The Graves Formula
Extreame R1 Yamaha, was also eligible for AMA Superbike this season,
but Yamaha wouldn't let them go up against the factory teams without
a front line rider. Take a good look, it might be the last you'll
see of a really modified 1000cc in-line four in a AMA roadracing for
a while. You
can also see why we like twins.
Is AMA Superbike
dead in 2004? Will it be another Ducati playground, Suzie?
U.S.
Suzuki throws hissy-fit,
threatens to pull out of AMA Racing!
9/25/03:
Word was circulating around the pits at the final AMA Superbike round
at Barber Raceway last week that U.S. Suzuki had drafted a letter
to the AMA, threanening to pull out of AMA racing in 2004. This was
later confirmed by Suzuki Vice president Mel Harris who said, "Suzuki
feels that under the new proposed rules there is not parity, not an
even playing field."
Harris was referring
to the new Superbike rules for 2004 which will be in conformity with
the rules also used in World Superbike, British and European Superbike,
which will limit extensive bike modifications and turn Superbike into
a more production oriented class like European SuperStock. In particular,
the new Superbike Rules will require the 1000cc Japanese in-line fours
to retain stock throttle bodies and airboxes. This restricts the huge
horsepower gains the factory teams have been able to achieve in the
past over privateer teams, including using exotic 'homoligated"
race induction systems that really weren't available or affordable
to privateer teams.
Meanwhile the
V-twins like Ducati and Aprilia will be able homoligate one additional
throttle body and airbox system should they choose. And with Ducati's
World Championship winning factory team rider and bikes expected to
come AMA racing in 2004, the U.S. Japanese distributor teams are shaking
in their boots
"I think
to go back to the stock throttle bodies, stock airboxes... so many
of the things that reduce the potential horsepower -Superbike then
becomes nothing more than a Superstock class. Already some manufacturers
are not going to be in Superbike, but rather Superstock."
Two other U.S.
distributors besides U.S. Suzuki contemplating not returning to AMA
Superbike in 2004 with their new all 1000cc machines, but expected
to be competing in 1000cc Superstock are Yamaha and Kawasaki. But
the reasons are two fold: Without a factory World Superbike effort
to develop the new bikes there just won't be any hot tuning parts
like cams and pistons available for the new engines. The U.S. distributor
teams certainly don't have the staff or the budget to develop the
trick parts needed for AMA Superbike like new cam profiles, higher
compression pistons, new computer maping programs and the like.
It is ironic
that the change of Superbike to an across the board 1000cc engine
limit this season, and with all the Japanese manufacturers creating
all new 1000cc machines for the class, manufacturers now don't want
to race them in either world or national championships. Much of the
blame can be placed at the success of the new MotoGP 4-stroke Championship
which pulled away the manufacturers from World Superbike, and in an
attempt to survive, FG Sports was forced to modify the rules to support
the privateer teams running production equipment. If the earlier proposed
WSB intake restrictor rules allowing highly modified engines had stayed
in place, the privateers would have had even less of a chance against
any factory teams their might be. At least now with the tighter rules
and no restrictors, there is parity for everyone.
But in America,
the AMA has compounded the rules and class problem even more. They
have changed the highly popular 1000cc Formula Extreame Class (because
it essentially is now the new 1000cc Superbike class), and require
it to run detunde the 1000cc bikes to Superstock specs so they aren't
a fast as the Superbikes Then this new Extreame class gets mixed with
the discontinued 750cc Superstock and 250cc GP Classes into one super
mess. Then replacing the popular old 750cc Supersport Class is a 1000cc
Supersport class, effectively creating 3 different classes for 1000cc
sportbikes. How stupid is that! See 2004
AMA Rules Fiasco.
This new 1000cc
Superstock class is probably where all the U.S. distributor teams
will be going to race their new 1000cc inline fours with their Superstock
engines. Meanwhile U.S. Suzuki is mad as hell because they no longer
have a specific 750cc class to race and showcase their most popular
selling sportbike the GSXR750.
"We have
to race our 750 somewhere,'" explained Harris. "We have
a Suzuki 750 Cup in the United States, and we also have a World GSXR-750
Suzuki Cup. We have to have a place for these riders to run other
events the rest of the year. With all the money I put into AMA with
all the events and things like that, jeez, I could run my own Suzuki
National Championship and put in on TV and do just as well (as the
AMA)."
Pirelli
appointed exclusive tyre supplier for the 2004 World Superbike, Supersport
and European Superstock Championships
A level playing field, production standards guarantee quality,
reliability and performance continuity, and prize fund of $300,000 euros
and equal opportunities for young up-and-coming riders
Imola,
26th September 2003 – From the 2004 season Pirelli
will be the exclusive tyre supplier for the World Superbike and Supersport
and European Superstock Championships. The agreement reached with
the FGSport Group on the 31st of July will continue through to 2005
and commits Pirelli to supplying tyres for all the teams competing
in the 45 races in 10 different countries for the World and European
Championship titles.
