Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

firs t two corners had forced him to back off, "Once I got my confidence back, I was battling with Gregorio Lavilla but found he was faster and that resulted in another couple of slides, forcing me to cool it a little," Goddard said. Fogarty once again had to settle for Bth, "It is my own fault," the former World Champion ,said on Sunday evening, "If I tip the Dike over, I feel I can't go any further, But if you see PierFrancesco or Troy, you see that that's not true, I know I can beat them in the dry, It's just in the head, I had the same feeling during the fir~t (wet) race at Albacete, But I have to get over this really fast, I really don't understand; last year I didn't have any trouble in the rain." Fogarty's bike setup was identical for both races - and identical to Corser's in the second race. ' l'X Nurburgring Nurburg, Germany Results: June 7,1998 (Round 5 of 13) QUALIFYING, L T,oy Co"",, (1'40,484); 2, Colin EdwMds II (J ,40,540); 3, G,ega.io LovHla (HO,648); 4, Chili (1 :40.850); 5. Carl Fogarty 0:40.888); 6. Aaron 5ligh.t (1:41.059); 7. Akira Yanagawa 0:41.129); 8. Noriyuki Haga 0:41.389}; 9. fames Whitham (1,41.614); 10, Scott Russell (HUBS); 11, Neil CIHodgson (H2,OI3); 12, Pele, Godda'd (1042,069); 13, Udo Mark (1:42.496); 14. Piergiorgio Bontempi (l :42.639); 15, Andreas Meklau (1:42.963); 16. Lucio Pedercini 0:43.659); 17. Jonnie Ekerold (1:42.925); 18. Alessandro Gramigni 0:43,413); 19. Igor Jerman (1:43.470); '20. Ruben Xaus (1:43.544); 21. Frederic Protat 0:43.584); 22. Andrew Stroud (1:44.078); 23. Robert Hueber (1 :44,579); 24, F,an,k Heidge' (HS,285); 25, D, Guderian (1 :45.581); 26. Jean·Mare Deletang 0:46.158); 27, Jiri Mrkyvka (1,46,383); 28, Uwe Pollheide (1047,748); 29. Vladimir Karban 0:48.0(7); 30. Lothar Klaus (1:48.188); 31. Norman Manz (1:48.535). Pier~Franceseo a As"reported a few,';'eeks ago. new'Superp.,le' formula 'was' , wp,rked out ,by'the FIM to bE;! introduced in' wet 'condilions starting with this weekend's German round" The FIMand $BK Internatieinal'decided to ,alter the existirig formula after Superpole sessions in Donington Park and,Albacete were interrupte.d - and canceled out:, right 'iri' England '- due to the rain, The procedure for Superpole' 'remains the same"if"the session is.dry. If it rains or rain is immi·· nent., the clerk of ,the course will declare '15 minutes prior to the 'session wheth'"r the Superpole will ,be run, according to t,he' "drY" or "wet" procedure: In the iatter case, 50 minutes of timed 'prac- ' tice is pianned for 'the ,16 riders together, EaCh rider cannot run more than 12 laps(with eve-ry exit from the pit lane being' conside(ed a lapl, If '13 laps are registered for one rider, .his best time wilf be canceled, Ii 14 laps are registered, his two oest times will oe canceled and so on for each e.xtra'lap, If a "dry" Superpoie sessi,on is interrupt!,d due to the track becoming wet, wi interVai 'of 15 minutes must be observec;l after the red .Rag..has 'lone out, and a new start of the Superpole session is given' acco(ding to the "wet" procedure, with the best time obtained by each rider who has already taken part in the dry Superpole canceled, Thankfully. Superpole at the Nurburgring was run in the dry, The plan to allow 1000cc four-cylinder four-strokes in the 500cc Grands Prix - an idea that was prop'osed at the French Grand Prix one week before the German World'Superbike round - was met with mixed reac)ions in, the Superbike paddock. Many expect two-stroke engines to disappear in the near future, Honda has already, announced that' it will stop the production of twostroke 'bikes by 2002 - except for some special' models. including MX bikes', s.teve Whitelock. the ,FIM technical officer at the World Superoike races, stated that the current SOOcc' Grand Pox bikes' would not stand any ohance against t~e 1000 cc four-stroke, pro. totypes, "A 500cc Grand Prix 'bi~e weighs 130 kilograms (286 po~ndsl, produces some 190 bhp and is stopped by carbon-fiber brakes," he said. "Even by reducing the,weight of a cOrrent Superbike (now at 356.4 pounds and 160 bhp) and th-e use of,carbon,fiber brakes, the Grand Prix bikes would have a really hard time, But take a 1. OOOcc bike with no or very few technical regula, tions, and you get a bike producing some 240-250 bhp.. Manufac, turers could also consider to build a road version of this 'bike. producing some QOO bhp at 160 kilograms (350 pounds), There would be a huge demand for this kind, of machine," The American ,technical specialist did, however. ad",it that right now. no tires are available to p,ut ,this sort qf power effiGiently qn the ground, Most representatives of the factories showed less E;!nthusiasm for tlie ' project. ':,-he costs to develop such a machine wouid be enor'mous. ", said. Castroi Honda's Neil Tuxworth, "Contrary.'to what some people think, Honda - just Ii~e the ,other Japanese ma.nufa~ 'turers - do oot have, a, iimitless budget for our racing programs, RACE ONE: 1. Aaron Slight (Hon); 2. Colin Edwards 11 (Hon); 3. Pier-Francesco Chili (Due); 4, Akira Yanagawa (Kaw); 5. Noriyuki Haga (Yain); 6. Peter Goddard (Suz); 7. Troy Corser (Due); 8. Piergiorgio Bontempi (Kaw); 9. James Whitham (5uz); 10. Aless..1ndro Gramigni (Due); 11. Scott Russell (Yam); 12. Lucio Pedercini (Due); 13. Carl Fogarty (Due); 14. Igor Jerman (Kaw); 15. Ruben Xaus (Sux); 16. Andrew Stroud (Kaw); 17. Norbert Manz (Suz); 18. Jiri Mrkyvka (Hon); 19. Uwe Pollheide (Kaw); 20. Lothar Klaus (Kaw); 21. Vladimir Karban (Suz); 22. Frank Heiger (Kaw). Time: 40 min., 31.963 sec. Distance: 21 laps, 59.319 miles Average speed: 87.809 mph Margin of victory: 6.608 sec. Fastest lap: Aamn Slight, 1:53.516/89.582 mph RACE TWO: 1. Pier-Francesco Chili (Due); 2. Colin Edwacds Il (Hon); 3. Troy Corser (Due); 4, Aaron 5light (Hon); 5. Akira Yanagawa (Kaw); 6. GregoriO LaviUa (DuC>; 7, Noriyuki Haga (Yam); 8, P..... Godda'd (S",,); 9. Piergiorgio Bontempi (Kaw); 10. James Whitham (5",,); 11. Neil Hodgson ()(aw); 12, UdoMark (5uz); 13, Carl Fogarty (Due); 1:4. Lucio Pedercini (Due); 15. Igor Jerman (Kaw); 16. Ruben Xaus (5uz); 17. Johnnie Ekerold (Kaw); 18. Jiri Mrkyvka (Hon); 19. Frank Heidger (Kaw); 20. D. Gud.erian (Kaw); 21. Uwe Pollheide (K.1W); 22. Vladimir Karbnn (Suz); 23. Lothar Klaus CKaw). Time: 40 min., 48.961 sec. Distance: 21 laps, 59.319 miles Average speed: 87.200 mph Margin of victory: 11.117 sec. Fastest lap: Pier.Fra.l~cesco Chili, 1:54.508,88.806 mph WORLD SUPERBIKE CHAMPIONSHI.P POINT STANDINGS (After 5 of 13 rounds): 1. Troy Corser (160); 2. (TIE) Pier·Franeeseo Chili (2 wins)/ Aaron Slight (144/1 win); 4. Noriyuki Haga (143/3); 5. Colin. Edwa,ds iI (138/2); 6, Carl Fogarty (134/2); 7, Aku-a Yanagawa (79); 8. Peter Goddard (71); 9. James Whitl,am (63); 10, Neil Hodgsoo (SO); 11. Scott Russell (44); 12. Piergiorgio Bontempi (43); 13. GregoriO Lavilla (42); 14. Alessandro Gramigni (22); 15. 'Mark Willis (17). Upcoming Rounds: Round 6 • Misano, Italy, June 21 Round 7 - Kyalami, South Africa, July 5 Sebastien Charpentier revels in his Supersport World Series Victory after the crash-marred race that saw most of the contenders hit the tarmac. Moreover. ,I believe th~t within five y~ars' time, World Superbike, . vaive' angle,. modifica!ic!ns ieading t9 a better. foel,su'pply·to. the, and Grands Prix will be integrated 'into one championship. I have engine. The riders,also,'reported the ~ew engine to be 'more pro: ' , always felt ,that one top 'championship is better than tWo separaie' gressiye and strong!,r' in ,the rev area where it really matters ones'-' especially froni a marketing and sponsoring poirit of view," (8.500-10.500 rpm), Th'e small loss of power at I.ower engine Whatever the' manufacturers decide. the iRTA' proposal, is susspeeds is considered, to be worth the 'sacrifice, ~The engines are pected,to be a clear warning shot 'for the Flammin! Group. which, ready.!o run/ expiained 'team'man~g.er'Virginio Ferrari,'''B~t V'fe, is riot, only running busines,s in 'the WorliJ Superbike Champ;prefer to wait for the bike to be, rehpm'ologatE;!d within' a 'couple ,of, on,ship but wh.ich now, also sE;!'ems to be one of ,the candidates to ',weeks' ,time ,before WE;! .enter it ,in a World Superbik round - in take over (commercial ,and marketing) power in the Grands Prix,. order, to avoid 'any protests from other. leams,' We will use, the " new engines,for the first time' in 'Kyalami." The'modification leadas a po~sible replacement for Doma, ing to 'a new homoiogation is' s"pposed to be minor. with, one 'of' Spanis," surpeise Gregorio ,Lavilla tested the MuZ 500 'the day' the upper transverse frame tubes beirig moved' an in'ch of two',in after ,the French Grand' Prii'. The privateer put some 60'Iaps under order'to provide enough spaCe for the alrbox. which is positioned' h'is ,beit ,at the Le Castellet circuit and proved to, be not too differently on top of the 'engine, In meantime. the Italians are impre,ssed by the two-stroke racer, "Serge Rosset had invited me' also working on'a more-compact, version