PICOTTE SHATTERS RECORD SHUBENACADIE, NS Pascal Picotte kept his hot streak in the Parts Canada Superbike Championship alive with a record breaking performance in qualifying at Atlantic Motorsport Park Friday. Riding the Picotte Performance Yamaha YZF-R1, the Granby, QC native claimed pole position for this weekend’s sixth and seventh rounds of the eight-race series with a lap at one minute, 7.425 seconds around the 2.56km (1.6-mile) circuit. The time, which came on Picotte’s final lap of the qualifying session, smashed the previous lap record of 1:08.247 set a year ago by Kevin Lacombe. The performance gave Picotte his second straight MPM / Array Pole Award. He topped qualifying at the previous round at Mosport International Raceway, where he also swept both ends of the doubleheader. Parts Canada Superbike series points leader Francis Martin of Rock Forest, QC qualified second with a time of 1:07.877 aboard the Snobgirls / Laval Moto Suzuki GSX-R1000 and Kevin Lacombe recorded the third best time of 1:07.970 riding the Team Suzuki / Blackfoot Suzuki GSX-R1000. “It was a hard lap,” Picotte said. “I went into turn 1 sideways, I had a wheelie out of turn 2. I gave it all I had.” Picotte’s effort also kept him in the thick of the Parts Canada Superbike Championship title battle. The two-time defending series champion, currently fourth in the standings, earned four points for taking pole, bringing his season total to 183. Martin picked up three points, giving him 201. A race victory is worth 50 points. After this weekend’s doubleheader the series wraps up at Shannonville Motorsport Park on the Sept. 2-4 Labour Day Weekend. Jordan Szoke and Clint McBain, second and third in the standings with 196 and 194 points respectively, failed to add to their totals. Szoke qualified seventh on the Fast Company Honda CBR1000RR with a time of 1:08.756 and McBain set the fifth best time, a 1:08.547 riding a Team Suzuki / Blackfoot Suzuki GSX-R1000. “I’m going to try everything I can to beat Pascal [in the races],” Martin said. “But I really need to beat Jordan and Clint.” Maple Ridge, BC’s Steve Crevier will complete the front row for this weekend’s two races after setting the fourth best time on Friday of 1:08.347. Tom Kipp will join McBain and Szoke on row two of the grid. The Chardon, OH racer was sixth fastest with a time of 1:08.562 on his Canadian Kawasaki Motors Kawasaki ZX-10R. The first of the 22-lap Superbike features is set to go Saturday afternoon, with the back half of the twin bill slated for Sunday. In other action at AMP, points leader Crevier claimed pole for the pair of Hindle Exhaust Pro 600 Sport Bike races and nearly broke the lap record in the process. Crevier set a time of 1:08.711 on his Honda CBR600RR. The time was just .002 secs. off the record set by Frank Trombino in 2003. Kipp qualified second with a 1:09.126 on his Kawasaki ZX-6RR and Kleinburg, ON’s Trombino was third at 1:09.244 aboard the Trombino Yamaha Racing Yamaha YZF-R6. Practice sessions were also held Friday for the International Motorcycle SUPERSHOW Amateur 600 Sport Bike, Canadian Thunder and Suzuki SV650 National Cup series. Points leader Mark Douglas of Warkworth, ON paced the Amateur 600 Sport Bike competitors with a best lap of 1:13.477 on his Yamaha YZF-R6. Keene, ON rider Paul Glenn led the Suzuki SV650 Cup riders at 1:17.176. The International Motorcycle SUPERSHOW Amateur 600 Sport Bike, Canadian Thunder and Suzuki SV650 National Cup competitors will qualify Saturday for their Sunday features. Action from this weekend will be televised later this summer in a one-hour show on TSN. For more series information, visit www.cdnsuperbike.com Staring grid for this weekend’s sixth and seventh rounds of the Parts Canada Superbike Championship at Atlantic Motorsport Park in Shubenacadie, NS, showing starting position, rider name, hometown, type of motorcycle and qualifying time: 1.Pascal Picotte, Granby, QC, Yamaha YZF-R1, 1:07.425*; 2. Francis Martin, Rock Forest, QC, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:07.877; 3. Kevin Lacombe, Granby, QC, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:07.970; 4. Steve Crevier, Maple Ridge, BC, Honda CBR1000RR, 1:08.347; 5. Clint McBain, Calgary, AB, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:08.547; 6. Tom Kipp, Chardon, OH, Kawasaki ZX-10R, 1:08.562; 7. Jordan