MotoGP test Losail, Qatar. Day one of a three-day test. March 1, 2005.

Nicky Hayden fastest man on opening day of Qatar test

The Repsol Honda team riders, Nicky Hayden and Max Biaggi, together with Konica Minolta team rider Makoto Tamada, had flown to Qatar directly from Tokyo. All three plus many stars of both two and four wheeled racing had taken part in the annual Honda Motor ‘Kick off party’ where the company officially announced the Honda racing programme for the 2005 season.

Both riders set times inside the official lap record as they sought the ideal set up for their RC211V V5 990cc MotoGP machines. Hayden quickly established a good base line and went on to set a time faster than pole position time set at the Qatar GP in October of 2004. The young American ended his 82-lap stint around the 5.400kms desert circuit confident there is more to come over the next two days of testing.

Biaggi struggled to find his way early on but by the end of the day was beginning to feel comfortable with his RCV and the direction the team are working in.

The Telefonica MoviStar Honda team stole the show at the inaugural Qatar GP with a superb one – two finish for Sete Gibernau and his, now departed, teammate Colin Edwards. Gibernau has a fever and elected to sit out day one. His new teammate, Marco Melandri, did test and put in his best performance since switching to the Honda RC211V for the 2005 campaign.

Following three full test sessions prior to Qatar Melandri has worked step by step towards finding a base set up he was comfortable with before he thought about setting fast lap times. Today everything worked well for the young Italian and he was second fastest man behind Hayden, but more importantly he set consistently fast times while tyre testing.

The Camel Honda team of Alex Barros and Troy Bayliss were restricted to just 53 laps between them due to a shortage of fuel. Brazilian Barros continued his experiments with the new front fork while Bayliss chased a
sound base set up to work from for the remaining two-days of the test.

Makoto Tamada made a cautious start to the test still feeling the effects of his big crash at the last test. The Konica Minolta rider worked on confirming what the team had learned about the new RCV before getting down
to serious testing tomorrow.

Honda rider lap times and quotes:

Nicky Hayden, Repsol Honda: 1m 58.36s – 82 laps.
“Pretty happy after first day. More grip than we had here last time but still real slippery; especially off-line. The wind was the real problem today. In the morning it was hard to find a setting I felt totally comfortable with; things came much better in the afternoon. I’m looking forward to the next few days here. We raced here for the first time last year and a few days here will certainly make it easier when we come to the GP here in the fall.”

Max Biaggi, Repsol Honda: 1m 59.20s – 67 laps.
“We had big set-up problems today that effectively destroyed the tyres so we had no grip for most of the time. We tried several different shock settings but we still didn’t find the right way. Tomorrow we’ll work again on the suspension geometry. It is important to get the base right and build on that. This is what we need to do to make the rest of the test a success I have a great team around me and I am confident we will move forward!”

Marco Melandri, Telefonica MoviStar Honda: 1m 58.48s – 72 laps
“I’m very satisfied of the work done today. I have lapped more relaxed and focused on myself without the pressure of making a good time and things have been easier. Today the track conditions were quite good even if I expected more grip. This afternoon the wind has disturbed a bit but at the end of the session conditions have improved. Today we made some tyre testing and small changes on the bike to understand better the bike and see how small regulations can affect it. I’m impressed by my RC211V because the bike doesn’t need many changes from one
track to the other and my feeling with the bike is improving every time.”

Sete Gibernau, Telefonica MoviStar Honda: Gibernau is suffering from a high fever and decided to sit out day one of the test. His condition improved as the day wore on and he has high hopes of being fit to test tomorrow.

Alex Barros, Camel Honda: 1m 58.90s – 27 laps.
“We didn’t do that many laps today, because we didn’t have that much fuel, but we still began well. The conditions are definitely better than when we came here for the race, also because the Superbikes raced here on Saturday which laid some good rubber down on the track. I felt comfortable pretty much straight away, the bike is set-up well and we went quickly straight away, even though 28 laps doesn’t give you much opportunity to test too much.”

Ramon Forcada, Camel Honda: Alex Barros’s Technical Director.
“We have only been to this track once before, for last year’s GP, and the conditions were completely different back then, both in terms of the weather and the track itself. Nevertheless we began from the settings from October, and continued with the work on the forks which we had begun in Australia. We also tried two new fronts from Michelin and tomorrow we will do tyre tests and more set-up work.”

