CherrypickerRacing.com’s Daytona Party sponsored by Riders Choice TORONTO – CherrypickerRacing.com is holding their annual Daytona Party sponsored by Riders Choice this Saturday, March 11th, with all proceeds going to support the Canadian Roadracer Safety Fund. Now in it’s 3rd year, our contributions to date have exceeded $14,000. The goal for 2006 is to beat last years’ contribution of $10,000. In addition to door prizes, raffle and an auction, this year we’ll be hosting an online auction for people wanting to support the cause, but are not able to attend the party. Numerous items are available in the online week long auction which ends at 10pm Friday, March 10th. Those items and the high bid will continue on to Saturday’s Daytona Party Auction. Proxy bids can be emailed in beforehand if you can’t attend the party. A few major items of interest are a Dainese race suit from Riders Choice, an Arai helmet from Full Bore and Bridgestone race tires from Ripp Racing. Pro 6 Cycle have also shown their continued support with 2 sets of Dunlop tires and 15 track days for Mosport and Shannonville. This year’s party will be held at Wegz Stadium Bar. We’ll be enjoying the race on their massive 16′ x 20′ big screen TV and also have appetizers on hand. There is no cover charge this year, but instead, a suggested donation of $20 to the Canadian Roadracer Safety Fund is requested. Don’t miss an excellent opportunity to meet friends, watch some exciting roadracing, and get some great deals while supporting a good cause: the Canadian Roadracer Safety Fund. Everyone is invited! Contributors to this year’s auction include Riders-Choice, Motovan, Full Bore, Parts Canada, Joe Rocket, Orion Motorsports, Dainese, Elf, Pug, Bike Lift, Suzuki, Kawasaki, Yamaha, Honda, Pro 6 Cycle, Ripp Racing, RACE, Team Pro-Motion, Ryeka Sport Inc. and Kennedy Motorsports. When: Saturday, March 11, doors open at 10:45am in time for the 11am AMA Superbike race. The Daytona 200 starts at 1:30pm with the auction and raffle going on before and after that race. Where: WEGZ Stadium Bar, 2601 Rutherford Rd. on the south side between Jane St. and Keele St. in Vaughan, Ontario. (Just north of Hwy 401 on Hwy 400, exit at Rutherford Rd. East). Please note all guests must be 19 years or older.

CAPIROSSI FIRST AND GIBERNAU SECOND ON THE FIRST DAY OF TESTING IN JEREZ. The cold and rain that characterised most of last weekend’s test in Barcelona now remains only a distant memory as clear skies and favourable temperatures welcomed the Ducati Marlboro Team on the first day of the second official IRTA test session at the Spanish circuit of Jerez. Having set the pace throughout today’s sessions, Loris Capirossi and Sete Gibernau concluded the day aboard their Desmosedici GP6’s at the top of the time-sheets with first and second fastest times respectively. The Borgo Panigale flag-bearers took advantage of the good track conditions to carry out set-up and tyre tests, making steady progress in the lead up to the first, important race of the season which will take place at this circuit. Vittoriano Guareschi continued to make a significant contribution as official test rider and will work alongside Loris and Sete until Sunday. Loris Capirossi 72 laps – Best 1’40.914 “It’s been a positive day. We finally had good weather conditions and were able to work calmly all day. From the minute I went out I felt at ease on the GP6 and we were able to improve throughout the sessions, making only minor modifications to the set-up. The bike has improved a great deal and the tyres are very good. Tomorrow we hope the weather will allow us to do a race distance test.” Sete Gibernau 72 laps – Best 1’41.176 “We return to Jerez after testing here by ourselves last November and perhaps this helped us a bit today. The closer we get to the first race, the more important testing becomes. This session is extremely important because we know that we must gain ground on our competitors. Today we can be satisfied with our work as the bike is continuously improving and the tyres confirm the progress that we made in Barcelona. But, we must keep on working hard!” Weather permitting, the weekend tests will concentrate on frame, electronics and tyre set-up. Temperature: Air 20° – Track: 38° More, from a press release issued by Kawasaki Racing Team: KAWASAKI BOUNCE BACK AS NAKANO GOES TOP THREE AT JEREZ The Kawasaki Racing Team were back in action at Jerez today, just four days after the race transporter carrying their Ninja ZX-RR MotoGP bikes was completely destroyed in a road traffic accident on the way from Barcelona. The bikes, which survived the crash undamaged, finally arrived at the Jerez circuit early on Thursday morning, and the Kawasaki mechanics have had to work flat out to ensure that each rider had his full complement of two bikes for this final pre-season test. Shinya Nakano started today working with his crew on machine set-up for the technically demanding, 4.423 km, Circuito de Jerez, before moving on to evaluate a range of different tyres on the rear of his Ninja ZX-RR for Bridgestone. The 28-year-old Japanese rider ended the opening day of testing with the third fastest lap time, despite being forced to finish early due to a mechanical problem with his number one machine. As well as adapting to the demands of the Jerez circuit, Nakano has also had to familiarise himself with two new crew members, drafted in at short notice to temporarily replace the two mechanics injured in Monday’s accident. Jerome Galland and Christian Boudinot arrived in Jerez on Thursday afternoon and have been on a steep learning curve as they worked to familiarise themselves with Kawasaki’s Ninja ZX-RR, under the guidance of Nakano’s crew chief, Fiorenzo Fanali. Severe toothache denied Randy de Puniet of much needed sleep ahead of today’s test, and the 25-year-old Frenchman was still in some pain as he arrived this morning in the Kawasaki pit box. De Puniet ran top