2007 FIM Superbike World Championship Brands Hatch, England August 3, 2007 Provisional Qualifying Results: 1. James TOSELAND (Honda CBR1000RR), 1:26.400 2. Troy BAYLISS (Ducati 999F07), 1:26.625 3. Troy CORSER (Yamaha YZF-R1), 1:26.746 4. Ruben XAUS (Ducati 999F06), 1:26.815 5. Lorenzo LANZI (Ducati 999F07), 1:27.268 6. Noriyuki HAGA (Yamaha YZF-R1), 1:27.351 7. Fonsi NIETO (Kawasaki ZX-10R), 1:27.507 8. Yukio KAGAYAMA (Suzuki GSX-R1000K7), 1:27.544 9. Roberto ROLFO (Honda CBR1000RR), 1:27.763 10. Michel FABRIZIO (Honda CBR1000RR), 1:27.823 11. Max NEUKIRCHNER (Suzuki GSX-R1000K6), 1:27.928 12. Karl MUGGERIDGE (Honda CBR1000RR), 1:28.126 13. Regis LACONI (Kawasaki ZX-10R), 1:28.154 14. Max BIAGGI (Suzuki GSX-R1000K7), 1:28.215 15. Steve MARTIN (Yamaha YZF-R1), 1:28.262 16. Shinichi NAKATOMI (Yamaha YZF-R1), 1:28.545 17. Marty NUTT (Yamaha YZF-R1), 1:28.876 18. Jakub SMRZ (Ducati 999F05), 1:29.150 19. Dean ELLISON (Ducati 999RS), 1:29.289 20. Luca MORELLI (Honda CBR1000RR), 1:30.762 21. Stefano CRUCIANI (Suzuki GSX-R1000K6), 1:31.288 More, from a press release issued by HANNspree Ten Kate Honda: Toseland on top at Brands Hatch HANNspree Ten Kate Honda’s James Toseland started his final home round of the 2007 World Superbike Championship on top form today. The British rider secured the fastest lap of the day during the first qualifying session to secure provisional pole position for Sunday’s race. Team-mate Roberto Rolfo ended the day as the ninth fastest rider. Toseland was consistently fast during the morning practice, beating his own best lap four times in quick succession. The official afternoon qualifying saw nine different riders in the top position on the timesheet, but it was Toseland who dominated the session. The current series leader claimed the fastest lap more times than any other rider to end with a final best time of 1’26.400. Team-mate Roberto Rolfo focused on getting to grips with the undulating Brands Hatch circuit during today’s sessions. The Italian rider is pleased with the progress made to the set-up of his CBR1000RR and will aiming to improve his lap time in the final qualifying tomorrow. Ronald ten Kate, Team Manager: “It’s been a very positive start to the weekend for us. As with all tracks, being consistently fast is the key factor around here and James has shown that he is capable of this. It’s always nice for him to have the support of his home crowd, so a big thank you to them for the extra motivation. We hope he can continue in the same way tomorrow and get a good result for the team and his fans on Sunday. Roby has improved his lap times compared to last year – we hope that tomorrow we’ll see him improve even further to aim for at least the second row.” James Toseland: “Today has been a great start to the weekend and I don’t just mean the weather! I feel quite fresh, despite my trip to Japan last week. The team have worked brilliantly together to find the best setting. I am quickest today in qualifying and I’m really gunning for my first double win at Brands this weekend.” Roberto Rolfo: “I have really enjoyed today because Brands Hatch is a great track to ride. I have improved on last year’s times, although it is not so easy to find the best line to be quick around here. I found a good feeling almost immediately on the bike – it is very powerful and it makes riding at Brands a lot of fun. This afternoon I wanted to try for a fast lap at the end of the session, but I was not so good on the last part of the track and I lost some time. In general, we have done some good work and I just need to find some more confidence for the race.” More, from a press release issued by Scuderia SC Caracchi: BRANDS HATCH: DIFFICULT DAY FOR NANNELLI A splendid sunshine made as background to the first practice day of World Superbike and Supersport at Brands Hatch. In Supersport Gianluca Nannelli, after a promising free practice session in the morning, had several difficulties during afternoon’s qualifying, recording the 17th fastest, just a whisker better as in the morning. Handling problems did condition the afternoon’s session and also with qualifying tyres the heavy traffic along the track opposed to the possibility to get a top ten position. “This is for me a very special track and I’m sure I could get a very good result.” commented Gianluca Nannelli at the end of the day. “In the morning’s free practice we took so good result as to made also a long run to give some information