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2006
FastDates.com Calendars World Premier Brands Hatch World Superbike Great Britain
August 6-7th!
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Matt Mladin Re Signs with US Suzuki
During Mid Ohio;s qualifying press conference, five-time AMA Superbike champ Mat Mladin commented on the new three-year deal he inked with Suzuki that will see him continue racing in America.
“It’s actually been done for a few weeks, but I didn’t think it was that big of a talking point myself so I really never said much. I’ve been too busy watching the Tour de France, worried about what Lance Armstron ’s doing, to worry that I’ve signed for three years,” he said with a sly grin.
“Yeah, it looks like I’m going to be around for another few years with Suzuki here in the States, and I’m looking forward to it. It probably just dulled a lot of people’s days to hear that, but I’m happy.”
Fans Have Chance to ‘Race the Racers’ at Virginia AMA Superbike on August 25th!
Think you’ve got what it takes to go wheel-to-wheel with the big guys? Think you’re fast enough to take on the superstars of Superbike? Here’s your chance to find out: As part of the Suzuki Big Kahuna Nationals at VIRginia International Raceway featuring the AMA Superbike Championship presented by Parts Unlimited, scheduled for the weekend of August 26-28, race promoters Race Promotion Management (RPM) are announcing a Superstars Kart Enduro Challenge for Thursday, August 25.
Here’s the concept: There will be 10 single-engine, 200cc Zip karts ready to race at VIR’s Plantation Valley Kart Track on Thursday, August 25, at 5:00 pm. Each kart will have four drivers: one Superbike racer, one media celebrity, one staff member from either AMA, VIR, RPM or event sponsor Suzuki and one fan. Each driver will get 10 laps of the 5/8-mile, 24-foot-wide road racing kart circuit, and then pit for a driver change to one of their teammates. At the end of 40 laps, the kart with the fastest cumulative time is declared the winner. Following the race there will be a reception for all the participants, where trophies will be presented and fan participants will receive a CD of photographs taken during the race.
Here’s the deal for fans: All fans who purchase an advance ticket to the Suzuki Big Kahuna Nationals by the end of the day on August 12, 2005, will have their name entered in the eligibility drawing. Nine names will be drawn, and those picked will be invited to compete in the Suzuki Big Kahuna Nationals Superstars Kart Enduro Challenge. In the event that any of those picked will not be able to attend on August 25 (which is a private test day for the teams, with the general public not allowed), we will continue to pick names until we have one fan driver for each of the nine teams.
Racers who will be participating in the Suzuki Big Kahuna Nationals Superstars Kart Enduro include the following superstars of the sport: Eric Bostrom, Roger Lee Hayden, Aaron Yates, Neil Hodgson, Ben Spies, Jamie Hacking, Aaron Gobert, Kevin Schwantz and a rider to be named later. An additional, 10th team will be fielded by Triangle Cycles of Danville, with pro racer Larry Pegram anchoring the driver line-up.
“VIR is a unique, multi-faceted facility,” said RPM vice-president Cameron Gray, “and we wanted to do something special for the fans that would be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and also showcase what a great place VIR is. We are determined to make the Suzuki Big Kahuna Nationals ‘the race of the year’ for fans, and the Suzuki Big Kahuna Nationals Superstars Kart Enduro is just another of the ways in which we going to do that. VIR’s Plantation Valley Kart Track is a fantastic and challenging karting circuit, and we’re going to have a lot of fun with this event. The bragging rights alone are going to be priceless! We’re really looking forward to it.”
There are a number of advance ticket packages available for the Suzuki Big Kahuna Nationals at VIR. Advance packages include the Flag Room (three-day admission, paddock access, car parking pass, official event program and hospitality on Saturday and Sunday), for $140; Youth Flag Room (5-12 years of age) for $50; the Big Kahuna Super Ticket (three-day admission, paddock and pit walk pass, lap of track, car parking pass and official 2005 Big Kahuna t-shirt) for $99; three-day general admission with paddock access for $55; and pit walk passes ( limited availability, good for all practice and qualifying sessions, requires closed-toe shoes) for $30. At the gate, ticket availability will be limited to three-day passes for $60, single-day tickets (Friday only) for $10 and pit walk passes for $40.
To purchase advance tickets, visit www.virclub.com or www.rpmcolorado.com.
The event schedule for the Suzuki Big Kahuna Nationals will include three days of racing action, including two feature races for the headlining AMA Superbike Championship presented by Parts Unlimited as well as feature races for the supporting classes including the Pro Honda Oils Supersport Championship presented by Shoei, AMA Repsol Lubricants Superstock Series and Lockhart Phillips USA Formula Xtreme Series.
