Benelli’s press releases from last weekend’s World Superbike race at Brands Hatch:

Friday:
Technical problems hit the Benelli in first qualifying. Minor technical problems held Peter Goddard and the Benelli Tornado back this afternoon in first qualifying for the European round of the World Superbike Championship at Brands Hatch. The team had two bikes set up differently to try out contrasting settings. Unfortunately the bike that turned out to have the best set-up was the one that developed the problems, forcing Goddard to go out on the second bike with his qualifying tyre as the session drew to a close.

“The motor let us down on the number one bike,” explained Goddard. “The gearing and suspension were wrong on the number two bike – so I wasted my qualifying tyre.”

The team, still in its maiden World Superbike season, have had very little time since the bikes returned home from Laguna Seca. “There’s only really been time for basic maintenance work,” said Goddard, “rather than any major changes.” Despite the teething problems Goddard is enjoying riding the new Benelli, “The great thing about it is that it works really well straight out of the box, wherever we take it. It handles well and it’s a great bike to ride, but we need to work on getting the power up and the weight down.”

Benelli Sport Team manager Max Zani echoed Goddard’s sentiments; “Technical problems have halted our progress today. But we are already working on the bikes and tomorrow we will have both Tornados set up properly and hopefully we’ll have sorted the problems we experienced on the number one machine.”

Goddard said that with the bike set up right he was confident that he could get higher up the time sheet, “I think I can get up to at least 20th in qualifying and even higher in the race.” Circuit knowledge is all-important at Brands Hatch and Goddard has an advantage over some riders there. He’s ridden at Brands many times before in both the World and the British Superbike championships. “I love the track,” said Goddard, “Although there are still a couple of places where the barriers are too close for comfort, Brands is a rider’s circuit and a lot of fun to race on.”

Peter Goddard and the Benelli Tornado finished today’s timed qualifying in 27th position, with a time of 1:29.355.

Saturday:
Benelli Sport on a steep learning curve at Brands Hatch. The Benelli Sport racing team entered the World Superbike Championship to develop the brand new Tornado Superbike. They knew it would be tough and they knew that racing would bring many valuable, and tough, lessons. It’s proved to be every bit as hard as they expected and at each round the team have been given plenty of lessons. After the elation of scoring their first World Superbike Championship point at the last round in Laguna Seca the team have been returned to reality as niggling reliability problems blocked rider Peter Goddard’s efforts to qualify for the Superpole. The team ended up 27th on the time sheet after final qualifying.

“We’ve been experiencing problems that we hadn’t expected,” commented team owner Andrea Merloni. “But we came to Superbike racing for experience and that’s exactly what we’ve been getting. Some of the problems we’ve had this weekend have been unexpected, and we will have lots of work to do after this weekend. But we are achieving exactly what we came here to do, but I hope we can score more points on Sunday.”

Peter Goddard was upbeat about his chances in the race, “The aim tomorrow is to finish and score some more championship points,” he said. “Our lap times on race tyres here have been almost as fast as when we put the qualifying tyres on, so that’s encouraging for tomorrow. We have a good base setting for the Benelli now and we haven’t had to make too many changes from the set-up we ran at Laguna. This weekend our problem has been engine reliability. I had an engine failure in both qualifying sessions which cost us track time, and that’s important with a new bike. The bikes are running consistently high rpm at this track so it’s hard on the engines around here. There is also a lot of hard braking. Hopefully we have better reliability in the races because everything else is working well. Since we first raced the bike at Misano there hasn’t been a lot of time for development, especially with the travel getting to America and back. After this weekend there’s a longer break so we are looking forward to trying some new things later in the season to keep improving. I think we can work our way forward in the races tomorrow, like we did at Laguna, and hopefully we can be in the points. As usual British wildcard riders are going fast on their ‘home’ track so if we get in the points it will be a very good result. The weather has been hot and the track is a little more slippery than usual.”

Final qualifying result:
Grid Position 27. Peter Goddard (Australia) Benelli Sport Tornado, 1:28.896

Sunday:
Benelli Sport add to the World Superbike Championship points tally.

