2005 CMRA Championship Road Racing Series Texas World Speedway College Station, TX April, 23-24, 2005 By Shan Moore Round three of the 2005 CMRA Championship Road Racing Series, held at Texas World Speedway in College Station, Texas saw a record-breaking number of entries fill the grids during Sunday’s sprint race action on the high-banked Super Speedway. Several entries were actually turned away after the entry list hit the 730 mark and no more rental transponders were available. Saturday was equally as full as 55 endurance teams lined up for round two of the Shogun Motorsports CMRA Endurance Series, which featured an $1125 purse. For the second event in a row, Ty Howard claimed over $11,000 in CMRA purse and contingency money. Howard, riding Suzuki and Kawasaki machinery, took wins in the Racing Performance Services B Superstock, C Superstock, Pace American Trailers Formula 1, Sum of all Parts A Superstock and RaceworX C Superbike Expert races en route to the cash and in the process, collected an additional $150 prize for winning the Mr. Corder Racing Fast Lap Award for posting the fastest lap of the day, a 1:44.199 during the Sum of all Parts A Superstock Expert race. Howard’s lap was a new track record, beating his old mark of 1:44.329, set on June 20th of last year. Will Gruy also claimed a paycheck by winning the 125 GP race, which paid a $250 purse, and the Super Motard race, which paid a $250 purse, while Heath Small won the Komodo Racing B Superbike Expert race, which featured a $250 purse, in addition to four runner-up finishes. Other money winners in sprint-race action included Craig Montgomery, who won the Motorcycles Unlimited A Superbike Expert division ($150 purse); Chris Romeo, who claimed the lion’s share of the $500 purse paid in the Lightweight Twins Expert race; Dustin Dominguez, who won the South Central Race Center D Superbike Expert event ($150 purse); and Tyler McDonald, who won the Formula 4 event, which featured a $250 purse. Notable performances in the Novice ranks were turned in by Larry Myers, who took wins in the C Superstock , Formula 1 and C Superbike Novice classes, and by Brandon Spradling, who won the Formula 2, Lightweight Twins and D Superbike races. Cory Burleson also had a good day in the Novice class, topping a 58-rider field to win the B Supersport Novice race, besides taking wins in the D Superstock and A Superstock Novice classes. Saturday’s Shogun Motorsports CMRA 8-Hour Endurance event boiled down to a final 20-minute sprint for all the marbles after a red flag at the 7-and-a-half hour mark stopped the racing. For the restart, Northwest Honda Racing, Desert-Rats.net and GMAN Racing were all on the lead lap when the stoppage occurred and took their places on the first row for the final sprint to the finish. Logan Young, of Northwest Honda Racing, jumped quickly into the lead at the drop of the green flag and was 33 seconds ahead of Desert-Rats.net’s Troy Green when the checkers fell, giving Northwest Honda Racing its first endurance win of 2005. With the runner-up finish, Desert-Rats.net claimed the A Superstock-class win, while GMAN Racing claimed third and second in the Formula 1 division. KNMotorcycles.com grabbed fourth overall and top C Superstock class finish, while Village Idiots salvaged a respectable fifth and first in the C Superbike class after two crashes put them behind early. Mofo’s Racing won the Formula 2 division at 14th overall. Saturday’s Mini Sprint races were won by Tyler McDonald (F4), Dennis Dudley (F6), Richard Eads (F5) and Rob Rundell (F7). The CMRA series moves to Hallett Motor Racing Circuit in Hallett, Oklahoma for sprint and endurance action on May 13-14.

