Call it wishful thinking, public relations or pure propaganda, but the latest Benelli press release makes the team’s pair of 16th-place finishes in the two World Superbike races at Oschersleben this weekend actually sound pretty good. The press release text follows:

Benelli Sport satisfied after another World Superbike weekend

The Benelli Superbike story continued this weekend with another pair of solid finishes by the Benelli Tornado Superbike ridden by Peter Goddard. The experienced Australian managed to finish in both races despite being run off the track at the first corner of race one by a falling rider. The finishes not only demonstrated the increasing reliability of the Tornado engine but also allowed the team to gather even more valuable date.

“We are leaving Oschersleben with lots of data which will all be very useful for the future,” said Team Owner Andrea Merloni. “Our mission to build a truly competitive World Superbike team is on target, the reliability is improving as we learn more and find real solutions to any problems that racing has exposed. Unfortunately today Peter Goddard had a little tangle in the first corner of the first race with a fallen rider. That cost him valuable time and he spent the race recovering from that. In race two he had some handling problems which allowed riders he had passed early in the race to pass him again. But I am really happy with the way the project is progressing and I am looking forward to the racing again next week in Assen.”

The circuit at Oschersleben offered the team a unique opportunity to learn more about the behaviour of the Benelli. The circuit has some long and very fast corners. These have allowed the engineers to gather different types of data from that collected at previous rounds. But the circuit also threw some new problems at the team, which unfortunately they didn’t have enough time to solve in qualifying before the racing began. “We were experiencing chatter and a lack of rear grip today,” explained Goddard. “We didn’t get the set up completely right and that made my job difficult. But at least the bike proved more reliable and the performance was stable, the engine felt the same at the end of the race as it did at the start.”

After today’s action was all finished, the team set off to Holland for the next round, held on the weekend of September 9 at the historic Circuit van Drenthe in Assen. It’s a very fast circuit, again with its own unique characteristics, which will give the team another chance to continue developing the Tornado Superbike. After Asses comes the last round at Imola, back in the team’s home country Italy. After that the team will spend the winter extensively testing and developing the Tornado ready for their first full season of World Superbike racing.

Copyright 2001 Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

By David Swarts

Las Vegas Extremes video star Paul “Pauly” Sherer won the first-ever XSBA (Xtreme Sport Bike Assn.) stunt competition in front of a very appreciative crowd at Pocono International Raceway during the Sunday lunchbreak of last weekend’s Formula USA National Road Race Series weekend at Pocono. For his efforts, Sherer was dubbed the “King of Pocono” and won $1100.

The XSBA stunt competition was modeled after the highly-successful freestyle motocross jump competitions held by Clear Channel Motorsports (formerly known as SFX Motorsports and before that, PACE Motorsports). Contestants were invited based on submitted video resumes, proving their abilities as stunt riders. Some of the 13 contestants were teenagers with little more than one year of riding experience, but the show was not the amateur hour that many expected it to be.

Each competitor was given a one-minute warm-up in front of the crowd, followed by three minutes to perform as many stunts as possible within set boundaries on the front straightaway at Pocono. Each competitor scored between 5-100 points awarded by a panel of judges and was then given an average score. Meanwhile, announcers tried to call the action, making up names for new stunts as they went along.

The preliminaries were held Saturday evening at the conclusion of the F-USA road racing activities. The 13 entries made their performances and the top eight were invited back for the finals on Sunday at lunchtime. Although the program needed polishing on Saturday evening, XSBA Director Cliff Nobles and his staff made improvements to the competition on Sunday.

Sherer won with a routine that included “nac-nac” wheelies, a “Christ-switchback” (standing backwards on the gas tank with arms extended), a footpegs-to-tank jump called an “elevator”, a reverse handstand dropped into skiing behind the bike with one hand, laying backwards on the bike face-down, and high-speed “bulldogging” (skiing beside the motorcycle).

Sherer not only won for his selection of tricks, but also for smooth execution, choreography and presentation. From the winner’s circle, Sherer thanked the fans, XSBA and Clear Channel Entertainment “for giving us a safe place to do this and not ride dangerously on the street.”

Loose Riders’ Kevin Calo, from nearby Newark, New Jersey, took second but was the fan favorite for exploding his rear tire in a burnout during the preliminaries and dropping and standing on his Honda CBR900RR at the end of each routine.

