New Dunlop race tire dealer for Texas and CMRA. North Texas Superbikes, owned and operated by David Roy, (former Ducati Manager of Racing Operations and AMA Pro Series competitor), is now the official Dunlop race tire dealer for Texas, Oklahoma, and Louisiana. “We at Sport Tire Services are very glad to have David Roy on board for the 2007 CMRA events. We have known David for 17 years personally and professionally and have every confidence in his ablity to get Dunlop to the front in the Texas region,” said Terry Newby of STS. North Texas Superbikes will provide full service and technical support at all CMRA rounds for 2007 including a select number of track and practice days. Please contact North Texas Superbikes for all of your Dunlop race tire needs at: North Texas Superbikes 1425 FM 407 Ste 700 Lewisville, TX 75077 Ph. 972-966-0932 www.northtexassuperbikes.com [email protected]

WERA to Host Opener at the Newly Reconfigured Talladega Gan Prix Raceway this Weekend WERA Motorcycle Roadracing will host the Southeast/Mid-Central Opener at the newly reconfigured Talladega Gran Prix Raceway over this coming weekend, February 10/11. The Upchurch Family, which owns the Raceway, along with the help of designer Ed Bargy had to reconfigure the existing track due to the County taking part of their run-off which ran along the side of Alabama Hwy 21. Sean Clarke of WERA Motorcycle Roadracing was at the facility two weeks ago and said “The improvements are great and racing should be fun!” The track is still in the process of competing some of the buildings, such as the scoring tower which will be a Silo with 360-degree-viewing when competed. The old buildings are still in place and will be used this coming weekend along with the WERA Registration Trailer. There are also plans for new bathrooms and more electricity in the paddock area. WERA Motorcycle Roadracing is expecting a 175 to 200 rider turn-out for the event. For further information contact WERA at (770) 720-5010.

DESPAIN DRIVES WIND TUNNEL INTO FIFTH SEASON ON SPEED IN 2007 DESPAIN: ‘I SUSPECT A.J. HAS ME CONFUSED WITH SOMEBODY ELSE’ Dave Despain enters his fifth season behind the wheel of the popular SPEED show Wind Tunnel with Dave Despain, with the 2007 premiere scheduled for Feb. 18 at 9 p.m. ET. “Wind Tunnel is the only motor sports show in this country that can make you laugh, cuss and pay attention — all within 60 minutes,” said veteran motor sports journalist Robin Miller, a frequent guest on the show . “It’s topical, informative and a little irreverent, much like its host.” “Dave Despain, to me, is probably the most well-rounded motor sports guy that I’ve ever met,” said NHRA multi-time champ Gary Scelzi. “His show is real, it pulls no punches and it’s one if I’m anywhere near a television on Sunday night I make sure I watch — because it’s always entertaining, it’s the real deal, and Dave is not afraid to express his opinion.” As the motor sports stories develop in 2007, count on Despain and his Wind Tunnel crew to be in the middle of things. Below, Despain weighs in on a few pre-season questions: Q: You hear from a lot of race fans throughout the year on Wind Tunnel. Give me the top three stories fans are interested in heading into 2007? 1) Until the contract is signed, Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s employment status will be the biggest story in American racing, because as long as he remains unsigned, he keeps alive the tantalizing possibility that he’ll drive the black three for Richard Childress. 2) Acknowledging that Formula One’s world wide audience is far larger than NASCAR’s, and thus every F1 caller to Wind Tunnel represents a vast international constituency, I think Ferrari-after-Schumacher and Alonso-with-McLaren should be fascinating stories. 3) And those who hope she will, combined with those who insist she won’t, create a significant interest, I think, in the question of whether or not Danica Patrick will ever win. Q: Heading into your fifth season as host of Wind Tunnel, you’ve interviewed hundreds of personalities and talents from the world of motor sports. Do any of them stick out as truly memorable and why? Still a few you’d like to get? Who? That’s an FAQ for which I should have a really good answer and I don’t. I tend to like bits and pieces of a lot of different interviews, specifically those moments when we’re able to get past the PR-speak and get a real insight into the guest and what makes him or her tick. As for the wish list, Foyt is still at the top, though Robin Miller insists that Super Tex “hates Despain” and will never come on the show. If that’s true, I suspect A.J. has me confused with somebody else. Q: Historically, names like Mario Andretti, A.J. Foyt, Dan Gurney, Don Garlits and Jeremy McGrath stand out as motor sports icons; give me a few names of racers competing today who you believe have the potential to reach that status and why? 1) Jeff Gordon, because after retirement I expect him to become a personality/celebrity who transcends racing. 2) Tony Stewart, because he can and will drive anything “¦ and win in it. 3) Ricky Carmichael IF he can become the first big name bike guy since Joe Leonard to make the switch and win big on four wheels. 4) Fernando Alonso, if he overcomes what I think was a bad strategic decision switching from Renault to McLaren and has any sort of success filling the huge void left by Michael Schumacher’s retirement. The alternative possibility, of course, is that Ferrari will keep its feet despite Michael’s retirement, and the breathtakingly talented Kimi Raikkonen will become an F1 legend. Q: Obviously, you could attend any motor sport event you wanted to on a media credential “¦ which ones would you PAY to see and why? PAY? A member of the motor sports press PAY? Perish the thought! Seriously, I’d pay to watch my favorite race, which is the Springfield (Illinois) Mile dirt track motorcycle race. The main event there is still the most competitive 12 minutes anywhere in motor sports. SPEED is the nation’s first and foremost cable television network dedicated to motor sports and the passion for everything automotive. From racing to restoration, motorcycles to movies, SPEED delivers quality programming from the track to the garage. Now available in more than 74 million homes in North America, SPEED is among the fastest-growing sports cable networks in the country, the home to NASCAR on SPEED and an industry leader in interactive TV, video on demand, mobile initiatives and broadband services.

