MotoGP World Championship, round 13 Malaysian Grand Prix, Sepang September 8/9/10 MICHELIN MEN READY FOR TROPICAL SHOWDOWN The 2006 MotoGP World Championship moves closer to its climax at the Malaysian Grand Prix, the first of three back-to-back flyaway races that will play a crucial role in deciding who gets to wear motorcycling’s most sought-after crown. With fives races remaining, four Michelin men lead the hunt for the 2006 MotoGP title: Nicky Hayden (Repsol Honda Team RC211V-Michelin), Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda Team RC211V-Michelin), Valentino Rossi (Camel Yamaha Team YZR-M1-Michelin) and Marco Melandri (Fortuna Honda RC211V-Michelin). These four riders have won ten of the 12 races so far this year, Michelin’s nine MotoGP riders filling 30 of a potential 36 podium positions. Michelin has won 12 of the 15 premier-class GPs staged in Malaysia at three different tracks ­ Sepang, Shah Alam and Johor. Sepang, which joined the GP calendar in 1999, is a venue much visited by MotoGP teams, who regularly use the circuit for winter test sessions. MICHELIN’S RESPONSE TO THE CHALLENGE OF SEPANG “This will be a very interesting race for us because we were disappointed with our results at Sepang last year,” says Nicolas Goubert, Michelin’s motorcycle racing director. “The 2005 race was strange, less than two seconds faster than the previous year’s, because track conditions weren’t so good. Sepang is like that, the grip character can change very quickly and for no apparent reason, even though the surface looks the same and the temperature stays the same. At last year’s race the grip level was much less than during preseason testing, when we were very fast. This year’s preseason testing didn’t go quite so well for us at Sepang, partly because the bikes weren’t as ready as they had been in 2005, so we weren’t able to do so many long-distance runs. But maybe that means we will have a better race this time! “Sepang has been a very popular test track ever since we first went there in 1999. The reasons for this are straightforward: it’s a challenging circuit, with similar weather conditions throughout the year and it’s quite close to Japan. “The track isn’t one of the most aggressive for tires, but it is quite demanding, with high track temperatures, long straights, some heavy braking and many long right-handers which put a lot of heat into the right side of the tires. The front tire is very important at Sepang because it’s a very wide track, so the corner entries are quite long. This should be good for both our new front tires ­ the wider profile tire and the narrower profile with new construction ­ because these tires give better grip and more feel during the crucial corner-entry phase. Our 2006 rear should also help because its bigger footprint delivers improved edge grip which is particularly important through Sepang’s longer corners. So I think we should be quicker than last year. The big question is how strong our competitors will be. “We are now entering the final phase of the 2006 World Championship with four of our riders at the top of the championship. This moment of the season is always very exciting for everyone, including us, because the fight between the different riders and teams becomes even more intense. Our riders and the teams inevitably become even more demanding during this period when every championship point counts for so much, but we are used to this pressure, it is all part of the game, part of the interest.” SEPANG DATA Lap record: Nicky Hayden (Repsol Honda Team RC211V-Michelin), 2:02.993 (162.390km/h-100.904mph) Pole position 2005: Loris Capirossi (Ducati Marlboro Team Desmosedici), 2:01.731 Recent winners of the Malaysian GP 2005 Loris Capirossi (Ducati Marlboro Team Desmosedici), 43:27.523 2004 Valentino Rossi (Gauloises Yamaha Team YZR-M1-Michelin), 43:9.146 2003 Valentino Rossi (Repsol Honda RC211V-Michelin), 43:41.457 2002 Max Biaggi (Marlboro Yamaha Team YZR-M1-Michelin), 44:01.592 2001 Valentino Rossi (Nastro Azzurro Honda NSR500-Michelin), 44:46.652 2000 Kenny Roberts (Telefonica Movistar Suzuki RGV500-Michelin) 31:58.102 (race stopped early due to rain) 1999 Kenny Roberts (Suzuki Grand Prix Team RGV500-Michelin), 44:56.033 1998 Mick Doohan (Repsol Honda NSR500-Michelin), race at Johor 1997 Mick Doohan (Repsol Honda NSR500-Michelin), race at Shah Alam 1996 Luca Cadalora (Kanemoto Honda NSR500-Michelin), race at Shah Alam Michelin MotoGP tire logistics The secret behind the success of Michelin’s MotoGP tires is their all-round performance potential. Logistics, however, are just as crucial in the quest for victory, particularly when races follow on from each other in quick succession. This year’s calendar takes teams from Malaysia to Australia and finally on to Japan in the space of just three weeks! Michelin provides tires for a total of 18 MotoGP machines for 9 riders at each race of the 17-round World Championship. Since the beginning of the 2006 season, Michelin runners have claimed 7 pole positions and 10 wins from 12 races. They have also secured 30 podium places from a possible 36. For the forthcoming visit to Asia and the Pacific Rim, Michelin’s tires were trucked to the airport in high security convoys. They were then loaded onto secure airfreight containers which left France on the Monday of the week preceding the Malaysian Grand Prix race week. Additional tires will be flown directly to Australia and Japan. To facilitate stock management and movements, all tires are identified by bar codes. The freight containing the tires and equipment needed for the paddock amounts to between 7 and 8 tons. Used tires are returned to Clermont-Ferrand after each race. Michelin’s MotoGP crew totals 16 staff: the program manager, five engineers, eight fitters, one press officer and one security guard to watch over the tires at night. Michelin takes around 1,000 tires to each GP. – Rear tires (60 per cent). – Front tires (40 per cent). Front tires are available in two profiles: 55 per cent are ‘wide’ profiles and 45 per cent are ‘narrow’ profiles. – 30 qualifying tires per race for all of Michelin riders. – The number of rain tires taken to each race fluctuates slightly as a function of the anticipated climate (slightly more are taken to Phillip Island where the chances of rain are higher). Rain tires account for around 10 per cent of the total package. Michelin’s nine riders generally use between 200 and 300 tires in the course of a GP weekend. The other 700 tires allow Michelin to respond to all track and weather conditions. MICHELIN MotoGP RIDERS 2006 Colin Edwards, Valentino Rossi (Camel Yamaha Team YZR-M1-Michelin) Nicky Hayden, Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda Team RC211V-Michelin) Toni Elias, Marco Melandri (Fortuna Honda RC211V-Michelin) Casey Stoner (Honda LCR RC211V-Michelin) Makoto Tamada (Konica Minolta Honda RC211V-Michelin) Kenny Roberts Junior (Team Roberts KR211V-Michelin)

CAMEL YAMAHA TEAM LOOK TO END DRAMATIC SEASON ON A HIGH 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

Rizla Suzuki MotoGP heads for sweltering Sepang Rizla Suzuki MotoGP gets back into action this coming weekend for round 13 of the MotoGP World Championship at Sepang in Malaysia, the first of three races in successive weekends. John Hopkins and Chris Vermeulen will both be looking to get back into the groove again after a tough last race at Brno. Hopkins continued his run of top 10 finishes – that now stretches to seven successive races, his best ever sequence in MotoGP in the Czech Republic and will be looking to keep that run going at Sepang. Hopkins qualified on the front row for last years Malaysian Grand Prix and the Anglo-American star will be looking to at least emulate or improve on that this weekend. The 5.5km Sepang International Circuit is one of Suzuki’s winter test tracks and both riders have completed many laps there. The circuit features two long straights interlinked by a variety of corners including some very fast and testing sweepers. The oppressive heat of Sepang will take its toll on the riders as the high temperatures and humidity will mean that fitness and stamina of the racers is as important as the set-up of the bikes. The Sepang track is situated approximately 50km south of Kuala Lumpur and very near to the International Airport. The track is one of the newest on the MotoGP calendar and has fantastic facilities along with some of the best architecture at any racetrack in the world. Rizla Suzuki MotoGP will begin its assault on Friday when it takes to the track for two free practice sessions. This is followed on Saturday by a further free practice session and the hour-long qualifying in the afternoon to determine the all-important grid positions. Sunday’s 21-lap race will get underway at 15.00hrs local time (07.00hrs GMT). Paul Denning Team Manager: “With only one race over the last month and a half it’s great to be getting back into action again, and these three back to back races throw the MotoGP teams right in at the deep end. Sepang is a circuit the riders know well, we know what to expect there in terms of conditions and we should have a good base set-up from where to start the weekend. We struggled a bit at Brno but the race itself saw both riders deliver strong performances and gain in confidence. “John and Chris are extremely fit and should be in the best possible condition for the strength sapping heat of Sepang. John goes particularly well there, and we are hoping for big things from him and Chris over these fly-away races as the tracks should suit the Rizla Suzuki GSV-R and the Bridgestone tyres. Suzuki keeps pushing things forward race by race, and we hope to compete to our full potential over the next three weekends, starting in Malaysia.”