six on the timesheet during the morning, but was forced to quit the test early when the toothache, and the lack of sleep the previous night, started to make it difficult for him to maintain concentration around the technical, and very fast, Jerez circuit. De Puniet will visit a dentist this evening for treatment for his toothache, and is confident of improving his lap time significantly when he returns to the track tomorrow. Shinya Nakano: #56 – 1’41.477 (53 Laps) “It was strange without Jason and Josef in the box today, and I hope they will make a speedy recovery and that they return to the team very soon. Jerome and Christian, who joined the team at very short notice just yesterday, are fitting in well and both have done a great job. Our main focus today was again set-up, but also tyre testing with Bridgestone. Some of the rear tyres we have tested before, but we also tried new compounds here that worked well on the bike. It’s always good to finish near the top of the time sheets during testing, but we still have some work to do. Tomorrow we will continue working with Bridgestone evaluating tyres, as well as running a race simulation in the afternoon.” Randy de Puniet: #17 – 1’41.915 (57 Laps) “Last night I started suffering with a toothache and, as a result, only managed about two hours sleep all night. Today I still had a lot of pain from my tooth, to the point where it was affecting my concentration, and that’s just not safe on a MotoGP bike. So, we finished testing early and I am now going straight to the dentist, who I hope will be able to do something for my toothache. Despite the problems, it’s still been a productive day. I am happy with my lap time, as it’s only a second behind the leaders, and I am confident there is still at least half a second more to come tomorrow.” Naoya Kaneko: Technical Manager “With all four bikes in the race transporter that crashed on Monday, the team have worked flat out to make sure we were ready to start testing today. For most of the day we have concentrated on set-up for this circuit, but we’ve also done some tyre testing with Bridgestone, to identify a base compound for the opening Grand Prix here in three weeks time. Both Shinya and Randy finished the test early today; Shinya because of a mechanical problem with his number one bike, and Randy because of toothache, but tomorrow we will continue with a full day of testing.” More, from a press release issued by Camel Yamaha: CAMEL YAMAHA TEAM BEGIN FINAL RACE PREPARATIONS AT JEREZ TEST Camel Yamaha Team riders Valentino Rossi and Colin Edwards began their final three days of pre-season testing at Jerez de la Frontera in Southern Spain today. The 4.423 km Jerez circuit, which will play host to the season-opening Grand Prix in two weeks time, provides the last chance for the World Champion and his team-mate to perfect the set-up of their YZR-M1s before the curtain goes up on the new MotoGP season. Following last weekend’s test in Barcelona, where Rossi consistently topped the time sheets and Edwards drove away with a new car after winning Sunday’s wet ‘qualifying’ shoot-out, both riders were faced with some traction problems today and are now focused on finding a solution with tyre manufacture Michelin and the Yamaha engineers over the next two days. Loris Capirossi (Ducati) was the only rider to lap under the circuit record, setting a time of 1’40.910. Edwards (1’41.730) and Rossi (1’41.861) set the sixth and ninth best times respectively. COLIN EDWARDS (6th, 1’41.730, 68 laps) “After the highs of last weekend, today has shown us that we still have a bit of work to do before the first race. We started with 99% of the same settings that we had in Barcelona and we’ve only made some small changes; the bike is still working great. However we’re missing traction with the tyres and now we need to get that sorted out with Michelin. We need to find the right tyre for our bike at this track, but they’re working hard to do just that and tomorrow we should have something new to try. I think everyone’s a bit ‘tested-out’ now so it’s just a case of making one last big effort here, then we can all finally concentrate on the first race!” VALENTINO ROSSI (9th, 1’41.861, 73 laps) “It’s quite a big change coming here after last weekend as we have some problems and the vibration that we had in Malaysia and Qatar has returned. The problem is that the tyres that we have available to us here are not working correctly with our bike, so now we’re waiting for some new race tyres for tomorrow and Sunday. We hope that with this we can fix the problem. We’ve worked a lot on settings and other things today in order to find a way to improve the traction, but in reality we can’t do anything until we have a different tyre. We’re ninth so we’re not very fast! Now we have just two days to prepare before we come back here for the first race so we’re going to work very hard with Yamaha and Michelin to solve the problem.” DAVIDE BRIVIO CAMEL YAMAHA TEAM DIRECTOR “We had some problems today to make our package work like it did last week in Barcelona, but both riders have the same problem so this make it’s easier to work on the situation. We exchanged a lot of information between Yamaha and Michelin and in the next two days we will work together to find the right solution. I am confident that with the full cooperation of everyone involved, we can overcome the problem.” Lap Times: 1. Loris Capirossi (ITA) Ducati Marlboro Team, 1’40.910 2. Sete Gibernau (SPA) Ducati Marlboro Team, 1’41.176 3. Shinya Nakano (JPN) Kawasaki Racing Team, 1’41.477 4. Dani Pedrosa (SPA) Repsol Honda Team, 1’41.499 5. Toni Elias (SPA) Fortuna Honda, 1’41.680 6. COLIN EDWARDS (USA) Camel Yamaha Team, 1’41.730 7. Carlos Checa (SPA) Tech 3 Yamaha, 1’41.732 8. John Hopkins (USA) Rizla Suzuki MotoGP, 1’41.740 9. VALENTINO ROSSI (ITA) Camel Yamaha Team, 1’41.861 10. Randy de Puniet (FRA) Kawasaki Racing Team, 1’41.915 11. Nicky Hayden (USA) Repsol Honda Team, 1’41.984 12. Marco Melandri (ITA) Fortuna Honda, 1’42.106 13. Kenny Roberts (USA) Team Roberts, 1’42.328 14. Makoto Tamada (JPN) Konica Minolta Honda, 1’42.558 15. Chris Vermeulen (AUS) Rizla Suzuki MotoGP, 1’42.938 16. Alex Hofmann (GER) D’Antin Pramac, 1’43.274 17. Vittoriano Guareschi (ITA) Ducati, 1’43.417 18. Jose Luis Cardoso (SPA) D’Antin Pramac, 1’44.501 19. James Ellison (GBR) Tech 3 Yamaha, 1’44.953 20. Tadayuki Okada (JPN) HRC, 1’45.930 Jerez Lap Record: Valentino Rossi (Yamaha) 2005 1’40.596 Jerez Best Lap: Valentino Rossi (Yamaha) 2005 1’39.419 More, from a press release issued by Fortuna Honda: GOOD START FOR TONI ELIAS AT JEREZ The Fortuna Honda rider signs the 5th best time of the day MotoGP action resumes at Jerez de la Frontera, Spain for the last pre-season testing session before the first race the Championship that will start on this track on March the 26th . The first day of testing was characterized by good weather conditions (19 degrees the air temperature, 31 degrees the asphalt, sunny sky). Positive day for the Spaniard Toni Elias who, starting from the base of last week test, found a good solution and could improve his rhythm. The Fortuna Honda rider signed the 5th best time of the day (1’41″680) , the second fastest among the Honda riders. On the other side of the garage, his team mate Marco Melandri continued the preparation of a good base working mainly on the balance of the bike, suspensions and tyre testing. TONI ELIAS ( 95 laps, 1’41″680, 5th best time): “Today we started adapting the best base found during last week test to the technical characteristics of the Andalusian track. We worked mainly on suspensions and we did tyre testing. I found myself comfortable and so I could improve my pace, lapping in the end with a rhythm of 1’41″high. Tomorrow we will continue working on the set up of the bike and we will work together with the Michelin techs. I ‘m confident that tomorrow I can do another step forward.” MARCO MELANDRI ( 88 laps, 1’42″106, 12° best time): “The bike has improved compared to last week test. Today we worked mainly on the balance of the bike, suspensions and Michelin tyre testing. We tested many different solutions in order to understand how the bike reacts and to collect as many data as possible that will be extremely useful in order to create the best base for the first race of the championship that will take place in two weeks on this track.” Lap Times: 1. Loris Capirossi (ITA) Ducati Marlboro Team, 1’40.910 2. Sete Gibernau (SPA) Ducati Marlboro Team, 1’41.176 3. Shinya Nakano (JPN) Kawasaki Racing Team, 1’41.477 4. Dani Pedrosa (SPA) Repsol Honda Team, 1’41.499 5. Toni Elias (SPA) Fortuna Honda, 1’41.680 6. Colin Edwards (USA) Camel Yamaha Team, 1’41.730 7. Carlos Checa (SPA) Tech 3 Yamaha, 1’41.732 8. John Hopkins (USA) Rizla Suzuki MotoGP, 1’41.740 9. Valentino Rossi (ITA) Camel Yamaha Team, 1’41.861 10. Randy de Puniet (FRA) Kawasaki Racing Team, 1’41.915 11. Nicky Hayden (USA) Repsol Honda Team, 1’41.984 12. Marco Melandri (ITA) Fortuna Honda, 1’42.106 13. Kenny Roberts (USA) Team Roberts, 1’42.328 14. Makoto Tamada (JPN) Konica Minolta Honda, 1’42.558 15. Chris Vermeulen (AUS) Rizla Suzuki MotoGP, 1’42.938 16. Alex Hofmann (GER) D’Antin Pramac, 1’43.274 17. Vittoriano Guareschi (ITA) Ducati, 1’43.417 18. Jose Luis Cardoso (SPA) D’Antin Pramac, 1’44.501 19. James Ellison (GBR) Tech 3 Yamaha, 1’44.953 20. Tadayuki Okada (JPN) HRC, 1’45.930 More, from a press release issued by Dorna Communications: MotoGP in sunny Jerez for final preseason test Today saw the premier class of MotoGP gathering in Jerez for the first of three testing sessions, which will serve as the final chance to fine-tune their 990cc four-stroke motorcycles ahead of the 2006 season. Bright sunshine ruled throughout the day, and a light breeze helped to keep temperatures around a comfortable 20 degrees. The factory Ducati team dominated proceedings on today’s first session, with Loris Capirossi clocking the fastest time of the day with a lap of 1’40.910, close to that which earned Valentino Rossi pole position in last season’s Grand Prix at the same location. With teammate Sete Gibernau second on the leaderboard and just over a quarter of a second behind, Ducati were the first of a series of teams to post strong times on Bridgestone-shod bikes, demonstrating the tyre’s suitability for the Jerez track. “It’s been a positive day. We finally had good weather conditions and were able to work calmly all day. From the minute I went out I felt at ease on the GP6 and we were able to improve throughout the day, making only minor modifications to the set-up. The bike has improved a great deal and the tyres are very good. Tomorrow we hope the weather will allow us to do a race distance test,” said Capirossi following the day’s testing. Following on from a great showing at the MotoGP Official Test in Catalunya last week, Shinya Nakano gave his Kawasaki team another welcome boost in third, after the news that one of their trucks had been involved in an accident on the way to the circuit. It was also a much better day for Honda, who had been unable to break into the top seven last week. The Spanish duo of factory rider Dani Pedrosa and the Gresini team’s Toni Elias gave much encouragement to the Japanese constructor by ending up fourth and fifth today, although they will evidently be looking to see the RC211V taking victories in the coming season and reclaiming the MotoGP crown which has gone to Yamaha for the last two seasons. In turn, Yamaha factory riders Colin Edwards and world champion Valentino Rossi both continued to show the M1’s excellent form, which helped the former win a new BMW and the latter the fastest times of the first Official Test last week. Rossi was the last to take to the track, as has become customary during preseason and ended up ninth, behind Edwards’ sixth place. Two of last week’s surprise packages, Carlos