FINAL ROUND IN FRANCE Magny-Cours will welcome this weekend the final race of the 2006 Superbike World Championship. Troy Bayliss (Ducati) got the title last Sunday at Imola, but the second position will be decided here between James Toseland (Honda) and Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha) only 2 points apart. For the Team Yamaha Motor France-Ipone, Norick Abe still can hope to finish better than his actual 13th position, as he is only 12 points behind Michel Fabrizio (Honda) and 8 behind Karl Muggeridge (Honda). But he will have to watch Ruben Xaus (Ducati) only 2 points behind him. Shinichi Nakatomi is very much alone in 17th position, as he is 25 points behind the rider in 16th and 20 points in front of the rider in 18th position. The situation is very different for Sebastien Gimbert who is in 21st place, only 1 single point behind Steve Martin (Foggy Petronas) and Fabien Foret. This Magny-Cours race will be the last one in the Superbike World Championship for the legendary rider Pierfrancesco Chili and also for the very original Foggy Petronas motorcycle. “This will be also the last race with our team for Sebastien Gimbert, says team manager Martial Garcia. In 2004 in Magny-Cours, Sebastien was entered as a wild card. He qualified 4th on the starting grid and finished both races in 4th position. So we hope that the end will be as good as the beginning. Shinichi Nakatomi goes very well and continues his progression.” THE MAGNY-COURS CIRCUIT In 1959, Jean Bernigaud, mayor of Magny-Cours, created a kart track which became quickly the Circuit Jean Behra (named after the French driver 4th of the 1956 F1 championship). In 1971 was inaugurated the longer (3.850 km) new track. On July 7, 1991 was organized for the first time at Magny-Cours a F1 Grand Prix, with the President of the Republic and 100 000 spectators. There was only one motorcycle Grand Prix held at Magny-Cours and it was on July 19, 1992. Pierfrancesco Chili was on the pole position of the 250cc race. September 18 and 19 tests: Muggeridge (Honda) 1:41.1 with race tyres / 1:40.5 with qualifying tyres, Toseland (Honda) 1:40.4 / 1:40.8, Corser (Suzuki) 1:40.4 / 1:39.7, Kagayama(Suzuki) 1’40.4, Neurkirchner (Suzuki) 1:42.6 World Championship standings: 1- Bayliss (Ducati) 393 points, 2- Toseland (Honda) 295, 3- Haga (Yamaha) 293, 4- Pitt (Yamaha) 239, 5- Barros (Honda) 231… 13- Abe (Yamaha) 105, 17-Nakatomi (Yamaha) 42, 21-Gimbert (Yamaha) 18 MAGNY-COURS STATS Practice record (2005): 1:39.836 Chris Vermeulen (Honda) 159.060 kph 2005 Yamaha Motor France practice times: Norifumi Abe: 1:41.743 / 19th and Sebastien Gimbert: 1:41.695 / 17th Race 1 results 2005: 1-Vermeulen (Honda) 2-Kagayama (Suzuki) 3-Toseland (Ducati) 4-Muggeridge (Honda) 5-Corser (Suzuki) 2005 Yamaha Motor France race 1 results: Norifumi Abe: 10th and Sebastien Gimbert: 15th Race 2 results 2005: 1-Lanzi (Ducati) 2-Kagayama (Suzuki), 3-Haga (Yamaha) 4-Corser (Suzuki), 5-Walker (Kawasaki) 2005 Yamaha Motor France race 2 results: Norifumi Abe: 9th and Sebastien Gimbert: DNF (retired lap 12) Lap record (best race time 2005): 1:40.985 Chris Vermeulen (Honda) 157.250 kph More, from a press release issued by Millet Racing Yamaha Junior Team: THE SPRINT IS LAUNCHED This is the last race of the season and therefore the last possibility for the riders Michael Savary and Franck Millet to upgrade their positions in the championship standings. Michael Savary has a total of 41 points, exactly like the other rider in 9th position, the Polish Andrzej Chmielewski. So the fight will be very interesting this coming Saturday, also because Michael is only 7 points behind Renato Costantini and Daniele Beretta. Behind, the Swiss rider Gregory Junod needs only 2 points to catch Savary. Franck Millet is in 14th place with 31 points and he too can hope for a better position. He is 4 points behind the Dutch Roy Ten Napel and 5 points in front of Eddi La Marra. Remember that last year at Magny-Cours Franck, as a wild card, ended up 6th in the qualifying practice and finished 6th of the race. Partner of the Nevers Magny-Cours Circuit managed by M. Gerard Dumas, the Millet Racing Yamaha Junior Team is getting ready for a nice party this weekend: “This is a great occasion for us to organise a party with our friends and partners, says team manager Jean-Louis Millet. We will welcome about 100 guests.” More, from a press release issued by Winston Ten Kate Honda: CHARPENTIER READY FOR LAST GREAT CHALLENGE Sebastien