FIM MotoGP World Championship Istanbul, Turkey April 29 Final Qualifying Results: 1. Chris VERMEULEN, Suzuki, 2:04.617, Bridgestone 2. Nicky HAYDEN, Honda, 2:04.823, Michelin 3. Sete GIBERNAU, Ducati, 2:05.003, Bridgestone 4. Loris CAPIROSSI, Ducati, 2:05.540, Bridgestone 5. John HOPKINS, Suzuki, 2:05.700, Bridgestone 6. Randy DE PUNIET, Kawasaki, 2:06.102, Bridgestone 7. Casey STONER, Honda, 2:07.277, Michelin 8. Shinya NAKANO, Kawasaki, 2:07.294, Bridgestone 9. Colin EDWARDS, Yamaha, 2:07.344, Michelin 10. Kenny Lee ROBERTS, Roberts/Honda, 2:07.345, Michelin 11. Valentino ROSSI, Yamaha, 2:07.552, Michelin 12. Toni ELIAS, Honda, 2:07.763, Michelin 13. Makoto TAMADA, Honda, 2:08.143, Michelin 14. Marco MELANDRI, Honda, 2:08.393, Michelin 15. Carlos CHECA, Yamaha, 2:10.322, Dunlop 16. Dani PEDROSA, Honda, 2:10.956, Michelin 17. Alex HOFMANN, Ducati, 2:11.241, Dunlop 18. Jose Luis CARDOSO, Ducati, 2:11.456, Dunlop 19. James ELLISON, Yamaha, 2:12.298, Dunlop More, from a press release issued by Kawasaki Racing Team: DE PUNIET SPLASHES HIS WAY TO THE SECOND ROW Kawasaki’s Randy de Puniet showed complete mastery of the wet conditions during qualifying at Istanbul Park this afternoon, putting his Ninja ZX-RR on the second row of the grid for tomorrow’s 22-lap Turkish Grand Prix. The 25-year-old Frenchman will start from sixth place, alongside current series leader Loris Capirossi and Suzuki’s John Hopkins, after consistently improving his time on every lap during the hour-long timed session. Further rain is forecast for tomorrow’s race, but de Puniet is confident that he has both a dry and wet set-up worked out for his Ninja ZX-RR that will allow him to put in a strong performance whatever the prevailing conditions. Shinya Nakano will start from the third row of the grid, after bouncing back from a difficult free practice session this morning to claim eighth place on the grid during qualifying this afternoon. The 28-year-old Kawasaki rider struggled to find a good rhythm this morning, but after listening to advice from his crew, and adopting a smoother approach to riding the 5.340km Istanbul Park circuit, Nakano saw a distinct improvement in his lap times towards the end of the free practice session. Nakano carried that momentum through to qualifying this afternoon, lapping consistently throughout before taking eighth place on tomorrow’s grid with his final flying lap. Visibility on the main straight was so bad that both Kawasaki riders failed to see the ‘in’ signal on their pit boards at the end of the session, with the result that they ran out of fuel on their slowing down laps, leaving them with a long walk back to the pit box. Randy de Puniet: 6th – 2’06.102 “Today in the wet conditions I felt really comfortable on the bike. I didn’t have so much confidence when we started this morning, but then we switched to a different wet tyre and the bike was transformed. I was able to get on the gas earlier out of the turns without having to worry about losing the rear, and that gives you a lot of confidence. Once I’d worked out how much grip was available this afternoon I just tried to push that little bit harder on every lap, but at no time did I feel like I was overriding the bike. I’m happy to qualify so far up the grid and whatever the conditions tomorrow, if I can put in a good warm-up session, then I’m confident of a good result in the race.” Shinya Nakano: 8th – 2’07.294 “This morning was a nightmare to start off with; I just didn’t feel comfortable on the bike in these conditions. But, after discussing the problem with my crew, I went back out and just tried to ride as smoothly as possible, and that solved the problem. This afternoon I actually enjoyed for the first time pushing as hard as I could in the wet, and I’m satisfied with my starting position. I think we have a good wet and dry set-up for this circuit, so it doesn’t matter what the weather does tomorrow. Having said that, like most riders, I would prefer the race to be a dry one.” Harald Eckl: Team Principal “I’m very happy for Randy, and I hope that his second row qualifying position has allowed him to regain the confidence that he will need for the race tomorrow. If it rains for the race, which the forecast is predicting, then I think a top ten finish is well within Randy’s grasp. Randy also pushed Shinya very hard in the wet conditions today, and I was pleased to see Shinya respond in such a positive way, by getting his head down and pushing as hard as he could for a good lap time. I think we will be in a very strong position if it is a wet race tomorrow; both riders performed well in the rain, and with six riders in the top eight positions, Bridgestone have certainly proved that they have a very competitive wet tyre for this demanding circuit.” More, from a press release issued by Ducati Corse: DUCATI MEN SHINE IN SOAKING QUALIFYING Ducati Team riders Sete Gibernau and Loris Capirossi put in dazzling performances in dismal conditions at Istanbul Park this afternoon. Despite a soaking wet and treacherously slippery track, the pair qualified third and fourth quickest for tomorrow’s Turkish Grand Prix, round three of the 2006 MotoGP series. Gibernau will thus start from the first row for the second time this season while World Championship leader Capirossi will lead row two, his first time off the front row this year. Both riders were particularly impressive today because this was only Gibernau’s second serious wet-weather outing on his Desmosedici GP6 while Capirossi is making his first visit to Istanbul Park after missing last year’s race through injury. And both riders suffered from meeting traffic on their best laps. The pair also exploited the massive grip of their Bridgestone rain tyres to brilliant effect in this morning’s practice session, Capirossi first and Gibernau second, a whole second ahead of their nearest challengers. But weather forecasts suggest that although tomorrow will start wet, the race could be run in the dry. If that prediction proves correct, it’s not great news for Capirossi, who only had two hours of dry track time yesterday to learn the circuit. SETE GIBERNAU, 3rd fastest, 2m 05.003 “We’re happy. I’ve not ridden the bike so much in the wet, so for now we’re doing better than we thought we would in these conditions. Ducati and Bridgestone are doing an outstanding job and I’m very happy with that. I was pushing hard today because it’s important to know you can be fast whether it’s dry or wet. If you want to race for the championship you have to be competitive no matter what. I think we proved today that we can be up there in the rain as well as the dry.” LORIS CAPIROSSI, 4th fastest, 2m 05.540s “Fourth isn’t bad at all. I found some traffic, so I wasn’t as fast as I’m sure I could have been, but the fact that I know I could’ve been faster makes me feel good. The conditions were strange, this track isn’t too grippy in the dry but it’s got good grip in the wet, though you have to be careful not to touch the white lines. I hope it will rain for the race because I’ve not had much time on a dry track and we still need to work on our dry settings. A dry race would be more difficult for me. Yesterday