Szoke, Brantford, ON, Honda CBR1000RR, 1:08.756; 8. Matthew McBride, Mississauga, ON, Kawasaki ZX-10R, 1:09.131; 9. Frank Trombino, Kleinburg, ON, Yamaha YZF-R1, 1:09.319; 10. Andrew Nelson, Kars, ON, Honda CBR600RR, 1:10.098; 11. Jeremy Burgess, Hammonds Plains, NS, Kawasaki ZX-10R, 1:10.378; 12. Jeff Williams, Harrowsmith, ON, Kawasaki ZX-6RR, 1:10.890; 13. Brian Nielsen, Edmonton, AB, Yamaha YZF-R1, 1:11.191; 14. Erick Beausejour, Val Senneville, QC, Honda CBR600RR, 1:11.217; 15. Stuart Nodell, Ajax, ON, Kawasaki ZX-6RR, 1:11.750; 16. Dave Young, Woodstock, ON, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:11.763; 17. Jean Paul Tache, North Bay, ON, Kawasaki ZX-10R, 1:11.930; 18. Zenon Nelson, Bowmanville, ON, Suzuki GSX-R600, 11:12.135; 19. Sean Heydorn, Aurora, ON, Honda CBR600RR, 1:12.329; 20. Hugo Brisson, Prevost, QC, Kawasaki ZX-10R, 1:12.359; 21. Fred Silver, Greenwood, NS, Kawasaki ZX-6RR, 1:12.484; 22. Nicolas Audet, St-Henri, QC, Yamaha YZF-R6, 1:13.265; 23. Todd Scott, Bedford, NS, Honda CBR600RR, 1:13.322; 24. Terry Steves, Bathurst, NB, Honda CBR600RR, 1:13.764; 25. Rick Langille, Nauwigewauk, NB, Honda CBR600RR, 1:13.779; 26. Blaine Pellerine, Halifax, NS, Yamaha YZF-R6, 1:13.846; 27. Trevor MacDonald, St-Zotique, QC, Suzuki GSX-R600, 1:16.079 * — New lap record

GPR STABILIZER MOVES TO LARGER FACILITY GPR Stabilizer has moved to a new and larger facility in their hometown of San Diego. The move has allowed the company to more than double their space, from the existing 5,000 square feet to over 12,000 square feet in the new building. The machine shop area has grown by 20%, and easily accomodates five new machines that join the existing equipment. The new office space makes room for expanded design, engineering and marketing areas, as well as a streamlined shipping and receiving area. New address, telephone and fax number: GPR Stabilizer 8715 Dead Stick Road San Diego, CA 92154 Phone – 619-661-0101 Fax – 619-661-0707 With their background in aerospace design and machining, GPR Stabilizer manufactures and sells the world’s finest steering dampers and accessories. All design, machining, laser engraving, packaging and shipping of the finished kits is done in-house in San Diego, California. GPR Stabilizer kits are available through local dealers, and are distributed in the U.S. by Lockhart Phillips USA, Parts Unlimited, Tucker Rocky and White Brothers. For more information, please call (619) 661-0101 or visit www.gprstabilizer.com. In the U.K. and Europe, please call GPR Stabilizer U.K. at 44-01945-58-58-42

Alstare Corona Extra Suzuki’s Troy Corser earned provisional pole position during World Superbike qualifying Friday at Brands Hatch Circuit, just south of London, England. After a damp Friday morning practice, Corser went straight to work Friday afternoon, spending much of the session at the top of the leader board. Toward the end of the one-hour period there was a flurry of activity on pit lane, and the lap time leader board, as some riders chose to use one of their two Pirelli qualifying tires to ensure a spot in Superpole in case Saturday morning’s final qualifying session is rained on. When the dust settled, Corser was on top with a lap of 1:27.123 on his GSX-R1000. Half a second behind at 1:27.652 was Regis Laconi on his Xerox Ducati 999F05. Putting his home track knowledge to work was Chris Walker, third-fastest with a 1:27.656 on his PSG-1 Kawasaki ZX-10R. His first time riding a Superbike at Brands Hatch, Karl Muggeridge earned the last spot on the provisional front row with a lap of 1:27.742 on his Winston Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR. Corser’s teammate Yukio Kagayama got up from a crash into the inflatable safety barriers outside of the fast final corner and returned to the track on his spare bike to record the fifth-fastest time of 1:27.767. SC Caracchi Ducati’s Fonsi Nieto also crashed during the session. He was reported as “OK” by the timing and scoring monitors. Second-quickest in the damp morning practice, American Ben Bostrom suffered several minor problems in his qualifying session and ended the session 15th with a 1:28.926 on his Koji Renegade Honda CBR1000RR. Friday Afternoon World Superbike Qualifying Results: 1. Troy Corser, Suzuki, 1:27.123 2. Regis Laconi, Ducati, 1:27.652 3. Chris Walker, Kawasaki, 1:27.656 4. Karl Muggeridge, Honda, 