Final Combined Superbike Qualifying Results:
1. Mat Mladin, Suzuki, 1:25.428
2. Anthony Gobert, Yamaha, 1:25.549
3. Nicky Hayden, Honda, 1:25.886
4. Kurtis Roberts, Honda, 1:26.220
5. Miguel Duhamel, Honda, 1:26.281
6. Steve Rapp, Ducati, 1:26.366
7. Eric Bostrom, Kawasaki, 1:26.603
8. Aaron Yates, Suzuki, 1:26.613
9. Andreas Meklau, Ducati, 1:26.642
10. Tommy Hayden, Yamaha, 1:26.667
11. Doug Chandler, Kawasaki, 1:26.841
12. Larry Pegram, Ducati, 1:27.039
13. Jamie Hacking, Suzuki, 1:27.239
14. Pascal Picotte, Harley-Davidson, 1:27.345
15. Michael Smith, Harley-Davidson, 1:27.681
16. Jordan Szoke, Harley-Davidson, 1:28.756
17. Jimmy Moore, Suzuki, 1:29.657*
18. Lee Acree, Suzuki, 1:29.849*
19. Chris Ulrich, Suzuki, 1:30.197*
20. Andrew Deatherage, Suzuki, 1:30.614
21. Mauro Cereda, Suzuki, 1:30.749
22. Robert Jensen, Suzuki, 1:30.843*
23. Rich Conicelli, Suzuki, 1:30.869*
24. Vincent Haskovec, Suzuki, 1:31.181*
25. Anthony Lupo, Suzuki, 1:31.299*
*Riding 750cc Supersport bike.

By Glenn Le Santo

The World Superbike paddock has been thrown into an uproar by proposed 2004 rules which involve inlet restrictors, 1000cc 4-cylinder racebikes and TREADED TIRES.

Details to follow as available.

By Glenn Le Santo

Regis Laconi fought a race-long duel with Ruben Xaus to take his first-ever World Superbike win. The Frenchman, who is one of the few in the Superbike paddock to have raced at Imola before, in his GP days, burst into tears of joy at the end of the race.

In another display of Superbike racing at its finest Xaus, Laconi, Colin Edwards and Ben Bostrom made a break from the pack, and for a while it looked like the finish would come down to a dust up between the four of them. But as the race wore on, Bostrom started to slip into the clutches of Troy Corser, who was storming through the field to catch the leading bunch. It all went wrong for Corser, though–after passing Bostrom Corser began to try to wear down Edwards, only to crash heavily and forcing the Texan into the gravel to avoid Corser’s flying Aprilia. Edwards didn’t go down but retired a few laps later. At the time Edwards was already sporting a hole in his fairing, caused by stones flying from the rear wheel of Xaus’ Ducati after the Spaniard had taken a radically wide line on one of Imola’s
slower turns.

With Corser and Edwards out of the picture Tady Okada found himself in with a chance for his third podium appearance of the season. He soon passed Bostrom and was gaining fast on the battling Laconi and Xaus when he simply ran out of laps. He witnessed some scary stuff from Laconi and Xaus as they both rode beyond the limit in a desperate attempt to win the race. In the end, Laconi’s sheer determination, the speed of his Aprilia and possibly his superior track knowledge paid off.

Results

1. Regis Laconi, France, Aprilia 38:33.264
2. Ruben Xaus, Spain, Ducati, -0.021
3. Tadayuki Okada, Japan, Honda, -0.844
4. Ben Bostrom, USA, Ducati, -15.975
5. Steve Martin, Australia, Ducati, -32.975
6. Gregorio Lavilla, Spain, Kawasaki, -37.895
7. Neil Hodgson, Great Britain, Ducati, -38.727
8. Broc Parkes, Australia, Ducati, -38.890
9. Pierfrancesco Chili, Italy, Suzuki, -39.935
10. Giovanni Bussei, Italy, Ducati, -66.646

DNF, crashed:
Troy Bayliss
Colin Edwards
Troy Corser

Final Championship Points:
1. Bayliss, 369
2. Edwards, 317
3. Bostrom, 286
4. Corser, 264
5. Hodgson, 254
6. Chili, 225
7. Xaus, 191
8. Yanagawa, 170
9. Okada, 149
10. Lavilla, 147


Foret Wins 600cc Supersport Race, Pitt Wins Supersport World Championship

Fabien Foret scored a brilliant win in a controversial Supersport race in Imola Sunday. Foret battled hard with Jamie Whitham and Karl Muggeridge to clinch his second win of the season in his debut World Supersport year with the team.

