World Superbikes
Sixth consecutive win for Hodgson
22 April 2003
Hodgson has continued his unbroken winning streak taking both races at the third round of the World Superbike championship in Sugo, Japan. Race one saw a big crash on the first corner with four Riders...
Walker tops first qualifying at a very wet Sugo
22 April 2003
Chris Walker has topped the time sheets during a wet first qualifying session at the World Superbike round in Sugo, Japan. The session was ended with nine minutes to go, due to poor visibility, and...
999s test at Mugello
15 April 2003
The Ducati World Superbike team has been testing at Mugello this week with test rider Lorenzo Lanzi. The Italian rider spent two days on the 999s that Hodgson and Xaus will be racing at Sugo on...
Tracktime at Monza with HM Plant
15 April 2003
World Superbike team HM Plant Ducati is offering the chance to ride around Monza with its riders Chis Walker and James Toseland…on one of their paddock scooters. The prize is currently being auctioned...
Close call for second Hodgson victory
25 March 2003
Race two at Phillip Island was the most exciting of the season so far, with all the riders having to fight hard for their places. Neil Hodgson and Frankie Chili initially got away to a good start but...
Chili on track for pole
25 March 2003
Pier-Francesco Chili – the oldest man in WSB – proved to still be one of the fastest after claiming provisional pole position for the Phillip Island WSB race at the first qualifying session...
Hodgson on pole for Round 2
25 March 2003
Frankie Chili put in another good performance in this morning’s qualifying session at Philip Island beating Neil Hodgson in to second place with a time of 1:32.786. But the Italian had to settle for...
Comfortable win for Hodgson
25 March 2003
Neil Hodgson pulled away from the field again at Phillip Island to win his third race in this year’s World Superbike championship. The British rider was wearing a black armband and later dedicated the...
Vermeulen takes Supersport with ease
25 March 2003
Tenkate Honda rider Chris Vermeulen was the proud winner of the Supersport race finishing nine seconds ahead of his closest rival, Katsuaki Fujiwara on the Alstare Suzuki. Vermeulen said: ” I knew it...
Heckles tests at Mallory
18 March 2003
Mark Heckles rode his new CBR600FS for the first time on March 19 at Mallory Park after driving to Belgium to pick it up and pay for it just five days before. The bike was bought for him by his dad...
Honda take top three at Daytona 200
04 March 2003
Honda riders filled the podium at the Daytona 200 race on Monday, March 10. The race was postponed from Sunday, when Daytona was blighted by torrential rain. Miguel DuHamel won the race on his Honda...
Double double for Fila Ducati
01 March 2003
The second race at Valencia quickly fell in to the pattern set by the first with factory Ducati 999 riders Neil Hodgson and Ruben Xaus leading HM Plant Ducati 998 riders James Toseland and Chris...
Fila Ducati 1-2 in Race 1
01 March 2003
Neil Hodgson and Ruben Xaus dominated the first race of the WSB season taking their Ducati 999’s to first and second place. Hodgson with a total time of 36:56.205 and Xaus four seconds behind at...
Hodgson on pole
01 March 2003
Neil Hodgson managed to better his qualifying time to get the pole position for tomorrow’s two races despite the blustery wind. Hodgson beat former team-mate James Toseland by 0.566 seconds and was...
Hodgson in line for pole position
01 March 2003
The second qualifying session has finished at Round 1 of World Superbikes in Valencia, with Neil Hodgson retaining the top spot. Hodgson only managed to come in 0.210 seconds under his Friday best...
Hodgson quickest after first day’s qualifying
25 February 2003
The times have come in for the first qualifying session in Valencia with only one second separating the top seven riders. Fila Ducati rider Neil Hodgson put in a fastest lap of 1:34.932, just 0.069...
The reasons behind the BBC decision
25 February 2003
Grandstand producer Belinda Rogerson explained the BBC’s decision to drop live WSB this Sunday. She Said: " Unfortunately, the scheduled date for the 1st round in Valencia was moved from March 9 to March 2 late in 2002. We had planned to show both of the races during the day on BBC TWO on March 9, however the schedule of sport that we were already committed to showing on March 2, including Rugby...
BBC won’t show WSB live on Sunday
25 February 2003
The BBC will not be showing Sunday’s WSB round live. Instead all we’ll get is highlights on BBC 2 at 11:55pm. If you want to see it live you’ll need access to Eurosport which will show the races from...
