Vesrah Suzuki took a step toward regaining the WERA National Endurance Championship by winning the first round of the 2006 season, held at the Jennings GP track near Jennings, Florida on Saturday. Red Star finished second overall, one lap down in the red-flag-plagued race while the 2005 Champions, Team Velocity Racing, finished fourth, five laps down. 5150 Racing finished third, three laps down.

Rizla Suzuki’s Shane ‘Shakey’ Byrne will start from eighth on the second row of the grid for tomorrow’s opening two races of the Bennetts British Superbike Championship at Brands Hatch Indy circuit in Kent. James Haydon will start from ninth and at the head of the third row after making changes to his bike during qualifying that have left him confident for the races. Today was the first time the riders qualified under a new set of rules with a single afternoon qualifying session and only four rear tyres to be used during the session. With rain threatening throughout qualifying it tested the nerves of all the riders. Ducati’s Gregorio Lavilla took pole position. Shane Byrne: “I said before qualifying if I could get on the second row I would be happy. By happy I mean as content as I can be without being on pole because that’s really where I want to be. I think we have made some really good progress with the bike this weekend. “It’s been a while since I’ve ridden on qualifying tyres and the technicians told me to keep the throttle wound open coming out of Clearways. I tried that on my last lap but the bike came round on me and I had to roll off the throttle. I still crossed the line with my fastest lap and I know I could’ve dipped under 46 seconds if I’d held it together, which is encouraging” James Haydon: “I am frustrated by just missing out on a second row start, especially as I am on a near identical lap time as Shakey and Kiyo just in front of me. That said, I will start from the outside of the track which is the best line for the first corner. “I think I could’ve gone a bit faster on my last qualifier but there was fine drizzle on my visor and I decided I didn’t want to risk a crash. We went in the wrong direction with our settings this morning but this afternoon the team has done a fantastic job I now have good feeling from my Rizla Suzuki and am looking forward to the races.” Niall Mackenzie – Race Operations Manager: “It is incredibly close on the time sheets with 14 riders within a second of pole position. Shane and James both worked extremely hard and have made strides forward with the set-ups on their Rizla Suzuki GSX-R1000s. “On race tyres both riders are in better shape than their qualifying positions suggest and are really positive. The forecast is for rain tomorrow, which would make the races very interesting. Either way come rain or shine we are good to go.” Qualifying Positions: 1: Gregorio Lavilla (Ducati) 45.533, 2: Leon Haslam (Ducati) +0.048, 3: Karl Harris (Honda) +0.285, 4: Dean Thomas (Kawasaki) +0.347, 5: Jonathan Rea (Honda) +0.425, 6: Michael Rutter (Honda) +0.437, 7: Ryuichi Kiyonari (Honda) +0.675, 8: Shane Byrne (Rizla Suzuki) +0.716, 9: James Haydon (Rizla Suzuki) +0.755, 10: Glen Richards (Honda) +0.849.

MotoGP Qualifying 1. Lori Capirossi, Ducati, Bridgestone, 1:39.064 2. Sete Gibernau, Ducati, Bridgestone, 1:39.285 3. Shinya Nakano, Kawasaki, Bridgestone, 1:39.526 4. Nicky Hayden, Honda, Michelin, 1:39.666 5. Dani Pedrosa, Honda, Michelin, 1:39.734 6. Toni Elias, Honda, Michelin, 1:39.734 7. Marco Melandri, Honda, Michelin, 1:39.932 8. Randy de Puniet, Kawasaki, Bridgestone, 1:40.146 9. Valentino Rossi, Yamaha, Michelin, 1:40.160 10. Colin Edwards, Yamaha, Michelin, 1:40.181 11. Chris Vermeulen, Suzuki, Bridgestone, 1:40.215 12. John Hopkins, Suzuki, Bridgestone, 1:40.340 13. Kenny Roberts, KR, Michelin, 1:40.497 14. Carlos Checa, Yamaha, Dunlop, 1:40.982 15. Casey Stoner, Honda, Michelin, 1:40.982 16. Makoto Tamada, Honda, Michelin, 1:41.119 17. Jose Luis Cardoso, Ducati, Dunlop, 1:41.749 18. James Ellison, Yamaha, Dunlop, 1:42.267 19. Alex Hofmann, Ducati, Dunlop, 1:42.341 250cc Grand Prix Qualifying: 1. Jorge Lorenzo, Aprilia, 1:43.270 2. Yuki Yakahashi, Honda, 1:43.684 3. Hector Barbera, Aprilia, 1:43.870 4. Shuhei Aoyama, Honda, 1:44.019 5. Alex de Angelis, Aprilia, 1:44.166 6. Anthony West, Aprilia, 1:44.274 7. Hiroshi Aoyama, KTM, 1:44.578 8. Marco Simoncelli, Gilera, 1:44.784 9. Alex Baldolini, Aprilia, 1:44.795 10. Roberto Locatelli, Aprilia, 1:44.869 125cc Grand Prix Qualifying 1. Mattia Pasini, Aprilia, 1:46.937 2. Alvaro Bautista, Aprilia, 1:47.043 3. Lukas Pesek, Derbi, 1:47.069 4. Julian Simon, KTM, 1:47.365 5. Hector Faubel, Aprilia, 1:47.474 6. Mika Kallio, KTM, 1:47.603 7. Gabor Talmacsi, Honda, 1:47.908 8. Sergio Gadea, Aprilia, 1:47.967 9. Pablo Nieto, Aprilia, 1:48.009 10. Joan Olive, Aprilia, 1:48.133 More, from a press release issued by Ducati Corse: DUCATI MARLBORO MEN RULE JEREZ QUALIFYING Ducati Marlboro Team riders Loris Capirossi and Sete Gibernau stormed to a brilliant one-two qualifying performance at Jerez this afternoon, putting them in the best possible position for tomorrow’s season-opening Spanish GP. The pair dominated the session, using the speed of their Desmosedici GP6s and the grip of their Bridgestone tyres to ride the fastest two laps ever recorded at Jerez. Capirossi upped his pace time and again during the outing to end the session on pole just ahead of Gibernau, whose last and fastest lap brought him to within 0.221 seconds of his team-mate. Today’s result is a carbon copy of the Ducati Marlboro Team’s first Spanish GP in 2003 when Capirossi was on pole and team-mate Troy Bayliss second. FEDERICO MINOLI, Ducati Motor Holding CEO and president “An amazing performance, just like 2003, you couldn’t ask for a better start to the season. The bike really showed its power in T3 and T4. Loris showed his class all around the circuit and Sete was also great. Considering this is only his first GP on the Desmosedici, it gives us great hope for the future.” LORIS CAPIROSSI, pole position, 1m 39.064s “What a fun day, I could ride the way I like to ride. The bike was sideways as usual, but everything was under control! I was going for a 1.38 on my last lap but I just missed it. So far this has been a very positive weekend, following on from the great tests we did here two weeks ago. During those tests we weren’t looking for sensational lap times, we were working so we could come here for the race with a bike that works consistently for a lot of laps, and we have found a good balance. Bridgestone have improved a lot, I was a lot faster today with soft tyres than last time here and we are really good with race tyres too. We haven’t seen Ducati first and second in qualifying since 2003 and I think we should also be able to make a great race too. I don’t think I’ll try and leave everyone behind from the first lap because this track is very demanding on tyres and it would be better to save them for later. As always, my thanks to Ducati and Bridgestone.” SETE GIBERNAU, second fastest, 1m 39.285s “I’m keeping my feet on the ground. Like I keep saying, I’m in the middle of a learning process with the bike, the team, the tyres, everything. My goal today was to be on the first or the second row, but everyone’s done such a great job, the team, the factory, Bridgestone, my crew chief Juan (Martinez), so I have to say thank you to everyone involved in this project. They have given me back the feeling I need to go racing. Tomorrow will be a learning race for me, my aim is to get away with the leading group and try to be with them all the way to the end of the race. I hope I can do it.” Temperatures: Ambient: 20 degrees C. Track: 27 degrees C. More, from a press release issued by Kawasaki Racing: FRONT ROW FOR SUPER SHINYA AT JEREZ Kawasaki’s Shinya Nakano will start tomorrow’s Spanish Grand Prix from the front row of the grid, after qualifying his Ninja ZX-RR in third place during this afternoon’s incident hit qualifying session. Nakano dedicated his front row start, his first for Kawasaki since the Malaysian Grand Prix in 2004, to team boss Harald Eckl, who celebrates his 50th birthday today at Jerez. Nakano’s Kawasaki teammate, Randy de Puniet could not be in better company on tomorrow’s grid, where he will line up between reigning world champion, Valentino Rossi, and vice-champion, Marco Melandri, after finishing his debut MotoGP qualifying session in an impressive eighth place. Qualifying got off to a difficult start for Nakano and de Puniet, with both Kawasaki riders crashing out just three minutes into the session when Alex Hofmann’s Ducati dropped oil at the entry to turn eight following a mechanical failure. The lack of oil warning flags meant that Nakano and de Puniet were quickly joined in the turn eight gravel trap by a number of other riders, causing the opening qualifying session of the season to be red flagged, and a 20 minute delay in proceedings. The crash rendered the number one machines of both riders unusable, forcing them to switch to their spare bikes for the remainder of the qualifying session. But worse was to come for MotoGP rookie de Puniet. On his first lap into the restarted qualifying session the 25-year-old Frenchman missed his braking marker at the same turn eight, ran straight on and stalled his Ninja ZX-RR in the gravel trap. With his number one bike damaged, and his spare bike still out on the track, it looked like de Puniet might have to sit out the qualifying session. But, after a nervous ten-minute