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

The Can-Am Challenge Series held its swan song of 2006 at Shannonville Motorsports Park this past weekend, and those who stood their ground against the dismal forecasted weather certainly reaped the benefits. Combined qualifying saw veteran rider Dean Hoelscher and his Aprillia edge out Team Celtic’s youngster PJ Jacobsen (recently turned 13, happy belated PJ!) for pole position in the 125 class. Jacobsen, however, didn’t need to worry, as he had already bagged the 125 championship at a previous round. Barry Gilsenan and Rick Bulmann finished out the front row. Eddy Brunet made it look easy to take pole, setting a difficult pace to keep up with among the 250s. Dempsey would settle for second behind him after a front sprocket bolt went missing from his Yamaha. Matt Cooper, who suffered a crank seizure three laps into qualifying, managed to keep himself on the front row in third position. Jerry Sadler proved his mettle by rounding out the top four. With qualifying done early in the day on Saturday, the paddock prepared for the onslaught of rain predicted to hit the area in the afternoon, which it did. The rain continued to soak the area overnight, and seemed to even wait until the final race to start raining harder then it had all day on Sunday. After a clean start, the 125s and 250s began the final race of the season; Jacobsen broke away early to settle into a comfortable lead. Tim Harrington maintained a steady second place position, as Bulmann attempted to keep Mark White, his nemesis for second in the championship, behind him, but to no avail; White pulled ahead of Bulmann in the fifth lap. Crystal Campagna of Team Celtic found the exit to the chicane to be incredibly hard on machine and rider if taken the wrong way; Campagna was sidelined with a heavy crash, but was able to walk away with some minor injuries, her Celtic Racing 125 suffering the most damage between the two. The remainder of the 125 went without incident, while the 250 race provided some entertainment at the head of the field. Dempsey was able to keep Brunet behind him for only one lap before the French-Canadian made a pass, and never looked back. Brunet seemed to be able to ignore the rain and go about his business of finishing at the top of the box, while Dempsey was being harassed by John Chemello, a rider coming to us from the world of motocross and motard. Chemello seemed to be quite comfortable in the wet conditions, nipping at Dempsey’s heels, before falling victim to Corner Two. Cooper had started the final with the 250 championship already claimed, and was minding his own business in fourth until Chemello’s demise boosted him into third position. Behind him, Sadler and Jim Bergey exchanged positions before Sadler became the second rider of the race to fall in Corner Two in lap nine. Both Chemello and Sadler were unhurt. 125 GP FINAL RACE RESULTS 1-PJ JACOBSEN, 2-TIM HARRINGTON, 3-MARK WHITE, 4-RICK BULMANN, 5-DON MURFIN, 6-DEAN HOELSCHER, 7-DAVID SHAW, 8-LAIRD SHINGLETON DNF-CRYSTAL CAMPAGNA DNS-GARRY GILSENAN 250 GP FINAL RACE RESULTS 1-EDDY BRUNET, 2-JOHN DEMPSEY, 3-MATT COOPER, 4-MARK WHITE, 5-JIM BERGEY, 6-LAIRD SHINGLETON DNF-JOHN CHEMELLO DNF-JERRY SADLER Congratulations to PJ and Matt, our 2006 Can-Am Challenge Series Champions!

The wild-card riders who will race in the Superbike & Supersport World Championship and Superstock FIM Cup rounds scheduled on the circuit of Eurospeedway Lausitz on September 10 next, are the following: Superbike Number/Rider/Team/Nomination 26 Didier Vankeymeulen (BEL-Yamaha YZF R-1) MGM TTSL Racing DMSB 83 Stefan Nebel (GER-Kawasaki ZX 10R) Kawasaki Docshop Racing DMSB Supersport Number/Rider/Team/Nomination 67 Günter Knobloch (AUT-Yamaha YZF R-6) Yamaha Sebring DMSB Superstock Number/Rider/Team/Nomination 51 Dominic Lammert (GER-Suzuki GSX-R 1000) Betandwin.de Racing DMSB Maximum number and nomination of wild-cards riders: Superbike: 4 nominated by the FMNR (Organising Federation); 2 nominated by the FIM. Supersport: 2 nominated by the FMNR (Organising Federation). Superstock: 2 nominated by the FMNR (Organising Federation). – A compulsory briefing will be held for all the riders who will be participating for the first time in the current Championship, at 17h00 on the day preceding the day scheduled for the first practice session.