The fine conditions encountered in most qualifying sessions were repeated on raceday, with temperatures into the 20°C range and little wind in comparison to many recent SBK outings. On Valencia’s notoriously changeable track surface, a small change in ambient air temperature, from morning to afternoon, made for an 18°C change in track temperature, altering the grip characteristics of the track itself from SBK race one to race two. Choices for top riders were generally static on the rear, but many chose different front tyres, with some making significant improvements in race two. Pirelli supplied no less than five race classes at Valencia, with three new categories joining in after the fly away rounds of Qatar and Phillip Island. Race 1 TRACK CONDITION Dry AIR HUMIDITY 44% TRACK TEMPERATURE 22° AIR TEMPERATURE 20° Troy Corser (Suzuki), the Superpole winner had an utterly unchallenged victory in race one, his closest rival Chris Vermeulen (Honda) finishing some nine seconds down. A good race for Norick Abe ended in the disappointment of a crash, gifting third to Yukio Kagayama (Suzuki). The Kawasaki of Chris Walker was a force throughout, finishing fourth, man and machine’s best finish of the year to that point. Yamaha were represented in the top echelons of the finishing order, with Noriyuki Haga taking a secure fifth place. After Regis Laconi (Ducati) was ruled out of the race after a warm up crash, the highest finishing Ducati was that of world champion James Toseland, in eighth, coming through from a 23rd place on the grid. Race Standings: Rider Bike Team Race time 1 Corser Suzuki GSXR Alstare Suzuki 37’31.052 3 Vermeulen Honda CBR1000RR Winstone Ten Kate +9.116 2 Kagayama Suzuki GXR Alstare Suzuki +12.788 4 Walker Kawasaki ZX10 PSG-1 Kawasaki Corse +16.867 4 Haga Yamaha YZF R1 Yamaha Motor Italia +17.882 Race 2 TRACK CONDITION Dry AIR HUMIDITY 34% TRACK TEMPERATURE 40° AIR TEMPERATURE 24° The second 23-lap provided the same 1-2 of Corser and Vermeulen, with the younger Aussie closer to the championship leader than before. In third, Chris Walker (PSG-1 Kawasaki) took his and Kawasaki’s first podium of the season, after a great fight with Vermeulen. Yamaha riders also just missed out on the chance of a first podium with Noriyuki Haga fourth and Abe fifth. Pirelli Racing Manager Giorgio Barbier, stated, “This is the first 2005 race in which we have had all categories featured. We have two Superstock classes, one for 1000cc and a new one for 600cc machines, and the Suzuki Cup as well. In all, we have almost 190 riders to supply. Some of our tyres are also roadgoing products like the Diablo Corsa and Super Corsa Pro, which are very important for us because we sell them, as well as racing on them. So the biggest job was to supply the correct material to everyone, in every class, and avoid mistakes with the service. The traffic in our working areas was very heavy! In Superbike all off the teams have tested here a lot, and we expected that their attitude would be to test the different tyres we brought to the race. But what we found is that they were more concerned with set-up, and finding out how much the grip changes between the morning and afternoon. So a lot of them just tested what they had used before, without making a lot of experiments with the new ones. So they almost all raced with an ‘A’ rear tyre, but on the front they played a lot between the ‘B’ and ‘D’ solutions. Some of them made an adjustment from ‘B’ to C’ – for example Chris Walker and he ended up getting a podium in race two. That was a move to a harder choice and it allowed him to improve his performance. My dream was a Yamaha on the podium in race one, then a Kawasaki on the podium in race two. So it was a pity for Abe. In Australia we had a new ‘A’ front, and having had good results with it, we decided to bring it here, and that has now become the new ‘B’. It was good because Corser used it. So now we can compare the two possible ‘A’s so we can arrange which ones to use in each race of the season.” Race Standings: Rider Bike Team Race time 1 Corser Suzuki GSXR Alstare Suzuki 37’52.057 2 Vermeulen Honda CBR 1000 RR Winston Ten Kate +5.361 3 Walker Kawasaki ZX10 PSG-1 Kawasaki Corse +7.184 4 Haga Yamaha YZF R1 Yamaha Motor Italia +10.600 5 Abe Yamaha YZF R1 Yamaha Motor France +11.903 World Championship Standings: Rider Bike Team Points 1 Corser Suzuki GXR Alstare Suzuki 141 2 Kagayama Suzuki GSXR Alstare Suzuki 110 3 Vermeulen Honda CBR 1000 RR Winston Ten Kate 90 4 Laconi Ducati 999 F05 Ducati Xerox 54 5 Abe Yamaha YZF R1 Yamaha Motor France 44 6 Neukirchner Honda CBR 1000 RR Klaffi Honda 41 7 Haga Yamaha YZF R1 Yamaha Motor Italia 40 8 Pitt Yamaha YZF R1 Yamaha Motor Italia 39 9 Walker Kawasaki ZX10 PSG-1 Kawasaki Corse 38 10 Toseland Ducati 999 F05 Ducati Xerox 30 TRACK CONDITION Dry AIR HUMIDITY 36% TRACK TEMPERATURE 33° AIR TEMPERATURE 24° Sebastien Charpentier battled the increasing track temperature, and the close attention of his Honda team-mate Katsuaki Fujiwara on the final laps, to take his second race win of 2005, 0.844 seconds clear of ‘Kats’, with Yamaha rider Kevin Curtain third. Pirelli Racing Manager, Giorgio Barbier, stated, “In Supersport there was a good improvement over the previous seasons. The riders made the correct choices in the changing conditions as they have a lot of experience after practice Friday and Sunday. So for the race, they made the right choices.” Race Standings: Rider Bike Team Race time 1 Charpentier Honda CBR 600 RR Winston Ten Kate 38’27.276 2 Fujiwara Honda CBR 600 RR Winston Ten Kate +0.844 3 Curtain Yamaha YZF R6 Yamaha Motor Germany +21.382 4 Fabrizio Honda CBR 600 RR Italia Megabike +25.602 5 Foret Honda CBR 600 RR Team Megabike +31.478 World Championship Standings: Rider Bike Team Points 1 Charpentier Honda CBR 600 RR Winston Ten Kate 70 2 Fujiwara Honda CBR 600 RR Winston Ten Kate 58 3 Curtain Yamaha YZF R6 Yamaha Motor Germany 49 4 Foret Honda CBR 600 RR Team Megabike 38 5 Fabrizio Honda CBR 600 RR Team Italia Megabike 29 6 Parkes Yamaha YZF R6 Yamaha Motor Germany 29 7 Chambon Honda CBR 600 RR Gil Motor Sport 24 8 Fores Suzuki GSX 600 R Alstare Suzuki Corona 18 9 Stigefelt Honda CBR 600 RR Stiggy Motorport 16 10 Nannelli Ducati 749R Ducati SC Caracchi 15