Matt Blankstrom of Grand Rapids, Michigan finished third thanks to a combination trick where he jumped from his seat to the tank, spun around in circles on his bottom on the tank, wheelied with his feet over the windshield, and went straight into a one-handed stoppie with his feet over the windshield.

XSBA’s Nobles called the event “wildly successful” and said he plans to make the stunt competition a stand-alone event even though it seemed to work well in conjunction with the F-USA National Road Race Series.

For more information on XSBA go to www.xsba.com.

By Glenn Le Santo

James Ellison overhauled fellow British rider Marty Nutt for an impressive win in the European Superstock Championship round at Oschersleben Sunday. Nutt led from the flag, but Ellison broke away from the pack of pursuing riders and caught Nutt on the second lap.

There was no looking back for last year’s Champion after that and he finished with a clear lead from second place Nutt. Ellison’s Championship rival Walter Tortoroglio struggled to overtake Andi Notman, who clung onto third place until the closing stages of the race.

Tortoroglio almost crashed as he pushed hard through the final turn, running well off the tarmac and getting very loose on the rumblestrip. He maintained his composure and hit back to pass Notman on lap 10, then set about closing the gap on second-place-man Nutt–but it was too late, and “Torto” had to settle for third and watch Ellison take a 15-point lead in the Championship.

Race Results

1. James Ellison, Great Britain, Suzuki, 23:22.173
2. Marty Nutt, Great Britain, Suzuki, 23:25.285
3. Walter Tortoroglio, Italy, Suzuki, 23:26.371
4. Andi Notman, Great Britain, Suzuki, 23:27.563
5. B. Jerzenbeck, Germany, Suzuki, 23:27.886

From a Benelli press release, issued yesterday from the World Superbike race at Oschersleben:

Peter Goddard crashed out of qualifying today, moments after the team had fitted their best Dunlop qualifying tyre. Goddard was pushing hard in an attempt to get the beautiful Benelli Tornado Superbike into Superpole for the first time when he lost the front end and crashed, without injury.

“Bad luck always seems to strike us at the wrong moment,” said a disappointed Andrea Merloni, owner of the Benelli Sport racing team. “Usually, the bad luck comes just after we’ve fitted our best qualifying tyre,” he observed. “But I have told the team they have no reason to be downhearted. This is our first year and we are just here to gather information, data and experience, and we are doing just that. I know that our potential is better than our results, and I am sure that both our luck, and our results, can and will improve.”

With the end of the year in sight the racing world enters what is known as the ‘silly season’, when rumours and counter rumours spread faster than a forest fire. Riders are seen talking to team managers and instantly the press is reporting possible deals between them for the next year. Benelli Sport isn’t immune from the ‘silly season’ so Sig. Merloni was keen to outline Benelli’s plans for 2002.

“We want to run two riders next year. Peter Goddard will ride for us again, he is a very talented rider, he tries hard and his development skills are very valuable to us. But I also want to hire another top rider.” Naturally, it will be expected that an Italian team with an Italian bike will want to employ an Italian rider. “This is certainly a possibility,” commented Sig. Merloni. “It would be a very good situation for us, and I think it would be one that would generate much interest and publicity, both in Italy and in the rest of the world. There are many good Italian riders, both in WSB and in GPs, and you don’t know who might be available for us to talk to soon, when some contracts have been signed and other riders find themselves looking for a new ride. But I won’t rule out hiring a rider from another country, even a British rider, A British rider would be good, as I expect Britain to be one of the biggest markets for the road-going Tornado. But the main thing is that we have a rider who is capable of getting onto the podium on the Tornado. Much will depend on budgets, we are speaking to some very big sponsors and once we have finished those talks we will be able to talk seriously to some riders.”

Much of the future development of the Benelli Sport team and the Tornado Superbike will depend on what rule changes, if any, are decided by the governing bodies. “They need to make an announcement soon, for the sake of the teams. We need to know what direction to move in, what we need to do for next year. I would prefer to see more capacity allowed for the Triples and the Fours, to allow them to compete more evenly with the Twins. But, if we have to come here next year with the same rules, we will, and we’ll still do our very best to succeed. I think that a rule change would be very good for the sport, it would increase the publicity that the WSB series receives. People would be talking and writing about the new rules all winter, and next year also.”

