SPEED CELEBRATES FIFTH ANNIVERSARY OF LIVE COVERAGE FROM DAYTONA PICKERINGTON, Ohio (February 20, 2007) SPEED will once again bring all the motorcycle racing action from Daytona this March to millions of viewers across the country. Highlighting this year’s television package is live flag-to-flag coverage of the 66th annual Daytona 200 by Honda on Saturday, March 10. Also featured will be same-day coverage of the Daytona Supercross by Honda, the Daytona Superbike, Superstock and Supersport races, as well as highlights from the AMA Ford Quality Checked Flat Track doubleheader from Municipal Stadium. This year marks the fifth anniversary of SPEED’s live coverage from Daytona. The network set new standards of coverage when it first broadcast the Daytona 200 live in 2002. SPEED continues to build on its legacy as the favorite stop on the TV remote for motorcycle racing fans. This year SPEED will provide 12 hours of combined live and tape-delayed coverage from Daytona. The television action gets underway on Thursday, March 8 at 2:30 pm Eastern with the final round of qualifying for the Daytona 200 by Honda. Last year Miguel Duhamel put his factory Honda on the pole. The 13-lap AMA Superstock event takes the green flag at 3:50 pm. In a classic last-lap, run-to-the-finish-line Daytona pass, Jamie Hacking took the Superstock win last March from then teammate Jason DiSalvo. The Pro Honda Oils Supersport presented by Shoei will close out Thursday’s programming with live coverage of the 22-lap final starting at 4:50 pm Eastern. Last year it was Kawasaki’s Roger Lee Hayden emerging from a four-rider pack to win the important Supersport event. Supercross takes center stage on Friday, March 9. The race will be shown tape delayed at 9:30 pm Eastern Friday night. This will likely be the final appearance in the Daytona Supercross for five-time race winner Ricky Carmichael. Carmichael, who is moving to a career racing NASCAR, will face two-time winner Chad Reed and fellow Floridian James Stewart, the Kawasaki ace who is hoping to earn his first victory in the prestigious race. Racing fans in search of extensive T.V. coverage of Daytona’s races will get what they’re looking for in a big way on Saturday, March 10. From 11:00 am to 4:30 pm Eastern SPEED will bring viewers live action from Daytona International Speedway, as well as AMA Flat Track racing from Municipal Stadium in a taped program. Saturday’s shows kick off with opening round of the AMA Superbike Championship presented by Parts Unlimited. Last year Mat Mladin made a crafty last-lap move to beat out Yoshimura Suzuki teammate Ben Spies for the Daytona Superbike win. This year series champion Spies will try to turn the tables on Mladin. The schedule then turns to the Daytona Flat Track twinbill from Municipal Stadium. Last year Bryan Smith and Kevin Varnes shared the spotlight with each rider winning a leg of the doubleheader. Coverage then moves back to the Speedway for the Daytona 200 pre-race show and at 2:00 pm Eastern the green flag drops on the Lockhart Phillips USA Formula Xtreme, 66th annual Daytona 200 by Honda. Last year it was Honda’s Jake Zemke taking the victory marking the biggest win of his career. Wind Tunnel host Dave Despain will anchor SPEED’s broadcast, while Ralph Sheheen will give play-by-play, Freddie Spencer with expert commentary and Greg White will handle pit reporting duties for the road racing events. Sheheen will be joined by Jeff Emig and Erin Bates for the Supercross broadcast and Larry Maiers, Brian Drebber and Scott Parker will call the flat track action from Municipal Stadium. For additional information on all the Daytona AMA Pro Racing TV programming go to www.speedtv.com or www.amaproracing.com. About AMA Racing AMA Racing is the competition arm of the American Motorcyclist Association and is the leading sanctioning body for motorcycle sport in the United States. Its professional properties include the Amp’d Mobile AMA Supercross Series, the AMA Toyota Motocross Championship presented by FMF, the AMA Superbike Championship presented by Parts Unlimited, the AMA Ford Quality Checked Flat Track Championship, the AMA Supermoto Championship and the AMA Pro ATV Championship. In amateur and pro-am competition, AMA Racing sanctions over 4000 events in 24 different disciplines and supports over 110 thousand active members. For more information about professional racing, visit www.amaproracing.com.

