PICKERINGTON, Ohio – After seven months, 18 rounds, and hundreds of miles of some of the most intense motorcycle racing in the world the 2006 AMA Superbike Championship will be decided on Sept. 29 Oct. 1 at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington, Ohio, at the AMA Superbike Shootout. The season finale will mark the final showdown between Yoshimura Suzuki teammates Ben Spies and Mat Mladin. Spies, a second-year Superbike rider from Longview, Texas, is trying to unseat Australian Mladin, the most dominant rider in the history of the series and the winner of six of the last seven AMA Superbike Championships. Spies leads Mladin by 20 points coming into Mid-Ohio. The young Texan needs to finish 13th or better to win the title. While that seems like a simple task for Spies, who has finished no worse than fourth all season, this event will throw a twist into the title chase. Mid-Ohio will run under a unique format featuring heat races and a Last Chance Qualifier (LCQ) in place of timed qualifying. Only the top 20 riders will make the main, approximately half of the riders in a normal AMA Superbike race. Superbike riders who do not make the main are eligible to take part in a consolation race, all sponsored by Dunlop Tire. Spies will have to navigate an unfamiliar race format in his path to a potential championship. In addition he is still recovering from a broken hand suffered at Virginia International Raceway in mid-August. For many racers who have been in a similar position as Spies, they’ve said they’d almost rather have to race like they normally do than to have to protect a lead, but Spies feels comfortable running out front. “I think I’d rather have a 20-point lead than have to go race hard,” Spies said after the last round at Road Atlanta. “Road Atlanta went exactly the way I wanted to. We got the extra point that we could [for the pole], got a couple of second-place finishes, and now we can go to Ohio. If everything works good, obviously, it was a comfortable track for us the last time we were there. So go there, ride around and try to seal this thing.” Spies swept the Honda Super Cycle Weekend presented by Dunlop Tire at Mid-Ohio in early August. The simple fact that Mladin is still in the championship picture is a testimony to the six-time champ’s competitive drive. Mladin made the most of the opportunity given to him when Spies broke his hand by winning the last four races. Still Mladin is sportsmanlike when reviewing the season. “Six championships and 50 wins and 50 pole positions – if I decided to stop after Ohio, I’d have to be pretty happy with my career,” Mladin said. “But this year, I’ve been getting a kick in the pants for most of the year from Ben. It’s certainly lit the fire under me. I’m looking forward to the off-season, looking forward to getting on the new bike, and I’m going to come back next year, and somehow I don’t think he’s going to have it so easy. We’ll go to Mid-Ohio and try to win another race and just continue on and come back next year.” Since only three riders, Spies, Mladin and Honda’s Jake Zemke, have won a round this year, Mid-Ohio will be the last opportunity for the other riders to earn a victory. Most likely to go out with a bang are Honda’s Miguel Duhamel and Yoshimura Suzuki’s Aaron Yates. Duhamel has been close much of the season, but has managed a best of a runner-up finish so far. It will be an emotional weekend for Yates. After 11 years with Yoshimura Suzuki, this will be the Georgian’s final ride with the squad. He would love nothing better than to go out with a win to show that he still has what it takes to win Superbike races. Both Yates and Duhamel are former Mid-Ohio winners. Mid-Ohio will also mark the swan song for Ducati in AMA Superbike racing, at least for awhile. Neil Hodgson and Ben Bostrom will race the final race for Ducati in America and while improbable, it