Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

BRIEFLY••• Alex Barros racked up a unique record at the Australian GP . becoming the first rider to start 150 consecutive races. The Brazilian, who celebrated his 32nd birthday on the first day of practice, hasn't missed a race since the British Grand Prix at Donington Park. back in 1992. The most experienced rider out there is also a hot property, after jumping on the Honda for the first time just two races ago, and beating Valentino Rossi straight out of the box. With his West Pons Honda team strapped for spon· sorship, Barros has been a major target for other teams. He has consistently declined to announce any firm future plans. but until a week ago there were very strong rumors linking him with a big· money Kawasaki contract for next year. In the shifting climate of MotoGP racing, however, everything had changed at Phillip Island. The latest credible link puts Barros on a Yamaha. either with the factory team alongside Carlos Checa, or in the Gauloises Tech 3 team alongside Olivier Jacque. This would restore strength and experience lost with the increasingly inexplicable fir· ing of Max Biaggi. Marco Melandri's name is also strongly linked to the team, to take whichever place Barros does not. This would put current Gauloises rider Shinya Nakano in the wilderness, and his future was unciear in Australia - though observers noted that in his first ride on the M 1 Yamaha in Malaysia the week beFore had seen him speed up impreSSively in the second part of the race, to finish sixth - one place ahead of Checa, Current betting has him and fellow Japanese factory nominee Norick Abe in an unwitting battle for the fifth Ml, expected to go to Abe's current Antena 3 team, who fielded Abe on the four-stroke for the first time at Phillip Island, Yamaha's rider problems - triggered when they fired Biaggi but failed to secure the services of AMA Superblke Champion Nicky Hayden - are an indicator of some political upheavals within the team, run out of Amsterdam by Yamaha Motor Racing's managing director Un Jarvis. The loss of Biaggi was ciearly considered a blow by the Japanese section of the team. In an interview last week, Ml project leader Ichiro Yeda would go no further than saying; 'Blaggi always gave us very good information. and helped a lot to develop the bike.' Off-the-record whispers from close to the team were that the Japanese faction in general was at logger, heads with the European management over the decision. Much can be read Into the situation of team manager Geoff Crust. who has held the position since 1994. His contract was not to be renewed for next year, with the role going to ex-Superbike team boss Davlde Brivio, and Crust expected to leave the team. Until they got to Japan two weeks ago. where he was firmly reinstated as team manager, Meanwhile. a move from the traditional base in Holland to the Belgarde ex-World Superbike facility in Italy has also triggered staff discontent and changes, with some personnel who have been with Yamaha's GP effort For more than a decade uncertain as to whether they will have a role in the immediate future. Questions were flying at Phillip Island, but answers were thin on the ground, with Lin Jarvis on holiday rather than at the track. massive high-speed highside crash on the second moming of practice. Abe fell at the notorious turn one. chasing the much faster Max Blaggi and apparently dropping one too many gears by mistake. He was stretchered away and did not ride again. at least partly because his one and only motorcycle was comprehensively disassembled in the crash. The 200,mph barrier was broken at Phillip Island. making it only the second circuit this year that the new four-strokes have beaten the double ton. This time it was Rossi who cracked it. in the first free training on Friday morning, at 200,889 mph. The barrier was broken also at Mugello earlier this season, with Regis l.aconi's Aprilia the first to do the time, but final honors for the fastest of the weekend going to Tohru Ukawa's V-five Honcla at 201.63 mph. Prior to that, a 500cc two-stroke had exceeded 200 mph only once. when Shinichi It00 's Honda NSR did it at the Hockenheimring during practice. Holes or no holes? Nobodly could say for sure, after a day of drilling and slicing to try to help riders cut through the crosswinds at Phillip Island. This is not the first time teams have drilled an assortment of holes in their expensive factory Fairings, but the seaside circuit's blustering winds, reaching up to 30 mph on Friday, started a fresh rush of destruction, while teams running the four-stroke Honda RCV gave thanks to manufacturers who made the fairings so small there is barely enything to cut away. 'This Fairing could have been designed for here," said Rossi's crew chieF Jeremy Burgess, Maybe the greatest effect came from Pro· ton, who savaged Jeremy McWilliams's Fairing in between the two practice days with a series of holes of different sizes· then watched as the veteran Ulsterman put the bike on pole for the first time ever. ChieF race engineer Tom O'Kane explained; 'We've put holes on the upper and lower surfaces to try to break up the boundary layer so the fairing acts less like an aeroFoil. The fiow doesn't attach to the fairing, so you're starting the turbulence much cioser to the front of the bike than usual. It also affects the center of pressure,' he said, The modifications had knocked some three or four km/h off the top speed. while teammate Nobuatsu Aoki eschewed holes to qualify within a few tenths on the other cieanly faired Proton KR3 triple, saying; 'I don't care about holes. The important thing is to get the suspension set-up right.' "I can feel the effect. so it's psychologically better anyway,' responded McWilliams, Over at Suzuki. Kenny Roberts .Jr. commissioned a virtual skeleton fairing (belowl, with holes on the upper surfaces. and a slotted chunk cut out of the fairing flanks either side of the nadiator. Again he professed a better feeling, saying; "We need the factory to find out why so we can take another step in the same direction with the stanclard fairing.' His teammate Sete Gibemau also preferred to rely on suspension settings, while team manager Garry Taylor noted a surprising result. 