Checa and John Hopkins were again amongst the top riders. Checa taking seventh spot and Hopkins continuing to put in fast laps on the Suzuki GSV-R just eight thousandths adrift of him. Rounding off the top ten after Rossi was Kawasaki’s French rookie Randy de Puniet, who ran off the track three times and crashed twice in his quest to get his new Kawasaki Ninja ZX-RR around the track in the fastest time possible. MotoGP testing will continue throughout the weekend in Jerez, where all three grand prix categories have taken to the track this week. Monday and Tuesday’s 125cc sessions saw Mattia Pasini as the standout rider, with the Master MVA Aspar man clocking a best time a tenth quicker than last year’s pole and breaking Dani Pedrosa’s 2003 record for a 125cc bike at the circuit. The 250cc sessions were then dominated by Aprilia’s Jorge Lorenzo. The Mallorcan confirmed his status as one of the title favourites by topping the timesheets on both Wednesday and Thursday, amidst a commanding performance by all Aprilia representatives. More, from a press release issued by Honda Racing Information: Pedrosa springs surprise on opening day of IRTA test at Jerez The final pre-season MotoGP test got underway in bright sunshine at the 4.423 km Jerez circuit in the south of Spain. Three-days of intense testing for the MotoGP teams prepare the 990cc four-stroke grand prix machines they will race in the 17-round World Championship that opens at the same Jerez circuit on march 26. Repsol Honda factory team rider Dani Pedrosa was the fastest Honda rider on the opening day of the test with fourth place, and also the fastest Michelin equipped machine on the day. Spaniard Pedrosa, the reigning double 250cc World Champion, was riding a MotoGP machine at Jerez for the very first time and worked step by step to set up the big five-cylinder 990cc grand prix machine for the demanding Andalusian track before setting fast times. Nicky Hayden, on the latest version of the Repsol Honda RC211V put in a mammoth 108-lap stint as he worked his way through an extensive opening day test programme. Hayden was pleased with the improvements made to the front end of his RCV and tomorrow he will concentrate on finding more rear wheel traction. Marco Melandri (Fortuna Honda) worked to find a good base setting for his RCV at Jerez spending time on total machine balance for his RCV before moving on to analysing various suspension alternatives available to him. Melandri’s Fortuna Honda team-mate, Spaniard Toni Elias worked on a range of suspension and tyre combinations for his RCV getting faster as the day wore on. Once he had found the best combination for the conditions he settled into a fast consistent rhythm and ended the day with fifth fastest time. Konica Minolta Honda rider Makoto Tamada and his team worked hard on rear suspension settings riding exclusively with the new Michelin rear tyre searching for better mid-corner speed. The popular Japanese had been the fastest Honda rider on track but after he slid off his RCV in late afternoon he called it a day. Team Roberts started the Jerez test running the KR211V Honda powered KR rolling chassis in the same specification as on the last day of the Catalunya test. The team comparing data from one circuit to the other as they build up a solid data-base of information on the all-new GP machine they will bring to the line on the opening day of the season. Honda rider Lap times and quotes. Nicky Hayden, Repsol Honda:1m 41.984s – 108 laps. “We came out today and got on the pace pretty quick which I was happy about. We’ve got the front of the bike working a bit better but it’s still spinning a bit at the back so we didn’t quite get down to the lap time we’d hoped for. We got into to the low 1m 42s but we just couldn’t jump down to the 1m 41s which is where I really wanted to be to take a big step. We’re just searching for a bit of traction. Tonight we’ll put our heads together and see if we can make a bigger step tomorrow.” Dani Pedrosa, Repsol Honda: 1m 41.499s – 96 laps. “This is another new track for me on this bike so we started little-by-little in the morning. Until noon we were just playing with the bike – the seating position, handlebars and footpegs. Then in the afternoon we started tyre testing for Michelin. The results were good today, though we haven’t finished and we have to do more laps and further improve the set-up of the bike.” Makoto Tanaka – Repsol Honda Team Manager “It’s perfect weather for testing today and we got along very well with today’s test menu. We had tested a lot of things in the past few tests so we analysed a lot of data and narrowed the set-up menu down to one direction for the up-coming race here. Both Nicky and Dani worked hard today. Nicky did a lot of laps and I know we need more work tomorrow to get the right set-up. Dani showed good progress here with the quickest time of the Michelin runners. We’re getting closer to the top time but still have much work to meet our target.” Marco Melandri, Fortuna Honda: 1m 42.106s – 88 laps.”The bike has improved compared to last week test. Today we worked mainly on the balance of the bike, suspensions and tyre testing. We tested many different solution in order to understand the behaviour of the bike and to collect as many data as possible that will be extremely useful in order to create the best base for the first race of the championship that will take place in two weeks on this track.” Toni Elias, Fortuna Honda: 1m 41.680s – 95 laps. “Today we started adapting to the technical characteristics of the Andalusian track the best base of last week test. We worked mainly with suspensions and we did tyre testing. I found myself comfortable and so I could improve my pace, lapping in the end with a rhythm of 1’41″high. Tomorrow we will continue working on the set up of the bike and we will work together with the Michelin techs. I’m confident to able to do another step forward.” Makoto