WERA National Series to Race at Autobahn for the First Time this Weekend Joliet, Ill. The WERA National Series will become the first national-level event to race at the new Autobahn Country Club in Joliet, Illinois during round two of the season this weekend, May 7-8. The WERA Dunlop National Endurance Series and the WERA Michelin National Challenge Series will run the 2.10-mile South Track configuration, which was just completed last year. Vesrah Suzuki will be defending their points lead in the overall endurance and Heavyweight Superbike class championships during the four-hour endurance race on Saturday, May 7. Army of Darkness won Mediumweight Superbike but had to settle for second overall at the season opener, and they will be trying to make their way to the front, as well. Additional challengers for the win include Team Velocity Racing and newcomer Red Star, who made an impressive debut during the season opener at Jennings GP in March. Round two of the WERA Dunlop National Endurance Series will begin at 1:00 pm on Saturday, May 7. Sunday will feature the WERA Michelin National Challenge Series, with ten-lap sprint races in 17 different divisions. In the expert Superbike classes, up-and-coming racers Keith Marshall and Ben Thompson will be two to keep an eye on after they each took victories in the opening round. Fans can expect to find Vesrah Suzuki’s Mark Junge and Tray Batey near the front of the Superstock classes, but other notable riders who will provide a challenge include Team Velocity Racing’s Reuben Frankenfield and XT Racing’s David Weber. The sprint races begin at 12:30 pm Sunday following practice in the morning. Autobahn Country Club allows camping for racers and crew members. The weekend’s event is not open to spectators. More information about the new track, including driving directions, can be found on the Internet at www.AutobahnCountryClub.net. More information about WERA, including updated championship points and race schedules, can be found at www.WERA.com.

WHAT SPECIFIC CHALLENGES DOES INFINEON RACEWAY PRESENT THAT YOU DON’T SEE AT ANY OTHER RACETRACK? Eric Bostrom (Ducati Austin): This is the most physically demanding track we go to each year. There are no spots where you can concentrate or just take a deep breath. I can’t say that’s bad because we all like challenges, and this is the ultimate one. This is a track that will reward you if you’re in good shape, too. It’s hard to keep your focus for 28 laps here so you have to be ready both mentally and physically. Neil Hodgson (Ducati Austin): I’ve only been on the track once (testing in March) but it’s one of my top 10 tracks in the world. It has all the characteristics that you want in a track. It’s the ultimate test for a rider. I’ve watched this track 1,000 times on video but that doesn’t do it justice. You just don’t realize how tough the track is until you ride a few laps. Jamie Hacking (Yamaha): The one thing we see at Infineon (Raceway) that we don’t see anywhere else is the demanding nature of the track. It’s a good thing that it is so difficult to ride, and it’s not just physical. It’s as tough mentally as it is physically. There is nowhere to rest on the track, but it’s become so much more rider friendly the last few years that we’re not afraid to take risks. Mat Mladin (Suzuki): There is no better challenge for a rider than at Infineon (Raceway). It’s got elevation changes, tight corners and a number of other challenges. I love it. Any rider who says he doesn’t like a challenge like that is very different than me. That’s why we do this for a living. Aaron Yates (Suzuki): There are so many direction changes from right-left-right-left and you’ve got to be able to flick the bike back and forth while trying to set-up the next turn. It’s tough, but it’s fun if you can get that down.