Rory Palmer, on a Triumph Daytona 675, places 1st in Heavyweight Superbike, 2nd in Middleweight Super Sport & 3rd in Middleweight GP at CCS Southwest Race Series, February 18st 2007. Palmer also grabbed pole in the Unlimited GP and finished 7th. These efforts have moved Rory Palmer and the Euro Motorsports Team into the lead of this extremely competitive race series. “I think we have a pretty good chance at the number one plate this year,” says Rory Palmer. Back on a bike after a brief retirement from road racing, Rory Palmer has joined Euro Motorsports Racing’s debut effort into motorcycle road racing aboard a very unique Triumph Daytona 675. “We are extremely proud of Rory and the entire Euro Motorsports Team for pulling this effort together,” says Team Owner David Slepak. “Other than some minor suspension modifications at the Arrow exhaust system the motorcycle is ‘BONE STOCK!’ with some further testing and some additional modifications I think we will give the 1000CC true Unlimited GP bikes are run for their money!” exclaims Mr. Slepak. Rory Palmer is set to grid at the March 24th round at Firebird International East Track For more information on Rory Palmer, Euro Motorsports Racing and Triumph Motorcycles please contact [email protected] or www.euromotorsportsllc.com Euro Motorsports Racing is a division of Euro Motorsports, LLC. Euro Motorsports is owned by brothers David & Joshua Slepak. Euro Motorsports operates BMW Motorcycles of Scottsdale as well as Euro Motorsports a Ducati, Triumph & MV Agusta dealership.

DMD Racing and Eastside MotoSports Team Up for “Young Guns” Program Bellevue, WA Following the announcement of WMRRA MiniGP Racing for 2007 DMD Racing along with Eastside MotoSports will support 2 time USMGP National Champion Mario Alvarez II. At just 10 years old Mario Alvarez II of Tacoma, WA has already acquired a tall list of motorcycle road racing accomplishments. Mario won the 2005 & 2006 USMGP Junior National Pocketbike Championships as well as acquiring race wins in CA, AZ, WA, OR and NY. Mario has been racing since the age of 4 when his dad got him started riding a KTM50 Jr. Pro at the local motocross track. Mario will be racing an Eastside MotoSports Suzuki RM85RR custom built road racer in the Young Guns class with WMRRA along with testing his RS125 GP bike at all of the Adrenaline Freaks Track Day events. In addition to road racing, Mario will also compete in dirt track aboard his second RM85 purpose built dirt tracker. “We can’t wait to see the flag drop on the first MiniGP race in Washington and watch our sponsored rider run the full road coarse on his 85cc machine.” Said DMD Racing’s team owner Darren Murrey, “This is a first for WMRRA, for our team, and a first for Lil’ Mario to be part of an established road racing team where he can learn from his teammates along with gaining experience for the eventual move over to the full sized bikes, when he’s tall enough of course.” In addition, the team has also signed 18 year old James Wadkins to race a DUCATI 749R as part of the “Grass Roots” outlook they have adopted. When asked about his involvement Wadkins said, “I’m excited, new bike, awesome team, enthusiastic team mates, how could the 2007 race season start off any better?” At 18 years old and in his first expert season Wadkins captured 2 podiums on a Ducati 748 which was far outclassed by the rest of the grid. This will be James’ third year road racing and he fits perfectly into this program which will aid in his pursuit of gaining points towards AMA competition. “We are starting to see a strong interest toward road racing from our Motorcross team along with the growth of Super Motard Racing and decided we should be the first in our area to help these kids get to the pavement and share in the same environment that has launched AMA professional road racing careers.” said Mike Tobin of Eastside MotoSports. DMD Racing is a Pacific Northwest motorcycle road racing team founded in 2005 and participating in WMRRA regional racing and AMA national superbike racing. The team’s commitment to winning and their passion for the sport have made DMD Racing a formidable competitor at any racetrack. Teamwork is at the heart of winning championships and DMD Racing has assembled a team of talented individuals with a common goal of victory. The team has support and active participation from Eastside MotoSports of Bellevue, Washington. Eastside MotoSports, Bellevue, WA is not your traditional motorcycle shop. We are a group of active enthusiasts dedicated to performance and customer care. Eastside MotoSports carries a broad line of Ducati, Yamaha, and Suzuki motorcycles, as well as our large selection of accessories. We also have a Service Department that is second to none in the Northwest. “Performance is our passion” and we take that message to the racetrack!

