Assen Fast, difficult and fascinating The next Round of Superbike World Championship will take place at Assen, 02-04 September. Frankie Chili, Max Neukirchner and Tatu Lauslehto/Supersport, are eager to start the engines of their Klaffi Hondas again. At Assen Nicolai Sørensen, the Scandinavian Champion Standard 600, joins the Klaffi Honda Team. He will ride a Klaffi Klaffi Honda CBR 600 RR in the Supersport race. Max Neukirchner: “žAssen is one these fast tracks I like very much. But his track is also a challenge which requests a lot of experience. Last year I finished 7th in Supersport race at Assen. This was perfect. But I had to learn in the hard way before. I crashed twice in the practice sessions. This time I hope to keep a little bit cooler in the beginning. In return I’ll open the throttle during the race. A top ten position would be great! ” Frankie Chili: “žThe last three years I was always on the podium at Assen. So this is one good reason I like the track very much. This time there is one renewed part of the race track I don’t know yet. I wonder if this will make a real difference. I’m looking forward to ride at Assen and I’ll give my all to be on the podium again. ” Tatu Lauslehto: “žI like Assen a lot. Actually, it is my favourite track. In 2004 I won my first European Championship race at Assen. I have a confident feeling for the next round. But I try always to think realistic and a position somewhere in the top ten seems possible.” Nicolai Sørensen: “This is like a wish coming true. I’ve been dreaming about being a part of a World Championship team for years, but to be team mate with Pierfrancesco Chili has not been in my wildest dreams. It will for sure not be easy to come to Assen and do a top result amongst the established World Championship riders. I cannot wait to go to Holland and jump on the Honda CBR 600 RR of Team Klaffi.” Nicolai Sørensen Date of Birth: 07.08.1974 Nationality: Danish Marital status: Lives with girlfriend Trine Hometown: Thisted, north of Denmark Hobbies: Motocross, Mountain Bike, Jogging Starting number at Assen: 67 1998 Debut race in road racing category after many years as junior motocross rider 1999 3rd Danish Championship Standard 250, 2nd Scandinavian Championship Standard 250 2000 Danish Champion 250 Racer 2001 Danish Champion 250 Racer, debut race in European Championship 250 Racer 2002 Danish Champion Supersport 600, debut race in European Championship Supersport 600 2003 4th European Championship 250 Racer, 3 wins from 3 races Danish Championship 600 2004 Scandinavian Champion Standard 600, 3rd Scandinavian Championship Supersport 600

JOHN HANER FIGHTS TO NINTH PLACE IN SUPERSTOCK AT VIRGINIA John Haner rode his Lion Racing Suzuki GSX-R1000 to ninth place in the Repsol Lubricants Superstock race at Virginia International Raceway during round nine of the AMA Superbike Championship event today. The race was red-flagged with three laps remaining when John’s teammate Jake Holden crashed heavily in the high speed kink on the front straightaway. Jake was transported to a local hospital, where he was diagnosed with a broken thumb, a broken bone in his foot and a concussion. The rest of John’s weekend didn’t go as well as his Superstock race, having to pull in from both Superbike races due to mechanical issues. Saturday’s Superbike Final – 33rd Place / DNF “I got a good start, then it evaporated as turn one unfolded,” said Haner. “Everybody was pushing everybody around. On the second lap, my shifter tip fell off. I pulled in, so I was a couple of laps down on the restart. I started dead last and got all the way back into, track position, like probably 11th through 14th. On the next restart, I saw ! was starting dead last again, so we tried to make a change to the bike before we went out. We didn’t get it done in time and they wouldn’t let us go back out.” Sunday’s Repsol Lubricants Superstock Final – 9th Place “I got, I would say, an average start with the best riders in the country,” explained John. “I went into turn one and had a brake marker set up for myself, and that’s what I went to. I got by two people, then two other guys got together. I got up around Jason Pridmore, and then I went around Geoff May on the outside of turn three. I just tried to get up to the front and see what my bike would do at that pace. I was right with Steve Rapp, and had absolutely no issues. Then right after that, I just started losing rear grip. I know I got in Jason and Geoff’s way, all the guys I was in front of. I couldn’t get off the corners, but I could brake as good as anybody. Once those guys got by, I wasn’t able to hang on.” Sunday’s Superbike Final – 28th Place / DNF “It just didn’t feel safe to keep riding,” said Haner, who pulled in on lap 15 of the 28 lap race. “I wasn’t comfortable at all. We’ve been working hard all weekend, but it just didn’t get a whole lot better. The motors are strong, but we’ve just had setup issues. It was just a bad weekend. I guess all of us have them sometimes.” 2005 Superstock Point Standings (After 9 Races) 1. Aaron Yates, 301 2. Jason Disalvo, 280 3. Steve Rapp, 230 4. Roger Lee Hayden, 205 5. John Haner, 196 6. Jake Holden, 195 7. Aaron Gobert, 187 8. Tommy Hayden, 168 9. Damon Buckmaster, 165 10. Geoff May, 160 More, from a press release issued by Team Suzuki: Team Yoshimura’s Mat Mladin recorded his 42nd AMA Superbike win at today’s second-leg AMA Superbike double-header at Virginia International raceway, Alton, Virginia, leading a Suzuki GSX-R1000 one-two-three for the second time this weekend. The five-time AMA Champion headed team mates Aaron Yates and Ben Spies by more than 11 seconds at the end of the 28-lap, 100-mile race and increased his series lead to 21 points over Spies with just one round and two races remaining. The Australian captured the pole position and the track record by posting a 1:23.986 lap time, his 46th career pole position and his ninth – out of a potential nine – this season. He said: “It’s a long way from over. We still have two races to go. I want to thank my guys for working really hard this weekend. And what can I say about the Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000? Two Superbike wins and a Superstock win in one weekend — the motorbike speaks for itself. Along with Suzuki and Dunlop tyres, I’d also like to thank all the fans who came out.” At the start of the 28-lap race, Mladin got a fairly good start but it was Spies who took the lead. Spies led for the first several laps before Mladin overtook him. He then began creating a gap and held onto it for the victory. Spies, meanwhile, held on to second before running wide in a turn and being passed by Yates. “I couldn’t even see Mat in today’s race so I’m not doing as well as I’d like to,” joked Spies from the podium. “But it’s get to get three Suzukis up here.” Said Yates, “This has been a good weekend for me, a good weekend for Suzuki and a good weekend for the fans. It’s great to have Suzuki one-two-three up here and I guess that shows how strong the new GSX-R1000 is.” Mladin, Spies and Yates will campaign the final AMA Superbike race of the season at Road Atlanta next weekend. AMA Superbike Top 10 Finishers: 1. Mat Mladin (Yoshimura Suzuki) 2. Aaron Yates (Yoshimura Suzuki) 3. Ben Spies (Yoshimura Suzuki) 4. Miguel Duhamel (Honda) 5. Neil Hodgson (Ducati) 6. Josh Hayes (Kawasaki) 7. Eric Bostrom (Ducati) 8. Jason Pridmore (Jordan Suzuki) 9. Steve Rapp (Jordan Suzuki) 10. Cory West (Suzuki) Full Championship points uploaded under: AMA/ AMA Superbike/ Championship Points. YATES TAKES SUPERSTOCK VICTORY In the first race of the day, Yoshimura Suzuki’s Aaron Yates won his fifth AMA Repsol Superstock race of the season and extended his points lead in the title chase at Virginia International Raceway on Sunday morning. “I was just really comfortable out there,” said Yates from the podium. “I got a great start on my Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000 and got into Turn One first. I just tried to keep a smooth rhythm out there and keep the pace fast.” In the previous afternoon’s qualifying session, Yates carded himself the fourth position on the grid by posting a fastest lap time of 1:26.303. Although the soft-spoken Georgian was pleased about being on the front row, he would have preferred to be on pole. “I had some issues with the front tyre,” he explained. “The qualifying tyre made the front end feel a little unstable and I couldn’t get into some of the turns the way I wanted. I kind of feel like that’s holding us back a little, but we still have a practice session tomorrow to work on it.” Apparently Yates’ Yoshimura Suzuki crew and GSX-R came through. Yates did indeed get out front immediately, and kept up a blistering pace in what should have been a 17-lap race. Unfortunately, a crashed rider caused a red flag toward the end of the event and the AMA calledthe race. “The Suzuki had great grip at the beginning of the race and then the tyres started slipping and I felt more comfort able,” he said. “About halfway through the race I eased up on the throttle and I couldn’t decide whether Roger Hayden was going to come by me, so I picked it up towards the end of the last lap and then I saw the red flag. I expected some excitement at the end of the race and I was ready for it, so it’s sort of strange for the race to end this way. But congratulations to Roger for a great race and thanks to Yoshimura Suzuki.” Yates is currently 21 points ahead of second place in the Superstock championship points chase. Superstock Top 10 Finishers: 1. Aaron Yates (Yoshimura Suzuki) 2. Roger Lee Hayden (Kawasaki) 3. Jason Disalvo (Yamaha) 4. Damon Buckmaster (Yamaha) 5. Geoff May (M4 EMGO Suzuki) 6. Aaron Gobert (Yamaha) 7. Steve Rapp (Jordan Suzuki) 8. Jason Pridmore (Jordan Suzuki) 9. Jacob Holden (Suzuki) 10. John Haner (Suzuki) SPIES CRASHES IN SUPERSTOCK Team Yoshimura Suzuki’s Ben Spies was headed for a top-five finish in today’s Supersport race at Virginia International Raceway when an unfortunate get-off took him out of the running. Spies had qualified on the second row of the grid with his Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R600 after posting a 1:28.124 lap time the previous afternoon. In the 17-lap race, the young Texan got a good start and was with the front-runners dicing for sixth. “I was right there with Chris Peris in sixth and I was watching my gap on Aaron Gobert,” said Spies, who wasn’t hurt in the incident. “I didn’t want to let him catch me and I was going to wait until the last lap to pass Chris. Then I saw Chris start to lose the front end and then I started to lose the front end. Then he did lose the front end and I think I lost the front end in the exact some place. I don’t know if we were on a sealer line or what.” Supersport Top 10 Finishers: 1. Roger Lee Hayden (Kawasaki) 2. Tommy Hayden (Kawasaki) 3. Jason DiSalvo (Yamaha) 4. Ben Attard (Kawasaki) 5. Damon Buckmaster (Yamaha) 6. Aaron Gobert (Yamaha) 7. Geoff May (M4 EMGO Suzuki) 8. Nickoles Moore (Yamaha) 9. Taylor Knapp (Yamaha) 10. Blake Young (Suzuki) More, from a press release issued by Proforma: GOOD WEEKEND FOR MILLENNIUM KWS SUZUKI IN VIRGINIA The Millennium KWS Suzuki team of Lee Acree and Blake Young had more ups than downs during round nine of the AMA Superbike Championship at Virginia International Raceway. Lee made solid progress on the suspension setup of his Superstock-spec GSX-R1000, allowing him to run closer to the front until a shifting problem forced him into the pits. Two strong Superbike class finishes also helped the cause. Teammate Blake Young didn’t get the results he hoped for, but rode hard to finish well and garner more points in the Superstock and Supersport classes. Lee Acree Saturday’s Superbike Final – 10th Place “You ride the front end so hard here, and I just don’t get along well with the green (harder) front tire,” said Acree, who made progress with the overall setup on his GSX-R1000 leading into the race. “The front started to go, but that wasn’t the issue. I just couldn’t match (Marty) Craggill’s drive off the corners. The only warnings the front gave me was from trying to run it on down in there to make up what I was losing on the other end. The last few laps, the rear was spinning, and I took a couple of shots at being on him, within striking distance. It gave me a couple of bucks out of the seat, and said, ‘Okay, you can keep doing that and you can crash’, so I opted for the tenth place as opposed to the ride back in the crash truck with no points.” Sunday’s Repsol Lubricants Superstock Final – 21st Place / DNF “The chassis felt good,” said Lee, who was running in 13th place when he encountered transmission problems. “The best Superstock bike I’ve been on all year, clear and away. We made a lot of chassis progress this weekend, which was nice. The rear tire started spinning pretty early, but then the bike started shifting itself from third to fourth, and I was coping with that. I caught Eric (Wood), and his pace started to drop off, because he was hurting. At first, because I was spinning and had for a while, I decided I was just going to ride with him, and keep an eye on my pit board. I knew I had motor on him, and physically, I knew I had an advantage on him. When Eric started slowing up even more, I figured we might get run down from the next guy back. I went by Eric and picked up the pace again. Then all of a sudden it didn’t shift at all. I came up out of turn seven and it wouldn’t upshift. I tried to get it to shift, to see if I could stay out for the next few laps, but I came out on the front straight and it just wouldn’t shift. As soon as I pulled in the pits, the red flag came out.” Sunday’s Superbike Final – 13th Place “The bike seemed to work pretty well,” admitted Lee after struggling through the last few events. “We chose between two tires we hadn’t tried this weekend, because we knew the stuff we had wouldn’t go race distance in this heat. I chose the harder one and it wasn’t near as good as the others I’ve ridden in the last day or so at the beginning. The first lap, I tried to ride it like I had ridden what I was on yesterday, and tried to highside myself two or three times. I was behind a group of five or six guys at the beginning, then Cory (West) and (Marty) Craggill worked their way through and they gradually pulled away.” Blake Young Sunday’s Repsol Lubricants Superstock Final – 13th Place “I had a carrot to go catch, I just couldn’t get to it,” said Blake. “The only time I could make up was on the brakes. I was chasing Matt Lynn. I tried a couple of things towards the end of the race, but it played against me. I just couldn’t get off the turns. I’d make up some ground on the brakes, but I’d lose twice as much trying to get out of the turn on the gas. Every time I got passed it was coming out of a turn.” Sunday’s Pro Honda Oils Supersport Final – 10th Place “I was trying to play the strategy game, expecting their tires to go off,” Blake said, referring to Nicky Moore and Taylor Knapp. “I just tried to play out a strategy where I would be in front of them at the end. My strategy was