FIM President Francesco Zerbi has issued a public letter of reprimand to Max Biaggi and Valentino Rossi for televised incidents during the 500cc Grand Prix at Suzuka, in which Biaggi pushed Rossi off the track and onto the grass, followed by Rossi repassing Biaggi, cutting in front of Biaggi and then flipping Biaggi off in the middle of turn one.

While Zerbi admits in the letter that “It is not my role to establish if what happened during the event could have been sanctioned as a sporting offense and what measures could or should have been taken: In this connection, it was the Race Direction at the scene”, Zerbi goes on in the letter to say “I think that after having verified the events and the–rightly called negative–reactions which materialized in negative judgements in your regard and in the regard of our sport, it is my dury to intervene.”

In the letter, Zerbi continues, “My intervention is two-fold: The first is a reproach to you both, in order to invite you to more attentively and correctly control your actions and reactions, without taking anything away from the fighting instinct and your desire for victory, your skill, your courage and the sporting qualities that a true champion shows to all the world…

“The second, much simpler but more direct, aims to avoid repeating situations in the future where the persons who must intervene do not know the manner in which to do so.

“For this reason, the Grand Prix Permanent Bureau will request the Race Direction to intervene with the appropriate sanctions according to the gravity of the actions and/or reactions that could happen during an event, or in the area of an event, and which could manifest itself not only as a sporting offense already provided for in the rules, but also more generally as ‘anti-sporting or censurable behavior’. I realize that this description is generic, even if it is precise, but it is not possible to establish a list of cases and actions that would define this behavior.

“We will watch to see that the persons charged with applying the sanctions are, as far as is humanly possible, the most attentive, moderate and conscious of their very important role.

“Mistakes can be made, but is is important to do all that is possible to avoid them being made and to avoid them being repeated, and that the persons who make these errors are punished appropriately.”

It is unclear if Zerbi’s letter, which was FAXed to media outlets by the FIM, means that sanctions will be taken against Biaggi and Rossi.

Fastest Lap Times From Team Testing At Road Atlanta So Far, i.e., after Thursday morning sessions:

Doug Chandler
Kawasaki Superbike
Tuesday, 1:25.0
Wednesday, 1:24.8
Thursday, 1:24.1
Chandler is now done with testing, and says he’s not feeling 100 percent.

Eric Bostrom
Kawasaki Superbike
Wednesday 1:25.2
Thursday 1:24.2
Kawasaki Supersport 600
Tuesday 1:28.7

Aaron Yates
Suzuki Superbike
Wednesday 1:24.26
Thursday 1:23.3

Jamie Hacking
Suzuki Superbike
Wednesday 1:25.66
Thursday 1:24.5
Suzuki Supersport 600
Wednesday 1:27.66

Mike Smith
Harley-Davidson Superbike
Thursday 1:25.7

Anthony Gobert
Yamaha Superbike
Thursday 1:24.5
Yamaha Supersport 600
Thursday 1:27.9

Tommy Hayden
Yamaha Superbike
Thursday 1:25.0
Yamaha Supersport 600
Thursday 1:28.0

Grant Lopez
Suzuki GSX-R1000 Formula Xtreme
Wednesday 1:25.5
Thursday 1:25.42

Ben Spies
Suzuki Supersport 750
Wednesday 1:27.38

Jordan Szoke
Harley-Davidson Superbike
Wednesday 1:28.0
Thursday 1:26.78

The AMA Superbike National at Willow Springs is back on the schedule and will be held September 13-16. The race is being promoted by the racetrack itself, according to Greg Huth.

“You were really a help on this,” Huth told Roadracing World in a 9:40 a.m. PDT, April 12 phone call from his office at the Rosamond, California racetrack.

Huth reported that once he got in touch with AMA Pro Racing CEO Scott Hollingsworth, “Everything really went well and worked out. He’s a really nice guy and we got everything handled smoothly.”

Roadracing World played a key role in getting Greg Huth and his father, racetrack owner Bill Huth, in contact with Hollingsworth, Greg Huth said.

While terms of the deal have been agreed, Greg Huth said that Hollingsworth is FAXing him the final paperwork.

“He’s sending us the final contract by FAX and we’re going to sign it and return it with a check,” said Greg Huth.

The AMA weekend will start with a Team Hammer Pro Practice on Thursday, September 13 with official AMA practice and qualifying starting on Friday, September 14. Races will be held September 15 and 16.

In an April 12 phone interview from his headquarters in Anaheim, California, Erion Honda team owner Kevin Erion said that his team had completed a successful one-day test at Willow Springs International Raceway on Wednesday, April 11.

“Sometimes shop time is just as valuable as track time,” said Erion. “We weighed our options of spending the time getting to and from Road Atlanta and felt that that time would be better spent in the shop. Then we went out to Willow for one day and got everything that we wanted to accomplished.”

