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added letting the engine output some 175 BHP. The chassis was designed and manufactured by Sabre Sports Ltd. Due to the team's success and presentation in the 250 class, Sabre were invited to step up to the premier 500cc class for 2000. Shane Norval was contracted and two new NSR500 V-twins were purchased from Honda. The season started well with Shane getting some good results but unfortunately at the Qatar GP he was knocked off by Max Biaggi and broke his arm. Over the next two GPs Ron Haslam and Callum Ramsey rode for the team. Phil Giles rode for the remainder of the season, with moderate success.
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with 990cc four stroke machines. Early indications were that the new four stroke machines would outperform even the best of the factory two strokes and the future looked bleak for a small team on a limited budget. More bad news was to follow though as only eleven teams would be franchised for the next five years. With Sabre being the last 500cc team to join the World
Championships a grid place was not offered for the following year.
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Throughout the 2001 season the bike was a great success with Sabre consistently the best performing privateer team. The bike was developed further at each Grand Prix but unfortunately the tide was turning against two stroke machinery. Plans were announced to phase out the 500cc bikes and replace them
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Having campaigned the V-twin in 2000 Sabre realised they needed more powerful V4 machinery. Unable to lease a factory bike the team set about building their own. Over the winter of 2000/2001 the Sabre V4 was designed and built in the team's new premises in Essex, England. A chassis was built based on
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Unable to lease a V4 from any manufacturer, the team decided to build its own bike around a 1994 YZR500 (OWF9) engine, a version generally regarded as one of the best of the YZR designs. Standard YZR crankcases and gearbox were used and custom engine internals, exhausts and ignition systems were
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Whilst development of the Sabre was ongoing throughout the year, the future of two-stroke 500 cc racing was in severe doubt with the impending arrival in the class of four-stroke 990 cc machines, which were to eventually make the two strokes redundant. The
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Sabre Sports had been offered a slot in the 250 cc World
Championship midway through the 1999 season, to replace the Docshop 250 team. Their performance led to the offer being extended to the 500 cc class for 2000. During this year the team ran a
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Johan
Stigefelt was contracted to ride the new machine. The Sabre V4 was wheeled out for the first IRTA test at Estoril, Portugal in April 2001. The bike performed beyond the team's expectations and lapped within two seconds of the factory bikes.
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also declared that only eleven teams would be allocated grid slots for the next five years. As the Sabre team was the most recent team to join and the class was already fully subscribed, they were not allocated a grid slot for 2002.
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was contracted to ride the Sabre during 2001 and put in some good performances, regularly being the best privateer in the field. The machine scored points on three occasions, its best being a 13th at the
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the Yamaha YZR of 1994, noted by many as the firm's best design to date. YZR crankcases and gearbox were used and custom made engine internals, pipes and ignition were fitted.
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in
November 2002 where rider Chris Palmer scored 14th position, after qualifying in 20th. In 2003,
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and while they had respectable results, realised that a V4 was needed to run further up the order.
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145:. It finished the Constructors Championship in fifth place on 6 points (3 points ahead of the
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185:-built motorcycles on engine grounds, until new engines were ready for the
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Front: Carbon composite disc, Nissin 4 pot calipers
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365:Official Results of the 2002 Macau Grand Prix
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360:500 cc qualifying and race results 2001
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208:2-stroke water-cooled 500 cc V4
181:after FIM banned the team's original
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169:used it for three races (ridden by
161:The Sabre V4 was later used at the
89:2001 500 cc World Championship
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336:"WCM embarrass Kawasaki, Proton"
179:World Championship Motorsports
167:World Championship Motorsports
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83:was a 500 cc two-stroke
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317:. crash.net. 25 April 2003
232:Front: Inverted telescopic
355:Sabre Sports Team website
315:"Harris WCM disqualified"
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234:Rear: Ă–hlins mono shock
200:Sabre V4 Specifications
385:Two-stroke motorcycles
380:Grand Prix motorcycles
187:Portuguese Grand Prix
143:Portuguese Grand Prix
87:that competed in the
112:Machine development
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16:Type of motorcycle
270:Aprilia RSW-2 500
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252:Rear: steel disc
171:José David de Gea
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163:Macau Grand Prix
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25:Manufacturer
338:. crash.net
290:ELF 500 ROC
275:Cagiva C593
213:Max Power:
177:season for
73:500 cc
54:500 cc
374:Categories
342:2008-05-16
321:2008-05-16
301:References
99:Background
85:motorcycle
68:two-stroke
41:Production
173:) in the
259:See also
81:Sabre V4
20:Sabre V4
242:Dunlop
239:Tyres:
149:team).
34:CM6 3LF
30:Felsted
224:Chain
183:Harris
60:Engine
295:KR V3
147:Pulse
50:Class
32:Essex
175:2003
79:The
44:2001
155:FIM
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71:V4
36:UK
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