Tamada, Konica Minolta Honda: 1m 42.558s – 69 laps. “Today we could carry out a very important day of testing apart from my fall at the end of the day. For a long time I have been the fastest Honda rider but it gives me no satisfaction because even here, as in Catalunya, the gap from the first positions is remarkable. We still have to work before I find a good feeling with my new bike, especially in the central part of the corner. In this phase, the behaviour is not as natural as I would and I think this is the reason of my slip.” Giulio Bernardelle – Konica Minolta Honda Technical Director “We have deeply verified the setting of the bike rear suspension and set-up starting from the basic solution we defined in Sepang. The telemetry data analysis showed that Makoto is fastest than last year in some parts of the track while we loose too much in the sections where riding is demanding, as we are not still able to easily cover the ideal line. In other words, Tamada is still obliged to force intensely the bike and this prevents him to be constantly efficacious. Tomorrow and Sunday we should have all the time to solve this problem.” Kenny Roberts Jnr, KR Honda: 1m 42.33s – 82 laps. “Basically we used the same chassis we ran at Catalunya all day today running through a bunch of stuff and got better as the day went on. We are pretty close on the chassis now so tomorrow we can move forward with other things we need to work at.”

BOSTROM QUALIFIES ON FRONT ROW AT DAYTONA Daytona (Florida): Ben Bostrom of the Parts Unlimited Ducati Team will start on the front row for Saturday’s Daytona Superbike race aboard his factory Ducati 999. Bostrom was third in Thursday’s session with a time of 1:38.012, held in sunny, cool Florida weather. Teammate Neil Hodgson qualified sixth with a time of 1:38.491 and showed a consistent pace throughout qualifying that he hopes to maintain for race distance. “It’s good to be on the front row, but at the same time, I’m a little disappointed,” said Bostrom, the 1998 AMA Superbike champion. “As sure as I threw my leg over that motorcycle, I thought I could have done a high 1:36 and I thought no one could stop me for pole position. The track really changed out there for our second session, though. There wasn’t as much grip as I would have liked. The times from the others were pretty hot but I don’t know if the other guys can turn those lap times all day on Saturday. We’re looking really good for the race, especially since the Ducati seems to pull all the way down the straight. The 999 seems like a quick starter off the line, too. I can’t wait.” Bostrom has plenty of experience at Daytona, and won the pole and finished second in 2003. However, Ben raced in Europe last season and missed the inaugural race on the new track configuration. Neil Hodgson finished a competitive second in last year’s race, though, despite it being just his first attempt on the high banks of Daytona. “The race package we have is quite good,” said Hodgson, a resident of the Isle of Man. “We have chosen a tire and we know exactly what we have with our settings. There are some races that you aren’t sure of where you stand, but this isn’t one of them. Looking at the lap-by-lap times of all the riders, I think it’s going to be a close race. I’m a little disappointed to be on the second row. I thought we had enough to start out front, but that’s racing.” Saturday’s 15-lap race will begin at 11:15 AM local time. Qualifying Times: 1. Mat Mladin, Suzuki 1:37.075 2. Ben Spies, Suzuki 1:37.559 3. Ben Bostrom, Parts Unlimited Ducati 1:38.012 4. Miguel Duhamel, Honda 1:38.337 5. Jake Zemke, Honda 1:38.398 6. Neil Hodgson, Parts Unlimited Ducati1:38.491 7. Roger Hayden, Kawasaki 1:38.573 8. Tommy Hayden, Kawasaki 1:38.904 More, from a press release issued by Yamaha Motor Corp. U.S.A.: YAMAHA’S DiSALVO AND BOSTROM ON FRONT ROW FOR DAYTONA 200 ________________________________________________________________________ Daytona Beach, March 10, 2006,”” Yamaha’s Jason DiSalvo and Eric Bostrom provided a fitting return for the most successful manufacturer in the history of the Daytona 200, with both riders qualifying on the front row for Saturday’s Daytona 200 Formula Xtreme race at Daytona International Speedway. With an unprecedented 18 wins to its credit Yamaha hopes to add to that total with its new weapon, the YZF-R6. The R6 is poised to join a host of history making race bikes, including the TZ 350, TZ-700, TZ-750, OW68, and YZF-750, in the pantheon of motorcycle racing history. Today was the first step. DiSalvo, who was consistently the fastest in all three practice sessions, finished less than a tenth of a second off the pole position in preparation for his first Formula Xtreme race. A past winner here in the Supersport class, the New Yorker said a slight miscommunication meant he was unable to take full advantage of one of his three qualifying tires. Bostrom, a champion in both the 600cc Supersport and 1000cc Formula Xtreme classes, was returning to the 600cc class for the first time since 2002. The Californian spent much of the session preparing the new Yamaha R6 for the Daytona 200, his first for Yamaha, while searching for that one blistering lap. The Californian, who’s finished second in the Daytona 200, was three-tenths of a second behind his teammate and third on the front row of the 69-rider grid. Saturday’s 65th running of the Daytona 200 marks the return of Yamaha to the most prestigious race on the AMA calendar for the first time since 2002. Jason DiSalvo, 2nd, 1:41.014 “I was all tense and nervous going out and I made mistakes and everything. I actually went two laps on the second (qualifying tire) because I did five (laps) on the (first) one. I could do two laps no problem. It was just a little lack of communication and I was pretty frustrated afterwards. I know if I could have just hit my marks, I’m pretty confident I could have gone like a mid-40. That’s just the way it