Jere Starks Named Sportsman of the Year by AMA Pro Racing at Annual Banquet SONOMA, Calif. (Nov. 20, 2006) Jere Starks, vice president of facilities at Infineon Raceway, was recognized for both his philanthropic and on-track safety efforts at the 32nd annual AMA Pro Racing Championship Banquet this past weekend in Las Vegas. Starks was named 2006 Sportsman of the Year by AMA Pro Racing at the banquet, which was held at The Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. The banquet honored every champion in every class of AMA Pro Racing, as well as several special award winners. “Jere’s passion for motorcycling and his concern for the safety and well-being of our competitors have driven many of the positive changes we’ve made to this facility,” said Steve Page, president and general manager at Infineon Raceway. “I’m delighted to see the industry recognize his efforts.” Starks was nominated, in part, for his fund-raising efforts for rider Vincent Haskovec, who was injured in an accident during an AMA event at Infineon Raceway in 2005 and is currently receiving care in Arizona. Starks, along with fellow riders James Randolph and Jay Brosius, formed 3J’s Motorcycle Track Days, and the group has generated $135,000 the last two years for Haskovec, including $95,000 during a motorcycle track day, dinner and auction on Nov. 7. Six-time AMA Superbike champion Mat Mladin donated a new Suzuki GSX-R750 that was raffled off during the November event. Starks, an avid motorcyclist, has also helped improve rider safety at Infineon Raceway over the years, highlighted in 2003 when raceway officials consulted with AMA riders, including Miguel Duhamel, Eric Bostrom and Ben Bostrom, on redesign elements of the road course. It marked one of the first times AMA riders had been consulted so heavily on such an expansive project. Since then, the track has continued to make rider safety a focal point, increasing run-off at virtually every turn on the 12-turn, 2.2-mile road course. This past year, the raceway, in a joint effort with the American Federation of Motorcyclists (AFM), Roadracing World Action Fund and the AMA, deployed 140 pieces of Airfence at its AMA national event. That represented the most Airfence ever deployed at an AMA national event at Infineon Raceway. “It is gratifying to be recognized for the work that we, as a track, have completed to make Infineon Raceway a safer venue for riders,” Starks said. “It would be hard to list all the people who have contributed to this endeavor, but there have been many. And we’re also pleased to help Vincent with the fund-raisers we have done, and we’re hopeful of making it bigger and better in 2007.” Infineon Raceway will host the Kawasaki AMA Superbike Showdown, presented by Supercuts, May 18-20.

CORONA EXTRA HONDA RACING WELCOMES JAMES ELLISON TO RIDE SUPERBIKE Corona Extra Honda Racing, is very pleased to announce James Ellison has joined the Team to pilot the Team’s Honda CBR1000RR SuperBike for the 2007 AMA season. Ellison brings a wealth of winning experience to the Corona Extra Honda Racing Team. James was practically born riding a motorbike in his native England, entering the racing fray on a Honda MBX80 in 1995 and scoring his first championship, the ACU Clubman’s 125 in 1997. Moving into the big leagues he won back to back European SuperStock championships in 2000 & 2001, the World Endurance Championship in 2003, the British SuperBike Privateer championship in 2004 and then put three years in MotoGP with Harris WCM 2004, Blata WCM 2005 and Tech 3 Yamaha alongside Carlos Checa in 2006. James had this to say; “I’m excited to get back to the States. I did a few rounds in 2003 and really enjoyed the racing. The Corona Extra Honda Racing Team has put together a great crew and bike for me. We will get to try the bike for the first time at Daytona in a couple of weeks, can’t wait!” Corona Extra Honda Racing principal Tim Saunders said; “We are really excited to be working with James for 2007. He has a proven capability to ride very fast and win! Also, he can adapt to a wide variety of bikes and shown he can learn tracks quickly so we’re sure he will be up to speed on the CBR1000RR SuperBike very quickly”. Corona Extra Racing and American Honda have a multi-year partnership to race in the AMA Pro SuperBike national series. The partnership will promote the thrill of road racing to fans across America with an aggressive and innovative marketing campaign featuring many replica CBR1000RR Superbikes for in-store promotions along with special appearances by James for autograph signings and store openings.

