Deeley Harley-Davidson Canada has a historic tradition of motorcycle racing that traces back to the late Trevor Deeley who raced for Harley-Davidson at Daytona in the 1950s, as well as numerous Canadian venues. When the company was a distributor for Yamaha in the 1960s and 1970s, the Deeley organization fielded as many as 12 road race motorcycles in the Daytona 200 with riders including Yvon Duhamel, Barry Sheen, Jim Dunn, Peter Kellond, Mike Duff and Steve Baker, the first American to win a 750cc world championship. This tradition of racing continues today with Canadian Thunder Champion Darren James, sponsored by Deeley Harley-Davidson Canada. The battle for the Canadian Thunder Championship began in 2002 and James has won the Championship for four consecutive years including last year’s 2005 National Thunder Championship. James also won the CCS Thunderbike National Championship at the 2004 Daytona Race of Champions. It has been the ongoing relationship between Darren James and Pascal Picotte that now continues the racing tradition with the new Buell XBRR. Their collaboration, such as James riding a 600cc Yamaha prepared by Picotte Racing in the 600cc expert class in the Parts Canada Superbike Series, has laid the groundwork for Picotte Racing and the first Canadian XBRR rider, Steve Crevier, to compete on the XBRR in the AMA Formula Extreme series for the 2006 season in the United States. Deeley Harley-Davidson Canada, in conjunction with Picotte Racing, will bring championship team experience to the XBRR Team Canada introductory season. Picotte Racing, under the guidance of Pascal Picotte, will be providing the at-track support and management that will provide the competitive advantage for Team Canada. His credits include being Superbike Champion in 2003 and 2004, Supersport Champion in 2003 and 2004, and having the top 5 finishes in AMA Superbike and Supersport. In addition to his racing experience, he brings research and development experience dating back to his involvement with the Harley-Davidson VR project in the early 1990s. Also, a key member of his team is Paul Fournier, a three-time Tuner of the Year as rated by Inside Motorcycles. Steve Crevier, a Canadian legend, has the most wins in Canadian history. He has competitively raced nearly all major motorcycle brands and has been the 2005 Supersport Champion, 2003 runner-up to Superbike Champion Picotte, and is the holder of 15 Championship titles; a phenomenal achievement in Canada. Their 17 year relationship and wealth of experience will be instrumental in advancing and developing the success of the XBRR. The launch of the Buell XBRR will be a multi-national effort with riders fielded by the United States (Mike Cicotto for Hal’s), Canada (Steve Crevier for Deeley Harley-Davidson Canada), Great Britain (Jeremy McWilliams for Warr’s) and Germany (Rico Penzkofer for Hannover).

Today… AOL.com has launched a permanent “Jordan Suzuki” module, which can be found at the below link or by visiting AOL.com, then Sports, then Motor Sports. ~http://sports.aol.com/racing~ The module will link directly with the Jordan Suzuki team’s 23RACE.com website, a team photo gallery, and the 2006 AMA Superbike schedule. The module image will change slightly when the 2006 Jordan Suzuki color scheme is revealed at Daytona. The new 2006 23RACE.com site will also be launched at that time with a whole new look, new team sponsors, new team crew members, news updates, media materials, and team photos. AOL.com will also run Jordan Suzuki press releases with photos from the AOL.com (main) Sports page. The main goal with this partnership is to introduce more mainstream sports fans to the AMA Superbike schedule in the hopes of attracting a higher live-event attendance and provide more value for team and series sponsors.

WSMC General Manager Stephanie Huth and Race Director Larry Cochran have announced that WSMC will launch a new class specifically targeted for Suzuki SV650s and Kawasaki Ninja 650Rs this weekend, February 17-19. The new class is called Formula Twins Lightweight and is limited to twin-cylinder machines with a maximum displacement of 650cc. Other than the displacement limit, the class will run under existing Formula Twins rules. The class will run as a separate wave in a combined race. More information is available from WSMC at 661-256-1234.

