Ty Howard turned back all challengers en route to a five-win performance at round three of the CMRA Championship Series held at Texas World Speedway in College Station, Texas, and in doing so, pocketed nearly $10,000 in purse and contingency money for his efforts. Howard raced Saturday in the AMA Formula Xtreme race at Barber Motorsports Park, finishing 13th, then drove from Birmingham to College Station in time to cash in with the CMRA on Sunday. Howard claimed wins in the Racing Performance Services B Superstock Expert race, which pays a $150 purse, the Komodo Racing C Superstock Expert race, which pays a $250 purse, the Pace American Trailers Formula 1 race, which pays a $1000 purse, the Motorcycles Unlimited C Superbike Expert race, which pays a $150 purse, and the Sum of all Parts A Superstock Expert race, which pays a $150 purse. Howard also claimed the Island Racing Fast Lap of the Weekend award, which pays $150 for the fastest transponder-timed lap, for posting a 1:43.069, a new track record, during his win in the A Superstock Expert race. Over 690 sprint entries made for large grids during Sunday’s racing action and a few of the later races had to be shortened due to several red flag delays that pushed the program close to sundown. Other money-class winners included Dane Westby, who won the Roadracingworld.com Formula 2 Expert race, which pays $150 purse to the top five finishers; Clayton Schutz, who won the Action Kawasaki of Mesquite Clubman race, which pays $100 in store certificates to the top 3 riders on Kawasaki EX250 riders; Brett Champagne, who won the RaceworX A Superbike Expert race, which pays a $150 purse; Craig Montgomery, who won the South Central Race Center D Superbike Expert race, which pays a $150 purse; Bill Syfan, who won the Northwest Honda 125 GP race, which pays a $150 purse; and Michael Nellis, who won the Avteq Formula 40 Heavyweight Expert race, which pays a $150 purse. Notable performances in the Novice classes were turned in by Danny Kelsey, who won four classes, and Nathan Gardner, who won three, including the Winn Racing Formula 1 Novice race. In Saturday’s eight hour endurance race, Desert-Rats.net topped 42 other teams to win round two of the Shogun Motorsports CMRA Endurance Series, which pays $1125 purse. Desert-Rats.net survived the battle of attrition to beat second overall finishers and top Formula 1 team Northwest Honda Racing by a full lap. Third overall and first in the C Superbike class went to Village Idiots, while 2Wheelz.com ran a steady race to finish fourth overall and first in the C Superstock division. Team Ogre claimed the Formula 2 win with a ninth overall finish. In mini sprint action, Kent Moffitt won the Formula 4 division, Conner Blevins took the Formula 6 class, Derek Wagnon topped the Formula 5 entries and Walker Keene won the Formula 7 class. Luca Chatham, Brandon Altmeyer and Esteban Sanchez finished first through third in the Junior Motard race. The CMRA returns to action on May 19-21 with a full slate of sprint racing, plus a six hour endurance race at Hallett Motor Racing Circuit at Hallett, Oklahoma. More club racing news, from a press release issued by RRSW: RRSW Goes to Firebird Main This weekend marked the return to the “big track” at Firebird International Raceway and the original race course drew out a few of the past fast guys to race again. With a light turnout, the track was wide open for some of the best racing battles of the season. Saturday weather was hot and windy and reminiscent of Willow Springs or Las Vegas, but the riders kept their cool in the Tracktime GT Lights class by AZ Tracktime. John Jewett got out in front of the SV650 class and stayed there ahead of Mongrel Racing’s Wayne Nielson and an epic battle between high school kid Aron Weiss on an Amsoil Suzuki and veteran Jack O’Keefe from PeachcakeMusic.com. Weiss took third for good and held it until the end. The Lightweights were at it again in the Cobbs Restaurant/ AZ Sportbike Supply LW Supersport race with Bob Russell taking another win on his EBC/Repsol machine. Nielson again took second with young Weiss just beating O’Keefe to the line for third. The weather for Sunday was cooler and less windy and made for near perfect conditions on the track. Mark Ledesma started his day by setting a new lap record during Unlimited GP qualifying with a 1:05.453 besting his previous track record of 1:06.34. Ledesma went on to win the AJ’s Performance/TintWizard Expert Unlimited Superbike race on his North Valley Honda ahead of J6Racing.com rider Lenny Beckman and Joe Dawson’s Lockhart Phillips Suzuki. Up next came an awesome battle in the Value Pool and Spas LW Superbike race between Russell and Jewett. They battled tooth and nail all race long with Russell making a smart move on the last lap to take the win. On the Middleweight machines, the two names all day were Brian Land and Jon Blaylock with a bit of Garza thrown in. During the Moto-Services Expert MW Grand Prix, Land and his CycleShopLV.com R6 were able to stay just ahead of Blaylock on his Michelin Honda. The two finished the same during the Racers Edge Middleweight Supersport race and the Powerstands Middleweight Superbike race. These two battled all weekend long in every race they entered and Bryan Land showed that the new Yamaha R6 will be a force to be reckoned with. In the Jim Cox Racing Amateur MW Supersport race, Raymond Thibedeau and Rick Bucher had and epic back and forth battle all race long. Bucher was on his first ever ride of his Vortex Sprocket Honda and Thibedeau is still knocking the rust off a long lay off. The premier race of the day, Unlimited Grand Prix for Experts was another Sunday ride for winner Mark Ledesma. The proud papa brought his son Matthew to the podium after checking