Scott returns to scene of his first BSB victory RIZLA SUZUKI’S Scott Smart travels to Mondello Park this weekend for the fifth round of the British Superbike Championship, one year after securing his maiden Superbike win at the Irish track – and he is hoping to taste the victory champagne again. It was at the twisty 2.25mile Mondello Park circuit in 2004 that Scott stepped out of the shadows and climbed the top step of the podium. After taking his first win in BSB, the York based racer didn’t look back and spent the rest of the season fighting for victories. James Haydon again substitutes for Rizla Suzuki’s injured British Superbike Champion John Reynolds at Mondello Park, one of the slowest tracks on the BSB calendar with an average lap speed of 77mph. He is eager to build on the fourth place finish he achieved at the last race at Oulton Park in Cheshire. Superbike racing starts at 1:15pm on Sunday, May 15th, at Mondello Park in County Kildare, the Republic of Ireland. It will be shown live on Sky Sports and a highlights package will be broadcast on Channel 4 the following Sunday morning. Scott Smart: “Winning at Mondello Park in 2004 was a turning point for my season and I want a repeat performance in 2005. It’s not the fastest track in the world but it has a lot of corners and bumps and needs a lot of technical skill, so I love it. “I am within a whisker of everything coming together for me on the Rizla Suzuki and when it does there is no question we will win races. Every race so far we have made progress and I hope the combination of what we have learnt plus my affinity for Mondello Park means this is the weekend when Rizla Suzuki and Irish eyes will be smiling.” James Haydon: “I rode at Mondello Park last year but it was my first race of the season at a circuit I had never visited and on a new bike. This year I know how bumpy the surface is and already have a good feeling for the Rizla Suzuki, so I am looking forward to racing again. “It’s always a blast visiting Ireland, I really like the people and the atmosphere. My aim is to move forward from Oulton Park and improve my results on the Rizla Suzuki – I think that is achievable, the GSX-R1000 is an awesome piece of kit.”

Hayden Brothers Look for Victory at Infineon Raceway This Weekend SONOMA, Calif. (IMMEDIATE RELESAE) “” Tommy and Roger Lee Hayden took Kawasaki to the top of the charts on the AMA Pro Honda Oils Supersport circuit in 2004, and the dynamic duo is ready for a repeat performance this season. The brothers from Owensboro, Ky., placed one-two in the points chase, with Tommy capturing his first-ever AMA championship. Tommy had a magical year in Pro Honda Oils Supersport, posting four victories, including three in a row at Pikes Peak, Road America and Brainerd. Younger brother Roger Lee, meanwhile, placed second in points with four victories, as well. Like Tommy, Roger Lee had three consecutive wins at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, Mid-Ohio and Road Atlanta. It added up to a stout season for Kawasaki, which dominated the Supersport class. Roger and Tommy Lee also placed third and sixth overall, respectively, in Repsol Lubricants Superstock. The beat has continued in 2005 thus far, as Tommy is second in points in Supersport after three events, including a win at Daytona. He is also fourth in Superstock. Roger Lee, meanwhile, is seventh in Supersport and 14th in Superstock. The Hayden brothers look to continue their success this weekend (May 13-15) at the Kawasaki AMA Superbike Showdown at Infineon Raceway, presented by Supercuts. “It was a good year for me (in 2004) but I want to move up a little more and win a championship. That’s always the goal,” Roger Lee said. “There are a lot of good guys out there but hopefully I can get to the top.” Tommy placed third in Supersport and fourth in Superstock a year ago at Infineon Raceway, while Roger Lee was sixth (Supersport) and 11th (Superstock). It’s a technically challenging course, which should bode well for Kawasaki; Tommy won the 2003 Superstock title at Infineon Raceway. “This should be a good track for Kawasaki and I think it will be,” Tommy said. “We’re really looking forward to coming back out there again.” Overall, there will be racing in four divisions over the weekend “” Superbike, Supersport, Superstock and Lockhart-Phillips USA Formula Xtreme “” which should provide for an action-packed weekend. For more information on the race weekend, visit www.infineonraceway.com.

