“No man is an Island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the Continent, a part of the main.”
– John Donne, Meditation XVII

That quote may be true in it’s context but there is one man that certain stands alone in the world of MotoGP and he’s quickly becoming permanently associated with an island. In this case the man is Valentino Rossi and that island is Phillip Island.

The weekend started off interestingly enough. As I mentioned in my preview on Friday both Loris Capirossi and Kenny Roberts Jr crashed their way out of the event in practice on Thursday. These wouldn’t be the only riders bitten by the high speed corners before the weekend was over.

Qualifying was typically thrilling. Carlos Checa, always a rider that seems to find his pace when contract time rolls around, was consistently fast. Max Biaggi and Sete Gibernau were also near the front for most of the session. However, when the clock started winding down it was Valentino Rossi and Nicky Hayden that set the pace. Both put in fast laps once the Q-tires came out but it was Hayden who ultimately did the business to win his third pole position of the season by setting a new lap records for the Phillip Island circuit. Rossi and Gibernau completed the front row with all three riders seperated by just 1/3 of a second.

At the other end of the grid, Franco Battaini on the WCM failed to make the 107% cut-off and thus wouldn’t normally line up for the race. For whatever reason the FIM waived the rule thus allowing him to race. I have two theories for this: First, Battaini is Italian and, coincidentally, so is most of the FIM board. I’ve bitched already this season about how Rossi wasn’t penalized after his Motegi accident when Spaniard Lorenzo was suspended for a similar accident in the 250GP class that same day. Naturally, I’m not surprised that an Italian rider is given a reprieve from the rules when it might otherwise mean he wouldn’t be riding. My second theory has to do with the depleted field caused by the absence Team Proton and then compounded by Capirossi and Roberts accidents. Surely the FIM knows that a grid of 18 bikes is bad for marketing and that losing one of those because of qualifying rules hurts even more. The FIM needs bikes on the grid to have a viable product to sell to the fans, especially with the World Superbike Series showing such strong growth this year. At this point the FIM needs everyone on a bike that they can get and thus can’t afford to disqualifying someone even if they can to compromise safety to do it. Bad juju either way.

Okay, I’ll move beyond the qualifying controversy… Once the race got under way it was Hayden who led the way off the line. The young rider from Kentucky looked confident perhaps because the track contains so many ultra fast left turns which may play to his past as a dirt tracker in America. One rider who didn’t have such a great start was Max Biaggi as the Italian crashed out about halfway through the first lap. Since Biaggi had been leading the battle for second in the points his early exit, along with Capirossi’s absence, threw the door wide open for Hayden, Melandri and Edwards to capitalize.

Almost immediately the race soon broke into small groups. The lead battle was Hayden, followed by Rossi and Melandri. Behind them, Gibernau, Edwards and Checa were locked in their own battle. Behind them came Barros, Tamada and Nakano. Rossi soon made his way to the front and brought Melandri with him. Despite showing speed in his pass on Hayden, Melandri was unable to go once Rossi had clear track in front of him and could cut fast laps. The American Repsol Honda rider, on the other hand, re-passed the Italian aboard Gresini Honda and re-closed the gap to the World Champ out front. The Yamaha rider tried his best to out pace the Honda but couldn’t shake the Kentucky Kid.

Further back, Olivier Jacque had another tough race on the Kawasaki this time pitting early with tire problems. It was announced this weekend that Jacque’s countryman Randy De Puniet will be riding the Kawasaki next year so it looks like Jacque may again be out of a job in the GP paddock. He needed some strong rides in these last wild card appearances to convince team bosses he’s got what it takes and it doesn’t look like that is going to happen. Another rider that needed a good result this weekend was Alex Barros. Unfortunately, the Brazilian threw his Honda down the track at the ultra fast Haystack corner and was lucky to survive the crash with only severe bruising. Still, a DNF wasn’t what he needed this weekend especially with rumors floating around the Carlos Checa was in talks with Sito Pons about a ride on the Camel Honda in ‘06.

Around half race distance Vale realized he couldn’t break the field and so he shifted tactics and slowed the pace. Nicky initially didn’t take the bait but with lap times two seconds a lap slower than those run by the trailing pair he eventually re-passed for the lead. However, the damage was already done. Melandri and Carlos had closed the gap and what had been a mano-a-mano struggle was now a four rider scrap. Once the gap was closed Rossi again went to the front and again dropped his lap times in an effort to break away. Meanwhile Hayden was fighting for position with Melandri and couldn’t immediately respond. It took two laps for Hayden to shrug of the pursuing riders but by then Rossi had built up a one second gap. Nicky took back a few tenths but there wasn’t enough time left to catch back up. Valentino managed the gap and won the race. Carlos used the power of the Ducati to pip Marco’s Honda at the line for third. Sete was a lonely fifth, followed by an equally lonely Colin in sixth.

Valentino Rossi’s win accomplished two things. First, it marks the Italian’s 11th win of the season. This ties his previous best record for single season victories. It also puts him just one race away from equalling Doohan’s all-time record of twelve race wins in one year of GP racing. With two races left this season, Rossi still has a chance to break that record if he can sweep both of them. The second thing accomplished by his victory was locking up Manufacturer’s Title for Yamaha. This gives Rossi a perfect trifecta for the year having won the Rider’s Championship, the Team Championship and the Manufacturer’s Championship for ‘05.

Hayden’s second place moves him into a tie with Marco Melandri for second in the championship. Edward’s sixth place finish moves him to fourth overall eight points behind the two Honda riders. Biaggi falls to sixth a further three points behind Edwards and Capirossi slips to sixth eleven points behind Biaggi. With 50 points still available in the final two races, the season runner-up is still a long way from being decided but it is quickly narrowing down to a Hayden, Melandri and Edwards contest.

…but out front Rossi is still an island unto himself.

[image from the Motocourse web site.]

Australia is a place with a reputation. It is a place where the rugged individual shines, a place with a harsh landscape that doesn’t coddle the weak and a place where men are men. Down under you entertain yourself by spending weeks on a walkabout in the desert, wrestling with a crocodile and ordering beers the size of buckets. Macho behavior is the norm and bravery is a prized virtue. Its not surprising then that when it comes to road race circuits Australia boasts a track which is not for the weak of stomach.

This weekend the MotoGP crowd shows up at the incredible Phillip Island circuit. The first sign that this isn’t your average race track is the fact that it’s located on a small island off the southern coast of Australia. The nearest major city is Melbourne but the track itself, as the name would suggest, is on Phillip Island. By being on an island, the weather can be downright tropical one minute and then blasted with gale force winds or drenched with torrential rain the next. If the riders aren’t busy fighting the conditions they are probably dodging the sea gulls. Did I mention already that riders who like the comfortable life aren’t welcome here? However, those challenges are offset by the circuit itself. Most tracks built for MotoGP are amazing venues but this track tops them all. Not only is the 2.763 mile long track one of the best designs of any track in the world it also offers a stunning back drop with the Bass Strait just a few hundred yards from the race track. On TV, the views of bikes cresting the hill at Lukey Heights is enough to make any roadrace fan want to buy a plane ticket on the spot.

