Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

ROAD RACE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP ROAD RACE SERIES Round 1: Phillip Island , Brieflv...· Rammini. and Flammini refers us to FIM. We are very disappointed by the RM's altitude. Moreover. their arguments to introduce this new sess,on thiS year already instead of in 1999. which would have been accordlAg to the rules. 's nonsensa. A drastic change In the ruies can only be introduced the year followmg the decision on Phillip Island saw the introduction of the Superpole qualifying grounds of safery. But having the nders determining their starting seSSion, an Idea that was launched In the middle of Jast year and position on the baSIS of one fast lap is not what I call a very safe which gave the 16 fastest men from the Friday and Saturday qualisituation. Moreover. ,t does not contribute to keeping down the fying sess,ons to establish the final grid on. the basis of their time costs for the pnvateer. A special lire set like this will cost about from one Aying lap, Most of the team managers had enthuslastica~ 1000 French francs for a rear tire. and some 700 French francs for Iy voted in favor of the idea during several meetings over the wina front lire. And thiS is a set which you can use for only one event. ter with Flammini and the FIM. When the RM came up with the But as things look now. we will have to deveiop special tires for actual formula to run the Superpole, there were - as expected some parties who were in favor of and some who were against the" this new formula, As an emergency measure. we have taken some extra-soft tires we have developed for extreme circumstances and plan. Some of the riders said they could have done without the certain circuits. but I suppose that we will have our first Superpole extra pressure put on their shoulders during that one lap. But in all, tires ready only by the next races. This is a completely new tecnSuperpole got a thumbs-up - at least from the team managers, nology for us. We have been using so-called qualifyinlllires for the organizers. sponsors. media and fans. first time in Suzuka for the 8-hours race some three years ago. but there ihe conditions were ideal: a track temperature of 40 to !?O CCR president CIa'ude Danis was at Phillip Island to have a final d.egrees (Celsius). But what happens if temperatures drop to some briefing with the riders on the Wednesday preceding the opening 15 or 20 tomorrow (Saturday). or when we come to Donington mce of the season. "You have to understand that the Superpole Park. where it might be below 10 or even 5?" Miche"n still hopes formula Y"as created solely fc;>r television purposes," the Belgian explained. "It is a formula designed to offer an extra snow for the ' lor a radical change in the Superpole formula. but Danis has already made it clear that there is no waY that the Suj>erpole might spectators and the television viewers, That is why we chose to be run over. saY. three laps instead of one. because "this wouid have the 16 fastest qualifiers to start (rom scratch as they present mean that the session would take ~me two hours.' which will be themselves at the starting line for the Superpole session, Ev~n the very har~ to sell te> the television stations." Another 'pointer at the man who has clinched provisional pole after the second qualifying (sole?) reason of being for the new qualifying formula· was alsp .session can be set back to the fourth starting row if he gets into stated by the FIM official: ".People also talked about canceling the trouble during that all·determining Superpole lap. Some proposals Superpole session when it was raining. but you cannot afford to were made to water down this formula. bat to be quite honest. I reserve. air time on television and then not show anything_" Apart think this is the best formula that will guarantee the highest excitefrom the rising costs for tires. one should not forget that some ment on the track. Several car·racing categories and the 8 hours of manufacturers might be tempted to start building special SuperSuzuka have shown how teams and riders can take the maximum pole engines. which deliver the goods for one lap only. but are advantage of this live-broadcast formula. But we will see how it ready for the scrap heap afterward. works out. and it is not to be excluded that the formula is modified after, say. the third World Superbike round of the year· even Michelin had another reason to rage aga,nst the FIM. as the feder· though I would personally be not In favor of any changes. The only ation allows from this year onward specially developed rain ti.... exception to the win-or-Iose-everything rule is the case in which on Supersport bikes entering in the World Series. The only condi· weather· and therefore track· conditions change during the tion, The tires have to be homologated by the RM. According to Superpole session. If it starts to rain or if the track starts to dry Michelin. th.e homologation deadline for the tires was February 15. after some riders have gone out and had their Superpole lap. we wihereas the technical regulations from the FIM Were only distribwill split up the 16 qualifiers in two groups of eight Starting pos~ uted d.uring the month of February. tions to be distributed. so that a rider can move up or down only one row instead of three rows in normal conditions. This is to offer Claude Danis. who tumed 50 on the Thursday before the Phillip not a too big advantage to riders who go out on the track in dry Island race. had been inspecting the .Johor circuit in Malaysia and conditions compared to the ones who had to perform on a wet was confident that the circuit was going to be ready for a final track. " homologation on Monday. March 23. 