A VERY DEMANDING GRAND PRIX MALAYSIAN GRAND PRIX PREVIEW The MotoGP World Championship leaves European soil behind once again this weekend as it heads east for three races in as many weekends. The chase for the title promises to be an exciting affair as five riders stake their claim over the remaining five races, which will take place over the next eight weeks. The season-long battle looks certain to go all the way to the wire. Marco Melandri, who lies fourth in the standings behind Rossi, Pedrosa and Hayden on 161 points, is one of the firm candidates for the most treasured prize in motorcycle sport. MARCO MELANDRI: “Now is the time to take each race as it comes because we are in the final stage of the championship and we have to give our best all the time. I’m happy to be racing in Malaysia – a nice track but one that at the same time is also technical. It is not easy because of the amount of long corners. Sepang is always very hot, with not much grip, and it is easy to crash. The rider’s conditioning is one of the keys to success and from that point of view I feel very confident. My physical preparation is designed specifically for the level of demands you are put under at this track – from supermotard riding to motocross and mountain bikes. We’ve got three very contrasting circuits coming up but I like them all and I can’t wait to get on my RC211V. Last year I arrived in Sepang with 35 stitches in my foot so I wasn’t in the right physical shape. Now I’m feeling confident because we have a good base set-up for the bike which I think can help me be consistent at each of the remaining tracks. Tyre choice at Sepang will be another of the main keys to success.” TONI ELIAS, who rode his RC211V in Malaysia during the winter tests, returns there determined to show his true potential. “The two day test in the Czech Republic was crucial to be able to better analyse the reactions of the bike. We worked a lot on weight distribution under braking and we know we are on the right lines and that the hard work will bear fruit soon. I like Sepang because it is a technical track which has some really hard braking areas hidden amongst .We are working very hard with my team and I hope to get a good result starting from this race”. FOCUS: HIGH TEMPERATURES AND TYRE WEAR High temperatures can be extremely wearing on the physical condition of a MotoGP rider and the case is even more so for the tyres. At a certain point the intense heat begins to reduce grip levels and at a circuit like Sepang the lap times are almost always faster during the morning, when the track registers around 40ºC than in the afternoon, when it can reach as high as 50ºC. In order to tackle the difficulties this presents MICHELIN have come up with a special rubber compound. “Independently of the track temperature each tyre is constructed according to the characteristics of the track,” explains Nicolas Goubert, Michelin’s Director of Motorcycle Racing. “Its layout, the track surface (topology and design), the rider’s style and the machine. These are some of the most important factors to take into account. Track temperature can vary a lot during a single day at Sepang and go from 40ºC in the morning up to 55ºC by the afternoon.” When the tyres begin to go off, that is when the rider can make the difference. “Riding style is crucial to the lifespan of a tyre – especially when temperatures are as high as they are at Sepang, Laguna Seca or Qatar” continues Nicolas Goubert. “Heat reduces grip levels and then it is up to the rider not to slide too much and wear down the tyre – especially in the early stages of a race.” The experience gathered this season at Laguna Seca, where track temperatures soared to around 60ºC, has allowed the Michelin engineers to take another step forward in their analysis of tyre reaction to extreme heat. The experience on the American track could be useful next weekend on the Malaysian track. Heat in numbers 60ºC: Track temperature at Laguna Seca 2006 15°-20°: The lowest temperature recorded this season (during the IRTA tests at Barcelona). 48°: Track temperature during preseason testing at Sepang in 2006. 1,100: The number of tyres being taken to Sepang by Michelin for use over the weekend. SEPANG: CIRCUIT CHARACTERISTICS Inauguration: 1998 Latest modification:1999 Length:5.548 m Width:25 m Pole:left Right corners:10 Left corners:5 Longest straight: 920 m RECORD: Circuit record: 2005 Hayden (Honda) 2’02″993 Pole: 2005 Capirosi (Ducati) 2’01″731 Race 2005: 1st Capirossi (Ducati) 2nd Rossi (Yamaha) 3rd Checa (Ducati)

AMA Superbike Championship Presented by Parts Unlimited Road Atlanta Braselton, Georgia September 3 Provisional Race Results: 1. Mat Mladin (Suz GSX-R1000), 25 laps 2. Ben Spies (Suz GSX-R1000), -10.499 seconds 3. Aaron Yates (Suz GSX-R1000), -16.319 seconds 4. Neil Hodgson (Duc 999F06), -16.417 seconds 5. Miguel Duhamel (Hon CBR1000RR), -19.454 seconds 6. Roger Hayden (Kaw ZX-10R), -23.800 seconds 7. Ben Bostrom (Duc 999F06), -31.002 seconds 8. Jake Zemke (Hon CBR1000RR), -32.789 seconds 9. Tommy Hayden (Kaw ZX-10R), -39.401 seconds 10. Jake Holden (Suz GSX-R1000), -40.352 seconds 11. Steve Rapp (Suz GSX-R1000), -40.474 seconds 12. Jason Pridmore (Suz GSX-R1000), -66.692 seconds 13. Matt Lynn (Suz GSX-R1000), -71.945 seconds 14. Jason Curtis (Suz GSX-R1000), -79.652 seconds 15. Eric Wood (Suz GSX-R1000), -79.823 seconds 16. Larry Pegram (Hon CBR1000RR), -80.510 seconds 17. Taylor Knapp (Suz GSX-R1000), -80.679 seconds 18. Gary Mason (Suz GSX-R1000), -80.776 seconds 19. Brian Stokes (Yam YZF-R1), -87.624 seconds 20. Cory West (Suz GSX-R1000), -1 lap 21. John Haner (Suz GSX-R1000), -1 lap, 24.590 seconds 22. Scott Jensen (Suz GSX-R1000), -1 lap, 26.867 seconds 23. Scott Carpenter (Suz GSX-R1000), -1 lap, 63.647 seconds 24. Dean Mizdal (Suz GSX-R1000), -1 lap, 63.770 seconds 25. Chris Ulrich (Suz GSX-R1000), DNS 26. Roberto Pietri (Suz GSX-R1000), DNS 27. Marty Craggill (Suz GSX-R1000), DNS Provisional AMA Superbike Championship Point Standings (After 18 of 19 races): 1. Spies, 625 points 2. Mladin, 605 points (-20 points) 3. Duhamel, 496 points 4. Yates, 451 points 5. Hodgson, 440 points 6. Tommy Hayden, 430 points 7. Zemke, 424 points 8. Pridmore, 374 points 9. Ben Bostrom, 364 points 10. Pegram, 331 points More, from a press release issued by American Suzuki: Yoshimura Suzuki’s Mladin, Spies & Yates Dominate Suzuki Superbike Showdown at Road Atlanta –Next round, Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington, Ohio, Sept. 29 Oct. 1, 2006– Round 10 AMA Superbike Series Braselton, GA Road Atlanta Sept. 1 – 3, 2006 In what looked like a repeat performance from Saturday, Team Yoshimura Suzuki’s Mat Mladin, Ben Spies and Aaron Yates brought home first, second and third place, respectively, in the second AMA Superbike race of the Road Atlanta double-header weekend in Braselton, Ga. This race marks Mladin’s 50th Superbike career victory and his seventh win of the season, while Spies’ second-place finish means he leads the points chase going into the final round of AMA Superbike at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington, Ohio, at the end of the month. In Sunday’s 25-lap race, Spies nailed the start and took the lead immediately. In spite of his injured hand, the young Texan began gapping the field. Mladin got off the line a little farther back, but worked his way up to Spies quickly. The teammates swapped spots and Mladin took over the lead, and both held their respective positions until the race’s end. “I have to thank my Yoshimura Suzuki guys because we got some things sorted out with the GSX-R1000 a few weeks ago,” said six-time AMA Superbike Champion Mladin. “We came on strong at the end of the year and now I’m looking forward to next year. Getting a kick in the pants from Ben has lit a fire under me. I won’t make it so easy for him next year.” After Spies’ results this weekend, he only needs to finish 13th or better to wrap up the 2006 AMA Superbike Championship. “We definitely weren’t going to try to run Mat’s pace today,” said Spies. “But we did what we had to do. I ran at my pace and when he came up behind me, I let him go by and kept a decent gap on third place. The weekend went exactly the way I’d hoped. Now we just need to go to Mid-Ohio and ride around and hopefully seal this thing.” Meanwhile, Yates got away in sixth place and used almost all 25 laps to work his way up into a podium spot. Indeed, a daring last-lap pass gave Yates his third-place finish and Yoshimura Suzuki its second Superbike sweep of the weekend. “I didn’t think I was going to be able to make the pass for third place,” said Yates. “But I just kept my head down, and kept pushing. Being from Georgia, I wanted to represent all the Georgia folks at a Georgia track. Nothing is better than having three Suzukis on the podium on a Suzuki weekend.” Mat Mladin, Team Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000, #1 1st Place AMA Superbike 2nd Place — Overall Championship Points Standings Ben Spies, Team Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000, #11 2nd Place AMA Superbike 1st Place — Overall Championship Points Standings Aaron Yates, Team Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000, #20 3rd Place AMA Superbike 4th Place — Overall