'There's no difference in top speed - so that will give our factory engineers some food for thought. ' Yamaha's fuel, Injected M1 MotoGP prototype made an unsung second appearance at Phillip Island. with the machine ridden by Four-stroke first-timer Norick Abe. Only the week before. project leader Ich.ro Yoda had told this reporter that the system had been tested throughout the season in Japan and possibly in Europe, but never at a race meeting. This may not have been strictly true, however. as it seems that Yamaha wild card Yoshikawa had used the system the week before at Motegi. Yamaha started the year as the only new four-stroke with carburetors rather then fuel injection, and had stuck with the system For the factory bikes. But injection would have to come sooner or later, said Yoda, in the quest both for more power and also For better fuel consumption. when tank size is reduced in 2004. Sadly, Abe's four-stroke debut was rendered null and void by a Gibernllu (Suz); 13. Shinyll Nakano (Yam); 14. Tetsuya Hanlldll (Hon); 15. Jose Luis Clirdoso (Yam): 16, John Hopkins (Yom); 17. Andrew Pitt (Kow); 18, Gorry McCoy (Yom). Tune: 42 min. 2.041 sees. Distance: 74.45 miles Avorege speed: 106.28 mph Margin of vfctory: 9.782 sees. Fastest lap: VeJentino Rossi, lap 11, 1:32.233 125cc WORlD C'SHIP POINTS STANDINGS (Aller 14 of 16 ",und.): I. Amoud VIncent (253/5 wIn.); 2. Barry Sheena was a Phillip Isiand visitor. shrugging off his serious illness and holding court in usual sunny fashion at the back of the pits. Sheene, who was diagnosed with cancer earlier this year, looked fit and chipper for his first bike GP appearance since the news broke, and had his 12-year-old son Freddie with him. The two-time World 500cc Champion was on "light duties" with Channel Ten. for whom he has been covering the GPs in Australia for several years. The British superstar. who now lives in Australia, said that he had received 20,000 e-mails wishing him well after the condition was diagnosed. The future of the MotoGP franchise system is already being tested, barely a year after it was introduced - with three franchise teams lacking sponsors for next year, and one team with a rider and backing but no entry. The dispossessed trio are Sito Pons Honda, Antena 3 Yamaha, and Red Bull Yamaha; the team without an entry is Pramac Honda. who have signed Max Blaggl for the next two years, but whose one-year entry concession runs out at the end of this season. There were strong rumors in Australia that Pramac has reached agreement for a deal with Pons, who would certainly try to keep at least the core of his well-established team, led by renowned engineer Antonio Cobas, but It may not yet all be signed and sealed. Antena 3 was also a candidate, as well as hoping For some support from Yamaha - they currently run Abe on a factory machine. Red Bull Yamaha boss Peter Clifford said that he did not yet know what their plans were or where they would source MotoGP machines, but said confidently; 'We will be there, and I don't expect that motorcycles will be a problem.' Clifford added: "If it hadn't been for the franchise system, we would have been blown away completely.' Instead, the franchise was a distinct asset. On the other hand, if it turns out not to be enough to ensure survival, the system will have fallen short before it has barely got under way. Although there has been no word from the manufacturers' organization, the GPMA. it would certainly be in their interest to make machines available to help short-term strength of the four-stroke series that theyenaated. An all,two-stroke front row may be a freak occurrence in the first year of the MotoGP World Championship. open also to the much more powerful four-strokes, but it was surely no coincidence that Jeremy McWilliams was on pole. In the last four years. he has been on pole thnee times at the Island. and was second the other time. Now 3B years old, the Proton KR3 rider is the oldest to ciaim pole in a premier-elass GP since Australian privateer Jack Rndlay, fastest qualifier For the Isle of Man IT in 1974. All four front-row qualifiers at Phillip Island were 30 or over. It was also the first time since 1984 that a three-cylinder machine had qualified on pole. The last was factory Honda rider Raymond Roche on an NS500 at the San Marino GP, Nobody could remember when there had last been a premierclass Front row without a single Michelin tire user on it. with even expert statisticians flummoxed. Instead, the tire profile was Bridgestone, Dunlop, Bridgestone, Bridgestone, in the Japanese manufacturer's first year in the top GP class, Michelin riposted that they did not believe in bringing soft-compound qualifying tires to the track, preferring that their riders should concentrate on finding the right settings on full race rubber. 