CHARPENTIER SHINES IN MONZA SUN Sébastien Charpentier maintained his recent stunning form by setting the fastest time in this afternoon’s opening qualifying practice session for round four of the World Supersport championship at Monza in Italy. The Frenchman shrugged off the effects of a crash in free practice this morning to set a provision pole time of 1m51.971s around the 5.8km Monza circuit almost a second inside the existing lap record. His Winston Ten Kate Honda team-mate, Katsuaki Fujiwara, set the second fastest time of the scheduled 45-minute session, which was stopped for 20 minutes after oil had been deposited on the entry to the Parabolica curve at the historic circuit near Milan. Ronald ten Kate team manager: “Well, we have another one-two after the first qualifying session but I can tell you that everyone is working very hard to keep these two riders at the top of the time sheets. One of the problems is that the traffic at Monza is almost as bad as the traffic going into Milan each morning, with lots of riders waiting for a tow. We have been concentrating on getting the CBR600RR into race trim and playing with different tyre combinations. We’re very pleased with the new exhaust system from Arrow which was developed especially for Monza. We can get more top speed without sacrificing drive out of the chicanes here.” Sébastien Charpentier fastest, 1m51.971s “For me, the only problem here is so many riders trying to follow me to catch the slipstream. The crash this morning was not too bad just one of those things losing the front, but I think we know why it happened. It was a strange session this afternoon because of the oil stoppage but the Parabolica was not too bad when we were finally allowed back out on the circuit. The bike is almost perfect but tomorrow is another important day when we will make some more fine tuning to the set-up, a race simulation and a final decision on tyres.” Katsuaki Fujiwara second fastest, 1m52.985s “There is plenty more to come, for sure. We tried a lot of different things this afternoon, mainly trying to get the CBR more stable under the heavy braking that we have to do at Monza. Like Sébastien, I am getting used to being on a Ten Kate CBR which means everybody wants to follow you! I came in to change a tyre near the end of the session but I didn’t have enough time left so I just made a practice start. I know from Qatar that I still need to practice those!” World Supersport, Monza provisional qualifying times: 1 Sébastien Charpentier FRA (Winston Ten Kate Honda) 1m51.971s, 2 Katsuaki Fujiwara JPN (Winston Ten Kate Honda) 1:52.985, 3 Kevin Curtain AUS (Yamaha) 1:53.092, 4 Michel Fabrizio ITA (Honda) 1:53.606, 5 Gianluca Nannelli ITA (Ducati) 1:53.607, 6 Simone Sanna ITA (Honda) 1:54.026, 7 Broc Parkes AUS (Yamaha) 1:54.218, 8 Alessandro Corradi ITA (Ducati) 1:54.269, 9 Alessandro Antonello ITA (Kawasaki) 1:54.767, 10 Sébastien Le Grelle FRA (Honda) 1:55.250. More, from a press release issued by Yamaha Racing: Yamaha Motor Germany riders Kevin Curtain and Broc Parkes made a positive start to their weekend in Monza today, setting the third and seventh fastest times respectively for Sunday’s race. With weather forecasts predicting a chance of rain tomorrow, both the Australian riders were keen to post a good time around the fast Italian circuit during today’s warm and sunny session. Curtain overcome a crash during the morning practice session to set a best time of 1:53.092 places him on the provisional front row of the grid, with Parkes’ 1:54.218 putting him directly behind his team-mate on the starting grid. An oil spillage on the entry to the Parabolica corner caused a 20 minute delay to the session and effectively ruled out any chances of improvement for the Yamaha riders, as the cement dust laid to soak up the oil forced riders to enter the fast corner with extra caution. Honda riders Sèbastien Charpentier set the fastest time in today’s 45-minute session, his 1:51.971 lap time being just over a second ahead of team-mate Katsuaki Fujiwara and Curtain. Another Honda rider, Michel Fabrizio completes the front row of the grid. Tomorrow’s final qualifying session will determine the final grid for Sunday’s 16-lap race. Kevin Curtain “I didn’t really know how we would go around Monza but, yeah, I’m happy with how it went today. We’ve gone through so many settings on the suspension and I think that we’ve already found something that will work well in the race, although there are still some improvements to find at the front. It was good to get a good time in early today as we know it might rain tomorrow – although I really hope that it stays dry. The oil going into Parabolica was a problem