CMRA racer Drew Lippolt died from injuries suffered in a crash during an open practice day at Oak Hill Raceway in Henderson, Texas Sunday. Lippolt was 33 years old, and is survived by his wife, Sachi Gahan. Funeral arrangements are pending. Godspeed, fellow racer. More, from a press release issued by Relic Racing: CMRA racer Drew Lippolt suffered a fatal injury while practicing at Oak Hill Raceway outside of Henderson TX. He was going into turn 4 and highsided. His injuries were severe and he was pronounced dead at the scene minutes after paramedics arrived. He raced with Relic Racing based out of Austin, Texas. In 1998 he rode in the WERA National Vintage Series and won the Formula 2 Stroke National Championship. Anyone wishing to express condolences may do so by sending an email to [email protected]. He is survived by his wife Sachi Gahan. She has issued a formal statement that may be viewed at ~http://classv.typepad.com~ Memorial services will be held on Thursday in Austin Texas. A memorial fund will be set up and Formula Smack Pack is organizing a benefit race in his memory… Dates will be announced at a later time. There is a website ~http://jerry.jupiterdog.net/~ that shows a few photos and lists some other stuff he was involved with… Here is another link that has a photo of him and some shots from an event held in Cresson TX. last year ~http://www.pbase.com/realworldracing/drew~

Teams from France, Belgium”¦ and MV Agusta! France and Belgium are back on the FIM World Endurance Championship calendar, encouraging a number of interesting entries to the roster of 2006 teams. From France With France’s long and distinguished history of endurance racing, it should be no surprise that both the 2004 and 2005 FIM World Endurance Champions were French teams. Yamaha GMT94 will compete in World Supersport this year, but Suzuki Castrol are back to defend their crown. Taking them on will be their fellow countrymen Yamaha Endurance Moto 38, Kawasaki Team Raffin Motos, Team SRK Suzuki, Team Endurance Moto 45 Suzuki and Team ABG Performance Suzuki. All of these teams have extensive experience of 24 hour endurance racing, with Moto 38 being recent Oschersleben 24 Hour winners. From Belgium There’s a Belgian race on the FIM World Endurance Championship calendar for the first time since 2001. The Zolder 6 Hour will be held on June the 18th, and its inclusion in the series has encouraged a number of new Belgian team entries. XZ Kawasaki Racing Team, Primo Racing Suzuki and Suzuki Classic Motos Racing Team will all be looking forward to their home round of the championship, and Team Acropolis Zone Rouge Yamaha a name that will be familiar to all fans of long distance racing have two machines entered for the full championship. From MV Agusta Italian manufacturer MV Agusta will also be represented in the World Endurance Championship again this year, with a team run by Davide (brother of Alex) Capirossi’s Riding School. The Racing4Life squad will be run in conjunction with Ayrton Senna foundation. Their MV Agusta 1000F4 Senna (of course) will be ridden by Davide Capirossi, Andrea Artusi and 90’s Grand Prix star Fausto Ricci. The first round of the World Endurance Championship will be held at Assen, Netherlands, on Easter Monday, the 17th of April, with the Le Mans 24 Hour race held a week later on the 22nd and 23rd of April.

CASTLE COMBE CIRCUIT TO HOST WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP EVENT Following a circuit inspection by Max Deubel, four times World Sidecar Champion, representing the FIM (Federation Internationale de Motocyclisme), Mick Boddice, nine times TT winner and three times British Champion representing the ACU (Motorcycle sports’ UK governing body) and ten times World Champion Steve Webster offering advice on behalf of the teams and riders, the green light has been given for Castle Combe to host its first ever World Championship event. The British round of the FIM Superside World Sidecar Championship will headline the two day meeting on Saturday 10th and Sunday 11th June 2006. The meeting will also feature the now established and very popular Castle Combe Superbike Grand National, attracting teams and riders from the prestigious British Superbike Championship. Following the inspection last week, Carsten Sauer, the organiser of the World Series, confirmed that Castle Combe would run the second round of the eight round championship which also visits Germany, Holland, Austria and Sweden. The approach to the circuit came after the event was recommended to the organisers by several of the sidecar drivers and proves that the increasing popularity of the Superbike Grand National event and the escalating reputation the circuit now enjoys with both British and European organisers. Carsten Sauer, the German based organiser of the championship said: “We were looking for circuits to demonstrate an ability to promote our championship. We are expecting riders from several continents to be contesting this year’s championship and Castle Combe Circuit have convinced us that they will put in the necessary promotion that an event of this status deserves”. Graham Marshallsay, Managing Director of Castle Combe Circuit added: “This will be the first world championship event in Castle Combe’s 56 year history and we have demonstrated with our two Superbike meetings that we can attract large crowds and believe that this world class event coming to Wiltshire will generate huge publicity within the motorcycle fraternity and be a wonderful spectacle for our spectators. We are honoured and delighted to have welcomed Max, Steve and Mick and to hear their views on the circuit and look forward to working with them and with the Superside competitors to make this the highlight of their racing season”. Backing up the Superside championship race will be the third running of the Castle Combe Superbike Grand National and already Virgin Mobile Yamaha have confirmed the team will again be supporting the meeting with last year’s winner Tommy Hill hoping to retain his title. Support races include the new ACU Star Championship, dubbed the Pop Idol of motorcycle racing with the aim of the championships being to uncover the next generation of British motorcycling superstars. Other races include the newly announced KTM Bracken Cup and the Ducati Desmo Championship.

