Championships Still Close With Two WERA National Rounds To Go LEEDS, Ala. The WERA National Series heads to Barber Motorsports Park this weekend for the penultimate round of the season, but still the championship standings in both the WERA Dunlop National Endurance Series and the WERA Michelin National Challenge Series are closer than ever. After Vesrah Suzuki’s victory at Summit Point Raceway two weeks ago, the lead that Team Velocity Racing holds in the Endurance Series was narrowed to just 28.015 points. Team Velocity Racing won the Barber round last season after a crash for Vesrah, but by that time Vesrah had a long points lead. Despite the crash, they crossed the finish line with enough points to clinch the series championship. This year, the pressure is on as both teams try to build up a solid lead before the final race of the season. The race at Summit Point also helped close the points gap in Mediumweight Superbike, making it the closest championship of the series. Army of Darkness passed points leader Red Star in the final hour, closing in to 25.46 points in the class championship. The Lightweight Superbike championship is also heating up, with Blue Ridge just 27.425 ahead of Deals Gap Racing. The four-hour National Endurance Series race will begin at 12:45 p.m. on Saturday, September 24. Sunday’s schedule includes the ten-lap National Challenge Series sprint races, beginning at noon. Mark Junge took over the Open Superstock points lead at Summit Point, but he has only ten points over Ben Thompson, who held the top spot much of this season. In Lightweight Twins Superstock, expert division leader Chris Parris has only nine points over Gary Schilling. Tickets for the WERA National Series at Barber Motorsports Park are available at the gate. The cost is $30 for Friday’s practice day and both days of racing, $20 for Saturday and Sunday, and $15 for Sunday only. More information about WERA, including a full schedule of the weekend at Barber, can be found at www.WERA.com. Directions to Barber Motorsports Park can be found at ~http://www.barbermotorsports.com~

The Billy Mitchell bridge over Road America’s turn 13 will be lengthened or removed before the sealer-striped, four-mile-long Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin road course will be repaved, according to track General Manager and President George Bruggenthies “We’re looking at doing a paddock expansion in the fall and adding pit lane garages, either adding garages or doing the change to the (turn 13) bridge,” Bruggenthies told Roadracingworld.com. “But whatever we do, we will ensure it works for motorcycles as well as cars. We have two (bridge modification) designs, and we’re looking into costing right now. It’s our number one priority.” Asked if he heard the negative comments made by top racers during the AMA event regarding Road America’s slippery sealer-patched surface, Bruggentheis added, “Yes, and I’m sensitive to that, and I want to deliver the best surface possible. That’s on the horizon. I want to take care of the bridge, first, then you’ll see a complete re-pave. It’s all in the plan. We’ll get it fixed.” Bruggentheis said he would like to have the bridge modification and complete repaving done within the next two years, and only then can he start thinking about attracting an International motorcycle event. “We’re looking into it. That’s all I can say,” said Bruggentheis when asked about the possibility of hosting a World Superbike event. “Nothing is eminent. We have some things to do before discussions can get serious.”

AMA & TRUESPORTS, INC. ANNOUNCE DATES FOR AMA VINTAGE MOTORCYCLE DAYS 2006 PICKERINGTON, Ohio — The American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) and TrueSports, Inc. have announced that AMA Vintage Motorcycle Days 2006 will be held July 28-30 at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington, Ohio. As in previous years, AMA Vintage Motorcycle Days will kick off a ten-day celebration of motorcycling at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, concluding with the AMA Honda Super Cycle Weekend presented by Dunlop Tire the following weekend, August 4-6. Veterans of AMA Vintage Motorcycle Days, which attracts an estimated 40,000 enthusiasts each year, will notice that the 2006 event will be held two weeks later than its usual mid-July weekend. Other sporting events during the summer of 2006 prompted what is expected to be a one-year departure from the traditional dates. AMA Vintage Motorcycle Days 2006, which will benefit the Motorcycle Hall of Fame Museum, will include exhibits of classic motorcycles and memorabilia, the all-brands AMA Swapmeet, bike shows, a full slate of American Historic Racing Motorcycle Association (AHRMA) racing, and other features to be announced in the coming months. For the latest news about AMA Vintage Motorcycle Days 2006, visit www.AMADirectlink.com or call 1-800-AMA-JOIN. For more information about Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, visit www.midohio.com or call 1-800-MID-OHIO. The American Motorcyclist Association, founded in 1924, is a non-profit organization with more than 260,000 members. The Association’s purpose is to pursue, protect and promote the interests of motorcyclists, while serving the needs of its members. For more information, visit the AMA website at www.AMADirectlink.com, or call 1-800-AMA-JOIN. Founded in 1981 and headquartered in Dublin, Ohio, TrueSports, Inc., is a privately held motorsports entertainment enterprise. The company owns and operates Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course and The Mid-Ohio School, and promotes a wide variety of motor racing, driver instruction, corporate, and family entertainment events throughout the year. For more information, visit www.midohio.com or call 1-800-MID-OHIO.

