Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

• W o r ld Championship Road Racing Seri e s Nakano ( Yam ); 9 . Carlos Chec e (Y a m ) ; 10 . T ro y Bay liss (Due); 11. Marco Melandri (Yam); 12. Alex Barros (Yam) ; 13. Colin Edwards (A pr); 14. Nortyuk l Haga (A pr) ; 15. Ryui chi Kiyonari (Hon) ; 16. J eremy McW ill iam s (Pro); 17. Kenn y Robert s J r. (Suz); 18. Andrew Pitt (Kaw); 19. David De Gee (WCM) . Ti m e: 4. min.• 36 .633 sec. Distan ce: 24 la ps. 73.40 mile s Average s pee d : 98 .72 mp h Ma rgin of victo ry: 3 .109 sec. Fa st es t lap: Vale ntino Rossi. la p 10, 1:50.453 125 WORlD C'S HIP POINTS STANDINGS (After 12 of 16 ro unds): I. Dan iel Pedrosa ( 188 / 4 wins ); 2. Ste fano Perugini (146/2 wins ); 3 . Alex De Angelis (140) : 4. Andrea Dovlzioso ( 130); 5. Pablo Nieto (124/1 wn); 6 . (llE) Lud o Cecchinellc ( 105/2 wins)/ Hector Barbera ( 105/1 win); 8. Steve Jenkner (104/1 win ); 9. Casey Stoner (80) ; 10. Youichi Ui (7 1); 11. Mirko Glensanti. (68 ); 12. Mika Kallio (59 ); 13. Gabor Telrnacsl (55) ; 14. Jorge Lorenzo {SOil win}; 15. Thomas Luthi (49). 250 WORlD C'SH IP POINTS STANDINGS (After 12 of 16 rou nd s) : 1. Manuel Pogg iali ( 190 /4 wins); 2. Roberto Rolfo (168/1 win); 3. Randy De Puniet (162/2 wins); 4. To ni Elias ( 15 1/3 wins) ; 5. Fonsi Nieto ( 143/1 win); 6. Anth ony West (118/1 win); 7. Franco Bettaini ( 1 17); 8 . Sebasti an Porto (109 ); 9 . Sylva in Guint oli (88); 10. Naokl Matsudo (86); 11. Alex Debon (57 ); 12. ' J oan O live (36 ); i3. Hect or Faubel (34 ); 14 . (ll E ) Erwan Nigon (2 1)/ Eric Batallle (21 )/ Alex Baldolini (2 1). ~ MOTOGP ORLO C' SHIP POIN TS STAN DINGS ' (A ft er 12 'of 16 ro und s) : I. Valenti no Rossi (262/q wins); 2. Sete Gibem au (21 1/4 Wins); 3. Max B i agg~ " (174/ 1 win); 4 . Loris Ce pirossi ( 123/1 win ); 5. Troy Bayliss ( 112) ; 6. Tohru Gk ewe (9 4) ; 7. Carlos Checa (93); 8. Nick y Hayden (85) ; 9 . A lex Barros (80); 10. Shinya Nak ano (77) ; 11. Makoto Tam oda (6 9) ; 12. O li vi er Ja cque (5 8) ; 13. Coli n Edwards (5 1) ; 14 . Noriyuki Haga (36) ; 15. Marco Meland ri ( 29 ). A n ot h e r ri der w ho strugg l e d at Rio was Carlos Checa (71 on the f a cto ry Fortuna Ya m aha . Che c a finished n inth, w ith teammate Melandrl(331 in 1 1th. pressmen. " I really hope Valentino comes to Yamaha. so he can find a direction to develop the bike. But I don't think even Rossi could win a race on the bike as it is at the moment. .. BRIEFLY••• Telefon ica MoviSt ar Hond a team owner Fausto Gresini has been enterta ining a number of riders keen to join Gibernau on a Honda next year. At least three riders have been observed to approach him; Kenny Roberts Jr .. Carlos Checa and Alex Barros. How ever. all three would have to find away out of their existing contracts fo r next year. Robert s with Suzuki and the other two with Yamaha. Cru cial questions about superhero Valentino Ro ssi's immediate future remained unansw ere d at Rio . and the cha mpion elect's prospects became more complex still. with Yamaha now also in the frame. as well as rumors of a very big-money offer from Marlboro to join Ducati. Meanwhile. Honda is still hanging on to its hopes that he will finally ink his name to the long-delayed two-year renewal. This originally had a deadline of J uly but has been frequently deferred and remains unsigned. The Marlbo ro offer is rumored to be an unprecedented $ 10 million for just one year but was firm ly denied by Marlboro chief Jacques Gobet. "W e have made no offer to Rossi. Our contract is with Ducan, not with the riders. and if they want to sign Rossi or Biaggi. that's fine. But we have not t ried to influence Ducat i to approach Rossi." he said. adding; " People talk about $ 10 million from Marlboro and that Yamaha have offered $12 million. It's a jo ke. Mu ch too much money. I don't think the sport is ready to pay that much to a rider." He aiso doubted that Rossi' s personal image and theatrical antics wou ld suit Marlboro's purposes. Rossi has already said how much he would iike to race for Ducati in an all-Italian squad. but Ducati team directo r Uvio Suppo denied that they had even spoken to Rossi. "They are all just rumors." he said. V alentino Rossi has emphatically gone back to his old ways . After reintroducing the post-race theatricals at Bmo. he arrived in Brazil with his hair dyed yellow and green. the .colors of the national flag. The retum of the teenage funster coincided wit h a significant