Racer Dan Jasa (Great Plains CCS #414) married Jenny Kissel April 14 in St. Louis, Missouri.

By Kurt Whittington With ambient temperatures in the mid 50s and winds constant at over 30 mph Sunday, the fourth round of the 2007 WSMC series at Willow Springs Raceway was run under extreme weather conditions. “If you like an adrenaline rush, this is the way to do it,” commented HRC test rider Jeff Tigert regarding the wind during the Toyota Cup Formula One race. Tigert finished second in the race to Lee Cycle’s Jeremy Toye who said he had more “moments” due to the wind during the F1 race and his 600 class races than he’d like to recall. “That was a lot of work out there with the wind. It was pushing the whole time,” Toye said. “Once all the cones started blowing onto the track, I started thinking yeah, this can’t be happening. That was a whole new element – having to pick a new line with the wind blowing so hard, but also had to pick new lines to dodge the cones. I thought what’s next, is the sky falling?” On his GSX-R 1000 running 16.5 Dunlop slicks, Toye led every lap of the 12-lap race. In the early goings he was followed by Advanced Kawasaki’s Robbie Dowie, however Dowie crashed in turn one on lap five. While trying to fight the wind and dodge a cone that had blown onto the track, Dowie hit the inside curbing in turn one at his apex and low-sided. After a bit of a slow start, Tigert, on his Jett Performance-prepped CBR1000RR, caught up to Toye a little past the halfway point in the race. Tigert stayed on Toye’s rear tire for several laps and showed Toye a wheel a couple of times, but never made a pass for the lead. With about two laps to go, however, Tigert felt his rear 16.5 Dunlop slick really going off and he decided it was better to drop back and finish second then risk crashing out in the wind and not finishing at all. “I kind of had to work my tire a little harder than I wanted to to catch [Toye] and I could tell that he was being really smooth with his tire when I got up to him. When the grip started going down and I realized that we had a big gap behind us, so I just followed him into the finish,” Tigert said. Coming out on top of a close, race-long battle with Chris Duran and Jack Pfeifer, Sport Tire Services sponsored Jeff Stern finished third. Stern said that his Rusty Schaeffer-tuned GSX-R1000 running on 16.5-Dunlop slicks seemed to handle better than Pfeifer’s bike in the wind, but Stern still had to make a hard pass on Pfeifer to take over third place. “His bike has a little better straight line speed than ours and I figured if I got him in turn eight he’d go back by me on the front straight,” Stern explained and said that he had to try to make his pass in the slower section of the track and try to gap Pfeifer before they got back to the high-speed section. Stern made his move entering turn two on the sixth lap. “[Pfeifer] checked up a couple of times getting into turn two, so I just rolled in [on the outside] and chopped his front wheel off,” said the WSMC veteran. Pfeifer finished fourth and Duran rounded out the top five. More, from a press release issued by Kenny Kopecky: WSMC Round 4 – April 14-15, 2007 Willow Springs International Raceway Rosamond, CA Moto Forza Ducati supported roadracer Kenny Kopecky won a pair of races at Willow Springs Sunday, taking the holeshot in both Formula Twins Heavyweight and BOTT Heavyweight from his second row grid positions, and leading both races to their conclusion. The victories bring the San Diego racers’ WSMC sprint race record in 2007 to 8 wins in 8 starts in the past month, with his next planned race appearance at the Streets of Willow race on May 6th. The wind conditions were “miserable” as described by Kenny throughout the weekend, and after skipping the entire Saturday practice day Kenny rode the clubs’ opening Saturday Solo series race, a 20-lap 50 mile event. Running on the same set of Dunlop tires used in two race wins at the March WSMC meet, Kenny took a quick but brief lead as Robbie Dowie warmed up slowly and toyed with Kenny for several laps. With an admitted “complete lack of training” Kopecky could not continue his typical sprint race pace after 25 miles, and was demoted to third by Mitchell Wissner. Kenny gamely hung as close as he could for the remaining 10 laps, finishing 2.1 seconds behind 2nd place after 50 miles. After the race Kenny stated “…with the high winds and a bit too much arm pump I was cooked! It was fun to have Robbie mess with