A decision due this week from a bankruptcy judge in Tennessee may decide the fate of AHRMA, the Vintage racing organization locked in a bitter legal battle with AHRMA founder and Team Obsolete owner Rob Iannucci, who AHRMA officials stripped of membership and banned from AHRMA events because, according to court testimony last week, he was not the type of person the organization wanted to be involved with. According to testimony in a hearing held in Nashville last week, then AHRMA Executive Director Jeff Smith did not follow the procedure outlined in the AHRMA rulebook when he banned Iannucci following a series of bitter–and often personal–disputes, instead unilaterally instituting the ban and going to the AHRMA Board of Trustees for ratification of the ban afterwards. Also according to testimony, the AHRMA Board of Trustees knew as early as 2002 that its insurance carrier was insolvent and that only $300,000 from a state insurance fund was available to cover court costs, but the Board thought that would be enough to cover the costs of the continuing legal battle over keeping Iannucci, any motorcycles carrying Team Obsolete stickers, and any riders who listed Iannucci as a sponsor out of AHRMA events. Instead, AHRMA’s legal costs have approached $900,000 to date and led the organization to file bankruptcy. Also according to court testimony last week, AHRMA officials intermixed benevolent fund money–donations meant to help injured racers–into the general fund and spent it on the litigation. AHRMA has posted a short statement on the bankruptcy hearing, here: ~http://www.ahrma.org/whatsnew.htm~ At issue is whether the bankruptcy court handles Iannucci’s claims against AHRMA or kicks the entire case back to a Federal District Court in New York, site of the ongoing legal battle that brought AHRMA to seek bankruptcy protection. AHRMA hopes that the bankruptcy court handles the claims, effectively ending the legal battle, while Iannucci says the bankruptcy filing is a ploy to escape the New York litigation and wants the entire case resolved in the New York court. An AHRMA insider has said that if Iannucci prevails and the case is moved back to New York, “We’re finished.” Or, in other words, AHRMA would cease to exist. More details will be posted as they become available.

CCS/Florida Opens Season at Homestead The Championship Cup Series of Florida opens its 2007 season at Homestead-Miami Speedway this weekend. A huge field of over 800 entries is expected to compete in the 39-class, 19-race program, the featured race being the “un-muffled” Expert Unlimited GP Class. Three Number One plateholders for 2007 CCS Regions will compete, including Florida Champion Darren Luck, Mid-Atlantic Champion Nate Kern and Northeast Champion Jeff Wood. Special guest speaker for Saturday night’s 2006 Florida Region Banquet, which is being held at the new Champions Club at the Speedway, will be world-renowned race announcer and motojournalist Chris Carter. Chris will also be part of a three-announcer team that will call Sunday’s races.

