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Rossi, Edwards To Wear Traditional Yamaha Blue At Jerez Test

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Rossi, Edwards To Wear Traditional Yamaha Blue At Jerez Test

Yamaha Factory Racing Team To Run In Special Blue Livery In Jerez Yamaha’s Factory MotoGP Team will take part in the Official MotoGP Test in Jerez this weekend sporting a special blue Yamaha livery. The livery reflects the familiar blue colours used in other Yamaha racing disciplines and also makes a direct connection with the blue colours and the famous Yamaha speedblock stripe used on the high-performance Yamaha R1 and R6 machines throughout the world. The one-off livery will be used by Valentino Rossi and Colin Edwards over the three days of the test, including during the traditional televised timed ‘qualifying’ session on Sunday. Davide Brivio Team Director “We’ve chosen this important pre-season event to run in full Yamaha livery and it’s a nice chance to thank everyone in the company who has worked so hard over the winter. This could be the only opportunity to see Yamaha MotoGP bikes in this special blue livery as the design and colour will change again for the first MotoGP race in Qatar. I hope our fans and the all Yamaha network will appreciate and enjoy this special event!”

‘World’s Fastest Motorcycle’ Video Now Available On DVD

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‘World’s Fastest Motorcycle’ Video Now Available On DVD

The WORLD’S FASTEST MOTORCYCLE which aired to rave reviews on Speed Channel will be released on DVD March 1, 2007 and may be ordered on the web at www.letsgoracing.org. The two hour DVD produced by Ignition 3 and Chet Burks Productions captures the unprecedented three-way battle for the world motorcycle speed record which played out for five days in September of 2006. The three most sophisticated motorcycle streamliners in the world went head to head on Bonneville Salt Flats in September 2006 during the International Motorcycle Speed Trials by Bub. They had one goal in mind, to break the 16 year old motorcycle land speed record of 322.870 MPH and become the “World’s Fastest Motorcycle.” It was a historic week. One never seen before. One unlikely to be repeated. The International Motorcycle Speed Trials by Bub may never again be matched for its intensity. Perfect track conditions and weather played host to three dedicated teams that proved they had the speed to become world’s fastest. It was a week filled with incredible speeds, devastating disappointments, and record breaking accomplishments. “The World’s Fastest Motorcycle” showcases a world known by few. A world that even fewer have the ability and determination to conquer. Among those elite are Mike Akatiff’s Ack Attack with Rocky Robinson at the controls, 7 time AMA Flat Track Champion Chris Carr piloting Denis Manning’s “7” liner, and Sam Wheeler in his EZ Hook streamliner. Dave Despain of Speed Channel narrates this compelling story with years of preparation and the five days on the Salt Flats that came down to five drama filled minutes. The bonus material includes the story of the EASYRIDER 1990 record run. ” World’s Fastest Motorcycle” DVD may be ordered by calling 217-725-3190 or on the web at www.letsgoracing.org J.B. Norris of Let’s Go Racing is also working on an oil on canvas giclee print to commemorate the new World Record which will be available soon. IGNITION3 is a California based motorsports production company whose partners, Dick Lague, Jeff Lague, and Jon Lague have been producing a significant body of motorsports work. Chet Burks Productions is based in Marietta, Georgia and has been a top full-service motorsports production company for over 25 years. Let’s Go Racing.org is located in Springfield, Illinois, where noted motorsports announcer J.B. Norris produces his racing art and has an online store serving racing fans.

Everything You Wanted To Know About Michelin And The 2007 MotoGP World Championship

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Everything You Wanted To Know About Michelin And The 2007 MotoGP World Championship

MICHELIN EMBRACES CHALLENGE OF NEW MotoGP ERA The 2007 MotoGP season begins a new era in the development of the world’s most prestigious motorcycle racing series. Following MotoGP’s hugely successful first five seasons, during which Michelin won all five World Championships, major changes to the technical regulations will ensure that 2007 is a whole new challenge for factories, tire manufacturers, teams and riders. And, as always, this crucial development work will filter through from Michelin’s MotoGP project to its streetbike development department to improve the tires bought by Michelin’s road-riding customers. There are three major revisions to this year’s MotoGP technical regulations – a reduction in engine capacity from 990 to 800cc, a limit in the number of tires available to riders at MotoGP events and new restrictions in the amount of testing that can be undertaken by MotoGP participants. All three of these changes represent a significant change in the way Michelin and its MotoGP rivals go racing, but Michelin is determined that it will continue to dominate bike racing’s premier class, just as it has done despite other rules changes. Michelin has largely dominated the last three decades of premier-class racing, ruling much of the two-stroke 500cc era from the company’s first 500 GP win in 1973, then maintaining that supremacy when the sport switched to hugely powerful 990cc four-strokes in 2002. It commences the 2007 season having won a total of 351 premier-class GP victories as well as 26 of the past 31 titles, including a clean sweep of the last 15 crowns. An unrivalled record of genius performance at the highest level! “This year is going to be a really challenging year for everyone,” says Jean-Philippe Weber, Michelin’s new director of motorcycle racing. “The bikes have changed a lot, so that’s important for the teams, the riders and for us. The new tire rules give us an exciting new opportunity to move forward in MotoGP, creating tailor-made tires for each of our riders.” Not only has Michelin developed new tires to suit the new 800s, it has also developed new ways of working with its riders to get the best out of the new tire regulations. Each rider is now restricted to 31 tires per GP weekend (14 fronts, 17 rears), whereas before there were no restrictions in the number of tires used. This change demands a shift in approach from the tire manufacturers. Michelin’s new policy is to offer tailor-made tires to each of its riders, according to individual riding style, machine performance and the character of each racetrack. Michelin’s nine MotoGP riders have every confidence in the French company’s ability to continue offering race-winning tires. “Michelin doesn’t enjoy all this success by being lucky, they put in the work and listen to what us riders have to say,” reveals 2006 MotoGP World Champion Nicky Hayden (Repsol Honda RC212V-Michelin). “Like in 2005 they gave us a wider-profile front tire, which gave me the confidence and the grip to start winning races. My results really improved thanks to that tire. It’s the same with the 800s – they listen to what we’ve got to say, like we say these bikes have more corner speed, so we need more edge grip, so they give us more edge grip.” Former World Champion Valentino Rossi (Yamaha Factory Racing Team-Michelin) has similar faith in Michelin’s efforts. “Michelin always works step by step, and this is the clever way to work in MotoGP,” says the Italian, who won the previous five premier-class crowns from 2001 to 2005. “They give us more edge grip from the rear, then more traction, then they give us a better front, so it’s always step by step, improving the lap times, improving the race times.” Last year’s MotoGP rookie Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda RC212V-Michelin) is also enjoying working with Michelin to produce a new range of tires for the 800s. “It is a special experience working with Michelin’s technicians; it makes you realize how much work and development goes into these tires,” says the Spaniard. “I’m very much enjoying working on the 800 project, it’s great to be involved in something from the beginning.” Hayden, Rossi and Pedrosa are joined by six other riders on Michelin in this year’s MotoGP series. Between them the nine riders have won a total of 15 World Championships! INSIDE MICHELIN’S NEW 16-inch MotoGP FRONT TIRE Michelin’s MotoGP stars will contest this year’s World Championship with an all-new 16-inch front tire. The tire is another step forward in the never-ending process of progress which has helped Michelin win the last 15 premier-class crowns. The new 16-inch front tire delivers several advantages over the 16.5, with which Michelin dominated the last few seasons of MotoGP. It offers lighter handling, more grip and improved confidence – crucial benefits to the new breed of nimble 800cc MotoGP bikes. Work began on the tire early last year. “The aspect of performance that we particularly wanted to improve was the speed at which the rider can get the bike to maximum lean because this is a very important factor in producing good lap times,” reveals Jean-Philippe Weber, Michelin’s director of motorcycle racing. “The new tire gives a slightly bigger contact patch between 40 degrees of lean and maximum lean which creates more grip, so riders have more confidence to flick the bike onto its side as they attack the corners. “Also, the tire is slightly smaller and lighter so it creates less inertia, which allows faster changes of direction. But we believe that the better corner-entry and mid-corner speeds we are now seeing aren’t only due to our new front, because the 800s themselves are faster through the corners.” Michelin riders were able to test the tire during the early stages of last season. Initial feedback suggested that Michelin engineers needed to do some further work on construction and it wasn’t until the end of the season that Michelin were ready to continue testing the 16. “The 16’s profile is quite similar to the 16.5’s but we had to make some big changes to the construction and we did this using different computer models. Once we understood what we needed to do we produced new 16s for the post-season tests and our riders immediately gave us very positive feedback. They said the tire was a big step forward from what they were used to.” Michelin continued to develop and improve the 16 as winter testing progressed, encouraging riders to carry out back-to-back tests between the 16 and 16.5 at a variety of circuits – Valencia, Jerez, Sepang, Phillip Island and Losail. “We have been to some very different circuits but although our riders switched back and forth between the two tires they always said the 16 was better, so there’s no reason to go back to the 16.5,” adds Weber. Of course, work isn’t finished on the 16 – tire development is never finished. “Our first major job was to get the profile and the construction right,” explains Weber. “Now we are working on our range of compounds for the 2007 MotoGP tracks, and this is work which will continue throughout the season.” This isn’t the first time that Michelin has used a 16-inch front tire for Grand Prix motorcycle racing. Marco Lucchinelli (Nava Olio Fiat Suzuki RG500-Michelin) and Franco Uncini (Gallina Suzuki RG500-Michelin) won the 1981 and 1982 500 World Championships riding on 16-inch front Michelins, while Freddie Spencer won the 1983 (Honda NS500-Michelin and Rothmans Honda NSR500-Michelin) and 1985 crowns with a 16-inch front. His 1983 bike also featured a 16-inch rear tire. “But this is another world from 1982 – the stresses and temperatures are much greater now because the bikes are so much better and the riding so much more aggressive,” says Weber. “Yes, we are using a 16-inch front again but everything is different from last time – the design, the construction, everything, and although we still mix rubbers, carbon black and various chemicals for the compound, the recipe is completely different.” HOW DO THE NEW RULES CHANGE MotoGP FOR MICHELIN? Jean-Philippe Weber, Michelin’s recently appointed director of motorcycle racing, considers the effect that MotoGP’s new regulations will have upon the task of tire choice. Does the 31-tire limit change the way you work with riders at GPs? Yes, it changes a lot. In the past our policy was always to make sure that the same tires were available to all our riders, rather than making individual tires available to individual riders. From this season we have a different approach. Because of the limitation in the number of tires we can supply to riders we have to provide the best specification tires to each of our riders to make sure they all have the package that best suits each of them. So we will take advantage of the flexibility of our production plant to make tailor-made tires for each rider. Each rider will have his own development program with us; we will work in whatever direction necessary to give them the tires they need to get the best results. Of course, this doesn’t always mean that all our riders will use different tires. At some tracks maybe all of our riders or most of them will use the same front or rear tire. What will be the major differences in the tires assigned to each rider? Usually the difference will be only compound and construction. During 2007 we aim to have two different front profiles and two different rear profiles, as we did last year, because having more profiles only complicates the task of bike set-up for the teams. How big will the differences be between the tires made for each rider? That will depend on the racetrack. We may have some tracks where the difference between all riders’ tires is only 15 percent, but at other circuits the difference might be 40 percent. With fewer tires available, will you have to work more carefully than before? Over the last few years we sometimes had new tires delivered to the track during a GP weekend, so now we have to plan everything much earlier. We will have to create a weekend strategy to get the best out of each rider’s allocation of tires. We must also work carefully to ensure no confusion with the new tire markings. All tires are marked with barcodes when they are handed over to the MotoGP technical director before the start of the GP weekend, so we must make sure that our own markings and the organization’s markings correlate with each other, because if there is a mistake, riders can be penalized and sent to the back of the grid. How many of the 31 tires will be qualifiers? My recommendation is that each rider has two qualifying tires per weekend, but, like everything else, that will depend on the rider. If a rider is very happy with his rear tire, he might tell us before the next race that he’s very fast and very confident with that tire, so he won’t need a big choice of different rears, so he might ask for five qualifiers instead. But my recommendation is two qualifiers. What do you make of the new 800s? They have been quite a surprise because even last November they were almost as fast as the 990s, and sometimes faster! And because we are at the very early stages of development we can expect some rapid improvements, so we may soon see some major increases in horsepower, just as we experienced at the start of the 990 era. From where do the 800s get their speed? They seem to handle better and have more corner speed than the 990s. The bikes seem very compact and maybe the factories have changed weight distribution, center of gravity and so on to improve their handling and make them faster through the corners. In fact the rear tires we used last year worked very well with the 800s when we started testing with them but we’ve needed to work hard to give the riders more edge grip so they can exploit the superior corner speed. So how different are your 2007 tires from your 2006 tires? The rear isn’t so different; we will probably retain the same size and work more on construction and compound. With less horsepower from the 800s we can currently use softer rears than we used with the 990s, though the difference isn’t huge because the higher corner speeds deliver another kind of stress into the tire. The biggest difference for 2007 is our 16-inch front tire, which we have introduced for better handling and better grip. But the front tire compound will be only slightly softer than we used in 2006 because the braking forces are very high with the 800s. What can you tell us about your new front profile? During last November we began testing a new 16-inch front tire. All the riders who tried this tire immediately told us that they preferred this tire to the two 16.5in fronts we used last season. The 16 offers better maneuverability, better grip and delivers improved confidence, so riders can flick quicker into turns from brake to full lean, and they have more grip so they can hold a tighter line through corners. They all seem to have more trust in this tire. How will the change in testing regulations affect your work? We have to work very hard during winter testing to gather as much data as possible. There is still quite a bit of testing during the season but most of it is after races, which is very different because the riders have been stressed all weekend, then they only get a few hours rest after the race before they begin testing on Monday. They are only human! During winter tests riders are fresher and in a testing mood, so they can test a lot of stuff, but after races they are physically and mentally tired, so we can’t put so much pressure on them. Also, we will have to work hard on our computer models so we can make better use of our data, extrapolating what we learn at one circuit to help us at other circuits. With less testing available there will definitely be more theoretical work to be done. Jean-Philippe Weber Michelin director of motorcycle racing Born: October 18, 1968 Marital status: married, one son Jean-Philippe Weber became Michelin’s director of its motorcycle racing activities at the end of 2006, taking over from Nicolas Goubert, in charge since 1997. Weber, a keen street and off-road rider, began working on Michelin motorcycle race tires in 2001, focusing on MotoGP, Superbike and Supermotard. He is a richly qualified chemist, with a masters degree in the science and technology of physical and chemical processes (Toulouse University) and a doctorate of organic chemistry (Louis Pasteur University, Strasbourg). After continuing his research into synthetic rubber and adhesives he joined Michelin in 1999, initially working on truck and car development. The following year he joined Michelin’s motorsport department, working in motorcycle racing and endurance car racing. Although his initial work focused on compounds he quickly began working on all aspects of tire development. His new job takes him from behind the scenes to a new position in the public eye. “This is my dream job because motorcycles are my life,” says Weber. “I own several streetbikes and dirt bikes but if I had 200 motorcycles I would still want some more!” Michelin’s 2007 MotoGP riders Carlos Checa (LCR Honda RC212V-Michelin) Colin Edwards (Yamaha Factory Racing Team-Michelin) Nicky Hayden (Repsol Honda RC212V-Michelin) Jeremy McWilliams (Ilmor SRT X3-Michelin) Shinya Nakano (Konica Minolta Honda-Michelin) Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda RC212V-Michelin) Andrew Pitt (Ilmor SRT X3-Michelin) Kenny Roberts (Team Roberts KR212V-Michelin) Valentino Rossi (Yamaha Factory Racing Team-Michelin)