THREE days before Election Day, the leaders of the three main political parties have been invited to address a huge gathering of motorcycle owners at the British Superbike Championship at Oulton Park, Cheshire, on Bank Holiday Monday 2nd May. More than 25,000 two-wheel riders will be in attendance. The leaders – Prime Minister Tony Blair (Labour), Michael Howard (Conservative) and Charles Kennedy (Liberal Democrats) – have been invited by the reigning Superbike Championship winning Rizla Suzuki team and Oulton Park circuit owner, MotorSport Vision. With an average of 7,600 motorcycle licence holders in each UK constituency, new research has found that 51 per cent will be influenced by the attitudes of each party to motorcycling issues.*1 “This is the last chance the main parties have of addressing a key audience ahead of the Election,” explains Oulton Park circuit owner and former F1-driver, Jonathan Palmer. “The votes of more than 1.2m bike riders across the UK will be influenced by the attitudes of the parties towards motorcycling issues. It is a close-knit community, and by default, they are very vocal about matters which affect them personally.” The British Superbike Championship is the pinnacle of two-wheel motorsport in the UK with the opening round at Brands Hatch attracting more than 50,000 fans during the Easter Bank Holiday Weekend. Rizla Suzuki British Superbike Champion John Reynolds said: “Motorcyclists deserve to be taken seriously by the main parties. I hope the party leaders can to come to Oulton Park and meet real motorcyclists and discuss the issues that affect us. “Road safety, car driving standards, exemption from bus lanes, horsepower limits and dark visors are just some of the issues I personally would like to hear their thoughts on before making up my mind who I will vote for.” The Motorcycle Industry launched its 44-point ‘Manifesto For Motorcycling’ at the beginning of April with the express aim to develop a sustainable future for motorcycling in the UK. *1 Research conducted by Tickbox.net among 3,721 men and women on behalf of the Motorcycle Industry.

Formed in the shape of the Chinese pictogram for ‘Shang’, the Shanghai international circuit lies in the Jiading district, barely 30 kilometres from the modern Chinese metropolis. Second in the teams championship, and second in the riders championship with Alex Barros after his fantastic victory in Portugal, Camel Honda this Sunday will take part in the third event of the MotoGP World Championship. The track is an unknown quantity for everybody, but also represents an opportunity to explore a new market and to convert a whole new legion of fans. The atmosphere within the team is excellent and both Camel Honda riders are excited and motivated. Sito Pons Camel Honda “I think that the Chinese GP is an important moment for MotoGP, having come into this great country for the first time in its history. It is an enormous marketing opportunity for our sport and Dorna and the Federation have done a great job in organising this event. After our team’s victory in Portugal the atmosphere is obviously perfect. I’m sure that we will work just as hard as in Portugal, with the main aim of repeating this result. The track is a complete unknown and so it will be important to find the right set-up straight away, and we have already proved we are capable of doing that.” Alex Barros #4: “To ride in China will be a bit like when we went to Qatar last year, with the main difference that the climate should be a lot more similar to ours”¦ I think, I had better check it out on the internet! I know the track from a video game, which is really realistic, and it seems quite technical and varied. There are all sorts of bends, with slow corner entries and a quick exits and vice versa, long straights, hard-braking areas. It looks like one of the modern style of tracks, like Sepang but obviously, that’s just a ‘virtual’ feeling for the time being. We’ll see, without a doubt it’s a great challenge and an unknown for everybody. We go there off the back of a great race and so we are all hoping for another top result. It will be important to get the set-up right early on.” Troy Bayliss #12: “With Santi (Mulero, Bayliss’ crew chief) in Portugal we had a look at the track design and I know that at the end of the main straight the first corner goes to the right”¦and that’s it! Joking aside, I don’t know the circuit, but I think that we will learn it straight away. Apart from the crash, which came about because of a slippery track, In Estoril we were running a good race, and in Shanghai we will try to do the same. My confidence on the bike is improving all the time and I’m working really well with the team. I’m positive.”

