Joe Prussiano and Ty Howard will replace injured Ryan Landers on the Shogun team in Formula USA competition, Prussiano riding Landers’ Yamaha YZF-R1 and Howard riding Landers’ Yamaha YZF-R6.
Landers suffered a severe concussion in a crash at Motor Sports Ranch a week ago.
Prussiano and Howard will debut with Shogun at the Willow Springs Formula USA race April 19-22. They join Paul Harrell, Landers’ original teammate.
Daijiro Katoh won the Japanese 250cc Grand Prix at Suzuka by 18.763 seconds over Tetsuya Harada. Roberto Locatelli finished third.
Katja Poensgen finished 22nd, one lap down, and was the last rider still running at the finish.
Results follow:
1. Daijiro Katoh, Honda, 41:03.596
2. Tetsuya Harada, Aprilia, -18.763 seconds
3. Roberto Locatelli, Aprilia, -18.835
4. Naoki Matsudo, Yamaha, -23.135
5. Roberto Rolfo, Aprilia, -24.423
6. MArco Melandri, Aprilia, -26.595
7. Franco Battaini, Aprilia, -31.142
8. Jeremy McWilliams, Aprilia, -43.953
9. Sebastian Porto, Yamaha, -45.887
10. Taro Sekiguchi, Yamaha, -48.496
11. Fonsi Nieto, Aprilia, -53.583
12. Alex Hofman, Aprilia, -1:05.172
13. Hiroshi Aoyamo, Honda, -1:05.267
14. Klaus Nohles, Aprilia, -1:17.422
15. Sylvain Guintoli, Aprilia, 1:18.183
22. Katja Poensgen, Aprilia, – 1 lap.
Crashers included Julien Allemand, Emilio Alzamora, Alex Debon, David De Gea and Shahrol Yuzy.
Masao Azuma preserved Honda honor by beating Youchi Ui and his Derbi by 0.067-second at the line to win the Japanese 125cc Grand Prix at Suzuka. Aprilia’s Simone Sanna was third and Aprilia’s Gino Borsoi was fourth, with the top four riders all finishing on the same second and the first six finishing within 1.5 seconds.
Results follow:
1. Masao Azuma, Honda, 40:59.192
2. Youchi Ui, Derbi, -0.067 seconds
3. Simona Sanna, Aprilia, -0.604
4. Gino Borsoi, Aprilia, -0.898
5. Manual Poggiali, Gilera, -1.151
6. Lucio Cecchinello, Aprilia, -1.376
7. Steve Jenkner, Aprilia, -14.173
8. Mirko Giansanti, Honda, -14.632
9. Arnaud Vincent, Honda, -15.735
10. Pablo Nieto, Derbi, -16.333
11. Angel Nieto Jr., Honda, -17384
12. Max Sabbatani, Aprilia, -17.992
13. Gianluigi Scalvini, Italjet, -18.621
14. Alex De Angelis, Honda, -18.628
15. Hiroyuki Kikuchi, Honda, -23.655
Crashers included Marco Petrini, Naoki Katoh, Stefano Perugini, Eric Bataille, Gaspare Caffiero, Noboru Ueda and Jarno Muller.
Jay Piz feels strongly that his brother, Dirk, who died following a crash at Daytona on March 11, should be remembered as a hero.
Jay Piz said that he has been told by eyewitnesses that his brother Dirk deliberately chose to steer away from Kiyo Watanabe, (who had crashed in front of Piz in the chicane at Daytona during the Pro Thunder race), and hit Watanabe’s motorcycle instead. The way Jay Piz sees it, Dirk Piz may have saved Watanabe at the cost of his own life.
Jay Piz also aknowledged the bravery of Dirk’s teammate and girlfriend, Wyeth Jackson, who completed the restarted Pro Thunder race and finished 13th after running as high as 10th, all while knowing that Dirk was involved in the crash that brought out the red flag. (Jackson did not know the extent of Dirk Piz’s injuries at the time.)
According to news reports, Dirk Piz was the 32nd competitor–and the sixth motorcycle racer–to die at Daytona International Speedway.
Piz suffered a ruptured aorta in the crash.