wait, the marshals returned de Puniet’s Ninja ZX-RR to the pit box and, after a quick once over by his crew, the Kawasaki rider was able to rejoin the session with 40 minutes left to run. It is a measure of de Puniet’s maturity that he immediately put the problems behind him, focussed only on the job at hand, and promptly qualified seventh during his first run on race tyres. With 15 minutes left to run de Puniet’s crew fitted the first of three qualifying tyres in the rear of his Ninja ZX-RR, with the Kawasaki rider taking maximum advantage of the increased drive grip to secure a third row grid position with the eighth fastest time. Nakano took pole position halfway through qualifying, but had dropped back down to fifth as the final ten minutes approached. Timing his final flying lap to perfection right at the end of the session, the 28-year-old Japanese rider was unlucky to miss out on pole position after losing time at the third split. Nakano will line up for tomorrow’s start alongside pole sitter Loris Capirossi and second placed Sete Gibernau, on a front row dominated completely by Bridgestone for the first time in MotoGP. Shinya Nakano: 3rd – 1’39.526 “Qualifying on the front row was one of our targets for this year, but to do it at the first race is fantastic. We knew that Kawasaki and Bridgestone had made a big step forward during winter testing, but you’re never sure exactly how competitive you’re going to be until you get to the first race. I think this result confirms that our feeling during pre-season testing was correct. Right at the start of the session I crashed because of oil on the circuit, but apart from having to switch to my second bike, it didn’t really have any effect on the outcome. To be honest, I was quite surprised when I looked down at the dash because it didn’t feel like a fast lap and I was expecting the other riders to make bigger improvements. But they didn’t, so I’m on the front row of the grid for the first race and I’m happy with that. It’s also a nice 50th birthday present for our Team Principal, Harald Eckl!” Randy de Puniet: 8th – 1’40.146 “For sure, this is not the way I wanted to start my first MotoGP qualifying session! First I crash on the oil at turn eight through no fault of my own, and then I stall my second bike in exactly the same place after missing my braking marker and running on. The ten minutes I had to wait for my bike to come back were pretty stressful, because at that time I hadn’t completed a single lap! I was a little bit nervous when I rejoined the session, but I was able to settle down towards the end and I’m happy with my final grid position. Of course, I never expected to be starting my first MotoGP race ahead of the reigning world champion, but I won’t be thinking about that on the grid tomorrow. My only aims for the race are to get a good start and then ride as hard as I can for 27 laps.” Harald Eckl: Team Principal “I couldn’t have asked for a better birthday present really! This afternoon didn’t start so well, but both riders bounced back and showed just how much of an improvement we’ve made during pre-season testing. Both riders did a fantastic job. Shinya pushed hard all session to finish on the front row, and Randy showed tremendous mental strength to come back so strongly after such a difficult start to his first MotoGP qualifying session. It was also good to see Bridgestone fill every position on the front row of the grid for the first time in MotoGP. After today’s strong performance by both riders, I’m looking forward to the race tomorrow.” QUALIFYING PRACTICE – FINAL TIMES 1. Loris Capirossi (ITA) Ducati Marlboro Team 1’39.064; 2. Sete Gibernau (SPA) Ducati Marlboro Team +0.221; 3. Shinya Nakano (JPN) Kawasaki Racing Team +0.462; 4. Nicky Hayden (USA) Repsol Honda Team +0.602; 5. Dani Pedrosa (SPA) Repsol Honda Team +0.670; 6. Toni Elias (SPA) Fortuna Honda +0.811; 7. Marco Melandri (ITA) Fortuna Honda +0.868; 8. Randy de Puniet (FRA) Kawasaki Racing Team +1.082; 9. Valentino Rossi (ITA) Camel Yamaha Team +1.096; 10. Colin Edwards (USA) Camel Yamaha Team +1.117 More, from a press release issued by Camel Yamaha: YAMAHA RIDERS FACE JEREZ CHALLENGE AFTER DIFFICULT QUALIFYING SESSION Camel Yamaha Team riders Valentino Rossi and Colin Edwards face an uphill battle in the opening round of the MotoGP World Championship tomorrow after vibration problems returned in this afternoon’s qualifying practice at Jerez. After making progress with his YZR-M1 machine in yesterday’s free practice, Rossi’s cause was not helped by an incident early in today’s session, when he became the first of five riders to end up in the gravel after oil was spilled on the track by another competitor. The red flags were duly raised and when the pit-lane reopened both Rossi and Edwards worked against the clock to solve their difficulties ahead of tomorrow’s 27-lap race. However, bad luck struck for Edwards when he suffered a puncture to his rear tyre and the American was only able to qualify tenth fastest, one place behind his Italian team-mate. Pole position went to Loris Capirossi (Ducati) in an outright circuit record time of 1’39.064 and the Italian will be joined on the front row by his team-mate Sete Gibernau and Japanese rider Shinya Nakano (Kawasaki). VALENTINO ROSSI (9th – 1’40.160, 28 laps) “I thought we had solved a lot of the problems yesterday but today they came back. The bike is still vibrating and with the qualifying tyre the problem became worse because the extra grip on the rear pushed the front even harder. Basically we are losing time in every part of the corner. Also the crash at the start of the session didn’t help but we can’t use that as an excuse. I have won the first race of the season every year since 2001 but it is going to be difficult tomorrow. I have always found that it helps to start the season with a win so I will still be going for it!” COLIN EDWARDS (10th – 1’40.181, 23 laps) “I suppose you could say we are up the creek but the important day is tomorrow so we still have a paddle! Just when we thought we had the problem sorted out it has come creeping back. We’ve had three days of tests here and now two days this weekend but we just can’t get on top of it. The vibration in the corners comes in at a certain speed so the effect is like having a speed limiter on the bike. To make things worse I had a puncture in my first qualifying tyre so we lost time at the end of the session too. Things don’t look to be going too well for us at the moment but we’ll try to pull a rabbit out of the hat tomorrow.” DAVIDE BRIVIO CAMEL YAMAHA TEAM DIRECTOR “We still have some work to do to solve the problems completely. It has been a strange weekend because yesterday we lost a whole session because of the weather and then today we had another setback when Valentino crashed on the oil left by Alex Hofmann’s bike. It didn’t help because we had some solutions we wanted to try on that bike. It seems things are conspiring to make life difficult for us but we won’t give up. It is clearly not a good situation with regard to the starting grid but the pace of the front riders is not too far from our own. If we can make some slight improvements in the morning then I think we will be in the right shape for a good race.” FIRST ROW: Loris Capirossi (ITA) Ducati Marlboro Team,1’39.064 Sete Gibernau (SPA) Ducati Marlboro Team, 1’39.285 Shinya Nakano (JPN) Kawasaki Racing Team, 1’39.526 SECOND ROW Nicky Hayden (USA) Repsol Honda Team, 1’39.666 Dani Pedrosa (SPA) Repsol Honda Team, 1’39.734 Toni Elias (SPA) Fortuna Honda, 1’39.875 THIRD ROW Marco Melandri (ITA) Fortuna Honda, 1’39.932 Randy de Puniet (FRA) Kawasaki Racing Team, 1’40.146 VALENTINO ROSSI (ITA) Camel Yamaha Team, 1’40.160 COLIN EDWARDS (USA) Camel Yamaha Team, 1’40.181 More, from a press release issued by Fortuna Honda: TONI ELIAS TO START FROM SECOND ROW AT HOME GRAND PRIX The Team Fortuna Honda seals an excellent sixth place today as Melandri continues to work on his setting and secures seventh spot. Toni Elias’ adaptation to the Honda RC211V continued in fine style today as the Team Fortuna Honda rider began to reap the fruit of his hard work during the winter tests. Tomorrow he will celebrate his 23rd birthday by starting from the second row of the grid in the Grand Prix of Spain. After working well in the morning free practice, the afternoon qualifying was an exciting affair. Oil left on track by Ducati rider Alex Hofmann caused several riders to crash, including Toni Elias. Fortunately there were no serious consequences for the Manresa youngster and he was able to return to the track on his second bike. It was a positive session for Elias, who improved his pace and enjoyed himself on the qualifying tyre with the sixth fastest time. It was an intense day for his team-mate Marco Melandri, who continued to work on finding the best set-up for his RC211V. After setting the fastest time in the morning free practice, Marco worked mainly on his rear tyres in the afternoon before setting the seventh fastest time – enough for the third row. TONI ELIAS (1’39″875, 6th fastest): “I’m really satisfied with the result. After the good job we did this morning I have to say that I set my sights on a front row start. I’m in the right shape to have a really good race. Tomorrow it will be important to get a good start. I’m highly motivated – the support from the Spanish fans will be like an extra gear. The bike is working well and I have improved my pace. It is a shame about the crash at the start of