From a press release (and pay attention to the last line of text):

HONDA RACING NEWS

AMA SUPERBIKE CHAMPIONSHIP ROUNDS TWO AND THREE/AMA 600cc SUPERSPORT SERIES
ROUND TWO

SATURDAY/SUNDAY APRIL 7-8 2002 FONTANA, CALIFORNIA, USA

Weather: Cloudy
Temperature: 60 degrees
Attendance: 20,000

Gobert, Hayden Split Wins at California Speedway

American Honda’s Nicky Hayden rode his Honda RC51 to victory on the second day of the doubleheader weekend of AMA Superbike racing at California Speedway in Fontana, California, adding that to his third-place finish of the previous day to take control of the AMA/Chevy Trucks U.S. Superbike Championship after three rounds.

On Saturday, Hayden was bested by Yamaha’s Anthony Gobert and Yoshimura Suzuki’s Aaron Yates with the trio fighting the entire 28-lap distance in the debut race at the first-class facility. It was also a race that was delayed until late in the afternoon as unusually poor weather hit the Southern California area.

Traffic played a role in the outcome of the race, with Hayden the first to be thwarted by the slower men on a track that proved to be difficult to pass on. On the final lap, Gobert hit traffic in the last corner and Yates appeared to have the upper hand in their drag race to the checkered flag. The Australian, however, was able to latch into the draft of a lapped rider to beat Yates to the line by just .014 of a second in what was the closest finish in the history of California Speedway. Knowing any chance of victory was gone, Hayden slowed in the final laps to finish 6.5 seconds behind the dueling duo ahead of him his win streak stopped at five successive victories.

The win was pole-sitter Gobert’s first of the season and it left him tied with Hayden for the championship points lead with 67 points.

Hayden admitted to never really getting comfortable on the day when delays were the norm: “Right at the beginning, I got up there,” Hayden said. “Right off the start, when I was fourth, I thought, ‘Man, this is going to be a good race here.’ I felt all right at the beginning, but I just wasn’t that comfortable the whole time. I was having a few problems and was just kinda hanging on to those guys. Right there at the end, I really put my head down and was going to try and make a run at ‘em, but I just didn’t really have it today. These guys rode good. They were really beating me in traffic, both being really aggressive. I had a hard time getting the bike where I wanted it in traffic. I was just real lazy and couldn’t hold it tight coming out of the corners to get inside of ‘em. That’s where they were a lot better than me today. We had a nice little streak going and I wanted to keep it going. At the end I was taking a few chances and the last few laps I knew I had to back it off and just finish. I was pretty happy because I fell back and when Aaron [Yates] ran wide I could close back up.”

HMC Ducati’s Doug Chandler finished fourth in his debut ride with the team. Fifth place went to the man that Chandler recently replaced on the HMC
team, Pascal Picotte. The French Canadian had picked up a new ride just prior to the Fontana event, switching to the Austin/Bleu Bayou Ducati team and its Michelin tires.

Three-time AMA Superbike Champion Mat Mladin ended up sixth after encountering tire wear woes and the top 10 was filled by privateer Suzuki riders Lee Acree, Brian Parriott, Brian Livengood and Andy Deatherage.

Hayden’s American Honda teammate Miguel DuHamel crashed out of a battle for fifth place on the seventh lap and the third of the factory Honda men, Kurtis Roberts, was knocked out by a knee injury suffered in a qualifying crash on Friday afternoon.

Hayden dominated the second of the two Superbike races after his crew made the changes necessary to make his ride to victory on the RC51 relatively easy. Hayden took the lead off the start, but was passed by Yates and the Yoshimura Suzuki. Yates led for six laps before Hayden pushed through on the front straight. From there he was never headed as he stormed to a 6.366-second victory in the race that was shortened by a red flag after 24 of 28 laps.

Second place ended up going to Kawasaki’s Eric Bostrom after he held off a determined Mladin and a fast-closing Chandler, the Ducati rider coming from well back to challenge for the spot in the closing stages of the race.

Hayden’s victory was his second of the season, with the first coming last month in the prestigious Daytona 200. The youngster from Kentucky was also able to take full advantage of a miscue by Gobert’s crew that saw the Australian battle an over-inflated front tire for the entire race. He ended up finishing eighth, one lap behind his championship rival.

The victory, combined with Gobert’s eighth-place finish, translates to a 13-point lead for Hayden as he now leads Gobert, 104-91, after three rounds.

Austin/Bleu Bayou Ducati’s Pascal Picotte finished fifth for the second successive day, leading Yoshimura Suzuki’s Jamie Hacking and DuHamel across the finish line. Then came Gobert with privateers Parriott and Deatherage rounding out the top 10 finishers.

Hayden credited his crew with making the changes that transformed his RC51 into a race winner overnight: “I’ve really got to thank my crew and my team,” Hayden said. “It’s amazing how much better my bike was today. Last night in the meeting you have all these problems you tell them about. Normally, they fix some stuff and maybe compromise on other stuff. Today, they just fixed everything. The transmission was a lot better. The bike just felt a lot more comfortable. I could be a lot more aggressive with it today. I could get it turned and it was just a really good race.”

Yoshimura Suzuki’s Aaron Yates won his second successive 600cc Supersport race, adding a California Speedway victory to his win at Daytona last month. Yates pulled away from Gobert in the middle stages of the race to win by 3.44 seconds after 17 laps of the 21-turn, 2.36-mile racetrack.

Third place went to Kawasaki’s Tommy Hayden after a race-long battle with Yamaha’s Damon Buckmaster. The Suzukis of Ben Spies, Jamie Hacking, Jason Pridmore and Tom Kipp finished fifth through eighth with American Honda’s Mike Hale and Roger Lee Hayden rounding out the top 10.

Yates’ 73 points leads Buckmaster and Hacking, with the pair tied for second on 52 points.

HONDA TEAM QUOTES

Nicky Hayden, American Honda, 3rd and 1st:
Saturday: “Right at the beginning, I got up there,” Hayden said. “Right off the start, when I was fourth, I thought, ‘Man, this is going to be a good race here.’ I felt all right at the beginning, but I just wasn’t that comfortable the whole time. I was having a few problems and was just kinda hanging on to those guys. Right there at the end, I really put my head down and was going to try and make a run at ‘em, but I just didn’t really have it today. These guys rode good. They were really beating me in traffic, both being really aggressive. I had a hard time getting the bike where I wanted it in traffic. I was just real lazy and couldn’t hold it tight coming out of the corners to get inside of ‘em. That’s where they were a lot better than me today. We had a nice little streak going and I wanted to keep it going. At the end I was taking a few chances and the last few laps I knew I had to back it off and just finish. I was pretty happy because I fell back and when Aaron [Yates] ran wide I could close back up.”

