Odenton, MD. Jon Schendel and Tyler Reiswig won the USGPRU 125GP and 250GP West Region Championships at the Las Vegas Classic Course. Jon Schendel (198 points) only needed to finish the 125GP race to clinch the regional championship and position him into contention for the national championship against Scott Smallwood and Alex Welsh. Reiswig put up a hard fight against Schendel as the pair swapped the lead multiple times, but experience paid off as Schendel held on to win by .2 seconds. Reiswig would settle for 2nd in the regional championship with 148 points. Debra Kuick finished strong to claim 3rd with her 99 points which were 9 more than 4th place Kyle Ferris. Phillip Krenn rounds out the top five with 85 points. The 250GP championship was decided in similar familiar fashion. Tyler Reiswig had enough points that he only needed to finish, though a turn 1 incident on the opening lap would test his abilities as he went off course. He came back later in the race and clinched his first 250GP regional championship with 180 points. Jon Schendel almost handed 2nd to Ryan Ferris when he crashed with two laps to go, but he too came back and held onto second with 131 over Ferris’ 106 points. Canadian Alex Welsh claimed 4th while Phillip Krenn barely held onto 5th place. With only two more races to go, Oakhill Raceway and Mid Ohio Sportscar Course, the USGPRU 125GP and 250GP national championships are shaping up nicely. The final shootout will be at Miller Motorsports Park, UT on October 20-22. The 2006 USGPRU National Series sponsors include Roadracingworld.com, Rising Sun Cycles, Revit Leathers, Bridgestone Motorsport, CCS, AGVSport, EBC Brakes, Hjelm Motorsports, Ian Emberton Engineering, Motion Pro Cables and Tools, Dunlop, Power Stands, Redline Cycle Imports, Regina Chain, Repsol YPF, and VP Fuel. About USGPRU The USGPRU is the officially recognized Motorcycle 125 Grand Prix National Championship ® and 250 Grand Prix National Championship TM series. The USGPRU emulates true World MotoGP racing experience and serves to attract young riders to gain experience in a professional environment and provide a path to world-class motorcycle racing. The USGPRU structures events with extended length grand prix racing exclusive to the GP machines, timed qualifying and strong contingency and sponsor support. For additional details, visit www.USGPRU.net

The Bol d’Or final round of the FIM World Endurance Championship takes place next weekend, the 16th and 17th of September. The 24 hour race – which takes place at its now well established Magny Cours home – will see five of the permanent championship teams fighting for the top three places in the 2006 championship. Suzuki Castrol and Yamaha Austria Suzuki Castrol have a commanding 28 point lead in the championship but with 35 points available to the winner of a 24 hour race, Yamaha Austria still have a slim chance of taking the title. The Austrian Yamaha team must win the race and Suzuki Castrol must fail to score a point. If Suzuki Castrol fail to score and Yamaha Austria finish second, the two teams will be on equal points but the title will go to Suzuki Castrol as they have won more races than Yamaha Austria. Yamaha Phase One, Bolliger Kawasaki, Fagersjo-el.se Suzuki British team Yamaha Phase One have a mathematical chance (if they win and Yamaha Austria don’t score) of taking second place, but more importantly they have a real fight on their hands defending the third place they currently hold. Swiss team Kawasaki Bolliger are just 13 points behind them in fourth place, and Swedish squad Fagersjo-el.se Suzuki are a further 8 points behind in fifth place. A bad result for Phase One could see both of these teams leapfrogging past them after the final round. Kawasaki Diablo, RMT21 Racing Honda A second British team, Diablo 666Kawasaki, are currently sixth in the championship and in with a chance of leaping up to fourth place, while fifth place isn’t out of the question for German team RMT21 Racing Honda, currently seventh. Not Forgetting: And then there are the numerous well supported wildcard teams such as National Motos Honda (winners of this year’s Le Mans 24 Hour race), Yamaha GMT94 (fastest in qualifying at Le Mans) and Kawasaki France. The Magny Cours circuit will also throw its own challenges into the equation, with the ultra-fast back straight followed by severe braking into the slow Adelaide hairpin. Everything is set for a fascinating championship showdown in ten days time.