Whatever the rules, one thing is certain, Benelli Sport will be in the WSB competition next year fighting for points, and trying to reach the team’s ultimate goal, a World Championship title. “I think the WSB and the new four-stroke GP series can run side-by-side, and maybe, in the future, a four-stroke (Benelli) can even race in the GP World Championship again.”

For now, the team remain upbeat about their future, and Sig. Merloni is very pleased with all the progress made so far, despite the bad luck suffered today. Tomorrow is another day and Benelli Sport will be out there fighting for success.

Final qualifying position:

21. Peter Goddard, Benelli Tornado, 1:29.768

By Glenn Le Santo

Ruben Xaus made history in World Superbike competition at Oschersleben today by winning race two. No Spaniard has ever won a race in the series’ 14-year history. The win was also enough to secure the Manufacturers’ Championship for Ducati; the Italian company has won the title 10 times.

Xaus rode a faultless race, overhauling holeshot man Colin Edwards to deny the reigning World Champion a double win. Xaus’ teammate Troy Bayliss finished third, ahead of yet another Ducati, ridden by American Ben Bostrom.

It was another poor race for pole-sitter Neil Hodgson, who could only manage 10th. Troy Corser also had a tough race–he was suffering from the effects of a high-speed spill in free practice prior to Superpole and finished 11th. The crash, which happened on the fastest curve of the circuit, left Corser with severe bruising to his shoulder and ankle. He struggled to even get on the bike in the morning warm-up so it’s no surprise that he also struggled in the race. Corser finished 11th.

Edwards acknowledged the help given to him by Akira Yanagawa in race one: “I’d like to thank Akira for holding everyone up in race one and letting me get away,” Edwards joked.

Xaus was obviously overjoyed to be the first-ever Spaniard to record a World Superbike victory. “This is a fantastic feeling,” said Xaus. “In Spain everyone goes to GPs, the money also goes to GPs, so for me to do World Superbike has been very hard. But I love four-strokes so I only wanted to do WSB. Now I am glad to have won and I hope it helps the profile of Superbikes in Spain.” Xaus also revealed that there was more than just the image of WSB riding on his win this weekend: “Ducati said to me to win or to go home, so I won!”

Troy Bayliss finished third, keeping the title wide open. “We didn’t have time to get the perfect set-up, so I was glad to finish third. I am satisfied with third, in the circumstances, it’s better than pushing too hard when things are not right and falling off,” Bayliss said.

Race two
1. Ruben Xaus, Spain, Ducati, 41:17.957
2. Colin Edwards, USA, Honda, 41:27.895
3. Troy Bayliss, Australia, Ducati, 41:32.864
4. Ben Bostrom, USA, Ducati, 41:35.527
5. Regis Laconi, France, Aprilia, 41:47.268
6. Pierfrancesco Chili, Italy, Suzuki, 41:47.349
7. Gregorio Lavilla, Spain, Kawasaki, 41:47.564
8. Tadayuki Okada, Japan, Honda, 41:47.698
9. Akira Yanagawa, Japan, Kawasaki, 41:48.004
10. Neil Hodgson, Great Britain, Ducati, 41:50.778

Superbike World Championship points
1. Bayliss, 319
2. Edwards, 295
3. Bostrom, 276
4. Troy Corser, Australia, Aprilia, 238
5. Hodgson, 232
6. Chili, 199
7. Yanagawa, 152
8. Xaus, 151
9. Okada, 137
10. Lavilla, 136

Manufacturers’ points:
1. Ducati 458 (World Champions 2001)
2. Honda 347
3. Aprilia 272
4. Kawasaki 252
5. Suzuki 215
6. Yamaha 28
7. Benelli 4

Next round: Assen, Holland – September 9

From a Superside press release:

The Superside pendulum swung back in the favour of Klaus Klaffenbock today in a dramatic German round at Oschersleben.

This hot action of the Superside race was seen by a record crowd at Oschersleben, with more than 70,000 fans in attendance.

The Austrian driver and his passenger Christian Parzer regained the Sidecar World Championship advantage when reigning champion Steve Webster retired when the motor tightened up with bottom end trouble with nine laps remaining.

