Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/128159
World Superbike Championship Round 7: Lausitz, Germany BRIEFLY••• A letter from the FIM President Francesco Zerbi. bemoaning the state of sportsmanship and standards in general, cranked the raging debate about Troy Bayliss' race crashes at Silverstone wide open again. The apparent failure of the factory 998 Ducati to kill its engine via the automatic cut-out switch - designed to do just that when the machine goes over 55 degrees from the vertical - was the subject of much discussion at Lausilz, especially as the bike passed several tests in tech at Silverstone right after the race. The letter, supposedly sent to only a few main players in World Superbike. was leaked out to the world at large, and provoked a press release from the Castrol Honda team, who received one copy by fax at their English headquarters. The Honda team, which had protested the fact that the Ducati had nol cut out in a real race situation, according to TV evidence, issued a statement on Saturday at Lausilz that read: "In response to the statement issued earlier this week by the FIM Presidenl Mr. Zerbi. Honda would like to confirm its position with regards to the 'cut-out' procedure on the SP-2, should a rider crash. Honda fully recognizes the serious safety issue surrounding this nule and can confirm that a cutout system is in operation on the SP-2 machines of Colin Edwards in the World Superbike Championship, Further confirmation was evident when Edwards crashed in the previous round at Silverstone. two weeks ago, and the machine's fuel pump cut out within the permitted one second, and consequently the engine did stop nunning within the required time. Honda would never, under any circumstances, try to gain any advantage by putting their own or any other riders' safety at risk. " The last sentence is of course the most telling one. and is a squarely aimed broadside at Ducatl. Arguments and counter-claims had just started on race-day morning at Lausilz. although it seems we have not heard the last of the affair. On Friday, June 7, an SBK Top Team's Club meeting made further discussions about the future of the World Superbike Championships. with most of the subjects under scnutiny pertaining to the 2004 season. (An MSMA working party is currently looking into the restrictor plates. which will grace the 2003 four-cylinder 1000cc machines). It appears that the teams and tire manufacturers have universally rebuffed the whole notion of treaded tires. DOT streetbike tires were never under discussion at any stage - but even treaded full racing tires. with minimal cuts in the surface of the nubber. have been considered to be too difficult to make and implement. and offer up just another difference between what can be nun in National Championships, and what can be nun to full World Superbike competition. This factor is becoming more acute as time progresses. Treaded tires may be a moot point in any case, if another SBK lntemational proposal sees fruition. Instead of two races per day, one race is planned. of 50 minutes duration (or thereby) with an integral mandatory pit stop, instead of the two 35-minute-plus races at present. In the event of rain mid-race (which always screws with the TV schedule) the riders would pit for race tires and suspension adjustments and carry on. This proposal, designed to serve a one-hour live or delayed TV slot. has two main repercussions, One. that there will only be one main event race for the Superbikes: and two. that the pit stop itself could make or break the race. possibly bringing two competitors together if one has a better stop, or. as seems more likely, messing with an already close race and stringing out the leading group after the stop. Even the simple act of bringing in each rider at different times will unavoidably have this effect. Few are for the idea in the World Superbike paddock. but maybe the TV schedules will determine all. limited numbers of tires for anyone rider on each weekend may also be adopted, as this may have a genuine effect on the parity of privateers and factory riders. especially in changeable conditions, Another motion is to ban private testing mid-season, to enable the privateers to compete on a more level playing field. Another idea. which looks like it will not make fnuition. After the problems inherent at the otherwise impressive Lausitz (See separate story), the veracity and logic in a second Superbike race in Germany is under question, and should the calendar not grow for 2003, it may be that Sepang comes on-stream one year earlier than planned at the expense of Lausilz or Oschersleben. An announcement about the future of HM Plant Ducati (GSE Racing behind