banking on my tires a little bit more than what tire I had. When I went to make my push, the tires weren’t there.” More, from a press release issued by Team M4 EMGO Suzuki: May Top Supersport Suzuki In Virginia Team M4 EMGO Suzuki closed out the Virginia International Raceway race weekend in strong fashion, picking up three top ten on Sunday. The squad had high hopes in particular for Geoff May in the Superstock final and he delivered with a top five result in the hotly contested class. The Georgian didn’t get the start he had hoped to from his second row grid position, dropping to eighth by the conclusion of the opening lap. However, May battled his way up the order throughout the race on his GSX-R1000, climbing to fifth by the time the race was prematurely ended after 13 of a scheduled 17 laps due to a red flag. Teammate Michael Barnes had a harder go it during the race. Missing his set-up slightly, the Floridian fought hard to break into the top ten, claiming tenth in the final results after running in twelfth early. May came back out in the afternoon for the Supersport contest. Continuing the day’s trend of movement up through the field, May guided his Pirelli-shod GSX-R600 from tenth early to seventh by the time he took the checkered flag. He was the highest placed Suzuki-mounted rider in the race. Team M4 EMGO Suzuki crew chief Keith Perry said, “With a little bit better start, we felt Geoff could have finished a position or two higher than he did in the Superstock race. But even without it he finished fifth and I can’t argue with top fives. The guys are working hard and the tires keep coming along better and better. We’re by no means perfect yet, but things are progressing.” He continued, “VIR was another track that we come close to hitting it big — we’ve run really, really strong. We just need to find that consistency to be able to do it all the time. All in all, it was a good day.” Next up is the 2005 AMA season finale at Road Atlanta this upcoming weekend, September 2-4. More, from a press release issued by Hotbodies Racing Honda: Hotbodies Racing Honda Race Report: A Weekend With Top Tens Hotbodies Racing Honda at Virginia International Raceway, August 26-28 Larry Pegram #72 After setting top-fifteen times during Superbike practice on his HRC-kitted Honda CBR1000RR, racer Larry Pegram crashed on Virginia International Raceway’s tough and technical track, injuring his foot and denying him the chance to compete in either of the AMA Superbike races. Pegram was ranked tenth in the points and now having sat out this double-header has slipped to 12th. Even though the next event is in one week at Road Atlanta, Pegram is looking forward to the possibility of being able to compete. Jeremy Toye #57 Jeremy Toye, on his proverbially HRC-kitted Honda CBR1000RR, had a fine weekend at VIR with a qualifying position of 17th that he turned into a 9th-place finish in the twice-restarted Race One, and in Race Two he had an early finish involving grass and sod. Alright, it wasn’t a totally fine weekend. Toye said, “One of the bikes was gone early because I practiced the acrobatic skills of its frame on Thursday. Everybody at the track this weekend is going fast but we kept our head down and things are coming around. I like the bike now. I like the tires. We got almost where we wanted to be. This place will bite you quickly so in the race we kept our heads on our shoulders. In the first start I might as well have taken off in one of the crash trucks. I was on the outside and I thought I’d do something brave but that turned out to be stupid. On the second start I blew it almost as badly. If you give me enough chances I’ll eventually get it right and so on the third start I was fairly deep up in there with some real fast guys. I was a battle for tenth with Cory [West] I think I had three clear laps the whole time. This track is hard to pass on, you either have to make big, ballsy moves or bide your time. I saw some guys make ballsy moves and they didn’t finish the race. So we were happy with the finish. We were 11th-fastest in Sunday’s morning practice, with the 15th-fastest trap speed, so we’re showing what we can do. But in Sunday’s Superbike Race Two I got frustrated. After having a really good start I was stoked but I had a different tire and figured it would take and extra lap to come in. A couple guys went by with no problem and then a couple more and I got pissed off. I then passed one back and ran us both wide. A couple laps later I went to pass another and went off the track. So I mellowed out and then riders kept coming back to me and I was riding fine and then I tucked the front in turn three and went off and fell in the grass and it was all over.” Justin Filice #170 Young gun Justin Filice showed well at VIR in Formula Xtreme and Supersport on his Honda CBR600RR, finishing 15th in the first and 17th in the other. Filice said, “We struggled a little in the beginning. I couldn’t get under “33” for a while. Nicky [Moore] helped by running in front of me. Oh, I also ran off and crashed in the first practice but all I did was just fall over at a low speed. I like the track, it’s tough and physical. In FX I rode by myself for most of the race. My bike has a stock engine so it was down on power but I got 15th. In Supersport I was in a race with guys throughout the whole race. I had a horrible start and was 27th at the end of the first lap. I worked my way up slowing picking guys off and I got into “31’s” during the race. That was a second faster than I’d gone all weekend up to then.” More, from a press release issued by Team Hotbodies Racing: Cory West #187 At VIR Cory West rode his Suzuki GSX-R1000 to 10th, his best Superbike finish ever. That was in Race Two and in Race One West had a nicely complementing 12th-place finish. West said, “Last year I qualified with a 30 flat, this year I did a high-28 my first time out. I got some help from Computrack and that helped. I qualified 21st and was behind Acre and Wood and running fourteenth when the first red flag came out. I was on the fourth row for the restart, Mladin and Hayes got together on that start and there was a hole I slipped through and I was about sixth going into turn one. I was running around in tenth when the second red flag came out. We changed tires for the final restart and they were sliding quickly because we only had them on the warmers for about ten minutes. I hit a huge bug and pulled a tear-off and missed the next corner. I can’t blame it on the bug. 12th matches my best finish and I’d like to see a top ten. So yeah, Sunday’s race when I got that tenth place it was my best finish ever. I had a great start and tried passing a guy in three and I almost high sided my brains out. The bike then went into a huge tank slapper but I stayed on the gas. I was closing in on guys on the brakes in a lot of turns. I got the bike up on the middle of the tire as fast as possible to get on the power as hard as I could. Craggill and I were in a battle all race. He got by me and I saw the gap stayed the same. I finally got him back and he hounded me until about a lap to go. My birthday was Tuesday and it wasn’t anything exciting so I felt like thus was my present to myself. I almost thought I was going to cry crossing the finish line. It was great to finally get a top- ten finish.” Nicky Moore #28 Racer Nicky Moore finished 8th in the Supersport race at VIR, and backed up that performance with a 7th-place finish in Formula Xtreme. Moore is now 14th in Superstock points and 6th in Formula X points with one round remaining in each class. Moore said, “It’s a fun track. I just had a few issues. All of a sudden in the Supersport race I dropped a couple seconds. I was four seconds faster than last year and it was my best finish in Supersport ever. I had a good start but I was back on the fifth row.” Moore said the reason he looks back during a race, nearly as much as he looks towards where he’s going, is to determine if he’s riding fast enough to stay in front of who’s hounding him. Taylor Knapp #38 Taylor Knapp had a weekend of great results by improving from his 19th-place qualifying in Supersport to a ninth-place finish. Knapp also had a 12th-place finish in FX from 14th on the grid on his Yamaha YZF-R6. And he managed it all from his unusual riding style ala Scott Russell: he hangs his head sideways in the turns?! Knapp said, “Practice went really good. I like this track a lot. I had a good set up and almost qualified on row three for FX. I had a great start and was seventh right out of the gate. A couple guys caught me up and then I came together with a lapper and ran off the track and fell on the last lap. I picked up the bike and finished 12th. Supersport went better. I had a really good start. Like everyone else we’ve been battling with traction all weekend because of the heat here. We were all kind of having the same problems. In the race four of us were going back and forth the whole way. It was a great battle.” Heath Small #27 In Superbike Heath Small qualified at the top of row six in 21st, turning that into a 20th-place finish in Race One and a DNFth in Race Two. Riding in Superstock on another Yamaha YZF-R1, Small qualified 23rd and moved forward to finish 17th. Small said, “Practice didn’t go as well as we expected. I missed Thursday practice and on Friday we had a few problems with the bikes. I concentrated on just riding the 1,000cc bikes this weekend because that way I could concentrate better and my mechanic Charlie wouldn’t be overloaded. In practice we had tranny problems on the Superbike and the bike jumped out of gear and then back in and I high sided. In the first Superbike race it was hard to tell if the tire was going to make it with three red flags but it did. I need to practice my starts. I’m not used to the Superbike from having ridden too many different classes at once. We’ll just do these two classes for the rest of the season and for next year I’ll do just two classes. In the second Superbike race the brake pads gave up on the second lap. It felt like the wheel spun on the rim or something, going into turn one on the second lap. On the next lap the lever came back to my knuckles and on the next lap there was even less so I pulled in.” Keith Marshall Keith Marshall concentrated solely on Supersport at VIR, finishing 13th from his 16th-place qualifying position, on his Suzuki GSX-R600. Marshall has been racing a limited AMA schedule this season and this was his best finish ever in the Supersport class. More, from a press release issued by Parts Unlimited Ducati Austin: ‘A TOUGH DAY AT THE OFFICE’ FOR HODGSON AND BOSTROM IN VIRGINIA Alton,Virginia (Aug 28) – Parts Unlimited Ducati Austin riders Neil Hodgson and Eric Bostrom fought through a difficult weekend at Virginia International Raceway, finishing fifth and seventh in Sunday’s 28-lap Superbike race. Both riders managed the hot and humid conditions and the twisty track to earn points in the championship, but the ultra-competitive factory Ducati 999 Superbike pilots were left wanting more. Hodgson, winner at Road America this year, was able to find some speed in the morning warm-up, placing third quickest in that session. Neil earned a solid finish in the race but was unable to fight for the podium on Sunday. “For the most part, I ran my own lonely race, not feeling any pressure (from other riders) and not needing to keep an eye on my pit board,” said Neil after the race. “Really and truly, I don’t know why we had such a rough go of it this weekend. It was the middle section of the track that gave us a tough time. The first part and the last parts were fine. It was a tough day at the office.” Eric Bostrom didn’t find the improvements he needed on Sunday morning, either, although his result meant the Californian and winner of three races in 2005 is still third in AMA Superbike points with just two races left. “There’s really not much to comment on. I feel like I rode even better than yesterday but it didn’t matter much. We were really struggling for feel and didn’t have some grip in spots. I followed around another rider for a while, and in some of the turns, we were pretty fast compared to the competition. In some others, we lost a lot of ground. After winning and doing well lately, we expected to be quick this weekend and anything less was disappointing. Fortunately, we have three days to think about it and we’ll move on to the next one and do better.” “We definitely were aiming higher with our results this weekend,” said team manager Tom Bodenbach. “The team tried hard and we improved our lap times, but it wasn’t enough and we never fully caught up. We’re a competitive team and we’re glad the next race is so soon. We are looking forward to it.” The Road Atlanta doubleheader weekend is September 2-4. Race results – 1.Mat Mladin, Suzuki 2. Aaron Yates, Suzuki 3. Ben Spies, Suzuki 4. Miguel Duhamel, Honda 5. NEIL HODGSON, PARTS UNLIMITED DUCATI AUSTIN 999 6. Josh Hayes, Kawasaki 7. ERIC BOSTROM, PARTS UNLIMITED DUCATI AUSTIN 999 AMA Superbike points (after 15 of 17 rounds) 1. Mat Mladin, Suzuki 471 2. Ben Spies, Suzuki, 450 3. ERIC BOSTROM, PARTS UNLIMITED DUCATI AUSTIN 999 382 4. Aaron Yates, Suzuki 377 5. Miguel Duhamel, Honda 341 6. NEIL HODGSON, PARTS UNLIMITED DUCATI AUSTIN 999 328 More, from a press release issued by Team Stargel: Team Stargel Yamaha Scores Solid Finishes at VIR It’s been said when life gives you lemons, you should make lemonade. During a 2005 season that has brought injuries and lack of setup time, Team Stargel finally got to drink lemonade in the warm Virginia sunshine. After gaining some insight into their handling problems at the last round at Mid-Ohio, the team arrived at VIR eager to implement chassis changes to improve the bike’s handling. Immediately, rider Brian Stokes felt more comfortable on the team’s Yamaha R1 and continued to gain speed and confidence as the weekend wore on. Saturday’s superbike race kept team mechanic Ward Wilson on his toes with tire changes and clutch adjustments during the three starts it took to complete the race. Stokes, rode hard and consistently, finding himself more comfortable with the feel of his Yamaha as the race unfolded. With a thrilling run to the stripe, he passed Corona’s Brent George to take 14th. The result in race number one did nothing but foster Stokes’ confidence for Sunday’s race. Under warm and sunny skies, the race got off cleanly with no red flags. Stokes’ poor start did not help his cause as he put his head down and charged through the pack. After having a back and forth battle with Hooters’ Eric Wood, Brian wisely latched on to him and worked to gain ground on the riders ahead of them. In a thrilling last lap move, Stokes went underneath both Wood and KWS Suzuki rider, Lee Acree to finish twelfth. Stokes remarked afterwards that after 26 hard laps, his Michelin front slick still gave him the confidence to make that inside pass. Team Stargel Yamaha now looks to this upcoming weekend’s round at Road Atlanta. This is the team’s home track and the site of Stokes’ eleventh place superbike finish in 2004.

