From a press release issued by Rizla Suzuki:

Plan to see Rizla Suzuki in 2005

THE provisional British Superbike calendar for 2005 has been released, so you can start planning your visits to race circuits to watch Rizla Suzuki’s JR defend his title and see for yourself how Scott Smart takes to the new GSX-R1000.

2005 BSB PROVISIONAL CALENDAR

Round 1 28 March Brands Hatch(Indy)

Round 2 10 April Thruxton

Round 3 24 April Mallory Park

Round 4 02 May Oulton Park

Round 5 15 May Knockhill

Round 6 05 June Croft

Round 7 26 June Mondello(Ireland)

Round 8 10 July Snetterton

Round 9 24 July Oulton Park

Round 10 21 Aug Silverstone

Round 11 29 Aug Cadwell Park

Round 12 11 Sept Brands Hatch(GP)

Round 13 25 Sept Donington Park(GP)

From a press release issued by AMA:

AMA TRAVEL & TOURS ANNOUNCES 2005 DAYTONA BIKE WEEK EXCURSION

PICKERINGTON, Ohio — American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) Travel & Tours has announced its annual getaway package to Daytona Bike Week — the motorcycling world’s most sought-after destination — March 7 – 12, 2005, in Daytona Beach, Florida.

The AMA Travel & Tours Daytona Bike Week excursion offers enthusiasts an insider’s view of one of American motorcycling’s biggest events. The package includes a full week of accommodations at a beach-front resort hotel in the Main Street district, plus passes to a selection of AMA Pro Racing events — from flat track to AMA Supercross and, of course, the legendary Daytona 200. In addition, AMA Travel & Tours guests will enjoy exclusive pit and paddock tours, technical discussions with AMA Pro Racing officials, and opportunities to meet top racers. All guests will be treated to a special Bike Week barbecue, and will receive commemorative items from the AMA.

But racing is just one reason for Daytona Bike Week’s popularity. Many enthusiasts are drawn to Daytona Beach’s extraordinary rolling street scene — and that’s why AMA Travel & Tours’ Daytona Bike Week guests will be based at a hotel just minutes from Main Street.

“AMA Travel & Tours’ Daytona package takes all the stress out of enjoying Bike Week,” said Frank Covucci, Director of AMA Travel & Tours. “Our guests appreciate knowing that they’ll have quality accommodations in an ideal location — which is nearly impossible without making reservations months ahead of time — and not having to worry about keeping track of racing schedules or getting credentials.”

AMA Travel & Tours limited last year’s Daytona Bike Week excursion to the first thirty guests, and expects the 2005 trip to fill quickly. For reservations or more information, call (800) AMA-JOIN, extension 1190.

From a press release issued by Henry DeGouw of CCS/Florida:

CCS/Florida Season Finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway

Only 5 CCS/Florida Regional classes out of 38 are locked up going into the season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway on December 4-5.

This double-points-paying event has many close point spreads, some separated by only a single
point.

Marco Martinez has locked up the #1 plate for Overall Expert, while the Overall Amateur Championship is still undecided.

Two races in the series had to be cancelled due to hurricanes.

Copyright 2004, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Designers at Nike headquarters near Portland, Oregon are busy designing graphics for 2005 Suzuki GSX-R1000 Superbikes to be fielded by Michael Jordan Motorsports.

Sources close to the team say that Jason Pridmore will be the primary rider and that the team will run on Dunlop tires.

Copyright 2004, Roadracing World Publishing Inc.

Sources close to Ducati revealed today that Ducati Corse wants its National Superbike teams to run Bridgestone tires in 2005.

Ducati Corse is switching its MotoGP program to Bridgestone and is asking all its factory-supported teams to do the same, including Ducati Austin.

Ducati’s factory team in the World Superbike series cannot switch to Bridgestone due to rules requiring the use of Pirelli tires.

