From a press release:

MARLBORO YAMAHA TEAM TESTS
Mugello, Italy
Wednesday May 8 2002

RAIN DOMINATES FIRST DAY OF MUGELLO TESTS

Marlboro Yamaha Team riders Carlos Checa and Max Biaggi were due to test at Mugello today but persistent rain meant that Biaggi decided not to go out. Meanwhile teammate Checa took the opportunity to use the latest chassis in the wet having been forced to ride with the old chassis during the rain-soaked Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka a month ago. Checa stayed out for most of the afternoon. The two-day session continues tomorrow. The team is hoping for better weather but the forecast is not promising.

From a press release:

MONSTERMOB DUCATI BRITISH SUPERBIKE TEAM

Round 4 – 2002 MCN British Superbike Championship, Oulton Park

Sunday 5th/Monday 6th May 2002

Race Report

Double Win for Team MonsterMob

MonsterMob Ducati riders Steve Hislop and Stuart Easton claimed a win a piece in round four of the 2002 MCN British Superbike Championship at Oulton Park on Monday, a bank holiday.

Superbike Championship leader Steve Hislop extended his lead to 34 points after winning the opening Superbike race of the day after a race long dice with fellow Ducati rider Michael Rutter to claim his fifth successive Oulton Park victory.

But any hopes of repeating the feat were dashed when a multi-bike pile-up stopped the second race at half distance when the 40-year-old Scot was lying in a close second place to Rutter.

The resulting oil spillage meant the track was too slippery to continue racing so the decision was taken to declare a result as of 8 laps with half points awarded.

“There was no way we could race over that oil. It was so slippery and it was the right decision to make. It was disappointing as I reckon I could have won the restart. But race one was perfect and I’m glad I extended my lead in the Championship.”

For 17-year-old Stuart Easton, the Hawick rider scored his third successive win in the Supersport class with an easy start-to-finish victory aboard his 748cc Ducati.

Easton now leads the series by 13 points and was delighted with his success.

“Everything went to plan and I was surprised how easy it was. My lap times were good and its another 25 points.”

Team owner Paul Bird was happy with the results.

“Another Oulton Park double was great in front of our sponsors and we’ve achieved our objectives with extending both championship leads.” said the Penrith businessman.

Superbike Race One Result – 1. Steve Hislop (MonsterMob Ducati) 27:47.928, 2. Michael Rutter (Ducati) 27:50.189, 3. Sean Emmett (Ducati) 28:04.816, 4. Paul Brown (Ducati) 28:06.481, 5. John Reynolds (Suzuki) 28:08.041, 6. Steve Plater (Yamaha) 28:12.106.

Race Two Result – 1. Michael Rutter (Ducati) 12:25.313, 2. Steve Hislop (MonsterMob Ducati) 12:25.517, 3. Sean Emmett (Ducati) 12:26.977, 4. Paul Brown (Ducati) 12:27.796, 5. John Reynolds (Suzuki) 12:29.108, 6. Karl Harris (Suzuki) 12:37.073.

Supersport Result – 1. Stuart Easton (MonsterMob Ducati 748) 26:08.044, 2. Scott Smart (Honda) 26:12.869, 3. Pete Jennings (Kawasaki) 26:13.356, 4. Michael Laverty (Honda) 26:13.477, 5. Ben Wilson (Honda) 26:15.050, 6. Tom Tunstall (Suzuki) 26:28.340

British Superbike Championship Standings – 1. Steve Hislop (MonsterMob Ducati) 156pts, 2. Sean Emmett (Ducati) 122pts, 3. Michael Rutter (Ducati) 114.5pts, 4. Shane Byrne (Ducati) 88.5pts, 5. Steve Plater (Yamaha) 88pts, 6. John Reynolds (Suzuki) 85.5pts



More, from another press release:

Oulton Park 125 race scrapped

In an extraordinary twist in the day’s events, the 125 race at Oulton Park has been cancelled in the interests of rider safety.