the sponsor's name) was expected the Tuesday or Wednesday before the Lausilz race. but none was forthcoming - of any significance at least. A press release, dated June 5, and addressed from Bologna, read, "Ducati Corse and GSE Racing would like to announce that they are currently holding talks over the exact form of their agreement regarding the team's participation in next year's Superbike World ChampIonship. A full announcement will be made soon." The most likely scenario is that GSE will be the new official World Superbike Ducati team. with Neil Hodgson and Ben Bostrom teamed up in the full squad, and maybe a satellite squad for any other rlders, such as James Toseland, Ruben Xaus (unless he defects to GP racing. which seems an obvious move for the D'Antin team. for instance). The lack of agreement between GSE and Ducati so far is due to the ownership of the team. management of riders, even the style of the hospitality unit - in short how the existing Italian Ducati image and ways of working can be harmoniously mixed with the quintessentially English GSE Racing outfit. The GSE press release was issued without any HM Plant logos present. which may have significance of its own, depending on how deeply we can read between the lines, although the deal with GSE extends to next season at least. The exact line-up of the Ducati GP team vexed a few minds at Lausilz, with the future of all the Ducati riders. except expected MotoGP entrant Troy Bayliss. still to be announced. or possibly even decided. The World Champion himself. when asked about his desire for what looks like a sure-fire move to MotoGP, replied with a rapid, "What makes you say that?" His expression altered to an amused smile when reminded of the fact that. during a post-Assen World Superbike race last year, an hour after he had added the World Superbike crown to his British title from the 1ggg season, Bayliss stated "When I left Australia to race, I had a three-part plan. Two of those parts have now been completed." The third, obviously, is the MotoGP crown, At Lausilz, Troy Bayliss denied that he had signed any contract for 2003 with a wry smile and quipped, "I'm as free as a bird." Nonetheless, it is fully expected that Bayliss will be a Ducati rider next year, and unless someone makes a silly money offer to take him to another MotoGP team, he will partner whoever happens to be the other Ducati MotoGP rider - ideally for Ducati a Max Biaggi. or more likely Loris Capirossl. 36 .JUNE 19, 2002' cue I • n • _ s The recent trend of Superblke riders not qualifying for races continued apace at Lausilz. with three riders. Yann Gyger. Giuliano Sartoni and Polish wildcard Teodore Myszkowski failing to make the grid. (Sebastien Charpentier and the injured Werner Daemen failed to start the races in Supersport.l .Jiri Myrkyvka. the perennial backmarker in the Superbike class. was twice shown the black and orange 'stop - technical problem' flag. although on one occasion he failed to see it and did the best part of a lap blowing thick clouds of oil on the damp track when the throttle was opened. A huge amount of practice crashes plagued the Lausilz event. which was almost universally held in the same dreary conditions as the 2002 meeting - frequent rain and overcast skies. A total of 50 crashes in 2002, across three days, was already beaten by two after the end of practice and the sidecar race on Saturday. The crashes were frequent but some other unusual conditions conspired to compound their problems. The distance of the marshals' posts from the action. the reticence of the marshals to get too close to the action on-track at certain key points (an understandable viewpoint with so many peculiar places to crash). and the sheer numbers of fallers caused six red-flag incidents in the first two days. The weird comers at Lausilz meant that some crashes saw bikes and riders rejoining the tarmac after they had crashed in the way into or out of comers. spreading mud and gravel on the surface as they went. On one noticeable occasion, one of the marsh-like areas of grass. which contrasted sharply with other well-tended sections of the infield, caught out the track fire tnuck. which had been called in to clear the debris from the first comer with water jets. The unit itself was stuck in the mud for a short time. adding to the problems experienced with delays and intennuptions. The first Superbike free practice and the final Superbike qualifying practice were both stopped and restarted twice. Ruben Xaus fell twice in practice to record his 11 th of the season, with Mark Heckles (Rumi Castrol Honda) the only Superbiker close to his efforts with 10. The World Cup had an effect for large numbers of the Lausilz paddock's