Team Embry’s Keith Marshall at The Vortex in Atlanta this Thursday Team Embry and Keith Marshall will be at The Vortex in Atlanta’s Little Five Points neighborhood this Thursday, August 24, promoting the team’s upcoming race at the Suzuki Superbike Showdown at Road Atlanta. Marshall will be competing in Formula Xtreme and Supersport during the AMA Pro Racing event, which is being held September 1-3 at his home track. The Team Embry Suzuki GSX-R600 will be on display and Marshall will be on hand to greet fans, sign autographs, and give away Team Embry posters, hats and tee-shirts. Things get started at 7:00 p.m. and last until 10:00. Every Thursday is bike night at The Vortex Bar and Grill, a popular meeting place for riders and racers alike. The Vortex’s Little Five Points location is at 438 Moreland Avenue, and directions can be found on their website, www.thevortexbarandgrill.com. More information about Marshall can be found at www.TeamEmbry.com .

SECOND AND LAST DAY OF TESTING FOR TONI ELIAS AT BRNO As scheduled the Spanish rider of the Fortuna Honda team concluded today this test session while his team Marco Melandri finished yesterday. Positive day of testing for the Spaniard who was the fastest rider this morning on wet track, while this afternoon he carried on some set up testing in order to improve his feeling with the bike. TONI ELIAS (1’59″8): “This morning we found a good set up on wet conditions and I could be immediately fast. Then in the afternoon on dry conditions I worked on weight distribution and tested some set up solutions. We still have a lot of work to do but I’m confident because we are working in the right direction.” More, from a press release issued by Camel Yamaha: TWO-DAY TEST IN BRNO GIVES YAMAHA CONFIDENCE FOR FLYAWAYS The Camel Yamaha Team concluded two days of testing in the Czech Republic this afternoon, following on immediately from Sunday’s Czech Grand Prix, in which Valentino Rossi finished second. Testing alongside most other MotoGP teams in the paddock, Rossi and team-mate Colin Edwards completed two full days of work despite some bad weather today, looking to maximise the potential of the YZR-M1 before the forthcoming run of ‘flyaway’ races in Malaysia, Australia and Japan. Rossi, currently third in the championship standings, is one of several riders still in a position to challenge for the title with five rounds remaining. The main focus for both riders during the two days for was to fine-tune the set-up of the M1, concentrating especially on improving rear grip and the stability of the bike through the corners. Both riders also tested a variety of Michelin tyres, with Edwards also putting in some wet-weather testing on Tuesday morning. Rossi set the fastest time on both days of the test with a best lap on Monday of 1’57.315, whilst Edwards was 14th on Monday and 4th today with a best lap of 1’59.140. Whist improving the M1 was the number one priority for the team, Rossi also had his first chance to ride the prototype of Yamaha’s 2007 800cc bike. The Italian completed four laps with the bike on Monday and had planned another short run today, but more rain in the late afternoon curtailed this and he was forced to stop after just a couple of laps. VALENTINO ROSSI (Monday 1st, 1’57.315, 47 laps. Tuesday 1st, 1’58.117, 49 laps) “Yesterday I finished very happy with the results and today I am even more pleased with the progress we’ve made. We’ve tested some new tyres brought here by Michelin and we’ve also worked a lot on the stability of my bike. We’ve concentrated a lot on setting and I definitely feel that the bike can turn better now when the throttle is open. We had a lot of things to test during these two days so we didn’t have time to do a long run, but anyway my race pace was good throughout. Overall I am very happy with the work we’ve done on the M1, after this test we have a clear idea about the way we need to continue for the rest of the season and I think we’re in good shape. Yesterday I tried the new 800cc bike for just a few laps and my first impression is quite good. I did only four laps yesterday and I hoped to do some more this afternoon, we asked for ten minutes extra track time at the end of the day but unfortunately it started to rain after a few minutes so we had to stop.” COLIN EDWARDS (Monday 14th, 1’59.158, 53 laps. Tuesday 4th, 1’59.140, 50 laps) “It’s been a busy couple of days work; we’ve got through a lot and I think we’ve got a better idea as to why things didn’t go so well last weekend. We’ve played around a lot with the setting and found some good things for the next few races. Testing here last year we made the bike perfect and then it didn’t work so well in Japan, so we know that what works in Brno doesn’t necessarily work everywhere else, but we’ll go from here in Sepang and see what happens. It was unfortunate that the weather wasn’t great today because it stopped some of our plans, but we did get to do some wet-weather testing for Michelin which is always useful. They’ve got some good new stuff and it definitely seems that they’re making big steps forward with their wet-weather tyres.” DAVIDE BRIVIO CAMEL YAMAHA TEAM DIRECTOR “Today, like yesterday, our priority was to find the best setting for our bike for the last five races. In these last two days we have tested various different settings, particularly yesterday, and