Freddie Spencer, the 1983 500cc and the 1985 500cc and 250cc World Champion, was back on a Honda 250 for a two-day training and coaching session with young gun Jason DiSalvo at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. DiSalvo, 16, spent January 10-12 with Spencer at the Las Vegas track before heading to Buttonwillow Raceway Park in California January 13-14, returning to Las Vegas January 15 and then testing at Willow Springs Raceway January 18-21. Spencer rode DiSalvo’s spare 2001 Honda RS250 with DiSalvo in the sessions at Las Vegas, to evaluate DiSalvo and observe him at close range as well as to diagnose problems DiSalvo was having with machine set-up. Spencer last rode a Honda RS250 in January 2000, when he took a few laps on DiSalvo’s 007 RS250 at Las Vegas. Prior to that, Spencer had not been on a 250 since his World Championship-winning year, 1985. DiSalvo finished ninth in Formula One and fourth in Formula Two during the January 20-21 WSMC weekend, starting from the back of the grid in both races. At Las Vegas, DiSalvo and Spencer rode on the 1.1-mile infield course used by Spencer’s riding school (and located inside the Speedway oval) as well as on the renovated 2.2-mile “Classic Course” located outside the Speedway, on adjacent land. The 2.2-mile course has been fitted with GP curbing and rumble strips and run-off has been improved with the removal of a wall in the last turn. Asked about his impression of the current RS250, Spencer said “They have gotten a little bit smaller and the only problem I had was where my knees were positioned. I had to move the clip-ons out so my elbows were not on top of my knees. I don’t ride on slicks here at the school, just DOTs, but just after a couple of laps I felt pretty comfortable on the bike and got up to speed and had a lot of fun on it.” Asked why he wanted to ride with DiSalvo, Spencer said “A couple of things. First, to kind of find out how the bike was working. We were talking about the bike and how it reacts in certain situations. And second, to be able to watch him, and to see how the bike turns and holds its line, how it was transferring weight, how it was steering. “Jason was saying it was stiff, and after riding it, I could see it definitely was. Stock it was really stiff,” Spencer said. “It was almost too hard for me, and I’m definitely heavier than Jason. We got him some softer springs that they put on before he went to Buttonwillow, and that really helped him when he came back here and then went out to Willow. “They don’t have much experience with the bike,” Spencer said of DiSalvo and his team, explaining that he was able to help the mechanics get the bike better for DiSalvo by adjusting the stock suspension and changing the springs, although DiSlavo will be racing with WP forks and shock. “Tweaking the stock suspension and getting it close really helped him, how it was transferring weight,” Spencer said. Spencer rode the bike again on the 2.2-mile course Tuesday, January 16, and said that with the lighter springs “The bike steered pretty good, finished the turn well, really had good feedback. It was softer, almost too soft for me, and it was a lot better for Jason.” Spencer said that the series of tests helped DiSalvo because he was “just putting in laps, gained confidence.” Spencer also said that he had worked with DiSalvo to refine his riding style to better suit the RS250 versus the RS125 he primarily raced in 2000, getting his body farther off the bike.

Ducati North America and local Ducati dealers will host over 40 street rides in various parts of the country in 2001. The events will include door prizes provided by Ducati Performance and by ride co-sponsors Dunlop and Campagnolo. At selected events, participants will have a chance to test ride Ducati ST (Sport Touring) models. The rides have a $15 entry fee and the number of entries is limited. More information is available from Ducati dealers, from (888) DUCATI-2 or from www.ducatiusa.com

A scheduled two-day AMA Superbike test session at Sears Point Raceway by factory Kawasaki, Honda and Suzuki teams was canceled due to water seeping up through the track surface as the result of recent heavy rain, according to a press release issued by the track. But in a piece of good news, the release stated “Track officials say they will install a sub-surface drainage system at certain areas on the track prior to the AMA Superbike Challenge in May in order to better deal with wet weather.” The 2001 AMA Pro Superbike race at Sears Point is scheduled for May 4-6. The 2000 race at the track was cancelled due to rain and related drainage problems.

Participant registration for events at Daytona International Speedway has moved to a building on the north side of International Speedway Blvd./Highway 92, directly across from Speedway Gate 7. The new location is on Industrial Parkway between International Speedway Blvd. and Avenue B, in Building 1; the front corners of the actual building are painted bright red and there are signs on International Speedway Blvd. pointing to Registration and Credentials. A map detailing the location of the registration building was available on www.grand-am.com at postime.

German racer Juergen Oelschlaeger, 29, is looking for a Supersport ride at Daytona, 2001. Oelschlaeger was runner-up in the 1999 German National Championship 600cc Supersport class on a Suzuki, and in the 2000 season ran the Superbike World Championship on a Yamaha YZF-R7 with Alpha Technik Yamaha. His best World Superbike results were a 9th and a 12th in the two races at Assen, Holland. For the 2001 season, Oelschlaeger is contracted to Suzuki Germany and Michelin to run the German Championship, a few European Championship rounds and the two World Championship rounds held in Germany with Steinhausen Racing, a team owned by former Sidecar World Champion Rolf Steinhausen. The team plans to contest the 2002 Supersport World Championship with Oelschlaeger. Oelschlaeger raced at Daytona in 1995 and finished 10th in the 250cc Grand Prix race. He hopes to compete again at Daytona this coming March and brings support from Michelin Germany (in the form of tires) with him. Oelschlaeger can be contacted via e-mail at [email protected], via phone at 011-49-8656-7410, and via FAX at 011-49-8656-98-5645. Photos of Oelschlaeger in action can be seen online at www.alphatechnik.de

Defending AMA Pro Superbike Champion Mat Mladin left Laguna Seca frustrated after four days of testing hampered by poor weather. By Mladin’s reckoning, he got half-a-day worth of testing across the four days, January 22-25, and accomplished nothing. Mladin and the Yoshimura Suzuki team next test at Sears Point Raceway on January 28 and 29, along with the Honda and Kawasaki teams.

Formula USA Director of Road Racing Bill Syfan has invited 800cc Ducati refugees from the AMA Pro Thunder class to participate in F-USA Sport Bike races. Under F-USA rules, machines in the Sport Bike class can displace up to 800cc with a minimum weight of 365 pounds and a maximum horsepower output of 112 horsepower on a Dyno Jet Dyno. To be eligible, Ducati 748s must run stock wheels, frames and cases and must compete on DOT-labelled tires. Each F-USA Sport Bike race features a $10,000 purse which pays $2000 to win with $1500 for second and $1200 for third, paying down to 15th.

Area Coca-Cola Bottlers will back the “Coca-Cola Texas Superbike Endurance Series”, according to a press release issued by RPM Racing, the Texas-based WERA South Central Region affiliate. The series will consist of seven 4-hour races run at Texas World Speedway, Hallett Motor Racing Circuit, and the new 2.83-mile road course at Texas Motor Speedway. Each event will include three WERA Superbike classes, Heavyweight, Mediumweight and Lightweight, with a total series purse of $12,000 including per-event and points fund payouts. Area Coca-Cola Bottlers have also put up a $4000 purse for the Formula One class at the first round of the WERA South Central Region Sportsman Sprint Series, sheduled for March 11 at Hallett. More information is available from the RPM Racing Inc. website at www.rpmraceclub.com

Insiders say that racer Morgan Broadhead may be involved with a new company being set up by three-time World Champion Freddie Spencer to distribute Michelin racing tires in the Western United States. A yet-to-be-confirmed deal would have Broadhead oversee several regional subdistributors. An official announcement of the arrangement is expected soon.