2007 FIM Supersport World Championship Valencia, Spain April 14, 2007 Combined Qualifying Results: 1. Kenan SOFUOGLU (Hon CBR600RR), 1:37.521 2. Katsuaki FUJIWARA (Hon CBR600RR), 1:37.729 3. Kevin CURTAIN (Yam YZF-R6), 1:37.885 4. Pere RIBA (Kaw ZX-6R), 1:38.095 5. Andrew PITT (Hon CBR600RR), 1:38.478 6. Fabien FORET (Kaw ZX-6R), 1:38.524 7. Barry VENEMAN (Suz GSX-R600), 1:38.532 8. Gianluca NANNELLI (Duc 749R), 1:38.564 9. Robbin HARMS (Hon CBR600RR), 1:38.568 10. Joan LASCORZ (Hon CBR600RR), 1:38.649 11. Broc PARKES (Yam YZF-R6), 1:38.681 12. Javier FORES (Hon CBR600RR), 1:38.734 13. Lorenzo ALFONSI (Hon CBR600RR), 1:38.753 14. Davide GIUGLIANO (Kaw ZX-6R), 1:38.915 15. David SALOM (Yam YZF-R6), 1:39.008 16. Massimo ROCCOLI (Yam YZF-R6), 1:39.016 17. Simone SANNA (Hon CBR600RR), 1:39.086 18. Craig JONES (Hon CBR600RR), 1:39.160 19. Gianluca VIZZIELLO (Yam YZF-R6), 1:39.243 20. Vesa KALLIO (Suz GSX-R600), 1:39.245 27. Chris PERIS (Yam YZF-R6), 1:39.915 More, from a press release issued by HANNspree Ten Kate Honda: Sofuoglu secures pole position for HANNspree Ten Kate Honda World Supersport Championship leader Kenan Sofuoglu secured his first ever pole position at the Ricardo Tormo Circuit in Valencia today. The young Turkish rider will start tomorrow’s 23-lap race from the top spot for HANNspree Ten Kate Honda. His temporary team-mate Andrew Pitt qualified in fifth position to reserve his place on the second row. Rain fell on the 4km Spanish track for much of last night and today making riding conditions slippery and dangerous. Both the morning free practice and the afternoon qualifying were declared wet and the slower lap times resulted in yesterday’s first official session determining the grid line-up. Sofuoglu’s fastest lap time was 1’37.521, while Pitt’s best stands at 1’38.478. With more rain forecast for tomorrow, the focus for both HANNspree Ten Kate Honda riders was on finding the best set-up for the wet weather. The team is confident that Sofuoglu and Pitt are ready for whatever the Spanish climate will throw at them as they aim for podium finishes in tomorrow’s race. Pitt is riding for HANNspree Ten Kate Honda in place of injured rider Sébastien Charpentier. The Frenchman is well on the road to recovery and still plans to rejoin the team in Assen in two weeks time. Ronald ten Kate, Team Manager: “The work for starting grid positions was done yesterday but the job of preparing for the race has been done today. The forecast for tomorrow is more rain so we have been concentrating on finding a good set-up for those circumstances. Andrew has adapted quickly to the wet conditions and performed well today. Kenan is of course under more pressure in these conditions – on one hand he doesn’t want to push too hard and crash out but on the other hand we have to work to find the right set-up. He has raced in the rain before – in fact his first World Supersport race was in the rain at Assen. We know that Kenan is capable of getting a podium finish in wet or dry conditions so we are hopeful for tomorrow.” Kenan Sofuoglu: “I am happy with the pole position for the race, but for me the most important thing is to race well. I really hope that it is dry tomorrow, but either way I just want to be consistent and pick up the points for the team. As always, I will do my best.” Andrew Pitt: “This morning the track surface was wet but it wasn’t actually raining. I did pretty well and was quickest for most of the session. I had a good feeling with the bike in the wet. We had a few issues that we wanted to try and resolve so this afternoon we have been concentrating on that. There was a lot more surface water but I think we have managed to sort the issues out. Whether it is wet or dry tomorrow we hopefully have it covered both ways.” More, from a press release issued by Yamaha Racing: Curtain confirms his third place in qualifying Kevin Curtain and Broc Parkes played it sensible today as wet weather made the track slippery and riding conditions difficult. As a result of the rain, today’s lap times were slower than during the first qualifying session yesterday and therefore there were no changes from yesterday’s provisional qualifying positions. Kevin will start tomorrow in third place on the grid, while Broc will start from 11th. Data gathered during testing last month allowed both riders to be cautious and not push too much today. Not wanting to risk a crash on top of his collar bone injury, Curtain sat out this morning’s free practice session. With conditions no better in the afternoon, he didn’t take part in the weekend’s second qualifying session either. Under championship regulations he is entitled to do this as he had already qualified within 107% of the fastest time set this weekend. And, with lap times almost 30 seconds slower than Friday, there was little risk of him being knocked off third spot. With high chances of rain tomorrow, Parkes was keen to get a wet set-up though, so he participated in both practice and qualifying today. Athough knowing he would not be able to improve his best time from yesterday due to the weather conditions, he was keen to try and find a good set-up and get some confidence in the bike and track conditions. Massimo Roccoli was unable to improve his qualifying position of 16th today, due to the worsening weather conditions. The Yamaha Italia rider made the most of the two sessions, though, to concentrate on improving his mental state and finding the best wet set-up. With no change to the gird from yesterday’s qualifying positions, Sofuoglu (Honda) will start in pole position and Japanese rider Fujiwara (Honda) will start in second. Curtain maintains his third start position for the race. Kevin Curtain (3rd – 1’37.885 – Yamaha World Supersport Team) “Sitting out of today’s sessions was hard but it was the right thing for me to do. It has given me an extra day’s recovery – and on such a short term every day counts. A broken collar bone isn’t a simple injury – any kind of crash at this stage could cause a lot of problems and it just wasn’t worth the risk today, especially as I got such a good qualifying position yesterday. If it rains tomorrow I will have to go out in the morning though, as I need to check my rain set-up. Tomorrow is when we will take more risks than so far this weekend – race day is what counts.” Broc Parkes (11th – 1’38.681 – Yamaha World Supersport Team) “It was like riding on ice out there and far too tough for us to find a good wet set-up. It was really difficult and risky with lots of people crashing – I’m just glad I wasn’t one of them. I still haven’t found the right race set-up though – what with the rain and my collar bone – so I will just have to go out tomorrow morning to find it out before the race.” Massimo Roccoli (16th – 1’39.016 – Yamaha Team Italia Lorenzini by Leoni) “The fourth row is not a good position to start in – we tried to improve on this today but it was not possible with the weather conditions. I was very fast here at the Pirelli tyre test in March so I am hoping to be able to regain some of the mental and technical condition I had then for tomorrow’s race. I just hope it is dry tomorrow!”