VIRginia International Raceway is a multi-purpose road racing facility, located on the Dan River between Danville and South Boston, Va., and just north of historic Milton, N.C. In addition to its 3.27-mile natural-terrain road racing circuit (designed to be operated as two autonomous, full-service courses), VIR is the cornerstone of VIR Club, America’s first motorsports country club; the VIR Raceplex Industrial Park; the VIR Gallery, which is a sales showroom for high-end collector and racing cars; the VIR Safety and Security Institute, which provides specialized training for U.S. Government and military groups; The Lodge at VIR, a 27-room hotel overlooking the track; and the Oak Tree Tavern, a full-service restaurant located within the circa-1840 Plantation Clubhouse.
VIR made history from 1957 to 1974 and is doing so again. The 2.25-mile VIR North Course circuit on which the Suzuki Big Kahuna Nationals will take place has 17 challenging turns and 130 feet of elevation change. In addition to spectator events, the track is also available to rent for testing, driving schools and club days.
For more information on VIRginia International Raceway, visit the track’s website at www.virclub.com or contact VIR at 434-822-7700. For more information on Race Promotion Management, visit their website at www.rpmcolorado.com or contact them via telephone at 303-377-3278. For more information on the AMA Superbike Championship Presented by Parts Unlimited, visit their website at www.amasuperbike.com.
FIM announcement. 2006 MotoGP Provisional Calendar
Dates / Grand Prix / Circuit
March 26th Spain
Jerez de la Frontera
April 8th ** Qatar Doha/Losail
April 23rd Turkey Istanbul
May 7th China Shanghai
May 21st France Le Mans
June 4th Italy Mugello
June 11th Catalunya
Catalunya
June 24th ** Netherlands Assen
July 2nd Germany Sachsenring
July 16th Great Britain
Donington Park
July 23rd United States *
Laguna Seca
August 20th Czech Republic
Brno
September 10th Malaysia
Sepang
September 17th Australia
Phillip Island
September 24th Japan Motegi
October 8th Portugal Estoril
October 29th Valencia
Ricardo Tormo – Valencia
• Only MotoGP Class
**Saturday Races
Sachsenring Proves Tough for Ducati Riders
Ducati Marlboro Team riders Loris Capirossi and Carlos Checa were unable to match their pre race performances in race conditions at the Sachsenring, with Capirossi, who set one of the fastest laps of the race (1'23.708), eventually ninth and Checa a non-finisher after a fall. The race itself was shortened from the expected 30 laps, after highside crash suffered by Suzuki rider John Hopkins left his bike stranded on the racing line.
This incident led to a delay in proceedings and a shortened 25-lap race, with Capirossi in sixth place on the grid, Checa tenth, due to their finishing positions in the aborted five lap start. The race was won by championship leader Valentino Rossi, from Sete Gibernau and Nicky Hayden. Capirossi sits eighth in the championship, with Checa tenth.
"It's a disappointing result after our warm up performances this morning, when we were second and third," said Livio Suppo, Ducati MotoGP Project Manager. "It was particularly disappointing as Carlos had such a good rhythm and pace, so it was a pity to lose him at the beginning of the race. Loris, who was able to set a very fast lap, was not able to maintain the rhythm in the race that he showed in the warm up and that is really a pity. Bridgestone proved to have done a very good job in practice this weekend, so we can enter the summer break hoping for a better result when we get to Brno."
CAPIROSSI DROPS DOWN THE ORDER
Loris Capirossi looked good for a top five finish in the re-start but a drop off in lap times saw him fight hard to finish ninth, taking seven championship points to maintain his eighth place in the championship.
"In the second part I did not start so well," stated Capirossi. "I worked hard to go faster so I passed Nakano and Melandri and I stayed with them. Then the front pushed hard a couple of times, the first time at the bottom of the fast downhill curve. Towards the end the bike began moving at the back so my pace went down. Here you stay longer on the left hand side of the tyre than that caused problems at the end of the race. We have made a step forward with Bridgestone and we are almost satisfied. We must keep on working. Today I could have done better but I could also just as easily have lost everything. In Brno the second half of the season will begin and it will be the moment to make the real advance."
CHECA LUCKLESS IN RACE CONDITIONS
Carlos Checa was pushing his pace to try and get back into contention with a group of riders just in front when he lost the front at the final corner of lap five, ending his race in the gravel trap.
"I'm very sorry because we worked a lot for all the weekend", said Checa. "It is slightly uphill in that area where I crashed and a little bumpy. I think I was a little bit late on the brakes there and probably a bit too strong. It went past the limit when I let the brakes off and the front lost contact."
Roberts Jr scores points as spectacular crash sidelines Hopkins at Sachsenring
Kenny Roberts Jr raced his Suzuki GSV-R to 11th place in the Alice Motorrad Grand Prix Deutschland, after the race had to be re-started following a terrifying high-side crash for team-mate John Hopkins.