Championship Points Standings More, from a press release issued on behalf of Dunlop: Dunlop Motorcycle Tires Race Report: 2006 AMA Superbike Series, Round 10, Road Atlanta Braselton, Ga. Yoshimura Suzuki’s six-time national champion Mat Mladin took both Superbike wins””the 49th and 50th of his career””and Graves Motorsports Yamaha’s Jamie Hacking captured the Superstock title at round 10 of the 2006 AMA Superbike Series at Road Atlanta, September 1-3. Hacking also snared the Supersport win after locking down that class title two weeks ago and, with just one round remaining, Erion Racing Honda’s Josh Hayes stormed to the Formula Xtreme victory and the series lead. For Dunlop teams it was a very successful weekend as 44 of 50 riders competing in the weekend’s five competitions took the top ten finishing positions. A capacity crowd enjoyed the Superbike doubleheader weekend at one of the country’s oldest and most prestigious road racing venues. While Georgia’s ever-present humidity reminded the racers and attendees alike that Labor Day weekend is just the halfway point in the region’s summer, the temperatures were mercifully moderate as clouds frequently shielded the 2.54 mile, 12-turn course from the sun. Road Atlanta is a “right-hand” circuit that generates significant heat in the right side of the rear tire, particularly after finishing the back straight. The surface is aging and bumpy in places and, due to the concrete patches in some turns, surface traction can be inconsistent. With track temperatures rising and falling under the scattered cloud cover, the racing teams played a guessing game with tire selections. Fortunately, Dunlop””prepared for every contingency””brought approximately 2100 tires to support the factory teams and support riders in Superbike, Superstock, Supersport and Formula Xtreme. Superbike Race One – Saturday Entering the penultimate round of the Superbike series, Yoshimura Suzuki’s Ben Spies has shown that he has the goods to earn his first Superbike championship””particularly after his gutsy performance at Virginia International Raceway (VIR) two weeks ago when he broke his hand. Teammate Mladin cut deeply into his lead with two VIR wins but Spies still managed to post 2-4 finishes and, coming into the Road Atlanta weekend, only 29 points separated the pair. A mistake by Spies was all that it would take to open the door for Mladin. Friday’s provisional qualifying round went to Mladin, but on Saturday Spies fought back in the second qualifying session and took the pole””and the point that goes with it””with a time of 1:21.685. In the race, Honda Racing’s Miguel Duhamel took the early lead but by lap two Spies was around him and into the lead. Mladin started off in fifth but, in trademark fashion, worked his way through the pack and by lap five he was around Spies as well. From that point Mladin opened up a gap on his GSX-R1000 and he was never headed, taking the win by 5.090 seconds over Spies. Teammate Aaron Yates was third after a spirited battle with Duhamel, assuring a Suzuki sweep of the podium. “The Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000 was running great, the Dunlop tires were working well,” said Mladin of his third consecutive win. “All we can do is go and try and win some races and see if we can keep the pressure on a little bit.” The gap from Mladin to the first non-Dunlop rider across the line was more than 1 minute, 16 seconds as the first 10 riders to finish rode on Dunlop tires. Superbike Race Results, Saturday: Dunlop finishers in the Top 10 1. Mat Mladin – Suzuki 2. Ben Spies – Suzuki 3. Aaron Yates – Suzuki 4. Miguel Duhamel – Honda 5. Neil Hodgson – Ducati 6. Jake Zemke – Honda 7. Tommy Hayden Kawasaki 8. Steve Rapp – Suzuki 9. Jason Pridmore – Suzuki 10. Jake Holden – Suzuki Formula Xtreme Race – Saturday The most closely contested series of the year has pitted the CBR600RRs of Erion Racing Honda against the Graves Motorsports Yamaha-tuned YZF-R6s. Coming into this round only three points separated Graves Yamaha’s Eric Bostrom, the series leader, from his teammate Jason DiSalvo and Erion Honda’s Josh Hayes. Hayes, who has only won one competition this year but finished second on five occasions, was the first to draw blood with a scorching pole time of 1:24.430″”the only class this weekend to establish a new pole record. And it was Hayes who took the race lead from the start. Throughout the 15-lap affair Bostrom was tantalizingly close but he could never line up a pass. Hayes’ course mastery resulted in the win, a scant .823 seconds over Bostrom, with DiSalvo taking third. “I’ve had some great races and some close ones here,” said Hayes. “After all these years it’s finally good to get one in front of all my fans and all my friends from back home,” the Gulfport, Mississippi native continued. “They (Dunlop) basically brought four race tires for us to race, and I think you could’ve won on any of them. It’s neat that everyone on the podium was probably on a different race tire. Dunlop’s been stepping it up for us.” Hayes collected the maximum points possible for the weekend and takes over the series lead by three points over Bostrom, 321 to 318. DiSalvo remains within striking distance with 313 points and one round remaining. Dunlop riders turned in another dominant performance with eight of the top 10 finishers sporting the Flying D chevron. Formula Xtreme Results: Dunlop finishers in the Top 10 1. Josh Hayes (Honda) 2. Eric Bostrom (Yamaha) 3. Jason DiSalvo (Yamaha) 4. Aaron Gobert (Honda) 6. Ryan Andrews (Honda) 7. Ty Howard (Honda) 8. Eric Wood (Honda) 10. Tony Meiring (Suzuki) Superstock Race – Sunday Graves Motorsports Yamaha’s Jamie Hacking is having the season of his life. The 34-year old North Carolinian locked up the Supersport title at VIR and he came to Road Atlanta needing to win by six points or more over Yoshimura Suzuki’s Aaron Yates to add the Superstock trophy to his mantle. Hacking lined up on the starting grid in second position with teammates Eric Bostrom (who took the pole) on one shoulder and Jason DiSalvo on the other. When the green flag dropped, it was Hacking who took the holeshot, followed closely by Bostrom, Erion Racing’s Josh Hayes and DiSalvo. Hacking never gave up the lead despite constant pressure from Bostrom all the way to the checkered flag. He took the win by .225 seconds, with third going to DiSalvo to complete Yamaha’s second consecutive podium sweep. “First of all I have to thank my crew,” said Hacking of Yamaha’s third class title. “The Graves Yamaha R1 guys did one heckuva job all season long getting this bike just the way I like it”¦ Last of all but not least, Dunlop Tires. I If I hadn’t had Dunlop Tires beneath me I couldn’t have run that race pace like I did.” Hacking becomes only the second rider to win both the Supersport and Superstock classes in one year””Doug Polen did it in 1988. With one round remaining, Hacking leads the class by an insurmountable 45 points over Yates with DiSalvo third (315 to 306 to 281, respectively). In typical Dunlop fashion, all but one of the top 10 riders rode on Dunlop tires. Superstock Results: Dunlop finishers in the Top 10 1. Jamie Hacking – Yamaha 2. Eric Bostrom – Yamaha 3. Jason DiSalvo – Yamaha 4. Josh Hayes – Honda 5. Steve Rapp – Suzuki 6. Jake Holden – Suzuki 7. Aaron Yates – Suzuki 8. Aaron Gobert – Honda 10. Damon Buckmaster – Kawasaki Supersport Race – Sunday As if to prove he will never let up, Hacking quickly suited up for the 600cc Supersport competition and proceeded to walk away with that victory as well. After trailing M4 Emgo Suzuki’s Michael Barnes briefly, Hacking surged into the lead on his factory Yamaha YZF-R6 and dueled for half of the 15-lap event with Kawasaki Road Racing’s Roger Lee Hayden. Hayden faded and eventually succumbed to a mechanical failure on lap 13, leaving Hacking firmly in control. He crossed the finish line 5.374 seconds ahead of M4’s Geoff May and Barnes was third. “I do love winning,” said an ebullient Hacking after winning his sixth race in row. “Yamaha has given me some top-of-the-class equipment right now and that’s what it takes. My bike runs unbelievably and handles like there’s no tomorrow. It was another great weekend for us.” Dunlop riders represented seven of the top 10 finishers and in the race for the series runner up, May leads MPT Performance’s Danny Eslick by two points, 233 to 231, while Attack Kawasaki’s Ben Attard is fourth with 225. Supersport Results: Dunlop finishers in the Top 10 1. Jamie Hacking – Yamaha 4. Danny Eslick – Suzuki 5. Ben Attard – Kawasaki 6. Damon Buckmaster – Kawasaki 7. Blake Young – Suzuki 9. Josh Herrin – Yamaha 10. Tony Meiring – Suzuki Superbike Race Two – Sunday The final race of the weekend was the second Superbike event and the result was a carbon copy of the first: a podium sweep for Suzuki led by Mladin, then Spies and Yates. Spies led early while Mladin worked his way forward from sixth position. By lap six he was in front for good while Spies settled into second. Mladin’s winning margin was 10.499 seconds over Spies while Yates clawed his way forward to rob Parts Unlimited Ducati’s Neal Hodgson of the final podium spot by just .099 seconds with a dramatic last-turn pass at the line. “It’s a shame it’s a little bit too late