BAYLISS BEATS THE BEST Troy Bayliss (Ducati Xerox) continued his fantastic run of testing form in his return to World SBK™ by posting a best first day time of 1’34.9 at Valencia. Favourable track and weather conditions contributed to every rider’s opening day performance, but Bayliss was in a class of his own, turning in a time only 0.267 seconds from the absolute Valencia SBK™ best. Bayliss’s team-mate, Lorenzo Lanzi, scored fourth quickest time, with a 1’36.8. None of the top riders were issued Pirelli qualifying tyres on the first day. TOSELAND ADAPTS WELL TO HONDA POWER Second fastest rider was another former World Champion, and the man Bayliss replaced in the Ducati Xerox team, James Toseland, who scored a 1’35.8. Toseland’s team-mate, Karl Muggeridge, did not concentrate much effort on setting lap times on day one, as he worked through a gruelling chassis testing programme. Nonetheless he went third fastest, thanks to a 1’36.1. ABE TOP YAMAHA RUNNER Norick Abe (Yamaha Motor France IPONE) posted a best time of 1’36.9 almost equalling the quickest lap of his 2005 qualifying efforts. As a non Pirelli Development Team rider, Abe like many of his peers – lapped on 2005 spec rubber throughout. Ivan Clementi (Pedercini Ducati) was in fine form also, scoring a 1’37.2, while his new team-mate Max Neukirchner set a 1’37.5. ROLFO LEARNS NEW ROLE SWIFTLY Roberto Rolfo (Caracchi Ducati) matched Neukirchner’s 1’37.5, proving that the former 250cc and MotoGP rider is learning the ropes of this new discipline quickly. A strong Ducati presence was completed by Lucio Pedercini (Pedercini Ducati), Marco Borciani (Sterilgarda Ducati) and Norino Brignola. Fabien Foret, on a ‘home-brewed’ Alstare Corona Extra Suzuki, ran out with a best of 1’38.7 in his first test after his promotion from SS™. SUPERSPORT WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP® Sebastien Charpentier (Winston Ten Kate Honda) made his latest outing a memorable one after only one day, with a best of 1’37.6 – almost a second faster than his nearest challenger, Katsuaki Fujiwara (Megabike Honda). New to the SS™ class, Yoann Tiberio (Megabike Honda) posted a 1’39.5, the same as young Turk, Kenan Sofuoglu (Winston Ten Kate Honda). A rash of new riders in Supersport World Championship® 2006 includes Aussie Josh Brookes, who made his latest transition from Honda power to Ducati power on a 1’41.3. Nedog (Caracchi Ducati), scored a 1’43.4. Bayliss Ducati Xerox 1.34”9 Toseland Winston Ten Kate Honda 1.35”8 Muggeridge Winston Ten Kate Honda 1.36”1 Lanzi Ducati Xerox 1.36”8 Abe Yamaha France 1.36”9 Clementi Team Pedercini 1.37”2 Rolfo Team Ducati SC Caracchi 1.37”5 Neukirchner Team Pedercini 1.37”5 Pedercini Team Pedercini 1.37”9 Borciani Sterilgarda Berik Foret Team Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra 1.38”7 Charpentier Winston Ten Kate Honda 1.37”6 Fujiwara Megabike Honda Team 1.38”4 Tiberio Megabike Honda Team 1.39”5 Sofouglu Winston Ten Kate Honda 1.39”5 Brooks Team Ducati SC Caracchi 1.41”3 Nedog Team Ducati SC Caracchi 1.43’44

Alex Barros First test rides with Klaffi Honda Sicily, 06th Feb 2006: Alex Barros passed a first test with his Klaffi Honda Fireblade on the Italian island. A new race track and dry weather during the first two days – the conditions were nearly perfect . Alex Barros: “We started on Saturday last week. In the morning there was some basic work to do but already in the afternoon I was out on a 2005 Klaffi Honda Fireblade. After some slow laps in the beginning I became more and more familiar with the bike and the tyres. Only a short time later I already opened the throttle and I did as much kilometres as possible. On Sunday I changed to the new 2006 Klaffi Honda Fireblade and this was a pleasant surprise. This Fireblade is even better than the 2005 bike. The whole package is terrific. The Pirelli tyres are excellent. They have a perfect grip. It was great to ride this bike. Only on Monday we had a break caused by bad weather conditions. We still stay to Tuesday. And I hope to do some laps more. It is important to push the bike to the limits because I want to get to know the complete characteristic of the Fireblade. Here in Italy I met my new team for the first time. The whole crew works very professional and they are really enthusiastic. I think we will have a good season together.”

