From a press release issued by Honda Racing:

HONDA RACING INFORMATION

HRC Winter Test Sepang, January 22, 2003.

HRC Complete Successful Three Day Sepang Test Session

The HRC RC211V winter test at Sepang, Malaysia, ended on a high note with all teams and riders satisfied with the results and the data logged for future reference. Overnight rain lingered at the 5.548km circuit during the morning of the final day but by 13.30. the track was dry enough for the riders to get in track time in good conditions.

Most riders spent the afternoon testing tyres for their 2003 suppliers. The Repsol Honda team of Valentino Rossi and Nicky Hayden pronounced themselves satisfied at the end of the day. Rossi happy with the amount of technical set up and tyre testing work he completed, Hayden happy with the progress he has made to date.

Valentino Rossi: “A good three days and for me the best part is to understand the problems we have had in braking. We got some good settings yesterday and today we have found some good Michelin tyres. The grip on the edge has always been a problem but today we have the tyres and the settings to get good grip on the edge. The engine and chassis feel strong and now we understand the braking better it is possible to make a good time.”

Nicky Hayden: “I’ve gotta be pretty pleased with the tests here. It’s an awesome place and although it’s been hard learning the track on the new bike – I’ve leaned heaps and the important thing is I’ve stayed upright and the times are getting faster. Things seemed to get better when we set most of the bike to standard settings and I could concentrate on the tyres and just riding the bike better. I’d like to be able to go harder into the turns. It’s a question of confidence really. I know I can be far harder on this bike than I could be on my VTR. I’m enjoying it. I’m sure it’ll come!”

Fausto Gresini’s Telefonica MoviStar Honda squad is in much the same position as their rivals at Repsol Honda. Team leader Daijiro Kato spent the day evaluating tyres for Michelin while new teammate Sete Gibernau continued to learn all he could about the RCV.

Daijiro Kato: “I wanted to go for a good time in the last hour, but I still had to work on four sets of new Michelin tyres, both rear and front pairs. When I got to the last set of tyres I was going to go for it, and try and put in a quick lap, but this last pair weren’t as good as the previous ones. Despite this, we did find out some good tyres, which of course is the most important thing. Valentino and Max were very quick, but I am happy with my performance over the past three days. I was setting constantly fast times and that is the best way to be. I get the brand new bike in a month’s time, but I don’t think it will be radically different, and as things are going well with the New parts we have tested here, I am excited about getting on it.”

Sete Gibernau: “It has been a perfect three days for me personally, and I could have stayed on longer to lower my time like all the other riders did, but we stopped early because the team felt we had accomplished everything we had set out to do. I feel that despite this morning’s delay, and Monday afternoon’s washout, that I have put in enough laps here, we were regularly doing times in the mid-fours, and that was the objective really. We have lots more time to get quicker and there is no need to rush into it, I felt more comfortable every time I was on the bike, and now look forward to the next test here in a month’s time.”

New boy at Honda Pons, Tohru Ukawa, was another satisfied with his trip to Sepang. Ukawa has been involved with testing the RC211V from the start of the project and feels he is ready for to test the 2003 version of the machine.

Tohru Ukawa: “I’m reasonably happy with my time at the end of this test, but I think it could maybe have been a little better. Anyway, the important thing is that we have done the things we needed to and we can now look forward to getting the new machine here in February and beginning work on that. Today I focused on tyre testing, when we eventually got out onto the track, and I ended up with a good compound which offered both good balance and grip, so that was pleasing. These have been a good three days with the team, as I improved with every lap on the bike.”

Max Biaggi settled on a good set up for his RCV and towards the end of the day began to increase his pace, matching or bettering the times set by his fellow Honda rides at Sepang.

Max Biaggi: “I can look back on this test and say it was very positive. Two and a half months without riding a motorcycle. But within 10 laps of riding this bike I felt comfortable, at the end of the test I felt quite good about it. Today we finalised the set up and covered a lot of kilometers. Michelin asked us to do an endurance test with the tyres. The test went well, Michelin are doing a great job for us for 2003. The last 10 minutes of the test I pushed hard looking for the limit. I got close but I didn’t want to make a mistake on the first test with the bike. The team and I are beginning to understand each other and I feel comfortable. We now have one month before we test again. I will keep my concentration, I want to ride the bike again as soon as possible. I’m having a lot of fun with it!”