I was only four tenths from ‘pole’ but I feel comfortable in the wet. We are competitive in all conditions which is good for the championship. Today’s qualifying session was nice and if it’s the same for the race I think there will be a few of us up front.” More, from a press release issued by Dorna Communications: Riders, teams and spectators were joined this morning by the unwelcome presence of rain at the Istanbul Park Circuit in Turkey. Almost simultaneously starting to fall as the 125cc riders took to the track for their opening practice at 9am local time, the non-stop downpour guaranteed that the day would be unpredictable as the wet weather served as the great equaliser between bikes. MotoGP rookie Chris Vermeulen used the adverse conditions to his advantage, putting in fast laps at the midway stage and riding with control and poise for his first ever MotoGP pole position. After a problematic race in Qatar, the Rizla Suzuki rider is in a strong position to place well in Sunday’s race. His quickest lap of 2’04.617 was obviously much slower than yesterday’s free practice times in the dry, but surprisingly it was also slower than both the 250cc and 125cc pole position times which were posted yesterday afternoon. The young Australian didn’t have it easy though. In front of a respectable audience in the Turkish grandstands, American Nicky Hayden battled hard for the top spot throughout the last half hour. In the closing moments of the session, the Repsol Honda rider was seemingly on course to take the lead with both he and Vermeulen on hot laps. However it wasn’t to be for the ‘Kentucky Kid’, as he ran off the track on his way to claiming pole, much to his obvious annoyance. Sete Gibernau also made a late surge. His final lap of the Istanbul Park track resulted in him demoting his team-mate Loris Capirossi to fourth, with both Ducatis having opened the day well as the two fastest riders in free practice. To add to Suzuki’s joy, John Hopkins’ steady run ensured that both of their riders will start tomorrow on the front two rows, where he will be joined by Randy de Puniet, one of only two riders to remain without points so far this season. LCR Honda’s sole rider Casey Stoner suffered two crashes during free practice as the weather hindered his final chance of becoming MotoGP’s youngest race winner tomorrow. Shinya Nakano clocked the eighth fastest time of the qualifying session, ahead of Americans Colin Edwards and Kenny Roberts Jr. Edwards suffered a bruised left shoulder after falling in the morning. World Champion Valentino Rossi is still yet to earn a pole position in 2006, and as in Jerez will start the race off the front rows of the grid having qualified in eleventh. 250cc Jorge Lorenzo’s 1’57.841 lap from yesterday’s dry session was enough to give the Spaniard pole position for tomorrow’s 250cc Grand Prix of Turkey. The Fortuna Aprilia rider took the front spot just over a second ahead of nearest rival Alex de Angelis, with Andrea Dovizioso completing the front row. In today’s second qualifying session the Spaniard crashed early on without any lasting ill-effects. Dovizioso’s team-mate Yuki Takahashi was fourth, ahead of Hector Barbera and Hiroshi Aoyama. Marco Simoncelli, Sylvain Guintoli, Sebas Porto and Jakub Smrz completed the top ten. 125cc Alvaro Bautista will line up tomorrow on pole position for the 125cc Grand Prix of Turkey. The Spaniard is chasing his third consecutive win of the season, and his time from yesterday was enough to put him first on the grid in a session where nobody improved their position. Alongside Bautista on row 1 will be Mattia Pasini, Simone Corse and Hector Faubel, with Mika Kallio and Gabor Talmacsi completing the top six. Aleix Espargaró and Alexis Masbou both slid along the final turn in tandem, a few minutes after the corner had claimed Julian Simon. The final moments of the session saw Robert Muresan and Vincent Braillard taking a trip into the gravel. More, from a press release issued by Fortuna Honda: RAIN DOMINATES THE SECOND DAY OF QUALIFYING IN TURKEY Rain dominated the second day of qualifying at the 2006 Turkish GP. The forecasts that had predicted rain throughout Saturday were proved right as the MotoGP riders struggled to come to terms with the treacherous conditions. As a result, Toni Elias and Marco Melandri, who both qualified on the front two rows yesterday, had to settle for 12th and 14th respectively on Saturday. Elias, who posted a best time of 2’07.763 in his 19 laps, could not bring the best from his bike despite trying various settings throughout the day. The Spaniard, who will celebrate his 100th GP start tomorrow, will hope to make a good start and battle his way up the field which, while difficult, is sure to prove to spectacular. Team-mate Melandri, who impressed in taking third place on Friday, could not find the same rhythm in the wet which prevented him from breaking into the top places on the grid. TONI ELIAS (2’07″763, 12th best time, 19 laps ): “They were two very difficult sessions. In the morning I did not feel comfortable on the bike, although things did get better in the afternoon, but not enough to get me up into the top five. Despite my position, I think we improved a lot in the afternoon which means I will go into the race in confident mood.” MARCO MELANDRI (2’08″393, 14th best time, 21 laps): “I am a little disappointed after my performance yesterday as I expected more. The bike was working quite well but I could not find the rhythm I wanted and tomorrow I will start from the fifth row. In preparation of the race I spent a lot of the session trying different rear tyre compounds and tomorrow we will decide according to the weather conditions. The start tomorrow will be very important, but the truth is the straight here is very short which makes overtaking difficult. It will be an interesting race.” Today’s fastest Lap: Chris Vermeulen 2’04.617 Circuit Record: MARCO MELANDRI 1’53.111 (2005) Pole position Record: Sete Gibernau 1’52.334 (2005) More, from a press release issued by Camel Yamaha: CAMEL YAMAHA TEAM PROGRESS DAMPENED IN ISTANBUL Local weather forecasts predicting heavy rain for today’s qualifying session at the Grand Prix of Turkey were borne out today as an early downfall and intermittent afternoon showers thwarted the Camel Yamaha Team’s hopes of improving their YZR-M1 machines ahead of tomorrow’s 22-lap race. After struggling to find an ideal setting for the demanding Istanbul Park circuit in yesterday’s free practices, both Colin Edwards and Valentino Rossi had hoped to complete some dry laps before this afternoon’s crucial grid decider but they were forced to splash their way through the puddles and battle hard for ninth and eleventh place respectively. Edwards’ cause wasn’t helped by a heavy fall in the morning session, which left him nursing several bruised joints, whilst Rossi has yet to get comfortable with his bike in either wet or dry conditions. For the second successive race, pole position went to an Australian rookie as Chris Vermeulen (Suzuki) showed impressive wet pace with a fastest lap of 2’04.617, holding off the challenge of yesterday’s pacesetter Nicky Hayden (Honda) and