White Tip Motorsports engine builder Michael Cox issued a public apology Friday to rider Chuck Chouinard for Chouinard’s disqualification from the AMA 750cc Supersport race at Loudon.

“We cleaned the valves in Chuck’s engine with Scotchbrite and had no intention of removing metal or reshaping the valves,” said Cox.

“There’s no way anything we did to the valves gave Chuck a competitive advantage, and he finished where he finished based on his hard riding. We’re sorry that the AMA tech inspectors disqualified him over this. To Chuck, his sponsors and his team owner, all we can say is, we’re sorry this happened.”

Valentino Rossi and Colin Edwards won the Coca-Cola Suzuka 8-hour, round 6 of the 8-round FIM Endurance World Championship Series, on a Cabin Honda RC51.

From a Honda press release:

Colin Edwards and Valentino Rossi rode a superb race over 217 laps of the classic 5.864-km (3.6-mile) Suzuka grand prix circuit to take the win in the prestigious 8-Hour Endurance race. Their win gave Honda five consecutive 8-Hour victories, and was the highlight of an almost immaculate performance from the three factory Cabin Honda squads entered in the race.

Edwards, who had the pleasure of riding the last leg, was ebullient and praised his team and fellow rider ceaselessly after the marathon test of man and racing machine. “I had the best riding partner and the best bike and it’s great to win my second 8-Hour. I couldn’t be happier.”

Rossi, in his second Suzuka endurance race, was relieved with his team performance, having crashed out while leading last year. “To race and win an event like this is very exciting. When I asked Honda if I could do this race last year they said I should do it for two years because it is such a difficult race to win at your first attempt. That’s the way it turned out but because I had a stupid crash while leading. So to win it the year, after such disappointment in 2000, is fantastic. Thanks to everyone and especially Colin.”

Honda’s decision to roll out their Grand Prix and World Superbike big guns paid rich dividends throughout the gruelling race, with all three of the factory Honda teams taking turns to lead.

In second place, a mere 14.268 seconds down on the winners, were Cabin Honda riders Alex Barros and Tady Okada, who fought tooth-and-nail with the eventual winners for almost the entire race distance, with frequent on-track tussles forming the highlight of a sometimes dramatic race.

Third was the only official Suzuki Superbike entry, a three-man team comprising of Akira Ryo, Yukio Kagayama and Atsushi Watanabe, who came home 1-minute, 13 seconds down on the leading Honda duo.

The intervention of the pace car, after an accident which resulted in a privateer machine being set ablaze on the racing line, allowed the Suzuki squad to catch, and subsequently pass the eventual fourth-place Cabin Honda pairing of Daijiro Katoh and Tohru Ukawa.

Suzuki rider Akira Ryo, starting from pole position, got away first into turn one but was soon caught and passed on the second lap by both Valentino Rossi and Kawasaki factory rider Akira Yanagawa.

With Daijiro Katoh catching the leading three riders, it was soon to be a four, then a five-man early battle with the addition of the rapidly-advancing Tady Okada on the tail, making it a full house of factory Hondas in the leading peleton.

The number 99 Sakurai machine pitted on lap four suffering from mechanical problems, which were to dog the team’s efforts for the entire race.

On lap four the first backmarkers were encountered by the leaders, and one was to play a major part in the fortunes of the race overall, when Yanagawa crashed into the rear of a slower machine on lap 21, effectively blunting one of the Kawasaki factory challenges for the win.

The NK class machine of Keiichi Kitagawa and the Kawasaki Superbike of Gregorio Lavilla and Tamaki Serizawa joined onto the leading five after the fifth lap, with no more than 2.109 seconds covering the top seven near the end of a true first session sprint.

On lap 21 the Phase One World Championship team was out, after their second rider Tony Rees fell on the second lap of his first session, damaging the machine too much to continue.

Colin Edwards’s first session benefited from Rossi’s sterling work, as he led Kagayama by over a second after the first rider changes.

Running off in his efforts to stay in contention, Kagayama a lost several seconds, allowing Edwards to make good his escape until Alex Barros caught him after a display of determined riding.

Another near miss with a backmarker caused Ukawa a moment of worry halfway through his first session, with the fight between Edwards and Barros frequently see-sawing as the backmarkers played their unwitting part in the fight for the win.