would be a storybook ending for the team to go out with a win. This marks the first time that the AMA Superbike Championship has ended at Mid-Ohio. It’s an appropriate ending point for the series, as the AMA is headquartered in nearby Pickerington, Ohio. The unique format for the race is a nod to the traditional way of determining the final starting grid and it’s creating a lot of anticipation from fans and riders alike. In addition to earning their share of the event purse money, the top 20 riders are also eligible for a piece of the yearly $120,000 Championship Bonus fund. The bonus fund is divided into three separate payouts so riders in the top 20 from points accumulated at the last four rounds will share a $40,000 payday. Mid-Ohio’s AMA Superbike Shootout is part of an action-packed week of racing that will also feature the AMA Sports Road Race Grand Championships and the inaugural AMA Motocross Manufacturers Cup on September 22-24. During the AMA Superbike Shootout fans will have several fun options. Buell will be on hand in the Upper Paddock Saturday and Sunday to give fans demo rides of their latest models. This interactive showroom is open to anyone sixteen years or older. Show your AMA membership card to registrants in the infield on Saturday, Sept. 30 and take part in a lunchtime lap of Mid-Ohio on your motorcycle. Participants must register and sign a waiver by 11:00 a.m. to participate. The tradition continues on Saturday night, Sept. 30 when “Hoot” will be shown for free on a two-story inflatable screen near the spectator amphitheater in the esses. The season finale will receive same-day national television coverage on SPEED at 6:00 p.m. eastern. Tickets for the AMA Superbike Shootout are available now by calling 1-800-MID-OHIO or logging on to www.midohio.com. WHAT: The AMA Superbike Shootout, the final round of the 2006 AMA Superbike Championship presented by Parts Unlimited. WHERE: Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. Take I-71 north from Columbus to St.Rt. 95 east. Turn right off the ramp and follow St. Rt. 95 for 2 miles and turn left (north) on St.Rt. 314 for 15 miles. Turn right on Steam Corners Rd. Mid-Ohio is one mile on the left. WHEN: Sept. 29 Oct. 1, 2006. COURSE: Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course’s 2.4-mile, 15-turn circuit. SCHEDULE: Friday, Sept. 29 Practice begins 8:30 a.m., qualifying at 2:00 p.m..; Saturday, Sept. 30 Practice begin at 8:30 a.m., Superbike heat races at 3:25 p.m., Formula Xtreme final at 4:40 p.m.. AMA Superbike LCQ at 5:20 p.m..; Sunday, Oct. 1 – Practice begins at 9:00 a.m., Superstock final at 11:00 a.m., Supersport final at 1:45 p.m., Superbike race at 3:00 p.m., Superbike consolation at 4:15 p.m. TICKETS: A Super Ticket ($55) includes weekend general admission, paddock pass, and a weekend grandstand seat. General admission weekend $45. Infield parking $15. Tent camping $30. Motorhome camping $50.

Former ISDE star and and well-known motorcycle and car dealer Dave Mungenast, 71, died Wednesday, September 20 in St. Louis. He was a member of the Board of Directors of the Motorcycle Hall Of Fame Museum located at AMA headquarters in Pickerington, Ohio. Services will be held 10:00 a.m. Monday, September 25 at the Old Cathedral Church in downtown St. Louis. The address is: Old Cathedral Church 209 Walnut St. St Louis, MO 63101 Valet parking will be available starting at 9:30 am. A reception will be held at the Royal Orleans immediately following the church service. Royal Orleans 2801 Telegraph Rd St. Louis, MO 63125 More information on Mungenast is available here: ~http://www.motorcyclemuseum.org/halloffame/hofbiopage.asp?id=239~

More information on the bikes and the $10,000 reward can be found at ~http://tinyurl.com/mzmpw~