STOBART HONDA BACK IN THE POINTS AND BIRDY’S PLEASED! Stobart Honda riders Michael Laverty and Gary Mason got back to basics with a pair of points scoring rides each at an incident packed Mallory Park in round three of the Bennetts British Superbike Championship today. Both Mason from Lichfield and Ulsterman Laverty took a seventh place finish in each of the two races which they followed up with eighth and ninth respectively in the subsequent races which were both interrupted due to a number of accidents. It follows on from a disappointing performance at Thruxton in the last round where the team struggled with the VK Vodka Kick and The Mob backed Stobart Honda Fireblade but it marked a turning point for the team to get their championship challenge back on course. “We’ve definitely moved on” said a buoyant Mason afterwards. “The bike is now competitive and I think I’ve done more passing than I’ve ever done in my career today. The guys have been working their wotsits off and we’re definitely moving forward and I can honestly say it’s the first time I’ve ever had a bike that I can race people with. We made some major changes this morning and we just gambled and it’s paid off for us and we’ve made a step forward.” Meanwhile Laverty was also positive after the meeting. “At least I’m racing again and making progress. Hopefully we can make an even bigger step forward at Oulton and the rest of the circuits. I’m definitely happy with those two races and it’s nice to be racing up towards the front again.” Sadly the Mallory Park meeting saw Jeremy McWilliams retire from both races to continue his disappointing start to the season. “It’s a bit of a disaster really. We struggled to move forward and in the race we had a stability problem and whatever line I took on the circuit to try and reduce it, it seemed to make it even worse. It got to the point where I was going to crash, so I just pulled in. Unfortunately what seemed nearly OK in practice, in the race when you’re going that bit faster it was just impossible to get a consistent lap with stability so we need to change our settings back to what the other two guys were running.” Team boss Paul Bird, who had threatened wide scale changes unless there had been a dramatic improvement following the Thruxton disaster commented as follows: “Like the riders have said, we’ve made some big steps forward this weekend. Jeremy is the number one rider and should be up there but in fairness he’s been struggling with a shoulder injury all weekend. He’ll get that sorted this week and I think he’ll be challenging for a top five placing at Oulton next weekend. As for Michael and Gary, that’s where I fully expect them to be finishing and if only they’d stop handicapping themselves by qualifying badly, they’d be further up too. If the riders show this sort of commitment every race then that’s all I can ask and I’ll be very happy” said the Penrith businessman. The series moves on to Oulton Park next weekend for round four which takes place on Bank Holiday Monday May 2nd. Superbike Race One Result 1, Michael Rutter (Honda) 21m48.024s, 2, Glen Richards (Kawasaki) +6.706s, 3, Leon Haslam (Ducati) +10.354s, 4, Sean Emmett (Yamaha) +11.299s, 5, Scott Smart (Suzuki) +13.465s, 6, Dean Thomas (Kawasaki) +17.638s, 7, Michael Laverty (Stobart Honda) +18.015s, 8, Gary Mason (Stobart Honda) +21.170s, 9, Danny Beaumont (Honda) +23.640s, 10, Steve Brogan (Honda) +30.548s. Superbike Race Two Result 1, Michael Rutter (Honda) 10m27.220s, 2, Glen Richards (Kawasaki) +0.946s, 3, Gregorio Lavilla (Ducati) +0.997s, 4, Dean Thomas (Kawasaki) +2.021s, 5, Leon Haslam (Ducati) +2.513s, 6, Karl Harris (Honda) +8.390s, 7, Gary Mason (Stobart Honda) +8.603s, 8, Scott Smart (Suzuki) +8.826s, 9, Michael Laverty (Stobart Honda) +9.086s, 10, Sean Emmett (Yamaha) +9.601s. Superbike Championship Standings (after Round 6) 1, Michael Rutter (Honda) 119pts 2, Ryuichi Kiyonari (Honda) 100pts 3, Gregorio Lavilla (Ducati) 88pts 4, Glen Richards (Kawasaki) 83pts 5, Sean Emmett (Yamaha) 65pts 6, Leon Haslam (Ducati) 62pts 7, Dean Thomas (Kawasaki) 54pts 8, Karl Harris (Honda) 48pts 9, Scott Smart (Suzuki) 36pts 10, Gary Mason (Stobart Honda) 30pts 11, Michael Laverty (Stobart Honda) 19pts 14, Jeremy McWilliams (Stobart Honda) 16pts

