Copyright 2002, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Edwards wins another double and takes the Championship

By Glenn Le Santo

He only needed to finish second behind Troy Bayliss to clinch the title. But finishing second just isn’t Colin Edwards’ style. He took the race win, the Championship, his ninth consecutive win and yet another double to finish the season in style.

Troy Bayliss’ only chance of retaining the Championship rested with his teammate Ruben Xaus. If Ruben could have squeezed in between the two and kept Edwards back in third then Bayliss would have snatched the title back at the death.

Xaus, although spurned by Ducati for 2003, tried his hardest and even caught up with the leading duo in the closing stages of the race when Bayliss deliberately slowed the pace by two seconds a lap. But Edwards knew what the Ducati boys were cooking up and decided enough was enough.

He got his Honda past Bayliss and upped the pace again. It did the trick and Xaus began to drop back, losing nearly half-a-second in a single lap to the leaders. Bayliss stuck with Edwards and the pair swapped places constantly on the final lap–they even traded a few sponsor stickers on the way around what was one of the greatest last-lap battles in Superbike history!

At the flag it was Edwards in front of Bayliss in both race and Championship standings.

World Superbike Championship
Imola, Italy

Second race result:

1 Edwards 38:13.128

2 Bayliss 38:14.108

3 Xaus 38:19.311

4 Haga 38:34.775

5 Hodgson 38:40.531

6 Toseland 38:47.315

7 Lavilla 38:54.737

8 Parkes 38:54.947

9 Bostrom 39:02.514

10 Hitoyasu Izutsu, 39:04.351

Final World Superbike championship points:
1 Edwards 552
2 Bayliss 541
3 Hodgson 326
4 Haga 278
5 Bostrom 261
6 Xaus 249
7 Toseland 195
8 Chili 167
9 Chris Walker, GB (Kawasaki) 152
10 Lavilla 130.

Manufacturers points:
1 Ducati 575
2 Honda 557
3 Aprilia 278
4 Kawasaki 208
5 Suzuki 147
6 Benelli 23
7 Yamaha 16

More, from a press release issued by Castrol Honda:

EDWARDS CROWNED CHAMPION WITH EPIC DISPLAY

Castrol Honda’s Colin Edwards completed the most remarkable comeback to clinch a second World Superbike championship title with two wins in today’s 13th and final round here at Imola in Italy.

His second race victory came after an incredible battle with closest rival Troy Bayliss and left Edwards 11 points clear in the final points standings.

“What a day,” said Edwards. “On paper the two race wins were ours but the job’s still got to be done. My team has done a fantastic job, especially today when we needed it most.

“I knew what Troy’s game was when he got in front and tried to slow the pace so Ruben could catch up. I had no choice but to get back in front and decide the championship that way.

“Troy’s been really good about it, a great guy and he’s given it everything today when he knew we were in better shape. It’s great that it’s all over, there’s nothing else left but to party!”

More, from another Castrol Honda press release:

Colin Edwards ­ 2002 World Superbike champion

On Sunday, July 14 Colin Edwards finished third in the opening race at Laguna Seca, USA–his dream of a home round double victory had disappeared. He now trailed championship leader Troy Bayliss by a worrying 58 points.

But, by 4:10 p.m. that day Edwards had set the tone which was to be the trademark of his 2002 world title success. His Laguna Seca victory over Bayliss confirmed what many already knew ­ Edwards did posses the steely determination to ignore pressure and stare adversity in the face.

His memorable victory in the USA round launched his charge to the title, edging out Bayliss in the Californian heat in relentless fashion ­ eclipsing his rival’s first race winning time by 4.2 seconds.

“Looking back, that afternoon was one of the biggest of my career,” recalls Edwards. “I’d set pole position at Laguna on the Saturday, we had the stars and stripes livery for my home round ­ everything was in place for two wins.

“I had the edge in the first race that day but ran wide with about four laps to go and Troy (Bayliss) and Ruben (Xaus) came by. To finish third was soul-destroying.”

Edwards, 28, continues: “Don’t ask what happened later that day, everything came together and the whole team went from despair to joy, it’s about as good as turning points get–all after the low point of my season in race one.”

From his Laguna launchpad Edwards then embarked on a remarkable run of victories, breaking records at every round as he proved that he was armed with everything needed to clinch a second world title.

And, as the season drew to a close, the Honda Racing Corporation backed his ambition with a new, improved 999cc motor for the Castrol SP-2 machine. But Edwards believes the championship package was also complemented by other aspects of the team.

He reports: “My crew chief Adrian Gorst always had that desire in his eyes. If I had ever lost track of what we were chasing I only had to walk in the garage and be reminded of what I was paid to do.

“But I was taken by surprise when we arrived in Germany for the Oschersleben round at the end of August. We’d tested at Michelin’s test track in France the week before and that really got me dialled in after the August break.

“By Germany, our Showa technician Christian Kaye had been working on some new fork settings, Castrol had developed an improved oil and Michelin were proving why they are the biggest and best in the world.

³The improved engine wasn’t actually that noticeable at the Michelin test but when we arrived at Oschersleben the improvement on the previous year was incredible.

“It wasn’t at that point that I felt I could win the title but I certainly felt I now had what it took to win every race. That first one-hour free practice on the Friday morning at Oschersleben was the biggest boost I’d had all year.”

Edwards responded that weekend with a double victory and the tobacco-chewing Texan knew all the pieces of the jigsaw were in place for one last, concerted push towards the title.

Yet Edwards, more than anyone else in the World Superbike paddock, knew there would be one key factor in him regaining the title he won in 2000 ­somehow getting the better of Troy Bayliss.

Edwards continues: “We did the sums in Germany and even if we were going to win all the remaining races we knew that Troy still needed a bit of misfortune. And I can’t fault the guy for being in that commanding position after a faultless start to the year.

“He beat Ben Bostrom and myself at Kyalami, got the better of me at Monza ­ two events where I thought we’d see a different race winner.