The track is simply amazing. Technically, it is listed as 12 turns (8 lefts and 4 rights) but in reality is more like a roller coaster. There are two slow right turns (Honda and MG corners) but everything else is just one high speed lean after the other. Three of the turns are taken in third gear at around ninety miles an hour but it is the turns of Doohan Corner, The Hayshed and Turn 12 that really make this an Aussie style track. All three are taken in fourth gear with the bikes going around 120 mph. Then, as if that wasn’t fast enough, the long Gardner Straight has the bikes nearing 200 mph. Since Doohan corner comes immediately after this top speed run it means the bikes are scrubbing off around 80 mph and then sliding the bike through the right hander at a buck twenty. While the bike is still scrubbing off speed the riders have to transition from one side to the next for the Southern Loop left hander which is taken in third gear at around 80mph. The faint of heart need not apply at this track.

Because of the incredibly high average speed and because the slowest spots on the track are still above 50mph the bikes have to be set up soft. No need to stiffen up the front forks for hard breaking instead keep the bike a little loose so the riders have the feel they need while banked over in the Hayshed. With ultra fast left turns dominating the track the tires are crucial. Bridgestone and Michelin have been going at each other in the past few races so it will be interesting to see which tire brand has the advantage on the Island. Keep a close eye on the bikes as they accelerate through Turn 12 and onto the front straight as that will be the first place shagged tires start to show themselves.

When it comes to the riders a few things have already sorted themselves out. During the first practice session on Thursday two riders had sickening violent accidents. First, Kenny Roberts Jr was high-sided off his Suzuki at 180mph at the end of the Gardiner Straight. The resulting rag doll routine through the gravel trap resulted in a broken left wrist. Since Roberts is still unsigned for ‘06 and since this injury will probably take him out for the rest of the season this is particularly tragic for the ex-world champion. It will be doubly so if it rains on Sunday. The second accident was nearly identical as Loris Capirossi was ejected from his Ducati at the same spot and at the same speed. At first the Italian seemed uninjured but Thursday night started feeling some chest pain and was brought to the hospital for tests. It was found that he had badly bruised his lungs and was bleeding internally. He’s been in the med shack ever since. He is out for the Aussie race and probably for Turkey as well. Capirossi was in the amazing battle that has been raging for second place in the championship and given the momentum he has had after his Motegi and Sepang victories he looked good to win that runner-up spot. His crash not only hurts Ducatim but also hurts Bridgestone since he was probably their best hope for a win as well.

Bayliss is out for the rest of the season with his broken wrists and with the recent announcement that he’ll be racing for Ducati in World Superbike in ‘06 he won’t be seen anywhere near the Camel Honda garages for the remainder of the season. One Australian’s loss is another’s gain as Chris Vermeulen makes his MotoGP debut while subbing for Bayliss. All the young WSBK star has to do is stay upright, run mid-pack and show he can cope with 250hp. If he can pull that off, he’s pretty much assured a Honda MotoGP ride next year. Hoffman is still of the Kawasaki due to injury but is again being replaced by Olivier Jacque. After the Frenchmen’s visit to the hospital in Doha from his practice crash I think he probably has the same goals as Vermeulen…stay upright and finish the race. Melandri is still recovering from his foot injury but given his fifth and second place finishes since Japan it doesn’t seem to be an issue. Expect him to run up front.

Of those not on the injured list Rossi again tops the list of riders to mention. He pulled a seemingly impossible move last year to win the race. Phillip Island is perfect for the agile Yamaha as the transition from side to side at high speed is where the bike really shines. Like Mugello, the M1 may get beaten down the straight by the Hondas and Ducatis but expect Rossi to own the first and second turns. Perhaps the second rider to watch is Nicky Hayden. He’s always done well at the Island, including a third in ‘03, and is coming off a podium at the previous race. As has been said before, the Honda rider needs momentum and he started that in Qater. Biaggi needs a good race to bounce back from his disastrous weekend at the Losail circuit. He’s also still looking for a job so needs to put in that little bit extra. Capirossi being out takes some pressure off the Roman but the gap he has over Melandri, Edwards and Hayden for second overall is still only seven points. Speaking of which, all three of those riders were faster than Biaggi in the opening practice so keep an eye on them… As much as I hesitate to say it, another rider with a history of strong finishes in Australia is Sete Gibernau. The only momentum the Spaniard has had recently is with making mistakes so he could desperately use a little Phillip Island magic to rejuvenate his confidence. Finally, there are the guys that always seem to pull something out of the hat at the end of each season in an effort to get a ride. GP veterans Barros and Checa were both fast in the early practice and both are desperate to get offers for ‘06. They may show a little extra Aussie-like manliness on Sunday if it will help impress the team bosses.

SpeedTV is showing the MotoGP race at 9am (MDT) on Sunday but sadly are delaying coverage of the 250s until Tuesday. Its bad enough that they have been delaying World Superbike and AMA but now MotoGP? Speed, I thought you were our friend? Et tu, Brute? What do you guys expect me to go on Sunday afternoon, go on walkabout?

[image from the Australian Motorcycle GP web site.]

Word leaked out of the Team Kenny Roberts Proton camp this week that they are going to be testing their old 2004 V5 in a couple of weeks to see if it can be made race ready for the season ending MotoGP race at Valencia on November 6th. This isn’t really a surprise because Team KR said just before the Japanese GP that they would be skipping the fly away races and were hoping to come back for the last race of the year. What is surprising is that the rider tipped to be sitting on the bike at this test is Kurtis Roberts.

Alright, so why am I surprised at that you must be thinking. Now I’m plainly aware that Kurtis is the son of Team KR owner Kenny Roberts and I’m also aware that Kurtis is currently without a ride for ‘06. What strikes me as at least a little bit odd about this situation is that despite Robert, Sr calling the shots over in the Proton garage the MotoGP world is still a viciously political place. Take the following into consideration:

In 2004 Kurtis raced the Proton V5 for dear old pops. That season, by everyone’s account, was a disaster. The bike lacked power, the engine was unreliable, the Dunlop tires were crap and Kurtis spent nearly as much time crashing as racing. At the end of the year Kurtis was pretty liberal with the press with his view of the state of the bike and opined on a few occasions that he felt he’d been mislead by the team at the beginning of the season as to the competitiveness of the bike. This sort of verbal spewage is the norm for Kurtis, and for that matter for his father, so no surprise there. The youngest son of King Kenny split not only with the Team KR crew but also with his management company and returned to the US to race Superbikes for Erion Honda in ‘05.

