Roadracer Podcast

Turkish Grand Prix, Istanbul Park

2006-04-30T23:36:00.000-04:00

Race Day, Sunday April 30 2006

DIFFICULT DAY FOR DUCATI MEN
Ducati Team riders Loris Capirossi and Sete Gibernau endured a challenging race at Istanbul Park this afternoon, finishing sixth and 11th. The result was much less than the team had expected after some promising performances in practice and qualifying. Gibernau had particularly high hopes after placing third in yesterday's wet qualifier and leading this morning's dry warm-up. And he looked in superb form in the early stages of the race, leading from the first turn until the end of lap 11, when tyre concerns began to push him down the order.
Capirossi, who went into the race leading the World Championship, also had every reason to expect another fine result after qualifying fourth and placing third in morning warm-up. He battled hard throughout, ending the first lap in seventh, then slipping to eighth before fighting back to sixth on the final lap. Capirossi goes into round four in China in two weeks holding second overall, just one point behind Nicky Hayden. The race, run in cool but dry conditions was won by Italian Marco Melandri

LORIS CAPIROSSI, finished 6th, 2nd in World Championship
"I can't say I'm happy with sixth, that's not where we should be. This weekend we were pretty good in the wet but we didn't have enough time to prepare for a dry race, so it didn't go as we had expected. Anyway, we are just one point off the World Championship lead and we scored some useful points for what is a very long and difficult championship. We did well to take home what we could, plus we were also the first Bridgestone team at the finish. We knew this track might be difficult, so we came here with many tyres but we preferred not to risk new tyres for the race, choosing what we thought would be best. Now we go to China, which will be another difficult track, so we will keep working like crazy. We started the season in the best way and now we have to maintain that focus and keep doing our best."

SETE GIBERNAU, finished 11th, 10th in World Championship
"There's not much to say really apart from that we had a rear-tyre problem. I couldn't do anything about it. The bike was working okay and I was feeling comfortable in the lead, but from lap four I started to feel some vibration from the rear. I was thinking about coming into the pits to change the tyre but I decided to keep going. It's a pity, I was feeling confident."

LIVIO SUPPO, Ducati MotoGP project manager
"That wasn't a great day for us. For sure, we got much less than we expected after practice and morning warm-up. We certainly suffered from having no dry track time yesterday because we couldn't do any long runs with race tyres, but that was the same for everyone, of course. We knew that we had to keep our feet on the ground after our great results at Jerez and Qatar and we knew this would be a difficult track for us. We must keep our positive attitude, and at least it was great to see Sete lead for ten laps and Loris fight like a lion to gain the 6th position. We know Bridgestone is working hard, as well as all our technical sponsors, first among them Shell Advance. With their support better days will come soon".

Spies Sets New Pole Record

2006-04-30T23:35:00.000-04:00

Ben Spies set a new lap record in qualifying for the Fontana AMA Superbike double-header in California this weekend.

The Yoshimura GSX-R1000-mounted Texan fended off team mate Mat Mladin throughout this afternoon's 40-minute qualifier with a best lap of 1:23.374, which toppled Mladin's 2005 record of 1:23.612.

Said Spies, who was suffering a severe head cold: "It's kind of crazy that we broke the track record because it feels like this is a pretty tight track and everything's happening so slow.

"Yesterday I wouldn't have been able to do that and would have been unable to ride. I made a big change overnight and hopefully we'll keep going, because we're definitely not 100%."

Third Yoshimura team rider Aaron Yates put his GSX-R1000 on the second row one place ahead of Ducati Austin's Ben Bostrom.

Friday Superbike Qualifying:

1. Ben Spies (Yoshimura Suzuki) 1:23.374
2. Mat Mladin (Yoshimura Suzuki) 1:23.613
3. Jake Zemke (Honda) 1:23.957
4. Neil Hodgson (Ducati) 1:24.432
5. Aaron Yates (Yoshimura Suzuki) 1: 24.481
6. Ben Bostrom (Ducati) 1:24.514
7. Miguel Duhamel (Honda) 1:25.212
8. Tommy Hayden (Kawasaki) 1:25.362
9. Jake Holden (Suzuki) 1:25.706
10. Larry Pegram (Honda) 1:26.009

BOSTROM AND HODGSON LOOK TO IMPROVE FORTUNES AT FONTANA

2006-04-26T23:23:00.000-04:00

Fontana (California) 26 April 2006: California Speedway in Fontana, California is the site of this weekend's AMA Superbike race for Parts Unlimited Ducati's Ben Bostrom and Neil Hodgson. Just one week after the last round at Barber Motorsports Park, the duo hope to put their Ducati 999 Superbikes on the podium during this third race meeting of the year.

Hodgson gave a courageous performance at Fontana last season that will go down as one of the most memorable in the 2003 World Superbike champion's career. Despite an illness that brought his fitness to race into question, Neil showed his mettle as he battled for the win on Saturday, finishing a close third after leading on the last lap. He followed that up with fifth place on Sunday even though his illness forced him into the medical center immediately after the race.

"Fontana is a better track for us than Barber, that's for sure. I had a good race last year. We had a shot at a win and we still were on the podium after I made a slight mistake," said the Englishman. "I guess you could call it the closest thing I have to being a 'home race', because I live in the Los Angeles area when I am here in the States. It's no secret we were disappointed with how things went at Barber but that just makes us more determined to do well at Fontana."

Ben Bostrom was quick at a California Speedway test earlier this year, setting the second fastest lap. He feels the key this weekend is getting a good start to the weekend. "Fontana is not a circuit where you could ride a million laps and think 'Wow, what a great racetrack', but I think we'll be more competitive there. We made progress all weekend at Barber. We just really struggled in the beginning. Even during the red flag on Sunday, we made some changes and improved the bike. Hopefully, I'll be feeling better with my sinus problem and we can get a good start because I want to be winning races."

Qualifying begins on Friday, with 28-lap Superbike races on Saturday and Sunday.

The Circuit: California Speedway 2.36 miles (3.7 kilometers), 21 turns. Oval with permanent road course, with up to 14 degrees of banking in some turns.

Standings (after three races): 1. Ben Spies, Suzuki 107 2. Mat Mladin, Suzuki 99 3. Miguel Duhamel, Honda 88 4. Neil Hodgson, Parts Unlimited Ducati 78 5. Aaron Yates, Suzuki 76 5. Tommy Hayden, Kawasaki 76 7. Ben Bostrom, Parts Unlimited Ducati 71 8. Jason Pridmore, Suzuki 64 9. Jake Zemke, Honda 52 9. Larry Pegram, Honda

Speed TV race listings

2006-04-26T15:44:00.000-04:00

Amp'd Mobile AMA Supercross Lites Series, Texas Stadium, Irving, Texas – Saturday, April 29, 6 p.m. (SPEED)

Amp'd Mobile AMA Supercross Series, Qwest Field, Seattle, Wash., Sunday, April 30, 12:30 p.m. (CBS)

AMA Superbike Championship presented by Parts Unlimited (Race 1), California Speedway, Fontana, Calif., Sunday, April 30, 5 p.m. (SPEED)

AMA Superbike Championship presented by Parts Unlimited (Race 2), California Speedway, Fontana, Calif., Sunday, April 30, 6 p.m. (SPEED)

Amp'd Mobile AMA Supercross Lites Series, Texas Stadium, Irving, Texas – Tuesday, May 2, 12 p.m. (SPEED)

Pro Honda Oils Supersport Championship presented by Shoei, California Speedway, Fontana, Calif., Tuesday, May 2, 1 p.m. (SPEED)

AMA Superbike Championship presented by Parts Unlimited (Race 1), California Speedway, Fontana, Calif., Tuesday, May 2, 3 p.m. (SPEED)

AMA Superbike Championship presented by Parts Unlimited (Race 2), California Speedway, Fontana, Calif., Tuesday, May 2, 4 p.m. (SPEED)

Lockhart-Phillips USA Formula Extreme Series, California Speedway, Fontana, Calif., Tuesday, May 2, 5 p.m. (SPEED)

Amp'd Mobile AMA Supercross Lites Series, Texas Stadium, Irving, Texas – Tuesday, May 2, 11 p.m. (SPEED)

Amp'd Mobile AMA Supercross, Reliant Stadium, Houston, Texas – Wednesday, May 3, 2 p.m. (SPEED)

Amp'd Mobile AMA Supercross Series, Texas Stadium, Irving, Texas – Wednesday, May 3, 3 p.m. (SPEED)

All Times Eastern. All times subject to change. Check local listings.

POINTS LEADER HAYDEN TO MISS CALIFORNIA SPEEDWAY SUPERSPORT RACE

2006-04-26T15:43:00.000-04:00

PICKERINGTON, Ohio (April 26, 2006) -- Pro Honda Oils Supersport Championship presented by Shoei leader Roger Lee Hayden will miss this weekend's race at California Speedway following a high-speed crash at Barber Motorsports Park this past Sunday, which left the Kawasaki rider with a badly broken right leg. With Hayden out, perhaps until June, Yamaha's Jamie Hacking becomes the de facto series leader in this, round three of the 11-race series, which takes place on Sunday, April 30 in Fontana, Calif.

Roger Lee Hayden was heir apparent to the Supersport throne after finishing runner-up to his older brother Tommy for two straight years. He'd won at Daytona in March and again last Sunday in Birmingham, Ala., to build an early eight-point lead over Hacking. Now it appears Hayden may have to wait yet another year for the highly coveted Supersport title. It's a disappointing blow to the youngest Hayden brother.

Hacking was sorry to hear of Hayden's misfortune. He knows exactly how badly Hayden feels. Last year Hacking led the Repsol Superstock Series when he was involved in a bicycle accident and was forced to miss the rest of the season.

Hacking is trying to win back the AMA Supersport title he owned in 2003. The Carolinian looked strong in his return from last year's injuries with a pair of second-place finishes. Now he comes to California Speedway, a track where he's won the Supersport race twice before.

"I've had some good races in Fontana," Hacking said. "It's a track that suits my style and Yamaha always give me a great bike that works well there. Even though I've won there before it's not going to be easy that's for sure. There are some fast up-and-coming riders in the class and I'm going to have to be on top of my game if I want to get another win."

The rider who is clearly making a breakthrough in the class this year is M4 EMGO Suzuki's Geoff May. May scored his first career podium last week in Alabama and brings a new mind-set to California Speedway this weekend.

"It's great to get my first podium in Supersport," said May, a former AMA Rookie of the Year. "Now that I've accomplished that I need to keep improving and see if I can take it to the next level."

May nipped Attack Kawasaki's Ben Attard at the line last week in Alabama. Attard is hoping to return the favor this Sunday so he can continue to move up from his current sixth-place position in the standings.

A good battle is developing between veteran Damon Buckmaster and relative newcomer to the class Danny Eslick. The two are tied for fourth in the standings. "Bucky" is teammate to his fellow Australian Attard and is in his eighth season of competing in the AMA series. Buckmaster is a former Australian Supersport champ. Eslick is a former flat track racer who continues to show steady progress racing for the Matsushima Performance Suzuki team.

Michael Barnes came back in Alabama in spite of riding with an injured knee he had surgery on after Daytona. The longtime veteran turned in a solid seventh-place performance on his M4 EMGO Suzuki at Barber Motorsports Park last week and hopes to continue to climb in the rankings after Fontana.

A new face to watch for at California Speedway is Ryan Elleby. Elleby is an up-and-coming rider from Georgia riding under the Leo Vince/Pegram Racing Honda banner. He comes to California Speedway as the top ranked Honda Supersport rider having scored an impressive eighth at Barber, just behind Barnes. As Elleby gains in confidence he could become a bigger factor in the series as the season progresses.

The Pro Honda Oils Supersport race presented by Shoei is part of California Speedway's Suzuki Superbike Challenge that runs April 28-30. For ticket info call 1-800-944-RACE or visit www.californiaspeedway.com

The Fontana Supersport final will be televised nationally on SPEED at 1 p.m. EST Tuesday, May 2

Hotbodies Racing Mat Mladin Motorsports Suzuki's Craggill in 10th Overall after Barber Superstock Race

2006-04-25T22:25:00.000-04:00

BIRMINGHAM, Ala., (April 25, 2006) - Hotbodies Racing Mat Mladin Motorsports
Suzuki rider Marty Craggill held up against the sweltering Alabama heat as
well as his competitors to finish 13th in round two of AMA Superstock at
Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, Ala., on Sunday afternoon.

With just a short amount of time on the 2.3-mile, 16-turn track on Friday
and with Saturday's morning practice interrupted by rain, Craggill carded a
third-row grid position in Saturday afternoon's qualifying session.

'I'm really disappointed in how I rode today' said the Australian. 'But we
haven't had a lot of track time this weekend. The GSX-R1000 is good and we'
re going to make a few small changes before the race, but mostly I feel like
I haven't ridden as well as I could have.'

In Sunday's 17-lap race, Craggill charged hard on his Hotbodies Racing Mat
Mladin Motorsports Suzuki GSX-R1000 and gave it his all. In spite of the
humidity and heat, Craggill rode an aggressive yet consistent race.

'The heat was definitely part of the problem,' admitted Craggill. 'But we
also changed the bike a fair bit looking for a good set-up and I think we
may have made a mistake. So I'm just looking at this race as a learning
experience and taking that with me into California Speedway next weekend.'

Team owner and reigning AMA Superbike Champion Mat Mladin, was sympathetic
and supportive of his rider and friend. 'He definitely seemed to struggle a
bit, but that's racing,' said Mladin. 'I have faith in Marty and his crew
that they'll put something together for Fontana.'

Hotbodies Racing Mat Mladin Motorsports Suzuki's next AMA Repsol Superstock
race will be at California Speedway in Fontana, Calif., April 28 - 30, 2006.

Marty Craggill, Hotbodies Racing Mat Mladin Motorsports Suzuki, #16
13th Place - AMA Superstock
10th Place - Overall

Team Hotbodies Racing Riders Fly Forward at Barber

2006-04-25T20:39:00.000-04:00

Team Hotbodies Racing Riders Fly Forward at Barber

#13 Cory West, 2004 AMA Superbike Rookie of the Year, finished 16th in Race
One of the AMA Superbike class at Barber Motorsports Park, climbing from his
qualifying position of 22nd on the grid. West also moved up a number of
positions in Superstock, advancing from 19th on the grid to 12th by race's
end. West said, "Barber is a weird place because the camber is different in
every turn. There are many lines for riders choose. The Superbike race went
well, I improved my times and moved forward. In Superstock I was in a battle
all race long with Marty Craggill after getting a great start. That felt
good knowing he had qualified so much higher than me. My quick shifter broke
after about the fourth lap. I never knew how much I relied on it until then.
I'm tenth in Superbike points but I'll only be doing some of those races
from now on and I'll concentrate on Superstock."

#87 Taylor Knapp qualified on the fourth row in 14th-place for the Formula
Xtreme race on his Suzuki GSX-R600, and 29th in Superbike on his GSX-R1000.
Knapp ran great races finishing 12th in FX and 22nd and 19th in the two
Superbike events, improving on his qualifying positions in every race. Knapp
said, "This is my first year on a Superbike so I'm still getting used to it.
I ran a Pirelli DOT on the front and a Pirelli slick on the back. That
worked well and the tires were there for the entire race. In the second race
we had set the pressures wrong so during the red flag we put on a new set at
the proper settings and that made all the difference. The 1000 is fun to
ride. In FX I was down on power because we still have the stock header on
the bike. I'm looking forward to the next race when I have more power. The
tires were great in FX too. My plan is to be in the top ten from now on."

#29 Barrett Long, in his second year of the AMA Superbike series, qualified
his Yamaha YZF-R6 in 28th for Supersport, finishing the race in 23rd. Long
and crew worked all weekend to sort out his R-6 for the difficult conditions
at Barber, eventually finding more speed during the race to move up five
positions. Long said, "Barber is a peculiar track with all of its long
carousels. I won the USGPRU 250 race here in 2004 so I'm not sure why I
wasn't faster this weekend. I guess I prefer tracks with longer straights
and tighter turns, something where the rider is more of an element to
cutting fast laps, rather than the bike being such a big part of it."

#220 Garret Carter, a 17 year old from Detroit, Michigan, was competing in
his first AMA event ever at Barber. Carter qualified 29th in Formula Xtreme
and 24th in Supersport. Carter was faster each time he was on track
finishing 17th in Supersport and 24th in FX, after pulling off during the
race. Carter said, "I used to race 125s and there's no comparing them and a
600. My Yamaha R6 is so much faster it's amazing. I was learning something
on every lap. In the FX race I had to pull in because gas was coming out of
my overflow. I rejoined the race and caught back up to where I had qualified
because I was running so much faster. The Supersport race went as planned
and I moved up seven places. Doing the AMA series is crazy. I didn't know it
was going to be this intense. It's a totally different world from what I've
raced in before. I'm having a great time being a part of Team Hotbodies
Racing."

Team Hotbodies Racing is sponsored by Hotbodies Racing, Motul Lubricants,
GPR Stabilizers, LeoVince Exhaust Systems, Vortex Sprockets, Regina Chains,
Power Stands, VP Racing Fuels and Suzuka Tire Warmers.

Hotbodies Racing specializes in manufacturing performance parts for
performance bikes. Hotbodies Racing is the design leader in Undertails,
Undertail Exhausts, Windscreens, Flush-Mount Signals, Huggers and full-race
Bodywork. Hotbodies Racing supports the sport with sponsorship and its own
in-house race team, and encourages dealer inquiries. For more information
visit: www.hotbodiesracing.com.

AMA SUPERMOTO ON OLN AGAIN IN 2006

2006-04-25T17:52:00.001-04:00

PICKERINGTON, Ohio (April 25, 2006) -- AMA Pro Racing has announced that the 2006 AMA Supermoto Championship presented by Parts Unlimited will be nationally televised for the fourth consecutive year on OLN. Chet Burks Productions will handle production duties with cameras on hand at every round of the series.

The AMA Supermoto Championship begins this weekend at California Speedway in Fontana, Calif., and is set to finish in November in Long Beach, Calif. AMA Supermoto combines elements of Supercross, Motocross, Flat Track and Road Racing on purpose built tracks that feature both dirt, jumps and high speed pavement sections. Top AMA racers from around the globe including 2005 Supermoto Champion Jurgen Kunzel, Jeff Ward, Doug Henry and Travis Pastrana compete to determine who is the best all-around motorcycle racer.

"We are pleased to continue our relationship with OLN," said John Farris, AMA Pro Racing Vice President of Commercial Development. "OLN is growing along with the series and AMA Supermoto provides some of the best racing action to be found in motorsports. This television package will offer great exposure for our sponsors and the teams participating in the championship."

OLN has shown a strong commitment to providing top-notch motorsports action to its broadcast lineup. In addition to the AMA Supermoto Championship the network is also the television home to the AMA Toyota Motocross Championship presented by FMF.

"We are fortunate to have riders such as Jeff Ward, Doug Henry and Travis Pastrana participating in AMA Supermoto," continued Farris. "Those riders give real star power to our shows and we want to make stars out of the other top riders in the series as well. AMA Supermoto, with its sliding action, major jumps and racing on unique tracks brings a lot of visual impact to the shows. The series continues to grow in prestige with riders from around the world participating and we're happy to be part of that growth."

Red Bull KTM's Jurgen Kunzel will try to defend his championship in 2006, but is expected to face tough competition from 2005 champ Jeff Ward as well as riders such as Doug Henry and Mark Burkhart.

OLN is offering to email show reminders to keep fans up to date on AMA Supermoto broadcast times. Go to www.olntv.com to sign up for the service.

SPIES READY TO LEAD AMA SUPERBIKE CHAMPIONSHIP

2006-04-25T17:52:00.000-04:00

Young Texan leads Suzuki teammate Mladin coming into Fontana

PICKERINGTON, Ohio (April 25, 2006) -- Ben Spies leads the AMA Superbike Championship presented by Parts Unlimited as the series makes its way west to California Speedway in Fontana, for the Suzuki Superbike Challenge on April 28-30.

Spies is coming off the best race weekend of his young career. He swept the doubleheader round at Barber Motorsports Park, giving him newfound confidence coming into California Speedway this weekend, a track he calls one of his favorites.

"I don't know what it is, but it seems like I've always been upfront at California Speedway," said Spies, who briefly led the AMA Superbike Championship in his first full season last year after winning race one in last year's doubleheader in Fontana. "I grew up a lot on the same style tracks in Texas. It's got a lot of hard breaking and a lot of fast chicanes where you have to muscle the bikes through it. I'm a taller, bigger guy, but I'm definitely not the biggest guy in the class. For some reason when it comes to muscling the bike through fast stuff, someone in front of me is usually slowing me down."

Spies said that California Speedway puts major physical demands on a rider. The ferocity of the fast transitions is such that Spies once bent his bike's handlebars from the torque he placed on them. While the 21-year-old Texan, who is in his sophomore season of AMA Superbike, has headed the championship before, this time it's different as he feels ready to be the leader.

"I have some confidence now," Spies said. "We have a really good setup. We were just testing in Fontana a couple weeks ago and the bike was working really good. So it's probably not going to be a jump out and win the thing, but I'm hoping just to battle both races and see what happens."

The rider Spies is likely to have to go through to win again at California Speedway is teammate Mat Mladin. The defending and six-time champ is ranked second in the series after suffering an uncharacteristic crash last weekend in Alabama. Mladin, 34, of Australia, has won five of the eight AMA Superbike races in Fontana. He actually doesn't sound terribly concerned that he's fallen eight points behind Spies. In fact, he sort of takes some pleasure knowing that someone else has the target on his back coming into this weekend's doubleheader.

"Now he's (Spies) got the points lead, so now he has to sleep with it," Mladin said. "Now he knows what it's going to feel like.

"I made a mistake at Barber, simple as that. We got a little lucky with how things worked out (a late race re-start that worked to Mladin's advantage) and now we just have to do what I know myself and my team can do in Fontana. I've had to come from behind before, but this time it looks like it's going to be a fun challenge since some of the others have found some extra speed."

Spies and Mladin are the only former California Speedway Superbike winners in the field.

Former AMA Superbike champ Miguel Duhamel is third in the standings, having scored two podium finishes in the previous three rounds. Duhamel, the veteran of the series, thinks he has more wins left in him, but he says things have to be near perfect.

"Our Honda CBR1000RR is good," he says. "We've just got to get the setup. It's sensitive. We're still discovering a lot of stuff, how one click (with the suspension) makes a difference compared what we've used in the past. Racing in just one class creates more of a sense of urgency to do well since you don't have another class to fall back on if you have a bad weekend in superbike."

Perhaps the biggest surprise in the young season is the speed shown by Kawasaki's Tommy Hayden. Hayden, who started on the front row for the first time in his superbike career, had a podium finish in his grasp last weekend in Alabama, before he and Suzuki's Aaron Yates collided on the final lap. Kawasaki's ZX-10RR is proving to be solid entry in the factory team's return to the series for the first time in five years.

"I am really looking forward to it," Hayden said of this weekend's event. "We have spent quite a bit of time riding and testing there and I always like coming out to California Speedway. The team is making a lot of progress with the bike and I think we are probably ahead of where we thought we might be at this point."

The Suzuki Superbike Challenge twin bill will be nationally televised on SPEED. Saturday's Superbike race will be televised beginning at 5 p.m. EST on Sunday, April 30, followed by live coverage of Sunday's Superbike final at 6 p.m.

Fans will have the opportunity on Saturday to watch two major events at California Speedway. In addition to the first of the AMA Superbike doubleheader the opening round of the AMA Supermoto Championship will take place in the late afternoon on a specially built course in the track's infield.

For ticket info call 1-800-944-RACE or visit the website www.californiaspeedway.com

Team West/OneFastGirl Racing

2006-04-25T11:25:00.000-04:00

April 20-23

Road America, WI

Round 1 – ASRA/CCS

On Wednesday evening, after a couple of unfortunate events, Sam and I finally parked at the Road America gate. The trip proved to be an exciting one this go around. We not only fried a bearing on the travel trailer, but nearly lost my cat in the ghetto of South Chicago. We did eventually get that bearing kit, and recover the cat that jumped out the window. It was a 4 hour experience I will not forget soon enough! *Just a note – There are no bearing trailer kits anywhere near the ghetto of South Chicago (ha ha ha).

Thursday was a day to get the R6 and the Ducati sorted out with gearing, and handling. The R6 was great right off the line, so we concentrated mostly on the Ducati. The Ducati seemed to have a stability problem under power, going straight. We tried a few geometry changes, but ran out of sessions to figure it out. The weather was beautiful, and I was feeling very confident (finally a track that I didn't have to learn from scratch!).

Friday just seemed like it was going to be a great day for racing. Even though we still had to figure out the stability issue on the Ducati, I felt great. Because of the endurance race, I had a lot of time to think about the changes we had made to the Ducati since Daytona. I came to the conclusion that it was an incorrect tire choice, so we mounted some new Michelin DOT's (instead of slicks), and corrected the geometry. My first race was GTU on the R6, so I gridded up and concentrated on getting a rockin' start. I think things went extremely well, and I felt very comfortable during the entire 25 minute race…comfortable enough to finish 10 ^th. My last race of the day was Supertwins on the Ducati. I was nervous about the changes, but optimistic that I had made the right decision. I got a pretty good start, and fell into 3 ^rd place for most of the race. The bike handled like a dream (my changes were successful)! On the last lap Chris Knight squeaked by me, to put me into a 4^th place finish (oh was I disappointed!). The day went super well, and I am very happy with everything that happened.

Saturday started off to be another gorgeous day. We had two qualifying sessions, and two races to compete in…I was anxious to do well. I qualified 7^th in Thunderbike, and 10^th in Sportbike. Then it was time to race. I gridded up for the first race of the day, Supertwins, eager to make up for Friday's 4th. The flag dropped and I almost had the holeshot…Mark Junge slipped up the inside to take the lead. I held second for a few laps, until Danny Bilansky passed me on the brakes. I kept behind Danny, to take 3^rd on the checkers. Fortunately for me, when the results were posted Danny got disqualified for not having a transponder. That put me in 2^nd place; I guess I really made up for Friday! I was now ready to go out for Middleweight Supersport, on the R6, and see what I could do. I had to start in the back of the grid, and got a tangled up into turn one. I really had to work hard for a better position, but wasn't able to make up enough ground. I finished in 17^th place, but at least I finished the race. It was a day of mixed feelings...happy with my 2^nd, but glum about my 17^th. It was still an excellent day, though!

Sunday started out with a rainy, cold morning, and I just wanted to stay in my warm bed. My first race was Middleweight Supersport, and I was prepared to get a much better finish. I gridded up, and zipped into turn one right behind Robert Jensen. I let Robert make a hole into every corner, and just tagged behind him until Canada corner (turn 12). That put me ahead of a ton of guys, and I was ready to stay in front of them. Well, I was ready until the guy behind me came into turn one way to hot, and lowsided right into me. I ended up getting sandwiched between my bike, and his, and surfed them into the gravel trap. After a few moments of serious pain in my right knee, I got up a walked it off. Man, was I livid! Surprisingly, the bike had no broken parts (just a dented Leo Vince canister, ugh)! Sam West, Chris Jensen, Chris Onwiler, Roger Krueger, and Alexa Krueger all got the bike torn apart and back together in record time. My knee didn't seem that bad, so I went out for my last two races of the weekend. They were back to back races, so I was glad I didn't have to wait around. It was difficult getting my knee bent (with all the swelling), but my friend Guy wrapped it and told me it would be okay. I had Thunderbike first, and launched into 5^th place(from 7 ^th). Unfortunately my knee wasn't happy about hard braking, Jeff Johnson and Brian Bemisderfer got around me into turn three. I had to dice hard for 7^th with Brian Lacy. Luckily I had enough motor to hold him off, and take 7 ^th at the checkers. My next (and final race) was Sportbike. I was starting from 10^th, and was hoping I could at least hold that position. I did, for while, but my braking points were way too early. I had a great race with Michael Arwood and Ryan Hall, but Hall got in front of me. That put me in 13^th place at the checkers. I wasn't to upset about it, though. My knee was throbbing and I just did what I could to keep a fair position on the track.

Overall, this was our most successful weekend. I was confident, comfortable and very aggressive. Luckily my injury isn't that bad…I guess you could say the bark is worse than the bite (it looks gross). I will be strong for our next round at BeaveRun (WERA North Central regional), and make sure that we continue getting satisfactory results!

A special thank you goes out to Sam West, my Mum and Pop (Alexa and Roger Krueger), Chris Jensen, Guy and Chris (K-3) Onwiler for thrashing on the R6, and knowing I could still be competitive. And to all of my friends that came to the track and helped out, you guys rock!

I'm faster than your girlfriend, BRRAAAPP.
www.onefastgirl.com
www.myspace.com/onefastgirl
rhiannon@onefastgirl.com

Rhiannon Lucente #66/#166

You just might be a racer if....

2006-04-25T00:11:00.000-04:00

You just might be a racer if...

you know how to properly pronounce "Criville"

you walk proper lines through the grocery store with the cart.

you've ever had to explain the term "pucker factor". :D

you've paid $5.00 a gallon for gas without complaining.

your idea of a decent sort of house to buy is one with a basement and a big garage, a downhill driveway so you can bump-start your racebike, and a working toilet on the property somewhere.

you bought a race bike before buying a house.

you bought a race bike before buying furniture for the new house. you're looking for a bike transport vehicle and still haven't bought furniture!

you hear "overcooked it" and think "off the track" instead of "Denny's".

you sit on your race bike in the garage and make bike noises and shift and practice your throttle blipping/braking, while waiting for your motor to get back from the shop.

you look at the purchase of tools as a long term investment.

at least one of your children was conceived at a race track.

your garage has more bikes than your house has bedrooms.

you have enough spare parts to build another bike you have bike parts in your cubicle at work you registered for wedding gifts at Marietta Motorsports

after your answer to "How was your weekend?" the next question is always: "And you do this for fun? Right?"

you've ported your 2-stroke lawn mower, chain saw, or weed eater

your reading material in your bathroom consists of a 1-888-FASTLAP catalog, and 400 bike magazines, none of which have centerfolds.

some people only know you by your racing class & bike number your first date involves asking her to crew for you.

you plan your wedding around the race schedule.

you complain when cars in front of you on highway off-ramps don't stay on the line, causing your exit speed to drop.

you tell a friend you need to clean up the head this weekend and they think you mean the toilet.

you gladly pay $9 for a bottle of engine oil.

you hate long distance driving, but gladly drive 800 miles to the race track.

you save broken bike parts as "momentos".

you've found your lawnmower runs pretty good on 108 octane gas

you've got 3 immaculate race bikes always race ready, but your wife has to nag you for 2 months before you fix the headlight in her car. :

FIRST DOUBLE-HEADER WIN FOR SPIES

2006-04-24T23:55:00.000-04:00

Yoshimura Suzuki's Ben Spies raced to his first-ever double-header victory at today's second AMA Superbike Championship race at Barber in Alabama to take the lead in the series after three rounds.

The GSX-R1000-mounted Texan fended off Miguel Duhamel (Honda) to win by 2.8 seconds as team-mate and reigning champion Mat Mladin crashed out on the fifth lap. Mladin rejoined the race in dead last in 29th position and carved through the field to 14th before the race was red flagged on lap 21 of 28.

Mladin, starting from the fourth row, quickly caught the leaders and when third Yoshimura rider Aaron Yates and Tommy Hayden fell, he moved into third place and the final rostrum position. Yates remounted to take a well-deserved fourth place ahead of Neil Hodgson (Ducati).

Said six-time AMA Champion Mladin: "We got lucky with the red flag for sure! To come from the fourth row and put it up here on the box, we're very, very happy."

Sunday Superbike Results:
1. Ben Spies (Yoshimura Suzuki)
2. Miguel Duhamel (Honda)
3. Mat Mladin (Yoshimura Suzuki)
4. Aaron Yates (Yoshimura Suzuki)
5. Neil Hodgson (Ducati)
6. Ben Bostrom (Ducati)
7. Tommy Hayden (Kawasaki)
8. Jacob Holden (Suzuki)
9. Larry Pegram (Honda)
10. Jason Pridmore (Suzuki)

SIMEON DOMINATES GSX-R CUP OPENER

2006-04-24T23:54:00.000-04:00

Belgian Xavier Simeon rode a superbly controlled race at Valencia today to win the opening round of this year's Suzuki GSX-R European Cup.

He had dominated qualifying, taken pole position and today was totally in control throughout the 11-lap race. He was never headed throughout the race and took the chequered flag two-and-a-half seconds ahead of his nearest rival. Second went to Austrian Rene Mahr ahead of Spanish 'wild card' Ismael Ortega, who was not eligible to score points, so third went to another Spaniard, Salvador Cabana, with German Phillip Hafeneger fourth ahead of Swiss rider Gregory Junod.

Xavier Simeon - 1st:

" I am so happy because this has been a perfect day and the weekend has also been perfect because I won the Superstock 600 European Championship race yesterday. After qualifying, I knew that I had a very good chance of winning the Suzuki GSX-R Cup race today and nobody was going to stop me. My bike worked perfectly today and I want to thank my team for giving me such a good bike and great support. Once I was in front, I just ran my own pace and kept an eye out for my nearest challengers. I was able to pull out a gap on the rest of the field and then I just rode as fast as I needed to for the victory."

GSXR-Cup Results: 1 Simeon, 2 Mahr, 3 Cabana, 4 Hafeneger, 5 Junod, 6 Castellani.

Championship Points: 1 Simeon 25, 2 Mahr 20, 3 Cabana 16, 4 Hafeneger 13, 5 Junod 11, 6 Castellani 10.

CORSER RACES TO DOUBLE PODIUM

2006-04-24T23:53:00.000-04:00

Suzuki's World Superbike Champion Troy Corser raced his Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra GSX-R1000 to two second places at today's third-round World Superbike Championship race in Valencia, Spain.

He led Troy Bayliss (Ducati) for the best part of the two 23-lappers but had to give way to his fellow countryman in the closing stages both times. But team mate Yukio Kagayama had a weekend to forget: After his concussion yesterday and badly bruised right hand, he was far from fit but battled hard in the opening race for a well-deserved sixth place.

