ROUND 4 VALENCIA, SPAIN 12 APRIL 2007 RACE PREVIEW April 2007, Valencia (Spain) After three rounds the 2007 WSBK season has had a recent shake-up in its overall standings. In this first part of the year the riders that most expected to be the main protagonists confirmed their great talent and potential, and thanks to the new tyres Pirelli brought for this season, the top riders also improved the records, both during the races and test sessions. This Sunday they’ll all race at Valencia, where only a short time ago almost the whole paddock made a three day test, evaluating new solutions that will be used in this meeting. For the SBK class itself, Pirelli will bring three different front tyres and five different rear tyres, plus the qualifier, in order to be ready to face all the different conditions Valencia has offered-up in the past. Supersport riders will have at their disposal three front and three rear solutions, while as usual the two ‘Stock’ classes will race with a single solution (DIABLO SUPERCORSA SC2). This meeting will be also feature the first race of the season in the Suzuki Cup, which will take the total number of riders in the paddock up to 165. This is a huge number, and with all of them using Pirelli tyres, it took nine trucks to move all the necessary machinery, tents and so on to Spain. Last year Bayliss won both the Valencia races, this season Biaggi set the fastest lap in the November test and Toseland missed the most recent test-session, in mid-march. Together with Lanzi, and Yamaha riders Corser and Haga, these are the most likely riders to be fighting for first place, and once again the battle will be teak-tough. In Supersport with the two top Yamaha riders injured in crashes at Donington, the Ten Kate Honda team may be favourites, but other riders have already proved to be competitive and ready to fight for the big result, riders like Harms and PI race winner Foret. Thus far in 2007, Superstock 1000 and Superstock 600 have disputed only one race apiece, so it is still too early for predictions. But for sure it will be a great show; especially in the 1000cc category, with MV, Ducati, Suzuki, Honda and Yamaha bikes featuring, all of which seemed to be really competitive in the opening round.

Interview to Gianluca Montiron KONICA MINOLTA Honda Team Manager Which are the key moments in your long career in the various motorcycle world championships? The next one! Ha! Fortunately I have many good memories; the first one is about the 250cc World title that Tetsuya Harada won in 1993 on the Telkor Yamaha. For sure, remembering the seasons I spent when I was with Aprilia is very good. I can’t forget the three consecutive titles in 250cc with Max Biaggi, and after that we obtained many other victories with different riders and I think that era represents something unique for me. After that successful period I decided that it was time for me to make a step forward and I moved to the top class of the Motorcycle category 500cc.I consider the personal motivation to be important and the desire to succeed at the next level is important. Is this is the reason why you established your own team? I think that the best evaluation of someone’s capacity is through results and I want to distinguish among the rest for the quality of the work I offer. From the managerial point of view I’m satisfied with the job I’ve done with my MotoGP Team, because for the first time in the motorcycle championships, I have had the support of a Japanese technology company Konica Minolta as main sponsor of my team and for this season my team will be the promoter of the 2008 world road-racing cycle championships in Varese, another important step forward for me. If you evaluate the general worldwide economic situation I’m in a comfortable situation considering that our rider is Japanese and that it isn’t always easy to gain a sponsor. I believe our team has a very efficient structure: every year I’ve made relevant investments in the team and our structure in order to follow the sponsor’s need. What is your opinion about the present situation in MotoGP? In the last few years MotoGP has seen an escalation in term of popularity and cost, basically the MotoGP world has not been able enough to follow this escalation and we are now in the transition period. For the motorcycle manufacturers this isn’t a big problem: even if the manufacturers would like to reduce the cost of their own racing departments, the main problem at the moment is for the private teams who have to survive in this period. I think that in the third millennium we need to approach motorsport with a more commercial and aggressive mind. Which kind of action do you intend to take? I think we have a topic here that needs time to be dealt with and really needs the collaboration of all the parties involved. For a private team sometimes it is difficult to open a dialogue with the manufacturer because both parties have different needs and objectives, even if the best sport result remains the main goal for both. Where the various World champions come from is also interesting. The reason why we have two Spanish riders as world champions in 125 and the 250 class is because Dorna invested heavily to create a competitive Spanish championship and riders like Pedrosa come from this championship. The reason why in the past we had some Italian champions as Biaggi, Rossi, Capirossi is a different matter: the Italian championship was very competitive in the past because Aprilia and Cagiva invested money to organize the various national trophies. How can the manufacturer help private teams like yours? I think is a rule for everybody, if the income is not sufficient, it’s necessary to consider how to reduce costs. I think that the manufacturer can reduce the machine rental cost and also reduce the number of winter tests. This year Dorna made a financial contribution to both manufacturers and to the teams and this helps everybody. In general, I believe that the manufacturers and the private teams should work in the same direction together with Dorna and Irta. For many years the private teams were in a comfortable situation but now it is the moment for everybody to invest in the future, in this sector it will be possible to do a step forward to approach motorsport with a more commercial mind and to offer an efficient service to the sponsor by focussing on the marketing and communication activities of the team itself. Personally, I’ve already employed this strategy and the efforts have been rewarded.

