Rizla Suzuki British Superbike racers Chris Walker and Cal Crutchlow will start their busy pre-season test programme next week in a private two-day session at the Spanish Calafat circuit. When the racers take to the twisty 3.5km circuit on Wednesday and Thursday, it will be the first time they have access to two full race-specification Rizla Suzuki GSX-R1000 race bikes each. Rizla Suzuki Team Manager Simon Buckmaster said: “The first test of 2007 is very important to Rizla Suzuki and its riders. After our Valencia test last November we have built two bikes for each rider to a specification we think will provide a strong base setting. “By the end of the two-day test we expect to have covered a lot of miles, component, part and tyre testing so we can develop the GSX-R1000 further in time for our next test at Almeria at the end of the month.” Rizla Suzuki’s Chris Walker said: “The Valencia test last year showed us the potential of the new Rizla Suzuki GSX-R1000. I was half a second faster than the 2006 bike using an early specification 2007 GSX-R and can’t wait to ride the new race version. I’m excited and ready to improve the bike even further. “It is really encouraging that we have a full test programme abroad and within the UK to get through before the racing starts; that will give us the best chance possible to be challenging for race wins right from the off.” Reigning British Supersport Champion Crutchlow is eager to start testing as well. He said: “I have been training hard and I am in tip-top shape to start testing for my first season in Superbikes. “Testing and completing as many miles as possible on my new Rizla Suzuki are absolutely vital as you can’t beat riding as a way for getting up to speed and preparing for racing. I can’t wait.”

A memorial page, including photos from his racing career, has been established for former racer Jim Dunn, who died late last year. To see it, go here: ~http://www.mem.com/display/biography.asp?ID=1628615~

Click here for photos of work crews removing the Billy Mitchell Bridge and building a new paddock access tunnel at Road America: ~http://photos.roadamerica.com/gallery/2317236#121172631~

CORRECTION Rome, Georgia, February 2,2007 : In a recent press release concerning a contract with Harley Davidson, Michelin North America claimed that ‘Michelin invented the radial motorcycle tire in 1987.’ To set the record straight, the first radial motorcycle tire, the MP7, was produced by Pirelli in 1983 for the launch of the Honda VF1000R. Pirelli Tire North America specializes in the manufacture and marketing of high performance car, light truck and motorcycle tires and currently has four of its highly advanced MIRS (Modular Integrated Robotized System) modules in operation in its newest automated production facility in Rome, Georgia, to better serve the American OEM and Replacement markets. For more information, please visit the company’s web site at www.us.pirelli.com

After weeks of speculation Steve Plater is pleased to announce that he is to ride for AIM Yamaha and will contest the British Superbike championship on a new 2007 R1. Richard Cooper who will race an R6 Yamaha in the British Supersport series will join him in the team. Steve said: “I am delighted to be riding for the team that made it possible for me to win the 40th Macau Grand Prix on their R1 Yamaha.” Steve will also be contesting the North West 200 for the team before making his debut at the Isle of Man TT races in June. Last year the Woodhall Spa rider tasted the victor’s champagne by winning both races at the North West 200 and is hoping to repeat that again in 2007 for AIM Yamaha. The TT will be a completely new experience for the 34-year-old Lincolnshire rider who has never ridden the 37.73-mile mountain road circuit on a race bike. “I have been over to the Isle of Man on numerous occasions and ridden a road bike around the course but never under race conditions so it will be interesting to see how I go when there is no traffic coming the other way,” he said. “I am looking forward to the challenge and will do my best for AIM Racing. It has not yet been confirmed which TT classes I am to contest but it is likely I will be riding in the Superbike and Superstock races with the possibility of the Supersport race if all goes well.” Team AIM principal Alistair Flanagan said: “I am delighted to welcome Steve Plater on board. He rode for me at the Sunflower meeting in Ireland last year and then won the Macau Grand Prix for AIM Yamaha in November so I am more than happy that he has agreed to join the team and ride in both the British Superbike championship and the major road races this year.” It will be a busy year for Steve as he has also confirmed his intention to compete in the World Endurance championship for Team Kawasaki France with whom he rode to third place in the 24-hour Bol D’Or race at Magny Cours in France last September. Steve will be riding a Kawasaki ZX10 with two teammates to be decided from Gwen Giabbani (F), Ivan Silva (E) and Frédéric Moreira (F). The championship will be run over six rounds at major circuits throughout the world – April 21/22, Le Mans; May 5, Albacete; July 29, Suzuka; August 11/12, Oschersleben; September 15/16, Bol D’Or; November 10, Qatar. The 2007 British Superbike calendar: 9 April, Brands Hatch; 15 April, Thruxton; 29 April, Silverstone; 7 May, Oulton Park; 20 May, Snetterton; 17 June, Mondello Park; 1 July, Knockhill; 15 July, Oulton Park; 22 July, Mallory Park; 12 August, Croft; 27 August, Cadwell Park; 23 September, Donington Park; 14 October, Brands Hatch. The Isle of Man TT commences on May 26 with a week of practise followed by racing from June 2 June 8. The North West 200 is on Saturday, May 12 preceded by practise on Tuesday, May 8 and Thursday, May 10.

