TROY SATISFIED WITH FOURTH Troy ended the FGSport/Pirelli tests at Phillip Island with the fourth fastest time, but was satisfied with the progress he and the team are making with the new 2007 Yamaha R1. Although they both feel there is still a lot of work to be done, the signs so far are very positive and the the only stumbling block is now the closeness of the first race. Troy hopes that at least one more test can be arranged so that the new bike will be ready to race in the first round. His team mate Noriyuki Haga ended with the ninth quickest time of the tests. Troy’s fellow countryman Troy Bayliss topped the standings in Phillip Island, with a time of 1:30.7, well inside the lap record, and once again he will be a force to be reckoned with this year. TROY It’s always good to ride in Phillip Island because it is such a good track for testing. It’s got a bit of everything and I believe if you can make a bike round here, it’ll work more or less everywhere. That’s not to say that it’ll be perfect at every track, but it will be a good starting point for first practice. So far, the top speed and the engine feeling is not bad, but we are struggling a bit with rear grip coming out of corners. At the moment we are a bit too sideways. That is why the lap times are not as good as they should be. I’m pretty happy with the bike and the team is working well, but we just need a bit more testing. Don’t forget, for me, this is only the third day of riding a Yamaha at Phillip Island. We need to make some adjustments to the swingarm angle, so that we could use a harder tyre and get the same grip and feel as a qualifier. I don’t feel disheartened because we’re having some troubles, because we are not that far away on lap times. I know where I’m losing time and how much time I’m losing, and I’m confident we can fix it. Once we do that, we’ll be there. See ya, Troy Winter tests overall best lap times 1. Bayliss (Aus) Ducati 1:30.7, 2. Lanzi (I-Ducati) 1:31, 3. Toseland (GB-Honda) 1:31.7 4. TROY CORSER (Aus-Yamaha Motor Italia) 1:32, 5. Laconi Kawasaki PSG-1 1:32.2, 6. Kagayama (J-Suzuki) 1:32.3, 7. Nieto (E-Kawasaki) 1:32.3, 8. Biaggi (I-Suzuki) 1:32.4, 9. Haga (J-Yamaha Motor Italia) 1:32.8, 10. Rolfo (I-Honda) 1:33.2

Wrooom 2007, Madonna di Campiglio (Italy), 17th January – The Dolomite mountain scenery of Madonna di Campiglio formed the spectacular backdrop for the official launch of the new Ducati Desmosedici GP7 today. The wraps were pulled off the all-new Italian bike by Loris Capirossi and Casey Stoner, the two Ducati Marlboro Team factory riders who will spearhead the Italian manufacturer’s attack in the first year of the new 800cc category. It took place at Wroom 2007, the traditional ski meeting held on the snows of Madonna di Campiglio and reserved for the international press which offers the chance for media and journalists from all over the world to meet Ducati Marlboro Team riders and management. Following yesterday’s first conference with Federico Minoli (Chairman and Managing Director of Ducati Motor Holding) and Casey Stoner, the Australian rider who has joined the team this year, today it was the turn of Claudio Domenicali (Ducati Corse Managing Director and Ducati Motor Holding Director General of Product) and Loris Capirossi to meet the press immediately after the presentation of the Desmosedici GP7. The Desmosedici GP7 is characterized by having a new and exclusive colour scheme called “Red Racing Chrome”, produced with a special paint that is destined to highlight the lines and the design of the new machine as well as guaranteeing an extremely technological and innovative chrome effect. Naturally the new livery is not the only innovation surrounding the 2007 MotoGP bike. The 800cc engine is also completely new. Smaller and narrower than the 990 unit, the new engine is characterized by having a conventional firing-order that benefits the maximum power and helps with the fuel consumption. The concept of the engine as a load-bearing structure, with a shorter chassis and the sub-frame mounted directly on the engine and no longer on the frame, has also been optimized, thus allowing a strengthening of the entire foot-peg area. Major attention has also been dedicated to a lightening and further refining of all components. “I am proud to present the new Desmosedici GP7, a project that currently represents the peak of Ducati know-how” declared Claudio Domenicali during the press conference. “The bike features a mixture of technology and evolution and has already given us excellent results on the track in the first tests. In particular we are particularly proud of the opportunity that the project offers to transfer experience accumulated in racing to our road-going products. I am really happy to be here today with Loris. We began this challenge together and, five years later, we are still here, ready to tackle a new season in MotoGP with a project that has grown, matured and improved over the years and which is destined to give us great satisfaction. I am just as pleased to welcome Casey: together with Loris they form a fantastic pairing. All this would not