Sete Gibernau (Ducati), who complete the front row. COLIN EDWARDS (9th – 2’07.334, 21 laps) “I had a big highside this morning and came down heavily on my head, shoulders and knee. It was pretty painful but after two laps back on the bike you soon forget about that. To be honest I felt quite comfortable in the wet but if we want to be competitive in this race we have to find another two seconds from somewhere and I’m not quite sure where at the moment. Our tyre rivals seem to have an advantage but I also have to say ‘hats off’ to Nicky Hayden I’m not sure how close he was to ending one of those laps on the floor but he showed that Michelin have a good wet tyre so we clearly need to find the performance from our own bike. Wet or dry we have to pull a result out from somewhere tomorrow, but after this afternoon’s session I’m definitely keeping my fingers crossed for sunshine in the morning.” VALENTINO ROSSI (11th – 2’07.552, 20 laps) “We’re having a lot of difficulty, not just at this track but during this period. Unfortunately the problem with the bike came late in the pre-season and we have not had time yet to fully understand it. It means we are off the pace here in the wet and the dry, but we don’t completely understand why. It seems that our tyre competitor is strong here but we can’t blame this. Nicky Hayden was very fast all day and after him the next Michelin rider is Casey Stoner; with the amount of MotoGP experience he has in these conditions we should be in front of him. I’m surprised, because last year our bike was really good in the wet and after the new bike worked so well at Catalunya during the rainy pre-season tests I was confident it would be good today as well, but it has been the opposite. I don’t have enough confidence in the front to lean the bike over as much as I would like on the entry to the corners and not enough grip on the rear to make it up on the exit. If it’s dry tomorrow then we have some things to try in the morning, but if the conditions are the same as today then it’s going to be very hard for us.” DAVIDE BRIVIO CAMEL YAMAHA TEAM DIRECTOR “We are clearly in a very difficult situation at the moment and we need to first understand our problems before we can work to improve them. The engineers are looking at the data as we speak and seeing if we can come up with something for tomorrow. Our team have shown in the past that they are capable of producing quick solutions and I have full confidence in them; somehow we have to find a better performance in the wet and in the dry conditions.” More, from a press release issued by Honda Racing Information: DETERMINED HAYDEN SHINES IN TURKISH DELUGE In soaking conditions here at the imposing 5.340km Istanbul Park track, Nicky Hayden (Repsol Honda RC211V) put his machine on the front row of the grid for the first time this season behind poleman Chris Vermeulen (Suzuki) and ahead of third fastest qualifier Sete Gibernau (Ducati). With constant rain sheeting from the skies, Hayden was set on giving himself every chance of victory in tomorrow’s 22-lap showdown by riding every lap as if it were his last. The American displayed all his fighting qualities to put in a fastest lap just 0.206 seconds shy of the pole time. Hayden and Vermeulen were the only riders to break through the 2m 04 second barrier while the field grappled with the tricky conditions. Although Loris Capirossi (Ducati) had been fastest in the morning warm-up session, the Italian series points leader could not hang onto the quickest time as the hour-long session ticked away. He had to be happy with fourth fastest time at the head of the second row of starters in front of John Hopkins (Suzuki) and Randy de Puniet (Kawasaki). Casey Stoner (LCR Honda RC211V) is the next best Honda qualifier in seventh, followed by Kenny Roberts (Roberts KR211V) who was tenth quickest. The conditions seemed to be too much for Fortuna teamsters Toni Elias (Fortuna Honda RC211V) and Marco Melandri (Fortuna Honda RC211V) who could only manage 12th and 14th. Makoto Tamada (Konica Minolta Honda RC211V) split those two as 13th fastest man. But much focus remains on the plight of rookie Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda RC211V) who struggled to adapt to the wet track and crashed without injury in the morning session. Pedrosa will start from the sixth row after achieving a best lap of 2m 10.956 seconds – 6.624 seconds down on the pole time. In a chilly 12 degrees, with the saturated track surface at just 15 degrees, this was a tough session for all. Even current World Champion Valentino Rossi (Yamaha) is outside the top ten qualifiers in 11th on row four. His teammate Colin Edwards is the fastest Yamaha rider in ninth. Hayden and Vermeulen looked the most comfortable on track but with the weather set to improve for tomorrow’s race the morning warm-up session may yet prove critical in terms of riders finding a workable race set-up. “I’m not really happy,” said Hayden, who ran wide going into the final combination on his last hot lap. “I screwed up that last quick lap. My goal was the front row and I’ve achieved that but the mistake was disappointing. I tried to brake a little deeper and maybe I could still have just put the bike in there, but I didn’t. Rain or shine, tomorrow’s going to be a tough one.” Stoner continued his steady progress in MotoGP in his rookie year with seventh fastest time and said, “The track conditions were terrible this afternoon and we were struggling for rear-end grip. We need to improve the wet weather set-up because we couldn’t get the rear to hook up and we need more feedback from the tyres too.” Roberts, in tenth, said, “I saw a lot of people making mistakes out there in the wet and I made big mistake on my fast lap when I ran over the curb. Regardless of the wet we have been trying to get a better balance for the dry but the rain put a stop to that. We’re now going to look at the wet set-up we had for today and see where we can improve.” Elias, in 12th, said, “They were two very difficult sessions. In the morning I did not feel comfortable on the bike, although things did get better in the afternoon, but not enough to get me up into the top five. Despite my position, I think we improved a lot in the afternoon which means I will go into the race in confident mood.” Tamada said, “My feeling with the bike in wet track conditions improved during the session. We could try different solutions for the rear tyre but, with a completely wet track, the best solution has remained the one we closed this morning with. Tomorrow, during the warm-up, we we’ll try to get a better feeling with the rear tyre which needs to be better in the long left-hand corner at the beginning of the third sector.” “I’m a little disappointed after my performance yesterday as I expected more. The bike was working quite well but I could not find the rhythm I wanted and tomorrow I will start from the fifth row. In preparation of the race I spent a lot of the session trying different rear tyre compounds and tomorrow we’ll decide according to the weather conditions. The start tomorrow will be very important, but the truth is the straight here is very short which