Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

Briefly... Sepang HRC Test: Biaggi Quickest H o nda completed its third and final day of testing at the Malaysian Sepang circuit on January 22 with Camel Honda's Max Biaggi continuing to set the pace for the Honda RC211V-mounted men . Biaggi lapped at 2:02 .SB5 on the final day after putting in 50 laps. "It' s been a qu ite good three days here in Se pang," Biaggi said in a team release. "The temperature helps a lot; it means we can play around with setup and test many different tires . I always felt com forta ble here and have been consistently fast ; that's the main thing. I'm happy with what equipment I've got at the mome nt ; it 's defi nitely an improvement on what we had before, but we have to look to the quickest be hind Biaggi, the Spaniard lapping at 2:02 .7. "It was a very strange and difficult day," Gibernau said after the final day. "I went out with a new engine this morning. and it broke almost immediately. I had the choice to put in yesterday's engine or stop. so we decided to carry on but take th ings easy and maybe even limit its performance slightly to not go through the same problem. I wanted to do this to try and get some new information for Michelin by doing an endurance session. The front tires we used were a com pletely new generation, and initially we were in the 2'02, 2'0 3 level, but it dropped off. We had bad luck, but physically and mentally th is is good pre paration for late r future. and we will hope for even more on in t he season w hen th ings might no t go deve lopments because that is what it is all about . I and the team w ill all be trying 100 percen t to do our best , so we are loo king so well." As fo r the Ame ricans, Repso l Ho nda's Nicky Hayden's 2:03.2 was just a te nth better t han Gibernau 's teamm ate Colin Edwards, the Texan having lapped at 2:03.3. "I was wor ried before co ming here because I knew I had to do lots of laps on the 17-inch fro nt for Michelin, w hich I have n't do ne for four years since I began working on the 16.5 with the Supe rbike ," Edwards said. "I think I maybe felt a bit of the fear of change from that today. I ran a 17 all day, and the work the Mo toGP guys have done on this means tha t it makes a big d ifference. I'd say I'm no w at SO-SO between the two. The 17 o n th e Honda makes it feel balanced and more com fortable - it's not that elsewhere it necessarily will, but I have to make my own decisions and not think about other people's prefer- forward to cont inuing our work here in a co uple of weeks time. " Not everyone had a good final day in Ho nda Land, as Biaggi's teammate Makoto Tamada had a tire go bad on the fron t stra ight, ending his day. Tamada uses Bridgesto ne tires, unlike Biaggi, w ho uses Michelin rubbe r. "It had been a good co uple of days testing until today, but these sort of things happen," Tamada said. "We have worked well with the new engine we have bee n given, working in many different areas to improve the all-'round setup of the bike . The engine is smoother fo r the tires now, but it can still get better, so despite finishing early today, I look fo rwa rd to our next test session to test things further. " Telefonica MoviStar Ho nda's Sete Gibernau ended the test as the se cond ences," For Hayden. it was a return to action after missing Honda's first test with his wrist injury. "It was great to get back on the bike after the winter break," Hayden said . "Over the three days we got faster and faste r, and the bike felt better and bett er. Some of the new Michelins w e tested were ve ry goo d, and we tried both 17-inch and 16.5 fro nts . The new e ngine parts work well, and I'm really loo king fo rward to riding the new 2004 bike back her e in a month. Sepang isn't on e of my favorite tracks on the GP circuit , but I'm fee ling mo re co mfortable and co nfident here than I have ever felt." Camel Honda's Max Biaggi was the fastest of the Honda men in Sepang. "This is the 18th consecutive year that Harley-Davidson has achieved records for both revenue and net inco me, " said Jeffrey L. Bleustein. chairman and chie f executive o ffi- cer of Harley- Davidson, lnc., in a Harley release. "We had a phenomenal year full of memorable once-in-a-lifetime experiences surrounding our I 00th anniversary. Int ro - ducing the Harley-Da vidson brand to hundreds of thousands of potential customers has undoubtedly sparked the dream of ownership and created new excitement for our products. ''Aswe begin our 10 Ist year, we expect to grow the business furt he r with OUf proven ability to deliver a continuous stream of exciting new motorcycles, related products and services. We have set a new goal for the corn pany to be able to satisfy a yearly demand of 400,000 Harley-Davidson motorcycles in 2007 . By offering innovative products and services, and by driving productivity gains in all facets of our business . we are co nfident that we can deliver an earnings growth rate in the midteens for the foreseea ble fut ure : ' The Sports Car Racing Association of the Mo nterey Peninsula (SCRAMP) and Mazda Raceway Lagu na Seca, th e facility SCRAM P operates, won the 2003 Busine ss of the Year award given by the Monterey Peninsula chamber of commerce. The award was presented at the chamber's 96th annual Inaugural Celebration & Awa rds Dinne r held Saturday, January 17, at the Do ubleTree Hotel in downtown Monterey, California . "What a great way to start the New Year," said Gill Campbell, general manager. "We' re honored to be rec ognized and realize this award