While I’m sure the paternal bond between KennyR and KurtisR was strong enough to smooth over that bump in the familial road it probably still stuck in the craw of some of the management and crew back at the offices in Banbury. I suspect that when Kenny casually walked into the place and mentioned that he was inviting his son to test the bike in a couple of weeks more than a few people were gritting their teeth and mumbling behind their hands. (If the bike grenades in the first test session and sends Kurtis flying into a gravel trap I’m guessing it won’t be from an actual mechanical failure). Basically, it shows both how thick the blood in the Roberts clan is and how much control Robert Senior wields over his shop that a rider who was blatantly critical of their bike can get invited back into the team after less than a year.

The second reason I’m surprised by this is what Kurtis himself could be risking. When Kurtis returned to the US for ‘05 aboard a Honda Superbike it seemed he was returning to his destiny after a short international vacation in MotoGP. While I’ve never been happy about his attitude I’ve also never questioned his talent and at least from that perspective was glad to see him back in this country. Kurtis left the AMA series immediately after winning two Superbike races and looked for a short time there like he could be the one to challenge the dominance of Mat Mladin. In ‘04, the Honda CBR Superbike was a potent weapon and it was Superbike rookie Jake Zemke that took the fight to the Yoshimura Suzuki rider that year. By the time Kurtis returned to a place aboard a Honda Superbike the landscape had shifted significantly. American Honda brought their superbike development effort in house and the three riders (Zemke, Duhamel and Roberts) were given the task of turning the CBR into a contender. That never really happened throughout the season and the Erion squad suffered the worst in this new role since they lacked the resources of American Honda. Rather than fighting for the wins Kurtis was usually struggling to break the top ten.

Giving a remarkable rider uncompetitive hardware is bad enough but giving the vocal Roberts a pile is just asking for trouble. Roberts did what he does best…he bitched and moaned about the bike to the press at every opportunity. While Team KR may be forgiving of harsh criticism, Honda has never been known to have that particular trait. Someone probably pointed this out to Roberts because he toned down the negative comments considerably after the mid-point of the season. I don’t know if Kurtis has already been shown the door at Big Red since it doesn’t appear there is a ride available there next year but I’m sure that riding for one of their rivals (no matter how uncompetitive the bike may be) at the last race of the MotoGP season isn’t going to do him any favors in the land of sushi. Maybe the Proton test is just a sign that he has not other options left open to him for next season.

Alright, so I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. The youngest Roberts kid is a great rider. He should be on a competitive bike at least in the AMA series if not in an international one. However, he also needs to prove he deserves it. That isn’t just by being fast or winning a few races but by putting away his truck load of pride and getting down to the task of riding whatever he’s given. If he can get a gig in ‘06 riding his Pappy’s Proton, he should take it. Developing the original two-smoke Proton is how his older brother earned the Suzuki ride that eventually took him to a championship. If Kurtis gets invited back under a Honda tent in ‘07 he better show up with a smile and ask what he can do to help build the bike into something that can run at the front even if that means testing forks springs for weeks on end or riding around in 12th place for every race. And primarily, no matter where he ends up, he better learn to zip it. This just means he’ll have to work doubly hard because, as we all know, *that* skill doesn’t run in the bloodline.

[image from the Team KR web site.]

Last weekend at the Magny Cours circuit in France the books were closed on the 2005 World Superbike season. I’ll do a full season review soon but here is my race review.

First of all, while this was the end of the season it was the start of better things for at least two riders: Chris Vermeulen and Lorenzo Lanzi.

Race 1: the Chris Vermeulen story. With rain at Imola ending any chance that the Australian had of bringing the World Superbike title to Honda this year the only thing left for the youngster to do was to win races. With the news out that Chris would be racing the last three MotoGP rounds in place of the injured Troy Bayliss it wasn’t really like he needed to impress anyone but that was clearly his goal at Magny Cours. Vermeulen absolutely destroyed all comers in Superpole to turn in a time nearly half a second faster than anyone else. When race time rolled around he did a repeat of that crushing performance. When the light went green in race one he simply checked out on everyone else. Suzuki mounted Kagayama ran fast enough trying to catch the Ten Kate Honda that he pulled away from the battle for third but was never a threat to Vermeulen out front. Therefore the focus of the race shifted back to a stellar fight between Toseland and Muggeridge. For the Ducati mounted Englishman it was an effort to convince the Italian company that he should be on their payroll in ‘06. For the Honda mounted Aussie, it was simply a chance to show everyone he is as talented as his spotlight grabbing teammate. Both proved their points but it was Toseland that made the last of the close passes shared by the two riders but even then the final outcome wasn’t clear until the last corner. Corser brought his Suzuki home in fifth, not exactly what he was looking for after claiming at Imola that he would win again at the final round to prove his championship wasn’t a fluke.

Race 2: the Lorenzo Lanzi story: In qualifying before the race, it was the up and coming Ducati star Lanzi who had been the fastest man on the circuit. He couldn’t quite match that performance in superpole but still found himself second on the grid. In race one, Lanzi had tire problems which held him back for an eventual ninth place finish. Race number two is actually two stories. The first, which only lasted to the first corner, is less about any particular rider and more about how dangerous motorcycle racing can be. When the lights went green the entire field stormed into turn one at around 90 miles per hour in third gear. Muggeridge had some sort of problem which sent him careening into the back of Pitt. This started a chain reaction that also took down Bussei, Martin and the French wildcard Da Costa. Muggeridge and Bussei were both transported with injuries. Pitt and Da Costa limped back to their pits and their backup bikes for the restart. Martin didn’t have a spare Foggy bike and was thus done for the day. The story of the second start was all Lanzi. In order to make up for his heartbreaking result in the first race, after building such high hopes in qualifying, Lanzi came out for the race two restart on a mission. Vermeulen got the holeshot at the light and actually pulled nearly a second gap over the rest of the field. Lanzi, however, was not to be denied. He used his factory Ducati motor loaned to his Caracchi team to its full potential and turned in a new lap record to close the gap back down. Lanzi’s speed also allowed him to pull away from the trailing scrap between Kagayama and Haga. They, in turn, pulled a gap over an equally fierce fight between Brits Toseland and Walker. After Lanzi closed the gap up front he seemed content to follow Vermeulen and look for a chance to strike near the end of the race. That opportunity was gifted to the Italian sooner than expected when the lead Honda’s chain jumped the sprocket on lap 18 and ended Vermeulen’s day. Lanzi, who now had a huge lead, maintained his pace and took his second win of the season. As the race wore on, Yagayama was able to break Haga to end the most spectacular tussle on the track and thus to secure a second place result. Haga held on for the final podium spot in third. ‘05 Superbike title holder Corser found some late race speed to pass the two Englishmen and nab a fourth place finish. The intra-country competition between Toseland and Walker was eventually won by the injured Kawasaki rider despite a spirited defense by the Ducati mounted ex-champ. Walker deserves that fifth place more than anyone given the amazing ride he put in despite still recovering from a broken elbow.

