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Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/128206
BRIEFLY•••
The new rolling-start procedure was tried at Catalunya, with
a chorus of criticism from riders who had apparently previously
voted in favor of the system. The first attempt showed many
potential problems - the most trenchant being that tires and
brakes cool down so much during the procedure that the dash to
the first comer after the pace car pulls off is fraught with danger.
The procedure is part of a move to prevent lengthy delays if a
race is interrupted by rain. If that happens, the race is stopped
and "neutralized." with riders having five minutes to change tires
then line up at the pit exit "formation zone" behind the waiting
pace car, in the order in which they were running when the race
was stopped. They follow the pace car out for one lap, then
resume racing to the flag after the first lap. The first attempt was
scary - especially after Garry McCoy's Kawasaki overheated in
the formation zone, Riders behind him were nonplussed, and
when he did get going, there was a big gap to the riders ahead. A
gap of three seconds is allowed before penalties will be imposed.
Complaints centered on safety issues. "When you are waiting
behind the pace car, the tires and brakes get very cool." said
Loris Capirossi. "The car is not fast enough to warm them up on
the next lap - so you start with everything cold. It means the first
lap will be very... difficult. "
John Hopkins made the same complaint. adding: "You've
already been sitting for two minutes without tire warmers. On a
long track like Assen, where you're not really on the side of the
tire, a slow lap behind the car will really make it a lot worse. And a
three-second gap is pretty big, too." From Rossi's camp came
another angle. "The riders up at the front following the pace car in
the rain will be badly unsighted by the spray," said crew chief
Jeremy Burgess. Jeremy McWilliams had yet another angle.
"When you follow the car, the field really concertinas back and
forth," McWilliams said. "You're trying to warm up your tires,
then suddenly you have to jam on brakes because the guy in front
has almost run into the guy in front of him. It's really, really dangerous." Several riders cast doubt on the assertion that the
majority of rider opinion had been in favor of the rolling start, but
official rider representative Franco Uncini insisted that he had discussed the matter with all riders. and the majority were in favor.
He declined to give numbers on how the voting went. Race direc-
tor Paul Butler has never been in favor of the system but was
overruled. "At the start I raised the objection that the dash to tum
one with cold brakes and tires was dangerous, but the tire and
brake manufacturers said that in fact the temperatures would not
be much different from the old system, where there was a sighting lap and then a restart from the grid, - Butler said. "I am sure
the procedural stuff can be sorted out. We have a skeleton crew
here. With a full staff, the assembly in the formation zone will be
improved, though I am concemed that most teams will regard the
five minutes as more time to work on the bikes, then there will be
a big rush down Pit Lane at the last minute. I'd expect a long night
sorting out final results. If there are any 10-second penalties,
there will be protests and counterprotests, and we will have to
examine the evidence...
Barry Sheene was remembered at the Catalunya tests with a
minute of silence on the Sunday as a tribute to the 1976 and
1977 World Champion who lost his battle with cancer one week
before. There were other tributes: one from Valentino Rossi. who
reproduced Sheene's famous number "7" on his helmet. along
with an anti-war message, saying "Pace" (Italian for peace). And
as testing began, a fan on the grandstands opposite the pits hung
a banner over the rail, with a big Union Jack, the number 7, and
Barry Sheene' s name.