be possible without the aid of our sponsors. A big thanks to all those who have given us their support for many years and a warm welcome to SanDisk, a world leader in the production of flash memory cars and portable multimedia accessories, who today have officially announced their partnership agreement with us.” “They tell me I’m a MotoGP dinosaur and for this reason I have decided to play on this description by changing my classic Capirex logo to Capi-T-rex” commented Loris Capirossi at the start of the press conference at Madonna di Campiglio. “This is my eighteenth year in the world championship but you can be sure of one thing: the feeling with the bike is the same as ever and I still really enjoy my racing, so now I am in form, fired-up and ready to give my everything again in this new season. This is my fifth year with Ducati, which is also a major achievement; it’s not the first time I have said it but once again I’d like to take the opportunity to underline that I have found a family in this company, something which makes me feel very proud and happy. We are ready to face up to this new season in the best possible way, so far we have worked well with the new bike and its development. Filippo Preziosi and his team, together with Vitto, have been great as always. I can’t wait to get back on the bike at Sepang to start preparations for the new season and obtain the result that I have been chasing for years and which I feel I have all the right cards to achieve.” The Ducati Marlboro Team will leave Madonna di Campiglio on Friday morning for Malaysia, where it will take part in the first tests of the 2007 season at Sepang from January 22-24.

KAWASAKI ANNOUNCES THREE-YEAR PARTNERSHIP EXTENSION WITH INFINEON RACEWAY IRVINE, Calif. (January 17, 2007) Kawasaki Motors Corp., U.S.A. (KMC), recently announced a three year extension to their long-standing partnership with Infineon Raceway. Kawasaki and the raceway have maintained a relationship since 2001, and as a result of this extension, Kawasaki will continue as the “Official Motorcycle, ATV and Personal Watercraft” sponsor of Infineon through 2010. KMC will also retain title sponsorship of the facility’s AMA Superbike event each Spring. “Kawasaki has been one of the raceway’s strongest partners over the years,” said Steve Page, president and general manager of Infineon Raceway. “We appreciate the outstanding support they have provided for motorcycle racing at this facility and look forward to our continued association with the Kawasaki brand.” Infineon’s annual AMA Superbike Championship event, which is titled: “The Kawasaki AMA Superbike Showdown” is held in May. In addition to that title sponsorship, the partnership will also include: an annual large-scale Northern California-based retail promotion in advance of the Kawasaki AMA Superbike Showdown, year-long signage placement at Infineon Raceway, and Kawasaki corporate ticket packages and hospitality at all of the raceway’s major events each year. “Kawasaki and our Northern California dealers have benefited greatly from the relationship with Infineon over the past several years, as have the many racing fans who have taken advantage of the special ticket packages offered through our dealerships,” said Bruce Stjernstrom, Kawasaki Director of Marketing. Kawasaki fans will have something to look forward to during the upcoming AMA Superbike Showdown, as the Monster Energy Kawasaki factory roadrace team will enter a two-rider pairing for the 2007 AMA season. The team, featuring established racers Roger Hayden and Jamie Hacking, will compete in the Superbike and Supersport classes on the Ninja® ZX™-10R Superbike and all-new Ninja ZX-6R Supersport machines. Kawasaki’s factory roadracing effort will also be supplemented by the Attack Performance satellite team of Ben Attard and Steve Rapp. Piloting Ninja ZX-6Rs, both riders will be competing in the AMA Supersport and Formula Extreme classes. About Speedway Motorsports Inc. : Speedway Motorsports (NYSE: TRK) is a leading marketer and promoter of motorsports entertainment in the United States. The Company owns and operates the following premiere speedways: Atlanta Motor Speedway, Bristol Motor Speedway, Infineon Raceway, Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Lowe’s Motor Speedway and Texas Motor Speedway. The Company provides souvenir merchandising services through its SMI Properties subsidiary, and manufactures and distributes smaller-scale, modified racing cars through its 600 Racing subsidiary. The Company also owns Performance Racing Network (PRN) which broadcasts syndicated motorsports programming to more than 730 radio stations nationwide. About Kawasaki Motors Corp., U.S.A.: Kawasaki Motors Corp., U.S.A. (KMC) markets and distributes Kawasaki motorcycles, ATVs, personal watercraft and utility vehicles through a network of more than 1,500 independent retailers, with an additional 7,700 retailers specializing in power products and general purpose engines. KMC and its affiliates employ nearly 2,400 people in the United States, with 400 of them located at the Irvine, California headquarters.

