A press release originally posted March 25 with the headline “Apparently, Ex-racers Who Are Now Hollywood Stuntmen Have PR Agents” infuriated Tommy McComas, the former racer in question, who said the headline was “slanderous” before hanging up in an angry phone call to Roadracingworld.com.

McComas also claimed that he did not have a PR agent.

The release in question arrived via FAX and did not include a headline; the words “FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE” appeared above the text. Contact information for Mary Laney appeared underneath the press release text, with no contact information for McComas. In other words, the press release looked like press releases typically issued by PR Agents and received by Roadracingworld.com by the hundreds.

Reached by phone on March 29, Laney said she was not a PR agent but had sent the release as a favor to McComas. Laney also said that the headline used on Roadracingworld.com was “sarcastic” and suggested that a better headline would have emphasized that McComas had found a stunt career after racing and was bringing other racers into stunt work.

McComas had not returned a phone message at post time.

The text of the original posting follows.

From a press release:

Think Fear Factor is exciting? Meet Hollywood stuntman and former motorcycle road racer Tom McComas. His life could inspire a decade’s worth of Fear Factor episodes.

McComas, featured in the March issue of GQ magazine and selected as one of Hollywood’s top stunt-doubles is photographed for GQ riding a 2001 Ducati 996.

You’ve seen his work in Amistad, Armageddon, Bounce, Coyote Ugly, Dude Where’s My Car, Lethal Weapon 4, Perfect Storm, Reindeer Games, Zoolander and numerous television shows.

Catch McComas in the upcoming Sum Of All Fears starring Ben Affleck and Morgan Freeman. McComas also stunt coordinated and re-created (along with racer Steve Rapp and former Daytona 200 Champion David Sadowski) several high speed (over 100 mph) road racing crashes in the yet-to-be-released World Superbike feature High Speed, shot on location in Italy at Imola, Misano, Vallelunga and other famous European venues. Former motorcycle racer and stuntman Jeff Jensen directed High Speed.

What’s next for McComas? Daredevil starring Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner.

From a press release:

Test ReportAMA Chevy Trucks Superbike
DateMarch 28, 2002
CircuitLaguna Seca International Speedway

Chandler fastest at Laguna

HMC Ducati rider Doug Chandler wrapped up a three-day test program fastest overall, clocking a 1:25.65 lap time, more than half a second faster than yesterday’s front man Nicky Hayden and only 0.28 seconds off the official lap record. The newly-hired Ducati pilot ran consistently in the low 26s, setting his fastest time on the last lap of a ten lap stint.

The team clearly achieved its goal of using the three-day test to make the bike totally comfortable for Doug.

“We just keep getting better and better each day,” said Chandler. “I think we’re off to a great start and I feel we can go even better with more laps under my belt. I couldn’t be happier with either the bike or the team.”

The HMC crew will take a few days sabbatical before heading to LA to prepare for the second round of the AMA Chevy Trucks Superbike series at Fontana Raceway.

The new Californian raceway sports a very different layout to that of Laguna Seca, but this doesn’t faze Chandler. “Sure I have a slight disadvantage as I didn’t test there like most other riders, but the way things went these past three days, I’m very optimistic.”

Copyright 2002, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

By David Swarts

HMC Ducati’s Doug Chandler, Kawasaki’s Tommy Hayden and Graves Motorsports Yamaha’s Damon Buckmaster finished a three-day test at Mazda Raceway at Laguna Seca with the fastest Superbike, Supersport and Formula Xtreme lap times, respectively, all on Dunlop race tires.

After lapping consistently in the mid-1:26s all week, Chandler mounted a fresh 587-compound, or “medium”, rear Dunlop to his new Ducati 998RS Superbike and turned a 1:25.65. The next fastest riders at the test did 1:26.2s.

“We did what we set out to do,” said a smiling Chandler Thursday afternoon. “I didn’t want to do anything silly. We’ve got a long year in front of us. There’s no sense getting in a rush trying to get used to this new bike. I took it one day at a time and got more and more comfortable with it. The times actually came easier than I expected. The first day, I didn’t expect to be as close to the rest of the guys as we were. I figured in three days we should be pretty close, but to be out front made me think we could go even better yet. It just makes me feel really good about the whole thing.”

