TORONTO, ON Jordan Szoke comes into this weekend’s penultimate round of the Parts Canada Superbike Championship at Atlantic Motorsport Park aiming to accomplish what only two riders have managed in the past quarter-century win his third Canadian Superbike title. The Brantford, ON rider comes into the event with a 67-point lead over his nearest rival in the championship, Kevin Lacombe, with 267 points to Lacombe’s 200. With a maximum of 56 points available at each Parts Canada Superbike round, Lacombe would have to claw back at least 12 points from Szoke’s lead to have a shot at snatching the title at Shannonville Motorsport Park Sept. 3. Only six-time Canadian champion Steve Crevier and Michel Mercier, a three-time national titlist, have ever claimed more than a pair of Canadian Superbike titles. The 27-year-old Szoke won his first championship in 1998 and repeated in 2002, when he also clinched at Atlantic Motorsport Park. Of course, Lacombe and his fellow challengers would likely be happy just to beat Szoke in Sunday’s 22-lap race. The points leader is unbeaten through the first five rounds of the series on his Canadian Kawasaki Motors Kawasaki ZX-10R, and is trying to become the first rider in Canadian championship history to win more than five races in a single season. If anyone is likely to throw a wrench in Szoke’s celebration plans it is Lacombe. The Granby, QC rider has won twice on the challenging 1.46-mile, 11-turn AMP circuit, including last year. Lacombe has finished on the podium in every race so far this season on his Yamaha / Toyota / Picotte Performance Yamaha YZF-R1. Lacombe’s teammate Pascal Picotte is also a threat as he continues his recovery from preseason injuries. The St-Cecile Milton, QC veteran enjoyed his strongest outing of the year in the most recent tour stop at Mosport International Raceway, and won at AMP on his way to the national title in 2003. Picotte is in a battle for third in points with Szoke’s Kawasaki teammate Tom Kipp, of Chardon, OH, who has qualified on the pole twice this year, including at Mosport. Also not to be underestimated are the Team Suzuki / Blackfoot Suzuki GSX-R1000s of Calgary’s Clint McBain and Francis Martin of Rock Forest, QC. McBain gave Szoke all he could handle at Race City Motorsport Park earlier this year, while Martin, the defending Parts Canada Superbike champion, was a close second to Szoke at Le Circuit Mont-Tremblant in June. Szoke will also be trying to lock up the Hindle Exhaust Pro 600 Sport Bike title at AMP this weekend. He has failed to win only once in five events so far this year, and comes into this event 36 points clear of Lacombe, who won at Race City, with Kipp in third in the standings. This weekend’s action also sees the fifth round of the International Motorcycle SUPERSHOW Amateur 600 Sport Bike Championship. Roxton Pond, QC Honda rider Karl Daigle enjoys a narrow nine-point lead over Hamilton’s Ross Millson on a Suzuki. Defending champion and current point leader Darren James will try to hold back the charge of Mosport double winner Oliver Jervis in the Thunder class for twin-cylinder motorcycles, and Dave Bagshaw comes to AMP with a slender four-point lead over Paul Glenn in Suzuki SV650 National Cup. Practice for all five national classes opens Friday with qualifying set for Saturday afternoon. Races are set to go Sunday. For more series information, visit www.cdnsuperbike.com All Time Atlantic Motorsport Park Superbike Wins Steve Crevier (Maple Ridge, BC) 6; Don Munroe (Halifax, NS) 3; Rueben McMurter (London, ON) 2; Jordan Szoke (Brantford, ON) 2; Kevin Lacombe (Granby, QC) 2; Gary Goodfellow (Vancouver, BC) 1; Miguel Duhamel (Repentigny, QC) 1; Michel Mercier (Thetford Mines, QC) 1; Mark Kowalski (Kitchener, ON) 1; Pascal Picotte (Granby, QC) 1 Atlantic Motorsport Park Fast Facts: -Jordan Szoke’s sweep of the Mosport Superbike doubleheader brought him to the 20-win plateau for his career. He is the second rider in the 27-year history of the national series to reach that milestone. Steve Crevier leads all racers with 23 career Canadian Superbike wins. -Does an AMP win foreshadow a national title? Not necessarily. In the last 10 Canadian Superbike races held in Shubenacadie, five have been won by the eventual national champion. The last time it happened was when Pascal Picotte triumphed in 2003. 