The second race was following a similar pattern until he lost the front going into the first hairpin and crashed out. Fortunately he didn't do any further damage to his right hand but hurt his right leg in the process.

Alstare Engineering Corona Extra rider Fabien Foret scored his first points of the season with a 15th in race one and a 13th in race two.

Troy Corser - Race 1: 2nd, Race 2: 2nd:

"I'm happy, but also frustrated today. Happy because I took two seconds and also because I know I couldn't have ridden any harder than I did. I tried my best, but I couldn't overtake Troy Bayliss after he had passed me in both races. That was kind of frustrating, but I could see his bike was working the tyres less than mine and in the end the difference between us was marginal.

"In race one I got a pretty good start and managed to pull out a bit of a gap, but in the later part of the race he caught me up when my tyres started to go. When he passed me I tried to get back at him, but he could run a bit faster than me and I just couldn't do it.

"It was much of the same in the second race: I built up a pretty good lead but I got a false neutral going into the first hairpin and was lucky not to crash. That was enough for Troy to close the gap. I had to adjust the clutch slip during the race and although it was only a tiny problem, that and tyre wear prevented me from catching and passing him."

Yukio Kagayama - Race 1: 6th, Race 2: DNF:

"The weekend was not so good for me and maybe it's better that I forget it. The crash yesterday meant that my right hand was not strong and, because Valencia is a very physical circuit, I couldn't brake as hard as normal. Also it made changing direction much more difficult.

"In the first race, I had a good fight with a group of riders and I enjoyed this battle. I could only use one finger to brake, so I could not go in as deep and hard as normal. If I hadn't had the problem, I think I could've caught Haga and Abe ahead. In the second race I crashed at the hairpin, but I am not exactly sure why. I went into the turn, braked as usual and suddenly I was down without any warning. I was using a medium front tyre in race two - compared to a hard front in race one - so maybe that was part of the problem."

Fabien Foret - Race 1: 15th, Race 2: 13th:

"All in all, I'm pretty happy with the weekend because it has been a good experience - my first ever Superpole yesterday and then scoring some points today. In the first race, I made a good start and the first five or six laps were not so bad. But, I think the tyre choice was wrong and that together with a small suspension problem didn't allow me to lap as fast as I had expected.

"My start in race two was ok and I was in a good group – Toseland and Barros - and I enjoyed the battle and was happy because my lap times were consistent. This race weekend I feel I have made another step forward and gained a lot of experience. My next step is to qualify better and improve my finishing positions."

Race 1 Result: 1 Bayliss (Aus-Ducati), 2 Troy Corser (Aus-Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra), 3 Lanzi (I-Ducati), 4 Abe (J-Yamaha), 5 Haga (J-Yamaha), 6 Yukio Kagayama (J-Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra), 7 Xaus (E-Ducati), 8 Laconi (I-Kawasaki), 9 Toseland (GB-Honda), 10 Pitt (Aus-Yamaha). 15 Fabien Foret (F-Alstare Engineering Corona Extra) .

Race 2 Result: 1 Bayliss, 2 Troy Corser (Aus-Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra), 3 Lanzi, 4 Abe, 5 Haga, 6 Nieto (E-Kawasaki), 7 Walker (GB-Kawasaki), 8 Laconi, 9 Pitt, 10 Fabrizio (I-Honda), 13 Fabien Foret (F-Alstare Engineering Corona Extra). Yukio Kagayama (J-Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra) DNF.

World Championship Points (after 3 rounds): 1 Bayliss 125, 2 Troy Corser (Aus-Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra) 103, 3 Toseland 86, 4 Haga 64, 5 Barros 62, 6 Pitt 58, 7 Lanzi 47, 8 Abe 40, 9 Fabrizio 34, 10 Xaus 33. 13 Yukio Kagayama (J-Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra) 24 . 21 Fabien Foret (F-Alstare Engineering Corona Extra) 4.

SERT SUZUKI RACE TO 2ND FROM 49TH

2006-04-24T23:52:00.000-04:00

Reigning World Endurance Champions Suzuki Castrol clawed back from a heavy crash in the first hour to finish runners-up at the Le Mans 24-hour second round in France that finished this afternoon.

The Suzuki Endurance Racing Team (SERT) of Keiichi Kitagawa, Mathieu Lagrive and Vincent Philippe were only two laps behind winners, National Motors Honda, after 817 laps of racing.

Kitagawa put the GSX-R1000 to the front early on, closely pursued by Suzuki Castrol's second team, but shortly after his first fuel stop he fell heavily, causing the safety car to be brought out which allowed the Suzuki 2 squad to take the lead.

Suzuki No.1 then began their long climb back through the field from 49th position as the front-running Yamaha Austria team fell behind and then retired from the race with cylinder head problems.

The order remained the same for much of Saturday with Suzuki No.2, Yamaha GMT94 and National Motos Honda filling the top three places until late into the night when GMT94 pitted with an electrical problem. This let the Honda through to second and Suzuki No.1 – who had now climbed to third – ahead of GMT94 and Kawasaki Bolliger.

The order of the race leaders remained static through the night, but dramas continued behind them: Kawasaki Diablo retired with a broken gearbox, Yamaha Phase One with a blown cylinder head gasket, and Suzuki Innodrom with a broken gearbox.

But with just four hours to go, any thoughts of a comfortable run to victory were dashed for Suzuki No.2; they pitted after a crash and eventually retired with machine damage. While Suzuki No.2 were in the pits trying to diagnose the problem, Gary McCoy crashed the GMT94 Yamaha heavily: He managed to limp the bike back to the pits but National Motos Honda took the lead and Suzuki Castrol No.1 moved to second place before GMT94 could rejoin the race.

Said Lagrive: "For me the race was not very easy. With my injured hand I could manage 20 laps ok, but 30 laps was very difficult. This morning I had no sensation in the left hand; it's not possible to ride the bike well with just one hand, but I stayed fast."

SERT Team Manager Dominique Meliand, added: "I didn't worry that the No.1 bike would have the same problem as the other Suzukis; on the No.72 it was a head gasket and for No.72 the problem was changing the forks. For the No.1 bike it was necessary to score the maximum points rather than just having outright speed and going for the win. For No.2 it was different, it was win or nothing."

Provisional Top Ten Finishing Positions:

1: National Motos Honda - FRA - Honda CBR1000RR - Protat, Four, Ribalta - 817 laps
2: Suzuki Castrol - FRA - Suzuki GSX-R1000 - Philippe, Kitagawa, Lagrive - 815 laps
3: Yamaha GMT94 - FRA - Yamaha YZF-R1 - Gimbert, Checa, McCoy - 804 laps
4: Kawasaki Bolliger - SUI - Kawasaki ZX10R - Muff, Saiger, Morillon - 799 laps
5: Infini Team Suzuki - FRA - Suzuki GSX-R1000 - Michel, Tangre, Bocquiet - 793 laps (1st SPR)
6: Suzuki No Limits & RT - ITA - Suzuki GSX-R1000 - Ruozi, Monot, Jond - 789 laps
7: Kawasaki Maccio Racing - FRA - De Rosa, Fremy, Moisin - 788 laps (1st STK)
8: Suzuki Fagersjo-el.se - SWE - Suzuki GSX-R1000 - Hanson, Andersson, Carlberg - 787 laps
9: Suzuki Endurance Moto45 - FRA - Perrerau, Duprez, Briere - 786 laps
10: RMT21 Racing Honda - GER - Honda CBR1000RR - Mizera, Chevre, Steuer - +1.21.018

Information sourced from: www.worldendurance.com

HODGSON FOURTH IN AMA SUPERBIKE POINTS AFTER BIRMINGHAM

2006-04-24T23:51:00.000-04:00

Leeds (Alabama) 23 April 2006: Parts Unlimited Ducati Team racers Neil Hodgson and Eric Bostrom finished fifth and sixth in the Sunday AMA Superbike contest from Birmingham, Alabama. Hodgson finished 4.511 seconds behind winner Ben Spies in the red-flagged 28-lap race, taking fifth in an eight-lap shootout and finishing in front of teammate and fellow Ducati 999 pilot Ben Bostrom.

Neil is now fourth in AMA Superbike points after three races. "It was really a frustrating weekend for us because we expect more than this. As riders, I can assure you Ben and I are riding really, really hard, but we just aren't seeing it in the lap times," said Hodgson. "We really don't have the answers right now. As for the restart, I decided to push things past the limit. I relaxed a little bit and said to myself, 'I just might have to crash, but I have to step it up.' In a weekend like this one, you don't think so much about the championship so much. I might as well just go past the limit, to ignore the warning signs. I did and I went a little quicker."

"I'm just glad we get to race next weekend at Fontana because at least we don't have to wait so long to get another shot at it. That track does suit our bike better and I had a good race there last year," he said.

Ben Bostrom was sixth, feeling better but still bothered by sinus problems. "Since I was sick and we were struggling anyway, we treated the weekend more like a test. We made big changes with every session. In the red flag, we made another change to the bike and found some more time and I was able to push a little harder. Neil and I ran together most of today and we were pretty evenly matched in most of the sections."

The Parts Unlimited Ducati Team will next race at California Speedway in Fontana, CA, April 28-30.

Results: 1. Ben Spies, Suzuki 2. Miguel Duhamel, Honda 3. Mat Mladin, Suzuki 4. Aaron Yates, Suzuki 5. Neil Hodgson, Parts Unlimited Ducati 6. Ben Bostrom, Parts Unlimited Ducati 7. Tommy Hayden, Kawasaki 8. Jacob Holden, Suzuki 9. Larry Pegram, Honda 10. Jason Pridmore, Suzuki

Standings (after three races): 1. Ben Spies, Suzuki 107 2. Mat Mladin, Suzuki 99 3. Miguel Duhamel, Honda 88 4. Neil Hodgson, Parts Unlimited Ducati 78 5. Aaron Yates, Suzuki 76 5. Tommy Hayden, Kawasaki 76 7. Ben Bostrom, Parts Unlimited Ducati 71 8. Jason Pridmore, Suzuki 64 9. Jake Zemke, Suzuki 52 10. Larry Pegram, Honda 52

2006 AMA SUPERMOTO CHAMPIONSHIP KICKS OFF AT CALIFORNIA SPEEDWAY

2006-04-24T23:45:00.000-04:00

PICKERINGTON, Ohio (April 24, 2006) -- On April 29 the 2006 AMA Supermoto Championship presented by Parts Unlimited will take the green flag at California Speedway in Fontana. This is the fourth year of AMA Pro Racing's newest championship series and it promises to be the best yet.

Team Red Bull KTM HMC's Jurgen Kunzel will be back to defend his 2005 championship. Other pre-season favorites include Troy Lee Honda's Jeff Ward, the 2004 series champ, and Graves Yamaha teammates Doug Henry and Mark Burkhart.
Kunzel took last year's title in a dramatic down-to-the-wire final round in Reno. The German stole away the title after rival Ward crashed leaving the door open for Kunzel's surprising comeback. It was a breakthrough year in 2005 for Kunzel. After being one of the fastest Supermoto riders in the AMA championship since its inception, he finally earned his first victory in Nashville, Tenn. Then lady luck smiled on Kunzel again at Reno helping him win the title.

"I could not believe that I won the championship," Kunzel said after placing second in the final race at Reno last October. "I felt very bad for Jeff (Ward). He had a great season and it was a tough way for him to lose the championship. At the same time I'm overjoyed for my team. They put so much work into this. I've worked hard for three years to get to this point. I had so much bad luck in my racing career over here, perhaps I was due for a little good luck."

Ward, of Newport Beach, Calif., will turn 45 this season, but the former AMA Motocross and Supercross star still thinks he has what it takes to beat riders half his age.

"I'm looking forward to this season," said Ward, who, in spite of his age, is still one of the most aggressive riders in the series. "It should be good with Kunzel trying to hold on to the title and Doug Henry coming back healthy. And then you have guys like Mark Burkhart and my teammate Chris Fillmore coming on strong. I think the positive thing about racing at my age is my knowledge of how to quickly get a bike set up and knowing how and when to make my move in the races."

Doug Henry was the fastest rider in the championship early on last year winning three straight rounds before suffering injury. The Graves Yamaha rider is a veteran motocross champ like Ward and comes back in 2006 healthy and eager to get back in competition.

"I feel just about 100 percent and am looking for a good season," Henry said. "I'm really pumped about the new Yamaha YZF450. In stock form I went faster than I've ever gone on my practice track. My goal is to come out of Fontana with some good points. We have a break in the series after that race to correct any problems we might encounter in the first round, but hopefully we'll be competitive from the start."

While Supermoto's version of the "Big Three" is Kunzel, Ward and Henry, many people, including his fellow competitors, see Graves Yamaha's Mark Burkhart making it the "Fab Four" in 2006. Burkhart, who totally dominated AMA Supermoto Lites last year, shocked the established stars by moving up from Lites and dominating the main Supermoto class in the Reno Red Bull finale last year.

In addition to the two rounds of the premier AMA Supermoto class, fans at California Speedway will also get to see a round of the AMA Supermoto Unlimited and Supermoto Lites support classes.

Brandon Currie will try to keep the Supermoto Lites title in the Graves Yamaha camp. After riding a Kawasaki in '05 and finishing runner up to Burkhart last year, Currie now gets the opportunity to ride for a proven championship team. Currie is expected to be the rider to beat, but there are a host of others hoping to fill the void left in Burkhart's absence.

Old scores may be settled in the Supermoto Unlimited class this year. Last year's championship ended in a remarkable and controversial finish in the final round. Two title contenders Micky Dymond and Darryl Atkins came together on the last corner of the last lap. Atkins went down and with it his hopes of the title. Some called Dymond's pass an aggressive, but perfectly acceptable racing move, while others saw it as overly forceful. The two are slated to resume their rivalry at California Speedway. This year Atkins is expected to race the new Aprilia SXV550 twin-cylinder machine.

The opening AMA Supermoto Championship runs Saturday in conjunction with the Suzuki Superbike Challenge AMA Superbike Championship doubleheader. All the final Supermoto events will take place after the end of Saturday's road racing action, giving fans the opportunity to see two major championship events in a single day.

OLN will telecast the series. Look for updated information and a complete broadcast schedule to be released soon.

For ticket information call 1-800-944-RACE (7223) or visit www.californiaspeedway.co

ESTOK AND BILANSKY PUT BUELL ON ASRA THUNDERBIKE PODIUM

2006-04-24T23:44:00.000-04:00

Buell XBRR Sets New ASRA Superbike Track Record at Road America

ELKHART LAKE, Wis. (April 24, 2006) – Veatch Motorsports rider David Estok rode a Buell Firebolt XB12R to a second-place finish at the American Sport Bike Racing Association (ASRA) Thunderbike National at the Road America course on Sunday. Hal's Speed Shop rider Dan Bilansky was third, also on a Buell Firebolt XB12R. The race was won by Ed Key on a Suzuki, who also won several Championship Cup Series (CCS) support races during the weekend.

Estok, Bilansky and Deeley Harley-Davidson/Buell Canada rider Steve Crevier also used various ASRA and CCS races to test new components on the Buell XBRR developed since its competition debut at Daytona. Estok won the Solo Challenge class in the 250-kilometer ASRA Team Challenge race and crossed the finish line first ahead of the overall Team Challenge winner (solo entries are not included in the overall team results) aboard an XBRR. Crevier finished second in the Solo Challenge and charged from the back row of the 22-rider ASRA Superbike field to set a new class track record with a time of 2:22.763 (100.866 mph average) on his way to a fifth place finish aboard an XBRR.

Estok, the 2005 National Thunderbike series champion, took the pole and set a new ASRA Thunderbike track record in qualifying with a lap of 2:31.885 (94.809 mph average) on the four-mile Road America course with his Glen Veatch tuned Buell Firebolt XB12R. Bilansky qualified second with a lap of 2:33.156 (94.022 mph average).

Estok and Bilansky led at the start of the eight-lap Thunderbike National, and the two riders battled and swapped the lead four times in the first six laps. Key held back while the two Buell riders dueled, then caught and engaged Estok and Bilansky in turn one at the beginning of lap seven. Key passed Bilansky for second, and then got by Estok in turn five to take the lead. Bilansky spun his rear tire coming out of the Bend following the Carousel and left the course before regaining control and returning to the track, still in third place but out of contention for the lead. Key held off a determined Estok on the final lap to take the win.

"I was out there battling with Dan (Bilansky), and I think we were both surprised when Key suddenly caught us," said Estok. "It was a great race and he did an excellent job out there."

Fourth place went to Nate Kern on a BMW. Appleton Buell/Hoban Brothers Racing rider Jeff Johnson was fifth on a Buell Firebolt, followed by Harley-Davidson/Buell of Frederick rider Bryan Bemisderfer, also on a Buell Firebolt. Ducati riders Rhiannon Lucente and Brian Lacy were seventh and eighth. Blue Springs H-D/Buell's Walt Sipp was ninth on a Buell Firebolt, and Hal's Speed Shop/Spyder Leatherworks.com rider Paul James rode a Buell Firebolt to tenth position. Twelve of the 24 ASRA Thunderbike entries were on Buell motorcycles.

Throughout the ASRA/CCS race weekend at Road America, expert and amateur Buell racers accounted for 6 class wins and 26 podium finishes. Friday highlights included a GT Lights class win and 7^th overall finish in the ASRA Team Challenge by teammates James and John Fox aboard a Firebolt XB12R; a 1-2 finish in CCS Thunderbike by Bilansky and Johnson; and two class wins by Julian Soell in amatuer Lightweight Supersport and Lightweight Superbike. On Saturday, Johnson, Estok and Bilansky swept the CCS Thunderbike podium.

After two events, Kern leads the ASRA Thunderbike series with 58 points, followed by Bemisderfer with 49 points and Johnson with 44 points. The next race on the eight-round ASRA Thunderbike National schedule is May 28-29 at Summit Point Raceway in Summit Point, W.Va.

SUZUKI CASTROL 2ND ON LE MANS GRID

2006-04-24T23:40:00.000-04:00

After dominating practice and first qualifying, World Endurance Champions and current series leaders Suzuki Castrol posted the second fastest time for tomorrow's 24-hour Le Mans World Endurance second round in France.

SERT rider Vincent Philippe set the early pace aboard the French squad's GSX-R1000 with the Suzuki Castrol number two team a close second until yesterday's night practice when they recorded provisional pole position.

The fastest team today was Yamaha GMT94 with a time of 1:38.174 ahead of Suzuki Castrol (1:38.354), Yamaha Austria (1:38.631) and Suzuki Castrol 2 (1:38.663).

A 45-minute warm up session starts at 10.30am local time tomorrow with the race at 12.30pm.

Qualifying Results:

1: Yamaha GMT94 - FRA - Yamaha YZF-R1 - S.Gimbert - 1:38.174
2: Suzuki Castrol Team - FRA - Suzuki GSX-R1000 - M.Lagrive - 1:38.354
3: Yamaha Austria - AUT - Yamaha YZF-R1 - G.Giabbani - 1:38.631
4: Suzuki Castrol Team - FRA - Suzuki GSX-R1000 - J. Da Costa - 1: 38.663
5: Team Kawasaki France - FRA - Kawasaki ZX10R - P.Piot - 1:39.430
6: Honda National Motos - FRA - Honda CBR1000RR - O.Four - 1:39.888
7: Kawasaki Maccio Racing - FRA - Kawasaki ZX10RR - F.Moisan - 1:40.930
8: Junior Team Suzuki LMS - FRA - Suzuki GSX-R1000 - T.Metro - 1:40.979
9: Yamaha Endurance Moto38 - FRA - Yamaha YZF-R1 - D.Bouan - 1:41.216
10: Yamaha Phase One Endurance - GBR - Yamaha YZF-R1 - W.Nowland - 1:41.249

PARTS UNLIMITED DUCATI TEAM BACK IN ACTION AT BIRMINGHAM

2006-04-20T01:07:00.000-04:00

Leeds (Alabama) 19 April 2006: Neil Hodgson and Ben Bostrom of the Parts Unlimited Ducati team return to AMA Superbike action this weekend at Barber Motorsports Park near Birmingham, Alabama. The second round of the series will see both riders pilot their Ducati 999 Superbikes as part of the 28-lap Superbike races on both Saturday and Sunday.

Bostrom said he is ready to race, having last ridden the Ducati Superbike at a test in Birmingham last month. "I'm looking forward to getting back on the bike. I've been off it for three weeks and it seems like forever," said Bostrom. "We're looking forward to improving our results from the test. We weren't able to go as quick as we would have liked then. I'm anxious to get some laps in, work with the team to maybe change some things with the setup, and just ride better. We have two races ahead of us and like I said, I just want to get back out there on the track."

Neil Hodgson also says he is also looking forward to the Alabama races. "Last year, we raced with some guys for a position on the podium but ended up fourth on Sunday," said Hodgson. "Birmingham is a nice track and the Ducati 999 is working well, but this circuit will always be a special challenge for us due to its nature. We know we are going to have to push to the limits to do as well as we'd like. We're up for the challenge, though, and are looking for good results in both races."

In addition to seeing the Parts Unlimited Ducati Team race Saturday and Sunday, Ducatisti will have an opportunity to check out the Finale of the Monster Challenge.

THE CIRCUIT: Barber Motorsport Park, 2.3 miles (3.70 kilometers), 16 turns with 80 feet of elevation changes.

AMA SUPERBIKE POINTS (after 1 round): 1. Mat Mladin, Suzuki 38 2. Ben Spies, Suzuki 32 3. Miguel Duhamel, Honda 29 4. Neil Hodgson, Parts Unlimited Ducati, 27 5. Tommy Hayden, Kawasaki 26. 6. Aaron Yates, Suzuki 25. 7. Ben Bostrom, Parts Unlimited Ducati, 24 8. Jake Zemke, Honda 23 9. Jake Pridmore, Suzuki 22 10. Jake Holden, Suzuki 21

AMA LOCKHART-PHILLIPS USA FORMULA XTREME TITLE WIDE OPEN

2006-04-19T10:39:00.000-04:00

Graves Yamaha's Hacking heads up Repsol Superstock coming into Barber

PICKERINGTON, Ohio (April 19, 2006) -- The AMA Lockhart-Phillips USA Formula Xtreme Series has been the domain of factory Honda rider Miguel Duhamel over the last couple of years, but now that the two-time champ has moved on to concentrate on AMA Superbike it leaves the class wide open. Honda has dominated Formula Xtreme and hopes to keep that going with Erion Honda riders Josh Hayes and Aaron Gobert, but Yamaha has thrown its hat in the ring with a potent pair of riders in Jason DiSalvo and Eric Bostrom. This weekend, April 21-23, at Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, Ala. the battle for the championship gets back underway after an early season break.

Honda's Jake Zemke won the opening round of the series, the Daytona 200, last month, but Zemke, like his teammate Duhamel, is not contesting the rest of Formula Xtreme schedule. That leaves Erion Honda's Hayes as the de facto leader of the championship coming into this weekend's event.

Hayes is no stranger to Formula Xtreme or leading a championship series. The Gulfport, Miss., native has contested Formula Xtreme on and off since 1998. He knows how to win championships, having earned the AMA Superstock title in 2003. Hayes is rebuilding his life after losing his home to Hurricane Katrina last year. He sees his opportunity with Erion Honda in the Formula Xtreme Series as a new beginning. He also likes the idea of being somewhat of an underdog in the class.

"With Yamaha coming in with such a strong effort I think a lot of people sort of forgot that Honda is still in the class," Hayes said. "I'm very happy with the team and our bike and I think we have a very good chance of keeping the Formula Xtreme championship in the Honda camp. I think maybe we came in under the radar before the season started, but after our Daytona performance I know we are going to be sort of a target. It could be an interesting season-long battle for the championship. I see it as a great opportunity for me to win another AMA championship."

Hot on the heels of Hayes in the standings are the factory Yamaha riders of Jason DiSalvo and Eric Bostrom. Yamaha has been a leading manufacturer in Formula Xtreme in past seasons, but 2006 marks the return of the factory Yamaha team for the first time in three years. Yamaha sees Formula Xtreme as a perfect showcase for its redesigned R6 and putting DiSalvo and Bostrom in the class shows just how serious they are about winning its first Formula Xtreme title. DiSalvo is considered one of the top up-and-coming riders in America and Bostrom is a former champion of the class.

Barber's Formula Xtreme will mark the return of two-time Formula Xtreme champ Kurtis Roberts. Roberts tested at Barber with the M4 EMGO Suzuki squad as a possible temporary replacement for the injured Michael Barnes. Barnes is recovering from his Daytona knee injury quicker than expected and hopes to race at Barber. Roberts is going to race for the team in any case. The addition of Roberts to the mix will bring a depth of talent to the class not seen for several years.

In the Repsol Lubricants Superstock Series a healthy Jamie Hacking is a dangerous Jamie Hacking, so say some of his main competitors. After suffering injuries over the last few seasons Hacking is healthy and ready to go coming into the Barber Superstock race. Hacking earned a breakthrough victory in the Superstock final at Daytona International Speedway last month. It marked the first pro victory for Hacking at Daytona and was a major milestone in the Graves Yamaha rider's career.

The last time Hacking had a similar breakthrough was in 2003 when he finally won the Supersport race at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, Calif., a track that prior to that had been a nightmare for him. Hacking went on to win the Pro Honda Supersport title that year and he hopes the Daytona breakthrough is a precursor to another championship run.

"You can't get off to a better start than I had at Daytona," said Hacking, who also won the Barber Superstock race in 2004. "Hopefully I can stay healthy this season and make a strong run at the championship. The class is loaded with talent so it's going to be a battle, but I know my team is ready for the challenge."

Hacking's teammate Jason DiSalvo finished a very close second at Daytona and is hoping to even the score at Barber.

Defending Repsol Lubricants Superstock champion Aaron Yates injured his shoulder in pre-season testing and was a question mark on whether or not he was even going to be able to ride in the season opener last month. But instead of sitting out the race, Yates gritted his teeth and rode with the broken shoulder and it paid off richly with a solid third-place finish.

"That was important to get through Daytona and come out with some points," Yates said. "I guess I was a little surprised at how well I did there and now I'm not that far behind in the championship and I feel like I still have a good shot at defending the title."

Other riders high in the standings coming into Barber include M4 EMGO Suzuki's Geoff May, who is ranked fourth; Erion Honda's Josh Hayes; Attack Kawasaki's Damon Buckmaster and Roadracingworld.com Suzuki's Robertino Pietri, the Venezuelan who surprised a lot of people with his strong seventh-place showing at Daytona.

The Pro Honda Oils Supersport race is part of Barber Motorsports Park's Honda Superbike Classic that runs from April 21-23. The Barber Formula Xtreme final will be televised nationally on SPEED at 3 p.m. EST on Tuesday, April 25.

To obtain tickets for the Honda Superbike Classic call 800-240-2300 or visit the website www.barbermotorsports.com.

AMA PRO RACING ON SPEED

2006-04-18T21:09:00.000-04:00

AMA PRO RACING ON SPEED
APRIL 18-25, 2006
(All times Eastern)

Amp'd Mobile AMA Supercross Series, Ford Field, Detroit, Michigan – Tuesday, April 18, 2 p.m.

Amp'd Mobile AMA Supercross Series, Reliant Stadium, Houston, Texas – Tuesday, April 18, 3 p.m.

Amp'd Mobile AMA Supercross Lites, Reliant Stadium, Houston, Texas – Tuesday, April 18, 4 p.m.

Amp'd Mobile AMA Supercross Series, Reliant Stadium, Houston, Texas – Tuesday, April 18, 11 p.m.

AMA Superbike Championship presented by Parts Unlimited, Barber Motorsports Park, Birmingham, Alabama – (Superbike Race 1), Sunday, April 23, 4 p.m.

AMA Superbike Championship presented by Parts Unlimited, Barber Motorsports Park, Birmingham, Alabama – (Superbike Race 2), Sunday, April 23, 5 p.m.

Amp'd Mobile AMA Supercross Series, Texas Stadium, Irving Texas – Sunday, April 23, 6 p.m.

Lockhart- Phillips USA Formula Xtreme Series, Barber Motorsports Park, Birmingham, Alabama – Tuesday, April 25, 2 p.m.

Pro Honda Oils Supersport Championship presented by Shoei, Barber Motorsports Park, Birmingham, Alabama – Tuesday, April 25, 3 p.m.

Amp'd Mobile AMA Supercross Series, Texas Stadium, Irving Texas – Tuesday, April 25, 5 p.m.

Amp'd Mobile AMA Supercross Series, Texas Stadium, Irving Texas – Tuesday, April 25, 11 p.m.

All times subject to change. Check local listings.

GREAT BATTLE SHAPING UP IN AMA SUPERSPORT CHAMPIONSHIP

2006-04-18T09:02:00.000-04:00

PICKERINGTON, Ohio (April 18, 2006) -- Kawasaki has it and wants to keep it, while Yamaha and Suzuki both want it back. The prize these manufacturers all covet is the AMA Pro Honda Oils Supersport Championship presented by Shoei. One of the most hotly contested series in the history of AMA road racing, the Supersport series is once again shaping up to be another barnburner in 2006. Kawasaki's Roger Lee Hayden brings a four-point lead over Yamaha's Jamie Hacking coming into round two of the 11-race series at Barber Motorsports Park on Sunday, April 23.

Hayden feels like it is his time to win the Supersport title. The youngest of the three racing Hayden brothers from Owensboro, Ky., has been runner-up in the series to his oldest brother Tommy for the last two years. This season Tommy is going to concentrate solely on the Superbike class leaving baby brother alone to fight off the horde of Yamaha and Suzuki riders trying to win back the championship. If Roger manages to win the series it would mean that all three Haydens brothers have won the title. Middle brother Nicky is racing for the factory Honda team in the Motorcycle Grand Prix World Championship.

After winning at Daytona last month Roger Lee said he feels like he's up to the task of finally earning his first AMA road racing title. He sees 2003 champ Jamie Hacking as his primary competition.

"I'm pretty happy that I came through Daytona with a good result," said Hayden, who is beginning his eighth year as a pro. "It's going to be a long year. This class is competitive. I know there's always some other guy that's going to be strong all year. I know Jamie [Hacking] is fast. He has been the last few years. He just got hurt a few times. I know he's capable of being up front every race."

Hacking's primary goal for 2006 is to stay healthy so he'll have the chance to win back the championship he won three years ago.

"It's going to be a tough battle all year," Hacking said of the Supersport championship. "We've been in this situation before, and hopefully we can have a trouble-free season. The last couple years for us have been pretty bad. So hopefully we can have a clean season and work on our bike some more in testing this next month, and get the thing dialed in just a little bit better. I'm looking forward to it. It's going to be a good season."
Hacking and Hayden are both former Barber Supersport winners.

While the focus is primarily on the battle between Hayden and Hacking, Suzuki has a secret weapon in the class in the form of Ben Spies. Most have considered the young Texan to be a Supersport overachiever on the Suzuki, which has been just a slight click off the Kawasaki and Yamaha Supersport bikes in the last couple of seasons. This year however the new GSX-R600 seems to be closer if not equal to the other factory rigs and Spies hopes to do some damage in the class this season.

Suzuki also has depth in the class. In addition to factory rider Spies there are a host of support riders who could contend for podiums throughout the season. Chief among them is former flat tracker Danny Eslick, who is coming on strong on the Matsushima Performance Suzuki, and M4 EMGO Suzuki's Geoff May. Eslick is fifth in the standings coming into Barber, May seventh, by virtue of their Daytona finishes.

Suzuki is looking for its first victory in the Barber Supersport event.

Another team to watch for at Barber is Attack Performance Kawasaki with the Aussie pair of Damon Buckmaster and Ben Attard. Both are capable of winning on any given weekend.

Honda has no factory entry in Supersport this year, but is represented in the class by California speedster Jeffrey Tigert on his Pro Honda Oils backed team. Tigert is 12th in the standings coming into Barber.

The Pro Honda Oils Supersport race is part of Barber Motorsports Park's Honda Superbike Classic that runs from April 21-23. The Barber Supersport final will be televised nationally on SPEED at 3 p.m. EST Tuesday, April 25.

To obtain tickets for the Honda Superbike Classic call 800-240-2300 or visit the website www.barbermotorsports.com .

BYRNE INSPIRATIONAL ON RIZLA SUZUKI

2006-04-17T15:13:00.000-04:00

Shane 'Shakey' Byrne took two inspirational and determined top-10 finishes on his Rizla Suzuki GSX-R1000 after starting well down the grid in both of today's races at the third round of the Bennetts British Superbike Championship at Thruxton.

In morning warm-up, Byrne missed the chequered flag and was penalised for riding too fast on a red flag lap by being moved back eight places from ninth to 17th on the grid. But he gritted his teeth and fought his way through to fourth before eventually ending up fifth after a race-long battle with Honda's Jonathan Rea.

On the sighting lap for the second race, he was forced into the pits to change to his spare bike after discovering a problem with the front wheel. He had to start the race from the final position on the grid before again showing his determination to finish eighth.

Starting from fifth on the grid, team mate James Haydon was taken out of race one at the first corner when Karl Harris's Honda skittled him. In the second race he crashed out on the opening lap unhurt.

Ducati's Gregorio Lavilla won both races.

Rizla Suzuki will attend an official British Superbike test on Friday at Oulton Park in Cheshire before returning to the same circuit for the fourth round of the Championship on Bank Holiday Monday, May 1st.

Shakey Byrne:

"I made a genuine mistake in morning warm-up and missed seeing the chequered flag. I kept going flat out for a few corners before I realised the session was over and ended up being penalised and put back on the grid by eight places. That fired me up and I gave it my all and fifth was a good result from that starting position.

"In the second race I had to start from dead last after a problem on my out lap and I put my head down and went for it again. I got up to eighth in the end and was wishing for more laps as I was stating to catch the riders in front of me.

"We made good progress with the Rizla Suzuki this weekend and I think I could have overtaken anything on the straights as it is a missile. It's just a shame I wasn't able to start from a decent grid position in either race as I am sure we had the pace to threaten the podium."

James Haydon:

"I am bitterly disappointed with both races. In the first race I got side-swiped by Karl's bike as he crashed in front of me. In the second race I lost the rear and ended up on the grass. Both crashes were on the first lap and my races were over before they started.

