A true ‘tour de force’ gets underway at the Grand Prix of Catalunya as the MotoGP teams and riders prepare for the first of five races in six weekends in Europe and the United States. Such an intense run doesn’t allow for even the slightest of distractions and the TEAM FORTUNA HONDA riders are ready for the upcoming ‘marathon’. The fun starts in Barcelona, a home race for Toni Elias, who lives just thirty kilometres away from the Montmelò in the town of Manresa. TONI ELIAS: “Racing in front of your home crowd is an incredible feeling and this time it is even more so because it can help you get over your difficulties. We had hoped to be arriving at this event with better results behind us but unfortunately we are still suffering from problems that have dogged us for the last three races. The days of tests at Mugello was useful to try and understand the bike more and find some kind of direction to work in. Within the team we have studied a few alternative solutions which I am sure will have good results in Barcelona. I’m feeling confident and motivated. I want to get back to enjoying myself and give my fans something to celebrate. Barcelona is a demanding track, an F1 circuit, but I’m ready to give my maximum and take a good result home with me.” MARCO MELANDRI: “I can’t wait to get back on track after the excellent results we had at the Mugello test. Over the race weekend we had worked hard to find better traction and on Monday we concentrated on speed through the corners and the results were positive. I’m feeling very confident about going to Barcelona – the track is similar to Mugello and with the good base setting we found there I should be able to do well also in Spain. I like the track and I’ve had a lot of satisfaction there in the past. I know the podium well at Montmelò because I have already been there twice in MotoGP over the past two years. I have missed the taste of champagne and I want to sample it again.” THE TRACK: The Barcelona track itself is fast, although not quite so much as Mugello, very technical and requires good set-up in the cycle part of the bike due to the mixture of fast and slow corners. It is also a very challenging track for the MICHELIN technicians and tyre choice is fundamental because grip levels are constantly changing (it has been known to offer good grip during morning free practice only to drop dramatically in the afternoon). Tyres and suspension also have to work together to offer stability and flexibility through the varying land levels of the Catalan track. MOTOGP 2006: A MEDIATIC PHENOMENON The arrival of the MotoGP era has not simply signified a technological revolution. The spectacle of the world’s premier motorcycle sport has captured the imagination of the public and the media, seeing an incredible upturn in general interest over the past few years. The sight of great champions doing battle on track, beamed onto television screens all over the world, has turned it into one of the most fashionable sports on the planet. The recent Grand Prix of Italy was enjoyed by 90,000 spectators onsite, whilst national television figures almost hit record highs, with 7,902,000 viewers and a 50.9 % share. This figure is second only to last year’s Grand Prix of Catalunya, which was followed by an incredible total of 8,446,000 people in Italy. This level of success has been possible thanks to the enormous efforts of DORNA and national TV stations to transmit the passion of motorcycle racing. In Italy the event is broadcast by MEDIASET, who have spectators hooked all year round – from the preseason tests right the way through qualifying practice sessions and the races. Each race weekend is given nine hours of coverage by ITALIA 1 with 30 members of staff onsite including journalists, technicians, production staff and four cameras (2 in boxes and 2 in the studio), which add to the coverage provided by Dorna. For their home GP this effort was increased to 40 members of staff, including 10 cameras in the studio, box and paddock. Overall the Grand Prix of Italy was followed by 90 cameras between Dorna and Mediaset. Not a single centimetre of the track or paddock was left uncovered, with footage from the track feed complimented by onboard cameras and action from the boxes, pit-lane, paddock