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High Winds Hinder Post-race MotoGP Testing In Qatar

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STRONG WINDS AFFECTS THE TEST OF THE DUCATI MARLBORO TEAM IN QATAR Archived already their first ever 800cc MotoGP race, and their first success of 2007 season, The Ducati Marlboro men arrived on time at the track this morning for the scheduled one-day testing session at the Losail Circuit. Unfortunately, strong winds prevented both riders and technicians to complete the planned work. Loris Capirossi and Casey Stoner weren’t able to complete many laps because the wind was so strong that they had to stop early, being not able to work on their Desmosedici set up neither to test some new Bridgestone tyres. The MotoGP teams now move to Spain for the second round of the 2007 season which takes place at Jerez de la Frontera on March 25. Casey Stoner (Ducati Marlboro Team) “Despite my yesterday’s win I feel exactly as any other day. Obviously the atmosphere in the garage is pretty good and we’ll do our best to continue exactly in the same way. Today we had planned some tyre’s tests but the wind was really to strong. The grip of the track wasn’t actually too bad but there wasn’t the condition to provide the Bridgestone technicians with an useful feedback”. Loris Capirossi (Ducati Marlboro Team) “Today we tried put up some laps but it was so windy and we couldn’t rider without taking a lot of risks. It’s a pity because we had several things to test for Bridgestone. The yesterday crash is already behind my shoulders and I’m really looking forward to the next race at Jerez”.

More From The AMA Season-opener In Daytona

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BARNES EARNS PODIUM IN 2007 DAYTONA 200 Team M4 EMGO Suzuki enjoyed an outstanding conclusion to the 2007 season-opening AMA weekend at Daytona International Speedway on Saturday. Following up on Geoff May’s Thursday third-place ride in the AMA Superstock race, Michael Barnes finished on the podium in the 66th running of the Daytona 200 while May picked up a top-five in the AMA Superbike final. Barnes got a terrific start from the second row in the famed 68-lap contest, leading the opening lap before settling into a heated battle with the lead group as they worked towards the first pitstop. After working through both pit stops without a hitch, Barnes and his Pirelli-shod GSX-R600 proved their durability by taking the checkered flag in third place. It was ‘Barney’s’ best Daytona 200 performance in ten attempts. “I’m pretty stoked,” Barnes remarked. “We’ve been working hard and the FX class is getting really competitive. To podium in the Daytona 200 is quite a thrill. “I’ve been on the Daytona podium a few times before in a few different classes, but this is the first time in the FX class and in the 200. It’s just a blast to be up here and the M4 EMGO Suzuki team is great. Pirelli tires have shown their commitment and their hard work. I’ve been with them for about seven years now and it’s exciting to see their progress. It’s fantastic to see them sweep the podium here at Daytona.” Barnes summed his feelings up, commenting, “It was just meant to be. I was supposed to be up here this weekend. This is for Vincent Haskovec.” Having already raced in both of his regular classes earlier in the week, May was free to compete in the premier AMA Superbike class aboard his Superstock-spec GSX-R1000. Just as he had done all week long, May got the better of a number of the categories’ factory stars, pushing to a fifth place finish in the 15-lap race. “I’m happy with that,” the Georgian said. “I just wanted to go out there and show what Team M4 EMGO Suzuki and Pirelli could do and just go have some fun. My race weekend was over on Thursday and I got to hang out and watch some Supercross last night. For me there was no pressure. I rode my own race and ended up top five. It was a good day.” The second round of the 2007 AMA roadracing championships will take place at Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, AL on April 20-22. More, from a press release issued by Team Roadracingworld.com Suzuki: ULRICH HAS ‘BEST DAYTONA EVER’ IN 2007 Team Roadracingworld.com Suzuki opened the 2007 AMA Superstock season with a tremendous result this week at Daytona International Speedway. Chris Ulrich was fast from the opening practice and went on to secure his best-ever AMA race results at the famed circuit in Thursday’s race. After qualifying on the second row for the 13-lap final, posting the seventh fastest time of the session at 1:42.117, Ulrich figured to get away with the leaders early aboard his 2007 Pirelli-shod GSX-R1000. An early race incident forced Chris offline, however, yet he quickly recovered and put his head down to ultimately take the checkered flag in sixth position, an outstanding result to kick off the new season. The satisfied Ulrich said, “This is the best Daytona I’ve ever been to. I’ve been coming here racing AMA since 1998. 2007 is the best year I’ve ever had. It was just a very good weekend — a confidence building weekend. “We made a lot of changes to the bike and it was just good. I’m riding hard and I’ve got some new crew guys. Everyone is working really hard and the bike has changed so much set-up wise.” Ulrich is confident the Daytona round is a sign of things to come. “I’m looking forward to a really strong season. We started out right. We should have finished fifth but we had a small vibration coming through the rear. It didn’t work out but I’ve got great faith in Pirelli and my Team Roadracingworld.com Suzuki crew guys. We’re going to put this thing on the box sometime this year.” The only negative for the squad this week was the absence of second rider Robertino Pietri. The reigning Venezuelan and Latin American Superbike Champion unexpectedly encountered difficulty obtaining his visa, preventing him from racing in the AMA season opener at Daytona, the scene of last season’s seventh-place run. “It’s a bummer that ‘Tino wasn’t here,” Ulrich remarked. “Team Roadracingworld.com Suzuki does everything by the book. We do it as the law says. We ran into some problems getting his visa and getting him over here. What can you do? We’re going to do everything correctly to make sure our guy is here for the long run. “We missed Robertino. I think he could have had a strong finish. He did quite well here last year. This is his track and he’s quite light and small. He likes it. We probably could have had two Team RoadRacingWorld.com Suzuki bikes in the top eight, but it didn’t work out. We’re going to try to get his visa problems sorted so he can be with us next race.” The second round of the 2007 AMA season will take place at Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, AL on April 20-22.

More From The MotoGP Season-opener In Qatar

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MICHELIN MEN ROSSI & PEDROSA ON LOSAIL PODIUM Michelin riders Valentino Rossi (Fiat Yamaha Team YZR-M1-Michelin) and Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda Team RC212V-Michelin) took second- and third-place results in today’s season-opening Qatar GP, the first 800cc MotoGP race. Former MotoGP World Champion Rossi spent the whole race involved in an enthralling duel with Casey Stoner (Ducati Marlboro Team Desmosedici GP7) but finally had to settle for second, while Pedrosa won his contest with John Hopkins (Rizla Suzuki GSV-R) for the final place on the podium. “We are happy with how our tires worked,” said Jean-Philippe Weber, Michelin’s director of motorcycle racing. “Valentino was very fast in the corners, and even with 15km/h less on the straights he was always right with Stoner, which made it an exciting race. Valentino rode aggressively, we had very good edge grip which remained consistent throughout. This was also the first race with our 16in front and everyone was happy with the tire’s handling and grip. Valentino made a very good tire choice while Dani chose slightly softer rear, a medium tire. This is normal because he puts less stress into the tires but he lost a little in the later stages.” Weber pronounced himself happy with the first MotoGP event to be run under new technical regulations which limit riders to 14 front slicks and 17 rear slicks per weekend. The new rules have a major effect on how riders, teams and tire companies work through practice and qualifying towards the race, placing a greater emphasis on strategy. “The system worked smoothly, and despite the new limitations all our riders got the tires they needed for the race,” Weber added. “But we will have to wait a little longer to see how the system works at other races, especially at tracks where we’ve not tested and where weather conditions are less predictable than they are here.” Rossi was happy enough with second, since he started last season with a 14th place result at Jerez, after being knocked down at the first turn. “My bike was very good in the corners, better than Casey’s, but we lost too much on the straights,” he said. “The pace was very fast, my bike had a very good balance and we made a great tire choice with Michelin.”

Rapp Wins Daytona 200 On Kawasaki And Pirellis

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Steve Rapp led a 1-2 finish for Attack Kawasaki and a sweep of the podium by Pirelli in winning the 66th Daytona 200 by Honda AMA Formula Xtreme race Saturday at Daytona International Speedway, in Daytona Beach, Florida. Rapp’s teammate Ben Attard finished second, while Team M4 EMGO Suzuki’s Michael Barnes placed third.

Rapp was part of a multi-rider battle at the beginning involving his teammate Attard, Barnes, Erion Honda’s Josh Hayes, American Honda’s Miguel Duhamel, Yamaha’s Jason DiSalvo and Celtic Racing’s Chaz Davies.

As Rapp took the lead for the first time on lap 20, behind him Duhamel and Duhamel’s teammate Jake Zemke both suffered mechanical problems at exactly the same instant.

After the first round of pit stops, Rapp returned to the lead, only to relinquish the front spot again during the second round of pit stops to Davies and Attard. Hayes, Duhamel and Barnes also led at early points of the race.

Once Rapp regained the lead in the final stint he never let it go and took his first Daytona 200 victory. In spite of slightly quicker pit stops, Attard could not match his teammate on the track. Barnes fought off Davies in the final laps to hold on to third, the best-ever finish for the Floridian in the spring classic. Davies lost touch with Barnes through lapped traffic but was ecstatic with fourth place in his first Daytona 200.

DiSalvo lost ground when his second pit stop ran long and when his injured shoulder weakened in the late-going. After the other Hondas (including his teammate Aaron Gobert) apparently ran out of fuel, Hayes was forced to shorten his stints and make a costly third pit stop for a splash-and-go. Two laps behind Hayes, visiting Canadian star Pascal Picotte finished seventh on his Blackfoot/Picotte Performance Suzuki GSX-R600. Blown Away Racing’s 17-year-old Josh Day finished eighth on his Yamaha YZF-R6, 11 seconds ahead of Bostjan Pintar, of Slovenia, and Australian privateer David Anthony.

A total of 58 riders started the 68-lap race.

