Copyright 2002, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Sunday Morning Superbike Practice Times:

1. Eric Bostrom, Kawasaki ZX-7RR, 1:32.514
2. Nicky Hayden, Honda RC51, 1:32.791
3. Miguel Duhamel, Honda RC51, 1:32.920
4. Mat Mladin, Suzuki GSX-R750, 1:33.239
5. Aaron Yates, Suzuki GSX-R750, 1:33.343
6. Doug Chandler, Ducati 998RS, 1:33.374
7. Pascal Picotte, Ducati 998RS, 1:33.390
8. Jamie Hacking, Suzuki GSX-R750, 1:33.436
9. Anthony Gobert, Yamaha YZF-R7, 1:34.141
10. Brian Livengood, Suzuki GSX-R750, 1:37.340
11. Mark Foster, Kawasaki ZX-7R, 1:37.346
12. Tom Montano, Ducati 998S, 1:37.453
13. Robert Jensen, Suzuki GSX-R750, 1:38.263
14. Alan Schmidt, Suzuki GSX-R750, 1:38.330
15. Robert Christman, Suzuki GSX-R750, 1:38.427
16. Ed Milhausen, Suzuki GSX-R750, 1:38.435
17. Jeremy Toye, Suzuki GSX-R750, 1:38.528
18. Vincent Haskovec, Suzuki GSX-R750, 1:38.547
19. Owen Richey, Suzuki GSX-R750, 1:38.674
20. Brian Parriott, Suzuki GSX-R750, 1:38.704

Copyright 2002, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Sears Point Raceway officials are expecting a record crowd today for the final day of the AMA National, with beautiful weather conditions forecast.

The Saturday crowd was the largest in the history of motorcycle racing at the Sonoma, California racetrack, according to track officials, and they expect about twice as many people on Sunday.

The track did not release actual attendance figures.

Copyright 2002, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

250cc GP Final Results:

1. Fonsi Nieto, Aprilia, 26 laps, 46:03.241
2. Roberto Rolfo, Honda, -1.987
3. Emilio Alzamora, Honda, -5.355
4. Franco Battaini, Aprilia, -11.484
5. Roberto Locatelli, Aprilia, -11.982
6. Casey Stoner, Aprilia, -16.476
7. Sebastian Porto, Yamaha, -23.987
8. Alex Debon, Aprilia, -33.173
9. Naoki Matsudo, Yamaha, -33.473
10. Toni Elias, Aprilia, -44.011
11. Hector Faubel, Aprilia, -47.047
12. Haruchika Aoki, Honda, -48.583
13. Shahrol Yuzy, Yamaha, -61.097
14. Eric Bataille, Honda, -61.120
15. Taro Sekiguichi, Yamaha, -61.429
16. Raul Jara, Aprilia, -61.659
17. Jay Vincent, Honda, -66.893
18. Vincent Philippe, Aprilia, -69.713
19. Leon Haslam, Honda, -75.733
20. Jarno Janssen, Honda, -1 lap
21. Marco Melandri, Aprilia, -1 lap, DNF, crash
22. Randy DePuniet, Aprilia, -11 laps, DNF, crash
23. David Checa, Aprilia, -22 laps, DNF, crash
24. Hugo Marchand, Aprilia, -23 laps, DNF, crash
25. Dirk Heidolf, Aprilia, -26 laps, DNF, crash

More from an Aprilia press release:

Marco Melandri out on last lap after contact with Battaini. Macio’s ankle bone suffers minor fracture. Nieto tops the podium with Aprilia.

The race started off just as expected, with no one able to break away from the bitter struggle in the leading pack. Marco Melandri maintained second place for a long time and was close to third as the race came to a close. The fight was then between Melandri and Battaini, right up to the last lap when the two made contact and Macio was put out of action, with Battaini coming in fourth. Marco was immediately seen to by Dr Claudio Costa, who diagnosed a minor fracture of his left ankle bone. The mobile news first-aid centre applied support bandaging which will be taken off next week. Dr Costa has no doubts about Marco taking part in the forthcoming race at Le Mans in two weeks’ time.

Marco Melandri # 3 (MS APRILIA RACING) –

“About halfway through the race, I took a bit of time before making my final onslaught but, just when the time was right, my tyres started to give out. At that point, the first two positions had been taken. So it was a fight for third. Battaini bumped into the rear end of my bike and into my back: I fell down and that was it. It was all over. Now it’s going to be really tough, as Le Mans requires constant gear changes and my left ankle is precisely the one I need to work the clutch lever. I’ll be taking Dr Costa’s advice very seriously and I’ll do all I can to be back on form for the next round of the World Championship.”

125cc GP Final Results:

1. Lucio Cecchinello, Aprilia, 23 laps, 42:08.107
2. Arnaud Vincent, Aprilia, -2.274
3. Steve Jenkner, Aprilia, -2.773
4. Daniel Pedrosa, Honda, -8.618
5. Mika Kallio, Honda, -13.624
6. Youichi Ui, Derbi, -13.624
7. Simone Sanna, Aprilia, -15.181
8. Masao Azuma, Honda, -19.116
9. Joan Olive, Honda, -19.185
10. Manual Poggiali, Gilera, -21.674

Copyright 2002, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Supersport Practice Times:

1. Aaron Yates, Suzuki, 1:35.170
2. Jamie Hacking, Suzuki, 1:35.669
3. Mike Hale, Honda, 1:35.698
4. Tom Kipp, Suzuki, 1:36.194
5. Damon Buckmaster, Yamaha, 1:36.218
6. Tommy Hayden, Kawasaki, 1:36.304
7. Ben Spies, Suzuki, 1:36.393
8. Jake Zemke, Honda, 1:36.706
9. Jason Pridmore, Suzuki, 1:36.806
10. Tony Meiring, Kawasaki, 1:37.887
11. Owen Weichel, Kawasaki, 1:38.150
12. Ty Howard, Suzuki, 1:38.369
13. Brian Parriott, Honda, 1:38.402
14. Alex Gobert, Honda, 1:38.711
15. Clint McBain, Suzuki, 1:39.150

Copyright 2002, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Sunday Morning Formula Xtreme Practice Times:

1. Damon Buckmaster, Yamaha YZF-R7/R1, 1:33.522
2. Mike Hale, Honda CBR954RR, 1:34.288
3. Tom Kipp, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:34.476
4. Jake Zemke, Honda CBR954RR, 1:34.586
5. Ben Spies, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:34.599
6. Jason Pridmore, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:34.729
7. Marty Craggill, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:35.018
8. Dave Stanton, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:36.812
9. Vincent Haskovec, Suzuki GSX-R750, 1:37.283
10. Lance Isaacs, Yamaha YZF-R1, 1:38.007
11. James Compton, Suzuki GSX-R750, 1:38.429
12. Clint McBain, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:38.769
13. Jason Curtis, Yamaha YZF-R1, 1:39.194
14. Jeff Bostrom, Suzuki GSX-R750, 1:39.264
15. Brian Livengood, Suzuki GSX-R750, 1:39.364
16. Simon Forder, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:40.085
17. Cory Call, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:40.257
18. Kim Nakashima, Suzuki GSX-R750, 1:40.308
19. Kevin Pate, Suzuki GSX-R750, 1:40.375
20. James King, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:40.895

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.”