out on his Red Baron sponsored CBR1000R. Mark is off to Fontana to see if it is still fast enough to beat the factory Hondas through the speed traps again. The battle for second was one of the best of the day and featured Joe “Eight Ball” Dawson on his Pirelli-shod GSX-R1000 and A.J. Ammann on the Davis and Associates Suzook. It was like being in a time machine watching these two battle just as hard as they did years ago on the same track. The two heavyweights raced side by side with Dawson putting in a second place. A.J. remarked how he and Joe have always felt comfortable racing together. Of note, Dawson and Ledesma have boys that are both under one year old and A.J. just found out he and his wife are expecting in October. Could we have a Ledesma/Dawson/Ammann podium again at Firebird Main in 2021? Stay tuned. Roadrace Southwest and the Championship Cup Series will be back in action May 26-28 at Las Vegas on the Classic Course. For more information, forms, and racer forums, go to the best motorcycle-racing website in the U.S. at www.roadracesw.com See you at the races!

SUZUKI DOMINATES AMA SUPERBIKES AT CALIFORNIA SPEEDWAY: MLADIN PLAYS KEY ROLE Since 1996, there has been no motorcycle manufacturer that has dominated the AMA Superbike circuit quite like Suzuki; and it would be safe to say that since Mat Mladin has jumped onto a Suzuki GSX-R in 1996, there has been no rider who has taken over the sport quite like him. Within the last decade, Mat Mladin has brought 40 winning trophies back to Team Yoshimura Suzuki, the most by any rider in the class, ever. He has also brought the team an unprecedented six championships. Mladin has almost single-handedly proven that Suzuki makes one of the best motorcycles on the market with the GSX-R. When asked, Mladin will attribute all of his success to Suzuki and his team: “I’ve had a great team over the years, and I’ve been able to win a lot of races,” said Mladin about his crew and Suzuki. Since 1996, team Yoshimura Suzuki riders have collected an unmatched 50 Superbike wins; and although most of the success is had by Mat Mladin, two other riders have contributed wins as well. Aaron Yates has taken home nine wins and Ben Spies scored one at California Speedway last year during the Suzuki Superbike Challenge. And, when you ask around the paddock, riders will say they have to get around the Suzuki trio to win, especially at the Southern California course. “For whatever reason the Suzuki guys, all of them, are strong everywhere,” said Miguel Duhamel, rider of the No. 17 American Honda. “At (California Speedway), you cannot ignore the success that they had there, and especially Mat had there. For (the Suzuki Superbike Challenge) weekend, Mat is going to be high on our list. Ben has been showing a lot of speed there, and hopefully Aaron will be fully recovered from the accident he had while testing [at Daytona]. They always go really fast, so it’s going to be hard challenging those guys for the win.” The Suzuki riders will take on the entire AMA Superbike Championship at the 2006 Suzuki Superbike Challenge at California Speedway, April 28-30. Tickets are $10 for Friday and $30 for Saturday or Sunday. Two and three-day ticket packages are also available. For more information, call 800-944-RACE [7223] or log on to www.racetickets.com. More, from a press release issued by AMA Pro Racing: 2006 AMA SUPERMOTO CHAMPIONSHIP KICKS OFF AT CALIFORNIA SPEEDWAY PICKERINGTON, Ohio (April 24, 2006) — On April 29 the 2006 AMA Supermoto Championship presented by Parts Unlimited will take the green flag at California Speedway in Fontana. This is the fourth year of AMA Pro Racing’s newest championship series and it promises to be the best yet. Team Red Bull KTM HMC’s Jurgen Kunzel will be back to defend his 2005 championship. Other pre-season favorites include Troy Lee Honda’s Jeff Ward, the 2004 series champ, and Graves Yamaha teammates Doug Henry and Mark Burkhart. Kunzel took last year’s title in a dramatic down-to-the-wire final round in Reno. The German stole away the title after rival Ward crashed leaving the door open for Kunzel’s surprising comeback. It was a breakthrough year in 2005 for Kunzel. After being one of the fastest Supermoto riders in the AMA championship since its inception, he finally earned his first victory in Nashville, Tenn. Then lady luck smiled on Kunzel again at Reno helping him win the title. “I could not believe that I won the championship,” Kunzel said after placing second in the final race at Reno last October. “I felt very bad for Jeff (Ward). He had a great season and it was a tough way for him to lose the championship. At the same time I’m overjoyed for my team. They put so much work into this. I’ve worked hard for three years to get to this point. I had so much bad luck in my racing career over here, perhaps I was due for a little good luck.” Ward, of Newport Beach, Calif., will turn 45 this season, but the former AMA Motocross and Supercross star still thinks he has what it takes to beat riders half his age. “I’m looking forward to this season,” said Ward, who, in spite of his age, is still one of the most aggressive riders in the series. “It should be good with Kunzel trying to hold on to the title and Doug Henry coming back healthy. And then you have guys like Mark Burkhart and my teammate Chris Fillmore coming on strong. I think the positive thing about racing at my age is my knowledge of how to quickly get a bike set up and knowing how and when to make my move in the races.” Doug Henry was the fastest rider in the championship early on last year winning three straight rounds before suffering injury. The Graves Yamaha rider is a veteran motocross champ like Ward and comes back in 2006 healthy and eager to get back in competition. “I