TEAM ALSTARE LOOKING FOR A CHANGE OF FORTUNE Team Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra left Assen with little to show for all their effort, but are looking forward to this weekend’s races at Lausitz and a change of fortune. It has been a bit of an up and down ride in recent races for Troy Corser and Yukio Kagayama and both are eager to finish the last three rounds of the championship strongly, starting at Lausitz. The Eurospeedway Lausitz is a relatively new facility and originally built for ‘Nascar’ style car races. It is tri-oval in design, but with an infield section for bikes and conventional car racing. TROY Last year in Lausitz was a bit mixed – one podium and one crash. But at least I was able to pick up the bike after the crash and get into the points, not like last weekend in Assen! It is a strange feeling to have two DNF’s in a weekend and it’s something I certainly don’t want in Lausitz. It’s not a particularly difficult track to learn and I hope we don’t have any rain because it is very slippery when it’s wet. The water doesn’t drain away quickly and standing water is a big problem – as we found out last week! I will be aiming for two podiums in Lausitz – anything less will feel like a failure. YUKIO Last year, I took a fifth and a fourth in Lausitz, so my plan is to improve on those results. Assen was very difficult for all of us, so I am hoping that Lausitz will be dry. It is a not a good place to race in the wet, because the grip is not good. My success in Brno now seems a long memory and I want to repeat those good results with more podiums. If all goes well in qualifying, I think it will be possible at Lausitz. 2005 results Race 1: 1 Vermeulen (Aus-Honda), 2 Haga (J-Yamaha), 3 TROY CORSER (Aus-Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra), 4 Toseland (GB-Honda), 5 YUKIO KAGAYAMA (J-Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra) Race 2: 1 Lanzi (I-Ducati), 2 Vermeulen, 3 Haga, 4 YUKIO KAGAYAMA (J-Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra), 13 TROY CORSER (Aus-Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra)

WERA racer James R. Elias, born August 1, 1940 was killed in a single-vehicle motorcycle street crash in his home town of Clarksville, Tennessee. His survivors include his mother, Jemina Boles Joseph; daughter Jenae Elias of Warren, Michigan; and son James Elias, of Gaylord, Michigan. There are no services planned.

TWO TOP TEN FINISHES FOR SAFETY FIRST’S MEIRING, SUCCESSFUL WEEKEND FOR ROOKIE NARBONNE Team Safety First Suzuki had a successful weekend racing at Road Atlanta, with Komodo sponsored rider Tony “The Tiger” Meiring netting two 10th place results in Formula Xtreme and Supersport, maintaining his solid overall top ten placing in both classes. Tony Meiring FX-10th (7th Overall) Supersport- 10th (8th Overall) “I had the best handling bike this weekend that I have ever ridden hear at Road Atlanta. The bike ran real good up top, which helped. I’d still like to be another couple of notches up front, but all in all, it was a good weekend.” It was also disclosed that Meiring has been racing since Mid-Ohio with a broken right clavicle, an injury incurred in a testing incident the week prior in Michigan. “We have been doing as much as we can to get Tony up to 100%” quoted Team Doctor and Operations manager Dr. David Eric Boll. “I have been taping the shoulder in a way that allows movement, but still takes pressure off the affected area and surrounding muscles. I have been trying to limit the affect the shoulder has on his riding as much as possible, and I think we have been able to do that.” Shane Narbonne FX-17th Supersport- 16th Rookie Shane Narbonne also had an eventful weekend. Sunday’s Supersport race had a thrilling finish for New Englander, passing a competitor with a daring outside move at turn 12 for the line, eking out 16th place by a mere 0.006 of a second. “It’s a technical course that I found out after the FX race needs to have you be relaxed to go faster. I had a blast here with the team and I really enjoy racing at this level.” Kevin Hanson – Team Owner “He is very eager to learn and I can see a lot of potential there.” “Shane has shown he can run lap times on his first visit to these tracks as fast as some veterans that have been here for years. Tony has been getting some great starts these last two rounds, which has gotten him up front. He is riding well and that should translate to a good end of the year!” Next up for the team will be some additional testing at the Wegman Benefit Auction Weekend at Black Hawk Farms in Illinois, followed shortly after by the AMA season finale at Mid-Ohio. Safety First Suzuki was formed in 2004 by police officer/racer, Kevin Hanson, based out of Chicago, IL. 