MENU
HOME
YOUR HOST
RACING PEOPLE
MACAU GP
BIKE SET-UP
CJM RADIO
RACING LINKS
CONTACT
FORUM

FRONT PAGE ARCHIVES
WORLD ENDURANCE TEAMS
WORLD ENDURANCE ROUNDS

2011
MONZA

NEWS ARCHIVE - APRIL 2005

NEW TALENT TO WATCH OUT FOR...

Keep yours eyes open for William Dunlop – son of Robert, nephew of Joey. He’s 19 and seems to be outpacing his father in the bike world. His current ambition is to be the best road racer in the world, although his Dad wants him to go into circuit stuff. Did quite well this last weekend actually – he seems to have his Dad's talent for wringing the best out of a 125cc Honda - a win and a 4th at Bishopscourt, following that up with 2 wins at Kirkistown in Northern Ireland...
The list of races he's competing in this year is as long as my arm, so I won't be putting the whole list up here...nonetheless, he's committed, to say the least...and, like most, is in dire need of backing.
William in his own words: - "What I need to run the 125 is £6,000 - this will pay for tyres, fuel and parts etc - and in return you will have the bike in your colours. Most of these road races I take part in are televised on RTE BBC Northern Ireland and Men and Motors. I also have a column in Road Racing Ireland which also gives me good coverage. Any help would be great."
For more information, contact me and I'll put you in touch...the legend continues!

DIABLO666 KAWASAKI ON THE PODIUM!

Race report from the team's point of view...

Date: 28th March 2005

The weather was again typical for the Assen season opener, unpredictable, as was to be case during the race. The forecasters had said it would be fine with no chance of rain, we always believe them of course, right! Expectations were very high within the teams, with Steve Mizera starting and riding the first leg. Partner Team Bolliger Kawasaki would be starting from 8th with David Morillon. Easter Bank Holiday Monday in a cold windy Holland at the world famous TT circuit in Assen. 1:45 pm and the first practice race grid formed. Steve Mizera got an excellent start and at the end of the first lap came round in 13th place.

The real race start proper, the lights went green and the WEC season was go!!!!!!! Steve blasted away the grid. Disaster!!!!!!! Within less than 50 metres, the 111 Pajic Kawasaki was punted off. Steve fortunately just missed the melee. The end of the first lap, and Steve came round in 9th position. Time to settle down, get into a rhythm and push as hard as possible. Over the next few laps Steve did lose ground and after 13 laps was lying in 13th position. On this lap the pace car was called out and this once again bunched all the riders up.

After 6 laps the pace car came in and it was back to racing again. Steve immediately went up to 9th...Steve’s rhythm soon led to lap times of around the 1:28-29. During this first stint Steve rode the wheels off the ZX –10 to come in after 30 laps in 9th position. The Bolliger Pit crew went into action and 20 seconds later James was out. These guys are amazing. The game plan was on each planned stop, Bolliger would pit, followed by Diablo 666 one lap later. A lesson mega-rich F1 teams have still yet to learn.

Steve commented “the bike is too slow, I was being blown off in a straight line by the new K5 Suzuki’s. I can’t wait until we get our new tricked up engine!"

James Hutchins was up next and after 41 laps of the scheduled 130, James had put the stock engined ZX-10 up into 4th. Lap 45 he was in 3rd behind the Bolliger Kawasaki in 2nd! Could this be Bolliger’s first podium for some years in WEC and Diablo’s first ever. Cross those fingers! A worrying development, it had started to rain. James was out on slicks. The Team members in the pits crossed their fingers even harder. It began to rain buckets. Lap 58, Kevin Falcke was ready! It was now raining very, very hard! Full wets were being readied. Bolliger No. 8 with Marcel Kellenberger came in, Patrick Muff went out. Seconds later James was in, Kevin blasted out of pit lane at regulation speed (60kph) very, very carefully, not knowing how good or bad the circuit really was.

Again on lap 93 both team bikes were in on the same pit stop strategy. First Patrick Muff, in and out in 20 seconds, 15 seconds later in came Kevin, 20 seconds later out went Steve Mizera, 37 laps to go. Would the Kawasaki’s run to the flag without any incidents? Everyone’s nerves in the Bolliger / Diablo garage were frayed, nails were being chewed, fingers being crossed. “What if? No don’t say anything!” was being muttered around the garage. On one dared talk about this possible result.