66th Daytona 200 by Honda Lockhart Phillips USA AMA Formula Xtreme Championship Daytona International Speedway Daytona Beach, Florida March 10, 2007 Provisional Race Results:

1. Steve Rapp (Kaw ZX-6R), Pirelli, 68 laps 2. Ben Attard (Kaw ZX-6R), Pirelli, -21.951 seconds 3. Michael Barnes (Suz GSX-R600), Pirelli, -28.817 seconds 4. Chaz Davies (Yam YZF-R6), Dunlop, -31.725 seconds 5. Jason DiSalvo (Yam YZF-R6), Dunlop, -41.935 seconds 6. Josh Hayes (Hon CBR600RR), Dunlop, -59.782 seconds 7. Pascal Picotte (Suz GSX-R600), Pirelli, -2 laps 8. Ryan Elleby (Hon CBR600RR), Dunlop, -3 laps, crash 9. Josh Day (Yam YZF-R6), -3 laps, 5.489 seconds 10. Bostjan Pintar (Yam YZF-R6), -3 laps, 17.228 seconds 11. David Anthony (Yam YZF-R6), -3 laps, 20.936 seconds 12. Bobby Fong (Suz GSX-R600), Michelin, -3 laps, 23.050 seconds 13. Keith Marshall (Kaw ZX-6R), -3 laps, 44.435 seconds 14. Bostjan Skubic (Yam YZF-R6), -3 laps, 44.700 seconds 15. Jeff Tigert (Hon CBR600RR), Dunlop, -4 laps 16. David Sadowksi, Jr. (Yam YZF-R6), -4 laps, 33.968 seconds 17. Ricky Orlando (Kaw ZX-6R), -4 laps, 48.644 seconds 18. Mark Crozier (Suz GSX-R600), Michelin, -4 laps, 56.425 seconds 19. Shane Narbonne (Suz GSX-R600), Dunlop, -4 laps, 61.678 seconds 20. Michael Murphy (Suz GSX-R600), -4 laps, 73.658 seconds 21. Jean Paul Tache (Yam YZF-R6), -5 laps 22. Johnny Rock Page (Yam YZF-R6), -5 laps, 16.049 seconds 23. Robert McLendon (Tri Daytona 675), -5 laps, 26.252 seconds 24. Michael Pearson (Yam YZF-R6), -5 laps, 52.150 seconds 25. Barrett Long (Duc 749), -5 laps, 57.546 seconds 26. Dean Mizdal (Yam YZF-R6), -5 laps, 60.642 seconds 27. C.R. Gittere (Suz GSX-R600), -5 laps, 72.562 seconds 28. Santiago Villa (Yam YZF-R6), -6 laps 29. Skip Salenius (Suz GSX-R600), -6 laps, 2.289 seconds 30. Larry Pegram (Duc 749/848), -6 laps, 2.739 seconds 31. David McPherson (Yam YZF-R6), -6 laps, 18.307 seconds 32. John Ashmead (Suz GSX-R600), -6 laps, 28.549 seconds 33. Scotty Van Hawk (Hon CBR600RR), -6 laps, 59.937 seconds 34. Craig Montgomery (Yam YZF-R6), -6 laps, 65.131 seconds 35. Chad Herrmann (Suz GSX-R600), -6 laps, 86.605 seconds, crash 36. Anthony Fania (Yam YZF-R6), -6 laps, 92.103 seconds 37. Spencer Stuart (Yam YZF-R6), -7 laps 38. Dirk Sanchez (Suz GSX-R600), -7 laps, 30.984 seconds 39. Mark Schnettler (Yam YZF-R6), -7 laps, 62.774 seconds 40. Matt Layt (Yam YZF-R6), -8 laps 41. Stephen Breckenridge (Tri Daytona 675), -8 laps, 75.205 seconds 42. Scott Ryan (Suz GSX-R600), Michelin, -9 laps 43. Eric Pinson (Yam YZF-R6), -9 laps, 102.018 seconds 44. Scott Ackerman (Yam YZF-R6), -9 laps, 114.738 seconds 45. Ryan Andrews (Hon CBR600RR), -11 laps 46. Walt Sipp (Buell XB-RR), -12 laps 47. Will Gruy (Yam YZF-R6), -16 laps 48. Jason Temme (Yam YZF-R6), -17 laps 49. Tony Meiring (Yam YZF-R6), Michelin, -27 laps, DNF, mechanical 50. Dr. Jeffrey Purk, DDS (Yam YZF-R6), -29 laps 51. Tyler McDonald (Yam YZF-R6), -43 laps 52. Marty Craggill (Duc 749R), -45 laps 53. Aaron Gobert (Hon CBR600RR), Dunlop, -46 laps, DNF, mechanical 54. Miguel Duhamel (Hon CBR600RR), Dunlop, -47 laps, DNF, mechanical 55. Jake Zemke (Hon CBR600RR), Dunlop, -47 laps, 16.388 seconds, DNF, mechanical 56. Eric Wood (Hon CBR600RR), Dunlop, -49 laps, DNF, mechanical

More, from a press release issued by Daytona International Speedway:

Rapp Surprise Winner Of The Daytona 200 By Honda

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. Steve Rapp scored one of the biggest upset wins in the history of the Daytona 200 By Honda on Saturday. The 35-year-old rider from Manhattan Beach, Calif., rode the No.15 Attack Kawasaki ZX-6R to victory over his teammate Ben Attard of Australia.

Floridian Michael Barnes, of Boca Raton, Fla., was third on a Team M4 EMGO Suzuki.

“It’s unbelievable,” said a jubilant Rapp, whose previous best result in the 200 was fifth in 1999. “I backed off so much on the last few laps. I would have never forgiven myself had I run out of gas. On the last lap I was so nervous. I feel like a different person. This is the biggest day of my life.”

Rapp first took the lead on Lap 20, and with the exception of pit sequences, held onto the point for the rest of the 68-lap event and took the checkered flag with a 21.951-second margin of victory.

It marked the first victory for Kawasaki in the prestigious race since 1995 and it’s also the first time a non-factory rider has won the Daytona 200 By Honda since John Ashmead in the 1989 motorcycle classic.

The favored factory Hondas of pole winner and five-time Daytona 200 By Honda winner Miguel Duhamel and last year’s winner Jake Zemke had fuel problems on Lap 21 before the first pit stop.

Josh Hayes, aboard the No. 1 Erion Honda and defending Formula Xtreme champion, also experienced fuel issues and finished sixth.

“It’s one of those things that we have to go back and figure out,” said Honda Road Race Manager Ron Heben. “It’s a big disappointment for us because of Honda’s success in the 200.”

Rounding out the top five were Chaz Davies aboard the Celtic Racing Yamaha and Jason DiSalvo aboard the factory Yamaha.

Daytona 200 Week By Honda has concluded. Ticket information for October’s Fall Cycle Scene, including the 8 Hours At Daytona SunTrust MOTO-ST Series race, are available at www.racetickets.com or by calling 1-800-PITSHOP.

More, from a press release issued on behalf of Dunlop:

Final: Dunlop Motorcycle Tires race report: 2007 AMA Superbike Series, round one, Daytona International Speedway

Daytona, Fl. — March 10, 2007 — The opening round of the 2007 AMA Superbike Series concluded at Daytona International Speedway (DIS) today after three days of exciting action in all four classes. On Thursday, Yoshimura Suzuki’s Ben Spies took his first-ever win at Daytona International Speedway (DIS) on a Superstock-spec GSX-R1000 and Kawasaki Road Racing’s Roger Lee Hayden nabbed his second consecutive Supersport win at DIS on a ZX-6R. After taking a break on Friday for the AMA Supercross Series, Saturday’s exploits saw Spies successfully begin the defense of his 2006 Superbike crown with a convincing win and his first-ever Superbike victory at Daytona. In the Formula Xtreme Daytona 200, unspecified fuel problems sidelined the favored Honda Racing team and opened the door for a victory by Attack Kawasaki’s Steve Rapp.

Superbike Race

In Superbike action, Spies put his Dunlop N-Tec™ shod Suzuki GSX-R1000 on the pole with a time of 1:37.546 on Thursday. “It’s good,” said Spies. “Just having the number one plate and coming back to the first race, and I didn’t get pole here last year, I got it this year. We’re hoping to prove that we’re not just there for a season.” Saturday’s race started in dramatic fashion as Factory Yamaha’s Eric Bostrom raced to the front while Kawasaki Road Racing’s Jamie Hacking went down in the International Horseshoe, taking Jordan Motorsports Suzuki’s Aaron Yates with him. Spies’ teammate, six-time Superbike champ Mat Mladin, slotted into second and Spies settled into third. Mladin took the lead on lap three but low-sided two laps later, leaving Spies with the lead after his overtaking move on Bostrom earlier. Honda Racing’s Miguel Duhamel, who started fourth, worked his way into second on lap seven and, though he pursued Spies for the remainder of the race, Spies managed his lead effectively and took the win by 3.021 seconds. Duhamel was second and his teammate Jake Zemke took third. “I just got out there and saw I got about a second and a half, and tried to go as fast as I could with keeping that gap and saving the tire,” said Spies of his 12th career Superbike win and Suzuki’s fourth in a row at DIS. “The race played out as good as it could, I just tried to stay out of all the trouble.” Dunlop dominated the top-10 finishing positions with nine overall, including the first four.

Superbike Results: Dunlop finishers in the Top 10

1. Ben Spies (Suzuki) 2. Miguel Duhamel (Honda) 3. Jake Zemke (Honda) 4. Akira Yanagawa (Kawasaki)

6. Jason DiSalvo (Yamaha) 7. Jake Holden (Suzuki) 8. Tommy Hayden (Suzuki) 9. James Ellison (Honda) 10. Mat Mladin (Suzuki)

Formula Xtreme Race (Daytona 200)

Honda Racing’s Miguel Duhamel won the Daytona 200 pole position on his CBR600RR Thursday with a climactic last-minute performance that resulted in a time of 1:41.095. “I went out there and just put a good lap, the CBR600RR was awesome,” said Duhamel. “We came over with a new setup for that last little qualifier there, and it obviously worked pretty good.” Lining up on the grid for Saturday’s race, Dunlop riders filled the front row. Alongside Duhamel were Factory Yamaha’s Jason DiSalvo, Erion Racing Honda’s Josh Hayes (the 2006 class champion) and Honda Racing’s Zemke. Dunlop riders took seven of the top 10 qualifying slots as Celtic Racing Yamaha’s Chaz Davies was sixth, Pegram Racing Ducati’s Larry Pegram was seventh and Erion Racing Honda’s Aaron Gobert was eighth. The race unfolded with an exciting battle between the top qualifiers. Running at the front of the pack were Duhamel and Hayes when, on lap 21, their Hondas (along with those of teammates Zemke and Gobert) suffered fuel problems. With only Hayes able to continue, the lead went to Attack Kawasaki’s Steve Rapp, who was running with the leaders at the time on his ZX-6R. In his effort to rejoin the leaders, Hayes ran the fastest lap of the race on his Dunlop N-Tec tire””a 1:42.201 on lap 36″”but Rapp ran a well-paced race and would go on to win by a margin of 21.951 seconds over teammate Ben Attard, giving Kawasaki its first Daytona victory since 1995. M4 Emgo Suzuki’s Michael Barnes was third.

Formula Xtreme Results: Dunlop finishers in the Top 10

4. Chaz Davies (Yamaha) 5. Jason DiSalvo (Yamaha) 6. Josh Hayes (Honda)

8. Ryan Elleby (Honda) 9. Bostjan Pintar (Yamaha)

Next stop for Dunlop and the 2007 AMA Superbike road racing tour is Barber Motorsports Park, Birmingham, Alabama, April 20-22. Round two features a doubleheader for the Superbike series.