So it is the end of the year for Superbikes. As I said at the start of this article this weekend also marked two beginnings. For Vermeulen, this starts his internship in MotoGP as he will spend the couple of months racing the Camel Honda as a replacement for Bayliss. He’ll be racing at home in Australia this coming weekend, then at a track in Turkey that is new for all the riders and finally the season closer at Valencia. If Vermeulen can put in respectible performances aboard the RC211V then he will be assured of a MotoGP ride in ‘06. Its hard to get a better new beginning than that. For Lanzi, his win at Magny Cours has assuredly locked up his ‘06 ride on the factory Ducati. Having an Italian rider aboard the Italian bike is always a dream of both the company and it’s fans. Lanzi has put in some spectacular rides this season aboard a privateer Ducati and seemed to naturally fall into this position once Laconi was injured. His results speak for themselves in that regard. Whether the 999 can be competitive near year against the in-line fours is yet to be seen but they have a rider who is certain to add excitement to the series in 2006.

Congrats to both of these young riders for having such a strong finish for the season and best of luck to them as they take the next step in their respective careers.

[image from the motoring.co.za web site.]

Back in June I wrote a blog entry about the MRA, the local Colorado roadrace series, in which I stated that “Many of the top riders in the MRA have been ruling the club’s races for a decade now…Its time for some talented youngsters to step it up and give these guys some competition“. Well, now that the season is over it is time I give one rider in particular some credit for doing just that: Brad Hendry, MRA rider #616.

I’ve been watching the MRA for over ten years now. During that time the same riders have always dominated: Ricky Orlando, Donny Hough, Dan Turner, Aaron Turner, Shane Turpin. All of these guys are great club racers and many have had flashes of success at the national level but all are older, most are in their thirties and a few in their forties. As much as I enjoy watching talented riders demonstrate their skills on the bike no matter what their age I also enjoying spotting the young guys that have the talent to go on to greater things. At the moment I think Brad Hendry is far and away the fastest rising star in Colorado.

There are a few reasons that Hendry impresses me. First off, he’s clearly just naturally talented on a motorcycle. After racing motocross since he was 13 he just made the switch to road racing three years ago. Despite racing on pavement for such a short time he is already pushing the MRA front runners. Clearly he has adapted quickly to the speed, the feel and the technique needed to road race. Another sure sign of talent is when someone can consistently push hard enough to run at the front and yet rarely crashes. So far this season, Brad hasn’t had a single DNF.

Second, the guy has an amazing work ethic. I think there are a lot of talented racers in the world (a guy like Anthony Gobert, for example, had amazing raw talent) but many lack the understanding that hard work is required to do well beyond a certain level. Brad is not only racing the MRA season full time but also raced select AMA and AHRMA events during the ‘05 season. In addition to racing Brad is also a full time student at University of Colorado scheduled to graduate this winter with a degree in marketing. Oh, and on top of all that he is also working part time at Foothills BMW. Clearly, this kid is willing to punch the clock if that is what is required to get the job done.

Another positive aspect of that mindset is that he seems to have set his goals very high and that motivates him to keep diving into the deep end in order to become a better rider. After just two years of racing with the MRA Hendry decided to focus his efforts in 2005 on the Open Superbike and Race of the Rockies GTO classes. These are probably the two hardest fought classes in the club’s line-up. For a relative rookie rider to pit himself against the best in the club meant that he would have to learn fast and that is exactly what he’s done. He has shown that he has the hunger to improve with each race and a burning desire to be the best. When he’s finished in the top ten, he wanted a top five. Once he was in the top five, he wanted to be on the podium. Once he was on the podium, he wasn’t happy until he won. Because of that drive, his results for the year speak for themselves:

At the first race at PPIR:
Race of the Rockies GTO - 10th
Open Superbike - 6th

The second race at Second Creek Raceway:
Race of the Rockies GTO - 4th
Open Superbike - 5th
Supertwins GTO - 12th

The third race at Continental Divide Raceway:
Race of the Rockies GTO - 4th
Open Superbike - 3rd
Supertwins GTO - 9th

The fourth race at La Junta Motorsports Park:
Race of the Rockies GTO - 4th
Open Superbike - 2nd

The fifth race at Pueblo Motorsports Park:
Race of the Rockies GTO - 3rd
Open Superbike - 2nd
Supertwins GTO - 9th

The double header, races six and seven, at PPIR:
Race of the Rockies GTO #1 - 3rd
Open Superbike #1 -3rd

Race of the Rockies GTO #2 - 3rd
Open Superbike #2 - 2nd

The nineth race at Pueblo Motorsports Park:
Race of the Rockies GTO - 3rd
Open Superbike - 2nd

Finally, the tenth race at Second Creek Raceway:
Race of the Rockies GTO - 5th
Open Superbike - 1st

The final points for the season haven’t yet been posted by the MRA but it looks like Brad has a good shot at winning the Open Superbike championship and being top three in Race of the Rockies GTO title race. This shows a trend of steady improvement throughout the year and a very respectable pair of finishes for the year.

On top of all this success there is another thing that I think will really help Brad out in the future. He seems to be a genuinely nice guy. There are a lot of guys racing who have attitude and ego problems which seem to hold them back. There is a fine line between having a healthy dose of self confidence and having an major ego issue. Some riders, notably Ben Spies and the Hayden brothers, seem to have found the former while others like Jason Disalvo appear to struggle with the later. So far, Hendry has shown a lot of respect towards his rivals while still having the competitiveness and aggressiveness needed to race against them. When beaten on the race track by more experienced riders he still has the unshakable belief in himself to learn from his defeat and then to line back up against them on the starting grid with the intent to win. When the racing is over, he can shake their hand and share in the experience of racing motorcycles with his fellow riders. That kind of attitude is always welcome by team owners who not only want results but also want riders who can interact in a positive way with fans, crew, teammates and other riders.

So, you may be thinking, why devote so much time on my blog to one club racer? Well, it is because I really hope to see big things happen for the guy. When I talked to him at Second Creek a week ago his plan for 2006 is to again climb another rung up the road racing ladder. He and his father have bought two ‘05 GSXR-1000s from the Corona Suzuki team and hope to race the entire AMA series next year competing in the Superstock and Superbike classes. Its going to be a steep learning curve but one which I think is essential if he wants to continue to challenge himself and if he wants to attract the attention of people who can help further his career as a roadracer. Brad’s degree in marketing should immediately be put to the test since marketing himself off the track is going to be just as important as his results on the track. Next year will require a lot of hard work: travelling, learning new tracks, racing at the top national level, constantly trying to improve as a rider, doing the delicate job of learning the political landscape in the AMA paddock and somewhere in there trying to still have a family and social life. I think he has the talent, the drive, the work ethic and the attitude to be successful in the sport despite all of those challenges. I’m looking forward to watching his progress in ‘06.

[image from my photo collection.]

