The 2006 World Superbike championship continues its tour with the first Italian round at Monza, on Sunday 7 May. The Autodromo Nazionale situated in the Royal Park of Monza is one of the fastest tracks of World’s Superbike Championship. Monza’s slipstream effects and the Parabolica turn are legendary. Team Manager Klaus Klaffenböck: “Monza is for Alex nearly a brand new race track, because his last ride here was years ago. But this won’t be a problem for him. I’m sure he will like this high speed course.” Alex Barros: “The long and fast fast Monza race track is the complete opposite of Valencia with its vast array of slow corners, ultra-fast sweeps and rapid changes of direction. Monza is a perfect circuit for the Honda Fireblade and I’m confident we will come off well on the upcoming weekend in Italy.” Monza Autodromo Nazionale Length: 5793 m, Start finish 1195 m Best Lap: Neil Hodgson 2003 1:46.981

Yoshimura Suzuki’s Ben Spies took his fourth consecutive AMA Superbike race win and extended his Championship points lead over his teammate Mat Mladin Sunday at California Speedway, in Fontana, California. Spies led for the first four laps. Mladin led for the next 13 laps. Then on lap 18, Spies got a drive on Mladin going onto the long front straightaway and finished the pass in the turn one chicane. One lap later, Spies had a 0.7-second lead, and the gap continued to grow until the young Texan crossed the finish line 4.488 seconds ahead of the six-time and defending Champion. American Honda’s Jake Zemke was third from start to finish on his CBR1000RR. Zemke’s teammate Miguel Duhamel placed fourth, after fighting off Parts Unlimited Ducati’s Neil Hodgson, Kawasaki’s Tommy Hayden. Hodgson’s teammate Ben Bostrom suffered some troubles downshifting, ran off the track at least once but was able to salvage seventh, just in front of third Yoshimura Suzuki rider Aaron Yates and Michael Jordan Motorsports Suzuki’s Jason Pridmore. Leo Vince/Pegram Racing Honda’s Larry Pegram held off Pridmore’s teammate Steve Rapp to finish 10th, the highest non-Dunlop finisher on his Michelin-shod CBR1000RR. AMA Superbike Championship California Speedway Fontana, California April 30 Provisional Race Results: 1. Ben Spies (Suz GSX-R1000), 28 laps 2. Mat Mladin (Suz GSX-R1000), -4.489 seconds 3. Jake Zemke (Hon CBR1000RR), -21.943 seconds 4. Miguel Duhamel (Hon CBR1000RR), -25.850 seconds 5. Neil Hodgson (Duc 999R), -25.995 seconds 6. Tommy Hayden (Kaw ZX-10R), -26.264 seconds 7. Ben Bostrom (Duc 999R), -46.374 seconds 8. Aaron Yates (Suz GSX-R1000), -47.548 seconds 9. Jason Pridmore (Suz GSX-R1000), -52.201 seconds 10. Larry Pegram (Hon CBR1000RR), -70.527 seconds 11. Steve Rapp (Suz GSX-R1000), -70.695 seconds 12. Eric Wood (Suz GSX-R1000), -1 lap 13. Jason Curtis (Suz GSX-R1000), -1 lap, -2.027 seconds 14. Jason Perez (Yam YZF-R1), -1 lap, -28.413 seconds 15. Matt Lynn (Suz GSX-R1000), -1 lap, -38.731 seconds 16. Brad Hendry (Suz GSX-R1000), -1 lap, -45.546 seconds 17. Fernando Amantini (Kaw ZX-10R), -1 lap, -47.400 seconds 18. David Bell (Suz GSX-R1000), -1 lap, -78.281 seconds 19. Martin Swarc (Suz GSX-R1000), -1 lap, -79.483 seconds 20. Jake Holden (Suz GSX-R1000), -5 laps 21. Corey Eaton (Suz GSX-R1000), -8 laps 22. Cory West (Suz GSX-R1000), -13 laps 23. Mark Ledesma (Hon CBR1000RR), -22 laps 24. Marty Craggill (Suz GSX-R1000), DNS 25. Doug Chandler (Kaw ZX-10R), DNS Laps Led: 1-4, Spies 5-17, Mladin 18-28, Spies Point Standings 1. Spies, 182 points 2. Mladin, 163 points 3. Duhamel, 140 points 4. Hodgson, 130 points 5. Yates, 126 points 6. Tommy Hayden, 124 points 7. Ben Bostrom, 119 points 8. Zemke, 110 points 9. Pridmore, 108 points 10. Pegram, 73 points 11. Wood, 86 points 12. Rapp, 78 points 13. Holden, 76 points 14. Curtis, 64 points 15. Hendry, 59 points

