From a press release issued by HMC Ducati:

Race 2 Report: AMA Chevy Trucks Superbike Round 6

Date: June 9, 2002

Circuit: Road America, Elkhart Lake WI

HMC Ducati rider Doug Chandler finished Road America’s fast and furious second race in sixth position, latching on to the front pack from the start where he stayed until a lack of grip slowed his pace. The race was restarted after a delay with the starting light caused confusion with the riders.


The heat forced riders to concentrate on tire preservation for the early stages of the race and Chandler feels he left it a little too late to step up the pace.


“I should have tried to get by Mat (Mladin) sooner,” said Chandler. “It wasn’t until Aaron (Yates) came through that I knew it was time to really go. Once I did try to go it seemed like I didn’t have the right grip. The rear tire was really spinning and sliding, causing me to lose time coming out of the corners. Yesterday we had chatter problems but the grip wasn’t so bad. Today the bike was feeling good but we didn’t have any grip. I don’t know if we got tricked chasing the chatter problem or short changed ourselves as far as the set-up went.


The bike felt good and apart from the chatter yesterday the set-up was perfect. Early on, when the bike had more grip, I could really make time through the Carousel and places where I had a tough time yesterday, but then it seemed like the tire really started to slip and I couldn’t do anything.”



From a press release, issued by Austin/Bleu Bayou Ducati:

Picotte and Austin/Bleu Bayou Ducati Nab Dual Sevenths at Road America

Picotte Fifth in AMA Superbike Points

Austin/Bleu Bayou Ducati racer Pascal Picotte finished seventh in both Road America US Superbike rounds held this weekend in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin. The Canadian rider was cheered on by many of his countrymen who came south of the border to root for Pascal in beautiful weather as he took on the AMA Superbike stars. Fellow Canadian Miguel DuHamel won both races for Honda.

While he finished the same seventh place in both races, Sunday’s event was much more competitive. The Austin/Bleu Bayou team, only a Ducati squad for a mere few months, set up the 998RS to Pascal’s liking for the four mile lap at the famed Road America circuit.

“Actually, today was much better than yesterday,” Pascal said. “We didn’t improve much as far as position in the race, but we really found some things that will help us for the rest of the season. The Michelin tire we picked worked all the way to the end. The suspension worked better, and the brakes were good.”

The only problem Pascal had in the race was an intermittent electric shifter. When he turned it off and began shifting manually halfway through the race, his pace picked up dramatically and he turned his fastest laps of the weekend.

“I saw Mat Mladin in front of me and started running him down,” Pascal said. “I closed the gap on Jamie (Hacking), then passed Jamie. If I’d have figured out to turn off the electric shifter a little earlier, I might have had something for Doug (Chandler).”

Pascal thanked his team for all their hard work. “Everyone worked hard all weekend long to make the bike better and improve race set-up. I’m happy. I know we’ll be a much tougher rival for the next race at Brainerd.”


From a press release issued by American Honda:

Honda Storms Wisconsin
Weather: 25 degrees, Sunny
Crowd: 25,000

American Honda’s Miguel DuHamel won both legs of the AMA Superbike double-header at Road Atlanta in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin, scoring his first career double and extending his Superbike win record. Teammate Nicky Hayden fought him valiantly on Sunday, coming up just 0.069 seconds short after a fourth place finish on Saturday. The weekend’s tally of points allowed Hayden to stretch his championship points advantage to 40 over challenger Eric Bostrom, with six rounds of the championship remaining.

DuHamel’s win on Saturday was his first in nearly two years, and his first at the Road America circuit since 1995. More importantly, it added to his career total of 24 Superbike wins, the most by far of any rider. Sunday made it 25, but it was hard fought. He and Hayden took turns leading, the power of the Honda RC-51 unmatched on one of the longest straightaways in AMA Superbike racing. The wily 35-year-old DuHamel, who considerably upped the race pace on Sunday, used a bold move on the inside of his teammate halfway into the final lap around the four-mile circuit in the woods of Wisconsin to take over the lead. Hayden, 20, counter-attacked, making a strong run to the checkered flag, only to lose out by inches.

DuHamel also had his way on Saturday, leading a four-rider pack into the final corner and powering to victory. Hayden was in his draft, but had to check up at the last minute and was forced wide. By the time he was able to get back on the power, he was down in a shadow fourth place, only 0.457 seconds behind DuHamel.

Erion Racing’s Mike Hale earned his first podium in the Formula Xtreme race, riding his Honda CR-954 to second behind race winner Jason Pridmore (Suzuki).

