Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

Suzuki had their best race of the year by far, with Gibemau taking his f1rst-ever 500cc victory, and teammate Roberts In third behind Barros. Barros said his tire choice was influenced by how fast the track would dry, which is why he went with intermediates. "Especially in the beginning, it's very, very difficult," Barros said. "Some corners we must be stopped. After halfway the track come dry. I think Valentino [Rossi] have a good advantage at the beginning, I try to cut into him." Barros took the point from Gibernau on the 13th lap, Roberts to second, then third when his teammate came by on lap 17, improving one more position to retake the lead on lap 18. He held it for three laps, with not much in it, tenths of a second separating the top three. "I think the whole race the three of us rode very good and very close but 1 think we're three professionals, all of us are professional guys who know what we are doing," Gibernau said. "It was very close. Throughout the whole race we were passing each other and trying to see where I was faster and he was faster." Gibernau was faster in turn two, the second of two lefts that turned BRIEFLY••• The World Championships honored the dead and missing from the World Trade Center and Pentagon attack with a minute of silence before the start of the 500cc race. Though a number of Doma, IRTA, and track officials stood at attention, the silence was broken by the teams frantically changing tires after a shower had doused the track, Most of the riders and bikes stayed on the pit lane. though the ones who were on the grid observed the minute of silence. Honda Racing Corporation had its riders wear black armbands in respect to the victims. Telefonica MoviStar Suzuki's Sete Gibemau, who would go on to win his first ever 500cc GP. had "I love New York" carved into the hump in the back of his leathers. There was also a commemorative logo. showing a globe wrapped in black and fading into a rising rainbow. on many of the bikes' fairings. Back to the future? The struggle of this season has caused Kenny Roberts .Jr. to contemplate using his 2000 machine in the upcoming Japanese and Malaysian GPs. Roberts won both races last year, when they began the season, but fears that this year's machine isn't up to the task. "I could've won Malaysia and Japan with my eyes closed. And we're really scared now that we're not going to be competitive there, so we're actually thinking now of completely going back to that stuff, the whole bike itself. The problem with that is it completely takes us out of the chain of command for the engine stuff or any development stuff won't work on that bike. That bike, not that it's different for horsepower reasons, it's different for accepting the new stuff. We've chosen a certain chassis and engine design for the new cylinders and stuff and if we decide to go back the other way because we have a chance to win the race, in the long run, it's not helping anything. "The Suzuki team responded to the constant pleas by Roberts for improved performance by showing up at Valencia with a new fairing and airbox. The fairing sports twin intakes in its snout. feeding a revised airbox. A senior Suzuki technician said the fairing alone is worth about 2.5 mph. The team is also allowing Roberts Jr. and teammate Sete Gibemau to choose between the two engine configurations, the 1BO-degree firing order, favored by Gibemau and discarded by Roberts Jr. during his abortive run in the Czech GP, or the 90·degree engine which Roberts Jr. is using. Repsol YPF Honda's Alex Criville was among the factory riders who found the gravel pit. His spill was somewhat predictable after he got into a speed duel will fellow Spaniard Sete Gibernau. "When the track dried up halfway through the race. I upped the pace and I saw that I got closer to the front runners of the race. When I reached them, I overtook Sete, but he repassed me again, and this game went on for a while. Then when we got close to lValentinol Rossi. Sete took the inside line braking into a left-hand comer, and I had to leave some space and run a bit wide. but got onto a damp section and couldn't avoid a crash." Another crasher was Red Bull Yamaha WCM's Noriyuki Haga. His was a thing of beauty, a synchronized spill next to Antena 3 Yamaha-d'Antin's Jose Luis Cardoso, who remounted. "I went back on itself. It was there that he'd make his move on the 29th lap. "I knew that there I was faster and I had to get him there in the [penultimate] lap if I had to have one chance to win the race and I did it: Gibemau said. "After maybe 10 laps, and I know Sete [Gibernau] is the guy who decides: Barros said. "In the beginning, I see he decides already to fight me so I know he can come pushing. I think the rhythm he has he comes in and can be competitive, I notice he have much better brake than me, in the second corner, especially there, I know this is a good pass in that cor· ner for him. He pass me many times over there. I can't stop him. I try to close to the line. He put inside, I can't stop. So after maybe I have some opportunity in the last corner, but maybe I'm not close enough so I try to have a good break." Roberts Jr. went with soft slicks front and rear because he didn't know if the track was going to dry out. out with an intermediate front and a slick rear and the suspension backed off a little and the bike felt good," Haga said. "Unfortunately. I gave it a little too much gas a little too early." Haga was in fourth at the time of his crash. West Honda Pons' Loris Capirossi crashed twice, once on the warm-up lap and again on the first lap of the race. "What could I say after a day like this? It is of course a day to forget. I mounted a rain tire on the front and mix on the back and, under those conditions. I should have taken advantage at the beginning to be in the first positions." he said. Team manager Sito Pons agreed. "The tire selection has not been the most appropriate and has not conditioned our riders' race. Capirossi would not have any chance to win, even if he had not fallen." With his future with Aprilia undecided, Australian World Superbike campaigner Troy Corser was in Valencia letting people know he was available. "Aprilia hasn't told me what I'm doing next year." Corser said. "After Imola. ThaI's all they've said to me." Corser said that Aprilia held an option in writing for 2002, but the date where a decision was to be made came and went. "I think they want to see what happens with the GP-1 teams. It's a bit uncertain. It seems a little strange. I think they would have said a little bit more." Corser said he was told he had to win the final World Superbike race at Imola, Italy, next weekend. "II's very important to win at Imola for