Provisional Friday Morning AMA Supersport Practice Times: 1. Jason DiSalvo, Yamaha, 1:29.737 2. Aaron Gobert, Yamaha, 1:29.849 3. Tommy Hayden, Kawasaki, 1:29.921 4. Roger Hayden, Kawasaki, 1:30.039 5. Ben Attard, Kawasaki, 1:30.952 6. Damon Buckmaster, Yamaha, 1:31.887 7. Geoff May, Suzuki, 1:32.058 8. Ben Spies, Suzuki, 1:32.162 9. Danny Eslick, Suzuki, 1:32.289 10. Chris Peris, Yamaha, 1:32.405 11. Chris Siglin, Suzuki, 1:32.955 12. Jeff Tigert, Honda, 1:33.408 13. Blake Young, Suzuki, 1:34.122 14. Robert Jensen, Yamaha, 1:34.790 15. Jimmy Wood, Kawasaki, 1:34.903 16. Barrett Long, Yamaha, 1:34.950 17. Heath Small, Yamaha, 1:35.106 18. Tim Knutson, Yamaha, 1:35.109 19. Grant Riggs, Yamaha, 1:35.176 20. Nicky Moore, Yamaha, 1:35.227 21. Ricky Orlando, Kawasaki, 1:35.473 22. Chad Lewin, Suzuki, 1:36.107 23. Eli Edwards, Suzuki, 1:36.149 24. Dirk Sanchez, Kawasaki, 1:37.143 25. Taylor Knapp, Yamaha, 1:37.306 26. Nathan Hester, Yamaha, 1:37.602 27. Berto Wooldridge, Suzuki, 1:38.110 28. Shea Fouchek, Suzuki, 1:38.427 29. Dr. Jeff Purk, Yamaha, 1:38.615 30. Chad Rolland, Yamaha, 1:38.925 31. Martin Sims, Yamaha, 1:38.984 32. Jeremy Haiduk, Yamaha, 1:38.993 33. Jeremiah Johnson, Suzuki, 1:39.209 34. Victor Chirinos, Yamaha, 1:39.801 35. Chris Siebenhaar, Honda, 1:40.531 36. Justin Filice, Honda, 1:40.683 37. Tristan Shoenewald, Honda, 1:40.793 38. Armando Ferrer, Yamaha, 1:41.131

FUJIWARA FORCED OUT OF BRNO WORLD SUPERSPORT ROUND Winston Ten Kate Honda rider, Katsuaki Fujiwara, will miss next weekend’s seventh round World Supersport championship event at Brno, Czech Republic (15-17 July) through injury. The Japanese ace crashed his HRC Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade on Wednesday 6 July while testing at Suzuka in Japan, sustaining injuries to his lower back. Fujiwara is fully expecting to be fit for round eight of the series, however, which takes place at Brands Hatch, GB on 7 August. In the meantime, he will stay in Japan for further medical treatment and spend time with his family in Chiba. Katsuaki Fujiwara: “I am very disappointed to miss Brno, especially as I am second in the championship behind my team-mate Sébastien (Charpentier). I was looking forward to the opportunity to close the gap with him but it looks like that will have to wait until Brands Hatch. I have cracked one of the vertebrae in my lower back and the doctors in Japan have advised me not to race until it is healed. They say it normally takes around four weeks. I don’t remember much about the crash, which happened while I was testing for the Suzuka 8-hour race, but there was a bit of fire as well. The back of my neck was burned a little and I look a bit funny because I have lost some hair from the back of my head. Otherwise, I’m pretty much OK and I just can’t wait to get back on the bike.” Ronald ten Kate team manager: “It’s a real shame for Kats because the next race at Brno will be a level playing field for all the Supersport riders since we have not raced there before. However, I spoke to him this morning and he is in very good spirits, in spite of this disappointment. I’ve been very impressed with the way he has adapted to the new team and the CBR600RR during the first half of the season and it’s a pity that he won’t get the chance to race for another win at Brno. We are currently investigating the possibility of running with a replacement rider for the Czech Republic round and hope to be in a position to make an announcement on this early next week.”