Bruce Transportation Group’s Jake Zemke came fourth in the Pro Honda Oils Supersport race. Zemke also made his Superbike debut, riding the Honda RC-51 of the injured Kurtis Roberts. After a tentative start on Saturday, Zemke finished a strong fifth on Saturday. Roberts is expected back for the next race, at Brainerd, Minnesota, in three weeks time.

Miguel DuHamel, Day One, First Place Nicky (Hayden), he just went really strong in the last corner on the outside of me trying to get me because he knew I was going to protect the inside and go tight, which I did. Then he just shot on the outside and the I saw on the left side of my eye, I’m like, ‘Whoa, if he turns that thing around he’s going to be coming pretty quick.’ But I think he had trouble turning it around. And there was a couple of lapped riders and I split those guys coming up to start-finish and by then with the Honda RC-51 I knew nobody was going to come by. The only guy that had the chance was pretty much Nicky and he blew it in that last corner and he made a mistake and it worked out good.

Nicky Hayden, Day One, Fourth Place
The last corner, going in there, Miguel (DuHamel) broke pretty early and I had to chuck it to the left to avoid from hitting him and by the time I was able to get on the brakes I was way too high. I tipped it in and kind of just kind of lost the drive. I was right there, but didn’t really have anything special for him. The last lap he gave me a couple of opportunities and I didn’t capitalize on them. It’s a little bit frustrating to be right there and end up fourth, especially when I had such a good shot to win.

Miguel DuHamel, Day Two, First Place
Yesterday everybody was just checking everybody out. It wasn’t all out racing. It was like, who’s got what? At least from my part. I was trying to not let anybody break away. I was a little fearful of Eric (Bostrom) and Nicky. When they get the lead they can put their head down and go, they were fastest in qualifying. Yesterday was playing like that. Today I knew it was going to be just go. We didn’t have the bike to do that yesterday.

Nicky Hayden, Day Two, Second Place
We came in there into turn five on the brakes and I got in there pretty good and Miguel got on the inside of me. I was going to go ahead and lean it in and I heard his tire, he was on the brakes real hard, you could hear it skipping across the ground and I kind of stood it up. Didn’t want to take us out. Stood it up gave him a little bit of room and thought I might try to square him up, going down into Canada Corner, whish is really the last place to pass because I didn’t think I could get him up the front straightaway. Came up on a lapper on the outside and Miguel went to the inside so there wasn’t really a whole lot of options to go.



Chuckie Is Big Cheese At Road America

Studying the AMA 250cc GP schedule before the season began, Team Stargel Aprilia felt that the high speed straightaways and flowing corners of Road America would be well suited to their Aprilia RSV250. With some flawless riding from Chuck Sorensen, this theory proved to be true.

As has been the case of every track they travel to this year, Sorensen had logged no time at Road America on the Aprilia. Thursday and Friday’s
practice sessions were vitally important as the team tried various engine and chassis combinations to make the motorcycle as effective as possible. With every practice session, the Aprilia performed better, lap times came down,
and Sorensen gained confidence. As an added incentive, longtime rival, Rich Oliver, was turning record setting lap times in Saturday’s practice and qualifying sessions.

The Team Stargel Aprilia crew, performed their now customary Saturday late night R&D session in an effort to extract even more performance from their motorcycle. Their labor bore fruit Sunday morning, when Sorensen bettered his qualifying time and moved to the top of the time sheets for the first time during the week.

The race proved to be a masterful performance by Sorensen. The San Jose, California rider passed for the lead on the first lap and would never look back. Displaying machine like consistency and an iron will, Sorensen turned nothing but 2:16 lap times from lap two through lap nine. The long straights at Road America once again showcased the team’s Aprilia RSV250 as being in a class by itself.

Team Stargel Aprilia has now completed all six races entered, winning four. Their point total stands at 203, 45 points ahead of their nearest competitor. The team looks forward to the next race at Brainerd, Minnesota on June 30th.

From a press release:

Team Suzuki News Service

CATALUNYA IS STAGING POST FOR SUZUKI

MotoGP, Preview, Round Six, Catalunya GP, Montmelo – June 16, 2002

THE Catalunyan GP, the sixth race in the stunning new Suzuki GSV-R four-stroke racer’s first season, is an important staging post for the machine, the team and for Telefónica MoviStar Suzuki riders Kenny Roberts Jr. and Sete Gibernau.

As well as the team regulars, both on the track and in the pits, a full squad of Japanese race-department engineers and a blindingly fast Japanese rider – Akira Ryo – will be adding to team strength, helping to consolidate their ever-improving position.

