Copyright 2002, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

By David Swarts

Arclight Suzuki had transmission troubles with two of their bikes at Pikes Peak. As a result, team owner Chuck Warren drove the team’s transporter from PPIR to rider Lee Acree’s home in North Carolina to take the engine from Acree’s personal GSX-R750 and bring it to Road America. Warren said the trip, 2400 miles in four days, was no big deal because he regularly drives from his base in Concord, California to Road Atlanta in four days. Warren said he planned to build a second motor at the track Thursday.


Disqualified from fifth place in the Pro Thunder race at Pikes Peak, Right On Track Racing/www.cdlschool.com’s Leo Venega told Roadracingworld.com that the engine he ran at PPIR displaced 996cc. Venega will run the AMA Superbike class at Road America instead of Pro Thunder.


Team Valvoline EMGO Suzuki’s Barry McMahan said that the team stopped at Mark Junge’s race shop in Union Grove, Wisconsin on the way to Road America and built new engines for GSX-R1000 Formula Xtreme bikes ridden by Marty Craggill and Tom Kipp. “It’s obvious we were getting killed at fast tracks, like Road Atlanta,” said McMahan. “We didn’t have the power advantage that we had last year. Everyone else has stepped it up. So it’s been a scramble to find some extra power for the next two races at Road America and Brainerd.

“We just added some commercially-available engine internals, but we still don’t know if we’re on the same level as the competition. At Road Atlanta, our riders had more to say about the Attack (Suzuki) bikes than any others.”

Although he didn’t want to mention specific horsepower numbers, long-time Crew Chief Keith Perry said, “These are the most powerful Valvoline EMGO Suzukis ever.”

The team ran the new engines on the Dynojet mobile dyno at Road America on Wednesday, breaking them in and building fuel injection maps using Dynojet Power Commanders.


Corona Extra Suzuki’s Steve Rapp is expected to race in Formula Xtreme at Road America, according to Crew Chief Jeremy Daniel. After tuning Jimmy Moore to an AMA Superstock race win at Pikes Peak, Daniel will work with defending Superstock Champion Moore again this weekend at Road America. When asked why Moore’s original Crew Chief, Michael Tjon, wasn’t with the team at PPIR or Elkhart Lake, Daniel directed the question to team principal Tim Saunders, who was not available at post time.


Dunlop introduced a new, rear DOT-labeled race tire at the Sears Point round of the series in early May. The tire, called the D208GP-A or simply the “A”, comes with significantly less tread cuts on the tires’ outer edges. When asked about the new rubber, Dunlop National Road Race Manager Jim Allen told Roadracingworld.com, “It’s a direction we didn’t want to go in. We avoided using this tire for a long time because we feel that the tires used in the Supersport classes should be legitimate street tries. What’s on the track should reflect what’s on the street, and a street tire needs to be an all-weather tire.”

Allen added that the trend in Supersport racing tires, led by brands like Pirelli and Michelin, has been to go to slicker and slicker tread designs. “I feel there should be a specific land-sea ratio approved for use in Supersport racing.”

Allen stated that the “A” has been used in World Supersport racing since May of 2001, has the same compounds as the D208GP and that there is no plan to produce a D208GP-A front. “It was funny,” chuckled Allen. “(Aaron) Yates says, ‘Who said we needed more grip? My bike’s nice and balanced.’ That’s the first time I’ve had a rider complain about too much grip.”


According to sources inside Team Blimpie Yoshimura Suzuki, Jamie Hacking’s Supersport crash at Colorado left him with only one GSX-R600 and no spare frames. When asked about the situation, Team Coordinator/Hacking chassis mechanic Rich Doan said, “He’ll have two bikes.”

With spare GSX-R frames in short supply in America, Doan was asked where the team would get a second bike for Hacking. In reply, Doan said, “From the Suzuki store.”

Copyright 2002, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

By David Swarts

Bruce Transportation Group Honda’s Jake Zemke hopes to race in three classes at Road America, while Erion Honda Superbike chassis tuner Danny Hull just hopes to get through the weekend.

American Honda’s Ray Plumb said Thursday morning that Zemke would probably not race in the Pro Honda Oils Supersport event at Road America, instead concentrating on riding Kurtis Roberts’ RC51 Superbike and his own Bruce Transportation Group Formula Xtreme CBR954RR. Zemke, however, said Thursday that he hoped to ride in all three classes, and all four races, taking a wait-and-see approach to his weekend.

