Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

w Nicky Flies! D epsol Honda's Nicky Hayden leapt to I"the top of the pack on the final day of the testing at the Sepang circuit in Malaysia last week, clocking the fastest-ever lap by a motorcycle, well under the pole time from the O ct obe r Malaysian Grand Prix. In swel teringly hot conditi ons , Hayden led a Honda sweep of the to p four spots by posting a 2:01.94, under the 2:02.48 Valentino Rossi clocked in taking the pole fo r the race , and better than the benchmark 2:02.S8S that Camel Honda's Max Biaggi had run in testing earlier th is year. No doubt it was done on a q ualifying tire, and some will suggest with the help of parts on ly the Repsol Honda squad has access to . Still, for the second-year rider to best all comers is an accom plishme nt to be justly proud of. "I'd be lying if I said it didn't fee l good, but I've got to remember this is still only practice!" Hayden said in a team release. So confiden t was the team that they packed up at lunch after setting the fast t ime , the ir development program co mplete. "It really helps to be comfortable with the team, and I think it shows," Hayden said. "We've done a good job over the last few days, and I'm happy. We 've had a few problems , but we are more experienced about fixingthem now. I've never been that good in testing - I'm usually best on Sunday, so we're feelin' positive . The bike feels s o o "" engine before stopping a litg good - Honda has made a great bike even better over the winter. The 16.S-inch front feels real good - just like I'm used to with a Superbike. I just feel I can be more focused on riding the bike this year than last. Last year I guess I had some excuses ~ I was learning. This year I wanna win races . I'm looking forward to getting down to Phillip Island - a track I really like - and getting the bike to go fast there. T hen back to Euro pe for more tests; then racing . I can't wait ." Biaggi, w ho'd been fast the first two days, ended the tes t wit h the second-faste st time , his 2:02.108 his best lap ever in Sepang and nearly fo ur-ten th s of a se cond up on Telefonica MoviStar Honda's Set e Gibernau. '~other good day for me at this track," Biaggi said. "1show ed I can go fast in these difficult conditions, and co nsistently, too, so tha t is a good thing. The 16.S-inch fro nt tire from Michelin gives me a lot of co nfidence on the fro nt end of the bike, wh ich is so important from the rider's point of view. I like it a lo t!" Gibernau ran 21 laps in a row, the race distance, and the time was "q uite a bit quic ker than in the race here," the Spaniard said. "Tha t's alone, without the stress and pres sure of a race, too. That makes me happy; g tie o the new engine spec. 2 n, and motorcycle accessories, has been an associate sponsor of Murphree since great improvement because and it gives me more torque that's what we wanted. We were putt ing 2:02s together, and that 's why I'm happy. We want to be the re at the first race ." Gibernau's te am mate Coli n Edwards ende d the tes t with the fourth-fastest time w hile conti nuing to acclimate to his team and the rewo rked Hon da RC-2 11 V. "When you get w ith a new bike, yo u start from scra tch, and the key is to gath er as much information as possible so that when you get to the first race , you know what to do , what to change, w hat sett ing you're look ing for," the Texan said. "At the moment, I'm just getting tha t information together. The bank is not full, but it's getting there." Gauloises Fortuna Yamaha's reigning World Champion Valentino Rossi was fifth fastest, running once again with a prototype 200 I. Murp hree ho pes the additional support of Natio nal Cycle will help him garner the title this year. "Barry and Ann Willey, the ir fam ily and all th e emp loyees of National Cycle are all flrstclass," Murp hree said. With tha t kind of company behin d you , anyth ing is poss ible ." Team owner Tim Coziahr shared Murphree's o pt imism . "We're thrilled to extend o ur relationship with Nat ional Cycle and welcome them as a co -sponsor:' Coziahr said. "W ith National Cycle increasing their involvement, this team is capable of great th ings. We have the best rider in Johnny Murphree, the best tuner Mike Wheeler - and