Pirelli completed three days of pre-season tire testing at Daytona International Speedway on December 6-8. According to Richard Moore, Pirelli’s new Road Race Manager, “Our testing was a great success and we look forward to being the dominate force again in 2006, backing up our Superstock win at Daytona in 2005. We proved last year that Pirelli has an advantage over every other competitor on the high-speed high-banks of the Speedway, which, as many have claimed, is the ultimate measure of performance.” The Pirelli testing at Daytona saw a mix of weather from rain and cold to mixed sun. The Pirelli engineers saw this mix as a blessing, allowing a wide range of updated tires to be tested in various conditions. Joining Pirelli at the test were team M4 EMGO Suzuki with riders Mike Barnes and Geoff May, Roadracingworld.com’s Chris Ulrich, who came for his birthday and departed with the hard-earned gift of his fastest laps ever, racer Shea Fouchek, Team KWS with rider Matt Lynn, Team C.J. Czaia with riders Bob Fisher and John Linder, and test rider Rico Penzkofer from Germany. Pirelli’s Marketing Manger Chris wall said, “The results of our testing at Daytona were just as we’d hoped. We won last year’s Superstock race there with a come-from-behind move by Vincent Haskovec but we knew we needed to step up our racing tires’ performance to stay on top in 2006. And now we’re confident that’s where we’ll be.” More, from a press release issued by Parts Unlimited Ducati Austin: BEN BOSTROM FIGHTS FOR TOP SPOT AT DAYTONA TEST ON HIS RETURN TO DUCATI Daytona, FL (December 12, 2005) – Parts Unlimited Ducati Austin racers Ben Bostrom and Neil Hodgson tested at Daytona International Speedway December 10-12. Both riders shook down their Ducati 999 Superbikes in the first off-season test for the team, with Ben second quickest overall. Although Sunday’s track time was cancelled because of rain, both riders lapped the famed American speed bowl on Saturday and Monday in cool conditions. Bostrom, a former Ducati racer in both AMA and World Superbike competition, made his debut with the Parts Unlimited Ducati Austin team at the test. He was the top man on the time sheets when he completed his work and second quickest when the day had ended. “I loved the bike from the first laps on Saturday. The Ducati 999 was just how I like a race bike, very firm and responsive. I could feel every little change we made to the settings. It was good at the test, but we really haven’t pushed the limits with it yet. We made some small changes to the suspension and it just felt right to me. I’m excited about the new season ahead of us and I think the lap times showed that.” Ben went down late on Monday but was unhurt. “I had a crash at the end of the day. It was a small crash for the rider but a big crash for the bike, unfortunately. My foot slipped off the brake pedal at the slowest corner of the track and down I went. I locked up the front,” he said. Bostrom’s best lap was 1m37.849s, well below the existing lap record at the revised three-mile track in his first ride on the Ducati 999 Superbike. “It was interesting to ride the 999 after racing for Ducati while this bike was on the drawing boards a few years ago. I can tell the factory used the data and information us racers gave them to develop the 999. The bike is fantastic.” Neil Hodgson was fourth quickest with a lap of 1m38.707s. The former World Superbike champion from England was able to slice his lap times late in the day as he improved in the difficult turn one at Daytona. “The test was good for me, but obviously it is a bit threatening when your team-mate is quicker than you,” said Hodgson. “It’s early days, though, and we managed to cut our times by the end of the test. Still some way to go for us, but we’re getting there. My comfort level at this track is definitely improved. We were second last year in the race, but I feel more comfortable here already with what we accomplished.” “We are very glad Ben was immediately on the pace. He hasn’t ridden a Ducati in many years and had never ridden a 999. Neil struggled some but in the last 40 minutes was able to