and studio. The Italian event was broadcast by a total of 107 television stations from 36 countries, who are able to follow the entire championship and enjoy the passion of motorcycles from home. In 2005 the MotoGP World Championship was seen by a total of 5 billion and 290 million viewers – averaging at 311 million per event. A total of 3,790 hours of coverage was broadcast on the MotoGP class alone. TV IN NUMBERS -5 billion and 290 million MotoGP television viewers, with an average of 311 millionper race (2005 season) -3,790 of televised coverage of the premier class in 207 countries – 142 of which show lives races. -107 television stations in 36 countries following the championship, as well as 112 radio stations from 22 countries. -184 countries broadcasting live coverage of the MotoGP races. -10,020 accredited journalists for the season from 59 countries with an average of 589 per GP -1243 newspaper headings from 55 countries. Italy has the record of 773 journalists present throughout the 17 race championship

Hawk Kawasaki rider Carl Rennie had a fantastic week at the Isle of Man TT achieving some great results for the Hawk Team. The 36-year-old shone in the two Superbike races scoring a seventh and sixth place respectively and gaining a 17th and 14th position in the Supersport and Superstock races. The Lancashire based rider had a near perfect week despite losing his gear lever in the Supersport Junior TT forcing him to lose a number of places and relegating him the 17th position, his worst result of the week. Rennie pulled out all the stops in the Superbike races, competing on the 04 ZX10. The bike which took John McGuinness to runner-up place at the 2004 Ulster GP and also the same machine which took Scott Smart to his maiden victory at the British Superbike race at Mondello Park. Rennie’s fastest lap time was an average speed of 124.876mph, which puts him the 13th fastest rider in the history of the TT, faster than TT legends such as Joey Dunlop, Jim Moodie and Phil McCallen. Rennie’s results in the Superbike, Saturday 3rd June and in the Senior, Friday 9th June, were an excellent achievement and certainly no easy task. Starting with number 16 meant that he had a great deal of traffic to contend with to gain the results he did. The Senior race was recorded as the fastest ever TT race and therefore, for Rennie to finish in sixth position was a true credit to him and the team. Team Manager Stuart Hicken is delighted with Carl’s results commenting “It’s been a fantastic week on the Island for the team and they have worked exceptionally hard to get the results they achieved. Carl only took delivery of the bikes a couple of months ago and to get two top ten places in the Superbike is a superb achievement. I would like to thank the following for all their dedication and commitment; Paul Rennie, Adrian Brown, Blake Adams, Debbie Rennie, Andy Davis, Derek Rennie and of course Carl, who without him this wouldn’t have been possible. They’ve done a marvellous job and I thank them all for that.” Carl was also extremely happy commenting “It’s been a very good week for me. I’ve had very few problems and everything has gone well. I was disappointed with the Superstock and Supersport results, but the two Superbike results made up for that. I lost my gear lever in the Supersport race and so had to bring the bike home and salvage what results I could. I’d like to thank everyone who has been involved in making this possible, especially Stuart Hicken and the Hawk Kawasaki Team.”

Brno (Czech Republic) The development teams of the Superbike and Supersport classes are running the second day of testing at Brno. Pirelli finds once again in the formula of the development teams a strong driver in terms of development and evaluation of its new solutions. For the two classes the teams chosen by the bike Manufacturers and FGS test the new tyres which are then available for all the contenders at the races, when considered an improvement for the different bikes. This is a way of developing that assures the new tyres to be equally good for the different bikes, adapting at the best to the whole grid. This second day of activity has already offered an outstanding result: Troy Bayliss testing the new qualifying tyre