makes overtaking difficult. It will be an interesting race,” said Melandri. Pedrosa said, “Today hasn’t gone too well for me. I don’t feel like saying so much about today because this morning I crashed. And then in the afternoon I qualified 16th on the sixth row of the grid – too far from the leaders, so I’m not happy about it. When I crashed I just tried to brake and I was completely upright so it’s very strange, the front wheel just locked. I am struggling with grip and I am trying to find more.” Spanish rider Jorge Lorenzo (Aprilia) continued his domination of the 250cc class with his third consecutive pole of the season. Alex de Angelis (Aprilia) qualified second fastest with Honda men Andrea Dovizioso (Humangest Racing Honda RS250RW) and Yuki Takahashi (Humangest Racing Honda RS250RW) third and fourth. Sebastian Porto (Repsol Honda RS250RW) is gradually putting his qualifying performances together this season and the experienced Argentine rider managed a ninth fastest time here today. His teammate Shuhei Aoyama (Repsol Honda RS250RW) qualified 14th. “I would have liked to push harder,” said Dovi. “But when I was okay with the set-up of the bike it begun to rain more strongly. I risked crashing a couple of times, so I decided to slow down as it was useless to push further. Anyway, I’m confident for tomorrow, we are okay both for dry and wet conditions.” His teammate and fellow front row starter Takahashi said, “Unfortunately, I crashed out also this morning at the end of the free practice, and I’m not so happy about it. Anyway, this afternoon we worked mainly on tyre choice for tomorrow and actually I think we have found what we need if it rains.” Porto said, “We made some changes in the afternoon that did not yield the results we expected. Let’s see what happens tomorrow. If it rains, I think that we’ll be able to do a good job and if it doesn’t, it’ll be a mystery. We’ll always look for improvement and tomorrow, during the race, we’ll try to be as much in the front as possible, as always.” Alvaro Bautista (Aprilia) is in charge of the 125cc grid with a second pole of the season. The Spanish rider qualified ahead of his teammate Mattia Pasini, 0.350 seconds down on the pole time in second. The fastest Honda qualifier is again Gabor Talmacsi (Humangest Honda RS125R) in sixth. He said, “I’m not so happy about the bike in the wet, in particular the suspension settings. I have no grip and my Honda keeps sliding even on the straight, while in the corners I have a problem with the front. If it’s raining tomorrow, we have to make some adjustments during the warm-up as it’s very difficult to ride with this set up.” Thomas Luthi (Elit Grand Prix Honda RS125R) qualified 11th fastest and said, “We found a good base set-up in the free practice and first qualifying session. My times were fast but I needed a good slipstream to improve but I didn’t find one so I set my fastest time alone. We’re making progress step-by-step we just have a few small things to look at before the warm-up but I am happy.” Fabrizio Lai (Seedorf Racing Honda RS125R) qualified 13th quickest and 15-year-old rookie Bradley Smith (Repsol Honda RS125R) managed 26th at his first visit to this track. HONDA TEAM QUOTES: MotoGP: Nicky Hayden, Repsol Honda Team, 2nd: “I felt really good out there today. I’m happy with the front row start and I’m happy with my confidence. It felt like I could make a mistake and my laptime would still be faster so I’m pleased about that. My goal for the session was to be on the front row but I’m not happy with myself for making that mistake in the last split – it was a club-racing move. I knew I had a good lap going and I went through the fast 5th gear corner quicker than I had before in the wet, and then I tried to brake a little deeper into the next corner but it was never going to work! I was actually looking forward to a wet qualifying session at some point because we’ve done a lot of testing in the wet over the winter. But I was hoping for a wet one on a weekend where I was stuggling, and having been fastest in the dry yesterday I was hoping it wouldn’t rain today. We’re going to bring all we’ve got for tomorrow.” Casey Stoner, Honda LCR, 7th: “The track conditions were terrible this afternoon and I struggled for rear-end grip so we still need to improve the set-up for race, especially if it is raining. I couldn’t get the rear tyre to hook-up and drive forward and hopefully we can find a set-up that will give me more feedback from the tyres. At one stage I followed Chris Vermeulen and looked good, riding like he was on a 250cc bike.” Kenny Roberts Jnr, KR Honda: 10th. “I saw a lot of people making mistakes out there in the wet and I made big mistake on my fast lap when I ran over the curb. Regardless of he wet we have been trying to get a better balance for the dry but the rain put a stop to that. When we ran that set up in the wet we were running 2m 19s laps. So we went back to the set up we had at the wet test at the Barcelona and ran 2m 07s. But we still have to improve the bike running into the corners. We are now going to analyse the wet set up we had for today and see where we can improve. We are testing at the races and that’s hard, unless you are in perfect shape. We came here with a few things to dry but the wet stopped us, that’s the second time its happened this season.” Toni Elias, Fortuna Honda: 12th “They were two very difficult sessions. In the morning I did not feel comfortable on the bike, although things did get better in the afternoon, but not enough to get me up into the top five. Despite my position, I think we improved a lot in the afternoon which means I will go into the race in confident mood.” Makoto Tamada, Konika Minolta Honda Rider, 13th: “My feeling with the bike on wet track conditions has improved during the official qualifying session. We could try different solutions for the rear tyre but, with a completely wet track, the best solution has remained the one we closed this morning session with. Tomorrow, during the warm up, we would have to try to ameliorate the feeling with the rear tyre which is not sufficiently good in the long left corner at the beginning of the third sector.” Marco Melandri, Fortuna Honda, 14th: “I am a little disappointed after my performance yesterday as I expected more. The bike was working quite well but I could not find the rhythm I wanted and tomorrow I will start from the fifth row. In preparation of the race I spent a lot of the session trying different rear tyre compounds and tomorrow we will decide according to the weather conditions. The start tomorrow will be very important, but the truth is the straight here is very short which makes overtaking difficult. It will be an interesting race.” Dani Pedrosa, Repsol Honda Team, 16th: “Today hasn’t gone too well for me. I don’t feel like saying so much about today because this morning I crashed – it was a human mistake – but still I crashed. And then in the afternoon I qualified 16th on the 6th row of the grid and this is too far from the leaders, so I’m not so happy about it, but I tried maxiumum. When crashed I just tried to brake and I was completely upright so it’s very strange – the front wheel just locked. All the time I am struggling with grip and I am trying to find more that is why I’m so far back on the grid. Tomorrow it’s almost certain to be raining too, so we’ll just have to try to finish the race and get more experience in the wet.” 250cc: Andrea Dovizioso, Humangest Racing Honda: 3rd. “I would have liked to push harder, but when I was okay with the set up of the bike it begun to rain more strongly. I risked to fall down a couple of times, so I decided to slow down as it was useless to push further. Anyway, I’m confident for tomorrow, we are okay both for dry and wet conditions”. Yuki Takahashi, Humangest Racing Honda: 4th. “Unfortunately, I crashed out also this morning at the end of the free practice, and I’m not so happy about it. anyway, this afternoon we worked mainly on tyre choice for tomorrow and actually I think we have found what satisfied me in case of rain conditions”. Sebastian Porto, Repsol Honda: 9th. “Unfortunately we haven’t been able to improve the time set yesterday, which isn’t bad, as I said yesterday, but the bike didn’t work so well and we had a lot to improve today. Unfortunately the rain hindered us from doing so, but at least we were able to work on the wet, and this morning things went quite well. We made some changes in the afternoon that did not have the results expected. Let’s see what happens tomorrow. If it rains, I think that we’ll be able to do a good job and if it doesn’t, it’ll be a mystery. We’ll always look for improvement and tomorrow, during the race, we’ll try to be as much in the front as possible, as always.” Arnaud Vincent, Molenaar Honda, 11th: “I like riding in wet conditions. The bike is OK the engine is very good. I’m working very hard with the mechanics on the suspension because we have a small problem with the rear. Step by step we are getting the chassis to work as we want it to so I’m happy.” Shuhei Aoyama, Repsol Honda: 14th. “Today I had my first experience with Dunlop tyres on wet conditions, because last year I raced on other tyres, so I had no reference at all as regards their behaviour, but I’m happy, because their performance is really good. I hope for similar conditions tomorrow, because if it rains, I do not dismiss a good result. If it is a dry race, then it will be a bit more complicated to make a good race. Let’s see what the weather has prepared for us tomorrow.” Arturo Tizon, Wurth Honda BQR: 21st. “This morning was not good for us the bike was not easy to ride and I didn’t have a good feeling with it in the wet. For qualifying we had to change the suspension settings, especially the rear. It worked for me and the grip is very good. Now I could run with the best riders in the fastest group in the wet.” Martin Cardenas, Wurth Honda BQR: 22nd. “Today as OK for me and I felt good out there in the wet. Yesterday didn’t go well for us and Ii didn’t get in many laps. I had an engine problem and that cost me track time my grid position because of it. I am confident I will have a good ace but I will have to make a good start.” Jordi Carchano, Stop and Go Racing, 25th: “Yesterday in the dry we were quite good and I felt good on the bike. Today in the wet I had a better feeling but I have a little work to do on the front suspension in the warm up. I think it will be a difficult race tomorrow if it is wet. ” 125cc: Gabor Talmacsi, Humangest Honda: 6th. “I’m not so happy about the behaviour of the bike on wet, in particular of the suspension setting. I have no grip and my Honda keeps sliding even in the straight, while in the corners I have a problem with the front. If tomorrow is going to rain, we have to make some adjustments during the warm up as it’s very difficult to ride with this set up.” Thomas Luthi, Elit Honda: 11th. “We found a good base set up in the free practice and first qualifying session. My times were fast but I needed a good slipstream to improve but I didn’t find one so set my fastest time alone. I need to find close to a second but would have done with a slipstream, so that’s OK. The same today with the rain so we are ready for a wet or dry race but of course I would prefer a dry race. We are making progress step by step we just have a few small things to look at before the warm up but I am happy with the set up we have.” Fabrizio Lai, Seedorf Racing World: 13th. “I would have preferred a dry session to improve my starting position and to check the bike, improved in setting and engine. Nevertheless, if tomorrow it will rain, I can be fast and get a good result. Mike Di Meglio, FFM Honda: 15th. “For the morning free practice we had changed the setting of the gear box and we had to set up the bike in a different way than yesterday because of the weather condition. We tried a new setting with the suspensions which suited well under the rain. The downpour was stronger for the qualifying session which made me happy since I feel very comfortable in this condition. The engine of the bike Honda RS 125 ‘Kit HRC’ was really satisfying and I felt confident on the machine. Laps after laps I tried to break later and I realised the best lap time with a gap of 1.5 seconds with the second rider M.Pasini.” Sandro Cortese, Elit Honda: 22nd. “Fine, everything is OK with the bike, I didn’t have a problem all weekend. Engine is good, very good top speed. Pity it rained because I could have improved my time of yesterday but we have found a good wt set up so I’m happy with that. This is a track I like and my bike handles really well I the wet or dry. I need a good start from where I am on the grid ” Bradley Smith, Repsol Honda: 26th. “For the limited amounts of laps I had, I’m happy. It was the first qualifying ever in the rain and this is also a new track so to ride in the rain was completely different and to find the grip level was a bit difficult, but it was good, more or less”¦ I still went behind Luthi on one of my three fast laps. I was gauging myself against him but not really riding so fast. When I came in we changed the rear sprocket so I had more rpm on the straight and I could get to sixth, so the bike was a lot better. I had only two laps before the finish and I dropped maybe three seconds of my normal time so I think that if we would have had more laps it would have been better for me. I think tomorrow’s conditions will be rain, and at the moment I would prefer a wet race than a dry race because I think I could do much better in the rain. Let’s wait and see. We just have to get a good start and see what happens.” Lorenzo Baroni, Humangest Honda: 27th. “This morning everything was quite good and we were able to sort out part of the front problems, which slowed me down during yesterday practice. On the wet, though, we are not at 100% and in the afternoon session I didn’t want to take any risk.” Michele Conti, Seedorf Racing World: 33rd. “I have to realize the tyre limits on the wet”¦ it was an hard session and I preferred to make experience and not to take any risk.”. Aleix Espargaro, Wurth Honda BQR: 30th. “Not so lucky this week. I crashed at Super Motard during the week and cracked my scaphoid. It was OK in the morning but hurts a little after that cold session. Yesterday I broke a wheel adjuster and had to stop loosing time. I was about 13th at the time so the problem held me back a little. But I am riding with confidence now, I have a better feeling than yesterday. The bike is good for the race, we just have a couple of small things to change. I had a small crash at the end of qualifying but it was my own fault – I hit the white line a slid off. ” Joey Litjens, Molenaar Honda: 37th. “That was not so bad. The bike is good, my engine is fast. The only problem I have is that I can’t hold my line in a few corners, I run wide. But we know what we have to do before the warm up in the morning. It will be better to have a dry race because I think the first few corners will be a problem with all the water spraying from the riders in front of me. I need a good start tomorrow, especially if it’s wet.”

