By Glenn LeSanto

World Superbike racing was at its best in the first race at Monza with a huge battle up front between Troy Bayliss and Colin Edwards. Earlier in the race the battle had been a four-man affair, with Neil Hodgson and Ruben Xaus also engaged in the fight. But Hodgson, who had led in the early stages, retired his GSE Ducati with engine failure and seconds later Xaus crashed in a separate incident.

Bayliss led the pack into the difficult first corner, a very tight right-left flick through the Variante Interne chicane at the end of the superfast main straight. Hodgson followed Bayliss into the chicane, with Edwards on the Honda RC51 on his tail. Xaus was a short gap back in fourth. Edwards and Bayliss immediately began what was to develop into a race-long dual, with Edwards passing the Info Strada Ducati of Bayliss going into the Ascari turn, also a chicane, at the back of the circuit on lap one. Bayliss, who was faster than Edwards all race on the second half of the circuit, outbraked Edwards going into the final turn, the Curva Parabolica.

As the riders entered the first chicane on lap two, Hodgson squeezed past Edwards and then did the same to Bayliss going into the second chicane. But, as they entered the Curva Parabolica at the end of the lap, Bayliss got by on the brakes again to retake the lead. The three riders continued to battle away like this until they were caught by the charging Xaus, the Infostrada Ducati teammate of Bayliss. Now the race was a four-way battle between Bayliss, Hodgson, Xaus and Edwards. For a few laps, it looked like Tady Okada would join the fray on his Honda, but he crashed out in the first chicane at the start of lap four.

Edwards and Bayliss managed to shake off the Ducatis of Xaus and Hodgson by middle distance, but neither rider could lose the other, so they stayed almost neck-and-neck for the rest of the race, swapping position several times a lap. Edwards would grab the lead in the first half of the lap, where he seemed faster than Bayliss, only for Bayliss to take it back in the second part of the lap. So it was at the end of the last lap when Bayliss pulled off an audacious pass going through the fast final turn. The pair rubbed elbows as Bayliss powered his way through to take the race victory and a three-point Championship lead over Troy Corser.

Hodgson and Xaus were having their own battle behind the leaders when Hodgson’s engine blew up and Xaus crashed. Their misfortune handed the last step on the podium to Akira Yanagawa on the factory Kawasaki.

Championship leader going into the race, Troy Corser, very late on the brakes, ran into the back wheel of Suzuki’s Pier Francisco Chili going into the first chicane on lap three and both crashed. Chili was able to continue but dropped from fifth to eventually finish 14th, while Corser retired to the pits. Corser later apologized to Chili.

American Ben Bostrom crashed out, having only completed one lap.

After the race both Bayliss and Edwards agreed that they had the track divided between them, “We both have our fast sections,” commented Edwards. “I have the advantage in the first section but it’s no secret that I haven’t got comfortable with the second part yet, especially Ascari. So the race was a real cat-and-mouse thing.”

“I’ve felt good here all weekend,” beamed Bayliss, obviously pleased to take his first win of the season and to regain the title lead. “Things were a bit hairy out there, especially in the final bend, where we touched as I passed Colin. Like Colin said, neither of us have the advantage on the entire circuit, so there was no way either of us could break away, so it was always coming down to the last lap. But I got the win and I’m really pleased to be leading the title.”

Lucky for Bayliss that he had the advantage where it mattered, on the last part of the circuit.

