Copyright 2002, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Aaron Yates caught the lead pack and worked his way up to take the lead in the run to the white flag, charged through the infield and onto the west banking, held off his pursuers through and out of the chicane, and won the Daytona Supersport race on his Yoshimura Suzuki.

Yates was aided by Kurtis Roberts, who spun up his Erion Honda’s rear tire, slid up the banking out of the chicane, and delayed the rest of the leaders.

The race was marred by a fiery crash exiting the chicane on lap 7 of 18, involving Anthony Gobert, Aaron Gobert and Tommy Hayden. One of the Gobert brothers was run over by Hayden in the crash, which saw Anthony Gobert’s Yamaha go end over end and burst into flames.

After reviewing a video tape replay of the Supersport race finish, AMA timing and scoring ruled that Honda’s Miguel Duhamel finished in third place 0.001 second ahead of Jamie Hacking. The change was announced in the Daytona Media Center at approximately 6:10 p.m. Eastern Time.
Revised unofficial results follow:

1. Aaron Yates, Suzuki
2. Nicky Hayden, Honda, -0.402 second
3. Miguel Duhamel, Honda, -0.502
4. Jamie Hacking, Suzuki, -0.503

5. Kurtis Roberts, Honda, -0.567
6. Damon Buckmaster, Yamaha, -6.792
7. Mike Hale, Honda, -17.263
8. Jason Pridmore, Suzuki, -17.382
9. Josh Hayes, Suzuki, -17.386
10. Ben Spies, Suzuki, -17.417
11. Tom Kipp, Suzuki, -25.794
12. Miering, Kawasaki, -52.951
13. Roger Lee Hayden, Honda, -54.629
14. Steve Rapp, Suzuki, -54.706
15. Jimmy Moore, Suzuki, -54.723
16. Alex Gobert, Honda, -61.001
17. Jake Zemke, Honda, -70.007
18. Scott Hermersmann, Suzuki, -77.279
19. Shaun Harris, Suzuki, -85.811
20. John Ashmead, Suzuki, -1:47.576
21. Ray Bowman, Honda
22. Tyler Wadsworth, Yamaha
23. Owen Richey, Yamaha
24. Ty Howard, Suzuki, 17 laps
25. Russ Intravartolo, Kawasaki, 17 laps
26. Chris Greer, Yamaha, -17 laps
27. Kevin Pate, Suzuki, -17 laps
28. David McPherson, Yamaha, -17 laps
29. Richard Ford, Suzuki, -17 laps
30. Eric Bostrom, Kawasaki, DNF, 14 laps, mechanical
31. Andrew Nelson, Kawasaki, DNF, 13 laps
32. Aaron Gobert, Yamaha, DNF, 6 laps, crash
33. Tommy Hayden, Kawasaki, DNF, 6 laps, crash
34. Anthony Gobert, Yamaha, DNF, 6 laps, crash
35. Santiago Villa, Yamaha, DNF, 5 laps
36. Hector Romero, Yamaha, DNF, 5 laps
37. Jimmy Filice, Kawasaki, DNF, 2 laps

DNS: Owen Weichel, Larry Pegram, Lee Acree, Craig Connell, Jordan Szoke, Jeff Tigert, Dirk Sanchez, Brent Bennett, Scotty Van Scoik.

Race Time: 34 minutes, 26.890 seconds
Victory Margin: 0.402-second
Winner’s Average Speed: 111.611 mph
Winner’s Average Lap Time: 1:54.827
Second-place Average Speed: 111.589 mph
Second-place Average Lap Time: 1:54.850

Copyright 2002, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Superbike, 80 entries.

