From a press release issued by Mondial Moto s.p.a.:

MONDIAL MOTO s.p.a.
Arcore – MI – Italy

Aaron Slight guests at the Mondial Demo Ride at Adria

The latest Mondial Piega Demo Ride took place at Adria circuit under the supervision of Aaron Slight, the New Zealand rider and former regular World Superbike Championship title contender. This privilege was reserved to all the participants at the Mondial Demo Ride on April 29.

The test days organised by the famous Lombarda marque are an unique occasion and are achieving great success among the fans. After the first Demo Ride at Monza on March 27th, when many potential clients from the foreign countries tried the Piega, it was Adria’s turn to showcase the blue and silver bikes.

Aaron Slight welcomed the fans and gave a briefing and talked about the best lines round the circuit. It was a unique experience for everybody to have such a prestigious instructor. Aaron Slight is 37 years old and has competed in 229 World Superbike races (more than every other rider!) with Kawasaki and Honda factory teams. He was on the podium 87 times and scored 13 wins, 42 seconds and 32 thirds and was runner-up in the World Championship in 1996 and 1998 – both times on a Honda.

After Aaron’s briefing, the Demo Ride participants were able to ride Adria for the whole day and try out the prestigious and exclusive Mondial road motorbike – the Piega.

There was no official timekeeping, but nonetheless Aaron himself put in a few laps and posted a fantastic lap of 1:16.7 – well under Adria lap record.

The Mondial Demo Rides are achieving enormous success: After the excitement of riding a Piega, it’s difficult to withstand the temptation of taking one home!

Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Ducati Austin is committed to continuing with Anthony Gobert, team owner Terry Gregoricka said when he returned a phone call to Roadracing World moments ago.

We had left a message with Gregoricka asking him to confirm or deny reports that he was looking at dumping Gobert for being a “No Show” instead of his long-time nickname, “Go Show.”

But when asked if there was any truth to the reports, which originated with team insiders, or if there was nothing to it, Gregoricka said, “Anthony is our number one rider and will continue to be our number one rider. There’s been some talk about having a second rider, but that’s it.”

Asked if he was talking to Lee Acree, Gregoricka said “I’m not talking to him.”

Asked if he had received any explanation as to why Gobert did not show up for a recent test at Pikes Peak, Gregoricka said, “No comment.”

From a press release:

Team Super MotoDynamics Takes on AMA Red Bull Supermoto Championship

Minneapolis, MN. Team Super MotoDynamics will contest the newly created AMA Red Bull Supermoto championship series aboard modified Yamaha YZ450F motorcycles.

Team Super MotoDynamics consists of Tul-aris GP bike creator and MotoDynamics owner Dr. Rob Tuluie, rider Steve Johnson and crew chief Tim Solien. MotoDynamics is the racing business which designs and operates the Tul-aris racing team.

Team Super MotoDynamics rider Steve Johnson is the Tul-aris development rider and track record holder and has already shown serious speed on a Super Motard at last year’s demo races at Road America, when battling with Scott Russell, Kevin Schwantz, and Mike Smith: “I’m really looking forward to the new AMA Red Bull Supermoto series. Motard racing is a lot of fun and really exciting for the fans because of the intense riding and the ability for the fans to see the whole track.”

Team Super MotoDynamics will be based at and operated from the Tul-aris design and development shop near Minneapolis, MN. Dr. Rob Tuluie will oversee all aspects of the development of the Yamaha YZ450F into a potent Super Motard weapon: “Considering the development tools and processes that we have in place to design, develop and race something as complex as a Grand Prix motorcycle, it is clear that our Super Motard effort will greatly benefit from these tools. Our development plan for SuperMotard will be a fresh approach to this exciting form of racing.”

Tim Solien will be Team Super MotoDynamics’ crew chief. Tim brings years of personal racing experience as well as solid crew chief experience to the job. Most recently, in 2001 and 2002, Tim prepared the Delano Sport Center Aprilia RSV1000 that Steve Johnson rode to 22 wins and 10 additional podiums out of 36 races and 3 regional championships.

Long-time Tul-aris team member Greg Ericksen will contribute his engineering skills to help model the new motorcycles using Pro Engineer CAD software. This will allow Team Super MotoDynamics to create a database for design changes and improvements.

With the Super Motard development effort ramping up now, Team Super MotoDynamics will be ready for the first race at the Laguna Seca World Superbike round in July. Last week the team took possession of two Yamaha YZ450F motorcycles, thanks to the efforts of Yamaha regional sales manager Steve Liberatore and Larsons Cycle’s Mike Larson. “The Yamaha sponsorship not only helps us financially, but it also sets us on the path of developing the same base motorcycle for the foreseeable future. We look forward to a great working relationship with Yamaha”, says MotoDynamics owner Tuluie. “Already many of our current Tul-aris sponsors are excited to join this effort and support us in our effort to win races.”

Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Roadracingworld.com has come under attack for a report that KTM-sponsored professional motocross racer Grant Langston collided with and knocked road racer Vicky Jackson-Bell out of the air over a jump at Glen Helen Raceway on Thursday.

At the time of the collision, Jackson-Bell was in the air over a jump, about 1/4 of the way from the right-hand edge of the track.

The report on Roadracingworld.com, posted Monday, said that Jackson-Bell was about to undergo surgery and that she had collided with Langston; the post was based on a telephone interview of Jackson-Bell’s husband, Tony Bell.

The phrases “according to Bell” and “Bell said” were included throughout the post.

The post has come under fire from Langston’s friends and fans, who have characterized Roadracingworld.com’s reporting as being “irresponsible.”

Notable in various e-mails received here at Roadracingworld.com regarding the matter is a complete lack of expressed concern for Jackson-Bell’s condition, except for one reader who claimed to be sympathetic after it was pointed out that his original two e-mails showed no interest at all in her condition.

Apparently, judging by the e-mails from Langston fans, former motocrosser Jackson-Bell had no right to be on the track and is solely to blame for her current plight.

Jackson-Bell was participating in an open practice day on a 2003 Honda CR125.

The track runs open practice days without flaggers and without an ambulance on site.

It took an ambulance crew 30 minutes to respond to the scene. With no flaggers on scene, riders continued to go over the jump as Jackson-Bell lay on the track, despite the efforts of onlookers to warn them of the crash.