“It’s important for everybody that I ride all three,” said Zemke, who is second in Formula Xtreme points and 11th in Supersport points coming into Road America.

American Honda Racing Teams Manager Chuck Miller told Zemke on Tuesday, June 4 that he would be riding Roberts’ bike, Zemke said.

“Chuck told me to just go have fun with the Superbike,” said Zemke. “He said if I didn’t want to race the Superbike, I didn’t have to; if I only wanted to race it once, that was fine; or if I only wanted to only ride it in practice, that was fine, too.

“Formula Xtreme is my priority right now, and the Superbike is the last thing I’m thinking about. But I don’t think I’ll have a problem racing all four (two Superbike races plus one race each in Formula Xtreme and Supersport). I think I’m in good enough shape to do it. My only concern is Saturday’s Superbike race. There’s only a 20-minute 250 qualifying session between the Superbike race and the Formula Xtreme race Saturday. But it’s not like it’s Sears Point, Mid-Ohio or Colorado where they’re physically demanding tracks. There’s a lot of room to rest out there, and the (Superbike) race is only 16 laps.

“Chuck made it real clear that it’s just a one-off ride. Kurtis should be back by Brainerd.”

Mechanic Hull suffered a back injury at Road Atlanta. “It’s just a muscle strain,” said Hull, limping through the paddock Thursday. “I just lifted a bike wrong and pulled the muscles in my back. I’ll be fine. I just need more rest.”

After being bed ridden for “a while” and missing the Pikes Peak round of the AMA Series, Hull is back, working in a limited capacity for Zemke. “I won’t be throwing wheels and tires around, but I can do little stuff, check the bike over and work on the bike while it’s on the bench. It’s still my bike.

“I believe he’ll do just fine,” said Hull, when asked what he expected Zemke to do on the Superbike. Hull added that he was very impressed when Zemke pushed his Formula Xtreme Honda up the turn 11 hill after crashing in the FX race at Road Atlanta, re-started the race from row six and finished third.

From a press release:

KAWASAKI UNVEILS 2003 OFF-ROAD MOTORCYCLES AND ALL TERRAIN VEHICLES

Company also provides updated information regarding Kawasaki-Suzuki Alliance



IRVINE, Calif. (June 6, 2002)—Kawasaki Motors Corp., U.S.A. has unveiled its 2003 off-road motorcycle and all terrain vehicle (ATV) line-up to a gathering of media serving those recreational vehicle categories. The company also took advantage of the product presentation to clarify its position regarding the announcement made in Japan last year of a strategic alliance between Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Ltd. and Suzuki Motor Corporation.

Kawasaki executives provided an overview of favorable market conditions in the off-road motorcycle category and showed a full complement of two-wheeled units to meet what they see as a significant industry-wide sales surge in the next two years. Models introduced included competition, enduro, and dual purpose motorcycles.

The company is equally bullish regarding the expanding ATV market, and sees industry retail sales for the four-wheeled vehicles moving close to 900,000 units by the end of next year. That would represent twice the total number of units retailed in 1998.

The most rapidly growing segments in the ATV area have been in the youth-sized and sport categories during the past 12 months, according to the company.

Kawasaki’s latest introductions are weighted to meet those consumer preferences, said Bob Shepard, Executive Vice President, Marketing Group.

Among the product shown to the media were two youth-sized ATVs and a model targeted at the hardcore sports riding enthusiast. These were complimented by introductions of an addition to the brand’s very successful Prairie line-up and units dressed in camouflage livery for the weekend hunter.

The alliance between Kawasaki and Suzuki is intended to increase competitiveness and profitability on a worldwide basis for both brands. Cooperation in development, supplying OEM products and commonizing and purchasing of parts compliments each other’s business resources.

OEM production of certain models, much like the auto industry has done for several years, will help provide each brand with a wider range of product offerings while allowing each to individually broaden its consumer base.

The two brands will maintain total separation and independence, especially in the areas of sales, marketing, and dealer distribution.

According to Kawasaki’s Shepard, “The outcome of this arrangement will be to strengthen the brand, strengthen our retail network, and ultimately provide the customers with more opportunities to join Kawasaki’s ‘Good Times’ family.” He made reference to the advertising tagline that the brand has used for nearly 30 years, and has become synonymous with Kawasaki’s expanding products in the motorcycle, ATV, personal watercraft, and utility vehicle categories.

