From a press release:

Aprilia USA announces 2002 contingency program

Woodstock, GA Tuesday, January 15, 2002:

Aprilia USA is posting a $200,000 total contingency program for the RS250 Aprilia Cup and RSV1000 Mille/Mille R sportbikes in multiple racing organizations including WERA, CCS, FUSA, AFM, MRA and WSMC. “This is our first year posting contingency for the Mille,” says Aprilia USA General Manager Tom McDonald. “We’re excited that the Mille and Mille R is doing so well in so many racing clubs across the US and want to recognize the enthusiasm for our product. We encourage racers to consider an Aprilia motorcycle for their 2002 racing season.”

The Aprilia 250 Cup Series changes from a 6-race event to a club-based program that will end in a single year-end event with Formula USA. “The total Aprilia Cup purse will be over $24,000 including almost $7000 available in show money,” says Aprilia USA Marketing Coordinator, Robert Pandya. “With the change to a single year-end Aprilia Cup event, we wanted to help the club racer make the trip to that event. The show money will help pay the costs of going to the race, and we’ll continue our heavyweight bonus program.” Additional bonus purses include an over 40 class and a 1st lap leader bonus of $500. “We’re interested in adding additional bonus purses and will be approaching potential sponsors,” says Pandya.

Mille Contingency will be paid at the same club events as the 250 schedule, with additional contingency available at a National level in both WERA and FUSA. For additional information on contingency amounts, specific paying races and rules…log on to www.apriliausa.com.”

From Aprilia USA, (770) 592-2261, FAX (770) 592-4878.

From a press release:

SUZUKI’S NEW CHALLENGER HITS THE TRACK

Suzuki is quietly confident following its first full test session on the new factory four-stroke XRE0 machine on Saturday (January 19th). Telefonica MoviStar Suzuki riders Kenny Roberts Jr and Sete Gibernau joined Japanese factory test riders Akira Ryo and Yukio Kagayama at the Suzuki factory test rack at Ryuyo in Japan for a full day of testing, aimed at introducing the riders to the new machine and establishing basic settings before moving on to a series of private tests in Asia and Australia.

Roberts and Gibernau were given a pre-test briefing with the factory race department management before getting to grips with the new 990cc,V4 four-stroke racer which insiders say is developing well over 200bhp. Gibernau was first out on the new machine that is currently running in unpainted black bodywork and he was quickly on the pace round the 6.5km test circuit.

A clearly determined Gibernau said; “Obviously you can’t forget that this is a brand new bike, but my first impressions are very positive. We obviously started later on our four-stroke project compared to the other factories and we are going to have to work hard to get on the pace. But I’ve never been scared of hard work and Kenny and I have to work harder and closer than ever if we are to improve.

“The chassis is good, the engine is good, the tyres, suspension and brakes are all good. We just have to concentrate on matching everything up and making the whole thing work. The team has the potential to do the job and we are all looking in the same direction.”

Roberts was also happy with the early shakedown; “Certainly at this early stage of the development Suzuki has done an incredible job with the design and concept of the whole motorcycle. The first time I saw the machine yesterday I was very impressed how tidy and complete it is at such an early stage in its development. After this initial ride I am really encouraged with how smooth and linear the power delivery is. It was difficult to tell any real physical difference between the XRE0 and the RGV in riding position at this test.

“It’s clear that at this very early stage Suzuki is determined to improve the whole motorcycle as rapidly as they possible can, and with a tyre company like Dunlop giving Suzuki their full commitment it seems we are on the right track. We all seem to understand the big strides we have to make to be competitive, but the team and Suzuki are highly positive and that makes a lot of difference.”

Gibernau’s crew chief Start Shenton was clearly impressed by the new machine. “The design team has done a brilliant job and has clearly come a huge distance in a very short space of time. Everything fits real well,” he said.

Bob Toomey, Roberts’ crew chief was also full of praise. “The factory put their best men on the job and it shows in every area. It’s early days yet and we have a heavy test schedule ahead of us, but the basic ingredients are all there and I think we will be right in there with a competitive machine.”

The team’s technical advisor Warren Willing echoed the opinions of the two crew chiefs. “It looks like a good starting point. We’ve now got to concentrate on obtaining meaningful data and developing basic set-ups. It’s great for the whole team to have the challenge of developing a brand-new machine and the factory have obviously put their best resources behind the project.”