to Pirelli engineers. I was rather satisfied because my pace was like the best and I was just 0,6 second slower as the leader. For the afternoon the track was changed, with an asphalt temperature higher 10°C more as in the morning, and we had problems to find a good set up. We made some change, but without result, so for tomorrow we’ll start with the morning set up. I tried to be ready for the last minutes of practice, but on the track there was too much people looking for a good trail. Me too I had a misunderstanding with another rider that ruined my right lap, losing the opportunity for a good result. Tomorrow we’ll try new set solutions and I want to improve my performance.” Jakub Smrz on the 999F05 Superbike has been engaged in the difficult set up research on a completely unknown course, and his laptime show that difficulty, non allowing him to do better as 18th fastest. “During all today we focused to study the track and to find a good set up.” said Jakub Smrz at the end of practices. “But with non knowledge of the track isn’t easy to find a good set up, often you enter the wring direction and you must reverse your choice, starting once more from zero. Today we had a lot of problems with the rear grip and also in the corner’s approach I hadn’t a good feeling. Now I’m going to know the track, it’s very good and demanding, so we have a more clear idea about the intervent to do for tomorrow’s final qualifying and I’m confident to be able to do better tomorrow.” More, from a press release issued by Team Alstare Corona Extra Suzuki: Brands Hatch, day one: Steady start for Team Alstare Team Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra riders Yukio Kagayama and Max Biaggi made a steady start on the first day of qualifying at Brands Hatch today. Yukio finished eighth quickest and Max ended the day fourteenth, but both are confident of significant improvement tomorrow. Yukio spent the day getting used to his Alstare Suzuki again after his Suzuka 8 hour success on a very different GSX-R1000 and took things steadily as a result. Max has never raced at Brands Hatch before, so used the time today learning one of the most difficult tracks on the calendar. Series leader James Toseland (Honda) topped the standings today – much to the delight of his home fans – with Troy Bayliss (Ducati) second, Ruben Xaus (Ducati) third and Troy Corser (Yamaha) fourth. Yukio – 8th, 1:27.544 “Last weekend I rode a Yoshimura Suzuki in the Suzuka 8 hour race and that bike is very different to my Alstare Suzuki. So, today it was necessary for me to get used to the Alstare bike again after many, many hours on the other one. I have been to Brands Hatch many times before, so today I just tried to find a good set-up for my bike. This track is a fun track to ride when you have a good set-up and good feeling on the bike. If you do not have a good set-up, then it is a difficult track to go fast.” Max – 14th, 1:28.215 “The track is quite short and there are not so many fast corners here. There are many tricky corners, and some blind approaches, and if you do not know what you are doing it is easy to lose time. It is definitely a track where you need good knowledge to go fast and as I have not raced here, I need to learn the track first. This is what today was about for me. We’ll make some gearbox changes for tomorrow and explore what the bike can do more deeply. To go fast round here, you have to have a good set-up and feel comfortable and that’s what we’ll go after tomorrow. ” More, from a press release issued by Troy Corser’s publicist: TROY HAPPY WITH THIRD ON DAY ONE Troy finished the first day of qualifying at Brands Hatch, happy with third fastest and a place on the provisional front row of the grid. Troy’s lap of 1:26.746 was the third quickest of the day and done without any special effort. Series leader James Toseland (Honda) led the charge today, with Troy Bayliss (Ducati) second, Troy third and Ruben Xaus (Ducati) fourth Troy – 3rd, 1:26.746 Yeah, I’m reasonably happy today and, all in all, things went reasonably well. In the morning, I didn’t feel all that comfortable because I didn’t feel there was much grip on the track. It sort of felt as if it was oily/filmy and so I didn’t push hard at all. We made some changes to the suspension, mapping and anti-slip for the afternoon session and we were able to improve the bike overall. We also learnt something and we’ll try those ideas out tomorrow. I wasn’t