qualifying, which was a bit of a setback because I had to continue with my second bike.” MARCO MELANDRI (1’39″932, 7th fastest): “It was an intense day. Qualifying started with a multiple crash which delayed things. It also made me ride a little cautiously because there was oil in the Nieto corner which got in the way of the normal racing line. My priority today was the set-up of the bike. We tried a few different settings as well as testing the tyres. Tomorrow will be a really nice race, very combative, with a lot of riders in the fight for the podium.” QUALIFYING PRACTICE TIMES 1. L.Capirossi (Ita/Ducati) 1’39″064 2. S.Gibernau (Sp/Ducati) 1’39″285 3. S.Nakano (Jap/Kawasaki) 1’39″526 4. N.Hayden (Usa/Honda) 1’39″666 5. D.Pedrosa (Sp/Honda) 1’39″734 6. T.ELIAS (Sp/Honda) 1’39″875 7. M.MELANDRI (Ita/Honda) 1’39″932 8. R.De Puniet (FR/Kawasaki) 1’40″146 9. V.Rossi (Ita/Yamaha) 1’40″160 10. C.Edwards (Usa/Yamaha) 1’40″181 More, from a press release issued by Dorna: Capirossi takes first MotoGP pole of 2006 Gran Premio betandwin.com de España – Saturday 25th March 2006 With the 2006 MotoGP World Championship’s first race, the Gran Premio betandwin.com de España, just hours away, today saw an exciting qualifying session in front of a packed crowd of racing fans. The weather was excellent throughout the afternoon qualifying session at the Jerez Circuit in southern Spain, after slightly overcast skies dulled the morning practice hour. Loris Capirossi and Sete Gibernau will start tomorrow’s season-opening Grand Prix as the top two on the grid, whilst reigning World Champion Valentino Rossi will surprisingly start from the third row in ninth. The Ducati riders continued their excellent preseason form, which included their topping the timesheets nearly two weeks ago at Jerez testing, Capirossi putting in a fastest lap of 1’39.064 to take the pole position. The Italian’s team-mate Sete Gibernau will be looking to take the win at his home circuit after last year’s unforgettable final lap drama. Kawasaki’s Shinya Nakano, so impressive at the final test, completed an all-Bridgestone top three on his boss Harald Eckl’s 50th birthday. Honda will occupy the entire second row of the grid, with official factory riders Nicky Hayden and Dani Pedrosa ahead of satellite rider Toni Elias. Elias’ team-mate Marco Melandri had headed the timesheets during the final free practice, but slipped down to seventh in the running for tomorrow’s race. Kawasaki’s young rookie Randy de Puniet will start from eighth, despite being part of a number of riders involved in crashes caused by oil left behind by Alex Hofmann’s bike. De Puniet, Rossi, Nakano, Kenny Roberts Jr. and Elias all fell foul of the slick, which had halted proceedings early on in the hour as the area was cleaned. Rossi, fastest yesterday in free practice, will start from the third row in ninth in his quest for a sixth consecutive opening-race victory. The Italian’s third row start places him alongside team-mate Colin Edwards, who completes the top ten. Suzuki were unable to continue their good run of results during the session, but will hope to push for high finishes with Chris Vermeulen and John Hopkins starting from eleventh and Hopkins from twelfth. Jorge Lorenzo will start tomorrow’s 250cc race from pole, after riding a lap of 1’43.270 onboard his Aprilia. The Spaniard will begin the race ahead of Yuki Takahashi and team-mate Hector Barbera. Shuhei Aoyama completes the front row, whilst a mixed grid sees touted title challengers Sebas Porto and Andrea Dovizioso outside the front three rows. Alex de Angelis completes the top five, with Anthony West, Hiroshi Aoyama, Marco Simoncelli, Alex Baldolini and Roberto Locatelli behind him. Today was an historic occasion for Mattia Pasini and the Master MVA Aspar team. The Italian earned his first career pole position, clocking a fantastic 1’46.937 lap at the Circuito de Jerez. The Italian bested Marco Simoncelli’s 2005 pole time, which took the Italian to victory, by nearly six hundredths of a second. Pasini’s team-mate and yesterday’s fastest 125cc rider in free practice, Alvaro Bautista will line up second on the grid for tomorrow’s Grand Prix. Lukas Pesek was unable to maintain his provisional pole and will start in third, ahead of Julian Simon on the front row. 1st, Loris Capirossi, 1’39.064: “What a fun day, I could ride the way I like to ride. The bike was sideways as usual, but everything was under control! So far this has been a very positive weekend, following on from the great tests we did here two weeks ago. During those tests we weren’t looking for sensational lap times, we were working so we could come here for the race with a bike that works consistently for a lot of laps, and we have found a good balance. Bridgestone have improved a lot, I was a lot faster today with soft tyres than last time here and we are really good with race tyres too. I think we should also be able to make a great race. I don’t think I’ll try and leave everyone behind from the first lap because this track is very demanding on tyres and it would be better to save them for later.” 2nd, Sete Gibernau, 1’39.285: “I’m keeping my feet on the ground. Like I keep saying, I’m in the middle of a learning process with the bike, the team, the tyres, everything. My goal today was to be on the first or the second row, but everyone’s done such a great job, the team, the factory, Bridgestone, my crew chief Juan Martinez, so I have to say thank you to everyone involved in this project. They have given me back the feeling I need to go racing. Tomorrow will be a learning race for me, my aim is to get away with the leading group and try to be with them all the way to the end of the race. I hope I can do it.” 3rd, Shinya Nakano, 1’39.526: “Qualifying on the front row was one of our targets for this year, but to do it at the first race is fantastic. We knew that Kawasaki and Bridgestone had made a big step forward during winter testing, but you’re never sure exactly how competitive you’re going to be until you get to the first race. I think this result confirms that our feeling during pre-season testing was correct. To be honest, I was quite surprised when I looked down at the dash because it didn’t feel like a fast lap and I was expecting the other riders to make bigger improvements. But they didn’t, so I’m on the front row of the grid for the first race and I’m happy with that.” More, from a press release issued by Honda Racing: Final qualifying Spanish GP Jerez March 25, 2006. HONDA’S FAST FOUR IN CONTENTION FOR BIG RACE The season’s opening period of timed qualifying got underway in bright sunshine here in the south of Spain today. But the hour-long session was halted in the first few minutes when an oil-spill from Alex Hofmann’s Ducati skittled five riders as well as the unfortunate German himself. The re-started session finished with Ducati pilot Loris Capirossi on pole with his team-mate Sete Gibernau alongside him as second fastest qualifier, and Kawasaki man Shinya Nakano completing the front row as third fastest man. A Honda threesome occupies row two with Nicky Hayden (Repsol Honda RC211V) fourth quickest with his team-mate and MotoGP debutant Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda RC211V) in fifth place on the grid. The impressive Spanish youngster Toni Elias (Fortuna Honda RC211V) completes the all-RC211V second row in sixth. Last year’s MotoGP runner-up Marco Melandri (Fortuna Honda RC211V) heads row three in seventh place. These seven riders are the only men to have turned laps in the 1m 39 second bracket. Capirossi’s pole time is 1m 39.064s while Melandri in seventh posted a time of 1m 39.932s. Confusion reigned when Hofmann’s machine dumped oil on the track on the entry to turn nine just as riders were beginning to up the pace early in the session. Valentino Rossi (Yamaha) was the first to go down on the spill, and Tony Elias and Kenny Roberts (Roberts KR211V) were two other victims. None of the six riders involved was hurt although the toll in machine damage was high. When qualifying resumed after the clear-up operation it was plain the factory Ducati riders were the men to beat with Capirossi and Gibernau hardly off the front row placings throughout the hour, although eventual third fastest man Nakano briefly held pole just after the halfway mark. Dani held second for a time before having to settle for fifth, but he more than made his mark on the opposition in this his first ever qualifying session on an RC211V. He is just 0.068 seconds shy of the 1m 39.666s time of his vastly experienced team-mate Hayden. Hayden said, “The session was strange with the oil at the start. We tried some stuff early in the session but I didn’t have as good a feeling as I did in the morning so we went back little-by-little to what we had. Tomorrow’s race day we’ve got our horse and we’re going to show up and ride it as hard as we can. In the morning warm-up we’re going to try some things to get the bike turning a little bit better and to try and get the tyres to last a bit longer.” Dani said, “I’m not yet at 100 per cent I’m still very inexperienced and still have to learn step-by-step but for the first qualifying session I think the position is very good and I’m happy with it. My feeling for the race set-up is quite good because we tested here two weeks ago and this gave us a good base set-up. I’m looking forward to finally going racing because that is when we will see the real level. I hope the Spanish fans enjoy the