At the turn of the third hour, the timesheet order of Katoh, from Rossi, from Okada was somewhat false, as the number four machine team had adopted a strategy of going for longer periods before stopping. Leaders on the road were still the Edwards and Rossi and Barros and Okada partnerships.

The best fight of the race occurred in the second Edwards/Barros session with the SBK and GP rider overtaking each other at will, swapping the lead at frequent intervals. Only a pit stop for Edwards, on lap 101, ended their titanic battle.

The end of the fourth hour once more had an artificial feel to it, with Kato and Ukawa leading their closest challengers by arithmetic only.

In fifth place (Anthony) Gobert and (Noriyuki) Haga were moving on up in pace, but they were to exit in the very final section of the race, having completed 7 hours and 38 minutes of racing. The second factory Kawasaki was already out of the race, after Gregorio Lavilla had crashed at the exit of Spoon curve on lap 81.

At the end of the fifth hour, the order was once more Ukawa from Rossi from Barros, but the fight for the top positions was as intense as ever.

Near disaster for Tady Okada saw him crash as he led Valentino Rossi on lap 117 although his low-speed spill at the chicane left his machine undamaged and he carried on, some 15 seconds down on the departing Rossi, who had to take to the grass to avoid Okada’s machine.

The race itself settled into a routine for the next 40 laps or so, with the three factory Hondas leading in the order of Rossi/Edwards, Barros/Okada and Ukawa/Katoh, with the factory Suzuki of Ryo/Kagayama and Watanabe ahead of Yamaha duo Gobert and Haga.

Five hours and 42 minutes into the race a private machine crashed and caught fire at the last corner of the Esses, just before the Dunlop corner. The pace cars brought all the top four teams, the three Cabin Honda efforts and the factory Suzuki, onto the same 161st lap, and allowed the top Suzuki team to get onto terms with the number 4 Honda.

Barros was similarly fortunate and took advantage to close up to Edwards, negating his 10-second lead.

With the final stint looming for each rider, Rossi showed how determined he was, to lead from Okada by 14 seconds at the turn into the final hour.

With the American riding well as darkness fell, he kept his margin of victory after 217 laps of hard and punishing racing.

Edwards’ second 8-Hour win was Valentino Rossi’s first, with Okada and Barros in second and the Suzuki factory team in third. Rossi’s win was the first by an Italian rider in the 24-year history of the race.

A battling race finish gave Daijiro Katoh and Tohru Ukawa fourth, with fifth going to the first 1000cc four-cylinder NK machine, the Suzuki GSX-R1000 of Kitagawa, Arakaki and Toda.



HONDA TEAM QUOTES:

Valentino Rossi:
“I am the first Italian rider to win the Suzuka 8-hours race so I am very happy. When Okada crashed in front of me, I was a bit surprised because I could only see his machine. I thought we could win easily then, but #33 caught up again when the pace car came onto the track. So during my last run, I was determined to get some advantages and hand the machine to Colin. (He marked the fastest lap 2:08.855). Last year, I was disappointed so I am really happy to win the race today. This race was really important for me.”

Colin Edwards:
“I had the best teammate this year. When I was racing with Alex Barros, I enjoyed it very much. Then I was angry when the pace car reduced the gap between me and Barros. But Valentino was riding superbly soon after that and I was confident of winning then. Valentino is really splendid rider. I have been on the podium many times in the past but being on the top is something special.”

Noriaki Nakata–Team Manager:
“Both riders did a superb job and also the team staff didn’t make any mistakes. That’s the reason for the win. After the pace car interruption, Valentino rode superbly and it really worked. Last year we were disappointed so this year’s win is even more emotional.”

Koji Nakajima–General Manager:
“I am sorry we couldn’t make 1-2-3 finish due to the interruption of the pace car. However, we are happy to mark the 5th consecutive 8-hours win and
we would like to thank all the sponsors and fans.”

Tadayuki Okada:
“I must say sorry to Alex because I crashed at the Chicane. I wasn’t pushing so hard then but the front end suddenly tuckled. There was no machine damage but I had a bitter feeling. You must win for the 8-hours race. I will make a revenge next year. But before that, I will try my best for the remaining WSB races. I am looking forward to them, as the Michelin tires are better now.”

