FIM Supersport World Championship Monza, Italy May 5 Provisional Qualifying Results: 1. Sebastien CHARPENTIER (Hon CBR600RR) 1:51.061 2. Katsuaki FUJIWARA (Hon CBR600RR) 1:51.844 3. Kevin CURTAIN (Yam YZF-R6) 1:52.038 4. Kenan SOFUOGLU (Hon CBR600RR) 1:52.313 5. Yoann TIBERIO (Hon CBR600RR) 1:52.444 6. Gianluca VIZZIELLO (Yam YZF-R6) 1:52.460 7. Broc PARKES (Yam YZF-R6) 1:52.602 8. Christian ZAISER (Duc 749R) 1:52.706 9. Johan STIGEFELT (Hon CBR600RR) 1:52.861 10. Robin HARMS (Hon CBR600RR) 1:53.021 11. Stefano CRUCIANI (Hon CBR600RR) 1:53.221 12. Tatu LAUSLEHTO (Hon CBR600RR) 1:53.307 13. Sebastien LE GRELLE (Hon CBR600RR) 1:53.479 14. Massimo ROCCOLI (Yam YZF-R6) 1:53.501 15. Barry VENEMAN (Suz GSX-R600) 1:53.526 16. Maxime BERGER (Kaw ZX-6RR) 1:53.662 17. Stephane CHAMBON (Kaw ZX-6RR) 1:53.722 18. Vesa KALLIO (Yam YZF-R6) 1:53.755 19. David CHECA (Yam YZF-R6) 1:53.863 20. William DE ANGELIS (Hon CBR600RR) 1:53.882 28. Chris PERIS (Yam YZF-R6) 1:55.100

Bret Milan of Shoei broke his C7 vertebrae when he crashed while riding a motocross bike at Perris Raceway in Perris, California Wednesday. Milan did not suffer paralysis and is currently hospitalized at Riverside County Regional Center in Moreno Valley, California. Milan is the Shoei Racing Coordinator and works as the service rep at AMA National road races. Besides motocrossing, he also is an avid track day rider.

Michael Jordan Motorsports’ secret swing arm Aurora – Most people may know that Michael Jordan Motorsports’ rider Jason Pridmore is formidable on the track in the AMA Superbike and Superstock classes. What they may not know, however, is that Jason is also a force to be reckoned with off the track. Jason, 36, may use state-of-the-art swing arms on the Jordan Suzuki backed race bikes, but it’s his arm swing off the track that has him competing in the 95th California Amateur Championship June 19-24 at Pebble Beach Golf Links; Poppy Hills Golf Course on the Monterey Peninsula. Pridmore tied for 2nd in the 23rd SCGA Mid-Amateur Championship at Bear Creek Golf Club earning him the right to play in the California Amateur and the 107th SCGA Amateur Championship July 7-9 at Bakersfield Country Club, without the requisite qualifying rounds. “I didn’t even know,” states Jason. “The scorers table showed that the top five guys are automatically exempted into the Amateurs and the Mid-Am in 2007.” He added, “This is huge for me because on an 18-hole qualifier anything can happen!” Jason should know that anything can happen at the track too as he injured himself last season, but was able to start hitting his Titleist before his doctor released him to ride his Jordan Suzuki race bikes. “Golf motivates me to improve on everything,” says Pridmore. Jason said he doesn’t even think about golf when he’s at the racetrack. Pridmore, who often travels via motor home between races never leaves home without his clubs, “you never know when a good opportunity is going to come, so I take my clubs everywhere with me. Golf has done a lot for my career, not just through MJ, but through a lot of different people that I have met over the years it has opened a lot of doors for me.” Jason does get the opportunity to play with his boss, Michael Jordan, on occasion. As with most activities, the more you practice the better you get. “So by the end of the summer, I am giving him (Michael) two strokes a side.” Jason who started playing golf at the age of 16, momentarily dreamed about turning pro until he had the opportunity to play a round with Luke Donald. Donald ranks top 10 in the world and has a list of golf accomplishments as long as an umbrella girl’s legs. In referring to the day Jason played with Luke, he said, “I decided I was never turning pro as a golfer, it was unbelievable!” And for the past two years when visiting Valencia Spain for Moto GP, Pridmore has also played golf with Severiano (Seve) Ballesteros, two-time U.S. Masters champion. Pridmore may not be a professional golfer, but he is a professional motorcycle racer who has won two AMA National Championships and one FIM World Endurance title, but still aspires to win a Superbike championship. Admittedly he says, “This year is really tough. With nine factory riders filling the grid, unless you are on the best equipment it makes winning the championship still a bit of a dream. Right now, we are trying to do the best for MJ and just trying to get his name out there and gain more exposure.” Pridmore’s best opportunity to win an AMA Championship in 2006 is in the Superstock class which features lightly modified 1000cc based machines. At the end of April, the AMA series enters a three week break between races. Jason who stays fit by riding a bicycle, said he can’t wait to get home and ride. He chuckled when asked if there is anyone he’d be too nervous to play golf with “no, but it’d be hard for me to go for a bicycle ride with Lance Armstrong.”