race!” Elias had to be content with sixth. “After the good job we did this morning I have to say that I set my sights on a front row start. I’m in the right shape to have a really good race. Tomorrow it will be important to get a good start. I’m highly motivated the support from the Spanish fans will be like an extra gear. The bike is working well and I have improved my pace. It is a shame about the crash on the oil at the start of qualifying, which was a bit of a setback because I had to continue with my second bike.” “It was an intense day,” said Melandri. “Qualifying started with a multiple crash which delayed things. It also made me ride a little cautiously because there was oil in the Nieto corner, which got in the way of the normal racing line. My priority today was set-up. We tried a few different settings as well as testing the tyres. Tomorrow should be a really nice race, very combative, with a lot of riders in the fight for the podium.” Kenny Roberts (Roberts KR211V), in 13th, said, “We had a race strategy to try and so we needed a few long runs to try some stuff. The first session was wet and then the crash on the oil meant we had to use the number two bike. The time’s not too good and a bit far from where we should be, but the race set-up is good enough for a top ten.” Casey Stoner (LCR Honda RC211V), still recovering from a pre-season shoulder injury, said, “I’m a little disappointed because I was as fast on race tyres as I was on qualifiers. There wasn’t a lot of track time so it was difficult to find a race set-up and to qualify in one session. I’m not a ‘one-lap wonder’ and at the moment I find it hard to put in a hot lap on qualifiers. But we’ve got some new forks to try in warm-up tomorrow.” Makoto Tamada (Konica Minolta Honda RC211V), down in 16th, on row six, said, “This result was not in my expectations, but now I have to try not to get down too much: the race will be tomorrow and so many other times I have been able to efficiently improve my position lap after lap.” The 250cc session belonged to Jorge Lorenzo (Aprilia), but the Spanish poleman was hounded all the way to the finish of the three-quarter hour session by Yuki Takahashi (Humangest Racing Honda RS250RW). The Japanese will start from second on the grid with Hector Barbera (Aprilia) alongside him and rookie Shuhei Aoyama (Repsol Honda RS250RW) in fourth. Takahashi is 0.414 seconds off the pole time and Aoyama 0.749 seconds adrift, but of more concern is the plight of Sebastian Porto (Repsol Honda RS250RW) way down in 22nd place on row six, and to a lesser extent Andrea Dovizioso (Humangest Racing Honda RS250RW) on row three as 11th fastest qualifier. Takahashi said, “We’re going in the right direction, the only major problem so far has been yesterday’s crash. The bike is working well and is easy to ride which is very important in terms of the race tomorrow. The team has done a great job, now my job is to get a podium.” Shuhei Aoyama said, “Even with my lap time and my position on the grid I’m not that happy. I can improve here and I think there is more to come from the bike too. The base set-up is good and so are the tyres so we have a good chance tomorrow and I’m aiming for the podium.” The only thing I can say is we are all working hard,” said a dispirited Porto. “But the bike is not how I want it and I’m trying to adapt my corner entries and exits to compensate, but we have not made enough progress so far.” Dovi said, “Unfortunately I haven’t been able to improve the bike and my lap times are still the same as last year. We’ve made changes but we haven’t made any progress and I can’t ride at my maximum. My race potential is higher than 11th place but making the podium will be hard.” Mattia Pasini snatched pole in the half-hour of 125cc qualifying from Alvaro Bautista (both Aprilia) in second with Lukas Pesek (Derbi) third fastest and Julian Simon (KTM) completing the front row in fourth. Reigning World Champion Thomas Luthi (Elit Grand Prix Honda RS125R) could do no better than 17th and he will start from the fifth row of the grid. Luthi is suffering the after effects of a pre-season crash when he broke his collarbone. The best Honda-mounted qualifier is Gabor Talmacsi (Humangest Honda RS125R) in sixth on row two. Fifteen-year-old Bradley Smith (Repsol Honda RS125R) qualified 25th in his first ever Grand Prix while experienced campaigners Mike di Meglio (FFM Honda RS125R) and Fabrizio Lai (Seedorf Racing Honda RS125R) are 11th and 26th. Talmacsi said, “The bike was quite good today but the carburation was not working well. We made some changes but then we had a problem with the quickshift. But I’m optimistic for the race and happy to be the fastest Honda qualifier.” “I was in pain from my collar-bone yesterday,” said World Champion Luthi. “I had to have a pain-killing injection before this session but never felt one hundred percent. We have a lot of work to do on the bike for tomorrow because I had a few slides and there are set-up details to work out. The engine is perfect though.” HONDA TEAM QUOTES: MotoGP: Nicky Hayden, Repsol Honda: 4th: “It would have been nice to be on the front row I mean Capirossi put down a smoking lap. The Michelin qualifying tyres worked pretty good today – it’s been a while since I rode on real qualifying tyres and they’re fun. Some of our problems were cured with qualifiers so I’m not thrilled with fourth but it’s respectable and it gives us a chance. The session was strange with the stop for oil at the start. We tried some stuff early in the session but I didn’t have as good a feeling as we did in the morning so we went back little-by-little to what we had. Tomorrow’s race day and we’ve got our horse and we’re going to show up and ride it as hard as we can. In the morning warm-up we’re going to try some things to get the bike turning a little bit better and to get the tyres to last a bit longer, and to see if I can make some progress at my end. I’ll need a good start. This Jerez crowd is unbelievable tomorrow’s going to be fun and I’m ready.” Dani Pedrosa, Repsol Honda: 5th: “This session was difficult because riding on qualifying tyres is not so easy and you have to plan very well in terms of riding the lap and with the set up of the machine. We made some mistakes with the planning, and yet I think my position is good. I’m not yet at 100 per cent I’m still very inexperienced and still have to learn step-by-step but for the first qualifying session I think the position is very good and I’m happy with it. My feeling for the race set-up is quite good because we tested here two weeks ago and this gave us a good basic set-up. I’m looking forward to finally going racing because that is when we will see the real level. I will hope the Spanish fans enjoy the race!” Marco Melandri, Fortuna Honda: 6th: “It was an intense day. Qualifying started with a multiple crash which delayed things. It also made me ride a little cautiously because there was oil in the Nieto corner which got in the way of the normal racing line. My priority today was the set-up of the bike. We tried a few different settings as well as testing the tyres. Tomorrow will be a really nice race, very combative, with a lot of riders in the fight for the podium.” Toni Elias, Fortuna Honda: 7th: “I’m really satisfied with the result. After the good job we did this morning I have to say that I set my sights on a front row start. I’m in the right shape to have a really good race. Tomorrow it will be important to get a good start. I’m highly motivated – the support from the Spanish fans will be like an extra gear. The bike is working well and I have improved my pace. It is a shame about the crash at the start of qualifying, which was a bit of a setback because I had to continue with my second bike.” Kenny Roberts Jnr, KR Honda: 13th. “We had a race strategy and needed a few long runs to try some stuff we brought here. The first practice was in the wet so we didn’t get to try it. Then the crash on the oil after two laps of the second practice meant we had to use the number two bike. That meant everything was off the table. The qualifying time is not too good we are way off where we should be. We tried a few sets of qualifying tyres with the second bike but I set the time on race tyres. The race set up and race tyre we have is still pretty good and we will be in the race and in the top 10.” Makoto Tamada, Konica Minola Honda: 15th: “After this day I can only be disappointed. I am very sorry for the result I obtained and for the gap which separates me from the top riders. All this does not repay the hard job made up to now by all KONICA MINOLTA Honda Team. The problem is that I am not really able to have the necessary confidence to be effective in driving. This result was not in my expectations, but now I have to try not to get down too much: the race will be tomorrow and so many other times I have been able to efficiently improve my position lap after lap.” Casey Stoner, LCR Honda: 16th : “I am a little disappointed because I was just as quick on race tyres in the morning sessions as I was on qualifying tyres. I haven’t had a lot of track time and it is difficult to try and find a race set-up and qualify all in the one session — I’m not a one lap wonder and I find it hard to push on qualifying tyres, especially when I’m not comfortable with the set-up. The stoppage for the oil spill upset our plans and we went backwards with the set-up this afternoon, but we have some new forks to try in the warmup tomorrow. I would prefer racing to qualifying, so I’m looking forward to my first MotoGP race with LCR Honda.” 