Copyright 2002, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

By David Swarts

Yamaha’s Aaron Gobert will undergo additional surgery to his left ankle next week in Australia, says his mother and manager Sue Gobert. Aaron Gobert fractured his ankle, along with many other bones, in a horrific AMA Supersport race crash at Daytona March 8. Gobert had screws surgically inserted into the ankle a few days later at Halifax Medical Center in Daytona Beach, Florida. The 21-year-old Australian hoped to return to action in the May 2-5 AMA National at Sears Point, but now doctors say that more work, and time, is needed.

“Yamaha sent all his X-rays to Dr. (Arthur) Ting, and Dr. Ting said that he needed more surgery,” said Sue Gobert, the mother and manager of Aaron, Anthony and Alex Thursday, April 5 at California Speedway. “Aaron has a really good orthopedist at home, and he wanted another opinion. He flew back there Monday (April 1) and went straight to the doctor’s from the airport.

“He does need more surgery. He’s going into the hospital Monday (April 8). They are going to operate and put a plate in his left ankle.”

There were also question marks remaining about Gobert’s broken right collarbone and shoulder blade. Some reports said that the middle Gobert brother’s scapula was completely shattered.

“It is shattered. They did an MRI on his shoulder in Australia,” continued Sue Gobert, while waiting in the AMA technical inspection line at California Speedway with her youngest son, Alex. “I don’t think they did one here, I’m not sure. I haven’t seen one. But they (doctors in Australia) say that the shoulder should have been operated on straightaway.

“It is healing (naturally), but he will always have a physical deformity – his right shoulder will always be lower than his left. The plus side, I guess, he will never ever dislocate his right shoulder (again) because it’s jammed in there so far it’s never going to come out again. Apparently, he will have full range of motion in the shoulder.

“They’re going to wait one more week because with the skin graft on the shoulder, they couldn’t move. They had to keep the skin graft still. In one more week, they’re going to start physical therapy and get it all going. So the prognosis on the shoulder is really pretty good.

“He’s still young. He’ll be back better than ever, I’m sure. In another four to six weeks, then he can start training again. The right leg with the pin in it, he’s allowed to put little gentle pressures on it now. I think they are going to take the cast off while he’s in the hospital next week. He can very slowly start walking on the right leg, then four to six weeks for the left ankle. I know what Aaron’s like from being injured before. If they say it’ll take eight weeks, he’ll try and do it in four. He’s got a very strong will. He’ll be fine, better than the first night when we didn’t know what to expect.”

Copyright 2002, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Business as usual as Bayliss leads the pack

By Glenn Le Santo

Troy Bayliss was fastest in the first qualifying session at Kyalami, leaving onlookers to ask the question: Can anyone beat the reigning Superbike World Champion? Bayliss has already won the first four races this year and he’s looking ready to win the next two!

It looked for a while like Colin Edwards on the Honda could stem the Ducati tide, but then Bayliss put in a blistering lap late in the session to go to the top of the time sheets again. All Edwards could do was wave to the crowd that had already gathered at the Kyalami circuit, which is one of the Texan’s favorite tracks.

In fairness, although Bayliss leads the timesheets at the moment, both Edwards and Ben Bostrom, who took a win apiece here last year, are breathing down his neck with only 0.035-seconds separating all three riders.

Ruben Xaus made it three Ducatis on the provisional front row by going fourth fastest in the afternoon’s qualifying, held under fierce African sun. If temperatures stay the same for Sunday’s race then tires are sure to play their part in the equation again. Xaus was over half-a-second back of the front three.

Britain’s Neil Hodgson was fifth fastest, on yet another Ducati with Noriyuki Haga trailing him by under two-tenths on the Aprilia RSV1000. Frankie Chili and Lucio Pedercini packed two more Ducatis onto the second row in a series that is looking more and more like a Ducati cup everyday. Eight of the top 10 bikes are Ducatis.