“I think my win at Sugo in the fourth round was important. We knew that Troy was struggling a little bit in qualifying but quite often that counts for nothing with him–he’s like a terrier when it comes to race day and just won¹t give in.”

Edwards won the opening race at Sugo and took runner-up spot behind Honda’s Makoto Tamada in the second race but the Bayliss bandwagon was rolling on.

“The Silverstone round was also pretty significant for me,” Edwards recalls. “I know it brought about all kinds of issues regarding Ducatis failing to cut out when they crashed but there was more to that round for me.

“I’d had a first and a second place that day, Troy had a fifth and a first. That evening I was still 29 points behind him when I felt I should have been closer. But Troy had nine wins from 12 races by that point, I¹d had two wins and was little more than 25 points – or one race win – behind him.

“If I’d taken nine wins from 12 races and the next guy was little more than a race win behind me I’d be worried. I suppose that was the time in the year where I had to be mentally strong.

“I realised all I could do was keep piling the pressure on Troy and Ducati by just being there week in, week out. We¹d started making some enquiries to HRC by then about the new motor and knew exactly what the plan was with those guys.”

Two runner-up places for Edwards in the Misano round in June were welcome, especially after an uncharacteristic third and 11th place return from the Adriatic coastal venue the previous year.

“Even after the Misano event we weren’t back on the top step of the podium but we were still there, in touch with Troy. We had belief that our day may well come ­ not letting his lead drift over 50 points became psychological.”

That day came for Edwards in the 12th and penultimate round at the famous Dutch circuit of Assen. Edwards typified his resilience by powering out of a gravel trap on his Superpole lap to secure pole position.

Two wins, coupled with a second race crash for Bayliss, threw the championship wide open once more–the reward for Edwards’ efforts.

“When that happened at Assen I simply couldn’t believe it,” Edwards says. “I got the signal saying Troy was out of the race but didn’t know why. Those last few laps of racing at Assen used up about a year’s worth of concentration.”

The new World Superbike champion has clinched one of, if not the most dramatic title tussles of recent years. After Bayliss took six wins from the first six races all considered the championship over ­ all except the Texas Tornado.

“I do the easy part, I’m doing circles for a living,” states Edwards. “It’s the team I’ve got to thank. I’m working with probably the best guys in the business and they¹ve all been awesome, all year.”

Colin Edwards – 2002 – the year that was:

Eleven race wins

Five pole positions

Twelve front row starts

Recorded the Castrol Honda team¹s 50th race win ­ race one at Oschersleben

Recorded the most number of podium finishes in a season ­ at 25 (Previous best,­ Doug Polen, 21 in 1991)

Recorded the most race wins for Castrol Honda in a year at 11 (Previous best ­ John Kocinski, nine in 1997)

Recorded the most successive race wins in a season at 9 (Previous best ­ Troy Bayliss, six in 2002)

Recorded the most successive podium finishes at 25 (Previous best ­ Carl Fogarty, 12 in 1995 and 1999)

Set a new record of double wins for a Castrol Honda rider at 8 (Previous best ­ Aaron Slight / John Kocinski, two each)

Set a new record of all-time wins for a Castrol Honda rider at 31 (Previous best ­ Aaron Slight, 11)

Recorded the 20th double win for Honda ­at Assen, Holland

Recorded the 100th win by USA riders in World Superbike ­race two at Oschersleben

Set a new record of pole positions for a Castrol Honda rider at­ 13 (Previous best, Aaron Slight, six)

Colin Edwards
Castrol Honda
World Superbike record
1998, 5th, 279.5 points
1999, 2nd, 361
2000, 1st, 400
2001, 2nd, 333
2002, 1st, 552

More, from a press release issued by Ducati Corse:

WORLD SUPERBIKE CHAMPIONSHIP
Round 13 – Imola (Italy)
27-29 September 2002

BAYLISS (DUCATI INFOSTRADA) RACES TO TWO SECOND PLACES BUT WSBK TITLE GOES TO EDWARDS (HONDA) – DUCATI CLINCH ELEVENTH CONSTRUCTORS’S CROWN

Troy Bayliss (Ducati Infostrada) handed over his World Superbike Championship crown to Colin Edwards (Honda) but not without a fight today, after two extraordinary races at the Enzo & Dino Ferrari Circuit in Imola. In front of 97,000 spectators, the largest crowd ever for a motorcycle race in Italy, the Australian gave 110% in an attempt to overturn the one-point deficit to his Honda rival, but just missed out on both occasions. The podium was identical in both races, with Edwards winning by a whisker from Troy, but Ruben Xaus (Ducati Infostrada) did his best to give team support by finishing third. With Troy’s two second places, Ducati took the Constructors’ title for the eleventh time in World Superbike’s 15-year history. Out of the 2002 championship’s 26 races, Troy’s final victory total was 14, with Edwards taking 11 wins and Tamada 1 in Japan.

Troy and Colin put on an awesome display of riding in both races, with heart-stopping passes around the fast Imola circuit and the results could have gone either way. He was closing rapidly on Colin when red flags brought race 1 to a halt after Hodgson crashed on lap 11. Troy won the restart by two-tenths of a second from Colin, who picked up the aggregate victory by half-a-second, while race 2 saw Troy set the outright Imola lap record of 1’48.389 during his battle with Colin. “I really wanted to win the championship today” declared Troy. “I did everything right, and tried to slow Colin down in that second race but he also wanted to win and he knew what to do. I pulled a rabbit out of the hat in this morning’s warm-up and got on the pace. The race was a real showdown, I did pretty good but it just wasn’t enough. Whoever won today deserved it so congratulations to Colin!”

Troy, who will be leaving to race the brand-new factory Ducati Desmosedici in next year’s MotoGP championship, added that he had had three successful and enjoyable years with Ducati in World Superbike. “Everyone seems to know what I’m doing next year, but all I want to say is that I’ve been in World Superbike for three years now, I’ve had a really good time and the atmosphere is very friendly. I’m sorry to be leaving it, and I will certainly miss it”.

