World Champion Valentino Rossi and his manager walked out of a meeting with HRC officials without Rossi signing a new contract to race for Honda, and now Honda will resume pre-season testing without Rossi.

From a press release issued by Honda:

Honda Racing News

HRC Team Test Sepang, Malaysia
January 18, 2002.

Team HRC will test the RC211V at the Sepang circuit, Malaysia, on January 21-23.

Team rider Tohru Ukawa, and HRC test rider Shinichi Itoh, will test the 5-cylinder, 990cc MotoGP machine at the 5.548km circuit. The main objective of the test will be to test new tyres from Michelin and several small modifications made to the machine using the data obtained from the HRC tests in Spain and Australia, late last year.

Valentino Rossi will not attend the test. Rossi and HRC have yet to reach agreement on a few contract details. Both parties are confident these minor differences can be resolved in time for the following test planned for February.

Team Honda Gresini rider Daijiro Katoh will test the NSR500 he will campaign in the 2002 championship.

They will be joined by Team Honda Pons riders Loris Capirossi and Alex Barros for their first serious track testing of the winter.

Lap times from the test will be distributed on each day of the test.

Although there has not yet been any official word from AMA headquarters, race promoter Bill Sparks posted the following on www.flattrack.com Wednesday evening:

“John Ulrich, Jeff Nash, and Kevin Schwantz lapped the competition in the AMA Trustee election by a margin of three to one and in some cases four to one……..I may be off a little, maybe somebody from the AMA could post the exact count on this site for us.

“Again, congratulations guys on a huge win !!!

“Bill Sparks”

The Alstare Suzuki racing team has announced a competition to find its 2002 “Grid Girls”.

Interested women are asked to e-mail in their personal details along with a picture to [email protected] with “Big Alstare Suzuki Grid Girls Competition” in the subject line. The competition is open to women who live in a country that hosts a Superbike World Championship round.

In addition to being allowed to hold an umbrella over Alstare Suzuki’s racers as they are swarmed by photographers, TV cameras and reporters on the pre-grid, winners will receive two free paddock passes to the race and Team Alstare Suzuki gear. For more information, go to www.alstare.com.

Copyright 2002, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Despite a preliminary at-track diagnosis of a broken collarbone, X-rays at a trauma center revealed that roadracingworld.com’s Chris Ulrich actually suffered a separated shoulder when he crashed a CBR954RR Honda during a press intro at Las Vegas Motor Speedway Wednesday.

Ulrich returned home to Lake Elsinore, California Wednesday night and will consult with his own doctors Thursday morning.

Prior to leaving Las Vegas, Ulrich was presented with the damaged titanium muffler off the bike he crashed, which had been autographed by the Honda CBR954RR design team.

Take Back The AMA slate candidate John Ulrich won his new seat on the AMA Board of Trustees by a margin of 4.5:1 over incumbent Ellis Robertson, with polling running 894 to 197.

In the South East Region, Take Back The AMA candidate Kevin Schwantz defeated incumbent Carl Reynolds, who was a key figure in the Edmondson vs. AMA lawsuit, which was settled last June when the AMA paid Edmondson $3 million of members’ money.

In the South Central Region, Take Back The AMA candidate Jeff Nash defeated incumbent Ron Widman.

From a press release:

NUTEC ANNOUNCES WSMC CONTINGENCY AND DISTRIBUTION

Nutec fuels has posted over $120,000 in contingency for the 2002 WSMC race season. Starting this weekend, Nutec customers will also be serviced at Willow Springs and most other Southwest road racing events by Freddie Spencer’s High Performance Product Line/Michelin race tire distributor Dale Kieffer’s Racer’s Edge.

WSMC riders interested in using Nutec fuels must pre-order fuel before each event from Racer’s Edge at (702) 257-3808. Pre-ordered fuel will be available for pick-up from Racer’s Edge at WSMC events.

The Nutec contingency program is as follows:
All WSMC classes
1st – $100 + 1 USG Nutec Race Oil
5th – $75 + 1 USG Nutec Race Oil
10th – $50 + 1 USG Nutec Race Oil
15th – $25 + 1 USG Nutec Race Oil
Total Value = over $120,000

Requirements include:
2″ x 8″ NUTEC decals must be displayed on each side of racebike located above the bottom curve of the bodywork.

No suit patch required.

Rider MUST purchase a minimum of ten (10) gallons of Nutec Race Fuel from Racer’s Edge per race event.

No competing brand of fuel decal or suit patch is allowed.

Proof of purchase will be required.

Minimum of 5 starters per class are required for payout

Rider must complete Nutec Contingency form at each event.

Rider can only earn contingency in one (1) class per 10 gallons purchased. If you purchase 20 gallons you can earn contingency in 2 classes, etc.

For more information contact Freddie Spencer’s High Performance Product Line (702) 591-8915 or Racer’s Edge (702) 257-3808.

Kevin Schwantz won his new AMA Trustee seat by a margin of 3.5:1 over incumbent Carl Reynolds, who played a key role in the Edmondson vs. AMA lawsuit that cost AMA members $3 million in a settlement made last June.

Schwantz, the 1993 500cc World Champion, drew 1191 votes to Reynolds’ 331.

Voting in the AMA South Central Region ran almost 3:1 (actually 2.7:1) in favor of Take Back The AMA candidate Jeff Nash, who defeated incumbent Ron Widman.