feel just about 100 percent and am looking for a good season,” Henry said. “I’m really pumped about the new Yamaha YZF450. In stock form I went faster than I’ve ever gone on my practice track. My goal is to come out of Fontana with some good points. We have a break in the series after that race to correct any problems we might encounter in the first round, but hopefully we’ll be competitive from the start.” While Supermoto’s version of the “Big Three” is Kunzel, Ward and Henry, many people, including his fellow competitors, see Graves Yamaha’s Mark Burkhart making it the “Fab Four” in 2006. Burkhart, who totally dominated AMA Supermoto Lites last year, shocked the established stars by moving up from Lites and dominating the main Supermoto class in the Reno Red Bull finale last year. In addition to the two rounds of the premier AMA Supermoto class, fans at California Speedway will also get to see a round of the AMA Supermoto Unlimited and Supermoto Lites support classes. Brandon Currie will try to keep the Supermoto Lites title in the Graves Yamaha camp. After riding a Kawasaki in ’05 and finishing runner up to Burkhart last year, Currie now gets the opportunity to ride for a proven championship team. Currie is expected to be the rider to beat, but there are a host of others hoping to fill the void left in Burkhart’s absence. Old scores may be settled in the Supermoto Unlimited class this year. Last year’s championship ended in a remarkable and controversial finish in the final round. Two title contenders Micky Dymond and Darryl Atkins came together on the last corner of the last lap. Atkins went down and with it his hopes of the title. Some called Dymond’s pass an aggressive, but perfectly acceptable racing move, while others saw it as overly forceful. The two are slated to resume their rivalry at California Speedway. This year Atkins is expected to race the new Aprilia SXV550 twin-cylinder machine. The opening AMA Supermoto Championship runs Saturday in conjunction with the Suzuki Superbike Challenge AMA Superbike Championship doubleheader. All the final Supermoto events will take place after the end of Saturday’s road racing action, giving fans the opportunity to see two major championship events in a single day. OLN will telecast the series. Look for updated information and a complete broadcast schedule to be released soon. For ticket information call 1-800-944-RACE (7223) or visit www.californiaspeedway.com More, from another, subsequent press release issued by California Speedway: Spies Heads to California with Points Lead Ben Spies swept the doubleheader AMA Superbike events in Alabama over the weekend. The Yoshimura Suzuki rider gained his first career AMA Superbike pole position and his second and third series wins. Spies first career AMA Superbike win came at California Speedway one year ago. Spies sweep started when he captured his first AMA Superbike pole position after posting a 1:24.830 lap time. Teammate Mladin was right behind him followed by Tommy Hayden, Roger Lee Hayden and Aaron Yates started third through fifth, respectively. In Saturday afternoon’s 28-lap race, Spies got the holeshot and Mladin was right on his tail. Spies led for the first several laps, but then Mladin got by him and took the lead. Then, Spies got around Mladin and took the lead and never relinquished it. Mladin, meanwhile, got caught up with a lapper and ran briefly off the track but recovered quickly and finished second. Jake Zemke finished third followed by Miguel Duhamel and Tommy Hayden. Early in Sunday’s race six-time champ Mladin appeared to be on his way to getting his revenge for Saturday’s defeat, pulling out an early second-plus advantage. However, the Aussie shockingly lost it on the brakes entering Turn 5 while working the race’s fifth lap and was sent sliding into the gravel. Following the incident, Spies, Tommy Hayden and Duhamel found themselves in a three-way fight for the lead. After a number of circulations an order was finally established and Spies looked set to take his third win. DuHamel was clear in second, and Hayden seemed all but assured of his first Superbike podium several seconds back in third. An accident involving Roger Hayden and James Kerker while trying to challenge fourth place Yates brought out the red flag on lap 21 of 28. Adding to the drama was the fact that Mladin, who had remounted and charged up to 14th from outside the top 30 by that time, would be allowed to make repairs and get a second chance, starting from just a few rows behind his rivals. On the restart, Spies gained more than a second advantage by the completion of lap 21. From there it was smooth sailing to complete his pole/win/win weekend. As the Texan cleared off to grab his second checkered flag in as many days, a huge fight for the runner-up spot broke out involving Duhamel, Tommy Hayden, Yates and Mladin. DuHamel finished second with Mladin close on his heals for third. Yates finished fourth, followed by Neil Hodgson in fifth. The weekend sweep positioned Spies on top of the points hunt as they head to California Speedway for the Suzuki Superbike Challenge April 28-30. Mladin is second (-8) followed by Duhamel (-19) in third, Hodgson (-29) in fourth with Yates (-31) and Tommy Hayden (-31) in a tie for fifth. Bostrom (-36), Jason Pridmore (-43), Zemke (-55) and Larry Pegram (-56) wrap up the top 10 in points. Be sure to catch all the two-wheeled racing action at California Speedway during the Suzuki Superbike Challenge on April 28-30. Tickets are on sale now. In addition to individual tickets, three and two-day ticket packages are available and children 12 and under are free with each paid adult admission. To purchase your tickets today, call 800-944-RACE [7223] or visit www.racetickets.com.