goes. What I would like to do Saturday is go out and win the 200 and use the bonus money to buy a Rolex. So that’s my plan.” Eric Bostrom, 3rd, 1:41.341 “The team’s really done a fantastic job. I feel the bike’s obviously good because the first time they came down here and tested, Jason (DiSalvo) and Jamie (Hacking) went pretty good on the thing. For me that was not the case. Got down here and was pretty far off the pace. Just been getting better and better for me each time on the bike and that last session was the first time able to run 41’s on the race tires. We’re in good shape. The team has really done a great job because, obviously, it’s very difficult to build a race bike for the 200 in such a short time. They’d done Supersport for the last few years and to go to a more heavily modified class, and show speed straight away, that shows a lot.” More, from a press release issued on behalf of Hotbodies Racing: Team Hotbodies Racing and the World Center of Speed The first flag flew for the 2006 AMA Superbike motorcycle road racing season, setting off the battle for the Superstock Championship, at Daytona International Speedway. Team Hotbodies privateers Cory West and Taylor Knapp, both returning to the team after strong 2005 seasons, showed themselves proudly in the contest, respectively finishing 15th and 20th, after West fought for position in sight of the podium. Having been running as high as fifth in mid-race, West said later, “I got a great start from my fourth row qualifying position and I was almost immediately in a battle with Buckmaster and Holden, in the front group. I got around them and was in fifth behind Yates and I could tell I was catching him. I tried throwing a rope around him and then my rear tire started going off and there was nothing I could do. I’ve never had it happen like that before. It’s hard to say why it went like that. I have to give great thanks to Don Finelli; he did all the bike’s suspension and if it wasn’t for him I wouldn’t have been able to hang on to what did. My mechanic Chuck Giachetto, my dad and Roger also all worked like crazy to give me this chance.” Taylor Knapp qualified an uncharacteristic 29th but also made huge gains on the start, finding himself up ten positions on the first lap. After the race Knapp said, “Our practice started out a bit hard. This is my second time at Daytona and first time on the Suzuki. We had trouble figuring out the gearing for the infield and when we tried out a power shifter I hit a false neutral and crashed in the infield left hander. That set us back and I ended up qualifying badly. For the race we set the bike back to where we’d started and it was better. My race was pretty smooth and I was in a battle with a few guys for the whole race until I hit a false neutral again on the last lap and ran off the track. We were so far ahead of the next group though that I didn’t lose any places. I’m looking forward to Barber where I’ll have my 600 to race too.” Joining team Hotbodies Racing for 2006 is Barrett Long, in his second year of the AMA Superbike series. Long finished 16th in Daytona’s Supersport race, after drifting back late in the contest from his battle for 11th place. Long said, “I moved up on the start and was in a drafting battle with a group all the way. My father [ex-racer John Long] does the bike and it ran great. We’re both grateful for the help of my dad’s long-time friend George Corbato. He bought the bike for me and without him we wouldn’t be here. I’m looking forward to a great season and to doing the 200 on Saturday.” Roger Davis, founder of Hotbodies Racing, said, “We’re all really happy with our showing at Daytona International Speedway. Just being part of the program here is exciting because of all the history; it’s the big show. But Cory running fifth in the Superstock race is exactly why we do this. He’s growing as a racer and making great advantage of the opportunity we’ve given him, moving up to the front of the pack. We’re very proud of him for that. It gives the whole team a lift” More, from a press release issued by Rory Rock: Rory Rock Daytona results My Daytona weekend is now officially over after a holed radiator in the Superstock final saw me post a DNF. Up to this point things had been going reasonably good, even though my new ZX10RR is still in very standard trim with just a race shock and fork mods done I had qualified in 27th place for the Superstock race. I posted a 1:46.3 in qualifying but got down to a 1:45.4 in Superbike qualifying which saw me miss out on making the final by just 0.5 of a second. That was a bit hard to take as I was getting quicker with every session and think I would have got in pretty easily if I had a chance to ride the track before the weekend started. The final for Superstock saw me get a terrible start, a combination of extremely tall gearing and no experience on the new bike I guess. That didnt stop me moving up the pack and on my first flying lap i posted a 1:45.2 which was my quickest for the weekend, I was running in 23rd at this point. Next lap round and I was wide open in top gear (approx 180mph) at the top of the banking where you are nearlly skimming the concrete wall and water sprayed all over my screen and visor. A stone had been thrown up into my radiator splitting it and causing me to pull into the pits. It was a bit dissapointing to not finish but we have achieved a lot this week on the new bike plus I have done a lot of laps in a race environment which will make a big difference when we get to Brands Hatch. Daytona was a unique experience that I have really enjoyed and would love to do again next year. The banking is something else to ride on although pretty scary, I have massive bruises all down my chest from hitting the tank under the g forces. When you hit the middle of the banking you can hardly move, it is even hard to lift your foot up to shift gears. Round 1 of the British Superstock Championship is at Brands