2002

US Superbike series bound for Britain

US Superbike series bound for Britain

We could see the likes of Mat Mladin, Eric Bostrom and Anthony Gobert dicing on British turf thanks to a new deal signed by American Superbike bosses and TV giant Sky. Sky have just clinched the deal...

Bayliss fastest in first session at Kyalami

Bayliss fastest in first session at Kyalami

Troy Bayliss looks set to continue his unprecedented string of season long WSB victories with a dominant performance in provisional qualifying in Kyalami. But despite going a second under the lap...

Edwards takes Superpole

Edwards takes Superpole

Honda rider Colin Edwards held off Troy Bayliss to take pole position for tomorrow’s races in Kyalami. Bayliss, second, was followed by fellow Ducati rider Ben Bostrom, and Noriyuki Haga on the...

Chat live with Steve Hislop

Chat live with Steve Hislop

Find out how Steve Hislop is feeling after his victory and second place in the opening round of the MCN-backed British Superbike championship. He’ll be joining us live at 1pm, Thursday April 4 to...

James Haydon: Foggy knows bikes get crashed

James Haydon: Foggy knows bikes get crashed

James Haydon joined registered motorcyclenews.com users to answer their questions in a live webchat today, Thursday March 28. He told them how frustrating it was for him to be sitting out races, but...

James Haydon: In his own words

Dazzie: James, Laguna Seca is the 5th from last race of the season. Is it worth rushing development for the sake of 5 races? JamesHaydon: Well, there will not be any rush in development that’s why we are waiting till then. We could have rushed and come out sooner, but you have to remember it’s only just past halfway through the season, and if there was any thought that development would have to be...

MCN2U: Results, news and competitions to your mobile

MCN2U: Results, news and competitions to your mobile

A few moments and your mobile phone are all you need to join in with MCN2U. MCN2U brings motorcycle news and competitions direct to your phone*. It is currently available for BT Cellnet and Vodafone...

Foggy blasts FP1 critics

Foggy blasts FP1 critics

IN an exclusive interview with MCN Carl Fogarty has blasted critics of his WSB project. Ever since he announced his FP1 would make its race debut at Laguna Seca in July, he’s had to deal with...

Double delight for Bayliss Down Under

Double delight for Bayliss Down Under

A command performance in front of his home fans saw Troy Bayliss take both WSB wins today in Phillip Island. Race two was a carbon copy of the first with the defending champion holding off Honda’s...

Bayliss quickest at Phillip Island qualifying

TROY BAYLISS stamped his authority on the opening day of round two of the WSB series at Phillip Island in Australia by claiming provisional pole position. Infostrada Ducati’s Bayliss was four-tenths of a second faster than nearest rival Colin Edwards on the Castrol Honda VTR SP-2 with the Australian world champ looking comfortable. His time of 1:32.656s was just over half a second slower than the...

Slight makes last gasp switch to BTCC

Slight makes last gasp switch to BTCC

Former World Superbike star Aaron Slight will be racing in the British Touring Car Championship after securing a drive with Barwell Motorsports. Slight had been linked with the ASCAR oval racing...

Heckles: I’d never ridden on slicks before

Heckles: I’d never ridden on slicks before

Britain’s Mark Heckles made his World Superbike debut at Valencia, and on Thursday March 14, he joined us live in our VIP lounge for a webchat to tell us what it was like. His inauspicious start to...

McGuinness to miss Oz WSS round

McGuinness to miss Oz WSS round

John McGuinness has been withdrawn from the Australian round of the World Supersport series because he is not recovering fast enough from the shoulder injury he recently suffered. McGuinness struggled...

Aprilia man joins Foggy team

Aprilia man joins Foggy team

Carl Fogarty has signed former Aprilia engineering chief Guiseppe Bernicchia to improve his chances of having the three-cylinder FP1 ready for track testing by the end of next month. Bernicchia spent...

Mark Heckles: In his own words

Daveb: What was it like lining up on the WSB grid for the first time? MarkHeckles: In a word … amazing. To come so far so quickly was amazing really. Namezippy: What are your hopes for this season? MarkHeckles: My hopes…are to progress even further as a rider and to be competitive at such a high level. As a rider I have no doubt I’ve got what it takes to be worthy of being one of the strongest...

Toseland is fitter than Beckham

Toseland is fitter than Beckham

James Toseland is fitter than football superstar David Beckham, our tests at Lilleshall have revealed. GSE Ducati WSB rider Toseland, standing 10th in the world championship after the opening races in...

Xaus on provisional pole for Valencia

Xaus on provisional pole for Valencia

Ducati’s Ruben Xaus was fastest in qualifying on Friday for Sunday’s WSB opener in Valencia. His time was more than half a second under the fastest qualifying time set last year. Reigning world...

Your bids raise £4537 for Clinica Mobile

Your bids raise £4537 for Clinica Mobile

Your bids have helped raise £4537.22p for the Clinica Mobile in an auction on this site which closed at midnight on March 1. Chili, Edwards, Bayliss, Toseland and Haydon went under the hammer with...

Bostrom misses out as Bayliss takes pole

Bostrom misses out as Bayliss takes pole

Ben Bostrom staged an amazing recovery to come within a tenth of a second of taking pole in Saturday’s Superpole at Valencia. But it was reigning world champion Troy Bayliss who came out No1. Baylisss...

