MOTOGP WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP 2005 ROUND 5 – GAULOISES DUTCH TT, ASSEN 17 JUNE 2005 – EVENT PREVIEW KAWASAKI PAIR CONFIDENT AHEAD OF DUTCH TT Kawasaki riders Shinya Nakano and Alex Hofmann will be part of the 75th anniversary celebrations for the Dutch TT at Assen (June 23-25). The Dutch TT holds a unique place in the world of motorcycling and is the only Grand Prix that has continuously counted towards the FIM World Championship since inception in 1949. The race has some firmly entrenched traditions. It is always held on the last Saturday in June and much of the current racetrack was part of the original circuit formed on narrow public roads south of the Assen township. Once 16 km in length, the original road course has undergone constant changes and safety upgrades, including some for this year’s 75th Dutch TT. For 2005 the circuit length has been reduced by 30 metres to 5.997 km and given favourable weather this should lead to new qualifying and race records. However the most noticeable change is one that will benefit spectators who travel from around the world for the special atmosphere of the Dutch TT. The new Geert Timmer ‘floating’ grandstand will be in use for the first time. The stand offers not only panoramic views of the circuit but has allowed the expansion of run-off areas to improve safety. The current investment in circuit upgrades has ensured Assen has a long-term future as part of the MotoGP World Championship with a contract renewal until 2016, recently agreed with championship organisers Dorna. And following the latest performance upgrades to the Ninja ZX-RR both Nakano and Hofmann are looking forward to strong performances at Assen this year. Hofmann, from Germany, will again have the support of a large contingent of travelling fans at Assen. Nakano qualified an impressive fifth fastest in 2004. Since then the ZX-RR motor has undergone a major revision with further upgrades, both mechanical and electronic, for evaluation at Assen Both factory Kawasaki riders anticipate the current specification ZX-RR will be more suited to the unique layout of Assen with its constant sequence of high-speed corners and fast changes of direction under acceleration. Nakano in particular came away from the previous race in Barcelona in a positive frame of mind in terms of bike performance, despite the tyre endurance problems that hampered his race performance. Joining the Kawasaki Racing Team as a sponsor for the first time at Assen will be e-services company, Trinicom. Trinicom is the European leader in Web Self Service, Email response and Agent support software. Shinya Nakano: #56 “Assen is a real challenge, especially the fast section at the start of the lap. You need good traction and high-speed handling plus exact racing lines to achieve maximum performance. I expect the latest profile Bridgestone tyres will help with steering response on the ZX-RR in the fast sections. Because it is not possible to test at Assen I will use the first practice day to check braking points and corner lines, plus collect set-up data. I think we have a good technical direction with the ZX-RR right now, I saw a positive comparison when I was able to follow Colin Edwards early in the race at Barcelona.” Alex Hofmann: #66 “Hopefully Assen will kick start my season after some bad luck recently. The Dutch TT is a good motivation for me because it is like a second home race, the organisers say about 40% of the spectators are from Germany. It’s a fast, roller-coaster style of track and one of my favourites. I think I’m ready for anything at Assen, especially if it rains as it often does. Our test in Barcelona was wet so I got to try the latest Bridgestone wet tyres, which were very good, plus I felt comfortable using the ZX-RR motor with revised configuration and tuning.”

Rossi exploits boost MotoGP TV audiences With five victories out of six races so far this season, one could expect that Valentino Rossi’s domination would disappoint the MotoGP fans, but the way the Italian superstar reaches success is actually so entertaining and exciting that audiences keep growing every race weekend. Rossi’s win at Catalunya last Sunday scored again record audiences in his home country, where Italia 1’s broadcast was followed by almost 8.5 million viewers, with a 48.18% market share. Surprisingly, the audience in Spain was also outstanding despite the fact that Rossi’s victim of the day was Sete Gibernau, in front of his Barcelona crowd. TVE-1 had 33.3% of the audience tuned to the MotoGP race, and did even better (38,6%) for the 250cc race, where Spain’s young hope Dani Pedrosa won his third consecutive GP. The total audience was 2.8 and 2.1 million respectively. MotoGP enjoys wealthy audiences both in Italy and Spain thanks to the success of their riders. In the United Kingdom, BBC is consolidating very good ratings without having a local hero in the leading positions. The broadcast from the Catalunya Grand Prix scored 1.4 million viewers, with a 16.3% share. Other countries also have had significant audience figures for the past few MotoGP races. As an example, Nelonen/Channel Four Finland scored 32% market share for the last round of the 125cc World Championship, where Mika Kallio is one of the main protagonists.