wou ld not be possib le without the spirit and support of the en tire community. Last year was a d iffic ult o ne for SC RAMp, just as it was for many co mpan ies affecte d by the current economy, and that limited us be ing able to do as much as we have in the past. But we accept this awa rd as acknowledgment; not o nly for last year, but also fo r the e ntire 47 years that SCRAMP has produced major races and co ntr ibuted million s of do llars to the Monterey Peninsula com mun ity." Road race r John Han e r has inked a dea l with Hooters Suzuki that will see the Pea rland, Texas, residen t run ning Hoote rsbacked Suzuki GSXR-I ooOs in the AMNChevy Trucks U.S. Superbike Series in the coming seas on. Haner's deal also involves a C MRAboard member and three former-CMRA racers w ho will provide travel and expense money. "It's gon na be excellent support, and there is pretty good money behind the team, so everything looks really good," said Haner of the deal . "We'll be run ning Superstock and Superbike classes, and I will have two brand-new Superstock bikes and one Superbike at every event. Mike Fargnoli, who was with Corona Suzuki last year, is the crew chief for my Hoo ter 's Suzuki team this year and has put together an exciting package ." Haner and the Hooter's Suzuki Team will o pen the season at Daytona in March. However, the team will be testing at the CC S Formula USA event the week before. Jeremy McGrath's first-ever appearance at a Wal·Mart en ded with the supercross legen d selling almost 350 books in just an ho ur, according to his publicist. O ne fan boug ht 43 copies of the book as gifts and fo r many of his friends w ho we re working that afternoon and were unable to make it to the Lon g Beach, California , store . Overwhelming demand has pro mpted req ues ts for McGrath to do mo re Wal-Mart signings with requests also comi ng from loca l Southern California Barnes and Nobles, where the book has been a virtual sellout since it hit shelves on January 6, according to McGra th' s publicist. Young road racer Chris Peris took part in Rich Oliv er's Mystery School S-Day Pro Camp last week whe re he was a standout student, according to O live r. "Chris is really quiet, very talented and well-spoken," Oliver said in a release. "He spends a lot of time just listening and soaking it all in. He has lots of speed and energy; all we are doing now is refining and focusing that speed so he can put it to good use this season in AMA 600 Supersport. I think he's going to be one to watch this year." www.cyclenews.com The Era of the Mo to rcycle motorcycle ex hibitio n will be displayed at th e Museum of Arts and Scien ces in Dayto na Be ach , Flo rida , from February 27, the first week of Bike Week 2004, through April 25. The ex hibit, which mark s the first gathering of vintage bikes in a museum setting d uring Dayto na Beach's Bike Week, is a chro no logical display of vintage , specia l-interest and custom bikes. Showcased will be nearly 50 motorcycles from the early 19OOs, including examples from American, British, German, Italian and Japanese makers. Also o n display will be special-interest bikes from vintage race and record-holding bikes to the latest jet bike, according to even t pro moters. The Museum of Arts and Scie nces is located on Nova Road , two miles sou th of Inte rnational Spee dway Boulevard, in Dayto na Beach. Museu m ho urs d uring Bike Wee k are Mo nday through Friday 9 a.m . to 4 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday from noon to 5 p.m. Admission is $8 per adult. Fo r mo re information , call 386/255-0285. Geo rge Byron "Buzz" Meiferdt, a longserving AMA official, d ied Monday, January 19, at his ho me in Port O range, Flo rida. He was 79. Meiferdt and his wife, Carol, traveled the coun try to work at AMA race s fo r nearly 50 years. He worked primarily in technical inspectio n, te sting engine sound levels and mak ing sure riders were able to receive all the contingency money available to them. He ret ired from the racing circuit after the 2000 season. "He was a great guy to work with," said AHA Pro Racing Flat Track Series manager Bruce Bober. "He always had a positive attitude and kept things light by always jo king around. He loved racing and the people involved. You have to love it to do it as lo ng as he and Carol did." Meiferd t was an Army ve teran of World War II. He retired to Florida in 1977 fro m his birthplace, Jo liet, Illinois. Survivors include his wife of 56 years, Carol; two sons , Russell and Richard; and three gra ndchildren . Memorial donations may be made to Hospice of Volusia/Flagler, 3800 Wood briar Trail, Po rt O range, FL 32129 ; or to First United Methodist Ch urch of Po rt O range Building Fund, 305 Dunlawton Avenu e , Po rt Orange , FL32127. The 13th annual Las Vegas Vintage, Classic and Spe cial Int e r e st Motorcycle A uc t ion will be held February 5-7 at the Tropicana Hotel and Casino Pavillionin Las Vegas, Nevada. Pro moted by MidAmerica Auctions, the world's largest vintage moto rcycle auc tion company, according to MidAmerica Auctions , the eve nt will feature over 400 motorcycles. Among the featured bikes will be the collections of Hugh Anderson, a renowned former road racer fro m New Zealand. For more info rm ation, call 651/633-9655 . At its annual awards banquet held in Davis. California, on January 10, Ron Woods Rotax Motorcycles' Ma rk Co rsetti was crowned as the 2004 District 36 Dirt Track Champion for a third time . CYCLE N EWS • FEBRUARY 4, 2004 11

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