"Through practice and qualification we found good speed and chassis balance and I'll take those positives to our test later in the week and the next round at Oulton Park."

Robert Wicks - Team Manager:

"Shakey showed the real potential of Rizla Suzuki as he fought his way through the pack in both races. The GSX-R1000 is lightning fast and Shakey proved his class and determination to record two strong results. He showed how hungry he is for success and for the last four or five laps in the second race he was the fastest rider on the circuit bar none. His 'never-say-die' mentality was a hit with the huge crowd.

"James deserved better after showing such great form throughout practice and qualifying and he will come back stronger and more determined at Oulton Park.

"This has been another character-building weekend for the team, typified by all the hard work in the garage to rebuild James's bike in time for the second race.

"A big thank you to Murray Walker who joined the team to cheer on both Shakey and James – he's a real gent and bike enthusiast who we are proud to call a friend of Rizla Suzuki."

Race One Results: 1: Gregorio Lavilla (Ducati) 28:47270, 2: Leon Haslam (Ducati) +4.460, 3: Ryuichi Kiyonari (Honda) +12.742, 4: Jonathan Rea (Honda) +18.921, 5: Shane Byrne (Rizla Suzuki) +19.058, 6: Michael Rutter (Honda) +22.866, 7: Glen Richards (Honda) +30.839, 8: Tommy Hill (Yamaha) +30.974, 9: Dean Thomas (Kawasaki) +34.210, 10: Michael Laverty (Honda) +34.252. James Haydon (Rizla Suzuki) DNF.

Race Two Results: 1: Lavilla 27:58.085, 2: Haslam +6.337, 3: Karl Harris (Honda) +15.230, 4: Kiyonari +15.566, 5: Rea +21.323, 6: Thomas +25.437, 7: Rutter +30.305, 8: Shane Byrne (Rizla Suzuki) +34.977, 9: Hill +38.501, 10 Scott Smart (Suzuki) +42.610. James Haydon (Rizla Suzuki) DNF

Championship Standings (after three of 13 rounds): 1: Lavilla 132, 2: Haslam 96, 3: Kiyonari 87, 4: Harris 57, 5: Rea 54, 6: Shane Byrne (Rizla Suzuki) 45, 7=: Smart 44, 7=: Rutter 44, 9: Laverty 42, 10: Thomas 40, 16=: James Haydon (Rizla Suzuki) 15.

SUZUKI CASTROL LEAD WORLD ENDURANCE

2006-04-17T15:12:00.000-04:00

Reigning World Endurance Champions Suzuki Castrol won the Assen 500km opening round of the FIM World Endurance Championship in Holland today after leading from the start.

Although one rider down after Mathieu Lagrive crashed and injured himself yesterday, the SERT GSX-R1000 had pulled a lap ahead by the half-way point of the four-hour event and team rider Vincent Philippe also set the fastest lap of the race with a time of 1:43.659.

Second place overall and a lap down went to Yamaha Austria, who was forced to pit early after wearing out their front tyre while pushing to catch the Suzuki. Third place was taken by Yamaha Phase One Endurance and fourth; Suzuki Fagersjo-el.se aboard their GSX-R1000.

The top Superstock class finisher was Suzuki Team Endurance Moto45 in ninth place overall and the leading Super Production class finisher was Yamaha Team Acropolis Zone Rouge 199 in 10th place.

The top seven finishing teams came from seven different nationalities; France, Austria, Great Britain, Sweden, Switzerland, Italy and Germany. The same seven teams represented four different manufacturers; Suzuki (1st and 4th), Yamaha (2nd, 3rd and 6th), Kawasaki (5th) and Honda (7th).

Said Philippe: "It's a pleasure to ride at Assen and for us there were no problems. It was an easy race for the team. I made a good start and tried to stay constant. I saw Yamaha Austria had a problem so I kept a good lap time but not too fast. I was thinking about Le Mans."

The next round of the championship is the Le Mans 24 Hour race which takes place next weekend, April 22nd/ 23rd.

1: Suzuki Castrol - FRA - Suzuki GSX-R1000 - Philippe, Kagayama - 110 laps.
2: Yamaha Austria - AUT - Yamaha YZF-R1 - Jerman, Scarnato - 1 lap
3: Yamaha Phase One Endurance - GBR - Yamaha YZF-R1 - Nowland, Cudlin - 2 laps
4: Suzuki Fagersjo-el.se - SWE - Suzuki GSX-R1000 - Hanson, Andersson, Carlberg - 3 laps
5: Kawasaki Bolliger - SUI - Kawasaki ZX10R - Muff, Saiger, Morillon - 4 laps
6: Team X-One Yamaha - ITA - Yamaha YZF-R1 - Sanna, Demaneis, Tessari - +35.371 seconds
7: RMT21 Racing Honda - GER - Honda CBR1000RR - Mizera, Seidel - +1:05.900
8: Kawasaki Diablo 666 - GBR - Kawasaki ZX10R - Rohtlaan, Hutchins, Cudlin - 5 laps
9: Suzuki Team Endurance Moto45 - FRA - Suzuki GSX-R1000 - Bernon, Briere - +48.871 seconds
10: Yamaha Team Acropolis Zone Rouge - FRA - Yamaha YZF-R1 – vd Boreck, Pirot, Botton - 6 laps

Information courtesy of www.worldendurance.com
Photos: www.reygondeau.com

MLADIN LOOKS TO BUILD ON WINNING STREAK AT BARBER MOTORSPORTS PARK

2006-04-17T15:11:00.000-04:00

PICKERINGTON, Ohio (April 17, 2006) -- Defending AMA Superbike Champion Mat Mladin comes to the Honda Superbike Classic doubleheader, at Barber Motorsports Park on April 21-23, looking to extend his three-race winning streak at the scenic Birmingham, Alabama circuit. Mladin leads the AMA Superbike Championship presented by Parts Unlimited point standings after coming out on top in a thrilling battle with Yoshimura Suzuki teammate Ben Spies in the series opener at Daytona International Speedway last month.

Mladin easily swept both legs of the Barber doubleheader last year after starting from the pole. It was perhaps the Australian's most dominating performance of his stellar 2005 season. If the memory of last year's performance weren't enough for his competitors, Mladin clocked the fastest lap time riding under the existing track record in testing at Barber a few weeks ago.

"We've been pretty strong at Barber," Mladin said understatedly. "It's always a good thing to come to a track that places a premium on a rider's skill and a properly set-up motorcycle versus some tracks where all you have to do is to be able to draft to stay in a race."

While Mladin might be the favorite to repeat his sweep at Barber this year, at least one rider came away from Daytona with newfound confidence that he could run with the champ and that is teammate Ben Spies. Spies ran dead even with Mladin at Daytona before Mladin pulled off a brilliant last-lap maneuver to put him in a position to draft past Spies before the finish line.

"No one likes to lose a race, but at least I came away from Daytona knowing that I can hang with Mat on the same bike," said Spies, who is second in the standings. "My bike worked really good in the infield at Daytona, so hopefully that's a sign for the rest of the season. Mat's definitely the man to beat and I'm doing everything I can to get up there and match his speed."

The third member of the Yoshimura Suzuki squad is Aaron Yates. Yates is very familiar with Barber Motorsports Park, having provided input on the design off the track. He's also a former winner of the race and is hoping to continue a strong return after suffering a pre-season testing crash and injuring his shoulder.

Honda has renewed hope of reestablishing its team as an AMA Superbike contender this season after a sub-par 2005. Direct help from HRC in Japan combined with the experience American Honda gained by building its own CBR1000RR race bike last year have made the superbikes ridden by Miguel Duhamel and Jake Zemke very competitive. Duhamel finished third in the Daytona Superbike race and at Barber he hopes to earn his first AMA Superbike victory since 2004.

Ducati's Neil Hodgson comes into the Barber doubleheader ranked fourth in the standings. The British rider led early in the Sunday leg of last year's doubleheader. With a season of AMA experience under his belt Hodgson is expected to be a more consistent challenger this season. Hodgson's teammate Ben Bostrom joins Mladin and Duhamel as the only former AMA Superbike champions in the field.

Kawasaki fans will finally get to see their beloved factory green machines at Barber for the first time. Brothers Tommy and Roger Lee Hayden are continuing to perfect the factory Kawasaki ZX-10RRs. It will be interesting to see how the newest of the factory superbikes handle on the technical 2.26, 16-turn Barber circuit.

Jordan Suzuki's Jason Pridmore returns to Barber this year fully recovered from the serious injuries he suffered in a crash there last year. Pridmore and his teammates Jake Holden and Steve Rapp are expected to challenge the full-factory riders at Barber.

To obtain tickets for the Honda Superbike Classic call 800-240-2300 or visit the website www.barbermotorsports.com .

Saturday's Superbike race will be televised nationally on SPEED beginning at 4 p.m. EST on Sunday, April 23, followed by coverage of Sunday's Superbike final at 5 p.m.

Team West/OneFastGirl Racing's updates

2006-04-17T15:06:00.000-04:00

Here is the second installment of Team West/OneFastGirl Racing's updates. I have included some photographs provided by our newest sponsor, VHS Photography. Thank you to everyone supporting us, and we hope to see you at the events soon!

Regards, Rhiannon Lucente

April 7-9

Talladega GP, AL

Round 2 - WERA National Challenge Series

Sam West and I pulled into Talladega GP at 11AM on Thursday morning and got everything set up for the weekend. I only had a half of a day to learn the track before qualifying, and only a few practice sessions on Saturday to dial everything in for the races. It was a crunch, but we managed to complete the weekend with our heads high.

Friday was my day to learn the track and try to get acclimated as quickly as possible to the course before qualifying. It was much different from the last round at Jennings, if not trickier. I spent my half day of practice gearing the machine, and then re-gearing it. I had a problem with the bike wanting to highside me, but didn't have time to rectify it before qualifying. It kept going full lock tank slapper on the exit of two, resulting in a wider line and poor drive out. I made it through qualifying, and figured out how to make the bike more stable. We did one more gearing change, and only minor adjustments to the suspension. The day went smooth, even though I was disappointed in my qualifying position.

Saturday was my 'day off'. The night before, it stormed something fierce (including a tornado 16 miles away) and the track was soaked for morning practice. I decided that it was safer to stay in bed, than chance it on the track for practice (and so did a lot of other people!). Sam and I watched some of the endurance race, went over what I needed to work on for the races on Sunday, tweaked the gearing one more time, and put fresh tires on. I figured out some things, and was anxious to apply them on the track in Sunday morning practice.

Sunday came all too quick. I went out in practice and tried a few different lines and gears. Things seemed to be going well, and then it was time to grid up for 600 Superstock. I took my position and reminded myself that I was in the 2 ^nd wave, and to cool it until my flag dropped. Not 3 seconds later I dumped the clutch and took off with the 1^st wave (duh). I momentarily dropped the throttle, but quickly picked it up into a wheelie barreling towards turn one. I knew I had to haul around the track to not lose ground for my 'stop and go' penalty. I didn't even wait for the meatball flag; I just pulled in, never put my feet down, and zipped back onto the track. I ended up catching four back-markers, to finish right where I qualified…29^th. I was bummed about my start, but happy that I didn't come in last (or worse, crash). The 600 Superbike race also had a few glitches. I had hoped for a better start, but got tangled with a couple guys into turn two. It only made things worse for me when I couldn't get the same drive as the superbikes, it seemed every exit someone would get around me. I held my own as best as I could, and put in a respectable 16^th place finish.

Overall the weekend went great! I am satisfied with the outcome of the weekend, even if I don't feel my finishes reflect what I wanted to accomplish. I am looking forward to developing quickly on the R6, and getting much better finishing positions.

Our next round is an ASRA event at Road America. I know that I will do extremely well in all of my classes, and even have a shot at a podium! Thank you to everyone who is supporting Team West/OneFastGirl, and I know that we will all come out on top this season!

2006 Support

Sam West ChickenHawk

Komodo Leathers Smith Optics

Spyder Leatherworks PowerMist

Cycle Dynamics OGIO

Columbus BMW/Ducati Lithium Motorsports

Leo Vince Exhausts MBP Performance

EK Chains Cyclecat

SBS Brake Pads VHS Photography

Ohlins Mirror Images Photography

Beechwold Hardware

Arai Helmets

Vortex

Hotbodies

MSP Suzuki

Triple Nickel Motorcycle Supply

Yuasa Batteries

Michelin Tires

Motorex USA

KWS Motorsports

Honda Northwest

MotoCorse

I'm faster than your girlfriend, BRRAAAPP.
www.onefastgirl.com
rhiannon@onefastgirl.com

Rhiannon Lucente #66

WATANABE TAKES JAPAN SUPERBIKE LEAD

2006-04-17T08:20:00.000-04:00

Team Yoshimura Suzuki's Atsushi Watanabe has taken over the lead in the All Japan Superbike Championship after finishing second at Sunday's Suzuka second round.

After wet qualifying and morning warm-up, the GSX-R1000 mounted rider took the lead early on followed by team mate Kousuke Akiyoshi, who then moved to the front at the end of the opening lap. But Akiyoshi fell one lap later because of oil on the circuit which caused the race to be red flagged.

On the restart, Watanabe led from reigning champion Shin-ichi Ito (Honda) and Akiyoshi, riding his 'B' machine. On the sixth lap, Ito passed Watanabe, who responded immediately by taking back the lead. An exciting battle ensued until Watanabe got caught up with back-markers and lost ground and couldn't close the gap.

Said Watanabe: "The race was dry whereas we'd practiced and qualified in the wet. I couldn't keep may pace because I couldn't find a good set-up for the dry conditions. My Yoshimura GSX-R is very fast bike and my new Bridgestone tyres feel good! In the first race of this season I was third and today second so I hope the next race I will win!"

Results: 1: Shin-ichi Ito(Honda) 2: Atsushi Watanabe (Yoshimura Suzuki) 3: Tatsuya Yamagichi (Honda) 4: Kousuke Akiyoshi (Yoshimura Suzuki) 5: Katsuyuki Nakasuga (Yamaha) 6: Osamu Deguchi (Honda) 7: Chojun Kameya (Honda) 8: Akira Yanagawa (Kawasaki) 9: Yoshiteru Konishi (Honda) 10: Kazuki Tokudome (Honda).

Report and photos: Hiro Nakamura.

HAYDON HEADS UP BSB SECOND ROW

2006-04-17T08:17:00.000-04:00

James Haydon will start from fifth place and Shane 'Shakey' Byrne right behind him at the top of the third row in ninth for the double-header Bank Holiday Monday third round of the Bennetts British Superbike Championship at Thruxton in Hampshire.

Sunshine and warm weather helped the Rizla Suzuki racers to push their GSX-R1000s to the limit with both showing impressive pace on race tyres. It was James who made the most of his qualifying tyres in the final session while Shakey's attempts at a fast lap were disrupted by two red flags in the last six minutes. Ducati's Leon Haslam took pole position.

Legendary F1 commentator Murray Walker will be joining Rizla Suzuki at Thruxton this weekend to cheer on the boys in blue. Superbike racing starts at 13:30 on Bank Holiday Monday, April 17th

James Haydon:

"It's a shame I was just edged off the front row but fifth place is good and I want to thank my mechanics for all their hard work and support today.

"I am comfortable on my Rizla Suzuki and feel if I can get away with the leaders I'll be able to stick with them and compete. We have built up steadily over the weekend to get to this point and it feels like it is starting to come together – I can't wait for the races."

Shakey Byrne:

"I can't believe my bad luck in qualifying this year. A qualifying tyre will only last one lap around Thruxton because of the high speed and I had just started my final fast lap when the red flags came out with six minutes to go. I tried nursing the tyre home for another go but it didn't work out and I ended up ninth.

"I am pumped for tomorrow's races and we have a very quick bike. Through the speed traps our bike is one of the fastest and that will help me to overtake the riders in front of me. I'm not planning on taking any prisoners in the races."

Niall Mackenzie - Race Operations Manager:

"James has been consistent and fast all weekend and thoroughly deserves his best qualifying position of the season so far in fifth. He's a good starter, is confident on race rubber and if he can get away with the leaders you can be sure he'll have a go for the podium places.

"Shane was a bit unlucky today as his final qualifying tyre was wasted when a red flag ruined his lap. On race rubber he remains one of the front runners and he needs a good start tomorrow if he wants to be in the final reckoning."

Qualifying Times: 1: Leon Haslam (Ducati) 1:14.626, 2: Karl Harris (Honda) +0.559, 3: Gregorio Lavilla (Ducati) +0.593, 4: Dean Thomas (Kawasaki) +0.871, 5: James Haydon (Rizla Suzuki) +0.969, 6: Michael Rutter (Honda) +1.115, 7: Ryuichi Kiyonari (Honda) +1.149, 8: Jonathan Rea (Honda) +1.184, 9: Shane Byrne (Rizla Suzuki)+1.514, 10: Jon Kirkham (Suzuki) +1.740.

REVERSE ROTATING ROTORS PROTOTYPE TRACK TESTED

2006-04-16T15:53:00.000-04:00

Fort Myers, Florida – Inventor Robby Kasten track tested his Reverse Rotating Rotors invention on Monday, April 10th at the Jennings GP race facility in North Florida. The purpose of the test was two-fold. First, to prove that it was mechanically sound at track pace, and secondly, to verify that it improved performance as claimed. It was a resounding yes on both counts.

The test was the first time that the prototype has been pushed to that extreme, and the system handled it without a complaint. With speeds in excess of 135mph, the real story is in how the motorcycle felt. The bike transitioned with a fraction of the effort of the stock front wheel. Coming off of the high-speed back straight at Jennings GP is a test of nerves and physical strength. With Reverse Rotating Rotors it is no longer a test of strength, only nerve.

"It was an amazing day," said Kasten. "The prototype seems to be bulletproof, and it improved the performance of the bike as predicted."

Kasten is making the prototype available for demo rides to the press and other industry personnel. Please contact him through the website at www.reverserotatingrotors.com.

SUZUKI CASTROL ON ASSEN ENDURANCE POLE

2006-04-16T00:50:00.000-04:00

Team Suzuki Castrol's Vincent Philippe set the fastest time in today's qualifying for the opening World Endurance Championship round at Assen, Holland on Monday.

The French SERT rider lapped his GSX-R1000 around the redesigned circuit in a time of 1:42.718, which was more than half a second quicker than Honda Alpha-Technik's Michael Schulten. Third place went Yamaha Austria's Igor Jerman (1:44.408), fourth to Kawasaki Bolliger Team's Patric Muff (1:45.297) and fifth to Yamaha Phase One Endurance's Warwick Nowland (1:45.444).

Philippe and team-mates Matthieu Lagrive and Keiichi Kitagawa were fastest in their individual afternoon sessions although Lagrive may not ride in Monday's race after injuring his wrist during this morning's warm-up session.

Said Phillipe: "The bike is good here; no problems at all. Our main worry is Matthieu. We have to think about Le Mans next week."

There is no racing on the circuit tomorrow, Sunday. The four-hour race will start at 13.45 on Bank Holiday Monday.

Provisional Top Ten Qualifying Positions:

1st: Suzuki Castrol Team - FRA - Suzuki GSX-R1000 - V.Philippe - 1:42.718
2nd: Honda Alpha Technik Van Zon - BEL - Honda CBR1000RR - M.Schulten - 1:43.343
3rd: Yamaha Austria - AUT - Yamaha YZF-R1 - I.Jerman - 1:44.408
4th: Kawasaki Bolliger Team - SUI - Kawasaki ZX10R - P.Muff - 1:45.267
5th: Yamaha Phase One Endurance - GBR - Yamaha YZF-R1 - W.Nowland - 1:45.444
6th: Yamaha Team Acropolis Zone Rouge 99 - Yamaha YZF-R1 - C.Cogan - 1:45.658
7th: Suzuki Team Fagersjo-el.se - SWE - Suzuki GSX-R1000 - J.Hanson - 1:45.973
8th: Yamaha Endurance Moto38 - FRA - Yamaha YZF-R1 - D.Bouan - 1:46.129
9th: Kawasaki Diablo 666 Bolliger - GBR - Kawasaki ZX10R - M.Rohtlaan - 1:46.177
10th: Suzuki No Limits & RT Racing - Suzuki GSX-R1000 - ITA - F.Jond - 1:47.287

Information courtesy of: www.worldendurance.com.

AKIYOSHI ON JAPAN SUPERBIKE POLE

2006-04-16T00:47:00.000-04:00

Team Yoshimura Suzuki's Kousuke Akiyoshi took his first pole position of the season today for the second-round All Japan Superbike Championship round at Suzuka tomorrow.

Akiyoshi set his fastest time of 2:23.233 in the final qualifying session under wet and misty conditions as team mate Atsushi Watanabe recorded the third fastest time of the day with 2:25.199.

Said Akiyoshi: "Today we were in very difficult conditions because the rain got heavier but I found a good wet set-up. Thank you to my team staff for doing such a good job."

Said Watanabe: "I made small crash yesterday so I'm happy with this result. The Bridgestone tyres feel good in the wet and dry, but I hope tomorrow is fine weather."

Final Qualifying:

1:Kousuke AKIYOSHI(Yoshimura-SUZUKI), 2:Takeshi TSUJIMURA(TSR-HONDA), 3:Atsushi WATANABE(Yoshimura-SUZUKI), 4:Yoshiteru KONISHI(Honda), 5:Chojun KAMEYA(HONDA), 6:Kazuki TOKUDOME(HONDA), 7:Shin-ichi ITO(HONDA), 8:Osamu DEGUCHI(HONDA), 9:Akira YANAGAWA(KAWASAKI), 10:Tatsuya YAMAGUCHI(HONDA).

Team Suzuki Press Office – April 14, 2006.

2006-04-14T21:19:00.000-04:00

Six-time World Endurance Champions Suzuki Castrol will start its title defence at the opening round of the 2006 series at Assen, Holland on Bank Holiday Monday.

The Suzuki Endurance Racing Team - Keiichi Kitagawa, Mathieu Lagrive and Vincent Phillipe - spearhead a full field of 42 teams aboard their GSX-R1000 Suzuki for the first of seven championship rounds that will include one faraway race in Suzuka, Japan.

The Le Mans, France-based squad take to the track on Saturday for a full day of free practice and qualifying on the new, redesigned circuit, before Monday's four-hour race, which gets underway at 13.45 local time.

The Assen 500km race will be the first international event to be held on the new 4.5 km circuit that features a modified northern loop at the end of the start-finish straight with the Haarbocht curve. The track now kinks right through Madjik, loops right again through Ossebroken and then rejoins the old circuit at Strubben.

Event schedule:

Saturday:
08.00: Free Practice.
11.00: Free Practice.
14.00: 1st Rider Qualifying.
14.30: 2nd Rider Qualifying.
15.00: 3rd Rider Qualifying.
17.20: 1st Rider 2nd Qualifying.
17.50: 2nd Rider 2nd Qualifying.
18.20: 3rd Rider 2nd Qualifying.

Monday:
10.25: Warm-Up.
13.00: Start Procedure.
13.45: Start of Race (110 laps/ 501km).

AMA PRO RACING AND MID-OHIO SPORTS CAR COURSE ANNOUNCE UNIQUE FORMAT FOR SUPERBIKE SHOOTOUT

2006-04-14T21:18:00.000-04:00

An earlier press release announcing Vanderslice resigning was mistakenly re-sent in place of the following. Our apologies for any confusion.

PICKERINGTON, Ohio (April 14, 2006) -- Celebrating the 30th anniversary of the AMA Superbike Championship presented by Parts Unlimited, AMA Pro Racing and TrueSports, Incorporated, owner of Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, have created a unique format for the 2006 Superbike Shootout at Mid-Ohio.

The AMA Superbike Championship finale, which will be held Sept. 30 – Oct. 1 at the Lexington, Ohio road course, will feature three heat races, a last chance qualifier (LCQ) and a consolation race. The heat races and LCQ will be intense, 5-7 lap sprints that give fans the thrill of watching a variety of different riders battle for a win. The top five riders from each heat race and the LCQ will make up the grid for the exclusive 20-rider final.

Riders who do not qualify for the main event will compete in a Superbike Consolation Race. The top 10 finishers in the consolation race will be awarded 21st through 30th-place points for the event. All support class grids will be determined by timed qualifying.

"Mid-Ohio approached us about the idea of making this event special," said AMA Pro Racing Road Race Series Manager Ron Barrick. "After soliciting the input of the road race advisory committee, this unique and exciting format is what we arrived at. Not only will it be a lot of fun, it will give a new generation of Superbike fans the opportunity to see what heat races and last chance qualifiers are all about. It has been 16 years since AMA Pro Racing last used heat races to determine Superbike grids for the final at regular series races."

"This will be a great change of pace and present the teams and riders with challenges most of them have never faced," Barrick added. "Getting the opportunity to watch three heat races and the excitement of a last chance race will also give the series a whole new twist without compromising the integrity of our championship and points system. And the winner of the consolation race will get a big boost in recognition over what a 21st-place finish would normally provide, which is another big bonus."

"We're pleased with the format for the Superbike Shootout," said TrueSports, Incorporated President Michelle Trueman-Gajoch. "When we announced this event, we wanted it to be truly distinct. Our partners at AMA Pro Racing shared that vision and created something we think fans and competitors alike will find fun and exciting."

All of the Superbike qualifying races will be held on Saturday. The consolation and Mid-Ohio Superbike Shootout will be run on Sunday. In addition to five Superbike races, the weekend also will feature AMA Supersport, Superstock and Formula Xtreme events.

Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course is one of the classic circuits on the AMA Superbike Championship schedule. Since 1983, the track has hosted one of the series' best attended events. In addition to the season finale, Mid-Ohio will continue to host its traditional Honda Super Cycle Weekend presented by Dunlop Tire AMA Superbike Doubleheader on August 4-6.

To show their commitment to racing, TrueSports, Incorporated and Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in addition to hosting a second weekend of AMA Superbike racing, have undergone extensive facility improvements during the off-season, including a full-track repaving and the addition of a motocross facility.

Tickets for the Mid-Ohio Superbike Shootout are available now by calling 1-800-MID-OHIO or logging on to www.midohio.com .

Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course is a 2.4-mile, 15-turn permanent road racing circuit in Lexington, Ohio. Located 60 miles north of Columbus and 75 miles south of Cleveland near Mansfield, the track has been called the most competitive in the U.S. and annually hosts a diversity of locally, regionally and nationally sanctioned racing events for amateur, club and professional riders and drivers.

Founded in 1981 and headquartered in Dublin, Ohio, TrueSports, Incorporated is a privately held motorsports entertainment enterprise. The company owns and operates Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course and The Mid-Ohio School, and promotes a wide variety of motor racing, driver instruction, corporate, and family entertainment events throughout the year.

About AMA Pro Racing

AMA Pro Racing is the leading sanctioning body for motorcycle sport in the United States. Its properties include the Amp'd Mobile AMA Supercross Series, the AMA Toyota Motocross Championship presented by FMF, the AMA Superbike Championship presented by Parts Unlimited, the AMA Ford Quality Checked Flat Track Championship and the AMA Supermoto Championship. For more information about AMA Pro Racing, visit www.amaproracing.com. Accredited media outlets can also access AMA Pro Racing's online Press Room at www.amaproracing.com/pressroom.

Team Suzuki Press Office – April 13, 2006.

2006-04-13T22:06:00.000-04:00

Thruxton is Rizla Suzuki's home circuit that boasts a 112mph+ average lap speed, making it the fastest circuit the British Superbikes visit and a fact the team will be hoping to use to its advantage at the third round of the Championship this weekend.

The 2.35-mile track boasts a 200mph straight and traditionally delivers close and exciting racing. Shane 'Shakey' Byrne and James Haydon are hoping the high-speed nature of the track will play to the strengths of the ultra-fast GSX-R1000 which has led through the speed traps at each of the previous two rounds.

The ex-airfield track in Hampshire is situated less than 45-minutes from the Rizla Suzuki team headquarters at the Crescent Performance Centre in Verwood, Dorset. The team is expecting strong home support in the crowd when the racing starts on Bank Holiday Monday, April 17th at 13:30.

Shakey Byrne:

"At Brands Hatch and Donington Park, the GSX-R1000 has been a missile and I've been either fastest or close to it through all of the speed traps.

"Add that base speed to my growing confidence in the bike as well as a lot of home fans supporting the team and we will come out fighting at Thruxton this weekend. I believe we can challenge at the front."

James Haydon:

"After the rain, hail and cold temperatures of the last two rounds I'm really hoping for better weather this weekend – it makes the racing more exciting and enjoyable for riders and spectators alike.

"We made a breakthrough with set-up at the last round and we are getting stronger every time we ride the bike. The podium is my target for Thruxton."

Team Suzuki Press Office – April 13, 2006.

2006-04-13T22:01:00.000-04:00

Suzuki's World Superbike Champion Troy Corser set the second fastest time during the two-day WSBK test at Misano in Italy that ended today.

Corser and team Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra team mates Yukio Kagayama and Fabien Foret all came away from the circuit upbeat after productive sessions aboard the new 2006 GSX-R1000.

The fastest time was set by Troy Bayliss with Kagayama eighth and Foret 12th.

Misano's Superbike lap record was set in 2002, but today the top 15 all went quicker!

Troy Corser:

"I think these two days have been very productive and we've made another step forward. We've worked a lot on suspension and I tried a different rear pivot and link and also some front end changes as well and I feel we made a significant improvement. The track has been pretty consistent over the two days and the grip level has stayed more or less the same throughout. We haven't had any clutch problems - well none that I can think about anyway - so that's been good news as well.

"I tried the new big ''200' tyre from Pirelli and I quite liked it. On full lean the side grip is better. It's a little slower changing directions - not so much losing time - but harder work for me! Misano has always been a 'twins' circuit, so we knew that we'd be chasing Bayliss around here. His bike seems to have just a little extra punch out of the slow turns - it's just the nature of a twin and we can't do too much about that - but we'll work on other areas to compensate."

Yukio Kagayama:

"I'm happy with the way the tests have gone and we have done much good work. Here at Misano, I concentrated on working on the engine. We tried different settings and mapping etc. and I also tried a development engine - an engine with some new parts - this afternoon. I think it has good potential but we need to do more work on it. At the moment I prefer my bike from the morning. We made a good set-up for it and I had a good feeling with it. These two days, I had no problems and no crashes, so this makes me feel happy."

Fabien Foret:

"I am very happy because we have done a good job on the bike during these two days and now I have a good feeling with the bike. At the last test in Valencia I was able to do some good laps, but I was not consistent. Here, I've done some good laps and they have been much more consistent. I'm now feeling that I'm riding a Superbike not a Supersport bike and although I'm not at 100% yet, it's getting closer.

"Of course, I am still learning this bike, but everything is starting to come together. I followed Yukio for a while this afternoon and I could see where I was losing ground and it made me think about what to do next time out. After this test, I have a much better idea of what I feel, what I want and what I would like. And, most of all, I have enjoyed myself!"

Results (2-day):

1 Bayliss (Aus-Ducati) 143 laps, best lap 1:33.317,
2 Troy Corser (Aus-Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra) 140 laps, best lap 1:33.824,
3 Haga (J-Yamaha) 111 laps, best lap 1:33.870,
4 Lanzi (I-Ducati) 127 laps, best lap 1:33.933,
5 Walker (GB-Kawasaki) 117 laps, best lap 1:33.984,
6 Laconi (F-Kawasaki) 145 laps, best lap 1:34.085,
7 Nieto (E-Kawasaki) 130 laps, best lap 1: 34.181,
8 Yukio Kagayama (J-Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra) 141 laps, best lap 1:34.266,
9 Xaus (E-Ducati) 134 laps, best lap 1:34.315
10 Pitt (Aus-Yamaha) 122 laps, best lap 1:34.469,
12 Fabien Foret (F-Alstare Engineering Corona Extra) 156 laps, best lap 1:34.660.

FPR pair on track in Italy

2006-04-12T12:43:00.000-04:00

The opening day of the second official World Superbike test at Misano, Italy, provided more encouragement for the Foggy PETRONAS Racing pair of Steve Martin and Craig Jones.

Although the cool conditions did not resemble those expected for the June race, Steve was able to run two race simulations and finished the day 11th fastest of a near-complete World Superbike field.

However, spots of rain towards the end of the afternoon session prevented the Australian, from using a qualifying tyre and finishing further up the standings.

Team-mate Craig Jones, on his first outing at the circuit, made steady progress throughout the day and finished with a creditable time of 1:37.999, only just over half a second slower than Steve's fastest time in the races here last year.

Steve said: "We had a nice safe day and, although it is a pity we weren't able to use a qualifier, I am more concerned about finding a setting for the race than doing fast times during these two days. I was also able to test an engine specification with a lighter crankshaft and, while there was no noticeable difference, I did go faster on that bike by around half a second."

Craig said: "I was happy to do more than 80 laps and my times came down gradually throughout the day. I hit a bit of a brick wall mid-way through the afternoon session but conditions were not too great then and times were dropping. I like the circuit as it has lots of flowing corners and the very fast corner on to the back straight and I am hoping to start tomorrow where we left off today as I think it is now just a case of getting more track experience. But I am still learning more about the bike with every session and am not too far off the point when I can start pushing for lap times."

Day one times, Superbike World Championship official test, Misano, Italy: 1 Bayliss 1:34.460; 2 Nieto 1:35.253; 3 Corser 1:35.274; 4 Lanzi 1:35.355; 5 Kagayama 1:35.641; 6 Haga 1:35.911; 7 Pitt 1:35.926; 8 Xaus 1:35.966; 9 Fabrizio 1:36.036; 10 Borciani 1:36.075; 11 Martin (Foggy PETRONAS Racing) 1:35.608; 25 Jones (Foggy PETRONAS Racing) 1:37.999

USGPRU West Round 2 – Beaubier and Reiswig Take Reno by Storm

2006-04-11T11:37:00.000-04:00

Odenton, MD. – April 10, 2006 – The 2^nd round of the USGPRU's West Coast Region stormed into Fernley, Nevada with a winter storm on their heels. The gorgeous white-capped mountains provided the perfect setting for a western showdown.