2006 Point Standings: Parts Canada Superbike: 1. Jordan Szoke (Kawasaki) 267; 2. Kevin Lacombe (Yamaha) 200; 3. Pascal Picotte (Yamaha) 169; 4. Tom Kipp (Kawasaki) 156; 5. Erick Beausejour (Honda) 119 Hindle Exhaust Pro 600 Sport Bike: 1. Jordan Szoke (Kawasaki) 236; 2. Kevin Lacombe (Yamaha) 200; 3. Tom Kipp (Kawasaki) 186 International Motorcycle SUPERSHOW Amateur 600 Sport Bike: 1. Karl Daigle (Honda) 168; 2. Ross Millson (Suzuki) 159; 3. Dany Jourdain (Suzuki) 131; 3. Brett McCormick (Yamaha) 131 Canadian Thunder: 1. Darren James (Buell) 223; 2. Oliver Jervis (BMW) 216; 3. Brett McCormick (Buell) 200 Suzuki SV650 National Cup: 1. Dave Bagshaw 172; 2. Paul Glenn 168; 3. Rob Busby 148 Provisional Weekend Schedule: Saturday August 12 1:15 p.m.-1:40 p.m. Hindle Exhaust Pro 600 Sport Bike Qualifying 1:50 p.m.-2:15 p.m. Thunder (Twins) Qualifying 2:25 p.m.-2:50 p.m. International Motorcycle SUPERSHOW Amateur 600 Sport Bike Qualifying 3:00 p.m.-3:45 p.m. Parts Canada Superbike Championship Qualifying for the Vicious-I Pole Award 3:55 p.m.-4:20 p.m. Suzuki SV650 National Cup Qualifying Sunday August 13 1:15 p.m. Hindle Exhaust Pro 600 Sport Bike Race 18 laps -Thunder (Twins) Race 14 laps -International Motorcycle SUPERSHOW Amateur 600 Sport Bike Race 14 laps -Parts Canada Superbike Championship Race 22 laps -Suzuki SV650 National Cup Race 14 laps

TEAM MILLENNIUM/KWS SUZUKI ONCE AGAIN IN THE TOP TEN AT MID-OHIO Team Millennium/KWS Suzuki sponsored by Ron Ayers Motorsports continues to excel with two top ten finishes this weekend at Mid-Ohio. With nine factory riders in Superbike and sixteen factory supported riders in Superstock, the team is extremely excited about its ninth top ten of the year and plans to build on this momentum going into the final three rounds of the year. In Superbike qualifying John Haner did an amazing lap on his Pirelli shod Suzuki GSX-R1000 of 1:26.917 to put him on the inside of the third row in ninth place. This put Haner ahead of both factory Kawasaki superbikes. Matt Lynn put in an equally impressive performance on his Superstock bike qualifying in the fifteenth position with time of 1:27.390 on his Pirelli tires. In Superstock qualifying the Millennium Technology riders switched positions with Matt Lynn qualifying in the tenth position with a time of 1:27.646 and John Haner qualifying in the sixteenth position with a time of 1:28.589. Superbike race one saw both Millennium/KWS Suzuki riders battling for top positions with the factory Kawasaki riders until the red flag came out on lap thirteen for Jason Pridmore’s crash. When the race restarted the KWS riders ran back to back to finish tenth for Matt Lynn and eleventh for John Haner. In Superstock Matt Lynn got an excellent start and was racing in the seventh position until lap 4 when he suffered a violent high side crash. Fortunately, Matt was ok and was able to race the Superbike race later that day. John Haner had a great race with Chris Ulrich to finish just outside the top ten in the eleventh position. Superbike race two saw both LeoVince sponsored riders again racing together just outside the top ten until John Haner pulled in to get a new rear tire. Haner eventually retired from the race with a tire issue. Matt Lynn continued on to again finish in the tenth position. This is Matt’s third top ten in Superbike competition this year on Superstock equipment. Matt Lynn “It was a good weekend and I am really happy with the Superbike finishes. I am very disappointed with the crash in Superstock. It was my first DNF in Superstock all year and I am going to have to work really hard to get some points back in the next three races. I want to thank the team, all my sponsors and especially my mechanics Rick Matheny and Brian Stricker. John Haner “It was a good weekend overall. Because of my injuries this year we have not had much time to develop the bike for me, but we really made some strides forward