Alex and Troy looking for revenge in France After the Asian adventure barely two weeks ago in Shanghai, where the MotoGP World Championship discovered a brand new circuit with curiously long straights and several hard-braking areas, the series returns to Europe this week to a similarly taxing track, with a fast home straight and a number of violent braking zones, so much so that the riders dub it the ‘stop-and-go’ track. Alex Barros will be looking to make the most of his reputation as the latest of the late-brakers to put the ride through penalty of China behind him. With the pace the Brazilian showed in the treacherous conditions during the race, the penalty prevented him from fighting for victory without a doubt. In Le Mans he will be looking for revenge, alongside his team-mate Troy Bayliss, who has made giant leaps forward on his RC211V and who has already proved he is as determined as ever in the first three races of the year. Sito Pons Camel Honda “I hope that we won’t have the same kind of issues impeding our performance in Le Mans like the penalty did in China. After having been forced to come in during the race Alex was prevented from fighting for the podium positions. However that incident is behind us already, the championship is long and there are still lots of points to be won and lots of races we can be in the lead pack; it’s important that Alex continues to show the kind of form he has in the last two Grands Prix. I also hope that in Le Mans Troy will also get the chance to show the improvements he has made and that he can get into the top five in the race, something I’m sure he is well capable of.” Alex Barros #4: “Le Mans is a track that has always been rather tough for me, but that’s not to say that I won’t be aiming for a top result. The important thing is to prepare the bike well, not necessarily to get it one hundred percent perfect – I know things can’t always go as well as they did in Estoril for example – but still, as perfect as possible. In China we didn’t have the set-up spot on, but on Sunday, besides the penalty, I was quick and I was able to pick up a few points, so I hope I can go well in France too. I’ve still got a bit of pain in my side after I hit the kerb in the crash on Saturday morning, but I think I should be fine by the time of the Friday morning free practice.” Troy Bayliss #12: “I can’t wait to get to France because Le Mans is a track I love. Last year the race went quite well for me, but better still was the test day following it, I had a great day and rode really well. I think that if we can get the bike set up well, I will be able to make a good race.”

HACKING HOPING TO GET ON A ROLL AT INFINEON RACEWAY SUPERSPORT RACE Victory in Sonoma would be three in a row for former champ PICKERINGTON, Ohio (May 9, 2005) — Throughout most of his career Infineon Raceway was not kind to Jamie Hacking. Numerous crashes were about all Hacking had to show for his years of racing there. Two years ago the Yamaha road racer turned all of that around and earned his first victory at the difficult Northern California circuit. That win helped catapult Hacking to his first AMA Supersport Championship. Hacking hopes to repeat his 2003 performance on May 13-15, as the best Supersport teams and racers from across the nation will gather at Infineon Raceway for round four of the Pro Honda Oils Supersport Championship presented by Shoei, part of track’s Kawasaki Superbike Showdown. Hacking is riding a two race winning streak in AMA Supersport, taking victories at Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, Ala., late last month and then again at California Speedway in Fontana on May 1. His triumph in Fontana moved Hacking, a 33-year-old British born, American raised rider from Denver, N.C., into the series lead and tied him with Aaron Yates and Tommy Hayden for third on the all-time AMA Supersport wins list. Hacking and Hayden have the chance to tie Mike Smith for second on the list this weekend. Yates is presently not racing in the series. “The one thing we see at Infineon (Raceway) that we don’t see anywhere else is the demanding nature of the track,” said Hacking, one of only four riders to win all four classes of AMA road racing. “It’s a good thing that it is so difficult to ride, and it’s not just physical. It’s as tough mentally as it is physically. There is nowhere to rest on the track, but it’s become so much more rider friendly the last few years that we’re not afraid to take risks.” Infineon Raceway has made yearly improvements to the historic 12-turn, 