From a medical update, released by Sears Point Raceway:

Rich Oliver Update

Yamaha’s Rich Oliver, who was involved in an accident entering the Carousel during the MBNA 250 Grand Prix qualifying session on Saturday, was reached by telephone Sunday morning at Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital and reported the following injuries:

– Compound fracture of his right forearm;
– The tips of two toes on his left foot had to be removed;

Oliver said he will be kept at Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital for observation Sunday night and should be released by Monday.

“I just want to say hello to my fans and let them know that I’m okay,” Oliver said.

Oliver’s tuner, Robert Ward, told Roadracingworld.com Sunday morning that Oliver had surgery to plate the broken arm Saturday night and will return to racing as soon as possible.

Sunday Morning 250cc Grand Prix Practice Times:

1. Chuck Sorensen, Aprilia, 1:36.188
2. Jason DiSalvo, Honda, 1:36.414
3. Roland Sands, Yamaha, 1:36.667
4. Simon Turner, Yamaha, 1:37.126
5. Al Salaverria, Aprilia, 1:37.773
6. Perry Melneciuc, Yamaha, 1:38.590
7. John Davis, Yamaha, 1:39.080
8. Colin Jensen, Aprilia, 1:39.825
9. Ed Sorbo, Yamaha, 1:40.304
10. Cory West, Yamaha, 1:41.164

Copyright 2002, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Damon Buckmaster pulled away from the field in the AMA Formula Xtreme race at Sears Point Sunday, slicing through traffic and crossing the finish line a little more than 5 seconds ahead of Jake Zemke. Marty Craggill ran the fastest lap of the race and battled Zemke for second until getting a bad break in traffic near the end of the race, and then ran off the track in turn seven on the last lap when Mike Hale tried to stuff his way past and ran wide, taking Craggill with him off the track; Craggill recovered more quickly and finished third with Hale fourth.

Final Results:
1. Damon Buckmaster, Yamaha YZF-R7/R1, 16 laps
2. Jake Zemke, Honda CBR954RR, -5.324 seconds
3. Marty Craggill, Suzuki GSX-R1000, -7.149
4. Mike Hale, Honda CBR954RR, -7.598
5. Ben Spies, Suzuki GSX-R1000, -10.536
6. Jason Pridmore, Suzuki GSX-R1000, -10.557
7. Tom Kipp, Suzuki GSX-R1000, -24.737
8. Dave Stanton, Suzuki GSX-R1000, -40.446
9. Alex Gobert, Honda CBR954RR, -43.838
10. Lance Isaacs, Yamaha YZF-R1, -47.061
11. Clint McBain, Suzuki GSX-R1000, -75.557
12. Jason Curtis, Yamaha YZF-R1, -82.238
13. Jeff Bostrom, Suzuki GSX-R750, -82.683
14. Vincent Haskovec, Suzuki GSX-R750, -94.740
15. Cory Call, Suzuki GSX-R1000, -96.362
16. John Wilson, Suzuki GSX-R1000, -100.111
17. Simon Forder, Suzuki GSX-R1000, -1 lap
18. Kim Nakashima, Suzuki GSX-R750, -1 lap
19. James Compton, Suzuki GSX-R750, -1 lap
20. Jeremiah Johnson, Suzuki GSX-R750, -1 lap

Formula Xtreme Point Standings:
1. Buckmaster, 75 points
2. Zemke, 61 points
3. Pridmore, 58 points
4. Hale, 54 points
5. Spies, 52 points
6. Kipp, 47 points
7. Alex Gobert, 44 points
8. McBain, 41 points
9. Curtis, 38 points
10. TIE, Compton/Bostrom, 32 points

Copyright 2002, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Vesrah Suzuki’s Tray Batey and John Jacobi won the third round of the 2002 WERA National Endurance Series, a 4-hour at Putnam Park held on Saturday, May 4, riding a Suzuki GSX-R1000.

Army of Darkness, with Jim Williams and Mark Crozier riding, took the win in Mediumweight Superbike and second overall on their Suzuki GSX-R600. Third overall and second in Mediumweight Superbike went to Vesrah Suzuki II with Mark Junge, Brian Stokes and David Yaakov sharing the riding duties on another GSX-R600.

Mark Junge didn’t ride for Vesrah, instead taking two stints on the Vesrah II GSX-R600 and sending Tray Batey for a second stint on the Vesrah GSX-R1000.



The entire four-hour race was run under the green flag.

Vesrah Suzuki II wore out a front tire in the first 45 minutes of the race, requiring one extra pit stop that the team felt upset its chance of beating Army of Darkness.

