Team Yoshimura Suzuki’s Atsushi Watanabe has taken over the lead in the All Japan Superbike Championship after finishing second at Sunday’s Suzuka second round. After wet qualifying and morning warm-up, the GSX-R1000 mounted rider took the lead early on followed by team mate Kousuke Akiyoshi, who then moved to the front at the end of the opening lap. But Akiyoshi fell one lap later because of oil on the circuit which caused the race to be red flagged. On the restart, Watanabe led from reigning champion Shin-ichi Ito (Honda) and Akiyoshi, riding his ‘B’ machine. On the sixth lap, Ito passed Watanabe, who responded immediately by taking back the lead. An exciting battle ensued until Watanabe got caught up with back-markers and lost ground and couldn’t close the gap. Said Watanabe: “The race was dry whereas we’d practiced and qualified in the wet. I couldn’t keep may pace because I couldn’t find a good set-up for the dry conditions. My Yoshimura GSX-R is very fast bike and my new Bridgestone tyres feel good! In the first race of this season I was third and today second so I hope the next race I will win!” Results: 1: Shin-ichi Ito(Honda) 2: Atsushi Watanabe (Yoshimura Suzuki) 3: Tatsuya Yamagichi (Honda) 4: Kousuke Akiyoshi (Yoshimura Suzuki) 5: Katsuyuki Nakasuga (Yamaha) 6: Osamu Deguchi (Honda) 7: Chojun Kameya (Honda) 8: Akira Yanagawa (Kawasaki) 9: Yoshiteru Konishi (Honda) 10: Kazuki Tokudome (Honda).

KURTIS ROBERTS TO RACE FOR TEAM M4 EMGO SUZUKI Team M4 EMGO Suzuki is pleased to announce that three-time AMA Champion Kurtis Roberts will race for the team in AMA Nationals at Barber Motorsports Park April 20-23 and at California Speedway April 27-30. Former MotoGP racer Roberts will fill-in for Michael Barnes, the team’s regular Formula Xtreme entrant, who suffered a knee injury at Daytona in March. Roberts successfully tested the team’s Suzuki GSX-R600 and Pirelli tires at Barber Motorsports Park near Birmingham, Alabama last month, leading to talks about racing the machine. The two-race deal was negotiated directly by Roberts (acting as his own manager) and the team.

James Haydon will start from fifth place and Shane ‘Shakey’ Byrne right behind him at the top of the third row in ninth for the double-header Bank Holiday Monday third round of the Bennetts British Superbike Championship at Thruxton in Hampshire. Sunshine and warm weather helped the Rizla Suzuki racers to push their GSX-R1000s to the limit with both showing impressive pace on race tyres. It was James who made the most of his qualifying tyres in the final session while Shakey’s attempts at a fast lap were disrupted by two red flags in the last six minutes. Ducati’s Leon Haslam took pole position. Legendary F1 commentator Murray Walker will be joining Rizla Suzuki at Thruxton this weekend to cheer on the boys in blue. Superbike racing starts at 13:30 on Bank Holiday Monday, April 17th James Haydon: “It’s a shame I was just edged off the front row but fifth place is good and I want to thank my mechanics for all their hard work and support today. “I am comfortable on my Rizla Suzuki and feel if I can get away with the leaders I’ll be able to stick with them and compete. We have built up steadily over the weekend to get to this point and it feels like it is starting to come together I can’t wait for the races.” Shakey Byrne: “I can’t believe my bad luck in qualifying this year. A qualifying tyre will only last one lap around Thruxton because of the high speed and I had just started my final fast lap when the red flags came out with six minutes to go. I tried nursing the tyre home for another go but it didn’t work out and I ended up ninth. “I am pumped for tomorrow’s races and we have a very quick bike. Through the speed traps our bike is one of the fastest and that will help me to overtake the riders in front of me. I’m not planning on taking any prisoners in the races.” Niall Mackenzie – Race Operations Manager: “James has been consistent and fast all weekend and thoroughly deserves his best qualifying position of the season so far in fifth. He’s a good starter, is confident on race rubber and if he can get away with the leaders you can be sure he’ll have a go for the podium places. “Shane was a bit unlucky today as his final qualifying tyre was wasted when a red flag ruined his lap. On race rubber he remains one of the front runners and he needs a good start tomorrow if he wants to be in the final reckoning.” Qualifying Times: 1: Leon Haslam (Ducati) 1:14.626, 2: Karl Harris (Honda) +0.559, 3: Gregorio Lavilla (Ducati) +0.593, 4: Dean Thomas (Kawasaki) +0.871, 5: James Haydon (Rizla Suzuki) +0.969, 6: Michael Rutter (Honda) +1.115, 7: Ryuichi Kiyonari (Honda) +1.149, 8: Jonathan Rea (Honda) +1.184, 9: Shane Byrne (Rizla Suzuki)+1.514, 10: Jon Kirkham (Suzuki) +1.740.