chasing times today and setting the third fastest came pretty easily. Also we were using some ‘old’ engines, but tomorrow we’ll have fresh engines and that should make a difference. I did an 18-lap or so run today and the tyres felt OK, so that was good news. Hopefully, we’ll continue to improve tomorrow and I’ll have a change of luck and a couple of good races on Sunday. More, from a press release issued by Yamaha Racing: Yamaha Third and Sixth on Day One at Brands The Yamaha Motor Italia WSB Team had a solid start to this weekend’s race at Brands Hatch in the UK with Corser finishing third and Haga sixth in qualifying. Both riders focused on finding the right set-up during today’s two sessions and by the end of the day both had identified a direction to go in. Corser knocked almost a second off his best morning lap time as he worked on a range of different settings and got a feel for how the Yamaha works around the Brands circuit. Haga tried several different tyre options and identified where he needs to focus to realize his full potential in tomorrow’s qualifying and Superpole sessions. Shinichi Nakatomi had less luck in the first day of qualifying, high-siding at Graham Hill bend and suffering minor injuries. The spirited rider was determined not to lose any more set-up time than necessary and continued to go out in the second session. He was rewarded with a provisional qualifying place of 16th. This weekend sees Steve Martin join the Team Yamaha YZF squad. This year Steve has already helped out the Yamaha World Supersport Team standing in for Kevin Curtain at the Assen round in April and he is now riding in the British Superbike Championship for the Virgin Media Yamaha Team for the remainder of the season. With this experience in mind, he is helping the Team Yamaha YZF squad with comparisons between the UK and French R1’s. Steve’s first day went well with him finishing the day in provisional 15th position. Tomorrow, Corser and Haga’s sights will be set on Toseland and Bayliss who occupy the top two slots at present. Troy Corser (3rd – 1’26.746 – Yamaha Motor Italia WSB Team) “I came here today with no real experience of the combination of this track and this bike so today has been all about trying lots of different settings and gradually working out what works. We’ve made some good steps forward during today and I’m content with our progress. I’m sure we’ll make even more progress tomorrow and be ready for the race.” Noriyuki Haga (6th – 1’27.351 – Yamaha Motor Italia WSB Team) “I’ve got some suspension problems to resolve, which will be my focus for tomorrow. I tried three different tyres today, two in the morning and one this afternoon, and am happy with progress there. The suspension is where we need to concentrate; I get a lot of movement over the bumps and then the rear starts stepping out. If we can solve then I’m comfortable that I’ll be up there.” Massimo Meregalli (Team Coordinator, Yamaha Motor Italia WSB Team) “Tonight we’ll go through all the data we’ve gathered so far today and work at solving the small problems we’ve got. The good thing is that we didn’t use many tyres today so we’ve still lots left for tomorrow. The weather forecast is good and I’m positive because I know both riders are fast here.” Steve Martin (15th – 1’28.262 – Team Yamaha YZF) “It’s difficult because I’ve got two bikes and two different teams to think about. But I’ve found a good direction today and I’m confident I can go better tomorrow; I’m not too far from the group ahead so I think I can catch them.” Shinichi Nakatomi (16th – 1’28.545 – Team Yamaha YZF) “I had a big high-side in this morning’s practice and crashed. I wanted to go out on the second bike but everyone wanted me to go to the medical centre, which took about half and hour. By the time I got back there was only six minutes of the session left so I feel I have lost a complete session today. This afternoon I focused on finding a good set-up and worked with both bikes. I hope I can make up the lost time tomorrow and improve my qualifying position.” Martial Garcia (Team Manager, Team Yamaha YZF) “Tomi crashed this morning and hurt himself a bit, which wasn’t good, but he showed courage in this afternoon’s session. With Steve in the team this weekend we are able to compare the UK and French Yamaha’s, which will help us I’m sure. I’m pleased with Steve’s provisional Superpole position so far and am hopeful of even better results tomorrow.”

