Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

Superbike World Championship Round 8: Brands Hatch of the other riders are very slow midturn, but then they have the acceleration out the corners. The Kawasaki is improving step by step, and I am looking forward to the rest of the season." World Championship leader Ten Kate Honda's Chris Vermeulen had the same problems as Muggeridge and went sixth. With Alstare Suzuki's Katsuaki Fujiwara only ninth, Vermeulen's championship lead is still impressive, and van den Goorbergh moved into second place in the title race at the Japanese rider's expense. Vermeulen said he would be happy with a good top-five finish at Brands, and sure enough he wasn't too chuffed with sixth. An unhappy bunch of German riders, Christian Kellner and his teammate Jorg Teuch~rt were out of the running for wins, with Teuchert blaming his usual poor qualifying for his race woes. Teuchert was also in the wars, almost high siding himself after setting what was the fastest lap of the race at one point. That particular accolade went to Chambon, the new lap record holder on the altered track layout, with a 1:29.149. Fujiwara had more race problems than most, dropping from seventh to ninth in the last couple of laps, a rear tire problem to blame. Alessio Corradi, the fastest semifactory Yamaha rider, slotted his Spadaro into tenth, blaming a bogged-down motor for his 14th place at the start of the first lap. Ian Macpherson's sore forearms didn't help his cause any at home, and young Tom Sykes made a big impression in his first Supersport ride, going 12th and inside the top 50 percent of finishers. There were no jump-starts in Supersport, but there were a couple of falls other than Cruciani's. Werner Daemen sUd off, Simone Sanna ran out of room, and Dean Thomas retired. A tough day for Pere Riba put him 13th on his factory Kawasaki. Christophe Cogan and Broc Parkes slipped to 14th and 15th after some recent good showings - like many of the other riders who had to suffer a wet then dry qualifying session. Vermeulen exited his old racing base of England with a points total of last year in the most complicated aggregate race in history. This year the unwanted complication was that the scheduled 23-lap race was cut to 21 when Kawasaki Bertocchi's Stefano Cruciani crashed and went under the protective airfence - with his hard and unyielding motorcycle for company. Cruciani was unhurt, in spite breaking his back protector in half, something of a lucky escape at what is still one of the more dangerous tracks on the calendar. The race was called at lap 21, and a few people won and lost positions as a result. Sebastien Charpentier may have come under the influence of the reigning world champion (more on him later), but nonetheless one of the series' many other Frenchmen took his Klaffi Honda to his first podium of the year, not bad for a rider saved from unemployment by the exit of Gianluigi Scalvini from Klaffi's crowd after Phillip Island. Early presence in a podium place Karl Muggeridge survived fading tires to score fourth on his Ten Kate Honda. He went for a harder rear compound and found out that as the race went on, it actually lost grip faster than van den Goorbergh's softer one. This was a mystery to him and to most others. "The bike was working well, but I just couldn't get the power to the ground very well," Muggeridge said. "From the beginning it was already starting to slide, but I thought it would stay that way and no more, but after about eight laps it started to spin. It was down to choice because some of the other guys chose a stage softer Pirelli, and theirs seemed to work better." Kawasaki's Fabien Foret followed up his outlandish Misano win with fifth place in England, a great ride again, especially as he had his usual lessthan-blistering start. Down on power he may be, but down on love of the podium he isn't. He even rode around the outside of Karl Muggeridge at one point - sailed past him at Druids maybe just to show he could. '" am happy, but it is still very difficult to be at the front," Foret said. '" was riding on the limit because some BRIEFLY••• Although official SBK technical rules for the foreseeable future