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. More, from a press release issued by Scott Jensen Moto-Garage Racing: JENSEN FINISHES 18TH AND 22ND IN SUPERBIKE DOUBLE HEADER AT ROAD ATLANTA With the weather closing in on Thursday Scott Jensen knew he wasn’t going to get much track time. Due to lack of track time Jensen and the GPR crew didn’t have much to start with on Friday morning. “We have all new Ohlins suspension this year,” said Bob Bright of GPR, “Last years settings to start with didn’t do us a whole lot of good, but we had no other choice.” That statement proved to be the most accurate of the weekend. Things didn’t go well in the first session of the weekend Friday morning with Scott ending up 24 out of 34 riders. “That wasn’t even close to being ride-able,” a frustrated and tired looking Jensen said, “Just shows we have a lot of work to do this weekend.” During Friday night qualifying Scott improved his time by nearly 1 second and was heading towards the front. “That’s why it is so important that privateers get a good start on Thursdays practice its just so hard to start behind the curve on the first practice of the weekend. I have to say I’m thankful for all the Thursday, and promoter practice’s that we have had this year. I know we are headed it the right direction with the set up and we will be good for tomorrow’s second qualifying session. We are improving on our times and that was with tires from the last race.” Jensen said. During Saturdays second and last qualifying session everything went from looking up to looking down, and not just literally. After being on the top of the order straight from the start Scott was hit by another slower rider. “I’m just not sure,” Jensen said with a slightly painful look, “I hate saying it was someone else’s fault when we are all out there racing, even when they are slower. I knew the bike was running good and we had chosen the right tires for qualifying and all was looking up for the first time of the weekend. I had finally gone faster then I did last year when I saw a slower rider that I wanted to get past before we headed into the esses, I set it up perfectly to go on the inside with plenty of room when he turned into the side of my bike. Like I said I don’t blame anyone for racing but he wasn’t going to make that corner turning in that early, maybe I spooked him with the speed difference or something, but hey that’s racing.” With less then 2 hours before the race the GPR Stabilizer crew had some work to do. A little sore and definitely worn out after Saturdays race Jensen said he just couldn’t ride the bike at the fast pace he was doing during qualifying. “My shoulder hurts a little from the fall this morning and something wasn’t right with the front brakes. I’m really sad at the result, I was looking for something way better.” a rather dejected Jensen said, ” I’m going to take a little break gather some thoughts and get the bike ready for tomorrow’s race and get a good night sleep.” Sunday went much like Saturdays race with Jensen not being able to hold on to the bike for the whole race. “It’s hard because of where we had to start the race with the crash taking us out of qualifying so early on. I ran right up to the top ten but was just too sore to hold the pace. I’m sorry to all my sponsors for the horrible weekend, and sad for my friends that helped me all weekend just to make the races, but I want to say thank you to every one of them. I know I’m better then the results show and I know the results should have been better, I’m mad at myself for not being able to race through the minor pain and problems.” Scott stated that he plans on returning home and preparing for the Toyota 200 at Willow where he has finished very well the past 2 years. “With the Ohlins front end out pit stops will be faster this year. GPR notched it up a little with support and we will make a valiant effort at a top 5 this year,” said Scott. “Right now I’m concentrating on resting my shoulder and preparing for the last AMA race of the year at Mid-Ohio. We left the last race with a great setup and we know what tires to run for the sprints. I’m doing the 200 mainly for the prize money to help pay to go to the last AMA race and see what I can build to do another full year next year. I’m coming back no two ways about it, I just love racing motorcycles and when its a good weekend its usually really good. I’m a one man team at the track except when Bob has a little free time to help, we are going to see if we can regroup maybe build a little bit of a team or step on with another team and have a great 2007 Superbike season.” More, from a press release issued by Team Millennium/KWS Suzuki: MILLENNIUM/KWS SUZUKI FIGHT FOR TOP PRIVATEER AT ROAD ATLANTA Team Millennium/KWS Suzuki sponsored by Ron Ayers Motorsports had another really good weekend at Road Atlanta. Millennium/KWS Suzuki has been looking forward to the Road Atlanta round all year as it is the home track for both the team and rider Matt Lynn. Both riders and the team had a lot of support from friends and families at the track this weekend and put on a good show for everybody. Matt Lynn put in an excellent performance in qualifying running his fastest time ever at the historic Atlanta race track. For Superbike, Matt qualified in the twelfth position with a time of 1:25.145 with team mate John Haner right behind him in the fourteenth position with a time of 1:25.697. In Superstock qualifying, Lynn qualified in the eleventh position with a time of 1:24.884 with Haner qualifying again just behind Lynn with a time of 1:25.450 in the thirteenth position. The first race of the