FIM 250cc GP World Championship Istanbul, Turkey April 29 Saturday Qualifying Results: 1. Anthony WEST, Aprilia, 2:09.527 2. Alex DE ANGELIS, Aprilia, 2:11.550 3. Arnaud VINCENT, Honda, 2:12.025 4. Jorge LORENZO, Aprilia, 2:12.263 5. Hiroshi AOYAMA, KTM, 2:12.319 6. Sylvain GUINTOLI, Aprilia, 2:12.367 7. Yuki TAKAHASHI, Honda, 2:12.576 8. Hector BARBERA, Aprilia, 2:12.719 9. Jakub SMRZ, Aprilia, 2:12.841 10. Roberto LOCATELLI, Aprilia, 2:13.294 11. Shuhei AOYAMA, Honda, 2:13.683 12. Sebastian PORTO, Honda, 2:13.901 13. Andrea BALLERINI, Aprilia, 2:13.952 14. Marco SIMONCELLI, Gilera, 2:14.235 15. Arturo TIZON, Honda, 2:14.798 Final Qualifying Results: 1. Jorge LORENZO, Aprilia, 1:57.841 2. Alex DE ANGELIS, Aprilia, 1:58.842 3. Andrea DOVIZIOSO, Honda, 1:58.865 4. Yuki TAKAHASHI, Honda, 1:58.938 5. Hector BARBERA, Aprilia, 1:59.236 6. Hiroshi AOYAMA, KTM, 1:59.493 7. Marco SIMONCELLI, Gilera, 1:59.534 8. Sylvain GUINTOLI, Aprilia, 1:59.828 9. Sebastian PORTO, Honda, 1:59.847 10. Jakub SMRZ, Aprilia, 1:59.863 11. Arnaud VINCENT, Honda, 1:59.952 12. Anthony WEST, Aprilia, 2:00.064 13. Roberto LOCATELLI, Aprilia, 2:00.095 14. Shuhei AOYAMA, Honda, 2:00.553 15. Dirk HEIDOLF, Aprilia, 2:00.621

FIM 125cc GP World Championship Istanbul, Turkey April 29 Saturday Qualifying Results: 1. Mike DI MEGLIO, Honda, 2:16.465 2. Mattia PASINI, Aprilia, 2:17.959 3. Fabrizio LAI, Honda, 2:18.285 4. Alvaro BAUTISTA, Aprilia, 2:18.357 5. Michele PIRRO, Aprilia, 2:18.893 6. Lukas PESEK, Derbi, 2:19.276 7. Angel RODRIGUEZ, Aprilia, 2:19.321 8. Julian SIMON, KTM, 2:19.812 9. Lorenzo ZANETTI, Aprilia, 2:20.731 10. Gabor TALMACSI, Honda, 2:21.038 Final Qualifying Results: 1. Alvaro BAUTISTA, Aprilia, 2:04.035 2. Mattia PASINI, Aprilia, 2:04.385 3. Simone CORSI, Gilera, 2:04.653 4. Hector FAUBEL, Aprilia, 2:04.724 5. Mika KALLIO, KTM, 2:04.883 6. Gabor TALMACSI, Honda, 2:04.909 7. Julian SIMON, KTM, 2:05.122 8. Pablo NIETO, Aprilia, 2:05.299 9. Joan OLIVE, Aprilia, 2:05.429 10. Lukas PESEK, Derbi, 2:05.492

Repsol Lubricants AMA Superstock Championship California Speedway Fontana, California April 29 Provisional Practice Times: 1. Jason DiSalvo (Yam YZF-R1 LE) 1:25.339 2. Geoff May (Suz GSX-R1000) 1:25.438 3. Aaron Yates (Suz GSX-R1000) 1:25.518 4. Jake Holden (Suz GSX-R1000) 1:25.844 5. Jamie Hacking (Yam YZF-R1 LE) 1:26.120 6. Eric Bostrom (Yam YZF-R1 LE) 1:26.181 7. Steve Rapp (Suz GSX-R1000) 1:26.236 8. Josh Hayes (Hon CBR1000RR) 1:26.378 9. Marty Craggill (Suz GSX-R1000) 1:26.542 10. Jason Pridmore (Suz GSX-R1000) 1:27.085 11. Chris Ulrich (Suz GSX-R1000) 1:27.171 12. Matt Lynn (Suz GSX-R1000) 1:27.173 13. Aaron Gobert (Hon CBR1000RR) 1:27.342 14. Damon Buckmaster (Kaw ZX-10R) 1:27.452 15. Cory West (Suz GSX-R1000) 1:27.646 16. Ben Attard (Kaw ZX-10R) 1:27.649 17. Ben Thompson (Suz GSX-R1000) 1:27.806 18. Brad Hendry (Suz GSX-R1000) 1:28.990 19. Robertino Pietri (Suz GSX-R1000) 1:29.234 20. Corey Eaton (Suz GSX-R1000) 1:29.277 21. Martin Szwarc (Suz GSX-R1000) 1:30.899 22. Jay Tanner (Yam YZF-R1) 1:31.202 23. Premek Glinz (Suz GSX-R1000) 1:31.511 24. Reno Karimian (Suz GSX-R1000) 1:31.807 25. Mark Simon (Suz GSX-R1000) 1:32.141 26. Tim Knutson (Kaw ZX-10R) 1:32.148 27. C.R. Gittere (Suz GSX-R1000) 1:32.179 28. Robbie Dowie (Kaw ZX-10R) 1:32.503 29. Lance Williams (Suz GSX-R1000) 1:32.637 30. Chris Weiss (Suz GSX-R1000) 1:32.880 31. Brad Puetz (Suz GSX-R1000) 1:33.036 32. Sahar Zvik (Suz GSX-R1000) 1:33.043 33. Marcel Graeber (Suz GSX-R1000) 1:34.924 34. Ricardo Sune Falcon (Kaw ZX-10R) 1:36.058 35. Johnny Rock Page (Suz GSX-R1000) 3:49.479

FIM MotoGP World Championship Istanbul, Turkey April 29 Practice Results (wet track): 1. Loris CAPIROSSI, Ducati, 2:09.634 2. Sete GIBERNAU, Ducati, 2:09.848 3. Colin EDWARDS, Yamaha, 2:10.862 4. Chris VERMEULEN, Suzuki, 2:11.816 5. Randy DE PUNIET, Kawasaki, 2:12.123 6. Carlos CHECA, Yamaha, 2:12.924 7. Valentino ROSSI, Yamaha, 2:13.620 8. John HOPKINS, Suzuki, 2:13.622 9. Marco MELANDRI, Honda, 2:14.317 10. Nicky HAYDEN, Honda, 2:14.392 11. Casey STONER, Honda, 2:14.746 12. Dani PEDROSA, Honda, 2:15.758 13. Jose Luis CARDOSO, Ducati, 2:17.763 14. Shinya NAKANO, Kawasaki, 2:18.016 15. Toni ELIAS, Honda, 2:18.726 16. Kenny Lee ROBERTS, Roberts/Honda, 2:19.750 17. Makoto TAMADA, Honda, 2:20.327 18. James ELLISON, Yamaha, 2:21.186 19. Alex HOFMANN, Ducati, 2:22.192

At the request of AMA racers, 900 linear feet of concrete K-rail barriers on rider’s left near the kink in the infield straightaway at California Speedway was moved back between 10 and 100 feet Friday night. The proximity of the angled wall to the tricky kink (known best among riders for the violent headshakes it produces) was an issue raised during pre-season testing at California Speedway. In response, a section of wall was moved back significantly before the Suzuki Superbike Challenge weekend began. At Friday’s riders’ meeting, however, riders led by Eric Bostrom pointed out to AMA Pro Racing Superbike Series Manager Ron Barrick that there was enough room available to move additional sections of the wall back and said that action should be taken as soon as possible. Barrick discussed the request with California Speedway officials, who organized work crews to relocate the concrete K-rails and a chain-link fence on top of the K-rail. Shortly after the final checkered flag Friday afternoon, track workers began moving the sections of K-rail back with several fork lifts and loaders. Increased communication on safety matters between riders, track officials and AMA officials this season has already contributed to 700 feet of wall being relocated in turn one at Barber Motorsports Park. During the Superstock race at Barber, racer John Haner crashed and landed where the turn one wall had been located, and credited the wall relocation with allowing him to avoid serious injury or death. Additional wall relocation projects and gravel trap installations will be completed at Barber later this year. In addition, officials at Infineon Raceway have responded to rider requests by promising to move the wall Vincent Haskovec hit there last May. In a meeting held Wednesday in Southern California, members of the AMA Board’s Racing Committee emphasized that the organization’s top priority must be rider safety and directed AMA race officials to organize additional meetings between riders and track officials.