Hayden from Sunday:
“I’ve really got to thank my crew and my team,” Hayden said. “It’s amazing how much better my bike was today. Last night in the meeting you have all these problems you tell them about. Normally, they fix some stuff and maybe compromise on other stuff. Today, they just fixed everything. The transmission was a lot better. The bike just felt a lot more comfortable. I could be a lot more aggressive with it today. I could get it turned and it was just a really good race.”

Miguel DuHamel, American Honda, DNF and 7th.
Saturday: “The race was going not bad. The guys pulled me out a little bit when I hit the curbing coming on to the front straight and got a pretty vicious tankslapper. I lost some time. I was aware of those guys breaking away so for the next two laps, two and a half laps, I reeled them back in so I felt pretty good about that. Going into that corner we’ve been having problems… there are two things: the bike and my boot. I don’t have the right size boot on so I’ve been having trouble with that. I couldn’t get the downshift right and I was struggling to get the downshift going into that corner and it just messed me up going in there. I didn’t think I got into first, but they said I did get to first but I think that happened when the bike went down. I just couldn’t downshift right. It must have looked like I was doing some sort of Lords of the Dance while trying to get down to first gear. It didn’t want to downshift smoothly and that threw me off. I think I went a little tighter and there’s a bump there, which I should know better. I hit the bump and it bogged out the front and lost it.”

DuHamel from Sunday: “For some reason it just didn’t work. I was having some trouble with the front end of the bike. I’m not too sure, maybe suspension, maybe tire, but it was the same tire that Nicky [Hayden] rode. There was a lot of instability in the front. Whenever I touched the brake, I thought the front was going to tuck underneath me. From the get-go, I was struggling. This morning it was fine. I ran the same lap times they ran in the race.”

Kurtis Roberts, Erion Honda, Did Not Start.
“We were just starting to improve the bike and get it setup for here. I think we were in the top four. There were still some improvements to make to the motorcycle and getting it to handle around here. I was getting really excited because we were quite far off in the morning as far as setup went and it was getting better. We threw in a qualifier. I guess a lot of the other guys got warned when they went into the chicane with the rear coming around a bit on ‘em. The first rider it kinda chattered a little bit the rear, the tire slid for just a second but it drove out fine. So I thought it was just a little cold. I went into the chicane where you’re not even leaned over to the right. I was coming out of there pretty much straight up and down and the thing let go. I highsided. Nothing’s broke, they said, though the doctors at Loma Linda [hospital] weren’t up there with the best at all. I was in the hallway the whole night. I didn’t get a room. You have four different doctors and they were each different. I never got the full story from anybody. I’m not sure exactly what what’s wrong, but I know there is nothing broken. They did an MRI on the knee and X-rays on the knee and ankle. It’s just really bruised in there. I can’t believe I highsided almost going straight. It was like it hit oil almost.”

RESULTS:
First race result: (Laps 28 = 100 km)
1 Anthony Gobert, AUS (Yamaha), 39:28.637
2 Aaron Yates, USA (Yoshimura Suzuki), -0.014 sec.
3 Nicky Hayden, USA (American Honda)
4 Doug Chandler, USA (HMC Ducati)
5 Pascal Picotte, CAN (Bleu Bayou Ducati)
6 Mat Mladin, AUS (Yoshimura Suzuki)
7 Lee Acree, USA (Suzuki)
8 Brian Parriott, USA (Suzuki)
9 Brian Livengood, USA (Suzuki)
10 Andy Deatherage, USA (Suzuki)
11 Kim Nakashima, USA (Suzuki)
12 Owen Ritchey, USA (Suzuki)
13 Alan Schmidt, CAN (Suzuki)
14 Marco Martinez, USA (Suzuki)
15 Shawn Conrad, USA (Suzuki)

Second race result: (Laps 28 = 100 km)
1 Nicky Hayden, USA (Honda) 34:48.072
2 Eric Bostrom, USA (Kawasaki) -6.366 sec.
3 Mat Mladin, AUS (Suzuki)
4 Doug Chandler, USA (Ducati)
5 Pascal Picotte, CAN (Ducati)
6 Jamie Hacking, USA (Suzuki)
7 Miguel DuHamel, CAN (Honda)
8 Anthony Gobert, AUS (Yamaha)
9 Brian Parriott, USA (Suzuki)
10 Andy Deatherage, USA (Suzuki)
11 Rich Conicelli, USA (Suzuki)
12 Owen Richey, USA (Suzuki)
13 Brian Livengood, USA (Suzuki)
14 Mike Sullivan, USA (Honda)
15 Aaron Clark, USA (Suzuki)

AMA Superbike championship points:
1 Hayden 104
2 Gobert 91
3 Deatherage 66
4 Livengood 63
5 Hacking 60
6 Yates 59
7 Bostrom 58
8 Mladin 54
9 Chandler 54
10 Picotte 52
11 Conicelli 50
12 Parriott 45
13 John Dugan 44
14 Owen Richey 38
15 Marco Martinez 36

600cc Supersport race result:
1 Aaron Yates, USA (Yoshimura Suzuki), 25’16.820
2 Anthony Gobert, AUS (Yamaha), -3.344 sec
3 Tommy Hayden, USA (Kawasaki)
4 Damon Buckmaster, AUS (Graves Yamaha)
5 Ben Spies, USA (Attack Suzuki)
6 Jamie Hacking, USA (Yoshimura Suzuki)
7 Jason Pridmore, USA (Attack Suzuki)
8 Tom Kipp, USA (Valvoline Suzuki)
9 Mike Hale, USA (Erion Honda)
10 Roger Lee Hayden, USA (Erion Honda)
11 Tony Meiring, USA (Kawasaki)
12 Jake Zemke, USA (Erion Honda)
13 Alex Gobert, AUS (Erion Honda)
14 Jimmy Moore, USA (Corona Suzuki)
15 Ty Howard, USA (Suzuki)

600cc Supersport championship points:
1 Yates 73
2 Buckmaster 52
3 Hacking 52
4 Spies 47
5 Pridmore 47
6 Hale 46
7 Kipp 43
8 Roger Lee Hayden 39
9 Tony Meiring 39
10 Nicky Hayden 33
11 Jake Zemke 33
12 Anthony Gobert 33
13 Alex Gobert 33
14 Jimmy Moore 33
15 Miguel DuHamel 29.

Next round : Sugo, Japan, 21-04-2002



And now this comment from reader Scott England, headlined “Don’t Cast Stones”:

“Honda did state that the next race is in Sugo Japan, but they did not have Ben Bostrom racing in Fontana instead of South Africa as you did. Nice to see that not everyone is as perfect as they think they are.”