From a press release:

SUZUKI CELEBRATE ON ALL FRONTS

Hamamatsu, Japan, January 21st 2002


Suzuki’s 2001 Championship-winning riders from around the world were honoured at a special ceremony in Hamamatsu, Japan last Saturday, (19th Jan 2002).

A total of 23 World and National Suzuki mounted champions were presented to a special guest list of top factory officials and media who toasted Suzuki’s continuing competition success at the begining of the year marking 50 years of Suzuki motorcycle production.

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From left, U.S. Champions Mark Junge, Jimmy Moore, Rodney Smith, Angelle Savoie, Buddy Antunez and Mat Mladin.

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World 250 Motocross Champion Mickael Pichon and his RM250WS MX machine took centre stage with the SERT World Endurance Championship winning team of Christian Lavieille, Laurent Brian and Brian Morrison, and they were joined by All Japan Roadrace Superbike Champion Akira Ryo and AMA Superbike Champion Mat Mladin with their GSX-R750 machines. Sharing the spotlight and the applause of the specially invited guests were Suzuki’s 2001 championship winning stars from around the world.

Emphasising the superiority of Suzuki’s legendary GSX-R machines on the race tracks of the world were All Japan Road Race X-Formula Champion Keiichi Kitagawa (GSX-R1000), American 750 Supersports Champion Jimmy Moore (GSX-R750), British Superstock Champion Paul Young (GSX-R1000), British Supersports Champion Karl Harris (GSX-R600), German Superstock Champion Claus Ehrenberger (GSX-R1000), American WERA National Endurance Champion Mark Junge (GSX-R1000) and Australian Superbike Champion Shawn Giles GSX-R1000).

Suzuki’s success doesn’t stop on the tarmac. The factory has won more world motocross titles than any other manufacturer and Pichon’s 2001 win giving them an unprecedented 30 championship victories. In national off-road championships around the world the famous bright yellow Suzuki RM machines were also making their mark. In the USA, Rodney Smith won the AMA Grand National Cross Country Series on his RM250, while Buddy Antunez took the National Arenacross Series with his RM125 and RM250 machines. Both of the Americans were at the ceremony to pick up their awards and to join the applause for the diminutive 16-year-old Saya Suzuki who took her RM85 to the All Japan MX Ladies Class title.

Saya Suzuki wasn’t the only female Suzuki-mounted champion though – Angelle Savoie also joined the celebations after her win in the American NHRA Pro-Stock Dragrace Series.

European Superstock Champion James Ellison (GSX-R1000), AMA 125 Eastern Supercross Champion Travis Pastrana (RM125), AMA Formula Xtreme Champion John Hopkins (GSX-R1000), Australian Supersport Champion Joshua Brookes (GSX-R600), New Zealand Open Sport Production Champion Andrew Stroud (GSX-R1000) and New Zealand Sport Production & Formula 2 Champion Shaun Harris (GSX-R600) were all unable to attend the ceremony, but were presented with their awards in their absence.

Welcoming the champions to the ceremony, Mr. Sokichi Nakano, Executive Vice President, Overseas Marketing Operations, Suzuki Motor Corporation said, “I would like to take this opportunity to offer my sincere and warm congratulations and to express Suzuki’s formal appreciation to all the Champions here today. Suzuki started its motorcycle business here in Hamamatsu back in 1952 and and I am extremely happy to be here with you all to celebrate the 50th anniversary of our motorcycle business.

“Our outstanding track performance in 2001 couldn’t have been accomplished without your riding skills, hard efforts and dedicated determination. On top of these elements we can’t forget the support of your team managers, mechanics and other team members and sponsors. So I would be grateful if you could convey our special thanks to all those people when you return home.

“This dominant racing reputaion in all forms of motorcycle competition has been a vital factor in raising the Suzuki brand image, and consequently our sales, across our product range. In fact, export figures for last year show that Suzuki is now the leading exporter of complete built-up motorcycle units in the prime over 251cc sector.”

The Ceremony also marked the announcement of Suzuki’s exciting new GSX-R Cup promotion that will see riders from 18 countries around the world competing for places at the GSX-R Cup Final at Magny Cours in September 2002. Full details of the event will be made available next month.