today we have also focused on testing some new tyres for Michelin. I think we have made a very good job and we have got excellent information from our riders, which will be very important to help us to be competitive until the end of the championship. Generally speaking, I am very happy with both Valentino and Colin’s work during this test session”. Test Times Monday 21st August: 1. VALENTINO ROSSI (ITA) Camel Yamaha Team, 1’57.315 2. Nicky Hayden (USA) Repsol Honda Team, 1’57.653 3. Marco Melandri (ITA) Fortuna Honda, 1’58.043 4. Casey Stoner (AUS) Honda LCR, 1’58.172 5. Shinya Nakano (JPN) Kawasaki Racing Team, 1’58.487 6. Randy De Puniet (FRA) Kawasaki Racing Team, 1’58.542 7. Loris Capirossi (ITA) Ducati Marlboro Team, 1’58.563 8. Kenny Roberts JR (USA) Team Roberts, 1’58.567 9. Carlos Checa (SPA) Tech 3 Yamaha, 1’58.757 10. Makoto Tamada (JPN) Konica Minolta Honda, 1’58.758 14. COLIN EDWARDS (USA) Camel Yamaha Team, 1’59.158 Tuesday 22nd August: 1. VALENTINO ROSSI (ITA) Camel Yamaha Team, 1’58.117 2. Loris Capirossi (ITA) Ducati Marlboro Team, 1’58.421 3. Nicky Hayden (USA) Repsol Honda Team, 1.58.528 4. COLIN EDWARDS (USA) Camel Yamaha Team, 1’59.140 5. Toni Elias (SPA) Fortuna Honda, 1’59.884 6. James Ellison (GBR) Tech 3 Yamaha, 2’00.597 7. Sylvain Guintoli (FRA) Tech 3 Yamaha, 2’01.074 8. Carlos Checa (SPA) Tech 3 Yamaha, 2’01.744 9. Shinichi Itoh (JPN) 2’02.100 10. Chris Vermeulen (AUS) Rizla Suzuki MotoGP, 2’13.759 More, from a press release issued by Honda Racing: MotoGP test Brno, Czech Republic, August 22, 2006. Final day of two-day test. Hayden ends two-day Brno MotoGP test in confident mood MotoGP World Championship leader Nicky Hayden completed a successful two day test at the 5.403km Brno circuit. Hayden, from Kentucky, put in 67 laps on his Repsol liveried evolution RC211V Honda in changeable weather conditions. The riders endured heavy rain in the morning before the track dried as the day wore on providing tyre supplier Michelin with an ideal opportunity to test the newly developed rain tyres and a range of slick rubber in preparation for the last five races of the 17 round championship series. Hayden was impressed by the performance of his new chassis on both wet and dry surfaces and lapped at a constant fast pace in all conditions. He was particularly pleased with the consistently high level performance over twelve lap runs. The championship leader headed for home in buoyant mood. He holds a 25-point lead in the series and the former AMA Superbike Champion is confident that the latest version of the RC211V will improve each time he rides the machine as he strives to win his first world championship title. Hayden’s Repsol Honda team-mate Dani Pedrosa did not test today. The reigning double 250cc World Champion, who holds second place in the MotoGP title chase, will not race the evolution machine this season. Pedrosa prefers to race the conventional RC211V he has campaigned all season. The Fortuna Honda team tested with just one rider. Italian Marco Melandri completed his test programme on the opening day of the two-day test but team-mate Toni Elias put in a solid days work in both wet and dry conditions. The young Spaniard has limited experience of the RCV on a wet track and took advantage of the wet conditions before midday to improve his feeling for the RCV in adverse weather. He quickly established a fast smooth rhythm to set the fastest time on the slick track surface. When the track dried Elias and his technicians continued working on the overall balance of the machine in a bid to establish base line chassis and suspension settings that will wok for him from start to finish in the race. Elias has struggled in the opening laps of the races while riding with a full fuel tank. During the Czech GP on Sunday his speed and lap times improved as the fuel level dropped allowing him to run the second half of the race at close to his optimum potential. He ended the day content with the progress the team have made. Kenny Roberts Junior had hoped to continue testing with the updated chassis of his Honda powered KR211V but the conditions prevented the team completing their test programme. Roberts ran four laps on the wet track before calling a halt to the test. The teams and riders will now have a two week break returning to the track on September 10 for the Malaysian GP at the Sepang circuit close to Kuala Lumpur.. Honda rider lap times and quotes: Nicky Hayden, Repsol Honda: 1m 58.428s. “It’s been a really positive couple of days. This morning we got some rain so we did a couple of runs to confirm that the things we learned yesterday were ok in the wet. And we also tested a few Michelin wet tyres, which felt pretty good too. This afternoon I did a long run, put in some consistent laps and everything went well which is a good sign because for these last five races we’ve got to be ready. I’d like to say thanks to my team because Toni Elias, Fortuna Honda: 1m 59.8s “This morning we found a good set up on wet conditions and I could be immediately fast. Then in the afternoon on dry conditions I worked on weight distribution and tested some set up solutions. We still have a lot of work to do but I’m confident because we are working in the right direction.” Kenny Roberts Jnr, KR Honda: 2m 16.577s Casey Stoner, LCR Honda, and Makoto Tamada, Konica Minolta Honda did not test today.