Jeff Wyler Cycle World took the win in the Mediumweight Superstock class, with riders Mike Scruggs and Jeff Muskopf on board a Suzuki GSX-R600. Paramount Racing-Pit Crew took the Heavyweight Superstock win on a Suzuki GSX-R1000, finishing 12th overall with riders Trent Thompson, David Frawley and Jim Sorenson.

MB Motorsports led in the Lightweight Superbike class until crashing, when Tight Squeeze Racing took over the lead and held on for first in class, with Steve Clark, Don Kinsey and Todd Hennessey sharing riding duties on a Suzuki SV650.

After running as high as first overall, Team Xtreme fell out of the race with a clutch basket failure.

Overall results follow:

1. Vesrah Suzuki (Tray Batey/John Jacobi), GSX-R1000, Heavyweight Superbike, 193 laps
2. Army Of Darkness (Jim Williams/Mark Crozier), GSX-R600, Mediumweight Superbike, 189 laps
3. Vesrah Suzuki II (Mark Junge/Brian Stokes/David Yaakov), GSX-R600, Mediumweight Superbike, 189 laps
4. Cycle Therapy Racing (Scott Harwell/Ricky Ford), GSX-R1000, HEavyweight Superbike, 187 laps
5. Northern Getaway (Mark Morrow/Tim Kephart), GSX-R750, Heavyweight Superbike, 183 laps
6. Jeff Wyler Cycle World, 182 laps
7. 14k The Movie, 182 laps
8. Neighbor of the Beast, 181 laps
9. Velocity Crew, 181 laps
10. Team Chicago, 180 laps

Copyright 2002, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Revised MotoGP Results:

1. Valentino Rossi, Honda RC211V, 27 laps, 46:51.843
2. Daijiro Katoh, Honda NSR500, +1.190
3. Tohru Ukawa, Honda RC211V, +2.445
4. Loris Capirossi, Honda NSR500, +2.830
5. Alex Barros, Honda NSR500, +4.117
6. Norick Abe, Yamaha YZR500, +18.517
7. Nobuatsu Aoki, Proton KR3, +31.785
8. Kenny Roberts, Suzuki GSV-R, +33.876
9. Sete Gibernau, Suzuki GSV-R, +38.762
10. Tetsuya Harada, Honda NSR500, +39.975
11. Olivier Jacque, Yamaha YZR500, +47.496
12. Jurgen vd Goorbergh, Honda NSR500, +47.930
13. John Hopkins, Yamaha YZR500
14. Regis Laconi, Aprilia RS3
15. Garry McCoy, Yamaha YZR500 (docked for passing under waving yellow)
16. Jeremy McWilliams, Proton KR3 (docked for passing under waving yellow)
17. Shinya Nakano, Yamaha YZR500
18. Carlos Checa, Yamaha YZR-M1, DNF
19. Pere Riba, Yamaha YZR500, DNF, mechanical
20. Max Biaggi, Yamaha YZR-M1, DNF, black-flag




From a Red Bull Yamaha press release:

SPANISH GRAND PRIX – JEREZ
SUNDAY 5TH MAY

RACE DAY

Red Bull Yamaha Team Riders, Garry McCoy and John (Hopper) Hopkins both scored points in the sun-blessed conditions at Jerez today. Finishing the
119 km race in 13th and 15th respectively, the riders battled each other back and forth throughout the early stages of the 27 lap race when on lap 20, McCoy (who was riding after having a pain killer injection) exerted his
experience, and passed Hopkins.

Garry McCoy – 13th Place
World Championship Classification 14th, Nine points
“Starting at the back of the grid makes it difficult to get on the pace and I struggled again with the right hand corners as my leg is still not strong enough. With my sliding style of riding I need maximum strength in my legs.
I actually feel more comfortable on the bike than when walking and I am going through an intensive exercise regime to regain my strength. I guess
considering everything to score point 3 points is okay.

John Hopkins – 15th Place
World Championship Classification 20th, Seven Points
“I’ve scored points now at every race which I am happy about, as each track is new to me and I am still learning the bike. Today I had a good strong start but I got bumped going into turn 2 and things got a bit heated. Three or four riders got by me and it took me another lap to get focused again. Garry passed me in the last third of the race and I started to pick up my pace behind him. I’m pretty happy generally, I feel quite fit and I’m looking forward to the test next week in Mugello.”


Peter Clifford – Team Manager
“The pace the guys ran at toward the end of the race was the same as the mid-field but we lost too much ground early on. It was obviously a very
tough race for Garry and good experience for John.”



