Albacete 6hr Night-time Endurance The big four Japanese manufacturers go head to head A clash of the titans is set to take place at the ‘Albacete 6 Hours Night-time Endurance’! Next weekend on Spanish soil the four giants of Japanese motorcycle construction will take their places among the highly competitive line-up of permanent teams in the second race of the 2007 QMMF Endurance FIM World Championship. A nail-bitingly exciting battle is expected between the big four rivals. The Suzuki Endurance Racing Team, reigning World Champions and first and second place finishers at last month’s ‘Le Mans 24 Hours’, will fly the flag for Suzuki with its GSX-R1000 ridden by Vincent Philippe, Matthieu Lagrive and Julien Da Costa. Kawasaki Motor France, third at Le Mans, will themselves be looking for the win with the ZX-10R of Steve Plater, Gwen Giabbani and Julian Mazuecos. The Qatar Endurance Racing Team will be hoping that the same Kawasaki serves them well in the hands of Jose Luis Cardoso, Ivan Silva and Maschel Al Naimi. Those teams will first have to overcome several king-sized adversaries if they are to be victorious in Albacete. Among the Yamahas, the Spanish Folch Endurance team looks like it has the best chance. Specialists in this discipline, Folch Endurance has finished second and third in the last two seasons’ races at Albacete respectively. On board its R1 will be Victor Casas, David Tomas and Alex Martinez. The biggest surprise, however, could come from a Honda. One of the most eagerly anticipated machines is none other that the CBR1000RR of the Japanese FCC TSR team, ridden by, among others, Takeshi Tsujimura, winner of the ‘Suzuka 8 Hours’ in 2006. The fight between these four Superbike teams is certain to begin from the very start of the qualifying rounds on Friday afternoon. In Superproduction, the permanent team of Zone Rouge (Yamaha), third in the category at Le Mans, is likely to be battling it out with Team 18 Sapeurs-Pompiers (Suzuki), Superproduction winners in France last month. In Superstock, the absence of Junior Team, winners at Le Mans, could open the door for the LTG 57 (Yamaha) team, who currently lie second in the category. They will have to contend, however, with the other French and Spanish teams taking part at Albacete, in the fight for the points. The only European bike in attendance this weekend at Albacete – the Ducati 1098 of the Spanish RPM Expert Flumotion team, ridden by Dani Ribalta and Pascal Pegaz could also shake things up among the battling Japanese rivals. The ‘Albacete 6 Hour Night-time Endurance’ will begin at 18:00 on Saturday 5th May, finishing at around midnight. Twenty-five points are on offer for the winner.

AMA to drivers: Focus on seeing motorcyclists PICKERINGTON, Ohio – May is Motorcycle Awareness Month, and the American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) is encouraging all drivers and riders to recommit to safe driving practices by avoiding distractions and staying focused on other highway users. The centerpiece of the campaign is a television Public Service Announcement (PSA) being distributed nationally. “We’ve all seen distracted drivers on the highway,” said Rob Dingman, President and CEO of the AMA. “The preoccupied cell phone talker straddling lanes on the freeway, the business person fumbling with a pocket computer while turning left, or the hair brusher watching the image in the mirror instead of the stopped traffic ahead. “Distracted drivers are a danger to everyone, particularly vulnerable road users like motorcyclists, bicyclists and pedestrians,” he added. “And you never know who might be riding that motorcycle you encounter.” The PSA features an impatient and distracted driver who has a near-miss with a motorcyclist and then gets an unexpected surprise.