Alex Barros:
“I have never been so tired before in the 8-hours race. Okada feels sorry about his crash but the pit stop mistake I made was a bigger problem. However, I never gave up till the end. I tried my best to reduce the difference from over one minute to mere 14 seconds.”

Nobuo Ono–Team Manager:
“There were mistakes, but we were aiming for the win till the end. Okada marked 2:10s soon after his crash and Alex rode with all his might during the last run. I was very much impressed by their professional fighting spirits. I think we did a good race.”

Tohru Ukawa:
“I wanted to pass back the #7 (Suzuki). I couldn’t ride faster during the first hours and I must apologize Daijiro for that. When the race was neutralized, I thought I might catch up the leader, but instead, the pace car came in front of me. I must forget the bitter feeling and do my best for the remaining World Championship Races.”

Daijiro Kato:
“We had no trouble during the race, but machine set-up was not perfect so I couldn’t go any faster. We were unlucky that we were passed by #7 after the pace car incident, but that’s racing. I have remaining WGP races to come, so I must change my mind and go for it.”

Michimasa Arima–Team Manager:
“There were no big mistakes nor troubles during the race. But #11 and #33 teams were very fast. I think the pace car interruption was not the reason
for us being 4th. Other team Cabin Hondas were fast and strong.”


RACE RESULTS:

1. Valentino Rossi/Colin Edwards/Manabu Kamada, Honda RC51, 217 laps.

2. Tadayuki Okada/Alex Barros/Shinichi Itoh, Honda RC51, 217 laps

3. Akira Ryo/Yukio Kagayama/Akira Watanabe, Suzuki GSX-R750, 217 laps

4. Tohru Ukawa/Daijiro Katoh/Makoto Tamada, Honda RC51, 217 laps

5. Keiichi Kitagawa/Toshiyuki Arakaki/T. Toda, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 213 laps

6. Yuichi Takeda/Tetsuya Yamaguchi, Honda, 212 laps

7. Norihiko Fujiwara/Noriyasu Numata/O. Miyazaki, Yamaha, 211 laps

8. Daisaku Sakai/Hiroki Noda, Honda, 209 laps

9. Stephane Mertens/Warwick Nowland, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 208 laps

10. Hideo Senmyo/Kenichio Nakamaru, Honda, 206 laps

11. Yoshinobu Takahashi/Naomichi Nakai, Kawasaki, 206 laps

12. Mitsuo Saito/Takahiro Fukami/Y. Aoyagi, Yamaha 206 laps

13. Haruchika Aoki/Jun Maeda, Honda, 205 laps

14. Katsunori Hasegawa/Hiroshi Muruyama, Honda, 205 laps

15. Shigeru Yamashita/Hideto Hotta, Kawasaki, 203 laps

Fastest lap: Edwards. 2:08.855 = 163.89 kph (101.84 mph). (Lap record for 8-Hours)


Hooters Suzuki was 19th overall at the end of the second hour but Michael Barnes crashed the Hooters GSX-R1000, putting the team back to 45th overall. At the finish, the team was 39th overall.

Copyright 2001, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Tilley Harley-Davidson/Buell’s Tripp Nobles just beat Tom Montano to win the AMA Pro Thunder race held in conjunction with a WERA National Challenge Series event at Summit Point Raceway, with Jeff Nash a close third. Dave Estok, who had been battling Nobles and Montano for the lead, DNF after 7 laps with mechanical problems, as Nash battled up from a bad start to join the lead group.

Bryan Bemisderfer was fourth on a Buell, followed by Michael Dube on a Ducati, Steve Clark on a Suzuki SV650 and Rich Yersak. Only 11 bikes started the race, and just 7 finished.

In WERA National Challenge Series action, Lee Acree won the 750cc Supersport, 600cc Supersport and Formula One races on his Arclight Suzukis, and set a new track record at 1:15.488 during the 750cc Supersport race. Vesrah Suzuki’s Mark Junge won the Open Superstock race on a GSX-R750 and finished second in the 600cc Superstock race.

