From a press release:

Zemke/Honda Best Formula Xtreme Track Record At Laguna Seca

Though testing time not considered an AMA record, Zemke’s still stands as fastest ever

MONTEREY, Calif.–Team Bruce Transportation Group Honda’s Jake Zemke laid down the fastest Formula Xtreme class time ever at the legendary Laguna Seca raceway last week. Zemke piloted his Honda CBR 929 around the track in a blistering time of 1:27.330, topping the current record by some 8/10ths of a second.

Zemke will have to wait until the AMA Superbike race at Laguna Seca this summer to put himself in the record books as the AMA does not recognize testing times as track record times. Kurtis Roberts still holds the Formula Xtreme class record at Laguna Seca with a time of 1:28.171.

Still, Zemke was stoked with his effort, especially considering those times were laid down on last year’s bike.

“We ran a 1:28.4 on the first day, but I knew there was a lot of room for improvement,” said Zemke. “The weather was cold on Tuesday so it looked like the 1:28.4 was as good as it was going to get. Then, on Wednesday, the weather got better, I was able to put in seven to eight laps in the 1:28.2s and 3s – just off the track record. We put on a new tire, went out, and five laps later I had broken the 1:27 barrier.”

Coincidentally, Zemke’s new CBR954s just arrived last week, but had not been prepped for the Laguna testing. So there’s a decent chance he’ll shave even more off the Laguna Seca-best Formula Extreme time he notched last week on the ‘new & improved’ Honda.

“Yeah, I’m really looking forward to getting out on that new CBR954,” said Zemke. “Especially now that my arm’s healthy.” Note: Zemke broke his arm last year and suffered through some problems with it, qualifying ninth at Laguna and racing to a fourth overall at the 2001 race.

Zemke and Team Bruce Transportation Honda open the AMA Superbike Formula Xtreme class season on April 5-7, at Fontana, Calif.

Copyright 2002, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Central Motorcycle Roadracing Association (CMRA) members have elected the organization’s 2002 Board of Directors. as follows:

Brooks Gremmels, President
Chuck Ergle, Vice President
Norm McDonald
Eric Kelcher
Derek Heaton
Bryan Norton
Keith Hertel
Barry McMahan

George Robinson was appointed Secretary-Treasurer, Charles Brothers will return as the CMRA Race Director, and Eric Kelcher will work as Assistant Race Director.

CMRA is an affiliate of CCS.

From a press release:

HARLEY-DAVIDSON HISTORY PLANS ROADTRIP ACROSS AMERICA

Harley-Davidson Announces New Traveling Museum

MILWAUKEE, WI –Harley-Davidson is taking its history back on the road with an all-new Traveling Museum. “A Highway Through Time” will trace the history of Harley-Davidson with vintage motorcycles, clothing, and memorabilia.

“The heritage and history of Harley-Davidson is very important to us and to our riders,” said Tom Bolfert, Director of Harley-Davidson Archives. “No other motorcycle company in the world can proudly boast of a heritage as long and storied as ours.”

Scheduled to make its debut at Daytona Bike Week, March 4-10, the Traveling Museum will appear at many major motorcycle events throughout the year, including over 100 stops at Harley-Davidson dealerships throughout the country.

Bursting with artifacts and memorabilia sure to intrigue motorcycle enthusiasts of all ages, the Traveling Museum contains original vehicles dating back to 1913. Included in this year’s tour is a 1920 Harley-Davidson bicycle and a rare 1920 Sport Model, featuring a 37 cubic inch, fore and aft opposed twin cylinder engine. Absent from the show circuit in 2001, the previous Traveling Museum hosted over 3 million visitors during its twelve year run.

“This new, larger museum presents our story in a manner more consistent with our stature as the world’s premier motorcycle manufacturer. I’m confident visitors will thoroughly enjoy it,” adds Bolfert.

Harley-Davidson Motor Company, the only U.S. based motorcycle manufacturer, produces heavyweight motorcycles and a complete line of motorcycle parts, accessories and general merchandise. For more information, visit Harley-Davidson’s website at www.harley-davidson.com.

From a press release:

Lotus Tours Announces Its 2002 Isle of Man Tour

Lotus Tours, the international motorcycle touring company, has announced its 2002 journey to the Isle of Man, during the Isle’s famous June TT races. The trip starts in Milan on May 25th, Italy and crosses Switzerland and France into England. Riders will explore castles, cathedrals, moors and monuments while enjoying the beautiful English countryside.