That allowed Klaffenbock, who had suffered a traumatic weekend, to storm through to pick up the 25 points and take that lead into the final two rounds.

Klaffenbock said, “This weekend has been unbelievable. We blew up four engines and changed the last one with 20 minutes to go before the start of the race and only finished it with five minutes to go.

“We were not the fastest on the track – but we were the luckiest. Our mechanics worked all through Friday night and did a fantastic job.”

Webster’s fate also pushed Jorg Steinhausen into second place. But he was unable to hang on to that result as, after running wide, passenger Trevor Hopkinson was thrown out of the sidecar.

Despite a recently broken ankle, he tried to run after his driver, who was unaware of what had happened.

That allowed Steve Abbott and Jamie Biggs to come through into second place and they closed the gap on Klaffenbock to just 0.360 seconds in an exciting finish.

Abbott said, “For somebody to lose their rider is unfortunate but that’s how racing goes. Early on the engine was getting warm so I decided to have a breather and have a go at the end.”

Third place – and their first podium finish – went to Tom Hanks and Jamie Biggs’ brother, Phil.

Phil Biggs said, “I have always dreamed about being on the podium with our Jamie and now it has happened.”

Tom Hanks added, “I have been waiting for them to drop out one by one. I wanted our first podium at Brands but I’ll take it here. I’m over the moon.”

Ian Guy and Andy Peach had a lonely race for fourth with the rear tyre going off in the early stages of the race. The machine was sliding around dramatically, causing Andy to pull a muscle in his right arm.

The Van Gils duo came fifth after a clash with Muldoon and Crone, which saw the Scottish pairing crash out of the race at the Hasseroder hairpin.

Eight-time Isle of Man TT winner, Rob Fisher and Rick Long were going well until the breather hose fell off, causing oil to leak onto his braking foot. He will be back as a wild card at the final round at Imola.

Results:

1. Klaffenbock/Parzer 44:14.005
2. Abbot/Biggs +0.360
3. Hanks/Biggs +44.823
4. Guy/Peach 1 Webster/Woodhead +1.25.738
5. Van Gils/Van Gils + one lap
6. Founds/Founds + one lap
7. Gottlich/Helbig + one lap
8. Roscher/Neubert + one lap
9. Steenbergen/Buyze + one lap
10. Eilers/Kolloch + two laps

Championship standings after seven rounds:

1. Parzer/Klaffenbock 120pts
2. Woodhead/Webster 95
3. Hopkinson/Steinhausen 75
4. Biggs/Abbott 73
5. Biggs/Hanks 61
6. Peach/Guy 53
7. Crone/Muldoon 52
8. Locher/Liechti 52
9. Hanni/Hauzenberger 44
10. Wafler/Schroder 42

By Glenn Le Santo

Defending Superbike World Champion Colin Edwards took his Honda VTR/RC51 to a perfect win in the first race at Oschersleben, putting himself back into the battle for the Championship while points leader Troy Bayliss DNF with a mechanical problem.

Edwards took the lead at the first corner, piled on record lap after record lap to build a two-second cushion, then didn’t look back for the rest of the race. He was helped by Akira Yanagawa, who held up the pack of V-Twins chasing Edwards long enough for the Texan to make a clean break.

By the time Ruben Xaus got past Yanagawa on lap four, Edwards already had a two-second cushion. Xaus piled on the pressure, but Edwards remained ice-cool, controlled the race and took a valuable win.

Edwards’ win was made even sweeter when Bayliss, who had been charging down the leading duo, succumbed to clutch problems. Bayliss tried to nurse his machine to the finish for points, but was forced to pull into the pits on lap 18 of the 28-lap race.

Pole-sitter Neil Hodgson got a poor start on his Ducati, was way back in 10th by the first corner, didn’t seem able to recover and was eaten up by Pierfrancesco Chili. But around middle distance Hodgson got a second wind and managed to pull a few places back, passing a struggling Troy Corser to finish seventh. Chili stayed in front of Hodgson for a well-deserved sixth place as Corser dropped back to ninth. Ben Bostrom, who also had a poor start, carved his way up through the field to take a podium finish in third.

