WERA National Series to Race at Autobahn for the First Time this Weekend Joliet, Ill. The WERA National Series will become the first national-level event to race at the new Autobahn Country Club in Joliet, Illinois during round two of the season this weekend, May 7-8. The WERA Dunlop National Endurance Series and the WERA Michelin National Challenge Series will run the 2.10-mile South Track configuration, which was just completed last year. Vesrah Suzuki will be defending their points lead in the overall endurance and Heavyweight Superbike class championships during the four-hour endurance race on Saturday, May 7. Army of Darkness won Mediumweight Superbike but had to settle for second overall at the season opener, and they will be trying to make their way to the front, as well. Additional challengers for the win include Team Velocity Racing and newcomer Red Star, who made an impressive debut during the season opener at Jennings GP in March. Round two of the WERA Dunlop National Endurance Series will begin at 1:00 pm on Saturday, May 7. Sunday will feature the WERA Michelin National Challenge Series, with ten-lap sprint races in 17 different divisions. In the expert Superbike classes, up-and-coming racers Keith Marshall and Ben Thompson will be two to keep an eye on after they each took victories in the opening round. Fans can expect to find Vesrah Suzuki’s Mark Junge and Tray Batey near the front of the Superstock classes, but other notable riders who will provide a challenge include Team Velocity Racing’s Reuben Frankenfield and XT Racing’s David Weber. The sprint races begin at 12:30 pm Sunday following practice in the morning. Autobahn Country Club allows camping for racers and crew members. The weekend’s event is not open to spectators. More information about the new track, including driving directions, can be found on the Internet at www.AutobahnCountryClub.net. More information about WERA, including updated championship points and race schedules, can be found at www.WERA.com.

WHAT SPECIFIC CHALLENGES DOES INFINEON RACEWAY PRESENT THAT YOU DON’T SEE AT ANY OTHER RACETRACK? Eric Bostrom (Ducati Austin): This is the most physically demanding track we go to each year. There are no spots where you can concentrate or just take a deep breath. I can’t say that’s bad because we all like challenges, and this is the ultimate one. This is a track that will reward you if you’re in good shape, too. It’s hard to keep your focus for 28 laps here so you have to be ready both mentally and physically. Neil Hodgson (Ducati Austin): I’ve only been on the track once (testing in March) but it’s one of my top 10 tracks in the world. It has all the characteristics that you want in a track. It’s the ultimate test for a rider. I’ve watched this track 1,000 times on video but that doesn’t do it justice. You just don’t realize how tough the track is until you ride a few laps. Jamie Hacking (Yamaha): The one thing we see at Infineon (Raceway) that we don’t see anywhere else is the demanding nature of the track. 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. Mat Mladin (Suzuki): There is no better challenge for a rider than at Infineon (Raceway). It’s got elevation changes, tight corners and a number of other challenges. I love it. Any rider who says he doesn’t like a challenge like that is very different than me. That’s why we do this for a living. Aaron Yates (Suzuki): There are so many direction changes from right-left-right-left and you’ve got to be able to flick the bike back and forth while trying to set-up the next turn. It’s tough, but it’s fun if you can get that down.

