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FastDates.com
April 2005
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World Superbike girl Robin is ready to rock with our Bike
of the Year
the Ducati Multistrada S 1000
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The 2005 Multistrada 1000Smodel features Ohlins race quality suspension
front and rear, along with carbon fibre bits like the front fendar
and cam belt covers. Also on our bike is the Ducati Performance
Termignoni exhaust silencer. Our tester is beautiful SBK Fast
Dates Ducati Corse World Superbike girl Robin Cunningham.
SBK
Fast Dates Ducati Corse girl and bikini clad Tomb Raider
Rockin'
Robin Cunningham
gets into some hard core action with the Ducati Multistrada 1000S
DS
2005
FastDates.com Bike of the Year Award
Ducati Multistrada 1000S DS
It’s
no secret the Ducati’s Multistrada 1000 DS which was first
introduced back in 2003 was one of our favorite motorcycles. The
somewhat quirky looking, do everything aircooled V-twin Desmo
did everything really well. It may not have been the world’s
best bike in any one particular category from canyon carver, to
off road adventure bike, to around town commuter, to cross country
tourer -but it was very close. It does excel in everything really
well.
No other
bike on the market is quite capable of matching the Ducati Multistrada
for overall versatility, performance and just sheer riding pleasure.
Now with the introduction of the new upgraded Ohlins suspended
1000S model for 2005 the Multistrada has become so close to perfect
in so many categories that, as an overall package the staff at
FastDates.com, the world's premier streetbike website, feels the
new Multi S is the world’s best streetbike. It’s
so good in fact, we decided to create an award and make the Multistrada
1000S our first ever FastDates.com Bike of the
Year for 2005. Our congradulations go out to Ducati and
Multistrada designer Pierre Terblanche for creating the perfect
bike.
Complete
Ducati Multistrada S Feature Story with Rockin' Robin HERE!
Hot
Chicks That Kick Ass....
A long
time due- a fantastic double race win and the World Championppoints
lead for Troy
Corser.
2005 Corona Extra SBK World Superbike Championshipp,
Round 2 of 12
Troy Corser
Doubles for Corona Suzuki at Phillip Island
Phillip Island, Australia April 1-3rd-
The wet start to raceday at Phillip Island cleared
shortly after morning warm up but the strong north
winds gathered pace as the first Superbike race of
the day got underway, at 12 noon local time. Race
one was taken, in convincing fashion, by local hero
Troy Corser (Alstare Corona Extra Suzuki). The 25
knot winds, gusting to 40 knots on occasion, did not
help any of the riders in their quests, especially
during fast changes of direction into the prevailing
gales. As the winds abated slightly, the rains duly
returned to halt race two after 12 laps, and leave
a ten lap ‘wet’ race to be completed.
The result was declared as an aggregate of leg one
and two, delivering a magnificent double to Troy Corser
who now leads the World Championship from twice second
place finisher and team mate, Yukio Kagayama.
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Team
Corona Suzuki Riders
Dominate Opening Qualifying
Round Two began with temperatures nudging 30°C
and a stiff breeze from the landward side, the
29 riders present at Phillip Island found the
first day of track action a challenge on several
levels. The leading lights from the opening
Qatar round, Alstare Corona Extra Suzuki riders
Troy Corser and Yukio Kagayama, went 1-2 on
the early leader board, after the usual final
flurry of attempts to be the overnight leader.
With Kagayama leading the series, and Corser
just behind, it is currently shaping up to be
another good round for the Suzuki pairing. Corser’s
best lap of 1’33.191 was fully 0.596 seconds
faster than his team-mate, and only the top
four where within one second of the 1996 World
Champion.
2004
season runner up, Regis Laconi (Xerox Ducati
999F05) secured third place on day one, underlining
his current form as the fastest Ducati rider
around. His team-mate, James Toseland, has struggled
in his bid to make a fast single lap of qualifying
thus far, thus he is languishing in 15th place.
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Tose
land is more competitive on race tyres, rather than
the qualifiers most riders adopted in the final stages.
Toseland even led the times at one point of the first
qualifying hour, as did Chris Walker (PSG-1 Kawasaki
ZX-10R) Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha Motor Italia R1) and
Steve Martin (Petronas FP-1), before Corser hit the
top and stayed there to the end.
A
solid entry of Australian riders gave the top of the
time sheets a top-heavy local feel. Corser was the
lead rider in that regard, but he is joined on the
provisional front row by fourth place rider Andrew
Pitt (Yamaha Motor Italia). From fifth to eight, the
second provisional row of qualifying is an unbroken
wall of Aussie talent, with Winston Ten Kate Honda
riders Karl Muggeridge and Chris Vermeulen fifth and
sixth - SBK rookie Muggeridge 1.173 seconds behind
Corser. An outstandingly competitive showing by the
Petronas pairing of Garry McCoy and Steve Martin has
them seventh and eighth after one day.
Sanchini
Leads Kawasaki Charge: Despite Chris Walker’s
early good showings he was to be upstaged by the late
run of his PSG-1 Kawasaki team-mate Mauro Sanchini,
who scored ninth fastest time with a 1’34.676.
Walker ended day one 14th, as the last laps witnessed
many a rider make a personal best on a qualifying
tyre.
Experience
Shows: Pierfrancesco Chili (Klaffi Honda) took the
last top ten time, heading off the Yamaha Motor France
pairing of Norick Abe and Sebastien Gimbert. Although
not quite up to the standard of his first Qatar qualifying
sessions, Jose Luis Cardoso (Yamaha DFX Sterilgarda
Extreme) was 13th, ahead of both Walker and Toseland.
The last of the top 16 riders proved to be an Italian
rider in an Italian squad, Giovanni Bussei (Bertocchi
Kawasaki).