in the year, but I’ve got to thank my guys,” said Mladin. “We got some stuff sorted our a few weeks ago and we’ve had some really good races, really just trying to push hard and see what we could get out of everything. We tried a bit of a different tire today to see how it would go and it worked very well.” Despite sweeping the historic venue for the third time in his Superbike career (2000, 2004 and now 2006), Mladin still trails Spies for the championship by 20 points (625 vs. 605) going into the final round, where Spies only needs to finish 13th or better to secure the championship. Duhamel is third with 496 points. Overall the contest was another crowning achievement for Dunlop, whose riders took the top 12 finishing positions. Superbike Race Results, Sunday: Dunlop finishers in the Top 10 1. Mat Mladin – Suzuki 2. Ben Spies – Suzuki 3. Aaron Yates – Suzuki 4. Neil Hodgson – Ducati 5. Miguel Duhamel – Honda 6. Roger Lee Hayden – Kawasaki 7. Ben Bostrom – Ducati 8. Jake Zemke – Honda 9. Tommy Hayden – Kawasaki 10. Jake Holden – Suzuki Next stop for Dunlop and the 2006 AMA Superbike road racing tour is Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, Lexington, Ohio, September 29 October 1. More, from a press release issued by Honda: American Honda Secures Third in AMA Superbike Championship American Honda’s Miguel Duhamel was guaranteed a third place finish in the 2006 AMA Superbike Championship, despite a frustrating weekend at Road Atlanta, site of the penultimate round of the championship. Saturday was the stronger of the two days for Duhamel. He led the first lap, ran second on the second lap, then settled into third for the duration. It was only on the 24th of 25 laps that he lost the spot to Aaron Yates, the Suzuki rider drafting pass on the long back straight. Duhamel countered with a strong move into the hard braking turn ten, but couldn’t find his away past the Georgian. The difference at the flag was .533 seconds. “I was frustrated,” Duhamel said. “After that race I was like, man, I let one get away.” Duhamel was determined not to let it happen again on Sunday. Again he started well and slotted into third, but was dropped to fourth on the 11th of 25 laps. Yates came past four laps later and, soon after, a lapped rider cost Duhamel any hope of keeping up with the lead pack. “That eight-tenths of a second, or whatever it cost me-I did a 26-something (1:26.084)-that was the difference between me getting back to those guys at the end of the race and getting a shot at third again,” Duhamel said. “So that was very frustrating, but at least at the end I found myself again.” With only the final round of the championship remaining, at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in a month’s time, Duhamel is an unassailable third in the championship. Teammate Jake Zemke spent the weekend trying to find a good set-up, not only for the race, but also for next season. Zemke and Duhamel both struggled with rear grip problems on Saturday, the result of the suspension overworking the tire, and had more success on Sunday. On Saturday Zemke was sixth and he came eighth on Sunday, but in a spectacular way. Zemke was smoking the rear tire of his American Honda CBR1000RR to keep up with the leaders. But eventually he wore the tire out and Zemke’s forward march was slowed. “Every time we’ve gone out on the track we’ve had a completely different motorcycle, just trying to find some answers for next year,” Zemke said. “We kind of did the same thing we did at the last race, just kind of said, ‘Alright, look, we need to figure out our stuff sooner than later and let’s not worry too, too much about our results and try and get the bike figured out.” The podium was identical both days, with Mat Mladin leading Suzuki teammates Ben Spies and Aaron Yates. Miguel Duhamel 4th/5th Saturday It was a really good result considering I overheated the rear tire and it chunked with 12 laps to go, like almost at mid-race. And the whole time I was thinking, ‘Should I just come in and change the tire.’ It went through my mind to point to the team and show them the tire. Even with the chunked tire I think my bike would’ve been good enough to get third. I made a little mistake in the chicane, which I was struggling a bit and (Yates) got away there and I just couldn’t get close enough to make a safe pass again, so Aaron got third. Sunday Today we tried a different set-up, tried to get more grip, made the bike a little shorter. We used the same tire, shaved down a little bit to help with the heat. The grip wasn’t as good as yesterday because of the shaving down, obviously, but at least it didn’t overheat. And I spun it ten times more than yesterday. I tried really hard to stay with the Suzuki for a while. I was kind of enthused about that, because I was staying with Mat (Mladin) and Ben (Spies). Nobody had nothing for Mat. But I was going ‘Wow, I might get Ben.’ Next thing you know I think I got caught by Neil (Hodgson) and Neil got by me and then (Aaron) Yates got by me and I was just trying to get used to the new set-up. It had different strengths and I had to try to find them before the end of the race and I found them about halfway. Jake Zemke 6th/8th Saturday We lacked grip quite a bit; most of the guys did. Everybody, I think, was kind of in the same boat. But being that we were searching around for a set-up, I think ours was a little bit worse and our bikes don’t make funny sounds (of traction control) coming off the corners and that doesn’t seem to help us at all either. Especially on a track like this where it’s pretty slippery. It’s definitely an advantage here. And when everybody you’re racing against, you can hear their bikes make funny noises, it’s a little tough. Sunday I got a little bit better start today for sure. At least I could see the front for a while. But the same thing; the bike was so different. The first time I rode it was the first lap of the race, basically. It was good until the tire started to drop off a little bit, after about eight laps, and then after that it was all downhill. We could run at a fairly good pace, at least for the guys fighting for third, but we couldn’t sustain that pace. We were definitely working the tire, but if I back off enough for the thing to have grip and not have it out of line, to keep the wheels in line, the guys just drive away from me. It’s the only way I could even keep up to where I was, to do what I was doing. Sunday Superbike: 1. Mat Mladin (Suzuki) 2. Ben Spies (Suzuki) 3. Aaron Yates (Suzuki) 4. Neil Hodgson (Ducati) 5. Miguel Duhamel (Honda) 6. Roger Lee Hayden (Kawasaki) 7. Ben Bostrom (Ducati) 8. Jake Zemke (Honda) 9. Tommy Hayden (Kawasaki) 10. Jake Holden (Suzuki) Saturday Superbike: 1. Mat Mladin (Suzuki) 2. Ben Spies (Suzuki) 3. Aaron Yates (Suzuki) 4. Miguel Duhamel (Honda) 5. Neil Hodgson (Ducati) 6. Jake Zemke (Honda) 7. Tommy Hayden (Kawasaki) 8. Steve Rapp (Suzuki) 9. Jason Pridmore (Suzuki) 10. Jake Holden (Suzuki) Championship Standings: 1. Ben Spies (Suzuki) 625 2. Mat Mladin (Suzuki) 605 3. Miguel Duhamel (Honda) 496 4. Aaron Yates (Suzuki) 451 5. Neil Hodgson (Ducati) 440 6. Tommy Hayden (Kawasaki) 430 7. Jake Zemke (Honda) 424 8. Jason Pridmore (Suzuki) 374 9. Ben Bostrom (Ducati) 364 10. Larry Pegram (Honda) 331

Pro Honda Oils AMA Supersport Championship Presented by Shoei Road Atlanta Braselton, Georgia September 3, 2006 Provisional Race Results: 1. Jamie Hacking (Yam YZF-R6), 15 laps 2. Geoff May (Suz GSX-R600), -5.374 seconds 3. Michael Barnes (Suz GSX-R600), -6.998 seconds 4. Danny Eslick (Suz GSX-R600), -18.801 seconds 5. Ben Attard (Kaw ZX-6RR), -22.232 seconds 6. Damon Buckmaster (Kaw ZX-6RR), -22.421 seconds 7. Blake Young (Suz GSX-R600), -31.618 seconds 8. Michael Beck (Yam YZF-R6), -34.990 seconds 9. Josh Herrin (Yam YZF-R6), -35.055 seconds 10. Tony Meiring (Suz GSX-R600), -40.167 seconds 11. Jeff Wood (Suz GSX-R600), -40.429 seconds 12. Taylor Knapp (Suz GSX-R600), -44.362 seconds 13. Garrett Carter (Yam YZF-R6), -54.597 seconds 14. Akira Tamitsuji (Suz GSX-R600), -59.138 seconds 15. Barrett Long (Yam YZF-R6), -59.464 seconds 16. Shane Narbonne (Suz GSX-R600), -61.700 seconds 17. Brandon Parrish (Suz GSX-R600), -61.710 seconds 18. Shea Fouchek (Suz GSX-R600), -62.017 seconds 19. Keith Marshall (Suz GSX-R600), -71.338 seconds 20. Tripp Nobles (Kaw ZX-6RR), -82.935 seconds 21. Telly Steimel (Suz GSX-R600), -83.918 seconds 22. Ryan Clay (Yam YZF-R6), -85.856 seconds 23. Chris Siebenhaar (Suz GSX-R600), -90.116 seconds 24. Skip Salenius (Yam YZF-R6), -1 lap 25. Dirk Sanchez (Yam YZF-R6), -1 lap, 0.399 second 26. Michael Morgan (Suz GSX-R600), -1 lap, 18.448 seconds 27. Johnny Rock Page (Yam YZF-R6), -1 lap, 30.808 seconds 28. Roger Hayden (Kaw ZX-6RR), -3 laps, DNF, mechanical 29. Gustavo Laya (Kaw ZX-6RR), -4 laps, DNF 30. Scott Ryan (Yam YZF-R6), -8 laps, DNF 31. Daniel Parkerson (Suz GSX-R600), -9 laps, DNF 32. Josh Day (Yam YZF-R6), -15 laps, DNF Provisional AMA Supersport Championship Point Standings (after 10 of 11 races): 1. Hacking, 332 points 2. May, 233 points 3. Eslick, 231 points 4. Attard, 225 points 5. Barnes, 220 points 6. Young, 204 points 7. Roger Hayden, 200 points 8. Meiring, 175 points 9. Beck, 153 points 10. Buckmaster, 152 points 11. Herrin, 121 points 12. Chris “Opie” Caylor, 107 points 13. Ben Spies, 106 points 14. Jeff Tigert, 97 points 15. TIE, Carter/Alastair Seeley, 90 points 17. Long, 88 points 18. Fouchek, 86 points 19. Ryan Elleby, 80 points 20. Tyler McDonald, 74 points More, from a press release issued on behalf of Pirelli: Pirelli and M4 EMGO Suzuki Win Two AMA Supersport Podium Positions At Road Atlanta, Geoff May and Michael Barnes posted the M4 EMGO Suzuki team’s third double podium for the AMA Supersport season, showing that Diablo has once again badly bruised Goliath. The Pirelli Diablo, that is. Sunday started with teammates Geoff May and Michael Barnes taking the AMA Supersport field to church during Sunday morning practice at Road Atlanta, Georgia. The two M4 EMGO Suzuki riders, with their Pirelli SuperCorsa Pros on their Suzuki GSX-R600s, set the second and fourth fastest times, showing consistency with their front-row grid positions earned in yesterday’s qualifying. Meanwhile, Graves Motorsports-sponsored Michael Beck rode his Pirelli-shod Yamaha YZF-R6 to ninth fastest. The young rider found more speed each time he was on track. In the Supersport race, Barnes nailed the holeshot, leading the field for more than a lap. May was held up a few positions at the start but soon ran down the battle for the lead, joining Barnes and eventual race-winner Jamie Hacking. By race’s end, the top three had cleared the rest of the field, with fourth place a full 11 seconds adrift. Joining May and Barnes in the top ten was Michael Beck, finishing an incredible eighth on Pirellis. May is now second in Supersport points with one round remaining, and this was his third second-place finish and fourth Supersport podium for the season. Barnes is fifth in points and this was his fifth podium in Supersport in 2006. In Sunday’s AMA Superstock race at Road Atlanta, Geoff May, on his M4 EMGO Suzuki GSX-R1000, finished ninth, while Millennium KWS Suzuki GSX-R1000 rider John Haner was 11th, and RoadRacingWorld.com sponsored Chris Ulrich was 14th. May is now fourth in Superstock points, with Ulrich sitting one single point from the top ten. In Sunday’s Superbike Race Two, Millennium KWS Suzuki privateer racer Matt Lynn finished 13th on his Pirelli Diablo Superbike Slicks. Lynn is now 15th in AMA Superbike points, on his Superstock-spec Suzuki. More, from a press release issued by American Suzuki: Suzuki Privateer Danny Eslick Pilots Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R600 to Top-Five Finish –Next round, Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington, Ohio, Sept. 29 Oct. 1, 2006– Round 10 AMA Supersport Braselton, GA Road Atlanta Sept. 1 – 3, 2006 Substituting for injured factory-rider Ben Spies, Matsushima Performance Suzuki rider Danny Eslick rode the Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R600 to an impressive fourth-place finish in Sunday afternoon’s AMA 600 Supersport race at Road Atlanta in Braselton, Ga. In Saturday’s qualifying, 20-year-old Eslick had a strong showing with a fastest lap time of 1:26.873. This posting was good enough for fifth position on the starting grid. “I would have liked to get on the front row, but I made a couple of mistakes and that cost me a little bit,” said Eslick. “Qualifying is important but it’s not the race. I think we have what it takes to get a good start in the race and if we can do that, then it should be pretty good.” The 15-lap race saw Eslick get a good launch off the line and settle into fifth place. The young Oklahoma rider put his head down and rode a consistent and smooth race and finished up in fourth position. “I got a good start from the second row on my Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R600,” said Eslick about his first ride on a factory bike. “It was a little hectic going into the first turn but everybody settled down after that. The leaders set a good pace but I wasn’t quite comfortable running that pace today. I might tear up Ben Spies’ bike and they might not let me ride it again! I didn’t want to do anything crazy; I just wanted to bring home a good finish for Yoshimura Suzuki.” Danny Eslick, Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R600, #69 4th Place AMA Supersport 3rd Place Overall

Repsol Lubricants AMA Superstock Championship Road Atlanta Braselton, Georgia September 3, 2006 Provisional Race Results: 1. Jamie Hacking (Yam YZF-R1 LE), 15 laps 2. Eric Bostrom (Yam YZF-R1 LE), -0.225 second 3. Jason DiSalvo (Yam YZF-R1 LE), -1.292 seconds 4. Josh Hayes (Hon CBR1000RR), -3.704 seconds 5. Steve Rapp (Suz GSX-R1000), -7.378 seconds 6. Jake Holden (Suz GSX-R1000), -7.565 seconds 7. Aaron Yates (Suz GSX-R1000), -16.990 seconds 8. Aaron Gobert (Hon CBR1000RR), -17.634 seconds 9. Geoff May (Suz GSX-R1000), -23.776 seconds 10. Damon Buckmaster (Kaw ZX-10R), -24.991 seconds 11. John Haner (Suz GSX-R1000), -31.285 seconds 12. Marty Craggill (Suz GSX-R1000), -31.897 seconds 13. Ben Attard (Kaw ZX-10R), -32.953 seconds 14. Chris Ulrich (Suz GSX-R1000), -35.771 seconds 15. Gary Mason (Suz GSX-R1000), -37.273 seconds 16. Cory West (Suz GSX-R1000), -37.837 seconds 17. Robertino Pietri (Suz GSX-R1000), -52.540 seconds 18. Andi Notman (Suz GSX-R1000), -66.571 seconds 19. Barry Teasadale (Suz GSX-R1000), -76.787 seconds 20. Brad Hendry (Suz GSX-R1000), -77.497 seconds 21. Michael Sanchez (Suz GSX-R1000), -1 lap 22. Chuck Ivey (Yam YZF-R1), -1 lap, 0.232 second 23. Fernando Amantini (Kaw ZX-10R), -1 lap, 15.665 seconds 24. James Kerker (Hon CBR1000RR), -3 laps, DNF, mechanical 25. Matt Lynn (Suz GSX-R1000), -11 laps, DNF, crash 26. Mark Brereton (Suz GSX-R1000), DNS Provisional AMA Superstock Championship Point Standings (after 10 of 11 races): 1. Hacking, 351 points 2. Yates, 306 points 3. DiSalvo, 281 points 4. May, 263 points 5. Hayes, 245 points 6. Eric Bostrom, 238 points 7. Rapp, 200 points 8. Aaron Gobert, 194 points 9. Craggill, 191 points 10. Holden, 184 points 11. Ulrich, 183 points 12. Buckmaster, 172 points 13. Attard, 169 points 14. Lynn, 165 points 15. Pietri, 155 points 16. Jason Pridmore, 145 points 17. West, 137 points 18. Akira Tamitsuji, 111 points 19. Hendry, 96 points 20. Haner, 91 points More, from a press release issued by American Suzuki: Yoshimura Suzuki’s Yates Overcomes Injured Shoulder & Cards Seventh-Place Superstock Finish –Next round, Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington, Ohio, Sept. 29 Oct. 1, 2006– Round 10 AMA Repsol Superstock Series Braselton, GA Road Atlanta Sept. 1 – 3, 2006 Yoshimura Suzuki’s Aaron Yates battled an injured shoulder as well as the competition in Sunday afternoon’s AMA Repsol Superstock race at Road Atlanta in Braselton, Ga. The defending AMA Superstock Champion was able to overcome the adversity and finished in a strong seventh place. The day before, Yates picked up a second-row grid spot after posting a fastest qualifying lap time of 1:24.363. The Georgian admitted that he didn’t give 100 percent in qualifying because he’d banged up his shoulder in a get-off during practice the previous day and he knew he had a Superbike race later in the day. “I wasn’t pushing very hard,” he said. “My shoulder keeps getting a little better as the day goes on and it should be fine for the race tomorrow.” Although he’d hoped his shoulder would be better, that was not the case and riding the Superstock bike exacerbated the injury. “It was a tough race,” admitted Yates. “The Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000 was fine and I tried for a few laps but my shoulder was bothering me and I just couldn’t run with it. I pushed as hard as I could but I just couldn’t gain any ground. I gave it all I had.” Aaron Yates, Team Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000, #1 7th Place AMA Repsol Lubricants Superstock 2nd Place Overall

FIM Superbike World Championship Assen, Holland September 3, 2006 Race Two Results: 1. Troy BAYLISS (Duc 999F06), 22 laps, 37:29.307 2. Andrew PITT (Yam YZF-R1), -9.342 seconds 3. Fonsi NIETO (Kaw ZX-10R), -11.648 seconds 4. Yukio KAGAYAMA (Suz GSX-R1000), -12.743 seconds 5. Ruben XAUS (Duc 999F05), -12.811 seconds 6. Lorenzo LANZI (Duc 999F06), -19.845 seconds 7. Alex BARROS (Hon CBR1000RR), -29.241 seconds 8. Regis LACONI (Kaw ZX-10R), -34.085 seconds 9. James TOSELAND (Hon CBR1000RR), -42.113 seconds, crash 10. Michel FABRIZIO (Hon CBR1000RR), -51.815 seconds 11. Steve MARTIN (Foggy Petronas FP1), -53.608 seconds 12. Roberto ROLFO (Duc 999F05), -56.132 seconds 13. Karl MUGGERIDGE (Hon CBR1000RR), -57.168 seconds 14. Chris WALKER (Kaw ZX-10R), -61.056 seconds 15. Josh BROOKES (Kaw ZX-10R), -94.429 seconds 16. Ivan CLEMENTI (Duc 999RS), -1 lap 17. Vittorio IANNUZZO (Suz GSX-R1000), -5 laps, DNF, crash 18. Shinichi NAKATOMI (Yam YZF-R1), -6 laps, DNF, mechanical 19. Norick ABE (Yam YZF-R1), -8 laps, DNF, mechanical 20. Harry VAN BEEK (Suz GSX-R1000), -8 laps, DNF, mechanical 21. Pierfrancesco CHILI (Hon CBR1000RR), -14 laps, DNF, mechanical 22. Marco BORCIANI (Duc 999F05), -17 laps, DNF, mechanical 23. Criag JONES (Foggy Petronas FP1), -18 laps, DNF, mechanical 24. Max NEUKIRCHNER (Suz GSX-R1000), -20 laps, DNF, crash 25. Kurtis ROBERTS (Duc 999RS), -22 laps, DNF 26. Noriyuki HAGA (Yam YZF-R1), -22 laps, DNF, crash 27. Troy CORSER (Suz GSX-R1000), -22 laps, DNF, crash Superbike World Championship