From a press release:

Tom Sera Racing has a new toll-free phone number, (866) 264-SERA (7372).

Tom Sera Racing offers AFM South racebike safety-wire service.

From a press release issued by West Honda Pons:

Motegi Marks the start of a New Era for West Honda Pons

The West Honda Pons team looks forward to the Pacific Grand Prix, the thirteenth race of the season, in high spirits and with great expectations, and all this is down to two things: first of all Alex Barros will be riding for the first time the famous and highly competitive Honda RC211V and secondly both the Brazilian rider and Loris Capirossi scored podium finishes at the race last year, where the Italian also set an extraordinary pole position. This Grand Prix marks the start of an intensive and exciting period of racing, during which the World Championship will visit Japan, Malaysia and Australia in three consecutive weeks before heading back to Spain for the final race of the season in Valencia on November 3rd.

Alex Barros:
“I am very excited about my chance of riding the RC211V. It is clearly one of the fastest bikes around at the moment and finally I have the chance of competing on the same level as the other four-stroke riders. It will not be easy to be competitive immediately because I have had no time to familiarise myself with the bike. However, I have a lot of experience riding four-stroke Hondas as an HRC rider in the 8 Hours of Suzuka races every summer where I have always performed very well. For this reason I am confident that I will adapt quickly to the bike and maybe I will be in with a chance of repeating last year’s podium finish.”


Loris Capirossi:
“Motegi is quite a peculiar circuit where the straights are very long and this could be a real problem for the two-strokes. The most important thing, however, is to try my best because all races are important, not just for me but for the team and the sponsors. Personally I am feeling in good form and as in every race I will give my all and try and be amongst the leaders”.

Sito Pons:
“Last year we scored a great result here at Motegi and our riders like the circuit a lot. After racing all season at a disadvantage, Barros will at last have the best bike available and, despite the lack of time to adapt to the new bike, I would not count against a good result from him thanks to his experience and that of HRC. The main thing is that these last four races will serve as preparation for next season. Loris, meanwhile, is a rider who never gives up and he has before him one of the last opportunities for a two-stroke bike to win a Grand Prix”.

Copyright 2002, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

By David Swarts

Despite news reports to the contrary, Ducati Motor CEO Carlo di Biagio said at the brand’s recent dealer show that Colin Edwards will race a Ducati Superbike in 2003.

That’s the word from Jeff Nash, who attended the Ducati North America dealer show in Napa, California last Sunday, September 29.

Ducati has not made any official, public announcement confirming that Edwards has been signed, and recent press reports link Edwards to Honda and Yamaha MotoGP rides.

Stay tuned.

From a press release issued by Honda:

HONDA RACING INFORMATION

2002 MotoGP 500 World Championship, round 13
Pacific Grand Prix, Motegi
October 4/5/6 2002

ROSSI TAKES ALL-CONQUERING RC211V BACK HOME
Newly crowned MotoGP World Champion Valentino Rossi (Repsol Honda Team RC211V) returns to Japan for the 13th of 16 World Championship rounds, safe in the knowledge that his current haul of 270 points is already unassailable. Rossi’s confidence in his ability to take yet another race win will be buoyed by the fact that he was the winner of the first ever MotoGP of the new four-stroke era, coincidentally held in Japan, at the classic Suzuka circuit on April 7.

Rossi’s renewed status as champion will allow him to concentrate solely on the job of winning races, unfettered by the need to keep one eye on the championship table. The combination of 23-year-old Italian Rossi and his new-for-2002 RC211V has been all but unbeatable this season, with the magic figure of ten race wins reached at the previous Rio GP on September 21.

Such has been Rossi’s prowess that only two riders have beaten him in 2002; one of them his team-mate Tohru Ukawa (Repsol Honda Team RC211V) and the other Max Biaggi (Yamaha), when a tyre problem ruled Rossi out of the reckoning at Brno. In addition to scoring 270 points from a possible 300, Rossi’s dominance has also run to seven pole position starts and eight fastest laps, seven of which were completed at lap record pace.

According to the rider himself, the secret of Rossi’s success has been simple, if far from easy in this tough and most important of all race classes. “This season has been great. Honda have made a fantastic bike,” he says. “We arrived at the beginning of the season with a good advantage. Yamaha have come good later in the championship but we have made a good season, without any mistakes.”

Rossi’s historic win was his fourth World Championship success but that fact has not slaked his thirst for more champagne before the end of the year. “I really want to win more races, especially on Honda’s own circuit,” he adds. “The weather can be changeable at Motegi but, as we have shown more than once, we can win in both the wet and the dry.”