Ruben Xaus (Ducati Infostrada) had two of his best races this year to finish sixth overall in the championship. “We worked really well all weekend, it was just the starts were not so good for me today” commented Ruben. “We changed the clutch for the second race to try to get a bit more feeling and it was really good. I was so close to Colin and started to do 1’48s again but with a couple of laps to go I had a few problems and couldn’t do any more to help Troy win the title. I tried my best, and I have to say that I’ve been learning a lot this year and it’s been a real privilege to race against these two kings of Superbike.”

Ben Bostrom (Ducati L&M), who will be returning to the USA to race in AMA Superbike next year, concluded today’s final two races in tenth and ninth place, which earned him fifth overall in the championship. “It’s been a long year and the results haven’t been what I expected. I’ll miss all the people in World Superbike. A big thanks to all the guys at Ducati and L&M for the opportunity they gave me. I was planning to go out with the best result I could but just couldn’t get the opportunity because things didn’t go well at all for me today.”

Copyright 2002, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

By Michael Hannas

AFM South will return next year with races at Buttonwillow Raceway Park and California Speedway promoted and run by Fastrack Association, according to Fastrack co-owner David Pyles.

In a phone call to Fastrack offices, Roadracing World learned that the series will be organized, run, and promoted by FTA officials under AFM sanction and rules. Fastrack officials were at last weekend’s Sears Point AFM event getting familiar with AFM’s rules and raceday procedures.

Although AFM South races will be run by Fastrack, the AFM will continue to own the series to take advantage of the club’s non-profit status. The AFM South schedule is yet to be set, but will consist of six races; four at Fontana and two at Buttonwillow. AFM North will also have six races, four at Sears Point and two at Thunderhill.

There will be AFM North and AFM South Regional Champions in each class, and there will also be an overall AFM Champion in each class. Nine races will count towards the overall Championship, meaning that AFM North riders seeking an overall class Championship will have to attend three AFM South races, and vice versa.

AFM and Fastrack Association should be releasing more details soon.

Copyright 2002, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

By Glenn Le Santo

Rain falls to dampen final Supersport qualifying

In the middle of the final World Supersport timed qualifying session of the season, the track was eerily quiet, with just a handful of riders out on the wet circuit. Rain had fallen heavily before the start, and many riders weren’t prepared to risk a crash, especially as the forecast is for a dry race.

Fabien Foret, who leads the title chase by 17 points, didn’t even ride a single lap, “That was easy for me,” he laughed, “but I didn¹t want to take any risks.

Ten Kate Honda team instead sent out Paul Young, who is riding an identical CBR600 in the Van Zon Honda TKR team out to work on a wet set up. It was a good plan, Young was fastest in the session!

The weather means the grid for the race on Sunday was decided by Friday’s times, handing Foret his sixth pole position of the season. That means the Frenchman has been on pole for 50% of the races!

Katusaki Fujiwara, the only rider with any chance of beating Foret to the title, also sat the session out, leaving his teammate Stephane Chambon to sort out a wet setting. He will have to finish first or second in the race to stand any chance of winning the title, any lower and Foret doesn’t even need to score points to clinch it.



World Supersport qualifying times (from Friday’s dry session):

1. Fabien Foret, Honda CBR600, 1:53.376
2. Katsuaki Fujiwara, Suzuki GSX-R600, 1:53.500
3. Chris Vermeulen, Honda CBR600, 1:53.652
4. Andrew Pitt, Kawasaki ZX-6R, 1:53.729
5. Stéphane Chambon, Suzuki GSX-R600, 1:54.105
6. Giovanni Bussei, Ducati 748R, 1:54.154
7. Alessio Corradi, Yamaha YZF-R6, 1:54.171
8. Paolo Casoli, Yamaha YZF-R6, 1:54.243
9. Iain MacPherson, Honda CBR600, 1:54.657
10. Robert Ulm, Yamaha YZF-R6, 1:54.866
11. Jörg Teuchert, Yamaha YZF-R6, 1:54.889
12. Piergiorgio Bontempi, Ducati 748R, 1:54.907
13. Antonio Carlacci, Yamaha YZF-R6, 1:55.143
14. James Whitham, Yamaha YZF-R6, 1:55.289
15. Stefano Cruciani, Yamaha YZF-R6, 1:55.503
16. Karl Muggeridge, Honda CBR600, 1:55.737
17. Paul Young, Honda CBR600, 1:55.835
18. Gianluca Nannelli, Ducati 748R, 1:55.899
19. Christian Kellner, Yamaha YZF-R6, 1:55.962
20. Christophe Cogan, Honda CBR600, 1:55.986
21. James Ellison, Kawasaki ZX-6R, 1:56.296
22. Matthieu Lagrive, Yamaha YZF-R6, 1:56.744
23. Robert Frost, Yamaha YZF-R6, 1:57.164
24. Michael Laverty, Honda CBR600, 1:57.232
25. Claudio Cipriani, Yamaha YZF-R6, 1:57.284
26. Juri Proietto, Honda CBR600, 1:57.748
27. Laurent Brian, Honda CBR600, 1:58.074
28. Lorenzo Segoni, Yamaha YZF-R6, 1:58.129


More, from a press release issued by Ten Kate Honda:

Foret takes it easy as rain falls

Fabien Foret, who leads the World Supersport title chase by 17 points, decided to sit out a wet qualifying session, safe in the knowledge that he already had pole position wrapped up.

“That was easy for me,” he laughed. “I didn’t want to take any risks. The race is what really matters, and I will do my best but also I plan to take it easy and not take unnecessary risks.”

The Ten Kate Honda team sent out Paul Young, who is riding an identical CBR600 in the Van Zon Honda TKR team out to work on a wet set up. It was a good plan because Young was fastest in the session!