brought by Pirelli has scored the new lap record. The new tyre will be brought at Misano for the whole grid, and its first verdict is quite impressive: the Ducati Xerox rider set the time of 2’00.8, that deletes every previous reference time improving the 2005 Best Lap time scored by Chris Walker of more than 2 seconds (Walker: 2’03.064) Development teams for the SBK: – Suzuki: Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra – Ducati: Ducati Xerox – Honda: Winston Ten Kate Honda – Yamaha: Yamaha Motor Italia WSB – Kawasaki: PSG-1 Kawasaki Corse – Petronas: Foggy Petronas Racing Development Teams for the SS: – Ducati: Ducati LBR Ducati Racing – Honda: Winston Ten Kate Honda – Yamaha: Yamaha Motor Germany – Kawasaki: Gil Motor Sport More, from a press release issued by Ducati Corse: Bologna (Italy), Tuesday 13th June: Troy Bayliss (Ducati Xerox Team) demolished the outright Superbike lap record on the second day of testing at the Brno circuit in the Czech Republic. The Australian, whose has raced at Brno before but only in MotoGP, improved last year’s best lap time set by Chris Walker by over two seconds to leave the unofficial record at 2m00.8s. Bayliss’s time was set in the morning on the new qualifying tyre brought by Pirelli to the Brno development tests which on the basis of its performance here will now be provided to the entire grid at the forthcoming round of the championship in Misano Adriatico. Rain after the lunch break brought a temporary halt to proceedings but the riders present were able to complete the second day of testing on a dry track in the afternoon. “Today went much better than yesterday because I didn’t crash!” declared Troy. “Overall the day went well, I did a good time on a qualifying tyre but then it rained after lunch and we only got going again at around 4 o’clock. But I had a couple of good race tyres and did a 2m01.6 on them so I’m feeling confident. I’ve been on the podium here in MotoGP so it’s a pretty good track for me.” Lorenzo Lanzi made a good step forward today, moving up from eighth to fourth place. “This morning I did a lot of laps to try and find a good feeling,” declared Lorenzo, “and I think I achieved that because my race pace was not bad at all. In the afternoon it rained and then they closed the track early so I was unable to make the best of the qualifying tyre. However it’s a good step forward over yesterday.” TIMES: 1. Bayliss (Ducati Xerox) 2m01.6s; 2. Walker (Kawasaki) 2m02.1s; 3. Muggeridge (Honda) 2m02.2s; 4. Lanzi (Ducati Xerox) 2m02.5s; 5. Toseland (Honda) 2m02.5s; 6. Haga (Yamaha) 2m02.9s; 7. Pitt (Yamaha) 2m02.9s; 8. Nieto (Kawasaki) 2m03.0s; 8. Martin (Petronas) 2m03.7s; 9. Kagayama (Suzuki) 2m04.0s; 10. Foret (Suzuki) 2m04.4s. More, from a press release issued by Foggy Petronas Racing: Foggy PETRONAS Racing riders Steve Martin and Craig Jones made solid progress on the second day of a three-day test at the Czech Republic circuit of Brno, despite torrential rain hampering track time for much of the afternoon. Both riders were able to make strides forward with engine development and tyre evaluation, as well as chassis set-up of their PETRONAS FP1s, in preparation for the Brno round of the Superbike World Championship on 23 July. Craig Jones was immediately on his pace from the first day of the test yesterday and worked comprehensively through his set-up and tyre testing programme. And although the young Brit experienced niggling electrical difficulties during the morning, he was able to knock another second off his lap time to finish the day with a time of 2:05.22. Team-mate Steve Martin spent much of his track time evaluating new engine development parts and fine tuning his FP1’s set-up for the undulating Brno circuit. The experienced Australian rider continued to make steady progress throughout the day, also reducing his lap time by a second on yesterday and therefore lapping an impressive two seconds quicker than his best race lap time from 2005. Steve commented, “I’m pretty happy with the day and everything ran smoothly. My lap times are slowly improving as we’ve adjusted the bike settings, but there’s still more to come tomorrow as I’m not yet 100% happy with the handling, but we have a good direction to go in. I hope to be able to use a