Copyright 2002, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Saturday Morning MotoGP Practice Times:

1. Valentino Rossi, Honda RC211V, 1:52.161
2. Max Biaggi, Yamaha YZR-M1, 1:52.467
3. Kenny Roberts, Suzuki GSV-R, 1:52.860
4. Tohru Ukawa, Honda RC211V, 1:53.000
5. Loris Capirossi, Honda NSR500, 1:53.021
6. Carlos Checa, Yamaha YZR-M1, 1:53.039
7. Sete Gibernau, Suzuki GSV-R, 1:53.347
8. Alex Barros, Honda NSR500, 1:53.424
9. Jurgen vd Goorbergh, Honda NSR500, 1:53.441
10. John Hopkins, Yamaha YZR500, 1:53.454
11. Olivier Jacque, Yamaha YZR500, 1:53.564
12. Regis Laconi, Aprilia RS3, 1:53.731
13. Shinya Nakano, Yamaha YZR500, 1:54.201
14. Daijiro Kato, Honda NSR500, 1:54.218
15. Nobuatsu Aoki, Proton KR3, 1:54.230
16. Norick Abe, Yamaha YZR500, 1:54.237
17. Jeremy McWilliams, Proton KR3, 1:54.456
18. Jean Michel Bayle, Yamaha YZR500, 1:55.306
19. Tetsuya Harada, Honda NSR500, 1:55.347
20. Pere Riba, Yamaha YZR500, 1:55.508

Copyright 2002, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Saturday Morning 250cc GP Practice Times:

1. Franco Battaini, Aprilia, 1:55.202
2. Marco Melandri, Aprilia, 1:55.353
3. Fonsi Nieto, Aprilia, 1:55.594
4. Toni Elias, Aprilia, 1:56.015
5. Sebastian Porto, Yamaha, 1:56.129
6. Shahrol Yuzy, Yamaha, 1:56.142
7. Randy De Puniet, Aprilia, 1:56.406
8. Roberto Locatelli, Aprilia, 1:56.445
9. David Checa, Aprilia, 1:56.904
10. Alex Debon, Aprilia, 1:57.005
11. Naoki Matsudo, Yamaha, 1:57.439
12. Emilio Alzamora, Honda, 1:57.574
13. Roberto Rolfo, Honda, 1:57.640
14. Casey Stoner, Aprilia, 1:57.752
15. Raul Jara, Honda, 1:58.265

Copyright 2002, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

AMA Superstock Race Results (all on Suzuki GSX-R750s unless noted):

1. Jimmy Moore, 29 laps
2. Jason DiSalvo, -3.434 seconds
3. Craig Connell, -7.753 seconds
4. Tony Meiring, Kawasaki ZX-6R, -14.686 seconds
5. John Haner, -20.095 seconds
6. Lee Acree, -20.247 seconds
7. Vincent Haskovec, -20.759 seconds
8. Ty Howard, -24.836 seconds
9. Chris Ulrich, -26.997 seconds
10. Brian Parriott, -31.024 seconds
11. John Dugan, -33.264 seconds
12. Alan Schmidt, -33.805 seconds
13. Shane Clarke, -34.095 seconds
14. Brian Livengood, -34.328 seconds
15. Robert Jensen, -34.628 seconds
16. Ricky Orlando, -35.594 seconds
17. Jake Holden, -36.411 seconds
18. Andrew Nelson, Honda CBR600F4i, -39.421 seconds
19. Tommy Hayden, Kawasaki ZX-6R, -43.982 seconds
20. Chris Caylor, -50.806 seconds
21. J.J. Roetlin, -53.393 seconds
22. Scott Jensen, -1 lap
23. Marco Martinez, -1 lap
24. Giovanni Rojas, -1 lap
25. Justin Blake, -1 lap
26. Marty Sims, -1 lap
27. Rich Conicelli, -1 lap
28. Jason Chisum, -1 lap
29. Dennis Burke, -1 lap
30. Kevin Pate, -1 lap
31. Jeremy Chisum, -2 laps
32. Chris Siglin, -14 laps
33. Rob Christman, -16 laps
34. Jeff Bostrom, -18 laps
35. Adam Fergusson, -25 laps, DNF, Crashed



Provisional Superstock Point Standings:

1. Acree, 145 points
2. Moore, 129 points
3. Hayden, 122 points
4. Parriott, 119 points
5. Ulrich, 108 points
6. DiSalvo, 107 points
7. Haskovec, 105 points
8. Livengood, 100 points
9. Meiring, 99 points
10. Howard, 98 points

