Although details are not available, the Umoto Aprilia 250cc Grand Prix World Championship team has encountered financial difficulties, and left Jeremy McWilliams and teammate Katja Poensgen scrambling for rides. Aprilia announced that McWilliams will now ride factory Aprilia RSW250s with young Italian Riccardo Chiarello for the RSC Aprilia team. McWilliams will be reunited with Team Manager Gianni Cantanella, who worked with McWilliams in 2000 when McWilliams rode the works Aprilia RSW-2 500cc V-Twin GP bike.

Meanwhile, Poensgen, 24, showed up for the recent IRTA tests at Jerez without a bike to ride. “They (the Umoto team) now have money troubles,” Poensgen told reporters. “No machine was ready at the Umoto Team,” wrote Poensgen on her website, www.katja-poensgen.de. Poensgen was able to borrow Alexander Hofmann’s spare bike to ride and turned the 19th-fastest 250cc time at the test, some eight seconds off the pace set by the fastest rider.

Poensgen gave up her last year of European Superstock Series eligibility to switch to Grand Prix race; the Superstock Series has a maximum age limit of 25 years.

Loris Capirossi was the fastest 500cc rider after three days of Grand Prix team testing at Estoril, Portugal February 21-23, ending the IRTA-organized tests marginally quicker than Max Biaggi and Carlos Checa. Biaggi and reigning 500cc World Champion Kenny Lee Roberts didn’t ride during the final day of testing.

The fastest times turned by riders in the three Grand Prix classes during the tests follow:

IRTA 250cc-500cc Tests, February 21-23
Top 500cc Times
Loris Capirossi1:40.109
Max Biaggi1:40.149
Carlos Checa1:40.166
Jurgen v.d. Goorbergh1:40.3
Tohru Ukawa1:40.5
Garry McCoy1:40.6
Kenny Roberts1:40.65
Alex Barros1:40.7
Norike Abe1:40.8
Valentino Rossi1:41.1

Top 250cc Times
Daijiro Katoh1:41.0
Marco Melandri1:41.9
Tetsuya Harada1:42.5
Jeremy McWilliams1:42.9
Marcelino Lucchi1:42.9
Klaus Nohles1:43.0
Roberto Lucatelli1:43.0
Fonsi Nieto1:43.0
Alex Debon1:43.1
Naoki Matsudo1:43.1
Emilio Alzamora1:43.7


IRTA 125cc Tests February 22-23
Top 125cc Times
Youichi Ui1:40.6
Gino Borsoi1:41.4
Lucio Cecchinello1:41.5
Max Sabbatani1:41.6
Masao Azuma1:41.6
Gaspare Caffiero1:41.6
Manuel Poggiali1:42.1
Angel Nieto Jr.1:42.1
Jaroslav Hules1:42.2
Pablo Nieto1:42.2

During an evening-drive-time radio show February 13, Bay-area shock jocks Kramer & Twitch encouraged motorists to run over or open their doors in front of motorcyclists and bicyclists when stuck in afternoon traffic, suggested that it was illegal and wrong for motorcycles and bicycles to share the roadways with cars, and made numerous derogatory comments about motorcyclists and bicyclists. Kramer & Twitch broadcast their show from the San Jose, California studios of KSJO 92 FM, a station owned by Clear Channel Communications, which also owns SFX Entertainment, which in turn owns SFX Motor Sports Group, which promotes the Formula USA National Road Race Series, the Formula USA National Dirt Track Series, CCS motorcycle road racing, Arenacross, IFMA Freestyle Motocross, and EA Sports Supercross.

Asked to comment on the situation February 22, KSJO Vice President and General Manager John Sutherland declined to speak on the record and instead e-mailed Roadracing World a press release, which is reproduced here in its entirety:

“Thanks for taking the time to contact KSJO Radio. Your comments have been heard and I hope you’ll take the time to read this letter in regards to the Kramer and Twitch situation.

“KSJO radio as well as Kramer and Twitch do NOT advocate violence, aggressive behavior or discrimination against anyone, in particular bicyclists and motorcyclists. Kramer and Twitch made an error in judgement and they are being punished. However, that does not reduce the severity of this issue in our minds.

“In what was supposed to be a humor-based, talk segment that involved callers, the wrong message came across. Sensing that their commentary was problematic, KSJO suspended Kramer and Twitch before any type of backlash began. In the subsequent days, KSJO has aired apologies during Kramer and Twitch’s afternoon time slot and KSJO has ran over 80 Public Service announcements (and will continue doing so) that ask listeners to be cautious of bicyclists and motorcyclists on the road. The frequency of these announcements is once per-hour.