Hatch on the 26th March so hopefully some of you can make it to that one. I am felling really confident this season and the new bikes have shown great potential. More, from a press release issued by Team M4 EMGO Suzuki: MAY’S VALIANT SUPERSTOCK CHARGE COMES UP SHORT Team M4 EMGO Suzuki came into Thursday at Daytona International Raceway with high hopes for Geoff May and he didn’t disappoint. The Georgian fought for the lead and consistently diced with the AMA roadracing series’ top racers before ultimately scoring two strong results. Starting from the second grid position on the front row in the Superstock final, May immediately headed to the front aboard his powerful GSX-R1000, holding down first place for the opening seven laps of the 13-lap contest. Unfortunately, grip issues prevented him from fully capitalizing on his form and his bike’s speed. A last-lap clash with the reigning class champion saw May cross the line in fourth, just hundredths of a second off the podium. “Today was disappointing for us,” said May. “It wasn’t what I wanted. After all that happened last season, I really wanted to win the Superstock race for Vincent and the team and myself. I felt like we had it. I had trained hard all winter and the guys gave me a great bike. I knew I had to go as hard as I could and control the pace. We chose the hardest tire, but the pace for the race was very fast. Leading those laps, it was looking good for a while but then I started to lose grip. By the end, it was pretty tough to hang on and the last three laps, I was doing all I could not to crash, to keep the bike upright. Then (Aaron) Yates caught me and we lost a spot on the podium. That stung pretty bad.” Immediately following the Superstock contest, May returned to the track to take on the 22-lap Supersport race. Once again he battled near the front of the pack, securing a spot in the top five in the early going. A brief run off into the grass late relegated May to a solid seventh place result in the team’s first AMA race aboard the new for ’06 GSX-R600. Completing the races was only half the battle for the Georgian on Thursday. May’s packed schedule also saw him qualify for the Daytona 200 aboard the team’s Pirelli-shod Formula Xtreme racer in the afternoon just prior to the two finals. Geoff, however, had to drop his bid to race all four classes this weekend after Mike Barnes was injured. “We had to drop Superbike,” said May. “I had trained for Superstock for four months and that race was very important to us. Plus, the 200 is very important for Suzuki. We know we have good tires for that race. The plan is to use my GSX-R600 but to pull the trick bits off Barney’s bike. We want to redeem ourselves in that one.” Still adapting to the FX machine, May managed a respectable top-ten showing in qualifying. He earned the inside position on the third row, qualifying ninth with a best lap of 1:43.520. The team’s newest member, Shea Fouchek, completed his first AMA final with the squad. Fouchek finished in 20th in the 100k Supersport race aboard his GSX-R600, remaining on the lead lap and establishing the groundwork for continued improvement as the season progresses. Following a one-day break from action on Friday, Team M4 EMGO Suzuki will return to the track on Saturday for the Daytona 200. More, from a press release issued by Yamaha Motor Corp. U.S.A.: YAMAHA ONE-TWO IN DAYTONA SUPERSTOCK Daytona Beach, March 10, 2006,”” Yamaha’s Jamie Hacking used a classic draft pass on teammate Jason DiSalvo to claim the Superstock victory on a sunny Thursday afternoon at Daytona International Speedway. From the Superstock podium Hacking jumped straight on his Yamaha R6 and nearly swept both races by finishing a close second in the Supersport race. Eric Bostrom, the third member of the Yamaha team, suffered a clutch failure early in the Superstock race and was forced to withdraw. In the 13-lap Superstock final, the veteran Hacking led across the stripe to begin the final lap before Disalvo took over the lead going into turn one. Once DiSalvo was in front, Hacking drew on his nine years of Daytona experience to size up his teammate for the all-important run from the back straight chicane, through the 31 degree banking of NASCAR turns three and four, and down to the checkered flag at the peak of the Daytona tri-oval. Hacking timed it perfectly, winning his first ever professional race at Daytona by a mere .072 seconds. The win was also Yamaha’s first in the Daytona Superstock race and a sterling debut for the new Yamaha YZF-R1 LE. Traffic in the final stages of the 22-lap Supersport race kept Hacking from making a last lap assault on race leader Roger Lee Hayden of Kawasaki. But he was able to pass Kawasaki’s Tommy Hayden to take the runner-up position. Jamie Hacking, 1st Place, Superstock “My main focus was to win that race and I just sat behind (Jason DiSalvo). I just let him do his thing and I did my thing and I knew exactly what I wanted to do. Went on to the last lap there, it was perfect clear lap, went into the chicane, he headed off in there and I figured he was going to stop coming out. He lit it up. I let him go. That was it, it was over. I just breathed it a little bit on the banking and said, ‘You mine, sucker.’ I said, ‘This is over right here. I’m putting this one in the bank.’ If I have to hit that (Supercross track) triple-jump going on the front straightaway in the dirt, I’m going to go across the line in there. He dove down to the inside. I said I’m going to go on underneath. I did. I dove in underneath there and like I said it felt good to come cross that start-finish line with that checkered flag waving right across in front of me. Felt good.” Jason DiSalvo, 2nd Superstock “It was a good race. I don’t know if I would have done anything different. It was just kind of a roll of a dice there at the end, the last lap. I blame myself because I left the door open a little at the bottom. And I know all about shutting doors here at Daytona. I was coming into the tri-oval and I was like, ‘I haven’t seen Jamie (Hacking) yet, so I think I’ve got this one.’ Then it was like, “I got second.’ It was that fast. It was a good race and it was cool for Yamaha to go one-two. That draft was perfect. So congrats to him and we’ll just mark that down in our notebooks and look forward to next year.” Jamie Hacking, 2nd Supersport “I definitely gave it away. I don’t have anything else to say, really, other than the bike worked really well. Roger (Hayden) rode a great race, so did Tommy (Hayden). I had a couple of moments where I lost the front a little bit and kind of backed off and didn’t feel quite comfortable with what was happening. Rog kind of got really aggressive there in the lappers and he knew what he had to do to kind of get him a good gap and he did a good job and played it out right and when I was backing off he was getting a little more aggressive. So I lost the race right there.” Keith McCarty, Team Manager “I think the guys have really been working hard, putting in a lot of late hours. And it’s truly great to come down to this race and have it all pay off. It’s the biggest race of the year for most of us. Daytona is Daytona, so you really want to put your best foot forward, but without putting a lot of pressure on people. It’s on the first of many races for the year. I’m really happy for them because it shows their race and dedication and everything went pretty flawless. We had a problem with Eric’s bike in Superstock. That’s racing. You don’t like it when it happen, but it does. Jamie and Jason did a good job. Very close, very nerve-wracking for me for that many laps to have them that close. What a great experience. A great way to start the week and the season.” More, from a press release issued by Jason DiSalvo’s publicist: Jason DiSalvo of Las Vegas, NV and Stafford, NY is currently racing multiple events at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, FL. With three days of qualifying and racing Jason spent Wednesday, March 8th practicing for Formula Xtreme and qualifying for the 1000cc Superstock class. During Wednesday’s events Jason was consistently the fastest in all classes ultimately smashing the 1000cc Superstock record with a blistering 1 minute 39.18 seconds. This time put Jason in the pole position. On Thursday, during practice and qualifying, Jason maintained his top positions during the day. The 50 minute qualifying session began at 2:30PM, as teams and spectators observed riders in and out of the pits with tire changes and bike adjustments, they could only wonder who would be the top man. Late in the session, Jason moved from second place. With less than 2 minutes to go unfortunately his efforts were for naught as he qualified 2nd in the Formula Xtreme class for the Daytona 200 event. At 3.30PM the grid for the Superstock class began to form for the beginning of the first race of the day. At the start of the race Jason ran 2nd for the first few laps moving into first, then controlling the race until the finish line where he was bit by the Daytona draft, that unpredictable slingshot effect that changes so many Daytona race finishes. With Friday a day of rest for the team Jason returns to action on Saturday, March 11th for the Daytona 200, which will be televised live on speed channel at 1:30pm.

TEAM FORTUNA APRILIA END THE PRESEASON AS PACESETTERS AT JEREZ Jorge Lorenzo and Héctor Barberá completed their preseason programme on top form at Jerez today, demonstrating their talent and strong mental state ahead of the first race of the season at the same track on March 26. The two Fortuna Aprilia riders set the pace at the second and final IRTA Test of 2006, with Jorge Lorenzo setting the fastest time over the two days as he had done last week at the Circuit de Catalunya. Today the Mallorcan rider clocked a time of 1.42.873, the only rider to lap below 1.43, and improved his best effort from yesterday by six tenths. Héctor Barberá, meanwhile, stopped the clock at 1.43.5, 0.2 seconds behind Alex de Angelis, as he knocked seven tenths off his own previous best. The Fortuna Aprilia pair will now head home to complete their physical training programmes before starting the season at full strength in two weeks’ time. JORGE LORENZO: 1’42.873. 76 laps on day one, 46 on day two “I have improved my best time at this circuit from last season by over a second. Aprilia are doing an excellent job and this is showing through in the results. My main objective is not to set an amazing lap time but to take another step forward and to continue with the progress we have made throughout the preseason. I think we are doing a great job and we can be satisfied with that. I want the fans to enjoy the show we put on for them in the first race of the 2006 season, here at the Jerez circuit in two weeks’ time.” HECTOR BARBERA: 1’43.541. 67 laps on day one, 42 on day two “I am very satisfied. We have done a good job throughout the preseason but we still have work to do. Today I improved by best lap time from yesterday although the most important thing for me is that I improved my race pace. We’re now really looking forward to the first race with a lot of ambition, although we have to take into account that the other teams will also be fighting hard to be at the front. I think we are in for a spectacular year. I just can’t wait for the championship to start.”

It is March, and another riding season has begun. To celebrate, come down to Bar Matchless this Saturday March 11th, to kick off the season by watching the Daytona 200 LIVE! The races will begin @ 11am. The main event will occur @ 1:30pm. Come early, see friends, meet new folks, and take advantage of the free pizza while it lasts. For those who can’t make it on Sat., Bar Matchless will show the races again on Monday Bike Night, March 14th @ 8pm. For directions & info: www.barmatchless.com Parking: On the sidewalk