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Troy's Sixth in South Africa
Six from six. Something that has never been done before, either at the start of the season, or during it. Troy Bayliss's two wins in South Africa saw him break a record of five wins in five races previously held by Superbike legend Carl Fogarty and current racer Ben Bostrom, and take a commanding lead in the 2002 title chase. Despite two good starts, Bayliss had to fight for his wins, fighting with Honda's Colin Edwards, teammate Ruben Xaus and Aprilia's Noriyuki Haga to score his wins.
In race one, Bayliss took the lead at the start from second position just like he did in Australia, followed by Ben Bostrom, Noriyuki Haga, pole man Colin Edwards, Neil Hodgson and Ruben Xaus, up from eleventh after a poor Superpole lap. It didn't stay that way for long as Bostrom and Haga slid past Bayliss as they moved onto the old pit straight. Into the West Bank hairpin Haga stuck it up the inside of Bostrom, only to see Bostrom repass him a couple of corners later. All this before the end of lap 1!
Lap 2 saw Haga take the lead around the outside, dropping Bostrom to second. Things remained fairly static until Bayliss passed Bostrom at the start of lap 6, with Bostrom passing him back three corners later. Before the end of the lap, Haga saw Bostrom sail past into the lead at the West Bank hairpin, and Bayliss move ahead of Haga at the final hairpin at the same time as Bostrom ran wide, moving Bayliss from third to first, and Bostrom from first to third, Haga remaining in second. Now in the lead, Bayliss started to edge away from the pack.
After dropping to fifth earlier on, Edwards moved up to fourth early on lap 8, forcing Hodgson wide enough that Xaus also moved up a place, and third past Bostrom at the hairpin at the end of the lap. Lap 9 and Edwards passed Haga at the West Bank hairpin, now up into second and in pursuit of Bayliss. Xaus moved ahead of Bostrom on lap 10, while Haga continued his steady slide backwards, losing third to Xaus on lap 12 at the West Bank hairpin, Xaus running wide almost into the Japanese rider on the black Aprilia as he took the place, Bostrom following through one lap later, and Hodgson a lap after Bostrom. Lap 18 saw Haga into the gravel as he lost the back end of his bike.
Meanwhile, up front Bayliss was a couple of seconds ahead of Edwards, who could do little about catching the Australian, while Xaus, Bostrom and Hodgson were far enough apart not to be under threat from each other in third, fourth and fifth, well clear of the rest of the field. And that's how things stayed until the chequered flag, Bayliss taking his and Ducati's fifth win in five races in 2002.
In race two, Bayliss again took the lead at the start, from Haga, Edwards, Hodgson and Bostrom. Running along the old pit straight, Haga moved alongside Bayliss, bodies clashing before Haga took the lead, Bayliss snatching the lead back just two corners later. Exiting the West Bank hairpin Haga got alongside Bayliss, forcing Bayliss to concede the lead back to Haga. As the entered the final hairpin at the end of lap 1, Bayliss eased his way up the inside to retake the lead. This allowed Haga to get a better exit to retake the lead as they completed lap 1.
Further back, Xaus had made it up into sixth place by the end of lap 1, and early on lap 2 moved up to fifth, reuniting with the other five riders that diced for the lead in race one. On lap 4 Xaus moved ahead of Hodgson, taking fourth place, before Hodgson repassed him later in the lap, only for Xaus to take the place for good at the next corner. Xaus then passed Edwards to take third on lap 6, and began closing in on his teammate Bayliss.
For a few laps Haga pulled out a small lead, but Bayliss reeled him in, passing Haga at the final hairpin on lap 7. Haga held onto Bayliss's tail for a lap before he fell back into the clutches of Xaus, who passed him towards the end of lap 9, Xaus soon zooming onto the tail of teammate Bayliss.
For many a lap Xaus sat right on Bayliss's tail, but never really looked like making a pass, as they left the rest of the field in their wake. Haga sat on their tails for a couple of laps before slowly repeating his race one tumble down the placings, losing third to Edwards on lap 18 at the final hairpin. On lap 20 Hodgson passed Haga at the West Bank hairpin, but ran wide, allowing Haga to snatch the place back on the exit, Hodgson retaking the place three corners later, and Bostrom moving ahead of Haga on lap 21. Apart from Hodgson closing right onto the tail of Edwards, things stayed as they were until the chequered flag, with Bayliss taking yet another win, this time ahead of teammate Xaus whose challenge faded in the closing laps.
Finally there is some good news coming for the rest of the field, with the teams heading to Sugo in Japan in two weeks' time, where it is expected that Bayliss's winning streak will be broken, as traditionally Japanese riders have won and Michelin have a poor record. The bad news for the other riders is that they may not make up many or any points on the current series leader.
Result of World Superbike Championship, Round 3, Kyalami, South Africa:
Standings:
Troy Bayliss 150, Colin Edwards 105, Ruben Xaus 79, Ben Bostrom 77, Neil Hodgson 69, Noriyuki Haga 60, Hitoyasu Izutsu 47, James Toseland 45 etc.