“KSJO has always been a radio station that supports bicyclists and motorcycle riders. In recent years KSJO sponsored a bicycling team, something that most radio stations ignore. And last year alone, KSJO gave its listeners a chance to win one of 20 Harley-Davidson motorcycles. It’s clear that KSJO unconditionally supports bicyclists and motorcyclists. This summer KSJO will be supporting the Hollister Independence Day rally (something we committed to months ago) and we’ll be giving listeners another chance to win more motorcycles. On top of this, KSJO will be airing some programming aimed at promoting bicycling and bicycle safety in the next few days. We have a champion cyclist on staff as well as many employees who ride motorcycles in their free time. Anyone who disputes KSJO’s support of these industries and lifestyle groups is misinformed.

“If Kramer and Twitch are allowed to once again broadcast on KSJO, they will begin with a personal on-air apology. It should be known that Kramer and Twitch are very apologetic about this and in no way, shape or form intended for their comedy to be misinterpreted, as it has been. Bad judgement –yes. Malicious intent–absolutely not. On behalf of KSJO, we will be making a decision in regards to Kramer and Twitch’s suspension shortly and we will then consider this matter closed. I thank you for your concern and want you to know that we relish our moral obligation to the community. We have responded appropriately and we will take the proper disciplinary action with this situation.

“John Sutherland
“VP/GM, Market Manager
“Clear Channel San Jose/San Francisco”

Copyright 2001, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

While testing his factory RC51 Superbike on the tight, twisty Spring Mountain Motorsports Park road course at Pahrump, Nevada in November, American Honda’s Nicky Hayden ran off the track and into a concrete drainage ditch. Hayden’s crash resulted in serious back pain. It turned out that Hayden did not have a serious back injury, but the back pain masked and distracted doctors from finding a fractured bone in Hayden’s left wrist. Just weeks away from the AMA Superbike season opening classic on the high banks of Daytona, Hayden discovered the fracture and must ride the 200-mile Superbike race and 600cc Supersport race in pain.

“It’s true,” confirmed Hayden in a February 21 phone call. “I just found out a day or so ago. The end of last week, actually. It kept getting worse and worse. I just got it X-rayed like a month ago, in January. It didn’t show up. I just thought I was being a sissy or whatever. It kept bothering me and bothering me. It kept hurting worse and worse. It felt like every couple of weeks, the more that I would train, the worse I was making it. So I talked to Dr. Ting. Ting told me to do an MRI when I got home from California. I got home and did it first part of last week, and sure enough, I’ve got a fractured scaphoid in my left wrist. It’s a bone that is a real common injury for motorcycle riders. It’s gonna take a long time to heal I guess because there’s a low supply of blood in there. When we were testing at Laguna, I knew something was wrong. I should’ve done something sooner, but I just thought that there was time for it to heal. I wasn’t worried about it. That was stupid. I knew something was wrong. I should’ve gotten it taken care of before now.

“Now they’ve got me in like a brace that I’ve been wearing for the last week or so just to give it kind of a rest. Not that it’s gonna heal before Daytona. It’s just a brace to give it a little break, and I can take it off and still work on my flexibility. Monday, right after Daytona, I’m going to Dr. Ting’s to get it fixed right. I don’t know what I’m going to miss yet. It depends on how it recuperates after the surgery.

“I don’t think it’s going to hold me back at Daytona. I’m sure it’s going to hurt, but it won’t hold me back. It’s not too bad. To say that it’s gonna hold me back at Daytona, that’s just making an excuse. The only thing, they said since it’s already cracked that it wouldn’t take a lot to break it if I were to fall. But it’s been like this for the last couple of months. It’s just a little bump in the road. It’s one of those things that you just have to deal with.”

The scaphoid is a cashew-shaped bone at the base of the thumb. It acts in conjunction with both the proximal and distal carpal rows and is crucial to the intricate function of the wrist. The scaphoid is the most commonly injured bone in the wrist, usually suffering damage in falls with outstretched hands. A fractured scaphoid is commonly misdiagnosed as a sprained wrist. Treatment of a fractured scaphoid, whether surgery is needed or not, is dependent on the attitude of the break. Further complicating matters is the lack of blood supply to the affected area. General medical theory holds that, to heal, a fractured scaphoid must be immobilized completely, checked for adequate healing with regular X-rays, and followed up with physical therapy after immobilization.

Phoenix-based Buona Fortuna Racing and Glendale, California-based Pro Italia Motorsports have joined forces to form a Formula USA Unlimited Superbike team under the BFR/Pro Italia Aprilia banner. The team, owned by Gary Stiles, will campaign the 2001 Aprilia RSV Mille R with 2000 Aprilia Cup Challenge Champion Aaron Clark and Mark Ledesma.

A February 21 press release issued by the team quoted Clark, a New Zealander, as saying “The stock bike is awesome! It handled like it was on rails and the new brakes felt better than my GP bike. We have an accelerated schedule for race prepping, but having a bike that shows so much promise right out of the crate is encouraging. I’m also really happy to be back on Dunlop tires, which played a major part in my winning the 2000 Championship. From our December testing, we know they work well with the big V-Twin, too.”