WINSTON SUPERSPORT RIDERS SEEK ITALIAN SUCCESS After a dominant start to the 2005 World Supersport championship, Winston Ten Kate Honda riders, Sébastien Charpentier and Katsuaki Fujiwara, head for this weekend’s fourth round action at the high-speed Monza circuit in northern Italy. The pairing has controlled the championship from the front with Frenchman Charpentier taking three pole positions and two wins from the three rounds to date. His closest challenger is Fujiwara, however, who won the opening round and, following a thrilling race in the last round at Valencia, sits just twelve points behind his team-mate in the championship table. Ronald ten Kate team manager: “The season has started very well and I have to be honest and say there are no big issues on the Supersport table at the moment. Both riders have settled very well into the team Sébastien has been in fantastic form and Katsuaki is adapting to the CBR very quickly. I’m very happy with their performances and the way the team continues to work so well together. We’ll start at Monza with some small chassis refinements and a new exhaust system from Arrow. And of course we’re hoping for a continuation of our early-season success.” Sébastien Charpentier championship position 1st, 70 points: “Yes, it’s been a fantastic start to the season for me and for my new team. Perhaps without the problem in Qatar I might have three wins to go with my three pole positions. Valencia was as good as it can be for a race weekend because I had pole position, a win and the fastest lap. Everything is just working really well and there’s not much more to say the bike is great, the atmosphere in the garage is really strong and my team mate is pushing me all the time so I cannot relax for a minute. I managed to get some time this week though to do some training with the great Italian cyclist, Luca Paolini, who lives here in Monza. “ Katsuaki Fujiwara championship position 2nd, 58 points: “I have a new bike and a new team this year so I cannot be unhappy with my championship position especially after winning the first race of the season. Valencia was a great battle between me and Sébastien and I think I gave my team a bit of panic when I tried to pass him on the last lap! But I am desperate to win again, not just for me but for this new team who have made me feel so at home. I think on a Ten Kate CBR I have the best chance to succeed here at Monza I was third here in 2002 and dropped out of third place with a technical problem last year. I like the circuit and now I want to win here.” World Supersport Championship points after three of 12 rounds: 1 Sébastien Charpentier FRA (Winston Ten Kate Honda) 70, 2 Katsuaki Fujiwara JPN (Winston Ten Kate Honda) 58, 3 Kevin Curtain AUS (Yamaha) 49, 4 Fabien Foret FRA (Honda) 38, 5 Michel Fabrizio ITA (Honda) 29, 6 Broc Parkes AUS (Yamaha) 29, 7 Stephane Chambon FRA (Honda) 24, 8 Javier Fores ESP (Suzuki) 18, 9 Johan Stigefelt SWE (Honda) 16, 10 Gianluca Nannelli ITA (Ducati) 15. Monza World Supersport event schedule: Friday 22 April 09.35-10.20 free practice, 13.15-14.00 qualifying; Saturday 23 April 10.00-10.45 free practice, 13.45-14.30 qualifying; Sunday 24 April 09.50-10.10 warm-up, 13.20 race (16 laps, 92.688km).

Pre-race: Albacete, May 8. Round One of Spanish 1000cc Formula Extreme Championship American Kenny Noyes Returns from Injury to Start Spanish FX Series with Folch Yamaha After riding three years for the BQR Honda team in the premier Formula Extreme class of the Spanish National Road Racing Championship, American Kenny Noyes, 25, has signed to ride for Folch Yamaha, based in Reus, near Tarragona on the southern Catalan coast. The Folch team, owned by Josep Folch, has participated in the Spanish Nationals for 25 consecutive years and has won a total of 21 National Titles. Noyes crashed a month ago while testing tires with his new team at Valencia and was struck by his own machine, breaking five ribs and bruising a lung. On Friday, April 29th, he did 20 laps on his Yamaha R1 at Albacete and is will ride his dirt tracker and SuperTT this week as he works his way back up to speed for this weekend’s opener in Albacete. “I´ve still got a lot of pain on the left-handers. We could use another week, but the season starts now and I intend to try and pick up some points, as many as I can. After Albacete we have a month before round two at Valencia,” said Noyes, who is a dual American and Spanish national and was born in Barcelona, and raised near Madrid until moving with his family to rural Southern California at age 14. He became regular competitor at the Lodi Cycle Bowl and went on to win several races in Gene Romero’s West Coast Flat Track Series before teaming up with Dale Lineaweaver to win the 2000 Formula USA Pro Singles National Championship riding a Husaburg. In 2001 he began roadracing, returning to Spain and riding for BQR Honda. After a learning year in Supersport, he switched to the 1000cc Formula Extreme class and began scoring regularly in Spain´s top class. In 2003 he won the Fórmula de Campeones National Superseries (equivalent to AMA Superstock) riding a Honda CBR954RR, but last year, in spite of a strong preseason, his CBR1000RR suffered mechanical problems in four of the seven Nationals and he finished only 12th overall, still riding for BQR Honda. It was a one-off ride on a Suzuki GSX-R1000 in the 24 Hours of Catalunya that got Folch`s attention. Noyes was the fastest of the six riders on the two Catalá Suzuki teams, which included Javier Forés, now riding for the Corona Extra Suzuki team in World Supersport. A long stop to change the clutch dropped Noyes and his team mates to third and the race was won for the sixth time in the last ten years by Folch Yamaha. Noyes will again contest the nationally televised, seven-round Spanish Formula Extreme Championship and will also ride the 24 Hours of Catalunya and the Spanish Round of the FIM World Endurance Championship at Albacete. Noyes’ goal is to move to move to a top Superbike championship in 2006.