2007 FIM Superbike World Championship Valencia, Spain April 14, 2007 Second Qualifying Session Results (wet conditions): 1. Josh BROOKES (Hon CBR1000RR), 1:51.638 2. Troy CORSER (Yam YZF-R1), 1:52.425 3. Noriyuki HAGA (Yam YZF-R1), 1:52.866 4. Roberto ROLFO (Hon CBR1000RR), 1:53.056 5. Max NEUKIRCHNER (Suz GSX-R1000K6), 1:53.334 6. James TOSELAND (Hon CBR1000RR), 1:53.408 7. Troy BAYLISS (Duc 999F07), 1:53.576 8. Karl MUGGERIDGE (Hon CBR1000RR), 1:53.786 9. Lorenzo LANZI (Duc 999F07), 1:53.804 10. Steve MARTIN (Hon CBR1000RR), 1:53.868 11. Michael FABRIZIO (Hon CBR1000RR), 1:54.298 12. Jakub SMRZ (Duc 999F05), 1:54.796 13. Giovanni BUSSEI (Duc 999F06), 1:55.000 14. Fonsi NIETO (Kaw ZX-10R), 1:55.209 15. Max BIAGGI (Suz GSX-R1000K7), 1:55.306 16. Yukio KAGAYAMA (Suz GSX-R1000K7), 1:55.330 17. Luca Morelli (Duc 999RS), 1:55.337 18. Regis LACONI (Kaw ZX-10R), 1:55.445 19. Dean Ellison (Duc 999RS), 1:57.309 20. Shinichi NAKATOMI (Yam YZF-R1), 1:58.322 21. Christian Zaiser (MV Agusta F4-1000R 312), 1:58.867 22. Ruben XAUS (Duc 999F06), no time 23. Carmelo MORALES (Yam YZF-R1), no time Combined Qualifying Results (before Superpole): 1. Troy BAYLISS (Duc 999F07), 1:34.599 2. Ruben XAUS (Duc 999F06), 1:35.023 3. James TOSELAND (Hon CBR1000RR), 1:35.147 4. Noriyuki HAGA (Yam YZF-R1), 1:35.440 5. Max BIAGGI (Suz GSX-R1000K7), 1:35.453 6. Troy CORSER (Yam YZF-R1), 1:35.483 7. Lorenzo LANZI (Duc 999F07), 1:35.709 8. Max NEUKIRCHNER (Suz GSX-R1000K6), 1:35.767 9. Fonsi NIETO (Kaw ZX-10R), 1:35.804 10. Karl MUGGERIDGE (Hon CBR1000RR), 1:35.814 11. Josh BROOKES (Hon CBR1000RR), 1:35.856 12. Yukio KAGAYAMA (Suz GSX-R1000K7), 1:36.012 13. Giovanni BUSSEI (Duc 999F06), 1:36.016 14. Carmelo MORALES (Yam YZF-R1), 1:36.032 15. Michel FABRIZIO (Hon CBR1000RR), 1:36.094 16. Regis LACONI (Kaw ZX-10R), 1:36.231 17. Roberto ROLFO (Hon CBR1000RR), 1:36.455 18. Shinichi NAKATOMI (Yam YZF-R1), 1:36.755 19. Christian ZAISER (MV Agusta F4-1000R 312), 1:36.757 20. Jakub SMRZ (Duc 999F05), 1:37.344 21. Steve MARTIN (Hon CBR1000RR), 1:37.403 22. Luca MORELLI (Duc 999RS), 1:37.653 23. Dean ELLISON (Duc 999RS), 1:39.434

Jay Springsteen turns 50 this weekend, and he’s spending his birthday weekend racing a Kawasaki Ninja 650R with teammate Jimmy Filice at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Springsteen said that he’s about 95% recovered from a massive dirt-track crash last year that left him with two rods and 12 screws installed in his broken back. The head of one of the screws–which Springsteen described as being a couple inches long with course threads–is visible beneath the skin on Springsteen’s back. Springsteen and Filice were fastest in their class during MOTO-ST practice Friday.

MOTO-ST motorcycles are sharing Miami-Homestead Speedway with Grand-Am cars this weekend and the cars are definitely in the spotlight. On Friday, various car classes practiced from 11:15 a.m. to 3:15 p.m. After the track was swept to remove pieces of rubber and other debris (commonly called “marbles”) from the track surface, MOTO-ST motorcycles practiced from 3:45 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. On Saturday, the first practice session is for MOTO-ST motorcycles, from 9:00 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. Car qualifying then takes over the track from 11:00 a.m. until 3:30 p.m. At 4:00 p.m. the 500-kilometer/316-lap MOTO-ST race starts. Sunday features car practice and two 400-kilometer car races, with no motorcycle activity.

HOMESTEAD, Fla. – The Aprilia USA team, winner of the season-opening Daytona USA 300 last month, continued its strong form in SunTrust MOTO-ST Series action by setting the pace in practice for round 2 at Homestead-Miami Speedway Friday afternoon. Ty Howard of Weatherford, Tex. set a fastest lap of one minute, 29.638 seconds around the 2.21-mile track on the No. 6 Aprilia Tuono 1000R. His strong effort came despite cutting his finger while trimming some rubber off one of his boots just before the session began. After some attention from paramedics at the track he hopped aboard the Aprilia for practice duty. “I’ve never been here before,” said Howard before heading to the hospital to have his finger looked at more extensively, “but the track seems to be to my liking. It suits me perfectly. The bike felt pretty good. We have a couple more things to try for tomorrow.” Howard will be joined by fellow Texan Troy Green of Dallas on the No. 6 Aprilia in Saturday’s Homestead 500K. The Aprilia USA team scored a surprise victory in the season opener at Daytona International Speedway with Italian riders Federico Aliverti and Giancarlo De Matteis aboard the No. 6 entry. Michael Barnes of Boca Raton, Fla. was second quickest in practice at Homestead with a time of 1:30.825 on the No. 18 Roadracingworld.com Suzuki SV1000 and New Smyrna Beach, Fla.’s Mike Luke recorded the third fastest time of 1:31.759 on the No. 76 R&R Racing Aprilia Tuono 1000R. “We went with a stiff set up originally and it turned out to be a little too stiff,” said Barnes, who set his quickest time right at the end of the session. “I think we’ll be able to make more of a jump tomorrow.” Barnes will be joined by Chris Ulrich of Lake Elsinore, Calif. on the No. 18 Suzuki. Series point standings will be used to set the line-up for Saturday’s race, putting the No. 6 Aprilia USA entry on the pole with the No. 18 Roadracingworld.com Suzuki, which finished second at Daytona, alongside. The top three overall were also the quickest in the Buell Motorcycle Company SuperSport Twins (SST) class. The No. 77 Touring Sport Ducati Multistrada 1000DS set the pace in the BMW Grand Sports Twins class with Pete Friedland of Columbia, S.C. recording a time of 1:37.249. The Sport Twins (ST) division was topped by the No. 9 Pair-A-Nines Kawasaki EX650. Jimmy Filice of Modesto, Calif. turned a lap at 1:37.383. Saturday’s action opens with a final practice session for the SunTrust MOTO-ST Series competitors at 9:00 a.m. The Homestead 500K gets the green flag at 4:00 p.m. Following this weekend’s event, this year’s SunTrust MOTO-ST Series will continue with the VIR 500K, April 27-29 at Virginia International Raceway, the Road America 500K, July 7-8 at Road America, the Iowa Speedway 500K at Iowa Speedway July 12-13, and the 8 Hours At Daytona Finale, October 19-20 at Daytona International Speedway. MOTO-ST is organized and sanctioned by Professional Motorsports Productions (PMP) of Toronto, Ontario, Canada and the Grand American Road Racing Association, based in Daytona Beach, Fla., provides the series with administrative and commercial support. The MOTO-ST advisory board features some of the most respected individuals in the world of motorsports, including Hall of Fame members, respected motorcycle racing journalists and renowned officials from various forms of road racing. Learn more about MOTO-ST at www.moto-st.com. Tickets to Round 2 of the SunTrust MOTO-ST Series may be purchased at the gate. SunTrust MOTO-ST Series Homestead-Miami Speedway Homestead, Florida April 13, 2007 Provisional Practice Results: 1. Aprilia USA 2 (Ty Howard/Troy Green), Aprilia Tuono 1000R, SST, 1:29.638 2. Team Roadracingworld.com Suzuki (Chris Ulrich/Michael Barnes), Suzuki SV1000S, SST, 1:30.825 3. R&R Racing (Brett Ray/Andrew Deatherage), Aprilia Tuono 1000R, SST, 1:31.759 4. San Jose BMW (Brian Parriott/Nate Kern), BMW R1200S, SST, 1:32.106 5. Longevity Racing (Barrett Long/Dario Marchetti), Ducati 749, SST, 1:32.466 6. Team Florida (Rodolfo Ramirez/Marco Martinez/Gustavo Laya), Ducati 749, SST, 1:32.552 7. Vallely Racing (33 Frank Trombino/Charlie Coleman), Suzuki SV1000S, SST, 1:32.829 8. Vallely Racing 32 (Mike Himmelsbach/Josh Day), Suzuki SV1000S, SST, 1:33.100 9. Rightsforbikers.com 69 (Mark Crozier/Nathan Dressman), Suzuki SV1000S, SST, 1:33.452 10. Aprilia USA 1 (Jon Francis/Henry Wiles), Aprilia Tuono 1000R, SST, 1:34.477 11. Team LAdy Luck (David Hudson/Mike Materi/Galen Miller), MuZ1000, SST, 1:35.055 12. Wagner Motorsports Racing (Mark Reynolds/Jurgen Frasch/Gus Holcomb), Aprilia Tuono 1000R, SST, 1:35.688 13. Team Motorrad Touring Sport BMW (Frank Shockley/Ivan Messina/Brad Phillips), BMW R1200S, SST, 1:36.959 14. Touring Sport Ducati (Pete Friedland/Brad Phillips/Frank Shockley), Ducati 1000, GST, 1:37.249 15. Pair-A-Nines (Jay Springsteen/Jimmy Filice), Kawasaki EX650, ST, 1:37.383 16. Richie Morris Racing (Shawn Higbee/Dan Bilansky), Buell XB-12R, GST, 1:38.043 17. Rigertsforbikers.com 89 (John Linder/Chris Boy/CJ Czaia), Ducati 1000, GST, 1:38.154 18. Go Big Racing (Ross Millson/Paul Glenn), Suzuki SV650, ST, 1:38.295 19. James Gang Racing (Paul James/Jeffrey Johnson), Buell XB-12R, GST, 1:38.912 20. Motorsports MG (Tim Hall/Duane DeSouza), Buell XB-12R, GST, 1:40.057 21. Momentum Racing (Joe Little/Gregory Charlton/Abraham Stacey), Suzuki SV650, ST, 1:40.325 22. Edge Racing (Tim Luporini/Chris Mayerle/Don Rankin) Suzuki SV650, ST, 1:40.358 23. Eagle Racing (Dr. Jeffrey Purk, DDS/Rob Oliva), Ducati 1000, GST, 1:41.052 24. Team Ducati New York (Eric Schnorrbusch/Eric Helmbach/Eric Wilson), Ducati 1000, GST, 1:41.797

FIAT YAMAHA TEAM HEAD FOR THE UNKNOWN IN ISTANBUL The enchanting city of Istanbul opens its gates to the MotoGP World Championship for the third time next weekend as the new 800cc era enters a third chapter shrouded in mystery. Unlike the opening two rounds at Losail and Jerez, the Fiat Yamaha Team and their rivals will be racing at a circuit where they have no pre-season testing experience with this year’s machines. Not only will they have to set the bikes up from scratch but new regulations limiting the number of tyres each rider can use over the course of the weekend also come thundering into the equation. Valentino Rossi and Colin Edwards will each have just seventeen rear tyres and fourteen fronts at their disposal throughout the four hour-long official practice sessions, 25-minute warm-up and 22-lap race. A variety of different compounds will be available, based on Michelin’s assessment of the characteristics of the spectacular 5.378 kilometre track and data gathered during tests following the Grand Prix at Jerez, but the rubber manufacturers will not be allowed to alter each rider’s allocation after 5pm on Thursday evening. The battle against the clock will start on Friday morning, when the riders and their engineers will work methodically through the available tyre options and adjust their bike set-up to the best available choice. Their job will not be made any easier by the demanding nature of the circuit, which features fourteen turns – eight lefts and six rights – several of which are based on famous bends at other circuits, such as the ‘Senna Esses’ at Sao Paolo, the ‘Spoon Curve’ at Suzuka and the ‘Eau Rouge’ at Spa. Like Phillip Island and Laguna Seca, it also has the unusual characteristic of running anti-clockwise. The challenge is further enhanced by dramatic changes in elevation, with the track built on four different ground levels, and the fastest corner in MotoGP – a 270km/h bend that the riders may even take with the throttle wide open in sixth gear on the new 800cc machines. That hair-raising turn eleven is followed by three ultra-slow chicanes, calling for a balanced set-up that provides front-end confidence as well as the rear-end stability required to cope with the high-speed changes of direction. A run of six different winners from the last six MotoGP races makes this weekend’s proceedings even harder to predict but both Rossi and Edwards are confident of maintaining their strong early season form. After two rounds Rossi defends a World Championship lead of nine points over Casey Stoner and Dani Pedrosa, with Edwards another ten points further back in fourth place. The Italian’s victory at Jerez was his 46th of the four-stroke MotoGP era and made him the first man to win on three different capacity machines in the premier-class; 500cc, 990cc and 800cc. “PUTTING THE RECORD STRAIGHT” Istanbul Park is one of only three circuits on the current calendar where Valentino Rossi has yet to take victory in the premier-class of MotoGP, the others being Laguna Seca in the USA and Misano in Italy, which will this year host a Grand Prix for the first time since 1993. It is a figure the 28-year-old is looking to reduce as he aims for his first back-to-back victories since Mugello and Catalunya last year. “The next two races, Turkey and China, are ones that I don’t like so much and I have never won at Istanbul, but it’s a great circuit with some very fast corners,” says Rossi. “If the bike works well then it will be great fun I think. Last year I made an error early in the race and it cost me the chance for a podium, but I won’t be making the same mistake this year! We are leading the championship but it’s a long season and we have to aim to get on the podium at every race. “The difficult thing over the next two races is going to be horsepower, because both Istanbul and Shanghai have very long straights. We tried some new things at the Jerez test to improve this and I know that Yamaha have been working very hard in Japan so hopefully we will have a little bit of improvement in this area when we get to Turkey. The other question is for the tyres, because it’s the first time this season that we’re going to be racing at a track that we haven’t tested at. With the new restrictions it’s going to be very important to make the right choices and also we don’t know what the weather will do.” “WE’RE COUNTING ON MICHELIN” Colin Edwards heads to Turkey brimming with confidence after his return to the podium in Spain three weeks ago. Third place at Jerez was the Texan’s first rostrum finish since the Grand Prix of China almost one year ago and, after relaxing at home during the extended Easter break, Edwards is determined to make sure the team don’t have to wait that long for his next visit to those hallowed steps. “It’s been good to have some time at home, relaxing and in the knowledge that we did well in Jerez,” reflects Edwards. “Now it’s time to get back to work and prove that wasn’t a fluke by getting amongst the champagne again in Turkey. It’s definitely not one of my favourite tracks and it was a really hard race for us last year, but we had a lot of problems then and things are very different this year. We know we’re going to lack a bit on the straights but we also know that our bike is working pretty well and hopefully we can make up time in other parts. “Obviously everyone’s going to be talking about the tyre factor in Istanbul but we’re all in the same boat. Nobody has tested there so everyone’s going to have to take some risks with their tyre choices. Basically we’ve just got to trust Michelin – we thought we were in trouble in Jerez but they were confident they had ‘the’ tyre and they were right. They know what they’re doing so hopefully everything will be ok!” “LET’S STAY ON THE ATTACK” With the Fiat Yamaha Team leading both the individual and team World Championship