Yoshimura Suzuki’s Mat Mladin came back from another less-than-perfect start to win Sunday’s 28-lap AMA Superbike race at Virginia International Raceway. The win was 10th win of the season, tying the single season record, and the 42nd of his career. It also extends his Championship point lead out to 21 points over teammate Ben Spies, who finished third Sunday. Spies was beaten by his other teammate Aaron Yates, who took second, 11 seconds behind Mladin. It was the fifth time the Yoshimura Suzuki trio have swept the AMA Superbike podium in 2005. The fourth sweep came Saturday. American Honda’s Miguel Duhamel put on a big charge to erase Spies’ 10-second lead, but the French-Canadian came up 1.6 seconds short at the finish. Duhamel’s teammate Jake Zemke retired with mechanical problems while running fourth on lap 15. AMA Superbike Race Two Results: 1. Mat Mladin, Suzuki, 28 laps 2. Aaron Yates, Suzuki, -11.009 seconds 3. Ben Spies, Suzuki, -16.886 seconds 4. Miguel Duhamel, Honda, -18.517 seconds 5. Neil Hodgson, Ducati, -28.518 seconds 6. Josh Hayes, Kawasaki, -34.130 seconds 7. Eric Bostrom, Ducati, -41.715 seconds 8. Jason Pridmore, Suzuki, -55.975 seconds 9. Steve Rapp, Suzuki, -67.021 seconds 10. Cory West, Suzuki, -87.616 seconds 11. Marty Craggill, Suzuki, -1 lap 12. Brian Stokes, Yamaha, -1 lap 13. Lee Acree, Suzuki, -1 lap 14. Eric Wood, Suzuki, -1 lap 15. Jason Perez, Yamaha, -1 lap 16. Scott Jensen, Suzuki, -1 lap 17. Akira Tamitsuji, Suzuki, -1 lap 18. Matt Lynn, Suzuki, -1 lap 19. Jimmy Moore, Suzuki, -1 lap 20. Jason Curtis, Suzuki, -1 lap 21. Tony Meiring, Suzuki, -1 lap 22. Anthony Fania, Suzuki, -1 lap 23. David Bell, Suzuki, -1 lap 24. Dean Mizdal, Suzuki, -1 lap 25. Scott Carpenter, Suzuki, -1 lap 26. C.R. Gittere, Suzuki, -1 lap 27. J.J. Roetlin, Suzuki, -1 lap 28. John Haner, Suzuki, -8 laps, DNF, mechanical 29. Marco Martinez, Suzuki, -9 laps, DNF 30. Kurtis Roberts, Honda, -11 laps, DNF, mechanical 31. Jake Zemke, Honda, -13 laps, DNF, mechanical 32. Jeremy Toye, Honda, -14 laps, DNF, crash 33. Heath Small, Yamaha, -23 laps, DNF 34. Brent George, Suzuki, -24 laps, DNF, mechanical 35. James Kerker, Honda, -27 laps, DNF, mechanical 36. Geoff May, Suzuki, DNS 37. Jake Holden, Suzuki, DNS 38. Larry Pegram, Honda, DNS More, from a press release issued by Vreeke & Assoc, on behalf of Dunlop: Dunlop race report: 2005 AMA Superbike series at Virginia International Raceway Alton, VA It’s going to come down to the last race of the season to determine all of the champions of the AMA 2005 Superbike series. Yoshimura Suzuki’s Mat Mladin was dominant in two Superbike wins, improving his odds to collect an unprecedented sixth AMA Superbike crown. In support series action, Mladin’s teammate Aaron Yates collected his fifth Superstock win to inch closer to the class championship. A victory by Honda Racing’s Miguel Duhamel improved his upset chances to win a second Formula Xtreme title and Kawasaki Road Racing’s Roger Lee Hayden collected his second consecutive win to keep his hopes alive for a Supersport ring. For Dunlop, it was another impressive outing. In the weekend’s five races, Dunlop-shod riders took 36 of the 50 top-ten winning positions. VIR is predominantly a fast “right-hand” track that generates significant heat in the right side of the rear tire, particularly along the front straightaway, which curves to the right as the riders approach turn one at speeds exceeding 160 mph. Dunlop brought 2583 tires to support the factory teams and support riders in the Superbike, Superstock, Supersport and Formula Xtreme classes at VIR (as well as next week’s round at Road Atlanta), including rain tires. The factory Superbike teams had three front and three rear tire options, including multi-compound rear tires utilizing Dunlop’s NT (New Technology) construction. The factory Superstock riders had six front and five rear tire compound choices. Coming into this Superbike round, Mladin led his teammate Ben Spies by a scant nine points in the championship tally. In qualifying, Mladin would pad that margin by one as he rode his Suzuki GSX-R1000 to a new track record of 1:23.986, marking his 46th career pole position and his ninth (out of a potential nine) this season. In the first Superbike race of the weekend doubleheader, Mladin was a man on a mission. Despite three red flags and two poor restarts, the five-time champ relentlessly worked his way through the pack and ultimately took the victory by 3.7 seconds. “It’s not that hard to pass at VIR,” said Mladin. “This track is pretty good about that. It’s also a matter of being aggressive and getting through and that’s what I did. Also, the front of the bike’s sticking very well and I was able to be aggressive in some tight corners.” With teammates Ben Spies coming in second and Aaron Yates in third, Yoshimura Suzuki swept the podium for the fourth time this year. The results of the second Superbike race nearly duplicated the first, giving Suzuki their second podium sweep of the weekend. It was far-less dramatic, however and Sunday’s race ran without serious incident. With a less-than-ideal start, Mladin once again had to work his way forward, but by lap five he had overtaken teammate Spies. He then motored away to amass a comfortable lead and took the checkered flag with 11.01 seconds in hand. In so doing, he collected his 42nd career Superbike victory while his 10th win this season ties his own record set in 2003 and that of Fred Merkel in 1984. “It’s a long way from over,” said Mladin. “We still have two races to go. I want to thank my guys for working really hard this weekend. Along with Suzuki and Dunlop tires, I’d also like to thank all the fans who came out.” Following Mladin home was Yates and then Spies. Mladin’s win, combined with Spies’ third-place finish, staked out a 21-point cushion (471 vs. 450) over Spies in the championship hunt. Ducati Austin’s Eric Bostrom is in third with 382. The first support race of the weekend showcased an incredibly-tight battle between Honda Racing teammates Duhamel and Jake Zemke aboard their CBR600RRs in Formula Extreme competition. Zemke led Duhamel by just 11 points coming into the event. Duhamel gained ground in qualifying, establishing a new 600-class lap record of 126.581 seconds and picked up a point in the process. Indicative of the close racing action was the start of lap seven, when according to the AMA’s timing feed, both riders crossed the start-finish line at exactly the same time. Duhamel was not to be denied; his eventual 1.136-second margin of victory was his third of the season and his 11th career Formula Xtreme win. “My bike was strong all weekend,” said Duhamel. “I was going to do everything I could in order to get the win. My CBR600RR rain great and hats off to my crew, they worked really hard to get us in a position to win the race.” With just one round remaining, Zemke’s lead is only five points, meaning that a perfect performance by Duhamel at Road Atlanta (pole, laps led and race win) could seal his second Formula Xtreme championship. MPT Racing’s Danny Eslick holds down third with 171 points. Superstock action on Sunday morning promised more close-action racing as series-leader Yates hoped to protect a 14-point lead over Graves Motorsports Yamaha’s Jason Disalvo. In qualifying, Disalvo set the fastest lap at 125.584 on his YZF-R1 despite a painful knee-injury suffered earlier in the day in Supersport practice. Yates led from the start of the race on his GSX-R1000, closely followed by Kawasaki Road Racing’s Roger Lee Hayden. The two raced nose-to-tail, lap-after-lap until a red-flag on lap 14 brought the action to a premature end, giving Yates his fifth victory of the season. “The Suzuki had great grip at the beginning of the race and then the tires started slipping and I felt more comfortable,” said Yates. “I expected some excitement at the end of the race and I was ready for it, so it’s sort of strange for the race to end this way.” An exhausted Disalvo took third. With one race to go, Yates increased his point lead over Disalvo to 21 (301 vs 280), while Jordon Motorsports Suzuki’s Steve Rapp is third with 230. Coming into the penultimate Supersport race of the season, Kawasaki Road Racing’s Tommy Hayden had a chance to win his second consecutive Supersport title. He led younger brother Roger Lee by 36 points, but it would take a win to do it. And he almost pulled it off, coming just .331-seconds short of”¦ who else, Roger Lee at the checkered flag. This day belonged to the younger Hayden, who officially led every lap but the first on his ZX-6RR, taking his second consecutive win and third victory of the season. “It was a good race,” said Hayden. “Tom stayed close the whole way. I was hoping he’d give me a break the last couple of laps but it didn’t happen. All in all it was a good day for me.” Yamaha’s Jason Disalvo soldiered home to third. Tommy Hayden still holds the championship lead with 301 points going into the final round at Road Atlanta. Roger Lee follows with 270 and Disalvo is third with 240. The next stop for Dunlop and the AMA road racing tour will be Road Atlanta, Braselton, Georgia, September 2-4, featuring a doubleheader round of Superbike action. About Dunlop Tires Dunlop Tires is the largest supplier of original equipment and replacement motorcycle tires in the U.S. and the only manufacturer of motorcycle tires in North America. With North American operations headquartered in Buffalo, NY, Dunlop has been making and selling high-quality tires in the U.S. since 1923. For more information, please visit www.dunlopmotorcycle.com. More, from a press release issued by VIR: Mladin Leads Double Suzuki Superbike Sweep in Suzuki Big Kahuna Nationals at VIR Alton, Va. (August 28) Five-time AMA Superbike champion Mat Mladin led a double Suzuki 1-2-3 sweep in the two feature races for the AMA Superbike Championship presented by Parts Unlimited in the Suzuki Big Kahuna Nationals at VIRginia International Raceway this weekend. On Saturday, Mladin started from pole with a track-record qualifying time but had to rebound from 15th place after falling back in the field following a red-flag restart to claim his 41st career win, with Yoshimura Suzuki teammates Aaron Yates and Ben Spies filling the podium spots. On Sunday, Mladin fell to fifth at the start but roared back to totally dominate the second race, pulling out as much as a 15sec lead. Again, Yates and Spies finished second and third, respectively. In Saturday’s Lockhart Phillips Formula Xtreme series race, defending series champ Miguel Duhamel held off a strong challenge from Honda teammate Jake Zemke to win, with Yamaha-mounted privateer Robert Jensen finishing third. Sunday’s Pro Honda Oils Supersport series race featured a thrilling finish between two Kawasaki-mounted brothers, as Roger Lee Hayden edged his elder sibling Tommy by a razor-thin 0.022sec margin, with third place going to Yamaha’s Jason DiSalvo. Yates backed up his two runner-up Superbike finishes with a win in Sunday’s Repsol Superstock series race, holding off a race-long chase by Roger Lee Hayden, with DiSalvo taking another third place. The race was red-flagged after 14 of 17 scheduled laps when Jake Holder crashed heavily on the front straight after tangling with Jason Pridmore. Holder was transported to the hospital, but was reportedly awake and alert and responding to the medical staff. DiSalvo’s performances were notable considering that he injured his knee in practice on Friday, a mishap that necessitated a trip to the hospital for treatment. Despite the pain in his knee, he put went on to take pole position for both the Superstock and Supersport races, and claimed the two third-place finishes. The Suzuki Big Kahuna Nationals event was a huge success, with an estimated 40,000 spectators attending over the three days, and new event promoters Race Promotion Management (RPM) were pleased with the outcome. “We are ecstatic with the way everything went for our first Suzuki Big Kahuna Nationals at VIR,” said RPM vice president Cameron Gray. “From Thursday’s celebrity kart race to the fan party on Friday, the live music and stunt shows on Saturday and Sunday and some of the best motorcycle racing in the world on top of it all, it couldn’t have been better. “The fans at VIR were great, and everybody seemed to have a good time. We appreciate their support, as well as that from Suzuki, Red Bull and Speed Channel, and we look forward to making this event bigger and better next year.” The VIR staff will now gear up for next weekend’s Stock Car Spectacular, and the Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series’ VIR 400 scheduled for Oct. 7-9. For ticket information, visit www.virclub.com. VIRginia International Raceway is a multi-purpose road racing facility, located on the Dan River between Danville and South Boston, Va., and just north of historic Milton, N.C. In addition to its 3.27-mile natural-terrain road racing circuit (designed to be operated as two autonomous, full-service courses), VIR is the cornerstone of VIR Club, America’s first motorsports country club; the VIR Raceplex Industrial Park; the VIR Gallery, which is a sales showroom for high-end collector and racing cars; the VIR Safety and Security Institute, which provides specialized training for U.S. Government and military groups; The Lodge at VIR, a 27-room hotel overlooking the track; and the Oak Tree Tavern, a full-service restaurant located within the circa-1840 Plantation Clubhouse. VIR made history from 1957 to 1974 and is doing so again. The 2.25-mile VIR North Course circuit on which the Suzuki Big Kahuna Nationals will take place has 17 challenging turns and 130 feet of elevation change. In addition to spectator events, the track is also available to rent for testing, driving schools and club days. For more information on VIRginia International Raceway, visit the track’s website at www.virclub.com or contact VIR at 434-822-7700. For more information on Race Promotion Management, visit their website at www.rpmcolorado.com or contact them via telephone at 303-377-3278. For more information on the AMA Superbike Championship Presented by Parts Unlimited, visit their website at www.amasuperbike.com. More, from a press release issued by Honda Racing Information: Temperature: 31 degrees Climate: Warm, overcast Mixed Fortunes in Virginia American Honda’s Jake Zemke and Miguel Duhamel endured two red flags and lengthy delays in Saturday’s Superbike race, but never lost focus en route to fourth and fifth place finishes, respectively, in the penultimate round of the AMA Superbike Championship at Virginia International Raceway. Sunday was more of a challenge, with both suffering mechanical problems. Even so, Duhamel was a closing fourth, while Zemke went out just past the halfway point while challenging for the final podium position. Saturday’s race was stopped twice, each break giving the teams time to fine tune the American Honda CBR1000RR’s. Zemke was in third when Sunday’s race was stopped for the second time on the 13th of 28 laps, Duhamel was fifth. The final leg would be 16 laps. Off the re-start Zemke took the lead, holding it for a lap before moving to second for four laps, then third for the next nine laps. Zemke lost the final podium position two laps from the finish. Duhamel moved into fifth, his final finishing position, on lap six. At the start of Sunday’s race, held in brilliant sunshine, Zemke bolted with the leaders while Duhamel dealt with a balky clutch. Second on the opening lap, Zemke settled into third until the ninth lap. He spent his remaining time trying to win back the third position, only to see it come undone with an electrical gremlin lap 15. Duhamel was ninth on the opening lap before a ruthless attack put him up to fifth on lap 10 and fourth when Zemke retired. Both Superbike races were won by Suzuki’s Mat Mladin. Teammates Ben Spies and Aaron Yates were second and third in race one, with Yates taking second from Spies on Sunday. As they’ve done all year, Zemke and Duhamel dominated Formula Xtreme on their American Honda CBR600RR’s. From his pole position, Duhamel bolted to a lead he was disinclined to relinquish. Only twice in 17 laps was Zemke able to inch ahead, and then not for long. Both times Duhamel re-passed him on the following laps. Duhamel edged away with five laps to go and grew the lead to 1.136 seconds at the end. It was his second win in a row and he did it in record time, averaging 92.799 mph. With only next week’s season finale at Road Atlanta remaining, Zemke leads Duhamel by five points. Regardless of how they do next week, the teammates are guaranteed to give Honda a one-two finish in the standings for the second year in a row. “There’s only one race left now and it ain’t going to be no picnic at Road Atlanta either,” Duhamel said. Jake Zemke, 4th, Saturday Superbike The guys made some changes to the bike this morning and it really came around. The thing’s working a whole lot better. It’s still a little bit hard on the tires. I definitely was starting to slide around quite a bit on the front and the rear. We were starting to reel in (second placed Ben) Spies and I was thinking, ‘Man we might be able to catch him before the end here.’ I was just catching lappers wrong and catching lappers wrong and catching lappers wrong. I just kept getting them in all the wrong spots. And that allowed Aaron (Yates) to suck right up to us. I was basically a sitting duck at that point. Miguel Duhamel, 5th, Saturday Superbike I think we had three races in Superbike; two I was pretty happy with. My starts were not that great, but my times were terrific. I did a 25.3 with race tires. That’s all we had, but they were better than my qualifying time. At the end there we did a little change, it wasn’t maybe enough. Tomorrow we’ll try to get something better for the Superbike and be a bit more in there. Our lap times are really competitive. We’ve just got to get out with the guys and run with them in beginning, like we did in one or two of those races. We had a good shot at podium. I could see Jake (Zemke) up there and man, I’ve got to at least get up there. If he can do it I can do it and I got to get up there. And he got some great starts. It was terrific. It was a good race. Jake Zemke, DNF, Sunday Superbike Something happened to thing at 100% throttle, the thing started cutting out. But it wouldn’t cut out anywhere else. It was just right on top. It wasn’t just cutting out, it was coughing and burbling and sputtering. We’re not really sure yet what it is. The boys will have to tear that one apart and see what happened to it. Miguel Duhamel, 5th, Sunday Superbike We started pretty far back and when those guys started to get going I was not able to respond because I had to get through some guys. And they were riding OK, obviously, because I couldn’t get by them comfortably. So once I got by them I just tried to put my head down. I was ten seconds back. The bike was good. I figured I’d give it a shot, see what we can do. We might as well have some fun. I’ve got nothing else to do. Jake Zemke, 2nd, Formula Xtreme It was pretty decent, all except for the finishing order, I think. Other than that it was good. We had to play a little bit of catch-up this weekend. I didn’t have the opportunity to test here. I had a little something going on with my elbow at the time. So we were playing catch-up all weekend to Miguel. Hats off to him. He rode great and his crew did a great job and at the end of the day we just didn’t have it for him today, but we’ll come back swinging next week. Miguel Duhamel, 1st, Formula Xtreme I’ve got to do what I’ve got to do. I’ve got to go out there and win everything I can, lead every lap, and a little bit in the.I wouldn’t call it panic, but definitely the time to do everything I can. It was really tight tracing and I did touch Jake up in turn 14, 14A, that right-hander going in. We were both on the brakes sliding. He started turning, which we had to do and we just touched and I was happy that it wasn’t too much of a big nudge or sent him off or anything like that. And then after that I just said come on, just get yourself together. Put some good laps down. And that’s what I did. Superbike Race One 1. Mat Mladin (Suzuki) 2. Ben Spies (Suzuki) 3. Aaron Yates (Suzuki) 4. Jake Zemke (Honda) 5. Miguel Duhamel (Honda) 6. Eric Bostrom (Ducati) 7. Josh Hayes (Kawasaki) 8. Marty Craggill (Suzuki) 9. Jeremy Toye (Honda) 10. Lee Acree (Suzuki) Sunday Superbike 1. Mat Mladin (Suzuki) 2. Aaron Yates (Suzuki) 3. Ben Spies (Suzuki) 4. Miguel Duhamel (Honda) 5. Neil Hodgson (Ducati) 6. Josh Hayes (Kawasaki) 7. Eric Bostrom (Ducati) 8. Jason Pridmore (Suzuki) 9. Steve Rapp (Suzuki) 10. Cory West (Suzuki) Championship Standings 1. Mat Mladin (471) 2. Ben Spies (450) 3. Eric Bostrom (382) 4. Aaron Yates (377) 5. Miguel Duhamel (341) 6. Neil Hodgson (328) 7. Marty Craggill (290) 8. Steve Rapp (268) 9. Lee Acree (265) 10. Josh Hayes (252) 11. Jake Zemke (239) Formula Xtreme 1. Miguel Duhamel (Honda) 2. Jake Zemke (Honda) 3. Robert Jensen (Yamaha) 4. Ben Attard (Kawasaki) 5. Michael Barnes (Suzuki) 6. Opie Caylor (Suzuki) 7. Nicky Moore (Yamaha) 8. Ryan Andrews (Ducati) 9. Mike Hale (Honda) 10. Trey Yonce (Suzuki)

Rizla Suzuki’s James Haydon left his best lap until the end of today’s qualifying sessions to secure an eighth place second row start for tomorrow’s 10th round of the British Superbike Championship at Cadwell Park. Haydon raised the ride-height on his Rizla Suzuki in the morning to speed up turning through the tight Hall Bends section of the track and instantly found extra speed. With the exception of his final lap during the afternoon session on a qualifying tyre, he was held-up by back-markers and was relieved to secure a second row start. British Superbike Champion John Reynolds will start from 12th on the third row of the grid after struggling to find front-end grip. The wind increased in strength as the day progressed and only a handful of riders went faster in the afternoon session. Ducati’s Leon Haslam will start from pole position. Traditionally, Cadwell Park is one of the most popular races of the year with crowds in excess of 40,000 making the trip to the picturesque Lincolnshire circuit. Superbike racing starts at 1315 on Bank Holiday Monday. James Haydon: “I desperately wanted a clear lap without traffic on a qualifying tyre and had to wait right until the very last minute before I got it. Even then, I made a mistake right at the end of the lap. Going into the hairpin – the penultimate corner – there was some oil on track and I ran wide. It cost me a few tenths so I was glad when I came into the pits to see I had managed to get onto the second row.” John Reynolds: “Every time I went to lift my pace, the front end would push out through the corners. The bike gave me a lot of warning shots today and I was unable to commit over the bumps due to a lack of front-end grip. I’m going to spend some time thinking and discussing this with my crew and we are aiming to find a solution in tomorrow morning’s warm-up.” Robert Wicks – Team Manager: “Eighth place on the grid for James is a fair result given his proven speed on race rubber and lack of clear laps on qualifying tyres. His aim is to compete for the podium tomorrow and if he gets his trademark good start, then that’s achievable. “‘JR’ has lost confidence in the front end of his bike and is now focusing on getting it back. Starting from 12th isn’t ideal but he is a Champion and will dig deep and go for the best result he can. “The team enjoyed a successful test here at the end of July and it is frustrating not to have made as much progress as we would have hoped for now we are back here racing.” Qualifying Times: 1: Leon Haslam (Ducati) 1:27.280, 2: Tommy Hill (Yamaha) +0.360, 3: Gregorio Lavilla (Ducati) +0.375, 4: Karl Harris (Honda) +0.763, 5: Glen Richards (Kawasaki) +0.809, 6: Jonathan Rea (Honda) +0.993, 7: Michael Rutter (Honda) +0.998, 8: James Haydon (Rizla Suzuki) +1.165, 9: Dean Thomas (Kawasaki) +1.278, 10: James Buckingham (Suzuki) +1.293, 12: John Reynolds (Rizla Suzuki) +1.410.

Kawasaki’s Roger Hayden kept his AMA Supersport Championship hopes alive by holding off brother and teammate Tommy Hayden by half-a-bikelength in Sunday’s 17-lap final at Virginia International Raceway. Tommy Hayden’s Supersport Championship point lead is now 301 to 270 over Roger Hayden with one race remaining. Yamaha’s Jason DiSalvo, who rode with an injured left knee, raced close to the lead pair before fading to a safe third. Kneedraggers.com’s Robert Jensen crashed his Yamaha out of fourth on lap 10. Yoshimura Suzuki’s Ben Spies and Topline Printing Yamaha’s Chris Peris crashed together in turn one while racing for sixth on lap 14. Provisional AMA Supersport Race Results: 1. Roger Hayden, Kawasaki, 17 laps 2. Tommy Hayden, Kawasaki, -0.022 second 3. Jason DiSalvo, Yamaha, -6.883 seconds 4. Ben Attard, Kawasaki, -10.418 seconds 5. Damon Buckmaster, Yamaha, -12.706 seconds 6. Aaron Gobert, Yamaha, -17.237 seconds 7. Geoff May, Suzuki, -34.461 seconds 8. Nicky Moore, Yamaha, -47.035 seconds 9. Taylor Knapp, Yamaha, -47.365 seconds 10. Blake Young, Suzuki, -48.063 seconds 11. Ryan Elleby, Suzuki, -48.491 seconds 12. Nathan Hester, Yamaha, -58.544 seconds 13. Keith Marshall, Suzuki, -58.873 seconds 14. Barrett Long, Yamaha, -64.737 seconds 15. Derek Keyes, Suzuki, -64.911 seconds 16. Scott Jackson, Suzuki, -74.188 seconds 17. Justin Filice, Honda, -74.202 seconds 18. Shea Fouchek, Suzuki, -74.220 seconds 19. Donny Kelley, Suzuki, -79.540 seconds 20. Joseph Ford, Yamaha, -1 lap 21. Jason Moss, Yamaha, -1 lap, -4.221 seconds 22. Armando Ferrer, Yamaha, -1 lap, -28.309 23. Mark Kittel, Honda, -1 lap, -28.475 24. Victor Chirinos, Yamaha, -3 laps, DNF, crash 25. Chris Peris, Yamaha, -4 laps, DNF, crash 26. Ben Spies, Suzuki, -4 laps, DNF, crash 27. Chad Klock, Honda, -6 laps, DNF, crash 28. Trey Yonce, Yamaha, -6 laps, DNF, mechanical 29. Robert Jensen, Yamaha, -8 laps, DNF, crash 30. Mathew Berry, Yamaha, -11 laps, DNF, crash 31. Danny Eslick, Suzuki, DNS 32. Dillon Kao, Yamaha, DNS

Yoshimura Suzuki’s Aaron Yates took the win in Sunday’s red-flag-shortened AMA Superstock race at Virginia International Raceway. Yates was chased closely by Kawasaki’s Roger Hayden, until the race was stopped on lap 14 due to a bad crash on the front straightaway involving Lion Racing Suzuki’s Jake Holden. Holden’s front tire made contact with the rear tire on Jason Pridmore’s Michael Jordan Motorsports Suzuki at about the finish line on the kinked front straight, and Holden crashed at high speed. Pridmore did not fall. Speed traps caught the pair at about 165 mph as they made contact, moments before the crash. The race was called complete, and Yates was declared the winner by 0.5 second over Hayden. Yamaha’s Jason DiSalvo, who is riding injured, finished a relatively distant third. The win extends Yates’ Championship lead over DiSalvo to 21 points, 301 to 280, with one race remaining. Holden was transported by ambulance to a hospital in nearby Danville after a medevac helicopter slated to take Holden to Duke University Hospitals in Durham reported that low cloud cover made landing at VIR impossible. According to American Suzuki’s Morgan Broadhead, Holden was awake and moving, and was combative, a sign of a concussion. Revised AMA Superstock Race Results: 1. Aaron Yates, Suzuki, 13 laps 2. Roger Hayden, Kawasaki, -0.574 second 3. Jason DiSalvo, Yamaha, -4.900 seconds 4. Damon Buckmaster, Yamaha, -9.586 seconds 5. Geoff May, Suzuki, -12.131 seconds 6. Aaron Gobert, Yamaha, -12.650 seconds 7. Steve Rapp, Suzuki, -12.777 seconds 8. Jason Pridmore, Suzuki, -15.672 seconds 9. John Haner, Suzuki, -16.363 seconds 10. Michael Barnes, Suzuki, -16.486 seconds 11. Eric Wood, Suzuki, -27.219 seconds 12. Matt Lynn, Suzuki, -28.280 seconds 13. Blake Young, Suzuki, -31.344 seconds 14. Jason Perez, Yamaha, -37.869 seconds 15. Tony Meiring, Suzuki, -40.376 seconds 16. Akira Tamitsuji, Suzuki, -43.657 seconds 17. Heath Small, Yamaha, -45.963 seconds 18. Jimmy Moore, Suzuki, -49.647 seconds 19. Chris Ulrich, Suzuki, -65.799 seconds 20. Jake Holden, Suzuki, -1 lap 21. Lee Acree, Suzuki, -1 lap, -11.903 seconds 22. Adrian Jones, Suzuki, -1 lap, -68.227 23. Jeremy Haiduk, Yamaha, -1 lap, -71.939 24. J.J. Roetlin, Suzuki, -1 lap, -78.829 25. David Loikits, Suzuki, -1 lap, -88.698 26. Kenny Rodriguez, Honda, -1 lap, -100.154 27. Brad Puetz, Suzuki, -1 lap, -110.434 28. Tim Rinaldi, Suzuki, -1 lap, -127.085 29. Montez Stewart, Suzuki, -10 laps, DNF, crash 30. Brent George, Suzuki, -12 laps, DNF, mechanical AMA Superstock Championship Point Standings (after 9 out of 10 races): 1. Yates, 301 points 2. DiSalvo, 280 points 3. Rapp, 230 points 4. Holden, 206 points 5. Roger Hayden, 205 points 6. Haner, 195 points 7. Aaron Gobert, 187 points 8. Tommy Hayden, 168 points 9. Buckmaster, 165 points 10. May, 160 points

Provisional Sunday Morning AMA Superbike Practice Times; 1. Mat Mladin, Suzuki, 1:24.316 2. Aaron Yates, Suzuki, 1:25.612 3. Neil Hodgson, Ducati, 1:25.707 4. Miguel Duhamel, Honda, 1:25.808 5. Jake Zemke, Honda, 1:26.026 6. Ben Spies, Suzuki, 1:26.111 7. Josh Hayes, Kawasaki, 1:26.642 8. Jason Pridmore, Suzuki, 1:27.002 9. Eric Bostrom, Ducati, 1:27.008 10. Kurtis Roberts, Honda, 1:27.193 11. Jeremy Toye, Honda, 1:27.511 12. Steve Rapp, Suzuki, 1:27.791 13. Marty Craggill, Suzuki, 1:27.833 14. Lee Acree, Suzuki, 1:28.630 15. Cory West, Suzuki, 1:29.184 16. Tony Meiring, Suzuki, 1:29.604 17. Jason Curtis, Suzuki, 1:29.684 18. Scott Jensen, Suzuki, 1:29.761 19. Heath Small, Yamaha, 1:29.780 20. Brian Stokes, Yamaha, 1:29.970 21. Larry Pegram, Honda, 1:31.297 22. Scott Carpenter, Suzuki, 1:31.613 23. Anthony Fania, Suzuki, 1:31.691 24. Dean Mizdal, Suzuki, 1:32.679 25. C.R. Gittere, Suzuki, 1:32.681

Provisional Sunday Morning AMA Supersport Practice Times: 1. Jason DiSalvo, Yamaha, 1:27.499 2. Roger Hayden, Kawasaki, 1:27.682 3. Chris Peris, Yamaha, 1:28.176 4. Aaron Gobert, Yamaha, 1:28.254 5. Tommy Hayden, Kawasaki, 1:28.256 6. Robert Jensen, Yamaha, 1:28.510 7. Ben Attard, Kawasaki, 1:28.519 8. Ben Spies, Suzuki, 1:28.730 9. Geoff May, Suzuki, 1:29.155 10. Barrett Long, Yamaha, 1:31.154 11. Blake Young, Suzuki, 1:31.304 12. Nicky Moore, Yamaha, 1:31.719 13. Derek Keyes, Suzuki, 1:31.989 14. Armando Ferrer, Yamaha, 1:32.010 15. Nathan Hester, Yamaha, 1:32.149 16. Keith Marshall, Suzuki, 1:32.288 17. Taylor Knapp, Yamaha, 1:32.322 18. Scott Jackson, Suzuki, 1:32.368 19. Victor Chirinos, Yamaha, 1:32.668 20. Donny Kelley, Suzuki, 1:32.677

Provisional Sunday Morning AMA Superstock Practice: 1. Aaron Yates, Suzuki, 1:26.866 2. Jason DiSalvo, Yamaha, 1:27.089 3. Steve Rapp, Suzuki, 1:27.176 4. Roger Hayden, Kawasaki, 1:27.276 5. Aaron Gobert, Yamaha, 1:27.713 6. Geoff May, Suzuki, 1:27.722 7. Damon Buckmaster, Yamaha, 1:27.792 8. Jason Pridmore, Suzuki, 1:28.258 9. Michael Barnes, Suzuki, 1:28.591 10. Jake Holden, Suzuki, 1:28.667 11. Eric Wood, Suzuki, 1:28.980 12. John Haner, Suzuki, 1:29.308 13. Chris Ulrich, Suzuki, 1:29.849 14. Tony Meiring, Suzuki, 1:30.209 15. Matt Lynn, Suzuki, 1:30.236 16. Jason Perez, Yamaha, 1:30.586 17. Heath Small, Yamaha, 1:31.356 18. Lee Acree, Suzuki, 1:31.370 19. Blake Young, Suzuki, 1:31.500 20. Brent George, Suzuki, 1:31.810