Rossi now has a more than realistic chance to re-write the history books in only his third year in biking’s premier class. Despite his short reign at the very top, he now sits seventh on the all-time 500/MotoGP winners’ list, and requires three more wins from four attempts to overtake legendary Honda rider Mick Doohan’s 1997 record of 12 wins in a single season. A win at Motegi would equal Rossi’s personal best of 11 in one season.

Rossi already knows what it takes to win at the impressive 4.801km Motegi circuit, having been victorious last year on the way to his 500cc World Championship. Still the current lap record holder at the circuit, with a 1:50.591 (set in 2000), Rossi is a strong favourite to win in Japan for the second time this year, despite the enhanced number of Honda RCV four-strokes on the grid for this race. “I know there will be another Honda five at Motegi and that is obviously going to make things tougher, but for next year it seems everyone will have a four-cylinder anyway.”

Ukawa, injured at Donington Park earlier in the season, bounced back from that painful experience with a trio of podium places, the sequence only blotted by a crash in the rain at Rio, demoting him to third in the championship. Currently eight points from second overall, the Japanese rider is determined to give Honda a 1-2 championship finish come season end.

“Obviously I was really disappointed about falling in Rio, but now I have to think positive and look to the remaining four races to do my best, especially at Motegi,” he says. “I really want to regain second place in the championship and a good result at home in Japan will be the first step.”

The last current RC211V rider, Daijiro Kato (Fortuna Honda Gresini RC211V), put his four-stroke on the podium at his Brno debut but has been luckless since then, falling in Estoril and getting knocked off at Rio. Nonetheless, the quietly spoken 2001 250 World Champion is a force to be reckoned with, having won the Motegi 250 GP in 2000, and also having won four Suzuka 250 GPs. “I like to race at home in Japan and I hope to have more luck at Motegi than I have had at the last two races,” he says. “I’m sorry about Rio because we had really good settings for wet conditions, and I had improved the feeling I had with the five cylinder in the wet.”

The V5 promised to the West Honda Pons team mid-way through the season should be made available to the Spanish-based team at Motegi, making a total of four RC211Vs on the grid. Team riders Alex Barros (West Honda Pons NSR500) and Loris Capirossi (West Honda Pons NSR500) have been consistently the best two-stroke riders of the season, fighting a remarkable rearguard battle against the wave of more powerful 990cc four-strokes.

Barros in particular has been a front-runner, at Assen and Sachsenring, and if he can adapt quickly to the four-stroke’s characteristics, as all who have ridden the RCV have managed to do so far, he may be on for his first podium finish since his third place at Donington Park in July. An equally good rider in wet conditions, Barros is looking forward to Motegi: “Carlos Checa’s fall at Rio meant that I moved up the overall classification. Now I am fourth and if I ride the four-stroke at Motegi I will be able to fight to keep this position, especially as I won the ‘two-stroke race’ at Rio.”

For Capirossi, the 2002 season has been particularly challenging, thanks to a wrist injury that ruled him out of potential podium finishes. Coming off the back of a strong ride at Rio, the Italian will hope to be as competitive as possible on his NSR. “I think I have been riding well since I returned from injury but it is very hard to stay in contention with the four-strokes at any circuit,” he explains. “We have to take many risks to maintain our position in races.”

Tetsuya Harada (Pramac Honda NSR500) is another rider with good previous form at Motegi, winning last year’s Pacific 250 GP. Home advantage may also help the two-stroke rider, who has ridden into the top ten three times in 2002. “We have had the same problems all year on the bike, a lack of grip in races, and that seems to be in either wet or dry conditions,” he says.

Jurgen van den Goorbergh (Kanemoto Racing Honda NSR500) has declared himself happy with the progress his tyre supplier Bridgestone in all conditions but will be hoping for a dry track surface after his recent Rio experiences. “The front end was getting away from me running those lap times in Brazil and I found I couldn’t run with the other two-stroke riders I was racing,” says the Dutchman. “I suppose it was not a bad race considering the circumstances. I was on the limit, but I’ve lost the front too many times this year to take too many risks in these conditions.”

Italian 250 charger Robby Rolfo (Fortuna Honda Gresini NSR250) has had a changeable 2002 season as one of only two full NSR 250 riders in the championship. Occasional set-up quandaries in qualifying have held back some of his race performances, but Rolfo is one of the most combative riders in the whole GP paddock.

The latest of his four second-place finishes this season came at Rio, and second overall is still a realistic ambition for Rolfo. “Now I want to think about taking my first victory – for me, for the team and for the fans,” he says. “The Honda should perform well at Motegi and I know that second place in the championship is not far away.”