Troy Bayliss, Camel Honda: 2m00.68 – 26 laps. 8
“I’m quite satisfied with the first sensations at this track, even though we couldn’t ride too much. We have been lucky to get such good conditions, but there is still a little bit of wind around. If only it could be like this when we come back here to race, but I don’t think it will be. However we will try to make the most of these days here and tomorrow apart from the set-up work, we will work alongside Michelin to try some new tyres.”

Santiago Mulero – Camel Honda (Troy Bayliss’s Technical Director)
“Today was quite a good day, Troy is already riding at his race pace from last year and he doesn’t have too bad a feeling with the bike. We started from the position we were in Australia as regards base set-up and tomorrow we will continue to work in that direction.”

Konica Minolta Honda:
Makoto Tamada, Konica Minolta Honda: 1m 59.47s – 60 laps.
“We have started pretty calm this morning since I had to find back the right feeling with the bike after the unlucky slip in Phillip Island. I still feel pain in the parts of my body that I have hit in the fall in Australia, but I can consider my self satisfied on how the day has gone, because I immediately perceived every permutation that has been made to the setting of the bike, and this means that we can concentrate on the tweak of the bike by working on every single detail.”

Giulio Bernardelle – Konica Minolta Honda Technical Director
“Since on this circuit we didn’t achieve great results during the past season, today we decided to develop the bike as we were competing here for the first time. This solution permitted us to reach at the end of the day a good setting of the bike’s suspension and frame. Makoto really helped us out during this developments, as it seem like he found a good feeling with the Honda RC211V 2005 and the Michelin Tyre, and this have allowed us to make changes with great precision after hearing what the rider told us.”

Palatine, IL – StarNet, a leading provider of telephony products and services throughout North America, announced today that it has agreed to sponsor SafetyFirst Racing on behalf of its VoiceEclipse Broadband telephone service. The sponsorship will cover the entire racing season for 2005, including all American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) races and SafetyFirst appearances to promote bicycle safety and helmet usage for children.

“We are impressed with the commitment SafetyFirst has made to communities across the United States with their helmet program and safety demonstrations,” said Russ Intravartolo, president of StarNet. “We’re thrilled to be aboard and we look forward to being out front with VoiceEclipse as a major sponsor of SafetyFirst Racing.”

Kevin Hanson, president of SafetyFirst, added, “Our partnership with StarNet and VoiceEclipse lets us take our program to the next level. In addition to the racing sponsorship for our 2005 season, StarNet is supporting SafetyFirst’s helmet program for kids, an effort we know saves lives.  StarNet’s corporate sponsorship will also include a number of promotional appearances at races, malls, movie theaters, and elementary schools throughout the country.”

About StarNet

StarNet, a service of US LEC, is a leading provider of telephony products and services throughout North America. The MegaPOP® network is designed to help ISPs become more competitive in the marketplace by providing consistency in high speed, quality, and extensive area coverage for dial-up access.  StarNet is poised to repeat its tremendous success in the wholesale dialup access market with the introduction of VoiceEclipse and vePipe services to deliver comprehensive broadband VoIP phone services.  Fore more information about VoiceEclipse contact Dave Zortea 847-963-0116 or go to www.voiceeclipse.com

About SafetyFirst Racing

SafetyFirst Racing is a professional motorcycle racing team and safety services company headed by founder and President Kevin Hanson. Committed to saving children’s lives through the promotion of its Bicycle Helmet for Kids program, SafetyFirst has been putting helmets on kids and giving safety talks as the race team makes its way around the U.S. on the televised AMA roadracing circuit. For more information about SafetyFirst, contact Kevin Hanson 217-493-3811 or [email protected].

MOTORCYCLE HALL OF FAME MUSEUM TO HOST MOTOCROSS REUNION IN CELEBRATION OF “MOTOCROSS AMERICA” EXHIBIT DEDICATION

PICKERINGTON, OHIO The Motorcycle Hall of Fame Museum, the premier museum of motorcycling history in America, will celebrate the opening of its next major exhibit,  “Motocross America,” with a special Motocross Reunion, bringing together many of the racing and industry legends who helped shape the history of America’s first action sport.  Scheduled for July 14, 2005, this gathering of champions, industry icons and Motorcycle Hall of Fame members will include some of the best-known names and faces in the sport, such as David Bailey, Mike Bell, Dick Burleson, Roger DeCoster and Chuck Sun.

