From a press release:

MAT MLADIN Racing
For immediate release
Monday, 29 April 2002

Rounds 4 & 5, 2002 AMA Chevy Trucks US Superbike Championship

Sears Point Raceway, Sonoma, California, USA

Event preview

SEARS POINT CRUCIAL TO MLADIN’S TITLE DEFENCE

Sears Point Raceway, situated in Sonoma, California will host rounds 4 & 5 of the 2002 AMA Chevy Trucks US Superbike Championship this weekend (May 4 & 5) with Australian Mat Mladin’s results crucial to his chances of securing a fourth consecutive AMA Superbike title.

With just three rounds of the scheduled sixteen completed in the highly competitive championship, Mladin (Blimpie Yoshimura Suzuki) lies eighth overall in the points chase, 50 adrift of leader Nicky Hayden (American Honda).

“Essentially at this point of the season I just have to go out there and win races,” said Mladin. “We need as many points as possible. If we don’t win these races and Nicky (Hayden) beats us in both of them, then we can essentially call it a day as far as the championship goes. There is a long way to go in the championship and he already has 50 points on me, so if he leaves Sears with 60 of 65 points advantage, that’s equal to a couple of races, so it would be hard work from there on in. We need to cut that deficit down and get it back down to about 30 points, so that we can start working on them in the coming rounds.”

Mladin is a past winner at Sears Point, taking victory there in 1999 and is the current Superbike lap record holder which he set to grab pole position for last year’s event. The 4.055km (2.52-mile) Sears Point Raceway is one of the most physical and demanding circuits in this year’s championship.

“I don’t mind Sears Point,” added Mladin. “I’ve heard that they’ve made some improvements to it, but as to how those changes are, we’ll have to wait until we get there to make a comment. It’s not one of the safest tracks and not really one of my favourites, but I always seem to do well there. There are a few places where you are doing about 110 mph in third gear and the walls are right next to you,”

Mladin’s season has been disrupted due to an elbow injury that he sustained during practice for the opening round at Daytona, an injury that forced him to withdraw from the event. He returned for a belated season race debut at California Speedway for rounds two and three were he finished sixth and third.

“The arm is getting stronger and my tricep is about 70% the strength of that of my right arm at the moment, so it’s starting to turn itself back on again. Hopefully by the time Sears comes around we’ll be almost there. The last couple of times I’ve been out on the bike I felt fine beforehand, but did find it hard when I was actually on the bike, so we’ll see what happens.”

SEARS POINT FAST FACTS
Circuit length: 2.52 miles (4.055km)

2001 Pole position: Mat Mladin (Team Yoshimura Suzuki) 1:33.013

2001 Race result: 1. Anthony Gobert (Yamaha), 2. Nicky Hayden (Honda), 3. Aaron Yates (Team Yoshimura Suzuki), 4. Mat Mladin (Team Yoshimura Suzuki)

Superbike lap record: Mat Mladin (Team Yoshimura Suzuki) 1:33.013


2002 AMA Chevy Trucks US Superbike Championship (points after 3 rounds)
1. N Hayden 104; 2. A Gobert 97; 3. A Deatherage 68; 4. B Livengood 63; 5. J Hacking 60; 6. A Yates 59; 7. E Bostrom 58; 8. M Mladin 54; 9. D Chandler 54; 10. P Picotte 52.

From an AMA press release

Yates shopping for a Pro Honda Oils Supersport victory at Sears Point

Aaron Yates has a solid points lead in the Pro Honda Oils U.S. Supersport Championship coming into the race this Sunday, May 5 at Sears Point Raceway in Sonoma, Calif. Undefeated thus far on his Blimpie Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R600, Yates has surprised fans and fellow competitors with his come-from-behind moves late in the finals to take wins at Daytona Beach in March and Fontana, Calif., last month. With two victories Yates holds a 21-point lead in the championship, very unusual this early in the highly-competitive AMA Supersport Series.

Yates will be looking for his first AMA Supersport victory at Sears; his previous best finish in the event was second to Pascal Picotte in 1997. His bid for a victory last year at Sears Point ended in a spectacular head-first crash into air barriers at over 100 miles per hour while leading. Yates was uninjured in the crash.

Another surprise in the series is the fact that Australian Damon Buckmaster sits tied for second in the points. Prior to this season Buckmaster has never been ranked higher than 10th in AMA Supersport. But riding with the Yamaha factory (under the Graves Motorsports banner) seems to be all the 29-year-old Buckmaster needed to be successful in the series. Fellow Australian and Yamaha teammate Anthony Gobert, who won this race last year, is down on points because of a crash at Daytona. Gobert rallied to earn second place at Fontana last month and the former Australian Superbike champ is still considered a viable contender for the championship.

