Part Three:
Genuine Suzuki Accessories 750cc Supersport

The 750cc Supersport series returns in 2001 with new sponsor Genuine Suzuki Accessories, an increased Championship bonus program, and a new rule. No longer will 600s have a minimum weight requirement to enter the 750cc class, but the power-to-weight ratio of the latest GSX-R750 has made riding a 600cc in the class an exercise in futility. Defending 750cc Supersport Champion John Hopkins is not expected to campaign the whole season, but Hopkins’ younger Valvoline EGMO Suzuki teammate, 16-year-old Texan Ben Spies, will. Spies qualified on the front row for his first-ever 750 race at Mid-Ohio last year. A stronger and smarter Spies could eclipse his own teammate as the youngest AMA Champion ever if he gets the job done. Spies will be armed with pro-racer-turned-mechanic Shane Clarke setting up the bike like only a ex-racer can.

The strongest favorite for the 750cc Championship would have to be Jimmy Moore. Moore leaves the Ricci Motorsports team after many years to join a team returning to AMA competition after a similar length of time. Past race winner Moore will ride for Landers Sevier’s EBSCO Suzuki team, sponsored by Corona Extra. Moore, 33, will be teamed up with 17-year-old Tony “The Tiger” Meiring, perhaps the youngest beer-sponsored rider in U.S. road racing history. Champion dirt tracker Meiring struggled with a Honda CBR600F4 in Pro competition in 2000, but has quickly taken a liking to his Suzuki GSX-R750. EBSCO Suzuki will field a third bike with Czech immigrant Vaclav “Vincent” Haskovec at the controls. Haskovec, 26, has shown flashes of brilliance, especially at his home track Willow Springs, but has yet to put together a strong National season.

Two-time Suzuki Cup Champion Mike Ciccotto will be back with Steve DeCamp’s successful Hooters Suzuki program and could be a serious contender for the title.

Another strong contender in the Suzuki-spec class will be 1998 AMA 750cc Champion Richie Alexander. After a bout with Lyme disease derailed his promising career in 1999, Alexander, 28, is back for 2001 riding with Attack Suzuki on Dunlop tires.

Gary Ricci’s Bardahl-backed Ricci Motorsports team will return with back-in-racing Tony Lupo as well as Scott Gooch, with appearances by young gun Jake Holden. Lupo was a 750cc Supersport regular and podium finisher when he ran the series from 1995-1997. In the meantime, Lupo had some bad luck and a run-in with the law related to domestic violence. Lupo now returns to master the new generation GSX-R750 as well as his temper. Gooch comes from regional racing success in the Northwest for his first full AMA season. Holden will stay close to home while he still learns the ropes of professional racing and run in selected West Coast events.

Wild card entries in 750cc Supersport competition will include 21-year-old Chris Ulrich riding a Vesrah-backed Suzuki. Ulrich will be racing his first year of four-strokes after a successful teenage career on Grand Prix two-strokes. A second-generation 24-Hour Endurance race winner, Ulrich has already proven that he is in top physical shape and up to speed in pre-season testing. He’ll run Metzeler tires.

Arclight Suzuki is planning on making some AMA 750cc Supersport appearances like the one that saw Lee Acree podium at Daytona last spring. After a successful 2000 season in WERA and F-USA competition, Arclight has stepped their program up for 2001 with F-USA Sportbike and three-time Suzuki Cup Champion Acree teamed with Northern California’s Brian Parriott. As a true privateer, Parriott has shown in the past that he can ride with the factory stars. Now with Suzuki support, Parriott has a real chance to be a star himself. Both will ride on Pirelli tires.

Part Two:
Honda Pro Oils 600cc Supersport

The AMA 600cc Supersport series is very important to manufacturers in that it can be directly related to marketing and sales of the largest category of sportbikes for the street. But many of the top names will be missing from the 600 grids except for maybe at Daytona or a last-round appearance to help a teammate in the Championship. Aside from the Ducati riders being shut out along with the Italian company’s 748 model, Nicky Hayden, Mladin, and Chandler will not contest the entire 600cc series.

