VP STATES POSITION ON SUPERCROSS FUEL PENALTY, CALLS FOR AMA RULES CHANGE SAN ANTONIO, TX — Steve Burns, director of research and development for VP Racing Fuels, issued the following statement regarding the penalization of Ricky Carmichael for the San Diego Supercross race due to a fuel violation: VP Racing Fuels is a supplier to Team Honda, Yamaha, Kawasaki, Suzuki and KTM and has been involved in supplying fuel to professional motocross teams for 25 years. VP develops and manufactures fuels for both motocross and road racing for all these teams. In business since 1975, VP is the Official Racing Fuels of NHRA, the largest racing sanctioning body in the world, as well as a sponsor of more than 30 other racing associations in various capacities. VP produces more blends of racing fuels for unique applications than anyone else in the world. We like to think we have more technology in racing fuels than any other company. This is illustrated by the fact that in racing venues that do not have a spec fuel rule, more championships are won by VP-powered engines than any other fuel company. VP has earned its reputation as a world leader in racing fuels. It’s with great dismay that we learned of the latest incident regarding a points deduction due to a fuel violation at the Supercross race in San Diego. The matter is still being investigated and the jury is still out regarding the source of lead found in Ricky Carmichael’s fuel. Unfortunately, this marks the third time in the past three years one of AMA’s biggest stars was disqualified due to a situation of the AMA’s own making. The failure here is not the fault of the teams nor the fuel producer. The failure stems from a rule written to serve European interests. These disqualifications have also embarrassed three major corporations, essentially accusing them of cheating — violating a rule that is poorly written, based on a specification of .005 grams per liter set by the FIM for European competition, while the USA EPA limit is set at .013 grams per liter. These lead levels are so low they could not have affected the performance or octane of the fuel, nor could it have any effect on the outcome of the race. Significantly, VP has never been contacted by the AMA prior to the implementation of any rule pertaining to fuels which is very surprising given that VP supplies all the factory teams! The specification that needs immediate attention is the lead level. Based on the European limit, it translates to trace levels — parts per billion. The low limits set for lead in street fuels is to protect the catalytic converter from becoming coated over long term exposure, thus reducing the function of the converter. It is not a limit set for health reasons. Racing needs a wider tolerance for lead as the fuel is handled more frequently by more parties than pump fuels and in a more hostile environment. While pump gas typically goes from the manufacturer via pipeline or tanker to the gas station, then directly into the customer’s tank, racing fuel is typically shipped to the teams in drums, which are then opened for various purposes, e.g. to draw samples, run tests, transfer to smaller containers, dispensed into the vehicle, drained from the vehicle after the race for reuse, etc. The fact is all dirt contains lead in varying degrees and it is entirely possible that fuel could become contaiminated with trace levels of lead given the windy, dusty and dirty environment encountered at most race tracks. Significantly, none of the levels we are talking about have any affect on the fuel or its performance in the engine. The use of lead in racing fuels is allowed by the EPA Clean Air Act. There are no legal reasons for the elimination of lead from racing fuels. The other area of concern is the oxygen content of the fuels. As the rule is written, it would render many pump fuels illegal for use in AMA Pro Racing. The current AMA limit is 2.8%, while pump gas can have up to 3.7% in certain parts of the country. According to past conversations with Rob King, former AMA technical director, the current rules originally were written to ensure U.S. pump fuels would be legal for AMA Pro competition. The current rules fail that reasoning on both lead level and oxygen content. These problems do not need to be confronted again. They require an easy fix — rewrite the rules, while maintaining their intent. Suggestions were made to the AMA to this effect after the incident with Yamaha in 2004 but it fell on deaf ears. This is the third time the current rules have disqualified a racer that in no way was cheating or possessed an unfair advantage. It has made Yamaha, Kawasaki and now Suzuki look like cheaters, and made VP Racing Fuels appear incompetent. Yet, despite the recent claim by AMA’s Steve Whitelock that the problem “was explained away” in the earlier incidents, an analyzation of the facts in both incidents led to total exoneration of VP by the teams affected and all others involved. We anticipate the same will also be true when all the facts in the current case are analyzed. This whole situation is damaging to the health of AMA racing. It has cost the factories, the AMA, the racers, VP Racing Fuels and the fans wasted money, wasted time and misplaced emotions. It is time for the AMA to revise its fuel rules to reflect reality. More, from a press release issued by AMA Pro Racing: AMA PRO RACING TO INVESTIGATE FUEL SITUATION PICKERINGTON, Ohio – AMA Pro Racing announced that it will launch a special investigation into the fuel