Copyright 2002, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

European Superstock Qualifying Results From Brands Hatch:

1. Vittorio Iannuzzo, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:30.213
2. Chris Burns, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:30.318
3. Steve Brogan, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:30.501
4. Kieran Murphy, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:30.780
5. Ross McCulloch, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:30.892
6. Walter Tortoroglio, Honda CBR954RR, 1:30.935
7. Andy Notman, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:31.074
8. Giacomo Romanelli, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:31.415
9. Luke Quigley, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:31.592
10. Kelvin Reilly, Yamaha YZF-R1, 1:31.679
11. Lorenzo Alfonsi, Ducati 998S, 1:31.723
12. Michael Laverty, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:31.751
13. Ludovic Fourreau, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:31.860
14. Gianluca Vizziello, Yamaha YZF-R1, 1:31.886
15. Alessandro Brannetti, Honda CBR954RR, 1:32.041
16. William De Angelis, Yamaha YZF-R1. 1:32.090
17. Didier Vankeymeulen, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:32.092
18. Fabrizio De Marco, Honda CBR954RR, 1:32.327
19. Lorenzo Mauri, Yamaha YZF-R1, 1:32.358
20. Simon Andrews, Honda CBR954RR, 1:32.620
21. Koen Vleugels, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:32.691
22. Robert De Vries, Ducati 998S, 1:32.741
23. Dennis Hobbs, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:32.930
24. John Bakker, Ducati 998S, 1:33.311
25. Riccardo Chiarello, Ducati 998S, 1:33.791
26. Nicolas Saelens, Ducati 998S, 1:33.934
27. Marek Cerveny, Honda CBR954RR, 1:34.139
28. Christian Nau, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:34.429
29. Sergio Ruggiero, Ducati 998S, 1:34.485
30. Ciro Ranieri, Yamaha YZF-R1, 1:34.725
31. Geoffrey Naze, Yamaha YZF-R1, 1:35.079
32. Christian Dal Corso, Ducati 998S, 1:36.376

Copyright 2002, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

By David Swarts

Corbin Racing’s Jimmy Filice was transported from Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course to a local hospital Saturday morning suffering with neck and back pain.

Filice crashed his Kawasaki ZX-6R in the turn 11-12 area of the Mid-Ohio track during Supersport practice.

Filice, age 39, is a three-time AMA 250cc Grand Prix Champion.

More details as they become available.

This just in:

Filice called his team from Mansfield General Hospital at 10:30 a.m. Eastern Time to tell them he was OK and to get his bike ready for Supersport qualifying.

From Ducati Corse:

WORLD SUPERBIKE CHAMPIONSHIP

Round 10 – Brands Hatch (UK), 28 July 2002

SATURDAY QUALIFYING & SUPERPOLE

BAYLISS (DUCATI INFOSTRADA) CRASHES OUT IN QUALIFYING BUT GRABS FRONT-ROW GRID POSITION FOR BRANDS SUPERBIKE – BOSTROM (DUCATI L&M) AND XAUS (DUCATI INFOSTRADA) START FROM ROWS 2 AND 3 – POLE FOR HODGSON (HM PLANT DUCATI)

Troy Bayliss (Ducati Infostrada) produced another extraordinary display of courage at Brands Hatch as he battled back from a nasty qualifying crash to grab a front row starting position for tomorrow’s two World Superbike championship races. The reigning world champion and current points leader set fourth quickest time of 1’26.801 in Superpole, hours after crashing out on the opening lap of the morning’s second and final qualifying session. Ben Bostrom (Ducati L&M) qualified in eighth position and Ruben Xaus (Ducati Infostrada) in twelfth as Britain’s Neil Hodgson set a new circuit best lap on his HM Plant Ducati to grab pole in front of his home fans.

Just seconds after Troy and Ruben had set off from the pits at the start of the session, the two Ducati Infostrada riders had a misunderstanding at the bottom of Paddock Hill Bend which led to contact between the bikes. While Ruben continued up Hailwood Hill, Troy had to take to the grass, where he lost control of his 998 and, after a series of heavy tumbles, ended up against the air-fence. He was taken to the circuit medical centre and was diagnosed as having a cracked twelfth rib in his lower back. After being given the OK to race, the Australian was back out on his Infostrada 998 in the afternoon’s free practice session, where he was third quickest, and in Superpole, where he secured fourth place.