me for a few laps, and I was reasonably pleased as those were my first laps on our Ducati 999R-05 in four weeks. Robbie didn’t really go much faster as he went ahead to win, and after I slowed just hanging onto Mitch was a huge chore. They both rode really well in the wind, and we’re sure to have some more fun racing together at the upcoming Solo meets!” For the sprint racing on Sunday, Kopecky again skipped the practice sessions and had mounted fresh Dunlop race slicks. He added “The races were extremely difficult with these changing wind conditions! Our first race early in the day was completly different than the second win late in the afternoon, and it was truly a day to just get through and look forward to some harder, faster riding at a future event. My family and I would also like to extend our sincerest best wishes and our prayers are with those who fell and were injured over the weekend”. Kopecky, who turned 48 on Saturday at the track (and is celebrating his 25th year as a competitor in roadracing at Willow Springs) isn’t competing for series awards at the main course any longer after his dominating 2005 WSMC Championship season. However, he has decided to attempt a few more WSMC Class Championship title runs! “Yep, we had so much fun over at that first WSMC Streets of Willow race two weeks ago! We’ll be back for their remaining Streets races with our Moto Forza Husqvarna SMR Single, and we’ll see if we can bring a couple more class titles back to the shop for the guys!” The next WSMC Streets of Willow race is May 5-6, 2007 and the next WSMC main track event is May 18-20, 2007.

Interview with Red Bull KTM Technical Director Harald Bartol Harald Bartol talks about technical development in the two-stroke categories, high expectations for the next races — and the successful debut of the Red Bull Rookies Cup. At the first Grand Prix in Qatar, Aprilia seemed unbeatable. But at the second race in Jerez, the Red Bull KTM 125 was the fastest bike on the track. A nice surprise? Bartol: I didn’t expect anything else. I wouldn’t have understood where Aprilia’s big advantage came from, despite their new system with the rotary valve now sitting behind the cylinder. Alvaro Bautista created big hopes for Aprilia when he dominated the field with this new bike in the final race last season. But it was he as a rider that was superior, not the bike. Guys like Mattia Pasini would now have more chances to fight for race wins and the title if they were, like Gabor Talmacsi, on Aprilia’s old 125 cc version. The new rotary valve system is still full of technical problems. It’™s just too new yet. Having said that, I don’t want to hide the fact that Aprilia’s overall package is currently better than ours. The bike is easier to ride and easier to set up. We had different priorities last winter and now we have to catch up in this area. This is surprising. Aren’t two-stroke engines with reed valve intake like the Red Bull KTM easier to manage and more user-friendly than engines with rotary valve intake? Bartol: Who says that? This is nothing but an old rumour that certain people repeat in order to protect themselves. When reed valve engines first came up many years ago, the driveability was indeed better – because other components on these bikes, like the electrical systems, were further advanced. But in general, rotary valve engines with their fixed valve timing are much easier to manage than reed valve engines with their reed valves doing whatever they want to do as far as valve timing goes. The fact that we at KTM developed reed valve engines has other reasons: The construction is less complicated and, at the end of the day, it’s less expensive. One of the highlights so far was teenager Steve Bonsey, who took points in Jerez with hardly any road racing experience at all. What do you expect from him? Bartol: He is still learning, but he is learning fast. I really believe in this guy. He has the attitude of a true racer, and he’s got a lot of dirt track racing experience. It’s obvious that he can’t acquire all road racing skills over night, but it is only a matter of time until he develops the feeling for Grand Prix racing. I am sure that we will hear a lot more from Steve as the season goes on. The whole story started when we couldn’t find a potential race winner for this year. Then Kenny Roberts rang and told us about Steve, and we decided to take a risk and throw him in at the deep end. Of course he wants to end up in MotoGP