Former Yamaha factory rider Damon Buckmaster underwent surgery September 9 at the hands of Dr. Thomas Bryan in Covina, California to alleviate symptoms of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome in his left wrist. “Everything went well, no problems,” Buckmaster told Roadracingworld.com via cell phone. “It was a successful operation, and it really needed doing. I guess he got in there, had a look and said, ‘Yeah, you were due for this.’ It was actually good to know.” Buckmaster said he suffered from his left hand going numb at half-race-distance for the latter three-quarters of the 2005 season, a problem he feels was related to his scaphoid fracture in that same wrist in 2004. “I can only assume, because I’ve never had this before, this all stems from that,” said Buckmaster. “As we know, there’s not a lot of room in the wrist as it is. Then once you start digging and putting screws and stuff in there, there’s not a lot of room for any of that stuff. I’m sure it all contributed to the problem.” Buckmaster had already established a relationship with Dr. Bryan (who operated on Mat Mladin’s ankle the same day) beginning with his hernia operation at the end of the 2003 season and follow-up treatment of his scaphoid fracture, which he suffered at Barber Motorsports Park in 2004. Dr. Bryan also earned some creditability with Buckmaster, and Mladin, because he is a road racing enthusiast, regularly rides at track days and attends AMA races. Buckmaster reported that he has already started riding his road bicycle again and expects to be good enough to ride a motorcycle within two weeks. As for which motorcycle Buckmaster will ride in 2006, he said currently holds “really good” offers to race in his homeland Australia next year, but he would rather stay in the AMA series and specifically with the Attack Kawasaki support team. “There’s a couple of people I’m speaking to, but the main one is the Attack Kawasaki deal,” said Buckmaster, who has always served as his own manager. “But I guess they’re still tying up some loose ends and stuff between themselves and Kawasaki. I can’t tell you anything because I don’t know enough, but time’s running out for everybody. I’m kind of hoping we get something figured out here real soon, you know?” Buckmaster originally planned on returning to Australia tonight, but said he will stay in the United States as long as is reasonable to get a clearer direction on his future.

BIAGGI AIMS TO PROLONG ROSSI’S TITLE QUEST Honda’s MotoGP men will be going flat out to finish the remaining five races of the season with a flourish this weekend ­ and while it’s still mathematically possible for Max Biaggi (Repsol Honda RC211V) to rob Valentino Rossi (Yamaha) of the 2006 MotoGP World Crown, the Roman will be as keen as ever to win. Rossi needs a fourth place, or higher, to garner enough points to put the title out of reach of his challengers. Max would have to win the remaining five races, with Rossi failing to finish, to outscore his bitter rival ­but Rossi proved at Motegi that he is as fallible as any other rider when it comes to making costly mistakes. He ended his race, and that of Marco Melandri (Team Movistar Honda RC211V) when he clipped the Honda rider’s rear wheel, bringing them both down. Max will need no encouragement to deny Rossi glory at Sepang, and after a lacklustre season so far, Max is getting closer to recording his first win of the season. Max was second here last year, but won here in 2002 and will be determined to notch a win here again on Sunday. His team-mate Nicky Hayden (Repsol Honda RC211V) is another man who must build on his solitary career win so far, at his home race at Laguna Seca, USA this season. The young American currently lies fifth overall in the points table and needs a strong finish to the season. Melandri led much of the Motegi race last weekend until he was involved in that crash with Rossi. The Italian Honda star will be keen to take back some ground in the World Championship standings here if he can. He lay second for much of the season and knows he will need a maiden career win to steal back some points from current runner-up Biaggi. Sete Gibernau (Team Movistar Honda RC211V) could only finish seventh here last year and the Spanish man, who has been World Championship runner-up for the last two seasons will be anxious to end his season with a win after failing finish three of the last four races. Alex Barros (Camel Honda RC211V), one of the few men to have won a race this season, triumphed in Portugal, and will be anxious to record another win in the twilight of his distinguished career. But he has never tasted success yet here at Sepang. Shane Byrne, standing in for the injured Troy Bayliss (Camel Honda RC211V), has a golden opportunity to relaunch his stalled MotoGP career at Sepang, having been discarded when his previous employers (Team Roberts) announced they