Kawasaki’s Eric Bostrom ended his test on a positive note after clocking a 1:26.2 late Thursday on his ZX-7RR. “When it came down to just riding the thing this weekend, I probably didn’t do a good enough job. I had trouble switching from tester-mode to racer-mode. But still, I rode pretty well. It’s definitely a job to do 1:26s around here. As an example, last July on Saturday morning I went out and did some low-1:26s. In the afternoon session, I couldn’t even do a 1:26, (the track) changed that much.” Bostrom won the 2001 AMA Superbike race at Laguna Seca convincingly.

The key to Bostrom’s success during the test was finding and fixing a problem with the bike’s front end Wednesday night.

Team Blimpie Yoshimura Suzuki’s Aaron Yates worked with changes to the internals of his forks and shock to tie for the third-fastest Superbike time Thursday at 1:26.6. “I really wanted to work with the Superbike some,” said Yates. “We’ve been trying all kinds of different things. We had a big plan for the test, and we pretty much got through everything. The Superbike is feeling real good to me now, and I’m pretty happy.”

Another Yoshimura rider that was happy, surprisingly happy, was Mat Mladin. After riding about 30 laps on day one of the test, Mladin ended day two early after approximately eight laps, due to pain and stiffness in the left elbow he injured in a Daytona qualifying crash. Although he said that his arm wasn’t much better Thursday, Mladin gritted his teeth, put in a full day of painful riding and ended the final day with a best time of 1:26.6.

“I’m just recovering,” Mladin said of his effort at Laguna. “It’s just been difficult trying to get anything done when you can’t ride like you really need to ride hard to get the testing done. It’s been a bit of a pain in the butt, but that’s the way it goes sometimes. As the old saying goes, ‘You get that on the big jobs.'”

Team Blimpie Yoshimura Suzuki’s rider Jamie Hacking finished with a strong lap time of 1:26.8 in only one day of testing on his Superbike with two new crew members. “It went excellent,” stated Hacking. “I’m really happy with my lap time. This morning we were stuck in the 1:28.0s, then Boom! We went 1:27.2s right away. I think we can make that step again and drop another half-second easy. Another half-second and we’ll be right there with everybody else, right there with the Hondas.”

Hacking credited a change in wheel width and rear suspension for his improvement, but said that he still needed more power for better acceleration.

Yamaha’s Anthony Gobert ended his test program with a best lap of 1:27.4 on Thursday. Gobert started on his Supersport bike in the morning before switching to his Superbike before lunch. Gobert crashed unhurt just before the 12:30 p.m. break and then decided that he would sit out the rest of the day.

“Because of the injuries I got from crashing at Daytona, I wasn’t able to train really at all leading up to this test,” explained Gobert. “I got through the first two days and the first part of this day, but I’m just getting to the point where I’m feeling a bit fatigued. There’s really no sense in going out there and risking crashing and an injury or something when I’m not feeling 100%”

Despite no-one threatening his best Supersport time of 1:29.6, Kawasaki’s Tommy Hayden pushed his ZX-6R in the heat of the day Thursday afternoon to turn an even faster 1:28.96, 0.7-second faster than the next Supersport rider at the test.

“The biggest problem here for the 600 is chatter because the fast corners are pretty rough,” said the eldest Hayden brother. “It seems like every year, no matter what bike I’m on, I’m fighting that. I feel like we have a pretty good handle on that now.”

Hayden’s teammate Tony Meiring finished off the 12 sets of Dunlops his crew brought for the test Thursday afternoon preventing him from bettering his 1:31.00 from Thursday morning. “We’re getting closer,” said the 18-year-old. “We have a couple of things here and there that hurt me. We just need to keep working on it and get it better. We’ve just got to take our time to get there. We can’t rush things, can’t get into big messes or anything, gotta stay on two wheels, gotta stay running – that’s the way you learn.”

After the test of his Yamaha YZF-R6 Superport bike ended with unfinished business Thursday morning, Buckmaster was able to leave Laguna Seca Thursday evening with a smile. Not only did Buckmaster record the fastest Formula Xtreme lap time of the three days, but the 2001 AMA FX class runner-up found a much better set-up than what he used to win last year’s Formula Xtreme race at Laguna on his Yamaha YZF-R7 with an F1 engine.