up his pace,” said Paolo Ciabatti of Ducati Corse. “I think it is a good beginning. We have a lot of new personnel this year. We have a good harmony in the team and they got along very well. We are happy at this stage and want to see what we do at the next tests.” Lap Times – 1. Ben Spies (Suzuki) 1m37.309s; 2. BEN BOSTROM (PARTS UNLIMITED DUCATI AUSTIN) 1m37.849s; 3. Aaron Yates (Suzuki) 1m38.371s ; 4. NEIL HODGSON (PARTS UNLIMITED DUCATI AUSTIN) 1m38.707s; 5. Jake Zemke (Honda) 1m39.226s; 6. Roger Hayden (Kawasaki) 1m39.334s. More, from a press release issued by Michael Jordan Motorsports Suzuki: MICHAEL JORDAN MOTORSPORTS SUZUKI AT THE 2005 DAYTONA DUNLOP TIRE TEST The 2006 Michael Jordan Motorsports Suzuki team of Jason Pridmore, Steve Rapp and new team rider Jake Holden came together for the first time at the annual Dunlop tire test at Daytona International Speedway on December 10th through 12th. They joined other top Dunlop-supported teams that show up each December to help Dunlop race tire technicians sort through the best choices for the traditional AMA Superbike Championship series opener at the track the following March, while also testing new bikes, riders and crew in anticipation of the upcoming race season. While they have taken delivery of their 2006 Suzuki GSX-R1000s, the Michael Jordan Motorsports Team chose to utilize their 2005 models for testing the Dunlop tires and the many new components the team has developed since the 2005 season ended three months ago. New recruit Jake Holden came to the test and impressed the team, even while riding with a broken bone in his right hand. Pridmore and Rapp tested a variety of tires and worked through new parts to determine which will make the cut, while new technicians worked alongside existing crew to get ready for the highly-anticipated 2006 race season. The three-day test started on Saturday, but was hampered by rain on Sunday and forced teams to strategize and compress testing on Monday. Jason Pridmore Superstock – 5th Fastest Superbike – 9th Fastest “It was great to come here and ride problem-free, healthwise,” said Pridmore. “I’m now 100%, I’ve been working out really hard, and I felt great on the bikes. We started with a good baseline on the Superstock bike, so we worked through some of the new parts that Ammar came up with and tested some new Dunlops. The Superbike was the best it has been all year, but we’ve got a lot of work to do with it to run at the front. I’ll get to ride it once, maybe two more times before we come here next March, so it should be a lot better.” Steve Rapp Superstock – 7th Fastest “We got about a day and a half of good testing in,” said Rapp, referring to the rain day on Sunday. “We went through a lot of tires, fronts and rears, all the ones that Dunlop gave us. We definitely made improvements on the bike, though our lap times may not show it. We had a lot of things, both engine and chassis-wise, that we worked through in anticipation of building our 2006 bikes, which we’ll have at the next test in February.” Jake Holden Superstock – 8th Fastest “Overall, it was a good test,’ said the 21-year-old Holden from Eatonville, Washington. “Getting used to the new Dunlop tires, new Suzukis and a new crew, I think it went really well. It’s nice to be back on Dunlops after a couple of years. I was able to get a baseline set-up pretty quick and my crew chief James Compton and I really worked well together. My hand held me back a little bit at this test, but it’ll be okay by the next test at Fontana.” Crew Chief Rich Alexander “We got some really positive data from testing,” Alexander said. “All three riders were within half a second of each other, and were faster than they were in the spring (the AMA series opener in March of 2005). I was very happy with Jake. He got up to speed quickly, and his feedback was good. We’ve got about 90% of our crew together for 2006, so we’re in really good shape for the next test at Fontana.” Crew Chief Ammar Bazzaz “While the rest of our crew was concentrating on tires, I was primarily looking after suspension and the electronics on the bikes,” said Bazzaz. “The