From a press release:

INJURY FORCES BAYLE OUT FOR BARCELONA GP AND

HOFMANN GETS A DREAM RIDE


Frenchman, Jean-Michel Bayle who is riding for the Red Bull Yamaha Team in place of the injured Australian Garry McCoy informed Director of Racing, Peter Clifford that an injury to his left arm has forced him out of racing until after the Catalan Grand Prix. Bayle was due to test the Yamaha YZR500 this week at Assen, but called the team from his car on the way to the airport to say that the pain he had suffered during the race in Mugello had returned.

An MRI scan and then a visit to another specialist the next day confirmed an injury to his left bicep would need 15 days of rest, thus counting the ex motocross champion out of the next Grand Prix at Barcelona.

Bayle first reported an ache in his left arm on Saturday following the final qualifying session at the Italian GP at Mugello. He felt the arm was okay but during the race on Sunday, his arm started to pump up and now the bicep muscle has torn muscle fibres and needs rest.

Director of Racing, Peter Clifford knows that Bayle has been of tremendous assistance to the team this year and he looks forward to Bayle’s quick recovery. “Jean-Michel has given our engineers and Dunlop Tyre Technicians
exceptional feedback and we have benefited enormously from his extensive riding knowledge. It is unfortunate that his arm injury has interrupted his ride with us.”

Clifford was happy to get something positive from the situation. “Hofmann attended one day of the two day test at Assen and he performed admirably in the windy conditions. He had a very sensible approach to riding the bike and we are very happy to give him the chance to race it. He could only do the first of our two days of testing as he had already committed to ride the factory Kawasaki at Lausitz this weekend in the Superbike Round.”

Hofmann, the former 250 rider whose 12th place finish in last season’s 250cc World Championship jumped at the opportunity to ride the Red Bull Yamaha. The young German, who celebrated his 22nd birthday only 2 weeks ago thinks this is the best birthday present he could have hoped for.

“There was no question in my mind when Peter Clifford contacted me to test the Red Bull Yamaha that I would do it. Of course I had to consider that I was riding in the Superbikes this weekend so I could only test at Assen for one day, Wednesday.

“The Yamaha YZR500, gives you a full 500 feeling and there is so much more power than the 250. My first bike was a Yamaha PW50 and I won the 1993 Junior German Motocross 80cc Championship on a Yamaha and in 1997 I was second in the 125 German Championship also on a Yamaha.

“I really can’t compare the Yamaha to the Proton KR machine that I tested a fortnight ago at Almeria in Spain. They are completely different machines, the Proton acts and feels completely different to the Yamaha.

“In relation to the tyres on the Yamaha though, I have raced for the last 3 years in the 250 Championship on Dunlops so I have a good feeling for the tyres. Even though the power is very different on the 500, the feeling from the tyres is very similar.

“I am really looking forward to the race at Barcelona, the circuit at Catalunya is one of my favourite tracks so it will be good to race there on the 500.

“You know, Jean-Michel Bayle was my biggest hero when I was young and now here I am being a replacement rider for my hero.”

Although it has been a year of mixed fortune for the team, the progress that the newcomer, John Hopkins is making has been more than admirable. Hopkins who only 2 weeks ago turned 19, has scored points in every round of the 2002 Season.

The young American enjoyed learning yet another new track in this, his first year competing in the MotoGP World Championship. Hopkins went well on the track and had a good 2 days, he rode 160 laps or approx. 960km during the test.

“Since we are the only team testing here at the moment on the re-modelled Assen circuit, we have no real measure of how John or Alex went against the clock. Regardless of that, both riders had an opportunity to get to know the circuit” concluded Clifford.


John Hopkins
“I have found that any track time I can get before the race weekend helps me a lot, so I am taking every opportunity I can to learn the track in advance.

“I found this track to be different from anything else that I have ever ridden on. It’s more flowing and you have to stay smooth on it the entire way round otherwise you have wasted a lap.

“We tested tyres and different suspension systems and also some intermediate Dunlops in the slightly damp conditions.

“I am so fortunate to have been able to come here for this test, it’s been very helpful. I was pretty happy with my times, I did a 2:03.27 with the new layout.

“Tomorrow I think I will have a rest and just go for an easy jog, it’s been a big 2 days. It’s been so full-on and I have been concentrating on my bike and my performance that I did not really have a good opportunity to speak a lot to Alex, but I will see him in a few days at Barcelona.”