SCminiGP go AMA for November Mark your Calendars for November 4th & 5th and start planning for your trip to Southern California where the first miniGP-only AMA event will go down as the last race of the season for many. SCminiGP will host an invitational at Race #9 of the 2006 Championship Series. The race will be held at CalSpeed Karting located inside California Speedway, Fontana, Ca. This will be an official AMA-Sanctioned Race. SCminiGP recently received their promoters Charter for the AMA and as promised will deliver an AMA event before the end of the season. The paperwork has been submitted and processed. The event will host a standard AMA sanctioning with hopes of supporting a national AMA event in 2007. “Our interest is to follow procedure and pull off a successful AMA event,” said Josiah Taulbee, SCminiGP President. “We want to make sure all goes to plan with the intentions of making a good impression on the industry for miniGP racing. With this format we can keep it cheap for riders but still give all a chance to collect AMA plates and promote their AMA title. This will be the first AMA miniGP-only event to go down in the U.S. before the end of the year, incorporating all elements of the miniGP community.” The event will be executed in a two-day format supporting session practice all day Saturday and races all day Sunday. If you are coming out, plan on getting your practice on Saturday as Sunday will only allow for short and quick warm-up sessions before the race-day event kicks off. Tech inspection of bikes and riders gear along with registration or pre-registration confirmation will also be held on Saturday. No registrations will be accepted on Sunday. Registration will open four weeks prior to the event via SCminiGP’s online registration system SpeedReg.com. The registration will go live and be made available to all riders. Riders are encouraged to pre-register. “SCminiGP already reports support from the Northwest, Southwest, and Canada. Josiah Taulbee said, “We have already started getting emails from people all over the U.S. and specifically Canada telling us they will be in So Cal, even before we got confirmation.” To help accommodate the growing interest of the community, SCminiGP is working to build a class structure that will give just about anybody a chance to race. The staff has agreed to support its existing structure along with the newly proposed classes, and even add one or two additional classes that other organizations across the U.S. and Canada offer. SCminiGP’s hopes are to do what it takes to give everybody a chance to race. More details will be provided shortly, and all inquires and suggestions or advice are welcome. Basically, if you want to come and you want to race, tell us what you want to race. Race Entry Fees are likely to be a total of $50 per rider. Each additional class will only cost riders $5 per class. However, riders will be required to hold an AMA license which can be purchased for as cheap as $15 if a member of the same household is already an AMA member, or the standard $39 annual membership fee. Saturday practice will be priced at $25. That’s only $115 for the whole weekend and a chance to be crowned an AMA champion. This even holds a great amount of significance to the success of building youth road racing in the states. SCminiGP takes pride in its program of developing a place for youth to progress but opens its doors to any rider interested in having fun on little bikes. More information will come on a weekly basis. Please email [email protected] or join the AMRA email list if you’d like to receive updated information. SCminiGP looks forward to showing off its favorite track and new-to-2006 layout at CalSpeed Karting. You can check out track layout #2 Nuovo Course at www.calspeedkarting.com. The track is fast and challenging but provides a wide base and many places to over-take. The best of the best will go back and forth for sure! If all goes as planned, SCminiGP’s Video Specialist will be out