Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

th ird in the closing stages - th e unfortunate junior te am rider Elias pushed back to 18th and out of the po ints in the process . At th e fi ni sh , Nob oru Ueda stol e th ird from Gino Borsoi. "M y front tire was bad, but I could see his rear was wo rse , so I chose my spot on th e last la p," Ueda said. He wa s two tenths ah ead of th e Italian. Angel Niet o J r. was ne xt aft er a strong rid e , then Arnaud Vinc ent and Max Sabbatan i. The group wa s covered by one second - Gaspare Caffi ero had been w ith them, but was knock ed off by Vin cent wh en th e Frenchman caught up. Ui t o ok th e p oints l ea d w ith 4 5 , with Azuma an d Pogg ia li , bo th w ith 31. Borsoi has 26, the n Vincent and Je nkner have 17. CN Phakisa Freew Circuit ay Welkom, South Africa Results: April zz, 2001 125cc QClAUFYING: I. Youicht U; ( 1042.059): 2. Nob oru If e d e ( 1:4 2 .36 5) ; 3. M anuel Pog gia li (I :42.691): 4. Lucio Cecch lnel lo ( 1:42.803): 5. Angel Nieto Jr . ( 1:42.920) ; 6. Toni Eli• • ( 1:43.1 19); 7. Gi no Borsoi ( 1:4 3 . 120); 8 . Gianlui g i Sc alv in i ( 1;43 .1 48) ; 9. Ma.a o A zume ( 1:43. 185 ); 10. Gesp ere Caffi ero ( 1:4 3. 376 ) ; 11. Arna ud Vincent (1:37.410); 17. .Jose Lui. Cardoso (1:37.471); 18. Leo n Hashi m ( 1:3 7 .921 ) ; 19. Anthon y W e st ( I :38.287); 20. Johan Sligefei (1:38.743); 21. Jason t Vincent (1:3 9.222); 22 . Barry venemen ( 1:39.564) ; ( 1:43.395); 12. Pablo Nieto (1:43.428); 13. Stefano Perugini ( 1:43.556); 14. Alex De Angeli. (1:43.594); 23 . Mark Willis (1:40.412). 125cc GRAND PRIX: I. Yc uichi 15. Dan iel Pedrosa (1 :43 .65 8) ; 16. Max Sebbeteni Manuel Poggaili (Gil) ; 3. Noboru Ueda (Hon); 4. Gino Borsoi (Apr) ; 5 . Angel Nieto Jr. (Han) ; 6. Arnaud Vincent ( Han) ; 7 . Ma x Sebbetan! ( Apr) ; 8 . Stev e Jenkner (Apr); 9. Alex De Angell. (Hon); 10. Mas.o Azume (Han); 11. Stephana Perugini {ltl }: 12. Mirko Glensentl ( Han); 13 . Daniel Pedrosa ( Han); 14 . Gianluigi Scalvini ( ItI ); 15. Pablo Nieto (Der) ; 16. Joan Olive (Hon ); 17. Alessandro Brannetti (A pr) ; 18. Toni E llles (Han); 19. Lucio CecchinelJo (A pr) ; 20 . Eric Bataille (Hon) ; 21. Gabor Te lm ecsl (Hon) ; 22 . Jaroslav Hules (Hon) ; 23. Jam o Muller (Hon) ; 24 . Raul .Jare ( Apr). Tlme: 4 1 min. 27 .323 sec. Distance: 63 .12 miles Average speed: 91.35 mph Margin of victory: 1.288 sec. Fastest lap: 1:42.611. Youichi Ui, lap 7 ( 1:43.664) ; 17. Mirko Glansentl (1 :43 .895); 18. St ev e Jenkn er ( I :4 3. 9 4 5) ; 19. Jarn o M uller (1:44.296); 20. Jaroslav Hules ( 1:44.398); 21. Angel Rodriguez ( 1:4 4. 4 5 5 ) ; 22 . Al essandro Brennen! (1:44.472); 23 . Jakub Smrz ( 1:44.533); 24. Gabor Talmacsi ( 1:44. 699); 25 . Marco Petrini (1:4 4 .867 ); 26 . Joa n O live (1 :4 4. 9 3 1) ; 2 7. Eric Bataille ( 1:45.702); 28. Phillipp Hafeneger (1:46.046). 25 0c( QUALIFY I NG : D ai jiro Katoh Seba stian Porto ( 1:3 8. 0 5 2 ) ; 9 . Jeronimo Vidal (1:38.142); 10. Alex Debon (1:38.188); 11. Jeremy McWllllom. (1 :38 .213 ) ; 12. Roberto Rolfo ( 1:38.25 1); 13. Necki Matsudo (1 :38 .3 11); 14. (Der) ; 2. 