AMA Superbike Championship Presented by Parts Unlimited Red Bull U.S. Grand Prix Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca July 8-10, 2005 AMA Total Purse: $94,500 AMA Superbike Purse: $62,500 1. $4500 2. $3800 3. $3300 4. $3000 5. $2800 6. $2750 7. $2700 8. $2650 9. $2600 10. $2550 11. $2400 12. $2300 13. $2200 14. $2100 15. $2000 16. $1950 17. $1900 18. $1850 19. $1800 20. $1750 21. $1550 22. $1450 23. $1350 24. $1250 25. $1150 26. $850 27. $750 28. $650 29. $550 30. $450 31. $425 32. $375 33. $325 34. $275 35. $200 Pro Honda Oils Supersport Repsol Lubricants Superstock Purse For Each Class: $16,000 1. $1900 2. $1500 3. $1200 4. $1100 5. $1050 6. $950 7. $900 8. $850 9. $800 10. $750 11. $725 12. $675 13. $625 14. $575 15. $525 16. $475 17. $425 18. $375 19. $325 20. $275

Top MotoGP Trap Speeds From Friday Afternoon Practice: 1. Nicky Hayden, Honda, 157.836 mph 2. Valentino Rossi, Yamaha, 156.841 mph 3. Makoto Tamada, Honda, 156.034 mph 4. Troy Bayliss, Honda, 155.536 mph 5. Alex Barros, Honda, 155.164 mph 6. John Hopkins, Suzuki, 153.113 mph 7. Max Biaggi, Honda, 152.492 mph 8. Colin Edwards, Yamaha, 152.305 mph 9. Kenny Lee Roberts, Suzuki, 150.565 mph 10. Carlos Checa, Ducati, 149.260 mph 11. Alex Hofmann, Kawasaki, 148.328 mph 12. James Ellison, Blata, 148.266 mph 13. Ruben Xaus, Yamaha, 148.142 mph 14. Marco Melandri, Honda, 147.520 mph 15. Roberto Rolfo, Ducati, 147.210 mph 16. Shinya Nakano, Kawasaki, 147.148 mph 17. Shane Byrne, Proton, 146.899 mph 18. Sete Gibernau, Honda, 146.205 mph 19. Toni Elias, Yamaha, 145.656 mph 20. Loris Capirossi, Ducati, 144.600 mph 21. Franco Battaini, Blata, 134.720 mph

Local riders aiming to overturn Rossi at Laguna Seca The MotoGP World Championship paddock returned to the Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca for the first time in over a decade today as hundreds of fans poured into the circuit to witness the final preparations for this weekend’s Red Bull US Grand Prix. Whilst the current series leader Valentino Rossi ended a short vacation with a trip to the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, attention at the Monterey track turned to the home riders aiming to halt the Italian’s winning run and reduce his 63 point advantage at the top of the standings. Nicky Hayden, Colin Edwards and Kenny Roberts will be benefiting from the sell-out support of over 59,000 fans for almost the whole weekend, with the only remaining entrance tickets now available for Friday’s first day of free practice, which will start with a two-hour morning session at 10am. Today the trio set their sights on overturning a run of form that has seen Rossi win six of the opening seven races this season as they look to follow in the footsteps of former home winners at Laguna Seca such as Eddie Lawson, Wayne Rainey and John Kocinski. “Valentino has definitely raised the bar this season and it’s up to us to step up and join him,” commented Hayden. “Personally I feel I have been making progress at every round and I’m ready to take it to the next level. Obviously it would be perfect for me to do that at this racetrack because I have been dreaming of racing in a Grand Prix here since I was a kid. I came with my brother to watch the last GP here in 1994 and if I have as much fun on Sunday as I did that day then I’ll be doing alright.” Edwards added that it would take “32 perfect laps” of the modified 3,602m circuit to beat his team-mate as he aims to take inspiration from Yamaha’s 50th anniversary paint scheme, which features the traditional yellow, white and black retro design of Yamaha USA. The American took victory here in his last appearance on a World Superbike but admitted things could be a little tougher this time around. “Troy Bayliss said that my Superpole lap record here will last about 15 minutes of tomorrow’s first practice session and I reckon that’s pretty accurate,” smiled Edwards. “I’m really curious to see what it’s like to ride a MotoGP bike here but above all I want to win, that’s the only thing I am thinking of. If anybody else wants to win they have to beat me on my own turf.” Edwards and Rossi won’t be the only riders sporting the colours made famous by Kenny Roberts in the late 1970s, with the former World Champion’s son also paying his respects. Suzuki rider Roberts Jr. today unveiled a new helmet design, half of which is painted with the yellow and black eagle motif worn by his father and the other half in his own blue and black colours, before signaling his intentions for Sunday’s race. “It has been a tough season for me but this could be the track where we turn it around,” said Roberts, who emulated his father by winning the 500cc title in 2000. “I have a lot of family and friends here and it would be nice to get our best result of the season in front of them.” Makoto Tamada joined Rossi on the trip to San Francisco before heading to the Laguna Seca paddock and paying a visit to the Clinica Mobile. The Japanese rider is still nursing the effects of an operation on his forearm, undertaken in Barcelona last Thursday after he suffered hardening of the muscle following intense physiotherapy on a broken wrist. “My physical condition is good despite last week’s operation,” said Tamada. “It will be hard but thanks to the help of the Mobile Clinic I’m sure that as soon as I get on my bike the small amount of pain will go away.”