DUCATI CORSE FACTORY RIDERS MEET UP IN BOLOGNA On the eve of the start of SBK and MotoGP Championships, the Italian manufacturer’s official riders met up with their fans in the factory and “¦.in the discotheque! Bologna, Monday 13 February 2006 The official Ducati Corse riders all came to Bologna last week for their traditional visit to the factory before the start of the MotoGP and World Superbike Championships, which will see them heading off to the five continents. On Thursday afternoon, Loris Capirossi, Sete Gibernau, Troy Bayliss, Lorenzo Lanzi and Vittoriano Guareschi first met up with Ducati employees, who didn’t miss an opportunity to shake hands, ask for autographs and photos and wish the five riders all the best as they get ready to represent the Italian manufacturers colours in the two championships. It was am extraordinary return home for Troy Bayliss who, after a gap of one year, returned to the Ducati factory to find that he was still one of the employees’ all-time favourite riders. The times set by the Australian during recent tests in Valencia and Qatar demonstrate that the 2001 Superbike champion has not lost the feeling with the twin-cylinder Ducati Superbike. He will be flanked in this Superbike season by the talented youngster Lorenzo Lanzi, the first Italian to ride for the official World Superbike team since Pierfrancesco Chili in 1998; Lanzi was able to feel at first hand the full impact of being a factory rider as he was swamped by numerous Ducati employees. An incredible welcome was reserved for ‘veteran’ Loris Capirossi, the new signing in the MotoGP team Sete Gibernau and test-rider Vittoriano Guareschi. Loris might feel entirely at home in the Borgo Panigale factory, but every time he appears the warmth with which he is greeted within Ducati becomes even greater: for him hundreds of photos, autographs, hugs, complements and words of encouragement for the tough season that lies ahead. A warm welcome was also reserved for the Spanish rider, who immediately felt at ease amidst the passionate climate of his new family, which believes a lot in his potential and talent. Despite the fact that he is not in the spotlights, long-serving test-rider Vittoriano Guareschi was also greeted with affection and esteem by Ducati employees, who are perfectly aware of the vital importance of his work. After meeting up with Ducati employees, the Borgo Panigale ‘Big 5’ were guests of honour in the evening at ‘Rosso di Sera’, the annual party organised by the Ducati Owners Club of Bologna in one of the city’s most popular nightclubs. Together with the 1600 people who had come to the discotheque to see them, Loris, Sete, Troy, Lorenzo and Vito welcomed in the 2006 season. All four have accepted a tough but not impossible challenge and are ready to give their utmost so as not to disappoint the expectations of their fans, obtain good results and to give them the emotions and thrills that only the Borgo Panigale manufacturer is able to offer. From tomorrow onwards Loris Capirossi and Sete Gibernau will be taking part in the final winter test session outside of Europe, at the Sepang circuit in Malaysia from Tuesday 14th to Thursday 16th February. Ducati Corse’s World Superbike riders have already concluded their winter testing programme and will get their first taste of championship action soon as they head to Qatar next week for the opening round of the championship at the Losail desert circuit on Saturday 25th February.