situation surrounding the Amp’d Mobile AMA Supercross Series. On Friday, Feb. 24, Ricky Carmichael was penalized 25 points for using illegal fuel at round six of the series at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego, Calif., on Feb. 11. As part of a routine post race technical inspection at the end of the San Diego event, the fuel from Carmichael’s motorcycle, along with seven others, was tested. The fuel from Carmichael’s motorcycle was found to be out of compliance with the rules and the Team Makita Suzuki rider was assessed a 25 point penalty. The fuel from the other seven competitor’s motorcycles was determined to be within the rules. The list of riders whose fuel was tested includes Mike Alessi, Grant Langston, Jeremy McGrath, Nate Ramsey, Chad Reed, Andrew Short and James Stewart. AMA Pro Racing has required the use of unleaded fuel in AMA Supercross and AMA Motocross competition since the 2004 racing season. In making the announcement that a special investigation will be launched, AMA CEO Patti DiPietro noted that while a fuel penalty is not an appealable offense, there is enough evidence in this case to warrant an investigation. “Our goal here is to get to the bottom of this ongoing fuel situation,” said DiPietro. “The rule on unleaded fuel is clear cut. If the lead content in fuel exceeds 0.005 g/l (grams per litre) it is illegal for competition. This is an objective, easily defined measurement that has been in place for three racing seasons. What concerns us here is that we keep finding fuel that is outside of the rule limits. We expect our competitors to take every possible step to ensure that their equipment is completely within the limits of the rules, but to penalize a competitor for an offense that is completely beyond his or his team’s control is not our purpose. “Furthermore, it is not our intention to have a ruling influence the outcome of the series unless completely and absolutely warranted. This investigation will objectively determine all of the facts surrounding this issue.” DiPietro stated that an outside consultant will be contracted to conduct the investigation. It is expected that teams as well as fuel suppliers, among others, will be interviewed in this process. The finding and recommendations of the consultant will be the foundation for any further action to be taken by AMA Pro Racing officials. Until the outcome of the investigation is determined, Carmichael’s penalty stands. More, from another press release issued by AMA Pro Racing: AMA/FIM REACH RESOLUTION ON CARMICHAEL PENALTY PICKERINGTON, Ohio (March 3, 2006) –The American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) and the Federation Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM) have announced a joint resolution to the points penalty imposed by the AMA on Ricky Carmichael following the February 11 San Diego round of the AMA Supercross Series and the FIM World Supercross GP. In a post-race tech inspection, the fuel in Carmichael’s motorcycle was found to contain more lead than allowed under a standard jointly adopted by both sanctioning bodies beginning with the 2004 racing season. The AMA has enforced that fuel regulation in its AMA Supercross Series and AMA Motocross Championship for the past two years. However, this is the first time that testing has revealed a fuel violation affecting a competitor entered in both the AMA and FIM series, and while the fuel standard is the same in both rule books, the two sanctioning bodies call for different testing protocols. The AMA initiated an investigation into the fuel requirement and testing protocols. It then became apparent that this difference in testing protocols would make consistent enforcement of this standard difficult, and the two sanctioning bodies have agreed to cooperate in the investigation, with the goal of creating a unified unleaded fuel standard and testing protocol for the 2007 season. Meanwhile, the AMA and the FIM jointly agreed that, because of the disparity in testing protocols, a points penalty would be inappropriate in this case. As a result, the AMA has rescinded the 25-point penalty imposed on Carmichael in the AMA Supercross Series standings, and the FIM has said that it will not impose a points penalty in the World Supercross GP standings. Both sanctioning bodies agreed, however, that a penalty is still appropriate for this fuel violation, and the decision was made to impose a $20,000 fine on the Suzuki team for which Carmichael rides. The AMA and the FIM will equitably donate the fine to the Asterisk Mobile Medical Center, which provides trackside medical support to riders at all AMA Supercross Series/FIM World Supercross GP series and AMA Motocross Championship events and to Riders for Health, a humanitarian organization working in Africa for 15 years reaching nearly 11 million people with regular health care workers riding motorcycles. “It was clear that the differences in testing protocols raised serious problems for enforcement of this rule,” said Steve Whitelock, AMA Motocross and Supercross Series manager. “We think this is a fair and equitable resolution of a difficult situation” said Wolfgang Srb, President of the FIM Motocross Commission. The AMA has announced that the fuel investigation will be conducted by the Southwest Research Institute’s Fuel and Lubricant Lab, an independent consulting organization with nearly 60 years of experience. It is expected that teams as well as fuel suppliers, among others, will be interviewed in this process.

