Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

/ / Wor ld Championship Road Race Series Round 3 : Span ish G rand P r ix 250cc GRA ND PRIX: 1. Daijiro Katoh (Hon ); 2. Tetsuye Harada ( A pr); 3 . Marco Melandri (Apr) ; 4 . Marcellino Lu cc hi (A p r) ; 5. Fonsi Nieto (Apr); 6 . Emilio Alzamora (Han); 7. Roberto Rolfo (A pr) : 8 . Roberto Locatelli (A pr); 9 . Franco Betta lni (Apr); 10. Jeremy McWilliams (Apr); 11. Alex Hofmann (Apr); 12. Naoki Matsudo (Yam): 13. Alex Debon (Apr); 14. Klaus Noh les ( A pr); 15. Lorenzo Lanzi (Apr) ; 16 . David Checa (Hon); 17. Jeronimo Vid.1 « Apr); 18. Randy De Puntel (Apr) ; 19. Julien Allemand (Yam) ; 20 . Diego Giugovaz (Yll m ); 21. lsrneel Bonilla (Han) ; 22. Alvaro Molina (Yam ); 23 . Katja Poen sgen (Apr); 24 . Cesar Barros (Yam ); 25 . David Tomas (Ho n); 26 . Stuart Edw ards (Han); 27 . Demese Nache r (Hon). Time : 43 min. 49 .748 sees. Di stance: 68 .55 miles. 25 laps Average speed: 93.85 mph Margin of victory: 11.789 sees. Fastest lap: 1:44. 444 , lap 18, Daljirc Katoh 500cc GRAND PRIX: 1. Valentino Rossi (Hon) ; 2 . No rick Abe (Ya m) ; 3 . A lex Cri vil le ( Hon) ; 4. Shin y a Naka no ( Yam) ; 5. Tohru Uka wa ( Hon); 6. A lex Barros (Hon): 7. Kenny Roberts (SOl); 8. Loris Capi ross l (Hon ); 9 . Garry McC oy (Yam ) : 10 . Sete Giberne u (Suz); 11. Max Bl aggi (YlIIm); 12 . Noriyuk i Haglll ( Yam) ; 13 . Jurgen vd Goo rbergh (Pro) ; 14 . Ca rlos Checce (Yam); 15 . An thony West (Han ); 16. Leo Haslam (Hen} : 17. J oh an Sti gefelt (SlIIb ) ; 18 . J ason Vincent (Pul); 19. Mark Willi s (Pul) . lime: 47 m in. 15.126 sees. Distance: 74. 04 mile s. 27 laps Average speed: 94.0 1 mph Margin of vict ory: 2.307 sees. Faste st lap: 1:43 .779, lap 22. Valentino Rossi 125cc WORLD C'SHIP POINTS STANDINGS (After 3 of 16 rounds): I. Mesao Azuma (56/2 wins); 2 . Youchi Ui (4 5 /1 ); 3 . Gino Borsoi (4 2) ; 4 . Mllinuel Poggiali (3 1): 5. Lucio Cecchinello (30); 6. Noboru uece (29); 7. Angel leto Jr. (27); 8. Arnaud Vincent (22 ); 9 . Max Sabbatani (2 1); 10. Alex De Angelis (1 8) ; 11. Steve Jenkner ( 17 ); 12. Simone Sann a (16); 13. Mirko Gi.nsanti ( 12); 14. Angel Rodriguez (10); 15. (T oe) Daniel Pedrosa!Stefano Perugini (9). 250cc WORLD C'SHIP POINTS STANDINGS (Aft er 3 of 16 rounds): 1. Daij iro Ketch (7 5/3 win s); 2 . Tetsuya Harada (S6) ; 3. Marco Mel andri (46); 4 . Roberto Locatelli (37); 5. Roberto Rolfe (28 ); 6. Fon si Nieto (27); 7 . (Tie) Naoki Mlltsud o / J erem y McWilliams (24); 9 . (Ti e) Fr anco Batta ini/S ebastian Porto (1 6) ; 11. A lex Hofmann (15 ); 12 . Marcellino Lucchl ( 13); 13. Emilio Alzemore (10) ; 14. (Tie) Tare Sekiguchi/Klaus Nohles (6). 500« WORLD C'SHIP POINTS STANDINGS (After 3 of 16 rou nds) : 1. Valentino Rossi (75/3 wins); 2 . Narick Abe (4 4) ; 3 . Shin ya Na ka no (3 7 ); 4 . Loris Capiross! (36); 5. A lex cnvme (33); 6 . Max Biaggi (29); 7 . (Tie) Garr y McCoylTohru Uka w. /Ale x Bar ro s/ Kenn y Roberts J r . ( 2 7) ; 11 . Jurgen vd Goorbergh ( 13); 12. Sete Glberneu ( 12): 13. (Tie) Carl os Checca/ Haruc hika A oki (8 ): 15 . Nariyuk i Haga (4). Up co mi ng Rou nds Round 4 . Le Mans. France. May 20 Round 5· Mugello. Ital y. June 3 BRIEFLY• • • M ax B iaggi was wired in Spain. The Italian fou r-time 250cc W orl d Ch amp io n pract iced wi th 64 sensors attached to a special inner suit wi thin his leathers . Dainese . to research w hat goes on inside there when yo u're riding at the limit. put them there. The sensors measured tem pe rature and hum idity at key areas rou nd the body, said Dainese. as well as monitoring heart rate . Data is stored in a special