The youngest of the new-generation Japanese MotoGP four-strokes has shown great promise and very impressive progress in the first five rounds, even though it still in the early stages of development, boosted by a superb second place in the first race.

Roberts and Gibernau stayed on for further successful tests following the last race, the Italian GP at Mugello, where they were able to try the new 2002 Michelin rear tyres for the first time after switching to the French brand after the first two rounds.

The results were highly promising. Added to the continuous stream of new components and ideas from the factory, the tests were another boost both to machine performance and team morale.

For the Catalunyan race, the second of three rounds in Spain, there will be yet another shot in the arm. As well as the latest round of technical improvements, a full squad of factory engineers and factory racer Ryo will join the team regulars at the Montmelo circuit outside Barcelona.

Among their number will be Kunio Arase, the designer of the powerful four-camshaft V4 motor. Arase’s portfolio includes the ultra-successful GSX-R1100. His latest engine – the Suzuki factory’s first high-performance V4 – proved so successful in early tests that the factory decided to release the GSV-R into competition a full year earlier than planned.

Rider Ryo is also an important addition to Suzuki’s strength. Reigning Japanese Superbike champion, Ryo claimed second place in the opening round at Suzuka, as a wild card entry, and will join Roberts and Gibernau in the same capacity for the next three GP rounds.

“Ryo is a strong racer in his own right – but he also not only has extensive test-track experience with the new four-stroke, but also has access to newer evolutions of the GSV-R,” said team manager Garry Taylor.

“With Ryo on the track and Mr. Arase in the pits, this will be a valuable chance to cross-reference between the GP team and the factory engineers. Obviously we work in close contact all the time, but the programme is moving rapidly ahead, and there’s nothing like face-to-face contact,” said Taylor.

Meantime, the tyre tests at Mugello had been very positive, continued Taylor. “Both riders had the chance to try the latest rear Michelin tyres for the first time, and both said they can see what everyone else is raving about.

“The tyres minimised some problems we’ve been having with development parts, and were very consistent in endurance tests. We’re looking forward to the time when we will be able to use the full Michelin range for races,” he said.

The team switched tyre brands after two races, but because of the late decision have so far used only 2001 tyres, while the French company increases production to meet the new demand.

Roberts won the wet Catalunyan GP in 2000, but in 2001 was out of luck, crashing out in the early stages while challenging the leaders, after setting a lap time even faster than he had in qualifying. The race was a triumph for Sete Gibernau, in his first season with the Telefónica MoviStar Suzuki team, with a strong fifth place. Gibernau went on to win the next race in Spain later in the season, the Valencia GP.


KENNY ROBERTS Jr. – OUT OF THE DARKNESS
“The tests of the 2002 Michelins were interesting. They certainly have an advantage over last year’s tyres, and when we can use them I’d anticipate much more consistent performance over race distance. We’re going to Catalunya with the same plan as the last race – get a good start, pass as many people as possible, and wait and see what comes. Jerez was our first race back on Michelins, and France was better again. At Mugello we were kind of caught up with the 2001 tyres; the new rubber will be another added advantage. We’re improving all the time as far as development stuff goes. We’ll have to wait and see what the factory has for us at Catalunya.”


SETE GIBERNAU – HOME AGAIN, AND HARD ON THE GAS
“Everybody can see that the bike is new, and that we’re working on development. Of course that’s frustrating. I want to be fighting for the top positions, and after winning in Spain last year, it’s hard to be patient. I hope that for the next race the work the team and the factory have been doing will pay off and I can get a better result. Riding at home puts on extra pressure, but that can also work in your favour. Our tests after Mugello went a long way to making me more optimistic. As I said, it’s just hard to wait.”


ABOUT THIS RACE
Motorcycle GP racing was inaugurated at Montmelo in 1992, as the European GP. The annual race took the name of Catalunya in 1996, a second race in Spain, reflecting the growing national passion for the sport. Now there are three Spanish races, and another in Portugal, and the fans come in vast numbers to cheer their local heroes, like Telefónica MoviStar Suzuki rider Sete Gibernau – who achieved a landmark fifth with a heroic ride at last year’s race. Gibernau can count on further Spanish adulation at this race, close by his Catalunyan home. The track is fast, and riders will be chasing a lap-time average of more than 100 mph in the race.


ABOUT THIS TRACK
The Montmelo circuit, built with no expense spared in the early Nineties to coincide with the Barcelona Olympics, is still a state-of-the-art facility, with spacious paddock buildings and facilities, extensive grandstands, and a variety of viewing areas. It also plays host to Spain’s F1 car grand prix, and is a popular testing track for the cars. With the immense braking and cornering forces generated, this has caused some damage to the track surface, while another wave-like deformation from the track’s construction is also a factor, especially on the straight. At 1.4 kilometres it is the longest of the season, and the new four-strokes will be likely to exceed 200 mph again, as a handful did two weeks ago at Mugello.