The season starts now for Rizla Suzuki MotoGP Rizla Suzuki MotoGP racers John Hopkins and Chris Vermeulen get back into action next week when they will be testing the latest version of the 800cc Suzuki GSV-R at Sepang in Malaysia. Following the seven-week test ban, both riders will be eager to get back on the bike to continue from where they left off in Spain last year – Hopkins and Vermeulen were both amongst the fastest riders at the tests at the end of last season. Suzuki’s riders are raring to go and both of them have spent the winter months training hard back in their respective native homes of America and Australia. They have undertaken a thorough fitness programme during the break to prepare themselves for the 18 race season that lies ahead. The prototype Rizla Suzuki GSV-R800 race bike will be put through its paces at the Sepang circuit from Monday 22nd January and all team members are keen to get to grips with the latest version of the bike that showed such promise during the post 2006 season tests. Sepang is a circuit well known to Hopkins and Vermeulen. The Malaysian track is favoured with all the MotoGP teams for testing as it offers a bit of everything, from long straights to tight twisty sections and fast flowing corners over its 5.5km length. Rizla Suzuki MotoGP will follow the Malaysian test with another in Australia the week after. The test schedule will then feature the two Official MotoGP tests in Qatar and Spain during February. The first round of the MotoGP season is at Losail in Qatar on Saturday 10th March. John Hopkins: “Right now we’ve just got to maintain the good level of performance that we seemed to have in the first 800 tests. We’ve got to work really hard in these tests, because once the first race comes, we’ve got to be ready! We all need to be prepared. I think Suzuki is ready, and myself – physically and mentally I’m totally geared up and looking forward to it very much. We’re going to be working a lot with Bridgestone and testing a lot of tyres over race distance and working on the durability of not just the tyres but the bike as well. We just all need to pull together and make it happen!” Chris Vermeulen: “This test can’t come soon enough for me, it seems ages since I was on a GP bike and I’m eager to get back. We have loads of work to get through and the season starts in just over a month so we all know it’s going to be tough. I have been training hard during the break and feel fitter than I have ever been before a season starts. I’ve been in regular contact with my Crew Chief Tom O’Kane and he and the rest of the team are as revved up as I am! We know that Suzuki has been working hard to find us some more horsepower, and make lots of detailed improvements, to make sure we hit these tests running.”

WMRRA 2007 Race schedule 3/31-4/1 Pacific Raceways Kent, WA 5/5-5/6 Pacific Raceways Kent, WA 5/26-5/27 Spokane Raceway Park Spokane, WA 6/9-6/10 Pacific Raceways Kent, WA 7/7-7/8 Spokane Raceway Park Spokane, WA 8/11-8/12 Pacific Raceways Kent, WA 9/1-9/2 Spokane Raceway Park Spokane, WA 10/6-10/7 Pacific Raceways Kent, WA WMRRA 2007 Elected Board members President Allister MacKinnon Treasurer Joan Inge 1st VP Andre Lister 2nd VP Bill Hallanger 3rd VP Brent Hallstrom Secretary Debbie Hallanger Race Director Jeff Wieand GP/SBK Rep Jeff Webber SS Rep Nico Tomacelli Novice Rep Chris Denzler Vintage Rep Duncan Craick For additional info or to contact wmrra: www.wmrra.com WMRRA PO Box 94323 Seattle, WA 98124 425-338-4686 [email protected]

GPR STABILIZER RENEWS SPONSORSHIP WITH TEAM ROADRACINGWORLD.COM SUZUKI GPR Stabilizer is proud to announce the renewal of their sponsorship of Team Roadracingworld.com Suzuki for the 2007 road race season. GPR Stabilizer will continue to provide their high-performance steering dampers to the team’s riders and crew who help with research and development of new products for the company. Team owner Chris Ulrich and Robertino Pietri return as teammates in 2007, each riding Suzuki GSX-R1000s in AMA Superstock and selected Superbike events. Chris is an AMA race winner in his ninth year of AMA competition, while Robertino is in his third year of racing in the U.S, having won several championships in his native Venezuela, the latest being the 2006 Latin American Superbike Championship that he won after the 2006 AMA Superbike Series concluded. “We’re excited to continue to work with Chris and Robertino,” said Jeff Norman of GPR Stabilizer. “They’ve helped us R&D our new Version 4 product, which is smaller and lighter than anything we’ve made before.” With their background in aerospace design and machining, GPR Stabilizer manufactures and sells the world’s finest steering dampers and accessories. All design, testing, machining, laser engraving, packaging and shipping of the finished kits is done in-house in San Diego, California. GPR Stabilizer kits are available through local dealers, and are distributed in the U.S. by Lockhart Phillips USA, Parts Unlimited and Tucker Rocky. For more information, please call (619) 661-0101 or visit www.gprstabilizer.com. In the U.K. and Europe, please call GPR Stabilizer U.K. at 44-01945-58-58-42.