FINE WEATHER MIRRORED IN WINSTON TEN KATE HONDA TEAM’S TEST RESULTS Having completed only one day of testing in warm and sunny conditions at Valencia all elements of the Winston Ten Kate squad have declared themselves happy with their early progress. Lap times have already been trimmed when compared to 2005 qualifying performances, with both Superbike and Supersport teams working through a host of possible set-ups on the dry track. For 2004 World Champion James Toseland, a break into the 1’35 bracket was a dream start too his latest test session in his new team, and he concentrated on getting to know the 2006 Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade. His team-mate Karl Muggeridge working through an extensive list of set-up options, accumulating data on suspension and chassis settings. In the Supersport division, Sebastien Charpentier was on the same kind of sparkling form that gave him the 2005 Championship. His new team-mate, Kenan Sofuoglu, spent his first day focussed on learning his machine fully, having unavoidably lost out on track time in previous tests. Ronald Ten Kate Team Manager “The first day has been great, especially after the weather wasn’t so good at our previous Almeria three-day test. We tried out some new parts there, which seemed to work well despite the poor conditions, and we knew that those parts would also work around here. That has certainly proved to be the case. The bike is the same spec that James rode at Almeria and from mid-morning onwards things have been going very well. The times he has been clocking on race tyres are particularly good, and he managed to get into the 1’35s by three PM. With Karl we are doing a lot of back-to-back tests, again on things we worked on in Almeria, but now through the full range. Karl has put in a lot of testing work for us, but as James in new to both the team and the machine we kept him out for a lot of laps. There will be more opportunities and more to come from Karl tomorrow. On the Supersport side of things, we are still puzzling out what Kenan likes on the machine, how he likes to make changes, and we are now very close to the settings that Sebastien uses. But we are just playing around with the settings to familiarise Kenan with the machine. He was already into the 1’39s today, quite easy, so there is still more to come from him. Sebastien is really back on the ball; he did a 1’37.6, which was his quickest lap time so far. He just has new settings for the new rear shocks and he is using the 2006 engine, which is also a definite step forward. We are all happy after one day.” James Toseland SBK Winston Ten Kate Honda Rider (82 Laps Fastest lap time 1’35.8) “I’m very satisfied with today. We had a good setting at Almeria, and about the same settings here – we have only had to make one or two clicks on the suspension. I also tried different front and rear tyres. I have never been in the 1’35s here, not ever, and to be in the 1’35s already on race tyres is great. The last time I was here I was in the 1’37s, so to go into the 1’35s, and see so much progress, is really good. We will try some different front forks and shocks but at the moment everything seems to be going really well.” Karl Muggeridge SBK Winston Ten Kate Honda Rider (63 Laps Fastest lap time 1’36.1) “So far today we have been successful in trying out new stuff on the bikes. I tested out some new forks and shocks, finding better suspension settings, things like that. As far as lap times are concerned, we haven’t really tried yet; we are just concentrating on the bike. We’re just using standard tyres and working on the rest. Tomorrow we have one more set of forks to try and then we can start working with the new tyres, to get the whole thing to mesh better. But today has been pretty successful.” Sébastien Charpentier SS Winston Ten Kate Honda Rider (52 Laps Fastest lap time 1’37.6) “It has been a good day of testing because the weather is perfect, if a little bit cold in the mornings, which makes it not so easy. The best time of day is between one and three o’clock. We worked very well in those two hours. My best lap today was a 1’37.6 on a race tyre, when the pole time last year was 1’38.3. I’m happy with the new front tyre and I am confident for Qatar. It is very close now for everyone but our work is good, so it is OK. I think there is a good possibility to improve again in 2006, even if some new machines are coming. For me the Honda is perfect and I hope for more good weather tomorrow. If we got another good day then our preparations will be ideal for Qatar.” Kenan Sofuoglu SS Winston Ten Kate Honda Rider (82 Laps Fastest lap time 1’39.5) “Now we have everything here and I am really very happy. In this test we have tried everything, with the bike in different positions, and every outing we have tried different settings to find my ideal ones. We did not really try for the lap times, and even tomorrow we will continue concentrating on set-up. I am not worried about lap times just yet, I’m just getting ready for the first round.”

