WERA Releases 2007 National and Sportsman Schedules The 2007 Bridgestone/WERA National Endurance and Michelin/WERA National Challenge Series Schedule kicks off March 16-18 at the newly repaved Roebling Road Raceway in Faulkville, GA, then moves on to Barber Motorsports Park in Leeds, AL on May 4-6; then May 18-20 will be Jennings GP in Jennings, FL; June 15-17 will be Miller Motorsports Park in Tooele, UT; June 28 through July 1 will be the annual Cycle Jam at Road Atlanta in Braselton, GA; July 13-15 will be Grattan Raceway in Grattan, MI; August 3-5 Summit Point Raceway in Summit Point, WV; August 17-19 Talladega Gran Prix in Talladega, AL; September 7-9 Nelson Ledges, Warren, OH and then the Grand National Finals at Road Atlanta in Braselton, GA will be October 10-14. The first Pirelli Sportsman Round will be for WERA West at California Speedway in Fontana, CA on January 7, 2007. The Southeast Region will kick off February 10/11 at the newly repaved and reconfigured Talledga Gran Prix in Talladega, AL. For the balance of the 2007 schedule check out www.wera.com. For further information contact WERA at (770) 720-5010.

Yamaha Factory Racing Press Release Friday, 1st December 2006 Gerno di Lesmo, Italy YAMAHA FACTORY RACING AND CAMEL END THEIR MOTOGP PARTNERSHIP Following Camel’s recent announcement, Yamaha Factory Racing would like to express its thanks to Camel and Japan Tobacco International for their partnership and support over the 2006 MotoGP season. Our thanks go out to all those involved in the project; they have formed an important part of our team over the past year. It has been a great honour for Yamaha to work with such an experienced sponsor and Camel’s enthusiasm throughout the season has been greatly appreciated by the entire Yamaha Factory Racing Team and the Yamaha Motor Group.

BRIDGESTONE MOTOGP: NOVEMBER TESTING DEBRIEF Q+A with Hiroshi Yamada – Bridgestone Motorsport – Manager Motorcycle Racing Just one month since Bridgestone ended the 2006 MotoGP season in style with a 1-2 in Valencia, preparations for the new 800cc era are already well underway. New additions to the Bridgestone family, Gresini and D’Antin, have joined Suzuki, Kawasaki and Ducati in providing the Japanese tyre manufacturer with invaluable feedback ahead of 2007 . How has the approach to winter testing changed this year with the introduction of the new 800cc bikes? “Generally, our approach to winter testing has followed the same lines as previous years with a specific focus on evaluating the performance of our standard specification tyres with the new bikes. We have studied the behaviour of the tyres on both 990cc and 800cc bikes to allow us to determine the basic direction of tyre development for front and rear tyres for the coming season.” What type of tyres has Bridgestone been evaluating in Sepang and Jerez tests? “In addition to our standard 2006 specification tyres, we have also tested a variety of new tyre shapes and constructions in response to the demands of the 800cc bikes. Tyres are just one element of the package, so we have been working closely with all five of our teams in these first winter tests to begin tuning the tyres together with the bike and rider.” How do the characteristics of the 800cc bikes affect tyre performance? “So far, we have seen that lap times have been largely unaffected by the switch to 800cc bikes and, in some instances, have actually improved, albeit in different conditions. Rather than development of a specific “800 tyre”, we are looking at natural progressions and evolutions of our existing tyre technology for 2007. The reduced power output of the 800cc may mean that we can adopt softer compounds at some circuits, but we may need to develop harder compounds to cope with the increased cornering speeds at others.” What is the development plan between now and the next test in January? “We will carefully analyse the information collated from the post season tests and look into finalising a direction for the all-important tests in January and February. We will look at developing tyre constructions for 2007 that complement the increased cornering speeds while at the same time compensating for the overall reduction in power.” How much progress has been made with Bridgestone’s new teams D’Antin and Gresini? “We have been very pleased with the initial tests with both D’Antin and Gresini teams. Together with our existing teams, Suzuki, Ducati and Kawasaki, we have hit the ground running in post-season tests and have seen some encouraging results. Of particular note, Suzuki has excelled with some very quick lap times. We head into the winter break with some valuable feedback from all of our teams. We will be supporting four different manufacturers and, since the characteristics of each bike are different, we have a lot of work to help all our teams to achieve the best results possible, but we are ready for the challenge.” Does the addition of two new teams place more strain on resources? “The new tyre regulations for next season that demand a limit of 31 tyres per rider, per weekend have made it possible for us to supply more teams. We will be producing fewer tyres for each GP weekend, so we will have a greater production capacity in our Tokyo factory. As such, we expect a relatively smooth transition to accommodate the two new additions to the Bridgestone family, Gresini and D’Antin.” With five teams and ten riders, will Bridgestone be under increased pressure in 2007? “It seems that Bridgestone will be supporting a majority number of bikes in MotoGP next season, and we are very proud to be such a major contributor in the motorcycle racing world by supplying more teams. We will be further enhancing the healthy competition we enjoy with our rival tyre manufacturers, which is something that we look forward to. The new tyre regulations add an unknown dimension to the competition next year, but I hope that we are in a position to challenge for victories on a regular basis.”