AMA Superstock Qualifying Results (all Suzuki GSX-R750s unless noted):

1. Jason DiSalvo, 0:56.156
2. Tommy Hayden, Kawasaki ZX-6R, 0:56.585
3. Craig Connell, 0:56.622
4. Jimmy Moore, 0:56.654
5. Adam Fergusson, 0:56.662
6. Lee Acree, 0:56.952
7. John Haner, 0:57.150
8. Brian Parriott, 0:57.184
9. Tony Meiring, Kawasaki ZX-6R, 0:57.235
10. Ty Howard, 0:57.403
11. Rich Conicelli, 0:57.432
12. Ben Spies, Suzuki GSX-R600, 0:57.514
13. Robert Jensen, 0:57.563
14. Chris Ulrich, 0:57.593
15. Vincent Haskovec, 0:57.651
16. Alan Schmidt, 0:57.843
17. Marco Martinez, 0:57.906
18. Jake Holden, 0:57.987
19. Shane Clarke, 0:58.038
20. Andrew Nelson, Honda CBR600F4i, 0:58.131
21. Chris Caylor, 0:58.206
22. Ricky Orlando, 0:58.228
23. Brian Livengood, 0:58.237
24. Robert Christman, 0:58.269
25. J.J. Roetlin, 0:58.454
26. John Dugan, 0:58.498
27. Scott Jensen, 0:58.747
28. Giovanni Rojas, 0:58.776
29. Mickey Lane, 0:59.014
30. Justin Blake, 0:59.173
31. Tom Wertman, 0:59.269
32. Jeff Bostrom, 0:59.370
33. Dennis Burke, 0:59.521
34. Jason Chisum, 0:59.600
35. Jeremy Chisum, 0:59.678
36. Kevin Pate, 0:59.869
37. Chris Siglin, Suzuki GSX-R600, 0:59.961
38. Tyler Wadsworth, Yamaha YZF-R6, 1:00.027
39. Martin Sims, 1:00.080
40. Chris Siebenhaar, Honda CBR600F4i, 1:00.082
41. Jason Swan, 1:00.115
42. Daryl Woodward, Yamaha YZF-R6, 1:00.151
43. Eric Haugo, 1:00.394
44. Glenn Conser, 1:00.834
45. David Guy, 1:00.975
46. Jamie Thompson, 1:00.981
47. Victor Mokler, 1:01.579
48. Eric Dooyema, 1:01.830
49. Michael Applehans, Suzuki GSX-R600, 1:01.890
50. Charlie Hewett, Ducati 748, 1:02.069
51. Larry Doe, Suzuki GSX-R600, 1:02.129
52. Scott Larm, Honda CBR600, 1:02.340

112% Cut-off Time: 1:02.895

DNQ. Chris Crash Lowe, 1:03.177
DNQ. Jessica Zalusky, Ducati 748, 1:04.087

This just in, via e-mail from Desiree Crossman, detailing her latest adventures with John “Hopper” Hopkins:

It’s 9:45 p.m. on a Saturday night and I can’t even describe to ANYONE HOW LOUD IT IS IN MUGELLO! I thought in Jerez they go nuts, I thought at Le Mans they go nuts, but nobody can out-do the Italians! For anyone who ever goes to Glamis during the desert season and they know Comp Hill Saturday night? This is just as bad!

We’ve been hearing Mugello is the worse for noise, the worse to sleep at, the craziest die hards I have ever seen for a motorcycle sport. From what we heard from everyone is that the fans bring fully modified engines just to rev the crap out of all night long and they are dead on! All night long we hear engines, fire crackers, engines, fire crackers, engines getting blown up, fireworks around the track and did I mention engines getting rev to the point of no return? They also pour oil on the engines for some sort of special effects. The sky is filled with smoke like it’s a complete war zone and they don’t stop until the racing starts the next day! It’s incredible! I can’t even BEGAN TO DESCRIBE THE ATMOSPHERE!

They have keg parties at each camp, we’ve heard somebody put up a disco with full lighting, dance floor, amplifier and it’s not put on by the
track. AND, we were told the engine revving was BANNED this year! Do you think the Italians care? Hell no. Crazy! Just like Competition Hill at
Glamis on Thanksgiving weekend.

