Gary Mason, 26, of England, will be racing the Corona Extra Suzuki GSX-R1000 normally ridden by Japanese rider Akira Tamitsuji this weekend at Road Atlanta. “I’ve always wanted to have a go at the AMA series,” said Mason, who normally rides a Hydrex Honda CBR1000RR in the British Superbike Championship. “My manager talked to Tim [Saunders, Corona Extra Suzuki Team Principal], and I got a phone call, ‘You’re racing in AMA.'” “We’ve decided to part ways,” Saunders said when asked about Tamitsuji’s status. “We couldn’t agree on a direction.” Mason is 15th in the British Superbike Championship point standings with a best finish of fourth in the wet second race at Donington Park, round two of the 13-round season. Tamitsuji is 16th in the AMA Superbike Championship and 18th in the AMA Superstock Championship, with best finishes of 13th in both classes.

Danny Eslick will race a Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R600 in the Pro Honda Oils AMA Supersport race this weekend at Road Atlanta. Eslick, who normally rides for Matsushima Performance Suzuki, will ride the GSX-R600 left vacant after Ben Spies crashed and broke his hand during AMA Superbike qualifying two weeks ago at Virginia International Raceway (VIR). “I’m really excited. It should be fun,” Eslick told Roadracingworld.com Thursday in the paddock at Road Atlanta. “It’s a great opportunity to see where Grant’s (Matsushima) bike is compared to the factory bike, see where we’re at, if we’re even in the ballpark.” While Eslick will be riding the same make and model of bike on the same Dunlop tires, he will have to adapt to the Showa suspension on Spies’ bike instead of the Ohlins equipment he has been racing on all year. “I don’t think it will be a problem,” said Eslick. “They are the factory team. I don’t think they would be on anything sub-par. Hopefully, it will be as good if not better than the Ohlins stuff.” Asked if he would also ride the Yoshimura Suzuki at the season finale at Mid-Ohio, Eslick said, “As far as I know, it’s just for this weekend, but we’ll have to see how it goes and see how well Ben’s (Spies) hand heals.” Eslick will still race his Matsushima Performance Suzuki GSX-R600 in Lockhart Phillips USA Formula Xtreme at Road Atlanta.

No racing or on-track activities will take place in the rain or on a wet racetrack this weekend during the AMA Superbike Championship event at Road Atlanta. That’s the word from Ron Barrick, AMA Pro Racing Road Race Series Manager during the lunch break in Thursday’s promoter practice. “The sealer patches seem worse than the last time we were here,” Barrick told Roadracingworld.com. “With the sealer patches placed very spotty through the corners and with the concrete patches in the corners, the surface is just too inconsistent [to ride in the rain].” “All of the forecasts that we have pulled up look really good for this weekend,” said AMA Pro Racing Road Race Series Director Keith Kizer. “So even though it is true we could have some issues this weekend if it does rain, at this point it looks like rain will not be a major factor. And we have had meetings with Road Atlanta’s management over the last two days and come up with plans that could absolutely guarantee we race here in the rain in the future. In fact, the track is considering holding a press conference on Sunday to go over the outline of those plans.” Kizer’s weather forecast is accurate, according to www.weather.com, which calls for mostly cloudy skies and a 20% chance for a stray rain shower Friday, a 30% chance of isolated thunderstorms on Saturday and partly cloudy skies and a 20% chance for rain on Sunday. High temperatures for the weekend are expected to only reach the mid-80s, much cooler than during some past AMA events at Road Atlanta. Word that there would be no racing in the rain at Road Atlanta quickly spread through the paddock Thursday, and immediate reaction was mixed. Some were disappointed to hear the news, like Warr’s Harley-Davidson/Buell racer Jeremy McWilliams. McWilliams felt his vast rain racing experience would have equalized the performance of his V-Twin-powered Buell XB-RR compared with the four-cylinder machines that make up the vast majority of the Formula Xtreme class. Others, like Matsushima Performance/Yoshimura Suzuki’s Danny Eslick, felt AMA Pro Racing made the right call. “I think it was a wise decision for them to call that now instead of in the middle of the weekend,” said Eslick.