temporary residents, with key personnel from all branches of the World Superbike circus either missing from their posts for the England vs. Argentina game or watching the Supersport qualifying practice as the Italy vs. Croatia contest unfolded on Polish TV, apparently the only way to watch the game in Eastern Germany without a satellite subscription. The weird Lausitz surface played its part in qualifying again. when there was simply so much water on the surface that it overwhelmed the tires in the first Superbike session. halting it for the first time. Suspected oil on one area of the track, thought to be from the recently crashed Supersport machine of Sebastian Charpentier. which went down at the end of the Supersport session. added to the problem. .Jorg Teuchert's by now traditional less-than-dazzling practice form was not for the want of obvious trying. The over-tall Bavarian was super aggressive in the only tnuly dry qualifying session at Lausilz, dragging his machine so hard on the final tnue right-hander that sheets of sparks could be seen coming from his RB's undercarriage - an unusual sight in Supersport racing. He qualified 11th. then suffered a crash in the second untimed session, Diego Guigovaz set a new World Supersport crashing record. falling four times in the first three sessions. twice in the first qualifying. Amazingly, he escaped with no injuries at all. but with a seriously hacked off team to deal with on his frequent returns to the pits. Some of the Supersport teams enjoyed a pre-race testing session at Lausilz. right after the previous Silverstone race. The Belgarda Yamaha. Yamaha Motor Germany and Kawasaki Eckl Supersport teams made use of the track and were all predictably fast in the first session. More details of Kawasaki's plans for the 2003 season and beyond dissipated out from behind the green curtain at Lausitz, with Andrew Pitt supposedly about to join the MotoGP circus alongside Akira Yanagawa on the ZX-RR MotoGP four-stroke machine, There will. of course, be no official World Superbike team in 2003, for homologation reasons with the old ZX-7RR, and the machine's lack of competitiveness in any case. CBertocchi Kawasaki may well tum Supersport for a season, until the new Superbike is released in 2004). The official World Supersport team. which will have new machines for next season. is expected to be nun by Christian Bourgeois from Kawasaki France. and that team is also expected to take over the nunning of the factory Superbike effort in 2004 when a new. big-capacity ZX streetbike makes an appearance in World Superbike. Eckl, although not signed to his Kawasaki contract for MotoGP yet. is still fully expected to take over the reins of that effort, but the exact make-up and hierarchy of the whole team - marketing. racing. promotions, merchandising - is still to be determined. PirelJi's experiments in World Superbike for the last season and a half may take a step up next season. as the Italian/German company feels it needs to have the exposure of a factory team. Aprilia is one possibility, especially as every Aprilia sold comes with Pirelli tires as original equipment. making the politics less difficult than they may be in one respect. The only other problem is that all of Aprilia's other racing efforts are operated in conjunction with Dunlop. Benelli may also benefit from some tire nationalism next season. should they return. The Iatest-generation large-sidewall MotoGP Dunlop tires were In evidence at Lausilz, stiffer than the usual nubber fare. to cope with the power outputs of the 2oo-hp-plus 990cc GP machines. It appeared that this stiffness handles the heavier Superbike's requirements equally well, and more is expected to be seen of them. The predominant tires at Lausilz were British Dunlops. not tires of Japanese origin. A unification of the molding and manufacturing technologies and techniques means that this season the Dunlops offer a uniformity of rolling diameter and all other manufacturing variables from British and Japanese tires. Last season, this was not the case. and it caused all Dunlop nunners problems with mid-session gearing changes - due to nothing more than tires that were made in subtly different moulds. Alex Hofmann had a decent induction into the big. bad world of Superbike racing. The German youth, who is down to race a Red Bull Yamaha at Catalunya, qualified for Superpole, no mean feat in itself on a four. Ducati released details of the ducting system, which they claim to have used for the last couple of races since Monza, aimed at cooling the rear-cylinder desmo drive belts. The rubber belts, which have nun the valvetrains on all Ducatis since the Pantah series (except. significantly. the new