The decision follows a four-bike accident in the second superbike leg after John Reynolds’ Suzuki GSX-R1000 blew its engine, spreading oil over a large proportion of one of the fastest sections of the circuit. Reynolds’ bad luck became his team’s misfortune when team-mate Karl Harris also crashed out on the oil, suffering multiple injuries in the process. According to his team’s spokeman, Harris will be out of contention for 8-10 weeks.

After nearly an hour of extra practice, track cleaning and protracted riders’ meetings, the decision to abandon the Superbike re-start and the following 125cc race was made by the race director at around 5:35 p.m.

The news came as a crushing blow to the entire 125 paddock who, after three days of hard work, simply had to pack up and head for home.

‘I’m blown away,’ said 17 year-old Rookie rider Guy Farbrother. ‘I was fastest for most of this morning’s warm-up and ended up third quickest. I knew a podium result was a reality here and I needed that for myself and the guys in the team who’ve all worked so hard. I don’t know what to say.’

Fellow Red Bull Rookie rider, 15 year-old Midge Smart, looked equally devastated at the news to can the 125s at Oulton Park. ‘I’ve been sat here in my leathers for over an hour and we’ve been looking at the clock wondering what’s going on for all that time. Gutted is not the word,’ said Smart.

Smart impressed in Monday morning’s warm-up, too. The newcomer to Oulton Park posted the tenth quickest time, shaving nearly a second off his qualifying time – a performance that promised great things for the race.

Rookies team-manager Robin Appleyard summed up the events: ‘It’s not just us who are massively disappointed today – the entire 125 grid is gutted. But, at the end of the day, it’s rider safety that matters and I totally respect the Superbike lads’ decision that the oil from Avenue to Cascades would make racing too dangerous. I feel for Midge and Guy because they were up for it today. Guy and the team were looking forward to our first podium of the year and little Midge was definitely up for another points-scoring top ten. I hear we’re running two rounds at Silverstone in a fortnight to make up for it so I guess we’ll just have to knuckle down for that and put all this behind us.’

From a press release:

AMA PRESENTS “BRIGHTER IMAGE AWARD” TO SPACE SHUTTLE PILOT DUANE CAREY

PICKERINGTON, OHIO — The American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) has announced that Lt. Col. Duane G. “Digger” Carey is the latest recipient of the AMA Hazel Kolb Brighter Image Award. The presentation took place this morning during Carey’s visit to AMA headquarters in Pickerington, Ohio.

A 25-year AMA member and an avid motorcyclist, Carey served as pilot of Space Shuttle Mission STS-109, which serviced the Hubble Space Telescope in March of 2002. The award is the AMA’s highest honor for activities that generate positive publicity for motorcycling.

“As Americans, we all admire the courage and dedication of the men and women who venture into space,” said Robert Rasor, President of the AMA. “Duane Carey, as a long-time motorcyclist, wins special admiration from those of us who share his passion for riding, and he’s most deserving of this award.”

Prior to the mission, Carey asked the AMA for an item to take with him into space. Today he returned that item — a one-of-a-kind flag bearing the emblem of the AMA — for display at the Association’s headquarters.

Carey, 44, has logged over 3,700 hours in more than 35 different types of aircraft as an Air Force test pilot. He began riding motorcycles at age 13, and today enjoys both on-road and off-road motorcycling.

Copyright 2002, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Interview by David Swarts

Parts Unlimited/PJ1/Erion Honda-sponsored Kurtis Roberts has been out of the public eye since his crash, and resulting injuries, during qualifying for the California Speedway Superbike race April 5. Roberts attended the Sears Point round May 3-5 and took a moment to speak to Roadracingworld.com about his injury and predicted recovery and return to racing.

Roadracingworld.com: How’s it going?

Kurtis Roberts: It’s going slowly and we’ll back on the bike as soon as it’s 100% and my fitness is back. I had a lot of problems there. I was taking a lot of stuff and it screwed my system up to where I didn’t want to eat or anything. So I’ve lost some weight from the whole thing, just because all of the pain pills and stuff I was on there for a few weeks and laying in bed all day long. I mean, this week is the first I’ve really done anything. I just started walking on the thing three days ago.

