Munroe Motors’ Tom Montano won the shortened Buell Pro Thunder race on a Dunlop-equipped Ducati 748 over Tilley Buell’s Tripp Nobles and Dean Mizdal on a Ducati 748.

The race was stopped after six laps when Cycle World Contributing Editor Nick Ienatsch ran into the back of a lapped rider while running in second place behind Montano. The red flag came out to remove Ienatsch’ BCM Motors’ Ducati 748 from the middle of the track between turns three and four. Ienatsch was able to make the re-start from the back of the grid and managed to finish eighth.

The race was finally stopped again and declared complete on lap 14 of 17 for an oil spill in turn five.

Buell Pro Thunder Unofficial Results:

1. Thomas Montano, Ducati
2. Tripp Nobles, Buell
3. Dean Mizdal, Ducati
4. Mike Ciccotto, Buell
5. Jeff Nash, Ducati
6. Mike Sullivan, Ducati
7. John Dugan, Ducati
8. Nick Ienatsch, Ducati
9. Rich Thorwaldson, Ducati
10. Dr. David Kieffer, M.D.

36. David Estok, 11 laps, DNF

Buell Pro Thunder Unofficial Points (before worst two finishes are dropped):

1. Montano, 155 points
2. Ciccotto, 130 points
3. Nash, 121 points
4. David Estok, 97 points
5. Mike Krynock, 87 points

Kawasaki’s Eric Bostrom grabbed the holeshot in Friday’s Pro Honda Oils 600cc Supersport final and ran away to an impressive 9.747-second margin of victory over Yoshimura Suzuki’s Aaron Yates and Jamie Hacking.

Yamaha’s Anthony Gobert fought through the pain in his wrist and shoulder to stay near the front but faded toward the end to eventually finish seventh.

Unofficial 600cc Supersport Results:

1. Eric Bostrom, Kawasaki
2. Aaron Yates, Suzuki
3. Jamie Hacking, Suzuki
4. Tommy Hayden, Yamaha
5. Nicky Hayden, Honda
6. John Hopkins, Suzuki
7. Anthony Gobert, Yamaha
8. Josh Hayes, Honda
9. Miguel Duhamel, Honda
10. Roger Lee Hayden, Honda
11. Tom Kipp, Suzuki
12. Jimmy Moore, Suzuki
13. Jake Zemke, Honda
14. Aaron Gobert, Yamaha
15. Lance Isaacs, Honda
16. Grant Lopez, Suzuki
17. Daigoro Suzuki, Kawsaki
18. Stuart Stratton, Yamaha
19. Marc Palazzo, Honda
20. Vincent Haskovec, Suzuki

Unofficial 600cc Supersport Point Standings Following Laguna Seca:

1. Bostrom, 163 points
2. Anthony Gobert, 142 points
3. Duhamel, 130 points
4. Tommy Hayden, 129 points
5. Yates, 125 points

Attack Suzuki’s Richie Alexander, Jr. will sit out most of the remaining AMA Formula Xtreme rounds as of Laguna Seca and concentrate on the Genuine Suzuki Accessories 750cc Supersport Championship.

“It was a tough decision,” said Alexander in the Laguna Seca paddock Thursday, July 5. “Riding in both 750 Supersport and Formula Xtreme was even tougher. There are times during these weekends where I would have to ride, between the two classes, for two hours straight. I wasn’t able to totally focus on any 750 race since Daytona, and that’s hurt me and the team. The team needs some wins, and I want to be winning like I should.”

Attack Suzuki’s Richard Stanboli hates to have one of his racebikes go unused and offered Alexander’s empty GSX-R1000 seat to Shawn Higbee for the Laguna Seca round. With only one practice session to learn and set up the GSX-R1000 before his qualifying run, Higbee qualified 10th, three seconds off the pole-winning time of his Attack Suzuki teammate Tom Kipp.