Round two of the AFM schedule took place on Sunday at Infineon Raceway. In the premiere “Run what ya brung, go fast or go home” Formula Pacific event, it was Arclight Racing’s David Stanton who took the victory, taking possession of the championship points lead on his 2005 GSX-R1000. “I was struggling to stay in front, as the back end was doing things that it wasn’t doing in practice,” Stanton stated. “Mike was riding great – I could hear his motor in every turn, which was a great motivator. My new GSX-R1000 is working a lot better than it was during the first round – when I get it just the way I like it, it should be really good!” Second place went to Pacific Tracktime’s Michael Earnest, who challenged Stanton for the length of the race despite the last minute preparation of his machine. “I felt really lucky, considering we just got the shock for it yesterday,” Earnest recalled. “Last night, we ended up putting a set of forks on it off of my buddy’s 750 talk about last minute! My lap times in practice weren’t so great, but it kind of came together for FP. I mean, I couldn’t believe it, I was behind Dave! How cool is that?” Third place went to TagTeam Racing’s Eric “Gogo” Gulbransen, on a Munroe Motorsports tuned Ducati 999R. Gulbransen, a championship-winning racer from the east coast LRRS series before migrating to California, was kept honest by fourth-place finisher Rob Mesa. Some notable faces were absent from the grid, with Ken Hill crashing out on the warmup lap after experiencing mechanical problems on his CBR1000RR. Jeff Tigert winner of the Formula Pacific event at Buttonwillow chose to run the Fontana AMA national, which also took place that weekend. Riding a borrowed Suzuki SV650, Earnest also took the 650 Twins win, exchanging the lead numerous times with second-place finisher Felipe Cabezas before taking the checkered flag. “It was fun with Mike – where I’m normally stronger than other riders, he’s every bit as strong,” Cabezas stated afterwards. “That’s one of the best races I’ve had so far – we swapped places so many times! In four, five, entering the carousel, in the middle of the carousel – it was fun!” Earlier in the day Cabezas won the Zoom Zoom Trackdays Formula IV race on his BARF Racing SV650, taking lead from Spears Racing’s Brian Long with a strong braking move into the Turn 9 chicane on the first lap. Tim Wheeler finished in second place on his GPC Moto ZXR400, taking the position from Long at the beginning of the second lap before breaking away from the rest of the pack in pursuit of Cabezas. Andy Carman crossed the line in third place in his one-off ride on a Twin Works Factory SV650, but was later protested and disqualified for passing under a yellow flag. Carman put in a number of strong performances on the day, running away with the 600 Production win after Grant Riggs crashed out of second place in Turn 11, lowsiding unharmed on his Jelly Belly Yamaha R6. Carman also took the win in the 600 Superbike race, making his way past the CBR600RR of Tim Kamholz after early leader Berto Wooldridge highsided