Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

World Superbike Championship Round 1 0: Brands Hatch Bertrand Stey (1:28.561); 24. Brae Parkes Brands Hatch Circuit Brands Hall:h, England (1:28.699); 25. Marty Craggill (1:28.700): 26. Juan Borja (1:28.703); 27. Peler Goddard (1:28.898); 28. Results: July 29, 2001 Dean Ellison (1:29.172); 29. Lucio Pedercini QUALIFYING: 1. Neil Hodgson (1 :26.769): 2. Steve Hislop (1 :26.867); 3. Ben Bostrom (I :27.091); 4. Colin Edwards (1:27.226): 5. Pier-Francesco Chili (1:27.259); 6. James Toseland (1:27.313): 7. John Reynolds (1:27.455); 8. Troy Corser (1:27.475): 9. Regis Laconi (1:27.540); 10. Akira Yanagawa (1:27.731); 11. Sean Emmett (1:27.896); 12. Tadayuki Okada (1:27.999); 13. Stephane Chambon (1:28.006): 14. Troy Bayliss (1:28.082): 15. James Haydon (1:28.345); 16. Ruben Xaus (1:28.361); 17. Ferdinanda Oi Maso (1 :32.463); 32. Javier Rodriguez (1:29.512); 30. Kim Ashkenazi (1:30.945); 31. (1 :32591). RACE ONE: 1. Ben Bostrom (Duc); 2. Neil Hodgson (Duc): 3. Colin Edwards (Hon); 4. PierFrancesco Chili (Suz); 5. Troy Bayliss (Duc); 6. Ruben Xaus (Duc); 7. Stephane Chambon (Suz); 8. Troy Corser (Apr); 9. Sean Emmett (Duc); 10. Akin~ Yanagawa (Kaw); 11. James Toseland (Duc); 12. Tadayuki Okada (Hon); 13. Peter Goddard (Ben); ]4. Giovanni Bussei (1:27.858); 18. Robert Ulm Steve Martin (Duc); 15. Marco Borcianl (Duc); 16. Mauro Sanchini (Duc); ]7. Giovanni BU5sei (Duc); (1 :27.878): 19. Gregorio Lavilla (I :27.959); 20. 18. Bertrand Stey (Hon): 19. Marty Craggill (Due): Marco Borciani (I :27 .967); 21. Steve Martin 20. Juan Borja (Yam); 21. Kim Ashkenazi (Kaw); 22. Ferdinando Di Maso (Kaw). (1 :28.130): 22. Mauro Sanehini (1 :28.434): 23. An oil leak dropped Troy Bayliss to 14th during Superpole, with his rear tire being coated in the black stuff after an oil-temperature sensor broke. Neil Hodgson won in some style, with Steve Hislop second and Ben Bostrom third. Edwards, provisional pole man, was fourth. Gregorio Lavilla failed to qualify for Superpole, suffering setup woes again on his factory Kawasaki. Peter Goddard also missed the cut, finishing 27th after normal qualifying. The future of World Superbike racing was under discussion once more, with two significant meetings taking place between the sports governing bodies at Brands. The first was between the manufacturers' association (MSMA) members and the second was a meeting of the FIM Racing Commission. No official release or comment was forthcoming from either meeting, but there was an indication that there would be some word as to future technical regulations at the Oschersieben SBK race in September. Sources from the MSMA meeting indicated that the manufacturers themselves are of a united mind that there be no serious technical alterations to the SBK rules for two years. with 1000cc bikes being allowed into the championship from the 2004 season on. In the second meeting, both the Flammini organization and the FIM were reported to have come to an agreement that there be a capacity allowance in favor of the four-cylinder machines of something in the region of 10 percent. Well before 2004. At the end of the meeting, an intention was made clear that both the Flammini organization and the FIM desire some change as early as next year, with the simple capacity hike being the easiest solution in the short term. The fear from the FIM is that they could lose not only an important race series but also the money paid to the FIM by SBK International. SBK fears the loss of the series itseif, if it is not made to reflect the bigger-capacity four-cylinder Supersport bikes the Japanese are selling in serious numbers. This puts the manufacturers and the SBKlFIM at odds with each other at a crucial stage in Superbike's development - or otherwise. The two teams most affected by any potential change in the rules, Francis Batta's Alstare Suzuki team and Harald Eckl's Kawasaki Racing team both want the capacity hike, in Eck!,s words, "To keep us alive in the championship." With one year of his contract with Kawasaki still to run, Eckl at least knows where he will be next season. Batta is reported to be going to Suzuka for the Eight-Hour race to discuss things with the top Suzuki factory men face to face, but both Batta and Eckl appear to be in the strange position of seeing themselves struggle against the twins every week, and yet the very suppliers of their equipment are supposedly against any change to make them more competitive for the next two seasons. The reason? Four-stroke GP bikes probably. with all the Japanese factories having to spend inordinate amounts of money and manpower even in the design stage of their MotoGP development programs. and having little left to invent whole new bikes to take Superbike racing. Contrary to popular belief, most of these bikes are not really suitabie for World Class racing. Mr. Ishikawa, from Kawasaki Heavy Industries, was tight-lipped about the MSMA meeting, saying that there would probably be more developments and an announcement at Oschersleben, and "maybe now is not the appropriate time to speak about it. .. Another twist in the tale of the "Where to now7" SBK debate comes with the unconfirmed news that Stephane Chambon has signed