So you’re a trackday rider and want to get better now? Stuck in a rut and can’t improve your times? Want to learn basic and advanced track riding techniques from one of the top riders at the Willow Springs Motorcycle Club? Well then… we definitely have the answer for you. Trackdaz, LLC and Kenny Kopecky Racing are pleased to announce “Riding With the Champion” at selected TrackDaz dates at Willow Springs International Raceway. What you’ll get is individualized and personal instruction from Kenny Kopecky, the current #1 plate holder at Willow Springs Motorcycle Club. You will learn on-track skills and techniques to increase your speed and confidence, and off track preparation necessary to ride at the absolute limit of what you and your bike are capable of. Kenny has a wealth of experience from which you, the TrackDaz rider will benefit immensely. With over 20 years experience as an active road racer, more than 100 expert class wins in multiple classes (incl. 600cc, 750cc, Open, Twins and F-1), and over 400 top 3 finishes to his credit, Kopecky is one of the most experienced motorcycle road racers active in California. Spots are extremely limited, so don’t wait!! Sign up now! More information can be found at www.kennykopecky.com/trackdaz.championday.htm

CRA ignites the season at MAM The CRA (Central Roadracing Association) kicks off their 32nd year of racing this weekend (April 28-30) at Mid America Motorplex in Council Bluffs, IA. Riders from around the Midwest and even further are coming to compete in the first motorcycle endurance race ever held at MAM. This will be the first in an endurance series consisting of three endurance races this season. The CRA will be offering their amazing full host of sprint races throughout the weekend as well. Racers, volunteer workers, and spectators are all welcomed and encouraged to attend. Shake off the winter cobwebs on your racing skills and come get involved in the excitement that is road racing! CRA 2006 schedule: April 28-30 MAM* June 16-18 BIR July 14-16 BIR* August 25-27 BIR Sept 15-17 BIR** * denotes 2 hour endurance event on Saturday ** denote 5 hour endurance on Sunday For more information please visit www.cra-mn.com or call the CRA info line at (612) 332-4070. Editorial Note: Formula USA has held at least one Team Challenge endurance race at Mid-America Motorsports Park, in 2003.

World Supersport Round 3, Valencia, Spain Noyes low-sides out of the points in World Supersport at Valencia Riding a 600 Supersport for the first time in five years, Kenny Noyes qualified 18th, was 8th in the Sunday morning warm-up for the Spanish round of the World Supersport championship at Valencia, Spain. Filling in on the GMT94 Yamaha R6 for regular rider David Checa, who was racing at the 24 Hours of Le Mans that same weekend, Kenny was down in 24th place coming out of turn one. Over the next 11 laps he recovered nine places and was running 15th and still moving up when he low-sided out of the turn 6 left-hander on lap 12 of 23. “I think we may have made a mistake on the tire. It was cold and wet for most of practice and I never got a chance to do any runs longer than seven laps on the soft tire we used. When the sun came out just before the start the track temperature heated right up. I had had a couple of warnings but this time the back end just came around and I couldn´t save it,” said Kenny. “It was so different from riding the R1. I kept trying to use the lines from the big bike and giving up too much corner speed, but it was fun and I was enjoying it a lot. It was a slow crash but I broke the footpeg so I coudn´t continue.” This weekend Noyes will be back on his endurance spec R1 for the Six Hours of Albacete and a week later he´ll ride the R1 Formula Extreme bike in the opening round of the Spanish Nationals, also at Albacete.

