Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

World C h a m p io n s h ip R o a d Race Series Round 7 : Dutch Grand Prix ( Ha n); 16 . Mark W illi s (Pul) ; 17 . Barry Veneman (Hen): 18. Johan Stigefelt (Sab). Roberto Rolfo (7 1); 6 . Jeremy McWilliams (68); 7 . Emilio Alzamora (62) ; 8. Fens! Nieto (60 ): 9. Naoki Matsudo (34); 10. Alex Hofmann (3 1). 500cc GRAND PRIX WORLD C'SH IP POINTS Time: 30 min . 56.346 sees. Distan ce: 56 .25 miles Average speed : 109.09 mph Marg in of victory: . 126 sees. Fa stest lap: Valentino Rossi. 2:02 .662. lap 12 125 cc GRAND PRIX WORLD C'SHIP POINTS STAND INGS ( Aft er 7 of 16 rounds) : 1. Manue l Poggiali (88/1 win); 2 . Gino Borsoi (8 5); 3 . Toni Elias (77/1 ); 4. Noboru Ueda (76/1) ; 5. Masao Azuma (72 /2 ); 6. Luci o Cecchi nello (66 /1 ); 7. Arnaud Vincent(63 ); 8 . Youichi OJ (6 1); 9 . Steve Jenkner (54) ; 10. Angel Nieto Jr. (47). 250cc GRAND PRIX WORLD C'SHI P POINTS ST AN DINGS ( Afte r 7 of 16 rou nds ) ; 1. Daijiro Katoh (136/ 5 wins); 2. Testyua Harada (121/1); 3. Marco Melandri (88) ; 4. Roberto Locatelli (73 ); 5. STANDI NGS (Afte r 7 of 16 rounds); 1. Valentino Rossi (136 /4 wins); 2. MliX Biaggi ( 115/2) ; 3. Loris Capirossi (97 ); 4. (Tie) Nc rlck Abe/Shiny a Nakan o (74); 6. Alex Barros (73); 7. Alex Criville (62); 8. Tohru Ukawa (5 3 ) ; 9. Sete Gibemau (49) ; 10. Kenny Roberts Jr. (47) ; 11. Jurgen vd Goorbergh (37) ; 12. Carlos Che (36); 13. Garry McCoy (27); 14. (Tie) ca Harachika Aoki/No riyuki Haga (22) . Upcoming Ro unds: Doni ngton Park , England, J uly 8 Sachsenring, Germany, J uly 22 " Vee nslang" sec t ion behin d the padd ock bei ng deleted. and a near reproduc tio n built furth er back . This will slow the exit from the Strubben hairpin. and alter the approac h to the St ekkenwal right-hander. as well as losing the breatht aking Zigzag sec tio n and follow ing back " st raight " (something of a misnomer). This is a latest in a series of plans to update the class ic track . and the one that makes the least changes . preserving the fir st and last loops of the 3.75-mile track almost unchanged . Ju st to add to the sense of hist ory. A ssen also has the oldes t lap reco rd· set by Kevin Sch wantz in 199 1. Rain on race day made it see m po ssible this old standard may remain in pe rpe tuity . BRIEFLY• • • Ri ders for Health , the Grand Prtx racing charity , has won a major award in Britain , named as UK Chari ty of the Year in London on Thursday. the week before the start of the Dutch IT. The award, organized by Charity Finance magazine , was given for the Riders for Health "excellence in innovation. financial management, co mmunicatio n wi th stakeholders and impact on its chosen area of work." Established in 1988, the charity targeted the transport problems of community health work ers in rural areas of A frica. es tablis hing not only a supply of mot orcycl es suitable for t he rough terrain. but also instituting programs to ensure mechanical reliability so that essent ial services can be maintained. " Today, RfH's work is a cornerstone of the global polio eradication campaign in Africa ," said a state ment from the charity. Riders for Health has recently added Valencia to its original annual Day of Cha mpion s on the eve of the Brit ish GP. where money is raised with the help of riders and tea ms. Ship"to-shore ra d io te sts at Barcelona the day after the GP we re inconclusive, but promising - as a technology already used in Fl cars takes another hesitant step toward tw o wh eels. M ore exte nsive te sl s had been hoped fo r. but in the eve nt only Alex Barros was equipped with a radio, for two separate sessions . Results were promising, but an inadvertent volume-control adjustment for the seco nd session meant he could hear the pits. but they co uld not hear him . Now his Shark helmet was to be modified further. to move the noise-canceling microphone closer to the lips. acco rding to Gary Coleman of Racing Radios. Pit-rider co mmunications have been resisted until now, but have a new relevance to major discussions taking place concerning possible pit sto ps to be int ro duced to solve th e Wet Race St oppage syn drome (see next story). Deadly rivals Vale ntino Ro ssi and M ax Biaggi met again on the eve of the Assen race . for the first time in public since their well-publicized punch-up afte r finishing first and seco nd respective ly at the Ca talunyan GP two weeken ds ago . And though they stop ped short of kissing - it seemed they had made it up. At least until the next time . The pair clashed in a flare -up in betw een climb ing off their bikes and standing on the rostru m. in what was by all accounts more of a confusing melee than an actual boxing match. The pair appeared in a pre-race pres s conference for Saturd ay' s Dutch IT. Although seated side by side, they did not loo k at each o ther at all as I hey shoo k hand s fo r the pho lographers. Each expressed penitence, and promised never to do it again; Rossi triggering some amusement when he said: "If either of us do, we will have to stay at home for a we ekend. " whereupon pre ss co nfer enc e compa nions Jurgen van den Goorberg h and Ke nny Roberts J r. raised a hearty cheer. Wa s th e rivalry still st rong ? "W e race in the same class. " was all Rossi would say. but M ax scored the knock -out verbal punch with his follow-on line: "This is the seco nd year I have been racing against Rossi in the same class - but it seems like he has been racing me ever since he was on a 125." The M ugello di sa ster has sparked urge nt debate in GP management circles. and a new emergency plan to avoid a repetition of a TV disaster that saw the 500 -c1a ss race of the day dumped off the end of network schedules afte r missing its time slot. Delay s that eventually added up to tw o hour s accumulated from the start . with tw o sep arate restarts for the rain-hit 125cc race the main culprit . plus anot her rain stor m that sto pped the 500 cc race as we ll. There had been a possib ility of keepi ng the 500 cc race to its usual time slot by putt ing either the 125s or 250s to the end o f the day , but this wa s sacrificed to stic k wi th much delayed normal running order - 125. 250 then 500 . The decision came from Doma direct, to be applied by race direct or Paul Butler. and was taken under extreme deadline pressure. There simply was n't the ti me to discus s the change wit h the TV netw or ks. said Butler. Now new ground rules have been w ritten, that the timing of the 500 ra ce mu st be kept sacros anc t ; and TV ne tworks infor med of this change of policy . Even more swee ping changes are under discussion. possibly even for next year. One suggestion debated with in team s assoc iation IRTA is that all races shall automatically be deemed "Wet Race s. " meaning no stoppage for changing weather co ndition s. In the case of rain, Ihis would put the onus on the rider or his team manager whether or when to sto p and change tires. Given the drastic loss of grip by slick tires on a fully wet track, this po ses serious safety questions, howev er . N or is it on ly a matter of cha nging tires. con fi rme d Suzuki te am manage r Garry Tay lor. " No rma lly you would change the gearing . the suspension settings. possib ly the geom etry, and the carbon brakes for steel." The ques tion of brake s alone is ano ther major safety issue. One suggested way around this problem is that riders sho uld be allowed to change bikes . to a suitably set spa re. A nother is for com pulsory pit stops for all co mpetitors , timed for long enoug h to effect all the necessary changes wi thout short-cut risks. Cu rrent th ink ing on the planned fran c hise sy st e m for the futur e of the 500cc class sees only a handful of current teams in line for a franchise next yea r, alongsid e ten places guaranteed to the four active factories. Factory entrants Honda, Yamaha. Suzuki and April ia will not be in the franchise loop . but will be guaranteed places on a different basis. For next year. they w ill be allowe d ten riders between them. opening the way for offshoot four-stroke or oth er teams. The adven t of Ducatl in 200 3 wo uld then mean only two -r ider fac tory teams w ill be allowed . Ot he r arra nge ments would have to be made for any new factories wishing to join. According to sources close to