From a press release:

Virginia rocks to Aprilia Femmoto

Aprilia USA proudly welcome aboard Michelin Tires as a sponsor of their all-women’s test ride day at Virginia International Raceway, Friday August 9. The US importer will also host two workshops throughout the day, given by Ron Wood and Walt Schaefer, Michelin race specialists.

The one-day event, held on the track’s south course, is booked almost to capacity with only a few test rides left available in the afternoon sessions. This has pleased the Italian motorcycle importers no end, as the fleet available for test riding is made up exclusively of their sports and sports touring fleet. The day has attracted participants new to track riding along with female road racers.

For more information on Aprilia’s Femmoto, contact us directly at 414-305-9901.

From a press release:

Rounds 15 & 16, 2002 AMA Chevy Trucks US Superbike Championship
Virginia International Raceway, Alton, Virginia, USA

Event preview

MLADIN CHASES SEASON FINALE VICTORIES AT VIRGINIA

Alton, Virginia, USA – The 2002 AMA Chevy Trucks US Superbike Championship draws to an end this coming weekend with a Double-Header round at Virginia International Raceway, Alton, Virginia.

For defending and three times AMA Superbike champion Mat Mladin, the weekend will also mark the end to what has been one of the most frustrating seasons in his racing career.

A combination of injury and suspension problems has kept the Blimpie Yoshimura Suzuki away from many podium finishes this season. A crash during practice at the opening round of the championship left him with a badly damaged left elbow which ruled him out of the race at Daytona. More recently, he injured the backs of both hands in a fall during qualifying for the World Superbike round at Laguna Seca, that culminated his withdrawal part way through the AMA Superbike race held on the same weekend.

An area that Mladin has had a season long battle with has been suspension. His team have tried numerous ways to get the new Suzuki GSX-R750 to handle in a way that will be suitable for Mladin. It has proven to be an extremely difficult task, but one that has not stopped their commitment to finding a solution.

At the corresponding round last season, Mladin arrived at Virginia, with his third title all but wrapped up. He secured pole position for the event in lap record-breaking time, before taking a very conservative 12th place finish to secure up the title. This weekend however, things are very different as the Australian currently holds down seventh place on the championship point’s table.

“Certainly going there under different circumstances this year, just basically trying to win a race,” said Mladin. “It’s been probably the most frustrating year of my racing career, with the injuries and bike problems that we’ve had during the year. It just never was this year. The bike itself was good, but we just had so many dramas with the suspension for some reason. The crashes that I had this year are the sort of crashes that I just don’t have. They can happen any time, no doubt about that, but I contribute a lot of it to the rear suspension and the suspension in general. I don’t think we were well done by in that regard.”

“I feel that I have been riding well this season and I am as determined as ever to get onto the podium and hopefully grab a race win. After the season that I’ve had, that would be a great result.”

The battle for championship honours this year is being fought out between American Honda’s Nicky Hayden and Team Kawasaki’s Eric Bostrom. After a blistering start to the year Hayden holds a 35-point lead over Bostrom, who has been the form rider of late.

Qualifying for the weekend’s round begins on Friday, with final qualifying scheduled for Saturday morning prior to the first of the two Superbike nationals.

Copyright 2002, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Clint Brotz won his second Buell Lightning race, this time at Road America, and now has a four-point lead in the series over Bryan Bemisderfer, with three races remaining. Pre-race favorite Michael Barnes did not finish, encountering mechanical problems, and is now third in points, 20 behind Brotz.

Formula USA Buell Lightning Series Race Results (all on Buell 1200s):

1. Clint Brotz, 7 laps
2. Richie Morris, -0.058 second
3. Bryan Bemisderfer, -14.648 seconds
4. Jason Smith, -15.233 seconds
5. Jeff Johnson, -28.694 seconds
6. John Spinelli, -36.689 seconds
7. Joseph Rozynski, -37.628 seconds
8. Jeff Harding, -37.707 seconds
9. Paul James, -59.393 seconds
10. Greg Avello, -70.321 seconds

Michael Barnes DNF, mechanical

Provisional Point Standings:

1. Brotz, 84 points
2. Bemisderfer, 80 points
3. Michael Barnes, 64 points
4. Morris, 52 points
5. Johnson, 50 points
6. Smith, 40 points
7. Harding, 39 points

Copyright 2002, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

By David Swarts

Arclight Suzuki’s Lee Acree will not ride in the Formula USA Unlimited Superbike races Sunday at Road America due to injuries sustained over the last two race weekends.

“He’s just in too much pain,” said Arclight Suzuki co-owner/Crew Chief Chuck Warren.

Acree suffered second-degree burns to the inside of his left thigh during the AMA event at Mid-Ohio July 26-28, and during the week in between events, the burns have become infected.