racing one day, but I am convinced that going through the small two-stroke categories is the best path to take. If Nicky Hayden had started his road racing career on such a motorcycle, he wouldn’t have the problems that he’s got now. Superbike racing just doesn’t get you where you need to be for Grand Prix racing. So far, you didn’t have much to celebrate in the 250 cc class. Hiroshi Aoyama got injured, and Mika Kallio’s bike stopped in both races. Were these mechanical failures just bad luck or is there more to it? Bartol: We have tried to analyse what happened as thoroughly as possible, and found out that it was a combination of bad luck and other factors. The broken piston ring that caused Kallio’s bike to seize in Qatar was not a supply problem but a machining one, which had to do with our time restraints. The only bad luck was the fact that this piston ring broke at that particular moment. As far as the broken gear sprocket on Kallio’s bike in Jerez goes, it turned out that we somehow reached the limit of what our current material can take. For the future, we have to think how to strengthen certain parts. For now, we just have to shorten the replacement intervals of these items. Considering that the Red Bull KTM 125 was the fastest bike on the track in Jerez, is there a chance for the twin-cylinder Red Bull KTM 250 to be the same once all problems are sorted? Bartol: So far, we have concentrated all of our efforts with the 250 on rideability. We are also working on new performance parts, but we will only introduce them for the race in Shanghai. If everything works out the way we hope, then our 250 will be clearly faster than it is now. But we also have to be careful: There is some homework left for us to do with the balance shaft, and all in all, the mechanical system of the 250 is much more complicated than the 125. The first Red Bull KTM Rookie’s Cup race in Jerez was fun to watch. Was it also a success from your point of view? Bartol: We arrived in Spain with butterflies in our stomachs because everything had happened at such short notice, and we didn’t know how it would all work out. But I have to thank the entire crew. They did a great job. You have to consider that we not only have rookies riding these bikes but also apprentices doing all the service work. Minor incidents apart, this system worked really well. This cup is surely the best that I have ever seen. It exactly meets the goals that Red Bull has set: from the overall presentation in the paddock and on the track to the fact that it will flush out the most talented riders, regardless of their background or household income.

ISTANBUL: WHERE THE NEW TIRE RULES REALLY BITE Michelin riders go into the Turkish Grand Prix following a dominant display at last month’s Spanish GP where Valentino Rossi (Fiat Yamaha Team YZR-M1-Michelin) won ahead of Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda Team RC212V-Michelin) and Colin Edwards (Fiat Yamaha Team YZR-M1-Michelin). Rossi now leads the World Championship, while Pedrosa is equal second on points with Casey Stoner (Ducati Marlboro Team Desmosedici GP7). The Turkish GP is set to be the most challenging so far this year because Istanbul Park is the first circuit that didn’t feature in preseason tests, so tire companies have no recent data to help riders select their allocation of 31 tires, according to new MotoGP rules. At the Qatar and Spanish GPs riders and teams were able to choose tires according to the tests they’d done at those tracks just weeks before the season began. Thus from Istanbul onwards the challenge facing Michelin and its rival tire companies is bigger than ever before. Michelin riders dominated both the inaugural 2005 Turkish GP and the 2006 event, filling the first four positions in 2005 and the first five places last year. MICHELIN & THE TECHNICAL CHALLENGE OF ISTANBUL PARK “First of all, I’d like to say thanks to our team partners for doing such a great job at Losail and Jerez within the new tire rules,” says Jean-Philippe Weber, Michelin’s director of motorcycle racing. “Istanbul is going to be another big challenge. It will be much more difficult to fix the tire allocation for our different riders because we haven’t tested there, whereas we had tested at Losail and Jerez, so we had a lot of very recent data from those tracks. For the same reason it will be more difficult to explain our strategy to the teams, because we’ve not been able discuss any test results with