Team-mate Emilio Alzamora (Fortuna Honda Gresini NSR250) has had an even more eventful season than Rolfo, including a recent operation to relieve
arm-pump. Now fully fit, the former 125 World Champion is looking for his best result of the year at Motegi, hoping to go one or two better than his previous best of third on home soil at Jerez. “I’m in really good condition, I haven’t had a problem with my arm recently, and I can have a really good result before the championship is finished. Motegi would be the perfect place to start.”

Daniel Pedrosa (Telefonica Movistar Jr Team Honda RS125R) lies third in the ultra-competitive 125cc class, despite failing to finish the previous round at Rio. Suffering from some machine and set-up problems in recent races, Pedrosa chooses not to think of the past, but concentrate on the future. “I don’t want to dwell on it. Now I have to think of Motegi, and keep on giving it my maximum to the end of the season, to give my best efforts to the end of the championship.”

Masao Azuma (Tribe by Breil Honda RS125R) will be praying for wet weather after his astonishing feat at Rio, starting 18th on the grid but bursting through to win by almost two seconds in treacherous wet conditions.

After Motegi, the championship continues its whirlwind Australasian tour, with Sepang and Phillip Island following on consecutive weekends, before the final championship round at Valencia on November 3.

From a press release issued by Team Suzuki News Service:

SUZUKI SET TO RE-SIGN ROBERTS

Suzuki has agreed terms with Kenny Roberts Jr. that will keep the former world champion racing with the factory team for at least the next two years.

Roberts joined Suzuki for the 1999 season and the partnership proved to be an immediate success, with the Californian winning his first two races on the factory RGV-G machine and taking second place in the title hunt. The following year the Suzuki and Roberts combination improved yet again and swept to the 500cc world championship in dominant style.

Both Suzuki and Roberts have been keen to continue their successful relationship and the new two-year agreement clears the way for the continuation of the development program of the ever-improving new GSV-R MotoGP four-stroke machine.

Garry Taylor. Team Manager:
“We are already moving on with the next phase in the development program of the new GSV-R, so it was important to agree terms with Kenny in order that we can concentrate on the way forward. On top of being one of the very best riders in the world, Kenny is also an exceptional development rider with a rare grasp of all the technical aspects involved in making a bike work on the racetrack.

“A year ago the GSV-R didn’t even exist and now we are already in a position where we can lead races and win podium positions. We’ve come a long way in a very short space of time, but we are totally committed to making the GSV-R a race winner. With Kenny now agreeing terms a major part of the program is now in place and we can get on with the job.”

Copyright 2002, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

By David Swarts

The new Ducati 999 will make its racing debut at the final round of the 2002 World Endurance Championship at Vallelunga, Italy October 4-6, reports Octagon Motorsports, organizer of the FIM Endurance World Championship.

A press release issued by Octagon states that the new machine will be entered by Ducati France and will enjoy direct support from Ducati Corse, the racing arm of Ducati Motor Holding S.p.A.

Zongshen 2 has already clinched the 2002 World Endurance Championship, but Chinese motorcycle manufacturer Zongshen wants to finish the season with its two teams 1-2 in the final standings. To that end, Zongshen 2’s normal riders, Stephane Mertens and Warwick Nowland, will ride on the Zongshen 9 Suzuki GSX-R1000 while Bruno Bonhuil, Igor Jerman and Pierrot Lerat will man the Zongshen 2 machine.

With 25 points available at the final round, Zongshen 9’s position in the standings is within reach of Yamaha YZF-R1-mounted Endurance Moto 38 and Suzuki GSX-R1000-equipped GMT94, third and fourth in the current Endurance World Championship point standings, respectively.

QB Phase One, fifth coming into the final round, will do without the services of AMA Formula Xtreme Champion Jason Pridmore; his teammates Frederic Moreira and Mike Edwards will try to hold the team’s ground in the standings.

American/Belgian team Herman Verboven Suzuki has a chance to take fifth from QB Phase One and has re-secured the services of Americans Michael Barnes and Mike Ciccotto to ride the team’s Pirelli-equipped Suzuki GSX-R1000 at the final race.

From a press release issued by Castrol Honda:

EDWARDS EYES POWERBOAT FUTURE

Castrol Honda’s newly-crowned World Superbike Champion Colin Edwards is contemplating a switch to powerboat racing at the end of his motorcycle racing career.

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Edwards tested the 2.4-litre boat of seven times Formula One (boat) World Champion Guido Cappellini on Lake Como in Italy on Tuesday.

“I¹ve just lived another day,” said Edwards after the test. “That was incredible. It was awesome and a lot of fun. I would definitely think about racing one of these.”

The £150,000 boat travels at 160 mph and Edwards’ tutor Cappellini believes the 28-year-old Texan is a natural.