As soon as conditions permitted the Pramac Honda Team took to the track on the final day concentrating their efforts on tyre testing for Bridgestone. Makoto Tamada and Shinichi Itoh completed a full afternoon of testing confirming the data already collected and testing several sets of tyre combinations.

Makoto Tamada: “I’m pleased with these three days of tests, even though I still haven’t found the perfect set-up for my bike. I’m not worried about it though, because I know my potential and these tests helped me get a better feeling for the bike and adapt it to my aggressive style of braking. We’ve got lots of information from these tests that will help us improve even further in the next sessions.”

Shinichi Itoh: “I tried out many different tyres and different solutions to get a good idea about everything we need to analyse. I think I’ve been able to do a good job, and we’ve sure got a huge amount of data. I think we’ll soon be able to bridge the gap between us and the leaders.”

Testing times Sepang January 22, 2003.

Valentino Rossi, ITA Repsol Honda, 2:02.65, 55 laps

Max Biaggi, ITA Pramac Honda Team, 2:02.8, 48 laps

Tohru Ukawa, JPN Honda Pons, 2:03.4

Daijiro Kato, JPN, Telefonica MoviStar Honda, 2:03.7

Sete Gibernau, SPA Telefonica MoviStar Honda, 2:04.3

Nicky Hayden, USA Repsol Honda, 2:05.47, 60 laps

Makoto Tamada, JPN Pramac Honda Team, 2:06.5, 30 laps

Shinichi Itoh, JPN HRC Honda, 2:06.5, 31 laps

Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

By David Swarts with files from Bob Dragich

Kawasaki Road Racing’s Eric Bostrom set the fastest lap time Wednesday during AMA team testing at Laguna Seca in Monterey, California. Bostrom rode his 750cc ZX-7RR around the 2.2-mile road course in 1:26.215 for the fastest time thus far in the three-day test. Bostrom’s new 770cc engine suffered a mechanical problem of some sort, but Team Manager Michael Preston labeled the problem a “hiccup” and said the engine should be back in service on Thursday.

Yamaha’s Jamie Hacking continued to set the standard for Supersport riders, lapping at 1:28.808, faster than Eric Bostrom’s Supersport lap record time of 1:28.904 from 2001.

No riders crashed Wednesday, but Tommy Hayden left the track early, after making a few laps, to seek a medical evaluation by Dr. Arthur Ting, according to Hayden’s Crew Chief Joey Lombardo. Details regarding what problems or injuries Hayden was concerned with were not available.

The day was relatively uneventful with riders making laps until approximately 4:30 p.m. local time when light sprinkles called for an early end to the on-track activities. Weather forecasts call for a strong chance of rain on Thursday.

Wednesday’s Best Lap Times, Provided By AMA Pro Racing Timing & Scoring:

1. Eric Bostrom, Kawasaki ZX-7RR (750cc), 1:26.215
2. Anthony Gobert, Ducati 998RS, 1:26.471
3. Miguel Duhamel, Honda RC51, 1:26.891
4. Eric Bostrom, Kawasaki ZX-7RR (770cc), 1:27.107
5. Ben Bostrom, Honda RC51, 1:27.312
6. Kurtis Roberts, Honda RC51, 1:27.553
7. Larry Pegram, Ducati 998RS, 1:27.820
8. Jake Zemke, Honda CBR954RR, 1:28.132
9. Jamie Hacking, Yamaha YZF-R6, 1:28.808
10. Damon Buckmaster, Yamaha YZF-R6, 1:29.236
11. Miguel Duhamel, Honda CBR600RR, 1:29.342
12. Jake Zemke, Honda CBR600RR, 1:29.455
13. Aaron Gobert, Yamaha YZF-R6, 1:29.675
14. Jason DiSalvo, Yamaha YZF-R6, 1:29.945
15. Alex Gobert, Honda CBR600RR, 1:30.268
16. Roger Lee Hayden, Honda CBR600RR, 1:30.770
17. Tony Meiring, Kawasaki ZX-6RR, 1:31.732
18. Tommy Hayden, Kawasaki ZX-6RR, 1:32.488

Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc. Superbike World Champion Colin Edwards II and wife Alyssia had a daughter, Gracie Kayte Edwards, January 22 in Conroe, Texas. Racers Debi Venega and Leo Venega had a daughter, Abby Rose Venega, January 21 in Miami, Florida. WMRRA racer John Walsh and wife Erika had a son, Trevor Kawika Walsh, January 19 in Seattle, Washington. (To submit birth notices, e-mail name of mother and father, name of baby, date of birth, city of birth and the connection of one or both parents to motorcycle road racing, i.e., racer, tuner, sponsor, vendor, etc.)

