Plantec races ahead with Rizla Suzuki LEADING motorcycle claims management firm Plantec is racing ahead of the competition by teaming up with Rizla Suzuki in the 2006 British Superbike Championship. As one of the quickest acting companies of its kind in the UK, Plantec has chosen Rizla Suzuki as its partner in the fastest Superbike Championship. “Whether it is dealing with a customer who needs a fast response after an accident or taking part in the exciting world of Superbike racing speed is the key ingredient,” explains Plantec Managing Director, Lee Evans. “We are the quickest and most professional team in the claims management industry and wanted an association with a Superbike squad that reflects those same values. Rizla Suzuki, with its mix of excitement, colour, professionalism, enthusiasm and excellent track record was our only choice.” Plantec offers a one-stop solution for anyone involved in a motorcycle accident. Plantec’s dedicated response team makes contact within 15-minutes of the incident being reported. Damaged motorcycles are collected for repair and assessed within 24-hours and replacement bikes are delivered simultaneously. Plantec is also in a position to offer replacement riding gear, breakdown recovery and legal representation. Rizla Suzuki Team Manager Robert Wicks said: “I am delighted that Plantec, one of the UK’s most professional claims management companies, has chosen Rizla Suzuki as its partner in British Superbikes. We look forward to welcoming Plantec on board as an important secondary partner with the team. “The association between the high-speed world of racing and the super-fast response times it provides to its clients is clear and evident. Together we want to win races and fight for the Championship title in 2006 as well as establishing Plantec firmly on the map for motorcyclists in the UK.” Southport based Plantec operates one of the largest repair and bike distribution centers in the UK from a 10,000sq/ft site in the Midlands. It has a fleet of VW vans servicing the entire country and these will boast Rizla Suzuki livery in 2006 to show the association with the team. For further details on how Plantec can help you, visit www.plantec-uk.co.uk or call 0870 990 9799. Rizla Suzuki will be taking part in the 2006 British Superbike Championship that starts on April 2nd at Brands Hatch in Kent. The team will be using the highly developed GSX-R1000 race bikes in its title bid that will feature Plantec branding. Details on Rizla Suzuki’s 2006 rider line-up will be announced shortly.

Racer Jessica Zalusky underwent surgery today to repair injuries suffered when Taylor Knapp collided with her during an AMA Pro Racing Formula Xtreme event at VIR last August. According to her mother, Judy Zalusky, “She had surgery on a torn rotator cuff. She also had a fracture of her collarbone with a dislocated sternoclavicular joint from her crash; the doctors did not find most of this stuff ’til a few weeks ago when things were not getting better. She can’t ride, (snow)board, or race ’til April. But you bet she will be right back at it.” Zalusky’s surgery was performed by Dr. Dean C. Taylor at Tria Orthopaedic Center in Bloomington, Minnesota.

TOSELAND SIGNS FOR WINSTON TEN KATE HONDA James Toseland will ride for the Winston Ten Kate Honda team in the 2006 World Superbike championship after agreeing terms with Gerrit and Ronald ten Kate in Holland last Saturday (22 October). The 25-year-old British rider from Sheffield, who will be renewing his working relationship with Honda after five years with Ducati, was World Superbike champion in 2004 and finished fourth in this year’s series. Ronald ten Kate team manager: “We are absolutely delighted to have secured James’s services for next year’s World Superbike campaign with Winston and Honda. It’ll be our third year in the series and 2006 probably represents our best opportunity to win the title and add to our four consecutive World Supersport championships. Last year was really a toe in the water for us and I think that this year, with a little more luck earlier in the season, Chris Vermeulen would have had a strong chance of winning the title. James fits exactly what we are looking for in a rider he’s young, talented and highly motivated. We are really looking forward to bringing the best out of him and, in the conversations that we’ve had, I can see how eager he is to get on the Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade. His career started with Honda and it’ll be good to get him winning with Honda again. I know he will fit into the team extremely well and the guys are really looking forward to working with him.” James Toseland: “It’s sometimes an over-used expression but I’m just over the moon to be riding with the Winston Ten Kate Honda team for next year. It’s been a stressful couple of weeks but now we’ve done the deal I just can’t wait to get on the bike. I’ve had a good five years with Ducati but now I feel I’m really moving onwards and upwards, as well as coming home to Honda. We all saw in last year’s World Superbike debut season for the Ten Kate team that they had a really strong package with the Fireblade that turned them into championship contenders at the end of the season. I’ve watched the bikes on the track this year particularly racing against Karl Muggeridge at Magny-Cours and you can see how much development work they’ve done. Four consecutive World Supersport championships with four different riders show how strong and consistent the team can be. We all know how powerful the Ten Kate engines are and I’m really excited about helping to continue developing the chassis as well. I visited the team’s workshop in Holland over the weekend and it really is very impressive. They’re totally switched on and it’s obvious that they’re doing this to win. I can’t wait to start working with them and I’m very excited about becoming part of that famous Ten Kate racing ‘family’.” James Toseland Date of birth: 5 October 1980 Place of birth: Sheffield, United Kingdom Status: Single Height/weight: 1.75m/75kg Hobbies: training, playing piano Career highlights 1989-1993: Trials 1992: Junior motocross 1994: 125cc Yamaha 1995: Junior road racing championship 1996: British Superteen championship final position 11th 1997: Honda CB500 Cup champion 1997: British Supersport championship (Honda) final position 3rd 1998: World Supersport championship (Honda) final position 18th 1999: World Supersport championship (Honda) final position 11th 2000: British Superbike championship (Honda) final position 12th 2001: World Superbike championship (Ducati) final position 13th 2002: World Superbike championship (Ducati) final position 7th 2003: World Superbike championship (Ducati) final position 3rd 2004: World Superbike championship (Ducati) champion 2005: World Superbike championship (Ducati) final position 4th