Superbike World Championship Round 2 Phillip Island, Australia March 3, 2006 First Qualifying: 1. Troy BAYLISS, Ducati 999F06, 1:33.387 2. Alex BARROS, Honda CBR1000RR, 1:33.790 3. James TOSELAND, Honda CBR1000RR, 1:33.851 4. Troy CORSER, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:33.868 5. Yukio KAGAYAMA, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:34.461 6. Steve MARTIN, Foggy Petronas FP1, 1:34.501 7. Noriyuki HAGA, Yamaha YZF-R1, 1:34.577 8. Chris WALKER, Kawasaki ZX-10R, 1:34.589 9. Pierfrancesco CHILI, Honda CBR1000RR, 1:34.601 10. Fonsi NIETO, Kawasaki ZX-10R, 1:34.618 11. Roberto ROLFO, Ducati 999F05, 1:34.644 12. Ivan CLEMENTI, Ducati 999RS, 1:34.708 13. Karl MUGGERIDGE, Honda CBR1000RR, 1:34.756 14. Max NEUKIRCHNER, Ducati 999RS, 1:34.822 15. Sebastien GIMBERT, Yamaha YZF-R1, 1:34.832 16. Andrew PITT, Yamaha YZF-R1, 1:34.863 17. Norick ABE, Yamaha YZF-R1, 1:35.010 18. Michel FABRIZIO, Honda CBR1000RR, 1:35.021 19. Ruben XAUS, Ducati 999F05, 1:35.024 20. Regis LACONI, Kawasaki ZX-10R, 1:35.033 21. Lorenzo LANZI, Ducati 999F06, 1:35.202 22. Marco BORCIANI, Ducati 999F05, 1:35.502 23. Fabien FORET, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:35.917 24. Shinichi NAKATOMI, Yamaha YZF-R1, 1:36.080 25. Franco BATTAINI, Kawasaki ZX-10R, 1:36.126 26. Lucio PEDERCINI, Ducati 999RS, 1:36.151 27. Vittorio IANNUZZO, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:36.278 28. Craig JONES, Foggy Petronas FP1, 1:36.408 More, from a press release issued by Winston Ten Kate Honda: TOSELAND IN TOP THREE AFTER SUPERHEATED FIRST SESSION A keenly contested opening qualifying session at Phillip Island, held in high temperatures throughout, finally delivered third place to James Toseland (Winston Ten Kate Honda) as the Englishman fought it out with local riders Troy Bayliss and Troy Corser, plus former MotoGP rider, Alex Barros. The top four were all within less than half a second of each other, with the next rider, Kagayama, over one second from provisional pole. Toseland put his best time in late in the session, having completed tyre endurance tests and machine set-up trials in the earlier periods of qualifying. Following on from Toseland’s opening win of the year, one week ago in Qatar, his opening day performance In Australia proves that he and his bike are set to be perennially competitive in 2006. Karl Muggeridge (Winston Ten Kate Honda) was not running at his full pace, seeming to be over-anxious to get into contention right away, and losing ground in both set-up and individual lap times. His top 13 placing, from 28 runners, is expected to be improved upon in the final qualifying hour, to be held on Saturday morning. Hot track temperatures of over 50 degrees did not help any of the top riders in their search for outright grip, and made for a physically gruelling session. Ronald Ten Kate Team Manager “Normally in the Superbike class we have a slow start to the weekend, so to see James up there already, and doing so well, is very positive. He has been doing longer runs as well and setting fast times during them. The bike is very fast around here in top speed too. We had to take some pieces from our fairing, because it seems to out of spec with the rulebook, and now we are even faster in top speed. So that was a nice thing to be directed to do by the technical director. Karl is playing catch up at the moment, but he will get there. Maybe he is trying too hard, in front of his home crowd. I am expecting him to get the front of the second row and the bike in general is working very well, even though there are some more things to try tomorrow.” James Toseland SBK Winston Ten Kate Honda Rider (3rd position 1’33.851) “We stuck a new tyre in the bike near the end and still did a pretty decent time. This tyre was spinning towards the end a lot more than the others so I think if we had the same tyre in the rear as we had earlier we could have challenged even more. The power of the Honda is awesome now so we need to try and get as much grip as we can. It’s no good to have this power and just get it spinning. But the bike is good, and I’m happy that I’m riding consistently.” Karl Muggeridge SBK Winston Ten Kate Honda Rider (13th position 1’34.756) We just started off today on the wrong leg, just racing, racing around to try and get everything sorted out. I’m putting too much pressure on myself to try and get it right, rather than being calm. So I made too many mistakes and not getting things right. It’s a little bit foreign at the moment to I just need to get it settled down. It’ll work out for sure.” More, from a press release issued by Team Klaffi Honda: Phillip Island – Alex Barros second fastest in Qualifying I Second in Qualifying I and fastest Honda rider of the day this was Alex’ impressive performance today. For the last part of the Qualifying session the Brazilian even held the provisional pole. Only Troy Bayliss was able to achieve a lap time under 1’33.790. He was 0.403 faster than Alex. The top four riders, Bayliss, Barros, Toseland and Corser, were all within less than half a second. After this successful day at Phillip Island everybody is excitedly awaiting what will happen tomorrow. Alex Barros: “I only had a few days for testing and we had to work hard on the settings of the Klaffi Honda Fireblade. Meanwhile I also got a good grip on the bike. And we are on the best way to reach our target. Conditions are nearly perfect now and I hope to improve my lap time tomorrow.” Results Qualifying I 1 Bayliss (Ducati ) 1’33.387 2 Barros (Klaffi Honda) 1’33.790 3 Toseland (Honda) 1’33.851 25 Weather Conditions: sunny and dry, 36°C More, from a press release issued by Ducati Corse: BAYLISS (DUCATI XEROX) STORMS TO PROVISIONAL POLE IN FRIDAY QUALIFYING AT PHILLIP ISLAND Phillip Island (Australia), Friday 3 March: Troy Bayliss continues