MotoGP returns to Europe with Grand Prix Alice de France The MotoGP World Championship continues apace this weekend with the fourth round of the season seeing the series return to much more familiar territory after its groundbreaking first sojourn to China two weeks ago. The historic Le Mans circuit has been a regular feature on the Grand Prix calendar since 1969 and this weekend it welcomes the world’s premier motorcycle racing series for the 18th time. Current World Champion Valentino Rossi leads the standings after three rounds and arrives in France looking to improve on a comparatively poor record at Le Mans. Fourth place last season was one of only three occasions the Italian actually finished a race outside the podium positions on his way to the title for Yamaha and he will be desperate to rectify that statistic this weekend as he aims to become the factory’s first rider to score seven consecutive top-three finishes since Wayne Rainey over a decade ago. Whilst Marco Melandri currently lies second in the championship, 25 points behind his compatriot, this weekend presents his Honda team-mate Sete Gibernau with the ideal chance to get his season on track after a disastrous start. The Spaniard, who has finished runner-up to Rossi in the championship for the past two seasons, is already 37 points adrift of his great rival and will look for his third consecutive victory at this circuit to repair the damage caused by a crash and a fourth place finish from the past two rounds. Rossi’s biggest challenge, however, could come from the unexpected source of home favourite Olivier Jacque. The Frenchman returned to MotoGP as a replacement for the injured Alex Hofmann at the last round in Shanghai and stormed to an incredible second place, Kawasaki’s best result in the premier-class since Mick Grant won the Isle of Man TT race in 1975. Jacque’s first podium finish in MotoGP was also the first for any French rider since Regis Laconi at Phillip Island in 1999 and the local hero will receive huge home backing as he aims for a repeat this weekend. Whilst Hofmann again misses out through injury, Makoto Tamada could make his return to action for Honda after undergoing intense physiotherapy on a wrist injury. The Japanese rider was replaced in China by Jurgen Van Den Goorbergh, who rode to a highly creditable sixth place, and will undergo a late fitness check in France before deciding whether to compete for a place on this Sunday’s starting grid. Meanwhile, Team KR have confirmed that they will return to action this weekend with British rider Shane Byrne in the saddle after missing the last round due to a lack of engine parts. 250cc World Champion Dani Pedrosa will be looking for a repeat of his victory at Le Mans last season as he aims to re-establish control of the quarter-litre class. The Spaniard lost his championship lead to Andrea Dovizioso for the first time in a year after missing out on the podium in the last two races, both won by Casey Stoner, and now lies in third place behind the Italian and the Australian respectively. The unpredictable nature of the 125cc class has continued this year with the opening three rounds all won by different riders. Mattia Pasini’s victory in China, following on from wins for Marco Simoncelli and Mika Kallio at Jerez and Estoril respectively, means the run of races without a back-to-back winner now stands at to forty-two races – a record which promises to be extended even further as consistent performer Fabrizio Lai looks to overturn Kallio’s one-point lead at the top of the championship with his debut win this weekend.

