Valencia for a fourth year in succession. This year, for the first time, the Valencia race also closes the season, having swapped dates with the Rio race. The third Spanish race of the year, it is also the last course in a feast of classic action for the Spanish fans, passionate about motorcycle grand prix racing.

GP DATA – Ricardo Tormo Circuit, Valencia
Circuit Length: 2.489 miles – 4.005 km

Lap Record: 1:36.085 – 93.24 mph, 150.054 km/h, A Criville (Honda) 2000

2001 Race Winner: Sete Gibernau (Telefónica MoviStar Suzuki)

2001 Race Average: 54:39.391 – 81.96 mph / 131.8961 km/h

2001 Fastest Race Lap: Sete Gibernau (Telefónica MoviStar Suzuki) 1:38.792 – 92.558 mph / 148.958 km/h

2001 Pole Position: M Biaggi (Yamaha) 1:34.496

2001 Kenny Roberts: Third, qualified Seventh (Telefónica MoviStar Suzuki)

2001 Sete Gibernau: First, qualified 12th (Telefónica MoviStar Suzuki)