1. John Hopkins, 2:12.906, Suzuki GSX-R1000
2. Damon Buckmaster, 2:12.923, Yamaha YZF-R7/R1
3. Aaron Gobert, 2:13.158, Yamaha YZF-R7/R1
4. Josh Hayes, 2:13.256, Honda CBR929RR
5. Jake Zemke, 2:13.486, Honda CBR929RR
6. Mark Miller, 2:14.813, Honda CBR929RR
7. Tom Kipp, 2:14.958, Suzuki GSX-R1000
8. Grant Lopez, 2:15.565, Suzuki GSX-R1000
9. Richie Alexander, 2:15.867, Suzuki GSX-R1000
10. Chris Voelker, 2:20.246, Honda CBR900RR

By Glenn LeSanto

British riders occupy the first two places on the provisional front row of the grid for Sunday’s round of the European Superstock championship. Marty Nutt leads the grid on a Suzuki GSX-R1000 with Mark Heckles next on the Honda CBR929RR. They are joined on the front row by Gunter Knobloch, from Austria, who rides a Yamaha YZF-R1 and German rider Benny Jerzenbeck on another Suzuki GSX-R1000. The pair were over two seconds adrift of the front two riders.

James Ellison, the reigning Superstock Champion, winner of the last race and current title leader, was seventh fastest. Ellison split with his team after Donington and is now racing for Hi-Peak Young Guns racing. Walter Tortoroglio, who lies second in the championship, was fifth fastest on his Suzuki. It rained hard for most of the session.

European Superstock Championship
Lausitzring, Germany

First Qualifying Session

1.Marty Nutt, Suzuki, GBR, 1:53.295
2.Mark Heckles, Honda, GBR, 1:53.497
3.Gunter Knobloch, Yamaha, AUT, 1:55.909
4.Benny Jerzenbeck, Suzuki, GER, 1:56.011
5.Walter Tortoroglio, Suzuki, ITA, 1:56.470

The AMA just issued a press release announcing that it had settled the Edmondson v. AMA case for $3 million.

Reached by phone, Edmondson said that he had not signed any papers and that an agreement on the dollar amount included a provisio that he not release any information on the deal until the close of business Monday.

The text of the AMA release follows:

“The American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) and Roger Edmondson have agreed to an out-of-court settlement in a case regarding the AMA’s professional road-racing program.

“The original lawsuit, filed in 1996, arose from the termination in 1994 of contracts under which Edmondson functioned as manager for the AMA’s national championship road-racing series and administrator for several classes included in that series. At the time of his departure from those positions, the AMA entered into negotiations with Edmondson and made a financial offer to terminate the relationship.

“Those negotiations were unsuccessful, and Edmondson ultimately formed the North American Sport Bike series, signing contracts with several racetracks that had previously hosted AMA road races. Subsequently, most of those racetracks terminated those contracts and returned to the AMA schedule.

“Edmondson then sued the AMA, alleging that the Association had interfered with his racing program. In 1998, he received a judgment in federal court in North Carolina in which the AMA was ordered to pay damages that, with interest and attorney fees, would total well in excess of $3 million. The U.S. Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Virginia, subsequently reviewed that ruling and sent it back to the lower court to correct mistakes in several areas.

“A new trial in the case was scheduled to take place in July, but the two sides reached a settlement agreement June 7 that ends the litigation and resolves the disputes between them. Under the terms of the settlement, the AMA has agreed to pay Edmondson $3 million.

“‘This agreement concludes a case that was based on business dealings that took place many years ago,’ said Rick Gray, chairman of the AMA Board of Trustees. ‘As we looked ahead to the prospect of a third legal review of this matter, we decided to make a very difficult decision and bring this litigation to a close.

“‘Our efforts to settle this matter when it first arose were unsuccessful and resulted in the lawsuit,’ Gray added. ‘The amount we have offered in settlement, though large, is substantially less than that which was originally awarded, when interest, counsel fees and the portion of the judgment affirmed on appeal are factored in. Moving forward from this settlement, the AMA’s staff and trustees will continue to fulfill our primary mission — protecting motorcyclists’ right to ride.’

“The entire amount of the original judgment and interest was budgeted by the Association and set aside when the original ruling was handed down. Since then, the AMA’s Board of Trustees has continued to review and revise policies concerning the way the Association enters into contracts with those providing services.

“‘Through this protracted litigation, the AMA’s trustees and staff have resolved to continue their work to protect the Association from situations like this,’ said Gray. ‘In today’s litigious climate, it’s virtually impossible to avoid lawsuits, but the Association has taken steps to guard against a recurrence.’

“While the case has continued, the AMA has moved forward with its competition program, creating a professional racing subsidiary under the direction of a separate board. In all forms of racing, the Association has attracted new sponsors, increased rider payouts, expanded the fan base and substantially upgraded television coverage.