Copyright 2002, Roadracing World Pubishing, Inc.

In a May 11 post on Roadracingworld.com, racer John Jewett reported that fellow CCS racer Matt Hartlieb was seriously injured in a crash at the Las Vegas Classic Course.

While Hartlieb dealt with his head injury at Las Vegas University Medical Center, Jewett organized a fund-raising drive to help defer Hartlieb’s medical expenses. An electric go-ped scooter was raffled off at the May 18-19 CCS race at Firebird International Raceway in Chandler, Arizona.

CCS Southwest Region Race Director Randy Stem e-mailed Roadracingworld.com with the outcome of that raffle.

Stem’s e-mail follows:

“The raffle of the electric go-ped was a huge success. Approximately $3800 was raised in one weekend by tickets purchased by our riders, race staff and spectators. We had a major donation by J6 Racing to start of the raffle. Throughout the weekend our announcer kept the crowd informed of the need to help Matt and his message did not go unheeded. Everyone was in the raffle spirit. John Jewett, the racer responsible for organizing the raffle, held the drawing after the Unlimited Grand Prix Expert race. He asked the race winner, local fast guy Rob Martin, to draw the winning ticket. Just as Rob drew the winning ticket he announced he was adding the entire purse of $500 to the fund-raising effort. This sent a big cheer through the crowd.

“There was a bank account started also for Matt with generous donations from racer Scott Willock and Dave and Alex at North Valley Honda. As of May 5, 2002, that account had $1300 in it.

“Matt’s Mom and his girlfriend could not believe how generous our riders were. Mrs. Hartlieb was in tears when she expressed how amazed she was that so many people cared so much about her son. I am not amazed by this outpouring, just very proud of our racing family.

“Hours prior to Matt getting injured in a race at the Las Vegas track, racer Patrick Richardson had started a fund to raise money for the purchase of sun shade for the cornerworkers. In the course of a weekend $625 was raised by these same racers with a generous donation from Heatwave Cycles, Matt Hartlieb’s sponsor, to start the fund. Within two weeks of starting the sun shade project our cornerworkers now have shade on each and every corner.

“My whole point in writing this e-mail is to personally say ‘Thank You’ to all of the wonderful and very special people we have in our racing organization. The camaraderie and friendships my wife, Heidi, and I have made in our many years in our sport have never been more satisfying. From John Jewett whose only comment was ‘I just hope they would do this for me if I were injured’ to Dale Kieffer who would not accept payment for the scooter he made available for this raffle, to the many people who stepped up with major donations to make sure that Matt is taken care of, I am very proud to be associated with each and every one of you.

“See you at the races.”

Randy B. Stem,
Race Director
CCS/SW Region

From AMA Pro Racing press releases:

NICKY HAYDEN’S RUN TO TIE DUHAMEL’S SIX-RACE
WIN STREAK STARTS OVER AT ROAD AMERICA

PICKERINGTON, Ohio – Honda Racing’s Nicky Hayden has been at the point of tying teammate Miguel Duhamel’s six-race win streak twice in 2002, but luck has not been on his side. He comes to Rounds 9 and 10 of the AMA Chevy Trucks U.S. Superbike Championship this weekend at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wis. in hopes of starting start yet another streak.

Hayden’s first opportunity came at the series’ second round in April at California Speedway in Fontana, Calif., where he could muster no better than a third-place finish. But he started right back where he left off by winning the second race of that doubleheader event and went on to win the next four rounds. That left him with another chance last weekend at Pikes Peak International Raceway, and with an 80-point series advantage in hand.

Fast all weekend, Hayden’s winning ways came to an abrupt stop after he tucked the front and went down early in the race. With Road America being the home of Hayden’s first-ever Superbike wins (he won both races of the doubleheader event in 2000), the 20-year-old Owensboro, Ky. native is on a mission to start yet another winning streak this weekend.

But another streak will have to go through Kawasaki’s Eric Bostrom. Bostrom and his crew appeared to have their bike setup and race strategy figured out last weekend when he got the holeshot and never looked back, easily winning
the 49-lap event by 15 seconds. But Road America is a track that Bostrom has yet to win an AMA Superbike race at.

