Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

World Championship Road Race Series Round 13: ..Japanese Grand Prix card Aoyama tumbling out of the pack, and another rider on the dirt. A little way further round, Jenkner also fell. Elias was still ahead at the end of the lap, but Ui found a way inside him on the second, while a little way behind Danny Pedrosa got ahead of fast starter Masao Azuma, who would soon start dropping back. It was on lap five that Ueda highsided on the exit from tum one, taking Sabbatani down with him, the rest of the field managing to find a clear path through a track littered with debris and both riders. Two corners later, Elias hit the gas too early on the right-hander before the first underpass and went looping into the gravel. From then until the end, Ui was magnificently alone, stretching the advantage lap by lap and setting the fastest lap, two tenths slower than the record, on his ninth tour. Only for the last three or four laps did he ease his pace. "I was touring - enjoying the Motegi scenery," he smiled. The battle for second went on all the way, Poggiali leading, Pedrosa right on his back wheel, never more than a few inches away. In the last laps, he tried to attack, but Poggiali Tetsup Haracla (31) led the 250Cc race from the get-go. His task of winning _ made easy when rtvals Marco ...... ndrl and DalJlro Katoh crashed out of the race, said: "He was fast, but I had him covered. I knew he could not pass me.· Pedrosa's third was his second podium in two races - but he was a year older now. His 16th birthday fell in the fortnight between the two races. Lucio Cecchinello was a distant and lonely fourth, after catching experience so far has been dire. His first rider was Briton Chris Walker, unexpectedly fired after a string of crashes. He then moved Leon Haslam from the twin to the V-four, only for the teenager to crash repeatedly on the bigger bike, after a promising start on the team's V-twin. The only person to profit has been Australian teenager Brendan Clarke, drafted in to race the V-twin in place of Haslam. Haslam now may be back on the V-twin after the Australian GP in two weeks, to give him a chance to regain confidence after a torrid time since taking over the V-four five races ago. Hardwick said: "We need to restore some of his confidence. It's a fact that he's done better lap times on the twin than on the V-four. At the moment. the most likely thing is we won't run the four-cylinder again this year. " BRIEFLY••• The new 2004 World Superbike technical regulations announced at the final round at Imola caused some surprise at Motegi - not least among tire manufacturers. concerning the switch to treaded tires. 'We had some discussions on the topic with the MSMA (manufacturers' association] in July, and we thought it was an ongOing matter for discussion. This announcement has taken us by surprise," said Dunlop racing boss Jeremy Ferguson. The regulations state "treaded tires are required. with the profiling remaining visible after the race, complying with prescribed minimum area, position, depth, width and pattern. Tire manufacturers will draft the regulation." Ferguson was concerned. 'We need to establish exactly what a treaded tire is. How much tread does it need? Does it have to go the full width of the tire?' There were also safety issues, and especially the question of cost. unless they rules are referring to commonly available streetlegal tires. "It's considerably more expensive to make a mould for a treaded tire than a treadless slick.' he said. Spectacular sideways Australian Garry McCoy inadvertently found a way to make his on-track show even more thrilling for the crowds in practice at Motegi. Every time he reached top speed. his Red Bull Yamaha would issue clouds of smoke just before he hit the brakes. The explanation came after he called at the pits. Stuck in a tire bind. he was experimenting with different rim sizes to find the special combination of slide and grip that he needs. With the narrowest rim the expansion of the tire at speed was such that the middle of the tire was dragging on the swingarm. This highlighted a serious problem for the man who brought 16.5inch tires into racing last year. so that they are now almost the universal choice. McCoy uses very soft compounds. but Michelin has not brought that range of compounds to Japan. "I'm a little bit angry about the situation. because I have no real chance in the race if the weather stays like this," he said. "I brought the 16.5s to prominence, and made them popular, and now it seems the development is heading in a direction that suits all the other riders and not me. All the compounds they have here are harder than what I raced with last year. My best chance is if it rains, and I can run my first race on the 16.5-inch wets. " Speculation about the future of Noriyuki Haga continued in Japan - with a strong chance that he will stay where he is at Red Bull Yamaha. possibly even on a four-stroke. "It depends on Yamaha." said team manager Peter Clifford. 