It was free to come into Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca Thursday, including full access to the paddock and pit lane. Was there anything to see? Absolutely. The MotoGP teams were setting up their garages, cleaning parts and putting heat cycles in new engines by running the racebikes on their stands on pit lane. Remember, ear plugs are a necessity this weekend. The AMA teams were setting up their pit areas. Yamaha’s AMA team has been charged with setting up a hospitality area to accommodate the Gauloises Yamaha team, including Valentino Rossi and Colin Edwards, a total of over 60 people. The team has borrowed one of the factory off-road teams’ semi-truck for the job. In addition, many AMA riders are roaming the paddock, especially the MotoGP garage area. Yamaha may announce its 2006 AMA racing plans within the next two weeks, according to one highly-placed source within the team. The weekend at Laguna Seca will include many promotional events. At noon Thursday, Rossi, John Hopkins, Ruben Xaus and Makoto Tamada attended a media photo opportunity at the Golden Gate bridge in San Francisco. At 4:00 p.m. local time, the MotoGP pre-event press conference is scheduled to take place. At 4:30 p.m. Eric Bostrom’s personal sponsor Cannondale will hold a bicycle riding event for the media, which will include unveiling Bostrom’s special replica bicycle and riding jersey. At 5:00 p.m. the Marlboro Ducati MotoGP team will host a meet-and-greet cocktail party in front of its garage on pit lane. Some of the events apparently have not been well thought out, however, as one helmet company’s media event takes place in off the track grounds in the middle of the afternoon on Saturday. At post time, the AMA teams were working with AMA Pro Racing and Laguna Seca Raceway officials on whether or not large canopies will be allowed on hot pit lane. Due to the small size of pit lane, it has already been determined that each rider, factory or privateer, is only entitled to 10 linear feet of pit lane. No canopies will be allowed to be set-up on hot pit lane in front of the MotoGP team garages and that area must be completely vacated before the start of any MotoGP practice or qualifying session. In addition to the 20 permanent garages, four additional, temporary garages have been placed along pit lane. Above the temporary garages, a huge stage has been erected for the podium ceremonies. A row of elevated hospitality suites and another, three-level temporary building have been placed along pit lane. All of the new curbing around the track has been painted red and white, and artificial grass has been placed between the curbing and the gravel traps in some locations, like turn 11. There is no mistaking that Red Bull is the sponsor of this event. Red Bull signage is dominant around the track. A large, temporary, enclosed Red Bull bar has been constructed in the paddock, just off pit lane. A Red Bull vending machine has even been placed in the media center. No major hotel problems have come to the attention of Roadracingworld.com. In fact, one AMA race team crew member who said his confirmed reservation was bumped by the Embassy Suites in Seaside is now staying at the Embassy Suites free of charge for the entire weekend. In addition to being an attraction for motorcycle fans, Laguna Seca could also be a field of dreams for computer hackers. There were no less than eight active wireless networks detectable in the paddock of Laguna Seca Thursday, and none of those belonged to teams. One veteran international race reporter is predicting that some of the top MotoGP riders will voice complaints about the safety of the Laguna Seca racetrack. Thursday’s weather forecast for the weekend did not call for rain or for heat. Low temperatures are expected to be in the 50’s with highs in the 60’s.