250cc. Yuki Takahashi, Humangest Honda: 2nd. “Everything is going in the right direction and the only negative point of the week end so far is yesterday’s crash. The bike is working well, it let me ride quite easily and this is very important for me for tomorrow’s race. I want to thank my team because they did a great job and my goal for tomorrow is to get on the podium”. Shuhei Aoyama, Repsol Honda: 4th. “Even with my lap time and position I am not so happy. I think both the bike and the rider have to improve on this circuit. The base set up we have is good and the tyres also so we have a good chance tomorrow. Obviously I hope for a podium finish.” Andrea Dovizioso, Humangest Honda: 11th. “Unfortunately, we are not able to improve the bike and my lap times are more or less the same as last year and the last test we made here at Jerez. We made many changes, but we are not moving ahead and in these conditions I can’t ride as I would like. I believe that my potential for the race is higher than 11th place of the qualifying, but I also believe that it will be hard to fight for the podium”. Martin Cardenas, Wurth Honda BQR: 17th. “I had hoped to get into the 1m 45s but didn’t manage to achieve my objective partly because I had a little problem with the rear. Near the end we improved. For tomorrow I feel I have good hopes of a top 15 finish.” Arnaud Vincent, Molenaar Honda: 20th. “For me Jerez is the start of the season even if we ad IRTA test here. The team is working well and the bike is not so bad, the engine is really good but we have some work to do on the set up. We fitted a new tyre for the last run but I didn’t find a fast group to run with.” Sebastian Porto, Repsol Honda: 22nd. “The only thing I can say I that me and the team are working very hard. Right now we are not able to get the bike to work as I want it to. I am trying to adapt my style to this bike and how I go into and get off the corners. So far we didn’t make a step forward. In this moment I have to say thanks to my team for all their hard wok.” Jordi Carchano, Stop and Go Racing: 23rd. “I have a good feeling with the bike even after just 1500 km on the machine. Then I had a shifter problem and I had to close the gas in some corners to ride the bike. Still, I set my best time in the middle f the problems. For the last six minutes I used a soft tyre but it was not good.” 125cc. Gabor Talmacsi, Humangest Honda: 7th. “I had a technical problem which held me back in that session, the shifter was not functioning as it should. It’s the first time I have used this system so I had to come to the box and let the mechanics fix it. When I went out again there was not much time left, but I am the fastest Honda rider so that’s good. The bike was not perfect and we have to work on before the warm up. I am still learning about the Honda. We started testing a little late. I just need time on the bike.” Mike di Meglio, FFM Honda: 11th: “This morning I felt more comfortable on the bike thanks to the compromise that the technical staff found. I improved quickly and I could start the last qualifying practice more confident; lap by lap I realized better lap time. I stopped twice in the pit box in order to finalize the settings and then I had not so much time since the session only lasted 30 minutes, but I could make few laps. There was a lot of traffic on the track and I could get only the last lap to make a good lap time; I finished in 11th position in 1’48”183, which is one second better than yesterday but especially 2nd Honda rider in 125cc behind G.Talmacsi. I’m satisfied of these first Grand Prix practice and I’m quite serene for the tomorrow race.” Thomas Luthi, Elit Honda: 17th. “I had quite a lot of pain from my broken collarbone and I had a pain killing injection before the qualifying session. But it still hurt and I kept thinking about it and was not concentrating 100%. We have a lot of work to do on the bike for tomorrow as I had a few slides this afternoon. We have mainly suspension work to do but a few other small things on set up. The engine is fine, no problems.” Aleix Espargaro, Wurth Honda BQR: 20th. “The engine is very good and the chassis. My problem today was accelerating off the slow corners I was sliding badly. I couldn’t get on the gas I had to pick the bike up before I jumped on the throttle. But I am very comfortable on the bike in the fast corners.” Sandro Cortese, Elit Honda: 21st. “The bike is good, I have no problems at all. I had problems in qualifying chasing a fast tie while I was in a group of riders. I saw Bautista about 50 metres ahead and started chasing him but we met Espargaro and I lost time getting passed him so my fat lap was gone so I had to try alone and could not improve. I have to get a good start if I am to take some good points from the race.” Lorenzo Baroni, Humangest Honda: 22nd. “I improved yesterday’s lap time by more than three and a half seconds and could ride even faster if I didn’t find a slower rider in front of me on the final part of the circuit. At the last lap I overtook him but risked falling and so I lost more time. Anyway I’m happy because the bike is working well and today I rode better. I didn’t feel pain in my left foot that I injured yesterday and this is positive for tomorrow’s race.” Bradley Smith, Repsol Honda: 25th. “Not so bad I improved my time of yesterday by 1.3s, better than my ideal time. I’m pretty satisfied. The settings we chose were not so good in the fast corners, T3 and T4. We managed to sort that out but changes meant we suffered a little in the slow corners. We will now look for a compromise. “ Tito Rabat, Wurth Honda BQR: 35th. “I’m happy because my lap time is the fastest I ever set here. But my place on the grid is not so good. The grand prix riders are very good very fast. I am here to learn as much as I can and prepare for the Spanish Championship.” Joey Litjens, Molenaar Honda: 39th. “I was not as fast today as I was at the IRTA test. In fact I am disappointed with my time and grid position. This is a whole new world for me, and not just the racing part. I know I can improve and remain positive about the situation. “

Road Racing World Championship Grand Prix Amendments to the Rules Disciplinary and Arbitration Code The Grand Prix Commission, composed of Messrs. Carmelo Ezpeleta (Dorna, Chairman), Claude Danis (FIM), Hervé Poncharal (IRTA) and Takanao Tsubouchi (MSMA), in the presence of Mr Paul Butler (Secretary of the meeting), in a meeting held today at the circuit of Jerez, unanimously decided to introduce the following modifications to the Road Racing World Championship Grand Prix Regulations, for immediate application: 3. DISCIPLINARY AND ARBITRATION CODE To change following articles as follows (in bold): 3.2.1 Definition and application of penalties – warnings : can be made privately or publicly. – fines: cash penalty from USD 700.- up to USD 70’000.- – ride through see Art. 1.19 – change of position see Art. 1.22.2 – time penalties: imposition of time affecting the rider’s actual result up to 2 minutes and the cancellation of time. – disqualification: disqualification from an event, practice sessions (black flag, black flag with orange disc), race (black flag, black flag with orange disc) or from its results – withdrawal of Championship points: the loss of points from the Championship races already run – suspension: the loss of rights to participate in the Championship may be applied to one or more races. – exclusion: the final and complete loss of all rights of participation in any activity under FIM control. 3.4 Protests and Appeals 3.4.1 Right of protest Any person or group of persons – rider, team, manufacturer, official etc. – affected by a decision taken under the authority of the FIM, has the right to protest against that decision. No protest may be lodged against a decision of statement of fact of the Race Direction to inflict or not: – a change of position. – a ride through. – a disqualification from the practice sessions or races by means of a black flag or black flag with orange disc. – a fine for speeding in the pit lane. 3.4.2 Right of appeal The rules concerning appeals against FIM disciplinary decisions are: – Against a decision of the Race Direction upon a protest only, to the FIM Stewards. No appeal may be lodged against a decision of the FIM Stewards if they confirm the previous decision of the Race Direction. Their decision is final. – Against a decision of the FIM Stewards if they do not confirm the decision of the Race Direction, to the CDI. The decision of the CDI shall be final. 3.4.3 Procedure and time limit for protests All protests must be submitted and signed only by the person directly concerned. Each protest must refer to a single subject only and must be presented within 1 hour at the latest after the publication of the results or within 30 minutes at the latest after the notification of a Race Direction decision. Protests must be handed to a responsible official (Clerk of the Course, Race Director or Secretary of the Meeting) together with the security deposit of USD 700.- or equivalent. Teams and riders contracted to compete in the Championship may submit a letter of guarantee from IRTA in lieu of payment. 3.4.7.1 Security deposit for appeals The amount of the security deposit is USD 1’400.- Teams and riders contracted to compete in the Championships may submit a letter of guarantee from IRTA in lieu of payment.