to make the headlines for the Ducati Xerox Team on his return to World Superbikes. The Australian former world champion set a time of 1m33.387s in glorious conditions at the spectacular Phillip Island track to take the provisional pole today. Ducati Xerox team-mate Lorenzo Lanzi was fifth quickest in the cooler morning free practice session, but was outside the top 16 in qualifying. Brazil’s Alex Barros took advantage of a Bayliss slipstream to record second-quickest time while former Ducati Xerox rider James Toseland (Honda) and Troy Corser (Suzuki) make up the provisional front row. “Things went well this morning for the first exit, and I expected to go quite a bit faster in the second session but actually in the end the track was quite hot and a bit slower and I only bettered the time by a tenth of a second” said Troy. “I stayed out and did ten laps on the race tyre and my second-last lap was only two-tenths off my best. So it all went quite well but took a little while to get going, then in the end it all came together. We’ll see how tomorrow goes, we’ve got second qualifying first thing in the morning, when it’ll be cooler and I think it’s going to be better. I didn’t know Alex was behind me, which was when he did his time, but I know he’s going to be coming in the future anyway, that’s no problem. All I know is that I was consistent on my race tyre and that’s the main thing at the moment. At the end of the session the guys thought I was only going to do 3 or 4 laps to see how the bike was, but it was feeling really good so I ended up doing 10 and ran out of petrol on the way into Honda corner but luckily I could roll all the way back to the pits!” “We started off with a rear tyre that was too soft and this led us astray for a bit, and as we only have a limited number of tyres available, we couldn’t put on another set to do a quick time” declared Lorenzo. “This morning I went well so I’m pretty relaxed about everything. For tomorrow we had already decided to have the extra tyre that we didn’t use today. For sure tomorrow the weather will be fine and the times will come down because it won’t be as hot in the morning session. It’s a pity we made the wrong tactics because it meant that we went in the wrong direction immediately at the start of the session”. TIMES: 1. Bayliss (Ducati Xerox) 1m33.387s; 2. Barros (Honda) 1m33.790s; 3. Toseland (Honda) 1m33.851s; 4. Corser (Suzuki) 1m33.868s; 5. Kagayama (Suzuki) 1m34.461s; 6. Martin (Petronas) 1m34.501s; 7. Haga (Yamaha) 1m34.577s; 8. Walker (Kawasaki) 1m34.589s; 9. Chili (Honda) 1m34.601s; 10. Nieto (Kawasaki) 1m34.618s; … 21. Lanzi (Ducati Xerox) 1m35.202s. More, from a press release issued by Team Suzuki: Team Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra rider Troy Corser posted the fourth quickest time of Friday World Superbike Qualifying at Phillip Island in Australia despite clutch and grip problems. The high temperatures in the afternoon caused grip problems for many riders, but series leader Troy Bayliss (Ducati) overcame them to set the day’s fastest lap, with a time of 1:33.387. Second quickest is Brazilian Alex Barros (Honda), with James Toseland (Honda) third. Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra rider Yukio Kagayama also suffered with lack of grip and ended fifth fastest overall. Fabien Foret had problems with his bike set-up and finished 23rd fastest. Troy Corser – 4th, 1:33.868: “Today, and especially this afternoon, I had some problems with grip and also the clutch. The grip problems may have been to do with the high track temperature in the afternoon but I was just not entirely happy. The inconsistency of the clutch probably caused my little get-off – at Honda corner. The bike’s clutch didn’t seem quite right on the approach to the turn and then the bike just tucked under as I went in. It’s a slow corner and I wasn’t hurt at all, but it’s a bit of a worry if the clutch is going to continue to be inconsistent. It’s a new clutch for this year, but it worked perfectly well in the four day test at Phillip Island earlier in the year, so we are a bit of a loss to understand why it is playing up now. Either way, we will have to solve the problem soon or it will become a nuisance.” Yukio Kagayama – 5th, 1:34.461: “I also had some grip problems today and I think it was probably because of the heat and also some parts of the track were a bit dirty. The top section of the track was probably worse than the rest, but it is the same situation for all riders, so I must do better. There was quite a bit of traffic out there in qualifying but I did my best lap when I had other riders nearby. I used a very similar setting to when we tested here, but the bike didn’t feel the same at all! For tomorrow we will change the front end set-up and see if we can improve. I tried some different sets of clutches today and found two that worked ok, so I am keeping them for the race on Sunday!” Fabien Foret – 23rd, 1:35.917: “Today was not so good and I am not so happy. I did more or less the same lap times in the afternoon as I did in the morning and of course I should have improved quite a bit! At the moment, I think it is the front end that is giving us problems, so we will look at the data and see what changes should be made. I hope that we find a good solution so that I can improve my lap times a lot – I need to be much higher up the order. ” Friday WSB Qualifying: 1 Bayliss (Aus-Ducati) 1:33.387, 2 Barros (Bra-Honda) 1:33.790, 3 Toseland (GB-Honda) 1:33.851, 4 Troy Corser (Aus-Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra) 1:33.868, 5 Yukio Kagayama (J-Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra) 1:34.461, 6 Martin (Aus-Petronas) 1:34.501, 7 Haga (J-Yamaha) 1:34.577, 8 Walker (GB-Kawasaki) 1:34.589, 9 Chili (I-Honda) 1:34.601, 10 Nieto (E-Kawasaki) 1:34.618, 23 