Former AMA road racer Rolando Quintero was critically injured during a STTARS Supermoto race on The Horsethief Mile Course located at Willow Springs in Rosamond, California Sunday, November 19. According to eyewitnesses, Quintero crashed after he tangled with another rider during the Sportsman race. The crash left Quintero unconscious and he was airlifted to Providence Holy Cross Hospital in Mission Hills, California, where, despite efforts to relieve pressure on the brain caused by swelling, Quintero remains in coma on a respirator. We will post more information as it becomes available.

Jack Pfiefer Takes First Toyota Cup Formula 1 Win at WSMC Las Vegas-based Jack Pfeifer had a hat-trick of wins at the 11th round of the 2006 WSMC season, including his first ever Toyota Cup Formula 1 win. Under perfect weather conditions the Pirelli-shod Pfeifer recovered quickly from a bad start and took the lead on the first lap of the 12-lap race. From there he checked out and went uncontested for the remainder of the race, running consistent laps in the 1:22 range. “I struggle with starts on the 1000, but once it gets rolling it comes on strong,” said Pfeifer from the top step of the podium about his ZX-10R. When asked if he ever looked back once in the lead, Pfeifer answered with a resounding “Nope! “I had visions of [Steve] Rapp getting me going into turn one, so I put my head down and kept it down,” continued Pfeifer. “I just tried to stay smooth.” Making his move coming out of the last turn on the last lap, Michelin race tire distributor Dale Keiffer took second place on his GSXR-1000 in the hotly contested battle for the remaining two spots on the podium. “I was gridded in the middle [of the pack] and with the fast guys out here I was going to be happy to get a top five,” said Keiffer. Keiffer kept with the group racing for second and said that he thought he had more tire left than his competitors in the second half of the race. “Four laps to the end I dug in glad I took that Viagra and saw that [Rapp] was skating around. I timed it just right on the last lap,” Keiffer said of the move he put on Rapp to take the second place Rapp had held for most of the race. What allowed Keiffer to out-drive Rapp coming out of turn nine was the fact that Rapp was on a 600, racing against the 1000s. This was Rapp’s first weekend racing an Attack Kawasaki ZX-6RR on Pirelli tires. Rapp’s game plan for the F1 race once Pfeifer checked out was to get out in front of the group battling for second and third and pull a gap. “I thought I could hold Dale off, but he was riding really well,” Rapp said. Rapp did take a hat-trick himself on the day by winning in the 650cc Superbike, 600cc Superstock, and 600cc Modified Production classes. “It was a good test because we normally don’t test until January or February,” explained Rapp about getting a head start on the 2007 season with a new team and riding on a different brand of tires than he has been on in the past. Jeff Tigert and Robbie Dowie rounded out the top five in the Formula 1 race. By scoring 30 points with two wins on a borrowed SV650, plus a fifth place in 600cc Superstock on his new YZF-R6, second-year racer Brant Wiwi clinched the overall 2006 WSMC Championship and will run the Number One plate next year at WSMC events. “At the beginning of the year I never thought I’d be in this position [to win the overall], but once I got into the [overall] points lead, it was pretty stressful,” Wiwi said. More, from a press release issued by Dunlop race tire vendor Sport Tire Services: With one round (Dec 17th) remaining in the WSMC Championship, Brant Wiwi of Hollywood, CA wrapped up the 2006 Overall #1 plate last weekend in Rosamond, CA! “We have a 62 point lead and no one can catch us in one event. I’m thrilled to be WSMC #1 for 2006 and humbled by the support from West Coast G.P Cycles , Moto-Tecnica both of Los Angeles, CA.” said Brant on the phone Tuesday after his championship winning weekend. “That makes 7 #1 plates in a row for Dunlop and Sport Tire at Willow Springs Raceway.” said Gabe Smith of STS, “Congratulations to Brant and his team! We are looking forward to working with him again in 07.” More, from a press release issued by Lindemann Engineering: Congratulations to Jack Pfiefer as he wins his first ever WSMC F-1 race at willow. Jack dips into the 1:21’s on his Superstock spec ZX during the race.