In addition to the exhibit dedication ceremony, the July 14 festivities will also feature a special Museum reception honoring the men and women profiled in “Motocross America,” autograph sessions, entertainment and more. Motocross Reunion activities will continue July 15 through 17 at AMA Vintage Motorcycle Days, held at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, Lexington, Ohio, just 90 minutes from the Motorcycle Hall of Fame Museum.  Throughout the weekend, more than 45,000 expected enthusiasts will be able to see and meet their favorite motocross heroes, from appearances at the Museum’s Motorhead Café to parade laps on Mid-Ohio’s motocross track. 

“Preserving American motorcycling heritage through storytelling is an important part of our mission, and we expect the Motocross Reunion to add entirely new chapters to the history book,” said Mark Mederski, Executive Director, Motorcycle Hall of Fame Museum.  “We’re looking forward to America’s original ‘action heroes’ bringing the legends to life on July 14th.”

Motocross America is currently in the installation phase and will open in March 2005.  Every inch of the exhibit has been designed to reflect the high energy and excitement of the sport, from innovative design elements like soaring Supercross bikes and challenging whoops to victory podium photo opportunities with a ‘virtual’ James Stewart.  The 8,000 square-foot exhibit features over 60 famous motocross machines, hundreds of artifacts and personal treasures, a multitude of photographs spanning eight decades of action, interactive kiosks and displays and special educational sections, such as a Motocross Resource Center designed to help parents and kids get involved in racing.  In addition, visitors won’t just see the machines, gear and memorabilia, but they will be able to feel and sense the action while watching some of the sport’s greatest names race into the history books. 

The July 14 Motocross Reunion begins at 6:30 pm with the “Motocross America” exhibit dedication.  A by-reservation only reception follows from 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm at the Museum.  Tickets for the reception, which includes refreshments, are available for $20.00 for AMA members, $25, for non-members.  Motocross America will be on display through the end of 2006.
 
For more information on “Motocross America,” as well as AMA Vintage Motorcycle Days, please visit www.motorcyclemuseum.org

About the Motorcycle Hall of Fame Museum

The goal of the Motorcycle Hall of Fame Museum is to tell the stories and preserve the history of motorcycling.  Located on the campus of the American Motorcyclist Association in Pickerington, Ohio, the Motorcycle Hall of Fame honors those who have contributed notably to the sport, and three major
exhibition halls showcase the machines and memorabilia that have shaped motorcycling. The Museum is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily; and is closed on New Year’s, Easter, Thanksgiving and Christmas. Adult admission is $10 per person; students 12 17, $3.  AMA members $5.  Seniors receive a $2 discount and members of motorcycle clubs and organizations are eligible for a $1 discount per ticket.  A $25.00 family rate and group rates are also available.  For more information, call (614) 856-2222, or visit the Museum’s website at www.motorcyclemuseum.org.

PSG-1 Kawasaki Corse Team scored the first points of the season in a week-end of uncharacteristically weather conditions

The free practices and the qualifying session of the first race of the season have been affected by unpredictable rainfalls and the riders of the Team weren’t able to exploit the qualifying tyres.

Chris Walker, as per the Superpole result, started from the 11th position and Mauro Sanchini from the 24th.

Chris Walker did a great start jumping immediately from the 11th to the 5th position and placing his bike in the head group of the race. His very fast Kawasaki ZX10R showed immediately the potential for a good race, but a contact with a rider who was trying to overtake him caused the crash of the rear brake lines, forcing Chris to fight for keeping his position.

Because of the rain the race has been interrupted during the 10th lap for safety reasons.

Mauro Sanchini who couldn’t work properly on the set-up of his bike during the test days and the practices because of a bad flu, tried to do his best in order to get a good position and score some points.

After the interruption of the race Chris Walker did another great start from the 13th position, keeping the concentration for the remaining 8 laps. Unfortunately for a problem occurred to the front of the bike he finished his race in 14th position. This result permitted to Chris to score 2 points.

Mauro Sanchini held on for all the second part of the race keeping on working on the set-up of its bike.
 
In race Two Mauro Sanchini managed to score one more important point for the Team. The Italian rider, who couldn’t test properly his bike during the pre race test, did a good job on the set-up during race One, in race Two started in 24th position and lap by lap he gained positions finishing in 15th place.