Charpentier and the Winston Ten Kate Honda team now look to Magny Cours, the last round of the Supersport World Championship, for their latest great challenge – to secure the Supersport world title for the fifth time in a row. Charpentier is some way behind Curtain, the championship leader at this moment, but with the Charpentier everyone saw in Imola, nothing is impossible. That performance was also possible thanks to the Honda CBR600RR and Charpentier’s team-mate, Kenan Sofuoglu, who will once more be trying to help the title fight by scoring another podium. Ronald Ten Kate Team Manager “After the great results achieved at Imola, we are hoping to have another important result in France, and see where Sebastien’s rival Kevin Curtain will finish the race. I am very happy about how the team is working before this important final race of the season and I am sure, however it turns out, that everybody will give their best. Sebastien has demonstrated that he is back to great form again. Also, Kenan is living up to his great potential, he has found the right direction to work in, and he now totally understands the Honda CBR600RR. We are looking forward to Magny Cours.” Sebastien Charpentier Winston Ten Kate Honda Rider “In Imola we had a fantastic race. It was good to run away from the rest of the riders with my team-mate. In Magny Cours it will be another race, difficult of course, but we will give our best, as usual. I feel good again and this is very important: it has been a hard time for me after the injury and trying to get back in shape. Now I can say I am back. And this is thanks to the support of everyone, my family and my team. Magny Cours will be my home race and I am hoping to have many supporters cheering for me. I will try not to disappoint them.” Kenan Sofuoglu Winston Ten Kate Honda Rider “These last few races have been fantastic for me. I am really enjoying riding for the Winston Ten Kate Honda Team. It is a big family; everybody is always ready to help each other. The race at Imola went well, I am happy Sebastien has reduced his gap to Curtain and he still has another opportunity in Magny Cours next weekend. My goal is, as always, to reach the podium and this is what I will aim for in the French race. I am feeling good and I am only sad that the season is about to finish so soon.” OBJECTIVE SECOND IN THE CHAMPIONSHIP FOR TOSELAND Now that the champion has been crowned, the Winston Ten Kate Honda Team hopes to be able to finish the season overall second in the world standings, courtesy of James Toseland. At the Magny Cours circuit, the English rider will have the opportunity to secure the runner-up spot, rounding out a season that always featured the Dutch team and James battling for the positions that really count. James will have to defend and extend the two-point advantage he has over Noriyuki Haga, but it is not his intention to make too many calculations. His objective is to achieve more victories. He has already taken two race wins, one in Qatar and one in Germany. It is the last chance of the season for Karl Muggeridge, on the other side of the Ten Kate garage, to step on the podium. The Australian has been riding well in the last few races and he is determined to score an important result for his team. Ronald Ten Kate Team Manager “In Imola, to be honest, it didn’t go as we expected. Of course, second position from James in race one was quite good, but if he didn’t have that electronics problem, I think he could have finished in front of everyone. But we have to look forward. We now enter the last weekend of racing of the year and we want to get the best out of it. James is determined to finish his first season on a Honda CBR1000RR well, and to be runner-up would be a good way. Karl wasn’t too far from the fastest in the Imola races, I hope he will find the good form which should help secure a positive result for him and the team.” James Toseland Winston Ten Kate Honda Rider “Not the luckiest weekend in Imola, but as everyone knows, luck turns around. We have to be positive; we finished both races in front of my end-of-season rival Haga, and this put me in second position in the world standings. This position is still not safe, but I will do my best to maintain it in the two Magny Cours races. I feel good and I’m looking forward to starting another weekend of racing.” Karl Muggeridge Winston Ten Kate Honda Rider “I really want to get on the podium before the end of the season. The past weekend wasn’t too good