'Only some three places had to be reworked over a length of some 400 meters. with only minor Before the Phillip Island round. most managers approved the costs. The organizers had also Aown over an. engineer from Japan choice of the RM. especially considering the extra television-eov· to make the track modifications in the best possible manner: As .erage benefits that can come from Superpole. "Uke with all new regards the World Superbike calendar. the CCR president admitthings. it is now a mailer of gaining experience." said Davide Briv· ted that there were talks with 'two candidates to replace the Brazilio, manager of the official Yamaha team. "The formula that has ian round on July 5 (Road Atlanta and Kyalamil. but did not want to been chosen. with th", ·16 fastest qualifiers starting from scratch, get involved in the question as to whether or not the' Malaysian with ·the risk of the fastest qualifier dropping back to the fourth and the Indonesian rounds would take place ~t the erid of the seastarting row. is surely the most ris~y for the riders. but the most attractive for television. EspeciallyJhe top private ·riders. who are. son. Apart from the shaky financial condition of both countries. the top superbike teams are not willing to compete in three races on often out of the picture during. the race..will profit from this extra three consecutive weekends. On top of that. the Malaysian orgatelevision exposure: Davide Tardozzi. who runs the Ducati Perfor· nizer seems to have a contract with SBK International. but not with mance Team, showed himself to be an advocate of a slightly differ· ent formula. "We like the idea of Superpoe." the Italian manager 'the track owner. which puts him in a very difficult situation. "If the MalaYsian round is canceled. we will not Jook for a replacement.admitted. "but maybe they should have proposed a formula in said Paolo Flammini. "because then the problem of three consecu· which the grid positions of the eight fastest qualif,ers could be tive race weekends would be solved automatically: Talking about determined in Superpole. and then the grid positions of the next the calendar. some sources also fear that Brands Hatch n8l!ds eight· whatever the weather conditions are like. When the pole-sitsome serious rebuilding befo're being homologated again (especialter after the second qualifying session has a problem dUring his ly after the fatal accident in the World Superbike race there last Superpole lap. he can drop back to the fourth row. 00 a circuit like year). but it seems very unlikely that thiS track would be taken off A1bacete. for instance. that is simply throwing awaY any chance of the calendar. as it has been (by far) the largesl crowd-puller for gellJng near the rostrum. ~ Others proposed a formula in which World Superbike races in the last couple of years. Superpole times would only be taken into consideration if it was better than the rider's best time of regular qualifying. But then This rTJaY be the last season for the Yamaha VZF75OR. but that again. some riders wouldn't be very mOtivated to try hard for the doesn't mean that development on the bike has come to a standone lap· which was the basic idea of Superpole. Another alternastill. According to Takaaki Suzuki. supervisor of the Arst Engineertive. as proposed by Suzuki team manager Lester Harris. consisting Division at the Iwata factory. new camshafts arid a modified ed of basing the grid positions on the sum of the best qualifying piston-head design have allowed the engineers to gain 2·3 bhp. time and the Superpol,! time. which means that the Yamaha now delivers some 163 bhp at the same revs as last year (14.300 rpm). In order to get the bike steerAs expected. Michelin proved to be the most ardent opponent to ing a bit better_ more weight has been put on the front end. As for the Superpore formula. Unlike their main rivals at Dunlop, the major chassis modifications. the main development work was done French tire manufacturer has only limited experience with produc· by Ohlins. but the new shocKs were not used at Phillip Island after ing ultra·soft qualifying 'tires. Until now. their softest rubber lasted the winter tests had shown that they still doo't work efficiently fo' only three or four laps, Duriog the tests at Phillip Island on the ",nough. . . Wednesday preceding 'the race, the top Michelin riders had been give" a softer tire .. but that got a.very big "insufficient" rating from the riders, "After three comers. the tire started 10 slide in every Suzuki team manager Lester Harris hopes to· have ihe fuel-inject, possible direction. said Davide Tardozzi after his rider Carl Fogar· . ed·v.ersion of the GSXR750 at his disposal soon. but he hasn't .ty had taken the new tire for a spin. Fogarty. who has always been been informed by the Japanese about a specific schedule. "Basi· a hard-compound user due to his preference for high comering cally. they are running back-to·back tests with the camureted bike i.n Japan and the United .States." he said at Phillip Island. .. Plus. .speeds. was very disapp~inted with the result. "Obviously. we have t6 worK hard to 'get things right," admitted Jean Merisse. they are also gathering as much data as possible on the injection chief of the racing development team at Michelin. But the Frencnsystem of'the racing lUOOORs. Only when the injected GSXR will man immediately 'added that their falling behind compared to Dunbe better in every respect than the carbureted bike. will we get it. 'lop was due to the lack of professionalism of the FIM. "Only at the Up until now, the iojection bike has shown good promise on fast Shah Aiam 'winter tests were we informed by the Yamaha works treeks. i guess it will be a short-term decision when Japan gives te~m that there ~as 9"ing to be something. like a one·lap qualifying the green light to send th~ inj~cted bikes to us. but we, cannot session this year (a fact which was denied vehemently. by RM's afford to walt for that. Our team has worked a lot over the winter. Claude Danis. who said that the Superpale formula had been introand we are very happy about the progress that has been made. c;luced by an ofBcial F:lM press release 'in October of last year). We, That shows 'from the qualifying results. Basically. we have been 'have tried to talk to RM here at Phillip Island. but they refer us to _ working on getting a beller throttle control. 