OPENING DAY BEST TIMES FROM BAYLISS REIGNING CHAMP SECURES FIRST DAY ADVANTAGE The testing form of 2001 and 2006 World Superbike Champion Troy Bayliss (Ducati Xerox) has proved to be almost peerless on many previous occasions, and he continued his recent seam of excellence by posting the fastest time on the first day of official SBK testing at Vallelunga. Championship leader James Toseland (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda) was second quickest, setting a 1’37.423 to Bayliss’ 1’37.287. The top three riders on day one are also the top three riders in the current championship chase, with Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha Motor Italia) setting a 1’37.535 at the Vallelunga track. KAGAYAMA BACK ON FORM AGAIN After a tough start to the season Yukio Kagayama (Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra) has been back to top pace recently, and finished fourth today; his 1’37.655 also put him two places ahead of his team-mate and local favourite Max Biaggi, who was sixth. Splitting the Alstare men was perennial force to be reckoned with, Troy Corser (Yamaha Motor Italia). First of the non-official entrants was Ruben Xaus (Ducati Sterilgarda) ahead of fastest Kawasaki rider, Regis Laconi (PSG-1 Kawasaki Corse). Seventeen regular SBK riders set times on day one. DAY ONE TIMES – with transponders fitted POS NO. RIDER BIKE TIME 1 21 Bayliss T. (AUS) Ducati 999 F07 1’37.287 2 52 Toseland J. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 1’37.423 3 41 Haga N. (JPN) Yamaha YZF-R1 1’37.535 4 71 Kagayama Y. (JPN) Suzuki GSX-R1000 K7 1’37.655 5 11 Corser T. (AUS) Yamaha YZF-R1 1’37.731 6 3 Biaggi M. (ITA) Suzuki GSX-R1000 K7 1’37.826 7 111 Xaus R. (ESP) Ducati 999 F06 1’37.867 8 55 Laconi R. (FRA) Kawasaki ZX-10R 1’37.994 9 44 Rolfo R. (ITA) Honda CBR1000RR 1’38.098 10 84 Fabrizio M. (ITA) Honda CBR1000RR 1’38.285 11 57 Lanzi L. (ITA) Ducati 999 F07 1’38.470 12 10 Nieto F. (ESP) Kawasaki ZX-10R 1’38.804 13 38 Nakatomi S. (JPN) Yamaha YZF-R1 1’39.015 14 13 Iannuzzo V. (ITA) Kawasaki ZX-10R 1’39.668 15 53 Polita A. (ITA) Suzuki GSX-R1000 K6 1’39.990 16 22 Morelli L. (ITA) Honda CBR1000RR 1’40.861 17 42 Ellison D. (GBR) Ducati 999RS 1’41.409

Just because it was an off weekend for the AMA Superbike Championship series did not mean it was an off weekend for Team Roadracingworld.com Suzuki’s Chris Ulrich at Road America. Ulrich, who is at Road America to race in the MOTO-ST 500K endurance race, took advantage of some free time during Friday’s lunch break to give a ride on his two-seat AMA Superstock racebike to Mike Helm, a reporter for the “Racing RoundUp” radio show, which is heard Monday evenings on WAUK-AM 1510, Milwaukee, Wisconsin’s ESPN Radio. “That was unbelievable!” 66-year-old Helm said after a two-lap, 170-mph ride on the back seat of Ulrich’s 185-horsepower GSX-R1000. Helm said he raced powerboats years ago and even road raced motorcycles as recently as 2000 when he was 60, but he was still impressed by Ulrich and his Suzuki. “The power of that bike is unbelievable. And his ability to go through the turns as well as he does with some 200-pound clod sitting behind him is great. I think the second lap he was trying to do a little better, and I could feel the ass-end of that thing sliding around. But he did great, and the bike was phenomenal.” Ulrich did a call-in interview with Helm during the July 2 edition of the Racing Roundup crew, and Ulrich and Vesrah Suzuki Team Owner Mark Junge are scheduled to be live guests during the July 9 broadcast of the show.