Blimpie Yoshimura Suzuki teammates Aaron Yates and Jamie Hacking are also both coming to Elkhart Lake after podium finishes in Colorado. Both riders have notched superbike podiums this year and count on seeing both of them going for the win at this weekend’s doubleheader event.

Three-time defending AMA Superbike Champion Mat Mladin of the Blimpie Yoshimura Suzuki team won the first race of last year’s doubleheader at Road America. The 30-year-old Australian is winless in 2002 and he hasn’t been shy about his frustration he’s endured this season. Even though he is 72 points out of the championship, he hasn’t given up the fight to notch his first victory of the year.

HMC Ducati’s Doug Chandler is also showing strong potential for a podium finish despite the struggles he’s been having with getting back to 100 percent after a crash in qualifying at Road Atlanta. The three-time AMA Superbike Champion could be considered the rider hungriest for a win after the 2002 season opener in Daytona Beach, Fla. started without him.

Pascal Picotte’s new ride with the Austin Blue Bayou Ducati team has seen him with top-five finishes and it will only be a matter of time before the Canadian puts his No. 21 on the podium.

Still on the injured list is in the AMA Chevy Trucks Superbike Championship is Yamaha’s Anthony Gobert, who broke his right fibula after crashing during superbike qualifying at Road Atlanta three weeks ago. Erion Racing’s Kurtis Roberts is going to sit out another race weekend too. Roberts has been recovering from a knee injury suffered at California Speedway in April.

In Pro Honda Oils Supersport Championship competition, Aaron Yates and his Blimpie Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R600 still have a strong hold, despite a fifth-place finish last weekend in Colorado. He arrives in Elkhart Lake with a 50-point advantage over second and on a mission to get back to his winning ways.

Kawasaki’s Tommy Hayden sits second in points thanks to his win in the fiercely competitive AMA Supersport class at Pikes Peak. Hayden’s teammate Tony “The Tiger” Meiring notched his first podium of the season at PPIR in his first year with the big team. Meiring is building his confidence and will be vying for a podium finish at Road America.

Filling the Yamaha Supersport void is Graves Yamaha pilot Damon Buckmaster. The likeable Australian suffered mechanical woes last weekend and fell from third in points to seventh, marking the first time in the last three races he hasn’t finished in the top five.


JIMMY MOORE LOOKING FOR SECOND CONSECUTIVE
WIN AT ROAD AMERICA

PICKERINGTON, Ohio – Defending Genuine Suzuki Accessories Superstock champion Jimmy Moore is fresh off a win from Pikes Peak and plans on taking his Corona Extra Suzuki GSX-R750 to another win at Road America as well as closing in on current points leader, Lee Acree, who has a 16-point advantage. Moore is the defending Superstock winner at the four-mile track in Elkhart Lake, Wis.

Team Cruise America’s Jason DiSalvo has been on the gas in his first year on a Suzuki GSX-R750. The 18-year-old Stafford, N.Y. native took second at the last round, the first podium for him in the class, and continues to get faster with every race.

Arclight Suzuki’s Craig Connell also had his first podium of the season at Pikes Peak, finishing third and three spots in front of his teammate and series leader Acree. Connell’s season has been hampered by a shoulder injury, but it appears that the Australian is on the mend as well as the throttle of his Pirelli-shod Suzuki GSX-R750.

Kawasaki’s Tommy Hayden and Tony Meiring have both been running strong in Superstock on their factory-prepared 600cc machines, with Hayden being the only rider in the history of the class to beat the 750cc machines on a 600cc-machine. Meiring is in his first year with the factory team and finished fourth at PPIR, his best finish yet in the bar-banging, elbow throwing class.

The Lockhart Phillips USA Formula Xtreme class points leader Damon Buckmaster had his first race on a completely new Graves Motorsports Yamaha R1 at Pikes Peak, and it looked like he would have a top-five finish on the unproven motorcycle. Unfortunately on the last lap, he slowed dramatically with his bike ultimately coming to a stop. He ended up ninth, and though the friendly Australian was frustrated, his crew scurried back to its race shop in California this week to sort out the problem. The defending Road America Formula Xtreme winner will be sure to have a bike ready for him to defend his title this weekend. Buckmaster also set a new track record for the class in last year’s race with a lap time of 2:10.231.

Attack Suzuki’s Jason Pridmore won the last weekend’s Formula Xtreme race and comes to Road America confident that he will be on the podium again. Pridmore is sitting third in the points battle and a win in Elkhart Lake will help him
close the gap on his 18-point deficit. With the power of his Attack Suzuki GSX-R1000 and his natural talent, he is a considerable threat for the championship.