We’re going to hit it hard this week and hopefully get some mobility back in the thing. Start riding a Honda XR100 and a motocross bike and be back before we actually planned on.

RW: Tell us about the crash.

KR: I’ve fallen off a few times in testing this winter, and I can’t say enough about some of the sponsors I have. I crashed at Fontana (during testing in January) fourth gear wide open and my Teknic leathers protected me perfectly in a long slide on the banking.

Then the qualifying crash at Fontana was the worst crash I’ve ever went through. The whole time it just hurt so bad, I was just, ‘Somebody just come out here and shoot me.’ I couldn’t move, and usually I’m the last guy to get up on a stretcher, the last guy to let them pull my helmet off. ‘I can walk off anything,’ is what my brain always tells me. I never liked to be the guy to get in the ambulance and get on the stretcher, because if I do that I know I’m hurt. And I was letting them take my helmet off, they’re holding my neck and I just laying there AHHHH and trying to breathe.

Even when I was with my old helmet company, I still got headaches every time I’ve hit my head. I hit my head so hard (in the Fontana crash) and that thing was so unbelievable. I didn’t get anything. It’s such a testament to the Shoei product. It’s unbelievable! I still look at that. It’s one of the things I look at, how hard I hit my head, and not have a headache or anything. You should see the helmet and how it’s ground down all over.

RW: So what actually happened?

KR: A lot of people said that they had problems with the Qs and stuff. This was the first lap I had ever gone out on it. To start the lap, I flicked it back in the first chicane. I’m always kind of wary of a qualifier because I never know if I get them hot enough on the first lap. As soon as I flicked it right, the bike chattered just for a second, just like that. Then it was fine and I drove out of the corner. I thought, ‘OK, I just didn’t have it hot enough. Now it should be OK.’ And then you know that chicane where I fell off, there’s that double left then you lean left and right and on the right you’re not really leaned over. You’re just going straight through it. Well, when I went left coming out of the corner, I pointed it right where I wanted to be and I went just a few degrees off straight up and down, and the thing just let go. As soon as it let go, it caught and threw me back off the inside of the bike. Then I think it threw me down and I actually picked the bike back up, is how the video kind of looks to me. Then the thing started cart-wheeling, which it might have hit me and started cart-wheeling or what not. But I think what happened was the thing that just happened was the thing hit my leg and that was about all she wrote.

RW: At what point did they find the really bad stuff?

KR: There was nothing that they found out was bad. Every time you hit your muscle real hard, you get a hematoma. Because the only way your body repairs itself is by sending a whole lot of blood down there. Afterwards, it just kept sending blood in there, sending blood in there. Since it was so damaged, it just kept filling it up and filling it up and it didn’t have anyway to come back out. That’s where all the pain came from and stuff.

My leg was twice the size of my normal leg. Now it’s about one-and-a-half times normal. It was so hard you couldn’t even push it in. It was like pushing on a concrete wall. A week later, I was in my house about 6:00 p.m. Sunday night. I was up in the kitchen on my crutches and I was like, ‘Man, it’s really starting to hurt me. I’ve got to go sit and get my leg elevated.’ It just kept getting worse and worse. I took two of my pain pills and nothing happened. It kept getting worse and I was going, ‘Aw, hell!’

Art Ting said that it might get bad enough that I would have to go in and get a pain shot. I was just going to go up to him and get it handled, but he was gone in LA. But it was like 8:00 p.m., then 9:00 p.m. and I was like, ‘We’ve got to go to the hospital.’ I was in tears from the thing. I just wasn’t going to make it. There’s not enough of anything I could take to get rid of the pain. I had ice on my leg for five hours without ever taking it off, just to try and numb to where it didn’t hurt so bad. I was just in agonizing pain the whole time. It was getting so bad to where I couldn’t breathe.

When they finally took me back into the (examination) room at 3:00 a.m., after being there from 10:00 p.m., the guy told me I need to breathe, I need to relax and stuff. It hurt so bad! I’d rather somebody just come up and knock me out with a shot to the head, just beat the hell out of me, rather than go through it.