2002 Suzuki Champions


Akira Ryo. All Japan Road Race Superbike Champion. GSX-R750.

Keiichi Kitagawa. All Japan Road Race X-Formula Champion. GSX-R1000.

Saya Suzuki. All Japan MX Ladies Champion. RM80.

Mickael Pichon. 250cc World MX Champion. RM250WS.

Travis Pastrana. AMA 125cc Eastern Supercross Champion. RM125.

Rodney Smith. AMA Grand National Cross Country Series Champion. RM250.

Buddy Antunez. AMA National Arenacross Champion. RM125.

Mat Mladin. AMA Superbike Champion. GSX-R750.

John Hopkins. AMA Formula Xtreme Champion. GSX-R1000.

Jimmy Moore. AMA 750 Supersport Champion. GSX-R750.

Mark Junge. WERA National Endurance Champion. GSX-R1000.

Angelle Savoie. NHRA Pro-Stock Champion. GSX-R.

Christian Lavieille. Endurance World Cup Champion. GSX-R1000.

Laurant Brian. Endurance World Cup Champion. GSX-R1000.

Brian Morrison. Endurance World Cup Champion. GSX-R1000.

Karl Harris. British Supersport Champion. GSX-R600.

Paul Young. British Superstock Champion. GX-R1000.

James Ellison. European Superstock Champion. GSX-R1000.

Claus Ehrenberger. International German Superstock Champion. GSX-R1000.

Shawn Giles. Australian Superbike Champion. GSX-R1000.

Joshua Brookes. Australian Supersport Champion. GSX-R600.

Andrew Stroud. New Zealand Open Sport Production Champion. GSX-R1000.

Shaun Harris. New Zealand Sport Production & Formula 2 Champion. GSX-R600.

According to knowledgeable insiders, three-time World Champion Freddie Spencer will take over distribution of Michelin racing tires in the western United States. The sources say that Spencer’s long-time association with Michelin and his successful riding school business made him a natural to take over the distribution duties abandoned by Graves Motorsports last month. Michelin spokesman Randy Richardson would not comment on Michelin’s race tire distribution plans for the Western United States, but said that a public announcement will be made “very soon”. In the meantime, Michelin riders at this weekend’s WSMC event are out of luck because no Michelin race tire sales and service operation showed up at the Rosamond, California track. Several long-time Michelin riders have defected to Pirelli/Metzeler, and many others are buying Dunlops at the racetrack.

According to a press release issued by Yamaha Motor Corp. U.S.A., the company’s special events at Daytona will include:

A display of 2002 machines outside Daytona International Speedway, March 6-8 10:00 a.m. until 6:00 p.m.; March 9 from 9:00 a.m. until 6:00 p.m.; March 10 from 9:00 a.m. until 1:30 p.m.

Demo rides of Road Star, V-Star, FZ1 and VMax models at the Yamaha display outside Daytona International Speedway, March 4-8 from 9:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m.; March 9 from 9:00 a.m. until noon.

Autograph sessions with Wayne Rainey, Eddie Lawson, Rich Oliver, Don Emde, Doug Henry, Bob Hannah, Jeremy McGrath et. al. at the Yamaha display, Friday, March 8 from 10:00 a.m. until noon; Saturday, March 9 from 10:00 a.m. until noon; and Sunday, March 10 from 9:00 a.m. until 11:00 a.m.

From a press release issued by Aprilia:

Aprilia Racing Press Information
Jerez de la Frontera (Spain)
20 November 2002

Tests for Aprilia RS Cube and next season’s works riders come to an end at Jerez.

Three days of tests in Jerez came to an end today for the Aprilia Racing Department’s RS Cube and for the two works riders Colin Edwards and Noriyuki Haga. This is the very first test session of the winter season and it was unfortunately marred by bad weather. Yesterday, atmospheric conditions kept the bikes away from the circuit for a long time. So the programme for this first round of tests had to be radically rethought, with many laps, and indeed many hours being spent in the wet, making the work very different from what had been originally planned.

