HMC Ducati’s Scott Russell won Friday’s five-lap CCS Heavyweight Superbike race at Daytona, riding his HMC Ducati 996 Superbike.

“This is the most important five laps of my life!” joked Russell to a reporter as he headed to the grid. Russell started in the second wave on row 16 of the 70-bike grid and wheelied his Ducati 996 Superbike to 20th after one lap. Russell moved up to 10th through the infield on lap two and continued to reel in the battling lead duo of EMC2’s Ted Cobb and Anthony Fania. Russell’s forward momentum didn’t stop until he passed the leading pair of riders on the brakes for the Chicane and took the checkered flag. Russell crossed the stripe 2.9 seconds ahead of Fania, who just edged out first-year Expert Cobb at the line by the slimmest of margins.

On the Roadracing World stopwatch, Russell ran a best lap of 1:53.4 in the race, through traffic.

“That was the first couple of decent laps that we got all day,” said Russell . “We’re just trying to get set up for next weekend. I’ve got a limited amount of seat time on the Ducati here at Daytona. I know that I still have a lot of work to do before next weekend. That was the first race I’ve won in two years. I love it. This is enjoyable. Racing is supposed to be fun. I’m just trying to get back to the basics of racing and enjoying it. When I can do that, good things come to me. We’re hoping that that repeats itself this year. I didn’t go too fast in that one, 1:53 flat I think. This is all a race set-up. That’s what we’re focusing on. We’re not worrying about qualifying. I’ve got enough watches. I want to win the race.”

During the race, Russell appeared to have passed Chuck Chouinard under a waving yellow in the West Horseshoe during the race, but was not penalized by officials.

By David Swarts

Anthony “Slick” Bass, who formerly tuned for four-time Superbike World Champion Carl Fogarty, is now the Crew Chief for HMC Ducati’s Scott Russell. Roadracing World asked Bass how things were going as Russell took part in the CCS practice Friday at Daytona.

“We’re just shaking things down,” said Bass. “It’s mad out there right now with all of those people. We just need some track time. Scott just spent two years with the Harley. Now he has to get used to, how can I I put this nicely, a true racing bike. Right now, I’m just giving him a lot of stuff to try – just throwing stuff at him.” When asked about the details of Russell’s Ducati Superbike, Bass said, “It’s a 2000-model bike but it’s sort of a hybrid. I have taken the best components from all of the Ducatis through the years, parts from ’99, ’98, etc. The yokes are from the ’96. Those were the best.”

Sunday March 12, 2001, Russell will be attempting to win his sixth Daytona 200 on his third make of motorcycle. “Mr. Daytona” has won the spring classic five times with at least one win on both a Kawasaki and Yamaha using Dunlop and Michelin tires.

A number of women riders are participating in CCS and Formula USA events at Daytona this weekend, and we talked to several.

“I don’t think women need a handicap roadracing, experience is the key,” said first-year racer Darla Martinelli, who is sponsored by Daytona Harley-Davidson/Buell/ Hal’s Performance Advantage. “Maybe I’m treated differently because I’m a woman. People are always happy and encouraging women to get involved. I think a woman’s lower body weight is a bigger advantage than less upper body strength is a disadvantage.”

When asked who she looks up to in road racing, 28-year-old Martinelli said, “I look up to someone like Vicky Jackson-Bell, and I want to be as fast as the guys. I want to be competitive with the guys. I don’t want to be good for a girl. I want to be good for a racer.”

“It’s interesting,” said www.venegaracing.com’s Debi Venega. “People expect us to be slow. That’s not the case. As an Amatuer, I battled with the guys. The guys respect women racers. They don’t treat me any differently. Maybe they admire the fact that we race and can hold our own. A woman does have to prove herself in the motorsports industry. I found that out when I worked in a dealership.

“Maybe there’s a stereotype that women racers must be ‘butch,’ but that’s not true. Some women can actually use their glamour to help sponsorship. Our less body weight is an advantage because the newer bikes require less muscle than older ones did. I’m sure that guys can throw a bike around easier, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that they are going to finish better. “

“I think that some men who don’t compete against us think it’s a joke,” laughed LaVaughn Montgomery-Daniel. “They put us on a different level. Too many times I heard other racers…like Roland Sands said, ‘Damn! She’s fast.’ It took him racing against us, me and Vicky (Jackson-Bell), to see that there was talent there.

