Canadian Chris Peris will take a break from his full-time ride in the FIM Supersport World Championship to race his Topline Racing/Yamaha Canada YZF-R6 in the AMA Supersport race this weekend at California Speedway. Peris was a true privateer racing on the both the AMA and Canadian National series in 2005 and finished seventh in the AMA Formula Xtreme Championship (with four top-five finishes), 10th in the AMA Supersport Championship (with seven top-10 finishes) and third in the Canadian 600cc Sport Bike Championship (with two race wins), before joining the Moto1 – Bikers Days Yamaha Supersport World Championship effort. In addition to California Speedway, Peris will also race in the AMA events at Miller Motorsports Park, Virginia International Raceway and possibly Road America. He will also race the Canadian National rounds at Shannonville Motorsport Park, Mosport International Raceway, his home race at Race City Motorsport Park and possibly at Le Circuit Mont-Tremblant, according to his father Fernando Peris. Peris’ Yamaha will be tuned by Willie Vass and Max McAllister at California Speedway, and he will ride on Canadian-series-spec Pirelli tires.

Millennium KWS Suzuki’s John Haner will be out between five to 12 weeks with soft tissue damage to his right shoulder, an injury he suffered in a crash during the AMA Superstock race April 23 at Barber Motorsports Park, in Birmingham, Alabama. “I don’t know how to say exactly what all is wrong, all the medical terms,” Haner told Roadracingworld.com in a telephone call from orthopedic surgeon Dr. Arthur Ting’s Fremont, California clinic Wednesday. “But basically I ruptured the tendon in the front of the shoulder that holds the collarbone and upper arm together, and I tore the rotator cuff in the back.” Haner said he will be attending the AMA races at California Speedway this weekend as a spectator, then on Monday, May 1, he will ride with Jason Pridmore back up to Dr. Ting’s for surgery that will put him out of action until at least the Road America round of the AMA series in early-June. Haner, who finished eighth – beating factory Ducati rider Ben Bostrom — while riding his Superstock-spec GSX-R1000 in the first Superbike race at Barber, suffered the injury when he highsided in turn one while racing for sixth in the AMA Superstock final. “If there was anything positive to come out of this it was really good that they moved that wall back (in turn one), or it could have been really bad. If that wall had still been there I don’t think I would have walked away. So I’m thankful for that,” said Haner. “Plus, I’ve got to give big thanks to Jason Pridmore. He helped me get in touch with Dr. Ting so I could get the proper care and with a lot of my incidentals, like an airline ticket.” Haner added that he did not know if the Millennium KWS Suzuki team would be putting a replacement rider on his GSX-R1000.

POINTS LEADER HAYDEN TO MISS CALIFORNIA SPEEDWAY SUPERSPORT RACE PICKERINGTON, Ohio (April 26, 2006) — Pro Honda Oils Supersport Championship presented by Shoei leader Roger Lee Hayden will miss this weekend’s race at California Speedway following a high-speed crash at Barber Motorsports Park this past Sunday, which left the Kawasaki rider with a badly broken right leg. With Hayden out, perhaps until June, Yamaha’s Jamie Hacking becomes the de facto series leader in this, round three of the 11-race series, which takes place on Sunday, April 30 in Fontana, Calif. Roger Lee Hayden was heir apparent to the Supersport throne after finishing runner-up to his older brother Tommy for two straight years. He’d won at Daytona in March and again last Sunday in Birmingham, Ala., to build an early eight-point lead over Hacking. Now it appears Hayden may have to wait yet another year for the highly coveted Supersport title. It’s a disappointing blow to the youngest Hayden brother. Hacking was sorry to hear of Hayden’s misfortune. He knows exactly how badly Hayden feels. Last year Hacking led the Repsol Superstock Series when he was involved in a bicycle accident and was forced to miss the rest of the season. Hacking is trying to win back the AMA Supersport title he owned in 2003. The Carolinian looked strong in his return from last year’s injuries with a pair of second-place finishes. Now he comes to California Speedway, a track where he’s won the Supersport race twice before. “I’ve had some good races in Fontana,” Hacking said. “It’s a track