Road Racerhead v.2 #4
January 27, 2006
By CJ
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Sete Gibernau got the New Year off to a good start with his new team. Andrew Northcott photo

When I started Road Racerhead back in July, at the height of the road race season, I worried that I might not have something to write about come December and January, during the depths of the winter. After all, unlike the world of motocross, which is covered by my boss DC every Friday over at racerxill.com, road racing has a very real off-season, with almost no racing between October and March. I needn’t have worried; it’s been such an eventful off-season that I can only hope there’s this much to discuss when the actual racing gets going again. In fact, it sometimes seems that when there’s the least going on (i.e. not even any testing), there’s the most to talk about. Then again, the MotoGP testing ban is now over and AMA Pro Racing and their president Scott Hollingsworth have parted ways, so it’s not exactly like nothing is happening these days.

The first MotoGP test of 2006, starting on Monday (exactly three days after the testing band ended) and ending on Wednesday, was a pretty big deal. Yes, there had been a couple of tests before the ban began, but those were held mainly on 2005 equipment, where as this outing, held in Sepang, Malaysia, provided a closer idea of what to expect when the season starts in Jerez, Spain, in just under two months’ time.

Granted, a lot could still change between now and then, but Ducati still has to take the Sepang proceedings as a pretty good sign. Despite limited time on the Desmosedici GP6 going in (just two tests), Sete Gibernau already seems to be quite comfortable with the Ducati Marlboro team, needing just one day to work his way to the top of the leaderboard in terms of lap times. I’ll admit that when word leaked last season that the Spaniard would be going to Ducati, I wondered whether or not he’d be able to adapt to the V-4 Duck, which is said to favor a loose, imprecise riding style, but I apparently needn’t have been concerned. Sete’s fast lap was an unofficial 2:01.03 with a qualifying tire, a record time at the circuit. Gibernau also tried out the GP5 for the first time, but declared that the new bike had much more potential.

Marco Melandri was the quickest non-Ducati in Malaysia. Andrew Northcott photo

“My settling-in period with the team, the bike and the tires is continuing, and I am increasingly satisfied with the choice that I have made,” Sete added in a Ducati press release.

Just five-hundredths of a second off Gibernau’s pace was his teammate Loris Capirossi, which can only have added to Ducati’s and Bridgestone’s confidence as the season approaches. “Bridgestone are working well, and we have gathered a lot of useful information for the next test session,” said Capirossi. (The next test takes place next week at Phillip Island in Australia, where Loris crashed hard last season and missed two GPs.

Fastest non-Ducati rider—and fastest of the Hondas—was Fortuna rider Marco Melandri, who has consistently shown that there’s every reason to consider him a contender going into this season. Considering that Melandri never did find a setup with which he was completely happy, and that he didn’t put in a race simulation, his third-fast time—just under a tenth slower than that of Gibernau—is pretty good.

Also raising a few eyebrows was Dani Pedrosa with a fourth-fast time of 2:01.51 after just a few rides on a MotoGP machine. It was the first time on a Michelin qualifying tire for the diminutive Spaniard, and he said he didn’t realize how much grip it offered until partway through his lap, so he, too, bears watching. As for Pedrosa’s Repsol Honda teammate, Nicky Hayden was just sixth-fastest in Sepang, but in his defense, he put in an incredible number of laps during the test—95 on Wednesday along—so don’t be too hard on him just yet.

Nicky seemed like he was testing for endurance racing at Sepang. Andrew Northcott photo

Hopper and Suzuki struggled at the first MotoGP test of ’06. Andrew Northcott photo

What about Valentino Rossi? Well, he certainly grabbed the headlines on day 1. Everyone was wondering whether or not Yamaha would turn out in their new Camel graphics for this test, and despite Yamaha telling media to expect “winter colors,” sure enough, The Doctor and Colin Edwards were both wearing yellow when the door lifted on the Yamaha garage—which was itself also decorated with Camel advertising. Rossi turned in the fastest time of the first day, but his fast time of the overall test was his day 3 2:01.6—the fifth-best of the test.

Having won the ’05 title, and aware that ’07 will bring a totally new 800cc format, Yamaha made a conscious decision to not significantly update their YZR-M1 for 2006. It was an understandable choice—don’t fix what ain’t broke and all that—but it will be interesting to see if the competition’s more thorough revisions have made them more competitive.