See racing the way it used to be at the Isle of Man TT races on a 37.75 mile public road course that wraps around the Isle. Motorcycle enthusiasts from around the world gather here every year in celebration of the “toughest road race in the world.” Ride the racecourse before the morning practice sessions and enjoy the closeness of the event-—spectators can get within inches of the course. The popularity of the races means that ferry tickets to the Isle of Man sell out months before the event.

Not to worry. A ferry ticket is all part of the Lotus Tours package. As are all hotels on the overcrowded Isle of Man. Visit the National Motorcycle Museum in Birmingham and the nearby Triumph Motorcycle factory. Riders also visit Warwick Castle and Stonehenge. Before catching the overnight ferry to France, tour the Sammy Miller Motorcycle Museum and the extensive motoring museum in Beauheu near Southampton.

Returning through France, visit Utah Beach and Omaha Beach-—the WWII invasion beaches of Normandy. Continue on through the Loire Valley and over Simplon Pass into Italy. Return to the USA on June 9th.

Since its inaugural journey to Nepal and Thailand in 1982, Lotus Tours has offered vacations and expeditions to fantastic places for licensed, experienced motorcycle enthusiasts–people who are interested in seeing the world from a different perspective. Visit www.lotustours.com for a complete tour schedule.

Donated by an industry executive who wishes to remain anonymous, this AGV helmet was autographed by nearly every one of Honda’s factory racers in 1999 and just sold for $412 in an eBay auction to benefit the Roadracing World Air Fence* Fund.

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The seven-day auction started Thursday, January 17 with an opening bid of $100 and quickly passed our conservative reserve price of $150 on the first day. “Sooty114” started the bidding with “thecreepin104”, “[email protected]”, “mjezek”, “rageco”, “kmitch51” and “1oldgeorge” joining in during the week. Monday, January 21 was the busiest day of the auction with eight of the 17 bids coming that day. “Sooty114” looked set to take the prize with a bid of $407 that stood into the closing hours of the auction. But with less than fours left in the sale, “astroboy-atm” made his first, only and last bid to win the helmet.

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“Astroboy-atm”, or Robb Meier as he’s known around his home near Toronto, Canada, was also the winning bidder in the extremely-collectible Mat Mladin September 11 tribute helmet auction a few weeks ago.

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We were not able to reach Meier at post time, but in Meier’s last correspondence with Roadracingworld.com he wrote about the many upcoming items to be auctioned off for the Air Fence* Fund, saying, “I’m going to grab everything I can afford.”

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The next auction to benefit the Roadracing World Air Fence* Fund is scheduled to start Friday, January 25 on eBay.

The Roadracing World Air Fence* Fund was established to raise funds to purchase and deploy inflatable Air Fence and Air Module soft barriers to protect crashed riders from hitting walls and other hard objects at racetracks.

If you have a piece of racing memorabilia or an item/service of value that you would like to donate for auction to benefit the Roadracing World Air Fence Fund for either road racing or dirt track, please contact David Swarts at (909) 245-6411 from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Pacific Time Monday through Friday, or e-mail [email protected].

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

From a press release:

DUCATI CORSE PRESS INFORMATION

WORLD SUPERBIKE CHAMPIONSHIP

Testing – Kyalami (South Africa)

Friday 25 January 2002

DUCATI CORSE TESTING CONTINUES AT KYALAMI

Troy Bayliss and Ruben Xaus (Ducati Infostrada) both improved their times on the second day of Kyalami testing in South Africa after getting to grips with the 2002-spec 998R Factory bikes they will ride in this year’s World Superbike Championship.

Both riders are in the middle of a pre-season three-day Michelin tyre test at the high-altitude Johannesburg venue, which will host round 3 of the championship at the start of April.

World champion Bayliss managed to make up on the extra day’s track running of his closest rival Colin Edwards (Honda), who is also present at the test, and recorded a best time of 1:42.2.

“Today felt much better”, said 32-year-old Bayliss, who completed 75 laps. “Yesterday I was on my 2002-spec racebike for the first time, I hadn’t raced since before Christmas so it took me a bit of time to get going. But this afternoon I went faster than I did in qualifying for last year’s race, so I’m feeling really confident now for the season ahead.

“Colin was also looking good out there but for sure I’ll be able to get my times down even further tomorrow morning when it’s cooler”, he added.

After his crash yesterday, Xaus also settled in well on his 2002 998R Factory bike and put in a lot of mileage on the second day of testing, recording a best time of 1:43.4 after completing 82 laps.

“Now I’m getting comfortable with my riding after two months inactivity”, said Xaus. “I lost a bit of confidence after crashing yesterday but took things easy this morning and then improved my lap times a lot in the afternoon. Another few days’ testing and we’ll be up there”.