Point Standings (After 18 of 24 races): 1. Bayliss, 332 points 2. Toseland, 232 points 3. Haga, 230 points 4. Pitt, 197 points 5. Corser, 193 points 6. Barros, 175 points 7. Kagayama, 139 points 8. Walker, 123 points 9. Lanzi, 115 points 10. Nieto, 112 points 11. Fabrizio, 109 points 12. Xaus, 95 points 13. Abe, 88 points 14. Laconi, 80 points 15. Muggeridge, 76 points 16. Rolfo, 64 points 17. Nakatomi, 32 points 18. TIE, Neukirchner/Fabien Foret, 19 points 20. Gimbert, 18 points More, from a press release issued by Winston Ten Kate Honda: TOSELAND REGAINS SECOND IN THE CHAMPIONSHIP AT CHANGEABLE ASSEN With heavy rain in race one and a drying track in race two Assen presented two different challenges to the Winston Ten Kate Honda team and despite some bad luck James Toseland (Winston Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR) left his team’s home race second in the championship standings. Karl Muggeridge (Winston Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR) was once more a challenger for a podium place, but misfortune also left him down the order. In a fully wet race one Toseland slipped back from a top five place when he ran into the gravel and restarted to finish tenth, one place behind Muggeridge, who had to re-start after falling on lap 12, when sitting in fourth position. In race two Toseland was taken out at the first corner, but restarted to score an eventual ninth, and overtake double non-finisher Noriyuki Haga in the standings in overall second. Muggeridge found his rear traction dropping off in dramatic fashion in race two, as he went from fourth to 13th. The races were won by Chris Walker (in the wet opener) and Championship leader, Troy Bayliss. Ronald Ten Kate Team Manager “A fantastic comeback after the start James had in race two. He could have just laid the bike down and walked away, but he would never have made second place in the series if he had. Karl had no luck today and we will have to see what happened in the second race. A very strange weekend for us in Superbike but with James back into second place in the championship we have left our home race better than some. The weather on raceday played a big part in everything, but we know that Assen can be like this.” James Toseland SBK Winston Ten Kate Honda Rider (Race 1: 10th Race 2: 9th Championship Position: 2nd with 232 points) “In race two I had a decent start and got into the first corner OK, until I saw a Corona Suzuki on top of me. I understand he might have clipped Haga, so it may not be all Corser’s fault, but I went down and then climbed back on the bike. I still had my brakes working, but no fairing. But I got points and fought to the finish, and that gave me second place in the championship back. I did what I always do, and I never give up. If I had stopped and quit I would still be third. In race one we set off well, but my front locked on the first corner and I had to go straight. Unfortunately it took me a little bit of time to come back on track, then I had a very bad feeling with the front tyre. If there were no problems and the track was dry we would have had two podiums for sure.” Karl Muggeridge SBK Winston Ten Kate Honda Rider (Race 1: 9th Race 2: 13th Championship Position: 15th with 76 points) “My rear tyre just tore up after five laps in race two, and I went from doing low twos to fives in one lap. Couldn’t do anything with that rear. I made a small mistake in race one and missed out on the podium really.” More, from a press release issued by FG Sport: FIRST WIN FOR WALKER AND TENTH WIN FOR BAYLISS ASSEN PROVIDES THRILLS AND SPILLS FOR THR TOP MEN 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. DRY PRACTICE LEAVES EVERYTHING OPEN AT WET AND DRY ASSEN Yukio Kagayama (Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra) recovered from his first race crash to secure an impressive fourth in race two, although being passed twice by eventual podium rider Nieto in the process. Troy Corser (Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra) lost the front while in the leading group in race one. In race two a collision between Corser and Haga on the startline broke the wheel and dented the front disk on Corser’s Suzuki, and when he went into the first corner he had no brakes, taking out James Toseland as a result, before he remounted to finish a brave ninth. In race one Toseland ran off the wet track while with the leading group, but battled on to finish tenth. Chris Walker (PSG-1 Kawasaki Corse) had to contend with the wrong choice of rear tyre, fitted in error, in race two, and after a few laps started a charge to the back that saw him finish an eventual 14th. He nonetheless moves from ninth to eighth overall in the series, thanks to his race one win. 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. SECOND RACE OFFERS SECOND CHANCE FOR SOME Alex Barros (Klaffi Honda) pulled out of race one after feeling a lack of confidence in his front fork performance in the rain, but he recovered in race two to score seventh, albeit dropping to sixth in the overall standings after a tough weekend. Xaus made a superb recovery in race two to fifth, and had he not found his rear traction diminishing slowly as time went on, he could have challenged for the podium right to the end. Regis Laconi (PSG-1 Kawasaki Corse) a faller in race one, found chattering a problem in race two, but still finished in the top eight. A six-rider battle in the early laps featured Laconi in the vanguard. Rounding out the top ten, Toseland found his six points enough to put him second in the series, but a gearbox problem for Michel Fabrizio (DFX Treme Honda) put him 10th. Pierfrancesco Chili, Fabrizio’s team-mate, endured a crash in race one and a retirement from race two. Sebastien Gimbert (Yamaha Motor France Ipone) damaged his back in race one, and us undergoing exploratory scans in hospital. SUPERSPORT WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP 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 Honda). 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. GERMANY AWAITS SBK AT LAUSITZ The tenth round of the championships is scheduled for 8-10 September, at EuroSpeedway Lausitz in Germany. More, from a press release issued by Foggy Petronas Racing: MARTIN AT THE DOUBLE FOR FOGGY PETRONAS RACING Steve Martin secured a double points-scoring finish for Foggy PETRONAS Racing as hazardous conditions made for incident-packed racing at the ninth round of the superbike World Championship at Assen, Holland. The Australian kept a cool head in atrocious weather during race one to bring his PETRONAS FP1 safely home in 12th place. He then went one better with a strong finish to the dry second race, passing a number of riders in the closing stages to claim 11th place. But there was more misfortune for team-mate Craig Jones, who was a casualty in the chaos of the first lap of the first race when he punted off track into the gravel. Then, after a stunning start to race two when he was running in 14th place after four laps, his engine locked up and he was forced to pull in. Former FPR rider Chris Walker enjoyed the ride of his career to secure a comfortable victory from the back of the grid in the first race, before Troy Bayliss returned to form to claim victory in race two. Steve said: “To be in the points in both races was excellent. The second race was one of the hardest of my life. All my passes were through out-breaking and diving into the corners and I am really happy for everybody that we are in the points again. Bits were flying off someone’s bike in front of me at the start so I had to back off. And it’s no fun heading towards a wet first corner on slick tyres, with everyone aiming for the dry line! When the other guys had grip they headed into the distance but when they started to lose their grip later on I was able to maintain consistent times and make up some places. I did the best job I could in the first race as the bike is now pretty hard to ride in the wet because all the power is made at high revs. I ran off the track a few times because the rear end was locking up a bit too easily. With 10 laps to go I could see a big gap behind me, and lots of guys were crashing, so I knew I just had to finish the race.” Craig said: “We had to start at the back of the grid when a problem prevented me from making the sighting lap for the first race. For whatever reason I ended up on the outside and, going into the first corner, there was so much spray that everyone sat up and I was pushed onto the grass. I was carrying too much speed to do anything about it. That was a real shame because I had gone well in the wet in the morning warm-up session and was confident of scoring points. I had a great start to race two and was in front of Steve through the second corner but the bike started to lose power and then locked up on lap four. I don’t know what I have to do to deserve a bit of luck at the moment.” More, from a press release issued by Ducati Xerox: BAYLISS MOVES ONE STEP CLOSER TO SUPERBIKE TITLE WITH RACE 2 WIN AT ASSEN Assen (Netherlands): Troy Bayliss (Ducati Xerox) moved another step closer towards taking a second World Superbike title with his tenth win of the season at Assen. The Australian crashed out of the first race, held in dreadful weather