Rossi and his team will miss next week’s test in Oz, where only Honda, Kawasaki, and Ducati are scheduled to appear. Suzuki is also skipping Australia and will next test alongside Yamaha in Qatar the following week.

As for the other Americans, Edwards was eighth-fastest, turning his best lap on day 2, and John Hopkins was 12th-quickest, just behind Suzuki teammate Chris Vermeulen.

Kenny Roberts Jr., in his first ride on the Honda-powered machine his father’s team will be fielding this season, was near the bottom of the charts with a 2:03.22—a bit over two seconds off Sete’s best—but according to a report by Henny Ray Abrams over on cyclenews.com, there’s still plenty of reason for optimism. Team KR loved the Honda RC211V engine and have a stiffer chassis lined up for next week’s test in Oz, but the biggest thing I took away from Abrams’ story was how enthused Big Kenny and Junior really seem to be. That is very good to see, and the American team certainly has a lot of people pulling for them from this side of the pond.

Kenny Roberts Jr. seems stoked with his Honda-powered machine. Andrew Northcott photo

A couple of other quick Roberts notes: Kenny Sr. told Abrams that he’s interested in competing in the AMA Superbike championship. A couple of years ago, I’d have put this development right after an amicable working relationship with Honda on the list of least-likely-to-occur Kenny Roberts scenarios (he has called the machines “Stupid Bikes” in the past). However, times are changing, and Kenny and his team are to be applauded for recognizing this fact. KR is already working with American Honda on possibly supplying swingarms for at least some of the ’06 AMA Superbike rounds (son Kurtis Roberts used a KR swingarm on his Erion Honda toward the end of last season), and American fans would like nothing more than to see the greatest American road racing hero in the AMA paddock. Oh, and I really dig the two-sided yellow/red eagle-schemed Arai that Junior was sporting.

Yamaha turned up in Sepang in their new Camel colors, but Rossi is expected to be in Marlboro livery next week. Andrew Northcott photo

Carlos Checa wasn’t on hand in Malaysia, but word out of Europe is that the Spaniard may land an 11th-hour ride alongside James Ellison on the Tech3 Yamaha team. Checa was slotted to race for Sito Pons’ satellite Honda outfit, but when Pons pulled out due to Camel’s pulling their sponsorship, it left him out in the cold. I had heard some whispers about this early in the week, and crash.net reported on the rumor yesterday, quoting Tech3 boss Herve Poncharal as saying, “Obviously the main thing is for Dunlop to get as much data and laps done as possible. With this in mind and as everyone knows, we are still hoping to have a second rider and we are working as hard as possible to try to find a solution and a way to attend the test in Qatar with two riders.”

As I mentioned above, Camel Yamaha will not be in attendance at next week’s test in Qatar, but it looks as though Valentino Rossi will be testing nonetheless. The Italian is expected to take part in a Formula One test in Valencia, Spain, which takes place on the exact same days as the MotoGP sessions. It will be the first opportunity to see Rossi on the track with current top F1 drivers, including Ferrari’s four-time world champ Michael Schumacher and drivers for Honda, McLaren, Williams, BMW, and Toyota. It will be fun to compare lap times, but word has it that Rossi will be in the 2004-spec Ferrari, whereas the others will of course be in 2006-spec machines. That will give The Doctor an advantage, as F1 now is now using an eight-cylinder platform and different aerodynamic specs, rather than V-10s.

Roger Lee Hayden (shown here at December’s Daytona test) was testing in Las Vegas with Tommy and Kawasaki this week. Brian Nelson photo

While Nicky Hayden was testing in Malaysia, brothers Tommy and Roger were also both testing this week at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. I talked to them both one week ago at California Speedway during a Kawasaki press intro for the new ZX-10R, and Tommy indicated that he expected the team to make some significant steps in the near future: “The way I’ve looked at it myself is, learn everything we can, gather all the information, and then, as we roll into next month and these next few tests, then it’s time to take everything we’ve learned and come up with our best package—take that and be ready to race.”

I also spoke with Team Manager Mike Preston, and I asked him where Kawasaki’s superbike program sits in relation to that of Yoshimura Suzuki—which is thought to include significant involvement from Japan—and that of Honda—for which the American office took on much more responsibility last season. Preston couldn’t really say, since he’s not directly involved in those efforts, but he did express surprise at Honda’s struggles last year.