The final day of testing will take place tomorrow Saturday after which Ducati Corse will head for Australia for next week’s scheduled SBK Winter Tests at Phillip Island from January 30 – February 1.

From a press release issued by SBK, promoter of the Superbike World Championship:

World Superbike Championship Entry List

Number, Rider Name, Country/Age, Machine, Team

1 Troy BAYLISS – AUS / 32 – Ducati 998 R – Ducati Infostrada

11 Ruben XAUS – ESP / 23 – Ducati 998 R – Ducati Infostrada

2 Colin EDWARDS – USA / 27 – Honda VTR 1000 SP2 – Castrol Honda

5 Mark HECKLES – GBR / 25 – Honda VTR 1000 SP2 – Castrol Honda Rumi

41 Noriyuki HAGA – JPN / 26 – Aprilia RSV 1000 SP – Aprilia Racing

14 Hitoyasu IZUTSU – JPN / 30 – Kawasaki ZX-7RR – Kawasaki Racing Team

9 Chris WALKER – GBR / 29 – Kawasaki ZX-7RR – Kawasaki Racing Team

32 Eric BOSTROM – USA / 25 – Kawasaki ZX-7RR – Kawasaki Racing Team

100 Neil HODGSON – GBR / 28 – Ducati 996 R – HM Plant Ducati

52 James TOSELAND – GBR / 21 – Ducati 996 R – HM Plant Ducati

10 Gregorio LAVILLA – ESP / 28 – Suzuki GSX-R750 Y – Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra

155 Ben BOSTROM – USA / 27 – Ducati 998 R – Ducati L&M

7 Pier Francesco CHILI – ITA / 38 – Ducati 996 R – Ducati NCR

19 Lucio PEDERCINI – ITA / 29 – Ducati 996 R – Team Pedercini

20 Marco BORCIANI – ITA / 26 – Ducati 996 R – Team Pedercini

28 Serafino FOTI – ITA / 34 – Ducati 996 SPS – Team Pedercini

17 Steve MARTIN – AUS / 33 – Ducati 996 R – D.F.X Racing Ducati Pirelli

22 Alessandro ANTONELLO – ITA / 29 – Ducati 996 R – D.F.X Racing Ducati Pirelli

34 Thierry MULOT – FRA / 34 – Ducati 996 SPS – Pacific Team

68 Bertrand STEY – FRA / 29 – Honda VTR 1000 SP1 – White Endurance Team

70 Yann GYGER – SUI / 19 – Honda VTR 1000 SP1 – White Endurance Team

36 Peter GODDARD – AUS / 37 – Benelli Tornado Tre 900 – Benelli Sport

46 Mauro SANCHINI – ITA / 31 – Kawasaki ZX-7RR – Team Kawasaki Bertocchi

48 Ivan CLEMENTI – ITA / 26 – Kawasaki ZX-7RR – Team Kawasaki Bertocchi

23 Jiri MRKYVKA – CZE / 28 – Ducati 996 SPS – JM Racing Team

76 Troy CORSER – AUS / 30 – Foggy FP1 – Foggy Petronas Racing **

44 James HAYDON – GBR / 27 – Foggy FP1 – Foggy Petronas Racing **

33 Juan BORIA – ESP / 31 – Ducati 996 R – Spaziotel Racing Team




World Supersport Championship Entry List
Number, Rider Name, Country/Age, Machine, Team

