Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/128333
Con,inued from page r 9 standing in the rules. they were stopped from do ing SO t the ir passes taken away. but alter a check 01 the ruleboo k. they were allowed out lor a single lap on their scooters . Leon Haslam was less lucky, and his first lap 01 a tra ck he has neve r see n belore came in free practice on Friday. Warwick No wland. having paid his own money to get a Motec EFI system lor his still-developing Zong Shoo GSX-R I000. wasn't sure whether he or his machine was in a fit state to go World Superbike racing competitively or not alter day one in America. Chassis problems have held him back. "We have got more power out of the bike now, but every time we do it find as a weak point in the chassis. We could try to tum the power down a bit, but that defeats the purpose," said a plainlydejected Nowland. Pler-France sco Chili , the oldest World Superb ike rider in the class, finally broke through the 40-year-old barrier shortly before the Laguna race weekend. on June 20 to be exact . Re gis Laconi turned 29 years old on July 8, and the day alte r his team prepared a sur prise lor him - a birthday cake covered in chocolate. As is becoming traditional , he was smacked in the lace with it alter the nicet ies had bee n concluded . Grabbing the nearest person he could to see k reve nge, he found his team manager Davide Tardozz i, and smeared him with the leavings 01 the cake . Alter the merriment had died down . Tardozzi and Co . retired to their hote l to get cleaned up. Only problem was that when they got there, the water had packed up, and Tardozzi had to sit for two hours covered in chocolate before getting the chance to clean up properly. A substantiallyalte red race card Irom the usual World Superbike/AMA weekend saw the AMA Supe rbike race moved to Sunday, sandwiched between the two global World Superbike races. It also meant that Super pole, whic h normally takes place at 4 p.m . in Europe. was kicked off at 3: IS p.m.• local time. In a tough weekend for Chris Walker in qualifying, the British rider was busted for speed ing in Pit Lane on Friday, exceeding the 8S kph limit. Sources at Laguna organizer SCRAMP spoke about the great Laguna World Superbike V5. Mo toGP battle, alter rumors about both provisional calendars featu ring identical dates at Laguna in 200S were floated . SCRAMP (Sports Car Racing Association 01the Monterey Peninsula) has an agreement to run events w ith the local Monterey authorities until 2012. It is trying to work out the best solution lor its short- 20 JULY 21 , 2004 • CYCLE NEWS 40th Anniversary and long-te rm benefits , and both World Superbike and MotoGP have already presented workable scenarios for future events at Laguna. The possibility 01 running both events in one season seems to be out of the question at present . For the first time in the 10 years 01 racing at Laguna, the re were no America n wild ca rds on the grid. Some privateer riders lrom the USAwere keen to take on the challenge but blanched at the price 01 buying Pirelli tires lor the weekend, aro und $4000. To mar k the 100th race in which Pe ru gia timing was the technical partner to SBKin terms of timing and statistical information, Paolo Flammini took the opportunity to present the stall with a commemorative trophy, right alter the Superpole press conlerence. With the ir World Supersport wing lelt in Europe, the Ten Kat e Honda te am had to call in a substitute tire man/garage helper at Laguna - team manager Ronald Ten Kate. The team boss/laborer pitched in to keep travel costs down and to give the normal staff a bit of a break. One of the regu lar World Superbike tea m members was left behind , re placed by a Supersport tech nician, as his wife was due to give birth back in the Netherlands just as the first practice session was due to take place. The first World Superbike qualifyingsession was del ayed due to a lack of property tra ined med ical staff. The cash-strapped Laguna circuit showed several signs of creaking at the edges this year, with nonfunctioning toilets, wayward data communications in the media center and well -meaning but occasion- ally substandard levels of organizat ion and technic al support. Other aspects of the laguna organization remained world class. Jason DiSalvo , the AMAYamaha Superstock/Supersport rider, is planning an assault on Europe again. the forme r 12Scc GP rider looking to expand his horizons once again. There could be five Yamaha rid e rs in Superbike at Brands Hatch: James Ellison, Alessio Velini and his countryman Con forti, plus French-speakers Gimbert and Tiberio . The massive disparity expected between the AHA Super bikers (on top-notch Dunlop and Michelinqualifiers) and the World Superbike riders (on a limited choice of Pirellirubber) failed to materialize for most of the weekend. But after the superstickies went in the final AHA qualifying sessions, Ben Bostrom (Honda/Dunlop) carried the torch into the I:24 bracket. securing a trac k best in AHA of I:24.906. The best laps of the week end for the World Supe rb ike cre w came from Pier-Francesco Chili, who set a best time of 1:26.782 in the second timed qualifying session, to take provisional pole.