Peris Completes Testing at Jennings GP, Close To Lap Record Topline Racing’s Chris Peris completed three days of testing on Yamaha YZF-R6s at Jennings GP on Friday. The team was fitting and testing a complete Aim data acquisition system and testing suspension components. On hand to assist Peris, was his Lead Mechanic and engine builder, Willie Vass of Vass Performance, Fred Jolivet to manage the new data system, and suspension tuner Max McAllister of Traxxion Dynamics. Young Gun Peris will be competing in the World Supersport Championship again in 2007 on the Biker’s Days Yamaha team, and in non-conflicting AMA events, including the Daytona 200. The weather prohibited productive testing for the first two days, with temperatures in the 40 degree range, and spotty rain. The team were in ski hats and winter coats the entire time. The track surface was sandy from the wind, and didn’t offer any grip. As a result, Peris was only able to complete 30 laps each day, lapping at 1:17.0 on the second day, on Dunlop medium compound D.O.T. tires. Although he had never been to the circuit before, Peris liked the layout. “The track flows really well, and offers a little bit of everything. It’s a good place for us to test.” Friday was the first time the sun tried to break out, and the ambient temperature got close to 60 degrees midday. According to Vass, “Since we weren’t able to get anything done for the last two days, today we were simply testing whole components. We had some different Ohlins shocks Chris’ WSS team owner sent from Europe, and two fork specs from Traxxion, including their new AK-Gas cartridges.” By the end of the day, Peris was lapping consistently in the 1:16 range, with a best time of 1:15.78, backed up by a 1:15.89, which is just less than a second off of the outright lap record set recently by Luca Scassa on the factory MV Augusta. Peris achieved his best time using Traxxion’s new supersport legal AK-Gas forks. Peris normally competes in the USA with Penske Shocks, but was helping his WSS team try some different Ohlins specs. “It impressive that Chris was so fast given the amount of time we had” stated McAllister. “We weren’t able to spend any time trying to optimize anything, we were really just letting him try big changes. As we expected, he was definitely way faster on our new AK-Gas Cartridges. He was on the gas forks when he was running in the 15s. I think it’s amazing considering we were on Dunlop mediums (3136) and the track had absolutely no heat in it. There’s no doubt in my mind if we had some soft tires and some sunlight on the track, Chris would have been able to break the lap record. The weather just wasn’t on our side to be able to get a really fast time.” When asked about his plans to compete in the Daytona 200, Peris commented “I ran in the 200 in 2005, and that was the first race my dad hooked me up with Willie and Max. We finished 5th that year with a new team and new bikes. We all work great together, and now with Fred helping us with data, I am hoping to do even better. It won’t be easy though, because I will flying in to Daytona straight from a trip around the world to race in Qatar and Australia. I’ll be ready though.”

Long-haul tests mark the start of a busy 2007 season for KONICA MINOLTA Honda Monday’s Sepang MotoGP test marks the start of a very busy 2007 season for the KONICA MINOLTA Honda Team. With five gruelling tests to undertake before the 18-race season begins at Qatar on Saturday March 10th, the Team will have covered around 19,000 miles by the end of 2007, making this the longest campaign ever in MotoGP’s history. This season it’s all-change on the rider and machinery front for KONICA MINOLTA Honda with well-respected Japanese racer Shinya Nakano making his 2007 debut for the Team. Meanwhile Honda’s potent new RC212V 800cc V4 prototype racing motorcycle will mark the start of a new era in MotoGP racing, replacing the outgoing 990cc machine. Despite these two important changes, the core Team and expertise that’s won two MotoGP races stays the same, headed up by Team owner and manager Gianluca Montiron. Gianluca Montiron Team Manager KONICA MINOLTA Honda “This year will be very important for KONICA MINOLTA Honda because we have very strong motivation to go back to the top of MotoGP and win races. For this season we have everything we need to compete at the very top of the class. I believe that Shinya Nakano has great potential in MotoGP and with the competitive package that KONICA MINOLTA Honda can give him, he can now fully realise this potential. It’s the second time for Shinya testing the new Honda RC212V and for him it will be important to know and to understand the reaction of the new machine along with the new Michelin tyres. We have many tests this winter and I think it will also be important for the mechanics to learn how to work together in the garage both with each other and Shinya. Only through hard work together will we see a good lap time, which is the end result of a good job from everybody in the Team.” Shinya Nakano Rider, KONICA MINOLTA Honda “This first test of the year is so important. If you have a good first test, you can keep that momentum up until the first race. But this year the Sepang test is the first in a long series of tests, so I’m sure I will have all the time to understand the new bike, the new tyres and to start a good working relationship with the Team. So far I have had just one test with the new 800cc bike and that is not enough to ride it well. I’m sure I’ll need to change my riding style a little to be able to brake later and harder and to be faster out of the corners. Tests are different to race weekends. During tests, the days are very hard and long. The rider must keep his concentration up for many hours during the day and for a long period on the bike. I enjoy rinding at Sepang, I especially like the middle part of the track with its high-speed corners. If you have a good rhythm you can go very fast there. I dislike the first and second corners as they are too tight, too small and you need to find a good line through these corners.” Giulio Bernardelle Technical Director, KONICA MINOLTA Honda “Sepang is one of the fastest circuits on the MotoGP calendar and this will be the first time we visit it with the new 800cc machine. I think that the difference between the engine performance of the 800 and 990cc machines will be immediately clear for the rider, especially in the fast, final sector of the track. However, as we have already found out in Jerez last November, the new RC212V can reach a higher cornering speed than the old RC211V, so the lap times will not be so different. We will have to check the tyre performance because Sepang is a very hard circuit on tyres. I think that we will have better tyre durability than on the old 990cc machine. Michelin has already prepared some new tyres specifically developed for the 800cc bike, which will permit Nakano to use his riding style to the utmost.”