Chris Walker showed all his intentions to fight with the top riders, but a crash due to an attempt of overtaking by Muggeridge stopped his race during the 9th lap.

PSG-1 Kawasaki Corse Team showed the potential  of the ZX10R and the good feeling between all the technical staff and the riders, and the points scored are the first step of this new challenge in a high competitive Championship.

Multiple AMA Teams Ready to Test Infineon Raceway in March

FANS INVITED TO WATCH TWO-DAY TEST SESSION FOR FREE

SONOMA, Calif. – Infineon Raceway will host a two-day motorcycle test session, March 17-18, in advance of the upcoming Kawasaki AMA Superbike Showdown, presented by Supercuts.

The six manufacturers that have signed up for the March test are: Kawasaki, Yamaha, American Honda, Erion Racing, Austin Ducati and Yoshimura Suzuki. Race fans will have free admission to watch the test session from the main grandstand.

This will mark the only test session of its kind in advance of the Kawasaki AMA Superbike Showdown weekend, slated for May 13-15, over the 12-turn, 2.2-mile road course. A promoter’s practice will be held at the raceway on Thursday, May 12.

Yoshimura Suzuki’s Mat Mladin and American Honda’s Miguel Duhamel won the Superbike events at last year’s doubleheader weekend in the Sonoma Valley. Duhamel holds the record for career Superbike victories at Infineon Raceway with five.

Testing will place from 8:30 a.m.-5 p.m. both days (March 17-18).