capturing the day’s event, races, and possibly winner interviews. Of course, more will be announced as we get closer to the showdown. If you or your organization has any questions regarding the event or are looking to get involved, SCminiGP encourages you to contact Josiah Taulbee President at 626-673-0145 or email at [email protected]. Supporting parties will be promoted on a weekly basis to help all see the potential this event holds. SCminiGP Staff Josiah Taulbee AMA Charter #08667 www.scminigp.com About SCminiGP As southern California’s family-oriented racing program, SCminiGP is dedicated to providing a professional and fun environment for riders of all ages, supporting a progressional advancement of skill and talent that will open the doors to a future in road racing for tomorrow’s champions. About American Motorcyclist Association Founded in 1924, the AMA has an unparalleled history of pursuing, protecting and promoting the interest of the world’s largest and most dedicated group of motorcycle enthusiasts. The AMA focus on the rights, riding and racing through its government relations work, by sanctioning road and off-road riding activities and overseeing professional and amateur racing events.

Losen Wins 2006 CRA Number One Plate Matt Losen clinched the Number One Novice plate in 2005 and backed it up this year with the Number One Expert plate riding his Honda CBR600RR, Yamaha R6, and Yamaha R1. His dramatic corner entries and consistent finishes throughout the season gave him a healthy lead by year end. Bruce Holmstrom finished the season as our Number One Novice rider riding a Kawasaki EX500 and Suzuki SV650 with a slim margin by year’s end, creating a knuckle biter for those competing (only 7 points). Congratulations to Matt and Bruce and all the top ten Expert and Novices for the 2006 Season! The final race of the CRA season was last weekend, September 16-17, but due to timing and scoring difficulties we were unable to finalize results for the weekend and season and determine the overall Champions until later this week. Jason Jenkins and Mark Nelson of Jackass Racing won the 5-hour endurance race on Sunday aboard a Suzuki GSXR1000 and by doing so clinched the CRA Endurance Championship for the season. The weekend mornings teased us with light showers and a damp racetrack but by the time the green flag dropped both Saturday and Sunday the racing was able to take place on dry pavement. The racers would like to especially thank our volunteer work staff for the amazing support they’ve contributed this season. With out these men and women we wouldn’t be racing. The annual CRA Year End Banquet will be held November 11th. BIR is under new ownership and the CRA looks forward to racing and working with them for years to come. There are possibilities of changes to the track for 2007, so come join us to break-in the new racetrack on two wheels with style! Congratulations to everyone on another successful race season and the CRA looks forward to racing with you again in 2007! For more information please visit us at www.cra-mn.com . Top 10 CRA Expert for 2006 Season Place, Number, Name, Points 1. 69E, Matthew Losen, 690 2. 16E, Jason Lanigan, 539 3. 172E, Jessica Zalusky, 506 4. 9E, Jace Porter, 439 5. 6E, Brian Hebeisen, 431 6. 96E, Brent Bixby, 418 7. 75E, Brad Zajic, 329 8. 157E, Shane Fletcher, 312 9. 198E, Bruce Magee, 278 10. 186E, Chad Bakkene, 251 Top 10 CRA Novice for 2006 Season Place, Number, Name, Points 1. 29N, Bruce Holmstrom, 535 2. 207N, Louis Yender, 528 3. 30N, James Phillipps, 401 4. 90N, Eric Josephsen, 363 5. 323N, Jason Davenport, 356 6. 127N, Jesse Nelson, 349 7. 502N, Jesse Koeller, 349 8. 898N, Andrew Kruse, 336 9. 208N, Christian Schmidt, 325 10. 326N, Dan Bowden, 309 GP4 Endurance Champions for 2006 Season Place, number, name, points 1. 5, Jackass Racing, 57 2. 48, JenSpeed, 54 3. 