Jackson-Bell’s left femur was pushed up through the hip socket–which was broken in 30 places–by her impact with the ground after the collision. She underwent 5-1/2 hours of surgery Monday evening in an attempt to repair the damage.

Cards, letters and flowers can be sent to Vicky Jackson-Bell c/o Arrowhead Medical Center, 400 N. Pepper Ave., Colton, CA 92324. Jackson-Bell expects to remain at the hospital at least until Friday.

Reacting to the controversy Tuesday afternoon, Tony Bell said, “Mr. Langston could have avoided what happened. Mr. Langston had three choices coming up to that jump.

“1. He could have decided that that’s too narrow a space for me to go through on the right, I’ll go to the left.

“2. He could have shut the throttle, applied the brakes and let the ramp of the jump slow him down.

“3. He could have gone where he was going but gone straight through. It was the first of two jumps, so he didn’t have to turn right after landing the first one. You go into a dip and go up another jump, and then you make the turn.

“Having said that, I know he didn’t do it intentionally and I don’t think he’s a bad guy. But I’m upset because there are consequences to what he did, and he could avoided it.”

“I’m lucky I’m alive, I’m lucky no-one landed on me,” said Vicky Jackson-Bell from her hospital bed Tuesday afternoon. “I couldn’t get off the track and they didn’t even shut down the practice. Rick Johnson finally helped me off the track and I was propped up against Rick and Josh from Race Tech.

“I didn’t know Langston was behind me. It was the finish-line jump, like a tabletop which I was clearing no problem. I went up the jump, and he came flying up behind me and caught me in mid-air, and did a clicker, threw his bike sideways. He was by my side and just flicked it sideways, showing off. It took my front wheel out and I landed on my feet on the down side. It just shattered and dislocated my right hip and also dislocated my left shoulder. He told Tony he couldn’t take the jump without throwing it sideways, but I had been doing it. It pretty much destroyed my life. I’ll be in a wheelchair and won’t be able to work, and I’ve got a 3-month-old at home.

“There were even 65s and 80s out there practicing, and you don’t realize until you do something like this how crazy it was. I guess I should have stuck to road racing.”

Contacted by Roadracing World Tuesday afternoon and asked about the incident, Grant Langston said,

“It was nothing like that. I don’t want people to think I’m some kind of meanie trying to take people out or something. Obviously there are two sides to every story.

“Basically what happened was, I was out there riding, and it gets pretty busy out there on a Thursday, and I was trying to put in some hot laps.

“I was just coming through and I came up on three or four riders at one stage, I tried to go around one, cut across one and around another.

“I think she moved over a little in the air in my direction. I keep the bike low, when I rotate the bars it was in the opposite direction.

“I didn’t even know we touched. I didn’t feel anything. The article said my rear wheel hit her arms but that was bullshit.

“If I had known I had touched someone, I would have gone back. After I came off the track her husband came over and he was upset, which I can understand. I said to him, ‘I’m terribly sorry. It was never my intention to take anyone out, unfortunately out on the track when it gets busy sometimes things like that happen.’

“It’s never been my intention to hit anyone. When I rotate the bike to keep it low, it was in the opposite direction, if anything it gave her more room. I was trying to go in between 3 riders at that stage. The last thing I want to do is take anyone out. It made me feel even worse that it was his wife. Why would I want to take out anyone’s wife?

“He for some reason thinks it was intentional. Why would I want to jump into someone in the air? I would have as much chance as them to go down.

“I went down to him again when they were loading her into the ambulance, about 10 or 15 minutes after he came over to see me. I told him, ‘From the bottom of my heart, I’m very sorry, I feel terrible about what happened. What’s happened has happened, I can’t take it back. If there’s anything I can do, let me know.’

“Never, ever in my life have I tried to intentionally hurt anyone. Never in my life have I ever intentionally tried to jump into anybody. I have nothing against her, I didn’t even know who she was.

“I can understand why he was upset; obviously if something had happened to my wife, I would have been upset, too.

“If I could take it back, I would.”

Related News Posts:

5/8/2003: Langston Fans Continue To Blame Jackson-Bell As She Lies In Hospital

5/5/2003: Jackson-Bell Undergoing Surgery Today To Repair Damage Caused By Mid-Air MX Collision

Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Anthony Gobert has worn out his welcome at Ducati Austin, team insiders say.

The eldest of three racing Gobert brothers was a no-show at the team’s gala grand opening celebration during the off-season, at which he was supposed to be the center of attention, and then failed to show up for a recent team test at Pikes Peak International Raceway.

Gobert parked his Ducati during both Superbike races on Sunday at Infineon Raceway.

The team is currently looking at alternatives and is said to be seriously considering Lee Acree.

How Acree will be able to get out of his personal commitment to Arclight Suzuki remains to be seen.

A shared-ride situation with Acree riding for Arclight in F-USA races and for Ducati Austin in AMA events would probably not work, since the two teams have conflicting motorcycle and tire sponsors, and since Arclight has commitments to compete in AMA events at VIR and Barber.

From a press release:

Steve Scott, AMA 250 GP #66 riding the A1-Sports Yamaha TZ250, suffered a broken right fibula while competing at The AMA Supercuts Superbike Challenge presented by Honda of Milpitas at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, California during Sunday’s MBNA 250 Grand Prix race.

The injury occurred during a fall at the carousel when the rider impacted the earth embankment on the outside of the turn, where no haybales or Airfence sections were in place.

“I lost control under braking and never got the thing turned,” said Scott. “The haybales started a little further down the hill–I missed the bales by approximately 4 feet.”

Scott is expected to miss the next round of the championship in 2 weeks at Road Atlanta, but hopes to be back on the bike at Pikes Peak Intl. Raceway in June.

Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Road racer Vicky Jackson-Bell went into surgery Monday at about 4:30 p.m. Pacific Daylight Time, at Arrowhead Medical Center in Colton, California, to undergo repairs to injuries suffered in a motocross crash Thursday.

Jackson-Bell, who was a motocrosser before switching to road racing, was seriously injured when she fell off her 2003 CR125 motocrosser over a jump during a track day at Glen Helen Raceway.