standings after two rounds, Team Manager Davide Brivio is backing his team to keep on the front foot in Turkey. With the long straights of Shanghai sure to provide a stern challenge for the nimble YZR-M1, Brivio has highlighted the need to get another solid pair of results in the bag before the long trip East. “We head to Turkey looking to attack because China might be difficult for us and we may have to defend more,” conceded Brivio. “Of course the big challenge for everybody this weekend is about finding a set-up quickly and making the right choice with the tyres. Istanbul has not been a good track for Yamaha and the cold conditions won’t help either, but we have a team of very shrewd engineers and a fantastic relationship with Michelin so we are in a good position to make the difference. “Even though we haven’t tested at Istanbul we have gathered data at a lot of varied tracks during the winter and the bike has worked fairly well everywhere, which is crucially important when it comes to making a consistent challenge for a World Championship. It is still early in the season but the new M1 seems to have a solid base, so we’ll see on the Friday what we need to work on. Both our riders are very motivated after their excellent results in Jerez so we are looking forward to another strong challenge from them this weekend.” Valentino Rossi : Information Age: 28 Lives: London, UK Bike: Yamaha YZR-M1 GP victories: 85 (59 x MotoGP/500cc, 14 x 250cc, 12 x 125cc) First GP victory: Czech Republic, 1996 (125cc) First GP: Malaysia, 1996 (125cc) GP starts: 176 (116 x MotoGP/500cc, 30 x 250cc, 30 x 125cc) Pole positions: 46 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: 68 x MotoGP World Championships: 2 World Superbike Istanbul : Lap Record D. Pedrosa (Honda) 2006, 1’59.318 Istanbul : Best Lap S. Gibernau (Honda) 2005, 1’52.334 Grand Prix Results: Istanbul 2006 1. M. Melandri (Honda) 41’54.065 2. C. Stoner (Honda) +0.200 3. N. Hayden (Honda) +5.458 4. Valentino Rossi (ITA) Yamaha +6.209 9. Colin Edwards (USA) Yamaha +22.847

Rizla Suzuki’s Cal Crutchlow is in seventh place and within touching distance of the leaders after the first two practice sessions for the second round of the Bennetts British Superbike Championship at Thruxton in Hampshire today. Crutchlow ended the day just over half a second behind fastest man Gregorio Lavilla (Ducati). The reigning British Supersport Champion clocked up plenty of laps tyre testing and identified a Dunlop rear that offers consistent, race-long grip. Rizla Suzuki’s Chris Walker, returning to Thruxton for the first time in seven years, spent time re-learning the super-fast and bumpy 2.35-mile long airfield track. He knocked nearly a second off his lap times from the morning to the afternoon to finish 12th. There is one more practice session tomorrow morning before a 50-minute qualification period in the afternoon decides the grid positions for Sunday’s two Superbike races. Superbike racing starts at 1300 on Sunday, April 15th, at Rizla Suzuki’s home Thruxton circuit in Hampshire. Cal Crutchlow: “I completed a 17-lap run on a Dunlop rear and at the end I was still running fast lap times. I set my fastest lap in the middle of that stint and I think the tyre is a strong candidate for using in the races. “Overall I am happy with my Rizla Suzuki but there are a couple of areas that we can still improve. A little less wheel-spin would be ideal – we have introduced a traction control system to the GSX-R1000 this weekend and hopefully that will help.” Chris Walker: “It’s been a baptism of fire coming back to Thruxton after seven years; it is a very challenging and fast circuit. After the morning session I was two seconds off the pace and in the afternoon I’d reduced that to 1.4-seconds, which means we are getting closer to the front and making progress. “My Rizla Suzuki feels good and we are working on making it a little more comfortable and user friendly. At the moment I think there is more to come from me rather than changing the bike. I’ll be thinking hard about my lines around the circuit and I’ll be stronger tomorrow.” Simon Buckmaster – Team Manager: “I’m very pleased with Cal’s performance as he is in the same ballpark as the leaders. He has tried our new traction control system and although he has not found any improvement using it yet, we are deliberately introducing only small changes so that we don’t upset the balance of his bike abruptly. There is more to come from both Cal and his Rizla Suzuki. “Chris is still learning the circuit but has shown marked improvement between the two sessions. We are working with him to refine his Rizla Suzuki so he can improve his lap times quickly. Tomorrow he should be considerably faster and we hope to see him in touch with the front runners. “There has been a lot of home support for Rizla Suzuki today and it is great to see so many fans wearing the team colours here. Come Sunday and the races, that sort of support will make a difference and really give our riders something to go for!” Friday Practice Times: 1: Gregorio Lavilla (Ducati) 1:15.060 2: Tommy Hill (Yamaha) +0.175 3: Jonathan Rea (Honda) +0.280 4: Ryuichi Kiyonari (Honda) +0.300 5: Leon Camier (Honda) +0.362 6: Leon Haslam (Ducati) +0.437 7: Carl Crutchlow (Rizla Suzuki) +0.636 8: Shane Byrne (Honda) +0.735 9: Tom Sykes (Honda) +0.772 10: Karl Harris (Honda) +1.163 12: Chris Walker (Rizla Suzuki) +1.449

2007 FIM Superbike World Championship Valencia, Spain April 13, 2007 Provisional Qualifying Results: 1. Troy BAYLISS (Duc 999F07), 1:34.599 2. Ruben XAUS (Duc 999F06), 1:35.023 3. James TOSELAND (Hon CBR1000RR), 1:35.147 4. Noriyuki HAGA (Yam YZF-R1), 1:35.440 5. Max BIAGGI (Suz GSX-R1000K7), 1:35.453 6. Troy CORSER (Yam YZF-R1), 1:35.483 7. Lorenzo LANZI (Duc 999F07), 1:35.709 8. Max NEUKIRCHNER (Suz GSX-R1000K6), 1:35.767 9. Fonsi NIETO (Kaw ZX-10R), 1:35.804 10. Karl MUGGERIDGE (Hon CBR1000RR), 1:35.814 11. Josh BROOKES (Hon CBR1000RR), 1:35.856 12. Yukio KAGAYAMA (Suz GSX-R1000K7), 1:36.012 13. Giovanni BUSSEI (Duc 999F06), 1:36.016 14. Carmelo MORALES (Yam YZF-R1), 1:36.032 15. Michel FABRIZIO (Hon CBR1000RR), 1:36.094 16. Regis LACONI (Kaw ZX-10R), 1:36.231 17. Roberto ROLFO (Hon CBR1000RR), 1:36.455 18. Shinichi NAKATOMI (Yam YZF-R1), 1:36.755 19. Christian ZAISER (MV Agusta F4-1000R 312), 1:36.757 20. Jakub SMRZ (Duc 999F05), 1:37.344 21. Steve MARTIN (Hon CBR1000RR), 1:37.403 22. Luca MORELLI (Duc 999RS), 1:37.653 23. Dean ELLISON (Duc 999RS), 1:39.434 More, from a press release issued by HANNspree Ten Kate Honda: HANNspree Ten Kate Honda completes first Valencia qualifying The fourth round of the 2007 World Superbike Championship kicked off at a warm and sunny Ricardo Tormo Circuit in Valencia today. The threat of rain did not materialise as the HANNspree Ten Kate Honda riders took to the 4km track for the first qualifying session. James Toseland and Roberto Rolfo secured third and seventeenth places respectively. Toseland bounced back from a head cold to battle it out in the top three with Troy Bayliss and Ruben Xaus. The focus during the 45-minute session was finding a good race set-up for the Honda CBR1000RR. With this in mind, the British rider secured several consistently fast laps before settling into third place with a final best time of 1’35.147. The first day of qualifying proved more difficult for team-mate Rolfo as he fought hard to get to grips with the challenging Valencia track. The team will work on the set-up of the bike