250cc GRAND PRIX: I. Deijtrc Ketch (Hon); 2. L or en zo Lanzi ( 1:39 .556) ; 23 . A le x Hof m a nn Mllrco Mehmdri (Apr) ; 3. Tetsuya Her ada (Apr) ; 4 . Roberto Locatelli ( Apr); 5 . Fonsi Nieto ( A pr) ; 6 . Jeremy McWilliams (Apr) ; 7. Sebastian Porto (Yern) : 8. Roberto Rolfo (Ap r); 9 . Naoki Matsudo (Yam) ; 10. Alex Hofmann (Apr) ; 11. Shahrol Yuzy ( Yam); 12. Sylvain Guintoli (A pr); 13. David Checa (Han); 14, (1;39.568); 24. Cesar Berres ( 1;40.107); 25. Diego Kleus Nchle s (Apr) ; 15. Al ex Debon (A pr); 16. Giugovaz ( 1:40.430 ) ; 26 . J onath an Van Vuure n Jeronimo Vidal (Apr) ; 17. Lorenzo Lanzi (Apr) ; 18. Julien Allemand (Yam) ; 19 . Emilio A!zamora (Han); 20 . Franco Battalnf (A pr) ; 21. Cesar Barros (Yam); 22 . Diego Giugovllz (Yam); 23 . Jonathan Van Vuuren Randy De Punlet ( 1:38.4 50 ) ; 15 . Sylvain Guintoli (1;38.507): 16. David Chece (1:38.540); 17. Kleus Nchles ( 1:38.773); 18. Emilio Aizamoro ( 1:38.938); 19. Shehrcl YUl Y ( 1:39 .193 ); 20. David De Gea ( 1:39.240 ); 21. Juli en Allema nd ( 1:39.507) ; 22. ( 1:41.131 ); 27. lven Sllve (I ;4 1.442) : 28. Katja Poensge ( 1:41.517); 29. Stuart Edward. ( 1:42.374); n 30. Riccardo Chiarello (1:4 2.958 ). 5 0 0cc QUA LI F Y I NG : 1. V ale nti no Ross i (1:34.629); 2. Lori. Ceplrossl (1:34.872); 3. Shinya Nakano (1:35.216): 4. Gerry McCoy (1:35.434); 5. Ke nny Rober ts J r. (1 :35 .4 76) ; 6 . T ohru UkllWll (1:35.537); 7. Norick Abe ( 1:35.692); 8. Max BI.ggl (1:35.921): 9. Alex Crivtlle ( 1:35.996); 10. Norlyukl Hag. (1:36.125); II. Sete Glbemau ( 1:36.138); 12. Alex Barros ( 1:36. 149 ); 13. Jurg en vd Goorbergh ( 1:36.169) ; 14. Heruchtke Aoki (1 :36. 694); 15. Oliv ie r .Jecq ue ( 1:3 7. 0 3 8 ) ; 16 . Ch ri s W a lk er BRIEF LY••• Accident-pron e C arlo s C he ca became the firs t 500cc rider 10 miss a race through injury in 2001 . But it was n't as a result of falling off a G P bike. This time. C heca cras hed his Super motard Yamaha while prac tic ing at a loc al track near his Barcelona home . Alth ough not seriously injured . C heca suffered bruising and contusions to a kidney . and was advised to miss the Sou th African trip 10 be at his best for the first of his three hom e GP s . at Jerez in two weeks . Checa has the unenviable cra sh record in the class · 24 tumbles in 1999. and 15 last season. but miraculously usually manages to e scape seriou s injury . Mic~elin 1. (1:36.937); 2. Tetsuya Harad (1:36.998); 3. Marco a Melandri ( 1:37.221); 4. Robert Locatelli (1:37.579); o 5 . Fort s! Nie to (1 :3 7.9 25 ); 6 . t.u ee Bos co scuro ( 1:37 .93 0); 7. Franco Battain l ( 1:3 7.998) ; 8. U; took a helping hand in the tire-choice dilem mas posed by the unusual South African circuit. with only one size of rear tire available fo r practice. This w as the 16 .5-inch rear . wh ich G arry M cCoy used to win the race last year - a victory that prec ipitated a who lesale switch to the smaller rim size In the co urse of the follow ing season. This yea r. the French co mpany - which su pplies tires