Bills Introduced In Congress To End Health Care Discrimination Against Recreational Riders

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Bills Introduced In Congress To End Health Care Discrimination Against Recreational Riders

PICKERINGTON, Ohio — The American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) has announced that bipartisan bills have been introduced in both the U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate that would end health-care discrimination against motorcyclists, ATV enthusiasts, and participants in other legal recreational activities. On February 15, 2007, U.S. Representatives Michael C. Burgess (R-Texas) and Bart Stupak (D-Michigan) introduced H.R. 1076, “The HIPAA Recreational Injury Technical Correction Act.” On the same day, Senators Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Russ Feingold (D-Wisconsin) introduced identical companion legislation, S. 616. The bills seek to bar employers from discriminating against those who take part in activities such as motorcycling, ATV riding, skiing, snowmobiling or horseback riding in the health-insurance programs they offer their workers. During the 108th Congress, the full Senate unanimously passed this legislative language; the House, however, adjourned before enacting the legislation. As a result, the legislation was re-introduced again this session of Congress. “This important legislation would prevent health insurance discrimination against citizens who take part in legal, recreational activities such as motorcycle riding and snowmobiling,” said Stupak. “I look forward to continuing to work with the American Motorcyclist Association and other organizations on this issue.” Burgess also credited the AMA’s advocacy. “The development of this bill could not have been possible without bipartisan congressional support and the hard work of the American Motorcyclist Association.” In introducing the Senate bill, Collins referred to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) signed into law by President Clinton in 1996. “While I was pleased that the rule prohibits health plans and issuers from denying coverage to individuals who engage in certain types of recreational activities, such as skiing, horseback riding, snowmobiling or motorcycling, I am concerned that it would allow insurers to deny health benefits for an otherwise covered injury that results from participation in these activities.” HIPAA originally prohibited employers from denying health-care coverage based on a worker’s pre-existing medical conditions or participation in legal activities, such as motorcycling. But later federal bureaucrats reversed the law, writing rules to allow health-insurance discrimination against motorcyclists and others who engage in legal activities like ATV riding, or horseback riding — employees were guaranteed the right to health-care coverage, but not guaranteed any benefits under those plans. Motorcyclists were outraged when federal bureaucrats went against the will of Congress, and the AMA immediately lobbied legislators to right this wrong. Others involved in the effort include the All-Terrain Vehicle Association, the American Council of Snowmobile Associations, the American Horse Council, the BlueRibbon Coalition, the Motorcycle Industry Council, Motorcycle Riders Foundation, and the National Ski Areas Association. “This loophole written by federal bureaucrats must be closed once and for all,” said Edward Moreland, AMA Vice President for Government Relations. “We encourage AMA and ATVA members, as well as all motorcyclists and ATV riders, to contact members of their congressional delegations to support this important legislation.” Enthusiasts can send letters of support to members of Congress through the AMA Rapid Response Center at www.AMADirectlink.com. The American Motorcyclist Association: rights. riding. racing. Founded in 1924, the AMA is a non-profit organization with more than 280,000 members. The Association’s purpose is to pursue, protect and promote the interests of motorcyclists, while serving the needs of its members. For more information, visit the AMA website at www.AMADirectlink.com, or call 1-800-AMA-JOIN.

New Rizla Suzuki GSV-R800 Officially Introduced In Jerez

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New Rizla Suzuki GSV-R800 Officially Introduced In Jerez

Rizla Suzuki MotoGP has officially revealed its brand new GSV-R800 at Jerez in Spain this evening, in front of an captivated audience of journalists, photographers and selected guests. The all new 2007 GSV-R codenamed XRG0 features an original “retro” inspired livery with Rizla Suzuki MotoGP racers John Hopkins and Chris Vermeulen following the same theme on their racing suits. The new machine has been developed with the clear aim of being a competitive machine for the 2007 MotoGP season, and of improving the riders’ ability to control the machine in all situations – in a predictable and repeatable manner. This has been assisted by fully analysing the data collected throughout 2006, and by the transfer of some new technologies (introduced last year) into the all new ‘XRG0’ GSV-R 800cc GP racer. Suzuki has followed the fundamental engine layout of the final 990cc machine, but the engine size has been minimised with newly designed bore, stroke and cylinder pitch optimised for the new engine displacement size. Suzuki’s target was to achieve the best possible horsepower and reliable high rpm operation, and to provide the riders with user friendly power delivery and predictable engine character. The pneumatic valve system has been modified to achieve more stable valve action and higher valve lift, as well as to control the ultra-high range of engine rpm. This system contributes to the result of high rpm capacity and high power, as well as smooth and controllable engine character. The combination system of drive-by-wire throttle body and double injectors is a completely original design. With the new type Mitsubishi ECU, this induction system enables the GSV-R to generate over 220 PS of maximum horsepower at an engine speed of over 17,500 rpm – an equivalent of 275ps per litre – and to achieve outstanding throttle control and excellent fuel consumption in accordance with the new regulations of 21-litre tank capacity. The change of bodywork design has been minimised just to match the engine character, and the fundamental chassis layout including wheelbase length has remained as that of XRE4, the last 990cc model. A change of cowling shape has focused on reducing the wind resistance force and also for good handling. The contour of the fuel tank cover helps the riders to control the machine easily. The shape of the air induction hole at the centre of front fairing is designed for more effective air boosting to the engine at high speed. With excellent tyres and continued improvements from Bridgestone, Suzuki has completed a top level package which is its highest technology and best quality four stroke race machines ever produced. It hopes to achieve fantastic performance and its aim is to help its talented riders to achieve the best possible positions in the 2007 MotoGP races, for the sake of all race fans and Suzuki fanatics worldwide. The latest version of the GSV-R will make its debut at the Official MotoGP Test at Jerez this weekend, followed by its initiation into the fiercely competitive world of MotoGP racing at the first round of the season, and of the new 800cc MotoGP era, at Losail in Qatar on Saturday 10th March. John Hopkins: “I think the new bike looks great. We have already had the chance to ride it but this is the first time I’ve seen the new colours. I am looking forward to getting out on the track again and showing what the new GSV-R can do. Suzuki has produced a pretty good package with the new bike and we have performed well in the tests so far so we now need to show what it can do in a racing situation. It is a great bike to ride, in fact it is more like a motocrosser rather than a GP bike and the also the fact that it carries more corner speed than the 990 certainly suits my riding style.” Chris Vermeulen: “I really like the new bike, it’s very fast and very blue! The bike has had about a 20% reduction in capacity but it feels very similar to last year’s bike to throw a leg over. The whole off season has been really exciting because Suzuki has seemed to come up with something new at every test so now we just have to keep the momentum going into the races.” Paul Denning – Team Manager: “The change of regulation has produced some interesting, and quite unexpected, testing results over the winter. As a team, we are delighted with what the Suzuki factory has produced the new GSV-R800 (factory code XRG0) is beautifully detailed, very durable and right on the weight limit. In my opinion, it’s the best GP bike Suzuki has ever produced, and without doubt it is the best of the 4-strokes so far. “Suzuki has taken a different route to most manufacturers by incorporating a lot of suitable technology in its final 990cc racer to transfer over to the new 800. This has resulted in a bike that has hit the ground running with very few problems and with a lot of data to back up our testing results. “John and Chris have performed well over the winter and their fitness levels are superb. They both have to learn the fine art of competing to win at MotoGP level, but this is a bike that will allow them to take that next step and they both have the ability and commitment to take full advantage. “2007 should be an incredible year of MotoGP action we hope that Rizla Suzuki will be a big part of the story as it plays out around the globe.”

FIM Grand Prix Committee Changes MotoGP Event Schedule

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FIM Grand Prix Committee Changes MotoGP Event Schedule

Road Racing World Championship Grand Prix Change to the Rules The Grand Prix Commission, composed of Messrs. Carmelo Ezpeleta (Dorna, Chairman), Claude Danis (FIM), Herv̩ Poncharal (IRTA) and Takanao Tsubouchi (MSMA), with Mr Paul Butler (Secretary of the meeting), in an electronic meeting held today, unanimously decided to introduce the following change to the Road Racing World Championship Grand Prix Regulations, for immediate application. Sporting Regulations 1.13 Schedule 1.13.1 The Event schedule will be as follows: FRIDAY : Free practice Qualifying practice 125cc 09h00 Р09h45 13h05 Р13h35 Motogp 10h00 Р11h00 13h50 Р14h50 250cc 11h15 Р12h15 15h05 Р15h50 SATURDAY: Free practice Qualifying practice 125cc 09h00 Р09h45 13h05 Р13h35 Motogp 10h00 Р11h00 13h50 Р14h50 250cc 11h15 Р12h15 15h05 Р15h50

Toseland Fastest In Thursday Morning World Superbike Practice In Qatar

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Toseland Fastest In Thursday Morning World Superbike Practice In Qatar

FIM Superbike World Championship Losail International Circuit, Qatar February 22, 2007 Practice Times: 1. James TOSELAND (Hon CBR1000RR), 2:00.029 2. Yukio KAGAYAMA (Suz GSX-R1000K7), 2:00.319 3. Noriyuki HAGA (Yam YZF-R1), 2:00.377 4. Troy BAYLISS (Duc 999F07), 2:00.396 5. Max BIAGGI (Suz GSX-R1000K7), 2:00.503 6. Troy CORSER (Yam YZF-R1), 2:00.545 7. Lorenzo LANZI (Duc 999F07), 2:00.656 8. Ruben XAUS (Duc 999F06), 2:01.597 9. Michel FABRIZIO (Hon CBR1000RR), 2:01.633 10. Fonsi NIETO (Kaw ZX-10R), 2:01.671 11. Regis LACONI (Kaw ZX-10R), 2:02.142 12. Karl MUGGERIDGE (Hon CBR1000RR), 2:02.268 13. Roberto ROLFO (Hon CBR1000RR), 2:02.320 14. Max NEUKIRCHNER (Suz GSX-R1000K6), 2:02.540 15. Josh BROOKES (Hon CBR1000RR), 2:02.609 16. Steve MARTIN (Hon CBR1000RR), 2:03.003 17. Jakub SMRZ (Duc 999F05), 2:04.042 18. Shinichi NAKATOMI (Yam YZF-R1), 2:04.541 19. Christian ZAISER (MV Agusta F4-1000R), 2:04.717 20. Alessandro POLITA (Suz GSX-R1000K6), 2:05.304

