Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

(2:15.621): 19. Alex De Angelis (2:15.726); 20. Gino Borsoi (2:15.743): 21. Michel Gobrizio (2:16.015); Jeremy McWilliams (2:05.170); 6. Velentlno Rossi Porto (Ytlm); 5. Franco Battaini (Apr); 6. Randy de (2:05.188); 9. Gorry McCoy (2:05.400): 10. Jurgen Punlet (Apr); 7. Nookl Motsudo (Yom): 8. Emilio 22. Simone Senne (2:16.316); 23. Gabor Telmocsl Ven Den Goorbergh (2:05.671): 11. NaTick Abe Alztlmora (Hon); 9. Shahrol Yuzy (Yam); 10. David Checa (Apr); 11. Casey Stoner (Apr); 12. Haruchika Aoki (Hon); 13. Roberto Locatelli (Apr); 14. Jtly Vincent (Hon); 15. Jaroslav Hules (Yam); 16. Jakub (2:16.443): 24. Jorge Lorenzo (2:16.499); 25. Stefeno Perugini (2:16.534); 26. Noboru Ueda (2:17.380); 27. Morco Simoncelli (2:17.719); 28. ImTe Toth (2:18.088); 29. Dario Giuseppetti (2:18.213): 30. Thomos Luthi (2;18.381): 31. Choz Dovios (2:18.968); 32. Alex Boldolini (2:18.986); 33. Christien Pistonl (2:21.121); 34. Joshue Waters (2:21.470). 250cc QUAUFYlNG: I. Fonsi Nieto (2:08.067); 2. Marco Melendri (2:08.518); 3. Toni Elias (2:09.017); 4. Roberto Locotelli (2:09.330); 5. Franco Battaini (2:09.584); 6. Roberto Rolfo (2:09.616); 7. Rondy De Punlet (2:09.774): 8. Sebestian Porto (2:09.928); 9. Alex Debao (2:10.077): 10. Cosey Stoner (2:10.162): II. Dovld Checo (2:10.216): 12. Shohrol Yuzy (2:10.358): 13. Emilio AlzernaTe (2:10.560); 14. Neokl M8tsudo (2:10.600): 15. Horuchiko Aoki (2:11.004); 16. Dirk Heidolf (2:11.483): 17. Hugo Morehoncl (2:11.550); 18. Jay Vincent (2:11.930); 19. Hector Faubel (2:12.179): 20. Leon Hoslom (2:12.475): 21. J8Tosiav Hules (2: 12.592); 22. Erwan Nigon (2:12.607); 23. Jokub Smrz (2:13.090); 24. Roul Joro (2:13.230). MotoGP QUALIFYING; 1. Alex Borros (2:04.487); 2. Mox Bioggi (2:04.536): 3. Doijiro Koto (2:04.680): 4. Loris Copirossi (2:04.785): 5. Corlos Checo (2:05.031); 6. Tohru Ukowo (2:05.106): 7. (2:05.800); 12. Kenny Roberts Jr. (2:05.911); 13. Nobuatsu Aoki (2:06.061); 14. Tetsuya Hl!lreda (2:06.148); 15. Set< Gibemou (2:06.362); 16. Shinyo Nokono (2:06.451); 17. Olivier Jocque (2:06.580); 18. Aklro Ryo (2:06.365): 19. John Hopkins (2:06.857); 20. Regis Loconl (2:07.126): 21. Jose luis Cordose (2:08.028): 22. Andrew PItt (2:09.106). 125cc GRAND PRIX: 1. Amoud Vincent (Apr); 2. Lucio Cecchinello (Apr); 3. Dl!lnlel Pedroso (Hon); 4. Monuei Poggioli (Gil); 5. Poblo Nieto (Apr); 6. Steve Jenkner (Apr); 7. Mikl!l Kl!lllio (Hon); 8. Hector Borbero (Apr); 9. Mosoo Alumo (Hon): 10. Alex De Angelis (Apr); 11. Simone Sonno (Apr); 12. Youichi Steve Jenkner (148): 6. Poblo Nieto (113): 7. Simone Sonno (94); 8. Mosoo Alumo (93): 9. Mlko Kolllo (78) 10. Gino Borsei (76): 11. Alex De Angelis (74); 12. (Tie) Youichi UI (62)/Joon Olive (62): 14. Mlrko Glonsontl (41): 15. Hector Borbero (38). 250cc WORLD C'SHIP POINTS STANDINGS (Alter 14 of 16 rounds); 1. Moreo Melondrl (248/7 wins): 2. Fonsi Nieto (221/4 wins): 3. Roberto Rolfo (186): 4. Toni Elios (161/1 win); 5. SebosUon Porto (156/1 Smrz (Hon); 17. Leon Hoslom (Hon); 18. Dirk Heidlof (Apr): 19. HU90 Morehond (Apr). Time; 43 mins. 28.624 sees. Distance: 68.79 miles win); 5. Toni Elias (141/1 win); 6. Franco Battaini Aver0ge speed: 94.93 mph (124); 7. Roberto Locotem (108): 8. Emilio Aizomoro (101); 9. Rondy De Puniet (96); 10. Nooki Motsudo (82); 11. Cosey Stoner (59); 12. Alex Debon (58): 13. Shohroi Yuzy (52): 14. Horuchiko Aoki (49): 15. Dovid Choco (42). MotoGP WORLD C'SHIP POINTS STANDINGS (Alter 14 of 16 rounds): I. Volentine Rossi (310/10 wins·); 2. Mox Bioggi (189/2 wins); 3. Tohru Ukowo (182/1 win); 4. Alex Borros (159/1 win): 5. Corlos Checo (136): 6. Norick Abe (123): 7. Loris Coplrossl (109): 8. Kenny Roberts Jr. (92); 9. Doljiro Koto (91): 10. Olivier Jocque (66): 11. Shinyo Nokono (55): 12. Nobuotsu Aokl (54): 13. John Hopkins (53): 14. Jeremy McWlllloms (45): 15. Sete Gibemou Margin of victory: .412 sec. Fastest lap: Fonsl Nieto, lap 2. 2:08.858 MotoGP: 1. Max Biaggi (Yam); 2. Valentino Rossi (Hon); 3. Alex Borros (Hon): 4. Tohru Ukowo (Hon); 5. Daijiro Kato (Han); 6. Shinya Nakano (Yam); 7. Corlos Choco (Yom): 8. Kenny Roberts Jr. (Suz): 9. Ui (Oer); 13. JOl!ln Olive (Han); 14. Klaus Nohles (Han); 15. Andrea Dovi:l:ioso .