The weather means the grid for the race on Sunday was decided by Friday’s times, handing Foret his sixth pole position of the season. The flying
Frenchman has been on pole for 50% of the races!

“It’s an incredible achievement and it illustrates just what a talent Fabien is,” commented Team manager, Ronald Ten Kate. “Obviously the pressure is on us because we are leading the championship going into the last round. But we have handled it well and kept our cool. All we can do now is race.”

Iain MacPherson also only rode for a handful of laps, “It was very slippery and not really worth taking any risks,” commented the Scot, “there was no way I was going to be able to improve on my grid position so we called it a day. I’d prefer it to be dry in the race, but if it¹s wet then at least it’s the same for all of us. But whatever the weather is, we are confident because the Pirelli tyres work well in the wet or dry and the WP Suspension guys have worked really hard with us to get everything perfect.”

With a World Championship hanging in the balance, all eyes will be on Fabien Foret and the Ten Kate Honda team on Sunday.

Copyright 2002, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Edwards keeps the pressure on

By Glenn Le Santo

Colin Edwards took his second successive pole position in Saturday’s Superpole final qualifying for the 13th and final round of the World Superbike championship at Imola in Italy.

Edwards, who has been fastest in the wet or dry all weekend, was last rider out for the Superpole session.

“I was a little bit edgy on the lap,” admitted Edwards. “But that’s because tomorrow is so important, I didn’t want to do anything stupid.”

Edwards’ championship rival Troy Bayliss managed third fastest, beaten to second by his own teammate Ruben Xaus. Nori Haga grabbed a front-row start with the fourth-fastest time.

Neil Hodgson will be the first rider lined up on the second row after posting the fifth-fastest time. Ben Bostrom, James Toseland and Pier-Francesco Chili join him to make it an all-Ducati row two.

World Superbike Championship
Final Round, Imola, Italy
Superpole times:

1. Colin Edwards, USA, Honda, 1:49.021

2. Ruben Xaus, Spain, Ducati, 1:49.155

3. Troy Bayliss, Australia, Ducati, 1:49.702

4. Noriyuki Haga, Japan, Aprilia, 1:49.993

5. Neil Hodgson, GBR, Ducati, 1:50.107

6. Ben Bostrom, USA, Ducati, 1:50.638

7. James Toseland, GBR, Ducati, 1:50.639

8. Pierfrancesco Chili, Italy, Ducati, 1:50.688

9. Juan Borja, Spain, Ducati, 1:50.917

10. Lucio Pedercini, Italy, Ducati, 1:51.190

11. Chris Walker, GBR, Kawasaki, 1:51.837

12. Alessandro Antonello, Italy, Ducati, Crashed

13. Hitoyasu Izutsu, Japan, Kawasaki, 1:51.856

14. Gregorio Lavilla, Spain, Suzuki, 1:51.944

15. Marco Borciani, Italy, Ducati, 1:52.282

16. Serafino Foti, Italy, Ducati, 1:53.654


More, from a press release issued by Castrol Honda:

IMOLA POLE POSITION FOR EDWARDS

Castrol Honda’s Colin Edwards scorched to his second successive pole position with the fastest time in Saturday’s Superpole final qualifying for the 13th and final round of the World Superbike championship at Imola in Italy.

Edwards, the last rider to go in Superpole, rocketed to his fifth pole position of the year aboard the Castrol SP-2 machine.

“I was a little bit edgy on the lap,” admitted Edwards. “But that’s because tomorrow is so important, I didn¹t want to do anything stupid.”

Alongside Edwards on the front row of the grid for the two 21-lap races will be Ruben Xaus while Edwards’ championship rival Troy Bayliss is third and the all-action Noriyuki Haga fourth.

Neil Hodgson recorded the fifth fastest time with the Ducatis of Ben Bostrom, James Toseland and Pier-Francesco Chili completing row two.


More, from a press release issued by HM Plant Ducati:

Second row starts for HM Plant Ducati

The British pairing of Neil Hodgson and James Toseland will line-up on the second row of the grid for Sunday’s two Superbike races at the 13th and final round of the Superbike World Championship. The HM Plant Ducati duo qualified in fifth and seventh positions respectively at Imola after failing to improve on their qualifying practice times in the one-lap Superpole session.

Rain swept across the 4.933km circuit near Bologna this morning to prevent the 31-strong field from improving the times set in yesterday’s dry first session. The conditions improved for Superpole, but the track was still damp in places. This prevented the Superbike field from attacking last year’s pole position time of 1:48.694 set by Troy Corser.

“I was up on time through the first two splits, but wasn’t as confident through the Acque Minerali due to the track conditions,” explained Hodgson in his last Superpole on board the HM Plant Ducati. “The guys in front of me were more aggressive, but I was just happy to come home safely and not make any unnecessary mistakes. I’m looking forward to tomorrow’s races and hope for better luck than I had here last year.”

Toseland lost a similar amount of time on his Superpole lap: “I was about a second down on where I should have been and that would have possibly seen me qualify on the front row. However, it was difficult to read the track conditions and I have to be content with a place on the second row. The weather has made it difficult for everyone in terms of race set-up for tomorrow, but if anything that should even things up.”


More, from a press release issued by Ducati Corse:

WORLD SUPERBIKE CHAMPIONSHIP
Round 13 – Imola (Italy)
27-29 September 2002

XAUS & BAYLISS (DUCATI INFOSTRADA) SECOND AND THIRD IN IMOLA SUPERPOLE – BOSTROM (DUCATI L&M) IMPROVES TO SIXTH

Ducati Infostrada riders Ruben Xaus and Troy Bayliss will start tomorrow’s thirteenth and final round of the World Superbike Championship at Imola from second and third position on the grid, after Honda’s Colin Edwards took pole in the decisive Superpole session. Ben Bostrom (Ducati L&M) moved up from a qualifying ninth to sixth place and a row 2 start for Sunday’s two races.