A SINGLE POINT SEPARATES ZEMKE AND DUHAMEL IN LOCKHART PHILLIPS USA FORMULA XTREME Five riders within 10 points in Repsol Lubricants Superstock coming into Infineon PICKERINGTON, Ohio (May 10, 2005) — It doesn’t get much more competitive than the Lockhart Phillips USA Formula Xtreme and Repsol Lubricants Superstock Series so far in the 2005 season. Coming into the May 13-15 Kawasaki Superbike Showdown weekend at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, Calif., Formula Xtreme leaders Jake Zemke and Miguel Duhamel have only one point between them and in Superstock the standings are in a logjam with any one of five riders having the real possibility of leaving Sonoma with the series lead. In this year’s Formula Xtreme there’s a bit of a roll reversal from 2004. Last year veteran Miguel Duhamel won the first three rounds and fellow Honda factory rider Jake Zemke spent the rest of the season trying to chase down his more experienced teammate. Now Zemke is coming off two straight wins and has taken the series lead, albeit a slim one. He is looking for his first win at Infineon Raceway. Until last week Zemke had never won at California Speedway either. He reflected on finally breaking through to win that race. “The race was really good,” Zemke commented. “Hat’s off to Miguel, he really stepped it up come race time, and was right there pushing hard. I thought I was going to have an easy ride, but he foiled my plan. But it was a good race. Most of these Formula Xtreme races turn out like that — they usually come right down to the last lap.” Duhamel is the defending race winner and hopes to repeat this coming weekend. Duhamel is tied for the all-time wins record in Formula Xtreme with Kurtis Roberts and Eric Bostrom with nine-career victories. Duhamel has been stuck on nine for a few races now and he would love nothing better than to finally get his tenth. He would then become the all-time wins leader in two classes of racing, Formula Xtreme and Supersport. M4 EMGO Suzuki rider Vincent Haskovec has been the one rider in Formula Xtreme who’s been able to keep the speedy Honda duo of Zemke and Duhamel in range. He’s scored a pair of third-place finishes and is trying to make up ground after scoring no points in the opener at Daytona. Oklahoman Danny Eslick is third in the standings on his MPTracing.com Suzuki. So far the former dirt track racer is easily meeting his pre-season goal of scoring points in every round. How competitive is Repsol Superstock this year? There have been three different points leaders so far this season and the series is only three races old. Vincent Haskovec, Aaron Yates and now Jason DiSalvo have all held the top spot in the standings, but it can be a tenuous position to be in. Yates led coming into California Speedway a few weeks ago, but after crashing and finishing 10th at that round he’s dropped all the way to fifth in the points chase. Yates is eager to get back on track at Infineon and he is still very much in the thick of the championship chase. Four former Infineon Raceway Superstock winners, Aaron Yates, Lee Acree, Tommy Hayden and defending winner Jamie Hacking, are all slated to compete in this weekend’s race. Missing from the lineup will be three-time Infineon Superstock winner Jason Pridmore. The likeable Pridmore, who rides with Michael Jordan Motorsports Suzuki was injured in a crash at the round in Birmingham, Ala., last month and will miss a chance this year to win a record extending fourth Superstock race at Infineon. Tickets to the Kawasaki Superbike Showdown Doubleheader can be purchased at all Ticketmaster outlets including Tower Records, Wherrehouse Music, Ritmo Latino, select Save Mart Supermarkets and Rite Aid stores. For additional inquiries or questions please contact the Infineon Raceway Ticket Office at 1-800-870-RACE. The Lockhart Phillips Formula Xtreme race from Infineon will air nationally on SPEED Channel on Tuesday, May 17, at 2:00 pm Eastern.