MotoGP Race Results: 1. Valentino ROSSI, Yamaha, 22 laps, 43:56.539 2. Loris CAPIROSSI, Ducati, -1.837 seconds 3. Max BIAGGI, Honda, -3.444 seconds 4. Alex BARROS, Honda, -4.148 seconds 5. Nicky HAYDEN, Honda, -4.363 seconds 6. Marco MELANDRI, Honda, -11.150 seconds 7. Colin EDWARDS, Yamaha, -13.532 seconds 8. Carlos CHECA, Ducati, -19.331 seconds 9. Troy BAYLISS, Honda, -27.125 seconds 10. Makoto TAMADA, Honda, -27.248 seconds 11. Kenny ROBERTS, Suzuki, -27.684 seconds 12. Shinya NAKANO, Kawasaki, -27.803 seconds 13. John HOPKINS, Suzuki, -28.278 seconds 14. Toni ELIAS, Yamaha, -28.571 seconds 15. Alex HOFMANN, Kawasaki, -29.768 seconds 16. Nobuatsu AOKI, Suzuki, -41.778 seconds 17. Roberto ROLFO, Ducati, -57.800 seconds 18. Ruben XAUS, Yamaha, -68.082 seconds 19. James ELLISON, Blata, -102.169 seconds 20. Franco BATTAINI, Blata, -114.784 seconds 21. Sete GIBERNAU, Honda, -1 lap, DNF, mechanical 22. Jeremy McWILLIAMS, Proton, -15 laps, DNF, mechanical MotoGP World Championship Point Standings (after 11 of 16 races): 1. ROSSI, 261 points 2. BIAGGI, 129 points 3. MELANDRI, 126 points 4. EDWARDS, 123 points 5. GIBERNAU, 115 points 6. BARROS, 114 points 7. HAYDEN, 112 points 8. CAPIROSSI, 92 points 9. NAKANO, 69 points 10. Carlos CHECA, 59 points 11. BAYLISS, 54 points 12. TAMADA, 48 points 13. ROBERTS, 41 points 14. XAUS, 36 points 15. HOPKINS, 35 points 16. ELIAS, 31 points 17. Olivier JACQUE, 25 points 18. HOFMANN, 22 points 19. ROLFO, 15 points 20. Jurgen vd GOORBERGH, 12 points 21. TIE, ELLISON/David CHECA, 4 points 23. TIE, BATTAINI/Shane BYRNE/Tohru UKAWA, 1 point More, from a press release issued by Kawasaki Racing: NAKANO AND HOFMANN BOTH FINISH IN THE POINTS AT BRNO A maximum racing effort by Kawasaki riders Shinya Nakano and Alex Hofmann delivered World Championship points, but little in the way of satisfaction, in today’s Czech Grand Prix at Brno. Nakano finished in twelfth place with a strong surge at the finish, making up three positions over the final three laps. Hofmann finished fifteenth and was exhausted after a stirring performance in the 22-lap race, watched by 78,000 spectators in warm, humid and overcast conditions. This race was never going to be an easy assignment for the Kawasaki riders, with the Brno circuit traditionally not friendly territory for the Ninja ZX-RR. After making a stunning start from fourteenth on the grid, Hofmann carved his way to tenth place on lap one, passing the Hondas of Max Biaggi and Troy Bayliss in the process. After holding Biaggi at bay for three laps Hofmann could only watch as the Italian pulled away to eventually finish third and on the podium. The German young gun was consigned to a race long battle against the Suzukis of John Hopkins and Kenny Roberts, Bayliss and Nakano. After holding 12th place for 12 superb laps, Hofmann eventually finished in a brave fifteenth place. Nakano finished the race strongly after a poor start and being trapped in early traffic. He conceded six seconds in the opening two laps and dropped to sixteenth before a determined charge over the final laps. The Kawasaki team will stay on at Brno on Monday and Tuesday to test new engine parts in advance of the next race, the Japanese Grand Prix at Motegi. Shinya Nakano: #56 – Twelfth “My start was not good and I got trapped with some of the Honda riders, there was no room to overtake or push any faster; I lost a lot of time. After five laps I found a very good pace, some 1’59s laps, and I was able to pass Bayliss and battle in the group with the Suzukis and Alex. I tried to push and escape from this group but it was not possible, although I really wanted to finish ahead of Kenny Roberts. But I struggled with rear drive traction off the turns; this was a very hard race, it seems our bike does like Brno very much.” Alex Hofmann: #66 – Fifteenth “That was my best ever first lap and I was right in amongst all the action and I was even able to stay ahead of Biaggi. Then for a long time I was behind the Suzukis and I really thought I had a chance of beating them and keeping Bayliss behind me. But over the final laps I struggled with rear grip and there was nothing I could do, not even go one tenth faster, when the others attacked, especially on the straights. Perhaps the other riders in the group did not go 100% at the beginning of the race.” Harald Eckl: Team Manager “This was the result I expected today. We could see from Loris Capirossi’s second place the Bridgestone tyres were competitive at Brno. The main thing now is that we are looking forward to the test here tomorrow, when we will have a new engine specification to evaluate. The opening three laps by Alex were brilliant, he took every opportunity to overtake other riders. Unfortunately Shinya’s start was not good, and when you lose time it is difficult to make up.” MOTOGP RACE RESULT 1. Valentino Rossi (ITA) Gauloises Yamaha Team 43’56.539; 2. Loris Capirossi (ITA) Ducati Marlboro Team +1.837; 3. Max Biaggi (ITA) Repsol Honda +3.444; 4. Alex Barros (BRA) Camel Honda +4.148; 5. Nicky Hayden (USA) Repsol Honda +4.363; 6. Marco Melandri (ITA) Movistar Honda MotoGP +11.150; 7. Colin Edwards (USA) Gauloises Yamaha Team +13.532; 8. Carlos Checa (SPA) Ducati Marlboro Team +19.331; 9. Troy Bayliss (AUS) Camel Honda +27.125; 10. Makoto Tamada (JPN) Konica Minolta Honda +27.248; 11. Kenny Roberts (USA) Team Suzuki MotoGP +27.684; 12. Shinya Nakano (JPN) Kawasaki Racing Team +27.803; 15. Alex Hofmann (GER) Kawasaki Racing Team +29.768 More, from a press release issued by Dorna Communications: Rossi one step away from the title after Brno victory Valentino Rossi edged ever closer to the 2005 MotoGP World Championship title after taking his ninth victory from eleven rounds in the Gauloises Grand Prix Ceske republiky today. The Italian overcame another brave resistance from Sete Gibernau that lasted just short of the 22-lap distance at Brno, the Spaniard suffering from a technical problem just three corners from the finish line and losing any slim hopes he had of reacting to a pass from Rossi at the end of the penultimate lap. For Rossi the victory represented a record-breaking achievement as he became the first rider in the history of the series to win nine races for five consecutive seasons. “That was one of the hardest races of the season,” reflected Rossi. “After the warm-up I saw Sete’s time and I wasn’t very confident that I could beat him. There were a lot of fast riders out there but Gibernau was my hardest opponent so I tried to push him and put the pressure on. Sincerely it was a great fight with a lot of overtaking and in the middle of the race I decided to try and go but Sete came back. At the end I did three or four good laps, made the pass on Sete and then did a perfect final lap. Unfortunately Sete had a problem, which was bad luck for him because he should have been on the podium. Anyway this is a good win for me and now I just need one more for the title but it is not over yet.” Loris Capirossi benefited from Gibernau’s misfortune as he collected his second podium of the season on the Ducati after a sterling second half to the race that saw the Italian mount an electric charge from sixth place. Capirossi’s performance was marginally overshadowed by that of his compatriot Max Biaggi, who completed an all-Italian podium in third place after starting from tenth on the grid. It was a doubly satisfying recovery for Biaggi as he moved up to second in the championship for the first time this season, edging out Marco Melandri after the youngster dropped down the order in the second half of the race. Melandri had made an excellent start, lapping in third place for the opening three laps behind Rossi and Gibernau before becoming involved in an entertaining skirmish with Nicky Hayden. The young Honda pair paid for their early endeavours as the experienced trio of Capirossi, Biaggi and then Alex Barros came past. Gibernau’s retirement effectively promoted Colin Edwards to seventh place after another disappointing race for the American, who finished ahead of Carlos Checa, Troy Bayliss and Makoto Tamada. Kenny Roberts recovered from a bout of illness last night to clinch eleventh place ahead of his team-mate John Hopkins, with Toni Elías and Alex Hofmann completing the points. Dani Pedrosa extended his advantage at the top of the 250cc World Championship to 59 points after clinching his sixth victory of the season with an impeccable performance. Pedrosa hung at the back of the front group for much of the race as Hiroshi Aoyama and Jorge Lorenzo battled for the lead, making his move at the halfway stage and gradually edging to the front. A brief battle with Lorenzo ensued as Aoyama lost several places but Pedrosa stepped up the pace on the final two laps to leave his fellow Spaniard trailing. Casey Stoner fought off Alex de Angelis to complete the podium and distance himself in second place in the championship from Andrea Dovizioso, who was sixth. Thomas Lüthi took his second victory of the season to extend his points advantage at the top of the 125cc World Championship to nine over Mika Kallio. Lüthi made his break from a combative lead group with just two laps remaining, Mattia Pasini then crashing out as he led the chase behind the Swiss youngster. Marco Simoncelli consequently moved up to second place but he lost out to Kallio after a crafty move from the Finnish rider in the final corner. More, from a press release issued by Ducati Corse: Czech Grand Prix, Brno Race Day, Sunday August 28 2005 DUCATI MARLBORO MAN CAPIROSSI GRABS SECOND Ducati Marlboro Team rider Loris Capirossi stormed to a brilliant second-place finish at Brno this afternoon, his best result of the year so far. The hard-charging Italian was electrifying in the final stages of the race, closing on leaders Valentino Rossi and Sete Gibernau to cross the line just 1.8 seconds behind winner Rossi after Gibernau hit problems on the final lap. Team-mate Carlos Checa had a less fruitful day, coming home eighth after choosing a different rear tyre. “That was an unbelievable race!” grinned a delighted Livio Suppo, Ducati MotoGP project manager. “Our thanks go to Loris, who rode brilliantly, to Bridgestone, who’ve done such a great job over the last few weeks, to Ducati, where all the guys have been working so hard and to our Technical partners as Shell Advance, for their great support. Maybe we were lucky to get second instead of third today, but we’ve already had our own share of bad luck this season, so maybe we deserved some good luck today! It was a shame that Carlos couldn’t fulfil the promise he showed yesterday. Bridgestone made a big step forward here, now we go to Motegi, hoping the new evolution tyres work similarly well at other tracks.” CAPIROSSI: FRONT-ROW START & PODIUM FINISH! Loris Capirossi had high hopes for today’s race after qualifying third fastest for his first front-row start since May’s Chinese GP. And the Ducati Marlboro Team man didn’t disappoint, even though he didn’t make the greatest of starts. Seventh after one lap, Capirossi kept his head, never losing touch with the leaders and moving resolutely forward during the closing stages. Fifth with six laps to go, he dispensed with Nicky Hayden and Alex Barros to move into third place with three laps remaining, then benefited from Gibernau’s misfortune. “I was angry with my start because normally I’m a very fast starter on the Ducati,” said Capirossi. “But I knew I was strong – I’d had a very good rhythm all weekend because we focused only on our race set-up. Despite the bad start I stayed cool, I just tried to pass the guys one by one. Towards the end of the race my tyres were good and I was faster than the leaders but I didn’t have time to attack them. Anyway, I’m so happy with this podium, even though, to tell the truth, I was lucky to get second and I’m sorry for Sete. My thanks to all the people at Bridgestone and also to everyone at Ducati.” CHECA EIGHTH AFTER A BRILLIANT START Carlos Checa regretted his tyre choice from the early stages of today’s Czech Grand Prix. The Ducati Marlboro Team chose a different rear Bridgestone from that used by his team-mate. The tyre worked well during endurance runs yesterday but not enough in the race. After an impressive start, the Spaniard began to fade from one-quarter distance, eventually crossing the line in eighth spot. “I was able to push hard during the first few laps but then I felt the tyre performance start to go down,” said a disappointed Checa, who rode the fifth fastest lap of the race on lap three, just 0,110 seconds off the best. “I don’t think we chose the best tyre for the day, it looks like Loris made the better choice. The same tyre worked well yesterday, then we tried a used version of the same tyre this morning, and though the performance went down a little, it still seemed like the right choice. We expected it to work better in the race.” More, from a press release issued by Gauloises Yamaha: Czech Republic Grand Prix Brno, Czech Republic Sunday 28th August 2005 ROSSI EDGES TOWARDS TITLE WITH BRILLIANT BRNO VICTORY Gauloises Yamaha Team rider Valentino Rossi became the first rider in the history of the MotoGP World Championship to score nine wins for five consecutive seasons, as he clinched victory in the eleventh round of the 2005 campaign at Brno today. Rossi’s record-breaking ride featured an intense battle with Sete Gibernau (Honda) that again came down to a dramatic finale, with Rossi making his definitive pass at the end of the penultimate lap. Gibernau tried to fight back but as Rossi edged clear through the final series of sweeping corners, the Spaniard’s slim hope of a victorious response disappeared completely as he suffered a technical problem and was forced to retire. Whilst Loris Capirossi (Ducati) and Max Biaggi (Honda) made the most of Gibernau’s misfortune to complete the podium, Rossi’s Gauloises Yamaha team-mate Colin Edwards was promoted one place to seventh after a tough race that again saw the American struggle to find sufficient rear grip for his Yamaha YZR-M1 machine. Despite his disappointment, Edwards remains in the thick of the battle for second place in the championship, trailing Biaggi by six points with six rounds still remaining. Rossi, meanwhile, can seal the championship title in the next round at Motegi by finishing in the top two. VALENTINO ROSSI (1st; 43’56.539) “That was one of the hardest races of the season. After the warm-up I saw Sete’s time and I wasn’t sure that I could beat him in the race. I had confidence in the bike but I knew I was a bit slower than him. I spoke with Jeremy Burgess to ask for some modifications to be made to the bike in order to make a better compromise for the whole race and, like always, he and the rest of the team worked at 100% to improve the situation. There were a lot of fast riders out there but Gibernau was my hardest opponent so I tried to push him and put the pressure on from the start. It was a great fight with a lot of overtaking. In the middle of the race I decided to try to go and make a gap, but Sete came back. At the end I did three or four good laps, made the pass on Sete and then did a perfect final lap. Unfortunately Sete had a problem, which was bad luck for him because he deserved to be on the podium. Anyway this is a good win for me and now I just need one more for the title, but it is not over yet.” COLIN EDWARDS (7th; + 13.532) “I started alright but after five laps we were in trouble. We changed the setting of the bike a little after the warm-up but the track was much warmer than we expected for the race and we loaded up the front a bit too much. It was a repeat of the race at Mugello the bike was spinning and I couldn’t get any edge grip on the rear. I pushed on the pegs, stood up, leaned back”¦everything I could think of to make it stick! The positive side is that we still got some points and we’ve got a two-day test coming up where we can work on some of these problems and hopefully find the solution we need. We haven’t tested since Le Mans so it will be nice to have a chance to rack up plenty of hours on the track without the pressure of a Grand Prix, as we get ready for a tough finish to the season.” DAVIDE BRIVIO GAULOISES YAMAHA TEAM DIRECTOR “I have to congratulate and thank the whole team, particularly Valentino’s engineers because they followed his requests to modify the bike