Kneedraggers.com’s Robert Jensen won two CCS races Friday, September 9, on the 2.1-mile, 15-turn South Circuit at Autobahn Country Club, in Joliet, Illinois, but crashed out of a third race, escaping injury but putting one of his racebikes out of action for the rest of the weekend. Jensen started his day by riding his Michelin-shod Suzuki GSX-R750 to victory in Expert GTO, beating Argo Cycles’ Jesse Janisch and Baker Race gear’s Andy Feuersthaler in the 11-rider contest. In the next race, GTU, Jensen started from row two and passed three riders to instantly take the lead, but he crashed his Yamaha YZF-R6 over the bumps in high-speed turn five. Arclight Suzuki’s Jeff Wood went on to win the 14-lap race over Janisch’s team owner Scott Greenwood (Kawasaki ZX-6R) and Champions/Martin Moto Yamaha’s Michael Himmelsbach. Jensen came back later on his GSX-R750 to beat Wood and Janisch in the Suzuki-contingency-paying seven-lap Unlimited Supersport race. Other CCS race winners Friday included: Millville & Wildwood Buell’s Dave Estok in Thunderbike and Woodfield Motorsports’ Jason Temme in Formula 40. In other action Friday, Team Vallely Racing took the overall and GTO class victories in the 76-lap Formula USA Team Challenge. With the win Team Vallely Racing took over the GTO class point lead, but Team Yochum Motorsports held onto the overall Championship point lead by finishing second overall. Team Vallely Racing II completed the overall podium of the 13-entry endurance race.

AMA Pro Racing spokesman Kerry Graeber said that the fact that Miller Motorsports Park will host a 2006 AMA Superbike National on New Hampshire International Raceway’s traditional Father’s Day weekend date does not mean that the series will definitely not return to the Loudon, New Hampshire racetrack. “We’re still a long ways off from anything developing at Loudon,” wrote Graeber in an e-mail to roadracingworld.com. “After the meeting with Ron Barrick, Mat Mladin, Kevin Schwantz etc., the next steps included NHIS exploring whether or not they could even make the necessary changes. Their plan is to dig into that AFTER their NASCAR event in September. “Miller’s date was chosen because it gives us another June event and helps the overall schedule flow better. It had nothing to do with what may or may not happen at Loudon. “IF we return to Loudon at some point in the future their preferred date will be considered.” See related post: NHIS Hopes Of Regaining AMA National Dashed By Placement Of Utah Race On Traditional Loudon Dates ~https://www.roadracingworld.com/news/article/?article=23952~

2005 CORONA EXTRA SUPERBIKE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP PRESS RELEASE FIRST QUALIFYING 10TH ROUND – EUROSPEEDWAY LAUSITZ 9th , 10th, 11th SEPTEMBER Eurospeedway Lausitz, Friday 9th September 2005 VERMEULEN FASTEST UNDER SIZZLING GERMAN SKIES – YOUNG AUSSIE TOPS THE LOT AFTER A FINAL FLOURISH Chris Vermeulen (Winston Ten Kate Honda) snatched the top spot in first qualifying from world championship leader Troy Corser (Alstare Corona Extra Suzuki) with a final lap squeezed in just as the one hour session timed out. The young Aussie rider was the only one to break into the 1’39 mark, with a best of 1’39.847. Nonetheless, the top 11 riders at Eurospeedway Lausitz set times within one second of the best, proving his the strength of the field has heightened weekend on weekend. The greatest recent improvements in raceday form have come from Vermeulen and his Ten Kate team and the Eurospeedway Lausitz perspective thus far is that Vermeulen has not even used a qualifier to help him so far, adopting the same tactics as at Assen. If he repeats his jump in lap time from there, we can expect a lap possibly into the 1’38s, if weather conditions