With all three Diablo riders being interviewed by Clive McNeil (ME!...Ed), of British Eurosport, this was the most TV exposure Diablo had ever had in its short existence!

All three riders were again doing what they love to do, ride racing motorcycles very, very, fast. Diablo’s Kawasaki ZX-10 was once again proving to be an excellent choice by the Team and working closely with Bolliger Kawasaki was proving to be a formidable piece of kit. The Phase 1 Senior Team was running about 1 minute behind in 4th. If we needed to stop for a possible splash and dash, we had the time to do so. The decision would be made by Steve who was now watching for that low fuel warning light.

As Steve sped over the line after 130 laps to take the chequered flag the whole Team went ballastic. Bolliger were 2nd, Diablo 666 3rd. To put it simply, Diablo 666 and Bolliger had done the business! An amazing sight, six riders from the Bolliger/ Diablo garage climbing up to the podium to collect their trophies, flowers and cheques!

Quotes from various members of the teams:-

Miles Hutchins, Team Principal, “The whole Team has worked so hard and well together this weekend, culminating in this excellent result. Our riders were amazing! I am in a daze, now where did I put that champagne! Our luck held and more this time”

Bob Copare, Team Sponsor and PR, ”What a result! It’s fantastic, fast riders, experienced race mechanics, knowledgeable management and an incredibly reliable race machine all adds up to a truly excellent Team result. Miles has already been inundated with messages of congratulations and so he should be. He is the driving force behind this team. The whole Team deserved to be up on that podium not just the riders. It really is a pleasure to be part of such a friendly team and now such a successful team. This is only Diablo’s 8th race in WEC. All we need now is a major sponsor to come on board, to fund development of our bikes, we now know we could really shake up this series!”

Hanspeter Bolliger was overcome with emotion.

James Hutchins, “ That was awesome, it was so slippery out there on slicks in the wet!”.

Kevin Falcke, “ I never believed I would be standing here on the podium, on the same podium as Kitigawa, wow! I even out braked him at the end of my stint going into turn 1!”

Steve Mizera, “What a result, I wouldn’t be riding for Diablo 666 if I did not think this result was possible. The Team is one of the best I have ridden for”.

Geoff Randall, “That was just incredible, such a result just makes all the hard work so worthwhile. The bike ran without fault and the Pirelli wet tyres still look like new!”

With 16 points in the bag, Diablo 666 go into the next round at Albacete in May with a renewed belief that the Team can show the big boys how to go Endurance Racing and more importantly, have fun doing so. Please note, two Kawasaki’s on the podium, how about some financial support you guys back at HQ...there is another series apart from MotoGP! Plough some millions into our Teams like Suzuki do to theirs!

Gwen Giabbani's race on the private Yamaha Austria No.7...


Gwen Giabbani got into second position behind the Suzuki Castrol at the start. As early as the third turn, Gwen lost ground to the Suzuki but left behind behind hiss direct competitors: Phase One and Bolliger. (Remember, the Yamaha Austria machine is a private Yamaha - the Castrol Suzuki is a factory machine)

The entry on track of the pace-car after the first half an hour of the race annihilated his efforts while reducing the gaps on the chasing riders. While in a comfortable second place, Gwen was involved in an accident while coming on to the start/finish line - and while trying to avoid a fallen machine, crashed and damaged the Yamaha. The fall lost the team five laps, that being the time taken to get the bike back to the pits and make repairs. When Igor Jerman took over and got back on track, they were down to 29th position.

Igor fought back to 18th position while rain begin falling. Gwen took over again with (in his words) "the knife between my teeth" and climbed back up the order from 18th to 7th place in just 42 laps. Igor then took over again with 25 laps to go to try to catch the Phase One bike. Despite lap times four quicker seconds than Phase One, it's not enough to pass them and get a podium place

(By the way...PMS means Police Motorcycle Sport...if you've forgotten, Gwen's a policeman...)
Click on the logo for Gwen's website.

DAMIAN CUDLIN - PHASE ONE

...and now, the Assen race from Aussie Damian Cudlin's point of view...(Damian's the one in black..)

Damian Cudlin has got off to a clean start in World Endurance Championship with a solid 4th place at Assen in the Netherlands over the weekend. The race was won by the Factory Suzuki Team ahead of Team Bolliger Kawasaki
with the Diablo Kawasaki finishing 3rd.