Fabien Foret (F-Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra) 1:35.917. More, from a press release issued by Scuderia SC Caracchi ROBY ROLFO ELEVENTH ON SUPERBIKE IN AUSTRALIA A fantastic summer weather, with air temperature about 35°C and more as 50°C on the track welcomed the World Superbike riders for the first practice day on the 4.445 meters of Australian Phillis Island circuit. The track, lying in front of Bass Straght often curly by the strong Antarctic winds, is in splendid conditions. Roberto Rolfo recorded the 11th fastest in the first qualifying session, a result not too far from the leaders, but that let a bitter taste in the mouth of the SC Caracchi 999F05 Ducati rider. “True I’m not too happy about today first qualifying session.” said at the end of the day Roberto Rolfo. “In the last part of qualifying session I’ve been not able to find the set up I actually wish. During the morning’s session we made a good job and we improved a lot during the whole free practice session; in the afternoon, on the contrary, we tried some new solutions, the bike increased a bit, but not as I was waiting to increase as during the morning. However I’m a bit satisfied for the work we’ve done, both me and the team. We have in any case got several positive pieces of information and some clear guide-line that tomorrow we could follow to catch for a good result in final qualifying.” More, from a press release issued by Yamaha Racing: Noriyuki Haga was the fastest of the Yamaha men in today’s opening qualifying session for round two of the Superbike World Championship, held at the Phillip Island circuit in Australia. Haga, who yesterday celebrated his 31st birthday, ended the day seventh fastest, just over a second behind provisional pole sitter Troy Bayliss (Ducati). Having chosen to test in Qatar rather than Australia in the winter break, both Haga and his Yamaha Motor Italia team-mate Andrew Pitt struggled to find ideal settings for their YZF-R1s. Haga complained of a lack of rear traction, while Pitt started off using the same settings that took him to a podium finish in Qatar six days ago. The local rider, who this weekend is wearing a new helmet design based on that of 1987 500cc Grand Prix world champion Wayne Gardner, also had the added disadvantage of carrying a ‘flu virus. Despite this he still managed to make the top 16 in a time less than one and a half seconds from pole. Sandwiching Pitt on the provisional grid are Yamaha Motor France duo Sebastien Gimbert and Norick Abe. Having tested at the circuit in January, the squad came to Phillip Island with a good base setting for their machines – although they were unable to match their testing times in the scorching weather. Yamaha Motor France’s third rider, Japanese newcomer Shinichi Nakatomi was able to set a personal best time around the circuit to end the day 24th, despite an off-track excursion. All three suffered chatter problems but are confident of finding an improvement for tomorrow morning’s final qualifying session. Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha Motor Italia) “We need to try and find more rear traction tomorrow. We tried many things today but couldn’t quite find the correct setting. I think that it will be better tomorrow. We have a good idea of what we must do and the team will change many settings overnight. It is not so bad though. We did not test here, so we are starting from zero with the settings. Considering this we are quite close to the fastest times.” Sebastien Gimbert (Yamaha Motor France) “When we came here at the start of the year I was able to do 1:34.6 lap times, so although we are close I am still two tenths of a seconds slower than at the test. I had some problems with chatter today but we have some ideas on how to improve this. The times are very close but I am confident we can make some improvements and make the superpole.” Andrew Pitt (Yamaha Motor Italia) “We are still trying to find a good balance around here. We tried the Qatar settings but they are just not working around here. I think we have found a good direction though. This is a more demanding circuit and we need to get more weight over the front to make it more stable. We’ll make a few changes overnight and see how things go in the morning.” Norick Abe (Yamaha Motor France) “I came here with different settings on my two bikes: one set-up as we used it in Qatar and the other with the settings we finished our test around here. I preferred using the settings from the test, although we weren’t able to match our testing times. In the afternoon we changed the settings and I think we went too soft as we had a chatter problem and traction was not as good. We went back to a harder setting at the end and were able to do a 1:35 lap, which was better but not good enough. We have found a good direction though, and I think tomorrow will be much better.” Shinichi Nakatomi (Yamaha Motor France) “After Qatar last weekend it has been good to come to a track I know from our test. I was not fully fit when we were here in January so already we are going faster and finding things we have to change. I also had some problem with chatter and if we can fix this I can go faster tomorrow.” Massimo Meregalli (Team Coordinator – Yamaha Motor Italia) “Nori needs more rear traction but he has had a long discussion with his crew chief and suspension technician and they have a good plan tomorrow. Andrew has found it difficult here today but I am sure that he can turn it around and put in a good qualifying display in front of his home fans.” More, from a press release issued by Foggy Petronas Racing: Steve sixth after first day at Phillip Island Steve Martin qualified in sixth place for tomorrow’s qualifying sessions at the second round of the Superbike World Championship at Phillip Island, Australia. But, with