FROM THE SADDLE WITH MARCO MELANDRI A lap of the Istanbul Park on Marco’s Honda Istanbul is a special circuit and it is easy to understand why. Last year I had an extraordinary weekend here. I was strong in practice and the race was unforgettable, leading all the way to my first MotoGP win. It was an unforgettable emotion. Perhaps that is the reason or perhaps it is because of the characteristics of the track but I like Istanbul Park a lot. It is a complete and technical circuit with a lot of changes in direction and pace. There are slow corners in first or second gear, as well as some fast ones in fourth or fifth. Despite the short straight it is a fun track and it allows you to get the full potential out of a MotoGP bike. Join me on the Honda – let’s take a lap together We start with a short straight and then the first difficult section, with an exciting braking area, probably one of the most difficult on the calendar (you drop from fifth to second gear, from around 280km/h to about 96). You move back up the gears to fifth, arriving at the limit to tackle the long right-hander which you take in fourth gear at around 260km/h. You have to be ready to prepare for the change of direction to the left that comes after; the bike tends to slide around and it is easy to make a mistake. This is the start of a very important section if you want to set a fast lap – a series of linked corners that you take in second, making the most of the torque range of the engine. You come out and shift up to fourth to take on the downhill right before the big left hander – the longest on the championship – which can be taken in third, playing with the throttle to find the best possible line. You can take a lot of different lines through here but you must be careful because the track is bumpy. There is a short straight where you shift up from third to fifth and reach around 285km/h before a section of four really fun corners, which you take as one in second gear. Then it’s third, fourth, fifth, up towards the fastest corner in the championship, where tenths of a second can be won and lost as you go through at over 250km/h. It is important to get a good exit from this corner in order to set up your attack on the final section of the circuit: a violently hard braking from sixth gear to first, dropping from 300 to 70km/h. The track is bumpy and it is difficult to stay on the right line. It is important to be fast here because you have three first gear corners where you can make one last attempt to overtake before the charge to the chequered. Marco Melandri

Geoff May was the fastest, riding his Pirelli-shod Team M4 EMGO Suzuki GSX-R600 to the top of the leader board in Saturday morning’s Supersport practice for round two of the AMA Superbike Championship, at Barber Motorsports Park, Birmingham, Alabama. Chris Ulrich was the fastest rider in Saturday morning’s Superstock practice, on his Team RoadracingWorld.com Suzuki GSX-R1000, giving Pirelli the fastest spots in two of the four AMA Superbike series classes before final qualifying. May’s Pirelli-shod Suzuki set a time in Supersport practice of 1:29.739 on the 2.3-mile Barber racecourse, setting a pace nearly four tenths of a second faster than the second-placed rider in that Supersport practice session. May then put his Suzuki on row one during qualifying by setting the fourth fastest time. May made the most of his front row starting position with a Supersport podium finish, after turning his fastest lap on lap 12 of the 17-lap event, showing the consistency of his Pirelli tires. May’s third-place finish put him ahead of all other non-factory riders and it was the highest finish by any Suzuki racer. In Superstock practice on Friday, May was third fastest before nabbed a place on the front row with the fourth fastest time during qualifying, giving Pirelli two front row staring positions in the four AMA road racing classes. The Superstock final saw May ride his Pirelli-equipped Suzuki to a fourth-place finish. Kurtis Roberts joined Team M4 EMGO Suzuki for a two-event commitment in Formula Xtreme, beginning with the Barber round. This was Roberts’ first professional road race on Pirelli tires and he quickly became comfortable on the Italian rubber, going faster each time he was on track. Roberts qualified fifth for Formula Xtreme and moved into third by the race’s second lap, cutting a half second from the leaders in one lap. Roberts rode a steady race to nab third, giving Pirelli its first podium of the weekend. Even with two podiums the biggest news for Pirelli might have been in Superbike Race One. John Haner set a scalding time in Superbike qualifying to put him ahead of every other privateer in the field. Haner qualified his Pirelli-shod Team KWS Suzuki sponsored GSX-R1000 in tenth-place, on row three of the grid, for the Superbike doubleheader. In Race One Haner shocked the factory boys by jumping into eighth on the first lap, immediately ahead of two of them. By lap three Haner was in seventh. Haner battled with Ben Bostrom for the most of the race, never putting a wheel wrong and eventually passing him back and holding him off, showing how Haner was able to beat a factory effort, head-to-head, on the track. And able to do it on a privateer bike with Pirelli tires. The next fastest privateer finished Race One over 22 seconds behind Haner’s Michael Godin-prepared Suzuki. Pirelli Road Racing Manager Richard Moore said, “We knew coming in here we had new tires that could go the distance. We’re all thrilled with Kurtis