Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

World Championship Road Race Round 1 : ..Japanese Grand Prix Tohru Uk.w. (2:05.924); 6. Norick Abe (2:05.927); 7. Velentino Rossi (2:06.140); 8. Alex Barros (2:06.295); 9. Kenny Roberts Jr. (2:06.469); 10. 250cc GRAND PRIX: I. Daijlro Katoh (Hon); 2. Tetsuy. H.roda (Apr); 3. Roberto Locatelli (Apr); 4. N.oki M.tsudo (Y.m): 5. Roberto Rolfo (Apr); 6. Jllson Vincent (2: 11.232); 22. Johan Stigefelt Marco Melandri (Apr); 7. Fmnco Battaini (Apr); 8. Jeremy McWilliams (Apr); 9. Sebastian Porto (Yam); 10. Taro Sekiguchi (Yam); 11. Fonsi Nieto (Apr); 12. Alex Hofmann (Apr); 13. Hiroshi Aoyama (Hon); 14. Klaus Nohles (Apr); 15. Sylvein Guintoli (Apr); 16. Devid Checce (Hon); 17. Lorenzo Lanzi (Apr); 18. Jeronimo Videl (Apr); 19. Shinichi Naketomi (Hon); 20. Tekkyu Kayoh (Hon); 21. Diego Giugovez (Yam); (2:11.282); 23. Mark Willis (2:12.791); 24. Barry Venem.n (2:13.133). 1250c GRAND PRIX: 1. Masoc Azuma (Hon); 2. Time: 41 min., 3.596 $t!C. Distance: 69.01 miles Noriyukl Hagll (2:06.597); 11. Alex Criville (2:06.714): 12. C.rlos Checca (2:06.858); 13. Jose Luis Cardoso (2:06.993); 14. Sete Gibernau (2:07.121): 15. Akir. Ryo (2:07.580); 16. Jurgen vd Goorbergh (2:08.419); 17. Haruchika Aoki (2:08.906); 18. Chris W.lker (2:09.129); 19. Olivier J.cque (2:09.409); 20. Leon Haslam (2:10.478); 21. Youichi Ui (Oer); 3. Simone Si!!lnna (Apr); 4. Gino Borsoi (Apr); 5. Manuel Poggillii (Gil); 6. Lucio Cecchinello (Apr); 7. Steve Jenkner (Apr); 8. Mirko Giansanti (Hon); 9. Vi"cent Arnaud (Hon); 10. Pablo Nieto (Der); 11. Angel Nieto Jr. (Hon); 12. Mex Sabbet.ani (Apr); 13. Gianluigi Scalvini (Ita); 14. Alex De Angelis (Hon); 15. Hiroyuki Kikuchi (Hon); 16. Antonio Elias (Hon); 17. J~roslav Hules (Hon); 18. DZlniel Pedrosa (Hon); 19. Joen Olive (Hon); 20. Masafumi Ono (Han); 21. Jakub Smrz (Hon); 22. Yw.o FujiokZl (Han); 23. Gabor Talmacsi (Han); 24. Jamo Muller (Hon); 25. Phillipp Hafeneger (Hon). Time: 40 min., 59.192 sec. Distance: 65.38 miles Average Speed: 95.71 mph Margin or victory: .067 sec. Fastest Lap: 2:15.363 Masao Azuma, Lap 14 22. K.tj. Poensgen (Apr). Youichi OJ (20); 3. Simone Sanna (16); 4. Gino Borsoi (13); 5. Manuel Poggiali (11); 6. Lucio Cecchinello (10); 7. Steve Jenkner (9); 8. Mirko Giansenti (8); 9. A~ud Vincent (7); 10. Peblo Nieto (6); 11. Angel Nieto Jr. (5); 12. Mox Sabbotani (4); 13. Gionluigi Scalvini (3); 14. Alex De Angelis (2); 15. Hiroyuki Kikuchi (1). 250cc WORLD C'SHIP POINTS STANDINGS (After 1 of ] 6 rounds): 1. Daijiro Ketoh (25/1 win); 2. Tetsuya Harada (20); 3. Roberto Locatelli (16); 4. Nooki Motsudo (13); 5. Roberto Rolfo (11); 6. Mo«:o Average Speed: 100.855 mph Melandri (10); 7. Frenco Battaini (9); 8. Jeremy McWilliams (8); 9. Sebastian Porto (7); 10. Taro Sektguchi (6); 11. Fonsi Nieto (5); 12. Alex Hormenn Margin or victory: 18.763 $t!C. (4); 13. Hiroshi Aoy.m. (3); 14. Klaus Nohle. (2); Fa.te.t Lap: 2:08.658 D.Uiro Katoh, Lap 7 500cc GRAND PRIX: I. V.lentlno Rossi (Hon); 2. G.rry McCoy (Y.m); 3. Max Bi.ggi (Yom); 4. Norick Abe (Yam); 5. Shinya Nakano (Yam); 6. Alex 15. Sylvain Guintoli (1). 500cc WORlD C'SHIP POINTS STANDINGS (After 1 or 16 rounds): 1. Valentino Rossi (25/1 win); 2. Checc. (Yom); 11. Jurgen vd Goorbergh (Mod); 12. G.ny McCoy (20); 3. Mox Bi.ggi (16); 4. Norick Abe (13); 5. Shiny. Nak.no (II); 6. Alex Barros (10); 7. Kenny Roberts Jr. (9); 8. Loris C.pirossi (8); 9. Alex Haruchike Aoki (Hon); 13. Leon Haslem (Hon). Tune: 44 min., 51.501 sec. Distance: 76.28 miles Goorbergh (5); 12. Horuchik. Aoki (4); 13. Leon H.slam (3). Berros (Hon); 7. Kenny Roberts Jr. (Suz); 8. Loris Cepirossi (Hon); 9. Alex Criville (Hon); 10. Carlos Criville (7); 10. Carlos Checca (6); 11. Jurgen vd Average Speed; 102.033 mph Margin or victory: .724 sec. Fo.te.t Lap: 2:06.805 Tohru Uk.wo, Lap 11 1250c WORLD C'SHIP POINTS STANDINGS (Arter 1 of 16 rounds): 1. Meseo Azuma (25/1 win); 2. minute, he switched to Aprilia, with a new team run out of Milan· Sogevalor Aprilia. "It ail came too late to get the bikes ready in time to ship to Japan,· said West, who was at Suzuka as a spectator. "I hope to get a test on the bikes in Italy before they are sent to South Africa for the second GP," he said. BRIEFLY••• Olivier .Jacque was a doubtful starter for the new racing season, with his right wrist still not healed after his preseason testing crash in Malaysia. In the end, he did start the race - but retired before the finish. "It's still stiff and sore, and very weak," the Frenchman said, before going out for the first practice session to try to make up his mind about racing. "The scaphoid is broken, and normally it takes three months to heal. I have had only two months." Jacque, a frequent injury victim in the past. won the 250cc title last year before moving up to the top class with teammate Shinya