Art said that we’re just going to have go in and find out, because it shouldn’t be swelling up this much. So they just went in. (Ting) found what he basically described as 32 ounces of fluid, gelatin-type blood material, in my muscle. He said, you take that and put it in a 32-ounce bottle of water and you just pressurize it and there was that much pressure inside my leg. So they took that out and I’ve been trying to heal ever since.

It’s been pretty brutal. I mean, it’s definitely the first injury I’ve had. It looks like it’s going to get better one day, then the next day it hurts twice as bad as it has in the last week. And it’s been so mental. One day it’s better, the next day it’s hurting. I still haven’t been able to sleep through the night without having to wake up from it. If I need to get up in the night to go to the bathroom, I can’t even walk.

It’s definitely been a bad deal, but it’s starting to make the turn now. Physically, we’ve just got to get my fitness to where it was, a little better than where it was would be nice because I can always be better. Right now the main thing is to get better and heal up.

Of course, Honda has been unbelievably supportive. I can’t thank Ray Blank, Gary Christopher and Chuck Miller and all of my mechanics and everyone that works on the team for Miguel and Nicky enough for just how great they’ve been. They’re always calling and asking and checking on me. They’re just making sure that I heal up right, and they’re not pressuring me to get back on the bike. When you’re getting paid a lot of money from these companies and you’re not really doing what you’re supposed to do…they realize it wasn’t really my fault.

This year just didn’t go how it was supposed to. Daytona going how it was for 18 laps, and the end of that just broke my heart, basically. I didn’t overheat the tire, which everyone’s accused me of doing because of how I normally ride. I actually slowed the race pace down and stuff. I was really looking forward to racing with Nick, because he’s riding harder than anybody right now. I figured through winter testing it was going to be me and him racing with each other and Miguel was going to be right there, too.

RW: When do you think you’ll be back?

KR: Hopefully, Colorado. I’m not for sure, just when the thing’s 100%. Maybe Elkhart, possibly Colorado.

RW: What brought you to Sears Point this weekend?

KR: I came to see everybody. Everybody’s been asking about me, and I’ve been away from it all and have turned my phone off most of the time, people calling all of the time. Show up, show my support for Honda and my teammates. To come here and watch these guys do what they did was kind of neat. I wish I was out there racing with them. I think we could have had an all-Honda podium.

Nicky rode unbelievable all weekend. Nicky’s rode unbelievable all year. Miguel rode just fantastic. A couple of things hesitated him from racing with Nick. I’m looking forward to getting back on the bike because I’ve seen so much improvement the guys have done this year from last year. Last year, I’d go into the race on Sunday afternoon, we’d still be scratching our heads figuring what the hell we’re gonna have on the bike. It doesn’t look like that’s a problem now. I’m really looking forward to getting back out there with the guys and getting a 1-2-3 for Honda.

From a press release:

World Superbike Championship
Round five: Monza, Italy
Wednesday 8 May 2002
Event preview

Hodgson fired up for round five

HM Plant Ducati/GSE Racing has touched down in Italy for the fifth round of the World Superbike Championship. The northern Italy circuit of Monza plays host to the three-day event where the British team’s riders of Neil Hodgson and James Toseland are hoping to maintain their highly successful run of form. This has earned them third and seventh places respectively in the 2002 championship standings.

The Italian circuit is one of the faster tracks on the SBK calendar and both riders enjoy the many challenges that are encompassed in its 5.79km length.

“Monza is one of my favourite circuits,” claims Hodgson. “Despite a few problems last year, I still managed to qualify second and lead the second race. This year I’m expecting a bit more luck. My chief engineer Roberto Bonazzi has done an incredible job on the HM Plant Ducati, and I have absolute confidence in the machine. This means that I now feel like I can push really hard. In short: I’ve never been looking forward to getting on a race bike as much as I am right now!”

James Toseland mirrors his team-mate’s determined attitude. The 21-year-old from Sheffield has impressed many with his recent performances and sees the current round as an ideal opportunity to build on the commanding position that he has already carved out for himself and the team.