now we have added the leader in motorcycle windsh ields and motorcycle accessories . We're all looking forward to Daytona, the start of the new season and a very successful year." National Cycle president Barry W iley said that this is a very exciting time for National Cycle to be involved with Murph ree and nat trac k racing on the whole. "AHA Flat Track racing has an extremely loyal fan base who ride their motorcycles hundreds of miles to each race:' Wiley said. "We loo k fo rwa rd to showcasing ou r product line to them so they can enjoy th e comfort and style of a Nat ional Cycle winds hield. We are sure that our association w ith Johnny Murph ree and the Co ziahr Har leyDavidso n/ Nation al Cycle Team w ill he lp showcase o ur line of quality motorcycle accessories. W e invite everyone to attend an AMA Progress ive Insurance Flat Track race near them . It's moto rcycle racing at its best." For more info rmatio n o n National Cycle , visit its we bsite at www.nationalcycle.com to g. view its online catalo For more information abo ut Murphree, check ou t www.j ohnnymurphree.com. MOVED: PI8mate Inc./Glove Boy, to 7713 De nsmore Avenue , Van Nuys, CA 91406, B8814S6-8269 , 818/902-9005 , 8181902-9201 (fax). OPENED: Mach I Y amah a's ho me page on the World Wide Web. The site can be found at the following addr ess : http://www.machl yamah a.co m . HIRED: Thomas R.Wie as CEO of Kasea Mot orsports, effective immediately; Judith A Maier as vice preside nt of Kasea Moto rsports , effective immediately; and Scot Steffyas direc tor of public relations for Kasea Motorspo rts , effective immediately. 14 FEBRUARY 25, 2004 • CYCLE NEWS ''At this test the new engine spec has given us a I can accelerate more easity, National Cycle Invests in Murphree National Cycle Inc. has moved up to the role of co-sponsor of the Coziahr Harley- Davidson Racing Team, which will again field twotime AMA Prog ressive Insurance U.S. Flat Track Championships runner-up Jo hnny Murph ree in 2004 series campaign . Na tional Cy cle, a lead er in moto rcycle win dshiel ds, fairi ng earlier than expected iii due to a small problem with 40th Anniversary from the bottom," Rossi said. "This is only the first prototype , so for sure there is much more work to do, and there is not enough horsepower right now. I think if I had not had to finish a bit early, then I co uld pro bably have gone faste r. Phillip Island will be a very important tes t becau se we need to understand how much time the bike takes to setup at a new track; the Yamaha has a re putati o n for needing a lot of cha nges each time it moves to a new circuit. But then, of cou rse , it's one story when you have three days at a tes t to work on setup, and q uite ano ther when you have abo ut three hours in a race we ekend. For now we will go to Phillip Island with ou r current settings and see how we get on ." Kenny Roberts Jr. sat out the final day of the test , pre ferring to rest for an upcoming test at Phillip Island in Australia after crash ing out on the forst day of the test because of a tire failure. Repsol To Superstock Repso l, the world's seventh-largest petroleum company, will be the title sponsor of the AHA Supe rstoc k Series beginning with the 2004 rac ing season, accord ing to AHA Pro Racing. Andy Leisner, AMA Pro Racing vice president, we lcomes the co mpany to AMA rac ing and is excited to have the brand aboard . "Repsol is a world lead er in moto rcycle racing and pe rfo rmance , largely because of their connec tio n wit h MotoGP racing," sa id Leisner. "We are thrilled to be associate d with Repso l and are con fident that the ir involvemen t with our series will help them gro w their brand in the United Stat es." Maurice Murray, vice presi dent of sales and marketing for the Global Motorsport Group, the parent com pany of Repso l's ex clus ive distributor, Motorcycle Stuff, agrees. "We' re loo king to aggressively grow o ur presence in the United States, and the AHA Superstock Series is the ideal vehicle for us: ' said Murray. "T he Superstock class prom ises to be one of the most competitive classes in 2004, so w e expect to receive a great deal of exposure for Repsof. We're planning to take our leadersh ip postnon in MotoG P and apply it to the AHA se ries , too."

• Cover