Top
Riders In Middle Places: Ben Bostrom (Renegade Honda
KOJI) battled against a still not 100% race ready
machine to record 19th fastest time, not helped by
a technical problem at one stage. Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha
Motor Italia) struggled hard to record his 20th place
finish, fully 2.5 seconds behind Corser. The Scuderia
Caracchi Ducati squad of Lorenzo Lanzi and Fonsi Nieto
were toiling under the strain of day one pressure,
recording times only good enough for 22nd and 29th
respectively. Lone wildcard rider Andrew Stroud to
his Suzuki to 26th place, with stand in for Alessandro
Velini (Pedercini Ducati) proving to be Alessio Corradi,
a rider who is still recovering from injury.
Supersport:
Winston Ten Kate Honda pilot Sebastien Charpentier
started his Phillip Island qualifying campaign the
way he left his pre-race Qatar preparation –
in a dominant top slot. His lap time of 1’35.999
outpaced his closest challenger, Michel Fabrizio (Team
Italia Megabike Honda) by 0.328, with the top Yamaha
runner Kevin Curtain (Yamaha Motor Germany) almost
one second off Charpentier’s best. Fabien Foret
(Team Italia Megabike Honda) and Qatar race winner
Katsuaki Fujiwara (Winston Ten Kate Honda) sit fourth
and fifth respectively, with Swedish rider Johan Stigefelt
(Stiggy Motorsports) sixth on his Honda.
On
Saturday 2 April the final qualifying sessions for
Superbike and Supersport take place, with Superpole
on the Superbike class following on at 4pm local time.
On Sunday 3rd, two 22-lap SBK rounds sandwich a 21-lap
Supersport outing.
Kagayama
on Pole, Martin with the Petronas FP-1 a close 2nd!
Alstare Corona Suzuki's World Championship point s
leader Yukio Kagayama grabbed the quickest time in
Superpole on Saturday afternoon as his Ausie team
mate Troy Corser actually turned the day's quicket
lap earler in Free Practice for the weekend's Corona
Extra Superbike World Championship round at Phillip
Island, Australia . Not expected was fellow Aussie
Steve Martin's incredible ride on the now suprisingly
competitive Foggy Petronas FP-1 to start tomorrow's
races from second on the grid. And team mate Garry
McCoy's seventh-placed qualifying performance on the
other FP1 made it an exceptional day for the Foggy
PETRONAS Racing team. Just as suprising was the fact
the closest factory Xerox Ducati Rider was Regis Laconi
down in 8th, followed by last seasons other top 3
runners Chris Vermeulen and James Toseland. The Aussies
have pulled out all the stops to win their home country
round of the World Superbike Championship.
Steve
Martin will start tomorrow's second round races in
the Superbike World Championship from second on the
grid at his home circuit of Phillip Island, Australia.
And Garry McCoy's seventh-placed qualifying performance
on the PETRONAS FP1 made it an exceptional day for
the Foggy PETRONAS Racing team.
Steve finished an agonising six hundredths of a second
behind Yukio Kagayama on pole by slicing another half
a second off his previous best time in a thrilling
Superpole lap.
Garry
also took a huge 0.7 second chunk out of his fastest
time after recording a series of impressively consistent
times on race tyres during the preceding free practice
session.
And, despite a changeable weather forecast, both riders
are now relishing the prospect of tomorrow's race
action in front of a partisan crowd.
Steve
said: "When I went out I thought it was possible
too finish that high, but maybe not with that time!
But it's still frustrating to be just six hundredths
off pole. The boys saying that I was sliding around
but it felt fine to me! And I had a bit of pressure
on me because Garry had just done a good lap and I
thought `That's going to be hard to beat.' I have
got a pretty good set-up for the race and I think
it's going to be exciting. If I can get away with
the front guys then I think I can be on that pace.
But the first aim is to finish both races, and it
would be great if we could finish on the podium. The
team is working excellently and PETRONAS are bringing
the bike on really well - and we have more to come
soon."
Superpole
Results: 1 Kagayama 1:33.241; 2 Martin
(Foggy PETRONAS Racing) +0.060; 3 Neukirchner +0.143;
4 Corser +0.157; 5 Pitt +0.220; 6 Muggeridge +0.316;
7 McCoy (Foggy PETRONAS Racing) +0.435; 8 Laconi +0.596;
9 Vermeulen +0.812; 10 Toseland +0.827; 11 Bussei
+1.262; 12 Abe +1.501; 13 Walker +1.562; 14 Vizziello
+1.698; 15 Cardoso +1.762; 16 Sanchini +1.891
Saturday
Qualifying: 1 Corser (Alstare Suzuki)
1:34.793 (1:33.191); 2 Neukirchner (Klaffi Honda)
1:33.632; 3 Pitt (Yamaha Italia) 1:33.677; 4 Vermeulen
(Winston Ten Kate Honda) 1:33.781; 5 Kagayama (Alstare
Suzuki) 1:34.762 (1:33.787); 6 Martin (Foggy PETRONAS
Racing) 1:33.836; 7 Laconi (Ducati Xerox) 1:34.291
(1:34.084); 8 McCoy (Foggy PETRONAS Racing) 1:34.304;
9 Muggeridge (Winston Ten Kate Honda) 1:35.125 (1:34.364);
10 Vizziello (Italia Lorenzini) 1:34.396
Saturday
Free Practice: 1 Corser 1:33.169;
2 Pitt 1:34.108; 3 Kagayama 1:34.183; 4 Muggeridge
1:34.424; 5 Toseland 1:34.602; 6 Neukirchner 1:34.609;
7 Vermeulen 1:34.710; 8 Laconi 1:34.872; 9 Cardoso
1:34.973; 10 Abe 1:35.035; 11 McCoy 1:35.208; 12 Martin
1:35.259.
Race
Day and Troy Corser's Long Overdue Return to the Top
The
wet start to raceday at Phillip Island cleared shortly
after morning warm up but the strong north winds gathered
pace as the first Superbike race of the day got underway,
at 12 noon local time. By the end of the day, the
likeable Austrailan and former AMA and World Superbike
Champion Troy Corser would be back at the top of the
SBK Championship where he belonged, after a disasterous
4-yerar hole in his career suffered by an ill fated
move to MotoGP and then a return to WSB with the uncompetitive.