adding a podium to Geoff May’s, giving us two in this event from Team M4 EMGO Suzuki. And with John Haner’s Superbike finish we feel like we won the race overall. Watching him battle it out, wheel-to-wheel, with top factory riders, and then come out ahead of a few of them, shows we’re well on our way to contending for the podium in every class.” More, from a press release issued by Team M4 EMGO Suzuki: MAY ON SUPERSPORT PODIUM IN BIRMINGHAM Team M4 EMGO Suzuki’s Geoff May claimed the second podium finish of the weekend for the squad at Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, AL on Sunday. One day after Kurtis Roberts debuted for the team with a third-place finish in the Formula Xtreme race, May guided his Pirelli-shod GSX-R600 to third in the 17-lap Supersport contest. May was able to move up into third and fend off a determined challenge for the position late in the race. He edged a rival by just 0.216 seconds at the flag for the final spot on the podium. The Georgian impressed in the Superstock final as well, challenging the leaders while running in third for the opening seven laps. He eventually settled into a solid fourth-place ride. May said of the Supersport contest, “At the end of the race I just put my head down and said, ‘There’s no way he’s going to pass me. I’m not going to let anyone get by me today.’ I just held a defensive line and brought it home in third. It’s definitely a milestone getting on the box in Supersport for the first time. It’s a big accomplishment.” May also stated that the team’s strong early season form at two dramatically different racetracks bodes well for the remainder of the 2006 season. “I feel like we’ve shown we can go from Daytona, which is a horsepower track, to here, which is one of the most technical tracks in America, and that we’re able to come up with a good set-up and run well anywhere. I feel that at pretty much every track we’ll be able to be up like we were this weekend. This would be a good average for us this season.” Teammate Michael Barnes spent time in the top five during the Supersport race as well before ultimately finishing seventh. It was a solid outing for the Floridian who is still recovering from the knee injury he suffered at the Daytona season opener. Unfortunately, Shea Fouchek’s day didn’t go as smoothly. He was forced out of the Supersport final after completing just five laps. Team M4 EMGO Suzuki will be back in action next weekend as the series heads to California Speedway in Fontana, CA on April 28-30 for the third stop on the 2006 calendar. More, from a press release issued by Parts Unlimited Ducati: HODGSON FOURTH IN AMA SUPERBIKE POINTS AFTER BIRMINGHAM Leeds (Alabama): Parts Unlimited Ducati Team racers Neil Hodgson and Eric Bostrom finished fifth and sixth in the Sunday AMA Superbike contest from Birmingham, Alabama. Hodgson finished 4.511 seconds behind winner Ben Spies in the red-flagged 28-lap race, taking fifth in an eight-lap shootout and finishing in front of teammate and fellow Ducati 999 pilot Ben Bostrom. Neil is now fourth in AMA Superbike points after three races. “It was really a frustrating weekend for us because we expect more than this. As riders, I can assure you Ben and I are riding really, really hard, but we just aren’t seeing it in the lap times,” said Hodgson. “We really don’t have the answers right now. As for the restart, I decided to push things past the limit. I relaxed a little bit and said to myself, ‘I just might have to crash, but I have to step it up.’ In a weekend like this one, you don’t think so much about the championship so much. I might as well just go past the limit, to ignore the warning signs. I did and I went a little quicker.” “I’m just glad we get to race next weekend at Fontana because at least we don’t have to wait so long to get another shot at it. That track does suit our bike better and I had a good race there last year,” he said. Ben Bostrom was sixth, feeling better but still bothered by sinus problems. “Since I was sick and we were struggling anyway, we treated the weekend more like a test. We made big changes with every session. In the red flag, we made another change to the bike and found some more time and I was able to push a little harder. Neil and I ran together most of today and we were pretty evenly matched in most of the sections.” The Parts Unlimited Ducati Team will next race at California Speedway in Fontana, CA, April 28-30. Results: 1. Ben Spies, Suzuki 2. Miguel Duhamel, Honda 3. Mat Mladin, Suzuki 4. Aaron Yates, Suzuki 5. Neil Hodgson, Parts Unlimited Ducati 6. Ben Bostrom, Parts Unlimited Ducati 7. Tommy Hayden, Kawasaki 8. Jacob Holden, Suzuki 9. Larry Pegram, Honda 10. Jason Pridmore, Suzuki Standings (after three races): 1. Ben Spies, Suzuki 107 2. Mat Mladin, Suzuki 99 3. Miguel Duhamel, Honda 88 4. Neil Hodgson, Parts Unlimited Ducati 78 5. Aaron Yates, Suzuki 76 5. Tommy Hayden, Kawasaki 76 7. Ben Bostrom, Parts Unlimited Ducati 71 8. Jason Pridmore, Suzuki 64 9. Jake Zemke, Suzuki 52 10. Larry Pegram, Honda 52 More, from a press release issued by Millennium/KWS Suzuki: Millennium/KWS Suzuki makes a statement at Barber Millennium/KWS Suzuki sponsored by Ron Ayers Motorsports arrived at Barber Motorsports Park this weekend with a point to prove. The team had tested their Suzuki GSX-R1000’s with Pirelli at Barber the last week of March and felt they were as prepared as possible. “I am extremely happy with the progression of the tires, suspension, and motor package,” said team owner Kevin