allow it. Today the circuit experienced temperatures of 28°C during the session, but with changeable weather forecast, anything could happen in the next two days. HAGA THIRD FASTEST AND LANZI A SENSATIONAL FOURTH Yamaha Motor Italia put both their riders on the provisional front two rows. Noriyuki Haga, a winner this season, took third best time, his team-mate Andrew Pitt eighth fastest. After an unfortunate arm injury suffered by team regular Regis Laconi, ruling him out of this meeting, the Ducati Xerox factory squad provided an adept replacement in the form of Lorenzo Lanzi. The Italian rider stepped into Laconi’s breach with aplomb, taking fourth best time, and making it four different bikes in the top four places. Outpacing his temporary team-mate James Toseland, who ended up seventh fastest in this super-close session, Lanzi’s ride was nothing if not attention grabbing. MUGGAS IN THE MIX AS CHILI RETURNS TO FORM Karl Muggeridge (Winston Ten Kate Honda) put himself into the top echelons of Superbike riders after first qualifying, setting fifth fastest time on his big Honda. Pierfrancesco Chili has not always found the requisite feel and sensitivity from his 2005 Klaffi Honda, but today he bounced back from two disappointing Assen rides with a spirited sixth fastest time. LOCALS IN THE TOP TEN Max Neukirchner (Klaffi Honda) may live just up the freeway from the EuroSpeedway, but as a World Superbike regular he impressed once more, finishing ninth best. Local wild card rider Michael Schulten (Alpha Technik van Zon Honda) finished out the top ten, making a positive mark for the one-off contestants. BIG BEN CHIMES IN AS PRIVATE RIDERS SHOW METTLE Ben Bostrom continues to advance in company with his Renegade Honda, setting 11th best time in a field of 29 entrants. Steve Martin once more transcended the rulebook at one of his favourite circuits, piloting his three-cylinder Petronas to its maximum to attain the final spot on the provisional third row. Other top rides came in from Marco Borciani (DFXtreme Sterilgarda Ducati 999RS) in 13th, Giovanni Bussei (Kawasaki Bertocchi) the top Kawasaki finisher in 15th and Ivan Clementi’s privateer Pedercini Ducati, the last rider in the top 16. BIG NAMES STEADY TO START Yukio Kagayama (Alstare Corona Extra Suzuki) was a lowly 14th overall, despite posting 27 laps, while wildcard rider Ralf Waldmann (Alpha Technik Honda van Zon CBR1000RR) started brightly but slowed to finish 22nd overall. WORLD SUPERSPORT CHAMPIONSHIP Frenchman Sebastien Charpentier (Winston Ten Kate Honda) carried on the form that saw him crowned champion at Assen a mere five days ago with the best lap of the opening qualifying sessions in Germany. His best of 1:42.533 was a new qualifying best. Kevin Curtain (Yamaha Motor Germany) came close to Charpentier, with a lap only 0.165 seconds slower. Curtain is a former winner at EuroSpeedway Lausitz, the only other being Katsuaki Fujiwara. Fabien Foret (Team Italia Megabike Honda) capitalized on his fine win at Assen to go third on day one. Broc Parkes, Curtain’s team-mate, took the final provisional front row spot. With bad weather possible sometime on Saturday, the current qualifying order may well be set by today’s times. More, from a press release issued by Ducati Corse: PROVISIONAL FRONT ROW FOR LANZI ON DUCATI XEROX TEAM DEBUT – TOSELAND SEVENTH Lausitz (Germany), Friday 9 September: Lorenzo Lanzi made a ‘supersub’ debut for the injured Régis Laconi in the Ducati Xerox Team at the Lausitzring as he powered to a provisional front row grid position in first qualifying. The 23-year-old was right on the pace from the morning free practice session and finished the day with fourth quickest time of 1m40.144s, just a fraction away from provisional