Tied with Buckmaster for second in the points coming into Sears Point is Blimpie Yoshimura Suzuki rider Jamie Hacking. Sears Point has never been kind to Hacking. The South Carolinian has suffered more than his share of crashes on the twisty circuit, but he feels those days are behind him and is looking forward to a strong showing this weekend.

Attack Suzuki teammates Jason Pridmore and Ben Spies are tied for fourth in the series. Pridmore is a long-time AMA pro who is a three-time AMA Superstock and Formula Xtreme winner at Sears Point. Spies is a former AMA Horizon Award winner (signifying the AMA’s top amateur rider) and at just 17 is considered one of the top up-an-coming riders in AMA Superbike.

Buckmaster leads the Lockhart-Phillips Formula Xtreme Series after winning the series opener at Fontana a month ago. “Bucky” lost the Formula Xtreme title by a single point to John Hopkins last year after leading the class most of the season. He definitely has serious motivation on his side after having the title slip from his grasp eight months ago. Attack Suzuki’s Jason Pridmore, who has made a healthy comeback to the series after breaking his leg and collarbone in the middle of the 2001 season, ranks second. He feels right at home at Sears Point where he first began his road racing career as a club racer in the late-1980s. Pridmore is also the defending Formula Xtreme winner at Sears. Bruce Transportation Group Honda rider Jake Zemke is ranked third and is showing the abilities that earned him a victory in the series in Brainerd, Minn., last year.

Kawasaki’s Tommy Hayden is turning a lot of heads by leading the Genuine Suzuki Accessories Superstock Series (formerly 750 Supersport). It marks the first time in series history that a rider on a 600cc machine has led the points in the class, which is dominated by 750cc bikes. The oldest of the three racing Hayden brothers, Tommy is the only rider ever to win a Superstock race on a 600cc machine. He did it in 1999 in Lexington, Ohio, on a Yamaha and again last month in Fontana aboard his factory Kawasaki ZX-6R. It’s no fluke; Kawasaki is going to try to win the Superstock class over Suzuki, which has won the series for six-straight years. Canadian Jordan Szoke is trying to keep Suzuki’s championship-winning streak alive. The Corona Extra Suzuki rider is only one point behind Hayden as they head to Sears Point. Valvoline EMGO Suzuki’s Chris Ulrich is third.

With defending champion Jim Filice leaving the MBNA 250 Grand Prix for AMA Supersport in 2002, the championship has been left wide open to a vast array of talented riders. Former class champion, Stargel Aprilia’s Chuck Sorensen, from nearby Sunnyvale, Calif., leads the point standings after taking the win at Daytona and fifth at California Speedway. Sorensen is a two-time AMA 250GP winner at Sears. Second in the standings is Team Oliver Yamaha’s Perry Melneciuc from Lehigh Acres, Fla. Bridgestone Yamaha rider Ed Sorbo, from Redlands, Calif., comes into Sears Point ranked third. Former Sears Point winners Rich Oliver and Roland Sands are also expected to be top contenders in the race. Oliver returned to racing and the podium at Fontana after a fall at Daytona left him with a severed ring finger and broken pelvis.

For ticket information of the Superbike Supercuts Challenge, contact Sears Point Raceway at (707) 938-8448 or visit the website at www.searspoint.com.

Copyright 2002, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

By David Swarts

4&6 Racing’s Larry Denning used a 2002 Yamaha YZF-R1 to set a new official lap record at Talladega Gran Prix Raceway on Sunday, April 28. Denning’s new record for the counter-clockwise direction was certified by WERA offfials at 0.58.97, and he set the record on DOT-labeled Pirelli tires. Denning turned the lap while chasing leader Lee Acree in an A Superstock race but finished second behind the Arclight Suzuki GSX-R750 rider.

Denning ended the WERA weekend with two wins (Formula One, C Superbike) and two seconds (A Superstock, C Superstock) in Yamaha contingency races, plus a win in Saturday, April 27’s Mediumweight Solo 20, on his 2002-model Yamaha YZF-R1 and YZF-R6.

“I didn’t have much to say about the new R1 after the first two weekends,” said long-time Yamaha contingency chaser Denning. “But after Traxxion Dynamics helped me sort out the front end with springs and fork oil level, it’s now easier to ride fast than my R6.”

Denning added that his new R1, equipped with the racing exhaust from his 2001 bike, a Dynojet Power Commander III-R and VP MR1 race fuel, made 148 rear wheel horsepower on a dyno at 4&6’s Chicago, Illinois race shop.

Copyright 2002, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

By David Swarts

QB Phase One’s Jason Pridmore and teammate Mark Edwards won the 200-mile World Endurance race at Imola Sunday on a Suzuki GSX-R1000. QB Phase One’s Pridmore trailed Zongshen 2 early in the contest, but when Zongshen pitted with suspected transmission problems, Pridmore moved QB Phase One into the lead. QB Phase One would never relinquish the lead again.