Superstock, 102 entries

250cc Grand Prix, 52 entries

Supersport, 54 entries

Pro Thunder, 33 entries

Copyright 2002, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Unofficial Practice Lap Times:
1. Mike Ciccotto, Buell XB9R, 1:56.900
2. Kirk McCarthy, Ducati 748RS, 1:57.972
3. Tom Montano, Ducati 748R, 1:57.985
4. Michael Barnes, Buell X-1, 1:59.381
5. Carlos Macias, Ducati 748, 2:01.473
6. Ricky Lundgren, Ducati 748, 2:01.919
7. Leo Venega, Ducati 748, 2:02.851
8. Thomas Fournier, Ducati 748, 2:03.594
9. Josh Bryan, Buell X-1, 2:04.808
10. Ian Roper, Ducati 748, 2:05.266

From a press release:

PIRELLI SUPERCORSA PUTS TWO RIDERS ON AMA (750) SUPERSTOCK FRONT ROW, FOUR IN TOP 10 IN DAYTONA QUALIFYING

(Daytona, FL) Hooters Suzuki’s Michael Barnes and Larry Pegram put the Pirelli Supercorsa DOT race radial in two of the four spots on the front row of Daytona’s AMA SuperStock (formerly 750cc Supersport) grid. Supercorsa riders hold four of the Top 10 grid positions for the SuperStock final that will be run on Friday afternoon: Arclight Racing’s Craig Connell holds the sixth spot, and his teammate Lee Acree is inside row three in ninth position.

Copyright 2002, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Defending AMA Superbike Champion Mat Mladin posted the fastest time in Friday morning’s Superbike practice session at Daytona with a 1:49.968, then crashed at the exit of the International Horseshoe.

Mladin was seen on a Speed Channel closed-circuit TV feed laying on the racing surface holding his left arm and appearing to be in pain.

Stay tuned for more details as they become available.

This just in: Doctors in the Infield Care Center are looking at Mat Mladin’s left elbow and right heel. More information to follow as it becomes available.

Lap times:

1. Mat Mladin, 1:49.958
2. Kurtis Roberts, 1:50.415
3. Nicky Hayden, 1:50.455
4. Eric Bostrom, 1:50.500
5. Miguel Duhamel, 1:50.654
6. Anthony Gobert, 1:50.885
7. Jamie Hacking, 1:50.905
8. Aaron Yates, 1:51.219
9. Steve Rapp, 1:53.555*
10. Pascal Picotte, 1:53.998
11. Jimmy Moore, 1:54.332*
12. Eric Wood, 1:54.887*
13. Larry Pegram, 1:55.071*
14. Chris Ulrich, 1:55.152*
15. Robert Jensen, 1:55.302*
16. Lee Acree, 1:55.917*
17. Michael Barnes, 1:56.077*
18. Brian Livengood, 1:56.362*
19. Stephane Mertens, 1:56.449*
20. Mike Luke, 1:56.458*
21. David Estok, 1:56.549*
22. Chris Caylor, 1:56.820*
23. Pedro Valiente, 1:57.094*
24. Vince Haskovec, 1:57.233*
25. Jordan Szoke, 1:57.248*
26. Cory Call, 1:57.396*
27. Alan Schmidt, 1:57.409*
28. Tony Fania, 1:57.579*
29. Aaron Clark, 1:57.596*
30. Marco Martinez, 1:57.599*

* Superstock machine

Copyright 2002, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Unofficial Qualifying Times:
1. Fabien Foret, Honda, 1:38.156
2. Alessio Corradi, Yamaha, 1:38.730
3. Stephane Chambon, Suzuki, 1:38.930
4. Stefano Cruciani, Yamaha, 1:39.085
5. Christian Kellner, Yamaha, 1:39.245
6. Jorg Teuchert, Yamaha, 1:39.275
7. Chris Vermeulen, Honda, 1:39.284
8. Paolo Casoli, Yamaha, 1:39.446
9. Werner Daemen, Honda, 1:39.585
10. Jamie Whitham, Yamaha, 1:39.608
11. Katsuaki Fujiwara, Suzuki, 1:39.697
12. Andrew Pitt, Kawasaki, 1:39.754
13. Robert Frost, Yamaha, 1:39.767
14. Iain MacPherson, Honda, 1:39.775
15. Gianluca Nannelli, Ducati, 1:40.228
16. Piergiorgio Bontempi, Ducati, 1:40.366
17. Antonio Carlacci, Yamaha, 1:40.505
18. Karl Muggeridge, Honda, 1:40.513
19. Robert Ulm, Honda, 1:40.662
20. James Ellison, Kawasaki, 1:40.757

Copyright 2002, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Mat Mladin’s Yoshimura Crew Chief Peter Doyle described the injuries suffered by Mat Mladin in the International Horseshoe during Friday morning Superbike open practice as follows: “He injured his foot, but there’s no broke bones. The (elbow) shield in his leathers moved up, and his elbow was ground down all the way to the bone. I’m not a doctor, but I understand there’s a sack in the elbow that helps it move smoothly, and that’s burst. They did some X-rays here (at the Daytona International Speedway Infield Care Center), but they couldn’t tell if there were bone fragments in the elbow or rocks from the track, so they took him to the hospital (Halifax Medical Center) for more X-rays. The bottom line is, if the elbow’s broken, he’s not racing. If the elbow’s not broken, he’s racing.”