again for Alstare leam, but for a return to Supersport competition in 2002, not Superbike. There was also a conviction around at Brands that to entice Batta and his like to stay in World Superbike, there will be an increase in the substantial payments made to the existing teams to heip them to compete in the cham· pionship, but now on the basis that they have been in the series continuously for two previous seasons. Thus if Batta decides to have a year or two out, waiting for competitive machines, he will miss out on almost double the money he receives now. Aaron Slight was in attendance at Brands once more, but no further along the road to finding a ride for next season. Although he is trying to put a Touring Car drive with Peugeot together for next year's British season, he was more open than before about his desire to continue bike racing. "At the end .of last year, I was told to leave. So it's not like I was ready to stop racing. What do you do if you feei that you're not finished with racing?" It was the AUGUST 8,2001 • C U ·c I e 10. Sean Emmett (Due): II. Re9is Laeoni (Apr): 12. Ruben Xaus (Duc); 13. Troy Corser (Apr); 14. Gregorio Lavilla (Kaw); 15. Tadayuki Okada (Han); 16. Peter Goddard (Ben); 17. Marco Borciani (Duc); n e _ WORLD SUPERBIKE C'SHIP POINTS STANDINGS (After 10 of 13 rounds): 1. Troy Bayliss (303/4 wins); 2. Colin Edwards (252/3 wins); 3. Ben Bostrom (247/6 wins); 4. Troy Corser (226/2 wins); 5. Neil Hodgson (217/1 wins); 6. Pier-Francesco Chili (179/1 win); 7. Akira Ylmagawa (132); 8. Gregorio Lavilla (122); 9. Tadayuki Okada (118); 10. Ruben Xaus (106); 11. Stephane Chambon (100); 12. Regis Laconi (92); 13. James ToseJand (67); 14. Hitoyasu Izutsu (63); 15. Makoto Tamada (50/2 wins); 16. Broc Parkes (41); 17. Giovanni Bussei (29); 18. Robert Ulm (27): 19. Steve Martin (24); 20. Eric Bostrom (22). 18. Steve Martin (Due): 19. Robert Ulm (Due); 20. Bertrand Stey (Hon); 21. Kim Ashkenazi (Kaw). Time: 36 min., 28.522 sec. Distance: 25 laps, 65 miles Average speed: Margin of victory: 2.581 sec. strongest hint yet that we may not have lost Slight to the world of four wheels quite yet, despite Slighty taking his race car around for a few demo laps. BRIEFLY••• 10 Time: 36 min., 41.759 sec. Distance: 25 laps, 65 miles Average speed: Margin of victory: 1.508 sec. RACE TWO: 1. Ben Bostrom (Due); 2. Neil Hodgson (Due); 3. Troy Bayliss (Due); 4, PierFrancesco Chili (Suz); 5. Colin Edwards (Hon); 6. James Toseland (Duc); 7. John Reynolds (Due); 8. Akira Yanagawa (Kaw); 9. Stephane Chambon (Suz); The World Superbike Winter test schedule is almost complete, with the chosen venues being Phillip isiand in Australia and Valencia in Spain. The Phillip Island test is down for the end of January, with the Valencia date nearer the end of February. With the SBK and GP pre-calendars announced by the FIM just before Brands Hatch, there will be four clashes next year. It is expected that the French round, scheduled for sometime in February, will probably not go ahead, due to Paul Ricard still not being ready on time. A delicate technical question was brought into focus at Brands, with some argument as to what the real lap record was in the Superbike class. The official timing sheets had the record as 1:26.910 set by Neil Hodgson in the race last year. However, in race conditions in the British Superbike Championship race - run to the same technical rules as an FIM event - John Reynolds went even faster this season, with a time of 1:26.858. Upcoming Rounds Round 11 - Oschersleben, Germany, September 2 Round 12" Assen, Holland, September g happy to be racing here and my girlfriend's father is really jealous of me because he came here years ago just as a spectator and loved the place. I've always wanted to come and race here." Okada had two crashes on the Saturday. as he got to grips with the peculiar nature of Brands Hatch. One piece of genuinely useable promotionai material appeared in amongst the fiags and banners, with expanded foam pads colored GSE orange making an appearance in some numbers at Brands. On one side there was a depiction of Neil Hodgson's '100' number plate, which was waved to the Englishman every time he came around to set another of his fast laps. and especially in Superpole. The other use was somewhat less glamorous, a butt pad to make the plethora of grandstand seats more comfortable for the spectators lucky enough to be sitting on them. Brands was once more the busiest and most fan.friendly race of the season, even in the first practice day. Ten-thousand airhorn canisters were expected to be sold over the weekend by one single vendor. with Neil Hodgson very much the new Fogarty in the eyes of the Brit race fans. The aforesaid locals had lots of reasons to biast their noisemakers with the Superbike and Supersport Brits on the rampage in qualifying. The ever-changeable British weather took one of its infrequent summer holidays at Brands, and left the anvil of the sun to do its work. With temperatures hitting 86° F there were genuine fears about heat stroke in the vast crowds, especially as they have had had little sun this year so far. Even the commentators opened the Friday proceedings with directions of how to find the nearest medical