IRTA . five current non-factory teams are in line for franchises next year: Tea m Honda Pons. Tech 3 Yamaha, WGP (Red Bull) Yamaha. Antena 3 Yamaha and Team Prot on KR (Roberts) . Wi th each of these fielding two riders . this bring s the number to 20. leaving room for extra entries under spec ial circums tances . Other tea ms hopeful o f securing a fran chise simply by being present this yea r have been to ld that they need to prove their worth with stro ng perf ormances. or they will be out of the run ning for a lon g -t erm contract. Th ese team s include the V-four hopefuls Pulse and Sabre. Garry McCoy pulled out of the Dut ch IT afte r only one day of practice, and wi ll also miss next weekend's British GP . The Australian, still recovering afte r breaking his left wri st at the French GP . the fourth roun d. missed that and the next round w hile his broken scaphoid was plated . and tried to come back tw o weeks ago at C atalunya, tho ugh he w ithdrew from the race . At A ssen , a fast er track with more steerinq effo rt required. he trie d again, only to find it even harder than in Spain. A fter qualifying in 15th on day one, M cC oy pulled out. and said he wo uld also miss Doni ngton Park . " It' s too risky . If I make a slip and open up th e fractu re, it will only be worse . ' he sai d. " It hurt s to miss a co uple more races, but now that I'm not racing for the championship I jus t want to be 100 percent, and co me back and trY and wi n some, rather than chasing around for l Oth. " The Red Bull Yamaha team wa s planning tes ts at Brno afte r the British GP and before the Ge rman, where M cC oy hoped to be fit again. Valentino Rossi received new chassis and engine p arts for As sen. as te sted the day afte r the Cat alunyan GP . The chassis changes we re to stiffness in various areas, and ..seemed to help with con trolling chatter. " acc ord ing to Rossi' s crew chief Jerry Bu rges s. Engine changes were co nf ined to "tidying up " th e crankcases, which were changed for this year's new chassis. to allow the swingarm pivot to be shifted forward . The revi sed cas ings saved some weig ht, Burge ss added. Only available to Rossi at this poi nt, they wi ll filter through to the other factory riders as they bec ome available. This was to be the last race at the classic Assen circuit - the only race still on the calendar that wa s part of the original World Championship of 1949 . In fact , the current circ uit was adopted in 1984, the latest in a series of sho rtening exe rcises at Holland ' s major bike racing circuit since racing began here in the '20 s. Cur rent plans for the track are for major works to begin in Septembe r, a ft e r th e World S uperbike round. with t he f amou s 24 J ULY 11 , 200 1 • cue I e Jeremy McWillia ms won the 250cc Grand Pri x_ be coming t he first Bri tish rider t o w in a 2 5 0 cc GP in 18 ye a rs . ne VIl' Chris Wa lker reco rded his 10th crash of the season on the se cond day of practice for the Dutch IT - continuing a nightmare first 500cc season for the British Superb ike star. It was a nasty 135 mph highsider . triggered when he went a touch too clo se to S the tra ck edge on the way int o the fast M euvenmeer kink. His rear whe el caught the edge of the curb and he was thrown hard on the corner entry. too early to take the benefit of the run-off area and t humping ha rd into the air -fen ce . Hi s helmet was smashed in the fall, wi th a c hunk out of the back and the polystyrene liner broken - but since he suffe red only mild co ncussion. it could be said that the Shark helmet did its job to perfection. But he was badly enough shaken to require a night in hospital under ob servation , out of this race and poss ibly also his home GP in one wee k' s time . The St alke r' s crash tally, before the halfw ay point, is beginning to rival Carlos Che ca' s record of 24 race -meeting crashes in one season two years ago. and reflects an ordeal for the rider, whose ability to bounce back has been sorely tes ted since switc hing to the Shell Advance Honda NSR 500 this season. W alker has been at odds with th e bike for much of the year, and also with HRC , wh o banned