Roberts Jr and Hopkins began the initial race well and were sitting in 10th and 12th places respectively. Hopkins then lost control of his GSV-R and was catapulted out of the seat and landed heavily on the circuit. The race was stopped as both the rider and machine were removed from the track. Unfortunately, Friday pm’s injuries were compounded and more significantly the fracture to his left foot became a full dislocation of the broken bone.
The race was re-started with all riders in the position they had finished the original race. Roberts Jr began the 25-lap race – reduced from 30 – in 11th place and managed to move up to 10th on lap five. He battled hard with Makoto Tamada before finally finishing just outside the top-10.
Today’s race was held in cloudy but warm conditions and was watched by 95,364 fans, pushing the overall weekend total of spectators to a record-breaking 216,457. World Champion and runaway series leader Valentino Rossi won the race and equalled Mike Hailwood’s record of 76 Grand Prix wins.
The next round of the MotoGP World Championship will be in four weeks time at Brno in the Czech Republic on Sunday 28th August.
John Hopkins: “Well, I’m battered and bruised. I had one of the worst high-sides I’ve ever had on Friday and then came close to topping that one off this afternoon.
“It was my fault really. I’ve been taking a few painkillers that I’ve been getting from Dr Costa. I just tried to do the best I could and stick with the lead group, but unfortunately my foot was bandaged up and I just lost feeling in it. That was really dangerous because you are on the edge of the tyre so much here. With a broken foot, I just couldn’t feel it on the shifter and I tried to keep my foot clear but accidentally hit the lever on that corner, the bike shifted to second and then I was flying.
“Looks like I won’t be doing too much moto-crossing at home now. I was also planning to do some promotional events with Red Bull and Crescent during the break, but I need to be at home and recover for Brno. I went well there last year and I’m desperate to get a good result”
Kenny Roberts Jr: “Today was about where I expected to finish in the dry. Basically that’s where we seem to be bike-wise right now. We still need help to get something a little bit more competitive inside the chassis. For me that’s just the way it is at the moment.”
Mr Masahito Imada – General Manager, Suzuki Racing Department: “I have now seen the team in action at the last two races and I understand what we have to do to make more advances with the Suzuki GSV-R. It was very good for Kenny to get on the podium last weekend and it showed that the bike can be competitive in the right conditions. (SURE, IN THE RAIN? This guy is obviously a spin doctor. -Editor).
“This weekend John looked very fast until his Friday crash and then today was brave but very unlucky.
“I will now take all the information I have from the races and study it carefully back in Japan. I will see what steps we can take to make the bike a better machine and to strive for better results whatever the weather.”
Team Honda Rider Quotes from Sachsenring
Sete Gibernau, Movistar Honda MotoGP: 2nd: “I’m really happy to have been fighting to win again – this should be our natural habitat and I promise it will continue to be so after the holidays. It has been a good weekend and it almost ended with a perfect race, it was just a shame that I made a mistake on the final lap. I got distracted and lost a precious tenth of a second that cost me victory. The important thing is that we are on our way back and this weekend I had fun on the bike once again. I can guarantee that I will win races this season.”
Nicky Hayden,Repsol Honda Team, 3rd: “I really thought I might have something for them at the end of the race but it wasn’t to be. In the last few laps I closed right up on them. I’m not happy about third but I’m happy about what I learned today. I was riding with two of the top guys in the world and I went to school on them for 30 laps. I feel like I learned a lot from them. I told my boys last night that we could be looking at 25 points but it wasn’t to be. They did a great job and got the bike set-up real well. Once you get that taste for winning you just want more. After so long being off the top of the box, Laguna felt so, so good. I just want that feeling back again real bad and soon.”
Max Biaggi,Repsol Honda Team: 4th: “Well, not so good again I’m afraid. I had to start from the third row as the first race was not so good and I was lying in eighth place when the race was stopped. In the end I made it past Barros and we get fourth place but I am not satisfied, how can I be? We are still fighting with the same problems all season. The front is still jumping and has chatter. It really makes me mad as I know I still have the ability and the motivation to win. At the moment we can only finish on the back and I am very frustrated. I never give up. I will train hard over the next few weeks and will come back after the break at Brno full of spirit for the race and for the rest of the season.”
Alex Barros, Camel Honda: 5th: “I’m a little bit disappointed with fifth place, obviously, but I feel I did everything I could, getting a pretty good start amongst the front group and pushing without a moment’s respite to try and get in front. What I am unhappy with is that eight laps from the end I began to lose rear grip and whatever I tried, including changing the power delivery to save on the tyres, not only was I unable to get amongst the battle for the podium, but I lost the duel with Max as I tried to control the bike which was sliding so much out of the bends. I didn’t’ give up though, and I tried to hang in there, but I couldn’t do anything. Anyway, I’m fifteen points off second position in the championship now and there are still seven races remaining after the summer break.”