“Riding the big bike is just too painful and too hard,” said Warren. “He’s kind of out of the Unlimited Superbike points, but he’s second in the 600 (Sportbike) points. So he’s going to only ride in the 600 race today then try to rest before Virginia next week.”

Acree, who is second in the AMA Superstock point standings, 26 points behind Jimmy Moore, won the AMA 750cc Supersport race at Virgina International Raceway last year.

Acree is second in the F-USA Pro Honda Oils 600cc Sportbike standings, eight points behind teammate Craig Connell. Acree is the two-time and defending Champion in the F-USA Sportbike class.

Acree is eighth in the Formula USA Unlimited Superbike standings, 61 points out of the lead.

The Arclight Suzuki team replaced the engine in Acree’s GSX-R70 F-USA Unlimited Superbike Saturday night and converted the machine into a back-up bike for Craig Connell. Acree’s engine broke two laps into qualifying on Saturday. Connell leads the F-USA Unlimited Superbike point standings.

Copyright 2002, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Formula USA Pro Honda Oils 600cc Sportbike Race Results:

1. Craig Connell, Suzuki, 12 laps
2. Michael Barnes, Suzuki, -3.220 seconds
3. Lee Acree, Suzuki, -3.516 seconds
4. Larry Pegram, Suzuki, -12.045 seconds
5. Monte Nichols, Yamaha, -26.950 seconds
6. Jeff Wood, Suzuki, -27.472 seconds
7. Andrew Nelson, Honda, -50.818 seconds
8. Scott Greenwood, Suzuki, -50.918 seconds
9. Cory West, Honda, -58.882 seconds
10. Ray Bowman, Honda, -58.935 seconds

DNF, Matt Wait, Suzuki, -2 laps, DNF, mechanical,

Provisional F-USA Sportbike Point Standings:

1. Connell, 79 points
2. Barnes, 63 points
3. Acree, 61 points
4. Pegram, 54 points
5. Jeff Wood, 39 points
6. Greenwood, 32 points

From a press release issued by Honda:

HONDA RACING INFORMATION

Suzuka 8 Hours – Suzuka, Japan. August 4, 2002.

Weather, hot and humid, slight rain fall in final hour; temperature, 32 degrees C; humidity, 65%; track conditions, good; crowd, 72,000.

Edwards and Kato Victorious at Suzuka 8-Hours 25th Anniversary for Cabin Honda

The American – Japanese combination of Colin Edwards and Daijiro Kato raced to a superb victory at the 25th running of the Suzuka 8 Hours, held at magnificent Japanese circuit today. Edwards and Kato brought home their VTR1000SP-W twin cylinder Honda ahead of their Cabin Honda team-mates Tadayuki Okada and Makoto Tamada. The Sakurai Honda team of Alex Barros and Yuichi Takeda completed a magical Honda 1-2-3 with a fine third place finish. All three teams completed 219 laps, a new race record.

Honda have now won the event for six successive years, 17 times in the 25-years it has been held. It was Edwards’ third victory in the Japanese classic, the second for Kato. Brazilian Barros gave Honda a clean sweep of race honours by setting the fastest lap of the race as he battled to close on the leaders.

At the end of the grueling race Kato said: “I was riding longer today than he previous 8-hour races I’ve done but I was not as tired as I expected. However, when it started to rain during the final session I was anxious, because it was my first night race and the track condition was unstable. I checked the difference with Tamada on my pit board and controlled the pace. I am really happy that we won the race.”

Teammate Edwards was a very relieved man as Kato swept across the finishing line to score their record breaking win. The Texan said: “This win is more special than my two previous 8-hour wins, because we had a drama at the last stage. When it started to rain, I said to myself ‘I will give ten years of my life, so please don’t rain harder.’ I was ready in the pit with my leather suit on, so that in case it rained harder, I could ride again. But rain stopped after few laps and Daijiro rode brilliantly. I want to thank him for the win.”

The top three Hondas to finish had also dominated the Superpole qualifying session but it was Barros who started from pole for Sakurai Honda. Edwards was second with Okada third. Akira Ryo (Suzuki) was fourth fastest, and looked more than capable of causing and upset, should the VTRs falter at any time during the 8-hours.

Team Manager Koji Koyano was full of praise for the way his riders had handled a tricky race. “When it started to rain during the final stage, I was worried because the track condition was unstable. But the advantage we had before that worked out. Both the riders were brilliant today.”

As the race got underway in scorching temperatures and high humidity it was Ryo who grabbed the lead from the Le Mans style start, heading the two Cabin Hondas, in the hands of lead-off riders Tamada and Kato. The second Suzuki, ridden by Keiichi Kitagawa, held fourth place from Yuichi Takeda, who had chosen to use different tyres than the Cabin Honda riders.

Once the race pace for the first hour was established Tamada hit the front with Ryo in his wheel tracks, Kato in close attendance. But Kato set fastest lap of the session soon afterwards to relegate Ryo to third. Kitagawa slid off the second Suzuki mid-session elevating Takeda to fourth place.

Kato handed teammate Edwards the lead at the first changeover, exiting the pit ahead of Ryo and Okada. The heat and humidity was now intense and was matched by the action out on the track. The top three teams locked in a fierce, no quarter asked or given duel.

At the three-hour mark the top three teams were still running in close attendance, Kato, leading Ryo and Tamada. The Sakurai Honda of Barros and Takeda was now almost a lap down on the top three but they were clawing their way back into contention as the race progressed. They were back in a challenging after five hours and closing the gap on the leading trio, led by the Edwards/Kato from Ryo/Kagayama and Okada/Tamada combinations.

After the changeovers around three-quarters race distance the Hondas were to have the race to themselves, Kagayama touring back to the pits to retire the stricken #7 factory Suzuki. Edwards and Kato had opened a one-minute lead over Okada/Tamada at this stage, Barros/Takeda closer to second place.

Into the final stages Edwards handed Kato a comfortable one minute lead at the final change over, Barros inheriting an almost impossible two minute deficit on the leaders from teammate Takeda. The often unpredictable Suzuka weather brought late drama to the race. As darkness fell a sudden rain shower gave Kato’s challengers increased confidence. Both Tamada and Barros began to eat into his lead but Kato, who had never raced in darkness at Suzuka, held his nerve and was rewarded when the light rain abated after 10 minutes and the track began to dry.

He ran out a clear winner by 25 seconds, Barros crossing the line an equal distance behind Tamada.

The ever-cheerful Tamada was not too disappointed with his race. The All Japan Superbike star said: “During the first session, I was racing with Daijiro (my good friend) and it was great fun. When Daijiro went into the pit one lap before me, I waved ‘bye-bye, see you soon’ to him. But after that I didn’t have a chance to race with him and I felt sad. In the later stage, there was a big difference between us and I knew something must happen to close the gap, and I was hoping for the rain. But it rained for only a brief period and I couldn’t catch up, although I tried very hard. However, this was my first full 8-hour race ride and I gained good experience. I learned a lot from Okada San and that is the greatest result for me.”

Okada was not as happy as his teammate: “My pace was good till the last session, but was a little slow during my last ride so I said sorry to Makoto during the last pit-stop. Although we couldn’t catch up the winner, Makoto was riding aggressively and I am happy with the result. Dunlop prepared us good tires and I want to thank them. This race was a good lesson for me and if I have a chance again, I would like to take part in the 8-hour race.”

Team Manager Kazuhiko Yamano had hoped for more from his team: He said of the team performance. “Although I am a little disappointed, because we wanted to win, I think Tamada and Okada tried their best and we did a good race. Before the last session, I told Tamada to keep going without coming into the pit even if it rained. He pushed hard under the unstable condition and closed the gap.”

Koji Nakajima, General Manager for the HRC factory team at the 8-hours, was delighted with the result. Nakajima said: “A 1-2 finish today was fantastic. 6-pit stop tactics worked out and the fuel consumption rate was better than we had expected. Tamada and Barros were catching up at the later stage, but the advantage of the team worked out. Kato was cool and clever, although it was his first night race. Today, the lap times were slower than we expected. But we are happy that the new record of 219 laps (previous record 217 laps, set last year) has been established.

“Above all, the riders who helped us to materialize the plan did a great job. The technologies we proved today will be adopted to other racing machines and production models. As you know, one of the main aims of Honda to do racing is to gain technologies,” the General Manager concluded.

Wataru Yoshikawa and Takeshi Tsujimura finished fourth for Team YSP Racing Yamaha, two laps behind Edwards and Kato and three laps clear of the Challenger Yamaha team of Norihiko Fujiwara and Tekkyu Kayou in fifth. The Weider Honda Automotive pairing of Osamu Deguchi and Hiroki Noda brought their VTR1000SP-2 Honda home in sixth place.

The Zongshen Suzuki World Endurance Championship regulars filled seventh and eighth places, nine laps down on the winning Hondas. Stephane Mertens and Warwick Nowland leading home teammates Igor Jerman and Bruno Bonhuil.

Results:
1. Daijiro Kato – Colin Edwards J/USA Cabin Honda 219 laps

2. Makoto Tamada – Tadayuki Okada J/J Cabin Honda 219

3. Alex Barros – Yuichi Takeda Bra/J Sakurai Honda 219

4. Wataru Yoshikawa – Takeshi Tsujimura J/J Yamaha 217

5. Norihiko Fujiwara – Tekkyu Kayou J/J Yamaha 214

6. Osamu Deguchi – Hiroki Noda J/J Weider Honda 211

7.Stephane Mertens – Warwick Nowland B/AUS 210

8.Bruno Bonhuil – Igor Jerman F/Slo Suzuki

9. Makoto Tokinaga – Yasuhiko Sato J/J Yamaha 210

10. Adam Ferguson – Jordan Szoke AUS/CAN Super Production, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 210

11. Akira Tamitsuji – Yoshihiro Konno J/J Suzuki 209

12. Yosinomi Takahashi – Naomichi Nakai J/J Kawasaki 208

13. Hiroaki Kawase – Takatoshi Onishi J/J Suzuki 208

14. Mitsuo Saito – Takahiro Fukami J/J Yamaha 207

15. Yoshiyuki Sugai – Tomohiko Kawakami J/J CBR954RR Honda 207

35. Mike Ciccotto/Kyoichi Kosaka, Super Production, Suzuki GSX-R1000, -22 laps

43. Motohiro Hisazumi/Naoki Yamaha, Stock Sport, Suzuki GSX-R1000, -29 laps

Top Prototype team, Keiichi Kitagawa/Noriyasu Numata, Suzuki GSX-R1000, -18 laps

DNF, Akira Ryo/Yukio Kagayama, Superbike, Suzuki GSX-R750, -64 laps

DNF, Doug Polen/Takahito Mori, X-Formula, Honda CBR954RR, -197 laps

Fastest lap: Barros 2:07.844s = 163.92km/h.

These e-mails just in from LRRS officials Don Hutchinson and Jerry Wood: Re: Your article about James Lee and his 2:07 lap times at Mid-Ohio (See “No, 36 Seconds A Lap Off Fast Time Is Not Quick Enough For An AMA Supersport National,” posted 8/3/02): Mr. Lee has never raced with us at Loudon nor has he held a license with us at any time. He does not show up in any of our records going back to 1985. I have often questioned the AMA licensing requirements and find it hard to believe that this has not happened in the past. Don Hutchinson LRRS-GP/PRO After reading about James Lee I had Don Hutchinson check the LRRS records. James Lee is not a LRRS Expert, in fact he has never raced with us. The LRRS is one of the largest road racing groups in America if not the largest. We run 1000-1300 entries per weekend and have a Junior class. It is a long, hard road to Expert. Please inform the world that this squid did not come from the LRRS series. Jerry Wood LRRS And now this response from James Lee: I have never raced with the LRRS. Never have claimed to. I haved raced CCS in the Mid-Atlantic region like my license says. I don’t care to race in the LRRS. I don’t know who Jerry Wood or Don Hutchinson is. I don’t appreciate these people calling me a squid. Why is there a campaign against me? Does David Swarts have something against me? James Lee (Editorial Comment: David Swarts reported what he saw and what he was told at Mid-Ohio by AMA Pro Racing’s Ron Barrick and by racers Jimmy Moore and James Lee. His reporting is backed up by the notes he took at the time. Generally speaking, turning lap times 36 seconds off the pace and making obscene gestures at the Superstock series points leader on the track, in full view of reporters in the press tower, and punching the Superstock series points leader on the track, will tend to attract press attention. Reporting what happened and what the participants said at the time does not constitute “a campaign against me.”) (Note: In SPEED Channel TV coverage of the AMA Supersport race at Mid-Ohio, racer Ty Howard #235 was misidentified as being James Lee #200 when seen on Jake Zemke’s on-board camera during the opening laps. It was Howard leading Zemke in early stages of the race, not Lee, who did not start the event.)

Copyright 2002, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Formula USA Unlimited Superbike Race Two Results:

1. Craig Connell, Suzuki GSX-R750, 12 laps
2. Michael Barnes, Suzuki GSX-R750, -2.511 seconds
3. Larry Pegram, Suzuki GSX-R750, -2.720 seconds
4. Vincent Haskovec, Suzuki GSX-R750, -2.789 seconds
5. Shawn Higbee, Suzuki GSX-R750, -5.539 seconds
6. Matt Wait, Suzuki GSX-R750, -18.414 seconds
7. Eric Wood, Suzuki GSX-R750, -19.861 seconds
8. Michael Himmelsbach, Aprilia RSV1000R, -24.435 seconds
9. Geoff May, Suzuki GSX-R1000, -40.710 seconds
10. Scott Greenwood, Suzuki GSX-R750, -77.788 seconds

16. Frank Trombino, Honda CBR954RR, -3 laps, DNF, crash


Provisional Point Standings:

1. Connell, 161 points
2. Barnes, 138 points
3. Higbee, 112 points
4. Wood, 102 points
5. Pegram, 100 points
6. Himmelsbach, 76 points
7. Wait, 67 points
8. Greenwood, 56 points