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.”

Specialists in fashion steel jewellery, Rochet has opened new horizons and concepts for the growing need for male fashion jewellery by signing a global agreement with MotoGP commercial rights-holders Dorna Sports S.L with the aim of developing an exclusive jewellery line. Engraved with the MotoGP logo this “fashion” jewellery range is dedicated to performance, technology, research & constant innovation. Patrick Brunet President of Zuccolo Rochet & C° that owns Rochet jewellery said, “Rewarding customers with exclusive products has always been the main target of our partners and employees. Thanks to their dedication, Rochet has finally reached a worldwide leadership position. Our agreement with Dorna will help us go further and illustrate our complicity on technical innovation and designs”. “We intend to strengthen our collaboration with Dorna,” said Georges Brunet, Rochet general manager. Rochet is the brand when talking about performance men’s jewellery and we look forward to developing the MotoGP Official Products as a complete programme of the prestigious MotoGP World Championships. The enthusiasm around this project is at a high, with the tough challenge of developing jewellery lines inspired from a technological world where the riders involved are truly at the pinnacle of their profession. When talking about engines, tyres, chassis or electronics MotoGP riders only know the best, and they push the limits on board their extremely impressive prototypes, which travel at over 345 km/h. Rochet is a brand dedicated to creating a fusion between fashion and this technological world which is always seeking for perfection. The new Rochet MotoGP range will have its Official presentation at ‘Baselworld’ this weekend, the world’s leading watch and jewellery show which takes place at Basel in Switzerland from April 12-19.

TOSELAND OUT TO MAINTAIN CHAMPIONSHIP LEAD James Toseland (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR) enters the fourth round of the Superbike World Championship still in possession of the championship lead he has enjoyed since leaving Qatar after round one, despite the misfortune of a retirement in the most recent round. A measure of just how effective the start of his season has been comes from the fact that he is the only rider in the top five to have suffered a no-score, but yet he still leads second place rider Max Biaggi by five points. With the latest electronics working in harmony with his well-proven machine, Toseland’s confidence in the run-up to Valencia is still high, and he fully intends to leave Valencia with his championship lead intact. Toseland, the 2004 World Champion, has started from the front row in every one of the three rounds so far, and has scored three wins and two second places. The Donington round on April 1 was a positive one for Roberto Rolfo (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR) and he is the second highest placed Honda rider in the series. Valencia is well known to him, despite the fact that he did not test there in March, during the official sessions called by the series organisers. Michel Fabrizio (DFX Corse Honda CBR1000RR) is looking forward to the Valencia race after Donington, with the former Superstock champion keen to get back to the sort of form that delivered him three podium finishes for Honda in the 2006 season. Currently 14th overall, Fabrizio heads up a running flush of Honda riders, down to his team-mate Steve Martin (DFX Corse Honda CBR1000RR) in 17th. Joshua Brookes (Alto Evolution Honda CBR1000RR) and Karl Muggeridge (Alto Evolution Honda CBR1000RR) are buoyed by their recent points scoring rides at Donington, with Muggeridge now much recovered from the foot and ankle tendon injury he suffered in practice for the Australian round in March. For Toseland, Valencia will present another opportunity for the youngest ever champion of the class to score his first career double win, after he looked in a good position to do it at Donington in the last round. He is, understandably, even more intent on defending his championship lead. “It was tough in Donington to go from the joy of winning the first race to not finishing the second, but I’ll be putting in all behind me and concentrating on the job we have to do in Valencia,” stated Toseland. “I’m still leading the championship and that is where I said I wanted to be after Donington. I’ll say the same again – I want to leave Spain as the series leader and that is the goal for the whole team.” Rolfo’s improvement in form was easy to see at Donington, and he expects to make further strides at Valencia. “I had a much better feeling on the bike at Donington and although I had bad luck once again in the Superpole, I feel like I have made really good progress,” said the Italian. “I am looking forward to Valencia – it is a track we have tested so we have already done some good work towards the set-up of the bike. I know that I can do better and I will be looking to prove that in Spain.” Fabrizio’s Valencia weekend will be particularly busy after the team came into possession of new electronics for one of his machines. As the team’s favoured test venue, Valencia is the perfect place at which to do back-to-back evaluations of any new equipment. “For me, Valencia will be an important event because we have done a lot of kilometres on this circuit,” affirmed the rider from Rome. “I hope that with the new electronic parts on motorcycle will help us to be competitive, like the best Hondas in the World Championship.” Martin’s approach to Valencia has also been given a boost with the addition of some new electronics to try on one of his CBR1000RR race machines, on a circuit which the team has a lots of data about. “Valencia is where we’ve done all our winter testing and so we should have a good advantage there,” said Martin, with a touch of realism added. “The bikes are being taken straight to Valencia from Donington, and so any development work will now have to be done during practice and qualifying for race weekend. But we will work hard in the team and in Valencia you will see our best.” Brookes has scored points in all but one of the 2007 races so far, and but for a tyre choice gamble at Donington that didn’t pay off as expected, he may well be even higher up the order than his current placing of 15th. “We are looking a bit stronger now,” said Brookes. “We have tested at Valencia so we have got some data from there and we know which direction to go in now.” Muggeridge, who scored two good finishes at Donington after being unable to start in the previous Phillip Island round due to injury, now looks forward to Valencia. “We found out a lot about how our bike worked in race situations at Donington,” said the 2004 World Supersport Champion. “We are looking forward to Valencia because we will be able to concentrate more on the rear suspension there.” The next stop after the Valencia weekend is Assen, where round five of the WSS and SBK championships take place between 27 and 29 April.