On Saturday during 125 qualifying, Tyler Reiswig continued his early season dominance by taking pole and setting the 125 lap record with a 2:40:035. Jon Schendel qualified second posting a 2:41:403 and Kid's: Don't Smoke!/Roadracingworld.com's rider Elena Myers took the final front row spot with a 2:45.136. Young gun Cameron Beaubier suffered mechanical issues and ended up last on the grid.

In 250 qualifying Ryan Ferris 2:38:171 overcame earlier mechanical issues to take pole. Reiswig turned a last lap time 2:38:197 after coming in to grab a new transmitter and at 2:40:639 Jon Schendel aboard a Honda 125 completed the front row.

In the 125GP race, the hole shot was taken by Reiswig. Beaubier got a killer start and by the start of the second lap, he was hot on the heels of Reiswig. 13 year-old Beaubier tried to break 16 year old Reiswig as each set a new lap record at least twice. Reiswig looked to be stalking the younger rider and setting him up for a last lap pass. Unfortunately for Reiswig, a mechanical issue on the last lap prevented him from a podium finish. Kid's: Don't Smoke!/Roadracingworld.com's rider Elena Myers was able to capitalize on Reiswig's bad fortune and grab the final podium spot. Perennial favorite Jon Schendel unfortunately mounted a Bridgestone Super Bike tire instead of a rear 125 slick and never got to challenge for the lead. Beaubier would walk away with a new 125GP lap record of 2:36:097.

In an effort not to repeat Phoenix, Reiswig took the hole shot and opened up a convincing lead in the 250GP event. This time he kept on the gas for all 9 laps to take a decisive victory and set a new lap record of 2:36:017. Ryan Ferris, who dealt with tire balancing issues, overcame a poor start to take second and Cameron Beaubier would again find the podium aboard his Honda RS125. The battle of the race was between Jon Schendel aboard his Roland Cushway tuned RS 125 and Kid's: Don't Smoke!/Roadracingworld.com's Elena Myers aboard her CN Racing tuned Honda. Early on it looked like Myers had an insurmountable lead for Schendel to challenge, but down the front straight Schendel effectively used the draft to make a pass during lap 5. The two battled through lapped traffic and Schendel was able to use his experience to take 5^th. Jorge Artola decided that the 9 lap race was too easy so he gave himself a 30 second penalty and added a 50 yard dash to the start of the race to bump-start his RS250 and catch the field.

The USGPRU would like to thank Chris Keane and Zoom Zoom Trackdays for hosting this spectacular event and Reno-Fernley Raceway for the awesome racetrack! For more information about the USGPRU please visit www.usgpru.net . The next West Coast round is at Portland International Raceway on May 20^th.

125 Results
Cameron Beaubier
Elena Meyers
Jon Schendel
Kyle Ferris
Marcus Henderson
Debra Kuick
Phill Krenn
Ryan Cory
Rob Tatom
Bruce Lind
Mike McDonough
Britt Arechiga
Matthew Elder
Brian Heess
John Fosgate
Shellie Matthews
Elaine Ou
Kevin Murray
Trina Turner
Tyler Reiswig
Rolondo Quintaro-DNS
Joel Manes DNS
Don Roberts DNS

250 Results
Tyler Reiswig (250)
Ryan Ferris (250)
Cameron Beaubier (125)
Vince Rolleri (250)
Jon Schendel (125)
Elena Myers (125)
Bruce Lind (250)
Kyle Ferris (125)
Kory Gill (250)
Derek Dutt (250)
Phill Krenn (125)
Jesus Amezcua (250)
Matthew Elder (125)
Randy Miller (125)
John Fosgate (250)
David Matthews (125)
Jorge Artola (250)
Mike Lytle (250)
Dan Qualtire (250)
Kevin Miyata (250)

The 2006 USGPRU National Series sponsors include Roadracingworld.com, Rising Sun Cycles, Revit Leathers, Bridgestone Motorsport, CCS, AGVSport, EBC Brakes, Hjelm Motorsports, Ian Emberton Engineering, Motion Pro Cables and Tools, Dunlop, Power Stands, Redline Cycle Imports, Regina Chain, Repsol YPF, and VP Fuel.

USGPRU S.E. Round 1 - Welsh Cleans Up at Jennings

2006-04-09T15:10:00.000-04:00

USGPRU S.E. Round 1 - Welsh Cleans Up at Jennings

Odenton, MD. – April 4, 2006 – The first round of the USGPRU's southeast regional series brought racers out from winter hibernation last weekend. An especially strong showing from the Canadian GP racers made for outstanding racing in the Florida sunshine at the fabulous Jennings GP circuit.

Canadian, Alex Welsh, led most of the 125 qualifying on Saturday and claimed pole position with a time of 1.20.172 over Scott Smallwood at 1.20.979. They were closely followed by Mike Himmelsbach and local fast guy, Steve Wenner.

The start of the race saw Welsh and Wenner leading with USGPRU President, Stewart Aitken-Cade, hot on their heels. Himmelsbach and Smallwood made quick work of Aitken-Cade mid way through the first lap and set their sights on the leading two racers. Smallwood passed Himmelsbach and worked his way up past Wenner to sit right on Welsh's rear wheel. Smallwood made the pass for the lead and started to step away slightly. Just when it looked like Smallwood had the race in the bag, he got held up slightly by lapped traffic and Welsh took advantage to close the gap. Welsh made the pass midway through the last turn on the last lap and narrowly beat Smallwood to the line. Himmelsbach followed to claim the final podium position aboard the USGPRU raffle bike.

During the 250GP qualifying, Canadian racer, Alex Welsh led for most of the 15 minute session with a time of 1.19.671. In the last 30 seconds, local favorite, Steve Wenner pulled the trigger on his Zambrana tuned RS250 Honda and squeaked out the pole position with a time of 1.19.289. The rest of the front row included Canadian, Matt Cooper and Zach Lee from Texas.

The drop of the green flag saw Welsh and Lee catapult their Honda RS250's towards turn 1, with Welsh winning the drag race as Lee power wheelied the bike and had to chop throttle. Wenner quickly recovered from a mediocre start and picked off Lee and started tracking down the 18-year old Welsh. By lap 4, Wenner had made the pass for the lead and it looked like he would wrap up his first win for the weekend. On the last lap, Wenner had a 1.5 second lead when his bike started developing power problems and Welsh was able to close the gap. Wenner was leading out of the last turn, but Welsh was able to lay the power down and narrowly win the race by .013 seconds!

Matt Cooper had the best seat in the house to watch this battle, but didn't realize he was being stalked by Sean Wray. Sean had recovered from a bad start and worked his way up through the pack. He was closing on Cooper at about 1 second per lap and caught Cooper with 2 laps to go. Wray made the pass, but nearly high-sided himself in the process and Cooper was able to regain the position. Wray recovered to finish fourth. Notable mention goes out to Daniele Lenarduzzi who was able to finish in fifth place aboard a very underpowered Aprilia RS250 Challenge cup bike.

The USGPRU would like to thank Henry DeGauw and all of the CCS Florida staff for allowing us to come out and race with them this weekend. Additional thanks to Kevin, Jeanne, and Alan for the use of the ASRA timing system. We had a great weekend and couldn't have done it without you.

125GP Race results:

1 Alex Welsh               Hon RS125
2 Scott Smallwood       Hon RS125
3 Mike Himmelsbach    Hon RS125
4 Steve Wenner          Hon RS125
5 Mike Orien               Hon RS125
6 Stu Aitken-Cade       Hon RS125
7 Barry Gilsenan          Hon RS125
8 John Klaras              Hon RS125
9 Matt Cooper             Hon RS125
10 Shawn Sundheim     Hon RS125
11 John Lemak            Hon RS125
12 Adam Loeffler                 Hon RS125
13 Kent Moffitt           Hon RS125
14 Fredrica Cortes       Hon RS125
15 Lee Hollimon          Hon RS125
16 Crystal Campagna Hon RS125
17 Michael Santelia     Hon RS125
18 Marcus Matthews    Hon RS125
19 Steve Belknap        Hon RS125
20 Brian Gordon          Hon RS125
21 Morten Frederiksen Hon RS125
22 Scott Thompson      Hon RS125
23 Alejandro Fiallo      Hon RS125

250GP Race results:

1 Alex Welsh                         Hon RS250
2 Steve Wenner                    Hon RS250
3 Matt Cooper                       Hon RS250
4 Sean Wray                         Yam TZ250
5 Daniele Lenarduzzi           Apr RS250
6 John Dempsey                   Yam TZ250
7 Zach Lee                             Hon RS250
8 Scott Smallwood                Hon RS125
9 Adam Loeffler                    Hon RS250
10 Shawn Sundheim            Hon RS250
11 Chris Reynolds                Hon RS250
12 Scott Coccoli                   Hon RS250
13 Oliver Brama                    Yam TZ250
14 Mike Wright                      Yam TZ250
15 James Bergey                 Hon RS250

About USGPRU

The USGPRU is the officially recognized Motorcycle 125 Grand Prix National Championship ® and 250 Grand Prix National Championship ^TM series. The USGPRU emulates true World MotoGP racing experience and serves to attract young riders to gain experience in a professional environment and provide a path to world-class motorcycle racing. The USGPRU structures events with extended length grand prix racing exclusive to the GP machines, timed qualifying and strong contingency and sponsor support. For additional details, visit www.USGPRU.net

Rizla Suzuki, British Superbike

2006-04-09T15:03:00.000-04:00

Rizla Suzuki racers Shane 'Shakey' Byrne and James Haydon crashed out of both races at the second round of the Bennetts British Superbike Championship at Donington Park.

In the first race, Shakey was in fourth place and James in ninth when rain and hail started to fall. On slick tyres James crashed at the Old Hairpin and a minute later, Shakey high-sided at Schwantz at 140mph as the rain robbed the track surface of grip. The race was red flagged and taken back a lap with Shakey eventually being awarded fifth place behind winner Gregorio Lavilla on a Ducati.

In the second, event Shakey crashed out on the warm-up lap on a track covered in standing water. Haydon made a brilliant start from eighth to second but then went grass-tracking before rejoining well down the field. He crashed on lap two at Goddards and showed his determination when he rejoined the race before crashing again and retiring on lap nine at McCleans as he struggled to find grip in the wet conditions. Vivaldi Suzuki's Scott Smart won the race.

Both Rizla Suzuki racers are battered and bruised after their crashes but have no serious injuries and are already looking forward to the third round of the Championship at Thruxton next weekend.

Shakey Byrne:

"In the first race I suffered one of the biggest crashes of my career flat out in fifth gear going through the Schwantz curve. It had started to rain and the back end of the bike just came round and I went flying. It was a big crash and I am well bruised after that. The only consolation is the race was declared from a lap earlier and I was awarded fifth place.

"In the second race I went into Coppice on a closed throttle nice and steady on my out lap. The back end came round in slow motion and I couldn't do anything about it and crashed out. I didn't have a spare bike for race two after my first race crash and that was unfortunately the end of the day for me."

James Haydon:

"In the opening race the rain started to pour down and going into the Old Hairpin the back end slid away. I held it for what seemed like forever before it high-sided and I crashed out. It was a real shame because I was enjoying the race and the bike was handling better than ever.

"In the next race the wet and slippery conditions caught me out twice. The first time I remounted and was cutting back through the field towards the front when I crashed again and this time I couldn't get restarted. It's been a tough weekend and I hope the next round at Thruxton is dry."

Robert Wicks - Team Manager:

"It's been a hard day at the races for Rizla Suzuki with five crashes in four race starts. The conditions were awful and played their part in causing those accidents and we will count our good fortune that both riders can walk away from Donington with minor bruising injuries and nothing more serious.

"This weekend we proved in the dry we have front running pace. That's a step forward for us and we will take the positives from that to the next round at the team's home circuit at Thruxton.

"Well done to Vivaldi Suzuki's Scott Smart on taking victory in a dramatic and wet second race. Seeing a GSX-R1000 win is encouraging for all of us."

Race One Result: 1: Gregorio Lavilla (Ducati) 20:53.166, 2: Ryuichi Kiyonari (Honda) +0.134, 3: Leon Haslam (Ducati) +5.246, 4: Michael Laverty (Honda) +9.361, 5: Shane Byrne (Rizla Suzuki) +9.591, 6: Karl Harris (Honda) +10.540, 7: Michael Rutter (Honda) +11.533, 8: Jonathan Rea (Honda) +20.235, 9: Dean Thomas (Kawasaki) +22.451, 10: Scott Smart (Suzuki) +23.216. James Haydon (Rizla Suzuki) DNF.

Race Two Result:1: Smart 27:37.071, 2: Haslam +0.576, 3: Lavilla +2.297, 4: Gary Mason (Honda) +5.943, 5: Rea +30.768, 6: Tommy Hill (Yamaha) +33.586, 7: Laverty +36.829, 8: Ollie Bridewell (Suzuki) +59.273, 9: Chris Martin (Honda) +59.297, 10: Malcolm Ashley (Kawasaki) +1:04.142,. James Haydon (Rizla Suzuki) DNF. Shane Byrne (Rizla Suzuki) DNS.

Championship Standings (after two of 13 rounds): 1: Lavilla 82, 2: Kiyonari 58, 3: Haslam 56, 4: Harris 41, 5: Smart 33, 6: Laverty 31, 7: Rea 30, 8: Shane Byrne (Rizla Suzuki) 26, 9: Rutter 25, 10: Thomas 23. 16: James Haydon (Rizla Suzuki) 15 .

DUCATI MARLBORO MEN THIRD AND FOURTH AS CAPIROSSI MAINTAINS OVERALL LEAD

2006-04-09T15:00:00.000-04:00

DUCATI MARLBORO MEN THIRD AND FOURTH AS CAPIROSSI MAINTAINS OVERALL LEAD

Loris Capirossi continued his great early season form to take third place at Losail, keeping his name at the top of the championship table after a strong ride in high winds. Sete Gibernau overcame his third row start to take an assured fourth place, and earn his first points of the year; his first score as a Ducati Marlboro rider.
Capirossi was part of the leading group throughout the 22-laps, conserving his tyres for a late push to ensure third, and finished only 1.494 seconds from the winner, Valentino Rossi. For Gibernau, one particular section of the circuit proved difficult in race conditions, but still he improved his qualifying result by three places.
Capirossi, the race victor in the opening race of the season at Jerez, now sits on 41 points, in a five-point lead over Nicky Hayden, second in the race as well as second overall. Ducati also continues to lead the Constructors' Championship, by a single point.

LIVIO SUPPO, Ducati MotoGP project manager
"I am very happy for the team and for Bridgestone. We were last here for the race in October, just a few months ago, and compared with then they have made an unbelievable step forward. So we must really thank them. Loris rode perfectly so thanks to him as well. When he is in a good mood he is incredible! I am very happy for Sete too. After the delusion of Jerez he kept his nerves under control and made a very good race. Tomorrow we stay here to test, because we never stop development. To start the season in such a good way, and when we see the potential we have, we must work hard to keep the potential at a high level.
I want to thank our technical partner Shell Advance, for their big support":

LORIS CAPIROSSI, third, 41 points
"I am very happy and this is a great weekend for the team, because for sure this circuit was not one of the best for us. Bridgestone made a good job during the winter tests and we have made great improvements. For us, this was a difficult track and last year we had big problems. But this year we managed to fight for the victory right to the end, and took a very good result. The first part of the race was difficult because of the wind, but I adapted my style and made a good rhythm. Big thanks to everyone in the team and Ducati Corse. This is going to be a very interesting championship and if we can keep on like this we will be there for the whole season. I think we are in good shape, and have great confidence in the bike and the tyres."

SETE GIBERNAU, fourth, 13 points
"I think we did a good job. We only lost time in the race at the slow hairpin. Right there I was getting a lot of chatter at the front of my Desmosedici, and in this one corner I lost half a second. In all the rest we were OK. Also, on the main straight, I was moving from side to side in the wind too much, which made it very physical. But we needed to finish this race and I look forward to the next one. The wind was the same for everyone and I would like to say thanks to Bridgestone and Ducati, they did very well."

YOSHIMURA SUPPORT SUZUKI SUPERBIKE TEAM

2006-04-06T11:29:00.000-04:00

Suzuki has today announced Yoshimura as the new naming rights sponsor of its Australian Superbike team – Team Yoshimura Suzuki.

The exciting new deal sees Yoshimura step up its support of the powerhouse Suzuki Superbike outfit with the view to developing a long-term relationship between the race team and Australian Yoshimura distributor, Mat Mladin Imports.

"It is with great pleasure that I officially welcome Yoshimura aboard as the new naming sponsor of the Team Yoshimura Suzuki Superbike team," said Glyn Griffiths, National Marketing Manager - Motorcycles, Suzuki Australia.

"The Yoshimura brand is synonymous with quality and race-bred performance and those qualities have great synergy with Suzuki's Superbike team.

"Having won four of the last six Australian Superbike Championships, Team Suzuki has the pedigree and the experience to be able to deliver Yoshimura the results it deserves both on and off the race track."

On a global level, Suzuki has had a long and sustained connection with Yoshimura and its products and the relationship has obvious advantages for both parties.

Assistance with product development has long been a benefit for both manufacturers, with Yoshimura able to release parts and accessories at the same time Suzuki releases its new motorcycles and sports ATV's.

Given Yoshimura's long association with Suzuki Japan and Suzuki America, extending the relationship with Suzuki into the Australian market is a clever business decision with strong international foundations.

Australian racing legend and six-time AMA Superbike Champion, Mat Mladin, has strong ties with the Yoshimura brand that extend well beyond his company's Australian distribution rights.

Racing a GSX-R1000 with the US Team Yoshimura Suzuki, Mladin has enjoyed massive success in America aboard his Yoshimura-kitted equipment and is heavily-involved with the company's product development.

Supporting Suzuki's premier road-racing squad via his company Mat Mladin Imports, the reigning AMA Superbike Champion has increased his ties with motorcycle racing in Australia.

Said Mladin: "The fit is a very natural one that will benefit all parties and encourage information sharing between Australia and America.

"While my US racing commitments don't allow me to get home as much as I might like, this is the perfect way for me to increase my interests in the Aussie race scene."

Winner of the 1992 Australian Superbike Championship, Mladin can expect a strong return on his investment with the Yoshimura backed Suzuki team set to achieve strong results in the 2006 season.

"Suzuki Australia is 100% committed to racing and results, and in 2006 we are stepping up our activities in the advertising and promotion of these results, our riders, sponsors and our race teams," Griffiths said.

"The relationship we have built with Yoshimura and Mat Mladin Imports will allow Suzuki to push our commitment to racing even further, and ensure some impressive results in the future!"

Sporting updated livery, Team Yoshimura Suzuki will take to the track for the first time this weekend, April 7-9th, for round one of the 2006 Australian Superbike Championship at Sydney's Eastern Creek International Raceway.

All Japan Superbike

2006-04-04T13:48:00.000-04:00

Team Yoshimura Suzuki's Atsushi Watanabe raced to third position in the opening round of the All Japan Superbike Championship at Twinring, Motegi after the race was red-flagged due to rain.

GSX-R1000-mounted Watanabe and team mate Kousuke Akiyoshi led from the start and held strong lead when the race was stopped on the 12th lap. But on the 8-lap restart, Watanabe gated a lowly eighth and Akiyoshi slid off the track on lap five.

Said Watanabe: "Today I raced the ST600 Superbike classes but I don't feel tired. The Yoshimura GSX-R is so fast and my first Bridgestone tyres worked very well, but I would like to win the next round and I hope for a Yoshimura's GSX-R one-two finish."

Results: 1: Akira Yanagawa (Kawasaki) 2: Osamu Deguchi (Honda) 3: Atsuishi Watanabe (Yoshimura Suzuki) 4: Kazuki Tokudome (Honda) 5: Katsuyuki Nakasuga (Yamaha) 6: Yoshiyuki Sugai (Ducati) 7: Chojun Kameya (Honda) 8: Hiroyuki Kawese (Suzuki) 9: Yoshiteru Konishi (Honda) 10: Shin-ichi Itoh (Honda).

Rizla Suzuki

2006-04-04T13:45:00.000-04:00

Rizla Suzuki's Shane 'Shakey' Byrne and James Haydon completed nearly 400 laps during the last two days during a private test at the Guadix circuit in southern Spain.

Haydon completed 209 laps and helped to push the development of the GSX-R1000 another step forward. Shakey clocked 181 laps of the 3km long track that boasts fast and slow corners as well as a 750m long straight. He ran through a multitude of tests and is happy to have made significant progress to the base set-up on his GSX-R1000.

Both riders recorded low 1minute 16second lap times, on par with the unofficial Superbike lap record for the track.

After a wet and cold pre-season test programme, the outing to Guadix was the first time both riders had the opportunity to push their 2006-specification race bikes to their limits in dry and warm conditions.

After the first round of the series, Shakey and Haydon lie equal seventh in the Championship as the action moves to the fast-flowing 2.5-mile long Donington Park circuit in Derbyshire. They plan to put the information they learned at Guadix to good use when the second round of Superbike racing starts at 11:55 on Sunday, April 9th.

Shakey Byrne:

"The test at Guadix was exactly what we needed after poor weather blighted our pre-season test programme in the UK. I now feel comfortable on the bike and can give good direction and feedback on any changes we make to it. All has gone well and I'm looking forward to Donington to see what we can achieve."

James Haydon:

"The weather couldn't have been any better for us and I've managed to record a lot of laps. From a riding point of view, that is invaluable; the more riding you do the sharper you are. We tested several new parts and various geometry settings in the last two days and feel we have made good progress. Donington Park is a different track to Guadix but we have gained some very good information that will help our competitiveness over the course of the season."

Simon Green - Team Co-ordinator:

"This was a vital test for the team given how little opportunity we have had to test in warm, dry conditions. The entire team has worked flat-out to prepare for this test and it will hopefully prove very beneficial as we move towards the second round of the season. Our thanks also to Clive Greenhalgh, the Guadix circuit owner, for his help in making this test happen."

Episode 11

2006-04-03T12:52:00.000-04:00

Episode 11, download here

Welcome to the 11th episode of Roadracer Podcast, today is August 3, 2006, I am your host John Bunce. In today’s episode I have an interview with the USGPRU, which is the United States Grand Prix Racers Union. I interviewed the president Stewart Adkin-Cade and the east coast representative Dennis Woods

It’s been a little over 2 weeks since my last show and I am trying to keep my schedule of a show every two weeks or less. I’ve been sick that last week and work has been killer so hopefully I can get back on schedule.

I have been getting a ton of listener email. I thank everyone for the support. Its tough to answer every email but I do read each and everyone.

Its getting close to my first race weekend at Loudon and I an getting real anxious to get going. My bike has been in my sponsors garage for the winter and I want to thank Joe Schoonmaker for his support and generous use of his shop for my bike prep.

So I did something pretty stupid and didn’t properly store the bike. And what I mean is add stable to the gas tank and little things like that. I did put it on a battery charger, so that should be ok. So I will see if the carbs are all gummed up. Over the winter I bought some suspension items off of ebay and I’m going to get them installed ASAP. I also plan on a new clutch and some other maintenance things. I’ll put some pictures on the web page as I get ready for the season.

MPG: The motorcycle podcast group finished up Show #3, and you can find the link to the web site in the show notes. I was an early Sunday morning show and we were a little tired, but after we got talking things started to flow. It ended up being a great show and it’s worth a listen.

Racing 2 Save Lives: They are holding an event at the new Miller Motor Sports Park on April 13-16, and if you check out their web site you can also enter an auction to win a one on one personal instruction with Eric and Ben Bostrom. For more information check out http://www.racing2savelives.org/

www.MotoGPod.com did an interview with a representative from racing 2 save lives in episode 50, so you can go there and check it out.

Racing 2 Save Lives is a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting children's charities by raising awareness, involvement, and capital within the motorcycle racing community through donations, corporate sponsorship and fundraising events. All profits generated by Racing 2 Save Lives are distributed among carefully selected organizations who have a significant impact on the lives of children in need and their families.

Suzuki News: BREA, Calif. (March 30, 2006) - American Suzuki Motor Corp. (ASMC) invites all Suzuki owners to join the celebration of all things Suzuki at round three of the AMA Superbike Championship, the Suzuki Superbike Challenge, at California Speedway in Fontana, Calif., April 29-30.

All Suzuki owners and their guests are welcome at the Suzuki hospitality tent, located at the Suzuki pavilion. The tent will be open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, April 29 and Sunday, April 30. Suzuki owners need only a Suzuki key to enter. ASMC will provide coffee, soda, water and light snacks, as well as VIP motorcycle parking and gear check.

“Last year we celebrated 20 years of GSX-R and this year we’re simply celebrating Suzuki,” said Mel Harris, ASMC vice president of the motorcycle/ATV division. “Because we’re based in Southern California, California Speedway is our home track. We thought it would be the ideal venue to share our enthusiasm for motorcycles and for racing with our customers.”

Interview:

Let’s get straight into my interview with the President of the United States Grand Prix Racers Union, Stewart Adkin-Cade and the east coast representative Dennis Woods.

The USGPRU is a dedicated race organization for 125 and 250 two stroke racing. I had a really great time talking to these guys and they shed a whole new light on why everyone should be racing a 2 stroke motorcycle.

Their web site is www.USGPRU.net, so lets get straight into the interview

Welcome back. Don’t forget to check out the USGPRU web site for more information about their organization. And they are holding a raffle for a 125cc race bike. The tickets are $10.00 each and can be purchased through their web site.

That’s going to wrap it up for today. Send me an email, voice mail and listener feedback at www.roadracerpodcast.com

And be sure to check out the motorcycle podcast group on iTunes and at the web site. Also we invite everyone to join the MPG forum at www.forum.motorcyclepodcastgroup.com

Take care and I’ll see you at the track…..

Team Suzuki Press Office – April 2, 2006

2006-04-02T19:57:00.000-04:00

Team Yoshimura Suzuki's Atsushi Watanabe set pole position for the opening round of the All Japan Superbike Championship first round at
Twinring, Motegi with MotoGP test rider Kousuke Akiyoshi third.

Watanabe, who is also racing in the ST600 class, smashed his own lap record under hot but windy conditions.

He said: "This year I am entering two classes and I rode ST600 first today so it was a good warm-up. I aimed for new record-lap but the winds were a little bit harder than yesterday. But I'm happy for this result. Most important is the race and I would like to win."

Qualifying Results: 1 Atsushi Watanabe (Yoshimura Suzuki), 2 Kazuki Tokudome (Honda), 3 Kousuke Akiyoshi (Yoshimura Suzuki), 4 Tatsuya
Yamaguchi (Honda), 5 Katsuyuki Nakasuga (Yamaha).

DUCATI TO PRODUCE THE HYPERMOTARD

2006-03-31T19:38:00.000-05:00

Award winning concept bike will be in showrooms Spring 2007

Bologna, 31 March 2006: After the success of the "concept" presentation in Milan and following the great response from fans,
Ducati has decided to begin producing the Ducati Hypermotard. From its
first moment in the public eye, last November at the EICMA trade show
in Milan, the Ducati Hypermotard has had incredible success. The
Ducati Hypermotard received worldwide recognition and was awarded
"Best of Show" during its debut at EICMA and "Best Bike for 2005" by
the Motorcycle Design Association.

The announcement was made by Federico Minoli, President and CEO of
Ducati Motor Holding, on the Desmoblog, "With the enthusiasm shown by
Ducatisti and the work done in research and development, we have
decided to add the Ducati Hypermotard to our production schedule,
without giving anything else up. We are also going to reduce the
development time thanks to the work done while the bike was still a
concept. I am therefore proud to announce that the Hypermotard will be
available in a dealership near you in the Spring of 2007."

The Ducati Hypermotard incarnates the strength, the fun and the high
performance of an extreme supermotard – re-thought in pure Ducati
style: 100 hp weighing just 175 Kg (385 lbs); an idea, a dream for
every biker that today will become a reality and will be added to the
amazing Ducati line-up. The Ducati Hypermotard will be in dealer
showrooms in Spring 2007.

DUCATI MARLBORO MEN TURN UP THE HEAT

2006-03-30T18:43:00.000-05:00

The Ducati Marlboro Team travels to the Middle-East leading the 2006
MotoGP World Championship after a sensational start to the season in
Spain, where Loris Capirossi took his Desmosedici GP06 to a brilliant
win in front of 131,000 fans.

The Italian squad dominated Jerez: Capirossi and Sete Gibernau
qualified first and second fastest, Capirossi won the race in
spectacular style, a perfect weekend only spoiled when while Gibernau
bike's encountered a technical glitch. Both riders proved that they
are super-fast on qualifying tyres and race tyres, proving that the
long winter's work undertaken by the team, Ducati and Bridgestone has
been abundantly fruitful. The latest version of the Desmosedici V4 has
lost none of its speed but offers improved rideability and
consistency, the main priorities of the winter development programme.

LIVIO SUPPO, Ducati MotoGP project manager
"Jerez was a great weekend - Loris took pole, the win and the fastest
lap and Sete was second in qualifying and fastest in warm-up - it was
just a shame that he had a problem in the race. We go to Losail
leading the championship but we've got to keep our feet on the ground.
It's a long season so we need to keep our focus to ensure we fulfil
our potential. Loris is on a confidence high, hopefully he can
celebrate his 33rd birthday (on April 4th) in the best possible way!
Sete has proved he's fast and I'm sure he'll soon get the good results
he deserves."

LORIS CAPIROSSI, World Championship ranking: first
"I had a perfect bike and perfect tyres at Jerez and we have a simple
target for Qatar - to do the same all over again. We are quite
confident but we know it won't be easy. The toughest thing in Qatar
can be the weather. Two years ago it was almost 40 degrees, which made
riding really tough. I hope it will be cooler this time because we're
there in early April, not early October. The most important thing for
this track is to have a well-balanced bike that changes direction
well. As always, tyres will be important and the Bridgestone rear has
improved a lot since last year, it's got a much better contact
feeling.
"We have a plan to ride streetbikes - I'll have a Ducati 999 - around
the track (with fellow riders' safety commission members Valentino
Rossi and Kenny Roberts Junior) on Thursday night, to see if it's
feasible to run future Qatar GPs in the dark, when it will be much
cooler. They have erected floodlights at several corners, so it will
be an interesting experience!"

SETE GIBERNAU, World Championship ranking: no score
"What happened at Jerez was a pity but these things sometimes happen
in racing. Everyone had worked so hard over the winter and we showed
in practice and qualifying that we are fast. Now we just need a result
to prove it. Despite that disappointment we are ready to fight again.
We are learning all the time and I have a great team behind me, so I'm
looking forward to getting back on track in Qatar.
"I've got nice memories of Qatar - I won the race in 2004. It's a
good circuit, quite particular, with a little bit of everything and
some special turns like the triple right-hander which is really
spectacular. Apart from that, it's sandy and it's hot! There are a lot
of changes of direction during a lap at Qatar so you need the bike to
turn good. But like I always say, MotoGP is so close now that you need
a bike that does everything well, you can win or lose because of the
tiniest difference in bike performance."

THE TRACK
Dominated by a 1.1km straight, the remainder of the 5.4km Losail track
is a sinuous high-speed switchback, with most corners leading into one
another, rather than separated by straights. The circuit was designed
using elements of other famous tracks.
The chief issue at Losail can be sand. Windblown desert sand made the
circuit treacherously slippery during the inaugural 2004 Qatar GP but
the track has improved a lot since then. The heat is another major
consideration at Qatar. In 2004 ambient temperatures nudged 50
degrees, asking much from riders, bikes, tyres and pit crew. This
year's race has been scheduled six months earlier, so conditions
should be cooler.

Lap record: Nicky Hayden (Honda), 1m 57.903s, 164.270kmh/102.073mph (2005)
Pole position 2005: Loris Capirossi (Ducati Marlboro Team), 1m 56.917s

DUCATI MARLBORO TEAM RIDER DATA LOGS
LORIS CAPIROSSI
Age: 33 (born April 4, 1973)
Lives: Monaco
Bike: Ducati Marlboro Team Desmosedici GP6
GP starts: 232 (62xMotoGP, 59x500, 84x250, 27x125)
GP victories: 26 (4xMotoGP, 2x500, 12x250, 8x125)
First GP victory: Britain, 1990 (125)
First GP: Japan, 1990 (125)
Pole positions: 40 (7xMotoGP, 5x500, 23x250, 5x125)
First pole: Australia, 1991 (125)
World Championships: 3 (125: 1990, 1991, 250: 1998)
Losail 2005 results: Grid: 1st. Race: 10th

SETE GIBERNAU
Age: 33 (born December 15, 1972)
Lives: Switzerland
Bike: Ducati Marlboro Team Desmosedici GP6
GP starts: 161 (66xMotoGP, 76x500, 19x250)
GP victories: 9 (8xMotoGP, 1x500)
First GP victory: Valencia, 2001 (500)
First GP: Spain, 1993 (250)
Pole positions: 12 (11xMotoGP, 1x500)
First pole: South Africa, 2000 (500)
Losail 2005 results: Grid: 2nd. Race: 5th

Team Suzuki Press Office – March 29, 2006.

2006-03-29T21:53:00.000-05:00

World Superbike Champion Troy Corser and Team Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra completed the three-day test at the Ricardo Tormo circuit in
Valencia, Spain today with valuable information to carry through to
the next round of the World Championship.

Corser left the circuit today with the fourth-quickest time as
team-mate Yukio Kagayama posted 10th after testing new chassis and
engine components on their GSX-R1000s in readiness for the next round.

Troy Corser: best lap (3-day) 1:34.933:

"Today we carried on trying a whole load of different stuff and maybe
we got a little confused. Many times I went out to test something and
was out for four or five laps to find out as much as possible. We have
been here heaps of times, so we have a pretty good idea of a base
set-up, so that was something we didn't feel we had to chase this
time. All in all, it was a pretty productive three days and we ended
with lots of info and data. Today the clutch was pretty consistent and
it seemed ok even after I had done a practice start. We were testing
so many things that I think Pirelli left us alone for perhaps longer
than we would've liked. That was resolved today and now we have got a
short break for our next test in Misano. There we will have to
concentrate more on finding a good set-up for the race."

