FIM Superbike World Championship Silverstone, England May 28 Race Two Results: 1. Troy BAYLISS (Duc 999F06), 28 laps, 40’42.003 2. Noriyuki HAGA (Yamaha YZF-R1) -1.585 seconds 3. James TOSELAND (Hon CBR1000RR), -12.058 seconds 4. Andrew PITT (Yam YZF-R1), -14.561 seconds 5. Alex BARROS (Hon CBR1000RR), -16.826 seconds 6. Troy CORSER (Suz GSX-R1000), -21.230 seconds 7. Ruben XAUS (Duc 999F05), -22.056 seconds 8. Chris WALKER (Kaw ZX-10R), -22.549 seconds 9. Karl MUGGERIDGE (Hon CBR1000RR), -22.708 seconds 10. Fonsi NIETO (Kaw ZX-10R), -34.025 seconds 11. Norick ABE (Yam YZF-R1), -34.739 seconds 12. Tommy HILL (Yam YZF-R1) -35.112 seconds 13. Yukio KAGAYAMA (Suz GSX-R1000), -35.518 seconds 14. Regis LACONI (Kaw ZX-10R), -36.322 seconds 15. Michel FABRIZIO (Hon CBR1000RR), -47.850 seconds 16. Lorenzo LANZI (Duc 999F06), -50.101 seconds 17. Gianluca NANNELLI (Hon CBR1000RR), -51.089 seconds 18. J. BROOKES (Kaw ZX10R) -52.191 seconds 19. Roberto ROLFO (Duc 999F05), -52.255 seconds 20. Ivan CLEMENTI (Duc 999RS), -2 laps, DNF, mechanical 21. Sebastien GIMBERT (Yam YZF-R1) -11 laps, DNF, mechanical 22. Fabien FORET (Suz GSX-R1000), -13 laps, DNF, mechanical 23. Max NEUKIRCHNER (Duc 999RS), -14 laps, DNF, mechanical 24. Steve MARTIN (Foggy Petronas FP1), -18 laps, DNF, mechanical 25. Vittorio IANNUZZO (Suz GSX-R1000), -22 laps, DNF, crash 26. Craig JONES (Foggy Petronas FP1), DNS FIM Superbike World Championship Point Standings (after 10 of 26 races): 1. Bayliss, 225 points 2. Corser, 149 points 3. Haga, 133 points 4. Toseland, 129 points 5. Barros, 113 points 6. Pitt, 103 points 7. Lanzi, 62 points 8. Xaus, 56 points 9. Abe, 51 points 10. Walker, 51 points 11. Nieto, 48 points 12. Rolfo, 46 points 13. Muggeridge, 45 points 14. Laconi, 42 points 15. Fabrizio, 37 points 16. Kagayama, 29 points 17. Nakatomi, 18 points 18. TIE, Chili/Foret, 10 points 19. TIE, Borciani/Neukirchner, 9 points 20. Hill, 8 points 21. Gimbert, 7 points 22. Martin, 4 points 23. Alfonsi/ De Gea, 2 points 24. Nannelli/ Clementi, 1 point More, from a press release issued by Team Klaffi Honda: Superbike I A breath taking race day at Silverstone! Only a few seconds after the start of the first race Troy Corser had a high sider and caused a chain reaction for Foret, Nieto and Alex Barros. These riders crashed too. Alex was catapulted on the gravel. And immediately when he was to his feet again he had to realise that his own bike was also sliding on the gravel. Alex checked the dangerous threat and with an immense effort he jumped over his own burning bike. A lot of good luck for Alex but the Klaffi Honda Fireblade was so damaged that he had to continue with his other bike. Half an hour later the race was restarted. Alex was 6th in the grid but he didn’t do a perfect start. In the first lap he was riding on position 17. He did an excellent race, achieved speeds as the leading riders in front and finished 9th in the first heat. Bayliss took the win in front of Haga and Toseland. Superbike II In the second heat things worked out much better for Alex. Form 11th position in the first lap he had to fight again but Alex did it. He chased Xaus and Muggeridge, passed Corser and gave a lot of pressure on Chris Walker. In lap 19 Alex Barros was 5th just behind Andrew Pitt. But though he was some times nearly as fast as the leading roy Bayliss Alex finished 5th in the second race. Bayliss was winner in front of Haga, Toseland and Pitt. Alex Barros: “When I crashed I felt there was something behind me and when I was to my feet again my bike was coming. I jumped and nothing else.I had absolutely no time for thinking but I’m very happy that I had this reflex. – After the first race we changed a little bit the rear suspension. And things went better than in the first head. I was on 11th position first and finished 5th not so bad at all. Here it was rather difficult for me because everything was new and I only had one hour for testing under dry conditions. Next round is Misano where we already tested and I’m sure things will be much better there for me.” More, from a press release issued by Winston Ten Kate Honda: TOSELAND TAKES SENSATIONAL DOUBLE PODIUM WITH MUGGERIDGE IN THE TOP TEN James Toseland (Winston Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR) made up for the disappointment of qualifying on the fourth row of the Silverstone grid with a sensational pair of race finishes, scoring third in each of the 28-lap Silverstone races. Karl Muggeridge (Winston Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR) raced hard to secure eighth and ninth place finishes, with both riders suffering from a relative lack of dry pre-race practice. Fighting to seventh place on the first lap of each race Toseland chased home and identical pairing of Troy Bayliss and Noriyuki Haga in each outing, putting James fourth in the championship, behind Bayliss, Corser and Haga. Muggeridge is 13th overall, having now scored points in the last four races. In the first race Toseland rode his heart out to take an astonishing result of third and with another lap or two could well have made an even better result. Having started from 14th on the grid his recovery was an immense effort of will, as much as a display of riding and passing prowess. Muggeridge took a strong eighth place ride, half a second behind the rider in front. In the second race Toseland celebrated his double podium by throwing his riding gear into his home crowd, having held off the late challenge of Andrew Pitt. Muggeridge’s ninth in race two saw him finish within a second of the two other riders he was closing in on, Chris Walker and Ruben Xaus, after making set-up changes between races. Ronald Ten Kate Team Manager “With two podiums I almost feel relieved. My depression of yesterday has gone so much that this almost feels like winning, because we had to come from so far back with James. In the first race we could see him catching the leaders and at the end he was the quickest man on track. In race two he got stuck inside a group, and took longer to overtake. But big compliments to him for all his riding on the weekend and the best way to get a bad qualifying result out of the way is to have good race results. So I am happy with that. I am happy for Karl, especially in the second race, where we made some adjustments to his bike, from the first race, and he almost caught the group in front, which was battling for sixth. Even though he finished only ninth, it was a very good race, because it was the first time he has kept his lap times constant over a full race distance. He was also catching up so I think we are in good shape. I am even happier now because we are going testing now in Brno, and also with some new electronic systems on the machine, so we will see if we can carry them onwards to the next race at Misano. It went well for us there last year so we could be in good shape there again.” James Toseland Winston Ten Kate Honda Rider (Race 1: 3rd Race 2: 3rd Championship Position: 4th with 129 points) “I was really disappointed with myself yesterday and I knew I had made it difficult for myself today. It was just a shame that Troy and Haga got into their rhythm so quickly, because it took me a bit of time to get through the field, and other riders were riding very well, which made it even harder. When Corser and Walker were battling it was the hardest part. From 14th to two podium places, I have to be happy. I wasn’t aware of the crowd on race one but in race two I knew I had earned a good podium place and good points, so thanks to everyone for the support. It was just a shame about the weather this weekend.” Karl Muggeridge Winston Ten Kate Honda Rider (Race 1: 8th Race 2: 9th: Championship Position: 13th with 45 points) “I actually had a good ride but the settings were not so good in race one. I couldn’t hold the line in the faster corners, so we changed the bike between races and improved it. We gained about half a second a lap but we needed the next step up. We needed just another few tenths to let us run up there, certainly to run closer to my team-mate. I almost caught up with the riders in front in race two, I really thought I would get them, but I just ran out of laps.” More, from a press release issued by Ducati Xerox: TROY BAYLISS (DUCATI XEROX) MAKES IT SEVEN WINS ON THE RUN IN SILVERSTONE WORLD SUPERBIKE Silverstone (UK), Sunday 28 May: Troy Bayliss (Ducati Xerox) made it seven wins on the run in the European Round of the World Superbike Championship at Silverstone with his third successive double victory this season. With his closest rival Troy Corser (Suzuki) picking up a DNF and a sixth place, the 37 year-old Australian now has a lead of 76 points in the championship with seven rounds still remaining. Japan’s Noriyuki Haga and Britain’s James Toseland both offered stiff opposition to today and the Yamaha and the Honda rider twice finished behind the Australian to make up identical podiums. “In 2002 I was lucky enough to win six in a row and I was thinking about that before this weekend but on Friday and Saturday I was throwing myself down the road getting sorer and sorer and I thought it was maybe a good time just to get some points, but racing changes your view of things,” commented Troy. “I saw Corser crash in the first race and so I decided to make the most of the situation and not give in to Nori today. I really fought hard for the wins and that makes a good difference in the points for me against Corser. After the first race we tried a softer tyre and changed the suspension a bit, my main man Ernesto Marinelli did a great job and I could ride the bike half-a-second