Manufacturers' standings: Ducati 150, Honda 105, Aprilia 60, Kawasaki 54, Suzuki 30
Kenseth Wins in Texas
Polesitter Bill Elliott led early before being passed by Ricky Rudd and Dale Jarrett in quick succession, the Robert Yates teammates running 1-2. A caution was thrown after 35 laps to allow teams to check their tyres after recent resurfacing of the track, Rudd retaining the lead, but was passed soon after the resumption by teammate Jarrett, with leading positions not affected by a caution soon after for debris. Further back, Kenseth was up to 11th after 75 laps.
Around lap 100 most of the leading teams stopped for fuel and tyres, with Jarrett regaining the lead after the stops were completed. The positions remained fairly steady throught the next pit stop and even after the next caution when Ward Burton crashed hard into the wall, Jarrett was still leading ahead of his teammate Rudd. Almost straight after the restart, Dale Earnhardt Jr spun hard backwards into the first turn wall after contact with Shawna Robinson as Earnhardt Jr attempted to lap her.
Rusty Wallace took the lead just before the 200 lap mark, continuing Ford's run at the front of the field. The next round of pit stops saw problems for both Yates cars, Rudd suffering a minor throttle problem while Jarrett ran out of fuel while running second, dropping him well down the field. Tony Stewart took the lead after most but not all the leaders pitted, before Wallace retook the lead from Stewart just before Robby Gordon hit the turn 3 wall, bringing out a caution which saw those leaders who hadn't pitted take their stop.
A late race caution with 25 laps remaining caused by Kurt Busch's flat tyre spin saw some of the leaders take only two tyres as they got ready for the run to the chequered flag, Kenseth holding onto the lead ahead of 2001 series champion Jeff Gordon, having a good run for a change. Over the remaining laps Kenseth built a small but significant lead over Gordon to take the win, while third placed Mark Martin closed right onto Gordon's tail, but was unable to pass.
Finally Jeff Gordon scored a top five finish for the first time since Kansas fourteen races ago, while Dale Jarrett's bad run continues, finishing 24th after running out of fuel while running second.
Results of NASCAR Winston Cup, Round 7, Texas Motor Speedway, Texas, United States:
Standings: Sterling Marlin 1082, Matt Kenseth 1012, Jimmie Johnson 963, Rusty Wallace 950, Mark Martin 938, Jeff Gordon 909, Kurt Busch 893, Tony Stewart 887, Ricky Rudd 847, Bill Elliott 837 etc.
Rossi Reigns in the Rain
Valentino Rossi continued where he left off at the end of last season, winning the first race of the 2002 season, the first race for the four-stroke bikes allowed in the new MotoGP formula that replaces the old 500cc class. Having previously won the 125cc, 250cc and 500cc titles in his second year in each class, Valentino Rossi has adapted quicker than ever to a new type of bike. Rossi's weekend didn't get off to a good start however, crashing on each day of practice.
A wet track greeted the riders for the race. Most of the factory riders were on four-strokes, while the remainder of the field remained on 500cc class bikes. At the start, pole sitter Valentino Rossi on his four-stroke Honda made his customary average start, dropping to the second half of the top ten before moving up to fifth early on lap one. Meanwhile wildcard rider Shinichi Itoh on another four-stroke Honda grabbed the lead from third on the grid, while wildcard rider Akira Ryo on his four-stroke Suzuki moved from seventh to second, two-stroke Yamaha rider Olivier Jacque from eighth to third and four-stroke Yamaha rider Carlos Checa remained in fourth. Checa's teammate Max Biaggi dropped from fifth to ninth, while Jurgen vd Goorbergh and Jeremy McWilliams moved from the back of the grid to the fringe of the top ten. As they headed through Dunlop curve on lap 1 Ryo took the lead from Itoh, taking a small lead over the rest of field. Biaggi continued to drop back through the field, dropping to eleventh by the end of lap 1.
Rossi moved up to fourth past Checa at the chicane at the end of lap two, where a few seconds later rookie 18 year old American John Hopkins riding a two-stroke Yamaha fell, remounting and continuing. Seconds later, Hopkins's teammate Garry McCoy continued his poor run in recent times, crashing out of the race. The top four began to move away from the rest of the field. Rossi gained another place when he passed Jacque at the chicane at the end of lap 4. The pack became three when Olivier Jacque came in to serve a stop-go penalty for jumping the start, the order still Ryo, Itoh and Rossi, with Checa next best in fourth, with Suzuki four-stroke rider Sete Gibernau hot on his heels. Max Biaggi's race and weekend ended in the gravel trap on lap 7, as did Suzuki four-stroke rider (and 2000 500cc World Champion) Kenny Roberts. Checa and Gibernau closed in on the leaders, making a leading pack of five.