“Men’s upper body strength is an advantage. I think that to run a larger bike you must be stronger and fitter. I’ve even heard that smaller guys have some problems. Smaller bikes require more finesse and smoothness. On a big bike you have to be more aggressive.

“It’s not any easier to get sponsorship for a woman, maybe that’s because of the classes that we run. People think that it should be easier, but it’s not. I don’t know what other women’s reasons for trying road racing are. Me, I’ve always liked stuff like this. In college, I played rugby and drove a hot rod car. I wanted action. What got me started was coming to the Daytona 200 one year while I was in Daytona on college Spring Break. I thought, ‘Damn! That looks like fun!’ I bought a racebike the next year.”

Vicky Jackson-Bell is the most accomplished woman road racer in the U.S., and for years has been racing with and beating the best men in the U.S. on 125s. Her leathers carry the slogan, “Who Needs Balls?” and she said “We don’t need balls! I’ve been doing this all my life. I didn’t notice things going on around me. First, guys were mad when I beat them in motocross. One guy even put sand in my gearbox at one race. Then one guy quit road racing when I started beating him.

“I think women can ride small bikes as well as guys. They’re not as physical. They’re all about finesse and being smooth. I don’t think a big Superbike would work for a woman unless she was on steroids or something. Riding in motocross, I think I was at a disadvantage with muscle and stamina, I guess.

“I’ve seen glamour used to get sponsorship. One of my sponsors is KMS Haircare, but I’m a hairdresser. So it works perfectly. I think people respect me for what I’ve done.

“Women ask me about racing but don’t think they can do it. But once they try it, they realize that they can. It’s the transition that’s tough. Many who try it really end up liking it.”

By David Swarts

The Aprilia Mille R received mixed reviews from the Aprilia-sponsored BFR/ Pro Italia and Blackmans Cycles riders in its first days at Daytona International Speedway. Chris Carr, a former AMA Grand National Champion and the first man to ever finish the Daytona 200 on a Harley-Davidson VR1000, said he liked the Mille R’s handling. “The thing handles good,” said Carr. “Usually, on a streetbike, you have to shit-can the suspension first thing, but this bike has some really good stuff on it and handles great.”

Carr’s teammate for the Daytona F-USA weekend, 1996 F-USA Champion Tray Batey, echoed Carr’s thoughts on the suspension, saying “The suspension is still stock, stock springs, stock fluid, but it’s pretty close. It really handles well.” When asked to compare the Italian V-twin to the 128-horsepower Suzuki TL1000R that he used to win the 2000 Suzuki Cup Finals and set an overall track record at Atlanta Motor Speedway, Batey said, “This thing is a stone compared to the TL. This thing’s been breathed on, and we’re still not breaking 120 (horsepower).”

BFR/Pro Italia’s Aprilias were hitting “over 130 horsepower” at Daytona, according to team owner Gary Stiles, but the R/D aftermarket titanium valve keepers in both Aaron Clark and Mark Ledesma’s bikes broke on Wednesday, February 28, while the pair were testing during a Team Hammer track ride at Daytona. The BFR/Pro Italia Aprilia team spent the majority of Thursday rebuilding the engines with stock pieces.

By David Swarts

Loudon Motorsports’ Greg Harrison, John Jacobi and David Yaakov rode a 2001 Suzuki GSX-R1000 on Pirelli slicks to win the Engine Ice 200-Mile Team Challenge March 1st at Daytona International Speedway. Loudon’s Jacobi battled for the early lead in the race with Joe Gill on a 4&6 Cycle Yamaha YZF-R1 and Shawn Higbee on a KWS Motorsports / Millennium Technologies GSX-R750. When both Higbee and Gill made extended pit stops early on, Loudon was alone at the front. Loudon pitted twice for fuel and changed the rear tire—which was down to the cords on the left side–during the second, 30-second stop, and won the race by two laps. Besides taking the overall win, Loudon also topped the GTO class.

“The new Suzuki 1000 is just an awesome motorcycle,” said Harrison. “It’s incredible! We only had 200 miles on it when we got here. We just had the suspension done by Traxxion Dynamics and a M4 slip-on pipe, but it’s dead stable and fast on the banking. The Pirelli tires worked really well for us.”

Synergy Racing Technology’s Matt Wait and Marc Palazzo finished second overall and took the GTU class win on a Honda CBR600F4 with Dunlop DOT-labeled tires.

“It definitely feels good,” said Wait of his return to Daytona. “Being back here just brings back good memories. I’m happy and feeling well. I’m looking forward to the big race this weekend. I think this is going to be a positive year. My Synergy team, Honda motorcycles, and Dunlop tires are working out great.”

The results of the Engine Ice 200-mile Team Challenge at Daytona follow:

GTO: 1. Loudon Motorsports (Greg Harrison, John Jacobi, David Yaakov), Suz GSX-R1000; 2. Legal Racing (James Hooper), Suz GSX-R750; 3. Yapima Racing (William Siemens, James Gaal, James Melley, Jr.), Suz GSX-R750; 4. MBS Racing (Jeffery McKinney), Suz TL1000R; 5. Eksite Racing (Jonathan Glaefke, James Doerfler) Suz GSX-R750; 6. Bad Apple Racing (Arthur Wagner, Jr.) Suz TL1000R.

GTU: 1. Synergy Racing (Matt Wait, Marc Palazzo) Hon CBR600F4i; 2. Big Pink Machines (Mauro Cereda, Robert Fisher) Suz GSX-R600; 3. Brotz Motorsports (Richie Morris, Clint Brotz) Yam YZF-R6; 4. Speed Racing (C.J. Czaia) Suz GSX-R600; 5. Starnet 4&6 Racing (Russ Intravartolo) Yam YZF-R6; 6. Redlight Racing (Pedro Valiente) Yam YZF-R6.

By David Swarts

Former Superbike World Champion Scott Russell showed up at Daytona today with his HMC Ducati crew, sporting a black right eye.

Russell missed the 1999 Daytona 200 after suffering a broken cheekbone in a bar fight.

Russell and members of his team declined to comment on the cause of Russell’s most recent black eye.

Russell has won the Daytona 200 five times.

When asked about the eye, Russell said, “I was just f–king around back home in Atlanta. I didn’t get in a fight or anything like that.”

When asked about his new motorcycle, Russell said, “We’ve got a lot of work to do. The bike’s spinning real bad. The track’s as green as it has ever been. I couldn’t get a clean lap for anything.”

Russell will be racing CCS sprints this weekend.

Part Six
MBNA 250cc Grand Prix

The AMA 250cc Grand Prix season could be one to remember with many big names returning to the two-stroke wars. Seeking 250cc GP career win number 50, Rich Oliver will return on a Yamaha, Dunlop tires, and with his soon-to-be-wife Jocelin tuning for him. Oliver, 39, will have a familiar foe on the grid in the form of Jimmy Filice. Two-time former 250cc Champion Filice will be riding on James Siddal’s World Sports Yamaha team with none other than Ed Toomey doing the wrenching. The World Sports effort has received backing from seat maker Corbin.

Two-time defending Champion Chuck Sorensen, 28, has left the World Sports team to ride for Geoff Maloney’s GP Tech Yamaha program. Sorensen’s teammate will be 2000 Irish Stock Sport Series Champion Simon Turner. Turner, 31, also finished sixth in the 1998 British 250cc series. Chris Ulrich, who teamed with Sorensen on the World Sports Yamaha squad in 2000, has left the series after finished third in 1999 and fifth in 2000, seeking his fame riding four-strokes.

Michael Barnes finished the 2000 season fourth in points on a GP Tech Yamaha, but has left the team and is scheduled to campaign the prototype Tul-aris 780 in WERA and CCS action.

New to AMA 250cc action will be young gun Cory West riding a 2000 TZ250 for Harder Racing Development. West, 16, finished the 2000 season with a podium finish in the Daytona Aprilia Cup Challenge race. Already a dirt track Champion many times over, West comes from a racing family including a former AMA Superbike racing dad, Marvin West.

The 250cc class will also see at least two guest riders during the season. 1998 250cc Champion Roland Sands, 26, will race at Daytona on his Performance Machine Yamaha TZ250. In between stints as a four-letter-word-wielding magazine test rider, Sands will likely ride at other 250cc rounds in 2001.

Also planning on appearing at Daytona is Cruise America Grand Prix Racing’s Jason DiSalvo, the 1999 WERA 125cc National Champion. DiSalvo, 17, will ride his A-kitted 2001 Honda RS250 before heading back to Europe to chase the European and British 250cc Championships.


Looks like a great year to be an AMA road racing fan. As always in racing, anything can happen to upset even the most thoughtful predications. Riders crash, riders get injured, riders get “distracted”, bikes fall apart, tires come apart, teams fall apart, and the only thing not subject to change is that things are subject to change. But no matter what, you can count on getting the details of everything that’s going on, around, or behind the scenes at the racetrack here in Roadracing World.