qualifier tomorrow as well. The tyres are a definite improvement on last year so Pirelli have been doing a great job. I’ve been getting a good feel for the engine developments that we’ve been testing, but there’s still more work to be done in that area, which we’ll continue tomorrow.” Craig said, “I went pretty well this morning and got straight on to my times from yesterday. A few niggling electrical issues hampered my progress a bit, but we got those sorted just before lunch. Unfortunately it then rained over the lunch hour and into the afternoon, so that stopped play for most of the afternoon and meant we had to change the focus of the test. A dry line started to appear towards the end of the day, and although the track was still quite slippery and greasy, we tested what we could at that pace and I’m happy with how it’s all going.” The three day Brno test, which concludes tomorrow, has been organised by the sole WSBK tyre supplier, Pirelli. It is being attended by all the tyre development teams representing each World Superbike manufacturer, along with most of the top riders in the championship, apart from Troy Corser, who had to remain at home after contracting chicken pox. Overall times from today (race tyres unless otherwise stated) 1. Bayliss (Ducati) 2:00.8 (qual), 2:01.6 2. Walker (Kawasaki) 2:02.1 3. Muggeridge (Honda) 2:02.2 4. Lanzi (Ducati) 2:02.5 5. Toseland (Honda) 2:02.5 6. Haga (Yamaha) 2:02.9 7. Pitt (Yamaha) 2:02.9 8. Nieto (Kawasaki) 2:03.0 9. Martin (Foggy PETRONAS Racing) 2:03.7 10. Kagayama (Suzuki) 2:04.0 11. Foret (Suzuki) 2:04.4 12. Jones (Foggy PETRONAS Racing) 2:05.22

Rumors circulating that AMA Pro Racing is considering going to spec tires for road racing are untrue, according to AMA CEO Patti diPietro and AMA Racing Committee member Jeff Nash. The rumors concern an alleged plan to institute spec tires, and specifically Pirelli spec tires, when no such plan exists. AMA Pro Racing established a spec tire for the 2002 dirt track season, when Dunlop parent Goodyear bought the right to sell tires to all participants under the Goodyear brand; that program is still going on, with the tires branded as Dunlop. But no serious discussion has been held regarding spec tires for road racing. “Under the new system, everybody who is party to AMA racing will have a say in what rules are adopted,” said Nash, who was the 2000 AMA Pro Thunder Champion, in a phone interview. “A spec tire has not been discussed and is not on the radar. There are too many other things to get taken care of.” “There is no spec tire deal happening,” said diPietro when reached by phone Monday afternoon. AMA Pro Racing is waiting for the last of OEMs with homologated models to name their representatives to the rules committees, and has mailed applications for non-OEM representatives to all credential holders. The first rules committee meetings are expected to take place prior to the Laguna Seca round of the AMA Superbike Series, which runs July 21-23 in conjunction with MotoGP at Laguna Seca.

AMA SUPERBIKE TO MAKE UTAH DEBUT PICKERINGTON, Ohio (June 12, 2006) — The AMA Superbike Championship presented by Parts Unlimited is set to visit Utah for the first time when the series rolls into the newly completed Miller Motorsports Park in Tooele, on June 16-18 for the Honda Summit of Speed. The action-packed weekend will feature an AMA Superbike doubleheader, a full complement of road racing support classes as well as a round of the AMA Supermoto Championship. The AMA Superbike Championship is in mid-season. Miller Motorsports Parks hosts rounds 10 and 11 of the 19-race series. Ben Spies, the 21-year-old Texan second year Superbike rider, leads the series by 21 points over Yoshimura Suzuki teammate Mat Mladin. Mladin closed the gap with his recent doubleheader sweep in Elkhart Lake, Wis., and the race for the championship is now in full swing. Spies, who won six races in a row, tying an AMA Superbike record, says he still has self-assurance that he’ll be able to win his share of races in spite of Mladin’s dominating performance in Wisconsin. “My confidence isn’t hurt at all,” Spies said. “It’s just going to make me go home and try harder, and train harder and do everything I can. We’re still leading the points. It’ll be