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.”

Copyright 2002, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Racers John France and Michael Hannas say they ran afoul of AMA officials at Sears Point as a result of criticism they posted on roadracingworld.com.

A letter from France criticizing the treatment of 250cc Grand Prix competitors at the Fontana AMA National and an e-mail from Hannas criticizing safety conditions at Sears Point resulted in a tongue-lashing for France and trouble in tech for Hannas, the riders said.

Returning a phone call from roadracingworld.com regarding Hannas’ charges, AMA Pro Racing’s Ron Barrick said May 7 that he had spoken to AMA Pro Racing Technical Manager Rob King and that they knew of no problems with Hannas’ bike getting through tech at Sears Point. “It’s pretty bizarre that he would think that,” said Barrick of the accusation. “I thought I had a pretty good relationship with Hannas.”

AMA Pro Racing Director of Professional Competition Merrill Vanderslice reacted angerly to France in the pits at Sears Point, France said.

According to France, the exchange at Sears Point started when he saw Vanderslice and said “That wasn’t a very smooth move out at Fontana, not letting us run.

“That kind of set him off,” continued France. “He said to me, ‘You had to go put something on roadracingworld.com about it. You had to go put something on there about it.’ He claimed if it wasn’t for him, the 250cc class would have been gone years ago. He was pretty mad, the little veins in his neck were sticking out and his face was turning purple. He told me that everyone in the AMA from the Chairman of the Board on down had read my letter on your website and were on his case about it.

“Everybody I talked to who read it thought it was pretty good, and pretty funny, kind of sarcastic. I said to him, ‘You don’t have any sense of humor about this, Merrill?’ And he said, ‘No, none at all.’

“He said that if he had let a rider who wasn’t within 112% out on the track and someone had collided with them, that wouldn’t be good.

“I just reported it the way it was. Everybody who talked to me said that was exactly the way it went down, that there was nothing in the letter that they could argue with.

“I don’t see where it would have hurt to let everybody run at Fontana. The whole weekend was screwed up and they could have let everybody go and said, ‘OK, next time you know what the rules are.’ When everything is messed up, give the riders the benefit of the doubt and let them go out there. In the past when everything was messed up they gridded us on points.”

Meanwhile, Hannas, AMA Supersport #21, said that his mechanic had trouble getting his racebike through tech at Sears Point and attributed the problem to his posted letter criticizing track set-up during an AFM weekend preceeding the AMA National.

“After hearing the AMA Pro Racing and Sears Point Raceway’s responses to the issues raised by Yates, Mladin, and Gobert in the Friday press conference, I could not help but laugh to myself,” wrote Hannas in an e-mail to Roadracing World.

“For the AMA to be mad at riders for openly and honestly answering questions asked by reporters is very unprofessional, whether the responses to the questions are in the best interest of the image of the AMA or not. Perhaps making sure that racetracks are safe for the level of competition that AMA Pro Racers ride at BEFORE official practice starts would be in the best interest of the image of the AMA; attempting to censor riders’ comments at an open press conference in my opinion is not.

“My props to Aaron, Mat, and Anthony for telling it how it is. Not that I possess any sort of psychic powers or anything, but it was clear to me that this situation would arise when I rode the track and offered my comments on the safety issue three weeks before the National. Maybe I should have directed my comments towards the AMA or the track officials, but past experiences persuaded me that they would be falling on deaf ears. It is encouraging that Sears Point is open to riders’ comments and suggestions regarding safety improvements. They have talked the talk, now it is up to the riders to see if the track can walk the walk.

“I am saying all this knowing that I will be scrutinized by AMA officials (After my comments regarding Sears Point before this weekend, my mechanic had to run my bike through tech three times before the third tech inspector ‘realized’ that it was legal in the first place) but it needs to be said.”