This weekend the World Superbike paddock bids “Adieu” to another season. The closer is again the magnificent Magny Cours Circuit in France. The track is built to European Formula 1 car specs but is still a fantastic motorcycle racing venue. So much so, in fact, that the annual Bol D’Or 24 hour endurance motorcycle race was moved to the track from its original home at Paul Ricard. Unlike America, where endurance racing is barely a blip on the screen of even die hard motorcycle racing enthusiasts, the Bol D’Or is hugely popular in France and thus it says a lot that Magny Cours hosts the event.

The 2.74 mile long track has a bit of everything. Like most F1 tracks, there are chicanes and hairpin turns which slow the bikes down to first gear. There are a few of these which stand out. First is the Adelaide Hairpin about halfway through a lap where the bikes have to turn back practically 180 degrees. The second is the Imola Chicane where the bikes have to transition from right to left while very near top speed. This then leads into the third slow section which is the Chateau d’Eau Hairpin. Put all of these together than the bikes will have to run relatively stiff front end to deal with all the braking forces. Technically, the track is listed as having 14 turns but there are large number of little kinks around the tracks so that count is a bit deceiving. These same slight bends are what give the track a completely different character than the tight turns might initially indicate. The first quarter of the track from the time the bikes leave Estoril all the way through Golf corner and into the Adelaide hairpin is a long sweeping right hand turn. The front forks which have been set up to deal with major braking will now be too stiff for the fast sweeping corners. For the riders, it means finding a compromise on suspension and, in turn, deciding which part of the track they will be fast on and which they will sacrifice. It should be very interesting to watch the splits to see which riders made which choice.

In addition to the excellent track facilities there will also be the bike crazed French fans on hand. As with any home race, expect the native riders to put in noticable performances. In France, that means Regis Laconi and Sebastian Gimbert. Laconi is still recovering from his tendon injury and was visibly slowed by it last weekend at Imola. Only time will tell whether the energy from the French fans will help him over come his pain. Gimbert actually has two things going for him. First, is the fact that he is racing on home soil. Second is the fact that the former endurance champ probably has more laps around Magny Cours that any living motorcycle racer. Last year, Gimbert really showed his stuff at Magny Cours so keep an eye on him to do the same. Finally, another endurance racing star will be on hand, in this case it is David Checa who is making another wildcard appearance for Yamaha. Like Gimbert, Checa knows the circuit better than most since the Spanish rider has been racing in the World Endurance series for the past few years, so expect him to be further up the order that wildcards generally appear.

Still, the favorites this weekend have to again be Troy Corser and Chris Vermeulen. The two riders have been the class of the field over the past three or four weekends and I suspect they will continue that at Magny Cours. Both riders have something to prove: Corser wants to show that he was just playing conservative over the last few races and not that he was out classed by his Honda rival. Vermeulen, on the other hand, wants to show that he is the best rider on the track and that it was only bike problems early in the season that allowed his Suzuki counterpart to build up the insurmountable points lead.

There are a lot of riders that are still out trying to get rides for next season. James Toseland probably tops the list, although it isn’t clear whether this teammate Laconi is signed for ‘06 either. Likewise, Kagayama will be out to show that he deserves to be back in WSBK next year as his season as been inconclusive with early season success followed by a mid season slump. Most of the Yamaha riders are still looking for a job and riders like Pitt and Abe could go either way at this point. Both need to show they can do better than struggle for top ten finishes.

Also on the list of riders that will be hoping to end the season strong is the long list of guys joining Laconi on the injured reserve list. Ben Bostrom is still recovering from a back injury and if anybody needs a decent result to close out the season its Benny. The Kawasaki squad of Chris Walker and Mauro Sanchini are still recovering from elbow injuries so they will again have Fonsi Nieto on board as a wildcard in France. Gary McCoy is still out but Foggy has brought in test rider Andi Notman to ride the second Petronas bike.

Looks like the racing this weekend will make for a great way to close out the season.

[image from the eTracks web site.]

It is tough being Jeff Ward.

In 2003, when the AMA made the surprising leap into the world of supermoto racing they decided to do something different with the series. Rather than having a conventional season where points are awarded at each round until one rider gains enough to win a championship the AMA decided to have each round just a qualifier for a single end-of-the-season, winner-take-all race. During that initial season, it was ex-motocross legend Jeff Ward that consistently won races. Coming into the ‘03 season finale in Las Vegas, Ward had won three of the five races. However, those wins didn’t mean anything in terms of the Supermoto #1 plate. When the green flag flew in the final race of the season it was Ben Bostrom that got the job done and was crowned the inaugural AMA Supermoto champ. Ward crossed the line a disappointed third behind second place Doug Henry.

Last year, the AMA decided to run a traditional season without any of the final race shenanigans. With this more conventional setup Ward was able to use his consistent riding to trounce the field. In ‘04 Ward won three times, was second twice and third in the other two races. He was never off the podium and that dominant riding earned the seven time Supercross and Motocross champ his first AMA Supermoto title. KTM’s Jurgen Kunzel was second with Doug Henry third.

This year, the AMA was up to their old tricks again. Not content to just build another exciting series they again changed up the rules for the Supermoto series. First, each round of the 2005 season would feature two races for the premier Supermoto class as well as the usual one race each for the Supermoto Unlimited class, the Supermoto Lite class and the Junior Supermoto class. This meant the Supermoto guys would have twelve different races at which to earn points toward the championship. However, the rules mavens weren’t content with just this twist to the rules. They also deemed that the final race of the season, race two at the finale in Reno, would pay double points. This meant that there were effectively 13 races based on the amount of points that would be available throughout the season. Finally, another rule was added that anyone could race the final event but only those that earned points in the earlier rounds would actually be eligible for points at the end. Confused already? Good…

The season has once again been primarily about Jeff Ward. Despite a slow start to the season by the time everyone headed to the final round it was Ward that held a commanding 31 point lead. Back in June, when the season first got started at Road America, Wardy was still trying to race cars. The distraction of going cage racing meant he wasn’t training and that showed with a pair of fourth place finishes. He followed those up with an equally uncharacteristic 6/4 showing at Shawano. It was at Copper Mountain here in Colorado that the Team Troy Lee Designs rider really hit his stride winning all four of the races held during the Suzuki Cycle Fest weekend. That quad set of victories propelled him into the points lead in the championship and he backed that up with a second and another victory at the Nashville round. When the riders showed up in Reno for the Red Bull Superrmoto A-Go-Go all the money was on Ward to sew up his second Supermoto championship. I even predicted as much in my race preview last Friday.

