Copyright 2002, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

By David Swarts

2002 AMA Superbike Champion Nicky Hayden will ride a full factory HRC Honda RC211V in the 2003 MotoGP season but is still unsure which team he’ll ride for.

“I’m not sure of what team I’ll be on,” said 21-year-old Hayden in a telephone call to Roadracingworld.com Friday. “We just did the deal yesterday. I mean, we did it at lunchtime yesterday (Thursday) and announced it at the dealer meeting last night. So I don’t know a lot of details. I will definitely be on an HRC factory bike, though. That’s the main thing, what really matters.”

Hayden said he didn’t remember all of the names of the people present at the finalizing of his deal, but he did say that the President of Honda was there. “Not the President of American Honda or the President of Honda Motorcycles, but the President of all Honda. They said it was his first time ever coming to a dealer show in America,” explained Hayden.

“I’m just really excited about it! This is what I’ve wanted. This is what I’ve been working for all along.”

Hayden said that he would like to take some members of his current American Honda crew with him to his new MotoGP team but didn’t even know if that was possible. “I don’t even know when my first test is or anything. I’m going to try and hit the last couple of GPs, to go over and get a feel for things.”

So what will Hayden do on his first weekend knowing he will be a Grand Prix racer? “I’m flying down to Tunica, Mississippi for a dirt track.”

Copyright 2002, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

CMRA has hired Nancy Selleck to run its office operations, replacing Connie Brothers, who is retiring from the job.

Selleck currently works for F-USA and CCS in Clear Channel Motor Sports’ Dallas office and will remain on the job until after the F-USA/CCS event at Daytona.

Charles Brothers, long-time CMRA Race Director, is also retiring.

From a tardy press release issued by Team Suzuki News Service:

TIMES TUMBLE AS GSX-R CUP RIDERS GET SERIOUS

Magny Cours, France, September 13th:

THE GSX-R Cup Final riders got down to serious business today during the second and final qualifying session.

In the all-action 25-minute long session, the lap times tumbled from yesterday, but the names at the top remain familiar.

French ace Olivier Four took over a second off his provisional pole position from yesterday to stay ahead of the field. His time on the near standard GSX-R750 was just two-seconds slower than the GSX-R1000 SuperProduction machine he uses in the Masters of Endurance qualifying for the Bol d’Or – showing just how good the Suzuki is as a ready to go racer.

Four said: “The bike is near its limits now. The rear tyre was new before the start of the session and now it is dead. The suspension is good but on the limit. It was warm during the session, so if it cools down a bit, perhaps I could go half a second faster. But I am fastest and happy with that.”

He was followed in second place by the same man as yesterday – Italy’s Giuseppe Fiorillo, who is also a top contender in the Bol d’Or on a Suzuki GSX-R1000. His Italian teammate Luca Conforti took over half a second off his practice time yesterday to join him on the front row in fourth place. Italy Team Boss D. Mutti said: “We have two riders on the front row and today’s times are better. That gives us a good chance for the race later on.”

Third place on the grid was taken by rising US star Jason DiSalvo. The 18-year-old American who is coached by Freddie Spencer, took two-seconds off his lap time from yesterday and is bubbling with confidence for the race. He said: “We made some suspension adjustments and the bike felt much better. I thought when I came over here I’d be riding around at 90 percent, but there are some real good guys out there. I am riding as hard, if not harder than I do at home. But I’ve only had one-hour 15-minutes on track and I’m still learning. Every lap I do I learn something and will get faster and faster.”

Most riders beat their lap times from yesterday. The first race in the GSX-R Cup Final takes place at 17:40pm today.

Suzuki’s GSX-R Cup Final 2002 brings together the best motorcycle riders from around the globe to compete on identical GSX-R750 machinery. Riders will race in two finals – one on Friday 13th, the second on Saturday 14th, which support the Bol d’Or Masters of Endurance 24-hour race. Each competing country is desperate to win the title for national pride. Every rider uses a Suzuki GSX-R in their home country and is already familiar with the awesome performance of the GSX-R range, which started the race-replica class of motorcycles in 1985 with the first GSX-R750.

Final Qualification Results:
1: Olivier Four (France) 1:44.631
2: Giuseppe Fiorillo (Italy) +0.613
3: Jason DiSalvo (USA) +1.019, 4: Luca Conforti (Italy) +1.070
5: S Jond (France) +1.100
6: John Dugan (US) +1.261
7: S Brogan (UK) +1.358
8: S Charlton (Australia) +1.488
9: J Kirkham (UK) +1.619
10: F Heidger (Germany) +1.894
11: KH Hennemann (Germany) +2.211
12: RDV Molen (Netherlands) +2.341
13: L Pini (Italy) +2.525
14: T Fluckiger (Switzerland) + 2.581
15: Brian Livengood (USA) +2.591
16: J Hurtado (Spain) +2.823
17: RK Valderhaug (Norway) +2.977
18: J Martensen (Germany) +3.509
19: J Tangre (France) +3.582
20: G Roelens (Belgium) +3.597
21: C Pfeifer (Austria) +4.354
22: Tim Easton (Canada) +5.056
23: Z Nelson (Canada) +6.361
24: JP Laurett (Brazil) +8.981
25: B Cockerill (UK) +14.648.