DUCATI ANNOUNCES CHANGES TO USA RACING STRATEGY FOR 2007. Ducati North America and Ducati Corse today announce that their participation in the AMA Superbike Championship with a factory team will cease at the end of the 2006 season. The Parts Unlimited Ducati Team has successfully raced with the 999 Superbike in each of the last three seasons (winning five races as of today) and the American based Ducati subsidiary will now take a year to consider its future options. “Our primary objective of raising the profile of our brand and of the 999 Superbike has been achieved”, said Michael Lock, CEO of Ducati North America. “We have increased our sales over 60% since 2003 and the USA has become a powerful export market for our parent Italian factory. There are a lot of exciting developments coming to our business in the next couple of years and we have decided to take a step back in 2007 in order to plan most effectively for our long term future. Hopefully in the meantime the AMA technical rules, which currently force twin-cylinder bikes to have more standard parts than in World Superbikes, thus making it really difficult for Ducati to compete with the best four-cylinder machines, will be revised for the future. We remain a very strong and committed supporter of the AMA and, when our bikes will be allowed to participate with a fair chance of challenging for the final championship win, we expect to be racing competitively again very soon in the AMA Superbike series. I would personally like to thank the team, the riders and our sponsors, particularly Parts Unlimited, for their role in the resurgence of Ducati’s success in the USA.” Paolo Ciabatti, Ducati Corse Superbike Director added “We have enjoyed a very good relationship with Terry Gregoricka and his team and are very proud of the results achieved together with them. It is always a difficult decision to end a successful partnership, but we respect the reasons behind Ducati North America’s change of strategy. A special thanks to Terry, Tom, Gabriele, Gary, Ben, Neil and all the boys at Parts Unlimited Ducati Team for their hard and professional work. We are sure that they will do their best to finish the racing season on a high note”. Ducati North America will remain committed to racing in the United States through the continuation of a national and regional Contingency program as well as various other racing support programs. More, from a press release issued by Ducati North America: The following questions and answers are regarding Ducati North America’s decision to cease to support a factory backed team in the AMA Superbike series in 2007. Q: Why did Ducati North America make the decision to not continue with a factory supported team in AMA Superbike racing? A: Our factory racing program which began with a new lap record and the pole position at the Daytona 200 – was structured with a three year plan. All of our racing contracts are up at the conclusion of 2006. Knowing this, we sat down and reevaluated our business plan for 2007 and beyond. This was a very detailed process, and one in which we considered many options. There are commercial considerations that mitigate against running a team in 2007 and we will take the 12 months to plan for an exciting future. Q: Can you provide more detail? A: In 2004, when we dedicated the resources to bring back a top shelf racing team to the USA, our goals were to showcase our top of the line 999R with a first class effort which we have successfully done. We achieved the goal of winning AMA Superbike races on the 999R, and during the 2005 racing season we were one of two manufacturers to win an AMA Superbike race, despite stiff competition from other factory teams. Q: Will Ducati North America return to AMA Superbike racing? A: The goal is return to AMA Superbike racing in 2008. Ducati North America remains completely committed to the AMA and supports the AMA’s efforts to improve and grow motorcycle road racing in the United States, and believes that racing is an essential platform for showcasing our products. Although nothing is certain, we remain committed to investigating our options and returning with the intent to win races and the championship. Q: Were there any “external” factors that contributed to this decision? A: The need for Ducati Corse to build a different specification machine for AMA racing than World Superbike remains a severe handicap for our relatively small factory. This has contributed to the difficulty in improving our competitiveness. Ducati will be seeking a re-examination of this situation prior to the setting of technical rules for the 2008 racing season. Q: Will Ducati owner’s hospitality continue at the AMA Superbike races? A: Ducati North America will continue to support the AMA Superbike tour by providing resources and assistance for local clubs and dealers at the circuits during 2007. Founded in 1926, Ducati builds racing-inspired motorcycles characterized by unique engine features, innovative design, advanced engineering and overall technical excellence. The Company produces motorcycles in six market segments which vary in their technical and design features and intended customers: Superbike, Supersport, Monster, Sport Touring, Multistrada and the new SportClassic. The Company’s motorcycles are sold in more than 60 countries worldwide, with a primary focus in the Western European, Japan and North American markets. Ducati has won thirteen of the last fifteen World Superbike Championship titles and more individual victories than the competition put together. For more information about the Company, please visit our web site at www.ducatiusa.com.