1 Andrew PITT – AUS / 25 – Kawasaki ZX-6R – Kawasaki Racing Team

8 James ELLISON – GBR / 21 – Kawasaki ZX-6R – Kawasaki Racing Team

69 James WHITHAM – GBR / 35 – Yamaha YZF R6 – Yamaha Belgarda

5 Paolo CASOLI – ITA / 36 – Yamaha YZF R6 – Yamaha Belgarda

3 Jörg TEUCHERT – GER / 31 – Yamaha YZF R6 – Yamaha-Motor-Germany

91 Christian KELLNER – GER / 30 – Yamaha YZF R6 Yamaha-Motor-Germany

6 Pere RIBA – ESP / 32 – Honda CBR 600F – Ten Kate Honda

32 Fabien FORET – FRA /28 – Honda CBR 600F – Ten Kate Honda

12 Stéphane CHAMBON – FRA / 36 – Suzuki GSX-R600 – Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra

37 Katsuaki FUJIWARA – JPN / 23 – Suzuki GSX-R600 Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra

10 Kevin CURTAIN – AUS / 35 – Honda CBR 600F BKM Honda Racing Team

5 Robert ULM – AUT / 28 – Honda CBR 600F – BKM Honda Racing Team

33 Jim MOODIE – GBR / 35 – Yamaha YZF R6 – Saveko Racing Team

34 Robert D. FROST – GBR / 28 – Yamaha YZF R6 – Saveko Racing Team

20 Stefano CRUCIANI – ITA / 22 – Yamaha YZF R6 – Team Lorenzini by Leoni

44 Antonio CARLACCI – ITA / 28 – Yamaha YZF R6 Team Lorenzini by Leoni

22 Vittoriano GUARESCHI – ITA / 30 – Honda CBR 600F Dienza Performance

23 Dean THOMAS – AUS / 28 – Honda CBR 600F – Dienza Performance

71 Werner DAEMEN – BEL / 30 – Honda CBR 600F – Van-zon-Honda-T.K.R.

17 Chris VERMEULEN – AUS / 19 – Honda CBR 600F Van-zon-Honda-T.K.R.

7 Karl MUGGERIDGE – AUS / 27 – Honda CBR 600F – Honda UK Race Team

10 John MCGUINESS – GBR / 29 – Honda CBR 600F – Honda UK Race Team

11 Piergiorgio BONTEMPI – ITA / 33 – Ducati 748 R – Ducati NCR Nortel Networks

14 Diego GIUGAVAZ – ITA / 29 – Yamaha YZF R6 – GIMotorsport

15 Alessio CORRADI – ITA / 25 – Yamaha YZF R6 – Five Racing

9 Iain MCPHERSON – GBR / 33 – Yamaha YZF R6 – O.P.C.M. -Racing

18 Christian ZAISER – AUT / 38 – Yamaha YZF R6 O.P.C.M. – Racing

16 Gianluca NANNELLI – ITA / 27 – Ducati 748 R – Rox Racing Team

19 Alexander SCHLAEFKE – GER / 16 – Honda CBR 600F – Weger Racing Team



World Sidecar Championship Entry List
Number,Driver/Passenger Names, D/P Country, Machine, Team

1 Klaus Klaffenbock/Christian Parzer – AUT/AUT – Yamaha LCR – Team Klaffenbock Racing

2 Steve Webster/Paul Woodhead – GBR/GBR – Suzuki LCR – liveonscreen Racing

3 Steve Abbott/Jamie Biggs – GBR/GBR – Yamaha Windle – Grebensek Racing

4 Jörg Steinhausen/Trevor Hopinkson – GER/GBR – Suzuki LCR – Steinhausen Racing

5 Tom Hanks/Phil Biggs – GBR/GBR – Yamaha LCR – Hanks Racing

6 Ian Guy/tba – GBR/tba – Suzuki LCR

7 Martien v Gils/Tonny v Gils – NED/NED – Suzuki LCR – Maton Racing

8 Stuart Muldoon/Andy Peach – GBR/GBR – Suzuki LCR – liveonscreen Racing

10 Dieter Eilers/Andreas Kolloch – GER/GER – Suzuki LCR – Rennteam Eilers

11 Peter Schröder/Ueli Wäfler – SUI/SUI – Suzuki LCR – Schroder Racing

12 Gerhard Hauzenberger/Trevor Crone – SUI/GBR – Suzuki LCR

13 Mike Roscher/Uwe Neubert – GER/GER – RSC Roscher Side Car

14 Paul Steenbergen/Rene Steenbergen – NED/NED – Suzuki LCR – Steenbergen Racing

16 Chris Founds/Peter Founds – GBR/GBR – Yamaha LCR – Founds Racing

19 Dan Morrisey/Mark Cox – GBR/GBR – Yamaha LCR – Excalibur Racing

21 Barry Fleury/Jane Fleury – NZL/NZL – Suzuki LCR – Team Fleury Racing

22 Rob Cameron/Ian Simons – GBR/GBR – Suzuki LCR – Global Motorsports

25 Sébastien Delannoy/Jérôme Vannier – FRA/FRA – Suzuki Windle – Team Sand. Seb 72

30 Tero Karttiala/Timo Karttiala – FIN/FIN – Honda ART Karttiala Racing

31 Rick Murray/John Scott – USA/USA

32 B. Kohlmann/tba – GER/GER

33 Uwe Goettlich Johannes Koloska – GER/GER – Suzuki LCR Team Lausitz Sidecar Racing

34 Roger Lovelock/tba – GBR/GBR – Suzuki LCR – Diet Get Fit

55 Markus Schlosser/Adolf Hänni SUI/SUI – LCR – Hänni Racing

Photos of Ben and Eric Bostrom rock climbing in Southern California, by Norm Viano of Law Dog Sports Management.

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Photos of Regis Laconi riding the new Aprilia four-stroke at Jerez.

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