Aprilia. II's the last race of the year. Everyone remembers who won the last race of the year." Mick Doohan was at Valencia helping Corser plan his future. Doohan helped set up meetings with many of the team managers in the Valencia paddock. Tellingly, Regis Laconi. Corser's teammate, was also in Valencia. chumming around in team colors with Aprilia boss Jan Witteveen. The rumor mill has Laconi being joined by Noriyuki Haga. now of the Red Bull Yamaha WCM team. if Yama· ha doesn't provide Haga with a four· stroke GP1 ride. Haga looks likely to be replaced by John Hopkins on the Red Bull WCM Yamaha. When asked about next year, Haga joked thet he was staying home. and that his parents, who run a bath house in his home town of Nagoya, would be coming to Europe while he took care of the family business. Telefonica MoviStar Junior's Toni Elias, the 1B'year-old Spanish rookie sensation who' s leading the 125cc World Champi. onship. said he had wants to move to the 250cc class next year and has two options, Honda and Aprilia. Elias, who's image is everywhere around the Valencia GP (a far more common sight than that of Telefonica MoviStar Suzuki's 500cc World Champion Kenny Roberts Jr.l said that he and his manager would sit down at the end of the season to decide which option to take. The likely choice is Aprilia for a few reasons. One is the prohibitive cost of leasing factory Hondas. Telefonica MoviStar Junior team manager Alberto Puig would do better by taking the Spanish sponsorship money to Aprilia. Also, Aprilia team boss Jan Witteveen has a 20· year friendship with the Elias family from their days in motocross. Telefonica MoviStar Suzuki's Kenny Roberts Jr. was at his Euro· pean base in Sitges, Spain, just outside of Barcelona, when terrorists attacked the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. Asked about it at a pre-race press conference, Roberts Jr. said, "Obviously for the people that lost their lives, the families, the loved ones, condolences go out to them is basically all I can tell "The rain in the beginning was like ice and everybody was falling down and when they fell down, I slowed down and just makes it a lot worse because you just don't want to jump off early when you know the track's going to dry: he said. "And that's what made the difference between me being able to keep the rhythm that they were able to in the faster harder braking areas, and I wasn't able to do that. We had the chance to go with Sete's tires, but in these conditions it's just a complete guess as far as what's going to happen. If the track dries out and it stays grimy with dirt and rubber, my tires would have worked better. But it didn't.· From the 17th lap on Roberts Jr. was in third, where he'd finish, unable to make a run even on Barros, who had an intermediate front. The problems that Roberts Jr. has experienced all season were still there, though masked somewhat by the conditions. "I can't believe that Alex [Barros] is on an intermediate front tire," you. The firefighters that lost their lives trying to save the people. There's going to be a lot of stories and a lot of sad stories. So all's we can do is hope for maybe they can find some people and maybe something good can come out of this." Roberts went on to say that his feelings were universal. "The world is getting smaller, and just because I'm American, I'm sure that Loris [Capirossil and Valentino [Rossil and Toni [Eliasl all feel the same way. I'm sure everybodly in here feels the same way. Nobodly wants to see the loss of innocent people. We're going to do our job and we're going to try to race each other 100 percent and hopefully everybodly has a safe race and when we get off the bikes and go home, thefs the other part of your life and hopefully thaI'II work itself out as well. Again. all we can do is hope that everything's going to tum out okay." Roberts Jr. was again asked about having pulled out of the Czech GP in Brno and what might have come from it. "Obviously we can improve, to what degree I'm not sure. We have some new stuff here. For lap times. I don't know if iI's going to help us. But we'll just have to wait and see. We can't predict anything at this point." The problem is more than can be cured with a simple fix. "Our current design of the engine and the characteristic has to be completely redesigned. And when you're winning a World Championship, as I was last year, and winning races, iI's not quite the impact when you're struggling. So now that we're struggling. what I've said in the past is starting to make sense and starting to come true. We have no way to go except to improve. We can't just say, weill'll try and ride hander and hopefully we'll have a little bit of luck WIth some guys falling down and rain or whatever it is. Now reality's set in and we have to improve. The thing about Bma was thet was basically just for the press. That was taken off from that circumstance, myself and Japanese, it was between us. And a couple of the ex-riders wanted to make some hype with what they thought was their opinions trying to justify the situation," Roberts Jr. said, refemng to what was written by Wayne Rainey and Randly Mamola. "It was basically me and Suzuki. I had prob· lems with the bike and I had problems there and I didn't want to fall down." Roberts Jr. said when he got back to the U.S. he spoke directly with Suzuki, "and it solved some problems because I can talk directly with them and let them know what the problems are and iI's not getting filtered in any way, and we haven't had that and due to certain circumstances that I can't go into, that helped open some doors. But it wasn't anything that I could have done differently as far as that situation. So iI's really made no impact on our current situation and I don't know if iI's going to make any impact on what Suzuki has planned. We know we need to improve and, for a year and half, we know where we need to improve. But with four·strokes coming in and all that stuff, I don't know what their motives are and if they're going to go four-stroke racing or two-stroke. I don't kflOw any of that." Despite speculation that Roberts Jr. pulled out of Brno to get out of his Suzuki contract. he re-iterated that he had a contract with Suzuki for 2002 and would fulfill it; though he sounded concerned that Suzuki's four· stroke project won't be readly until 2003. "Cer· tain parts of me would like to just go four-stroke racing because it would allow us to get more involved in 2003, and now it kind of seems like we're going lose out next year if some of the rumors about the Yamahas and the Hondas lap times are serious, it seems to put us in more trouble than we're in now." cu cl • n e _ S • OCTOBER 3, 2001 9

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