that suits my style and Yamaha always give me a great bike that works well there. Even though I’ve won there before it’s not going to be easy that’s for sure. There are some fast up-and-coming riders in the class and I’m going to have to be on top of my game if I want to get another win.” The rider who is clearly making a breakthrough in the class this year is M4 EMGO Suzuki’s Geoff May. May scored his first career podium last week in Alabama and brings a new mind-set to California Speedway this weekend. “It’s great to get my first podium in Supersport,” said May, a former AMA Rookie of the Year. “Now that I’ve accomplished that I need to keep improving and see if I can take it to the next level.” May nipped Attack Kawasaki’s Ben Attard at the line last week in Alabama. Attard is hoping to return the favor this Sunday so he can continue to move up from his current sixth-place position in the standings. A good battle is developing between veteran Damon Buckmaster and relative newcomer to the class Danny Eslick. The two are tied for fourth in the standings. “Bucky” is teammate to his fellow Australian Attard and is in his eighth season of competing in the AMA series. Buckmaster is a former Australian Supersport champ. Eslick is a former flat track racer who continues to show steady progress racing for the Matsushima Performance Suzuki team. Michael Barnes came back in Alabama in spite of riding with an injured knee he had surgery on after Daytona. The longtime veteran turned in a solid seventh-place performance on his M4 EMGO Suzuki at Barber Motorsports Park last week and hopes to continue to climb in the rankings after Fontana. A new face to watch for at California Speedway is Ryan Elleby. Elleby is an up-and-coming rider from Georgia riding under the Leo Vince/Pegram Racing Honda banner. He comes to California Speedway as the top ranked Honda Supersport rider having scored an impressive eighth at Barber, just behind Barnes. As Elleby gains in confidence he could become a bigger factor in the series as the season progresses. The Pro Honda Oils Supersport race presented by Shoei is part of California Speedway’s Suzuki Superbike Challenge that runs April 28-30. For ticket info call 1-800-944-RACE or visit www.californiaspeedway.com The Fontana Supersport final will be televised nationally on SPEED at 1 p.m. EST Tuesday, May 2. About AMA Pro Racing AMA Pro Racing is the leading sanctioning body for motorcycle sport in the United States. Its properties include the Amp’d Mobile AMA Supercross Series, the AMA Toyota Motocross Championship presented by FMF, the AMA Superbike Championship presented by Parts Unlimited, the AMA Ford Quality Checked Flat Track Championship and the AMA Supermoto Championship. For more information about AMA Pro Racing, visit www.amaproracing.com.

SONOMA, Calif. (IMMEDIATE RELEASE) Nearly 350 motorcycle competitors are expected to visit Infineon Raceway for the first time, May 19-21, with the addition of two new elements to the Kawasaki AMA Superbike Showdown weekend, presented by Supercuts. Supermoto USA will host a three-day supermoto event at Turn 7, and more than 200 riders are expected. Many of the nation’s top riders will compete on the custom-built circuit, which will be 70-percent paved and 30-percent dirt, with several jumps and berms. The event will be part of Supermoto USA’s 10-race West Coast schedule for 2006, and will feature a $5,500 purse for pro entrants. Top rider Casey Yarrow, a Bay Area product who currently carries the No. 1 plate, is expected to attend, as is Leonardo “Pucho” Bagnis, Argentina’s National Supermoto champion. In addition, Infineon Raceway will host the West Coast’s first-ever Street Freestyle, sanctioned by Stuntspot.com. This event will span all three days and feature more than 120 competitors, who will perform a variety of tricks on their street bikes, including Stopees and Crazy Larry’s. More than 5,000 fans turned out for a similar event in Lakeland (Fla.) in February to watch riders perform tricks on their 400- and 500-pound street bikes. Race fans can expect to see bikes like Harley-Davidson and Buell, among others, in the competition at Infineon Raceway, which will feature a variety of disciplines. The Street Freestyle events will take place on the Turn 10 island. For more information on the supermoto events, visit www.supermotousa.com, and for more information on the Street Freestyle, visit www.stuntwars.com.