FIRST PERSON/OPINION: Via e-mail: Just a little FYI. I was just on the Miller Motorsports Park website and noticed a name change for the upcoming AMA Superbike race there. Aparently Honda is going to help sponser it. It seems the race will no longer be called Thunder Run. It is now being billed as The Honda Summit of Speed. Tom Greer Tremonton, Utah

OPPORTUNITY OF A LIFETIME! RIDE WITH THE BOSTROM BROTHERS! Denver, CO March 24, 2006 Racing 2 Save Lives is pleased to announce that on Friday, March 24, 2006 eight one-hour private sessions with Eric and Ben Bostrom will be auctioned off through the R2SL website. These auction items are one-of-a-kind opportunities to experience one on one riding, with AMA pro riders Eric and Ben Bostrom. You will learn from Eric or Ben for one full hour, with exclusive use of one of Miller Motorsports Park’s world-class tracks! This is your chance to be one of the few people in the world to have this experience. Naturally, all money raised through these sessions goes to the charities we benefit, so please bid generously. You must already be pre-registered as a participant in order to bid on these items. Auction starts 5pm Friday March 24, and ends Wednesday April 5th at 11:59pm MST. Created in the spring of 2004, Racing 2 Save Lives is a 501c3 non-profit organization dedicated to supporting children’s charities by raising awareness, involvement, and capital within the motorcycle racing community through donations, corporate sponsorship and fundraising events. All profits generated by Racing 2 Save Lives are distributed among carefully selected organizations that have a significant impact on the lives of children-in-need and their families. Don’t miss out on a once of a lifetime opportunity to ride one-on-one with either Eric or Ben Bostrom! To participate in the auctions and for more information, please visit www.racing2savelives.org.

Michelin regional race tire distributor AFMotorsports.com announces strategic alliance with Lindemann Engineering Alex Florea, the owner of AFMotorsports.com, has announced a strategic alliance with world-renowned suspension specialist Lindemann Engineering. Jim Lindemann himself will be attending all the AFM races and working under the AFMotorsports tent. “What a privilege for all of us on the AFMotorsports.com team to have a suspension guru of Jim’s caliber working with our Michelin racers!” exclaims Alex Florea. “The man is a living legend and his experience encompasses three decades of motorcycle racing. I have personally used his services for 15 years and he is truly a master in the black art of suspension tuning. As tempting as it was to hoard his services only for us, the plan is to make Lindemann Engineering available to all AFM racers in the paddock. Jim fits in perfectly with our business model of representing top tier products and services at the track.” Jim Lindemann added, “I am very excited about the partnership with AFMotorsports.com. Alex is a long-time customer of mine, one of the few ‘tire guys’ who is still an active racer and his passion for road racing is contagious. We’re both based out of Silicon Valley, so logistically it was an ideal situation. I have always enjoyed going back to my roots in club racing and find it very rewarding to work with AFM racers and give them the same level of service and attention as professional riders.” The debut of Lindemann Engineering under the AFMotorsports.com tent will be this weekend at the first round of the AFM series in Buttonwillow, CA. AFMotorsports.com is the Michelin regional race tire distributor covering the entire AFM series. In addition, the company is the trackside specialist and ambassador for Vesrah brake pads, Suomy helmets and Repsol lubricants. Lindemann Engineering (www.le-suspension.com) is the suspension tuner of choice for many champions worldwide. Services include stock suspension tuning as well as aftermarket cartridge kits, forks and shocks.

Rizla Suzuki’s James Haydon was ninth and Shane ‘Shakey’ Byrne 10th after the opening day of practice for the 2006 British Superbike season, held in variable weather conditions at Brands Hatch Indy circuit in Kent. Both riders spent time on circuit acquainting themselves with their GSX-R1000 race bikes and making initial changes to their machines to suit the fast and frantic circuit. The morning session was wet and dried towards the end while the afternoon practice was dry but cut short by five minutes due to rain. In a change to the weekend format from last year, there is a further free practice session on Saturday morning and then a single qualifying session in the afternoon which will determine grid positions for both races. James Haydon: “The waiting is finally over and it’s great to finally get out on track with the rest of the competition. The conditions this morning were horrible but overall it was good to get back in the groove. “We have identified a few key areas where we want to improve the performance of the Rizla Suzuki and we’ll be working to sort those for tomorrow. I ended the day with my bike feeling good and going in the right direction.” Shane Byrne: “I rode today’s sessions well within myself not using the full track or going near the white lines. We now have an idea where we are in relation to the rest of the field and I need to complete more laps and chip away at my times. “I can run a good bit faster than the time sheets suggest and I’ll be working with my team to find a bit more from the bike during practice and qualifying.” Niall Mackenzie – Race Operations Manager: “The weather was mixed and both riders took a calculated approach to the sessions. They have given excellent feedback to their technicians with a view to improving their Rizla Suzuki race bikes and we look forward to making more progress tomorrow. “It is fantastic to be back racing again and the whole team is really excited. There is huge potential with our bikes and we can’t wait to get racing.” Practice Times: 1: Leon Haslam (Ducati) 46.318, 2: Karl Harris (Honda) +0.019, 3: Gregorio Lavilla (Ducati) +0.023, 4: Michael Rutter (Honda) +0.039, 5: Jonathan Rea (Honda) +0.059, 6: Glen Richards (Honda) +0.283, 7: Michael Laverty (Honda) +0.638, 8: Ryuichi Kiyonari (Honda) +0.825, 9: James Haydon (Rizla Suzuki) +0.882, 10: Shane Byrne (Rizla Suzuki) +0.965.