Foggy Petronas bike.
Race
One:
Troy Corser took the lead into the first corner and
kept it for all 22 laps of the race, winning by a
margin of 8.279 seconds from his own team-mate, Yukio
Kagayama. The fight for third place, which was to
be determined some 12.551 seconds down on Corser at
the flag, was a seven rider battle at one stage, as
early runner Andrew Pitt (Yamaha Motor Italia) eventually
faded from his impressive start to finish fifth, behind
an awesome fight between Chris Vermeulen (Winston
Ten Kate Honda) and Max Neukirchner (Klaffi Honda).
Touching fairings at one stage, the pair battled it
out right to the very end, with Vermeulen scoring
the podium, but Neukirchner covering himself in glory.
The 21-year-old German’s success was consolation
for his Klaffi Honda team, as their lead rider Pierfrancesco
Chili suffered a broken collarbone on Saturday.
Race
Two: In the second race, a harsh fall
of rain stopped the race, and as the contest had not
yet reached the two thirds stage, a second leg was
called. This second ten lap race was run under ‘wet’
rules, with the aggregate leaders from the first race
being Troy Corser, Regis Laconi (Ducati Xerox) and
Max Neukirchner. Corser, leading for a period, was
re-passed by Kagayama, but won the aggregate race
by 5.822 seconds, from his Japanese team-mate. Third,
on the track and on aggregate, was German sensation,
Max Neukirchner, his first podium score in only his
fourth-ever World Superbike race.
Off
Podium Fights: Chris Vermeulen (Winston
Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR) ended the day in fourth
place in the championship fight, after a fourth in
race two and fifth in race one. Starting from row
three these were impressive results, and unlike many
other riders, he was to finish both races. His team-mate
Karl Muggeridge, finished eighth in race one, but
fell in race two - after a collision with fellow crasher
world champion James Toseland (Xerox Ducati).
Laconi
Battles Hard:
After a lowly seventh in race one, Regis Laconi (Ducati
Xerox) looked on
course for a second place finish in the re-run. When
the rains came, he had to make an acrobatic save of
a potential high side approaching Lukey Heights, fell
from his Ducati, and then bravely restarted, to finish
his day with a pair of seventh places. His team-mate
Toseland had an even tougher day, finishing race one
only 14th, after a bad start and some grip issues
throughout. After his second race tangle with Muggeridge
at the hairpin, he slipped to eighth in the championship,
on 22 points. Lorenzo Lanzi (Ducati SC 999RS) was
disqualified from the race when his machine was found
to be underweight, promoting all riders behind him
up one place, and earning Toseland his two points.
Yamaha
Riders Tough It Out: A challenging
day for the Yamaha Motor Italia squad saw Andrew Pitt’s
fifth place in race one become the highlight of the
weekend, as he crashed out in race two – on
two occasions. Noriyuki Haga also had woes as the
Japanese rider suffered a retirement in race one and
a crash at exactly the same corner in the wet part
of race two as Pitt.
The
Yamaha Motor France pairing of Norick Abe and Sebastien
Gimbert had different fortunes in race trim, as Abe
scored a sixth in the dry and an eighth in the interrupted
race two. Gimbert had clutch troubles which left him
11th in race one, and an electrical problem in race
two robbed him of any more points.
Jose Luis Cardoso (Yamaha DFX Extreme Sterilgarda)
burned his clutch in race one, pulling in on lap one
and he once more failed to finish race two.
Kawasaki
Nearly There In the Wet: Chris Walker
(PSG-1 Ducati) had the pleasure of leading the second
wet leg of race two, but like three other riders,
crashed around turn eight, and was unable to continue.
He thus had a high point of ninth in race one. In
race two, Giovanni Bussei (Bertocchi Kawasaki) was
the highest placed Kawasaki rider, confirming himself
in ninth place on aggregate.
Bostrom Scores: Ben Bostrom (Renegade Honda Koji)
had to retire from race one, but after being outgunned
in the dry section of race two, he had greater pace
in the second wet leg, finishing 11th, and adding
his name to the points table.
Petronas
Riders Out of Luck: Garry McCoy and
Steve Martin failed to take a race finish between
them, as neither Petronas FP-1 made it through race
one, and then Martin crashed out on race two, in a
bizarre double fall. He jumped off right in front
of the following Andrew Pitt, without either rider’s
machines touching each other, and with neither rider
to blame for the other’s accident.
Nieto
Nets A Goal: Fonsi Nieto (SC Ducati
999RS) took a convincing fifth place in race two,
thanks in part to his wet weather prowess. The big-name
Spaniard has great experience of Phillip Island, but
not on his current Ducati four-stroke. This was his
first top five in World Superbike.