Defending AMA Superbike Champion Ben Spies walked away from a big crash in the first AMA Superbike practice Friday morning at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. Details are still coming in, but it appears Spies crashed in the high-speed chicane leading to the Keyhole section of the 2.4-mile course. Spies’ Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000 ended up crossing the track at the exit of the Keyhole, where it finally came to rest. The session was stopped with a red flag. Spies caught a ride back to the pits with Team Roadracingworld.com Suzuki’s Robertino Pietri. After getting off Pietri’s bike, Spies jogged back to his pit area. According to American Suzuki P.R. representative Wendy Black, Spies is physically OK. At the time, Spies was second-fastest in the session with a 1:26.386. Spies’ teammate Mat Mladin was leading the practice at the time of the crash with a 1:25.356. Spies resumed riding when the session was restarted.

2007 FIM Superbike World Championship Brands Hatch, England August 3, 2007 Free Practice One Times: 1. Troy BAYLISS (Ducati 999F07), 1:26.608 2. James TOSELAND (Honda CBR1000RR), 1:26.647 3. Ruben XAUS (Ducati 999F06), 1:27.206 4. Michel FABRIZIO (Honda CBR1000RR), 1:27.517 5. Troy CORSER (Yamaha YZF-R1), 1:27.532 6. Lorenzo LANZI (Ducati 999F07), 1:27.555 7. Noriyuki HAGA (Yamaha YZF-R1), 1:27.672 8. Regis LACONI (Kawasaki ZX-10R), 1:27.704 9. Roberto ROLFO (Honda CBR1000RR), 1:27.862 10. Karl MUGGERIDGE (Honda CBR1000RR), 1:28.130 11. Fonsi NIETO (Kawasaki ZX-10R), 1:28.329 12. Yukio KAGAYAMA (Suzuki GSX-R1000K7), 1:28.961 13. Max NEUKIRCHNER (Suzuki GSX-R1000K6), 1:29.013 14. Max BIAGGI (Suzuki GSX-R1000K7), 1:29.129 15. Steve MARTIN (Yamaha YZF-R1), 1:29.246 16. Marty NUTT (Yamaha YZF-R1), 1:29.399 17. Jakub SMRZ (Ducati 999F05), 1:29.841 18. Dean ELLISON (Ducati 999RS), 1:30.166 19. Shinichi NAKATOMI (Yamaha YZF-R1), 1:30.716 20. Stefano CRUCIANI (Suzuki GSX-R1000K6), 1:31.322 21. Luca MORELLI (Honda CBR1000RR), 1:32.282

2007 Pro Honda Oils AMA Supersport Championship Presented by Shoei Helmets Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course Lexington, Ohio August 3, 2007 Provisional Practice Results: 1. Jamie Hacking (Kaw ZX-6R), Dunlop, 1:27.531 2. Josh Hayes (Hon CBR600RR), Dunlop, 1:27.689 3. Ben Attard (Kaw ZX-6R), Pirelli, 1:27.918 4. Roger Hayden (Kaw ZX-6R), Dunlop, 1:27.956 5. Aaron Gobert (Hon CBR600RR), Dunlop, 1:28.182 6. Chaz Davies (Yam YZF-R6), Dunlop, 1:28.186 7. Geoff May (Suz GSX-R600), Pirelli, 1:28.285 8. Steve Rapp (Kaw ZX-6R), Pirelli, 1:28.290 9. Josh Herrin (Yam YZF-R6), Dunlop, 1:28.385 10. Chris Peris (Yam YZF-R6), Dunlop, 1:28.637 11. Martin Cardenas (Suz GSX-R600), Pirelli, 1:28.652 12. Blake Young (Suz GSX-R600), Dunlop, 1:28.798 13. Michael Beck (Suz GSX-R600), Pirelli, 1:28.979 14. Shea Fouchek (Hon CBR600RR), Dunlop, 1:29.154 15. Danny Eslick (Suz GSX-R600), Dunlop, 1:29.338 16. Ryan Andrews (Hon CBR600RR), Dunlop, 1:29.618 17. Garrett Carter (Yam YZF-R6), Dunlop, 1:29.737 18. Ryan Elleby (Hon CBR600RR), Dunlop, 1:30.099 19. Chad Lewin (Suz GSX-R600), 1:30.118 Team Hunter’s Cory West was originally listed as third-fastest with a time of 1:27.849, but he was removed from the timing order at the end of the session for because it was discovered that his motorcycle had not been taken through tech inspection. As a result, West will have to qualify in the slower of the two qualifying groups.