The MG Cup Program 2007 Kickoff. Extra Daytona Payouts! Guzzitech.com is proud to announce the kickoff of the 2007 MG Cup Contingency Racing Award Program. This is the second year of the program that rewards Moto Guzzi racers for podium wins in American Historic Motorcycle Racing Association (AHRMA) and Willow Springs Motorcycle Club (WSMC) races. For 2007, prizes will consist of the following: 1st place in any AHRMA or WSMC race on a Moto Guzzi $100 2nd place in any AHRMA or WSMC race on a Moto Guzzi $50 3rd place in any AHRMA or WSMC race on a Moto Guzzi $25 with a maximum payout of $200 per racer per weekend. For AHRMA races at Daytona on March 5th & 6th, 2007, the MG Cup prizes will be increased to: 1st place in any race on a Moto Guzzi $200 2nd place in any race on a Moto Guzzi $100 3rd place in any race on a Moto Guzzi $50 with no maximum payout limit. This special Daytona promotion celebrates Moto Guzzi’s continuous presence and many podium finishes in twins racing at Daytona. The MG Cup program is a grassroots Guzzi racing support effort designed to communicate to racers, race fans, and the motorcycling community that Moto Guzzis can and do win races. Racers must register for this program prior to racing. More information on The MG Cup program is available at www.guzzitech.com

Factory Riders Banned From Team Hammer Events Team Hammer, Inc. has banned all factory team riders from its 2007 School, Track Day and Pro Practice Sessions, and will use the 2006 AMA Pro Racing list of factory teams to determine who is and is not a factory rider. The ban applies to School, Track Day, and Practice sessions at Daytona International Speedway in March and October; Track Day sessions at Road Atlanta in August; and Pro Practice Sessions scheduled for the Thursday prior to AMA Superbike Nationals at California Speedway in April and at VIR in August. This decision has been made after an AMA rules change allowed all licensed riders to enter so-called “Thursday practice” in 2007. Previously, certain criteria arbitrarily restricted some riders from practicing while allowing others. The rule change sought to end previous controversies involving Thursday practice by opening it up to all racers and teams. Team Owner John Ulrich stated, “Various factory team managers and sponsors are complaining that their costs will unreasonably increase due to a decision by AMA Pro Racing to open up Thursday practice to anyone. Recently, without any attempt to objectively determine the facts, a tabloid publication writer accused me of being in favor of opening up Thursday practice sessions because my company, Team Hammer, Inc., will profit from factory team riders having to pay to participate. The publication in question also dismissed Thursday practice as being of little or no use to private teams and riders, which anyone who has actually raced a motorcycle at an AMA National event would know is untrue. “Team Hammer has supported Thursday practice for privateers not because of any potential profit but to help the competitive balance in the series. While the factory teams often have the best riders and machines at their disposal, they also fund more than 20 days of stand-alone private testing at AMA tracks, tests that are not open to privateers. Team Hammer Schools, Track Days, and Pro Practice Sessions are not the multi-day test sessions booked by the factory teams, but do offer an affordable way for private teams and riders to get an opportunity to test. In most cases, it is the only chance these riders and teams will get to work up to speed at a particular circuit before a race weekend begins. “Thursday practice is not about factory teams, it is about providing private teams and riders a chance to set up their bikes and get going prior to the start of official practice on Friday,” said Ulrich. “Our ban on factory riders should answer concerns that factory teams will be forced to spend money at our events as well as point out how wrong it is to claim that we’re in favor of Thursday practice for the money.”