John and I were chased by security, too! They obviously take their job seriously. We rode all around the track doing wheelies for the fans (who
were loving it, I may add) and we had a security guard yell at us, but we just rode right past. Then another security guard in a car started chasing us and screaming in Italian as we were doing wheelies, but we just kept going. They chased us halfway around the track until she sped up and got out of the car.

We nearly knocked her over and kept going, laughing our bums off, and then this guard in a car going around 100 kph, maybe more, comes from the opposite direction with lights flashing, honking the horn, swerves out in front of us, jumps out of the car with a K9 in the back, screaming for us to get off the track. So we get off the track onto the service road and started doing more wheelies for the crowd! They were going nuts. Around the last corner we got back on the track and did another wheelie just to piss him off some more. It was so fun! They have all this chaos around the track with a bunch of drunks partying like they never partied, before blowing up engines, lighting fire works BUT we can’t do wheelies on the track? Question…Do you think it stopped us? GO TO MUGELLO, ITALY IN 2003!

Copyright 2002, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

AMA 250cc GP Qualifying Results:

1. Rich Oliver, Yamaha, 0:56.641
2. Simon Turner, Yamaha, 0:57.086
3. Jason DiSalvo, Honda, 0:57.191
4. Chuck Sorensen, Aprilia, 0:57.480
5. Perry Melneciuc, Yamaha, 0:58.065
6. Ed Sorbo, Yamaha, 0:59.269
7. Colin Jensen, Aprilia, 0:59.508
8. Frank Aragaki, Yamaha, 0:59.823
9. Darren Fulce, Yamaha, 1:00.124
10. Ty Piz, Yamaha, 1:00.193
11. John France, Honda, 1:00.452
12. John Williams, Yamaha, 1:00.883
13. T. Russell Strobridge, Yamaha, 1:01.011
14. Stephen Bowline, Honda, 1:01.917
15. David Bothell, Honda, 1:02.298
16. Andrew Edwards, Yamaha, 1:02.471
17. Glenn Christianson, Yamaha, 1:02.963

From a press release:

HONDA RACING NEWS

MotoGP WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP 2002
ITALIAN GRAND PRIX, MUGELLO
Final Qualifying, Saturday June 1 2002

ROSSI TAKES POLE IN THE FINAL SECONDS

World Champion Valentino Rossi (Repsol Honda Team RCV211V) moved from fourth place to pole position after a last-gasp qualifying lap of breathtaking daring. Motivated by support from his local crowd and the sight of two factory Yamahas in the top two positions, Rossi embarked on a bold 1:51.258 lap to take pole by 0.579 seconds, snatching it from his great Italian rival Max Biaggi (Yamaha) in the dying seconds. Rossi’s time was fully 2.084 seconds under the existing race lap record held by Honda legend Michael Doohan.

At the limit throughout the final circuit, Rossi was ebullient at his all-time great performance in this single lap but admitted that he had to ride exceptionally hard to go quite this fast around one of the quickest tracks on the championship calendar. “Today was very difficult but also very exciting,” he said. “We had problems setting fast times before that and it seems that both the Yamahas are at the same level as us now. We had some problems in qualifying and we worked very hard to fix them all. We still have some of them, so it will be very difficult tomorrow.”

Rossi confirmed that this was his best qualifying performance of an outstanding career. “My fifth pole position in a row is very satisfying -unbelievable. This pole is great, and for sure my best pole position. But we have to keep concentration for the race.”

Carlos Checa (Yamaha) took third position on the Mugello MotoGP grid, thanks to his Friday time, edging out the late challenge of Loris Capirossi (West Honda Pons NSR500) to fourth. The third Italian on the front row gave it his all to take the top two-stroke spot.

“We can’t get to the speed of Valentino and Biaggi and we had some problems with the set-up but it was very important for me to finish the top two-stroke rider,” said the former 125 and 250 World Champion. “I gave it my all and I am satisfied with my performance, even though I was still almost one second down. I still think that our lap time is very good. There will be two different races tomorrow, so it will be very hard to stay with the four-strokes.”

Tohru Ukawa (Repsol Honda Team RCV211V) finished seventh on the grid but made history in any case, setting the fastest ever top speed recorded at a Grand Prix. The 200 mph barrier was first broken today by Regis Laconi (Aprilia), who went through the speed trap at 332.3km/h. The unofficial but highly prestigious top speed competition was eventually won by Ukawa’s V-five Honda, with a speed trap figure of 324.5km/h (201.635mph). Ukawa was nonplussed by his record but acknowledged that to other people it is a significant step. “To go so fast is very good for the team and Honda but it was not so much better than 199 mph!”