Free eight-page WSB preview

Free eight-page WSB preview

Buy MCN on Wednesday (March 6, 2002) and you’ll get a free eight-page pull-out preview to the WSB season which kicks off this weekend. In it you can win VIP passes worth £600, Carl Fogarty rates the...

Benelli pulls out of WSB for first three rounds

Benelli is out of the opening WSB races in Valencia on Sunday citing cash shortages. Essentially, they have blown up too many engines and don’t have enough left to compete. The factory, which has been showing off its road bike in Valencia, says it will have to miss the first three rounds of the season, but is confident it will be back for the Monza WSB round. MCN learned of the decision on...

Foggy in Valencia to reveal more on Petronas project

Foggy in Valencia to reveal more on Petronas project

IT may be four months before we’re due to see Carl Fogarty’s new Petronas World Superbike contender on the track, but Foggy will be at this weekend’s opening round in Valencia to reveal more details...

Whitham banned from morning practice

Jamie Whitham was seething after having to sit out the Friday morning practice session in Valencia while his World Supersport rivals got a head start on their set-ups. Whitham was banned from the morning session by an FIM official because he had missed the riders briefing held on Thursday. He was angry because a representative of his Belgarda Yamaha team had been granted permission by SBK...

Win a KBC Chrome helmet

Win a KBC Chrome helmet worth £229. Entry costs 50p per competition, per entry. This competition runs from May 29-June 5. Other entry mechanisms are published in MCN. South Korea-based manufacturer KBC claims to be the first company to make a completely chrome-coated helmet after perfecting the process to cover lids with the shiny metal – and you can win one. MCN has teamed up with the firm to...

Bayliss socks it to ‘em in Valencia

Bayliss socks it to ‘em in Valencia

WSB champion Troy Bayliss got the perfect start to his title defence with two wins in Valencia on Sunday afternoon…thanks to his lucky socks. Bayliss had worn the same pair in his successful...

Play MCN Fantasy Racing online – and win a ZX-7

Play MCN Fantasy Racing online – and win a ZX-7

THERE’S more than £10,000 worth of prizes – including a new Kawasaki ZX-7R – up for grabs in the biggest ever MCN Fantasy Road Race competition. And for the first time this year you can play the game...

Walker WILL ride in WSB opener

Walker WILL ride in WSB opener

Chris Walker is looking better and will ride in Sunday’s opening WSB round in Valencia, Spain. Walker still has partial facial paralysis as the result of a bout of Bells Palsy and is struggling to...

MacPherson lands Riba’s WSS ride

MacPherson lands Riba’s WSS ride

Scot Iain MacPherson has landed Pere Riba’s vacant Honda World Supersport ride. MacPherson clinched a deal with the Dutch-based Ten Kate team on Monday morning after Riba quit on Friday to take up...

Foret fastest after opening WSS qualifying

Honda rider Fabien Foret was fastest after first qualifying at Valencia in WSS. He took provisional pole on a CBR600, more than half a second ahead of Italian Yamaha rider Alessio Corradi. Stephane Chambon was third quickest and Stefano Cruciani completes the provisional front row. German Yamaha riders Christian Kellner and Jorg Teuchert are fifth and sixth with Aussie Chris Vermeulen seventh.

Walker 14th fastest despite partially paralysed face

Walker 14th fastest despite partially paralysed face

The effects of Bell’s Palsy have left Chris Walker with blurred vision and unable to complete more than a handful of laps at a time. Yet he toughed it out to rack up 72 laps and end up 14th fastest...

Best test times of Saturday and Sunday

Valencia, Spain, WSB test, February 23-24, 2002 1. T Bayliss: 1’34.922. 2. N Haga: 1’34.957. 3. C Edwards: 1’35.168. 4. B Bostrom: 1’35.260. 5. R Xaus: 1’35.260. 6. P Chili: 1’35.668. 7. S Martin: 1’35.962. 8. L Pedercini: 1’35.962. 9. H Izutsu: 1’36.032. 10. J Toseland: 1’36.305. 11. N Hodgson: 1’36.358.12 G Lavilla: 1’36.595. 13. J Borja: 1’36.728. 14. C.Walker: 1’36.930. 15. A Antonello:...

Neil Hodgson: In his own words

Jo d: You were very pleased with the Philip Island test but seemed more frustrated during the Valencia test. Do you think this is essentially down to your style being incompatible with the circuit rather than a more wide-ranging problem? NeilHodgson: Erm, yes. I think you’ve hit the nail on the head there. I do have a slight problem with the set-up of the bike, but I think it’s more a case of my...

Hodgson reveals his go-faster diet

Hodgson reveals his go-faster diet

We’ve now added the full transcript from Neil Hodgson’s Thursday lunchtime web chat in which he reveals his recipes for success. Neil starts a WSB race day with porridge, tucks into bananas and fig...

Slight to race in UK

Slight to race in UK

Aaron Slight will be racing a 500bhp V8 this year. No it’s not Moto GP gone mad, he’s on four wheels for the ASCAR oval racing series in the UK and Germany. Slight is driving the TJ Motorsports Ford,...

Walker will test despite paralysis

Walker will test despite paralysis

Chris Walker will test his Kawasaki WSB bike this weekend despite continued problems with partial facial paralysis caused by Bell’s Palsy. Walker has been having treatment all week to try and...

Smart replaces injured McGuiness

Smart replaces injured McGuiness

Injured John McGuinness will be replaced by Scott Smart for this weekend’s crucial final test at Valencia before the start of the World Supersport season. McGuinness injured himself while filming a...