From a press release issued by Fortuna Yamaha:

FORTUNA YAMAHA TEAM LEAVE JEREZ DISAPPOINTED WITH SPANISH WEATHER

The heavy downpours that have plagued the Fortuna Yamaha Team throughout their first test of 2003 continued today. The track in Jerez, Spain was so rain-soaked that there was no opportunity for riders Carlos Checa and Marco Melandri to venture out on their YZR-M1s.

“We have essentially wasted two testing days but now we will have a chance to go to Valencia”, said Team Director Davide Brivio. “At least we will return to Jerez for the IRTA test in February. I think we will have a chance to do some work then. Early feedback is important in winter but there is nothing we can do. Now we will evaluate whether we are able to slightly modify our testing plans before the first GP.”

The Fortuna Yamaha Team will test in Valencia, Spain on 25, 26 and 27 January.

From a press release issued by Kawasaki:

KAWASAKI NAMES TOM ORBE TO NEW V.P. MARKETING POSITION

New addition brings extensive automotive industry experience from Nissan and Ford

IRVINE, Calif. (Jan. 22, 2003)—Kawasaki Motors Corp., U.S.A. today announced the addition of longtime automotive industry marketer, Tom Orbe, to its staff. Orbe joins Kawasaki as vice president, marketing and will, through an intermediate transition period, report to Bob Shepard, executive vice president, marketing group.

Most recently, Orbe was CEO and president of Marel, LLC, a Newport Beach-based management and marketing consulting organization. From 1982 to 2001, he held numerous positions with Nissan Motor Corporation U.S.A., most recently as vice president and general manager of the Infiniti Division. He also served as vice president of marketing with responsibility for both Nissan and Infiniti brand advertising, promotions, research, and pricing.

Orbe began his automotive career with Ford Motor Company, where he held several marketing and business management posts with both Lincoln-Mercury and the Ford Division.

He holds a Master of Business Administration with an emphasis in marketing/management from Monmouth University, and a Bachelor of Science, Marketing from Chaminade University.

From a press release issued by Kawasaki:

MCCOY RECOVERING – PITT PUSHING AHEAD

Phillip Island/AUS ­ Wednesday, January 22nd, 2003: After a heavy fall off his Fuchs Kawasaki Ninja ZX-RR on the first day of testing in Phillip Island, Australian Garry McCoy took the second day off in order to recover from heavy bruising and a mild concussion. Even though he didn’t feel well enough to ride, McCoy showed up at the race track in the afternoon to visit his Kawasaki Racing Team and to observe the preparations of his bike with a new chassis that finally had been released by the Melbourne customs authorities. Team-mate Andrew Pitt and test riders Akira Yanagawa and Alex Hofmann enjoyed a mainly sunny day with easing winds, and all three of them further improved their lap times.

Garry McCoy (did not ride):
“With concussion, you normally need two days of rest, and probably seven days without any sporting activities, which is why I preferred not to ride today. I do feel a little bit better, but obviously not 100 per cent, and after spending the afternoon in the paddock, I’m now going back to my hotel room. I hope to have another good night’s sleep, and we’ll see how I feel tomorrow. If I don’t feel too bad, I want to go out there and do a few laps, just to have confidence in riding the bike again. The next test is about a month away, and I would like to leave thinking about other things than just this crash. It’s the first time in my life that I have concussion, and I just want to forget about it and do some laps, even if I go slow. The other thing is that the new chassis that I wanted to use here didn’t arrive until lunchtime today anyway. Not riding gave the guys in my team a bit of extra time to get the bike fully prepared for tomorrow!”