Thursday’s best unofficial lap times:

1. Doug Chandler, Ducati 998RS, 1:25.65
2. Eric Bostrom, Kawasaki ZX-7RR, 1:26.27
3. Mat Mladin, Suzuki GSX-R750, 1:26.6
4. Aaron Yates, Suzuki GSX-R750, 1:26.6
5. Jamie Hacking, Suzuki GSX-R750, 1:26.8
6. Anthony Gobert, Yamaha YZF-R7, 1:27.4
7. Damon Buckmaster, Yamaha YZF-R1/R7, 1:27.4
8. Tommy Hayden, Kawasaki ZX-6R, 1:28.9
9. Anthony Gobert, Yamaha YZF-R6, 1:30.2
10. Damon Buckmaster, Yamaha YZF-R6, 1:30.4
11. Tony Meiring, Kawasaki ZX-6R, 1:31.0

Best unofficial lap times of the entire test (as provided by each rider’s Crew Chief):

1. Doug Chandler, Ducati 998RS, 1:25.65
2. Nicky Hayden, Honda RC51, 1:26.22
3. Kurtis Roberts, Honda RC51, 1:26.25
4. Eric Bostrom, Kawasaki ZX-7RR, 1:26.27
5. Mat Mladin, Suzuki GSX-R750, 1:26.6
6. Aaron Yates, Suzuki GSX-R750, 1:26.6
7. Anthony Gobert, Yamaha YZF-R7, 1:26.7
8. Jamie Hacking, Suzuki GSX-R750, 1:26.8
9. Miguel Duhamel, Honda RC51, 1:27.1
10. Damon Buckmaster, Yamaha YZF-R1/R7, 1:27.4
11. Jake Zemke, Honda CBR954RR, 1:28.0
12. Roger Lee Hayden, Honda CBR954RR, 1:28.4
13. Tommy Hayden, Kawasaki ZX-6R, 1:28.9
14. Anthony Gobert, Yamaha YZF-R6, 1:29.6
15. Mike Hale, Honda CBR954RR, 1:29.7
16. Jamie Hacking, Suzuki GSX-R600, 1:30.0
17. Aaron Yates, Suzuki GSX-R600, 1:30.0
18. Alex Gobert, Honda CBR954RR, 1:30.1
19. Damon Buckmaster, Yamaha YZF-R6, 1:30.4
20. Mike Hale, Honda CBR600F4i, 1:30.4
21. Tony Meiring, Kawasaki ZX-6R, 1:31.0
22. Roger Lee Hayden, Honda CBR600F4i, 1:31.1
23. Jake Zemke, Honda CBR600F4i, 1:31.2
24. Alex Gobert, Honda CBR600F4i, 1:31.7

From an AMA press release:

Federal Agency Poised to Reopen Closed Glamis Land to OHVs

PICKERINGTON, Ohio — The federal Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has proposed a plan to reopen more than 49,000 acres of southern California desert closed two years ago to off-highway vehicle use, the American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) reports.

The action would partially reverse a closure enacted by the BLM in late 2000 that affected 49,305 acres in the Imperial Sand Dunes Recreation Area, known to OHV enthusiasts as Glamis because of its proximity to that city in far southern California. The closure was part of an out-of-court settlement of a lawsuit filed by anti-access groups that alleged the BLM failed to properly consult with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service concerning the effects of the BLM-administered California Desert Conservation Area Plan on a number of threatened and endangered species.

On March 29, the BLM released a Draft Environmental Impact Statement and Draft Recreation Area Management Plan for the Imperial Sand Dunes Recreation Area that would reopen about 16,000 acres of the Glamis area to unrestricted OHV use. In addition, more than 33,000 acres would be reopened to limited use, with a restriction on the number of riders allowed. A maximum of 525 vehicles would be allowed each day in that area for a year while the BLM monitors the impact on plants and animals there. Changes would then be made on OHV use of the parcel, if necessary.

“This proposed management plan is a significant development for all the OHV enthusiasts who ride at Glamis,” said AMA Western States Representative Nick Haris. “Under the terms of the California Desert Conservation Area Plan, open motorized recreation was restricted to less than 2 percent of the California Desert. With this closure, even that tiny amount was in danger of disappearing.”

The AMA encourages those interested in the future of motorized recreation in the desert to read the plan and comment on it. The BLM will hold six public hearings on the plan to gather comments. The hearings will be held from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. on:

April 9: City Council Chambers, 1275 Main St., El Centro, Calif.

April 11: The Grand, 4101 E. Willow St., Long Beach, Calif.

April 15: Phoenix College, 1202 W. Thomas Rd., Phoenix, Ariz.

April 18: Brawley City Council, 225 A St., Brawley, Calif.

April 23: Yuma Civic and Convention Center, 1440 W. Desert Hills Dr., Yuma, Ariz.