faster in the race. I feel sure that if we had gone with the same tyre it would have been much harder so a big thanks to him and all the guys in the team. Now we go on to Misano, where my 999’s gone pretty well in testing, so I’m confident for that race as well.” Lorenzo Lanzi had a difficult weekend from Friday onwards and the young Italian was unable to do better than a thirteenth and a sixteenth place in the two races. “For race 2 we fitted a slightly softer rear tyre like Troy but I didn’t like it very much and I went slower than in race 1,” declared Lorenzo. “However unfortunately everything about my race performance was due to the start and the bumping and barging at the first corner. I even passed the line on lap 1 next to last. You can’t pretend to win races that way. In the first race I was lucky because I managed to stay upright after the incident at the first corner. At Misano Adriatico for sure we will work hard to start further up the grid because if you want to get good results you have to start up at the front. The most important thing is to try and get the first two rows in Superpole, which at least gives you the chance of getting good results.” RACE 1: 1. Bayliss (Ducati Xerox); 2. Haga (Yamaha); 3. Toseland (Honda); 4. Xaus (Ducati); 5. Pitt (Yamaha); 6. Walker (Kawasaki); 7. Laconi (Kawasaki); 8. Muggeridge (Honda). RACE 2: 1. Bayliss; 2. Haga; 3. Toseland; 4. Pitt; 5. Barros (Honda); 6. Corser (Suzuki); 7. Xaus; 8. Walker. POINTS (after 5 of 12 rounds): Riders – 1. Bayliss 225; 2. Corser 149; 3. Haga 133; 4. Toseland 129; 5. Barros 113; 6. Pitt 103; 7. Lanzi 62; 8. Xaus 56; etc. Manufacturers – 1. Ducati 226; 2. Suzuki 161; 3. Honda 156; 4. Yamaha 153; 5. Kawasaki 75; 6. Petronas 4. More, from a press release issued by FGSport: BAYLISS TAKES SILVERSTONE DOUBLE TO EXTEND CHAMPIONSHIP LEAD – BAYLISS AND HAGA FIGHT FOR SILVERSTONE SPOILS Two man-to-man battles from eventual double winner Troy Bayliss (Ducati Xerox) and Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha Motor Italia) provided huge entertainment for a 71,000-strong SBK crowd at Silverstone, and with James Toseland (Winston Ten Kate Honda) third in each race; the British crowd enjoyed its first taste of World Superbike 2006-style. Bayliss also set a new lap record, and the absolute best in SBK, with a 1’26.299, in race two. RACE ONE A dramatic start to race one saw four riders fall at the first corner, after a highside from Fabien Foret (Alstare Engineering Suzuki). Another crash later in the same lap, which put Craig Jones (Petronas) out of the race, caused the red flag to come out, and all but Jones made the re-start. A front-running ride from Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha Motor Italia) was overturned after 19 laps by eventual winner Troy Bayliss (Ducati Xerox). James Toseland (Winston Ten Kate Honda) who started from row four, rode a Superhuman race to score third place, and with one more lap may have even improved on that. Ruben Xaus (Sterilgarda Berik Ducati) was fourth, his best race finish of the year so far. RACE TWO Chris Walker (PSG-1 Kawasaki Corse) rode at the front of the second race for two determined laps, but was swamped by Bayliss, Haga, Toseland and co, finally finishing eighth. Andrew Pitt (Yamaha Motor Italia) scored fourth, with the slow-starting Alex Barros (Klaffi Honda) fifth. BAYLISS PUSHES AWAY AFTER CORSER’S BAD LUCK In the championship fight, Bayliss extended his lead over Troy Corser (Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra) to 76 points, 225 to 149, after Corser had one DNF and a sixth. Haga is now third on 133, with Toseland fourth on 129. PHYSICAL TRACK MAKES RACES HARD WORK Chris Walker’s sixth and eighth place finishes were the highlight of the day for the PSG-1 Kawasaki squad, with Regis Laconi seventh and 14th in race two, and Fonsi Nieto 11th and tenth. Barros had finished race one, on his replacement machine after the turn one crash, in ninth place. Norick Abe (Yamaha Motor France Ipone) scored tenth and 11th place finishes, having just overtaken Superpole winner Tommy Hill (Virgin Mobile Yamaha) in race two. Hill was 12th in the opener, finding the world level tough, especially in the pressurised first few laps. Shinichi Nakatomi (Yamaha Motor France) failed to start after breaking his right radius. Lorenzo Lanzi (Ducati Xerox) who had not qualified for Superpole, scored 13th and 16th finishes. WORLD SUPERSPORT CHAMPIONSHIP Sebastien Charpentier (Winston Ten Kate Honda) fended off the early close attentions of his main championship rival Kevin Curtain (Yamaha Motor Germany) and then eventual second placed finisher Broc Parkes (Yamaha Motor Germany) to score his fourth victory of the year, and extend his championship lead. Curtain would finish third, with British based Spanish wild card rider, Pere Riba (MSS Kawasaki) a fine fourth. A fantastic fight behind the leading quartet gave fifth place to Stiggy Honda rider Robbin Harms, from Massimo Roccoli (Yamaha Team Italia) sixth. Charpentier’s latest start to finish win puts him on 116 points, with Curtain second on 76 and Harms third on 63. Parkes’ 20 points for his Silverstone second put him fourth, on 58. SUPERSTOCK 1000 FIM CUP Claudio Corti (Yamaha Italia) scored his first win of the season – of his Superstock 1000 career, in fact – as he eventually overhauled early leader Alessio Polita (Celani Suzuki). Involved in a few desperate battles with Polita at mid-race distance, once he had made the break he cleared off to a record safe win by 1.251 seconds, with Polita second and Ayrton Badovini (Biassono Unionbike MV Agusta) third. In the championship, Polita still leads, on 70 points, from Badovini on 48 and Corti on 39. SUPERSTOCK 600 EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIP Niccolo Canepa (Ducati Xerox Junior) scored the win in an aggregate race at Silverstone, to go third in the standings. Winner of both previous 2006 races, Xavier Simeon (Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra) scored second at Silverstone, ahead of Davide Giugliano (Lightspeed Kawasaki). In the championship, Simeon is on 70 points, with Giugliano on 46 and Canepa only one point behind. MISANO NEXT UP Misano is the venue for the next round of all SBK series, from June 23 to 25. More, from a press release issued by Team Yamaha Motor France – Ipone: Unlucky weekend With the weather changing very often and many crashes, the British event was not very positive for the Team Yamaha Motor France – Ipone. Norick Abe finished 10th and 11th. Sebastien Gimbert retired in both races. Shinichi Nakatomi, injured during the warm up, could not race. The day started badly with a crash for Shinichi Nakatomi during the first lap of the warm up session, when an other rider unexpectedly switched off his throttle and crossed his racing line, resulting in Nakatomi hitting his rear wheel. He broke his radius and could not race. During the first lap of race 1, the event was stopped with the red flag because of crashes for Corser, Barros, Foret, Jones and Iannuzzo. After the restart, Abe was 12th and Gimbert 15th. At half distance, Haga (Yamaha) was leading, while Abe was 9th and Gimbert 15th. Troy Corser had to retire after a small crash. Finally, Troy Bayliss won in front of Noriyuki Haga, and Norick Abe finished 10th. Sebastien Gimbert had to retire 8 laps before the end with an electrical loom trouble. Both riders started well the second race, Abe being 13th and Gimbert 14th. Then suddenly Sebastien was 25th on the 2nd lap when an other rider touched him. At half-distance, Haga was leading the race, with Abe 13th and Gimbert 21st. Then Gimbert had to retire with an electrical problem. Abe finished the race 11th. Norick Abe: “I finish 10th and 11th. I have done my best. In the first race, the feeling was not so bad. Then we changed the settings for the second race and my times were better. The results are not good, but I did my best.” Sebastien Gimbert: “Six races not finished, this is too much. I give my best at 100%, as you can see with my position on the third row during the Superpole. I was” Martial Garcia (team-manger): ” Abe did a good first race, especially with the first crash (race red flagged). Gimbert started well but had to retire because of some trouble following his accident yesterday. The electrical loom was damaged without us seen it. The air temperature is colder now, so we will change the settings for the second race. In race 2, Abe saved the face of the team. He fought with a local rider who was braking very late, so he could not stay with the guys in front. There were very few practices sessions on the dry, so the set up of his bike was not good enough. For Gimbert, we pay the consequences of the 3 crashes. The automatic switch off system in case of crash was damaged and the engine could not work well.” More, from a press release issued by Honda Racing: TOSELAND TAKES STRONG DOUBLE PODIUM AT HIS HOME RACE After a disappointing wet Superpole session, in which he finished only 14th, James Toseland (Winston Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR) rode to a brace of third places at his home circuit of Silverstone, in the dry conditions, which remained throughout raceday. Despite the lack of dry practice time, Toseland made up many places in the early laps, and finished within touching distance of the leaders in race one, but was held back for too long in the midfield in race two. Alex Barros (Klaffi Honda CBR1000RR) made bad starts in both races, and after being involved in a horrific-looking first lap pile up, shortly before a second crash finally