This just in from Desiree Crossman:
Apparently Garry McCoy and Jeremy McWilliams passed Regis Laconi during a yellow flag and it started a protest after the race. The yellow flag
was because of Carlos Checa crashing on the last lap. After a long session of protesting, John (Hopkins) was placed 13th.



Another press release from Red Bull Yamaha:

SPANISH GRAND PRIX – JEREZ
SUNDAY 5TH MAY
POST RACE – COUNTER PROTEST

Red Bull Yamaha were the target of a last minute protest by MS Aprilia Team Rider, Regis Laconi. Laconi and his team reported to the race officials that Red Bull Yamaha rider Garry McCoy and Jeremy McWilliams from the Proton Team KR, passed him under a yellow flag on the final lap of the Spanish GP. The yellow flag was a result of a track invasion by eager Spanish fans running onto the track.

Peter Clifford, Team Manager, reviewed the protest and lodged a counter claim with the Race Director based on the Analysis by Lap and the Chronological Analysis of Performance Data over the final few laps.

Clifford claims that Laconi was slowing down in the final 2 laps and at 7.30pm some 4.5 hours after the race completion the final results became official and the it was announced that the protest by Laconi was successful. The FIM inflicted a 5 second penalty on both McCoy and McWilliams. McCoy dropped from 13th to 15th in the final placings and in a twist of luck for John Hopkins he moved up the ladder from 15th to 13th place. Newcomer Hopkins now finds himself 15th on the Championship ladder with McCoy now in a disappointing 20th.

JOHN HOPKINS- 13TH Place
WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP CLASSIFICATION – 15th with 9 points

GARRY McCOY – 15th Place
WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP CLASSIFICATION – 20th with 7 points

PETER CLIFFORD – TEAM MANAGER
“Garry and Jeremy passed Regis as he slowed with mechanical problems. Unfortunately this coincided with a police track invasion and showing of some yellow flags for which the organisers were fined. Our contention is that passing an ailing machine should not be seen as a flaunting of the yellow flag safety rule but our view was not shared by the FIM.”


More, from a Honda press release:

HONDA RACING NEWS

MotoGP WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP 2002
SPANISH GRAND PRIX, JEREZ
Race Day, Sunday May 5 2002

ROSSI LEADS FABULOUS HONDA QUINTET

Valentino Rossi (Repsol Honda Team RCV211V) took his second race win of the season after an eventful 27-lap MotoGP race at Jerez. The top five positions were monopolised by Honda riders, with the all-new RCV211V in first and third, and the two-stroke of Daijiro Kato (Fortuna Honda) in second place – a superb result for the MotoGP rookie.

Rossi’s dominance in qualifying was eventually carried on in the race but only after an early scare on lap two. Pushed wide by Kenny Roberts (Suzuki) at the apex of the first turn, Rossi dropped from a safe second place to an immediate eighth. Taking only four more laps to work his way back to second, he held a watching brief behind his fellow four-stroke Honda rider Tohru Ukawa (Repsol Honda Team RCV211V) until lap sixteen, when he passed his team-mate and made a small gap back to his pursuers.

Rossi was especially happy to win the race and extend his championship lead, given the possible consequences of his lap two ‘kiss’ from behind. “I felt a bit of touch from behind from Kenny in turn one,” explained Rossi afterwards. “I think Kenny made a big, big mistake under braking but I don’t know for sure because I didn’t see. I felt a big push and after that I was just happy that I didn’t crash. I lost some positions so it was necessary to start again from the beginning. In the early laps the bike was a little bit hard to ride because of the extra weight of fuel, but it was possible for me to return to the first group quite quickly. Ukawa pushed and made a good rhythm so I stayed a behind him for a time. Already the bike had shown good speed but I think it was still possible to go three or four tenths faster. It was very difficult, however, because the rear was finished and started to slide. It didn’t matter, because the main thing is the victory – especially to win in Jerez with this fantastic crowd. We have a good lead in the championship and this is the most important thing.”

Rossi now enjoys a 29-point lead over his team-mate Ukawa. The race time was over 23 seconds faster than the 2001 500cc GP, with Rossi setting a new lap record on lap four, almost a second quicker than his own previous best.

Daijiro Kato’s first podium finish in the MotoGP class was an assured one, with the reigning 250 champion initially forming the tail of a five-rider Honda freight-train that escaped from the rest of the pack. Kato was happy to score a second place on his first trip to the podium, but equally pleased for his team. “I am very proud of my result today, but also happy because my main sponsor is a Spanish company and I delivered a good result in front of them,” enthused the diminutive Japanese rider. “Like Valentino said, I had a very hard time with my rear tyre towards the end of the race. The bike began to slide and it was impossible to move any closer to Valentino. Now it is important for me to try and narrow the gap to the other top riders. I will use my energy and all my efforts to do that.”