Just to be perfectly clear, Mat Mladin was the fastest rider at last week’s Phillip Island superbike test. Photo by Matteo Cavadini/Alex Photo

“It fascinates me that they’re so far behind,” he said. “That tells me that what they had wasn’t a production bike. One year the bike’s great, and then it’s ‘Well, now we’re changing our development—now we’re going to do it.’ Now the bike’s no good. What’s wrong? It’s supposed to be a production bike. It starts the same. I wouldn’t think it would be that different. I can truly say we’re production-based. Our bikes come right from the factory. For sure, the factory helps us—they’re a big part of us getting going, but for sure we’re doing a lot in-house. We’re trying to work together as a team.”

Preston said he’s excited about this move for Kawasaki: “I’m anxious, I want to go,” he said. “I know the boys are capable of winning, and I want to speed up the process somehow to let them go, but I know that it’s going to take time for all of us. I don’t want to let them down.”

Three-time AMA Superbike champ Doug Chandler was also on hand at the Fontucky intro, and he said that he’d really like to land some sort of an AMA Superbike ride for the approaching season. Chandler spent some time dicing with the Haydens on production ZX-10s, and they definitely weren’t walking away from him. If anyone out there is looking for an extremely talented rider (three AMA Superbike champs enough for you?) for AMA road racing, Chandler may be your guy. Yes, I know he’s 40, but to paraphrase Eddie Murphy, he’ll be a 40-year-old, kicking-your-ass mother— … on second thought, maybe Eddie isn’t the best guy to paraphrase in this column, but the day that someone this good (and this cool) can’t land an AMA ride is a sad day indeed.

Troy Corser (shown) claimed Mladin used a Q to set his fast time in Australia, but Mladin says he didn’t. Photo by Matteo Cavadini/Alex Photo

Speaking of testing, last week I talked a bit about the showdown between AMA Superbike champ Mat Mladin and World Superbike champ Troy Corser during a test session in Phillip Island, Australia. Included was a photo of Mladin holding his foot rather gingerly, with the caption “ ... but he ended up with the fastest lap time overall. (That left ankle still a little stiff, Mat?)”

A few hours after Road Racerhead went up, Mladin emailed me with an answer to my question: “ Actually my ankle has always been stiff, just now a little less than before.”

I had directed readers to check out a report on the test on a different website, and Mat took exception to said report, which was written by a World Superbike reporter and didn’t state as clearly as it could have that Mladin had posted the fastest time of the test—despite a scary day 1 crash that resulted in a destroyed bike and stitches in the champ’s elbow.

“I guess they can’t say that a lowly national-level rider spanked the World Champ,” Mladin wrote in his email.

The World’s Fastest Indian hits theaters in one week.

In a post-test press release, Corser had been quoted as saying the following: “On race tires, Mat was probably about half a second, or two or three tenths maybe, slower than me, on an average. He put on a qualifier and put in a 1:32.2 yesterday, but my times were done on a race tire. So I could probably get under that time on a qualifying tire.”

Corser admitted to using qualifying tires himself (Pirellis), but only for about five laps. As for Mladin, he refuted the claim that he had used Qs, insisting he ran Dunlop race tires for the whole test. In this week’s issue of Cycle News, Mladin said the following: “The fact that Troy said it was a little disappointing, because I’d expect more from a World Champion than to say what he did. From my side of things, if Troy feels he needs to believe that, to feel good about himself, that’s fine.”

So, who is the faster rider, Mat Mladin or Troy Corser? One test on different-spec bikes on different-brand tires isn’t enough to say. Like most fans of the AMA series, I’d put my money on Mladin, but we’ll never really know until the two Australians are both racing in the same series. Unfortunately, that will probably never happen. It seems unlikely that Corser will come back to AMA Superbike, where he won the championship back in 1994. As for Mladin, he has stated that he has no intention of following in the footsteps of past AMA champs like Fred Merkel, Doug Polen, Scott Russell, and Corser, who have gone on to collect World Superbike titles, as Mladin says that the AMA is at least as competitive a series these days as is World SBK. He may have a point, as the west-east migration now seems to be from AMA to MotoGP, while 2003 World Superbike champ Neil Hodgson has made the east-west trip to AMA Superbike. Maybe some day when they’re both retired, Mladin and Corser will make comebacks and face off in the Australian Superbike Series, and the matter will finally be settled.