And now the official Roadracingworld.com Mea Culpa: “Hey, we fully admit when we screw up, and that Ben/Eric thing is a devilish typo deal where it seems that no matter what, it keeps cropping up, especially when you’re simultaneously entering info from Kyalami and Fontana! Sometimes when you’re entering/editing/proofreading thousands of words at once, your mind just automatically corrects stuff and you don’t see it. We admit it–we’re human, our staff is human, and we keep screwing up Ben and Eric! The Honda reference was a joke, and it (the headline) got you to read the posting, right?”



And now an interesting development:

An Australian website, which we have repeatedly caught stealing our copyrighted material before and which has denied everything, reposted our Fontana post with a slight reworking of the language but including the error (since corrected on this site) referring to Ben instead of Eric! No worries, eh, you lying, stealing Aussie bastards?

Copyright 2002, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

By David Swarts

The Central Motorcycle Roadracing Association (CMRA) and RPM Racing, two competing motorcycle road racing clubs based in Texas, worked together recently in the interest of rider safety. When shipment of two sections of Alpina Air Module, (slated for use at the April 5-7 RPM/WERA National event at No Problem Raceway in Belle Rose, Louisiana), was delayed, Brooks Gremmels and the rest of the CMRA Board of Director agreed to loan two of the CMRA’s Alpina Air Modules to RPM/WERA.

Many racers in the area compete with both CMRA and RPM.

“I think it was a great thing,” said RPM owner Alan Blair on Monday. “Having raced at NPR before, there had been some racers that had brought up the issue of the entrance of the straightaway from turn 14 and were concerned it would be a hot spot for accidents. There’s been one or two little incidents there, but no one’s been hurt. We felt even though there hadn’t been a serious safety issue there, we wanted to do something about it before there possibly was. Of course, I called John Ulrich up and asked him about buying some Air Fence. He worked with me on ordering some Air Fence and had hoped that we would get it in time. Of course, that didn’t happen.”

Once Ulrich found out that the shipment was delayed and would not arrive from Austria in time, he contacted Gremmels and asked him to arrange the loan, personally guaranteeing that any damage to the loaned modules would be covered.

The $4500 cost of the ordered modules was split three ways between RPM, WERA and the Roadracingworld.com Action Fund, a new non-profit corporation which has taken over the work of what was previously known as the Roadracing World Air Fence Fund.


“I think the gesture on Brooks Gremmels’ behalf of lending us the Air Fence was a great thing,” continued Blair. “It’s nice to see that we can all set aside our competitiveness some times and work with each other to make the track safe for all the (racers).

“The interesting thing is, we set the Air Fence up right there, and I think that was probably the one spot on the track where there were more accidents this weekend than (anywhere). But I don’t think anyone hit the Air Fence. I’m pretty sure of that, as a matter of fact. It’s nice to have had it there, and, like I said, there were some close calls. It was nice to have it there, especially with the (WERA) National where the pace of things are upped a notch.”

Blair said that the sections of Alpina Air Module that are on order for No Problem Raceway will only be used at that track since RPM’s two other venues, Texas World Speedway and Hallet Motor Racing Circuit, are already protected by safety barriers supplied by the Roadracingworld.com Action Fund and do not require such safety devices, respectively. RPM also hopes to add additional sections of safety barriers in front of a wall outside NPR’s turn nine in the future.

Blair added that the air barriers at NPR would also be used during RPM’s monthly open track days and rider schools.

*Air Fence is a trademark of Air Fence Safety Systems of Australia.

From a press release:

Race Report
AMA Chevy Trucks Superbike Round 2
DateApril 6, 2002
CircuitFontana International Speedway, California

Chandler fourth in Fontana

The cold front that moved into Fontana yesterday worsened ceasing all racing activities until late into the afternoon. Rider Doug Chandler had no opportunity to better his eighth place position from first qualifying as the AMA altered today’s program eliminating the second qualifying session, opting for a 20 minute warm-up – which Chandler ran fastest – followed by the first race. Despite the second row start, Chandler finished in fourth place, a position he grasped early in the race and held firm till the end.

Racing was fast and furious up front and Chandler stayed right there, fighting for a podium finish, until the remaining few laps.

“I was thinking we could get on the podium, a tall order considering this is my first time on this track”, said Chandler. It was also his first race on the Ducati, competing against riders with additional testing time. “I really feel we’ll do better tomorrow after we make a few small changes. I felt comfortable with the pace early in the race, but the front guys got me in the slower traffic, eventually getting away. I really enjoyed the battle with Jamie [Hacking] for the fourth place until he crashed.

“Today was a good start, but tomorrow will be better.”



Second Race Report

AMA Chevy Trucks Superbike Round 2
DateApril 7, 2002
CircuitFontana International Speedway, California

HMC Ducati rider Doug Chandler was robbed of a podium finish when a crash forced a red flag on lap 25 of the 28 lap race at Fontana Speedway. Chandler came back from an early race set-back to close a 5 second gap to a 0.6 second gap in three laps, finishing in fourth position. The Californian was ready to round up Mat Mladin and Eric Bostrom when the red flag appeared, but with 80% of the race complete, the AMA was justified to refuse a restart.

Mat Mladin was watching his prey descending through his team pit board and the reigning Champion was quoted several times saying: “Doug would have probably smoked both of us. Definitely me anyway.”

“I feel pretty confident I would have got both of them,” said Chandler. “I didn’t expect to catch them so quickly and with three laps left I decided to hold back and wait for the last lap. Eric and Mat began to battle between themselves so I thought I’d wait until they had nothing left and make my move. Unfortunately we were short changed.

I had a big moment in the first lap and it took me a while to recover, but the bike was handling so good that it was easy to keep consistent fast laps and fortunately the traffic was light making the going easier. Chandler was lapping in the low 26s right to the last lap, less than a second off Friday’s fastest qualifying time.



And now Aprilia’s version of Suzuka MotoGP reality, from a press release:

From a press release:

APRILIA NEWS / MOTOGP
2002 MotoGP World Championship – SUZUKA (Japan)
Sunday 7 April 2002

Race 250

Melandri slides in Suzuka downpour. De Puniet’s Aprilia third on the podium.

Driving rain on the Suzuka circuit, huge puddles on almost the entire track. An unfortunate day for Marco Melandri who went for a slide on the seventh lap as he was gaining ground. Marco, 11th first time round, had got up to 5th on lap six, making the quickest lap time of the race up to that moment: 1:28.587. Overconfidence, loss of grip at the front, and a dogged attempt to get back into the race. Marco came back in 21st position and went up to 17th. But by now he was 1:20 behind the leaders. Too far to get anywhere near the top. Victory went to the Japanese Miyazaki. Randy de Puniet (Aprilia) was third on the podium.