at Mid-Ohio. When we come back to Mid-Ohio at the end of the season I am confident that we will have a good set up. I want to congratulate my teammate Matt Lynn on some awesome finishes in Superbike. I want to thank my sponsors for all there help, Rockstar Energy Drink, Komodo, Space City Laser Tag, Shogun, and HJC. I also want to thank the team, they worked really hard this weekend. Kevin Hunt “I am very happy with team’s performance this weekend. We are racing with the strongest factory teams in the country and two top tens in Superbike is an accomplishment for a team of our size. I would really like to thank LeoVince for bringing out some new pipes for us to try, I can’t thank them enough for their support.” More, from a press release issued by Michael Jordan Motorsports Suzuki: MICHAEL JORDAN MOTORSPORTS SUZUKI HAS STRONG SUPERBIKE SHOWING AT MID-OHIO LEXINGTON, Ohio, – Michael Jordan Motorsports Suzuki’s Jason Pridmore, Steve Rapp and Jake Holden celebrated impressive performances at the AMA Superbike double-header weekend at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course on Saturday and Sunday. Multiple top-10 finishes were the order of the two-day event. Saturday saw the Jordan Suzuki team post fast laps in Superbike qualifying. Pridmore (1:26.160) led the way, taking the sixth spot on the starting grid. Holden (1:27.037) qualified in the 10th spot, while Rapp (1:27.327) was gridded in 13th position. Holden had the most consistent showing with two top-10 finishes: a seventh-place finish in Saturday’s race and a ninth-place result on Sunday. “We struggled some with set-up issues in Saturday’s race, but we knew exactly what we needed for Sunday,” summed up Holden. “I felt confident about both races and that helped me run up front in the Superstock race.” Rapp finished a strong sixth-place on Saturday, but was unable to race on Sunday. “Saturday’s race was good. The bike was running well and I got a good start,” said Rapp. “On Sunday, I high-sided in the Superstock race but I’m OK.” Pridmore came home in sixth place on Sunday. “It was awesome to be running with the guys up front,” he said. “We have made so much progress with the bike and we’re finally were we should be.” The Jordan Suzuki team will next compete in the ninth round of AMA Superbike at Virginia International Raceway in Alton, Va., Aug. 18 – 20, 2006. Jason Pridmore, Jordan Suzuki GSX-R1000, #43 DNF – AMA Superbike Race 1 6th Place – AMA Superbike Race 2 8th Place – Overall Jake Holden, Jordan Suzuki GSX-R1000, #59 7th Place – AMA Superbike Race 1 9th Place – AMA Superbike Race 2 12th Place — Overall Steve Rapp, Jordan Suzuki GSX-R1000, #15 6th – AMA Superbike Race 1 DNS – AMA Superbike Race 2 11th Place — Overall

James Toseland is the youngest ever World Superbike Champion and, with the world at his feet, is quickly becoming a sporting phenomenon. He has kicked off his 2006 title chase in dramatic style. After 12 races, Toseland is currently in 3rd position, having been on the podium 6 times already! 1 win, twice in second place, three times in third place. Toseland scored his first win in the Winston Ten Kate Honda team at the very first attempt, after a dramatic final lap. The 2004 World Champion capitalized on a crash between likely winners Haga and Kagayama, and resisted pressure from Bayliss to take the win. A story of speed, talent, tragedy, and an overwhelming will to succeed. Let’s be honest, few 25-year-olds could fill a book about their lives. Autobiographies are for older people with years of experiences and adventures to relate. James Toseland is different. Very different. World Superbike Champion 2004 Toseland was a child from a Sheffield working class family, who was raised in a caravan then a council house by a single parent. He began to play the piano when he was just six and had professional tuition from age eight to 16. He achieved grade 6 not quite enough to guarantee a place at the College of Music in London… His mother’s fiancé, Ken, became Toseland’s father figure – a superb pianist and a motorcycle fanatic. He took James under his wing and bought him his first motorbike. However, while