George “Ansel Adams” Shaw sent us this photo of the backs of two people’s heads at the premiere for The World’s Fastest Indian. Unfortunately, Sir Tony Hopkins messed it up by jumping into the background. George Shaw photo

I spent last Saturday at the Anaheim 2 round of the Amp’d Mobile AMA Supercross Series, where road racers Josh Hayes and Miguel Duhamel were in the house. It’s interesting to see the effects that the progress in technology is having on that sport, as the move to 450cc four-strokes has prompted the AMA to alter the racetracks, utilizing fewer jumps and rounding off the ones that they do have. I still haven’t decided what I think of the new trend, but it reminds me of how MotoGP is also being forced to adapt to the four-stroke machinery. Whereas the AMA has changed the tracks, MotoGP is changing the bikes, lowering the displacement cap from 990cc to 800cc starting next year. Considering much more difficult it is to change a paved road race circuit than it is a dirt supercross track, this is really on surprise, but it’s interesting nonetheless.

Anyway, the racing looks quite a bit different in supercross now, with a feel more similar to road racing, though obviously still extremely different. It will be interesting to see if the new direction results in fewer injuries.

One week from today, The World’s Fastest Indian will be coming to a movie theater near you. The Anthony Hopkins flick premiered in New York City on Tuesday, and we sent RRX Senior Editor Jeff Kocan, as well as RRX site host George Shaw, to get a report. Here’s what Shaw had to say:

NYC’s Ducati glitterati. Jeff Kocan photo

Expect to see this look at the track this season. Jeff Kocan photo

“The director, Roger Donaldson was there to introduce the film, and Anthony Hopkins also said a few words beforehand. The movie, set in both Invercargill, New Zealand and the Bonneville Salt Flats, told the true story of the record-breaking speed run made by Bert Munro in 1967 aboard his heavily modified classic Indian. Bert’s story is the ultimate tale of guts and determination winning out over money and youth. There wasn’t a person in the theater who wasn't deeply moved when the announcer called out ‘201 miles per hour’ at the end of Bert’s one and only timed run in the movie. After the film, drinks and snacks were served. A great movie about motorcycles, free food and beer, and lots of interesting people to talk to, what could be better?”

What, you mean your local bike shop doesn’t have a red carpet leading into it? Jeff Kocan photo

By the way, check out this week’s Between the Races interview with stuntman Myke Schwartz, who did most of the riding in the movie.

There has actually been a lot of motorcycle stuff happening in NYC lately, as we also sent the boys to the East Coast unveiling party for Ducati’s new Monster SR4, at their flagship store, located in the Big Apple’s fashionable downtown neighborhood. The party was a week ago last night, and although Kocan diligently filed the following report, it slipped through the cracks when posting last week’s Road Racerhead. Here’s what he said:

“Ducati North America CEO Michael Lock was on hand to debut the 2006 SR4, which combines the formidable 999 Superbike Testastretta engine with the ‘naked’ Monster frame. And a party it was, as journalists, industry-types and Ducati aficionados (and their dogs) crammed the showroom floor and enjoyed an endless stream of complimentary appetizers and a very, very open bar. (The specialty cocktails—the Monster and the Ducatini—could probably serve double duty as backup race fuel.) A team of fashion-coordinated DJs spun tunes from 7-10 p.m., and we even spotted industry hockey star Tom “Ace” aka “Slappy” Stinson admiring the new Duck. The new bike looks amazing, as you would expect, and that Testastretta engine will assure that the bike lives up to its name. You can expect to see it on showroom floors this spring, as a 2007 model, with an MSRP of $14,995.

Oh, yeah, there was also a Ducati Monster at the Ducati Monster intro. Jeff Kocan photo

Kocan test-drove the new Ducatini model and was extremely impressed. Jeff Kocan photo

Man, I wish I lived in New York!

In the current issue of Road Racer X, Gary Kahlil gives a positive review of the TT Superbikes: Real Road Racing video game. The game’s maker contacted me this week from England to tip me off to a forum for the game where players can compare lap times. Check it out at jesterinteractive.com .