Jackson-Bell was hit by KTM-sponsored professional motocross racer Grant Langston, who, according to Jackson-Bell’s husband and tuner Tony Bell, threw his bike sideways into a tail-whip as he passed Jackson-Bell. His rear wheel hit Jackson-Bell’s arms and upper body and sent her flying off her bike and to the ground from a total height of about 16 feet, counting the height of the jump and the height of the bike over the jump, according to Tony Bell.

Jackson-Bell’s left femur was pushed up through the hip socket–which was broken in 30 places–by the impact, Bell said.

Bell reported that Langston and his mechanic told him at the scene that the collision was Jackson-Bell’s fault and that throwing the bike sideways in mid-air over a jump is a necessary maneuver.

Related News Posts:

5/8/2003: Langston Fans Continue To Blame Jackson-Bell As She Lies In Hospital

5/6/2003: Apparently, Our Report On Langston Colliding With Jackson-Bell Was Irresponsible, And Langston Himself Weighs In

From a press release issued by Mat Mladin Motorsports:

2003 AMA Chevy Trucks US Superbike Championship
Rounds 4 & 5 – Infineon Raceway, Sonoma, California, USA
Race Report


DOUBLE AMERICAN SUPERBIKE RACE VICTORY FOR MLADIN

Sonoma, California, USA – After a two day rain delay, the on-track action finally got underway at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, California, with three-times American Superbike champion Mat Mladin making full use of the dry conditions to win both of today’s 28-lap AMA Chevy Trucks Superbike Championship races.

Persistent rain forced officials to postpone almost all of the practice and qualifying sessions scheduled for Friday and Saturday, leaving starting grids for today’s races to be determined by the positions in which the riders currently lie in the championship, with Mladin and his Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000 sitting on pole position as the current points leader in the Superbike Championship.

Mladin made a steady start in both races, before making his way to the lead and then working on building a solid buffer between himself and his opponents.

At the completion of the opening 28-lap national, Mladin crossed the line 8.295 seconds clear of teammate Aaron Yates, with American Honda rider Miguel DuHamel almost a further eight seconds in arrears. The afternoon’s second race was almost a copy of the first with Mladin taking the race lead on lap two before easing away from the field to take a 7.484 second victory over Yates, with Ben Bostrom (American Honda) third. DuHamel did not make the start of the second Superbike race after crashing heavily during the Supersport race, which was run between the two Superbike races.

“It turned out to be a pretty good day today,” said Mladin. “We only had 27 minutes in this morning’s practice session to get the bike set up to a point where we wanted it and it proved to be very good on the day. We obviously could have made the bike a bit better than what it was, but after having all of our sessions washed out over the past two days we ended up with a very good bike.

“The second race proved to be a lot faster than the first and I guess that pace showed when I reeled off the fastest lap of the day with a 1:37 flat on the second lap. At the end, it all worked out well and we’re leaving here with a 24-point lead in the championship.

“We were happy with the performance that we were able to get from the bike here. This circuit does not have a whole bunch of straights like some others, so it was nice to be able to get the bike handling and steering as well as it was just to show that the bike is great at all types of circuits, including those where you don’t need a whole heap of power, just a good set up.”

Today’s double victory makes it four wins from five starts in this year’s 18-round championship and now gives the Australian a 21-point lead in the series over Yates, with the Suzuki pair a further six points clear of Ben Bostrom.

The American championship heads to the Road Atlanta circuit in Georgia for rounds six and seven of the Superbike championship on May 16 – 18.

RESULTS – Rd’s 4 & 5, 2003 AMA Chevy Trucks US Superbike Championship

Round 4 (28 laps)
1. Mat Mladin (Team Yoshimura Suzuki), 28 laps
2. Aaron Yates (Team Yoshimura Suzuki), +8.295 secs
3. Miguel DuHamel (American Honda), +16.2
4. Eric Bostrom (Team Kawasaki), +43.3
5. Ben Bostrom (American Honda), +59.1
6. Steve Rapp (Valvoline EMGO Suzuki), +67
7. Kurtis Roberts (Erion Honda), +85
8. Larry Pegram (Dream Team Ducati), +90
9. Jason Pridmore (Attack Suzuki), +91
10. Lee Acree (Arclight Suzuki), +93

Round 5 (28 laps)
1. Mat Mladin (Team Yoshimura Suzuki), 28 laps
2. Aaron Yates (Team Yoshimura Suzuki), +7.484 secs
3. Ben Bostrom (American Honda), +16.379
4. Kurtis Roberts (Erion Honda), +25.6
5. Eric Bostrom (Team Kawasaki), +33.6
6. Larry Pegram (Dream Team Ducati), +57.1
7. Jason Pridmore (Attack Suzuki), +74
8. Jordan Szoke (Corona Extra Suzuki), +79
9. Steve Crevier (Suzuki), +81
10. Shawn Higbee (Suzuki), +83

2003 AMA Chevy Trucks US Superbike Championship (points after 5 of 18
rounds)
1. M Mladin 174; 2. A Yates 153; 3. B Bostrom 147; 4. E Bostrom 138; 5. K Roberts 131; 6. M DuHamel 121; 7. S Higbee / L Pegram 99; 9. V Haskovec 94; 10. J Pridmore 91.


From a press release issued by Infineon Raceway:

Suzuki’s Mladin Sweeps Superbike

Doubleheader at Infineon Raceway

SONOMA, Calif. (IMMEDIATE RELEASE) — Yoshimura Suzuki rider Mat Mladin continued his early-season roll on Sunday, capturing a doubleheader in the AMA Supercuts Superbike Challenge at Infineon Raceway. The event was presented by Honda of Milpitas and Cabo Wabo Tequila.

Mladin has now won four consecutive Superbike main events and seems to be returning to the same form that saw him capture three consecutive U.S. Chevy Trucks Superbike championships from 1999-2001. Mladin holds a 24-point lead over teammate Aaron Yates (174-150) after five events this year and is bidding to become the first-ever four-time AMA Superbike champion.

“Last year really ticked me off because I didn’t feel enough people worked hard enough to get the results (we wanted),” said Mladin, who is riding the new GSX-R1000 this year. “Winning championships isn’t easy. It’s hard work and I think we’re returning to that same form (we had when we won three championships).”