his GSX-R600 in Turn 3. Grant Riggs came sliced his way through the crowd from the back of the pack to finish third. “I got a terrible start, heading up into Turn 1 in third behind Timmer and Berto,” said Carman. “Berto took the holeshot He was on fire, and looked like he was going to show up something! But then he spun it up in three and, and BAM – highside! I was wondering if Timmer was going to pull something similar, as I haven’t seen him lead before. Eventually I made it past, but then we had to deal with those lappers and the yellow flags. Lappers usually aren’t an issue – but with those yellow flags preventing you from passing them, stopping you up. I thought for sure Timmer was going to have another shot at me!” David Stanton took the victory in Open Superbike, starting from the back of the grid after his DNF at Buttonwillow due to a thrown chain. Second place went to Rob Mesa, with Jack Pfeifer third, opting to skip the Fontana AMA national in favor of the AFM event. Jove Shapiro continued his perfect season in 250 Superbike, taking the win on his TZR250 after defending champion Tommy Okuhira highsided out of Turn 11. Shawn Herrera finished second on another TZR250, with Dylan Benjamin third on a Honda NSR250. The Formula Singles race looked like more of a Supermoto event, with five of the six starters on Supermotard style machines. With Chris Keane on the sidelines after a mechanical failure on his CRF450 powered RS125 in Formula 4, it was Billy Ray and his yellow plated CRF450 motard who took the win, with the XR650 motard of Charles Statman in second. AFM Round 1 May 1, 2005 Infineon Raceway Unofficial Results Mach 1 Motorsports Formula Pacific 1. David Stanton (Suz 1000) 2. Michael Earnest (Suz 1000) 3. Eric Gulbransen (Duc 999) 4. Rob Mesa (Suz 1000) 5. Jack Pfeifer (Apr 1000) 6. Jon Bawden (Suz 750) Scuderia West Formula I 1. Jon Bawden (Suz 750) 2. Jack Pfeifer (Apr 1000) 3. Garry Combs (Suz 750) 4. John Davis (Yam 250) 5. Tim Kamholz (Hon 600) 6. Craig wierman (Suz 750) Mazda Technologies / Shawn Herrera Formula II 1. William Morton (Hon 250) 2. John Davis (Yam 250) 3. Jeffry Hanford (Hon 250) 4. Phillip Torres (Yam 250) 5. Richard Denman (Hon 250) 6. Eric Bateman (Yam 250) Formula III 1. Carlos Neves (Hon 125) 2. Michael Jarrard (Hon 125) 3. Dave Heinricks (Hon 125) 4. Mark Goodrich (Hon 125) 5. Stephen Bowline (Hon 125) 6. Steve Magri (Hon 125) Zoom Zoom Trackdays Formula IV 1. Felipe Cabezas (Suz 650) 2. Tim Wheeler (Kaw 400) 3. Kurt Spencer (Suz 650) 4. Michael Lohmeyer (Hon 400) 5. Shawn Reilly (Bue 1200) 6. John Daker (Suz 650) Open Grand Prix 1. David Kunzelman (Suz 1000 2. Rob Mesa (Suz 1000) 3. Kim Nakashima (Yam 1000) 4. Martin Szwarc (Suz 1000) 5. Correy Sarros (Suz 1000) 6. David Guy (Kaw 1000) Hare Racing Open Superbike 1. David Stanton (Suz 1000) 2. Robert Mesa (Suz 1000) 3. Jack Pfeifer (Suz 1000) 4. David Kunzelman (Suz 1000) 5. Harley Barnes (Suz 1000) 6. Martic Szwarc (Suz 1000) Dial It In Tracktime 750 Superbike 1. David Stanton (Suz 750) 2. Jon Bawden (Suz 750) 3. Robert Campbell (Suz 750) 4. Garry