good getting to Miller and just see what we can do. At Miller in testing we were a little bit off. We’ve got a good setup for those types of tracks, and it’ll be good to get back to there, and it’s going to be a fight, that’s for sure.” Prior to his recent sweep, it appeared to some that Mladin had lost a bit of the fire that earned him a record six AMA Superbike championships, but coming into Miller it now looks as if Mladin is back in top form and is ready to make a run at Spies in the points chase. “Anybody that thought the championship was over obviously hasn’t been watching what’s been going on for the last seven or eight years out there,” Mladin said. “So if anyone thought that we were just going to roll over, it certainly wasn’t the case.” Mladin admitted that Spies’ early speed may have caught him a little off guard and adjustments were needed. “You need to learn and adapt,” he said. “That’s life, not just racing. You adapt and try and move on and make yourself better, and that’s what we’ve done so far, and we’re looking forward to the challenge the rest of the season. I’m looking forward to getting to the hot races in the middle of summer. I enjoy that part of the year a lot.” Miguel Duhamel, the 1995 AMA Superbike champ, is third in the standings. The veteran has been losing ground in the standings every race weekend to the Suzuki pair, but he’s hoping the new venue will suit the strengths of his Honda. Britain’s Neil Hodgson is soldiering on bravely, upholding the honor of Ducati. The former British and World Superbike champion is fourth in the standings on the strength of his riding ability. Like Duhamel, Hodgson is counting on his Parts Unlimited Ducati performing well on the new circuit. The all-new Miller Motorsports Park sits about a half-hour from Salt Lake City. It has gone from planning to near completion in record time. The track was built with motorcycle racing in mind and the AMA Superbike community has had the opportunity to be involved with its design from the onset. The track has drawn good reviews from the riders in testing and is continuing to receive safety enhancements as the event draws near. The Honda Summit of Speed from Miller Motorsports Park will be televised nationally on SPEED. Saturday’s race will be shown next day at 4:00 pm eastern and Sunday’s race will air same-day tape delayed at 6:00 pm eastern. Tickets can be purchased through Ticketmaster. Visit the website www.millermotorsportspark.com for additional information. WHAT: The Honda Summit of Speed from Miller Motorsports Park, rounds 10 and 11 of the AMA Superbike Championship presented by Parts Unlimited. WHERE: From SLC International Airport: Drive WEST on I-80, take exit 99-Tooele/Stansbury Park. Continue SOUTH on HWY 36. Turn RIGHT and go WEST on HWY 138. Turn LEFT and go SOUTH on Sheep Lane WHEN: June 16-18, 2006. COURSE: Miller Motorsports Park’s 3.06-mile, 15-turn Perimeter Course. SCHEDULE: Thursday, June 1 Test day.; Friday, June 2 Practice begins 8:30 am, qualifying at 2:00 pm.; Saturday, June 3 Practice begin at 8:30 am, Superbike race one at 3:50 pm, Formula Xtreme final at 5:00 pm.; Sunday, June 4 – Practice begins at 9:00 am, Superstock final at 11:30 am, Supersport final at 1:45 pm, Superbike race two at 3:00 pm. TICKETS: Weekend pass: $80 tickets available in Grandstands, $60 tickets available in General Admission. Children ages 2-12 are FREE, and don’t need a ticket, as long as accompanied by an adult. Single day: $50 tickets available in the Grandstands, $35 tickets available in General Admission Areas

Rider Robert Horn of Wadsworth, Illinois died Friday, June 9 from injuries sustained Wednesday, June 7 during a Sportbike Track Time (STT) track day at Road America.

According to STT’s Monte Lutz, Horn “highsided his Yamaha R1 between Canada Corner and the Billy Mitchell Bridge.” Lutz said that Horn suffered head injuries.

According to Road America’s George Bruggenthies, Horn landed on the track and did not contact the bridge abutment nor adjacent walls, despite rumors to the contrary. “He ended up 10 yards in front of the bridge, at the end of the pavement,” said Bruggenthies. “He didn’t hit any walls.”

Horn, 51, is survived by his wife, Claudia, and children Gwendolyn, Daniel and Kristi.