Bridgestone MotoGP: Phillip Island Test Debrief Q+A with Hiroshi Yamada – Bridgestone Motorsport – Manager Motorcycle Racing Bridgestone continued its extensive pre-season tyre testing with four of its five teams at the technically challenging Phillip Island circuit in Australia this week. Bridgestone Motorsport’s Motorcycle Racing Manager, Hiroshi Yamada believes the test was crucial in terms of season-long tyre development and for October’s Australian GP. How did this week’s programme differ from the Sepang test last week? “The programme for this week’s test was to continue development of our new rear tyres for the 800cc bikes, as well as to work specifically for the Australian GP later in the year. Phillip Island is a technical circuit and quite hard on tyres because we experience higher tyre temperatures than on any other track during the season. We do not get so many opportunities to test at Phillip Island so we must capitalise on our trip every time.” What tyres were tested this week? “We took a wide range of tyres this week, as we did in Sepang, in order to obtain as much data as possible from the eight Bridgestone-shod riders that took part in this test. We took a total of 1,100 tyres including new rear constructions and shapes, as well as qualifying rubber, all of which gave very useful results.” Qualifying was unusually problematic for Bridgestone at Phillip Island last year. Were any improvements found during this week’s session? “The major issue which we encountered in last year’s Australian GP qualifying was that our one-lap tyres did not retain sufficient grip levels for the entire lap. This forced our riders to conserve their tyre by backing off in less critical sections of the lap in order to keep the grip for the all-important final corner. One of our priorities for this week was to look deeper into this problem. As a general guideline, we expect around one second per lap improvement from race tyre to qualifying tyre, but we are still only seeing 0.5s gain around Phillip Island. We took several qualifying tyres this week and we got some extremely valuable feedback from our teams to resolve the problem for this year’s GP.” How was race tyre performance? “Most of our riders conducted long runs on our new rear tyres and we were able to see some impressive lap times during race simulation work. We are still looking into finding the limit which ensures our tyres are at optimum performance for just the right distance. The initial results show lap times on this construction and shape can be quick and consistent, which is encouraging, but our next planned step is to work on the best performance ratio.” Do any of the results from these opening two tests give you cause for concern? “I am not concerned at all, in fact I have been pleasantly surprised by the performance of our tyres in Sepang and Phillip Island. We have been able to use this week’s Australian test to verify initial results from Sepang as we begin to finalise the direction for tyre development for the coming season. We do not conduct tyre tests with our teams assuming that everything is going to yield positive results. Sometimes we can make even more progress by seeing something that does not work as well, so we are grateful for the support our teams give us during this crucial test phase. We have two more teams for this season so we are able to obtain more test data and we hope this will allow us to be more consistently competitive during the season than ever before.” Will the 2007 Bridgestone tyres be the same across all five teams? “We pride ourselves on providing tyres to each of our teams fairly at all times. A tyre that works well on one bike may not work as well on another so we tailor our service to each team and also to each rider. Data that has been acquired over these winter tests has allowed us to identify areas for individual improvement within each team, whether tuning the tyres to work better with the bike set-up or with the riding style.” Does Bridgestone plan to introduce 16-inch front tyres this season? “We do not intend to produce 16-inch front tyres for the coming season. We have previously evaluated the possibility of introducing a smaller front tyre, but concluded that the 16.5-inch offers the best performance for our teams, even with the introduction of the 800cc bikes for 2007.”

Scott Smallwood, who finished third in the 2006 USGPRU 125cc National Championship, has renewed with “primary sponsor” Redline Powersports, a California-based Grand Prix and sportbike retailer, according to a press release issued by Redline Powersports. “Frankly, I look forward to turning on as many riders as possible to the burgeoning GP 125 and 250 scene here in the eastern portion of the U.S.,” Smallwood was quoted as saying in the release. “Both Redline Powersports and the USGPRU racing series, have made my pursuit both fruitful and exciting.”