brought out the red flags. He had to race the first 28-lapper on his spare machine, finishing eighth. In race two he had his machine set-up more like his number one bike, and he scored a battling fifth, having been 11th on lap one. Karl Muggeridge (Winston Honda Ten Kate CBR1000RR) suffered more than most from the lack of dry set-up time, but nonetheless took eighth and ninth place finishes. The DFX Honda squad had tough outings at the tight and twisty short Silverstone circuit, with Michel Fabrizio (DFX Treme Honda CBR1000RR) retiring from race one and battling hard for a single point in the second leg, while Gianluca Nannelli (DFX Treme Honda CBR1000RR) scored his first point of the year in race one, but none for 17th place in race two. Both podiums were identical, with Troy Bayliss twice the winner and Noriyuki Haga twice runner up, ahead of Toseland. Bayliss now sits on 225 points, with Troy Corser on 149, Haga on 133 and Toseland 129. Barros is fifth, with 113, Muggeridge 13th on 45 and Fabrizio 15th, with 37. Toseland was understandably happy to have scored what looked like two unlikely podiums at the beginning of each race, and earned good championship points. “I was really disappointed with myself yesterday and I knew I had made it difficult for myself today,” said Toseland. “It was just a shame that Troy and Haga got into their rhythm so quickly, because it took me a bit of time to get through the field, and other riders were riding very well, which made it even harder. When Corser and Walker were battling, it was the hardest part. From 14th to two podium places, I have to be happy. I wasn’t aware of the crowd on race one but in race two I knew I had earned a good podium place and good points, so thanks to everyone for the support. It was just a shame about the weather this weekend.” Barros was made to pay for the race one crash, in which he was an innocent victim, but had a better outing in race two. “The first race was a disaster,” stated Barros, who had to leap over his own burning machine after the opening race multiple rider fall. “I had to use my second bike and the clutch is different on that bike. So my start was not so good. Between race one and two we changed the clutch and suspension settings and it was better, but not perfect. I lost positions because of my start. I thought I could catch Pitt in race two but it was not possible. We only had one hour of dry testing here so this was a difficult weekend for me.” Muggeridge made changes for the better between races and knows that he notched up points after missing several races this year through injury. “I actually had a good ride but the settings were not so good in race one,” said Muggeridge. “I couldn’t hold the line in the faster corners, so we changed the bike between races and improved it. We gained about half a second a lap but we needed the next step up. We needed just another few tenths to let us run up there, certainly to run closer to my team-mate. I almost caught up with the riders in front in race two, I really thought I would get them, but I just ran out of laps.” Fabrizio had great difficulties with chatter at Silverstone, and felt lucky to finish at all in race two. “The chatter was really incredible in the first race,” said Fabrizio. “It got so bad I pulled out of the race. In the second running we changed the rear spring and all that happened was the chatter went from the rear, to both front and rear. I just gritted my teeth and got a point.” Nannelli had two bad starts, and had to use up his tyre too much to be in contention for a top ten finish. “I had a bad start in the first and used up my tyre a lot to get back into appoints scoring position,” said Nannelli. “In race two my start was even worse and that finished my day off.” Misano is the venue for the sixth rounds of the WSS and SBK championships, and takes place between 23 and 25 June. More, from a press release issued by Team Suzuki: Team Suzuki Press Office May 28, 2006. Reigning World Superbike World Champion Troy Corser and the Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra team suffered a disappointing day at the Silverstone fifth round today as the Australian was knocked off in race one then took sixth in race two. Corser was hit from behind at the first turn on the opening lap of race one and crashed, but fortunately the race was red-flagged and he was able to take part in the restart. He crashed in the final chicane on the second lap, but remounted and got going again in last place, then, after a series of lurid slides, he was forced to retire. His team mate Yukio Kagayama was riding in severe discomfort after crashing heavily yesterday, but grittily kept going to finish 14th in race one and 13th in race two. Team Alstare Engineering Corona Extra rider Fabien Foret also had a day to forget: A DNF after a heavy fall in race one when he hit his head hard detuned him for race two and, because he could not keep his concentration, he retired after 15 laps. After five rounds, Corser holds second place in the series with Kagayama 16th and Foret 19th. Troy Corser – Race 1: DNF, Race 2: 6th: “By our standards, that was a day to forget. It didn’t start well when I was hit from behind in the first turn on the opening lap of the first race! I was lucky because the race was red-flagged and I was able to get back to my garage and jump onto the spare bike for the restart. But we had only done about four laps in the dry on it and, although it should’ve been the same, it felt very different. The front tyre was too hard and I lost control in the final chicane after one lap. I got back on and tried to carry on but it was no use. “In race two I had problems with the throttle response and that made the bike very difficult to ride. I just could not get the power on when I wanted and every time I tried to do what I do normally, I nearly crashed. We had a similar problem last season, so now we’ll have to sit down and work out how to solve it. I suppose the only good news is that in my two falls today I never hurt myself.” Yukio Kagayama -Race 1: 14th, Race 2: 13th: “I am not so happy today, but my problems began when I crashed yesterday. This morning my back and right hand didn’t feel so good. In both races I found it hard moving around on the bike and because my right hand was injured I could not push hard exiting the fast turns. In race one, I lost touch with the group in front of me and once that happened I couldn’t catch them again. The second race was a little better, but not that much and I would honestly prefer to forget this weekend completely.” Fabien Foret – Race 1: DNF, Race 2: DNF: “It has been a very bad day – no, it has been a bad weekend. We didn’t have enough time to get a good dry set-up for the bike and we suffered as a result. Then I had a heavy crash in the first race and hurt my head and body. I wasn’t feeling too good and maybe I should not have started the second race, but I wanted to try. I just couldn’t concentrate and I didn’t want to do anything silly or cause a crash, so I pulled into the pits and stopped.” Race 1: 1 Bayliss (Aus-Ducati), 2 Haga (J-Yamaha), 3 Toseland (GB-Honda), 4 Xaus (E-Ducati), 5 Pitt (Aus-Yamaha), 6 Walker (GB-Kawasaki), 7 Laconi (F-Kawasaki), 8 Muggeridge (Aus-Honda), 9 Barros (Bra-Honda), 10 Abe (J-Yamaha). 14 Yukio Kagayama (J-Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra). Troy Corser (Aus-Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra) DNF. Fabien Foret (F-Alstare Engineering Corona Extra) DNF. Race 2: 1 Bayliss, 2 Haga, 3 Toseland, 4 Pitt, 5 Barros, 6 Troy Corser (Aus-Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra), 7 Xaus, 8 Walker, 9 Muggeridge, 10 Nieto (E-Kawasaki). 13 Yukio Kagayama (J-Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra). Fabien Foret (F-Alstare Engineering Corona Extra) DNF. Championship Points: 1 Bayliss 200, 2 Troy Corser 139, 3 Toseland 113, 4 Haga 113, 5 Barros 102, 6 Pitt 90, 7 Lanzi 62, 8 Xaus 47, 9 Abe 46, 10 Rolfo 46. 16 Yukio Kagayama 26. 19 Fabien Foret 10. EUROPEAN SUPERSTOCK 600: Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra rider Xavier Simeon lost out on victory of the Silverstone Superstock 600 European Championship by a whisker after the race was restarted. Italian Nicola Canepa (Ducati) won after the race was red-flagged after seven laps due to an accident and an oil spillage. Canepa had crossed the line in first place ahead of series leader Simeon and Davide Giugliano (Kawasaki). In the second part, it was Simeon who crossed the line first after breaking the lap record on the last lap, but when the times from the two races were aggregated, Canepa was the winner by 48,000ths of a second! Xavier Simeon – 2nd: “What a way to lose a race! I tried so hard in the second part and rode as hard as I could. I couldn’t believe it when I saw that I hadn’t won! In the first race, I took it a bit steadily in the early stages and was well-placed when the race was red-flagged. We changed a tyre for the second part and then charged for victory. On the last lap, I really opened the gas and went for it, so I was a bit disappointed not to win, but at least my lead in the championship is a healthy one. I’ll be going to the next round at Misano determined to extend my lead and put the pressure on my rivals.” Superstock 600 Results: 1 Canepa, 2 Xavier Simeon (B-Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra), 3 Giugliano, 4 Colucci, 5 Antonelli, 6 Costantini. Championship Points: 1 Simeon (B-Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra) 70, 2 Giugliano 46, 3 Canepa 45, 4 Colucci 28, 5 Savary 23, 6 Costantini 21.