Racers Will See Improved Run-Off Areas and Curbing at Red Bull U.S. Grand Prix MONTEREY, Calif. (June 16,2005) Following the conclusion of a $2 million track improvement project that saw the run-off areas increased and improved in all turns and the installation of more motorcycle-friendly curbing, the world famous 2.238-mile, 11-turn Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca has been homologated by the Federation Internationale de Motorcyclisme (FIM) for next month’s Red Bull U.S. Grand Prix (July 8-10). “The inspection was very good,” said Claude Danis, the official track inspector for the FIM. “We can see that all of the work we requested to be done was completed properly. There are some provisional protective devices (e.g. air fence and hay bales) to be installed before the race. The track is in condition to be homologated for MotoGP.” Suzuki MotoGP rider Kenny Roberts Jr, the 2000 World Champion, visited the circuit two weeks ago as a Riders Safety Representative and was very positive about the changes made to the circuit. “Laguna Seca has done 100 percent within their capability to make the track as safe as possible for the MotoGP,” said Modesto-native Roberts Jr., the son of three-time world champion Kenny Roberts. “They have made significant changes in all areas that they were able to make changes in. “In my opinion they have done the best job on the curbs in comparison to any other racetrack and this will significantly reduce the riders risk and workload. “I believe from a Riders Safety Representative standpoint, that barring any freak accidents, then Laguna will be a very safe MotoGP circuit.” Work began on the 2.238-mile, 11-turn road course back in January with the relocation of the Turn 9 bridge and excavation of the hillside on the outside of the turn. Following the rainy season, an intense 45-day period of construction began on May 2. The $2 million improvement project is being funded by Yamaha Motor Company and includes improvements in every turn around the circuit. The building of new gravel beds and the enlarging of existing beds was a major part of the project. More than 15,000 tons of gravel was brought in over a two-week period. Details on the track improvement program are available online at ~http://www.laguna-seca.com/PressReleases/index.cfm?ID=153~ Tickets are 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

Solid progress for Rizla Suzuki RIZLA SUZUKI enjoyed a successful test at Donington Park in Leicestershire today with both John Reynolds and James Haydon completing over 70-laps each. Gusting high winds kept both riders on their toes throughout the day as they went about testing Dunlop tyres and a host of mechanical parts for their Rizla Suzuki GSX-R1000s. JR said: “I am very happy with the feel and performance of my Rizla Suzuki. We have made minor alterations to the bike and found additional performance. I feel in control and have plenty of feedback from the bike, I know exactly what it is doing and that allows me to push to the limits. “I am exhausted now, it has been a very tiring day as we had lots of parts to test and not a great deal of time on track. It is by testing and riding that you develop race fitness and today has helped me enormously after such a long lay-off because of injury. I’m back and ready to race.” James said: “That was a very busy day, but also very productive. Despite racing for two rounds for Rizla Suzuki, I never really had an opportunity to stamp my mark on the bike or get it to suit me because we were so focused on the upcoming qualifying or race. Today we spent time getting the bike to fit me physically and to give me the sort of feedback and control that I need to push hard – the Rizla Suzuki now feels like my bike. “Once I was comfortable on the bike I tested a few different tyres and rear shock settings and we took steps in the right direction. You can’t get a more logical, progressive or professional team in the paddock than Rizla Suzuki and we are going quicker with every lap.” Simon Green, Team Co-ordinator said: “Rizla Suzuki used today to test a lot of different parts and we have made solid progress. On top of that, both riders completed plenty of laps and finished the day comfortable and able to push their bikes to the limit. This test has revitalized the team and we can’t wait to get back to racing.” Rizla Suzuki now travels to Knockhill in Scotland for the seventh round of the British Superbike Championship on Sunday, June 26th.