22, Crashed Toys.com, 15 GP3 Endurance Champions for 2006 Season Place, number, name, points 1. 50, Team Frank, 49 2. 6, Part – Time Racing, 40 3. 21, Plan B, 30 GP2 Endurance Champions for 2006 Season Place, number, name, points 1. 96, Team Tyson, 50 2. 80, Team Poop, 39 3. 91, MFC’S, 34 GP1 Endurance Champions for 2006 Season Place, number, name, points 1. 16, Team Celtic, 53 2. 27, Screamin Yello, 37 3. 85, Team STD, 28 GP1 Endurance 5-hour 1. Screamin Yello (DUC MON 620) 2. Team STD (DUC MON 620) 3. Team Whatever (DUC MON 620) 4. Team Celtic (KAW EX500) GP2 Endurance 5-hour 1. MFC’S (SUZ SV 650) 2. Tactical Racing (SUZ SV 650) 3. Jenspeed Coots (SUZ SV 650) 4. Team Poop (SUZ SV 650) 5. Ignition Racing (SUZ SV 650) 6. SBD (SUZ SV 650) GP3 Endurance 5-hour 1. Part – Time Racing (YAM R 6) 2. Team Frank (YAM R 6 ) 3. Ramble On Racing (YAM R 6) 4. Who Dun It (SUZ GSXR 600) 5. Team Green (KAW ZX6 RR) 6. Team Yuk (YAM R 6) GP4 Endurance 5-hour 1. Jackass Racing (SUZ GSXR 1000) 2. Jenspeed (SUZX GSXR 1000) 3. Crashed Toys.com (HON RC 51) 125cc Gran Prix 1. Bruce Magee (HON RS 125) 2. Joseph Kasper (HON RS 125) 3. Jennelle LeBlanc (HON RS 125) 250cc Gran Prix 1. Jeff Japs (YAM TZ 250) 2. Jason Lanigan (KAW EX 500) 3. Bruce Magee (HON RS 125) 4. Joseph Kasper (HON RS 125) Heavyweight Gran Prix Expert 1. Matthew Losen (HON CBR 600 RR) 2. Jessica Zalusky (KAW ZX6 RR) 3. Brian Hebeisen (YAM R 6) 4. Mark Nelson (YAM R6) 5. Shaun Bennett (SUZ GSXR 750) 6. Scott Ruehle (SUZ GSXR 750) Heavyweight Gran Prix Novice 1. Eric Josephsen (YAM R6) 2. Christian Schmidt (YAM R 6) 3. Jess Moeding (YAM R 6) 4. Darren Hickey (KAW ZX 6RR) 5. Jason Davenport (HON 600 RR) 6. Louis Yender (HON CBR 600 F4i) Heavyweight Superbike Expert 1. Matthew Losen (HON CBR 600 RR) 2. Jessica Zalusky (KAW ZX6 RR) 3. Brian Hebeisen (YAM R 6) 4. Shaun Bennett (SUZ GSXR 750) 5. Robert Oliva (KAW ZX6R) 6. Scott Ruehle (SUZ GSXR 750) Heavyweight Superbike Novice 1. Tony Kasper (HON CBR 600RR) 2. Jess Moeding (YAM R 6) 3. Eric Josephsen (YAM R6) 4. Christian Schmidt (YAM R 6) 5. Darren Hickey (KAW ZX 6RR) 6. Aaron Anderson (SUZ GSXR 600) Heavyweight Supersport Expert 1. Shane Fletcher (YAM R6) 2. Matthew Losen (HON CBR 600 RR) 3. Jessica Zalusky (KAW ZX6 RR) 4. Mark Nelson (YAM R6) 5. Brian Hebeisen (YAM R 6) 6. Igor Frolov (YAM R6) Heavyweight Supersport Novice 1. Tony Kasper (HON CBR 600RR) 2. Christian Schmidt (YAM R 6) 3. Eric Josephsen (YAM R6) 4. Jess Moeding (YAM R 6) 5. Louis Yender (HON CBR 600 F4i) 6. Darren Hickey (KAW ZX 6RR) Lightweight Gran Prix Expert 1. Brad Zajic (SUZ SV 650) 2. Jeff Japs (YAM TZ 250) 3. Jace Porter (SUZ SV 650) 4. Charles Dahlheimer (SUZ SV 650) 5. Brent Juusola (SUZ SV 650) 6. Kyle Knutson (SUZ SV 650) Lightweight Gran Prix Novice 1. Jesse Nelson (SUZ SV 650) 2. Ted Fieldseth (SUZ SV 650) 3. Andrew Kruse (SUZ SV 650) 4. Louis Yender (SUZ SV 650) 5. Dan Bowden (SUZ SV 650) 6. Jeff Touhey (SUZ SV 650) Lightweight Superbike Expert 1. Brad Zajic (SUZ SV 650) 2. Charles Dahlheimer (SUZ SV 650) 3. Jace Porter (SUZ SV 650) 4. Brent Bixby (SUZ SV 650) 5. Tate Guckin (SUZ SV 650) 6. Brent Juusola (SUZ SV 650) Lightweight Superbike Novice 1. Ted Fieldseth (SUZ SV 650) 2. Jesse Nelson (SUZ SV 650) 3. Andrew Kruse (SUZ SV 650) 4. Louis Yender (SUZ SV 650) 5. Frank Webb (YAM FZR 400) 6. Jeff Touhey (SUZ SV 650) Lightweight Supersport Expert 1. Jace Porter (SUZ SV 650) 2. Charles Dahlheimer (SUZ SV 650) 3. Gregory Kolles (SUZ SV 650) 4. Brent Bixby (SUZ SV 650) 5. Tate Guckin (SUZ SV 650) 6. Brent Juusola (SUZ SV 650) Lightweight Supersport Novice 1. Andrew Kruse (SUZ SV 650) 2. Jesse Nelson (SUZ SV 650) 3. Louis Yender (SUZ SV 650) 4. Ted Fieldseth (SUZ SV 650) 5. Jeff Touhey (SUZ SV 650) 6. Dan Bowden (SUZ SV 650) Middleweight Gran Prix Expert 1. Shane Fletcher (YAM R6) 2. Matthew Losen (HON CBR 600 RR) 3. Jessica Zalusky (KAW ZX6 RR) 4. Brian Hebeisen (YAM R 6) 5. Mark Nelson (YAM R6) 