Copyright 2002, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

“I Like Doubt”

Interview by Bob Dragich

Jimmy Filice has had one of the most durable careers in all of AMA Pro Racing. Starting on a 250cc GP bike in 1980, Filice also raced Superbike and came back to riding a 250cc machine in 2001, winning the Championship, the third of his career.

In 2002, 39-year-old Filice is making one of the most radical moves of his career. He’s going from the 250cc GP class in which he has been so successful to the highly-competitive 600cc Supersport class. Filice talked with Roadracing World about his reasons for the change, and what he wants to accomplish with his new team.

RW: Why are you going to the 600cc class now?
Filice: What I’m trying to do is develop a team and stay involved in racing. The sponsor, Mike Corbin (saw) the exposure in the 600cc (class) is much, much more. What my plan is, is to develop the bike, get the team developed and maybe put somebody (else) on next year. This year I still feel like I can do the job. I understand riding very well from Kenny Roberts giving me the opportunity to work with a lot of top riders. It’s a deal (right now) where I feel I have to adapt.

RW: Are you having any problems right now?
Filice: What we’ve come up against is that everyone else has done a lot of testing. The program got put together late and we just didn’t have the testing time that we needed. And I’m still trying to ride my bike a little bit like my 250. With the engine braking (on the 600), I’m going too slow through the center of the corner, because I’m not entering the corner fast enough. That’s just going to take a little time mentally to work that out and to get more comfortable with this kind of machine. Where we’re at and where we came from, starting-wise, we’re doing OK, I believe.

RW: What are your strengths on the 600?
Filice: My strength is my size. (It’s an advantage in) acceleration, tire wear and top speed. My bike is more than capable of running up front. It’s the rider right now that’s not capable. (Rather,) it’s not that I’m not capable, it’s that the computer chip in my mind is programmed for a 250cc, and we just haven’t been on the bike enough to change that right now. That takes time to adjust. What I’m lacking is entrance speed, because where I brake and shut the throttle off and release the brake, my 250 will coast. This bike (the 600) stops because of engine braking. In my Superbike days, we had a slipper clutch in it where it had less drag that a standard clutch. So what I need to work on is that, and it just takes time. Here, at a race, it’s a very bad time to try to adapt to this. Me working with other riders out there and having them tow me around would be a lot better and easier for me to get up to speed. But we’re trying to adjust the bike and build speed into me and the bike together, and it’s taking some time, and we’re out of time. So tomorrow (during the race) we’re going to do the best we can with what we have. My team has prepared everything great, but it’s something we’re going to have to change mentally to adjust to this class. The future is here (in the 600 class), with the television, the exposure, the sport. This is what it is.

RW: How long will you personally compete in the 600cc class?
Filice: I’m not looking to do this for the next five years; I’m 39 years old. I’m looking to start a racing effort and have a good backing, which is Corbin right now, that’s really supporting the team, to be able to allow me to find young talent, to bring them up and to do the job. Right now, my main goal is to do the best we can, to get as much exposure as possible, and to develop the team.

RW: Why did you pick the Kawasaki?
Filice: I had some avenues to go, through Europe, and in some other areas to get some help, the bike’s a good bike, and I’ve never ridden for Kawasaki. I’ve ridden for the other three manufacturers at one point in my career. So, why not?

RW: What lead you to engine builder Dennis Zickrick?
Filice: Dennis’ experience is so broad and in this sport he’s worked with Honda through the years and been involved in building motors. His racing knowledge is very big and that helps me. We have another guy, Steven Scott, who gets the bikes set up. It’s his first year in professional racing as a mechanic. Dennis is a good teacher and he’s trying give some knowledge to Steven. James Siddall is a great guy and really worked well with me last year. He gave me a lot of information and gave me confidence, setting the bike up for me.