Tohru Ukawa’s early leading pace was not enough to keep Rossi and Kato behind permanently, but third was an impressive result in any case. “Today was a very, very hard, tough race,” he confirmed. “The feeling from the tyres was OK, but in the middle of the race there was a lot of spinning from the rear, which made it difficult to control the machine. Also I almost crashed because it was difficult to keep concentration. I rode for the first position but the podium was OK. I didn’t win today but there are still 13 races to go, and I am second overall, so I will try my best to try and win the championship.”

A brave fight from Loris Capirossi (West Honda Pons NSR500) saw him continually attack Ukawa during the last laps, with the two-stoke dancing past the four-stroke under braking, only for the big four-stroke to blast past again on the main straight. The Italian maestro was resigned to his fate after the race. “That wasn’t too bad. I tried my best to get past Ukawa, but he kept getting me back coming off the corners. The bike was fine but what can you do?”

Alex Barros (West Honda Pons NSR500) took the lead on the first lap but slowly dropped back to his eventual safe fifth place, a natural function of abusing his tyres in the first few circuits. “I pushed too hard to begin with, ” confessed Barros, “Although really I had no other choice. I look at this as my first race of the season, and tyres apart the bike was good.”

Behind the factory Honda carnival Norick Abe (Yamaha) proved to be the closest challenger, albeit 14 seconds behind Barros. A further 13 seconds behind was the Proton KR of Nobuatsu Aoki.

The first of the other new generation four-strokes to finish proved to be the Roberts’ Suzuki in eighth. Neither factory Yamaha four-stroke finished the race, with Carlos Checa retiring and Max Biaggi excluded for ignoring the black flag.

Tetsuya Harada (Pramac Honda NSR500) finished inside the top ten for the first time in the 2002 season, stating that: “My final position is not that great and surely not as good as I would have liked, but my progress is evident; In South Africa I finished a minute and 20 seconds behind first place, today it was less than 40 seconds.”

The two-stroke of Jurgen van den Goorbergh(Kanemoto Racing Honda NSR500) took the Dutchman to a point-scoring 12th place. “I was running well, battling with Laconi and McWilliams, and tried to stay with that group at the beginning of the race,” said van den Goorbergh, although he chose to ease himself into the subsequent section of the 27-lap event. “As the race progressed I got a really good feeling from the tyres and I could take the bike to the limit of its performance late in the race.”

Copyright 2002, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Final Qualifying Times:

1. Valentino Rossi, Honda RC211V, 1:42.193
2. Alex Barros, Honda NSR500, 1:42.504
3. Loris Capirossi, Honda NSR500, 1:42.558
4. Daijiro Katoh, Honda NSR500, 1:42.691
5. Carlos Checa, Yamaha YZR-M1, 1:42.889
6. Tohru Ukawa, Honda RC211V, 1:42.921
7. Max Biaggi, Yamaha YZR-M1, 1:42.955
8. Olivier Jacque, Yamaha YZR500, 1:43.047
9. Kenny Roberts, Suzuki GSV-R, 1:43.077
10. Norick Abe, Yamaha YZR500, 1:43.385
11. Tetsuya Harada, Honda NSR500, 1:43.521
12. Jeremy McWilliams, Proton KR3, 1:43.627
13. Sete Gibernau, Suzuki GSV-R, 1:43.633
14. Shinya Nakano, Yamaha YZR500, 1:43.784
15. Nobuatsu Aoki, Proton KR3, 1:43.878
16. John Hopkins, Yamaha YZR500, 1:43.916
17. Jurgen vd Goorbergh, Honda NSR500, 1:44.142
18. Garry McCoy, Yamaha YZR500, 1:44.212
19. Regis Laconi, Aprilia RS3, 1:44.597
20. Pere Riba, Yamaha YZR500, 1:45.575

More from a press release from Red Bull Yamaha:

John Hopkins – 16th 1:43.916

“I am really pleased, this is my best grid position of the season and I am getting a better understanding of the bike now. I made an improvement of 2.3 seconds from yesterday and I also improved on my morning time by half a second.

“Last night I really concentrated on the track and thought about where I could make up some time. I knew there was an opportunity for me to do this on Turn 1 and 2 and into the fast right handers and today I have these results. I feel much more stable and comfortable on the bike after a few changes to the braking setup. I will spend tonight focusing on the race, especially the start from my grid position on outside of the 4th row.”