2.32-mile road course and as a result has become one the riders’ favorites. Defending series champ, Tommy Hayden, of Owensboro, Ky., is the other Supersport winner this year. Hayden took a commanding victory at Daytona in March and is hoping to find that winning combination again on his factory Kawasaki. A win at Infineon would be the oldest Hayden brother’s first Supersport victory at the circuit and give Kawasaki its first Infineon Supersport win since Thomas Stevens won at what was then called Sears Point Raceway in 1996. Hayden’s younger brother Nicky won the race in 1999. Hacking and Hayden have put a little distance in the standings on the rest of the ultra-competitive Supersport field after just three races, but third ranked Jason DiSalvo is hoping to close the gap with a good run in the upcoming race. The young New York rider’s best Supersport finish at Infineon was a fourth last year. Aaron Gobert, ranked fourth in Supersport, has fallen into a bit of a rut this year. The likable rider from the first family of road racing in Australia has finished fifth in all three rounds so far this season. Gobert has improved his finish every year at Infineon and he hopes that continues especially considering he finished you guessed it fifth in last year’s race. Defending Infineon Raceway Supersport winner Ben Spies comes into this year’s race fifth in the standings and the top Suzuki rider in Supersport. Some consider Suzuki to be a tad less competitive than Yamaha and Kawasaki in the class, but Spies has found ways to get the very best out of the GSX-R600 and he’s hoping to defend his title in Sonoma this weekend. A trio of Northern California riders will compete in front of friends and family at Infineon Raceway in the Supersport final this weekend. Nicky Moore, of Riverbank, Chris Siglin, of Dublin and Justin Filice, of Modesto, are all up-and-coming riders in Supersport. Moore, who at 18, already has international racing experience, scored a top-10 finish in the most recent round at California Speedway and looks to improve even further on his home track. Siglin was a 2003 winner of the Team Hammer Talent Search and is a leading AFM rider. Filice is the son of Motorcycle Hall of Famer and multi-time AMA racing champ Jimmy Filice. The young Filice is ranked 20th in the series riding a Hotbodies Racing Honda. SPEED Channel will provide national TV coverage of the Infineon round of the Pro Honda Oils Supersport Championship presented by Shoei final on Sunday, May 15 starting at 5:00 pm Eastern. Tickets to the Kawasaki Superbike Showdown Doubleheader can be purchased at all Ticketmaster outlets including Tower Records, Wherrehouse Music, Ritmo Latino, select Save Mart Supermarkets and Rite Aid stores. For additional inquiries or questions please contact the Infineon Raceway Ticket Office at 1-800-870-RACE.

The opening of a new Kawasaki dealership in Le Mans will provide Kawasaki factory riders, Shinya Nakano and Olivier Jacque, with an ideal opportunity to meet and greet their many fans ahead of this weekend’s French Grand Prix. To commemorate the opening of the new Best Way Kawasaki shop on Avenue du Panorama, Nakano and Jacque will appear at the dealership at 10 o’clock on Thursday 12th May, where they’ll sign autographs and pose for photographs with fellow Kawasaki riders. The appearance of the factory Kawasaki pilots at the Best Way Kawasaki event is expected to draw a big crowd, as both riders enjoy a huge following in France. As the only French rider in MotoGP, Olivier Jacque can count on the support of his home crowd, but his popularity is matched by that of Shinya Nakano, who built up a loyal following in France during his time with the French Tech 3 team. The two Kawasaki riders will get another chance to meet French race fans on the Thursday evening, when they appear at a public autograph session arranged by the promoters of the French Grand Prix. The autograph session, which always draws a large and enthusiastic crowd, will take place at the Place de la République in the centre of Le Mans, starting at 7 o’clock in the evening. Nakano and Jacque will be on hand to sign autographs, hand out posters and answer questions from their many French fans. For race fans unable to make it to Le Mans on Thursday there will be another opportunity to meet Shinya Nakano and Olivier Jacque on Saturday evening. The two Kawasaki pilots, together with Jacque’s Kawasaki Ninja ZX-RR race bike, will be making an appearance on the Arlen Ness stand in the circuit spectator area starting at 5 o’clock.