New Chinese challenge for Team SUZUKI MotoGP China hosts its first ever MotoGP event this weekend and Team SUZUKI MotoGP is on a steep learning curve as it aims to master the all-new Shanghai circuit. Team SUZUKI MotoGP knows that initial practice sessions will be critical to success as all teams strive to learn the correct lines and settings at the 5.2km circuit. The Shanghai track features a combination of tight slow turns and fast straights combined with rising and falling gradients, all of which should allow for exciting racing and plenty of overtaking. Team SUZUKI MotoGP travels to China buoyed by the hard-riding efforts of John Hopkins at the last round in Estoril – where he fought tooth and nail with the front-running group for much of the race before falling victim to the wet conditions. The team also stayed on in Portugal for an extra day and completed an encouraging Bridgestone race tyre test. Team Manager Paul Denning is looking forward to the race. He said: “China is a brand new venue for MotoGP and also a big market for Suzuki, so this is a very important race for us. “I was very happy to see John up with the leading pack at Estoril and he has shown that he deserves to be up there on merit. We – this means the team and John himself – need to get to the very top of our game together and better results will come. John is a very natural rider, a new circuit layout could maybe suit him well. “Kenny Roberts Jr had a successful test on the Monday following the last Grand Prix and found a much better pace, with gains from both the bike setting and the new Bridgestone rear tyre. I know he will want to put the early results from this season behind him and use his talents to get back into a challenging position. “The team is very excited about visiting China and look forward to putting on a good performance for a new band of MotoGP fans.” Team SUZUKI MotoGP will be racing in the Taobao.com Grand Prix of China on Sunday 1st May at 15.00hrs local time (09.00CET).

At the first round of the European SuperStock 600 championship within the SBK series, Nicky Wimbauer (USA) achieved a respectable 8th position on Saturday’s race on his Moto1 Suzuki GSX-R600. Wimbauer suffered from a string of bad luck during both qualifying sessions and started from the 17th grid spot. After lap one, he was already in 12th and started to move up consistently finishing in a comfortable 8th place. “We had a lot of catching up to do in the first sessions, since all of our pre-season tests were canceled due to bad weather” says Wimbauer and continues: “I lowsided in the first qualifying after five laps and rode on a backwards mounted Pirelli rear tire in qualifying two (mounting dots were on wrong side), which reminded me on my flattracking days in Colorado. However, I feel that I am making progress with the Suzuki and the Moto1 team was great moving the suspension setup into the right direction.” The new STK600 series features promising young racers up to 21 years of age from all over the world. Qualifying lap times show the performance density of the field where i.e. position 6 and 17 differ by approx. 1 sec. “I am pretty happy with the result considering how practice and qualifying went. We got some points, know how strong the field is and can get ready for Monza” commented Wimbauer. The next race will take place in Monza, Italy on 5.8.2005. Further information will be available under www.nickywimbauer.com

HODGSON EARNS ANOTHER PODIUM SPOT AT BIRMINGHAM, BOSTROM IN TOP FIVE Birmingham, AL, April 24, 2005: Parts Unlimited Ducati Austin’s Neil Hodgson finished an excellent second in Sunday’s AMA Superbike race from Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, Alabama. Hodgson rallied from his fourth place finish on Saturday to fight his way back onto the podium in Sunday’s 28-lap contest. Hodgson’s teammate Eric Bostrom also came home in the top five on his Ducati 999, his best finish of the year. Hodgson got the holeshot in the race on his Ducati L-twin Superbike but was passed by the eventual race winner Mat Mladin on the first lap. Neil rebounded to battle with Aaron Yates for second place but the resident of the Isle of Man made the slot his for good once Yates stopped for a tire. “It was a tough race for us. I was quite comfortable to sit behind (Aaron Yates) and bide my time to make a pass late in the race. I was pretty shocked when he pulled in. I thought it would be a tough battle to the flag,” said Hodgson. Neil said he chose a harder Dunlop tire than he had used on Saturday for the weekend’s second Superbike race held in clear conditions. “Yesterday, I lost some side grip late in the race so I decided to run a harder tire the others used. At least I would be in the same boat,” said Neil. That wise choice, along with some setup changes and some excellent riding help put Neil and the Ducati 999 back onto the podium. Hodsgon also finished “on the box” at the Daytona