though. You didn’t want to go over that fresh dust and oil so you ended up running wider than you wanted into the corner, which ruined your speed going onto the straight.” Broc Parkes “I’m a bit disappointed not to be on the front row today as the red flags came out just as I was about to put in a fast lap on a new tyre – and all the oil meant that it wasn’t possible to go faster after the restart. But Kev managed to stick a good lap in early on and I’m pretty confident that I can join him on the front row tomorrow. The bike is feeling good and I know that I can go faster, so I hope that it stays dry tomorrow.” Terrell Thien (Team Manager) We have a new technician joining us in Monza directly from WP, because they want to make further developments to their suspension. The riders are already really happy with the new suspension parts and are very happy with the feeling from the bike. We hope the weather stays good tomorrow as we are confident that we can get both Broc and Kevin on the front row.” More, from a press release issued by Team Suzuki: The first day of qualifying at Monza was a problematic one for Team Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra rider Javier Fores. An engine problem in one bike and brake problems on other prevented him from pushing as hard as he would have liked and he ended up 11th. Javi Fores – 11th, 1.55.425: I am disappointed and also a little unhappy today because I expected to be much further up the grid. One of my bikes had an engine problem and then the number two bike had some brake problems. Also, we couldn’t get a good set-up for the rear suspension and all these things together made the day quite hard for me. I know I could’ve been much faster but it was impossible for me to push any harder without crashing and I didn’t want that today. “Tomorrow we will have a fresh engine in one bike and the brake problem will be fixed as it is simply a fluid problem. We will try some different rear suspension ideas tomorrow and I expect to be much faster. I need to be further up the grid if I am to have any chance of a good result, so that’s what I’ll be chasing hard.”

Friday Morning World Superbike Practice Times: 1. Troy CORSER, Suz GSX-R1000, 1:48.210 2. Karl MUGGERIDGE, Hon CBR1000RR, 1:48.702 3. Regis LACONI, Duc 999F05, 1:48.744 4. James TOSELAND, Duc 999F05, 1:48.831 5. Yukio KAGAYAMA, Suz GSX-R1000, 1:48.863 6. Noriyuki HAGA, Yam YZF-R1, 1:49.534 7. Chris WALKER, Kaw ZX-10R, 1:49.669 8. Chris VERMEULEN, Hon CBR1000RR, 1:49.808 9. Gianluca NANNELLI, Duc 999RS, 1:49.915 10. Andrew PITT, Yam YZF-R1, 1:49.928 11. Lucio PEDERCINI, Duc 999RS, 1:50.039 12. Jose Luis CARDOSO, Yam YZF-R1, 1:50.133 13. Pierfrancesco CHILI, Hon CBR1000RR, 1:50.763 14. Garry MCCOY, Foggy Petronas FP1, 1:50.978 15. Mauro SANCHINI, Kaw ZX-10R, 1:51.032 16. Steve MARTIN, Foggy Petronas FP1, 1:51.139 17. Marco BORCIANI, Yam YZF-R1, 1:51.252 18. Giovanni BUSSEI, Kaw ZX-10R, 1:51.329 19. Ivan CLEMENTI, Kaw ZX-10R, 1:51.379 20. Fonzi NIETO, Duc 999RS, 1:51.560 21. Lorenzo ALFONSI, Yam YZF-R1, 1:51.633 22. Sebastien GIMBERT, Yam YZF-R1, 1:51.828 23. Alessio VELINI, Duc 999RS, 1:51.974 24. Ben BOSTROM, Hon CBR1000RR, 1:52.593 25. Norick ABE, Yam YZF-R1, 1:52.736

Alice French Grand Prix, Le Mans , May 13/14/15 2005, Preview DUCATI MARLBORO MEN AIM TO REAP OVERDUE REWARD. Ducati Marlboro Team riders Loris Capirossi and Carlos Checa return home to Europe following MotoGP’s first visit to China hoping for some pleasant early summer weather at legendary Le Mans. The past two GPs in China and Portugal were both affected by rain, preventing the team from showing its true potential. In China Capirossi qualified on the front row, just as Checa had done at Estoril a fortnight earlier, but their impressive speed wasn’t borne out by their results. “We hope to finally get the reward we deserve in France,” says Ducati MotoGP project manager Livio Suppo. “We are hoping for the best – Carlos got his best result of 2004 at Le Mans and Loris should now be fully recovered from the ankle injury he suffered at Jerez. We go there in positive mood because, has we showed during the practices in Portugal and in China, we know that we can be very competitive.” Ducati Marlboro Team technical director Corrado Cecchinelli shares Suppo’s optimism heading into the fourth round of the 17-race World Championship. “When our bike was born in 2003 we had some trouble at stop-and-go tracks like Le Mans but we don’t anymore because the bike is much better balanced,” says Cecchinelli. “Maybe we sacrificed some of the advantage we used to have at very fast tracks but overall it’s a much better machine now. Our latest Desmosedici is very balanced, with