A memorial service will be held on Tuesday, June 13 at Church of the Holy Spirit, 400 Westminster Rd., Lake Forest, Illinois.

Ty Howard set a new lap record for the clockwise direction at MotorSport Ranch Sunday, capping off a dominating performance at round five of the CMRA Championship Series held on the 1.7 mile course near Cresson, Texas. Howard’s record lap was a 1:14.586, posted in the Pace American Trailers Formula 1 race, which pays a $1000 purse, and entitled him to an extra $150 for winning the Island Racing Fast Lap of the Weekend Award. Howard’s time eclipsed a mark of 1:15.066 set by Robert Jensen on August 29, 2004. In all, Howard won four Expert-class races on the day and pocketed over $7000 in CMRA purse money and manufacturer’s contingency money. In addition to the Formula 1 event, Howard also won 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; and the South Central Race Center D Superbike Expert, which pays a $150 purse. A chance at a fifth win was foiled by a broken shift linkage and 16-year-old Tyler McDonald, who claimed the win in the Motorcycles Unlimited C Superbike Expert race, which pays a $150 purse. Howard passed McDonald on lap two of the race, but then dropped off the pace on lap three after a bolt snapped off of his shift linkage, leaving him stuck in fourth gear for the remainder of the race. McDonald returned to add a win in the final race of the day, the B Superbike Expert race. The only other expert to win more than one race was Dane Westby, who claimed wins in the South Central Race Center D Superbike Expert race, which pays a $150 purse; and the Roadracingworld.com Formula 2 Expert race, which pays $150 purse to the top five finishers. In Saturday’s six hour endurance race, Team Ridesmart had their first problem-free race of the year and walked away with their first win of the season, topping Desert-Rats.net and Northwest Honda Racing in the process. With the win, the GSX-R1000-mounted team also claimed a lion’s share of the $1125 purse paid by series sponsor Shogun Motorsports. After the second red flag of the day stopped the racing action at the four hour mark, Team Ridesmart out ran Desert-Rats.net, Northwest Honda Racing and Junk Yard Dogs in a two hour “sprint to the finish”, eventually finishing a full lap ahead of the “Rats”. Northwest Honda Racing ended up third overall, with Junk Yard Dogs finishing in the fourth overall position. Desert-Rats.net took over the series points lead with the second place finish, displacing Northwest Honda Racing, however Northwest Honda Racing still maintains the lead in the Formula 1 standings. Lone Star Track Days won the C Superstock division with a fifth overall finish, while Lone Gunmen claimed the C Superbike division win in eighth overall. Fireball Racing took advantage of two crashes by Faltless Racing to win the Formula 2 class with a 13th overall finish. Saturday’s Shogun Motorsports CMRA Mini Endurance Series race was won by Team K&N. The Honda RS85-mounted team came from behind to win the two-hour race by two laps over Team Sidewinder (Honda RS80), with Mini Backmarker Racing (TZ85) finishing third, another lap down. Team K&N also took the win in the Formula 4 division. Winning the Formula 5 division was Excel Racing, who rode a KTM 65 to ninth overall, while Thunderdonk Racing won the Formula 7 class on a YSR XR100 in 19th overall. SDM Racing won the Formula 6 class in a KLX110 with a 16th overall finish. In mini sprint action, Ryan O’Donnell won the Formula 4 class, while Dustin Dominguez claimed the Formula 6 win. In the Formula 5 race, Derek Wagnon took the win, with Jason Keene claiming the Formula 7 victory. The Junior Motard race was won by Luca Chatham. The CMRA returns to action on July 1-2, with a full slate of sprint racing, plus a six hour mini endurance race at Oak Hill Raceway near Henderson, TX.