weekend was Saturday’s Superbike Race One. Both riders got excellent starts on their Suzuki GSX-R 1000’s and battled with the Jordan Suzuki riders for the entire race. The Millennium Technologies riders eventually finished just outside the top ten with Lynn in the eleventh position and Haner in twelfth. Sunday morning’s Superstock race is always the best race of the weekend and the Pirelli sponsored KWS team was ready. Both riders got excellent starts, especially Matt Lynn. Lynn jumped to eighth on the first lap and was battling with Jordan Suzuki’s Jake Holden and number one plate holder Aaron Yates for seventh when he crashed going into turn six. “I couldn’t get the thing stopped to make the turn and the only thing I could see was that wall so I bailed off,” said Lynn after the race. Meanwhile, Haner had a race long battle with Craggill, Attard, and Ulrich which culminated with a pass on the last lap to beat the group to the line for eleventh place. Sunday’s Superbike Race Two got underway with the threat of rain in the distance. John Haner had a problem when a boot came unfastened on lap two. John fixed the boot himself on the front straight but had lost so much time that he was only able to salvage a twenty-first place position. Matt Lynn had a good race that saw him battling with Jordan Suzuki’s Jake Holden and factory Kawasaki’s Tommy Hayden. Matt eventually finished in the thirteenth position. John Haner “It was a good weekend with some bad luck. The first Supebike race and the Superstock race were really good. The Pirelli tires are so consistent and I think we could have done really well in the second Superbike race, but we had a freak problem with my boot. I really want to thank the team and my sponsors. Rockstar, Komodo, HJC, Space City, and Dragon.” Matt Lynn “It was a pretty good weekend. The team worked really hard and I want to thank my mechanics, Brian Stricker and Rick Matheny for putting a great bike under me all weekend. It was great to have all the family and friends out for this race, thanks to all who came.” Kevin Hunt “The team did really well this weekend. John, Matt, Michael, Chip, Rick Owen, Brian, and Jim worked really hard. I want to thank all of our family, friends, and sponsors that came out this weekend to support us. Especially Chris Hackl and the guys from Millennium Technologies.” More, from a press release issued by Team Velocity/Blown Away Racing: TEAM VELOCITY/BLOWN AWAY RACING’S DAY HAS MECHANICAL WOES AT ROAD ATLANTA BRASELTON, Ga. Joshua Day had a frustrating weekend at Road Atlanta as his efforts to compete in the Pro Honda Oils Supersport race came to an early end on Sunday. The Suzuki Superbike Showdown was the third AMA Pro Racing appearance for the 16-year-old Day, who was riding the Team Velocity/Blown Away Racing Yamaha YZF-R6. Saturday’s practice got off to a good start for Day, who continued picking up speed on Road Atlanta’s hilly 2.54-mile road course. When it was his turn to qualify on Saturday afternoon, Day was confident about dropping his lap times further and securing a solid starting position. After his warm-up lap, though, a shifting problem developed that gave Day an unexpected challenge. The crew was unable to make repairs before the end of the qualifying session, so Day returned to the track determined to overcome the shifting issues. At the end of the session, Day had qualified 26th with a 1:32.038. “I ran 31s in practice that morning and felt pretty good,” he said. “I went out on my warm-up lap in qualifying then when I came down the front straight the bike wouldn’t shift. I had a great tire compound from Michelin that let me get on the gas sooner coming out of the corners, though.” The Team Velocity/Blown Away crew got to work and by the end of the day the Yamaha was repaired and ready for Sunday’s action. Bad luck struck again, though, when the motor began to fail late in Sunday morning’s practice. Without the parts needed to make repairs, Day reluctantly packed up his Yamaha and had to watch the Supersport race from the sidelines. Still, the weekend was not a loss for the Orlando, Florida resident. “I learned a lot and got good experience for when I come back here in October for the WERA Grand National Finals,” said Day. “Racers in AMA are so determined, and stepping up to compete with them helps me when I go back to WERA competition.” Day will only be home for a few days before heading up to Nelson Ledges Road Course in Ohio for round eight of the WERA/Bridgestone National Endurance Series. He will again be riding the TVR II Yamaha YZF-R6, and the team is hoping for their second consecutive class win in Mediumweight Superstock. This weekend’s race begins late in the afternoon and concludes in darkness, and it marks the first time that Day has been on track after sunset. “Friday is night practice, so I’ll get to find out what it’s like being out there in the darkness. We have our lights pretty well set up. PIAA is providing our lights and we’ve got everything ready to go.” Day is sponsored by Team Velocity Racing, Blown Away Racing, VP Racing Fuels, HJC Helmets, SYED, Champions Yamaha, Pro Image Signs and Graphics, Sharkskinz, Hank Lowry Electric and Michelin.