overall; our times weren’t the fastest from Friday on. We hope to start much better in Magny Cours to finish in better positions in Sunday’s races. The team is ready and I’m ready.” More, from a press release issued by Pirelli: ROUND 12 MAGNY COURS, FRANCE 5th OCTOBER 2006 RACE PREVIEW October 2006, Magny-Cours (France) The last round of the season approaches – now traditionally held in France at the Magny-Cours circuit. WSBK has already found its champion, with Bayliss celebrating his second World Title at Imola, adding to his 2001 crown. The Supersport class has still to find its champion, with Kevin Curtain trying to give Australia its second overall trophy this season, while Charpentier trying to defend his number one plate on home tarmac. Magny-Cours, almost every season, presents a difficult situation as quite cold temperatures and frequent mist and fog around the circuit make the track very slippery. The tarmac is quite old, and the F1 activity makes it very polished. It has also created some small undulations that present a difficult task to the bike tyres. In order to offer the best performance to all, Pirelli has brought four different front solutions for the Superbikes: A, B, D are standard tyres available on the market under the name of Pirelli DIABLO SUPERBIKE SC0, SC1, SC2, while the “C” is made with a different compound, and has already been used at some other tracks this year. At the rear there are three solutions in the standard fitment (190/65) and a fourth (which we can refer to as the C1 for our purposes) with the same compound as the C, but in a 200mm-wide fitment. For the 16 riders who will participate in Superpole, Pirelli has also brought, as always, a qualifier, which will be given out only after the 2nd qualifying practice, and only to the top 16. As this racetrack offers relatively poor grip, Pirelli technicians needed to bring a range of solutions – soft, but still able to last the whole race distance. The qualifier is a single lap tyre, so it can be really soft for this race, as the mechanical wear of the tyre is not so great. The qualifying tyre used here is the same one the riders used at Brands Hatch. Supersport riders will choose between two different front solutions and three different rears, in the standard fitments of 120/70 for the front and 180/55 for the rear, each running on 17″ rims. After its debut in Misano the new DIABLO SUPERCORSA has been the preference of the riders when compared to the DRAGON SUPERCORSA PRO, which is itself a tyre still giving Pirelli many National Titles and is still brought to the World Championship, on occasion. Here, for instance, it is the soft solution for the rear. The Pirelli DRAGON SUPERCORSA PRO, in the SC2 compound, is well known to the market as a racetrack tyre homologated for the road, and in the Superbike paddock it is always present easy to recognize because its tread pattern is so familiar because it is the official tyre for the Superstock 1000 FIM CUP. Last but not least, the Superstock 600 European Championship is racing with the Pirelli DIABLO CORSA III three zones compound, a road tyre able to offer great performance for the young riders who have delivered very exciting races in every round. More, from a press release issued by Ducati Xerox: WSBK CHAMPION TROY BAYLISS (DUCATI XEROX) MAKES MAGNY-COURS DEBUT Magny-Cours (France), Thursday 5th October: The final act of the 2006 World Superbike Championship takes place this weekend at the Magny-Cours circuit, near Nevers in central France. After Troy Bayliss’s splendid triumph last weekend at Imola for the Ducati Xerox Team, the Manufacturers’ title now remains to be assigned. A fifth place (11 points) is all that is required for Ducati to clinch title number 14 in this particular category. Troy Bayliss arrives at Magny-Cours directly from Paris, where together with team-mate Lorenzo Lanzi he took part in a promotional event for Oakley and Ducati France, which included a photo-session beneath the Arc de Trionfe. “I feel really good, we’ve achieved what we set out to achieve” declared Troy. “It’s not over yet though because when you win the championship you’ve got to back it up and prove you are the number 1 and also we want to win the manufacturers’ championship so it’ll be lovely to finish that off this weekend and we’ll all be very happy. I’ve never been to Magny-Cours before and just rode the scooter round for a couple of laps. Davide Tardozzi took me around and showed me where we were good last