precisely and gave him the package he needed to take victory today. He made the bike work and put on a great show for the fans with Sete Gibernau, who deserved to be on the podium. Valentino has a good advantage in the championship now and we will go to Motegi looking for the same result. Unfortunately Colin couldn’t do any better than seventh place today but the fight for second place is still very close and he is still in contention having collected nine points today. We will look for some solutions with him during the test and look forward to going to Japan in three weeks’ time.” RESULTS 1. VALENTINO ROSSI (ITA) Gauloises Yamaha Team 43’56.539 2. Loris Capirossi (ITA) Ducati Marlboro Team +1.837 3. Max Biaggi (ITA) Repsol Honda Team +3.444 4. Alex Barros (BRA) Camel Honda +4.148 5. Nicky Hayden (USA) Repsol Honda Team +4.363 6. Marco Melandri (ITA) Movistar Honda MotoGP +11.150 7. COLIN EDWARDS (USA) Gauloises Yamaha Team +13.532 8. Carlos Checa (SPA) Ducati Marlboro Team +19.331 9. Troy Bayliss (AUS) Camel Honda +27.125 10. Makoto Tamada (JPN) Konica Minolta Honda +27.248 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS 1. VALENTINO ROSSI (ITA) 261 2. Max Biaggi (ITA) 129 3. Marco Melandri (ITA) 126 4. COLIN EDWARDS (USA) 123 5. Sete Gibernau (SPA) 115 6. Alex Barros (BRA) 114 7. Nicky Hayden (USA) 112 8. Loris Capirossi (ITA) 92 9. Shinya Nakano (JAP) 69 10. Carlos Checa (SPA) 59 More, from a press release issued by Bridgestone: Brno August 28th, 2005 Czech Grand Prix Second place for Loris Capirossi season’s best for Bridgestone and Ducati Loris Capirossi stormed to a fantastic second place in today’s Czech Grand Prix aboard his Bridgestone-fitted Ducati Desmosedici, raking in a long-deserved reward for the relentless efforts in the development of both his MotoGP machine and the Japanese racing tyres. The Italian hero had started with a bang into the weekend, clocking fastest in the first free practice session on Friday, before confirming the re-gained strength of his Ducati Marlboro Team in the qualifying session on Saturday, when he put a string of 16 ultra-fast consecutive laps together, and finally pushed his four-cylinder machine to third place on the starting grid. Newly developed rear tyres with increased durability made all the difference, and the expectations mounted for the race on Sunday. However, there was a lot of work ahead of Capirossi, when he dropped back at the start and finished the first lap down in seventh position. But with another strong and steady performance, the 32-year-old moved up through the ranks, overtaking his team-mate Carlos Checa, then Honda riders Alex Barros, Marco Melandri, and Max Biaggi. Third on the penultimate lap, Capirossi eventually took advantage when Spaniard Sete Gibernau dropped out with a fuel management system failure on his factory Honda. Capirossi’s team-mate Carlos Checa, who had qualified in seventh position, finished a strong but lonely ride in eighth position. After dropping out from final practice with fatigue, Suzuki star Kenny Roberts showed a quick recovery and rode the fastest Suzuki to 11th place, ahead of Kawasaki rider Shinya Nakano in 12th, John Hopkins in 13th, Alex Hofmann in 15th and Suzuki test rider Nobu Aoki in 16th place. Loris Capirossi Ducati Marlboro Team 2nd position “I wasn’t too happy with my start, because normally I’m first or second off the line, and today I was down in sixth or seventh position. But I wasn’t worried either, because we were fast in qualifying, and we had also done long practice runs on race tyres and fine-tuned our race set-up, so I knew that I was able to go fast and consistent again. Even though I couldn’t catch the others on the straights because my bike wasn’t quite as quick as usual, I gained position by position. Third would have been my place today, but I was lucky in the end to get second when Sete dropped out. Now I have a lot of confidence for the remaining part of the season, because both the bike and the tyres are getting better and better. The Bridgestone guys did an amazing job for this race, the tyres were really competitive!” Yutaka Yamaguchi Director MotoGP Tyre Development Bridgestone Motorsport “Today’s second place finish confirmed the positive step that we have taken in our MotoGP tyre development program. Our staff did an excellent job over the summer break and we are now quite confident for the races to come. Congratulations to Loris Capirossi and the Ducati Marlboro Team for a job well done, as we have all worked tirelessly together in our partnership. We now look forward to our home GP at Motegi where we aim to achieve even better results.” Bridgestone Results: 2. Loris Capirossi (ITA) Ducati, 43.58,376, 8. Carlos Checa (SPA) Ducati, 44.15,870, 11. Kenny Roberts (USA) Suzuki, 44.24,223, 12. Shinya Nakano (JPN) Kawasaki, 44.24,342, 13. John Hopkins (USA) Suzuki, 44.24,817, 15. Alex Hofmann (GER) Kawasaki, 44.26,307, 16. Nobuatsu Aoki (JPN) Suzuki, 44.38,317 Temperature Track Air Weather Afternoon 23 C 20 C Dry More, from a press release issued by Camel Honda: RACE REPORT – CZECH REPUBLIC GRAND PRIX – 28/08/05 BRNO ALEX BRUSHES PODIUM WITH ENTHRALLINGLY DETERMINED RIDE Having put heart, courage and great determination into a fine ride at the Czech Republic’s Brno circuit, Alex Barros took his yellow RC211V Camel Honda within a whisker of the podium today. Starting from the third row, the Brazilian made a superb fightback, and fans witnessed several overtaking manoeuvres which saw him force his way up into third place, determined to get involved in the battle for first place. His aggressive racing put his tyres under severe stress, and by the end of the race, grip was hard to come by, halting his forward progress. Gibernau’s retirement on the last lap, suddenly slowing in the final corners before pulling up, prevented him making a final push for third place and the podium. Ninth through the chequered flag, Troy Bayliss, who started from a tricky thirteenth spot on the grid, worked hard to make up ground. Tomorrow, on the same track, the Australian will be able to use an entire day’s testing to try and find some solutions which will help him to be more competitive. Sito Pons Camel Honda “Alex had an exciting race after an indifferent start. He pushed so hard from the first lap onwards in an already fast and combative race, and picked up positions until he caught up with the race leaders. He was just tenths off first place, but the effort put through the tyres to get into that position stopped his progress. He showed however, that as well as being in fine form he is as determined as ever, because closing down a gap whilst picking off your rivals, shows that he was quicker than the leaders for long parts of the race. Troy wasn’t able to get a great start and he had to mount a comeback too. He took a top ten finish, a decent result.” Alex Barros Camel Honda 4th “I would like to say I’m happy to have done a great race, because it was a real battle and very enjoyable, but I’m still not satisfied. As at Sachsenring, I had to attack hard in the first part of the race and then both the front and rear tyres didn’t allow me to fight at the end. Then not only did I make it up alongside Sete and Valentino, but I couldn’t even finish third. In all honesty the story’s a bit different, because on the last lap I would have been able to challenge for the podium, Sete stopped right in front of me, and I had to close the throttle too. However that’s the way it went, we need to think about the next objective, Motegi, and try to make the most of tomorrow’s test to improve our staying power, because in everything else both the Michelins and the bike are perfect.” Troy Bayliss Camel Honda 9th “Things pretty much went as I expected today. I honestly don’t know what I have to do to go as fast as the front group, because I’m not saving myself, both in practice and the race I’m giving my all, just as my team do too. It felt like I didn’t have grip on the front and so staying ahead of Tamada, who I had a good duel with, was a slight piece of satisfaction. Ninth is better than in the last two races, but we’re not here for that.” More, from a press release issued by Telefonica Honda: SETE SEES VICTORY HOPES VANISH The Spaniard dominates the race until the final lap, when he is forced to retire. Marco Melandri finishes 6th. CZECH REPUBLIC GP – MOTOGP RACE Victory at the Czech Republic Grand Prix once again slipped through Sete Gibernau’s fingers on the final lap of a race which he fought for at a frenetic pace with Valentino Rossi. Starting from pole position, Gibernau took the lead and was in with a great chance until the end, when a problem with the electronic fuel control system forced him to retire just three corners from the end. It wasn’t a good day for his team-mate Marco Melandri either. The Italian was unable to stay in touch with the lead group after a good start and he ended the race in sixth place. Marco also lost second place in the championship at Brno and he now lies third behind Valentino Rossi and Max Biaggi, with Sete dropping two places to fifth. The Movistar Honda team will remain at Brno for two days of tests before heading off for the ‘flyaway’ races outside Europe. SETE GIBERNAU (retired): “Another negative day after a weekend in which we have done a great job during qualifying. This morning we had a good rhythm in the warm up with some low 1’58s, a pace I knew would allow me to fight for the win. In the race I wasn’t able to set the same pace and that was the main problem. In the first three laps I first noticed the problem that eventaully prevented me from finishing the race, which topped it off. I’m really disappointed because once again I gave it everything I had and it’s a shame to end the race in this way.” MARCO MELANDRI (6th): “This morning we made a few changes to the bike and I set a good pace that gave me confidence for the race. I got a good start and forced my way into the lead group but over the first few laps I started to lose traction. I pushed my rhythm to try and stay near the front but I really punished the front tyre. From there on I just tried to finish the race. The two days of tests will be really important ahead of Motegi”. CLASSIFICATION 1. V. Rossi (Ita/Yam) 43’56″539 2. L. Capirossi (Ita/Duc) + 1″837 3. M. Biaggi (Ita/Hon) + 3″444 4. A. Barros (Bra/Hon) + 4″148 5. N. Hayden (USA/Hon) + 4″363 6. M. Melandri (Ita/Hon) + 11″150 MOTOGP WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP 1. Valentino Rossi 261 points 2. Max Biaggi 129 points 3. Marco Melandri 126 points 4. Colin Edwards 123 points 5. Sete Gibernau 115 points 6. Alex Barros 114 points More, from a press release issued by Honda Racing: Grand Prix of the Czech Republic Sunday 28 August, 2005 GIBERNAU AND ROSSI DO BATTLE IN BRNO THRILLER Luckless Sete Gibernau (Team Movistar Honda RC211V) endured a frustrating afternoon when he suffered a fuel management system problem on the final lap while challenging eventual race winner Valentino Rossi (Yamaha) for the lead. Loris Capirossi (Ducati) finished second while Max Biaggi (Repsol Honda RC211V) was third. The race got under way under cooler conditions than have been usual this weekend, with a track temperature of 23 degrees and an ambient of 20 degrees. Pole-sitter Gibernau led from the lights into turn one with Rossi and early front-runner Marco Melandri (Team Movistar Honda RC211V) right up with him. Rossi grabbed the lead and headed the pack across the line for lap two with Gibernau tucked in behind him, Melandri holding onto them with Nicky Hayden (Repsol Honda RC211V) in close pursuit of the trio, and Capirossi getting on terms in fifth. Gibernau recorded an early fastest lap of the race as he worked on staying close to Rossi and the leading pair had soon pulled out a noticeable gap on their pursuers by the start of the third lap. They would remain locked together at the front for the rest of the race barring the final lap. Behind the lead duo, the action was gripping as first Melandri then Hayden tried to get on terms with the leaders. Then by mid-race it was Alex Barros (Camel Honda RC211V) who had powered his way to third with Hayden fourth and Capirossi fifth. Max, who had seemingly ruled himself out the results here with a desultory qualifying performance, was on a charge; the set-up problems he had encountered on qualifying rubber lessened in their effects by less grippy Michelin race tyres he chose. He had started from the fourth row of the grid. As the closing laps drew on, it became clear that Barros did not have the pace to get near the Gibernau/Rossi battle, but Capirossi did and the diminutive Italian gave it everything to try to spoil the party at the front. But, while Gibernau tried to stretch Rossi, Capirossi’s efforts proved in vain. Gibernau led the closing laps until the final turn on the penultimate lap when Rossi seized his chance to rob the Spaniard of victory. While Rossi led across the line for the final time Max had ambushed Hayden and Barros for fourth place. But as Gibernau stalked Rossi down the dips of the first section of this 5.403km track, the vast crowd was ready for a repeat of the scintillating last lap duels between these two gladiators that have set the season alight. It was not to be – Gibernau slowed with just as he was ready to set about Rossi. Capirossi inherited second place as he passed the stricken Gibernau while Rossi learned of his fierce rival’s plight only after he had returned to the parc fermé post race. Max was delighted to take a third podium finish so far in what has proved a troubled season. Sete said, “Another negative day after a weekend in which we have done a great job during qualifying. This morning we had a good rhythm in the warm up with some low 1m 58s, a pace I knew would allow me to fight for the win. In the race I wasn’t able to set the same pace and that was the main problem. Then a fuel problem prevented me from finishing the race, which topped it off. I’m really disappointed because once again I gave it everything I had and it’s a shame to end the race in this way.” Max said, “That is an amazing result and one that makes me very happy for both myself and for all my team. It has been a very hard weekend and I knew that the race would be difficult from the fourth row. We made the best possible result from our position and I hope this is the start of the more positive part of the season for me. For sure it has not been easy so far. We test here for the next two days and I am very much looking forward to the next races with renewed confidence.” Alex was disappointed with fourth and said, “On the last lap I would have been able to challenge for the podium, Sete stopped right in front of me, and I had to close the throttle too. However that’s the way it went, we need to think about the next objective, Motegi, and try to make the most of tomorrow’s test to improve our staying power, because in everything else both the Michelins and the bike are perfect.” Nicky, in fifth, said, “The pace was so fast up front but that’s what you get with the best riders in the world. They dropped the hammer at the start and just went. I tried my hardest to make my boys proud but it didn’t happen this weekend. It was all good experience and I’m happy to be testing here tomorrow because we’re going to have to be in good shape for the rest of the season.” Marco said of his sixth place, “This morning we made a few changes to the bike and I set a good pace that gave me confidence for the race. I got a good start and forced my way into the lead group but over the first few laps I started to lose traction. I pushed my rhythm to try and stay near the front but I really punished the front tyre. From there on I just tried to finish the race. The two days of tests will be really important ahead of Motegi”. Troy Bayliss (Camel Honda RC211V) said, “Things pretty much went as I expected today. I