rain day set us back a bit, but I would say we reached 75% of our goals. On these 2005 bikes, we had a series of prototype test items, some having to do with engines, some having to do with mechanical things, so we were sorting out which parts we are going to outfit the new bikes with for 2006. Daytona is an unusual track and it requires a unique set-up, but for us to come together as a team, get the new crew structure jelling and look at some new parts, I think it was very productive.” Superbike Lap Times – Daytona Int’l Speedway, Daytona Beach, FL 1. Ben Spies Yoshimura Suzuki 1:37.309 2. Ben Bostrom Ducati Austin 1:37.849 3. Aaron Yates Yoshimura Suzuki 1:38.371 4. Neil Hodgson Ducati Austin 1:38.707 5. Jake Zemke American Honda 1:39.226 6. Roger Hayden Team Kawasaki 1:39.334 7. Miguel DuHamel American Honda 1:39.375 8. Tommy Hayden Team Kawasaki 1:40.011 9. Jason Pridmore – Jordan Suzuki – 1:40.976 Superstock Lap Times – Daytona Int’l Speedway, Daytona Beach, FL 1. Jason DiSalvo Graves Yamaha 1:38.961 2. Aaron Yates – Yoshimura Suzuki – 1:39.455 3. Jamie Hacking Graves Yamaha 1:39.644 4. Eric Bostrom Graves Yamaha 1:40.172 5. Jason Pridmore – Jordan Suzuki – 1:41.089 6. Ben Attard – Attack Kawasaki – 1:41.143 7. Steve Rapp – Jordan Suzuki – 1:41.440 8. Jake Holden – Jordan Suzuki – 1:41.475 9. Josh Hayes – Erion Honda – 1:41.578 10. Aaron Gobert – Erion Honda – 1:41.643 Legendary NBA star Michael Jordan formed Michael Jordan Motorsports in 2004 as a result of his passion for motorcycle racing. His mission is to bring a new level of excellence and style to the motorcycle racing industry. For more information on the team visit the race team website at www.23RACE.com and the Jumpman website at www.Jumpman23.com. For more information and schedules visit the AMA Superbike Series’ official information web site at www.AMASuperbike.com

Yoshimura Suzuki’s Ben Spies was the fastest rider at the rain-interrupted Dunlop tire test, held December 10-12 at Daytona International Speedway. Riding his GSX-R1000 Superbike on a “softer” rear slick, Spies turned a 1:37.308 around the 2.95-mile infield road course. Not only was Spies’ time the fastest of the test, it was also faster than Mat Mladin’s AMA Superbike lap record of Daytona, 1:38.232. Portions of the Daytona infield road course have been repaved — and according to the riders improved — since March 2005, when Mladin set the lap record. “It was good,” Spies said of his test. “We got a lot of time today on the big bike and got a really good race set-up. We can do high-1:37s and low-1:38s all day long. So when we come back here in March we will be ready to go.” Spies exchanged the top spot on the timing monitor Monday with Parts Unlimited Ducati Austin’s Ben Bostrom, who turned a best of 1:37.849, not long before crashing his back-up 999F06. Even though the six-time World Superbike race winner’s crash was a lowside in the slowest corner of the track, turn five, his Ducati flipped and broke its swingarm off at the pivot. Bostrom was uninjured in the crash, however, and his enthusiasm for his new ride and the coming season was not lessened. Spies’ teammate Aaron Yates was third-fastest overall on his GSX-R1000 Superbike (1:38.371) and second-fastest on his Superstock GSX-R1000 (1:39.455, turned Monday morning). Yates was one of the busiest testers at the track, evaluating nearly all of the many Superbike and Superstock tires Dunlop brought to the test. The fastest Superstock rider at Daytona was Jason DiSalvo, who turned a 1:38.961 Monday afternoon on his Yamaha YZF-R1 LE. The current Daytona Superstock lap record is a 1:39.667 set by Yates in 2005. In addition, DiSalvo was consistently the fastest in the Formula Xtreme category, turning a best time of 1:41.647 on his all-new YZF-R6. The Daytona lap record in Formula Xtreme is Miguel Duhamel’s 1:42.593. Duhamel split his time between his CBR600RR Formula Xtreme machine and his CBR1000RR Superbike (both of which were equipped with Ohlins suspension) and turned the second-quickest FX lap time (1:42.663) of the test during a 200-mile run Monday morning. The fastest man on a Supersport bike