April 25: Marriott Mission Valley, 8757 Rio San Diego Dr., San Diego, Calif.

Reading copies are available at the BLM’s El Centro Field Office, 1661 S. 4th St., El Centro, Calif., and at the California Desert District Office, 6221 Box Springs Blvd., Riverside, Calif. Reading copies are also available at selected libraries in cities where the public meetings will be held, and the documents can be found at the BLM’s website at www.ca.blm.gov/elcentro.

Comments will be accepted through June 28. Written comments should be sent to the Bureau of Land Management, El Centro Field Office, Attn: Jim Komatinsky, 1661 S. 4th St., El Centro, CA 92243.

If approved, the plan could go into effect late this year.

Glamis is an extremely popular recreation area for motorcyclists, ATV riders, four-wheel-drive vehicle enthusiasts and others. The BLM reported that an estimated 108,000 people used the dunes during the President’s Day weekend Feb. 16-17. The area is approximately 40 miles long, five miles wide, and has dunes that rise 300 feet above the valley floor.

In 2000, the BLM agreed to temporarily close 49,305 acres in the 150,000-acre Algodones Dunes area that includes Glamis in response to a lawsuit by anti-access groups. The groups that filed the suit alleged that the ban was needed to protect the Peirson’s milk-vetch plant, a member of the bean and pea family. The plant is listed as “endangered” by the state, and as “threatened” by the federal government.

The anti-access groups made that allegation even though a BLM monitoring study showed that between 1977 and 1998, while OHV use was allowed, six plant species including the Peirson’s milk-vetch increased in the dunes.

The closure meant that more than half of the land set aside for motorized recreation in the dunes was closed. Previously, a 32,240-acre parcel — about 20 percent of the total — was designated as the North Algodones Dunes Wilderness Area and closed to OHVs.

The BLM manages more than 9 million acres of the 25 million total acres in the California desert. The California Desert Conservation Area Plan, which went into effect in 1980, and the California Desert Protection Act, passed eight years later, resulted in severe closures and restrictions on motorized recreation in the desert. They left open travel on some existing roads and ways through the desert, but confined open riding to a handful of specifically designated “intensive-use” areas, including the Imperial Sand Dunes Recreation Area.

The lawsuit, filed by the Center for Biological Diversity, the Sierra Club, and Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, not only shut down 49,000 acres to OHV use at Glamis, but also closed areas to campers and closed, or threatens to close, other recreational areas in the California desert.

Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Final World Supersport Qualifying Results:

1. Chris Vermeulen, Honda CBR600RR, 1:35.291
2. Stephane Chambon, Suzuki GSX-R600, 1:35.828
3. Katsuaki Fujiwara, Suzuki GSX-R600, 1:35.841
4. Fabien Foret, Kawasaki ZX-6RR, 1:35.965
5. Karl Muggeridge, Honda CBR600RR, 1:36.008
6. Jurgen Vd Goorbergh, Yamaha YZF-R6, 1:36.060
7. Broc Parkes, Honda CBR600RR, 1:36.226
8. Robert Ulm, Honda CBR600RR, 1:36.326
9. Kevin Curtain, Yamaha YZF-R6, 1:36.464
10. Pere Riba, Kawasaki ZX-6RR, 1:36.479
11. Iain MacPherson, Honda CBR600RR, 1:36.506
12. Christian Kellner, Yamaha YZF-R6, 1:36.517
13. Simone Sanna, Yamaha YZF-R6, 1:36.648
14. Jorg Teuchert, Yamaha YZF-R6, 1:36.653
15. Gianluca Nannelli, Yamaha YZF-R6, 1:36.758
16. Werner Daemen, Honda CBR600RR, 1:37.044
17. Thierry Vd Bosch, Yamaha YZF-R6, 1:37.106
18. Alessio Corradi, Yamaha YZF-R6, 1:37.269
19. Gianluigi Scalvini, Honda CBR600RR, 1:37.351
20. Christophe Cogan, Honda CBR600RR, 1:37.374
21. Matthieu Lagrive, Yamaha YZF-R6, 1:37.427
22. Shannon Johnson, Honda CBR600RR, 1:37.645
23. Kai Borre Andersen, Kawasaki ZX-6RR, 1:38.310
24. Didier Vankeymeulen, Kawasaki ZX-6RR, 1:38.719
25. Stefano Cruciani, Kawasaki ZX-6RR, 1:39.841

Copyright 2002, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

By David Swarts

HMC Ducati’s Doug Chandler posted the fastest time of the three-day AMA test at Laguna Seca Thursday with a 1:26.1 on his Ducati 998RS Superbike. With Honda not attending the final day of the event, Chandler’s lap time beats the previous best lap of 1:26.22 turned by Nicky Hayden. According to Chandler’s crew, they haven’t started to look for their fastest lap yet.