The morning’s second and final qualifying session was disrupted by rain, preventing any improvement on yesterday’s time, but the weather conditions turned favourable for the afternoon free practice hour and Superpole. Troy’s time of 1:49.702 was good enough for third place on the grid, sixth-tenths of a second behind the pole time set by Edwards.

“I thought my Superpole lap was faster than it was” declared Troy, “and it would have been nice to have been on pole for the final race of the year here at Imola in front of all the Ducati fans, but it wasn’t to be. Now I feel like Colin felt a couple of months ago, but I’m determined to turn things around tomorrow. We’ve got a couple more things to try in the morning after we lost today’s qualifying session because of rain. I’m feeling really good on the bike and tomorrow I’m certainly going to give it everything I’ve got tomorrow to beat Colin and take the title.”

Ruben Xaus (Ducati Infostrada) continued his excellent weekend form to take second place on the grid, just a fraction behind Colin. “Things have gone really well for me this weekend” declared Ruben. “The bike is working so well and so are the tyres and I really love this circuit. Tomorrow the real battle is between Troy and Colin but I hope to be able to get in there with them and win the race. My Superpole lap was quite good today, that must mean I’m getting better at it all the time!”

Ben Bostrom (Ducati L&M) was not entirely satisfied with his Superpole lap despite moving up from ninth overnight to sixth on the grid. “That was a terrible Superpole lap and I don’t really know why” declared Ben. “After the wet morning session, I had programmed myself to lap in a certain way, where to brake and where to accelerate and I think I just carried on like that in Superpole. The bike feels great, the tyres are also great, it’s just that the rider wasn’t working well today. I have no complaints, sixth place on the grid means I will just have to work a bit harder tomorrow, but I’m sure it’s going to be a good race”.


More, from a press release issued by Playstation 2 FGF-Aprilia:

HAGA GRABS FRONT ROW AT IMOLA

Imola (Bologna), Saturday 28 September 2002 – Noriyuki Haga and the Playstation2 – FGF Aprilia Team make strides forward in the final qualifying of the Imola Grand Prix, the last in the 2002 World Superbike Championship. The Japanese ace, who was seventh on Friday, put on an excellent performance in the Superpole and grabbed a place on the front row with fourth quickest time.

EXCELLENT START – Haga is making his debut on the Santerno circuit and is therefore at a disadvantage over his rivals, who raced here in 2001. Rain in the morning complicated matters and made the second qualifying pretty well useless. This meant that Haga was unfortunately unable to carry out a long-distance test on the tyres that would appear to be best for tomorrow’s race.

NORIYUKI HAGA (Playstation2 – FGF Aprilia Team rider) – “I’d have liked to do more laps in the dry to get to know the track better and complete our work on the bike settings. There’ll be two riders out for the world championship tomorrow, so I’ll just try to race without taking any risks and without getting in the way. A rapid start to get out in front of everyone would be the best thing to do! The public and the atmosphere here at Imola are absolutely fantastic and I’d like to give all Aprilia fans a race to remember.”

GIACOMO GUIDOTTI (Technical Manager of the Playstation2 – FGF Aprilia Team) – “The weather played a mean trick on us: we haven’t got the references our rivals have and we really needed to stay out longer on the circuit. We’ve got an idea of the tyres that might be best for the race and we’ll try them out during the warm-up tomorrow. The technical situation’s good, though. We haven’t got any particular problems and I’m sure Haga will be able to give us two great races.”


More, from a press release issued by Benelli Sport:

Benelli Sport foiled by rain

The last round of the World Superbike championship, taking place at Imola, Italy, was today was a victim of a surprise rain shower. Rain fell heavily before the final qualifying session today spoiling Benelli Sport¹s chances
of improving on Friday¹s 20th position on the grid.

Unable to improve his lap times on the slippery surface rider Peter Goddard now faces the uphill task of racing from the back of the fifth row.

“We had hoped we’d get some good track time today to get us further up the grid,” explained Goddard. “But once the rain started that was it. I just hope it doesn¹t rain again on Sunday.”

Fortunately, the weather forecast for Sunday is for sunshine, so Peter should get his choice of weather for his battle up through the field during
the two races.

This weekend marks the end of the first full year of World Superbike participation by the Benelli Sport team. They first entered the World
Championship in the middle of the 2002 season at Misano, effectively the San Marino based team’s home round.

While Goddard has his own personal battle to improve on his starting position, there will be another battle going on up front between
championship leader Colin Edwards and Troy Bayliss. Edwards leads Bayliss by only one point going into the final two races of the season.

From a press release:

MOTORCYCLE HALL OF FAME MUSEUM AWARDED FILM-PRESERVATION GRANT

PICKERINGTON, OHIO — The Motorcycle Hall of Fame Museum has announced that it has been awarded a Partnership Grant by the National Film Preservation Foundation (NFPF), for the purpose of preserving an early motorcycle-racing film.

The 1921 promotional film, “Beverly Hills Board Track Racing,” was produced by the Indian Motocycle Manufacturing Company of Springfield, Massachusetts, and currently resides in the Museum’s archives.

The Museum is one of 26 recipients of NFPF’s 2002 grants intended to help save culturally significant American “orphan films” not preserved by commercial interests. Since 1997, the NFPF has helped save more than 500 films and collections.

“We’re honored to be chosen by the NFPF to receive this Partnership Grant,” said Mark Mederski, Executive Director of the Motorcycle Hall of Fame Museum. “Our goal is to tell the stories of American motorcycling, and its moving-image heritage is an important and unique way to tell those stories.”

The National Film Preservation Foundation is a non-profit organization dedicated to saving America’s film heritage. Created by the U.S. Congress in 1996, the NFPF is the charitable affiliate of the National Film Preservation Board of the Library of Congress. For more information, visit www.filmpreservation.org, or call Barbara Gibson at 510-531-4521.