World Superbike Championship
Kyalami, South Africa
Friday qualifying, 5 April 2002
Fastest times:

1. Troy Bayliss, AUS, Ducati, 1:41.961
2. Colin Edwards, USA, Honda, 1:41.973
3. Ben Bostrom, USA, Ducati, 1:41.996
4. Ruben Xaus, ESP, Ducati, 1:42.505
5. Neil Hodgson, GBR, Ducati, 1:42.687
6. Noriyuki Haga, JPN, Aprilia, 1:42.830
7. Pierfrancesco Chili, ITA, Ducati, 1:42.929
8. Lucio Pedercini, ITA, Ducati, 1:43.304
9. Juan Borja, ESP, Ducati, 1:43.336
10. James Toseland, GBR, Ducati, 1:43.449



More, from a press release issued by Bayliss’ publicist, Steve Reeves:

TROY BAYLISS Racing – Media Information
For immediate release
Friday, 5 April 2002

Round 3, 2002 Superbike World Championship
Kyalami Circuit, South Africa
First qualifying session

BAYLISS FASTEST IN OPENING WORLD SUPERBIKE QUALIFYING IN SOUTH AFRICA

Kyalami, South Africa: – A last minute charge has seen defending World Superbike champion, Australian Troy Bayliss, set the fastest lap time of the opening qualifying session for this weekend’s third round of the Superbike World Championship held at the Kyalami Circuit in South Africa.

American Castrol Honda rider Colin Edwards had been the pace setter through much of the session, but was unable to hold off Bayliss’ blistering final lap of the session that saw him record a time of 1-min 41.961-seconds around the 4.263km South African circuit. Edwards was forced to finish the session with the second fastest time, a 1:41.973, followed by fellow American Ben Bostrom (L&M Ducati) with a 1:41.996 and the only other rider to break the 1:42 barrier. Spaniard Ruben Xaus (Infostrada Ducati) rounded out the top four with a time of 1:42.505.

The times set during the session were well under the existing Superbike lap record of 1:42.928 set at last year’s event by Bostrom, but were marginally slower than the pole winning time of 1:41.689, also set by Bostrom.

“I’m happy that we were fastest today, but I think there is still a bit of work to be done before I’m completely happy,” said Bayliss who completed 24 laps during the session aboard his Infostrada Ducati 998R. “There wasn’t much in it at all in that session. Colin (Edwards) has shown that he is going to be hard to beat and then Ben (Bostrom) came on strong towards the end as well. I think it could come down to the three of us at this moment.

“The track seems to get bumpier each time we come here, but I suppose that adds character to the place,” Bayliss added. “I’m sure that we will go faster as the weekend goes on. The track is in good condition, but it just seems to take a while to get up to speed.”

Fifth fastest in today’s session was Brit Neil Hodgson (HM Plant Ducati) with a time of 1:42.687, ahead of Japanese star Noriyuki Haga (Playstation 2 Aprilia) who slipped to sixth fastest with a 1:42.830 after being second fastest early in the session. Italian favourite Pierfrancesco Chili was seventh fastest aboard his NCR Ducati (1:42.929), just ahead of Lucio Pedercini’s Ducati (1:43.304).

The second qualifying session for the World Superbike stars takes place on Saturday morning before the top 16 qualifiers from the combined sessions take part in the grid position determining Superpole session later that afternoon.

Fellow Australians Steve Martin (DFX Ducati) and Broc Parkes (NCR Ducati) were outside the top ten in the opening qualifying session. Martin produced the twelfth fastest time (1:44.023), while Parkes was sixteenth (1:44.486) overall.