Former AMA Supersport Champion Jamie Hacking took one step closer to repeating that feat with a critical race win Sunday at California Speedway, in Fontana, California. The race started and ended with a red flag, but in between Hacking led 13 of 14 laps on his Dunlop-shod factory Yamaha YZF-R6 and won his first Supersport race of the 2006 season. Hacking winning combined with Kawasaki’s Roger Hayden (the Supersport Championship points leader coming into California Speedway) being unable to race due to injury resulted in Hacking taking a 24-point lead in the Championship. Team M4 EMGO Suzuki’s Michael Barnes escaped a first corner incident unscathed, led the first lap on his Pirelli-equipped GSX-R600 but could not match Hacking’s pace over race distance and finished 10 seconds back in second, his first AMA Supersport podium since 1990. Matsushima Performance Suzuki’s Danny Eslick came back from eighth on the first lap to take third and the first AMA podium finish of his career. Attack Kawasaki’s Ben Attard finished fourth, four seconds behind Eslick on his ZX-6RR. Barnes’ teammate Geoff May ran with Hacking and Barnes early in the race, but AMA Pro Racing ruled he had jumped the original start of the race and called him in for a stop-and-go penalty, which was made worse by the length of California Speedway’s front straightaway and the 50 mph pit lane speed limit. May re-joined the race in 10th on lap five and worked his way back up to fifth by the finish. Graves Motorsports Yamaha’s Michael Beck, Eslick’s teammate Blake Young, Safety First Suzuki’s Tony Meiring, Marin Cycleworks Honda’s Jeffrey Tigert and Meiring’s teammate Chris “Opie” Caylor rounded out the top 10 finishers. The original start of the race was stopped when several riders collided in turn three on the first lap. Leo Vince/Pegram Racing Honda’s Ryan Elleby and Arclight Racing’s Chris Siglin hit the ground and M4 EMGO Suzuki’s Shea Fouchek hit the wreckage and fell over; the crashed bikes, along with some spilled fluids, led to the stoppage. In spite of the first start not counting for anything, May and Chris Peris, who was also ruled to have jumped the original start, were called in for stop-and-go penalties. Peris crashed out of the restarted portion of the race. On the restart, Yoshimura Suzuki’s Ben Spies’ front brake level made contact with Barnes’ left hip going into turn three, and Spies crashed. Spies suffered only minor injuries but was unable to continue due to damage to his machine. The race was stopped for good on lap 15 of 17 when Fouchek crashed coming out of turn nine and his GSX-R600 was left lying in the track. Fouchek, who had been sent to the back of the grid due to his involvement in the original red-flag incident, had moved up to 13th at the time of his crash; he was transported to a local hospital for precautionary X-rays to investigate back pain. In final scoring, he was placed at the back of the lead lap for causing the red flag that ended the race. Pro Honda Oils AMA Supersport Championship California Speedway Fontana, California April 30 Provisional Race Results: 1. Jamie Hacking (Yam YZF-R6), 14 laps 2. Michael Barnes (Suz GSX-R600), -9.740 seconds 3. Danny Eslick (Suz GSX-R600), -12.022 seconds 