The Piz family has asked that in lieu of flowers or cards that donations be made to a charity that Dirk Piz supported:
Denver Children’s Advocacy Center 1271 Elati Street Denver, CO 80204
San Francisco’s Scuderia West, which claims to be the top Aprilia dealership in the U.S. based on the number of motorcycles sold at retail, has announced that it is sponsoring the AFM 250cc Superbike class for the 2001 Season. Aprilia RS250 riders who meet contingency requirements and finish in the top five will receive payouts ranging from $250 for a win down to $50 for fifth place. With Aprilia USA also posting contingency money in the class a win on an Aprilia would net a racer $475.
Further information is available from Scuderia West’s Todd Risley at (415)621-7223.
Scuderia’s list of supported riders this year include:
Ken Hill (Mille R)AFM/F-USA
Kevin Holman (Mille R) AFM/F-USA
Michael Hannas (RS250) F-USA
Jimmy Filice (TZ250) AMA
Honda’s Valentino Rossi beat Yamaha’s Garry McCoy and Max Biaggi to win the Japanese 500cc Grand Prix at Suzuka, the three leaders crossing the line within a second. Defending 500cc World Champion Kenny Roberts was seventh, and Leon Haslam was the 13th and final finisher, just behind 12th-place Haruchika Aoki.
Chris Walker and Jose Luis Cardoso crashed on the first lap; other crashers included Sete Gibernau, Noriyuki Haga, Carlos Checa, Akira Ryo and Tohru Ukawa. Retirees included Johan Stigefelt, Olivier Jacque and Mark Willis.
Results follow:
1. Valentino Rossi, Honda, 44:51.501
2. Garry McCoy, Yamaha, -0.724 seconds
3. Max Biaggi, Yamaha, -0.956
4. Norick Abe, Yamaha, -1.176
5. Shinya Nakano, Yamaha, -3.256
6. Alex Barros, Honda, -14.515
7. Kenny Roberts, Suzuki, -22.876
8. Loris Capirossi, Honda, -28.732
9. Alex Criville, Honda, -34.478
10. Carlos Checa, Yamaha, -53.765
11. Jurgen v.d. Goorbergh, Proton, -58.688
12. Haruchika Aoki, Honda, -1:17.338
13. Leon Haslam, Honda, -1:17.681
CCS issued a press release announcing significant membership growth in 2001 compared to the same period in 2000.
According to the release, “The Championship Cup Series has seen a dramatic increase in the number of CCS licenses issued to riders from last year’s inaugural season with SFX Motor Sports Group on board as the promoter of all Formula USA/CCS race
events taking place across the United States. The following are year-to-date figures representing a 34.8% increase from 2000.
“Licenses issued to riders from CCS in 2001, 2654.
“Licenses issued to riders from CCS in 2000, 1970.”
The release quoted CCS Road Race Manager Kevin Elliott as saying “This increase of 684 licenses in 2001 represents an increase of 34.8 percent to date. I would like to thank everyone who has had a hand in this. It is truly a group effort and it wouldn’t happen without the help and dedication of the entire CCS staff.”
More information about the Championship Cup Series is available at www.ccsracing.com.
Loris Capirossi put in a blistering lap almost two seconds underneath the lap record to take pole for Sunday’s 500cc Grand Prix at Suzuka Circuit, Japan.
