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/128373
Briefly... Merriman on Top in World Enduro Opener Honda's Shinichi Itoh won the opening round of the Japanese Superbike Championship at the Mine Circuit on April 3, the CBR IOOORR-mounted rider topping the Kawasaki of former World Superbike rider Akira Yanagawa. Third place went to Honda-mounted Takeshi Tsujimura, with Yoshimura Suzuki's Atsushi Watanabe finishing fourth. FO Corse Yamaha rider Stefan Merriman started the World Enduro Championship season with a bang, the Australian claiming victories in the Enduro 2 class on both days of racing in Guadalajara, Spain, topping Frenchman Fabien Planet on day one and Finn Samuli Aro on day two. U With Planet and his KTM claiming the runner-up position on day one, it was KTM-mounted Aro who finished third, with neither rider able to mount a serious challenge to Merriman. With the Australian again comfortably out front in the E2 class on day two, Aro managed to get the closest to the reigning E I World Champion, but he was again unable to challenge for the day win. Finishing third on day two was Swede Anders Eriksson aboard his Husqvarna. "It's always good to start the new season with a win, and all things considered, I'm really happy with the way things The NCR Ducati World Superbike team had an unwanted shakeup as the Phillip Island round in Australia approached. Engine man Marco Mozzone has departed the NCR team, a big blow for the squad as at the beginning of this season Ducati Corse requested that Lorenzo Lanzi and NannelIi's engines be looked after by Mozzone not former Ducati employee Franco Farne. It has become apparent that this situation has changed and thus the agreement between Ducati and SC Caracchi is on the brink of falling apart. A strong possibility exists that Ducati's current favorite son Lanzi will be absorbed into the official team as a third rider, especially as three of Lanzi's mechanics have already been separated into a group within a group. To add to the confusion, Matsudu-san, former Renegade Ducati/Honda chief mechanic, has left that team to join NCR, adding to Ben Bostrom's complicated re-introduction to World Superbike. went here in Spain," Merriman said in a team release. "Day one was pretty tough, but it was like that for everyone. The weather changed a lot and the course also changed very fast, which meant that some of the riders at the rear of the class entry were able to go fast. I was a little nervous before the race because I didn't have great results in the opening rounds of the Italian Championship, but everything has worked out really welL" In the Enduro I class it was KTM's Ivan Cervantes taking the double win. the Spaniard turning in impressive special test times in the muddy conditions. Cervantes beat Yamaha-mounted Marc Germain on day one, with Paul Edmondson finishing third, the Brit riding a four-stroke Honda. On day two, Cervantes was followed home by TM-mounted Swede Richard Larsson, with Finn Petteri Silvan finishing third on his KTM. Stefan Merriman won the Enduro 2 World Championship opener in Spain. No Big Bang Chili Down and Out The Virgin Yamaha team in England uses a big-bang-type system on its Rls. It will likely be banned from World Superbike. A rule change in the World Superbike seems imminent in order to stop anyone with a Yamaha RI from copying the (perfectly legal) camshaft and electronics modifications adopted by the Virgin Yamaha team in the British Superbike Championship recently. The Virgin team replaces the cams with units which alter the intake and exhaust phases to have cylinders one and three firing together, then cylinders two and four firing together, then two exhaust cycles, before the whole process starts again (big-bang style). Besides making the exhaust note sound like that of a Ducati, it also allows better throttle response on corner exits, plus a better-behaved back end under braking. For the World Superbike organizers, FGSport, this is a worrying development, as they see the key to their series as maintaining the link to street bikes in their entirety - that and reducing the costs involved in extravagant engine tuning. Thus, we can expect and edict soon from the FIM to outlaw this practice in World Superbike. It is doubtful the rule could come in before Valencia, but it may be in place before the fourth round in MonlO, Italy. Gordon Ritchie Italian Pier-Francesco Chili broke his often-troublesome left collarbone in a final timed session crash in round two of the World Superbike Championship at Phillip Island in Australia while follOWing his teammate Max Neukirchner. Coming up behind a slower rider, the two had to modify their line to pass and Chili ran a little wide, clipped the curb and crashed. The bone is not completely broken through, but doctors are unsure of whether or not he will need more surgery. If he does, it will mean a possible removal of surgical screws and a plate left in there from a previous operation. There is a spare space in the existing plate, but the break is under the last screw in line in the current plate. "I think I might be out for the Valencia race," Chili said in pit lane after the accident. "I have already broken this collarbone three times." Gordon Ritchie PierFrancesco Chili The 2005 AMA/NATC Trials National Championship gets started April 9-10 in Muenster, Texas, with rounds three and four taking place at the Trials Training Center in Sequatchie, Tennessee, April 16-17. The championship will feature 12 rounds with stops in Colorado, California, Vermont and New York. Champion Geoff Aaron returns to defend his title for an unprecedented ninth time. The ieading challengers this season are expected to be 22-year-old Chris Florin, who picked up his first National win in the last weekend of the 2004 season, and 17-year-old Cody Webb, who has impressed many seasoned observers as an up-and-coming star. The international flavor of the series includes South African Champion Bruce LeRiche, who returns for a second year of U.S. competition while serving as a riding instructor at the Trials Training Center, and Irish champion Michael Burton, who is new to the North American scene. For more information on aU the AMNNATC championships, visit the NATC website at www,natc.org. With much of the strength of World Supersport now promoted to Superbike, in terms of both teams and riders, the Super. sport grid looks a little thin in 2005. When asked how this affected racing in the class, Kevin Curtain commented: "It would be good to see some more Ducatis and Continued on page " CYCLE NEWS • APRIL 13, 2005 9