Several AMA Superbike teams claim to have made gains during two test sessions held during the break between the last race event, June 3-5 at Road America, and the start of this weekend’s event, July 8-10 at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. American Honda, Yoshimura Suzuki, Attack Kawasaki and Parts Unlimited Ducati Austin all tested at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course and Virginia International Raceway (VIR) between the two races, and several teams claim to have made improvements to their Superbikes. American Honda crew members reported that they improved the handling of their kitted CBR1000RRs, something they and riders Miguel Duhamel and Jake Zemke have been working on all season. Attack Kawasaki has sorted out clutch problems on its ZX-10R that have hampered the starts and slowed the corner entries of rider Josh Hayes all season. Ducati Austin’s Neil Hodgson got some new, unspecified chassis parts and Eric Bostrom tested new chassis settings at VIR. According to each rider’s respective Crew Chief, the improvements are expected to show benefits at Laguna Seca. Yoshimura Suzuki tested some new exhaust pipes and a new radiator at VIR, “nothing major,” according to Mat Mladin Crew Chief Peter Doyle. Erion Honda opted to skip the Mid-Ohio and VIR tests, but Crew Chief Rick Hobbs said the team “made improvements” with Kurtis Roberts’ kitted CBR1000RR while testing during a Fastrack Rider’s track day at Las Vegas Classic Course in June. The next major, multi-team test in tentatively scheduled to take place at Road Atlanta in August, after the Mid-Ohio race.

Laguna Seca July 7th, 2005 US GP Preview Roller-coaster in Laguna Seca: Welcome to the wild, wild West The wild, wild West of the United States offers a new adventure: For the first time in racing history, 990cc MotoGP bikes will roar around the twisty Laguna Seca circuit with its steep ascents, tight corners, fast direction changes and the most famous drop-off zone of all circuits around the globe the notorious Corkscrew, a blind downhill S-curve so steep that it turns the stomach of the riders like a roller-coaster. Laguna Seca hosted its last GP eleven years ago, and considering the way the riders of the 500cc two-stroke prototypes battled back then to keep both wheels of their 180-hp machines on the ground, it’s open to wild imaginations which kind of show modern MotoGP racing will put on stage with its 240 hp, 340 kph machines. Located 170 kilometres south-east of San Francisco, near the Monterey Peninsula and its world-famous Pebble Beach Golf Course, the track has been upgraded with extensive safety modifications in order to match modern-day MotoGP racing’s requirements. More than two million Dollars were spent to move back walls, and to increase run-off zones. Over 15000 tons of gravel were trucked to the site to fill the extended gravel traps. “The event organisers have done their best to make the track safe”, confirms Kenny Roberts, former World Champion and one of the American idols aboard his Bridgestone-fitted factory Suzuki. “With the AMA championship and the Grand Prix on one day, the event will be huge I’m sure we will see in excess of 100000 spectators.” Hard-braking stability, good traction under acceleration, and sheer cornering speed are crucial in Laguna Seca, so grip and grip consistency will be decisive factors in the race. Due to the re-surfaced track, the grip level of the tarmac remains a question mark for all teams before the first practice session, that has been extended from one to two hours to give the riders and technicians enough time to come to grips with the new track. Bridgestone’s ongoing development program has once again produced new spec tyres for Laguna Seca, mainly with new rubber compounds. In order to give the six-rider line-up – Ducati-stars Loris Capriossi and Carlos Checa, Kawasaki riders Shinya Nakano and Alex Hofmann, and two local heroes Roberts and John Hopkins on Suzuki the best possible choice under any conditions, Bridgestone has shipped a total of 1100 tyres to Laguna Seca, with an extra-wide selection of five different front and 7-8 different rear tyre specs. Hiroshi Yamada – Motorcycle Racing Manager Bridgestone Motorsport “We are very excited about the comeback of the US-Grand Prix after eleven years, and we can’t wait to see MotoGP action on this unique and exciting track! It is a great thing to happen, especially in a huge motorcycle market such as the United States. We will do our best here to achieve good results. There is not much data available from this track, but we have brought new specs with new compounds in a broader range than usual, which should help us to make up for the lack of track experience. I am confident that our teams and riders will perform well here, and I hope that the race event will be a huge success for everybody!” More, from a press release issued by Kawasaki Racing: MOTOGP WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP 2005 Download PDF ROUND 8 – RED BULL US GRAND PRIX, LAGUNA