opener as well. Neil has consolidated his second position in Superbike points after three races. “Today, the bike was better for Neil than yesterday, so we are happy with that,” said Luca Luca Ferraccioli, Parts Unlimited Ducati Austin team engineer. “We worked on a solution for quicker direction changes and that seemed to help the lap times at this course and maybe others, too. We also decided to go with a harder tire for this race and Neil found it to be much better than yesterday’s choice.” Eric Bostrom improved to finish fifth in the 28-lap race, up three slots from Saturday’s result. Suspension changes to both ends of the 999 were good enough to better his feel for the track but not a perfect solution. “Today we were hoping to accomplish more than we did. We’re glad to get fifth and the points, but we fell short of my goal and I’d sleep better tonight if we could have done better lap times. But I’m going to put it behind me because I am ready to go to Fontana and I think we’ll do well there.” The next AMA race is next weekend at California Speedway in Fontana, California. Results: 1. Mat Mladin (Suzuki) 2. NEIL HODGSON (PARTS UNLIMITED DUCATI AUSTIN) 3. Ben Spies, Suzuki 4. Miguel DuHamel, Honda 5. ERIC BOSTROM (PARTS UNLIMITED DUCATI AUSTIN) AMA Superbike Points After 3 of 16 Races: 1. Mat Mladin (Suzuki) 113, 2. NEIL HODGSON (PARTS UNLIMITED DUCATI AUSTIN) 91, 3. Ben Spies (Suzuki) 87, 4. Aaron Yates (Suzuki) 82, 5. Miguel DuHamel (Honda), 6. ERIC BOSTROM (PARTS UNLIMITED DUCATI AUSTIN) 69 More, from a press release issued by Team Suzuki: Team Yoshimura Suzuki’s Mat Mladin swept to victory in the third race of the AMA Superbike Championship at Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, Alabama on Sunday to give him a 100% win record on his GSX-R1000 at the weekend’s double header. The five-time AMA Champion started from pole position and then took the lead quickly; winning the 28-lap race by more than nine seconds as six Suzukis took top-10 places. “This was another good race for us,” said Mladin at the end of the cool but sunny weekend. “I’d like to thank my team for all their hard work, Suzuki for giving us such an unbelievable motorcycle as the GSX-R1000 and Dunlop for stepping up with better tyres. I’d also like to thank the fans for coming out and I hope to see everyone again next year.” Team mate Ben Spies – who took third overall – also got a good start and then settled into fourth position for much of the race. But with just a few laps to go, he moved up quickly and was fighting for a rostrum spot and in a daring last-lap manoeuvre, snagged third. “I wanted to be on the podium,” said Spies. “But I don’t like the way we’ve been doing it – on the last few laps. The Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000 got me up here and that’s the important thing.” Yoshimura Suzuki’s Aaron Yates got an excellent start and was running in second for the first half of the race until tyre issues forced him to pit late in the race and he was never able to fully recover his position. “I had been struggling all weekend,” said Yates. “Then the bike started feeling funny and it seemed like the right thing to do to come in and get a new tyre. When I came back out I was pretty far behind but I had fresh rubber so I just tried to push as hard as I could and I ended up in the top 10.” AMA Superbike Results: 1 Mat Mladin (Suzuki), 2 Neil Hodgson (Ducati), 3 Ben Spies (Suzuki), 4 Miguel Duhamel (Honda), 5 Eric Bostrom (Ducati), 6 Josh Hayes (Kawasaki), 7 Vincent Haskovec (Suzuki), 8 Aaron Yates (Suzuki), 9 Marty Craggill (Suzuki), 10 John Haner (Suzuki). Championship Points (after 3 races): 1 Mladin 113, 2 Hodgson 91, 3 Spies 87, 4 Yates 82, 5 Duhamel 78, 6 Bostrom 69, 7 Craggill 60, 8 Acree 53, 9 Pegram 51, 10 Pridmore 49. SUPERSTOCK: For the second time in as many races, Team Yoshimura Suzuki’s Aaron Yates captured a spot on the AMA Repsol Lubricants Superstock podium and took the lead in the series. Yates started the cool but sunny afternoon off right by making a competitive play for the front row during qualifying. He pushed his Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000 hard and carded a spot in fourth place on the front row of the grid with a 1:26.640 lap time. “My Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000 is going fairly good,” said Yates after qualifying the previous day. “We’re starting on the front row and I have confidence in my guys with what they’re trying with the setup so we’re looking for the win.” He was up front on the first lap although he faded back a few spots and ran in fifth for