Andrew Pitt (82 laps ­ best time in 1:33.70):
“The rear swing arm on my bike started to cause some sort of strange vibration, so we put a new one in for the afternoon, and the bike immediately felt better again. We also tried some tyres, and the ones that didn’t have that much grip were good fun, because they allowed me to slide and smoke some rubber on the exit of the fast last left-hand corner. But we also found a tyre that was working quite well, and as we made some more good steps with the set-up of the bike, I’m pretty happy. In the morning, I did my fastest lap in 1:33.7, which I couldn’t improve in the afternoon only because we were trying so many things. I¹ll have another go at a better time tomorrow morning!”

Akira Yanagawa (56 laps ­ best time in 1:33.86):
“My wife and my two children arrived today, and having my family around seems to make me faster ­ almost by another second! I did my best lap time on race tyres, because when I went out with a softer compound, it caused a small problem with the rear end pumping. This tyre has more grip for sure, but the pumping slowed me down. Today we also tried another gearbox set-up, which made the bike easier to ride. But we still have the rear end pumping and a problem with the injection system to fix. It’s not even easy to pin-point what was wrong with it, because the response when opening the throttle seemed to change all the time. We need to have a good look at our data to work it all out!”

Alex Hofmann (81 laps ­ best time in 1:35.22):
“We did a lot of tyre testing again, but the Dunlop container still seems to be full! There are a lot of details that we find here and there, and we are making steady progress. I’m happy because my lap time came down once again. I’m only one and a half seconds behind the other guys, which is certainly not bad with my older generation bike. I feel good on this track, and my only problem is that every time I go out, I have to adjust to different circumstances. But that’s what tyre testing is all about, and I keep learning a lot!”

Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

By David Swarts

Best Lap Times Compiled From Team Sources Following Recent Tests:

1. Valentino Rossi, Honda RC211V, 2:02.65
2. Max Biaggi, Honda RC211V, 2:02.8
3. Tohru Ukawa, Honda RC211V, 2:03.4
4. Daijiro Kato, Honda RC211V, 2:03.7
5. Loris Capirossi, Ducati Desmosedici, 2:03.9
6. Troy Bayliss, Ducati Desmosedici, 2:04.0
7. Sete Gibernau, Honda RC211V, 2:04.3
8. Kenny Roberts, Suzuki GSV-R, 2:05.1
9. John Hopkins, Suzuki GSV-R, 2:05.46
10. Nicky Hayden, Honda RC211V, 2:05.47
11. Shinichi Itoh, Honda RC211V, 2:05.6
12. Andrew Pitt, Kawasaki ZX-RR, 2:06.31
13. Garry McCoy, Kawasaki ZX-RR, 2:06.40
14. Makoto Tamada, Honda RC211V, 2:06.5
15. Alex Hofmann, Kawasaki ZX-RR, 2:06.62
16. Akira Yanagawa, Kawasaki ZX-RR, 2:06.73

2002 MotoGP Pole Position: Barros, Honda RC211V, 2:04.487

2002 MotoGP Circuit Best Lap: Barros, Honda RC211V, 2:04.376

2002 Race Fastest Lap: Max Biaggi, Yamaha YZR-M1, 2:04.925

From a press release:

Florida racer Marco Martinez is proud to announce the grand opening of Champion Motorcycle, a full service, high performance bike shop. Champion Motorcycle will provide a variety of services to include full service and repairs to cruisers, street, and race bikes, and sales of parts and accessories and used motorcycles. The shop will focus on high performance engine building and dyno tuning.

Champion Motorcycle is located at 11850 South State Road 84, Suites A11-A12, Davie, Florida, 33325, and will be open Monday through Friday from 9:00 am – 7:00 pm, and Saturdays from 10:00 am – 5:00 pm. The phone number is 954 236-5559, and the website address is championmotorcycle.com.

From a press release issued by MonsterMob Ducati:

TEAM MONSTERMOB TAKE TO THE TRACK

MonsterMob Ducati riders Shane Byrne and Stuart Easton finally got their hands on the Ducati machinery that they will contest their respective 2003 British Championships aboard, when they completed a successful two-day test at Valencia last weekend.