The release quoted Ledesma as saying “I’ve spent a lot of time riding big Twins, and I feel that the Mille R will be an awesome platform for the F-USA Unlimited Superbike Class.”

According to the release, Pro Italia Motorsports, established in 1987 and specializing in Italian motorcycles, is a leading Aprilia dealer and is developing Mille R performance parts and engine kits available for both street and race applications.

The release quoted Pro Italia owner Bill Nation as saying “Many Italian bike owners already know the Pro Italia name and having Buona Fortuna racing on the national level as an extension of our shop is great! It’s our intention to create accessories for the Aprilia sport products and there is no other way to test for the highest quality and performance than to put them on the
track.”

More information is available from Buona Fortuna Racing at www.bfrusa.com or from Pro Italia Motorsports at www.proitalia.com

An Australian website is featuring a video of what it says is Yamaha’s four-stroke Grand Prix bike. The video can be seen at

http://mcnews.com.au

Copyright 2001, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Pressure is on to mind the bottom line for SFX Motor Sports and the Formula USA National Road Racing Series, but the company remains committed to motorcycle racing generally and road racing specifically despite the loss of road racing series sponsor Wrenchead.com, sources at the company said.

The same sources said that the news that SFX Motor Sports CEO Gary Becker is leaving his post to run PGA events promoted by SFX Sports should not be taken as a sign that SFX is losing interest in road racing.

Becker, who oversaw the rise of the AMA-sanctioned Supercross Series to new heights under SFX promotion, recently made comments to some members of the press indicating that he was dissatisfied with developments in the company’s motor sports activities, which some interpreted as being related to the August 1, 2000 takeover of SFX by Clear Channel Communications and a related need to justify all spending, meet all revenue projections and maximize short-term revenue, despite Becker’s pre-acquisition promise to invest whatever it would take–including throwing money at the Formula USA road racing and dirt track series–to establish Formula USA as a serious long-term player in motorcycle racing. Long-time PACE Motor Sports and SFX executive Jeff Lewis has been named Chairman of SFX Motor Sports Group, and SFX Motor Sports Group President Charlie Mancuso remains in charge of day-to-day operations.

Sources close to SFX who spoke on the condition of anonymity said that 2001 will be a regrouping year for SFX Motor Sports with a change of emphasis to incremental growth. Although there have been cutbacks, notably a 50 percent reduction in Unlimited Superbike purse and a cut in the points fund to $50,000, the company remains committed to the Formula USA Series, the sources said. But, the sources added, motorcycle racing is a relatively small part of the company’s motorsports activities when compared to the large number of monster truck events put on by SFX. Becker spent less time on and paid less attention to the monster truck side of the business than he did on the more glamorous and exciting motorcycle racing part of the business, the sources said.

And in a February 20 phone call to Roadracing World, Becker said that his decision was “an internal, personal issue. It had nothing to do with the business. It had nothing to do with the direction SFX wants to take road racing. It was a personal decision of mine to change the things that are close to me in my life. It was a personal, internal decision related to control of the (overall) business and the direction it’s headed in.”

Becker went on to say that SFX’s motorcycle business is such a small piece of the total to Clear Channel, which is a Fortune 50 company (indicating it is one of the top 50 companies, not just indicating one of the more common top 500 companies), that it is not being closely scrutinized. “The financial considerations of building this property (Formula USA) are not even being looked at,” Becker said. “We have convinced them that this is worth investing in.” Becker said that he had faced some disappointments in the first year that SFX Motor Sports owned Formula USA and CCS, saying “I won’t say that the AMA is the problem in motorcycle racing, but the system is the problem. We’re trying to build more riders by having more events. I was very disturbed to see AMA join forces with WERA when we have offered CCS to be part of AMA. They weren’t interested. They just don’t like us, they don’t like our company, for whatever reason,” adding that the AMA should recognize what SFX has done with the Supercross Series and should be seeking to grow motorcycle racing by working together with successful promoting companies like SFX Motor Sports and Speedvision Productions (which promotes the AMA Superbike Nationals at Laguna Seca and Road Atlanta). Becker went on to say “This business is going to grow and the revenue it generates is going to grow through the success of the events and through TV.”

Becker did admit that starting up the Formula USA road racing and dirt track programs in 2000 “was very expensive. We assumed that throwing a lot of money at these projects would produce more ticket sales at the gate. Finding the right combination is really where we’re trying to get to. We had a lot of problems with dirt track and a lot of problems with road racing last year. But we produced every event we said we’d produce and paid everybody their money. We’re committed to this in the long term.”