The race was marred with controversy after championship contender Paolo Casoli collided with Karl Muggeridge on the first lap. The incident possibly cost Casoli the World Championship, which was won by Andrew Pitt, who finished fourth on the day. After the race Casoli complained bitterly to journalists, claiming that, in his opinion, Muggeridge had ridden dangerously, or even deliberately collided with him to ruin his championship chances. Jorg Teuchert, the only other rider with a chance of clinching the title, finished back in seventh.

Pitt’s fourth-place finish means he wins the title without actually winning a race. He looked hungry for a win early on, but as the battle between Muggeridge, Foret and Whitham got increasingly fierce, Pitt decided to settle
for fourth and the championship. Foret dived into the lead early in the race, passing all three riders in front of him on one lap, after sitting back for a few laps conserving his tires for a final push. Muggeridge and Whitham tripped each other up in the closing laps, allowing Foret to escape for the win. Whitham made a mistake on the penultimate lap, which cost him any chance he had of clinching the win, and he finished third behind Muggeridge and Foret.

Race results follow:

1. Fabien Foret, Honda, 40:09.883
2. Karl Muggeridge, Suzuki, 40:10.883
3. James Whitham, Yamaha, 40:12.134
4. Andrew Pitt, Kawasaki, 40:17.905
5. Pare Riba, Honda, 40:22.693
6. Iain MacPherson, Kawasaki, 40:22.849
7. Jorg Teuchert, Yamaha, 40:22.976
8. Katsuaki Fujiwara, Suzuki, 40:26.415
9. Piergiorgio Bontempi, Yamaha, 40:32.420
10. Chris Vermeulen, Honda, 40:33.772


Final World Supersport championship points:
1. Pitt, 149
2. Casoli, 147
3. Teuchert, 135
4. Whitham, 106
5. Kevin, 102
6. Riba, 94
7. Muggeridge, 92
8. Foret, 90
9. TIE, MacPherson/Fabrizio Pirovano, 67

Manufacturer points:
1. Yamaha, 219
2. Honda, 184
3. Kawasaki, 161
4. Suzuki, 127
5. Ducati, 50

Nicky Hayden won the final round of the AMA Chevy Trucks U.S. Superbike Championship, at Virginia International Raceway (VIR) Sunday, but Mat Mladin’s 12th-place finish was enough to win his third consecutive Championship. Title contender Eric Bostrom finished 10th.

The race was run in cool, breezy conditions in front of what looked to be a huge crowd.

Results follow:
1. Nicky Hayden, Honda
2. Anthony Gobert, Yamaha, -2.090 seconds
3. Kurtis Roberts, Honda, -25.725
4. Doug Chandler, Kawasaki, -29.232
5. Miguel Duhamel, Honda, -34.527
6. Aaron Yates, Suzuki, -39.924
7. Andreas Meklau, Ducati, -47.126
8. Tommy Hayden, Yamaha, -47.367
9. Steve Rapp, Ducati, -47.433
10. Eric Bostrom, Kawasaki, -48.132
11. Larry Pegram, Ducati, -66.365
12. Mat Mladin, Suzuki, -73.412
13. Pascal Picotte, Harley-Davidson, -1 lap
14. Jordan Szoke, Harley-Davidson, -1 lp
15. Andy Deatherage, Suzuki, -2 laps
16. Mauro Cereda, Suzuki, -2 laps
17. Jimmy Moore, Suzuki, -2 laps
18. Tony Meiring, Suzuki, -2 laps
19. Robert Jensen, Suzuki, -2 laps
20. Tony Lupo, Suzuki, -2 laps
21. Dean Mizdal, Suzuki, -3 laps
22. Chris Normand, Suzuki, -3 laps
23. Scott Carpenter, Suzuki, -3 laps
24. Tony Fania, Suzuki, -3 laps
25. Scotty Vanscoik, -3 laps
26. Wade Buffington, Suzuki, -3 laps
27. Mike Fitzpatrick, Suzuki, -3 laps
28. Chris Rankin, Suzuki, -3 laps
29. Brandon Bashore, Aprilia, -4 laps
30. Rich Conicelli, Suzuki, -19 laps
31. Greg Fryer, Yamaha, -33 laps