The MotoGP World Championship crosses its halfway point at the German Grand Prix, round ten of eighteen on the 2007 calendar. The teams and riders are ready for another challenging double-header, with races at Sachsenring and Laguna Seca coming on consecutive Sundays before the summer break. Currently lying sixth in the championship on 87 points, just one behind Chis Vermeulen (5th), Marco Melandri is ready to tackle Sachsering, motivated to score a good result after the difficult race weekend in Assen. Meanwhile, back in Spain, Toni Elias is continuing with his recovery from the broken left femur he picked up at Assen. After spending a few days under observation at the Dexeus Institute in Barcelona, where he has been treated by Doctor Xavier Mir, Toni is now able to continue his rehabilitation at home. His return is pencilled in for either Brno on August 19th or Misano on September 2nd. Toni will be replaced by the 22 years old Italian rider Michel Fabrizio for the German event at Sachsenring. The replacer rider for the Grand Prix of the United States will be Miguel Duhamel, the rider of Honda USA. MARCO MELANDRI: “The next two circuits are really interesting and the Germany-USA double header will be really demanding. Sachsenring is a unique circuit but I like it because it is so flowing. At such a slow and twisty track the setting of the bike has to be perfect. Hopefully we can have a good session on Friday and find a good compromise for the set-up. From a rider’s perspective it is important to control the throttle and not be too aggressive.” MCHEL FABRIZIO: “I’m very happy to have another opportunity to ride the Honda Motogp after the unlucky launch last year at Donington Park, while I was replacing Toni. I’m very excited and I hope to score a better result this year. I have raced at Sachsenring in 2004, this experience may help me in the knowledge of the track. I’m enthusiastic and I thank Fausto Gresini for this great chance”. SACHSENRING – SET-UP EXPLAINED: Riders often talk about the ‘setting’ of their bikes, when asked to explain their performance in a practice session or race. It is a broad concept, which requires great experience and professionalism to understand, and now the Team Gresini Honda engineers face one of their biggest challenges as they try to adapt the machines from the demands of a fast and lowing circuit such as Assen to the tight and twisty nature of Sachsenring. “Assen requires a motorcycle that can turn well through the slow sections but have the power to excel in the fast sections which are taken with the throttle wide open,” explains Antonio Jimenez, Marco Melandri’s Chief Engineer. “Sachsenring, however, is a circuit that doesn’t have a long straight or any fast sections – even the main straight is only taken in fourth. The rest of the circuit is made up of second and third gear corners so the cycle part of the bike is extremely important, as well as a sweet and progressive power delivery, particularly in low revs. The gearbox also comes under a lot of strain because the riders spend so much time in either second or third.” “You need a bike that turns well,” adds Fabrizio Cecchini, Chief Engineer for Toni Elias. “Compared to Assen you need a softer setting on the front forks and rear shock.” Once again the biggest unknown factor this weekend could be the weather, which is extremely unpredictable in this part of Germany. Track temperatures can vary between 22° and 50°. Tyre choice is therefore crucial and can only be made once the teams arrive at the track. There are other factors that affect tyre choice at Sachsenring, namely the prevalence of left-hand corners (10 to be exact), which require the riders to spend lots of time on the edge of the tyre. THE TRACK: Located around 100km south of Dresden in the former East Germany, Sachsenring has hosted road races since the 1920s. The final Grand Prix held on the old circuit was in 1972 (when Giacomo Agostini took victory in the 500cc race), when the track measured 8.6km in length. In 1996 a new venue was created just a few kilometres from Chemnitz and it has been changed on a few occasions since then with the aim of making it faster.The latest update took place in 2003 but the German circuit remains the slowest on the current MotoGP calendar. Its tight and twisty nature makes it an interesting circuit to watch races at but it is also very demanding and therefore not a favourite of the MotoGP riders, with few places to overtake. The importance of outright horsepower makes way for a balanced chassis, which is particularly crucial in the slow and tight first half of the track. THE TRACK Constructed: 1996 Modified: 2003 Length: 3671 m Width: 10 m Pole: Left Right corners: 4 Left corners: 10 Longest straight: 780m