The Yamaha Motor Italia squad today completed an extensive two day test at the Brno circuit in the Czech Republic. Riders Andrew Pitt and Noriyuki Haga completed 160 and 120 laps respectively during a busy programme that saw the team combine the testing of a new gearbox, chassis settings, tyre development work and acclimatization to the circuit ahead of next month’s race at the venue. Pitt recorded a best lap time of 2:03.9 around the long, flowing circuit with Haga just one tenth of a second behind despite concentrating on recording consistent laps on race settings rather than ultimate lap times. With sunny weather allowing the riders to maximize their time on track, the team’s mechanics were able to make big changes to the chassis characteristics of the R1s – mainly by altering the height of the rear swingarm pivot. Despite moving in opposite directions in terms of chassis set-ups, both riders declared themselves happy with the changes – claiming improvements in both grip levels and steering characteristics. Also attending the test was Yamaha’s officially supported world supersport riders Kevin Curtain and Broc Parkes. The Yamaha Motor Germany riders spent the two days working on finding a good set-up for next month’s race. Curtain set a best lap of 2:06.6 with Parkes just behind on a 2:06.9. Round six of the series takes place at Misano in Italy next weekend (24-26 June) with superbike racing returning to Brno after an absence of a decade three weeks later (15-17 July). Andrew Pitt (Yamaha Motor Italia) “We’ve found a good base setting for the circuit, so hopefully that will give us a slight edge when we come here for the race. I’m happy because I didn’t feel I was pushing too hard on my fast lap so that gives me confidence that we are able to find a bit more. It’s been good to be able to try out these new settings and find out what works and what doesn’t and, overall, we have moved forward. Pirelli also brought a bunch of tyres along for us to test on the second day so we’ve certainly been kept busy.” Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha Motor Italia) “It has been good to have this test. The weather has been good and it has allowed me to make a lot of laps and try out new things away from the race weekend. Overall it has been not so bad. We changed the swingarm position and this gave me a better feeling with the steering so this is a good step for us. We were able to get through a lot of work and I have spent the time to find some settings that will work here in the race.” Kevin Curtain (Yamaha Motor Germany) “Coming here to test should give us some advantage when we come here for the race next month. Brno is a long circuit so it’s been good to get in so many laps and be able to get a good set-up for when we come back. There was one scary moment when someone had a huge crash in front of me and I had to take avoiding action, but we’re really happy with how it’s gone here. I’m doing a wild-card in the German championship this weekend and then it’s off to Misano and, hopefully, doing better than my second place last year.” Broc Parkes (Yamaha Motor Germany) “It’s been good to get all these laps in and if I’m not used to the R6 by now I guess I’ll never be! All in we did about 130, 140 laps over the two days and I’ve ended up just two tenths of a second behind Kevin and able to put in a lot of comfortable 2:07 laps. That’s the closest I’ve been all year and I should’ve gone quicker but for another rider getting in my way during my fast lap. I’m looking forward to Misano now, but before then we’re going to the Nurburgring where I’ll be riding an R1 for the first time in the IDM championship.” Wilco Zeelenberg (Technical Coordinator – Yamaha Motor Europe) “It has been a good choice to have Brno as our test track because it is a long circuit that takes some time to learn properly and this should benefit our riders in the race, especially as it is a ‘new’ track in the championship and one we have no previous settings for. It was particularly good for the R6 guys who normally only get four 45 minute sessions to set up the bike in the race, so to get two full days is a real benefit to them. It was also their first big test with their new suspension technician and you can see that the riders are becoming more and more confident with the bike. The superbike guys were also able to try a lot of things with Andrew really benefiting. He was struggling a bit on the first day and wondering why he couldn’t go as fast as Noriyuki but the team was able to make the changes he needed and, by the end, he was going over a second a lap quicker and feeling very comfortable on the bike. Overall a very good test with no crashes or silly mistakes and that’s good for the confidence too.”