them. From now on it’s more our responsibility to find the performance, so they have to trust us even more. But we are quite confident, because of what we have learned so far this year and because our tires worked very well last year at Istanbul. “A lot depends on the weather, so we will have to watch the weather forecasts carefully in the week before the race. From that we decide our strategy, produce a range of tires taking the forecast into account and then explain our strategy to the teams. The weather forecast is really important now. Last year we could be very reactive and send newly made tires to the track overnight during the weekend. With the new rules we obviously have to start production earlier and also because we now create specific tires for each rider, but our production facility is very flexible, so we don’t need to make our tires too long before the race. “We had a good race at Istanbul last year, taking the first five places, so that gives us a good starting point for this year. Last time there it was pretty cold. The track can be quite tricky in the rain, last year we saw quite a few guys slide off as they braked into Turn 12 during a wet practice session. Also, the rain doesn’t drain away too well. “Edge grip and traction are very important, especially through turns three, five and seven. And you need good braking stability into Turn 12. It’s going to be very interesting to see how our new 16-inch front behaves in Turkey because we’ve seen that Rossi and some of our other riders can be quite aggressive in the corners with this tire. The other big thing in Turkey will be engine power, there are some fast sections, and also at the next race in China!” MICHELIN IN TURKEY Michelin tires have been available in Turkey since 1936 and are currently imported by official subsidiary Michelin Lastikleri Ticaret AS. Turkey has a young population (40 per cent are under 22) and a rapidly expanding motorcycle market. TRACK DATA ISTANBUL PARK: 5.340km/3.318 miles Lap record: Toni Elias (Fortuna Honda RC211VMichelin), 1:52.877, 170.309kmh/105.825mph (2006, lap 21) Pole position 2006: Chris Vermeulen (Rizla Suzuki GSV-R), 2:04.617, 154.265Kmh/95.856mph (wet session) Winners of the Turkish GP 2006 Marco Melandri (Fortuna Honda RC211VMichelin), 41:54.065, 168.224kmh/104.530mph 2005 Marco Melandri (Telefonica Honda RC211VMichelin), 41:44.139 (first race at track) Michelin’s 2007 MotoGP riders Carlos Checa (Honda LCR RC212V-Michelin) Colin Edwards (Fiat Yamaha Team YZR-M1-Michelin) Nicky Hayden (Repsol Honda Team RC212V-Michelin) Shinya Nakano (Konica Minolta Honda RC212V-Michelin) Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda Team RC212V-Michelin) Kenny Roberts Jr (Team Roberts KR212V-Michelin) Valentino Rossi (Fiat Yamaha Team YZR-M1-Michelin)

Capcom®, a leading developer and publisher of videogames last week confirmed that it has secured the PlayStation® format rights to publish official videogames based on the adrenaline fuelled motor sport, MotoGP. The first game to be published under the terms of this agreement will be MotoGP ’07 (working title) due for release this autumn on the PlayStation® 2 entertainment system. MotoGP is the world’s premier motorcycling championship consisting of 18 Grands Prix from around the globe and featuring the world’s top motorcycle manufacturers including Honda, Yamaha, Suzuki, Ducati, Kawasaki, KTM and Aprilia plus the world’s best riders such as Nicky Hayden, Valentino Rossi, Dani Pedrosa, Makoto Tamada and Casey Stoner. Commenting on the announcement Mark Beaumont, executive vice president, officer and head of Capcom consumer software publishing in the Americas and Europe said: “MotoGP is the most exciting motor sport on the planet and we are really thrilled to be partnering with them. This project clearly demonstrates Capcom’s intent to broaden its portfolio to include both original and licensed IP, work with the best developer talent and brands from across the globe to create new exciting gaming experiences. MotoGP is a multi-million unit selling franchise on PlayStation formats and we look forward to taking it to the next level.” Carmelo Ezpeleta, CEO of Dorna Sports, the exclusive holder of all commercial and TV rights to MotoGP commented: “Capcom’s long tradition for innovation and pushing technological boundaries in pursuit of delivering high quality entertainment perfectly matches the core values of the MotoGP brand and we’re delighted to be partnering with them.”