DUCATI TO SUPPORT CANADIAN ROAD RACERS WITH CONTINGENCY Cupertino, CA April 28th, 2006 – Ducati North America announces further support for Canadian Ducati racers who are participating in the Parts Canada Road Race Nationals. The total funds posted are $20,000* (CdN) to the Canadian Thunder class, which includes air-cooled twin cylinder motorcycles from Ducati, BMW and Buell. The program boasts $2,000 per national race date at seven events plus a Grand Championship bonus of $6,000 to the series winner on a Ducati. Three models of motorcycles are eligible: 2004 – 2006 SS1000, 2006 Monster S2R1000 and the retro styled 2006 Sport Classic models. “We’re pleased to offer these funds to the Ducati racers participating in the Canadian Thunder Series” said Kevin Davis, Canadian Sales and Marketing Manager. “Robert Trottier and Derek Vammus have been our perennial top riders but we’ve yet to write that bonus check for the 1st overall Grand Championship. The pen is full of ink and the check book is open.” For more details and to download contingency claim forms, please visit www.ducatiusa.com. Series: Parts Canada Road Race Nationals Class: Canadian Thunder Bikes: (all MY 2004-2006) SS1000, S2R1000, All SportClassics Number of events: 7 Total posted: $20,000 CdN 1st $1,000 2nd $500 3rd $250 4th $150 5th $100 Series Championship: $6,000 Event Dates: May 18-21 Shannonville, ON June 2-4 Mont-Tremblant, QC June 30 July 2 Calgary, AB July 14-16 Mosport, ON August 11-13 Shubenacadie, NS September 1-3 Shannonville, ON *Awards issued as parts credit redeemable at any Canadian Ducati dealer. Founded in 1926, Ducati builds racing-inspired motorcycles characterized by unique engine features, innovative design, advanced engineering and overall technical excellence. The Company produces motorcycles in six market segments which vary in their technical and design features and intended customers: Superbike, Supersport, Monster, Sport Touring, Multistrada and the new SportClassic. The Company’s motorcycles are sold in more than 60 countries worldwide, with a primary focus in the Western European, Japan and North American markets. Ducati has won thirteen of the last fifteen World Superbike Championship titles and more individual victories than the competition put together. For more information about the Company, please visit our web site at www.ducatiusa.com.

Although he suffered bone fractures and soft tissue damage to his right lower leg in a crash less than a week earlier, Roger Hayden will try to ride his factory Kawasaki ZX-6RR Supersport racebike Saturday at California Speedway. “He wants to ride,” Kawasaki Racing Team Manager Michael Preston told Roadracingworld.com Friday. “He saw Dr. (Arthur) Ting today. He’s wearing a small cast on his right leg. He’s flying down this afternoon. “We still need to see if he can even get on the bike, and if we feel it’s safe enough, for Rog and for everyone else, we’ll go from there.” Hayden had surgery at the hands of Dr. Ting on April 24 in Fremont, California, where Hayden stayed until his follow-up exam Friday morning. According to Preston, Dr. Ting and his staff worked toward making it possible for Hayden to race at California Speedway from the start. “The break wasn’t as bad as we thought,” continued Preston. “The weight-bearing bone only had a chip broken off, and that was screwed back into place. The little bone in the back that doesn’t bear the weight was the one that got the plate and screws. The biggest problem, probably, is he stretched out all of the ligaments and tendons, like a sprained ankle, and he has no dexterity or strength. “But, we have an oversized boot to try and fit over his cast, and we’ve fitted his bike with a thumb (-operated rear) brake. So we’re ready if he wants to go racing.” If he can ride, Hayden would most likely only ride in the Supersport class in order to salvage some Championship points. Hayden has won both AMA Supersport races so far in 2006 and currently leads the Championship point standings.

Yamaha factory rider Jason DiSalvo earned his second consecutive AMA Formula Xtreme pole position during qualifying Friday at California Speedway, in Fontana, California. Riding his YZF-R6 with a rear Dunlop qualifying tire, DiSalvo lapped the 2.3-mile, 21-turn infield road course in 1:25.595. Not only was DiSalvo’s lap time faster than Jake Zemke’s 2005 pole time of 1:26.039 and a new lap record, it was faster than the 1000cc Formula Xtreme lap record at California Speedway, a 1:25.945, set by Ben Spies in 2003. “I’m kind of surprised by that lap time,” DiSalvo told Roadracingworld.com. “I was making all kinds of mistakes. I was trying too hard to make up for not getting the most out of my first qualifying tire and running wide everywhere.” Second-fastest was Parts Unlimited PJ1 Erion Honda’s Josh Hayes, who turned a 1:26.341 on his CBR600RR. DiSalvo’s teammate Eric Bostrom (1:26.471) and Hayes’ teammate Aaron Gobert (1:26.598) earned the third and fourth spots on the Formula Xtreme front row, respectively. Row two of the grid will be composed of: Rockwall Honda’s Ryan Andrews, Matsushima Performance Suzuki’s Danny Eslick, Team M4 EMGO Suzuki’s Kurtis Roberts and Andrews’ teammate Ty Howard. Due to DiSalvo’s quick lap time and the lower-for-2006 qualifying cut-off of 110% of the fastest qualifying time, only 20 of the 25 riders who tried made the grid for the Formula Xtreme final. Lockhart Phillips USA AMA Formula Xtreme Championship California Speedway Fontana, California April 28 Qualifying Results: 1. Jason DiSalvo (Yam YZF-R6) 1:25.595 2. Josh Hayes (Hon CBR600RR) 1:26.341 3. Eric Bostrom (Yam YZF-R6) 1:26.471 4. Aaron Gobert (Hon CBR600RR) 1:26.598 5. Ryan Andrews (Hon CBR600RR) 1:27.298 6. Danny Eslick (Suz GSX-R600) 1:27.697 7. Kurtis Roberts (Suz GSX-R600) 1:28.187 8. Ty Howard (Hon CBR600RR) 1:28.461 9. Blake Young (Suz GSX-R600) 1:28.600 10. Chris “Opie” Caylor (Suz GSX-R600) 1:28.931 11. Ryan Elleby (Hon CBR600RR) 1:29.556 12. Nicky Moore (Yam YZF-R6) 1:30.073 13. Jack Pfeifer (Kaw ZX-6RR) 1:30.593 14. Tony Meiring (Suz GSX-R600) 1:30.879 15. Grant Riggs (Suz GSX-R600) 1:31.013 16. Armando Ferrer (Kaw ZX-6RR) 1:31.244 17. Victor Chirinos (Kaw ZX-6RR) 1:31.749 18. Kenny Carlotta (Suz GSX-R600) 1:32.541 19. James Kerker (Hon CBR600RR) 1:32.765 20. M. Ivan Garza (Kaw ZX-6RR) 1:33.342 110% of fast time: 1:34.154 Did Not Qualify: 21. Jeremiah Johnson (Suz GSX-R600) 1:34.319 22. Johnny Rock Page (Yam YZF-R6) 1:34.532 23. Darren Murrey (Duc 749R) 1:35.778 24. Chris Siebenhaar (Hon CBR600RR) 1:35.943 25. Jason Butler (Yam YZF-R6) 1:36.036 26. Tyler McDonald (Yam YZF-R6) no time More, from a press release issued by Team M4 EMGO Suzuki: BARNES FASTEST IN SUPERSPORT PRACTICE Team M4 EMGO Suzuki was back in action on Friday, just days removed from their double podium performance at Barber Motorsports Park, the previous round of the 2006 AMA roadracing championship series. The team was a major factor again today at California Speedway with Floridian Michael Barnes leading the charge. Barnes, who bounced back quicker than anyone expected from his Daytona knee injury, impressed in Alabama by running solidly in the top ten in his return to action. In order to help him get into the flow, the Floridian focused solely on the Supersport class. He continued to do so this weekend and the decision paid off once again as Barnes posted the fastest lap of the Supersport practice aboard his Pirelli-shod GSX-R600 racer. After registering a session-best time of 1:27.137, Barnes said, “We made a lot of progress in that session. My knee has been good. It hasn’t really been an issue. In Alabama it got a little sore but it didn’t slow me down. It got a little stiff after I got off the bike, but I just need to put heat on it before I ride and ice on it afterwards to keep it loosened up. A couple more weeks I should be as close to 100% as I can expect to be.” “Team M4 EMGO Suzuki prepares such awesome bikes and the Pirellis are working really well,” Barnes continued. “We tested here and learned a lot and it’s showing. I think we’ll be able to maintain a good solid race pace on Sunday.” Teammate Geoff May continued his strong early-season performance, clocking the third fastest time (1:26.034) in the morning’s Superstock session. The Georgian also continued to fare well in Supersport. Coming off last weekend’s podium-winning ride, May was seventh best in the opening middleweight practice with a quick time of 1:28.339. Kurtis Roberts, who finished third in his first ride aboard the team’s trick GSX-R600 Formula Xtreme machine, is back on the bike again this weekend. Roberts managed to secure a second row grid position for Saturday’s 17-lap FX race. The two-time class champ qualified seventh with a best time of 1:28.751. Shea Fouchek gained more experience with the team on Friday. The developmental rider was 19th fastest in the opening Supersport practice, circulating the California Speedway course with a best time of 1:31.544. On Saturday Roberts will look to give Team M4 EMGO Suzuki their third podium finish of the season, while Barnes, May, and Fouchek will focus on qualifying for Sunday’s finals.