About Dunlop Tires

Dunlop Tires is the largest supplier of original equipment and replacement motorcycle tires in the U.S. and the only manufacturer of motorcycle tires in North America. With North American operations headquartered in Buffalo, NY, Dunlop has been making and selling high-quality tires in the U.S. since 1923. For more information, please visit www.dunlopmotorcycle.com.

With Two Laps To Go, Steve Rapp Leads Attard, Barnes in Daytona 200

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1. Steve Rapp, Kawasaki, Pirelli, 66 laps 2. Ben Attard, Kawasaki, Pirelli 3. Michael Barnes, Suzuki, Pirelli 4. Chaz Davies, Yamaha, Dunlop 5. Jason DiSalvo, Yamaha, Dunlop

Rapp Leads Daytona 200 At Halfway

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Attack Kawasaki’s Steve Rapp is leading the Daytona 200 just past the halfway point, aboard a ZX-6R on Pirelli tires. Halfway: 1. Steve Rapp, Kawasaki, Pirelli, 35 laps 2. Chaz Davies, Yamaha, Dunlop, -10.481 seconds 3. Jason DiSalvo, Yamaha, Dunlop, -10.613 4. Ben Attard, Kawasaki, Pirelli, -14.458 5. Josh Hayes, Honda, Dunlop, -18.002 6. Michael Barnes, Suzuki, Pirelli, -18.089 Miguel Duhamel, Jake Zemke and Aaron Gobert are all out of the race, Duhamel and Zemke either running out of gas or suffering fuel pump problems before their first stops. All the factory Hondas were having problems with fuel pumps in practice.

Updated: Spies Wins Incident-filled AMA Superbike Race At Daytona

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AMA Superbike Championship Presented by Parts Unlimited Daytona International Speedway Daytona Beach, Florida March 10, 2007 Provisional Race Results: 1. Ben Spies (Suz GSX-R1000), Dunlop, 15 laps 2. Miguel Duhamel (Hon CBR1000RR), Dunlop, -3.021 seconds 3. Jake Zemke (Hon CBR1000RR), Dunlop, -12.637 seconds 4. Akira Yanagawa (Kaw ZX-10R), Dunlop, -24.000 seconds 5. Geoff May (Suz GSX-R1000), Pirelli, -30.595 seconds 6. Jason DiSalvo (Yam YZF-R1), Dunlop, -37.453 seconds 7. Jake Holden (Suz GSX-R1000), Dunlop, -42.581 seconds, chunked tire 8. Tommy Hayden (Suz GSX-R1000), Dunlop, -43.733 seconds 9. James Ellison (Hon CBR1000RR), Dunlop, -46.397 seconds 10. Mat Mladin (Suz GSX-R1000), Dunlop, -46.580 seconds, crash 11. Aaron Yates (Suz GSX-R1000), Dunlop, -53.935 seconds, crash 12. Martin Cardenas (Kaw ZX-10R), Dunlop, -62.399 seconds 13. Tristan Palmer (Suz GSX-R1000), -62.505 seconds 14. Doug Chandler (Hon CBR1000RR), Dunlop, -63.684 seconds 15. Scott Jensen (Suz GSX-R1000), Pirelli, -64.455 seconds 16. John Haner (Suz GSX-R1000), Dunlop, -85.675 seconds 17. David Weber (Suz GSX-R1000), Dunlop, -94.257 seconds 18. Kurtis Roberts (Hon CBR1000RR), Dunlop, -94.269 seconds 19. Dominic Jones (Suz GSX-R1000), -99.141 seconds 20. Dean Mizdal (Suz GSX-R1000), -99.801 seconds 21. Eric Bostrom (Yam YZF-R1), Dunlop, -1 lap, pitted, chunked tire 22. Matt Lynn (MV Agusta F4-1000R), Dunlop, -2 laps, pitted, chunked tire 23. Luca Scassa (MV Agusta F4-1000R), Dunlop, -6 laps, DNF, crash 24. Roger Hayden (Kaw ZX-10R), Dunlop, -11 laps, DNF, crash 25. Santiago Villa (Suz GSX-R1000), Dunlop, -15 laps, DNF, mechanical 26. Jamie Hacking (Kaw ZX-10R), Dunlop, -15 laps, DNF, crash 27. Chris Ulrich (Suz GSX-R1000), Pirelli, DNS Provisional AMA Superbike Points 1. Spies, 38 2. Duhamel, 32 3. Zemke, 29 4. Yanagawa, 27 5. May, 26 6. DiSalvo, 25 7. Holden, 24 8. T. Hayden, 23 9. Ellison, 22 10. Mladin, 21 11. Yates, 20 12. Cardenas, 19 13. Palmer, 18 14. Chandler, 17 15. Jensen, 16 16. Haner, 15 17. Weber, 14 18. Roberts, 13 19. Jones, 12 20. Mizdal, 11 21. Bostrom, 10 22. Lynn, 9 23. Scassa, 8 More, from a press release issued by Daytona International Speedway: Ben Spies Takes AMA Superbike Opening Round At DIS DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. Yoshimura Suzuki’s Ben Spies continued his winning trend at Daytona International Speedway this weekend capturing the AMA Superbike Opening Round on Sunday. On Thursday, Spies earned his first Daytona victory when he captured the 13-lap Superstock event. “Actually made a big mistake a couple laps in and had to find my way back,” Spies said. “We got back up front and charged and got right on the back of Mat (Mladin), then he made a mistake. We got out and I got a second and a half lead and just kind of saved the tire and brought it home. To do the double here that’s nice” Spies will take home the maximum amount of championship points with the Daytona Superbike victory, most laps led and the pole position as he attempts to defend his AMA Superbike title. Rounding out the podium was a pair of Hondas. Miguel Duhamel took second with Jake Zemke coming home in third. “The bike felt good right through testing,” Duhamel said. “Even here I knew I had a good bike. I just wanted to go out there and prove it. Talk is cheap. We’re going to be there all year. I really want to go out there and make a statement that we aren’t just showing up to fill the grid we’re here to win this championship.” The wild 15-lap race included several top factory riders going off track including Jamie Hacking, Aaron Yates, Roger Lee Hayden and Mladin. Daytona 200 Week By Honda concludes with the Daytona 200 By Honda later Saturday afternoon. More, from a press release issued by Yoshimura Suzuki: Yoshimura Suzuki’s Spies Wins Daytona Superbike Race, Hayden & Mladin Rally after Mishaps with Top-10 Finishes Round 1 AMA Superbike Series Daytona Beach, FL Daytona International Speedway March 8-10, 2007 Yoshimura Suzuki’s Ben Spies started the 2007 AMA Superbike year with a bang by winning the AMA Superbike race at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Fla., on Saturday afternoon. This victory is the defending AMA Superbike Champion’s 12th AMA Superbike career victory and it’s Suzuki’s 11th Daytona AMA Superbike win. Teammates Tommy Hayden and Mat Mladin both had troubles but made impressive recoveries and finished in eighth and 10th positions, respectively. “Winning at Daytona was a great way to start out the season,” said Spies of his first-ever Daytona Superbike victory. “It’s nice to show up with the number-one plate and get the pole position, lead the most laps and win the race.” As he mentioned, Spies picked up the pole position by posting a fastest lap time of 1:37.546. Overall, this is Spies’ eighth career pole. Teammate Mladin was hot on his heels with a lap time of 1:37.581, while Hayden followed up with a 1:38.931. In Saturday’s 15-lap AMA Superbike race, Spies got a good start and was running up front with teammate Mladin. The duo swapped spots a few times and then Spies took over the lead. The 22-year-old Texan went on to create a gap and take the win. “It was a good race,” said Spies. “We got off to a pretty good start”¦ and the race played out as good as it could. Everybody knows that Daytona is a place where you can lose a lot of points quick and you can’t win the championship here. We made good progress with the Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000 here. The team did great, the bike was awesome. I had to ride hard, but the bike’s working good. We just did what we could and tried to stay consistent.” Yoshimura Suzuki’s Hayden also got a good start but had an off-road excursion when riders in front of him crashed and forced him into the grass. But the two-time AMA Supersport Champion remounted, put his head down and reeled in as many competitors as possible for an eighth-place finish. “I was on the outside when two riders tangled up and forced me off the track,” said Hayden. “I got back on the track in about 23rd and it was an uphill battle from there. I tried to get as many spots as I could and salvage as many points as possible. It was a little frustrating but we got enough points to start the season out pretty good. The Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000 felt good, I just need to work on qualifying a little better and get on the front row and away from that mess in the back.” Similarly, six-time AMA Superbike Champion Mladin got a good start on his Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000 and had taken the lead when, unfortunately, he went down. In true championship-winning form, however, he recovered and finished in 10th position. “We just didn’t get it done today,” said Mladin. “It’s a little disappointing but this is only the first race and it’s a long season. The Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000 was working good and I just tried to pick up as many points as I could.” Yoshimura Suzuki will return for round two of the AMA Superbike Series at Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, Ala.., the weekend of April 20 – 22, 2007. Ben Spies, Team Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000, #1 1st Place AMA Superbike at Daytona 1st Place — Overall Championship Standings Mat Mladin, Team Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000, #66 10th Place AMA Superbike at Daytona 10th Place Overall Championship Standings Tommy Hayden, Team Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000, #22 8th Place AMA Superbike at Daytona 8th Place — Overall Championship Standings AMA Superbike Top 10 Finishers: 1. Ben Spies, Yoshimura Suzuki 2. Miguel Duhamel, Honda 3. Jake Zemke, Honda 4. Akira Yanagawa, Kawasaki 5. Geoff May, M4 EMGO Suzuki 6. Jason Disalvo, Yamaha 7. Jake Holden, Jordan Suzuki 8. Tommy Hayden, Yoshimura Suzuki 9. James Ellison, Honda 10. Mat Mladin, Yoshimura Suzuki More, from a corrected press release issued by Honda: Honda’s Dominate Superbike Podium in Daytona American Honda teammates Miguel Duhamel and Jake Zemke dominated the podium in the opening round of the AMA Superbike Championship with second and third place finishes at Daytona International Speedway. “It was the best start we’ve had in several years,” team manager Ron Heben said, adding that he expects the team to be more competitive after a winter’s development on the Honda CBR1000RR. “We’ve learned an enormous amount about our motorcycle, the electronics and such. Dunlop’s got some great new tires right now. We’re putting the whole package together. The fans are going to like it. I think it’s going to be a great season.” The first of 11 rounds on the American calendar was plagued by attrition. Warm Florida sunshine, combined with the stress of the 31 degree banking, wreaked havoc on tires, specifically fronts. Six-time champion Mat Mladin (Suzuki) lost a piece of his front tire and crashed. The Australian re-mounted and was running in eighth on the final lap when he had to slow drastically, allowing two riders to pass. Eric Bostrom (Yamaha) was forced into the pits to change a failed front tire. And a number of front-runners crashed, many in front of Zemke. “I saw every incident,” Zemke said with a laugh. There was a two rider crash on lap one and another crash in the first turn on the fifth lap. Zemke was behind Mladin when he fell. “It was a bit greasy out there today. It seemed like there was a bit less grip than there’s been all week. I don’t know if it was from the fog overnight or what, but it definitely didn’t seem like we – I didn’t have grip all week, but it seemed like nobody else had grip during that race.” Duhamel was in the top three on the second lap and moved into second on lap seven of 15. From there he continued to give chase to the race leader, Suzuki’s Ben Spies, but wasn’t able to close the gap. Spies, the defending series champion, won by 3.022 seconds. Zemke didn’t start as quickly. Having qualified in 11th place, it took the Californian a few laps to join the leaders. It was on the 12th of 15 laps that he passed Yamaha’s Eric Bostrom for third, where he’d finish. Miguel Duhamel, 2nd Place “I just wanted to get a really good start, and just be up there. I didn’t want to let these guys go. I was a little worried when I saw Eric (Bostrom) started pulling away quite a bit. Then Mat (Mladin) and Ben (Spies) was there, and I’m like, “Man, these guys aren’t too worried about this, are they?” But then we reeled him in back pretty quick. It was good racing up there, for sure. I think I had the pace, and I was trying to do the best I can. It’s just great to be up there. Obviously we’re here to win, and we came up one short of it, but I’m really proud of the team. It just shows how hard these guys have been working and sweating. Big thanks to them. It was definitely a team effort. And I think we will get faster. This is just one of the ways that we evolve the bike, with the Öhlins suspension, and all the work that we’re putting together. So I’m excited. We’re not going to slower from here. We’re going to be going faster. So I’m very pleased about that.” Jake Zemke, 3rd Place” We just couldn’t ever go any quicker throughout the race, in practice or anything. Even with softer tires in qualifying, the speeds were the same. I just was at a wall in my lap times, it seemed like, and we couldn’t get any better. But the race is always different than qualifying, that’s what’s great. I’d be a much better racer than a qualifier any day of the week, and that’s the way it worked out. Luckily, a lot of guys made it a lot easier for us. It felt like we had a pretty decent pace in the beginning of the race. After the first wreck, I got kind of blocked up, and these guys were trying to split up front. I was slowly making some ground on them, and I was just getting up to Rog (Hayden), and then he highsided right in front of me for the second year in a row, and I had to kind of hold up and wait for him, because where he highsided at, coming out of Turn One, he was sliding straight down the middle of the racetrack and I had nowhere to go. So I had to wait for him to slide out of the way first. Once he did, these guys and Eric (Bostrom) were already gone. And it’s funny. I didn’t even know I was in third place until I saw Eric coming out of the pits. I was like, “I think Eric was in front of me. Hmmm. That’s interesting.” And I looked up and I just saw those two guys in front of me, and I’m like, “Wow, I’m in third place. This is a nice little gift everybody gave me today.” Ron Heben, Team Manager ” Miguel last year got us a third on the box and through the course of the week and practice we thought we were moving forward and getting closer to the front. And obviously in qualifying, we didn’t qualify where we wanted to. We made some more changes. Guys were comfortable with the bike in the this morning’s practice. Same thing, the guys got to put themselves in the front of the pack and get in there and mix it up with those guys. For Miguel, we’re really, really pleased. Jake didn’t have his best day but he was in the right place at the right time. We’re really happy moving into the second round in second and third. ” Superbike: 1. Ben Spies (Suzuki) 2. Miguel Duhamel (Honda) 3. Jake Zemke (Honda) 4. Akira Yanagawa (Kawasaki) 5. Geoff May (Suzuki) 6. Jason Disalvo (Yamaha) 7. Jake Holden (Suzuki) 8. Tommy Hayden (Suzuki) 9. James Ellison (Honda) 10. Mat Mladin (Suzuki) Championship Standings: 1. Ben Spies (38) 2. Miguel Duhamel (32) 3. Jake Zemke (29) 4. Akira Yanagawa (27) 5. Geoff May (26) 6. Jason Disalvo (25) 7. Jake Holden (24) 8. Tommy Hayden (23) 9. James Ellison (22) 10. Mat Mladin (21)