overnight in the hope that the Italian rider can turn his fortunes around in tomorrow’s second qualifying session. Ronald ten Kate, Team Manager: “James did really well today. Considering that we didn’t have the test here a couple of weeks ago when we didn’t join because we had a lot of planning to do, it seems it is possible for him to be fast around this track anyway. We concentrated a lot on race tyres today so that we didn’t use the soft tyres in case of rain tomorrow. At the moment the forecast for Sunday is no rain so we wanted to make sure we had a good dry set-up. With Roberto Rolfo we are all a bit unpleasantly surprised because in Donington he really picked up the pace. For some reason it is not working here. We are checking all the data overnight because he must be capable of moving up the grid and I’m sure he and his crew can manage that.” James Toseland: “It’s not been too bad today. We have been trying to find a good set-up on race tyres while it is dry. I’m just starting to feel like myself again and I think we’ve got off to a really good start. In previous years this has not been the best track for Honda, but we’ve really made a lot of progress and I think we can be competitive tomorrow. I’m just hoping for good weather!” Roberto Rolfo: “I am obviously disappointed about today. After Donington I was feeling good about my riding style on the bike, but here it is just not going right for me. It is a very different track so I just have to work hard to adjust my style again. We will do a lot of work this evening and I hope that I can improve for tomorrow.” More, from a press release issued by Scuderia SC Caracchi: POSITIVE DAY FOR NANNELLI AT VALENCIA An unattended sunshine welcomed the riders at Valencia today, for the first practice session day of World Superbike Series. The weather forecast said rain showers for today, on he contrary we had always dry weather, and a strong thunderstorm did arrive just at the end of practices of world categories. In Supersport Gianluca Nannelli achieved quite satisfied for the result, as well that could be better. At the end of qualifying Gianluca recorded the 8th fastest that, in case of bad weather tomorrow, could be also he final result for the grid, but the gap between the top riders is actually very small. “For sure I could get a better result today, but at the end I see this day as positive.” commented at the end of qualifying Gianluca Nannelli. “As often happened in Supersport we are all very close and in about one second there are nine riders. This track changes quickly his grip following the weather conditions, and today too it confirmed this peculiarity. In the morning, on the cold track and a bit still wet we have been quite fast. During the afternoon the weather conditions were perfect, we started for some comparison test between the two bikes using the same setting on both and at the end I recorded my best lap time with the less performing bike! The other one in the final laps, with a lot of traffic on the track, the bike close the front twice and I did choice to avoid any risk, also because I’ve seen a lot of crashes and the Race Direction must stop the session with red flag. Of course if tomorrow will rain to set the bike will be actually a problem. We have still the satisfaction that our bike is still the fastest in the speed trap.” Jakub Smrz on the contrary had a very bad day. During the morning’s session he recorded a very good lap time, but the he crashed without any damage. In the afternoon, probably because the tyres were still cold, he crashed once more and that time the crash has been serious, with bad damages to the bike that forced him to stop practicing. “Actually it has been a black day!” said Jakub Smrz back in the garage. “During the morning I recorded a good time, then I crashed, but the result that I recorded remained the 12th fastest of the session. In the afternoon on the contrary it has been worst: I started with new tyres and probably they were not jet in temperature when I started pushing. I made a bad crash, the bike jumped several times up and down and I destroyed the frame, the suspensions, the fairing, the saddle, a true disaster. The guys are working hardly to rebuilt the bike, I hope they will be able to finish before tomorrow’s session and at the last moment will not appear some hidden trouble. I’m actually disappointed, also because I was sure in a good result, but I’ve been too anxious to push.” More, from a press release issued by Xerox Ducati: BAYLISS (DUCATI XEROX) PASSES FIRST QUALIFYING TEST WITH FLYING COLOURS Valencia (Spain), Friday 13 April: Troy Bayliss (Ducati Xerox) passed the first test since his Donington crash with flying colours, the Australian bouncing back from injuries received a fortnight ago to set the quickest time in both free practice and qualifying at Valencia. After being given the OK to ride by circuit medics late yesterday afternoon, Bayliss eased himself back into the swing of things in the morning with fastest time and then set a new circuit best lap in the afternoon with a time of 1m34.599s, half-a-second quicker than Neil Hodgson’s 2003 record. Despite some discomfort in both his injured hand and groin area, Troy was relieved to find that his performance out on the track had not been affected. “Everything’s going good” he declared. “I think the track is not in such a good condition for grip so we did OK considering. I’ve done better laps in testing before but on the race tyre it’s as good as we’ve ever done and I’m happy with that, considering that I’m not in the best of shape. Honestly it’s a little bit awkward with my hand but it’s not actually affecting me which I’m happy about. The other bits and pieces are tender and I’m taking the right precautions to try and help everything. I can’t say I’m feeling fit but the last month I’ve been very healthy and this has all helped me to get back into shape and into a good condition. My riding style is exactly the same, nothing’s changed!”. Team-mate Lorenzo Lanzi was seventh quickest today, but not that far off the pace of second and third placed men Ruben Xaus (Ducati) and James Toseland (Honda). “I didn’t go too bad but not as quick as during the winter tests when I was never out of the top 3 or 4”, commented Lorenzo. “We concentrated mainly on getting the right set-up for Sunday, when it will possibly be dry. We tested several tyres for the race distance and the pace wasn’t great but I saw that even the other guys were struggling a bit as well. We always used one bike to try and get the best from the hard tyre at the front and when we put a softer tyre on the other bike, we didn’t use it in the end because we preferred to continue to work on this one, which was giving good results. However I’m up near the front and the starting-grid will be decided tomorrow.” Times: 1. Bayliss (Ducati Xerox) 1m34.599s; 2. Xaus (Ducati) 1m35.147s; 3. Toseland (Honda) 1m35.147s; 4. Haga (Yamaha) 1m35.440s; 5. Biaggi (Suzuki) 1m35.453s; 6. Corser (Yamaha) 1m35.483s; 7. Lanzi (Ducati Xerox) 1m35.709s; 8. Neukirchner (Suzuki) 1m35.767s; 9. Nieto (Kawasaki) 1m35.804s; 10. Muggeridge (Honda) 1m35.814s; etc. More, from a press releass issued by FGSport Group: BAYLISS BOUNCES BACK AT RECORD PACE – DUCATI DUO LEAD THE PACK AFTER ONE DAY AT VALENCIA Despite losing most of his right little finger in a race one crash at Donington Park two weeks ago, Troy Bayliss (Ducati Xerox) proved not only fit to ride at Valencia but capable of the