Copyright 2002, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Loris Capirossi was fastest and American teen John Hopkins was 13th-fastest in the first MotoGP qualifying session for the African Grand Prix, at Welkom, South African.

In his first time at the track, Hopkins improved dramatically from the first practice session to the first qualifying session. He turned a best lap of 1:40.660 in the first practice, and was 19th fastest ahead of only Pere Riba.

The MotoGP format features one practice session and one qualifying session for each class on Friday and Saturday, a warm-up practice on Sunday morning, and races on Sunday afternoon.

Former 500cc World Champion Kenny Roberts was sixth-fastest in qualifying.

Times follow:

1. Loris Capirossi, Honda NSR500, 1:35.393
2. Daijiro Katoh, Honda NSR500, 1:35.818
3. Tohru Ukawa, Honda RC211V, 1:35.985
4. Valentino Rossi, Honda RC211V, 1:36.027
5. Max Biaggi, Yamaha YZR-M1, 1:36.456
6. Kenny Roberts, Suzuki GSV-R, 1:36.589
7. Carlos Checa, Yamaha YZR-M1, 1:36.640
8. Jeremy McWilliams, Proton KR3, 1:36.866
9. Shinya Nakano, Yamaha YZR500, 1:36.907
10. Alex Barros, Honda NSR500, 1:36.930
11. Sete Gibernau, Suzuki GSV-R, 1:37.000
12. Olivier Jacque, Yamaha YZR500, 1:37.031
13. John Hopkins, Yamaha YZR500, 1:37.101
14. Tetsuya Harada, Honda NSR500, 1:37.218
15. Norick Abe, Yamaha YZR500, 1:37.242
16. Nobuatsu Aoki, Proton KR3, 1:37.249
17. Garry McCoy, Yamaha YZR500, 1:37.473
18. Regis Laconi, Aprilia RS3, 1:37.526
19. Jurgen v.d. Goorbergh, Honda NSR500, 1:37.747
20. Pere Riba, Yamaha YZR500, 1:38.652


More, from a Marlboro Yamaha press release:

AFRICA’S GRAND PRIX, WELKOM
First Qualifying
Friday April 19 2002

MARLBORO YAMAHA WORKING HARD AT WELKOM
Marlboro Yamaha Team riders Max Biaggi and Carlos Checa made steady progress during today’s first practice and qualifying sessions at Welkom, ending the day fifth and seventh fastest and confident of further improvements tomorrow.

This is the YZR-M1’s first visit to this challenging and now very bumpy circuit, which means the team crew commence their work from a base line of minimum knowledge, then work from there. This is a process they will become accustomed to whenever they race at tracks that are new to Yamaha’s new four-stroke MotoGP racer.

“This track was totally new to the bike this morning, but we learned a lot from that session and then started making adjustments,” explained M1 project leader Ichiro Yoda. “The main factors we’re working on are chassis set-up and adjustment to the engine-braking system. This track is very bumpy, which means we need less engine braking than we had at Suzuka, for example. On the chassis side we’re adjusting geometry and suspension to create more traction front and rear, and we’re also working to improve turn-in.”

BIAGGI JUST OFF FRONT ROW

Max Biaggi ended day one at Welkom just off the provisional front row, making good progress in his first visit to the track with his Marlboro Yamaha Team YZR-M1s. The Italian, who qualified a fraction of a second off the front row at Suzuka two weeks ago, was fifth fastest this afternoon, 0.4 seconds off the provisional front row.

“Me and the team are working very hard, there’s good energy within our pit box,” said the four-time 250 World Champion, who won the 1999 500 GP at Welkom. “We’re working towards a generally better set-up and we have a good idea of what we need to do to achieve that and of where to start from tomorrow. In the few places where we’re losing time we need better rear suspension settings and also improved adjustment of the engine-braking system. There’s one very, very bumpy section here which makes the bike very unstable, the bike’s moving around too much, but I guess it’s the same for everyone.”

CHECA UP TO SPEED AFTER STEADY START

Carlos Checa made a steady start to practice at Welkom this morning, gathering information to help his engineers carry out adjustments to his bikes’ chassis and engine-braking systems. Once those improvements had been made it took the Marlboro Yamaha Team man just a few laps of afternoon qualifying to dramatically raise his pace and briefly lead the session. He ended the outing seventh.