1:27.742 5. Yukio Kagayama, Suzuki, 1:27.767 6. Andrew Pitt, Yamaha, 1:28.023 7. Chris Vermeulen, Honda, 1:28.056 8. James Toseland, Ducati, 1:28.072 9. Pierfrancesco Chili, Honda, 1:28.205 10. Max Neukirchner, Honda, 1:28.271 11. Steve Martin, Foggy Petronas, 1:28.318 12. Noriyuki Haga, Yamaha, 1:28.541 13. Marco Borciani, Ducati, 1:28.746 14. Sebastien Gimbert, Yamaha, 1:28.750 15. Ben Bostrom, Honda, 1:28.926 16. Pere Riba, Kawasaki, 1:28.926 17. Gianluca Vizziello, Yamaha, 1:28.960 18. Norick Abe, Yamaha, 1:29.044 19. Dennis Hobbs, Yamaha, 1:29.093 20. Garry McCoy, Foggy Petronas, 1:29.093 21. Giovanni Bussei, Kawasaki, 1:29.228 22. Ivan Clementi, Ducati, 1:29.531 23. Fonsi Nieto, Ducati, 1:29.845, crash 24. Lorenzo Lanzi, Ducati, 1:29.863 25. Lorenzo Alfonsi, Yamaha, 1:29.880 26. Jose Luis Cardoso, Yamaha, 1:30.656 27. Alessio Velini, Ducati, 1:31.358 28. Lucio Pedercini, Ducati, 1:31.508 29. Michel Nickmans, Yamaha, 1:31.540 30. Miguel Praia, Yamaha, 1:31.715 More, from a press release issued by Winston Ten Kate Honda: PROVISIONAL FRONT ROW FOR MUGGERIDGE AT BRANDS Winston Ten Kate Honda’s Karl Muggeridge set the fourth fastest time in this afternoon’s opening qualifying session for Sunday’s eighth round World Superbike championship races at Brands Hatch in the UK. The pace was set by championship leader, Troy Corser, with Muggeridge’s team-mate, Chris Vermeulen, seventh fastest. After morning rain prevented any meaningful set-up work in free practice for the 4.2km undulating Brands Hatch circuit, this afternoon’s qualifying session was run in dry conditions with sunnier weather forecast for tomorrow and Sunday. Ronald ten Kate team manager: “I think that this afternoon was pretty OK for our first dry track session and I’m happy enough after day one. It’s good to see Karl on the provisional front row because, even though it’s one of his favourite circuits, it’s his first time here on a superbike. Chris is quite near the pace of the front runners after his time at the Suzuka 8-hour last weekend. But I think he adapted really quickly to the change in tyres and what is really a very different machine. I’m sure we’ll find some more improvements to the bike tomorrow when, hopefully, the weather will be a more consistent factor.” Karl Muggeridge fourth fastest, 1:27.742 “Yeah, this track is certainly pretty different on a superbike it suddenly looks a lot skinnier than I remember! I’m wheelying all the way down the back straight at the moment and having to duck my head to get the front wheel down. We started with a brand new setting here but, to be honest, we were quite a long way away. I still need to be more confident in the front going into corners and to be able to open the gas on the way out over the bumps. But we know what we’re after so we just need to put it in the bike and use tomorrow to make those improvements to get it in the right area.” Chris Vermeulen seventh fastest, 1:28.056 “I’m not too unhappy with seventh considering the big difference between the bike and the tyres that I rode at the 8-hour last weekend. I expected to struggle a bit more than I did actually and was really just aiming to qualify for Superpole today. But the bike’s feeling pretty good after the team made a lot of positive changes after our test at Lausitzring. I ran into a bit of traffic when I put the qualifier in so I wasn’t able to go much faster. There’s some work to do tonight and tomorrow but I think we’ll be able to get it up there.” More, from a press release issued by Scuderia SC Caracchi: FIRST PRACTICE DAY AT BRANDS HATCH: WELL NANNELLI, CAUTION FOR LANZI AND NIETO On the demanding 4197 meters of Brands Hatch, near London, first practice day characterized by rain and cold; only during the afternoon the track dried, but always with no more as 20°C degrees temperature. Very well the 749R Supersport by Gianluca Nannelli that reached the second position behind the championship leader Charpentier. Some difficulties on the contrary for the 999RSs Superbike by Lanzi and Nieto: both the riders started with caution looking for the best machine’s setting, also because the weather forecast show dry weather for tomorrow ant the lap times scored today are destined to be improved. “I’m quite satisfied with the session of today”. commented at the end Gianluca Nannelli. “We could test different tyres and with one of them I