Yukio Kagayama: best lap (3-day) 1:35.538:

"Today we continued testing many different things including tyres and
mapping. I put in over 200 laps during these three days and that is a
lot of laps! In the afternoon the wind was quite strong and although
it was not a big problem I knew it would not be possible to chase a
very fast lap time. Valencia is a circuit where you need a good rhythm
to set a fast lap, but it's very easy to lose your rhythm if you make
a small mistake, miss your apex or come up against a slower rider. You
need a clear track and good rhythm for a quick lap and I don't think I
ever got that. But I am happy with the progress we made during the
three days and now the technicians have got a lot of data to analyse
before we make the next step."

Fabien Foret: best lap (3-day) 1:35.771:

"My hands are completely blistered and I am a little tired, but I feel
very positive about my next time on the bike - at the Misano tests in
the middle of April. I'm physically and mentally drained now but, as I
said yesterday, I am beginning to feel that this bike is my bike and I
am starting to have some fun with it. There's a lot to learn, but I'm
happy that we are making progress and I am happy that my understanding
of the bike is improving every time out."

Results (3-day):
1 Bayliss (Aus-Ducati), 182 laps, best lap 1:33.758
2 Xaus (E-Ducati), 138 laps, best lap 1:34.659
3 Lanzi (I-Ducati), 178 laps, best lap 1:34.848
4 Troy Corser (Aus-Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra), 195 laps, best lap 1:34.933
5 Martin (Aus- Petronas), 156 laps, best lap 1:35.178
6 Haga (J-Yamaha), 176 laps, best lap 1:35.295
7 Nieto (E-Kawasaki), 201 laps, best lap 1:35.377
8 Pitt (Aus-Yamaha), 180 laps, best lap 1:35.423
9 Fabrizio (I-Honda), 178 laps, best lap 1:35.437
10 Yukio Kagayama (J-Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra) 209 laps, best lap 1:35.538
13 Fabien Foret (F-Alstare Engineering Corona Extra) 202 laps, best lap 1:35.771

Team Suzuki Press Office – March 29, 2006

2006-03-29T11:17:00.000-05:00

Rizla Suzuki will travel to the Guadix circuit in southern Spain for a
two-day test session before prior to the second round of the Bennetts
British Superbike Championship at Donington Park on April 9th.

After a pre-season test programme blighted by wet and cold weather,
the move to Guadix, near Malaga on the south coast of Spain, is to try
and ensure dry miles of testing. The 3km long circuit provides a
mixture of fast, slow and multiple corners as well as a 750m straight
which makes it ideal for Shane Byrne and James Haydon to test their
GSX-R1000s to the limit.

Rizla Suzuki Team Manager Robert Wicks said: "We came away from the
opening round of the series knowing we have a competitive bike and the
potential to challenge at the front with both riders. What we need now
is time and laps on the bikes so both riders can go to Donington Park
with increased confidence."

PARTS UNLIMITED DUCATI COMPLETES TEST PROGRAM AT BARBER

2006-03-28T22:23:00.000-05:00

Leeds (Alabama) 28 March 2006: Neil Hodgson and Ben Bostrom of the
Parts Unlimited Ducati Team tested at Barber Motorsports Park on
Monday and Tuesday. Both riders saw their schedule put into fast
forward mode on Tuesday afternoon because of weather issues. Wet
conditions at the tight 2.3-mile circuit on Tuesday morning kept the
teams off the track until noon, but the afternoon saw a flurry of
action on the Birmingham track. Fortunately, both riders were able to
complete the testing program for their Ducati 999 Superbikes.
Neil Hodgson saw a best lap of 1:25.7, good for fourth fastest. "It
was a good test for us here at a circuit that doesn't really suit our
bike's strengths. We tested a lot of things and eliminated some
possibilities for the race weekend, for sure. It should help us get up
to speed quicker. I'm positive for the race but this is one of those
tracks where the rider really needs to muscle the bike around," said
Hodgson, who finished fourth at Barber last season. "It's a very
physical track."

"It's going to be a lot of hard work, but I think the key is being
consistent over the course of the race," said Ben Bostrom, whose best
lap on the day was 1:26.5. "The good thing about today is that we were
able to get more laps in and learn some things."

"Despite the rain, we were able to complete our test program," said
Team Technical Manager Gabriele Raccio. "We felt we made real progress
with Neil over the two days. Ben and his crew tried a lot of different
configurations with his bike and we are confident he will do well in
the race when we come back."

The next AMA Superbike race is the Barber Motorsports Park round, April 14-16.

Unofficial Lap Times 1. Mat Mladin, Suzuki 1:24.7 2. Ben Spies, Suzuki
1:25.3 3. Jake Zemke, Honda 1:25.6 4. Neil Hodgson, Parts Unlimited
Ducati 1:25.6 4. Tommy Hayden, Kawasaki 1:25.6 6. Roger Hayden,
Kawasaki 1:26.0 7. Aaron Yates, Suzuki 1:26.1 8. Miguel Duhamel, Honda
1:26.4 9. Ben Bostrom, Parts Unlimited Ducati 1:26.5

Team Suzuki Press Office – March 28, 2006.

2006-03-28T22:22:00.000-05:00

Team Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra continued their extensive work
testing different components and a variety of settings at Valencia in
Spain today and made good progress.

Despite not using any qualifying tyres today, Troy Corser finished
second quickest, just half a second or so behind Troy Bayliss
(Ducati). Yukio Kagayama ended fifth quickest and Alstare Engineering
Corona Extra rider Fabien Foret posted the 16th fastest time as he
continued his steep Superbike learning curve. Foret was only a second
behind Corser - an indication that the Frenchman is getting to grips
with his life in Superbike.

Strong winds hindered today's tests, but Kagayama was the only rider
claiming not to have been affected by them in the afternoon session.

Troy Corser - 1:35.571:

"So far the two days have gone pretty well and we've tested a variety
of stuff including different clutch components, forks, rear shocks and
other stuff. These are the kind of things we never get a real chance
to try out during a race weekend, so these three days are giving us a
lot of time to try things and evaluate them. All the info should help
improve what is already a good package.

"Today was a bit windy and I had to be careful exiting turns one and
also going over the hill before the last two turns. It would've pretty
easy to crash through there so I made sure I took it carefully. It was
hotter in the afternoon and I felt that the tyres didn't work as well
as the morning when it was a bit cooler. For me, generally, the
Pirellis are like that and it's something to be aware off - especially
in a race.

"My little finger of my right hand has been a little stiff since the
fall at Phillip Island and it's possible that it may have a greenstick
fracture. It's a little bit sore when I pull my gloves on, but not bad
enough to affect me on the track. Tomorrow we've got more different
things to try and by the end we should have a lot of useful
information to study."

Yukio Kagayama - 1:35.889:

"I think the tests have gone well so far. I had a little crash
yesterday, but no damage - well not to me anyway! Sorry to the
mechanics though, because I gave them extra work! Here we have been
trying many different things; trying to get a good setting for the
bike so that when we come here for the race in one month or so, we can
start in a good position. We had some clutch problems in Qatar, so
this is one area where we have been working on and hope to have a good
solution by the end of tomorrow.

"Many riders said they had problems with the wind and change of
temperature this afternoon, but for me there was no big difference!
Maybe the tyres do not work as well when it is hotter, but I didn't
notice it so much. I'm happy with the progress we have made so far and
hope to make further progress tomorrow."

Fabien Foret - 1:36.577:

"I am happy because I am finally beginning to enjoy riding my bike.
When I first jumped on it, I think I was trying to ride it a bit like
I rode in Supersport. But yesterday and today it is beginning to feel
like my bike and I am starting to have fun with it. You can ride a
Supersport bike fast even if the set-up is not perfect, but you can't
do that with a Superbike because there are so many more variables.
Understanding them takes time and I am learning as fast as I can.
Riding the first two rounds of the championship was a good experience,
but it is good to come here with no pressure and try different things.
I think we are making good progress now and I am hoping it continues
tomorrow."

Best lap times (after two days):1 Bayliss (Aus-Ducati) 1:34.987, 2
Troy Corser (Aus-Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra) 1:35.571, 3 Haga
(J-Yamaha) 1:35.618, 4 Walker (GB-Kawasaki) 1:35.827, 5 Yukio Kagayama
(J-Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra) 1:35.889, 6 Nieto (E-Kawasaki)
1:35.974, 7 Lanzi (I-Ducati) 1:36.009, 8 Muggeridge (Aus-Honda)
1:36.034, 9 Xaus (E-Ducati) 1:36.175, 10 Pitt (Aus-Yamaha) 1:36.215.
16 Fabien Foret (F-Alstare Engineering Corona Extra) 1:36.577.

DUCATI MARLBORO TEAM WINS THRILLING SEASON-OPENER

2006-03-28T00:55:00.000-05:00

Loris Capirossi won today's season-opening Spanish GP in brilliant
style to put the Ducati Marlboro Team at the top of the MotoGP points
table for the first time in history. But it was a day of mixed
emotions for the team with Sete Gibernau withdrawing due to a gear
sensor problem which affected his bike's electronics.

Capirossi and Gibernau had qualified first and second fastest, with
Gibernau quickest in this morning's warm-up session, so the team had
high hopes of a double podium result. Capirossi led the race from
start to finish to beat runner-up Dani Pedrosa by 4.375 seconds and
completed a perfect weekend: pole position, race win and fastest lap.
Today's victory was the Italian's fourth MotoGP success for the Ducati
Marlboro Team, his sixth premier class triumph and his 26th career
win.

FEDERICO MINOLI, Ducati CEO and president
"Winning today's race is the perfect end to a hard winter's work.
Everyone who believes in this project has worked so hard and today all
that work paid off. Loris rode like a lion, he gave us an amazing
race. It's a pity for Sete, he's shown that he's strong and that he's
fast and I'm sure we could have had both bikes on the podium today,
but he still has 16 races ahead of him."

LIVIO SUPPO, Ducati MotoGP project manager
"It's a day of mixed emotions for us - Ducati deserved a double podium
today. I'm so happy for Loris, he did a great job and rode a wonderful
race, he had the situation under control. On the other hand, I'm
really sorry for what happened to Sete. My thanks to our technical
partners Bridgestone and Shell Advance who have done so much in
contributing to this victory."

LORIS CAPIROSSI, winner
"This is my fourth year with the Ducati Marlboro Team and this is the
best start we've had to a season, today's win was just the best. The
team has done a great job all winter, especially at the tests we did
here two weeks ago. After that we knew we had a good opportunity to
win and after practice and qualifying we were quite confident.
"My target today was to not try too hard in the early laps, but I got
away in first place, so I tried to make a gap on the others. First it
was (Nicky) Hayden behind me, then Pedrosa came at me. I decided to
make a good rhythm that wouldn't stress the tyres too much, then
during the last six or seven laps I pushed again and was able to take
the advantage once more. "I have to say thanks to everyone at Ducati
who worked so hard for this and also to Bridgestone who have made big
improvements over the winter. This is our second season with
Bridgestone and our collaboration is working so well. I will try to
repeat today's result as often as possible but it won't be easy!"

SETE GIBERNAU, DNF
"I've no words really, we've all been working so hard over the last
few months but we're leaving the first race with no result. It's a
real pity, everything had been going so well. My congratulations to
Loris and Bridgestone for a fantastic win, now we look forward to the
next race in Qatar in two weeks time."

Valuable Start for Rizla Suzuki

2006-03-28T00:52:00.000-05:00

Rizla Suzuki racers James Haydon and Shane 'Shakey' Byrne scored
valuable points in both races at the opening round of the Bennetts
British Superbike Championship at Brands Hatch Indy circuit.

In the first dry race, Byrne battled to sixth while Haydon recovered
from a poor start to claim 10th. The race was cut short after 20-laps
when Ducati rider Leon Haslam suffered a spectacular crash going into
Paddock Hill bend. He was unhurt and his Ducati team mate Gregorio
Lavilla won the race.

The second race started in damp conditions and the weather played
havoc with tyre choice for all teams. Both Rizla Suzuki racers started
with intermediate front and slick rear tyres anticipating the weather
to improve but the rain continued to fall throughout the 30-lap race.
Both riders showed immense control and maturity with Haydon coming
home in seventh and Shakey in 11th as Honda's Ryuichi Kiyonari won the
race.

Defending Champion Lavilla heads the Championship table and the Rizla
Suzuki racers are equal seventh.

Rizla Suzuki races at Donington Park in Derbyshire at the second round
of the Bennetts British Superbike Championship on April 9th.

James Haydon:

"In the opening race on the second lap I went into the left hander at
Surtees too fast when my tyre wasn't up to full temperature and ended
up grass tracking. I lost six or seven places and then spent the rest
of the race fighting back. I got to 10th before the race was cut short
and I'm frustrated because I think I could have got another couple of
positions if it had gone full distance.

"Race two was hideous because of the damp conditions. Like most of the
rest of the field, I picked the wrong tyres and ended up riding a
restrained and controlled race to score points in seventh. My
confidence is building and I'm keen to get back on the bike as soon as
possible."

Shane Byrne:

"The first race was very positive and gives us an indication of where
we are in relation to the rest of the field. The second race was hard
because of the conditions and I also got a terrible start.

"I learnt a lot by following other riders and I am comfortable on the
Rizla Suzuki, so today has been good from that perspective. I am now
desperate to test before we go to Donington so I can find out more
about my bike and what changes we need to make to go faster. I need
and want to be challenging at the front to win races."

Robert Wicks -Team Manager:

"The weather conditions were difficult and we are pleased we are
leaving here with some solid points in the bag for both riders. James
and Shakey both rode with controlled aggression and have given
excellent feedback to their crews which will improve the bikes for the
next round.

"This weekend has proved we have a very fast motorcycle that has lots
of potential and two riders champing at the bit to win races. We will
now do everything we can to unlock that potential."

Race One Result: 1: Gregorio Lavilla (Ducati) 15:28.510, 2: Karl
Harris (Honda) +4.222, 3: Michael Rutter (Honda) +8.758, 4: Ryuichi
Kiyonari (Honda) +8.891, 5: Jonathan Rea (Honda) +12.363, 6: Shane
Byrne (Rizla Suzuki) +18.556, 7: Michael Laverty (Honda) +18.793, 8:
Dean Thomas (Kawasaki) +19.171, 9: Glen Richards (Honda) +19.285, 10:
James Haydon (Rizla Suzuki) +20.402.

Race Two Result: 1: Kiyonari 25:39.805, 2: Leon Haslam (Ducati)
+10.069, 3: Lavilla +19.240, 4: Craig Coxhell (Kawasaki) +21.922, 5:
Harris +23.918, 6: Tommy Hill (Yamaha) +25.842, 7: James Haydon (Rizla
Suzuki) +48.840, 8: Thomas +53.371, 9: Richards +1 lap, 10: Ollie
Bridewell (Suzuki) +1 lap, 11: Shane Byrne (Rizla Suzuki) +1 lap.

Championship Positions (after 1 round): 1: Lavilla 41, 2: Kiyonari 38,
3: Harris 31, 4: Haslam 20, 5=: Rutter, Thomas 16, 7 = Shane Byrne
(Rizla Suzuki) and James Haydon (Rizla Suzuki) 15, 9: Richards 14, 10:
Coxhell 13.

DUCATI MARLBORO TEAM SET QUICK TIMES ON RACE TYRES IN ONE-DAY AT JEREZ

2006-03-28T00:48:00.000-05:00

Just 24 hours after the celebrations over the victory of Loris
Capirossi in the opening round of the 2006 MotoGP season, the Italian
team was back at work today at Jerez for a one-day scheduled test on
the Andalusian circuit.

The Italian rider focussed mainly on testing new Bridgestone tyres and
continuing the Ducati Desmosedici GP6's development schedule. Loris
lapped consistently around the 1m41s mark, ending the day with a best
time of 1m40.798s.

Sete Gibernau put aside his Jerez race disappointment to immediately
set the quickest time of 1m40.504s on the fourth lap of his opening
run of the day. A harmless slide interrupted the Spanish rider's
session for a few minutes but the Spanish rider was able to
successfully conclude the test in preparation for the next round of
the championship in Qatar.

Temperatures: air 23° / track 31° C

1) Nicky Hayden (Honda) 1m39. 910s
2) Sete Gibernau (Ducati) 1m40.504s
3) Loris Capirossi (Ducati) 1m40.798s
4) Casey Stoner (Honda) 1m40. 821s
5) Daniel Pedrosa (Honda) 1m40. 845s
6) Carlos Checa (Yamaha) 1m40. 932s
7) Valentino Rossi (Yamaha) 1m40. 966s
8) John Hopkins (Suzuki) 1m41.096s
9) Shynja Nakano (Kawasaki) 1m41.178s
10) Toni Elias (Honda) 1m41.193s
11) Makoto Tamada (Honda) 1m41. 234s
12) Marco Melandri (Honda) 1m41. 400s
13) Colin Edwards (Yamaha) 1m41. 442s
14) Cris Vermullen (Suzuki) 1m41. 554s
15) Kenny Roberts (KRHonda) 1m41.861s
16) James Ellison (Yamaha) 1m42.924s

Progress for FPR after day one of Spanish test

2006-03-28T00:44:00.000-05:00

Both Foggy PETRONAS Racing riders made strides forward during the
first day of the official Superbike World Championship test at
Valencia, Spain, today.

Steve Martin finished the day 13th fastest out of the full World
Superbike field, with a time of 1:37.07 which bettered his previous
fastest at the circuit on the PETRONAS FP1, despite experiencing an
engine failure towards the end of the first session which caused a
spectacular high-side from which he escaped uninjured. Team-mate Craig
Jones also made in-roads into his previous best time at the circuit as
he gained further valuable track experience and set-up knowledge.

The team were also able to compare a new engine development, featuring
a new cam-shaft designed to improve the mid-range power spread, to
that used at Phillip Island in the recent races.

Troy Bayliss, who is leading the championship after the opening two
races, set the pace once again with a time of 1:35.220.

Steve, who was 10th fastest after the morning session, said: "I was
lucky to get away with the crash but, although this may sound strange,
I am glad that it happened in one respect. I haven't really given my
body a knock since my operation last year and it is good to get it
over and done with and know that I am just as strong as I used to be.
I have not been too worried about lap times as I only used two rear
tyres in each session and I am sure I could have bettered my time if I
had stuck a softer one in at the end. Our aim is to do consistent
times on race times so that we can fully evaluate the different engine
configurations. There is no doubt that the new camshaft provided more
torque, but at the expense of top speed down the main straight.
However, on race tyres, I was able to match my qualifying time from
the race weekend last year, and was able to lap in the low 37s
throughout the day."

Craig said: "I am reasonably pleased because, although I did not do
any quick times today, we have made progress and have a direction to
go in with the bike's set-up. I have found a front end set-up that I
quite like and a back-end set-up that I also quite like. It's just a
question of putting together the whole package now. I have gone a
second quicker than when we tested here last year and we have got a
game plan for tomorrow to reduce the times further."

First day times, Superbike World Championship official test, Valencia,
Spain: 1 Bayliss 1:35.220; 2 Corser 1:36.080; 3 Barros 1:36.292; 4
Haga 1:36.309; 5 Muggeridge 1:36.327; 6 Lanzi 1:36.360; 7 Walker
1:36.450; 8 Kagayama 1:36.725; 9 Pitt 1:36.740; 10 Nieto 1:36.808; 13
Martin (Foggy PETRONAS Racing) 1:37.072; 28 Jones (Foggy PETRONAS
Racing) 1:40.226

Spanish Grand Prix, Jerez Practice

2006-03-24T11:46:00.000-05:00

DAY ONE 2006: DUCATI MARLBORO MEN UP FRONT

Ducati Marlboro Team riders Loris Capirossi and Sete Gibernau enjoyed
a positive first day of the 2006 MotoGP World Championship at Jerez
today, completing the first two practice sessions for Sunday's keenly
awaited, season-opening Spanish GP a close second and equal third
fastest.
Conditions weren't perfect, with this morning's session held in cold
and damp conditions and this afternoon's in cool and windy conditions
with dark clouds threatening. Capirossi was quickest in the damp and
led much of the second session, ending up just 0.012s behind reigning
World Champion Valentino Rossi. Gibernau was also impressively fast
this afternoon, a mere 0.185s off 'pole position' and looking forward
to further progress tomorrow, for which the weather forecast predicts
sunny and warm conditions.

LORIS CAPIROSSI, second fastest, 1m 41.625s
"This afternoon was the first real practice session, although the
track was still damp in places, so I couldn't use my usual lines
everywhere. The damp bothered me more than I expected. Furthermore, no
rubber has been laid down, which means the track conditions are very
different from the tests we did here two weeks ago. But overall I'm
very, very happy with today. I'm only 12 hundredths behind the fastest
guy which is nothing, and we were fast in the wet, so we are ready
whatever the weather. The bike set-up is almost identical to what I
used at the tests, the tyres are the same too, though we'll test some
new Bridgestones tomorrow. We know we can be faster than today, which
is good. I'm okay, I'll keep working and hope for some nice weather."

SETE GIBERNAU, equal third fastest, 1m 41.798s
"Today was okay, no one could do any real work this morning, so this
afternoon was like our first practice session. Even then conditions
weren't perfect, it seemed like there were still a few damp patches
out there, so we're not going quite as fast as we were at the tests.
For me, we need to make the bike easier, more natural. I'm still
fighting with it more than I'd like, but the team has got some ideas
to work on that. I'm not really thinking too much about lap times at
the moment. I know we can be fast but we need to be constantly fast,
so we're working more towards a good race pace. Bridgestone have some
new tyres here, so we've still got more stuff to try tomorrow."

Temperatures: Ambient: 23 degrees. Track: 33 degrees

HODGSON QUICK AT INFINEON DESPITE LIMITED TESTING TIME

2006-03-18T23:32:00.000-05:00

Sonoma (California) 17 March 2006: The Parts Unlimited Ducati team saw
weather problems derail their Infineon Raceway test on Thursday and
Friday. Rain and cold kept riders Neil Hodgson and Ben Bostrom from
getting much track time with their Ducati 999 Superbikes at the scenic
track north of San Francisco and just thirty minutes from the famous
Golden Gate Bridge. Thursday's action was completely rained out, with
Friday's testing limited to some very cold laps of the 2.2-mile
(3.54-kilometer) circuit that began just before noon. Some teams left
the circuit early.

Neil Hodgson's lap time on a "green" track was 1:38.1, unofficially
tied for the best lap at the test. Ben Bostrom, who worked on testing
different parts on the Ducati 999 for the team on Friday, turned in a
best lap of 1:39.8.

"I'm happy with this test, even though we only were able to complete
part of one day," said Team Technical Manager Gabriele Raccio. "The
lap times were not good compared to the lap records because of the
rain, but we did manage to get some work in. Neil was as fast as
anyone at the test with a time of 1:38.1, which tied him with Tommy
Hayden for the quickest on Friday afternoon. Ben's main goal was a bit
different today. He tested some components on the bike and we did not
adjust the setup for a fast time. The conditions will be very
different than when we race here."

"The track was really too green in the morning and too cold in the
afternoon to get much done in the way of working on the chassis for
the race," said Bostrom. "We were able to work on gearing and brakes
and I got 'plugged in' to the circuit after being away for a year,
though. It was good to get back on the track again."

The next AMA Superbike race is the Barber Motorsports Park round, April 21-23.

Episode 10

2006-03-15T22:05:00.000-05:00

Download Episode 10 here

Welcome to the 10th episode of Roadracer Podcast, today is March 15, 2006; I am your host John Bunce.  In today’s episode news from the Daytona 200 and an interview with first year AMA racer Aaron Eldridge.

Well what a show for the Daytona 200.  A very exciting race and lots of political crap and wrangling going on prior, during and after the race.

But before we get started, lets play a listener voice mail from Richard in Maine.

PLAY VOICEMAIL

Thanks for the comments Richard.  I am really trying to get my pronunciation down on the names of the teams.  It’s a work in progress and I hope that I am improving every time I do a new show.  You have to get your bike really for the track and come out to Loudon.  Or you can just rent a bike from the Penguin Racing School and have a go on a Ducati.  I’ll put a link on my web site for the Penguin school, they are a bunch of great guys and it’s a great school.  http://www.penguinracing.com/

Ok, Lets start with the Superbike race:

It was pretty straight forward.  Miladin wins…..see how easy that was…….

Miladin and Spies ran away from the field right from the start, with Miladin leading 13 of the 15 laps and Spies leading for 2.  Miladin played Spies like a fiddle and let him pass on the final lap as they entered the banking and then re-passed by drafting him at the finish line for the win.  This is what Duhamel did to Zemke in the 2005 Daytona 200   Ahh rookies…they will never learn….

Roger Hayden ended up crashing and cracking some bones in his foot, but he will be back for the next round.

Daytona 200 Formula Extreme race.

In the beginning Yamaha riders DiSalvo and Bostrom took the lead for about 7 laps before being caught by the Honda riders Duhamel and Zemke.

Lapped riders became a factor by lap ten of the race.  It just goes to show that the factory motorcycles are just so much faster and with better horse power.

By lap 14 Zemke and Duhamel were firmly in the lead.

On lap 20 Duhamel takes the lead from Zemke and both riders complete their scheduled pit stops on Lap 20 and 21.

After the pit stops Duhamel takes the lead again until lap 44.

On Lap 32 Buell rider Jeremy McWilliams has problems in the pit, with his bike falling off the stand and the front wheel wouldn’t go back into place and front brake problems.

Duhamel crashes on Lap 44.  He gets up runs over to his bike and joins the race again.  On lap 45 Duhamel pits his Honda.  At the pit stop he is yelling for duct tape to repair his broken face shield that is being held on by only one side.  His front fairing is damaged and he has no windshield for the bike.  As Duhamel leaves the pit the duct tape does not hold and he continues on.

On lap 48 racer Danny Eslick pits his Suzuki for a scheduled pit stop.  Eslick finished 4th in the 2005 Daytona 200.  Eslick had a slow pit stop with front wheel problems and in his frustration he fires his clutch on the way out.  Listen on how not to make a clutch last for 200 miles.

Play Clip

On lap 49 Eslick is done and retires his bike.  Listen to what Gregg White had to say.

With 15 laps to go, Duhamel might come in for a new helmet, but decides against it.  Duhamel has a radio inside the helmet for communication with the pit crew.

13 laps to go the pace car comes out and screws up the field by coming out in front of Bostrom and Duhamel, essentially screwing up the order of the race.  So Zemke is still in first place but Bostrom and Duhamel are almost a whole lap behind Zemke.  What the pace car is supposed to do is if they come out in the wrong spot the passenger in the pace car is supposed to signal the riders to pass until the race leader is in the proper position.

Of course at the end of the race there was a protest to the pace car situation by the Factory Yamaha team and the AMA denied the protest and made the race results official.

Protest by Factory Yamaha team: http://www.roadracingworld.com/news/article/?article=25253

I will post on the web site press releases from the AMA for everyone to read.  What the AMA said was that the pace car incident did not have an effect on the outcome of the race and the protest was denied.  I think that is a bullshit answer.  By the pace car coming out it put some of the riders like Bostrom and Duhamel almost a lap behind the leader without any chance of catching up.  I think the best thing to have done was that if the AMA could have recognized their screw up that they should have done a restart from pit lane to correct the procedure or just continue to way the riders around until Zemke was in the proper spot.
AMA Pro Racing statement on Daytona 200 by Honda resultsDAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (March 11, 2006) – Race control called for the pace car to bring the field under control after Anthony Fania crashed in NASCAR Turn 4 on lap 55 of the Daytona 200 by Honda. Fania’s motorcycle was visible to race control, but the rider himself was not initially in sight. Race control felt it was imperative to bring the field under control as quickly as possible and that is why the pace car immediately entered the track.It is important to reiterate the urgency of bringing riders to a controlled speed when a rider could be in a potentially hazardous position on the track.AMA Pro Racing official Ron Barrick stated that even though pace car procedures were not able to be fully implemented he is confident that it did not ultimately change the outcome of the race. This is based upon lap times and the relative positions of the leaders prior to the pace car-controlled laps.“Safety is our overriding concern,” said Ron Barrick, AMA Pro Racing Series Manager for Road Racing. “We did what we did for the protection of our competitors.”

With 10 laps to go the race was restarted.  By lap 8 Duhamel gets around bostrom and then is re-passed by Bostrom later on.

The coverage by Speed TV of second place Erion Honda Josh Hayes really wasn’t mentioned.  Hayes was basically in a race by himself with no pressure from the Yamaha Factory team or Duhamel.  He kind of snuck up on my while I was watching the race.

For the last 3 laps Hayes was making a great effort to catch Zemke but couldn’t get it done.

And the final results are posted on the web site; it was Zemke, Hayes, DiSalvo, Bostrom and Duhamel.

Ok we are going to take a break and when we get back I’ll have my interview with first year AMA racer Aaron Eldridge.

Play Promos.

Welcome back and lets get straight into the interview with Aaron Eldridge

Play interview.

Ok, that’s going to wrap it up.  And don’t forget to listen to the Motorcycle Podcast Group round wheel discussion show #2 on the motorcycle safety course.  We also have a new forum for everyone to participate in at the MPG and the web address is http://forum.motorcyclepodcastgroup.com.  And send me your email and voice mail to either my skype address at roadracerpodcast or my new voice mail phone number 1-775-429-5742.  Put a pin in my frappr map, I want to see people from all over the world on it.  And don’t forget my survey, it’s anonymous and only takes a minute to do.

Take care and I’ll see you at the track…..

65th Daytona 200 Race Results

2006-03-11T19:38:00.000-05:00

1. Jake Zemke, Honda, 68 laps.
2. Josh Hayes, Honda, 68.
3. Jason DiSalvo, Yamaha, 68.
4. Eric Bostrom, Yamaha 68.
5. Miguel Duhamel, Honda, 68.
6. Aaron Gobert, Honda, 67.
7. Geoff May, Suzuki, 67.
8. Eric Wood, Honda, 66.
9. Blake Young, Suzuki, 66.
10. Will Gruy, Yamaha, 65.
11. Ryan Elleby, Honda, 65.
12. Tony Meiring, Suzuki, 65.
13. Mark Crozier, Suzuki, 65.
14. Ricky Orlando, Kawasaki, 65.
15. Rob Frost, Kawasaki, 64.
16. Brian Stokes, Yamaha, 64.
17. Victor Chirinos, Kawasaki, 64.
18. Oliver Jervis, Kawasaki, 64.
19. Robert Fisher, Suzuki, 64.
20. Bostjan Pintar, Yamaha, 64.
21. Johnny Rock Page, Yamaha, 64.
22. Bostjan, Skuic, Honda, 64.
23. Opie Caylor, Suzuki, 64.
24. James Kerker, Honda, 64.
25. Dan Ortega, Suzuki, 63
26. John A. Ashmead, Kawasaki, 63.
27. Dirk Sanchez, Kawasaki, 63.
28. Marco Martinez, Yamaha, 63.
29. Joseph Ford, Yamaha, 63.
30. Mark McCormick, Yamaha, 63.
31. Jeremiah J. Johnson, Suzuki, 63.
32. David McPherson, Yamaha, 63.
33. Akiharu Shigeno, Kawasaki, 63.
34. Raymond Bowman, Suzuki, 63.
35. David Sadowski, Jr., Yamaha, 63.
36. John Caleb Linder, Yamaha, 62.
37. Jeffrey Purk, Yamaha, 62
38. Armonda Ferrer, Kawasaki, 62
39. Santiago Villa Venegas, Yamaha, 62.
40. Rick Shaw, Yamaha, 61.
41. Brett Champagne, Suzuki, 61.
42. Spencer Stuart, Yamaha, 61.
43. Lance Yeager, Kawasaki, 59.
44. Dejan Senk, Honda, 58.
45. Ray Gordon, Ducati, 55.
46. Morgan Murphy, Suzuki, 55.
47. Scotty Van Scoik, Kawasaki, 55.
48. Anthony Fania, Yamaha, 50.
49. Danny Eslick, Suzuki, 49.
50. Tyler McDonald, Yamaha, 47.
51. Bill Card, Yamaha, 43.
52. Jeremy McWilliams, Buell, 37.
53. Josh Day, Yamaha, 36.
54. Rico Penzkofer, Buell, 25.
55. Ty Howard, Honda, 21.
56. Trey Yonce, Yamaha, 19.
57. Keith Marshall, Suzuki, 15.
58. Steve Crevier, Buell, 14.
59. Justin Filice, Honda, 7.
60. Barrett Long, Yamaha 7.
61. Alastair Seeley, Yamaha 6.
62. Jean Paul Tache, Kawasaki, 6.
63. Nathan Hester, Yamaha, 2.
64. Mike Ciccotto, Buell, 2.

Time of race: 2:00:01.245
Margin of victory: 1.562 seconds.
Winner's average speed: 100.3 mph.
Laps led: Zemke, 35. Duhamel, 22. Bostrom, 11.

Team Suzuki Press Office – March 11, 2006.

2006-03-11T18:59:00.000-05:00

Defending Champion Mat Mladin headed a Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000
one-two at the opening round of the AMA Superbike Championship at
Daytona in Florida today.

The six-time series winner beat team mate Ben Spies by less than
300ths of a second after 15 laps at Daytona Speedway after taking the
lead early on. Spies briefly led on the seventh lap but the Australian
retook him one lap later.

Third team rider Aaron Yates moved from ninth at the start to finish
in sixth place.

Said Mladin: "It was a good race. It's good to get the Yoshimura
Suzukis up here one and two. In these races you can look really good
or you can look really bad. Today came out good for us and now I'm
ready to head on to the next round."

Thursday's qualifying session saw Mladin capture his third Daytona
Superbike pole position by posting a record-breaking time of 1:37.075.
Spies came in a close second with a fast 1:37.559 lap time. Yates,
still suffering from a shoulder injury and conserving his energy for
the afternoon's Superstock race, posted a 1:39.429 time and carded a
third-row grid position.

"The new Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000 is working beautifully," said
Mladin after qualifying. "It's fast, the suspension is working well
and the tyres are good. It's a great motorbike to start the season
with."

In Saturday's 15-lap race, Mladin showed exactly how good of a
motorbike the GSX-R is by getting a great start and pulling quickly
into the lead. He pulled away with Spies in tow. Mid-race, they
swapped spots but a lap later, Mladin regained the lead. On the last
lap, Mladin again let Spies go by but then passed him right before the
finish line.