conditions and won by Chris Walker (Kawasaki), but then had a relatively easy run to the maximum points in the second counter after his three main rivals Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha), James Toseland (Honda) and Troy Corser (Suzuki) were involved in a first-corner incident. Troy now leads the championship with 332 points, 100 ahead of Toseland and 102 ahead of Haga, with 150 points still up for grabs in the remaining three rounds. “In my opinion race 1 should have been stopped because there was far too much rain coming down” declared Troy. “In the end I was having trouble seeing where I was going and I went too much on the inside of the fast left down the back and completely aquaplaned. The back of the bike came around, with 210 km/h on the telemetry, threw me over the handlebars and that was it. Race 2 on the other hand was pretty easy after the first few laps. I’m really happy with how it turned out but honestly Assen has always been a rollercoaster ride for me and today was no different. I had a very fast off this morning in the rain but I’ve managed to increase the points lead and we all leave here very happy this afternoon”. Team-mate Lorenzo Lanzi fell behind in the early laps of race 1 but then recovered to finish seventh in a decimated field, while he followed this up with a sixth place in race 2. “I think I showed that I wasn’t far off the pace today even though I didn’t obtain particularly great results” commented Lorenzo. “I went well in the wet in race 1 despite going wide on lap 2, and I believe I did a good second race in the dry. I managed to take Laconi after a lap battling with him because I had a faster pace. When I caught Ruben and the group fighting for third, there were just seven laps to the flag and I didn’t have any more front-end grip. I had gambled on a softer choice of rear tyre but instead I had problems with the front. Without that, maybe I could have fought for the podium. I hoped things would have gone a bit better at Assen, but they didn’t. Next Sunday there’s the Lausitz race, hopefully we’ll get a good result like last year”. More, from a press release issued by Scuderia SC Caracchi: SURPRISE FOR THE FLOOD IN ASSEN’s RESULT After two practice day all raced on a dry track the rain did transform today the Assen’s races in a lottery, under a time schedule totally modified. In Superbike Roberto Rolfo ended both the races into the points, scoring a very good 8th position in Race-1, all run under the deluge. In gara-2 on the contrary the track dried just at starting time, forcing the teams to a troubled work to change the tyres on the starting grid. “Looking at the bad starting position today I had a very good day.” commented Roberto Rolfo at the end of the day. “At Race-1 start I was very quick, passing as 17th at the first split, then thank the race event allow me to seventh place that I lost just in the final lap, when Lanzi overtook me. In Race-2 on the contrary I remained prisoner in the gruop at the first corner and I need several laps to pass, however I’ve been able to score useful points for the championship standing. My engine pushed very well, as often, and the bike has been recorded as the fastest in the speed trap, but I’m still not confident with the handling, like all the week end. Now we go to Eurospeedway that is totally new for me; I’m hoping in a good result.” Stuart Easton has been the most positive between 749R Supersport riders, earning a good tenth final place in a dramatic race, rode in two parts because a red flag stop at eleventh lap. “I started quite well, passing Nannelli too who was just before me.” related after the race Stuart Easton. “Unfortunately starting from the back at the first split I had a seven seconds gap, after about a kilometer race. However we started to recover some place and at the red flag moment I was in 16th place. At the new start I slipped away and after a lap I earned three-four positions. The gap with the riders in front of me became, in the aggregate placing, too heavy and was impossible to recover, but I ended however in 10th place overall.” Gianluca Nannelli was riding a very good race and he was in 7th place after a fast race when he crashed just three laps to go, losing several positions. Stubborn as always “Nanna” rejoined the race ending as 15th, but today he could deverve a better prize. “In the first part of the race I didn’t get a good start, but early I earned several position and when they stopped the race I was in 12th position, as well 31,5 seconds behind the leader.” said Nannelli at the end of the race. “At the new start we modified the tyre pressur looking a better grip, but we got the wrong result. I recover to the 7th place, but it was a continuous fight with the bike. At the end I crashed, but I’ve been able to restart and score some point. That’s actually a pity, I’ve done a good race, I was the better of Italian riders and it could be a quite good result.” Luka Nedog has been not lucky; after recovering some position he crashed on the oil let by Duterne’s bike, crashed just in front of him and that has been cause of red flag stop. Unfortunately Luka has not been able to rejoin the pit in 5 minutes, as the new rules require to be allowed at the second start. “I started quite well.” commented Nedog at the end. “Then I earned some position too, when my bike flied away because the oil on the track let by a bike that crashed badly in front of me. The Race Direction stopped the race by red flag, but I was too far from to rejoin the pit in time. Actually I’ve been unlucky.” More, from a press release issued by Team Suzuki: ALSTARE SUZUKI SUFFERS AT ASSEN Reigning World Champion Troy Corser and team mate Yukio Kagayama both fell victims to the weather conditions at today’s World Superbike Championship round at Assen in Holland, crashing out of the opening race. And Corser left the event point-less after being taken out on the first corner of race two. After two days of dry conditions, the circuit was soaking wet by the time the first race got under away today. A lot of oil had also been spilled in the morning warm-up and the cleaning trucks had gone out twice before the riders felt confident enough to venture out in the rainy conditions. In race one, Team Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra’s Corser and Kagayama both fell foul of the slippery surface and were out of contention by eight laps. Corser crashed because his visor fogged up and he couldn’t see where he was going and Kagayama crashed when he hit a large puddle of standing water. The race was one of attrition and in the end only 15 riders out of 28 finished. Amongst the casualties were three of the top four in the title chase. Chris Walker (Kawasaki) started from last place but stormed through the field, mastering the difficult conditions to take his maiden World Superbike win. Second was Andrew Pitt (Kawasaki) with Michel Fabrizio third. By the time the second race started, the track was virtually dry, though there were still a few damp patches waiting to catch the riders out. Corser’s race lasted only to the first turn. His front wheel was hit by Haga’s bike, destroying the rim and damaging the disc in the process and when he tried to hit the brakes nothing happened and he crashed. Kagayama led for a substantial part of the race until his tyres went off. After that, all he could do was keep going and try and bring his GSX-R1000 Suzuki safely home. In the end, he took a hard-fought-for fourth behind Troy Bayliss (Ducati), Andrew Pitt and Fonsi Nieto (Kawasaki). There was good news for Alstare Engineering Corona Extra: Max Neukirchner started in almost last position in the first race but rode steadily throughout the 22-lapper to take sixth place and 10 championship points. Despite the terrible conditions and several lurid slides, the young German somehow kept the bike upright and ignored all the mayhem around him. At the end he was less than half-a-second off fourth place. In race two, he was one of the riders caught out by a damp patch. He lost control and fell, fortunately without injury. Yukio Kagayama – Race 1: DNF, Race 2: 4th: “I am not so happy today because I believed I was going to get two podiums. The rain ruined everything and all I managed in the end was just one fourth place. The first race was very difficult because there was so much water on the track. In the beginning I was very careful in the new first section of the track because it felt very slippery there. I got into third place by lap seven and thought maybe I could stay in that position. I was particularly careful on the corner where Troy-san crashed, but maybe that was my undoing because I then crashed on the next corner! I hit a big puddle and the bike aquaplaned and that was it! “In the second race I made a good start and had a good battle with Bayliss. I think I Ied the race for maybe seven laps and then my tyres started to go off a lot. When Bayliss passed me, I could do nothing about it and from then to the end of the race I had to try and keep going as best I could.” Troy Corser – Race 1: DNF, Race 2: DNF: “I guess you could say that today was one to forget and the only good news is that I never hurt myself in the two crashes. The first race started well enough and I managed to