And a release from Ducati Corse:

DUCATI CORSE PRESS INFORMATION
WORLD SUPERBIKE CHAMPIONSHIP
Round 3 – Kyalami (South Africa)
Friday Qualifying

BAYLISS (DUCATI INFOSTRADA) HEADS EDWARDS (HONDA), BOSTROM (DUCATI L&M) AND XAUS (DUCATI INFOSTRADA) IN KYALAMI FIRST QUALIFYING

Championship leader Troy Bayliss (Ducati Infostrada) headed the timesheets at Kyalami, South Africa as Friday qualifying turned into a terrific three-way battle between the Australian, Honda’s Colin Edwards and Ben Bostrom (Ducati L&M). The three riders were separated by a fraction as Bostrom’s one-year-old lap record tumbled by a full second. Ducati Infostrada’s Ruben Xaus was half-a-second off the pace in fourth, ahead of HM Plant Ducati’s Neil Hodgson and Noriyuki Haga (Aprilia).

Bayliss (Ducati Infostrada) set a time of 1’41.961 on a qualifying tyre at the end of the hour, smashing the lap record of 1’42.92, but the Australian was convinced there was more to come in tomorrow’s session. “I got a good start to the weekend today in qualifying”, declared Bayliss, “but I’m still not 100% happy as we went a full second quicker than this in January testing. We made a couple of changes on the bike after the morning session and we found some good tyres, with this circuit it’s really just a case of working your way into it. We haven’t changed much on the bike since the last test here, but you just can’t relax with the other guys breathing down your neck. I’m fastest for the moment, but there’s a long way to go”.

Bostrom (Ducati L&M) was separated from Bayliss by 30/100ths of a second, sandwiching Honda’s Colin Edwards, but was pleased with his provisional third-quickest time of 1’41.996. “The bike was great and the tyres were working really well, maybe I could have rode a bit better, but I feel like I’m back in the race”, declared Bostrom. “On my fast lap time of 1’41.9, I made a few mistakes so tomorrow I reckon I can get down to a time of 1’41.0. The only problem is that I’m sure there are a few other riders who are going to do it as well. It’s going to be a great battle tomorrow!”.

Xaus (Ducati Infostrada) was fourth-quickest in today’s first qualifying session after changing to his second 998 due to a minor technical problem. “I feel a lot more happy than I was at the start of qualifying because I was just unable to put together a good lap”, commented Xaus. “Kyalami is a difficult track and you have to stay on the line all the time. I set a good time on my race tyre, but then my number 1 bike developed a temperature problem and I switched to the other one which wasn’t set up exactly the same. I was going better on my second run, but I lost time in the last section which is very hard on the brakes, so I need to work more on the final couple of corners”.


And a release from Aprilia:

SUPERBIKE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP – Third Round
South Africa – Kyalami Circuit, 4.263 km – Qualifying Session

HAGA AND APRILIA GAIN GROUND

KYALAMI (South Africa), Friday 5 April 2002 – Noriyuki Haga with his Aprilia RSV Mille makes sixth fastest time in the first day of qualifying sessions in the South African round of the World Superbike Championship. The Japanese rider, making his debut at Kyalami on the twin-cylinder from Noale, was preceded by five riders who have spent four days on tests in the run-up to the championship. After this morning’s free practice, Haga was 1.964 behind in the ratings but in the afternoon he had reduced this margin to 869 thousandths away from the leader, Troy Bayliss (Ducati). Haga also obtained the best performance on race tyres, unlike the five in front who were riding “soft”. The trend is upward, and in the two remaining hours of tests, it looks as though Noriyuki will be able to reduce the gap even further.

NORIYUKI HAGA (Playstation2-FGF Aprilia Team rider) commented: “I’d say things aren’t too bad: I thought Ducati and Honda would be further ahead since they got in so much practice a couple of months ago. This is the first time I’ve been out on Aprilia here in Kyalami – there are still a number of things to sort out, but I’m sure I’ll be able to put on a good fight. The tyres also gave us some good indications: next to Phillip Island, things are looking much brighter.”