Braselton (Georgia): Neil Hodgson and Ben Bostrom of the Parts Unlimited Ducati Team return to AMA Superbike action this weekend at Road Atlanta. The doubleheader is the penultimate event in the 2006 AMA season, with just only the season finale at Mid-Ohio to go after this weekend’s races. The two race meetings at the 2.54-mile (4.09-kilometer), 12-turn course will feature Bostrom and Hodgson mounted on Ducati 999 Superbikes taking on the other AMA Superbike stars in the 25-lap national championship matches. Neil Hodgson earned a podium spot at the last race in Virginia with a spirited ride on Saturday. The Englishman finished on the podium in Atlanta last season. “I like the track, apart from a section or two,” says Hodgson. “We were able to test here and that always seems to help. I’m looking forward to the races and think we’ll be able to give the Ducati fans something to cheer about.” Bostrom says he is ready to race after a tough VIR round. “We’ve had some bad luck lately, but I’m confident in the bike and the team. I feel like I have been riding well and it’s tough when you can’t get the results you would like,” says Bostrom. “That just makes us want it even more and we’ll do everything we can to get a good result. We’ve accomplished a lot this summer with getting the bike to work the way I want it and now we’d like to get back on the podium to prove it.” “In some ways, this is the ‘home race’ for the team,” said Terry Gregoricka, team owner. “Our shop is here and the mechanics live in the area. We’re looking to finish the season strong and do all we can to finish the season on a high note.” Races will be held Saturday and Sunday. The Circuit: Road Atlanta is a classic road course, with plenty of elevation changes, tight turns with passing opportunities, and a long straight to showcase top speed. The 12-turn, 2.54-mile (4.09-kilometer) track is located outside of Atlanta, Georgia, in Braselton. Known as a “rider’s track”, the first part of the lap consists of several quick rights and lefts that require the racer to push the bike to the limits in order to save time. The final part of the lap features a long straight, followed by a chicane and the daunting turn 12, a downhill right-hander. AMA Superbike points (after 16 races): 1. Ben Spies, Suzuki 560 2. Mat Mladin, Suzuki 531 3. Miguel DuHamel, Honda 443 4. Aaron Yates, Suzuki 393 5. Neil Hodgson, Ducati 387 6. Tommy Hayden, Kawasaki 384 7. Jake Zemke, Honda 376 8. Jason Pridmore, Suzuki 332 9. Ben Bostrom, Parts Unlimited Ducati 329 10. Larry Pegram, Honda 299

Sunday 10 September: Time schedule for warm-up and races (local time): Time difference: Sepang = GMT + 8 125cc warm-up: 9h45-10h05 – 250cc warm-up: 10h15-10h35 MotoGP warm-up: 10h45-11h05 125cc race: 12h00 – 250cc race: 13h15 MotoGP race: 15h00 Wild-card riders: The wild-card riders who will race in the Malaysian Grand Prix, scheduled on the circuit of Sepang on September 10 next, are the following: 125cc Class Number/Rider/Team/Nomination 77 Daniel Saez (SPA-Aprilia) SSM Racing FIM 80 Doni Tata Pradita (INA-Yamaha) Yamaha Indonesia FIM 250cc Class Number/Rider/Team/Nomination 56 Su Rong Zai (CHN-Aprilia) China Zongshen Team FIM 59 Ho Chi Feng (CHN-Aprilia) China Zongshen Team FIM Maximum number and nomination of wild-cards riders: 125cc: 3 nominated by the FMNR (Organising Federation); 2 nominated by the FIM. 250cc: 3 nominated by the FMNR (Organising Federation); 1 nominated by MSMA (Motorcycle Sport Manufacturers’ Association); 2 nominated by the FIM. MotoGP : 1 nominated by MSMA, 1 nominated by the FIM/Dorna. – 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.