got a good feeling looking at the race, but all look to be an improvement with the past production. I’m sure that with a harder riding, looking at the performance, I could be able to reduce my gap to Charpentier, I found a good race setting and I like that track. More the bike is always on the top as top speed, so I’m quite confident for the week end.” A bit les satisfied is Lorenzo Lanzi, just 24th in the afternoon session, also if both today’s sessions have been all dedicated for the bike setting for the demanding englis circuit. “We tested several set up solutions.” declared Lorenzo Lanzi. “Unfortunately the continuous weather conditions changing didn’t help us. We never use soft tyres, sparing them for tomorrow, but in any case we’ll have a lot of work to do. Now we’ll see with all the team which could be the actions to do for the final session tomorrow morning.” Fonsi Nieto never visit before Brands Hatch, and the Spanish rider had alto to pay the “toll fee” at this track, crashing at the middle of qualifying session. “That’a a very demanding track.” said at the end Fonsi Nieto. “At the beginning of the session, with the track not perfectly dried, I was not in bad position. But after my crash the track dried very quick and a lot of riders passed me. Tomorrow we have to be early focused to get a good result that allow us to make the Superpole and start in front.” More, from a press release issued by Ducati Corse: LACONI (DUCATI XEROX TEAM) TAKES PROVISIONAL SECOND IN FRIDAY BRANDS QUALIFYING – TOSELAND EIGHTH Brands Hatch (UK), Friday 5 August: Régis Laconi set second quickest time in today’s opening qualifying session at Brands Hatch, the Ducati Xerox Team rider clocking a 1m27.652s, half-a-second off the pace of early frontrunner Troy Corser (Suzuki). James Toseland was in eighth place on the provisional Friday grid, but just four-tenths of a second off his team-mate’s time, as four different manufacturers took the top four slots on the timesheets. “I am quite happy with the session, we’ve still got a bit more work to do because the bike is not yet perfect to ride” declared Laconi. “The feeling is good however and I think that with two or three changes we can go even quicker tomorrow. I have to say that this track is beautiful to ride, the ups and downs are fantastic. I think that I can improve mainly in the final part, from the Westfield right before Dingle Dell. This year they have closed up the entrance to the curve and it’s ruined it. We’ve still got to get the bike set up well for this part because in the first split it’s going really well.” “I’m not overjoyed by the position to be honest and we’ve still got a lot to do on the bike. It feels so different after the good setting we had at Mugello this week and we’re quite a way off” commented Toseland. “But despite this I’m quietly confident and we know which direction to go in. To be only point four off second place after riding it like that, I’m quite pleasantly surprised to be honest. I finished the lap and the time was good, although I felt that it was up in the 35s. I lost the front twice on two of my quick laps and I had a few problems and before you know it I had lost about 25 minutes of the session. And to only have had that much lap time I’m quite happy.” More, from a press release issued by Yamaha Racing: WSB : Pitt leads the Yamahas at Brands Round: 8 – Europe Circuit: Brands Hatch Date: 5 August 2005 Temp: 20ºC Weather: Overcast Yamaha’s superbike riders enjoyed a good opening day for this weekend’s eighth round of the Superbike World Championship at the Brands Hatch circuit in the United Kingdom. With the morning practice session affected by rain, Yamaha Motor Italia riders Andrew Pitt and Noriyuki Haga used the afternoon qualifying session to work on machine settings for Sunday’s two 25-lap races around the undulating English circuit. Despite being the team’s first visit to the circuit with the YZF-R1, both riders declared themselves happy with the base machine settings, setting the sixth and 12th fastest times despite opting to save their soft qualifying tyres for tomorrow’s final session. Pitt rode strongly to end the day sixth with a best of 1:28.023, less than a second behind fastest man Troy Corser (Suzuki). The Australian run consistently fast in both the morning and afternoon sessions and expects to find further improvement