# 3 Marco Melandri (MS APRILIA RACING) – Not Classified – Out, lap 14 –
“I took the very first laps of the race very carefully, then I built up confidence and saw I was making my way up quite easily. Then I came long into a curve which I decided to take in first gear after braking a bit harder. A sharp corner, but I approached it a bit wide and lost control – first the back, then the front, and I was sliding on the ground. I didn’t start back immediately, the track officials took some time helping, but I still tried to fight my way up. Some earth had got into the throttle and it wasn’t working properly. I’m really sorry because I’d worked hard for today’s race: the rain ruined our plans. The slide was an error in a day when it was easy to make mistakes, but also in a day when I didn’t want to come in 10th.”

Race MotoGP

RS Cube and Régis Laconi come eighth in the new Aprilia project’s racing debut. First objective achieved.

The main objective for the RS Cube was to get to the end of its very first race. If possible, up among the first fifteen. This objective was reached with eighth place, and this is a great boost for the technicians and Aprilia, who have put their heart and soul into the creation of the new project. The RS Cube also had its first taste of rain in the morning warm-up. With no previous experience, no references, no tests in the wet. An incredible task for the technicians, who rapidly sought the best configuration for the 2:00 p.m. race.

The great work of the team was assisted by Regis Laconi’s intelligent racing style which took the RS3 through to the chequered flag. An important day for the technicians who acquired huge amounts of data to be analysed so that development work can go ahead as quickly as possible.

“There’s no doubt about it, I’m pleased with our bike’s racing debut”, commented Jan Witteveen, the project leader. “We’ve acquired stacks of data for our development work, so we can look for the best way to start bothering the others. We had no previous experience in the wet, and we didn’t have enough data to intervene effectively on mapping the engine. Even so, we did what was needed and completing the race has given us some extremely important experience.”

# 55 Regis Laconi – (MS APRILIA RACING) 8th – “A great result but it was tough work preparing the bike for the race after the first ever sortie in the rain in the morning. The settings changed completely, and the bike was softened to increase its rideability. I got off to a good start, but tried not to push too hard immediately: after a few laps I could really feel the bike, and it was good, so I decided to quicken the pace: I had Harada and Capirossi in front and I wanted to go and get them. I was able to make use of greater speed and managed to pass them, and towards the end I was again able to get my time down to 2:25.9, and thoroughly enjoyed riding the Cube. Having fun riding in the wet is always a great pleasure.”



And now a press release from HM Plant Ducati/GSE Racing:

Superbike World Championship
Round three: Kyalami, South Africa
Sunday 7 April 2002
Race one

Fifth and sixth place for HM Plant Ducati/GSE Racing

HM Plant Ducati rider Neil Hodgson maintained his consistent run of form to take fifth place in the first race at Kyalami today. His team-mate James Toseland continued to show the kind of improvement that has caused many to tip him as a future world champion, when he claimed sixth place behind Hodgson.

During the race, which was won by Troy Bayliss, Hodgson was never in danger of losing his position. Riding in an extremely smooth and controlled manner, the 28-year-old crossed the line over 47 seconds ahead of eighth placed Chris Walker. In fact, the only other rider within 30 seconds of the #100 HM Plant Ducati was James Toseland.

“Obviously I would have liked to make it onto the podium,” said Hodgson, “but the eleven points that I got from that race only serve to strengthen my position in the world championship. I enjoyed the race but it was a little frustrating. Edwards forced me wide at one point and that cost me quite a lot of time, but I had a good old dice with Haga and came out on top in the end. This result hasn’t done me any harm and I’m still six points clear of Haga in the points and only three behind Bostrom. The HM Plant Ducati and my Dunlop tyres feel spot-on, so I won’t really make any changes for race two – I’ll just try and wring a bit more out of it.”

James Toseland was pleased with his 10 point run: “I equalled my best ever World Superbike finish, so that is a great result for me. Although it was a bit of a lonely race, to finish behind Neil and over eight seconds ahead of the next placed rider is pretty good. The HM Plant Ducati was working really well and I knew that it would do what I asked it to, so I just want to get back out there for race two and see if I can improve some more.”

From a press release issued by Mat Mladin’s publicist, Steve Reeves:

MAT MLADIN Racing – MEDIA INFORMATION
For immediate release
Sunday, 7 April 2002

Rounds 2 & 3, 2002 AMA Chevy Trucks US Superbike Championship
California Speedway, Fontana, California, USA
Round 3, Race Report

PODIUM FINISH FOR MLADIN AT CALIFORNIA SPEEDWAY

Fontana, California, USA – A strong fight back by three times American AMA Superbike champion Mat Mladin has seen the Australian take third place in today’s third round of the 2002 AMA Chevy Trucks US Superbike Championship at California Speedway, Fontana.

Today’s podium finish backed up a sixth place finish in yesterday’s first race in the double-header Superbike races held at the Californian circuit over the weekend.

American Honda’s Nicky Hayden took today’s race win, his second of the three races held so far this season, leading the battling duo of Eric Bostrom (Team Kawasaki) and Mladin (Blimpie Yoshimura Suzuki) across the line by 6.366 seconds. The race was red-flagged after 24 of the scheduled 28-laps after debris left after a crash forced race officials to call a premature end.

“That was the best we could do at the moment,” Mladin said. “My injured left elbow did cause me a few problems, more so than in yesterday’s race. I guess that was because I was battling harder against Eric (Bostrom). We also had another problem with a tyre chunking. This time it was on about lap 15, but at least I was able to keep the pace and it wasn’t as bad as the problem we had yesterday. In the end I suppose we were lucky in a way that the race was stopped because Doug (Chandler) was closing on us fast and I don’t think we could have stopped him getting through.”

Mladin had been dicing for the race lead in the early laps with Hayden and teammate Aaron Yates, before Yates was forced out with mechanical problems. That left Hayden out front and Mladin dicing with Bostrom through to the flag.

After grabbing pole position and winning yesterday’s Superbike race, Australian Anthony Gobert struggled with a front tyre problem on his Team Yamaha R7 and finished eighth overall, one lap down on the leader Hayden.

With three rounds of sixteen completed, Hayden leads the points chase with 104, ahead of Gobert 91 and Suzuki privateer rider Andrew Deatherage third with 66. Mladin is currently in eighth position with 54 points.

“Before the next race at Sears Point, we’ll do a bit of testing, plus I’ll be back at the physio getting treatment on my arm, but I’m sure that I’ll be close to 100% fit by the next round,” Mladin added.

From a notice from the AMA:

El Dorado Forest Lawsuit Meeting

On April 12, 2002 at 7:00 pm a town hall meeting will be held at the International Order of Odd Fellow’s Hall, located at the corner of highway 193 and Main St. in Georgetown, CA. to discuss the recently filed lawsuit, which seeks to close all forest service roads and trails in the El Dorado Forest.