“‘This new subsidiary has allowed the AMA, under the leadership of President Robert Rasor, to focus on its mission of protecting motorcyclists’ right to ride, while AMA Pro Racing has expanded opportunities for racers, teams, promoters and fans involved in motorcycle competition,’ Gray concluded.”

By Glenn LeSanto

Neil Hodgson used a combination of judgement, effort and good luck to head the first timed qualifying session here in Lausitzring, Germany Friday. As a result he sits on provisional pole, with Australian Broc Parkes behind him in second on the NCR Ducati. Hodgson, riding for the British-based GSE Ducati Racing team, got a first and second in the two races at his home circuit, Donington Park just two weeks ago.

When the session started the track wasn’t dry, but it wasn’t fully weteither. Hodgson and his team knew that the forecast was for rain that afternoon and had prepared for an all-out effort early in the session. His strategy paid off, he set fastest time at 1:43.018 on only his sixth lap. Shortly afterwards the heavens opened and it rained hard – after which there was no chance of any riders bettering his time. According to his long time personal manager, ex-GP racer Roger Burnett, Hodgson spent the rest of the session getting a good full-wet set up. “Neil knows that it could all change on Saturday, it could be dry and he’ll have it all to do again. But he used this session well, working out a good set-up and tyre choice for Sunday – just in case the race is wet,” said Burnett. “He’s in a confident mood after Donington but he’s a realist, he takes each race as it comes. He knows that everything has to be right to get a good result in Superbikes nowadays, the bike, the tyres and the rider – they all have to be at their best.”

Further down the time sheet Tady Okada continued to show that he’s getting the hang of riding the RC51 Honda. The former GP rider was third fastest in the session, ahead of his team mate and defending champion Colin Edwards, who finished the practice down in tenth. The two Troys, Bayliss and Corser, were fourth and fifth respectively. Steve Martin, one of the paddock’s
acknowledged rain specialists, was sixth fastest on his DFX Ducati 996R, ahead of race two winner at Donington, Pierfrancesco Chili on the Alstare
Suzuki.

World Superbike Championship, First timed qualifying session
Lausitzring, Germany
Rider, Nationality, manufacturer, time

1.Neil Hodgson, GBR, Ducati, 1;43.018
2.Broc Parkes, AUS, Ducati, 1:43.319
3.Tadayuki Okada, JPN, Honda, 1:43.486
4.Troy Bayliss, AUS, Ducati, 1:43.536
5.Troy Corser, AUS, Aprilia, 1:43.929
6.Steve Martin, AUS, Ducati, 1:44.208
7.Pierfrancesco Chili, ITA, Suzuki, 1:44.511
8.Stephane Chambon, FRA, 1:44.731
9.Hitoyasu Izutsu, JPN, 1:44.785
10.Colin Edwards, USA, 1:44.960

1. Chris Ulrich, 2:16.272
2. Jimmy Moore, 2:16.325
3. Ben Spies, 2:16.437
4. Mark Junge, 2:16.553
5. Richie Alexander, 2:18.185
6. Tommy Hayden, 2:18.503
7. Josh Hayes, 2:18.564
8. Eric Bostrom, 2:18.748
9. Roger Lee Hayden, 2:19.020
10. Tony Meiring, 2:19.667
11. Anthony Lupo, 2:19.695
12. David Ortega, 2:20.058
13. Mauro Cereda, 2:20.416
14. Vincent Haskovec, 2:20.650
15. Jake Zemke, 2:20.727
16. Rich Conicelli, 2:20.739
17. Alan Schmidt, 2:21.272
18. Scott Gooch, 2:22.447
19. Shawn Conrad, 2:22.477
20. Randall Mennenga, 2:22.689

1. Rich Oliver, 2:18.122
2. Jimmy Filice, 2:20.350
3. Chuck Sorensen, 2:20.749
4. Perry Melneciuc, 2:21.721
5. Simon Turner, 2:22.987
6. Chris Pyles, 2:25.579
7. William Himmelsbach, 2:26.425
8. Michael Hannas, 2:26.537
9. Ed Sorbo, 2:27.339
10. Shane Breeding, 2:28.603
11. Ty Piz, 2:28.957
12. Eric Stephens, 2:28.998
13. Roy de Groot, 2:29.072
14. John France, 2:29.759
15. Greg Esser, 2:30.734