ALL EYES ON INJURY-HIT BAYLISS (DUCATI XEROX) AT VALENCIA Valencia (Spain), Thursday 12 April: The World Superbike Championship resumes its championship trail in Valencia, two weeks after the Donington Park round that produced a major setback for the Ducati Xerox Team. Defending champion Troy Bayliss suffered a nasty crash at the British circuit in the first race and was left reeling from injuries to his right hand and his groin. Following the immediate amputation of the top two joints of his little finger and an exploratory check in the groin area, Troy has now had ten days’ rest to recover for the next round of the championship this weekend. The final medical check was scheduled to take place Thursday afternoon at the Valencia circuit for Troy to be given the all-clear by the Clinica Mobile medical staff to face up to this weekend’s Spanish round, but at the time of writing the Australian was stuck in Paris with flight delays and was scheduled to arrive late in the afternoon. Troy Bayliss, 6th in championship (64 points) Troy has taken four victories in eight Superbike races at Valencia, both double wins in his 2001 and 2006 title years. Two second places and a third, together with sensational MotoGP win at the end of last year, make up an incredible record for the Australian around the Valencia track. “I’m feeling OK but the situation is a bit unknown until I get on the bike” declared Troy. “I’ve got to be careful not to hit myself down below obviously but the hand feels good. It’s certainly going to be different, after all I’ve only been racing with my little finger for the last twenty years! I’ve had many worse crashes over the years, this one was just unlucky as far as losing a finger goes. If you looked at me you wouldn’t think I’d been in a motorbike accident, you’d think I hadn’t paid some bill and the mafia had come and chopped one finger off with a pair of scissors and hit my nuts with a hammer because I haven’t got another mark on my body!” Lorenzo Lanzi, 5th in championship (66 points) In 2006 Lorenzo scored his best results of the year at Valencia, the Italian twice stepping up onto the podium in third place and he will be looking to at least repeat those results this time round. “Last year I scored my best results of the season here, two podiums but the conditions were different and this weekend doesn’t look” commented Lorenzo. “I am optimistic, I feel quite good in the wet conditions and I’ll try and get the best start in qualifying tomorrow. The tests here one month ago went well, unfortunately we’ve been here four times and we’ve never found wet conditions. The track is a good one for Ducati, we have shown that in testing and in the previous years’ races. I am currently lying in fifth in the championship, 22 points down on third place, so I’ll try and move up this weekend”. Championship Points (after 3 of 13 rounds): Riders – 1. Toseland (Honda) 115; 2. Biaggi (Suzuki) 110; 3. Haga (Yamaha) 88; 4. Corser (Yamaha) 81; 5. Lanzi (Ducati Xerox) 66; 6. Bayliss (Ducati Xerox) 64; etc. Manufacturers – 1. Honda 124; 2. Suzuki 110; 3. Yamaha 98; 4. Ducati 94; 5. Kawasaki 40. The Circuit Name: Circuit de la Comunitat Valenciana ‘Ricardo Tormo’ Length: 4.005 km Pole Position: right Finish line length: 876 m Corners left/right: 9 / 5 Race distance: 2 x 23 laps / 92.115 km Statistics : Best lap: Hodgson (Ducati) 1m34.633s (2003). Lap record: Hodgson (Ducati) 1m35.007s (2003). Superpole: Bayliss (Ducati) 1m34.814s (2002). 2006 Results : Race 1 – 1. Bayliss (Ducati); 2. Corser (Suzuki); 3. Lanzi (Ducati). Race 2 – 1. Bayliss; 2. Corser; 3. Lanzi.