Colin Davies (Race Engineer – John Hopkins)

“Hopper (John) is more comfortable with the front end of the bike now after we made a few chassis modifications overnight and I am pleased with the results this brought today. We will decide on the rear tyre tomorrow but generally we are quite comfortable with the choice Dunlop has provided us with. John is giving the team good feedback and he really knows what is happening underneath him.”

Garry McCoy – 18th 1:44.212

“I am not happy with the dirt on the track and if you go a fraction off line your sliding a lot and there’s no grip in these dusty conditions. Even though I am 1.1 seconds faster than yesterday, it feels like it is going to be one of those weekends.”

Christophe Bourguignon(Race Engineer – Garry McCoy)

“We are not in a good position to start the race but I am confident that if Garry gets a good start that he can stay with the leading group. We now know our race tyres for tomorrow and we have a few more modifications to make in the race-set up. Still, it is hard for Garry as he is not able to move the bike as much around as he likes.”


More from an Aprilia press release:

Régis Laconi moves up the ratings, but starts in row 5.

Another hard day’s work for the team of technicians working on the RS Cube. Inching still further up, Régis improved yesterday’s time by two seconds and carved a further half-second off his fastest lap this morning. The Cube and Laconi are 2.4 seconds from the rider who gave his name to the pole today, Valentino Rossi. Fifth row on the grid is cold comfort after all the team’s hard work. The Cube was once again beset by traction problems today, with difficulties in delivering all the power from the engine down to the ground. The bike is catching up, but still has a long way to go.

# 55 Régis Laconi – (MS APRILIA RACING) – 19th – 1:44.597

“There sure have been improvements, but not enough to secure a better position for the start tomorrow. We have two tricky snags to overcome: lack of grip means I can’t transfer all the power to the ground, and I’m having trouble getting the bike round the corners. To get things right, we need to work on the settings. I’m having difficulties on the long curves where the bike stays down for a long time, as well as on the high-speed curves. We are doing a lot of work on the set-up, so I haven’t had much time to try out the tyres over the long distance. Tomorrow morning, we’ll be trying out another solution in the hope that we can get the slight extra boost I need to become competitive in the race.”



More, from a Marlboro Yamaha press release:

MARLBORO SPANISH GRAND PRIX, JEREZ
Final Qualifying, Saturday May 4 2002

MARLBORO YAMAHA MEN GRAB SECOND-ROW STARTS
Marlboro Yamaha Team riders Carlos Checa and Max Biaggi proved what hard work and dedication can accomplish at Jerez today, putting their YZR-M1s
fifth and seventh on the grid for tomorrow’s Marlboro Spanish Grand Prix.

The pair had a difficult Friday here, both on the provisional third row, but both were able to dramatically raise their pace this afternoon
following some brilliantly productive work by their crews, who adjusted the on-track attitude of their machines to improve front-end grip.

“From this morning both our guys were able to carry more speed through the high-speed corners here, and that’s a vital part of a good lap time,”
explained M1 project leader Ichiro Yoda. “We adjusted suspension balance, raising the rear and lowering the front, to shift more weight to the front end of the machine. But they still feel that the front is a little too light going into and out of corners, so maybe we will make another small step in this direction for tomorrow morning’s warm-up session.”



BULLISH CHECA JUMPS TO FIFTH

Marlboro Yamaha Team man Carlos Checa rode this afternoon’s session with unflinching dedication, lapping at front-row pace in the closing stages and eventually ending up fifth quickest to lead row two. It was an impressive display by ‘El Toro, who used his second bike to better his Friday times by an incredible 1.922 seconds.

“We found a better compromise today,” smiled Checa, top-placed Spaniard here. “But we are still trying to shift the bike away from its character which is for the rear tyre to grip so much that it pushes the front. We will work to continue improving in this area, which means finding a better compromise between chassis, suspension and tyres. I was riding very hard this afternoon, working to control the front, and it’s not possible to ride a whole race like that. But we’ve done a good tyre endurance test and I
think we can have a good race, though the result will depend on how the other bikes use their tyres.”

Checa surprised many by pitting at the end of what would’ve been his fastest lap near the end of his session. He’d been quickest in the first two sections of the circuit when he stopped for new tyres. “I felt fast but I thought I could go quicker,” he added. “We fitted a softer rear tyre for my last run but it moved around a little too much.”



BIAGGI IMPROVES TO SEVENTH

Overnight set-up changes also helped Max Biaggi to drastically raise his pace this afternoon, the Italian moving up from yesterday’s provisional 11th place to seventh. The Marlboro Yamaha Team rider cut 1.734 seconds from his previous best to ensure a second row start for tomorrow’s race, round three of the 2002 MotoGP World Championship. Like teammate Checa he showed superb commitment to climb towards the front of the grid.