Even so, a huge amount of work was successfully carried out, as Ing. Gigi dall’Igna, head of the MotoGP division of the Racing Department of Noale confirmed: “The two Aprilia RS Cubes went out onto the track with the same configuration as in the last races this year. We sure haven’t been too lucky in terms of the weather conditions over the past few days, but we still managed to complete a number of tasks we had scheduled. At the beginning, we needed to find exactly the right position on the saddle for the two riders, and this of course took time, but then we carried out a number of tests on adjusting the settings, and then worked on the ignition software. We’ve certainly gathered a lot of data and this means we’ll be able to establish a work programme for the next tests in a fortnight’s time. We also got some good references from the first tests on Michelin tyres. Fickle weather conditions during the three days meant we’ve been out on rain tyres, intermediates and slicks. As you can imagine, we’re hoping for more stable weather conditions for the next test sessions in December so we can concentrate better on one detail at a time.”

Colin Edwards was back on his bike as usual, despite Monday’s fall that left him with a jagged, bruised wound on his left elbow. The American champion wasn’t too affected by the accident that brought his first day of tests to an abrupt halt, and he got straight back onto his RS Cube to complete the programme for the following two days. The important thing for Colin was to get a good feeling for the three-cylinder from Noale and it was today that he best got to grips with it. “Monday’s fall was my first real ‘contact’ with the system the RS Cube uses to unleash its horsepower. I’ve spent 24 years of my life learning to open up the gas on a racing bike and on Monday I suddenly discovered a completely new way to do it. What actually happens is you give the command to a computer that sends it to the engine. It’s something new and has to be learnt. My very first experience, my debut with this system was pretty powerful. I closed the throttle at the moment I thought best, then there was a delay of a fraction of a second, the rear wheel started slipping and I went for a slide. It wouldn’t have made any difference if it had happened immediately or after an entire day of testing: it’s a reaction in the system that I’ve learned to understand. I’m amazed by the Cube, it’s an extraordinary bike. You can customise it as much as you like with no end of different settings – it’s a lab on two wheels, really special. I was expecting a lot of power, but certainly not that much. We did a lot of work, in spite of the rain. It must be said you can’t feel changes in the set-up nearly as much when you’re riding in the wet, but I think we’ve been able to do some good work that’ll help us in the forthcoming sessions. So I’m very pleased and even though my elbow does hurt a bit when I think about it, it never bothered me when I was actually on my bike and riding. Now I can’t wait for the next tests to carry on developing the Cube, a bike I think has all the potential of a winner, and one I really want to get a good feeling for.”

Noriyuki Haga also did some successful testing although, after the very first sessions in the early autumn, this was actually the second time he had been on the RS Cube.

“I tried many different settings on the RS Cube. I knew it a bit already so I carried on working on the settings of the bike to make sure it suits my style of riding,” said Noriyuki Haga. “Sure, the rain didn’t let us do what we’d expected but it didn’t stop us from carrying on with our work programme either. The tests on the full rain tyres went well, and we got some good feedback by trying out different settings on the bike. I’m particularly pleased about the power of the engine, even though I rarely found myself able to open up fully and examine the finer details really carefully. But I’m very happy with the way the tests went and with all the work we’ve done.”

Red Bull Yamaha’s John Hopkins is back in the U.S.A. after spending time in an extensive training and evaluation program in France.

Team manager Peter Clifford said he was well pleased with the reports he received regarding Hopkins’ state of conditioning.

Hopkins will race a Yamaha YZR500 in the 2002 MotoGP World Championship.

Copyright 2002, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

WSMC racer Clinton Whitehouse had a Saturday that could only be described as a mixed day, good in one extreme and bad in the other.

Whitehouse was involved in a nasty crash on the front straightaway of Willow Springs International Raceway during practice on Saturday afternoon, when another racer saw the checkered flag as he exited turn nine, thought he’d missed it on the previous lap, and dove for the pit entrance–just as Whitehouse was easing past on the outside. Both crashed, and Whitehouse’s GSX-R750 was heavily damaged.

Later that same day, at the annual WSMC awards banquet held in nearby Lancaster, California, Whitehouse won a drawing for a new Toyota Tundra pickup truck.

Other drawing winners included Bryan Kovarick (Yamaha YZF-R1), Chuck Graves (Yamaha YZ125), Jeremy Toye (Yamaha Home Theater Sound System) and Danny Farnsworth (Specialized full-suspension mountain bike).