Infineon Raceway, AFM Join Forces to Increase On-Track Safety in Sonoma Valley SONOMA, Calif. “” Infineon Raceway and the American Federation of Motorcyclists (AFM) have joined forces on a project that will increase on-track safety for motorcycle riders in the Sonoma Valley. The raceway has agreed to give the AFM a $70,000 no-interest loan, with the AFM using the money “” in addition to AFM funding “” to purchase 92 pieces of Airfence. Infineon Raceway has agreed to store the Airfence on its property, and will oversee maintenance, which includes installation and removal during motorcycle events “” at no cost. As a result of the Infineon Raceway agreement, the AFM will also receive an additional 10 pieces of Airfence deployed by the Roadracing World Action Fund, which is a non-profit organization dedicated to educating people on the importance of deploying soft barriers. Over the years, the organization has raised more than $400,000. “This is part of our ongoing desire to make Infineon Raceway as safe as possible for everyone,” said Jere Starks, vice president of facilities at Infineon Raceway and an avid motorcycle rider. “We’ve spent millions of dollars on improvements over the last four years for safety and this is one more element.” The Airfence, which will be available for rental during motorcycle track days at Infineon Raceway, will also be used at the Kawasaki AMA Superbike Showdown, presented by Supercuts, May 19-21. The 102 pieces of Airfence will be used solely at Infineon Raceway. “It’s been extremely gratifying to get this help from the management at Infineon Raceway,” said Kevin Smith, president of the AFM. “They didn’t hesitate when I made the request, and their support means that all motorcycle racers and riders at Infineon Raceway will have the full benefit of these soft barriers starting this spring.” The 102 pieces of Airfence equates to about 650 feet, and will be used to help make Infineon Raceway safer for motorcycle riding. Airfence is a soft barrier that is designed to gradually absorb the energy of a crashed rider. It is the primary choice of riders, who prefer it over haybales, which are typically placed in front of concrete walls or barriers on racetracks. The AFM is the oldest motorcycle road-racing club in California with nearly 1,000 members. It will feature four events at Infineon Raceway in 2006, with other events at Thunderhill Park Raceway (near Willows) and Buttonwillow Raceway Park (near Buttonwillow).

FAILED NEGOTIATIONS PROMPTED ARBITRATION Contrary to the information provided by Yamaha in its January 10th press release, Altadis’ decision to initiate arbitration proceedings was taken — as Yamaha well knows — after many months of negotiations during which Altadis sought ways to release Yamaha from its obligations to Altadis. Altadis would like MOTOGP and motor sports fans worldwide to know that Altadis’ commitment to motor racing and MOTOGP remains as strong as ever. Altadis sincerely believes that its decision to seek redress in arbitration for what Altadis considers to be Yamaha’s wrongful conduct is good for the sport, which can only benefit from rulings that require participants to honor their contractual undertakings. Altadis is confident that its position, which it believes advocates the survival of fair play in professional motorcycle racing, will be vindicated in arbitration. As Yamaha has been formally notified of the initiation of the proceedings, Altadis’ response to Yamaha’s allegations concerning the dispute will be given to the Arbitral Tribunal, who will have the final say.

New-Look TT Race Schedule Ushers in Bright New Future The Isle of Man Department of Tourism and Leisure in association with the Manx Motor Cycle Club are pleased to announce details of the race programme for the 2006 Isle of Man TT Races. This year the Department and its partners have delayed making this announcement at the request of the competitors and teams, to ensure all those wishing to make suggestions, get the chance to make their ideas known. A wide scale consultation process has been carried out on this subject, coordinated by TT Team and Rider Liaison Officers Richard Quayle and Paul Phillips. The decisions made by the TT Coordinating Committee around the 2006 race schedule come after seeking and receiving views from a complete cross section of all the major stakeholders in the event. These specifically include the riders, teams, motorcycle manufactures, engine builders, marshals, medics, fans, the media, and the residents of the Isle of