Mike Ciccotto and Michael Barnes finished second on the Herman Verboven 5 Suzuki GSX-R750 with Zongshen 9’s Bruno Bonhuil and Igor Jerman placing third on another Suzuki.

RESULTS:

1. QB Phase One (Jason Pridmore/Mike Edwards), Suzuki GSX-R1000, 66 laps, 201.9 miles, 2:21:42.046

2. Herman Verboven Racing 5 (Michael Barnes/ Mike Ciccotto), Suzuki GSX-R750, 66 laps, 201.9 miles, 2:22:04.482, +22.436

3. Zongshen 9 (Igor Jerman/Bruno Bonhuil), Suzuki GSX-R1000, 66 laps, 201.9 miles, 2:22:17.768, +35.722

4. Zongshen 2 (Warwick Nowland/Giovanni Bussei), Suzuki GSX-R1000, 66 laps, 201.9 miles, 2:22:40.431, +58.385

5. Bolliger Team (Marcel Kellenberger/Roman Stamm), Kawasaki ZX-9R, 65 laps, 198.9 miles, 2:21:57.966, + 1 lap

6. Dap Unisson Motomax (Stephane Gallis/J.-Francois Cortinovis), Suzuki GSX-R1000, 65 laps, 198.9 miles, 2:22:28.332, + 1 lap

7. Team 22 Police Nationale (Bertrand Sebileau/Jehan d’Orgeix), Kawasaki ZX-9R, 65 laps, 198.9 miles, 2:22:50.969, + 1 lap

8. GMT 94 (S. Scarnato/William Costes), Suzuki GSX-R1000, 65 laps, 198.9 miles, 2:22:57.488, + 1 lap

9. Endurance Moto 38 (Bernard Cuzin/Christian Hacquin), Yamaha YZF-R1, 65 laps, 198.9 miles, 2:22:58.662, + 1 lap

10. QB Phase One Junior (James Hutchins/David Morillon/Olivier Ulmann), Suzuki GSX-R1000, 65 laps, 198.9 miles, 2:23:33.660, + 1 lap

20. Herman Verboven Racing 6 (Andrew Deatherage/John Jacobi), Suzuki GSX-R750, 62 laps, 189.7 miles, 2:21:47.669, + 4 laps

Track Length: 3.06 miles
Time of race start: 12:05 p.m.
Time of race end: 2:30 p.m.
Fastest lap of the race: Zongshen 2 (Bussei), lap 48, 1:54.268, lap average speed 96.5 mph
Number of teams to start race: 51
Number of teams to retire from race: 10
Number of teams to finish: 41

Copyright 2002, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

By Mike Esdaile

Former GP star Kevin Magee’s 19-year-old nephew, Liam Magee, was killed at South Australia’s Mallala Raceway on Saturday during qualifying for Round Three of the Shell Advance Australian Superbike Championship.

Reports indicate Magee’s Suzuki GSX-R1000 left black tire marks on the track at the point it left the circuit.

Magee was speared head-first into an UNPROTECTED (unpadded) concrete wall. He suffered massive, head, neck and spinal injuries.

Copyright 2002, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

This just in, from WSMC racer Franz Volpi:

Fellow racer Roger Baker and I visited Keith Almond on Friday, April 26th. He is still at Kern County Medical Center in Bakersfield, California.

Keith has been moved from the ICU to the DOU (direct observation unit), a good thing! He is conscious and alert and can be visited (two at a time).

I am not really sure if he knew who we were when we visited but visitation is encouraged. It seems to me he is definitely getting better.

Franz Volpi

Copyright 2002, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

The latest surprise mandate from AMA Pro Racing is hitting the mailboxes of California racers this weekend and it includes the news that only riders with points–or who were in the top 20 in points last year–can enter the Laguna Seca event.

If the terms of the mandate are uniformly applied, teams will be limited in their choices if they need to replace injured riders for Laguna Seca.

The exact wording of the mandate, which did not include any explanation, follows:

“Important Notice Regarding Laguna Seca

“In addition to the original limit of 65 rider entries per class, pre-entries will be accepted only from riders that currently have points or were in the top 20 from the 2001 season in the same class or classes that they wish to enter at Laguna Seca.

“Pre-entries will be accepted until June 14th, no post entries will be taken at the event.”


Now this, from reader and WSMC racer Ian Crowne:

In response to the “No Points, No Entry For AMA Laguna Seca” posting, I now truly believe the AMA is a group of morons with no notion of how to attract riders for the future because they are alienating more and more of the motorcycle racing world, and at an award winning rate. I am supposed to be part of the pit crew for a good WSMC rider that can easily qualify for this event, but has no points this year yet and didn’t race AMA last year. How do they intend to attract new riders and make the sport grow if they continue to chop off the hands that that feed it? They’ve gotten rid of all but 2 classes for the future, and now they’re paring down the remaining two to only existing fast riders. What happened to the future riders that are going from regional racing to national?