MotoGP World Championship Jerez, Spain March 24, 2006 Friday Afternoon Practice Times: 1. Valentino ROSSI, Yamaha, 1:41.613 2. Loris CAPIROSSI, Ducati, 1:41.625 3. Daniel PEDROSA, Honda, 1:41.798 4. Sete GIBERNAU, Ducati, 1:41.798 5. Shinya NAKANO, Kawasaki, 1:41.939 6. Marco MELANDRI, Honda, 1:42.108 7. Colin EDWARDS, Yamaha, 1:42.266 8. Nicky HAYDEN, Honda, 1:42.276 9. Randy DE PUNIET, Kawasaki, 1:42.455 10. Toni ELIAS, Honda, 1:42.518 11. Kenny Lee ROBERTS, Roberts/Honda, 1:42.538 12. Casey STONER, Honda, 1:42.552 13. Carlos CHECA, Yamaha, 1:42.608 14. John HOPKINS, Suzuki, 1:42.727 15. Makoto TAMADA, Honda, 1:42.868 16. Chris VERMEULEN, Suzuki, 1:43.101 17. Jose Luis CARDOSO, Ducati, 1:43.712 18. Alex HOFMANN, Ducati, 1:43.781 19. James ELLISON, Yamaha, 1:45.239 More, from a press release issued by Ducati: DAY ONE 2006: DUCATI MARLBORO MEN UP FRONT Ducati Marlboro Team riders Loris Capirossi and Sete Gibernau enjoyed a positive first day of the 2006 MotoGP World Championship at Jerez today, completing the first two practice sessions for Sunday’s keenly awaited, season-opening Spanish GP a close second and equal third fastest. Conditions weren’t perfect, with this morning’s session held in cold and damp conditions and this afternoon’s in cool and windy conditions with dark clouds threatening. Capirossi was quickest in the damp and led much of the second session, ending up just 0.012s behind reigning World Champion Valentino Rossi. Gibernau was also impressively fast this afternoon, a mere 0.185s off ‘pole position’ and looking forward to further progress tomorrow, for which the weather forecast predicts sunny and warm conditions. LORIS CAPIROSSI, second fastest, 1m 41.625s “This afternoon was the first real practice session, although the track was still damp in places, so I couldn’t use my usual lines everywhere. The damp bothered me more than I expected. Furthermore, no rubber has been laid down, which means the track conditions are very different from the tests we did here two weeks ago. But overall I’m very, very happy with today. I’m only 12 hundredths behind the fastest guy which is nothing, and we were fast in the wet, so we are ready whatever the weather. The bike set-up is almost identical to what I used at the tests, the tyres are the same too, though we’ll test some new Bridgestones tomorrow. We know we can be faster than today, which is good. I’m okay, I’ll keep working and hope for some nice weather.” SETE GIBERNAU, equal third fastest, 1m 41.798s “Today was okay, no one could do any real work this morning, so this afternoon was like our first practice session. Even then conditions weren’t perfect, it seemed like there were still a few damp patches out there, so we’re not going quite as fast as we were at the tests. For me, we need to make the bike easier, more natural. I’m still fighting with it more than I’d like, but the team has got some ideas to work on that. I’m not really thinking too much about lap times at the moment. I know we can be fast but we need to be constantly fast, so we’re working more towards a good race pace. Bridgestone have some new tyres here, so we’ve still got more stuff to try tomorrow.” Temperatures: Ambient: 23 degrees. Track: 33 degrees More, from a press release issued by Kawasaki Racing Team: TOP TEN FOR NAKANO AND DE PUNIET AT JEREZ The 2006 season opened at Jerez today, with Kawasaki’s Shinya Nakano and Randy de Puniet both putting in impressive performances during this afternoon’s one-hour free practice session, to finish in fifth and ninth place respectively. Overnight rain left the 4.423 km Jerez circuit damp and slippery for this morning’s opening free practice session, during which both Kawasaki riders opted to remain in the pit box, venturing out only at the end of the session but completing less than 10 laps between them. An improvement in the weather for afternoon free practice was good news for the thousands of Spanish race fans lining the circuit, but conditions on track remained unpredictable, as damp patches in the faster sections almost caught out a number of riders early in the session Both Kawasaki riders complained of losing the rear through the fast series of turns at the back of the circuit, with de Puniet out of the seat on a number of occasions as the rear tyre on his Ninja ZX-RR span up after losing traction on the slippery track surface. Nakano and de Puniet took advantage of improving grip levels towards the end of the session to test a new rear tyre from Bridgestone, constructed using a revised drive compound to increase traction out of the turns while remaining more consistent over race distance. And while conditions weren’t ideal for evaluating subtle differences in tyre construction, both Nakano and de Puniet set their fastest times on the new tyre with just minutes of the session remaining. While declaring themselves happy with today’s performance both Kawasaki riders remain confident that, as conditions tomorrow are forecast to match those during the recent IRTA test at Jerez, there are significant improvements still to come. Shinya Nakano: 5th – 1’41.939 “This morning was a bit of a wash out. I waited right to the end before going out to bed in a new engine, but the track was just too slippery for the cut slick I’d opted for in the rear of the bike. This afternoon the conditions were better, but parts of the track were still very slippery right to the end of the session. We tested a new rear tyre from Bridgestone right at the end, with positive results, but we’ll need to confirm the results tomorrow when conditions are due to improve. It took me a little time this afternoon to get used to having so many bikes around me on track; a one-hour practice session is very different to the day long tests we’ve been doing over the winter when you mostly have the track to yourself! I’m happy to finish in the top five today, and tomorrow we just need to find those final tenths of a second from me and the bike to put us in the best position for qualifying.” Randy de Puniet: 9th – 1’42.455 “There was nothing to learn this morning on track, as conditions weren’t dry enough for slicks nor damp enough for full wets. It was a bit of an anti-climax after waiting so long to make my MotoGP debut! At the start of the afternoon session I felt a little bit nervous; I don’t know why, because I felt okay this morning, but it quickly passed. Conditions were difficult this afternoon, and there were a couple of places on the fast sections of the track where the rear tried to come round on me when on a fast lap, but I don’t think this will be a problem if the weather improves for tomorrow as forecast. Overall I’m happy to finish inside the top ten today. Tomorrow we need to continue working the same way, so that we’re ready for my first MotoGP qualifying session in the afternoon.” More, from a press release issued by Camel Yamaha: ROSSI MAKES PERFECT START AT JEREZ Camel Yamaha Team rider Valentino Rossi kicked off his MotoGP World Championship defence in fine style today, setting the fastest lap time in the first free practice sessions for the opening round of the 2006 season at Jerez. After light rain showers hit the track this morning, when Rossi decided not to ride and his team-mate Colin Edwards put in just two laps, both riders were able to work without interruption in the afternoon as they aimed to iron out set-up difficulties encountered in recent pre-season tests at this circuit. Whilst Rossi was able to overcome the majority of his problems, immediately finding the right direction to work with the team’s engineers and technicians, Edwards suffered a minor setback today but he is confident that he can recover lost ground in tomorrow morning’s final free practice before the crucial afternoon qualifying session. The American clocked the seventh fastest time today as Loris Capirossi (Ducati) produced the strongest challenge to Rossi’s dominance, lapping 0.012 seconds slower than his Italian compatriot. VALENTINO ROSSI (1’41.613, 24 laps) “We haven’t fixed everything just yet but the Yamaha engineers came up with a few ideas to solve the vibrations we suffered during the test and they all worked. So far we have come up with a setting that allows me to ride in a better way to control the bike and, even though we still have some small vibrations, it is giving us less problems. This is the perfect way to start the season and I am really happy with the way the team have worked. This afternoon the track conditions were still not perfect so the times weren’t so fast, but I think tomorrow it will be better. Tomorrow we have to keep working hard to come up with some more solutions and I am sure we will be in good shape for the race. There is already a good atmosphere and I can’t wait until Sunday!” COLIN EDWARDS (1’42.266, 28 laps) “To be honest things didn’t go as we would have wished today. After losing an hour this morning because of the weather we missed out on another 45 minutes in the afternoon. I felt something was wrong but it took a long time for us to work it out. Basically there was too much pressure in the tyre and once we realised that we were able to start working properly unfortunately it was a bit too late to be reflected in the lap times. Looking across the garage we can see that the engineers have got some really good data that will definitely help us tomorrow to refine the set-up and sort out some of the problems we had in the test. It will be two important hours but I have full confidence in the job the team is doing.” DAVIDE BRIVIO CAMEL YAMAHA TEAM DIRECTOR “It looks like we are making improvements and moving in the right direction, which is very encouraging at this early stage of the weekend. We lost this morning’s session to the weather but I have to say that the engineers and the technicians made the most of the available time to make the first adjustments to the bikes. Both riders have done a different job today, and our team has great cooperation so now we can put all this information together and find the best way forward for both riders tomorrow morning. Hopefully the bad weather is now out of the way for the rest of the weekend.” More, from a press release issued by Team Suzuki: Rizla Suzuki MotoGP held up by the weather at Jerez Rizla Suzuki MotoGP was delayed in its efforts to get the best from the first day of practice for the Gran Premio betandwin.com De Espana at Jerez in Spain, as heavy overnight rain all but washed out the