From a press release issued by NASA:

VETERAN ASTRONAUT DUANE CAREY LEAVES SPACE TO SEE THE WORLD

After fulfilling one dream to pilot a Space Shuttle and see the world from space, Astronaut Duane G. “Digger” Carey (Lt. Col, USAF-Ret) has left NASA to pursue another — to see the planet up close from the open road.

Carey plans to begin a motorcycle tour of the United States and eventually the world, camping along the way. He and his wife, Cheryl, are moving to Colorado Springs, CO, to prepare for the trip. They plan to launch their travels with a break-in expedition to Alaska.

Selected as an astronaut by NASA in 1996, Carey served as pilot of Space Shuttle mission STS-109 in 2002, a maintenance flight to the Hubble Space Telescope. STS-109 orbited the earth 165 times, traveling about 3.9 million miles.

“Duane is an exceptional Shuttle pilot, but years ago he was bitten by the motorcycle touring bug, and he always wanted to return to near-Earth exploration of our country aboard a motorcycle,” said Ken Bowersox, Director of Flight Crew Operations. “We’ll really miss his skill and expertise, but we all envy him in some way for heading off in a new direction.”

“Cheryl and I will attempt to consummate a dream we first envisioned over 25 years ago,” Carey said. “Our 22-plus years of public service in the United States Air Force and NASA have been incredibly rewarding, and we hope we’ve contributed something useful to our country over those years. Please join us in our hopes that America will continue her push for the stars, a quest that represents the single best hope for all of our futures.”

As a young man, Carey discovered motorcycle touring and traveled the U.S., Mexico and Canada. He met his wife during that time, and they traveled together. Later, they settled down to raise a family. Carey began a career in the Air Force.

“I was lucky,” Carey said. “In the Air Force, I learned to fly jets, and I did pretty well at it. I love flying. When I was able to join NASA and fly in space, I realized one of my greatest dreams.”

But despite those pinnacles of success at his chosen profession, the dream of traveling the road and discovering the world along the way has always remained. “Many people would be amazed, but every day, every day, since those days on the road, I’ve had moments thinking about that experience. It’s a passion for me,” he said. “Even while looking down from space, I would imagine moving across those green expanses on a motorcycle. Now, I’ll be traveling those roads and looking up to where I once was.”

During his travels, Carey plans to talk to young people about the importance of math and science and the wonder of space travel.

“I owe a lot to my country,” he explained. “I’ve been an Air Force jet pilot, and I’ve been an astronaut. And now, I want to tell people the importance of space flight, especially in the smaller, more rural communities I expect to visit.”

Around campfires, there will be great surprise, and probably disbelief, when Carey relays to fellow campers his background as an astronaut, an astronaut far from the beaten path.

“To explore, we must always take some risks. We have to explore new territory. We don’t know what we’ll find out there, but we have to go out and find our future,” he said.

From a press release issued by Foggy Petronas Racing:

Aussies rule for Foggy PETRONAS Racing

Carl Fogarty has signed Australian pair Garry McCoy and Steve Martin for his Foggy PETRONAS Racing team’s 2005 Superbike World Championship campaign.

The two riders will have their first taste of action on the PETRONAS FP1 at a three-day test in Valencia, Spain, next week.

Carl said: “I am very pleased to have been able to replace our riders from last year, who finished 9th and 11th in the championship, with two guys who finished 6th and 7th. We were very impressed by the standard of riders that were interested in joining us next year, which provided a few headaches. But, out of all of them, I felt Garry and Steve were the hungriest for success – and with points still to prove.

“Garry is a very exciting rider, with a proven pedigree, who I think will adapt well to our bike. He has a radical style and he has won GPs on a high revving two-stroke machine. The FP1’s power characteristics are probably closer to that type of machine than the Ducati he rode last year.

“Steve is probably the most under-rated rider on the world scene. He wants to be noticed and now it’s up to him to make people sit up and take notice. He is a gutsy competitor, with good set-up abilities, who suffered with reliability problems last year so he was the name that nobody mentioned – but they will now!”