BERIK NAMED OFFICIAL APPAREL OF AMA RACING PICKERINGTON, Ohio (Jan. 19, 2007) The American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) announced today that Berik Clothing has been named the Official Apparel of AMA Racing and will supply uniforms to racing officials as well as management and administrative staff. New staff apparel was debuted at round one of the Amp’d Mobile AMA Supercross Series earlier this month. AMA Racing Assistant Manager of Commercial Development Gus Niewenhous said Berik’s quality and experience in the world of motorsports were contributing factors in the decision to partner with the unique brand known for its distinctive “eyes” logo. “We’re excited about our new relationship with Berik,” said Niewenhous. “Berik has proven that they can successfully outfit some of the world’s top Superbike and MotoGP teams, and we’re pleased to help them establish a strong brand identity in the United States. The quality of their apparel is of the highest level and we look forward to a long association with them.” “At MADIF Industries, we are very proud of our new involvement with AMA Racing,” commented Mauricio Giersztein President, MADIF Industries. “As a company, we focus on showcasing our company’s heritage in racing with every brand we offer. AMA championship racing properties are some of the most respected in the world and we are proud to have Berik Clothing be connected to the AMA. We are confident that our involvement with AMA Racing will increase the image and exposure of our brand to our new American customers during this multiyear relationship”.

Z1 Racing is happy to announce that Andrew Nelson will once again race Yamahas for the Toronto based team. Nelson will compete in both 600 Sport Bike and the premiere Superbike class on Yamaha’s latest R1 and R6 sportbikes. “I am really happy to be working with Andrew again, he showed a lot of speed and consistency last year, however the podium eluded us. We are raising the bar in 2007 and hope to stand on top of the podium,” said team owner Zaid Saleemi. Z1 racing will start the season with competition south of the border in early March.

Suzuki Canada is pleased to announce that Clint McBain and Matt McBride will continue to race Suzuki GSX-Rs in the Parts Canada Superbike Championship series. Matt McBride will be back under the tent of the Rider’s Choice Racing Team based out of Mississauga, Ontario. Matt will be contesting both the Pro Superbike class and the Pro 600 class with the new, 2007 GSX-R1000 and the GSX-R600. Clint McBain, from Cochrane, Alberta will be joining forces with tuner, Patrice Goyette based out of Sherbrooke, Quebec. Patrice will be preparing a pair of new 2007 Suzuki GSX-R1000s for McBain as he focuses his efforts on the Pro Superbike class.

Kenny Roberts Moves into the Sportbike Marketplace It’s with great pride that Kenny Roberts announces his entry into the sportbike marketplace with KR TUNED. This new KR brand will focus on exclusive, high-end, high-performance exhaust systems and chassis components for sportbikes, using Kenny’s MotoGP experience that goes “Beyond Performance.” KR Tuned was conceived as a conduit to apply the MotoGP engineering from Team Roberts race shop to the creation of sportbike exhausts and accessories. Utilizing nearly twenty years of experience from the world’s best motorcycle race engineers, KR Tuned provides discerning riders with the pinnacle in handcrafted, MotoGP race-shop developed exhaust systems and accessories. “King” Kenny, as he’s been referred to since his first world championship, has an unequaled list of World Grand Prix successes as both a racer and team owner. As a racer, Roberts earned three consecutive 500cc World Championship titles, while redefining the riding style of all racers to follow. As a team owner, Roberts secured three more 500cc World Championships, along with a 250cc title with American riders, adding many more podium finishes to his successes. After taking on the unprecedented challenge of creating his own 500cc KR3 GP race bikes in 1997, followed by the 990cc MotoGP KR5, Kenny now uses Honda’s new 800cc 212V motor in his KR212V MotoGP race bike, ridden by his son, and former World Champion, Kenny Roberts Jr. Kenny Roberts said, “After all these years of conceiving, engineering and building the world’s most exclusive Grand Prix race bikes, we saw it was time to share our unique engineering skills with the enthusiasts who support us. By using our race engineers who normally create and tune MotoGP components, we have an unparalleled design team dedicated to the interests of street riders.” Engineered and produced for winning, the KR Tuned product line is marketed through an alliance with Hotbodies Racing, known for its dedication to the sport. Roger Davis, owner of Hotbodies Racing, said, “Last year we signed on to sponsor Kenny’s MotoGP team, and after he saw our commitment to the industry he knew we were a natural fit to market his products. We’re excited about the alliance of our companies. Bringing the skills of Kenny Roberts to street riders is the dream of any enthusiast, so we’re very proud that it’s our reality.” KR Tuned products will be available through every Parts Unlimited dealer worldwide and directly through www.hotbodiesracing.com. Visit www.krtuned.com to find out more information about KR Tuned products and the Team Roberts MotoGP race team.