SECA 7 JULY 2005 – EVENT PREVIEW CALIFORNIA DREAMING – SUPER SHINYA READY FOR US GRAND PRIX Kawasaki factory rider Shinya Nakano will live out a boyhood dream when he races in the US Grand Prix in Laguna Seca this weekend. Nakano’s attraction to this northern California location was influenced by his racing hero Kevin Schwantz, the original sultan of slide who won the 1993 World Championship. Television coverage of Schwantz racing at Laguna in the late 1980’s helped inspire Nakano’s own desires to be a GP racer. No surprise then that the stylish Japanese ace says he is excited by the history-making return of the USGP to the MotoGP calendar. Equally as enthusiastic about the California visit is German rider Alex Hofmann, who shares racing duties aboard the Ninja ZX-RR in Kawasaki’s factory MotoGP squad. Hofmann, a keen motocross and supermotard rider, is a regular off-season visitor to California. And the 25-year-old Kawasaki pilot is now an officially certified ‘body-flyer’ having gained his license last week in a special test at a facility near his Swiss home in Zurich. Body-flying is a high-speed sport using an indoor, vertical wind tunnel with turbine generated wind speeds of 180 kph. Both Nakano and Hofmann arrived in America early to do some local training and recover from jet lag, and to soak up the ambience and tourism opportunities of the Monterey Peninsula. It is 11 years since the US Grand Prix was staged at Laguna Seca, and the return of the race to the North American market is a significant milestone in the increasing global expansion and popularity of the MotoGP championship. The roller-coaster style track has undergone a multimillion dollar safety upgrade to bring it up to international standards, with the infamous Corkscrew section and a sequence of fast, downhill curves highlighting the compact layout. In terms of number of laps, 32 in total, the US Grand Prix is the longest race of the season although the lap length, 3.58 km (2.22 miles) is actually the shortest on the 17 race MotoGP calendar. On this whirlwind 11-turn course, with dramatic gradient changes and fast downhill curves, the US Grand Prix promises to be a brutal test of bravery and rider fitness, both mental and physical. Nakano and Hofmann have used the Playstation racing game to gain early track knowledge, but will check the layout on scooters in advance of Friday morning’s extended, two-hour, free practice session. The US Grand Prix is the eighth race of the MotoGP World Championship, with organisers already confirming that the event is a sell-out, with 60,000 tickets sold in advance. Shinya Nakano #56 “It is like a dream come true for me to be racing at Laguna Seca. When I was a kid in Japan I remember watching Kevin Schwantz and Wayne Rainey on television, racing GPs here. Kevin is my racing hero, he was aggressive and fast, I really admire the way he raced. But I also now understand how much of a fighter and how good Wayne Rainey was as a rider. I checked the track on Playstation, although it was the Gran Turismo car racing game. It looks very technical and tough, and 32 laps will not be easy. I will do a lot of scooter laps before practice, but I think the Kawasaki has some potential here, we have strong acceleration with the latest motor and good handling. With 11 corners maybe top speed is not so important, but I will understand more when I ride the ZX-RR on Friday.” Alex Hofmann #66 “I’ve done a thousand laps on Playstation to get ready for Laguna Seca and I can’t wait, I’m ready for the challenge on a tough track. And now I’ve got my body flying license I’m ready for Batman and Superman also! Body-flying allows you to feel totally free, it’s a lot of fun. The track looks tricky and hard work, but also a lot of fun with not so many full throttle sections, which could benefit our latest ZX-RR engine set-up. I arrived in the US early to adapt to the time zone and take in the ambience of California, and do some training. I’m looking for a change of luck here, my recent results have been out of my control. Now I just hope I can go faster in real life at Laguna Seca than I did on the Playstation!”

Yamaha/Graves Yamaha’s Jamie Hacking will not attempt to ride in the AMA Championship series event July 8-10 at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, according to his team. Hacking crashed his bicycle while training in Colorado in late-May and suffered bone fractures and ligament damage to both of his elbows. He had surgery in early-June and has been undergoing physical therapy for the last several weeks. “He’s not quite ready to ride,” Yamaha Team Manager Tom Halverson told Roadracingworld.com Thursday morning in the paddock of Laguna Seca. “Instead of risking it, we’re going to wait for him to be 100%. Maybe that will be at Mid-Ohio, maybe after. We’re just going to see how it goes. We all agreed that it was not in Jamie’s best interest to come back until he is 100%.” Hacking is at Laguna Seca and will participate in fan and sponsor activities, according to Halverson.