RW: What about your first qualifying session?
Filice: My team has so much confidence in me, and right now I’m a little disappointed in the qualifying, but there’s no excuse. The team is prepared to do well, we just lack testing. When you’ve got these guys (the factory teams) who come here for three days in December, and get everything dialed in, they come to the race prepared. And we come to the race hoping we’re close, it’s a lot more difficult. If I had two more days, I think I could adjust, but we don’t have it. I can’t fire myself. I’m here to get as much exposure for my team as possible. If we can run up front, we’re going to. If we can run in the pack, we will. My main goal is to finish, make progress, and go on, just like I did last year. We came here last year with a lot of doubt from a lot of people, saying, “Jimmy’s coming back to ride 250s, what does he think he’s doing?” It’s something where I proved it. I won again. I won the Championship. I might have won by one point, I won a few races, but I did what I did. I like doubt, so if they doubt me on this, we’ll see. There’s a lot of races left.

From a Ducati press release:

WORLD SUPERBIKE CHAMPIONSHIP

Round 1 – Valencia (Spain), 8 March 2002

FRIDAY QUALIFYING

DUCATI INFOSTRADA DUO LEAD THE WAY IN WSBK OPENING SESSION

Ruben Xaus (Ducati Infostrada) powered to the front on the first day’s qualifying session for the opening round of the 2002 World Superbike
Championship at Valencia’s Ricardo Tormo Circuit in Spain. In warm, dry conditions, the 24-year-old from Barcelona broke the Bayliss-Haga stranglehold on the one-hour session with a time of 1:34.927 set towards the end. Ducati Infostrada teammate and 2001 world champion Troy Bayliss was a fraction behind the Spanish rider in second, with Aprilia’s Noriyuki Haga third quickest. Ducati L&M’s Ben Bostrom was just four-tenths of a second off provisional pole in fifth, right behind Honda’s Colin Edwards.

Xaus (Ducati Infostrada) said that he was delighted with the performance of his 998R Factory bike around the 4.005 km circuit and that he was encountering none of the front-end problems he had experienced at Valencia ten days ago. “Everything was perfect”, he declared. “I really feel I’m riding the best bike ever. It’s all completely different from ten days ago, when I had a few problems with the front. I would say that the bike has always been perfect but now I feel I’m taking a lot less risk. Tomorrow I think it’s possible to get some more time off, but for the moment I’m just really happy with today’s performance”.

Defending champion Bayliss (Ducati Infostrada) was less than one-tenth of a second slower than Xaus on his 998R Factory, but felt there was a lot more to come during the afternoon’s second and final qualifying session. “That wasn’t bad for a first day at work”, he commented. “We have already got quite a good set-up and the bike is proving to be fast around here. Tomorrow we’ve got a few more settings to try out, but I’m feeling good about everything and confident I can get some more off my time tomorrow”.

Ducati’s third factory rider Ben Bostrom (Ducati L&M) was slightly disappointed with his fifth-place slot, despite being less than half-a-second off Xaus’s provisional pole mark. “It didn’t really go the way we wanted it to go so I’m a bit disappointed, but tomorrow is a new day”, he said. “There wasn’t much difference from the tests here ten days ago, but we’ve still got a lot of work to do. We need to get our race tyre picked, do some laps and get the bike set up a little better and then we’ll be happy. On one of my quick laps out there I pushed my Q-tyre too hard in half a lap and then on the other I was caught behind another rider.”


FRIDAY QUALIFYING TIMES:
1. RUBEN XAUS (DUCATI INFOSTRADA) 1:34.927
2. TROY BAYLISS (DUCATI INFOSTRADA) 1:34.999
3. Noriyuki Haga (Aprilia) 1:35.030
4. Colin Edwards (Honda) 1:35.312
5. Ben BOSTROM (DUCATI L&M) 1:35.374
6. H. Izutsu (Kawasaki) 1:35.385
7. James Toseland (HM Plant Ducati) 1:35.393
8. Neil Hodgson (HM Plant Ducati) 1:35.429
9. Pierfrancesco Chili (Ducati NCR) 1:35.708
10. Pedercini (Ducati) 1:35.873