Odenton, MD. With temperatures well into triple digits, the USGPRU hosted their final west round showdown in Sin City. Alex Welsh wasted no time in 125GP qualifying action as he showed his hand early in the session with no one to call. Regional points leader Jon Schendel and Tyler Reiswig were close in tow as less than a half a second separated the top three from Welsh’s 1:24.327 lap. Nobi Iso and Rolando Quintero were looking for their setup as they qualified 4th and 5th respectively. Welsh again showed his hand in 250 qualifying and this time there was no bluffing. His blistering 1:21.772 lap was again placing him on pole while Vincent Rolleri, Reiswig and Ryan Ferris were left wondering how to react. Jon Schendel completed the top five. When the green flag fell, all bets were now called off. A five way battle for the lead in the 125GP race quickly got under way with Reiswig leading the group. As the pace quickened, Quintero and Iso found themselves in a battle for fourth, while Welsh was able to escape with the front two. Schendel passed Reiswig in turn 3 and turned up the heat even more. Reiswig would need a little misfortune for him to clinch the championship, but it never came. His last ditch effort on the last lap got him back around the CN Racing machine of Schendel, but wound up getting repassed the turn after. Schendel went all-in, setting a lap record of 1:23.193 and holding off Reiswig for the win and the West Region 125GP Championship. Welsh was relegated to third. Reiswig finished 2nd in the regional championship and Debra Kuick, who battled with Jeff Lim for sixth, was able to claim 3rd in the region. The 250GP race looked to be exciting as points leader Reiswig would run off course when he was engaged in a late braking battle with Ferris and Rolleri going into the first turn. “We were all thinking that we were all going to out brake each other”, said Reiswig, who would climb his way back up to 11th at the end of the first lap. That left the lead battle to Welsh, Ferris and Rolleri, who later in the opening lap, low sided in turn four after just passing Ferris. Welsh was strong all race and never looked back. Ferris finally had a reliable bike after battling mechanical gremlins all weekend. He rode to a strong and productive 2nd place. The real battle ended up for 3rd when quarter liter mounted Schendel was able to recover from his disadvantaged starts and reeled in Bruce Lind. The ever-seemingly-ageless Lind proved that with 43 years of racing, he still has plenty of cards to play. Lap after lap, Schendel was always able to get beside Lind, but could not get a pass to stick. With 2 laps to go, Schendel gambled big going around Lind on the outside in his favorite turn (3) and lowsided. He would get up and salvage a 7th with Lind retaining third. Zach Lee rode in fine fashion to round out the top five. Reiswig recovered from his lap 1 incident to finshed 4th and claim his first 250GP championship. Schendel and Ferris rounded out the top 3 in the 250GP regional championship. With only two more races to go, Oakhill Raceway and Mid Ohio Sportscar Course, the USGPRU 125GP and 250GP national championships are shaping up nicely. The final shootout will be at Miller Motorsports Park, UT on October 20-22. Rising Sun Cycles 125GP Results. Round 5 West, Las Vegas 1. Jon Schendel Hon 125 2. Tyler Reiswig Hon 125 3. Alex Welsh Hon 125 4. Nobi Iso Apr 125 5. Rolando Quintero Yam 125 6. Jeffrey Lim Hon 125 7. Debra Kuick Hon 125 8. Phillip Krenn Hon 125 9. Britt Arechiga Hon 125 10. Jayson Webb Hon 125 11. Kevin Murray Yam 125 12. Kim Brauneis Yam125 13. Darrin Kuebler Hon 125 Motion Pro 250GP Results. Round 5 West, Las Vegas 1. Alex Welsh Hon 250 2. Ryan Ferris Hon 250 3. Bruce Lind Yam 250 4. Tyler Reiswig Hon 250 5. Zachary Lee Hon 250 6. Nobi Iso Yam 250 7. Jon Schendel Hon 125 8. Derek Dutt Yam 250 9. Kory Gill Yam 250 10. Daniel Qualtire Yam 250 11. Phillip Krenn Hon 125 12. David Matthews Yam 250 13. Randy Jusi Hon 250 14. Sean Pagel Hon 250 15. Thomas Di Nardo Yam 250 DNF 16. Vincent Rolleri Yam 250 DNF The 2006 USGPRU National Series sponsors include Roadracingworld.com, Rising Sun Cycles, Revit Leathers, Bridgestone Motorsport, CCS, AGVSport, EBC Brakes, Hjelm Motorsports, Ian Emberton Engineering, Motion Pro Cables and Tools, Dunlop, Power Stands, Redline Cycle Imports, Regina Chain, Repsol YPF, and VP Fuel. About USGPRU The USGPRU is the officially recognized Motorcycle 125 Grand Prix National Championship ® and 250 Grand Prix National Championship TM series. The USGPRU emulates true World MotoGP racing experience and serves to attract young riders to gain experience in a professional environment and provide a path to world-class motorcycle racing. The USGPRU structures events with extended length grand prix racing exclusive to the GP machines, timed qualifying and strong contingency and sponsor support. For additional details, visit www.USGPRU.net