The goal of the Motorcycle Hall of Fame Museum, located on the campus of the American Motorcyclist Association in Pickerington, Ohio, is to tell the stories
and preserve the history of motorcycling. The Motorcycle Hall of Fame honors those who have contributed notably to the sport, and three major exhibition halls showcase the machines and memorabilia that have shaped motorcycling. For more information, call (614) 856-2222, or visit the Museum’s website at www.motorcyclemuseum.org.

Copyright 2002, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Final European Superstock Qualifying Results:

1. Vittorio Iannuzzo, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:54.303
2. Andy Notman, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:55.019
3. Fabrizio De Marco, Honda CBR900RR, 1:55.045
4. Ilario Dionisi, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:55.131
5. William De Angelis, Yamaha YZF-R1, 1:55.542
6. Aleandro Martinez, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:55.551
7. Gianluca Vizziello, Yamaha YZF-R1, 1:55.618
8. Riccardo Chiarello, Ducati 998S, 1:55.643
9. Walter Tortoroglio, Honda CBR900RR, 1:55.657
10. Giacomo Romanelli, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:55.966
11. Alessandro Brannetti, Honda CBR900RR, 1:56.001
12. Lorenzo Mauri, Yamaha YZF-R1, 1:56.080
13. Olivier Four, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:56.129
14. Koen Vleugels, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:56.606
15. Didier Vankeymeulen, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:56.737
16. Freddy Papunen, Yamaha YZF-R1, 1:57.004
17. Sergio Ruggiero, Ducati 998S, 1:57.195
18. Lorenzo Alfonsi, Ducati 998S, 1:57.232
19. Robert De Vries, Ducati 998S, 1:57.398
20. Marco Tessarolo, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:57.739

From a press release issued by Monstermob Ducati:

MONSTERMOB DUCATI BRITISH SUPERBIKE TEAM
Round 13 – 2002 MCN British Superbike Championship, Donington Park

Saturday 28th and Sunday 29th September 2002

DOUBLE POLE FOR MONSTERMOB DUCATI

MonsterMob Ducati riders Steve Hislop and Stuart Easton will start Sunday’s final round of their respective championships from pole position after a scintilating performance during today’s qualifying at Donington Park.

MCN British Superbike Championship leader Hislop scorched to a fastest time in practice of 1m 31.457s in this morning’s session to become the fastest ever rider around the 2.5 mile GP Circuit, almost two full seconds under the lap record currently which stands at 1m 33.470s and set by Troy Corser in 1996.

The 40-year-old Scot maintained fastest position aboard the Ducati 998 Testastretta throughout the second qualifying session before following it up with a blistering Superpole lap, which means he will start from pole position for the fifth time this season in readiness for tomorrow’s final showdown.

“It was a good lap but not perfect as I made a couple of mistakes otherwise I reckon I could have got into the low thirty ones but I’m happy enough. I’m focussing on tomorrow and feel very confident of gaining a couple of great results” said a jubilant Hislop.

Hislop currently holds a 37 point advantage over close rival Sean Emmett, who starts from the second row on the grid, which means that he only needs to score 13 points overall from the two races tomorrow to win the Championship.

Meanwhile MonsterMob Ducati Supersport rider Stuart Easton also secured pole position aboard the 748 Ducati after posting a lap of 1m 37.079 on his way to his seventh pole of the season.

The 18-year-old from Hawick has already clinched the Championship title and is looking forward to tomorrow’s race without any pressure.

“I too made a couple of mistakes on my fast lap and I’m disappointed I couldn’t get into the thirty sixes. But we have a good race set up and hopefully we can round off the season with a win” said the Scot.

Team Boss Paul Bird was delighted with his team’s performance:

“You can’t do any better than pole position and this is what we needed today. We just need a repeat performance and I’ll be a happy man tomorrow night” said the Penrith businessman.

Superpole Result:
1. Steve Hislop (MonsterMob Ducati) 1:31.627
2. Michael Rutter (Ducati) 1:32.025
3. Shane Byrne (Ducati) 1:32.325
4. John Reynolds (Suzuki) 1:32.949
5. Sean Emmett (Yamaha) 1:32.965
6. Paul Brown (Ducati) 1:33.354
7. Glen Richards (Kawasaki) 1:33.466
8. Dean Ellison (Ducati) 1:33.923
9. Gary Mason (Honda) 1:33.963
10. Karl Harris (Suzuki) 1:33.995

Supersport Qualifying:
1. Stuart Easton (MonsterMob Ducati) 1:37.079
2. Scott Smart (Honda) 1:37.269
3. Simon Andrews (Honda) 1:37.506
4. John McGuinness (Honda) 1:37.826
5. Danny Beaumont (Yamaha) 1:38.116
6. James Buckingham (Yamaha) 1:38.935
7. Pete Jennings (Kawasaki) 1:39.128
8. Gary Haslam (Honda) 1:39.172
9. Jeremy Goodall (Suzuki) 1:39.263
10. Les Shand (Honda) 1:39.265

COpyright 2002, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

By Glenn Le Santo

Rain falls on second WSB qualifying

Heavy rain ruined the second World Superbike session in Imola today.

The line up for Superpole in Imola was decided by Friday’s times after a heavy rain shower left the track in no state for fast times.

If it continues to rain then Superpole will be run in wet format, with riders having 50 minutes of track time to complete 12 qualifying laps, with the fastest time counting to their grid position for Sunday’s Superbike finale.

The arrival of rain has seen everyone running to the record book to see which of the two title contenders rides best in the wet. It also had
everyone thinking of Silverstone where Troy Bayliss crashed twice in a wet race, handing the win to Colin Edwards.