“I was coming round Paddock Hill Bend on my usual line on the outside, Ruben moved over and we touched. When I went onto the grass I thought ‘This is going to be a big one!'” declared Troy about the crash. “We changed the bike a little bit for Superpole but it was worse and I made a couple of slides, which slowed me down a lot. In the end I’m on the front row which I’m pretty happy about but I’m also pretty lucky after what happened today. Free practice wasn’t too bad and we did a good long-run but I missed the morning’s session. Obviously now I’m feeling pretty sore but I’ll be there to race tomorrow. It was just one of those crashes that happen. No one was in the wrong and we were just unlucky.”

“I was just warming up the tyres when Troy came up on me from behind. I didn’t even know he was there” explained Ruben Xaus (Ducati Infostrada). The Spanish rider then set good race times in the afternoon’s free practice session, but missed out on a good starting-grid position by qualifying twelfth, with a time of 1’27.490. “I made the same mistake as last year at the same corner” declared Ruben. “I spin the tyre and loose a little bit of grip and here if you loose grip you go off the line. You need to be perfect here in Brands Superpole, it’s not like using a race tyre where you can go off line. Everything is perfect for the race, I have a good set-up and I went fast on race tyres so I need to do a good start and be in the top 5 and that’s all, because I’m sure some of the guys in front of me won’t last”.


Last year’s double winner Ben Bostrom (Ducati L&M) moved up one place from ninth after qualifying, to eighth with his Superpole lap of 1’27.036. “I felt like I was on a good lap” commented Ben. “I knew I wasn’t the quickest round a few corners because I was pushing the bike real hard but I thought it would be at least a low 26, no problem. When I came by and saw a 27 flat, I was so disappointed. Like I said before, you think you’re going fast here at Brands but then you find out that it isn’t a quick lap at all. We were fast in the long run during free practice but that’s on race tyres and I needed to be on the front row to be up there in the first laps. You always have to watch out at the first corner because all hell breaks loose and for that you have to be on the front row.”


More, from HM Plant Ducati:

Hodgson signs a note of intent

Neil Hodgson gave the thousands of HM Plant Ducati fans who had made the pilgrimage to Brands Hatch exactly what they wanted when he set the fastest ever lap around the Grand Prix circuit. His inch-perfect 1:25.752 performance was deadly effective in its purpose of placing the British rider on pole position for Sunday’s two Superbike races. His 21-year-old team-mate James Toseland also excelled in his Superpole session and earned himself a sixth-placed start that will see him line up ahead of several established factory riders, including Ben Bostrom and Noriyuki Haga.

Hodgson would never have been satisfied with anything less than the prime starting position and this was clearly evident in the perfectly controlled ferocity of his single flying lap. As well as displaying Superpole supremacy, Hodgson had also been stringing together consistently fast laps throughout practice and regulation qualifying, while he searched for the perfect race set-up and tyre.

“With a crowd like this behind me there was no way that I was going to miss out on pole,” says Hodgson. “The hundreds of HM Plant Ducati banners and the massive cheer that I got as I rode around was the final element that allowed me to find the extra one per cent that I needed to go faster than everyone else. I’m glad that I could give them what they wanted and I’m not about to stop now. I knew that the lap was a good one – it had to be to beat Edwards – but in retrospect, I think that there were one or two corners where I could have opened the throttle a little earlier. Admittedly, it might have been the difference between getting out of the turn and highsiding and if it had let go I’d probably have landed at GSE Group headquarters in Ashford! But the attitude that I have right now is that I’d happily risk my third place in the championship for two race wins tomorrow.”

The heat of competition in 2002 is best illustrated by the fact that Toseland’s time of 1:26.970 would have taken him to second place on the grid in 2001. This year however, it was good enough to pick him up eight places in Superpole, despite a big slide adding valuable fractions of a second to his lap.