Team Yoshimura Suzuki’s Robbie Bugden sealed third place in the 2006 Australian Superbike Championship and led the charge in Suzuki’s Manufacturer’s Championship victory at Eastern Creek Raceway on Sunday. Bugden and his team mate Shawn Giles wrapped up the 2006 season on a high note with both riders on the podium for the round, placing third and second respectively. In the overall championship standings, Suzuki starred with four riders in the top ten for the season with Bugden in third, Andrew Stroud close behind in fourth, Giles in ninth and Shannon Etheridge rounding out 10th place. The weekend began strongly for the Yoshimura Suzuki pair with Bugden and Giles both qualifying on the front row of the grid for Sunday’s two 13-lap races. Race one saw Giles positioned strongly in second place with Bugden on the attack and moving from fourth up into third spot aboard his GSX-R1000 Superbike until lap eight when an incident involving Wayne Maxwell brought out the red flags to stop the race. Resuming the first race battle with a five-lap sprint race, Giles made a rare jump start error and was issued a 10-second time penalty. Bugden continued his positive run and launched himself ahead of Giles and the Suzuki team mates enjoyed a good close duel until Giles eventually slipped by Bugden to see the pair cross the finish line in second and third places. However, Giles’ penalty dropped him back down the timesheets to third place and elevated Bugden to second. In scintillating form in race two, Giles took the lead from the race start and stretched a significant race lead on the opening lap, commanding the race lead until lap five when he was passed by Jamie Stauffer. Giles then maintained pace with the new champion and preserved second place to the finish line. Bugden was again on a mission and after prevailing in a fierce fight with Shannon Johnson, the Suzuki rider was impressive as he diced with the three-time Australian Champion. The Suzuki duo greeted the chequered flag line astern with Giles nudging out Bugden to maintain second for the race and the round overall. Bugden brought his Yoshimura Suzuki home in third place behind Giles in second with both riders scoring 38 points each for the round, with the latter awarded second spot overall for the meeting by virtue of his higher placing in the final race. Team Yoshimura Suzuki now turns its attentions to reclaiming the Australian Superbike Championship with preparations already underway for the 2007 championship assault. Phil Tainton Team Manager: “Congratulations to Jamie Stauffer on his championship win, today. “Robbie has had a great finish to the season and the team offers him big congratulations for his efforts. “To exit the season with a 2-3 finish today and Robbie third in the championship was a rewarding end to what has been a very tough year. Robbie Budgen: “The Team Yoshimura Suzuki is performing perfectly; the bike is doing everything I ask of it and the Dunlops are working brilliantly. “We’ve had a strong run in the closing rounds and I have to thank Phil and the entire Team Yoshimura Suzuki crew for providing such a fantastic race bike for me. “This has been an incredible learning year for me and a fantastic opportunity to race the factory Suzuki; to cap it off with third in the championship is a great finish to an amazing season.” Shawn Giles: “Full credit to Yamaha and Jamie for taking out the title and congratulations to Robbie for grabbing third in the championship. “I’ve had the most difficult season of my career this year and missed more rounds than ever before, but coming back and still placing inside the top 10 is testimony to the quality of the Suzuki product