“Today is only the first day but already the whole picture seems quite good and we can improve from here,” said the Spaniard. “This morning I didn’t feel so confident in the front end and we didn’t have the right amount of engine braking, so we fixed that and the chassis settings for the afternoon. We improved the front-end contact feeling to improve corner entry, which in turn helps corner exit. The track’s grip level is okay but some parts are incredibly bumpy, worse even that any go-kart track I’ve driven around.”

CAPIROSSI & KATOH BEAT FOUR-STROKES

The Honda 500cc two-strokes of Loris Capirossi and Daijiro Katoh were first and second fastest at Welkom today, just ahead of the Honda four-strokes of Tohru Ukawa and Valentino Rossi. This is no surprise since the two-stroke teams started today with three years of Welkom data behind them while the four-stroke teams started with no circuit data specific to their machines.

“The track is so much more bumpy than last time we came here, so it’s really difficult to ride but I still like the layout,” said Capirossi, who battled long and hard for provisional pole with Rossi, the pair swapping the lead no less than six times. “On my fastest laps I made the difference through the fast rights at the end of the lap.”



More from a Suzuki press release:

SUZUKIS TAME THE BUMPS AT WELKOM

Phakisa Freeway, Welkom
Friday, April 19, 2002

TEAM Telefónica MoviStar Suzuki rider Kenny Roberts Jr set sixth-fastest time during today’s first qualifying session for Sunday’s South African GP, putting the new four-stroke GSV-R Suzuki in a threatening second-row position on the provisional starting grid.

Team-mate Sete Gibernau had challenged for pole earlier in the session, moving up to second fastest. Then a minor tumble spoiled the rest of the session and though he continued to improve his speed, the time he’d lost meant that he had lost overall position as the battle for the front row saw lap times slashed throughout the thrilling hour-long session.

Practice began in perfect sunny conditions at the tortuous 4.242km Phakisa Freeway circuit outside the small mining town of Welkom, where the 1.350 metre altitude saps engine horsepower. Past problems of poor grip seemed less acute, with lap times already below the previous race record, and with one more day of practice remaining. Complaints this year concentrated on the worsening bumps at the circuit, with some riders almost thrown out of the saddle at certain points.

The Telefónica MoviStar Suzuki riders also felt the bumps, but to a lesser degree – the chassis set-up and suspension of the all-new 990cc four-stroke GSV-R racer giving both Roberts and Gibernau a relatively smooth ride.

KENNY ROBERTS – Sixth Position, 1:36.589
“I can feel the power loss compared with Suzuka because of the lower air pressure. The four-stroke is not so sensitive as the two-stroke, though. The main problem for me is that I have to open the throttle wider, which puts me in a more awkward position coming out of the turns. Today was one of those days of trying to get through tyres and get a good set-up. The track is extremely bumpy. Through most of the session I stuck with kinda lazy settings, that gave a softer ride – but lap times and overall grip were not so good. At the end we tried something that steered better and had more grip, and the time was better. The flip side is the bike was more nervous and harder to ride. We need a bigger window, to give more margin for error. We’ll try to find that with chassis settings that will improve the grip.”

SETE GIBERNAU – 11th Position, 1:37.000
“I had a tumble that spoiled my session and cost me time. We also had a lot of things to test, which made it harder. All the same, we kept on getting better through the afternoon and we have finished most of the routine testing. The main thing is I was not hurt and we can try to keep on improving tomorrow. It’s hard to know what is the best for the bumps. We’ll try it again both ways – the bike hard and soft – and see which will be best for the race.”

GARRY TAYLOR – Team Manager
“Neither Kenny nor Sete were really complaining about the bumps, which is surprising. When I went out to watch on one of the bad spots, where they start braking into the first tight corner, it really didn’t look too pleasant. Our bike seemed to cope better than the others – so thanks to Ohlins for the good suspension.”

More from an Aprilia press release:

Régis Laconi and race-configuration RS Cube make good progress. Fast-lap performance needs improving for the starting grid.