year. The layout didn’t do a lot for me but I think we can find our way around here pretty good and you never know when I actually ride the real bike I might take a liking to it”. Lorenzo Lanzi won his second race here last year on a factory Ducati 999 machine run in Scuderia Caracchi colours. This year he aims to finish off the season with a similar performance for the Ducati Xerox squad. “Last year I won race 2 here after a great battle with Chris (Vermeulen) so I hope to be able to repeat that feat this year. I really like the track, and I’ve always gone well here since 2003 and Superstock days. The weather conditions are not very promising, with the possibility of some rain, but we will try and go well in practice and qualifying to get the best set-up for the races”. THE CIRCUIT Name: Magny-Cours Length: 4.250 km Pole Position: right Finish line length: 250 metres Race distance: 2 x 23 laps/101.453 km CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS (after 11 of 12 rounds): Riders – 1. Bayliss (Ducati Xerox) 393 (2006 World Champion); 2. Toseland (Honda) 295; 3. Haga (Yamaha) 293; 4. Pitt (Yamaha) 239; 5. Barros (Honda) 231; 6. Corser (Suzuki) 218; 7. Kagayama (Suzuki) 193; 8. Lanzi (Ducati Xerox) 152. Manufacturers – 1. Ducati 412; 2. Honda 373; 3. Yamaha 368; 4. Suzuki 336; 5. Kawasaki 211; 6. Petronas 19. STATISTICS: Best lap: Vermeulen (Honda), 1m39.836s (2005). Lap record: Lanzi (Ducati), 1m40.601s (2005). Superpole: Vermeulen (Honda), 1m39.836s (2005). 2005 RESULTS: Race 1 – 1. Vermeulen (Honda); 2. Kagayama (Suzuki); 3. Toseland (Ducati). Race 2 – 1. Lanzi (Ducati); 2. Kagayama; 3. Haga (Yamaha)

The Safety First Suzuki race team visited Central Elementary School in Lexington, OH on the Thursday of the AMA Superbike Shoot-Out Weekend as part of their ongoing effort to educate children from 1st 5th grade regarding helmet usage and safety. The rain allowed a number of team members to attend the presentation given by Team Owner, Kevin Hanson, which was attended by 180 kids and their teachers. As part of the presentation, Hanson uses a team Suzuki GSXR 600 race bike, his own personal bicycle, a bullet-proof police vest, a set of Komodo race leathers and a previously crashed Suomy helmet as props to have an immediate impact with the kids. Hanson runs through a pre-ride bicycle safety check list, how to properly fit and wear a helmet, usage of other safety gear, rules of the road and proper signaling. By playing an interactive game with the students regarding hand signals, he is able to reinforce the point of safety. “I was really impressed how Kevin held the attention of the kids. Anyone who knows the attention span of 1st-3rd graders would be highly impressed on how Kevin interacted with the kids on their level and kept them riveted for the 30 minute presentation per group.” noted Safety First Operations Manager Dr. David Eric Boll. “The children were really enthralled and Kevin had them eating out of his hand. He really made an impact on them, as they were still talking about the presentation the next day” quoted Central Elementary School Principal Kathy Dinkel. Riders Tony “The Tiger” Meiring and Shane Narbonne also were on hand to field questions from the children and hand out Suzuki balloons, shirts, key chains and Safety First Suzuki rider posters. For 2007, the team has committed to at least 100 presentations to be given around the county as part of the ongoing public relations aspect of the team and is currently seeking appropriate corporate sponsors to allow the team to handout properly fitted helmets and other items of appreciation to all the children in attendance. The presentation was picked up by the local paper called “The School News”, a monthly publication sent to all residents in Richland County. A picture of Hanson with some of the kids sitting on and around the Safety First Suzuki race bike, along with Safety First riders Meiring and Narbonne will appear in the next issue. Safety First Suzuki was formed in 2004 by police officer/racer, Kevin Hanson, based out of Chicago, IL. For 2006, Safety First Suzuki is competing in the AMA Superbike series in the Supersport and Formula Xtreme classes. The bikes are prepared by Jim Rashid and the team at 4&6 Racing in Skokie, IL. Checkout www.SAFETYFIRSTRACING.com to see the new Safety First/Suzuki/Komodo line of riding apparel and casual wear. Kevin Hanson continues to educate elementary school aged children nationwide about the importance of helmet usage.