Triumph 675, Aprilia RSV, MV Agusta F4, Ducati 999 Join Regulars The provisional entry list for the Bol d’Or 24 Hour round of the FIM World Endurance Championship has been released. The permanent teams who compete in the full championship will be joined at Magny Cours on the 16th and 17th September for the final race of the 2006 season by some interesting wild card entries from a variety of manufacturers. TRIUMPH A Triumph Daytona 675 will race in the World Endurance Championship for the first time. The Strike Moto Triumph will be ridden by three members of the Cordoba family; David, Felipe and Alberts. APRILIA The Aprilia Motociclismo Test Team return for the Bol d’Or, with their Aprilia RSV1000’s colour scheme designed by the winner of a competition run on the factory’s website. Over 800 ideas were sent in by 350 designers from 38 countries around the world, and the winning graphics will be chosen by the directors of the Aprilia Style Centre. MV AGUSTA – DUCATI The Midi Pyrenees Racing team will campaign an MV Agusta F4 at the Bol d’Or. MV Agustas have a great reputation in the championship, with the 1000cc bikes undergoing much of their development in World Endurance races. The third Italian manufacturer to be represented at the Bol d’Or will be Ducati, in the shape of Zone Rouge 18’s Ducati 999S. BATTLE OF THE BOL The real battle of the Bol is likely to be between the championship leading Suzuki Castrol GSX-R1000, the Yamahas YZF-R1s of Yamaha Austria, Yamaha Phase One and Yamaha GMT94, the Kawasaki ZX10R’s of Bolliger Team and Kawasaki France, and the Honda CBR1000RR of Le Mans winning National Motos. Suzuki Castrol will run a second bike (ridden by Costes, Da Costa, Dietrich and Duterne) alongside their usual No.1 machine crew of Philippe, Lagrive and Kitagawa. Yamaha Austria (Jerman, Scarnato, Giabbani, Hinterreiter), Yamaha Phase One (Nowland, Cudlin, Miinin) and Kawasaki Bolliger (Morillon, Muff, Saiger, Kellenberger) will stick with their proven rider line ups for this race. Yamaha GMT94 have recruited Didier Vankeymeulen to ride alongside regulars Sebastien Gimbert and David Checa, while Kawasaki France will run Partick Piot, Steve Plater, Josh Brookes and Yvan Silva.

The World Superbike Championship enters a crucial phase with the final third of the season set to unfold over the coming weeks. Following the Brands Hatch thriller, which saw Troy ‘Superman’ Bayliss increase his stranglehold on the championship for the Ducati Xerox Team, the first of two double-header events to conclude the series gets underway this weekend at the Assen TT circuit, immediately followed in seven days time by the German round. This year’s race at the legendary Van Drenthe TT track will take place on the new layout of the circuit, which has been shortened by one-quarter of its distance to make way for a new car park and spectator complex. As a result all records will now have to be rewritten to take account of the new 4.55 km layout. Bayliss comes to Assen with a points cushion over Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha) that is sufficient to control the situation but not enough to clinch the title this weekend. The Australian has had mixed times at the TT circuit on the three occasions he has raced there, retiring twice in 2000, then clinching the 2001 title at the Dutch round but crashing out the following year to ruin his chances of a title repeat. “I’ve had mixed results at Assen but every time I’ve been there I’ve been at the front, which is good to know. The first part of the track has changed a bit now and it’s going to be different so that makes me a bit more optimistic about the place. The last race at Brands was pretty much situation normal again and I feel like we’re back on track again now. I thought Corser was going to be the most consistent but it’s turned out to be Haga now. The other guys are right there as well but I’m on form and they’re going to have a hard time to beat me. The strategy remains the same. I always treat every session like we’re planning to win at the weekend but you can’t say anything until the lights turn green and then you see how the situation is.” With the Assen race, team-mate Lorenzo Lanzi now begins to retrace the steps that took him to two superb wins late last year at Lausitz and Magny-Cours and his form will surely be galvanized by this crucial final part of the season. Lorenzo has raced once in Superbike at Assen, last year, scoring a seventh and a sixth place. “I like the Assen track but I feel sure that it was better before they modified it. We’ll be racing on the short circuit, but in any case they’ve only modified the first part so it’s not all totally new. Assen is fast and I like fast tracks, the only unknown factor is the weather. We’ll see what it’s like when we arrive. I’m going into the final four races aiming to do well. Hopefully we’ll have a bit more luck in these races and I can show what I’m really capable of.” THE CIRCUIT Name: Van Drenthe Circuit Assen TT Length: 4.55 km Pole Position: left Race distance: 2 x 22 laps/100.210 km CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS (after 8 of 12 rounds): Riders – 1. Bayliss (Ducati Xerox) 307; 2. Haga (Yamaha) 230; 3. Toseland (Honda) 219; 4. Corser (Suzuki) 193; 5. Barros (Honda) 166; 6. Pitt (Yamaha) 157; 7. Kagayama (Suzuki) 126; 8. Lanzi (Ducati Xerox) 96. Manufacturers – 1. Ducati 317; 2. Honda 267; 3. Suzuki & Yamaha 259; 5. Kawasaki 140; 6. Petronas 4. STATISTICS: revised circuit. 2005 RESULTS: Race 1 – 1. Vermeulen (Honda); 2. Toseland (Ducati); 3. Haga (Yamaha). Race 2 – 1. Vermeulen; 2. Haga; 3. Toseland.