of the existing 996 c cto test the bike." Lavilla said. at the Nurburgring', "Initially, the test engine. "rhis is not expected to make its debut bef.ore 2001. and would 'have' taken place at' Jarama, but that did nOl'work out.' And' then possibly in a ,completely cii,fferent chassis. After initial riians that is a:shame. because I wouid have liked to have' experienced to make a V-twin en9ine with 'a smaller cylinder angie than the cur- , the power and ihe carbon-fiber brakes on a, tWisty track, As it rent 90 degrees'. it is believed that the development department is turned out. the day at La 'Castellet was going all right. Only the, ~ow " at the explicit request of Claudio Castiglio"i - concentratin\! sliQhtlY more aggressive power delivery was 'a bit of a 'surprise to on an eng.ine with t~e cu.rrent configur~tion. me: Unfortunately: i will not ra,ce this' bike - or any 'other Grand Prix racer. for that matter - in the Grands Pnx thiS' y,ear, My conGerman ace Jochen Schmid was a no-show on his home tract with the Dececco team and their contract with Flammini ,track, The 3~year-old Kawasaki rider had' destroyed' both of his makes jt ,,";possible for me to go Grand Prix racing thiS season," factory ZXRs in a German championship 'race one week before. Lavilla's leaving the World Superbike 'series would be a io.s. as and preferred not to enter the World Superbike round with a ' he is more or less the first Spaniard to perform well in the fouispare bike, , stroke series (apart from- the one-off successes of Daniel Amatriain and ,Juan Garriga in the pastJ and he has already shown qUite The ,homologatio~' term oUhe Honda R.c45 expireS at the end some pot~ntial aboard his priv~teer Nepoti-tuned 91.6, ' of next year. In principl,e, this wo~ld mean that this year's championship bike will have to 'be replaced Jor the 2000 'season, in pracKawasaki Heavy industries announced its official ilneup, for the tice, however, it is perfectly possible to homoiogate a modified Suzuka 8 Hours endurance ~ace'on July 26, The Kawasaki version of the existing bike - as Ducat; has' already done several , Racing Team has made three entries for the famous event. held at times, ".It Is getting harder and haraer to get the engine and the the, Suzuka Grand Prix circuit in Japan; Akira Yanag~wa and Neil bike better." admitted team manager Neil TUxWorth about the' Hodgson; Shinya Takeishi and Tamaki Serizawa: Hitoyasu Izutsu bike that made its World Superbike 'debut in 1994, -And the relia: and Piergiorgio Bontempi. KHI has thrown down the gauntlet to its bility is also exemplary, Take the crankshaft: That ha,s a more or rival manufacturers by selecting the cream ,of its ,Japanese and' less unlimited lifetime, Since the material of this component was internationai superbike compe.titors, Although these pairings may changed in f995. some of. those prime examples are ~ow still fit be subject to change after the team's final tests at Suzuka (there to be used in the r,acing bikes," 'The Castrol Honda team' is now are two 'more tests plannedl, the Kawasaki factory has'its best using six engines for a whele season, wbich are cOlJstantly rebuilt chance of victory since Scott Russell and Aaron Slight's win in and ,checked Jor wear, . 1993, Neil Hodgson, who has never raced in the 8 Hours. Participated in a 200-kilom'eter r.ace at Suzuka 'one week before the NurIt was a rough-and..tumble World Series Supe~sPort contest' burgring'round and had to settie for 13th after a mix-up 'during a pit stop, Akira Yanagawa didn't make the tiring trip tei Japan., as at the 'Nurburgring, -with most of the title ca'ndidates crashing, Massimo Meregalli' took Yves Briguet and -Paolo Casoli down in 'he knows the Suzuka track well; he has raced in the 8 Hours tne final comer of the first lap, and Fabrizio Pirovano crashed all seven times. on his, own on the flnal' lap, The race was won by'Fre'nchman Sebastien Charpentier, after' Austrian Robert Ulm had led for The three D.ucatl factory rid'ers Carl 'Fogarty, Pier'Francesco Chili and Troy Corser - tested a new engine at 'in.ost of the race, Ulm had led by as much as 10'second". but his tires went bad and he lost the .lead to Charpentier three' laps Mugello afew days after the Albacete round, The new V-twin produc'es five more ,horsepower and now has, some 160 bhp at, bef"'e tne finish" Perl' Riba ahd Vittorio Guareschi also went past Ulm '6n the final lap: .' , '12,200 rpm, with most· work bein~done on the camsh,afts andthe e the

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