tomorrow, as the team changes the gearbox settings on his YZF-R1. Team-mate Haga, a double winner here last year and winner last time out at Brno, ended the day 12th, comfortable in the knowledge that he will have two qualifying tyres at his disposal tomorrow. Nitro Nori, the fans’ favourite at Brands, recorded a best time of 1:28.541 and is confident of improving tomorrow. Fellow Japanese Norick Abe had an encouraging time on his first visit to Brands. The Yamaha Motor France rider ended the day in 18th place, ruing the lack of dry running in the morning session but encouraged by his performance on the tricky to learn circuit. Like his colleagues in the Yamaha Motor Italia team, Abe is confident that improved settings and added circuit knowledge can help improve his time and propel him into the top-16 superpole session, a position already occupied by his team-mate, Sebastien Gimbert, who ended today in 14th position. Andrew Pitt (Yamaha Motor Italia) “It’s my first time here for three years and the circuit has changed a little bit, but I enjoy it here and I’m pretty happy with how it’s gone today. We’ve consistently been up the front and I’m happy with the way the bike’s feeling. It’s our first time here with the R1, so we had to guess a bit at the settings. We’ve got it pretty good but the gearbox (ratios) isn’t perfect so that’s something that we’ll change for tomorrow.” Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha Motor Italia) “Always race settings is most important and as normal we worked on finding a good race set-up and, basically, it is ok. Of course, we will still make lots of changes for tomorrow and I am sure that we can improve some more in the morning.” Norick Abe (Yamaha Motor France) “This is my first time at Brands Hatch and I am quite happy with how it went today. This is a very special circuit with many difficult corners to learn. Normally when I go to a new course I am in position 20-something on the first day, so 18th is not so bad – especially as this morning’s session was wet and I could not try many things. Of course we will make changes to the bike overnight, especially to the gearbox settings, and I think that we can make big improvements tomorrow.” Sebastien Gimbert (Yamaha Motor France) “I’m feeling a lot fitter now than I did at Brno. My leg is now healed and I hope for a good result this weekend. I rode here with the R1 last year, so I know the circuit. Tomorrow we will make a few small changes and I hope that we can qualify for the superpole.” Claudio Consonni (Racing Manager – Yamaha Motor Italia) “The team is quite confident about this weekend. Both Andrew and Noriyuki have made consistent times and were able to do good lap times without using the qualifying tyre. Both riders have a good feeling from the bike and we will make some more changes tonight which we hope will improve the package even more.” Round: 8 – Europe Circuit: Brands Hatch Circuit Length: 4221 Lap Record: 1′ 26.755 (Shane Byrne, 2003) Fastest Lap Ever: 1′ 26.248 (Shane Byrne, 2003) Date: 5 August 2005 Temp: 20ºC Session 1 : Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. 1st Qualifying 1 T. Corser Suzuki AUS 1′ 27.137 2 R. Laconi Ducati FRA 1′ 27.652 3 C. Walker Kawasaki GBR 1′ 27.656 4 K. Muggeridge Honda AUS 1′ 27.742 5 Y. Kagayama Suzuki JPN 1′ 27.767 6 A. Pitt Yamaha AUS 1′ 28.023 7 C. Vermeulen Honda AUS 1′ 28.056 8 J. Toseland Ducati GBR 1′ 28.072 9 P. Chili Honda ITA 1′ 28.205 10 M. Neukirchner Honda GER 1′ 28.271 11 S. Martin Petronas AUS 1′ 28.318 12 N. Haga Yamaha JPN 1′ 28.541 13 M. Borciani Ducati ITA 1′ 28.746 14 S. Gimbert Yamaha FRA 1′ 28.750 15 B. Bostrom Honda USA 1′ 28.926 16 P. Riba Kawasaki ESP 1′ 28.932 17 G. Vizziello Yamaha ITA 1′ 28.960 18 N. Abe Yamaha JPN 1′ 29.044 19 D. Hobbs Yamaha GBR 1′ 29.093 25 L. Alfonsi Yamaha ITA 1′ 29.880 26 J. Cardoso Yamaha ESP 1′ 30.656 WSS: Australians chase set-up at Brands Hatch 5/8/2005 Kevin Curtain and Broc Parkes, Yamaha Motor Germany’s Australian duo, set the fifth and ninth fastest times in today’s first practice for Sunday’s round eight of the Supersport World Championship at Brands Hatch. Despite heavy showers throughout the day the track remained dry, albeit with several damp patches off line, for the duration of the 45 minute session. With the morning practice session run in wet conditions, the supersport riders found