at the test was Yamaha’s Jamie Hacking with a 1:42.210 (faster than the fastest lap for the March 2005 AMA Supersport event at Daytona, Tommy Hayden’s 1:42.358). Hacking ended the event much more comfortable on his new YZF-R6, and on his Superstock YZF-R1, than at the start in spite of not being fully recovered from elbow injuries suffered in a training accident earlier this year. Likewise, Eric Bostrom, the third Yamaha rider, gained considerable comfort and speed on his new Yamaha YZF-R1 Superstock racer and his YZF-R6 Formula Xtreme bike. Eric Bostrom said he hadn’t ridden an inline four-cylinder motorcycle since 2003, and the last time he raced a 600cc motorcycle was at Daytona in 2002. As reported earlier, six-time and defending AMA Superbike Champion Mat Mladin did not attend the test at Daytona due to his extended recovery from off-season surgery. Mladin is scheduled to have his first test of the off-season in early January at Eastern Creek Raceway in Australia. Monday Afternoon AMA Team Test Times (as supplied by AMA Pro Racing): 1. Ben Spies (Suz GSX-R1000) 1:37.308 Superbike 2. Ben Bostrom (Duc 999F06) 1:37.849 Superbike 3. Aaron Yates (Suz GSX-R1000) 1:38.371 Superbike 4. Neil Hodgson (Duc 999F06) 1:38.707 Superbike 5. Jason DiSalvo (Yam YZF-R1) 1:38.961 Superstock 6. Jake Zemke (Hon CBR1000RR) 1:39.226 Superbike 7. Roger Hayden (Kaw ZX-10R) 1:39.334 Superbike 8. Miguel Duhamel (Hon CBR1000RR) 1:39.374 Superbike 9. Aaron Yates (Suz GSX-R1000) 1:39.536 Superstock 10. Jamie Hacking (Yam YZF-R1) 1:39.643 Superstock 11. Eric Bostrom (Yam YZF-R1) 1:40.431 Superstock 12. Jason Pridmore (Suz GSX-R1000) 1:41.089 Superstock 13. Ben Attard (Kaw ZX-10R) 1:41.143 Superstock 14. Steve Rapp (Suz GSX-R1000) 1:41.440 Superstock 15. Jake Holden (Suz GSX-R1000) 1:41.475 Superstock 16. Josh Hayes (Hon CBR1000RR) 1:41.578 Superstock 17. Jason DiSalvo (Yam YZF-R6) 1:42.084 Formula Xtreme 18. Jamie Hacking (Yam YZF-R6) 1:42.314 Supersport 19. Josh Hayes (Hon CBR600RR) 1:42.796 Formula Xtreme 20. Damon Buckmaster (Kaw ZX-6RR) 1:42.931 Supersport 21. Aaron Gobert (Hon CBR600RR) 1:42.978 Formula Xtreme 22. Tommy Hayden (Kaw ZX-6RR) 1:43.302 Supersport 23. Jake Zemke (Hon CBR600RR) 1:43.346 Formula Xtreme 24. Eric Bostrom (Yam YZF-R6) 1:43.901 Formula Xtreme 25. Ben Attard (Kaw ZX-6RR) 1:44.452 Supersport 26. Ben Spies (Suz GSX-R600) 1:44.534 Supersport 27. Ty Howard (Hon CBR600RR) 1:45.617 Formula Xtreme 28. Ryan Andrews (Hon CBR600RR) 1:45.897 Formula Xtreme

Daytona 200 Week Preparation In High Gear During Dunlop Tire Test DAYTONA BEACH, Fla., — The motorcycle world converged on Daytona International Speedway for the past three days to participate in the annual Dunlop tire test in preparation for March 3-11 Daytona 200 Week. More than 20 riders from the factory teams such as Honda, Ducati, Yamaha, Suzuki and Kawasaki tested on both Saturday and Monday in preparation for Daytona 200 Week events, which culminates with the 65th Daytona 200 By Honda on Saturday, March 11. Sunday’s second day of testing was rained out. “This test is huge,” said Eric Bostrom, who is joining factory Yamaha in 2006 and will compete in the Daytona 200 By Honda. “Everyone knows that Daytona sells a lot of motorcycles. There’s a lot of pressure on us to do really well here. This (test) is it. That’s why you see a lot of Japanese engineers here. There’s a ton of importance put on this test because of how important this race is.” While Dunlop utilizes the test to prepare tires for competition at DIS in March, teams are able to shake down new equipment and personnel and get a sneak peek at what the competition is doing. Said Honda team manager Ray Plumb: “We’ll see what everybody else is doing. See their lap times. There’s always room for improvement. We’re always riding forward on our own plan but also looking at the competition seeing what they’re doing and where we need to go.” All of the season-opening AMA events at Daytona are critical to manufacturers, who use Daytona victories to boost bike sales. “Daytona is huge,” said Ducati team manager Tom Bodenbach. “It’s the beginning of the selling season of bikes. From