Kenny Noyes finished 13th in the opening round of the Spanish 1000cc Formula Extreme Championship at Albacete on Sunday with his FolchYamaha YZF R1. It was his first race after breaking five ribs in a preseason crash a month ago. “When I tested last week I couldn’t do more than four laps at a time, so we knew 19 laps would be tough,” said the American who completed his first ride for Folch Endurance Yamaha. “I was on the back of the second group for the first five laps and the pace seemed OK for me, but about a second under what I ran here before the crash. I thought I could get into the top ten until the pain started wearing me down. Now I’ve got two weeks to train and get stronger before the Eight Hours of Albacete on May 21st. We should be on the pace by then!” (The FIM World Championship round at Albacete begins on Saturday evening, May 21, at 6:00 PM and finishes at 2:00 AM Sunday morning.) First man under the chequered flag was BQR Honda’s José David de Gea, but the former Team Roberts Modenas 500 GP rider, who subbed for WCM last year in MotoGP, was judged to have passed under yellow flags and given a ten second penalty which dropped him to fourth behind Ivan Silva, Josep Monge and Javier del Amor, all of Yamahas. The Buckler Spanish National Championships were over subscribed in the two nationally televised, principal classes, 125 and Formula Extreme. Only 38 starters were allowed in each. This left a handful of riders off the Formula Extreme grid, but organizers opted to run a consolation race for the 20 non-qualifiers in 125.

MotoGP set-up report – Le Mans, France Le Mans, France 9/5/2005 Round 4: Le Mans, France Track length: 4180 m Opened: 1965 Fastest Lap Ever: 1:34.088 (Max Biaggi, 2004) MotoGP lap record: 1:34.088 (Max Biaggi, 2004) Last year MotoGP winner: Sete Gibernau 2004 MotoGP race summary Carlos Checa took a well-earned second in the 2004 French Grand Prix after a close-fought race with Sete Gibernau (Honda) in Le Mans, France. Although his Yamaha team-mate Valentino Rossi was unable to overcome the set-up problems which had plagued his YZR-M1 all weekend, the young Italian still finished a strong fourth after a hard fought battle with Max Biaggi (Honda). Checa managed a strong start from second place on the grid to immediately take the lead, with Rossi in third. Pole-sitter Gibernau gradually closed the gap from behind before overtaking Checa on lap 11 and then continuing on to take his second successive Grand Prix win of the year. Meanwhile Biaggi made his move on Rossi and before making up the lost ground on Checa. The Spaniard rode a hard race to fend off the Roman Emperor, eventually crossing the line just three tenths of a second ahead of Biaggi. In the midst of all this Rossi closed the gap between himself and Biaggi, considerably, in the closing stages – passing him momentarily on lap 25, but was unable to stay ahead at the line. 2005 Set-up report YZR-M1 Le Mans is a circuit made up of a number of second gear hairpins linked together by a series of long straights, with only the occasional chicane breaking up the run to the next hairpin. A design of the past, the French circuit causes little concern for engineers regarding set-up. Turns three and five are the most likely passing points and all efforts will be focused towards finding stability under brakes in these areas. The YZR-M1 therefore requires a heavier spring rate on the front to deal with the aggressive weight transfer as the rider dramatically decreases his velocity, while still providing the ability to soak up any bumps entering each of the slower turns. The latter will be taken care of by the Öhlins front-end compression damping. Meanwhile the fork rebound will be dialed in to offer a more controlled return to the fork’s full length. This will be done in an effort to offer stability as the rider makes the somewhat aggressive, almost light switch like transition from the brakes to the throttle in the chicanes. In addition to the heavy fork springs the bike’s attitude will be set to ensure stability with the rear. This is achieved with a slightly lower rear ride-height, lowering the center of gravity, in turn helping to prevent the rear tyre from rising off the track’s surface. Progress made on braking stability throughout pre-season testing and during the first two rounds of the 2005 season will pay dividends at the stop-go styled Le Mans circuit, as will the M1’s lightweight steering character – especially through the quick chicanes. This approach is in fact a compromise, but it’s a set-up that will be the most efficient on a circuit with this classic character. The improved stability will affect the cornering characteristics by reducing its turn-in agility slightly, but experience has shown the Yamaha is one of the most agile bikes in the championship and the slight loss here is minimum compared to the gains made up under brakes. Meanwhile drive off the turns must not be neglected; but with the rear ride-height reduced for stability the ability to hold the racing line, while exiting a corner, is compromised to a certain degree. Therefore a softer rear spring rate will feature on the M1 for good predictable feedback, but it will be dialed in with a high degree of preload to prevent the rear-end from squatting under power as the weight transfers to the back of the bike. As the Le Mans corners are short and sharp the rear shock linkage ratio therefore plays an important role at compensating for the softer spring rate by providing a movement which is initially firmer.