'All our riders qualified on tires that would last the full race distance,' said race boss Emanuel Foumier. The Australian GP coincided with a nationai day of mourning declared For victims of the terrorist bombing attack in Ball the weekend before, In which almost 200 people were thought to have died - a large proportion of them Australian vacationers, As a consequence. organizers scheduled a minute's silence 10 minutes beFore the start of the MotoGP race, Doma has announced a new GP calendar for next year. with several Significant changes from the pre-calendar issued during the July. One change is the loss of the mid-season summer break, with Just two, rather than four, weekends off between the British and the Czech Republic GPs. Another is that the season will now start in Japan, rather than South Africa, with the latter GP moved from its March 23 slot to the end of April. The loss of the holiday IS partly due to a clash with an Fl GP, forcing the Bmo race to take place on August 17, rather than August 24. The season doses again in Valencia. after a three-weekends-in-a-row set of flyaways in Japan, Malaysia and Austral,a, as this year, For the complete schedule, see In the Wind. attempts to revive the race at different venues have so far come to nothing. But the lack of an American race has been a thom in Doma's side for some lime, and they are likely to give every assistance to the plan. There is a new contender to retum the USA to the Grand Prix calendar - and it could happen as soon as 2004, at a brand-new circuit to be built on a brand-new site south of Dallas, Texas. The man behind the scheme is Bobby Hartslief, whose track record includes creating the Phakisa Freeway circuit at Welkem in South Africa and running the South African GP For the past four years, ·We have Found a site next to a drag strip 28 miles south of Dallas - it's next door to a drag strip, so noise is not an issue and we have EPA approval." Hartslief said. 'At this stage, I have found a backer to the tune of $5-million, and we have an option on the land,' said Hartslief. who also had ground plans of a sinuous track that combines Fl car capability with its primary role as a bike circuit. "Two comers have an alternative profile, with a sharp bend for the cars and a more sweeping comer for the motorcycles,' he said. He was in Australia not only to discuss homologation of the Phakisa Freeway circuit, which has been completely resurfaced In preparation For next year's South African GP, but also to canvass support from Doma to add the US GP to the 2004 calendar. The last U.S. GP was at Laguna Seea in 1994, and a handful of other Colin Edwards is said to be inching closer to a GP deal with Aprilia after the factory agreed to switch to Michelin tires for the big class, but there was no confirmation at Phiilip Island. Race director Jan Witteveen confirmed that they planned a two-rider team, but said the question of riders and tires was not yet settled. Next year's Aprilia would have different chassis and engine developments compared with this year's, he said, and would crucially shed more weight to get closer to the limit. Cosworth would again be involved in developing the engine. but it would be strictly an evolutionary model, with no major changes. Would this be the bike that, with a Honda-size budget, he would have brought at halfway through this season, he was asked? 'No. If I had their budget. I would also be trying other designs and ideas. With my budget, we have to concentrate on what we already have." he said. Footnote; Kawasaki was also close to switching from Dunlop to Michelin tires. according to the paddock grapevine. Would-be Austnalian GP rider Brendan Clarke, who made a deep-end debut riding the 500 Shell Advance Honda V-twin last year as a replacement after Chris Walker was fired, had his home GP plans for this year sadly scuppered. He had a wild-eard entry in the 250 class, and arranged a Honda RS from a German source. Unfortunately. shipping delays meant that the bike arrived in Australia the day after the GP. Menuel Poggleli (245/4 wins); 3. Daniel Pedrosll (199); 4, (Tie) Toni Ellos (172/1 wln)/Sebostlon (218/2 Wins); 4. Lucio Cecehinello (172/3 wins); 5, Steve Jenkner (157); 6. Poblo Nieto (129); 7. Simone Sonno (104); 8, M.s.o Azumo (101); 9, Miko Kolllo (78) 10. Gino Borsoi (76); II. Alex De Angeli. (74); 12, Jo.n Olive (69); 13. Youichi Ui (65); 14. (Tie) Mirko Glon.onti (42)/Andreo Dovizioso (42). 250« WORLD C'SHIP POINTS STANDINGS (Aller 14 of 16 ",und.): 1. Morco Melondrl (273/8 Porto (172/1 win); 6. Frllnco Bllttllini (133); 7. Roberto Locotelli (108); 8, R.ndy De Punlet (106); 9, Emilio Alzomoro (104); 10. N.okl Motsudo (84): 11. wins·); 2. Fonsi Nieto (241/4 wins); 3. Roberto Rolfo Chec. (141); 6. Norlck Abe (123); 7. loris Copirossi (109); 8. OolJiro Koto (104); 9, Kenny Roberts Jr. (99): 10. Olivier Jecque (74); 11. Nobuetsu Aoki (63); 12. Shinyo Nokono (58); 13. John Hopkins (53); 14. (Tie) Jurgen von den Goorbergh (51)/Jeremy McWilllom. (51). (Tie) Co.ey Stoner (65)/Alex Oebon (65); 13, Horuchiko Aoki (54); 14. Shohrol Yuzy (53); 15. Oovld Checo (SO). l'IotoGP WORLD C'SHIP POINTS STANDINGS • Clinched World Championship (After 14 of 16 rounds): 1. Valentino Rossi (335/11 wins·); 2. Mm< Billiggi 099/2 wins); 3. Tohru Ukawa Upcoming Rounds: Round 16: Valencia. Spain, November 2 (198/1 Win); 4. Alex Berro. (179/1 win); 5. Corio. cue I e n e _ S • OCTOBER 30. 2002 15

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