From a press release:

MICHELIN ADAPTS ITS MOTORSPORT DEPARTMENT ORGANISATION

In the light of Pierre Dupasquier’s forthcoming retirement in 2006 and wishing to ensure maximum levels of continuity and efficiency following his departure, Michelin has made the following changes to its motorsport organisation:

• Monsieur Frédéric Henry-Biabaud, who joined the motorsport group at the beginning of 2003 as Deputy Director, will replace Pierre Dupasquier as Director of Motorsport at the
end of the 2005 season.

• The motorsport group is made up of five departments:
o Rallying, headed by Aimé Chatard
o Motorcycling, headed by Nicolas Goubert
o Endurance Racing, headed by Matthieu Bonardel
o Rally Raids, headed by Aimé Chatard
o Formula One

Regarding the Formula One department, Pascal Vasselon has been promoted to a new position in North America following 10 years in the motorsport group and will take up his functions from April 2005. Mr Nick Shorrock will take over the responsibility of the Formula One department from January 2005, with Monsieur Patrick Cohen assisting him as Technical Manager.

Englishman Nick Shorrock will be responsible for Formula One operations, the performance of the Formula One department, and in particular relations with Michelin’s partner teams. In addition, he will be responsible for promoting the company’s position concerning the evolution of future tyre regulations, a key factor in Michelin’s participation in Formula One. His experience in managing international teams within Michelin in the UK, Japan and France will be a key asset in this function.

Monsieur Patrick Cohen has vast experience within Michelin’s Technology Centre. A Doctor of macromolecular chemistry, he has held various important positions in the field of materials – including some destined for competition use – in tyre casing design and tyre development, and in the field of vehicle/tyre dynamics. He will help forge even closer links between the innovations made in Formula One and the other activities of the Technology Centre, bearing in mind that motorsport is a formidable test and research platform for enriching the Group’s pool of technical knowledge for its commercial products.

Commenting on the recent decisions, Motorsport Director Pierre Dupasquier said: “I am very happy to see that we are putting teams into place early enough to whom I can pass the torch, therefore guaranteeing the quality of service that we owe all our partners and the continuity of Michelin in racing.”

From a press release issued by Harley-Davidson:

HARLEY-DAVIDSON, INC. ELECTS GREEN TO BOARD COMMITTEES; DECLARES DIVIDEND.

Milwaukee, Wis.– Harley-Davidson, Inc. (NYSE: HDI) announced the election of Director Judson C. Green to the Company’s Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee and to the Audit Committee, effective today. Green is President and Chief Executive Officer of NAVTEQ Corporation (NYSE:NVT).

The Company also announced that the Board of Directors approved a quarterly dividend of 12.5 cents per share, payable December 29, 2004 to shareholders of record as of December 17, 2004. This represents a 25 percent increase over the prior dividend paid Sept. 29, 2004.

“For the second time in 2004 Harley-Davidson has increased the quarterly dividend 25 percent, reflecting our confidence in the Company’s future,” said Jeffrey L. Bleustein, chairman and chief executive officer of Harley-Davidson, Inc.

Harley-Davidson currently has approximately 294 million shares of common stock outstanding.

Harley-Davidson, Inc. is the parent company for the group of companies doing business as Harley-Davidson Motor Company, Buell Motorcycle Company and Harley-Davidson Financial Services, Inc. Harley-Davidson Motor Company, the only major U.S.-based motorcycle manufacturer, produces heavyweight motorcycles and offers a complete line of motorcycle parts, accessories, apparel, and general merchandise. Buell Motorcycle Company produces sport motorcycles in addition to motorcycle parts, accessories and apparel. Harley-Davidson Financial Services, Inc. provides wholesale and retail financing and insurance programs to Harley-Davidson dealers and customers.

From a press release issued by Dorna Sports:

MotoGP signs deal to stay at Valencia until 2011

The MotoGP World Championship will continue to celebrate a Grand Prix at the Circuit de la Comunitat Valenciana – Ricardo Tormo in Valencia for the next seven seasons after an agreement was signed between Dorna Sports, television and commercial rights holders to the series, and the government of the autonomous region of Valencia, the Generalitat Valenciana.

In a special ceremony at the Palace of the Generalitat Valenciana on Friday afternoon, Dorna Sports CEO Carmelo Ezpeleta and the President of the Generalitat Valenciana, Francisco Camps, put pen to paper on an extension to their current deal, which began when the purpose-built circuit was inaugurated by the first MotoGP race there in 1999.

A Grand Prix has been held successfully every season since then and Valencia has become one of the most eagerly anticipated dates on the calendar. This October the Ricardo Tormo circuit hosted the final round of the 2004 MotoGP World Championship and attracted the highest attendance of the season, with a capacity race-day crowd of 122,034 boosting the overall attendance for the Gran Premio Marlboro de la Comunitat Valenciana to an incredible 211,468.

From a press release:

Tigershark Racing would like to let WSMC racers know that we will be vending Pirelli tires at Willow Springs December 17th-19th.

We will have slicks, rains, and DOTs in the various sizes and compounds available.

Thanks,

Josh Bryan
Tigershark Racing
503-358-5704
[email protected]

Copyright 2004, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Michael Jordan Motorsports will hold a press conference in Chicago and announce details of its 2005 AMA program as early as next week.

The press conference, expected to attract general interest media coverage, is being organized by the Clear Channel Entertainment division that manages Michael Jordan’s business deals.