First Race Results, Superbike World Championship, Monza, Italy

1. Troy Bayliss, Australia (Ducati) 32:55.293

2. Colin Edwards, USA (Honda) 32:55.359

3. Akira Yanagawa, Japan (Kawasaki) 33:11.852

4. Gregorio Lavilla, Spain (Kawasaki) 33:11.916

5. Regis Laconi, France (Aprilia) 33:12.093

6. Stephane Chambon, France (Suzuki) 33:29.163

7. Lucio Pedercini, Italy (Ducati) 33:40.959

8. Giovanni Bussei, Italy (Ducati) 33:44.484

9. Mauro Sanchini, Italy (Ducati) 33:44.545

10. Marco Borciani, Italy (Ducati) 33:47.497

From the official Aprilia press release issued after qualifying at Monza, regarding Troy Corser’s Superpole attempt:

“On a wide line into the first chicane, with his bike completely jumped up the edge of the track, Troy Corser had to push hard to make him up his best. But a small imprecision at ‘Roggia,’ made everything difficult and the Australian couldn’t fight for the first row. Bayliss set the Pole and alongside him on the grid will be Hodgson, Yanagawa and Bostrom. Good performance for Alessandro Antonello, that was looking for a good starting position, reaching the seventh place alongside Corser. Big improvement for Regis Laconi, tenth place during the free practice
of this morning, confirmed by this Superpole: third grid for the Frenchman.

“‘I had no grip, probably due the high ground temperature’ said Troy Corser. ‘Then I was going too wide on the second chicane, and it was difficult banking the bike. I hadn’t a good lap to reach the first row. This is a very fast track, and using the slipstream could be possible to make positions up. It depends on a good start. Will be two challenging races until the end.’

“‘I start to brake too early in many points of the track during the Superpole’s flying lap,’ said Regis Laconi. ‘But I’m satisfied about
the improvement compare yesterday, I think now I’m in a good racing package considering with the beginning of this weekend. Now, considering the grid position I think it will be a difficult race, but I’m satisfied about the work done on the bike. I will do my best tomorrow.'”

By Glenn LeSanto

After ending up in the pit lane, or more frequently in the gravel traps, race after race James Whitham got it all right at Monza to bring home a World Supersport win for the Yamaha Belgarda team. It was a great day for the Italian based team, as Whitham’s teammate Paolo Casoli finished in second place. The pair was involved in a titanic battle with a group of riders including Fabien Foret, Pere Riba, Andrew Pitt, Vitto Guareschi and Karl Muggeridge. Toward the end of the race Casoli and Whitham broke away from the group and fought to the line for the victory. Casoli passed Whitham going into the final turn, the Parabolica, but got in too hot, ran wide and let Whitham back through.

“I f**king worked hard for that,” exclaimed Whitham. “Not so much the physical side of it, although it was hot out there. I was trying to work it all out in my head, there was so much going on! In the last turn Paolo (Casoli) got past me but I reckoned he had gone in too hard. I managed to keep a very tight line – if any bastard was going past me they were going the long way round,” grinned Whitham.

Whitham also acknowledged the help given to him by his teammate, saying “We’ve worked as a team and Paolo has really helped me. Without the assistance he gave me at Sugo, and the work we’ve done together here this weekend, this win wouldn’t have been possible.”

Like many other teams, the Belgarda team rode much of qualifying in tandem, one rider behind the other, to try to maximize the drafting advantage.

Third place on the podium went to Suzuki rider Karl Muggeridge, who managed to force his way into third in front of Andrew Pitt, Iain MacPherson and reigning Champion Jorg Teuchert.

World Supersport race results

1. James Whitham, GB (Yamaha) 30:45.850
2. Paolo Casoli, Italy (Yamaha) 30:46.128
3. Karl Muggeridge, Australia (Suzuki) 30:46.429
4. Andrew Pitt, Australia (Kawasaki) 30:46.494
5. Iain MacPherson, GB (Kawasaki) 30:46.630
6. Jorg Teuchert, Germany (Yamaha) 30:46.692
7. Vittoriano Guareschi, Italy (Ducati) 30:47.454
8. Fabrizio Pirovano, Italy (Suzuki) 30:48.657
9. Piergiorgio Bontempi, Italy (Yamaha) 30:53.546
10. Alessio Corradi, Italy (Yamaha) 30:54.000

World Supersport Championship points after four of 11 rounds:

1. Casoli 58
2. Pitt 50
3. Pere Riba, Spain (Honda) 49
4. Kevin Curtain, Australia (Honda) 48
5. Teuchert 38
6. Muggeridge 37
7. Guareschi 30
8. Bontempi 29
9. Whitham 25
10. Pirovano 24

Manufacturers’ points:
1. Yamaha 79
2. Honda 68
3. Kawasaki 50
4. Suzuki 41
5. Ducati 30

Next round: Donington Park, GB – May 27

By Glenn LeSanto

Dienza Ducati Racing snatched pole from the Ten Kate Honda team with a flying last lap from Vitto Guareschi. Up until that point Fabien Foret and Pere Riba on their Ten Kate CBR600F4i Hondas had dominated qualifying.

Many riders adopted a tactic of riding tandem, where one teammate would follow another to maximize the drafting effect on the very fast Monza circuit. It was a technique also used by James Whitham and his Belgarda Yamaha teammate Paolo Casoli. The pair qualified fourth and fifth respectively, they had been in the second and fourth during the session.

Katsuaki Fujiwara and Karl Muggeridge, also teammates on Suzuki GSX-R600s and using the tandem technique, qualified behind the Belgarda pairing despite Muggeridge crashing out with only minutes left in the session.

Guareschi’s last lap of 1:43.858 came as the clock ticked away the last few seconds of the qualifying session. Riba, second on the grid, recorded a time of 1:43.985, and the two were the only riders to dip below the 1:44 mark.


Supersport World Championship
Monza, Italy

Final Qualifying


1. Vitto Guareschi, Italy, Ducati, 1:53.858
2. Pere Riba, Spain, Honda, 1:53.985
3. Fabien Foret, France, Honda, 1:54.019
4. Jamie Whitham, Great Britain, Yamaha, 1:54.272
5. Paolo Casoli, Italy, Yamaha, 1:54.521
6. Katsuaki Fujiwara, Japan, Suzuki, 1:54.620
7. Karl Muggeridge, Australia, Suzuki, 1:54.909
8. Fabrizio Pirovano, Italy, Suzuki, 1:54.927
9. Corradi, Italy, Yamaha, 1:54.991
10. Iain MacPherson, Great Britain, Kawasaki, 1:55.012

Texas racer Ronnie Lunsford, best known for his non-knee-dragging riding style with endurance racing team Northwest Honda, just helped the Houston Ride For Kids raise a record $173,486. Lunsford has worked with the Ride For Kids for years and served as the Task Force leader in the 2001 ride held April 22, 2001. The ride was attended by over 850 motorcyclists who were led by Police escort through the Texas countryside.

Ride For Kids is a charity of American Honda and the Honda Rider’s Club of America and supports the Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation of the United States. Although the program provides educational programs and support services for patients and families of patients, the goal of the Ride For Kids is to raise money to find the cause and cure for pediatric brain tumors.

The Ride For Kids was started in 1984 and has since raised over $6.9 million.

By Glenn LeSanto

Local riders dominated qualifying for the European Superstock Series race being held in conjunction with the World Superbike and World Supersport races at Monza, with three Italians lining up at the front of the pack for tomorrow’s race. And it’s not only the Italians that are ruling the series this weekend, the top seven bikes are all Suzukis! The new GSX-R1000 is proving to be the bike to have in this championship where very little modification is allowed.

Pole position man Tortoroglio recorded a stunning top speed of 292 kph, or 182 mph, on his way to a fastest lap of 1:53.287 seconds on his GSX-R1000. Reigning Champion Ellison qualified fourth.

European Superstocks, Monza, Italy.
Final Qualifying Times

1. Tortoroglio, Italy, Suzuki, 1:53.287
2. Romanelli, Italy, Suzuki, 1:54.426
3. Wegscheider, Italy, Suzuki, 1:54.636
4. Ellison, GB, Suzuki, 1:54.722
5. Jerzenbeck, Germany, Suzuki 1:55.179

By Gelnn LeSanto

Steve Webster and passenger Paul Woodhouse clinched pole position for Sunday’s Superside (sidecar) race at Monza with a stunning Superpole lap at 1:55.233, shaving more than a second off their best qualifying time. This feat is all the more spectacular when you consider that Woodhead should be resting in bed following recent operations to fix a serious problem with his right knee. His doctor had ordered him to spend six weeks giving the knee “total rest.”