2007 FIM Supersport World Championship Brands Hatch, England August 3, 2007 Provisional Qualifying Results: 1. Sebastien CHARPENTIER (Honda CBR600RR), 1:28.381 2. Kenan SOFUOGLU (Honda CBR600RR), 1:28.793 3. Broc PARKES (Yamaha YZF-R6), 1:28.970 4. Katsuaki FUJIWARA (Honda CBR600RR), 1:29.019 5. Craig JONES (Honda CBR600RR), 1:29.174 6. Robbin HARMS (Honda CBR600RR), 1:29.228 7. Fabien FORET (Kawasaki ZX-6R), 1:29.369 8. Barry VENEMAN (Suzuki GSX-R600), 1:29.523 9. Josh BROOKES (Honda CBR600RR), 1:29.547 10. Massimo ROCCOLI (Yamaha YZF-R6), 1:29.651 More, from a press release issued by HANNspree Ten Kate Honda: HANNspree Ten Kate Honda dominates first day qualifying The British sun made a rare appearance for round ten of the 2007 World Supersport Championship at Brands Hatch today. The first day of qualifying ended successfully for HANNspree Ten Kate Honda, with Sébastien Charpentier and Kenan Sofuoglu claiming the top two spots on the timesheet. Both Charpentier and Sofuoglu got to grips with the 3.703km circuit almost immediately, setting six fastest laps between them in this morning’s free practice. They followed this up in the 45-minute official qualifying session with two fast laps apiece. The final result saw Charpentier secure the final best time with a 1’28.381 lap – just 0.005 seconds off the current Brands Hatch best Supersport lap, set by the Frenchman in 2005. Team-mate Sofuoglu completed the session as the second fastest rider with a lap time of 1’28.793. The result sees the HANNspree Ten Kate duo well on the way to the front row of the grid for Sunday’s 23-lap World Supersport race. Ronald ten Kate, Team Manager: “It’s been a very good start to the weekend on the Supersport side of things, although there is still room for improvement on both sides of the garage. The pace we have had today will definitely allow us to concentrate on race set-up tomorrow. We can work to get ourselves prepared for the long race around here. I’m really happy for Sébastien – things seem to have gelled together for him today. We have made some drastic changes to the set-up of his bike and it seems to be working well. For Kenan, it is of course a special weekend but we will treat it as a normal weekend and see how far it goes.” Sébastien Charpentier: “I am happy to be back at Brands Hatch and the weather is great today. The team have worked really hard since Brno and, although I still have more improvements to make, I think tomorrow I will be able to go faster. The changes have made riding this bike much more enjoyable because it has not been easy for me recently. Today has been good for everybody and tomorrow I hope to beat my 2005 lap record – I think this is possible.” Kenan Sofuoglu: “The circuit lay-out here is quite different from Brno so I have had to change my riding style a little bit. In the morning I was a little bit disappointed but this afternoon was better. I am really working hard again to be consistently fast. By tomorrow morning I want to do race distance and get a good race set-up so that I can concentrate on doing one fast lap in the afternoon. I am really happy to see Sébastien at the top of the timesheet. If your team-mate is fast, it motivates you to push hard. Hopefully we will be together for the whole weekend and get a double podium on Sunday.” More, from a press release issued by Yamaha Racing: Parkes Takes Provisional Third in Qualifying One The Yamaha World Supersport Team ended their first day at Brands Hatch with Parkes provisionally on the front row in third. Team mate Tommy Hill finished the day in 11th after two unfortunate crashes, both of which he walked away from. Things started off well for both riders in this morning’s free practice session with Parkes going fastest at the start and then Hill taking the lead halfway through until a high-side at Clearways bend. As the session heated up Charpentier and Sofuoglu joined the fight and Parkes ended up third with Hill right behind in fourth. Focusing on finding the right set-up, Parkes spent the afternoon session trying both bikes and was in second place when a small technical issue forced him to retire in the woodland section of the circuit. He finished the