The MotoGP returns to Europe, to the historic track of Le Mans After going to China, the Championship returns to Europe, more precisely to France. Hosting the fourth round of the season is the historic circuit of Bugatti, made in 1965 around the already existing 24-hour track of Le Mans. The track hosted motorcycle GP’s from 1966 to 1995, and then underwent a reconstruction to then come back and host the 2000 French GP. The history of Le Mans is strongly connected with the world of racing cars, in fact, every year the Bugatti hosts the famous 24-hour race of Le Mans. MotoGP uses the permanent Bugatti circuit, which only shares the section from the front straight round to la Chapelle (where the cars go straight on out into the country) with the 24-hour track. The rest of the circuit is quite twisty, but that first corner is one of the fastest bend of the whole championship. The most impressive part of the track in fact is represented by the quick right hand corner at the end of the straight, followed by a chicane which imposes a strong direction change. To take on this part of the track you need cold blood and courage. The track surface was completely resurfaced last year, bettering the grip in an impressive manner. In the past, the grip used to be one of the worse aspects of this track making it a challenge for the Michelin Engineers. Michelin has triumphed in nine of the last ten premier-class GPs held at Le Mans, a track that can be defined the ‘home GP’ of the French tyre manufacturer. #15 SETE GIBERNAU – CALLED TO REPEAT HIMSELF After two consecutive victories on the Bugatti track, respectively in 2003 and 2004, the Vice World Champion, Sete Gibernau is called to repeat himself to put an end to a particularly difficult beginning of season which has not given Sete the satisfaction he deserves for all the good work he and the team have done both in practice sessions and races. Champion of the winter, Sete Gibernau was the absolute protagonist during the first three races of the championship even if he didn’t receive the results he deserved seeing his excellent performance during the race weekends. With the Chinese GP behind him, Sete looks with high hopes to the French GP. A strong rider, mature and determined, the only one able to challenge the world champion for the past two seasons, Sete Gibernau hopes to recuperate the position which he deserves. “The Bugatti is a very particular track, quite difficult, characterized by a very fast right corner at the end of the starting straight, followed by a chicane which demands for a quick change in speed. An impressive piece of the track!! To take on the Bugatti track in the best possible way, a perfect set up is needed and a good feeling with the front tyre is very important. In fact it is the front tyre which determines the vivacity of the bike during direction changes in the chicanes and it plays an important role during the harsh braking which are followed by quick corners” comments Sete Gibernau, two times winner of the French GP in the past two editions. #33 MARCO MELANDRI – CONSTANTLY GROWING Marco Melandri is no longer a surprise, as he was defined by the press at the beginning of the 2005 season. With two podiums and a fourth place, Marco Melandri is in second place in the riders’ championship. Constantly growing, Marco enthusiastically looks towards the French GP, on a track which this Ravenna born rider likes. “I am very happy with this beginning of season. I would have never thought to be in second place in the championship. I feel as though I have the potential to do well, now a victory is no longer a utopia, I want to try to win a race” comments Marco at the end of the Chinese GP which saw him step onto the third place of the podium. Marco is serene, strong, has regained faith in himself and is completely comfortable with the team which supports him in everything.” MARCO MELANDRI’S COMMENTS ON LE MANS “The track of Le Mans is notoriously known as a track characterized by hard braking. This remains the most distinctive trait of the Bugatti track even if the track has become a bit slower after the modifications to the second corner. Le Mans isn’t amongst the most technical tracks of the Championship. Its design is torturous but I enjoy this track as it is fun to ride here. The sector which I prefer is undoubtedly the two final variations. The track offers a lot of overtaking points like the first braking variation point. The Garage Vert corner is a slow corner which needs a long braking and it gives you enough time to overtake. The slower section is represented by the Garage Vert and the final two corners, two corners which are just a bit two slow for a MotoGP. The secret