FIM Supersport World Championship Silverstone, England May 28 Race Results: 1. Sebastien CHARPENTIER (Hon CBR600RR), 28 laps, 41:54.640 2. Broc PARKES (Yam YZF-R6), -2.802 seconds 3. Kevin CURTAIN (Yam YZF-R6), -6.767 seconds 4. Pere RIBA (Kaw ZX6RR) -17.116 seconds 5. Robbin HARMS (Hon CBR600RR), -26.102 seconds 6. Massimo ROCCOLI (Yam YZF-R6), -26.373 seconds 7. Javier FORES (Yam YZF-R6), -27.097 seconds 8. Matthieu LAGRIVE (Hon CBR600RR), -27.492 seconds 9. Johan STIGEFELT (Hon CBR600RR), -29.073 seconds 10. Katsuaki FUJIWARA (Hon CBR600RR), -41.265 seconds 11. David CHECA (Yamaha YZF R6), -41.615 seconds 12. Maxime BERGER (Kaw ZX-6RR), -43.602 seconds 13. Kai Borre ANDERSEN (Suz GSX-R600), -44.079 seconds 14. Yoann TIBERIO (Hon CBR600RR), -47.538 seconds 15. Staurt EASTON (Ducati 749 R), -49.619 seconds 16. Tatu LAUSLEHTO (Hon CBR600RR), -51.383 seconds 17. Sebastien CHAMBON (Kaw ZX-6RR), -52.544 seconds 18. Barry VENEMAN (Suz GSX-R600), -52.719 seconds 19. Mauro SANCHINI (Yam YZF-R6), -1:02.972 seconds 20. Kenan SOFUOGLU (Hon CBR600RR), -1:05.725 seconds 21. Bernat MARTINEZ (Yamaha YZF R6), -1:16.412 seconds 22. Tom TUNSTALL (Honda CBR 600RR), -1:17.059 seconds 23. Miguel PRAIA (Hon CBR600RR), -1:18.457 seconds 24. Sam OWENS (Yamaha YZF R6), -1:22.319 seconds 25. Vladimir IVANOV (YZF R6), -1:32.966 seconds 26. Greg LEBLANC (Hon CBR600RR), -1:32.975 seconds 27. Gianluca VIZZIELLO (Yamaha YZF R6), -10 Laps, DNF, mechanical 28. Alessio ALDROVANDI (Honda CBR 600RR) -11 Laps, DNF, mechanical 29. Julien ENJOLRAS (Yamaha YZF R6), -14 Laps, DNF, mechanical 30. Christian ZAISER (Ducati 749 R), -14 Laps, DNF, mechanical 31. Alessio VELINI (Yamaha YZF R6), -20 Laps, DNF, mechanical 32. Alessio CORRADI (Yamaha YZF R6), -21 Laps, DNF, mechanical 33. Steven NEATE (Honda CBR 600RR), -23 Laps, DNF, Crashed 34. Sebastien LE GRELLE (Hon CBR600RR), -26 laps, DNF, Crashed 35. Andrea BERTA (Yam YZF-R6), DNS More, from a press release issued by Winston Media: CHARPENTIER TAKES FOURTH WIN OF THE SEASON Sebastien Charpentier (Winston Ten Kate Honda) won his fourth 2006 WSS race after a front-running display at the short and tight Silverstone circuit, holding off intense early attacks from Yamaha riders Parkes and Curtain, despite a lack of dry set-up time after a mostly wet practice. Kenan Sofuoglu (Winston Ten Kate Honda) finished the race in a lowly 20th place, after qualifying 18th. With so little dry qualifying time, Charpentier just missed out on a new lap record, but led every single lap, and went equal on the list of all time WSS race winners, with 11 victories to his credit. In the championship battle, Charpentier is in an unrivalled 116 points, 40 points ahead of Curtain’s 76. Sofuoglu now sits ninth in the series, with 27, having scored no Silverstone points. Ronald Ten Kate – Team Manager “I am so happy that Sebastien won again, after his great, crazy ride to third at Monza. He showed that he can run at the front again and that he is back in control. It is also good for his championship position, and he has a forty-point lead now. He led very well and at one point the two guys following him got close to him, dicing with each other and pushing for quicker lap times. At that moment the counterattack from Sebastien was very good because he put in a couple of 1’29 lows, and got a four second gap. That gave him the eventual win, and another perfect weekend for us. We can consider with Kenan that the weekend was a disaster. To be honest, I see no reason why he is in the position he’s in. Lucky for him we are going to the Brno test now, before the Misano race, so that will give him three days to recover, and come back to his old riding level. Finishing in 20th position is not what we are aiming for with him; it’s far less than his skills as a rider. So I am sure we will fix this out at Misano.” Sébastien Charpentier Winston Ten Kate Honda Rider (1st Championship Position: 1st with 116 points) “It was not an easy race for sure, even if it looked that way. It was hard because it is very bumpy, a short track, very physical. So I am happy because yesterday it was difficult to practice, because there was so much rain. The bike was not bad and for the championship I got more good points, so thanks to Ten Kate and Honda.” Kenan Sofuoglu Winston Ten Kate Honda Rider (20th Championship Position: 9th with 27 points) “Things were not so good all weekend luck was not with me and it was difficult. I started in 18th position and that was far less than what I wanted to do, normally I want to be in the top five. But in the race it did not work out, I couldn’t go away from the others, and I was overtaken. I tried the maximum I could do but I did not feel so strong. My physical condition was OK, but I thought I was going to crash. I don’t know what the problem was exactly so I am looking to the Brno test to get my feeling back for the Italian race at Misano.” CHAMPIONSHIP STANDING: 1. Charpentier 116 points 2. Curtain 76 points 3. Harms 63 4. Parkes 58 5. Tiberio 50 9. Sofuoglu 27 points More, from a press release issued by Honda Racing: CHARPENTIER CONTINUES HONDA’S 100% WINNING RECORD Sebastien Charpentier (Winston Ten Kate Honda CBR600RR) scored his fourth win in five races this season, to extend his championship lead to 40 points. His start-to-finish win came after a period of pressure from Yamaha riders Kevin Curtain and Broc Parkes, but Charpentier was a clear winner by 2.8 seconds in the final analysis, having started from pole and led every single lap. Katsuaki Fujiwara (Megabike Honda CBR600RR) was the next best supported Honda rider home, in eighth place, despite re-breaking a bone in his already injured hand. His team-mate Yoann Tiberio (Megabike Honda CBR600RR), the Monza race winner, was down in 14th, after experiencing tyre choice problems mid-race, dropping from the top six position to the second last point scorer. Charpentier’s team-mate Kenan Sofuoglu (Winston Ten Kate Honda CBR600RR) was only 20th overall, having started from a lowly 18th after a difficult first day in qualifying, which proved to be the only dry one. All the riders suffered from a lack of dry testing time, such was the pre-raceday weather. Raceday itself dawned dry, if windy. Charpentier knew that he had been in a tough race, but his will to win saw him overcome the lack of testing time, and some tough competition at periods in the race. “It was not an easy race for sure, even if it looked that way,” said Charpentier after his latest triumph. “It was hard because this is a very bumpy, short track, and very physical. So I am happy because yesterday it was difficult to practice, because there was so much rain. It turned out that the bike was not bad at all and for the championship I got more good points, so thanks to Ten Kate and Honda.” Fujiwara had to grin and bear the pain throughout the race, which was delayed due to a crash in the first Superbike event. “I have great pain in the hand that I broke in Qatar at the beginning of the season,” affirmed Fujiwara. “On Friday, during practice, I crashed and broke another little part of the same hand, and so Silverstone was a really difficult race for me. I made the best of it but the pain was very big. I hope to arrive in the best condition for the Misano race.” Tiberio, tenth in qualifying, gambled on tyre choice and it did not turn out the way he wanted, despite the cool ambient temperatures. “What a hard race,” said Tiberio simply. “I had a different choice of tyre from the other leading riders, too soft, and so I paid for it after five laps of the race. I’m not satisfied because I had no time to set the bike in the best way, because of the rain in practice.” Sofuoglu complained of a lack of feel from his machine at Silverstone, and suffered a crisis of confidence. “Things were not so good all weekend, luck was not with me and it was difficult,” said the young Turkish rider. “I started in 18th position and that was far less than what I wanted to do; normally I want to be in the top five. But in the race it did not work out, I couldn’t go away from the others, and I was overtaken. I don’t know what the problem was exactly, so I am looking to the Brno test to get my feeling back for the Italian race at Misano.” World Superbike Round 5 of 12

FIM Superbike World Championship Silverstone, England May 28 Race One Results: 1. Troy BAYLISS (Duc 999F06), 28 laps, 40:49.894 2. Noriyuki HAGA (Yamaha YZF-R1) -0.890 seconds 3. James TOSELAND (Hon CBR1000RR), -1.705 seconds 4. Ruben XAUS (Duc 999F05), -8.285 seconds 5. Andrew PITT (Yam YZF-R1), -12.303 seconds 6. Chris WALKER (Kaw ZX-10R), -23.716 seconds 7. Regis LACONI (Kaw ZX-10R), -25.483 seconds 8. Karl MUGGERIDGE (Hon CBR1000RR), -26.049 seconds 9. Alex BARROS (Hon CBR1000RR), -29.650 seconds 10. Norick ABE (Yam YZF-R1), -32.208 seconds 11. Fonsi NIETO (Kaw ZX-10R), -39.607 seconds 12. Tommy HILL (Yam YZF-R1) -41.550 seconds 13. Lorenzo LANZI (Duc 999F06), -41.935 seconds 14. Yukio KAGAYAMA (Suz GSX-R1000), -50.385 seconds 15. Gianluca NANNELLI (Hon CBR1000RR), -52.726 seconds 16. Max NEUKIRCHNER (Duc 999RS), -52.760 seconds 17. Roberto ROLFO (Duc 999F05), -53.214 seconds 18. Vittorio IANNUZZO (Suz GSX-R1000), -54.137 seconds, crashed 19. Ivan CLEMENTI (Duc 999RS), -8 laps, DNF, mechanical 20. Sebastien GIMBERT (Yam YZF-R1), -9 laps, DNF, mechanical 21. Steve MARTIN (Foggy Petronas FP1), -9 laps, DNF, mechanical 22. J. BROOKES (Kaw ZX10R), -9 Laps, DNF, mechanical 23. Michel FABRIZIO (Hon CBR1000RR), -12 Laps, DNF, mechanical 24. Fabien FORET (Suz GSX-R1000), -19 laps, DNF, mechanical 25. Troy CORSER (Suz GSX-R1000), -22 laps, DNF, mechanical 26. Craig JONES (Foggy Petronas FP1), DNS