“The back end stepped right out on me in the first section and I had to get a move on to try and reclaim some of the time that I lost,” explains Toseland. “When I got back in and saw my time I didn’t think it was that good, but in the end only the top boys were able to beat it. I’d struggled with set-up on Friday and earlier today, so we went back to the drawing board and came up with the goods for Superpole. I’m happy with the way that the bike feels now and everyone has seen what it can do in Neil’s hands. I also have a great Dunlop race tyre, so I’m just going to have to get down to business tomorrow and see if I can’t make it two HM Plant Ducati riders on the podium.”


More, from Playstation2 FGF Aprilia:

HAGA ON THIRD ROW AT BRANDS HATCH

Brands Hatch (Great Britain), Saturday 27 July 2002 – A difficult final qualifying session for Noriyuki Haga at Brands Hatch, the British circuit hosting the tenth round of the Superbike World Championship.

In the morning session, the Playstation2 – FGF Aprilia Team ride came a bare 484 thousandths from the quickest time, halving the gap which had separated him from the leader in the Friday session. Haga had lapped in 1’26″415 but, in the Superpole, he was unable to repeat this performance, which would have put him in third place and thus on the front row. Noriyuki stopped the clock at 1’27″246, a time which does justice neither to the potential of the Aprilia RSV, nor to the skill of the rider. Haga will thus have to start from the third row, but he still has an excellent chance to put up a good fight for the European GP.

NORIYUKI HAGA (Playstation2 – FGF Aprilia Team rider) – “I’m very angry: I’ve always gone like a bomb here and I really was hoping to make front row. But unfortunately we had lots of problems today and I wasn’t at my best. In the morning I rode well, but in the afternoon I started feeling the fatigue of my flight from Japan and the jet lag.

GIACOMO GUIDOTTI (Technical Manager of the Playstation2 – FGF Aprilia Team) – “In the warm-up before the Superpole, we had a problem with the bike we’d chosen to start off with, so we had to transfer all the settings to the second bike, but it just wasn’t the same thing. We’re not at all pleased with this result. Even so, things weren’t that bad at all during the race-tyre laps: Haga kept up a constant pace of 1’27” and there aren’t many riders who can go that fast.

Copyright 2002, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Saturday Afternoon AMA Superbike Practice Times:

1. Eric Bostrom, Kawasaki, 1:34.172
2. Kurtis Roberts, Honda, 1:34.455
3. Aaron Yates, Suzuki, 1:35.183
4. Doug Chandler, Ducati, 1:35.578
5. Nicky Hayden, Honda, 1:37.609
6. Miguel Duhamel, Honda, 1:38.084
7. Jamie Hacking, Suzuki, 1:38.650
8. Mat Mladin, Suzuki, 1:38.852
9. Pascal Picotte, Ducati, 1:41.617
10. J.J. Roetlin, Suzuki, 1:44.830
11. Jason DiSalvo, Suzuki, 1:45.202
12. Anthony Gobert, Yamaha, 1:59.061

Only 12 riders took part in the 20-minute Superbike warm-up session on a damp-but-drying track.

Copyright 2002, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

By David Swarts

Although he led by as much as 7.6 seconds earlier in the race, Kawasaki’s Eric Bostrom barely held off American Honda’s Nicky Hayden late in the 26-lap AMA Superbike contest to win at Mid-Ohio.

Bostrom took the lead from the start and pulled out a lead that grew to 7.6 seconds by lap 13 of 26. Meanwhile, Hayden shook off Team Blimpie Yoshimura Suzuki’s Aaron Yates and ran Bostrom down through late-race traffic.

Hayden drew close enough to show Bostrom his front wheel on several occassions, but Bostrom had just enough tire left to hold on to take his seventh career AMA Superbike win and close Hayden’s Championship lead from 36 to 32 points.

Yates came under pressure from Austin/Bleu Bayou Ducati’s Pascal Picotte in the closing stages of the final but upped his pace to keep his podium finish.