Nakano. Defending 500cc World Champion Kenny Roberts .Jr. had a simple explanation for the Suzuki team's problems in preseason testing. "It's bad karma," he told a premeeting press conference. Roberts had been lagging during tests while the factory and team tried to find the problems with their new 2001 chassis. Only in the final round of Suzuka tests did he finally dispense with the 2000 bike, which he had favored at most of the tests. It is understood that there was a problem with detail stiffness ratios of the chassis - although it checked out overail as close to the specification of last year's unit. actual performance was different until some internal bracing was revised. For Roberts, it led to being "out of baiance as far as testing, with development pieces arriving at the wrong times, and mistakes done to the bike,· he enlarged later. "Everything we've done hasn't gone right.· But with a long season ahead, he remained optimistic. "As long as we don't do any· thing different, it sometimes comes right." he said. "And when it's right. we'iI be ready for it. Though I think I'm going to have to ride a bit harder this year than last. • Upcoming Rounds Round 2 " Welkom, South Africa, April 22 Round 3 " Jerez, Spain, May, 6 Plans for a mass photograph of ail 5OOcc-class competitors before the start of practice for the first race went wrong - thanks to Marlboro Yamaha riders Max Biaggi and Carlos Checa. Group photographs for the smailer classes went without a hitch at Suzuka, but the 500 riders found themselves waiting for Biaggi and Checa, as weil as the other Yamaha riders. When Valentino Rossi discovered that his rival Biaggi was responsible for the delay, he said: "Okay. I'm leaving then." And ail the other riders foilowed him away.The snap was rescheduled for the second day of practice. Team Pulse made it to the first GP of the season - just in time. The ail-new New Zealand-backed 500cc team had missed ail the preseason tests. managing just one shake-down run in Europe before coming to the first GP of the year at Suzuka. "It hasn't so much been a last-minute rush as a long wait," said team boss Dave Stewart. "Understandably. we're at the bottom of the list for ail the suppliers." One problem had been brakes, with Brembo racing equipment in short supply. The team has switched to Nissin brakes in order to be able to go racing. "I knew we'd be starting at the bottom," said Stewart, who has put the team together with private backing from New Zealand. Supporters include Biil Buckley - the man behind the ill-fated BSL of two years ago - and feilow Kiwi A J Hackett - inventor of bungee jumping. "The aim is to build up the team and the bike this year, and to attract commercial backing for the future,· said Stewart. Riders Mark Willis and Jay Vincent were both on two-year contracts, he added. The Pulse is the latest incarnation of the European V-four, using the Swissauto motor that started life powering the Elf 500, and then the MuZ. which claimed two pole positions in its last season of 1999. "We have bought the whole project - the naming rights, and the inteilectual property - the engine is now cailed a Pulse,· said Stewart. The chassis is new, built by GP Motorsports Corporation ITeam Roberts) to provide the same handling qualities as the MuZ, but to put less stress on the rear tire. Honda's new four-stroke wili take to the tracks for the first time next week, with GP rider Tohru Ukawa scheduled to test the V5 RC211 V at Sugo. Until now, only a mock-up of the machine, with a V4 ex-Superbike motor, has been seen. Plans were changed after the race, however, in which Ukawa crashed out of third place. Although not seriously injured, Honda decided to leave the run to "shake-down riders. " Yamaha may return to the World Superbike championship in the future, according to motor sport division general manager Mr. Nakayama - depending on future regulations. Their withdrawal this season had been to "take a rest for the moment: he said. "Our position now is to wait and see what wiil happen with the regulations," he added. Yamaha's withdrawal came after series organiZers unexpectedly abandoned new rules that would have obliged factory teams to supply a fixed number of factory engine kits to private teams. Australian GP rider Anthony West missed the first GP, and was stiil struggling to finalize the last details of his new Aprilia ride as the rest of the 250 riders started official practice. West. who was sixth in the 250 class on a factory Honda last year, had been expected to race a production Honda 250 this year but, at the last 12 APRIL 18. 