Transcript of a phone interview conducted January 16, 2007 at 4:35 p.m. Pacific Standard Time: Roadracingworld.com: Did you ever race on Pirelli tires? Jamie James: “No. But (in 1990) I rode on Yokohamas and we finished second in a World Superbike race on them and had a good shot at winning it. But somehow things got messed up and they just kind of slowed down on the support. I don’t know if it was problems with the U.S. distributor and Yokohama or what, I don’t speak Japanese. I don’t know what happened but we weren’t getting the tires that we needed so we decided to switch and go to Dunlops.” More, from a reader who was there: FIRST PERSON/OPINION Via e-mail: During the 1990 season, Jamie James used Yokohamas up until July. It was at the Miami round of the AMA Superbike Series that the Yokohama rep ran out of the special “A” tires (which weren’t as good as off-the-shelf Dunlop items), and Ferracci said “No way!” The Yokohama rep “ordered” him (‘DO NOT PUT THOSE TIRES ON THESE RIMS!’) not to put the Dunlops on the wheels, as they stood at (Dunlop race tire distributor) Phil Flack’s canopy and Ferracci said “I got to. I wasta’ the talent (motioning to James) and wasta’ da guy’s expertise (motioning to Phillip) for what? Because you canta bring no tire? Ess f–king stupid.” That was after practice on Friday. The bike never rolled on the Dunlops until Saturday. After Friday practice, myself, Jimmy Adamo and the Ferracci crew all went back to the hotel together. As we were driving, Jamie kept saying, “I wanna put a Michelin on the front.” (He obviously wasn’t looking to change one tire, but the front Yokohamas were the real concern and the front Michelins at the time were excellent.) He was still not sure about the switch to the unfamiliar Dunlops (I think he was a Michelin guy prior to all of this.) I did my best to re-assure Jamie that Eraldo had made the right choice. At the time, Adamo had recently switched from Michelins to Dunlops a few rounds earlier, at Road America. We ran them for the rest of the 1990 season and that was it. The Dunlops had very different characteristics than the Michelins, but the Dunlops had the upper hand and Adamo had no real tire sponsor at that time, so we ran the Dunlops and went faster. I told Jamie that the switch to Dunlop from Michelin made Adamo’s lap times drop. He was skeptical, but he calmed down a bit after I fired off some before-and-after lap times from Wisconsin. Both Jamie James and Jimmy Adamo were running Ducati 888s, so it was a fair comparison. During Friday practice when Jamie was on the Yokohamas, he seemed to be tip-toeing out of the final corner that incorporated the pit wall. You could see he was clearly not comfortable. The next morning during practice, we all waited at the wall to see if the Dunlops were going to make the teeth come out for JJ. Jamie came around and after three laps was wide open 50 feet earlier than the day before, leaving darkies all the way up to the Armco barrier. He was immediately faster. He got off the bike and was all smiles. Jamie had a chance to win that race but unfortunately crashed out. Enzo Assainte Bergenfield, New Jersey