The MotoGP World Championship gets back underway on April 22nd, when the riders return to the track for the Grand Prix of Turkey at Istanbul Park. The opening two races of the 2007 season have taken place at tracks previously tested on with the new 800cc bikes, but the Turkish date should throw up a few surprises as ‘uncharted territory’. Five time MotoGP World Champion Valentino Rossi is in the driving seat after the first two races of the year, having opened his win account at the last round in Spain. The Italian is on a mission this season, and leads the overall classification with 45 points. Victory at Jerez also keeps the possibility of seven different winners from as many races alive, with the previous six rounds having been won by Marco Melandri, Loris Capirossi, Toni Elias, Troy Bayliss, Casey Stoner and ‘The Doctor’ himself. Those with the possibility of extending the streak include reigning champion Nicky Hayden and 2006 Rookie Of The Year Dani Pedrosa. Rossi has yet to win in Turkey, one of three circuits on this year’s calendar where he has never taken victory. The winner of the opening race, Casey Stoner has shone since his move to the factory Ducati team. Last season he took his first ever MotoGP podium at Istanbul Park, pickpocketed on the final corner by Marco Melandri, and this year he will be looking to throw his name into the hat early on as a serious title contender after three races. Apart from Rossi, Dani Pedrosa is the only rider to have been on the podium at every race so far. The Spaniard is level on points with Stoner, and has the chance to make amends for his last lap crash last year whilst fighting for the win. Pedrosa is currently on a ten race winless streak, the longest period without a triumph since his first 125cc victory back in 2002. Colin Edwards made his return to the podium at Jerez, the first time he had tasted the champagne since last year’s Chinese Grand Prix. The American looks more comfortable than ever on the newest version of the Yamaha M1, and could be in the running for his elusive maiden MotoGP victory over the course of the season. He lies fourth in the standings, ahead of Marco Melandri. The Italian has a perfect record on Turkish soil, winning every race held at Istanbul Park. However, a slow start to the year means that the Gresini Honda rider is not in the best of form as he tries to make it a hat trick of victories, although Melandri can never ever be ruled out of the running. His win last year came from way down in 14th on the grid, the lowest ever position that a winning rider has started from. The 2006 MotoGP World Champion’s title defence has not got off to the best of starts, but the hardworking Nicky Hayden is determined to get himself back onto the podium and amongst the frontrunners. Having received advice from brother Tommy at the post-race Jerez test, ‘Trick Daddy’ could easily make his way back up the standings with a strong showing at Istanbul. John Hopkins continues to battle on through the pain barrier, suffering from a hand injury from preseason. Despite this, the Anglo American has no intention of taking time off, and has by no means been cruising during the opening two races of 2007. He trails team-mate Chris Vermeulen and Honda rider Toni Elias in the standings, ahead of Alex Barros and Shinya Nakano, who should be starting his 100th MotoGP race in Turkey. Practice for the Grand Prix of Turkey begins on Friday April 20th, with the race itself taking place on Sunday 22nd. 250cc In 250cc, Jorge Lorenzo has been unstoppable thus far in his title defence. The Spaniard has taken two victories and two pole positions on his way to a perfect 50 points from the opening pair of races, marking his territory along the way. If he is to annex Turkey to ‘Lorenzo’s Land’ then he will have to avoid a repeat of last year, when he collided with Shuhei Aoyama at the opening corner and began a run of winless races. Alex de Angelis will also be approaching the third race of the season with caution, doubtless not having forgotten his last lap excursion onto the grass in 2006. The San Marino rider made one of the most miraculous saves of all time as he collided with Hector Barbera on the back straight last year. De Angelis currently lies in second in the championship, ahead of Andrea Dovizioso and quarter litre rookie Alvaro Bautista. Yuki Takahashi, returning to form after a long comeback from a broken leg, and Hector Barbera complete the top six in 250cc, with the latter unlucky to crash out of his home race in Jerez when challenging for victory. Roberto Locatelli, the former 125cc World Champion seriously injured in a crash during practice for the Jerez 250cc race, has been making a steady recovery from his injuries suffered at the Spanish track, and has undergone a series of operations since the accident with positive results. 