4. Ben Attard (Kaw ZX-6RR), -16.153 seconds 5. Geoff May (Suz GSX-R600), -21.235 seconds, stop-and-go 6. Michael Beck (Yam YZF-R6), -26.310 seconds 7. Blake Young (Suz GSX-R600), -26.832 seconds 8. Tony Meiring (Suz GSX-R600), -36.002 seconds 9. Jeff Tigert (Hon CBR600RR), -36.470 seconds 10. Chris “Opie” Caylor (Suz GSX-R600), -47.277 seconds 11. Grant Riggs (Suz GSX-R600), -52.380 seconds 12. Nicky Moore (Suz GSX-R600), -54.815 seconds 13. Tristan Schoenewald (Hon CBR600RR), -60.810 seconds 14. Barrett Long (Yam YZF-R6), -61.732 seconds 15. Armando Ferrer (Kaw ZX-6RR), -63.428 seconds 16. Victor Chirinos (Kaw ZX-6RR), -66.948 seconds 17. Brant Wiwi (Yam YZF-R6), -71.029 seconds 18. Jon Blaylock (Hon CBR600RR), -79.427 seconds 19. Jeremiah Johnson (Suz GSX-R600), -85.339 seconds 20. Shea Fouchek (Suz GSX-R600), -85.340 seconds, two crashes 21. Ivan Garza (Kaw ZX-6RR), -1 lap 22. Ryan Teixeira (Kaw ZX-6RR), -1 lap, -9.987 seconds 23. Andrew Brown (Yam YZF-R6), -1 lap, -14.721 seconds 24. Johnny Rock Page (Yam YZF-R6), -1 lap, -21.955 seconds 25. Morgan Murphy (Suz GSX-R600), -1 lap, -26.173 seconds 26. Matt Eccleston (Yam YZF-R6), -1 lap, -26.867 seconds 27. David Glenn (Suz GSX-R600), -2 laps 28. Kenn Carlotta (Suz GSX-R600), -3 laps 29. Chris Siebenhaar (Suz GSX-R600), -5 laps 30. Damon Buckmaster (Kaw ZX-6RR), -9 laps, DNF, mechanical 31. Jimmy Wood (Kaw ZX-6RR), -10 laps, DNF, crash 32. Ryan Elleby (Hon CBR600RR), -12 laps, DNF, two crashes 33. Chris Peris (Yam YZF-R6), -13 laps, DNF, crash 34. Ben Spies (Suz GSX-R600), -17 laps, DNF, crash 35. Chris Siglin (Suz GSX-R600), -17 laps, DNF, crash 36. Spencer Stuart (Yam YZF-R6), DNF Provisional Point Standings 1. Hacking, 104 points 2. Eslick, 80 points 3. May, 79 points 4. Attard, 75 points 5. Roger Hayden (Kaw ZX-6RR), 74 points 6. Young, 64 points 7. Barnes, 56 points 8. Beck, 54 points 9. Meiring, 53 points 10. Buckmaster, 51 points 11. Caylor, 48 points 12. Tigert, 41 points 13. TIE, Long/Moore, 40 points 15. Elleby, 39 points

Graves Motorsports Yamaha’s Jason DiSalvo won his first AMA Superstock race of the season on his Dunlop-shod YZF-R1 LE Sunday at California Speedway, in Fontana, California. DiSalvo, the pole-sitter, took the lead shortly after the race was restarted and turned into a 10-lap sprint. Turning low-1:25 laps, he crept away from his Graves Motorsports Yamaha teammate and chief rival Jamie Hacking to win by just under two seconds. Hacking fought off defending AMA Superstock Champion Aaron Yates to finish second, tying him with DiSalvo for the Championship points lead. Slowed by a nagging shoulder injury, Yates placed third on his Yoshimura Suzuki, three seconds ahead of Team M4 EMGO Suzuki’s Geoff May, the highest non-Dunlop finisher on his Pirelli-equipped GSX-R1000. Eric Bostrom, the third Graves Motorsports Yamaha rider, finished fifth. Michael Jordan Motorsports Suzuki riders Steve Rapp, Jason Pridmore and Jake Holden finished sixth, seventh and ninth, respectively. Holden came back from a crash in the first portion of the final. Parts Unlimited PJ1 Erion Honda’s Josh Hayes was ninth, after losing a drag race to the checkered flag to Pridmore, and Millennium KWS Suzuki’s Matt Lynn finished 10th. The race was red-flagged on the eighth lap when Chris Weiss crashed and his GSX-R1000 was left lying on the racetrack. Attack Kawasaki’s Damon Buckmaster and Hotbodies Racing Suzuki’s Cory West crashed out on lap four when they collided in turn five. West took responsibility for the incident. Neither