Capirossi turned a lap at 2:04.777 in Saturday afternoon’s final 500cc qualifying session. Top times follow:
1. Loris Capirossi, Honda, 2:04.777
2. Shinya Nakano, Yamaha, 2:05.588
3. Max Biaggi, Yamaha, 2:05.703
4. Garry McCoy, Yamaha, 2:05.833
5. Tohru Ukawa, Honda, 2:05.924
6. Norick Abe, Yamaha, 2:05.927
7. Valentino Rossi, Honda, 2:06.140
8. Alex Barros, Honda, 2:06.295
9. Kenny Roberts, Suzuki, 2:06.469
10. Noriyuki Haga, Yamaha, 2:06.597
11. Alex Criville, Honda, 2:06.714
12. Carlos Checa, Yamaha, 2:06.858
13. Jose Luis Cardoso, Yamaha, 2:06.993
14. Sete Gibernau, Suzuki, 2:07.121
15. Akira Ryo, Suzuki, 2:07.580
16. Jurgen vd Goorbergh, Proton, 2:08.419
17. Haruchika Aoki, Honda, 2:08.906
18. Chris Walker, Honda, 2:09.129
19. Olivier Jacque, Yamaha, 2:09.409
20. Leon Haslam, Honda, 2:10.478
Daijiro Katoh went half-a-second quicker in the final 250cc qualifying session at Suzuka and will start on the pole for Sunday’s 250cc Grand Prix of Japan. Marco Melandri did not better his first-session time but will still start second on the grid. Top times follow, listed down to 22nd place because 10th through 22nd are all on the same second:
1. Katoh, Honda, 2:07.414
2. Melandri, Aprilia, 2:08.546
3. Locatelli, Aprilia, 2:08.633
4. Debon, Aprilia, 2:09.295
5. McWilliams, Aprilia, 2:09.363
6. Battaini, Aprilia, 2:09.450
7. Matsudo, Yamaha, 2:09.563
8. Harada, Aprilia, 2:09.683
9. Rolfo, Aprilia, 2:09.741
10. De Puniet, Aprilia, 2:10.013
11. Porto, Yamaha, 2:10.046
12. F. Nieto, Aprilia, 2:10.251
13. Nohles, Aprilia, 2:10.261
14. Aoyama, Honda, 2:10.264
15. Sekiguchi, Yamaha, 2:10.463
16. Nakatomi, Honda, 2:10.477
17. Boscoscuro, Aprilia, 2:10.497
18. Hofmann, Aprilia, 2:10.528
19. Alzamora, Honda, 2:10.594
20. De Gea, Yamaha, 2:10.598
21. Yuzy, Yamaha, 2:10.678
22. Allemand, Yamaha, 2:10.732
Katja Poensgen qualified 31st out of 32 qualifiers, with two entrants (D. Tomas of Spain and C. Barros of Brazil) not qualifying because their times were not within 107 percent of pole time. Poensgen took three seconds off her first-session time and turned a 2:15.821.
Originally scheduled for Sunday, November 4, the final round of the FIM Grand Prix World Championship season at Nelson Piquet Circuit in Rio, Brazil, has been moved up one day. The Brazilian Grand Prix will now be held on Saturday, November 3rd, with practice and qualifying also moved up a day each to Thursday and Friday, November 1-2.
Joe Prussiano and Ty Howard will replace injured Ryan Landers on the Shogun team in Formula USA competition, Prussiano riding Landers’ Yamaha YZF-R1 and Howard riding Landers’ Yamaha YZF-R6.
Landers suffered a severe concussion in a crash at Motor Sports Ranch a week ago.
Prussiano and Howard will debut with Shogun at the Willow Springs Formula USA race April 19-22. They join Paul Harrell, Landers’ original teammate.
Daijiro Katoh won the Japanese 250cc Grand Prix at Suzuka by 18.763 seconds over Tetsuya Harada. Roberto Locatelli finished third.
Katja Poensgen finished 22nd, one lap down, and was the last rider still running at the finish.
Results follow:
1. Daijiro Katoh, Honda, 41:03.596
2. Tetsuya Harada, Aprilia, -18.763 seconds
3. Roberto Locatelli, Aprilia, -18.835
4. Naoki Matsudo, Yamaha, -23.135
5. Roberto Rolfo, Aprilia, -24.423
6. MArco Melandri, Aprilia, -26.595
7. Franco Battaini, Aprilia, -31.142
8. Jeremy McWilliams, Aprilia, -43.953
9. Sebastian Porto, Yamaha, -45.887
10. Taro Sekiguchi, Yamaha, -48.496
11. Fonsi Nieto, Aprilia, -53.583
12. Alex Hofman, Aprilia, -1:05.172
13. Hiroshi Aoyamo, Honda, -1:05.267
14. Klaus Nohles, Aprilia, -1:17.422
15. Sylvain Guintoli, Aprilia, 1:18.183
22. Katja Poensgen, Aprilia, – 1 lap.
Crashers included Julien Allemand, Emilio Alzamora, Alex Debon, David De Gea and Shahrol Yuzy.
Masao Azuma preserved Honda honor by beating Youchi Ui and his Derbi by 0.067-second at the line to win the Japanese 125cc Grand Prix at Suzuka. Aprilia’s Simone Sanna was third and Aprilia’s Gino Borsoi was fourth, with the top four riders all finishing on the same second and the first six finishing within 1.5 seconds.