“I’ve yet to have a good result at Monza, but I still always look forward to going there. I’ve made mistakes there in the past but I’ve learned from them and won’t be repeating them this time. The Parabolica curve is one piece of track that I’m particularly looking forward to conquering.”

Team Manager Colin Wright: “Even at this relatively early stage of the season, the whole HM Plant Ducati/GSE Racing team is functioning brilliantly as unit. The HM Plant Ducatis are pulling level with the full factory machinery and I’m really pleased with the way Neil and James are performing. I’ll be expecting nothing less than the best at Monza.”

2001 results
Race one:
1. T. Bayliss
2. C. Edwards
3. A. Yanagawa

DNF N. Hodgson
DNF J. Toseland

Race two:
1. T. Bayliss
2. C. Edwards
3. A. Yanagawa

7. N. Hodgson
DNF J. Toseland

Lap record: 1:48.913 C. Edwards 2001

From a press release:

Team Stargel Aprilia Perseveres At Sears

This past weekend brought the third round of the AMA 250GP season at Sears Point Raceway. The team entered the weekend having thought they had eliminated an electrical gremlin that cost them a shot at a win previously at Fontana. Unfortunately, this same problem once again reared its head, causing engine failures on both Friday and during the first lap of Saturdays qualifying session.

Chuck Sorensen kept his wits about him, removed the transponder from his Aprilia RSV250 and ran from turn three back to the pits. He arrived, much to the surprise of his crew, with less than five minutes remaining in the session. Team owner, Rocky Stargel, asked Terry Csyz and Tom Knudson of Tom Colin Racing if they would allow Chuck to ride their Aprilia RSV250 backup bike in qualifying. They graciously agreed, and with five minutes left in the session, Sorensen managed to secure seventh place on the grid.

The team dodged a bullet and had a second row grid position, but as of late Saturday, did not have a running motorcycle to compete with. With some invaluable assistance from Roland Cushway, the TSA crew worked feverishly building a totally new Aprilia RSV250. They ended their ‘workday’ at 2:30 a.m. Sunday morning, with no real idea how this unproven machine would perform.

If the team thought they have experienced enough drama leading up to the race, then the race itself was the culmination of it all. Sorensen worked his Aprilia though the pack until he passed then leader, Roland Sands. The two traded the lead and raced at a dizzying pace driving each other faster still. On lap 15, Sorensen cemented the win by uncorking a lap of 1:34.8! To put this in perspective, this lap time was over a full second faster than any competitor in the Superstock class, within .478 of the top time in Supersport, and would have landed him in the top 10 of the Superbike race.

After the race, Sorensen was asked where this win stacked up over the course of his career. He had this comment:

“This win was special because of the trials the team was put through before the race, and the fact this is my home track, with all my family and friends in attendance. I feel this race was one of my best performances to date in AMA competition. I think I might be coming into my prime as far as my riding is concerned.”

Team Stargel Aprilia would like to thank the supporters who make their efforts possible: Aprilia USA, Aprilia Italy, FGF Corse, Dunlop, Performance Powersports, VP Racing Fuels, Castrol, EBC Brakes, Shoei, Helimot, Held Gloves, Daytona Boots, Fox Racing, Smith Sport, TC’s Specialized Graphics & Regina Chains.

From a press release:

Honda Racing’s Nicky Hayden won the fourth round of the AMA Superbike Championship series at Sears Point Raceway in convincing fashion. Nicky’s win today was his 3rd Superbike win this season and the eighth for Honda at Sears Point. Hayden rode patiently right from the start of the race, sitting in third place then making a dramatic pass on both Duhamel and Gobert to take the lead. Hayden then pulled away for his third win of the season. Hayden commented on the dominating RC51 at the press conference, “Yeah, I mean it shows the improvement the team’s made with the bike and myself this year. That race was awesome!”