Hunt. “Pirelli has really stepped up their program and the lap times prove it. With our sponsors’ help we can run with the factory bikes.” John Haner put in one of the most inspiring rides of the 2006 season in the first Superbike race. Haner qualified in the tenth position with a time of 1:27.043. Haner got an excellent start, completing lap one in eighth place ahead of both factory Ducati riders, Neil Hodgson and Ben Bostrom. Eventually both factory pilots got by, but Haner put his head down and re-passed Bostrom on lap 20. Haner battled the last third of race with Bostrom and factory Suzuki rider Aaron Yates. Haner finished the top privateer in eighth position ahead of Bostrom when Yates beat him at the line by only a tenth of a second. After all of the success of Saturdays Superbike race, the team was extremely hopeful for good results from both Millennium/KWS Suzuki riders in the Superstock race on Sunday. John Haner qualified in the tenth position with a time of 1:27.700 and Matt Lynn in the thirteenth position with a time of 1:28.231. Lynn got an excellent start but was pushed off the track by another rider’s mistake in turn one and completed the first lap in last place, half a lap down. Unfazed by his bad luck, Lynn rode hard making up the half lap deficit and passing thirteen other riders to finish in the nineteenth position. Haner got a great start as well and was racing Jordan Motorsports riders, Jake Holden and Steve Rapp for seventh position when Haner crashed on lap five injuring his shoulder. Although nothing was broken, Haner elected not to compete in the second Superbike race of the weekend. John will be consulting a specialist this week to make sure nothing is seriously damaged. John Haner “The Superbike race on Saturday was good.” said Haner. “It was fun being up there battling with Hodgson, Bostrom, and Yates. My guys have been working their butts off and being able to test here with Pirelli helped a ton.” Haner went on to say that he was very disappointed for the team to have crashed and to have been injured in the Superstock race. “I think that if we could have raced the second Superbike race that we would have had a good chance at a top five, especially with the eight lap sprint to the finish.” John went on to thank his mechanics Michael Godin and Owen Garnett for all their hard work. Matt Lynn “The team worked so hard this weekend and I turned the fastest laps I have ever turned here,” said Lynn. “My mechanics Rick Matheny and Brian Stricker did everything they could to put me in a position for a good finish, but you can’t control everybody else on the track. I was glad to be able to get back on track and get some points.” Kevin Hunt (Team Owner) “Anytime you can beat a factory team in a heads up race is a good weekend. Both riders rode great this weekend and I could not be happier with everyone’s effort, riders and mechanics alike. The sponsors are doing their part as well with Pit Bull and Ron Ayers Motorsports helping out tremendously with some crucial pit equipment to make the mechanics job easier. We have some of the best sponsors in the paddock and they make this possible.”

THE DUCATI MARLBORO TEAM ARRIVES ON ASIAN SHORES. The Ducati Marlboro Team travels to Istanbul in fine spirits, having made a dazzling start to the 2006 MotoGP series, establishing early leads in both the riders’ and constructors’ World Championships. Loris Capirossi won at Jerez on March 26 and took third in Qatar on April 7 to build a five-point lead in the riders’ title chase, his Desmosedici GP06 performing superbly at two very different racetracks. This weekend the Italian faces a major challenge because he’s new to Istanbul Park, having missed last year’s inaugural Turkish GP through injury. Team-mate Sete Gibernau meanwhile aims to keep building momentum in Turkey after a fine ride to fourth in Qatar. The Spaniard, who suffered DNF disappointment at Jerez, was right on the pace in MotoGP’s gruelling desert race, proving that he has really got to grips with the GP6 and its Bridgestone tyres. LORIS CAPIROSSI, Ducati Marlboro Team rider, 1st overall “I feel we are in great shape. I’m really confident in the bike and in the tyres, so although I know it’s a long, long championship I think it’s going to be a good year for us. Ducati and Bridgestone have worked so hard to get us where we are and we made some more improvements when we tested at Qatar the day after the race. “I’ll need all their support in Turkey because I know nothing about the track! I got injured in Australia last year so I was home when the race happened. Since then I have watched the race maybe 20 times on television to try and understand something about the track. It looks to me like a good circuit, which is great because some new tracks built primarily for F1 don’t work so well for bikes because they feature too many short corners. Making a rough judgement from the TV, I’d say it could be a nice circuit for me – there are some fast corners and it’s very up and down.” SETE GIBERNAU, Ducati Marlboro Team rider, 10th overall “I’m really looking forward to Turkey because I think we did a good job during the race in Qatar and we enjoyed a very positive day of tests the following day. We solved the chatter we had during the race and made some other improvements which should help us in Turkey, so I feel we can have a good weekend if everything goes to plan. “The layout of Istanbul Park isn’t so bad. It’s quite enjoyable, though a bit bumpy in places. It’s got some difficult