Rossi continued his move upwards, taking second ahead of Itoh exiting 130R on lap 8, as the pack of five four-strokes led the race. Exiting the hairpin on lap 10, Gibernau moved past Checa for fourth, then passed Itoh for third place on the next lap under braking at the hairpin. He then began harassing Rossi, who had been sitting on Ryo's tail since passing Itoh. It didn't last for long as Gibernau crashed at the second Degner curve on lap 13, losing the front end on the entry to the corner. The pack was down to four but the battle remained fierce.
On lap 16, having followed Ryo for lap after lap, Rossi made his move entering the chicane, taking the lead, and splitting the pack of four into two groups of two. Ryo duplicated Rossi's earlier efforts by sitting on Rossi's tail, while Checa passed Itoh for third on lap 18 at about the same time as seventh placed Jeremy McWilliams crashed out on his Proton KR. Not long after two Japanese riders in the top ten, Shinya Nakano and Tohru Ukawa added themselves to the list of fallers. Apart from getting alongside Rossi at the end of lap 19 when passing a backmarker, Ryo was unable to get in a position to pass Rossi, and so Rossi went on to take the chequered flag just ahead of Ryo, with Checa in third ahead of Itoh. Only seven riders managed to stay on the lead lap, and only twelve riders finished the race. The best placed two-stroke finisher was Norick Abe on his Yamaha, 20 seconds behind winner Rossi, Abe having a race-long duel with Ukawa until Ukawa fell.
One race into the new era, and little has changed. Although the wet track favoured the less peaky power delivery of the four-strokes, the riders of the two-strokes must be worried how well the four-strokes did throughout the weekend. Especially when you consider that the four-strokes are relatively short of development... they will get faster and faster as the season goes on. The field is off to South Africa in a fortnight's time.
Result of World Motorcycle Championship, Round 1, Suzuka, Japan:
Standings: Valentino Rossi 25, Akira Ryo 20, Carlos Checa 16, Shinichi Itoh 13, Norick Abe 11, Alex Barros 10, Nobuatsu Aoki 9, Regis Laconi 8, Loris Capirossi 7, Daijiro Katoh 6
Superbikes
Race One
Pos Rider Motorcycle
1. Troy Bayliss Ducati 998 F 02
2. Colin Edwards Honda VTR 1000 SP2
3. Ruben Xaus Ducati 998 F 02
4. Ben Bostrom Ducati 998 F 02
5. Neil Hodgson Ducati 998 F 01
6. James Toseland Ducati 998 F 01
7. Hitoyasu Izutsu Kawasaki ZX-7RR
8. Chris Walker Kawasaki ZX-7RR
9. Juan Borja Ducati 998 RS
10. Marco Borciani Ducati 998 RS
Race Two
Pos Rider Motorcycle
1. Troy Bayliss Ducati 998 F 02
2. Ruben Xaus Ducati 998 F 02
3. Colin Edwards Honda VTR 1000 SP2
4. Neil Hodgson Ducati 998 F 01
5. Ben Bostrom Ducati 998 F 02
6. Noriyuki Haga Aprilia RSV 1000
7. Hitoyasu Izutsu Kawasaki ZX-7RR
8. James Toseland Ducati 998 F 01
9. Chris Walker Kawasaki ZX-7RR
10. Juan Borja Ducati 998 RS
NASCAR
It may have taken until Monday to run the race, but Matt Kenseth didn't mind, after completing a run from the back to the front in the Samsung/RadioShack 500 at Texas Motor Speedway. Despite an engine change on Friday forcing him to start from the back of the field, and continual rain washing out the scheduled start on Sunday, Kenseth was able to make the right moves that saw him end up in victory lane at the end of the race.
This situation saw half the drivers on the lead lap just ahead of the leaders Krenseth and Stewart, those pitting under yellow instead of a few laps earlier benefitting greatly, Stewart taking the lead just after the restart. A caution for Ryan Newman's engine failure soon after saw Kenseth retake the lead as most of the other leaders pitted.
Pos Driver Car
1. Matt Kenseth Ford Taurus
2. Jeff Gordon Chevrolet Monte Carlo
3. Mark Martin Ford Taurus
4. Ricky Rudd Ford Taurus
5. Tony Stewart Pontiac Grand Prix
6. Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet Monte Carlo
7. Sterling Marlin Dodge Intrepid
8. Jimmy Spencer Dodge Intrepid
9. Bill Elliott Dodge Intrepid
10. Terry Labonte Chevrolet Monte Carlo
MotoGP
Pos Rider Motorcycle
1. Valentino Rossi Honda RC211V
2. Akira Ryo Suzuki GSVR
3. Carlos Checa Yamaha YZR M1
4. Shinichi Itoh Honda RC211V
5. Norick Abe Yamaha YZR500
6. Alex Barros Honda NSR500
7. Nobuatsu Aoki Proton KR3
8. Regis Laconi Aprilia RS3
9. Loris Capirossi Honda NSR500
10. Daijiro Katoh Honda NSR500
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