Régis Laconi and the RS Cube did not manage maintain the morning’s positive trend when Régis came eighth in the free practice, 1.3 seconds from race leader Rossi. Régis wasn’t entirely satisfied with the tyres long used in the qualifying sessions, and made 18th best time on race tyres. The first taste of the new race tyres, with a taller tread and new profile, gave positive results. It was also necessary to work on the settings to make sure the Cube was able to follow the considerable ruggedness of the occasionally very uneven Welkom circuit. Tomorrow’s tests will focus on finding the ideal set-up for the race, but also on better use of the qualifying tyres, which failed to provide the five or six tenths improvement required to move up the timing screens. Provisional pole goes to Loris Capirossi, followed by Katoh, Ukawa and Rossi.
# 55 Régis Laconi – (MS APRILIA RACING) – 18th 1’37.536
“My first impression of these new race tyres is good”, said Régis Laconi. “I was using them when I made eighth quickest time this morning and the fast lap in today’s qualifying sessions. The tyres which worked well up to the second intermediate time were not so good in the final stages of the fast lap. Times were constant, and thus satisfactory for the race, but there’s time yet to get a good place on the grid. The engine certainly notices the altitude, and response comes a little late. There’s a bit of acceleration missing – but the situation’s the same for everyone. With the wind and sand, the track isn’t perfectly clean, but on the most used and “clean” trajectories, you can avoid part of the problem. I’m happy with the race configuration of the RS Cube: it didn’t take too much to set it up for the unevenness of the track – just a few careful tweaks to the Suzuka setting made it perfectly rideable. Now we need to work on improving the fast lap time to get a better place on the grid than we got today.”

From a press release:

Superside opens the door to new entrants

Often attending a first World Championship meeting or even trying to get an impression about what a world championship is all about, can be a huge hurdle for teams. Not only is the whole environment foreign, but also a number of questions or problems can plague new entrants.

To combat these problems, Superside has launched a three-pronged plan of attack.

“Welcome Packs” will be posted (mailed) prior to the event to all teams entered. These contain content information on how to get to the event, where to park, how to get tickets, the location of services such as technical and race control, answering questions before teams leave home.

Superside General Manager, Gary Francis comments: “These welcome packs might seem quite trivial but often teams who haven’t been in a championship year before or who are attending as non permanent entrants need a lot of information that hasn’t been previously prepared. Our welcome packs are now a regular feature of each race meeting. These will direct the teams to tracks, to the paddock itself, bring them up to date on news concerning the event and highlight issues of importance before each race meeting.”

To assist new teams and budding hopefuls, Superside has introduced two different mentoring programs for the teams to enjoy and take full advantage of also.

First time entrants to the championship, will be assigned a permanent or top team for the entire race meeting. Having mentors from the permanent paddock to look after new teams will provide assurance for technical questions. Questions about set-up, general guidance about the circuit, what to expect or how to get around the track faster will greatly assist first time non permanent entrants, get to grips a lot faster.

“Many of the new teams find the entire paddock environment quite imposing and often are not sure where to go to get help on sometimes quite simple matters. Factor this with a paddock full of the heroes of this sport and for new comers it can become quite unnerving. The purpose of this mentoring program is to support first time entrants to the championship, with the goal ultimately of helping them achieve the best race result possible, first time up!” explained Francis.

“This structure of mentoring program will now be introduced in Monza where Bill Philip Racing will be mentored by liveonscreen.com. Both parties are keen to see the Superside mentoring program enhance the overall professionalism of the Superside experience. Superside will be monitoring this trial carefully and bringing forward progress news during the Monza event”.

As a second phase in the mentoring program and maybe even more importantly, Superside has made an offer to all permanent teams in the championship. Encouraging them to foster more growth in the sport outside of the world championship.

Permanent teams are now supported to bring new potentials in to the World Championship paddock. Superside will issue three-day and hospitality passes to “stars of tomorrow” coming to the events with the permanent teams.

We wish to open up the World Championship in a new way” said Gary Francis.

“The championship should be a place that young teams can come and gain some experience. By opening up the paddock in this manner we are hoping that young riders and passengers will take the opportunity to contact the permanent teams to experience the World Championship events. This should have two spin-off effects”, says Francis.