themselves without any meaning set-up data for the afternoon qualifying session, meaning both men spent as much time trying to find a good machine set-up as they did setting fast lap times. Championship leader Sebastien Charpentier (Honda) was the fastest rider with a 1:29.174 lap time, but behind him things were close with just eight tenths of a second separating second placed Gianluca Nannelli (Ducati) from Parkes in ninth. Curtain spent most of the session looking for a good race set-up on his YZF-R6, posting a best time of 1:30.424 – good enough for fifth place and second row on the provisional grid. The 39-year-old was happy with his day’s work, confident his squad can make significant improvements ahead of tomorrow’s final session. Parkes, fastest in the morning’s wet practice, also had to contend with set-up problems as a result of no previous dry running. The 23-year-old found the gearing on his YZF-R6 was not set-up correctly, causing his machine to rev out down the straights. Despite this, Parkes ended the session ninth with a best lap time of 1:30.838. Final grid positions will be determined by the best time over today and tomorrow’s sessions. Final qualifying takes place tomorrow (Saturday) afternoon. Kevin Curtain “With the rain this morning we’re a session behind, so we spent qualifying trying lots of things with the gearing and the set-up. The track was still a little damp around the Dingle Dell area but we still made some progress, although there are still a lot of corners where we’re neither here nor there with the set-up. The guys are looking at all the data now and I’m sure they’ll come up with a bunch of improvements for tomorrow.” Broc Parkes “I was hitting the rev-limiter everywhere and although we really needed to change the gearing we didn’t have enough time, as it would have meant changing both the front and rear sprocket. The gap between me and second is not much and we know that we can improve quite a lot by changing the gearing. So, if it stays dry tomorrow, we should be alright.” More, from a press release issued by Team Suzuki: CORSER ON PROVISIONAL BRANDS POLE Team Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra rider Troy Corser left it until the last five minutes of today’s World Superbike Championship qualifying at Brands Hatch before posting the fastest lap of the day – more than a half a second quicker than nearest rival Regis Laconi. The morning un-timed session saw rain and a damp track for most of the 60 minutes, but in the afternoon, the track dried out and the lap times started to tumble. The last 10 minutes were frantic, but in the end, Corser mastered the occasion again and took provisional pole position. Laconi was second quickest with Chris Walker (Kawasaki) third and Karl Muggeridge (Honda) fourth. Corser’s Alstare Suzuki team mate Yukio Kagayama ended the day fifth fastest and with a bruise on his backside after he lost control in the last turn and fell heavily. Fortunately he escaped without serious injury, but he will be very sore in the morning. Troy Corser – 1st, 1:27.123: “I’m pretty happy today because we’re nearly there with our set-up and we more-or-less know what tyres we’ll use in the race if the conditions are similar to this afternoon. We ran over 20 laps on the tyres this afternoon and in the end my lap time was only 0.3 slower than at the start. Brands is similar in some ways to Brno because of the changes of elevation, but it’s a track where you don’t want to be racing a load of other riders. If you can get out at the front early on, the rest of the pack will slow each other up. So a good start will be important and that’s what I’ll be aiming for.” Yukio Kagayama – 5th, 1:27.767: “My crash was very scary and now I have a lot of pain in my backside! Maybe I got on the gas a bit early in the last turn because everything happened very quickly. Up until that moment I had been quite happy today – especially in the afternoon. The morning was a bit wet, but the dry track in the afternoon timed qualifying meant that we could make progress. After two races at circuits I’ve never seen before, it is good to be at Brands – a circuit I know well. My target tomorrow is a front-row grid place and then, on Sunday, a podium or two.” Friday Qualifying: 1 Troy Corser (Aus-Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra) 1:27.123, 2 Laconi (F-Ducati) 