(Hon); 16. Mlrko Loris Capirossl (Hon); 10. Norick Abe (Yam); 11. Gionsonti (Hon): 17. Mottlo Angeloni (Gil): 18. Noboru Uedo (Hon): 19. Gino Borsal (Apr): 20. Jorge Jurgen vd Goorbergh (Hon); 14. Sete Gibernau (Suz); 15. Garry McCoy (Yam); 16. Jose Luis Cardoso (Yam); 17. Regis Laconi (Apr); 18. John Lorenzo (Der); 21. Thomas Luthi (Han); 22. Imre Toth (Hon): 23. Alex Boldolini (Apr): 24. Dorio Giuseppetti (Hon); 25. Choz Dovies (Apr): 26. MIchel Fobrlzio (Gil). . Time: 40 mins. 32.656 secs. Distance:61.91 miles Average speed: 91.62 mph Margin of victory: .278 sec. Akiro Ryo (Suz): 12. Jeremy McWiliioms (Pro): 13. Hopkins (Yom): 19. Andrew Pitt (Kow). Time: 44 mins. 1.592 sees. Distance: 72.23 miles Average speed: 98.44 mph Margin of victory: .542 sec. (44). • Clinched World Championship Fostest lop: Mox Bioggi, lop 5, 2:04.925 1250c WORLD C'SHIP POINTS STAND1l'IGS (After 14 of 16 rounds); 1. Amoud Vincent (240/5 Wins): 2. Fostest lop; lucio Cecchlnello, lop 4, 2:13.919 250cc GRAND PRIX; I. Fonsl Nieto (Apr); 2. Toni Elias (Apr); 3. Roberto Rolfo (Hon); 4. Sebastian Upcoming rounds: Round 15: Phillip Island, Australia, October 20 Round 16: Valencia, Spain, November 2 Manuel Poggiall (220/3 wins); 3. Daniel Pedrosa (207/2 wins); 4. Lucio Cocchlnello (152/3 wins): 5. BRIEFLY••• Good comment from Alex Barros to his pit crew, at Motegi, after his first run on the V-five Honda four-stroke. "It's very, very fast. - he told them. Well. they replied. what do we need to do to the settings for your next run? "Nothing. Just let it cool down." Valentino Rossi's rally debut in the Rally of Great Britain has been confirmed, and he will test the Peugeot 206 on October 24. and again after the Valencia GP. "It is just for fun, and for my own information." said Rossi. who confirmed in an Interview that he expected to stay in MotoGP for the conceivable future. "Motorcycles are my first passion - rallying my second." he said. "I will be happy if I just finish the rally. or at least nearly finish It." He confirmed that he will be testing a BAR Fl car during the winter. but said; "I don't have a big interest in Fl. It Is not my passion." Australian 250cc GP rookie Casey Stoner could switch to four wheels any time he likes, on evidence from a special racers' gokart race on the day before the Malaysian GP. Stoner qualified two seconds faster than any of the rest, and was made to start from the back of the grid - and still had no trouble taking a massive victory. Max Biaggi (3) and Valentino Rossi (46), by contrast. seemed to spend most of the time trying to spoil each other's races. Twenty-four-year-old Australian Andl(8w Pitt made an unexpected early GP debut at the Maiaysian GP. taking over the wild-card entry on the Kawasaki Ninja ZX-RR after factory test rider Akira Yanagawa was found to be unfit after his heavy crash at Motegi. Yanagawa was at first diagnosed with no serious injuries. but later they found a crack in his pelVis. which required surgery. Pitt, the 200 1 World Supersport Champion. received the call from team manager Harald Eckl early this week. and came to Maiaysia as soon as possible. "I'd never seen the track before. but I jogged around it as soon as I arrived. and did some laps on a scooter the next day. - he said. Pitt had never before raced on slick tires or used carbon brakes. and was riding a machine with at least 80 hOl1lepower more than he had ever experienced before. Not surprisingly. he was siowest on the first day of practice, but was within the qualifying 107-percenttime, and cut more than 2.5 seconds off his time from morning to afternoon. "I was surprised at how friendly the bike was - not wild at all, and with a smooth power delivery throughout the powerband, though on initialthrottie opening the fuel-injection system feels a bit rougher than carburetors. - he said. "It's definitely goad to ride a bike that powerful. and it's amazing to feel it still pushing ahead in top·gear.Gauloises riders Olivier .Jacque and Shinya Nakano made their four-stroke debuts at Malaysia. the latest addition to an unprecedented number of 990cc machines. on a pair of M 1 Yamahas. They had tested for two days before at the old GP circuit at Shah Alam. The track was dirty. and Jacque had iguana lizard trouble. "There was one on the fastest comer that first coming out. I got some of my team to come out with brooms to chase it away after I saw it almost every time, but it wasn't there. They thought I'd been drinking. or smoking something. But if I'd crashed. then I wouldn't have a four-stroke to race here. I have only one bike, - he said. With AJex Barros joining Valentino Rossi, Tohru Ukawa and Daijiro Kato a week ago on a V-five Honda, two more Ml s. and Akira Ryo taking a wild-card entry on a Suzuki. there were 12 fourstrokes at