250cc testing concludes at MotoGP Official Test in Jerez Tuesday 20th February – Jerez, Spain – MotoGP Official Test The first section of the MotoGP Official Test at Jerez drew to a close today, with the 250cc teams the first to take to the track this week. Yesterday’s session was a far more productive affair than the second day of quarter-litre testing, as overnight and morning rain left the riders with little effective practice time. No rider improved on their previous day’s lap time, and some teams even chose to bring their Jerez visit to an early close instead of riding in the wet. Hector Barbera drew first blood on day one, topping the timesheets with a time of 1’43.451. On his final lap, the Spaniard was just under two tenths of a second off Jorge Lorenzo’s pole position time for last year’s race, with the World Champion himself finishing second fastest. Lorenzo was less than a tenth of a second slower than his former factory Aprilia team-mate, who now rides for Team Toth. 2006 World Championship runner-up Andrea Dovizioso was the third of three riders to go round in under 1’44 this week, in much better condition than that which he found himself in last time round at Valencia. Coming back from a bout of flu, the Humangest Honda rider was closely followed by Alex de Angelis as the two continued to shape up for a title challenge this season. Of the talented riders moving up from 125cc in 2007, Thomas Luthi has been one of the big success stories during preseason. The Swiss rider was on form again at the MotoGP Official Test, under half a second off Barbera’s hot lap. For Julian Simon, the gods seem to be conspiring to prevent his appearance for Repsol Honda in a 250cc race. Having last year suffered an injury when pencilled in to replace the retiring Sebas Porto, now the Spaniard has experienced another setback as a result of a crash yesterday. Simon was trapped under his bike on turn four, suffering a dislocated shoulder which led to an afternoon spent in the Clinica Mobile. He flew to Barcelona this morning to see Dr. Xavier Mir at the Clinica Dexeus, who will further analyse his injury over the coming days. Prior to this, the Honda factory man had been looking good, completing the top six ahead of team-mate Shuhei Aoyama. The Japanese 2006 Rookie Of The Year also elected against riding today, although this was more due to personal choice than injury. Alvaro Bautista, Marco Simoncelli and Hiroshi Aoyama rounded off the top ten on the combined timesheet, with the latter putting in the most laps of any rider and finishing as fastest on day two with a best of 1’45.250. Anthony West finally had a chance to ride his new near-factory Aprilia over the past two days. The Australian had been scheduled to make his debut for Team Sicilia two weeks ago at Catalunya, but instead had to wait until this week to start the latest chapter in his intriguing career. Never one to let a bit of dampness halt his progress, wet weather specialist West showed that he is willing to put in the hard graft to adapt to his new prototype. The 250cc teams have another Official Test next week in Qatar, although the action at Jerez is just getting started. Tomorrow sees the turn of the 125cc teams to undertake more testing, ahead of the arrival of the MotoGP class on Friday for three days of fine tuning, culminating in Sunday’s 40-minute ‘qualifying session’ spectacular.

Team Partners with PIAA Corporation, USA and Czaia & Gallagher P.A. Daytona Beach, Fla. (Feb. 20, 2007) Back to defend their class title, Team RightsforBikers.com (previously competing under the TeamHurtByAccident.com banner) is gearing up for its first full season in the SunTrust MOTO-ST Series armed with a powerhouse of talent and sponsorship. The handle-bar-banging, paint-swapping action begins March 4 at the Daytona International Speedway, where Team RightsforBikers.com will battle their way around the 2.95 mile infield road course at the Daytona 500K, the first race of the first-ever full season of the SunTrust MOTO-ST Series. Adding to that excitement, the team is proud to announce an expanded partnership with PIAA Corporation, USA and Czaia & Gallagher, P.A. Both companies have increased their participation in all three MOTO-ST classes — SST, GST and ST. “PIAA is excited about the new MOTO-ST endurance series, especially our association with Team RightsforBikers.com, “says Gordon Robertson, PIAA Powersports Business Unit Leader. “PIAA products have helped to win races from Dakar to Baja, including last year’s US Pro Rally series and the recent Rolex 24 Hours at Daytona. This year our money is on the SunTrust MOTO-ST team of RightsforBikers.com to carry PIAA to the winners circle again.” Makers of high-tech lamps and bulbs for racing machines around the globe, PIAA is known for their visionary design, quality construction and superior performance. When these motorcycles take to the track, equipped with PIAA products, new technology and a new racing series will