lead Bayliss in the wet for a couple of laps. But soon my visor started fogging up and I was having to try and look out of the side of it just to see where I was going! At the kind of speed we were going, that isn’t good enough and when I looked up one time, I was off line and heading into a large patch of water. Next thing I knew I was down and my race was over. “In race two, there was an even bigger disaster: Haga was next to me off the line and heading toward turn one I think he missed a gear and then hit me. At first I didn’t know what happened and I tried to brake for the turn, but nothing happened. I went down and it was only when I looked at the front of my bike that I realised that the impact had broken my front wheel rim and damaged one of the brake discs. What a frustrating and disappointing day it has been – especially after taking Superpole yesterday. If today had been dry, I feel I would’ve taken two podiums for sure, but that’s racing.” Max Neukirchner – Race 1, 6th, Race 2: DNF: “Maybe starting at the back wasn’t so bad because I could take my time and see how the track was without doing anything silly. The conditions were treacherous and I had lots of slides, but I tried to ride as smoothly as I could and, as the race went on and riders kept falling, I began to pick up places. Towards the end, I was happy because I knew I has scored some good points, but it was one of those races where you had a 50 per cent chance of finishing and a 50 per cent chance of crashing. Fortunately for me, I finished! “Race two was not so good. Most of the track was dry, but there were a couple of places that were quite damp and I got caught out and down I went – simple as that. But this has been a great learning experience for me and now I’m looking forward to a track I know well- Lausitz – and continuing my learning curve.” SUPERSTOCK 600: Team Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra rider Xavier Simeon had to be satisfied with runner-up spot at Assen today after leading all but the last lap. Xavier started the race in storming style and looked set to rack up win number five this season, but his biggest rival Nicola Canepa (Ducati) slipped up the inside of him entering the final chicane and Xavier was unable to regain the lead. At the end, the margin of Canepa’s victory was only a 10th of a second. Third went to Davide Giugliano (Kawasaki), with Andrea Antonelli (Honda) fourth. Xavier Simeon – 2nd: “I am a bit cross with myself for letting Canepa get past me after all the good work I did during the race. I led from the start and I knew that he would mount a strong challenge in the closing stages and that’s what he did. Maybe I left a little gap on my inside going into the final chicane and he managed to make the pass. I tried to get on the gas early and overtake him on the run to the flag, but he just managed to hold me off. If I’d been a bit more aggressive in the final turn, maybe I would’ve hit him, so I did sort of ease off in the middle of the chicane, otherwise maybe we would have both gone down. But, it’s another 20 points and it’s Canepa who will be under pressure in the last three rounds. I have a 34 point advantage and I intend to maintain it. ” Superstock 600 Results: 1 Canepa (I-Ducati), 2 Xavier Simeon (B-Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra), 3 Giugliano (I-Kawasaki), 4 Antonelli (I-Honda), 5 Junod (CH-Suzuki), 6 Walraven (NL-Suzuki). Championship Points: 1 Xavier Simeon (Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra) 160, 2 Canepa 126, 3 Giugliano 100, 4 Antonelli 68, 5 Colucci 55, 6 Jezek 51. More, from a press release issued by Honda Racing: TOSELAND MOVES UP TO SECOND AS FABRIZIO SCORES A PODIUM James Toseland (Winston Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR) rode as hard as he has all season at his team’s home race but failed to score the podium places his practice form had promised. Tenth in race one and ninth in race two were his reward, and the points he gathered put him second in the championship, leapfrogging double crasher Noriyuki Haga. Michel Fabrizio (DFX Treme Honda CBR1000RR) made the most of an almost flooded Assen circuit in race one to score third place, Honda’s highest placed rider in either of the 22-lap SBK races. Race one saw almost half the riders in the race fall or retire at some stage, with Chris Walker taking his first career World Superbike win, from Andrew Pitt and Fabrizio. Michel had started from 14th on the grid after a disappointing Superpole, but was assured in his forward progress. Karl Muggeridge (Winston Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR) went ninth after crashing and rejoining, with James Toseland (Winston Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR) on the gravel at one stage, returning to the track to finish tenth. Alex Barros (Klaffi Honda CBR1000RR) retired with front suspension set-up concerns, having been forced to slow from a strong starting position of fifth. Pierfrancesco Chili (DFX Treme Honda CBR1000RR) crashed out of contention on lap five. In race two Barros was top Honda finisher, in seventh, but Toseland was taken out on the first corner, when he and Troy Corser tangled, in a crash where Noriyuki Haga also fell. James attempted to restart and rejoin the race, and fought his way back to a creditable ninth, one place up on Fabrizio, who had experienced gearbox issues. Muggeridge found his rear traction dropping off in an unexpected and dramatic fashion in race two, as he went from fourth to 13th, while Chili retired from race two. Toseland was unsure what to make of his Assen weekend, which promised much and delivered little. “In race two I had a decent start and got into the first corner OK – until I saw a Suzuki on top of me,” said James. “I understand he might have clipped Haga, so it may not be all Corser’s fault, but I went down and then climbed back on the bike. I still had my brakes working, but no fairing. But I got points and fought to the finish, and that gave me second place in the championship back. I did what I always do, and I never give up. If I had stopped and quit I would still be third. In race one we set off well, but my front locked on the first corner and I had to go straight. Unfortunately it took me a little bit of time to come back on track, and then I had a very bad feeling with the front tyre. If there we no problems and the track was dry we would have had two podiums for sure.” Fabrizio was delighted with race one, less so with his problems in the second race, including having to start from pitlane after a clutch change. He is now 11th overall, on 109 points. “Race one was perfect after a good dry qualifying but a bad Superpole result,” said Fabrizio. “Race two was very hard, as I had some internal problem in selecting gears and it really held me back. But I kept going to get the points.” Barros fifth in Superpole, found race one a trial despite a good start, but got some recompense in race two. He is now sixth overall, on 175 points. “I’m very disappointed about the races because the beginning of the weekend went very well,” said Barros. “I think I could win a race. But in the first race I had a big problem with the front. I just dropped down. I’m sure I stopped some of the riders at my back because this was a bike you could not ride. I could have crashed any time. In the first lap I still tried to attack a little bit but then I was pushing and pushing. In the second race the dry line in the beginning was very small and had to pay attention not to crash. It was a hazard to overtake other riders. So I lost a lot and after this I had to overtake other riders later in the race. This cost me a lot of time. When the track was clean I was not able to ride faster because I had no grip on this surface.” Muggeridge was on schedule for two strong results but one small error in race one and the unexpected outcome in race two finished his chances of making top three results. “My rear tyre just tore up after five laps in race two, and I went from doing low twos to low fives in one lap,” said Muggeridge. “Couldn’t do anything with that rear. I made a small mistake in race one and missed out on the podium really.” Chili retired in race two because he made a bad start and had two off track excursions, and he pulled in. “In the first race the conditions were terrible,” said Chili. “I was not the only one who crashed. In the second race I made a really bad start and then ran of track twice, so I decided to stop, rather than carry on for nothing.” WSS and SBK classes now head to Eurospeedway Lausitz, for round ten on 8-10 September.

FIRST PERSON/OPINION From an e-mail: WERA racer James R. Elias died on Thursday, August 31, 2006 due to injuries resulting from an accident on his motorcycle. Jim was a very dear friend of mine and he will be missed by much of the community here in Clarksville, TN. Garland V. Johnson Clarksville, Tennessee Obituary Notice Posted by The Leaf Chronicle: James R. Elias, 46, Clarksville, died Thursday, Aug. 31, 2006 at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. Services are to be announced by Neal-Tarpley Funeral Home. WERA Racer Profile: ~http://www.wera.com/racerprofiles/racers/James_R_Elias_7464.htm~ More information will be posted as it becomes available.