Bruce Transportation Group’s Jake Zemke is sitting second in points and only 13 down from first. This 23-year-old Paso Robles, Calif. native has continued to put in strong performances in the 1000cc class.

Erion Racing’s Mike Hale is showing that a few years off the bike hasn’t hindered him much in his first year back, as he has earned several top-five finishes on his Erion-prepared Honda. Hale’s early successes in road racing came on a Honda and he is showing that he adapted quickly to the new CBR954RR.


KIRK MCCARTHY TAKES TO ANOTHER NEW TRACK
LOOKING FOR WIN IN BUELL PRO THUNDER

PICKERINGTON, Ohio – Advanced Motorsports Ducati rider Kirk McCarthy continues to prove he is excellent at adapting to unfamiliar conditions. Taking pole position and the win in the second round of the Buell Pro Thunder Series last weekend, McCarthy will arrive at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wis. with a 15-point advantage over second place.

But the former Australian Superbike Champion McCarthy will have to do battle with Woody Kyle Racing’s David Estok, who had a great run last weekend at Pikes Peak International Raceway finishing second. After suffering a mechanical DNF at the opening round in Daytona Beach, Fla., Estok, of New Smyrna Beach, Fla., will be on the gas at Road America to make up for his points deficit.

Hal’s Performance Advantage Buell rider Mike Ciccotto is sitting 15 points behind McCarthy and wants to close in on the Australian Ducati rider at Road America as he has been coveting this championship since last October. Last year he lost the series title by a mere two points to Thomas Montano.

Montano, the defending Buell Pro Thunder Champion, is having a hard start to the season. A fall in the opening round at Daytona International Speedway and mechanical trouble at PPIR have left him behind the eight ball in points and he will arrive at Road America’s four-mile road course with some work to do to get back into the hunt.

Going into the last round of the MBNA 250 Grand Prix class last weekend, no one expected to see four-time class champion Rich Oliver at the track, let alone on his Team Oliver Yamaha 250. Oliver suffered a compound fracture to his right forearm and lost two toes on his left foot after a bad fall a month ago at Sears Point Raceway. But the 40-year-old Oliver took the pole position and went on to lead every lap to win the race.

Stargel Aprilia’s Chuck Sorensen is maintaining his lead in points, 34, after a third place last weekend. Sorensen is looking to get the No. 1 plate back on his bike after Jimmy Filice took the title away from him last year. If Sorensen can win the title, he would be the first rider to give Aprilia an AMA U.S. Championship. The friendly, Sunnyvale, Calif., native is easy to spot in the pits as he and his team don colorful Hawaiian shirts as part of the official team apparel.

The surprise of the series has to be Simon Turner. The native of Northern Ireland is fresh off his first podium finish of the season and will arrive in Elkhart Lake looking for his second.

For ticket information visit Road America’s website at www.roadamerica.com or call (800) 365-RACE (7223).

For immediate post-race results, points, and live transponder scoring from each race in the championship, log on to amaproracing.com’s Superbike Mediacenter, the official home of the AMA Chevy Trucks U.S. Superbike Championship.

Copyright 2002, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

By David Swarts

Bruce Transportation Group’s Jake Zemke will ride Kurtis Roberts’ Honda RC51 Superbike at Road America this weekend.

“The bike’s been vacant for a while,” American Honda/Universal Studios Team Coordinator Ray Plumb told Roadracingworld.com in the Road America paddock Thursday. “Kurtis’ recovery is going slower, it helps the sponsors – Erion Honda, PJ1, Parts Unlimited – Jake’s riding good. So we thought we would give him a chance, a one-shot deal.”

When asked if Zemke would ride all three classes; Supersport, Formula Xtreme and Superbike, Plumb said, “No, he’ll probably bail on the 600 (Supersport) race.” Plumb added that Zemke will work with Roberts’ normal Superbike team led by Crew Chief David McGrath, engine builder Bob Reichmann and chassis man Danny Hull.

The move to put Zemke on the Honda Superbike could be a precursor to a full-time Superbike ride for the 23-year-old Californian. Eric Bostrom, Nicky Hayden and Kurtis Roberts all received guest rides on Honda factory Superbikes before moving to the American Honda team full-time.