Kawasaki’s Eric Bostrom went into Thursday’s lunch break with a smile on his face and the second-fastest lap of the day, a 1:26.6. Team Blimpie Yoshimura Suzuki’s Aaron Yates managed a 1:26.9 while testing different shocks and exhaust pipes. Even though he says his injured left arm is hurting him as badly today as yesterday, Mat Mladin rode all morning in an attempt to get some testing done. Mladin’s fastest lap was a 1:27.0, his fastest lap of the test.

Yamaha’s Anthony Gobert was fifth-fastest among the Superbike riders with a 1:27.4 on his YZF-R7 even though he spent the majority of the morning on his Supersport bike. Gobert also crashed his Superbike Thursday morning in exactly the same spot as he crashed it on Wednesday in turn two. Once again, Gobert escaped injury and his bike suffered minimal damage in the lowside fall. Gobert blamed his crash on the same problem–pushing too hard too soon after coming out of the pits. Both of Gobert’s crashes were on the second lap. “You would think I would’ve learned by now,” joked Gobert.

Second in the AMA Superbike point standings, Jamie Hacking rounded out the Superbike lap times with a 1:28.0 despite spending little time on his Superbike during the test. Not only is Hacking working with a new Crew Chief in Tom Houseworth, Hacking also has a new chassis builder in Dennis McLaughlin. McLaughlin previously worked with the Gemini race team as a chassis builder on the Harley-Davidson VR1000 program.

Kawasaki’s Tommy Hayden continued to set the pace for Supersport riders at the test by posting the fastest lap time Thursday morning. Hayden turned a 1:29.9 on his ZX-6R with Dunlop DOT-labeled race tires. Gobert was the second-fastest 600cc Supersport rider with a 1:30.2 on his Yamaha YZF-R6. Damon Buckmaster’s best time on his Yamaha YZF-R6 was a 1:30.4, and he said he was held back by a front-end chatter. Young Tony Meiring continued to lower his lap times, lapping at a best of 1:31.00 before stopping for lunch Thursday. Meiring hopes to get into the 1:30s before he runs out of tires.

Graves Motorsports Yamaha’s Buckmaster, the sole Formula Xtreme rider left at Laguna Seca, turned a 1:28.3 on his YZF-R1-engined Yamaha R7.

After a third day of near-perfect weather, the test will conclude Thursday at 4:30 p.m. Pacific Time.

Copyright 2002, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

By David Swarts

Former Harley-Davidson VR1000 Superbike team Austin/Bleu Bayou picked up four 2001 Ducati Superbikes from HMC Ducati owner Mitch Hansen’s race shop in Wisconsin Tuesday, March 26.

“They picked up the Pegram/Slight bikes,” said Hansen Wednesday morning at Laguna Seca. “They picked up two complete (2001 Ducati 996RS) bikes and two rolling chassis. I think their plan is to retrofit them with 2002 Testastretta motors and be at the Fontana race.”

Hansen said that he believed the Austin/Bleu Bayou team was talking to three possible riders including Pascal Picotte.

Copyright 2002, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

By David Swarts

Riding a 2002 Ducati 998RS, HMC Racing’s Doug Chandler turned the fastest lap Tuesday morning at Laguna Seca, to start three days of AMA team testing. With only a few small changes to the set-up that Ben Bostrom used to win both of the 2001 World Superbike races at Laguna Seca, Chandler turned a 1:27.3 in Tuesday morning’s mild weather conditions to lead all times. Wearing Cagiva leathers from his 1993 Grand Prix season, Chandler said that he was still getting used to the extra torque that his new Ducati produces versus the Kawasaki ZX-7RR that he rode for the last several years.

One thing that Chandler didn’t have to reacquaint himself with was his new HMC Crew Chief, Gary Medley. HMC team owner Mitch Hansen told Roadracingworld.com, “Everything’s going great. I think the chemistry is already there.” Hansen added that former Pascal Picotte Crew Chief Mark Sutton has been reassigned to the Team Manager role.