a marketing side, it’s always huge. If you win Daytona, those ads run almost all year.” New Homes For The Bostrom Brothers: The Bostrom brothers Eric and Ben shook down new rides during the Dunlop tire test. After spending last season with Ducati Austin, Eric Bostrom is learning the ins and outs aboard the factory Yamaha. “I really love the bike,” said Bostrom, who’ll compete in the Formula Xtreme and Superstock classes and make his sixth start in the Daytona 200 By Honda. “It’s so agile and just moves quick. It’s strange riding around on a 600 on the banking. You get use to the Superbike spinning and bucking. The 600 is pretty relaxed up there. It’s still fast but it doesn’t do all the wheel spinning that the Superbike would do. I’ve got a lot to sort out.” Eric Bostrom’s new ride with Yamaha will also give him the opportunity to compete in the Daytona 200 By Honda, a race he has yet to win. “I’m really excited to be back in the 200,” Bostrom said. “It’s going to be good. It sounds like we’ll have some good competition with Miguel and Jake and Jason (DiSalvo) and the Erion boys. I think it’s going to add to the race.” After competing overseas for the past year, Ben Bostrom is returning to the United States and will replace his brother Eric at Ducati Austin. Bostrom, who will be reunited with former crew chief Gary Medley, will have Neil Hodgson as a teammate. “We’ve stepped up the crew on both sides,” Ducati team manager Tom Bodenbach said. “We’ve added a few people. Neil has some experience learning the tracks last year. He’s looking real good this year. Now we have two riders who know all the tracks in the AMA series. We’re looking for some good things to happen.” Duhamel Drives For Six: Defending Daytona 200 By Honda champion Miguel Duhamel begins his pursuit for a record sixth triumph in the legendary motorcycle event. Duhamel, who is the winningest motorcycle rider at DIS with 12 wins, is currently tied with Scott Russell atop the Daytona 200 By Honda wins list with five victories. And even though Honda is not competing for the season championship in Formula Xtreme class, they are still entering in the Daytona 200 By Honda. “It’s an event that we’ve always competed in,” said Honda team manager Ray Plumb. “As long as there’s a 200 we want to be here. It’s very important to Honda and it’s very important to the spectators. “If you win on Sunday, you sell on Monday. That’s the motto. We’ve always found it seems to help throughout the year. It good advertising and it kicks off the year in a good way.” DiSalvo Ready For First Daytona 200 By Honda: Included in the stronger field for the upcoming Daytona 200 By Honda will be Jason DiSalvo, who will ride the No. 40 Yamaha. The 21-year-old DiSalvo of Stafford, N.Y., will be making his first start in the historic motorcycle classic. “I’m very excited,” DiSalvo said. “It’s been the race that I’ve wanted to win since I was four years old. Not only win but get the pole here and get that watch. Unfortunately it’s already been promised to my dad. He made me make that promise when I was knee high and didn’t even know what a Rolex was.” DiSalvo won the Daytona Supersport event in 2004 and understands the impact of a Daytona victory on a racing career. “It kind of opened up a lot of doors and a lot of opportunities for me,” DiSalvo said. “One could only hope winning the 200 would have an even bigger impact. I think it will. That’s just my goal right now to win the 200. I think Yamaha, it’s one of their primary goals for the season of course besides winning the championship.” Thumbs Up To New Pavement: The infield sports car road course at DIS was repaved in June and the AMA riders during the Dunlop tire test got their first look at the new asphalt. “The lap records are going to fall when we come back here in March,” Bostrom said. “It’s got a lot of grip and it’s nice and smooth and fast.” Said DiSalvo: “It’s going to make the track not only faster but safer. It’ll make for a better show for the fans.” Tickets for Daytona 200 Week events are available online at http://www.daytonainternationalspeedway.com or by calling 1-800-PITSHOP.