1. Eric Bostrom, 2:15.969, Kawasaki ZX-6R
2. John Hopkins, 2:16.185, Suzuki GSX-R600
3. Tommy Hayden, 2:16.901, Yamaha YZF-R6
4. Miguel Duhamel, 2:17.107, Honda CBR600F4I
5. Anthony Gobert, 2:17.270, Yamaha YZF-R6
6. Kurtis Roberts, 2:17.274, Honda CBR600F4I
7. Aaron Yates, 2:17.418, Suzuki GSX-R600
8. Jamie Hacking, 2:17.419, Suzuki GSX-R600
9. Aaron Gobert, 2:17.751, Yamaha YZF-R6
10. Roger Lee Hayden, 2:18.001, Honda CBR600F4I
11. Josh Hayes, 2:18.037, Honda CBR600F4I
12. Jimmy Moore, 2:18.108, Suzuki GSX-R600
13. Tom Kipp, 2:18.931, Suzuki GSX-R600
14. Jake Zemke, 2:18.951, Honda CBR600F4I
15. Vincent Haskovec, 2:18.996, Suzuki GSX-R600
16. Grant Lopez, 2:20.680, Suzuki GSX-R600
17. Shawn Conrad, 2:21.432, Suzuki GSX-R600
18. Steve Patterson, 2:22.143, Suzuki GSX-R600
19. Scott Hermersman, 2:22.591
20. Tyler Wadsworth, 2:23.029, Yamaha YZF-R6

The top eight riders are below Kurtis Roberts’ 2000 lap record of 2:17.564.

1. Mat Mladin, 2:10.112, Suzuki GSX-R750
2. Jamie Hacking, 2:10.775, Suzuki GSX-R750
3. Anthony Gobert, 2:10.847, Yamaha YZF-R7
4. Eric Bostrom, 2:11.101, Kawasaki ZX-7RR
5. Aaron Yates, 2:11.514, Suzuki GSX-R750
6. Miguel Duhamel, 2:11.572, Honda RC51
7. Tommy Hayden, 2:11.601, Yamaha YZF-R7
8. Kurtis Roberts, 2:11.758, Honda RC51
9. Doug Chandler, 2:12.456, Kawasaki ZX-7RR
10. Nicky Hayden, 2:12.563, Honda RC51
11. Andy Meklau, 2:12.695, Ducati 996
12. Larry Pegram, 2:12.913, Ducati 996
13. Mike Smith, 2:13.137, H-D VR1000
14. Steve Rapp, 2:13.201, Ducati 996
15. Pascal Picotte, 2:13.551, H-D VR1000
16. Jimmy Moore, 2:15.309, Suzuki GSX-R750
17. Jordan Szoke, 2:15.757, H-D VR1000
18. Vincent Haskovec, 2:16.484, Suzuki GSX-R750
19. Chris Ulrich, 2:16.713, Suzuki GSX-R750
20. Ben Spies, 2:17.375, Suzuki GSX-R750
21. Richie Alexander, 2:17.696, Suzuki GSX-R750
22. Mauro Cereda, 2:18.920, Suzuki GSX-R750
23. Anthony Lupo, 2:19.760, Suzuki GSX-R750
24. Tony Meiring, 2:19.914, Suzuki GSX-R750
25. Scott Hermersman, 2:20.984, Suzuki GSX-R750

WERA racer Jamie Lane skipped the May 27 WERA National Challenge Series sprints at Talladega Gran Prix Raceway to be present for the birth of his first son. Lane, who rides in the WERA National Endurance Series for current overall points leader Team Pennzoil, got the call from his wife Rebecca at 10:30 p.m. on Saturday night, after Pennzoil’s first overall endurance win. Lane drove five hours home to Jonesboro, Arkansas and arrived just in time for the birth of seven-pound, five-ounce Samuel Hayson Lane. Lane was back riding in WERA National Challenge Series sprints the following weekend, June 2-3, at Putnam Park Road Course in Mt. Meridian, Indiana.

1. Jimmy Moore, 2:16.979, Suzuki GSX-R750
2. Eric Bostrom, 2:18.004, Kawasaki ZX-6R
3. Mark Junge, 2:18.523, Suzuki GSX-R750
4. Chris Ulrich, 2:18.721, Suzuki GSX-R750
5. Tommy Hayden, 2:18.787, Yamaha YZF-R6
6. Anthony Lupo, 2:19.075, Suzuki GSX-R750
7. Ben Spies, 2:19.095, Suzuki GSX-R750
8. Tony Meiring, 2:19.516, Suzuki GSX-R750
9. Richie Alexander, 2:19.624, Suzuki GSX-R750
10. Roger Lee Hayden, 2:20.017, Honda CBR600F4i
11. Jake Zemke, 2:20.541, Honda CBR600F4i
12. David Ortega, 2:20.554, Suzuki GSX-R750
13. Josh Hayes, 2:20.653, Honda CBR600F4i
14. Daigoro Suzuki, 2:21.507, Suzuki GSX-R750
15. Mauro Cereda, 2:22.615, Suzuki GSX-R750