TESTS AT LE MANS GIVE TEAMS CHANCE TO MAKE LAST GASP IMPROVEMENTS AHEAD OF LE MANS 24 HOURS IN TWO WEEKS With less than two weeks before the opening race of the QMMF Endurance FIM World Championship, the tension is mounting and the teams have been making their final adjustments at the free tests which took place last week [April 4-5] at Le Mans. World Champions, Suzuki Endurance Racing Team, has a strong advantage with their two GSX-R 1000s with which they will be looking to safeguard their title for another season and plot a route to the podium. The Yamaha GMT94 team is also preparing for the 24 hour race and has lined up a trio of riders who will be looking to take the victory. Team Manager Christophe Guyot invited Anthony Gobert to last week’s tests. The Australian Superbike rider is surely the perfect replacement rider to prepare for any eventuality. The GMT94 riders are facing a busy week-end before the Le Mans 24 Hour, with David Checa and Sébastian Gimbert both racing in World Supersport in Valencia, whilst Olivier Four will be taking part in the French Superbike Championship in Ledenon. Over in Team Kawasaki France, following concern for rider Gwen Giabbani after his fall during a French Superbike Championship race, everything looks to be back in order. Giabbani will start the race alongside Steve Plater and Scott Smart. Supporting the ZX-10R in its quest for the podium, the ZX-10R Education Racing Team (Superstock) will be looking for a good result, with Julian Mazuecos, Renaud Moisan and Fabien Sohier. The Yamaha Austria Racing Team has also been hit with problems following a crash during the tests in which Sébastian Scarnato suffered a dislocation of the shoulder. Scarnato hopes to have recovered in time for racing at Le Mans alongside Igor Jerman and Damian Cudlin. Over at National Motos (winners of the 2006 event) Frederic Protat, Dani Ribalta and Denis Bouan have praised the performance of their Honda CBR 1000RR engine which this year has benefited from the expert attention of Honda Racing Corporation. The team used the tests to make further improvements to the bike’s chassis. Many more permanent teams also took part in the Le Mans tests, including the Bolliger Team, who this year hope to reach the podium with the Kawasaki, as well as Zone Rouge, Amadeus X-One, Endurance Moto 38, Endurance Moto 45, No Limits and RMT21 Racing. The importance of the opening round of the QMMF Endurance FIM World Championship at Le Mans cannot be underestimated. With 35 points awarded to the winner of the 24 Hour race, the result is sure to have a big impact towards the end of the season. In addition the teams now know that the race in Qatar will be run over eight hours rather six, meaning the winner will take home 30 points instead of 25. Official testing for the Le Mans 24 Hour begins on Thursday 19th April with the race itself starting on Saturday 21st April at 3.00pm.

Daytona Beach’s favorite restaurant and bar “The Ocean Deck” has signed on to sponsor Richie Morris Racing for the remainder of the 2007 season. “I took a year off and so did they. It is so great to have them back on board! It didn’t seem right having a bike on the track without their decal on it. The Ocean Deck and Daytona H.D..Buell have been with me since 1994. Thirteen year sponsors are few and far between in this business. While in Daytona, the racers always support them with their business and they just want to give something back to the sport of motorcycle racing!” says Morris. The Richie Morris Racing / Daytona H.D. Buell team will be at Homestead this weekend competing in the Sun Trust Moto-ST event. Coming off of a win in the Daytona opener, the team is currently leading the points in the Grand Sport Twins class. Shawn Higbee and Dan Bilansky will once again be the riders.

