By Dan Moakes
October 13 2002

Regular Suzuki wildcard Akira Ryo was joined by Andrew Pitt at Sepang. The Australian rider was entered for his first GP on the Kawasaki, due to a fractured hip sustained by Akira Yanagawa in his Motegi tumble last week. It is thought that the new boy is to be the team’s number two rider next year, quite possibly with the experienced Japanese, who will not be fit for the remaining 2002 races, as his team leader. Rumours have mentioned talks with Alex Barros, although he seems happy enough with the RCV. Kawasaki are among the few teams running Dunlop tyres this year, although the most successful squads have been on Michelin.

Rumours continue to surface concerning Colin Edwards’ future, now that the Superbike champion is thought to be switching to GPs. He has lately been connected with the Aprilia team, in addition to earlier suggestions that he might join Pramac Honda Racing or Yamaha. As yet, Tohru Ukawa’s position in the lead Honda outfit has not been confirmed for next year, so one wonders whether the Texan’s connections could even put two current World Champions in the same team...

At Proton’s home race, the new 2003 KR four-stroke bike was revealed, along with the news that both Nobuatsu Aoki and Jeremy McWilliams are to be retained on the riding strength. Given the Ulsterman’s recent form on the two-stroke triple, it would be no surprise to see him challenging the front runners next season, depending on the bike’s capabilities.

The ranks of YZR-M1 Yamahas swelled at Sepang, with both Olivier Jacque and Shinya Nakano of the Tech 3 team getting their hands on the bike for the first time. They are due to be joined by d’Antin Yamaha’s Norick Abe in Australia, next week, although the Japanese has maintained admirable consistency on the old YZR500 to date. Frustratingly for the Red Bull WCM riders, Garry McCoy and John Hopkins will have to continue to rely on this bike as the four-stroke monopoly grows.