Unofficial Final Series Points:
1. Mladin, 380
2. Bostrom, 365
3. Nicky Hayden, 340
4. Chandler, 319
5. Duhamel, 300

Sunday Morning 250cc Grand Prix Practice Times:
1. Rich Oliver, Yamaha, 1:29.323
2. Chuck Sorensen, Yamaha, 1:29.980
3. Randy Renfrow, TSR-Honda, 1:30.678
4. Simon Turner, Yamaha, 1:31.126
5. Jim Filice, Yamaha, 1:31.404
6. Michael Hannas, Yamaha, 1:32.571
7. Perry Melneciuc, Yamaha, 1:32.841
8. Cory West, Yamaha, 1:33.242
9. Ed Sorbo, Yamaha, 1:33.763
10. Monty Warsing, Yamaha, 1:34.472
11. Mike Himmelsbach, Aprilia, 1:35.018
12. Chris Pyles, Yamaha, 1:35.232
13. Greg Esser, Honda, 1:35.346
14. Ed Marchini, Yamaha, 1:35.543
15. Alan Brault, Yamaha, 1:36.551

Copyright 2001, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

By David Swarts

Yoshimura Suzuki’s Mat Mladin lowsided his GSX-R750 Superbike at the end of Sunday morning’s Superbike final practice session at Virginia International Raceway, and the bike burned.

Mladin was unhurt after a long slide and got up to turn off the bike’s ignition, only to discover that the bike was beginning to burn.

Then, as seen on a Speedvision replay, Mladin began to motion to cornerworkers that a fire extinguisher was needed on his bike. Before Mladin returned his view down to his bike, flames burst from the downed machine and enveloped Mladin’s legs.

According to Suzuki’s Kevin Schwantz, Mladin “felt himself getting hot.” Mladin then looked down to see the flames surrounding him and immediately jumped back.

Seconds later, cornerworkers arrived on the scene and began to use fire extinguishers on Mladin’s burning bike. Unfortunately, the fire extinguishers seemed to have little effect on the raging blaze that could be scene from hundreds of yards away on pit lane. After a few moments the flames were finally extinguished but to many observers the fire fighting efforts seemed to take too long.

“The fire extinguishers didn’t seem to have too much effect, did they?” said Yoshimura Suzuki Team Manager Don Sakukura. “It seemed like it took forever for them to put it out. Mat’s tank was punctured.”

What appeared to be plain water coming out of the fire extinguisher used on Mladin’s fire was actually a mixture of water and a fire suppressant called “Cold Fire”, according to VIR’s Assistant Director of Emergency Services, David “Cowboy” Crumpton. “It’s mixed 24 ounces to two gallons of water, then pressurized with air into canisters,” said Crumpton. “It’s the latest stuff. We’ve used it with good results in car fires. It’s what is used in fire extinguishers at all of the Winston Cup tracks.” Crumpton then said that rescue vehicles at VIR carry an equal number of “Cold Fire” and conventional CO2 canisters.

On the effectiveness of the “Cold Fire” on Mladin’s bike, Crumpton said, “The problem was that the fuel was still leaking out feeding the fire.”

Sakukura said, “Mat’s going to have to race on his back-up bike now.” It was also confirmed by Yoshimura Suzuki that Jamie Hacking’s Superbike would become Mladin’s new back-up bike, as Hacking was injured when he crashed in 600cc Supersport practice on Saturday.