Combs (Suz 750) 5. Jeremiah Grant (Suz 750) 6. Craig Wierman (Suz 750) Pacific Track Time 600 Superbike 1. Andy Carman (Yam 600) 2. Tim Kamholz (Hon 600) 3. Grant Riggs (Yam 600) 4. Eric Bateman (Yam 600) 5. John Turmell (Suz 600) 6. Matthew Weathers (Hon 600) 450 Superbike 1. Tim Wheeler (Kaw 400) 2. Michael Lohmeyer (Hon 400) 3. Ross Wells (Yam 400) 4. Paul Yoshimune (Hon 400) 5. Richard Moore (Hon 442) 6. Kenyon Kluge (Hon 400) Kilowatt Bar 250 Superbike 1. Jove Shapiro (Yam 250) 2. Shawn Herrera (Yam 250) 3. Dylan Benjamin (Hon 250) 4. Joe Rust (Apr 250) 5. Steven Lee (Yam 250) 6. Cliff Farrar (Yam 250) Open Production 1. Martin Szwarc (Suz 1000) 2. Kim Nakashima (Yam 1000) 3. Mike Mullin (Suz 1000) 4. James King (Suz 1000) 5. Correy Sarros (Suz 1000) 6. Joey Hrenko (Yam 1000) Strictly Sport 750 Production 1. Robert Campbell (Suz 750) 2. Craig Wierman (Suz 750) 3. Don Rudolfs (Suz 750) 4. Paul Rick Williams (Suz 750) 5. Alex Flores (Suz 750) 6. Liko Miles (Suz 750) Keigwins@theTrack 600 Production 1. Andy Carman (Yam 600) 2. Berto Wooldrige (Suz 600) 3. Kenny Carlotta (Suz 600) 4. Michael Judkins (Yam 600) 5. Kenyon Kluge (Yam 600) 6. Pete Demas (Suz 600) 450 Production 1. Ross Wells (Yam 400) 2. Dave Norgard (Yam 400) 3. Douglas Goldman (Yam 400) 4. Peter Licht (Yam 400) 5. Joe Rust (Yam 400) 6. Dylan Wood (Kaw 500) Aftershocks 250 Production 1. Jay Kinberger (Kaw 250) 2. Bob Simmons (Kaw 250) 3. Rick Cramer (Kaw 250) 4. John Anner (Kaw 250) 5. Richard Lesher (Kaw 250) 6. Thomas Hicks (Hon 250) Desmoto Sport Open Twins 1. Eric Gulbransen (Duc 749) 2. Jack Pfeifer (Apr 1000) 3. Craig McLean (Duc 749) 4. Brian Long (Suz 1000) 5. Scott Schwanbeck (Hon 1000) 6. Bud Anderson (Hon 1000) 650 Twins 1. Michael Earnest (Suz 650) 2. Felipe Cabezas (Suz 650) 3. Kurt Spencer (Suz 650) 4. Brian Long (Suz 650) 5. Jason Butler (Suz 650) 6. John Daker (Suz 650) 500 Twins 1. Bobby Lee Broussard (Suz 500) 2. Jon Forman (Suz 500) 3. Jay Jacobson (Suz 500) 4. Joe Sickle (Suz 500) 5. Josuf Zobairi (AND 500) 6. Lynn Smull (Suz 500) Formula Singles 1. Billy Ray (Hon 450) 2. Charles Statman (Hon 650) 3. Guy Tolomeo (Tig 500) 4. Greg Creech (KTM 598) 5. John McCoy (Vor 503) 6. Patrick Blackburn (KTM 576) Super Dinosaur 1. Ross Wells (Yam 400) 2. David Worthington (Suz 750) 3. Dave Norgard (Yam 400) 4. Ed Yoast (Yam 400) 5. Paul Kieffer (Hon 600) 6. Douglas Goldman (Yam 400) Formula 40 1. Mike Thompson (Yam 1000) 2. Greg Davis (Yam 1000) 3. Pete Demas (Suz 600) 4. Gary Stewart (Yam 1000) 5. Bud Anderson (Hon 1000) 6. Thomas Bolles (Suz 1000) More, from a press release issued by Munroe Motors: MunroeMotors/TagTeamRacing put Ducati on top of the box. AFM Round 2, Infineon Raceway, Sonoma CA. May 1st 2005. (San Francisco, CA May 2nd, 2005) Sunday marked round two of the AFM Championship Road Race series at Infineon Raceway, Sonoma, California. The team from MunroeMotors/TagTeamRacing built on their great results from round one at Buttonwillow four weeks ago by running even stronger this weekend at Infineon with their Ducati 749R and 999R. From the first