vacated by the dumped Max Biaggi. This was clearly more attractive to the 21-year-old rider than the prospect of either spending
another year in the U,S.A.. or possibly moving to World Superbikes with Honda. After Hayden won the AMA title, it is understood to have activated a clause in his contract for Honda to
move him into GP racing. They went further to make sure the new
talent stayed on boand, offering him one of only four full factory
RCV211 racers (an opportunity denied to, for example, World
Superbike Champion Colin Edwards and the retuming Max Biaggil. Hayden promptly changed his mind, reneged on his deal with
Yamaha, and signed up to ride alongside Valentino Rossi in the
main Honda factory team. Yamaha's response was to threaten
legal action for breach of contract against Hayden and his management company, Intemational Racers Inc .. and the affair has
been sub-judice since September last year. It is believed that
Yamaha had been preparing to take out a legal injunction in the
U.S.A. to prevent him from racing the Honda, but instead they
reached an agreement out of court. Details are confidential, but it
seems likely that Yamaha were financially compensated for the
breech of contract. At the very least, Hayden and his management (the Gary Howard-run company who also manages the likes
of Kenny Roberts, Kenny Roberts Jr.. Wayne Rainey, Doug
Chandler and Eddie Lawson) had to eat a large quantity of humble
pie. The confirmation came in a short statement: "Yamaha Motor
Company Ltd.. Intemational Racers Inc. and Nicky Hayden herewith announce that a settlement has been reached in relation to a
claim by Yamaha Motor Company against IRA and Hayden with
regard to the contractual issues related to the 2003 and 2004
racing season. The settlement will prevent any litigation between
the parties regarding these claims. IRA and Mr, Hayden wish to
emphasize that Yamaha never did anything wrong or inappropriate
and that they greatly admire Yamaha and have the utmost respect
of performance. - The Twin-Pulse motor, emulating the firing order
of the V-twin, is not likely to be seen again in the foreseeable
future. "The riders tested it and found no advantage," said technical director Corrado Cecchinelli. "It is not a priority at the
moment, but in the long term ... who knows." It is understood that
the extra stresses of firing adjacent cylinders simultaneously
caused reliability problems.
The latest version of the popular PlayStation 2 GP racing game MotoGP3 - was launched at Catalunya and is a big jump forward
from the realistic and popular predecessor. As well as a full house
of all MotoGP circuits, there are also new "imaginary" circuits to
bring the overall total up to 35 tracks. The new game has fourstroke and two-stroke MotoGP machines, all with individual cockpit views; while realism has been enhanced with the introduction
not only of front and rear weight shifts, but also a factor reflecting
fuel consumption so that the bikes become lighter during the
course of a race. The game becomes generally available in April.
The new Hondas made their first public appearance at Catalunya, showing a couple of different fairing designs for the factory
and the production versions. All are a little bulkier looking than
last year's skeletal cowling, offering a little more protection for
the rider in a similar silhouette. The full HRC machines of Rossi,
Hayden, Ukawa and Kato have a different ram-air configuration at
the fairing nose, without the projecting scoops of the production
machines. The other obvious outward difference between the two
categories of machine is the clutch: The unit on the factory
machines is extensively drilled to improve cooling, while the other
bikes have the plain outer surface as used last year. The Hondas
are the only machines not to take advantage of the increased
noise limits, running with much the same volume as last year,
for Yamaha as a fine racing organization."
when they were already among the quietest four-strokes. "We
have a health and safety issue conceming the mechanics' hear-
Loris Capirossi's winning time ~ carving two seconds off
the Montmelo lap record - made him the first winner of a new
BMW-sponsored competition for the best qualifier. The prize for
the first round was a $47,000 BMW 330Cd coupe. At the end of
the year, all qualifying times will be added together, and the rider
with the lowest aggregate will win a BMW ZS coupe. The delighted Capirossi donated his prize to his pit crew. They will sell the
car and split the proceeds.
ing." said Rossi's crew chief Jeremy Burgess.
The 200 mph barrier was comprehensively smashed for the
first time by a motorcycle at Catalunya, in the very first practice
session of this weekend's tests. And the first to do it was the
brand new Ducati. ridden by Loris Capirossi. He clocked 203.93
mph on the second day, the fastest speed ever recorded by a
racing motorcycle. By the end, only one other machine had done
it. And it was the other Ducati, ridden by Troy Bayliss, while Tohru
Ukawas Honda fell just short. By then Capirossi had gone faster
still to set a final top speed figure of 203.93 mph (32S,2 km/h).
Last year nobody quite reached 200 mph at the GP here, though
the Aprilia and Ukawas Honda had already done so at Mugello.
The top speeds were: 1. Capirossi (Ducati) 32S.2km/h; 2. Bayliss