Editorial Note: The original version of this release claimed Duhamel was the only rider to have won three races at an AMA National event. A corrected version of the press release sent out late last night changed that to Duhamel being the first rider to accomplish that feat, as Ben Spies just won three races at the last AMA round, at Miller Motorsports Park. Torrance, CA: It was confirmed today that long-time Team Honda superbike racer Miguel Duhamel will race the Gresini Honda RC212V as a wild card entry in the 2007 Red Bull USGP MotoGP class in place of injured rider Toni Elias. Duhamel last raced the premier Grand Prix class in 1992. With more career AMA national road racing victories than any other rider in history, Duhamel is well positioned to make the most of his USGP opportunity. “I am very pleased to have this opportunity. I want to take this time to wish Toni a quick recovery. We’re all looking forward to seeing him back in action. I spoke with the Gresini team owner this morning and finalized the deal. I’m really super pumped and looking forward to getting out there. It’s a tall order for sure. At the very least I hope to put on a good show for the fans. I know I’ve wanted to see this for a long time. I’ll also still be in the AMA Superbike race right after the MotoGP race, so it’s going to be a busy day for sure.” Perhaps nobody is better suited for the challenge than Duhamel, who has four race wins at Laguna Seca, home of the 2007 USGP, and who spent most of his career with American Honda racing two classes, often in the same day. Duhamel is also the first rider in AMA history to win three national races on the same weekend, which he accomplished at Virginia International Raceway in 2004. For more information on Miguel Duhamel and all of American Honda’s racing efforts, go to www.hondaredriders.com

FIAT YAMAHA TEAM ENTER PHASE TWO AT SACHSENRING The MotoGP World Championship crosses its season equator next weekend as round ten of eighteen sees the Fiat Yamaha Team land in Germany for the first of another gruelling double-header. The trucks and hospitality units have made the short trip across the Dutch border from Assen to the Sachsenring circuit, where Valentino Rossi and Colin Edwards will continue their challenge for maximum points, before leaving the teams and riders to take to the skies for the transatlantic trip to California and the US Grand Prix just seven days later. The Fiat Yamaha Team arrives in Germany on a high following a morale-boosting victory for Rossi in Holland, where the Italian closed the gap on current series leader Casey Stoner to 21 points. That remarkable race was the third time Rossi has won from a qualifying position of eleventh – more times than any other rider in the history of the sport. The first of his memorable charges came at Donington in 2001, when he crossed the line 1.794 seconds ahead of Max Biaggi, whilst his second came, coincidentally, at Sachsenring last year. After qualifying eleventh, only to be bumped up to tenth on the grid after Stoner was ruled out through injury, Rossi charged through to the lead before the halfway stage and then held off three rivals in a dramatic charge to the line that ended in the closest ever finish in MotoGP history, with just 0.307 seconds covering the first four riders. Rossi’s fifth Grand Prix win at the circuit sparked wild celebrations amongst the Italian fans, who had already celebrated on German soil just seven days previously, when their national football team won the World Cup with a dramatic victory against France in Berlin. Located in the heartland of the former East Germany’s once glorious motorcycle racing industry, the Sachsenring is built right next to the old road course, a characteristic the track shares with Brno in the nearby Czech Republic. The current circuit could not be more different, its ultra-modern nature showing in its relatively slow lap times, with slow corners juxtaposed with some dazzlingly fast ones – including a stomach-churning downhill right hander which was added in 