FIM Superbike World Championship Silverstone, England May 28 Practice Results: 1. Troy BAYLISS (Duc 999F06) 1:27.252 2. Regis LACONI (Kaw ZX-10R) 1:27.386 3. Troy CORSER (Suz GSX-R1000) 1:27.501 4. Noriyuki HAGA (Yam YZF-R1) 1:27.539 5. Chris WALKER (Kaw ZX-10R) 1:27.635 6. James TOSELAND (Hon CBR1000RR) 1:27.662 7. Alex BARROS (Hon CBR1000RR) 1:27.780 8. Karl MUGGERIDGE (Hon CBR1000RR) 1:27.823 9. Andrew PITT (Yam YZF-R1) 1:27.920 10. Michel FABRIZIO (Hon CBR1000RR) 1:28.045 11. Tommy HILL (Yam YZF-R1) 1:28.115 12. Ruben XAUS (Duc 999F05) 1:28.144 13. Ivan CLEMENTI (Duc 999RS) 1:28.295 14. Norick ABE (Yam YZF-R1) 1:28.368 15. Sebastien GIMBERT (Yam YZF-R1) 1:28.465 16. Yukio KAGAYAMA (Suz GSX-R1000) 1:28.477 17. Lorenzo LANZI (Duc 999F06) 1:28.531 18. Steve MARTIN (Foggy Petronas FP1) 1:28.635 19. Craig JONES (Foggy Petronas FP1) 1:28.710 20. Roberto ROLFO (Duc 999F05) 1:28.773 21. Fonsi NIETO (Kaw ZX-10R) 1:28.831 22. Fabien FORET (Suz GSX-R1000) 1:28.867 23. Vittorrio IANNUZZO (Suz GSX-R1000) 1:29.082 24. Max NEUKIRCHNER (Duc 999RS) 1:29.198 25. Josh BROOKES (Kaw ZX-10R) 1:29.418 26. Gianluca NANNELLI (Hon CBR1000RR) 1:29.500 27. Marco BORCIANI (Duc 999F05) 1:31.349

FIM Superbike World Championship Silverstone, England May 27 Superpole Results: 1. Tommy HILL (Yam YZF-R1) 1:38.001 2. Troy BAYLISS (Duc 999F06) 1:38.254 3. Chris WALKER (Kaw ZX-10R) 1:38.265 4. Noriyuki HAGA (Yam YZF-R1) 1:38.546 5. Michel FABRIZIO (Hon CBR1000RR) 1:38.899 6. Alex BARROS (Hon CBR1000RR) 1:39.082 7. Ruben XAUS (Duc 999F05) 1:39.388 8. Karl MUGGERIDGE (Hon CBR1000RR) 1:40.023 9. Regis LACONI (Kaw ZX-10R) 1:40.042 10. Troy CORSER (Suz GSX-R1000) 1:40.181 11. Andrew PITT (Yam YZF-R1) 1:40.552 12. Sebastien GIMBERT (Yam YZF-R1) 1:40.574 13. Fonsi NIETO (Kaw ZX-10R) 1:40.729 14. James TOSELAND (Hon CBR1000RR) 1:41.004 15. Norick ABE (Yam YZF-R1) 1:42.069 16. Yukio KAGAYAMA (Suz GSX-R1000) 1:42.262 The rest of the grid (established during Friday’s dry qualifying session): 17. Lorenzo LANZI (Duc 999F06) 1:28.290 18. Ivan CLEMENTI (Duc 999RS) 1:28.492 19. Max NEUKIRCHNER (Duc 999RS) 1:28.492 20. Shinichi NAKATOMI (Yam YZF-R1) 1:28.503 21. Josh BROOKES (Kaw ZX-10R) 1:28.561 22. Gianluca NANNELLI (Hon CBR1000RR) 1:28.766 23. Roberto ROLFO (Duc 999F05) 1:28.835 24. Craig JONES (Foggy Petronas FP1) 1:28.866 25. Fabien FORET (Suz GSX-R1000) 1:28.909 26. Vittorio IANNUZZO (Suz GSX-R1000) 1:28.980 27. Steve MARTIN (Foggy Petronas FP1) 1:29.199 28. Marco BORCIANI (Duc 999F05) 1:30.533 More, from a press release issued by Winston Ten Kate Honda: MUGGERIDGE ON SECOND ROW AFTER WET SUPERPOLE Karl Muggeridge (Winston Ten Kate Honda) secured a second row start after setting the eighth best time in a ‘wet’ Superpole competition at Silverstone. James Toseland (Winston Ten Kate Honda) fought a lack of rear traction during his allocation of 12 laps and finished 14th quickest, taking a fourth row start for Sunday’s brace of Superbike races. With Friday being dry and Saturday soaking wet, all the Superpole qualifying times counted from day one, and the slowly drying track proved tricky for all involved. Toseland was particularly unlucky as he finished fifth in regulation qualifying (with Muggeridge eighth) and had hoped to improve to a front row start in front of his home fans. Local wild card Tommy Hill took his first ever Superpole win, with championship leader Bayliss second quickest. Ronald Ten Kate – Team Manager “After a good start to the weekend yesterday we really hoped for more than this result. The wet Superpole did not bring us what we were expecting. Karl is on the second row, which is still OK, but 14th place for James is not a good position for him to start the races from. Tomorrow, it seems the races will be held in dry conditions, and I also hope we can have a dry warm-up, so we can confirm our dry settings. I guess it will be a tough race for James, coming from where he will be. But we know he is a hard racer, and he won’t have any lack of motivation, especially as this is his home round.” James Toseland Winston Ten Kate Honda Rider (14th position 1’41.004) “That was a really difficult day, especially after the first day, when things looked good. I was confident and the times were not bad. But today I could not believe how it turned out. The front of the bike was OK but as soon as I opened the gas it was hard to control the rear of the bike. I waited until the last few minutes to hope that there were better track conditions than at the beginning, but things were even worse, and most other riders couldn’t improve their times as much. Tomorrow, conditions should be better and I am sure that yesterday’s times have proved that if I’m aggressive in the first few laps, I can get into the top group again.” Karl Muggeridge Winston Ten Kate Honda Rider (8th position 1’40.023) “In the wet we have had to work on getting more drive out of corners. The bike was just spinning like mad and also spinning quite early in the turns. The front was working nicely, we could get it in, brake and turn, but if you got in too fast the back would still come around. That was interesting, let’s say, several times. In the dry I think things will be working really well. We got some things changed in the chassis yesterday and it was good, so we’re making improvements all the time.” More, from a press release issued by Team Yamaha Motor France – Ipone Superpole for Gimbert and Abe The Team Yamaha Motor France – Ipone had 2 of its riders doing the Superpole, with the 12th time for Sebastien Gimbert, the 15th for Norick Abe and the 20th for Shinichi Nakatomi. On Friday morning, Sebastien Gimbert crashed spectacularly in Woodcote and that left him with some abrasions on his back. His R1 was damaged, including a bent frame. On Friday afternoon, Shinichi Nakatomi fell in Luffeld with no damage. He was not the only one as Bayliss also crashed (2 times), and Toseland, Lanzi, Martin, Walker, Borciani and Neukirchner. On Saturday morning, it rained a lot and it was impossible to go quicker than on the previous day. Gimbert and Abe were both qualified for the Superpole. As it kept raining, it was a wet Superpole, which means the riders had 50 minutes to do a maximum of 12 laps. The wild card rider Tommy Hill (Virgin Mobile Yamaha) surprised everybody when he was the quickest. Sebastien Gimbert ended up 12th, Norick Abe 15th and Shinichi Nakatomi 20th. Sebastien Gimbert: “Three crashes on a wet surface, it is way too many considering that the rain is my favorite playground. We worked a lot on the settings for a dry track, especially on the rear suspension rocker, but this was a handicap for the rain. We are now developing our bikes. But we are happy because I had the pole position during about 10 minutes on the dry yesterday. Tomorrow I want to do a good race and I need a good start. We still have a lot of work to do. I hope tomorrow I will not suffer too much physically from my crashes.” Norick Abe: “Yesterday when it was dry I was 16th. Today my feeling was not so good. I hope there will be no rain tomorrow. I need some time for the set up.” Shinichi Nakatomi: “This is the first time I race on this track. I did not have much time to find the right settings. Today it was raining and I do not like the rain. Tomorrow, the weather will maybe be dry and I shall try new settings during the warm up.” Martial Garcia (team-manager): “These practice sessions were a confirmation of the good health of our engines and our motorcycles. We were 11th yesterday in dry conditions. Sebastien Gimbert has more and more confidence in his settings. He had a few problems on the rain (3 crashes), which is not normally the case for him. Norick Abe gained one position during the Superpole, even if it rained and he does not like that weather. Shinichi Nakatomi is learning this very difficult track.” More, from a press release issued by Team Klaffi Honda: Non stop rain, immense slops and spray, which turned riding into a real blind flight. Those were the conditions during the second qualifying today. Some of the riders nearly preferred to stay in their pit garages but Alex was out and did a 1’45.802 lap time. Only Troy Corser (1’45.726) was faster than the Brazilian rider of Team Klaffi Honda. Only some minutes before Superpole the rain stopped but the surface of the track was still completely wet. At 4 pm the riders started for a “Wet Superpole”. The 16 fastest riders had 50 minutes during which they could do 12 laps to improve their lap times and the positions in the starting grid. Alex did a 1’39.082 lap time which means starting position 6 in the second row for tomorrow. Winner of the Superpole was wild card rider Tommy Hill. Alex Barros: “I hoped to be in the front row but I don’t do. I feel very well with the Fireblade today. The set up is perfect and the machine improved a lot. For tomorrow I hope it will be wet. This is what I prefer. If it is dry this would be a disadvantage