strong braking and acceleration performance. All we want at Le Mans is consistent weather. We have new tyres this year, so we would like good weather all weekend, so we can finally prove the potential we have already shown.” IS CHECA’S LE MANS SPEED IN THE BLOOD? Carlos Checa goes well at Le Mans – the dashing Spaniard has twice finished on the podium in his last four visits to the circuit. And he aims to be back up there on May 15. The Ducati Marlboro Team rider has a couple of theories about his impressive speed at the tortuous French track. “I’m not really sure why I go well there, maybe it’s my riding style or maybe it’s because it’s in my blood,” he laughs. “My younger brother (David, reigning World Endurance Champion) won the Le Mans 24-hour race last month, so maybe the track just suits my family! I actually like the circuit – there’s a lot of fierce low-gear acceleration, a lot of heavy braking and I really enjoy the final section, which reminds me of a part of the Calafat track in Spain.” If Checa’s results have yet to mirror his impressive speed on his Desmosedici, the Spaniard says the bike does offer him the feedback he needs to go fast. Racers need to feel exactly what the tyres and the bike are doing when they are approaching the limit, so they known exactly where the limit is. “The connection between me and the bike is really good now,” he says. “My riding style is quite smooth but it seems I can be more aggressive on the Ducati, so I can push harder towards the limit because it gives me a wider ‘safety’ area. “It will be interesting to see how the bike works at Le Mans because we’ve worked on a couple of things which should help us around tight circuits. First, we have improved the bike’s behaviour under heavy braking. Second, we have improved steering into slow-speed corners, just through minor adjustments to geometry and balance.” LE MANS WINNER CAPIROSSI NOW 100% FIT Loris Capirossi is confident that he will be 100 per cent fit for Le Mans. The Italian Ducati Marlboro Team rider cracked a bone in his left ankle when he fell during practice for last month’s season-opening Marlboro Spanish GP which affected his riding during the first three GPs. “The ankle was already pretty good when we raced in China a couple of weeks back but it should be 100 per cent fit for Le Mans,” he says. “That’s a big relief for me and I’m really looking forward to riding the bike fully fit.” Capirossi has already won a Grand Prix at Le Mans, the French 250 GP way back in 1994, but he is not the track’s greatest fan. “Le Mans is a lot of fun on a 125 or 250 but it’s not very interesting on a really fast machine because it’s just accelerate, brake, accelerate, brake, accelerate.” he explains. “But there’s a couple of fun corners – the Musee left-hander and the very fast turn one, where you need to be very brave! Last year at Le Mans we made some big steps forward after a few difficult races. This year we return in much better shape, despite what the results suggest, so we should have a good weekend if the bike/tyre packages work well”. THE TRACK Le Mans is one of the world’s most famous motorsport venues, legendary for its 24-hour races. The French track, based in the Sarthe region a few hours south west of Paris, has been hosting World Championship motorcycle GPs on and off since 1969. The Bugatti circuit, very different from the longer 24-hour car track, returned to the GP calendar in 1999, since when the event has built a huge following in bike-mad France. Le Mans has undergone various layout changes and safety modifications over the past few years. The daunting high-speed first turn was tightened for the ’99 GP and the Musee left-hander was also modified to lower speeds. Further modifications were carried out before the 2002 event and the track was fully resurfaced for last year’s race. The circuit layout is very stop-and-go, with plenty of slow turns where braking and acceleration performance are primordial. Riders and their engineers therefore concentrate on honing their machines’ braking stability, as well as improving rear-end traction for the numerous hairpin exits. LE MANS: 4.180km/2.597 miles Lap record: Max Biaggi (Honda) 1m 34.088s, 159.935kmh/99.379mph Pole position 2004: Sete Gibernau (Honda), 1m 33.425s 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: 219 (49xMotoGP, 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) Le Mans 2004 results: Grid: 9th. Race: 10th 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: 171 (50xMotoGP, 92×500, 27×250, 1×125) Pole positions: 3 (2xMotoGP, 1×500) First pole: Spain, 1998 (500) Le Mans 2004 results: Grid: 2nd. Race: 2nd For further information: www.ducaticorsepress.