were not on display at Brands. it is known that there will be no great changes for twins and triples but that four-cylinder 1000cc machines will have: free rods, free pistons, standard primary gear ratios. standard cam lift but adjustable cam timing. more than two gearbox internals lAMA sticks with two). standard cranks, with polished bearing surfaces but not external surfaces. same valve materials as stock. same size stems and head, and an ability to machine or add material to the heads. to gas flow them but not to change the inclined valve angles or valve lift. Anything not speCifically mentioned is to be excluded. Depending on a final decision, either the standard throttle bodies or one alternate will 18 AUGUST 6, 2003' cue I e n e VII" 141. A good total, still catchable, but it looks like the rest will battle for second unless the young Aussie has some poor luck. Van den Goorbergh (on 104) and Fujiwara (on 103) are enjoying a real fight with each other, but do not rule out the presence of Chambon, in fourth on exactly 100 points. Kellner sits fifth, a bit behind on 78. There are a lot of miles in this championship still, a lot of potential pitfalls for all the top runners, and it will be a nervy five-week wait for some of them until the title gets under way again at Assen. The race may have been shortened, but Brands WSS 2003 was relatively incident-free, and thanks were sajd in many pits afterwards. We've now had five different wi~ ners, with van den Goorbergh the only leading top-five rider yet to pin a full pointer on his corkboard. Will he do it at home? Will he do it at all? Three chances left, for him and everyone else. eN Brands Hatch Brands Hatch, England Results: July 21, 2003 (Round 9J SUPERPOLE: I. John Reynolds (I :35.706): 2. Chris Walker (I :36.299): 3. Shane Byme (I :36.320): 4. Regis Laconi (1:36.419); 5. Michllel Rutter (1:36.630): 6. Ruben Xaus (1:36.663): 7. Sean Emmett (1:37.915): 8. James Toseland (1:38.319): 9. Leon Haslam (1 :38.336); 1D. Pier Francesco Chili (I :38.351): 11. Neil Hodgson (1 :38.415): 12. Troy Corser (1:38.613): 13. Gregorio Lavilla (1:38.940): 14. Dean Ellison (1:41.563); 15. Marco Borciani (I :44.026): 16. Ivon Clementi (I :44.532): 17. Yukio Kogayoma (1:27.892); 18. Steve Mortin (1:28.312): 19. Lucio Pedercini (I :28.499); 20. Alessandro Gramigni (1 :28.589); 21. Mauro Sanchlni (t :28.926); 22. Jomes Hoydon (1:29.016); 23. Juan Borio (I :29.0 17): 24. Serafino Fuertes (I :29.579); 25. Nick Medd (I :29.862): 26. Wolter Tortoroglio (I :30.375): 27. Jiri Mrkyvka (1 :30.871); 28. Luea Pedersoli (1 :31.625): 29. Gianearlo De Matteis (1 :32.189). SUPERBIKE RACE ONE: 1. Shane Byrne (Due): 2. Neil Hodgson (Due); 3. Chris Walker (Due); 4. Regis Laconi (Due); 5. Sean Emmett (Due); 6. James Toseland (Due); 7. Gregorio Lllvilla (Suz); 8. Michael Rutter (Due); 9. Pier Francesco Chili (Due); 10. Yukio Kagayama (Suz): 11. Dean Ellison (Due): 12. Juan Borja (Due); 13. Ivan Clementi (Kaw); 14. Steve Martin (Due); 15. Mauro Sanchini (Kaw); 16. Alex Gramigni (Yam); 17. James Haydon (Pet); 18. Giancarlo De Matteis (Due); 19. Lucio Pedercini (Due). Time: 36 min., 25.400 sec. Distance: 25 laps. 65.053 miles Average speed: 107.162 mph Margin of victory: 5.799 sec. Fastest lap: lap 13, 1:26.755, Shane Byrne SUPERBIKE RACE TWO: 1. Shane Byrne (Due): 2. John Reynolds (Suz): 3. James Toseland (Due); 4. Ruben Xaus (Due): 5. Neil Hodgson (Due); 6. Gregorio Lavilla (Suz); 7. Pier Francesco Chili (Duc); 8. Regis Laconi (Due); 9. Yuklo KagaYEIma (Suz); 10. Leon Haslam (Due); II. Alex Gramigni (Yam); 12. Dean Ellison (Due); 13. Ivan Clementi (Kaw): 14. Marco Borciani (Due); 15. Mauro Sanchini (Kaw); 16. Lucio Pedercini (Due); 17. Sergio Fuertes (Suz). Time: 36 min., 25.639 sec. Distance: 25 laps. 65.053 miles Average speed: 107.162 mph Margin of victory: .539 sec. Fastest lap: lap 12, John Reynolds, 1:26.167 WORLD C'SHIP POINTS STANDINGS (After 9 of 12 rounds): I. Neil Hodgson (386/11 wins): 2. Ruben Xaus (246/3 wins); 3. JlImes Toseland be allowed. Noise limits will go Up to 107db (plus or minus 3dB at the end of the race). and differential weight limit for each class of engine will be brought in - 369.6 Ibs. for 1000cc fours, 356.4 Ibs. for twins and 900cc triples, 365.2 Ibs. for 1000cc triples. Stan· dard air boxes are under <;liscussion, but are not for sure yet. In Supersport. the bikes will have the low weight limit of 356.4 Ibs. the factories wanted to have, plus uprated water pumps. The traditional open air, publiC and media Superpole Press Conference had to be cancelled at Brands. as the weather played its evil hand in proceedings. An FIM announcement on the Friday at Brands Hatch delivered the proposed dates for the 2004 World Superbike Championship. This is significant because the early release is seen by some ultracynics as an assurance that there will actually be a World Superbike Championship class next year. T~e venues S (227/1); 4. Regis Lacon! (208): 5. Gregorio Ulvilla (185); 6. Chris Walker (172); 7. Pier Francesco Chili (IS9); 8. Steve Martin (97); 9. Marco Borciani (95); 10. Lucio Pedercini (91); 11. Mauro Sanchini (70); 12. Troy Corser (64); 13. Juan Borja (59); 14. Giovllnnl Busse; (52); 15. Shane Byrne (50/2 wins). WORLD SUPERSPORT QUALIFYING: 1. Stephane Chambon (1 :28.468); 2. Fabien Foret (1 :28.692): 3. Korl Muggeridge (1 :28.760): 4. Chris Venneulen (1:28.828); 5. Jurgen Van Den Goorbergh (1:29.067); 6. Sebastien Charpentier (1:29.114); 7. Katsuaki Fujiwara (1 :29.146); 8. Christian Kellner (1:29.196): 9. Tom Sykes (1:29.469): 10. AIIesio Corradi (1:29.552): 11. Matthieu Lagrive (1:29.603): 12. Werner Delemen (1:29.640); 13. Jorge Teuchert (1:29.716): 14. Deon Thomas (1:29.720): 15. Ian MelcPherson (I :29.86'1); 16. Brock Pelrkes (1:29.861): 17. Robert Ulm (1:29.878): 18. Christophe Cogan (1 :29.884); 19. Pere Riba (1:29.918): 20. Stefano Crueiani (1:30.025): 21. Gianluca Nannelli (1:30.117); 22. Simone Sanna (1:30.134): 23. Borry Veneman (1:30.183): 24. Thierry Van Dan Bosch (I :30.294); 25. Jamie Robinson (I :30.482): 26. Jan Hanson (I :30.665): 27. Michael Laverty ( I :31.087). WORLD SUPERSPORT: 1. Stephane Chambon (Suz); 2. Jurgen Van Den Goorbergh (Yam): 3. Sebastien Charpentier (Han); 4. Karl Muggeridge (Hon); 5. Fabien Foret (Kaw); 6. Chris Vermeulen (Hon); 7. Christian Kellner (Yam); 8. Jorge Teuchert (Yam); 9. Katsuaki Fujiwara (Suz); 10. Aliesio Corradi (Yam); 11. leln MacPherson (Hon); 12. Tom Sykes (Yam); 13. Pere RlbEi (Kaw); 14. Christophe Cogan (Han); 15. Brock Parkes (Hon); 16. Stefano Cruciani (Kaw); 17. Matthieu Lligrive (Yam); 18. Robert Ulm (Han); 19. Barry Veneman (Han); 20. Jamie Robinson (Yam); 21. Michael Laverty (Han); 22. Jan Hanson (Han); 23. Gianlucll Nannelli (Yam); 24. Thierry Van Dan Bosch (Yllm). Time: 31 min., 28.121 sec. Distance: 21 Illps, 54.64 miles Average speed: 104.189 mph Margin or victory: 7.045 sec. Fastest lap: lap 6, 1:29.149, Stephane Cham bon WORLD C'SHIP POINTS STANDINGS (After 8 of 11 rounds): '1. Chris Vermeulen (141/4 wins); 2. Jurgen Van Den Goorbergh (104); 3. Katsuaki Fujiwara (103/1 win); 4. Stephane Cham bon (100/1 win); 5. Christian Kellner (78/1 win); 6. Allesio Corradi (63); 7. Karl Muggeridge (59); 8. Fabien Foret (54/1 win): 9. (TIE) Jorge Teuchert (49)/Pere Riba (49). Upcoming Rounds: Round 10: Assen, Netherlands, September 7 Round 11: Imola, Italy, September 28 are largely the same as in previous years, with a switcheroo of the running order and dates. San Marino at Misano jumps earlier in the year: Magny Cours goes two weeks further away from the possibility of ground frost. Although few believe that the two TBAs will be anything but the usual phantom rounds. it is maybe significant that Misano has moved away from its traditional slot to make way for one TBA. Possible new rounds Include one in Canada at Mont Tremblant. one in Malaysia or even a second American race - although probably none at all and only 12 yet again. February 29. Spain. Valencia: March 7, tba. tba: March 28, Australia. Phillip Island: April 18, San Marino. Misano: May 2, Japan, Sugo (tbc); May 16, Italy. Monza: May 30, Germany. Oschersieben: June 13, Great Britain. Silverstone; June 27. tba. tba: July 11, United States. Laguna Seca: July 25. Great Britain. Brands Hatch: September 5, Netherlands. Assen: September 26, Italy. Imola: October 3. France, Magny-Cours.

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