session on the front row of the grid in third. Undeterred by his morning crash and with only one bike available, Hill proceeded to go fifth fastest at the start of this afternoon’s qualifying session and then worked his way to second. He was focusing on a long run when he suffered a low-slide and returned to the pits. The team repaired the bike quickly in order for him to re-join the last ten minutes of the session. Yamaha Team Italia rider Massimo Roccoli had a suitable start to this weekend’s round with him running in the top ten in this morning’s practice session before finally finishing in tenth place, ahead of Tommy Hill. Broc Parkes (3rd – 1’28.970 – Yamaha World Supersport Team) “Today hasn’t gone quite as planned; things just didn’t gel properly. This morning was okay but then this afternoon I only got one flying lap before we put on another soft tyre to go out again. I didn’t get a chance though as I had a technical problem and got stuck out the back part of the circuit for the remainder of the session. This all means I’ve lost some valuable track time today but I’m happy to be on the front row considering this. I know I’ve got a good bike and know I can go faster tomorrow.” Tommy Hill (11th – 1’29.682 – Yamaha World Supersport Team) “What can I say? I was going quicker and making some good progress today but the problem is that it feels like I’ve got different grip levels between the front and rear. We need to look at what the actual problem is because I wasn’t getting much feedback and then I just got thrown off, both times. It just feels off or on at the moment – and more off than on! But I do feel we are close to getting it right and I’m not hurt at all which is a good thing.” Massimo Roccoli (10th – 1’29.651 – Yamaha Team Italia) “Today we had some electronic problems and also the set-up isn’t quite where I’d like it. We’ve got a lot of room for improvement, though and I’m confident that we can do better tomorrow.” Qualifying 1 Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time 1, Sebastien Charpentier, Honda, FRA, 1’28.381 2, Kenan Sofuoglu, Honda, TUR, 1’28.793 3, Broc Parkes, Yamaha, AUS, 1’28.970 4, Katsuaki Fujiwara, Honda, JPN, 1’29.019 5, Craig Jones, Honda, GBR, 1’29.174 6, Robbin Harms, Honda, DNK, 1’29.228 7, Fabien Foret, Kawasaki, FRA, 1’29.369 8, Barry Veneman, Suzuki, NED, 1’29.523 9, Joshua Brookes, Honda, AUS, 1’29.547 10, Massimo Roccoli, Yamaha, ITA, 1’29.651 11, Tommy Hill, Yamaha, GBR, 1’29.682 12, Pere Riba, Kawasaki, ESP, 1’29.787 13, Matthieu Lagrive, Honda, FRA, 1’29.789 14, Simone Sanna, Honda, ITA, 1’29.805 15, Lorenzo Alfonsi, Honda, ITA, 1’29.863 16, Gianluca Vizziello, Yamaha, ITA, 1’29.864 17, Gianluca Nannelli, Ducati, ITA, 1’29.897 18, Vesa Kallio, Suzuki, FIN, 1’30.029 19, Sebastien Gimbert, Yamaha, FRA, 1’30.084 20, Joan Lascorz, Honda, ESP, 1’30.223 21, David Checa, Yamaha, ESP, 1’30.238 22, Javier Fores, Honda, ESP, 1’30.245 23, Graeme Gowland, Honda, GBR, 1’30.338 24, Christian Zaiser, MV Agusta, AUT, 1’30.350 25, Gregory Leblanc, Honda, FRA, 1’30.398 26, David Salom, Yamaha, ESP, 1’30.646 27, Julien Enjolras, Yamaha, FRA, 1’30.680 28, Mauro Sanchini, Kawasaki, ITA, 1’30.821 29, Vladimir Ivanov, Yamaha, RUS, 1’30.882 30, Miguel Praia, Honda, POR, 1’30.960

2007 AMA Superstock Championship Presented by Dynojet Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course Lexington, Ohio August 3, 2007 Provisional Practice Results: 1. Ben Spies (Suz GSX-R1000), Dunlop, 1:25.632 2. Aaron Yates (Suz GSX-R1000), Dunlop, 1:26.285 3. Ben Bostrom (Yam YZF-R1), Dunlop, 1:26.370 4. Geoff May (Suz GSX-R1000), Pirelli, 1:26.472 5. Jake Holden (Suz GSX-R1000), Dunlop, 1:26.538 6. Blake Young (Suz GSX-R1000), Dunlop, 1:27.324 7. Robertino Pietri (Suz GSX-R1000), Pirelli, 1:27.372 8. Danny Eslick (Suz GSX-R1000), Dunlop, 1:27.676 9. John Haner (Suz GSX-R1000), Dunlop, 1:27.856 10. Chris Ulrich (Suz GSX-R1000), Pirelli, 1:27.949 11. David Weber (Suz GSX-R1000), Dunlop, 1:28.064 12. Gary Mason (Suz GSX-R1000), Pirelli, 1:28.300 13. Scott Jensen (Suz GSX-R1000), Pirelli, 1:28.453 14. Ben Thompson (Suz GSX-R1000), Dunlop, 1:28.728 15. Jason Curtis (Suz GSX-R1000), 1:29.263 16. Chad Lewin (Suz GSX-R1000), 1:30.120 17. Randy Kienast (Suz GSX-R1000), 1:30.334 18. James Kerker (Hon CBR1000RR), Dunlop, 1:32.434 19. Santiago Villa (Suz GSX-R1000), 1:32.620 20. Johnny Rock Page (Yam YZF-R1), Dunlop, 1:32.851

IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT Following weeks of speculation, James Toseland would like to confirm that he will not continue to ride in the Superbike World Championship® in 2008. The British rider has decided to pursue his MotoGP ambitions next season. Confirmation of the decision at this early stage in the season enables a much wider window of opportunity for the HANNspree Ten Kate Honda team to secure a high calibre replacement. However, the main focus for James for the remainder of the 2007 series is securing the championship title. “I would like to thank the team for all of their help and support,” says James. “I have enjoyed two of the best years of my racing career with Ten Kate and Honda, and HANNspree has been a fantastic sponsor this year. I could not have achieved as much as I have without the team’s assistance and expertise and I remain 100 per cent committed to securing the title for them this year. I would like to wish them the best of luck for the future.” James would prefer not to discuss future matters at this time while he concentrates on the task at hand. He respectfully requests that the media honours his decision. More, from a press release issued by Yamaha Racing: Tech 3 Yamaha would like to announce that it has secured the services of James Toseland for the 2008 season. The British rider will begin his MotoGP career with the Yamaha factory supported organisation next year. Toseland who is currently leading the Superbike World Championship by 43 points has already proved his racing credentials. He was the youngest ever World Superbike Champion in 2004 and is aiming to secure the title once again this season. “I am delighted to have secured a rider of James’ calibre and am looking forward to working with him,” says Team Principal Herve Poncharal. “Procuring James is a major coup for Tech 3 Yamaha and for the MotoGP championship in extending our reach into Northern Europe. It is an exciting time for us all and I am certain that he will be an integral part of the team’s future.” Further details, including James’ team structure will be announced in due course.

FIRST PERSON/OPINION Via e-mail: Hats off to Roger Edmondson for his letter to RRW. Although many may still not 100% agree with everything he has to say you have to at least give him accolades for responding to everyone. In today’s society with the lawyers running the world he had enough ball to voice his opinion (I’m sure to his lawyer’s strong objections) and at least try to explain to everyone his side of the equation. It is easy for everyone to sit back and Monday morning quarterback how a weekend went but there are very few people today who are trying to keep racing alive in any series except NASCAR. Ask any small track owner or series promoter how much money they are making or how they are getting rich and they will laugh at you (if they don’t hit you). People like Roger are in this for the love of the sport….they could take their money and invest it in a golf course, stocks/bonds, or some other investment and make a lot more than the day-to-day aggravation is worth. They do it because of the love and desire to keep the sport and spirit going for those guys who will never have the million dollar contracts but for them this is their avenue to pursue their dreams. Mike Luzader Dallas, Texas FIRST PERSON/OPINION Via e-mail: Having known Roger from running a team in F-USA many years ago, I am really glad to see the new series, and would like to commend him on his honest and forthright answers to the questions that were asked and implied with the unfortunate events that occurred during the Iowa race. Again, other sanctioning bodies and participants would do well to follow his example, rather than trying to commandeer it. As explained in his excellent letter, everyone has a lot to learn, and a lot of positive things happen, when things are done in the open, and explanations are offered to everyone. Mark Lewellen Ozark, Missouri