Affected areas would include the Rock Creek Recreational Area, and would apply to all 4-wheel drives, SUVs, jeeps and pick-ups as well as ATVs, motorcycles, horses and snowmobiles. “We The People” together with the Blue Ribbon Coalition, AMA District 36 and other local Recreational Groups have filed to be interveners in this lawsuit and have also filed a cross complaint.



WHAT TO DO

1) Attend and bring a friend!

2) Get the Facts!

3) Copy this notice and give it to friends, neighbors and co- workers!



Representatives from the Blue Ribbon Coalition and We The People will hold an open forum for discussion of items of interest to all citizens who recreate in the El Dorado National Forest.



FOR FURTHER INFORMATION



http://home.attbi.com/~wethepeople/index.html


THIS JUST IN:

Town Hall meeting scheduled for April 12 has been canceled.

Georgetown California

Because of the sensitive issues surrounding the Eldorado legal action the Town Hall meeting has been postponed. Reschedule dates to be announced.

The purpose of this gathering of citizens concerned about the loss of forest access was to provide information about the organization “We the People” and to establish a framework for support. This can still happen by becoming an e-mail contact in the We the People network e-mail – [email protected]

We the People will be holding a membership meeting on Friday, April 12, 7:00 pm at the Odd Fellows Hall, at the corner of Wentworth Springs Road and Hwy 93, Georgetown CA. If you are interested in learning more about We the People and how you can support forest access, please attend.

Copyright 2002, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Valentino Rossi rode the Honda RC211V four-stroke to the first MotoGP race, in the rain at Suzuka. Akira Ryo finished second a Suzuki GSV-R four-stroke and Carlos Checa was third on a Yamaha YZR-M1 four-stroke, making it a clean sweep for the 990cc four-strokes.

Former 500cc World Champion Kenny Roberts crashed out, as did Jurgen van den Goorbergh, Garry McCoy, Olivier Jacque, Max Biaggi, Sete Giberbau, Jeremy McWilliams, Shinya Nakano and Tohru Ukawa.

Young American John Hopkins crashed twice but picked up his bike both times, pitted twice for repairs, and finished 12th, 5 laps down, to score points in the first Grand Prix of his career.

The race was 28 laps, or 122.241 kilometers long.

Results follow:

1. Valentino Rossi, Honda RC211V, 49:32.766

2. Akiro Ryo, Suzuki GSV-R, 49:34.316

3. Carlos Checa, Yamaha YZR-M1, 49:41.119

4. Shinichi Itoh, Honda RC211V, 49:43.595

5. Norick Abe, Yamaha YZR500, 49:53.189

6. Alex Barros, Honda NSR500, 50:05.025

7. Nobuatsu Aoki, Proton KR3, 50:12.399

8. Regis Laconi, Aprilia RS3, -1 lap

9. Loris Capirossi, Honda NSR500, -1 lap

10. Daijiro Katoh, Honda NSR500, -1 lap

11. Tetsuta Harada, Honda NSR500, -1 lap

12. John Hopkins, Yamaha YZR500, -5 laps

13. Tohru Ukawa, Honda RC211V, -3 laps, DNF, crashed

14. Shinya Nakano, Yamaha YZR500, -4 laps, DNF, crashed

15. Jeremy McWilliams, Proton KR3, -5 laps, DNF, crashed

16. Sete Gibernau, Suzuki GSV-R, -9 laps, DNF, crashed

17. Olivier Jacque, Yamaha YZR500, -9 laps, DNF, crashed

18. Kenny Roberts, Suzuki GSV-R, -15 laps, DNF, crashed

19. Max Biaggi, Yamaha YZR-M1, -15 laps, DNF, crashed

20. Jurgen van den Goorbergh, Honda NSR500, -17 laps, DNF, crashed

21. Garry McCoy, Yamaha YZR500, -19 laps, DNF, crashed



Osamu Miyazaki won the 19-lap 250cc Grand Prix race on a Yamaha from Daisaku Sakai on a Honda and Randy De Puniet on an Aprilia. The race saw 15 riders crash out, including Casey Stoner, Jay Vincent, Marco Melandri, Roberto Locatelli, Shahrol Yuzy, Leon Haslam, Fonsi Nieto and Haruchika Aoki. Results follow:

1. Osamu Miyazaki, Yamaha, 47:09.454

2. Daisaku Sakai, Honda, -6.941 seconds

3. Randy de Puniet, Aprilia, -29.020

4. Emilio Alzamora, Honda, -45.300

5. Sebastian Porto, Yamaha, -45.495

6. Naoki Matsudo, Yamaha, -54.725

7. Choujun Kameya, Honda, -60.572

8. Roberto Rolfo, Honda, -62.287

9. Alex Debon, Aprilia, -78.282

10. Franco Battaini, Aprilia, -79.377


Arnaud Vincent won the 125cc Grand Prix, an 18-lap race that saw 9 riders crash. Results follow:

1. Arnaud Vincent, Aprilia, 46.22.971

2. Mirko Giansanti, Honda, -1.164 seconds

3. Manuel Poggiali, Gilera, -2.558

4. Noboru Ueda, Honda, -3.479

5. Simone Sanna, Aprilia, -10.188

6. Shuhei Aoyama, Honda, -23.056

7. Angel Rodriguez, Aprilia, -23.653

8. Daniel Pedrosa, Honda, -33.488

9. Lucio Cecchinello, Aprilia, -34.285

10. Gino Borsoi, Aprilia, -47.304

Copyright 2002, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

AMA Pro Racing Director of Professional Competition Merrill Vanderslice docked Ben Spies 20 points but let his finishing positions stand after Spies’ Attack Suzuki GSX-R600 was found in post-race tech to have illegal intake modifications.

Vanderslice said of the modifications, “It wasn’t murder, but it was sure armed robbery,” but declined to say exactly what tech inspectors found or explain why Spies was being docked points without losing his finishing positions.

Spies rode the same bike to second in the Superstock race and fifth in the Supersport race at Fontana, according to Attack Suzuki owner Richard Stanboli.

Race observers could not remember another situation in which illegal modifications found in an AMA teardown resulted in a loss of points without any loss of finishing position.

Asked by a reporter what was found in the teardown, Stanboli said, “Ask the AMA guys” and declined further comment.

Spies’ bike was at or near the top of radar top-speed charts all weekend at Fontana.

From a Honda press release:

HONDA RACING NEWS

MotoGP WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP 2002, JAPANESE GRAND PRIX, SUZUKA, Race Day,
Sunday April 7 2002

ROSSI AND RCV TRIUMPHANT AT SUZUKA

The stunning combination of Valentino Rossi (Repsol Honda Team RC211V) and his all-new Honda V5 four-stroke proved unbeatable in today’s historic Japanese GP, the first event of MotoGP racing’s new four-stroke era.

Despite atrocious weather conditions at the high-speed venue and the efforts of unflinching rival Akira Ryo (Suzuki), Rossi and the RCV were victorious, giving Honda its first four-stroke GP win in 35 years.