practice sessions on Saturday morning, Munroe Motors/TagTeamRacing’s 2005 Ducati 749R went to work, setting hot laps faster than many of the open-class bikes in the club. Even during the congested practice laps, the nimble 749R sliced through traffic like an NFL linebacker at a Las Vegas all-you-can-eat buffet. Fitted with a new 57mm full exhaust system and matching ECU from Ducati Performance, the bike had more grunt in the tight sections of the Infineon racetrack and more top-end down the straights. The team’s 2005 Ducati 999R has also been massaged to improve power delivery and handling. “Since round one at Buttonwillow, we’ve focused on smooth production of the awesome torque and power of this deep-sump short-stroke 999R engine. We also have been fine-tuning the chassis and suspension characteristics of the bike for the technical layout of Infineon Raceway”, commented Nick Hayman of Munroe Motors. “We made significant adjustments to both the rear suspension and the steering geometry on the big bike and based on our results this weekend, these modifications appear to suit Eric’s riding style.” For the Open Twins race, MunroeMotors/TagTeamRacing’s rider, Eric Gulbransen, challenged the big 1000cc twins class again on the middleweight 749R. “From the green flag, that bike did everything right” remarked Gulbransen, “Every time I line up on the Open Twins grid with the little 749R, I’m worried we’re going to get eaten alive by the bigger bikes… but then the flag drops, the bike comes to life like fireworks on the fourth of July, and it’s straight to the business of going fast”. Eric took the holeshot, and proceeded to dominate the race from flag to flag. AMA privateer and 2004 Daytona 200 4th place finisher, Jack Pfeiffer, ran in second place on an Aprilia RSV Mille, but couldn’t get close enough to even show Eric a wheel. Another 2005 Ducati 749R ridden by Craig Mclean and sponsored by Munroe Motors, came in a strong 3rd place putting two Ducati’s on the podium. In AFM’s premier race, Formula Pacific, Gulbransen and the team’s 999R were lined up on the outside spot of the front row. At the start, thanks to Yoyodyne’s great slipper clutch, Gulbransen nailed the launch and cut into third place from the outside line through turn one. Lap times were fast and furious as some of the very best riders in the state fought for position on this sunny Sunday afternoon. Gulbransen held firm in third spot and didn’t put a wheel wrong. “By mid-point, I began to understand what it means to hang a bike out there” Gulbransen noted. “To go from spinning up out of a turn, then immediately to a heavy braking zone where your rear tire is trying to drift past you, then to pushing the front tire through the next turn “¦is an amazing thing to do just one time, let alone lap after lap! I know in my heart if we weren’t on Dunlops, we wouldn’t have made it onto the box today”. Gulbransen finished an inspiring third place, and made a little history by putting a Ducati on the box for the first time at the most important regional road race on the West Coast.