Rossi storms ahead on second day at Sepang Tuesday 6th February – Sepang, Malaysia – MotoGP Test The second Malaysian test of 2007 continued today at the Sepang Circuit, with seven riders upping the tempo on their adaptation to the new 800cc machines. They were greeted by the customary humidity present on MotoGP visits to southern Asia which, coupled with the absence of rain for the second consecutive session, allowed the teams to test out their newest prototypes under very specific conditions. Five-time MotoGP World Champion Valentino Rossi topped the timesheets on the Yamaha M1 800cc, a bike on which the charismatic Italian seems ever more comfortable. Working predominantly on development of the team’s Michelin tyres, Rossi clocked a time of 2’02.099 from 53 laps to put himself ahead of his team-mate and fastest rider from day one, Colin Edwards, by less than one hundredth of a second. Scarily for the rest of the competitors, Rossi yesterday proclaimed that the bike still lacks the horsepower he desires, and that further improvements are on the cards when they receive new parts from Japan. Despite suffering a light crash, Randy de Puniet managed to go round third fastest at Sepang, undertaking the most laps of any rider with 67 as he performed a race simulation on the Kawasaki Ninja ZX-RR800. Makoto Tamada continued to work with the Yamaha Tech 3 version of the M1, and was the quickest rider from the Dunlop-shod satellite team. The Japanese star was still under a second slower than Rossi’s official bike, which is an encouraging sign for Team Manager Herve Poncharal. Olivier Jacque joined team-mate De Puniet in putting in a large number of laps, essential for the veteran after a season away from premier class racing. Trailing him was the second Tech 3 bike of Sylvain Guintoli, the only rookie in MotoGP this season. It was another day of establishing a foundation for the Ilmor GP team. The newcomers to the premier class grid only have one rider, Andrew Pitt, testing for them this week, but are facing the challenge of developing the first 800cc bike to earn World Championship points with relish as they await the return to action of second rider Jeremy McWilliams who is recovering from a broken leg at home in Northern Ireland. All four teams will undertake a final day of testing at Sepang tomorrow, ahead of next week’s regrouping of the MotoGP grid for the Official Test in Qatar. Sepang Test: Day 2 Unofficial Times 1. Valentino Rossi- Yamaha Racing 2’02.099 53 laps 2. Colin Edwards- Yamaha Racing 2’02.118 44 3. Randy de Puniet Kawasaki Racing 2’02.554 67 4. Makoto Tamada Yamaha Tech 3 2’02.745 46 5. Olivier Jacque Kawasaki Racing 2’03.761 60 6. Sylvain Guintoli Yamaha Tech 3 2’05.002 50 7. Andrew Pitt Ilmor GP 2’07.923 – 47 More, from a press release issued by Yamaha Racing: Rossi and Edwards Set the Standard at Sepang Valentino Rossi and Colin Edwards continued their relentless march towards the first race of the season with another promising day’s work in Sepang today. Having concentrated on trying new parts for Yamaha yesterday, it was Michelin’s turn today and the Yamaha Factory Racing riders spent most of the day testing new tyres, with the Malaysian temperatures providing the ideal proving ground for the latest generation of Michelin rubber. The Yamaha pair consolidated yesterday’s good work with another day of fast times, both dipping under the 990cc lap record pace on race tyres. Tomorrow both riders will complete a long-run, before the team packs up and heads west to Qatar for the next round of pre-season testing. Valentino Rossi Position: 1st Time: 2’02.099 Laps: 53 “Today we tested some new tyres for Michelin, both front and rear. We haven’t found any special improvements to the front since the last test, but for the rear we tried something interesting to improve the edge grip. I’m very happy because I think we’re working in the right direction and we have definitely made improvements in this area. We have also continued to work on the stability in braking, changing the set-up in order to improve this even more. Finally today we worked on the engine mapping, as this year fuel consumption is going to be a very important factor. I am gaining more understanding of this new bike every day and I have a really good feeling with it. Tomorrow we will make a long run in order to compare with our data from the last test, and it will be interesting to see how all the improvements we’ve made this week make a difference to the performance of the bike over a race-distance.” Colin Edwards Position: 2nd Time: 2’02.118 Laps: 44 “It was pretty warm today and I had to go out in the hottest part of the day to test tyres, so that was quite hard work! Anyway we got through a whole lot more stuff today and things are getting better and better. We tested a couple more new things for Yamaha and then did a lot of tyre work with Michelin. Looking back at the last test, just a couple of weeks ago, everything has evolved so much since then it’s amazing! We’ve moved forward an incredible amount over just five days of testing so far this year, so that bodes well. Last time here I was doing low 2’03s comfortably, but this time I’m doing low 2’02s lap after lap and they’re coming so easily, without me really having to push too hard at all. We’ve got a long run to do tomorrow and a few more loose ends to tie up, but we’re in good shape!” Davide Brivio Team Director “Today both riders focused on tyres and we had some new material from Michelin. It was a very interesting day all round. Generally speaking, in these two days we have made small but important improvements compared to the previous test here. Tomorrow both riders will make a long-run and we will see if these improvements will be crucial towards race-performance.” Unofficial Lap Times 1. Valentino Rossi (ITA) Yamaha 2’02.099 2. Colin Edwards (USA) Yamaha 2’02.118 3. Randy de Puniet (FRA) Kawasaki 2’02.554 4. Makoto Tamada (JPN) Yamaha 2’02.745 5. Olivier Jacque (FRA) Kawasaki 2’03.761 6. Sylvain Guintoli (FRA) Yamaha 2’05.002 7. Andrew Pitt (AUS) Ilmor 2’07.923 Sepang Lap Record (990cc) Loris Capirossi (Ducati) 2006 – 2’02.127 Sepang Best Lap (990cc) Valentino Rossi (Yamaha) 2006 – 2’00.605