Copyright 2002, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Loris Capirossi has agreed to race a works Ducati in the MotoGP Series starting in 2003.

That’s the word from sources close to Marlboro, which is sponsoring the Ducati team for the next several years.

Copyright 2002, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

By David Swarts

Superbike World Championship points leader Colin Edwards will test his Castrol Honda RC51 at the Imola circuit, the site of the final World Superbike round, on Monday, September 16. None of Edwards’ competitors will be allowed to test at the 3.0-mile Italian track.

Because Imola is one of Castrol Honda’s two designated test tracks (the other is Misano), Edwards will be allowed to test at the facility no later than one week prior to the beginning of the World Superbike race weekend September 27, as provided by World Superbike rules.

Theoretically, the test should give Edwards an advantage over his Championship competition, Infostrada Ducati’s Troy Bayliss. Edwards leads Bayliss by a single Championship point, 502 to 501 points.

Ironically, the Imola circuit is less than 30 miles from Bologna, home of Ducati.

Last year at Imola, Superpole winner Ruben Xaus won race one over Troy Corser and Edwards. Bayliss crashed late in the race, breaking his right collarbone. In race two, Regis Laconi took the victory over Xaus and Tadayuki Okada. Edwards crashed out of race two.

In other testing news, the official World Superbike winter test will be held February 21-23, 2003 at Valencia in Spain. Another official test is being considered for the Sepang circuit in Malaysia in late January.



More, from a press release issued by Castrol Honda:

EDWARDS BEGINS LAST ROUND BUILD UP WITH IMOLA TEST

Castrol Honda’s World Superbike championship leader Colin Edwards gets his final-round preparations under way with a test on Monday at the Imola circuit in Italy ­ venue for the final round.

Edwards will test the revamped SP-1 (RC51) machine at the 3.04-mile circuit on Monday September 16 in an effort to be fully prepared for the championship showdown.

“It’s great that we can get the test time at Imola, since we raced there last year there’s a lot changed on the machine ­ the chassis, motor, the oil, Michelin tyres and Showa suspension,” explains Edwards.

“In fact, it’s a completely different machine to what we raced at Imola 12 months ago,” he continues.

Championship rules allow teams to select two circuits from the championship calendar, the Castrol Honda team chose Misano and Imola.

Team manager Neil Tuxworth commented: “Misano is a good, demanding test track for us and we went for Imola just in case the championship was tight going into the final round.”

Edwards leads the championship by a single point from Troy Bayliss following a dramatic penultimate round at Assen in Holland last Sunday.

“I don’t think anyone can believe what’s happened in this year’s championship,” says Edwards. “I suppose it was looking like Troy would walk the championship after he won six in a row at the start of the season.

“It was never easy for me and the team in some of those early races. I’d get a lead in a race and just wait for Troy to come by, then have no reply. But since the second race at Laguna Seca in July we’ve moved up a gear and now we’re in a position I think we deserve.”

In climbing to the top of the table Edwards has embarked on a record-breaking run of seven successive wins, his achievements include:

* A record 23 successive podium finishes ­ the previous record of 12 was set by Carl Fogarty in 1995 and 1999. Edwards’ only non-podium finish of the year was a fourth place in the very first race of the year at Valencia, Spain.

* Moving into a clear second place in the all-time World Superbike wins list with a current tally of 29 victories.

* Equalling John Kocinski’s 1997 record of nine wins in a season for the Castrol Honda team.

* Giving Castrol Honda its 50th World Superbike race win with his first race victory at Oschersleben, Germany in round 11.

* Beating the previous record of 21 podium finishes in a year ­ set by Doug Polen in 1991.


Edwards added: “The statistics confirm how determined we’ve been this year to cling onto hopes of winning the title. I now want to keep the momentum going with two wins at Imola.”

The final round takes place at Imola on September 29, the second World Superbike championship round to be staged at the historic venue.

Copyright 2002, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

American Honda officials announced Thursday night that Nicky Hayden will be racing a Honda RC211V in the 2003 MotoGP World Championship and that Ben Bostrom will be racing a Honda RC51 in the 2003 AMA Superbike Championship.

That’s the word from Tony Bell of Spectrum Motorsports, a Honda dealership in Lake Forest, California, reporting from American Honda’s dealer show in Chicago.

Copyright 2002, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Sources in Japan confirmed late Thursday night U.S. time (Friday afternoon Japan time) that Nicky Hayden will ride for Repsol Honda in 2003.

American Honda officials announced Thursday night in Chicago that Hayden would be racing a Honda RC211V in the MotoGP World Championship but did not reveal which team he would be riding for.