GP DATA
Montmelo Circuit

Circuit Length: 2.937 miles / 4.727 km

Lap Record: 1:46.619 – 99.175 mph / 159.607 km/h. V Rossi (Honda) 2001

2001 Results
Race Winner: V Rossi (Honda)
Race Average: 44.57.142 –98.011 mph / 157.733 km/h.
Pole Position: Rossi 1:45.507

Copyright 2002, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

By Glenn LeSanto

Foret Stripped of race win and championship points

Just when he thought he’d taken the lead in the World Supersport championship along came the scrutineers and everything changed…

Fabien Foret was stripped of his race win at Lausitzring when his rear wheel was found not to be a homologated part. James Whitham and Paolo Casoli were also excluded. Casoli was excluded because his bike was underweight and also failed to start with the electric starter after the race, a stipulation of the rules. Whitham’s bike was the correct weight, however it also failed to start.

Katsuaki Fujiwara was handed the race win, and Stephane Chambon regained his title lead.

REVISED LAUSITZRING WORLD SUPERSPORT RACE RESULTS:

1. Katsuaki Fujiwara, Suzuki
2. Andrew Pitt, Kawasaki
3. Stephane Chambon, Suzuki
4. Christian Kellner, Yamaha
5. Chris Vermeulen, Honda
6. Jorg Teuchert, Yamaha
7. Kevin Curtain, Yamaha
8. Stefano Cruciani, Yamaha
9. Piergiorgio Bontempi, Ducati
10. Iain MacPherson, Honda


REVISED WORLD SUPERSPORT CHAMPIONSHIP POINT STANDINGS:

1. Chambon, 112
2. Pitt, 103
3. Fabien Foret, 93
4. Fujiwara, 84
5. Kellner, 65
6. Paolo Casoli, 60
7. Teuchert, 60
8. Vermeulen, 58
9. James Whitham, 55
10. Bontempi, 46


More, from a Van Zon Honda TKR release:

Mixed weekend for Van Zon Honda TKR at Lausitzring

For Werner Daemen the weekend at Lausitzring will be an event he’ll hope to forget. During practice a pin inserted into his injured shoulder after his recent crash at Monza popped out under heavy braking. He’s due for more surgery on Tuesday 11 June and won’t know until then if he’ll be fit to race at Misano.

His team mate Chris Vermeulen finished the race sixth, but was then moved up to fifth after race winner Fabien Foret was excluded for a technical infringement.

The 19-year-old started the race from ninth on the grid and found himself embroiled in a race long battle with Jamie Whitham. Vermeulen got the better of Whitham late in the race, partly due to the superior late-race performance of his Pirelli tyres.

“My Pirelli tyres were working really well at the start of the race, and even better at the end!” commented Vermeulen.

“I got a pretty good start and got up to seventh and then got into a real battle with Whitham, which I won!” Vermeulen said.

The result leaves the Queenslander eighth in the championship.

The Van Zon Honda TKR rider added, “I’ve gone up one place in the championship battle and it’s very close. We tested well at Misano a few weeks ago, so I’m confident that in the race there I can get back on the podium.”

Fabien Foret took his third win of the year, before the technical exclusion.

The championship continues on June the 23rd at San Marino, Misano.

From a press release:

New Sponsor For Diablo Paintball Can-Am 125gp Challenge

Durmach Industries of Oshawa, Canada, a tier one supplier to General Motors, has come on board with the Can-Am 125gp series as a major sponsor.

Durmach Industries is a machine shop specializing in tools, dies, jigs and fixtures.

Mike Orchard, President of Durmach attended the Canadian Superbike National at Shannonville last month and was overwhelmed with the Can-Am series. After the race Orchard contacted series organizer John Bickle and asked how he could be involved. Orchard and his wife Greta are past Canadian Sidecar champions and have a passion for GP motorcycles.

Durmach has contributed a generous sum of cash to the series, which will be used in the purses and year-end fund.

Durmach joins Diablo Paintball as the second major outside-the-industry sponsor for the series.

The Can-Am is excited to have them as a series sponsor.