The May 13-14, 2006 CMRRA race has moved from Grange’ Motor Circuit to the Willow Springs Kart Track. For additional info.: www.racecmrra.com or call (951) 757-4869.

Team Yoshimura Suzuki’s Kousuke Akiyoshi took his first pole position of the season today for the second-round All Japan Superbike Championship round at Suzuka tomorrow. Akiyoshi set his fastest time of 2:23.233 in the final qualifying session under wet and misty conditions as team mate Atsushi Watanabe recorded the third fastest time of the day with 2:25.199. Said Akiyoshi: “Today we were in very difficult conditions because the rain got heavier but I found a good wet set-up. Thank you to my team staff for doing such a good job.” Said Watanabe: “I made small crash yesterday so I’m happy with this result. The Bridgestone tyres feel good in the wet and dry, but I hope tomorrow is fine weather.” Final Qualifying: 1:Kousuke AKIYOSHI(Yoshimura-SUZUKI), 2:Takeshi TSUJIMURA(TSR-HONDA), 3:Atsushi WATANABE(Yoshimura-SUZUKI), 4:Yoshiteru KONISHI(Honda), 5:Chojun KAMEYA(HONDA), 6:Kazuki TOKUDOME(HONDA), 7:Shin-ichi ITO(HONDA), 8:Osamu DEGUCHI(HONDA), 9:Akira YANAGAWA(KAWASAKI), 10:Tatsuya YAMAGUCHI(HONDA).