The only changes made to 600cc Supersport rules are the changes that affect every support class. New for 2001, the fastest qualifier in each class will receive a bonus point. In the past, only the Superbike Pole-sitter got an extra point. Also new for 2001, a rider must complete 50 percent of the race laps of the final event to score any points. Gone are the days of crashing on the first lap but still scoring points.

Most fans hope that Eric Bostrom, Jamie Hacking and defending 600cc Supersport Champion Kurtis Roberts will pick up right where they left off at the final round of 2000, at Willow Springs. Bostrom got a lot out of his Kawasaki ZX-6R in 2000, including speeds of 170 mph at Brainerd, and look for Team Green tuners Al Ludington and Joey Lombardo to get even more out of the same bike in 2001.

Roberts and Hacking, 29, will return with updated and new mounts respectively. Roberts’ Honda will get fuel injection for the first time along with an upgraded ram-air system and stiffer frame. Hacking will get the state-of-the-art GSX-R600. Roberts should not have any problem getting used to his new bike, but Hacking may have to adjust from the narrower Yamaha YZF-R6 to the wider Suzuki. In contrast, Aaron Yates will most likely find the new, fuel injected GSX-R600 leaner and meaner than his last Yoshimura Suzuki 600.

Although he was rumored during the off-season to be ready to give up 600cc racing, Honda has confirmed that all-time 600cc Supersport win leader (with 37) Miguel Duhamel will chase what could be his fifth title in the class.

But the most interesting news in Supersport racing is that Anthony Gobert will race 600s for the first time in his career. Gobert has been putting in a lot of laps on his YZF-R6 over the winter, even attending many WSMC and CCS club events where he has set track records on his YZF-R6. You can be sure that Gobert will be up at the front in the 600 races. Go-Show’s Yamaha teammate, Tommy Hayden, nearly won the 600cc title in 1999 on the YZF-R6 and returns on the blue bike for the third year.

Satellite teams have continued to grow with our sport and are now to the point in Supersport racing where they can run with the Factory teams. For instance in 1999, Josh Hayes and his Valvoline EMGO Suzuki GSX-R600 regularly out-qualified and beat the Yoshimura Suzuki 600s. It would not surprise many people in the industry for any of the following riders to be on an AMA 600cc Supersport podium in 2001.

Jake Zemke, 25, moves up to the Erion Honda squad for 2001. Zemke has steadily progressed through the ranks and now will be riding for the team that has won the 600cc Supersport Championship for the past two years. Although Zemke finished off 2000 strong, he will be going into Daytona with a freshly mended arm, broken while trail riding.

Josh Hayes, 25, struggled with injuries sustained in a 2000 Daytona 600cc Supersport race crash through most of last year. Only recently were the complete extent of Hayes’ injuries diagnosed and treated, in part with a nerve transplant in his right arm. Hayes will have to endure another healing year from the seat of his Bruce Transportation Group Honda CBR600F4i in 2001.

Hayes’ teammate will be the youngest Hayden brother. Roger Lee Hayden, 17, spent much of the 2000 season at or near the front of 750cc Supersport races, gaining speed and experience. Now Roger Lee has fallen in love with the Honda CBR600F4 i in testing and looks for good results. Jason Pridmore, the 1997 750cc Supersport Champion, 31, got bumped from his Yoshimura Suzuki seat for 2001, but that will only fuel his desire to win in the 600cc class aboard a GSX-R600 built by Richard Stanboli’s Attack Suzuki crew.

Graves Yamaha starts 2001 with the independent team’s best-ever rider line-up in their history. Riding YZF-R6s that have already proven themselves against the factory 600s in winter testing, Damon Buckmaster and 20-year-old Aaron Gobert will have to be reckoned with in the new season. Former Australian 600cc Supersport Champion Buckmaster, 27, rode well enough in 2000 to deserve a factory ride. Now Bucky will be out to make the factory teams curse their oversight. Relatively unknown, Anthony Gobert’s middle brother Aaron has shone brightly in first visits to every track he has tested on this winter. Recently, Aaron Gobert nearly beat Anthony and Tommy Hayden in a CCS club race despite the fact that Aaron was wrenching on his own bike.

