2002
US Superbike series bound for Britain
01 April 2002
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...
WSB updates to your mobile
01 April 2002
We’ve added a new rapid-reaction text message service for your mobile phone: MCN2U WSB Alerts. Subscribe and our trackside reporters will send you at least five messages over a WSB weekend, for £1 a...
Edwards takes Superpole
01 April 2002
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
01 April 2002
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...
MCN2U: Results, news and competitions to your mobile
25 March 2002
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...
James Haydon: Foggy knows bikes get crashed
25 March 2002
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
25 March 2002
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...
Double delight for Bayliss Down Under
18 March 2002
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...
Foggy blasts FP1 critics
18 March 2002
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...
Bayliss quickest at Phillip Island qualifying
18 March 2002
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...
Aprilia man joins Foggy team
11 March 2002
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...
McGuinness to miss Oz WSS round
11 March 2002
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...
Toseland is fitter than Beckham
11 March 2002
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...
Slight makes last gasp switch to BTCC
11 March 2002
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
11 March 2002
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...
Mark Heckles: In his own words
11 March 2002
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...
Bostrom misses out as Bayliss takes pole
04 March 2002
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...
Xaus on provisional pole for Valencia
04 March 2002
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...
Foggy in Valencia to reveal more on Petronas project
04 March 2002
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...
Your bids raise £4537 for Clinica Mobile
04 March 2002
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...
Free eight-page WSB preview
04 March 2002
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...
Win a KBC Chrome helmet
04 March 2002
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
04 March 2002
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
04 March 2002
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...
Whitham banned from morning practice
04 March 2002
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...
Benelli pulls out of WSB for first three rounds
04 March 2002
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...
Walker WILL ride in WSB opener
04 March 2002
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
04 March 2002
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
04 March 2002
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.
Hodgson reveals his go-faster diet
25 February 2002
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...
Best test times of Saturday and Sunday
25 February 2002
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:...
Walker 14th fastest despite partially paralysed face
25 February 2002
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...
Neil Hodgson: In his own words
25 February 2002
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...
Slight to race in UK
25 February 2002
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
18 February 2002
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...
Walker’s face paralysed by illness
18 February 2002
Chris Walker has partial paralysis of the face caused by a disease known as Bell’s Palsy. One of his eyes doesn’t blink, he can’t move his lips or swallow properly. He’s having to wear a patch over...