RETURN TO TURKEY FOR EARLY SEASON SHOWDOWN With two rounds of this 17 race World Championship already run, the overall points table is tight at the top with two Honda riders in the top three and five Honda men in the top seven. But the next two rounds might prove crucial in establishing a pattern before the series returns to Europe. This Turkish round is followed by a mid-May trip to China before the French Grand Prix later that month and the rider who can lever any sort of points advantage before the European campaign begins will have a crucial psychological edge as well as a numerical one. Consistent Nicky Hayden (Repsol Honda RC211V) has scored podium finishes in both races so far and he lies just five points behind series leader Loris Capirossi (Ducati). Nicky notched a third place here last year and the hard-charging American will be expecting to do even better than that this weekend. His team-mate Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda RC211V) has surprised everyone except himself and those close to him with a meteoric start to his debut MotoGP season. The 20-year-old Spaniard currently lies third in the points standings after a fine second place in his first race and a steady sixth in his second. He finished second here last year on a 250. Toni Elias (Fortuna Honda RC211V) is proving he can more than cope with the demands of competition in the premier class after a troubled debut season in 2005. He currently sits fifth overall and will be aiming for a maiden rostrum finish this weekend. But he will face opposition from his team-mate Marco Melandri (Fortuna Honda RC211V) who knows he needs to do better than the fifth place at Jerez and a seventh in Qatar so far if he is to mount a serious bid for the title this year. Rookie Casey Stoner (LCR Honda RC211V) is currently ahead of Melandri in the points table after a sixth in Spain and a fifth in Qatar after starting from pole in only his second ever MotoGP outing. He won here on a 250 last year. Makoto Tamada (Konica Minolta Honda RC211V) is still struggling to find his best form while Kenny Roberts (Roberts KR211V) has defied critics with two solid top ten finishes on his Honda-powered machine. This 5.430km track, situated on the Asian side of the huge city of Istanbul, is one of the better ‘new’ circuits to be built. It features six right-hand turns, a medium-length 720m straight and eight left-hand turns. Designed by Hermann Tilke, the man responsible for the Shanghai track, the Otodrom International Circuit is something of a pastiche of existing circuits. Turns one and two are an unashamed copy of the Senna Esses at Sao Paulo while turn 11 mimics Eau Rouge at Spa Francorchamps. A degree of elevation makes many corner entries blind and challenging. Turn eight is a double-apex high-speed left that will demand inch-perfect precision riding and raw nerve of a rare degree. This corner is critical for a good lap time – entry, mid-turn and exit are all equally important – get any parts wrong and the time penalty will be a heavy one. With this race now in late April temperatures will be higher than in October when MotoGP first visited this track last year. This will mean new set-up parameters and different tyre requirements for teams. Hayden is ready to race. He said, “The track’s got some really high speed stuff, some hard braking and then at the end of the lap there’s some really slow first gear corners. Turn one is pretty wild and the fifth gear right hander at turn 11, which you take almost flat out, is about as good as it gets on a MotoGP bike. The last little bit of the circuit I don’t like too much because it’s a bit too tight for MotoGP – but the rest is pretty good. We’re going to Turkey at a completely different time than last year and we’ll find out how much difference that makes.” Pedrosa said, “In Istanbul you really notice the designer of the circuit also designed Shanghai, although I think that this is a much more balanced and varied circuit. It combines uphill and downhill sections and has good asphalt. It’s quite wide and grip is not bad. It has some rather slow sections, but I guess it’s because it’s been designed with Formula 1 in mind. This weekend we need to do the same as always: try to understand the circuit as soon as possible and to find a good set-up for the race.” Elias said, “I’m heading to Istanbul feeling very motivated. My feeling with the bike improves from race to race and the test at Qatar confirmed that we’re working in the right direction. Now I have to follow it up in the race with a performance that I believe justifies my potential. I have to try and take another step forward because we have not yet managed to achieve the results I am hoping for.” Stoner is eager to ride and said, “The Istanbul track is a little strange with a combination of slow and very fast sections, so it is a compromise on set-up. There are also some hard braking areas but I feel comfortable with the track and I have good feeling with how far I can push. Hopefully the base set-up which felt so good at Qatar will transfer to Istanbul and I can be as competitive on the MotoGP bike as I was in 250s.” Melandri, winner here last year, said, “I would prefer to be heading into this event with a better performance behind me but I’m sure the feeling we found in testing will give me plenty of encouragement. The 2005 Grand Prix of Turkey was a truly memorable event and I can’t ever forget the moment I crossed the line.” Roberts has yet to race here. He missed out on a visit here last season due to injury and will be aiming to build on his solid start to this season. “I’ll have to get on the pace here quickly,” he said. “We’re moving forward with the bike and it’s up to me to keep things going in the right direction.” Tamada said, “I took advantage of the two week break to work on my concentration because it’s important to be properly motivated at a difficult moment like this. I can only guarantee that I’ll make the best use of my capacities to get good results. I like the Istanbul circuit and I hope the weather conditions will be favourable so that I’ll have the best conditions in which to express myself.” Andrea Dovizioso (Humangest Racing Honda RS250RW), who currently lies second to Jorge Lorenzo (Aprilia) in the 250cc World Championship, will be aiming to deprive the series leader of a third consecutive win. He finished fifth here last year and after a third place in Spain and a second In Qatar, Dovi is hungrier than ever for his first win in the class. Sebastian Porto (Repsol Honda RS250RW) has had a difficult start to the season and the Argentine currently lies tenth overall. He said, “The circuit is quite complicated and we’ve raced here only once before so none of us has much experience. We just hope that everything works out fine. We’ll try to work and adapt the bikes well. The Hondas did a good job there last year so we hope the bike will be more competitive this weekend.” This is a new track for Porto’s team-mate Shuhei Aoyama (Repsol Honda RS250RW) who said, “I’ve only seen the circuit on TV so I haven’t got much information about the track and its technical features. I think it’ll be less complicated than Qatar. There are some gradient changes and a more varied layout and I think I’ll feel more comfortable here. But I also know that if I want to get a good result I’ll have to be much more focussed than in Qatar.” The 125cc category is currently the domain of Alvaro Bautista (Aprilia) who has won both races so far. Reigning World Champion Thomas Luthi (Elit Grand Prix Honda RS125R) has not begun his title defence as he would have wished and Turkey represents a chance to get his challenge back on track. Mike di Meglio (FFM Honda RS125R) won here last year and should be one of the men to set the pace here in 2006 too, while new Honda recruit Gabor Talmacsi (Humangest Honda RS125R) will be looking to get a win under his belt here. But the track is all new for 15-year-old rookie Bradley Smith (Repsol Honda RS125R), who said, “The team has sent over a DVD of the race last year which has been a big help for me learning yet another new circuit. I love the look of the fast right-hand bend just before the start and finish complex and it should be very interesting to ride.”

