From a press release issued by Steve Reeves for Radar’s Team Yamaha:

2001 YAMAHA NSW Road Racing Championships
Oran Park Grand Prix Circuit, NSW
Qualifying Report – Saturday, 18 August 2001

HIGH WINDS CAUSE HAVOC AT ORAN PARK

The high winds that have blown across Sydney in the past 24 hours continued today and wreaked their own form of havoc at Sydney”s Oran Park Raceway, which is hosting the 2001 Yamaha NSW (New South Wales) Road Racing Championship this weekend.

Radar’s Team Yamaha riders Robbie Baird, Jamie Stauffer and Craig Coxhell will be competing in the Yamaha sponsored NSW Formula X Unlimited Championship, while Baird will also be competing in the NSW Supersport Championship event.

The high wind gusts made conditions very difficult for the riders, especially on the exit of the Yokohama Bridge and through the Esses, where the crosswinds were forcing the bikes to run wide, precariously close to the edge of the circuit.

A number of other incidents during the day also meant that the final qualifying sessions for each class had to be cancelled.

Stauffer and Coxhell were able to put their Yamaha YZF-R1s on the front row of the grid for tomorrow’s three 7-lap Yamaha NSW Formula X Unlimited Championship races, while Baird will start from the second row of the grid after setting the sixth-fastest time. Pole position went to Honda’s Alex Gobert, with Wayne Maxwell second-fastest aboard his Kawasaki.

“It was pretty hard out there and the two ahead of me were able to get out early and set their fast times before there was too much traffic out on the circuit,” said Stauffer. “When the track cleared late in the session I wasn’t able to improve on my times.”

“I had a couple of big moments out there in the wind and I just took it a bit easier after that,” Coxhell said. “I had a big moment across the Bridge when the wind just picked up the front end of the bike and moved it about half-a-meter off line. Then through the Esses the same thing happened. It wasn’t pretty out there.”

Baird was able to record the second-fastest time during qualifying for the NSW Supersport Championship event, but like everyone else, missed an opportunity to improve his times when the second qualifying session was cancelled.

“I only did a handful of laps thinking that we were going to be out there later for the second session, but unfortunately it didn’t happen,” Baird said. “I didn”t want to risk it too much in the conditions and I suppose that second was not such a bad result.”

2001 Yamaha NSW Road Racing Championships
Oran Park Grand Prix Circuit
Saturday August 18

2001 YAMAHA NSW Formula X Unlimited Championship Qualifying

1. Alex GobertHonda CBR929RR1:13.936
2. Wayne Maxwell, Kawasaki ZX-9R, 1:14.113
3. Jamie Stauffer, Yamaha YZF-R1, 1:14.199
4. Craig Coxhell, Yamaha YZF-R1, 1:14.450
5. Alistair Maxwell, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:14.457
6. Robbie Baird, Yamaha YZF-R1,1:14.516
7. Steven Fisher, Honda CBR929RR, 1:15.321
8. Clayton Landells, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:16.403
9. Jay Normoyle, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:16.414
10 Craig McMartin, Ducati 996SPS, 1:16.608
Lap Record, Mat Mladin (Kawasaki), 1:07.7700 on 19/11/1995


2001 Honda NSW Supersport Championship Qualifying
1. Alex Gobert, Honda CBR600F4i, 1:14.517
2. Robert Baird, Yamaha YZF-R6, 1:14.767
3. Josh Brookes, Honda CBR600F4i, 1:14.790
4. Wayne Maxwell, Kawasaki ZX-6R, 1:14.826
5. Rory Rock, Honda CBR600F4i, 1:14.898
6. Ben Attard, Honda CBR600F4i, 1:15.678
7. Mark Aitchison, Suzuki GSX-R600, 1:16.329
8. Jay Taylor, Kawasaki ZX-6R, 1:16.331
9. Craig Trinder, Suzuki GSX-R600, 1:16.654
10. Branden Oxford, Honda CBR600F4i, 1:18.204
Lap Record: Kevin Curtain (Yamaha), 1:13.21 set on 05/03/00

Speedvision officials have received over 40,000 e-mails and petition signatures against turning the cable TV channel into a NASCAR-only station, and apparently the message has been getting through.