WINSTON SUPERSPORT RIDERS SEEK ITALIAN SUCCESS After a dominant start to the 2005 World Supersport championship, Winston Ten Kate Honda riders, Sébastien Charpentier and Katsuaki Fujiwara, head for this weekend’s fourth round action at the high-speed Monza circuit in northern Italy. The pairing has controlled the championship from the front with Frenchman Charpentier taking three pole positions and two wins from the three rounds to date. His closest challenger is Fujiwara, however, who won the opening round and, following a thrilling race in the last round at Valencia, sits just twelve points behind his team-mate in the championship table. Ronald ten Kate team manager: “The season has started very well and I have to be honest and say there are no big issues on the Supersport table at the moment. Both riders have settled very well into the team Sébastien has been in fantastic form and Katsuaki is adapting to the CBR very quickly. I’m very happy with their performances and the way the team continues to work so well together. We’ll start at Monza with some small chassis refinements and a new exhaust system from Arrow. And of course we’re hoping for a continuation of our early-season success.” Sébastien Charpentier championship position 1st, 70 points: “Yes, it’s been a fantastic start to the season for me and for my new team. Perhaps without the problem in Qatar I might have three wins to go with my three pole positions. Valencia was as good as it can be for a race weekend because I had pole position, a win and the fastest lap. Everything is just working really well and there’s not much more to say the bike is great, the atmosphere in the garage is really strong and my team mate is pushing me all the time so I cannot relax for a minute. I managed to get some time this week though to do some training with the great Italian cyclist, Luca Paolini, who lives here in Monza. “ Katsuaki Fujiwara championship position 2nd, 58 points: “I have a new bike and a new team this year so I cannot be unhappy with my championship position especially after winning the first race of the season. Valencia was a great battle between me and Sébastien and I think I gave my team a bit of panic when I tried to pass him on the last lap! But I am desperate to win again, not just for me but for this new team who have made me feel so at home. I think on a Ten Kate CBR I have the best chance to succeed here at Monza I was third here in 2002 and dropped out of third place with a technical problem last year. I like the circuit and now I want to win here.” World Supersport Championship points after three of 12 rounds: 1 Sébastien Charpentier FRA (Winston Ten Kate Honda) 70, 2 Katsuaki Fujiwara JPN (Winston Ten Kate Honda) 58, 3 Kevin Curtain AUS (Yamaha) 49, 4 Fabien Foret FRA (Honda) 38, 5 Michel Fabrizio ITA (Honda) 29, 6 Broc Parkes AUS (Yamaha) 29, 7 Stephane Chambon FRA (Honda) 24, 8 Javier Fores ESP (Suzuki) 18, 9 Johan Stigefelt SWE (Honda) 16, 10 Gianluca Nannelli ITA (Ducati) 15. Monza World Supersport event schedule: Friday 22 April 09.35-10.20 free practice, 13.15-14.00 qualifying; Saturday 23 April 10.00-10.45 free practice, 13.45-14.30 qualifying; Sunday 24 April 09.50-10.10 warm-up, 13.20 race (16 laps, 92.688km).

Pre-race: Albacete, May 8. Round One of Spanish 1000cc Formula Extreme Championship American Kenny Noyes Returns from Injury to Start Spanish FX Series with Folch Yamaha After riding three years for the BQR Honda team in the premier Formula Extreme class of the Spanish National Road Racing Championship, American Kenny Noyes, 25, has signed to ride for Folch Yamaha, based in Reus, near Tarragona on the southern Catalan coast. The Folch team, owned by Josep Folch, has participated in the Spanish Nationals for 25 consecutive years and has won a total of 21 National Titles. Noyes crashed a month ago while testing tires with his new team at Valencia and was struck by his own machine, breaking five ribs and bruising a lung. On Friday, April 29th, he did 20 laps on his Yamaha R1 at Albacete and is will ride his dirt tracker and SuperTT this week as he works his way back up to speed for this weekend’s opener in Albacete. “I´ve still got a lot of pain on the left-handers. We could use another week, but the season starts now and I intend to try and pick up some points, as many as I can. After Albacete we have a month before round two at Valencia,” said Noyes, who is a dual American and Spanish national and was born in Barcelona, and raised near Madrid until moving with his family to rural Southern California at age 14. He became regular competitor at the Lodi Cycle Bowl and went on to win several races in Gene Romero’s West Coast Flat Track Series before teaming up with Dale Lineaweaver to win the 2000 Formula USA Pro Singles National Championship riding a Husaburg. In 2001 he began roadracing, returning to Spain and riding for BQR Honda. After a learning year in Supersport, he switched to the 1000cc Formula Extreme class and began scoring regularly in Spain´s top class. In 2003 he won the Fórmula de Campeones National Superseries (equivalent to AMA Superstock) riding a Honda CBR954RR, but last year, in spite of a strong preseason, his CBR1000RR suffered mechanical problems in four of the seven Nationals and he finished only 12th overall, still riding for BQR Honda. It was a one-off ride on a Suzuki GSX-R1000 in the 24 Hours of Catalunya that got Folch`s attention. Noyes was the fastest of the six riders on the two Catalá Suzuki teams, which included Javier Forés, now riding for the Corona Extra Suzuki team in World Supersport. A long stop to change the clutch dropped Noyes and his team mates to third and the race was won for the sixth time in the last ten years by Folch Yamaha. Noyes will again contest the nationally televised, seven-round Spanish Formula Extreme Championship and will also ride the 24 Hours of Catalunya and the Spanish Round of the FIM World Endurance Championship at Albacete. Noyes’ goal is to move to move to a top Superbike championship in 2006.