Mladin was followed on the podium in the first 28-lap main event by Yates and third-place finisher Miguel Duhamel (Honda). Mladin and Yates also finished one-two in the second 28-lap feature, with Ben Bostrom (Honda) taking third.

“I’m glad to see Suzuki take first and second but I need to really get out in front if I want to catch Mat,” said Yates, the 1996 Superbike winner at Infineon Raceway.

“Mat is setting the benchmark right now, and Aaron is right there, too,” Bostrom said.

Yamaha’s Jamie Hacking posted his second consecutive victory of the year in Pro Honda Oils Supersport, starting the 17-lap feature race on the pole and never looking back. Teammate Damon Buckmaster was second, with Honda’s Jake Zemke third. Hacking holds a 21-point lead over Buckmaster (106-85) after three events.


From a press release issued by Proforma:

LEE ACREE HAS THREE STRONG FINISHES WITH IRONMAN EFFORT AT INFINEON RACEWAY

Lee Acree finished strong in both Chevy Trucks Superbike finals and the Lockhart Phillips USA Formula Xtreme final at Infineon Raceway today, starting from the back of the grid on his Arclight Suzuki GSX-R750 in each race due to his lack of points in both classes. All of the final events at Round Three of the AMA Chevy Trucks U.S. Superbike Championship were gridded based on championship points, due to weather and track conditions that prevented timed qualifying.

“I got a really good start in the first Superbike race,” said Acree, who finished tenth after working through from the 38th starting spot. “I was able to get past a bunch of guys on the first two laps and then I came up on (Jordan) Szoke, (Vincent) Haskovec and (Steve) Crevier. Once I got clear of Haskovec and Crevier, I looked ahead and saw that there wasn’t any reason to try to get by Jordan right away, let’s just hang out here. Then there were some spritzes of rain here and there, and I thought maybe we should lead a couple of laps just in case they call this thing. Jordan and I went back and forth a couple of laps and I finally got him going into seven, I think I could just keep a tighter line on the 750. After that I started looking for lappers to put between me and him. My Pirellis were hooked up, I didn’t feel like I was pushing it. Everything was pretty consistent and easy.”

In the second Superbike race, it took longer for Acree to move through the pack, where he again started from the 38th grid spot and finished 13th in the 28 lap race. “I got a better start, but I didn’t get a better first lap,” said Acree. “I didn’t get past as many guys, I spent a long time behind Brian Livengood. It’s so hard to pass here, I just kept moving forward. Relentless, regardless.”

In the Formula Xtreme final, Acree had a fairly lonely race towards the front for a 12th place finish. “That one was shorter than the others!,” said Acree after the 17 lap final event. “I made a lot of ground up on the first two laps. I went around everybody in one, two, five, seven, eleven. Once I got around Chris (Ulrich), it was a pretty lonely race, I just kept plugging away.”

Acree’s next race event with the Arclight Suzuki race team will be at Mid-America Motorplex in Pacific Junction, Iowa, May 23-25.


From another press release issued by Proforma:

HAS/SHOGUN RACING HAS GOOD WEEKEND AT INFINEON RACEWAY

After waiting for two days to ride again after weather and track conditions postponed the action, HAS/Shogun Racing’s John Haner and Heath Small each had good results, leaving with more points in their respective classes. With no timed qualifying for any of the classes over the weekend, all events were gridded based on championship points coming into this round.

John Haner finished tenth in the Genuine Suzuki Accessories Superstock final after getting a good start. “I was pretty consistent,” said Haner. “I wanted to run my own race, make sure that I finished. I had something for Jordan Szoke, passed him with two laps to go and he got me on the last lap when I got hung up with some lappers. It’s good because now we’re going to two tracks we know.”

Heath Small finished 22nd today in the Pro Honda Oils Supersport event, after making changes prior to the start of the race. “It let me get on the brakes a lot harder, they made changes to the front end,” said Heath afterwards. “I dropped another second in the race, we just didn’t get a lot of practice time because of the rain. We really tried to put together the most consistent laps we could.”

HAS/Shogun Racing teammates Heath Small and John Haner both look forward to the next AMA Chevy Trucks U.S. Superbike Series event at Road Atlanta, May 16-18, 2003.


From yet another press release issued by Proforma:

JIMMY MOORE FINISHES FIFTH AND SIXTH AT INFINEON RACEWAY

Defending two-time AMA Superstock champion Jimmy Moore finished a fine fifth in Superstock and an excellent sixth in Formula Xtreme today at Infineon Raceway, after waiting for two days to race due to weather and track conditions. All of the races were gridded based on points after timed qualifying was cancelled due to the compressed schedule.

Moore got a good start in the Superstock event on his Corona Extra Suzuki GSX-R750. “The clutch chattered really bad on the start,” said Moore. “I did a couple of practice starts, I might have killed it. On the first lap, (John) Haner, going into the chicane he slid the front end, and I swear I saw a long black mark from his front tire. He held me up a bit and let those other guys get away.” After getting around Haner, Moore set his sights on Josh Hayes, who was a little harder to get around. “He’s very competitive, I got into turn seven pretty deep and I kind of backed it in and I think it may have swung out a bit towards him,” Moore said.

Adam Fergusson finished third on his Corona Extra GSX-R750 in the same event.

In the Lockhart Phillips USA Formula Xtreme final, Moore worked his way through a strong pack of riders to finish just two seconds behind his Corona Extra Suzuki teammate Adam Fergusson, in Moore’s second Formula Xtreme ride.

“I got an okay start, I was behind Josh for a while,” Moore said. “He was riding well, so it took a while.”

Look for Jimmy Moore and the rest of the Corona Extra Suzuki team at Road Atlanta, May 16-18, 2003


From a press release issued by 1-888-FASTLAP:

1-888-FASTLAP RIDERS 8TH AND 17TH AT SEARS POINT

SONOMA, Calif.- After sitting idle for two days because of rain, 1-888-FASTLAP riders Opie Caylor and Brian Stokes finally got to get on track at Infineon Raceway for the 750 Superstock race. Caylor rode to an eighth place finish while Stokes overcame a recent injury to finish 17th.

Qualifying for the race was rained out on Saturday, so the grid was determined according to points. It was a disappointment for Caylor, who was third quickest in practice.