Webster’s arch-rival Klaffenbock finished 1.5 seconds back in third place while his former team-mate Steinhausen was closer with a time of 1:55.992 to take second on the grid.


Superside Championship, Monza, Italy.
Superpole Times

1. Webster/Woodhead, GB, Suzuki, 1:55.233
2. Steinhausen/Hetherington, Germany, Suzuki, 1:55.992
3. Klaffenbock/Parzer, Austria, Suzuki, 1:56.943
4. Abbott/Biggs, GB, Yamaha, 1:57.437
5. Hanks/Biggs, GB, Suzuki, 2:00.479
6. Guy/Peach, GB, Suzuki, 2:00.845
7. Van Gils/Van Gils, Holland, Suzuki, 2:02.385

By Glenn LeSanto

Ducati has three bikes on the front row for the company’s home round of the Superbike World Championship, at Monza. Troy Bayliss put his full factory Ducati 996R on pole a few thousandths of a second in front of Neil Hodgson on the semi-factory 996RS. Riding for the GSE Ducati team, Hodgson qualified down in 11th after his bike broke again in the last session. But in Superpole he showed again that he is a force to be reckoned with, even if he is riding last year’s model, by scorching to his best time of the weekend’s practice sessions.

Championship leader Bayliss had dominated the weekend’s practice sessions, and was only forced from top spot in qualifying by a last-dash fast lap by local hero Francisco Chili. But the Italian, riding for Suzuki Alsatare, was unable to repeat his performance in Superpole, and slumped to ninth on the grid. Bayliss kept his head and turned in yet another fast lap in Superpole to grab the lead spot for Sunday’s two Superbike races at the historic Monza circuit.

Ben Bostrom crept up one place from fifth-fastest in qualifying to fourth on the grid with his Superpole performance. The only bike on the front row of the grid without a Ducati tank badge is Akira Yanagawa’s Kawasaki ZX-7R. Yanagawa pulled a fast Superpole lap out of the bag, leaping up the order from 12th in qualifying to third on the grid. His Superpole time was just over a second faster than his previous best time in qualifying.

Colin Edwards was forced off the front row, dropping from third in qualifying to fifth on the grid. Edwards was on course for a front row start-–his times at the first two splits put him ahead of Hodgson–but he lost a lot of time on the third section. He is joined on the second row by Troy Corser and Alessandro Antonello, both on Aprilias, and Ruben Xaus on the third full-factory Ducati 996R.


World Superbike Championship, Monza, Italy
Superpole result and times

1. Troy Bayliss, Australia, Ducati, 1:48.649
2. Neil Hodgson, Great Britain, Ducati, 1:48.701
3. Akira Yanagawa, Japan Kawasaki, 1:48.812
4. Ben Bostrom, USA, Ducati, 1:48.837
5. Colin Edwards, USA, Honda, 1:48.842
6. Troy Corser, Australia, Aprilia, 1:48.960
7. Alessandro Antonello, Italy, Aprilia, 1:49.525
8. Ruben Xaus, Spain, Ducati, 1:49.830
9. Pierfrancesco Chili, Italy, Suzuki, 1:49.869
10. Regis Laconi, France, Aprilia, 1:49.994

The re-trial to determine the final amount of damages and legal fees that the AMA and AMA Pro Racing owe Roger Edmondson has been tentatively scheduled for the week of July 16-20, 2001. The exact start date will not be determined until pre-trial procedures held the week prior.