“We’re still having the same problems with the machine,” said Biaggi, who qualified on the front row in South Africa two weeks ago. “I’m having to brake earlier than I used to on the 500, so I’m getting passed by some of the 500s into the corners and that will make the race pretty difficult for me. I’m not happy about where we are, I always want to be near the front, but I’ll try as hard as I can to get the best-possible result in tomorrow’s race.”



ROSSI SCORES THIRD POLE

World Championship leader Valentino Rossi (Honda) today scored his third successive pole position, but his closest rivals here are three 500cc
two-stroke riders, not his RCV four-stroke teammate Tohru Ukawa who beat him in South Africa two weeks ago. Rossi ended qualifying three tenths ahead of Alex Barros, with fellow Honda NSR500 men Loris Capirossi and Daijiro Katoh completing the front row. Ukawa was sixth, behind Checa.

“I did a great lap this morning and think I could’ve gone faster this afternoon but for the wind,” said Rossi, whose morning time was the fastest-ever official Jerez lap. “The bike has come a long way since we tested here last November. We’ve got a great set-up now so I’m looking forward to the race.”

Before the session got under way 1999 500 World Champion Alex Criville tearfully announced his retirement from racing, citing medical reasons.

Copyright 2002, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Superbike Race One Results:
1. Nicky Hayden, Honda RC51, 26 laps
2. Miguel Duhamel, Honda RC51, +2.775 seconds
3. Eric Bostrom, Kawasaki ZX-7RR, +8.548 seconds
4. Anthony Gobert, Yamaha YZF-R7, +17.644 seconds
5. Pascal Picotte, Ducati 998RS, +23.432 seconds
6. Aaron Yates, Suzuki GSX-R750, +24.835 seconds
7. Mat Mladin, Suzuki GSX-R750, +24.846 seconds
8. Jamie Hacking, Suzuki GSX-R750, +41.505 seconds
9. Doug Chandler, Ducati 998RS, +48.191 seconds
10. Brian Parriott, Suzuki GSX-R750, +1 lap
11. Scott Jensen, Suzuki GSX-R750, +1 lap
12. Mark Foster, Kawasaki ZX-7R, +1 lap
13. Tom Montano, Ducati 998S, +1 lap
14. Jeremy Toye, Suzuki GSX-R750, +1 lap
15. Ed Milhausen, Suzuki GSX-R750, +1 lap
16. Brian Livengood, Suzuki GSX-R750, +1 lap
17. Robert Mesa, Suzuki GSX-R750, +1 lap
18. Rich Conicelli, Suzuki GSX-R750, +1 lap
19. Dean Mizdal, Suzuki GSX-R750, +1 lap
20. Andy Deatherage, Suzuki GSX-R750, +1 lap

Superbike Point Standings (following race one):

1. Hayden, 141 points
2. Gobert, 118 points
3. Bostrom, 87 points
4. Yates, 84 points
5. Hacking, 83 points
6. TIE, Mladin/Picotte/Livengood, 78 points
9. Deatherage, 77 points
10. Chandler, 76 points
11. Parriott, 66 points
12. Conicelli, 63 points
13. Duhamel, 56 points

More, from Mat Mladin’s publicist:

Rounds 4 & 5, 2002 AMA Chevy Trucks US Superbike Championship
Sears Point Raceway, Sonoma, California, USA
Final Qualifying and Round 4 Race Report

HAYDEN TAKES SEARS POINT WIN, MLADIN SEVENTH

Sonoma, California, USA – Defending American AMA Superbike champion Mat Mladin has finished in seventh place in the first of the double header races that will make up rounds four and five of the 2002 AMA Chevy Trucks US Superbike Championship being held at Sears Point Raceway, Sonoma, California.

With another 26-lap Superbike race scheduled for tomorrow, Mladin lies sixth overall in the championship with 78 points and trails today’s race winner and current points leader, American Honda’s Nicky Hayden by 63 points with four rounds of the championship completed.

Hayden took victory in today’s 26-lap Superbike national by 2.775 seconds from teammate Miguel DuHamel, with Team Kawasaki’s Eric Bostrom third. After taking pole position during qualifying Anthony Gobert (Team Yamaha) had to settle for fourth place ahead of Pascal Picotte (Austin/Bieu Bayou Ducati) and the Blimpie Yoshimura Suzukis of Aaron Yates and Mladin.