rider was injured, but the incident sent Roadracingworld.com’s Chris Ulrich off track and over a curb, losing 20 seconds and bending his bike’s front wheel. At the restart, Ulrich went from hear the back of the grid to 12th. Hotbodies Racing/Mat Mladin Motorsports Suzuki’s Marty Craggill DNF when his rear axle seized during a rear wheel change during the red flag break. Repsol Lubricants AMA Superstock Championship California Speedway Fontana, California April 30 Provisional Race Results: 1. Jason DiSalvo (Yam YZF-R1 LE), 17 laps 2. Jamie Hacking (Yam YZF-R1 LE), -1.958 seconds 3. Aaron Yates (Suz GSX-R1000), -4.419 seconds 4. Geoff May (Suz GSX-R1000), -6.717 seconds 5. Eric Bostrom (Yam YZF-R1 LE), -7.426 seconds 6. Steve Rapp (Suz GSX-R1000), -13.744 seconds 7. Jason Pridmore (Suz GSX-R1000), -16.432 seconds 8. Josh Hayes (Hon CBR1000RR), -16.443 seconds 9. Jake Holden (Suz GSX-R1000), -19.392 seconds 10. Matt Lynn (Suz GSX-R1000), -21.611 seconds 11. Aaron Gobert (Hon CBR1000RR), -22.515 seconds 12. Chris Ulrich (Suz GSX-R1000), -31.084 seconds 13. Ben Attard (Kaw ZX-10R), -33.973 seconds 14. Ben Thompson (Suz GSX-R1000), -35.810 seconds 15. Robertino Pietri (Suz GSX-R1000), -39.341 seconds 16. Fernando Amantini (Kaw ZX-10R), -41.408 seconds 17. Corey Eaton (Suz GSX-R1000), -41.578 seconds 18. Brad Hendry (Suz GSX-R1000), -42.427 seconds 19. Martin Szwarc (Suz GSX-R1000), -50.541 seconds 20. Premek Glinz (Suz GSX-R1000), -64.223 seconds 21. Ricardo Sune Falcon (Kaw ZX-10R), -70.696 seconds 22. Tim Knutson (Kaw ZX-10R), -70.941 seconds 23. Mark Simon (Suz GSX-R1000), -73.469 seconds 24. Robbie Dowie (Kaw ZX-10R), -82.920 seconds 25. C.R Gittere (Suz GSX-R1000), -83.198 seconds 26. Lance Williams (Suz GSX-R1000), -83.653 seconds 27. Marty Craggill (Suz GSX-R1000), -10 laps, DNF, mechanical 28. Chris Weiss (Suz GSX-R1000), -10 laps, DNF, crash 29. Jason Perez (Yam YZF-R1), -13 laps, DNF, crash 30. Damon Buckmaster (Kaw ZX-10R), -13 laps, DNF, collision/crash 31. Cory West (Suz GSX-R1000), -13 laps, DNF, collision/crash 32. Jay Tanner (Yam YZF-R1), -14 laps, DNF 33. Reno Karimian (Suz GSX-R1000), DNF Repsol Lubricants AMA Superstock Championship Point Standings (after 3 of 11 races): 1. Tie, DiSalvo/Hacking, 101 points 3. Yates, 94 points 4. May, 82 points 5. Hayes, 75 points 6. Pridmore, 67 points 7. TIE, Holden/Gobert, 65 points 9. Ulrich, 56 points 10. Attard, 53 points 11. Bostrom, 51 points 12. Pietri, 50 points 13. Rapp, 49 points 14. Lynn, 47 points 15. Craggill, 39 points

The AMA Superstock race at California Speedway was red-flagged on lap eight of 17. The stoppage was caused by a crash in an area of the track where track workers could not access safely under green flag conditions. Running order of lap seven, at the time of the red flag: 1. Jamie Hacking, Yamaha 2. Jason DiSalvo, Yamaha 3. Aaron Yates, Suzuki 4. Steve Rapp, Suzuki 5. Eric Bostrom, Yamaha 6. Jason Pridmore, Suzuki 7. Geoff May, Suzuki 8. Josh Hayes, Honda 9. Aaron Gobert, Honda 10. Marty Craggill, Suzuki 11. Ben Thompson, Suzuki 12. Matt Lynn, Suzuki 13. Brad Hendry, Suzuki 14. Robertino Pietri, Suzuki 15. Fernando Amantini, Kawasaki 16. Corey Eaton, Suzuki 17. Martin Szwarc, Suzuki 18. Ben Attard, Kawasaki 19. Chris Ulrich, Suzuki 20. Premek Glinz, Suzuki