Last but not least, comes the hungry trio of riders from a bigger-than-ever Valvoline EMGO Suzuki effort. Reigning Formula USA Champion Grant Lopez has taken to Suzuki’s new GSX-R600 well and will race AMA 600cc Supersport for the first time in his career. Lopez will lead the way for his teenaged teammates John Hopkins and Ben Spies. Hopkins won the 2000 AMA 750cc Supersport crown at age 17, has already been offered a 500cc Grand Prix ride for 2002 and will now mix things up with the country’s fastest men, under the guidance of tuner Barry McMahan. Nearly as swift as Hopkins and one year younger, Spies may also race the newest GSX-R600 Suzuki in selected events.

Although he will be concentrating on the F-USA series, look for former 500cc GP and former factory Ducati rider Matt Wait, 24, to make several West Coast appearances aboard a Synergy Racing Technologies Honda CBR600F4 i. New to 600cc competition, EBSCO Suzuki will field Jimmy Moore and Vincent Haskovec on Dunlop-shod Suzuki GSX-R600s with support from Corona Extra. Look for Moore and Haskovec to beat some of the factory riders on a regular basis.

Part Four:
Lockhart-Phillips Formula Xtreme

Formula Xtreme has a new rule for 2001 saying that the “Frame may be modified but at least 50% of the original structure must be retained and approved by the AMA Pro Racing Technical Department.” Although this would lead one to think that a complete R7 chassis with only a R1 steering head and VIN number grafted on to that chassis would be illegal, a bike like that has already been determined legal. The biggest determining factor will be the AMA approval part of the rule. With all four of the major motorcycle manufacturers producing a capable, liter-class sport bike now, there really is no longer a need to build a custom R7/R1 chassis in theory, but in practice that’s exactly what some Yamaha teams are doing.

Considering that the AMA Formula Xtreme Championship has been won by Erion Racing every year that the class has existed, it is not difficult to pick the Kevin Erion-owned team as the favorite. But the FX class has grown and now features serious teams on three different makes of bikes, all taking great exception to Erion’s favorite status.

With 1999 and 2000 Formula Xtreme champ Kurtis Roberts concentrating his efforts in 600cc Supersport and Superbike, the burden of keeping the Erion Honda streak alive is passed on to Jake Zemke and Mark Miller. Miller, 28, moves over from riding an R7/R1 hybrid for Attack Yamaha; Miller has won a race and set records while usually chasing the Erion CBRs. Now Miller will have to adapt to the CBR929RR, but has until May to do it because he will not be racing any other class and Formula Xtreme is not running at Daytona.

Zemke will be riding the same ex-Roberts bike that he rode to the season finale victory at Willow Springs in 2000. Josh Hayes finished third in the FX Championship in 2000 even while riding with a bad right arm and hand. Moving from the Erion camp to under the Erion-supported Bruce Transportation Group’s awning for 2001, Hayes will still be on the mend from nerve transplant surgery to that arm but will still be a rider to be dealt with.

Team EMGO Valvoline Suzuki comes back for 2001 armed with the new GSX-R1000. In the hands of the newly-enlarged, Keith Perry-led crew, the Suzuki 1000 could set new standards for horsepower as long as Michelin can keep the bike hooked up. With riders Grant Lopez, 29, and John Hopkins, Valvoline EMGO Suzuki could dethrone Honda as the new leader in Formula Xtreme.

Also on the newest GSX-R1000 will be Pridmore and Alexander with Attack Suzuki. Pridmore should have no problem adjusting to the 1000 Suzuki’s power coming straight from factory Superbike equipment, but Alexander may need an adjustment period to corral all of those horses.

Carrying the flag for Graves Yamaha aboard R7/R1s will be Damon Buckmaster and Aaron Gobert. Gobert has shown speed while adapting to his first 600cc racebike, but the R1 will require the climb of another steep learning curve. Buckmaster, on the other hand, has the talent and the drive to take the proven Graves R1 back to the podium where it finished the 2000 season with Vincent Haskovec riding.

FIRST PERSON/OPINION:

One Reporter’s AMA Season Preview

By David Swarts

The 2001 racing season looks like it will be the most exciting in years, with an incredible amount of talent racing in America these days. What follows is a run through the AMA classes to preview the season.