6. Igor Frolov (YAM R6) Middleweight Gran Prix Novice 1. Tony Kasper (HON CBR 600RR) 2. Eric Josephsen (YAM R6) 3. Jess Moeding (YAM R 6) 4. Christian Schmidt (YAM R 6) 5. Louis Yender (HON CBR 600 F4i) 6. Tom Minster (YAM R 6) Middleweight Superbike Expert 1. Shane Fletcher (YAM R6) 2. Larry Denning (KAW ZX 6 RR) 3. Matthew Losen (HON CBR 600 RR) 4. Jessica Zalusky (KAW ZX6 RR) 5. Jason Jenkins (KAW ZX 6R) 6. Brian Hebeisen (YAM R 6) Middleweight Superbike Novice 1. Tony Kasper (HON CBR 600RR) 2. Eric Josephsen (YAM R6) 3. Christian Schmidt (YAM R 6) 4. Jess Moeding (YAM R 6) 5. Louis Yender (HON CBR 600 F4i) 6. Darren Hickey (KAW ZX 6RR) Middleweight Supersport Expert 1. Shane Fletcher (YAM R6) 2. Larry Denning (KAW ZX 6 RR) 3. Brad Zajic (YAM R6) 4. Jessica Zalusky (KAW ZX6 RR) 5. Matthew Losen (HON CBR 600 RR) 6. Mark Nelson (YAM R6) Middleweight Supersport Novice 1. Tony Kasper (HON CBR 600RR) 2. Eric Josephsen (YAM R6) 3. Christian Schmidt (YAM R 6) 4. Jess Moeding (YAM R 6) 5. Louis Yender (HON CBR 600 F4i) 6. Frank Webb (KAW ZX6R) Sportsman Lightweight Expert 1. Brian Hebeisen (YAM FZR 400) 2. Chad Bakkene (YAM YZ 450F) 3. Bruce Magee (HON RS 125) 4. Jennelle LeBlanc (HON RS 125) Sportsman Lightweight Novice 1. Frank Webb (YAM FZR 400) 2. Anthony Williams (YAM FZR 400) 3. Brett Kuttner (YAM FZR 400) 4. Joseph Kasper (HON RS 125) 5. Scott Kieliszewski (YAM FZR 400) Sportsman Middleweight Expert 1. Alexander Freeman (HON F 2) 2. Sohn Wehseler (HON F 2) Sportsman Ultralight Expert 1. Jason Lanigan (KAW EX 500) 2. Nick Olsen (SUZ GS 500) 3 . Bradley Frey (SUZ GS 500) Sportsman Ultralight Novice 1. Sheldon Nelson (DUC MON 620) 2. James Phillipps (KAW EX 500) 3. Bruce Holmstrom (KAW EX 500) 4. David Holter (SUZ GS 500) Super Twins Expert 1. Brad Zajic (SUZ SV 650) 2. Jace Porter (SUZ SV 650) 3. Jason Chrusciel (SUZ SV 650) 4. Christopher Rhoades (HON RC 51) 5. Brent Bixby (SUZ SV 650) 6. Brent Juusola (SUZ SV 650) Super Twins Novice 1. Kye Longtin (HON RC – 51) 2. Andrew Kruse (SUZ SV 650) 3. Louis Yender (SUZ SV 650) 4. Ted Fieldseth (SUZ SV 650) 5. Dan Bowden (SUZ SV 650) 6. Jeff Touhey (SUZ SV 650) Ultralight Gran Prix Expert 1. Chad Bakkene (YAM YZ 450F) 2. Jason Lanigan (KAW EX 500) 3. Tony Peterson (KTM SM 450) 4. Jennelle LeBlanc (HON RS 125) 5. Nick Olsen (SUZ GS 500) Ultralight Gran Prix Novice 1. Sheldon Nelson (DUC MON 620) 2. Joseph Kasper (HON RS 125) 3. James Phillipps (KAW EX 500) 4. Bruce Holmstrom (KAW EX 500) 5. Jenella Edwards (DUC MON 620) 6. David Holter (SUZ GS 500) Ultralight Superbike Expert 1. Chad Bakkene (YAM YZ 450F) 2. Jason Lanigan (KAW EX 500) 3. Bradley Frey (SUZ GS 500) 4. Tony Peterson (KTM SM 450) Ultralight Superbike Novice 1. James Phillipps (KAW EX 500) 2. Sheldon Nelson (DUC MON 620) 3. Bruce Holmstrom (KAW EX 500) 4. Jenella Edwards (DUC MON 620) 5. David Holter (SUZ GS 500) Ultralight Supersport Expert 1. Bradley Frey (SUZ GS 500) 2. Jason Lanigan (SUZ GS 500) Ultralight Supersport Novice 1. Bruce Holmstrom (KAW EX 500) 2. Jenella Edwards (DUC MON 620) 3. David Holter (SUZ GS 500) 4. Avery Harrington (DUC MON 620) Unlimited Gran Prix 1. Wesley Good (SUZ GSXR 1000) 2. Greg Fryer (YAM R 1) 3. Boyd Whiteoak (SUZ GSXR 1000) 4. Matthew Losen (YAM R 1) 5. Jessica Zalusky (KAW ZX6 RR) 6. Scott Ruehle (SUZ GSXR 750) Unlimited Superbike 1. Greg Fryer (YAM R 1) 2. Larry Denning (KAW ZX 10) 3. Wesley Good (SUZ GSXR 1000) 4. Paul Heinen (SUZ GSZR 1000) 5. Jessica Zalusky (KAW ZX6 RR) 6. Boyd Whiteoak (SUZ GSXR 1000) Unlimited Supersport 1. Larry Denning (KAW ZX 10) 2. Wesley Good (SUZ GSXR 1000) 3. Paul Heinen (SUZ GSZR 1000) 4. Matthew Losen (YAM R 1) 5. Shane Keaveny (SUZ GSXR 1000) 6. Jessica Zalusky (KAW ZX6 RR)