Yamaha looking for more wins going into the fourth round at Valencia The Ricardo Tormo Circuit will host its first international race of the season this coming weekend, with the fourth round of the World Superbike Championship coming to this popular track for its eighth consecutive year. Valencia is a tight and twisty circuit built with spectators in mind. The venue was designed to be a ‘circuit within a stadium’ and this has been achieved with over 65,000 grandstand seats that allow spectators to view the track, and the action on it, from the one position. The popularity of this circuit is evident, with over 3 million spectators visiting since its opening in 1999. Valencia’s complicated track, excellent facilities and favourable winter weather conditions make this circuit ideal for all kinds of racing. It is in demand by national and international championships and is not restricted to just motorcycles. Everything from trucks to Formula One cars use this circuit which means that grip levels can be unpredictable, causing conditions to change by the hour and requiring constant adjustments to the set-up of the bike. Pirelli held their official tyre test here in March, with Yamaha’s World Superbike, Supersport and Superstock teams all taking part. The data gathered at this test could be of a big help to put all the Yamaha teams in a good position for their race set-up this weekend. The last round at Donington saw Haga take the team’s first win of the season, showing the potential of the new R1. This was supported by Corser’s second and third finishes. Haga goes into the fourth round in third place in the championship standings with 88 points with Corser just behind on 81 points. Both riders want to win at this round, so the gloves will be off from the outset. In 2006 Haga claimed two fifth places in Valencia but as he has won here previously in 2000 and 2004, he is keen to add another race win to his one from Donington. “Valencia is one of my favourite circuits and I have won there before,” he says. “It is a technically challenging circuit though, and chassis and tyre set-up are very important there. With the testing we have done there recently with Pirelli I am hopeful. After winning at Donington I am feeling very positive and looking forward to winning again!” Team mate, Corser is looking to take some race win glory himself this weekend, after just missing it at Donington. Last year he took second place in both races and is looking to better that result this year. “Valencia has a good layout and the weather is normally makes for good riding conditions, although it can get a bit windy and, depending on which way it blows, it can sometimes be a problem. The track grip is different every time we go there because it depends on what’s been racing there previously – trucks or Formula Ford – and what rubber they’ve left.” With regard to the bike, Corser says, “The bike feels good following the testing we have done there, although every team has done testing there so it’s going to be a close race.” The third round at Donington was a very tough one for the Yamaha World Supersport Team, with both Curtain and Parkes crashing and breaking their collar bones in practice, putting them out for the race. The team goes into the fourth round with a lot of hard work to do. They know they need a good result to put them back into contention for the championship, but are very conscious of both riders still nursing injuries. Both riders had operations immediately following the race and are determined to ride at Valencia if at all possible. Currently, Curtain lies in fifth in the championship with 25 points and Parkes lies in tenth on 16 points. “I’m feeling pretty good despite the crash at Donington. A friend in Belgium helped me get operated on straight away and I now have a plate and eight bolts in my left shoulder, which is lucky as I’m right-handed. As soon as I was out of surgery I started exercising the injury because the longer you leave it, the longer it takes to get going again. I now have full movement and a fair amount of strength in my left arm, though the scar is a bit tender,” says Kevin of his injuries. When asked about Valencia and his expectations, Kevin said, “I’m looking forward to returning to the championship this weekend. I’d like to get on the podium’ that’s what I’ll be aiming for.” At the time of going to print, it is expected that Broc Parkes will race at Valencia, though this will be confirmed in the next 24 hours. Claudio Corti got his Superstock Championship fight off to a good start at Donington with a second place, just in front of Didier van Keymeulen on another new R1. Corti’s team mate, Michele Pirro has something to prove this weekend after crashing out of the last race. He had been showing great potential in his rookie season in the Superstock Championship prior to the crash and is keen to make up for his mistakes with a good result at Valencia.

Former Supersport World Champion Andrew Pitt will join HANNspree Ten Kate Honda in Valencia this weekend as the team aims to extend its lead in the 2007 Championship. The Australian rider is a temporary replacement for Sébastien Charpentier, who is continuing to make good progress in his recovery from injuries sustained at Donington Park two weeks ago. Pitt will contest this weekend’s fourth round race aboard the new CBR600RR – a bike which is still in the early stages of development. The invaluable experience of 31-year-old Pitt will provide the team with strong support in terms of data comparison with team-mate Kenan Sofuoglu. The young Turkish rider will be aiming to extend his 27-point series lead even further at the Spanish event. Sébastien Charpentier underwent further tests this morning to determine whether he would be fit to ride in Valencia. However X-rays showed a small fracture to his coccyx that is adding to the pain of his pelvic injury. The Frenchman is healing well and aims to be back with the HANNspree Ten Kate Honda team in time for fifth round of the championship in Assen in two weeks time. Ronald Ten Kate, Team Manager: “Of course we are all as disappointed as Sébastien that he is not back with us for Valencia. His intense pain was continuing so we decided to do another scan early this morning. From these scans the medical team found a small fracture of the bone at the bottom of the spine. This at least explains why he is in so much pain. I will be speaking with him everyday and we will have an update on his recovery on Friday. Hopes are high that he will be back with us in time for Assen. Replacement rider Andrew Pitt will bring his wealth of experience to the race this weekend. Andrew is a force to be reckoned on any bike and without putting pressure on him or his crew, we are aiming for a top five result.”