Rizla Suzuki MotoGP hoping for no Chinese puzzles Rizla Suzuki MotoGP travels to Shanghai in China hoping that the strong race performance at the last round in Turkey can develop into podium results. John Hopkins scored an exciting sixth place in Istanbul last week and will certainly be looking to improve on that – and last year’s fourth at Shanghai when he takes to the track for round four of the MotoGP World Championship on Sunday 6th May. Hopkins qualified on the front row of the grid at last season’s race and will certainly be planning to emulate that this coming weekend. Team-mate Chris Vermeulen will be buoyed by the performance of his 800cc Suzuki GSV-R in Turkey. He managed a creditable 11th place after being knocked off on the first lap, and also recorded the fastest lap of the race on the penultimate lap, as the new generation of Bridgestone tyres yet again proved their consistency and performance over a race distance. Vermeulen continued in good form at the one-day test at Istanbul on the Monday after the race by setting the quickest time of the day. Rizla Suzuki MotoGP comes to Shanghai with over twice the amount of points that it had at the same stage of the season last year, and both riders will be looking for good results from their Bridgestone tyres over the 5.281km long circuit to improve on those totals. The Shanghai track features the longest straight on the MotoGP calendar at over a kilometre long where last year’s 990cc machines achieved speeds in excess of 340km/h before having to brake hard for a first gear hairpin. This is combined with a mixture of slow speed turns, sweeping curves, different gradients and the longest, most technical hairpin in the world of MotoGP. Rizla Suzuki MotoGP takes to the track on Friday 4th May for two hour-long free practice sessions. Saturday will see another hour’s worth of free practice in the morning before the excitement of the afternoon’s qualifying session gets underway. Sunday’s 22-lap race will begin at 15.00hrs local time (07.00hrs GMT). John Hopkins: “I like the Shanghai circuit. It is pretty testing and you have to be fast through some of the corners and hard on the brakes, so that suits me. I led here in ’05 and was on the front row and pushing for a podium last year so I am pretty determined to go that one step better this year. The bike is working really good and the tyres that Bridgestone brought to Turkey were a huge step forward, let’s hope we get more of the same in China and can get on the rostrum!” Chris Vermeulen: “I didn’t finish at Shanghai last year so I will certainly want to do better than that! The bike and tyres worked really well in Turkey and I am sure that will be the case in China as well. I am really looking forward to this race, the track is awesome and one that I enjoy riding at. Let’s just hope we can get round without anyone knocking me off!” More, from a press release issued by Dorna Communications: With the thrilling Grand Prix of Turkey fresh in the memory, the MotoGP world tour stops in China on May 6th for the fourth race of the 2007 season. The opening three rounds have provided exciting action every step of the way in all three categories, and the Shanghai International Circuit will only encourage the same kind of activity at the Sinopec Great Wall Lubricants Grand Prix of China. Casey Stoner leads the way in MotoGP in his first season with the factory Ducati team, having taken victory at two of the first three races this year. The Australian was the runaway leader at Istanbul Park in the previous round which, combined with a fifth place at Jerez, takes him up to 61 points with a ten point cushion ahead of Valentino Rossi. The Australian has triumphed at Shanghai before, winning the 250cc race in 2005, and will be keen to build on last year’s fifth position on Chinese soil. Five-time MotoGP World Champion Rossi is in a stronger position than he was this time last year, but was perhaps not counting on the superb form of Stoner as he attempts to reclaim the title he lost. The Yamaha factory team rider dropped down the field in Turkey after suffering tyre problems, something he will definitely not want a repeat of in his return to Shanghai. Last year he was forced to retire from the race after tyre problems left him adrift in the overall standings, however the Italian won a wet race at the inaugural Chinese GP back in 2005. Returning to the scene of his first MotoGP victory, Dani Pedrosa currently lies third in the overall classification. Unable to finish at the last round, the former 125cc and 250cc World Champion is sore after his crash in Turkey but scans revealed he should be ready to ride in China. Favoured to lead the Spanish charge for the title in 2007, Pedrosa now faces stiff competition from Toni Elias for a place in the Mediterranean fans’ affections. The Gresini Honda rider has had two highly impressive races since the start of the season, winning plaudits for the all-out riding style which most recently earned him a second place at Istanbul. Marco Melandri has yet to take a podium since the switch to 800cc bikes, even at his favourite track in the last round. However, on his day the Italian is always in with a shot of the top step of the podium, and is by no means out of the title running at such an early stage in the season. The American duo of Colin Edwards and Nicky Hayden are level on 26 points, with the latter still to step onto the rostrum in defence of his world title. Post-race testing after Turkey saw progress for the ‘Kentucky Kid’, and he will be hoping that he can get his season into top gear before the championship leaders begin to break away. Alex Barros and John Hopkins both have momentum in their favour, after strong performances where they could conceivably have finished