2003. Valentino Rossi “WE’VE GOT WORK STILL TO DO” Valentino Rossi has had five victories at the Sachsenring circuit in all classes, including success in the MotoGP race for the past two seasons with Yamaha. After the national euphoria surrounding his World Cup-themed celebrations following last year’s win, the 28-year-old is hoping to provide more Italian cheer this weekend by scoring his country’s 200th premier-class Grand Prix victory. “After the fantastic race in Assen I’m really looking forward to Sachsenring,” says Rossi. “Last year in Germany we qualified 11th and won, last week in Assen we did the same thing! Of course, I would much rather start from the front but anyway I’m feeling confident. The Yamaha works very well in Sachsenring and I’ve had a lot of good wins there in my career. “We know, however, that Casey will be strong again, like he is everywhere this year. With him performing at such a high level at every race, 21 points is not a small amount so we have to be at the maximum. We’ve got work to do still; we’re not perfect yet, especially in the wet, but we’re going in the right way and we’ll keep pushing. We still have half the season left! Sachsenring is quite a different track, very tight and twisty, but for the past two years our bike has worked very well there and we’ve been able to win.” Colin Edwards “I WANT TO RACE AT THE FRONT” Colin Edwards has not enjoyed a particularly fruitful relationship with the Sachsenring circuit, starting in his MotoGP debut year of 2003 when he was involved in a spectacular fireball crash from which he was lucky to escape without injury. With a best result there of fifth place in 2004, the Texan is keen to set the record straight and register a top result in preparation for his home race at Laguna Seca. “I’ve never gone great at Sachsenring and it’s definitely not one of my favourite tracks on the calendar, but our bike’s a lot different to last year so I’m actually looking forward to the race,” says Edwards. “I like racing at the front and that’s where I intend to be. Assen was disappointing because I expected more and I had the pace, but now we just need to take that to Germany and put things right. I found a front-running pace in Assen and now we are expecting things to work in Germany too. “The track has two different parts – one where it’s very difficult to overtake and another which requires a massive physical effort because it works the left-hand side of your body really hard. The tyres are under a lot of strain and it’s vital to make the right choice so they don’t overheat on the left-side. Generally I get along okay with the layout and there are always a lot of fans so it should be a good weekend.” Davide Brivio Fiat Yamaha Team Director “MAKING PROGRESS” Fiat Yamaha Team Director Davide Brivio says his staff were buoyed by Rossi’s victory at Assen – not only because of the spine-tingling nature of his ride but also the technical progress made behind the scenes with Yamaha’s technical partners. Rossi has now won each of the last two races held in dry conditions and clearly demonstrated the improvements being made with the speed of the YZR-M1 and the competitiveness of Michelin’s slick tyres. “The win at Assen was very good for our confidence levels and has given us extra motivation to take into the second half of the championship,” says Brivio. “It was a special performance from Valentino but above all it was gratifying for the whole team to see the progress we have made together with Michelin to get our bike working at its optimum level in dry conditions because this is something we have worked extremely hard towards over the past few weeks. “The characteristics of the circuit seemed to suit the bike but we are confident we can keep this level of performance going now at Sachsenring and Laguna Seca as we aim to recover as many points as possible. Colin had an excellent race at Donington but struggled to repeat that at Assen so hopefully he too can benefit from these improvements now. We will certainly be doing our best to help him get a good result and get him ready for his home race just seven days later!” Valentino Rossi : Information Age: 28 Lives: London, UK Bike: Yamaha YZR-M1 GP victories: 87 (61 x MotoGP/500cc, 14 x 250cc, 12 x 125cc) First GP victory: Czech Republic, 1996 (125cc) First GP: Malaysia, 1996 (125cc) GP starts: 183 (123 x MotoGP/500cc, 30 x 250cc, 30 x 125cc) Pole positions: 49 World Championships: 7 Grand Prix (1 x 125cc, 1 x 250cc, 1 x 500cc, 4 x MotoGP) Colin Edwards: Information Age: 33 Lives: Conroe, Texas Bike: Yamaha YZR-M1 First GP: Japón, 2003 (MotoGP) GP starts: 75 x MotoGP World Championships: 2 World Superbike Sachsenring: Lap Record D. Pedrosa (Honda) 2006, 1’23.355 Sachsenring: Best Lap D. Pedrosa (Honda) 2006, 1’21.815 Grand Prix Results: Sachsenring 2006 1. V. Rossi (Yamaha) 41’59.248 2. M. Melandri (Honda) +0.145 3. N. Hayden (Honda) +0.266 12. C. Edwards (USA) Yamaha +29.308