for the entire 500cc class - kept the 17-inchers in the back of the lo rry. su pplying only 16 .5-lnch tires. A planned meeting between South A frican former pres ident and world folk hero Nelson Mandela and the th ree motorcycle World Champion s wa s cancelled o n the eve of the G P. Ken ny Robert s. Olivi er Ja cque and Robe rt o Locatelli had been sc heduled to mee t th e man wh o led South Africa oul of the apartheid era in Joha nnesburg . but Mandela was called aw ay to attend the funeral of the victims of a recent soccer crowd disaster. The Ph akisa Racew a y. odd ly situated many miles fro m major popu lation centers. wa s in the best co ndition yel in its three-year history, with dust prob lem s a thing of the pasl because of grass e stablis hed all aro und . and the t rac k s urf ac e seas o ned with increasingly frequent use for local races . But riders complained of worsening bumps, and some slippery sections where cracks had been patched with a soft bit ume n. The surroundi ng banked Trio oval circuit, on the other hand, has never been used, with plans to introd uce NASCAR -styl e saloon car rac ing endi ng instead in a legal dispu te with a riva l promoter. A solution may be at hand. (Yam); 24. Katja Poensgen (Apr). TIme: 42 min. 31.3 71 sec. Distance: 68.38 miles Average speed: 96.4 8 mph Margin of victory: .083 sec. Fastest lap: 1:36.528. Marco Melandri. lap 25 50 0cc GRAND PRIX: 1. Valentino Rossi (Hon); 2. Loris Capirossi (Hon); 3. Tohru Ukawa (Hon); 4 . Shinya Nakano (Yam) ; 5. Norick Abe (Yam) ; 6. Alex Cr lville (Han) ; 7 . Kenny Roberts Jr. (Sua) : 8. Max D uring the bike GP a de legation fro m the USA visi ted the track. to discu ss the po ssibility of bringing the U .S.·styl e Indy Racing League cars to the Sout h Africa n track later this year. wi th a view to adding Phakisa as a round in the IRL calendar. The vi sito rs included team owne r Ron Hemelgam . who runs a team with driver Stan Wattles. "We 're hop ing that they will co me and test at the end of October. and run a non-poi nt s race. The object is to be o n the IRL cale ndar next year. " said South A frican GP pro moter Bo bby Hart slief. who wa s the man behind the Phakisa circ uit. "I n the future. we hope to develop our own national series," he said. O liv ier Jacq ue wa s back in bett er shape for the fir st race . after ret iring from the first. his broken righl scaphoid injured in a preseason test now closer to full rec ov ery . " It is still weak. but I can ride the bike better now : he said. " Only braki ng is a problem." He fitted kneepads to the chassis to take so me of the strain. and ad mitted I hat he had tried rid ing hi s trials bi ke w it h his arms cro ssed. so as -to operate the brake and thr ottle wi th his left hand. "lt was okay - I could ride like that . But not race." he said. He had also co nsidered switching the co ntro ls . to put throttle and brake on the left handlebar. W isely he rejec ted thai option - the last rider to do that was Marco Pappa. who made the switch at a Malaysian GP. He cra shed