This programme
will allow all participants to compete on equal terms with regards
to tyres, making the efforts of the bike constructors, the teams and
the riders all-important. In accordance with the wishes of the FIM
(International Motorcycling Federation), the World Superbike Championship
thus returns to its origins as a category for bikes with features
and characteristics as close as possible to those of production machines.
For Pirelli, the agreement with FGSport has the immediate significance
of valorising the investment programme initiated in 2000 with the
company’s participation in the Supersport Championship and continued
the following year with the debut of a development team in the World
Superbike Championship.
With its long-term
commitment to production motorcycle racing throughout the world, Pirelli
is now in a position to confirm the continuity of its know-how in
the technological development of racing tyres, offering a product
with uniform high performance characteristics. The agreement for the
exclusive supply of tyres for the Superbike, Supersport and Superstock
championships represents the logical development of Pirelli Moto’s
competition strategy.
The standardisation
of the industrial process will allow Pirelli to make highly specialised
and reliable tyres with absolutely consistent performance available
to every team and manufacturer. In this sense, the application of
Pirelli’s “Zero Degree” metal belt production technology
to all the covers is a guarantee of quality and neutral performance
with respects to the diverse characteristics of the racing machinery.
However, standardization does not mean “a single tyre for all”.
The development of the Pirelli range for the 2004 World and European
championships will, as ever, be guided by the adaptation of the product
to the meteorological conditions and the varying track characteristics:
this fine-tuning will be conducted in partnership with the development
teams to be defined by FGSport together with bike manufacturers.
Pirelli will
provide the teams with a range of tyres with different specifications,
designed and tested to be capable of tackling the various World Championship
circuits and the foreseeable temperature, wear and stress conditions,
while maintaining the highest levels of safety. In particular, three
dry covers will be developed for each circuit. This programme will
fully respect the “fair conditions” guideline guaranteed
by FIM supervision of the use of the tyres assigned to the teams at
every race.
Pirelli’s
participation as exclusive supplier of tyres for the Superbike, Supersport
and Superstock Championships also involves a significant commitment
in industrial, logistical and organizational terms: over 50,000 tyres
will be manufactured and distributed during the course of the season,
requiring considerable physical and human resources.
With the objective
of guaranteeing optimum service from the points of view of quality
and rapidity, Pirelli plans to create two specialist working areas
for each race: one exclusively for the Superbike Championship with
slick tyres and 16.5” rims, the other dedicated to the Supersport
and Superstock categories for the fitting of DOT tread tyres on 17”
rims.
“We race
the tyres we sell, we sell the tyres we race”; for Pirelli there
is more than technology to the agreement with FGSport; the exclusive
tyre supplier is, in fact, committed to promoting the Championships
during the course of the season using all the available media, from
TV to the press and Internet in order to widen awareness of the Superbike
Championship.
Pirelli’s
decision to provide a prize fund of 300,000 euros to be dedicated
to the riders through the association of racing teams is also of great
significance. The company has taken on this new challenge with the
aim of making an important contribution to the emergence of numerous
young riders in conditions of equal opportunities among the various
teams. www.pirellimoto.com
Xaus
leads new world champ and team mate Hodgson through the chicane.
SBK World Superbike Championship, Round 11 of 12, 2nd Italian Round
Xaus Flawless
In Imola Double
Imola 28 September
2003: Neil
Hodgson (Ducati Fila 999 F03) may have shared wins with his team-mate
Ruben Xaus at the previous Assen round but this weekend the continuing
growth of Xaus as a global force was demonstrated perfectly with two
convincing race wins. The tall Catalan rider rode hard from green
light to flag and forced Hodgson into two errors, which gave him a
narrower win in race one and a clear margin of victory in race two.
Hodgson may have been held back by the presence of
two backmarkers in race one but outbraked himself in race two, running
off the track. Saving the situation with aplomb Hodgson did not crash,
but rejoined in fifth, finishing his race in fourth after the chequered
flag was shown.
Regis Laconi (Ducati NCR Nortel 998RS) did his championship
challenge a world of good with a third and second place finish in
the races at Imola, especially as his big championship rival James
Toseland (HM Plant Ducati 998F02), retired in race one with a broken
gear linkage and crashed in race two.
Gregorio Lavilla (Alstare Suzuki GSX-R1000) was the
first four-cylinder rider home in race two, in a fine third place
after an early four-way fight between Laconi, Toseland, Lavilla and
Chris Walker (HM Plant Ducati 998 F03). He took fourth in race one,
during a lonely ride to the first non-podium placing. Walker finished
his weekend with a race one crash and a race two fifth place, the
sensation of race one being Pierfrancesco Chili (PSG-1 Ducati) who
stalled on the line and then rode though to fifth. He ended race two
with a technical retirement.