Provisional AMA Superbike Race Results:

1. Eric Bostrom, Kawasaki, 26 laps
2. Nicky Hayden, Honda, -0.034 second
3. Aaron Yates, Suzuki, -16.083 seconds
4. Pascal Picotte, Ducati, -20.224 seconds
5. Mat Mladin, Suzuki, -28.623 seconds
6. Kurtis Roberts, Honda, -38.739 seconds
7. Miguel Duhamel, Honda, -53.499 seconds
8. Jamie Hacking, Suzuki, -60.283 seconds
9. Brian Livengood, Suzuki, -1 lap
10. Anthony Gobert, Yamaha, -1 lap
11. Jason DiSalvo, Suzuki, -1 lap
12. Robert Jensen, Suzuki, -1 lap
13. Andy Deatherage, Suzuki, -1 lap
14. John Jacobi, Suzuki, -1 lap
15. Vincent Haskovec, Suzuki, -1 lap
16. Brian Parriott, Suzuki, -1 lap
17. John Haner, Suzuki, -1 lap

DNF. Doug Chandler, Ducati, DNF, -20 laps


Provisional AMA Superbike Point Standings:

1. Hayden, 414 points
2. Bostrom, 382 points
3. Duhamel, 322 points
4. Yates, 316 points
5. Picotte, 304 points
6. Parriott, 250 points
7. Mladin, 233 points
8. Hacking, 231 points
9. Livengood, 223 points
10. Chandler, 209 points
11. Deatherage, 192 points
12. TIE, Haskovec/Rich Conicelli, 162 points
14. DiSalvo, 126 points
15. Dean Mizdal, 122 points

Copyright 2002, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

By David Swarts

Erion Honda’s Mike Hale earned the pole position for the Pro Honda Oils AMA Supersport race at Mid-Ohio with a time of 1:45.735 on his Dunlop-shod Honda CBR600F4i. Hale’s pole position is believed to be his first AMA pole since 1995.

Supersport qualifying was held on a damp-but-drying surface, and as a result, the top seven riders in the second, odd-numbered qualifying session turned faster times than the fastest rider from the first, even-numbered qualifying group, Anthony Gobert.

Because conditions changed between sessions, AMA officials decided that the Supersport grid wiould be made up of riders alternating from each qualifying session. For instance, Hale will have pole, and Gobert will be second on the grid. Second-fastest from the second group, Jason Pridmore will be third on the grid, and second-fastest from the first session, Tom Kipp, will be fourth on the grid.

Provisional AMA Supersport Qualifying Results:

1. Mike Hale, Honda, 1:45.735
2. Anthony Gobert, Yamaha, 1:48.091
3. Jason Pridmore, Suzuki, 1:45.790
4. Tom Kipp, Suzuki, 1:48.407
5. Roger Lee Hayden, Honda, 1:46.108
6. Damon Buckmaster, Yamaha, 1:49.044
7. Ty Howard, Suzuki, 1:46.583
8. Aaron Yates, Suzuki, 1:49.802
9. Alex Gobert, Honda, 1:46.725
10. Andrew Nelson, Honda, 1:50.945
11. Ben Spies, Suzuki, 1:47.071
12. Aaron Gobert, Yamaha, 1:51.744
13. Troy Green, Yamaha, 1:47.902
14. Jamie Hacking, Suzuki, 1:52.272
15. Mike Smith, Suzuki, 1:48.251
16. Tommy Hayden, Kawasaki, 1:54.038
17. Monte Nichols, Yamaha, 1:48.331
18. Josh Hayes, Suzuki, 1:54.051
19. Kevin Pate, Suzuki, 1:50.113
20. Jake Zemke, Honda, 1:54.075
21. Michael Hannas, Kawasaki, 1:50.255
22. James Kerker, Honda, 1:55.154
23. Tyler Wadsworth, Yamaha, 1:52.845
24. Tony Meiring, Kawasaki, 1:56.134
25. Adam Coco, Yamaha, 1:52.991
26. Justin Blake, Suzuki, 2:01.654
27. Chuck Ivey, Yamaha, 1:53.606
28. Jerry Lee Dudley II, Honda, 2:04.793
29. Martin Sims, Suzuki, 1:56.417
30. Jeff Muskopf, Suzuki, 2:04.817
31. Darby Brauning, Yamaha, 1:59.256
32. Jason Peters, Suzuki, 2:11.197
33. Matthew Frick, Suzuki, 1:59.542
34. Hector Romero, Yamaha, 2:16.588
35. Jason Spencer, Suzuki, 2:05.044
36. Kevin Lehman, Honda, 2:22.046
37. Calvin Martinez, Suzuki, 2:05.599
38. Michael Radke, Suzuki, 2:46.267