and how well Phil prepares the bikes. “I can’t say enough about the performance of the tyres and the bike this weekend. “After being off the bike for such a long time you lose a lot of race fitness and it’s tough to go back out and be competitive, so for me it’s great to end this year with a good result.” Superbike Overall Results – Round 7: 1 Jamie Stauffer, 2 Shawn Giles (Suzuki GSX-R1000), 3 Robbie Bugden (Suzuki GSX-R1000), 4 Bryan Staring, 5 Russell Holland, 6 Shannon Johnson, 7 Andrew Stroud (Suzuki GSX-R1000), 8 Glenn Allerton, 9 Trent Gibson, 10 Brenden Gurowski Final Superbike Championship Points: 1 Jamie Stauffer 320, 2 Russell Holland 264, 3 Robbie Bugden (Suzuki GSX-R1000) 204.5, 4 Andrew Stroud (Suzuki GSX-R1000) 201, 5 Scott Charlton 157.5, 6 Shannon Johnson 155.5, 7 Daniel Stauffer 150, 8 Wayne Maxwell 134, 9 Shawn Giles (Suzuki GSX-R1000) 130, 10 Shannon Etheridge (Suzuki GSX-R1000) 124.5. SUZUKI WINS AUSTRALIAN SUPERSTOCK TITLE: Suzuki rider Ian Andrews sealed victory in the 2006 Australian Superstock Cup in the final round at Eastern Creek on 19 November. The Kessner Suzuki privateer produced a string of dominant performances throughout the season, placing him in a strong position heading into the final round. Andrews had a difficult weekend for the final round including a crash in race one, but his points buffer was sufficient for the South Australian rider to clinch the title with a comfortable margin over second place, despite finishing 12th on the day. Beginning the season on a 2004-model Suzuki, Andrews stepped up mid-season to the 2006 version GSX-R600 with technical support from Team Yoshimura Suzuki. Capping off a stellar season, the talented young pilot was also awarded the Kirk McCarthy Memorial Award in recognition of his exceptional talent. Winning both the Superstock Cup and the Kirk McCarthy Memorial Award, Andrews’ achievements are the springboard to launch him into the Australian Supersport Championship aboard a new 2007-model GSX-R600. 2006 Australian Superstock Cup Championship Standings: 1 Ian Andrews (Suzuki GSX-R600) 418, 2 Chris Trounsen 406, 3 Josh Houwen 342, 4 Anthony Quinn 339, 5 Danny Higgins 280, 6 Scott Yates 239, 7 Bradd McConnell 213, 8 Anton Kokshoorn 211, 9 Darren Sciberras 193, 10 Tim Cowie 185. SUZUKI CAPTURES FORMULA XTREME CUP Suzuki Newcastle’s Michael Fraser capped off a dominant season to seal victory in the 2006 Formula Xtreme Cup at Eastern Creek Raceway (NSW) on Sunday. Making his national-level racing debut this year, 29-year-old Fraser quickly asserted himself as a series contender and ultimately claimed five of seven round wins, including the Eastern Creek finale. Fraser entered the closing round with a 33.5-point advantage and stretched the margin with pole position and three straight race wins to 69.5 points, wrapping up his sensational season with a supremely dominant performance which netted his first Australian championship. Michael Fraser: “This has been an awesome year for me”¦ the Suzuki GSX-R1000 has been faultless all season. “I’ve only ever raced at a couple of local club-level events before this year, so to have taken out a national title in my first attempt is a huge achievement. “I also have to thank Suzuki and especially Team Yoshimura Suzuki’s Phil Tainton who’s given me a lot of technical support throughout the season and that has been invaluable.” 2006 Australian Formula Xtreme Cup Championship Standings: 1 Michael Fraser (GSX-R1000) 406.5, 2 Cameron Barnes 337, 3 Craig Domaschenz 313, 4 James Van Rooyen 266.5, 5 Shayne Whiteley 172, 6 Chris Trounson 135, 7 Chris Panayi 133.5, 8 Chris Williams 118, 9 Richard Parry 113.5, 10 Peter Grasser 112.