poleman Chris Vermeulen (Honda). James Toseland was just two-tenths of a second off the front row in seventh place with a time of 1m40.276s, set on race tyres, as the British rider was unable to make the best use of his qualifiers in the final few minutes. “Today was great, I was always up with the front-runners throughout the entire session” declared Lanzi. “It was a pity about the end of the session because I was clearly quicker but there was traffic on the track, and that gives me hope that I can be more competitive. The team has done a great job, it managed to put me at ease both with them and with the bike in just two hours. I am the first Ducati rider and on the front row, I couldn’t ask for more. On a single lap there isn’t much difference between the F05 and the 999RS that I usually ride, but on your race laps, when the tyres start to wear, the F05 consumes them better and you can keep a higher pace, which allows you to stay up at the front. It’s easier to ride and it allows me to enjoy myself, which is important”. “I was really disappointed with myself on the qualifier, I got a bit of traffic on the first lap and the tyre didn’t really hold out on the second lap so I was quite surprised where I ended up because the time Vermeulen did would for me be quite comfortable to reach if I put a good lap together” commented Toseland. “I did my time on race tyres, got a bit of traffic, did three 40.5s on the trot and then went straight on at the chicane, but I’m quietly confident. The circuit is actually quite physically demanding, totally different to Assen and you have to get your head round feeling a bit slow, because it is slow and tight compared to Assen. The things I’ve learned at Assen and the previous round in my riding are all coming together, everything is going to plan and I’m comfortable on the bike now”. TIMES: 1. Vermeulen (Honda) 1m39.847s; 2. Corser (Suzuki) 1m40.092s; 3. Haga (Yamaha) 1m40.102s; 4. Lanzi (Ducati Xerox) 1m40.144s; 5. Muggeridge (Honda) 1m40.155s; 6. Chili (Honda) 1m40.249s; 7. Toseland (Ducati Xerox) 1m40.276s; 8. Pitt (Yamaha) 1m40.417s; 9. Neukirchner (Honda) 1m40.669s; 10. Schulten (Honda) 1m40.700s; etc. More, from a press release issued by Winston Ten Kate: 2005 World Superbike championship, round ten Eurospeedway Lausitz, Germany Qualifying practice 9 September 2005 VERMEULEN ON PROVISIONAL POLE AT EUROSPEEDWAY Chris Vermeulen followed up last weekend’s double World Superbike championship victory at Assen by taking provisional pole position this afternoon for Sunday’s two tenth round races at Eurospeedway Lausitz in Germany. The Winston Honda rider lapped the 4.3km circuit in a time of 1m38.847s, two tenths faster than fellow Australian and series leader, Troy Corser. Vermeulen’s Winston Ten Kate Honda team-mate, Karl Muggeridge, set the fifth fastest time in this afternoon’s opening qualifying session to line up on the outside of the provisional second row of the grid for Sunday’s two 24-lap races; but the 2004 World Supersport champion feels there is more to come tomorrow. Ronald ten Kate team manager: “Yes, I’m very pleased with the progress we made here this afternoon. Towards the end of that session, we expected Chris to drop a few places down the order because he chose not to use a qualifier. So we put some fresh race rubber on the bike and he was the only rider to lap under 1m40s. Of course, Karl is right up there as well so we’ll carry the progress made this afternoon into tomorrow when we have some more things to try and, hopefully, some more dry sessions.” Chris Vermeulen fastest, 1m39.847s “I did a 40.1 on an old rear and a front that I don’t particularly like so I guess we’re doing OK at the moment. Actually, the front is not so bad and the bike is