2001 • cue I _ n __ Yamaha has been using traction control for "three or four years" on their 500cc racers, according to Tsuuji Sakurada. The admission came after a Marlboro Yamaha team spokesman had denied that they were using the system. in response to questions posed by other teams. "We have experimented with several different systems, operated by measuring the different speeds of front and rear wheels,· said Sakurada. "There is a handlebar switch with several positions that gives different programs. It's up to the riders whether they only use it for the start, or dUring the race,· he said. The syatem is also used on the factory 250s. Red Buil Yamaha rider Garry McCoy confirmed that he uses the power-down option not to start, but switches it on during the race "once the tire goes off and I'm getting too much wheelspin." Var· s ious power-down systems have been used for more than 10 years by ail the Japanese manufacturers, originally introduced for wet conditions to reduce horsepower in the lower gears, and later for launch control. It is understood that. while early systems retarded ignition, a qUicker response time has now been achieved by simply missing a predetermined number of sparks, for example one in 10. Observers at Suzuka preseason tests noted that both Marlboro Yamaha riders were practicing fuil-throttle starts, and that the engine would reach a certain rev level and then start to misfire without the rider making any adjustments. Next year's four-stroke GP rules, to be known as GP1, wiil be revised in 2004, to redefine the crucial term "prototype." Technical regulations were released at Suzuka, with a few more details added to what was already known - two-stroke rules as at present. four-stroke rules opening the class to prototype machines of more than 350cc and less than 99Occ. The additions concern the definition of a prototype. "A four-stroke prototype motorcycle must have an engine of original design and must not use castings of the crankcase, cylinder or cylinder head derived from industrial production. The moving parts [crankshaft, pistons, connecting rods, gearbox, etc.J are not taken into consideration,· states the document. Current Superbike or Supersport motorcycles" cannot be modified for use in the Grand Prix until 2004. Then this rule will be amended in accordance with a new decision to be taken by the Grand Prix Commission," it concludes. Some thought this meant they would open the class to these bikes at that time, sounding a death knell to the Superbike series. However, though the wording is unclear. this is not the correct interpretation. according to Race Director Paul Butler. "The intention is not to let production bikes in, but to take into account the fact that a prototype might eventually be developed into a production machine. We don't want to ban that prototype just because it has been reproduced,· he said. Michelin has abandoned the super-soft qualifying tires they introduced last year, in response to complaints from a number of teams, including Suzuki and HRC, who felt that the special tires had several disadvantages, and few advantages. Although some riders liked them, many felt they introduced an element of danger, by allowing slower riders to qualify too high up the grid, as well as adding unnecessary confusion to the business of setting suspension and chassis geometry. Qualifiers did, however, make for a good spectacle, with the end of each last practice session much enlivened as riders went out for super hot laps in the closing minutes. The worst affected by the decision is Garry McCoy, whose unique riding style makes a nonsense of accepted tire knowledge. McCoy always uses the softest tires available, and is now asking Michelin for an even softer range of compounds to give him the same field of choice as the other riders. The three-cylinder BSL will make a Grand Prix racing retum this year, if the man behind the project, Bill Buckley, has his way. The bike made its debut in 1999, but was crippled with reliability problems that meant it never did qualify for a race, and was withdrawn before the end of the season. Since then, the bike has continued racing at home in New Zealand. "Last year I finally managed to solve a problem we had with carburetion," said Buckley. "We had a power jet that cut in at 10.500 rpm but, in situa· tions where the rider didn't have the throttle fully opened, it caused problems that we weren't able to identify.· The bike was now reliable and fast. he continued. "I'm hoping to get a Wild Card entry at one or two GPs this year," he said. Ex-factory Honda and Suzuki rider and now Bridgestone tire tester Nobuatsu Aoki was a Suzuka visitor· but laughed at the idea of a Wild Card entry at the first GP of the year. "The Bridgestone tires are not ready yet for racing: he said. "But I hope maybe later in the year, at Motegi, that we might be able to have an entry there.· He was testing once or twice a month, he said, and progress was good. Famous GP tuner and former team owner Erv Kanemoto runs the Bridgestone project.

• Cover