just four tenths separating 5th to 16th places, the competition in this year’s championship remains as hot as the weather at the coastal circuit. Craig Jones continued to progress along his steep learning curve and gradually improved his times throughout the day on his second visit to the circuit, which was afflicted by typically blustery conditions that affected lap times throughout the field. Troy Bayliss set the early pace with a time of 1:33.387, closely followed by rookie superbike rider Alex Barros. Steve said: “The track is definitely a lot more slippery than at the test so it is difficult to do the same sort of times. The wind has been up and changing direction all day and our bike seems to be sensitive to which way the wind blows here. We still have a fair bit to try to see if we can eke out a few tenths because it is so tight at the top. I did a good run of consistently good lap times and I am concentrating on setting the bike up for the race, not for qualifying.” Craig said: “I listened to what everyone wanted me to do, which was to keep the bike upright and go steady. I wanted to find the limit slowly and, although I am still not down to the times I did at the test here, I think there is a lot of time to find in set-up, track knowledge and also in myself. We are gradually chipping away and we have cured the wobbling that we experienced at Qatar, which is a massive relief. I’m not exactly happy, because I am not pushing 110 per cent like I always do but at least I know I’ve got a little bit in reserve and I will try and turn the wick up a little bit tomorrow. But the main thing is to come away from here with confidence for the remainder of the season.” Friday qualifying, Superbike World Championship, round 2, Phillip Island, Australia: 1 Bayliss 1:33.387; 2 Barros 1:33.790; 3 Toseland 1:33.851; 4 Corser 1:33.868; 5 Kagayama 1:34.461; 6 Martin (Foggy PETRONAS Racing) 1:34.501; 7 Haga 1:34.577; 8 Walker 1:34.589; 9 Chili 1:34.601; 10 Nieto 1:34.618; 28 Jones (Foggy PETRONAS Racing) 1:36.408 Free practice: 1 Bayliss (Ducati Xerox) 1:33.483; 2 Walker (PSG-1 Kawasaki) 1:33.755; 3 Toseland (Winston Ten Kate Honda) 1:33.951; 4 Corser (Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra) 1:34.163; 5 Lanzi (Ducati Xerox) 1:34.208; 6 Haga (Yamaha Italia) 1:34.486; 7 Kagayama (Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra) 1:34.601; 8 Laconi (PSG-1 Kawasaki) 1:34.717; 9 Muggeridge (Winston Ten Kate Honda) 1:34.785; 10 Rolfo (Ducati SC Caracchi) 1:34.790; 13 Martin (Foggy PETRONAS Racing) 1:34.877; 28 Jones (Foggy PETRONAS Racing) 1:38.011 More, from a press release issued by Troy Corser’s publicist: PROBLEMS FOR TROY, BUT STILL ON PROVISIONAL FRONT ROW. Try finished the first day of qualifying with the fourth fastest time, despite grip and clutch problems. The afternoon high temperatures in qualifying caused grip problems for many riders, but Troy’s situation was compounded by an inconsistent clutch as well. Series leader Troy Bayliss (Ducati) set the day’s quickest time (1:33.387), with Alex Barros (Honda) second, James Toseland (Honda) third and Troy fourth. TROY – 4th, 1:33.868 Well that wasn’t the easiest of days and I could have done without any problems. But better to have problems today than raceday! This afternoon, in qualifying, I had problems with grip and with the clutch. The grip problems could’ve been caused by the very high track temperatures this afternoon and some parts of the track (the top section) seemed worse than the others. I had a small tip-off at Honda corner and that was because of the clutch, I’m sure. It felt a bit hesitant going into the turn and then the front just tucked under and I was down. Fortunately it is a slow corner and I wasn’t hurt, but it doesn’t make me feel too good. The clutch system is new for us this year but, in the four day tests at this same track in January, it worked really well and we had no problems at all. It is still working well – but not all of the time! That is going to be a bit of a problem. We need to get it sorted and we need it right, sooner rather than later.

Supersport World Championship Round 2 Phillip Island, Australia March 3, 2006 First Qualifying: 1. Sebastien CHARPENTIER, Honda CBR600RR, 1:35.869 2. Broc PARKES, Yamaha YZF-R6, 1:36.758 3. Kevin CURTAIN, Yamaha YZF-R6, 1:36.772 4. Kenan SOFUOGLU, Honda CBR600RR, 1:37.586 5. Yoann TIBERIO, Honda CBR600RR, 1:37.691 6. Mauro SANCHINI, Yamaha YZF-R6, 1:37.865 7. Robin HARMS, Honda CBR600RR, 1:37.997 8. Dean THOMAS, Kawasaki ZX-6RR, 1:38.241 9. Javier FORES, Yamaha YZF-R6, 1:38.380 10. Christian ZAISER, Ducati 749R, 1:38.428 11. Barry VENEMAN, Suzuki GSX-R600, 1:38.452 12. Anthony GOBERT, Yamaha YZF-R6, 1:38.499 13. Didier VAN KEYMEULEN, Yamaha YZF-R6, 1:38.559 14. Maxime BERGER, Kawasaki ZX-6RR, 1:38.730 15. Tatu LAUSLEHTO, Honda CBR600RR, 1:38.779 16. William DE ANGELIS, Honda CBR600RR, 1:38.836 17. Gregory LEBLANC, Honda CBR600RR, 1:38.884 18. Josh BROOKES, Ducati 749R, 1:39.010 19. Sebastien LE GRELLE, Honda CBR600RR, 1:39.039 20. Gianluca NANNELLI, Yamaha YZF-R6, 1:39.239 26. Chris PERIS, Yamaha YZF-R6, 1:40.276 More, from a press release issued by Winston Ten Kate Honda: CHARPENTIER LEADS QUALIFYING ON FIRST DAY AT PHILLIP ISLAND Sebastien Charpentier (Winston Ten Kate Honda CBR600RR) needed only 12 laps to set the fastest time in the first qualifying session at Phillip Island, his 1’35.869 almost one second ahead of his nearest challenger after two session on the classic Australian circuit. Charpentier experimented with two different chassis configurations in the morning’s unofficial session, before concentrating on setting a fast time this afternoon, with one more chance to improve on Saturday. In temperatures of 36°C, and with track temperatures of 50°C in today’s qualifying session, Charpentier was fully 0.889 