Current Championship leader Ben Spies earned provisional pole position with a new lap record today during AMA Superbike qualifying at California Speedway, in Fontana, California. Riding his Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000 with a “soft” rear Dunlop, the young Texan lapped the 2.3-mile, 21-turn infield road course in 1:23.374, faster than Mat Mladin’s previous record time, 1:23.612. “I guess it was a good lap,” said Spies, who said he was suffering from the effects of a head cold. “We made a couple of mistakes. I told my guys a perfect lap was going to be a 1:22.9. If you can get that I don’t know, and how the weather is going to be tomorrow I’m not sure. We’ll see. We did that on a soft tire, (but) we saved one. “It should be good. We did 1:23.9 on a race tire we’re probably gonna be racing on, even if it gets hot. So it was a good day. We’ve got a really good set-up. We’ll fine tune the bike a little bit, but it’s pretty close. “Every since this morning’s practice it seems like every class has been pretty quick. I told the guys after we did low 1:24s this morning, ‘The track’s fast, and we need to take that into consideration.’ I thought we would dedicate this to a qualifying session and not a race time session. We went ahead and did some laps on race tires and only used one soft tire. Whether it’s going to be this good tomorrow or not, we don’t know. If somebody decides to go faster we’ve got a soft tire to match it, so it should be good.” Six-time and defending AMA Superbike Champion Mladin was second-fastest with a time of 1:23.613 in the session on his GSX-R1000. American Honda’s Jake Zemke earned the third spot on the provisional front row with a lap of 1:23.956 on his CBR1000RR, while former Superbike World Champion Neil Hodgson turned the fourth-fastest lap time, 1:24.432, on his Parts Unlimited Ducati 999. Final qualifying for the Suzuki Superbike Challenge at California Speedway will take place Saturday at 9:50 a.m., followed by the first of two Superbike races at 3:50 p.m. Saturday afternoon. AMA Superbike Championship California Speedway Fontana, California April 28 Friday’s Provisional Qualifying Results: 1. Ben Spies (Suz GSX-R1000) 1:23.374 2. Mat Mladin (Suz GSX-R1000) 1:23.613 3. Jake Zemke (Hon CBR1000RR) 1:23.956 4. Neil Hodgson (Duc 999F06) 1:24.432 5. Aaron Yates (Suz GSX-R1000) 1:24.481 6. Ben Bostrom (Duc 999F06) 1:24.514 7. Miguel Duhamel (Hon CBR1000RR) 1:25.212 8. Tommy Hayden (Kaw ZX-10R) 1:25.362 9. Jake Holden (Suz GSX-R1000) 1:25.706 10. Larry Pegram (Hon CBR1000RR) 1:26.009 11. Matt Lynn (Suz GSX-R1000) 1:26.011 12. Steve Rapp (Suz GSX-R1000) 1:26.064 13. Jason Curtis (Suz GSX-R1000) 1:26.250 14. Eric Wood (Suz GSX-R1000) 1:26.397 15. Marty Craggill (Suz GSX-R1000) 1:26.845 16. Jason Perez (Yam YZF-R1) 1:27.052 17. Doug Chandler (Kaw ZX-10R) 1:27.170 18. Brad Hendry (Suz GSX-R1000) 1:27.239 19. Cory West (Suz GSX-R1000) 1:27.426 20. Jason Pridmore (Suz GSX-R1000) 1:27.515 21. Mark Ledesma (Hon CBR1000RR) 1:27.780 22. Fernando Amantini (Kaw ZX-10R) 1:28.856 23. David Bell (Suz GSX-R1000) 1:29.138 24. Corey Eaton (Suz GSX-R1000) 1:29.536 25. Martin Szwarc (Suz GSX-R1000) 1:30.798 26. Marco Martinez (Suz GSX-R1000) 1:31.279 27. Reno Karimian (Suz GSX-R1000) 1:31.525 28. C.R. Gittere (Suz GSX-R1000) 1:31.556 29. Mark Simon (Suz GSX-R1000) 1:31.748 30. Ricardo Sune Falcon (Kaw ZX-10R) 1:32.376 31. David Lambert (Kaw ZX-10R) 1:33.102 32. James Kerker (Hon CBR1000RR) 1:33.247 33. Johnny Rock Page (Suz GSX-R1000) 1:33.441 More, from a press release issued by Team Suzuki: Ben Spies set a new lap record in qualifying for the Fontana AMA Superbike double-header in California this weekend. The Yoshimura GSX-R1000-mounted Texan fended off team mate Mat Mladin throughout this afternoon’s 40-minute qualifier with a best lap of 1:23.374, which toppled Mladin’s 2005 record of 1:23.612. Said Spies, who was suffering a severe head cold: “It’s kind of crazy that we broke the track record because it feels like this is a pretty tight track and everything’s happening so slow. “Yesterday I wouldn’t have been able to do that and would have been unable to ride. I made a big change overnight and hopefully we’ll keep going, because we’re definitely not 100%.” Third Yoshimura team rider Aaron Yates put his GSX-R1000 on the second row one place ahead of Ducati Austin’s Ben Bostrom.