“Firstly young teams can come and experience the entire race weekend, taking in all of the feelings and atmosphere of the championship and secondly team managers can use this mentoring program as a way of looking for fresh young talent to groom towards the World Championship.”

“The excellent part about mentoring young riders and passengers in this way”, says Francis, “is that existing teams can look into their country’s competitor pool and bring talent from many different languages and countries to the championship. We now have teams from the United Kingdom, Switzerland, Finland, Italy, Germany, France, Holland, and Austria. Using existing teams therefore helps to bridge the gap a lot more quickly than we could ever do”.

Look forward to the young guns of tomorrow at the next round in Monza.

And for future reference, send press releases to [email protected]. Now the press release:

Press Release from the Central Roadracing Association

April 14, 2002

On April 12-14, 2002, the Central Roadracing Association held its first racing event of the year, which was a huge success, at the new Midamerica Motorplex facility, located in Pacific Junction, Iowa. The CRA hosted 159 racers with a total of 704 race entries. Racers from all over the Midwest, including AMA Superstock Racers Robert Jensen and Eric Dooeyma along with Larry Denning, ventured out to Iowa to race the new track.

The facility, which is located along the state border of Nebraska, provided CRA racers a road course with 2.23 miles for total length and 15 corners. Nestled in between many acres of farmland, the track surprised many racers with both the technical configuration and gripping tire surface, unusual for new tracks.

On Saturday the day was dominated with Supersport races and Trophy Dashes. The competition was tough and close for racers chasing contingency dollars and trophies. AMA Superstock Racer and CRA #1 plate holder, Robert Jensen of Chaffee ND, dominated both the Middleweight (600) and Heavyweight (750) Supersport races, along with strong finishes by Larry Denning of Shawnee, KS, Jeff Kramer of St Louis, MO, and Wes Good of Independence, MN. In late afternoon, a grueling 20 lap Trophy Dash was dominated by Jason Hobbs of Brooklyn Center, MN. Bryan Soberg and Kurt Schuschke dominated the lightweights along with Shane Butts dominating the 250 GP classes.

On Sunday afternoon, Grand Prix and Superbike races pushed the envelope for the newly set track record of 1:33, which was established by Jeff Kramer along with Steve Johnson of Savage, MN, posting a close second fastest time. In the Grand Prix races, Scott Ruehle of St Cloud, MN, and Larry Denning dominated the classes along with Steve Johnson and David Wappler of Onalaska, WI. In the Superbike races, once again Larry Denning and Jeff Kramer cleaned up all the wins, along with strong finishes by Paul Mason of Blue Springs, MO, and Scott Ruehle.

CRA would like to thank all of the racers, workers, and sponsors, who supported the event. CRA another 5 races on the schedule for the remainder of the year and include:

May 3-5, Brainerd Intl Raceway, MN
June 21-23, Brainerd Intl Raceway, MN
July 26-28, Brainerd Intl Raceway, MN
August 16-18, Midamerica Motorplex, IA
September 13-15, Brainerd Intl Raceway, MN

For more information on how to race or become a cornerworker with the CRA, check out www.cra-mn.org or call the CRA Hotline at (612) 332-4070.

Copyright 2002, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

By Glenn LeSanto

Colin Edwards was just edged out of provisional World Superbike pole by rival Honda rider Makato Tamada at Sugo. The Japanese wild card rider celebrated his fast lap in unusual style–by crashing!

Tamada was one of no less than eight crashers in the first qualifying session. The red flag was out twice, including once when Hitoyasu Izutsu
ruled himself out of the World Superbike competition for perhaps two months. Izutsu broke his left arm when he highsided on the exit of the
chicane, when he was fourth fastest in the session. Other tarmac-tasters included both the Bostrom brothers, Eric and Ben, as well as Lucio
Pedercini, Steve Martin, Alessandro Antonello and Noriyuki Haga.

Despite his crash Haga managed to end up third fastest. Britain’s Neil Hodgson kept his cool–and his Dunlop tyres in contact with the track–
to finish fifth fastest.

Edwards uses Michelin tyres on his Castrol Honda while Tamada uses Dunlop and has tested extensively at Sugo–he’s a Dunlop test rider and
Sugo is a Dunlop test track! Edwards has tested once here since last season but Michelin engineers have tested Superbike tires a total of three times here since last year’s race.