best ever SBK time on day one. His 1’34.599 was only just ahead of the previous best, but was nonetheless set on mass-produced race rubber, as qualifying tyres are not made available to any rider unless and until they qualify for Superpole on Saturday. A good day for Ducati was a great day for the locals, with Sterilgarda Berik’s Spanish star, Ruben Xaus, scoring second quickest time on his year-old factory machine. TOSELAND LEADS THE FOUR-CYLINDER CHARGE Championship leader James Toseland (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda) was instantly on the pace at Valencia, despite not testing here in the official sessions in mid-March. The most recent race winner in SBK, Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha Motor Italia) was fourth fastest today, only just ahead of Max Biaggi (Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra) who is currently second overall. The Valencia day one top six is rounded out by Troy Corser (Yamaha Motor Italia) who, like team-mate Haga, has tested at the Spanish circuit on his all-new 2007 machine recently. LANZI SEVENTH WITH NEUKIRCHNER ONCE MORE THE STAR PRIVATEER Lorenzo Lanzi (Ducati Xerox) was seventh in the day one standings, just over a second from his leading team-mate, but arguably the ride of the day once more came from Max Neukirchner (Suzuki Germany) who was eighth quickest. On his home circuit, Fonsi Nieto (PSG-1 Kawasaki Corse) was ninth, just ahead of Karl Muggeridge (Alto Evolution Honda) and his team-mate Joshua Brookes. Yukio Kagayama (Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra) went 12th fastest. WORLD SUPERSPORT – KENAN AGAIN FASTEST MAN Kenan Sofuoglu (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda) led the day one charge towards ultimate Valencia Supersport honours, scoring the quickest day one lap of 1’37.521. He was followed, 0.208 seconds behind, by Katsuaki Fujiwara (Althea Honda) and then Kevin Curtain (Yamaha SSP Racing), who is still recovering from recent collarbone surgery, after a crash at Donington. Local rider Pere Riba (Gil Kawasaki) followed up his pole at Donington with a fourth best time at his home track. With double World Champion Sebastien Charpentier missing due to pelvic and coccyx injury, he was replaced by Andrew Pitt at Valencia, and the 2001 champion was immediately effective, going fifth on the day one leader board. Another former World Champion, Fabien Foret (Gil Kawasaki) was sixth fastest. Many riders opted to sit out the first untimed session, held in patchy wet conditions this morning, and only ride in the actually qualifying session itself. Barry Veneman (Pioneer Hoegee Suzuki) added another manufacturer to the front two provisional rows, going seventh fastest. SUPERSTOCK 1000 FIM CUP – BADOVINI AND MV LEAD OFF Ayrton Badovini (Biassono Unionbike MV Agusta) was the early leader in dry conditions in the ‘big’ Superstock class, with a slender 0.177 second advantage over Michel Pirro (Team Lorenzini by Leoni Yamaha), and a 0.332 gap back to Claudio Corti (Team Lorenzini by Leoni Yamaha). Didier Van Keymeulen (TTSL MGM Racing Yamaha) went fourth, with Donington race winner Niccolo Canepa (Ducati Xerox 1098) fifth. SUPERSTOCK 600 EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIP – COLUCCI THE RAIN MASTER Domenico Colucci (Ducati Xerox 749) got the jump on his peers after a sudden deluge of rain and thunder in the Superstock 600 session at Valencia, and on a wet rack none came close to his best time of 2’11.412. French teenager Sylvain Barrier (Yamaha Coutelle Junior Team) scored second best, with Andrea Antonelli (Team Italia Megabike AX) third, ensuring there would be three different machines in the top three places. More, from a press release issued by Troy Corser’s publicist: TROY SIXTH ON DAY ONE. Troy finished the first day of qualifying at Valencia with the sixth fastest time, but knows a lot more work has to be done before the races on Sunday if he is to have good results. He had problems with his engine’s characteristics throughout the day and he and the team will have to make some changes before Troy can really push hard. Reigning champion Troy Bayliss (Ducati) topped the standings after qualifying today, over half a second inside the current lap record. Second quickest is Spaniard Ruben Xaus (Ducati), with series leader James Toseland (Honda) third and Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha) fourth. TROY – 6th, 1:35.483 Well the day didn’t go as planned and we’ve got some work to do. The team have done a lot of work recently and here I’ve had two engines with different characteristics to what I had in the last round and the bike is not so easy to ride. At the moment, the whole bike feels very different and I don’t like this new feeling as much as what I had before. Funnily enough, even the engines on my number one bike and my number two bike feel different. We’ll sit down and look at all the data and then decide what direction to take tomorrow and hopefully we’ll be able to improve quite a bit. See ya, Troy More, from a press release issued by Yamaha Racing: Fourth and sixth provisional qualifying for Yamaha WSB Team Valencia’s notoriously changeable track conditions provided an interesting day at the fourth round of the World Superbike Championship at Valencia. The damp track this morning dried out with slightly warmer and drier conditions this afternoon for the first qualifying session of the weekend. Haga had the most success of the day in the Yamaha Motor Italia WSB Team, being third fastest in this morning’s free practice. He then went on to finish in fourth in qualifying having spent the session focusing on testing various tyre and suspension options. Having finished the morning practice session second fastest, Corser then fought throughout the afternoon session to find the right set-up. He ended the day in sixth position. Shinichi Nakatomi, riding for the French Team Yamaha YZF squad, finished the day in 18th position. Nakatomi was keen to try and find a good set up, so spent the day focusing on small suspension and tyre settings. The day’s result is headed by Bayliss (Ducati), who surprised everyone with such a good result in light of the injuries he sustained at Donington. Spaniard Ruben Xaus (Ducati) finished in second today at his home circuit. James Toseland (Honda) finished in third and Haga completes the line up in fourth. The Ricardo Tormo circuit is renowned for being very changeable in its grips conditions due to the variety of vehicles that use the circuit. Any damp brings out the rubber and oil that has been laid down previously, making it very slippery. The rapidly changing conditions were nowhere more evident than towards the end of the day’s on-track sessions, when thunder and lightning accompanied a sudden downpour, leaving the track under a couple of inches on rainwater. Noriyuki Haga (4th – 1’35.440 – Yamaha Motor Italia WSB Team) “I managed some improvement in my lap times during today but I struggled with finding the right tyre. We tried three different tyres this afternoon but I didn’t find the right one for the race. Although it was still damp on the track this morning, the lower track temperatures actually suited the tyre. I’m not feeling too bad, tomorrow I hope to find the right tyre and I am hoping it is not raining, as this track gets very slippery when it is wet.” Troy Corser (6th – 1’35.483 – Yamaha Motor Italia WSB Team) “Today has been tough – all day I have struggled with