France’s original letter was posted April 25 under this headline:

04/25/2002 Letter From The Grid: One Racer’s Disastrous Fontana AMA National

Hannas’ original e-mail was posted April 16 under this headline:

04/16/2002 Racer Michael Hannas Says New Walls Make Sears Point Much More Dangerous

From a press release:

PCS Daytona WERA Sponsorship

PCS Daytona, the Daytona Beach motorcycle center, best known for their Ducati specialty & performance work, and headquarters for Club PCS SportBike Riders Club, is proud to announce their support of the WERA Vintage Race Program.

PCS Daytona will sponsor 3 rounds of the WERA Vintage Southeastern Series. Two rounds will be held at the new facility in Jennings Fl, North Florida Motorsports Park. These event dates are July 20-21, and August 31/September 1 2002.

The third event will be held at Savannah’s Roebling Road Race way, September 14-15 2002.

“I’m especially pleased that WERA gave us the opportunity to sponsor these events, because WERA’s Vintage program offers riders a place to compete on ‘Modern Classic’ type motorcycles,” said PCS Daytona owner Tony Foster. “The kind of bikes we rode and worked on when I first opened my shop and got involved in racing 20 years ago!

“We hope to be even more involved with this program in 2003, with our own PCS Daytona WERA Team, competing in the V4 and V5 classes.”

Copyright 2002, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Hot off a podium finish in the AMA Superstock National at Sears Point with rider Brian Parriott, White Tip Racing has moved to a new, 6000-square-foot facility in San Diego, California.

The new phone number is (858) 536-2920 and the new address is 7558 Trade St., San Diego, CA. 92121

White Tip Racing offers full engine building services, dyno tuning, G.M.D. Computrack, and is a Traxxion Dynamics Axxion Center.

From a press release:

TV COVERAGE FOR 125 GP

TORONTO, ON – This year’s Diablo Paintball Can-Am 125GP Challenge has been given a boost with the confirmation of television coverage on The Sports Network (TSN).

The fourth event in the five-round series for purebred road racing machines, which will be held at Atlantic Motorsport Park in Shubenacadie, NS on August 11 will be shown on TSN in a half-hour program.

The race will be part of the penultimate event of the Parts Canada Superbike Championship national road race series, also televised on TSN.

Series and race promoters expect a field of over 30 competitors from Canada and the United States for the 125GP Challenge race, which will feature a purse of $6000. The event is sponsored by Auto Trader and Pro Cycle of Dartmouth, Nova Scotia along with Canadian Kawasaki Motors, Honda Canada, Suzuki Canada and Yamaha Motor Canada. TSN has also signed on as a presenting sponsor.

The race will be sanctioned by the international governing body, the Federation Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM) through its Canadian arm, the Canadian Motorcycle Association (CMA) and the North American Motorcycle Union (NAMU).

The Diablo Paintball Can-Am 125GP Challenge was created by veteran competitor John Bickle as a potential development series for up-and-coming motorcycle racers.

“A lot of talent can come out of the 125 class but we need to promote it,” Bickle said. “I think we have some great racers in the 125 category who don’t get the attention they deserve. I believe this will help the sport.”

The 125 Grand Prix category has been a popular training ground for motorcycle racers around the world. Current MotoGP World Champion Valentino Rossi is a former World 125 Champion while U.S. Superbike points leader Nicky Hayden also cut his teeth on the 125 machines.

“We want to lure younger racers into genuine race machines and give them another option for starting their race careers,” said Martin Singleton of MJS Productions, which is promoting the Diablo Paintball Can-Am 125GP Challenge race at AMP.

Television production of the AMP race will be handled by Toronto’s Professional Motorsports Productions, which organizes and televises the entire Parts Canada Superbike Championship.

“TSN is proud to bring all the action from the Can-Am 125 Grand Prix to motorcycle racing fans nationwide,” said Stewart Johnston, director of programming, TSN. “It’s a uniquely Canadian motorcycle experience and TSN is excited to be in Shubenacadie to capture all the thrills.”

For more series information, visit www.cdnsuperbike.com