But it wasn’t to be. The funky AMA rules once again got the better of him and stole another championship right out from under him. Ward came in second in the first race of the weekend doubleheader behind Mark Burkhart but ahead of championship rival Jurgen Kunzel. Since this was Burkhart’s first weekend racing the premier class in ‘05 he wasn’t eligible for any points meaning Ward effectively won the first race. This allowed him to carry a 35 point lead into the final double-points paying race of the year. Despite the large points lead, Ward made a rare mistake by crashing while battling with race leader Burkhart. Ward was able to get back up and finish but he was outside the top 20. Burkhart won the race while Kunzel took the runner up position. Again, because Mark had no previous points in Supermoto this season he got zero points while Jurgen got the full 25 which was then doubled to 50. Because of the double points situation, Kunzel’s 2/2 finishes netted him a total of 72 points for the weekend versus just 25 for Ward’s win in race one. This allowed the German to jump ahead of Ward in the points battle and thus to snatch away the 2005 Supermoto Championship. Once again, Ward has been torpedoed by a screwy rule from the AMA.

The Supermoto Unlimited class came into Reno with a much closer points battle that that in the premier Supermoto category. Three riders were separated by only six points and two of them were yet to win a race this year. All five of the races leading up to Reno has been won by either Troy Herfoss or David Baffeleuf. However, it was Herfoss, along with Micky Dymond and Darryl Atkins, who were in the title fight as Baffeleuf missed scoring points at the Colorado races due to an injury from a crash in the first race at Copper Mountain. Those DNFs left the Frenchman a distant fourth in the points. While both Atkins and Dymond had visited the podium neither had yet won a race and yet they were separated by only one point in a near 1-2 tie for the championship. This lead to the possibility that the Unlimited champ might never have stepped to the top of the podium if one of them earned the title without winning in Reno. Coming into the final race the title fight was on.

In the race that proved particularly true. Since this was effectively a winner-take-all race for the three title contenders the racing was going to be pretty tight. As it turns out, the racing may have been too tight. Once the race was underway it was Atkins, Herfoss, Dymond and Baffeleuf that went to the front. Almost immediately there after, Herfoss and then Baffeleuf ended their race with crashes both while leading the race. Now the title was between Atkins and Dymond and they were both up front battling for the lead. After an initial exchange of positions it was Atkins who held the front position in every corner except the final one. He held a tight line going into the last corner but then ran a little wide when he got on the gas for the charge to the line. The seasoned vet Dymond saw the gap and went for it but ended up making contact which sent Atkins slamming into the trackside barriers. Dymond crossed the line for the win while Atkins remounted to take third behind Rodney Taplin. The win netted the veteran KTM rider the points necessary to claim the title over his New Zealand teammate.

In Supermoto Lites it was Brandon Currie that took advantage of Mark Burkhart’s absence from the final race of the sesason to grab his first win. Just to make sure that Supermoto Lites didn’t get overlooked in the drama comparison between the classes Currie went about winning the race in an unusual way…he threw the bike away in the first few laps and then had to fight his way back from the crash to get to the front. He was aided in this by earlier race leader Joel Albrecht who’s bike started having brake problems at the mid-point of the race. Currie’s eventual win allowed him to gain enough points to solidify second in the ‘Lites class for the year.

So my picks for the weekend…Well, clearly all the champions deserve a quick shout-out:

Supermoto - Jurgen Kunzel
Supermoto Unlimited - Micky Dymond
Supermoto Lites - Mark Burkhart

However, I also think Jeff Ward deserves props for again being the most impressive rider in the Supermoto series, all this despite being 44 years of age. Had it not been for strange rules, Ward would now be a three time Supermoto champ. Sure, Ward shouldn’t have been racing with Burkhart since the Yamaha rider wasn’t elligible for points but its in the heart of a racer to race. Besides, had the AMA not put the bizarre rules in place it probably wouldn’t have been an issue.

Second, I think Mark Burkhart deserves a lot of recognition for his undefeated season in 2005. As if sweeping all the Supermoto Lites races he entered wasn’t enough he then stepped up to the main class for the last race of the season and won both of those as well. His dominance in the Lites class wasn’t all that surprising…after all he was racing a factory supported Yamaha in a class mainly populated by privateers. It is the fact that he won both races in Supermoto against the other factory supported bikes that impressed me. Rumor has it he’ll be racing Supermoto full time in ‘06 along side Doug Henry so the other riders better watch out. I expect to see a bunch of blue on the podium next year.

I think Atkins deserves a little more credit as well. Losing a championship is bad enough but losing it because your teammate took you out is harsh indeed. As with many racing incidents it is hard place blame but I still think that Atkins had done everything he needed to do to win the race and did it without crashing into other riders. Dymond won the glory for the day but he did it in a questionable manner. Lets hope rough riding doesn’t become the norm in Supermoto.

Finally, lets hear it for the fans in Reno. The official count for the weekend shows that 45,000 people attended the Supermoto races over the weekend. That is more than attended most of the AMA Superbike races this season and in line with the max for most of the AMA Motocross races. This is a case where being able to hold a race in the middle of a substantial sized city, along with offering free admission, is going to draw a lot of new eyes to the sport. If any of those eyes are impressed enough to come back again then the AMA has done a great job using Supermoto as marketing for all the various forms of motorcycle competition. Bravo!

Finally, it will be a long winter waiting for the Supermoto series to get cranked up again next year. In the meantime, I’ll be feeling bad for Wardy and will be wondering what unusual rules the AMA will think up for next season.

[image from my photo collection.]

Back in June I did a write-up about how cool club racing is after catching one of this season’s MRA races. At the time I talked about a few different issues including criticizing the quality of the local tracks, pointing out the continued dominance by veteran riders in the series and talked about how great it is to watch a race in such a casual environment rather than being confined to some spectator only area like at a big pro race. Well, this past weekend was the final race of the 2005 MRA season and I headed down to be part of the last hoorah for the year. After just a few months some of the items I mentioned back in June have changed so I’ll try to touch on all that during this posting.

First off, the race at Second Creek marked the end of racing at this venue, not just for the year but permanently. As I mentioned in a posting I did back in April the encroachment of house developments has finally put an end to Second Creek Raceway. With the season over, the track is boarding up its doors and going up for sale. With the recent announcement that PPIR is being sold and closed after October the MRA has lost two race venues in one summer. Ouch! I hope that the new Miller Motorsports Park facility outside Salt Lake City is worth riders making the long drive and that the MRA can get at least one event there in 2006. What the club will lack in quantity of tracks perhaps it can make up in quality if a date at MMP can be added to the schedule. Anyway, with this being the final race at Second Creek as well as the last race of the season there was an added bit of excitement in the air on Sunday. Racers came out of retirement for brief race appearances, lots of stories were told about the history of MRA racing at the circuit and most riders put in that extra little bit of effort to win the last race at the track for their class or to try to break the lap record one final time. The attendance was huge, following a trend for the entire season, with more and more riders registering for races and and equal positive trend among spectator turn out. Definitely a good weekend to be at the track.