Nash, who was the 2000 AMA Pro Thunder Champion, won with 619 votes to Widman’s 232 votes.

Copyright 2002, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

By David Swarts

After two days of testing on the 2.36-mile infield road course at California Speedway in Fontana, California, Nicky Hayden, Tommy Hayden and Mike Hale recorded the fastest times among Superbike, 600cc Supersport and Formula Xtreme riders, respectively. Despite cold and overcast weather, lap times fell sharply throughout the day as the racing surface gained more traction through the exchange of rubber for dirt on the racing line.

For the second major off-season test in a row, American Honda’s Nicky Hayden turned the fastest lap of the test on his 2001-spec RC51 while expressing a clear preference for the 2002-model RC51 that he has sampled at each test. On the second day of the two-day test at Fontana, Nicky Hayden spent all of his time on his 2001 bike before turning a 1:26.97 lap time late in the day on a race tire.

“We’ve got a lot of stuff sorted through,” said Nicky Hayden. “We’ve still got more stuff we can try when we come back here for the race. I’m pretty happy, though. Both days went smooth and we learned a lot. I feel that I learned the track as good as I’m going to learn it.

“When you’re fast, of course it feels good, but I don’t want to put too much into it because it don’t really count ‘til the race. Plus it’s just one fast lap. You’ve gotta be able to do 29 of them here, I think. Honestly, it does feel good to keep that momentum rolling, though.”

After a big save immediately preceding a small crash on Monday, Miguel Duhamel turned the second-fastest time (1:27.34) of the two days during a 20-lap tire test. HMC Ducati’s Pascal Picotte backed up his performance at the Daytona tire tests by posting the third-fastest time at Fontana with a 1:27.55. Kurtis Roberts spent most of Tuesday afternoon running American Honda’s sole 2002-model RC51. Roberts was the first rider to get into the mid-1:28s before settling with the fourth-fastest time of 1:27.70. Roberts also completed a successful test of the on-board, two-way Racing Radios system that American Honda debuted at Daytona.

Most of the riders at the Fontana test spent Tuesday afternoon testing tires while others, like Kawasaki’s Eric Bostrom, continued to look for set-ups and solutions. Bostrom fought a problem with his updated ZX-7RR Superbike while trying to learn to work with his new crew and a track that he does not particularly like. Bostrom added that he had the same problem at Daytona and if he and his team could cure the problem it would allow him to go faster at both tracks. However, Bostrom was not overly concerned with his time of 1:29.3, making him the slowest of the five Superbike riders present, because Kawasaki plans to test at California Speedway again in February.

Dunlop National Road Race Manager Jim Allen concluded Tuesday that California Speedway would not require the construction of any special tire and would probably not even require a dual-compound tread.

Bostrom’s teammate Tommy Hayden led all 600cc riders from the time they rolled off the truck at the test and went home with the fastest time at 1:31.2. The eldest Hayden brother said that he is getting more comfortable on the Kawasaki ZX-6R and gaining confidence in his Championship hopes everyday. Erion Honda’s Mike Hale and Bruce Transportation Group’s Jake Zemke were the only other 600cc riders to join Tommy Hayden in the 1:31s.

Hale started from scratch with a Honda CBR954RR Formula Xtreme bike on Monday and ended the two-day test as the fastest of the four FX riders in attendance with a 1:28.5. Roger Lee Hayden, riding an Erion Honda CBR929RR, chased brother Nicky Hayden, riding a Honda RC51 Superbike, around the track for several laps Tuesday afternoon resulting in a two-second-per-lap reduction of his lap time. Roger Lee Hayden’s fastest time, a 1:29.3, was the second-fastest Formula Xtreme time of the test. Third-fastest FX rider Zemke spent very little time on his CBR929RR after fuel-injection problems on Monday and blown seals on his Ohlins forks on Tuesday.

Although he was the slowest of the 600cc Supersport riders, Kawasaki’s Tony “The Tiger” Meiring did earn his paycheck in his first outing with his new team. Meiring completed 103 laps of the new track Monday and then did 107 more on Tuesday for a total of 210 laps over the two days.

The next AMA team test is scheduled for January 21-23 at Laguna Seca in Monterey, California with Kawasaki and Honda’s three teams expected to attend. HMC Ducati had considered going to Laguna Seca but decided against going next week in exchange for testing during more predictable weather during the last week in March.

Unofficial Lap Times:


Superbike:
Nicky Hayden, Honda RC51, 1:26.97
Miguel Duhamel, Honda RC51, 1:27.34
Pascal Picotte, Ducati 998RS, 1:27.55
Kurtis Roberts, Honda RC51, 1:27.70
Eric Bostrom, Kawasaki ZX-7RR, 1:29.30


Formula Xtreme:
Mike Hale, Honda CBR954RR, 1:28.59
Roger Lee Hayden, Honda CBR929RR, 1:29.30
Jake Zemke, Honda CBR929RR, 1:29.70
Alex Gobert, Honda CBR929RR, 1:32.27


600cc Supersport:
Tommy Hayden, Kawasaki ZX-6R, 1:31.20
Mike Hale, Honda CBR600F4i, 1:31.60
Jake Zemke, Honda CBR600F4i, 1:31.90
Roger Lee Hayden, Honda CBR600F4i, 1:32.20
Alex Gobert, Honda CBR600F4i, 1:32.45
Tony Meiring, Kawasaki ZX-6R, 1:33.04