Joining Ukawa on the second row of the grid will be former 250 World Champion Tetsuya Harada (Pramac Honda NSR500) who was pleased to finish higher than three of his fellow NSR500 riders. “For half the qualifying session we had chattering problems. Finally, in conjunction with the team, we totally changed the set up and I could ride faster and with more confidence. The team really worked well and I’m satisfied about that. The left shoulder I hurt preseason is still aching and I hope it doesn’t get too bad tomorrow.”

Alex Barros (West Honda Pons NSR500) ended his pre-race preparations in ninth place, experiencing some handling quirks with his two-stroke machine. “We improved the problems we had with the bike turning, but this provoked one or two hitches that we will try to put right tomorrow. We must take too many risks to lap in the low 1:52s, although I feel comfortable lapping in the 1:53s. We must improve the bike settings a little more for the race, although it will be very difficult up against the four-strokes.”

Jurgen van den Goorbergh (Kanemoto Racing Honda NSR500) took the last place inside the top 15, riding as hard as he knew on a track that rewards top speed and commitment into corners. “The bike is working OK, but we are just missing a few tenths because we are still developing the Bridgestone tyres,” stated the Dutch rider. “Having said that we are not too far off the best times and with another four or five tenths we would be up there around eighth or so. The difference between being happy and unhappy is very little in terms of qualifying times this year.”

Brilliant early season starter Daijiro Katoh (Fortuna Honda Gresini NSR500)struggled throughout the second day of qualifying after experiencing a big crash yesterday. “It’s a pity to be so far back on the grid with a bike that doesn’t have the correct set up. It will be a very difficult race but tomorrow in the warm-up we will try a different technical solution and try to climb back to the front.”

With all the 250 competitors improving on their overnight pole position times the top positions shuffled frequently in the last session, leaving Franco Battaini (Aprilia) on pole position by a clear margin. Stefano Porto (Yamaha) Tony Elias (Aprilia) and Fonsi Nieto (Aprilia) completed the front row.

The highest-placed Honda was Emilio Alzamora (Fortuna Honda Gresini NSR250) in tenth place, due to set up problems that he only solved today. “What we needed we found today,” said a relieved Alzamora. “Yesterday the problems we had were with the wrong settings but now those problems have gone. I am looking forward to the race now.”

The quickest production Honda rider was once more Haruchika Aoki (Arie Molenaar Racing Honda RS250R/W) in 13th, ahead of Robby Rolfo (Fortuna
Honda Gresini NSR250).

A crash that saw local rider Max Sabbatani (Aprilia) treated for his injuries at the side of the track caused the final 125 qualifying session to be halted and re-started, leading to a 15 minute delay for all the subsequent sessions. Sabbatani suffered a serious leg break in the accident and was flown to hospital in Florence by helicopter.

World Champion Manuel Poggiali took the fastest lap in the combined sessions and thus starts from pole position on his Gilera. Daniel Pedrosa (Telefonica Movistar Jr Team Honda RS125R) went second after the fraught final minutes of the final session. “We had some problems with set-up of the machine yesterday and that meant that we could not set the times we needed to do,” explained Pedrosa about his contrasting fortunes. “We altered our settings a lot and that allowed us to set much more competitive times. I’m glad we did because it’s going to be a long, hard race tomorrow, especially in the heat, and I think there will be a big group of us at the front.”

Alex De Angelis (Aprilia), a compatriot of San Marinese Poggiali, scored a third place start and Steve Jenkner (Aprilia) completes the front row quartet, after crashing in the last session and having to rely on his Friday provisional pole time to qualify.

Nobby Ueda (Semprucci Angaia Racing Honda RS125R) suffered a broken hip in his Friday crash and was declared unfit to race. Jakub Smrz (Elit Grand Prix Honda RS125R) qualified on the second row after posting an excellent seventh fastest time. Andrea Ballerini (FCC TSR RS125R) was the fastest of the local Honda riders in overall tenth.


HONDA TEAM QUOTES:

MotoGP:

Valentino Rossi, Repsol Honda Team, 1st: “Today was very difficult but also very exciting. There was big pressure, because this is my home GP and
also because the Yamahas are going very well at the moment. We have won the prize for a great last lap – I followed Aoki who was fast in the corner and I got a good tow down the straight. We have still a lot of work to do on the bike as it is still far from perfect. We’ve tried 3 or 4 different suspension settings and have tried several different tyre combinations. We have not so much traction and I would like more grip with the rear. We need to remain concentrated for the race tomorrow.”