Chevy Trucks AMA Superbike Practice Times, Sunday Morning:
1. Doug Chandler, Kawasaki, 1:26.491
2. Mat Mladin, Suzuki, 1:26.503
3. Nicky Hayden, Honda, 1:26.941
4. Eric Bostrom, Kawasaki, 1:26.961
5. Kurtis Roberts, Honda, 1:27.063
6. Aaron Yates, Suzuki, 1:27.249
7. Miguel Duhamel, Honda, 1:27.335
8. Anthony Gobert, Yamaha, 1:27.608
9. Larry Pegram, Ducati, 1:27.936
10. Steve Rapp, Ducati, 1:28.196
11. Pascal Picotte, H-D, 1:28.470
12. Andreas Meklau, Ducati, 1:28.684
13. Tommy Hayden, Yamaha, 1:28.849
14. Jordan Szoke, H-D, 1:30.686
15. Mauro Cereda, Suzuki, 1:31.953
16. Anthony Lupo, Suzuki, 1:32.298
17. Greg Fryer, Yamaha, 1:32.580
18. Tony Meiring, Suzuki, 1:32.637
19. Robert Jensen, Suzuki, 1:32.645
20. Andrew Deatherage, Suzuki, 1:32.662

600cc Supersport Practice Times:
1. Aaron Yates, Suzuki, 1:28.741
2. Eric Bostrom, Kawasaki, 1:29.197
3. Kurtis Roberts, Honda, 1:29.367
4. Miguel Duhamel, Honda, 1:29.429
5. Tommy Hayden, Yamaha, 1:29.559
6. John Hopkins, Suzuki, 1:29.626
7. Anthony Gobert, Yamaha, 1:29.631
8. Roger Lee Hayden, Honda, 1:30.242
9. Jake Zemke, Honda, 1:30.370
10. Josh Hayes, Honda, 1:30.540
11. Grant Lopez, Suzuki, 1:30.908
12. Aaron Gobert, Yamaha, 1:31.071
13. Jimmy Moore, Suzuki, 1:31.349
14. Chris Caylor, Suzuki, 1:31.539
15. Lee Acree, Suzuki, 1:32.207
16. Vincent Haskovec, Suzuki, 1:32.284
17. Robert Jensen, Suzuki, 1:33.737
18. Daigoro Suzuki, Kawasaki, 1:34.039
19. David Ortega, Suzuki, 1:34.285
20. Tyler Wadsworth, Yamaha, 1:34.439

Saturday Morning 750cc Supersport Times:
1. Ben Spies, 1:28.942
2. Mike Ciccotto, 1:29.293
3. Tommy Hayden, Yamaha YZF-R6, 1:29.341
4. Eric Bostrom, Kawasaki ZX-6R, 1:29.398
5. Lee Acree, 1:29.605
6. Josh Hayes, Honda CBR600F4i, 1:29.727
7. Kurtis Roberts, Honda CBR600F4i, 1:30.033
8. Chris Ulrich, 1:30.358
9. Jason Pridmore, Suzuki GSX-R600, 1:30.459
10. Jake Zemke, Honda CBR600F4i, 1:30.621
11. Michael Barnes, 1:30.805
12. Roger Lee Hayden, Honda CBR600F4i, 1:30.809
13. Scott Harwell, 1:31.339
14. Anthony Lupo, 1:31.365
15. Richie Alexander, 1:31.457
16. Robert Jensen, 1:31.532
17. Rich Conicelli, 1:31.616
18. Tony Meiring, 1:31.928
19. Jimmy Moore, Suzuki GSX-R600, 1:32.021
20. Vincent Haskovec, Suzuki GSX-R600, 1:32.921

By John Ulrich

Jamie Hacking hit bare steel barrier in the first 600cc Supersport practice at VIR Saturday morning, outside the entrance to turn three. When eyewitness David Swarts drew me a diagram on a track map showing where Hacking hit, I took the map and went looking for AMA’s Ron Barrick at tech, where I was told that he was in a meeting and couldn’t be disturbed.

On pit lane I gave the map and drawing of the impact to the first AMA official I saw, who passed it off to another, who took it into the meeting involving Barrick and AMA Pro Racing Road Racing Operations Manager Gary Mathers.

A few moments later, I saw Mathers walking out of the AMA mobile command center. In the meantime, 600cc Supersport practice ended and 250s were immediately sent out onto the track.

“Gary,” I said, “Hacking hit bare Armco. Now that we’ve indentified a possible impact zone, shouldn’t we put out more Air Fence?”