The Benelli Tornado Superbike took one more step forward this weekend when Peter Goddard finished 13th in the first race at Brands Hatch. Peter Goddard had a brilliant ride in the first race to score three more Superbike World Championship points.

The team had struggled with niggling technical problems all weekend, which had hampered their progress in qualifying. Despite starting from back on the seventh row, Goddard had made great progress when race one was red-flagged after an incident involving Wild Card rider James Haydon. Goddard was up in 16th when the race was stopped.

“When they stopped the race it helped me because it meant I was on the fourth row for the restart,” said Goddard, “That made things a lot better than being on the seventh row after qualifying.”

At the end of the race Goddard was having a great dice with factory Honda rider Tady Okada and actually beat the ex-GP rider on the track. But Okada had done just enough to win the battle on aggregate time and took 12th position in the results.

In the second race Goddard again had a chance to try the Benelli Tornado out in close quarters with other riders.

“I got into some close racing with other bikes,” said Goddard, “and it’s valuable for us to be able to compare the Benelli with them in these situations. In race trim we’re a lot closer to the others than we seem to be in qualifying. The bike handles really well and it’s fun to ride. Right now our priority is finding more acceleration and horsepower, but engine development is not a simple thing. I’ll be staying in Europe for the Summer break until we start racing again. We’re hoping to do some more testing.” Goddard finished race two just outside the points in 16th position.

Team owner Andrea Merloni was delighted with the weekend’s achievements. “I am very happy!” he said. “Qualifying wasn’t easy, we had so many problems. But we got them all sorted in time for the race and Peter Goddard scored more championship points for Benelli. Now we have to go home and try to work out fixes to the problems. We managed to work around them here in Brands Hatch but our intention is to work out proper engineering and technical solutions. We have a month before the next race but we also have to give the team a holiday, they have worked so hard and they deserve a rest.”

The Benelli Tornado will race again in the World Superbike Championship at Oschersleben on September 2nd.

At this weekend’s Suzuka 8-Hour, famous rider pairings on works Superbike include the following:

Colin Edwards/Valentino Rossi, Honda RC51

Tohru Ukawa/Daijiro Katoh, Honda RC51

Alex Barros/Makoto Tamada, Honda RC51

Noriyuki Haga/Anthony Gobert, Yamaha YZF-R7

Akira Yanagawa/Hotiyasu Izutsu, Kawasaki ZX-7RR

Gregorio Lavilla/Tamaki Serizawa, Kawasaki ZX-7RR

Akira Ryo/Yukio Kagayama, Suzuki GSX-R750


Expected front-runners in the SuperProduction class include two regulars from the Endurance World Championship Series, as well as one America team:

Whirley Phase One, Igor Jerman/Tony Rees, Suzuki GSX-R1000

Zongshen, Stephane Mertens/Warwick Nowland, Suzuki GSX-R1000

Hooters Suzuki, Mike Ciccotto/Michael Barnes, Suzuki GSX-R1000

Photo by Carl Giles. Copyright 2001 Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Mike Ciccotto’s plans to have a screw inserted in his broken wrist on Wednesday were derailed Tuesday when Suzuka Circuit officials insisted that he put off the surgery and ride in the Suzuka 8-Hour this weekend. Suzuka Circuit contributed to expenses associated with bringing Ciccotto and the Hooters Suzuki team to the race, apparently believing that having a team sponsored by Hooters–complete with Hooters girls as umbrella girls–will boost attendance by spectators.

According to an e-mail to Roadracing World from his manager, Norm “Lawdog” Viano, Ciccotto “flew from Minneapolis to LA on Monday, and had completely rearranged all of his flights so that he could fly to Doc (Dave) Kieffer’s yesterday, have a screw put in his wrist today, then make it to Suzuka in time to be there in support of the Hooters team for the weekend.