Part One:
Chevy Trucks Superbike

The Superbike class for 2001 gets one rule change and one new venue. New for pit stops in 2001, only five crew members will be allowed on the track side of the pit wall with one of those crew members to man the fire extinguisher only. In the past, factory teams regularly used three people on each wheel and a total of nine. This will possibly lengthen a good Daytona pit stop from 7 to 10 seconds or more. This rule was meant to help level the playing field of pit stops between factory teams and teams with less funding, but all it will really do is widen the pit-stop-time spread between teams with expensive quick-change equipment and team without.

Demonstrating that factory teams are more equal than non-factory teams in ways beyond having more resources, the AMA implemented a ban on powered bike lifts for pit stops in 2001, but then postponed implementation until 2002 when the factory teams complained.

Pits stops used to only apply to the Daytona 200, but the 2001 season finale scheduled for Virginia International Raceway will run 150 kilometers, or 92.3 miles, too far for a Superbikes’ 24-liter (6.34-gallon) fuel tank to handle without a pit stop. V.I.R. is located on the state line between Virginia and North Carolina near the town of Danville, Virginia. It is still unclear as to whether the AMA will run the tighter 2.26-mile course or the wide-open, roller coaster, 3.26-mile course. For a review of V.I.R., see the November issue of Roadracing World.

In 2000, the Superbike title hunt went back-and-forth between defending Superbike Champion Mat Mladin and Superbike rookie Nicky Hayden. Mladin, 28, won his second consecutive title by a scant five points over the 19-year old Kentuckian. For 2001, Mladin will have a new GSX-R750 under him and a new crew chief, Peter Doyle. On the other hand, Hayden will be back on a familiar bike, with mechanics he likes, and with a year’s worth of experience in bike set-up and tire management.

The only rider I see as having a straight-up chance of beating Nicky Hayden or Mladin is Anthony Gobert. Gobert moved to America early in the off-season and has been training very hard for the upcoming campaign. Now 25 years old, Gobert realizes that he could have been a World Champion by now if he hadn’t repeatedly blown his chances and wants to realize that dream.

In the you-can’t-ever-count-them-out category will be seasoned and capable veterans Miguel Duhamel and Doug Chandler. DuHamel, 33, proved that he could still win by taking a close victory over Mladin at Brainerd last season. For 2001, DuHamel will have a metal-rod-free body to work with and a renewed fire from the late-season Brainerd win. Maybe the most respected rider in the paddock, Chandler, 35, is a master of tire management, but will by held back by one of the oldest and only carbureted bikes left on the grid. Overseeing Chandler’s green machine will be Chandler’s longtime tuner Gary Medley.

Several other riders are capable of winning a race or two or even the Championship. Scott Russell, 36, will be back on a competitive bike in the form of his 2000-spec HMC Ducati 996, with a proven Ducati tuner in Carl Fogarty’s ex-mechanic Anthony “Slick” Bass, and with a lot of critics to silence. People easily forget that Russell is a former Superbike World Champion who has beaten Fogarty in World Superbike and even beat Mick Doohan in a Grand Prix. On the other hand, Aaron Slight is probably the fastest man to not win a World Championship. In a last minute deal, Slight, 35, signed to ride for Competition Accessories Ducati when the team could not come to terms with two-time World Champion John Kocinski. While Kocinski pursues a post-racing career in real estate, Slight will be reacquainting himself with Daytona, learning the rest of America’s tracks, learning the Ducati versus the Honda RC51, and learning Dunlop tires versus Michelins. Slight has won the Suzuka 8-Hour three times, has finished second and third in the Superbike World Championship several times, and has 13 World Superbike race wins.

Kurtis Roberts, 22, gets his first full season on a Superbike with Erion Honda and tuner David McGrath. Roberts definitely showed some speed in his guest rides on the RC51 last year but seemed to have trouble staying on the Superbike. Not one to lack confidence, Roberts is a rider who knows he is going places.

Aaron Yates, 27, has won in the past and is coming off a strong 2000 that saw him finish third in the Championship. Unfortunately, Yates, like his new Yoshimura Suzuki teammate Jamie Hacking, will be starting the 2001 season on a brand new bike with little if any testing due to off-season injuries. No one has ever doubted Hacking’s speed, but the man from South Carolina has yet to develop the consistency it takes to win a Championship.