to a good lap in Le Mans consists of favouring your braking and opening of the throttle more than riding your corner perfectly. The best time I can remember on this track was in 2003 when, for the first time in MotoGP, I began from the first row. The worse memory I have is definitely when I fell in 2001. After the fall in Suzuka, it was my second fall of the season. Le Mans is a place for all Northern and Central European fans to come to. It is a GP which is very followed but still the atmosphere here isn’t as warm as it is in Spain or Italy.” LE MANS TECHNICAL DATA Name of the circuit: Bugatti Circuit Opened: 1974 modified: 2002 Lenght: 4.180 m Width: 13 m Pole position: left Right corners: 9 Left corners : 4 Longest straight: 450 m RECORD: Track record: 2004 Max Biaggi (Ita/Honda) 1:34.088 pole position 2004: 2004 Sete Gibernau (Spa/Honda) 1:33.425 2004 Race: 1st Gibernau (Honda) 2nd Checa (Yamaha) 3rd Biaggi (Honda)

GAULOISES YAMAHA TEAM PREVIEW French Grand Prix Le Mans, France 13, 14 & 15 May 2005 GAULOISES YAMAHA TEAM TAKES TITLE QUEST TO FRANCE The Gauloises Yamaha Team returned to Europe last week in tired but contented mood after continuing its excellent start to the 2005 campaign with another victory at the first ever MotoGP event in China. The historic trip to Shanghai wielded a second 25-point haul of the season for Valentino Rossi and extended his lead in the current World Championship standings to the same margin. Another determined ride against the odds from Rossi’s team-mate Colin Edwards consolidated Gauloises Yamaha’s supremacy in the teams’ and manufacturers’ standings after three eventful rounds. With the bikes and team equipment taking the direct route to France in readiness for this weekend’s eagerly-anticipated fourth round, the past week has provided the riders and staff with a welcome opportunity to take a brief rest and prepare for another assault on the podium at Le Mans. The Bugatti circuit has taken on an extra significance for the entire team as they look to improve on Rossi’s comparatively disappointing Le Mans result of fourth place from last season and confirm the recent progress of the 2005 version YZR-M1. Its advantages over last year’s machine have already been made evident by winning performances from Rossi at Jerez and Shanghai, as well as a solid second place in mixed conditions at Estoril. A repeat podium performance at Le Mans would not only extend the team’s principal objective of defending the championship lead at every round but provide definitive proof that the YZR-M1 is in better shape than ever to continue dominating until the end of the season. The historic Le Mans circuit first opened its gates to the MotoGP World Championship in 1969 and has been home to the series intermittently since then. Circuits at Albi, Rouen, Reims, Clermont-Ferrand, Paul Ricard, Nogaro and Magny-Cours have also played host to the French Grand Prix in the past but the Bugatti circuit has been a fixture on the MotoGP calendar for the last five seasons. VALENTINO ROSSI: UNFINISHED BUSINESS Valentino Rossi has a score to settle at Le Mans, one of only five tracks at which he missed out on the podium last season. The performance of his updated YZR-M1 machine in all manner of conditions during the opening three rounds of the season, particularly the progress made with the wet set-up in Shanghai, has given the World Champion extra confidence in its ability to adapt to any circuit, in any weather. “The changes we made to the M1 on the morning of the race in Shanghai benefited us and helped us to win my first wet race with Yamaha,” explained Rossi. “Basically we made the forks softer, less rigid, and I think these changes will benefit us in the dry as well. “Le Mans is not one of my favourite tracks, I had a difficult race there last year and only finished fourth. I hope we leave there having resolved our problems, whatever the conditions are, and I have a feeling that we will. It can be quite tricky there if the weather is bad, so I really hope we have a bit of luck and it’s dry, but at least if it rains we know we are in a much better position than in the past.” Whilst Rossi has dominated the championship standings ever since taking victory in the opening round at Jerez, his nearest challenger has changed with every Grand Prix. After Sete Gibernau and Alex Barros, the man now closest to the World Champion after three rounds is his young compatriot Marco Melandri, who lies some 25 points adrift. “To beat Sete Gibernau and Alex Barros in those conditions at Shanghai was the most incredible thing,” admits Rossi. “Melandri did really well – also in the dry he is doing a good job. For me to be so fast in the rain was