World Superbike, Sugo
First Qualifying
Fastest times:
1. Makoto Tamada, Japan (Honda) 1:29.314
2. Colin Edwards, USA (Honda) 1:29.454
3. Noriyuki Haga, Japan (Aprilia) 1:29.495
4. Hitoyasu Izutsu, Japan (Kawasaki) 1:29.612
5. Neil Hodgson, GB (Ducati) 1:29.690
6. Wataru Yoshikawa, Japan (Yamaha) 1:29.723
7. Ben Bostrom, USA (Ducati) 1:29.773
8. Troy Bayliss, Australia (Ducati) 1:29.773
9. Akira Yanagawa, Japan (Kawasaki) 1:29.823
10. Yuichi Takeda, Japan (Honda) 1:29.909


Fujiwara fastest in first Supersport qualifying in Japan

Japanese wild card riders traditionally do well in Sugo, and there’s already a Japanese rider at the top of the Supersport timesheet. But this time it isn’t a wild card entry, it’s Suzuki regular Katsuaki Fujiwara.

Fujiwara spent the last minutes of the session locked in a nail-biting battle with Fabien Foret. The pair finished only 0.01-second apart with Foret just losing out to the Japanese rider.

Fujiwara’s time of 1:32.852 is a new Supersport best lap at Sugo.

Paolo Casoli was one of several riders putting in quick laps as the session closed, he was third fastest at 1:32.898. Casoli’s teammate James Whitham was sixth fastest.

Piergiorgio Bontempi again looked promising on the only twin-cylinder machine in the top 10, putting his Ducati 748R into a provisional
fourth on the grid.

The session was littered with crashes, with Karl Muggeridge, Iain MacPherson, Rob Frost, Christophe Cogan and Antonio Carlacci all falling
without substantial injury.


World Supersport, Sugo
April 19, 2002
Qualifying times:
1. Katsuaki Fujiwara, Japan (Suzuki) 1:32.852
2. Fabien Foret, France (Honda) 1:32.853
3. Paolo Casoli, Italy (Yamaha) 1:32.898
4. Piergiorgio Bontempi, Italy (Ducati) 1:33.265
5. Stephane Chambon, France (Suzuki) 1:33.329
6. James Whitham, GB (Yamaha) 1:33.333
7. Karl Muggeridge, Australia (Honda) 1:33.356
8. Chris Vermeulen, Australia (Honda) 1:33.370
9. Tatsuya Yamaguchi, Japan (Honda) 1:33.371
10. Iain MacPherson, GB (Honda) 1:33.402

From a press release:

AMA PROGRESSIVE INSURANCE U.S. FLAT TRACK RACES TO BE TELEVISED

PICKERINGTON, Ohio — Following on the heels of the broadcast of the opening round of the 2002 AMA Progressive Insurance U.S. Flat Track Championship from Daytona Beach, Fla., Speed Channel will also televise four more rounds of the championship including the mile at Claremore, Okla., the half-mile at Columbus, Ohio, the mile and TT races from Springfield, Ill., and the half-mile races from Charlotte, N.C., will all be shown on Speed Channel.

Televising select AMA Flat Track races is part of AMA Pro Racing”s ongoing plan of maintaining vitality in the oldest and most traditional form of motorcycle racing in America.

“We”re pleased to be able to bring the exciting action of AMA flat-track racing to 50 million households Speed Channel broadcasts to,” said Scott Hollingsworth, CEO of AMA Pro Racing. “These races are typically among the closest and most thrilling form of racing in all of motorsports. We hope to bring in a broader audience for the series and these broadcasts should go a long way in making that happen.”
The Claremore race will be the first race shown of this quartet of events. The race, which was held on the mile of Will Rogers Downs, will be part of the Two-Wheeled Tuesday line-up on May 7 and again on May 21.

Joining Claremore as a new event on the AMA Grand National calendar is the return of AMA Flat Track to Columbus, the home race of the AMA. The race on the half-mile at Scioto Downs will be shown on May 14 and rebroadcast on May 28.