feeling pretty good. Everybody’s working really hard together. We have the same problem of lacking initial side grip and then rear grip as we exit the corner, but it’s definitely better than it has been. We made some changes after this morning’s free practice session and we’ll find out more tomorrow about how the tyres will last for the race. It’s going to be hard on the brakes here and I found I was having to make a lot of adjustments on the lever this afternoon.” Karl Muggeridge fifth fastest, 1m40.155s “I really messed up the first sector on that quicker lap so I know there’s more to come. It’s going OK but there’s definitely still some work to do. I feel pretty comfortable, although there are a few dramas with the slipper clutch and the way the bike is handling under braking. We haven’t ticked any boxes yet but the bike’s definitely improved after our test here in July. Rear grip feels OK at the moment but we’ll try a new shock and linkage for tomorrow. As far as the riding goes, the corners are all U-turns here so it’s hard to avoid keeping the bike on its side for too long but we’ll try some new techniques tomorrow!” World Superbike, Eurospeedway Lausitz provisional qualifying times: 1 Chris Vermeulen AUS (Winston Ten Kate Honda) 1m39.847s, 2 Troy Corser AUS (Suzuki) 1:40.092, 3 Noriyuki Haga JPN (Yamaha) 1:40.102, 4 Lorenzo Lanzi ITA (Ducati) 1:40.144, 5 Karl Muggeridge AUS (Winston Ten Kate Honda) 1:40.155, 6 Pierfrancesco Chili ITA (Honda) 1:40.249, 7 James Toseland GBR (Ducati) 1:40.276, 8 Andrew Pitt AUS (Yamaha) 1:40.417, 9 Max Neukirchner GER (Honda) 1:40.669, 10 M Schulten GER (Honda) 1:40.700. More, from another press release issued by Winston Ten Kate: 2005 World Supersport championship, round ten Eurospeedway Lausitz, Germany Qualifying practice 9 September 2005 WORLD CHAMPION CHARPENTIER HEADS GERMAN QUALIFYING Following his title win last Sunday, Winston Ten Kate Honda’s Sébastien Charpentier was straight back into his dominant form, setting the fastest time in this afternoon’s opening qualifying session for Sunday’s tenth round World Supersport championship race at Eurospeedway Lausitz in Germany. In warm sunshine, the Frenchman’s best lap around the 4.3km German circuit was just 0.165s faster than second placed Kevin Curtain. Charpentier’s Winston Ten Kate Honda team-mate, Katsuaki Fujiwara, struggled to find the right setting on his Honda CBR600RR, finishing the 45-minute qualifying session in 14th place. Ronald ten Kate team manager: “That was a good job this afternoon from Sébastien, who was immediately back on track after his victory celebrations in Assen last weekend. His performance shows just how eager he is each time he gets on the bike; but it was also important to take provisional pole today because we’re not sure what the weather is going to do tomorrow. For Kats, it was the worst qualifying session of the season and he’s struggling to get to grips with the circuit here at the moment. It’s clear that we have some work to do tonight and tomorrow to move him further up the grid so he can defend second place in the championship.” Sébastien Charpentier fastest, 1m42.533s “Yes, I am happy with this afternoon’s job it was good work from all the team. I was comfortable doing 1m43s laps but tomorrow I want some more good weather so I can improve the time further. Pole position was important today because the weather may not be so good tomorrow but I did a 42.0 during our test here in July and my aim is to at least match that time tomorrow. The bike is good enough to do it and step-by-step it’s getting even better. We’ll just have to look at the sky in the morning.” Katsuaki Fujiwara fourteenth fastest, 1m44.458s “I’m struggling in lots of different areas at the moment and, although we tried some new settings this afternoon, I didn’t really have a good feel from the front of the bike. I know it’s the same bike that was so good last weekend in Assen but I’m finding it difficult to turn in the tighter corners here. I will just have to sit down with the team to find a way to improve things tomorrow.” World Supersport, Eurospeedway Lausitz provisional qualifying times: 1 Sébastien Charpentier FRA (Winston Ten Kate Honda) 1m42.533s, 2 Kevin Curtain AUS (Yamaha) 1:42.698, 3 Fabien Foret FRA (Honda) 1:42.925, 4 Broc Parkes AUS (Yamaha) 1:43.490, 5 Robbin Harms DEN (Honda) 1:43.656, 6 Alexander Tode GER (Honda) 1:43.941, 7 Stephane Chambon FRA (Honda) 1:43.960, 8 Werner Daemen BEL (Honda) 1:44.233, 9 Kai Borre Andersen NOR (Kawasaki) 1:44.321, 10 Michel Fabrizio ITA (Honda) 1:44.373, 14 Katsuaki Fujiwara JPN (Winston Ten Kate Honda) 1:44.458 More, from a press release issued by Team Suzuki: CORSER JUST OFF PROVISIONAL POLE Team Suzuki Press Office – September 9, 2005. Team Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra rider Troy Corser finished the first day of qualifying at the Eurospeedway, Lausitzring in second place after leading most of the afternoon session. World Championship leader Corser had dominated and was on course for provisional pole until Chris Vermeulen (Honda) stole it in the dying minutes. Team mate Yukio Kagayama ended the day 14th, but the time between him and Corser is less than a second on his first visit to the German circuit. Troy Corser – 2nd, 1:40.092: “The bike setting has been not so bad today and then we made some changes from the morning to the afternoon which improved it a bit more. It seems a long time since I was last here and this morning I started to learn the track all over again. It is a pretty featureless place so I found it hard to find my braking points at first. I managed to sort out a few points in the afternoon and then felt much more comfortable with the bike. I wasn’t so comfortable with the bike at Assen so it’s nice to do a couple of sessions and feel happy with the bike again.” Yukio Kagayama – 14th, 1″41.063: “This is my first time here so I have been learning the track today. It is not really like any other track I have been to so it’s not so easy. At the moment, the worst parts are the first chicane and the final section – the slower parts. I do not like these areas so much because you have to change the direction of the bike a lot. I have to improve in these sections if I want to reduce my lap times. I was a little surprised at 14th position because I had felt that I had done a good lap. But with the times so close, I know that just a fraction of a second can make a big difference. I want to close the gap tomorrow and then do a good Superpole because I want some good results on Sunday.” World Superbike Friday Qualifying: 1 Vermeulen (Aus-Honda) 1:39.847, 2 Troy Corser (Aus-Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra) 1:40.092, 3 Haga (J-Yamaha) 1:40.102, 4 Lanzi (I-Ducati) 1:40.144, 5 Muggeridge (Aus-Honda) 1:40.155, 6 Chili (I-Honda) 1:40.249, 7 Toseland (GB-Ducati) 1:40.276, 8 Pitt (Aus-Yamaha) 1:40.417, 9 Neukirchner (D-Honda) 1:40.669, 10 Schulten (D-Honda) 1:40.700, 14 Yukio Kagayama (J-Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra) 1:41.063. WORLD SUPERSPORT QUALIFYING: Team Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra Supersport rider Javi Fores finished 17th quickest at the Eurospeedway Lausitzring, but was not too disappointed with the result considering that this is his first time at the circuit. Less than a second separates the 11 riders just ahead of him so if he can pick up some time tomorrow he can still be on for a place on the second or third rows of the grid. Newly-crowned