The best private rider on show was different in each
race, Steve Martin (DFX Ducati Pirelli) following in the tracks of
Chili in race one, and Lucio Pedercini (Pedercini Ducati 998 RS) scoring
a great sixth place. The Foggy Petronas triple of Troy Corser was
in good form in comparison to the early season races, delivering Corser
a pair of seventh places. James Haydon, his team-mate, ran off the
track and then had a technical failure in race one, and followed that
up with another technical failure in race two.
Mauro Sanchini (Kawasaki Bertocchi ZX-7RR), Ivan Clementi
(Kawasaki Bertocchi ZX-7RR) and Marco Borciani (DFX Ducati 998RS)
took the last places in the top ten in race one, Sanchini, Juan Borja
(DFX Ducati 998RS) and David Garcia scoring those finishes in the
second 21-lapper.
In the championship Hodgson and Xaus are safe in first
and second places, with 464 and 341 points respectively, while Laconi
has leapfrogged his way to third place in the classification, with
257 points to Toseland’s 240. Lavilla is the top four-cylinder
rider, in fifth with 230.
In the World Supersport Championship Chris Vermeulen
(Ten Kate Honda CBR600RR) and Honda took the Riders’ and Manufacturers’
crowns respectively after Karl Muggeridge (Ten Kate Honda CBR600RR)
won the race and Vermeulen finished second.
It was Muggeridge’s second straight win, following
up on his devastating pole time, although another Aussie, wildcard
rider Kevin Curtain (Yamaha Motor Germany R6) took the new race lap
record of 1:53.122 before retiring with a worn out gear linkage.
Vermeulen is now the youngest ever rider to win the
championship, at the tender age of 21.
Jurgen van den Goorbergh (Yamaha Belgarda R6) returned to third in
the championship after scoring third in the Imola race but for the
Alstare Suzuki pairing of Stephane Chambon (fourth) and Katsuaki Fujiwara
(a retiree through crashing) Imola marked the end of their championship
aspirations. Chambon now sits second overall, on 126, with van den
Goorbergh third on 120 and Fujiwara static on 119.
FINAL ROUND: The final round of the 2003 World Superbike Championship
will take place on October 19th at the Magny-Cours Formula 1 circuit
in France, which last hosted an Superbike race in 1991. Hodgson and
Xaus’s Ducati 999 bikes have been running Magny-Cours WSBK promotion
stickers on their swing-arms since the Assen round.
RACE 1: 1. Xaus
(Ducati Fila); 2. Hodgson (Ducati Fila); 3. Laconi (NCR Ducati); 4.
Lavilla (Suzuki); 5. Chili (PSG-1 Ducati); 6. Martin (DFX Ducati);
7. Corser (Petronas); 8. Sanchini (Kawasaki); etc.
RACE 2: 1. Xaus ; 2. Laconi; 3. Lavilla; 4. Hodgson; 5. Walker (HM
Plant Ducati); 6. Pedercini (Ducati); 7. Corser; 8. Sanchini; etc.
POINTS: Riders - 1. Hodgson 464; 2. Xaus 341; 3. Laconi 257; 4. Toseland
240; 5. Lavilla 230; 6. Walker 202; etc. Constructors – 1. Ducati
550 ; 2. Suzuki 280; 3. Kawasaki 117; 4. Petronas 110; 5. Yamaha 63;
6. Honda 25.
Will
Rossi get bored of winning on the Honda and move to Ducat next year?
Rio
Moto Grand Prix at Jacarepagua, Round 12
Rossi's
Rio Win Secures
Manufacturers' Crown for Honda
Nelson
Piquet Circuit, Jacarepagua,
Brazil, September 19th :Valentino
Rossi (Repsol Honda RC211V) scored a controlled and cool race win
at the Rio GP and in the process delivered himself his sixth victory
of the year, his third in succession and the MotoGP Manufacturers
Title to Honda. Honda has now won 15 such honours in the premier class
of GP racing. Complete
Race Coverage HERE.
The man we love to
hate (or hate to love?), Australian Matt Mladin wins his 4th consecutive
Number One.
Mat
Mladin clinches his 4th consecutive AMA Superbike Title
at Barber Season Finale
Aaron
Yates Tates Home the Bacon at Barber on Saturday
Burmingham, AL, Sept 20-21st: Despite facing the
fiercest race action of the season, Yoshimura Suzuki's Aaron Yates
had no choice but to impress in Race One todayon Saturday if he wanted
to keep his slim title hopes afloat for tomorrow's Race two final
in The AMA Superbike National Championship. The Georgian did come
through in a major way, surviving an epic multi-rider battle at Barber
Motorsports Park to take his eighth career Chevy Trucks U.S. Superbike
victory. Complete
Race Coverage HERE.
