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

Thanks to Sears Point Raceway officials, there were seven additional sections of Air Fence at the AMA National to supplement the AMA’s three pieces, but not everyone who needed the Air Fence found it. On the first lap of the Pro Thunder final, Ducati 748 racer Scot Dormier had a moment in the Carousel.

“The front started pushing,” said Dormier. “I cracked the throttle open a little early in an attempt to get it back. With a relaxed stance on the bike and a little rear bias through throttle control, the save was looking good. That was until the new wider line caused by pushing the front took me over some of the ripples. Both the front and rear started to slide, and I held it up with my knee. I thought it was gonna make it, but the track won. The bike finally let go, and I went sliding.”

Although Yoshimura Suzuki’s Aaron Yates walked away from his 100+ mph head-first impact into Air fence in turn 10, Dormier was not so lucky. “I saw the haybales coming up fast,” said Dormier in a May 10 e-mail to Roadracing World May 10. “I knew broken bones would not be avoided. While I wasn’t happy about it, I was relieved to be hitting legs/feet first. After hitting, the pain was intense, but limited to my left leg and ankle. I scraped my way as far off the track as possible without moving my left leg, and proceeded to be extremely happy that I hit feet first. Any other way would have meant a much worse fate. Air Bales might have been nice here though! I may have walked away.”

The Pro Thunder race was red flagged as there was no way to get medical attention to Dormier safely. Dormier talked about his injuries, saying, “The damage was a dislocated ankle and broken talus bone in my ankle/foot. Before surgery there was an 85 percent chance of requiring a fusing of the ankle. Afterward, and after a screw to hold the bone together again, the odds look much better for a full recovery. In six to eight weeks we should know more.”

According to Henry Gray’s “Anatomy of the Human Body” (1918), the talus is the second largest of the seven tarsus bones in the foot/ankle joint. The talus supports the fibula leg bone and interacts with the tibia, fibula, calcaneus, and navicular bones.