seconds up on his closest challenger, Broc Parkes. Charpentier’s team-mate, Kenan Sofuoglu (Winston Ten Kate Honda CBR600RR) belied his rookie status in the team by securing fourth spot on the provisional grid, an immense achievement for any first-timer at this fast and challenging circuit. With more work to do in his set-up, to better handle the faster corners, Sofuoglu predicts that he should go even faster on the second day of qualifying. Ronald Ten Kate Team Manager “A very good start again for our weekend. We expected things to be a bit harder because the Yamaha guys, Curtain and Parkes, had already tested here in January, clocking fast times. Sebastien worked very well and we had two very different bike set-ups for him to test today, in the morning. Now he is very clear which set-up he wants, so we will build two identical bikes tomorrow and see if he can get the times down even more. We should be able to do low 1’35s to get pole. Big compliments to Kenan again, as he is the only rider in the top four who has never been to Phillip Island before and he is eating away at his times lap by lap. His riding will be even better when he learns the track even better. We are looking forward to tomorrow and there is definitely a little bit more to come from us.” Sébastien Charpentier WSS Winston Ten Kate Honda Rider (1st position 1’35.869) “I think that times can come down some more. Tomorrow I will try a new engine and I have many tyres left to use to stay at the front. The bike is OK, the grip in some corners is not perfect but we are OK because the Yamaha guys tested at this track one month ago. Considering that, out pace today is not too bad. I am ready for tomorrow and the race, for sure. I only did 12 laps today, keeping my energy, as I only had a few hours sleep last night.” Kenan Sofuoglu WSS Winston Ten Kate Honda Rider (4th position 1’37.586) “It’s the first time at this circuit for me and it is a very special circuit for corner speed. At the moment I do not quite have the speed I need on the faster corners but today I learned a lot and tomorrow we will try something else. I had some problems in some corners so if we can find even more for the set-up tomorrow, we can go even faster. To come here for the first time in the world championship has not been easy but we are working hard.” More, from a press release issued by SC Scuderia Caracchi: Problems In Supersport For Josh Brookes And Luka Nedog Luka Nedog made a great jump of performance here in Australia compared to Qatar’s debut. The young Slovenian’s bike, very powerful, is not still ready as suspensions, a difficult work for a small experienced rider on WSBK circuits. Despite that, with a bike hardly sliding on the rear in the fast corners, Luka improved in the afternoon his morning’s lap time, and for tomorrow he’s confident to ride better and better. “I spent the morning free practice session to find a better relationship with the track.” has been the Luka’s comment at the end of first qualifying “This is a very demanding circuit, which doesn’t forget any mistake. My greatest difficulties are most of all in the final part of the circuit as well in the hairpin, but actually I feel more comfortable riding here as in Qatar. The engine is very fast, now we have to look at the general package and for tomorrow I’m confident I’ll be able to get a better result and gain some position.” On his home track Joshua Brookes was looking for a very good result from the first practice day. The morning’s session has been totally spent for the best set up of the package, to avoid the problems found during Qatar round, but the improvement have been too slow for the impatient Brookes, that at the end of qualifying session recorded only the 18th fastest. “A cannot absolutely be happy of this result on this track that I know perfectly.” said a disappointed Brookes at the end of today’s qualifying “We worked all the day on the suspensions, but I’m not been able to find a good set up to manage the corners as I like to do. I’m just able to gain something in the straight, because as used, the engine made by Franco Farné is one of the fastest as top speed. During the afternoon the bike had some improvement, but not enough and my rivals are more and more competitive as me. I believe we are following the right way, but we are proceeding too slow. Now we’ll see, after the practice me and the team we’ll made an evaluation of the job to do and I hope that for tomorrow we’ll be able to find some good solution.” More, from a press release issued by Yamaha Racing: Yamaha Motor Germany riders Broc Parkes and Kevin Curtain go into tomorrow’s final qualifying session on the provisional front row after ending today’s opening session second and third respectively. The Australian pair have been consistently at the top of the timesheets during the day’s two 45-minute practice sessions, bested only by qualifying king Sebastien Charpentier (Honda) in the afternoon’s qualifying practice. Having tested at the circuit in January, the Yamaha Motor Germany squad came to Phillip Island with a good base setting for their new-for-2006 R6s. Having found a set-up that they believe can help them challenge for honours on Sunday, the team will try to further improve their race set-up and maintain the crucial front row starts during tomorrow’s grid-deciding qualifying session. In a good day for Yamaha runners, Italian privateer Mauro Sanchini finished sixth, with Spaniard Xavi Fores ninth. Local hero Anthony Gobert, a winner here in the superbike class, came 12th in his second ride for the Yamaha GMT94 team, while FIM Superstock 1000 champion Didier van Keymeulen ended the day 13th on his R6. Massimo Roccoli and Gianluca Vizziello of the Yamaha Team Italia squad ended 21st and 23rd respectively as they looked to find a good set-up for their machines.

