RIZLA SUZUKI will give William Dunlop a chance to prove his skill on a Superbike when he races alongside British Superbike regular James Haydon in the Castle Combe Grand National on July 31st. William was awarded the opportunity after a recent test at Donington Park on British Champion John Reynolds’ Rizla Suzuki GSX-R1000 when he impressed the team with his speed and natural talent. Son of Robert and nephew of TT legend Joey, William is a regular podium finisher in the Irish 125cc Championship. At 19 he is heralded as one of the best young up and coming racers in the UK and belongs to the first family of motorcycle racing in Northern Ireland. “This is a dream come true for me,” explained William. “Rizla Suzuki is the Championship winning team and it doesn’t give out test rides to just anybody. When I was invited to test the bike it was a fantastic experience. Then when I was invited to race it against some of the best riders in the world at the Castle Combe Grand National, I was ecstatic. “Thank you to Rizla Suzuki for giving me this opportunity. I plan to use it to show what I am capable of and as a stepping-stone for my racing career. It isn’t going to be easy as I don’t have much experience of riding a Superbike. The Rizla Suzuki is mighty quick and it’ll take some getting used to, but I am hoping to have another test on it before the race weekend.” William will be up against the cream of the British Superbike riders in the Castle Combe Grand National – with riders the calibre of James Haydon, Michael Rutter, Karl Harris, Tommy Hill, Sean Emmett, John McGuinness and Jonathan Rea already on the starting list. Rizla Suzuki’s James Haydon said: “I watched William during the test and he showed a real turn of speed despite his lack of Superbike experience when he rode the Rizla Suzuki. “He would go into a corner too fast and miss his apex, but the following lap he would be pin sharp, which shows he is thinking, safe and talented. He is certainly a star for the future and I’m looking forward to racing alongside him at Castle Combe and giving him all the advice I can.” JR was also watching William at the test. He said: “I will do whatever I can to help William advance his career. Rizla Suzuki has had an eye on him ever since 2004 when the late Davy Wood asked us to consider him as a talent for the future. From what I’ve seen, Davy was on the money and William has the capacity to be a Champion in this sport. He certainly has the genes for racing with the Dunlop name. It won’t be easy, but he has a great opportunity to show what he can do by racing my Rizla Suzuki at Castle Combe and I’ll be there backing him all the way.” The Grand National takes place at Castle Combe near Bristol on the weekend of July 30th and 31st. For more details visit ~http://www.castlecombecircuit.co.uk/~

FIRST PERSON/OPINION Via e-mail: I just got one of those “Sorry for your inconvenience but we cancelled your two-room reservation…” letters from the GM of Embassy Suites in Seaside today. I made reservations in August 2004 but they wanted to put us up in Scotts Valley 40 miles away! So I called to scream at him and when explained that we sponsor several factory racers and will be working the event he put me on hold. After several minutes of what I expect was “Uh oh, how do I deal with this” etc, etc, he came back on to say they will, in fact, have the rooms for me. He said they cancelled my rooms because they didn’t have my contact info. I said “So how did I get this letter if you don’t have my contact info?”. Pause. “Well, we didn’t have your phone number”. I told him to fax me a signed letter by the end of the business day today confirming my rooms. I just got it. So this makes me wonder what would happen if I was just Joe Motorcyclist coming to see the races and not an industry person there to provide vital support to our factory racers. I am sure, at best, I’d be staying 40 miles away. But I would “..be able to enjoy all the amenities the hotel has to offer”. Like a free breakfast I wouldn’t be able to eat because I would have to wake up at 5am every day to get to the track! I look forward to my 2-free-nights stay coupon arrival! Donny Schmidt Race Tech/Dealer Support Suomy USA 800.524.9938 x103 www.suomy-usa.com FIRST PERSON/OPINION Via e-mail: I am so glad to see that Roadracingworld.com has brought attention to the deliberate price gouging and overbooking during the bike racing events. Last year I booked with Expedia at the Vagabond in Salinas for 118.00 a night only to be told the rate was 198.00 when I arrived. Unfortunately I did not have the print out from Expedia with me and got screwed paying the difference. The unbelievable part is the same room is 78.00 a night on all other days. This year it went up to 246.00 