Cudlin, who was teamed with fellow Aussie Warwick Nowland and Brit Andi Notman, proved to be on the pace all weekend aboard the potent Phase One Yamaha R1, however a number of small problems during the race hampered the teams chance to finish on the podium. Cudlin started the race with good speed, comfortably running in 3rd position until a severe vibration from the front of the bike slowed his progress. A defect front tyre was later found to be the problem.

The team lost further time at the first pit stop with a running problem. However with lightning speed the team diagnosed and repaired within around 30 seconds. Brit Andi Notman then put in a solid performance, particularly impressive considering the 220kmph crash he suffered in Warm Up only hours before. With around ten minutes to go in Andi's stint, rain began to fall on the Assen circuit so wet tyres were prepared for Cudlin's second session. The team were now in 4th position, 3 minutes adrift of 3rd.

Cudlin produced a stellar performance in the wet conditions and lapped the circuit considerably quicker than the opposition to gain 90 seconds in his 50 minute stint, and sat only 1 and half minutes adrift of 3rd. The baton was then passed to Aussie Warwick Nowland for the final 45 minute leg, who set out to chase the Diablo Kawasaki in 3rd. With Nowland gaining time on the Kawasaki, it looked possible of a podium finish for the Phase One Team, but with time running out, Nowland tried in vain to close the considerable gap.

"It's a shame to miss out on a podium finish, but we've gained good points here which is good for the championship." Cudlin said. "I'm happy the team's performance, everyone gave it their best shot, it just wasn't to be. We'll
be giving these guys a shake up at the next one though."

This solid start puts the team in a good position heading into the 2nd round of the championship at Albacete in Spain, where Cudlin hopes to close the gap between themselves and championship leaders Suzuki.

DAMIAN CUDLIN...The Goss, The Rap, The Opportunity...

Race Corporation observation - you wanna know why there's so many Aussies doing well in bike racing?...they are probably the most personable and articulate English speakers on the planet. Other riders take note; your race training should include being able to make what you say the most interesting item on the tape. Basically, just show how enthusiastic - or even upset - you are. Aussies could sell copy watches to Hong Kong...

...me, I just wish Kylie Minogue raced...

NOTTY...the Andi Notman Assen Report from Chez Notty Ash...

"My leg's about better now, still a bit stiff and a small limp but I think by Wednesday I should be able to train again. What a bummer crashing like that in warm up...just like last year - first race, cold track, losing the front...as the front was sliding away, I thought...not again! So when I went down, I held my bad arm to make sure I didn't damage that again, so at least that demon has gone now!
Me and Damian were well up for a podium, that was our promise to each other, to get a podium place every race -
but what with all the little problems in the race and my tip off, I guess 4th will do for now. We were 5th on grid with those four in front of us all using qualifying tyres - we didn't, so our estimated race time would put us 2nd on the grid and that was where we expected to finish.
This year I've come into the season racing in the senior team and not feeling as if I still need to prove myself. Russel did the perfect thing by allowing me half the season to get up to speed, which removed any external pressure to perform - and being fastest in qualifying, well, I was happy to say the least! Damo is superquick, and a perfect team mate, Warwick is experienced, funny, and just needs to get that good feeling from riding a bike to bring him right back to be a legend in endurance.
Note: that good feeling is being able to slide at every corner as well as being in complete control...it's the best!
I'm really looking forward to riding for Nik (Team Fagersjo-El.Se) at Le Mans, I really feel that if we keep our noses clean we can pull off a podium there. Niklas has finally got his shit together; he tried last year with the previous years' Phase One bikes but had three seasons of bad luck in one hit, with his riders crashing at every round. This year he's taken the experience gained from getting ex-Phase One tackle and built an impressive K5...I cant wait!
Anyway, I just thought I'd tell you what my thoughts were on the job - very disappointed in MCN (the UK's Motorcycle News)...unless I missed it, I think the Assen results were at the back of the mag, next to the Darley Moor race... tsk!"

ERWIN WILDING UPDATE
There's news about WRT Honda Team Manager Erwin Wildin following his devastating crash at Macau last year. This just in from the team - "Erwin´s condition is stable and taking some further little steps in the right direction. He is able to eat something like porridge and he can move his arms and legs a little bit better know. Erwin is not able to speak at the moment, but we all hope that he will be able to do so in 4 to 5 months."
PS: Erwin´s father informed Erwin about the ASSEN 500 result and he told us that
there was a little smile on Erwin´s face to hear that Bolliger got 2nd position.