fantastic. I had never won in the wet before with Yamaha, so it was very special and the points are so important. “We were a bit worried over the Shanghai weekend because Gibernau was so fast. Gibernau and Barros are always positive in these wet conditions and I’m sure they expected to beat me in the wet, so the win is also great for our morale!” However, Rossi admits that his biggest threat this weekend could come from an entirely different source, with home favourite Olivier Jacque set for a second appearance after finishing just 1.7 seconds behind the race winner on his return to MotoGP in Shanghai. “I am a bit worried about Olivier Jacque now because before the Shanghai race he said that he was only riding in China as a kind of training to learn the bike, and then he could concentrate on racing in Le Mans. He finished second in China so who knows what might happen in France!” COLIN EDWARDS: BETTER TIMES AROUND THE CORNER Colin Edwards makes his way back to Europe via the same route he headed out to China, having dropped by his home in Texas for a brief visit before completing a journey halfway around the world. The American heads to France hoping for an upturn in the fortunes that have marred his start to the season, the latest being a gear-shifter problem that limited him to eighth place despite a spirited ride through the pack from the fifth row of the grid in China. “It’s been a funny season for me so far and I’m just hoping everything comes together in France,” explains Edwards. “China was very similar to Estoril in that I showed I had the race pace but, through a series of circumstances out of my control, I didn’t get the opportunity to push for the podium. “Nobody is more disappointed about that than myself and I certainly don’t expect to be battling it out for eighth place even at this early stage of the season. The main thing is, though, that the positive signs are there and the whole team is working hard. All we need now is a little turn in luck and we’ll be there. “I don’t mind Le Mans as a circuit too much last year was only my second time there but I set provisional pole position and finished fifth in the race. It’s a real ‘stop and go’ track, as everybody says, with hard braking, tight corners and hard acceleration. We’ll have some work to do with the set-up of the bike but we’ve made a lot of progress over the last few weeks so hopefully we can make it count.” DAVIDE BRIVIO: RESTED AND READY TO GO RACING Gauloises Yamaha Team Director Davide Brivio’s insatiable thirst for racing action took him to Pesaro in Italy this weekend, where he was taking part in a round of the Italian Rally Championship as co-driver to Valentino Rossi’s father Graziano. For Brivio it was a welcome chance to take a break from the intensity of the MotoGP paddock as he predicts another highly competitive weekend from his team in France. “The bikes and all the equipment have been flown straight to France from China so the past few days have been a good opportunity for the team to get some rest after an intense start to the season,” explained Brivio. “China was a very important weekend for us; we worked very hard and made some good progress with the setting of the bike in the dry and we completely solved the problems we have had in the past in the wet. Now we are hoping to take advantage of that at Le Mans. “Le Mans is one of the circuits we didn’t do so well at last season, so we want to make up for that with a victory this time around. It was a similar situation at Jerez in the first round of the season and we managed to win there, so it would be really nice to do the same thing in France. Valentino has been able to take advantage of the improvements we have made to the bike in the last few rounds and, if the bike is good again this weekend, we should see Colin join him at the top.” BLAST FROM THE PAST: CELEBRATING 50 YEARS OF YAMAHA GLORY Whilst the Le Mans circuit and the rain were two of Yamaha’s most challenging obstacles last season, a combination of both proved to be anything but a problem in the factory’s first win at the Bugatti circuit almost two decades ago. The eighth round of the 1987 500cc season saw Randy Mamola streak to a convincing victory over Honda’s Pier Francesco Chili by some 34 seconds, his second wet weather win that season after taking the opening round at Suzuka by an even bigger margin. “The YZR handled really well and it was always fast through the chicanes, so it was perfect for Le Mans,” remembers Mamola, who went on to finish second in the championship that season to Wayne Gardner. “I’d been on the podium twice before for other factories at Le Mans so to get my first win there with Yamaha was a special