1:27.652, 3 Walker (GB-Kawasaki) 1:27.656, 4 Muggeridge (Aus-Honda) 1:27.742, 5 Yukio Kagayama (J-Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra) 1:27.767, 6 Pitt (Aus-Yamaha) 1:278.023, 7 Vermeulen (Aus-Honda) 1:28.056, 8 Toseland (GB-Ducati) 1:28.072, 9 Chili (I-Honda) 1:28.205, 10 Neukirchner (D-Honda) 1:28.271, WORLD SUPERSPORT QUALIFYING: Team Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra rider Javi Fores made his Brands Hatch debut today and finished with a very creditable 12th fastest time. Conditions were mostly wet during both 45-minute sessions, though the track did dry out towards the end of timed qualifying in the afternoon and then the lap times fell dramatically. Runaway series leader Sebastien Charpentier (Honda) was again was the front runner with Gianluca Nannelli (Ducati) second, Stephane Chambon (Honda) third and Katsuaki Fujiwara (Honda) fourth. Javi Fores – 12th, 1:31.284: “This is my first time at Brands Hatch and it is a very difficult circuit! There are many blind corners and changes of camber, so it is a very hard circuit to learn quickly. I think you need to put in many, many laps round here if you are to go fast – and I’m not there yet. Also, conditions were not so good so that made it a bit more difficult. I hope that tomorrow will be completely dry all day so that I have good conditions to learn the track and go quickly. “

WORLD SUPERBIKE CHAMPIONSHIP LANDS IN INDONESIA FGSPORT has recently signed a new and very important TV agreement with the Indonesian network TV 7 Indonesia. The terrestrial broadcaster has never broadcast the Superbike World Championship series before. The contract has been signed through the Agency Total Sport Asia and will grant live coverage of the Championship with a fixed time slot dedicated to SBK every Sunday night in absolute prime time. The Superbike series in this way will reach more than 37 million households across Indonesia through one of the most important network of Indonesia. The average audience share of the network is around 7 % and constantly increasing. In Asia the coverage of 2005 World Superbike Championship was also considerably strengthened earlier this season by the signing of contracts with networks like Zee Sports in India, Brave Heart in Thailand and in many South East Asian countries and by the renewal of the deal with ESPN Star Sport. Paolo Flammini, Chief Executive of FGSPORT – the organising company and rights holder of the Championship – commented: “With this new deal the Superbike World Championship secured a very important and extended audience in a market such Indonesia that means future.”

BMW, MZ, KTM, Triumph and a Tuono 11 Manufacturers Represented in German 24 Hour Race The provisional entry list for next weekend’s 24 Stunden von Oschersleben round of the FIM World Endurance Championship contains a number of interesting additions to the permanent teams who compete in all rounds of the championship. Bikes from Suzuki, Yamaha, Kawasaki, Honda, Ducati, Aprilia and MV Agusta have already competed in the championship this year. They will be joined at Oschersleben by machines from BMW (K1200S, K1200R, KB35), KTM (Super Duke), Triumph (955i Daytona) and most notably MZ, with five examples of the MZ1000S entered by three local teams. The three BMWs represent both models of the new inline four cylinder 1200 as well as a prototype R1200GS engined R1100S special, the KB35. This will be the second year that KTM have entered one of their big v-twins, and the Triumph Daytona is an Oschersleben 24 hours regular. The Aprilia RSV1000 of Motociclismo Test Team will be joined by a German entered Aprilia Tuono; it will be interesting to see which bike is more suited to the Oschersleben circuit’s compact and twisty nature. Perhaps the most significant additions to the entry list are the five examples of MZ’s 1000S. The bike made its track debut here last year and finished the tough race with honours, so it’s no surprise to see more examples entered this year. Although the championship is being fought out between the big four Japanese manufacturers (Suzuki, Yamaha, Kawasaki and Honda are all represented in the top five at the moment) these entries will bring another dimension to the Oschersleben race and to the World Endurance Championship. The 24 Stunden von Oschersleben takes place on the 13th and 14th of August.