converge to provide both parties will invaluable and exciting exposure. Members of Team RightsforBikers.com are known for their performance as well. Nicole Hoffman, of Palm Coast, Fla., and Robert Fisher, of Sarasota, Fla., will ride in the ST class on a Suzuki SV650; C.J. Czaia, of Palmetto, Fla. and John Linder, of Tampa, Fla. will compete in the GST class on a Ducati PS1000LE, and Nathan Dressman of Berkley, Mich., and Greg Melka of Tampa, Fla., in the SST class on a Suzuki SV1000. “My excitement and anticipation for this season is intense,” said Nicole Hoffman, a rider from Daytona whose first experience with endurance racing resulted in a major win. “Coming off our ST-class win in the inaugural 8 Hours at Daytona last year in October is a huge momentum builder heading into this race.” Czaia has a vested interest in the team as a personal injury attorney who defends bikers off the track, and as a rider competing on the track is glad to be apart of the action. “Expect a lot of great things to come from this new series as well as Team RightsforBikers.com,” Czaia said. Tickets will be available at www.daytonainternationalspeedway.com. For more information, contact Nicole Hoffman at (386) 566-8309 or email Hoffman at [email protected]. About PIAA PIAA has been an acknowledged leader in innovative automotive products since its founding in Japan in 1963. PIAA products, created in PIAA’s Technical Design Center in Japan, are known for their visionary design, inspired engineering, quality construction and superior performance. PIAA Corporation, USA is located at 3004 NE 181st, Portland, OR 97230, 503-489-6666. For more information visit the PIAA Web site at www.piaa.com. About Team RightsforBikers.com Team RightsforBikers.com is an online resource dedicated to the street rider in Florida. Developed and sponsored by the law firm of Czaia & Gallagher, an accident and injury law firm, the team is dedicated to defending the rights of individual Florida motorcyclists and their freedoms from injustice. About the SunTrust MOTO-ST Series MOTO-ST is organized and sanctioned by Professional Motorsports Productions (PMP) of Toronto, Ontario, Canada and the Grand American Road Racing Association, based in Daytona Beach, Fla., which provides the series with administrative and commercial support. The MOTO­ST advisory board features some of the most respected individuals in the world of motorsports, including AMA Hall of Fame members, respected motorcycle racing journalists and renowned officials from various forms of road racing. Learn more about MOTO-ST at www.moto-st.com.

2007 Conference Meetings The 2007 FIM Conference Meetings took place from 15 to 18 February, at the Crowne Plaza Hotel near Geneva Airport. The Management Council convened on Thursday 15 and Friday 16 and the afternoon of Sunday 18. The main subjects discussed by the Management Council were the following: – The FIM will be the promoter of the Endurance World Championship Series in collaboration with the organisers and FMNRs. The TV and commercial rights were returned by the FIM to the organisers for the 2007 season. Administration, the running of events and media aspects will be taken care of by the FIM. -. Following the decision of the Enduro and Cross-Country Rallies Commission to create an Enduro Indoor competition, a meeting was held two weeks ago with the organisers of Enduro Indoor events (Barcelona and Genova). An Enduro Indoor World Cup will be run next winter, as from December 1st until two weeks before the 2008 Enduro World Championship starts. A minimum of three events will be planned. Local organisers and the FIM will be in charge together of the promotion/organisation. – The Management Council discussed and agreed on an increase of subsidies to be transferred to the Continental Unions. The FIM is redistributing one third of its financial income from TV and commercial rights in the form of subsidies, funds for development projects and direct payments to its National Federations and Continental Unions. – A working group will be established in order to study Alternative Energies; the President of this working group will be the FIM Vice-President Robert Rasor (USA). – Important changes to the Statutes were proposed and are under current study. The main change concerns the election system for FIM Vice-Presidents, and aims at avoiding the current situation whereby two posts of Vice-Presidents are vacant because candidates did not obtain the minimum of 50% of the votes + 1, as requested by the Statutes; in the second ballot, for three posts available only one candidate was elected at the 2006 FIM Congress in Salvador, Brazil. – A new FIM logo was selected by the Management Council members, following the mandate given to the Council by the 2006 General Assembly to modernize the FIM logo. A brand manual will now have to be defined before the new logo can officially be launched and become operational for the FIM, its affiliated members and stakeholders.