a night! Hopefully this fiasco will not continue in the future. Rob Graham Fairfield, California FIRST PERSON/OPINION Via e-mail: What have you found out about the Hotel stuff going on in Monterey? I had reservations at the Embassy and got the boot. I’m curious if you have heard of any recourse that is being taken by people that had cancellations. What ever came of the TV station deal? Thanks Todd Fenton Attack Kawasaki Santa Fe Springs, California Check out this post: ~https://www.roadracingworld.com/news/article/?article=23302~ FIRST PERSON/OPINION: Via e-mail: Dear Road Racing World: I am one of the many people who had their long standing room reservations cancelled, mine by the Hyatt Regency. On June 15 I received a phone call from a Ruben Chavez of the Hyatt Regency Monterey during which he politely informed me: “We’re sorry Mr. Bourgoin, we made a mistake and overbooked the hotel and we are unable to honor your reservation at this time. However, we have made reservations for you at the Hyatt San Jose, 70 miles away . . .” I explained to them that this was unacceptable and that I made my reservation on August 20, 2004, that I confirmed it several times over the last 10 months and most recently with confirmations emailed to me by the Hyatt on March 24th, 2005. Regardless, they basically said “we’re sorry, but you can stay at the Hyatt in San Jose, and we will pay for your stay in San Jose”. They also told me that the reason they were sending people to San Jose is they were unable to locate any rooms in the surrounding area. I told them that was unacceptable and would be pursuing legal action if they tried to cancel my reservation. I asked for the name of the hotel manager and the hotel revenue manager and told them they would be hearing from me. As soon as I got off the phone, I called Monterey Peninsula Services. Amazingly enough they were able to confirm two double rooms and one single room for me at the Best Western Beach Dunes in Marina, 8 miles up the road (there are 5 of us riding down from Seattle). I booked the rooms, and spoke that evening with the manager of the Best Western to confirm and double confirm. I received an email confirmation from the Best Western and I felt better about having a backup plan in place. However the cost of those rooms is $325/night for the doubles and $350/night for the single. The rooms at the Hyatt were booked at a rate of $231 per night. I called the Hyatt back and without going too much detail, came to an agreement whereby the Hyatt would pay an amount equal to what I would have spent with the Hyatt on rooms + tax. I received the check last Friday and we will use this to offset the costs at the Best Western. So while its not as nice as the Hyatt, its close, its decent , and its on the beach. All in all our group didn’t end up in as bad a situation as some folks. We were at least able to get rooms nearby and we were able to get the Hyatt to compensate us. Still, pretty badly botched up situation. Dan Bourgoin Sammamish, Washington

Haydon fastest in Croft test RIZLA SUZUKI’S James Haydon set the fastest unofficial lap time in today’s Dunlop arranged Croft Circuit test as he found extra performance from his GSX-R1000. After making his permanent debut for the team at Knockhill just two days ago, James was back in action alongside a host of other top British Superbike teams at the 2.1-mile long Croft Circuit in North Yorkshire. He was delighted to end the day fastest with a lap time of 1m21.3s. “It’s quite nice to be quickest on the day,” enthused James after completing more than 100-laps. “Dunlop provided me with some fantastic new tyres towards the end of the day and I really want to try them again on a race weekend – good work Dunlop! “I also tried a lot of new settings with my Rizla Suzuki – mainly on the front end with new Ohlins gas forks. My crew guided me and straight away those forks were ace. We still need to fine-tune the set-up for each circuit but I am very happy.” British Superbike Champion John Reynolds was also at the test, notching up 90-laps and recording a best lap time of 1m22.4s. He said: “That was hot and hard work. Today I have spent a lot of time riding the bike and pushing myself to my limits, which is just what I needed after such a long lay off for injury. “There’s no other exercise either in or out of the gym that is quite the same as riding a Superbike, so today was invaluable. On top of that, James has gone quite a bit quicker than me on new gas forks that I haven’t tested yet. I am genuinely excited about trying them during practice at Snetterton to see if they can help me to cut my lap times.” Rizla Suzuki now travels to the eighth round of the British Superbike Championship at Snetterton in Norfolk on Sunday, July 10th.

