Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

Salminen Rolls On in Georgia best GNCC in over a year by cominS from a firrt-turn crash all the way into third. But a big crash later sent Smith reeling back to eiShth. Third place went to KTM's Hike Lafferry, who came from way back and continued to show heart and endurance like he did in Florida, His KTM teammate Robbie jenks took fourth, and l'lonster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki's Fred Andrews was fifth. Am Pro Yamaha's rookie Charles Mullins actually crossed the line in third, but he was penalized when he ran out of fuel on the last lap and received a quick fill- up outside the pro pit area. l'4ullins rode well, but unfortunarely for him, pro riders can only get gas from GNCC officials or other riders if they run out of fuel, so the penalty stuck and Mullins was rele8ated back into the pack. Kawasaki Team Green's Garrett Edmisten took GNCC top amateur honors with seventh overall and a win in the Four- Stroke A class. loson WeBondt T KIPI Juho Solminen bocked up hir opening-round win in Floridq wilh onolhcr victory in Gcorgio. After a costly multimillion-dollar frve-year campaign in the World Superbike Championship with its three-c),linder FP-l very much against the odds, Malaysian oil giant Petronas has conlirmed dnt the 2006 World series (wfiich started in Qatar on February 25) will be the end ot its racin8 acivities cofl- ducted in partnership with former Wodd Superbike champi- on Carl Fogarty. The Foggr Petronas FP-l's three-cy'inder l2-rralve dohc motor was o.iginally desiSned in 990cc form by Petronas' then-partners in Formula One, the Swiss-based Sauber team, wliose Japenese chief engineei Osama Goto, created in 2001 a prototype en8rne aimed at th€ forthcoming MotoGP cate- 8ory complete whh pneumatic !'alve gear and a reversed q/linder block with forward-facinS throtde bodies. This made its dehr +pearance in public at the Malq,sian GP at Sepan8 in October 2001 - so it was a m4or surprise when it was announced the followinS March that, now lltt€d whh conven- tional valve 8ear, th€ bike would insteid form the basis of a 900cc pro'duction sre€t model (this beiq the then-capacity limit for triples under SBK rules), which in race guire would compete in the World Slperbike series under Fogarty's direction. Troy Corcer was recruited to head up the team, which rnade its debut at the opening round of the 2003 World series at Valencia, and the following season enjoyed its most ruc- cessrul year, with two pole positions and two rostrum finish- es en route to third place in ttre SBK Manufacturers' Championship with a bike whose underpowered llarne- throwing enSine was developed in Switzerland by Suter Engineering, Iitted in a tood-handling chassis developed in Britain. Lat€r, UK development specialist Ricardo was com- missioned to rnake the bike moae powerful as well as more reliabl€, thouth not to produce a full l000cc version of the FP-l to conform with the new SBK reSulations introduced two years ago, which woirld have required rehomoloSating the bike. Nevenheless, the I 50 street versions needed to legitimize the FP-l for Superbike racing were indeed con- structed, and Pb,sicalry counted back in 2003 by then World Superbike technical boss Steve Whitelock in tle Kuala Lumpur storeroom, where they have appar- ently remained ever since, as the bike was never offer€d for sale - until now. For in the announcement that they would be withdrawinS from racint at the end of the season, Petronas also declared that the existing sto.k oa FP- l sreetbikes will be sold to customers around the wodd by the KL-based Naza Bikers Dream dealeGhip in Malaysia, where h's undeGtood a total of 140 of the distinctively painted Sreen bikes are a\i'ail- able for purchase. ln addition, Petronas revealed that in November 2005 it dgned an 4g.eement with Rotax in Aust.ia to "ft nher devel- op and commercialize its high-performance engine family." This evidently implies that Rotax will be developing a full l00occ new.generation version of the existing three-cylinder FP-l motor, which will be badged as a Petronas in the wal@ of the l',lalaysiafi company entirely severing its links at tie end of the year with Fogarty and hi. race operation, and is likely to be commercialized around the world by Rotax's Canadian owner, the giant Bombardier conglomerate. Back in the sum- mer of 2004, Bombardier was known to have taken a ck ie look at acquiring Aprilia. for which Rot x builds all the ltalian company's four-stroke engines, including the RSVIo0OR 60- deSree V-twin, and the fofth.omint 72-detree V4 Superbike motor due to debu! at the end of 2007, when the ltalian com- pany went into financial freefall, only to lose out to Piaggio. The Petronas

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