Talented Scot Keith Amor is the latest top quality newcomer to commit to the 2007 Isle of Man TT Races, and will make his debut as part of the Uel Duncan Racing Team, alongside the mercurial Australian star Cameron Donald. The 2005 Scottish Sports Production Champion is one of the hottest properties in road racing at present, following scintillating performances at the North West 200 and Ulster Grand Prix in Ireland. Having made his debut at the North West 200 in 2005, he already has four top ten finishes including a sixth place in this year’s Superstock Race, having qualified on the front row. As a newcomer at the Ulster Grand Prix in August, Amor was one of the riders of the week, winning the Newcomers Race and finishing in the top ten in all his races. A stunning fifth in the Superstock Race was only eclipsed by his fastest lap speed of 126.272mph made him the fastest newcomer ever at the Dundrod Circuit, taking the honour away from new team mate Donald. He will ride Honda machinery for Uel Duncan Racing in all classes on his debut at the Centenary TT for Uel Duncan Racing and will his progress will no doubt be closely keenly monitored by TT fans. Speaking about the possibility of a TT debut, Keith said: “Doing the TT is the ultimate and a dream come true, so to get the chance to take part as a newcomer with an established team behind me, like Uel Duncan Racing is almost unbelievable. I have plans to spend a lot of time on the Isle of Man learning the circuit on the run up to the event, and no doubt I will be able to learn a lot from my team boss Uel and my new team mate Cameron and I hope to acquit myself well.” Rider Liaison Officer Richard Quayle commented by saying: “Keith is a tremendous talent who reminds me a bit of Steve Hislop. With having Uel’s experience around him and a team mate like Cameron who has already achieved a lot in a short space of time I am certain he will perform very well in his debut year, and we will be on hand to assist him in all we can.” Chairman of the TT Steering Committee David Cretney added: “Uel Duncan Racing have developed into one of the major teams in the TT paddock, and enjoyed a terrific 2006 TT with Cameron Donald in particular. Keith Amor already has a terrific CV, and is a significant asset to the TT entry list and together I am sure that they can look forward to a lot of success around the Mountain Circuit.”

Ilmor are pleased to report that following his unfortunate crash yesterday (Thursday 30th) test rider Jeremy McWilliams is already on the road to recovery. McWilliams suffered a fracture to his left femur and has a suspected fracture to his collarbone, however speaking from the hospital this morning he sounded upbeat and very positive. Commenting on the crash McWilliams said: “It was very fast and I took a bit of a tumble. The doctors here in Jerez have been great and they tell me that my leg fracture is really clean, it should take four to five weeks to heal then I’ll be walking and able to take exercise again. I need to have an operation to have it pinned so I’ll be having that as soon as they have time to fit me in. Apparently I also have a broken collarbone but it doesn’t feel like it to me. Oh and I will lose a part of one of my fingers but as I keep telling people, I broke that one before and it wasn’t much use to me anyway!” McWilliams went out on turn 4 at the Jerez circuit early yesterday afternoon on the third and final day of the official test. Initial data reports from the X³ show nothing to suggest a mechanical error. Team Owner Mario Illien said: “First and foremost I’m pleased that it seems there will be no lasting damage to Jeremy, of course we want to get to the nature of the cause of the incident as soon as possible and I know the team are analysing data and footage from the crash now. Prior to yesterday afternoon, both our test riders McWilliams and Pitt had done a sterling job providing us with superb feedback on the bike allowing the team to adjust the bike’s set up and improve on the overall performance. With the exception of yesterday’s accident it has been a good test for us, we’re making progress. I would like to take this opportunity to wish Jeremy a very speedy recovery and I’m delighted, if a little shocked to hear him say he’s looking forward to getting back out on the X³!”