GIACOMO GUIDOTTI (Technical Manager of Playstation2-FGF Aprilia) commented, “We’re quite pleased. You have to bear in mind that Haga was making his absolute debut on Aprilia at Kyalami, while the others had plenty of practice during the winter. We aren’t far off and we’ll try to get closer still. Haga’s got a good pace on race tyres. But he’s still not able to make the most of the ‘soft’ tyres used here for the qualifying sessions. In the final tests, we’ll try to improve this.”



From Fuchs Kawasaki:

WORLD SUPERBIKE CHAMPIONSHIP
ROUND 3 – KYALAMI, SOUTH AFRICA
5 APRIL 2002 – FRIDAY PRACTICE & QUALIFYING

MIXED FORTUNES FOR WALKER AND IZUTSU AT KYALAMI

For Fuchs Kawasaki riders, Hitoyasu Izutsu and Chris Walker, the opening day at Kyalami didn’t quite go according to plan. While Walker started well, finishing the opening free practice session tenth fastest, things weren’t quite so positive for team-mate Izutsu.

The former Japanese Superbike Champion struggled to find a workable suspension set-up during the free practice session and, as a result, was unable to match the times of the leading riders. For qualifying, the team reverted to the suspension settings used at Kyalami during preseason testing; with instant results. After improving his lap times steadily throughout the hour-long session, Izutsu eventually finished eleventh fastest, putting him on the third row of the provisional grid.

‘It was a bit of a struggle this morning, but we made some big steps forward prior to the qualifying session this afternoon,’ said Izutsu. ‘We’re now back on the settings we used during preseason testing and the bike feels a lot better for it. More importantly, I think there’s more to come. We’ll be making small changes tonight, and throughout tomorrow, in order to arrive at the best set-up for Sunday’s races.’

Tenth fastest during free practice, Chris Walker slipped down to 15th place after the first qualifying session. Despite not finishing as high up the provisional grid as he’d hoped, Walker was upbeat about his day’s work, and more than happy to explain the reasons for his temporary slide down the timesheet.

‘I forgot to take my big girl’s blouse off before I went out for qualifying,’ quipped Walker. ‘Actually, I was on a pretty good qualifying lap, but I fell foul of the bump at the entry to the chicane. I was running into the corner a bit hotter than I had been on previous laps, which meant I was braking harder when I hit the bump. The back end kicked up, I couldn’t turn in and I ended up having to run wide, which lost me loads of time. I’m pretty happy with how the day has gone though, especially as the sweatband under the helmet appears to be working quite well; stopping the sweat running into my eyes. I also feel a lot more comfortable on the bike than I have previously, so I’m confident I’ll improve my qualifying position tomorrow.’

Copyright 2002, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Chambon fastest as Supersport returns to Kyalami

By Glenn LeSanto

The World Supersport Championship returned to Kyalami for the first time since 1999 and was greeted by beautiful sunshine. Stephane Chambon took advantage of the sun to set the fastest time in Friday’s qualifying session.

Britain’s Jamie Whitham again looked fast in qualifying, not a thing that he’s been known for in the past. But he was pushed down into provisional third on the grid by his teammate Paolo Casoli.

Reigning champion and winner of the previous race, Andrew Pitt, took the final place on the provisional front row, qualifying fourth fastest.

Chris Vermeulen continued to shine with a provisional fifth place in a session that featured more than its fair share of yellow flag waving. One incident saw Supersport regular Stefano Cruciani lose his front end while riding on the inside of local rider Arushen Moodley. Both riders crashed heavily, wrecking their machines. Thankfully the two of them were
later declared fit to ride again this weekend.