AMA Pro Thunder Provisional Results
1. Tripp Nobles, Buell
2. Tom Montano, Ducati
3. Jeff Nash, Ducati
4. Bryan Bemisderfer, Buell
5. Michael Dube, Ducati
6. Steve Clark, Suzuki
7. Rich Yersak

We originally posted August 4 that Hooters Suzuki’s Mike Cicotto crashed Friday at Suzuka and broke a bone in his right wrist.

This was based on information given to us by our Japanese reporter for the race, but it was incorrect. Ciccotto already had a broken bone in his wrist when he arrived at Suzuka, and, after landing in Los Angeles on Sunday, described what happened there as follows:

“I went to Suzuka just to put in an appearance for my team, since the organizers had promoted Hooters being there. I wasn’t really even planning on riding much, as my wrist has been hurting for over a month now and I wanted to take care of it before my procedure with Doc Kieffer. I went out for two practice sesssions on Thursday. For the first session, I rode one bike and it wasn’t set up very well, but I got some laps in. For the second session, I rode the second bike which was set up a little better, and did a few more laps. But qualifying was coming up next and I decided that I shouldn’t compete – because of my wrist my qualifying times would hurt the team, since they average the times for qualifying. Plus, I didn’t want to risk hurting the wrist more. But I had no getoffs or crashes at all – I was completely careful the whole time. The wrist actually feels pretty good right now, it doesn’t ache like it used to and it has good mobility. But when it comes to really pushing it to the edge, then it hurts because the navicular bone is fractured. So Kieffer will put a screw in there tomorrow or Tuesday.

“But anyway, I’m glad I went to Suzuka. It was a good experience; the track was really neat, the people polite, and the fans very enthusiastic about the racing. The atmosphere was great – lots of energy before the race. And Japan is so unique, everything is so perfect there.

“So tomorrow morning I catch a 6:00 a.m. flight that eventually gets me into Doc Kieffer’s. He’ll put a screw in my wrist to tighten up the navicular bone, and I’ll be good to go in 10 to 14 days. Just in time for Pikes. I’m be ready to do everything I can to win the last 4 Pro Thunder rounds and win the Championship.”

With Ciccotto out, the team competed with Michael Barnes and Kyoichi Kosaka, 25, a Japanese National Championship competitor.

Hooters Suzuki started 30th overall (13th in the SuperProduction class) on the starting grid with a GSX-R1000. Barnes turned a best time of 2:14.025 while Kosaka’s best time was a 2:14.528.

The team ran 19th overall after two hours but fell back to 45th after Barnes crashed, and eventually finished 39th.

The wonders of international PR bring us the news that a Suzuki is on pole at Suzuka, courtesy of a Honda press release written by a Japanese writer:


Ryo Snatches Suzuka 8 Hours Pole From Rossi

Akira Ryo will start tomorrow’s Suzuka 8 Hours Endurance race from pole position. The Team Suzuki rider grabbed top spot on the grid with a superb lap in the final ‘Special Stage’ held at the 5.864km circuit today.

“Special Stage is only a show,” said Ryo. “I wanted to do 2:07.7 but the temperature was high. Still I’m happy because we can start from the top. I want to win the race tomorrow with Kagayama and Watanabe.”

Qualifying for the race is held over two days with the best lap times of each team rider combined to establish their average speed. The grid is then locked, the top 20 teams apart.

The two fastest riders from the top 20 teams each try to better their time via the Special Stage, a ‘Double Superpole’ type shoot out. The time set by the fastest man in the team establishing their position on the grid.

At the end of two days of qualifying it was 2000 race winners Tohru Ukawa and Daijiro Katoh, together with reserve rider Makoto Tamada (Cabin Honda), set the pace from Ryo, Yukio Kagayama and Akira Watanabe, with the Cabin Hondas of Valentino Rossi, Colin Edwards and Shinichi Itoh plus that of Tadayuki Okada, Alex Barros and Manabu Kamada.

Fastest lap in regular qualifying was set by Rossi. His time of 2:07.349 was four-tenths of a second faster than that of Ryo and a further tenth faster than Ukawa.

In the special stage Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha) was first man close to breaking the 2:09 barrier, missing out by just 0.010s. The Kawasaki of Hitoyasu Izutsu was the first to dip under 2:09, taking provisional pole in the process. Okada was next to try but failed and will take fifth place along the pit wall in the Le Mans type start.