Suzuki Castrol on Pole for Assen 500 Honda Alpha Technik Second, Yamaha Austria Third Suzuki Castrol’s Vincent Philippe has taken provisional pole position for the Assen 500 opening round of the 2006 FIM World Endurance Championship. His lap time of 1:42.718 was over half a second faster than the competition. Second place has gone to wildcard team Alpha Tecknik Van Zon Honda’s Michael Schulten (1:43.343) third to Yamaha Austria’s Igor Jerman (1:44.408), fourth to Kawasaki Bolliger Team’s Patric Muff (1:45.297) and fifth to Yamaha Phase One Endurance’s Warwick Nowland (1:45.444). Suzuki Fagersjo-el.se’s seventh place is all the more remarkable because their single day of winter testing was held at a snow-bound track in temperatures of around 1 degree Celsius. Yamaha Austria’s usual star qualifying rider Gwen Giabbani is also still feeling the effects of winter, with a case of influenza restricting his performance this weekend. Each of the three Suzuki Castrol riders – Vincent Philippe, Matthieu Lagrive and Keiichi Kitagawa – was fastest in their individual sessions. The team appears to have kept their winning advantage from last season, but Matthieu Lagrive may not ride in Monday’s race after injuring his wrist during this morning’s warm-up session. Vincent Philippe, Suzuki Castrol: “The bike is good here; no problems at all. Our main worry is Matthieu; we have to think about Le Mans next week” The top three places on the grid are held by three different manufacturers, with a fourth – Kawasaki – taking sixth place. The top ten comprises four Yamahas, three Suzukis, two Kawasakis and a single Honda. Provisional Top Ten Qualifying Positions 1st 1 – Suzuki Castrol Team – FRA – Suzuki GSX-R1000 – V.Philippe – 1:42.718 2nd 71 – Honda Alpha Technik Van Zon – BEL – Honda CBR1000RR – M.Schulten – 1:43.343 3rd 7 – Yamaha Austria – AUT – Yamaha YZF-R1 – I.Jerman – 1:44.408 4th 8 – Kawasaki Bolliger Team – SUI – Kawasaki ZX10R – P.Muff – 1:45.267 5th 3 – Yamaha Phase One Endurance – GBR – Yamaha YZF-R1 – W.Nowland – 1:45.444 6th 99 – Yamaha Team Acropolis Zone Rouge 99 – Yamaha YZF-R1 – C.Cogan – 1:45.658 7th 12 – Suzuki Team Fagersjo-el.se – SWE – Suzuki GSX-R1000 – J.Hanson – 1:45.973 8th 38 – Yamaha Endurance Moto38 – FRA – Yamaha YZF-R1 – D.Bouan – 1:46.129 9th 666 – Kawasaki Diablo 666 Bolliger – GBR – Kawasaki ZX10R – M.Rohtlaan – 1:46.177 10th 44 – Suzuki No Limits & RT Racing – Suzuki GSX-R1000 – ITA – F.Jond – 1:47.287 More, from a press release issued by Primo Racing: World Endurance Championship Round 1 Assen TT Circuit, The Netherlands Easter weekend brings the opening round of the World Endurance Championship at Assen, and 2006 is the inaugural season for Primo Racing as a permanent team in the series. Based out of Antwerp, Belgium, team riders Hans Westra, Patrick De La Ruelle and Didier Heyndrickx will be competing in the full championship season aboard a 2006 Suzuki GSX-R 1000 motorcycle, which has been expertly prepared by the team with assistance from 15 volunteer crew members. Competing for the first time at the newly revised TT Assen Circuit in The Netherlands, all concerned have been working hard to come to terms with the new circuit, become comfortable on a freshly built race bike and improve lap times. Practice 1 Hans Westra Team Owner and Rider The new circuit is a lot of fun, the first few turns just keep going and going until it turns hard back to the hard. This is not an easy section. The bike is good, but we shall see what the other’s think and make adjustments to the suspension. Patrick De La Ruelle Team Owner and Rider This year’s Suzuki is much faster than our bike from last year, and the handling is excellent. Right now we can only keep working for faster times. Practice 2 Afternoon sun and warmer temperatures welcomed the team to the second practice with no changes made to the bike, although the team’s third rider would now be able to take part in development of the brand new Suzuki GSX-R1000 Didier Heyndrickx Hans and Patrick did not have too many problems, but for me the bike was shaking on acceleration. Each time I was hard on the throttle there was a vibration in the bars. It was not a problem, but fixing it would help us go faster. When I am rolling on the throttle the front tire does not make much contact with the ground and this is causing the bike to feel unstable. Patrick De La Ruelle On hard acceleration the bike is compressing the rear suspension because the spring is too soft. We have spoken to Ohlins here at the track and decided to install a stiffer spring. Hans Westra It is only a five pounds difference in spring rate, but the stiffer setting should stop the front from rising and becoming light under acceleration. Changing temperatures caught several teams off guard with riders from Suzuki Endurance Racing Team (SERT), Yamaha PhaseOne and X-One Yamaha each taking falls on a quickly cooling track. Primo Racing’s Didier Hendricks, however, was able to advance up the time charts with a stunning lap that catapulted the team into 9 th in the session. Final Qualifying Qualifying was split into three sessions with every rider on the team taking part in a 20 minute timed session, with the grid being determined by the team’s single fastest lap. When all was said and done Primo Racing’s Didier Heyndrickx had taken the team’s nearly stock Suzuki GSX-R1000 to 15th on the grid with a lap at 1: 48.321. Hans Westra For a small team like ours this is already a victory. We are a few seconds slower than the top teams but we never imagined ourselves as world champions. They have paid mechanics and hours a day to prepare their bikes, but we must go to work and spend time with our families. We have done so much to prepare for this race and we are very pleased with this starting position. Didier Heyndrickx For the team I am very happy, they have worked so hard to prepare the bike for us and I was proud to have rewarded them for all their work. I wanted to run in the 1:46 range but with colder temperatures this was not possible. With the Assen TT Circuit closed Sunday the team continued to prepare the motorcycle for Monday’s race. Unlike PhaseOne’s Yamaha team, complete disassembly of the race bike was out of the question for Primo Racing’s crew. Great attention to detailed was paid to preparing the bike however, and many small changes were made to improve the suspension and stability at high speed corner exits. With the Le Mans 24 Hour Moto event only a week away it was also necessary for the team to prepare a second set of bodywork fitted with lighting, although it would not be needed for use as the Assen race is run during the day

Susan Chiniewicz, a 35-year-old wife and mother of three from The Colony, Texas, has been arrested and charged with the murder of her newborn child, which she allegedly gave birth to in a restroom and abandoned in a trash container at Texas World Speedway (TWS), in College Station, Texas, during a CMRA race event last year. The baby, which was carried to full term and was alive when born, was found dead by TWS cleaning staff October 3, 2005, according to www.theeagle.com, the online version of the Bryan College Station (Texas) daily newspaper. According to www.theeagle.com, Chiniewicz was attending the event with her three children and husband, Michael Chiniewicz. According to www.chron.com, the online edition of the Houston Chronicle, Michael Chiniewicz and at least two of the three Chiniewicz children are racers with the CMRA. Two Chiniewicz’s, from The Colony, Texas, are listed in the October 1-2, 2005 CMRA mini-bike class race results from TWS. Read more here: ~http://www.theeagle.com/stories/040806/local_20060408004.php~ ~http://chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/3788044.html~ ~http://www.ktsa.com/topic/ap_news.php?story=AP/APTV/State/TX/n/TX–MotherCharged-dn~ ~http://www.quickdfw.com/news/citystate/stories/DN-cit–colonymom_13ick.ART.State.Edition1.187fc913.html~