amongst the top three. Hopkins was on the front row in China last year, and took fourth in the race itself. His Suzuki team-mate Australian star Chris Vermeulen completes the top ten in the MotoGP class. Practice for the Sinopec Great Wall Lubricants Grand Prix of China begins on Friday May 4th, with the race itself taking place on Sunday May 6th. 250cc In 250cc, Jorge Lorenzo continues to lead the way. However, the Spaniard faces the challenge of stopping a newly-aggressive Andrea Dovizioso as he attempts to annex China to ‘Lorenzo Land’. The reigning World Champion saw Dovizioso end his perfect run of both pole positions and race victories in 2007 at Istanbul, something that will not sit well with the Aprilia rider. Lorenzo still holds an advantage of 18 points over the 2006 runner up, and the two are sure to be involved in each other’s business throughout the weekend as they aim to stamp their authority on the class. Following them every step of the way, Alvaro Bautista has jumped in at the deep end in the 250cc category. Twice alongside the classification leaders on the podium at Jerez and Turkey, the reigning 125cc World Champion has established himself as a title contender in the opening stages of the season. Aspar team-mate Alex de Angelis is also on a good run of form, and rounds up the overall top six alongside 2006 Grand Prix of China race winner Hector Barbera and 250cc rookie Thomas Luthi. 125cc Any pattern established in the 125cc category, in which the same three riders had appeared on the podium in the opening two races, was thrown out of the window in Turkey. Championship leader Gabor Talmacsi was unable to follow up on his Jerez victory, and was out of the top three for the first time in 2007 as Simone Corsi took his first ever 125cc win. Talmacsi leads team-mate Hector Faubel by nine points, with the Spaniard also out of the running for the win at Istanbul. Lukas Pesek is still in search of elusive 125cc glory, and lies in third overall. Corsi’s first place takes him up to fourth in the general standings, ahead of Joan Olive and 15 year old rookie Pol Espargaro. The 125cc races have provided incredible action so far this year, and a clear favourite is still to be established in the category. Circuit Info The Shanghai International circuit, situated outside China’s prosperous metropolitan port city, hosted its first MotoGP race in 2005, but is already acknowledged as one of the most impressive race venues on earth. Vast grandstands overlook an equally impressive pits and paddock complex adjacent to the high-speed 5.281km/3.281 mile circuit. The track includes two very fast straights where bikes exceed 320kmh/199mph and a series of tight corners, including two long right-handers that take the riders through almost 360 degrees. Shanghai is one of the most modern and technologically advanced cities in the world, and its impressive race circuit fits in perfectly.

Ilmor GP Update Brixworth 30.04.07: It has been over a month since Ilmor GP Team Principal Mario Illien announced the temporary suspension of the team’s race programme and now it’s time for an update”¦ Today at the Ilmor Engineering factory in Northampton Illien and Managing Director Steve Miller announced that the Ilmor GP race team will be slimmed down to a ‘skeleton’ crew focusing on the continued development of the engine as a consequence many of the original Ilmor GP team personnel will be released from their contracts from the end of May 2007 onwards and will be free to pursue other opportunities. Speaking about the announcement Illien said: “Whilst our commitment to finding a title sponsor and suitable Ilmor GP partners to make racing a viable financial option continues in full force, it is senseless to employ an entire race team when our track activity has ceased albeit on a temporary basis. “I know that it’s hard for people to understand why we have stopped racing and some people have been quick to judge our withdrawal from the MotoGP World Championship but I remain upbeat and I still strongly believe that we will find a financial partner for the team. In the mean time we have to restructure and put in place a smaller team dedicated to engine development. “I attended the Dorna sponsorship workshop in Barcelona a couple of weeks ago and it is clear that further work needs to be done to make the sport more appealing to commercial partners” Illien added. “Key people outside of the sport don’t really understand what MotoGP is and the fantastic opportunity it represents by association. I also think that people perhaps underestimated the impact that the decline in tobacco sponsorship would have on the sport. Added to this potential corporate sponsors are much more environmentally aware these days I’m a strong believer that environmental issues and professional motorsport shouldn’t be mutually exclusive. There are plenty of opportunities to be explored on this front.” Whilst both Ilmor GP riders Jeremy McWilliams and Andrew Pitt remain under contract Illien has been happy to loan Pitt to World Superbike team Hannspree Ten Kate Honda for the race in Valencia whilst Frenchman Sebastien Charpentier recovered from his fractured coccyx and again this weekend in Assen as the team run a third bike at their home race. Commenting on the riders Illien said: “I’m pleased that Andrew performed so well in Valencia for Hanspree Ten Kate Honda, he demonstrates the flair and ability that we still believe he has. Both Andrew and Jeremy have done a fantastic job for Ilmor GP under difficult circumstances and I want to thank them for their on- going patience and understanding. If all goes to plan and we manage to secure the funding to get back out for the remainer of the 2007 season then of course I would love to have both riders back on board.”