Loris Capirossi, West Honda Pons, 4th: “I gave it my all as always and I am satisfied with my performance. I would like to thank my team for the extraordinary work that they have put in over the practice sessions to give me the opportunity of clocking a lightning fast time for a two-stroke bike. It was a perfect lap, and I was right on the limit, but unfortunately it did not give me pole position. There will be two different races tomorrow as it will be difficult to stay with the pace of the four-strokes, but I will try my best to battle until the bitter end, however complicated the race may be.”

Tohru Ukawa, Repsol Honda Team, 7th: “It would have been nice to start on the front row but the second row is not a disaster. I made a good start at Le Mans a fortnight ago and will have to make another very fast get away tomorrow. The bike is working much better now than it was when we started yesterday but we still need to make some adjustments to the suspension. This we can test in warm up tomorrow. The other area we can improve is me! Mugello has never been my favourite track and my results here show.”

Tetsuya Harada, Pramac Honda Team, 8th: “Up to the qualifying session we kept having chattering problems. Then, together with the team I completely changed the set up and I finally could ride faster and with more confidence. The team really worked well and I’m really satisfied about that. Unfortunately, on this track which is so fast and with so many direction changes, the left shoulder I hurt this winter is still aching: I hope it doesn’t get too bad tomorrow during the race. I really want to do well, especially for the team that is Italian.”

Alex Barros, West Honda Pons, 9th: “We improved the problem we had with the bike turning, but this provoked one or two small hitches that we will try to put right in the warm-up tomorrow. It’s true that I must take too many risks to lap in the low 1:52s, although I feel comfortable lapping in 1:53. We must improve the bike settings a little more for the race, although it will be very difficult against the four-strokes.”

Sito Pons: “Capirossi maintained his front-row position in spite of the fierce challenges from his competitors. If he gets away well tomorrow he must try and stay with the four-strokes. Barros is further back but he is lapping with pace too and should be looking to be in the lead group.”

Antonio Cobas (Technical Director): “The lap times have come down, even though conditions were worse than on Friday as it was much hotter and the tyres reached very high temperatures. It looked as though the riders that don’t use Michelin tyres fitted special qualification compounds because they made dramatic improvements in the last few laps.”

Jurgen van den Goorbergh, Kanemoto Honda, 14th: “Not the top ten in qualifying but we found a better set-up today and I was even more comfortable on the bike than yesterday. This morning we ran a 1m 54.4s lap time, this afternoon 1m 53.040s. I was hoping for 1m 52.8s but got a big rear wheel slide on my fast lap! But I’m happy with my time because I can run in 1.54 in the race. The tyres will run the distance and be consistent. Late in the race, with many laps on the tyres, I might get some chatter which will make running into a couple of the corners a little difficult, because they are bumpy. I’m not disappointed with 14th on the grid. We don’t have a qualifying tyre as such and with the current high level of the competition qualifying is now crucial. “

Team owner – manager Erv Kanemoto said: “With a few changes we made overnight we were 0.5s faster than yesterday. There are a few things we need to work on for the warm-up, all small things, then we should be even better. From what we’ve seen so far the tyres will be consistent throughout the race and a top ten finish is possible, if all goes well. Tonight we will analyse the data and take it from there.

“From here we go to Brno to test on Tuesday and Wednesday. Going back where we have tested a few times before with Bridgestone will be very interesting. We will be able to check the progress we, and the tyres, have made since we were last there, 10 months ago.”

250cc

Emilio Alzamora, Fortuna Honda Gresini, 10th: “With respect to the free practice of this morning the situation has really improved. Yesterday my problems was not having perfect settings which made me slow, especially when changing direction, these have now gone. Now I’m waiting for a really hard and difficult race. In the race I want to take the most points possible to be in Barcelona, my home GP, in a good position in the championship.”

Roberto Rolfo, Fortuna Honda Gresini, 14th: “I’m satisfied because at the end of qualifying I understood what the problems were with my bike. Now we can improve before the warm-up and work hard to get back and climb up the championship classification. Tomorrow I will do my best because this is my home grand prix.”