I again spent about half my time hanging out in the Brewer/Baker pits. In addition to racing and performing their regular MRA board duties the two clowns were also helping out with announcing races. This mean their normally chaotic race weekend was even more crazy. When Jim or Tony were around the pits, the usual pit banter ensued which generally means that insults, lewd comments and cussing were the norm. In Jim’s case, he had family from out of town visiting but it turns out his brother only added to the mayhem. Good entertainment value for those of us in the area but probably even more insanity for Jim to deal with…why again is it he calls this fun?

The two amigos had a mixed weekend but a good season overall. Jim got knocked out of the lead while passing a backmarker in the Super Twins GTO race. Fortunately, he’d tied up the championship at the last round so it was only pride, plastic and contingency money that got damaged in the accident. The crash bent the bracket for his electric shifter and that caused him problems in his remaining races. He started strong but faded in Heavyweight Superbike while having to re-learn how to manually shift a motorcycle when the fancy gadget quit working. After adjusting the shifter for Race of the Rockies GTO he found it was too sensitive and was causing the engine to constantly cut out on the bumpy track. Jim runs RoR to pick up extra contingency cash and the bike problem relegated him to 17th, two spots outside the money paying positions. The one accident in the morning pretty much screwed up the day especially since he didn’t have time to focus on the bike given his other duties. Ah, the sacrifices of being a Big Kahuna with the club… Winning the twins class on his RSV Mille means Jimbo qualifies for a pretty big check from Aprilia so at least he’ll have that to console him after a rough weekend at the race track.

Tony, meanwhile, had a better day. He had a solid finish aboard his RZ500 in Modern Vintage which was what he needed to earn him that championship. The previous day he’d sewn up the Supermoto Sportsmen class which puts two number one plates in his garage for the winter. Tony bagged on the rest of his races for Sunday to focus on the announcing and helping out with club duties. Or so he claims…there is always a question mark over how well the old two smoke is handling the stresses of racing so perhaps taking a day off was just giving the old mule a much needed rest. Tony and Jim both spent about half the day in the tower on the PA system and they did a respectable job there as well.

“Congratulations” and “Thanks” go out to both guys for winning their titles, entertaining nearly everyone in the pits at one time or another and for all the work they put into the MRA.

Another of the gripes in my June posting was that the MRA was dominated by old guys and that there wasn’t enough new blood coming along to challenge the established order. Well, I’m glad to say there are signs that is changing. First of all, there is Brad Hendry who consistently challenged the front runners in both Open Superbike and Race of the Rockies. I’m going to do a separate blog entry focusing just on him so look for that in the next week. On Sunday Brad had mixed fortunes. He took a commanding win in Open Superbike but then had a mechanical problem while leading Race of the Rockies that dropped him back to fifth. He rode over half the race without a shifter so to finish that strong was impressive even if losing a potential victory was heartbreaking for him. Also impressive at Second Creek was Ryan Burke. While Ryan quit qualifying for newcomer status about five years ago he is at least on the lower side of 40 which makes him young compared to the guys that have been winning MRA titles for the past decade. Ryan ran strong in Race of the Rockies GTO, the premier race class for the club, which is the surest sign that a rider is improving. He has also been runnin at the front in Open Superbike and Open Supersport all season which again shows he’s running with the big dogs. I hope that Ryan continues to improve next season as he may be the best hope for some new blood to win the #1 plate in ‘06.

As for the established order, they continue to rule in the MRA. Shane Turpin ran strong for the first half of Sunday’s races before a crash while leading Race of the Rockies GTO ended his day early with a knee injury. It is a rare day indeed that sees Turpin crash but the turns at the back side of Second Creek seem to be one of his few weak spots as he has crashed there before. The trip into the dirt also ended his chance of sweeping every RoR GTO race of the season. Still, he tied up the championship a few races back and will once again be carrying that big #1 plate for 2006. Likewise, Dan Turner ran in the top three for most of his races including a strong win in Race of the Rockies GTO. Ricky Orlando made a rare MRA appearance and showed why he’s such an established part of the scene with good results in his races. In fact, club elders were at the front in most of the classes with guys like Dave Galant, Denny Burke, Rich Deeming and Mike Applegate all turning in strong performances for the weekend.

Finally, I want to again touch on just how much fun it is to hang out at a club race. The pits are casual and the riders approachable. Since this was the last race of the season the entire place turned into a party as soon as the checkered flag few on the final race of the day. Grills were fired up, beers were opened, rear tires went up in huge clouds of smoke and crazy stunts were performed on pit bikes. There are a lot of great things about the rules that are in place for national and international level motorcycle racing: bikes and riders have to look professional, pits are generally roped off, unsafe behavior is stopped immediately, a strict schedule is generally adhered to and the general atmosphere is one of organization. This is all well and good but it does have a bit of sterility to it which tends to exclude the enthusiastic spectator from being a part of it all. Club racing, on the other hand, is so much more relaxed. Sure, you will have to be more alert to make sure you don’t get nailed by the guy doing wheelies on a mini-bike and you may want to think twice before bringing your kid into someone’s pit space without first listening in to make sure the conversation in progress doesn’t touch on topics you may not want Little Billy to learn at a tender young age. Still, the great thing is that its so “real”. The guys that crashed aren’t sitting around waiting for mechanics to wheel over their replacement bike they are in there frantically turning wrenches trying to get ready for the next race. The guy that came in third probably isn’t sulking in an RV he is instead more likely to be sitting under his neighbor’s canopy excitedly detailing the race. The guy that won isn’t wisked away by the media he is hanging out in his pit drinking a gatorade and chatting with whoever walks up. You can be part of the scene at a MRA race not just be watching it.

Club racing is fantastic and I’m already looking forward to next year. The MRA has some hurdles to over come but the group exists because there are a bunch of people in Colorado that are passionate about road racing. As long as there is that passion there will be somewhere to race, whether it is Mark Miller Motorsports Park, Continental Divide Race Park, La Junta Raceway or Pueblo Motorsports Park. If you are in Colorado, please plan to come out in 2006 and support the club.

[image from my photo collection.]

A storm has been brewing in the World Superbike over the three rounds as Ten Kate Honda’s Chris Vermeulen has been winning races and clawing back championship points in the battle against leader Troy Corser. With the World Superbike series winding down to just two weekends remaining the recent races at Imola where a watershed moment.

Coming into the race the pressure was on Vermeulen as he trailed Corser by 60 points at the start of the weekend. However, Vermeulen was looking good having won three off the last four races and coming in second behind Lanzi in the race he didn’t win. This streak meant he had been consistently out scoring his rival countryman and slowly closing the points gap. If Vermuelen could add to his string of victories at Imola then he could keep his title hopes alive until the final round at Magny Cours.