CHARPENTIER AND SOFULOGLU HEAD UP STRONG HONDA PRESENCE With four officially supported riders being fielded on the new Honda CBR600RR in the comingseason, the aim is a simple one; retain the World Supersport Championship for a sixth successive season. Honda has held the championship title since 2002, and the current world champion, Sebastien Charpentier (now riding for the renamed Hannspree Ten Kate Honda team) made history in 2006 by becoming the first rider ever to retain the Supersport title, which was first granted full FIM World Championship status in 1999. Last year’s epic battle for the riders’ crown was punctuated by injury and slow recovery, grinding determination and final drama for the French rider, but however the championship plays out this season, it seems very possible that Charpentier’s main rival will come from within his own Hannspree Ten Kate Honda Team. Kenan Sofuoglu (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda CBR600RR) won two races last year, and has been fast in testing all through the winter build up towards round one, to be held at the Losail circuit in Qatar on Saturday 24 February 2007. The Turkish rider has finished in the top three of each championship he has competed in the past few years, and despite some dips in his learning curve during his first full rookie season in 2006, he finished third overall in the series. Once more Katsuaki Fujiwara (Althea Honda Team CBR600RR) returns to the Supersport fray for Honda, and he will be hoping to stay injury free in the early stages, to allow him to build a secure early points total and thus put him in with a chance of a high final classification. An important part of Honda’s development programme, as well as a potential winner in his own right, Fujiwara has won six previous WSS races. Lorenzo Alfonsi (Althea Honda Team CBR600RR) was the Superstock 1000 champion in the 2004 season, and joins a new team this year to ride the latest CBR600RR, after finishing third in the Italian Superbike Championship in 2006. He rode two WSS races last season, but is otherwise a rookie in this competitive racing class. In the push for another historic title win, Charpentier knows he could not be better placed than he is now, in the same team which has won the championship for five years in a row – especially as the first race is at one of his ‘best’ circuits. “Qatar is a good track for me, I won the first race of the series there last year and it just suits my style,” said the 2005 and 2006 champion. “I think with the new bike there is a good possibility for me to finish on the podium. I am happy with our most recent test at Valencia and confident about the first race. I feel quite good and I can’t wait to be back. I will understand my real physical condition only when I will make my first few laps on the track. I will only think about last year’s victory, and I am convinced that this will give me the right motivation.” Sofuoglu, an intense rider who knows he must overcome a formidable group of riders to take his first major title win, has been happy with all aspects of his off-season. “I am really looking forward to the start of the season,” said the talented Turkish rider. “For me, it is better than last year because 2006 was my first year in Supersport and I had no idea what would happen. Now I know the class, I know the other riders, I know my team and I know what to expect. We have already tested with the new bike and it is a big improvement. The test times are much faster than last year. We did not have ideal track conditions for our last test at Valencia but I am feeling very happy and we were still setting better lap times than before. We have done some good testing and I feel more confident with the new bike.” Fujiwara’s talents are a well-known quantity in Supersport, and this year he knows he may have to start with a high degree of realism to attain his ultimate objective. “I will not be thinking about victory even before the first practice,” said ‘Kats’. “Last year I made a mistake when I started the race very fast, without the best machine set-up and I crashed when I pushed hard, breaking my scaphoid. This year I want to work step-by-step, with my target in Losail to take a good finishing position. There are many important riders in Supersport this season, but I believe I will have a good year.” Alfonsi is going for a top ten at Losail, and knows that this is a big ask for himself first time out in his new squad. “I have a good feeling with the guys of the team,” said the 26-year-old Italian. “They work very well, with a good experience in the Supersport class and I have confidence. I will start in Qatar with the target to finish inside the first ten positions. I know that this target will be hard, but I want to conquer it anyway, because a good start to the season will be important for me and the squad”. The second round of the Supersport championship takes place at Phillip Island, Australia, just one weekend after the first round in Losail. World Superbike Round 1 of 13 HONDA SUPERBIKE RIDERS OUT TO MAKE EARLY SCORES AT LOSAIL A strong first season on a Honda in World Superbike took 2004 World Superbike Champion James Toseland (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR) to overall second place, and at Losail on Saturday 24th February, Toseland will take his first steps down a road he hopes lead back to ultimate championship success. Teamed up with former 250cc Grand Prix race winner