for me because I only had one hour to be out under dry conditions. But whether it is dry or wet – a race is a race we will see.” More, from a press release issued by Ducati Corse: BAYLISS (DUCATI XEROX) TAKES SECOND PLACE ON STARTING GRID FOLLOWING WET SUPERPOLE AT SILVERSTONE Silverstone (UK), Saturday 27 May: Troy Bayliss (Ducati Xerox) will line up on the front row of the starting grid in second place for tomorrow’s fifth round of the World Superbike Championship following a wet Superpole session at Silverstone. British Superbike regular Tommy Hill (Yamaha) used his wild-card status to good effect in the slippery conditions to power to the pole position, while the front row of the grid is completed by Chris Walker (Kawasaki) and Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha). “This place and this weather remind me of the British Championship in 1998 and 1999 with red flags coming out, bikes flying everywhere and mine’s done that three times this weekend,” declared Troy after Superpole. “I feel like I’ve been rolled, bowled and sat on but I’m sure I’m going to come up OK tomorrow. I made a little mistake in that session, I was supposed to stay out for another flying lap but there was one thing we’d changed when I went out and I wasn’t happy with it. I was on the limit and I’d been off three times this weekend and didn’t want to do it again. It was my mistake coming in but my time was not so bad and I’m quite happy. That’s racing, Tommy did a great job today. I’d like some dry weather tomorrow especially for the British fans, but I’m going to try and spoil the party for them.” Rain in the second and final qualifying session in the morning meant that Lorenzo Lanzi missed out on the Superpole cut today and the Italian will start from the fifth row of the grid. “I am a bit disappointed obviously because I didn’t take part in Superpole, it’s been some time since that happened. It was surely not the weekend I had dreamt about,” commented Lorenzo. “But I managed to get the right feeling in the wet conditions in the afternoon and did some good times, which is important for tomorrow because the conditions are not very clear. Anything can happen, the race is still open, I’m starting from the fifth row but I feel sure I can do two good races.” STARTING-GRID: 1. Hill (Yamaha) 1m38.001s; 2. Bayliss (Ducati Xerox) 1m38.254s; 3. Walker (Kawasaki) 1m38.265s; 4. Haga (Yamaha) 1m38.546s; 5. Fabrizio (Honda) 1m38.899s; 6. Barros (Honda) 1m39.082s; 7. Xaus (Ducati) 1m39.388s; 8. Muggeridge (Honda) 1m40.023s; … 17. Lanzi (Ducati Xerox). More, from a press release issued by Team Suzuki: Reigning World Superbike Champion Troy Corser suffered grip problems during today’s Superpole for the British World Superbike fifth round at Silverstone. The Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra rider finished a disappointing 10th in a wet qualifier with team mates Yukio Kagayama and Fabien Foret 16th and 25th. The top 16 riders from timed qualifying had 50 minutes in which to complete a maximum of 12 laps. Although it had stopped raining by the time Superpole started, the track was mostly soaking wet – conditions that turned out to be more difficult then when it had been raining steadily. Wild card rider Tommy Hill (Yamaha) surprised everybody by setting the quickest lap of the Superpole session with series leader Troy Bayliss (Ducati) second, Chris Walker (Kawasaki) third and Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha) fourth. It was an unhappy Superpole for Kagayama who crashed after eight laps. He highsided at the end of the start-finish straight and landed heavily on his back and damaged the index finger of his right hand in the process. Fortunately he didn’t break any bones but he will be very sore when he lines up on the grid tomorrow. Troy Corser – 10th, 1:40.181: Obviously I’m not happy being so far down the grid, but I was lucky to complete Wet Superpole without crashing! I could’ve crashed on virtually every lap – that’s how bad my grip problem was. I didn’t want to hurt myself or damage the bike with two races to do tomorrow, so I just tried to stay upright and go as fast as I could. Every time I touched the throttle, the bike just wanted to come round. “Funnily enough, the grip felt better when the track was soaking wet. When the rain eased and then stopped, my problems began. The weather forecast says it’s going to be dry tomorrow and I know that we’ve got a pretty good set-up for a dry race, so if that’s so, all I need is a couple of really good starts.” Yukio Kagayama – 16th, 1:42.262: “I am so sore! I highsided at the end of the front straight and I went over the front of the bike while I was still holding on! I remember looking at my front wheel and thinking I would wait for the situation to improve, but it never did! I hit the ground very hard and cut my finger bad enough to have three stitches in the wound. When the track was fully wet, I think the grip felt ok. Maybe it is because we were going slower and controlling the bike better. In Superpole, the grip did not feel good at all and it was very difficult. I will have an early night tonight and hope I feel ok in the morning.” Fabien Foret – 25th, No Superpole time: “I don’t like the rain so much but I put in quite a few laps today because I need to understand how my bike works in the wet. I am disappointed not to have qualified for Superpole, but now I have to think about the races tomorrow and getting some good starts if I am to have any chance of a good result. I hope the track is dry because I know I can race much harder. This year we’ve lost some time due to rain at every round except one, so my understanding of my bike has not happened as quickly as I would’ve liked. But I am determined to get some good results tomorrow.” More, from a press release issued by FGSport Group: Rain stalls FPR progress at Silverstone Atrocious weather conditions at Silverstone prevented progress for Foggy PETRONAS Racing in qualifying for tomorrow’s races. A full wet final qualifying session left Craig Jones and Steve Martin unable to better yesterday’s times, set in the dry, and in 24th and 27th positions on the grid for the fifth round of the Superbike World Championship. Steve, recovering from a heavy crash yesterday in which he suffered a badly bruised hip, took the opportunity for further recuperation, while Craig opted not to take unnecessary risks with better weather forecast tomorrow. British wild card Tommy Hill secured a shock pole position when he mastered the conditions for the wet Superpole session. Craig said: “It’s very frustrating because I know that I could have matched the time that would have had me in Superpole yesterday, although others would probably have also made progress if the conditions had allowed. I really wanted to be in Superpole because I know that I am fast around here. But it is not a massive difference between 16th and 24th and I am confident I can make up those positions at the start and then get my head down.” Steve said: “It’s a pity it was wet but in one way it worked in my favour because it provided an extra day’s rest, as I knocked myself about yesterday. I think that landing on my hip might have damaged the tendons around that joint and I am pretty sure I have broken a toe. But I am confident I will be all right by tomorrow and I still think there is a chance I can battle for points in the dry or wet, as my ideal time yesterday was in the mid 28s.” More, from a press release issued by Yamaha Racing: Yamaha-riding British wild-card Tommy Hill, who normally competes in his national championship, had a sensational world championship debut, taking pole position on his Virgin Mobile Yamaha YZF-R1 at Silverstone today. For the first time this year superpole was run under wet weather regulations, giving each rider 50 minutes and 12 laps in which to set their qualifying time, rather than the usual one flying lap in dry conditions. The 21-year-old former British R6 Cup champion did all his laps in one stint, riding spectacularly to head the times for much of the superpole session. Hill slid off on his final lap while try to improve his pole position time of 1:38.001. Despite the slip-up, no other rider could knock the Virgin Mobile Yamaha rider from the top of the time sheets and he will start his first ever world superbike races from the front of the grid tomorrow. Yamaha Motor Italia rider Noriyuki Haga grabbed a front row start at Silverstone, powering his YZF-R1 to the fourth fastest time at the British circuit. The Japanese star has been consistently strong in both the wet and dry, although he was forced to use his spare machine for the superpole after his number one machine developed a a vibration in the preceding free practice session. Haga used all his experience to stay upright in the slippery conditions and get a valuable front row start at a circuit where he has excelled in the past. With the rain stopping and the sun making its first appearance of the day the track prior to the session, the Yamaha Motor Italia duo stayed in the pits until 20 minutes into the session in the hope that the conditions would improve. With heavy rain falling throughout the day, the riders have been unable to work on improving the settings for what are expected to be dry conditions