1. Jeremy McWilliams, Aprilia, 1:34.584
2. Daijiro Katoh, Honda, 1:34.688
3. Marco Melandri, Aprilia, 1:34.942
4. Tetsuya Harada, Aprilia, 1:34.953
5. Randy De Puniet, Aprilia, 1:35.481
6. Naoki Matsudo, Yamaha, 1:35.544
7. Roberto Rolfo, Aprilia, 1:35.640
8. Roberto Locatelli, Aprilia, 1:35.965
9. Emilio Alazamora, Honda, 1:36.109
10. Sebastian Porto, Yamaha, 1:36.142
28. Jason DiSalvo, Honda, 1:39.876

Colin McRae, the current World Rally Car Championship point leader, plans to take some laps of Brands Hatch on a factory Suzuki GSX-R750 Superbike August 3 as part of the GSX-R Festival scheduled in conjunction with a round of the F.I.M. World Supersport Championship.

McRae, 32, already owns a GSX-R1000 streetbike, but his demo laps on the Crescent Suzuki GSX-R750 will only be his second time riding a bike on a racetrack. Afterwards, McRae will hold an autograph session for fans.


A number of other activities are scheduled for the GSX-R Festival including:

–The appearance of 1993 500cc Grand Prix World Champion Kevin Schwantz.

–The appearance of the Clarion Suzuki factory British Superbike team.

–A stunt show performed by European Stunt Champion Kevin Carmichael.

–A Suzuki Stunt Challenge judged by Carmichael.

–GSX-R owner parade laps of the track.

–A rock concert.

–The DR-Z Sensation for off-road riders.

–Tips from the Team Suzuki Performance Riding School.

–A bike show featuring examples of GSX-Rs from the introduction of the model in 1985 through the current model year.

The eighth annual Honda Hoot drew a record 18,000 participants to the rally’s new location in Knoxville, Tennessee June 20-23. Attendance was up 30% despite the move from Asheville, North Carolina to Knoxville, according to a press release from American Honda.

The Hoot included a Ride For Kids fundraiser for pediatric brain tumor research, with $62,724 raised.

The Honda Riders Club of America-sponsored event injected an estimated $8 million into the Knoxville economy.

Friday 500cc Qualifying Times From Donington Park

1. Max Biaggi, Yamaha, 1:31.964
2. Loris Capirossi, Honda, 1:32.077
3. Alex Barros, Honda, 1:32.384
4. Jurgen van den Goorbergh, Proton, 1:32.593
5. Kenny Roberts, Suzuki, 1:32.866
6. Sete Gibernau, Suzuki, 1:32.988
7. Olivier Jacque, Yamaha, 1:33.059
8. Carlos Checa, Yamaha, 1:33.066
9. Shinya Nakano, Yamaha, 1:33.106
10. Jose Luis Cardoso, Yamaha, 1:33.204
11. Valentino Rossi, Honda, 1:33.266
12. Noriyuki Haga, Yamaha, 1:33.487
13. Alex Criville, Honda, 1:33.495
14. Chris Walker, Honda, 1:33.501
15. Norick Abe, Yamaha, 1:33.662
16. Haruchika Aoki, Honda, 1:33.707
17. Anthony West, Honda, 1:33.752
18. Tohru Ukawa, Honda, 1:33.797
19. Jason Vincent, Yamaha, 1:34.731
20. Leon Haslam, Honda, 1:34.732

1. Toni Elias, Honda, 1:38.844
2. Youichi Ui, Derbi, 1:38.854
3. Manuel Poggiali, Gilera, 1:39.124
4. Masao Azuma, Honda, 1:39.268
5. Stefano Perugini, Italjet, 1:39.481
6. Jaroslav Hules, Honda, 1:39.618
7. Pablo Nieto, Derbi, 1:39.636
8. Noboru Ueda, TSR-Honda, 1:39.643
9. Lucio Cecchinello, Aprilia, 1:39.824
10. Gino Borsoi, Aprilia, 1:39.828

Hooters Suzuki’s Mike Ciccotto learned June 28 that an action photo of him on his Hooters Suzuki GSX-R750 appears on the official event poster for the Suzuka 8-hours World Endurance race scheduled for August 5 in Suzuka, Japan.

“Steve (DeCamp, Hooters Suzuki team owner) told me last week,” Ciccotto said July 4 in the Laguna Seca paddock. “I haven’t seen it, but Steve says that it also says, ‘American rider Mike Ciccotto’ on the poster. It will be distributed in Japan. I guess there hasn’t ever been an American team in the Suzuka 8-hour.”