Results follow:
1. Masao Azuma, Honda, 40:59.192
2. Youchi Ui, Derbi, -0.067 seconds
3. Simona Sanna, Aprilia, -0.604
4. Gino Borsoi, Aprilia, -0.898
5. Manual Poggiali, Gilera, -1.151
6. Lucio Cecchinello, Aprilia, -1.376
7. Steve Jenkner, Aprilia, -14.173
8. Mirko Giansanti, Honda, -14.632
9. Arnaud Vincent, Honda, -15.735
10. Pablo Nieto, Derbi, -16.333
11. Angel Nieto Jr., Honda, -17384
12. Max Sabbatani, Aprilia, -17.992
13. Gianluigi Scalvini, Italjet, -18.621
14. Alex De Angelis, Honda, -18.628
15. Hiroyuki Kikuchi, Honda, -23.655
Crashers included Marco Petrini, Naoki Katoh, Stefano Perugini, Eric Bataille, Gaspare Caffiero, Noboru Ueda and Jarno Muller.
Jay Piz feels strongly that his brother, Dirk, who died following a crash at Daytona on March 11, should be remembered as a hero.
Jay Piz said that he has been told by eyewitnesses that his brother Dirk deliberately chose to steer away from Kiyo Watanabe, (who had crashed in front of Piz in the chicane at Daytona during the Pro Thunder race), and hit Watanabe’s motorcycle instead. The way Jay Piz sees it, Dirk Piz may have saved Watanabe at the cost of his own life.
Jay Piz also aknowledged the bravery of Dirk’s teammate and girlfriend, Wyeth Jackson, who completed the restarted Pro Thunder race and finished 13th after running as high as 10th, all while knowing that Dirk was involved in the crash that brought out the red flag. (Jackson did not know the extent of Dirk Piz’s injuries at the time.)
According to news reports, Dirk Piz was the 32nd competitor–and the sixth motorcycle racer–to die at Daytona International Speedway.
Piz suffered a ruptured aorta in the crash.
The Piz family has asked that in lieu of flowers or cards that donations be made to a charity that Dirk Piz supported:
Denver Children’s Advocacy Center 1271 Elati Street Denver, CO 80204
San Francisco’s Scuderia West, which claims to be the top Aprilia dealership in the U.S. based on the number of motorcycles sold at retail, has announced that it is sponsoring the AFM 250cc Superbike class for the 2001 Season. Aprilia RS250 riders who meet contingency requirements and finish in the top five will receive payouts ranging from $250 for a win down to $50 for fifth place. With Aprilia USA also posting contingency money in the class a win on an Aprilia would net a racer $475.
Further information is available from Scuderia West’s Todd Risley at (415)621-7223.
Scuderia’s list of supported riders this year include:
Ken Hill (Mille R)AFM/F-USA
Kevin Holman (Mille R) AFM/F-USA
Michael Hannas (RS250) F-USA
Jimmy Filice (TZ250) AMA
Honda’s Valentino Rossi beat Yamaha’s Garry McCoy and Max Biaggi to win the Japanese 500cc Grand Prix at Suzuka, the three leaders crossing the line within a second. Defending 500cc World Champion Kenny Roberts was seventh, and Leon Haslam was the 13th and final finisher, just behind 12th-place Haruchika Aoki.
Chris Walker and Jose Luis Cardoso crashed on the first lap; other crashers included Sete Gibernau, Noriyuki Haga, Carlos Checa, Akira Ryo and Tohru Ukawa. Retirees included Johan Stigefelt, Olivier Jacque and Mark Willis.
Results follow:
1. Valentino Rossi, Honda, 44:51.501
2. Garry McCoy, Yamaha, -0.724 seconds
3. Max Biaggi, Yamaha, -0.956
4. Norick Abe, Yamaha, -1.176
5. Shinya Nakano, Yamaha, -3.256
6. Alex Barros, Honda, -14.515
7. Kenny Roberts, Suzuki, -22.876
8. Loris Capirossi, Honda, -28.732
9. Alex Criville, Honda, -34.478
10. Carlos Checa, Yamaha, -53.765
11. Jurgen v.d. Goorbergh, Proton, -58.688
12. Haruchika Aoki, Honda, -1:17.338
13. Leon Haslam, Honda, -1:17.681
CCS issued a press release announcing significant membership growth in 2001 compared to the same period in 2000.