"With about five laps to go, I figured that's what I would do," Mladin
said of letting Spies by at the end. "I tried to catch him by
surprise. After I got going, I gave him a little more room on the
banking because I wanted to make sure I didn't pass him too soon."

Said Spies: "Mat and I both got great starts on the Yoshimura Suzuki
GSX-R1000s and I knew it would be settled between the two of us. I
tried to make it work at the end but he caught me at the finish. But I
was just happy to stay with him for the whole race and I'm glad we got
out ahead of everybody."

Yates, meanwhile, was still nursing the shoulder he broke at last
month's California Speedway test. Starting from the Daytona third row,
he slotted in behind the lead groups and rode consistently to sixth
place.

"I'm happy with my results," said Yates. "Considering my condition,
I'm pretty pleased with this outcome. Overall, we've made some
progress with the Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000 and I'm looking forward
to getting in condition so I can race with my team mates for the win."

Daytona Superbike Results: 1 Mat Mladin (Suzuki), 2 Ben Spies
(Suzuki), 3 Miguel Duhamel (Honda), 4 Neil Hodgson (Ducati), 5 Tommy
Hayden (Kawasaki), 6 Aaron Yates (Suzuki), 7 Ben Bostrom (Ducati), 8
Jake Zemke (Honda), 9 Jason Pridmore (Suzuki), 10 Jake Holden
(Suzuki).

HODGSON FIGHTS FOR POSITION IN DAYTONA

2006-03-11T18:57:00.000-05:00

Daytona (Florida) 11 March 2006: Parts Unlimited Ducati's Neil Hodgson
battled for a podium spot in Saturday's Daytona Superbike race before
finishing a close fourth. Hodgson, who rebounded from a touchy moment
in the chicane during the opening laps of the race, used his Ducati
999 to pass several riders and make a strong charge toward the front
in the 15-lap race.

"I rode as hard as I could and just wish we had a second race here.
We'd make a few little changes and be right there in the swing of
things," said the 2003 World Superbike champion. "I quite enjoyed it.
Passing a few people made the race for me. The bike feels quite a bit
better than last year. I've got a great feel from the 999 and hope we
can improve that in testing."

Hodgson was 6.017 seconds from the leader at the finish.

Ben Bostrom was disappointed to finish seventh with a grip issue after
qualifying on the front row. However, he was upbeat after the Daytona
race despite the event not living up to his expectations. "The bike's
fantastic, that's the real bummer," said Ben. "I really like riding
this bike and I think it's the most fun I've ever had roadracing. Off
the start, it's just that the tire felt like it was an old race tire.
I could only do a 1:39.5 lap. It never got worse and never got better.
The bike's great, we just needed more grip out there today."

Parts Unlimited Ducati will next race at Barber Motorsports Park, April 21-23.

Results: 1. Mat Mladin, Suzuki 2. Ben Spies, Suzuki 3. Miguel DuHamel,
Honda 4. Neil Hodgson, Parts Unlimited Ducati 5. Tommy Hayden,
Kawasaki 6. Aaron Yates, Suzuki 7. Ben Bostrom, Parts Unlimited Ducati
8. Jake Zemke Honda 9. Jason Pridmore, Jordan Suzuki 10. Jake Holden,
Jordan Suzuki

Press release issued by Parts Unlimited Ducati

Jake Zemke Wins First Daytona 200 By Honda

2006-03-11T18:54:00.000-05:00

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla., (March 11, 2006) -- Honda rider Jake
Zemke held off Erion Racing's Josh Hayes in a nine-lap pace car
restart to capture his first Daytona 200 By Honda victory on Saturday
at Daytona International Speedway.

"Everybody knows about the Daytona 200," Zemke said. "It's
something as a kid that you always look at the names on the list of
the winners of the Daytona 200 By Honda and it's a who's who list. I'm
proud to put my name up there."

While it was Zemke's first Daytona 200 By Honda victory, it was
Honda's 11th in the prestigious motorcycle classic.

Zemke, riding the No. 98 Honda, held off Hayes, aboard the
No. 4 Honda, over the final nine laps for 1.562–second margin of
victory.

In Zemke's previous two Daytona 200 By Honda starts, he
earned second and third-place finishes.

Hayes was delighted with his runner-up finish. He said in
his three previous Daytona 200 By Honda starts, he never made it to
the first pit stop.

"I was gaining on him," Hayes said of Zemke. "I really started trying
hard. I thought I might have something for him. Once he realized I was
there and coming, he picked up the pace. He won it honest."

Yamaha's Jason DiSalvo earned a podium appearance in his first start
in the Daytona 200 By Honda.

Miguel Duhamel had himself in perfect position for his record sixth
Daytona 200 By Honda victory. Riding with a sizable lead, the Canadian
rider took a hard spill entering Turn 1 on Lap 44. Despite a broken
visor and wind screen, Duhamel continued to fight for the win but
settled for a fifth place finish.

"I was just trying to salvage, to see if anything was going to go my
way and have a shot at it still," Duhamel said. "It was real
disappointing. Nothing you can do. That's racing."

The top-finishing Buell rider was three-time Irish champion Jeremy
McWilliams, who finished 52nd and earned the $10,000 Cal Rayborn
Award.

Mladin Wins Opening Round Of AMA Superbike

Mat Mladin played the chicane the perfect way on his way
to victory in the opening round of the AMA Superbike Championship on
Saturday at Daytona International Speedway.

Mladin, riding the No. 1 Suzuki, and his Yoshimura Suzuki teammate Ben
Spies were able to break way in the 15-lap event. On the final lap,
Mladin, not wanting to lead Spies out of the chicane, backed off
allowing Spies to take the lead.

The Aussie then quickly hustled his Suzuki around NASCAR Turns 3 and 4
to nip Spies at the start/finish by .032 seconds.

"With five to go, I figured that was what I was going to have to do,"
said Mladin, who earned his third straight Daytona Superbike win and
his fifth overall. "I certainly didn't want to slow up going into the
chicane and try to let him by there because it's just become silly.
Everyone doesn't know who wants to take the lead.

"I just tried to catch him by surprise. I made sure he had momentum
when he went past so he couldn't check up and if he didn't, I would've
been gone anyway. It worked well this time. That will go in his memory
bank and probably won't work next year. I'll have to come up with
another plan."

Said Spies: "I was figuring I was going to be that guy who got drafted
and beat at the line."

Mladin, who is chasing an unprecedented seventh AMA Superbike
championship, earns the maximum amount of points (38) this weekend at
Daytona as he earned the pole, led the most laps and earned the
victory.

Rounding out the podium was five-time Daytona 200 By Honda champion
Miguel Duhamel.

Press release issued by Daytona International Speedway

Daytona 200 Podcast

2006-03-10T05:40:00.000-05:00

I try some commentary of the Formula Xtreme Daytona 200 Qual, the Supersport and Superstock races on Thursday, March 9, 2006.

Hacking, Roger Lee Hayden Find Daytona Glory

2006-03-09T19:12:00.000-05:00

Press Release from Daytona International Speedway

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla., (March 9, 2006) -- Thursday's Superstock and
Supersport final delivered two first-time Daytona International
Speedway winners.

Jamie Hacking can finally call himself a winner at Daytona
International Speedway after his thrilling victory in the Superstock
event.

After coming up short so many times in tight finishes at "The World
Center of Racing," Hacking was able to nip Yamaha teammate Jason
DiSalvo at the start/finish line by a mere .072 seconds.

"It's been nine years since I've been in here," Hacking said. "I have
second place lined up there on the shelf, and now I've finally got
that one to go up there in the middle of them."

Hacking, riding in second place on the final lap aboard the factory
No. 2 Yamaha, felt like he was in perfect position behind the leader
DiSalvo.

"I was hoping he was going to play the cards like he played them and I
took them," Hacking said. "I didn't think he wanted to lead me out of
the chicane but he did. I ran out of the banking, let him go and
breathed the bike a little bit.

"I've been in too many situations where I caught myself out trying to
make the break too early. I left it as late as possible and ran him
down pretty good. I dove down to the inside. If I had to take it to
the dirt, I was going to the dirt to win this one."

DiSalvo gave credit to Hacking's slingshot move at the checkered flag.

"He just played the draft right -- Miguel Duhamel right," said DiSalvo
referring to five-time Daytona 200 By Honda winner who has patented
the slingshot move out of the Daytona chicane.

Aaron Yates delivered a third-place finish aboard his Yoshimura Suzuki
despite an injured shoulder he suffered during a recent test session
at California Speedway.

Hacking continued his Daytona successes on Thursday with a runner-up
finish in the Supersport race behind winner Roger Lee Hayden.

Hayden, riding the No. 95 Kawasaki, was able to break away from the
competitive field in the final laps for the 1.609-second victory.

"The first 15 laps was a little bit of a struggle," Hayden said. "I
changed my gearing right before the race because I thought we had a
pretty bad headwind. It really wasn't the right decision.

"I couldn't get by either one of these guys (Hacking or Tommy Hayden)
by the stripe so I knew my only chance was to try to break away. Once
we got into lappers, they were getting out the blue flag, and I was
being a little bit aggressive."

Tommy Hayden, the 2005 Supersport champion competing in his only 2006
Supersport event of the year, finished third on his No. 1 Kawasaki.

BOSTROM QUALIFIES ON FRONT ROW AT DAYTONA

2006-03-09T18:00:00.000-05:00

Daytona (Florida) 9 March 2006: Ben Bostrom of the Parts Unlimited
Ducati Team will start on the front row for Saturday's Daytona
Superbike race aboard his factory Ducati 999. Bostrom was third in
Thursday's session with a time of 1:38.012, held in sunny, cool
Florida weather. Teammate Neil Hodgson qualified sixth with a time of
1:38.491 and showed a consistent pace throughout qualifying that he
hopes to maintain for race distance.

"It's good to be on the front row, but at the same time, I'm a little
disappointed," said Bostrom, the 1998 AMA Superbike champion. "As sure
as I threw my leg over that motorcycle, I thought I could have done a
high 1:36 and I thought no one could stop me for pole position. The
track really changed out there for our second session, though. There
wasn't as much grip as I would have liked. The times from the others
were pretty hot but I don't know if the other guys can turn those lap
times all day on Saturday. We're looking really good for the race,
especially since the Ducati seems to pull all the way down the
straight. The 999 seems like a quick starter off the line, too. I
can't wait."

Bostrom has plenty of experience at Daytona, and won the pole and
finished second in 2003. However, Ben raced in Europe last season and
missed the inaugural race on the new track configuration. Neil Hodgson
finished a competitive second in last year's race, though, despite it
being just his first attempt on the high banks of Daytona.

"The race package we have is quite good," said Hodgson, a resident of
the Isle of Man. "We have chosen a tire and we know exactly what we
have with our settings. There are some races that you aren't sure of
where you stand, but this isn't one of them. Looking at the lap-by-lap
times of all the riders, I think it's going to be a close race. I'm a
little disappointed to be on the second row. I thought we had enough
to start out front, but that's racing."

Duhamel, Mladin Win Poles At Daytona

2006-03-09T16:49:00.000-05:00

Miguel Duhamel On The Pole For Daytona 200 By Honda

Mladin Wins AMA Superbike Opening Round Pole

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla., (March 9, 2006) -- For the second straight year,
Canadian Miguel Duhamel captured the pole for the 65th Daytona 200 By
Honda Formula Xtreme event scheduled for Saturday at historic Daytona
International Speedway.

Duhamel, riding the factory No. 1 American Honda, turned a track
record fast lap of 1:40.928 seconds, 105.224 mph to earn the pole for
the legendary motorcycle event as well as a Rolex watch.

"It means a lot to come out here and get the pole and get the
beautiful Rolex watch," said Duhamel, who has five Daytona 200 By
Honda wins but only two Daytona 200 By Honda poles. "It means a lot to
the team, especially this year, with all the competition. Some people
were thinking it was luck last year, but it was actually determination
and a faster CBR600RR."

If the 37-year-old Montreal native, who now calls Las Vegas home, wins
the prestigious 200-mile motorcycle road race on Saturday he will
become the first six-time winner in the storied history of the race,
which first ran in 1937.

Duhamel is currently tied the legendary Scott Russell with his fifth
victory in the Daytona 200 By Honda last March.

"It's hard," Duhamel said of winning the Daytona 200 By Honda. "You've
got to respect Daytona. It's a hard race, it's 200 miles. If I do win
six, I'll definitely go out, break my training regime and party with
my guys."

Rounding out the podium was second place Jason DiSalvo aboard a Yamaha
(105.134), third place Eric Bostrom (104.795) and fourth place Jake
Zemke (104.209).

Other notable Daytona 200 By Honda qualifiers include Erion Honda's
Josh Hayes (Sixth, 103.961) and Aaron Gobert (Seventh, 103.925) and
Jeremy McWilliams aboard the Buell XB12R (103.574).

Mladin On The Pole For AMA Superbike Championship Opening Round

The track qualifying records continue to fall during
Daytona 200 Week By Honda as Yoshimura Suzuki's Mat Mladin captured
the pole for Saturday's Opening Round of the AMA Superbike
Championship at Daytona International Speedway.

Mladin, a native of Australia who is gunning for his
seventh AMA Superbike title this year, toured the 2.95-mile Daytona
International Speedway with a track-record lap of 1:37.075 seconds,
109.400 mph to earn his third Daytona Superbike pole and record 48th
career Superbike pole.

"I couldn't test here in December recovering from surgery last year,"
Mladin said. "We haven't been here in 12 months and the bike is
certainly very different from what it was 12 months ago so that puts
me at a little bit of a disadvantage. But the race track still goes
the same way. We've got more grip in the infield and that shows in the
lap times."

Mladin's pole was the eighth time a Suzuki has sat on the pole for the
Daytona Superbike.

Rounding out the front row for the Opening Round of the AMA Superbike
Championship was second-place qualifier Ben Spies (108.857),
third-place Parts Unlimited Ducati rider Ben Bostrom (108.354) and
fourth-place American Honda rider Miguel Duhamel (107.996).

Team Suzuki Press Office – March 9, 2006.

2006-03-09T16:15:00.000-05:00

Yoshimura Suzuki's Mat Mladin set pole position for Saturday's opening
AMA Superbike Championship race in Daytona, Florida today with team
mate Ben Spies a close second.

Reigning Champion Mladin put in a time of 1:37.075 on his GSX-R1000 –
a faster time than the six-time Champion did last year at the same
event – with Spies less than half-a-second behind.

Third Yoshimura team rider Aaron Yates recorded the ninth fastest time
and will lead the all-Suzuki third-row which includes Roberto Pietri,
Eric Wood and Jake Holden.

Daytona AMA Superbike Qualifying (Thursday): 1 Mat Mladin (Yoshimura
Suzuki) 1:37.075, 2 Ben Spies (Yoshimura Suzuki) 1:37.559, 3 Ben
Bostrom (Ducati) 1:38.012, 4 Miguel Duhamel (Honda) 1:38.337, 5 Jake
Zemke (Honda) 1:38.398, 6 Neil Hodgson (Ducati) 1:38.491, 7 Roger Lee
Hayden (Kawasaki) 1:38.573, 8 Tommy Hayden (Kawasaki) 1:38.904, 9
Aaron Yates (Yoshimura Suzuki) 1:39.429, 10 Jake Holden (Suzuki)
1:40.470.

Superstock Qualifying Results, Daytona, March 8, 2006

2006-03-09T09:50:00.000-05:00

Superstock Qualifying Results, Daytona March 8, 2006

1. Jason DiSalvo, Yamaha YZF-R1LE, 1 minute, 39.185 seconds.
2. Geoff May, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:39.712.
3. Eric Bostrom, Yamaha YZF-R1LE, 1: 40.062.
4. Jamie Hacking, Yamaha YZF-R1LE, 1:40.074.
5. Damon Buckmaster, Kawasaki ZX-10RR, 1:40.136.
6. Aaron Yates, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:40.333.
7. Steve Rapp, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:40.369.
8. Joshua Hayes, Honda CBR1000RR, 1: 40.865.
9. Aaron Gobert, Honda CBR1000RR, 1:41.101.
10. Jason Pridmore, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:41.140.
11. Jacob Holden, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:41.584.
12. Martin Craggill, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:41.680.
13. Cory West, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1: 41.875.
14. John Haner, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:41.876.
15. Chris Ulrich, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:42.113.
16. Larry Pegram, Honda CBR1000RR, 1:42.181.
17. Robertino Pietri, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:42.305.
18. Ben Attard , Kawasaki ZX-10RR, 1: 42.655.
19. Matt Lynn, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:42.889.
20. C R Gittere, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:43.934.

Supersport Championship Qualifying, Daytona 2006

2006-03-09T09:49:00.000-05:00

Supersport Championship qualifying

1. Roger Lee Hayden, Kawasaki ZX-6RR, 1 minute, 41.552 seconds.
2. Jamie Hacking, Yamaha YZF-R6, 1:41.667.
3. Tommy Hayden, Kawasaki ZX-6RR, 1:41.921.
4. Geoff May, Suzuki GSX-R600, 1: 42.225.
5. Ben Spies, Suzuki GSX-R600, 1:43.217.
6. Ben Attard, Kawasaki ZX-6RR, 1:43.425.
7. Alastair Seeley, Yamaha YZF-R6, 1:43.436.
8. Damon Buckmaster, Kawasaki ZX-6RR , 1:43.708.
9. Pascal Picotte, Yamaha YZF-R6, 1: 44.077.
10. Danny Eslick, Suzuki GSX-R600, 1:44.089.
11. Tyler McDonald, Yamaha YZF-R6, 1:44.859.
12. Michael Barnes, Suzuki GSX-R600, 1:45.019.
13. Blake Young, Suzuki GSX-R600, 1:45.046.
14. Darren Luck, Suzuki GSX-R600, 1: 45.052.
15. Rob Frost, Kawasaki ZX-6RR, 1:45.398.
16. Ryan Elleby, Honda CBR600RR, 1:45.429.
17. Barrett Long, Yamaha YZF-R6, 1:45.986.
18. Will Gruy, Yamaha YZF-R6, 1:46.016.
19. Chris Caylor, Suzuki GSX-R600, 1: 46.648.
20. Nathan Hester, Yamaha YZF-R6, 1:46.860

HODGSON AND BOSTROM TEST THE LIMITS AT DAYTONA

2006-03-09T00:54:00.000-05:00

Daytona (Florida) 7 March 2006: Parts Unlimited Ducati's Ben Bostrom
and Neil Hodgson kicked off the 2006 AMA season today with two
practice sessions at the famed Daytona International Speedway on their
Ducati 999 Superbikes. Hodgson set his personal best time on the day
of 1:38.834 during the morning practice, good for the second quickest
overall time in that session. Ben Bostrom's best on the day was
1:39.728 in the morning, around one tenth quicker than he did in the
afternoon session.

Hodgson was quick early at Daytona, but was caught out by the
shortened practice session in the afternoon. "This morning was really
good," said Hodgson. "In the afternoon, we were trying some new things
and had a had a little problem with the bike that cost us some time.
Our best lap time wasn't as impressive in the afternoon as we lost
some track time due to a few factors. It's not that big a deal,
though. I know where I'm going around here now and I think I could lap
this place with my eyes closed. We've made progress."

Bostrom declared himself content with his day's effort. Daytona is his
first ever race on the 999, although Bostrom rode the previous
generation Ducati Superbike earlier in his career. "I'm happy with
today. I got a little bit of a slow start but the bike settings are
like they were before at the test," he said. "It was the first day
racing of the year, a day to get your head back into it before
qualifying tomorrow. We were getting some laps in today. I really
don't want to change anything right now with the 999 because the
Ducati works best in a small setup window with just minor changes.
Today I learned something about braking on the Ducati that's pretty
cool and I think it will help. I have a great team behind me and I
can't believe how good the situation is for me here."

The Parts Unlimited Ducati Team will qualify for Saturday's race on
Thursday afternoon.

Best practice times: 1. Ben Spies, Suzuki 1:38.129 2.Mat Mladin,
Suzuki 1:38.308 3. Neil Hodgson, Parts Unlimited Ducati Team 1:38.834
4. Jake Zemke, Honda 1:38.972 5. Roger Hayden, Kawasaki 1:39.097 6.
Miguel Duhamel, Honda 1:39.153 7. Tommy Hayden, Kawasaki 1:39.369 8.
Ben Bostrom, Parts Unlimited Ducati Team 1:39.728

DUCATI MARLBORO MEN SET FOR FINAL TEST

2006-03-08T10:35:00.000-05:00

Ducati Marlboro Team riders Loris Capirossi and Sete Gibernau look
forward to their final pre-season test at Jerez this weekend, just two
weeks before the 2006 MotoGP World Championship gets underway at the
Andalucian track.

Capirossi and Gibernau are hoping for a sunny weekend and are
confident of continuing the progress made during the useful session at
Catalunya last weekend. Though he was not in the "spotlight" during
the 40' timed session, Sete was able late in the afternoon to set the
fastest time of the day during his first ride on the wet with his
Desmosedici GP6, and Loris announced he was happy with Bridgestone's
latest tyres, despite a stomach bug that kept him off the track for
almost an entire day.

The three-day session will give the pair a chance to conclude their
winter development duties and start working towards a machine set-up
and tyre choice that will deliver the best race-long performance at
the flowing Jerez circuit. Vittoriano Guareschi will also be present
at Jerez, continuing in his role as test rider.

LIVIO SUPPO, Ducati MotoGP project leader
"Overall we have had a pretty good winter, now we are looking forward
to this final test and the first race of the 2006 season. Catalunya
demonstrated the excellent progress made by Bridgestone over the last
few months but the weather wasn't good enough for us to do any real
endurance runs, so we hope the conditions are better at Jerez. If the
weather is okay, our focus will be doing long runs, so we can give
Bridgestone a real idea of what's required for the Jerez race on March
26."

Team Suzuki Press Office

2006-03-08T08:20:00.000-05:00

Suzuki Australia will be the major sponsor of this year's seven-round Australian Superbike Championship that begins next month in New South Wales.

The new arrangement sees Suzuki offer financial support to the nation's premier national road racing championship, covering the series and visiting all six states of Australia.

Said Glyn Griffiths, National Marketing Manager - Motorcycles, Suzuki Australia: "Team Suzuki has achieved major success in Superbike racing both in Australia and around the world.

"With Australian riders, Suzuki has the reigning World Superbike Champion, the current AMA Superbike title and we have won four of the last six Australian Superbike Championships.

"Suzuki's new role as a major sponsor of the Australian Superbike Championship befits our position as a major, dominant force in Superbike racing on the domestic and world stages. This relationship with series promoter, AUSCO, is a natural extension of our commitment to racing both locally and globally.

"Becoming a major series sponsor for the Aussie Superbikes is just one area in which Suzuki is stepping up its racing activities for 2006 and we are extremely excited and confident about our new race program," he added.

AUSCO General Manager, Terry O'Neill is delighted about the new partnership with Suzuki Australia.

He said: "This is a significant agreement we have reached with Suzuki Australia as support from the motorcycle manufacturers is vital for the wellbeing of Australian road racing.

"Suzuki's sponsorship of the Australian Superbike Championship is a major contribution to the longevity of the sport in our country."

Three-time Australian Superbike Champion, Shawn Giles and his Team Suzuki team mate, Robbie Bugden will take to Eastern Creek Raceway in New South Wales for round one of the Suzuki sponsored Australian Superbike Championship on April 7-9th.

TWO BUELL RACERS ON DAYTONA THUNDERBIKE PODIUM

2006-03-07T21:53:00.000-05:00

Seven Buell Riders in Top Ten at ASRA Season-Opener; XBRR Wins First Race

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (March 5, 2006) – Harley-Davidson/Buell of Frederick rider Bryan Bemisderfer rode a Buell Firebolt XB12R to a second place finish at the first American SportBike Roadracing Series Thunderbike National race of the 2006 season at Daytona International Speedway. Hal's Speed Shop/Sound Waves rider Sam Rozynski was third, also on a Buell Firebolt XB12R. The race was won by Nate Kern on a BMW R1100S.

Millville & Wildwood Harley-Davidson/Buell rider David Estok, the 2005 Thunderbike series champion, put his Buell Firebolt on the pole with a lap of 1 minute 51.263 seconds during Saturday qualifying.

At the start of the Thunderbike final, Estok burned up his clutch and pulled off the exit of the International Horseshoe on the opening lap. Hal's Speed Shop rider
Dan Bilansky, who qualified second on a Buell Firebolt, led the opening lap but suffered a mechanical failure on the main straight and pulled off. That left the door open for Kern, who started the 10-lap race from the back row after his third place qualifying effort was disallowed due to a technical infraction.

Appleton Buell/Hoban Brothers Racing rider Jeff Johnson was fourth on a Buell Firebolt, followed by Hal's Speed Shop/Spyder Leatherworks rider Paul James, also on a Buell Firebolt. Dave Maney was sixth on a Ducati 748, followed by fellow Ducati rider Michael Delage and Buell rider Chris Young. Blue Springs Harley-Davidson/Buell rider Walt Sipp, who started from the back row due to missing qualifying on Saturday, worked his way up to second before he crashed out on the second to last lap and finished ninth. Liberty Harley-Davidson/Buell rider Anthony Caligiuri rounded out the top ten.

"I'm really excited to see so many privateer racers campaigning Buell XBs. We really believe in grassroots racing and our whole racing contingency and support program is geared to support their efforts," said Chairman and Chief Technical Officer Erik Buell.

Earlier during the Championship Cup Series multi-regional events at Daytona, the new Buell XBRR notched its first race win in the hands of Buell of Hannover (Germany) rider Rico Penzkofer, who topped former World Superbike racer Dario Marchetti and his Ducati 999RS in the CCS SuperTwins event on Saturday. Four different Buell dealer teams racing the Buell XBRR used the CCS/ASRA race weekend as a shake-down and practice opportunity for the Daytona 200, scheduled for Saturday, March 11. They continue testing today and Tuesday during the American Historic Racing Motorcycle Association event. AMA practice begins Wednesday with qualifying for the Daytona 200 on Thursday.

The next event on the eight-round ASRA Thunderbike National schedule is April 21-23 at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wis.

FOUR FORMER WINNERS TO BATTLE IN DAYTONA’S REPSOL LUBRICANTS SUPERSTOCK SERIES OPENER

2006-03-07T14:34:00.000-05:00

Defending champ Yates expects to be ready to go in spite of pre-season crash

PICKERINGTON, Ohio (March 7, 2006) -- The 2006 Repsol Lubricants Superstock Series opener at Daytona International Speedway will feature a clash of four former winners. Aaron Gobert, Jason Pridmore, Josh Hayes and Aaron Yates are all past winners of the Daytona Superstock race and are all slated to line up for the final on Thursday, March 9, in one of the strongest field of riders featured during Daytona’s Motorcycle Speed Week.

Defending Repsol Lubricants Superstock Series champ Aaron Yates suffered a broken shoulder only a month ago while testing at California Speedway making him questionable for Daytona, but Yates thinks now that he’ll be ready to race.

“I just got on a dirt bike yesterday and did a little riding,” Yates said on March 3rd. “I’ve been riding a street bike to keep the feel of things and building up my strength. I think I’ll give it a good test this weekend and then have a rest on Monday and Tuesday and hopefully be ready to go when we take to the track on Wednesday.”

In spite of his injuries Yates says he won’t just be riding for points at Daytona.

“I’m making really good progress every day,” he said. “If it keeps getting better at the rate it has been then I think I’ll be in the hunt for the win. My goal is to be in the lead pack on the last lap and have a chance to win it.”

Yates last won the Daytona Superstock race in 1996, when the class was still 750cc Supersport bikes.

Yates is just one of a multitude of Suzuki riders expected to race. The Jordan Suzuki team will field three riders in the Daytona Superstock race including two-time race winner Jason Pridmore. Pridmore is trying to become the first three-time winner of the race. He will team with Steve Rapp and Jake Holden making up one of the most talent-rich teams in the series.

Australian Marty Craggill was the top privateer in AMA Superbike last year. This year the Hotbodies Racing Mladin Motorsports Suzuki rider will now focus on Superstock.

"Talking to Suzuki they were keen to giving us more support in Superstock,” said team owner Mat Mladin. “Now at least Marty will have a bike that’s competitive. The rest is up to him.”

Team M4 EMGO Suzuki has won this race three times, including last year with Vincent Haskovec. This year Geoff May will try to uphold the honor of the team. Under the same tent comes the Roadracingworld.com Suzuki team with Chris Ulrich and Robertino Pietri. Pietri is the 20-year-old son of former AMA Superbike and Formula One factory rider Roberto Pietri of Venezuela.

Millennium/KWS Suzuki will field John Haner and Matt Lynn aboard Suzuki GSX-R1000s in the Superstock class.

While Suzuki has numbers on its side, the other factory or factory-support teams make up for lower numbers with top-notch riders. Take Yamaha for example. Graves Yamaha has a potent trio of Jamie Hacking, Eric Bostrom and Jason DiSalvo on R1s. With those three riders there’s a very good chance that Yamaha will have more than one rider on the Daytona Superstock podium.

Attack Kawasaki brings Aussies Ben Attard and Damon Buckmaster to Daytona. Attard is considered an up-and-coming rider in the series, while Buckmaster is a proven veteran.

Erion Honda dominated Formula Xtreme in the early years when it was a big-bore class. Erion hopes to reestablish that dominance in Superstock with riders Josh Hayes and Aaron Gobert. This is the only team to feature two past winners of the Daytona Superstock race. Gobert won the event in 2004 and went on to win the championship, while Hayes took top honors at Daytona in 1999.

Qualifying for the Daytona Superstock race starts Wednesday (March 8) afternoon and the 13-lap final will take the green light on Thursday, March 9 at 3:50 pm EST. It will be televised live on SPEED.

Rizla Suzuki British Superbike

2006-03-07T09:22:00.000-05:00

Rizla Suzuki British Superbike team riders Shane Byrne and James Haydon put their new GSX-R1000 K6 race bikes through 200 laps of intense testing at Snetterton in Norfolk this week.

With track temperatures barely above freezing, both riders lapped within a tenth-of-a-second of each other.

The Rizla Suzuki Team will test again at Mallory Park on March 14th.

Shane Byrne:

“Since the test finished I’ve been sitting in my car with the heater and heated seats working overtime. It was very cold today on track but that didn’t prevent us from doing a lot of laps and getting to know the bike better. I’m really pleased with the amount of laps I was able to do and the feeling I’m getting for the bike.

“I think we went as fast as we could given the conditions. Chances are we will be racing in cool conditions at some stage this season given the British weather and today will stand us in good stead when that happens.”

James Haydon:

“It’s great to get back out on the Rizla Suzuki and blow the cobwebs out of my system. By the end of the day I felt I had brushed off most of the rust from the winter lay-off and now I’m ready to really ride and race again.

“It was bitterly cold on track but that wasn’t going to stop me from completing as many laps as I could and I feel we have made a positive step forward. I’m enjoying my riding and can’t wait for the next test.”

Niall Mackenzie - Race Operations Manager:

“Despite the chilly conditions, we achieved quite a lot. Both riders completed nearly 100 laps to kick off what will be a fairly intense testing schedule over the next three weeks in the lead up to the first race.

“The new evolution of the Rizla Suzuki GSX-R1000 is excellent. We have a strong engine, chassis and suspension package. We go to Mallory Park next week with a spring in our step after today – there’s nothing like getting out on the bikes to fire the riders up.

PARTS UNLIMITED DUCATI TEAM SEEKS DAYTONA GLORY, HODGSON AND BOSTROM READY TO RACE AMA OPENER

2006-03-06T20:29:00.000-05:00

PARTS UNLIMITED DUCATI TEAM SEEKS DAYTONA GLORY, HODGSON AND BOSTROM READY TO RACE AMA OPENER

Daytona (Florida) Monday 6 March: The Parts Unlimited Ducati Team's 2006 AMA Superbike season begins this week with the traditional Daytona opener. Racers Ben Bostrom and Neil Hodgson will race Ducati 999 Superbikes for the fabled Italian company's US racing effort this year, with Saturday's 15-lap race kicking off the 30th season of Superbike racing in America.

Hodgson, the former World Superbike champion who raced the complete AMA schedule for the first time last year, says he is much more comfortable this time around. "I'm feeling really good about this season. It will be nice to show up at a circuit and know which way the track goes," laughed Hodgson, who won at Road America in 2005. "This time of year is for a strict training regime, staying focused, and getting in shape. I'm really looking forward to Daytona and starting the racing again. I'm very relaxed and confident heading into the season."

Neil finished a strong second in last year's Daytona race.

Ben Bostrom returns to the AMA and Ducati after competing in World Superbike last season. Bostrom, after showing good form in winter testing, is eager to race the Ducati 999 for the first time.

"I'm both excited and nervous about Daytona this year," said Bostrom. "It's my first real race on this particular Ducati and I've been gone to Europe for a little while. One thing's for sure - it's great to be back on a factory team and be back here in the US. So far, the bike had been fantastic in testing, but now it is time to race. I want to get a feel for how it's going so we can see where we stand. Daytona is a big race and very important but it is also the first one in a long season."

Team manager Tom Bodenbach echoes the sentiments. "We feel we have improved over the winter and anxious to see if this is the case. We believe we can make a good run at the championship in 2006 against a very tough field. I think Neil and Ben are in good shape and ready to go. Both are legitimate contenders for the championship, in our eyes, and the team is working well together."

Final qualifying is Thursday afternoon, and the 70-kilometer Superbike race will be held Saturday at 11:15 EST.

The Circuit - The 2.95 mile (4.7 kilometers) Daytona International Raceway circuit is located on the eastern coast of Florida. The track called "The World Center of Racing" has been hosting motorcycle events since the 1960s after the historic race moved from a combination road/beach course located a few miles away. Known for the high-speed drafting battles, the banked turns of the Speedway (which reach 31 degrees) have seen many exciting Superbike races over the years. A challenging series of infield turns counter the demands of the banking and make bike setup a tough compromise for the AMA riders and teams. The riders say the revised course that avoids part of the banking has made the Speedway more like a conventional racetrack, yet tire issues always pose a threat.