125cc Only three riders have stepped onto the podium this season in the 125cc class, and between them they have provided fans with two exciting races. Gabor Talmacsi leads the way in the lower cylinder category, becoming the first Hungarian in history to do so. After having been slipstreamed by team-mate Hector Faubel in Qatar, it was Talmacsi’s turn to take a photo finish win at Jerez, denying Lukas Pesek his maiden victory in the class. Pol Espargaro, the youngest rider to score Grand Prix points, is proving that he can hang with the big boys in his first full season. The Spaniard still has the chance to become the youngest ever podium finisher from his country, and heads to Turkey on the back of a successful home race two weeks ago. One of the predicted title challengers this year, Mattia Pasini has suffered more than his fair share of misfortune thus far. Having suffered a mechanical problem at the opening race, he then had to start from the back of the grid in Spain after breaking down on the sighting lap. The determined Italian, who had qualified on pole before his setback, then collided with Bradley Smith in the early stages of the race, leaving him with zero points from two races. Circuit Info The Istanbul Park track is located on the Asian side of Istanbul, close to the newly constructed Sabiha Gokcen Istanbul Airport, and was designed by Herman Tilke, the architect behind a number of racetracks like Sepang and Shanghai. The circuit proved an instant hit with riders on their first visit in 2005, featuring breath-taking changes in elevation as well as some extremely fast and challenging corners. There are echoes of several world famous corners, the most thrilling being the fast turn eleven which resembles Eau Rouge at Spa and which almost certainly now qualifies as the fastest corner in MotoGP. With stands ready to hold 130,000 race fans, the circuit has opened MotoGP up to a whole new world.

Albacete 6hr Night-time Endurance Spain – 5th May 2007 The second leg of the QMMF Endurance FIM World Championship 2007, the Albacete 6 Hr Night-time endurance race will take place on Saturday 5th May from 18.00 00.00hrs. Thirty eight teams will fight it out on the Spanish circuit, situated 160km to the west of Valencia, the only fully lit circuit outside of Japan. The permanent World Championship teams will be keeping a watchful eye on the competitive Spanish teams as in previous seasons. A total of no less than five Spanish teams will compete in the 6 hrs. This year, the ever ambitious Yamaha Folche has announced a top rider line-up that includes the winner of the 2006 24hrs Catalonia, Victor Casas, and Le Mans 24hrs 2006 winner Dani Ribalta as well as Alex Martinez. A number of the permanent Championship teams are expected to perform well at Albacete, including Yamaha Austria Racing Team who finished 3rd in 2005 and 2nd in 2006, Yamaha Phase One Endurance and Bolliger Team Switzerland (Kawasaki) both of whom finished in the top five for the last two seasons. Other riders to watch will be the Qatar Endurance Racing Team’s Spanish riders Jose-Luis Cardoso and Ivan Silva, who will be sporting the colours of QMMF, the title sponsors of the QMMF Endurance FIM World Championships. The current Albacete record lap-time is held by Kawasaki France’s Gwen Giabbani (1’66.610) set whilst riding for Yamaha Austria in 2004 but Luis Cardoso has also recorded a time of (1’33.600) on the track in Formula Extreme in 2004. The Albacete free tests will begin on Friday morning. The test qualifiers will take place on Friday afternoon and Saturday morning. The race will begin at 18.00hrs and finish at midnight, and the winner will take away 25 points.