Atlanta, GA – Ducshop NCR Racing will make its debut this weekend at WERA’s Heavy Weight Twins Superbike race at Barber Motorsports Park with rider Mike Smith aboard their hand built NCR Millona R. Though the 298lb Ducati powered Millona arrives track-ready from the factory, Ducshop Performance Center will use this season to develop the bike by perfecting its Ohlins suspension and using the Ducati 1000DS engine to develop a Ducshop line of performance pistons. Mike Smith was chosen to develop the bike because of his wealth of experience and Ducshop hopes this will translate into some good results throughout the season. This will be the second season Mike Smith has raced a Ducshop prepared bike. The duo won five of the seven races they entered in the 2000 AMA Pro Thunder championship on a Ducati 748. For more information on Ducshop Millona Racing visit www.ducshop.com/ducshop_racing_ncr.php or for information on the NCR Millona visit www.ducshop.com/ncrmodels.php

BUELL XBRR PRODUCTION BEGINS Revised Components Developed to Improve Reliability EAST TROY, Wis. (May 4, 2006) Buell Motorcycle Company announced today that the production of XBRR race bikes, based on the Firebolt XB12R, has begun. A total of 50 XBRRs will be built in the production run. Buell announced last month that XBRR production had been delayed as engineers analyzed and refined components based on what was learned from the XBRR’s AMA Formula Xtreme racing debut at the Daytona 200 in March. Redesigned parts include new driveline components and a new timing trigger wheel, as well as a switch from a high-contact to a coarse-pitch 5th gear, according to Chairman and Chief Technical Officer Erik Buell. A larger oil cooler was also developed for the XBRR. Some of the new components were tested on XBRRs during the American Sport Bike Racing Association (ASRA) 250km Team Challenge endurance race at Road America in April, during which Veatch Motorsports rider Dave Estok and Deeley H-D/Buell Canada’s Steve Crevier finished 1-2 (with Estok crossing the finish line first overall) in the Solo Challenge class. Crevier also set a new ASRA Superbike Road America track record aboard the XBRR during the event. “The XBRR was designed to be an affordable, turn-key race bike for privateer racing teams competing at a professional level,” said Buell. “Reliability is critical, and we’re confident that the improvements we’ve made since Daytona will ensure that.” Buell said XBRR-equipped privateer teams may choose to re-enter the AMA Formula Xtreme series as early as the AMA’s next round at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, CA, May 19-21. The Buell XBRR is a limited-edition production racing motorcycle based on the Firebolt XB12R and designed exclusively for closed-course competition. It offers private racers a professional-level, race-ready, production-based platform. Buell Motorcycle Company, a subsidiary of Harley-Davidson, Inc., produces sport motorcycles, motorcycle parts, accessories and apparel. To learn more about Buell motorcycles, visit your local Buell dealer today and experience the pure streetfighter attitude, style and performance only found on board a Buell. Pull into www.buell.com for the Buell dealer nearest you.