him from altering handlebar and footpeg po sitions to his tast e. This is to try and help him adapt his musc ly and dra matic Sup erbik e style to the smoot her techn ique s required on a more sensitive two-stroke GP bike. N obody can fault the English rider' s attitude - maintaining good cheer in painful circumstances , and keeping try ing hard on the track . But his poor results (a best of 12th in France) have left the sate llite factory team in a difficult position. in a year when chances of a franchise slot fo r next seaso n will depend on resu lts in 2001 . Wa lke r may no t be the mo st freque nt cras her o f the year. His rival is fellow ex-Superb ike hero Nori yuk i Hag a . with his total up to nine after his second practice crash at Assen. Add in his more frequen t testing tumbles and he is ahead of Wa iker. The Japane se rider also has a knack of bouncing back - but the pair are not a good adverti seme nt for successful Superbike riders who think the transition to two-s tro kes may not be that hard afte r all. Sito Pons t o leave Honda ? This was o ne of many fine rumors circulat ing at A sse n. traditional hotbed of fact and fantasy , the start of the Silly Season. The long -time Honda tea m ow ner. now sponsored by West. is said to have delivered an ultimatum to HRC : full factory bikes next year. or he wi ll sw itch to Yamaha. taking his rider s (curre ntly Loris Capirossi and Alex Barros) with him. This is of course part of a larger rumor, that would leave a vacancy at Yamaha ... none other than M ax Biaggi doing a flit with the Marlboro sponsorship to Honda. in an independent team to be run by his fo rmer tea m boss Erv Kanemo to. kingmaker to Spencer , Law son , and (on 25 0s) C adalora and Biaggi. Kanemoto is currently running a J apan-based test team developing Bridgestone tires for the 500 cc class. Anot her A ssen rumo r concerned a possi ble move by def ending champio n Kenny Roberts J r. to iln unknown Hond a tea m. Roberts has compl ain ed abo ut t he slow pace o f developm ent that has left him struggling on this year's Su zuki. Finally. the M arlboro millions is said in other quart ers to be earmarked for Ducati, w ith their planned fact ory entry with a V- tw in four -stroke in 2003 . More noise please . This is the call from Dom a. IRTA and the FIM . in a special request to the manufacturers association. the MSMA. This was an urg ent re sponse to t he disappointment at Catalunya tw o weeks ago. when Yamaha' s public debut of their prototype four-strok e GP racer turned into a damp squib becau se of the machine 's bland and heavily silenced exhaust note. The dismay at t he undramatic so und o f t he YZR M 1 w as e c ho ed throughout the paddock. wi th a rival team point ing out "we had been promised that the four-strokes woul d make a sound like Formula One . We have been deceived. " But since the wri ting of the four-st roke rules w as ceded by the FIM to the manuf acturers associ ation, the re see ms little to be done about it. And while sources clo se to Ihe MSMA variously blamed the Japanese factories or the Italian (Aprilia and D ucatil for insisting on strict noise regulations, publicly they closed ranks . " W e all agree on the limits. " said Aprilia racing direc tor Jan W itteveen. " The limit [set at 120Db at the end of a racel was dec ided because beyond that level you can suffer medical ear damage unless you wear protection . " " Anyway." he added . " M aybe one bike by itself does not sou nd good . but when you get 10 toget her it will be differe nt. " MSMA general sec re tary Mr. Tsubou chi explained the delicate posit ion of the factories. who would be the target in the case of any prote sts from environmental groups. or in the case of any legal action for damages. For mula O ne rides ro ugh shod over noise regulat ions - the sport having enough clout to obtain special dispensation where requ ired (in Me lbourn e. Au stralia , for example). The fear in bike racing. lacking such influence, is that the new four-strokes may do themselves some serious damage by losing their greatest strength - the racing noise.

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