Copyright 2002, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Pressure applied to team managers by AMA Pro Racing Director of Professional Competition Merrill Vanderslice to silence rider criticism of Sears Point International Raceway over safety issues had an effect Saturday at the Sonoma, California racetrack.

Blimpie Yoshimura Suzuki’s Aaron Yates and Mat Mladin and Yamaha’s Anthony Gobert were all critical of the racetrack in response to a direct question asked by a reporter in a press conference held following the Friday Superbike qualifying session.

In response, an angry Vanderslice complained to the involved teams, telling them to muzzle their riders “or else I’ll do it.”

Don Sakakura, team manager for Blimpie Yoshimura Suzuki, said Vanderslice was “disappointed as far as the comments that were made in the press conference. I couldn’t respond because I wasn’t there and didn’t know what the riders said. Speaking to the riders, they were concerned (about track safety). We had gone to see (AMA Race Manager) Ron Barrick on Friday. Several issues were brought up, the big ones being turn one and the speed of the course. They made some improvements with airbags and things at that time.”

Yamaha Racing Division Manager Keith McCarty said he, too, was approached by Vanderslice. “Merrill did talk to us yesterday after the Superbike qualifying press conference. His discussion point was bringing up about the track safety at the press conference. We want to be able to talk to him (Vanderslice) about that, and I’m sure they wanted to be right, but I think they (the AMA) took it as a bit of a surprise because with all the track improvements they really weren’t ready for that. When the racers come off the track after qualifying you can imagine that they were trying to be their best and I think it’s a sensitive weekend for everybody.”

In a press conference held following 600cc Supersport qualifying on Saturday, Gobert said, “I want to apologize to Sears Point Raceway. Obviously, we didn’t mean it to blow up and be such a big deal. We just kind of said a couple of things and, obviously maybe, it wasn’t the best time to say that. But, like everything, you always learn the hard way.”

Copyright 2202, Roadracing world Publishing, Inc.

250cc GP Qualifying Times:
1. Franco Battaini, Aprilia, 1:44.803
2. Fonsi Nieto, Aprilia, 1:45.268
3. Marco Melandri, Aprilia, 1:45.323
4. Sebastian Porto, Yamaha, 1:45.499
5. Roberto Rolfo, Honda, 1:45.580
6. Randy De Puniet, Aprilia, 1:45.596
7. Casey Stoner, Aprilia, 1:45.648
8. Alex Debon, Aprilia, 1:45.694
9. Emilio Alzamora, Honda, 1:45.964
10. Toni Elias, Aprilia, 1:46.170
11. Naoki Matsudo, Yamaha, 1:46.293
12. Roberto Locatelli, Aprilia, 1:46.440
13. Raul Jara, Aprilia, 1:46.502
14. David Checa, Aprilia, 1:46.545
15. Haruchika Aoki, Honda, 1:46.630

More from an Aprilia press release:

Marco Melandri comes third in pole qualifying session. Three Aprilia RSW 250 bikes on the first row of the grid.

It was in the closing stages of today’s qualifying sessions that Marco made his bid to confirm the provisional pole he scored yesterday. Marco Melandri spent most of the session concentrating entirely on working out the best settings for tomorrow’s race. It is going to be a race in which the opening stages could be crucial. Macio thus took the time he needed to prepare everything to make sure he has all the potential he needs to be in top form for the third race in the championship.

Marco Melandri # 3 (MS APRILIA RACING) – 3rd 1’45.323

“I must say I thought it would be easier to improve the bike today. But instead we had a tough time, for I wasn’t as fast as I wanted to be. Then things improved and we worked out some better solutions. What really matters, apart from the start, is to get to the final stages with still something to spare. Some of the tyres we tried out today started sliding after just a few laps. This isn’t going to be a race like Welkom: the start’s going to be hard and it won’t be easy to break out into the lead. I imagine the opening stages are going to be hard-fought and then it’ll be a matter of strategy and determination to win.”

125cc GP Qualifying Times:
1. Pablo Nieto, Aprilia, 1:49.018
2. Arnaud Vincent, Aprilia, 1:49.186
3. Manuel Poggiali, Gilera, 1:49.227
4. Alex DeAngelis, Aprilia, 1:49.248
5. Steve Jenkner, Aprilia, 1:49.287
6. Lucio Cechinello, Aprilia, 1:49.494
7. Gino Borsoi, Aprilia, 1:49.786
8. Simone Sanna, Aprilia, 1:49.831
9. Andrea Dovizioso, Honda, 1:49.936
10. Youichi Ui, Derbi, 1:50.029