GARRETTSVILLE, Oh. With just three rounds remaining in the 2006 WERA National Series season, would-be endurance champions will have to compete with both their rival teams and the darkness this weekend at Nelson Ledges Road Course. WERA/Bridgestone National Endurance Series teams are busy preparing their machines for the nighttime during the eight-hour race on Saturday, September 9. The race gets underway at 3:30 p.m, with the sun still shining, and teams will race into the sunset before being plunged into darkness. Vesrah Suzuki will be looking for another win after proving last year that they can ride just as quickly at night. The Heavyweight Superbike team has both the class and overall championship lead by a comfortable margin. Behind Vesrah, though, Mediumweight Superbike team Red Star is holding onto second in the overall championship by 7.33 points over TVR II and 8.92 points over Team Velocity Racing. All three teams will be putting in extra effort to overcome the darkness and the challenges of lighting their race bikes. Team Velocity Racing won Heavyweight Superstock and took second overall last year at Nelson, but ARNCHU Racing was a close third. ARNCHU currently leads Team Velocity in the class championship by a narrow 9.986 points, and both teams will be anxious to perform well at Nelson with the season quickly winding down. Sunday will cap the weekend with the WERA/Michelin National Challenge Series sprint races. There will be 11 ten-lap races beginning at 12:30 p.m. Like the endurance series, the National Challenge Series has a number of championships that are still close after seven rounds. Race six is 750 Superstock expert, and the competition is between Vesrah Suzuki teammates Lee Acree and Mark Junge. Acree had a one-point lead coming into round seven at Summit Point Raceway, but a victory for Junge propelled him into the top spot with a slim two-point lead. This weekend’s 750 Superstock race is expected to be another whirlwind of yellow Vesrah Suzukis. Tickets for Friday’s qualifying and the weekend’s races are $30. Friday and Saturday only cost $20, and fans can see Sunday’s National Challenge Series action for $15. More information about WERA can be found online at www.WERA.com. Directions to Nelson Ledges can be found there, as well, in the track directory.

Lance Weil, 68, a road racing pioneer and former owner of Rickey Racer, a Laverda high-performance shop based in Burbank, California, was fatally injured in an accident while working on a lathe at his shop in Hatboro, Pennsylvania last week. A piece of metal flew out of the lathe and hit Weil on the head; he died at Temple University Hospital in Philadelphia. Weil was one of the first Americans to race in Europe in the 1960s. Lance is survived by his son, Lee Weil, and four daughters, Joeann, Sharada and Katherine. A service has been scheduled for Wednesday, September 6th at 8:15 pm at the Yoga Center of California in Costa Mesa, followed by dinner at the Golden Dragon restaurant. Weil moved to Pennsylvania about four years ago to work for Cosmopolitan Motors. Yoga Center of California 445 E. 17th Street Costa Mesa, CA 92627 (949) 646-8281 Golden Dragon 2023 Harbor Boulevard Costa Mesa, CA 92627 (949) 642-7162

Rizla Suzuki’s James Haydon made his comeback from injury when he rode his GSX-R1000 for the first time in nearly three months at today’s official British Superbike test at Silverstone in Northamptonshire. Haydon, out of race action since mid-June when he suffered a crash at the seventh round of the series at Snetterton, spent the day reacquainting himself with his race bike. He said: “Today’s test has been all about getting back on a bike and easing myself in gently. “You forget just how quick a Superbike is and rather than pushing myself too early, I decided to take my time and get to know the bike again. I got quicker as the day progressed and I am delighted that I will be returning to race here next week with Rizla Suzuki. My comeback has officially started.” Rizla Suzuki’s Shane ‘Shakey’ Byrne concentrated on testing new chassis and fork settings on his GSX-R1000 and ended the day on lap-record pace. “It’s been a useful test,” he explained. “In the last session we found a good setting and I’m happy we have made progress; it will certainly give us a running start for when we race here.” No official times were available from the test, which was run in hot and sunny conditions at the 2.21-mile long Midlands circuit. Rizla Suzuki returns to Silverstone for the penultimate round of the Championship on Sunday, September 17th.