MONSTER ENERGY KAWASAKI TEAM TO BEAT IN AMA SUPERSPORT CHAMPIONSHIP PICKERINGTON, Ohio (April 16, 2007) After a dominating performance by Roger Lee Hayden and Jamie Hacking at Daytona, the Monster Energy Kawasaki team appears to be the ones to beat in this year’s Pro Honda Oils Supersport Championship presented by Shoei as the series comes to Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, Ala., on April 22. Round two of the Pro Honda Oils Supersport Championship is part of Barber’s 5th annual Honda Superbike Classic Weekend on April 20-22. Hayden and Hacking pulled steadily away from the rest of the field at Daytona on their factory ZX-6Rs, with the pair crossing the line over 12 seconds ahead of Yoshimura Suzuki’s Tommy Hayden Roger Lee’s older brother. The season is young, but it appears the title chase could be between Roger Lee, who has twice been runner up in the series, and Hacking, a two-time and defending champ of the class. “I think as far as the championship goes, I have as good a shot as anybody,” Roger Lee Hayden said after winning at Daytona. “I felt like I was in the wrong class our bike was so much faster than the other guys. So that’s good. Hopefully we can carry this on for the rest of the year.” Roger Lee is a two-time Barber Supersport winner. He could become the first rider to win the class at Barber in back-to-back seasons. He could also move past Aaron Yates and tie Mike Smith for fourth on the all-time AMA Supersport wins list Hacking, who won this race in 2005, said he made one little mistake on the final lap at Daytona that he thinks may have cost him the win. The North Carolinian is focusing on the big picture. “Daytona was just one race of the 11 races we’ve got,” Hacking said. “All of my guys have done an extraordinary job all winter long, just getting where we’re at right now. We come in there fresh and new, new crew and everything like that, and everybody’s doing a super great job. I’m really proud of my team right now, what we’ve accomplished in a short bit of time.” Tommy Hayden is another former Barber Supersport winner and comes into this year’s race ranked third in the series. The eldest of the racing Hayden brothers, from Owensboro, Ky., is coming to terms with a new bike on a new team this year and he hopes to close the gap on the Kawasakis at a more technical circuit such as Barber. If he manages to pull off a victory it would mark the first time a Suzuki has won the Supersport race at Barber. Veteran racer Michael Barnes is expected to be a leading contender at Barber aboard the Team M4 EMGO Suzuki in spite of the fact of being one of the oldest riders in AMA road racing at 38. “It’s easy to get fixated on rider ages, but in my book what a rider can do on the racetrack is what counts the most, not how old they are,” said M4 EMGO Suzuki team owner John Ulrich. “Michael Barnes can still put it on the podium in AMA National races –not an easy thing to do — and he’s got the advantage of prior experience in just about every possible situation. Guys like Barnes, Rich Oliver, Tray Batey have all demonstrated that what’s in your heart and in your head counts more than the date on your birth certificate. I see no reason why Michael Barnes can’t be competitive for as long as he wants to race.” Barnes’ teammate Geoff May is another top runner in the series this year. Honda is back in Supersport this year with Formula Xtreme champ Josh Hayes, a native of Gulfport, Miss. Hayes, who won the Xtreme title last year for Erion Honda in the face of a major challenge from the factory Yamaha team, is hoping to bring Honda success once again in Supersport, a class the makers once dominated. Honda last won the Supersport title in 2000. With all the Japanese manufacturers being represented in Supersport this year, the class is one of the deepest in history. Kawasaki’s already tremendous effort in the series is bolstered even further by the Daytona 200 winning Attack Kawasaki squad with Steve Rapp and Ben Attard. Both riders are hoping to improve on their Daytona Supersport results. Attard was sixth and Rapp finished seventh. AMA Supersport is historically one of the most closely contested classes in AMA road racing. The series is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year. Tickets for the 5th annual Honda Superbike Classic at Barber Motorsports Park can be purchased via the website www.barbermotorsports.com or you can charge by phone at (205) 327-RACE or 1-800-240-2300. The Barber Supersport race will be shown live on SPEED, Sunday, April 22 at 3:00 pm Eastern.