World Superbike qualifying times (set in Friday’s dry session):

1. Colin Edwards, Honda RC51, 1:48.336
2. Ruben Xaus, Ducati 998F02, 1:49.256
3. Neil Hodgson, Ducati 998F01, 1:49.414
4. Troy Bayliss, Ducati 998F02, 1:49.444
5. James Toselan, Ducati 998F01, 1:49.792
6. Pierfrancesco Chili, Ducati 998RS, 1:50.005
7. Noriyuki Haga, Aprilia RSV1000, 1:50.103
8. Alessandro Antonello, Ducati 998RS, 1:50.371
9. Ben Bostrom, Ducati 998F02, 1:50.408
10. Lucio Pedercini, Ducati 998RS, 1:50.790
11. Juan Borja, Ducati 998RS, 1:51.440
12. Gregorio Lavilla, Suzuki GSX-R750, 1:51.565
13. Serafino Foti, Ducati 996RS, 1:51.827
14. Chris Walker, Kawasaki ZX-7RR, 1:51.966
15. Hitoyasu Izutsu, Kawasaki ZX-7RR, 1:52.188
16. Marco Borciani, Ducati 998RS, 1:52.212
17. Mauro Sanchini, Kawasaki ZX-7RR, 1:52.263
18. Broc Parkes, Ducati 998RS, 1:52.315
19. Steve Martin, Ducati 998RS, 1:52.472
20. Peter Goddard, Benelli Tornado 900, 1:52.719
21. Ivan Clementi, Kawasaki ZX-7RR, 1:53.950
22. Michele Malatesta, Ducati 996RS, 1:54.300
23. Alessandro Valia, Ducati 996RS, 1:54.329
24. Jeronimo Vidal, Honda RC51, 1:54.933
25. Luca Pini, Ducati 996RS, 1:55.102
26. Paolo Blora, Ducati 996RS, 1:55.247
27. Mark Heckles, Honda RC51, 1:55.255
28. Jiri Mrkyvka, Ducati 996RS, 1:58.175
29. Redamo Assirelli, Yamaha YZF-R7, 1:58.213
30. Marjan Malec, Ducati 996RS, 1:58.375
31. Giuliano Sartoni, Ducati 996RS, 1:59.901

Copyright 2002, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Abbott crowned World Champion

By Glenn Le Santo

It only took him 20 years but he finally did it, by the narrowest margin­zero points!

Steve Abbott struggled throughout the race with clutch slip and in the end had to rely on his superior wins tally. Jorg Steinhausen came third to finish the season on 151 points, an identical score to Abbott’s. But Abbott has won three races this year, compared to Steinhausen’s single victory and therefore he’s the new Superside World Champion.

It was a very dramatic race all round. Steinhausen only just made it to the line after being forced to change his engine – just 20 minutes before the race was due to start!

The race was a classic Superside battle. Tom Hanks took the holeshot but within a few laps it was the old-firm fight between Steve Webster and Klaus Klaffenbock that grabbed the attention of the spectators and the television cameras.

As the battle raged in front, complete with fairing banging, the situation behind them hung in the balance. Steinhausen had now moved up to third ahead of Hanks. Abbott was struggling with clutch slip down in fifth and Schlosser was catching him fast. If the situation stayed the same Abbott and Steinhausen would share 151 points, with Abbott taking the Championship by those extra wins.

Schlosser and Hanni were closing fast and got within less than half-a-second of Abbott. If they had passed Abbott, Steinhausen would have been Champion. Then, just one lap later, Schlosser suddenly slowed, perhaps with a mechanical problem. In fact, Schlosser had realized that passing Abbott would effect the balance of the Championship and gamely he decided to slow down and allow the title to take its own course.

That course was a win for Abbott after the race was stopped after a terrible accident involving Mick Frith. Frith somehow got his arm caught between the sidecar wheel and the fairing. Despite frantic efforts, Frith was unable to attract the attention of his rider Bill Philp to tell him of his predicament and had to endure almost half a lap before Philp stopped. Frith was rushed to hospital with serious skin, tendon and muscle damage to his right hand, wrist and arm. The initial diagnosis is that he will heal and should retain most of the use of his wrist and hand.

Due to the seriousness of the incident, and the need to get an ambulance on track, the race was red flagged. The result was taken back to lap 13. Klaffenbock was leading the race, Webster was second, Steinhausen third, Hanks fourth and Abbott fifth.

Abbott and Jamie Biggs crossed the line in fifth completely unaware that this meant they had won the title. They soon found out when they pulled into the pit lane to be greeted by their entire team doing an ecstatic victory dance. To say the red wine will be flowing in the Eastern Racing hospitality tonight is perhaps the understatement of the year.

“It hasn’t sunk in yet,” said an emotional Abbott, “but I’m sure it will after we’ve had a bit of a celebration tonight!”

However, Jorg Steinhausen put in a protest against Steve Webster, citing a rule infringement involving Webbo’s airbox. Had it be upheld then Steinhausen will have 155 points compared to Abbott’s 153, reversing the current situation.

Although the result is not yet official, the latest news is that Webster’s machine has been approved and the protest thrown out.

From a press release issued by Radar’s Team Yamaha:

2002 Yamaha Xtreme Tri-State
Event 6, Eastern Creek Raceway, NSW
Qualifying & Supersport Race report

CURTAIN CLAIMS FX SUPERSPORT TITLE AND FORMULA XTREME POLE POSITION AT EASTERN CREEK

Radar’s Team Yamaha rider Kevin Curtain needed just the first of four FX Supersport races for him to wrap up the title at the final round of the 2002 Yamaha Xtreme Tri-State series being held at Sydney’s Eastern Creek Raceway this weekend.

Victory in today’s opening Supersport race aboard his Yamaha YZF-R6 gave the Newcastle rider an unassailable lead in the series as he has accumulated a total of 419 points to the 337 of second-placed Jamie Stauffer, with three races remaining. Curtain completed his stunning day’s work with victory in race two ahead of Victorian Shannon Johnson after Stauffer crashed out of contention. There are two more races for the FX Supersport during tomorrow’s schedule.