Team Blimpie Yoshimura Suzuki’s Mat Mladin did some laps this morning but said that he was approaching the test with a “wait-and-see” attitude. Mladin said the left elbow that he injured in a qualifying crash at Daytona was getting better but was still sore and stiff, causing him difficulty during braking and when trying to hang off of the left side of his bike. Mladin was still able to turn a time of 1:28.4 for second-fastest Superbike lap time.

Kawasaki’s Eric Bostrom claimed the third-fastest Superbike lap with a 1:29.1 on ZX-7RR Tuesday morning.

According to their respective teams, both Bostrom and Chandler will run in the World Superbike races at Laguna Seca.

Bostrom’s teammate Tommy Hayden led all 600cc Supersport times with a 1:30.4 on his Dunlop-equipped Kawasaki ZX-6R.

Teams present at Laguna Seca include Honda, Erion Honda, Bruce Transportation Group, Team Blimpie Yoshimura Suzuki, Yamaha, Graves Motorsports Yamaha, Kawasaki and HMC Ducati.

Tuesday morning’s unofficial lap times:

1. Doug Chandler, Ducati 998RS, 1:27.3
2. Mat Mladin, Suzuki GSX-R750, 1:28.4
3. Eric Bostrom, Kawasaki ZX-7RR, 1:29.1
4. Tommy Hayden, Kawasaki ZX-6R, 1:30.4
5. Aaron Yates, Suzuki GSX-R600, 1:30.9
6. Jamie Hacking, Suzuki GSX-R600, 1:31.0
7. Jake Zemke, Honda CBR600F4i, 1:31.05
8. Damon Buckmaster, Yamaha YZF-R6, 1:31.05
9. Anthony Gobert, Yamaha YZF-R6, 1:31.06
10. Roger Lee Hayden, Honda CBR600F4i, 1:32.19
11. Tony Meiring, Kawasaki ZX-6R, 1:33.3
12. Alex Gobert, Honda CBR929RR, 1:34.57

Note: Honda’s Miguel Duhamel, Nicky Hayden and Kurtis Roberts took to the track for the first time moments before the lunch break.

Copyright 2002, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

By David Swarts

American Honda’s Nicky Hayden once again set the pace for AMA Superbike racers testing at Laguna Seca Raceway Wednesday with a best lap time of 1:26.224. Hayden used a 555-compound, or “soft”, Dunlop race tire on his RC51 to set the fast time late in the final day of testing at the Monterey track for the Honda teams.

“It went okay,” said Hayden. “It didn’t go great, or whatever, but we did learn a couple of things. Actually for a while today, I wasn’t making any progress and was in the same rut all day. Then right there at the end I dropped about three-quarters of a second. The bike actually feels better than me. There’s more speed in the bike right now. I need to find the time in me more than the bike right now.”

Lap times for nearly every rider were slower than the times they turned during testing in much colder weather in January. “I’m not sure why we were a little bit slower,” said Hayden. “It seemed like everybody was a little bit slower. Maybe something from all of this construction around here with the track, maybe it’s a little dirty or something. I’m not sure. Everybody was definitely a little slower.

“I couldn’t necessarily feel that the track was slower. At first when I got here, I couldn’t believe how much grip there was. But coming from Daytona, a track were there’s next to no grip, of course it’s gonna feel like it has a lot of grip. The track must be down a little bit because I was almost 0.8-second slower than I went in January.”

Kurtis Roberts posted the second-fastest lap time, a 1:26.252, with a 587-compound, or “medium”, rear Dunlop on his Erion Honda RC51.

Kawasaki’s Eric Bostrom rebounded from his mid-day crash in turn six, improved his best time to a 1:26.5 but said that it was “disgusting” that he knew the problem that was holding him back but that he couldn’t find a fix.

Doug Chandler and his new HMC Ducati crew worked with details like handlebar and footpeg position on Chandler’s new bike to get him more comfortable. Chandler’s 1:26.6 was good enough for fourth-fastest.

Anthony Gobert crashed in turn two on fresh tires Wednesday afternoon while trying for a better lap time. Gobert lowsided without injuring himself or his Yamaha YZF-R7 and returned to make a lap at 1:26.78 later in the day.

“I should’ve given the tires another lap to warm up,” said Gobert after riding his bike back to the temporary pit lane being used during construction on the normal pit lane.

Team Blimpie Yoshimura Suzuki’s Aaron Yates spent a lot of time in the pits Wednesday while technicians from Showa worked with his forks, but Yates still found enough track time to turn a sixth-fastest 1:27.06 on his GSX-R750.