YOSHIMURA SUZUKI’S SPIES CAPTURES AMA SUPERBIKE CHAMPIONSHIP, MLADIN WINS RACE AT MID-OHIO Team Yoshimura Suzuki celebrated a tremendous weekend at the final AMA Superbike race at Lexington, Ohio’s Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course on Sunday afternoon. Yoshimura Suzuki rider Ben Spies captured his first-ever AMA Superbike Championship after finishing the race in a comfortable seventh position, while teammates Mat Mladin and Aaron Yates brought home the win and second place. “This has been an awesome season,” said the newly crowned Spies. “The Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000 has been great this year and I really have to thank my crew for working so hard for me all season. We had a small problem at Virginia International Raceway (VIR) when I broke a bone in my hand, but we’ve worked through it and brought home the championship. Now we know what to expect next year and we’ll just try to go forward and come back strong for 2007.” Interrupted by a red flag mid-way through, Sunday afternoon’s 26-lap race was an exciting one. Defending AMA Superbike Champion Mladin got a good jump off the line in both starts and charged hard on his Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000. “It was a good race,” said the six-time AMA Superbike Champion. “We struggled a bit in both races but we got it together and things went well. The Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000 is great and congratulations to Ben on his championship. Now I’m just looking forward to next year.” Yates also got really good starts, leading much of the race. In the end, however, he brought home second position. “I got really good starts,” the Georgian reiterated. “We didn’t make any changes during the red flag, we just went out with new Dunlop tires. When Mat got by me, I ran with him for a while. But I’m just happy to bring home second place on the Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000.” Ben Spies, Team Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000, #11 7th Place AMA Superbike 1st Place Overall Championship Points Standings Mat Mladin, Team Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000, #1 1st Place AMA Superbike 2nd Place Overall Championship Points Standings Aaron Yates, Team Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000, #20 2nd Place AMA Superbike 4th Place Overall Championship Points Standings AMA Superbike Top 10 Finishers: 1. Mat Mladin, Team Yoshimura Suzuki 2. Aaron Yates, Team Yoshimura Suzuki 3. Neil Hodgson, Ducati 4. Ben Bostrom, Ducati 5. Jason Pridmore, Jordan Suzuki 6. Tommy Hayden, Kawasaki 7. Ben Spies, Team Yoshimura Suzuki 8. Jake Zemke, Honda 9. Marty Craggill, Hotbodies Racing Mat Mladin Motorsports Suzuki 10. Larry Pegram, Honda More, from a press release issued by Pegram Racing: LEOVINCE PEGRAM RACING HONDA TEAM FINISHES SUPERBIKE SERIES IN TOP TEN Hebron, Ohio Larry Pegram of LeoVince Pegram Racing Honda Team (a professional AMA Superbike Race Team) finished the final race and season in 10th place in the AMA Superbike Series. Despite some mechanical problems early in the season, the team was able to put forward very consistent results and finish strong. The privateer team is excited to have finished inside the top ten among all the factory teams. “This was my third year running a team in the Superbike series and I am very pleased with the growth of superbike racing and the team’s marketing presence. The team paddock was very professional and provided a quality-marketing platform for our sponsors. In addition, we ran competitively with the factory teams, so we delivered the results that the fans wanted to see from a serious privateer team,” stated Larry. “The team and I appreciate everything that our sponsors did to help us achieve a top ten overall in the AMA Superbike Series. Everybody worked hard. I am looking forward to 2007 and taking our race team to the next level,” added Larry Pegram. Team rider, Ryan Elleby, raced the final race of 2006 at Mid-Ohio with a partially healed broken wrist. Ryan crashed in the Formula Extreme class at Mid-Ohio but still finished 14th overall for the season. In the Supersport class, Ryan finished 13th for the day and 15th overall for the series. About LeoVince Pegram Racing Honda Team Hebron, Ohio-based LeoVince Pegram Racing Honda Team is a professional superbike race team competing in the AMA Superbike Championship. The team is owned and managed by Larry Pegram, a Superbike Champion and third-generation motorcycle racer. Ryan Elleby of Powder Springs, Georgia also races for the team. The team competes in the Superbike, Formula Extreme and Supersport classes on Honda CBR1000RR and CBR600RR motorcycles. The team web site is www.pegramracing.com. More, from a press release issued