Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

The start of Saturday morning AMA practice at Road Atlanta is on hold for fog, which has reduced corner-to-corner visibility at the racetrack. Practice was scheduled to start with the Pro Honda Oils Supersport class at 8:00 a.m. EDT, but the first calls for the Supersport practice group were being made at 8:30 a.m.

As a result of the fog delay, Saturday morning’s practice sessions have been reduced in length from 25 minutes to 15 minutes.

Saturday’s forecast for the Gainesville, Georgia area, according to www.weather.com, calls for scattered thunderstorms, a 40 percent chance for precipitation and a high temperature in the mid-70s.

Supersport bikes took to the track at approximately 8:35 a.m. local time.

Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Saturday Morning AMA Formula Xtreme Practice Times:

1. Aaron Gobert, Yamaha, 1:30.327
2. Roger Lee Hayden, Honda, 1:30.444
3. Ben Spies, Suzuki, 1:30.603
4. Josh Hayes, Suzuki, 1:31.291
5. Ty Howard, Honda, 1:31.408
6. Chris Ulrich, Suzuki, 1:32.192
7. Doug Chandler, Honda, 1:32.729
8. Jamie Hacking, Yamaha, 1:33.669
9. Jason Pridmore, Suzuki, 1:34.619
10. Jimmy Moore, Suzuki, 1:39.454
11. Mike Scruggs, Suzuki, 1:40.790
12. Mark Kittel, Honda, 1:41.853
13. Marcus McBain, Suzuki, 1:42.501
14. David Bell, Suzuki, 1:44.464
15. Michael Kosta, Suzuki, 1:45.460
16. Arash Hoshmandy, Suzuki, 1:46.100
17. Jason Knupp, Suzuki, 1:47.057
18. Chuck Allen, Suzuki, 1:51.654
19. Kevin Hanson, Suzuki, 10:20.719

Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Yoshimura Suzuki’s Mat Mladin collected his 27th career AMA Superbike pole position Saturday when his time of 1:23.520 from Friday afternoon’s session held up as the fastest time overall.

“Things are going well at the moment,” said Mladin. “When the motorcycle is working well you need to take advantage of it and take the wins when you can because this is such a tough series.”

Mladin told reporters that he didn’t really try for a faster lap time during Saturday morning’s qualifying session because “there were still damp sections on the track” and he didn’t know “how much to trust the paint lines” and because he didn’t think anyone else was capable of doing a 1:23.5 lap time.

Eric Bostrom said he was just turning laps and only decided late in the sessions to go for a faster time. The result was that Bostrom improved on his Friday time of 1:24.416 with a 1:23.944 on his last flying lap.

In the post-qualifying press conference, Bostrom said the track surprisingly “came good” and he put on a tire that worked really well. In fact, Bostrom added that after his fast lap he felt he didn’t take full advantage of the tire.

Asked if he felt confident that he could race at the front in today’s Superbike race, Bostrom said he felt confident he could.

Anthony Gobert’s 1:24.304 from Friday kept him in the third spot on the front row for both Superbike races.

Mladin’s teammate Aaron Yates improved on his time from Friday with a 1:24.321 Saturday, good enough for the final spot on the front row of the 50-rider grid.

Larry Pegram and Steve Rapp crashed in separate incidents during Saturday morning’s AMA Superbike qualifying sessions. Both riders appeared to relatively uninjured after their crashes. Rapp rode his Suzuki GSX-R1000 back to the pits.


Saturday’s 25-lap Superbike race starts at 2:00 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time.


Provisional AMA Superbike Qualifying Results:

1. Mat Mladin, Suzuki, 1:23.520*
2. Eric Bostrom, Kawasaki, 1:23.944
3. Anthony Gobert, Ducati, 1:24.304*
4. Aaron Yates, Suzuki, 1:24.321
5. Kurtis Roberts, Honda, 1:24.442
6. Ben Bostrom, Honda, 1:24.474*
7. Miguel Duhamel, Honda, 1:24.645*
8. Josh Hayes, Suzuki, 1:25.569
9. Larry Pegram, Ducati, 1:25.905*
10. Steve Rapp, Suzuki, 1:25.543*
11. Geoff May, Suzuki, 1:26.842
12. Jordan Szoke, Suzuki, 1:26.858*
13. Jason Pridmore, Suzuki, 1:26.962*
14. Chris Caylor, Suzuki, 1:27.098*
15. Michael Barnes, Suzuki, 1:27.412*
16. Chris Ulrich, Suzuki, 1:27.419
17. Eric Wood, Suzuki, 1:27.902
18. Mike Ciccotto, Suzuki, 1:27.932*
19. Adam Fergusson, Suzuki, 1:27.934
20. Jimmy Moore, Suzuki, 1:28.001
21. Shawn Higbee, Suzuki, 1:28.068*
22. Anthony Fania, Suzuki, 1:28.120
23. Jack Pfeifer, Suzuki, 1:28.161
24. Vincent Haskovec, Suzuki, 1:28.235*
25. Lee Acree, Suzuki, 1:28.507*
26. Brian Stokes, Suzuki, 1:28.555*
27. Matt Furtek, Suzuki, 1:28.565*
28. Andy Deatherage, Suzuki, 1:28.571*
29. John Dugan, Suzuki, 1:28.837*
30. Greg Moore, Suzuki, 1:28.948*
31. Rich Conicelli, Suzuki, 1:29.036*
32. John Haner, Suzuki, 1:29.198*
33. Brian Livengood, Suzuki, 1:29.608*
34. Scott Harwell, Suzuki, 1:29.696
35. Jake Holden, Suzuki, 1:30.013
36. Tom Wertman, Suzuki, 1:30.323
37. Scott Jensen, Suzuki, 1:30.582
38. J.J. Roetlin, Suzuki, 1:30.819*
39. Scott Carpenter, Suzuki, 1:30.822
40. Marco Martinez, Suuzki, 1:30.871
41. Chris Voelker, Ducati, 1:30.936
42. Doug Duane, Suzuki, 1:31.119*
43. Chuck Allen, Suzuki, 1:31.191*
44. Kevin Hanson, Suzuki, 1:31.625
45. Chuck Ivey, Suzuki, 1:31.643*
46. Jeff Muskopf, Suzuki, 1:31.791
47. Deam Mizdal, Suzuki, 1:31.890
48. Jason Knupp, Suzuki, 1:32.495*
49. Rick Narup, Suzuki, 1:32.999*
50. Mike Johnston, Suzuki, 1:33.321*
112 percent of fast time: 1:33.542
DNQ. Rick Shaw, Suzuki, 1:34.292*
DNQ. Michael Hanley, Suzuki, 1:36.146
DNQ. James Bonner, Yamaha, 1:37.344*
DNQ. R. Todd Keesee, Suzuki, 1:37.613*
* Time recorded Friday

Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

By Glenn LeSanto

Chili goes pole at home

Frankie Chili blitzed to provisional pole with a last minute dash at Monza in final qualifying ahead of Superpole.

To the delight of the partisan Italian crowd, local hero Chili shaved 0.251 secs off Neil Hodgson’s best time to snatch the provisional pole away from the factory rider.

The session was interrupted in the early stages when Ivan Clementi crashed his Kawasaki on the first lap going into the Ascari chicane. The Kawasaki slid back onto the track dragging up a big cloud of dust. Blinded by the dust, Juan Borja and Ruben Xaus ploughed into the stricken bike. Xaus was knocked out and won’t ride again today although it is hoped he will pass a medical to race on Sunday.

Provisional pole sitter on Friday James Toseland was unable to improve on his time and slipped down to third in front of Regis Laconi, ensuring a 100% Ducati provisional front row. Gregorio Lavilla failed to improve on his Friday time as he struggled with set up and gearing, finishing just behind Xaus in sixth. Xaus didn’t complete a lap so his time comes from Friday.


World Superbike Championship
Round Four, Monza, Italy
16-17-18 May, 2003
Saturday Qualifying, best lap times:

1. Pierfrancesco Chili, Ducati 998RS, 1:47.247
2. Neil Hodgson, Ducati 999F03, 1:47.498
3. James Toseland, Ducati 998F02, 1:47.713
4. Regis Laconi, Ducati 998RS, 1:47.736
5. Ruben Xaus, Ducati 999F03, 1:48.101
6. Gregorio Lavilla, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:48.371
7. Chris Walker, Ducati 998F02, 1:48.557
8. Lucio Pedercini, Ducati 998RS, 1:48.624
9. Marco Borciani, Ducati 998RS, 1:48.691
10. Paolo Blora, Ducati 996RS, 1:49.534
11. Steve Martin, Ducati 998RS, 1:49.536
12. Giovanni Bussei, Yamaha YZF-R1, 1:49.554
13. Vittorio Iannuzzo, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:49.813
14. Alex Gramigni, Yamaha YZF-R1, 1:49.978
15. Mauro Sanchini, Kawasaki ZX-7RR, 1:50.217
16. Troy Corser, Foggy Petronas FP1, 1:50.320
17. Ivan Clementi, Kawasaki ZX-7RR, 1:50.579
18. Serafino Foti, Ducati 998RS, 1:50.990
19. Juan Borja, Ducati 998RS, 1:51.039
20. James Haydon, Foggy Petronas FP1, 1:51.399

Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Saturday Morning Supersport Practice Times:

1. Alex Gobert, Honda CBR600RR, 1:35.552
2. Aaron Gobert, Yamaha YZF-R6, 1:35.578
3. Jamie Hackings, Yamaha YZF-R6, 1:36.236
4. Ben Spies, Suzuki GSX-R600, 1:36.345
5. Jason DiSalvo, Yamaha YZF-R6, 1:36.502
6. Roger Lee Hayden, Honda CBR600RR, 1:36.554
7. Jake Zemke, Honda CBR600RR, 1:36.778
8. Ty Howard, Honda CBR600RR, 1:36.886
9. Jamie Stauffer, Suzuki GSX-R600, 1:38.454
10. Tommy Hayden, Kawasaki ZX-6RR, 1:38.483
11. Matt Wait, Yamaha YZF-R6, 1:40.073
12. Tony Meiring, Kawasaki ZX-6RR, 1:40.264
13. Marty Craggill, Honda CBR600RR, 1:40.918
14. Doug Chandler, Honda CBR600RR, 1:42.910
15. Darrin Mitchell, Suzuki GSX-R600, 1:43.364
16. Joseph Ford, Yamaha YZF-R6, 1:43.490
17. Steven Breckenridge, Triumph TT600, 1:43.836
18. Caesar Gonzales, Kawasaki, 1:46.451
19. Jason Curtis, Honda CBR600RR, 1:46.699
20. Darren Luck, Suzuki GSX-R600, 1:46.843

From a press release issued by the Parts Canada Superbike Championship:

CREVIER CLAIMS POLE

SHANNONVILLE, ON – Steve Crevier continued to set the pace at the opening round of the Parts Canada Superbike Championship at Shannonville Motorsport Park Saturday.

The Maple Ridge, BC rider took his Diablo Suzuki GSX-R1000 to pole position in qualifying with a lap time of 1:05.880 around the 1.5-mile ‘Pro’ track. He just failed to break his own course record of 1:05.746.

Pascal Picotte of St-Cecile de Milton, QC was second fastest on his Picotte Racing Yamaha YZF-R1 with a time of 1:06.081 and Chardon, OH’s Tom Kipp qualified third with a lap of 1:06.423 aboard the Canadian Kawasaki Motors Kawasaki ZX-7RR.

Calgary rider Clint McBain completes the front row for Sunday’s feature race after setting a best time of 1:06.428 on his Coors Light Racing/Blackfoot Suzuki GSX-R1000.

Crevier claimed the $500 MPM/Array Pole Award for his efforts and earned four points in his bid for a record seventh Canadian National Superbike title. Picotte picked up three championship points, Kipp earned two and McBain received one.

“I’m happy for the team. They’ve been working really hard,” Crevier said. “I got some experience in the States before the season started and that’s made a difference.”

Picotte took the lead of an extremely competitive 45-minute qualifying session with just under 10 minutes to go, only to have Crevier nip ahead for good a few minutes later.

“We keep improving and I’m getting more comfortable with the bike,” said Picotte, who is making his return to Canadian competition after spending over a decade racing in the U.S. “It seems like I’m riding well and I’m trying to use my experience to my advantage.”

This is the first race with new Superbike rules designed to even the playing field in Canada’s premier motorcycle road racing class and the top eight riders qualified within a second of each other Saturday.

Kleinburg, ON’s Frank Trombino, winner of this race last year will start sixth in Sunday’s race after setting a time of 1:06.482 on his Brooklin Cycle Yamaha YZF-R1.

In other action at Shannonville, Picotte waited until his final flying lap to unseat Trombino from pole in qualifying for the Hindle Exhaust Pro 600 Sport Bike category. Picotte recorded a class record 1:06.891 aboard his Yamaha YZF-R6. Trombino set a 1:06.936 on his similar machine.

Defending class champ McBain managed the third fastest time of 1:07.166 on his Suzuki GSX-R600.

Ottawa rider Dan Henri took his Yamaha to the fastest time in the International Motorcycle SUPERSHOW Amateur 600 Sport Bike qualifying session with a time of 1:10.566. Wellsley, ON’s Bill Card placed second with a 1:11.141 on his Honda and Marco Alessandrini of Bradford, ON had the third fastest time of 1:11.656 aboard a Yamaha.

Feature races in all three national classes will run Sunday. Practice begins at 8:30 a.m. with the first race slated to get underway at 1:00 p.m.