Friday Afternoon World Supersport Qualifying Results: 1. Sebastien Charpentier, Honda, 1:29.174 2. Gianluca Nannelli, Ducati, 1:30.034 3. Stephane Chambon, Honda, 1:30.387 4. Katsuwaki Fujiwara, Honda, 1:30.410 5. Kevin Curtain, Yamaha, 1:30.424 6. Michel Fabrizio, Honda, 1:30.472 7. Cal Crutchlow, Honda, 1:30.536 8. Alessio Corradi, Ducati, 1:30.627 9. Broc Parkes, Honda, 1:30.838 10. Matthieu Lagrive, Suzuki, 1:31.080 11. Barry Veneman, Suzuki, 1:31.184 12. Javier Fores, Suzuki, 1:31.284 13. Tom Tunstall, Honda, 1:31.328 14. Craig Jones, Honda, 1:31.356 15. Robbin Harms, Honda, 1:31.396 More, from a press release issued by Winston Ten Kate Honda: CHARPENTIER SETS BRANDS HATCH PACE World Supersport championship leader, Sébastien Charpentier, was straight back into his dominant form today, setting the fastest time in the opening qualifying session for Sunday’s eighth round race at Brands Hatch in the UK. After early morning rain affected this morning’s free practice session, a dry track this afternoon also allowed Charpentier’s Winston Ten Kate Honda team-mate, Katsuaki Fujiwara, to take a provisional front row slot with the fourth fastest time. Ronald ten Kate team manager: “Another strong qualifying performance from Sébastien has underlined his recent good form. Although the conditions were the same for everyone, he adapted well to the cool and overcast conditions to set another impressive lap time. I’m also very pleased with Katsuaki’s performance after his long lay off through injury and taking part in the Suzuka 8-hour race last weekend. He struggled a little in the wet this morning but, as soon as the track dried, he quickly found his pace. It’s good to have him back with the team and especially on the provisional front row.” Sébastien Charpentier fastest, 1m29.174s “For me it’s been a good day just very relaxed and working my way back into a good rhythm. We changed the front settings a bit to deal with the dip at the bottom of Paddock Hill but the bike is still not perfect. It was not so easy in the rain this morning so hopefully we’ll get some good weather tomorrow to keep improving the set-up and I’m confident of being able to do a 28.5s lap or better. The important thing is to get a good setting that will put me in a position for another win on Sunday.” Katsuaki Fujiwara fourth fastest, 1m30.410s “It felt very strange this morning riding the CBR600RR again after such a long time away and spending so much time on Michelins with the HRC Fireblade at Suzuka. I went out in the wet first thing using settings from Phillip Island but, when the track dried this afternoon, I was able to make the adjustment and begin to feel comfortable again. The front is still pushing a little in some places here and we are still playing with the gearing but we have tomorrow to try some more changes and improve everything.”

Friday Morning World Supersport Practice Times: 1. Broc Parkes, Yamaha, 1:38.814 2. Barry Veneman, Suzuki, 1:39.140 3. Sebastien Charpentier, Honda, 1:39.599 4. Cal Crutchlow, Honda, 1:39.779 5. Kevin Curtain, Yamaha, 1:40.212 6. Stephane Chambon, Honda, 1:40.400 7. Gianluca Nannelli, Ducati, 1:40.684 8. Alessio Corradi, Ducati, 1:40.771 9. Cristiano Migliorati, Kawasaki, 1:40.771 10. Matthieu Lagrive, Honda, 1:40.810 11. Michel Fabrizio, Honda, 1:41.089 12. Sebastien Le Grelle, Honda, 1:41.089 13. Robbin Harms, Honda, 1:41.587 14. Tomas Miksovsky, Honda, 1:41.616 15. Jarno Jansen, Suzuki, 1:42.094

World Superbike Championship leader Troy Corser led the first practice session Friday morning at Brands Hatch, in England, with a time of 1:29.923 on his powerful Alstare Corona Extra Suzuki GSX-R1000. During the session, Corser swapped the top position with PSG-1 Kawasaki’s Chris Walker and Renegade Koji Honda’s Ben Bostrom. After riding on hand-cut slicks for most of the session, Bostrom mounted slicks toward the end and turned the second-fastest time, a 1:30.776, on his CBR1000RR. Corser’s teammate Yukio Kagayama ended the session third with a 1:31.406, while Walker stayed on cut slicks and slipped to sixth at the end. The practice session started on a damp track, and Corser’s 1:36.8 led until the track started to develop a dry line in some sections and the lap times began to drop. None of the four classes racing at Brands Hatch had a completely dry track Friday morning. Friday Morning World Superbike Practice Times: 1. Troy Corser, Suzuki, 1:29.923 2. Ben Bostrom, Honda, 1:30.776 3. Yukio Kagayama, Suzuki, 1:31.406 4. Lorenzo Alfonsi, Yamaha, 1:31.683 5. Noriyuki Haga, Yamaha, 1:31.788 6. Chris Walker, Kawasaki, 1:32.015 7. Andrew Pitt, Yamaha, 1:32.111 8. Chris Vermeulen, Honda, 1:32.188 9. Steve Martin, Foggy Petronas, 1:32.285 10. Marco Borciani, Ducati, 1:32.419 11. James Toseland, Ducati, 1:32.746 12. Karl Muggeridge, Honda, 1:32.790 13. Regis Laconi, Ducati, 1:33.249 14. Giovanni Bussei, Kawasaki, 1:33.256 15. Jose Luis Cardoso, Yamaha, 1:33.598 16. Pierfrancesco Chili, Honda, 1:33.598 17. Pere Riba, Kawasaki, 1:34.386 18. Norick Abe, Yamaha, 1:34.524 19. Fonsi Nieto, Ducati, 1:34.678 20. Garry McCoy, Foggy Petronas, 1:34.699