Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

Briefly... Pastrana Podiums! Gibernau Fast, But Using Qs l'larlboro Ducati s new recruit, Sete Gibernau, gave himse,f a huSe reality check during the l'4alaysian f4otocP tesr despite topping the timesheets with a morale-boort- ing display on board the new Ducati DesmosediciGP6. The Spaniard refused ro be swepr up in the euphoria in some quarters of the Sepang paddock as he helped Ducati claim the rop two times at rhe first maior multiple-team test of the year. Gibernau is too wise and canny to let one- test session cloud the reality lhat he faces a rhassive task: to overhaul Valentino Rossi and Yarnaha and an army of young and emerging talent in Honda's rank. His outritht best time to end the test fastest wes a blistering 2:01.03 - albeit on Bridgestone s soft qualifyinS rubber that he had reluctantly agreed to use at the Japanese factory's request. On race tires, Gibernau's lap times were no less impressive, and reason for optimism after his shock winter swirch from Honda Hir best time of 2:01.66, set on day rwo, was still a fraction slower than that of team- mate Loris Capirossi and two-tenths of a sec- ond off the bert race-tire dme lotged by his longtime nemesis Valentino Rossi. But the 32-year-old was keepint his feet firmly on the ground, and perhapr a truer reflection of where he sees his early-season hopes restinS came when he said:'lf I llnish in eighti place in the first race at Jerez, it will not be a disaster. This is a new adven(ure for m€, and it will be difficult. I'm happy because I made a Sood job, but this is not a victory for us. I am a winnet of course, and I have the winning mentality, but it is too early to start thinking about winninS races for me." For the tim€ beinE, Gibemau is adopting a cautious approach as he tries to make the transition from RCV to DesmosediciGP6 and from f4ichelin to Bridgestone tires. He's also tettint used to Ohlins rather than Showa sus- pension. His outright tert-topping bert lap came on a Brid8estone qualifying tire, yet he immedi- ately demanded improvements and admitted l''lichelin's special sofi rubber is better. "l did a treat time, but it was with a qual- ifyinS tire, and I didn't want to use it," he said. "Bridgestone wanted me to, and I tried tlvo rypes. Compared to Michelin s qualiryinE rire, though, we are one step behind. With Michelin'. qualityint tire, I was easily able to cut one recond off my best time on r&e tires last year, at all traaks and in mosr conditions. But I was onv half a seaond faster with the Travis Pastrana drove his Subaru Rallv I Te-am USA car to a second-place finisir in the SnoDrift Rally, round one of the 2006 Rally America National Championship, in l',lichigan, )anuar./ 27- 28. hstrana was second after the first day, and he had a shot at victory until a flat tire cost him and his co-driver some six min- utes on day (vvo. It was the loth state that gave Pastrana troubles, as the former motocrosser hit a rock in the middle of the road that caused both tires on the ritht side of the car to go flar. With stage l0 being some 25 miles long, it was oec- essaD,, for Pastrana and his co-driver Christian Edstrom to stop on lhe stage and change one ofthe ti.es with their one spare on board. With the time lost from stopping, as wellas limping along for near- ly 20 miles with their right rear tire in shreds, the pair lost well over six minutes and the rally lead. "We ren such a great rally, we were going cautiously and really staying our of trouble, but then on the longest stage of the rally we just hit a random rock in the middle of the road and both tires on the riSht went flat," explained Pastrana. "The car just wouldn't turn left. lt was a disas- ter; we lost over six minutes and for sure a possible victory right there." Still, second place was an impressive debut for Pastrana and his new 2006 Subaru WRX STi. Xerfy Gr.€b.r. AMA Pro Racing's director of communications, said that AMA Pro Racing would like to clariry poins nude in a recent interview with Fll'4 liaison.lohn Gallagher (lssue #2, January l8) as $ey relare ro the AHA Supercro$ Series: 'AMA Pro RacirE is the exclusive sanctionint body of the I 6- round Amp'd Mobile AMA Supercross Series. The series is of,iciated solet by AMA Pro Racing personnel under rules set forth in the AMA Supercross nrleboo(" Graeber wrote. There's an additi,onal American on the olfi- cial FIM MotoGP entry list 2l-),e-ar-old AMA Superbike Rookie of fie Year rason Percz. But there's still plenry to decide before Perez ioins Nkky Hayden, Colin Edwfids. John Hopkins and Kenny Robens Jr. as the filth American in HotoGB according to his manager, Doug Gonda. "l've been discussing Jason with a number of tearns," said Gonda. "l have a Sood relationship with Peter Clif- ford lthe team manager for WCM in Motoce the team dlat lists Perez as one of its rwo rir€rs], and he was interested, We still have some things to firm up. lt's not a done deal yet." Also on the table, according to Gonda, is a World SuFerstock ride with HP Racing Suzuki. "Jason has ridden with HB aod he likes those gqrs and he $/ants to be a part of drat, bot you also have to pay aRen- tion to any MotoGP team," Gonda said. Valertino Ro.si will sq'rare of{ against fel- low World Champion l4ichael Schumacher and several other Formula One regulac for the first time during a three-day test in \Abncia, spain, this week. The news wes reported on the ofiicial Formula One w€b- site (among other places), which stated that Schumacher and new teammate Felipe Massa, who are currently testing in Catalun- ya" will cootinue their test program in Valen- cia, now to be joined by tie seven-time World Charnpion. Ro6si has previously 16r- ed by himselfat Mugello and Fior.no, ltaly, Ferrari's test track. But this will be the lirsr time he's on track with other drivers, The otier t€ams expected to take part include McLar€n, Honda, BHW Toyota, and Williams, While Schumacher and Massa con- tinue to develop their 2006 racecars, Ro6si ir expected to d.ive thc V I 0 2004 rhat he previously tested..lust this week, the 26- year-old ltalian be8an the defense of his 2005 MotoGP World Championship with a successful three-day test of th€ Camel Yarnaha in Halaysia. The ltalian has repeet- edb/ said that he hasn't made a decision about his future. But that hasn't rtopped sp€culation that he'll move from two wheels to for.rr at the end of this year, coincidenrally the sam€ time the 37-year-old Schurnach- er's contract with Ferrari expires. When asked about Rossi's future in F- | , during the re.ent press intro of the 2006 Ferrari 248 F- I , S; E. E $+r. t t 5ete Gibernou '/ t 1., t a /

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