Rossi was next to go out and, despite a crash in the morning free practice session, set a blistering time of 2:08.146. But Ryo had been in good form all weekend and went even faster with a time of 2:08.093 pushing Rossi, Edwards and Itoh into second spot.

That left Honda’s hopes of pole position riding on the shoulders of Ukawa’s cabin Honda. It was not to be, Ukawa, at his own admission, was well off the pace and their team will start from third, courtesy of Katoh’s time.

Okada, Barros and Tamada start from sixth place ahead of the Yamahas of Haga and Anthony Gobert, and the second team machine of Naoki Matsudo and Wataru Yoshikawa.

The Team Kohtake & Sakurai Honda VTR of Yuichi Takeda and Tetsuya Yamaguchi take ninth place on the grid.


Qualifying times: (lead off rider named first).

1. Akira Ryo/Yukio Kagayama, Suzuki, 2:08.093
2. Valentino Rossi/Colin Edwards, Honda, 2:08.146
3. Daijiro Katoh/Tohru Ukawa, Honda, 2:08.297
4. Hitoyasu Izutsu/Akira Yanagawa, Kawasaki, 2:08.305
5. Tadayuki Okada/Alex Barros, Honda, 2:08.385
6. Noriyuki Haga/Anthony Gobert, Yamaha, 2:09.010
7. Naoki Matsudo/Wataru Yoshikawa, Yamaha, 2:09.045
8. Keiichi Kitagawa/Toshiyuki Arakaki, Suzuki, 2:09.149
9. Yuichi Takeda/Tetsuya Yamaguchi, Honda, 2:09.163
10. Osamu Nishijima/Ryuji Tsuruta, Kawasaki, 2:09.501


Team Cabin Honda:

Valentino Rossi. No 11: “Pole position would have been great but because I had a silly crash this morning I did not go as hard as maybe I could have. It is disappointing to set a 2:07.3 in regular qualifying and then get a 2:08.1 in the attack stage. But second place is perfect for us, the race is not decided in practice and the race is eight hours long.

“Colin (Edwards) is also having a good feeling and the machine is fine, so we are looking forward to tomorrow’s race. All we have to do is not crash like last year. Tomorrow, I take the start. It’s a first experience for me and I’m looking forward to it. I’m quite good at running, you know!”

Colin Edwards. No 11: “Today’s special stage was okay and I’m satisfied with my time. When Valentino crashed during the free practice I was anxious. But as he didn’t get injured and the machine wasn’t heavily damaged, I was relieved. We are getting good tyres for the race and we are looking forward to it. Tomorrow the only tactics is not to crash.”

Noriaki Nakata, Cabin Honda team manager Rossi – Edwards: “The reason for Valentino’s crash during free practice was a brake adjustment mistake. The nightmare of last year’s crash suddenly crossed my mind. So I was quite nervous during the special stage. But both riders did a good job and I am satisfied. No crash is the key for tomorrow’s race.”

Daijiro Katoh. No 4: “I can ride on my own during the special stage without any traffic and I like it. But today I didn’t push to the limit. The top speed of my VTR1000SPW is 288km/h and I guess this was due to a fair wind. Of course I want to win again tomorrow. I will try my best although I will be careful not to crash.”

Tohru Ukawa. No 4: “I rode terribly today. I am disappointed. I made a lot of mistakes. Maybe I was too tense. But tomorrow I will ride smoothly and win the race.”

Machimasa Arima, Cabin Honda team manager Katoh – Ukawa: “We wanted to get pole but third on the grid is not so bad. We found a good machine set-up and have also decided which tyres to use tomorrow. The race will be tough tomorrow and our tactics will be to stay in the top group till the later stages then get out of the group to win the race. Smooth preparation and pit work will be necessary to accomplish our goal.”

Tadayuki Okada. No 33: “I didn’t like the special stage so much before but Michelin prepared superb tyres for us this time and I felt comfortable today. When Alex crashed during free practice he wasn’t using the new front tyre so I wasn’t worried at all.

“Both Alex and I are doing so well this time and we are enjoying ourselves. I think we can enjoy the race also. I want to win this 8 Hours and am looking forward to improving my Superbike results.”