Copyright 2002, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

1. Mike Hale, Honda, 1:35.822
2. Anthony Gobert, Yamaha, 1:36.022
3. Aaron Yates, Suzuki, 1:36.104
4. Jake Zemke, Honda, 1:36.364
5. Jamie Hacking, Suzuki, 1:36.524
6. Damon Buckmaster, Yamaha, 1:36.669
7. Jason Pridmore, Suzuki, 1:36.917
8. Ben Spies, Suzuki, 1:36.922
9. Tom Kipp, Suzuki, 1:37.115
10. Tommy Hayden, Kawasaki, 1:37.769
11. Alex Gobert, Honda, 1:38.384
12. Brian Parriott, Honda, 1:38.643
13. Jimmy Moore, Suzuki, 1:38.745
14. Owen Richey, Yamaha, 1:38.835
15. Chris Siebenhaar, Honda, 1:39.261
16. Tony Meiring, Kawasaki, 1:39.337
17. Jimmy Filice, Kawasaki, 1:39.703
18. Andrew Nelson, Honda, 1:39.871
19. Michael Hannas, Kawasaki, 1:40.193
20. Clint McBain, Suzuki, 1:40.618

Copyright 2002, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Unofficial Combined Superbike Qualifying Results:

1. Anthony Gobert, Yamaha YZF-R7, 1:31.692
2. Nicky Hayden, Honda RC51, 1:32.149
3. Eric Bostrom, Kawasaki ZX-7RR, 1:32.392
4. Aaron Yates, Suzuki GSX-R750, 1:32.724
5. Mat Mladin, Suzuki GSX-R750, 1:32.882
6. Miguel Duhamel, Honda RC51, 1:32.938
7. Pascal Picotte, Ducati 998RS, 1:33.806
8. Jamie Hacking, Suzuki GSX-R750, 1:34.106
9. Doug Chandler, Ducati 998RS, 1:34.506
10. Lee Acree, Suzuki GSX-R750, 1:36.192
11. Mark Foster, Kawasaki ZX-7R, 1:36.451
12. Vincent Haskovec, Suzuki GSX-R750, 1:36.619
13. Robert Jensen, Suzuki GSX-R750, 1:36.880
14. Jimmy Moore, Suzuki GSX-R750, 1:36.931
15. Tom Montano, Ducati 998S, 1:37.237
16. Scott Jensen, Suzuki GSX-R750, 1:37.381
17. Ed Milhausen, Suzuki GSX-R750, 1:37.492
18. Chris Ulrich, Suzuki GSX-R750, 1:37.614
19. Owen Richey, Suzuki GSX-R750, 1:37.648
20. Jake Holden, Suzuki GSX-R750, 1:37.928
21. Andy Deatherage, Suzuki GSX-R750, 1:38.015

Copyright 2002, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Saturday Afternoon Superbike Practice Times:

1. Miguel Duhamel, Honda RC51, 1:33.163
2. Mat Mladin, Suzuki GSX-R750, 1:33.312
3. Nicky Hayden, Honda RC51, 1:33.448
4. Pascal Picotte, Ducati 998RS, 1:33.856
5. Eric Bostrom, Kawasaki ZX-7RR, 1:34.115
6. Aaron Yates, Suzuki GSX-R750, 1:34.697
7. Doug Chandler, Ducati 998RS, 1:35.119
8. Jamie Hacking, Suzuki GSX-R750, 1:35.465
9. Lee Acree, Suzuki GSX-R750, 1:36.725
10. Anthony Gobert, Yamaha YZF-R7, 1:36.777
11. Jimmy Moore, Suzuki GSX-R750, 1:37.203
12. Chris Ulrich, Suzuki GSX-R750, 1:37.911
13. Scott Jensen, Suzuki GSX-R750, 1:38.215
14. Mark Foster, Kawasaki ZX-7RR, 1:38.305
15. Tom Montano, Ducati 998S, 1:38.362
16. Ty Howard, Suzuki, GSX-R750, 1:38.623
17. Alan Schmidt, Suzuki GSX-R750, 1:39.052
18. Jeremy Toye, Suzuki GSX-R750, 1:39.102
19. Brian Parriott, Suzuki GSX-R750, 1:39.539
20. Brian Livengood, Suzuki GSX-R750, 1:39.609

From an Aprilia Racing press release:

Saturday 4 May, 2002
Ivano Beggio, President of Aprilia, at Jerez for the weekend races.
The president, Ivano Beggio, arrived today at the Jerez circuit to get a first-hand view of the two most important days of the third round of the World Championship. He spent some time with the technicians, the riders and the Aprilia team, who today will be battling out the final qualifying sessions for the starting grid tomorrow. But he also had a brief, informal meeting with the media in the Aprilia hospitality area. This provided a perfect opportunity to take stock of the current situation of the new Aprilia RS3 project, a bare three months since it made its debut here at Jerez on 24 January this year.
“We set ourselves three important objectives for this season” declared the president, Ivano Beggio, “We intend to become competitive and race for the world title in the 125 and 250 classes. It is still early days yet to know if we have achieved this objective, but the data and results attained so far give us every reason to hope we shall be able to reach our goal. Our second objective was to be ready to take on the track right from the start of the championship with a highly innovative bike, the RS3, and this is one we managed to achieve. The third objective still remains: to gather all the experience we need in the races to develop the bike and become competitive as soon as possible. Today, this is the hardest challenge: there are ‘physiological’ times to be respected, but we are not the slightest bit daunted, even though we fully realise how much there is to do. At the moment, the RS3 is more a two-wheeled laboratory than a fully-fledged motorbike and the challenge we are facing is to develop it in real time, in each single race. It might have been more logical to wait until the bike was absolutely competitive before deciding to take part in the championship, but I wanted to be out there straight away as the only non-Japanese manufacturer. If we had not done this, there might not have been such an important challenge in the new four-stroke category, and the project might have had that much less credibility. I wanted to be right there at the start, asserting my company’s strong vocation for sport. I motivated my staff by imposing extremely limited implementation times. We’ve got there: now it is time to make our presence felt.
“We are still a year behind other manufacturers” , added the president, Ivano Beggio, “But we are the only Europeans – and indeed the only non-Japanese company – involved in the challenge. Investments are almost three times what we earmarked for two-stroke racing, but the company’s commitment is firm, even though this is truly an epoch-making effort for Aprilia.”

Copyright 2002, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

AMA Pro Racing Director of Competition Merrill Vanderslive was furious over comments about safety conditions at Sears Point Raceway, made by riders Aaron Yates, Anthony Gobert and Mat Mladin during a press conference following Friday Superbike qualifying.

Yates started the commentary on track safety conditions in response to a direct question from a reporter, and Gobert and Mladin then also commented.

Vanderslice stormed over to the garage area afterwards and confronted Yamaha’s Keith McCarty and Tom Halverson, as well as Yoshimura Blimpie Suzuki’s Don Sakakura.

“I’ve never seen him so mad,” said one eyewitness to Valderslice’s tirade, describing Vanderslice as visibly furious and red-faced over the criticism of track safety conditions. The way Vanderslice explained it, the eyewitness said, a press conference was not the place to discuss track conditions, even though he (Vanderslice) agreed with some of the criticism the riders offered.

Riders have complained about earthmoving equipment working in the infield, raising clouds of dust which riders on track have mistaken for signs of a crash. At one point the dust was so bad that one rider had to come in and wash his irritated eyes out. Besides raising dust, earthmoving equipment moving alongside the track is a distraction, riders said. And riders and crew members staying in RVs at the track have been disturbed when the equipment operators start work at first light–before 6:00 a.m. both Friday and Saturday morning.

Riders also have complained about reconfigured turn one, which is faster than it was before and directs riders at a bridge abutment at the exit.

Track officials have countered that they have done everything they can to make the track safer within restrictions placed on them by local government and the permitting process, that the track is far safer than it was five years ago, and that run-off has been greatly improved in many corners.

For details of the press conference, see the post from Friday, May 3, headlined, “Sears Point Still Not Safe Enough, Top Superbike Riders Say”.

Copyright 2002, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Combined Supersport Qualifying Results:

1. Aaron Yates, Suzuki GSX-R600, 1:34.402
2. Anthony Gobert, Yamaha YZF-R6, 1:34.815
3. Tom Kipp, Suzuki GSX-R600, 1:35.287
4. Damon Buckmaster, Yamaha YZF-R6, 1:35.364
5. Mike Hale, Honda CBR600F4i, 1:35.506
6. Jake Zemke, Honda CBR600F4i 1:35.580
7. Ben Spies, Suzuki GSX-R600, 1:35.658
8. Tommy Hayden, Kawasaki ZX-6R, 1:35.871
9. Jason Pridmore, Suzuki GSX-R600, 1:35.907
10. Jamie Hacking, Suzuki GSX-R600, 1:36.013
11. Brian Parriott, Honda CBR600F4i 1:36.853
12. Owen Weichel, Kawasaki ZX-6R, 1:37.629
13. Alex Gobert, Honda CBR600F4i 1:37.798
14. Ty Howard, Suzuki GSX-R600, 1:37.804
15. Tony Meiring, Kawasaki ZX-6R, 1:37.988
16. Michael Hannas, Kawasaki ZX-6R, 1:37.999
17. Jimmy Moore, Suzuki GSX-R600, 1:38.434
18. Andrew Nelson, Honda CBR600F4i 1:38.472
19. Owen Richey, Yamaha YZF-R6, 1:38.481
20. Jimmy Filice, Kawasaki ZX-6R, 1:39.254

36.Katja Poensgen, Suzuki GSX-R600, 1:43.567