The streets of Paris reverberated to the sound of motorbikes yesterday when Team Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra rider Troy Corser led a group of riders from the Eurosport offices to the Eiffel tower. Two policemen on motorbikes cleared the way of traffic and provided an escort for Troy and five other racers on a route taking in the banks of the Seine before the approach to the most famous landmark in Paris. After a photoshoot with Gustave Eiffel’s creation in the background there was a press conference on the first floor of the tower, attended by international television and print media. The event was to promote the final round of this year’s World Superbike and Supersport Championship, held in Magny Cours on 8th October. Immediately after the press conference, Troy took the opportunity to go to the very top of the 324 metre tower and get a bird’s-eye view of the rooftops of Paris. TROY “This whole event has been fantastic. Driving through the streets of one of the world’s best cities on motorbikes with a police escort was amazing. I have been to Paris before, but the queues to go up the Eiffel tower were too long, so Sam and I didn’t bother. When I tell her what I’ve just done, she will so jealous!”

Nicky Hayden has signed a new two-year deal with HRC, ending speculation that he would defect to either Ducati or Yamaha. The MotoGP points leader signed his third MotoGP contract with Honda at Motegi today, which means he will get to ride Honda’s new 800cc MotoGP bike, believed to be a narrow-angle V4, at the track on Monday, following the Japanese GP. “I’ve been a Honda guy for a long while, they brought me into MotoGP, so it’s an honor to be on their factory team for another two years,” said Hayden. HRC President Suguru Kanazawa said he was delighted with Hayden’s decision to stay. Asked why he thought Hayden won’t race for Ducati or Yamaha in 2007, Kanazawa smiled and said, “Nicky, he understands very well.” More, from a press release issued by Honda Racing: Nicky Hayden will continue to ride for the Repsol Honda Team in MotoGP next season having signed a new two-year deal with Honda Racing Corporation (HRC) at the Grand Prix of Japan. The talented 25-year-old American, who leads the riders’ world championship, put pen to paper at the Motegi circuit today to extend a partnership with the factory Honda team that began in his rookie season in 2003. The agreement ensures Repsol Honda retains its strong rider line-up for next year, with Hayden once again joined in the garage by young Spaniard Dani Pedrosa. Today’s announcement also guarantees important stability as MotoGP enters an exciting new era with the new 800cc rules coming into effect in 2007. Nicky Hayden: “It’s an honor to be with the HRC factory team for another two years in MotoGP it doesn’t get a lot better than that so I’m really excited and really happy. Everything came together and I’m happy with the deal and I’m happy with HRC. I feel like I took a big step forward this year and I feel that I’m still climbing up the learning curve so I don’t want change anything. I want to keep learning, continue growing and keep this momentum going into next year. I’m really happy with the team around me, we’re all clicking and working well together. I’ve been a Honda guy for quite a few years and they’re the ones who brought me over to MotoGP and now I just want to repay them with the championship.” Tsutomu Ishii HRC General Manager : “Honda and HRC are very pleased that Nicky will remain with the Repsol Honda Team for two more years. Nicky has been with us for four seasons and during that time he has evolved and continually improved. His results this year have been excellent and he has led the world championship for much of the season. The feeling within the team is very strong at the moment and this season Nicky and Dani Pedrosa have established a positive relationship. As MotoGP enters the new 800cc era it is important for the Repsol Honda Team to enjoy this stability, not only with the rider line-up but also with our sponsors and partners.”