(Actually, several American teams have raced in the Suzuka 8-hours over the years, including teams fielded by Yoshimura Suzuki and American Honda as well as Ontario Moto Tech.

Ciccotto and teammate Michael Barnes will ride in the Formula Xtreme open class at Suzuka, on a GSX-R1000.

The sponsor responsible for the Hooters Suzuki Suzuka effort is the team’s exhaust sponsor, Ti Force.

Ciccotto is competing in the Buell Pro Thunder class at Laguna Seca, riding his Hal’s Performance Advantage Buell, but is injured as the result of a crash last Sunday during a Formula USA Unlmited Superbike race at VIR.

“I have a broken right index finger and probably a fracture in my right wrist,” said Ciccotto just before having his hand and wrist taped by Dr. Dave Kieffer, M.D., a fellow Buell Pro Thunder competitor.

By Glenn LeSanto

Regular World Superbike rider Ben Bostrom recorded the fastest time in Friday’s qualifying session at Laguna Seca, just beating his brother Eric Bostrom to the top spot. Eric spent most of the session at the head of the time sheet but as the session drew to a close Ben Bostrom on the L&M Ducati pulled himself up to provisional pole. Then, with only a minute left on the clock, Eric Bostrom put his Kawasaki Motorsports ZX-7R back in front–only to see his brother Ben put in a faster time on his very last lap. Ben Bostrom finished just a few tenths of a second faster than his brother with a fastest lap of 1:25.248 compared to Eric’s 1:25.556. The pair’s lap times
were half-a-second faster than the rest of the pack, with Ben’s time being three-quarters-of-a-second faster than third-fastest Troy Bayliss. Laguna Seca is used as a test track by Dunlop so it was no surprise to see two Dunlop riders on the top of the time sheet and a total of eight Dunlop users in the top 10.

Third-fastest man Bayliss on the Infostrada Ducati had spent much of the session languishing way down the order. But with the clock ticking down the final seconds he got out on the track to put himself onto the provisional front row with a lap at 1:26.075. Colin Edwards was fourth-fastest on the Castrol Honda. Both Bayliss and Edwards run Michelin tyres. British rider Neil Hodgson (GSE Ducati) had spent most of the session on the provisional front row, only to be demoted down to fifth as the session drew to a close.

Troy Corser, the subject of much speculation recently in the Italian press regarding his recent drop-off in form, finished the session sixth-fastest on the Axo Aprilia.

World Superbike Qualifying Session #1 Results:

1. Ben Bostrom, Ducati, 1:25.248
2. Eric Bostrom, Kawasaki, 1:25.556
3. Troy Bayliss, Ducati, 1:26.075
4. Colin Edwards II, Honda, 1:26.112
5. Neil Hodgson, Ducati, 1:26.163
6. Troy Corser, Aprilia, 1:26.235
7. Doug Chandler, Kawasaki, 1:26.287
8. Pierfrancesco Chili, Suzuki, 1:26.539
9. Regis Laconi, Aprilia, 1:26.605
10. James Toseland, Ducati, 1:26.612
11. Stephane Chambon, Suzuki, 1:26.779
12. Gregorio Lavilla, Kawasaki, 1:26.985
13. Tadayuki Okada, Honda, 1:27.031
14. Ruben Xaus, Ducati, 1:27.050
15. Steve Martin, Ducati, 1:27.134
16. Lucio Pedercini, Ducati, 1:27.192
17. Akira Yanagawa, Kawasaki, 1:27.372
18. Robert Ulm, Ducati, 1:27.415
19. Giovanni Bussei, Ducati, 1:27.437
20. Marco Borciani, Ducati, 1:27.507
21. Peter Goddard, Benelli, 1:27.550

Ruben Xaus crashed unhurt in turn two in the second half of the qualifying session.

Ten of the top 12 qualifiers were on Dunlops with only Colin Edwards and Troy Bayliss on Michelin.

Troy Corser recorded the highest trap speed (by 7 kph over the next fastest bike) at 246 kph, or 152 mph, on the front straight.