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RACE WATCH
Ducati dominoes
It’s official: Carl Fogarty will not return to Ducati’s World Superbike team for the 2001 season. The announcement came after a private test at Mugello, Italy, on September 18-19, during which the four-time world champ failed to meet his own expectations.
It’s been six months since The Big Crash at Phillip Island, Australia, in which Fogarty shattered his upper left arm, so you can’t fault him for turning lap times slower than those of current Ducati hotshoe Troy Bayliss on the new 996R Testastretta. But Fogarty’s problem is bigger than his inability to get back up to speed. Lingering weakness and a lack of mobility in his injured arm meant he tired quickly and had a hard time even getting into a racing tuck.
Fogarty wasted no time in coming to a decision, and handed in his resignation the very next day. The day after that, Ducati issued a formal press release in which Fogarty was quoted as saying, “I’m a long way away from being in the condition I hoped to be in. Even if I speed up rehabilitation work, I don’t think I will be able to reach the necessary performance level to be competitive enough next season.
“I would just not be competitive enough and I would no longer have the chance of going for victory. I have had a fantastic career and I can be very satisfied with what I have done for motorcycling. I don’t think I have to demonstrate anything else.
“The time has now come to have the strength to leave racing. I knew that it would come sooner or later. I want to do it now and leave everyone with the memory of a victorious Foggy, with number one on my Ducati.”
Fogarty’s decision contradicts his pronouncement during last summer’s World Ducati Weekend, where he said he would “definitely” race again, but how could he have said anything else, and risked disappointing the tens of thousands of fans who’d flocked to the Autódromo Santamonica to celebrate All Things Desmodromic? It would have been pandemonium.
While Fogarty’s legions of fans will no doubt be disappointed by the news, there are many in the WSB paddock who will be glad to hear it, if only because it means the end of the waiting game. The plans of most everyone involved in the World Superbike Championship in some way hinge on the former champ’s future, so now all are free to put next season’s plans into motion.
Who will replace King Carl? Australian Troy Bayliss has already reupped with the Infostrada Ducati team for a second season, and Spanish Supersport standout Rueben Xaus tested alongside Bayliss at Mugello, so he’s a good bet to be the number-two rider. But there are plenty of other possibilities, such as Bayliss’ current teammate, Spaniard Juan Borja, who turned his lackluster season around by getting on the podium twice in the recent Dutch round of the series at Assen. Or Italian Paolo Casoli, Xaus’ Ducati Supersport teammate. Neil Hodgson would also seem to be a good bet, the British Ducati rider having won two WSB races in England this year as a wild card, but strong rumors suggest he will replace Aaron Slight on the Castrol Honda team instead.
An even more outside shot is Noriyuki Haga, currently the sole factory Yamaha rider in the series. But if Haga does switch to Ducati, it will more likely be on a satellite team run by his current team manager, Davide Brivio, who’s been threatening to leave Yamaha. But this may just be posturing aimed at getting the tuningfork company to put more effort into its WSB program.
What of American Ben Bostrom? As good as he has ridden at some points this season, it’s unlikely he’ll return to the works Ducati squad for 2001, for a number of reasons. First, Ducati, being Italian, would be reluctant to swallow its pride and do an about-face on the decision to “demote” Bostrom to the satellite NCR team. Second, Bostrom would bring only his good looks, cheery attitude and undisputed riding talent to the team, whereas others (Borja being a good example) might also bring additional sponsorship monies. And then there’s the fact that Bostrom is a hot commodity, with offers from other WSB teams (Aprilia is said to be keen to hire him), the GPs and even America.
In fact, Bostrom was slated to contest the final round of this year’s AMA Superbike Championship at Willow Springs, giving his old Vance & Hines Ducati team one last chance at victory before they change brands for next season. Which brand? No one will yet say, but the smart money is on Aprilia, which currently doesn’t have an AMA team, or perhaps even Harley-Davidson, whose floundering VR1000 Superbike effort would no doubt benefit from the expertise of V&H crew chief Jim Leonard.
Meanwhile, Ducati will be represented in next year’s AMA Superbike Championship by two teams: Competition Accessories, which hopes to sign Anthony Gobert to join current rider Larry Pegram; and Mitch Hansen’s HMC team, which contested the Pro Thunder Series this year with Shawn Conrad.
Fortunately, in the not-too-distant future, there may be more Ducati seats to go around. With the FIM having proposed four-stroke Grand Prix bikes beginning in 2002, Ducati is rumored to be considering contesting roadracing’s blue riband class for the first time since it campaigned a direct-injected 500cc V-Twin from 1971-73.
Desmos for everyone!
Brian Catterson
America’s race
Each September, the motocrossing nations of the world send their three best riders to the Motocross des Nations, a team race considered to be the Olympics of Motocross. Or rather, every nation but the United States does. Since 1996, Team USA has been unable to send its best athletes because seven-time Supercross Champion Jeremy McGrath won’t go. And more recently, other elite riders elected to pass as well.
Maybe that’s why America hasn’t brought home a victory since ’96, even though we won every MXdN between 1981 and ’94. It’s just not considered a big deal here in the States. But that may have changed with September’s event in France. Team USA upset the favored French, Belgian and Italian squads at the magnificent St. Jean d’Angely circuit, in front of a shocked crowd of 33,000.
The selection of riders for the American team always breeds controversy, and this year was no exception. Recently crowned 125 and 250cc Motocross Champions Travis Pastrana and Ricky Carmichael were obvious choices, but the final position was harder to fill. With McGrath on his annual summer racing hiatus and others begging off the squad, Team Manager Roger DeCoster invited Ryan Hughes, who rides a PAMO Honda in the 250cc World Championship. Frequently injured, Hughes hadn’t won a major race since 1995. “What else could I do? No one else wanted to ride,” said the frustrated DeCoster before the race. “At least the three guys we have want to go.”
Team USA 2000 was a cross-section of the American motocross > ranks, not to mention how Hollywood might script a race-team buddy flick: In 27-year-old journeyman Hughes, now based in Italy, the squad had its veteran contender; in 20-year-old Carmichael, a superstar at the top of his game; and in 17-year-old rookie sensation Pastrana, its prodigy.
In the first moto, the much maligned Hughes put in the ride of his life, making DeCoster look like a genius. Piloting a CR250, he won the 125/Open race, passing Brit James Dobb in the last corner. “A little luck finally went my way,” said a jubilant Hughes. “It blew my mind. I went across the finish line and thought, ‘I can't believe that I just won the Motocross des Nations.’ ”
Meanwhile, Suzuki RMl25-mounted Pastrana, making his European debut, overcame a first-turn crash to finish 10th overall and second-best 125. “I knew being on a 125 was going to be tough against all of those Open bikes,” admitted Pastrana. “It was rocky, it wasn’t groomed and it was so fast-but I was still in heaven. Just to be over here racing for the first time is a great experience.”
In the second 125/250 moto, Kawasaki KX250-mounted Carmichael led from start to finish, and victory was almost certain. Sadly, Pastrana crashed again, but still managed 15th overall. The final 250/Open showdown saw Carmichael and Hughes in the top five, which secured Team USA’s 15th win in this prestigious event.
As the French fans filed out of the dazzling venue, our National Anthem blared from the loudspeakers. The under-appreciated American riders and boss DeCoster stepped to the top of the podium above the runner-up Italian team and third-place Belgians.
“Winning the Motocross des Nations for Team USA is something I’ve thought about my whole life, and this is the first time I was able to get it done,” said Carmichael, who also rode on the ’98 and ’99 teams. “I wanted to come here and win for America because I think we’ve got the best riders in the world.”
Davey Coombs