On the topic of the Isle of Man TT, I just got a note from Paul Phillips (one of the event’s organizers), and he let me know that American Mark Miller has signed up for the 2006 running of the event.

Mark Miller (not the person reclining) and some of the other racers who will compete at this year’s Isle of Man TT. Photo courtesy of Paul Phillips

Speaking of the current issue, last week, I asked readers to identify the #43 bike appearing with Ray Plumb in the Honda Genuine Parts advertisement on page 55. The correct answer is Mike Baldwin, although as expected, we got several guesses for Fred Merkel and Freddie Spencer. From those who sent in the right answer, we chose two at random, and our winners are Mark Tuttle and Tracy MacKenzie. Mark and Tracy, you guys can each expect a case of Pro Honda HP4 10W40 oil (valued at $89) to be arriving some day soon. Thanks to reader Dave Turner for the question, and to Honda’s Rick Mitchell for the oil.

Over in Davos, Switzerland, the World Economic Forum kicked off on Wednesday, and it will wind down on Sunday. I’m telling you this because Andrea and Barry Coleman, who founded the Riders for Health charity with Randy Mamola, are supposed to be on hand rubbing shoulders with the likes of Bill Gates and Richard Branson. The couple were invited as members of the Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurism (described in a press release as “an elite global network which is the sister organization of the WEF”). The Colemans, whose charity provides inexpensive motorcycles to transport medical supplies in Africa, are hoping to raise awareness of the vital need for transport for development in Africa.

That’s it from me, but Miriam Deitcher is back with some news on all things dirt track.

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Will LeBron follow MJ into the motorcycle racing world? Miriam Deitcher photo

It’s the flat track off-season, but things have been anything but slow for me. In the past two weeks, my extra-curricular activities have ranged from bowling with Cleveland Cavaliers superstar LeBron James to dancing on top of the bar at trendy NYC biker hangout Hogs and Heffers. As I head to San Francisco for Saturday night’s Ricky vs. Bubba showdown at SBC Park, I can’t help but feel blessed for the cool things I get to do as part of my day job. Hard to believe working for an insurance company could be so much fun.

All that excitement, however, pales in comparison to my most exciting recent feat: booking my Bike Week trip. With my plane ticket and hotel dialed in, I can officially start daydreaming about opening day of the 2006 AMA Flat Track season. With over 100 riders vying for 60 spots in the evening program and just 16 spots in the main event, drama and suspense are sky-high at Municipal Stadium on the Thursday night of Bike Week. “Crapshoot” is the word you often hear to describe Daytona, a groove track where passing is difficult—meaning a bad start can send even the most talented riders packing-up prematurely. Last year saw marquee names like Jared Mees, Jay Springsteen and Rich King watching the main from the grandstands—and starting the season with a big goose egg.

So who’s going to win the inaugural race in the new (yet-to-be-named) Singles series? For the past six years, Daytona has seen six different winners (2005 Jake Johnson, 2004 JR Schnabel, 2003 Chris Carr, 2002 Ricky Winsett Jr, 2001 Will Davis, 2000 Terry Poovey) on five different brands (Suzuki, Yamaha, VOR, Rotax and ATK). The other Singles races are more predictable: Schnabel’s won five in a row at the Springfield rodeo arena and Henry Wiles seems to be the “it man” at Peoria. But Daytona is truly anyone’s race to win—and a “don’t miss” for Bike Week fans.

Henry Wiles will be on the Aprilia next year. Miriam Deitcher photo

As Daytona approaches, silly season is slowly coming to a close. There’s been no official announcement of Carr’s plans for next year, but look for the defending champ to be back with longtime tuner Kenny Tolbert, back with sponsor Ford Quality Checked, and back on KTMs at Singles races. In fact, chances are Carr will be the only top rider on KTMs in 2006.

While Carr’s program looks to be the same, minus teammate Willie McCoy, the Harley-Davidson camp is undergoing major changes—a sign of the company’s renewed interest in the sport. At this week’s annual winter dealers’ meeting in Texas, Harley-Davidson announced their factory riders for 2006. (Note: The “s” in “riders” is not a typo—Harley-Davidson is fielding two riders this year, for the first time in ages). Veteran racer Rich King will return to the squad for the eighth year. King will be joined under the orange-and-black canopy by Kenny Coolbeth—who finished second in the series in 2005, behind seven-time series champ Carr.