first session. John Hopkins and Chris Vermeulen were both looking to follow on from where they left off at the previous test but were hampered in their efforts to find the best set-up for their Rizla Suzuki GSV-Rs. The early morning downpour left the track very wet and Hopkins and Vermeulen only completed four and nine laps respectively. The afternoon session was held in cloudy but dry conditions, with some damp patches. Hopkins tried some new settings to find the right direction for Sunday’s race and clocked a fastest time of 1’42.727 during his 27 laps to give him the 14th quickest time overall. Team-mate Vermeulen was only 0.374 seconds behind Hopkins as the rookie Australian recorded a best time of 1’43.101 from his 24 laps. He too tried many different set-ups on his Rizla Suzuki GSV-R and tested one of Bridgestone’s possible new race tyre options brought to Jerez. World Champion Valentino Rossi on a Yamaha set today’s fastest time. Rizla Suzuki MotoGP will have a further one hour practice session tomorrow morning, which will be followed by an hour of qualifying in the afternoon. Sunday’s race will take place at 14.00hrs CET. John Hopkins: “I wouldn’t say this has been the best of days. We didn’t get anything done this morning because it was horrible out on track. This afternoon we were playing around with settings because we just couldn’t find the best set-up when we were here for the test. We will now re-look at what we had at the test and work from there because we know we can be a lot quicker than we were today. We’ve just got to keep chipping away and come back tomorrow as strong as we can.” Chris Vermeulen: “It wasn’t too bad today, obviously we would like to be further up the time-sheets but we used this afternoon to try out a lot of chassis stuff on the Rizla Suzuki – so it wasn’t really all about times. We also tried a new Bridgestone tyre and some different electronics settings. The track was still a little patchy this afternoon so it wasn’t as quick for me as it had been at the test. Hopefully tomorrow we can work on a few more things and make it all a little better.” Paul Denning Team Manager: “After the test we knew that we still had a lot of work to do to be more competitive at this track and the weather today has really played against us. Losing this morning’s session to rain meant that we had a lot to cram into this afternoon and because of that we didn’t really get the results we wanted from either rider. Even though we needed to move forward from the test, today has felt like a backward step if anything! We’ve still got a lot of work to do tomorrow to get ourselves in a better position for the Grand Prix on Sunday.” More, from a press release issued by Dorna Communications: With the 2006 season’s curtain-raising Gran Premio betandwin.com de España just two days away, the MotoGP riders were out on the track today for two sessions of free practice. The grandstands already had a healthy turnout of motorbike aficionados despite some early rainfall, with the weekend figure expected to reach over 200,000. The weather cleared up for the gathered throng in time for the exciting action of the afternoon’s free practice. World Champion Valentino Rossi has won the last five season-opening Grands Prix, and showed his intention to make it six with the fastest time in today’s free practice sessions at the Jerez Circuit. The Italian went round in a time of 1’41.613, topping the timesheets just over a hundredth of a second ahead of Loris Capirossi. The Ducati rider has had a strong series of test showings at the Andalusian track, form he will be hoping to continue through the final sessions and into the race. The Spanish crowd had much to cheer about on this the first day of practice in Jerez. With an all-Italian top two, home riders Dani Pedrosa and Sete Gibernau completed the top four with inseparable times. The young rookie and the experienced veteran are both making new starts, Pedrosa of course debuting in the category for Honda and Gibernau riding a Ducati for the first time. The final rider to go round in under 1’42, Shinya Nakano highlighted the dramatic improvement of the Kawasaki by coming in fifth. The Japanese rider had already had an impressive final test at the Jerez Circuit nearly two weeks ago, one which seems to suit the Bridgestone tyres and brand new engine of his 2006 bike. With the cloudy skies which had put a dampener on the morning’s free practice not bringing rain to the circuit, the uninterrupted second session was a chance for the riders to learn the finer points of the track in the dry. Marco Melandri and Colin Edwards were two of the riders to put in the most laps, their best times just over half a second off Rossi’s pace. With his teammate in the Honda Factory team in the top three, Nicky Hayden trailed him by four tenths at the end of today’s qualifying. The top ten was completed by two rookies in the MotoGP premier class, Kawasaki’s Randy de Puniet and Honda’s Toni Elias, who only put in eleven laps of the track after missing the morning practice. 250cc In the 250cc category, Aprilia team-mates Hector Barbera and Jorge Lorenzo headed the standings in the first of two qualifying sessions, the only riders to go round in under 1’45. With fast times in tests at the circuit, the two Spaniards will be hot favourites for their home race. Shuhei Aoyama, Alex de Angelis and Andrea Dovizioso completed the top five. Kiefer Racing’s two riders Dirk Heidolf and Anthony West took sixth and seventh respectively, adding to the extensive Aprilia presence. Japanese riders Hiroshi Aoyama and Yuki Takahashi completed the top ten alongside Italian Alex Baldolini. 125cc Czech rider Lukas Pesek topped the leaderboard in the 125cc category’s first qualifying session of the season, with a fastest lap of 1’47.734 in the opening GP betandwin.com de España session. The Derbi Racing man took provisional pole ahead of Alvaro Bautista and the morning’s fastest rider Julian Simon. Tomoyoshi Koyama completes the potential front row. Mattia Pasini, fastest at the final test of the preseason at the Andalusian track, headed a host of title contenders. Mika Kallio, Gabor Talmacsi, Sergio Gadea and Aleix Espargaro were all in the top ten, with reigning World Champion Thomas Luthi completing the top ten. 1st, Valentino Rossi, 1’41.613: “We haven’t fixed everything just yet but the Yamaha engineers came up with a few ideas to solve the vibrations we suffered during the test and they all worked. This is the perfect way to start the season and I am really happy with the way the team have worked. Tomorrow we have to keep working hard to come up with some more solutions and I am sure we will be in good shape for the race. There is already a good atmosphere and I can’t wait until Sunday!” 2nd, Loris Capirossi, 1’41.625: “This afternoon was the first real practice session, although the track was still damp in places, so I couldn’t use my usual lines everywhere. The damp bothered me more than I expected. Furthermore, no rubber has been laid down, which means the track conditions are very different from the tests we did here two weeks ago. But overall I’m very, very happy with today. I’m only 12 hundredths behind the fastest guy which is nothing, and we were fast in the wet, so we are ready whatever the weather.” 3rd, Dani Pedrosa, 1’41.798: “It was a real shame about the weather this morning, which meant we couldn’t do what we wanted. This afternoon we managed to put in some good work though, and to be honest I didn’t expect to be so high up the timesheets at this stage. There’s obviously lots of pressure on me from the fans and the media, but I’m just concentrating on doing my job.” 1st (250cc), Hector Barbera, 1’44.561: “I think my provisional pole position was a surprise for nearly everyone, except for me. I believe in my chances and think I am capable of being up at the front even though my results last year left me in the second tier of riders. If I do that, people will have to start taking notice of me, although it’s always easier to ride without pressure rather than with the obligation of having to win like the others. Technically we are at a high level, we had two sessions without any problems and ended up in first. Tomorrow I hope to stay in pole and prepare for the race without any difficulties.” 1st (125cc), Lukas Pesek, 1’47.734: “I am very happy with this current position, but I’m well aware that it is only provisional and that nothing can be celebrated right now. The results of the previous tests have given me a lot of confidence and useful information, the bike and team are at a good level and I can concentrate on getting the best out of my riding.” More, from a press release issued by Fortuna Honda: FORTUNA HONDA RIDERS READY FOR SEASON OPENER First day of practice The long wait is over. The first day of practice for the opening round of the MotoGP World Championship took place today at Jerez de la Frontera. After the long winter of testing the riders finally entered serious action today as they make their final preparations for the first race of the season, which takes place on Sunday. The rain that was present throughout the morning did not leave the track in ideal conditions and prevented the teams from completing the work they had planned in the opening session. However, warm sunshine covered the track in the afternoon and allowed normal proceedings to resume. In general it was a good start for the FORTUNA HONDA riders, who improved on the best times they set at this circuit only two weeks ago. MARCO MELANDRI (1’42″108, 6th fastest): “We couldn’t make the most of the morning session because of the weather but we did have some reference data thanks to the recent tests here a couple of weeks ago. I am satisfied because we have taken a major step forward today. We have noticed an improvement and the Michelin tyres have worked perfectly. The objective was to continue on the same line of work to prepare the first race of the 2006 season. We have been consistent and I think we can improve even more tomorrow.” TONI ELIAS (1’42″518, 10th fastest): “The weather hasn’t helped us too much and we preferred not to go out onto the track during the morning session. In the afternoon we went out with the same set-up configuration that we used during the IRTA tests. I still have a wide margin for improvement and I have to pick up my pace. I’m confidence and tomorrow we will be working closely with the Michelin guys.”