'Last year. the riderS had to crank the throttle hard coming out of a comer. with all the poSSible consequences that entails. Due to other exhausts and some modifications on the airbox. carburetion and the timing. the bike 's pulling better out of the comers now. It cost us some top horsepower (now estimated to be some 153 bhp) and some top speed. but the broader powerband will allow the nders to go faster around the circuits." The Suzuki was clocked at some 174 mph at Ph,llip Island. with Colin Edwards' Honda toppmg the Irst w,th 178.5 mph. Having used a dual swingarm dUring preseason sts. Honda factory riders Colin Edwards II and Aaron Slight will have the cho'ce of using the new version or staying with the SlAgle-sided swingarm which has been used since the RC4S's introduction in 1994. "We are convinced that the mono sWlAgarm is at its peak in terms of mechanical perfection." stated HRC. "The evolution of the superbike power unit allows power generation equivalent to that of 500cc Grand Prix machinery. This power unit presents yet another technical challenge that the company has yet to experience with the mono-arm' system. In facing this new Challenge. HRC is again fully committed to developing a r1e"l dual·arm rear suspension speCially designed for the superbike motorcycle. The experi· ences and technical' expertise' gained from the NSR500s. which have won the Grand Prix championship for four consecutive years.. will help meet this challenge." The most significant differences between the tWo systems ,are a better road feel for the dual-arm for surfaces with minimum grip. whereas the mono·arm structure allows swingarm ,flex and axle rigidity. giving a comp~ance effect to the swingarm impossible to attain just by suspension adjustment. A good feel of road surface varia~ons become more and more important because the powerslide has become a recent trend in comering techoiques, The double-sided swingarm is about' 2.2 pounds heavier than the single-sided one. which obviously does not have any effects on the handling characteristics of the bike. The use and rerouting of the exhausts and the swingarm-pivot position also has notning to do with the use of the double-sided swingarm. According to some sources. the new factory Ducati 996 is some 7 bhp more powerful than last year's version· mainly due te> the use of a more sophisticated engine-management system developed by Magneti Marelli. which is similar to the one used by the Ferrari Formura One cars. Apart from being able to change more parameters. the new system also allows a very fast modification. with a plug·in. p1ug·out operation. In the previous system. the EPROM chip had to be physically replaced (which took more than 15 minutes· dismounting the fairing nose. changing everything and remounti~g the fairing nose. etd. On top of that. a third injector is used per cylinder. As for the. chassis. thinner frame tubes are used. as well as a different rear damper and the new Ohlins 45mm front fork. Some weeks ago. the Flammini Group and the American marketing company IPG announced that they joined forces to promote motorsports activities. The new company. the name of which will be announced shortly. will also buy 50 perce~t of SBK International, the Flammini-S()eharto joint company that was responsible for the promotion of World Superbi~e racing until last year. In this way. the new company will have three shareholde he partners Soeharto and Flammini (50·50l. and on top of that t e new partnershlp of IPG-Rammini. which means that the Italians get a bigger share iii the new company than last year, Paulo Rammini denied any suggestions that the move was made in order to avoid trouble if T~mmi Soeharto is forced to withdraw due to political or other troubles in his home country of indonesia. "Tommi Soeharto keeps a very lively interest in SBK Intemational and in the new company." explained the' Italian vice president of the company to be founded. "especially as his Timor company wants to expand its car manufac· turing activities into motorcycle and truck production. Ibelieve they have even bought some production lines from Cagiva recently. In all. I think the involvement 6f IPG - which is the second-biggest publicity-agency group worldwide· is the decisive element for us to draw major sponsors into motorcycle sport. Apart from the tobac· co companies in the Gr:ands Prix. no major companies are invotved in world motorcycle sports. With this new partnership and with in~ tiatives such as the Superpole session· which they do not have in Grands Prix - we have definitely set a step in the right direction." Deveiopi~g the World Superbike Championship is not the only objective the new company has set. Maurlzio Rammini. himself a former car racer. has his eyes set on the IMSA racing championship. which has lost much of its luster over the iast couple of years. If the new <:ompany <:an take hold of this championship. watch. out for similar developments. especially in 'the field of the GT car-racing class. w~ich is open to modified versions o.f production 98rs. Sound famllia(? As to the future of World Superbike racing. SBK International strives in the Arst place for stability and keeping the championship affordable for privateers. In this respect. 2000 or 2001 might see some stricter rules being introduced. giving priority to affordable race kits for affordable base models . a strategy which will be appreciated by the Japanese factories. which are now preparing iheir twin-cylinder·superbikes. Regarding the Mure of ihtematiQnili motorcycle racing in general. he concluded: "We do not want-to wage a war against Grands Piix. We even maintain a very gOod relationship with the top people a\ Dome. It would be a shame if Grands Prix went down 'in a battle with us. That would mean that motorcycle sport~ is not strong enough to support two World Championship series. ~oreOver. it would tie a Dig .loss to intemational sports in general. because Grands Prix have a history of 50 years already. " . .

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