McCoy, 32, completed his first season in World Superbikes last year, finishing sixth in the championship and winning his home race at Phillip Island. Brought up in speedway, McCoy is known for his exhilarating riding style, sliding the back wheel into corners. During his career in Grand Prix racing he won three 500cc GPs in 2000, when he finished fifth in the championship. Before switching to superbikes he achieved a total of 17 GP podiums, including five victories.

Garry said: “I am really looking forward to it. It is still only early days for the FP1 but, from the results the team has been achieving lately, it’s clear it has potential. I never set myself targets, I just go out to win. But I am really hoping to do better than last year as I now know a lot of the tracks that I didn’t know in my first season, which made it really tough. I am also really pleased to have Steve as a team-mate and the chance to share information in trying to get the bike up there challenging for podiums.”

Martin, 35, is a former Australian Superbike champion, who spent three years in World Superbikes with a Pirelli development team before the single-manufacturer tyre rule came into force last season. Despite a series of agonising technical failures during races he finished seventh in the championship standings, including five podium finishes. His natural talent was also underlined with three pole positions in 2004.

Steve said: “I am really excited by this opportunity and I am going to give it everything I have got. I know the team has a great bunch of guys and a great bunch of technicians who will be right behind me and I am sure that we can challenge consistently for podiums and better my seventh place in last year’s standings. I have seen the FP1 out on track and it clearly handles really well and had good pace for only its second year of racing. It improved a lot during last season and I am sure that the improvement will continue and that we will be on the pace for 2005.”

Steve and Garry replace Troy Corser and Chris Walker, who were 9th and 11th in the championship respectively.

FACTFILES

GARRY McCOY

Personal

Nationality Australian
Date of Birth 18 April 1972
Place of Birth Sydney
Lives Andorra
Marital Status Girlfriend, Gemma
Height 168 cm
Weight 58 kg
Eyes Green
Hair Brown
Hobbies Speedway, jetskiing, supermotard, motocross, trials riding
Website www.garry-mccoy.net

WSBK Stats

WSBK Debut 2004 Valencia, Spain
WSBK Race Starts 22
Superpoles 0
Podium finishes 3
Race Wins 1 (2004 Phillip Island race 2)
Thirds 2 (2004 Monza)
Fastest Laps 2 (2004 – Valencia, Phillip Island)

STEVE MARTIN

Personal

Nationality Australian
Date of Birth 2 December 1968
Place of Birth Adelaide
Lives Switzerland
Marital Status Girlfriend, Sandra
Height 172 cm
Weight 72 kg
Eyes Blue
Hair Brown
Hobbies Running and cycling


WSBK Stats (as at start of 2005 season)

WSBK Debut 1988 Phillip Island, Australia
WSBK Race Starts 113
Superpoles 3 (2004 – Misano, Laguna Seca, Brands Hatch)
Podium finishes 5
Race Wins 0
Thirds 5 (2004 – Valencia, Misano, Laguna Seca, Brands Hatch, Imola)
Fastest Laps 2 (Lausitzring 2001, Magny-Cours 2004)

Copyright 2004, Roadracing World Publishing Inc.

American teenager Garret Carter, 16, will race a Honda RS125 in the final round of Spain’s National CEV 125cc GP series at Jerez, on November 21st. The trip to Europe will be the second for the Michigan teen in 2004; in June, Carter raced in three rounds of the English MRO and BMRS Series.

Carter won the 125cc Grand Prix Sportsman Championship at the WERA GNF in October.

Copyright 2004, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Attack Performance, which fielded Josh Hayes under the Attack Kawasaki banner in the 2004 AMA Superbike series, has launched a new website at www.attackperformance.com.

Attack Performance’s new website offers online shopping for its selection of rearsets, triple clamps and other high performance sportbike parts, plus online technical support and detailed instructions.

A 10 percent discount is currently available online, according to a press release from Attack Performance.