for tomorrow’s races. Haga’s team-mate Andrew Pitt was a disappointed 11th after superpole. The Australian rode strongly in the dry conditions, going into superpole as the sixth fastest rider, but the rider and his team could not find an ideal wet weather setting and Pitt struggled for grip in the wet superpole session. Yamaha Motor France riders Sebastien Gimbert and Norick Abe completed the five YZF-R1 riders competing in superpole. Gimbert crashed on his first lap in superpole, his third tumble of the weekend, but came back to 12th on his spare machine. Abe, no fan of the wet conditions, finished 15th after superpole – improving his position from regular qualifying by one position. Shinichi Nakatomi will start the race from 20th position after failing to make the top 16 in yesterday’s opening qualifying session. The Japanese newcomer is making his first visit to the historic British circuit and is looking to score some more championship points despite having completed only one session in dry conditions. Tommy Hill (Virgin Mobile Yamaha) “I can’t believe that I’ll be starting my first world superbike races ahead of the guys that I am used to watching on television! I’m not sure what to expect from the races and I think that it’ll only really sink in when I’m sitting on the grid tomorrow. It was probably just as well that I crashed as we are so far down the pit lane that I couldn’t read my lap board properly. I was feeling really comfortable and I would probably have stayed out even longer if I hadn’t come off and been penalized for doing too many laps! It’s great to be here and riding on the same tyres as everyone else. I like the wet but it’ll be nice for the fans if it’s dry tomorrow as we have had so many wet races in the British championship this year. In the dry I’d love to get a top eight but for now I’m just enjoying what we’ve achieved today.” Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha Motor Italia) “This circuit has no grip and is very scary in the rain. We waited a while to see if the track would dry but it was still very slippery out there. I almost crashed many times so I am really happy to be on the front row. We have a good setting for wet or dry, so I think I can make a good race tomorrow. I hope for sunshine but this is England and no-one ever knows what the weather will do here!” Andrew Pitt (Yamaha Motor Italia) “We are struggling for rear grip in the wet and it didn’t matter what we did we couldn’t improve the situation. We’ve got a good set-up for the dry so I’m hoping that there’s no rain tomorrow. It will be tough from the third row of the grid though.” Sebastien Gimbert (Yamaha Motor France) “Not so bad but I was not feeling 100 percent after the crash in superpole. I have had quite a few crashes this weekend and need to rest up and get ready for the race.” Norick Abe (Yamaha Motor France) “I am still trying to find a good feeling with the superbike and the Pirelli tyres in rain conditions, so I was not pleased that qualifying was wet today. The forecast for tomorrow is dry so I am hoping that we can have some good races.” Shinichi Nakatomi (Yamaha Motor France) “I’d have liked at least one more hour in dry conditions today as it has been difficult trying to learn the circuit in these conditions. I have never ridden at Silverstone before and it was difficult to find out about the circuit while I am still learning the characteristics of this bike and the wet-weather Pirelli tyres.” Massimo Meregalli (Team Coordinator – Yamaha Motor Italia) “Nori is running strongly in both conditions and is ready to fight at the front tomorrow. His bike developed an unusual vibration before the superpole so we decided not to risk anything and switch to the spare bike. The set-ups are almost identical so this was not such a problem. Andrew had some problems with the back of the bike coming around when he backed off the throttle and this has dropped him back a little. Tonight we will follow the weather forecast. It looks like being dry but we will prepare a wet weather bike and a dry weather bike for each rider. In case of a dry race we already know which front tyre to use and will have the 20 minute warm-up to make our final decision on the rear.” More, from a press release issued by Beowulf Racing: Like the rest of the riders in the 2006 FIM Superstock 1000 Cup, Beowulf Racing’s Nick Henderson failed to better his Friday qualifying time at Silverstone today. Running the Beowulf Suzuki with a dry set-up on a wet track meant that Henderson finished today’s second qualifying session at the bottom of the timesheets and 17 seconds off the pace. Whilst the situation might seem like a disaster at first glance, it actually forms part of the team’s strategy for tomorrow’s 15-lap race. This morning’s half-hour free practice session was run on a mainly dry track in overcast conditions. Lapping a third of a second slower than yesterday, Henderson experienced problems stringing a consistent lap together particularly struggling at the Brooklands complex of hairpins which is perhaps more suited to a go-kart track than accommodating 180mph+ racing machines. With the afternoon timed qualifying period directly following a torrential downpour of rain, the team realised there would be no way that Nick could better his Friday times set in the dry. Instead of playing to the conditions, the squad elected to send the Australian out with a dry set-up, which automatically relegated him to the bottom of the scoresheet. Afterwards Team Manager Andy Stone explained the decision: “We ran Nick in the wet during the Friday morning free practice session and with the track the way it is now there was no way anyone was going to go faster than they managed yesterday afternoon. Although the weather is predicted to improve tomorrow, I’ll be surprised if it will be good enough to allow a clear-cut decision on tyres and suspension. If we’re caught in a position where the track is slightly damp, or there’s just a little bit of rain, we’ve got the data that will help us decide which way to go. Plus, Nick now has the experience of riding a “dry” bike on a wet track and that’s a position every rider finds himself in sooner or later.” With no rider in the field bettering his Friday times, and Henderson’s lap times tumbling as the track finally began to dry at the end of the session, the decision appears to be vindicated. The weather still has its part to play in the outcome of tomorrow’s race but Beowulf Racing may just have rolled the dice in a slightly more cunning fashion than their opponents.

FIM Supersport World Championship Silverstone, England May 27 Final Qualifying Results: 1. Sebastien CHARPENTIER (Hon CBR600RR) 1:30.516 2. Kevin CURTAIN (Yam YZF-R6) 1:30.711 3. Broc PARKES (Yam YZF-R6) 1:31.001 4. Pere RIBA (Kaw ZX-6RR) 1:31.492 5. Massimo ROCCOLI (Yam YZF-R6) 1:31.657 6. Matthieu LAGRIVE (Hon CBR600RR) 1:31.692 7. Javier FORES (Yam YZF-R6) 1:31.963 8. Johan STIGEFELT (Hon CBR600RR) 1:32.136 9. Katsuaki FUJIWARA (Hon CBR600RR) 1:32.320 10. Yoann TIBERIO (Hon CBR600RR) 1:32.450 11. Mauro SANCHINI (Yam YZF-R6) 1:32.533 12. Kai Borre ANDERSEN (Suz GSX-R600) 1:32.595 13. David CHECA (Yam YZF-R6) 1:32.649 14. Barry VENEMAN (Suz GSX-R600) 1:32.732 15. Gianluca VIZZIELLO (Yam YZF-R6) 1:32.755 From a press release issued by Winston Ten Kate Honda: CHARPENTIER’S TAKES POLE AGAIN AND SETS NEW RECORD TOTAL After a superb ride on the first day of qualifying, and a washed out second qualifying session today, Sebastien Charpentier (Winston Ten Kate Honda) scored his fifth successive pole position in World Supersport, and now stands alone as the most successful ever in the history of the class, with 16 career poles. Charpentier’s fastest time was also the 31st such consecutive Honda success in World Supersport. Charpentier did not complete any laps in the sodden second qualifying session, which featured standing water on many sections of the Silverstone track. His 1’30.516 from Friday nonetheless puts him in perfect position for a fifth straight podium finish. Charpentier’s team-mate Kenan Sofuoglu (Winston Ten Kate Honda) was less fortunate today, with the wet weather preventing him from improving his previous best qualifying time, and thus his grid position of 18th remains unchanged. Ronald Ten Kate – Team Manager “This was pretty much a wasted day for us. This morning we just had a couple of outings to see the behaviour of the bike in the rain. This afternoon we decided to sit it out, considering how many big puddles there were on the track. The forecast is good for Sunday, maybe it will even be sunny, and we decided to not risk anything. The work has been done yesterday for Charpentier, unlucky for Sofuoglu, who could not move up the grid. For Sebastien it is the fifth pole in five races, and he is top in the all-time pole winners. I think this is the 31st consecutive pole for Honda, which is an achievement in itself. But it was shame to have to sit out today for the most part.” Sebastien Charpentier Winston Ten Kate Honda Rider (Pole Position 1’30.516) “It’s a good thing to take the new record for pole wins but it was strange because of the weather. Last night there was no rain and at least we have been able to work towards a race set-up, if raceday is dry. Today the rain came almost immediately and that was the day finished for everybody. I am happy because I am the new record man in terms of pole position, and my job yesterday was not bad. I hope things are dry tomorrow, and we will work in warm-up to make sure that things are OK even if during warm-up the track may not be completely dry. In England, nothing is sure with the weather. 28 laps will be a long race around here, but I start for the victory.” Kenan Sofuoglu Winston Ten Kate Honda Rider (18th Position 1’33.274) “I really needed it to be dry for qualifying today but luck was not with me. I wanted to improve my position but all the hard rain from this morning on stopped that happening. The problem is that I will start from 18th position and I did not find a good set-up in the dry. I hope that we can use the 20 minutes of warm-up the best way possible. It is not so easy to overtake here but there are 28 laps, so I think I can pass many riders.” Results Qualifying 2: 1. Charpentier 1’30.516 2. Curtain 1’30.711 3. Parkes 1’31.001 4. Riba 1’31.492 5. Roccoli 1’31.657 18. Sofuoglu 1’33.274