From a press release issued by Ducati Corse:

DUCATI US-FACTORY TEAM TO RACE ON DUNLOPS FOR AMA SUPERBIKE CHALLENGE

Bologna (Italy), 9 December 2004: Ducati Corse wishes to announce that its US-based Factory Team has chosen to use Dunlop tyres for the 2005 and 2006 AMA Superbike championships.

The agreement means that the Parts Unlimited Ducati Austin pairing of Eric Bostrom and new signing Neil Hodgson will race their factory Ducati 999R machines on Dunlop tyres in the 11-round/18-race series.

Neil Hodgson will get his first chance to test the 2005 “package” at the Ducati Corse development tests organised at Jerez de la Frontera (Spain) on December 16-17. Both riders will then continue their preparation for the new season at Daytona from January 3-5.

Ducati Corse would like to express its gratitude to Michelin, the team’s partner for 2004, for their valuable collaboration which culminated in Eric Bostrom’s pole position at Daytona, two second places at Fontana and a win at Pike’s Peak.

Copyright 2004, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

FIRST PERSON/OPINION

Via e-mail:

Hello, I just wanted to see if you guys could post something to forward people to the SEMRA.ORG site to view the video from this past season. It was filmed at BTK Motorsports Park in Decatur, Alabama, the premier mini track in the southeast.

This is an 40 meg file that has great footage with great riders including Brian Livengood, Ted Cobb, Aaron Yates, Haydens cousins the Gillams as well as Miles Thornton and Nathan Lewis who were selected to go to Spain to compete in the Metrakit mini GP world invitational finals.

If you could run a post on it please direct people to www.SEMRA.org and hit the link under the picture on the home page.

Thanks a lot and keep up the good work on the site and mag.

Adam Howard
Atlanta, Georgia

From a press release:

101 Sportbike Performance Projects Book Signing December 11 in Burbank, California

To celebrate the release of 101 Sportbike Performance Projects, Evans Brasfield will be signing copies of his book at Autobooks/Aerobooks in Burbank, California on Saturday, December 11th from 1:00 – 4:00 p.m. Stop by to meet the author and check out some modified sportbikes–including Aaron Gobert’s 2004 Superstock winning Graves Motorsports Yamaha R1. Free food and drinks will also be available.

Evans Brasfield is a noted motorcycle journalist and former editor at Motorcycle Cruiser and an associate editor at Sport Rider. In 101 Sportbike Performance Projects he utilizes his club racing and tuning experience in addition to his relationships with notables in the motorcycle industry to create the definitive guide to sportbike performance modifications.

More information about the book signing and driving directions can be found at: http://www.autobooks-aerobooks.com/

To learn about 101 Sportbike Performance Projects and download free sample projects go to: http://www.101sportbikeprojects.com/

From a press release:

Vintage Road Racing Association Celebrates 25th Year

The Vintage Road Racing Association (VRRA), Canada’s only vintage and classic road racing club, celebrates its 25th anniversary in the coming 2005 racing season. The club kicked off the Silver Jubilee year with displays at booths in the MMIC Motorcycle Show December 3-5 2004, with booths also planned for The Supershow in Toronto in January 2005 and the Montreal Motorcycle Show and Quebec Motorcycle Show in February 2005. The VRRA will also hold special 25th anniversary activities at its racing events on the 2005 schedule:

June 4 or 5 (TBA): Tune Up Day: Cayuga, Ontario

June 19/20 : Quinte TT, Shannonville Motorsport Park, Shannonville, Ontario

July 23/24: Quebec GP, Autodrome St. Eustache, St. Eustache, Quebec

August 19/20/21: Vintage Festival, Mosport International Raceway, Bowmanville, Ontario

September 10/11: Runway Romp, North Bay Airport, North Bay, Ontario

Formed in 1980 following an initial vintage race at Mosport in 1979, the club has grown to approx. 400 members in Ontario, Quebec, the Maritime Provinces and the USA. The VRRA is an all-volunteer association creating and running its own racing events. The accent has always been to make vintage and classic racing fun and friendly despite fierce competition to the checkered flag. From its early base of mainly British immigrant founding members and riders the VRRA has grown steadily over the years and has formed mutually beneficial arrangements with other racing organizations such as the Sidecar Racers Association (SRA), Atlantic Motorcycle Competition Riders Association (AMCRA), the United States Classic Racing Association (USCRA), and Race Associates Canada Events (RACE).

In 2004 the premier VRRA event, the Vintage Festival, at the challenging 2.5 mile Mosport International Raceway attracted 316 competitors from Canada, the USA and Britain and it is expected that the Silver Jubilee event at this venue in 2005 will be an even bigger and more international event.

The VRRA’s events include races for bikes covering four classic periods: Period 1 to 1967, Period 2 to 1972, Period 3 to 1982 and Period 4 to 1989. Within each period there are classes for all capacities of racing motorcycles.

Ralf Scholtes, President of the VRRA, said, “We are planning to make our 25th anniversary a stellar year for vintage and classic road racing in Canada with special races at each event to celebrate this Silver Jubilee. Invitations are going out to all racing organizations who may wish to participate with us in our 25th year of vintage and classic racing, and we invite any individual riders to come and enjoy the fun.”

All the events provide programs, souvenirs and event T-shirts plus food concessions, and a track announcer to keep riders and visitors informed. Professional photographers capture the racing action for riders and fans. There are also special activities such as an all comers ‘Show n’ Shine,’ vintage and classic ‘Concours d’Elegance’, parade laps for road riders and racing sidecar rides for charity, celebrity guests, television coverage, bike parades and helicopter rides at selected events.


Rider, Spectator and Media information:
Sheldon Hayes
Tel: 613-379-2854
e-mail: [email protected]
Web Site: www.vrra.ca