From a press release issued by Infineon Raceway:

Mario Andretti Helps Set Blood-Drive Record at Infineon Raceway

SONOMA, Calif. (IMMEDIATE RELEASE) – Race fans were treated to the joyride of their lives around the world-famous road course at Infineon Raceway on Friday, and they set a blood-drive record in the process.

Nearly 425 people braved rainy and windy conditions at the 4th annual Infineon Technologies High-Speed Blood Drive at Infineon Raceway to benefit the American Red Cross. Race fans who agreed to donate a point of blood were treated to a hot lap at speed around the 12-turn, 2.52-mile road course.

Moreover, 75 lucky people were given hot laps around the track by legendary driver Mario Andretti, the only driver in history to win races in five different decades, including the Daytona 500 and Indianapolis 500. This marked the third consecutive year Andretti has participated in the event.

“I always have a great time with this event, and at the same time, we’re able to help the American Red Cross. It’s a win-win for everyone,” said Andretti, who is also a spokesman for Infineon Technologies.

The event generated 140 pints of blood, which American Red Cross officials say will be a record for 2005.

“There is no doubt that when we look back on 2005 this will be best output we have for a one-day event in Northern California,” said Sara O’Brien, spokesperson for the American Red Cross-Northern California Region. “This event gets bigger every year and we are certainly very appreciative to all those who came out today and to Infineon Raceway for hosting this.”

The Infineon Technologies High Speed Blood Drive has generated 373 pints of blood over the last three years, saving 1,119 lives.

“This is the third year I’ve come out and it’s great. I always want to give blood but this event really makes me get up and do it,” said Stephen McCulloch, from Rohnert Park. “It’s so positive for the community and you get a lap around this unbelievable track.”

Race fans lined up nearly an hour before the start of the blood drive under rainy conditions, anxious to meet their favorite driver. Andretti not only spent the day giving fans laps around the track in a 2005 Audi, supplied by Niello Audi, he also signed autographs, took pictures and mingled with the fans. Other hot laps were given by instructors from the ESPN Russell Racing School, which is based an Infineon Raceway.

“I drove more than 300 miles for this today and I wasn’t disappointed,” said Kelly Taylor, from Kingsbury, located south of Fresno. “I had the time of my life.”

The raceway partnered with Infineon Technologies, 107.7 FM The Bone in San Francisco and Niello Audi on the event.

From a press release issued by American Honda:

Due to numerous media and customer inquiries it is necessary to clarify our earlier statement regarding the Valkyrie Rune.

The planned limited production run of the current Valkyrie Rune will be complete in the Spring of 2005, but this does not indicate a decision to discontinue this flagship model.

Honda Motorcycle Division Vice President, Ray Blank, clarified the company’s earlier statement by saying, “We want to reassure our dealers and loyal customers that the completion of this model run doesn’t herald an end to this fabulous motorcycle, nor to Honda’s determined pursuit of bringing concepts to production reality.”

About Honda
American Honda Motor Co., Inc. is the sole distributor of Honda motorcycles, scooters, ATVs and personal watercraft in the U.S. American Honda’s Motorcycle Division conducts the sales, marketing, and operational activities for these products through Honda authorized dealers.

From a press release issued by Corser Concepts:

Corser Concepts announces it’s all new 2005 World Superbike Tour in Australia! This 12 day motorcycle road trip is personally hosted by Dale Corser, and includes a 2-day pass to the 2005 World Superbike Championship at Phillip Island Race Circuit, a Sydney Harbour Cruise, plus travel along the beautiful coastal roads riding a modern Harley Davidson Crusier plus much more!

Who is eligible to participate? This tour is open to all motorcycle enthusiasts, regardless of skill level. Riders must be 25+ and licensed to ride a motorcycle in their country of origin. Tour numbers are limited to 15 riders. Tour dates: March 30 – April 10 Registration deadline: March 15

Information and registration forms available on line: www.corserconcepts.com.au

Corser Concepts is devoted to making the Australian land, people and culture a memorable experience for guests; a place that is warm and welcoming, a home away from home. The Corser family is as experienced in the motorcycle world as any family can be! Dale Corser (Tour Manager and Founder) took 3rd place standings in the US AMA Pro-Thunder Class (2000). Troy Corser is well known for his standing as Superbike Champion in Australia (1993), America (1994), and World Superbike Champion (1996). Steve and Carol (Tour Hosts) are the proud parents of these two motorcycling legends. Carol and Steve, both experienced motorcycle riders, are fun and friendly natives to Australia.