Sofuoglo Tops First World Supersport Practice At Losail

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Sofuoglo Tops First World Supersport Practice At Losail

FIM Supersport World Championship Losail International Circuit, Qatar February 22, 2007 Practice Times: 1. Kenan SOFUOGLU (Hon CBR600RR), 2:04.908 2. Kevin CURTAIN (Yam YZF-R6), 2:04.954 3. Sebastian CHARPENTIER (Hon CBR600RR), 2:05.272 4. Fabien FORET (Kaw ZX-6R), 2:05.722 5. Pere RIBA (Kaw ZX-6R), 2:05.762 6. Broc PARKES (Yam YZF-R6), 2:05.924 7. Gianluca NANNELLI (Duc 749R), 2:05.971 8. Katsuaki FUJIWARA (Hon CBR600RR), 2:06.057 9. Robbin HARMS (Hon CBR600RR), 2:06.171 10. Barry VENEMAN (Suz GSX-R600), 2:06.493 17. Chris PERIS (Yam YZF-R6), 2:07.564

FIM 125cc World Championship Test Concludes In Wet Conditions At Jerez

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FIM 125cc World Championship Test Concludes In Wet Conditions At Jerez

125cc testing at Official Test in Jerez concludes with washout MotoGP Official Test 125cc Day 2/2- Circuito de Jerez – Thursday 22nd February Today saw the final session of two-stroke action at the MotoGP Official Test in Jerez and, as has seemingly become the norm for lower cylinder category preseason testing, the second day of 125cc action was one blighted by bad weather. Early rain meant that it was only at 10.40am local time that the first riders emerged from their pit garages, with Randy Krummenacher, Sandro Cortese and Tomoyoshi Koyama the opening trio on track. Bouts of further wet weather meant that the track never had the opportunity to completely dry out, and a large number of the more experienced riders elected against putting in laps today. A halt was called to the proceedings just after 4pm local time, after another downpour. None of the top ten improved on their times from day one, and the timesheets remained largely unchanged despite the absence of the top four riders on track today. Mattia Pasini’s 1’47.727 lap from yesterday was untroubled, and those pushing him in the first session- Gabor Talmacsi, Lukas Pesek and Simone Corsi, didn’t risk injury in the wet conditions. Sergio Gadea was today’s fastest rider, over a second off his best time from yesterday. He was closely followed by 2006 Rookie Of The Year Bradley Smith, gaining valuable experience in the wet. Both Smith and new team-mate Esteve Rabat suffered crashes towards the end of the day, as did Humangest Honda’s Mike di Meglio, but both walked away unharmed. The 125cc category will have their final chance to put their bikes through their paces next week in Qatar, at the final Official Test of the 2007 preseason alongside a selection of 250cc outfits. The MotoGP premier class have their turn on track from tomorrow, as they look to further fine tune their 800cc bikes. Three days of MotoGP action will be rounded off with a 40 minute “qualifying session” on Sunday afternoon, where the talented riders of the World Championship get their chance to win a brand new BMW. One rider who won’t be riding this weekend is John Hopkins. Rizla Suzuki’s Anglo-American star is still recovering from a crash suffered last week in Qatar, and has decided to leave final testing duties to regular rider Chris Vermeulen and test rider Kousuke Akiyoshi in order to recover further from his bumps, bruises and breaks. Thursday’s Official 125cc Test Times (wet conditions): 1. Sergio GADEA (Aprilia), 1:59.565 2. Bradley SMITH (Honda), 2:00.574 3. Mike DI MEGLIO (Honda), 2:00.862 4. Hector FAUBEL (Aprilia), 2:01.000 5. Sandro CORTESE (Aprilia), 2:01.100 6. Randy KRUMMENACHER (KTM), 2:01.432 7. Lorenzo ZANETTI (Aprilia), 2:01.720 8. Tomoyoshi KOYAMA (KTM), 2:01.793 9. Joan OLIVE (Aprilia), 2:02.144 10. Joey LITJENS (Honda), 2:02.153 12. Raffaele DE ROSA (Aprilia), 2:02.695 13. Simone GROTZKYJ (Aprilia), 2:02.859 14. Nicolas TEROL (Derbi), 2:03.016 15. Alexis MASBOU (Honda), 2:03.496 16. Dominique AEGERTER (Aprilia), 2:03.821 17. Esteve RABAT (Honda), 2:04.234 18. Andrea IANNONE (Aprilia), 2:06.189 19. Hugo VAN DEN BERG NED (Aprilia), 2:07.010 20. Steve BONSEY (KTM), 2:07.089 21. Daniel WEBB (Honda), 2:07.477 22. Pablo NIETO (Aprilia), 2:11.017 125cc Combined Official Test Times: 1. Mattia Pasini (Polaris World) – 1:47.727 2. Gabor Talmacsi (Bancaja Aspar) – 1:47.803 3. Lukas Pesek (Valsir Seedorf Derbi) – 1:47.948 4. Simone Corsi (Skilled Racing Team) – 1:47.999 5. Tomoyoshi Koyama (Red Bull KTM) – 1:48.175 6. Joan Olive (Polaris World) – 1:48.227 7. Hector Faubel (Bancaja Aspar) – 1:48.242 8. Bradley Smith (Repsol Honda) – 1:48.298 9. Pol Espargaro (Belson Campetella Aprilia) – 1:48.351 10. Michael Ranseder (Ajo Motorsport) – 1:48.532 11. Esteve Rabat (Repsol Honda) – 1:48.551 12. Sergio Gadea (Bancaja Aspar) – 1:48.661 13. Alexis Masbou (FFM Honda GP) – 1:48.854 14. Raffaele De Rosa (Multimedia Racing) – 1:48.855 15. Federico Sandi (Skilled Racing Team) – 1:49.141 16. Mike Di Meglio (Humangest Racing Team) – 1:49.157 17. Nicolas Terol (Valsir Seedorf Derbi) – 1:49.201 18. Simone Grotzkyj (Multimedia Racing) – 1:49.327 19. Lorenzo Zanetti (Team Sicilia) – 1:49.485 20. Pablo Nieto (Blusens Aprilia) – 1:49.532 21. Hugo Van Den Berg (Blusens Aprilia) – 1:49.680 22. Daniel Webb (Arie Molenaar Racing) – 1:49.704 23. Robert Muresan (Ajo Motorsport) – 1:49.731 24. Stefano Bianco (WTR Team) – 1:49.739 25. Randy Krummenacher (Red Bull KTM) – 1:49.854 26. Andrea Iannone (WTR Team) – 1:50.070 27. Sandro Cortese (Emmi Caffe Latte) – 1:50.490 28. Dominique Aegerter (Multimedia Racing) – 1:50.988 29. Steve Bonsey (Red Bull KTM) – 1:51.897 30. Joey Litjens (Arie Molenaar Racing )- 1:52.203 31. Roberto Tamburini (Team Sicilia) – 1:52.682

Updated: Haga On Provisional World Superbike Pole Position In Qatar

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Updated: Haga On Provisional World Superbike Pole Position In Qatar