Road Racing World Championship Grand Prix

2005 Entry List

125cc class -        

6        Joan Olive        SPA        Aprilia        Nocable.it Race       

7        Alexis Masbou        FRA        Honda        Ajo Motosport       

8        Lorenzo Zanetti        ITA        Aprilia        Fontana Racing       

9        Toshihisa Kuzuhara        JPN        Honda        Angaia Racing       

10        Federico Sandi        ITA        Honda        Angaia Racing       

11        Sandro Cortese        GER        Honda        Kiefer – Bos – Castrol Honda       

12        Thomas Lüthi        SUI        Honda        Elit Grand Prix       

14        Gabor Talmacsi        HUN        KTM        Red Bull KTM GP125       

15        Michele Pirro        ITA        Malaguti        Malaguti Reparto Corse       

16        Raymond Schouten        NED        Honda        Arie Molenaar Racing       

18        Nicolas Terol        SPA        Derbi        Caja Madrid – Derbi Racing       

19        Alvaro Bautista        SPA        Honda        Seedorf RC3 – Club Tiempo Holidays       

22        Pablo Nieto        SPA        Derbi        Caja Madrid – Derbi Racing       

25        Dario Giuseppetti        GER        Aprilia        AB Cardion Blauer USA       

26        Vincent Braillard        SUI        Aprilia        Road Racing Team Hungary       

28        Jordi Carchano        SPA        Aprilia        MVA Aspar Team       

29        Andrea Iannone        ITA        Aprilia        Abruzzo Racing Team       

31        Sascha Hommel        GER        Malaguti        Malaguti Reparto Corse       

32        Fabrizio Lai        ITA        Honda        Racing World       

33        Sergio Gadea        SPA        Aprilia        Master Aspar Team       

35        Raffael de Rosa        ITA        Aprilia        Matteoni Racing       

36        Mika Kallio        FIN        KTM        Red Bull KTM GP125       

41        Alex Espargaro        SPA        Honda        Seedorf RC3 – Club Tiempo Holidays       

43        Manuel Hernandez        SPA        Aprilia        Totti Top Sport – 3C       

44        Karel Abraham        CZE        Aprilia        AB Cardion Blauer USA       

45        Imre Toth        HUN        Aprilia        Road Racing Team Hungary       

47        Angel Rodriguez        SPA        Honda        Galicia Team       

52        Lukas Pesek        CZE        Derbi        Metis Racing Team       

54        Manuel Poggiali        RSM        Gilera        Metis Racing Team       

55        Hector Faubel        SPA        Aprilia        Master Aspar Team       

58        Marco Simoncelli        ITA        Aprilia        Nocable-it Race       

60        Julian Simon        SPA        KTM        Red Bull KTM GP125       

63        Mike di Meglio        FRA        Honda        Racing World       

71        Tomoyoshi Koyama        JPN        Honda        Ajo Motosport       

75        Mattia Pasini        ITA        Aprilia        Totti Top Sport – 3C       

84        Julian Miralles        SPA        Aprilia        MVA Aspar Team       

250cc class –
       
1        Daniel Pedrosa        SPA        Honda        Telefonica Movistar Honda 250cc       

5        Alex de Angelis        RSM        Aprilia        MS Aprilia Italia Corse       

6        Alex Debon        SPA        Honda        Wurth Honda BQR       

7        Randy de Puniet        FRA        Aprilia        Aprilia Aspar Team 250cc       

8        Andrea Ballerini        ITA        Aprilia        Abruzzo Racing Team       

9        Hugo Marchand        FRA        Yamaha        Team UGT Kurz       

12        Frederik Watz        SWE        Yamaha        Team UGT Kurz       

14        Anthony West        AUS        KTM        Red Bull KTM GP250       

15        Roberto Locatelli        ITA        Aprilia        Carrera Sunglasses – LCR       

17        Steve Jenkner        GER        Aprilia        Nocable.it Race       

19        Sebastian Porto        ARG        Aprilia        Aprilia Aspar Team 250cc       

20        Gabriele Ferro        ITA        Fantic        Scuderia Fantic Motor GP       

21        Arnaud Vincent        FRA        Fantic        Scuderia Fantic Motor GP       

24        Simone Corsi        ITA        Aprilia        MS Aprilia Italia Corse       

25        Alex Baldolini        ITA        Aprilia        Campetella Racing       

27        Casey Stoner        AUS        Aprilia        Carrera Sunglasses – LCR       

28        Dirk Heidolf        GER        Honda        Kiefer – Bos – Castrol Honda       

32        Mirko Giansanti        ITA        Aprilia        Matteoni Racing       

34        Andrea Dovizioso        ITA        Honda        Team Scot       

36        Martin Cardenas        COL        Aprilia        Aprilia Team Germany       

38        Gregory Leblanc        FRA        Aprilia        Equipe GP de France – Scrab       

44        Taro Sekiguchi        JPN        Aprilia        Campetella Racing       

48        Jorge Lorenzo        SPA        Honda        Fortuna Lotus Honda       

50        Sylvain Guintoli        FRA        Aprilia        Equipe GP de France – Scrab       

55        Yuki Takahashi        JPN        Honda        Team Scot       

57        Chaz Davies        GBR        Aprilia        Aprilia Germany       

64        Radomil Rous        CZE        Honda        Wurth Honda BQR       

73        Hiroshi Aoyama        JPN        Honda        Telefonica Movistar Honda 250cc       

80        Hector Barbera        SPA        Honda        Fortuna Lotus Honda       

96        Jakub Smrz        CZE        Honda        Arie Molenaar Racing       

MotoGP class –
       
3        Max Biaggi        ITA        Honda        Repsol Honda Team       

4        Alex Barros        BRA        Honda        Camel Honda       

5        Colin Edwards        USA        Yamaha        Gauloises Yamaha Team       

6        Makoto Tamada        JPN        Honda        Konica Minolta Honda       

7        Carlos Checa        SPA        Ducati        Ducati Marlboro Team       

10        Kenny Roberts        USA        Suzuki        Team Suzuki MotoGP       

11        Ruben Xaus        SPA        Yamaha        Fortuna Yamaha Team       

12        Troy Bayliss        AUS        Honda        Camel Honda       

15        Sete Gibernau        SPA        Honda        Team Movistar Honda MotoGP       

21        John Hopkins        USA        Suzuki        Team Suzuki MotoGP       

24        Toni Elias        SPA        Yamaha        Fortuna Yamaha Team       

27        Franco Battaini        ITA        Blata        Blata WCM       

33        Marco Melandri        ITA        Honda        Team Movistar Honda MotoGP       

44        Roberto Rolfo        ITA        Ducati        D’Antin MotoGP       

46        Valentino Rossi        ITA        Yamaha        Gauloises Yamaha Team       

56        Shinya Nakano        JPN        Kawasaki        Kawasaki Racing Team       

65        Loris Capirossi        ITA        Ducati        Ducati Marlboro Team       

66        Alex Hofmann        GER        Kawasaki        Kawasaki Racing Team       

67        Shane Byrne        GBR        Proton KR        Team Roberts       

69        Nicky Hayden        USA        Honda        Repsol Honda Team       

77        James Ellison        GBR        Blata        Blata WCM