return to race-winning form as well. Or perhaps it no coincidence. Perhaps he has remembered how to enjoy racing again. is The third in Marlboro Ducatl's strange series of art-meets-racing photoshoot s was released in Brazil. Previously Capirossi and Bayliss have appeared dressed as cherubs. and naked. in elaborate stage-set studios. The latest tableau project s them far into the future and changes them into man-lizards. in a strange vision of the year 3053. " Finlike bones jut from their backs. They have become mutants." reads the accorppenymq high-camp text. The pictu re incl udes a c ouple of real iguanas and a Desmosedic i wrapped in cling-film to simulate a block of ice (I'm not quite sure why). Art being art . however, both riders appear to have submitted to their fate with good humor. There is also the question of Rossi's riding for a tobacco sponsor; In the past he has refused and two years ago scotc hed a deal betw een HRC and a prospect ive Japanese tobacco sponsor . forcing them to retum to a cut-price deal with Repsol. Earlier this year. howeve r, he said; " If the choice is a cigarette sponsor or no race. I prefer to race." Yamaha's entry into the game emerged in the break afte r the Portuguese GP. when Yamaha racing boss Un .Jarvis was spotted in Italy. where he was meeting Rossi' s manager Gibo Badioli. J arv is w as no t in Brazil . and tea m manage r D av id e Br ivio dec lined to co mme nt o n wh en Yam aha had approached Rossi. "There has not been an offe r: he said. "Bu t Rossi know s that if he decides not to stay with Honda. we are ready to talk." B rivio wou ld not give details on how much Yamaha would be prepared to pay to get the champion on the M 1. ' W e know it would be expensive. since he is somebody special. " Bnvio said. "The price will depend on offers in the market. But I don't think that money will be the deciding facto r. It will be that Rossi want s a new challenge." Rossi' s delay affect s almost every team and those riders who do not have a contract fo r next year. Only once Rossi has decided will the res t of the jigsaw begin to take fonn . If he does decide to go to D ucat i, it would probably take him in to the factory team. It is thought to be close to a deal with the d' Antin team to run two riders. with one bike earmarked for World Superbike C hampion Neil Hodgson. If Rossi signs. it has been suggested that Troy Bayiiss would be moved to that team to make space for Valentino. S uzuka has been dropped from next year' s GP calendar. as a result of the accident there this year. when Daijiro Kato sustained fatal injuries on the third lap of the race. The announcement came on the eve of the Rio GP. in a state ment from the FlM . The decision was taken by the new Grand Prix Safety Commission. fo rmed in May of this year. The reason was that the long-tenn program of w orks. aimed at improving safety. will not be able to be completed in time for the race. originally scheduled to open the season on April 4 . The Japanese GP will now take the Septe mber 19 slot at Mot egi. with the name to be changed from Pacific to .Japa nese GP. The move cuts the schedule to 16 races. with the season now starting in South Africa on Ap ril 4 . How much longer wil l the 9 90cc MotoGP c lass last? Perhaps not much longer. and there is a groundswell of opinion that the engine capacity will have to be reduced for safety reasons... the current MotoGP bikes are already faster than Fl cars in top speed . if not lap times. Afte r HRC' s Portu guese press briefing. president Siguru Kanazawa admitted that they might have to consider reducing the capacity to cut speeds. "This has happened in Ft racing several times." he said. In the statement about Suzuka's cancellation. the GP Safety Commission reminded everyone that they have asked the manufacturers' association. the MSM A. " to review technical regulations. taking into account the general performanc e and behavio r of the racing mot orcycles. and its consequence on safety ." One person would welcome the arrival of Rossi at Yamaha... his compatriot M arco Melandri. The 250 champion is having a difficult first MotoGP season on the Fortuna Yamaha. and in Rio he gave the Italian press the full benefit of his negative opinion of a machine that was making it diffic ult (he said) to maintain his interest in racing. Melandri criticized the lack of deve lopment direction and Ihe fact that the more experienced Yamaha riders