Fausto Gresini: “I’m really sorry that we cannot start from the front row. The team wanted to do well at our home GP, especially Rolfo, who cares a lot about this race. I’m confident that tomorrow my riders will fight hard and they will give their maximum to give the Italian sporting public a good result.”



125cc

Dani Pedrosa, Telefonica MoviStar Honda, 2nd: “We had many problems this weekend but at least we found a way out of them, and I am comfortable with the machine. We still have a few little details to clear up but in general we found the correct direction. At the end of the session I was behind Poggiali and that made it easier for me to do my best lap. Tomorrow the race will be very long. It’s a difficult circuit, and the straights are very long, and all the riders closely matched. We’ll see what happens.”

Jakub Smrz, Elit Grand Prix Honda, 7th: “In that session I was with Simone Sanna and we were on pole time for the first two sections, then we ran into two slow riders which cost us time. I feel really good about this race, and the team is smiling, better than the long faces we had at Le Mans. The bike is good and I just have to decide on the tyres and make a couple of small adjustments for the warm-up.”

Mirko Giansanti, Scott Racing Honda, 11th: “I ad a problem with my gear shifter in the last session and that held me back. I was having to shut the throttle a little to change gear. We don’t know what the problem is yet but I’m sure the team can fix it for the race. Other than that everything is OK.”

Andrea Dovizioso, Scott Racing Honda, 12th: “Today was not so good for me, I have some front wheel chatter, it’s not easy to get a fast time in those conditions. But I hope to get a good start in the race, if I do I hope for a good race.”

Masao Azuma, Tribe by Breil Honda, 19th: “I lost the back end and highsided off the bike. The bike was destroyed but I’m OK. I’m a lucky man because both Nobby (Ueda) and Sabbatani crashed at the same place and were definitely not lucky. My spare bike is close to the number one bike so I will have a good bike. But I’m so far back on the grid it will be a difficult race for me.”

Copyright 2002, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Jason Pridmore charged from behind to win the Formula Xtreme race at Pikes Peak International Raceway Saturday afternoon. The start was delayed by a brief rain shower.

Initial leader Damon Buckmaster faded to fifth before his bike’s engine blew up one lap from the finish.

Jake Zemke battled Pridmore hard for the lead but crossed the line 0.3687-second behind, with Adam Fergusson 5.6 seconds behind in third.

Roger Hayden was fourth, Tom Kipp fifth. Marty Craggill crashed out while challenging for fifth.

Results follow:

1. Jason Pridmore, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 29 laps
2. Jake Zemke, Honda CBR954RR, -0.369 second
3. Adam Fergusson, Suzuki GSX-R1000, -5.652
4. Roger Lee Hayden, Honda CBR954RR, -11.455
5. Tom Kipp, Suzuki GSX-R1000, -13.909
6. Lance Isaacs, Yamaha YZF-R1, -24.194
7. Mike Hale, Honda CBR954RR, -34.672
8. Ben Spies, Suzuki GSX-R1000, -54.408
9. Damon Buckmaster, Yamaha YZF-R1/R7, -1 lap
10. James Compton, Suzuki GSX-R1000, -1 lap
11. Jason Curtis, Yamaha YZF-R1, -1 lap
12. Doug Vickery, Yamaha YZF-R1, -1 lap
13. Mark Ledesma, Honda CBR954, -1 lap
14. Travis Graham, Yamaha, -1 lap
15. Greg Glennie YZF-R1, Yamaha -1 lap
16. Sean Fey, Yamaha YZF-R1, -1 lap
17. Colin Gilbert, Suzuki GSX-R750, -1 lap
18. Eric Haugo, Suzuki GSX-R750, -1 lap
19. Ron Curry, Kawasaki ZX-9R, -1 lap
20. Tom Wertman, Suzuki GSX-R750, -2 laps
21. Mickey Lane, Suzuki GSX-R750, -2 laps
22. Jamie Thompson, Suzuki GSX-R750, -2 laps
23. Michael Hanley, Suzuki GSX-R750, -2 laps
24. Kenyon Kluge, Suzuki GSX-R750, -2 laps
25. David Lambert, Suzuki GSX-R750, -2 laps
26. Nathan Hester, Suzuki GSX-R750, -2 laps
27. Michael Kludt, Yamaha YZF-R1, -2 laps
28. Alex McElyea, Honda, -2 laps
29. Jeff Bostrom, Suzuki GSX-R750, -5 laps
30. Alex Gobert, Honda CBR954RR, -7 laps
31. Shane Prieto, Suzuki GSX-R1000, -14 laps
32. Tom Montano, Ducati 748, -21 laps
33. Marty Craggill, Suzuki GSX-R1000, -23 laps






