PIRELLI RELEASES DATES AND DETAILS OF 2004 DIABLO CORSA CHALLENGE FOR WERA NOVICE RACERS

Top Five Now Also Get 2005 Contracts from Arai Helmets and Motul, Plus Sponsorships from Pit Bull, Vesrah and Hotbodies; More Sponsors Said To Be Coming Aboard

(Rome, GA) Pirelli’s Diablo Corsa Challenge, the tire company’s innovative program developed with WERA Motorcycle Roadracing to “give novice racers the credit they deserve … and to support the process of obtaining sponsorships for the following race year” is gaining momentum and participants on the eve of its initial race outing this coming weekend (April 17-18) at Barber Motorsports Park, in Birmingham, Alabama.

Now joining the Pirelli effort in offering the top five finishers contracts and sponsorships for 2005 are Arai Helmets, Motul Oil, Pit Bull Motorcycle Stands, Vesrah brakes, and Hotbodies bodywork. More sponsors are said to be coming soon. A spokesman for one of the sponsoring companies said, “I’m sure I speak for all of us in saying we’re proud to be part of Pirelli’s unique approach to supporting and furthering the careers of our sport’s newest racers. We especially like the added touches such as the sponsors contributing to a fund to pay the finalists’ travel expenses to the GNF, and the special GNF dinner. The folks at Pirelli thought of everything on this deal.”

Any WERA Novice racer who wants to participate must register on the Pirelli contingency website (www.us.pirellimoto.com) and choose the appropriate box indicating participation in the 2004 Pirelli Diablo Corsa Challenge, and the WERA region in which they will participate. Novice riders who have already signed up for the Challenge should go back to the Pirelli site and update their profiles.

Twenty regional races on the WERA calendar will run the Diablo Corsa Challenge Qualifier races during the Novice “C” Superstock Race. Riders registered for the Diablo Challenge will be scored as a separate race. A complete list of the 20 regional Challenge race dates will be posted on both the WERA and U.S. Pirelli sites. The dates through the end of May, in addition to Barber this weekend, are: Nashville, May 1-2; Grattan, May 8-9; VIR Cycle Jam, May 20-23; Las Vegas, May 22-23; and Jennings, May 29-30.

Pirelli’s regular C Superstock contingency payouts go down to fifth place, and total $4,340 for the year in this class. Pirelli contingency will be available only for Diablo Corsa riders on the Challenge dates, meaning that standard C Superstock contingencies will not apply. During non- Diablo Corsa Challenge weekends, the standard Pirelli contingency program will be valid.

The top six point earners in each region will be invited to the final Diablo Corsa Challenge to be run at the GNF in October on a date to be specified by WERA. It will be run separately from the Novice C Superstock race at the GNF. The target grid is 42 riders.

As another added bonus in addition to the travel-money fund, all of the regional qualifiers will be invited to a special Pirelli sponsors’ dinner during the GNF weekend, where they will get to meet the companies’ offering the contracts and sponsorships, enjoy a good dinner and bench race to their hearts’ content.