26th June 2005 Misano (Italy) Despite the overheated track surface conditions at Misano, with mercury readings of well over 50°C at times, Pirelli riders completed a successful weekend of racing, with no problems reported in these demanding and intense conditions. The 4.060km Misano circuit features several tough tests of tyre design and build, notably the high speed triple left ‘Curvone’ corner. Race 1 TRACK CONDITION Dry AIR HUMIDITY 47% TRACK TEMPERATURE 48° AIR TEMPERATURE 38° In the first race, shortened to 24 laps after two interruptions and restarts, there was one red flag stoppage to clear up oil from a crash and one grid reformation as a multi-rider false start made for a few more minutes of delay. Regis Laconi gave Ducati the win, with Chris Vermeulen’s Honda second and Troy Corser’s Suzuki third. Race Standings: 1. Laconi, Ducati 999F05, Ducati Xerox, 39’07.157 2. Vermeulen, Honda CBR1000RR, Winston Ten Kate Honda, +4.439 3. Corser, Suzuki GSX-R1000, Alstare Suzuki, +8.043 4. Toseland, Ducati 999F05, Ducati Xerox, +10.198 5. Lanzi, Ducati 999RS, Ducati SC Caracchi, +14.105 Race 2 TRACK CONDITION Dry AIR HUMIDITY 50% TRACK TEMPERATURE 53° AIR TEMPERATURE 32° Race Standings: In the second race, run over the full 25 laps, and in even hotter track conditions of 53°C, the first four positions remained unchanged from those of race one. This time around Vermeulen was only 1.4 seconds down on Laconi in a straight fight, with Corser a further 1.8 back. Every rider except Corser used the new 200-section rear Pirelli in the second race, to make use of its advantages on the long Curvone section of the circuit. 1. Laconi, Ducati 999F05, Ducati Xerox, 40’46.260 2. Vermeulen, Honda CBR1000RR, Winston Ten Kate Honda, +1.491 3. Corser, Suzuki GSX-R1000, Alstare Suzuki, +3.143 4. Toseland, Ducati 999F05, Ducati Xerox, +14.562 5. Chili, Honda CBR1000RR, Klaffi Honda, +16.291 It was then a very hard day, first for the rider, then the bikes, then the tyres. Pirelli brought a new and wider section solution to this venue and many riders decided to use this rear tyre even if it was different from what they raced before. This 200 tyre delivered good results, as it did in development test sessions, but the result on this track was even bigger than expected mainly thanks to the track’s characteristics. This results give to the Pirelli technician many new elements and data to work on, in order to improve again. For this reason they will test it in Lausitzring, even if it will not be used in the Brno race. A good result was thus shared in partnership with Pirelli, with the teams who found the courage to change their usual setup from the normal way could face the 25 laps of the second and hotter- race. Also the “standard” 190 solution also did its job, allowing riders to use even the softest compounds. World Championship Standings: 1. Corser, 254 2. Vermeulen, 181 3. Laconi, 162 4. Kagayama, 148 5. Toseland, 124 6. Haga, 88 7. Walker, 87 8. Chili, 86 9. Pitt, 70 10. Muggeridge, 65 TRACK CONDITION Dry AIR HUMIDITY 52% TRACK TEMPERATURE 50° AIR TEMPERATURE 32° The 23-lap Supersport race, delayed by half an hour due to the dramas in Superbike race one, was a non-stop 23 lap affair, with French riders Sebastien Charpentier (Honda) and Fabien Foret (Honda) outpacing Charpentier team-mate Katsuaki Fujiwara. It was Charpentier’s fourth race win of the year. All the top Honda riders used harder rear tyres than most other runners, and were thus able to do the entire race at a higher place. Race Standings: 1. Charpentier Honda CBR 600 RR Winston Ten Kate 38’14.344 2. Foret Honda CBR 600 RR Team Megabike +0.496 3. Fujiwara Honda CBR 600 RR Winston Ten Kate +4.981 4. Curtain Yamaha YZF R6 Yamaha Motor Germany +13.367 5. Parkes Yamaha YZF R6 Yamaha Motor Germany +19.396 World Championship Standings: 1. Charpentier, 140 2. Fujiwara, 106 3. Curtain, 83 Giorgio Barbier, Pirelli racing manager: “Supersport was quite interesting for us, because in the end riders used three a different solutions, with different results. The Ten Kate Hondas, not so competitive in the first days of practice, probably used the hardest solution, in the race, and that is why they could last all race long. It seems not so easy to beat the Honda this year but this weekend the Megabike Honda machines were fast as well. It was also very pleasing to see that a Suzuki could win in the big Superstock class, that a Yamaha was second and an MV Agusta was also on the podium. That shows our road products work for a wide variety of machines.” More, from a press release issued by Longevity Racing: Barrett Long Wins at Miami-Homestead Races Longevity Racing- and Webdate.com-sponsored rider Barrett Long came from a fifth-row starting position to win the Middleweight Superbike race and collect $1,500 in Yamaha contingency money at the CCS event June 26 at Miami-Homestead Speedway in Florida. He also finished 3rd in the Middleweight Supersport and GTU classes.