World Supersport Championship
Friday Qualifying, 5 April 2002
Best Times

1. Stephane Chambon, FRA, Suzuki, 1:46.647
2. Paolo Casoli, ITA, Yamaha, 1:46.943
3. Jamie Whitham, GBR, Yamaha, 1:47.277
4. Andrew Pitt, AUS, Kawasaki, 1:47.296
5. Chris Vermeulen, AUS, Honda, 1:47.530
6. Christian Kellner, GER, Yamaha, 1:47.577
7. James Ellison, GBR, Kawasaki, 1:47.823
8. Jorg Teuchert, GER, Yamaha, 1:47.985
9. Trevor Crookes, RSA, Ducati, 1:47.991
10. Piergiorgio Bontempi, ITA, Ducati, 1:47.998


More, from a Fuchs Kawasaki press release:

WORLD SUPERSPORT CHAMPIONSHIP
ROUND 3 – KYALAMI, SOUTH AFRICA
5 APRIL 2002 – FRIDAY PRACTICE & QUALIFYING

PROVISIONAL FRONT ROW FOR ANDREW PITT AT KYALAMI

Reigning Champion, Andrew Pitt secured a provisional front row start for Sunday’s 25-lap Supersport race at Kyalami this afternoon, overcoming a stomach bug to post the fourth quickest lap of the opening qualifying session on his Fuchs Kawasaki ZX-6R.

‘I’m pretty happy to have finished fourth this afternoon, because I’m definitely not feeling 100%,’ said Pitt. ‘I’m starting to feel better after picking up this stomach bug, but I still feel a little weak on the bike and I was suffering cramps, brought on by dehydration, during the latter part of the session. I’m sure my condition will have improved even more by tomorrow, and I’m hoping to be back to full fitness come race day. I just need to make sure that, when I am fully fit, I’ve qualified far enough up the grid to get away with the leading group in the race.’

For James Ellison, the day certainly ended better than it started. Having struggled to post a fast lap during the opening free practice session this morning, the 20-year-old British rider stormed his way to seventh place, and the provisional second row, during this afternoon’s 45-minute first qualifying session.

‘The track was real dusty this morning, so I didn’t want to push it too hard,’ said Ellison. ‘We were also working on suspension settings and, judging from the way the bike felt this afternoon, we’re definitely moving in the right direction. The new qualifying rubber we got from Dunlop for this weekend is good for two flying laps, rather than just one like the previous tyres, and this is a big improvement. There’s less pressure when you know you’ve got two laps in which to set your best qualifying time and it’s always easier to put in a quick lap off the back of another – it allows you to settle into a rhythm.’




And a Ten Kate Honda release:

Troubled start for Ten Kate Honda at Kayalami

The Ten Kate Honda team struggled during the first qualifying session at Kyalami. Fabien Foret finished the session down in 13th place, not a position he is at all accustomed to. His team mate Iain MacPherson was one place further down the timesheet in 14th.

“The track is completely new to the team,” explained Team Manager Ronald ten Kate. “We’ve not raced or even tested here before so we have no
experience and no data to work on at all. The feeling is not good for us; we are not used to seeing our riders so far down the time sheet. But we remain confident that we can come good in the next session. We are working very hard with our partners at Pirelli and WP Suspension to arrive at a good race and qualifying set up and I am sure that both riders will improve their grid position before the race on Sunday.”

Fabien Foret spent his time trying to learn the track, which he had never even seen before this weekend. “It’s a challenging circuit and I have to learn it before I can go fast,” said Foret, who won the opening race at Valencia. “Unfortunately, even when I felt I knew my way around a bit I didn’t get much chance to really do any quick laps today. There were yellow flags and even red and yellow oil flags waving every time I tried for a fast lap, forcing me to back off which was very frustrating. But I will be pushing as hard as possible tomorrow to get a faster time.”

Iain MacPherson has raced at Kyalami before; in fact he holds the current World Supersport lap record around the South African circuit. “I don’t have Fabien’s excuse about being new to the circuit, I know the track well and I know I can be fast here. I did better in the morning’s free practice session than in actual qualifying, but we changed a few settings for qualifying and it looks like we went the wrong way. But I know the team will work hard to resolve the problems ready for the final qualifying session.”