Copyright 2002, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

By Glenn LeSanto

Edwards goes to pole as Bayliss goes to the medical center

Colin Edwards took provisional pole in the last qualifying session before Superpole at Brands Hatch. But his time was set in the absence of his rival and the World Superbike championship points leader Troy Bayliss, who had to sit out the session after an earlier crash.

Very early on in the qualifying session Troy Bayliss tangled with his teammate Ruben Xaus, who had just exited the pit lane. The accident happened just as the two riders reached the braking point at Druids, sending Bayliss into the unprotected crash barrier in a place that riders wouldn’t normally be expected to crash.

Bayliss is undergoing tests for injuries to his upper back and is also suffering from pain in a kidney. The medical staff will issue a statement at 3:00 p.m. (UK time) on whether or not he is fit to ride in Superpole. His condition will again be reviewed on Sunday morning prior to the day’s racing.

Edwards didn’t have an easy time in qualifying, even without Troy Bayliss to cope with. Neil Hodgson was making the most of riding in his home country in front of an already considerable crowd. He occupied the top spot several times towards the end of the session, trading places with Edwards. But it was the Texan who claimed the provisional pole with a circuit best lap of 1:25.931 set just as the clock ticked the final seconds down.

Pierfrancesco Chili put his privateer Ducati into third spot, just ahead of Ruben Xaus. Wild card rider Shane Byrne was just squeezed out of the front row by Xaus to take fifth in front of another wild card entrant, Michael Rutter. Both wild cards ride Ducati. Nori Haga rescued his day on his final lap of the session, he had been languishing way down the timesheet but hauled himself onto the provisional second row. Ben Bostrom took the final second-row place.

Superpole is scheduled for 4:00 p.m.


Saturday’s World Superbike Qualifying Results:

1. Colin Edwards, Honda, 1:25.931
2. Neil Hodgson, Ducati, 1:25.944
3. Pierfrancesco Chili, Ducati, 1:26.066
4. Ruben Xaus, Ducati, 1:26.286
5. Shane Byrne, Ducati, 1:26.296
6. Michael Rutter, Ducati, 1:26.376
7. Troy Bayliss, Ducati, 1:26.398
8. Noriyuki Haga, Aprilia, 1:26.415
9. Ben Bostrom, Ducati, 1:26.464
10. Glen Richards, Kawasaki, 1:26.994
11. Juan Borja, Ducati, 1:27.011
12. Dean Ellison, Ducati, 1:27.035
13. Chris Walker, Kawasaki, 1:27.139
14. James Toseland, Ducati, 1:27.233
15. Steve Martin, Ducati, 1:27.456
16. Gregorio Lavilla, Suzuki, 1:27.510
17. Lucio Pedercini, Ducati, 1:27.575
18. Marco Borciani, Ducati, 1:27.919
19. Mauro Sanchini, Kawasaki, 1:27.967
20. Alessandro Antonello, Ducati, 1:27.987
21. Hitoyasu Izutsu, Kawasaki, 1:28.031
22. Mark Heckles, Honda, 1:28.726
23. Peter Goddard, Benelli, 1:28.928
24. Ivan Clementi, Kawasaki, 1:29.286
25. Bertrand Stey, Honda, 1:30.025
26. Broc Parkes, Ducati, 1:30.111
DNQ. Yann Gyger, Honda, 1:32.779

Copyright 2002, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

By David Swarts

American Honda’s Nicky Hayden drew one point closer to the 2002 AMA Superbike Championship by claiming pole position for the AMA Superbike races at Mid-Ohio.