Alex Barros was the fastest man in Saturday morning’s wet World Superbike qualifying session at Silverstone with a 1:45.602 on his Team Klaffi Honda CBR1000RR. FIM Superbike World Championship Silverstone, England May 27 Provisional Qualifying Results: 1. Troy BAYLISS (Duc 999F06) 1:27.011 2. Troy CORSER (Suz GSX-R1000) 1:27.068 3. Fonsi NIETO (Kaw ZX-10R) 1:27.205 4. Noriyuki HAGA (Yam YZF-R1) 1:27.364 5. James TOSELAND (Hon CBR1000RR) 1:27.418 6. Andrew PITT (Yam YZF-R1) 1:27.539 7. Yukio KAGAYAMA (Suz GSX-R1000) 1:27.599 8. Karl MUGGERIDGE (Hon CBR1000RR) 1:27.648 9. Chris WALKER (Kaw ZX-10R) 1:27.656 10. Regis LACONI (Kaw ZX-10R) 1:27.721 11. Sebastien GIMBERT (Yam YZF-R1) 1:27.730 12. Tommy HILL (Yam YZF-R1) 1:27.807 13. Ruben XAUS (Duc 999F05) 1:27.810 14. Alex BARROS (Hon CBR1000RR) 1:27.940 15. Michel FABRIZIO (Hon CBR1000RR) 1:28.078 16. Norick ABE (Yam YZF-R1) 1:28.246 17. Lorenzo LANZI (Duc 999F06) 1:28.290 18. Ivan CLEMENTI (Duc 999RS) 1:28.492 19. Max NEUKIRCHNER (Duc 999RS) 1:28.492 20. Shinichi NAKATOMI (Yam YZF-R1) 1:28.503 21. Josh BROOKES (Kaw ZX-10R) 1:28.561 22. Gianluca NANNELLI (Hon CBR1000RR) 1:28.766 23. Roberto ROLFO (Duc 999F05) 1:28.835 24. Craig JONES (Foggy Petronas FP1) 1:28.866 25. Fabien FORET (Suz GSX-R1000) 1:28.909 26. Vittorio IANNUZZO (Suz GSX-R1000) 1:28.980 27. Steve MARTIN (Foggy Petronas FP1) 1:29.199 28. Marco BORCIANI (Duc 999F05) 1:30.533

SPIES AIMING FOR NEW AMA SUPERBIKE RECORD AT ROAD AMERICA PICKERINGTON, Ohio (May 26, 2006) — Ben Spies is just 21-years-old, but the Yoshimura Suzuki rider from Longview, Texas, comes to Road America’s Suzuki Superbike Doubleheader on June 1-4 in Elkhart Lake, Wis., on the verge of breaking one of the series’ long standing records. If Spies wins the first leg of the weekend’s doubleheader he will own the longest winning streak in AMA Superbike Championship history. Spies swept the doubleheader at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, Calif., on May 20-21, pushing his win streak to six straight. That tied the 1995 record of six consecutive AMA Superbike wins set by Miguel Duhamel in 1995. Duhamel is one of the riders hoping to put an end to Spies current run at Road America. “Ben is on a roll right now,” Duhamel said. “It was a shame that I couldn’t get up there and battle him to try to keep him from tying my record, but you have to give him a lot of credit for the way he’s riding. I’d like to give him a run for his money at Road America. I’ve done well there and it would be great to get a victory. It’s going to be tough.” Duhamel may have one of his better opportunities to run with Spies at Elkhart Lake. The 1995 AMA Superbike Champion has twice swept the Road America doubleheader. While records are on Duhamel’s mind, Spies is trying to stay focused amid all the hoopla of his current run. Speaking of tying the AMA Superbike record Spies replied. “That’ll probably hit me a little bit later. My mind’s pretty much on the championship now, and it’s definitely not in conserve mode yet, but we’ve just got to keep getting points, keep winning races, and keep getting poles, and when we’re not, we’ve got to finish second. And if we do that, it can hopefully happen this year. But it’s far too early to be thinking quite like that. We’ve just got to ride our own race and ride our own season and see where we end up.” Spies owns a 30-point lead over Suzuki teammate Mat Mladin coming into Road America. The six-time AMA Superbike champ is concerned, but not yet in anxiety mode over the gap to Spies in the standings. “As much as I’d like to say I’m not concerned, I’m quite concerned, but there’s still a long way to go,” Mladin said. “Thirty points in the championship is not a lot when there’s 12 races to go. We have a couple of race meetings coming up here in the next month, and if we get a good break… The championship will probably be won in the last eight or nine races when it heats up and we get back to the East Coast. Whether you’re 30 or 40 points behind, it really doesn’t matter at that point. We just need to keep Ben in check, and see how we go at the end of the season.” Britain’s Neil Hodgson is ranked fourth in the standings behind Spies, Mladin and Duhamel. The Parts Unlimited Ducati rider is still seeking another win in the series after taking the rain-soaked Saturday race at Road America last year. Hodgson is hoping to get his Ducati to a place that will allow him to go for another race win. “We’ve been searching from one extreme to the other on the bike setup,” Hodgson said. “I’ve gone faster at some of the tracks lately than I did the year before so I feel we’re going in the right direction. I’m not throwing my towel in yet – but it’s almost like there’s a battle for the third place spot, and Mat and Ben seem to have got us licked at the moment. That’s why we’ve got to keep searching for a better setup.” A lot of Road America fans from Chicago will be rooting for the Michael Jordan Suzuki riders. Veteran Jason Pridmore leads the way on Jordan Suzuki in the Superbike standings. He comes in with five top-ten finishes to his credit. Fans will get a full weekend of racing action at Road America. In addition to the full slate of road racing activities, the track is also hosting a round of the AMA Supermoto Championship presented by Parts Unlimited on the Briggs & Stratton Motorplex. The Suzuki Superbike Doubleheader will be nationally televised on SPEED. Saturday’s Superbike race will receive same-day tape-delayed coverage at 10 p.m. EST. Sunday’s Superbike race will be same day tape-delayed at 6:00 p.m. EST on Sunday, June 4. Tickets for the Suzuki Superbike Doubleheader can be purchased by calling 1.800.365.RACE or visiting www.roadamerica.com. Camping is available and children under 12 are admitted free. WHAT: Suzuki Superbike Doubleheader at Road America, rounds eight and nine of the AMA Superbike Championship presented by Parts Unlimited. WHERE: Road America, located just East of Elkhart Lake, Wis. On Hwy 67. WHEN: June 1-4, 2006. COURSES: Road America’s 4-mile, 14-turn road course. 2005 WINNERS: Saturday’s race: Neil Hodgson (Ducati). Sunday’s race: Mat Mladin (Suzuki) 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 3:30 pm, Formula Xtreme final at 4:30 pm.; Sunday, June 4 – Practice begins at 9:00 am, Superstock final at 11:30 am, Supersport final at 2:00 pm, Superbike race two at 3:15 pm and sidecars at 4:15 pm. TICKETS: Superticket: $70 (4-day ticket advance purchase only includes event program, deadline to purchase is May 26, 2006); Thursday: $10; Friday: $20; Saturday: $35; Sunday: $35 Infield parking: $25 (Thursday-Sunday) RIDE THE TRACK: Sentry Insurance Salute to Cycles Parade: $15 if purchased with an Advance Superticket (at time of purchase) / $25 with daily ticket. *All tickets include walk-in access to the paddock, free general parking, children 12 and under are free. About AMA Pro Racing AMA Pro Racing is the leading sanctioning body for motorcycle sport in the United States. Its properties include the Amp’d Mobile AMA Supercross Series, the AMA Toyota Motocross Championship presented by FMF, the AMA Superbike Championship presented by Parts Unlimited, the AMA Ford Quality Checked Flat Track Championship and the AMA Supermoto Championship. For more information about AMA Pro Racing, visit www.amaproracing.com.

Australian ‘wild card’ rider Brendan Roberts finished on top at the end of the first qualifying for this weekend’s Suzuki GSX- R European Cup third round at Silverstone. Roberts, who is leading the British Superstock 1000 championship, adapted to his GSX-R750 Suzuki almost straight away and finished ahead of series leader Xavier Simeon. Third quickest today was another ‘wild card’ Tommy Bridewell, with Magnus Houston fourth. Brendan Roberts – 1st, 1:31.57: “It took me a little while to get used to the bike, but once I did I felt pretty comfortable. It’s a great pleasure to be racing at an International event like this and being seen by so many people. I had a little suspension problem today, but that was about it. I’m looking forward to the rest of the weekend.” Friday GSX-R Cup Qualifying: 1 B Roberts, 2 X Simeon, 3 T Bridewell, 4 M Houston, 5 R Barber, 6 S Castellani.