Man. The organisers are therefore confident that with this feedback, the changes to the race schedule will please the majority of those people. These changes are the first of two steps, the second of which is planned for TT 2007, which will see the event run to an overall schedule which will suit all the needs of the events stakeholders. Slimmer, fitter, faster than ever! The 2006 TT Races will feature the same solo and sidecar classes as in 2005; Superbike, Supersport, Superstock, Senior and F2 Sidecar. However there will be one less race, with the second Supersport Race being dropped. Safety around the TT course is paramount to the organisers, and concerns have been raised by some of the riders, teams, manufactures and engine builders around the running of two races for Supersport 600cc machines. There were two Supersport races at TT 2005, and whilst the racing was close and exciting, the organisers have to recognise that there was a high mechanical mortality rate in the second race. The prize fund from this race will be reinvested into the overall start and prize money fund. There are provisional plans to introduce another class in time for TT 2007 and the race organisers will be and in some cases have already been communicating with stakeholders and the organisers of other race meetings to research the feasibility of this. Details of these plans will be released in due course. Race schedule The Superbike Race will again open the race schedule, taking place on Saturday the 3rd of June over six laps. The Superstock Race will be held on Monday the 5th of June, over four laps instead of three as in previous years, and that will be followed by the first leg of the TT Sidecars over three laps. Wednesday the 7th of June will see the four lap Junior TT followed by the second three lap Sidecar Race. The racing will be brought to a close with the six lap Senior TT. The Senior Race will be open to all solo classes and this year will also offer prize money for the first three 600cc machines to finish. The organisers have had great success recently in attracting more of the high quality riders and teams in motorcycling, and the slimmer race schedule for 2006 will help continue this trend with resources concentrated on the six races. Increased practice time Practice time around the 37 and ¾ mile Mountain Circuit remains massively important, and the revised schedule for 2006 will see more actual practice time available per machine, than ever before. Practising will commence on Saturday the 27th of May, with speed controlled sighting laps for solo and sidecar newcomers followed by the first sessions for the rest of the entry. Practice continues on Monday 29th of May, through to Friday the 2nd of June. An extended road closing order for evening practice sessions will allow competitors to enjoy more laps per machine than before in all classes. Further practice sessions will be available to Superstock, Supersport and Sidecar competitors on Saturday the 3rd of June, Supersport and Senior competitors on Monday the 6th of June and Senior competitors on Wednesday the 7th of June. Working towards a bright future Although the TT Coordinating Committee are confident that the changes for 2006 will suit the majority of people involved in the consultation process, they appreciate that some parties may not find all the changes to their liking. The Committee wish it to be known that all views are still welcome, and any concerns will be addressed appropriately. The Coordinating Committee will be seeking further opinion on further amendments to the race schedule in time for TT 2007, on the run up and during TT 2006. On the announcement of the changes to the race programme TT Coordinating Committee Chairman and Minister for the Isle of Man Department of Tourism and Leisure David Cretney MHK said: “This year every effort has been made to find out what our stakeholders want from the event. The lines of communication are more open than ever before, and the organisers are now perhaps more accessible to the competitors and the fans, than at any other motorcycle event in the world through our Department, the MMCC Race Office and the Rider Liaison Officers.” “Safety always has to be our number one concern when it comes to the racing, so we need to ensure that the competitors have enough practice time, especially our newcomers. We are confident we have found the right balance with this new schedule, which has already been warmly received by the majority of competitors, teams and manufactures.” “In