SUPERBIKE
Race 1
(Laps 22 = 97,790 Km)
Pos /Rider /Nat. /Team / Time /Gap
1 / T. CORSER / AUS / Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra
/ 35'15.199 /
2 / Y. KAGAYAMA / JPN / Alstare Suzuki Corona
Extra / 35'23.478 / 8.279
3 / C. VERMEULEN / AUS / Winston Ten Kate Honda
/ 35'27.750 / 12.551
4 / M.NEUKIRCHNER / GER / Klaffi Honda / 35'27.960
/ 12.761
5 / A. PITT / AUS / Yamaha Motor Italia WSB /
35'28.403 / 13.204
6 / N. ABE / JPN / Yamaha Motor France-Ipone /
35'30.315 / 15.116
7 / R. LACONI / FRA / Ducati Xerox / 35'32.394
/ 17.195
8 / K. MUGGERIDGE / AUS / Winston Ten Kate Honda
/ 35'49.020 / 33.821
9 / C.WALKER / GBR / PSG-1 Kawasaki Corse / 35'49.209
/ 34.010
10 / G.BUSSEI / ITA / Kawasaki Bertocchi / 35'57.793
/ 42.594
11 / S. GIMBERT / FRA / Yamaha Motor France-Ipone
/ 35'58.050 / 42.851
12 / M.SANCHINI / ITA / PSG-1 Kawasaki Corse /
35'59.755 / 44.556
13 / I. CLEMENTI / ITA / Kawasaki Bertocchi /
36'00.003 / 44.804
14 / J. TOSELAND / GBR / Ducati Xerox / 36'16.210
/ 1'01.011
15 / A. STROUD / NZL / Superbike New Zealand /
36'47.355 / 1'32.156
Fastest Lap 2° Troy Corser 1'34.917 168,589
Km/h |
SUPERBIKE
Race 2
(Laps 22 = 97,790 Km) Combined
Pos /Rider /Nat. /Team / Time /
1 / T. CORSER / AUS / Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra
/ 37'34.183 /
2 / Y. KAGAYAMA / JPN / Alstare Suzuki Corona
Extra / 37'40.005 / 5.822
3 / M.NEUKIRCHNER / GER / Klaffi Honda / 37'45.080
/ 10.897
4 / C. VERMEULEN / AUS / Winston Ten Kate Honda
/ 37'52.940 / 18.757
5 / F. NIETO / ESP / Ducati SC Caracchi / 38'27.272
/ 53.089
6 / A. CORRADI / ITA / Team Pedercini / 38'28.310
/ 54.127
7 / R. LACONI / FRA / Ducati Xerox / 38'32.259
/ 58.076
8 / N. ABE / JPN / Yamaha Motor France-Ipone /
38'37.511 / 1'03.328
9 / G.BUSSEI / ITA / Kawasaki Bertocchi / 38'38.538
/ 1'04.355
10 / M.SANCHINI / ITA / PSG-1 Kawasaki Corse /
38'42.937 / 1'08.754
11 / B. BOSTROM / USA / Renegade Koji / 38'48.630
/ 1'14.447
12 / A. STROUD / NZL / Superbike New Zealand /
38'50.893 / 1'16.710
13 / L. LANZI / ITA / Ducati SC Caracchi / 38'54.187
/ 1'20.004
14 / M.PRAIA / POR / DFXtreme Sterilgarda / 40'18.656
/ 2'44.473
Fastest Lap 6° Troy Corser 1'34.979 168,479
Km/h
Lap Record: 1999 Troy Corser 1'33.019 172,030
Km/h |
Ten
Kate Honda's Sebastian Charpentier Takes Supersport
:
High winds delayed the start of the 21-lap Supersport
race, as trackside advertising hoardings, two TV towers
and pit lane awnings blew over. With grey clouds rushing
past overhead, the 19-strong Supersport grid formed
up for battle, in a contest eventually taken by Winston
Ten Kate Honda rider Sebastien Charpentier. His win
propelled him to the top of the championship table
with 45 points.
Young
Italian charger Michel Fabrizio (Team Italia Megabike)
took an early lead, but was rebuffed by the charging
Yamaha Motor Germany R6 of experienced rider Kevin
Curtain. Fabrizio failed to finish the race, with
only three laps to go, but Curtain finished second,
to take third in the championship with 33 points.
Qatar race winner Katsuaki Fujiwara (Winston Ten Kate
Honda) lost his personal battle with third place man
Fabien Foret (Team Italia Megabike Honda), taking
fourth place in the race and now sitting second overall,
on 39 points. A strong ride gave Jurgen van den Goorbergh
(Ducati Selmat) a fine fifth place.
The
next rounds of both World Superbike and Supersport
take place at Valencia in Spain, from 22-24 April.
|
SBK
600cc SUPERSPORT RACE : (Laps 21 = 93,345 Km)
Pos /Rider /Nat. /Team / Time
/Gap
1 / S. CHARPENTIER / FRA / Winston Ten Kate
Honda / 34'28.920 /
2 / K. CURTAIN / AUS / Yamaha Motor Germany
/ 34'32.515 / 3.595
3 / F. FORET / FRA / Team Megabike / 34'38.561
/ 9.641
4 / K. FUJIWARA / JPN / Winston Ten Kate Honda
/ 34'38.584 / 9.664
5 / J. VD GOORBERGH / NED / Ducati Selmat /
34'58.522 / 29.602
6 / J. STIGEFELT / SWE / Stiggy Motorsports
/ 35'03.088 / 34.168
7 / B. PARKES / AUS / Yamaha Motor Germany /
35'11.615 / 42.695
8 / S. CHAMBON / FRA / Gil Motor Sport / 35'15.280
/ 46.360
9 / T. LAUSLEHTO / FIN / Klaffi Honda / 35'17.896
/ 48.976
10 / C.COGAN / FRA / Moto 1 - Suzuki / 35'25.779
/ 56.859
11 / J. FORES / ESP / Alstare Suzuki Corona
Extra / 35'49.276 / 1'20.356
12 / D. GARCIA / ESP / Lightspeed Kawasaki /
35'49.381 / 1'20.461
13 / T. MIKSOVSKY / CZE / Intermoto Czech Republic
/ 35'57.621 / 1'28.701
14 / P. SZKOPEK / POL / Intermoto Czech Republic
/ 34'46.990 / 1 Lap
Fastest Lap 14° Sébastien Charpentier
1'37.438 164,228 Km/h
Lap Record: 2003 Katsuaki Fujiwara 1'36.642
165,580Km/h
|
SBK
Superbike Riders Championship Standings:
1 CORSER 91, 2 KAGAYAMA 85, 3
LACONI 54, 4 VERMEULEN 50, 5 NEUKIRCHNER 37,
6 ABE 33, 7 PITT 31, 8 TOSELAND 22, 9 BUSSEI
20, 10 NIETO 17, 11 HAGA 16,
12 MUGGERIDGE 15, 13 CHILI 11, 14 GIMBERT 11,
15 SANCHINI 11
SBK
Supersport Riders Championship Standings:
1 CHARPENTIER 45, 2 FUJIWARA
38, 3 CURTAIN 33, 4 FORET 27, 5 PARKES 19,
6 CHAMBON 17, 7 FABRIZIO 16, 8 FORES 13, 9 LAUSLEHTO
13, 10 VD GOORBERGH 11,
11 STIGEFELT 10, 12 NANNELLI 7, 13 MIKSOVSKY
7, 14 COGAN 6, 15 BERTA 5.
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Fast
Dates Calendar shoots at Brands Hatch World Superbike
GB Aug 5-7th
April 1st, 2005: America might have
its head up its butt his year when it comes to National
and International Superbike racing, but it sure gives
FastDates.com a great excuse to travel to the world
meca of Superbike racing, the Brands
Hatch round of the SBK World
Superbike Championship on August 5-7th to
photograph the next edition of the world's premier
roadrace bike calendar, the SBK endorsed
Fast Dates Racebike Pinup Calendar
sponsored by Performance Machine and Jardine Performance.
Needless
to say we are a little bit nervous going to a race
where 100,000 crazed British sportbike fans wearing
war paint, and armed with air horns while high on
bangers and Guiness.
But in the great tradition of the world's most beautiful
models who have been featured in Fast Dates including
Calendar Angel and Miss Great Britain Nicki
Lane, calendar photographer Jim Gianatsis
has booked two well equipped local body guards to
protect him from the British hordes. Meet the beautiful
Monica McDermott (left) and Gemma
Gleason (right) who we found at the great
London based motorsports oriented model agency Universal
Models. Armed with no more than a bikini and a
smile, were we'll be counting on Monica and Gemma
to keep the Red Coats at bay.
Don't
look for FastDates.com to be at Laguna Seca, now MotoGP
this year to photograph the Fast Dates Calendar. Online
sportbike websites are required by MotoGP to pay a
$1,000 per race media access fee for the privilage
of covering their race from the media building. As
far as getting access to the pit lane and the GP bikes
with a model or a camera, no way. And for all you
lucky race fans who paid the big bucks for the sold
out Laguna Seca GP Paddock Passes, don't forget all
the race bikes are kept out of view in the Paddock
Garages which also block the view of the pits, so
the only bikes and riders you'll see are on the track.
Need a hotel room for Laguna seca? We do have 2 motel
rooms in downtown Carmel next to Clint Eastwood's
Hogsbreath Inn available for sale to the higgest bidder.
Reigning British Superbike champ John Reynolds (1) took
the start at Brands Hatch on the Rizla Suzuki. Reynolds
hopes to retain his title aboard the new GSXR1000 despite
a broken leg in testing last month and a full 40 bike
grid of serious contenders. 50,000 spectators attended
the opening round at Brands Hatch, more than all the
spectators in total at all the 2004 AMA Nationals.
2005
British Superbike Championshp Round 1 of 13
50,000
Spectators in attendance at BSB Season Opener
Japanese Honda Rider Kiyonari
Doubles Brands Hatch British Superbike
March 28th Brands Hatch, Great Britain - HM
Plant Honda Japanese rider Ryuichi Kiyonari won both
races in the opening round of the British Superbike
Championship this weekend at Brands Hatch, taking the
title lead in the Championship ahead of transplanted
Italian World Superbike star Gregoria Lavilla (Ducati),
and team mate and former Brihish champ Michael Rutter
on another HM Plant Honda CBR1000RR.
Reigning Rizla Suzuki British Superbike Champion John
Reynolds scored two heroic top 10 finishes in the opening
round of the British Superbike Championship at Brands
Hatch today while racing with a broken right leg. During
the weekend JR went from 21st after first practice,
to 12th on the grid, to two ninth-place finishes in
the races. He battled through the pain barrier and refused
to give in to his injured right leg or his rivals, fighting
every lap of both races and scoring valuable Championship
points in front of a huge 50,000-strong crowd.
JR
has an appointment with his surgeon on Wednesday and
is planning on resting for the next two weeks to build
his strength for the second round of the series.
Rizla
Suzuki team mate Scott Smart crashed out of the season
opener on lap six when he had to brake mid-corner to
avoid colliding with another rider, hurting his left
wrist and straining his back in the process. A still
sore Smart started from third place on the front row
in the second race and bravely finished in a solid eighth
place to get his Championship challenge off the ground.
"I
am happy to have scored points today," explained
John Reynolds, "but in my heart I really wanted
to be racing at the front. In fairness, the limiting
factor today wasn't the pain in my right leg, it was
the lack of ground clearance on right hand corners because
I was wearing a huge boot and cast that was dragging
on the track. Put simply, I couldn't lean my Rizla Suzuki
any further and that was costing me time everywhere.
"Saying that, my Rizla Suzuki technicians have
been beyond brilliant this weekend. They have accommodated
my injury and gave me a fantastic GSX-R1000 to race.
They even gave me reinforced toe-sliders so I could
complete 30-laps without wearing through my entire right
boot! Well done to the team and thank you for having
the belief in me to race - the 14-points I've scored
today could make all the difference at the end of the
season."
Scott
Smart: "I'm disappointed in my results today because
my Rizla Suzuki GSX-R1000, my team and myself were capable
of much better - we proved that by qualifying third
on the grid.
"Race
one was unfortunate as I crashed avoiding another rider
and hurt my left wrist and back. In race two I was mugged
in the first two laps and found myself down in 12th.
I felt weak because of my injuries but as the race wore
on I built up my confidence and started to get a move
on and that's very encouraging. We are matching the
Rizla Suzuki to my riding style and we will make very
fast progress thanks to all the data we've got this
weekend."