HONDA RACING INFORMATION World Supersport and Superbike Championships 2007 Round 4, Valencia Spain Spanish Race Preview 13 April – 15 April 2007 World Supersport Round 4 of 13 SOFUOGLU TAKES STRONG CHAMPIONSHIP LEAD TO VALENCIA The start of the 2007 season could hardly have been better for Kenan Sofuoglu (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda CBR600RR) with two wins and one second place to his credit. His fabulous early run of form on the new-for-2007 CBR600RR has propelled him to a 27-point advantage at the top of the championship table, with two other Honda riders, Katsuaki Fujiwara (Althea Honda Team CBR600RR) and Robbin Harms (Stiggy Motorsports Honda CBR600RRR) in second and third places respectively. After overcoming serious pelvic and collarbone injuries in the 2006 season, to score a historic second straight championship in Supersport, Sebastien Charpentier (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda CBR600RR) has seen his fortunes wane in the early part of the 2007 season. A recent crash in the first practice session at round three in England caused him to re-fracture his pelvis, albeit in a much less serious way than in 2006. He is working flat out to be fit for the Valencia round, trying to make it three wins in a row at the 4.005km Circuito Ricardo Tormo. ‘Seb’ was not the only top rider to be injured at Donington, and at least two other regular championship contenders are also fighting to be fit. Lorenzo Alfonsi (Althea Honda Team CBR600RR) had enjoyed a good start to his first Honda season in World Supersport, prior to being taken out by another rider in the Donington race, but the former European Superstock champion is determined to get back into the points at a track he has scored four podium finishes at during his Superstock years. Sofuoglu has been thriving in the role of championship leader, having won the first round at Qatar and the most recent one at Donington. Sofuoglu and his team-mate Charpentier were not present at the official Valencia tests in March, but after a strong showing earlier in the winter months, he is understandably keen to get back to Valencia. “I was really happy with the win at Donington and it has given me a good lead in the standings,” said the 23-year-old Turkish rider. “We have tested in Valencia and I recorded some good lap times there so it’s a track I feel quite comfortable riding. Of course, I am hoping for a podium finish and think I have a good chance of achieving that. I am looking forward to racing with my team-mate again and I wish him and the other injured riders all the best in their recoveries.” Charpentier is determined to get his championship back on track at Valencia, despite his recent injury. “Obviously I was very disappointed not to be able to race at Donington, but these things happen and you have to concentrate on the future,” said Charpentier, who displayed astonishing mental and physical toughness to come back from injury to win the series in 2006. “I’ve been working really hard with my medical team in France to recover in time for the next race. My injuries are healing well and I am looking forward to getting back on the bike and racing again in Valencia.” Fujiwara has been an omnipresent force at the front again this year, and feels that Valencia will be one of his best circuits. “I am really ready for Valencia because we had a good test there in March,” said Fujiwara. “We made good changes to the bike set-up during the Donington weekend, having never tested there, but we already have good information about our new bike at Valencia. It is good to be going there second in the championship so I will try my best to make as many points as possible.” Alfonsi’s early 2007 form and excellent sixth place qualifying result at Donington are not the only elements that contribute to his positive Valencia race outlook. “We made a lot of kilometres in testing at Valencia in the most recent official sessions and the results were quite good, so I want to continue my season in a strong way,” said Lorenzo. “I think it helps me that the team knows the bike very well and I think we found the tyre for the Valencia track back in March. We know we should have a good solution for the set-up and I feel pretty good about racing at Valencia.”