Troy Corser, recently voted Illawarra Mercury Novotel Northbeach Sports Star of the Year, has just gone online with his own line of Troy Corser memorabilia. The first item, only open to those who will attend the forthcoming World Superbike round at Phillip Island, offers the chance to have your photo taken with Troy ON BOARD his World Championship winning Corona Alstare Suzuki K5. This and other prints personally signed by the World Champion are available by following the memorabilia link on www.troycorser.com Troy has remained in Australia, visiting his home town of Wollongong, since a successful pre-season test at Phillip Island last month. He was very honoured to be announced as the Illawarra Mercury Novotel Northbeach Sports Star of the Year, the region’s premier sporting award. 15 Sports Star nominees representing nine sports excelled on the national and international stage in rugby league, football, bowls, cricket, golf, basketball, surf-lifesaving, motorsport and baseball. Sporting champions, officials and community leaders gave Corser a huge reception when Minister for the Illawarra David Campbell announced the motorcycle ace as the Sports Star winner. Having achieved this prestigious award in 1996 Corser joins an elite few who have taken the trophy twice.

The return of the classic French 24 hour races to the FIM World Endurance Championship calendar has attracted a record number of “permanent” team entries. Full Calendar The 2006 World Endurance Championship calendar sees the return to the championship of the classic Le Mans 24 Hour and Bol d’Or 24 Hour races after an absence of four years. Together with the now well established Oschersleben 24 Hour race, the three middle distance events at Albacete, Zolder and Suzuka and the season opening Assen 500km sprint, the addition of the two classic 24 hour events means that the endurance season stretches to almost one hundred hours of racing. The full calendar is as follows: “¢ April 17: Assen 500km Netherlands “¢ April 22/23: Le Mans 24 Hours France “¢ May 20: Albacete 8 Hours Spain “¢ June 18: Zolder 6 Hours Belgium “¢ July 30: Suzuka 8 Hours Japan “¢ August 12/13: Oschersleben 24 Hours Germany “¢ September 16/17: Bol d’Or 24 Hours (Magny Cours) – France Record Number of Entries The 2006 World Endurance Championship calendar has sparked a huge increase in interest in the championship. This is reflected in the record number of teams requesting “permanent” status and entering for a full season of endurance racing. 24 teams are featured in the official championship entry list, representing a mix of experienced campaigners and new entrants drawn from 17 nations. Many of those entering the full championship for the first time have a long history of competing in endurance and could bring a real challenge to the established teams we espect to see fighting for podium positions. With the first race being a 500km sprint and the second being a real test of stamina for man and machine, it’s impossible to make any championship predictions… 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.