When it comes to AMA Flat Track racing, no race is more storied than the Springfield Mile. Springfield”s mile and newer TT event will be shown in June. The Springfield Mile is one of the favorites of both riders and fans. The final usually comes down to a last-lap draft-fest to the checkered flag. The TT race is new to the schedule. Last year Tommy Hayden surprised everyone by riding to his first AMA Grand National victory. The mile will be shown on June 4, 11 and 18 and the TT on June 18.

In addition, the Harley-Davidson Sportster Performance Series will have four half-hour programs of dedicated coverage also airing on Speed Channel”s Two-Wheeled Tuesday programming.
Here”s a schedule of Speed Channel”s coverage through June of the AMA Progressive Insurance U.S. Flat Track Championship:

SPEED CHANNEL”S 2002 AMA PROGRESSIVE INSURANCE U.S. FLAT TRACK CHAMPIONSHIP BROADCAST SCHEDULE
(ALL TIMES EASTERN)

Tuesday, May 7, 10-11 p.m.,Grand National, Will Rogers Downs, Claremore, OK

Tuesday, May 7, 3-4 a.m., Grand National, Will Rogers Downs, Claremore, OK

Tuesday, May 21, 3-4 p.m., Grand National, Will Rogers Downs, Claremore, OK

Tuesday, May 7, 11-11:30 p.m., Sportster Performance, Will Rogers Downs, Claremore, OK

Tuesday, May 21, 4-4:30 p.m., Sportster Performance, Will Rogers Downs, Claremore, OK

Tuesday, May 21, 11-11:30 p.m., Sportster Performance, Will Rogers Downs, Claremore, OK

Tuesday, May 14, 10-11 p.m., Grand National, Scioto Downs, Columbus, OH

Tuesday, May 14, 3-4 a.m., Grand National, Scioto Downs, Columbus, OH

Tuesday, May 28, 3-4 p.m., Grand National, Scioto Downs, Columbus, OH

Tuesday, May 14, 11-11:30 p.m., Sportster Performance, Scioto Downs, Columbus, OH

Tuesday, May 28, 4-4:30pm., Sportster Performance, Scioto Downs, Columbus, OH

Tuesday, May 28, 11:30-12 p.m., Sportster Performance, Scioto Downs, Columbus, OH

Tuesday, June 4, 10-11 p.m., Grand National, Illinois State Fairgrounds (Mile), Springfield, IL

Tuesday, June 4, 3-4 a.m., Grand National, Illinois State Fairgrounds (Mile), Springfield, IL

Tuesday, June 11, 3-4 p.m., Grand National, Illinois State Fairgrounds (Mile), Springfield, IL

Tuesday, June 4, 11-11:30 p.m., Sportster Performance, Illinois State Fairgrounds, (Mile), Springfield, IL

Tuesday, June 11, 4-4:30 p.m., Sportster Performance, Illinois State Fairgrounds (Mile), Springfield, IL

Tuesday, June 18, 11-11:30 p.m., Sportster Performance, Illinois State Fairgrounds (Mile), Springfield, IL

Tuesday, June 18, 10-11 p.m., Grand National, Illinois State Fairgrounds (TT), Springfield, IL

Tuesday, June 18, 3-4 a.m., Grand National, Illinois State Fairgrounds (TT),Springfield, IL

TBA, Grand National, Lowe”s Motor Speedway, Charlotte, NC

TBA, Sportster Performance, Lowe”s Motor Speedway, Charlotte, NC

From Honda press releases:

World Superbike
Friday morning free practice
Sugo, Japan

1. Makoto Tamada, Japan, Honda, 1:28.716
2. Colin Edwards, USA, Castrol Honda, 1:29.664
3. Noriyuki Haga, Japan, Aprilia, 1:29.885
4. Yuichi Takeda, Japan, Honda, 1:29.953
5. Ben Bostrom, USA, Ducati, 1:30.239
6. Wataru Yoshikawa, Japan, Yamaha, 1:30.317
7. Neil Hodgson, GB, Ducati, 1:30.507
8. Akira Yanagawa, Japan, Kawasaki, 1:30.623
9. Troy Bayliss, Australia, Ducati, 1:30.744
10.Ruben Xaus, Spain, Ducati, 1:30.823


World Supersport
Friday morning free practice
Sugo, Japan

1. Paolo Casoli, Italy, Yamaha, 1:33.532
2. James Whitham, GB, Yamaha, 1:33.787
3. Katsuaki Fujiwara, Japan, Suzuki, 1:33.875
4. Fabien Foret, France, Honda, 1:33.975
5. Christian Kellner, Germany, Yamaha, 1:34.181
6. Chris Vermeulen, Australia, Honda, 1:34.498
7. Stephane Chambon, France, Suzuki, 1:34.659
8. Piergiorgio Bontempi, Italy, Ducati, 1:34.760
9. Andrew Pitt, Australia, Kawasaki, 1:34.800
10. Werner Daemen, Belgium Honda, 1:34.851
11. Karl Muggeridge, Australia, Honda, 1:34.893
16. Tatsuya Yamaguchi, Japan, Honda, 1:35.855


And from another Honda press release:

EDWARDS TAKES JUDO LESSONS

Castrol Honda¹s Colin Edwards joined a host of World Superbike and World Supersport stars for judo lessons at a local school to the Sugo circuit in Japan on Thursday.

The riders visited the Murato-cho Taiikukan school in nearby Miyagiken to meet schoolchildren before being fitted out in traditional judo suits to tackle the sport.

“It was great fun,” said Edwards, who provided an additional demonstration by walking on his hands. “We were there to say hello to the kids and learn a bit about the sport. I’m not sure I’ll be taking up judo full time but I don’t mind having a go at anything.

“I ended up in a bit of a battle with Troy (Bayliss), got him in a lock and it was tempting to give him a kick!”

Copyright 2002, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Stephen Barnes, a racer with CMRA and RPM, placed the winning bid of $1825 for an autographed Miguel Duhamel Shoei helmet in an eBay auction to benefit the Roadracingworld.com Action Fund.

“I hadn’t donated to the fund yet, and I thought that this would be a good time plus I got a little something extra,” said Barnes in a telephone call to Roadracingworld.com Friday. “I think Miguel (Duhamel) is the toughest guy out there. When he won both the 600 Supersport and the Daytona 200 with a broken leg a couple of years ago, I just thought that was incredible. Even now that the spotlight isn’t on him as much, you don’t hear him whining about it. He just goes out there and tries his hardest to win.”

Barnes plans to return to racing this season after sitting out the last two years. Barnes will ride a 110-horsepower Suzuki SV650 Superbike, built by MB Motorsports, and a Supersport-spec SV650 in sprint races.

The Roadracingworld.com Action Fund is a non-profit corporation dedicated to improving racetrack safety by obtaining and deploying Air Fence, Air Module and other types of soft barriers. The newly-formed non-profit has taken over the work of the informally-formed Roadracing World Air Fence Fund, and all money raised is used to purchase and deploy soft barriers.

*Air Fence is a trademark of Airfence Safety Systems of Australia.

Copyright 2002, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

By David Swarts

Yamaha’s Anthony Gobert is irate over what he believes are false claims to the fastest laps turned during the April 16-18 AMA team test at Road Atlanta by his competitors, especially claims made in a press release issued by Steve Reeves, publicist for Team Blimpie Yoshimura Suzuki’s Mat Mladin. Mladin’s post-test press release stated that the three-time AMA Superbike Champion was the quickest, on race tires, with a best lap of 1:23.5.

“Mat’s just always talking shit,” said Gobert via cell phone, as he watched girlfriend Suni’s young son race mini-bikes in Las Vegas Friday. “Mat’s always saying he’s the quickest and talking crap in the press. He said at Fontana (test, February 12-14) that I cut the chicane and made up all this crap that’s just not true. I’m just sick of him talking shit, you know?

“If you’re the quickest, you claim it. If you’re not, you don’t. He was nowhere near quickest in Atlanta. He never even come near the quickest time. So he’s just full of shit.

“I was the quickest at Atlanta. I did 1:23.4. Nicky (Hayden) was second quickest at a 1:23.5.”

Collecting lap time information at an AMA team test session is tricky business. The information collected always needs to be taken with a grain of salt unless obtained from an independent third-party source, such as the AMA timing and scoring system that was in place during the December test at Daytona and the January test at Laguna Seca. The standard method of gathering lap times by reporters is to ask the riders or mechanics how fast they went and what kind of tire, qualifier or race tire, they used to do the lap. Obviously, the team can say anything they want to most reporters.

When asked if he did his fastest time on a qualifying tire, Gobert answered, “Everyone did their quickest times on a Q. It’s a crock of shit that (Mat) reckons he didn’t run a qualifier and he was the quickest on a race tire and that’s all lies. It’s just a load of shit. I was there when he put the qualifier on and went out.

“He’s not cutting it right now, and he’s just trying to make up stories to make himself sound like the best when he’s not. It just annoys the hell out of me. I’m not saying it for me, I’m saying it for Yamaha.

“I represent Yamaha, and when Yamaha’s the quickest, Yamaha should be acknowledged as the quickest. Mladin’s trying to say that Suzuki’s the quickest, and Suzuki’s not. Suzuki’s nowhere near the quickest. It’s been Nicky and I at every single test, and that’s how it was at Atlanta.”

A report on another website quoted Gobert as saying that Nicky Hayden used four qualifiers trying to beat Gobert’s fastest time. When asked if he made such a statement, considering that qualifiers are not routinely used at tests, Gobert said, “Yeah. Dunlop gave each rider two qualifiers. So he (Nicky Hayden) used his two and he used Miguel’s two. And he used one of Kurtis’ that was on the truck on the first day to set the 1:23.9.

“I was quickest on race tires the whole time. I was the quickest on the first day with a 1:24.4, second quickest was Nicky at 1:24.8. Then Nicky right at the end of the day banged in a qualifier and did a 1:23.9. He only did one lap and that was Kurtis’ qualifier from Fontana.

“Obviously, their bike (Honda’s) is way superior to the Yamaha. Obviously, they want to do everything they can to try and beat us because it makes them look bad when we’re quickest on the poor old Yammie.”

“On (another website) it had Gobert saying that I used four qualifiers,” said Nicky Hayden, when reached on his cell phone Friday. “Now he’s saying that I used five? He’s crazy, and you can print I said that. I mean, come on! Why would I waste five qualifiers for a test? I used two qualifiers, but I didn’t even go fast on them. I did 1:23.6 on a race tire and only went 1:23.7-1:23.8 on the qualifier. The only reason we ran ‘em (qualifiers) was because the guys weren’t happy with them at Daytona and Fontana, and Dunlop wanted us to test them.”

Best Superbike Lap Times And Tires Used During Atlanta Team Tests(as claimed by team personnel and reported on Roadracingworld.com April 18):

Mat Mladin, 1:23.4 race tire
Anthony Gobert, 1:23.48 Q tire, 1:24.20 race tire
Nicky Hayden, 1:23.6 race tire
Aaron Yates, 1:23.7 Q tire, 1:24.0 race tire
Jamie Hacking, 1:24.4 race tire
Miguel Duhamel, 1:24.6 race tire

From a press release issued by the FIM:

Superbike & Supersport World Championships
Sugo – JPN: Wild-card riders

The wild-card riders who will race in the Superbike World Championship round scheduled on the circuit of Sugo on April 21 next, are the following:

Start number, Rider, Team

42, Makoto Tamada (JPN-Honda), Team Cabin Honda
43, Wataru Yoshikawa (JPN-Yamaha), YSP Racing & Presto
45, Takeshi Tsujimura (JPN-Yamaha), YSP Racing & Presto
47, Kenichiro Nakamura (JPN-Honda), Blue Helmet MSC
48, Yuichi Takeda (JPN-Honda), Sakurai Honda
49, Akira Yanagawa (JPN-Kawasaki), Kawasaki Racing Team

– A compulsory briefing will be held for all riders who will be participating for the first time in the current Championship, at 17h00 on the day preceding the day scheduled for the first practice session.

From a press release:

Fastrack Riders will host race car driver Max Papis at Willow Springs International Raceway in Rosamond, California on April 19th.

Max will be riding one of the Fastrack bikes in the Superstreet group.

More information is available about Fastrack Riders track days and FTA racing events at (800) 560-2233 or online at www.fastrackriders.com.