The 26-year-old Byrne was immediately impressed by the pair of brand new Ducati 998FO2 racebikes, which have been specially built for him at the Bologna factory over the winter, and despite treating the test primarily as a familiarisation exercise, the Isle of Sheppey rider was happy with his progress:

“It was a good test and ideal because it was at a circuit I’d never ridden at so I had nothing to compare it to. It was good to start working with the team and we tried a few different settings so I wasn’t particularly bothered about lap times. We ended up combining our ideas and we got a setting somewhere near to the one I want which is positive. I just can’t wait to get out on the bike again as I’m gagging to have another go!” declared ‘Shakey.’

Byrne was gradually upping the pace towards the end of the first day but weather conditions deteriorated on day two meaning he couldn’t go faster but the progress that was made was invaluable.

Meanwhile, defending Supersport champion Stuart Easton took to the reigns of his revamped 748 Ducati and was also on the pace at the Spanish circuit.

The 18-year-old Scot mixed it with a number of world Supersport regulars as he increased the pace but ended up sliding off his machine in the latter stages, luckily without injury:

“It was good to get back out on the bike again although I was disappointed to crash. I was just trying a little too hard and I lost the front” said the Hawick rider.

From a press release issued by Ducati Corse:

DUCATI MARLBORO TEAM – PRESS INFORMATION
SEPANG (Malaysia)
22 January 2003

SEPANG TESTING CONCLUDES POSITIVELY FOR DUCATI
WITH IMPROVEMENTS FOR BOTH CAPIROSSI (2:03.9) AND BAYLISS (2:04.0)

The third and final day of testing at Malaysia’s Sepang circuit for the Ducati Marlboro Team was conditioned by the rain that had fallen overnight. As a result the final session began late morning, with high temperatures (air 30°C / track 40° C) and high humidity.

Capirossi and Bayliss immediately went out onto the track as soon as conditions allowed in order to complete the Desmosedici work schedule. Today mainly revolved around the accumulation of data and information for a bike that is still in its development phase and, for Bayliss in particular, who has never seen many of the circuits on the MotoGP calendar. This was the first appearance at Sepang for the Desmosedici, and losing half a day due to rain unfortunately means the loss of vital track time.

The tests however concluded with a positive balance sheet and evident satisfaction on the faces of the entire Ducati Marlboro Team.

“Three days of tests in an extreme climate provided us with useful information for the development of the engine and the bike” declared Ducati Corse Technical Director Filippo Preziosi. “In particular we obtained positive results regarding the engine reliability with high water temperatures. After this new experience, we can now continue with the development of the bike, trying to define the best settings for each type of circuit, but above all testing different solutions for the fundamental parts of the bike such as the frame, the swing-arm, the steering yoke and ergonomic components. We can only be satisfied with the times obtained as well as the information provided. Thanks to the professionalism demonstrated by Troy and Loris in giving feedback on the components being tested, we are making major progress in the development of this project.”

Both riders succeeded in improving their times on this final day of testing, in particular Troy Bayliss, who despite never having seen the circuit before, ended the test with a time of 2:04.0, improving his first day’s time by 2.5 seconds. Loris Capirossi was also on the pace, setting a 2:03.9 (the 2002 GP pole time was 2:04.4). The times recorded confirm the bike’s constant improvement and the positive feeling established by both riders with the Italian bike.

“I’m really happy with the tests and in particular with today’s results” declared Troy Bayliss. “I can see a constant improvement and being quicker than the first day by 2.5 seconds is confirmation of that. I’m establishing an excellent feeling with the bike, thanks also to a series of minor modifications to the set-up and riding position. There are still a lot of things to improve and I am sure than we can go even quicker. I can’t wait to go to Jerez to continue the development work. As well as the circuit, I’ve never been in such torrid heat before, you have to be really fit to race in these conditions.”

“If we consider that we have never been to the circuit before and had no reference data, the results are much better than expected” declared Loris at the end of the session. “We didn’t come here to set quick times, that would have been asking too much. Nevertheless we were able to work a lot on the set-up and try out different tyres and configurations. We still have a few traction problems with the tight curves on this track, but we are on the right path. We’re making constant progress and a couple more days testing would have given us the chance of doing a fantastic job. To sum up, the test was important and we obtained a lot of information. We are up there with the rest and we have a lot of potential to improve, I can see it’s going to be a great championship.”