“I started sixth. The second row was not where I wanted to be,” said Caylor. “Had we qualified, I think I’d have been on the front row. As competitive as the Superstock series is, that’s really where you need to be.”

Caylor had his Team EMGO Suzuki GSX-R750 in seventh during the opening laps. He was eventually passed but held off the rest of the field to finish eighth, despite losing one knee slider on the warm-up lap and the second before the halfway mark of the race.

“It was my first time there, so a maximum amount of track time would have been a huge help. We still ended up going pretty quick, regardless,” commented Caylor. “Rodney Vaughn at Marietta Motorsports (1-888-FASTLAP) built a great motor for me, it’s very fast, and Grant Matsushima has been helping me get it dialed in at the track. We started making changes to the setup and the bike kept getting better. I was feeling really confident going into the race.”

1-888-FASTLAP rider Stokes had to start his Team Embry Suzuki GSX-R750 from 20th. He worked his way up to 14th during the race, but fell back to 17th in the closing laps after a shoulder injury he received at Fontana began to hinder his performance.

“I had horrible arm pump because of my Fontana injury,” explained Stokes. “I did my fastest laps of the weekend in the last couple of laps before it set in. I was battling with Alan Schmidt and Matt Furtek in the last two laps, and I did my best but came up short.”

The next race for Caylor and Stokes will be at their home track of Road Atlanta, May 16-18.

More information about 1-888-FASTLAP and their riders can be found on the web at www.1888FASTLAP.com.


From a massive press release issued by American Honda:

AMA Superbike Series,Round 4: Sonoma, CA
May 4, 2003

Duhamel scores a podium finish on jam-packed Sunday

Under a heavy cloud cover accompanied by strong winds at Infineon Raceway (formerly Sears Point Raceway), the first of two Superbike races to be run on Sunday got off in fine fashion as Red Rider Miguel Duhamel launched to the holeshot. The French Canadian led the race for two laps, then stalked leader Mat Mladin for more than half of the race before getting balked in lapped traffic. Slower riders continued to plague RC51-mounted Duhamel, who was passed for second place by Aaron Yates but still pushed on to an impressive podium finish.

Rainy, wet conditions blanketing Northern California interrupted practice and qualifying most of Friday and all of Saturday at Infineon Raceway, and these recurring delays dictated that grid positions would be determined by points standings. Fortunately, this accommodation placed Team Honda riders Miguel Duhamel and Ben Bostrom right in the middle of the front row, with Honda/Erion rider Kurtis Roberts immediately behind the pair on the second row in sixth place.

Following his impressive launch, Duhamel quickly gapped the entire pack, save Mladin, and by lap 4 the battling duo had pulled out a lead of about 4 seconds over the trailing pack of racers, including Bostrom in fifth place and Roberts in seventh. As Duhamel explained after the race, “I got a good start because I felt like I had to get a really good start; I didn’t want anyone to take off on me, and when you’re in front it’s easer to keep the race in check.”

Duhamel and Mladin continued their duel well into the race, as the pair posted lap times in the 1:37 range, which was significantly faster than anyone else on the track could muster. This blistering pace yielded a gap of about 6 seconds on the trailing pack of riders. “When Mat finally got around me,” Duhamel said later, “I thought he might try to go, but I stayed right there with him; my lap times were as fast as anybody else out there. I felt really comfortable riding with Mat at that pace, and I was trying to take care of my tires and conserve them.”

Then Mother Nature stepped in with a little surprise. “In a while the rain started to come down, so I kind of sat back and watched things,” Duhamel said. “I didn’t want to be the one contributing to a red flag. Mat slowed down a bit too, then the sprinkles let up. When we ran into traffic, Mat was a bit more assertive and he got through a little better than I did, then he got away.

“Towards the end, I tried to keep riding consistently, but maybe because we were going at a slower pace or maybe the tires had gone off, I’m not sure, but it seemed like the bike wasn’t working quite as well. Then Aaron Yates closed on me and he got past. Aaron and Mat may have chosen a different tire than I did, and they got away from me. I knew I had a good gap on fourth so I just tried to keep Aaron honest out there.”

At the close of 28 laps, it was Mladin, Yates and Duhamel, with Ben Bostrom taking fifth place. Nursing a recently separated shoulder that made it painful for him to ride even a few laps, Kurtis Roberts soldiered on and managed a valiant seventh place to collect valuable championship points.

Following the race, Duhamel took a moment to take a good look at the bigger picture. “Now I’ve got a 600 race coming up and another Superbike race today. With this track being so technical and physical for the rider it’s going to be a pretty full day. My goal is to get out of here with as many points as I can. When we get to the midway point in the season, we’ll evaluate how we’re doing, then get more aggressive working toward a championship. Right now it’s only the fourth race of the season with 10 more to go, so a lot of things can happen. My focus is on winning the championship, so we need to just keep working toward that goal.”

Superbike Results:
1. Mat Mladin – Suzuki
2. Aaron Yates – Suzuki
3. Miguel Duhamel – Honda
4. Eric Bostrom – Kawasaki
5. Ben Bostrom – Honda
7. Kurtis Roberts – Honda


AMA Superbike Point Standings:
1. Mat Mladin – Suzuki – 137
2. Miguel Duhamel – Honda – 121
3. Aaron Yates – Suzuki – 118
4. Ben Bostrom – Honda – 113
5. Eric Bostrom – Kawasaki – 112
6. Kurtis Roberts – Honda – 104


AMA Superbike Series, Round 5: Sonoma, CA
May 4, 2003

Ben Bostrom on the podium in second Superbike race; Roberts finishes fourth

Oft times, the vicissitudes of competition dictate that the most important changes take place before the race ever begins. Such was the case with the second half of the Superbike doubleheader at Infineon Raceway, where an injured Miguel Duhamel was a non-starter, and fellow Team Honda rider Ben Bostrom and his crew made radical changes in bike set-up to find the solutions they had been seeking and reap a third-place podium appearance. In addition, Kurtis Roberts powered his way to a strong fourth-place finish.