Ty Howard shattered the track record en route to a four-win performance at an extremely hot and humid round eight of the CMRA Championship Series held at MotorSport Ranch, near Cresson, Texas. Despite facing temperatures that reached the 106 degree mark during Sunday’s sprint-racing action, Howard lapped the 1.7 mile Cresson course on his Suzuki GSX-R1000 during the Formula 1 race in a time of 1:14.862, topping the old mark, a 1:15.508 set by Howard in March of last year, by nearly a second. The record lap entitled Howard to the Island Racing Fast Lap of the Weekend award, which pays $150 for the fastest transponder-timed lap. The only blemish on an otherwise perfect afternoon for Howard was a defeat at the hands of 17-year-old Tyler McDonald in the Motorcycles Unlimited C Superbike Expert race which pays a $150 purse. However, Howard easily claimed wins in the Racing Performance Services B Superstock Expert race, which pays a $150 purse; the Komodo Racing C Superstock Expert race, which pays a $250 purse; the Pace American Trailers Formula 1 race, which pays a $1000 purse; and the Sum of all Parts A Superstock Expert race, which pays a $150 purse. McDonald returned later to add his second win of the day in the B Superbike Expert race. Suzuki SV650-mounted Zac Chapman also topped off a good day of racing with a pair of expert wins, one in the Roadracingworld.com Formula 2 Expert, which pays $150 purse to the top five finishers in the Formula 2 Expert class, and another in the Lightweight Twins Expert race. Dustin Meador was a two time winner as well, taking wins in the Unlimited Super Motard and Super Motard races, both of which are sponsored by Space City Laser Tag and pay a $150 purse, while Bill Syfan rode his Honda RS125 to wins in the Northwest Honda 125 GP and the Avteq Formula 40 Lightweight Expert race, which each pay a $150 purse. The top Novice performers were Danny Kelsey with five wins and Clayton Schutz with four. Northwest Honda Racing returned to the top of the series points standings by taking the win in Saturday’s four-hour Shogun Motorsports Endurance Series race, which pays a $1125 purse. 2Wheelz.com took second overall and first in the C Superstock division, while D2 Cycles Racing won the A Superstock class with a third overall. Desert-Rats.net held a 50-second lead over Northwest Honda Racing with less than an hour to go in the race, but ran out of gas on the back side of the track and had to push the bike back to the pits. The Yamaha YZF-R1-mounted team still managed a fourth overall and second in the A Superstock division, while Village Idiots claimed their second C Superbike-class win in a row with a fifth overall. Faltless Racing ran an error-free race to win the Formula 2 division with a seventh overall finish. In the Shogun Motorsports Mini Endurance Series, Team K&N topped GMAN Racing 2 by a four lap margin to take their fourth win of the year, while Hambone claimed their second podium finish of the season with a third overall. Excel Racing remained perfect for the year with their sixth-straight win in the Formula 5 division with a sixth overall finish, while SDM Racing took win number three in the Formula 7 class with a 16th overall finish. In Saturday’s Mini Sprint action, Ryan O’Donnell and Kent Moffitt fought it out in the Formula 4 race, with O’Donnell getting the win by 0.086 seconds. Meanwhile, Jake Chapman took the win in the Formula 6 race, topping Dustin Dominguez and Roger Albert in the process. In the Formula 5 race, Conner Blevins ran away with the win ahead of Derek Wagnon and Ethan Gillim, while Ismel Camacho won the Formula 7 race over Roger Albert and Jason Keene. The CMRA returns to action at Oak Hill Raceway on September 9-10 with a full slate of sprint-racing action and the final round of the Shogun Motorsports Mini Endurance Series race of the year.