'We will either stick with Haga. or bring John Hopkins in." Hopkins has tested three times for the team in the last two years, and this year won the AMA Formula Xtreme title. How this affects his position for a Super Ucense remains to be seen. Haga is known to have had talks with several Superbike teams, including Aprilia and Ducati. but it is thought his asking price scared them off. Aprilia's four-stroke plans will remain secret 'until we have a bike that is running successfully." according to race director Jan Witteveen. "We don't want to show drawings of the engine of the bike. We want to show the real thing," he said at Motegi. Would the team run on Dunlop tires? "That's not decided yet," he said. And how many cylinders? "That is decided. but I can't say,' he smiled. Aprilia are known to have commissioned a motor from Fl constructors Cosworth. which is thought to be a multi. possibly a triple. Sources close to the team. however. suggest that they may prefer to try a V-twin. in line with their Superbike experience, as well as with their production machine. Two famous brothers will race against each other in the Malaysian GP at Sepang, when Kurtis Roberts makes his 500cc-c1ass debut as a wild card entry for his father's team. on the Proton KR3. Kurtis Roberts ran a GP season in 1997 on a 250. but since then has raced in the USA. winning the Formula Xtreme title in 1999 and 2000, and the 600cc Supersport title last year. He currently has a contract with Honda, who released him especially for this one race. It will be the first time that Kenny Jr. and Kurtis have competed in the same race, and the younger brother's first time to race a big two·stroke. "We hope to give him some time to test the bike before the race - possibly at Shah Alam," said team manager Chuck Aksland. Tetsuya Harada is the prime candidate to take over the ill-fated Shell Advance V-four Honda next year. The former 250cc World Champion, currently with Aprilia's 250 team. is known to be looking for a 500cc-class return; while team manager Jeff Hardwick said at Valencia two weeks ago that he had already reached agreement with a rider already in the paddock. Hardwick's V-four 12 OCTOBER 17,2001 • cue I e n e Azuma at one-quarter distance and leaving him trailing. But the Japanese Honda rider was able to hang on to fifth, the opposition a long way back after the crashes had split the field. Another five seconds away came Gabor Talmacsi, the Hungarian also having a lonely race, well clear of the next group. This was led by Mirko Giansanti from Gino Borsoi, Gianluigi Scalfini, Alex Brannetti and Raul Jara. Borsoi had caught this gang before half distance, while Joan Olive and Angel Nieto and Jaroslave Hules Kenny Roberts Jr. was using only one bike at Motegi - distinguished from the outside by the earlier fairing, without the new twin-nostril air intakes., Inside were some mysterious .. earlier _ • had slipped away behind. The last point went to Angel Rodriguez, narrowly prevailing over Pablo Nieto and Gaspare Caffiero. CIII Iwi IIIIlIt8II Cln:ldt Mmgi, . . . . IInlIIts: IIcDIIlIr 7, 2.1 125<:c QUAUFYlNG: I. Youichi Ui (1 :58.603): 2. Manuel Poggiali (1 :59.228); 3. MZlSllO Azuma (1:59.546); 4. Toni Elios (1:59.622); 5. Lucio Cecchinello (l :59.625); 6. Mirko Glansenti (2:oo.Q18); 7. Doniel Pedrosa (2:00.124); 8. Noboru Uedo (2:00.126); 9. Gobor Tolmocsi (2:00.338); 10. Mo. Sobbotoni (2:00.356); 11. Yuki Takohoshi (2:00.415); 12. Ale. DeAngelis (2:00.417); 13. Gienluigl Scalyin! (2:00.519); 14. Steve Jenkner (2:00.523); 15. Roul Joro (2:00.633); 16. Gospore Comero (2:00.691); 17. Gino Borsoi (2:00.706); 18. YUlO Fujioko (2:00.757); 19. Hideyuki Nokojoh (2:00.797); 20. Alessandro Bronnetti (2:00.800); 21. specification' parts. Was it last year's bike, asked TV commentator Randy Mamola? But Roberts sidestepped the issue. 'It's no secret that I have not been comfortable with the bike for some time. It's shown in qualifying and race results - I should be in the top three consistently. Valencia is a track where we get a lot of feedback. and certain problems I've felt all year were massively increased there. We sat down aftelWards. and I asked Suzuki for a couple of things that would take us back to a point eariier in the year. before we decided to take a certain development direction. They brought some stuff here. and it has improved my.feel for the bike. Even if we don't keep this position [provisional poleJ, it's given us some answers and we've been able to pinpoint some problems. In a perfect world. we should be able to go fOlWard from here - but this is motorcycle racing. so it is not always so easy.' Eurosport commentator Toby Moody was rumbled on air on the first day of practice for the Motegi race. He was commentating at the Eurosport studios in Paris. but talking as though he was in Motegi - common practice in the business. Unfortunately, nobody told colleague Randy Mamola about this ruse - and when they opened the line to the former racer, who was at the Japanese cir· cuit. his first words were: 'What's the weather like in Paris, Toby?" Erv Kanemoto confirmed at Metegi that he will be back next year. running a V-four NSR for HRC, and later confirmed that his rider would be Dutchman Jurgen van den Goorbergh, using Bridgestone tires. "We will make an announcement about the sponsor in due course," he said. Kanemoto has been out of GP racing for two years, and running the Bridgestone development team in 2001 with riders Nobu Aoki and Shinichi Itoh. He is the famous kingmaker who won World Championships with Spencer. Lawson, Cadalora and Biaggi. Jurgen van den Goorbergh was using an engine with new magnesium casings for the first time at Motegi, with a weight saving of some 5.5 pounds. "The engine also feels freer than with the aluminum," he said. But the motor was shelved on the second day of practice. because of throttle-response problems. "We don't think it is anything to do with the casings - it's something in the carbs or cylinders. It's just a coincidence that its with the new engine," said development engineer Tom O'Kane. Emilio Alzamora was stricken with a strange complaint - probably Bell's Palsy - that left one side of his face paralyzed, making it difficult to blink and posing problems when he was riding. 'I have to try and put it out of my mind,' he said, deadpan.

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