According to the release, “The Championship Cup Series has seen a dramatic increase in the number of CCS licenses issued to riders from last year’s inaugural season with SFX Motor Sports Group on board as the promoter of all Formula USA/CCS race
events taking place across the United States. The following are year-to-date figures representing a 34.8% increase from 2000.
“Licenses issued to riders from CCS in 2001, 2654.
“Licenses issued to riders from CCS in 2000, 1970.”
The release quoted CCS Road Race Manager Kevin Elliott as saying “This increase of 684 licenses in 2001 represents an increase of 34.8 percent to date. I would like to thank everyone who has had a hand in this. It is truly a group effort and it wouldn’t happen without the help and dedication of the entire CCS staff.”
More information about the Championship Cup Series is available at www.ccsracing.com.
Loris Capirossi put in a blistering lap almost two seconds underneath the lap record to take pole for Sunday’s 500cc Grand Prix at Suzuka Circuit, Japan.
Capirossi turned a lap at 2:04.777 in Saturday afternoon’s final 500cc qualifying session. Top times follow:
1. Loris Capirossi, Honda, 2:04.777
2. Shinya Nakano, Yamaha, 2:05.588
3. Max Biaggi, Yamaha, 2:05.703
4. Garry McCoy, Yamaha, 2:05.833
5. Tohru Ukawa, Honda, 2:05.924
6. Norick Abe, Yamaha, 2:05.927
7. Valentino Rossi, Honda, 2:06.140
8. Alex Barros, Honda, 2:06.295
9. Kenny Roberts, Suzuki, 2:06.469
10. Noriyuki Haga, Yamaha, 2:06.597
11. Alex Criville, Honda, 2:06.714
12. Carlos Checa, Yamaha, 2:06.858
13. Jose Luis Cardoso, Yamaha, 2:06.993
14. Sete Gibernau, Suzuki, 2:07.121
15. Akira Ryo, Suzuki, 2:07.580
16. Jurgen vd Goorbergh, Proton, 2:08.419
17. Haruchika Aoki, Honda, 2:08.906
18. Chris Walker, Honda, 2:09.129
19. Olivier Jacque, Yamaha, 2:09.409
20. Leon Haslam, Honda, 2:10.478
Daijiro Katoh went half-a-second quicker in the final 250cc qualifying session at Suzuka and will start on the pole for Sunday’s 250cc Grand Prix of Japan. Marco Melandri did not better his first-session time but will still start second on the grid. Top times follow, listed down to 22nd place because 10th through 22nd are all on the same second:
1. Katoh, Honda, 2:07.414
2. Melandri, Aprilia, 2:08.546
3. Locatelli, Aprilia, 2:08.633
4. Debon, Aprilia, 2:09.295
5. McWilliams, Aprilia, 2:09.363
6. Battaini, Aprilia, 2:09.450
7. Matsudo, Yamaha, 2:09.563
8. Harada, Aprilia, 2:09.683
9. Rolfo, Aprilia, 2:09.741
10. De Puniet, Aprilia, 2:10.013
11. Porto, Yamaha, 2:10.046
12. F. Nieto, Aprilia, 2:10.251
13. Nohles, Aprilia, 2:10.261
14. Aoyama, Honda, 2:10.264
15. Sekiguchi, Yamaha, 2:10.463
16. Nakatomi, Honda, 2:10.477
17. Boscoscuro, Aprilia, 2:10.497
18. Hofmann, Aprilia, 2:10.528
19. Alzamora, Honda, 2:10.594
20. De Gea, Yamaha, 2:10.598
21. Yuzy, Yamaha, 2:10.678
22. Allemand, Yamaha, 2:10.732
Katja Poensgen qualified 31st out of 32 qualifiers, with two entrants (D. Tomas of Spain and C. Barros of Brazil) not qualifying because their times were not within 107 percent of pole time. Poensgen took three seconds off her first-session time and turned a 2:15.821.
Originally scheduled for Sunday, November 4, the final round of the FIM Grand Prix World Championship season at Nelson Piquet Circuit in Rio, Brazil, has been moved up one day. The Brazilian Grand Prix will now be held on Saturday, November 3rd, with practice and qualifying also moved up a day each to Thursday and Friday, November 1-2.