Supersport World Champion Sebastien Charpentier (Honda) took provisional pole with a time of 1:42.533 ahead of Kevin Curtain (Yamaha), Fabien Foret (Honda) and Brock Parkes (Yamaha). Javi Fores – 17th, 1:44.813: “For me this is a very difficult track and some parts remind me of a go-kart track. My main problem today was getting the bike to change direction and, as there is a lot of that to be done here, that is not so easy. Also, I feel that the balance of the bike is not right yet so we must improve that tomorrow. At the moment I am on the fifth row of the grid and that is not good news! My aim is to get on the third row of the grid for sure, but maybe the second if everything works out perfectly.” Friday World Supersport Qualifying: 1 Charpentier (F-Honda) 1:42.533, 2 Curtain (Aus-Yamaha) 1:42.698, 3 Foret (F-Honda) 1:42.925, 4 Parkes (Aus-Yamaha) 1:43.490, 5 Harms (Den-Honda) 1:43.656, 6 Tode (D-Honda) 1:43.941, 7 Chambon (F-Honda) 1:43.960, 8 Daemen (B-Honda) 1:44.233, 9 Andersen(N-Kawasaki) 1:44.321, 10 Fabrizio (I-Honda) 1:44.373. 17 Javi Fores (E-Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra) 1:44.813. SUPERSTOCK 1000 QUALIFYING: Team Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra rider Riccardo Chiarello posted the seventh fastest time on the opening day of qualifying at the Eurospeedway Lausitzring. Chiarello is still in some discomfort from his injuries sustained in the last round, but is hoping to improve his times and try and get on the front row of the grid. SUPERSTOCK 600 QUALIFYING: Team Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra rider Xavi Simeon is on the provisional second row of the grid after the first day of qualifying today. Xavi posted a time of 1:50.077 and has some work to do if he is to get on the front row. MORALES TOPS GSX-R PRACTICE Spaniard Carmelo Morales has set provisional pole for Sunday’s fourth-round Suzuki GSX-R European Cup at Eurospeedway, Lausitzring. The 27 year old, currently second in the series behind south African Hudson Kennaugh, set a time of 1:46’303 around the 4.265km German circuit on his GSX-R750K5. Second was German Dominic Lammert (1:46’848) ahead of Spaniard David Salom (1:47’762). Kennaugh, who holds a narrow seven-point lead going into the penultimate round – and is one of only a handful of riders who has never been to the circuit before – finished a lowly 14th on 1:49’162. Top British rider was Mike Edwards in 10th position with a time of 1:48’535. Edwards, who is carrying an injury only completed five laps of the circuit and pulled out in pain. He said: “I couldn’t hold onto the bike, but hopefully after some pain-killing injections I’ll be back to speed and be able to knock at least 1.5 seconds off my time tomorrow.” Magnus Houston took provisional 20th place with 1:50’650. He said: “I’m happy with warm up although I’m losing a lot of time over the last sector and need to focus harder. I’m not sure if it’s the bike or me but I need to sort it out tomorrow.” Third-placed Briton Robert Barber finished in 24th with a time of 1:52’880. He said: “It’s my first time here and I struggled to learn the track. Mike Edwards gave me a tow and showed me some new lines and hopefully I can go at least a second quicker tomorrow.” GSX-R Cup Friday Practice: 1 Carmelo Morales (Spain) 1:46’303, 2 Dominic Lammert (Germany) 1:46’848, 3 David Salom (Spain) 1:47’762, 4 Xavier Simeon (Belgium) 1:47’804, 5 Enrico Pasini (Italy) 1:47’824, 6 Oliver Skatch (Germany) 1:47’861, 7 Max Weymann (Germany) 1:47’883, 8 David Fouloi (France) 1:47’950, 9 Thomas Metro (France) 1:48’233, 10 Mike Edwards (GB) 1:48’535. 20 Magnus Houston (GB) 1:50’650. 24 Robert Barber (GB) 1:52’880. More event information and photos can be found on www.gsxrcup.com.