didn' t seem to be able to find a way out of the situation that has kept the M 1 in a frustrating almost-there position. One rider blames the chassis. the other blames the engine (meaning Checa and Barros). he told 30 OCTOBER 1 .2003' c ue I e n e A new c ircuit b u ilt at B a hrain has an interesting approach to the growing problem of different requirements betwee n motorcycles and cars . The track. scheduled to host an F1 race next year. has interchangeable run-off surfac tnq... hard-standing tarmac as required for the cars . which can be lifte d and replaced _ s Upco ming Rounds : Round 13: Mo1 egi, Japan, October 5 Round 14: Sepang, Malaysia. Octo ber 12 with gravel t raps fo r mot orcycles.If the sys tem is succes sful and can be adopted... Bahrain carpet tiles? Kawa saki has been testing a powe r-up engine for the Motegi race. a year after the green machine's debut at the Pacific GP. But there are bigger changes planned for next year's machine. including a change in direct ion of crankshaft rotation from forwa rd to backwa rd. Kawasaki is also understood to be considering a V4 engine and has approach ed KTM with a view of picking up the project recently abandoned by the Aust rian firm. Two Suzuki team members had a lucky escape in notoriously crime-ridden Rio. They were in a taxi in stationary traffic in one of the major main-road tunnels. which pierce the granite mountains Oike the Sugar Loaf) and are a spectacular feature of the city. when a gunman attempted to rob them. Driver/ mechanics Graham Malyk and Mark Fleming saw the motorcycle coming up. then noticed that the passenger was carrying a pistol. He noticed their taxi and tried to get the rider to stop... but by the time he did so. they were ahead of the taxi. They tried to tum around to get back to their victims. but there were to o many ot her moto rcycles . so they had to abandon the attempt. "The taxi driver took all the back roads back to our hotel... but when we walked the last few yards. there was somebody in the st reet who had just been shot. " said a reiieved Malyi<. Valentino Rossi left the question of his future tantalizingly open. Asked whether he would consider moving to Yamaha. he replied; " Change would be very courageous. like I have always said. I would prefer to stay with Honda. I think it wo uld not be easy to win on a Yamaha. but why not ? I think Hond a and Ducati have made ext rao rdinary bikes th is yea r. but t hey are only at the front because they have the best riders. For me. the riders are the ones who make the difference." John Hopkins was out of the Rio GP afte r a heavy crash in the final session from the laggardly Suzuki GSV -R. The bike snapped sideways in the middle of the final comer and too k the 20-year-old rising star on a wild rodeo ride before flicking him off and chasing him off the track. Hopkins was stretchered off but climbed off at the verge and walked over a temporary footbridge to retum to the pits. Halfway across. the pain kicked in. and any hopes of getting out again we re dashed. "The only rear tire we'd been able to run is a real soft compound that would probably only last a quarter of race distance. We've been trying hard all weekend to get the bike set right so it can use a harder tire. which I was using on that lap. It was sliding everywhere and spinning up. Then on the last tum it stepped out real early and caught me way off guard." explained Hopkins. "It pitched me up and started bucking me. flipping between my legs - I had a foot peg stab me in one leg and then another on the other shin. and then when it tossed me off . my thumb seemed to get jammed and bent right back. l'm in a lot of pain right now. and with the situation we 're in. in no position to fight for a championship. I think I'll sit this race out and wait for some improvement. The German"based Eckl K awa sa k i team have been test ing a home-brewed chassis. built independently of Kawasaki by independent Swiss constructo r Eskil S uter, who also built the Petro nas Superbike. Sources close to the team revealed that the chassis is smaller and lighter than the massive fact ory structu re and also mounts the engine lower . It may never race, however, having been built at least partly to spur the factory into making changes on its own account. Why. after all. would a huge company like Kawasaki need to go to a small Swiss operation for such basic technology?

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