There has not yet been an announcement regarding the fate of motorcycle racing on the channel, and officials acknowledge that NASCAR programming may take up to 50 percent of Speedvision air time next year. But, the officials are quick to point out, that still leaves a lot of air time to be filled, air time that currently includes shows covering lawnmower races, historic airplanes and boat maintenance, for example.

The channel has just done a deal to cover CART car races and is committed to continuing Formula One car coverage, and Formula One announcer Bob Varsha made the point during today’s coverage of Formula One qualifying from Hungary that Speedvision will continue F-1 coverage next year.

On the other hand, Formula USA representatives seeking a Speedvision TV deal have been rebuffed on the basis that the channel has plenty of road racing already.

It is unknown whether increased NASCAR coverage on Speedvision will impact coverage of AMA and World Championship motorcycle road racing in the future.

Stay tuned.

This just in from from racer Jim Adams:

On the way back from racing at Putnam Park a month ago,we blew the two (dual) tires on our motorhome. We were able to pull to the side of the road safely and cell-phoned the Good Sam Club Motorhome 800 number. The “voice” on the other end took our information and stayed ON THE LINE during the time it took for her to contact a road crew AND ascertain how to get two tires of the proper size mounted.

Literally 45 minutes after the vibrations started at 75 mph–counting the phone call—two wreckers appeared; one took our 18-foot trailer, the other took the motorhome. Just 1.5 hours after the incident Justin and I were eating hamburgers and his roomate was on the way to the location with Justin’s pickup as he had to be at Bell’s Suzuki to work the next day. The next morning the gas station opened up and I got two new tires and completed the trip. Really good service, polite, quick, even on a Sunday weekend evening. I was impressed. Inquire about their program at www.goodsamclub.com

Roadracingworld.com’s Chris Ulrich is on the move again, headed for PPIR, thanks to hose clamps and safety wire connecting the two pieces of a broken throttle rod on his Dodge pickup truck.

As an interesting sidenote, Ulrich has determined that when AAA road service in Texas says a unit will arrive “in 20 minutes,” it actually means “you will wait by the side of the road for more than 90 minutes and will still see no sign of an AAA unit when you finally get the thing fixed and head down the road.”

From a press release:

Mike Fitzgerald, famed CCS Race Announcer and owner of Thermosman Suspension, has closed his fledgling suspension company to join forces with Max McAllister and Traxxion Dynamics. Fitzgerald will work as Lead Technician for the remainder of the 2001 year, when he will become the General Manager in January, 2002. McAllister will work exclusively on New Product Development. Also added to the Traxxion Staff is Jacob Baymiller,
Technician; Barbara Price, Office Manager; and Don Hallford, Parts and Shipping Manager. For more info, see the “Meet Our Staff” link at the
re-launched www.traxxion.com.

From a press release issued by Australian-based Radar’s Team Yamaha:

The single round New South Wales Road Racing Championships take place at Sydney’s Oran Park Raceway this weekend, with the trio of Radar’s Team Yamaha riders well in contention to take victory in both the Formula X Unlimited and Supersport Championship events.

Recently crowned 2001 Formula Xtreme Champion Robbie Baird will be joined by teammates Jamie Stauffer and Craig Coxhell who will line up aboard their Yamaha YZF-R1s to compete in the 2001 Yamaha NSW Formula X Unlimited Championship that will be held over four legs over the weekend. Baird and Stauffer will also be competing in the NSW Supersport Championship aboard their Yamaha YZF-R6s.

Added importance has been placed on the NSW Championship meeting as it is being held just one week prior to the Australian Championship round at the same circuit. While chasing the NSW titles, the majority of the competitors will be preparing themselves and their bikes for the following week’s meeting.

Having both the R1 and the R6 to race on the weekend, Baird will be working overtime to capture the results he is after. “It will be hard competing on both bikes over the weekend, but I’m sure that we will benefit from it,” said Baird. “The plan will be to get the bikes set up as quickly as possible during qualifying and score the best results that we can.”