With an all-star crew behind him and wins on two different brands of machinery, Eric Bostrom, 24, definitely has the talent and backing to take the Superbike title. Unfortunately, the limitations of the Kawasaki ZX-7R may hold E-Boz back.

Larry Pegram, 28, started the 2000 season in a rush to get bikes from Italy, through customs, and set-up for Daytona. Although he and Competition Accessories had a good debut on the high banks in 2000, Pegram wasn’t able to match those results for the rest of year. Hopefully, the increased support from Ducati Corse will help Pegram get back to the top of the AMA podium.

Steve Rapp, 28, was happy to return to the Italian make in 2000 after a year struggling on the Suzuki Superbike in 1999. Unfortunately, Rapp suffered an injury to his hand early in 2000 that held him back until late in the year when Rapp got his first pole position and Superbike podium during the final round at Willow Springs. Although they will be painted differently, Rapp will again be riding his ex-Vance & Hines Ducatis with HMC in 2001.

With Yamaha’s World Superbike program being canceled, hopefully Tommy Hayden, 22, will get the support with the unsorted Yamaha YZF-R7 that he needs to fulfill his potential. Lack of top speed and a finicky slipper clutch held the oldest Hayden back in 2000, not a lack of effort or desire.

Even with a serious lack of power, Pascal Picotte, 31, and Mike Smith are a threat to win with the VR1000, but only in the rain or a bullring like Loudon or Pike’s Peak. I don’t think that it is cruel to count the Harley-Davidson team out before the season starts. The H-D team has a new leader in John Baker, but 2001 will be a rebuilding year as the VR race program is brought in-house with an increased budget, resources, and development work. Part of the new Harley-Davidson development program will include giving direct support to Austin/ Bleu Bayou Harley-Davidson Racing, a team that the Harley factory had shunned in the past. Formerly known as Bell County/ Bleu Bayou H-D, Austin/ Bleu Bayou will field former Canadian Superbike Champion Jordan Szoke.

Andreas Bronnen, the new man in charge of Metzeler/Pirelli’s North American operations, plans to compete on a Shogun Motor Sports Suzuki GSX-R600 in the Formula USA Sport Bike class at Daytona.

Bronnen, 43, an accomplished racer, rode a GSX-R750 in the German endurance series last season.

Bronnen arrived in the U.S. January 1 and took over the top spot at Metzeler Motorcycle Tire North America Corp. headquarters in Pennsylvania on January 16. His mandate is to increase market share for the Metzeler and Pirelli tire brands.

Pirelli owns Metzeler, and the company markets both as premium brands worldwide.

Bronnen, who is currently traveling in Europe, is scheduled to arrive in Daytona tomorrow, February 28.

A press release issued by racer Brad Bannister, Yamaha Motor Corp. U.S.A. Public Relations Manager/Motorsports Group read:

During Daytona Bike Week, one of the largest motorcycle events in the country, Yamaha Motor Corp., U.S.A. will bring together motorcycle racing’s greatest Champions. Yamaha is hosting
its third annual “Weekend of Champions” where Yamaha road racing and motocross Champions reunite on the high-banks of Daytona Speedway. The racing legends will take part in a parade lap around the famous track kicking off the opening ceremonies of the Daytona 200 Superbike race. The
Champions will sign autographs and meet fans Friday, Saturday and Sunday and are available for photographs and live or taped in-studio or remote
interviews and race commentary (by appointment only).

WHAT: This is a rare opportunity to bring fans in-depth, one-on-one interviews with some of the greatest racers of all-time. The history of
racing is best told by the sport’s legends.

Plus autograph sessions, demo rides, and
product displays will be available.