Riding his Honda RC51, Hayden stood at the top of the time sheets with a best lap of 1:27.130 as rain began to fall with 18 minutes remaining in Saturday morning’s final Superbike qualifying session. The track remained wet for the closing moments of the qualifying period and Hayden’s time stood for his third pole position of the 2002 season.

Team Blimpie Yoshimura Suzuki’s Mat Mladin bettered his time, from Friday’s 1:28.567 to a second-fastest 1:27.820, on his GSX-R750 Saturday morning.

Kawasaki’s Eric Bostrom, third-fastest with a 1:27.894, destroyed his A-bike in a crash in turn two Saturday morning. Although reports Bostrom escaped serious injury, Bostrom’s ZX-7RR was destroyed in the incident.

Friday’s provisional pole sitter, Aaron Yates, slid to fourth-fastest Saturday morning but remained on the front row with a slightly faster 1:28.012 on his GSX-R750.

AMA Superbike Qualifying Results:

1. Nicky Hayden, Honda, 1:27.130
2. Mat Mladin, Suzuki, 1:27.820
3. Eric Bostrom, Kawasaki, 1:27.894
4. Aaron Yates, Suzuki, 1:28.012
5. Doug Chandler, Ducati, 1:28.156
6. Anthony Gobert, Yamaha, 1:28.407
7. Kurtis Roberts, Honda, 1:28.442
8. Pascal Picotte, Ducati, 1:28.653
9. Miguel Duhamel, Honda, 1:28.709
10. Jamie Hacking, Suzuki, 1:29.201
11. Jason DiSalvo, Suzuki, 1:31.021
12. Chris Caylor, Suzuki, 1:31.946
13. Jimmy Moore, Suzuki, 1:31.988
14. Robert Jensen, Suzuki, 1:32.029
15. Ty Howard, Suzuki, 1:32.107
16. Chris Ulrich, Suzuki, 1:32.246
17. John Haner, Suzuki, 1:32.385
18. Brian Livengood, Suzuki, 1:32.542
19. Vincent Haskovec, Suzuki, 1:32.726
20. Brian Parriott, Suzuki, 1:32.744
21. Craig Connell, Suzuki, 1:32.922
22. Adam Fergusson, Suzuki, 1:33.014
23. Rich Conicelli, Suzuki, 1:33.125
24. Lee Acree, Suzuki, 1:33.197
25. Michael Himmelsbach, Aprilia, 1:33.214
26. Christopher Rankin, Suzuki, 1:33.409
27. Dean Mizdal, Suzuki, 1:33.416
28. John Jacobi, Suzuki, 1:33.576
29. Shane Clarke, Suzuki, 1:33.701
30. Andrew Deatherage, Suzuki, 1:33.739
31. James Compton, Suzuki, 1:34.044
32. Alan Schmidt, Suzuki, 1:34.156
33. Scott Jensen, Suzuki, 1:34.230
34. Douglas Duane, Suzuki, 1:34.294
35. Justin Blake, Suzuki, 1:34.436
36. Eric Spector, Suzuki, 1:34.586
37. Jacob Holden, Suzuki, 1:34.771
38. J.J. Roetlin, Suzuki, 1:35.299
39. Anthony Fania, Jr., Suzuki, 1:35.428
40. James Doerfler, Suzuki, 1:35.431
41. Scott Carpenter, Suzuki, 1:35.526
42. Scotty Van Scoik, Suzuki, 1:36.075
43. Robert Chrsitman, Suzuki, 1:36.152
44. Marco Martinez, Suzuki, 1:36.293
45. David Ebben, Suzuki, 1:36.469
46. Mike Walsh, Suzuki, 1:36.667
47. Scott Hermersmann, Suzuki, 1:36.987
48. Eric Haugo, Suzuki, 1:37.095
49. Todd Snyder, Suzuki, 1:37.428

112% of fast time: 1:37.586

DNQ. Leo Venega, Ducati, 1:37.930
DNQ. Michael Hanley, Suzuki, 1:39.736
DNQ. Anthony Ruggiero, Suzuki, 1:42.393