Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

Briefly... Why Gibernau Left Honda Continued from page 9 S panish MotoGP racer Sete Gibernau couldn't resist taking a parting shot at Honda as he made his Ducati Desmosedici debut during the MotoGP test at Valencia in Spain in the days following the season-ending Grand Prix. The 32-year-old Spaniard ended the rain-affected test with the seventh-fastest time, as he only completed 32 laps on the opening day, before the weather dominated the proceedings. Although Gibernau didn't mention Honda, he cleverly disguised his obvious ill feeling toward HRC when he gave his Sete Glbernau the learning process • 8 the Ducati with its Bridgestone tires. MotoGP rider Shane Byrne will be the second rider on the Rizla Suzuki team that will compete in the British Superbike Championship. Byrne, a former British Superbike Champion, will join james Haydon on the two-man team, replacing the retired john Reynolds. Former 12Scc World Champion road racer and current Fortuna Honda team owner Fausto Gresini won the bragging rights in his tearn's garage at the postNaiencia Grand Prix test. The Italian team boss was granted permission by HRC to test Marco Melandri's RCV at the test, as was Melandri's crew chief, Fabrizio Cecchini. Gresini won the contest, his lap of 1.55 beating Cecchini by some six seconds. French road racer Randy de Puniet made a nervy debut on board Kawasaki's ZX-RR during the Valencia test and quickly discovered the huge task he faces after switching from the 2S0cc class. The 24year-old was only 14th fastest after his S8 laps, and only a super-cautious Loris Capirossi, 250cc rider Andrea Dovizioso, and new 12Scc World Champion Thomas Luthi were slower. Puniet's best time was only half a second faster than his best on a factory Aprilia 2S0, set in the final race of the season. "Switching to MotoGP is certainly not easy," Puniet said. "The increase in power is obViously very noticeable. But I was having real problems with the clutch and the engine braking and couldn't get the bike stopped. When I first rode it, the data showed I was braking IS meters later than Shinya Nakano does. To have a bike that is SO kilograms [110 pounds] heavier than a 2S0 is qUite a big step. Compared to the 2S0, it is hard to have the confidence to keep the throttle wide open when you need to. I just need more time to learn the bike and take my time." Shinya Nakano missed the test after he returned to japan for further treatment for his left hand, which he injured in the second of two opening practice crashes at the Valencia GP. motives for joining Loris Capirossi in the Marlboro Ducati squad next season. "Ducati made me feel wanted," Gibernau said. ':A.lso, I needed to have a factory completely behind me. I feel very wanted here, and that's what matters. I didn't make this decision because of something I wasn't given in another place. Ducati has the know-how to understand what I need. I know what I need to ride a bike and how a bike has to react. I need people around me that understand me and believe what I say because I have the experience now to understand what worlks and what you need from a bike to win races and fight for the championship. " Gibernau's best time of I:3S.2 was respectable, given the track conditions and that this test was his first time on Bridgestone tires. It was also his debut on a tubular chassis, and he was back on Ohlins suspension for the first time since 2002. "I started using Carlos Checa's setting because I don't want to try and make this bike a Honda," Pons said. "I want to start from zero. This is a new era for me." Newly crowned 12Scc World Champion Thomas Luthi has set his sights on becoming one of Honda's top MotoGP riders in 2009. The Swiss rider was handed the chance to ride an RCV at the Valencia test as a reward for wrapping up the World title in Spain. He completed 27 eye-opening laps as he tried to get a feeling for an extra 200 hp underneath his tiny frame. He managed to set a best time of I:44.2, which was four seconds slower than his best 125 lap time in the race. "It was unbelievable," he said. "The power just never stops. The bike handles very well despite the weight. In the first two corners, the bike was riding me, not the other way around. The biggest bike I had ridden before was a 600cc street bike. But from a 125 to a MotoGP bike, there is a giant step." Asked about his future, Luthi said: "It is the goal of every rider to be in MotoGP. I will do 12Ss next year, and then two years in 2S0 and then look at MotoGP." Gibernau said the renowned power of the Desmosedici hadn't been too much of an eye-opener; in fact, he said it he needed it to be more aggressive. "It wasn't so impressive to cause me a surprise," Gibernau said. "I think that's because of all the electronics on these bikes now. I want to change the character of the engine, which we can do. I want something more aggressive." As for the Bridgestones, Gibernau said: "The front is good. The rear has good traction, too, but it was too cold to properly assess what it was like." Matthew Birt Reed Commits To World Rounds r------:-i....,.,..-.:-~---__,z Yamaha's Chad Reed has committed to racing in the two Canadian rounds of the Amp'd Mobile World Supercross GP Series, according to Clear Channel, the promoters of the series. Reed will make his first-ever appearance in front of the Canadian fans at Rodger Centre in Toronto on December 3 and at B.C. Place Stadium in Vancouver on December 10. The 23-year-old Reed won the World Supercross GP Championship in 2002-03, winning his first 2S0cc supercross race at the Gelredome in Arnhem, Holland. That season, the Australian native won nine World Supercross GP/AMA Supercross Series races as a rookie en route to his first championship. "I'm excited to be competing in the 200S-06 Amp'd Mobile World Supercross GP events in Canada," said Reed in a Clear Channel press release. "I won the championship in 2002-03, and I am hungry to get it back. I know that Ricky [Carmichael] has once again confirmed his participation in these two events, so I am hoping the rest of the field shows up as well." In 2003-04, Reed won his first AMA Supercross Series Championship but opted not to participate in the 2003-04 and 2004-05 World Supercross GP. "We are very pleased to have Chad's commitment to race in the Amp'd Mobile World Supercross GP races," said Todd Jendro, senior director of supercross, Clear Channel Entertainment Motor Sports. "Chad won the championship as a rookie in the 250cc class, capping off a successful season, which is very impressive. This year, with Reed and Carmichael on the starting line, the competition for the World title is going to be stronger than ever." "I think it's great to have Chad compete in front of the Canadian fans for the Amp'd Mobile World Supercross GP championship," said Carmichael, the reigning World Supercross GP champion. "The World Championship is definitely picking up steam, and Chad and me committing to race is a true testament to that." I OJ a: Motocross legend Roger DeCoster has been selected to receive the 2006 Xtremey Honorary Achievement Award in recognition of his contribution to motorsports and sports entertainment, and the influence his work and racing skills have had in all of the extreme sports industries, according to the promoters of the award ceremony. w in >

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