The Monterey Herald, based in Monterey County, California, ran stories in its daily print newspaper and on its website June 27 and June 28 highlighting problems race fans are having with local hotels canceling long-standing, confirmed reservations and price gouging during the Red Bull U.S. Grand Prix MotoGP/AMA event, scheduled for July 8-10. In addition to mentioning the problems of race fans (many sourced from postings on Roadracingworld.com), the articles also detailed an investigation launched by the Monterey County District Attorney’s office to look into “unfair business practices” by area hotels. At the end of the June 28 article, the following can be found: “DA request “¢ The Monterey County District Attorney’s Office is looking for people who may have information about Peninsula hotel overbooking. Those who do are asked to call (831)647-7770.” In addition, Kelly Duffy, a reporter from the Salinas, California NBC affiliate KSWB, and Elizabeth Valente, with CBS affiliate KION 46 News, are looking to get in touch with race fans who have had problems with July 8-10 hotel reservations in the Monterey County, California area. Duffy can be reached at (831) 758-7730. Valente can be reached at (831) 784-6415. To read the full June 27 Monterey Herald article, go to: ~http://www.montereyherald.com/mld/montereyherald/news/11995537.htm~ To read the full June 28 Monterey Herald article, go to: ~http://www.montereyherald.com/mld/montereyherald/12003577.htm~

Trevor Nation steals the show at the 2005 Goodwood Festival of Speed FORMER Superbike Champion Trevor Nation wowed the crowd at last weekend’s Goodwood Festival of Speed aboard John Reynolds 2004 Championship winning Crescent Rizla Suzuki GSXR1000K4. Trevor performed an array of spectacular donuts, 100mph+ wheelies and burnouts to the crowd’s ecstatic cheers and applause, eclipsing even the cheers for the Formula One cars! The Goodwood Festival of Speed was a true biker-fest in 2005, with former Champions from all over the globe displaying many of the most historic and rare bikes. The exclusive line-up included Freddie Spencer, Mick Doohan, Giacomo Agostini, Steve Parrish, Mick Grant and Sammy Miller to name but a few. Around 180,000 people visited the premier celebration of motorsport in the UK, along with big-name celebrities such as Bryan Ferry, Boris Becker, Jenson Button, David Coulthard, Damon Hill, Ewan McGregor, Jeremy Clarkson and Murray Walker. Crescent Retail Director Martyn James said: “Trevor did a great job of entertaining the crowds on our Championship winning Crescent Rizla Suzuki – he certainly hasn’t lost any of the bike control that made him such a great rider. “It has been a real honour and pleasure to attend the Festival of Speed for the second year in a row. The quality of displays and visitors is second to none and the enthusiasm for motorcycling has to be experienced to be believed.” The Goodwood Revival, complete with a Barry Sheene Memorial race, is the next major motorsport event to be held at the venue near Chichester on 16-18th of September. For more information on Goodwood visit www.goodwood.co.uk.