by Michael Jordan Motorsports Suzuki: Michael Jordan Motorsports Suzuki’s Pridmore Celebrates Best Superbike Finish of the Season LEXINGTON, Ohio Michael Jordan Motorsports Suzuki rider Jason Pridmore picked up his best AMA Superbike result of the year with a fifth-place finish in the season finale at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington, Ohio, on Sunday, Oct. 1, 2006. The 26-lap season-ending Superbike race was lauded as a shootout, with riders being gridded via heat-race results, as opposed to regular qualifying sessions. Due to unseasonably cold, wet and windy weather, both Pridmore and teammate Steve Rapp chose to support the factory riders’ decision to use provisional start options rather than qualifying in the scheduled heat races. This resulted in the Jordan Suzuki riders starting toward the back of the grid, considerably farther back than in their previous Superbike starts. But veteran rider Pridmore got a good start and made his way up through the field to finish in fifth position, his best result of the 2006 AMA Superbike season. “It just takes time to make these things work,” said Pridmore of the season’s results. Pridmore also spoke of the vast improvements that his crew has been making during the past five or six races, further stating, “We really don’t want to be running in ninth and 10th. Our team and bikes are much better than that.” Due to the regulations regarding provisional starts, Jordan Suzuki’s Jake Holden participated in the Superbike consolation race. There, Holden earned his first podium of the year, piloting his Suzuki GSX-R1000 to the front of the pack. Steve Rapp started the Superbike race to use it as additional practice time in order to compete in the second race of the day, Superstock. The strategy worked, as Rapp finished one place shy of the podium. Jason Pridmore, Jordan Suzuki GSX-R1000, #43 5th Place AMA Superbike Race 8th Place Overall Championship Points Standings Jake Holden, Jordan Suzuki GSX-R1000, #59 DNS AMA Superbike Race 12th Place Overall Championship Points Standings Steve Rapp, Jordan Suzuki GSX-R1000, #15 DNF AMA Superbike Race 11th Place Overall Championship Points Standings More, from another Michael Jordan Motorsports Suzuki: Michael Jordan Motorsports Suzuki’s Rapp gets Best Superstock Result of the Year LEXINGTON, Ohio Michael Jordan Motorsports Suzuki rider Steve Rapp followed up his impressive fifth-place finish at Road Atlanta with an even better fourth-place result in the final AMA Repsol Superstock race of the year at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington, Ohio, on Sunday, Oct. 1, 2006. Rapp’s finish was his best of the 2006 AMA Superstock season. Due to inclement weather throughout the weekend, the event’s qualifying sessions were cancelled. This allowed Jordan Suzuki riders Jake Holden and Steve Rapp to grid on the front row in second and third positions respectively, by using their Friday practice times. In the 16-lap race, Jake Holden led the first five exciting laps while Rapp was running in third place. Although Holden didn’t finish the race, Rapp more than made up for it by picking up his and the team’s best result of the season with a fourth-place finish “This was a great way to finish off the season,” said Rapp. “The Jordan Suzuki GSX-R1000 was running great and it was good to be up front for the race. We’ve made a lot of progress this year and I want to thank the crew and my teammates for such an excellent season.” Teammate Jason Pridmore did not compete in the Superstock event, choosing to save his strength in his right broken ankle so he could focus on the AMA Superbike event, where he finished fifth. Steve Rapp, Jordan Suzuki GSX-R1000, #15 4th Place AMA Repsol Superstock 7th Place Overall Championship Points Standings Jake Holden, Jordan Suzuki GSX-R1000, #59 DNF AMA Repsol Superstock 12th Place Overall Jason Pridmore, Jordan Suzuki GSX-R1000, #43 DNS AMA Repsol Superstock 17th Place Overall Championship Points Standings

Attack Kawasaki’s Damon Buckmaster will not need surgery to repair his fractured right wrist, the Australian rider learned Tuesday. Buckmaster suffered a fracture to his right ulna (at the wrist end) and a sprained wrist when the AMA Superstock qualifying session he was riding in ran head-on into a downpour of rain September 30 at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, causing him and two other riders to crash instantly. Buckmaster underwent an MRI exam Tuesday in Southern California and was later informed by orthopedic surgeon Dr. Thomas Bryan that the fracture would not require surgery and should heal naturally within a few weeks. Buckmaster, who is looking for a ride for 2007, plans to make his normal off-season return to his home in Australia on Sunday, October 8.