Rapp Leads AMA Formula Xtreme/Daytona 200 Warm-up

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Daytona 200 by Honda Lockhart Phillips USA AMA Formula Xtreme Championship Daytona International Speedway Daytona Beach, Florida March 10, 2007 Provisional Practice Times: 1. Steve Rapp (Kaw ZX-6R), 1:42.692 2. Josh Hayes (Hon CBR600RR), 1:42.869 3. Jason DiSalvo (Yam YZF-R6), 1:42.988 4. Chaz Davies (Yam YZF-R6), 1:43.080 5. Miguel Duhamel (Hon CBR600RR), 1:43.178 6. Michael Barnes (Suz GSX-R600), 1:43.335 7. Ben Attard (Kaw ZX-6R), 1:43.520 8. Jake Zemke (Hon CBR600RR), 1:43.668 9. Aaron Gobert (Hon CBR600RR), 1:43.676 10. Cory West (Yam YZF-R6), 1:44.155 11. Tony Meiring (Yam YZF-R6), 1:44.502 12. Ryan Elleby (Hon CBR600RR), 1:45.612 13. Larry Pegram (Duc 749/848), 1:45.044 14. Eric Wood (Hon CBR600RR), 1:45.417 15. David Anthony (Yam YZF-R6), 1:45.519 16. Pascal Picotte (Suz GSX-R600), 1:45.558 17. Chad Herrmann (Suz GSX-R600), 1:45.803 18. Bobby Fong (Suz GSX-R600), 1:45.986 19. Ryan Andrews (Hon CBR600RR), 1:46.222 20. Marty Craggill (Duc 749R), 1:46.386 21. Bostjan Pintar (Yam YZF-R6), 1:46.69 22. Barrett Long (Duc 749), 1:46.708 23. Jeff Tigert (Hon CBR600RR), 1:46.714 24. Josh Day (Yam YZF-R6), 1:47.126 25. Shane Narbonne (Suz GSX-R600), 1:47.500 26. Mark Crozier (Suz GSX-R600), 1:47.584 27. Matt Layt (Yam YZF-R6), 1:47.760 28. Tyler McDonald (Yam YZF-R6), 1:47.809 29. Michael Pearson (Yam YZF-R6), 1:47.873 30. Keith Marshall (Kaw ZX-6R), 1:47.877

Mladin Leads AMA Superbike Warm-up Saturday Morning At Daytona

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AMA Superbike Championship Presented by Parts Unlimited Daytona International Speedway Daytona Beach, Florida March 10, 2007 Provisional Practice Results: 1. Mat Mladin (Suz GSX-R1000), 1:38.229 2. Ben Spies (Suz GSX-R1000), 1:38.791 3. Jamie Hacking (Kaw ZX-10R), 1:39.027 4. Roger Hayden (Kaw ZX-10R), 1:39.353 5. Geoff May (Suz GSX-R1000), 1:39.410* 6. Eric Bostrom (Yam YZF-R1), 1:39.438 7. Aaron Yates (Suz GSX-R1000), 1:39.741 8. Jake Zemke (Hon CBR1000RR), 1:39.923 9. Jake Holden (Suz GSX-R1000), 1:39.998* 10. Miguel Duhamel (Hon CBR1000RR), 1:40.135 11. Tommy Hayden (Suz GSX-R1000), 1:40.155 12. Jason DiSalvo (Yam YZF-R1), 1:40.478 13. Akira Yanagawa (Kaw ZX-10R), 1:40.971 14. Luca Scassa (MV Agusta F4-1000R), 1:41.008 15. James Ellison (Hon CBR1000RR), 1:41.276 16. Martin Cardenas (Kaw ZX-10R), 1:41.662* 17. Matt Lynn (MV Agusta F4-1000R), 1:41.828 18. Kurtis Roberts (Hon CBR1000RR), 1:41.975 19. Doug Chandler (Hon CBR1000RR), 1:42.668 20. David Weber (Suz GSX-R1000), 1:43.630 21. John Haner (Suz GSX-R1000), 1:43.938 22. Tristan Palmer (Suz GSX-R1000), 1:44.291 23. Santiago Villa (Yam YZF-R1), 1:45.565* 24. Scott Jensen (Suz GSX-R1000), 1:45.670 25. Dominic Jones (Suz GSX-R1000), 1:45.969 26. Dean Mizdal (Suz GSX-R1000), 1:49.940 *Superstock-spec machine

Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca Announces “Legends Of Laguna Walk Of Fame”

Racers & Community Leaders Being Honored in Walk of Fame at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca MONTEREY, Calif. As part of the celebration of the 50th Anniversary of Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, track officials today announced the creation of the Legends of Laguna Seca, a walk of fame tribute honoring those who made a significant impact on road racing since the track opened in 1957. Beginning with the season-opening U.S. Sports Car Invitational May 18-20, each major racing event will feature the induction of an individual who made a considerable contribution to the history of the track. The inductee will be honored throughout the weekend and participate in race activities. Following their induction, a tribute will be erected and placed in the Legends of Laguna Seca walk of fame planned for the Corkscrew area. “Our 50th Anniversary celebration is a great time to remember and honor some of the individuals who made Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca one of the world’s important and historic race circuits,” said Gill Campbell, CEO and general manager. “While many of the Legends of Laguna Seca will be well-known racers, we will also be honoring community leaders who worked tirelessly over the years to promote this facility.” The inaugural Legends of Laguna Seca class will be announced in late March, with the first inductee honored at May’s U.S. Sports Car Invitational. Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca was built in 1957 and has been operated since its inception by the Sports Car Racing Association of the Monterey Peninsula (SCRAMP). SCRAMP is a not-for-profit corporation that donates net proceeds from each race season to the volunteer organizations that help put on the events at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. Last season alone, SCRAMP donated over $400,000 to local charities and civic organizations. Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca celebrates its 50th Anniversary in 2007 with a world-class racing schedule including the U.S. Sports Car Invitational featuring the Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series May 18-20, the Red Bull U.S. Grand Prix July 20-22, the 34th Rolex Monterey Historic Automobile Races presented by Toyota August 17-19, the AMA Superbike Championship September 15-16 and the Monterey Sports Car Championships featuring the American Le Mans Series October 19-21. Information for all events on the 2007 Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca schedule and the 50th Anniversary of the world-famous facility are available by logging onto www.laguna-seca.com or calling (800) 327-SECA.

High Winds Hinder Post-race MotoGP Testing In Qatar

STRONG WINDS AFFECTS THE TEST OF THE DUCATI MARLBORO TEAM IN QATAR Archived already their first ever 800cc MotoGP race, and their first success of 2007 season, The Ducati Marlboro men arrived on time at the track this morning for the scheduled one-day testing session at the Losail Circuit. Unfortunately, strong winds prevented both riders and technicians to complete the planned work. Loris Capirossi and Casey Stoner weren’t able to complete many laps because the wind was so strong that they had to stop early, being not able to work on their Desmosedici set up neither to test some new Bridgestone tyres. The MotoGP teams now move to Spain for the second round of the 2007 season which takes place at Jerez de la Frontera on March 25. Casey Stoner (Ducati Marlboro Team) “Despite my yesterday’s win I feel exactly as any other day. Obviously the atmosphere in the garage is pretty good and we’ll do our best to continue exactly in the same way. Today we had planned some tyre’s tests but the wind was really to strong. The grip of the track wasn’t actually too bad but there wasn’t the condition to provide the Bridgestone technicians with an useful feedback”. Loris Capirossi (Ducati Marlboro Team) “Today we tried put up some laps but it was so windy and we couldn’t rider without taking a lot of risks. It’s a pity because we had several things to test for Bridgestone. The yesterday crash is already behind my shoulders and I’m really looking forward to the next race at Jerez”.

More From The AMA Season-opener In Daytona

BARNES EARNS PODIUM IN 2007 DAYTONA 200 Team M4 EMGO Suzuki enjoyed an outstanding conclusion to the 2007 season-opening AMA weekend at Daytona International Speedway on Saturday. Following up on Geoff May’s Thursday third-place ride in the AMA Superstock race, Michael Barnes finished on the podium in the 66th running of the Daytona 200 while May picked up a top-five in the AMA Superbike final. Barnes got a terrific start from the second row in the famed 68-lap contest, leading the opening lap before settling into a heated battle with the lead group as they worked towards the first pitstop. After working through both pit stops without a hitch, Barnes and his Pirelli-shod GSX-R600 proved their durability by taking the checkered flag in third place. It was ‘Barney’s’ best Daytona 200 performance in ten attempts. “I’m pretty stoked,” Barnes remarked. “We’ve been working hard and the FX class is getting really competitive. To podium in the Daytona 200 is quite a thrill. “I’ve been on the Daytona podium a few times before in a few different classes, but this is the first time in the FX class and in the 200. It’s just a blast to be up here and the M4 EMGO Suzuki team is great. Pirelli tires have shown their commitment and their hard work. I’ve been with them for about seven years now and it’s exciting to see their progress. It’s fantastic to see them sweep the podium here at Daytona.” Barnes summed his feelings up, commenting, “It was just meant to be. I was supposed to be up here this weekend. This is for Vincent Haskovec.” Having already raced in both of his regular classes earlier in the week, May was free to compete in the premier AMA Superbike class aboard his Superstock-spec GSX-R1000. Just as he had done all week long, May got the better of a number of the categories’ factory stars, pushing to a fifth place finish in the 15-lap race. “I’m happy with that,” the Georgian said. “I just wanted to go out there and show what Team M4 EMGO Suzuki and Pirelli could do and just go have some fun. My race weekend was over on Thursday and I got to hang out and watch some Supercross last night. For me there was no pressure. I rode my own race and ended up top five. It was a good day.” The second round of the 2007 AMA roadracing championships will take place at Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, AL on April 20-22. More, from a press release issued by Team Roadracingworld.com Suzuki: ULRICH HAS ‘BEST DAYTONA EVER’ IN 2007 Team Roadracingworld.com Suzuki opened the 2007 AMA Superstock season with a tremendous result this week at Daytona International Speedway. Chris Ulrich was fast from the opening practice and went on to secure his best-ever AMA race results at the famed circuit in Thursday’s race. After qualifying on the second row for the 13-lap final, posting the seventh fastest time of the session at 1:42.117, Ulrich figured to get away with the leaders early aboard his 2007 Pirelli-shod GSX-R1000. An early race incident forced Chris offline, however, yet he quickly recovered and put his head down to ultimately take the checkered flag in sixth position, an outstanding result to kick off the new season. The satisfied Ulrich said, “This is the best Daytona I’ve ever been to. I’ve been coming here racing AMA since 1998. 2007 is the best year I’ve ever had. It was just a very good weekend — a confidence building weekend. “We made a lot of changes to the bike and it was just good. I’m riding hard and I’ve got some new crew guys. Everyone is working really hard and the bike has changed so much set-up wise.” Ulrich is confident the Daytona round is a sign of things to come. “I’m looking forward to a really strong season. We started out right. We should have finished fifth but we had a small vibration coming through the rear. It didn’t work out but I’ve got great faith in Pirelli and my Team Roadracingworld.com Suzuki crew guys. We’re going to put this thing on the box sometime this year.” The only negative for the squad this week was the absence of second rider Robertino Pietri. The reigning Venezuelan and Latin American Superbike Champion unexpectedly encountered difficulty obtaining his visa, preventing him from racing in the AMA season opener at Daytona, the scene of last season’s seventh-place run. “It’s a bummer that ‘Tino wasn’t here,” Ulrich remarked. “Team Roadracingworld.com Suzuki does everything by the book. We do it as the law says. We ran into some problems getting his visa and getting him over here. What can you do? We’re going to do everything correctly to make sure our guy is here for the long run. “We missed Robertino. I think he could have had a strong finish. He did quite well here last year. This is his track and he’s quite light and small. He likes it. We probably could have had two Team RoadRacingWorld.com Suzuki bikes in the top eight, but it didn’t work out. We’re going to try to get his visa problems sorted so he can be with us next race.” The second round of the 2007 AMA season will take place at Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, AL on April 20-22.

More From The MotoGP Season-opener In Qatar

MICHELIN MEN ROSSI & PEDROSA ON LOSAIL PODIUM Michelin riders Valentino Rossi (Fiat Yamaha Team YZR-M1-Michelin) and Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda Team RC212V-Michelin) took second- and third-place results in today’s season-opening Qatar GP, the first 800cc MotoGP race. Former MotoGP World Champion Rossi spent the whole race involved in an enthralling duel with Casey Stoner (Ducati Marlboro Team Desmosedici GP7) but finally had to settle for second, while Pedrosa won his contest with John Hopkins (Rizla Suzuki GSV-R) for the final place on the podium. “We are happy with how our tires worked,” said Jean-Philippe Weber, Michelin’s director of motorcycle racing. “Valentino was very fast in the corners, and even with 15km/h less on the straights he was always right with Stoner, which made it an exciting race. Valentino rode aggressively, we had very good edge grip which remained consistent throughout. This was also the first race with our 16in front and everyone was happy with the tire’s handling and grip. Valentino made a very good tire choice while Dani chose slightly softer rear, a medium tire. This is normal because he puts less stress into the tires but he lost a little in the later stages.” Weber pronounced himself happy with the first MotoGP event to be run under new technical regulations which limit riders to 14 front slicks and 17 rear slicks per weekend. The new rules have a major effect on how riders, teams and tire companies work through practice and qualifying towards the race, placing a greater emphasis on strategy. “The system worked smoothly, and despite the new limitations all our riders got the tires they needed for the race,” Weber added. “But we will have to wait a little longer to see how the system works at other races, especially at tracks where we’ve not tested and where weather conditions are less predictable than they are here.” Rossi was happy enough with second, since he started last season with a 14th place result at Jerez, after being knocked down at the first turn. “My bike was very good in the corners, better than Casey’s, but we lost too much on the straights,” he said. “The pace was very fast, my bike had a very good balance and we made a great tire choice with Michelin.”

Rapp Wins Daytona 200 On Kawasaki And Pirellis

Steve Rapp led a 1-2 finish for Attack Kawasaki and a sweep of the podium by Pirelli in winning the 66th Daytona 200 by Honda AMA Formula Xtreme race Saturday at Daytona International Speedway, in Daytona Beach, Florida. Rapp’s teammate Ben Attard finished second, while Team M4 EMGO Suzuki’s Michael Barnes placed third.

Rapp was part of a multi-rider battle at the beginning involving his teammate Attard, Barnes, Erion Honda’s Josh Hayes, American Honda’s Miguel Duhamel, Yamaha’s Jason DiSalvo and Celtic Racing’s Chaz Davies.

As Rapp took the lead for the first time on lap 20, behind him Duhamel and Duhamel’s teammate Jake Zemke both suffered mechanical problems at exactly the same instant.

After the first round of pit stops, Rapp returned to the lead, only to relinquish the front spot again during the second round of pit stops to Davies and Attard. Hayes, Duhamel and Barnes also led at early points of the race.

Once Rapp regained the lead in the final stint he never let it go and took his first Daytona 200 victory. In spite of slightly quicker pit stops, Attard could not match his teammate on the track. Barnes fought off Davies in the final laps to hold on to third, the best-ever finish for the Floridian in the spring classic. Davies lost touch with Barnes through lapped traffic but was ecstatic with fourth place in his first Daytona 200.

DiSalvo lost ground when his second pit stop ran long and when his injured shoulder weakened in the late-going. After the other Hondas (including his teammate Aaron Gobert) apparently ran out of fuel, Hayes was forced to shorten his stints and make a costly third pit stop for a splash-and-go. Two laps behind Hayes, visiting Canadian star Pascal Picotte finished seventh on his Blackfoot/Picotte Performance Suzuki GSX-R600. Blown Away Racing’s 17-year-old Josh Day finished eighth on his Yamaha YZF-R6, 11 seconds ahead of Bostjan Pintar, of Slovenia, and Australian privateer David Anthony.

A total of 58 riders started the 68-lap race.

66th Daytona 200 by Honda Lockhart Phillips USA AMA Formula Xtreme Championship Daytona International Speedway Daytona Beach, Florida March 10, 2007 Provisional Race Results:

1. Steve Rapp (Kaw ZX-6R), Pirelli, 68 laps 2. Ben Attard (Kaw ZX-6R), Pirelli, -21.951 seconds 3. Michael Barnes (Suz GSX-R600), Pirelli, -28.817 seconds 4. Chaz Davies (Yam YZF-R6), Dunlop, -31.725 seconds 5. Jason DiSalvo (Yam YZF-R6), Dunlop, -41.935 seconds 6. Josh Hayes (Hon CBR600RR), Dunlop, -59.782 seconds 7. Pascal Picotte (Suz GSX-R600), Pirelli, -2 laps 8. Ryan Elleby (Hon CBR600RR), Dunlop, -3 laps, crash 9. Josh Day (Yam YZF-R6), -3 laps, 5.489 seconds 10. Bostjan Pintar (Yam YZF-R6), -3 laps, 17.228 seconds 11. David Anthony (Yam YZF-R6), -3 laps, 20.936 seconds 12. Bobby Fong (Suz GSX-R600), Michelin, -3 laps, 23.050 seconds 13. Keith Marshall (Kaw ZX-6R), -3 laps, 44.435 seconds 14. Bostjan Skubic (Yam YZF-R6), -3 laps, 44.700 seconds 15. Jeff Tigert (Hon CBR600RR), Dunlop, -4 laps 16. David Sadowksi, Jr. (Yam YZF-R6), -4 laps, 33.968 seconds 17. Ricky Orlando (Kaw ZX-6R), -4 laps, 48.644 seconds 18. Mark Crozier (Suz GSX-R600), Michelin, -4 laps, 56.425 seconds 19. Shane Narbonne (Suz GSX-R600), Dunlop, -4 laps, 61.678 seconds 20. Michael Murphy (Suz GSX-R600), -4 laps, 73.658 seconds 21. Jean Paul Tache (Yam YZF-R6), -5 laps 22. Johnny Rock Page (Yam YZF-R6), -5 laps, 16.049 seconds 23. Robert McLendon (Tri Daytona 675), -5 laps, 26.252 seconds 24. Michael Pearson (Yam YZF-R6), -5 laps, 52.150 seconds 25. Barrett Long (Duc 749), -5 laps, 57.546 seconds 26. Dean Mizdal (Yam YZF-R6), -5 laps, 60.642 seconds 27. C.R. Gittere (Suz GSX-R600), -5 laps, 72.562 seconds 28. Santiago Villa (Yam YZF-R6), -6 laps 29. Skip Salenius (Suz GSX-R600), -6 laps, 2.289 seconds 30. Larry Pegram (Duc 749/848), -6 laps, 2.739 seconds 31. David McPherson (Yam YZF-R6), -6 laps, 18.307 seconds 32. John Ashmead (Suz GSX-R600), -6 laps, 28.549 seconds 33. Scotty Van Hawk (Hon CBR600RR), -6 laps, 59.937 seconds 34. Craig Montgomery (Yam YZF-R6), -6 laps, 65.131 seconds 35. Chad Herrmann (Suz GSX-R600), -6 laps, 86.605 seconds, crash 36. Anthony Fania (Yam YZF-R6), -6 laps, 92.103 seconds 37. Spencer Stuart (Yam YZF-R6), -7 laps 38. Dirk Sanchez (Suz GSX-R600), -7 laps, 30.984 seconds 39. Mark Schnettler (Yam YZF-R6), -7 laps, 62.774 seconds 40. Matt Layt (Yam YZF-R6), -8 laps 41. Stephen Breckenridge (Tri Daytona 675), -8 laps, 75.205 seconds 42. Scott Ryan (Suz GSX-R600), Michelin, -9 laps 43. Eric Pinson (Yam YZF-R6), -9 laps, 102.018 seconds 44. Scott Ackerman (Yam YZF-R6), -9 laps, 114.738 seconds 45. Ryan Andrews (Hon CBR600RR), -11 laps 46. Walt Sipp (Buell XB-RR), -12 laps 47. Will Gruy (Yam YZF-R6), -16 laps 48. Jason Temme (Yam YZF-R6), -17 laps 49. Tony Meiring (Yam YZF-R6), Michelin, -27 laps, DNF, mechanical 50. Dr. Jeffrey Purk, DDS (Yam YZF-R6), -29 laps 51. Tyler McDonald (Yam YZF-R6), -43 laps 52. Marty Craggill (Duc 749R), -45 laps 53. Aaron Gobert (Hon CBR600RR), Dunlop, -46 laps, DNF, mechanical 54. Miguel Duhamel (Hon CBR600RR), Dunlop, -47 laps, DNF, mechanical 55. Jake Zemke (Hon CBR600RR), Dunlop, -47 laps, 16.388 seconds, DNF, mechanical 56. Eric Wood (Hon CBR600RR), Dunlop, -49 laps, DNF, mechanical

More, from a press release issued by Daytona International Speedway:

Rapp Surprise Winner Of The Daytona 200 By Honda

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. Steve Rapp scored one of the biggest upset wins in the history of the Daytona 200 By Honda on Saturday. The 35-year-old rider from Manhattan Beach, Calif., rode the No.15 Attack Kawasaki ZX-6R to victory over his teammate Ben Attard of Australia.

Floridian Michael Barnes, of Boca Raton, Fla., was third on a Team M4 EMGO Suzuki.

“It’s unbelievable,” said a jubilant Rapp, whose previous best result in the 200 was fifth in 1999. “I backed off so much on the last few laps. I would have never forgiven myself had I run out of gas. On the last lap I was so nervous. I feel like a different person. This is the biggest day of my life.”

Rapp first took the lead on Lap 20, and with the exception of pit sequences, held onto the point for the rest of the 68-lap event and took the checkered flag with a 21.951-second margin of victory.

It marked the first victory for Kawasaki in the prestigious race since 1995 and it’s also the first time a non-factory rider has won the Daytona 200 By Honda since John Ashmead in the 1989 motorcycle classic.

The favored factory Hondas of pole winner and five-time Daytona 200 By Honda winner Miguel Duhamel and last year’s winner Jake Zemke had fuel problems on Lap 21 before the first pit stop.

Josh Hayes, aboard the No. 1 Erion Honda and defending Formula Xtreme champion, also experienced fuel issues and finished sixth.

“It’s one of those things that we have to go back and figure out,” said Honda Road Race Manager Ron Heben. “It’s a big disappointment for us because of Honda’s success in the 200.”

Rounding out the top five were Chaz Davies aboard the Celtic Racing Yamaha and Jason DiSalvo aboard the factory Yamaha.

Daytona 200 Week By Honda has concluded. Ticket information for October’s Fall Cycle Scene, including the 8 Hours At Daytona SunTrust MOTO-ST Series race, are available at www.racetickets.com or by calling 1-800-PITSHOP.

More, from a press release issued on behalf of Dunlop:

Final: Dunlop Motorcycle Tires race report: 2007 AMA Superbike Series, round one, Daytona International Speedway

Daytona, Fl. — March 10, 2007 — The opening round of the 2007 AMA Superbike Series concluded at Daytona International Speedway (DIS) today after three days of exciting action in all four classes. On Thursday, Yoshimura Suzuki’s Ben Spies took his first-ever win at Daytona International Speedway (DIS) on a Superstock-spec GSX-R1000 and Kawasaki Road Racing’s Roger Lee Hayden nabbed his second consecutive Supersport win at DIS on a ZX-6R. After taking a break on Friday for the AMA Supercross Series, Saturday’s exploits saw Spies successfully begin the defense of his 2006 Superbike crown with a convincing win and his first-ever Superbike victory at Daytona. In the Formula Xtreme Daytona 200, unspecified fuel problems sidelined the favored Honda Racing team and opened the door for a victory by Attack Kawasaki’s Steve Rapp.

Superbike Race

In Superbike action, Spies put his Dunlop N-Tec™ shod Suzuki GSX-R1000 on the pole with a time of 1:37.546 on Thursday. “It’s good,” said Spies. “Just having the number one plate and coming back to the first race, and I didn’t get pole here last year, I got it this year. We’re hoping to prove that we’re not just there for a season.” Saturday’s race started in dramatic fashion as Factory Yamaha’s Eric Bostrom raced to the front while Kawasaki Road Racing’s Jamie Hacking went down in the International Horseshoe, taking Jordan Motorsports Suzuki’s Aaron Yates with him. Spies’ teammate, six-time Superbike champ Mat Mladin, slotted into second and Spies settled into third. Mladin took the lead on lap three but low-sided two laps later, leaving Spies with the lead after his overtaking move on Bostrom earlier. Honda Racing’s Miguel Duhamel, who started fourth, worked his way into second on lap seven and, though he pursued Spies for the remainder of the race, Spies managed his lead effectively and took the win by 3.021 seconds. Duhamel was second and his teammate Jake Zemke took third. “I just got out there and saw I got about a second and a half, and tried to go as fast as I could with keeping that gap and saving the tire,” said Spies of his 12th career Superbike win and Suzuki’s fourth in a row at DIS. “The race played out as good as it could, I just tried to stay out of all the trouble.” Dunlop dominated the top-10 finishing positions with nine overall, including the first four.

Superbike Results: Dunlop finishers in the Top 10

1. Ben Spies (Suzuki) 2. Miguel Duhamel (Honda) 3. Jake Zemke (Honda) 4. Akira Yanagawa (Kawasaki)

6. Jason DiSalvo (Yamaha) 7. Jake Holden (Suzuki) 8. Tommy Hayden (Suzuki) 9. James Ellison (Honda) 10. Mat Mladin (Suzuki)

Formula Xtreme Race (Daytona 200)

Honda Racing’s Miguel Duhamel won the Daytona 200 pole position on his CBR600RR Thursday with a climactic last-minute performance that resulted in a time of 1:41.095. “I went out there and just put a good lap, the CBR600RR was awesome,” said Duhamel. “We came over with a new setup for that last little qualifier there, and it obviously worked pretty good.” Lining up on the grid for Saturday’s race, Dunlop riders filled the front row. Alongside Duhamel were Factory Yamaha’s Jason DiSalvo, Erion Racing Honda’s Josh Hayes (the 2006 class champion) and Honda Racing’s Zemke. Dunlop riders took seven of the top 10 qualifying slots as Celtic Racing Yamaha’s Chaz Davies was sixth, Pegram Racing Ducati’s Larry Pegram was seventh and Erion Racing Honda’s Aaron Gobert was eighth. The race unfolded with an exciting battle between the top qualifiers. Running at the front of the pack were Duhamel and Hayes when, on lap 21, their Hondas (along with those of teammates Zemke and Gobert) suffered fuel problems. With only Hayes able to continue, the lead went to Attack Kawasaki’s Steve Rapp, who was running with the leaders at the time on his ZX-6R. In his effort to rejoin the leaders, Hayes ran the fastest lap of the race on his Dunlop N-Tec tire””a 1:42.201 on lap 36″”but Rapp ran a well-paced race and would go on to win by a margin of 21.951 seconds over teammate Ben Attard, giving Kawasaki its first Daytona victory since 1995. M4 Emgo Suzuki’s Michael Barnes was third.

Formula Xtreme Results: Dunlop finishers in the Top 10

4. Chaz Davies (Yamaha) 5. Jason DiSalvo (Yamaha) 6. Josh Hayes (Honda)

8. Ryan Elleby (Honda) 9. Bostjan Pintar (Yamaha)

Next stop for Dunlop and the 2007 AMA Superbike road racing tour is Barber Motorsports Park, Birmingham, Alabama, April 20-22. Round two features a doubleheader for the Superbike series.