would not be completing the remaining races of the season after a dispute with their engine suppliers. Makoto Tamada (Konica Minolta Honda RC211V) rode hard for his third place at Motegi and, as ever, the spirited Japanese rider will be going flat out to finish his season with a flourish after injury deprived him of much of his strength for the first half of the season. Max Biaggi said, “I’m looking forward to the next race. I finished third in Brno and second at Motegi. It would be so good to go one better in Malaysia and win the race here. The track is very fast and is both physically and technically hard work. The spectators are fantastic as well, because they come from all over Asia. That’s what I’d call a continental Grand Prix. Our Michelins worked so well in Japan ­ so much side grip it was fantastic.” His team-mate Nicky Hayden said, “I always say that when we have a bad race weekend all I want to do is to get back on the bike and I’m happy we’re going straight to Malaysia. We need to get on the pace fast something that we just didn’t manage to do in Japan. I’ve made many laps on this circuit because we’ve spent several days testing here I the past. Grip is very important because the track temperature increases a lot in the afternoon.” Marco Melandri, who plans to race despite sustaining a deep cut to the sole of his right foot in the crash at Motegi, said, “On Monday I flew to Kuala Lumpur. Luckily the wound doesn’t hurt too much. This morning the doctor took out the small drainage system and told me that the wound is recovering correctly. According to him I can start walking on it a little bit. I’m feeling fine and I want to go steadily to start with and race on Sunday.” Sete Gibernau said, “I hope that things will go better in Sepang, they can’t be any worse than they were in Japan. We are motivated as always to do well, but I don’t remember having such a bad season as this current one. I hope that this situation turns positively and I look forward to scoring my first win of the season.” “Sepang is one of the most physically challenging circuits on the calendar,” said Alex Barros. “The heat and humidity are incredible for both the riders and the bike. Sometimes the engine gets so hot that it burns your hands and feet! Such extreme conditions are also a tough test for the tyres, as well as the engine and the suspension, but we had some really good tests here in pre-season and we already have a good base set-up to start from. I want to have a good race so that I can recover some points in the Championship.” Shane ‘Shakey’ Byrne said, “To ride one of the Camel Honda team’s bikes is a massive opportunity which makes me very proud indeed, and I will give everything to show my true potential. I met up with the team on Tuesday in Sepang ­ a track I know quite well after having tested there a few times. I haven’t ever ridden in Qatar so I’ll have to try and get a good feel for that track early on there.” Makoto Tamada said, “Motegi was an improvement, but I still need to be at the front of the race, fighting for the win. I owe it to the team to do well here at Sepang and I will make every effort to bring a good result.” In the 250cc class Dani Pedrosa (Team Movistar Honda RS250RW) closes in on his second consecutive 250cc World title before stepping up to the MotoGP class for 2007 with his Honda, his long-time employers. The Spanish superstar cannot quite clinch the title here but if his nearest challenger Casey Stoner (Aprilia) fails to finish, Dani’s current 63 point lead should be enough to see him home in Qatar, or, more likely, Australia. Consistency has been the watchword for Dani this season (as ever) and he shows no signs of flagging in his bid to wrap up the title sooner rather than later. Dani’s team-mate Hiroshi Aoyama (Team Movistar Honda RS250RW) will be buoyed by his storming win at his ‘home’ race at Motegi last weekend and the Japanese rider and he will be anxious to keep his momentum going to climb higher up the World Championship table, in which he currently lies fourth overall. Dani, who is stiff and sore after crashing three times during qualifying at Motegi, said, “I hope to have a quieter weekend than in Japan, which won’t be hard! The shoulder is getting gradually better, I’m applying ice to reduce the inflammation and these few days will be good for me to rest and recuperate. The only thing I’m concerned about now is to be as fit as possible on Friday to be able to start working hard from the first session.” His team-mate Hiro said, “We enjoyed the victory at Motegi. On Sunday night we had a really nice meal with all my family and friends and it was fun. I think I needed that win to convince myself that I can be up there in every race. I hope to be up front again in Malaysia from the start because I know the victory in Japan wasn’t a coincidence ­ it was the result of the hard work we’ve been doing all