much of the 17-lap event. “After yesterday’s Superbike race and this morning’s Superbike practice, it was a little weird jumping back on my Superstock bike,” said Yates after the race. “I was having a few problems getting used to it, but the bike is so good overall that even the stock bike races well. At the end, I was just charging hard and then they kind of gave it back to me at the end.” SUPERSPORT: Ben Spies and his Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R600 are the factory’s sole effort in the production-based AMA Supersport class and in Sunday’s race he charged hard for a strong top-10 finish. During qualifying the previous day, Spies gave it his all and came away with a second-row spot on the grid after posting a 1:29.304 lap time. Said Spies: “I’m pretty happy with how we qualified. We still have some work to do but I have faith in my guys – the GSX-R600 is a good bike and I think we can put together a pretty good package.” On race day, Spies got a decent start and was in ninth position when a downed rider caused a red flag. The riders were eventually re-gridded in running order and at the restart, Spies was still in ninth position. “After the red flag, I got a pretty bad start,” said Spies. “I charged as hard as I could but I just couldn’t make up any time. We’ve been testing a lot and trying different things with the Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R600. It’s a great bike but we just need to get it to a place where I feel most comfortable on it.” More, from a press release issued by Team EMGO Taiwan: Caylor is back in the top 10 LEEDS, Alabama – “It feels good to be back to a single digit finish,” Chris “Opie” Caylor said as he pulled off his helmet after finishing 9th in the Lockhart Phillips USA Formula Xtreme race this weekend. Caylor and team had worked hard on the EMGO Taiwan sponsored Suzuki GSX-R 600 since their fire-involved, early finish at Daytona. Their efforts shined in both qualifying and the race at Barber Motorsports Park. Caylor qualified 12th on a nearly wet track. Rain had drenched the park only hours before qualifying and the race line was slowly drying. Caylor readily accepted advice from friend and mentor Kevin Schwantz and started the qualifying session on Dunlop slicks even though the majority of the track was still wet. As the session progressed and the race line further dried other teams struggled with “burning up” rain tires that actually need wetness to cool them or had to pull in and decide what type of tires to use. Caylor was able to stay out the entire session and steadily lower his lap times to his 3rd row grid position time. As always at Barber, suspension tuning played a major role in lowering lap times. Along with the rest of the damage to the bike, the fire at Daytona had actually destroyed the internals of one of his Ohlins rear shocks. Mike Fitzgerald of Thermosman Suspensions quickly built and custom valved a new one in time for Opie to test prior to this AMA weekend. “Mike will listen to me explain the feedback I’m getting from the suspension and he’ll ask a few questions then perfectly describe back to me what I’m feeling. He’ll think for a minute and then make a few adjustments that exactly correct what I was feeling!” Caylor also worked very closely with the Ohlins crew that are onsite at the AMA races. “Jamie, Doug, Brad and Eric worked with me after my initial set-up and had the suspension feeling better than it ever has,” said Caylor. “Without the recommendations and changes they made I could not have made the consistent lap times I did.” Specific thanks go to owner Paul Wright and everyone else at 1888Fastlap.com for their help in allowing Opie time-off to rebuild the damaged bike from Daytona. “Because they work every day with racers at all levels of competition they understand all that goes on between rounds,” said Caylor. “Especially after Daytona, they knew how hard I would be working with the team to get back where I and my sponsors needed to be. I would not have been on as good of a bike if not for their help, understanding and sponsorship.” Caylor and Team EMGO Taiwan are currently traveling to Fontana, California for round three of the Formula Xtreme series where they hope to continue progressing towards the podium. More, from a press release issued by Team M4 EMGO Suzuki: HASKOVEC RACES FOR SUPERSTOCK LEAD AT BARBER Team M4 EMGO Suzuki closed out a successful weekend at Barber Motorsports Park on Sunday by claiming another top-five result to go along with the podium finish earned the day before. Hard-charging Vincent Haskovec was impressive