WINSTON MEN HEAD FOR HIGH-SPEED ENCOUNTER Winston Ten Kate Honda’s two World Superbike championship riders, Chris Vermeulen and Karl Muggeridge, head for the high-speed circuit of Monza this weekend for round four of the 2005 season. The Australian pair left the third round at Valencia, Spain recently after contrasting weekends Vermeulen with two second places and Muggeridge with two non-finishes. With a motorsport heritage like no other circuit on the SBK calendar, Monza presents entirely different challenges to the tight and twisty Valencia. Long straights at the 5.8km track that lies 15km from Milan produce intriguing slip-stream battles and speeds that are likely to exceed 320kph. Ronald ten Kate team manager: “On Tuesday and Wednesday we will be testing a new exhaust system with our partners at Arrow. It’s been designed for the high-speed characteristics of the Monza circuit and we hope it will work well for us this weekend. Chris’s two second places at the last round were good for the team and at Valencia we found the right direction to go with our new front forks; since then our engineers having been working hard with WP technicians to start with some good settings for Monza. Despite what many people think, Monza is not all about having a fast engine. We need a good set-up to give the riders confidence through the high-speed corners and the Ascari chicane, which has its own special set-up requirements.” Chris Vermeulen championship position 3rd, 90 points: “I’ve just had a good scan on the wrist that I broke at the end of last season and I’m really looking forward to Monza it’s a special place and always a great event on the SBK calendar. It’s a fast track, and technical, but in a different way to Valencia and I’ve had some decent results there in the past. Last year was our first on the CBR1000RR and I managed to lead race one for a while until clutch problems dropped me back to fourth. Then I finished second in race two, but we were excluded because of a technical problem. With a year of development behind us, the Honda should be strong at Monza, although Troy (Corser) is bound to be fast again. Brakes are really important here but hopefully, the issues we’ve had with the front of the bike in the first three rounds won’t create so many problems.” Karl Muggeridge championship position 16th, 15 points: “As they say, Valencia was not a good weekend for me just one to forget. I left feeling pretty sore with a sprained right ankle and thigh muscle from the second race crash but I’ve had some rest and I’m feeling fine now. I would’ve gladly taken those points from a safe seventh place in Valencia and I’d eased off a bit just to bring it home. But now we head to Monza it’s a place I like and I’ve some good memories from winning the Supersport race last year. I’ve spent a lot of days thinking about how the CBR1000RR will work there and I reckon we should be OK. As long as we can stop the bike coming up as fast as it has been and gas it out of the corners well, speed won’t be a problem. I’m still getting used to the bike I guess, and we’ve still got work to do, but I’m definitely feeling positive about it.” Championship points after three of 12 rounds: 1 Troy Corser AUS (Suzuki) 141, 2 Yukio Kagayama JPN (Suzuki) 110, 3 Chris Vermeulen AUS (Winston Ten Kate Honda) 90, 4 Regis Laconi FRA (Ducati) 54, 5 Norick Abe JPN (Yamaha) 44, 6 Max Neukirchner GER (Honda) 41, 7 Noryuki Haga JPN (Yamaha) 40, 8 Andrew Pitt AUS (Yamah) 39, 9 Chris Walker GBR (Kawasaki) 38, 10 James Toseland GBR (Ducati) 30, 16 Karl Muggeridge AUS (Winston Ten Kate Honda) 15. Monza World Superbike event schedule: Friday 6 May 10.30-11.30 free practice, 14.15-15.15 qualifying; Saturday 7 May 11.00-12.00 qualifying, 14.45-15.45 free practice, 16.00 Superpole; Sunday 9 May 09.20-09.40 warm-up, 12.00 race one (18 laps, 104.274km), 15.30 race two (18 laps, 104.274km).