Chris Vermeulen, who rides a Ten Kate Racing prepared Honda CBR600FS for the Van Zon Honda TKR team had a much better qualifying session, finishing in provisional fifth on the grid.

Copyright 2002, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Superbike Practice Times:

1. Anthony Gobert, Yamaha YZF-R7, 1:25.824
2. Mat Mladin, Suzuki GSX-R750, 1:26.330
3. Eric Bostrom, Kawasaki ZX-7RR, 1:26.592
4. Jamie Hacking, Suzuki GSX-R750, 1:26.719
5. Nicky Hayden, Honda RC51, 1:26.762
6. Aaron Yates, Suzuki GSX-R750, 1:26.779
7. Kurtis Roberts, Honda RC51, 1:27.357
8. Doug Chandler, Ducati 998RS, 1:28.306
9. Miguel Duhamel, Honda RC51, 1:28.334
10. Pascal Picotte, Ducati 996RS, 1:28.518
11. Chris Caylor, Suzuki GSX-R750, 1:30.198*
12. Chris Ulrich, Suzuki GSX-R750, 1:31.154*
13. Mike Ciccotto, Suzuki GSX-R750, 1:32.152*
14. Robert Jensen, Suzuki GSX-R750, 1:32.345*
15. Alan Schmidt, Suzuki GSX-R750, 1:33.114*
16. Owen Richey, Suzuki GSX-R750, 1:33.122*
17. Rich Conicelli, Suzuki GSX-R750, 1:33.330*
18. Lee Acree, Suzuki GSX-R750, 1:33.374*
19. Craig Connell, Suzuki GSX-R750, 1:33.379*
*Superstock bike

Copyright 2002, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Supersport Practice Times:

1. Anthony Gobert, Yamaha, 1:30.116
2. Jamie Hacking, Suzuki, 1:30.628
3. Jason Pridmore, Suzuki, 1:30.826
4. Tommy Hayden, Kawasaki, 1:30.907
5. Ben Spies, Suzuki, 1:31.131
6. Aaron Yates, Suzuki, 1:31.533
7. Damon Buckmaster, Yamaha, 1:31.680
8. Mike Hale, Honda, 1:31.826
9. Tom Kipp, Suzuki, 1:31.854
10. Josh Hayes, Suzuki, 1:31.997
11. Roger Lee Hayden, Honda, 1:32.385
12. Jake Zemke, Honda, 1:33.092
13. Tiger Sohwa, Honda, 1:33.134
14. Tony Meiring, Kawasaki, 1:33.589
15. Ty Howard, Suzuki, 1:33.769
16. Mark Ledesma, Honda, 1:34.231
17. Owen Richey, Yamaha, 1:34.429
18. Alex Gobert, Honda, 1:34.565
19. Matt Hartlieb, Suzuki, 1:35.034
20. Jeff Tigert, Suzuki, 1:35.282

The start of practice was delayed from 8:30 a.m. until 9:50 a.m. due to a wet racetrack.

Copyright 2002, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Saturday Morning MotoGP Practice Times From Suzuka:

1. Valentino Rossi, Honda RC211V, 2:04.748, 306.3 kph
2. Akira Ryo, Suzuki GSV-R, 2:04.761, 302.8 kph
3. Loris Capirossi, Honda NSR500, 2:04.775, 297.1 kph
4. Tohru Ukawa, Honda RC211V, 2:05.079, 306.1 kph
5. Carlos Checa, Yamaha YZR-M1, 2:05.191, 300.5 kph
6. Sete Gibernau, Suzuki GSV-R, 2:05.242, 300.0 kph
7. Kenny Roberts, Suzuki GSV-R, 2:05.259, 295.5 kph
8. Daijiro Katoh, Honda NSR500, 2:05.329, 296.6 kph
9. Norick Abe, Yamaha YZR500, 2:05.667, 295.4 kph
10. Shinichi Itoh, Honda RC211V, 2:05.884, 304.4 kph
11. Alex Barros, Honda NSR500, 2:05.947, 295.4 kph
12. Shinya Nakano, Yamaha YZR500, 2:06.028, 294.7 kph
13. Max Biaggi, Yamaha YZR-M1, 2:06.094, 298.5 kph
14. Regis Laconi, Aprilia RS3, 2:06.227, 305.6 kph
15. Olivier Jacques, Yamaha YZR500, 2:06.365, 296.9 kph
16. John Hopkins, Yamaha YZR500, 2:06.761, 295.1 kph
17. Garry McCoy, Yamaha YZR500, 2:07.240, 293.2 kph
18. Tetsuya Harada, Honda NSR500, 2:07.273, 291.1 kph
19. Nobuatsu Aoki, Proton KR3, 2:07.420, 281.6 kph
20. Jeremy McWilliams, Proton KR3, 2:07.533, 283.5 kph
21. Jurgen van der Goorbergh, Honda NSR500, 2:07.797
22. Pere Riba, Yamaha YZR500, no time available.

Copyright 2002, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Afternoon Supersport Practice Times:

1. Aaron Yates, Suzuki, 1:28.922
2. Anthony Gobert, Yamaha, 1:28.927
3. Damon Buckmaster, Yamaha, 1:29.503
4. Tommy Hayden, Kawasaki, 1:29.554
5. Ben Spies, Suzuki, 1:29.598
6. Jamie Hacking, Suzuki, 1:30.075
7. Jason Pridmore, Suzuki, 1:30.232
8. Roger Lee Hayden, Honda, 1:30.339
9. Tom Kipp, Suzuki, 1:30.440
10. Mike Hale, Honda, 1:30.709
11. Jake Zemke, Honda, 1:30.854
12. Josh Hayes, Suzuki, 1:31.055
13. Steve Rapp, Suzuki, 1:31.510
14. Tiger Showa, Honda, 1:31.680
15. Tony Meiring, Kawasaki, 1:32.331
16. Alex Gobert, Honda, 1:32.407
17. Owen Richey, Yamaha, 1:32.674
18. Michael Hannas, Kawasaki, 1:32.722
19. Ty Howard, Suzuki, 1:32.835
20. Jeff Tigert, Suzuki, 1:33.294

Copyright 2002, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Webbo leads the charge in Kyalami

By Glenn LeSanto

Steve Webster took provisional pole at Kyalami despite fitting a ‘safe’ engine to his outfit for Kyalami.

“We built a safe motor for this round as we thought it would be better to go for reliability over outright speed,” explained Webster. “We struggled to get the carbs right but we’re somewhere near getting it right now. The problem is the altitude–it makes it feel like the engine has no power.” Steve looked happy and relaxed after the session but he’s serious about getting maximum points this weekend. “We want to have a good finish and stay in the title hunt.” Steve also admitted that he’d forgotten his way around the circuit after two years away, “I got lost a couple of times! But it’s a lovely track, but with all the left-handers it’s hard on passengers.”

Webbo’s arch rival Klaus Klaffenbock was happy with his provisional second on the grid even though he is still using a carburetted R1 and giving away capacity, and of course power, to Webster’s Suzuki GSX-R-based motor. He expects to have the new injected R1 engine fitted by Monza.

Jorg Steinhausen was third fastest after an eventful day on the circuit. His passenger Trevor Hopkinson tested out the little green pipes that stick out of the ground on the chicane. “I thought they were made of some soft plastic until I hit one with my leg,” said Hopkinson, “but I soon found out how hard they really are and thought I’d broken my leg!”

Martien van Gils and his son Tonnie enjoyed their first taste of the 2002 Superside Championship. Despite only having tested once before coming to Kyalami, and that in the rain, the pair finished the session fourth fastest, just easing Muldoon and Peach down into fifth on their last lap. What’s more that test had ended with them crashing and turning their outfit over!