honestly don’t know what I have to do to go as fast as the front group, because I’m not saving myself, both in practice and the race I’m giving my all, just as my team do too. It felt like I didn’t have grip on the front and so staying ahead of Tamada, who I had a good duel with, was a slight piece of satisfaction. Ninth is better than in the last two races, but we’re not here for that.” Makoto Tamada (Konica Minolta Honda RC211V) “We tried a new race setting today, but we had more negative sides than the positive ones, and this didn’t allow me to result sufficiently fast. I have many problems in breaking. The bike didn’t seem really stable. The rear tyre allowed me to be really constant during the all 22 laps, but I still don’t find the maximum confidence to push it more. I hope to find a good confidence in Motegi because I want to try anyhow to remain with the fastest. I really care about that race.” The World Championship situation with six races remaining now looks like this: Rossi 261, Biaggi 129, Melandri 126, Colin Edwards (Yamaha) 123, Gibernau 115. Dani Pedrosa (Team Movistar Honda RS250RW) won the 250cc race in comprehensive style beating great rival Jorge Lorenzo (Fortuna Honda RS250RW) across the line by 1.303 seconds after 20 laps. Consistent Casey Stoner (Aprilia) was third. Hiroshi Aoyama (Team Movistar Honda RS250RW) was the early leader of a six-rider group that showed they had early pace way too hot for the rest of the grid. Andrea Dovizioso (Scot Racing Team Honda RS250RW) was one of the six with Alex de Angelis (Aprilia) the other. Lorenzo was not afraid to head the pack at any stage and by the closing stages of the race it was him and Dani fighting at the front until a backmarker slowed Lorenzo allowing Dani to steal an advantage that he mercilessly worked from 0.245 seconds to the eventual margin of more than a second in the two final laps. Stoner had to fight to keep de Angelis at bay for third while Aoyama couldn’t show the speed he had in the early part of the race and had to be content with fifth place. Dovi came home sixth. “That was a difficult race,” said Dani. “It was cooler than on Friday and Saturday and the spots of rain we had made things hard too. But having got into a good rhythm I knew I could go it alone. The team worked really hard this weekend so thanks to them and to all my people.” Lorenzo said, “We have to be happy with this, Dani’s bike was a bit faster and he was a bit stronger. But every race we get closer to a win and this gives us more motivation to go faster and faster until we achieve a win.” The World Championship points table shows Dani at the top of the pile on 206 points followed by Stoner with 147 points. Dovi lies third with 134 points with six rounds to go. Thomas Luthi (Elit Grand Prix Honda RS125R) won the 125cc race from title rival Mika Kallio (KTM) with an imperious display of riding in the closing laps of what looked like it might be a close encounter. Luthi’s winning margin of 3.312 seconds proved otherwise. Marco Simoncelli (Aprilia) was third. This was Luthi’s second win of the season and it improves his series points lead over Kallio but not by much. Of more importance was the manner of the win, Luthi leading from the lights and then putting in a series of destructively fast laps in the closing stages to ride clear of his pursuers. Much like Pedrosa. The young Swiss kept his head together even when light rain threatened to either cause a race stoppage or catch a rider out in terms of assessing available grip. World title contender Mattia Pasini (Aprilia) succumbed to a crash on the penultimate lap that has dented his Championship ambitions. “That was hard,” said Luthi. “Even before the rain my rear tyre felt like it was almost finished, I was sliding so much towards the end of the race. We thought it would be stopped, but then I just tried to be careful, found myself with a gap, which I could see on one of the big TV trackside TV monitors, and then just kept it going to the finish.” Fabrizio Lai (Kopron Racing World Honda RS125RW) finished sixth while his team-mate Mike Di Meglio (Kopron Racing World Honda RS125R) managed seventh place. “I made a good start and the bike was very fast,” said Lai. “But the rear tyre wore out too fast. I took big risks in the fast turns to try and match the pace of the front group but the rain unsettled me a bit when the race wasn’t stopped. Then I had to take more risks to recover all the places again.” HONDA TEAM RIDERS QUOTES: MotoGP: Max Baggi, Repsol Honda: 3rd: “That is an amazing result and one that makes me very happy for both myself and for all my team. It has been a very hard weekend and I knew that the race would be difficult from the fourth row. The start was not so bad but I was touched in turn one when it was all very close and had a very big slide in fourth gear. I composed myself and tried to get the tyres to warm up especially the left side where we had troubles all weekend. After a few laps I could see that I can make progress little by little – and it was possible to move up the field. I start to believe I could move forward and I did. We made the best possible result from our position and I hope this is the started of the more positive part of the season for me. For sure it has not been easy so far. We test here for the next two days and I am very much looking forward to the next races with renewed confidence.” Alex Barros, Camel Honda: 4th: “I would like to say I’m happy to have done a great race, because it was a real battle and very enjoyable, but I’m still not satisfied. As at Sachsenring, I had to attack hard in the first part of the race and then both the front and rear tyres didn’t allow me to fight at the end. Then not only did I make it up alongside Sete and Valentino, but I couldn’t even finish third. In all honesty the story’s a bit different, because on the last lap I would have been able to challenge for the podium, Sete stopped right in front of me, and I had to close the throttle too. However that’s the way it went, we need to think about the next objective, Motegi, and try to make the most of tomorrow’s test to improve our staying power, because in everything else both the Michelins and the bike are perfect.” Nicky Hayden, Repsol Honda: 5th: “That was really a tough race. I got a good start and was right in there early on. Me and Melandri went back and forth a few times. I just didn’t want to let the leaders get away. I found myself running into some of the corners a little too hot and got a little ragged at times. The pace was so fast up front but that’s what you get with the best riders in the world. They dropped the hammer at the start and just went. I tried my hardest to make my boys proud but it didn’t happen this weekend. It was all good experience and I’m happy to be testing here tomorrow because we’re going to have to be in good shape for the rest of the season.” Marco Melandri, MoviStar Honda: 6th: “This morning we made a few changes to the bike and I set a good pace that gave me confidence for the race. I got a good start and forced my way into the lead group but over the first few laps I started to lose traction. I pushed my rhythm to try and stay near the front but I really punished the front tyre. From there on I just tried to finish the race. The two days of tests will be really important ahead of Motegi.” Troy Bayliss, Camel Honda: 9th:”Things pretty much went as I expected today. I honestly don’t know what I have to do to go as fast as the front group, because I’m not saving myself, both in practice and the race I’m giving my all, just as my team do too. It felt like I didn’t have grip on the front and so staying ahead of Tamada, who I had a good duel with, was a slight piece of satisfaction. Ninth is better than in the last two races, but we’re not here for that.” Makoto Tamada, Konica Minolta Honda: 10th: “We tried a new race setting today, but we had more negative sides than the positive ones, and this didn’t allow me to result sufficiently fast. I have many problems in breaking. The bike didn’t seem really stable. Compare to yesterday the grip of the bike was lightly better, but the problem in riding the turns it hasn’t been solved and this has slowed me down. The rear tyre allowed me to be really constant during the all 22 laps, but I still don’t find the maximum confidence to push it more. I hope to find a good confidence in Motegi because I want to try anyhow to remain with the fastest. I really care about that race.” Sete Gibernau, MoviStar Honda: dnf fuel starvation: “Another negative day after a weekend in which we have done a great job during qualifying. This morning we had a good rhythm in the warm up with some low 1’58s, a pace I knew would allow me to fight for the win. In the race I wasn’t able to set the same pace and that was the main problem. In the first three laps I first noticed the problem that eventually prevented me from finishing the race, which topped it off. I’m really disappointed because once again I gave it everything I had and it’s a shame to end the race in this way.” 250cc: Dani Pedrosa, MoviStar Honda: 1st: “We’ve won another great race in difficult conditions. This morning I had a flashback to last season, when I finished third because of the confusion caused by the rain, and I was worried because the track conditions were nothing like qualifying. It was drizzling throughout the race but the temperature dropped a lot and the tyres wore out a lot quicker than I expected, especially the rear. I took things calmly at the start even though I saw that they were getting away a little because it wasn’t the right time to risk anything. In the end I was able to push, keep my pace up even though it was sliding around and set the fastest lap at the end, which is a sign of how well the team have worked.” Jorge Lorenzo, Fortuna Honda: 2nd: “I have to be happy with the result. I wanted to win, of course, but it was not to be today. Pedrosa was very strong and I could not follow him when he passed me. Of course the last lap was frustrating and I was a bit annoyed, but I am not looking for excuses and it would have been very hard to get past him anyway. I’m sure that at the next race I can go even fastest than I did here. That is what keeps me going and looking for that first victory which could arrive at the next race.” Hiroshi Aoyama, MoviStar Honda: 5th: “At the start I saw that nobody wanted to risk because of the rain so I thought that if nobody wants to try and go then I will. I took the lead a few times but the tyres went off very quickly because of my pace early in the race. They were destroyed by the end of the race but I did what I could. Tomorrow we’ll stay here to test and we’ll try and improve the bike so that we head to Motegi with a winning attitude and ready to give it everything. I would really like to win my home race.” Andrea Dovizioso, Scot Honda: 6th: “My fault: I used an helmet for dry conditions but it rained and the screen misted up. I couldn’t see very well and I did not feel safe. After Pedrosa overtook me I opened the screen and it was better but it wasn’t possible to recover the gap from him. All the riders were in the same critical conditions but I know, I have to improve in various aspects”. Jakub Smrz, Molenaar Honda: 11th: “I am pleased with my race and 11th place I really needed that result. The bike was perfect today. I got 11th because West made a mistake at the last chicane that allowed me to get passed him. West is very good on the brakes and at the chicane he moved his line to block me but left his braking way too late and ran wide. “ Alex Debon, Wurth Honda BQR: 13th: “We need new material with what we have it is not possible to go faster today. I raced as hard as I could until the front tyre went off. After that every time I pushed hard the front end turned in I would have crashed if I tried any harder. I’m disappointed because I know I could have taken a better result.” Radomil Rous, Wurth Honda BQR: 14th.: “I had some problems getting off the start but I was good over the first three laps and got up to 18th I think. Then I just raced to catch the riders I front and passed a few. The engine as not as good today as in qualifying but I am happy. Two points is two points won.” Yuki Takahashi, Scot Honda: dnf crash: “I started well and I recovered some positions but at the seventh corner I lost the front and I crashed out. Now my right arm hurts. I’m disappointed I expected to make a good race.” Hector Barbera, Fortuna Honda: dnf crash: “I was very motivated because I had made a good start and had managed to climb from ninth to fifth place. I knew I wasn’t going to be right at the front today and that relaxed me for the start which helped me get away well and I was looking to just enjoy the race. But going into a corner Takahashi fell and took out my front wheel which meant I could not avoid crashing. It’s a shame because luck seems to be going against me at the moment. I am having a difficult time and am not achieving any of the objectives I have set myself. I worked very hard during the holidays and now we have another twelve days before the next race and I will have to work with the same intensity. Dirk Heidolf, Kiefer Castrol Honda: dnf crash.: “About 9-10 laps from the finish I started to have gear shifting problems I had to roll the throttle to change gear. That cost me a few meters with every gear change. I ended up fighting with Debon for 13th place and it was hard work with my gearbox problem I was pushing too hard. Then at the last corner we almost touched and I ran off the track. I am very disappointed with my race.” 125cc: Thomas Luthi, Elit Honda: 1st: “I am very, very happy with my win today. I got a good start and was first into the first corner then Lai went passed me. My plan had been to get ahead and go away but I when I passed Lai it was too late and the group caught us. Then I tried again to run away from them and but it was only when the rain started to fall that I managed to do it. The rain caused a little confusion the downhill right hand corner was very wet and I went through one gear lower than normal. Then at the final left right both wheels were drifting across the track I was hanging on knee on the road praying I would stay on. I took the most risks and won the race.” Fabrizio Lai, Kopron Racing World Honda: 6th: “I made a good start and the bike was very fast but the rear tyre wore out too quickly: in the fast corners I took too many risks and I preferred to slow down. I tried to keep the same pace as the front group but on a couple of occasion I nearly crash out. With three laps to go it began to rain but the race has not been interrupted. I decided to take some risks on the wet track and recover positions from 11th, because to finish in that position or not arrive at the finish is quite the same. Mike, Talmacsi and I were very fast and the risks we took have been rewarded. I don’t know if the race had to be interrupt”¦ I don’t want to polemize but now I’m happy!”