honour. “Because of its history it is hard to think of another track so synonymous with racing as Le Mans and in the modern day nobody works harder than them to create an event around the Grand Prix. The fans there are incredible and the feeling you get as they cheer you into turn one is an unforgettable experience especially if you are leading the race!” Mamola raced for no fewer than 14 years at the top level of Grand Prix racing and admits that signing for Yamaha’s factory squad, run by his boyhood hero Kenny Roberts, was one of the highlights of his career. “When I was a 14-year-old I earned a contract with Yamaha USA and my first race bike was a Yamaha TA125. At that time Kenny Roberts was the leading dirt-tracker in America and he was my hero. I used to ask him to sign posters for my bedroom. In 1986 I got the chance to ride for Yamaha in the World Championship and be a part of his team, so it was a dream come true for me.” TECHNICALLY SPEAKING The 4.180 km Le Mans circuit is an archetypal stop-go track, with the added complication of one of the highest speed curves of any circuit on the calendar, just after the short start-finish straight. There are several hairpins and chicanes, calling for not just balance and control under hard and repeated braking, but a neat and swift transfer from full braking to full acceleration on the exit of the corners. With nine right-handers and only four lefts, the track is also particularly hard on one side of the tyres. Firmer front fork settings and spring rates are usually needed to handle the frequent braking demands, whilst a slightly softer rear spring, with a higher than normal pre-load, is adopted to allow the machine to hold a line exiting corners, due to the reduced ride height which will be necessary to help the M1 remain stable under hard braking. VALENTINO ROSSI: INFORMATION Age: 26 Lives: London, UK Bike: Gauloises Yamaha Team YZR-M1 GP victories: 70 (31 x MotoGP, 13 x 500cc, 14 x 250cc, 12 x 125cc) First GP victory: Czech Republic, 1996 (125cc) First GP: Malaysia, 1996 (125cc) GP starts: 143 (51 x MotoGP, 32 x 500cc, 30 x 250cc, 30 x 125cc) GP Pole positions: 36 World Championships 6 Grand Prix (1 x 125cc, 1 x 250cc, 1 x 500cc, 3 x MotoGP) Le Mans 2004 results (Yamaha): Grid: 4th, Race: 4th COLIN EDWARDS: INFORMATION Age: 31 Lives: Conroe, Texas Bike: Gauloises Yamaha Team YZR-M1 GP victories: – First GP: Japan, 2003 (MotoGP) GP starts: 35 Pole positions: – First pole: – World Championships – 2 World Superbike Le Mans 2004 results (Honda): Grid: 1st, Race: 5th

By Beth Wyse Dolgner Vesrah Suzuki took five victories during the WERA Michelin National Challenge Series races at Autobahn Country Club on Sunday. Mark Junge and Tray Batey were the riders responsible for the wins during the eight-lap sprint races at the new track in Joliet, Illinois. Junge took the lead on the first lap of the Open Superstock race on his Vesrah Suzuki GSX-R1000. Batey followed closely on his GSX-R750 but never got past for the lead. The two of them pulled a gap on the field while Arclight Suzuki’s Scott Harwell trailed in third. In 600cc Superstock, Junge had to battle for the lead against Harwell and XT Racing’s David Weber. Junge took the lead on lap four but was not able to break away until the final two laps. Batey won the Heavyweight Twins Superstock race on his Vesrah Suzuki SV1000, winning by nearly half a minute over Cale Swiger. Batey’s second win was in the 750cc Superstock race on his Suzuki GSX-R750, following a red flag for a six-rider crash. Batey pulled away while Harwell, Weber and John Jacobi fought for second. Harwell finally took the second spot on the podium. Batey won the Formula 1 race, again on his GSX-R750, and set a track record of 1:25.9 in the process. Harwell finished second over Jacobi and Weber, riding a Suzuki GSX-R1000. Ben Thompson earned his second consecutive 750cc Superbike victory, riding the racersupply.com Suzuki GSX-R750. He won by 4.9 seconds over Keith Marshall. In 600cc Superbike, Adam Dolney and young teen Josh Herrin had a close race in the opening laps before Dolney pulled away on his Yamaha YZF-R6. Herrin had no competition for second on his Graves Yamaha YZF-R6. The Lightweight Twins Superstock race saw the closest finish of the day. After trading for the lead during all eight laps, Roger Bell edged out Dave Yaakov by just 0.028-second at the finish line. Both riders were on Suzuki SV650s. Kendrick Morrison rode his Honda RS250 to the win in Formula 2 after dominating the race. Throughout the weekend, the Vesrah Suzuki riders all displayed “CJ” stickers on their bikes in memory of Junge’s father and crew member Chris Junge, who passed away a week before the race.