James was burning up this bike on old slag heaps his mother was struggling to make ends meet, and although James and Ken got on well, his mother and Ken began to argue. As Toseland says in the book “The shouting was violent, I used to put a pillow over my head to shut out the yelling and the hurt the rows caused me to suffer.” Troubled childhood As James’ interest in motorbikes grew, Ken continued to provide support taking him to races all across the country. Early competition in trials and motocross brought an impressive haul of trophies and awards before James set his sights on a career in road racing. Meanwhile, his mother had become frail and depressed. At the age of 13, James made the difficult decision to drop his ties with the only father he had known, to support his mother. Tragedy struck shortly afterwards when Ken committed suicide. Using racing as an escape from his difficult home life, Toseland quickly worked his way up through the ranks of 125cc racing and into Supersport, winning the CB500 Cup on the way. His first season in British Supersport, at the age of 16, resulted in third place overall. In 1998, James was chosen by Castrol Honda to ride the CBR600 in the World Supersport Championship. Never one to turn down a challenge, in the next two seasons James finished 18th and 11th overall before returning to Britain to ride in the 2000 British Superbike Championship. Despite missing almost half the season through injury, James finished 12th overall and was snapped up by GSE Racing for their World Superbike campaign. An impressive thirteenth place in the 2001 championship, including 6th at Brands Hatch, was enough to confirm the rider as a permanent fixture on the WSBK grid. In just his second year in WSBK in 2002, he became a regular top six finisher and scored his first-ever podium finish at Assen, while in 2003 he ended Hodgson’s winning streak with an impressive win at Oschersleben and then earned his first pole position in the final round at Magny-Cours. James Toseland raised a few eyebrows in 2004 when he became the youngest-ever winner of the World Superbike Championship. Following in the footsteps of Carl ‘The King’ Fogarty and fellow Brit, Neil Hodgson, the 24 year-old from Sheffield had an extraordinary end to the season, with two wins and three seconds in the last six races, to lift the title in the final round at Magny-Cours. Now with Honda In 2005, James Toseland came 4th overall in the World Superbike Championship. He has since been signed by rival team Winston Ten Kate Honda, replacing Vermeulen, where he rides alongside Australian Karl Muggeridge. Toseland currently sits 3rd overall in the 2006 Championship, on 157 points, just 3 behind Haga in second. As with his personal life, Toseland’s racing career has been full of incidents. He has undergone nine operations as a result of spectacular crashes and a collision in Monza, Italy, left James seriously injured and his Honda team-mate dead. This season James suffered a crash in the opening race, however, he remains in contention for this year’s title. Desire to win “We’ve lost a lot of points over the past two races, but we’re not going to give up. With the right technical support we can easily return to winning form and catch up with the leaders in the points table… I really want to win!” James Toseland Local hopes are behind James Toseland to impress at Brands hatch on 6th August. After moving from Ducati to Honda, Toseland has proved to his doubters that the 2004 title was not a fluke with some superb performances, and will be fired up to perform on home ground. James Toseland still plays the piano to wind down after races. He plays about 20 gigs a year, can frequently be seen supporting a Robbie Williams tribute band, and more recently performed with the legendary Jools Holland. Ted Macauley, helping to write Toseland’s story, was the Daily Mirror’s Sports Feature Writer for 35 years specialising in Formula One and Grand Prix Motorbike Racing. He was Mike Hailwood’s manager and has written Bobby Charlton’s international football books and, more recently, Grand Prix Men by Andre Deutsch.