About Dunlop Tires

Dunlop Tires is the largest supplier of original equipment and replacement motorcycle tires in the U.S. and the only manufacturer of motorcycle tires in North America. With North American operations headquartered in Buffalo, NY, Dunlop has been making and selling high-quality tires in the U.S. since 1923. For more information, please visit www.dunlopmotorcycle.com.

With Two Laps To Go, Steve Rapp Leads Attard, Barnes in Daytona 200

1. Steve Rapp, Kawasaki, Pirelli, 66 laps 2. Ben Attard, Kawasaki, Pirelli 3. Michael Barnes, Suzuki, Pirelli 4. Chaz Davies, Yamaha, Dunlop 5. Jason DiSalvo, Yamaha, Dunlop

Rapp Leads Daytona 200 At Halfway

Attack Kawasaki’s Steve Rapp is leading the Daytona 200 just past the halfway point, aboard a ZX-6R on Pirelli tires. Halfway: 1. Steve Rapp, Kawasaki, Pirelli, 35 laps 2. Chaz Davies, Yamaha, Dunlop, -10.481 seconds 3. Jason DiSalvo, Yamaha, Dunlop, -10.613 4. Ben Attard, Kawasaki, Pirelli, -14.458 5. Josh Hayes, Honda, Dunlop, -18.002 6. Michael Barnes, Suzuki, Pirelli, -18.089 Miguel Duhamel, Jake Zemke and Aaron Gobert are all out of the race, Duhamel and Zemke either running out of gas or suffering fuel pump problems before their first stops. All the factory Hondas were having problems with fuel pumps in practice.

Updated: Spies Wins Incident-filled AMA Superbike Race At Daytona

AMA Superbike Championship Presented by Parts Unlimited Daytona International Speedway Daytona Beach, Florida March 10, 2007 Provisional Race Results: 1. Ben Spies (Suz GSX-R1000), Dunlop, 15 laps 2. Miguel Duhamel (Hon CBR1000RR), Dunlop, -3.021 seconds 3. Jake Zemke (Hon CBR1000RR), Dunlop, -12.637 seconds 4. Akira Yanagawa (Kaw ZX-10R), Dunlop, -24.000 seconds 5. Geoff May (Suz GSX-R1000), Pirelli, -30.595 seconds 6. Jason DiSalvo (Yam YZF-R1), Dunlop, -37.453 seconds 7. Jake Holden (Suz GSX-R1000), Dunlop, -42.581 seconds, chunked tire 8. Tommy Hayden (Suz GSX-R1000), Dunlop, -43.733 seconds 9. James Ellison (Hon CBR1000RR), Dunlop, -46.397 seconds 10. Mat Mladin (Suz GSX-R1000), Dunlop, -46.580 seconds, crash 11. Aaron Yates (Suz GSX-R1000), Dunlop, -53.935 seconds, crash 12. Martin Cardenas (Kaw ZX-10R), Dunlop, -62.399 seconds 13. Tristan Palmer (Suz GSX-R1000), -62.505 seconds 14. Doug Chandler (Hon CBR1000RR), Dunlop, -63.684 seconds 15. Scott Jensen (Suz GSX-R1000), Pirelli, -64.455 seconds 16. John Haner (Suz GSX-R1000), Dunlop, -85.675 seconds 17. David Weber (Suz GSX-R1000), Dunlop, -94.257 seconds 18. Kurtis Roberts (Hon CBR1000RR), Dunlop, -94.269 seconds 19. Dominic Jones (Suz GSX-R1000), -99.141 seconds 20. Dean Mizdal (Suz GSX-R1000), -99.801 seconds 21. Eric Bostrom (Yam YZF-R1), Dunlop, -1 lap, pitted, chunked tire 22. Matt Lynn (MV Agusta F4-1000R), Dunlop, -2 laps, pitted, chunked tire 23. Luca Scassa (MV Agusta F4-1000R), Dunlop, -6 laps, DNF, crash 24. Roger Hayden (Kaw ZX-10R), Dunlop, -11 laps, DNF, crash 25. Santiago Villa (Suz GSX-R1000), Dunlop, -15 laps, DNF, mechanical 26. Jamie Hacking (Kaw ZX-10R), Dunlop, -15 laps, DNF, crash 27. Chris Ulrich (Suz GSX-R1000), Pirelli, DNS Provisional AMA Superbike Points 1. Spies, 38 2. Duhamel, 32 3. Zemke, 29 4. Yanagawa, 27 5. May, 26 6. DiSalvo, 25 7. Holden, 24 8. T. Hayden, 23 9. Ellison, 22 10. Mladin, 21 11. Yates, 20 12. Cardenas, 19 13. Palmer, 18 14. Chandler, 17 15. Jensen, 16 16. Haner, 15 17. Weber, 14 18. Roberts, 13 19. Jones, 12 20. Mizdal, 11 21. Bostrom, 10 22. Lynn, 9 23. Scassa, 8 More, from a press release issued by Daytona International Speedway: Ben Spies Takes AMA Superbike Opening Round At DIS DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. Yoshimura Suzuki’s Ben Spies continued his winning trend at Daytona International Speedway this weekend capturing the AMA Superbike Opening Round on Sunday. On Thursday, Spies earned his first Daytona victory when he captured the 13-lap Superstock event. “Actually made a big mistake a couple laps in and had to find my way back,” Spies said. “We got back up front and charged and got right on the back of Mat (Mladin), then he made a mistake. We got out and I got a second and a half lead and just kind of saved the tire and brought it home. To do the double here that’s nice” Spies will take home the maximum amount of championship points with the Daytona Superbike victory, most laps led and the pole position as he attempts to defend his AMA Superbike title. Rounding out the podium was a pair of Hondas. Miguel Duhamel took second with Jake Zemke coming home in third. “The bike felt good right through testing,” Duhamel said. “Even here I knew I had a good bike. I just wanted to go out there and prove it. Talk is cheap. We’re going to be there all year. I really want to go out there and make a statement that we aren’t just showing up to fill the grid we’re here to win this championship.” The wild 15-lap race included several top factory riders going off track including Jamie Hacking, Aaron Yates, Roger Lee Hayden and Mladin. Daytona 200 Week By Honda concludes with the Daytona 200 By Honda later Saturday afternoon. More, from a press release issued by Yoshimura Suzuki: Yoshimura Suzuki’s Spies Wins Daytona Superbike Race, Hayden & Mladin Rally after Mishaps with Top-10 Finishes Round 1 AMA Superbike Series Daytona Beach, FL Daytona International Speedway March 8-10, 2007 Yoshimura Suzuki’s Ben Spies started the 2007 AMA Superbike year with a bang by winning the AMA Superbike race at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Fla., on Saturday afternoon. This victory is the defending AMA Superbike Champion’s 12th AMA Superbike career victory and it’s Suzuki’s 11th Daytona AMA Superbike win. Teammates Tommy Hayden and Mat Mladin both had troubles but made impressive recoveries and finished in eighth and 10th positions, respectively. “Winning at Daytona was a great way to start out the season,” said Spies of his first-ever Daytona Superbike victory. “It’s nice to show up with the number-one plate and get the pole position, lead the most laps and win the race.” As he mentioned, Spies picked up the pole position by posting a fastest lap time of 1:37.546. Overall, this is Spies’ eighth career pole. Teammate Mladin was hot on his heels with a lap time of 1:37.581, while Hayden followed up with a 1:38.931. In Saturday’s 15-lap AMA Superbike race, Spies got a good start and was running up front with teammate Mladin. The duo swapped spots a few times and then Spies took over the lead. The 22-year-old Texan went on to create a gap and take the win. “It was a good race,” said Spies. “We got off to a pretty good start”¦ and the race played out as good as it could. Everybody knows that Daytona is a place where you can lose a lot of points quick and you can’t win the championship here. We made good progress with the Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000 here. The team did great, the bike was awesome. I had to ride hard, but the bike’s working good. We just did what we could and tried to stay consistent.” Yoshimura Suzuki’s Hayden also got a good start but had an off-road excursion when riders in front of him crashed and forced him into the grass. But the two-time AMA Supersport Champion remounted, put his head down and reeled in as many competitors as possible for an eighth-place finish. “I was on the outside when two riders tangled up and forced me off the track,” said Hayden. “I got back on the track in about 23rd and it was an uphill battle from there. I tried to get as many spots as I could and salvage as many points as possible. It was a little frustrating but we got enough points to start the season out pretty good. The Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000 felt good, I just need to work on qualifying a little better and get on the front row and away from that mess in the back.” Similarly, six-time AMA Superbike Champion Mladin got a good start on his Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000 and had taken the lead when, unfortunately, he went down. In true championship-winning form, however, he recovered and finished in 10th position. “We just didn’t get it done today,” said Mladin. “It’s a little disappointing but this is only the first race and it’s a long season. The Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000 was working good and I just tried to pick up as many points as I could.” Yoshimura Suzuki will return for round two of the AMA Superbike Series at Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, Ala.., the weekend of April 20 – 22, 2007. Ben Spies, Team Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000, #1 1st Place AMA Superbike at Daytona 1st Place — Overall Championship Standings Mat Mladin, Team Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000, #66 10th Place AMA Superbike at Daytona 10th Place Overall Championship Standings Tommy Hayden, Team Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000, #22 8th Place AMA Superbike at Daytona 8th Place — Overall Championship Standings AMA Superbike Top 10 Finishers: 1. Ben Spies, Yoshimura Suzuki 2. Miguel Duhamel, Honda 3. Jake Zemke, Honda 4. Akira Yanagawa, Kawasaki 5. Geoff May, M4 EMGO Suzuki 6. Jason Disalvo, Yamaha 7. Jake Holden, Jordan Suzuki 8. Tommy Hayden, Yoshimura Suzuki 9. James Ellison, Honda 10. Mat Mladin, Yoshimura Suzuki More, from a corrected press release issued by Honda: Honda’s Dominate Superbike Podium in Daytona American Honda teammates Miguel Duhamel and Jake Zemke dominated the podium in the opening round of the AMA Superbike Championship with second and third place finishes at Daytona International Speedway. “It was the best start we’ve had in several years,” team manager Ron Heben said, adding that he expects the team to be more competitive after a winter’s development on the Honda CBR1000RR. “We’ve learned an enormous amount about our motorcycle, the electronics and such. Dunlop’s got some great new tires right now. We’re putting the whole package together. The fans are going to like it. I think it’s going to be a great season.” The first of 11 rounds on the American calendar was plagued by attrition. Warm Florida sunshine, combined with the stress of the 31 degree banking, wreaked havoc on tires, specifically fronts. Six-time champion Mat Mladin (Suzuki) lost a piece of his front tire and crashed. The Australian re-mounted and was running in eighth on the final lap when he had to slow drastically, allowing two riders to pass. Eric Bostrom (Yamaha) was forced into the pits to change a failed front tire. And a number of front-runners crashed, many in front of Zemke. “I saw every incident,” Zemke said with a laugh. There was a two rider crash on lap one and another crash in the first turn on the fifth lap. Zemke was behind Mladin when he fell. “It was a bit greasy out there today. It seemed like there was a bit less grip than there’s been all week. I don’t know if it was from the fog overnight or what, but it definitely didn’t seem like we – I didn’t have grip all week, but it seemed like nobody else had grip during that race.” Duhamel was in the top three on the second lap and moved into second on lap seven of 15. From there he continued to give chase to the race leader, Suzuki’s Ben Spies, but wasn’t able to close the gap. Spies, the defending series champion, won by 3.022 seconds. Zemke didn’t start as quickly. Having qualified in 11th place, it took the Californian a few laps to join the leaders. It was on the 12th of 15 laps that he passed Yamaha’s Eric Bostrom for third, where he’d finish. Miguel Duhamel, 2nd Place “I just wanted to get a really good start, and just be up there. I didn’t want to let these guys go. I was a little worried when I saw Eric (Bostrom) started pulling away quite a bit. Then Mat (Mladin) and Ben (Spies) was there, and I’m like, “Man, these guys aren’t too worried about this, are they?” But then we reeled him in back pretty quick. It was good racing up there, for sure. I think I had the pace, and I was trying to do the best I can. It’s just great to be up there. Obviously we’re here to win, and we came up one short of it, but I’m really proud of the team. It just shows how hard these guys have been working and sweating. Big thanks to them. It was definitely a team effort. And I think we will get faster. This is just one of the ways that we evolve the bike, with the Öhlins suspension, and all the work that we’re putting together. So I’m excited. We’re not going to slower from here. We’re going to be going faster. So I’m very pleased about that.” Jake Zemke, 3rd Place” We just couldn’t ever go any quicker throughout the race, in practice or anything. Even with softer tires in qualifying, the speeds were the same. I just was at a wall in my lap times, it seemed like, and we couldn’t get any better. But the race is always different than qualifying, that’s what’s great. I’d be a much better racer than a qualifier any day of the week, and that’s the way it worked out. Luckily, a lot of guys made it a lot easier for us. It felt like we had a pretty decent pace in the beginning of the race. After the first wreck, I got kind of blocked up, and these guys were trying to split up front. I was slowly making some ground on them, and I was just getting up to Rog (Hayden), and then he highsided right in front of me for the second year in a row, and I had to kind of hold up and wait for him, because where he highsided at, coming out of Turn One, he was sliding straight down the middle of the racetrack and I had nowhere to go. So I had to wait for him to slide out of the way first. Once he did, these guys and Eric (Bostrom) were already gone. And it’s funny. I didn’t even know I was in third place until I saw Eric coming out of the pits. I was like, “I think Eric was in front of me. Hmmm. That’s interesting.” And I looked up and I just saw those two guys in front of me, and I’m like, “Wow, I’m in third place. This is a nice little gift everybody gave me today.” Ron Heben, Team Manager ” Miguel last year got us a third on the box and through the course of the week and practice we thought we were moving forward and getting closer to the front. And obviously in qualifying, we didn’t qualify where we wanted to. We made some more changes. Guys were comfortable with the bike in the this morning’s practice. Same thing, the guys got to put themselves in the front of the pack and get in there and mix it up with those guys. For Miguel, we’re really, really pleased. Jake didn’t have his best day but he was in the right place at the right time. We’re really happy moving into the second round in second and third. ” Superbike: 1. Ben Spies (Suzuki) 2. Miguel Duhamel (Honda) 3. Jake Zemke (Honda) 4. Akira Yanagawa (Kawasaki) 5. Geoff May (Suzuki) 6. Jason Disalvo (Yamaha) 7. Jake Holden (Suzuki) 8. Tommy Hayden (Suzuki) 9. James Ellison (Honda) 10. Mat Mladin (Suzuki) Championship Standings: 1. Ben Spies (38) 2. Miguel Duhamel (32) 3. Jake Zemke (29) 4. Akira Yanagawa (27) 5. Geoff May (26) 6. Jason Disalvo (25) 7. Jake Holden (24) 8. Tommy Hayden (23) 9. James Ellison (22) 10. Mat Mladin (21)