SYRACUSE MILE TO HOST 41ST AMA NATIONAL THIS SUMMER PICKERINGTON, Ohio (May 4, 2006) — The New York State Fairgrounds mile dirt track, better known to racing fans as the Syracuse Mile, will host its 41st AMA national on Saturday, June 17, when it plays host to the 2006 AMA Ford Quality Checked Flat Track Championship. The Syracuse Mile is a track that links past greats of the Class A era of motorcycle racing in the 1920s to the stars of today and in its heyday was one of the tradition-rich venues in all of motorcycle racing. David Sedlack, owner of Performance Harley-Davidson in Syracuse, is reviving that tradition by bringing back the Syracuse Mile. Sedlack is unwavering in his dedication to restoring the prestige of the event. AMA racing archives show that some of the all-time greats of the Class A racing era competed for national championships on the Syracuse Mile dating back to the 1920s. Fred Ludlow was part of Harley-Davidson’s talent-laden ‘Wrecking Crew’ when in 1921 he dominated on a September weekend, winning all five nationals held on the Syracuse Mile averaging 75 mph on what was little more than a bicycle frame with a motor. In those days a track might host a 5-mile national, followed by a 10-mile national and so on. Ludlow swept the boards on his Harley racer winning the 1, 5, 10, 25 and 50-mile nationals during the weekend’s events. Ludlow bested other future Motorcycle Hall of Famers that year such as Jim Davis and Ralph Hepburn. Throughout the 1920s Harley-Davidson and Indian riders vied to take top honors at Syracuse. Sedlack has seen photos of even earlier races on the classic old Mile and they show massive crowds attending the Syracuse races. “There are even photos of motorcycle races dated 1912,” Sedlack says. “You can see the fairgrounds and the lake in the background. The lakefront was a lot different back then before industry changed it. It looked like a beautiful racetrack even then.” Racing continued unbroken in Syracuse through the rest of the ’20s and survived the lean Depression years of the 1930s. Joe Petrali and Fred Toscani were the dominant riders of the 1930s, with Petrali riding Harleys and Toscani often on the British-made JAP. By the mid-1930s the ultra expensive Class A factory-backed racing was giving way to the production-based Class C racing, which opened up competition to hundreds of new riders. Syracuse clung to tradition and stuck with the withering Class A bikes until 1939 when the bigger, heavier but more popular Class C bikes finally got a chance to turn a wheel on the Mile. The Class C production-based formula that first raced Syracuse is basically the same rules structure of the bikes raced today. World War II brought an end to racing not only at Syracuse, but the rest of the country as well. Factory Indian rider Bobby Hill won the Syracuse Mile when it finally fired back up after the War in 1952, but the event wasn’t able to produce the crowd it had decades before and AMA national racing at Syracuse ended in 1953, not to return for over 20 years. In 1974 Don Brymer, who also promoted the popular road races in Loudon, N.H., revived the race. Rookie Hank Scott won the Syracuse Mile that year over fellow Harley rider Rex Beauchamp and Canadian Dirt Track champ Doug Sehl. Sedlack remembers those races as very well attended events. “The stands were packed in the 1970s,” Sedlack said. “A lot of Canadians came down to watch riders like Jay Springsteen and Kenny Roberts. The race was going really strong before they had a couple of years of bad weather.” With a few breaks the race continued through 1993. That year the late great Ricky Graham won the Syracuse Doubleheader en route to winning that year’s AMA Grand National Championship. Little did anyone know then that it would be 12 years before another national would be held at the track. Sedlack and fellow Harley-Davidson dealer Pat Moroney attempted to bring back the Syracuse Mile in 1996 and 1997, but the weather gods were not with them. “Our hopes of bringing back the race at that point just crumbled,” Sedlack recalls. “Pat didn’t want to mess with it after those two rainouts and it took me a few years to regain my composure before I was ready to try again.” Last year the race was finally revived. The race ran on Sunday afternoon and Chris Carr took the win in a photo finish over Rich King. It was Carr’s first win on the historic circuit. “I think I’ve finally learned how to deal with the unique dirt this track has after all these years,” Sedlack said. “The dirt is made up of clay that was imported and the original stone dust. It makes for a loamy track, but it tends to hold water. When it’s hard packed it’s just like concrete and I hope that’s the way we run it this year. It makes for good racing once the groove gets wide enough.” Chris Carr likes the track and said it’s one of the trickiest Miles the series visits. “Syracuse though fast, is also highly technical,” says the defending champ. “Turn three is its signature turn 130 mph into a portion of track that only about ten feet of it is worth riding on. It can reach out and bite you.” So mark June 17 on your calendar and get a taste of history as the AMA Grand National Championship returns to the Syracuse Mile at the New York State Fairgrounds. For ticket information call (315) 471-1157 or visit the website www.performancehd.com.