addition, we will soon be announcing details of key entertainment events outside of the race periods. These events will cater for the entertainment aspirations of race fans and the Island’s residents, better than ever before. This new race schedule allows us to do this, and TT 2006 will build up to a fitting climax with some special events planned for the end of Race Week and Senior Race Day in particular. TT 2006 is sure to go out with a bang, leaving everyone looking forward for twelve months when we will celebrate our centenary.” – ENDS – Isle of Man TT Races 2006 Saturday 27th of May “¢ Newcomers Practice Laps “¢ TT Solo Practice “¢ TT Sidecar Practice Monday29th of May “¢ TT Solo Practice “¢ TT Sidecar Practice Tuesday 30th of May “¢ TT Solo Practice “¢ TT Sidecar Practice Wednesday 31st of May “¢ TT Solo Practice “¢ TT Sidecar Practice Thursday 1st of June “¢ TT Solo Practice “¢ TT Sidecar Practice Friday 2nd of June “¢ TT Solo Practice “¢ TT Sidecar Practice Saturday 3rd of June “¢ TT Superbike Race 6 Laps “¢ TT Sidecar Practice “¢ TT Solo Practice Monday 5th of June “¢ Superstock TT 4 Laps “¢ TT Sidecar Race A 3 Laps “¢ TT Solo Practice Wednesday 7th of June “¢ Junior Supersport TT 4 Laps “¢ TT Sidecar Race B 3 Laps “¢ TT Solo Practice Friday 9th of June “¢ Senior TT 6 Laps “¢ TT Classic Parade Lap, 1 Lap

2006 Permanent Entry Lists Superbike World Championship Provisional list 1 Troy Corser AUS Suzuki GSXR1000 Team Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra 3 Norick Abe JPN Yamaha YZF R1 Yamaha Motor France РIPONE 7 Pierfrancesco Chili ITA Honda CBR 1000RR D.F.X. Treme 8 Ivan Clementi ITA Ducati 999 R Team Pedercini 9 Chris Walker GBR Kawasaki ZX10R PSG-1 Kawasaki Corse 10 TBA Kawasaki ZX10R PSG-1 Kawasaki Corse 11 Ruben Xaus ESP Ducati 999 R Sterilgarda РBerik 13 Vittorio Iannuzzo ITA Suzuki GSXR1000 Celani Team 15 Fabien Foret FRA Suzuki GSXR1000 Team Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra 16 S̩bastien Gimbert FRA Yamaha YZF R1 Yamaha Motor France РIPONE 18 Craig Jones GBR PETRONAS FP1 Foggy PETRONAS Racing 19 Lucio Pedercini ITA Ducati 999 R Team Pedercini 20 Marco Borciani ITA Ducati 999 R Sterilgarda РBerik 21 Troy Bayliss AUS Ducati 999 R Ducati Xerox Team 22 Shinichi Nakatomi JPN Yamaha YZF R1 Yamaha Motor France РIPONE 31 Karl Muggeridge AUS Honda CBR 1000RR Winston Ten Kate Honda 41 Noriyuki Haga JPN Yamaha YZF R1 Yamaha Motor Italia WSB Team 44 Roberto Rolfo ITA Ducati 999 R Team Ducati SC РCaracchi 52 James Toseland GBR Honda CBR 1000RR Winston Ten Kate Honda 55 R̩gis Laconi FRA Kawasaki ZX10R PSG-1 Kawasaki Corse 2 57 Lorenzo Lanzi ITA Ducati 999 R Ducati Xerox Team 71 Yukio Kagayama JPN Suzuki GSXR1000 Team Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra 76 Max Neukirchner GER Honda CBR 1000RR Team Klaffi Honda 84 Michel Fabrizio ITA Honda CBR 1000RR D.F.X. Treme 88 Andrew Pitt AUS Yamaha YZF R1 Yamaha Motor Italia WSB Team 99 Steve Martin AUS PETRONAS FP1 Foggy PETRONAS Racing 105 Lorenzo Alfonsi ITA Ducati 999 R Team PN Corse 116 Franco Battaini ITA Kawasaki ZX10R Team Bertocchi TBA Honda CBR 1000RR Team Klaffi Honda TBA Suzuki GSXR1000 Team Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra Supersport World Championship Provisional list 3 Katsuaki Fujiwara JPN Honda CBR 600RR Megabike Honda Team 5 Alessio Velini ITA Yamaha YZF R6 Team Umbria Bike 11 Kevin Curtain AUS Yamaha YZF R6 Yamaha Motor Germany 12 Javier Fores ESP Yamaha YZF R6 SLM Racing 14 Alessio Aldrovandi ITA Honda CBR 600RR CRS Grand Prix 15 Andrea Berta ITA Yamaha YZF R6 SLM Racing 16 S̩bastien Charpentier FRA Honda CBR 600RR Winston Ten Kate Honda 21 Chris Peris CAN Yamaha YZF R6 MOTO 1 23 Broc Parkes AUS Yamaha YZF R6 Yamaha Motor Germany 25 Tatu Lauslehto FIN Honda CBR 600RR Dark Dog Stiggy Motorsports 27 Maxime Berger FRA Kawasaki ZX6RR Team Gil Motor Sport 32 Yoann Tiberio FRA Honda CBR 600RR Megabike Honda Team 33 Vesa Kallio FIN Yamaha YZF R6 Yamaha Racing Support 37 William De Angelis ITA Honda CBR 600RR Klaffi Intermoto Czech Republic 38 Gregory Leblanc FRA Honda CBR 600RR Vazy Racing Team 45 Gianluca Vizziello ITA Yamaha YZF R6 Team Lorenzini by Leoni 46 Mauro Sanchini ITA Yamaha YZF R6 RG Team 49 Kai Borre Andersen NOR Suzuki GSX600R Hoegee Suzuki Racing 54 Kenan Sofuoglu TUR Honda CBR 600RR Winston Ten Kate Honda 55 Massimo Roccoli ITA Yamaha YZF R6 Team Lorenzini by Leoni 57 Luca Nedog SLO Ducati 749 R Team Ducati SC РCaracchi 58 Tomas Miksovsky CZE Honda CBR 600RR Klaffi Intermoto Czech Republic 60 Vladimir Ivanov RUS Yamaha YZF R6 