“But the Japanese (including one of the managers of the track!) called his cell phone at like 3:00 a.m. and told him he must attend the race immediately and that he must try to ride this weekend. We fought it verbally for a few hours, as Ciccotto needs to have this surgery done ASAP and get as much recovery time as possible before Pikes Peak so he can get back in the hunt for the Pro Thunder Championship like he was before. But they pretty much strong-armed and guilted him into doing it. Apparently they have promoted this Hooters team and Ciccotto pretty big over there for the event (like as much or more than the ‘big’ names), which is kind of strange (but cool). And I think one of the guys at Ti Force was at Loudon and maybe Road Atlanta too, and saw him dominate those two races – so they want him there on the track, even if just for as long as Mike can tolerate the pain. So he’ll ride a little bit this weekend and put in an appearance – something I’m a little worried about. But he’ll be Mike and put in a good apprearance. Then come back and have surgery at Dr. Kieffer’s immediately.

“And by the way, he didn’t crash and remount during the Pro Thunder race at Brainerd as (announcer) Richard Chambers had originally broadcast — he had a spark plug wire come loose and had to come in for a few before rejoining to finish 7th. He’s bummed because despite of his wrist injury, he feels he could have run with (Jeff) Nash and been on the box, beating (Tom) Montano. There’s a pretty good gap now between Ciccotto and Montano in points, but that’s before they subtract their two worst rounds.”

Copyright 2001, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Roadracing World’s analysis of valves from Chuck Chouinard’s GSX-R750 show that there was metal removal and reshaping of the valves, as charged by AMA tech inspectors when they disqualified Chouinard from the 750cc Supersport race at Loudon.

The valves were examined and compared to stock valves using a powerful microscope. Photos of the valves will be published in the October, 2001 issue of Roadracing World, which will be on the newsstand at the beginning of September.

But while the analysis found that the valves had been modified, there is little chance that the slight valve reshaping alone created any significant power advantage, and the AMA’s harsh treatment of Chouinard stands in stark contrast to the fine-and-release stance taken by AMA tech inspectors in other recent Supersport rules violation cases. Although the disqualification of Chouinard can be justified by the rulebook, a more proper and consistent response may have been to fine him and warn him to never use reshaped valves again.

The analysis also found that it is possible that the valve reshaping was caused by the use of Scotchbrite to clean the valves.

Chouinard’s finish at Loudon was the result of his aggressive riding and not due to anything having to do with his valves, the analysis found, especially given his weight of over 200 pounds.

Recently, Chouinard got his GSX-R750 into the 1:11s during a Loudon club race weekend, a lap time not achieved by any 750cc Supersport rider at the Loudon National, and a further testiment to his riding ability and expertise at Loudon.

Copyright 2001, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Red Bull Yamaha WCM Racing Director Peter Clifford followed his trip to the Brainerd AMA National last weekend with a trip to San Diego, California to meet with John Hopkins, his mother, Linda, and his agent, Doug Gonda, on Monday.

From San Diego, Clifford traveled to Santa Monica to meet with Red Bull officials on Tuesday, then flew to Wyoming to meet with World Championship Motorsports boss Bob MacLean.

Clifford and the WCM team are normally based in Austria during the Grand Prix season. The team will campaign YZR500 Yamahas in the GP1 (now known as 500cc Grand Prix) Championship in 2002.

Due to contractual gaurantees made to current riders for the Yoshimura Suzuki AMA team, Hopkins is third or fourth in line for a shot at a Suzuki GP ride, and all of Suzuki’s AMA Superbike slots are full until 2003. Hopkins has declined a standing offer from his current AMA team, Valvoline EMGO Suzuki, to remain in the Formula Xtreme and 600cc Supersport classes for another year.

Hopkins has had offers from several AMA Superbike teams, as well as inquiries from World Superbike teams. However, Hopkins’ dream has long been to compete in 500cc Grand Prix with a competitive team.

Hopkins’ talks with WCM concerning 2002-2004 are ongoing.

Distilled from a Radar’s Team Yamaha press release from last weekend, with much of the sponsor fluff removed:

Newly crowned Australian Superbike Champion Shawn Giles won each of three featured 12-lap races at South Australia’s Mallala Raceway during round four of the 2001 Shell Advance Australian Superbike Championship, riding a Suzuki.