Bp Concepts’ Ben Thompson, Dave Ebben and Andy Feuersthaler rode a Dunlop-slick-equipped Suzuki GSX-R1000 to victory in the 250-kilometer ASRA Team Challenge Friday at Road America. Thompson, who was racing at Road America for the first time, jumped out to a huge lead from the start and increased that lead throughout his 14-lap stint. After a stop to refuel, Ebben put in 14 laps, and after another visit to the pits for fuel, Feuerstahler rode the 10-lap anchor leg. “We didn’t have our regular endurance bike with all of our quick-change stuff on it,” said Feuersthaler, who co-rides with Thompson on the Bp Concepts WERA National Endurance squad full-time. “We just kind of winged it, sort of speak. Ben got us off to a pretty good start and we just maintained it from there.” Bp Concepts’ margin of victory was 2 minutes, 3.514 seconds. Bp Concepts also earned the GTO class win. 314racing.com’s Jason Jenkins and Mark Nelson used experience gained racing in the CRA endurance series and a Suzuki GSX-R1000 fitted with 16.5-inch Michelin slicks to capture second place overall. The key to 314racing.com’s race was a seven-plus-gallon fuel tank that allowed them to complete the race with only one pit stop for fuel. Team Roadracingworld.com Suzuki’s Chris Ulrich and Mark Junge finished third overall on a Suzuki GSX-R600 shod with DOT-labeled Pirellis, on the lead lap. Ulrich and Junge are teammates on Vesrah Suzuki, the reigning Champions of the WERA National Endurance series, but neither man had ridden this bike prior to Friday. Team Roadracingworld.com Suzuki also took the GTU class victory. Peter Friedland, Brad Phillips and Frank Shockley, regulars in the MOTO-ST Championship, won the GT Lights division by completing 34 laps on their Touring Sport Ducati 1000SS. Ivan Milan took the first-place trophy in the Solo Challenge category on his Slovak & Czech Racing Suzuki GSX-R1000. ASRA TEAM CHALLENGE: OVERALL: 1. Bp Concepts (Ben Thompson/Dave Ebben/Andy Feuersthaler), Suz GSX-R1000, GTO, 38 laps; 2. 314racing.com (Jason Jenkins/Mark Nelson), Suz GSX-R1000, GTO, 38 laps; 3. Roadracingworld.com Suzuki (Chris Ulrich/Mark Junge), Suz GSX-R600, GTU, 38 laps; 4. Chucktown Moto (Kenny Rodriguez/Matt Huber/Mark Regalbut), Yam YZF-R1, GTO, 38 laps; 5. Moon’s Super Cycle (Calvin Martinez/Rick Beggs), Suz GSX-R1000, GTO, 37 laps; 6. Moon Cycles Repsol (Paul Gilchrist/Shawn Hill), Suz GSX-R1000, GTO, 37 laps; 7. D2 Cycles #2 (Michael Garner/Kurt Stock), Yam YZF-R6, GTU, 37 laps; 8. Team Appel (Melissa Appel/Alan Federson), Suz GSX-R600, GTU, 36 laps; 9. H-D Of Macon (Brett Sassman/Payton Sassman), Suz GSX-R600, GTU, 36 laps; 10. RNR Cycles (Calvin Martinez/Paul Gilchrist), Yam YZF-R6, GTU, 36 laps. GTO: 1. Bp Concepts, 38 laps; 2. 314racing.com, 38 laps; 3. Chucktown Moto, 38 laps; 4. Moon’s Super Cycle, 37 laps; 5. Moon Cycles Repsol, 37 laps; 6. Mid-Illini/Repsol (Mitch Stein/Scott Harwood/Dr. Jeff Purk, DDS), Yam YZF-R6, 35 laps. GTU: 1. Roadracingworld.com Suzuki, 38 laps; 2. D2 Cycles #2, 37 laps; 3. Team Appel, 36 laps; 4. H-D of Macon, 36 laps; 5. RNR Cycles, 36 laps; 6. BMW Motorrad Touring (Ivan Messina/James Chance), BMW R 1200 S, 34 laps. GT LIGHTS: 1. Touring Sport Ducati (Peter Friedland/Brad Phillips/Frank Shockley), Duc 1000, 34 laps; 2. Mellimoto (Tim Fowler/Garrett Rick), Duc 1000, 31 laps; 3. Mid-Il/Trackdaymag.com (Rachel Westfall/Rhiannon Lucente), Suz SV650, 31 laps; 4. Rightsforbikers.com (C.J. Czaia/John Linder/Robert Fisher), Duc 1000, 27 laps. SOLO CHALLENGE: 1. Slovak & Czech Racing (Ivan Milan), Suz GSX-R1000, 37 laps; 2. Dafanz Tuning (Krishna Pribadi), Hon CBR600RR, 37 laps; 3. Run-Walk-Stggr-Crawl (Matt Weber), Suz GSX-R750, 35 laps; 4. Cain Motorsports (Gary Cain), Yam YZF-R6, 35 laps; 5. No Team Name (John Petta), Hon CBR600RR, 34 laps; 6. Dill’s Sbad (Mike Diller), Suz GSX-R750, 33 laps.