When asked why he decided to host tours in Australia, Dale replied, “I wanted to provide the opportunity for racing enthusiasts to get closer to the racers and an inside look at the world fastest sport! There’s nothing like being on pit row!”

And Dale should know, he’s been a racer and traveled around the world with the World Superbike Series several times. “After doing a lot of traveling, I’ve come to appreciate how beautiful my home country is…” Dale says, “… and the people I reckon are among the most welcoming and easy goin’. I suppose a tour like this is just an extension of that, it just comes naturally.”

From a press release:

New look Isle of Man TT set to be a cracker

A vastly revamped racing schedule will form the backbone of the 2005 Isle of Man TT Races, set to take place between Saturday May the 28th and Friday June the 10th.

Following a lengthy period of consultation with all parties involved in the racing side of the TT Festival, the programme has been changed to better suit the needs of today’s riders and teams. The TT Superbike Race replaces the Formula One TT, whilst the Production 1000cc Race makes way for a Superstock Race. There will be two Supersport 600cc Races this year, plus the Senior TT, which retains its title, and is open to machines from all three classes. The Production 600cc event is dropped, as are the classes for 125cc and 400cc machines. The Sidecar class remains as before, with two races for the popular three wheeled brigade.

Speaking about the changes to the programme, Clerk of the Course Neil Hanson said, “It was felt that our previous programme had become out of sync with the rest of the road racing world, and we have acted accordingly. The new schedule is much simpler and riders will only require three bikes maximum, which should result in them all enjoying more practise time per machine. Whilst some people would like to see the smaller capacity machines remain, most riders and teams seem positive about the new schedule.”

There will be a whopping £500,000 on offer at this years event plus an additional £4,500 in special awards. Entry Forms and Regulations for this year’s event have already gone out and entries close on Thursday the 28th of March.

Team and rider Interest in this years meeting has been exceptional with all four Japanese Manufacturers expected to be represented in an official capacity. TAS Suzuki GB will field Irishman Adrian Archibald and New Zealander Bruce Anstey whilst Honda Racing return after a years absence, this time under the DMRR banner with Welshman Ian Lougher and Irishman Richard Britton on board. Yamaha will hope to continue their rich vein of form around the Mountain Circuit in recent years, with Englishman John McGuinness and the British Superbike AIM racing team representing them along with Yamaha UK’s Jason Griffiths from Wales who now resides on the Island. Meanwhile Kawasaki make an official return to the TT with the MSS/Discovery British Superbike team machines in the hands of Irishman Ryan Farquhar.

The Solo classes will be as strong as they have been for some time with Irishman Martin Finnegan another name to look out for on the exotic Vitrans / Ten Kate Honda machines, Englishman Guy Martin on the Uel Duncan Racing Suzuki’s along with his team mate Darran Lindsay from Ireland, making his return to the TT after four years away, English aces Mark Parrett, Ian Hutchinson, Ian Armstrong, David Bell and James McBride and local stars Chris Palmer, Gary Carswell, Paul Hunt, Nigel Beattie and Chris Heath.

As usual there will be a strong representation from Europe and the rest of the world with Italy’s Stefano Bonnetti and Umberto Rumiano, France’s Bruno Bonhuil, Mirko Kalsek from Slovenia and Japan’s Jun Meada amongst the entry list.

The Sidecar classes will be as competitive as ever with local team Dave Molyneux and Daniel Sayle the men to beat with former World Champion Klaus Klaffenbock again expected to enter having made his debut at last years event.

The final word was left to Chairman of the TT organisation David Cretney MHK who commented on the entry “We are delighted to see the interest in our races from the various riders and teams at this early stage. Everything is shaping up to make this one of the best TT’s for many years and the level of competition and quality of riders will provide great excitement for TT fans at the greatest road races in the world. I was delighted to welcome our newly appointed Rider Recruitment Officers Paul Phillips and Richard Quayle to our team and they have been busy talking to talented riders who are interested in taking part in our event and we are pleased to welcome three of their recruited riders here today. Gus Scott from England, Les Shand from Scotland and Markus Barth from Germany are all world class riders who would compliment any entry list and we are delighted that they have shown an interest in the TT.”

The Minister, who also Chairs the Organising Committee of the TT Classic Nostalgia Weekend, which takes place between Friday 10th and Sunday 12th June this year which is set to encompass an Italian theme, concluded by announcing there had been great interest from around the world in this event and further announcements would be made shortly. Former TT or MGP riders or persons with special Italian machines are invited to contact the organisers for regulations for the event.