Last man to ride a Honda four-stroke to GP success was the late, great Mike Hailwood, who won the factory’s final outing in its original four-stroke era at Mosport, Canada, in September 1967. A dozen years later Honda returned to the GP fray with the fabulous oval-pistoned NR500, but though this machine earned Honda a huge amount of four-stroke technical expertise it never beat the then-dominant two-strokes. The man in charge of NR development was Suguru Kanazawa, fresh out of university. Today Kanazawa, now HRC president, was at Suzuka to see his earliest and most recent work bear fruit.

“Our goal has always been to win GPs with four-stroke machinery, so today’s victory is very meaningful to me and everyone else at Honda,” said Kanazawa. “We are still benefiting from what we learned from the NR500.”

The race, held at the circuit which Honda founder Soichiro Honda had built in 1962, was a real thriller. Rossi made a steady start from pole position, which he achieved in dry conditions at the very end of yesterday’s final qualifier, completing the first lap in fifth place. Considering this was his first real ride in wet conditions with the RCV, apart from this morning’s warm-up and a handful of laps during Sepang tests back in February, he knew he had to learn as he went along. The Italian thus rode a typically intelligent race, moving into third on lap four, behind Shinichi Itoh (Team HRC RC211V) and leader Ryo. From there he bided his time, watching and learning from the locals, before sneaking past Itoh into second at half distance. Then six laps from the flag he moved into the lead, resisting constant counter-attack pressure from Ryo to win by 1.5 seconds after setting the fastest lap of the race on the final lap.

“When I woke up this morning I wasn’t so happy to see that it was raining, like most riders, I’m sure,” said Rossi, who has now won 14 GPs for Honda. “We were only 14th in warm-up but I stayed calm and made sure I got a good start. It’s very important to stay with the leading group in these conditions, because only then can you understand where the limit really is. So I used this tactic and when I could overtake some riders I did it at the chicane. Then I was with the wild cards, Ryo and Itoh, who both know this track very well in the wet. When it was just me and Ryo I could see he was faster in some parts and I learned from that. Also, I have ridden the Superbike in the wet here, so that helped. This weekend has given me very much emotion, both good and bad, because I had two crashes in practice. It was a good race for sure, now I’m very happy!”

This crucial success was Rossi’s third consecutive Suzuka win, following last July’s Eight Hour victory (achieved aboard an SP-1 Superbike in partnership with American rider Colin Edwards) and last April’s Japanese GP victory aboard his NSR500 two-stroke, which gave Honda its 500th GP success.

Itoh also rode a brilliant GP, considering he hadn’t even raced in almost a year. The Japanese veteran, who was heavily involved in development of the RCV, slipped to fourth at the flag but was happy enough with his day’s work.

“I kept cool and I think I helped the team in gathering more data for the RCV,” he said. “I didn’t realise that Rossi was following me early in the race, he passed me just after I had big slide riding through a puddle exiting 130R.”

Alex Barros (West Honda Pons NSR500) finished sixth, the second two-stroke home, six seconds shy of Norick Abe (Yamaha) and seven second ahead of Nobuatsu Aoki (Proton KR). The Brazilian admitted he rode a wary race after sliding off in warm-up. “It took me a while to get into my rhythm because I didn’t want to take too many risks after my earlier fall,” said Barros who won last year’s sodden Italian GP. “It’s a shame because I was in with a chance in these conditions.”

Team-mate Loris Capirossi (West Honda Pons NSR500) was ninth in the crash-strewn race, just behind Regis Laconi (Aprilia). Second quickest in qualifying, Capirossi had a disastrous getaway from the grid, his NSR spinning its rear tyre and losing drive. “From that moment I was struggling with grip, just like at Valencia last year,” said the Italian, who had also fallen in warm-up. “The important thing was to finish and that was the total focus of my race.”

Daijiro Katoh (Fortuna Honda Gresini NSR500) suffered similar problems in his MotoGP debut. “I got a lot of wheelspin at the start, a lot of guys came past on the grid, so it was quite dangerous,” said the 250 champ. “I don’t like racing in the wet but today was worse than normal. I wasn’t getting any feeling from the bike, so my only hope was a finish.”

Tetsuya Harada (Pramac Honda NSR500) finished his first race for Honda a steady 11th. Rossi’s team-mate Tohru Ukawa (Repsol Honda Team RC211V) was going well in fifth place and chasing Itoh when he joined the many fallers just three laps from the end. “I’m really disappointed,” said the Japanese star. “I usually do well in the rain and I wanted to do well at home but I had a big highside and that was it. But I now know the RCV is a winner, now I want a podium finish!”

Jurgen van den Goorbergh (Kanemoto Racing Honda NSR500) also fell while making good progress in his first race on his NSR500.

Wild card riders Osamu Miyazaki (Yamaha) and Daisaku Sakai (Endurance/Toshio Asahi Honda RS250R/W) used their intimate wet-track knowledge of the Suzuka circuit to dominate the soaking 250 GP, 36-year-old Miyazaki coming out the winner after a spirited challenge by 20-year-old Sakai. Third went to Frenchman Randy de Puniet (Aprilia) whose two rivals for the final podium place Hiroshi Aoyama (Team Harc-Pro Honda RS250R/W) and Haruchika Aoki (Arie Molenaar Racing Honda RS250R/W) both crashed on the final lap.

Miyazaki, who started racing way back in 1984, beat Sakai by almost seven seconds. “I’m so happy,” grinned the Japanese rider who’d qualified eighth in the dry. “My bike and tyres were great for the conditions.”

Fellow All-Japan 250 battler Sakai, who’d started 12th on the grid, was delighted with his first GP podium finish, even though he’d had no sixth gear from half distance. “For sure it would’ve been very difficult for us to compete so well in the dry,” he said after scoring his first world points. “But with my rain tyres and my knowledge of the track we had an advantage over the visiting riders.”

Honda’s two factory NSR250 riders had a tougher start to their 2002 season. Emilio Alzamora (Fortuna Honda Gresini NSR250) completed the race a steadfast fourth, taking advantage of a number of tumbles ahead of him. The Spaniard beat Sebastian Porto (Yamaha) by a fraction after his other rival Fonsi Nieto (Aprilia) had fallen, remounting to take 13th. “I suffered from the cold but my determination got me close to a podium finish,” said Alzamora. “My bike was overgeared for the conditions but I stayed calm and got some points, so I’m proud of what I did today.”

Teammate Robby Rolfo (Fortuna Honda Gresini NSR250) ended the race eighth, climbing through the pack after a sluggish start. “I lost a lot of time when another rider fell in front of me on the first lap,” he said. “I came from last place to eighth, so I’m very happy with my race. I hope I’ll have better luck at the next race.”

Wild card rider Chojun Kameya (Burning Blood R.T Honda RS250R/W) also rode an excellent race in the treacherous conditions, finishing seventh.

The rain-lashed 125 GP featured the day’s largest number of tumbles, Arnaud Vincent (Aprilia) emerging from the chaos the winner. The Frenchman had been battling for third with Stefano Bianco (Aprilia) until the teenager tumbled out, then race-leader Jaroslav Hules (Aprilia) also fell and second-placed Steve Jenkner (Aprilia) pitted for a new rear tyre giving Vincent an apparently unassailable lead.

But over the next nine laps the group battling for second zeroed in on Vincent, Mirko Giansanti (Scot Racing Team Honda RS125R) closing to within 1.164 seconds at the chequered flag to take the runner-up spot by a fraction from Manuel Poggiali (Gilera) and veteran Nobby Ueda (Semprucci-Angaia Racing Honda RS125R), who ran off the track with three corners to go.

Giansanti may well have won if he’d been able to see his pit board. “I had no idea of my position, or who was in front of me,” said the Italian. “I just kept pushing as hard as I could, passing riders wherever I could.”

Vincent had been playing it safe until his pit board told him the others were closing. “I had a big gap at one point but I wanted to stay on the track, so I slowed down to be safe,” he said. “Then I noticed the others catching me, so I made sure I did just enough to stay ahead.”

First-time pole-sitter Daniel Pedrosa (Telefonica Movistar Jr Team Honda RS125R) led from the start but slumped to eighth in the race but was content with the points. “I’ve never been good in the wet, but my lap times were close to those of the rain specialists, so I’m satisfied with my result,” said the 16-year old.

Shuhei Aoyama (Showa Denk Honda RS125R) was the best-placed wild card in sixth spot. Masao Azuma (Liégeois Competition Honda RS125R), Jarno Muller (Pev-Spalt-Moto ADAC Sachsen Honda RS125R) and Andrea Ballerini (FCC-TSR Honda RS125R) were amongst the fallers, all uninjured.

The Grand Prix circus now heads to South Africa for the Welkom GP on April 19/20/21.


HONDA TEAM QUOTES:

500cc:

Valentino Rossi, Repsol Honda Team, 1st:
“That was a great result. I am so happy. I have had a difficult weekend with a crash on Friday and yesterday morning. We have hardly done any testing in the wet; I only did a few laps this morning. I got a good start in the race. I stayed with the leading group and tried to stay calm. I was happy to follow riders, watch the line and make a pass. Ryo was going well and I pass him near the end of the race. I am glad we do good racing. It is a good spectacle. This season will be close.”

Shinichi Itoh, Team HRC, 4th:
“I’m satisfied with today’s result. I want to thank Honda and the team for this result. I didn’t realise Rossi was following me and when he passed me I had a big slide, riding on a big water patch. Anyway I kept cool today and I think I helped the team in gathering data for the RCV. I also enjoyed the race very much.”

Alex Barros, West Honda Pons, 6th:
“Of course the race was completely different to the practice sessions and all the preparations we had done were of little use. It did not help either that I fell during warm-up. At the start of the race it took me some time to get into my rhythm without taking too many risks as I was wary of making any errors, but many other riders pulled away from me. It is a shame because I was in with a chance in these conditions, but at least a couple of the riders who finished in front of me are not competing in the World Championship and a lot of other riders crashed.”

Loris Capirossi, West Honda Pons, 9th:
“It was a very difficult race. The tyres lost grip on the starting grid and from that moment on it was practically impossible to stop the bike sliding off. It was really tough because I found it impossible to ride in these conditions as I had no grip in the front or rear. It was just like in Valencia last year where I had no feeling in the wet. In these conditions the most important thing was to finish and that is precisely what I concentrated on.”

Sito Pons, Team Manager, West Honda Pons:
“It has been a strange day where the climatic conditions have completely affected the result of the Grand Prix. I think that the true potential of the team has not been seen here and we have not been able to see the fruits of the excellent work that we have put in during the winter, and that was so evident in practice sessions. However, there are two positive things to come out of the race: on the one hand, we are second in the Team Championship and on the other, some riders who finished ahead of or riders will not be competing in the World Championship.”

DAIJIRO KATOH, Fortuna Honda Gresini, 10th:
“When I opened the throttle on the start line the rear tyre just spun up, I lost many places in a dangerous situation. I don’t like racing in the wet but today was worse than normal. I had no feeling from the bike and could only hope to finish the race.”

FAUSTO GRESINI, team manager
“For us it was a difficult day, two of our three riders were debuting their bikes in the rain. For Katoh it was more difficult because it was his first time on the 500 with wet tyres at the very technical Suzuka circuit, in front of his home fans. At the start I was anxious for him when the bike started sliding and the other riders scraped past, it was a good result for him to finish. In any case, we earned a few points.”

Tetsuya Harada, Pramac Honda Racing Team, 11th:
“It was a very difficult race, completely different from what we had prepared in the last days of practice. It was the first time that I found myself riding my Honda NSR500 on a wet track and this made the race even more difficult. Until the track was completely covered by rain water, I was able to ride pretty well but when it began to dry up, even though it was still wet, I encountered several difficulties. Anyway, I gained a few points and for this I am satisfied. Another important thing I would like to say is that the tyres worked well on the wet track. “

TOHRU UKAWA, Repsol Honda Team: DNF
“I am really disappointed. I have had good times in testing and I usually do well in the wet. The bike felt good this morning in wet practice and I wanted to do well in front of my home supporters. I had a big high-side and that was it. I have a little strain but nothing more. I must be positive and look forward to 15 more races in the championship. The bike is now a winner and I want to see the podium!”

MotoGP WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP POSITIONS:
1. Rossi 25
2. Ryo 20
3. Checa 16
4. Itoh 13
5. Abe 11
6. Barros 10
7. Aoki 9
8. Laconi 8
9. Capirossi 7
10. Katoh 6
11. Harada 5
12. Hopkins 4.

Copyright 2002, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Josh Hayes underwent four hours of surgery on his left hand last night and will be out for at least six weeks, according to his Team Valvoline EMGO Suzuki mechanic, Barry McMahan.

Hayes crashed in Supersport practice Saturday morning after hitting a painted curb in the California Speedway infield. It was misting at the time.

The injury means that Hayes will miss a scheduled three-day test at Road Atlanta in mid-April as well as the Sears Point AMA National at the beginning of May.

The team is considering replacing Hayes in AMA Formula Xtreme for the Sears Point event.

Copyright 2002, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

By Glenn LeSanto

Troy Bayliss made WSBK history at Kyalami by winning his sixth race in succession. He overcame a very strong challenge from Haga early in the race, one that appeared to involve the use of the elbows from the fiery Japanese rider, to win the race by over two seconds from his teammate Ruben Xaus.

Bayliss is the first rider in the 15 year history of the series to win six races on the trot. The frustration of the other riders is beginning to show as Bayliss appears invincible. But he didn’t have it all his own way in the race, he had to deal with Haga first and the two were locked in a crazy battle for the first few laps that saw them both pull some awesome passes. But Bayliss prevailed and once ahead he never looked back.

Xaus was impressive as he carved through the field from his 11th on the grid. He picked off the other riders one by one, no mean feat as those ‘other riders’ included Edwards, Haga, Hodgson and Bostrom.

Bostrom looked strong in the early laps but his challenge faded and he finished fifth. Haga faded even more, going back to sixth. Late in the race it looked like Hodsgon might catch third place man Edwards, but Edwards had just enough left in the bag to hold him off to claim third place.

“I thought it was Colin Edwards behind me but then I looked round and saw that it was Ruben Xaus,” said Bayliss. “He’s a real bulldog and doesn’t give up easily so I had to push hard.

“Six race wins is unbelievable, continued Bayliss. “After testing at the three circuits we expected to do well but this is unbelievable. I’d like to take the weekend off instead of going to Sugo and just go to Monza. If I was allowed I would just stay at home and train instead. Sugo hasn’t been kind to me in the past but if it’s another two wins from two races I’ll take it, but if it’s two 15th places I’ll take that instead.”

Asked about Haga’s elbow incident at the start of the race, Bayliss said, “Haga seems to have a problem with me winning all these races, he doesn’t want anyone to pass him.”

“I am very happy with the result after starting from the third row,” said Xaus. “I had a really shit Superpole again, I need to work out how to do that properly. We changed the rear sprocket in the last race to try and make it smoother through the corners, it worked. I caught Troy but I just couldn’t pass him. He seemed to wait for me and then he was just gone. The Michelin tyres were working well as you can see, all three riders on the podium are Michelin yet again. It was difficult to pass Haga, but even harder to pass Bayliss. He needs to give up racing, please! I hope I am riding as well as he is when I am 33!”

“I got detached from the leaders and that made it hard,” said Edwards. “I made some changes from the first race and that made us faster but unfortunately Bayliss and Xaus got faster still. I can’t wait for Sugo, at least there will be some wild card riders to try and keep this bastard off the podium (points to Bayliss and laughs). It will be tough but maybe the wild cards can slow Troy’s momentum!”

Race 2 results/ 25 laps

1. Troy Bayliss (Infostrada Ducati), 42:57.014

2. Ruben Xaus (Infostrada Ducati), 42:59.687

3. Colin Edwards (Castrol Honda), 43:03.404

4. Neil Hodgson (HM Plant Ducati), 43:03.788

5. Ben Bostrom (L&M Ducati), 43:06.368

6. Noriyuki Haga (Playstation 2 Aprilia), 43:08.997

7. Hitoyasu Izutsu (FUCHS Kawasaki), 43:24.674

8. James Toseland (HM Plant Ducati), 43:25.890

9. Chris Walker (FUCHS Kawasaki), 43:37.795

10. Juan Borja (Ducati), 43:40.269

Fastest Lap: Noriyuki Haga (Aprilia) 1:42.178 on lap 3 (New Lap Record)

2002 World Superbike championship points (after 3 of 13 rounds)
1. T Bayliss 150
2. C Edwards 105
3. R Xaus 79
4. B Bostrom 77
5. N Hodgson 96
6. N Haga 60
7. H Izutsu 47
9. J Toseland 45
10. C Walker 44


More, from Bayliss publicist Steve Reeves:

TROY BAYLISS Racing – Media Information
For immediate release
Sunday, 7 April 2002

Round 3, 2002 Superbike World Championship
Kyalami Circuit, South Africa
Race report

BAYLISS CREATES NEW RECORD WITH DOUBLE VICTORY IN SOUTH AFRICA

Kyalami, South Africa: – Defending World Superbike Champion, Australian Troy Bayliss, has continued his blistering start to the 2002 Superbike World Championship by winning both of today’s 25-lap races at the Kyalami circuit in South Africa and in the process wrote his name into the SWC record books by winning six consecutive SWC races.

No other rider in the fifteen-year history of the SWC has won more than five consecutive races, with the previous mark held by multiple World Superbike Champion Carl Fogarty and American Ben Bostrom. His sixth win today has also extended the record for the number of consecutive race wins that any rider has scored to start a SWC season.

Bayliss had to overcome a number of fierce challenges in the opening laps of both races and even a clash of fairings and elbows with Aprilia’s Noriyuki Haga in the opening stages of race two. In the end it was a combination of his own physical fitness and the performance of his Michelin shod Infostrada Ducati 998R that took him to victory over American Castrol Honda rider Colin Edwards by 4.119-seconds in race one and then a strong challenge from his teammate Ruben Xaus in race two, before taking his sixth win of the season by 2.673-seconds.

“The first race was crazy in the opening laps,” said Bayliss, who now has a total of fourteen SWC race wins to his credit. “I just sat back a little and watched Nori (Haga) and Ben (Bostrom) go at it. I gave them a few laps to settle down and then decided it was time to get going. From that point I just put my head down and did my long run of laps as I do in practice. I made a mistake at the chicane on about lap fifteen and that cost me over a second. I went in a bit deeper than I normally do and rather than try and turn it in, I ran it wide. The next time around my pit board showed that Colin (Edwards) had closed the gap, so I just put my head down again and built up the gap.

“As for the second race, it was just unbelievable to get the win and get a new record at the same time,” Bayliss added. “I’m not one for records really, I just like to win races. I did enjoy the second race. The pace was a lot faster and Ruben gave me hurry up in the middle stages, but I was then able to settle and do a lot of laps in the closing stages that I was happy with. The Michelin tyres, the Infostrada Ducati and the whole team did a great job here this weekend.”

The Superbike World Championship heads to the Sugo circuit in Japan in two weeks time (20 – 21 April) for round four of the championship, presenting Bayliss with what could be his toughest competition of the year so far. The Japanese ‘wild card’ entries do extremely well at their home round, having won the last twelve SWC races. The last non-Japanese rider to win in Japan was Australian Troy Corser in 1996. For Bayliss, the two visits he has had their have brought little joy for him.

“All I can say about the next round in Japan is that if someone puts some money on me winning the double there, then they’ve got rocks in their head. I haven’t had the best of results there in the past two years, but for sure I’ll be there trying my best as always.”

Today’s double race victory gives Bayliss a total of 150 championship points, 45 clear of Edwards who finished the day with a second and third behind the Australian. After starting from eleventh on the grid, Xaus was the big mover recording a third and second, taking him to third overall in the championship with 79 points, two clear of American L&M Ducati rider Ben Bostrom who completed the day with a fourth and fifth.