Team Yamaha Motor France – Ipone To confirm the tests During the tests at Phillip Island on January 17 to 20, the Team Yamaha Motor France – Ipone riders were quicker than last year. Using race tyres, Norick Abe’s best lap was 1:35.5 in 2005 and 1:34.6 this year. Sebastien Gimbert progressed from 1:36.7 to 1:34.2 still using 2005 tyres. If the Qatar race was not easy for the team, without previous testing and a lack of experience of the 2006 Pirelli tyres, the Phillip Island race looks more promising. The Team Yamaha Motor France – Ipone participated to the January tests with good results. The development went well and therefore there is a reasonable amount of confidence for the Australian race. After Qatar, the most important technical problems to be looked after were the chattering and Gimbert’s front brakes. For the chattering, there was already some progress for race 2 in Qatar. During the January tests in Phillip Island, there was no chattering. But the bikes were fitted then with 2005 tyres, so one has to be careful about predicting the results too early. The 2006 tyres have a better grip, so there are more chances of chattering. About Gimbert’s brakes, new discs have been fitted to gain more efficiency. This technical evolution was not easy between Qatar and Australia, and it was only possible thanks to the help between teams and quick transportation systems. A very high level The actual level of the Superbike World Championship is exceptional. In the race 2 in Qatar for instance, Sebastien Gimbert finished 35 seconds behind the winner. He was in 15th position. By comparison, Javi Fores is 38 seconds behind the winner of the Supersport race with the 4th position. In the MotoGP class last year, Shinya Nakano finished 32 seconds behind the winner in 7th position. This shows the intensity of the fight and the quality of the show in World Superbike. Who can beat Corser’s mythical lap record? Troy Corser established in 1999 the unofficial lap record with a time of 1:32.193 (average speed 173.530 kph). The track had just being resurfaced and the grip was very good. Also there was this incredible fight between the two Ducati factory riders, Carl Fogarty being World Champion and Troy Corser wishing to be the fastest in his home country. He was using then Michelin bi-compound tyres (hard on the left, soft on right) when the riders use now Pirelli single compound tyres at Phillip Island. Phillip Island Back in the twenties, the roads around Philip Island were very popular with local speed freaks. In 1928, the first Australian car Grand Prix was held at the Island on a 6.5 miles/10.4585 km course. 1931 was the year motorcycles first raced at the Island, for an event that was a lot like the Isle of Man TT on a 12 mile/19.308 km course. The permanent racing facility was opened in 1956. Philip Island is a varied and demanding 4.445 kms with everything from hairpins (minimum radius 23 m) to fast turns (maximum radius 207 m). Right-hand turns are scarce with only two such corners, Honda and Turn 10. In the fastest of left-handers, like turn 12 (the last turn before the start/finish straight), tyre temperatures go above normal. Standard running temperature for a rear slick is between 80 and 110°C but at Phillip Island, they often go beyond 130°C. January 17 to 20, 2006 tests Unofficial times: 1-Troy Corser (Suzuki): 1:33.0 (2006 race tyre), 2-Steve Martin (Petronas): 1:33.3 (2006 race tyre) 1:34 3 (2005 race tyre), 3-Yukio Kagayama (Alstare Suzuki): 1:34.1 (2006 race tyre), 4-Norick Abe (Yamaha Motor France – Ipone): 1:34.6 (2005 race tyre), 5-Sebastien Gimbert (Yamaha Motor France – Ipone): 1:34.6 (2005 race tyre), 6-Shinichi Nakatomi (Yamaha Motor France – Ipone): 1:35.0, 7-Craig Jones (Petronas): 1:35.6 World Championship standings: 1- Bayliss (40 points), 2-Corser et Toseland (38), 4-Pitt (27), 5-Fabrizio et Barros (19) – 10-Abe (10), 17-Gimbert (3) Phillip Island stats Practice record (1999): 1:32.193 Troy Corser (Ducati) 173.570 kph 2005 Yamaha Motor France practice times: Norifumi Abe: 1:34.742 / 12th and Sebastien Gimbert: 1:35.178 / 21st Race 1 results 2005: 1-Corser (Suzuki), 2-Kagayama (Suzuki) 3- Vermeulen (Honda) 4- Neukirchner (Honda) 5-Pitt (Yamaha) 2005 Yamaha Motor France race 1 results: Norifumi Abe: 6th and Sebastien Gimbert: 11th Race 2 results 2005: 1-Corser (Suzuki), 2-Kagayama (Suzuki) 3- Neukirchner (Honda) 4- Vermeulen (Honda) 5-Nieto (Ducati) 2005 Yamaha Motor France race 2 results: Norifumi Abe: 8th and Sebastien Gimbert: DNF (retired lap 9) Lap record (best race time 1999): 1:33.019 Troy Corser (Ducati) 172.030 kph 3rd round of the Supersport World Championship: April 30th at Valencia (Spain)

Helpmeride.com, a finance company that specializes in the powersports industry, will once again be the title sponsor of the Hooters Helpmeride.com Suzuki AMA Superbike team, according to a press release. The team will field Eric Wood in Superbike and select Superstock events and Anthony Fania, Jr. in select East Coast AMA events. Wood participated in the Team Hammer Advanced Riding Schools & Track Rides practice day Thursday at Daytona International Speedway.