UPDATED SCHEDULE ANNOUNCED FOR 2005 RED BULL U.S. GRAND PRIX Changes Made To Friday Schedule of Events MONTEREY, Calif. (June 27, 2005) A slight adjustment to the Friday schedule for the first MotoGP World Championship race in the U.S. since 1994 is reflected in the updated schedule of events released today for the 2005 Red Bull U.S. Grand Prix July 8-10 at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. The major change involves the MotoGP World Championship, which will now take to the track on Friday for their first practice session at 10 a.m. (All times PDT) Sunday, July 10 marks one of the most anticipated events in the 49-year history of Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, as round 8 of the MotoGP World Championship will take the green flag at 2 p.m. The race will be broadcast live in the U.S. on SPEED Channel and television coverage will reach over 300 million people in more than 200 countries. Also included in the schedule are a number of free fan activities to ticket holders, highlighted by a live performance on Saturday evening from Smash Mouth, presented by Yamaha & HSBC. The Bay Area-band will perform their hits, including “All-Star” and “Then The Morning Comes” beginning at 6 p.m. on a temporary stage constructed near the Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca scoring tower overlooking Turn 10. Other free fan activities include Friday’s Parts Unlimited Fan Party from 5-7 p.m. in the Parts Unlimited Chalet in Turn 5; a screening of the movie Faster on the viewing screens across from the Turn 4 grandstand at 7 p.m.; and an autograph session featuring motorcycle legends Wayne Rainey, Eddie Lawson, Steve Baker, and more as part of Yamaha’s Weekend of Champions. The Weekend of Champions autograph sessions will take place Friday and Saturday from 9-10:30 a.m. and 12:30-2 p.m. and on Sunday from 9-10:30 a.m. and 12-1:30 p.m in the Yamaha Marketplace. The historic weekend officially begins Friday, July 8 at 8 a.m. with a 30-minute practice session for the AMA Pro Honda Oils Supersport Championship and a 50-minute practice session for the AMA Superbike Championship. Reigning MotoGP World Champion Valentino Rossi and the rest of the MotoGP field take to the challenging 2.238-mile, 11-turn road course at 10 a.m., for the first of two Friday practice sessions. The MotoGP field takes to the track twice again on Saturday, beginning with a third practice session of the weekend on Saturday at 10 a.m. Qualifying for Sunday’s race takes place from 2-3 p.m. Also qualifying on Saturday are the AMA Repsol Superstock Series (9 a.m.) and AMA Superbike Championship (11:50 a.m.). Two races are a part of the Saturday schedule: the Yamaha & GE Financial Superstars of Super Karts at 3:10 p.m. and round 11 of the AMA Superbike Championship, a 28-lap race starting at 4:35 p.m. Sunday’s 32-lap MotoGP race will be preceded by the AMA Repsol Superstock Series contest at 11:30 a.m. and followed by the fifth and final race of the weekend – the AMA Pro Honda Oils Supersport Championship race at 3:30 p.m. Tickets are still available for the Red Bull U.S. Grand Prix by calling (800) 327-SECA or logging onto www.laguna-seca.com or www.ticketmaster.com. More information on the Red Bull U.S. Grand Prix is also available at the www.RedBullUSGrandPrix.com.

FIRST PERSON/OPINION Via e-mail: I made my reservations prior to the announcement of the MotoGP at Laguna Seca, for the dates of July 1-July 11. I don’t have the exact date of the reservations, but it was just a couple of days after returning from the WSBK races last year. I received the State Government rate of $94 Sun-Thur and $147 Fri-Sat (excellent deal, might I add…) Last week, on July 21st around 2:30pm, I double checked my reservations on-line, and discovered, much to my horror, that the reservations were for July 1-July 7. I had received no phone calls, no communication whatsoever, and I had not contacted the hotel at all. I immediately called the hotel, and “Hope” told me that according to the computer, I had called Embassy Suites on June 14th and voluntarily cancelled the tail end of my reservations. I vehemently denied doing this, explaining that I had $1,000 worth of tickets purchased (two premier pit row suites), and there would be no sensible explanation for my cancelling those reservations. She said I would need to call “Gerard,” who had processed the cancellation. He would be in at 3pm. At 3pm I called, and Gerard was not yet in. I explained the need for immediate action regarding this. Hope again stated that she couldn’t do anything, and added that this was the first person she had talked to who had their reservations cancelled without being notified. She said that others were called and offered rooms in Santa Cruz. I told her that was unacceptable, considering how long ago I had made my reservations. I then added that Gerard should call me, I wasn’t going to keep trying to hunt him down for a problem that the hotel had created. I also stated that if this did not get resolved, I would seek legal restitution. At 3:15, Gerard called back. He apologized for the “computer error.” He said he didn’t remember doing the transaction, but that perhaps someone else had been logged on to his computer. He said that the reservation was back in place, at the original rate (interestingly, the rate now shows $147 for every night, but my faxed reservation confirmation does have a note saying to honor the original rates.) So, at this point, the problem has been resolved. But I shudder to think what would have happened if I had not double checked my reservation, and shown up on the 1st with nothing but my word against theirs and no hotel room for the big race. The added problem now is that I would like to change my reservation to arrive on the 3rd, but I don’t want to call or contact Embassy Suites for fear that they will use that as an excuse to cancel my race weekend reservations. Barbara Baker Sacramento, California See related post: DA Investigates Hotel Problems In Monterey June 25, 2005 ~https://www.roadracingworld.com/news/article/?article=23266~