The win puts Edwards right back into contention for the title. “I’ve had really bad chattering problems all weekend,” admitted Edwards. “But we tried a new tire and it helped. Last night I lay in bed wondering how I could do two races, I have two severe cases of tennis elbow from the chatter! The chatter is still there but greatly reduced. I made a clean start to the race and managed to repeat what I did here last year. I kept a watch on my pit signals and could see Ruben was catching me so I had to dig a bit deeper. Troy retiring is unfortunate for him but it’s certainly put some life back into the Championship. But it does equal up the 25 points I lost in South Africa with a DNF.”

Ruben Xaus wasn’t sure he’d have the strength to finish the race, explaining “I was still awake at 3:30 a.m. this morning trying to get some sleep. But there were so many parties going on in the paddock, with very loud music playing that I just couldn’t sleep. But I am very glad to be here on the podium and I hope I can do it again in race two.”

Xaus has been in a race winning position in World Superbikes before, and then thrown it away by crashing. “I didn’t want to do the same as I did in Monza, so I pushed Edwards, but not too hard, because I could see he had a big enough gap to defend the race,” Xaus said.

Bostrom, having won five races on the trot, didn’t look at all happy with his podium place. “I didn’t get off the line well,” said Bostrom. “By the time I got into third there was nothing I could do, the other guys had gone. I was hoping for another win, but all the guys were riding incredible today. Tires were a problem, the track is really grippy and you can’t ride to conserve them, it’s all-out for lap-after-lap. There’s a real tire war going on out there and you just have to let the rear slide as the tires go off and load the front. But that makes it good for the spectators!”


First race result:
1. Colin Edwards, USA (Honda) 41:23.687
2. Ruben Xaus, Spain (Ducati) 41:27.042
3. Ben Bostrom, USA (Ducati) 41:38.999
4. Akira Yanagawa, Japan (Kawasaki) 41:41.402
5. Tady Okada, Japan (Honda) 41:45.105
6. Pier-Francesco Chili, Italy (Suzuki) 41:45.380
7. Neil Hodgson, GB (Ducati) 41:46.758
8. Regis Laconi, France (Aprilia) 41:48.421
9. Troy Corser, Australia (Aprilia) 41:52.305
10. James Toseland, GB (Ducati) 41:53.751

Championship points:
Bayliss, 303
Edwards, 275
Bostrom, 263
Corser, 233
Hodgson, 266

Fabien Foret rode his Team Ten Kate Honda CBR600F4i to victory in the World Supersport race at Oschersleben, beating teammate Pere Riba by 0.442-second.

Jorg Teuchert, the points leader coming into this race, collided with another rider and crashed out, and is now third in points behind Paolo Casoli and Andrew Pitt.

Results follow:

1. Fabien Foret, France, Honda
2. Pere Riba, Spain, Honda, -0.442 second
3. Andrew Pitt, Australia, Kawasaki, -0.539
4. Paolo Casoli, Italy, Yamaha, -0.982
5. Jamie Whitham, Great Britain, Yamaha, -1.288
6. Christian Kellner, Germany, Yamaha, -2.218
7. Fabrizio Pirovano, Italy, Suzuki, -2.353
8. Karl Muggeridge, Australia, Suzuki, -2.723
9. Christophe Cogan, France, Yamaha, -8.103
10. Adam Fergusson, Australia, Honda, -12.086

Championship points:
1. Casoli, 122 points
2. Pitt, 116
3. Teuchert, 113
4. Kevin Curtain, 90
5. Riba, 83

Officials cancelled the WERA National Challenge Series event at Memphis Motorsports Park this morning after new showers moved in and halted practice.

The first practice session of the day was red-flagged when Scott Brown crashed his GSX-R1000 entering turn one, the crashed bike laying down a stripe of oil.

Riders had to deal with seeping water in turn one and puddles on the rubber-coated drag strip immediately after exiting the final turn of the road course. Mark Junge reported problems with spinning up the rear tire of his GSX-R600 on the dragstrip and Chris Ulrich said his GSX-R1000 was spinning the tire through two gears coming onto the front straightaway.

But the restarted first practice session–for machines 600cc and over–and the subsequent session for machines under 600cc plus SV650 Twins–went off without further incident.

The decision to cancel the race day completely came just before 10:00 a.m. Central Daytlight Time when showers caused the second big-bike practice to be red-flagged.