Mathers told me they were looking into it.

“They just sent out another practice,” I said. “Why not stop practice and deploy more Air Fence? My kid is in the next practice. What if somebody else hits in the same place?”

Mathers said he’d look into it.

Back on pit lane, I learned that more Air Fence was being deployed even as the 750cc Supersport bikes went on track; although practice was continuing on schedule, one additional Air Fence section had already been inflated and another was being inflated as bikes headed out onto the track. Before the 14-minute session was over, two new sections had been deployed.

So, when I saw Mathers again shortly after the session, I said “Gary, I appreciate the quick response.”

His reply was stunning.

“We’re not going to deploy it until noon,” he said.

“You’re kidding, right?” I asked.

Mathers then went off on a tirade, albeit in a calm, controlled voice. His major points were:
–AMA had been at VIR for two days with no riders hitting the barrier where Hacking hit it.
–No riders had specifically requested Air Fence or haybale coverage at the impacted area.
–AMA officials did the best they could in deciding where to place haybales and Air Fence, and 12 sections of Air Fence were held in reserve.
–The practice schedule could not be delayed or stopped to deploy any Air Fence, and additional sections would not be deployed in the area until noon.

And the kicker:

“We can’t stop practice for an hour to place nine or 10 additional sections of Air Fence in that area. You’re gonna roast us anyway, so go ahead and roast us. If it’s too dangerous for your son, don’t run your son. You even roasted us for not running at Willow, and that’s patriotic. So go ahead and roast us.”

I was hearing a familiar AMA Pro Racing refrain: If you don’t like it, get out of here.

I had heard it from AMA Pro Racing CEO Scott Hollingsworth about a year ago: If you don’t like the job we’re doing, don’t run our series. He has said the same thing about AMA Superbike Champion Mat Mladin–if he doesn’t like the job AMA is doing, or has a problem being fined for expressing his opinion, he should race somewhere else.

And now, if I want Air Fence that I helped pay for deployed in a newly-identified impact area, and if I want it done before my son takes to the racetrack, then I shouldn’t make a suggestion, but instead I shouldn’t run my son.

In other words, if you don’t like your son running with bare steel barrier that has aready been hit by another rider, go home.

It is a sentiment that illustrates everything that is wrong with AMA Pro Racing and the people who run it. It goes perfectly with AMA Pro Racing Director of Competition Merrill Vanderslice’s response to Grant Lopez, when Lopez was trying to broker 5 laps of practice prior to the 600cc Supersport race at Loudon, after the track had been dried, to get the riders to take to the grid: “They (the riders) don’t run the AMA, we do.”

It goes perfectly with the AMA Pro Racing dictate that a pace car will be used at VIR, with riders and teams given no opportunity for input or comment.

I will remember that single comment made by Mathers in rejecting a perfectly reasonable request for the greater good–“If it’s too dangerous for your son, don’t run your son.”

It explains so much of what is dreadfully wrong with AMA Pro Racing, and the AMA.


Post script: Fortunately, Mathers didn’t know what he was talking about, and the two sections of additional Air Fence were deployed in short order.

And for the record, I didn’t “roast” AMA for postponing the race at Willow the weekend after the WTC disaster, as anybody who has actually read the posts on roadracingworld.com can see. As for why AMA Pro Racing refused to reschedule the race either one week before VIR or one week after, and instead insisted on trying to reschedule on top of the Formula USA finale at Daytona, leading to the AMA event’s cancellation, that’s another question for Mathers & Company, likely to produce another bizarre answer…

I don’t know the true answer to that question, but I hope to be able to access that information around February, 2002, at the AMA Board of Trustees meeting. Stay tuned…

Copyright 2001, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

AMA Pro Racing is considering a proposal to make Continental the spec tire of the Grand National Championship (GNC) dirt track series.

The proposed 3-year deal would involved minimum payments to AMA Pro Racing of $40,000 per year plus a kickback of $3 per tire sold to racers, who would be charged about $230 per set of tires.

Under terms of the proposed agreement, only Continental tires could be used in AMA GNC dirt track races.

The proposal has been made by Greg Tysor, a dirt track racer and Continental executive, and is under consideration by AMA Pro Racing.