Preparations for the Festival attractions which will compliment this years TT are also in an advanced stage and exact details of the various attractions and events will be released in the near future via a separate release.

Practice for this years TT commences on Saturday the 28th of May at 18:15 hours (6.15pm), with the first race, the TT Superbike Race over six laps of the Snaefell Mountain Course getting underway at 12 noon on Saturday the 4th of June!

From a press release issued by American Honda:

Pro Honda Oils & Chemicals back for 15th year as Title Sponsor of AMA U.S. SuperSport Championship


American Honda’s “Pro Honda” brand of oils and chemicals has renewed their “Name in Title” sponsorship of AMA Pro Racing’s “Pro Honda Oils & Chemicals U.S. SuperSport Championship. The upcoming 2005 season marks a major milestone in their support of the class as it will be their 15th consecutive season as “Title” sponsor of the series. Over the past 15 years Pro Honda Oils & Chemicals have rewarded participating riders on ALL brands of motorcycles with over $250,000 in season end bonus awards. Often regarded as the most competitive class in professional roadracing, the Pro Honda Oils U.S. SuperSport Championship has become a springboard for the careers of many, many National and International roadracing superstars too numerous to mention. The Pro Honda brand also holds the distinction of being the very 1st, as well as the longest standing “Name in Title” sponsor in AMA Pro roadracing history, dating all the way back to 1990.

From a press release issued by Racing 2 Save Lives:

2nd Annual Motorcycle Roadrace to Benefit Children’s Charities

Racing 2 Save Lives is proud to announce partnership with Pikes Peak International Raceway for its 2nd annual multi-day motorcycle roadrace to take place May 11 – 15, 2005. Racing 2 Save Lives was created to raise support and awareness for five children’s charities: The Children’s Hospital, Family Pathways of Colorado, Missing Children Task Force, Here’s Life Inner City Denver, and The Make-A-Wish Foundation® of Colorado.

Donations may be made in the form of pledges based on miles or laps completed by the participants – or through direct contributions to Racing 2 Save Lives. Motorcycle Roadracing has been experiencing steady growth worldwide, and Racing 2 Save Lives is a natural extension combining the thrill and excitement of this sport with a chance to support the community through fundraising. Individuals and companies interested in participating or contributing can do so through the website at www.racing2savelives.org.

For its inaugural effort in 2004, Racing 2 Save Lives enlisted over 180 participants/racers, completed 32,517 miles and generated over $75,000.00 in donations! Racing 2 Save Lives is excited about its partnership with Pikes Peak International Raceway in 2005! The national recognition sure to surround such a premium race venue will give Racing 2 Save Lives a greater opportunity to generate participation and ultimately raise more support for the charities, and the children they serve. For 2005, they have set a goal of completing 50,000 miles and raising over $250,000.

The event will begin Wednesday, May 11, 2005 and carry on throughout the Motorcycle Roadracing Association’s race weekend& ending on Sunday the 15th of May.

For more information on participation, or to donate & please refer to the Racing 2 Save Lives website at: www.racing2savelives.org.

Roadracing World is launching a new, updated website next week. This new site will require the use of recent web browsers. If you haven’t upgraded your browser (in a long time) or can’t remember the last time your old computer worked on a modern site, we are talking to you. To make sure your browser will work with the new site we encourage you take a few minutes and verify you are current.

Notice to Netscape Users: Netscape sold out years ago and AOL has killed off support for that division. The heart and sole of Netscape still lives on in Firefox and Mozilla.

Windows Users

We encourage you to use the recent versions of Firefox or Microsoft Internet Explorer. Since these are both free it is hard to argue against using them.

If you are going to use Internet Explorer, make sure it is version 6 or newer. To find out what version you are using: Open your Internet Explorer browser. Click on the Help option in the menu bar (top of the browser window). Select About Internet Explorer (should be the last option). A dialog box will open, in it will say what version of Internet Explorer you are using. If it says version 6. something, you are fine. If it says 5.0, 5.5 or even 4 it is time to upgrade. If you really never liked Internet Explorer and used to use Netscape use Firefox instead.

Mac/OSX Users

The site has been tested on Firefox and Safari for OSX. If you use either one of those browsers you will be fine. The site will not work with Internet Explorer on Mac/OSX boxes. Microsoft abandoned that Mac browser, you should too.

Linux Users

You open source folks know the drill. Use Firefox and it’s all good, we aren’t testing every flavor of Mozilla. We are only going to worry about Firefox for you Linux folks.

Need some Help?