Gary Becker’s brother, Brian, is Chairman and CEO of SFX, the parent company of SFX Motor Sports Group and SFX Sports. SFX itself is a subsidiary of Clear Channel Communications.

SFX issued the following press release:


“Jeff Lewis Named Chairman Of SFX Motor Sports Group

“AURORA, IL (February 21, 2001)- Brian Becker, Chairman and CEO of SFX, announced today the appointment of long-time SFX executive Jeff Lewis as Chairman of the SFX Motor Sports Group. Most recently, Lewis was Chairman of SFX Family Entertainment, overseeing the growth of that business segment to encompass family and youth-oriented stage shows and tours, touring exhibitions and a variety of figure skating events.

“Lewis will focus primarily on the strategic growth of SFX’s motor sports interests in North America and around the world. He joins a strong management team that includes President Charlie Mancuso. Currently, Aurora, Illinois-based SFX Motor Sports is the leading producer and promoter of specialized, in-arena motor sports events, producing over 500 events annually. SFX Motor Sports has three divisions – trucks, motorcycles and special events – that include the Wrenchead.com USHRA Monster Jam Series, The EA SPORTS Supercross, National Arenacross Series, the new IFMA Freestyle Motocross Series, Championship Cup Series (CCS), National Dirt Track Series and the National Road Race Series.

“Brian Becker said, ‘I am proud to announce Jeff Lewis as the Chairman of the SFX Motor Sports Group. Jeff has been an invaluable member of the SFX executive team, having proven time and again his ability to substantively grow our various businesses. The prospects for our Motor Sports Group are bright, and Jeff and Charlie will make a great team in realizing its potential both here in the U.S. and abroad.’

“Jeff Lewis said, ‘This is a terrific opportunity and a great challenge. SFX Motor Sports has come to exemplify excellence in its category, and I look forward to working with Charlie and the rest of the team to push the envelop to deliver the highest quality experience to motor sports fans around the world.’

“Lewis replaces Gary Becker, who is now responsible for the development of SFX’s sports events business.

“About SFX: SFX, a subsidiary of Clear Channel Communications (NYSE: CCU), is the world’s largest producer and marketer of live entertainment events. SFX currently owns, operates and/or exclusively books 130 live entertainment venues, including 44 amphitheaters in the U.S. Each year, more than 60 million people attend approximately 26,000 events promoted and/or produced by SFX, including: Live music events; Broadway and touring Broadway shows; family entertainment shows; and specialized sports and motor sports shows. SFX also provides strategic sports marketing sales and consulting services to professional and college teams, leagues, venues and properties.

“In addition, SFX owns a leading full-service talent management company, specializing in the representation of athletes and broadcasters. SFX is headquartered in New York City. More information is available at www.sfx.com.

“Clear Channel Communications, Inc., headquartered in San Antonio, Texas, is a global leader in the out-of home advertising industry with radio and television stations, outdoor displays and entertainment venues in 40 countries around the world. Including announced transactions, Clear Channel operates over 1,120 radio and 18 television stations in the United States and has equity interests in over 240 radio stations internationally. Clear Channel also operates more than 750,000 outdoor advertising displays, including billboards, street furniture and transit panels across the world.”

Copyright 2001, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Ben Bostrom topped the time charts after two days of World Superbike team testing at Valencia, February 18-19. Riding his works Ducati 996R on Dunlop tires, Bostrom turned a fastest lap at 1:36.438. Second-fastest was Aprilia’s Troy Corser at 1:36.449, followed by Honda’s Tadayuki Okada at 1:36.478, Ducati’s Troy Bayliss at 1:36.657, Aprilia’s Antonio Antonello at 1:36.828, Honda’s Colin Edwards at1:36.859, Ducati’s Neil Hodgson at 1:37.471, Kawasaki’s Carlos Lavilla at 1:37.634, Ducati’s Ruben Xaus at 1:37.677 and Suzuki’s Pierfrancesco Chili at 1:37.770.

What’s it really like in the World Superbike arena? We asked Bostrom:

“F–k, it’s tough, man. The rider has to get on the bike, bust his balls, and go ‘F–k, I still got three seconds to go?’ You know? Where am I gonna find that? You dig a little deeper, you almost crash maybe, 10, 15 times in that practice session, you come back, they read the data, they change the bike for a little better, rider goes back out, you don’t think you can go any faster, you still have another second-and-a-half to go, and you find it.”

On showing up in World Superbike after life in AMA Superbike:

“You think you’re fast but then you gotta step up. And when you think you can’t find that extra second, you find it. I don’t know where you find it. You’re scared. And you take a huge chance of crashing every time.”

On pushing the personal envelope:

“The thing is, once you ride over your limit, you established a new limit. Know what I mean? And if you want to win, you ride over your limit again. You hope you don’t crash. And you establish another limit. That’s just the way it works.”