The sixth round of the 2006 FIM World Endurance Championship takes place this weekend, at the Oschersleben Motorsport Arena in Germany. The Oschersleben circuit is notoriously tough on man and machine, cramming 14 corners into just 3.667km (2.3 miles) of track and giving no rest for riders as they constantly chase up and down through the gears, forever either braking hard or accelerating at full throttle. There’s no respite for the bikes either, and it is not uncommon for the championship lead to change hands after an engine or gearbox failure for one of the top teams. Throw in the predictably unpredictable Oschersleben weather and the race becomes one of the toughest of the season. This year the forecast is for rain showers on Saturday and Sunday, which could favour teams with less powerful machines. Whatever the weather many thousands of spectators will pack the grandstands and throng through the paddock all weekend. With bands playing on Friday and Saturday night, stunt shows on the circuit after final qualifying and before the race, a full programme of support races and the paddock village and SuperMoto races running alongside the 24 hour main-event, there’s more than enough to keep even the most hardened race fan busy. For most, though, the excitement will be in following the race action on track. With 35 points available to the winner at Oschersleben and a further 35 going to the winner of the Bol d’Or season finale, the championship is still wide open. The Suzuka 8 Hour race saw a class win for Yamaha Austria and a poor result for Suzuki Castrol, closing the Suzuki team’s lead to just 21 points. The Austrians will be piling on the pressure from the moment the riders sprint across the track to start the race, and Fagersjo-el.se Suzuki, Yamaha Phase One Endurance and Bolliger Team Kawasaki will be poised to take advantage of any slip ups. The Oschersleben 24 Hour race will be a real challenge for the endurance riders and their machines, but it’s guaranteed to be a fantastic weekend for race fans. Qualifying begins on Thursday August 10th, with the 24 hour race starting at 3:00pm on Saturday August 12th. More information about the FIM World Endurance Championship can be found at www.worldendurance.com

WERA National Series Riders Expect Challenge from Local Talent at Summit Point SUMMIT POINT, W. Va. Summit Point is always a highlight of the WERA National Series, bringing out fast local talent to compete against the series regulars. This weekend’s race at the West Virginia track will be no exception, and WERA is expecting a big turnout for the event. Riders will have a chance to practice on Friday before the expert-level Superstock and Formula 1 classes qualify, and the racing will begin on Saturday, August 12. The WERA/Bridgestone National Endurance Series race will get things started at 11:00 a.m., following a six-lap race for the WERA Minis- an annual Summit Point tradition. The endurance race is slated for six hours. Vesrah Suzuki won at Summit Point last year, but it took them most of the day to build up a one-lap lead over Team Velocity Racing, who wound up with the Heavyweight Superstock victory. It was Vesrah’s first win in three races, but TVR’s fifth consecutive class win. The tables have been turned this year, with Vesrah aiming for their third consecutive overall win, and TVR hoping for their first class win in four races. The WERA/Michelin National Challenge Series competes Sunday at 12:30 p.m. with twelve sprint races comprising eighteen divisions. The usual fast guys in the National Challenge Series were dominant during last year’s event, including Tray Batey and Ben Thompson, but the Lightweight Twins and Formula 2 classes belonged entirely to local ace Dave Yaakov. A number of classes are still close in championship points, but none more so than 750 Superstock. Vesrah Suzuki’s Lee Acree leads his teammate Mark Junge by just one point. Lightweight Twins points leader Jeff Walker, whose daughter was just born this week, has a narrow two-point lead over Chris Parrish. Tickets for the weekend are $25, and Sunday only is just $15. Camping is also available for the weekend. A complete schedule of round seven of the WERA National Challenge Series at Summit Point can be found online at www.wera.com. Directions to Summit Point can be found on the track’s website at www.summitpoint-raceway.com.