June 2003 Aussies Racers Around the World c/o mcnews

 

 WSBK 2003 - Round 7 - Misano

(June 24th) Troy Corser completed the first top ten double for a Foggy Petronas Racing rider by following his seventh place in the morning race at Misano with tenth place in the afternoon. And after the races, both won by Spaniard Ruben Xaus from the third row, Troy flew by helicopter straight back to Monaco where fiancée Sam Davies was already in hospital expecting their first child.

 

2003 Shell Advance Australian Superbike Championship - Round 3 – Winton

(June 22nd) Twenty year old Shepparton rider Craig Coxhell (Suzuki) emerged from the downpour as the new leader in the 2003 Shell Advance Australian Superbike Championship. But it was Newcastle’s Daniel Stauffer who took the round win after fighting through the difficult conditions to put his Nikon Yamaha on top of the podium today at Winton.

 

Kevin Curtain (Yamaha) continued his unstoppable form in Supersport to once again take a clean sweep of the races. In doing so the 36 year old extended his lead over reigning champion Shannon Johnson (Honda) to 39 points. Josh Brookes (Honda) came second overall in this third round of the 2003 Championship with young Queenslander Brendan Clarke (Yamaha) rounding out the podium.

 

Western Australia’s Peter Taplin has emulated Kevin Curtain’s unstoppable Supersport run to do the same in Australian 250 Grand Prix. The Beechboro based rider once again beat all-comers to take both race wins and extended his unbeaten form to 8 races in succession.

 

 WSBK 2003 - Round 7 - Misano

(June 21st) Troy will start tomorrow's pair of 25-lappers from the second row of the grid after a positive and encouraging qualifying and Superpole this afternoon.

 

(June 20th) Rizla rider Yukio Kagayama will race a Suzuki GSV-R at the Assen MotoGP next weekend, taking the place of regular rider Kenny Roberts Jr, who is still injured after a crash at Mugello three  weeks ago.


(June 19th) Roberts, who won the 500cc World Championship in 2000 on a Suzuki, sustained injuries in a crash in the Italian GP, on June 8. His hopes of being fit for the Catalunyan GP the following weekend were dashed by worsening chest pains, and he flew home to California for medical treatment on the eve of that race.


(June 16th) Strong rumours coming out of America suggest that Anthony Gobert has split with the American Ducati team. Anthony's management will not confirm or deny anything at the moment but at this stage our intelligence indicates that Anthony is very likely to be riding AMA Supermoto for the rest of this year

 

World Superbike 2003 - Round 6 – Silverstone

(June 15th) Hodgson took the win by 4-tenths of a second over Toseland while Xaus nearly ran in to the back of Toseland in the final turn but stayed upright to get 3rd  place. Troy Corser finished 16th.

 

MotoGP 2003 - Round 6 - Catalunya - 125 Race

(June 15th) Casey Stoner - “I am so disappointed for this crash. In the race I came from 10th into the lead and was very comfortable. I let some riders past and was sitting comfortably in the front pack when Dovizioso must have missed a gear and slowed on the exit of a turn. I clipped his rear wheel and crashed. This morning in warm we found a good setting for the race and felt very confident of a great result. Thanks to all the team that worked so hard to give me a bike I felt so good on”

 

 MotoGP 2003 - Round 6 - Catalunya - 250 Race

(June 15th) Australia's Ant West today became the first Australian motorcycle rider in 21 years to finish on the podium in a 250cc grand prix world championship race. The 21-year-old from Queensland's Gold Coast secured the final position on the podium in the 250cc Catalunya Grand Prix near Barcelona in Spain with a third-place finish on a Zoppini Abruzzo Aprilia.

 

 MotoGP 2003 - Round 6 - Catalunya - Race Report

(June 15th) Ducati Marlboro Team rider Troy Bayliss rode another dogged race at Catalunya today, coming through brilliantly from a third-row start to move into eighth on lap 16. But a lap later he got into a turn too hot and had to take an off-track excursion that dropped him down to 12th. Undaunted, he fought back to take tenth at the flag.


“That’s one of the hardest race I’ve ridden in my life, just as far as the heat goes,” said the Aussie, who knows a bit about sweltering conditions. “Just finishing was almost like winning! It wasn’t a great race for me, but at least we did finish and get some points. We’re still missing something from the front end, so now we’ll go to the next race and try to work it out.”

 

Fuchs Kawasaki's Garry McCoy rode a lonely race to 17th  place in today's energy sapping Grand Prix of Catalunya, which was run in a 35 degree heat before 96,000 race fans. McCoy was the sole Kawasaki finisher as his team-mates, Andrew Pitt and Akira Yanagawa, were involved in a crash at turn four on the opening lap. After making a good start and moving up a couple of positions Pitt attempted an inside pass on Jeremy McWilliams, but got into the turn too hot and collided with the Irishman. The collision forced both riders wide - right into the path of Yanagawa, who was on a wider line. All three riders went down but, while Pitt and McWilliams escaped injury in the incident, Yanagawa was transported to Granollers hospital with suspected fractured ribs.

 

In an incredible race this afternoon at Catalunya, Valentino Rossi finished second behind race winner Loris Capirossi, who took Ducati’s first MotoGP victory.

 

World Speedway - Round 3

(June 14th) World speedway number two Jason Crump returned to more familiar surroundings with a superb second place in round three of the world title at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff, UK

 

 MotoGP 2003 - Round 5 – Mugello

(June 8th) Casey Stoner started from pole position for this 5th round of the World 125cc Grand Prix Championship.  This was a first for young Casey, and the first 125 pole since Garry McCoy took pole for the French GP at Paul Ricard in 1997.

 

 American Superbike 2003 - Road America

(June 7th) Mat Mladin not only returned to the winners podium today, but regained the points lead in the 2003 AMA Chevy Trucks US Superbike Championship after a titanic three-way battle saw Mladin take the chequered flag in the first of the weekend’s double header Superbike races at Road America in Wisconsin.

 

Triumph making first Isle of Man appearance for thirty years

(June 4th) Triumph ValMoto scorched to a stunning and historic victory in the Isle of Man Junior TT. The British manufacturer had not won on the Island for 28 years. However, 34-year-old Bruce Anstey and his Daytona 600 proved to be today’s dominant force around the legendary mountain course.

 

World Superbike 2003 - Round 5 - Oschersleben - Monza - Race 1

(June 1st) It went down to the line with Chili and Hodgson nearly came together on the run to the line but Hodgson held on for the win. Toseland a great third place.

 

Compiled by Pete Weyermayr