It was red-flagged three times and postponed once, but the AMA Supersport race at California Speedway turned out to be a terrific battle to the end. In the end, Jamie Hacking, the defending Supersport Champion, took the win (his first of 2007) on his Monster Energy Kawasaki ZX-6R. Erion Honda’s Josh Hayes led most of the race, but Hacking took the lead with three laps to go and held it through heavy lapped traffic to win by 0.135 second. Hayes finished a close second but moved into the Supersport Championship points lead. Hacking’s teammate Roger Hayden came back from a lap-seven incident (a collision with Celtic Racing Yamaha’s Chaz Davies that resulted in Davies running off the track) to finish third, two seconds behind the lead pair. 2007 Pro Honda Oils AMA Supersport Championship Presented by Shoei Helmets California Speedway Fontana, California April 29, 2007 Provisional Race Results: 1. Jamie Hacking (Kaw ZX-6R), Dunlop, 17 laps 2. Josh Hayes (Hon CBR600RR), Dunlop, -0.135 second 3. Roger Hayden (Kaw ZX-6R), Dunlop, -2.168 seconds 4. Steve Rapp (Kaw ZX-6R), Pirelli, -3.947 seconds 5. Michael Barnes (Suz GSX-R600), Pirelli, -4.125 seconds 6. Tommy Hayden (Suz GSX-R600), Dunlop, -4.834 seconds 7. Geoff May (Suz GSX-R600), Pirelli, -5.459 seconds 8. Danny Eslick (Suz GSX-R600), Dunlop, -13.188 seconds 9. Chaz Davies (Yam YZF-R6), Dunlop, -13.401 seconds 10. Cory West (Yam YZF-R6), Pirelli, -13.968 seconds 11. Blake Young (Suz GSX-R600), Dunlop, -20.279 seconds 12. Jeremy Toye (Kaw ZX-6R), Dunlop, -29.443 seconds 13. Chris Siglin (Suz GSX-R600), Dunlop, -31.965 seconds 14. Jason Perez (Yam YZF-R6), Dunlop, -31.965 seconds 15. Garrett Carter (Yam YZF-R6), Dunlop, -32.423 seconds 16. Ryan Andrews (Hon CBR600RR), Dunlop, -32.449 seconds 17. Barrett Long (Yam YZF-R6), Pirelli, -37.461 seconds 18. Ryan Elleby (Hon CBR600RR), Dunlop, -38.183 seconds 19. Bobby Fong (Suz GSX-R600), Michelin, -40.181 seconds 20. Grant Riggs (Suz GSX-R600), -51.272 seconds 21. Chris Siebenhaar (Suz GSX-R600), -73.337 seconds 22. Scott Ryan (Suz GSX-R600), Michelin, -74.150 seconds 23. Reno Karimian (Suz GSX-R600), -80.510 seconds 24. Morgan Murphy (Suz GSX-R600), -1 lap 25. C.R. Gittere (Suz GSX-R600), -1 lap, 0.071 second 26. Christopher Ancien (Suz GSX-R600), -1 lap, 0.241 second 27. Jay Ruess (Kaw ZX-6R), -1 lap, 15.088 seconds 28. Sahar Zvik (Suz GSX-R600), -1 lap, 15.386 seconds 29. Ed Sorbo (Yam YZF-R6), Bridgestone, -1 lap, 22.621 seconds 30. Colin Rimes (Suz GSX-R600), -1 lap, 36.733 seconds 31. John Dang (Yam YZF-R6), -1 lap, 90.265 seconds 32. Carlos Rodrigues (Kaw ZX-6R), -2 laps 33. Darren Luck (Suz GSX-R600), -2 laps, 65.366 seconds, mechanical 34. Lenny Hale (Yam YZF-R6), -5 laps 35. Mike Shreve (Yam YZF-R6), -6 laps 36. Michael Beck (Suz GSX-R600), Pirelli, -12 laps, DNF, crash 37. Eric Pinson (Yam YZF-R6), -12 laps, DNF 38. Ben Attard (Kaw ZX-6R), Pirelli, -13 laps, DNF 39. Tyler McDonald (Yam YZF-R6), Michelin, -13 laps, DNF, mechanical 40. Josh Herrin (Yam YZF-R6), Dunlop, -14 laps, DNF, crash 41. Aaron Gobert (Hon CBR600RR), Dunlop, -14 laps, DNF, mechanical 42. Shea Fouchek (Hon CBR600RR), Dunlop, -17 laps, DNF, crash 