Even without a full day to test Wednesday due to changed flight plans brought on by Honda’s decision to leave Laguna Seca a day early, Duhamel lapped at 1:27.17, the seventh-fastest Superbike time.

After turning approximately 35 laps on Tuesday, Mat Mladin stopped riding after only eight laps on Wednesday with a best effort of 1:27.7. “My elbow is a lot worse today,” Mladin told reporters. “It’s sort of puffing back up and just hurting. I can’t bend it very well when I’m in my leathers. I’ll see how it feels tomorrow, but it’s all about rehabilitation now.” Mladin said he has been getting two to three hours of physical therapy every day since the Wednesday following the Daytona 200.

The third Yoshimura rider, Jamie Hacking, jumped on his Superbike for only handful of laps late Wednesday, enough time to turn a 1:28.4.

In the world of the 600cc Supersport riders, the 1:29.6 laps that Kawasaki’s Tommy Hayden and Yamaha’s Anthony Gobert recorded Wednesday morning stood up for the fastest Supersport laps of the day. Hacking’s 1:30.0 was good enough for third-fastest ahead of Erion Honda’s Mike Hale’s 1:30.4, Yamaha’s Damon Buckmaster’s 1:30.72 and Jake Zemke’s 1:31.2.

Kawasaki’s Tony Meiring and Bruce Transportation Group’s Alex Gobert rounded out the Supersport lap times with a 1:31.55 and a 1:31.74 respectively. Both teenagers have improved their times steadily during the two days of the test.

The five Formula Xtreme riders at Laguna Seca became more active on Wednesday with Erion Honda’s Roger Lee Hayden turning a 1:28.45 on his new CBR954RR for fast lap honors.

“The new bike definitely feels good,” said the youngest Hayden brother. “It has a lot more stability than the other bike. It’s quite a bit different and took a little while to get used to. The 929 would come out of a corner and wants to spin and both ends want to swap. This bike feels real straight. It doesn’t spin at all. It feels like I’m putting. I’m pretty stoked and can’t wait for Fontana.”

Graves Motorsports Yamaha’s Buckmaster was second-fastest among the Formula Xtreme riders with a 1:28.60. Graves’ Jeff Carter said that Buckmaster rarely did more than two flying laps at a time in between stops to make new changes. Buckmaster said that his Formula Xtreme testing was as much a matter of finding a good baseline for him and his YZF-R7 with a YZF-R1 engine hybrid as continuing to build his relationship with his new Crew Chief John Asher.

With a best lap time of 1:28.67, Bruce Transportation Group Honda’s Zemke echoed Roger Lee Hayden’s thoughts on the new CBR954RR, saying that the new bike’s chassis allowed it to get much more rear traction.

According to Erion Honda Crew Chief Rick Hobbs, both of Erion’s CBR954RR Formula Xtreme bikes suffered electrical problems Tuesday. The problems were related to the custom wiring harness that the ECU and data acquisition systems share. The damage done to Hayden’s bike was fixed. Due to a lack of spares, Mike Hale’s CBR was done for the test. As a result of his bike’s problems and because he spent some time during the January test with a CBR929/954RR hybrid, Hale spent most of his day riding his CBR600F4i. Hale did manage to get 20 minutes with Hayden’s bike at the end of the day to see how the finished product performed. Hale’s one flying lap on Hayden’s CBR954RR was a 1:29.76.

Likewise, Bruce Group’s Alex Gobert was unable to get much time on his 2001 CBR929RR Formula Xtreme bike due to a persistent oil leak, but the youngest Gobert brother was able to get a few laps on Zemke’s CBR954RR before the Honda teams packed up and left Laguna Seca Wednesday evening. Although he will race on a CBR954RR starting at the California Speedway AMA National, Gobert’s best time of 1:30.13 was turned while riding the 2001 CBR929RR.

Testing will continue with Yamaha, Graves Motorsports Yamaha, Kawasaki, HMC Ducati and Team Blimpie Yoshimura Suzuki on Thursday.

Best unofficial lap times from Wednesday:

1. Nicky Hayden, Honda RC51, 1:26.22
2. Kurtis Roberts, Honda RC51, 1:26.25
3. Eric Bostrom, Kawasaki ZX-7RR, 1:26.5
4. Doug Chandler, Ducati 998RS, 1:26.6
5. Anthony Gobert, Yamaha YZF-R7, 1:26.78
6. Aaron Yates, Suzuki GSX-R750, 1:27.06
7. Miguel Duhamel, Honda RC51, 1:27.17
8. Mat Mladin, Suzuki GSX-R750, 1:27.7
9. Jamie Hacking, Suzuki GSX-R750, 1:28.4
10. Roger Lee Hayden, CBR954RR, 1:28.45
11. Damon Buckmaster, Yamaha YZF-R1/R7, 1:28.60
12. Jake Zemke, Honda CBR954RR, 1:28.67
13. Tommy Hayden, Kawasaki ZX-6R, 1:29.6
14. Anthony Gobert, Yamaha YZF-R6, 1:29.6
15. Mike Hale, Honda CBR954RR, 1:29.76
16. Jamie Hacking, Suzuki GSX-R600, 1:30.0
17. Alex Gobert, Honda CBR929RR, 1:30.13
18. Mike Hale, Honda CBR600F4i, 1:30.4
19. Damon Buckmaster, Yamaha YZF-R6, 1:30.72
20. Jake Zemke, Honda CBR600F4i, 1:31.2
21. Tony Meiring, Kawasaki ZX-6R, 1:31.55
22. Alex Gobert, Honda CBR600F4i, 1:31.74

Copyright 2002, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

By David Swarts

American Honda’s Nicky Hayden was again the fastest rider Wednesday morning during AMA team testing at Mazda Raceway at Laguna Seca in Monterey, California. Yamaha’s Anthony Gobert and Kawasaki’s Tommy Hayden shared the fastest lap time among the 600cc Supersport riders present, while Bruce Transportation Group Honda’s Jake Zemke remained the fastest Formula Xtreme racer at the test.

Even though the weather was near perfect, with a cloudless sky and temperatures in the 70s, few riders bettered their times from day one of the test. Most of the AMA racers on hand worked to improve their set-ups or continued to evaluate parts rather than shooting for single fast lap times.

Nicky Hayden’s 1:27.0 was slower than his best of 1:26.5 from Tuesday but was still good enough to lead all times Wednesday morning. With the majority within one second of Wednesday’s best, Nicky Hayden’s time was closely followed by Kurtis Roberts, Miguel Duhamel, Mat Mladin, Aaron Yates, Doug Chandler. The one exception was Kawasaki’s Eric Bostrom, who admitted that he was struggling.

Crashing just before lunch time Wednesday, Bostrom became the first rider to fall down during the test. Resulting in only light damage to his ZX-7RR and none to his body, Bostrom’s crash was a true close call.

“I lifted the rear end a little too much going in there (turn six) and couldn’t get the thing settled before going into the corner. Then I couldn’t hold my line and there’s not a lot of (run-off) room in that corner. I ended up hitting the wall, glancing off it, and falling down. I’m alright.”

Bostrom rode the bike back into the pits with so little damage that his teammate Tommy Hayden didn’t even know that Bostrom had crashed.

Honda, Erion Honda and Bruce Transportation Group Honda will leave Laguna Seca Wednesday evening, leaving Yamaha, Grave Motorsports Yamaha, Kawasaki, HMC Ducati and Team Blimpie Yoshmiura Suzuki to finish on Thursday.

Wednesday morning unofficial lap times:

1. Nicky Hayden, Honda RC51, 1:27.0
2. Aaron Yates, Suzuki GSX-R750, 1:27.1
3. Kurtis Roberts, Honda RC51, 1:27.2
4. Miguel Duhamel, Honda RC51, 1:27.2
5. Doug Chandler, Ducati 998RS, 1:27.54
6. Mat Mladin, Suzuki GSX-R750, 1:27.7
7. Eric Bostrom, Kawasaki ZX-7RR, 1:28.1
8. Jake Zemke, Honda CBR954RR, 1:28.4
9. Roger Lee Hayden, Honda CBR954RR, 1:28.9
10. Anthony Gobert, Yamaha YZF-R6, 1:29.6
11. Tommy Hayden, Kawasaki ZX-6R, 1:29.6
12. Jamie Hacking, Suzuki GSX-R600, 1:30.0
13. Mike Hale, Honda CBR600F4I, 1:30.6
14. Damon Buckmaster, Yamaha YZF-R6, 1:30.7
15. Jake Zemke, Honda CBR600F4I, 1:31.4
16. Alex Gobert, Honda CBR600F4I, 1:31.7
17. Tony Meiring, Kawasaki ZX-6R, 1:32.1