WHO: Road race Champions (expanded biographies available upon request)

Don Emde – won the Daytona 200 in 1969, emulating his father who won Daytona in 1948

Jamie James – holder of four AMA National
racing titles

Eddie Lawson – Four Time 500cc Grand Prix World Champion and former National AMA Champion

Randy Mamola – Top World GP contender and
former AMA 250cc GP Champion

Rich Oliver – Four Time AMA National 250cc GP
Champion and former Factory Yamaha racer

Wayne Rainey – Three time 500cc Grand Prix Champion winner and racing legend

Thomas Stevens- AMA National Champion

Steve Baker-1978 750cc World Champion

Motocross Champions (expanded biographies available upon request)

Mike Bell – AMA Supercross national Champion from the early 1980s

Broc Glover – Holds six national championships

Doug Henry – Won 1998 Outdoor National Championship aboard history making YZ400F

Bob Hannah – “The Hurricane” earned six National
Championships

Marty Moates – the first American to win the U.S. Grand Prix

Ernesto Fonseca – 1999 125cc Supercross Champion and currently riding the YZ250F in the 125cc class

Jeremy McGrath – “Showtime” McGrath is the reigning Supercross Champion with seven national titles

WHEN: Weekend of Champions autograph sessions
Friday, March 9, 10:00 a.m. – Noon
Saturday, March 10, 10:00 a.m. – Noon
Sunday, March 11, 9:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m.

(Lap of Champions will take place just before the start of the Daytona 200)


Demo Ride Schedule: Ventures, Road Stars, V-Stars, V-Star 1100 Custom and Classic
March 5 – March 9, 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
March 10, 9:00 a.m. – Noon

WHERE: Yamaha Corporate Display Tent at Daytona International Speedway (International Speedway Blvd., Daytona Beach, FL)

The retrial to determine additional damages owed by the AMA to Roger Edmondson may be scheduled as soon as this May, and as late as this July, according to sources close to the case.

The courts have already confirmed that the AMA is guilty as charged in the Edmondson case, but an Appeals Court has ordered a new jury trial to determine the amount of money owed Edmondson for some of the AMA’s actions.

The retrial will take place in the same courthouse and before the same judge–U.S. District Judge Lacy Thornburg–as did the original trial. At the retrial, jurors will again hear evidence concerning how the AMA wronged Edmondson, its former joint venture partner, but will not hear any claims of innocence from the AMA, since the Appeals Court has confirmed that the AMA did what Edmondson alleged the AMA did.

Edmondson is determined to maximize the amount of money he gets from the AMA and is unlikely to settle the case before the retrial.

The American Federation Of Motorcyclists (AFM) has a new mailing address, 6167 Jarvis Ave. #333, Newark, CA 94560.

The 2001 AFM Season kicks off weekend after next at Buttonwillow Raceway, near a controversial landfill that recently started accepting dirt contaminated with low levels of strontium 90 and cesium 137. The 14,000 tons of contaminated soil came from a now-closed nuclear lab, Santa Susana Field Laboratory, located in the Simi Valley area. The levels of strontium 90 and cesium 137 are so low that the dirt does not meet the Nuclear Regulatory Commission definition of “radioactive”. But that hasn’t kept environmentalists from raising alarms about the Buttonwillow landfill, which is in the same windy, dusty area as the racetrack and began accepting the contaminated soil on January 22. Authorities estimate that it will take through April or May to transfer all 14,000 tons of dirt to the dump.

Meanwhile, the 2001 AFM schedule follows:

3/10-11Buttonwillow Raceway, Buttonwillow, CA
4/14-15Sears Point Raceway, Sonoma, CA

5/12-13Thunderhill Park, Willows, CA

6/2-3Sears Point Raceway, Sonoma, CA

7/21-22Thunderhill Park, Willows, CA

8/18-19Sears Point Raceway, Sonoma, CA

9/224-hr, Sears Point Raceway, Sonoma, CA
9/23Sears Point Raceway, Sonoma, CA
10/20-21Buttonwillow Raceway, Buttonwillow, CA

In announcing the move of its Superbike team testing venue from Sears Point to Willow Springs Februaru 12-15, Ducati North America referred to the track as being “an undisclosed location,” even though the tests scheduled at Willow Springs were common knowledge to racing journalists. Ducati”s breaking off of negotiations with John Kocinski and signing of Aaron Slight in secret has also raised eyebrows of journalists who wondered why Ducati was attempting to be secretive, or perhaps selectively secretive.

Some media outlets were leaked information on the test location moving and on Slight replacing Kocinski, and others were not.

But sources close to Ducati say that what appears to be an attempt to be secretive is actually just a lack of a coordinated worldwide press relations policy and program on the part of the Italian manufacturer and its racing subsidiary, Ducati Corse, as well as various Ducati distributors.