FIM SUPERBIKE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND 4 MONZA, ITALY- 4 MAY 2006 Pre-event release May 2006, Monza (Italy) This weekend World Superbike returns to its spiritual heartland of Italy, to the incomparable circuit of Monza, located close to the industrial powerhouse of Milan. The parkland circuit exudes history from every pore, and is once more set to provide a unique emotional experience to all comers, as it has done for lovers of two and four wheel sport since the 1920s. Winning at this circuit is a special thing for any rider, with the memory of each win resonating throughout his career in an unquenchable fashion. The Monza circuit is famous throughout the world, and it presents a unique challenge to the competitors. After the first few races of the season it is easy to predict that there will particularly tough competition for the wins. To meet the challenge of Monza, the motorcycles have to adopt set-ups which are peculiar to the parkland track, with engine tuning set for the fastest venue of the year, suspension set up and chassis geometry altered to handle the high speed corners at full lean, and also allow for heavy braking and quick changes of direction while approaching and then negotiating the Ascari and della Roggia chicanes. Over the weekend a total of 174 pilots will take to the track at some stage, compared to 137 at the same stage of the season in 2005. An incredible entry which once more shows the status and importance of SBK racing in the modern era. For this event, close to Pirelli’s headquarters in Milan, some 6000 tyres will be transported to Monza, with diverse solutions for both Superbike and Supersport classes. In Superbike (Pirelli Diablo Superbike is the chosen tyre) there will be 3 fronts and 3 rears, plus qualifying tyres. Pirelli technicians and engineers have put in place a structure which turns development and research into the best tyres possible, and so all three of the different rear solutions for Monza will exhibit some innovations. The initiative which has produced a 200mm rear, the ‘big tyre’ which made its debut at Misano last year, delivers its latest version. The other 2 rears will be in the classic 190 size, but to suit the demands of the fastest corners at Monza, multiple compound tyres will be adopted. Multi-compounds will also be available on the qualifying tyres in Superpole, when the top 16 pilots will have their best chance to set their ultimate best time. In Supersport (using Pirelli Dragon Supercorsa PRO SC) there will be two tyres featuring new carcasses, to add to the most favoured existing tyre, each of which was proven in recent Valencia official tests and are thus available to everyone in the class. As well as Superbike and Superstock there is Superstock 1000 (on Pirelli Dragon Supercorsa PRO SC2), and Superstock 600 (running with Pirelli Diablo Corsa III), plus the Suzuki Cup (using Pirelli Dragon Supercorsa PRO SC2). A weekend of important engagements for Pirelli, and one that will not cease with the podium ceremonies on Sunday but carries on until monday. At that time the Monza Autodrome will be theatre for the international presentation of the Pirelli Diablo Corsa III, which will make its second appearance in race trim this season on Saturday, during the Superstock 600 race. The Previous Year: Superbike Race 1: Rider Bike Team Race time 1 Corser Suzuki GSXR Alstare Suzuki 32’40.906 2 Kagayama Suzuki GSXR Alstare Suzuki +0.985 3 Toseland Ducati 999F05 Ducati Xerox +1.040 Superbike Race 2*: Rider Bike Team Race time 1 Vermeulen Honda CBR 1000 RR Winston Ten Kate 30’49.758 2 Laconi Ducati 999F05 Ducati Xerox +0.582 3 Corser Suzuki GSXR Alstare Suzuki +2.458 * shortened by one lap More, from a press release issued by FGSport: 2006 SBK CORONA EXTRA SUPERBIKE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP® MONZA 4th ROUND 5th, 6th and 7th MAY CURIOSITY Monza, Thursday 4th May 2006 THE TROY’S IN MONZA World Championship leader Troy Bayliss is back in Monza after a 3 years absence, but comes back as a winner. In his last 4 starts he racked up 4 wins (in 2001 and 2002) that out of 6 total starts make him one of the riders with the best performances on the italian track. Bayliss is the most successful winner of all times in Monza together with Fogarty, Pirovano and Chili. Only one win and 5 retirements out of 18 starts for Troy Corser in a circuit he like