FIM Superbike World Championship Losail International Circuit, Qatar February 22, 2007 Provisional Qualifying Results: 1. Noriyuki HAGA (Yam YZF-R1), 1:59.019 2. James TOSELAND (Hon CBR1000RR), 1:59.056 3. Max BIAGGI (Suz GSX-R1000K7), 1:59.369 4. Troy CORSER (Yam YZF-R1), 1:59.440 5. Lorenzo LANZI (Duc 999F07), 1:59.459 6. Troy BAYLISS (Duc 999F07), 1:59.507 7. Yukio KAGAYAMA (Suz GSX-R1000K7), 1:59.805 8. Ruben XAUS (Duc 999F06), 2:00.244 9. Roberto ROLFO (Hon CBR1000RR), 2:00.258 10. Fonsi NIETO (Kaw ZX-10R), 2:00.309 11. Michel FABRIZIO (Hon CBR1000RR), 2:00.467 12. Max NEUKIRCHNER (Suz GSX-R1000K6), 2:00.626 13. Regis LACONI (Kaw ZX-10R), 2:00.733 14. Josh BROOKES (Hon CBR1000RR), 2:00.936 15. Shinichi NAKATOMI (Yam YZF-R1), 2:01.948 16. Steve MARTIN (Hon CBR1000RR), 2:01.964 17. Jakub SMRZ (Duc 999F05), 2:03.186 18. Dean ELLISON (Duc 999RS), 2:03.704 19. Alessandro POLITA (Suz GSX-R1000K6), 2:03.777 20. Mashel AL NAIMI (Kaw ZX-10R), 2:06.487 More, from a press release issued by Scuderia SC Caracchi: 2007 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP DEBUT IN QATAR: FANTASTIC NANNELLI, POSITIVE SMRZ (Doha 2007, February 22) Full of satisfaction day today in Qatar for Scuderia SC Caracchi Ducati. After the first qualifying session Gianluca Nannelli recorded the second fastest in Supersport on his 749R, while Jakub Smrz, at his debut on a four stroke bike, is close to the Superpole admission, which is is primary goal. In Supersport the 749R Ducati of Scuderia Caracchi confirmed itself as one of the challengers of the championship, as showed during the winter tests, and Gianluca Nannelli scored the second fastest; moreover the twin made in Bologna recorded the fastest top speed in both the practice sessions scheduled today. “Of course I’m rather satisfied.” commented Nannelli rejoining the pit “We repeat easily the lap time of December test. The engine pushes very fast, actually Franco Farnè made a fantastic work. Franco Gubellini set very well the front fork and now I get a good feeling with the front tyre. The guys have actually a good working method, so I’m quite happy after this first practice day. At the last lap I could try to do better as Fujiwara, but a couple parked riders slowed my action; but is not important the result we got today. The most important thing is that, with a good setting after the first practice day we could be able to work from tomorrow morning on for the race. I was quite fast from the morning’s session, I’ve been third for long time, very close to the leader, but then all the long stops with red flag did contort the working schedule and at the end I lost some position, but then I had my chance during the afternoon.” Jakub Smrz on the Ducati 999F05 recorde the 17th fastest in this first, provisional, starting grid. The young Czech rider has still a small experience with the twin to aim at more ambitious goals. “My present goal is to contest the Superpole session.” said at the end of practices Jakub Smrz. “As well to finish the race in the points. At the moment my limited experience on the Ducati doesn’t allow me to look farer. However lap by lap my feeling with the bike grows up and I feel more comfortable. To earn the possibility to contest Superpole I have to record a quite better fastest lap tomorrow morning, but I’m confident to be able for it, it would be important for me as for the team.” More, from a press release issued by Team Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra: 2007 Superbike World Championship Round 1, Losail, Qatar Thursday qualifying, 22nd February Circuit: 5.380 kms. Conditions: Dry, sunny 21-25C PROVISIONAL FRONT ROW FOR MAX! Team Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra rider Max Biaggi continued his superb progress with the new GSX-R1000 K7 at Qatar today, ending up with the third fastest time. His team mate Yukio Kagayama was not far behind, finishing seventh fastest in the overall standings. Max and Yukio were satisfied with the continuing development of the new bike and both are working on improving the bike’s acceleration in preparation for Saturday’s two races. It was Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha) who posted the day’s fastest time, with a lap of 1:59.019 – almost a second under the official lap record. Second fastest is James Toseland (Honda), with Max third and former Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra rider Troy Corser (now Yamaha) fourth. MAX – 3rd, 1:59.369 I don’t feel that there’s been a big change to the track, since we tested here recently, but for sure the hotter conditions this afternoon had an effect on the grip level. It’s normal, that when the track gets hot, the performance (or grip) goes down. That’s when you have to understand your tyres and try and conserve them towards the end of a race. The rear is not a problem for me, but the front tyre is worked much harder and that’s why you have to work to get the best chassis set-up and balance to be able to run hard at the end of a race. At the moment, the area where we are working the most is on the acceleration of the bike. Of course, like all riders I want better acceleration, but I feel that it is in this area where we are a bit lacking. If we can improve that, without losing anything elsewhere, I think we can have a good raceday. YUKIO – 7th, 1:59.805 No big problems at all today and because of our recent tests our bike is pretty much OK for this track. There was a little problem with chattering, but we are working on improving the bike’s acceleration, mainly because that’s what I feel I need at the moment. For me, the track was a little slippery probably because the strong winds in the past couple of days have deposited some sand on the surface. My two bikes here have slightly different engine characteristics and maybe I need a compromise between the two. We will try a couple of things tomorrow and see if we can make an improvement. More, from a press release issued by Xerox Ducati: LANZI AND BAYLISS (DUCATI XEROX) GET 2007 SEASON UNDERWAY WITH FIFTH AND SIXTH QUICKEST TIMES IN QATAR FIRST QUALIFYING Losail (Qatar), Thursday 22nd February: The 2007 World Superbike season got underway today for the Ducati Xerox Team with fifth and sixth quickest times respectively for Lorenzo Lanzi and Troy Bayliss in first qualifying in Qatar. Times were almost one second off the pace of last December’s test session, but today’s qualifying session was a hard-fought affair as the top six riders were all within half a second of each other. Double world champion Bayliss took a bit of time to settle into the rhythm and was not entirely happy with his first day’s performance. “Everything is not going so bad, but we’re having just a few little problems like getting the bike to do exactly what we want from when we tested here last time” he declared. “The times are not really so bad, and we’re not so far off the front. It’s just that everyone’s riding really well at the moment and I’m missing a little something and in these conditions it doesn’t take much to be down a couple of places because everyone’s going very fast. We’ve got a few things to think about, especially at the front where we’re struggling a bit but we’ll try them tomorrow and hopefully I’ll be a bit further up at the front. Lorenzo Lanzi on the other hand was enthusiastic about his fifth place on the grid and was confident there was more to come. “That wasn’t bad for first qualifying but I can see that our rivals have got a good race pace, especially Max, Nori and James. We had a few problems like last year when it started to get warmer in the afternoon and for our twin-cylinder Ducati these are the worst possible conditions because you start to slide around at the rear. I’m happy that we’ve still got a few more things to try and I’m sure we can set a good race pace seeing as we can make a few more changes to the set-up. As for me, I feel much better after the winter, calm and relaxed, we’ve done a lot of testing and that has helped me to get back into form.” More, from a press release issued by FGSport Group: HAGA SETS THE EARLY PACE IN FIRST 2007 QUALIFYING SESSION – THREE MANUFACTURERS IN THE TOP THREE AT LOSAIL Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha Motor Italia) proved to be the fastest rider in the first session of the weekend at Losail, after carving 0.6 seconds from the previous best SBK lap of the 5.4km circuit. A close session saw James Toseland (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda) ride to within 0.037 seconds of Haga, and edge out SBK ‘rookie’ Max Biaggi (Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra) to third. Biaggi was the early pacesetter, proving an instant hit when the first competitive laps were played out under the hot sun in the Qatari desert. The overnight front row four was completed by 1996 and 2005 World Champion Troy Corser (Yamaha Motor Italia), in his first competitive SBK ride for his new employers. LANZI AHEAD OF BAYLISS AFTER OPENING SHOTS ARE FIRED Given his speed during testing, the biggest surprise of the day was reserved for the news that Troy Bayliss (Ducati Xerox) was not only not the fastest rider, but also that he was also outperformed on the day by his team-mate Lorenzo Lanzi. The top two Ducati riders were fifth and sixth respectively. Former Qatar race winner Yukio Kagayama (Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra) earned seventh fastest time, and the big seven were the only ones within a second of provisional pole. The second row was completed by multiple SBK race winner of years gone by, Ruben Xaus (Team Sterilgarda Ducati), a welcome sight in the top eight. British rider Dean Ellison (Team Pedercini 999RS) was 18th from 23 entrants. ROLFO TOP TEN WITH NIETO FASTEST KAWASAKI RIDER Roby Rolfo (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda) is far enough along his Honda learning curve to be ninth fastest after the first day of qualifying, and also did well enough to ace the top Kawasaki rider on show, Fonsi Nieto (PSG-1 Kawasaki Corse) who was tenth. Regis Laconi (PSG-1 Kawasaki Corse) was only 13th but is almost sure to make improvements on day two. The private riders placed well behind the best of the officially supported machines, as Michel Fabrizio (DFX Corse Honda) and Max Neukirchner (Suzuki Germany) completed the overnight third row. BROOKES ON THE PACE WITH MUGGERIDGE UNLUCKY Alto Evolution Honda rider Josh Brookes scored 14th best time on his CBR1000RR, but a double bike failure for his fellow Aussie and Alto Evolution rider Karl Muggeridge prevented him from setting even a single qualifying lap. The last two riders into the top 16 today were lone Yamaha YZF Team rider Shinichi Nakatomi and DFX Corse Honda rider Steve Martin. New SBK inductee Jakub Smrz (Team Caracchi Ducati SC) was a battling 17th, one place up on Ellison. WORLD SUPERSPORT Katsuaki Fujiwara (Althea Honda) proved he was back on top form at one of his favourite circuits by taking the fastest time in the opening qualifying session. His time of 2’03.258 was less than 0.2 seconds from the previous fastest lap. The early formbook was also written by the irrepressible Gianluca Nannelli (Team Caracchi Ducati SC 749R) who was second; only 0.219 seconds from Fujiwara and his new Honda CBR600RR. The Hannspree Ten Kate Honda pairing of Kenan Sofuoglu and Sebastien Charpentier filled the overnight front row, while the still-developing GIL Kawasaki of Fabien Foret, the 2002 Champion, scored a more than creditable fifth place in a line-up of 34 riders. Kevin Curtain (Yamaha SSP Racing) was the R6 filling in a Kawasaki sandwich, as he edged out Pere Riba (GIL Kawasaki) for seventh, just 0.691 seconds from Fujiwara after only one day of action. Curtain’s team-mate Broc Parkes was eighth, the last rider less than a second from Fujiwara. Despite the first unofficial practice session for Supersport being twice stopped and delayed to clean up the track surface, the afternoon timed session went ahead as planned, with only one rider from the 34 possibles outside the qualifying limit. More, from a press release issued by HANNspree Ten Kate Honda: HANNspree Ten Kate Honda riders beat personal bests The first round of the 2007 World Superbike Championship got off to a promising start for HANNspree Ten Kate Honda as both James Toseland and Roberto Rolfo secured personal best times in the first qualifying practice. The opening round is taking place at the Losail International Circuit in Qatar, where the teams are enjoying warm and sunny conditions. Despite experiencing technical difficulties with his number one bike, James Toseland secured the best lap time in the morning free practice. He followed this up by recording the second best time in the official qualifying session this afternoon – beating his personal record at the Qatar track with a time of 1:59.056. The former World Superbike Champion was just 0.037 seconds behind fastest rider Noriyuki Haga, with the top six separated by less than half a second. Toseland’s team-mate Roberto Rolfo proved that he means business this year by further improving his time at the 5.4km circuit. The Italian rider finished the session with a best lap of 2:00.258 to secure ninth place. Rolfo’s performance today was over a second faster than his lap time during the testing at Qatar at the end of 2006. He is hoping to improve further still before Saturday’s race. Ronald ten Kate, Team Manager “During the morning everything was looking good for James. He was fast around the track and there were no problems with the bike – it was just getting better and better. However, this afternoon his number one bike developed a technical problem that we couldn’t solve during the session. We had to use his second bike, which he didn’t use at all this morning. It was not ideal as it is set up quite differently. Tomorrow we will hopefully have his number one bike sorted out and we will be back in business. I am really pleased with Roby. Over the winter he just kept getting better and better and now today he has shaved off 1.5 seconds from his testing time to finish in ninth place. He is just chipping away at his time, getting constantly better” James Toseland “It’s been a good day. I was quickest in this morning’s practice, but this afternoon we had a problem with the number one bike. So, I had to use my second bike for the whole of the qualifying session. It would have been a lot better to be on the number one bike, but to come out with a time of 1.59 flat – which is my personal best at Qatar – is not bad at all. I’m really pleased.” Roberto Rolfo “The first day has been really good for me. This morning we worked on the bike to make sure it was set up right for the track. I like this circuit and I did well here in testing, but not well enough. This morning I was immediately quicker and I understand what I need to do to improve. I managed to get a good line and secured a time of 2:00, which I have never done here before so I am feeling good. I think that if can concentrate even harder tomorrow I can keep improving.” More, from a press release issued by Yamaha Racing: New R1 leads the way in Qatar Yamaha’s new-for-2007 YZF-R1 demonstrated that it is a weapon to be reckoned with in world superbike competition, with Noriyuki Haga scoring provisional pole on the bike’s world championship debut in Qatar today. The Yamaha Motor Italy WSB Team rider topped the timesheets for much of the session onboard the MotoGP-inspired R1, with the Japanese rider particularly happy with his performance because he was concentrating on finding a good set-up to last Saturday’s 18-lap race rather than going for an ultimate pole position time. Haga’s 1:59.019 provisional pole time was set on race rubber and is the fastest ever superbike lap of the Losail circuit, being over half-a-second faster than Troy Bayliss’ qualifying lap last year, and a full second quicker than his own race record. There was double delight for the Yamaha Motor Italia squad as team-mate Troy Corser also ended the day on the provisional front row. The Australian was also under Bayliss’ previous best, posting a 1:59.440 to end the day fourth on the timesheets in his debut with the Italian squad. Having tested at the circuit just a few weeks earlier, the team arrived in Qatar with a good base setting for their R1s. Despite this, the squad still had a great deal of work to get through in order to get the best out of their machines for Saturday’s races. With track temperatures approaching 45 °C on the tarmac, tyre selection could prove critical this weekend. Corser and Haga have access to newer-specification Pirelli tyres this weekend than they had during testing, giving them a heavy programme of tyre testing in the practice sessions. Shinichi Nakatomi ended the day 15th on the Team YZF Yamaha entry. The new squad, born out of the Yamaha Motor France-entered team of 2005 and 2006, is chiefly responsible for development of Yamaha’s YEC range of customer race parts and using the world series to test and improve the range. The Japanese rider, entering his second year in the series, posted a time of 2:01.964 to gain a provisional place in tomorrow afternoon’s grid deciding superpole session. In today’s tight qualifying session it was British rider James Toseland (Honda) who pushed Haga closest, recording a time of 1:59.056 to take second in the overnight standings. Joining them and Corser on the provisional front row is former 250cc world champion and Yamaha MotoGP rider Max Biaggi (Suzuki), who was third fastest on his superbike debut. Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha Motor Italy WSB Team) “I am surprised to be fastest because when we tested here I did not have a really good feeling with the bike. This morning I tried the set-up we left the test with but the feeling was still the same. For the afternoon we changed a few things and made a big step and I am now happy with the way the bike turns. We worked hard to find a good setting for the race and I still want to get better tyre life. For six or seven laps the tyre is very good but then we find that the rear falls away a lot on the right side. The new bike is working well. We only had our shakedown tests a few weeks ago but luckily we are able to carry forward many of the parts and knowledge from the previous R1 so we already have a very good base to work from.” Troy Corser (Yamaha Motor Italy WSB Team) “I’m fairly happy with that. The track feels different from when we tested here and that’s had an effect on how the bike is performing. We need to improve the front end tyre feel and there are quite a few little things for us to try out tomorrow. For sure it would have been nice to have had a few more tests before the first race but we’ve got a good base to work from and fourth is a pretty decent start.” Shinichi Nakatomi (Team YZF Yamaha) “No so bad! We made an improvement of two-and-a-half seconds between the morning and afternoon and I hope we can make some more improvement as we learn more about the set-up of the new machine.” Massimo Meregalli (Team Coordinator – Yamaha Motor Italy WSB Team) “We tested here a few weeks ago because we understood the importance of being competitive from the very first race. We found a good base setting at the test and, but for a few small changes, only the tyre options are different. We’re happy with how it’s gone today but it is hard to really judge how competitive we can be on race day at this moment. Both riders have been able to complete around 11 to 12 laps on the tyres but we still have to do some more endurance testing tomorrow.” More, from a press release issued by Troy Corser’s publicist: PROVISIONAL FRONT ROW! Troy finished with the fourth fastest time on the opening day of the first round of the Superbike World Championship in Qatar, but was disappointed to have suffered a small crash in the morning, untimed session. The first Superbike qualifying session had been delayed because of two red flag incidents that had spilt oil over a large section of the track and, although the mess had been cleared up, there was still a lot of cement dust on the circuit. It was on some of this dust that Troy lost the front and went down, but fortunately without injury. His team mate Noriyuki Haga topped the day’s standings, with a lap of 1:59.019, almost a second inside the lap record. James Toseland (Honda) was second quickest, with Max Biaggi (Suzuki) third and Troy fourth. TROY – 4th, 1:59.440 I am disappointed with the crash in the morning, but that’s the way it goes. Maybe I was going in a little too fast, but by the time I saw the dust I was off! It was right on my line and I couldn’t do anything about it. Fortunately no problems for me or the bike, but it’s not the way I wanted to start the season. We did a lot of work on engine-braking in the morning and afternoon sessions and I feel we improved it quite a bit. The track felt a bit different to when we tested here recently and then this afternoon, when the temperature rose, the grip level dropped. Tomorrow we’ll work on the front forks in order to try and improve the feeling of the front tyre, otherwise all is going pretty well. Tyre conservation is going to be pretty crucial in the races, but in that aspect, I seem to be doing better then most at the moment. Se ya, Troy

Rossi, Edwards To Wear Traditional Yamaha Blue At Jerez Test

Yamaha Factory Racing Team To Run In Special Blue Livery In Jerez Yamaha’s Factory MotoGP Team will take part in the Official MotoGP Test in Jerez this weekend sporting a special blue Yamaha livery. The livery reflects the familiar blue colours used in other Yamaha racing disciplines and also makes a direct connection with the blue colours and the famous Yamaha speedblock stripe used on the high-performance Yamaha R1 and R6 machines throughout the world. The one-off livery will be used by Valentino Rossi and Colin Edwards over the three days of the test, including during the traditional televised timed ‘qualifying’ session on Sunday. Davide Brivio Team Director “We’ve chosen this important pre-season event to run in full Yamaha livery and it’s a nice chance to thank everyone in the company who has worked so hard over the winter. This could be the only opportunity to see Yamaha MotoGP bikes in this special blue livery as the design and colour will change again for the first MotoGP race in Qatar. I hope our fans and the all Yamaha network will appreciate and enjoy this special event!”

‘World’s Fastest Motorcycle’ Video Now Available On DVD

The WORLD’S FASTEST MOTORCYCLE which aired to rave reviews on Speed Channel will be released on DVD March 1, 2007 and may be ordered on the web at www.letsgoracing.org. The two hour DVD produced by Ignition 3 and Chet Burks Productions captures the unprecedented three-way battle for the world motorcycle speed record which played out for five days in September of 2006. The three most sophisticated motorcycle streamliners in the world went head to head on Bonneville Salt Flats in September 2006 during the International Motorcycle Speed Trials by Bub. They had one goal in mind, to break the 16 year old motorcycle land speed record of 322.870 MPH and become the “World’s Fastest Motorcycle.” It was a historic week. One never seen before. One unlikely to be repeated. The International Motorcycle Speed Trials by Bub may never again be matched for its intensity. Perfect track conditions and weather played host to three dedicated teams that proved they had the speed to become world’s fastest. It was a week filled with incredible speeds, devastating disappointments, and record breaking accomplishments. “The World’s Fastest Motorcycle” showcases a world known by few. A world that even fewer have the ability and determination to conquer. Among those elite are Mike Akatiff’s Ack Attack with Rocky Robinson at the controls, 7 time AMA Flat Track Champion Chris Carr piloting Denis Manning’s “7” liner, and Sam Wheeler in his EZ Hook streamliner. Dave Despain of Speed Channel narrates this compelling story with years of preparation and the five days on the Salt Flats that came down to five drama filled minutes. The bonus material includes the story of the EASYRIDER 1990 record run. ” World’s Fastest Motorcycle” DVD may be ordered by calling 217-725-3190 or on the web at www.letsgoracing.org J.B. Norris of Let’s Go Racing is also working on an oil on canvas giclee print to commemorate the new World Record which will be available soon. IGNITION3 is a California based motorsports production company whose partners, Dick Lague, Jeff Lague, and Jon Lague have been producing a significant body of motorsports work. Chet Burks Productions is based in Marietta, Georgia and has been a top full-service motorsports production company for over 25 years. Let’s Go Racing.org is located in Springfield, Illinois, where noted motorsports announcer J.B. Norris produces his racing art and has an online store serving racing fans.

Everything You Wanted To Know About Michelin And The 2007 MotoGP World Championship

MICHELIN EMBRACES CHALLENGE OF NEW MotoGP ERA The 2007 MotoGP season begins a new era in the development of the world’s most prestigious motorcycle racing series. Following MotoGP’s hugely successful first five seasons, during which Michelin won all five World Championships, major changes to the technical regulations will ensure that 2007 is a whole new challenge for factories, tire manufacturers, teams and riders. And, as always, this crucial development work will filter through from Michelin’s MotoGP project to its streetbike development department to improve the tires bought by Michelin’s road-riding customers. There are three major revisions to this year’s MotoGP technical regulations – a reduction in engine capacity from 990 to 800cc, a limit in the number of tires available to riders at MotoGP events and new restrictions in the amount of testing that can be undertaken by MotoGP participants. All three of these changes represent a significant change in the way Michelin and its MotoGP rivals go racing, but Michelin is determined that it will continue to dominate bike racing’s premier class, just as it has done despite other rules changes. Michelin has largely dominated the last three decades of premier-class racing, ruling much of the two-stroke 500cc era from the company’s first 500 GP win in 1973, then maintaining that supremacy when the sport switched to hugely powerful 990cc four-strokes in 2002. It commences the 2007 season having won a total of 351 premier-class GP victories as well as 26 of the past 31 titles, including a clean sweep of the last 15 crowns. An unrivalled record of genius performance at the highest level! “This year is going to be a really challenging year for everyone,” says Jean-Philippe Weber, Michelin’s new director of motorcycle racing. “The bikes have changed a lot, so that’s important for the teams, the riders and for us. The new tire rules give us an exciting new opportunity to move forward in MotoGP, creating tailor-made tires for each of our riders.” Not only has Michelin developed new tires to suit the new 800s, it has also developed new ways of working with its riders to get the best out of the new tire regulations. Each rider is now restricted to 31 tires per GP weekend (14 fronts, 17 rears), whereas before there were no restrictions in the number of tires used. This change demands a shift in approach from the tire manufacturers. Michelin’s new policy is to offer tailor-made tires to each of its riders, according to individual riding style, machine performance and the character of each racetrack. Michelin’s nine MotoGP riders have every confidence in the French company’s ability to continue offering race-winning tires. “Michelin doesn’t enjoy all this success by being lucky, they put in the work and listen to what us riders have to say,” reveals 2006 MotoGP World Champion Nicky Hayden (Repsol Honda RC212V-Michelin). “Like in 2005 they gave us a wider-profile front tire, which gave me the confidence and the grip to start winning races. My results really improved thanks to that tire. It’s the same with the 800s – they listen to what we’ve got to say, like we say these bikes have more corner speed, so we need more edge grip, so they give us more edge grip.” Former World Champion Valentino Rossi (Yamaha Factory Racing Team-Michelin) has similar faith in Michelin’s efforts. “Michelin always works step by step, and this is the clever way to work in MotoGP,” says the Italian, who won the previous five premier-class crowns from 2001 to 2005. “They give us more edge grip from the rear, then more traction, then they give us a better front, so it’s always step by step, improving the lap times, improving the race times.” Last year’s MotoGP rookie Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda RC212V-Michelin) is also enjoying working with Michelin to produce a new range of tires for the 800s. “It is a special experience working with Michelin’s technicians; it makes you realize how much work and development goes into these tires,” says the Spaniard. “I’m very much enjoying working on the 800 project, it’s great to be involved in something from the beginning.” Hayden, Rossi and Pedrosa are joined by six other riders on Michelin in this year’s MotoGP series. Between them the nine riders have won a total of 15 World Championships! INSIDE MICHELIN’S NEW 16-inch MotoGP FRONT TIRE Michelin’s MotoGP stars will contest this year’s World Championship with an all-new 16-inch front tire. The tire is another step forward in the never-ending process of progress which has helped Michelin win the last 15 premier-class crowns. The new 16-inch front tire delivers several advantages over the 16.5, with which Michelin dominated the last few seasons of MotoGP. It offers lighter handling, more grip and improved confidence – crucial benefits to the new breed of nimble 800cc MotoGP bikes. Work began on the tire early last year. “The aspect of performance that we particularly wanted to improve was the speed at which the rider can get the bike to maximum lean because this is a very important factor in producing good lap times,” reveals Jean-Philippe Weber, Michelin’s director of motorcycle racing. “The new tire gives a slightly bigger contact patch between 40 degrees of lean and maximum lean which creates more grip, so riders have more confidence to flick the bike onto its side as they attack the corners. “Also, the tire is slightly smaller and lighter so it creates less inertia, which allows faster changes of direction. But we believe that the better corner-entry and mid-corner speeds we are now seeing aren’t only due to our new front, because the 800s themselves are faster through the corners.” Michelin riders were able to test the tire during the early stages of last season. Initial feedback suggested that Michelin engineers needed to do some further work on construction and it wasn’t until the end of the season that Michelin were ready to continue testing the 16. “The 16’s profile is quite similar to the 16.5’s but we had to make some big changes to the construction and we did this using different computer models. Once we understood what we needed to do we produced new 16s for the post-season tests and our riders immediately gave us very positive feedback. They said the tire was a big step forward from what they were used to.” Michelin continued to develop and improve the 16 as winter testing progressed, encouraging riders to carry out back-to-back tests between the 16 and 16.5 at a variety of circuits – Valencia, Jerez, Sepang, Phillip Island and Losail. “We have been to some very different circuits but although our riders switched back and forth between the two tires they always said the 16 was better, so there’s no reason to go back to the 16.5,” adds Weber. Of course, work isn’t finished on the 16 – tire development is never finished. “Our first major job was to get the profile and the construction right,” explains Weber. “Now we are working on our range of compounds for the 2007 MotoGP tracks, and this is work which will continue throughout the season.” This isn’t the first time that Michelin has used a 16-inch front tire for Grand Prix motorcycle racing. Marco Lucchinelli (Nava Olio Fiat Suzuki RG500-Michelin) and Franco Uncini (Gallina Suzuki RG500-Michelin) won the 1981 and 1982 500 World Championships riding on 16-inch front Michelins, while Freddie Spencer won the 1983 (Honda NS500-Michelin and Rothmans Honda NSR500-Michelin) and 1985 crowns with a 16-inch front. His 1983 bike also featured a 16-inch rear tire. “But this is another world from 1982 – the stresses and temperatures are much greater now because the bikes are so much better and the riding so much more aggressive,” says Weber. “Yes, we are using a 16-inch front again but everything is different from last time – the design, the construction, everything, and although we still mix rubbers, carbon black and various chemicals for the compound, the recipe is completely different.” HOW DO THE NEW RULES CHANGE MotoGP FOR MICHELIN? Jean-Philippe Weber, Michelin’s recently appointed director of motorcycle racing, considers the effect that MotoGP’s new regulations will have upon the task of tire choice. Does the 31-tire limit change the way you work with riders at GPs? Yes, it changes a lot. In the past our policy was always to make sure that the same tires were available to all our riders, rather than making individual tires available to individual riders. From this season we have a different approach. Because of the limitation in the number of tires we can supply to riders we have to provide the best specification tires to each of our riders to make sure they all have the package that best suits each of them. So we will take advantage of the flexibility of our production plant to make tailor-made tires for each rider. Each rider will have his own development program with us; we will work in whatever direction necessary to give them the tires they need to get the best results. Of course, this doesn’t always mean that all our riders will use different tires. At some tracks maybe all of our riders or most of them will use the same front or rear tire. What will be the major differences in the tires assigned to each rider? Usually the difference will be only compound and construction. During 2007 we aim to have two different front profiles and two different rear profiles, as we did last year, because having more profiles only complicates the task of bike set-up for the teams. How big will the differences be between the tires made for each rider? That will depend on the racetrack. We may have some tracks where the difference between all riders’ tires is only 15 percent, but at other circuits the difference might be 40 percent. With fewer tires available, will you have to work more carefully than before? Over the last few years we sometimes had new tires delivered to the track during a GP weekend, so now we have to plan everything much earlier. We will have to create a weekend strategy to get the best out of each rider’s allocation of tires. We must also work carefully to ensure no confusion with the new tire markings. All tires are marked with barcodes when they are handed over to the MotoGP technical director before the start of the GP weekend, so we must make sure that our own markings and the organization’s markings correlate with each other, because if there is a mistake, riders can be penalized and sent to the back of the grid. How many of the 31 tires will be qualifiers? My recommendation is that each rider has two qualifying tires per weekend, but, like everything else, that will depend on the rider. If a rider is very happy with his rear tire, he might tell us before the next race that he’s very fast and very confident with that tire, so he won’t need a big choice of different rears, so he might ask for five qualifiers instead. But my recommendation is two qualifiers. What do you make of the new 800s? They have been quite a surprise because even last November they were almost as fast as the 990s, and sometimes faster! And because we are at the very early stages of development we can expect some rapid improvements, so we may soon see some major increases in horsepower, just as we experienced at the start of the 990 era. From where do the 800s get their speed? They seem to handle better and have more corner speed than the 990s. The bikes seem very compact and maybe the factories have changed weight distribution, center of gravity and so on to improve their handling and make them faster through the corners. In fact the rear tires we used last year worked very well with the 800s when we started testing with them but we’ve needed to work hard to give the riders more edge grip so they can exploit the superior corner speed. So how different are your 2007 tires from your 2006 tires? The rear isn’t so different; we will probably retain the same size and work more on construction and compound. With less horsepower from the 800s we can currently use softer rears than we used with the 990s, though the difference isn’t huge because the higher corner speeds deliver another kind of stress into the tire. The biggest difference for 2007 is our 16-inch front tire, which we have introduced for better handling and better grip. But the front tire compound will be only slightly softer than we used in 2006 because the braking forces are very high with the 800s. What can you tell us about your new front profile? During last November we began testing a new 16-inch front tire. All the riders who tried this tire immediately told us that they preferred this tire to the two 16.5in fronts we used last season. The 16 offers better maneuverability, better grip and delivers improved confidence, so riders can flick quicker into turns from brake to full lean, and they have more grip so they can hold a tighter line through corners. They all seem to have more trust in this tire. How will the change in testing regulations affect your work? We have to work very hard during winter testing to gather as much data as possible. There is still quite a bit of testing during the season but most of it is after races, which is very different because the riders have been stressed all weekend, then they only get a few hours rest after the race before they begin testing on Monday. They are only human! During winter tests riders are fresher and in a testing mood, so they can test a lot of stuff, but after races they are physically and mentally tired, so we can’t put so much pressure on them. Also, we will have to work hard on our computer models so we can make better use of our data, extrapolating what we learn at one circuit to help us at other circuits. With less testing available there will definitely be more theoretical work to be done. Jean-Philippe Weber Michelin director of motorcycle racing Born: October 18, 1968 Marital status: married, one son Jean-Philippe Weber became Michelin’s director of its motorcycle racing activities at the end of 2006, taking over from Nicolas Goubert, in charge since 1997. Weber, a keen street and off-road rider, began working on Michelin motorcycle race tires in 2001, focusing on MotoGP, Superbike and Supermotard. He is a richly qualified chemist, with a masters degree in the science and technology of physical and chemical processes (Toulouse University) and a doctorate of organic chemistry (Louis Pasteur University, Strasbourg). After continuing his research into synthetic rubber and adhesives he joined Michelin in 1999, initially working on truck and car development. The following year he joined Michelin’s motorsport department, working in motorcycle racing and endurance car racing. Although his initial work focused on compounds he quickly began working on all aspects of tire development. His new job takes him from behind the scenes to a new position in the public eye. “This is my dream job because motorcycles are my life,” says Weber. “I own several streetbikes and dirt bikes but if I had 200 motorcycles I would still want some more!” Michelin’s 2007 MotoGP riders Carlos Checa (LCR Honda RC212V-Michelin) Colin Edwards (Yamaha Factory Racing Team-Michelin) Nicky Hayden (Repsol Honda RC212V-Michelin) Jeremy McWilliams (Ilmor SRT X3-Michelin) Shinya Nakano (Konica Minolta Honda-Michelin) Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda RC212V-Michelin) Andrew Pitt (Ilmor SRT X3-Michelin) Kenny Roberts (Team Roberts KR212V-Michelin) Valentino Rossi (Yamaha Factory Racing Team-Michelin)

Bills Introduced In Congress To End Health Care Discrimination Against Recreational Riders

PICKERINGTON, Ohio — The American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) has announced that bipartisan bills have been introduced in both the U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate that would end health-care discrimination against motorcyclists, ATV enthusiasts, and participants in other legal recreational activities. On February 15, 2007, U.S. Representatives Michael C. Burgess (R-Texas) and Bart Stupak (D-Michigan) introduced H.R. 1076, “The HIPAA Recreational Injury Technical Correction Act.” On the same day, Senators Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Russ Feingold (D-Wisconsin) introduced identical companion legislation, S. 616. The bills seek to bar employers from discriminating against those who take part in activities such as motorcycling, ATV riding, skiing, snowmobiling or horseback riding in the health-insurance programs they offer their workers. During the 108th Congress, the full Senate unanimously passed this legislative language; the House, however, adjourned before enacting the legislation. As a result, the legislation was re-introduced again this session of Congress. “This important legislation would prevent health insurance discrimination against citizens who take part in legal, recreational activities such as motorcycle riding and snowmobiling,” said Stupak. “I look forward to continuing to work with the American Motorcyclist Association and other organizations on this issue.” Burgess also credited the AMA’s advocacy. “The development of this bill could not have been possible without bipartisan congressional support and the hard work of the American Motorcyclist Association.” In introducing the Senate bill, Collins referred to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) signed into law by President Clinton in 1996. “While I was pleased that the rule prohibits health plans and issuers from denying coverage to individuals who engage in certain types of recreational activities, such as skiing, horseback riding, snowmobiling or motorcycling, I am concerned that it would allow insurers to deny health benefits for an otherwise covered injury that results from participation in these activities.” HIPAA originally prohibited employers from denying health-care coverage based on a worker’s pre-existing medical conditions or participation in legal activities, such as motorcycling. But later federal bureaucrats reversed the law, writing rules to allow health-insurance discrimination against motorcyclists and others who engage in legal activities like ATV riding, or horseback riding — employees were guaranteed the right to health-care coverage, but not guaranteed any benefits under those plans. Motorcyclists were outraged when federal bureaucrats went against the will of Congress, and the AMA immediately lobbied legislators to right this wrong. Others involved in the effort include the All-Terrain Vehicle Association, the American Council of Snowmobile Associations, the American Horse Council, the BlueRibbon Coalition, the Motorcycle Industry Council, Motorcycle Riders Foundation, and the National Ski Areas Association. “This loophole written by federal bureaucrats must be closed once and for all,” said Edward Moreland, AMA Vice President for Government Relations. “We encourage AMA and ATVA members, as well as all motorcyclists and ATV riders, to contact members of their congressional delegations to support this important legislation.” Enthusiasts can send letters of support to members of Congress through the AMA Rapid Response Center at www.AMADirectlink.com. The American Motorcyclist Association: rights. riding. racing. Founded in 1924, the AMA is a non-profit organization with more than 280,000 members. The Association’s purpose is to pursue, protect and promote the interests of motorcyclists, while serving the needs of its members. For more information, visit the AMA website at www.AMADirectlink.com, or call 1-800-AMA-JOIN.

New Rizla Suzuki GSV-R800 Officially Introduced In Jerez

Rizla Suzuki MotoGP has officially revealed its brand new GSV-R800 at Jerez in Spain this evening, in front of an captivated audience of journalists, photographers and selected guests. The all new 2007 GSV-R codenamed XRG0 features an original “retro” inspired livery with Rizla Suzuki MotoGP racers John Hopkins and Chris Vermeulen following the same theme on their racing suits. The new machine has been developed with the clear aim of being a competitive machine for the 2007 MotoGP season, and of improving the riders’ ability to control the machine in all situations – in a predictable and repeatable manner. This has been assisted by fully analysing the data collected throughout 2006, and by the transfer of some new technologies (introduced last year) into the all new ‘XRG0’ GSV-R 800cc GP racer. Suzuki has followed the fundamental engine layout of the final 990cc machine, but the engine size has been minimised with newly designed bore, stroke and cylinder pitch optimised for the new engine displacement size. Suzuki’s target was to achieve the best possible horsepower and reliable high rpm operation, and to provide the riders with user friendly power delivery and predictable engine character. The pneumatic valve system has been modified to achieve more stable valve action and higher valve lift, as well as to control the ultra-high range of engine rpm. This system contributes to the result of high rpm capacity and high power, as well as smooth and controllable engine character. The combination system of drive-by-wire throttle body and double injectors is a completely original design. With the new type Mitsubishi ECU, this induction system enables the GSV-R to generate over 220 PS of maximum horsepower at an engine speed of over 17,500 rpm – an equivalent of 275ps per litre – and to achieve outstanding throttle control and excellent fuel consumption in accordance with the new regulations of 21-litre tank capacity. The change of bodywork design has been minimised just to match the engine character, and the fundamental chassis layout including wheelbase length has remained as that of XRE4, the last 990cc model. A change of cowling shape has focused on reducing the wind resistance force and also for good handling. The contour of the fuel tank cover helps the riders to control the machine easily. The shape of the air induction hole at the centre of front fairing is designed for more effective air boosting to the engine at high speed. With excellent tyres and continued improvements from Bridgestone, Suzuki has completed a top level package which is its highest technology and best quality four stroke race machines ever produced. It hopes to achieve fantastic performance and its aim is to help its talented riders to achieve the best possible positions in the 2007 MotoGP races, for the sake of all race fans and Suzuki fanatics worldwide. The latest version of the GSV-R will make its debut at the Official MotoGP Test at Jerez this weekend, followed by its initiation into the fiercely competitive world of MotoGP racing at the first round of the season, and of the new 800cc MotoGP era, at Losail in Qatar on Saturday 10th March. John Hopkins: “I think the new bike looks great. We have already had the chance to ride it but this is the first time I’ve seen the new colours. I am looking forward to getting out on the track again and showing what the new GSV-R can do. Suzuki has produced a pretty good package with the new bike and we have performed well in the tests so far so we now need to show what it can do in a racing situation. It is a great bike to ride, in fact it is more like a motocrosser rather than a GP bike and the also the fact that it carries more corner speed than the 990 certainly suits my riding style.” Chris Vermeulen: “I really like the new bike, it’s very fast and very blue! The bike has had about a 20% reduction in capacity but it feels very similar to last year’s bike to throw a leg over. The whole off season has been really exciting because Suzuki has seemed to come up with something new at every test so now we just have to keep the momentum going into the races.” Paul Denning – Team Manager: “The change of regulation has produced some interesting, and quite unexpected, testing results over the winter. As a team, we are delighted with what the Suzuki factory has produced the new GSV-R800 (factory code XRG0) is beautifully detailed, very durable and right on the weight limit. In my opinion, it’s the best GP bike Suzuki has ever produced, and without doubt it is the best of the 4-strokes so far. “Suzuki has taken a different route to most manufacturers by incorporating a lot of suitable technology in its final 990cc racer to transfer over to the new 800. This has resulted in a bike that has hit the ground running with very few problems and with a lot of data to back up our testing results. “John and Chris have performed well over the winter and their fitness levels are superb. They both have to learn the fine art of competing to win at MotoGP level, but this is a bike that will allow them to take that next step and they both have the ability and commitment to take full advantage. “2007 should be an incredible year of MotoGP action we hope that Rizla Suzuki will be a big part of the story as it plays out around the globe.”

FIM Grand Prix Committee Changes MotoGP Event Schedule

Road Racing World Championship Grand Prix Change to the Rules The Grand Prix Commission, composed of Messrs. Carmelo Ezpeleta (Dorna, Chairman), Claude Danis (FIM), Herv̩ Poncharal (IRTA) and Takanao Tsubouchi (MSMA), with Mr Paul Butler (Secretary of the meeting), in an electronic meeting held today, unanimously decided to introduce the following change to the Road Racing World Championship Grand Prix Regulations, for immediate application. Sporting Regulations 1.13 Schedule 1.13.1 The Event schedule will be as follows: FRIDAY : Free practice Qualifying practice 125cc 09h00 Р09h45 13h05 Р13h35 Motogp 10h00 Р11h00 13h50 Р14h50 250cc 11h15 Р12h15 15h05 Р15h50 SATURDAY: Free practice Qualifying practice 125cc 09h00 Р09h45 13h05 Р13h35 Motogp 10h00 Р11h00 13h50 Р14h50 250cc 11h15 Р12h15 15h05 Р15h50

Toseland Fastest In Thursday Morning World Superbike Practice In Qatar

FIM Superbike World Championship Losail International Circuit, Qatar February 22, 2007 Practice Times: 1. James TOSELAND (Hon CBR1000RR), 2:00.029 2. Yukio KAGAYAMA (Suz GSX-R1000K7), 2:00.319 3. Noriyuki HAGA (Yam YZF-R1), 2:00.377 4. Troy BAYLISS (Duc 999F07), 2:00.396 5. Max BIAGGI (Suz GSX-R1000K7), 2:00.503 6. Troy CORSER (Yam YZF-R1), 2:00.545 7. Lorenzo LANZI (Duc 999F07), 2:00.656 8. Ruben XAUS (Duc 999F06), 2:01.597 9. Michel FABRIZIO (Hon CBR1000RR), 2:01.633 10. Fonsi NIETO (Kaw ZX-10R), 2:01.671 11. Regis LACONI (Kaw ZX-10R), 2:02.142 12. Karl MUGGERIDGE (Hon CBR1000RR), 2:02.268 13. Roberto ROLFO (Hon CBR1000RR), 2:02.320 14. Max NEUKIRCHNER (Suz GSX-R1000K6), 2:02.540 15. Josh BROOKES (Hon CBR1000RR), 2:02.609 16. Steve MARTIN (Hon CBR1000RR), 2:03.003 17. Jakub SMRZ (Duc 999F05), 2:04.042 18. Shinichi NAKATOMI (Yam YZF-R1), 2:04.541 19. Christian ZAISER (MV Agusta F4-1000R), 2:04.717 20. Alessandro POLITA (Suz GSX-R1000K6), 2:05.304

Sofuoglo Tops First World Supersport Practice At Losail

FIM Supersport World Championship Losail International Circuit, Qatar February 22, 2007 Practice Times: 1. Kenan SOFUOGLU (Hon CBR600RR), 2:04.908 2. Kevin CURTAIN (Yam YZF-R6), 2:04.954 3. Sebastian CHARPENTIER (Hon CBR600RR), 2:05.272 4. Fabien FORET (Kaw ZX-6R), 2:05.722 5. Pere RIBA (Kaw ZX-6R), 2:05.762 6. Broc PARKES (Yam YZF-R6), 2:05.924 7. Gianluca NANNELLI (Duc 749R), 2:05.971 8. Katsuaki FUJIWARA (Hon CBR600RR), 2:06.057 9. Robbin HARMS (Hon CBR600RR), 2:06.171 10. Barry VENEMAN (Suz GSX-R600), 2:06.493 17. Chris PERIS (Yam YZF-R6), 2:07.564

FIM 125cc World Championship Test Concludes In Wet Conditions At Jerez

125cc testing at Official Test in Jerez concludes with washout MotoGP Official Test 125cc Day 2/2- Circuito de Jerez – Thursday 22nd February Today saw the final session of two-stroke action at the MotoGP Official Test in Jerez and, as has seemingly become the norm for lower cylinder category preseason testing, the second day of 125cc action was one blighted by bad weather. Early rain meant that it was only at 10.40am local time that the first riders emerged from their pit garages, with Randy Krummenacher, Sandro Cortese and Tomoyoshi Koyama the opening trio on track. Bouts of further wet weather meant that the track never had the opportunity to completely dry out, and a large number of the more experienced riders elected against putting in laps today. A halt was called to the proceedings just after 4pm local time, after another downpour. None of the top ten improved on their times from day one, and the timesheets remained largely unchanged despite the absence of the top four riders on track today. Mattia Pasini’s 1’47.727 lap from yesterday was untroubled, and those pushing him in the first session- Gabor Talmacsi, Lukas Pesek and Simone Corsi, didn’t risk injury in the wet conditions. Sergio Gadea was today’s fastest rider, over a second off his best time from yesterday. He was closely followed by 2006 Rookie Of The Year Bradley Smith, gaining valuable experience in the wet. Both Smith and new team-mate Esteve Rabat suffered crashes towards the end of the day, as did Humangest Honda’s Mike di Meglio, but both walked away unharmed. The 125cc category will have their final chance to put their bikes through their paces next week in Qatar, at the final Official Test of the 2007 preseason alongside a selection of 250cc outfits. The MotoGP premier class have their turn on track from tomorrow, as they look to further fine tune their 800cc bikes. Three days of MotoGP action will be rounded off with a 40 minute “qualifying session” on Sunday afternoon, where the talented riders of the World Championship get their chance to win a brand new BMW. One rider who won’t be riding this weekend is John Hopkins. Rizla Suzuki’s Anglo-American star is still recovering from a crash suffered last week in Qatar, and has decided to leave final testing duties to regular rider Chris Vermeulen and test rider Kousuke Akiyoshi in order to recover further from his bumps, bruises and breaks. Thursday’s Official 125cc Test Times (wet conditions): 1. Sergio GADEA (Aprilia), 1:59.565 2. Bradley SMITH (Honda), 2:00.574 3. Mike DI MEGLIO (Honda), 2:00.862 4. Hector FAUBEL (Aprilia), 2:01.000 5. Sandro CORTESE (Aprilia), 2:01.100 6. Randy KRUMMENACHER (KTM), 2:01.432 7. Lorenzo ZANETTI (Aprilia), 2:01.720 8. Tomoyoshi KOYAMA (KTM), 2:01.793 9. Joan OLIVE (Aprilia), 2:02.144 10. Joey LITJENS (Honda), 2:02.153 12. Raffaele DE ROSA (Aprilia), 2:02.695 13. Simone GROTZKYJ (Aprilia), 2:02.859 14. Nicolas TEROL (Derbi), 2:03.016 15. Alexis MASBOU (Honda), 2:03.496 16. Dominique AEGERTER (Aprilia), 2:03.821 17. Esteve RABAT (Honda), 2:04.234 18. Andrea IANNONE (Aprilia), 2:06.189 19. Hugo VAN DEN BERG NED (Aprilia), 2:07.010 20. Steve BONSEY (KTM), 2:07.089 21. Daniel WEBB (Honda), 2:07.477 22. Pablo NIETO (Aprilia), 2:11.017 125cc Combined Official Test Times: 1. Mattia Pasini (Polaris World) – 1:47.727 2. Gabor Talmacsi (Bancaja Aspar) – 1:47.803 3. Lukas Pesek (Valsir Seedorf Derbi) – 1:47.948 4. Simone Corsi (Skilled Racing Team) – 1:47.999 5. Tomoyoshi Koyama (Red Bull KTM) – 1:48.175 6. Joan Olive (Polaris World) – 1:48.227 7. Hector Faubel (Bancaja Aspar) – 1:48.242 8. Bradley Smith (Repsol Honda) – 1:48.298 9. Pol Espargaro (Belson Campetella Aprilia) – 1:48.351 10. Michael Ranseder (Ajo Motorsport) – 1:48.532 11. Esteve Rabat (Repsol Honda) – 1:48.551 12. Sergio Gadea (Bancaja Aspar) – 1:48.661 13. Alexis Masbou (FFM Honda GP) – 1:48.854 14. Raffaele De Rosa (Multimedia Racing) – 1:48.855 15. Federico Sandi (Skilled Racing Team) – 1:49.141 16. Mike Di Meglio (Humangest Racing Team) – 1:49.157 17. Nicolas Terol (Valsir Seedorf Derbi) – 1:49.201 18. Simone Grotzkyj (Multimedia Racing) – 1:49.327 19. Lorenzo Zanetti (Team Sicilia) – 1:49.485 20. Pablo Nieto (Blusens Aprilia) – 1:49.532 21. Hugo Van Den Berg (Blusens Aprilia) – 1:49.680 22. Daniel Webb (Arie Molenaar Racing) – 1:49.704 23. Robert Muresan (Ajo Motorsport) – 1:49.731 24. Stefano Bianco (WTR Team) – 1:49.739 25. Randy Krummenacher (Red Bull KTM) – 1:49.854 26. Andrea Iannone (WTR Team) – 1:50.070 27. Sandro Cortese (Emmi Caffe Latte) – 1:50.490 28. Dominique Aegerter (Multimedia Racing) – 1:50.988 29. Steve Bonsey (Red Bull KTM) – 1:51.897 30. Joey Litjens (Arie Molenaar Racing )- 1:52.203 31. Roberto Tamburini (Team Sicilia) – 1:52.682