FINAL LAP OF HONOUR FOR DIABLO PERFORMANCE RACING It is with great sadness that Diablo Performance Racing, Canada’s most successful motorcycle road racing team in 2005, will cease operations. After winning the Canadian Superbike number 1 plate with Francis Martin on Suzuki, the Canadian 600 Sport Bike number 1 plate with Steve Crevier on Honda and being named “Team of the year” in the 2005 Parts Canada Superbike Championship, Diablo Racing will not be fielding any professional riders in the upcoming 2006 season. Despite having completed its most successful season to date, with a track record of constantly contributing to the sport of motorcycle racing in Canada, the team was unable to secure any significant support from the industry manufacturers. Future will tell if Diablo was a victim of its own success and was viewed as a threat rather than an ally by the manufacturers. “I am not the one pulling the plug, it’s the circumstances that are forcing us out of racing,” explained team owner and former amateur racer Richard Italia. The arrival of the Diablo Racing team in 2001 created a commotion in the Canadian road racing community. Its technical expertise and professionalism pulled Canadian motorcycle racing to another level. It has been extremely satisfying to see the team grow each season and culminate with two championships. This is a particularly unique achievement since Diablo Racing has always been a private team that has been able to take on the manufacturers and come out on top. In its 5 years of existence, Diablo Racing’s involvement in Canada has benefited a large number of racers. The team not only fielded the largest privateer effort that Canada has ever seen, but it also contributed at the grass roots level of Canadian racing. As the main sponsor of the Diablo Can-am 125 GP Challenge and the Diablo Suzuki SV Cup, the team not only assisted many professional and amateur racers but also helped develop highly qualified technicians and engineers. Beyond simply putting bikes on the track, Diablo was also actively involved in the purchase of an air fence system which has undoubtedly protected many Canadian racers over the years. The Diablo Performance Racing team would like to thank all of the sponsors, riders and personnel who have helped contribute to our success. Most importantly, the team would like to thank all of the fans who have supported us throughout the last five seasons. Keep the rubber side down.

Kawasaki factory rider Roger Hayden will be out several weeks following surgery to repair his broken and dislocated lower right leg, an injury suffered in a scary, high-speed crash during the AMA Superbike race April 23 at Barber Motorsports Park, in Birmingham, Alabama. Hayden was racing with Aaron Yates for fourth place on lap 21 of 28, when he passed lapped rider James Kerker going up the hill from turn two to turn three, a very fast, blind, cresting kink. “We were going up the hill there,” Hayden told Roadracingworld.com in a telephone interview Tuesday. “I passed the guy (Kerker) on the inside. After I passed him at the top of the hill, I felt him get into me, like he turned into my back tire, and we both went down.” At the speed they were going, both bikes and riders were into the Airfence-fronted Armco barrier within the blink of an eye. SPEED Channel’s cameras missed the crash, and eyewitness accounts from cornerworkers were spotty, at best. “When I looked down,” continued Hayden, “I knew my foot was broke because it was facing the wrong direction. I knew it was messed up, that’s why I was sitting on that tire wall with my head down. My foot, I think, slid underneath the Airfence, like baseball sliding in. “I broke my tib (tibia) and fib (fibula). I looked at the X-rays today and I counted eight screws and a plate on one break and two screws on the other. It was dislocated, too, so there’s some ligament damage. “For where I wrecked and the way it all went down, it sucks but I can’t be bummed out too bad. I went in head-first, and both bikes followed me in there. The Airfence did me really good, because if there wasn’t an Airfence there I would’ve been just like Vincent (Haskovec). That’s exactly the way I went in there.” Hayden, the current AMA Supersport Championship leader, said he was scheduled for a check-up on Friday, when he hoped to get a better idea of how long he will be out of action. He expects, however, to be riding again by the Road America event, the first weekend in June.