As golden sunlight bathed the rolling hills of Sonoma, the second Superbike race of the day kicked off at the track formerly known as Sears Point. Miguel Duhamel’s second-place starting position on the grid remained empty; he was otherwise occupied at a local hospital, where he was diagnosed with a broken left collarbone after a hard get-off in the 600 Supersport race. As the race got underway, once again it was a Honda RC51 that pulled the holeshot, this time in the hands of Ben Bostrom. But once again, Aaron Yates and Mat Mladin closed to battle for the lead, with Mladin soon setting the pace for the three-rider tussle.

Ben stayed right in touch with the other two riders, and afterwards he described how he had made such a quantum jump forward from the first Superbike race. “Basically, we had no practice here this weekend, and so our settings were way off when we started the first race. So we took a big gamble and changed a lot of things all at once: Front suspension, rear suspension, wheel, tires, gearing and more. And as soon as I got on the bike for the second race, I knew the changes were good; it felt completely different, and it worked incredibly better.”

As Bostrom’s crew chief Merlyn Plumlee explained, “We sat down and studied the data acquisition figures, and we talked about what Ben was feeling the bike do during the first race. Essentially, we made all the changes we would have made over time if the weather had allowed enough practice and qualifying time here this weekend, but instead, we had to make a whole bunch of changes all at once. That kind of leaves you feeling like you’re out on a limb, but the data showed this was the way we needed to go. So we talked it over and we just decided to go for it, and it worked out great.”

In addition, Kurtis Roberts soon advanced to a close fourth place. What brought about his improvement from the previous race’s seventh-place showing? “During the first race I had my shoulder all strapped up,” Roberts said after the race. “That helped brace it up, because it’s still kind of weak; it’s only been about two-and-a-half weeks since I hurt it. However, the brace also restricted my arm movement, so I had a hard time riding the bike. So I figured I’d try riding without the brace, and it felt a lot better and I could ride more aggressively even though the shoulder’s not up to full strength yet.”

Although Mladin pulled out a definite lead, by lap 15 Ben was still searching for a way around Yates-and then the leaders got into lapped traffic. Bostrom got balked, fell behind Yates, and couldn’t make up the differential. Ben later explained, “Among all the changes we made to the bike, I decided to take one tooth off the rear sprocket in order to get more top-end speed. But when we got into traffic, I didn’t have enough pull to take the other guys off the corners with my taller gearing. That was basically rider error, but I was still able to hold onto third place.

And so the race ended with Ben Bostrom in third, and Roberts just off the podium in fourth place. “The best thing is that we made so much progress with the bike,” Bostrom said. “The RC51 is a real stable motorcycle, and now we have it turning a lot better, more in tune with my style of riding. And Infineon is a real demanding track, with lots of turns. Now that we’re moving on to some more higher speed tracks, I think we’re going to be right in the hunt for a race win.”


Superbike Results:
1. Mat Mladin – Suzuki
2. Aaron Yates – Suzuki
3. Ben Bostrom – Honda
4. Kurtis Roberts – Honda
5. Eric Bostrom – Kawasaki

AMA Superbike Point Standings:
1. Mat Mladin – Suzuki – 174
2. Aaron Yates – Suzuki – 150
3. Ben Bostrom – Honda – 142
4. Eric Bostrom – Kawasaki – 138
5. Kurtis Roberts – Honda – 131
6. Miguel Duhamel – Honda – 121


Pro Honda Oils 600 Supersport, Round 3: Sonoma, CA
May 4, 2003

Zemke finishes 3rd, Duhamel crashes out in Sonoma 600

Rain forced Saturday’s Superbike race to be run on Sunday morning, and that race ended barely an hour before the start of the Pro Honda Oils U.S. Supersport race. The rain also impacted the 600 class grid; with no time for qualifying, riders were gridded by points, which put Miguel Duhamel on the front row and Jake Zemke on row two.

Practice times gave little indication of what would happen in the race because the teams had so little practice time. But one thing was clear: The 600s were amazingly quick around the 2.2-mile Infineon Raceway, with the top 600s lapping the track within a second of the fastest Superbike practice time. Fast Honda men on the new CBR600RR included Bruce Group’s Marty Craggill, Erion’s Zemke, Duhamel and Zemke’s teammate Alex Gobert, followed by Doug Chandler on the No Limits CBR600RR and Ty Howard on the Annandale Honda. Substituting at the Infineon event for the injured Roger Hayden was teen-age Canadian sensation Chris Peris on the Erion team.

In an effort to quicken the CBR600RR steering on the demanding, technical Infinion circuit, the team altered the geometry of Duhamel’s 600 through suspension adjustments, and also fitted taller handlebars from the CBR945RR to give Duhamel more leverage through Infinion’s tight esses. The changes paid off, as Duhamel got a great start, and, together with Jamie Hacking and Damon Buckmaster, pulled a breakaway from the field in the opening laps. The battle for fourth was led by Zemke, with Chandler in ninth and Marty Craggill in tenth.

These positions didn’t change significantly until the closing stages of the 17-lap race when another rider tangled with Craggill in turn one, sending the hard-charging Australian down uninjured on lap 14. One lap later, Zemke made a run at Duhamel. “Miguel had different lines, but I was pretty happy with my lines. I came from pretty far back to catch him, so I figure my lines were working pretty good. Also, the gearing we had chosen was quite a bit different from his. Miguel was shifting in different places than I was, but my drive from turn six to turn seven was really working well for me with my gearing. That was where I was planning to make my pass, but Miguel lost the rear a little coming out of the carousel, so I passed him a lap earlier than I had planned.”

On the next lap, disaster struck Duhamel. Coming out of the chicane, the back end of Duhamel’s 600 suddenly broke loose, triggering a wicked high-side crash that saw Duhamel and his bike tumbling down the racetrack. The crash injured Duhamel’s left shoulder, and prevented him from competing in the second Superbike race of the day.

At the end of the race, it was Zemke with a solid third-place finish, and young Alex Gobert the next top Honda rider with a eighth place finish over Chandler in ninth.

“I’m happy with my finish today,” concluded Zemke. “Honda is counting on me as much as anyone else to win this championship, so I’m going to beat as many guys as I can.”