Marco Melandri,Movistar Honda Team MotoGP: 7th: “We found a good set-up in the warm up and that gave me a real boost ahead of ! the race. I was relaxed at the start and held on to fifth place but I just didn’t feel as comfortable in the second race – I didn’t have the same level of traction. I didn’t want to force the pace because my objective was to finish the race as high as possible. Now it’s time for the holidays, which are always nice, and then we’ll get ready to get back on the podium at Brno.”
Makoto Tamada, Konica Minolta Honda: 10th: “This hasn’t surely been a great race for me. The setting of the bike was a little better in comparison with this morning, but it still didn’t give me the right confidence to push my bike even more. It is a hard situation because it isn’t simple to understand with precision what doesn’t work. The race had a good rhythm, which before the red flag I could in part maintain. After, the tyres lost a bit of grip and I couldn’t keep going as I was doing before, but this doesn’t have to be an excuse for me. Now I hope that this vacation will help me to find back the best conditions to be ready for the next Grand Prix at the end of August in Brno.”
Troy Bayliss, Camel Honda , crash: “Damn! When things are going wrong there’s not too much to say except I’m sorry, because the weekend hadn’t been going at all bad until qualifying. We were able to sort out the situation though because in the warm-up I felt good with the bike and the tyres and so I was confident for the race. Then I got caught up in the confusion at the first corner where several riders crashed out and I went really wide, almost stopping. I put my head down and tried to recover, and got good draught off Tamada but as I tried to pass him I went into the corner a bit too hard.”
New Rizla Suzuki Rider Buckingham Tastes Champagne at Castle Combe race in England
JAMES BUCKINGHAM took a fairy-tale third place podium finish and set a new lap record at today’s Castle Combe Grand National during his debut ride for Rizla Suzuki.
Buckingham, substituting for regular Rizla Suzuki rider John Reynolds, fought for the victory throughout a nail-biting dry second race that saw five riders fighting for the win from start to finish. He set a brilliant new lap record of 1min09.93s in the process.
Rizla Suzuki’s James Haydon led for most of the second race. A coming together with a back marker with two laps to go relegated him to second and he was pushed back to fourth at the penultimate corner after running off the track to avoid colliding with another rider. He rejoined to finish fourth.
The opening race of the day was held in wet conditions and cut short after just eight of the 15-laps. Haydon took fifth and Buckingham sixth on the bumpy and slippery 1.85-mile-long Wiltshire track. Yamaha’s Tommy Hill won both races.
JR will join James Haydon at Silverstone in Northamptonshire for an official MCRCB test on Tuesday, August 2nd. James Buckingham will be defending his lead in the Superbike Privateer Cup at the ninth round of the British Superbike Championship at Silverstone on August 21st.
James Buckingham:
“I loved riding for Rizla Suzuki this weekend and I think I have proved that with a Factory bike and good team I can run at the front in the Superbike class. I was going for the win in the second race and that was a fantastic experience.”
James Haydon:
“I am disappointed not to have won the second race. We are getting a lot closer to winning every time we race and I am hungrier than ever for success. On the positive side, we got more miles under our belts this weekend and understand the Rizla Suzuki better now. We are in good shape for the rest of the season.”
Dave Marton, Team Technical Support:
“James Buckingham has really impressed us and done a superb job - he is a star for the future and we thank him for his efforts this weekend. James Haydon tested a lot of settings on his Rizla Suzuki and that was always our main objective for the weekend. He deserved to win the second race but a bit of bad luck intervened and the team will be content with the third place for Buckingham.”
Race One Result: 1: Tommy Hill (Yamaha) 10:28.75, 2: Karl Harris (Honda) +2.25, 3: Steve Plater (Honda) +6.99, 4: Jonathan Rea (Honda) +7.51, 5: JAMES HAYDON (RIZLA SUZUKI) +7.91, 6: JAMES BUCKINGHAM (RIZLA SUZUKI) +18.22, 7: Ollie Bridewell (Kawasaki) +18.46, 8: Richard Wren (Yamaha) +18.76, 9: Nick Pusey (Yamaha) +19.21, 10: Steve Brogan (Honda) +22.17
Race Two Result: 1: Hill 21:18.94, 2: Harris +0.47, 3: JAMES BUCKINGHAM (RIZLA SUZUKI) +1.88, 4: JAMES HAYDON (RIZLA SUZUKI) +4.40, 5: Wren +11.46, 6: Rea +20.17, 7: Bridewell +21.53, 8: Brogan +31.05, 9: Les Shand (Yamaha) +36.17, 10: Dean Ellison (Yamaha) +43.83. |