One of the closest MotoGP World Championships in history heads into its final stage this weekend as the series heads out to Malaysia for the first of a five-race spell across three continents. Races at Sepang, Phillip Island (Australia), Motegi (Japan), Estoril (Portugal) and Valencia (Spain), will decide the destiny of a title, which for the past five seasons has been lifted by Yamaha superstar Valentino Rossi. For the Italian to retain that honour he must turn around a 38-point deficit to current leader Nicky Hayden (Honda), although no fewer than nine riders still have the mathematical odds to take the honours. Rossi’s chances were given a huge boost at the last round three weeks ago in Brno, where a second place finish combined with ninth for Hayden saw the gap between the pair slashed by thirteen points. That race went down as the closest top-15 finish of all time in the sport, strengthening this season’s reputation as one of the toughest ever and highlighting the number of points to be won and lost over the remaining five events. Brno also witnessed Rossi’s 87th appearance on the podium in the premier class and another top-three finish in Malaysia would equal Giacomo Agostini’s tally of 88 – a record bettered only by Mick Doohan. Rossi has finished on the podium at Sepang for the last five years, including a memorable victory for Yamaha in 2004 and a title-clinching second place behind Loris Capirossi (Ducati) last season. Colin Edwards says that his target for the remaining five races is to assist Rossi’s title quest in any way he can whilst turning a consistent run of points-scoring finishes into at least a string of podiums. Tenth place in the last round at Brno was the 33rd successive race at which he has scored points – a MotoGP record again bettered only by Doohan on 37 – but the Texan’s goal is a return to the potentially winning form he showed earlier in the season. VALENTINO ROSSI: ONE OF MY FAVOURITES Valentino Rossi is predicting a repeat of last year’s tough battle with fellow Italian Loris Capirossi this weekend as he looks to get one over on his compatriot after another memorable duel between the pair at Brno. The Yamaha man cites Sepang as one of his favourite tracks and he is hopeful that recent developments with the 990cc M1 machine will make it equally inclined towards the Malaysian venue. “As everyone knows, Sepang is one of my favourite tracks and it’s always great fun to ride the M1 there,” says Rossi. “We made some really good progress in Brno so hopefully everything will work well from Friday morning and we can fight at the top all weekend. Last year Loris was incredibly strong in Sepang, similar to how he was two weeks ago in Brno and I am sure that this will be the case again this time! “This year I can’t win the title in Malaysia so our aim once again is to finish on the podium and take as many points as possible in order to stay in the fight. These three races in a row are going be very important and at the end of them the championship could be much clearer. It’s always hard work, with a lot of flying and time changes in a short amount of time, but we will stay focused and do the best we can!” COLIN EDWARDS: NO LOOKING BACK Colin Edwards, who lives in his hometown of Conroe, Texas, is used to long haul trips and is therefore undaunted by the demands of three ‘flyaway’ races in as many weekends. The 32 year old insists that thoughts of a poor run of form over the summer are now firmly behind him as he simply concentrates on a grandstand finish to his season over the final five races. “Things really haven’t gone to plan lately and I think it’s fair to say that I hoped to be in a better situation going into the final run of races,” admits Edwards. “But there’s no point dwelling on the past – we made some positive steps at the test in Brno so we’ll see if that helps. We discovered last year that what works in Brno doesn’t necessarily work everywhere else but we definitely understand the bike better after that test so hopefully we will be in a better position come Friday morning in Sepang. “I really like the Sepang track and then Phillip Island is one of my all-time favourites, so I am definitely looking