season.” Jorge Lorenzo (Fortuna Honda RS250RW) will not race here after being suspended for one race as punishment for his last lap clash with Alex de Angelis at Motegi. Andrea Dovizioso (Scot Racing Team Honda RS250RW) said, “I don’t like Malaysia because I had never raced really well there or had a good result, until last year,” said Dovi. “But we will go into the race intending to win, as always. We had a problem with the bike at Motegi but I have every confidence in the team and we will start practice in better condition than we finished Motegi.” In the 125cc category, Thomas Luthi (Elit Grand Prix Honda RS125R) still holds a slender World Championship lead over his rival Mika Kallio (KTM) despite crashing at Motegi. He fell while lying second to Kallio but the race was stopped and he retained 20 points for his efforts because the places on the previous lap were counted ­ as is the procedure. His three-point lead is precarious. He injured a shoulder and both ankles in the crash and he will have to pass a medical before riding on Sunday, but the young Swiss is showing he can handle the pressure of a 17-race season with a World title on the line. Luthi said, “I’m very sore at the moment but just hope to race and take some points out of the race. I really hope I ca race because I like Sepang, it has some fast corners I like and my bike will be very good at that track.” Alvaro Bautista (Seedorf Racing Honda RS125RW) said, “We’ve got the bike running really good now and I’m looking forward to Sepang where I hope to make up for the disappointment of Motegi, where I could have fought for a podium place in the closing laps if I had not been held up so badly by slower riders. I finished third at Sepang last year and hope to be on the podium again this time.”

YATES RACING AMA SUPERMOTO CHAMPIONSHIP IN NASHVILLE PICKERINGTON, Ohio (Sept. 21, 2005) Reigning AMA Superstock Champion Aaron Yates will compete in this Saturday’s (Sept. 24) AMA Supermoto Championship round in Nashville, Tenn. This will mark Yates’ first appearance in AMA Supermoto. He will ride a Yoshimura Suzuki RM-Z450. “I’ve been riding supermoto bikes locally for years now,” said Yates, who won the final round of the AMA Superbike Championship and wrapped up the 2005 AMA Repsol Superstock title earlier this month at Road Atlanta. “I wanted to do some races in previous years, but Suzuki thought it would be best to wait until they had a really competitive bike.” Now Suzuki has a serious supermoto weapon in the RM-Z. Yates did most of the work on his Suzuki in his own garage, adding, “Yoshimura sent me some special parts and this bike is really good.” Yates, 31, of Milledgeville, Ga., is a 13-year AMA Pro Racing veteran and three-time AMA road racing champ. Yates will be riding in the premier AMA Supermoto class and is going up against established series stars such as Jeff Ward and Jurgen Kunzel. When asked how he thought he would fare against the best supermoto riders in the country Yates replied, “I think I’ll be one of the contenders. I’m going there to have fun, but it’s always a lot more fun when you win.” Tickets for the Nashville Supermoto round can still be purchased through Ticketmaster or at the gate on the day of the event. For additional information on the Nashville round of the series call 615-726-1818. About AMA Pro Racing AMA Pro Racing is the leading sanctioning body for motorcycle sport in the United States. Its properties include the THQ AMA Supercross Series, the AMA Motocross Championship, the AMA Superbike Championship, the AMA Ford Quality Checked Flat Track Championship and the AMA Supermoto Championship. For more information about AMA Pro Racing, visit www.amaproracing.com.

Everything is ready for the Malaysian GP, the 13th event of the season. The riders will have no time to rest and for the Movistar rider Marco Melandri, who suffered an injury at the right foot in the crash with the leader of the Championship in Motegi, it will be a race against the time. Together with the team, Marco took a flight to Kuala Lumpur on Monday morning. The wound is healing correctly and Marco hopes to recover as soon as possible. At the moment his participation to the Malaysian GP is still uncertain. Luckly, Sete’s crash on Sunday had no consequences and the Spaniard is motivated to score a good result. Sete Gibernau: “I hope that things will go better in Sepang, they can’t be worst after Japan. We are motivated to do well, I don’t remember such a bad season as then current one. I hope that this situation turns positively and I look forward to score first win of the season.” Marco Melandri: “On Monday i could fly to Kuala Lumpur. Luckly the wound doesn’t hurt too much. This morning the doctor took out the small drenage system and told me that the wound is recovering correctly. According to him I could start walking on it a little bit. I’m serene and want to proceed with calm.