Kawasaki rider Olivier Jacque is set for a popular home-coming at Le Mans this weekend for the French Grand Prix, the fourth round of the MotoGP World Championship. Following his magical wet weather ride into second place in last week’s Chinese Grand Prix, Jacque has ensured that he will be the focus of attention at his home race this weekend. The China result was the best ever in the elite class of GP racing for both Jacque and the factory Kawasaki team. It also delivered Bridgestone’s first wet tyre podium finish since their entry into MotoGP. It is now two years since Jacque raced at Le Mans and he anticipates an ‘incredible atmosphere’ for the French Grand Prix. In 2003 Jacque finished fourth in this race. Jacque will again race alongside Kawasaki’s number one rider Shinya Nakano, as the temporary replacement for the injured Alex Hofmann. But despite his fairytale comeback in Shanghai, Jacque is under no illusions about the task he faces at Le Mans. The highly competitive nature of MotoGP ensures that last week’s glory will count for little once the race starts in France. The stop-and-go layout of the 4.18 km Le Mans circuit, with its emphasis on hard braking and sharp acceleration, will be a very different challenge to that faced in China. Since his superb performance in Shanghai, Jacque has been flat out in the build-up to Le Mans. After returning to his London home Jacque has been busy with both media interviews and his training schedule. He returned to France earlier this week to conduct a rider training course at the Dijon circuit, before travelling to Le Mans to continue preparations for his home GP. After the disappointment of his early retirement from the China race, Nakano is focused on delivering another polished performance at Le Mans. The French Grand Prix is one of Nakano’s favourite races, as the popular Japanese rider lived in France when he raced for the Tech3 squad. Nakano expects that the increasingly competitive performance of the Ninja ZX-RR will provide an opportunity for him to regain his place in the top six of the championship points. Shinya Nakano: # 56 “Le Mans is a very different type of circuit, acceleration and braking stability are very important because of the stop-go layout. In the past it has not been ideal for Kawasaki, but with our new engine and the latest electronic parts for the fuel injection I expect the Ninja ZX-RR will be much more competitive. This year our chassis is more stable at the rear, with better traction under acceleration and improved balance, which will help us at Le Mans; as will the latest generation of Bridgestone tyres. I’m always happy to be at this race because I lived in the south of France for four years, I have a good feeling here and I have some friends coming to the race.” Olivier Jacque: #19 “It is a long time since I have raced at Le Mans and there are always high expectations for the French riders, I’m sure the atmosphere will be incredible. But I’m not feeling stressed or under pressure. In fact, I’m appreciating the support from the fans and I’m really comfortable to be racing in my home Grand Prix; for sure it will be a big party. After my ‘magic’ race in Shanghai I’m not sure what to expect at Le Mans, it is difficult for me to predict the performance of the Ninja ZX-RR at this track because I still don’t have a lot of experience on the bike. But I’m aiming to be very competitive; the support of the Kawasaki team is giving me a lot of confidence, as are the Bridgestone tyres, which are very impressive both in the dry and wet, as we saw in China.”

Team SUZUKI MotoGP aims to get back to the front Team SUZUKI MotoGP travels to France this weekend looking to build on the exploits of the Chinese GP which saw both riders leading a race for the first time this season. Kenny Roberts Jr will be hoping that his recent run of bad luck will be behind him as he tackles the 4.1km Le Mans track in the Alice Grand Prix De France. Roberts Jr was leading the Chinese Grand Prix when a rare mechanical failure caused the former World Champion to retire. John Hopkins secured his best finish of the season so far at Shanghai and led a MotoGP race for the first time in his career, eventually scoring a creditable seventh place in atrocious conditions. Team Manager Paul Denning commented: “It was really exciting to have both the Suzuki GSV-R’s lead the race last week – a real bonus for all the team – but to see Kenny forced to retire was a massive kick in the teeth. “Having said that, the team has bounced back positively and we have been able to assess all the encouraging pointers that came from China. The GSV-R showed good potential in wet conditions and the performance from both Kenny and John was very strong. “We will be trying as hard as we can to make sure both the guys can be competitive this weekend. Shanghai showed that the bike has improved dramatically both in wet and dry conditions – John’s fourth place during qualifying in the dry and Kenny leading the race with ease in the wet proved that – but Le Mans is a track that requires high acceleration and we are under no illusions that we will have to work hard to find the optimum package. “Le Mans is very important for Team SUZUKI MotoGP as it is the home round for MOTUL – one of the Team’s major partners – so we will be aiming to give our lubricant supplier something to cheer about on their home soil. Team SUZUKI MotoGP will begin practice for the fourth round of the MotoGP World Championship on Friday morning followed by further practice session in the afternoon and on Saturday morning. The only qualifying practice will be held on Saturday afternoon in readiness for the main event to be staged at 14.00hrs CET on Sunday 15th May. As part of its development phase, Team SUZUKI MotoGP will remain in Le Mans for a further day after the Grand Prix to test newly developed parts for the prototype Suzuki GSV-R.