DUCATI XEROX TEAM WRAPS UP TESTING AT BRNO Brno (Czech Republic), Thursday 16 June: Ducati Xerox Team riders James Toseland and Régis Laconi wrapped up their second two-day testing session in a week at the legendary Brno circuit in the Czech Republic. The four days of testing gave both riders a final opportunity to prepare for the forthcoming round of the World Superbike championship at Misano Adriatico (24-26 June), as well as the subsequent Brno event in mid-July. Conditions were much improved from last week’s cold and windy outing, and despite the occasional shower, the team was able to get down to some serious mid-season work at one of its two optioned testing circuits. As well as tyre testing for Pirelli, the sole supplier for the SBK championship, the Ducati Xerox Team riders also carried out development work on several new components for the 999, including a lower steering clamp and MotoGP-derived brake callipers. Both riders set their best times (Toseland 2m03.2s, Laconi 2m03.4s) on race tyres yesterday. Toseland, who had never even seen Brno before, summed up his first experience on the Czech track: “It’s really good, a bit like Mugello with long, fast, flowing corners. I’m quite pleased with the way the test went and the bike is working good. I missed a bit of time when I went off yesterday and today the conditions were not as good, but I feel sure that I could have knocked quite a bit off my best time without that crash”. Laconi, who lapped a couple of tenths off his team-mate’s pace, declared: “I found it a bit difficult to get into the rhythm of this track mainly due to the conditions, but I’m sure that in July, when it’ll be much hotter, things will be a lot easier. We’ve already got quite a good set-up for the race, but you’ve got to remember that conditions will be different when we come back here”. The Brno circuit, which extends over 5.4 kilometres, has not been a fixture of the World Superbike calendar since 1996. It has twice been the venue for a round of the championship; in 1993, when the two wins went to Carl Fogarty (Ducati) and Scott Russell (Kawasaki), while three years later it was the turn of 2005 points leader Troy Corser to notch up a double win on a Promotor Ducati 916, run by current Ducati Xerox team manager, Davide Tardozzi.

FIRST PERSON/OPINION Via e-mail: To whom it may concern, I am a CCS racer, subscriber to Roadracing World and producer of motorcycle affiliated products. I forward my mail to Red Bull for Roadracing World to review to communicate the difficulties and frustrations many of us are now faced with. Respectfully yours, Douglas Frederick Rockville, Maryland From: Douglas Frederick Sent: Thursday, June 16, 2005 11:40 AM To: ‘[email protected]’ Subject: MotoGP USA: Hotel Reservations & Ignominious Red Bull Importance: High I am one of the many in the motorcycle community who was ignobly stripped of my hotel reservation at the MotoGP USA in Monterey for July 8-10. I made this reservation on September 9, 2004. To add injury to insult, I was offered a hotel 90 miles away from an event with 160,000 tickets presold. Anyone who has been to large World Superbike events at Laguna Seca is very familiar with the impossibility of this option due to logistics, traffic and time delays. I am not only a 35-year motorcyclist, I am a motorsport fan and build products to support motorsports. I had scheduled my marketing team to promote our Ducati Racing wireless game at the races, and now find months of preparations and expenses at risk because we cannot find rooms close enough to allow us to set up our marketing booths. I had always had a great deal of respect for Red Bull and their profound influence in worldwide racing circles. To say that this places your organization in a different perspective would be an understatement. You can be sure that motorcyclists and motorsport enthusiasts will be very disenchanted with this unfair treatment and unacceptable business practice, and will measure your brand and activities accordingly. You can be sure this news is travelling swiftly and through broad circles. We deserve our rooms. We planned ahead. I expect Red Bull to support the fans of motorsports and their products promptly. Douglas Frederick President, Vir2L Studios LLC Rockville, Maryland

FIRST PERSON/OPINION Via e-mail: After all this talk of rooms being cancelled we decided it was probably a good idea to check on our reservations. It is certainly no Hyatt but I was told the Super 8 in Marina has some rooms available and the hotel is supposedly only 12 minutes from the track. They also told me it was illegal to cancel rooms once a person had a confirmation for a reservation. The website for the hotel is www.super8marina.com. I hope this helps. Josef Buxton Marketing and Sales Manager Vortex Odessa, Florida

Dutch TT, Assen, June 23/24/25 2005, Preview DUCATI MARLBORO MEN READY FOR FASTEST TRACK OF THEM ALL After two hot and dry races in Italy and Spain, this week the MotoGP circus travels north to Assen, the most northerly fixture in the Grand Prix World Championship. Ducati Marlboro Team riders Loris Capirossi and Carlos Checa are both fans of the unique Dutch circuit, the oldest and fastest venue in MotoGP racing, so long as the rain stays away. Both men have high hopes of a good weekend’s racing at Assen, a track which in some ways is more similar to Mugello, where they recently scored excellent third- and fifth-place results, than Catalunya, where they had an altogether tougher weekend. Like Mugello, Assen is fast and flowing, which should suit the Ducati Marlboro Team Desmosedici. “In the space of a few days we went from a wonderful result at Mugello to a disappointing race at Catalunya,” says Ducati MotoGP project manager Livio Suppo. “So now we are analysing all the data, because we learned a lot at both races, and that’s how you keep growing. We knew after the Catalunya IRTA tests in March that we were missing something there. Bridgestone brought new specification tyres to the race but it wasn’t quite enough. They are working very hard and moving forward all the time. We’re optimistic about Assen – the Ducati always goes well there and Bridgestone should be strong too.” According to Ducati Marlboro Team technical director Corrado Cecchinelli at Assen. “You need good handling and good stability in the fast changes of direction, plus a good engine because it’s a very fast circuit,” he says. “But even though you need a lot of horsepower it is a rider’s track, where the rider can make the difference. In some ways it’s a bit like Phillip Island – there are several fast changes of and no real hard brakings.” CAPIROSSI: ‘DUCATI SHOULD BE GOOD AT ASSEN’ Earlier this month Loris Capirossi scored a stunning third-place finish at Mugello and the Ducati Marlboro Team man comes to Assen aiming to build on that promising result. “At Mugello we showed what we can do when everything is good,” says Capirossi, who finished that race less than four seconds behind the winner. “We struggled with rear grip at Catalunya but I think we should be better off at Assen, which is very different. It’s more flowing, like a classic track. For sure the Ducati should be good at Assen. It will be interesting for me because this year I’m using a modified chassis, with more rigidity, which should help in the high-speed changes of direction. I have always loved Assen, it used to be one of the best tracks in the world but maybe not any more because they keep changing it. I don’t like the new sections they’ve made.” Capirossi has always gone well at Assen, a racetrack that rewards riding talent. He won the 1993 and 1999 Dutch 250 TTs, scored premier-class podiums in 2000 and 2001 and took pole position in 2003 aboard his Ducati Marlboro Team Desmosedici. CHECA LOOKS FORWARD TO UNIQUE CHALLENGE Like team-mate Capirossi, Carlos Checa enjoys the unique challenge of Assen, the only current MotoGP track that originated as a public-roads venue. The circuit is all about speed, but not just straight-line speed, since the track barely has a straight worthy of the name. The secret to a fast lap is getting through the high-speed twists and turns as quickly as