The Oregon Motorcycle Road Racing Association held its last race of the season on Sunday, October 23. The #1 plate was again awarded to Canadian, and OMRRA Racer Alan Schmidt, who managed to squeak past local fast guy Christopher Ancien, by just 3 points. OMRRA racer Todd Frey, piloting a Suzuki SV650 took the #3 plate, followed by another local, Tamer Kekhia with #4. Rounding out the top 5 was Cedric Smith of Camano Island, Washington, who took the #5 plate on a bike he built that put an RSF450 engine into a RS125 frame. 1 – Alan Schmidt – Kamloops, BC 2 – Christopher Ancien – Hillsboro, OR 3 – Todd Frey – Newberg, OR 4 – Tamer Kekhia – Tigard, OR 5 – Cedric Smith – Camano Island, WA

Kevin Schwantz Suzuki School Donates Winnings to Road Atlanta Airfence Fund Kevin Schwantz, Jamie James and Ted Cobb participated in the Final Round of the Dunlop/WERA National Endurance held October 14th in conjunction with the WERA Grand National Finals held at Road Atlanta. The Team had a promoter option for the Round and won the 4 Hour Endurance Race with 127 laps completed. Schwantz called WERA Motorcycle Roadracing after the event and requested that the Team’s Purse be donated to WERA’s effort in raising money for Airfence for the Road Atlanta facility. WERA has been using any fine money and any donated money toward the purchase of permanent Airfence for Road Atlanta. WERA has purchased twenty sections, Road Atlanta has 10 sections deployed by the Roadracing World Action Fund to demonstrate soft barrier effectiveness and Road Atlanta is going to match WERA on any purchase they make for the facility. WERA also has purchased a shipping container to store the Airfence on property. “AMA Pro Racing and the Roadracing World Action Fund have deployed portable Airfence at our GNF for the past several years and we are grateful to have this. WERA would like to see Airfence kept at Road Atlanta that could be used by all motorcycle events at the facility and that would be easier to deploy. Thanks to Hugh Fleming of the AMA for his hard work in getting their fence up for us and we hope one day to make his job easier with the permanent barriers. Thanks to Kevin and his team for their generous donation and we will put it toward another section of Airfence for Road Atlanta,” said Evelyne Clarke, President of WERA Motorcycle Roadracing. “Our goal is to get Road Atlanta done and move on to another facility on our venue that could use permanent Airfence.” Anyone wishing to donate to the Road Atlanta Air Fence Project can do so through WERA Motorcycle Roadracing or through the Roadracing World Action Fund by designating donations as being for soft barriers deployed at WERA events. For further information contact WERA at (770) 720-5010.

Team Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra team manager Francis Batta visited Suzuki Motor Corporation in Japan this week and presented the factory with the World Superbike Championship Manufacturer Cup – their first in the 18-year history of the series. Batta, who met with Senior Marketing Director Shinzo Nakanishi, Managing Director Sadayuki Inobe and Director Yoshihiko Kakei, said: “First place by Troy Corser and a top-five by Yukio Kagayama led us to the top of the podium in the Manufacturer Championship. We wouldn’t have achieved these results without the assistance of Suzuki distributors in Europe. “Unlike a prototype MotoGP race machine, Superbikes depend largely on stock parts and we appreciate that Suzuki has developed a brilliant motorcycle in the GSX-R1000.” Mr Inobe said: “We believe that good results in the Superbike class will raise the morale of distributors and dealers and large promotion for sales of market models. I believe we owe much of the current worldwide popularity of GSX-Rs to the great performance of Team Alstare.” Added Mr Kakei: “I consider that the World Superbike has been playing a significant role in activating motor sports and sales promotion of market models. In this top category of the production bike we look forward to further brilliant accomplishments of Alstare with our GSX-Rs and we are sure that they can do it.” Team Alstare has been entering the World Superbike Championship on Suzukis since 1999 and has used the machinery ever since in the 1000cc Superbike, 600cc Supersport and 1000cc Superstock classes. In 1998 and 1999, Alstare won the Supersport class and were Manufacturer Champion in 1998 and 2002. Pictured from left: Francis Batta, Suzuki’s Senior Marketing Director Shinzo Nakanishi and Managing Director Sadayuki Inobe.