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/128164
World Superbike Championship Round 9: Mazda Racew not to ride, and neither did Anthony Gobett nor Miguel DuHamel. Lavilla was thinking of others as much as himself. "I knew I was going to be in trouble yesterday evening, but I wanted to try and see how my ankle felt," said Lavilla. "Hurting my left foot [gearshift] and right hand [throttle] is about the worst combination of injuries to sustain! Laguna Seca is a very hard circuit and there are lots of left turns, and that makes it very hard on my left ankle. After about 10 minutes, I knew that it would be impossible for me to take part in two 28-lap races. I didn't want to be a danger to myself and I certainly didn't want to be a danger to any other rider, so I decided not to race. It is the first time in my race career that I have not taken part in a race when I was already at the track. It is hard for the team because it's a long way to come and not be able to race. I'm sorry for them and all the hard work and effort they have put in this weekend. I now have to get my hand and foot ready for the next race in two weeks time at Brands Hatch, but I'll definitely be there." Anthony Gobert's lap record survived another year, his mark of 1:25.185 most closely troubled by (Abovel Bayliss and Edwards get Into a champagne war. Both were on the podium In both races. (RIght) Edwards vs. Hayden In race two. The veteran held off the newcomer In their battle for third place. Gobert. were off fuli fonm and thus failed to qualify for Superpole, with Gobert. just retumed from injury. opting not to race. Injured in a crash at Road Atlanta in May. Gobert finished seventh in the AMA race on race day eve and opted not to join the World Superbike boys on the weekend of his return to competitive action. "I don"t want to just ride around and finish in the back and get lapped." he said regretfully, ., my leg is just not strong enough right now for me to ride hard... BRIEFLY••• Davide Tardozzl admitted at Laguna that he will probably stay in the World Supemike paddock for 2003, not take over the official MotoGP team as was first expected. -The new 999 project is very important to Ducati, and it would maybe be too much to start off next year with two new bikes. in two new championships, with two different teams. So it is possible that I wili stay in World Supemike. but it is not decided yet.·' Tardozzi also stated that the rider line-ups for 2003 are not completed yet. So far. Neil Hodgson is the only signed and sealed Ducati factory rider. with the second berth in Supemikes open for possibly Ben Bostrom. possibly Colin Edwards. who has been offered a deal to ride for the Italian factory once more. Bayliss is fully expected to race in MotoGP. but remains as resolutely silent as always. The peculiarities of weather on the Monterey Peninsula came into play on race day morning. with the infamous Marine Layer - a bank of sea fog which engulfs the coast at night and recedes as the sun bums it off - delayed the start of race-day wanm-up for a full 50 minutes. Gregorio Lavllla was forced to miss the race after attempting to ride in the morning wanm up. but was 20 seconds off the pace. An injured left wrist and ankle meant that he cannot move on the machine, a fact that lost him six seconds alone on the first two left-hand corners. "The pain is a probiem.·· said Lavilla. "but worse is that I have no power to move around the machine. So I do not race." Miguel DuHamel also elected not to race. through the injury suffered in the 600cc Supersport race on Friday. as did the injured Anthony Gobert. Race direction was not informed about Gobert's decision. and thus fully expected the Aussie rider to tum out for wanm-up and the race. Colin Edwards" Castrol Honda team showed a keen sense of patriotism and PR nous on the first day of qualifying. unveiling a new one-event stars-and-strlpes paintjob on Edwards' lone factory VTR, and a similar color-bomb on the rlder's Spidi leathers. The effect was completed with the entire team running new apparel for the duration of the Laguna weekend, including their by-nowtraditional Stetsons. and over-the-top shirts. A whole raft of wild-card riders came armed to the teeth with talent and good machinery at Laguna. no fewer than six of them, plus the semi-permanent Kawasaki World Supemike entry Eric Bostrom. replacing the stili-recovering Hitoyasu Izutsu. as well as chasing Nicky Hayden in the 2002 AMA Championship title race. Their presence was at first a perceived (and subsequently actual) threat to some. but others, notably Miguel DuHamel and Anthony 14 JULv24, 2002' c u e I e y at Laguna Seca n .. _ The feared Bayliss/Ducati steamroller crushed ali comers once more on the opening day of an World Supemike event. as the Australian took the top slot in the early timesheets, with a record-breaking time of 1:25.127. despite some problems on the opening day. "I had a crash this morning on some oil, but I knew I could go much quicker in the afternoon. I thought there is no reason