“I couldn’t believe the last lap of that first race,” said Curtain. “I thought that I had covered my line into Turn Two, but all of a sudden Jamie (Stauffer) was riding around the outside of me and actually got past. He ran wide a little into Turn Four and I was able to get back up the inside and pass him. After that I made sure that I didn’t leave any room for him to get by. It was a great race right to the flag. I’m happy to get the title sorted out so early on in the weekend as it now allows me time to concentrate on the Formula Xtreme title.”

Not to be overawed by his Supersport title victory, Curtain produced the same good form to claim pole position for tomorrow’s four 8-lap Formula Xtreme races. Gusty winds made conditions difficult for the riders, but Curtain was to master the conditions best of all aboard his Radar’s Team Yamaha YZF-R1 by setting the fastest time of the combined qualifying sessions with a 1:33.321, sixth tenths of a second quicker than three times American Superbike Champion Mat Mladin who posted a best time of 1:33.939 aboard his Suzuki GSX-R1000. Completing the front row of the grid were the Bio Magnetics Sport Yamahas of Daniel (1:34.005) and Jamie Stauffer (1:34.240). A crash in the opening qualifying session left defending Formula Xtreme champion Robbie Baird in sixth place on the grid, one place ahead of teammate Craig Coxhell on the third of the Radar’s Team Yamaha YZF-R1s.

“The wind definitely knocked things around for us out there,” said Curtain after his Formula Xtreme qualifying sessions. “It got a lot stronger out there in the second session and there was no way we could have gone any faster. In the first session I was able to follow Mat (Mladin) around for a few laps and was able to catch and pass him which was good for us. Aside from that, everything is looking good for tomorrow.”

“Being sixth on the grid is about the worst position I’ve had to start a Formula Xtreme race from, so it’s not good from that point of view,” said Baird. “I was forced off the track in the opening session by another rider and crashed as a result, which meant that I lost valuable track time in that first session. We’ll make a few changes tonight, possibly even go back to the settings that we had when we tested here a couple of weeks ago when I was able to do flat 34s. We’ll just have to see what happens I suppose.”

“Where I went wrong was when we went out early in the first session on old tyres to just get a feel for the bike, with the plan to then come in and put some new tyres in to try and set some faster times later in the session,” said Coxhell. “Little did we know that the wind was to get stronger and that the times that everyone set early in the session would stay as their quick times. I was having a few problems with the front end in the wind and we then hoped that the conditions would change for the second session, but that didn’t happen. I’m disappointed, as I was able to do some good lap times at the test here, but can’t do those times this weekend. We’ve also got a few new tyres to test, but they just seem to change the handling characteristics of the bike that much that it has been hard to try and get a consistent set up.”

Tomorrow’s final round of the Yamaha sponsored Formula Xtreme sees Curtain leading the series points table by 38 from teammate Baird, while Coxhell holds fifth position on the table.

2002 Yamaha Xtreme Tri-State
Event 3, Eastern Creek Raceway, NSW, September 28 – 29

FORMULA XTREME
Qualifying

1. Kevin CURTAIN, Yamaha YZF-R1, 1:33.321

2. Mat MLADIN, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:33.939

3. Daniel STAUFFER, Yamaha YZF-R1, 1:34.005

4. Jamie STAUFFER, Yamaha YZF-R1, 1:34.240

5. Josh BROOKES, Honda CBR954RR, 1:34.267

6. Robbie BAIRD, Yamaha YZF-R1, 1:34.624

7. Craig COXHELL, Yamaha YZF-R1, 1:34.953

8. Wayne MAXWELL, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:35.107

9. Tony REES, Yamaha YZF-R1, 1:35.392

10. Robert BUGDEN, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:35.547

Lap Record: Josh Brookes (Honda CBR929RR) 1:33.365 (08/07/01)


More, from a press release issued by Mat Mladin’s publicist, Steve Reeves:

Round 6 Yamaha Xtreme Tri-State series
Eastern Creek Raceway, NSW
Formula Xtreme Qualifying Report

MLADIN QUALIFIES SECOND FASTEST AT FORMULA XTREME FINALE

Former Australian Superbike and three times American Superbike Champion Mat Mladin will start from the front row of the grid for tomorrow’s sixth and final round of the 2002 Yamaha Xtreme Tri-State series at Sydney’s Eastern Creek Raceway, after setting the second-fastest time during today’s qualifying sessions.

The event marks Mladin’s first race in Australia since leaving our shores to race in the American Superbike Championship in 1996.

Mladin has been busy preparing a Suzuki GSX-R1000 from his Mat Mladin Motorcycles dealership in nearby Narellan, southwest of Sydney, over the past month and has immediately been competitive on a bike that is still in very much stock condition with the exception of a number of Yoshimura performance parts, such as exhaust, cams and pistons.

Strong wind gusts throughout the day made conditions difficult for all of the riders, with the fastest times being recorded during the first session held earlier in the day. Mladin’s time of 1:33.939 was the second-fastest recorded, with current Formula Xtreme points leader Kevin Curtain (Radar’s Team Yamaha) setting the fastest time with a 1:33.321.

“I’m pretty happy with the outcome today,” said Mladin. “If the wind would have stayed down a bit this afternoon I think we could have gone quicker for sure. I’m very pleased with the result that we’ve been able to achieve from a motorcycle that we basically started preparing about a month ago. The guys back at our shop have done a great job in getting the bike here and having it running as well as it is. Three weeks and three ride days is what we had to prepare the bike in.

“We changed the gearing a lot for the second session. We went in a totally different direction and it definitely helped, but it’s hard to test as you can’t have the same line twice as the wind is blowing you around that much. All I can say is how impressed I am with the bike and tomorrow is shaping up as being a good day.”

The Formula Xtreme competitors take to the track tomorrow with four 8-lap races scheduled for the day’s final round of the series. Points leader Kevin Curtain holds a 38-point advantage over teammate and defending champion Robbie Baird, who qualified sixth fastest overall.