Rapp Leads AMA Formula Xtreme/Daytona 200 Warm-up

Daytona 200 by Honda Lockhart Phillips USA AMA Formula Xtreme Championship Daytona International Speedway Daytona Beach, Florida March 10, 2007 Provisional Practice Times: 1. Steve Rapp (Kaw ZX-6R), 1:42.692 2. Josh Hayes (Hon CBR600RR), 1:42.869 3. Jason DiSalvo (Yam YZF-R6), 1:42.988 4. Chaz Davies (Yam YZF-R6), 1:43.080 5. Miguel Duhamel (Hon CBR600RR), 1:43.178 6. Michael Barnes (Suz GSX-R600), 1:43.335 7. Ben Attard (Kaw ZX-6R), 1:43.520 8. Jake Zemke (Hon CBR600RR), 1:43.668 9. Aaron Gobert (Hon CBR600RR), 1:43.676 10. Cory West (Yam YZF-R6), 1:44.155 11. Tony Meiring (Yam YZF-R6), 1:44.502 12. Ryan Elleby (Hon CBR600RR), 1:45.612 13. Larry Pegram (Duc 749/848), 1:45.044 14. Eric Wood (Hon CBR600RR), 1:45.417 15. David Anthony (Yam YZF-R6), 1:45.519 16. Pascal Picotte (Suz GSX-R600), 1:45.558 17. Chad Herrmann (Suz GSX-R600), 1:45.803 18. Bobby Fong (Suz GSX-R600), 1:45.986 19. Ryan Andrews (Hon CBR600RR), 1:46.222 20. Marty Craggill (Duc 749R), 1:46.386 21. Bostjan Pintar (Yam YZF-R6), 1:46.69 22. Barrett Long (Duc 749), 1:46.708 23. Jeff Tigert (Hon CBR600RR), 1:46.714 24. Josh Day (Yam YZF-R6), 1:47.126 25. Shane Narbonne (Suz GSX-R600), 1:47.500 26. Mark Crozier (Suz GSX-R600), 1:47.584 27. Matt Layt (Yam YZF-R6), 1:47.760 28. Tyler McDonald (Yam YZF-R6), 1:47.809 29. Michael Pearson (Yam YZF-R6), 1:47.873 30. Keith Marshall (Kaw ZX-6R), 1:47.877

Mladin Leads AMA Superbike Warm-up Saturday Morning At Daytona

AMA Superbike Championship Presented by Parts Unlimited Daytona International Speedway Daytona Beach, Florida March 10, 2007 Provisional Practice Results: 1. Mat Mladin (Suz GSX-R1000), 1:38.229 2. Ben Spies (Suz GSX-R1000), 1:38.791 3. Jamie Hacking (Kaw ZX-10R), 1:39.027 4. Roger Hayden (Kaw ZX-10R), 1:39.353 5. Geoff May (Suz GSX-R1000), 1:39.410* 6. Eric Bostrom (Yam YZF-R1), 1:39.438 7. Aaron Yates (Suz GSX-R1000), 1:39.741 8. Jake Zemke (Hon CBR1000RR), 1:39.923 9. Jake Holden (Suz GSX-R1000), 1:39.998* 10. Miguel Duhamel (Hon CBR1000RR), 1:40.135 11. Tommy Hayden (Suz GSX-R1000), 1:40.155 12. Jason DiSalvo (Yam YZF-R1), 1:40.478 13. Akira Yanagawa (Kaw ZX-10R), 1:40.971 14. Luca Scassa (MV Agusta F4-1000R), 1:41.008 15. James Ellison (Hon CBR1000RR), 1:41.276 16. Martin Cardenas (Kaw ZX-10R), 1:41.662* 17. Matt Lynn (MV Agusta F4-1000R), 1:41.828 18. Kurtis Roberts (Hon CBR1000RR), 1:41.975 19. Doug Chandler (Hon CBR1000RR), 1:42.668 20. David Weber (Suz GSX-R1000), 1:43.630 21. John Haner (Suz GSX-R1000), 1:43.938 22. Tristan Palmer (Suz GSX-R1000), 1:44.291 23. Santiago Villa (Yam YZF-R1), 1:45.565* 24. Scott Jensen (Suz GSX-R1000), 1:45.670 25. Dominic Jones (Suz GSX-R1000), 1:45.969 26. Dean Mizdal (Suz GSX-R1000), 1:49.940 *Superstock-spec machine

Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca Announces “Legends Of Laguna Walk Of Fame”

Racers & Community Leaders Being Honored in Walk of Fame at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca MONTEREY, Calif. As part of the celebration of the 50th Anniversary of Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, track officials today announced the creation of the Legends of Laguna Seca, a walk of fame tribute honoring those who made a significant impact on road racing since the track opened in 1957. Beginning with the season-opening U.S. Sports Car Invitational May 18-20, each major racing event will feature the induction of an individual who made a considerable contribution to the history of the track. The inductee will be honored throughout the weekend and participate in race activities. Following their induction, a tribute will be erected and placed in the Legends of Laguna Seca walk of fame planned for the Corkscrew area. “Our 50th Anniversary celebration is a great time to remember and honor some of the individuals who made Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca one of the world’s important and historic race circuits,” said Gill Campbell, CEO and general manager. “While many of the Legends of Laguna Seca will be well-known racers, we will also be honoring community leaders who worked tirelessly over the years to promote this facility.” The inaugural Legends of Laguna Seca class will be announced in late March, with the first inductee honored at May’s U.S. Sports Car Invitational. Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca was built in 1957 and has been operated since its inception by the Sports Car Racing Association of the Monterey Peninsula (SCRAMP). SCRAMP is a not-for-profit corporation that donates net proceeds from each race season to the volunteer organizations that help put on the events at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. Last season alone, SCRAMP donated over $400,000 to local charities and civic organizations. Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca celebrates its 50th Anniversary in 2007 with a world-class racing schedule including the U.S. Sports Car Invitational featuring the Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series May 18-20, the Red Bull U.S. Grand Prix July 20-22, the 34th Rolex Monterey Historic Automobile Races presented by Toyota August 17-19, the AMA Superbike Championship September 15-16 and the Monterey Sports Car Championships featuring the American Le Mans Series October 19-21. Information for all events on the 2007 Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca schedule and the 50th Anniversary of the world-famous facility are available by logging onto www.laguna-seca.com or calling (800) 327-SECA.