the engine character. Following the test session here last month and after Donington, we made some engine changes which have completely altered the feel of the bike somehow. The engine character is different between my main and my spare bike, even. I’m glad we found this out today as it gives us tomorrow to sort out the problem so we are ready for race day. We think we have already worked out the problem and are working on a solution, which we will test out in the morning.” Shinichi Nakatomi (18th – 1’36.757 – Team Yamaha YZF) “Today we have made many small changes and improvements throughout both sessions. Now we just need to combine the changes for tomorrow’s qualifying session. I am hopeful of a higher qualifying position tomorrow – I just hope it is not raining.” More, from a press release issued by Team Suzuki Press Office: Team Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra riders Max Biaggi and Yukio Kagayama finished the first day of qualifying at Valencia’s Ricardo Tormo circuit with the fifth and 12th fastest times, giving Biaggi a provisional second-row start. Throughout the day Biaggi struggled a little with finding a good set-up for his GSX-R1000 K7 but is hopeful of significant progress tomorrow. His team mate Kagayama is still suffering the effects of his heavy fall at Donington two weeks ago, so took things very steadily today. Reigning champion Troy Bayliss (Ducati) topped the standings after qualifying, over half a second inside the current lap record. Second quickest today is Spaniard Ruben Xaus (Ducati) with series leader James Toseland (Honda) third and Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha) fourth. Max Biaggi – 5th, 1: 35.453: “We’re struggling a bit today and I’m not as close to the leaders as I would have liked. But we’ve had some problems at Valencia when we tested here and we know it’s a bit of a problem track for us. We have some ideas to try tomorrow but a lot will depend on what the weather does because if it rains, everything changes. At the moment, we are a bit of a way off what we want and until we get closer, it’ll be difficult for me to push as hard as I’d like.” Yukio Kagayama – 12th, 1:36.012: “Today I tried to use my head and ride very steady. I didn’t want to have another crash so soon after my fall at Donington in the last round. At the moment, my ribs and shoulder are still sore, so it’s making changing direction on the bike very hard. There are lots of changes in direction at this track so it’s a bit of a problem. But each day I’m getting stronger and tomorrow I will push harder for sure. Valencia circuit seems particularly sensitive to temperature changes and that affects how the tyres perform a lot. If it rains, it may be an easier race for me physically, but the track is very slippery when it’s wet and I think there could be many crashes!” Friday WSB Qualifying: 1 Bayliss (Aus-Ducati) 1:34.599, 2 Xaus (E-Ducati) 1:35.023, 3 Toseland (GB-Honda) 1:35.147, 4 Haga (J-Yamaha) 1:35.440, 5 Max Biaggi (I-Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra) 1:35.453, 6 Corser (Aus-Yamaha) 1:35.483, 7 Lanzi (I-Ducati) 1:35.709, 8 Neukirchner (D-Suzuki) 1:35.767, 9 Nieto (E-Kawasaki) 1:35.804, 10 Muggeridge (Aus-Honda) 1:35.814. 12 Yukio Kagayama (J-Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra) 1:36.012. SUPERSTOCK 1000: Team Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra rider Xavier Simeon finished a very creditable sixth on the first day of qualifying at Valencia today. Despite having grip problems the youngster battled away to a provisional second row grid place – a far better result than at Donington two weeks ago. Italian Ayrton Badavoni (MV) finished the day with the quickest lap time with Michele Pirro (Yamaha) second and Claudio Corti ((Yamaha) third. Xavi Simeon – 6th, 1:39.212: “Today I am quite happy because the result is much better than at Donington but I am a little unhappy because I know it could’ve been better. We had big problems with grip and I didn’t find it so easy to control the bike. Having said that, my lap times are not so bad and I’m not far away from the leaders, so that is good news. Tomorrow we’ll try a harder rear shock and see if that helps. I know this track very well and I would prefer a dry race because it’s very slippery here when it’s wet.” Friday Superstock Qualifying: 1 Badovini (I-MV) 1:38.369, 2 Pirro (I-Yamaha) 1:38.546, 3 Corti (I-Yamaha) 1:38.701, 4 Van Keymeulen (NL-Yamaha) 1:38.974, 5 Canepa (I-Ducati) 1:39.071, 6 Xavier Simeon (B-Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra) 1:39.212.

2007 FIM Cup 1000cc Superstock Championship Valencia, Spain April 13, 2007 Provisional Qualifying Results: 1. Ayrton BADOVINI (MV Agusta F4-1000R 312), 1:38.369 2. Michele PIRRO (Yam YZF-R1), 1:38.546 3. Claudio CORTI (Yam YZF-R1), 1:38.701 4. Didier VAN KEYMEULEN (Yam YZF-R1), 1:38.974 5. Niccolo CANEPA (Duc 1098S), 1:39.071 6. Xavier SIMEON (Suz GSX-R1000K6), 1:39.212 7. Mark AITCHISON (Suz GSX-R1000K6), 1:39.360 8. Rene MAHR (Yam YZF-R1), 1:39.397 9. Ilario DIONISI (Suz GSX-R1000K6), 1:39.474 10. Danilo DELL’OMO (MV Agusta F4-1000R 312), 1:39.489 33. Nicky MOORE (Duc 1098S), 1:43.294 European Championship 600cc Superstock Valencia, Spain April 13, 2007 Provisional Qualifying Results (wet conditions): 1. Domenico COLUCCI (Duc 749R), 2:11.412 2. Sylvain BARRIER (Yam YZF-R6), 2:14.901 3. Andrea ANTONELLI (Hon CBR600RR), 2:15.328 4. Dennis SIGLOCH (Yam YZF-R6), 2:16.284 5. Yanick GUERRA (Yam YZF-R6), 2:17.464 6. Michael SAVARY (Yam YZF-R6), 2:17.565 7. Vladimir LEONOV (Yam YZF-R6), 2:18.491 8. Greg BLACK (Yam YZF-R6), 2:19.816 9. Kenny TIRSGAARD (Suz GSX-R600), 2:20.097 10. Giuseppe BARONE (Hon CBR600RR), 2:20.268 More, from a press release issued by Kel Edge: 2007 Suzuki GSX-R European Cup Round 1, Valencia, Spain Circuit: 4.005 kms Weather: Wet Friday qualifying, 13th April SKACH ON TOP! After a mostly dry day, the heavens opened shortly before the Suzuki GSX-R Cup riders went out for their first track session of the year. German rider Oliver Skach mastered the wet conditions superbly and ended the day with provisional pole position. Second fastest is Frenchman Emeric Jonchiere, with Dominic Lammert third. SKACH – 1st, 2:03.762 I have ridden here before so I do know the track a bit, but riding it in these conditions was quite tricky – especially at the beginning of the session. It felt very, very slippery and it took me a few laps before I felt confident enough to push harder. As the session wore on, I was able to improve lap by lap and I am so happy to finish the day with the best lap time. Apart from a little trip into the gravel, I had no problems today and I am looking forward to tomorrow and then the race on Sunday. More, from a press released by Team Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra: 2007 Superstock 1000 FIM Cup Round 2, Valencia, Spain Circuit: 4.005 kms Weather: Dry/damp sunny/cloudy Friday qualifying, 13th April. XAVI SIXTH DESPITE PROBLEMS Team Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra rider Xavier Simeon finished a very creditable sixth on the first day of qualifying at Valencia today. Despite having grip problems the youngster battled away to a provisional second row grid place – a far better result then at Donington two weeks ago. Italian Ayrton Badavoni (MV) finished the day with the quickest lap time, with Michele Pirro (Yamaha) second and Claudio Corti ((Yamaha) third. XAVI – 6th, 1:39.212 Today I am quite happy because the result is much better then at Donington, but I am a little unhappy because I know it could’ve been better. We had big problems with grip and I didn’t find it so easy to control the bike. Having said that, my lap times are not so bad and I’m not far away from the leaders, so that is good news. Tomorrow, we’ll try a harder rear shock and see if that helps. I know this track very well and I would prefer a dry race because it’s very slippery here when it’s wet. Friday qualifying 1 Badovini (I-MV) 1:38.369, 2 Pirro (I-Yamaha) 1:38.546, 3 Corti (I-Yamaha) 1:38.701, 4 Van keymeulen (NL-Yamaha) 1:38.974, 5 Canepa (I-Ducati) 1:39.071, 6 XAVIER SIMEON (B-Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra) 1:39.212,