Superbike World Championship preview – round four: Italy Track length: 5792m Year opened: 1922 Superbike lap record: 1:47.434 (Troy Bayliss, 2002) Last year’s winners: Regis Laconi (Ducati) The Superbike and Supersport World Championships make the first of their three appearances in Italy this season, as the series moves to the historic and high-speed Monza circuit on the outskirts of Milan. While the points on offer may be the same as at every other round, the Monza event has an extra significance for the Yamaha Motor Italia team – the circuit is based just a short walk from the company headquarters and huge numbers of employees and their families will visit the circuit to cheer on riders Noriyuki Haga and Andrew Pitt. Monza is always one of the highlights of the year. Not only is the circuit located within a beautiful Royal park, the circuit itself is a mecca of motorsport and simply drenched in history. Fans can expect close race racing as the riders jockey for position down the three long straights, cheered on by a large and passionate Italian crowd. “Monza is very important for us,” commented team coordinator Massimo Meregalli. “The headquarters of Yamaha Motor Italia is at Germo de Lesmo, which is just a few kilometers from Monza and we will have many, many guests here this weekend. Our results are now improving every race and Valencia was Noriyuki’s best result of the year. We have already had a test at Monza and this went very well. Both riders made steps forward in terms of set-up, especially Noriyuki who has so far been finding it quite hard to get the R1 how he likes it.” The Yamaha riders go into the Monza race on the back of opposing fortunes during the last round in Valencia. Haga had his best outing of the year, taking a fourth and fifth place finish to move up to seventh in the championship Pitt slipped back to eighth after a tough day that saw him crash out of the opening race and finish eighth in race two after a small technical glitch stopped him battling for fourth spot. Meanwhile the Yamaha Motor France squad’s Norick Abe remains the leading R1 rider in the championship, just four points ahead of Haga in fifth place, despite crashing out of a certain podium finish in Spain. Team-mate Sebastien Gimbert will make his Monza debut at the weekend and, although the Frenchman has yet to find his consistency, the reigning world endurance champ is impressing with his outright speed during this his debut superbike campaign. Suzuki’s Troy Corser will be the man to beat in Monza. The Australian has won five out of the six races held so far this year to build a commanding lead in the championship. Monza – the circuit The Monza circuit can be summed up in one word – fast! Last year the average speed around the Italian circuit was over 190kph – over the entire race distance – 18kph faster than the next speediest circuit on the calendar, Assen. Yamaha Motor Italia riders Haga and Pitt spent two days testing at Monza last week, working mainly on chassis settings, and as a result the team’s YZF-R1s will appear in Italy sporting a new swinging arm. During testing last week the team found the swinging arm available as a YEC kit part to be the best. YEC is the company responsible for Yamaha’s customer kit parts for R-series races. The team will also produce special ‘Monza-spec’ engines for the event with additional high-rpm power at the expense of a little low-down performance. These engines will have revised cam timing compared to those used in the opening rounds, while exhaust supplier Termignoni will provide a different exhaust system to complement the new engine tune. With top speeds regularly approaching 300kph at Monza, aerodynamics can be even more important that sheer horsepower when it comes to getting the most out of the machine. With this in mind, the team will also be able to change the windscreens to allow them tuck down behind the bubble and squeeze every last kph out of their machines in what is likely to be a slipstreaming battle. With four long straights, riders will be slipstreaming each other along and constantly swapping positions down the long straights, as the lack of air resistance allows them to reach higher speeds than they would unassisted. Making a bad start and failing to join the train of leading riders will make it difficult to gain the ground required to challenge for a leading position, although this effect also makes it hard for one rider to break away from the pack. As such races at Monza are usually close, exciting and difficult to predict. Supersport World Championship While the superbikes will no doubt be grabbing the headlines due to their enormous top speeds at Monza, don’t forget about the supersport class. The 600s should provide typically close racing down the long Monza straights and Yamaha Motor Germany’s Kevin Curtain is the leading YZF-R6 runner in the championship, third overall after three rounds and benefiting from the ongoing development to the 2005 machine. With two podium finishes in a row, the experienced Australian is looking like the most likely challenger to the Honda team-mates Sebastien Charpentier and Katsuaki Fujiwara who, between them have won all three races. FIM Superstock 1000 Cup Also supporting Sunday’s action will be the FIM Superstock 1000 Cup. Just like last year’s championship, round one in Valencia proved to be a Yamaha whitewash, with R1s taking the top four places. Yamaha Motor Germany’s Kenan Sofuoglu and Didier van Keymeulen, first and second place finishers in Spain, should once again be at the sharp end in Monza but look out too for Italian rider Massimo Roccoli. The youngster finished third in Valencia and should prove even more competitive on a circuit he knows well.