Robert
Wicks: "I am ecstatic for JR to take two top 10
finishes against all the odds - it is more than any
of the team could have hoped for and has lifted us all
enormously. If he can get this sort of result with a
broken leg, I can't wait to see what he can do when
he's fit again. This is a long season and JR is going
to be in the reckoning.
"I
feel for Scott as he had a lot of pressure and expectation
on his shoulders because of JR's injury and a front
row starting position. He suffered a bit of bad luck
in race one and spent race two rebuilding his confidence,
which he did very effectively indeed. He posted his
fastest laps of the race towards the end - times equaling
the front-runners. He has the ability, he has the bike
and when it gels for him he's going to be spectacularly
fast.
"My
first race weekend as Team Manager has been thoroughly
exciting and I am delighted with the professionalism
and dedication of the Rizla Suzuki team. We'll go back
to the workshops and regroup before Thruxton where I
know we will be much stronger when we line up there
in two weeks time."
The
second round of the British Superbike Championship is
at Rizla Suzuki's home track of Thruxton in Hampshire
on April 10th, just 30-minutes away from the team's
Dorset HQ at the Crescent Performance Centre in Verwood.Heroic
Reynolds scores double top 10
Race
One Result:
1: Ryuichi Kiyonari (Honda) 23:17.515, 2: Gregorio Lavilla
(Ducati) +10.242, 3: Glen Richards (Kawasaki) +10.432,
4: Michael Rutter (Honda) +10.533, 5: Sean Emmett (Yamaha)
+14.168, 6: Karl Harris (Honda) +18.874, 7: Jeremy McWilliams
(Honda) +24.408, 8: Dean Thomas (Kawasaki) +24.604,
9: JOHN REYNOLDS (RIZLA SUZUKI) +26.892, 10: Tommy Hill
(Yamaha) +32.289, SCOTT SMART (RIZLA SUZUKI) DNF.
Race Two Result:
2: 1: Kiyonari 23:16.796, 2: Rutter +5.041, 3: Lavilla
+8.027, 4: Leon Haslam (Ducati) +9.786, 5: Emmett +14.181,
6: Harris +14.421, 7: Richards +16.612, 8: SCOTT SMART
(RIZLA SUZUKI) +24.002, 9: JOHN REYNOLDS (RIZLA SUZUKI)
+24.439, 10: Gary Mason (Honda) +24.506.
Championship Standings after Round One:
1: Kiyonari 50, 2: Lavilla 36, 3: Rutter 33, 4: Richards
25, 5: Emmett 22, 6: Harris 20, 7: JOHN REYNOLDS (RIZLA
SUZUKI) 14, 8: Thomas 13, 9: Haslam 13, 10: Hill 10,
13: SCOTT SMART (RIZLA SUZUKI) 8.
Beautiful
Georgina Tutt (left) and our own SBK Fast Dates Calender
Angels Nicki Lane (right) are the offical grid girls
for the reigning British Superbike Championship Rizla
Suzuki team in BSB all this season.
There's
more! Go to Pit Lane News Next
Page
Hot Calendar Girl and Bike News! Go to: Fast
Dates • Garage
Girls • Iron &
Lace
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Fast
Dates Calendar Motorcycle Roadracing News. Complete coverage of
the SBK World Superbike, AMA National Superbike and MotoGP World
Championship. Fast Dates Calendar and Umbrella Girsl. Max Biaggi,
Valentino Rossi, Ben and Eric Bostom, James Toseland, Regis Laconi,
Loris Capirossi, Troy Bayliss, Troy Corser, Noriyuki Haga. Ducati
999 Monter Multistrada, Yamaha R6 R1, Honda CBR600RR CBR1000RR,
Kawasaki ZX6 ZX6RR ZX10, Suzuki GSXR600 GSXR750 GSXR1000, Aprilia
Mille, MZ Agusta F4 Brutale
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The
Biggest Streetbike Show in America!
July 16-17th 2005
$70,000 in Awards!
• World Record Jardine Dyno
• 2-Wheel Tuner Sportbike Class
MotoCreations.com Ducati Class
• AMD
World Championship of Bike Building Qualifying Round
Exhibitor
Information
The
Death of Professional Roadracing in America
contined....
Don Emde Comments on AMA Pro
Racing and American Honda
Don Edde won the Daytona 200 in 1972 aboard a Yamaha TZ350.
He now publishes a dealer trade magazine Parts Magazine.This is
a leter he sent to us and Cycle News to follow up on a column
in Cycle News last week by contributing journalist Henry Ray Abrams
on the demise of this year's Daytona 200, relagated to a one brand
Honda showcase attended by less than 5,000 spectators.
FastDates.com has been
voicing a similar opinion since August of 2004. We are glad to
see someone else in the Industry havng the courage to speak on
the factors contributing to the demise of pro roadracing in America.
-Ed.
I
wanted to comment on Henny Ray Abrams’ thought-provoking
Chicanery column (“A Farce”) that ran in the March
23rd issue of Cycle News. In my opinion, the two biggest issues
that cloud the direction of roadracing by AMA Pro Racing is the
number of classes that they run and the structure of the AMA Pro
Racing Board of Directors.
First,
it seems clear to me that the AMA’s goal is to have lots
of classes so that most, or all, of the manufacturers can win
a class championship. Kind of like the Olympics when the “Medal
Count” is what teams shoot for rather than any single Main
Event.
I
know some people don’t like to hear “Back in my day,”but…back
in my day, yes, we had some preliminary races during Daytona Bike
Week, but there was one big shoot-out on the last day with all
the big dogs on the track at the same time. That’s the kind
of Daytona 200 that I won, as did Kenny Roberts, Wayne Rainey,
Freddie Spencer, Scott Russell and others in their day. There
needs to be a Main Event and that is what we didn’t have
this year at Daytona.
There
are two key classes of motorcycle sportbikes – 600s and
1,000s. But we have four classes in the AMA series. Sure, some
allowances need to be made for the Ducatis and other brands that
emerge with less cylinders, but that can be worked out. But there
is no need to have two classes each for 600s and two for 1,000s.