Infineon Raceway Pro Honda Oils U.S. Supersport
Race Results:
1. Jamie Hacking – Yamaha
2. Damon Buckmaster – Yamaha
3. Jake Zemke – Honda
4. Ben Spies – Suzuki
5. Tommy Hayden – Kawasaki
8. Alex Gobert – Honda
9. Doug Chandler – Honda
11. Ty Howard – Honda
14. Chris Peris – Honda
15. Craig Connell – Honda
16. Jason Curtis – Honda
20. Miguel Duhamel – Honda

Pro Honda Oils U.S. Supersport Point Standings:
1. Jamie Hacking – Yamaha – 106
2. Damon Buckmaster – Yamaha – 85
3. Aaron Gobert – Yamaha, 80
4. Jake Zemke – Honda – 77
5. Ben Spies – Suzuki – 75
8. Miguel Duhamel – Honda – 65
9. Doug Chandler – Honda – 59
10. Alex Gobert – Honda – 59


Formula Xtreme Series, Round 2: Sonoma, CA
May 4, 2003

Zemke takes second at Sonoma’s Formula Xtreme

Like all the classes run today at Infineon Raceway, the Formula Xtreme class was gridded by virtue of rider points. That put the mighty CBR954RRs of Erion Racing’s Jake Zemke and Bruce Transportation Group’s Marty Craggill on the front row, with Doug Chandler and Jason Curtis two rows back. Normally, Erion’s Roger Hayden would have also been in the field, but sat out the weekend recovering from hand surgery.

At the start, Zemke, Ben Spies and Marty Craggill jumped to the front of the pack. Within a few laps, Spies and Zemke had gapped the field and were raging a battle of their own out front. Meanwhile, Craggill battled Damon Buckmaster for third, and would eventually settle into fourth position where he stayed for most of the race.

Zemke, meanwhile, found himself in second, unable to mount a charge on the fleeing Spies. “I burned my tires up trying to stay with Ben in the first six laps, and just didn’t have anything left for him.

“We did a lost of suspension testing here months ago, and I think it really showed today. We made a few adjustments this morning after practice and rolled the dice on some pretty big changes on the front and rear, but it really paid off.”

Midway through the race, a rock kicked up by another rider went through the windscreen of Zemke’s CBR954RR, and knocked the gas vent line loose. “I went to pull a tear off and opened my visor by mistake and got a face full of fuel mist before I could get it closed again. My eyes were a bit misty for a while.”

Zemke mounted a late race charge for the lead, but was forced off the track by lappers. “The lappers were really difficult out there, said Zemke. “Normally, they are single file or spread out. Here they were in packs of two, three, four guys and you’d put a wheel in there with them and they would think you were one of them and try to pass you back. It was tough.”

The race for fourth was even tougher, and it all came down to the last lap when Craggill, also trying to get through lapped traffic, crashed in the last turn on the last lap. Ty Howard was the next Honda rider across the line in eighth, followed by Chandler in tenth.

For Zemke and the Erion Racing team, the Xtreme race was a great way to end a busy day of racing. “It was a good ride,” said Jake. “It was kinda lonely out there for me for most of the race. But two podiums this weekend-I’ll take that and move onto Atlanta.”

Infineon Raceway Formula Xtreme Results:
1. Ben Spies – Suzuki
2. Jake Zemke – Honda
3. Damon Buckmaster – Yamaha
4. Steve Rapp – Suzuki
5. Adam Fergusson – Suzuki
8. Ty Howard – Honda
9. Doug Chandler – Honda

Formula Xtreme Point Standings:
1. Ben Spies – Suzuki – 75
2. Jake Zemke – Honda – 64
3. Damon Buckmaster – Yamaha – 55
4. Steve Rapp – Suzuki – 51
5. Josh Hayes – Suzuki – 51
9. Marty Craggill – Honda – 43




From a press release issued by Dream Team Racing DUCATI:

Race 1: 8th Place For Pegram

Dream Team Racing (DTR) Ducati’s Larry Pegram, brought his bike home in 8th place after what turned out to be a blown head-gasket slowed his advance to the front of the field. A very respectable finish when you consider he had to start from 10th place. The DTR Ducati rider who was second fastest in morning practice behind series leader Mat Mladin was gridded based on his points standing since there was no offical qualifying caused by rain.

Pegram: I had passed Kurtis Roberts for 6th and was preparing to pass B. Bostrom for 5th when the motor started to sputter. The loss of compression robbed me of power so I did my best to stay out ahead of the non factory riders and salvage an 8th place. The Michelin Tires are working really well and I look forward to Race 2.

Race 2: 6th For DTR’s Larry Pegram

DTR Ducati’s Larry Pegram moved up from his 10th place start position to give Ducati it’s highest finish so far in the 2003 AMA Superbike Championship Series. Larry on his Michelin shod 998RS03 had special sponsorship from Pro Italia/Ducati Los Angeles for the Infineon Races. In the race he was able to stay with the Japanese Factory sponsored racers and mixed it up with several of them through most of Race 2. This was in spite of the fact that the AMA Spec. Ducatis’ run on smaller throttle bodies than the World Superbike Ducatis’.

Pegram: I got a good start and followed Eric Bostrom for much of Race 2 until my lack of endurance began to get to me. I was

From a press release issued by MonsterMob Ducati:

MONSTERMOB DUCATI BRITISH SUPERBIKE TEAM

Round 4 – 2003 British Superbike Championship powered by HALLS, Thruxton

Sunday 4th and Monday 5th May 2003

SHAKEY HITS DOUPLE TOP.. AGAIN!!

MonsterMob Ducati rider Shane Byrne strengthened his grip on the 2003 British Superbike Championship with his second consecutive double victory, to emerge from round four 65 points to the good.

The 26 year old Kent rider followed up his first ever double win at Thruxton over Easter with a repeat performance in front of a bumper bank holiday crowd at Oulton Park, Cheshire to take command of the 12 round series.

“I got my head down in race one and kept plugging away and gradually built a gap. There was a minor problem with the bike so we decided to use the spare for race two and I was a little apprehensive but it all worked out just fine. Another double is unbelievable and all credit to a fantastic team effort.”

Meanwhile team mate Stuart Easton couldn’t reciprocate in the Supersport class when problems in qualifying relegated him to a row three start aboard the MonsterMob 748 Ducati.

The 18 year old Hawick racer battled his way up to fifth at the flag to be docked a place for a chicane infringement on the final lap.