Honda Racing’s Miguel Duhamel was on the gas in Sonoma and finished a close second behind Hayden for the runner up spot. The all time AMA Superbike winner has fared well at Sears Point Raceway and likes the track. Dumamel’s podium finish was encouraging for his fans. At the press conference Duhamel said, “I feel pretty good. The team did a really good effort. I mean we’ve been pretty strong on race tires all through the weekend and today we basically put in our qualifying time on race tires. The bike’s working really good. The race went really well. Just a few times I got caught up in slow traffic.”

Erion Racing’s Kurtis Roberts missed racing the double-header weekend but attended to support his teammates. Kurtis is continuing a stringent rehabilitation program form his Fontana crash and hopes to return to racing soon.

AMA Superbike, Round 4, Sonoma, CA, Overall Finishers:
1. Nicky Hayden – Honda
2. Miguel Duhamel – Honda
3. Eric Bostrom – Kawasaki
4. Anthony Gobert – Yamaha
5. Pascal Picotte – Ducati

AMA / Chevy Trucks U.S. Superbike Championship series Round 5: Sears
Point Raceway, Sonoma, CA, May 5, 2002

Honda Racing’s Nicky Hayden won the second leg of the double header Superbike race weekend held in Sonoma, CA. By doing the double and winning both Superbike races, Hayden takes a commanding lead in the Championship series heading into Road Atlanta in a couple of weeks. This was Hayden’s eighth win in the last nine Superbike races, including last season. He is quickly becoming one of the elite riders in Superbike racing in the world. Here’s what Nicky had to say at the press conference: ” It feels awesome, really good. Right from the start, actually before the race I wanted to get the holeshot today. Those last few laps were I mean a handful. I saw those guys coming back toward me and I was just trying to get back through traffic. I couldn’t really go any faster, you know. The team right now is just awesome. I mean all my mechanics work so well together. I mean Merlyn Plumlee and those guys they just I mean really, not enough good things I can say about them. Miguel knows. His guys are good, too and like you said we work together.”

Honda Racing’s Miguel Duhamel also had a fantastic showing in the second Sears Point Superbike Race, finishing third overall, thus securing podium positions in both Saturday and Sunday’s races. At the press conference Miguel had these comments: ” You know everything went really well. The bike was running strong. Just trying to keep Nicky honest out there. He was doing a great job. You could tell that he was going off his board and making sure that I didn’t get too over enthusiastic, but try and keep the gap decent. That last lap, I put my head down and tried to catch him. We rode pretty well and that’s basically it. I’m pretty happy. Everything worked good. I mean, back on the box. Back getting up there and keeping people honest out there. Hopefully we’ll be able to improve on that, of course.”

AMA Superbike, Round 5, Sonoma, CA, Overall Finishers:
1. Nicky Hayden – Honda
2. Aaron Yates – Suzuki
3. Miguel Duhamel – Honda
4. Eric Bostrom – Kawasaki
5. Pascal Picotte- Ducati

AMA Superbike Point Standings:
1. Nicky Hayden – Honda – 178
2. Anthony Gobert – Yamaha – 118
3. Aaron Yates – Suzuki – 116
4. Eric Bostrom – Kawasaki – 114
5. Jamie Hacking – Suzuki – 107

12. Miguel Duhamel – Honda – 85

AMA / Pro Honda Oils 600cc Supersport Series Round 3: Sears Point
Raceway, Sonoma, CA, May 5, 2002

Bruce Transportation Group / Honda Racing’s Jake Zemke rode his CBR600F4i to a hard fought sixth place position in the 600cc Supersport event. Zemke’s teammate Alex Gobert finished in sixteenth.

Erion Racing’s Mike Hale was right behind Jake Zemke and would eventually cross the checkered flag in seventh place. Teammate Roger Hayden did not race due to a knee injury. More information to follow on Roger Hayden’s knee condition.