The fan confusion is really hurting the sport.
Secondly,
I don’t have anything against Ray Blank or American Honda,
I think Honda makes great products. But it is totally wrong, in
my opinion, that only a representative from Honda should sit on
the AMA Pro Racing Board and participate on all the decisions
are being made, while the others sit by their mailbox waiting
for the news to arrive about what the rules of racing will be.
A
few years back when it was announced that this one manufacturer
would sit on the board, people wondered if decisions would be
unbiased. Now, I think the answer is clear. As Keith McCarty replied
in the “Chat Room” interview on page 16, they were
notified about the switch to Formula Xtreme machines for the 200
in August. Don’t tell me that’s when Honda first knew
about it. And look at the number of rule changes that have effected
the Superbike class in the past three or four years as Mat Mladin
and Suzuki have continued to succeed. I could be wrong, I hope
I’m wrong, but that has always appeared to me to be “strategic.”
Whatever the reasons have been, the result was that this year
the defending champion of the race was already on his way home
when the Daytona 200 started. And the Yamaha and Kawasaki team
trucks were somewhere in East Texas heading west.
As
a result of its “for-profit” corporate structure,
the AMA Pro Racing board is not required to publish its meeting
minutes, so we don’t know what proposals are brought forward
and how the voting goes. But I’d say the board should have
been overly sensitive to the possible criticism of the bias issue,
but they failed completely to do so. So how else should they think
the public and industry would react to a “Daytona 200 by
Honda,” with only the four factory-support Honda rider pummeling
a field of privateers?
Even
during Bike Week and since, I’ve had conversations that
range from “we have to fix the situation at the AMA”
to “it’s not fixable.” Fixing what we have would
seem to be the best direction as we’d hold everything together
in one series. But if the latter is true, then the AMA and Honda
can go do their series and the rest of the sport can go do something
else. I think there are some people and organizations out there
that could run events that could be very fan-friendly even with
just three-of-the-four Japanese brands.
Whichever
way this goes, the most important aspect is that there is a level
playing field for all the participants and that everyone has an
equal voice. As Henny Ray pointed out, big changes are needed
and it’s going to take people with some balls to make them.
- Don Emde, Laguna Niguel CA
What
do You Think?
Write us at:
Web@FastDates.com
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SPEED
TV's Delayed World Superbike Coverage Tuesday Morning
The SPEED Channel's poor coverage of motorcycle roadracing in
America continues with a 3-day delay of this weekends World Superbike
round from Phillip Island.
One hour coverage
of the First and Second Superbike races are scheduled to air at
12 noon Eastern / 9am Pacific time on
Tuesday April 5th.
Hopefully you have TiVo so you won't miss it while you are at
work.
Rather than
rebroadcast the origional live TV feed from Phillip Island that
all of Europe gets to see, the SPEED Channel always likes to re
edit the coverage to leaveout the behind the scenes and pit commentary
from Suzi Perry and the other original broadcast crew, along with
deleting any and all rider personality shots, interviews and the
beautiful umbrella girls on the starting grid.
In stakt contrast
to our poor American coverage of World Superbike by SPEED, superceeded
on Sundays now by crap progams like regional snowmobileand ice
racing, Great Britain gets 247 hours of live World Superbike race
and feature coverage this year.
Ducati
999F05 hits
197mph at Phillip Island!
Phillip Island
WSB April 2nd - After setting the top speed record of 316 km/h
yesterday, Laconi went even quicker today, ending up at 318 km/h
- 197mph, an extraordinary performance from the twin-cylinder
Testastretta-engine Ducati 999 that was achieved with the contribution
of the special fuels and lubricants developed for the Factory
'05 machine by technical partner Shell.
"Yesterday
we were already quick at 316 km/h and today we went even faster.
If we go any quicker tomorrow, at this rate we'll be approaching
the speed of the MotoGP bikes!" added Laconi.
Tire
Selection and Changeable Wheater Hampers Ducati Team
Phillip Island Sun 3 April: Ducati Xerox Team riders Régis
Laconi and James Toseland came away from the second round of the
World Superbike Championship at Phillip Island with mixed results
as they were hampered by a lack of grip in race 1 and then had
to deal with changeable weather conditions in a rain-affected
two-part second race.
Seventh and
fourteenth respectively were all Régis and James could
manage in a windy race 1 after starting from rows 2 and 3 of the
grid as Corser (Suzuki) took the win. "I never had to ride
so hard to stay on the bike because the front was just going away
all the time" declared Laconi. "I lost it five times
at the same place at 220 kph because of the wind or the tyres,
I don't know which. It was so crazy that I couldn't even stay
on the bike and I just did the best I could do. I passed everyone
to move up to fourth and thought I was OK but then it was so difficult
because after 6 or 7 laps the bike was just so hard to ride".
Toseland
instead had problems with his rear tyre, which prevented him from
making an impact on the race after just a few laps. "I got
a bad start and almost went off at the first corner and that dropped
me down to fifteenth. After that I just started to lose grip very
early on and that was it for my race" he declared.
Race 2 was
red-flagged for rain after just over half-distance, with Laconi
four seconds behind Corser in second place. In the final ten laps,
which were run on full wets, Laconi did his best to maintain that
position but had a nasty moment when he lost control of the rear
of his 999 at Lukey Heights and crashed.
The Frenchman
was able to restart but eventually finished seventh overall. "I
made a good start and had a good first lap to be immediately up
with the leaders. Troy was a bit faster than me but I kept second
place well. I was happy because we changed the bike totally from
the first race and now it was so good, so thanks to my team for
giving me something different for the second race. I started to
ride it in the wet but the rear shock was too hard and after three
laps the rear tyre was finished. When I crashed, the rear went
away and I made a big highside. I restarted the bike with the
starter and got back in the race to finish seventh".