2007 FIM Supersport World Championship Valencia, Spain April 13, 2007 Provisional Qualifying Results: 1. Kenan SOFUOGLU (Hon CBR600RR), 1:37.521 2. Katsuaki FUJIWARA (Hon CBR600RR), 1:37.729 3. Kevin CURTAIN (Yam YZF-R6), 1:37.885 4. Pere RIBA (Kaw ZX-6R), 1:38.095 5. Andrew PITT (Hon CBR600RR), 1:38.478 6. Fabien FORET (Kaw ZX-6R), 1:38.524 7. Barry VENEMAN (Suz GSX-R600), 1:38.532 8. Gianluca NANNELLI (Duc 749R), 1:38.564 9. Robbin HARMS (Hon CBR600RR), 1:38.568 10. Joan LASCORZ (Hon CBR600RR), 1:38.649 11. Broc PARKES (Yam YZF-R6), 1:38.681 12. Javier FORES (Hon CBR600RR), 1:38.734 13. Lorenzo ALFONSI (Hon CBR600RR), 1:38.753 14. Davide GIUGLIANO (Kaw ZX-6R), 1:38.915 15. David SALOM (Yam YZF-R6), 1:39.008 16. Massimo ROCCOLI (Yam YZF-R6), 1:39.016 17. Simone SANNA (Hon CBR600RR), 1:39.086 18. Craig JONES (Hon CBR600RR), 1:39.160 19. Gianluca VIZZIELLO (Yam YZF-R6), 1:39.243 20. Vesa KALLIO (Suz GSX-R600), 1:39.245 27. Chris PERIS (Yam YZF-R6), 1:39.915 More, from a press release issued by HANNspree Ten Kate Honda: Supersport success for HANNspree Ten Kate Honda in first Valencia qualifying The Spanish sun appeared just in time for the first qualifying session for round four of the 2007 World Supersport Championship in Valencia today. HANNspree Ten Kate Honda’s Kenan Sofuoglu is already well on the way to securing a front row start in Sunday’s race after he finished at the top of the timesheet. Despite being caught out by an oil spill on turn two of the 4km track, temporary team-mate Andrew Pitt recorded the fifth fastest time. Sofuoglu started the day on top form and completed the morning wet free practice with the fastest lap time of 1’39.549. He followed this up in the official qualifying by beating his earlier time by almost two full seconds. After putting in some consistently fast laps for much of the 45-minute session, he finished with a best time of 1’37.521. With only eight minutes left on the clock, an oil spill on track caused Pitt and six other riders to run off. The session was red flagged while the substance was cleared, allowing Pitt to regain his focus and swap to his spare bike. He re-joined qualifying and put in an impressive final lap on the CBR600RR to be placed fifth with a time of 1’38.478. Ronald ten Kate, Team Manager: “The Supersport riders have started very well. Kenan not only concentrated on a single fast lap, he also made a longer run while doing it. Whether we race in the wet or dry we are pretty sure which tyres we will use. Andrew is steadily becoming more acquainted with the bike and he got a good result in the end. He was very unlucky to crash at the end of the session as he had to move to his second bike, but he still managed to secure his single fastest lap. All in all, fifth position is good and I am sure that after what we have seen from Andrew today he can definitely improve tomorrow.” Kenan Sofuoglu: “I am happy with the position today. We tested here about three months ago and found a really good set-up for the bike but now it does not feel so right. I have learned that testing and racing are two very different things and the set-up we like at the test is not always right for the race. Overnight we will be looking at this and we will change some things in time for tomorrow. I hope the weather stays good and I look forward to the second session.” Andrew Pitt: “I was fifth this morning in the patchy conditions and then fifth again this afternoon so I’m pretty happy with that. I feel like I’m working well with the guys and the bike is feeling good. I had a bit of a crash on the oil at the end and had to go out on the spare bike for the first time, but I was able to get one lap in and managed to improve my time. So far, so good – I’m happy enough.” More, from a press release issued by Yamaha Racing: Curtain and Parkes show their determination in first qualifying Kevin Curtain took third place in this weekend’s first qualifying session – only two weeks after breaking his left collar bone in four places at Donington Park. Team mate Broc Parkes struggled with his collar bone injury also, managing 11th place during the 45 minute session. Both riders have broken collar bones – Parkes his right and Curtain his left – after crashing in practice at the previous round at Donington. Since their respective accidents both riders have undergone surgery to plate and bolt the collar bones. They have had less than two weeks recovery since the last round and have surprised everyone by the efforts they have gone to in order to race here this weekend. Having attending last month’s Pirelli tyre test, the team preferred to sit out the damp morning practice session rather than aggravate the riders injuries, confident that they have good set up information from these testing sessions. In the dry afternoon session, Kevin had an unexpected but excellent ride and secured third place whilst Broc found his injuries were more aggravated by the many twists and turns in the middle section of the circuit. Yamaha Team Italia Lorenzini by Leoni rider, Massimo Roccoli, had an average performance and only managed to qualify in 16th position. Kenan Sofuoglu (Honda) topped today’s qualifying session with a best time. Fujiwara (Honda) came in second with Curtain taking third and Riba (Kawasaki) completing the provisional front row in fourth place. Kevin Curtain (3rd – 1’37.885 – Yamaha Word Supersport Team) “My injuries don’t feel too bad – until I have to brake hard. I surprised myself in that session, getting third slot, considering I’ve just had quite a major operation. The doctor has done a good job! I’m happy with securing third position today because, if it rains tomorrow as it is forecast to, the risk of crashing will be higher. I have to consider my injuries and take it a bit more gently if it rains tomorrow.” Broc Parkes (11th – 1’38.681 – Yamaha World Supersport Team) “My collar bone is giving me some trouble in the middle section of a lap when I have to use my right arm a lot. It really hurts when I have to switch from left to right, which makes changing direction quite difficult. I’m okay on the brakes with it, but then I have a different riding style to Kevin. I’d like to qualify in the top eight; hopefully I can get to the second row in tomorrow’s qualifying, depending on the weather.” Massimo Roccoli (16th – 1’39.016 – Yamaha Team Italia Lorenzini by Leoni) “Unfortunately today was a bad day for me. There was no technical problem; it was more of a personal issue with me struggling with my feeling of the track. The bike and the tyre is the same when we tested here in March, but for some reason I am 1.5 seconds slower than at that test. The difference is too big to be technical, it is something I need to try and resolve myself for tomorrow.”