Statistics -- Mat Mladin of Suzuki set pole in last year's race (1:38.232), the first using the current configuration. He also won the 15-lap race, followed by Parts Unlimited Ducati's Neil Hodgson and Suzuki's Ben Spies.

AMA PRO RACING AND CCS/ASRA COOPERATE TO PROVIDE ADDITIONAL SOFT BARRIERS AT DAYTONA

2006-03-06T17:54:00.000-05:00

Racing organizations unite to offer unprecedented protection

PICKERINGTON, Ohio (March 6, 2006) -- CCS/ASRA (formerly Formula USA) and AMA Pro Racing have joined forces at Daytona International Speedway during Bike Week to provide riders in both events, as well as in the AHRMA Historic races, unprecedented protection by combining the organizations' soft barriers in addition to those owned by the Speedway.

CCS/ASRA will keep its barriers in place during the vintage and AMA Pro Racing segments of Bike Week. In return, AMA Pro Racing deployed its soft barriers several days earlier than normal to help provide extra protection for riders in the CCS/ASRA events. Jointly the organizations will service and maintain all barriers during the deployment period.

"This is a huge deployment and a textbook example of cooperation between organizations for the greater good," said Hugh Fleming, Director of Safety and Logistics for AMA Pro Racing. "Many of the soft barriers owned by each organization were provided by the Roadracing World Action Fund so every fan, business and racer who has contributed to the fund had a part in this."

The combined efforts of AMA Pro Racing and CCS/ASRA, along with those of Daytona International Speedway will result in over 1870 feet of protective barriers being deployed.

Soft barriers cushion the impact of a fallen rider and have proven to be excellent tools in the reduction of rider injury.

Motorcycle racing activities at the Speedway kicked off on March 3 with CCS/ASRA events. AHRMA Classic Days road racing take place on March 6 and 7 and the AMA Pro Racing schedule starts on Wednesday, March 8. This year's events will conclude with the 65th running of the Daytona 200 by Honda, the opening round of the AMA Lockhart Phillips USA Formula Xtreme Series, on Saturday, March 11.

HAYDEN SET TO DEFEND DAYTONA SUPERSPORT VICTORY

2006-03-06T17:51:00.000-05:00

PICKERINGTON, Ohio (March 6, 2006) -- Tommy Hayden will not defend his title in the 2006 Pro Honda Supersport Championship presented by Shoei, but he will race with the No. 1 plate on his Kawasaki one time when he makes a special appearance in the Daytona Supersport race in front of a live national television audience on Thursday, March 9 at Daytona International Speedway.

Hayden feels racing Supersport at Daytona only frees him from worry and will enable him to concentrate on his main priority this year: an AMA Superbike Championship.

"I've never had a one-off ride like this in road racing before," said the eldest of the three racing Hayden brothers from Owensboro, Ky. "It'll be kind of nice to not have to worry about points or anything except going for the win. I haven't been testing the Supersport bike much, but our team has a pretty good set up and I feel comfortable with it, so we should be ready to go."

When asked if the race came down between him and his teammate and brother Roger Lee - who is racing the entire series - what he would do he replied, "May the best man win. I respect the Daytona Supersport race too much to do anything but go for the win if I have the opportunity. It will be nice after Daytona though to be able to root for Roger Lee in the class. It's been tough battling each other for the championship. I really want him to win it this year."

Roger Lee stormed back after his bike broke at Daytona last year to finish second to Tommy in the Supersport point standings last season. The youngest of the Hayden brothers is expected to be a heavy favorite to win this year's championship and a victory at Daytona would put him in a great position to do just that.

Kawasaki is loaded in Supersport at Daytona. In addition to the Hayden's on the factory ZX6Rs, Attack Kawasaki features the strong Australian duo of Ben Attard and Damon Buckmaster. Attard and Buckmaster are serious challengers for the title this season and could give a factory support team the championship for the first time in six year.

Jamie Hacking won the Pro Honda Oils Supersport Championship presented by Shoei in 2003 and he'll be eager to win it back in 2006 on the potent factory Yamaha R6. Hacking has been oh-so-close to winning the Daytona Supersport race. The Carolinian has finished on the podium three times and he hopes to finally stand atop the box in the Daytona winner's circle this year.

Ben Spies leads Suzuki's effort in the class. The young Texan scored a career best fourth in the Daytona Supersport race last year. This time around he has an improved Suzuki GSX-R600 and hopes to find himself leading the pack at the checkered flag.

Florida's own Michael Barnes is a former Supersport winner at Daytona. He won the fall Supersport race that used to be held in October back in 1989. Now 17 years later he's still seeking that elusive first win in the March event. While Barnes is one of the most experienced veterans in the field, his Team M4 EMGO Suzuki running mate is young Texan Shea Fouchek. Many expert observers are predicting great things from Fouchek, who came out of the same Texas racing system that produced such greats as Freddie Spencer, Kevin Schwantz, Doug Polen, John Kocinski and Colin Edwards.

Chris Caylor and Tony Meiring make up a solid team in the Safety First Suzuki squad. MPT Suzuki's Danny Eslick is also a rider to watch, a fast-rising Oklahoman now in his second full season of road racing.

Honda is not fielding a factory effort in the class, but San Francisco Bay Area's speedster Jeffrey Tigert could surprise a lot of people on his Pro Honda Oils-backed CBR600RR.

Qualifying for the Daytona Supersport race starts Wednesday (March 8) afternoon and the 22-lap final will take the green flag on Thursday, March 9 at 4:50 pm EST. It will be televised live on SPEED Channel.

Tickets for the Daytona Supersport are available at www.racetickets.com or by calling
1-800-PITSHOP.

WSBK Race Results Australia 2006

2006-03-05T17:33:00.000-05:00

Welcome to the World Superbike edition of Roadracer Podcast. Today is Sunday March 5, 2006, I am your host John Bunce.  In today’s special edition of Roadracer Podcast I am going to try some race commentary for the World Superbike race that was held over the weekend at Phillip Island Australia

Race 1

The start of the race had Troy Bayliss on a ducati, leading Troy Corser on a Suzuki and James Toseland on a Honda.  Bayliss had a great start and immediately began to run away from the other riders opening up the gap. Former Moto GP rider Alex Barros steadily moved up during the first few laps.

Corser and Barros traded position during the first 8 laps of the race, and passed Toseland on lap 8 to put him in 4th place.  On Lap 10, Italian Rider Iannuzzo crashed on his Suzuki  Lap 12 British rider Jones crashes on his Petronas FP1 after a small high side

By Lap 16, Corser and Barros were gaining on Bayliss by one second a lap.  You could see that Bayliss was having rear tire problem with his Pirelli control tires that are mandatory for World Superbike.

Lap 17, Karl Muggeridge on his Ten Kate Honda retires with rear tire problems.

At the start of Lap 18, Corser and Barros catch and pass Bayliss on the front straight.  Bayliss would continue to have tire problems and would end up finishing 6th.  Barros continued to try and get around Corser until the end.

And with that the race results:  Corser, Barros, Toseland, Haga, Rolfo and 6th place Bayless.

Race #2

Racer 1 winner Corser was on Pole for Race 2, but after the start Haga was leading with Race 1 winner Corser in 2nd, Toseland 3rd and Bayliss in 4th.  By the end of Lap 1, Toseland and Corser pass Haga and take the lead.

Lap 4 had race 1 winner Try Corser crash after high siding.  Alex Barros was close to the crash and ending up hitting Corser head with his Honda while Corser was laying on the ground.  Lap 8 Toseland and Bayliss take approximately a 5 second lead over the rest of the field.

Lap 10 had Karl Muggeridge and Lorenzo Lanzi crash out.  Lanzi high sided in front of Muggeridge bringing both riders down.

Lap 15 Bayliss takes the lead from Toseland and opened up a one second gap.  Lap 16 Alex Barros gets by Haga and moves into third place.  Bayliss is far enough ahead that he takes the win with a 5 second gap in front of Toseland.

The race results: Bayliss, Toseland, Barros, Haga, Pitt and Kagayama 6th

Catalunya MotoGP test Day three, Sunday March 5 2006

2006-03-05T13:25:00.000-05:00

CAPIROSSI & GIBERNAU FAST IN THE RAIN IN SPAIN

Ducati Marlboro Team rider Sete Gibernau recorded the fastest wet lap at Catalunya today, Loris Capirossi ending the day with the eighth fastest wet lap. Gibernau's performance was particularly impressive considering that this was his first wet-weather outing with his Desmosedici GP6 and Bridgestone tyres, though it came too late for the official timed session at 2pm. Gibernau and Capirossi ended that 40-minute outing 16th and 14th quickest but continued working on set-up afterwards, obtaining good results.

This afternoon's rain followed two days of dry weather during which Gibernau and Capirossi were able to continue set-up work. Next weekend's three-day team's test at Jerez is the final session of the winter before the 2006 MotoGP World Championship begins in earnest at Jerez on March 26.

LIVIO SUPPO, Ducati MotoGP project manager
"We've learned a lot here, both in the dry and the wet. In cold, dry conditions this morning and yesterday afternoon Loris and Sete had a good feeling and recorded fast lap times. This means our tyres have come on a huge amount since last year, so thanks to Bridgestone for all their efforts this winter. This afternoon Sete had his first ride with the bike and tyres in the rain and he ended the day with the fastest wet time, so we're happy with that. Now we have a more or less good knowledge of the GP6, so the goal at Jerez next weekend is to do some long runs, so we can give Bridgestone a good indication for the first race. We just hope the weather stays fine."

SETE GIBERNAU, 42 laps, 1m 44.098s (dry), 1m 56.355s (wet)
"We ended up fastest in the wet and that's what it's all about - working and keeping our heads down. It was good to have some rain because I've never ridden this bike or these tyres in the wet. We found a good base for the rain, so thanks to the team and to Bridgestone for doing a great job. We're all putting a lot of effort into this project and moving forward step by step. It keeps me motivated seeing us get better every time we go out. Now we just need to keep our motivation and concentration for the whole season, no matter what the results. At Jerez next week we just need to confirm everything we did here, keeping good consistency in the bike and the tyres because that's what we need."

LORIS CAPIROSSI, 40 laps, 1m 44.924s (dry), 1m 59.560s (wet)
"This hasn't been a fantastic weekend for me. On the first day we had some engine-braking problems, then yesterday, when track conditions were at their best, I was sick, and today it was wet and very cold. Anyway, we solved the engine-braking problems and worked well on the set-up. I only did a few laps yesterday and today but we're okay. We still need to fix the bike balance, which isn't easy in cold conditions. Overall, I'm very happy with the progress made by Bridgestone at this track, which is the most critical thing for us. This makes us confident for the first races and for the future. Now we deserve a nice and sunny weekend at Jerez, so we can work properly and get ready for the first race."

Temperatures: Ambient: 10 degrees. Track: 10 degrees

MIXED EMOTIONS FOR ALSTARE IN AUSTRALIA

2006-03-05T07:41:00.000-05:00

Mar 5, 2006

Team Suzuki Press Office – March 5, 2006.

Team Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra experienced practically every sort of
emotion in the second round of the Superbike World Championship at
Phillip Island today with Troy Corser causing most of the ups and
downs.

He won the first race after a tremendous battle with Troy Bayliss
(Ducati) and Alex Barros (Honda), then crashed out of the second race
while challenging for the lead.

In the opening race, Corser took the lead when Bayliss slowed because
of trashed tyres. Barros was right with him and proved to be more than
a handful in the closing stages, but Corser used his experience and
took the chequered flag by almost half a second.

Team mate Yukio Kagayama suffered clutch problems and was forced to
overshoot Honda hairpin and rejoined the track in 21st place. He
charged his way back up the field and managed 12th place before
running out of laps. Fabien Foret was 13th after the first lap, but
was forced to retire with a throttle problem after 10 laps.

The second race was another one of drama for the team, starting with
Corser's crash after three laps when he highsided just after Lukey
Heights. In the fall, he was hit by Barros' Honda and was lucky to
escape serious injury. The footpeg of the bike hit him just behind his
head and the rest of the bike struck his shoulder, elbow and hip. He
was taken to the Clinica Mobile but the X-Rays revealed no broken
bones. To make sure, Corser went to Melbourne hospital for a
precautionary check.

Kagayama was 12th at the end of lap one before getting stuck in a
group of riders. He had a difficult time getting through the pack but
he fought hard and grabbed sixth position at the flag.

Foret made a good start but had to run wide at the second turn to
avoid another rider which dropped him well down the order. He ended
18th after being caught up for the second part of the race with the
Yamahas of Shinichi Nakatomi and Sebastien Gimbert.

Troy Corser - Race 1: 1st, Race 2: DNF:

"Well that was a day and a half for sure. A fantastic win in the first
race and then a crash in the second! I knew Bayliss would not be able
to keep up that pace in the first race and that his tyres would not
last. I got caught in a group at the beginning and knew that I
couldn't hang around with them too long, so when James Toseland made a
little mistake and ran wide, I sneaked through. When I caught Bayliss,
I could see he was having problems, so it was no surprise when I
passed him - in fact he let me through. I then had a pretty good fight
with Barros, but held him off at the end. In race two, on the approach
to the turn after Lukey Heights, I lost the rear end suddenly and
highsided. I felt a thud on my back and knew I had been hit by a bike.
I went to a hospital in Melbourne for a check-up. I really don't know
why I crashed because the telemetry shows that I wasn't doing anything
different to the previous laps. But that's racing!"

Yukio Kagayama - Race 1: 12th, Race 2: 6th:

"Not such a good day I think. I had problems with the clutch in the
first race - similar to Qatar - and it was very difficult to ride the
bike. The feeling was not consistent and sometimes it worked ok and
sometimes it did not! I did my best to stay out and finished 12th. In
race two, my start was not perfect and that meant I had a lot to do in
the race. It is always hard to make a good result from the third row
of the grid, but if I had made a better start then I think I could've
challenged for a podium."

Fabien Foret - Race 1: DNF, Race 2: 18th:

"It was a bit of a disappointment for me today but it's all part of my
learning process in Superbikes, I guess. I really thought that I would
be able to score some points today, but the DNF in race one didn't
help. My throttle was not consistent at all - sometimes it would stay
open after I had shut it - so I had to pull in. I made a good start in
the second race, but had to run wide to avoid a rider who had made a
mistake and that cost me many places. Then I got caught up in a battle
with two Yamaha riders and that was that. I am looking forward to some
tests before the next race because I need to understand this bike more
than I do at the moment."

World Superbike Results:

Race 1: 1 Troy Corser (Aus-Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra) , 2 Barros
(Bra- Honda), 3 Toseland (GB-Honda), 4 Haga (J-Yamaha), 5 Rolfo
(I-Ducati), 6 Bayliss (Aus-Ducati), 7 Xaus (E-Ducati), 8 Nieto
(E-Kawasaki), 9 Pitt (Aus-Yamaha), 10 Walker (GB-Kawasaki). 12 Yukio
Kagayama (J- Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra). Fabien Foret (F-Alstare
Suzuki Corona Extra) DNF.

Race 2: 1 Bayliss, 2 Toseland, 3 Barros, 4 Haga, 5 Pitt, 6 Yukio
Kagayama (J-Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra), 7 Rolfo, 8 Xaus, 9 Nieto, 10
Walker. 19 Fabien Foret (F-Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra).

Points: 1 Bayliss 75, 2 Toseland 74, 3 Troy Corser (Aus-Alstare Suzuki
Corona Extra) 63, 4 Barros 55, 5 Pitt 45, 6 Haga 42, 7 Rolfo 32, 8
Fabrizio 25, 9 Xaus 24, 10 Nieto 19. 12 Yukio Kagayama (J-Alstare
Suzuki Corona Extra) 14.

Ducati Marlboro Team, Barcelona (Catalunya), Saturday 4 March 2006, Official MotoGP Test, Day 2

2006-03-04T16:17:00.000-05:00

Catalunya MotoGP test
Day two, Saturday March 4 2006

GIBERNAU IMPROVES, CAPIROSSI RECUPERATES

Ducati Marlboro Team riders Sete Gibernau and Loris Capirossi had very
different days at Catalunya today. While Gibernau was able to ride 82
laps and improve on his Friday best by 0.772s, Capirossi spent most of
the day recuperating from a nasty stomach virus.
In cloudy and slightly cooler conditions, Gibernau was happy with
progress, improving the consistency of his Desmosedici GP6 by careful
work on set-up and tyres. This allowed him to ride his fastest lap at
the end of the day when track conditions were past their best.
Capirossi only completed 15 laps after a sleepless night. Despite
severe stomach pains he did ride two outings, immediately improving
his best time by 0.672s and verifying the front-end geometry
adjustments made to his GP6. Test rider Vittoriano Guareschi focused
on engine braking to better understand yesterday's engine-braking
issues.

FILIPPO PREZIOSI, Ducati Corse director
"Loris wasn't able to do much today but he did try different front-end
geometry for more high-speed stability. My thanks to him for testing
even when he was sick. Sete meanwhile worked his way through many
different things. He tried different front-end geometry for more
stability and better front feel, plus different rear-shock settings,
different handlebars and, of course, different tyres. Most importantly
the bike is now more consistent on lap times. We solved our
engine-braking problems by going back to the set-up we used at the
previous test for Loris, while Sete was able to test some new software
which worked to his satisfaction. Loris will try this software
tomorrow when we also hope to continue our set-up work because we
still have a lot more things to try."

SETE GIBERNAU, 82 laps, 5th fastest, 1m 43.784s
"Today was a tough, tough day, very physically and mentally demanding
but it's been good. We went through a lot of stuff and I'd like to
thank the team and Bridgestone for giving 100 per cent and doing a
great job. We are still working hard on the bike, we've still a way to
go but we're definitely chipping away. We worked on geometry,
electronics, tyres, everything. We are making the whole package
better, more predictable, more consistent, and the tyres are giving me
more driveability now, which is the whole ballgame."

LORIS CAPIROSSI, 15 laps, 13th fastest, 1m 44.581s
"What a bad day. I didn't sleep all night, I was sick and had stomach
pains, probably because of a virus. This morning the Clinica Mobile
put me on a drip, but they advised me not to ride. Anyway, I wanted to
test the set-up changes we'd made. I did just two outings and that was
enough to realise we had taken the right direction because I faster
straight away, even though I'm sick. This is very important for
tomorrow. If the dry weather stays and I'm feeling better we will be
able to fully exploit our last day here."

Temperatures: Ambient: 19 degrees. Track: 20 degrees

All news and high-resolution photos are available at: www.ducaticorsepress.com

MLADIN OPENS TITLE DEFENSE AT DAYTONA

2006-03-04T05:58:00.000-05:00

MLADIN OPENS TITLE DEFENSE AT DAYTONA

The 30th Anniversary of the AMA Superbike Championship begins

PICKERINGTON, Ohio (March 3, 2006) -- Mat Mladin comes to Daytona Beach, Fla., to open his title defense as the 2006 AMA Superbike Championship presented by Parts Unlimited kicks off on March 11. Mladin, the No. 1 Yoshimura Suzuki rider who turns 34 the day before the race, has the opportunity to win his seventh AMA Superbike title this season. This year also marks the 30th anniversary of the launch of the AMA Superbike Championship. Daytona International Speedway hosted the very first race of the series on March 5, 1976. Motorcycle Hall of Famer Steve McLaughlin won that race on a BMW.

Mladin feels confident that he and his team are ready to capture yet another AMA Superbike Championship in 2006.

“We’ve had successful pre-season testing,” Mladin said. “Suzuki has given me a great motorcycle and I’m looking forward to the season. It’s always important to get through Daytona with a good number of points. That’s how I approach the race. If things come together and we have what it takes to go for the win, then that’s a bonus.”

Mladin heads up an impressive factory Suzuki lineup that includes up-and-coming Texan Ben Spies and hard-charging veteran Aaron Yates, from Georgia. Last year the factory Suzuki trio took three of the four top finishing spots at Daytona. This year the team would love nothing better than to sweep the podium.

Honda is placing more emphasis on the premier Superbike class this year. Like Mladin, Honda’s veteran Miguel Duhamel is a proven winner at Daytona. He feels the team has made major improvements since last year’s sub-par season.

“We have the help once again of HRC (Honda Racing Corporation) with our Superbike program,” Duhamel said. “Combine that with what American Honda learned developing the CBR1000RR last year and I think we have a winning combination. After Daytona, Superbike is the only class I’m concentrating on, so that focus on a single championship should be a benefit as well.”

Duhamel will compete in the Daytona 200 by Honda (the Lockhart Phillips USA Formula Xtreme opener), as well as the Daytona Superbike race but is slated to just race in the Superbike class after the season opener.

Jake Zemke is the other factory Honda entry in the AMA Superbike opener at Daytona. Zemke would love to earn his second-career AMA Superbike victory next weekend.
Kawasaki is back in the AMA Superbike fray with a factory effort featuring the brother combination of Tommy and Roger Lee Hayden. Kawasaki has a rich tradition at Daytona, winning three Daytona 200s in the 1990s with Scott Russell. It’s been 11 years since Team Green last stood atop the podium, but with the Haydens, Kawasaki has two of the fastest riders in all of AMA racing making the team a contender in spite of this being the first test for the new Kawasaki ZX10R Superbike.

Ducati has been a contender in the Daytona Superbike race nearly every year since 1976, but the Italian maker has only won the race one time – in 1977 with Cook Neilson. Once again in 2006 the team hopes to score the ever-elusive Daytona victory with either Neil Hodgson or Ben Bostrom. Both have extensive Superbike experience at both the World and national level. Hodgson is a former British and World Superbike champ, while Bostrom claimed the AMA Superbike title in 1998.

Jordan Suzuki has easily the strongest non-factory team entered in the Daytona Superbike race. Jason Pridmore, Steve Rapp and Jacob Holden are likely to race alongside the factory squads in the 70-kilometer race. Pridmore is the son of three-time AMA Superbike Champion Reg Pridmore and has a pair of AMA road racing titles to his own credit.

A number of privateer riders hope to find the speed to mix it up with the factory riders at Daytona. Former AMA Superbike winner Larry Pegram is chief among those. The Ohio racing veteran is slated to ride a Pegram Racing Honda in the Daytona Superbike contest. New Englander Eric Wood is another top privateer expected to be among the leaders on his Hooter’s Suzuki.

On March 11, SPEED will offer morning-to-evening coverage of Daytona Motorcycle Week racing. The day starts at 11 a.m. EST with flag-to-flag coverage of the 2006 AMA Superbike Championship Presented by Parts Unlimited season opener.

For ticket information visit www.daytonainternationalspeedway.com.

Episode 9

2006-03-03T13:14:00.000-05:00

Episode 9

Welcome to the Ninth episode of Roadracer Podcast, today is March 3, 2006, I am your host John Bunce. In today’s show I’ll have an interview with amateur and privateer racer Eric Sampson.

MPG News:

Show #1 is up and posted on our new web site, www.motorcyclepodcastgroup.com, we really had a good time and we talked about the SNELL helmet rating standard. Also we have a new forum for everyone to get involved with. The link is http://forum.motorcyclepodcastgroup.com, so be sure to go there and join.

Anthony Gobert:

Last episode I talked about Anthony Gobert and the recent talk about his past drug problem. Well Anthony has rebounded and secured a ride with a World Supersport ride on a Yamaha French-based GMT 94 squad. Gobert will be standing in for injured Spanish rider David Checa, aboard the all-new Yamaha YZF-R6. Gobert will compete in the first two rounds at Qatar (February 25) where he placed 12th out of 33 riders and the upcoming Australia Phillip Island on March 5. For more info on Gobert and WSBK racing go to http://www.worldsbk.com/

CMRA:

The central motorcycle racing association had it first race weekend at oak Hill Raceway in Henderson, Texas. Expert racer Ty Howard of Weatherford Texas made a great showing and came in first place for 5 expert races, the Sum of All Parts sponsored Superstock A class, Racing Performance Service sponsored Superstock B race, the Komodo Racing sponsored Superstock C race, Motorcycles Unlimited sponsored Superbike C and Pace American Trailers sponsored Formula 1 race. Howard was riding his Kawasaki ZX6 to victory in the five races.

Novice racer Danny Kelsey also did well and won 1st place in Novice Superstock A, B, Moto Liberty sponsored Superstock C, Superbike C and third place in the Winn Racing sponsored Formula 1 race. Kelsey was riding a Honda CBR600RR.

For more information on the CMRA go to http://www.cmraracing.com

Design a Race Helmet for Capriossi for 2006 USGP Race

Suomy and AirTrix are teaming up to offer a talented sportbike enthusiast a chance of a lifetime. Submit your concept for a custom paint job for the Suomy Spec-1R Extreme helmet to be worn by Ducati Marlboro's Loris Capirossi at the July 23 Red Bull USGP at Laguna Seca Raceway! The winning designer will:

Win an all-expenses paid trip to the 2006 Red Bull USGP.

Meet Loris Capirossi.

Have his or her design applied by AirTrix to Capirossi's race helmet.

Take the autographed Suomy helmet home after the race.

Feeling artistic? For more information on how to enter and download a helmet blank, log on to www.suomy-usa.com.

Harley Davidson 883 Sportster to return to Roadracing.

From a Press release from USCRA:
The United States Classic Racing Association, sponsored in part by the New England Harley Davidson Dealers Association, is pleased to announce the revival of the highly popular 883 road racing class exclusively designed for the American made Harley Davidson 883 XL Sportster. The 883 class, popular with both fans and riders alike in the mid 1990's, fell victim to tightening race schedules, declining race opportunities, and a cutback in sponsorship monies.
For 2006, the 883 Harley Davidson road racing class will be run in conjunction with all USCRA track events and be called American Twins. The 883 American Twins will be run as a championship class at all USCRA road-racing events in 2006. Strict rules for American Twins will limit the modifications allowed to the machines in order to keep the class affordable, fun and most importantly provide close racing for the riders and spectators. The USCRA feels that the 883 Harley Davidson has its roots firmly in the very unique, long and successful history of motorcycle competition enjoyed by Harley Davidson in America.

For additional American Twins information, class rules for 883 racing and USCRA schedule information visit the web site http://www.race-uscra.com/AmericanTwinsClass.html

WSBK News:

Final season for Foggy PETRONAS Racing

Kuala Lumpur / London: This year will be Foggy PETRONAS Racing team’s final season in the World Superbike Championship following the end of a five-year sponsorship deal with PETRONAS. Owned by four-time World Superbike champion Carl Fogarty, the Foggy PETRONAS Racing team was formed in 2002 and made its racing debut in the World Superbike Championship the following year at Valencia, Spain. PETRONAS’ partnership with Carl Fogarty came as a result of the limited edition production of the PETRONAS FP1 superbike, which is now available through NAZA Bikers Dream, the appointed distributor in Malaysia.

Lawyers Sponsoring an AMA team.

From Roadracing World: SARASOTA, FLORIDA (February 24, 2006) – The law firm of Czaia & Gallagher, PA today announced their official sponsorship of the motorcycle road racing team known as www.hurtbyaccident.com.

The team will compete in America’s most-famous motorcycle race on March 8-11, 2006 at Daytona International Speedway. The team will be captained by C.J. Czaia, who has selected Sarasota resident, veteran racer, and former Championship Cup Series of Florida and Formula USA class champion Robert Fisher to ride the team’s specially prepared Formula Xtreme Suzuki GSX-R600. Joining him will be Tampa resident and also former Championship Cup Series of Florida class champion John Linder, also riding a Suzuki GSX-R600. The team is currently preparing the motorcycles at Kinetic Motorsports in Hudson, Florida.

Cincinnati, Ohio—Clubracer.net, an online website dedicated to bringing amateur motorcycle racers together from all across the country, is playing host to several sponsorship opportunities for amateur and expert level club racers. Information on how to submit your application is located in the Sponsorship Section at Clubracer.net. The companies that are participating include Speedwerks.com, SVRaceShop.com, and AtomicSuperbikes.com. Benefits of being selected for sponsorship include but are not limited to deep discounts on parts, free apparel, and promotion on the Internet.
Clubracer.net went live back in October 2005. Since that time there have been 900 members join and over $2000 worth of products have been given away to the site’s members. It should also be mentioned that Clubracer.net is a place where those that desire to enter the race scene are welcome as well. There are some pretty distinguished members on the site with extensive race resumes that are more than willing to provide an inside look at what it takes to start and excel in the sport of motorcycle road-racing. Some of these members include David Podolski, Jeff Tigert, Chuck Ivey, and Aaron Clarkie, racers that have graced the top step of the podium on more than a few occasions.
Stay tuned in 2006, as Clubracer.net looks to increase membership, and help to grow the sport of motorcycle road racing across the United States.

From Roadracing World.com:
AMA Pro Racing has just released a Competition Bulletin announcing that for any motorcycle that comes “from the factory with adjustable swingarm pivots as part of the design of the chassis, the use of OEM or comparable aftermarket optional offsets is allowed” in all classes of the 2006 AMA Pro Racing Superbike Championship.

AMA Pro Racing made non-publicized (secret) approval of the use of optional inserts in swingarm pivots for the Kawasaki ZX-6RR in 2003, when the bike first came from the factory with that adjustment capability.

The issue was brought to the forefront during the 2005 season when Yamaha unsuccessfully protested the use of optional swingarm pivot inserts by Yoshimura Suzuki's Aaron Yates at the VIR round of the AMA series. But while it did not appear in the rulebook and was never announced, AMA Pro Racing's technical department had secretly approved use of optional swingarm pivot inserts for the 2005 Suzuki GSX-R1000 (which has that adjustment capability). Yates was the first rider to use the non-standard swingarm pivot offsets in AMA Superstock events, starting in May. Other Suzuki riders started using the optional pivot inserts in June while others--including Roadracingworld.com's Chris Ulrich--didn't know they were available and legal until August and never actually got to use them in a race.

With its recent re-organization, AMA Pro Racing has said it will end secret rulings and will improve communication with the paddock.

Ducati Catalunya MotoGP test

2006-03-03T13:12:00.000-05:00

Catalunya MotoGP test
Day one, Friday March 3 2006

DUCATI MARLBORO MEN GIVE GP6 FIRST EUROPEAN OUTING

Ducati Marlboro Team riders Sete Gibernau and Loris Capirossi gave the Desmosedici GP6 its first European outing at Catalunya today, continuing the good work so far completed in Australia and Malaysia.
In pleasantly mild conditions, with track temperature reaching 27 degrees this afternoon, the pair focused on engine-braking set-up and evaluating Bridgestone's latest tyres. Also on track here is test rider Vittoriano Guareschi and the Development Team. Gibernau, Capirossi and Guareschi continue testing here over the next two days and on Sunday take part in the officially timed practice session, the traditional hors d'oeuvre to the World Championship which commences at Jerez on March 26.

FILIPPO PREZIOSI, Ducati Corse director
"We're happy because Bridgestone have made good progress at this track. Today we did a lot of work on the engine-braking system, working with software, that's why Sete and Loris didn't get to ride any really fast laps. We hope the good weather continues over the next two days because today's conditions were better than we had expected for this time of year."

SETE GIBERNAU, 63 laps, 7th fastest, 1m 44.556s
"We've gone through a lot of stuff today, so we are more or less where I thought we'd be. Bridgestone have done a good job here, they've brought a lot of different tyres and we've found a good direction with both the front and the rear. As far as the bike goes, we're still working to create a good base set-up. Right now, we don't have one. We want to create a base here, confirm it during next week's Jerez tests, then keep it through the year. We ran into a few engine-braking problems today but the team did a good job finding their way out of that. We have a way to go, we've got to keep our heads down, but both Bridgestone and the Team are doing a good job."

LORIS CAPIROSSI, 71 laps, 14th fastest, 1m 45.253s
"Today we worked on a few things, we had to sort a small problem with the engine-braking, that's why we didn't go any quicker, because we were concentrating on fixing the engine-braking, rather than working on a bike set-up to that would give us faster lap times. It's never easy to find a good set-up but we still have two more days here, so I'm happy with what we've done so far. Bridgestone have done some good work. Their latest front tyre is a big improvement over what we had here last year. The front is good now and the rear is not so bad, they've done well."

Temperatures: Ambient: 19 degrees. Track: 27 degrees

All news and high-resolution photos are available at: www.ducaticorsepress.com

WSBK News, Team Suzuki

2006-03-03T06:14:00.000-05:00

Team Suzuki Press Office – March 3, 2006.

Team Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra rider Troy Corser posted the fourth quickest time of Friday World Superbike Qualifying at Phillip Island in Australia despite clutch and grip problems.

The high temperatures in the afternoon caused grip problems for many riders, but series leader Troy Bayliss (Ducati) overcame them to set the day's fastest lap, with a time of 1:33.387. Second quickest is Brazilian Alex Barros (Honda), with James Toseland (Honda) third.

Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra rider Yukio Kagayama also suffered with lack of grip and ended fifth fastest overall. Fabien Foret had problems with his bike set-up and finished 23rd fastest.

Troy Corser - 4th, 1:33.868:

"Today, and especially this afternoon, I had some problems with grip and also the clutch. The grip problems may have been to do with the high track temperature in the afternoon but I was just not entirely happy. The inconsistency of the clutch probably caused my little get-off - at Honda corner. The bike's clutch didn't seem quite right on the approach to the turn and then the bike just tucked under as I went in. It's a slow corner and I wasn’t hurt at all, but it's a bit of a worry if the clutch is going to continue to be inconsistent. It's a new clutch for this year, but it worked perfectly well in the four day test at Phillip Island earlier in the year, so we are a bit of a loss to understand why it is playing up now. Either way, we will have to solve the problem soon or it will become a nuisance."

Yukio Kagayama - 5th, 1:34.461:

"I also had some grip problems today and I think it was probably because of the heat and also some parts of the track were a bit dirty. The top section of the track was probably worse than the rest, but it is the same situation for all riders, so I must do better. There was quite a bit of traffic out there in qualifying but I did my best lap when I had other riders nearby. I used a very similar setting to when we tested here, but the bike didn't feel the same at all! For tomorrow we will change the front end set-up and see if we can improve. I tried some different sets of clutches today and found two that worked ok, so I am keeping them for the race on Sunday!"

