Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

Proton KR is edging closer to an engine deal with Honda, with the hopes of salvaging its KTM disaster of 2005 with a genuinely strong effort in 2006. "We had some very interesting talks in japan around the Motegi weekend, both with Ducati and with japanese companies," team manager Chuck Aksland said. The favored direction would be Honda, but at a higher level than the Moriwaki effort, which has run as an occasional wildcard from the start of MotoGP. "They are not using a top-spec motor. We would hope to have more-competitive equipment," Aksland said at home in Britain, as the team awaits its final outing of 2005 at Valencia. "We will run the V-fIVe there, but at least we will have some time to prepare it for the race - unlike Brno." The middle of a grueling trio of consecutive flyaways already showed some travel damage, with riders riding hurt or absent due to injury, and with one missing through disqualification. That was 250cc star jorge Lorenzo, who hung a spoof shopkeeper's sign over his empty chair in his pit, translating roughly: "Sorry, I am not here at the moment. I will be back in Qatar." Heroic effort came from Marco Melandri, whose deeply gashed foot had required more than 30 stitches, after he was helicoptered from Motegi to Dokkyo University Hospital for surgery on Sunday night. Still in a wheelchair with a drainage pipe in the injury on Wednesday, he had that removed and exceeded his earlier intention of returning on Saturday only by getting out for practice on Friday as well. "It is not only the pain but also the heat coming off the bike," he said. "The wound is very sensitive. Also, when I am leaning left, you need to put weight on the right footpeg for traction. That is very difficult for me." Unlucky Troy Bayliss, who broke his wrist badly in a motocross training spill before the japanese Gp, is now not expected to return this season, and with Tohru Ukawa (his Motegi replacement) committed to tests elsewhere, his place was taken by Shakey Byme, without a ride since the KTM/Proton KR meltdown in the summer break. The Briton said: "I didn't wake up nervous on Friday morning, because I didn't go to sleep at all the night before," adding that, "I got up and put my Camel leathers on - to see how I'd look." Since other Honda riders have at least almost two seasons on the V-five, he had a lot to learn. But his viewpoint allowed an interesting analysis. "It's so smooth it doesn't feel fast," he said. "The biggest positive is the throttle connection. It actually goes when you twist the throttle, which is what I struggled with all year with the KTM. It falls on its side so fast it almost feels like you are going to lose the front. I have my bikes a bit slower steering, so they really dig in on the side of the tire. This thing falls on its side so quick but doesn't have a load of edge grip." Equally unlucky Kawasaki rider Alex Hofmann, who broke his left ankle at Motegi, will also be out for the rest of the season. just one fracture was diagnosed in japan, but when he flew home to Germany, doctors found a total of eight fractures. His place was again taken by former 250cc World Champion Olivier jacque, who hurried to the track after getting another unexpected phone call. Last time that happened (when Hofmann was out with a broken wrist), he finished second in China. Toni Elias was himself just two weeks from final surgery to remove plates from the wrist injured at the start of the season, but he said he felt almost back to normal for the first time all season. james Ellison braved the elbow injury that ruled him out of Motegi. The 125cc class had another shining example of courage with points leader Thomas Luthi, who suffered painful ankle and shoulder injuries when he was run over at Motegi. Although limping painfully and getting on and off his Honda gingerly, he was at full speed on the track, qualifying on pole and winning his race. Nonetheless, many felt that the condition of the many injured riders again raised questions on the strictness of medical vetting. A fantastic and fascinating new camera angle illuminated a number of rider comments about tires, especially those of Colin Edwards, when he spoke of the difficulty of getting front-end feel and grip from the Michelins. The camera was actually on Nicky Hayden's bike, aimed directly at the fronttire contact patch. For the first time, it showed how, on the entry to a corner, the sidewall actually starts to flutter and collapse at moments of maximum stress. Among other things, this is very revealing of the reasons for chatter. Edwards was typically forthright, as he described his vain search in qualifying to find the front-end bite he needed. "I'm not getting any load on the front tire," he said. "It's not through lack of trying. We've gone harder and softer, run a longer bike and shorter bike and moved the height up and down. We ripped the manual apart. We still just had no front grip. You can't get the front tire to sqUish down or get any load down. And without the tire actually collapsing a little bit, you can't get any contact patch. It feels like you are running on a real fine line of rubber. I've lost the front more times in the last couple of days more than I have all year." Australian 250cc KTM rider Anthony West will have to put his hopes of a dream home GP on hold - unless bad weather at Phillip Island intervenes, as it did to give him the bike a second-place debut at Doningron Park. He has been told that there will be no new engine parts until after the flyaway races. West is short of top-end performance, clocking a best of 154.8 mph at Sepang, compared with the fastest 250 - Alex de Angelis' factory Aprilia - which was clocked at 160.3 mph. Yamaha racing chief Lin jarvis remained tightlipped at Sepang, as the fight continued with sponsors Gauloises over whether Valentino Rossi can run in his own independently sponsored "satellite" team next year. At the same time, new rumors hinted that Telef6nica MoviStar is reconsidering pulling out of motorcycles and might replace Alice or Nastro Azurro as main sponsors of Rossi's team. This would spite Honda, for snitching their hot property Dani Pedrosa. Asked about this at Sepang, jarvis said: "We are in the business here, and we are in contact with all potential partners. But we cannot comment on any particular company. We are in constant dis· cussions with A1tadis and listen to their wishes and proposals. We shall have more discussions in Europe in the next few days. This is why I shall not go to Qatar." MV Agusta is planning a future return to GP racing, according to Claudio Castiglioni, boss of the legendary Italian marque now owned by Proton Cars. However, an expected move to World Superbikes in 2006 has been deferred until 2007. Castiglioni was at the Malaysian GP on Sunday and said Superbike racing in 2007 would come before finding a way into MotoGP. MV last raced in the World Championship in 1976, after winning 139 races and 16 World titles. Rossi described the performance of Bridgestone tires at Sepang as "being like in another sport," compared with the hitherto dominant Michelins - just one sign of a raising of the temperature of the burgeoning tire war. Rossi tried to put it into perspective: "Capirossi made a 2:0 1.7 for pole, and last year I did 2:01.8, so Its not like Bridgestone have made a giant step ahead. They did well, but we are in confusion. This is one of my favorite tracks, and I always go well here. I'm slower than last year, and my bike is a lot better than the old M I." The front was the problem, and he called for Michelin to get to work to combat the threat of the new-generation Bridgestones, which made their debut at Brno. "For the last three years I have always used the same front tire. It's the same specification, but an evolution," Rossi said. "This year in 12 races, maybe in nine I used the 44B. In Motegi, we started to have problems with the front. Why? I don't know. We didn't expect these troubles, and I don't think Michelin did at all. We need to improve the tires, but to do that, you need time." Michelin MotoGP boss Nicolas Goubert refused to panic, though he admitted he was disappointed. The critical test would come at Qatar in one week, he said. The Bridgestones had been strong last year at Brno, Motegi and Sepang, but "they were not as good as us in Qatar last year. If they perform well in Qatar and they are in front of us, then you will see they have made a big change," Goubert said. Valentino Rossi would shed no further light on rumors linking him to a 2007 move to F I in the Ferrari team, after denying at Motegi that there was any monthly test deal, as suggested by Ferrari technical director Ross Brawn. Now Brawn has confessed to "perhaps jumping the gun" after hearing of Rossi's objection to his comments. But the issue would not go away, in spite of Rossi's protestations that there is no deal. Rumor is that Rossi has agreed an exclusivity contract with Ferrari, if he does decide to move to F I. Ferrari's jean Todt is reported to have said: "If he comes to F I, then it must be with us. We are investing a lot of time and money in him, so we wouldn't want him going anywhere else." Marco Melandri refused to blame Valentino Rossi for his part in the Italian duo's controversial collision at the japanese GP. Speaking for the first time about the Motegi controversy in Malaysia, Melandri said: "I think this can happen in bike racing. For sure I'm disappointed, because I got injured and it wasn't my mistake. I am not angry with Valentino, because he hasn't brought me down 10 times before and he doesn't do it every Sunday. He made a mistake, and it can happen." Melandri also wanted to distance himself from the protest HRC submitted again Rossi for dangerous riding - a move that left the Italian rider angry and all the more anxious to win the championship for Yamaha. Rossi's Australian crew chief jerry Burgess also was taken aback by the protest. He moved to Yamaha with Rossi after many years at Honda and said, "When I worked at Honda. they would never protest. You weren't allowed to, because Honda did not want to be portrayed as the schoolyard bully. Clearly, things have changed." Olivier jacque's hope of a permanent Kawasaki ride in 2006 appears to have hit a rock due to the Frenchman's wage demands. With Alex Hofmann a target for Suzuki to replace Kenny Roberts jr., jacque was a hot favorite to be reunited with former Yamaha 250 teammate Shinya Nakano. But jacque is reported to have asked for double what Kawasaki currently pays Nakano. Doubts remain about whether Honda's new RCV will make a competitive debut in the last three races of the season. Max Biaggi and Sete Gibernau were due to retry the revised five-cylinder at a hastily arranged test immediately after the Qatar GP this weekend, but the test was canceled at the last moment. Spokesman Carlo Fiorani said, "The project is delayed, but we still hope to see Dt] raced before the end of the season." Ducati team manager Uvio Suppo was absent from his team's double rostrum triumph at Sepang, after flying home to Italy on Friday night, following the death of his mother-in-Iaw. Marco Melandri is close to signing a deal to keep him on board a Gresini Honda for two years, extending his current option by a further year. At present, the option for 2006 expires on October IS, but team boss Gresini said that a verbal agreement is already in place to keep him on the team. The rider is pushing for a two-year deal, like that just signed by john Hopkins with Suzuki. "We are discussing it now, but nothing is fixed," Gresini said. Malaysian wildlife again played a part over the weekend, when a large iguana became the latest victim in a series of reptile fatalities stretching back to the cobra at johor Bahru in 1998. The unfortunate lizard crossed the track at the start of the pit straight in the dying minutes of MotoGP qualifying, but he never reached the other side. Roberto Rolfo hit it, then Valentino Rossi ran over its twitching corpse. But worst off was Sete Gibernau, who got such a shock when he saw the remains that he aborted a final lap that until then had been on target to regain pole position from Capirossi. CYCLE NEWS • OOOBER 5,2005 25

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