AMA Supersport, Round 3, Sonoma, CA, Overall Finishers:
1. Aaron Yates – Suzuki
2. Anthony Gobert – Yamaha
3. Jamie Hacking – Suzuki
4. Damon Buckmaster – Yamaha
5. Ben Spies – Suzuki
6. Jake Zemke – Honda
7. Mike Hale – Honda

16. Alex Gobert – Honda

AMA Supersport Point Standings:
1. Aaron Yates – Suzuki – 110
2. Jamie Hacking – Suzuki – 81
3. Damon Buckmaster – Suzuki – 79
4. Ben Spies – Suzuki – 73
5. Mike Hale – Honda – 70

10. Jake Zemke – Honda – 58

13. Alex Gobert – Honda – 48

AMA / Lockhart Phillips USA Formula Xtreme series Round 2: Sears Point
Raceway, Sonoma, CA, May 5, 2002

Bruce Transportation Group / Honda Racing’s Jake Zemke continues to gain momentum in the Formula Xtreme series. Zemke who finished third in
round one, raced to a solid second here at Sears Point Raceway. Teammate Alex Gobert finished inside the top ten with a ninth place position.

Erion Racing’s Mike Hale raced hard to a fourth place finish and is showing his consistency in the Formula Xtreme class. Teammate Roger
Hayden did not race due to a knee injury. More information to follow on Roger Hayden’s knee condition.

AMA Formula Xtreme, Sonoma, CA, Overall Finishers:
1. Damon Buckmaster – Yamaha
2. Jake Zemke – Honda
3. Martin Graggill – Suzuki
4. Mike Hale – Honda
5. Ben Spies – Suzuki

9. Alex Gobert – Honda

AMA Formula Xtreme Point Standings:
1. Damon Buckmaster – Yamaha – 75
2. Jake Zemke – Honda – 61
3. Jason Pridmore – Suzuki – 58
4. Mike Hale – Honda – 54
5. Ben Spies – Suzuki – 52

7. Alex Gobert -Honda – 44

Upcoming Rounds:
May 17-19, Braselton GA, Round 5
May 31st, Colorado Springs, CO, Round 6

Copyright 2002, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Racer Marcus McBain has won the eBay auction of an Ruben Xaus autographed Suomy Gun Wind helmet with a bid of $760. The auction was held to benefit the Roadracingworld.com Action Fund.

Counting the successful auction bid and his previous donations, McBain has contributed a total of $2760 to the Roadracingworld.com Action Fund, which is dedicated to obtaining and deploying Air Fence and Air Module soft barriers at road races.

The next auction to benefit the Roadracingworld.com Action Fund will start in the near future.

From an Aprilia press release:

MS Aprilia Racing Press Information

2002 MotoGP World Championship

Round 3 – Jerez de La Frontera (Spain) – 3/4/5 May 2002

MotoGP – Sunday 5 May

On the track where it made its debut in January, the RS Cube terminates the third race of its young life, once again in the points.


Régis Laconi overtaken on the last lap by two competitors after yellow flag goes up. Revised ratings put Régis and the Cube in 14th place.

The Cube passed under the chequered flag for the third time, against the magical backdrop of 127,000 spectators. After two very hard days working on the settings of his bike, Régis Laconi once more rode into the points. During the closing lap of the race, Régis was overtaken by two competitors while the track officials were flying the yellow flag. Racing regulations forbid overtaking whenever the yellow signal is up. The new ratings improve Laconi’s standing in the final classification.


# 55 Régis Laconi – (MS APRILIA RACING) – 14th – 47’42.527

“I was giving 150%, putting everything I’d got into it. I felt great on the bike, but when the race came to an end and I got off the saddle, my leg muscles were cramped and aching. I just couldn’t have given more. I was overtaken by two riders while the yellow flag was up. Three corners before the end, I saw a huge number of marshals who I thought were probably lining up to prevent a track invasion. Just after that, the yellow flag went up. I slowed down and was overtaken by the two riders behind me. I signalled this to the race officials and they quite rightly corrected the final classification. This weekend’s work wasn’t that easy, even though we did manage to find a good compromise for the race. The rear tyre was skidding out of the exits and this meant I wasn’t able to get full power out of the Cube. The next race is at Le Mans – that’s ‘home’ for me – in two weeks’ time. You can be sure I’ll be ready to go flat out again.”