After a 10-day trial in U.S. Federal District Court in Asheville, North Carolina in December of 1998, Edmondson was originally awarded $930,000 in actual damages by a six-member jury. When the District court found the AMA to be guilty of unfair and deceptive trade practices under Chapter 75 of North Carolina law, Federal Judge Lacy Thornburg made use of his discretion to further punish the AMA by trebling the damages to $2.79 million and then awarded Edmondson another $390,000 in legal fees and expenses.

The AMA filed an appeal to the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Virginia. Finding an error in the jury instructions, the Fourth Circuit court remanded a portion of the judgment for re-trial in a ruling on the case made public February 2, 2001. The Fourth Circuit ruled that the jury in the original trial had been improperly instructed when it was not allowed to differentiate between the value of tangible and intangible assets in the damage awards.

Finding that the AMA used unfair and deceptive trade practices to interfere with contracts Edmondson had with racetracks while trying to start up the North American Sport Bike Association (NASB) and that the AMA had stolen Edmondson’s mailing list, the Fourth Circuit let stand a judgment of $80,000 for Edmondson, which was trebled to $240,000. In addition to over turning a $100,000 award concerning TV contracts for Edmondson, the Fourth Circuit also instructed the District court to re-consider the legal fees and expenses award for Edmondson at the conclusion of the re-trial, allowing for the extra expense of the extended proceedings. While the Fourth Circuit’s ruling was issued six weeks after the courtroom proceedings, a verdict will be available at the conclusion of the re-trial.

During the re-trial, a new jury will hear only testimony concerning the damages Edmondson suffered at the hands of the AMA. The Fourth Circuit has already determined that the AMA converted, or stole, Edmondson’s share of the AMA/Edmondson joint venture business through unfair and deceptive practices. The jury will just determine the amount of money Edmondson is to receive as compensation.

Edmondson’s award reduction from $2.79 million to only $240,000 has been touted by the AMA as a huge victory, but many legal experts and third-party observers feel that Edmondson may receive an even greater damage award at re-trial. That’s because Edmondson’s legal team is now better able to put a value on Edmondson’s road racing business.

After the original trial, AMA President Ed Youngblood resigned while Edmondson was hired by International Speedway Corporation to start the new Grand American Road Racing Series for sports cars.

The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals ruling included scathing comments about the AMA’s conduct. Links to the ruling can be found in February 2 posts here on www.roadracingworld.com. Complete coverage of the Edmondson trial can be found in the following issues of Roadracing World: February, 1999; March, 1999; April, 1999; January, 2000; March, 2000; April, 2000; December, 2000; and April, 2001.

By Glenn LeSanto
The World Supersport championship is back in Europe on the modified Monza circuit, near Milan in Italy. After heavy overnight rain the clouds cleared and the sun shone down on the historic venue, described by the Monza circuit manager Enrico Ferrari as the “cathedral of motor cycling.”

Frenchman Fabien Foret showed the rest of the field the way through Monza’s new chicanes, setting a time of 1:54.260, nearly half-a-second faster than his Ten Kate Honda teammate and Championship leader Pere Riba. Vitto Guareschi, riding for the British based Dienza Ducati Racing team, was third fastest at 1:54.988. Belgarda Yamaha riders Paolo Casoli and James Whitham made up the top five. Current runner-up in series points, Kevin Curtain, crashed early in the session. Although he was unhurt, he ran out of time and didn’t rejoin the session and ended the session 21st-fastest.

World Supersport World Championship.
Monza, Italy
First Qualifying, session times

1. Fabien Foret, France, Honda, 1:54.260
2. Pere Riba, Spain, Honda, 1:54.676
3. Vitto Guareschi, Italy, Ducati, 1:54.988
4. Paolo Casoli, Italy, Yamaha, 1:55.137
5. Jamie Whitham, Great Britain, Yamaha, 1:55.175
6. Corradi, Italy, Yamaha, 1:55.298
7. Bontempi, Italy, Yamaha, 1:55.590
8. Pitt, Australia, Kawasaki, 1:55.711
9. Cogan, France, Yamaha, 1:55.734
10. Iannuzzo, Italy, Suzuki, 1:55.747