All-Star Ride for Life VI to benefit the Duke Children’s Hospital The All-Star Ride for Life is pleased to announce a late addition to their lineup of celebrity riders for this year’s ride. Kurtis Roberts, multi-time AMA Champion, will be serving as honorary Grand Marshall tomorrow at the Sixth Annual All-Star Ride for Life, to benefit the Duke Children’s Hospital. Roberts will be joined by five-time Daytona 200 winner Scott Russell, AMA Champion Jamie James, and Raleigh NC’s own Scott Carpenter, a multi-time WERA national champion. “I’m happy to make the ride this year, since I had to miss it last year due to surgery,” Roberts said. Join all the celebrities and riders in Raleigh NC at Scooter’s Grill and Bar Saturday morning. Registration begins at 9 a.m., with the ride leaving at 11. More details about the ride are available at www.AllStarRide.org

KENNAUGH CONFIDENT FOR GSX-R CUP Team Suzuki Press Office – September 9, 2005. Suzuki GSX-R European Cup Championship leader Hudson Kennaugh is confident of another top performance at this weekend’s fourth round in Germany, despite being one of only a handful of riders to have never raced the circuit. The 24 year old South African has an outside change of clinching the series at this penultimate round depending on how arch rivals Carmelo Morales and David Salom perform on the 4265m circuit at Lausitzring. He said: “I’ve not raced here before, whereas a lot of the Championship riders have, but I’m confident of putting up a good race on Sunday on the GSX-R7505. There are rumours of rain for race day so tyre choice is going to be very important.” Twenty four riders including five Wild-Card entries have signed up for the 12-lap race which takes place at 2.20pm local time on Sunday in between the main two World Superbike races. The first 45-minute practice session takes place on Friday at 5.10pm and qualifying on Saturday at 6.20pm. German entry list: GERMANY: Max Weyman (#2), Dominic Lammert (#3), Oliver Skatch (#4). ITALY: Danilo Dell’Omo (#7), Ernico Pasini (#8), Andrea Brivio (#9). FRANCE: David Fouloi (#14). SPAIN: Carmelo Morales (#16), David Salom (#17), Ismael Ortega (#18). UK: Magnus Houston (#20), Robert Barber (#21), Mike Edwards (#22). AUSTRIA: Rene Mahr (#24). BELGIUM: Xavier Simeon (#26). HOLLAND: Ron Van Steenbergen (#28). FINLAND: Aki Taipale (#30). SOUTH AFRICA: Hudson Kennaugh (#32). AUSTRALIA: Joshua Noel Forster (#34). GERMAN WILD CARD ENTRIES: Nicolas Wimbauer (#5 – Germany), Thomas Metro (#11 – France), Alexandre Lagrive (#12 – France), Frank Heidger (#40 – Germany), Claus Ehrenberger (#41 – Germany). Championship Points (after 3 of 5 Rounds): 1 Kennaugh 65, 2 Morales 58, 3 Salom 54, 4 Fouloi 32, 5 Forster 27, 6 Ortega 25, 7 Simeon 24, 8 Edwards 21, 9 Lammert 20, 10 Skach 16, 11 Mahr 16, 12 Steenbergen 15, 13 Dell’Omo 14, 14 Barber 13, 15 Taipale 10, 16 Pasini 3, 17 Brivio 3, 18 Houston 3, 19 Rodrigues 1.

Born in Sydney, Australia on September 11, 1980, racer Ben Attard turns 25 this Sunday. His teammates at Attack Kawasaki Racing wish him a very happy birthday.

Positive practice for Rizla Suzuki racers JOHN REYNOLDS was fifth and James Haydon seventh fastest on their Rizla Suzuki GSX-R1000s after today’s practice for the 11th round of the British Superbike Championship at Oulton Park. The morning’s 50-minute practice was held in wet conditions and the afternoon’s session started damp but ended dry, allowing both Rizla Suzuki racers to gain valuable set-up time on their bikes. JR ended the session eager to make more progress tomorrow. He said: “We started today with the same fork settings as the last round at Cadwell Park and my bike didn’t feel planted through the corners. We made a change to the fork springs and immediately I was much happier and able to run a fast lap time. “We feel we can improve the fork settings a little more and I’m sure we can cut the lap times tomorrow. I just hope the weather makes its mind up and is either full wet or dry.” James found a comfortable setting on his Rizla Suzuki at Cadwell Park two weekends ago and he used that as a starting point in practice. He made changes to the front and rear suspension to suit the flowing nature of the 2.69-mile circuit and was then able to record consistently fast laps that put him in the top four on the time sheets. With 