forward to these races. We have two aims – one is to keep working with the team to find the best bike in order to give Valentino the tools to win the title, and the other is to get some good results and get on the podium. Having three ‘flyaway’ races in a row is always intense, but I am feeling ready for the challenge!” DAVIDE BRIVIO: THE FINAL PUSH Camel Yamaha Team Director Davide Brivio is asking for one final effort from his team over the next two months as they cling on to the possibility of defending the crown they have won with Rossi for the past two seasons. The complicated logistics of five races across three continents always puts a further burden on every member of staff but Brivio is confident their extra exertions will once again be rewarded by results on the track. “After a very long and hard season, this is the start of the final ‘push’ for everyone and I know that the riders, the team and everyone involved will give 100% through these final two months,” explains Brivio. “After Brno we did two days testing, and these were extremely important for the final few races. We tried a lot of new things and made some big steps forward with the setting and we got some very important information from our riders, which we hope will help us to remain at a competitive level until the end of the season. “Our number one aim now is to give Valentino the means to stay in the running for the championship title, and then we will see what the situation is in Valencia. We hope that the Brno test has also given Colin plenty of confidence and we hope to see him getting some good results now and ending the season on a high. Sepang and Phillip Island especially are favourite tracks of both riders so hopefully these races will be good to us!” TECHNICALLY SPEAKING: SEPANG ACCORDING TO JEREMY BURGESS Sepang is one of the widest tracks on the calendar, measuring 16 metres across in some areas, and always features high track temperatures in the tropical climate. Races can be won and lost due to the ability of machinery to hold a line during turn-in at several points of hard braking. With four major hairpins and some fast and frequent changes of direction in its 5542m layout, Sepang provides a stern workout for the entire bike set-up and its largely predictable, if demanding, climate makes it the ideal winter testing venue. “With the exception of Brno we have been to some tight and fiddly tracks recently but I would call Sepang a ‘real’ Grand Prix circuit,” explains Jeremy Burgess, Valentino Rossi’s Crew Chief. “Sepang is a great test track because it has a bit of everything – from two points that are fast enough for the riders to take in sixth gear to some tight and twisty first gear corners. As far as the corners are concerned there are some you accelerate through, some you stop at, areas where you are braking from high speeds – basically every area of the bike gets a workout. “Last year we got caught out on tyres but we put a lot of laps in during the winter tests and over the last couple of races this is an area we have focused on. A good front-end set-up is also crucial at Sepang because there are lots of points where the riders are braking at full lean, so they need full confidence to know that the front won’t tuck. The heat is also an important factor and the rider must be careful not to push the tyres too early.” VALENTINO ROSSI: Information Age: 27 Lives: London, UK Bike: Yamaha YZR-M1 GP victories: 83 (56 x MotoGP/500cc, 14 x 250cc, 12 x 125cc) First GP victory: Czech Republic, 1996 (125cc) First GP: Malaysia, 1996 (125cc) GP starts: 168 (109 x MotoGP/500cc, 30 x 250cc, 30 x 125cc) Pole positions: 42 World Championships – 7 Grand Prix (1 x 125cc, 1 x 250cc, 1 x 500cc, 4 x MotoGP) COLIN EDWARDS: Information Age: 32 Lives: Conroe, Texas Bike: Yamaha YZR-M1 First GP: Japan, 2003 (MotoGP) GP starts: 60 x MotoGP World Championships – 2 World Superbike Sepang Lap Record: Nicky Hayden (Honda) 2005, 2’02.993 Sepang Best Lap: Loris Capirossi (Ducati) 2005, 2’01.731 2005 MALAYSIAN GRAND PRIX RESULTS: 1. Loris Capirossi (ITA) Ducati, 43’27.523 2. Valentino Rossi (ITA) Yamaha, +1.999 3. Carlos Checa (SPA) Ducati, +2.069 10. Colin Edwards (USA) Yamaha, +22.275