much. It’s one of the few tracks in which Corser hasn’t scored a pole position and for a rider that obtained 35 poles in 16 different tracks, that looks a bit strange. It’s worth remembering that in 2005 in Monza Corser ended a 5 wins streak started in Phillip Island race 1 when he finished third in race 2, and he wasn’t able to find his way to the top step of the podium until Brno race 1, 5 races later. LESS THAN A SECOND It’s the gap race recorded at the end of 17 (out of 28) races run in Monza, a fotofinish track. The 5 thousandths of a second in race 1, 1997, and in race 2, 1999, are the minimum gap ever recorded in the whole history of the World Championship. These are the 10 closest finishes. Year Race Winner Second Gap 1999 2 Fogarty Edwards 0’00″005 1997 1 Kocinski Slight 0’00″005 1996 2 Chili Slight 0’00″007 2000 1 Chili Edwards 0’00″028 2000 2 Edwards Chili 0’00″031 2003 2 Hodgson Lavilla 0’00″044 1993 1 Slight Russell 0’00″045 2001 1 Bayliss Edwards 0’00″066 1990 2 Pirovano Monti 0’00″070 1998 1 Edwards Slight 0’00″083 The 2 races in 2005 ended respectively with a gap of 0″985 in race 1 (Corser in front of Kagayama) and 0″582 in race 2 (Vermeulen on Laconi) 2005 SUPERPOLE™ – In 2005 Yukio Kagayama with the Suzuki obtained the pole spot with only 0″007 over team-mate Corser, the third gap in qualifying in the history of the World Championship behind the 0″002 that separated Akira Yanagawa by Wataru Yoshikawa in Sugo 1997 and the 0″005 that have been recorded in two races: Estoril 1993 (Aaron Slight – Carl Fogarty) and in Laguna Seca 1999 (Corser – Anthony Gobert). LACONI AIMS 1000 POINTS The french rider misses only 11 points to become the 16th rider in the history of the series to have scored at least 1000 points. The all-time leader is Fogarty with 3020. WEEK ANNIVERSARIES – May 2 1994, Donington, first presence in the front row, first podium and first fastest lap for Troy Corser – 1999, Donington, 50th fastest lap for Honda by Colin Edwards – May 4 1997, Donington, first pole position for Neil Hodgson e 50th race start for Pierfrancesco Chili. – May 7 1995, Hockenheim, first presence in the front row for Pierfrancesco Chili, first pole position for Troy Corser. MILESTONES IN MONZA 1992 first podium for Piergiorgio Bontempi. At the time the italian rider was at his 43rd start. Up to the end of his career (in 2004) Bontempi will pick up 2 other podium finishes (Spain and Portugal 1993) but he will never be able to win a race. At the moment he is the rider in SBK™ history with most race starts (194) without a win. 1995 100th race start for Carl Fogarty (that will end the career with 221), first win and first fastest lap for Pierfrancesco Chili and first podium for Colin Edwards; 1996 10th fastest lap for Troy Corser, at the moment the australian counts 40; 1997 150th race start for Carl Fogarty; 1998 100th race start for Scott Russell, first win for Colin Edwards; 1999 150th win for Ducati by Carl Fogarty in race 2; 2000 25th pole for Honda (Colin Edwards); 2003 200th win for Ducati by Neil Hodgson, first fastest lap for Regis Laconi; 2004 10th podium for Regis Laconi; 2005 10th pole position and 25th fastest lap for Suzuki (Kagayama), 25th podium for James Toseland, first presence on the front row for Karl Muggeridge. HIGHS AND LOWS OF 2005 IN MONZA – Best race career result for Karl Muggeridge, a fourth in race 2 that he will repeat in Magny Cours race 1; – Best season race result for Marco Borciani, a 12th place in race 1 (scored also in Losail in race 1); – Worst season race result for Noriyuki Haga, 11th in race 1 (scored also in Losail in gara 2); – Double retirement for Steve Martin, during last season the aussie recorded a double DNF also in Phillip Island. A bad weekend for Martin, that in Monza recorded the worst qualifying performance of 2005: a 24th spot scored also in the following race in Silverstone. HONDA’S SEQUENCES The series of amazing streaks by Honda continues in the Supersport Championship, before Monza the situation is as follows: 28 pole positions, 30 front rows (absolute records) and 84 races in the points (3° record of all times). CHARPENTIER In the Supersport Championship Sebastien is only one win short of becoming the all-time winner. He misses only a win to reach Casoli and Muggeridge at 11. If he wins in Monza he will also equal the all-time winning sequence of 4 wins, that now belongs to