You can tune EFI, and run a dyno, what do you mean you can’t upgrade your browser? If you need some help… ask a neighbor, or that nerdy brother-in-law of yours. We are motorcycle racers, not desktop support. It really isn’t that hard anyway. Here is a page for Firefox Support.

From a press release issued by AMA Pro Racing:

AMA Pro Racing has officially removed the Brainerd International Raceway (BIR) event, tentatively scheduled for June 25-26, from its 2005 Superbike Championship schedule according to John Farris, AMA Pro Racing Vice President, Commercial Development.

The owners of Brainerd International Raceway have put the facility up for sale and terminated the track’s operating staff. AMA Pro Racing was hopeful that despite the track’s uncertain future an event could be held there in 2005, possibly with a third party promoter.

“We have been in communication with BIR officials all along and continued to explore a variety of scenarios that would enable us to keep the race viable,” said Farris. “However, it has become clear that there are just too many questions surrounding BIR right now and, in the best interests of our championship, we need to focus our efforts elsewhere.”

In making the announcement, Farris added that the event scheduled for Virginia International Raceway (VIR) remains tentative and that, contrary to published reports, the event has not been removed from the schedule.

“We issued our 2005 schedule with the VIR date as tentative and its status is unchanged. We’re in negotiations with VIR and hope to still be able to finalize a deal. When there is something confirmed we will announce it. Until then discussions are ongoing.”

Farris also confirmed that there have been conversations with other tracks including Laguna Seca.

“We had some preliminary talks with Laguna Seca regarding a second round there but track officials have decided to focus on their four existing events for 2005,” said Farris. “We continue to explore additional Superbike event opportunities, both near- and long-term. This could include second events at tracks already on the schedule, events at redesigned facilities or going to new tracks currently under development.”

Farris said that it is possible that another round could be added in 2005 but that 2006 is a more likely time frame.

From a press release:

$70,500 Contingency Program Offered to Privateer Buell Roadracers

MILWAUKEE (January 28, 2005) – Buell Motorcycle Company recently announced its roadracing support program for 2005, with $70,500 in contingency paid to racers aboard Buell motorcycles in the eight-round national Formula USA Thunderbike class. The program offers Buell racers $8,000 per race in contingency paid back to 15th place, in addition to Formula USA’s $2,000 Thunderbike purse paid back to 10th, plus a $6,500 championship bonus for Buell racers paid back to 5th place, supplementing Formula USA’s $5,500 championship bonus.

“We’re proud to once again support the efforts of Buell racers in Formula USA’s National Thunderbike class which continues to draw large grids and features great racing,” said Erik Buell, Chairman and Chief Technical Officer of Buell Motorcycle Company.

The Formula USA Thunderbike class will be a featured event at all eight Formula USA National Road Race Series rounds. The events will be held at Daytona International Speedway, March 4-6; Road America, April 22-24; Summit Point Raceway, May 27-29; New Hampshire International Speedway, June 17-19; Virginia International Raceway, June 24-26; Barber Motorsports Park, August 12-14; the new AutoBahn Country Club Joliet course, September 9-11; and the Daytona finale, October 21-23. Buell’s Henry Duga and the Buell Racing Support Van will be present at each F-USA National event to provide assistance to Buell racers.

Formula USA’s 2004 Thunderbike class champion Bryan Bemisderfer is expected to defend his title against fellow Buell racers Dan Bilansky, Jeff Johnson, Kurt Miller, Randy Rega, Joe Roszynski, Josh Guyer and many others, including riders aboard Suzuki, Ducati, Honda, Yamaha and BMW motorcycles.

To learn more about Buell motorcycles, visit your local Buell dealer today and experience the pure streetfighter attitude, style and performance only found on board a Buell. Call 1-800-490-9635 for the Buell dealer nearest you. Or go to www.buell.com.

Copyright 2005, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

FIRST PERSON/OPINION

Via e-mail:

I’ve read it a few times. Did they really omit Nicky Hayden – is he a prodigal son or something ?

Malachy O’Connell
Santa Fe, New Mexico



FIRST PERSON/OPINION

Via e-mail:

The AMA managed to leave out its brightest star in this MotoGP press release!

“American fans will get their first opportunity to watch six-time world champion Valentino Rossi, considered to be one of the preeminent motorcycle racers of all time. In addition it will mark the return of three of American motorcycling’s favorite sons in Kenny Roberts Jr., John Hopkins and Colin Edwards, all established stars of the MotoGP circuit.”

Did you see Nicky mentioned in there, or anywhere else in the release?

Andy Schwarm
Monrovia, California