posts. instilling confidence in few. Another rider at Brands Hatch, NCR Racing's Giovanni Bussei, who has switched from Michelin, joined Steve Martin in the Pirelli camp. His move was precipitated because he cannot get access to the very best Michelins, and with the chance to help develop tires to suit him specifically. his team and he decided to make the move. Martin was pleased with the news. "It means that we can probably help to develop the tires faster than we could have done otherwise. At the moment we are leaVing races knowing exactly what tires to use for the meeting, except that the meeting is finished by then." Rumors of Aprilia wanting to use Pirellis next season were news to Martin. although he reckoned that, "I would be surprised at the moment. The tires are pretty good, good enough so that at most meetings now we are sitting ahead of the main privateer bunch, instead of behind it like we were at the beginning of the season." Bussei may have moved tires but his NCR teammate Broc Parkes remains on Michelins, primarily due to the fact that his manager Wayne Gardner has a close relationship with his old GP supplier. Michelin also very occasionally gives Parkes access to some of the better tires. Parkes has. however, been trading in a sponsor of another kind, with the young Aussie now supported by the Australian distributor of Elf oils. His weekend was to end prematurely when he broke his left coliarbone, several ribs and possibly his left ankle in a massive warm-up crash at Paddock Hill. Steve Hislop may have been a speeding bullet at Brands in practice, and second in Superpole, but turning up late for his Superpole lap brought him nothing but a 1000 Swiss Franc fine. The Benelli Superbike team had another fraught race meeting. going no better than 27th in both timed sessions, suffering an engine failure, and missing out on Superpole by 11 piaces. Benelli was not the only factory team to do so, however, with Gregorio Lavilla outside the top 16, 19th to be precise, on his factory Fuchs Kawasaki. He was none too pleased about it, but was confident that he couid make amends in the races. "I have been riding as fast on race tires as I have on qualifiers," said the optimistic Spaniard. Steve Martin was a Brands debutant, like among others, Tadayuki Okada, and found the place enjoyable, if a bit tough going. "It's a hard place to learn, but a really great circuit. I'm s The practice sessions at Brands were wonderfully close affairs, in Superbike and Supersport. The final Supersport timed session was a particular classic, with 20 riders in one second. beating the first session's 19. Even in the regulation Superbike sessions, there were over 10 riders within one second, proving the old adage that fast tracks (average speeds of over 107 mph in Superbike) make for closer racing. The Carl Fogarty Racing Academy was launched at Brands Hatch, with the former World Champion putting his name to a revamped race school with a bewildering level of ability leveis, and no fewer than five venues - Brands, Silverstone, Snetterton. Cadwell and Oulton - that make up the Brands Hatch portfolio of venues in the UK. Steve Webster's third straight Sidecar win of the season may have happened in an unconventional way, but it was a popular win with those British fans who had stayed behind to watch the most successful sidecar racer ever. A bad accident saw sidecar passenger Ian Simons suffer a broken right collarbone and wrist, causing the event to be red-flagged on lap 17. The Hauzenberger/Simons crew was still, however, credited with a race finish despite their accident, as the race result is counted from one lap prior to the one the race is stopped on. Running in close company with Jorg Steinhausen and Klaus Klaffenbock in the early stages. Webster and co. made sure that the foreshortened Sidecar race was an exciting spectacle to end the day with. Webster's final margin of victory was only .871 of a second over Steinhausen as they slugged it out for the whole race. Said Steinhausen, "I had struggled with set-up through the weekend and I didn't expect to go fast enough to keep up with Steve (Websterl. I was trying to preserve the tires so I was short-shifting through Dingle Deli to cool them down." Klaus Klaffenbock exited the race on the 14th lap, when his machine expired mid-track. He was iater to claim that Steinhausen had hit his outfit repeatedly and that this contact had eventualiy fractured his oil cooler line. His misfortune was to Webster's benefit, with the Briton now level on 95 points with his great rival. "We knew we had to win the race to try to make Klaus make a mistake and drop down to third or fourth." said Webster afterward. "The plan was to box the race up from in front so that there was a bit of fairing bashing. And I can't believe it all went to plan." Steinhausen's second place took him to 75 points, while Chris Guy made it a great day for the Liveonscreen team. backing up Webster's win with a fine third place to earn 16 points and go to 10th in the championship standings. The van Gils crew was excluded from the meeting for a technical infringement. and a total of six outfits failed to finish the race.

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