Vector Racing 68 David Forner Garcia ESP TBA Alapont Competition 69 Gianluca Nannelli ITA Yamaha YZF R6 Edo Racing 73 Christian Zaiser AUT Ducati 749 R LBR Ducati Racing 75 Joshua Brooks AUS Ducati 749 R Team Ducati SC РCaracchi 77 Barry Veneman NED Suzuki GSX600R Hoegee Suzuki Racing 88 Julien Enjolras FRA Yamaha YZF R6 Tati Team Beaujolais Racing 94 David Checa ESP Yamaha YZF R6 GMT 94 96 Didier Van Keymeulen BEL Yamaha YZF R6 MOTO 1 116 Johan Stiegefelt SWE Honda CBR 600RR Dark Dog Stiggy Motorsports 127 Robbin Harms DEN Honda CBR 600RR Stiggy Motorsports Superstock 1000cc FIM Cup Provisional list Р5 Riccardo Chiarello ITA Kawasaki ZX10R Team Lightspeed Kawasaki 8 Loic Napoleone FRA Suzuki GSXR1000 Celani Team 9 Luca Scassa ITA MV Agusta F4 EVR Corse 10 Giuseppe Natalini ITA Yamaha YZF R1 Team Trasimeno 11 Dennis Sacchetti ITA Kawasaki ZX10R PSG-1 Kawasaki Corse 12 Leuthe Biliatti GER MV Agusta F4 EVR Corse 14 Mauro Belliero ITA Honda CBR 1000RR Team MCR 15 Matteo Baiocco ITA Yamaha YZF R1 Team Umbria Bike 16 Enrique Rocamora ESP Yamaha YZF R1 RG Team 17 Cedric Tangre FRA TBA Association Plein Gaz 18 Eric Van Bael BEL TBA SRC Racing Team 19 Jason Perez USA Suzuki GSXR1000 HP Racing 21 Leo Bovee NED Suzuki GSXR1000 Piet Geluk Racing Team 24 Marko Jerman SLO Suzuki GSXR1000 MD Team Jerman 28 Sepp Vermonden BEL Suzuki GSXR1000 Racing Dirk Van Mol 31 Mario Giuseppe Barone ITA MV Agusta F4 GiMotorsport 32 Alex Martinez Mas ESP Kawasaki ZX10R Team Agusta PMS 33 Sheridan Morais RSA Suzuki GSXR1000 EMS Racing 34 Mark Pollock IRL Suzuki GSXR1000 EMS Racing 35 Allard Kerhoven NED Suzuki GSXR1000 Oliveira Suzuki 40 Herv̩ Gantner SUI Yamaha YZF R1 Team Badan Yamaha 41 Nick Henderson AUS TBA Beowulf Motorsport.com 44 Roberto Lunadei ITA Yamaha YZF R1 44 Racing Team 45 Gianluca Rapicavoli ITA MV Agusta F4 GiMotorsport 47 Richard Cooper GBR TBA MS Akuna Racing Team 53 Alessandro Polita ITA Suzuki GSXR1000 Celani Team 55 Olivier Deporter BEL Yamaha YZF R1 Autophone Racing 57 Ilario Dionisi ITA Yamaha YZF R1 Team Trasimeno 71 Petter Solli NOR Yamaha YZF R1 Solli Racing 73 Simone Saltarelli ITA Kawasaki ZX10R Team Agusta PMS 77 Claudio Corti ITA Yamaha YZF R1 Team Lorenzini by Leoni 82 Giuseppe Cedroni ITA Honda CBR 1000RR Team MCR 86 Ayrton Badovini ITA MV Agusta F4 Biassono Racing Team 96 Matej Smrz CZE TBA MS Akuna Racing Team TBA Suzuki GSXR1000 Team Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra TBA Suzuki GSXR1000 Team Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra Note (all classes) : 2006 models homologation procedure in progress

TELEVISION’S LONGEST RUNNING MOTORCYCLE LIFESTYLE PROGRAM SPEED’s American Thunder has been on the air since the network debuted in January of 1996. This popular show returns in 2006 with 31 new episodes, February 7 at 10 p.m. ET for two weeks before moving to its regular 9 p.m. ET time slot. “In an industry not exactly renowned for longevity, American Thunder has continually proven itself to be as stalwart a series as this network has ever seen,” said Robert Ecker, SPEED V.P. of Programming. “In fact, the ratings on our third annual All-American Thanksgiving Marathon improved nearly 25 percent versus the previous year a remarkable achievement for a franchise as long-running as this one.” American Thunder is one of only two non-racing shows, MotorWeek being the other, that have been on SPEED from the start. SPEED viewers count on American Thunder to take them to the hottest events throughout the country and keep them up with the latest in custom cycles and news. “American Thunder was the first show on television to introduce viewers to America’s greatest custom bike builders like Arlen Ness and Jessie James years before other networks jumped on the chopper bandwagon,” said Jay Barbieri, WATV’s supervising producer of American Thunder. SPEED is the nation’s first and foremost cable network dedicated to motor sports and the passion for everything automotive. From racing to restoration, motorcycles to movies, SPEED delivers quality programming from the track to the garage. Now available in nearly 70 million homes in North America, SPEED is among the fastest growing sports cable networks in the country and an industry leader in interactive TV, video on-demand, mobile initiatives and broadband services.

James “Lamar” Williams, 62, of Daytona Beach, Florida, died January 7. Williams had been the owner and CEO of the American Motorcycle Institute in Daytona Beach, Florida, according to the online edition of the Daytona Beach News Journal.