“I’m disappointed as I’ve conceded a lot of points to my rivals today. I need to be winning and a sixth place is not a lot of good to my championship aspirations.”

And whilst team owner Paul Bird was delighted with his team’s Superbike results, he sympathised with Easton.

“Shakey’s on fire at present and long may it continue – but another double is fantastic. Stuart proved at Thruxton that he can cut it with the best but today wasn’t his day.”

The next round takes place at Knockhill, Scotland on 17/18th May.

Superbike Results

Race One
1. Shane Byrne (MonsterMob Ducati) 29:37.968
2. Michael Rutter (Ducati) 29:43.700
3. Steve Hislop (Yamaha) 29:44.420
4. Steve Plater (Honda) 29:50.449
5. Yukio Kagayama (Suzuki) 29:58.832
6. John Crawford (Ducati) 29:59.701
7. Gary Mason (Yamaha) 30:00.849
8. John Reynolds (Suzuki) 30:02.181
9. Glen Richards (Kawasaki) 30:09.287
10. Mark Heckles (Honda) 30:11.245

Race Two
1. Shane Byrne (MonsterMob Ducati) 29:30.799
2. John Reynolds (Suzuki) 29:40.205
3. Michael Rutter (Ducati) 29:45.601
4. Yukio Kagayama (Suzuki) 29:47.907
5. Steve Hislop (Yamaha) 29:48.022
6. Mark Heckles (Honda) 29:53.655
7. Dean Ellison (Ducati) 29:53.656
8. Glen Richards (Kawasaki) 30:03.321
9. Gary Mason (Yamaha) 30:05.850
10. John Crawford (Ducati) 30:10.202

Superbike Championship Standings after Round 4

1: Shane Byrne (MonsterMob Ducati) 190pts
2: Michael Rutter (Ducati) 135pts
3: Glen Richards (Kawasaki) 87pts
4: Yukio Kagayama (Suzuki) 82pts
5: Steve Hislop (Yamaha) 77pts
6: Gary Mason (Yamaha) 75pts
7: Steve Plater (Honda) 64pts
7: John Reynolds (Suzuki) 64pts
9: John Crawford (Ducati) 55pts
10: Scott Smart (Kawasaki) 47pts

Supersport Result
1. Karl Harris (Honda) 27:26.193
2. Dean Thomas (Honda) 27:28.005
3. Simon Andrews (Yamaha) 27:32.854
4. Leon Haslam (Ducati) 27:36.541
5. Michael Laverty (Honda) 27:37.658
6. Stuart Easton (MonsterMob Ducati) 27:38.400
7. Adrian Coates (Honda) 27:38.486
8. Craig Jones (Triumph) 27:47.234
9. Jamie Robinson (Yamaha) 27:48.797
10. Kieran Murphy (Kawasaki) 27:49.382

Supersport Championship Standings After Round 4
1: Karl Harris 90pts
2: Stuart Easton (MonsterMob Ducati) 51pts
3: Simon Andrews 49pts
4: Adrian Coates 43pts
4: Michael Laverty 43pts
6: John Crockford 39pts
7: Leon Haslam 27pts
8: Rob Frost 25pts
9: Craig Jones 24pts
10:Tom Sykes 21pts



More, from a press release issued by Team Renegade Ducati:

RUTTER RACKS UP TWO PODIUMS AT OULTON PARK

Michael Rutter stormed to two podium finishes in rounds seven and eight of the British Superbike Championship at Oulton Park on Bank Holiday Monday, but the Team Renegade Ducati rider left the Cheshire circuit disappointed not to have taken a race win.

Second away from the line in the opening race, Rutter hung onto the rear of race leader, Shane Byrne, for the first eight laps, before handling problems forced him to slow and accept 20 points for second place. In race two, the 30-year-old West Midlander was involved in a battle for second place with John Reynolds, but handling problems struck again in the closing stages of the race and Rutter was forced to settle for third, and the final position on the podium.

“Second and third may seem like reasonable finishes, but we came here this weekend to win, so I’m not particularly happy about the results,” said Rutter. “Because we’ve had a few problems with set-up this weekend I had to muscle the bike around in both races and you just can’t ride a Ducati that way. But, we learn more about the bike at every meeting and I’m confident we’ll have things sorted for Knockhill.”

While Rutter was disappointed with two podium finishes, his Renegade Ducati teammate, Sean Emmett, was devastated to rack up two more non-finishes at Oulton Park. The 33-year-old Weybridge rider was forced to retire from race one when his Ducati 998F02 developed an electrical fault, while a rear tyre problem sidelined him after just ten laps of race two.

“What can I say; the nightmare continues,” commented Emmett. “Anything that can go wrong has gone wrong so far this year. To be fair, it’s not really anyone’s fault, it’s just that we’ve had four season’s worth of bad luck in four meetings. But it’s got to end sometime and, while the championship has probably gone for me now, I’m still determined to get out there and win races. If we can get some testing done between now and Knockhill then I’m sure we can get things sorted and be back up there at the front in two weeks time.”

After qualifying in 18th place on Sunday, Nick Medd bettered his grid position in both 18-lap Superbike races on Monday, adding to the championship points he secured in rounds three and four at Snetterton.

“Although the results aren’t what I’d have hoped for, it’s been a good weekend for me,” said Medd. “I’m a lot happier on the bike now than I was at the start of the season and I’m beginning to understand both how the Ducati needs to be ridden and how to set it up to suit me. If we can continue to make progress at Knockhill, then I’m sure the results will come.”

Leon Haslam jumped four places in the championship standings after bringing his Ducati 748 home in fourth place in the 16-lap Supersport race at Oulton Park. The 19-year-old former GP rider had held second place for much of the race, but lost out on a podium finish when Dean Thomas and Simon Andrews used a top speed advantage to best effect towards the end.

“Set-up is critical at Oulton Park but the problems we had on Saturday, combined with the weather, meant that we weren’t quite there come race day,” said Haslam. “I was able to run the same lap times as Karl Harris, but I just didn’t have the top speed needed to stay with Dean Thomas and Simon Andrews when they came past me towards the end. But, after not finishing at the previous two rounds, it was good to finally see the chequered flag again this weekend.”