Monday Jun 12 2006 Test – Monday FIRST DAY OF MID-SEASON TYRE DEVELOPMENT TEST FOR DUCATI XEROX TEAM AT BRNO Bologna (Italy), Monday 12th June: Troy Bayliss set the quickest time for the Ducati Xerox Team on the first day of a three-day mid-season test at the Brno circuit in the Czech Republic. The Brno test, which is being held until Wednesday, has been organized by one-make WSBK championship tyre supplier Pirelli in view of the Czech round of the championship on July 23rd. Teams representing each World Superbike manufacturer (Ducati, Honda, Kawasaki, Petronas, Suzuki and Yamaha) are present, and almost all the top riders in the championship apart from Troy Corser (Suzuki), who had to remain at home after contracting chicken pox. Despite a fall early in the morning, championship leader Bayliss was soon on the pace and the Australian ended the day with a best lap of 2m01.50s, a full second under last year’s pole mark. “Everything went well”, commented Troy. “I haven’t been here on a Superbike before but didn’t take much time to get into the swing of things, despite a come-off early on which was nothing serious. I did a sort of long-run and set a 2m01.5 on race tyres so I’m pretty happy.” Team-mate Lorenzo Lanzi completed the first day of the tests in eighth place with a time of 2m03.70s. “Today could have gone a bit better” declared Lorenzo, “because I didn’t use the tyre that all the others used to set their quickest times. However we’ve still got a couple more days here in Brno and a lot of work to get through.” TIMES: 1. Bayliss (Ducati Xerox) 2m01.50s; 2. Walker (Kawasaki) 2m02.20s; 3. Muggeridge (Honda) 2m02.70s; 4. Haga (Yamaha) 2m02.70s; 5. Pitt (Yamaha) 2m03.00s; 6. Toseland (Honda) 2m03.00s; 7. Nieto (Kawasaki) 2m03.00s; 8. Lanzi (Ducati Xerox) 2m03.70s; 9. Kagayama (Suzuki) 2m04.50s; 10. Martin (Petronas) 2m04.70s. More, from a press release issued by Foggy Petronas Racing: Fluctuating fortunes for FPR in Brno Foggy PETRONAS Racing riders Steve Martin and Craig Jones experienced fluctuating fortunes on the first day of a three-day test at the Czech Republic circuit of Brno. Steve finished the day 10th of the top Superbike World Championship riders taking part in the test, organised by series tyre manufacturer, Pirelli. But he was only able to complete 29 laps throughout the day and was forced to sit out much of the afternoon session after two engine failures. However, the Australian was still able to better his fastest race lap of last year by 1.2 seconds with a time of 2:04.70. Craig, on his first outing at the undulating circuit on the PETRONAS FP1 enjoyed a fruitful first day after solving early set-up problems when trying one of the latest development Pirelli tyres. He said: “It’s one of those circuits where you can really enjoy doing lots of laps. I started slowly but was consistently improving until I hit a bit of a brick wall with the set-up. But then I tried a 2006 tyre which had loads more grip – it was in a different league. Towards the end of the session Chris Walker gave me a bit of a tow and I was about a second up on my best time when the session was red-flagged, so things are looking really promising for tomorrow.” Steve said: “It was a frustrating day as I had to sit out most of the afternoon as engines needed to be changed in both my bikes. So we haven’t really had much of a chance to work through the various tests we had planned. Having said that I am already a lot faster on race tyres than I was last year here so, with a smooth run tomorrow, I am confident of making further progress.” First day times: 1. Bayliss (Ducati Xerox) 2m01.50s; 2. Walker (Kawasaki) 2m02.20s; 3. Muggeridge (Honda) 2m02.70s; 4. Haga (Yamaha) 2m02.70s; 5. Pitt (Yamaha) 2m03.00s; 6. Toseland (Honda) 2m03.00s; 7. Nieto (Kawasaki) 2m03.00s; 8. Lanzi (Ducati Xerox) 2m03.70s; 9. Kagayama (Suzuki) 2m04.50s; 10. Martin (Foggy PETRONAS Racing) 2m04.70s. 15 Jones (Foggy PETRONAS Racing) 2m06.59s