Additionally, Harley-Davidson will field a pair of “dealer-supported factory riders”—super fast young guns Jared Mees and Bryan Smith. Mees (fourth in 2005) and Smith (fifth) won’t be official factory riders, but they’ll sport Harley-Davidson leathers at Twins races and they’ll pit alongside King and Coolbeth. To add to the hype, Harley-Davidson has even named the foursome “The Wrecking Crew.”

The new jumpman23 clothing line was on display in NYC. Miriam Deitcher photo

The addition of Coolbeth to the team was not a huge surprise, since he’s a hugely talented rider coming off his best-ever year. Plus, Coolbeth had been seen talking to the Harley-Davidson folks in the pits on numerous occasions late in the 2005 season. The bigger surprise, perhaps, is that Harley-Davidson re-signed King—who has struggled since finishing second in points in 2001. In 2005, King won only one race and ended up sixth in series points—and improvement from 12 th in 2004, but certainly not where King or Harley-Davidson wanted to finish. With three younger guys under the Harley-Davidson canopy this year, King has got to be feeling pressure to step things up a notch. The series split will help, as King has shined on Miles, been hit-or-miss on Half-Miles, and struggled big-time on Short Tracks and TTs (making only one of four mains in 2005).

Jason Pridmore made an appearance at the NYC motorcycle show. Miriam Deitcher photo

Although the folks from Milwaukee are coming out with both barrels loaded (and four of last season’s top six riders), the season will by no means be a cakewalk. Factory Harley-Davidson will be challenged not only by numerous strong privateer teams fielding talented riders on XR-750s (i.e. Carr, Joe Kopp), but also by other manufacturer-supported teams. American Suzuki will be fielding the same two riders as last season (Jake Johnson and Kevin Varnes), and from what I’m hearing, they’re going to be a force to be reckoned with in both classes in 2006. Also, there’s a chance Piaggio—owners of the Aprilia brand—will have a factory-supported presence at Twins races.

In Piaggio’s booth at the New York International Motorcycle Show last weekend was a Mike and David Lloyd-built Aprilia, along with the Lloyds’ new rider for the 2006 season—Henry Wiles. The Lloyds and their Aprilia saw some success in 2005—making the main a few times with riders Larry Pegram and Dan Stanley. With super-talented Wiles at the helm, and possible support from corporate Piaggio, 2006 may very well be the year the Aprilia podiums. Pegram told CJ in his Tuesday Conversation interview this week that he may ride the Aprilia on occasion again this season.

Seeing Wiles at the New York show gave me a chance to pass along my very overdue condolences to Henry and his family, since I wasn’t able to attend the funeral of Wiles’ brother Birdy—who lost his battle with leukemia a few weeks ago. How’s Henry doing? Like anyone dealing with loss of a loved one, Wiles seems to be taking one day at a time. “It’s a hard thing to take, especially as involved as we were with each other,” said Wiles. “He wouldn’t want us to be bummed out about everything. He’d want the show to go on, so that’s what I’m trying to do.” Wiles also talked about how much he’s going to miss Birdy at the racetrack. “I really enjoyed him being there, he really helped me,” Wiles said. “He would see things that nobody else would see and it was very helpful. I’m going to have to step my game up a little bit and catch onto those things myself.”

Not so smooth move: Jared Mees (21) taking out Mark Cheza (16x), the man who may someday be his father-in-law, in a Flint, Michigan heat race. Jim Grant photo

Although it’s the off-season, many of the top series riders jump at every chance they get to race. Northeasterners, including Coolbeth, are in the midst of the five round annual Thunderdome Indoor Racing series in New York—where John Raun Wood and Chris Spear each won a class Saturday night. The same night on the ice in Flint, Michigan, Mees and Mark Cheza (father of Nichole, Jared’s girlfriend) battled, with Mees coming out on top.

Speaking of ice, Shaun Russell’s recent victory in Colorado put him in a dead tie with Johnny Murphree in the Manufacturers World Cup Ice Racing Championship, which is currently on its Canadian leg. My level of interest in the first-year series skyrocketed earlier today when I heard about the addition of a series season finale on April 22 and 23 in San Juan. Puerto Rico in April? After a long, cold Ohio winter, that sounds just about perfect. Si, Senor.