Toseland meanwhile
was already out of his one-hundredth world superbike race on lap
6 after being taken out from behind by Muggeridge (Honda) at Honda
Corner. "I'm going away from here with two points after working
so hard this weekend. I was up there in top 5 in every practice
on race tyres, so it wasn't a coincidence. In Superpole the time
I did would have put me second in every other session and I was
tenth, then we had problems with the rear in race 1 and with Muggeridge
who cut me up in race 2. What more can I say?".
Day
of disappointment for FPR in Australia
Foggy PETRONAS Racing's joy in qualifying second on the grid for
the second round of the Superbike World Championship at Phillip
Island, Australia, turned to despair on race day.
Riders Steve Martin and Garry McCoy were unable to finish either
race with both retiring from the first race through mechanical
problems before crashing out of the restarted wet section of the
second race.
The day had
started full of promise after Steve had qualified in second spot,
with Garry close behind in seventh.
And both riders were maintaining an encouraging pace - Garry in
eighth and Steve in tenth - in race two before rain resulted in
a red flag. The restarted race produced mayhem, with Garry the
first of five riders to crash at the same Haysheds section of
the circuit.
Steve then
suffered a bruised chin, arm and finger when his bike landed on
top of him following a high-side at the first corner, four laps
into the restarted race when he was in sixth place on aggregate
times.
But he was able to draw a number of positives from his home round
of the championship.
Steve said:
"To qualify in second at my home circuit and to set my fastest
lap here is something that I will remember for a long time. Both
Garry and I are on the pace and that is good for PETRONAS and
the team. When we get a bit more power, instead of just catching
people we will be able to catch them and pass them. I got a better
start in race two but was getting chewed up down the staights.
After the restart I went into turn one as normal and, before I
even got on the gas, the bike high-sided me and landed on top
of me, driving me into the ground. I had a terrible start in the
first race and Muggeridge made it hard for me to get past. The
group in front had broken up by then but once I was past him I
was able to pull a bit of a gap before I had to retire. They were
the windiest conditions I have raced in."
In a hectic
gap between races the FPR mechanics were hard at work drilling
holes into the fairings in order to reduce the effect on the bike
of the gusting side winds at the coastal circuit.
Garry was again able to set a string of competitive lap times
before the rain arrived after 10 laps. And he was also able to
gain encouragement from the dry sections of the races, both won
comfortably by Troy Corser.
Daijiro Commerative GP Helmet Computer Mice
GP
Helmet Mouse is available in the two different trademark Blue
/ Yellow and Red / Yellow color schemes worn by Daijiro, and have
all the hot race features like an 800dpi optical laser for smooth
tracking, left/right click functions for precise turn-in, and
a quick throttle scrolling function. Included is a long, 36in.
detachable USB cable for stealth operation when the tech inspector
stops by. The GP Mouse is compatible with both superstock Windows
(98 and later) and superbike Apple OS machinery.
Get
your entry in now before the grid is full. The Daijiro Commerative
Grand Prix Mouse is only available in America from Sudco International
to Dealers,
and Retail direct for $47.00.
Phone weekdays
1-323-728-5407 8am -6pm PT
SUDCO INTERNATIONAL
www.Sudco.com
Supermodels
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like to get wet...
Sports
Illustrated
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Maxim
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hosted by MTV's Rachel Perry
AMA
Superbike teams testing at Barber Motorsports Park
on Tuesday, March 29, in preparation for the April 22-24 AMA Superbike
Championship event at Barber.
The test date is closed to the public.
Teams slated to participate: American Honda, Yoshimura Suzuki, Kawasaki,
Michael Jordan Motorsports, Attack Kawasaki, Austin Ducati, Yamaha
Graves Motorsports, Team M4 Emgo Suzuki.
2005
AMA SuperMoto Schedule Adnnounced
March 24, 2005- Already 3 months into the new year, AMA Pro Racing
has finally been able to put together a schedule for the 2005
AMA Supermoto Championship. The series will kick off at an all-new
event in Southern California in May and conclude in October on
the streets of Reno, Nevada. Highlights
will include a return to Copper Mountain for a double-header event
as well as a stop at the all-new Supermoto-specific track at Road
America.
Kerry Graeber,
AMA Pro Racing Vice President, Communications commented on this
year’s championship. “The 2005 schedule is a mix of
proven, existing events as well as a couple of new venues that
show great promise,” said Graeber. “Additionally,
the announcement that we will be adding a 250cc class and feature
two Supermoto class finales at each round has been tremendously
well received. We’re confident that this year’s championship
will be the best yet.”
Commenting
on the reasoning behind the season starting earlier than past
seasons, AMA Pro Racing Vice President, Commercial Development
John Farris said there were significant benefits. “The opportunity
to showcase AMA Supermoto in Southern California in conjunction
with a major consumer event like the Extreme Motorsports Expo
(May 14-15 event) was just too good to pass up,” said Farris.
“Same can be said for the new round at Road America where
AMA Supermoto will be featured on a purpose built track in conjunction
with the AMA Superbike weekend.”
Missing from
the schedule is the Laguna Seca National round in July, formerly
the showcase of the AMA Pro Supermoto Championship, as well as
California Speedway AMA National round in April, and last year's
Championship finale in Las Vegas in conjunction with the AMA Awards
Banquet. Ironically the 3 biggest attended rounds of 2004 were
still not profitable enough for the promoters to want them back.
The 2005 AMA Supermoto Championship below is essentially sideshow
club races to other events:
DATE
LOCATION
May 14 Orange County Fairgrounds, Costa Mesa, Calif.
June 4 Road America, Elkhart Lake, Wisc.
July 30 USA International Raceway. Shawano, Wisc.
Aug. 20-21 Copper Mtn. Ski Resort, Copper Mountain, Colo.
Sept. 24 Music City Motorplex, Nashville, Tenn.
Oct.1 Downtown Reno, Reno, Nev.
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