. Mike Di Meglio, Kopron Racing World Honda: 7th: : “During the last lap Fabrizio and I decided to take risks and try to recover as many positions as we could. It was a good decision but the yellow flags prevented us to make other overtaking moves. My bike was very fast but I had some cyclistic problems (too hard rear). It wasn’t possible to maintain the best line because when I pushed harder the bike slid back”. Alvaro Bautista, Seedorf RC3 Tiempo Holidays Honda: 12th: “It has been a difficult race. I started from a rear position, and in the opening laps I couldn’t overtake other riders. Honestly I don’t feel real comfortable in this track, and I have had some difficulties to ride well. At the end of the race I have prefered not to risk too much because it had began to rain and I was having problems with the rear tyre, and I thought it was better not repeating my Donington crash out. It’s a hard situation because the team and me are working really hard and with another aim. But we will continue fighting in very race to try to be in the top”. Aleix Espargaro, Seedorf RC3 Tiempo Holidays Honda: 13th: “We have scored some points, although I think this could have been a more beautiful race and that I could have finish in a better position. But looking back the weekend and all the engine problems we have had I think at the end we have been able to do a good race. The engine worked better than yesterday, but not in the best condition. I have had problems with the rear tyre from the second part of the race, and that’s why I began to lose some positions. Let’s see if we can do it better in the practice days as we did it in Germany because I think I can be soon near the top positions”. Sandro Cortese, Kiefer Boss Castrol Honda: 14th: “Not so bad I suppose. I got a good start and was in 10th place after one lap. I thought I could run with them and hold my position. I was in a group with Iannone, Bautista and Espargaro and it was tough. We were bumping and banging fairings on every lap. The bike was very good today, the engine very good. I ended up 14th and am a little disappointed with that.” Alexis Masbou, Ajo Motorsport Honda: dnf crash: “Lai passed me then suddenly slowed. I moved to miss him, I don’t understand why Lai slowed so much at that point. Then somebody hit me and I was off. I now know it was Koyama san. Pity because it as not really his fault.” Tomoyoshi Koyama, Ajo Motorsport Honda: dnf crash: “From my position I saw Lai pass Alexis then brake very hard. Alexis managed to miss him but I hit Lai and then I think Ranseder hit me and we crashed. Unfortunately my bike hit Alexis and brought him down. A real pity because we were in good positions and the bike was really good today. “ Toshihisa Kuzuhara, Angaia Racing Honda: dns: Kuzuhara crashed in practice sustaining a shoulder injury that prevented him from starting in the race. Raymond Schouten, Molenaar Honda: dnf technical problem: “We don’t know what the problem is yet but I think it has something to do with the shifter. Right from the start the engine was spluttering a little ad eventually stopped. It’s very frustrating because the bike was great in qualifying.” Results MotoGP Race Classification MotoGP : (22 laps = 118.866 km) Pos/ Rider / Nat / Team / Motorcycle / Time/ KM/H 1 / Valentino ROSSI / ITA / Gauloises Yamaha Team / YAMAHA / 43’56.539 / 162.302 2 / Loris CAPIROSSI / ITA / Ducati Marlboro Team / DUCATI / 43’58.376 / 162.189 3 / Max BIAGGI / ITA / Repsol Honda Team / HONDA / 43’59.983 / 162.091 4 / Alex BARROS / BRA / Camel Honda / HONDA / 44’00.687 / 162.047 5 / Nicky HAYDEN / USA / Repsol Honda Team / HONDA / 44’00.902 / 162.034 6 / Marco MELANDRI / ITA / Movistar Honda MotoGP / HONDA / 44’07.689 / 161.619 7 / Colin EDWARDS / USA / Gauloises Yamaha Team / YAMAHA / 44’10.071 / 161.474 8 / Carlos CHECA / SPA / Ducati Marlboro Team / DUCATI / 44’15.870 / 161.121 9 / Troy BAYLISS / AUS / Camel Honda / HONDA / 44’23.664 / 160.649 10 / Makoto TAMADA / JPN / Konica Minolta Honda / HONDA / 44’23.787 / 160.642 11 / Kenny ROBERTS / USA / Team Suzuki MotoGP / SUZUKI / 44’24.223 / 160.616 12 / Shinya NAKANO / JPN / Kawasaki Racing Team / KAWASAKI / 44’24.342 / 160.609 13 / John HOPKINS / USA / Team Suzuki MotoGP / SUZUKI / 44’24.817 / 160.580 14 / Toni ELIAS / SPA / Fortuna Yamaha Team / YAMAHA / 44’25.110 / 160.562 15 / Alex HOFMANN / GER / Kawasaki Racing Team / KAWASAKI / 44’26.307 / 160.490 Fastest Lap (Unofficial new record): Valentino ROSSI 1’58.787 163.745 Km/h Lap 6 Lap Record: Alex BARROS 1’59.302 163.038 Km/h2004 World Championship Positions: 1 ROSSI 261, 2 BIAGGI 129, 3 MELANDRI 126, 4 EDWARDS 123, 5 GIBERNAU 115, 6 BARROS 114, 7 HAYDEN 112, 8 CAPIROSSI 92, 9 NAKANO 69, 10 CHECA 59, 11 BAYLISS 54, 12 TAMADA 48, 13 ROBERTS 41, 14 XAUS 36, 15 HOPKINS 35. 250cc Race Classification 250cc: (20 laps = 108.06 km) Pos / Rider / Nat / Team / Motorcycle / Time / KM / H 1 / Daniel PEDROSA / SPA / Telefonica Movistar Honda 250 / HONDA / 41’24.944 / 156.549 2 / Jorge LORENZO / SPA / Fortuna Honda / HONDA / 41’26.247 / 156.467 3 / Casey STONER / AUS / Carrera Sunglasses – LCR / APRILIA / 41’29.197 / 156.281 4 / Alex DE ANGELIS / RSM / MS Aprilia Italia Corse / APRILIA / 41’30.270 / 156.214 5 / Hiroshi AOYAMA / JPN / Telefonica Movistar Honda 250 / HONDA / 41’33.336 / 156.022 6 / Andrea DOVIZIOSO / ITA / Team Scot / HONDA / 41’33.415 / 156.017 7 / Sebastian PORTO / ARG / Aprilia Aspar 250cc / APRILIA / 41’50.489 / 154.956 8 / Randy DE PUNIET / FRA / Aprilia Aspar 250cc / APRILIA / 41’57.103 / 154.549 9 / Roberto LOCATELLI / ITA / Carrera Sunglasses – LCR / APRILIA / 41’58.913 / 154.438 10 / Sylvain GUINTOLI / FRA / Equipe GP de France – Scrab / APRILIA / 42’00.488 / 154.341 11 / Jakub SMRZ / CZE / Arie Molenaar Racing / HONDA / 42’16.771 / 153.350 12 / Anthony WEST / AUS / Red Bull KTM GP250 / KTM / 42’16.993 / 153.337 13 / Alex DEBON / SPA / Wurth Honda BQR / HONDA / 42’23.158 / 152.965 14 / Randomil ROUS / CZE / Wurth Honda BQR / HONDA / 42’23.548 / 152.942 15 / Steve JENKNER / GER / Nocable.it Race / APRILIA / 42’23.855 / 152.923 Fastest Lap (Unofficial new record): Daniel PEDROSA 2’02.554 158.712 Km/h Lap 16 Lap Record: Daniel PEDROSA 2’03.332 157.710 Km/h 2004 World Championship Positions: 1 PEDROSA 206, 2 STONER 147, 3 DOVIZIOSO 134, 4 PORTO 105, 5 DE ANGELIS 100, 6 LORENZO 98, 7 AOYAMA 98, 8 DE PUNIET 97, 9 BARBERA 59, 10 CORSI 54, 11 GUINTOLI 49, 12 DEBON 39, 13 TAKAHASHI 38, 14 LOCATELLI 31, 15 WEST 30. 125cc: Race Classification 125cc (19 laps = 102.657 km) Pos / Rider / Nat / Team / Motorcycle / Time / KM / H 1 / Thomas LUTHI / SWI / Elit Grand Prix / HONDA / 41’32.409 / 148.276 2 / Mika KALLIO / FIN / Red Bull KTM GP125 / KTM / 41’35.621 / 148.085 3 / Marco SIMONCELLI / ITA / Nocable.it Race / APRILIA / 41’35.735 / 148.078 4 / Sergio GADEA / SPA / Master Aspar / APRILIA / 41’40.163 / 147.816 5 / Lorenzo ZANETTI / ITA / Skilled I.S.P.A. Racing Team / APRILIA / 41’46.862 / 147.421 6 / Fabrizio LAI / ITA / Kopron Racing World / HONDA / 41’57.565 / 146.794 7 / Mike DI MEGLIO / FRA / Kopron Racing World / HONDA / 41’57.656 / 146.789 8 / Manuel POGGIALI / RSM / Metis Racing Team / GILERA / 41’57.918 / 146.774 9 / Gabor TALMACSI / HUN / Red Bull KTM GP125 / KTM / 41’58.182 / 146.758 10 / Julian SIMON / SPA / Red Bull KTM GP125 / KTM / 41’58.475 / 146.741 11 / Andrea IANNONE / ITA / Abruzzo Racing Team / APRILIA / 42’01.386 / 146.572 12 / Alvaro BAUTISTA / SPA / Seedorf RC3 – Tiempo Holidays / HONDA / 42’02.769 / 146.491 13 / Aleix ESPARGARO / SPA / Seedorf RC3 – Tiempo Holidays / HONDA / 42’02.784 / 146.491 14 / Sandro CORTESE / GER / Kiefer-Bos-Castrol Honda / HONDA / 42’03.168 / 146.468 15 / Stefan BRADL / GER / Red Bull ADAC KTM Juniors / KTM / 42’06.135 / 146.296 Fastest Lap: Sergio GADEA 2’08.931 150.862 Km/h Lap 5 Lap Record: Lucio CECCHINELLO 2’07.836 152.154 Km/h 2003 World Championship Positions: 1 LUTHI 144, 2 KALLIO 136, 3 TALMACSI 120, 4 SIMONCELLI 117, 5 PASINI 100, 6 LAI 98, 7 SIMON 97, 8 POGGIALI 72, 9 DI MEGLIO 54, 10 KOYAMA 52, 11 FAUBEL 50, 12 GADEA 48, 13 NIETO 47, 14 OLIVE 45, 15 BAUTISTA 32. More, from a press release issued by Fortuna Yamaha: Almost 80,000 witnessed the Czech republic GP on Sunday at the circuit of Brno. The race was yet another demonstration by World Champion elect Valentino Rossi who is now just a step away from his seventh world crown. The FORTUNA YAMAHA riders had a difficult weekend at what is one of the most technical circuits of the championship. TONI ELIAS finished in fourteenth spot. After a difficult start in which he lost a few positions, he became involved in a battle with Nakano and Tamada that saw him having to fight hard to maintain his position. RUBEN XAUS suffered with the problems he has been struggling with all weekend and, although he got steadily better as the weekend progressed, he finished outside the points with a disappointing finish of 18th. Both Elias and Xaus will stay in Brno for a few days following the race for some testing as the FORTUNA YAMAHA team hope to find some technical improvements for the last rounds of the World Championship. TONI ELIAS (24): Warm Up: 17th, 2.01.039 + 2.799 (9/9 laps) Race: 14th, + 28.571 Championship: 16th, 31 points. “When you get away well, and when you are winning, that is when you really enjoy a race, not when you are fighting to get in the points. But it seems we are slowly solving the problems we have although starting from so far down the grid does not leave you with any real options. The most positive thing was the consistent rhythm I found especially when the tyres were going and I still managed to match the times of Hayden for example. I had a couple of shocks that made the race more difficult. I am not happy with the result, but the important thing is to fight and to progress race by race and to try and challenge to be in the lead group of riders. These two days of testing will be very helpful for us.” RUBEN XAUS (11): Warm Up: 20th, 2.02.020 + 3.780 (8/10 laps) Race: 18th, + 1.08.082 Championship: 14th, 36 points. “After the difficult situation that I experienced during the days when I was supposed to be relaxing on holiday, I came to Brno with my moral affected. I just wanted to get through this race as quickly as possible. Now I have done so, I will keep on working hard and I hope the Ruben Xaus that everyone knows will now be back soon.” HERVE PONCHARAL, Team Manager FORTUNA YAMAHA: Team Championship: 8th, 71 points. “Although fourteenth is, obviously, not a great result, Toni rode his best race of the year. Although he had various problems at the start, he lapped very consistently and was in a very compact group. Ruben has had some difficulties over the last few days, I hope all that is behind him now and that he can show his enormous potential.” More, from a press release issued by Team Suzuki: Race long battle between Roberts Jr and Hopkins for top 10 places Team SUZUKI MotoGP Racers Kenny Roberts Jr and John Hopkins fought a race long battle with four other riders at today’s Gauloises Grand Prix Ceske Republiky. Roberts Jr and Hopkins were involved in the tussle with the Hondas of Troy Bayliss and Makoto Tamada as well as Shinya Nakano and Alex Hofmann on the Bridgestone-shod Kawasakis. All six riders traded places in their quest for a top-10 finish throughout the race. The Suzuki pair of Roberts Jr and Hopkins finally finished the race in 11th and 13th places respectively. Roberts Jr had made an improvement in his health from the illness that caused him to miss most of yesterday’s qualifying session. He was able to take to the track for this morning’s warm-up and although he only managed seven laps he recorded the second quickest time. Team SUZUKI MotoGP Test Rider Nobuatsu Aoki narrowly missed out on the points, with a 16th place finish. The likeable Japanese racer was appearing in his first MotoGP of the season and acquitted himself well in front of 78,818 fans. He will now stay on at Brno for two further days of testing. Today’s race was held in dry but overcast conditions and was won by World Champion and run-away series leader Valentino Rossi on a Yamaha. Team SUZUKI MotoGP now has two test days at the Czech circuit on Monday and Tuesday before it heads off to its home Grand Prix at Motegi in Japan on Sunday 18th September. Kenny Roberts Jr: “It was a difficult race. I think everybody’s lap times were consistent from the front to where we were at, so it was difficult to make ground up. Basically everything on the bike stayed pretty consistent and we had a tight battle where we were. I tried to get past Bayliss and Tamada at the end. I was hoping they would make a mistake with each other to help me get past. I tried to out accelerate them all the time but it just wasn’t working. Basically it was a decent race, I still don’t have a lot of energy so I don’t know what the matter is. Hopefully it’s flu or something and I can get over it in the next couple of days.” John Hopkins: “Not satisfied at all. That’s the best way to state it. We’ve been pushing all weekend and unfortunately we are still suffering with a lack of acceleration and we are having to ride it on the edge. I couldn’t get away from the pack I was in and then later on I dropped down to 13th which is where I finished. It’s good to finish a race after what happened during the weekend in Germany, but I’m very disappointed because I like this track a lot. Unfortunately we didn’t get anywhere near where we wanted to be. It means we’ve got to work harder, not just me but Suzuki and Bridgestone and be strong at Motegi. I think if I can get through turn one there unlike the last two years – I can have a hell of a race!” Nobuatsu Aoki: “I had a pretty lonely race. Immediately after the start I had a small problem which made the top-end low. I thought I might have to pull-in or whatever, but I tried to manage it and then the engine became a little bit better. I really appreciate what my guys have done, they prepared a good chassis setting. I pushed harder from the middle of the race and I could make a closer gap to Kenny and John’s group. I thought I could catch them up but my back tyre was worn so I couldn’t. I was a little bit disappointed but I have enjoyed the weekend very much and will maybe see you all in Valencia at the last race.” Paul Denning Team Manager: “All things considered we’ve got to be very pleased with Kenny’s performance, one of his most competitive dry races of the season so far. He only completed five laps in yesterday’s qualification session and a short run in warm-up this morning. Without his illness and a better qualifying position there may well have been the opportunity to run a few places further up the field. “John’s race was – in terms of a result less than he expected and probably less than we expected. He battled hard for the whole race but seemed to use up his rear tyre a little bit quicker than Kenny and didn’t have so much left to fight with at the end. “We are staying on for some testing over the next couple of days and maybe we will be able to find a direction within the setting parts that we have here to take a step forward. “Nobu did a great consistent job, just outside the points on his return to MotoGP racing. As ever he is a great personality to have around the team and I’m sure he will continue his never-ending hard work over the next two days. By the end of Tuesday I’m think he will be sick of the sight of the Brno race circuit, having turned in so many laps! “We move onto Motegi next, we have some new engine parts in the same direction of development that has been happening in the last few races. We hope that those along with the good match between the Bridgestone new generation tyres and the Japanese circuit will help us get some better results. This weekend has confirmed that the direction we are taking in terms of engine development is correct, but we need a lot, lot more to be truly competitive and that’s where everyone’s intentions are lying at the moment.” Gauloises Grand Prix Ceske Republiky Race Classification: 1. Valentino Rossi (Yamaha) 43’56.539: 2. Loris Capirossi (Ducati) +1.837: 3. Max Biaggi (Honda) +3.444: 4. Alex Barros (Honda) +4.148: 5. Nicky Hayden (Honda) +4.363: 6. Marco Melandri (Honda) +11.150: 7. Colin Edwards (Yamaha) +13.532: 8. Carlos Checa (Ducati) +19.331: 9. Troy Bayliss (Honda) +27.125: 10. Makoto Tamada (Honda) +27.248: 11. KENNY ROBERTS JR (TEAM SUZUKI MOTOGP) 27.684: 13. JOHN HOPKINS (TEAM SUZUKI MOTOGP) +28.278: 16. NOBUATSU AOKI (TEAM SUZUKI MOTOGP) +41.778: World Championship Classification: 1. Rossi 261: 2. Biaggi 129: 3. Melandri 126: 4. Edwards 123: 5. Sete Gibernau (Honda) 115: 6. Barros 114: 7. Hayden 112: 8. Capirossi 92: 9. Shinya Nakano (Kawasaki) 69: 10. Checa 59: 13. KENNY ROBERTS JR (TEAM SUZUKI MOTOGP) 41: 15: JOHN HOPKINS (TEAM SUZUKI MOTOGP) 35: