Copyright 2002, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

By Glenn LeSanto

Triumph ravaged by fire

The Triumph motorcycle factory at Hinckley in Leicestershire, England has been ravaged by a serious fire.

More than 100 firefighters were called to fight the blaze which broke out late on Friday night at the rear of the building.

Senior divisional officer Steve Vincent, of Leicestershire fire service, said “Through the tremendous efforts of the crews we’ve managed to save 50% of the factory.

“But unfortunately the stores have been lost. We also managed to save the office block and the paintshop.”

Firefighters pumped water to the scene from the nearby Ashby canal.

Paul Botterill, from Leicestershire Fire Service, said the fire raged for five hours.

“At one stage there were 30 appliances at the scene, including communications vehicles, foam tenders and three aerial appliances,” he said. Four fire crews are still at the scene and expect to continue damping down over the weekend.

Triumph’s assembly area was destroyed in the fire and it is not yet known how severely this will affect production.

Many of the firm’s 650 workers gathered at the factory gates to wait anxiously for news of the extent of the damage. It is understood staff have been told to turn up on Monday when they will hear from management.

One worker, who arrived to view the fire-ravaged factory, said “I’m devastated. It looks as though a crucial part of the site has been involved in the fire.”

Tony Sperry, a motorcycle engineer and the East Midlands regional representative of the Motorcycle Action Group, said “To be honest, I’m still trying to take it in. Triumph is such an important name in the industry and it brought prestige to the area because it’s a worldwide marque.”

Triumph, originally founded in 1902 and revived during the 1990s by John Bloor, is currently the by far the largest British manufacturer of motorcycles.

The company recently announced it was considering moving production to the Far East.

From a press release:

WORLD DUCATI WEEK 2002

Enthusiasm mounts as many early registrations for World Ducati Week 2002 have already been received.

Ducati and Mototouring (a motorcycle vacation and rental agency) are offering 130 rental bikes to allow Ducati enthusiasts arriving from 40 countries to travel by bike to Misano Adriatico, from June 14-20.

Radio DeeJay will be present at the event promising us fun and excitement.

Bologna, March 2002: With the occasion of World Ducati Week 2002, the “Rent a Bike” initiative will be launched to allow even those arriving from distant lands such as Australia, Japan or the United States to experience the meeting seated on a Ducati. Mototouring will manage the 130 motorcycles made available by the Borgo Panigale manufacturer, which can be picked up in Milan or at company headquarters in Bologna. For more information, contact Mototouring (phone +390227201556).

Radio DeeJay has enthusiastically confirmed its participation in WDW 2002. The station has just celebrated its 20th birthday, and will offer entertainment, music and fun from inside the Santa Monica circuit, with outstanding guests.

WDW will be about recreation and fun, but also culture, history and remembering.

What better time to commemorate Fabio Taglioni, if not one that brings together thousands of Ducati enthusiasts from the world over?

A parade is scheduled for Sunday, 16 June, to start from the circuit and end in Lugo di Romagna, the engineer’s birthplace, to pay homage to the legendary “Doctor T” (1920/2001), father of the exclusive feature of all Ducati motorcycles: the Desmo.

Beginning February 1st 2002 it is possible to register for WDW via the web site www.WDW2002.com, which is the simplest and fastest alternative, or by contacting the Organizing Committee (Phone: +39/ 051/6413583; Fax +39/051/6413268) email: [email protected].

All information is also available at Ducati Stores and from Ducati dealers.

Discounts are available to D.O.C. Silver Card holders, and Motogiro participants.

Event sponsors: INFOSTRADA, SHELL, EMILIA ROMAGNA REGION.

From a press release:

FORMULA XTREME ACTION HITS EASTERN CREEK THIS WEEKEND


Would you really like to see who produces the most powerful and fastest road-going motorcycles available in Australia today? If you do, then Sydney’s Eastern Creek Raceway is where you’ll need to be this weekend, (March 16 & 17) perch yourself in the grandstand and watch all of the racing action of the $200,000 2002 Yamaha Xtreme Tri-State on the giant superscreen live.

Nowhere in Australia will you find such an array of sports bred motorcycles racing against each other in evenly structured classes that will bring out the very best in machines and their riders.

The weekend will also bring together the latest crop of Australian riders who are preparing to burst onto the world scene, plus those who have already made it the pinnacle of their sport. Three riders in particular will fit this criteria, – Sydney’s Warwick Nowland (2000 World Endurance Champion), Newcastle’s Kevin Curtain (2 times 2001 World Supersport race winner) and
Narramine’s Mark Willis (former 500GP team member for the Kenny Roberts owned Proton KR3 team). All three will be competing this weekend head to head.
Suzuki GSX-R1000 mounted Nowland will be out to topple three times Xtreme champion Curtain who will return to ride the Radar’s Team Yamaha YZF R1. After four years racing in the 500 Grand Prix World Championships Willis returns to the domestic competition riding for the Procycles Motul Team aboard a Suzuki GSX-R1000.

The YZF R1 and the GSX-R1000 have become two of the most sought after sports bikes on the market, add to that Honda’s new secret weapon on its Aussie debut, the CBR954RR, all three will be searching for Xtreme glory this year to see which bike is best.

Not to be outdone though are the Kawasaki ZX-9R and Ducati’s exotic 996R. Once again each one of these big bore sports bikes will have Australia’s
best riders aboard as they strive to outscore their more fancied rivals.

The premier Formula Xtreme class, that is run over four eight-lap sprint races per event, has also attracted a host of young riders looking for their ticket to Europe. These include Victorian teenager Craig Coxhell (Radar’s Team Yamaha R1), Bringelly’s Josh Brookes (Team Honda CBR954RR), Ballarat’s Liam Magee (Suzuki GSX-R1000) and the Newcastle’s Stauffer brothers Jamie and Daniel (Bio Magnetics Therapy Yamaha R1s) to name but a few.

Each one of these riders will be out to topple the defending Champion, Brisbane’s Robbie Baird, who will again be at the controls of his super fast Radar’s Team Yamaha YZF R1. Bairdy is one of the hardest riders in Australian road racing and it will take a rider with a huge amount of
determination to beat the Queenslander. The challenge for his rivals starts this weekend.

Formula Xtreme is by no way the only class that will provide hard close racing. There are six other classes on the program, each running the same four-race sprint format as Xtreme, giving fans maximum opportunity to watch their favourite bikes and riders performing.

If you enjoying the big booming V-Twins such as Ducati 996SPS’s, Aprilia RSV Mille’s, Honda SP1’s or Suzuki TLR 1000’s then the FX Pro Twins is your
class.

If you want to see a race that will bring together specially prepared full-house race bikes such as the rare Honda NSR-V500 Twin GP bike ridden by defending champion John Allen the Formula Oz is a class well worth viewing.

As the name suggests, the Buell sponsored Nakedbikes brings together the very latest unfaired sports bikes available. This new class has provided some great action with riders aboard machines fitted with higher handlebars and rubbing elbows as they negotiate their way around the circuit. Also included in this category are the Streetfighter NK Lites (for the middleweights) and a host of 1200 Harley Sportsters.

And after all of this there are still two of Australia’s most competitive classes left – Yamaha Supersport and the EXEL Aprilia Challenge. Both classes have grown to such a level, that they are now seen as the perfect nursery for budding champions. The Aprilia RS250’s are equally matched in performance, leaving it solely to rider ability, while the Supersport class
allows the riders to become used to much more powerful four-cylinder motorcycles such as the Yamaha YZF R6, Honda CBR600, Kawasaki ZX-6R and the Suzuki GSX-R600. Throw in a field full of determined young riders and you will have the best racing seen in this country.

In a nutshell Eastern Creek is the place to be this weekend for all of the high octane Xtreme action.

Schedule
Friday, March 15, Practice for all classes

Saturday, March 16, Practice and qualifying with the opening races commencing after 1:00 p.m.

Sunday, March 17, Warm-up and racing from 10:00 a.m.

Admission: For $25 you gain access to the general admission spectator area plus the pit area to watch and get close to your favourite riders. This
admission is valid for both Saturday and Sunday and allows spectators into the grandstand to watch all the racing live on the giant Superscreen.

Children under the age of 15 are FREE and pensioner concessions are $15.

For further information check out the website at www.formula-xtreme.com.au



2002 Yamaha Xtreme Tri State – Calendar

Mar 17 Eastern Creek (NSW)
April 14 Winton (Vic)
May 19 Eastern Creek (NSW)
June 30 Q’ld Raceway (Q’ld)
Aug 18 Oran Park (NSW)
Sept 29 Eastern Creek (NSW)

Sport Cycle Pacific has moved to a new location.

The new address is:

627 N. Salsipuedes St.
Santa Barbara, CA 93103

Phone numbers remain unchanged, (805) 966-6508, FAX (805) 965-7774.

Copyright 2002, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

By David Swarts

Yamaha’s Aaron Gobert continues to make steady improvement at Halifax Medical Center in Daytona Beach, Florida. Gobert was upgraded from “serious but stable” to “fair” condition by the hospital and moved from the Intensive Care Unit to a regular room on Tuesday, March 12.

“He’s a million times better,” said Gobert’s girlfriend Melanie Riley, reached via Aaron Gobert’s cell phone on Friday, March 15.

After falling on the banking at the exit of the chicane at Daytona International Speedway during the AMA Supersport race held March 8, Gobert was transported directly to Halifax with serious injuries. At the hospital, the middle Gobert brother had a metal rod surgically inserted into his shattered right tibia early Saturday, March 9, and his fractured right fibula was also set at that time. On Sunday, March 10, Gobert received two surgical screws to the “inside portion” of his fractured left ankle; the fractured “outside portion” was set to heal naturally.

According to Riley, doctors have said that Gobert’s leg fractures will prevent him from putting any weight on his legs for four to six weeks.

The next area of Gobert’s injured body drawing doctors’ attention is his right shoulder. Riley said that doctors have told her that Gobert’s injury is “as if he hit something with, or something hit him, on top of the shoulder, crushing it inward.” The impact broke Gobert’s right clavicle and scapula, otherwise known as the collarbone and shoulder blade.

“They’re (doctors) hoping that it might be able to heal on its own,” said Riley. “But it might need to be re-constructed.”

Although his leathers did not fail, Gobert suffered “friction burns” on his right shoulder and arm down to his elbow. In one particular spot, said Riley, Gobert was burned through every layer of skin. “Monday, they’re going to put him under and take the dead skin off to see if he needs a skin graft,” added Riley.

Gobert, 22, was originally diagnosed as having two fractured vertebrae, C5 and C6, but, after further examinations by physicians, that diagnosis turned out to be false.

Although doctors never said how many, Riley said that Gobert had “multiple” rib fractures. The broken ribs punctured and collapsed both lungs, but the young Aussie was breathing on his own again on Saturday, March 9.

Gobert also received a concussion during the accident. Although he recognizes his family, knows where he is and is functioning normally, Gobert says he doesn’t remember ever starting the race in which he crashed. Riley said that ever since he has been awake, Aaron Gobert has wanted to see the tape of his crash. “I’m at the hotel picking up the tape now,” said Riley. “His mother and I are trying to make the arrangements to show it to him in his room tonight.”

In addition to his mother, Sue Gobert, and girlfriend, Gobert is also being kept company by his brothers Anthony and Alex.

Aaron Gobert is expected to stay at Halifax until Saturday, March 23, when he will fly, via air ambulance, back to his home in Lake Elsinore, California, where he plans to recuperate.

Reached at his Van Nuys, California shop Friday, Graves Motorsports Yamaha team owner Chuck Graves said, “We don’t have any plans to put anyone else on Aaron’s bikes. At this point, the team is 100% behind Aaron and helping him through a hopefully speedy recovery. We’ll just have to wait and see.”

From a press release:

DUNLOP DOMINATES DAYTONA

At a sunny and warm Daytona 2002, Dunlop riders swept the entire event by winning an amazing seven of seven races. In many cases, Dunlop filled out the podium and/or served as the tire of choice for the overwhelming majority of race finishers to 10th place and more.

Leading off with the pavement events, Team Honda’s 20-year-old young gun Nicky Hayden won the prestigious Daytona 200 in fine style, enjoying an 18-second cushion by race¹s end. Team Suzuki¹s Jamie Hacking and factory Yamaha-mounted Anthony Gobert rounded out the podium for Dunlop.

In the hotly contested 600 SuperSport race, six riders–all aboard Dunlops–swapped the lead 11 times during the 18-lap race before Yoshimura Suzuki’s Aaron Yates took the lead with two laps remaining. He held on for the race win ahead of Team Honda riders Nicky Hayden and Miguel Duhamel, who were trailing by a bare half-second.

Jimmy Moore captured the 750 Superstock win aboard his Corona Suzuki, veteran racer Chuck Sorensen guided his Team Stargel Aprilia to the 250 GP victory and Kirk McCarthy topped the Pro Thunder class aboard his Advanced Motorsports Ducati 748. Again, all winners rode Dunlop tires to the checkers, and Dunlops appeared on six different brands of motorcycles that earned podium finishes: Honda, Suzuki, Yamaha, Aprilia, Ducati and Buell–a telling statement to the universal appeal and undeniable advantage Dunlop brings to motorcycle racing.

Daytona 2002 also represented the turning point in AMA Supercross action, in more ways than one. This event not only marked the ninth of 16 SX races, but it was also the race in which Team Honda¹s Ricky Carmichael took over the Supercross points lead as he guided his Dunlop D773-shod CR250R across the finish line carrying an advantage of nearly 14 seconds over second place.

In the AMA 125 East race, Australian Chad Reed continued his domination of the class by winning his fourth consecutive race out of four, aboard his Dunlop-equipped Yamaha of Troy four-stroke mount.

As with the road racers, Dunlop showed well on the 250 and 125 Supercross podiums by appearing on three different brands: Honda, Yamaha and KTM.

Copyright 2002, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

By Glenn LeSanto

Scot Jim Moodie has quit his World Supersport ride with Saveko Yamaha. Moodie, who was teammate to Rob Frost in the Dutch team, looks likely to be replaced by Australian Anthony West.

Moodie was unhappy with the performance of his machine before the race weekend, “It’s not as fast as my V&M R6,” said Moodie, who won the British Supersport Championship for V&M on a Yamaha in 2000.

Moodie retired from the race at Valencia and Frost crashed.

After reading about Rich Oliver’s crash at 145 mph up against the wall at Daytona, two very striking thoughts hit me:

1. What kind of stupid organization (Read: AMA) would flash cautions in only the chicane and not indicate there were problems elsewhere? Why does
safety continue to plague our only premier race series here in the U.S.? Why?!

2. As to Rich’s injuries, it really is clear that road racing is one dangerous profession, but I am also affected by how “casually” Rich seems to
be taking the loss of a finger. There’s not another sport on the planet where you would find a tougher guy than this Rich character. Anyone else cringe at the idea of grinding a digit down to the bone, and then issuing the declaration that “I just wanna get healthy again…to get back into it”?

He’s a “HE-MAN” in my book. I am mighty impressed.

But it does not surprise me, because I go to Laguna early each year and watch the teams un-pack and set up.

We were hanging out at Rich’s canopy, and I referred to Rich (talking to my pal), “There’s the Champ.”

I did not think that he had heard me, and he just laughed out loudly at my remark.

I meant that, Rich.

Dave Johnson

From a press release:

DUCATI CORSE PRESS INFORMATION

DUCATI AND THE CITY OF BOLOGNA TOGETHER IN THE 2002 WORLD SUPERBIKE CHAMPIONSHIP

This morning, in the courtyard of Bologna City Hall, the Managing Director of Ducati Motor Holding, Carlo di Biagio, presented to Mayor of the City, Giorgio Guazzaloca, the Ducati 998 Factory bike, on which was applied the coat of arms of Bologna City Council.

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Left to right: the Mayor of Bologna Giorgio Guazzaloca, Ducati Motor Holding CEO Carlo Di Biagio and Paolo Foschini, City of Bologna Sports Councillor

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The aim of the initiative is to underline the close ties between the Borgo Panigale manufacturer and its city.

In 2001 Ducati reached an important landmark in its history: its 75th anniversary.

In this long period Ducati, which has always had its roots in the area, has worked to consolidate its position in the international markets in terms of turnover, product and prestige, and at the same time has become one of the most recognised symbols of ‘Made in Italy’ throughout the world.

Today Ducati is an important industrial reality, one that is at the forefront in its high-performance sportsbike sector and, thanks to its commercial success in the world, has also helped to spread the culture and traditions of its city.

Furthermore Ducati continues to win not only on the international markets, but also on racetracks throughout the world, where the red bikes from Borgo Panigale have dominated the World Superbike Championship, winning 10 Constructors’ and 9 Riders titles in 14 editions.

“It is our wish to create a synergy and implement close ties between our company and the City of Bologna” declared Managing Director Carlo Di Biagio. “The union between industrial and sporting activities and their roots in the territory of Bologna create close ties between us, and for our company they are a source of great pride. The opportunity to bear the coat of arms of the City of Bologna on the fairings of the official Ducati bikes will further strengthen the rapport between the two, in particular due to the original and unique nature of the partnership.”