why we can't be fast this weekend. Anthony Gobert's previous best time has been around for a while, but finally I managed to go quicker." In addition to the morning's red flag, another redflag incident with 34 minutes left on the clock during the first official practice (caused by gravel on the track) brought about a halt and restar! to proceedings. Bayliss' final untimed qualifying crash was explained by the man himself. "In practice, we put in a qualifying lire just to give us an idea for what to do in Superpole but was going a bit quicker than I should have been that early in the lap, and when I exited the first right-hander, the rear end just came around as I hit the throttle and it threw me off. I went to the medical center after Superpole to get checked over. I've done a bit of ligament damage to my back and an ankle, but I'm fine other than that." The regulations state that. when an ambulance is called to the trackside to take away an injured rider, he must have clearance to rejoin the next session. Bayliss went to the Clinica Mobile treatment room to get his bruises and (what transpired to bel painful ligament damage checked over, but the medical personnel in the Laguna Medical Center required him to attend that facility before they would issue clearance for him to participate again. This necessitated a quick trip to the permanent Medical Center, located at the top of the hili behind the pits. in a car driven by Clinica Mobile doctor Massimo Comascio. A strict speed limit of 25 mph is enforced inside the Laguna track, and during the drive up to the top of the hill, the pair happened upon a local sher. iff, taking his time to get to where he was going. Nervous that he would maybe have to miss some of the session, Bayliss blew the car horn, causing the officer in question to puli over in surprise. Comascio and BayliSS sped off to the Medical Center, only for the sheriff to foilow them in and threaten to take away the good doctor's license. A few swift phone calls later and the situation was smoothed over, but the first couple of days at Laguna had been eventful ones for Bayliss - both on and off track. Nell Hodgson and Troy Bayliss both suffered mechanical problems with their Ducatis, with Hodgson's engine blow up s exiting the Corkscrew section causing the Englishman to look around, see the oil smoke he was putting out, precipitating an immediate detour onto the run off to prevent any risk to his competitors. Mat Mladin was the best wild card on day one, proving a point to those who have knocked him since he found his 2002 Suzuki an unforgiving beast compared to his 2001 model. "I couldn't try any harder than that." said the three-time AMA Supemike Champion after his first World Supemike timed session. "We made an improvement on the bike today with some adjustments to the rear shock, which made the bike better. Fourth place on the first day of qualifying against these guys is a good start, especially as we weren't aliowed out in the morning warm-up session, The team has worked hard to get two different spec bikes ready for us this weekend and I hope to be able to reward them with some good results, " The technical differences between the AMA and World Superbikes made for some early interesting discussion. In the AMA. the teams must use streetbike throttle bodies or cams, but are aliowed to modify them in any way they see fit. Also, leaded fuel of a higher octane rating is used. This meant that most had to use one spec of bike (and therefore only one machine) in World Supemike and one of their regular AMA machines for the domestic races, The Honda pairing of Miguel DuHamel and Nicky Hayden were different. supposedly electing to run both bikes in World Supemike trim, for continuity of set-up sake, The wild cards have varying degrees of experience in World Supemike racing, although most had more races under their belts than many thought. Nicky Hayden was breaking his record-book duck, while Miguel DuHamel has run 10 World Supemike races in his career. Aaron Yates had completed four World Superbike races before this season's Laguna, while Mat Miadin had carried out 14, Ducati man Doug Chandler had scored two World Supemike wins in amongst his 14-race total, but the Daddy of them all is Anthony Gobert. with 57 races and eight race wins. The status of Laguna Seca, as a non-profit-making circuit located on what amounts to government land. has always made upgrading work something of a struggle for ali interested parties, Any permanent building automatically becomes the property of the landlord. making investment a difficult prospect. A new initiative has, however. seen the first tangible results of a $50 million project to completely transform the track's facilities. The first phase, running to around $11 million. is well under way, with the first of two main pit-garage complexes sprouting out of the Monterey peninsula_ The steel-and-concrete structure will eventualiy house 10 double garages, topped by 12 hospitality suites. overlooking the start/finish straight. Continued on page 15