Diablo Paintball Can-Am 125gp Challenge continues with Round Two at Grattan Raceway June 14-16

From a press release:

Race 1 Report: AMA Chevy Trucks Superbike Round 6

Date: June 8, 2002

Circuit: Road America, Elkhart Lake WI

HMC Ducati rider Doug Chandler finished today’s first race at Elkhart Lake in sixth position, struggling with tire problems for the duration of the race. His morning practice times indicate Chandler could have run easily with the top runners had things been right.

“The way we went this morning we should have been right in the middle of things,” said Chandler. “I think we may have sprung a tire because it felt out of balance the whole race. It’s frustrating because it seems like we can never get a break. I thought about coming in after the sighting lap because the bike was shaking right through the warm-up. But I decided to stay out, hoping I could wear that part down. At one stage it felt like I could have almost kept in touch with those guys but then I had a moment and I knew I was really pushing it over the top.

“I felt really good out there. I wish we could put on a new tire and do it again, just to get some redemption. But we’ll get our chance tomorrow.”

Former HMC rider Scott Russell won an exciting supermotard race today at the adjoining Briggs and Stratton Motorplex on his HMC sponsored Husqvarna. The three-times National Champion came from third row on the grid to take the checkered flag in first place, pausing to wave to his fans as he crossed the line.

Copyright 2002, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

AMA Supersport Race Results:

1. Aaron Yates, Suzuki, 10 laps
2. Damon Buckmaster, Yamaha, -0.011
3. Tommy Hayden, Kawasaki, -0.0260
4. Jake Zemke, Honda, -0.770
5. Tony Meiring, Kawasaki, -1.800
6. Tom Kipp, Suzuki, -4.203
7. Jason Pridmore, Suzuki, -9.679
8. Ben Spies, Suzuki, -11.384
9. Roger Lee Hayden, Honda, -13.488
10. Mike Hale, Honda, -13.747
11. Alex Gobert, Honda, -16.454
12. Jamie Hacking, Suzuki, -18.414
13. Ty Howard, Suzuki, -39.519
14. Monte Nichols, Yamaha, -43.103
15. Andrew Nelson, Honda, -44.575
16. Jimmy Filice, Kawasaki, -49.439
17. Tyler Wadsworth, Yamaha, -49.949
18. Scott Ruehle, Yamaha
19. Scott Hermersmann, Suzuki
20. Kevin Lehman, Honda
21. Brian Salazar, Suzuki
22. Kevin Pates, Suzuki
23. Chris Weeden, Yamaha
24. Justin Blake, Suzuki
25. Chris Siebenhaar, Honda
26. Hector Romero, Yamaha
27. Martin Sims, Suzuki
28. Dirk Sanchez, Kawasaki
29. Almontez Stewart, Suzuki
30. Calvin Martinez, Suzuki
31. Russ Intravartolo, Kawasaki
32. David Wappler, Honda, -9 laps, DNF
33. Michael Hannas, Kawasaki, -9 laps, DNF
34. Jason Hobbs, Suzuki, -9 laps, DNF
35. Shawn Conrad, Yamaha, DNS

Supersport Point Standings:

1. Yates, 205 points
2. Tommy Hayden, 150 points
3. Damon Buckmaster, 143 points
4. Pridmore, 141 points
5. TIE, Meiring/Kipp, 138 points
7. Hale, 135 points
8. Hacking, 128 points
9. Spies, 122 points
10. Roger Lee Hayden, 115 points
11. Zemke, 112 points
12. Howard, 97 points
13. Alex Gobert, 86 point
14. TIE, Anthony Gobert/Filice, 66 points

Celebrating his victory, Yates did a rolling burnout up the front straightaway but crashed, without injury, at the entrance to Victory Lane.

Copyright 2002, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Racer Bill Syfan, who has spent the last 2-1/2 years as Director of Road Racing for Clear Channel Entertainment Motor Sports, said Sunday at Road America that he has resigned, effective following the June 14-16 Formula USA National at Loudon, New Hampshire.

Syfan, 44, said, “The plan we had when I signed on to do this job and the plan the company has had to adopt are different, for a lot of reasons. I wanted to build the premier racing organization in the United States and that is no longer possible.

“Formula USA is in good hands and a big part of what I was doing was helping CCS, helping guide it and expand it, and we’ve done that. Double-digit growth in our sportsman series in the last two years is pretty impressive, and that’s the base for road racing in the U.S.”

Syfan said he is currently exploring employment opportunities in the racing industry. “I’d be interested in consulting with riders and teams,” said Syfan, who can be reached at (817) 989-0060.

Syfan said he is also looking forward to personally racing again in the near future. He last raced in 1995.

Clear Channel Entertainment Motor Sports Vice President of Operations Roy Janson could not be reached for comment at post time.