himself (Silverstone 2005-Brands Hatch 2005) and Karl Muggeridge (Brands Hatch 2004-Magny Cours 2004). Same situation also for the pole positions count, with Charpentier that has 14 and Muggeridge, all-time leader at 15. The performances of the french rider are astonishing: during 2006 he ran in the lead for 90% of the total championship distance and the last time that he crossed the line during a race in a position above 3rd was in Brno 2005, lap 1, a race he eventually won. If we exclude the retirement at Eurospeedway Lausitz in 2005, Sebastien climbs on the podium since Brands Hatch 2004. More, from a press release issued by Ducati Xerox Team: World Superbike Leader Bayliss Looks For Another Good Result At Monza While Teammate Lanzi Seeks Third Podium Finish Monza (Italy): The Ducati Xerox Team riders Troy Bayliss and Lorenzo Lanzi come to the legendary Autodromo Nazionale di Monza on the crest of a wave following sensational results in the recent round 3 of the World Superbike Championship at Valencia. The 37 year-old Australian Troy Bayliss racked up a full haul of points at the Spanish Round to increase his lead over reigning champion and fellow Aussie Troy Corser (Suzuki) to 22 points. He returns to Monza with two double wins and two fourths already under his belt at the high-speed parkland circuit. “Last time I was at Monza I had a double win!” declared Troy. “I’m very fond of the place and I just love racing there. Out of all the races I’ve done, I’ve done six at Monza and I’ve always had great results there. It’s going to be very important for me to do a good job this weekend and it’s not going to be easy. Every race is difficult but I’d like to shine there. “Things are going quite well so far this year, although strange to say, I feel the season has been a little bit below expectations. Judging how well the tests went in the winter the first two races were a little bit of a reality check actually and we expected a little bit more. We’ve always been right at the front but we haven’t done exactly what we thought we’d do”. His 24 year-old Italian team-mate Lorenzo Lanzi kicked his 2006 season into gear at Valencia with two gritty races that earned him two third places and his first podiums of the year. “The two races at Valencia were very positive, and we came back on form in a big way” declared Lorenzo. “The two podiums, especially the one in race 2, gave me a lot of satisfaction. Now we are here determined to do well, just like in every race, because we know that I can run up at the front with the leaders. “Monza is a place that I like, I’ve always had a good rapport with this track. The variante Ascari is my favourite point of the circuit, but you have to work to get a good setting for the entire track because at Monza it’s difficult to get a break and get away. You get the classic group of the quickest riders, and the second group of those who are unable to keep the slipstream. I want absolutely to stay with the leading group so as to be able to fight it out for the win at the end”. CIRCUIT HISTORY: Construction of the Autodromo di Monza was decided in January 1922 by the Milan Automobile Club, started in May of the same year and the work was completed in a record 122 days. Today Monza is one of the most functional and safest tracks in the world with a history that is incomparable. The WSBK round has been held at the Autodromo since 1990 and Troy Bayliss holds the circuit win record of four victories, on a par with Carl Fogarty, Pierfrancesco Chili and Fabrizio Pirovano. THE CIRCUIT: Name: Autodromo Nazionale di Monza. Length: 5.793 km. Pole Position: left. Corners Left/Right: 5/8. Longest straight: 1195 metres. CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: (after 3 of 13 rounds). Riders 1. Bayliss (Ducati Xerox) 125; 2. Corser (Suzuki) 103; 3. Toseland (Honda) 86; 4. Haga (Yamaha) 64; 5. Barros (Honda) 62; 6. Pitt (Yamaha) 58; 7. Lanzi (Ducati Xerox) 47; 8. Abe (Yamaha) 40. Manufacturers 1. Ducati 126; 2. Suzuki 113; 3. Honda 91; 4. Yamaha 84; 5. Kawasaki 40; 6. Petronas 4. STATISTICS: Best lap: Hodgson (Ducati) 1m46.981s (2003). Lap record: Bayliss (Ducati) 1m47.434s (2002). Superpole: Hodgson (Ducati) 1m46.981s (2003). Race distance: 2 x 18 laps/104.256 km. 2005 RESULTS. Race 1: 1. Corser (Suzuki); 2. Kagayama (Suzuki); 3. Toseland (Ducati Xerox). Race 2: 1. Vermeulen (Honda); 2. Laconi (Ducati Xerox); 3. Corser.