This weekend’s event will be televised on TSN on Sunday, June 15 at 11:00 am EDT and later this year on Quebec’s RDS and across Canada on the Outdoor Life Network.

Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Annandale Honda’s Craig Connell crashed outside of turn five causing the Formula Xtreme qualifying session to come to a premature end.

AMA Formula Xtreme Qualifying Results:

1. Ben Spies, Suzuki, 1:23.333*
2. Jamie Hacking, Yamaha, 1:24.363
3. Damon Buckmaster, Yamaha, 1:24.432
4. Josh Hayes, Suzuki, 1:24.835
5. Jake Zemke, Honda, 1:25.131
6. Roger Lee Hayden, Honda, 1:25.648
7. Aaron Gobert, Yamaha, 1:25.723
8. Adam Fergusson, Suzuki, 1:25.870
9. Jason Pridmore, Suzuki, 1:25.955
10. Marty Craggill, Honda, 1:26.237
11. Steve Rapp, Suzuki, 1:26.397
12. Chris Ulrich, Suzuki, 1:27.074
13. Craig Connell, Honda, 1:27.079
14. Doug Chandler, Honda, 1:27.084
15. Jimmy Moore, Suzuki, 1:27.194

*New lap record. The old lap record of 1:24.288 was held by Damon Buckmaster.

Spies’ Formula Xtreme qualifying lap time was fast enough to have earned the Superbike pole position.

From a press release issued by Road Atlanta:

Brian Livengood “Stabilized and Improving”

7:45 a.m., Saturday, May 17, 2003

Brian Livengood is in “Guarded, but Stable” condition this morning at Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta. Doctors described his condition as “stabilized and improving” following his single bike accident Friday at Road Atlanta during AMA Superbike qualifying.

He will remain in the Neurological Intensive Care unit at Grady for an undetermined time.

Adding to the statement he released, Road Atlanta media relations manager Erin Fannin told Roadracingworld.com that details of Livengood’s injuries have been withheld at the request of his family. Fannin added that Livengood’s family is scheduled to meet with doctors at Grady Memorial Hospital at 10:00 a.m. Eastern Time, and an updated report is expected soon after.

Roadracingworld.com’s Michael D. Green spoke to Livengood’s team manager Kevin Hunt who said Livengood suffered a concussion but was awake and conscious. Hunt said his rider was badly beaten up, bruised all over and will probably miss the next two races.

Green also spoke to Dunlop Road Race Manager Jim Allen about the original release on Livengood’s crash, which stated “Livengood crashed in Turn 9 because of suspected tire failure, according to AMA officials.”

Allen told Green that he didn’t know of the AMA/Road Atlanta statement until Green informed him of it, but Allen added that he spoke to a reliable source who said Livengood’s tire appeared to be losing air and smoking immediately prior to Livengood’s crash.

Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Jamie Hacking took pole position during Pro Honda Oils Supersport qualifying Saturday with a new lap record time of 1:26.250 on his factory Yamaha YZF-R6.

Asked if his fastest lap was exciting, Hacking told track announcer Richard Chambers, “It was, actually. I was having fun on that last lap. I was burning it off coming out of turn seven, backing it in down into turn ten, spinning it all the way up the hill, wheelying. I was laughing in my helmet.”

Hacking is the current AMA Supersport point leader and won the Supersport race at Road Atlanta last season.

Hacking’s teammate Damon Buckmaster also dipped under the old Supersport lap record of 1:27.096 with a 1:26.442 on his Yamaha R6 and told Chambers he was looking forward to a good race with Hacking in Sunday’s 15-lap final.

Yoshimura Suzuki’s Ben Spies was also under the old record time and the fastest rider from the odd-numbered session with a 1:27.045, but Spies’ time only held up for the third spot on the front row.

Jason DiSalvo made it three factory Yamahas on the front row with a 1:27.093 on his YZF-R6.

Provisional AMA Supersport Qualifying Results:

1. Jamie Hacking, Yamaha, 1:26.250
2. Damon Buckmaster, Yamaha, 1:26.442
3. Ben Spies, Suzuki, 1:27.045
4. Jason DiSalvo, Yamaha, 1:27.093
5. Jake Zemke, Honda, 1:27.203
6. Aaron Gobert, Yamaha, 1:27.227
7. Tommy Hayden, Kawasaki, 1:27.248
8. Miguel Duhamel, Honda, 1:27.643
9. Tony Meiring, Kawasaki, 1:27.967
10. Alex Gobert, Honda, 1:27.993
11. Matt Wait, Yamaha, 1:28.115
12. Roger Lee Hayden, Honda, 1:28.524
13. Marty Craggill, Honda, 1:28.609
14. Jamie Stauffer, Suzuki, 1:28.683
15. Ty Howard, Honda, 1:29.512
16. Doug Chandler, Honda, 1:29.540
17. Craig Connell, Honda, 1:30.185
18. Thad Halsmer, Yamaha, 1:31.582
19. Giovanni Rojas, Yamaha, 1:32.142
20. Jason Curtis, Honda, 1:32.718
21. Heath Small, Yamaha, 1:33.325
22. Darren Luck, Suzuki, 1:34.136
23. Chris Greer, Yamaha, 1:34.957
24. Darrin Mitchell, Suzuki, 1:34.991
25. Steven Breckenridge, Triumph, 1:35.285

Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Aaron Yates took the win in the 25-lap AMA Superbike final by 2.8 seconds over Kawasaki’s Eric Bostrom Saturday at Road Atlanta.

The win was the sixth of Yates’ career, his first Superbike race win at his home track and his first Superbike victory since winning both races of a double-header at Mid-Ohio July 15-16, 2000.

The win combined with Mat Mladin’s DNF puts Yates in the AMA Superbike point lead.

Anthony Gobert got the holeshot into turn one but was quickly overtaken by Eric Bostrom, Mat Mladin and Yates on the first lap. Mladin took the lead from Eric Bostrom on the second lap of the race and quickly began to pull away by 0.5 second per lap.

After a string of laps hovering around 1:24.0, Mladin had a 3.8-second lead on lap ten. Then just as Mladin sat up to brake from an estimated 175 mph for the turn ten chicane, his rear Dunlop practically exploded, coming apart in big chunks of rubber.

Mladin gave a heoric effort trying to save it. He kept his bike up and going straight despite his rear wheel skidding side-to-side on only a few remnants of rubber for approximately 350 feet of pavement. Still carrying a great deal of speed, Mladin jumped the transition between the track and the gravel trap, continued to try to bring his bike under control in the gravel but lost the front end and finally crashed. Mladin pointed fans to his rear tire before attempting to ride the bike back into the pits, but he couldn’t get the bike out of the impact zone and walked back to the pits.

After he was displaced to second by Mladin, Bostrom worked hard for seven laps to hold off the advances of Yates. Yates finally got by Bostrom on the brakes for turn ten on lap eight and quickly pulled out a comfortable gap. Eric Bostrom closed the gap at times in traffic but had nothing for the Georgia rider.

Kurtis Roberts ran a steady race in fourth, which eventually became third, from the second lap.

Anthony Gobert was as far back as seventh on lap ten before pushing forward past Ben Bostrom and a fading Miguel Duhamel to score fourth, his best finish of the 2003 season.

Ben Bostrom came home fifth in front of Michelin-shod Larry Pegram, Corona Extra Suzuki’s Jordan Szoke, Prieto Racing’s Michael Barnes, Team Embry Geoff May and HSA Racing/Kaufman Trailers’ Shawn Higbee.

Duhamel started fading quickly on lap 13, slowing from a early pace of 1:25s to 1:28 before settling in at 1:31s. Duhamel finished 11th, one lap down.

AMA Superbike Race One Results:

1. Aaron Yates, Suzuki, 25 laps
2. Eric Bostrom, Kawasaki, -2.857 seconds
3. Kurtis Roberts, Honda, -20.449 seconds
4. Anthony Gobert, Ducati, -26.454 seconds
5. Ben Bostrom, Honda, -44.789 seconds
6. Larry Pegram, Ducati, -56.206 seconds
7. Jordan Szoke, Suzuki, -68.781 seconds
8. Michael Barnes, Suzuki, -79.779 seconds
9. Geoff May, Suzuki, -1 lap
10. Shawn Higbee, Suzuki, -1 lap
11. Miguel Duhamel, Honda, -1 lap
12. John Dugan, Suzuki, -1 lap
13. Mike Ciccotto, Suzuki, -1 lap
14. Vincent Haskovec, Suzuki, -1 lap
15. Scott Jensen, Suzuki, -1 lap
16. Rich Conicelli, Suzuki, -1 lap
17. Scott Harwell, Suzuki, -1 lap
18. Tom Wertman, Suzuki, -1 lap
19. J.J. Roetlin, Suzuki, -1 lap
20. Jake Holden, Suzuki, -1 lap

Provisional AMA Superbike Points:

1. Yates, 187
2. Mladin, 175
3. Eric Bostrom, 170
4. Ben Bostrom, 168
5. Roberts, 160
6. Duhamel, 141
7. Pegram, 124
8. Higbee, 120
9. Haskovec, 111
10. Pridmore, 100