“If Colin had another three or four hours training on the water he’d be ready to race. He definitely has the natural talent. He is very, very good,” said Cappellini.

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The pair were brought together on a Castrol promotional day at the picturesque setting and Edwards was impressed by the 400-bhp machine.

He added: “I was amazed to get the opportunity. Guido was on the radio telling me where to go but it was a real free for all ­ I was doing anything I wanted. When I turned the boat sharp left the G-force felt like it was going to pull my right cheek off.

“Being in Guido’s powerboat was a real thrill. I’ve never experienced anything like it, the only thing that came close was a fighter plane I went up in last year. Guido might have a new teammate soon!”

Edwards made the journey to Lake Como after winning his second World Superbike crown in dramatic fashion at Imola.

Copyright 2002, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

This just in from Jeff Wood:

I found a wheel on the pit wall at the last F-USA race, at Portland, on Sunday night. If you can, please post a note to see if anyone is missing it. Have them call me and identify it. If no one claims it by Daytona, I will sell it to finance my entire race program for 2003. Just kidding…

Jeff Wood
(508) 339-4673

From a press release issued by WERA:

Proforma To Represent WERA Motorcycle Roadracing

WERA Motorcycle Roadracing announced today that an agreement has been reached with Proforma Services to represent WERA with regard to marketing and sponsorship of their racing properties.

Evelyne Clarke, president of WERA, said, “We’re excited about Proforma coming on board with WERA. There is so much that WERA has to offer, and Proforma can help us tell the motorcycle industry what a great marketing tool WERA is and how their involvement in our many programs can result in more exposure and profits for their companies.”

“Proforma is very pleased to be representing WERA,” said Bill Syfan, president of Proforma Services. “With over 3,000 licensed riders and a rich 28-year history, WERA is a great way for companies to reach sportbike enthusiasts of all types and ages. WERA has a strong regional series, and WERA’s National Challenge and National Endurance Series are where tomorrow’s racing stars will come from.”

The Agreement begins immediately and anyone interested in WERA sponsorship opportunities should contact Proforma Services at (817) 239-0739.

From a press release issued by Fuchs Kawasaki:

FUCHS KAWASAKI BID A FOND FAREWELL TO WORLD SUPERBIKES

This weekend’s final round of the 2002 World Superbike and Supersport Championships at Imola has special significance for the Harald Eckl-run Fuchs Kawasaki Racing Team, marking as it does their last appearance in the world’s premier production championship.

Andrew Pitt’s 2001 World Supersport title was undoubtedly the highlight, of what has been a successful six year association with the World Superbike series for the Fuchs Kawasaki team. But at Imola, the team bid farewell to the World Superbike paddock, as they prepare to move to MotoGP in 2003.

Team Manager, Harald Eckl: “We’ve enjoyed six fantastic years in World Superbikes and we will take a lot of good memories of this series, and the people involved with it, to the MotoGP paddock next season. The list of people I’d like to thank is endless, but a special mention must go to all our riders, who have always given their all, despite the fact that, at times, the regulations have made it difficult for us to be as competitive as we’d have liked.

“This never-say-die attitude is epitomised by Chris Walker’s approach to his racing this year. He’s battled against considerable odds this season, like the Bell’s Palsy with which he’s been afflicted since pre-season testing, but he has never, ever given up. It is this sort of attitude that has allowed every member of the team to maintain their motivation, regardless of the problems encountered both on and off track. So, to the people who have been a part of the Fuchs Kawasaki Racing Team over the past six years, I’d also like to say a big thank you.

“And then of course, there are our partners and sponsors, without whom there would have been no Kawasaki Racing Team. They also deserve our warmest thanks, although it is hoped that the relationships we’ve built up through six years of World Superbike competition will continue in MotoGP next season.

“Finally, I’d like to say a big thank you to Maurizio and Paolo Flammini, and all at Octagon who have made the World Superbike Championship what it is today. As professional as the series has become, they have never lost sight of the fact that it’s the fans that make the championship the success it is. More than any other race series, World Superbike has remained accessible to the race fans, with the result that a real family atmosphere pervades every race meeting. On our departure to MotoGP, we wish Paolo and the World Superbike Championship every success for the future.

“I sincerely hope that the loyal fans who’ve followed our progress in World Superbike over the years will continue to support the team as we move to MotoGP next season. I also hope they will extend the same level of support that we’ve enjoyed to Kawasaki’s new World Supersport team, who will campaign the brand new ZX-6RR in the series during 2003.

“2003 promises to be an exciting year for Kawasaki fans worldwide so, to coin a phrase: ‘Let the good times roll…'”