Hodgson heads first day of Winter testing
18 February 2003
British rider Neil Hodgson made his intentions clear for 2003 by posting the fastest time on the first day of the official World Superbikes tests at Valencia. Hodgson and Fila Ducati team-mate Ruben...
Laconi drops in on Ducati
18 February 2003
Regis Laconi cemented his arrival at Ducati by getting a taste of the racing heritage he is now a part of. He couldn’t resist getting his leg over Mike Hailwood’s Ducati 900, the bike that won him the...
Hodgson fastest at last test before WSB begins
18 February 2003
Neil Hodgson was on lap record pace when he went fastest at the WSB test in Valencia on Sunday. He put in a time of 1:34.01, 1.3 seconds under Ben Bostrom’s 2002 lap record. Check out this week’s MCN,...
Riders for WSB Valencia test announced
11 February 2003
The list of riders taking part in the official World Superbike and Supersport winter test at Valencia on February 21-23 has been announced. MCN will be bringing all the latest news and an exclusive...
Red Bull rookie switches to Boxer Cup
04 February 2003
Barry Burrell, one of the five riders chosen to go on to the next stage of the Red Bull Rookie search, has already reaped the benefits of the program by being picked to ride for the BMW Motorrad GB...
Another result for the Texan Tornado
21 January 2003
Colin Edwards and his wife Alyssia will be celebrating today, following the birth of a baby daughter, named Gracie. We’ll update this story with more news as it arrives. To congratulate the Edwards on...
Whitham announces his retirement
21 January 2003
World Supersport racer Jamie Whitham has quit racing for good. The 37-year-old is suffering from glaucoma, an eye disease which doctors fear may have been caused by the chemotherapy he underwent for...
Walker goes faster than Bayliss
21 January 2003
Chris Walker has set a time in testing, which is faster than Troy Bayliss managed on the same bike this time last year. Walker was testing at Almeria in Spain, and recorded a time of 1:36.9s That time...
Foggy happy with Phillip Island test
14 January 2003
The Foggy Petronas team completed a successful three-day test at Phillip Island, leaving boss Carl Fogarty feeling positive. The team would not release official times, but Troy Corser was running 1:34...
Supermoto champ on Supersport pace
07 January 2003
World Supermoto champ Thierry van den Bosch shocked his new rivals in World Supersports by matching lap record pace in his first test of Yamaha’s latest R6. He lapped Spain’s Almeria circuit as fast...
Foggy on A Question of Sport
07 January 2003
Carl Fogarty, the four-times World Superbike champion, and boss of Foggy-Petronas racing, will appear on BBC’s A Question of Sport this Friday, January 17. He’ll be joining team captains Ally McCoist...
Updated 2003 WSB and Endurance calendar
01 January 2003
The Malaysian round of World Superbikes will not be taking place this year, but there will still be 12 rounds of action, plus eight World Endurance races, and the three Masters of Endurance events at...
No Malaysian round for World Superbikes
09 December 2002
The Malaysian round of next year’s World Superbike championship has been axed. A race was due to be staged at Sepang on May 4, but the FIM confirmed last week that the calendar has been cut from 13...
First pictures: Whitham’s new baby
25 November 2002
World Supersport rider Jamie Whitham has a new woman in his life – he’s just become the proud father to Ruby, his first child. Ruby weighed in at 6lb 14oz, and both baby and mother Andrea are doing...
Exclusive: First HM Plant Ducati pictures
25 November 2002
MCN has been granted exclusive access to the HM Plant Ducati squad just days ahead of its first round of pre-season testing in Valencia, Spain. This is the first time its riders James Toseland and...
Walker under the knife again
11 November 2002
Chris Walker has undergone a second operation to re-pin his broken left leg and ankle. Walker, injured during the Mettet supermoto race in Belgium last month, is battling to be fit in time for his...
2003 World Superbike regulations
11 November 2002
The governing body that regulates the World Superbike and World Supersport series, the FIM, has introduced a series of new regulations designed principally to bring down the cost of a season’s...
Whitham to miss supersport test
11 November 2002
Jamie Whitham is set to miss the start of close-season testing for the 2003 World Supersport championship. He has elected to stay in the UK to see a specialist about his knee injury, and will be...