43. David Anthony (Yam YZF-R6), Pirelli, -17 laps, DNF, crash 44. Hawk Mazzotta (Yam YZF-R6), -17 laps, DNF 45. Jeff Seehorn (Kaw ZX-6R), -17 laps, DNF AMA Supersport Championship Point Standings: 1. Hayes, 96 points 2. Roger Hayden, 92 points 3. Rapp, 80 points 4. Tommy Hayden, 79 points 5. Barnes, 72 points 6. Hacking, 70 points 7. West, 65 points 8. Young, 59 points 9. Herrin, 52 points 10. TIE, Attard/Andrews, 49 points 12. TIE, May/Davies, 46 points 14. Elleby, 45 points 15. Eslick, 44 points 16. TIE, Siglin/Carter, 39 points 18. Beck, 35 points 19. Jeff Wood, 34 points 20. Gobert, 27 points

Yoshimura Suzuki’s Mat Mladin beat his teammate and rival Ben Spies by 0.035 second to win the AMA Superbike race Sunday at California Speedway. Mladin got out to an early-race lead that maxed out at 3.2 seconds, but Spies was able to close that gap, leading to a dramatic run to the finish. Eric Bostrom got the holeshot on his Yamaha YZF-R1 but was not able to match the pace of the lead Suzuki pair and finished third. AMA Superbike Championship Presented by Parts Unlimited California Speedway Fontana, California April 29, 2007 Provisional Race Results: 1. Mat Mladin (Suz GSX-R1000), Dunlop, 28 laps 2. Ben Spies (Suz GSX-R1000), Dunlop, -0.035 second 3. Eric Bostrom (Yam YZF-R1), Dunlop, -21.315 seconds 4. Tommy Hayden (Suz GSX-R1000), Dunlop, -24.616 seconds 5. Jake Zemke (Hon CBR1000RR), Dunlop, -24.950 seconds 6. Miguel Duhamel (Hon CBR1000RR), Dunlop, -25.709 seconds 7. Roger Hayden (Kaw ZX-10R), Dunlop, -34.549 seconds 8. Jamie Hacking (Kaw ZX-10R), Dunlop, -34.649 seconds 9. Aaron Yates (Suz GSX-R1000), Dunlop, -34.861 seconds 10. Jason DiSalvo (Yam YZF-R1), Dunlop, -63.235 seconds 11. Doug Chandler (Hon CBR1000RR), Dunlop, -80.415 seconds 12. James Ellison (Hon CBR1000RR), Dunlop, -1 lap 13. Kurtis Roberts (Hon CBR1000RR), Dunlop, -1 lap, 19.470 seconds 14. Scott Jensen (Suz GSX-R1000), Pirelli, -1 lap, 27.880 seconds 15. Martin Cardenas (Kaw ZX-10R), Pirelli, -1 lap, 38.754 seconds 16. David Weber (Suz GSX-R1000), Dunlop, -1 lap, 52.990 seconds 17. Dominic Jones (Suz GSX-R1000), -1 lap, 77.157 seconds 18. Johnny Rock Page (Yam YZF-R1), Dunlop, -2 laps 19. Matt Lynn (MV Agusta F4-1000R 312), Dunlop, -11 laps, DNF, mechanical 20. Dean Mizdal (Suz GSX-R1000), -21 laps, DNF 21. Jake Holden (Suz GSX-R1000), Dunlop, -22 laps, DNF 22. Luca Scassa (MV Agusta F4-1000R 312), Dunlop, -23 laps, DNF, mechanical Provisional AMA Supeerbike Championship Point Standings: 1. Spies, 173 points 2. Mladin, 164 points 3. Duhamel, 141 points 4. Tommy Hayden, 130 points 5. Zemke, 126 points 6. Yates, 119 points 7. Eric Bostrom, 116 points 8. DiSalvo, 114 points 9. Hacking, 90 points 10. Roger Hayden, 89 points

The Pro Honda Oils AMA Supersport Presented by Shoei Helmets race at California Speedway has been postponed. The race was started twice, and both starts ended with red flags brought out by multi-bike crashes on the first laps. Due to the AMA Superbike race being broadcast live on SPEED, the Supersport race will be restarted after the Superbike final. Erion Honda’s Josh Hayes got the holeshot in both Supersport race starts.