The Ducati Marlboro Team travels east to the booming city of Shanghai for round four of the 2006 MotoGP World Championship: the team is looking forward to China. Both men are particularly keen to get back into action at this unusual racetrack after a challenging Turkish GP on April 30. Capirossi finished sixth at Istanbul but is still a close second in the World Championship, just one point off leader Nicky Hayden. Gibernau meanwhile led half the Turkish GP on his Desmosedici GP6, proving that when things go his way, he has the pace to win races. China is the last of a series of three ‘flyaway’ races before the MotoGP circus returns to its European heartland for six Continental GPs, commencing with the French round at Le Mans on May 21. LORIS CAPIROSSI, Ducati Marlboro Team rider, 2nd overall (51 points) “It’s been an amazing start to the season with two fantastic races in Spain and Qatar, even though Turkey didn’t go quite so well for us. The good thing is that we scored some useful points there, so we are still just one point off the championship lead. It’s a very long season, so every point counts, especially since there are so many strong riders this year. “Although I know I am fast at Shanghai, the track isn’t much fun to ride, especially the first section. The first turn is really, really long, in fact it’s more like a roundabout than a corner! Shanghai isn’t a technical track, it doesn’t have the kind of corners where a good rider can really make a difference. Also, the weather seems very changeable, which complicates everything. It’s difficult to say how good the track will be for us because we had so little dry track time there last year, but at the moment I’m very confident in my GP6 and my Bridgestone tyres.” SETE GIBERNAU, Ducati Marlboro Team rider, 10th overall (18 points) “The team is working perfect, so sooner or later we’ll get the results we deserve. Ducati and Bridgestone are also doing an outstanding job and we know that when things go right we are very competitive in both the wet and the dry. Racing is always a learning process, so we have to take it step by step and look forward to China where we’ll be working as hard as ever to get the results we know we can achieve. “I have to say that Shanghai isn’t my favourite racetrack, even though I got pole there last year. It’s not the kind of racetrack where you have a lot of fun, it’s just not a great motorcycle circuit. The first corner is weird, but then the whole track is weird! You’ve got a couple of really fast straights and then some really tight corners, so you never get into a real rhythm.” LIVIO SUPPO, Ducati MotoGP project manager “We know that both our riders are fast at Shanghai because Sete got pole there last year and Loris was third in qualifying, plus we think it will be a better track for Bridgestone, so we go there feeling quite confident. We just hope the weather will be nicer and more consistent than it was last year here and at Istanbul a few weeks ago. “Overall, we know that our bike, rider and tyre package is good. We won the first race of the year, got a third and fourth at the next race and although we didn’t get the best of results in Turkey we came away in positive mood because we were fast in wet qualifying and in the dry morning warm-up. This year’s championship is very, very tough. We’ve had three races with three different winners and three different pole sitters. This is good news for the fans and I think we can be very proud to be an important part of this show.” THE TRACK China hosted its first MotoGP race last May, the brand-new Shanghai circuit’s massive infrastructure outshining all other MotoGP venues. But the track itself isn’t so popular with riders, who mostly complain that it doesn’t provide the kind of riding-skill challenges they seek. The layout is dominated by the ultra-long Turn One and Turn 13 right-handers and by two long straights, the fastest of which is currently the quickest in MotoGP. Last year the Ducati Marlboro Team achieved the highest top speed of the season – at 342.9km/h – on the long run towards Shanghai’s Turn 14. Lap record: Alex Barros (Honda), 2m 13.716s (wet race) 2005 pole position: Sete Gibernau (Honda), 1m 59.710s DUCATI MARLBORO TEAM RIDER DATA LOGS LORIS CAPIROSSI Age: 33 (born April 4, 1973) Lives: Monaco Bike: Ducati Marlboro Team Desmosedici GP6 GP starts: 234 (64xMotoGP, 59×500, 84×250, 27×125) GP victories: 26 (4xMotoGP, 2×500, 12×250, 8×125) First GP victory: Britain, 1990 (125) First GP: Japan, 1990 (125) Pole positions: 40 (7xMotoGP, 5×500, 23×250, 5×125) First pole: Australia, 1991 (125) World Championships: 3 (125: 1990, 1991, 250: 1998) Shanghai 2005 results: Grid: 3rd. Race: 12th SETE GIBERNAU Age: 33 (born December 15, 1972) Lives: Switzerland Bike: Ducati Marlboro Team Desmosedici GP6 GP starts: 163 (68xMotoGP, 76×500, 19×250) GP victories: 9 (8xMotoGP, 1×500) First GP victory: Valencia, 2001 (500) First GP: Spain, 1993 (250) Pole positions: 12 (11xMotoGP, 1×500) First pole: South Africa, 2000 (500) Shanghai 2005 results: Grid: 1st. Race: 4th