Yamaha’s Jamie Stauffer finished the day with two seconds and a fifth and Yamaha’s Craig Coxhell took three thirds. The only drama of the day occurred in race two when it was red flagged after five laps and the race being decided on aggregate after the seven-lap restart.

The trio also took the top placings during qualifying, with Giles on pole ahead of Coxhell, Stauffer and Yamaha’s Tony Rees.

“I was a bit annoyed with having run wide a couple of times in the second race, but I suppose that second overall on the day is still a great result,” said Stauffer. “I earned a heap of valuable points today and I’m in with a chance of grabbing third overall in the championship. I was happy that I was able to mix it with Shawn (Giles) and Craig (Coxhell) in each of the races. Being my first year, I’m still learning a lot and to be in a position near the front of the field is good for my development.”

“Finishing third overall on the day isn’t exactly what I wanted this weekend, but at least I still have a good hold of second in the championship,” said Coxhell. “I led each of the races at one stage today, but Shawn’s experience showed and he was able to get past me. I had a problem with the clutch on the restart of the second race and that cost me a lot of places. Aside from that I was happy with the results today and look forward to the final round at Oran Park.”

Shell Advance Australian Superbike Championship
Round 4, Mallala Raceway, South Australia, July 28 – 29

Qualifying
Rider Bike Time
1. Shawn Giles, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:08.3196
2. Craig Coxhell, Yamaha YZF-R1, 1:08.8171
3. Jamie Stauffer, Yamaha YZF-R1, 1:08.9710
4. Tony Rees, Yamaha YZF-R1, 1:09.0928
5. Alex Gobert, Honda CBR929RR, 1:09.4005
6. Alistair Maxwell, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:09.7475
7. Stephen Tozer, Yamaha YZF-R1, 1:09.7602
8 .Steven Fisher, Honda CBR929RR,1:10.1488
9. Chris Ognenis, Yamaha YZF-R1, 1:10.7250
10. David Simpson, Suzuki GSX-R1000,1:10.7781

Lap Record Mat Mladin (Kawasaki) -1:07.7700 on 19/11/1995


Race 1 / 12 Laps
1. Giles, 13:52.7593
2. Stauffer, 13:55.7981
3. Coxhell, 13:58.0499
4. Rees, 13:58.9547
5. Gobert, 14:01.8390
6. Maxwell, 14:05.1551
7. Normoyle, 14:12.4669
8. Ognenis, 14:13.7999
9. Simpson, 14:14.3166
10. Tozer, 14:14.8232
Fastest Lap: Giles, 1:08.4888 on lap 9

Race 2 / 12 Laps
1. Giles, 13:51.9492
2. Rees, 13:58.4940
3. Coxhell, 13:58.7695
4. Gobert, 14:00.9879
5. Stauffer, 14:08.6438
6. Normoyle, 14:14.5401
7. Ognenis, 14:15.9930
8. Fisher, 14:20.2188
9. Tozer, 14:23.5158
10. Maxwell, 14:26.6185
Fastest Lap: Giles, 1:08.0853 on lap 2

Race 3 / 12 Laps
1. Giles, 13:53.7333
2. Stauffer, 13:59.2106
3. Coxhell, 13:59.6091
4. Rees, 14:02.1547
5. Gobert, 14:10.9566
6. Fisher, 14:11.2011
7. Maxwell, 14:16.4766
8. Normoyle, 14:18.5293
9. Tozer, 14:18.6573
10. Simpson, 14:28.6688
Fastest Lap: Giles, 1:08.2907 on lap 4

2001 Shell Advance Australian Superbike Championship (points after 4 0f 5
rounds)
1. Giles, 281
2. Coxhell, 183
3. Rees, 146
4. Stauffer, 129
5. Cudlin, 127
6. Gobert, 98
7. Normoyle, 93
8. Simpson, 85
9. Fisher, 77
10. Maxwell, 49.