unit inside the hump at the back of the leathers, wi th readi ngs taken every five seconds to be downloaded later . The goal is to improve rider co m fort, and a third development stage will incorporate a radio tran smissio n system. and G PS . according to D aine se . This last aspect w ill be of mor e use to Paris-Dakar racers than to anyo ne goi ng arou nd a racetrack . Australian rider M a rk Wi llis had an uncomfortable moment on the first day of practice for the Span ish GP when the chassis of his Pulse Y -fo ur racer bro ke . " Luckily , I was running in pistons. so I wasn 't goi ng too fast," Will is said. The frac ture was to the pair of lugs locating the rea r suspension link . " I was just comi ng ou t of the last right-hander when the rear of the bike dropped abo ut six inches, " said Wi llis . who was able to retu m to the pit s. The Pulse chassis wa s built around the Swissauto Y ·four mo to r by Kenny Ro be rt s' GP M otor spo rt s Corporation . and eng inee rs fro m the same firm ' s Proto n team w er e inves tigating the freak failure. The bike in question was the same machine that W illis crashe d in a heavy fift h-qe ar high side in pract ice fo r the So uth A frican GP two wee ks bef ore. and th o ugh the chassi s wa s dimensiona lly unaffected by that cras h. there may have been so me undetected damage thai led to the failure . according to team boss Dave Stew art . Manuel Poggla ll (541 ran near the front for the entire 125cc GP, swapping the lead back and forth with Youlchl UI (41 1 and Masao Azuma (4). Azuma went onto take his second win of the year In front of some t 36,000 spectators. In the en d, h e w as 4. 5 , se co nds beh ind A zuma , with Borso i another second away . Nobbie Ued a had c onq u ere d h is own tire probl em s to preva il over a b ig gang for fo urt h, inches ahead of Angel Nieto Jr. , Angel Rodriguez and Alex de A ng eli s. Max Sabbat in i w a s ei g h t h a nd Jaroslav Hules ninth, after hav ing lost touch with group . Fas t starter Elias was 12th at th e fi nish , j u st behind Perugini , limping to the fini sh. The closest of the three ch am pi onships now has a new leader , with Azuma on 56 points and no -scorer Ui on 4 5 . Borso i has 42, Poggia li 3 1, Cec chinello 30 and Ueda 29 . eN (1:44.489); 5. Tetsuye Harada (1:44.635); 6. Marco o Mel.ndri ( 1:44.688); 7. Naokl Matsud (1:44.795); 8. J eremy McW illiam s ( 1:44 .87 8) ; 9 . Fran co 8ll ttai nl ( 1:45. 123); 10. Emili o Alz.mor. ( 1:45. 13 1); I I. Alex Debon (1 :45 .2 38 ); 12. Robert o Rolfe ( 1:45.550); 13. Randy De Puniet ( 1:45.627); 14. KI.us Nohles ( 1:45 .67 5) ; 15 . She hr c l Yuzy ( 1:4 5.71 1); 16 . Devld Checa ( 1:4 5.8 0 1); 17 . Seba st ia n Porto ( 1:4 5 .8 2 1); 18. Alex Ho fm ann ( 1:46.114); 19. Jeronimo Vidal (1:46.228); 20. Luca Bo sc o scuro ( 1:4 6 .3 0 3); 21 . Sy l va i n Gu i ntoli (1:46.487); 22. David De Gee ( 1:46.622); 23. Julien Allemand (1:47.059); 24. Lorenzo Lanzi (1:47.173); 25 . Die go Guigovaz (1 :4 8 .239 ); 26 . Alvaro Mo lin,a (1:48.461); 27. Ismoel Bonill. ( 1:48.520); 28. Cesar Berres ( 1:48.571); 29. K.tja Poensgen (1:48.828); 30 . Dav id Tomas (1 :49 .05 0 ); 3] . Stuart Edward s ( 1:49.688); 32. Demeec Nacher ( 1:51.038). 