AMA Superbike Championship California Speedway Fontana, California April 30 Provisional Practice Results: 1. Mat Mladin (Suz GSX-R1000) 1:24.363 2. Ben Spies (Suz GSX-R1000) 1:24.497 3. Neil Hodgson (Duc 999F06) 1:24.694 4. Jake Zemke (Hon CBR1000RR) 1:24.724 5. Ben Bostrom (Duc 999F06) 1:24.746 6. Aaron Yates (Suz GSX-R1000) 1:25.338 7. Tommy Hayden (Kaw ZX-10R) 1:25.549 8. Miguel Duhamel (Hon CBR1000RR) 1:25.878 9. Jake Holden (Suz GSX-R1000) 1:26.510 10. Jason Pridmore (Suz GSX-R1000) 1:26.618 11. Eric Wood (Suz GSX-R1000) 1:26.867 12. Jason Curtis (Suz GSX-R1000) 1:27.078 13. Larry Pegram (Hon CBR1000RR) 1:27.111 14. Matt Lynn (Suz GSX-R1000) 1:27.186 15. Jason Perez (Yam YZF-R1) 1:27.554 16. Cory West (Suz GSX-R1000) 1:27.778 17. Doug Chandler (Kaw ZX-10R) 1:27.861 18. Mark Ledesma (Hon CBR1000RR) 1:28.801 19. Martin Szwarc (Suz GSX-R1000) 1:30.666 20. David Bell (Suz GSX-R1000) 1:31.007

Pro Honda Oils AMA Supersport Championship California Speedway Fontana, California April 30 Provisional Practice Times: 1. Jamie Hacking (Yam YZF-R6) 1:26.933 2. Ben Spies (Suz GSX-R600) 1:27.215 3. Ben Attard (Kaw ZX-6RR) 1:27.831 4. Chris Peris (Yam YZF-R6) 1:27.915 5. Geoff May (Suz GSX-R600) 1:28.134 6. Michael Barnes (Suz GSX-R600) 1:28.137 7. Damon Buckmaster (Kaw ZX-6RR) 1:28.660 8. Danny Eslick (Suz GSX-R600) 1:28.860 9. Chris Siglin (Suz GSX-R600) 1:29.464 10. Ryan Elleby (Hon CBR600RR) 1:29.533 11. Jeffrey Tigert (Hon CBR600RR) 1:29.632 12. Michael Beck (Yam YZF-R6) 1:29.861 13. Chris “Opie” Caylor (Suz GSX-R600) 1:29.892 14. Tony Meiring (Suz GSX-R600) 1:30.089 15. Blake Young (Suz GSX-R600) 1:30.235 16. Nicky Moore (Yam YZF-R6) 1:30.288 17. Shea Fouchek (Suz GSX-R600) 1:30.645 18. Tristan Schoenewald (Hon CBR600RR) 1:30.790 19. Jimmy Wood (Kaw ZX-6RR) 1:31.147 20. Barrett Long (Yam YZF-R6) 1:31.356

Finnegan off to a flyer at Cookstown Martin Finnegan got his 2006 pure road racing season off to the perfect start with a thrilling victory in the feature Cookstown 100 road race. Riding the Klaffi Honda, the Lusk rider came out on top after a terrific 5-rider dice, which lasted for the entire ten laps of the 2.1-mile Orritor circuit, and he also posted a final lap of 1m25.7s to leave the circuit with a new outright lap record beside his name. After taking his second Cookstown 100 race in three years, Martin commented: “It was a bit of a mixed day but overall I’m very happy with the way it went and to get a win and a lap record at the first meeting of the season is very pleasing. I’m very happy to have taken my first win for the Klaffi Honda team and hopefully we can keep it up for the rest of the year.” Martin’s next outing comes in a week’s time with the Tandragee 100 road races taking place next Saturday, 6th May.

Repsol Lubricants AMA Superstock Championship California Speedway Fontana, California April 30 Provisional Practice Times: 1. Jason DiSalvo (Yam YZF-R1 LE) 1:25.624 2. Jamie Hacking (Yam YZF-R1 LE) 1:25.808 3. Eric Bostrom (Yam YZF-R1 LE) 1:25.845 4. Geoff May (Suz GSX-R1000) 1:26.157 5. Aaron Yates (Suz GSX-R1000) 1:26.181 6. Steve Rapp (Suz GSX-R1000) 1:26.236 7. Jason Pridmore (Suz GSX-R1000) 1:26.488 8. Josh Hayes (Hon CBR1000RR) 1:26.666 9. Damon Buckmaster (Kaw ZX-10R) 1:26.943 10. Marty Craggill (Suz GSX-R1000) 1:27.083 11. Aaron Gobert (Hon CBR1000RR) 1:27.133 12. Ben Thompson (Suz GSX-R1000) 1:27.342 13. Matt Lynn (Suz GSX-R1000) 1:27.505 14. Chris Ulrich (Suz GSX-R1000) 1:27.622 15. Cory West (Suz GSX-R1000) 1:27.868 16. Ben Attard (Kaw ZX-10R) 1:28.107 17. Robertino Pietri (Suz GSX-R1000) 1:28.523 18. Brad Hendry (Suz GSX-R1000) 1:28.523 19. Corey Eaton (Suz GSX-R1000) 1:29.308 Editorial Note: Michael Jordan Motorsports Suzuki’s Jake Holden did not ride during the session.