Updated: Haga On Provisional World Superbike Pole Position In Qatar

FIM Superbike World Championship Losail International Circuit, Qatar February 22, 2007 Provisional Qualifying Results: 1. Noriyuki HAGA (Yam YZF-R1), 1:59.019 2. James TOSELAND (Hon CBR1000RR), 1:59.056 3. Max BIAGGI (Suz GSX-R1000K7), 1:59.369 4. Troy CORSER (Yam YZF-R1), 1:59.440 5. Lorenzo LANZI (Duc 999F07), 1:59.459 6. Troy BAYLISS (Duc 999F07), 1:59.507 7. Yukio KAGAYAMA (Suz GSX-R1000K7), 1:59.805 8. Ruben XAUS (Duc 999F06), 2:00.244 9. Roberto ROLFO (Hon CBR1000RR), 2:00.258 10. Fonsi NIETO (Kaw ZX-10R), 2:00.309 11. Michel FABRIZIO (Hon CBR1000RR), 2:00.467 12. Max NEUKIRCHNER (Suz GSX-R1000K6), 2:00.626 13. Regis LACONI (Kaw ZX-10R), 2:00.733 14. Josh BROOKES (Hon CBR1000RR), 2:00.936 15. Shinichi NAKATOMI (Yam YZF-R1), 2:01.948 16. Steve MARTIN (Hon CBR1000RR), 2:01.964 17. Jakub SMRZ (Duc 999F05), 2:03.186 18. Dean ELLISON (Duc 999RS), 2:03.704 19. Alessandro POLITA (Suz GSX-R1000K6), 2:03.777 20. Mashel AL NAIMI (Kaw ZX-10R), 2:06.487 More, from a press release issued by Scuderia SC Caracchi: 2007 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP DEBUT IN QATAR: FANTASTIC NANNELLI, POSITIVE SMRZ (Doha 2007, February 22) Full of satisfaction day today in Qatar for Scuderia SC Caracchi Ducati. After the first qualifying session Gianluca Nannelli recorded the second fastest in Supersport on his 749R, while Jakub Smrz, at his debut on a four stroke bike, is close to the Superpole admission, which is is primary goal. In Supersport the 749R Ducati of Scuderia Caracchi confirmed itself as one of the challengers of the championship, as showed during the winter tests, and Gianluca Nannelli scored the second fastest; moreover the twin made in Bologna recorded the fastest top speed in both the practice sessions scheduled today. “Of course I’m rather satisfied.” commented Nannelli rejoining the pit “We repeat easily the lap time of December test. The engine pushes very fast, actually Franco Farnè made a fantastic work. Franco Gubellini set very well the front fork and now I get a good feeling with the front tyre. The guys have actually a good working method, so I’m quite happy after this first practice day. At the last lap I could try to do better as Fujiwara, but a couple parked riders slowed my action; but is not important the result we got today. The most important thing is that, with a good setting after the first practice day we could be able to work from tomorrow morning on for the race. I was quite fast from the morning’s session, I’ve been third for long time, very close to the leader, but then all the long stops with red flag did contort the working schedule and at the end I lost some position, but then I had my chance during the afternoon.” Jakub Smrz on the Ducati 999F05 recorde the 17th fastest in this first, provisional, starting grid. The young Czech rider has still a small experience with the twin to aim at more ambitious goals. “My present goal is to contest the Superpole session.” said at the end of practices Jakub Smrz. “As well to finish the race in the points. At the moment my limited experience on the Ducati doesn’t allow me to look farer. However lap by lap my feeling with the bike grows up and I feel more comfortable. To earn the possibility to contest Superpole I have to record a quite better fastest lap tomorrow morning, but I’m confident to be able for it, it would be important for me as for the team.” More, from a press release issued by Team Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra: 2007 Superbike World Championship Round 1, Losail, Qatar Thursday qualifying, 22nd February Circuit: 5.380 kms. Conditions: Dry, sunny 21-25C PROVISIONAL FRONT ROW FOR MAX! Team Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra rider Max Biaggi continued his superb progress with the new GSX-R1000 K7 at Qatar today, ending up with the third fastest time. His team mate Yukio Kagayama was not far behind, finishing seventh fastest in the overall standings. Max and Yukio were satisfied with the continuing development of the new bike and both are working on improving the bike’s acceleration in preparation for Saturday’s two races. It was Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha) who posted the day’s fastest time, with a lap of 1:59.019 – almost a second under the official lap record. Second fastest is James Toseland (Honda), with Max third and former Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra rider Troy Corser (now Yamaha) fourth. MAX – 3rd, 1:59.369 I don’t feel that there’s been a big change to the track, since we tested here recently, but for sure the hotter conditions this afternoon had an effect on the grip level. It’s normal, that when the track gets hot, the performance (or grip) goes down. That’s when you have to understand your tyres and try and conserve them towards the end of a race. The rear is not a problem for me, but the front tyre is worked much harder and that’s why you have to work to get the best chassis set-up and balance to be able to run hard at the end of a race. At the moment, the area where we are working the most is on the acceleration of the bike. Of course, like all riders I want better acceleration, but I feel that it is in this area where we are a bit lacking. If we can improve that, without losing anything elsewhere, I think we can have a good raceday. YUKIO – 7th, 1:59.805 No big problems at all today and because of our recent tests our bike is pretty much OK for this track. There was a little problem with chattering, but we are working on improving the bike’s acceleration, mainly because that’s what I feel I need at the moment. For me, the track was a little slippery probably because the strong winds in the past couple of days have deposited some sand on the surface. My two bikes here have slightly different engine characteristics and maybe I need a compromise between the two. We will try a couple of things tomorrow and see if we can make an improvement. More, from a press release issued by Xerox Ducati: LANZI AND BAYLISS (DUCATI XEROX) GET 2007 SEASON UNDERWAY WITH FIFTH AND SIXTH QUICKEST TIMES IN QATAR FIRST QUALIFYING Losail (Qatar), Thursday 22nd February: The 2007 World Superbike season got underway today for the Ducati Xerox Team with fifth and sixth quickest times respectively for Lorenzo Lanzi and Troy Bayliss in first qualifying in Qatar. Times were almost one second off the pace of last December’s test session, but today’s qualifying session was a hard-fought affair as the top six riders were all within half a second of each other. Double world champion Bayliss took a bit of time to settle into the rhythm and was not entirely happy with his first day’s performance. “Everything is not going so bad, but we’re having just a few little problems like getting the bike to do exactly what we want from when we tested here last time” he declared. “The times are not really so bad, and we’re not so far off the front. It’s just that everyone’s riding really well at the moment and I’m missing a little something and in these conditions it doesn’t take much to be down a couple of places because everyone’s going very fast. We’ve got a few things to think about, especially at the front where we’re struggling a bit but we’ll try them tomorrow and hopefully I’ll be a bit further up at the front. Lorenzo Lanzi on the other hand was enthusiastic about his fifth place on the grid and was confident there was more to come. “That wasn’t bad for first qualifying but I can see that our rivals have got a good race pace, especially Max, Nori and James. We had a few problems like last year when it started to get warmer in the afternoon and for our twin-cylinder Ducati these are the worst possible conditions because you start to slide around at the rear. I’m happy that we’ve still got a few more things to try and I’m sure we can set a good race pace seeing as we can make a few more changes to the set-up. As for me, I feel much better after the winter, calm and relaxed, we’ve done a lot of testing and that has helped me to get back into form.” More, from a press release issued by FGSport Group: HAGA SETS THE EARLY PACE IN FIRST 2007 QUALIFYING SESSION – THREE MANUFACTURERS IN THE TOP THREE AT LOSAIL Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha Motor Italia) proved to be the fastest rider in the first session of the weekend at Losail, after carving 0.6 seconds from the previous best SBK lap of the 5.4km circuit. A close session saw James Toseland (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda) ride to within 0.037 seconds of Haga, and edge out SBK ‘rookie’ Max Biaggi (Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra) to third. Biaggi was the early pacesetter, proving an instant hit when the first competitive laps were played out under the hot sun in the Qatari desert. The overnight front row four was completed by 1996 and 2005 World Champion Troy Corser (Yamaha Motor Italia), in his first competitive SBK ride for his new employers. LANZI AHEAD OF BAYLISS AFTER OPENING SHOTS ARE FIRED Given his speed during testing, the biggest surprise of the day was reserved for the news that Troy Bayliss (Ducati Xerox) was not only not the fastest rider, but also that he was also outperformed on the day by his team-mate Lorenzo Lanzi. The top two Ducati riders were fifth and sixth respectively. Former Qatar race winner Yukio Kagayama (Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra) earned seventh fastest time, and the big seven were the only ones within a second of provisional pole. The second row was completed by multiple SBK race winner of years gone by, Ruben Xaus (Team Sterilgarda Ducati), a welcome sight in the top eight. British rider Dean Ellison (Team Pedercini 999RS) was 18th from 23 entrants. ROLFO TOP TEN WITH NIETO FASTEST KAWASAKI RIDER Roby Rolfo (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda) is far enough along his Honda learning curve to be ninth fastest after the first day of qualifying, and also did well enough to ace the top Kawasaki rider on show, Fonsi Nieto (PSG-1 Kawasaki Corse) who was tenth. Regis Laconi (PSG-1 Kawasaki Corse) was only 13th but is almost sure to make improvements on day two. The private riders placed well behind the best of the officially supported machines, as Michel Fabrizio (DFX Corse Honda) and Max Neukirchner (Suzuki Germany) completed the overnight third row. BROOKES ON THE PACE WITH MUGGERIDGE UNLUCKY Alto Evolution Honda rider Josh Brookes scored 14th best time on his CBR1000RR, but a double bike failure for his fellow Aussie and Alto Evolution rider Karl Muggeridge prevented him from setting even a single qualifying lap. The last two riders into the top 16 today were lone Yamaha YZF Team rider Shinichi Nakatomi and DFX Corse Honda rider Steve Martin. New SBK inductee Jakub Smrz (Team Caracchi Ducati SC) was a battling 17th, one place up on Ellison. WORLD SUPERSPORT Katsuaki Fujiwara (Althea Honda) proved he was back on top form at one of his favourite circuits by taking the fastest time in the opening qualifying session. His time of 2’03.258 was less than 0.2 seconds from the previous fastest lap. The early formbook was also written by the irrepressible Gianluca Nannelli (Team Caracchi Ducati SC 749R) who was second; only 0.219 seconds from Fujiwara and his new Honda CBR600RR. The Hannspree Ten Kate Honda pairing of Kenan Sofuoglu and Sebastien Charpentier filled the overnight front row, while the still-developing GIL Kawasaki of Fabien Foret, the 2002 Champion, scored a more than creditable fifth place in a line-up of 34 riders. Kevin Curtain (Yamaha SSP Racing) was the R6 filling in a Kawasaki sandwich, as he edged out Pere Riba (GIL Kawasaki) for seventh, just 0.691 seconds from Fujiwara after only one day of action. Curtain’s team-mate Broc Parkes was eighth, the last rider less than a second from Fujiwara. Despite the first unofficial practice session for Supersport being twice stopped and delayed to clean up the track surface, the afternoon timed session went ahead as planned, with only one rider from the 34 possibles outside the qualifying limit. More, from a press release issued by HANNspree Ten Kate Honda: HANNspree Ten Kate Honda riders beat personal bests The first round of the 2007 World Superbike Championship got off to a promising start for HANNspree Ten Kate Honda as both James Toseland and Roberto Rolfo secured personal best times in the first qualifying practice. The opening round is taking place at the Losail International Circuit in Qatar, where the teams are enjoying warm and sunny conditions. Despite experiencing technical difficulties with his number one bike, James Toseland secured the best lap time in the morning free practice. He followed this up by recording the second best time in the official qualifying session this afternoon – beating his personal record at the Qatar track with a time of 1:59.056. The former World Superbike Champion was just 0.037 seconds behind fastest rider Noriyuki Haga, with the top six separated by less than half a second. Toseland’s team-mate Roberto Rolfo proved that he means business this year by further improving his time at the 5.4km circuit. The Italian rider finished the session with a best lap of 2:00.258 to secure ninth place. Rolfo’s performance today was over a second faster than his lap time during the testing at Qatar at the end of 2006. He is hoping to improve further still before Saturday’s race. Ronald ten Kate, Team Manager “During the morning everything was looking good for James. He was fast around the track and there were no problems with the bike – it was just getting better and better. However, this afternoon his number one bike developed a technical problem that we couldn’t solve during the session. We had to use his second bike, which he didn’t use at all this morning. It was not ideal as it is set up quite differently. Tomorrow we will hopefully have his number one bike sorted out and we will be back in business. I am really pleased with Roby. Over the winter he just kept getting better and better and now today he has shaved off 1.5 seconds from his testing time to finish in ninth place. He is just chipping away at his time, getting constantly better” James Toseland “It’s been a good day. I was quickest in this morning’s practice, but this afternoon we had a problem with the number one bike. So, I had to use my second bike for the whole of the qualifying session. It would have been a lot better to be on the number one bike, but to come out with a time of 1.59 flat – which is my personal best at Qatar – is not bad at all. I’m really pleased.” Roberto Rolfo “The first day has been really good for me. This morning we worked on the bike to make sure it was set up right for the track. I like this circuit and I did well here in testing, but not well enough. This morning I was immediately quicker and I understand what I need to do to improve. I managed to get a good line and secured a time of 2:00, which I have never done here before so I am feeling good. I think that if can concentrate even harder tomorrow I can keep improving.” More, from a press release issued by Yamaha Racing: New R1 leads the way in Qatar Yamaha’s new-for-2007 YZF-R1 demonstrated that it is a weapon to be reckoned with in world superbike competition, with Noriyuki Haga scoring provisional pole on the bike’s world championship debut in Qatar today. The Yamaha Motor Italy WSB Team rider topped the timesheets for much of the session onboard the MotoGP-inspired R1, with the Japanese rider particularly happy with his performance because he was concentrating on finding a good set-up to last Saturday’s 18-lap race rather than going for an ultimate pole position time. Haga’s 1:59.019 provisional pole time was set on race rubber and is the fastest ever superbike lap of the Losail circuit, being over half-a-second faster than Troy Bayliss’ qualifying lap last year, and a full second quicker than his own race record. There was double delight for the Yamaha Motor Italia squad as team-mate Troy Corser also ended the day on the provisional front row. The Australian was also under Bayliss’ previous best, posting a 1:59.440 to end the day fourth on the timesheets in his debut with the Italian squad. Having tested at the circuit just a few weeks earlier, the team arrived in Qatar with a good base setting for their R1s. Despite this, the squad still had a great deal of work to get through in order to get the best out of their machines for Saturday’s races. With track temperatures approaching 45 °C on the tarmac, tyre selection could prove critical this weekend. Corser and Haga have access to newer-specification Pirelli tyres this weekend than they had during testing, giving them a heavy programme of tyre testing in the practice sessions. Shinichi Nakatomi ended the day 15th on the Team YZF Yamaha entry. The new squad, born out of the Yamaha Motor France-entered team of 2005 and 2006, is chiefly responsible for development of Yamaha’s YEC range of customer race parts and using the world series to test and improve the range. The Japanese rider, entering his second year in the series, posted a time of 2:01.964 to gain a provisional place in tomorrow afternoon’s grid deciding superpole session. In today’s tight qualifying session it was British rider James Toseland (Honda) who pushed Haga closest, recording a time of 1:59.056 to take second in the overnight standings. Joining them and Corser on the provisional front row is former 250cc world champion and Yamaha MotoGP rider Max Biaggi (Suzuki), who was third fastest on his superbike debut. Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha Motor Italy WSB Team) “I am surprised to be fastest because when we tested here I did not have a really good feeling with the bike. This morning I tried the set-up we left the test with but the feeling was still the same. For the afternoon we changed a few things and made a big step and I am now happy with the way the bike turns. We worked hard to find a good setting for the race and I still want to get better tyre life. For six or seven laps the tyre is very good but then we find that the rear falls away a lot on the right side. The new bike is working well. We only had our shakedown tests a few weeks ago but luckily we are able to carry forward many of the parts and knowledge from the previous R1 so we already have a very good base to work from.” Troy Corser (Yamaha Motor Italy WSB Team) “I’m fairly happy with that. The track feels different from when we tested here and that’s had an effect on how the bike is performing. We need to improve the front end tyre feel and there are quite a few little things for us to try out tomorrow. For sure it would have been nice to have had a few more tests before the first race but we’ve got a good base to work from and fourth is a pretty decent start.” Shinichi Nakatomi (Team YZF Yamaha) “No so bad! We made an improvement of two-and-a-half seconds between the morning and afternoon and I hope we can make some more improvement as we learn more about the set-up of the new machine.” Massimo Meregalli (Team Coordinator – Yamaha Motor Italy WSB Team) “We tested here a few weeks ago because we understood the importance of being competitive from the very first race. We found a good base setting at the test and, but for a few small changes, only the tyre options are different. We’re happy with how it’s gone today but it is hard to really judge how competitive we can be on race day at this moment. Both riders have been able to complete around 11 to 12 laps on the tyres but we still have to do some more endurance testing tomorrow.” More, from a press release issued by Troy Corser’s publicist: PROVISIONAL FRONT ROW! Troy finished with the fourth fastest time on the opening day of the first round of the Superbike World Championship in Qatar, but was disappointed to have suffered a small crash in the morning, untimed session. The first Superbike qualifying session had been delayed because of two red flag incidents that had spilt oil over a large section of the track and, although the mess had been cleared up, there was still a lot of cement dust on the circuit. It was on some of this dust that Troy lost the front and went down, but fortunately without injury. His team mate Noriyuki Haga topped the day’s standings, with a lap of 1:59.019, almost a second inside the lap record. James Toseland (Honda) was second quickest, with Max Biaggi (Suzuki) third and Troy fourth. TROY – 4th, 1:59.440 I am disappointed with the crash in the morning, but that’s the way it goes. Maybe I was going in a little too fast, but by the time I saw the dust I was off! It was right on my line and I couldn’t do anything about it. Fortunately no problems for me or the bike, but it’s not the way I wanted to start the season. We did a lot of work on engine-braking in the morning and afternoon sessions and I feel we improved it quite a bit. The track felt a bit different to when we tested here recently and then this afternoon, when the temperature rose, the grip level dropped. Tomorrow we’ll work on the front forks in order to try and improve the feeling of the front tyre, otherwise all is going pretty well. Tyre conservation is going to be pretty crucial in the races, but in that aspect, I seem to be doing better then most at the moment. Se ya, Troy

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