CAMEL YAMAHA TEAM TEST Losail, Qatar Monday, February 6th 2006 Ambient temperature: 24.7 degrees Track temperature: 38.0 degrees Humidity: 73% ROSSI AND EDWARDS QUICK TO GET GOING IN QATAR Testing for the first time at the Losail International Circuit in Qatar, Camel Yamaha Team riders Valentino Rossi and Colin Edwards were pleased to get back in the saddle on their new 2006-specification YZR-M1s today. Both riders made the most of good temperatures to put in some fast laps at a track where both of them enjoy riding. Although they are only joined on the track here by the MotoGP Teams of Suzuki and Tech 3 Yamaha, as well as test riders from Ducati and Kawasaki, Rossi and Edwards were encouraged to finish the day at the top of the time sheets and are looking forward to more improvement over the next two days. Both Rossi and Edwards were inside the lap record of 1’57.903; the World Champion with a time of 1’57.36 after just 48 laps and his American team-mate just behind after 77 laps with a best time of 1’57.52. Suzuki rider John Hopkins was third fastest with a time of 1’57.66 and Tech 3 Yamaha pilot Carlos Checa, making a return to Yamaha after a year’s absence, was fourth with a lap of 1’57.94. VALENTINO ROSSI (1’57.36, 48 Laps) “It’s always nice to be fastest, although of course here we don’t have Honda or Ducati. Everything went very well today and I am pleased with this first day of work. As we’re quite close to home I have no problem with jet-lag, unlike at Sepang, so I feel like I have plenty of energy for these three days! The temperature is about 15 degrees cooler than at the race last year and so we are able to have quite good grip and to use the tyres at 100%, enabling us to go quite fast. Anyway with the new bike we have much more grip than with the old M1, but as in Sepang we have a tiny bit of chatter, so we are doing a lot of work with Michelin to fix that. Michelin have come here with many new tyres and so we are working a lot with them to test as much as possible. The new bike is already at a good level and now we are working hard on finding the right settings for it. I’m looking forward to the next two days.” COLIN EDWARDS (1’57.52, 77 Laps) “Unlike Valentino I get pretty bad jet-lag here, coming from the US, so I felt pretty tired today! I hope to get a good night’s sleep tonight and to have a bit more energy tomorrow. The track is getting cleaner by the minute as more rubber gets laid down, so the grip is improving all the time; it’s already much better than in the race last year. Michelin have a lot of new tyres here so we’re spending a large part of our time on testing the new stuff with them. I really like this track, I’ve always gone good from the first time I came here so it’s an enjoyable place for me to test, plus the weather is great. The new bike really is better in every way and now I’ve just got to build my confidence with it. At the moment I am feeling stronger with every lap. It was a good first day and I was pleased to be able to get going so well so quickly.” DANIELE ROMAGNOLI COLIN EDWARDS’ CREW CHIEF “We very quickly found a good base-setting here today, much better than what we had at the race here last year. We’ve improved the front-end grip a lot and therefore Colin has much more confidence already in the front. It seems the new bike works well at this track and the lap times were good today. We made a good start.” Unofficial Lap Times: 1. VALENTINO ROSSI (ITA) Yamaha, 1’57.36 2. COLIN EDWARDS (USA) Yamaha, 1’57.52 3. John Hopkins (USA) Suzuki, 1’57.66 4. Carlos Checa (SPA) Yamaha, 1’57.94 5. Chris Vermeulen (AUS) Suzuki, 1’58.62 6. S. Ito (JPN) Ducati, 1’58.90 7. James Ellison (GBR) Yamaha, 1’59.81 8. Olivier Jacque (FRA) Kawasaki, 2’00.43 Losail Lap Record: 1’57.903 (Nicky Hayden, Honda, 2005) Losail Best Lap: 1’56.917 (Loris Capirossi, Ducati, 2005) More, from a press release issued by Team Suzuki: Hopkins smashes Qatar personal best Team SUZUKI MotoGP racer John Hopkins recorded his fastest ever lap of the Losail International Circuit during day two of the team’s latest test. Hopkins’ best time of 1’57.64 was recorded on the newest generation Bridgestone race tyres and was nearly a second quicker than his qualifying time from last year. He revelled in his development role on the new Suzuki GSV-R and completed 66 laps in the Qatari heat as track temperatures reached 44 degrees. Team-mate Chris Vermeulen continued his excellent learning curve and knocked almost two seconds from his first day time to post a fastest lap of 1’58.67. During his 64 laps the rookie Australian tested a new chassis that has improved stiffness characteristics – and continued with the intensive Bridgestone tyre test. A full report on Team SUZUKI MotoGP’s Qatar test will appear on this site at the end of the three day test. For more information on Team SUZUKI MotoGP and to receive up-to-date news and information visit www.suzuki-motogp.com and register with the free to join fan club.

Waiting for the two-day test session scheduled by FG Sport at Valencia circuit next February 6 and 7, Scuderia SC Caracchi visited Cartagena for the first contact by Roberto Rolfo with his new Ducati 999F05. Unfortunately the day’s conditions have not been at the best, with light rain early in the morning and wet track until 12 a.m. Only at that time Rolfo started to practice, but the track hadn’t a good grip for reason of the dust, carried by the wind from the ground works around the circuit, that the rain transformed into a slippery surface. However Roberto’s practice went on all the afternoon long without troubles, and he could appreciate the way of running of his new machine. “I like a lot the F05 machine and I feel it soon well.” commented Roberto Rolfo “I’ve been most impressed by the engine, it push actually hard. Unfortunately the track hadn’t a good grip and we must take attention, also because the circuit was full of amateur riders, all concentrated in the afternoon because the morning rain. The bike was in the same condition we got and at the end of the session the engine was smoking, so we’ll install a new engine for the Valencia test which will start next Monday. The working together with the team increases day by day, now we’ll have a couple of days very important in Valencia. We must hope just that the weather will love us.” Also the two Supersport Ducati 749R machines have to practice today, but both Josh Brookes and Luka Nedog found some difficulties with the poor grip conditions and both crashed, without injuries but slowing the test activity. “Today was very hard to ride.” said Brookes back in the pit. “The track was a true trap in such conditions, and just I started to push hard I crashed, ad Luka too had the same destiny. At Valencia I want to use at the best this two-day test, the championship is going to start and the second round will be run at my home track; that’s very important for me.”

Aaron Gobert rode an 2004-spec Erion Honda CBR1000RR Superstock bike at California Speedway today, during a Fastrack Riders day. Other notables on site at California Speedway included Jason Perez, Michael Beck, Nicky Moore, Corey Eaton and Danny Eslick. WERA West will run at California Speedway on Sunday. AMA teams will test at the track in Fontana, California on Tuesday and Wednesday.