Fabien Foret - 23rd, 1:35.917:

"Today was not so good and I am not so happy. I did more or less the same lap times in the afternoon as I did in the morning and of course I should have improved quite a bit! At the moment, I think it is the front end that is giving us problems, so we will look at the data and see what changes should be made. I hope that we find a good solution so that I can improve my lap times a lot - I need to be much higher up the order. "

Friday WSB Qualifying:

1 Bayliss (Aus-Ducati) 1:33.387,
2 Barros (Bra-Honda) 1:33.790,
3 Toseland (GB-Honda) 1:33.851,
4 Troy Corser (Aus-Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra) 1:33.868,
5 Yukio Kagayama (J-Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra) 1:34.461,
6 Martin (Aus-Petronas) 1:34.501,
7 Haga (J-Yamaha) 1:34.577,
8 Walker (GB-Kawasaki) 1:34.589,
9 Chili (I-Honda) 1:34.601,
10 Nieto (E-Kawasaki) 1:34.618,
23 Fabien Foret (F-Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra) 1:35.917.

AMA Press Release

2006-03-03T03:32:00.000-05:00

DUHAMEL LOOKS TO SET NEW DAYTONA 200 BY HONDA RECORD

PICKERINGTON, Ohio (March 2, 2006) -- Miguel Duhamel comes to the 65th running of the Daytona 200 by Honda, the opening round of the AMA Lockhart Phillips USA Formula Xtreme Series in Daytona Beach, Fla., on Saturday, March 11, with a major milestone in his grasp. If the 37-year-old Montreal native, who now calls Las Vegas home, wins the prestigious 200-mile motorcycle road race he will become the first six-time winner in the storied history of the race, which first ran in 1937.

Duhamel heads up an impressive list of talented racers who will take to Daytona International Speedway’s motorcycle road course. Duhamel tied the legendary Scott Russell with his fifth victory in the 200 last March. He again has the powerful Honda factory team behind him, but is set to face a deeper field than he conquered a year ago. In addition to Honda’s strong effort, both Yamaha and Buell will field factory or factory-supported squads in this year’s 200.

Duhamel has an amazing record in the Daytona 200. He won the race in his first attempt in 1991 as a replacement rider on the Commonwealth Honda squad. He was victorious again in 1996, 1999, 2003 and 2005. He is just happy to have the opportunity to break the record for most Daytona 200 wins.

“I was really honored to tie Scott’s record last year,” said Duhamel, the two-time and defending champion of the Lockhart-Phillips USA Formula Xtreme Series. “It would be great for sure to be the first to win the sixth. Honda has really stepped up with the new CBR600RR and I have the best team in racing so I have a lot of things going in my favor.”

Duhamel will not only have to overcome serious efforts from Yamaha and Buell in this year’s 200 miler, he’ll also have his own Honda teammates to worry about. Jake Zemke will join Duhamel on the other factory Honda machine, while Josh Hayes and Aaron Gobert will race factory-backed Erion Hondas.

On facing the tough competition this season Duhamel joked, “I’ve got to be honest – if they would let me be the only one in the race that would be sweet,” he said. “But there’s no doubt that this year’s 200 is going to be a terrific one for the fans. It’s going to be a really closely contested and tough race.”

Yamaha is bringing in the big guns back to the 200 this year in the form of Eric Bostrom and Jason DiSalvo. Yamaha has won more Daytona 200s than any other manufacturer, but the maker’s last victory in the race came in 1998. With Bostrom and DiSalvo Yamaha has a strong pair of contenders.

Four Buell dealer teams are entered in this year’s Daytona 200. Buell is hoping to put an American-made motorcycle atop the Daytona 200 podium for the first time since Cal Rayborn won on a Harley-Davidson in 1969. Perhaps as surprising as Buell’s entry in this year’s 200 is the fact that former MotoGP star Jeremy McWilliams is slated to ride with the Warr's London Harley-Davidson/Buell of London team. The 41-year-old Irishman is one of the biggest international riders to compete at Daytona for a number of years and interest is high among American racing fans to watch such a highly respected rider such as McWilliams racing against many of the leading AMA stars.

Buell’s other big name rider is former AMA Supersport and reigning Canadian Pro 600 Sport Bike champion Steve Crevier. He will ride a Deeley Harley-Davidson/Buell Canada of Vancouver entry.

Floridian Mike Ciccotto will race the 200 on a Hal's Harley-Davidson/Buell.

Suzuki’s brightest hopes to win the 200 this year will be on the shoulders of Floridian racing veteran Michael Barnes, of Boca Raton and Oklahoman flat tracker turned road racer Danny Eslick. Barnes will race on a M4/EMGO Suzuki. He scored two podium finishes for the team in last year’s Formula Xtreme Series. Eslick, who rides for Matsushima Performance Suzuki, came out of nowhere to finish a surprising fourth in last year’s 200.

The Daytona 200 will again feature a number of international entries. In addition to the aforementioned McWilliams, fellow Northern Ireland native Alastair Seeley will race a Team Celtic Yamaha. Rob Frost riding for Chris Dowd Racing Kawasaki and Stu Wilson of the Crewe Van Centre Yamaha team are coming over from the United Kingdom. Slovenia is represented by Bostjan Pintar, Bostjan Skubic and Dejan Senk riding for Inotherm Honda and German Rico Penzkofer is entered for Buell Hannover.

SPEED’s live coverage of the 65th Daytona 200 by Honda featuring the AMA Lockhart-Phillips USA Formula Xtreme Series will take the green flag starting at 1:30 p.m. EST on Saturday, March 11.

For tickets visit www.daytonainternationalspeedway.com.

Join the Motorcycle Podcast Group Forum

2006-02-26T03:46:00.000-05:00

We put together a Motorcycle Podcast Group Forum for everyone to get involved in talking motorcycles!! So be sure and check it out at the MPG Forum here.

New Logo

2006-02-23T20:31:00.000-05:00

This is my New Logo. Hope everyone likes it!! Oh ya, its me....

Web Page Problems

2006-02-22T10:17:00.000-05:00

Web Page Problems

Some of you might have seen my “Coming Soon” web page for about a day. I purchased a web page from godaddy.com and it screwed up the forwarding to my Blogger page. I am working on a proper web page for the show, so look for my new web page in the future.

Episode 8

2006-02-19T20:50:00.000-05:00

Episode 8

I’ll be doing an interview with Wayne Wilder of Komodo Gear, looking for ideas of what to you want me to ask Wayne Wilder about Komodo Gear, previous interview on Motocast, where you can go to enter a free gear giveaway, a pair of  boots and a pair of gloves.  Just answer three simple questions after listening to the interview with Wayne Wilder

Listener survey on web site, Please go to my web site and take a listener survey, its anonymous and it will help with getting some advertisers for the web site.

Frapper Map, need more pins, we are up to 22 pins and going strong.

Keep the email coming.  I have received some great suggestions for future shows.

I have been signing up for press releases from the various sites, manufactures, teams and the AMA.  So my news and insider info should be getting better for the future shows.

Advertisers:  I am looking for some advertisers for the show.  I have a media Kit available for companies to look over.  If you are interested send me an email at roadracerpodcast@gmail.com and I’ll get it out to you.  As everyone knows, the Podcasting world has been growing quickly and it’s a new medium for advertisers to get
involved in.

MPG:

The Motorcycle Podcast Group has finished another round wheel discussion and I have been tasked with editing the show together.  We had a special guest Ray from Kneedraggin.net who talked about the Snell Helmet standard and a recent Motor cyclist helmet test on a recent show of his.  So we asked him to come and talk with us.  The show should be up sometime this week.  Additionally we have a new MPG web site up and running.  Bob Hayes and Prubert have both put in a lot of work and it really looks good.  You can got there to down load the show and subscribe to it thru iTunes.

Buell news:

I reported last episode that two time Canadian superbike champion Pascal Picotte was going to be riding a Buell XBRR in the Dayton 200 for Trev Deeley Motorcycles, but his sponsor Yamaha Canada did not like that he was riding another brand, so it was reported that Picotte was replaced by 2005 Canadian 600cc Sport Bike Champion Steve Crevier.
Source: Roadracing World.

Additonally from an AMA press release:
AMA PRO RACING CONFIRMS BUELL FORMULA XTREME ELIGIBILITY
PICKERINGTON, Ohio (February 10, 2006) – AMA Pro Racing confirmed today that the Buell XBRR motorcycle, the race-kitted variant of the road-going XB12R, is eligible for competition in the AMA Formula Xtreme Series.
In making the announcement AMA Pro Racing Director of Competition, Merrill Vanderslice noted that AMA Pro Racing technical personnel have inspected the motorcycle and it was determined that Buell has met the requirements for the XBRR to be eligible for AMA Formula Xtreme.
“By design, Formula Xtreme rules are the most liberal of all the classes within the AMA Superbike Championship,” stated Vanderslice. “The class was created with broad equipment parameters and air-cooled V-twins are afforded the most latitude. Buell has based this motorcycle on its XB12R street bike and the modifications made are within the rules allowed in the class.”
Vanderslice acknowledged that a press release distributed by Buell to announce the motorcycle may have created some confusion as to the bike’s eligibility.
“Regardless of the wording in the release, the bottom line is that Buell has produced a racetrack version of an existing street motorcycle and modified it within the rules,” he noted. “We were aware of Buell’s plans and inspected the motorcycle on Friday, Feb. 3 as part of the approval process.
“The intent of the Formula Xtreme class is to include a diverse group of motorcycles, and we welcome Buell’s increased participation in AMA championship racing. We are confident the company’s inclusion will enhance the sport of motorcycle road racing.
Anthony Gobert:

It was reported that Anthony Gobert was having a Heroin Problem and was stopped and arrest for various traffic violations.  It was also reported that when Anthony was stopped for his traffic violation he was out seeking heroin.  Anthony was convicted and sentenced to 300 hours community service and his drivers license was suspended until 2010.

There have been various accusations that Gobert was racing high and the web was full of postings about his problem and even his mother posted on the web.  I posed a copy of the email from Anthony’s mother on my web site for everyone to read.

Via e-mail:Hi. I have read your article about Anthony. I would be grateful if you could make it clear that the addiction is completely gone and Anthony has been clean for a long time.The court case was adjourned last year a few times and so for the article to give the impression that it is a current thing is very misleading. I understand that you have not in any way embellished the facts but you were not given the full facts. The newspaper article in Australia was also very misleading and did not state the full facts. It also selectively printed only part of the whole storey. The reason why Anthony received such a minor penalty is that the judge could see that Anthony had taken steps to help himself and was no longer an addict. He has in fact been clean for a long time.Some jealous person over here has gotten hold of the article and has sent it to every journalist and motorcycle person all over the world and this in itself is very sad that someone could be so hateful as to try to sabotage another person.Thank you,Sue Gobert (Note: Sue Gobert is Anthony Gobert's mother and manager.)

Source: Roadracing World

USGPRU

I just finished an interview with the president of the USGPRU Stewart Atkin-Cade and East Coast Rep Dennis Woods.  It’s a series for 125cc and 250cc bikes.  They have announced that they are raffling off a brand new Honda RS125 GP race bike at the USGPRU National Championship Final race at Miller Motorsports Park in Salt Lake City, Utah on October 21, 2006.  For more information I have a link on my web site to the USGPRU.

Dayton 200 Coverage:

Speed TV is having over 8 hours of coverage of the Dayton 200 beginning on March 9th to March 12th.  So set your TIVO’s and DVR’s if you can’t see it live.  Additionally, if anyone is going to the Dayton 200 and would be willing to call me for an interview

From a press release from the AMA:
DAYTONA 2006 FEATURES A FULL PLATE OF TELEVISION COVERAGE
SPEED features 8 hours of live coverage
PICKERINGTON, Ohio (February 10, 2006) – Fans of AMA championship motorcycle racing will get their fill of action in March when SPEED fires up 12 hours of race coverage from Daytona Beach, including eight hours of live coverage, culminating with the broadcast of the 65th running of the Daytona 200 by Honda, the opening round of the AMA Lockhart-Phillips USA Formula Xtreme Series.
SPEED’s coverage kicks off March 9 from 2:30 to 6 p.m. ET, including coverage of the AMA Supersport and Superstock season openers as well as Daytona 200 and AMA Superbike qualifying. Last year, Yoshimura Suzuki's Mat Mladin turned the fastest lap ever on the newly configured, 2.95-mile Daytona International Speedway. Repeat coverage of the Supersport and Superstock races will air at 11 p.m. ET on March 9 and again at 12 p.m. ET, March 10.
On March 10, the Amp’d Mobile AMA Supercross Series takes center stage with primetime same-day coverage starting at 9:30 p.m. ET. The “Big Three” of Ricky Carmichael, Chad Reed and James Stewart will bring their season-long battle to one of the premier events on the AMA Supercross schedule, featuring the longest and most exhausting track in the series.
On March 11, SPEED will offer morning-to-evening coverage of Daytona Bike Week racing. The day starts at 11 a.m. ET with flag-to-flag coverage of the 2006 AMA Superbike Championship Presented by Parts Unlimited season opener. Defending champ Mat Mladin will begin his quest to win a record seventh AMA Superbike title. This year, Mladin will face an even deeper field of competitors, including the returning factory Kawasaki squad led by brothers Tommy and Roger Lee Hayden.(image placeholder)
Fans of the AMA Ford Quality Checked Flat Track Championship won’t be left out either. After the Daytona Superbike race, SPEED will present Thursday night’s Flat Track season opener from Daytona’s Municipal Stadium. Chris Carr is hoping to close in this year on some of Scott Parker’s AMA Grand National records.
Live coverage of the 65th Daytona 200 by Honda featuring the AMA Lockhart-Phillips USA Formula Xtreme Series will take the green flag starting at 1:30 p.m. ET on Saturday, March 11. This year defending Daytona 200 winner Miguel Duhamel will face a strong field of competitors as he tries to become the first six-time winner of the prestigious race.
“AMA Pro Racing is thrilled to again be working with SPEED for the 2006 racing season and these 3 days in March - with 12 hours of programming, is a great rollout for another fantastic season of coverage for fans of AMA racing,” said AMA Pro Racing’s Vice-President of Commercial Development John C. Farris, Jr. “The Daytona Bike Week tradition gathers the entire AMA racing community and it is great to have SPEED bringing it to life for the fans that aren’t able to attend the events,” added Farris.
Veteran broadcasters Ralph Sheheen, who is also announcing the entire Amp’d Mobile AMA Supercross Series on SPEED, and Brian Drebber will provide play by play alongside expert color analysis from former Daytona winner Freddie Spencer. 2 Wheel Tuesday’s host Greg White will be reporting from the pits with help from racer Jason Pridmore during the Daytona 200.
For additional information on all the Daytona AMA Pro Racing TV programming go to www.speedtv.com or www.amaproracing.com.
2005 Suzuki GSXR Cup
The 2005 Suzuki GSXR cup will be aired on Fox Sports Net, I put a link in the show notes to the local listings.

http://www.roadracingworld.com/news/article/?article=25031

Jessica Zaluski

I did an interview with Jessica Zalusky back in episode 4, we talked about her injury she got while racing at VIR.  Jessica will be riding again in t Racing two Save Lives event.  The 2006 event will be held at Miller Motorsports Park in Tooele, Utah. It will run 9am -6pm from April 13th to April 16th and will allow riders/racers from across the country to contribute to a great cause, while riding an AMA roadracing venue.
Racing 2 Save Lives is a 501c3 non-profit organization dedicated to supporting children's charities by raising awareness, involvement, and capital within the motorcycle racing community through donations, corporate sponsorship and fundraising events. All profits generated by Racing 2 Save Lives are distributed among carefully selected organizations that have a significant impact on the lives of children-in-need, and their families.For more information, please visit www.racing2savelives.org.
Endurance Racing:

Last episode I talked about the FIM endurance racing series and here is a press release from MV Agusta, a classic Italian motorcycle company.:

From MV AgustaItalian manufacturer MV Agusta will also be represented in the World Endurance Championship again this year, with a team run by Davide (brother of Alex) Capirossi’s Riding School. The Racing4Life squad will be run in conjunction with Ayrton Senna foundation. Their MV Agusta 1000F4 Senna (of course) will be ridden by Davide Capirossi, Andrea Artusi and 90’s Grand Prix star Fausto Ricci.The first round of the World Endurance Championship will be held at Assen, Netherlands, on Easter Monday, the 17th of April, with the Le Mans 24 Hour race held a week later on the 22nd and 23rd of April.

New American Motorcycle Company
Fischer Motor Company has opened an assembly plant in the Eastern Shore region of Maryland to build the company’s new motorcycle, the Fischer MRX. Scheduled to begin deliveries to dealers in May, the MRX is a 650cc, liquid-cooled, V-twin sport motorcycle designed by Glynn Kerr and based on his MRX Concept shown 2 years ago at the Indianapolis Dealer Expo. Glynn Kerr is the President of the Motorcycle Design Association, and widely considered one of the world’s top designers. Look for more information on the Fischer MRX, including updates, pictures, and specifications to be added soon at www.fischer1.com .
Hotbodies Racing:
Famous both for their performance-bike accessories and support of motorcycle road racing world wide, Hotbodies Racing has signed up to Sponsor Team Kenny Roberts’ MotoGP program in 2006. In celebration of partnering with Team KR the Hotbodies Racing booth at the Indy Dealer Show will have one of the team’s MotoGP bikes on display for photo opportunities for all attendees.Hotbodies Racing specializes in manufacturing performance parts for performance bikes. Hotbodies Racing is the design leader in Undertails, Undertail Exhausts, Windscreens, Flush-Mount Signals, Huggers and full-race Bodywork. Hotbodies Racing supports the sport with sponsorship and its own in-house race team, and encourages dealer inquiries. For more information visit: www.hotbodiesracing.com.
Yamaha Offers to buy back the R6:

Yamaha motor company has offered to buy back the new 2006 R6 from customers.  Yamaha sent a letter to new R6 owners stating the the 2006 production run of R6’s does not reach the 17,500 rpm red line only 16,000 rpm.  They have offered to purchase back any R6 from a customer that wants to return the bike, to include all associated costs, taxes, fees etc.  They have until March 15th to respond to the letter.

Free Stuff!!

2006-02-09T15:45:00.000-05:00

Free Stuff for the Listeners!

Motocast, a member of the Motorcycle Podcast Group, announces free stuff for their listeners! Prubert, Nate and Dr. Dave are giving away free boots and a back protector from Komodo. Just download their most recent episode of Motocast and answer three simple questions and you could be a winner. For more information on the contest, and to see pictures of the prizes, go to the Motocast web site and for more information on Komodo and their products go to the Komodo web site

Episode 7

2006-02-07T18:06:00.000-05:00

Episode 7

Intro: In the 7th episode of roadracer podcast, News, an interview with 2005 AMA Supermoto Champion Jurgen Kunzel and amateur01 racer Athena Detlefs.

Opening:

Welcome to the Seventh episode of Roadracer Podcast, I am your host John Bunce. That commentary was from the 1979 British Grand Prix.  It was a three way battle between Will Hartove, Barry Sheen and Kenny Roberts.  You can purchase the Barry Sheen Story on DVD from a great british magfaizine called Two Wheels Only, http://www.two.tv/.  The magazine is about 10 dollars an issue at Borders Books, but well worth it.  The promo DVD was included in an issue of the magazine for free back in March 2004

MPG

New motorcycle podcast group web page is up and running, www.motorcyclepodcastgroup.com, and we have out first show up, show #0.  The sound quality is all over the place with volume issues, but we are working that out and it will get better in the future.  You can find the RSS feed on the MPG web page.  We even have our own email address, MPG@motorcyclepodcastgroup.com.  So if you want to send us an email, leave your comments, or show ideas, send us an email.

2005 AMA Supermoto Champion Jurgen Kunzel:  I played a promo from Supermoto Podcast out of Germany a few episodes ago.  I talked with the host Christian Queens and he was interviewing the 2005 AMA Supermoto Champion and the German Supermoto Champion Jurgen Kunzel.  They did their interview in German but he said that I could send in a few questions and he would ask Jurgen in English for me.  I screwed up one of the questions and said Las Vegas instead of Reno, but they made fun of me and figured it out in the end.  So here is the interview.

Were back.  If you would can you send an email to the host of Supermoto Podcast, Christian and thank him for the interview.  I’ll put a link on the web site. Email Christian here, c.queens@noa-marketing.de

Listener Email:

I have been receiving interviews about music in the Podcast and I have a poll up on the web site.  But I think I am leaning towards just one song at the end of the Podcast.

News:

Last episode I talked to Jimmy McDowell a WERA racer and he talked about riding with 15 year old racer Josh Herrin.  Well Josh was picked up by Graves Yamaha, but will not be eligible to race in the AMA until he turns 16 in May.  So he’ll race in the WERA national series until May 23 when he turns 16.

Max Biaggi: I talked about Max going to WSBK for Suzuki, but the Alstare Corona Suzuki Team announced its rider line up for 2006 and he’s not with them.  I’ll keep an eye on him and get you some updates when I hear anything.

Buell Race bike: Very exciting news about Buell.  There are 4 Buell XBRR race bikes in the Daytona 200 in March.  They will be backed buy dealer based teams from four different countries.

Hal’s Performance Advantage Buell from the USA, Hannover (Germany) Buell team, Warr’s Harley-Davidson/Buell of London (England), and Trev Deeley Motorcycles, of Vancouver, Canada

The four teams are expected to test the XBRR race bikes at Texas Motor speedway this month.

http://www.buell.com/en_us/mania/racing/xbrr.asp

All the XBRR race bikes have been sold out and are no longer available for purchase.

Ducati Contingency Program: Ducati North America announced a 1 million dollar contingency program.  It covers 180 races and includes WERA events for 2006.  Additionally Ducati is offering a special race only SS1000 race bike for sale at a reduced price of $7,999.

Technical Details:These motorcycles are almost identical to Model Year 2005 SS1000F. In order to be brought into the United States for “Racing Purposes Only” the following components have been removed: Front Headlamp, Rear Tail Light, Mirror, Turn Signals. “Competition Only” stickers are prominently placed on the bikes as well. The bodywork is stock, so there will be holes where the components have been removed. For most racing organizations, the bodywork would need to be replaced with enclosed belly pan bodywork in order to be used on the track. Colors available are red and yellow.

WSBKPod: There is a new Podcast about the World Super Bike championship, hosted by Alan Fleming and is available thru iTunes.  Sounds good, so check it out.

Motorcycle Endurance Racing:
Full Calendar: The 2006 World Endurance Championship calendar sees the return to the championship of the classic Le Mans 24 Hour and Bol d'Or 24 Hour races after an absence of four years. Together with the now well established Oschersleben 24 Hour race, the three middle distance events at Albacete, Zolder and Suzuka and the season opening Assen 500km sprint, the addition of the two classic 24 hour events means that the endurance season stretches to almost one hundred hours of racing. The full calendar is as follows:
April 17: Assen 500km Netherlands
April 22/23: Le Mans 24 Hours France
May 20: Albacete 8 Hours Spain
June 18: Zolder 6 Hours Belgium
July 30: Suzuka 8 Hours Japan
August 12/13: Oschersleben 24 Hours Germany
September 16/17: Bol d'Or 24 Hours (Magny Cours) – France

For more information go to http://www.fgsport.com/

2006 USGP Tickets.

2006 MotoGP Laguna Secca, tickets available for 2006 race.  Steve Jones is selling tickets in the private luxury Trophy section.  They aren't cheap about $1200 per seat.  He's got extra seat because he bought a block of them for friends and some of them backed out so he is stuck with them.  There's a link on my web site http://stevejones.cc/suite

Be sure to tell him that you heard it through Roadracer Podcast

Athena Detlefs

Lets play my interview with Athena Detlefs.  First I want to apologize for the pour sound quality and my heavy breathing, the mic was too close.  I started off welcoming her and asking her to tell us a little about herself.

Wrap Up:

Send me your emails to roadracerpodcast@gmail.com and your voice mails through Skype to my id of roadracerpodcast
Add a pin to my Frapper map and don’t forget the round table discussion at Motorcycle Podcast Group.

Motorcycle Podcast Group Round Table Discussion

2006-02-06T15:24:00.000-05:00

Show #0 is up and running. You can either download the show directly here and you can subscribe to the RSS feed here. Just copy the link into your iTunes and enjoy the first show!

Here's the web site, MPG.

Music in Podcast?

2006-01-31T15:45:00.000-05:00

I have received an email saying to "stop with the music", so I have added a poll to the web page for everyone to take. Just scroll down a bit and vote. I'll let it run for 7 days. Thanks....

Episode 6

2006-01-30T21:56:00.000-05:00

Download Episode 6

Intro: In the 6th episode of Roadracer Podcast, The Buell XBRR race bike, Racing in the rain and an interview with WERA racer Jimmy McDowell.

INTRO motorcycle/music:

(21 SECONDS MUSIC INTRO)here we go again, another episode of Roadracer Podcast, with music brought to you by the Podsafe Music Network. It’s Monday, a new week, lets get it started right with music from The Cool Waters, No use denying

MUSIC: The Cool Waters, No Use Denying, www.coolwatersband.com.

Opening:

Welcome to the Sixth episode of Roadracer Podcast, I am your host John Bunce. A very exciting episode today. That was a few sound bites from Valentino Rossi from the DVD Faster, which is about Moto GP racing. My web site has a link to the movie thru Amazon to purchase, If you haven't seen it you are missing out.

Please send me voice messages on my Skype account. You can download Skype from a link on my web page, it’s free. My id for Skype is roadracerpodcast

There's survey on my site, please go and take the survey, its anonymous and I am trying to get some demographic info on the listeners.

Frapper map, go to the map and put in a pin

Book recommendation: Amazon sponsored book, motorcycle track day book, check out my web page for the link to the book. Here’s the description from Amazon...many people who want to ride on racetracks don't attend track days because they don't know how to prepare themselves or their motorcycles for the racetrack. This book will provide tell them everything they need to know to hit the racetrack: how to prepare their motorcycles, how to find organizations that sponsor track days, where to attend track days, information on track schools around the country, and much, much more.

I sent an email off to the book publisher for an interview request of the author, so we will see where that goes.

One of my co-workers Jeff found out that I podcast and now he's screwing with me. Not in a bad way but a good way. He gave me some feedback and he requests that I swear more.....so jeff...go fuck yourself...

For f1 news go to F1weekly.com, just as exciting as motorcycle racing to watch. We agreed to exchange promo's so here's there promo.

MPG

New motorcycle podcast group web page is up and running, www.motorcyclepodcastgroup.com, we have recorded a round table discussion and its going to be up and running soon with its own separate RSS feed. I put a link to the new motorcycle podcast group web page. But the best part is that we all have our separate links on that web page. We even have our own email address, MPG@motorcyclepodcastgroup.com. So if you want to send us an email, leave your comments, or show ideas, send us an email

Listener Email:

Email from Chris Medower, wants more on my race bike and what mods I have done, he has a 1997 gsxr 600, which is the same as my 1999. So I'm going to put together something for future shows. I'll talk about my Shock and fork springs, safety wiring, and race bodywork.

Alexey Zinger, put a pin in my frapper map and I sent him an email. So he wrote back and we are going to set up and interview. He's raced on the east and west coast, so I want to get some prospective on the track differences.

Buell Race bike:

Buell announced a new race bike for the Formula Extreme series in the AMA. They made 50 of them and are already sold out at over $30,000 each. Its powered by a 1340cc v-twin engine, making 150 horse power and 100 pounds of torque. Chain drive and you can chain sprockets. The initial shipment of the bikes is supposed to start in February.

This is a quote from there press release “the XBRR is poised to change the face of privateer racing with a professional-level, race-ready, production-based platform featuring top-shelf racing technology and typical Buell innovation.”

http://www.buell.com/en_us/mania/racing/racingnewsdetail.asp?news_id=783

A 30 thousand privateer race bike? I don't know many privateer racers that can afford that price. Most spend about 50 thousand on a full year racing and thats over 3/5th of their whole budge for the race year, just on a bike, not counting parts and spares for crashes.

But its good to see a major manufacture with backing from Harley Davidson, who have a ton of money trying to compete with the Japanese.

Can it compete for 2006,in 2005 Honda took parts out of there FX bike for reliability, but can put back in if other manufactures try to compete. If the Buell can make the bike competitive for 2006 that would be great for the Xtreme series that was dominated by Honda in 2005. Buell also announced a Contingency program for 2006. For more information checkout roadracerpodcast.com for the links to the Buell race site.

http://www.buell.com/en_us/mania/racing/xbrr.asp

2006 USGP Tickets.

2006 MotoGP Laguna Secca, tickets available for 2006 race. Steve Jones is selling tickets in the private luxury Trophy section. They aren't cheap about $1200 per seat. He's got extra seat because he bought a block of them for friends and some of them backed out so he is stuck with them. There's a link on my web site http://stevejones.cc/suite

Be sure to tell him that you heard it through Roadracer Podcast

Lets take a quick break and I'll be right back.
MPG Promo's Play promos from MotoGPod, Motocast and V-Twin Journal

Jimmy Mcdowell Interview:

Lets play my interview with WERA racer Jimmy McDowell.

PLAY INTERVIEW HERE

Welcome back, lets get into wet weather riding.

Wet weather riding:

I want to talk about wet weather racing and riding. I found this great article in the British motorcycle magazine BIKE, which is the best selling British motorcycle magazine.

The test:
They took a GSXR 1000, with Michelin Road Pilot tires and put it through the paces on a closed course. They attached sensors to the bike and took measurements. They answered three questions and here are the results.

How hard can you brake in the wet?

For this test they tested braking in the dry from 164 mph in a straight line into a corner. In the dry the rider entered the corner at 68 mph, loosing 95 mph of speed in 400 meters.

In the wet the rider brakes from a top speed of 149 mph in the same 400 meters and sheds 93 mph to enter the corner at 55 mph.

He looses a similar amount of speed in the both conditions, but is actually braking slightly harder in the wet, at a lower speed.

Conclusion: They concluded that it is possible to brake as hard in the wet as you can in the dry, or more specifically you can achieve the same rate of deceleration in bot the wet and dry. During the test the rider was braking hard in the wet that he was lifting the rear tire. The harder you brake the more grip you have as the front suspension compresses, although you can reach the limit of braking faster in the wet and lock up the front tire. It is important to finish your braking while in a straight line and apply the brakes gradually. Trail braking should be avoided, unless you are an experienced rider.

How far can you lean in the wet?

For this test they looked at a double apex corner and the lean angles and speeds for each section.

In the dry the riders max speed and lean angle in the first apex was 34 degrees and 68 mph, in the second apex he is at 42 degrees and 44 mph.

In the wet the first corner was 22 degrees at 55 mph and the second apex was 32 degrees at 33 mph.

What does this mean? The angle in the wet was 10 to 12 degrees less than in the dry and equates to a 20 percent drop in speed.

How hard can you accelerate in the wet?

They tested exit speed from the corner that I talked about in the previous question.

In the dry he can exit the corner at 44 mph and reach a top speed of 92 mph in 127 meters. He goes from a maximum lean angle of 42 degrees to fully upright in approximately the same distance.

In the wet the rider goes from 32 degrees lean angle at 33 mph to a top speed of 80 mph in 140 meters, but gets the bike upright in 127 meters

Conclusion: If the conditions are right it is possible to accelerate as hard as the wet as you do in the dry. It means getting the bike upright as quickly as possible before giving it power.

Wet riding tips:

Feel for grip: try to be as sensitive as possible to whats the bike is doing.

Be super smooth: Keep it smooth, apply a little more rear brake as it helps suck the bike into the roadway. Don't put yourself in a position where you have to do anything quickly. Sweep the bike into the lean progressively, to fast and you find the limit quicker and will crash

Gearing: Don't not use a higher gear, use a lower gear. People tend to use a higher gear and there is a lag between the engine and rider inputs. You'll lean the bike over farther because you think you can do it safety. The bike will let go and you'll crash. Using a lower gear keeps you more connected to the track.

Harness Weight Transfer: Apply brake pressure slowly, so that the weight transfer is slower to the front wheel. Too much brake and you'll lock up the front wheel and crash. When exiting the corner, you have to weight for the weight to transfer from the front to the rear of the bike.

Don't be afraid of your brakes: Use both brakes, progressively, then release them prior to leaning into the turn. Brake when you are going straight, not when turning.

This article was written by Simon Hargreaves for BIKE magazine January 2006 edition.

Wrap Up:

Send me your emails to roadracerpodcast@gmail.com and your voice mails through Skype to my id of roadracerpodcast

In my next episode I have an interview with amateur racer Athena Detlefs

(15 SECONDS MUSIC INTRO)We are going to finish this episode off with another song from the Podsafe Music Network, Are U Buzzed by Ape House

Motorcycle Podcast Group new web page!!

2006-01-29T06:52:00.000-05:00

Here's our new logo for the Motorcycle Podcast Group. You can goto the new Motorcycle Podcast Group web page, www.motorcyclepodcastgroup.com, where you can click the links to the other podcasts, V-Twin Journal, MotoGPod, Motocast and of course Roadracer Podcast.

Also, you can leave me a voice message using Skype. Download it for free by clicking on the link on my web page and then give me a call. My Skype handle is "roadracerpodcast". I want to hear your feedback, and if its worthy, good or bad, I'll play it on the podcast.

A new show will be out by Thursday, February 2, 2006.

Up coming podcast....

2006-01-26T07:18:00.000-05:00

First I want to apologize for the audio quality on episode 5. I tried a new way of recording the podcast using my iBook and my XP machine. I recorded the show live and used the iBook to play my audio files thru the mixer board. However, I had the settings on the mixer board wrong so the sound quality sucked. I will correct this for the upcoming show and try to be more conscientious.

Now, upcoming interviews....I did an interview with Athena Deflets, Jimmy McDowell and Aaron Lephart. I used Skype for the interviews so the sound quality will be much better. Athena is an amateur racer at Loudon; Jimmy is also an amateur racer from Alabama. Both had great stories and I hope to get them out within the next few weeks.

Today, I did an interview with Aaron Lephart, who is the head of Team Privateer at Lockhart Phillips. He had some good things to say about the program. It should be posted on the podcast mid February