Malaysia. There will be another at the Australian GP at Phillip Island, where Norick Abe will also get an M 1 Yamaha until the end of the season. At long last. Yamaha has unbent enough to give some technical details on their four-stroke M1. after a season of extraordinary secrecy. The information came in an exclusrve interview with factory M 1 project leader Ichiro Yada. and not only confirmed longsuspected details about the in-line four. but also came up with a few surprises. One was that the twin overhead camshafts are not driven by the gears that are otherwise universal. but by a simple single-row chain: another that while the machine is still using the carburetors with which it began the season, they might race with fuel injection in one of the two remaining rounds this season. Although they started the season with the engine under-size. they have quietly taken it up to full 990cc capacity. Yamaha had been criticized for their secrecy, which came in a reaction to bad publicity after disappointing early race results. These followed an overload of publicity last year, then a rather disastrous public debut in pre-season tests, where the vaunted four-stroke was soundly beaten by the factory's own year-old two-strokes at Estoril. and Max Biaggi described the bike as "embarrassing. - Yada spoke freely about most aspects of the engine. to the discomfort of team manager Davida Brivio, who worried about too many secrets escaping. "At the beginning of the season. our biggest problem was engine braking. and also some chassis problems. with understeering." said Yoda. The steering difficulties had been tackled with a succession of revised chassis, the current being the third this year. The engine architecture had also been changed. with the cylinder block being tilted back by an unspecified amount. This also gave them the chance to shift overall engine position within the chassis, said Yada. He said weight balance had been changed by about three percent. but would not reveal whether this had been to the front or the rear. The enginebraking problem saw an even more creative solution. Biaggi had complained from the start about engine braking, and to a lesser extent also Checa, said Yoda. They were already using a conventional (ramp-type) slipper clutch, and started working urgently on the electronic/hydraulic over-ride that supplements the slipper action to tum it into an active clutch. triggered by parameters such as gear position, engine revs and front/rear wheel speed. "We had the first version at the Valencia tests, and continued to revise it. - he said. The biggest breakthrough had come with new software for the French GP at Le Mans. They had imposed other solutions - rival engineers suspect from the odd sound under braking that they open one of the four throttles to reduce engine braking without introducing too much push. "We have other systems. but I cannot say what," said Yada. Information leaked during the year from outside bike racing was that the Yamaha Fl engine had switched from the company's patented five-valves-per-cyllnder system to the more conventional four valves. and In the absence of confirmation or denial from Yamaha many assumed that the bike engine had followed this departure from the company's preferred road-bike configuration. Not so, said Yada. "It has five valves per cylinder. I love five valves. personally. and I first drew the system 20 years ago. The Idea came from Yamaha automotive. but we did the first designs for the patent. "The Fl engine went to four valves because with pneumatic operation the weight of the valves Is not SO important. But for our engine. the advantage is in lighter components, and with a small-bore engine, it allows a smaller combustion chamber. - Yada declined to reveal the capacity of the engine at the start of the year, but disclosed that by mid-season a new cylinder block had been designed with bigger bores that brought the engine up to full "less-than 990cc - size. They were still using carburetors. but fuel Injection was coming, he said. "We have been testing it in Japan. and it offers some benefits. especially in fuel consumption and opening the throttle, but this year we decided to concentrate on carburetors. The advantage of injection is not great. but we need to increase power, and then we will have to use injection. We need at least 10 more horsepower. and I hope 15. There is never enough. We expect to bring the fuel-injection system to a race before the end of this season. although there are