Alex Barros. No 33: “I could have gone faster for the time attack today. But I crashed in free practice so I didn’t push to the limit during the time attack. Also it was very hot and the grip was not so good. The 8 Hours is a long race and it is important to do consistent times. Fifth on the starting grid is a lucky position for us. When we won in 1999, we started from fifth position. I remember it well.”

Nobuo Ono, Cabin Honda team manager Okada – Barros: “Both riders set almost the same time during the special stage and that’s very good. During free practice Alex crashed, soon after he set a time of 2:07. But it was a good lesson for him to know his limit. Both our riders are well experienced and they will show their fighting spirit tomorrow.”

Vesrah Suzuki’s Mark Junge, Chris Ulrich and Tray Batey led the WERA 6-hour at Summit Point Raceway after three hours, and Batey set a new track motorcycle record in his opening stint on the team’s Suzuki GSX-R1000, at 1:15.681.

Title-chase rivals Team Pennzoil crashed 2 hours and 7 minutes into the race and rejoined at the 2 hour, 45-minute mark, and was back in 31st overall at the end of Hour 3.

Hour 3 Standings

1. Vesrah Suzuki, Heavyweight Superbike, 113 laps
2. Loudoun Motorsports, Heavyweight Superstock, 112 laps
3. Team Chaos, Mediumweight Superstock, 109 laps
4. Ridge Racing, Heavyweight Superstock, 109 laps
5. Army Of Darkness, Mediumweight Superbike, 109 laps

31. Team Pennzoil, Heavyweight Superbike, 84 laps

Copyright 2001, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

By David Swarts

According to Attack Suzuki owner Richard Stanboli, Jason Pridmore will return to racing at Pike’s Peak aboard both his GSX-R1000 Formula Xtreme bike and his GSX-R600 Supersport machine.

“Jason called me right from Dr. (Art) Ting’s office Wednesday (August 1) and said that he would 100% for sure be ready for Pike’s,” Stanboli told Roadracing World in an August 3 telephone interview.

Stanboli said that with Richie Alexander now concentrating on the 750cc Supersport class, Pridmore and Tom Kipp will each have a GSX-R1000 Formula Xtreme and GSX-R600 Supersport bike to race. But Stanboli is discouraging Kipp and Pridmore from riding the 600s saying, “They both like the track and want to go out and show something for next year, but I think that their best showcase will be in the Formula Xtreme race. On the 600 at Pike’s Peak, it’s all about working traffic and making hairball passes. It’s pretty easy for something bad to happen.”

Stanboli said that Pridmore would test at Willow Springs Tuesday, August 14 before the Pike’s Peak event to make sure everything is working right.

Note: This post, originally posted 7/24, contained an incorrect conversion of Lire to U.S. dollars. The conversion is corrected here.

Piaggio Holding SpA bought 20 percent of MV Agusta SpA in a July 24 agreement which may eventually lead to MV Augusta being integrated into Piaggio.

Piaggio, which is controlled by Morgan Grenfell Private Equity, recently bought Derbi.

MV Agusta built 23,000 motorcycles in 2000, with sales worth 240 billion Lire ($109,479,120 U.S.). Piaggo sold 480,000 vehicles under the Piaggio, Vespa and Gilera brand names in 2000, worth 2006 billion Lire ($915,062,978 U.S.).

According to a press release issued by MV Agusta, the agreement with Piaggio may be “representing the first step towards a possible further integration of the two companies which will allow from now on to put together two important and perfectly complementary and functional experiences in order to launch successful enterprises.”

With 5 of 6 hours in the books, Vesrah Suzuki led the WERA National Endurance Series race at Summit Point Raceway in Summit Point, West Virginia, and the race was red-flagged at 5:07 on the race clock due to lightning strikes in the area.

Team Pennzoil retired for good at about 4:30 on the race clock, possibly as a result of damage suffered in an earlier crash.

Provisional Hour 5 results follow:

1. Vesrah Suzuki, 200 laps
2. Loudoun Motorsports, 195 laps
3. Ridge Racing, 193 laps
4. Army of Darkness, 192 laps
5. Team Clinton Cycles, 191 laps