For Stauffer, he has just returned from attending the Australian Institute of Sport in Canberra and will be hoping to take that enthusiasm with him into the weekend. “I’ve spent the past three days at the AIS in Canberra learning about fitness and various training programs,” said Stauffer. “It was a great opportunity. Motorcycling Australia nominated 15 motorcycle racers from all disciplines to attend and it was definitely worth it. As for the weekend, I did well at the Formula Xtreme round there earlier in the year and would like to repeat some of those race wins. “

For 18-year-old Coxhell, he will be able to concentrate his efforts on the premier Formula X Unlimited class. “The team has been working hard on the R1 and they expect the bike to perform well at Oran Park,” said Coxhell. “I had a somewhat disappointing meeting there last time at the Formula Xtreme round and would like to turn those results around. We’ll be using a lot of what we learn on the weekend for the following week’s meeting, but I will still be out there trying to win a title. It should be a close race and I’m looking forward to it.”

Qualifying for this weekend’s NSW Championship meeting gets underway at 9:00 a.m. on Saturday morning, with six races scheduled for the afternoon, including one each for the Formula X Unlimited and Supersport classes.

Sunday’s action gets underway at 9:00 a.m. with a further 13 races scheduled, including the remaining three Formula X Unlimited races and two Supersport races.

This report from Stephen Bowline, after visiting injured racer/tuner Kevin Murray in the hospital:

“I saw Kevin and can now clarify a few points. First off, Kevin most definitely crashed his dirt bike. He has no significant other injuries, but he does have various bruises–including one very telling bruise across his brow. My initial concerns of an aneurism or other hemorrhages are unfounded.

“Kevin was unconscious for a few days in what was called a level 12 coma. That’s considered a fairly good number. It was not a deep coma, and he is now fairly responsive. He is still under 24-hour watch for signs of recurrent bleeding, but he no longer requires a 1-on-1 watch in which a nurse was dedicated to just observing him. Kevin’s first session with an occupational therapist will be tomorrow morning.

“Kevin would correctly and consistently respond to many simple questions. This is a very good sign for someone so fresh from the coma. In fact, one of the first things I said to Kevin was, ‘Hey, Kevin, what’s up?’ His answer was, ‘Retirement.’

“Kevin’s customers can rest assured that his business is in good hands, and that their needs and concerned will be duly addressed. I have confidence that Kevin will be able to contact many of his customers himself within a couple weeks. Any assistance Kevin needs will be provided by some very close and loving friends. He’s in good hands.”

By David Swarts

Erv Kanemoto’s Bridgestone tire testing team of Shinichi Itoh and Nobuatsu Aoki will test alongside current MotoGP Championship teams at Brno following the August 24-26 Czech Grand Prix. The test, tentatively scheduled to start Monday, August 27 with Telefonica Movistar Suzuki’s Kenny Roberts and Sete Gibernau, will mark the first time that the Bridgestone development team has shared a track with a current Grand Prix team.

This will allow Kanemoto’s team to compare the performance of the Bridgestones againt real competition under the same conditions. The test is expected to continue August 28-29, when Red Bull Yamaha’s Noriyuki Haga and Garry McCoy also test at Brno.

Bridgestone engineers have spent the last several months with Kanemoto, Itoh, Aoki and a pair of Honda NSR500s, developing Bridgestones tires for competition in the 2002 Grand Prix season.

Back problems have sidelined racer Vicky Jackson-Bell for the rest of the season.

According to press release issued by vjb Racing Team, “Recurring back pain will put an early end to the season for Vicky Jackson-Bell. Vicky had surgery for a herniated disc in November 1999 but the same area of her back is again creating problems. Vicky can no longer run, ride a mountain bike or lift weights. An MRI on September 3 will determine whether surgery is necessary.

“Vicky was to have competed in the Formula USA events at Portland and Daytona, competing in the Aprilia Cup and 125cc GP National Championship.”