Mladin had been holding station with the lead group of riders until he and teammate Yates came together on lap ten. The incident cost Mladin valuable time and as he fought to catch the lead group once more he took the best out of his tyres. The latter half of the race saw Mladin involved in a dice with Gobert and Picotte, with Yates slipping by the Australian on the final turn to relegate him to seventh.

“Things are definitely not going the way we hoped,” said Mladin afterwards. “We are trying a lot of things to get the bike up there, but we seem to be losing out everywhere as well. We seem to have stood still with our development of the bikes since last year, while other teams such as Honda and Yamaha have made very good forward progress. I’m not sure what we have to do, but all I know that whatever it is, it will have to be a big improvement if we are to be competitive for the rest of the year.

“As for the race today, things were going well until about lap ten when I was hit by Aaron (Yates) and lost a lot of time as a result,” added Mladin.

“When the Hondas got past Anthony they just checked out and left the rest of us to dice between ourselves. I’m expecting tomorrow’s race to be just as tough, so we’ll have to sit down with the guys and see what we can come up with for the bike.”

Qualifying for the Superbike races concluded earlier in the day with Gobert taking pole position with a new lap record of 1:31.692. Hayden was second fastest with a 1:32.149, followed by Bostrom (1:32.392) and Yates (1:32.724). After being second fastest in the opening qualifier, Mladin slipped to fifth overall with a best lap of 1:32.882.

“My qualifying lap should have been a lot better than it was. It was good early, but then I messed up and destroyed a good lap. We seem to be having a lot of trouble with getting the bike to steer at the moment and that is the case here. It wants to push the front all of the time and it doesn’t want to turn into the corners. We are working on trying to find a solution to it, but we haven’t found it yet.”

And the official track press release:

Honda’s Hayden Claims First Superbike Victory at
Sears Point in Supercuts Superbike Challenge

SONOMA, Calif. (IMMEDIATE RELEASE) – Honda’s Nicky Hayden captured his first Superbike victory at Sears Point Raceway on Saturday with a decisive win in the AMA Supercuts Superbike Challenge, presented by Honda of Milpitas.

Hayden (Honda), who started in fourth position, passed pole-sitter Anthony Gobert (Yamaha) on lap 8 and maintained the lead for the remainder of the 26-lap main event. Teammate Miguel Duhamel placed second with Petaluma native Eric Bostrom (Kawasaki) third.

It was Hayden’s seventh victory in eight U.S. Chevy Trucks Superbike races dating back to last season. It was also Honda’s first Superbike win at Sears Point Raceway since 1998. Hayden was able to make what turned out to be the winning move entering Turn 7 on lap 8.

“Coming out of the Carousel (Turn 6) I had a good run and was able to get by Miguel and I used the draft to get by (leader) Gobert,” said Hayden. “Our win today shows the improvement of the bike, me and the team over last year. The race was awesome.”

Duhamel, a four-time Superbike winner at Sears Point, was never able to challenge Hayden, who won going away.

“The bike’s working really good and the race went well,” Duhamel said. “I tried to stay close to Nicky, but I just didn’t have enough to get by him. I was able to close on him, but closing is one thing and passing another.”

With his win on Saturday, Hayden maintained the lead in the AMA U.S. Chevy Trucks Superbike championship chase over Gobert (Yamaha), who placed fourth on Saturday. Gobert was the defending champion at Sears Point.

Action resumes at Sears Point Raceway on Sunday with the second AMA Supercuts Superbike Challenge feature. This marks the first Superbike doubleheader at Sears Point. In addition, there will also be feature races in three other divisions. For ticket information, call 800-870-RACE or visit www.searspoint.com.

More, from HMC Ducati:

HMC Ducati rider Doug Chandler rode a difficult race to finish in ninth position in the first of Sears Point’s weekend doubleheaders. Suspension problems have plagued the Ducati rider from his first outing at Sears yesterday and his normal smooth riding style was spoiled as he battled to keep his bike stable. But the HMC team is determined to find a solution to get Doug back in the fight with the leaders for tomorrow’s race.

“I think there’s something that we’re missing,” said Doug simply. “The changes we made yesterday didn’t seem to make too much of a difference. The forks just don’t seem to be damping, especially when the tire starts going off. I was doing all my slowing down on the brakes, I couldn’t scrub off any speed through the corners and had to keep dabbing the brakes to slow me down.

“It was a very uneventful race. I thought I could stay close to Hacking and maybe gain another place, but once the tires started dropping off a little, the bike got harder to ride.

“At the moment it feels like we’re chasing something that’s not really there but we’ll dedicate the rest of the day to analyzing the data to try and pinpoint the problem.”