500 c c QUALIFYING : 1. V al entino Ro ss i 125« QUAUFYINO: I. Youk:hi Ui ( I :48.002); 2. Ma nu el Pogg iali ( 1:48.762); 3. Lucio Cecch ine llo (1 :48 .838 ); 4. Stefano Perugini ( 1:49.070); 5. Simone Sanna (1:49.071); 6. Toni Elias ( 1:49.158); 7. Max Sabbatani ( I :49 . I 70 ) ; 8. Noboru Oeda (1:49.236); 9. Masao Aluma ( 1:49.262); 10. Gino Borsoi (1:49.264); 11. Gaspare Caffiero (1:49.328); 12 . Steve J e nkner (1 :49 .331 ); 13. Danie l Pedrosa (I :49.483) ; 14. Gabor Talmac si ( 1:49.525) ; 15. Angel Rodriguez (1: 49 .62 1); 16. A lex De Angeli, (1:49.639); 17. Pablo Nieto (1:49.654); 18. Arnaud Vincent (1:49.694); 19. Mirko Giansanti ( 1:49.742); 20. Angel Nieto Jr. (1:49 .817); 21. Gi21nluigi Scal vini ( 1:49.979): 22. .J emo Muller ( 1:50.210); 23. .Jaroslev Hules (1:50.368): 24. Hector Faubel (1:50.210); 25. Joan Olive (1:50.506); 26. Jakub Smrz (I :50.580): 27. Raul .Jere ( 1:50 .675 ); 28 . Eric Bata il le ( 1:50.783); 29. Aless. ndro Brannetti (1:51.011); 30. Marc o Pet r i n i (1 :51.265 ) ; 31. D an i el Pi nera ( 1:5 1.990); 32. Phillipp Hefeneger (1:52.391). 2 50 cc QUA LIF YING : 1. D. lj iro Ket oh (I :43.959 ); 2 , Marcell ino Lucchi (1 :44.090); 3 . Rob er t o Locate ll i (1:44.488); 4 . Fans! Nieto 6 , .- MAY 16, 2001 • c U a I (1:42.739) ; 2. Loris C.plrossl (1:43.132); 3. Norick Abe ( 1:43.234); 4. Shiny. Nekanc (1:43.247) ; 5. Max Biaggi ( 1:43.275): 6. Tohru Ok.w. (1:43.416): 7. Alex Ba rro s ( 1:4 3 . 5 9 2); 8. K enn y Ro b er ts ( 1:43.688); 9. Jurgen vd Goorbergh ( 1:43.838); 10. No r iyu ki H,a ga ( 1: 4 3. 9 0 1); 11. Garr y M cC o y ( 1:43.980); 12. Alex Criville ( 1:44.0 18); 13. Carlos Checa ( 1:44.156); 14. Sete Glbemau ( 1:44.179); 15. J o se Lu !s Ca rdo so ( 1:4 4 .6 54 ); 16 . Leon Hestem (1:45.227); 17. Chris Walker (1:45.315); 18. Johan Stigefelt (1:45.336) ; 19. Anthony West ( 1:45.523); 20 . Jason Vince nt (1 :4 6 .2 64) ; 21. Bar ry v enemen (1:46.997); 22. Mark Willis ( 1:48.220). 125« ORAND PRIX: 1. Masao Alum a (Hon); 2. Lucio Cecchinello (Apr) ; 3. Gi no Bo rso l (A pr) ; 4. Noboru Oeda (Hon); 5. Angel Nieto Jr. (Hon); 6. Angel Rodriguez (Apr); 7. Alex De Angelis (Hon); 8. Mu Sabbatanl (A pr); 9 . Je rcetev Hules (Hon); 10 . Daniel Pedrosa (Hon) ; 11. Arna ud Vincent (Hon) ; 12. Stefano Perugini (Itl); 13 . Toni Elias (Hon) ; 14. J oan Oli ve {H en }: 15. Jakub Smrz (Hon) ; 16. Hec to r FliUbel (A pr) ; 17. Gabor Talma csi (Hon) ; 18. Jamo Muller (Han ); 19. R,aul .Jare (Apr); 20. Eri c Bataille (Hon). n me: 42 min. 9.849 sees. Oist,ance: 63 .07 miles, 23 lap s Ave rage speed: 89 .75 m ph -- Margin or victory: 4 .623 sees. Fastest lap : 1:48.38 5. lap 4, Masao Azum a e n --::::::-- -- e ""_S· C arlos Checa was back in Spain aft er miss ing the South African GP - the result o f int ernal injuries suffered when he crashed his supermo tard machine wh ile training. ' I feel fine, but I need to get my feelings back , " said Ch eca. " It's o nly normal that it takes time 10 get up to speed . " Expl aining his cras h, he sai d : ' I left my brain at home that day. " Sadly. t he accident -prone Spaniard crashed twice on the fina l day of qualifying . the sec o nd a spectacuiar looping high side saw him stretchered away . Although not seriously hurt, ye t ano ther comprehensive battering meant he was a doubtful start er for the race . Jeremy McWilliams wa s suff eri ng inte rrupted sleep patterns at Je rez. though il had nothing to do w ith his ow n healt h o r state of mind . He was unfortunate e no ug h to have parked his motorho me next to Noriyuki Hag a, in his own flash new motorhome - and the Japane se rider hadn't quite co me to terms with the alarm sy stem . It kept going off . at odd intervals, day and night. F1 style t ea m franchising has co me to motorcycle racing , with the 500cc class to be limited to a probable 11 te ams . New entrants w ill either have to purchase one of the exist ing teams

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