SBK ASSEN REVIEW BULLETIN Chris Walker (PSG-1 Kawasaki Corse) drove the strong British contingent in the Assen crowd wild after taking his first career victory in SBK. Troy Bayliss (Ducati Xerox) may have crashed in the first race at Assen but after an assured display of riding to win in race two, he left with an increased championship advantage, with three rounds still to run. His main championship rivals had virtual disasters in the wet first, and largely dry second, races but despite only finishing with a tenth and ninth place James Toseland (Winston Ten Kate Honda) regained overall second in the title hunt. Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha Motor Italia) and Troy Corser (Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra) both fell in both races and scored no points. In the championship battle, Bayliss now leads Toseland by 100 points, 332 to 232, with Haga third on an unchanged 230. A fuel and oil spill in the wet morning warm-up led to some delays in the race schedule, but the 22-lap Superbike races themselves went ahead as planned and on time. RACE ONE An astonishing 22-lap contest gave Chris Walker his first ever World Superbike race win, as the Nottinghamshire rider overcame the atrocious weather and slippery track to go from dead last (and on the gravel at the first corner on lap one) to victor in front of a drenched Assen crowd. It was Kawasaki’s first race win in SBK since a double success for Hitoyasu Izutsu, at Sugo in 2000. Walker’s last podium finish was in 2005, third at Valencia. In second place came Andrew Pitt (Yamaha Motor Italia), with Michel Fabrizio taking his Honda DFX Treme Honda to third, after moving forward confidently from a 14th place start. RACE TWO In the second race, on a dry track with damp patches around, Bayliss took another of his assured race wins, after an early fight with eventual fourth place rider, Yukio Kagayama (Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra). He was almost ten seconds ahead of second place rider Pitt, who now sits fourth overall, on 197 points after two runner-up rides. In a strong day for PSG-1 Kawasaki Corse rider Fonsi Nieto, a fourth in race one was followed up but his first career SBK podium of third in race two. RACE ONE OFFERS BONUS TO PRIVATE RIDERS With so many riders falling in the opening race, including potential podium rider Ruben Xaus (Sterilgarda Berik Ducati) the privateer machines of Norick Abe (Yamaha Motor France Ipone) and Max Neukirchner (Alstare Engineering Suzuki) ran out fifth and sixth, with the factory Ducati of Lorenzo Lanzi the top twin cylinder rider on show, seventh. He was followed by the private machine of Roberto Rolfo (Ducati SC Caracchi) and also Karl Muggeridge, who was in a podium scoring place before running off track in race one and then losing traction to finish 13th in race two. There were only 15 finishers in race one, but Steve Martin (Petronas FP-1) obtained the first of two points scoring results, with 12th in the wet opener, 11th in the dry second race. WORLD SUPERSPORT Kenan Sofuoglu (Winston Ten Kate Honda) rode the race of his life in wet conditions in a two-part aggregate Supersport race to secure the race win from new clear championship leader, Kevin Curtain (Yamaha Motor Germany). After 21-laps of high-risk racing, another new star was born, Kai Borre Andersen (Hoegee Suzuki), who gave his team its first podium in WSS, finishing third, ahead of Sebastien Charpentier (Winston Ten Kate Honda). Local rider Arie Vos (J&E Sport Ten Kate Racing Honda) went fifth, with the Hoegee Suzuki team having a successful day, as Barry Veneman scored sixth. In the championship chase itself, Curtain has 151 points, Charpentier 144 and Broc Parkes 119. Parkes, running to a clear early lead in the wet track conditions of race one, fell heavily, and has suffered what initial test have concluded to be three broken ribs, a possibly fractured shoulder and a punctured lung. After his Assen race win, Kenan Sofuoglu now sits fifth overall, only two points behind Robbin Harms (Stiggy Motorsports Hondfedea). SUPERSTOCK 1000 FIM CUP In a closely contested Superstock race Claudio Corti (Yamaha Team Italia) took his second race