Copyright 2002, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

1. Jason DiSalvo, Honda, 1:37.034
2. Rich Oliver, Yamaha, 1:37.079
3. Roland Sands, Yamaha, 1:37.160
4. Simon Turner, Yamaha, 1:38.635
5. Al Salaverria, Aprilia, 1:39.065
6. Perry Melneciuc, Yamaha, 1:39.664
7. John Davis, Yamaha, 1:40.773
8. Ed Marchini, Yamaha, 1:42.367
9. Colin Jensen, Aprilia, 1:42.806
10. Ty Piz, Yamaha, 1:42.972
11. Darren Fulce, Yamaha, 1:43.438
12. Cory West, Yamaha, 1:43.503
13. Ed Sorbo, Yamaha, 1:43.696
14. Jonah Miller, Aprilia, 1:43.950
15. John France, Honda, 1:44.117
16. Richard Snowden, Honda, 1:44.797
17. Joji Tokumoto, Honda, 1:45.827
18. Frank Aragaki, Yamaha, 1:46.368
19. Jason Dave, Yamaha, 1:46.563
20. Philip Snowden, Honda, 1:46.905

Copyright 2002, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc. Damon Buckmaster pitted for a qualifying tire and then took his Graves Motorsports Yamaha YZF-R7/R1 to the top of the time charts in the final moments of Formula Xtreme qualifying at Sears Point on Saturday afternoon. Buckmaster turned a 1:33.505 at an average speed of 97.021 mph. Valvoline EMGO Suzuki’s Marty Craggill was fastest for most of the session, running race tires with a fastest lap of 1:33.925, 96.587 mph. Cragill ended up third fastest on his GSX-R1000. Right at the end of the session young gun Ben Spies also took on a qualifying tire and blitzed off a 1:33.905, 96.609 mph for second-fastest on his Attack Suzuki GSX-R1000. Jake Zemke was fourth-fastest on a Bruce Transportation Group Honda CBR9545RR, also on a qualifying tire, at 1:34.345. Katja Poensgen, who got a call Tuesday to ride for Corona Extra Suzuki as a replacement for injured Steve Rapp, flew in from Germany on Wednesday, missed Thursday practice and first rolled a wheel on the track on Friday. In Formula Xtreme qualifying, she crashed her GSX-R1000 after bottoming out a footpeg and lifting the rear wheel off the ground in Turn Three. She was 32nd fastest in the session. Times follow: 1. Damon Buckmaster, Yamaha YZF-R7/R1, 1:33.505 2. Ben Spies, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:33.905 3. Marty Craggill, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:33.925 4. Jake Zemke, Honda CBR9545RR, 1:34.345 5. Mike Hale, Honda CBR9545RR, 1:34.390 6. Tom Kipp, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:34.873 7. Alex Gobert, Honda CBR954RR, 1:34.972 8. Jason Pridmore, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:35.040 9. Dave Stanton, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:36.340 10. Lance Isaacs, Yamaha YZF-R1, 1:37.851 11. Vincent Haskovec, Suzuki GSX-R750, 1:38.098 12. James Compton, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:38.559 13. Robert Mesa, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:38.570 14. Jason Curtis, Yamaha YZF-R1, 1:38.858 15. Clint McBain, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:38.873 16. Jeff Bostrom, Suzuki GSX-R750, 1:39.269 17. Cory Call, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:39.646 18. John Wilson, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:40.06 19. Bob Siebenhaar, Honda CBR929RR, 1:40.028 20. Kevin Pate, Suzuki GSX-R750, 1:40.030 32. Katja Poensgen, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:42.192

Copyright 2002, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

MBNA 250cc GP Qualifying Times:
1. Roland Sands, Aprilia, 1:36.117
2. Simon Turner, Yamaha, 1:36.673
3. Rich Oliver, Yamaha, 1:36.795
4. Al Salaverria, Aprilia, 1:37.356
5. Jason DiSalvo, Honda, 1:37.359
6. Perry Melneciuc, Yamaha, 1:37.906
7. Chuck Sorensen, Aprilia, 1:39.269
8. Ed Marchini, Yamaha, 1:39.884
9. John Davis, Yamaha, 1:40.201
10. Darren Fulce, Yamaha, 1:40.917

Rich Oliver collided with Rich Snowden late in the qualifying session in the Carousel. Oliver did not return in the qualifying session.

According to Sears Point spokesman John Cardinale, Oliver was conscious and conherent upon the arrival of medical personnel. Oliver was airlifted to Santa Rosa Memorial hospital with suspected injuries to his left foot and shoulder.