10-minutes to go he tested his spare bike and was relegated to seventh by the chequered flag. Ducati’s Leon Haslam was fastest. “By the end of the Cadwell Park round I was delighted with the feedback from my bike and was able to push to the limits,” explained James. “The Cadwell settings did not translate exactly to Oulton Park so we’ve made a couple of minor changes to the suspension and ended the day with a good fast bike. “There are still improvements to be made on my Rizla Suzuki and if we can find a little more rear end feel tomorrow then it’s going to be a very interesting couple of races on Sunday.” Team Technical Consultant Dave Marton said: “The wet weather cut our testing time in half today by soaking the first session. The afternoon was dry though and we made some very rapid progress on both sides of the garage. “Both JR and James were quick on race tyres today and are in positive frames of mind, keen to get back on track and to keep improving. We are quick enough for the second row today and we will want to improve on that during qualification tomorrow.” Superbike racing starts at 1325hrs on Sunday, September 11th, at Oulton Park in Cheshire. All the action will be covered live on Sky Sports and will be followed by a highlights package on Channel 4 the following weekend. Practice Times: 1: Leon Haslam (Ducati) 1:37.344, 2: Karl Harris (Honda) +0.404, 3: Michael Rutter (Honda) +0.781, 4: Gary Mason (Honda) +0.875, 5: JOHN REYNOLDS (RIZLA SUZUKI) +0.902, 6: Glen Richards (Kawasaki) +1.035, 7: JAMES HAYDON (RIZLA SUZUKI) +1.115, 8: Tommy Hill (Yamaha) +1.152, 9: Dean Thomas (Kawasaki) +1.342, 10: Steve Plater (Honda) +1.356.

New Hampshire International Speedway’s hopes of regaining its AMA National road race by making major road course revisions appear to have been dashed now that AMA Pro Racing has given the Loudon, New Hampshire track’s traditional Fathers’ Day weekend dates to Miller Motorsports Park in Salt Lake City for 2006. NHIS sent a proposal to AMA Pro Racing early this year, offering to make major road course revisions to regain its AMA Superbike National, which was the oldest AMA National road race and which last ran in 2001. Since that time, the track has hosted a Formula USA National and has seen its spectator crowd dwindle. AMA Pro Racing sent a delegation (consisting of Kevin Schwantz, Mat Mladin and AMA Superbike Series Manager Ron Barrick) to NHIS to discuss the possible changes. It’s unknown if the scheduling of the Utah date on Loudon’s traditional weekend was deliberate or unintentional. AMA Pro Racing spokesman Kerry Graeber could not be reached for comment at post time.

FIRST PERSON/OPINION Via e-mail: I wanted to pass along how I got screwed by a hotel for the ’05 U.S. GP. I contacted and made a reservation 8/20/04 with Roadway Inn, 2041 Fremont St. in Monterey for four nights at the rate of $89 the first night and $99 for the following nights and requested a faxed confirmation. A week later and still no confirmation so I called and they said they would send it but didn’t, this went on for about three weeks and they told me not to worry about it and just make sure I have my confirmation # (46680) and not to worry about it. When I arrived for the weekend I was told it would be $189.99 a day + all the taxes, When I questioned it and told them the situation they acted like I was crazy and proceded to show me on their computer the reservation, when she was flipping through the screens I saw the quoted rate and asked her to back up to it but she said that even though my name was on it that that rate had nothing to do with me. After more questioning the manager was brought out and I was told “Well, it sounds like what we need to do is just cancel your reservation and you can find somewhere else to stay.” I told them they knew that wasn’t possible now and sucked it up and paid them. I took it up with Amex when I got home and just got notice that they are unable to do anything because I signed the sales slip. So for anyone going to Laguna ’06 and beyond avoid this place and the Econlodge across the road as they own both. Or at a minimum have a faxed or email confirmation as well as a sleeping bag with you. For the now $3k it would cost two to go to Laguna again I’ll pass and hit a Euro GP. Rick Fairbairn Simpsonville, South Carolina