win of the year, in a delayed 13-lap race at the new-look Assen. Battling with Aussie Brendan Roberts (HP Racing), he passed on the final lap and Roberts ran off track at the final chicane in his attempt to get back into the lead. He finished second, with class leader Alessandro Polita (Celani team Suzuki) third. Polita now has a lead of 22 points from Ayrton Badovini, with Luca Scassa (EVR Corse Ormeni Racing) third, after finishing fifth at Assen. The tenth round of the championships is scheduled for 8-10 September, at EuroSpeedway Lausitz in Germany. More, from a press release issued by Hardinge – Ice Valley Motorsport Team: TUNSTALL DENIED POINTS AT ASSEN BY JUST 6/10TH OF A SECOND Tom Tunstall came within 6/10ths of a second of securing championship points in the two-part rain hit ninth round of the World Supersport Championship at Assen in the Netherlands. Riding the Hardinge – Ice Valley Motorsport Honda CBR600RR, Tom was in fine form and scythed his way through the world-class field from his starting position of 30th to finally end the race in 16th place. In qualifying, Tom and the team firstly had to adapt themselves to the new circuit layout after recent track revisions completely altered the flowing nature of the Dutch circuit. Tom had no problem learning the track, but on day one struggled with set up of the Hardinge – Ice Valley Motorsport Honda CBR600RR and finished 34th. In final qualifying the team were able to improve the set-up and Tom responded by improving his time to move up to 30th place on the grid. Heavy overnight rain continued into race day and the scheduled 22 lap World Supersport race got underway in fully wet conditions, making it a level playing field for Tom to show his wet weather abilities. From the opening lap, Tom made his intentions clear and was relishing the tricky conditions as he moved up through the field in his search for championship points. By lap ten, Tom was up into 17th place and on target to move into the top15 when Yamaha rider Stephane Dutrene and Ducati man Luca Nedog suffered a dramatic crash on the back section of the track causing the race to be stopped. With under half race distance complete, the race was restarted over a further 11 laps with aggregate timing from the two heats determining the overall race result. By the time the race was restarted the rain had stopped and the 2.8-mile circuit began to dry, which required the team to work hard to change the set-up of the bike to suit the new conditions. Tom was able to continue his good progress and despite struggling for grip had a tough battle with former World Supersport runner up Katsuaki Fujiwara onboard the factory supported Megabike Honda. Tom dug deep and was able to match the Japanese stars pace and beat him overall, but at the finish hadn’t quite done enough to get into the top 15 and missed out on championship points by just 6/10th of a second. “It was a good weekend in the end, but I’m just disappointed I didn’t get in the points. We had a really tough time in qualifying but in the race I was battling with Fujiwara and beat him over the two heats. The wet conditions threw the whole thing up in the air and I had a good feeling with the bike and track. In the first part of the race when it was fully wet, the bike was working really well and I spent the first ten laps catching and passing people and I felt I was definitely on for a good result.” explained Tom. “We’ve struggled at the last few races so it’s good to be fighting for points this weekend. We’re still working hard with the bike and it’s definitely getting better. To go from 30th on the grid and finish 16th is pleasing but to come that close to getting a point is obviously frustrating. It’s a reasonable result but as a racer you always want more.” he continued. Tom and the Hardinge – Ice Valley Motorsport team won’t have to wait long to have another chance of fighting for a top 15 finish with the tenth round of the World Supersport Championship taking place this weekend at the Lausitz Ring in Germany. Tom has no previous knowledge of the circuit but is determined to continue his good form with the first practice and qualifying session getting underway on Friday 8th September.