soo n afterward. The new Pulse team had a cle ar illustration of how sma ll proble ms ca n have big co ns eq uenc es in rac ing . The Kiwi-backed team 's first race in Japan a fo rtnig ht ago w as spoiled when both riders Mark Willis and J ay V ince nt failed to finish . The reaso n? Simply fuel starvati on. the result of excess fuel surge under braking with a low tank to wa rd the end of the race . Willi s ret ired whe n he felt the engine starving; Vin cent stopp ed with two laps to go after running dry. In fact. both had sufficient fue l left, but it w asn 't getting to the carburetors . The solution w as also simple - insert a baffle at the bottom of the tank. They tested wi th low fuel in the ope ning sessio ns in Sou th Afri ca. and discovered that the problem was so lved . Aft er delays wi th co mpo ne nt supplies. the Pulse team managed only one day of preseason le sting . The mach ine is the latest to use the V·four Swi ssauto engine . in a new chassis built by Kenny Roberts' GP M otors port s Co rpo ration in England . Troubled Au st rali an rider Anthony West finally retu med to GP raging . one race late and in a different class . He had expe cted to join a 250cc Aprilia team. but missed the Japanese G P when th e machine s could not be made ready in time . Now th e 19·yearold ride r has a 500cc ride in stead - taking over the D ee Cee Jeans p rivatee r t wi n -c yl i nd e r Ho nda N SR5 00 -V Iwin o rigi nally allocated to c o m pa t ri o t Marcus Payt en. who failed to qualify for th e opening r o und at Suzuka . " I haven't been on a racing bike since the Phillip Island GP last year: said West, Biaggi ( Yam ) ; 9 . Alex Barr os ( Ho n) ; 10. Sete Gibemau (Suz); 11. Jurgen vd Goorbergh (Pro); 12. Haruchika Aoki (Han); 13. Jose Luis Cardoso (Yam): 14. Anthony West (Hon); 15. Chris Wetk er (Hon); 16. Olivier Jacque ( Yam ): 17. Leon Haslam (Han); 18. Johan Stigefelt (Seb): 19. Barry Veneman (Hon); 20 . Marl< Willi. (Pul). Time: 45 min. 3.4 14 sec. Distance: 73.64 miles Average speed: 98 .06 mph Margin of victory: .660 sec. Fastest lap: 1:35.50 8. Valentino Rossi, lep 28 l25cc WORlD C'SHIP POINTS STANDINGS (After 2 of 16 rounds): I. Youlchi Ui (45 l/Win); 2. (TIe) Masao Azume (3 1/1 )/ Manuel Poggi.1I (3 \); 4. Gino Borsoi (26) ; 5. (Tie) Arnaud vin cen t/Steve Jenkner (17); 7 . (T ie) Simone Sanna/Nobo ru Uedll/Angel Nieto Jr. (16) ; 10. Max Sebbete nl (13); 11. Mirko GlansantI ( 12) ; 12. Lucio Cecchinello (10 ). 250cc WOR C'SHIP POINTS STANDINGS (After lD 2 of J6 rounds) : 1. Daijiro Katoh (50 2fWins); 2. Tetsuya Harada (36); 3. Ma rco Melandri (30 ) ; 4 . Roberto Locatelli (2 9); 5 . Neck! Matsudo (20 ); 6 . Roberto Rolfo (1 9); 7. Jeremy McWilliam s (t 8) ; 8. (T ie) Fonsi Nieto (16 )/Seba stian Porto ( 16 ); 10. Alex Hofm ann ( 10 ); 11. Franco Bettelni (9) ; 12 . T aro Sekiguchi (6); 13. (Tie) Shehrcl YUlY (5)/ Sylvain Guintoli (5) ; 15. Klaus Nohles (4). . 500cc WORlD C'SHIP POINTS STANDINGS (After 2 of 16 rounds) : 1. Valentino Rossi (50 2/W ins); 2. Loris Capirossi (28); 3. (Tie) M

• Cover