Parts Unlimited PJ1 Erion Honda’s Aaron Gobert underwent successful surgery Monday, October 2 in Southern California at the hands of orthopedic surgeon Dr. Thomas Bryan to alleviate problems with his right hand caused by Carpal Tunnel Syndrome. “He got in there and saw exactly what was causing the problems,” Gobert told Roadracingworld.com Wednesday. “It’s good that the problem was clear rather him having to take a shot in the dark.” Gobert said he has been having problems with his right hand going numb during races since the middle of the 2006 season. Rather than return to his home in Australia as soon as the AMA season ended, as he normally does, Gobert opted to stay in America to have the surgery. He will stay an additional two weeks to receive physical therapy on his right hand/wrist.

Nicole Hoffman Readies For Endurance Race During Fall Cycle Scene DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Nicole Hoffman, who serves as manager of interactive marketing at NASCAR will be back at her home track of Daytona International Speedway for next month’s Fall Cycle Scene with experienced-endurance racers Mark Crozier and Nathan Dressman in the inaugural 8 Hours of Daytona MOTO-ST Series race. The MOTO-ST Series will hold the 8 Hours of Daytona on Saturday, Oct. 21 beginning at 1 p.m. with $100,000 in purse and lap money. MOTO-ST will kick off their 2007 inaugural season in March at DIS during Daytona 200 Week By Honda. Hoffman has raced plenty of times on the daunting high banks of the “World Center of Racing.” But for the first time in her career, she’ll compete in an endurance race aboard a Suzuki campaigned by TeamHurtByAccident.com and sponsored by Jostens, Inc. “We’re extremely excited to participate in the inaugural event,” Hoffman said. “We’re looking forward to being a part of what we think will be Daytona history. We’re doing a lot of bike preparations right now and a lot of physical training. “Both of my teammates are seasoned endurance riders but this will be my first endurance race other than doing the Team Challenge back last year. It’ll definitely be a learning experience for me — my teammates will definitely help me along. I’m looking forward to the opportunity.” Hoffman, who resides in nearby Palm Coast, Fla., and works at the NASCAR headquarters in Daytona Beach, has a large following at her office including NASCAR President Mike Helton and ISC Vice Chairman and CEO Jim France. During this year’s Fall Cycle Scene, she expects to have a cheering section. “The MOTO-ST event coincides with Martinsville and the NASCAR Toyota All-Star Showdown that same week but I do expect some of my co-workers to come and support us in this unique event,” said Hoffman, who plans to also compete in a couple of the Championship Cup Series sprint races during the FCS weekend. “I was featured in a NASCAR Illustrated article that generated some calls from around the company. I was able let employees know about the race.” While Hoffman might be a rookie in endurance racing, her teammates are not. Dressman is a top-placing team owner/rider and seven-time regional champion while Crozier was the Overall WERA National Endurance Champion in 2005 and has four National Endurance titles under his belt. Hoffman got a taste of endurance racing assisting her teammates in this year’s WERA National Endurance Series. “The good thing is I have experience crewing for an endurance team,” Hoffman said. “I’ve helped the two riders that I’m racing with. They race in the WERA National Endurance Series. I’ve been lucky enough to work the pit board and see how their operation works. I’m not going in completely blind.” Hoffman hopes one of her driving stints will fall under the bright lights of Daytona. The 8 Hours of Daytona will finish under the lights making it the first nighttime motorcycle race at DIS since the 1985 Paul Revere 250. “It’s a very cool twist. I can’t wait for the lights,” Hoffman said. ” Lucky enough, my two teammates with Arnchu.net Racing just won an eight-hour race in Ohio that went into the night. They are completely experienced in doing that so we have that going for us. “I’m really looking forward to it. It will be an experience we won’t soon forget and I hope both TeamHurtByAccident.com bikes will be on the podium at the end of the night.” Tickets for Fall Cycle Scene are available at www.racetickets.com or by calling 1-800-PITSHOP.