Copyright 2002, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Thursday practice started at 8:30 a.m. today at Road America. The practice day, organized and run by the racetrack itself, cost riders $200 per bike, per group, with four 20-minute sessions per group.

That’s relatively high, considering that riders got about the same amount of track time at Pikes Peak last Thursday for $50 per rider (not bike) and that the Team Hammer Pro Practice day scheduled on the Thursday before the AMA National at The Colonel’s Brainerd International Raceway later this month will cost $150 per rider (not bike) with five 30-minute sessions per group.

The difference in available track time may be due to how the on-track groups are structured. At Road America, practice is divided into five groups, Supersport, 250 Grand Prix, Superbike/Formula Xtreme, Superstock and Pro Thunder.

At Pikes Peak and Brainerd, practice was/is divided into three groups:

Supersport/250cc Grand Prix
Superbike/Formula Xtreme
Superstock/Pro Thunder

Those groupings seem to work fairly well and nearly double each group’s track time.



This Just In:

The afternoon sessions at Road America will combine Supersport/250cc Grand Prix, Superbike/Formula Xtreme, and Superstock/Pro Thunder.

From a press release issued by the organizers of the Superbike World Championship Series:

Round 7 – Germany – EuroSpeedway
7-9 June 2002
Lausitz, 6 June 2002

Second Time Around

The Eurospeedway Lausitz race facility is truly impressive to behold, and on SBK’s first visit in 2001, which launched the new track to the world at large, all new visitors were impressed by the scope and scale of the entire project.

Designed from the outset as the most impressive new motorsports facility in Europe, Eurospeedway Lausitz is a venue worthy of this respect. The towering grandstands, vast site area, Daytona-style Tri-oval layout and impressive facilities – for fans and the travelling paddock circus alike – put it on the cutting edge of modern circuit design.

Not a natural motorcycle track, due to its almost flat topography, continuous slow turns, and the need for car-racing barriers in some strategic points, the Lausitzring is nonetheless a tricky circuit to get right for even the best competitors on only their second visit.

Despite the many corners, the average speed is somewhere in the region of 150km/h, no slower than most other SBK tracks.

The 4.265 km track, with a 650m front straight, is mostly based on the infield of the huge encircling tri-oval, used by the open wheel racecar fraternity.

The Lausitz tarmac, proved to be highly abrasive in the dry but curiously less than porous in the wet, provided a unique challenge for the competitors and made for some unexpected results in qualifying.

Steve Martin (DFX Ducati) is the current holder of the fastest qualifying lap, with a 1:40.036 (153.480km/h) but in race conditions, the official lap record stands to Troy Bayliss (Ducati Infostrada) at 1:40.599.

The same two men who shared race wins at Lausitz in 2001, and battled it out for that year’s championship, are the same two who have been putting so much into their campaigns this year. Colin Edwards (Castrol Honda) and Troy Bayliss (Ducati Infostrada) have been not just fast, but fast every single weekend, in every session, in every possible way.

The other championship challengers may have been dismayed by the consistent brilliance of Bayliss (nine wins from 12 attempts) and the dogged excellence of Edwards, but seldom have the leading duo had their own way throughout an entire half season.

Many have tried, however, and many more will doubtless continue to try.

Neil Hodgson (HM Plant Ducati) is using last year’s factory Ducati this season and despite any performance differentials, has been fighting hard throughout to keep his receding hopes of an eventual top two finish alive. Sitting third at present, 74 points behind Edwards, he has had dramatic on-track battles and feuds with those in front and behind him.

Closest chaser is the ebullient Japanese Samurai Noriyuki Haga (Playstation2 Aprilia) who has yet to win this year but has shown it is more than possible, if circumstances would allow. First time at Lausitz for Haga may count against him, but for fifth place man Ruben Xaus, Bayliss’ team-mate, he knows his way round. A mercurial genius on his day and a self-destructive force of nature when it’s not, Xaus is nonetheless one of the most popular men in the paddock. Coming from a podium finish in Silverstone, he may just be a threat in Germany; Ben Bostrom (L&M Ducati) may also challenge, if his Dunlop-shod Ducati can perform at its best – and the rider can rekindle the kind of staggering form that gave him five wins in a row last season.

James Toseland (HM Plant Ducati) has been learning the ways of top-level Superbike racing for two years now, and learning pretty quick. Despite a single podium finish, his consistency has been immense, with only one no-score for one so young.

Three Brits in the top eight means that Chris Walker has jumped up the table after his fourth place finish at Silverstone. The Kawasaki Racing Team pilot has had many problems, medical and otherwise this season, but his sheer will to kick-start his career has been a feature of his debut SBK year. It has also made him the top four-cylinder competitor in the SBK Championship, ahead of Spain and Alstare Suzuki’s Gregorio Lavilla, his compatriot Juan Borja (Spaziotel Ducati) and the still-injured Hitoyasu Izutsu. Possibly the most popular man in SBK racing even now is Pierfrancesco Chili. The veteran Italian on the NCR Ducati has been impressive enough but recovery from a broken collarbone has halted aspirations for the podium positions this season.

A whole phalanx of fast Ducati-equipped privateers have made themselves occasional thorns in the sides of the factory-equipped men this year, but for high flier Bayliss, on 260 points, he has only been rivalled by one man, Colin Edwards, on 231.

In the Supersport Championship, the three way fight for the lead has been joined by a few others recently, with James Whitham (Yamaha Belgarda) winning at Silverstone, but it appears that (season-long at least) the title will be decided between Stephane Chambon (Alstare Suzuki), Fabien Foret (Ten Kate Honda) and reigning champion Andrew Pitt (Kawasaki Racing Team).

At Lausitz last year rain-specialist Kevin Curtin won the event for Honda, and he returns this season on an OPCM Yamaha.

From a press release:

GREAT DAY GOES BAD FOR PROTON MEN

Round 5: Italian GP, Mugello Sunday June 2, 2002

Nobuatsu Aoki: DNF
Jeremy McWilliams: DNF

Proton Team KR riders Nobuatsu Aoki and Jeremy McWilliams both retired from the Italian GP – Aoki crashing out of a superb seventh place on the tenth of 23 laps of the 5.245km Mugello circuit in the Tuscan foothills, and McWilliams pulling into the pits with five laps remaining.

Both riders had engine problems, for different reasons. Aoki’s motor seized abruptly, throwing the Japanese rider off, fortunately without injury. McWilliams’s motor suffered from lubrication starvation as an indirect consequence of excessive tyre wear, and also nipped up – though the Ulsterman was able to anticipate the problem and declutch, to coast safely into the pits.

It was a double disappointment for Proton Team KR, after strong qualifying performances at a track where the very long and fast straight is prejudiced against the three-cylinder 500cc lightweight KR3, which finds its advantage through fast corners and in more technical going. In spite of giving away more than 25km/h in top speed to the new powerful heavyweight MotoGP four-strokes, the Proton KR3 riders had qualified on the third row of the grid.

Aoki capitalised best on his good position, finishing the first lap in ninth, and pushing through to a strong seventh when he fell. McWilliams was not so quick off the line, but was well up in a points-scoring 11th before dropping back two places with tyre wear problems. He was 13th before he retired.

The race was run in baking sunshine and 30-degree heat, watched by 68,000 excited Italian fans, who watched defending World Champion Valentino Rossi’s Honda defeat fellow-Italian Max Biaggi’s Yamaha. Tohru Ukawa was third, on another four-stroke Honda.


NOBUATSU AOKI
“Everything was working perfectly – the chassis, the tyres, the suspension and the engine. I was really enjoying the race, and I had even got past Kenny Roberts Jr. on the Suzuki four-stroke when I crashed. I had a little warning that the engine would seize, but I could do nothing about it. It was just before the last right-hand corner off the hill, and when it locked up I hit the ground so fast. Luckily, I am not hurt. It was a very disappointing end to the weekend.”


JEREMY McWILLIAMS
“I had expected to run into some tyre problems because of the heat – it’s normal. But I had a strange problem as a result. Because the rear had gone away so badly, I wasn’t able to give the bike full throttle, and that starved it of lubrication. In the end, it paid the price – it locked up with hardly any warning. I was right in the middle of the fast chicane at the top of the hill, at about 120mph. I managed to get the clutch in quick enough. I was very lucky to get away with it … and I was going so fast I was able to coast from there to the pits.”


KENNY ROBERTS- Team Owner
“A bad day. Obviously we had a crankshaft problem with Nobu’s bike. The heat didn’t help, nor the long straight. We had a bit of a tyre problem as well, that led to Jeremy’s retirement. The whole thing has to be improved to bring it up to the level of the riders.”