only two races left. - Kawasaki's racing debut at Motegl last week ended disastrously for rider Akira Yanagawa. with a pelvis-cracking crash after just six of 24 laps. But it wasn't necessarily as bad as it looked. and earlier reports that the in-line four engine of the lime-green Ninja ZX-RR had seized were not correct. This was the word from team boss Harald Eckl. who described the sequence of events in Malaysia. "There had been some problem with oil leaks from the end covers on the camshafts. and Kawasaki developed a special sealed system. It seems that this failed on the racing engine. FollOWing riders were sprayed with oil. and there was oil all over Akira's leathers. I think some oil got onto the rear tire -we couidn't find any when we examined the bike later. but it may have scrubbed off. The engine definitely didn't seize. We are still using the same engine here." Eckl said that the engine was already very powerful. refiected by good top-speed figures. "We haven't really started tuning it yet - just basically assembled the parts. - he said. "It's a very strong engine. not on the edge of its endurance like some of the others. - Eckl added: -We have a lot to learn in terms of the chassis. Kawasaki wants to continue with their thin-wall castings for the front and rear sections, but personally I would like to see a parallel development with a more conventional chassis. " The profile of next year's MotoGP grid remains shrouded in mystery. with more rumors than facts. and more uncertainty than ever. The wildest of the latest rumors is that the Pramac-BiaggiHonda deal (he signed for three years) is falling to pieces because the team. currently on a one-year-oniy entry deal. is having trouble finding a partner with a full-time franchise willing to cooperate for the future. Pramac's options lie among three current full-time teams who are as yet unsponsored for next year: Pons Honda. Antena 3 or Red Bull Yamaha. The sticking pOint in all cases so far is that they want to keep their existing team structures to run Pramac's bikes. while Pramac hs its own team staff who they want to bring in for itself. The possible resuit? Biaggi back to Yamaha, who has not yet inked in a deal with their believed favored choice to partner Checa - Marco Melandri. At the same time. World Superbike Champion Colin Edwards Is in a - mystery surrounds - siwation. Strong rumors. backed up by the rider himself. are that he is on the verge of signing for Aprilla for next season. provided they can secure Michelin tires. Edwards is already said to have declined an offer from Honda. which carried an uncomfortable rider that he would have to use Bridgestone tires. But Edwards is also the obvious choice for Yamaha. who have yet to confirm they have finalized their second rider. Meanwhile. AJex Barros is thought to have signed a two-year. $6-million deal with Kawasaki, but neither he nor his team will confirm or deny the signing. More strong. long-standing rumors are that Telefonica MoviStar is to spilt with the factory Suzuki team, and move to Gresini, who has signed Daijiro Kato to stay, with a factory V-five Honda. while their current sponsors Fortuna go to Yamaha. The second rider remains a mystery. and previous assumptions that it would be Sete Gibemau (currently with Suzuki) have lost momentum. Instead. the Spanish whisper is that the influential former 13-time World Champion Angel Nieto is pressuring the sponsors to take ex 125 and now 250cc bright youngster Toni Elias into the MotoGP team. The reason? To give his nephew Fonsi Nieto a beller chance of winning the 250cc title next year. Practice times for the new four-strokes were impressive enough, the first nine inside last year's pole. But they did not compare well with times set in pre-season tests. by both Honda and Yamaha riders. Back then, Valentino Rossi had run a 2:03.6. compared with pole at 2:04.487. He blamed clutch and related braking problems. Paddock whispers suggested a different reason - that back then they had been using the full 18,000-rpm the V-five engine is capable of. and that in fact Honda have scaled back performance to have just enough (more than enough. mostly) to beat the others. This fitted with another rumor. that when the Yamahas started to come good after the summer break. Honda had responded during the Bmo meeting by going not one but two stages higher with their engine-management chip. As a result, Rossi's rear tire disintegrated in the race. cue' • n e _ s OCTOBER 23,2002 15

• Cover