Erion confirmed that his three riders–Kurtis Roberts, Mark Miller and Jake Zemke–were all healthy and ready for the next round of the AMA series, and (in the case of Miller and Zemke) the first Formula Xtreme race, at Sears Point May 4-6.

Copyright 2001 Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

More than a decade after he last rode one, Kevin Schwantz was back on a Yoshimura Suzuki Superbike during team tests at Road Atlanta Tuesday.

Schwantz took five laps on the bike with an on-board camera to gather video footage that will be used to promote the AMA Superbike National at Road Atlanta. Previously, Schwantz had last ridden a Yoshimura Suzuki Superbike at Daytona in 1988, when he won the Daytona 200.

“It makes Road Atlanta seem like a pretty tight little racetrack,” said Schwantz about the bike he rode, which is normally ridden by Mat Mladin. Mladin missed the test with a broken lower left leg.

“The biggest thing that I noticed about it is how quick you need to be ready to shift gears when you get off turn seven and twist it wide open,” continued Schwantz. “It’s almost like you have to preload your foot and be ready to get two, maybe three gears bam-bam-bam.

“I’m not used to riding stuff that’s that fast. Well, I did ride Kenny’s bike in November but that’s different, it was at Philip Island, a big, long place,” Schwantz said, refering to a brief ride he had on Kenny Roberts 500cc World Championship-winning RGV500 during post-season tests following the last Grand Prix of 2000, in Australia.

“And it sure liked to stop, it stopped right now,” Schwantz said, refering again to the GSX-R750. “(Yoshimura’s) Don (Sakakura) was on the back straight with a radar gun when I was on it and I reached 163 mph on the back straight and the fastest (Superbike) through there for the day was 165, 166. And it sure seems to stop itself quick, and the bike feels really stable on the brakes.

“Just like Kenny’s bike it feels real nervous to me, probably because it’s been so long since I’ve ridden something that fast and I’m not riding it hard enough and not loading it enough. It was probably a little stiff for me.

“Speedvision had a camera on it, for some TV spots for the Big Kahuna (AMA Superbike race scheduled for May 17-20).

“I was kind of hoping they didn’t get any footage and we’d have to try it again. It was fun. I really enjoyed it.

“I think I did 32 on it, it shows that you’ve got to go out and really push to go as fast as most of these guys are going now.

“Low 25 is what (Aaron) Yates did, but most of those guys are in the high 25s, 26 is what these guys did. Everybody who’s here is basically within a second of each other and I was five or six seconds off that so it just shows you the level of the playing field these days.

“It was a very pleasant experience,” concluded Schwantz.

Schwantz also said that the track was covered with fallen pollen which looked like yellow dust when bikes disturbed it. The pollen had to have some affect on traction, especially off line, Schwantz said.

Schwantz added that Grant Lopez’s Valvoline EMGO Suzuki Formula Xtreme GSX-R1000 registered the highest top speed on Sakakura’s radar gun, reaching 168 mph. The highest AMA Superbike reading was between 165 and 166 mph, Schwantz said.

Besides Yates and Lopez, riders testing at Road Atlanta include Jamie Hacking, Steve Crevier, Mike Smith, Jordan Szoke, Anthony Gobert, Tommy Hayden, Doug Chandler, Eric Bostrom, Ben Spies, Chris Ulrich and Larry Pegram.

Hacking spent all day on his GSX-R600 Supersport bike, while Yates switched back and forth between his 600 and his Superbike.

Hayden and Gobert ran 600s in the morning and Superbikes in the afternoon.

Spies and Ulrich were riding Formula USA GSX-R750s all day. Lopez started the day on his Formula USA GSX-R750 and then switched to his Formula Xtreme GSX-R1000.

Honda’s new four-stroke Grand Prix racebike, known as the RC211V, was seen testing in public for the first time April 10 at Sugo Sports Land, in Sendai, Japan.

Former 500cc World Champion and AMA Superbike winner Kevin Schwantz is back on a Superbike today, riding one of Mat Mladin’s Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R750s during tests at Road Atlanta.

Mladin broke his lower left leg and cannot attend the tests, which are scheduled to run through Thursday.

A group of teams shared the cost of renting the track, hiring ambulances, buying haybales and buying insurance for the tests. Each team’s share was about $6000.

The Wegman Benefit Fund, Inc., which raises money and distributes it to injured road racers, has upgraded its informational website at www.wegmanfund.org.

The Wegman Benefit Fund is run by Gordon Lunde Sr. and is endorsed by Roadracing World.

Lance Holst, who has worked with Jason Pridmore’s STAR school since its inception, has signed on with the new Suzuki-sponsored riding school being hosted by former 500cc World Champion Kevin Schwantz at Road Atlanta.

At post time it was unknown when Holst will leave the STAR school. Jason Pridmore and Mark Gallardo, two principals in the STAR school, could not be reached for comment prior to posting.

Information on the new Kevin Schwantz Suzuki Riding School is available from www.kevin-schwantz.com or from www.roadatlanta.com.