corners that challenge both you and the bike. The super-fast right-hander near the end of the lap is amazing, it’s uphill, banked and you attack it pretty much flat-out in fifth gear! When the bike is working well it’s an enjoyable corner. You need a lot of stability through there, but then you also need really good manoeuvrability for the tighter turns like the three-way chicane. So once again you need a bike that does everything well, you need really good balance so you can be fast around the whole track.” LIVIO SUPPO, Ducati MotoGP project manager “The team is very strong at the moment. Our results from the first two races have pushed our motivation higher and higher, now we must maintain that level. Qatar was great because we thought it would be tough but we got third and fourth, just seconds behind the winner. Those results prove that Bridgestone have made huge steps forward and give us real hope that we’ll be okay at other tracks at which we struggled last year. “Istanbul will be a real challenge for Loris because he knows nothing of the track, but he’s in amazingly good spirits, so I’m sure he’ll be okay. Sete gets better as he gets more used to the bike and tyres. We were so pleased to see him get a great result in Qatar after the disappointment of Jerez.” THE CIRCUIT Istanbul Park received rave reviews when riders got acquainted with the circuit at last October’s inaugural Turkish motorcycle Grand Prix. Situated 62km/38 miles south east of Istanbul city on the Asian side of the Bosphorus, the track flows across rolling hillsides, producing a thrilling lap which contrasts dead-stop chicanes with the awesome 260km/h/160mph Turn 11 right-hander. The circuit thus requires some real compromises in motorcycle set-up, so that bikes are manoeuvrable through the slow sections and stable through the high-speed sections. Riders only had one complaint last year, that the track was too bumpy in some areas. Lap record: Marco Melandri (Honda), 1m 53.111s, 169.956kmh/105.606mph (2005) 2005 pole position: Sete Gibernau (Honda), 1m 52.334s DUCATI MARLBORO TEAM RIDER DATA LOGS LORIS CAPIROSSI Age: 33 (born April 4, 1973) Lives: Monaco Bike: Ducati Marlboro Team Desmosedici GP6 GP starts: 233 (63xMotoGP, 59×500, 84×250, 27×125) GP victories: 26 (4xMotoGP, 2×500, 12×250, 8×125) First GP victory: Britain, 1990 (125) First GP: Japan, 1990 (125) Pole positions: 40 (7xMotoGP, 5×500, 23×250, 5×125) First pole: Australia, 1991 (125) World Championships: 3 (125: 1990, 1991, 250: 1998) Istanbul 2005 results: DNS (injured at Australian GP) SETE GIBERNAU Age: 33 (born December 15, 1972) Lives: Switzerland Bike: Ducati Marlboro Team Desmosedici GP6 GP starts: 162 (67xMotoGP, 76×500, 19×250) GP victories: 9 (8xMotoGP, 1×500) First GP victory: Valencia, 2001 (500) First GP: Spain, 1993 (250) Pole positions: 12 (11xMotoGP, 1×500) First pole: South Africa, 2000 (500) Istanbul 2005 results: Grid: 1st. Race: 4th

Rizla Suzuki MotoGP raring to go in Istanbul Rizla Suzuki MotoGP racers John Hopkins and Chris Vermeulen are eager to get back on their Suzuki GSV-Rs as the MotoGP spectacle heads to Turkey. Both riders are looking forward to returning to a circuit they enjoy racing on. Hopkins is fired up and ready to push his Rizla Suzuki to the limits in search of the podium finish that he is looking for. Team-mate Vermeulen is returning to Turkey a venue he raced at last season in MotoGP and where he signed for Suzuki determined to make his mark. The Grand Prix of Turkey is round three in the 2006 MotoGP World Championship and it is only the second time a motorcycle Grand Prix has been held there. The Istanbul Park circuit is one of the most demanding and technical on the calendar. The 5.3km long track features tricky downhill braking sections and various elevation changes, plus one of the fastest corners in racing – which is taken at speeds in excess of 250km/h. The track certainly favours hard racing and gives riders the opportunity to open up their machines and push to the limits of the tyres and chassis. Rizla Suzuki MotoGP will take to the track on Friday morning for the first of two free practice sessions. Saturday will have a further practice hour and is followed by qualifying in the afternoon. The 22-lap race will get underway at 15.00hrs local time (14.00hrs CET) on Sunday 30th April. Paul Denning Team Manager: “We’ve come to Turkey in good spirits and the team morale is positive. You can be assured that Suzuki has been burning a lot of midnight oil to come up with some answers following Qatar, both in terms of durability and performance. Looking at the parts list of what’s due to arrive in Istanbul, there’s a lot of new stuff! We did a lot of pre-season testing and the all-new Rizla Suzuki GSV-R showed a lot of promise – we know that we are moving in the right direction. With a little bit of luck in the first two races both riders would have had much better results. “John is totally focused on the job in hand to get the Rizla Suzuki GSV-R towards the front on the pack – and Chris is coming to a track that he has already raced at in a Grand Prix, so we will hopefully see him on the pace early on as he doesn’t have the added pressure of having to learn the circuit. We need to get down to work straight away and get the bike back on course to what we know we can achieve. Istanbul is a great place to start as the track should suit the bike well, and the best way the whole team can respond to a weekend like Qatar is to get our heads down and achieve the best possible results.”