Provisional point standings follow:

1. Buckmaster, 136 points
2. Zemke, 123
3. Pridmore, 118
4. Hale, 103
5. Spies, 101
6. Kipp, 80
7. Compton, 72
8. Alex Gobert, 68
9. Curtis, 63
10. Roger Hayden, 59
11. Craggill, 56
12. Isaacs, 52
13. Jeff Bostrom, 51
14. Clint McBain, 41
15. Haugo, 35
16. Kluge, 35
17. John Scott Wilson, 30
18. Fergusson, 29
19. Thompson, 28
20. Steve Smith, Jr., 25

From a press release:

FROM WET TO DRY. HOPEFULLY.

May 29, 2002 – Fountain, CO. After a tough, rainy, and cold race in England last weekend, Eric Bostrom is back in the States, ready to race again. But this time he’s hoping for a race without rain when he tries to put a stop to Nicky
Hayden’s win streak, this weekend, at the AMA Chevy Trucks Superbike round at Pikes Peak International Raceway (PPIR). Eric arrived in Colorado last night, straight from England, and is spending the next few days acclimating to the time zone, enjoying the beautiful weather, and reflecting on his Silverstone World Superbike experience.

Although his best result at the British circuit was an 11th place in Race 1, the experience proved to be a fun and valuable one. “Silverstone is twice as wide as any track we have here. It’s super flowing, and it’s pretty safe. The only place that’s dangerous, with not much runoff, is coming onto the front straight. And there are these big, painted grid boxes for the F1 cars that are real slippery. But otherwise, it’s very safe and it’s just a bitchin’ track to ride. I just wish it had been dry. But we learned a lot in setting the bike up that weekend. Some of the choices we made worked really well. Might not be compatible with all the racetracks in the States, but it should help us with a few. But what made things tough (at Silverstone) with the rain, was not being
able to see where I was going on a track that is really, really fast. But actually, it was fun. I’m starting to get better at racing in the rain. Once things got started and I was able to see, it was okay. The unfortunate thing was that I got such bad starts that I was so far back you couldn’t see anything for awhile, through the spray. But, particularly in the first race, I got faster every lap. We just ran out of time. I think with a few more laps I could have been in the top 10. In the second race, it was just a total disaster. We picked the wrong tire and I had no grip.”

It should be a different story for Eric and his fans this weekend, as PPIR is a track where Eric has earned some of his best results. In 2000 he finished 2nd on the Kawasaki Supersport bike and 1st on the Kawasaki Superbike. Last year, he swapped those results, finishing 1st in the Supersport race and 2nd in the Superbike race, giving Eric confidence about his chances this weekend. “I own this place. I think that it’s a 48 lap race, and the Supersport race took a lot
out of me last year. Especially since Anthony (Gobert) rode a really great race coming after me. (Eric lead from ‘stripe to stripe’ and won the race, beating Gobert). So when the Superbike race kicked off just a few hours later, I didn’t
have the mental stamina to beat Nicky (Hayden). This year, it’s a different story since I’m focusing solely on the Kawasaki Superbike. So I’m looking forward to it. I know that I can ride 100% this weekend and make things tough for Nicky.”

After PPIR (and the subsequent AMA Road America round), Eric will get a much needed break before perhaps getting another chance to race the World Superbike boys, this time at Misano. “Izutsu might be back for the Misano round in a few weeks, and that’s obviously good for him to get back. He’s had a tough injury, and I think they’re going to test him over in Japan first. But there’s a possibility that we can get a wild-card ride for Misano, even with Izutsu there.
I hope so, because I really think I could do well at that track.”

Eric Bostrom is proudly sponsored by:
Kawasaki (www.Kawasaki.com and www.Kawasaki-Eckl.com)
RedBull (www.RedBull.com)
Alpinestars (www.Alpinestars.com)
Arai (www.AraiAmericas.com)
Oakley (www.Oakley.com)
Airtrix (www.Airtrix.com)
Ecko (www.Ecko.com)
Dunlop (www.DunlopMotorcycle.com)
Maxima (www.MaximaUSA.com)
Lockhart Phillips (www.LockhartPhillips.com)
Akrapovic (www.Akrapovic-ai.si)
Ohlins (www.Ohlins.com)