possible, which calls for unerring kerb-to-kerb accuracy at speeds of over 300kmh. “Assen is a very different circuit, it’s unique really,” affirms Checa. “Even the straights aren’t really straight and most of the corners are banked and very fast. Also, there’s very little room between the white lines and the grass, which means you’ve got to be perfect with your lines. I like the layout a lot and I appreciate riding on different kinds of tracks, it’s great to have some variety. I’m really looking forward to trying it for the first time on the Ducati, because this bike is so fast and its chassis should suit the track’s flowing character. I’ve already put Catalunya behind me. Considering our positive result at Mugello I’m hoping that Catalunya was just a blip.” Checa has proved himself up to the Assen challenge on several occasions. He scored his best result at the track in 1997, when he finished second to Mick Doohan, and took his other podium finish in 2002, when he was third. THE TRACK Unlike most racetracks, which feature wide straights and mostly slow to medium-fast corners, Assen is a narrow, meandering circuit, dominated by high-speed corners and rapid direction changes. Its surface is also special, because it is crowned like a public road for improved drainage, whereas other racetracks are flat. The crown poses a particular challenge to riders, who must cope with several changes of camber as they enter and exit most of Assen’s corners. As they head towards the apex they experience positive and then negative camber, then as they start to accelerate they enjoy positive camber once more, but as they drift wide on the exit they cross the crown in the centre of the track and suddenly they must contend with negative camber and an immediate loss of traction. Engineers run stiffer-than-usual suspension settings to cope with the cornering forces, so the bike doesn’t ‘unload’ violently as it crosses the centre crown. Assen’s layout underwent a major change in 1984, adapted from the original Circuit Van Drenthe constructed in the fifties, and was changed again for 2002. Further alterations are due at the end of this year when much of the northern loop will be lost. Lap record: Valentino Rossi (Yamaha), 1:59.472, 181.609kmh/112.847mph (2004) Pole position 2004: Valentino Rossi, (Yamaha) 1:58.758, 182.701kmh/113.525 mph DUCATI MARLBORO TEAM RIDER DATA LOGS LORIS CAPIROSSI Age: 32 (born April 4, 1973) Lives: Monaco Bike: Ducati Marlboro Team Desmosedici GP5 GP victories: 23 (1xMotoGP, 2×500, 12×250, 8×125) First GP victory: Britain, 1990 (125) First GP: Japan, 1990 (125) GP starts: 222 (52xMotoGP, 59×500, 84×250, 27×125) Pole positions: 36 (3xMotoGP, 5×500, 23×250, 5×125) First pole: Australia, 1991 (125) World Championships: 3 (125: 1990, 1991, 250: 1998) Assen 2004 results: Grid: 15th. Race: 8th CARLOS CHECA Age: 32 (born October 15, 1972) Lives: London, England Bike: Ducati Marlboro Team Desmosedici GP5 GP victories: 2 (500) First GP victory: Catalunya, 1996 (500) First GP: Europe, 1993 (125) GP starts: 174 (54xMotoGP, 92×500, 27×250, 1×125) Pole positions: 3 (2xMotoGP, 1×500) First pole: Spain, 1998 (500) Assen 2004 results: Grid: 2nd. Race: 9th

Superbike & Supersport World Championships, Superstock FIM Cup Misano-RSM, 26/06/2005: Wild-card riders The wild-card riders who will race in the Superbike and Supersport World Championships and Superstock FIM Cup rounds scheduled on the circuit of Misano on June 26 next, are the following : Superbike 72, Michele Gallina, (MV Agusta F4 1000 MT), ITA, Gallina Team 73, GiuseppeZannini, (Yamaha YZF-R1), ITA, Team Giesse 74, Adam Badziak, (Suzuki GSX-R 1000), POL, Poland Position 75, Norino Brignola, (Ducati 999R), ITA, Team Guandalini 92, Luca Conforti, (Ducati 999R), ITA, Team Guandalini 113, Paolo Blora, (Ducati 998RS), ITA, Piazza Corse Supersport 89, Juri Proietto, (Kawasaki ZX-6RR), ITA, Passione Moto 161, Simone Sanna, (Honda CBR600RR), ITA, Improve Racing Team Superstock 44, Roberto Lunadei, (Yamaha YZF-R1), ITA, 44 Racing Team 45, Gianluca Rapicavoli, (Suzuki GSX-R1000), ITA, Fucile Racing