Roberto Rolfo (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR), Toseland is but one of six supported Honda riders in the championship, riding the latest development of the CBR1000RR Fireblade, launched as a new model in 2006. A strong Honda Superbike push in 2007 includes not only the renamed Hannspree Ten Kate Honda team, but also the DFX Corse Honda squad, running Michel Fabrizio (DFX Corse Honda CBR1000RR) and new signing Steve Martin (DFX Corse Honda CBR1000RR) plus another two fast Australian riders, Karl Muggeridge (Alto Evolution Honda CBR1000RR) and World Supersport race winner for Honda in 2004, Joshua Brookes, (Alto Evolution Honda CBR1000RR). Each Honda Superbike team runs their own choices of engine tuning, suspension components and support technologies, and thus each has embarked upon their own series of winter tests. Toseland is looking for an even better start than last year, especially after a good off-season of development with a team he slotted straight into at the start of the 2006 championship. “I have been looking forward to the first race since I finished so strongly at the end of last year,” said Toseland. “I won the first race of the season in Qatar in 2006, which was a big surprise to everyone including myself particularly as I had switched to Honda after being with a rival manufacturer for five years. This put us in a good position to battle for the championship for the rest of the year and this it the kind of start I am hoping for again. I want to keep the winning streak going. The development of the bike in pre-season testing has been really strong. After the final test in Valencia last week, I think we are ready to go to Qatar and be capable of winning. We didn’t have much to test in Spain but it’s nice to have a bit of a ride-out only 11 days before the first race.” Roby Rolfo’s first year on a Honda Superbike will doubtless feature a steep early learning curve, but he is a big fan of the generally fast Losail circuit, and knows this should help his first weekend’s chances. “For the first race of the championship I am very focused on understanding and applying everything we have learned during the winter testing,” stated Rolfo. “I have learned a different riding style and I am really happy with the progress that I have made with Hannspree Ten Kate Honda. Qatar is a track that I like very much because I have always had good results there. I’m glad that the first race is there because hopefully I can start the series well and carry this on through the rest of the Championship.” An up-and-down 2006 rookie SBK season for Fabrizio featured a few notable highs, including three podium finishes, and a second year in the same team should be a good springboard for even more success. “Things are good and I am happy,” said Fabrizio, “and we have been close with the other top teams we have tested with. In Qatar we don’t know what will happen but I feel we are in a position to defend the colours of our team. I have stayed with a more familiar development of the CBR1000RR because I feel it is more ‘mine’. The other development of the bike goes equally well, but I prefer to stay on one path at the moment. I do not want to create false hopes but I feel that we will be a big reality this year.” In Steve Martin the DFX team has replaced outgoing rider (and new team-manager Pierfrancesco Chili) with one of almost equal experience, even if he is new to the CBR1000RR. “I’m really looking forward to the Qatar and Philip Island opening rounds and just getting back into racing mode,” said Martin, who has ridden for DFX in the past, in its pre-Honda days. “I feel in top form physically and mentally and so now can’t wait to get going. I was still using an old spec engine in the most recent tests so there wasn’t anything we could do in terms of development and mapping in that area, but we did get some more positive work done on set up and handling and I managed to improve on my previous test lap time from last month.” Muggeridge, who rode for the Ten Kate Honda team last year, is itching to get back into action again, although he knows there is still work to do to after some recent testing in Sicily. “We are going to Doha in the right frame of mind,” said Muggeridge, “but the season starts so early and it’s been difficult to get everything ready and developed. I ran a single bike in our recent tests, and we only had limited time because of that. But we will be giving it all we have when we got to Doha. I just wish the season started a bit later in the year.” For Brookes, who started in Supersport in 2006 and then moved to Superbike midseason, 2007 will be a challenge, but one laden with opportunities as the year unfolds. “I am being totally realistic about our chances in Qatar,” said Brookes. “The bike still has masses of improvements to make in all areas, from suspension to the electronics and basic set up, but I am ready to race and will give it my best shot. I’m a racer, and if I can qualify in Superpole, a top ten finish in the two races may not be out of the question. The bike is just awesome, so if we can get some settings sorted in the first day, then things will go OK. It’s vital we don’t put unrealistic expectation in the first few rounds, but I am quietly confident that as the season progresses things will get better and better.” Like Supersport, the second round of the Superbike series moves to the classically sculpted Phillip Island circuit, between 2 and 4 March.