Part of my work is having to deal with regional government agencies around the country that try to make the most inane laws possible, just so they can grab that little bit more power and therefore feel more important themselves. Of course they’re very frustrating to deal with, but the AMA tops them all so far, and the AMA isn’t even a government agency. Can someone do something about this?

I’ll be calling the AMA Pro Racing Dept. on Monday to get my money back because I want nothing to do with them.

Thanks for the update.

Ian Crowne
WSMC #92


Could it be that this is all a misunderstanding due to AMA Pro Racing’s inability to effectively communicate in English? This, from racer Tyler Sandell, suggests that might be the case:

After reading the AMA’s press release, I immediately called the AMA to see if they were going to refuse my pre-entry for Laguna. I was assured by a very nice woman in the Pro Racing office that since I was one of the first 65 people to send in my pre-reg, my entry would be accepted even though (at present time) I have no points in either of the classes for which I signed up, nor was I in the top 20 of either class last year.

I was told that the intent of the confusingly written release was this: In ADDITION to the 65 pre entries they’ve already accepted they are going to ALSO accept entries from riders that currently have points or were in the top 20 from the 2001 season in the same class or classes that they wish to enter at Laguna Seca.

Of course I didn’t get it in writing and I was too stupid to even write down the name of the person I talked with so I’ve really got no proof. Hopefully she was correct.

Looking forward to Laguna,

Tyler Sandell
AMA PT #51
AMA Superstock #511

Fron a press release:

MONSTERMOB DUCATI BRITISH SUPERBIKE TEAM

Round 3 – 2002 MCN British Superbike Championship, MCN Donington Park

Saturday 27th/Sunday 28th April 2002

Race Report

Easton Wins as Hislop Extends Lead

MonsterMob Ducati rider Steve Hislop consolidated his lead at the head of the championship despite only taking a 3rd and 6th place finish at a wet and windy Donington Park today.

After qualifying in 2nd position Hislop had to overcome front brake problems in the opening 25 lap encounter to end up in 3rd position before splashing his way round to take a battling 6th in race two.

“That wasn’t nice but I’m happy enough with two strong finishes. I had no brakes in race one and in the second race it was just a case of bringing it home. I couldn’t feel my fingers in the end it was so cold.” said the Scot who increased his lead to 23 points over fellow Ducati rider Sean Emmett.

But it was the turn of the MonsterMob Ducati Supersport rider Stuart Easton to steal the glory when he romped to his second successive victory in the class.

Aboard the 748 Ducati, the 17 year old from Hawick led from start to finish to record a great win and in doing so now leads the championship by 5 points.

“My arm was pumping up badly and I was trying to conserve my energy. The more you win the more you want so I’m going for the hat-trick at Oulton next week.” said Easton.

Team boss Paul Bird was delighted with his riders’ performances.

“To go away with the championship lead in both classes was our aim and we’ve done that. I said to Steve that a top six would do in the rain and Stuart’s win was just as good. Just so long as we go away from Donington leading both championships after the final race in September.” said the Penrith businessman.

Race One Result – 1. Shane Byrne (Ducati) 29:19.469, 2. Steve Plater (Yamaha) 29:19.853, 3. Steve Hislop (MonsterMob Ducati) 29:25.116, 4. Michael Rutter (Ducati) 29:26.008, 5. Sean Emmett (Ducati) 29:30.511, 6. Glen Richards (Kawasaki) 29:33.211.

Race Two Result – 1. Michael Rutter (Ducati) 33:19.098, 2. Shane Byrne (Ducati) 33:21.497, 3. Simon Crafar (Yamaha) 33:34.908, 4. Sean Emmett (Ducati) 33:37.012, 5. Paul Brown (Ducati) 33:45.669, 6. Steve Hislop (MonsterMob Ducati) 34:01.743.

Supersport Result – 1. Stuart Easton (MonsterMob Ducati) 23:21.903, 2.Pete Jennings (Kawasaki) 23:24.105, 3. Simon Andrews (Honda) 23:33.370, 4. Scott Smart (Honda) 23:34.676, 5. Tom Tunstall (Suzuki) 23:42.273, 6. Gary May (Yamaha) 23:43.045

British Championship Standings – 1. Steve Hislop (MonsterMob Ducati) 121pts, 2. Sean Emmett (Ducati) 98pts, 3. Michael Rutter (Ducati) 82pts, 4. Shane Byrne (Ducati) 76pts, 5. Steve Plater (Yamaha) 75pts, 6. John Reynolds (Suzuki) 69pts