As early as the first practice it was obvious that both Australian riders came to Italy prepared to do what needed to be done. Both were among the fastest riders in the first practice and both were one-two in the first qualifying session with Corser holding a slim tenth of a second advantage in lap times when the sticky tires were mounted up. The two riders were again quick in the second qualifying round, again separated by little more than a tenth of a second, although Corser’s teammate Kagayama split the two for second on the provisional grid. When superpole rolled around Chris did what he had to do and turned in the fastest lap seen all weekend with a blistering 1:48.075 lap time. Corser ended up a half second back in third, the two kept apart on the grid by Ducati’s Regis Laconi. The second Ducati of James Toseland finished off the front row.

Speaking of the two Ducati riders, this is a good time to give a brief review of the state of the Superbike grid. Having both of the Ducs on the front row is amazing and a testament to how hard their riders were pushing to impress the team bosses with them racing so close to Bologna. Laconi was back for his first time on the bike after his Assen accident that damaged a tendon in his arm. Toseland, likewise, was racing injured having bruised his hand in a practice crash on Friday. Lanzi ended qualifying at the front of the second row on his loaner factory Ducati meaning all three factory bikes were in the top five. Given Ducati’s history at Imola this surely had the Italian bosses worked into a frenzy. Things weren’t quite so rosy over at Kawasaki where injured riders Walker and Sanchini were both recovering from broken elbows. Kawasaki brought in newly unemployeed Fonsi Nieto to ride a third bike but given his performance for Yamaha earlier in the season this didn’t necessarily look to improve their the green team’s chances. I’m sure there were long faces in the Kawasaki garages all weekend but this was especially so after qualifying where Walker was mired back in 16th with his two teammates further down the grid behind him. Another rider that was riding injured was Ben Bostrom who was flung off his Honda during qualifying. No major injuries but a general battering that wasn’t going to do him any favors. Missing completely from the grid was Foggy Petronas’ McCoy who was out with a broken coccyx. The Aussie is likely out for the remainder of the season.

The injury list aside there were a few other surprises when qualifying was over. The second row, as I’ve already mentioned, was headed by Lanzi followed by Haga, Kagayama and then the bombshell of Bostrom who turned in the eighth fastest time despite his aches and pains. Given how poorly he’s qualified for most of this year, maybe he needs to start highsiding during practice on a more frequent basis as it seems to actually improve his results. Another surprise was Frankie Chili who was down in 14th on the grid. He has been running closer to the front that than all season and I thought he would get caught up in the spirit of racing in front of his home crowd as he usually does at Monza. Just racing in Italy is usually good for a front row start for the Honda rider but apparently that wasn’t the case this weekend.

With the dark clouds gathering, both figuratively and literally, the riders lined up for race one. Before things could get started the clouds opened up with a brief shower that drenched the track. The marshalls decided to give all the riders a brief wet weather practice and then get things started under “wet race” rules. With the track damp but drying, most of the riders went with slicks but Vermeulen took a big gamble to go with an intermediate front. This meant he should have more confidence in the early laps but would risk destroying the tire should the track dry up during the race.

When the green lights came on it was Corser who made the leap off the line to the front of the pack with Vermeulen a close second. Half way through the first lap Chris put the grooved tire to good use to make the pass on Troy. Even as early as the first lap the wet conditions started to cause problems for riders. Chili and Silva crashed out immediately and Muggeridge retired with mechanical problems after overheating his clutch trying to get the slicks to hook up on the wet start. Within a few laps others would join the crashers with Abe, Kagayama, Lanzi and Pitt all dropping their bikes due to the wet surface. Pitt and Kagayama were both able to restart but both were outside the points by the time they returned to the track.

The race quickly broke into three main battles. Up front, the two championship leaders were stuck tight together with Vermeulen holding the tire advantage but Corser clearly with the horse power needed to force a pass despite his more tentative corner entries. A few seconds back was another dog fight, this one between Toseland and Haga. The third group, a few seconds even further behind, was a scrap between Walker, Martin, Neukirchner and Gimbert. In all three groups, passes were frequent but the most spectacular racing was between Haga and Toseland. Neither was willing to let the other lead and both were making risky passes given the mixed track conditions. Despite their antics, the battle for second place started to make up ground on the lead pair which made it look as if the fight for victory would boil down to a four bike scrap. However, two events happened almost simultaneously which changed all that. First, Vermeulen made another pass on Corser to retake the lead but then upped the pace to the same lap times being running by the chasing riders. Second, with six laps to go Toseland ran wide and allowed Haga past for third. With Toseland loosing valuable time and Haga stalled in his forward progress, the battle boiled down to just the two men in front.

Once Vermeulen went to the point position Corser seemed content to park on this rear wheel and wait for a last lap pass. This was probably a wise strategy, especially considering that the track had indeed dried up during the course of the race which mean that Vermeulen’s intermediate front tire was busy over-heating with each lap. It also looked as if his rear tire was taking a beating as well since he was drifting the rear each time he tried to get the Honda’s power to the ground. By the last lap, Chris was all over the track but despite his obvious tire problems his lap times weren’t dropping off. To the surprise of everyone, and no one more so that Troy Corser, the Honda rider was able to maintain his lead through the last lap, despite an attempt by Corser for a pass, and to hold on to win the race. This victory allowed him to close another five points on Corser and keep the championship storm rolling into the second race. Haga head on to third and Toseland recovered from his off track mistake to finish fourth. Martin made a last lap pass on the wounded Walker to close out the top five. The rain took its toll with only 16 bikes completing the race despite 34 bikes originally lining up for the start.

Unfortunately, Vermeulen’s dream weekend came to a rapid halt when the real storm intervened. While the riders were preparing for the second race another cloud burst soaked the track and this time it wasn’t likely to dry up. After some of the top riders were given a tour of the circuit in the pace car it was decided that the track was too dangerous to continue the event and the second race was cancelled. While it is always disappointing to have a race cancelled I applaud the race marshalls for making that decision. (This is especially true given how poorly the marshalls handled the rain storm that happened during the World Supersport race earlier in the day!).

With race two cancelled due to the rain, the math worked out that there weren’t enough points available at the upcoming Magny Cours rounds to allow Vermeulen to catch Corser. The sun broke through the proverbial clouds and shown down upon Corser as the cancellation made Troy Corser the 2005 World Superbike champion with a 55 point lead over Vermeulen. This marks the first ever WSBK championship for Suzuki and the second WSBK title for Corser. As I mentioned at the beginning of the season, Corser had a deep desire this year to show that his poor results over the past four seasons while he rode the Petronas were because of the bike he was on and not a lack of talent on his part. He has definitely proved that this year.

I remember watching Troy ride the Fast by Ferraci Ducati in ‘94 enroute to the AMA Superbike championship and knowing he was a spectacular rider. That opinion was reinforced in 1996 when he won the World Superbike title. I think this title shows just how much his talent was wasted in the years between 2002 and 2005. I think Corser could have given both Hodgson and Toseland runs for their money during their respective championships if he’d just had something decent underneath him.

Finally, congratulations to Troy Corser and the Corona Suzuki team for winning the ‘05 Superbike title.

[image from the Alstare Corona Suzuki web site.]