again, challenging for the lead throughout much of the 60k Superstock contest aboard his Pirelli-shod GSX-R1000. He gave the factory entries fits before eventually having to back off his incredibly hot pace in order to secure a fifth-place result. Team Crew Chief Keith Perry was encouraged by Haskovec’s follow-up to his spectacular season-opening Superstock victory at Daytona. “Early on I saw Vincent running with those guys and I thought, ‘Here we go again!'” Perry said. “He had a great run; he’s riding really well, the guys have the bike working great, and the Pirelli guys are trying their hearts out. As it was, we just couldn’t hang with ’em at the end of the race. Vincent rode well to save a few slides there and keep it upright. Still, we’re happy with a top five. If we can do that all year to put the pressure on the other teams — and grab podiums and wins when we can — we should be right there in the end,” said Perry after the race. “We have high expectations,” he concluded. The Czech Republic native wasn’t quite finished. He also raced in the 100k Superbike final aboard his Superstock-spec GSX-R1000 and claimed a very respectable seventh. Haskovec’s teammate, Geoff May, had a tougher time on Sunday. He was forced to retire early from the Superstock race for safety precautions race after mechanical problems surfaced. However, he did put in a solid effort in the day’s earlier Supersport final. The Georgian just missed a top-ten finish after crossing the stripe in eleventh, a half-second behind the factory Suzuki entry. “I guess the racing gods just weren’t with me today,” May said afterwards. “The good thing is I get another chance at Fontana.” Team M4 EMGO Suzuki will be back in action next week as the AMA roadracing series travels to California Speedway in Fontana, CA for the third round of the 2005 championship. More, from a press release issued by Honda Racing Information: Duhamel Just Misses out on Podium American Honda’s Miguel Duhamel came within the blink of an eye of finishing on the podium in the second race of the AMA Superbike double-header at Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, Alabama. The prolific French-Canadian missed out on third place by a scant 0.048 seconds after a thrilling racelong duel with Ben Spies (Suzuki). “I’m real happy with the race,” Duhamel said, adding that his team, led by crew chief Al Ludington, had continued on the upward path of development of the American Honda CBR1000RR. “I’m just happy I had a shot at third.” Teammate Jake Zemke had a frustrating weekend. A phantom electrical gremlin struck during Saturday’s race, knocking the popular Californian out of the race. Despite the best efforts of his team, led by crew chief Merlyn Plumlee, the problem reared its head again on Sunday, again sidelining Zemke. Zemke’s consolation was winning Saturday’s Formula Xtreme race over teammate Duhamel. The Honda CBR600RR-mounted pair shared every lap of the race, Zemke leading for eight laps before giving way to his more senior partner for five. Then Zemke took it back and held on to the end. The margin of victory was 0.440 seconds. The win, Zemke’s seventh, moved him into a tie with Repsol Honda’s Nicky Hayden, and one other rider, for third on the all-time list. Duhamel is the all-time wins leader with nine. Mat Mladin (Suzuki) won both Superbike races. Teammates Aaron Yates and Ben Spies finished second and third. Former World Superbike Champion Neil took second on Sunday with Spies third. Miguel Duhamel, 4th, Sunday Superbike It was a classic last corner with Ben (Spies). You go on the inside, the guy squares you up on the outside. I’d rather take that chance and be in third in that last corner and try to outdrag him to the front straight. I was a little unlucky there. The bike actually hooked up a bit and wheelied. That probably cost me a little bit of speed. He did it right. Not much more I could do. I really rode as hard as I could. Third would have been wonderful. Jake Zemke, DNF, Sunday Superbike Same thing as yesterday. Something’s amiss in our package there and it’s not very happy. It’s probably starting right from the get-go and the problem is it gets progressively worse and worse. The guys are looking at the data and just going, ‘Well we see what you’re talking about, but we don’t understand it.’ I thought everything was going to be OK this morning. So we never really did that many laps this morning because we’re still trying to search for a set-up. So it was kind of like three or four laps, in-out, if the problem was there you’re not really feeling it. Miguel Duhamel, 5th, Saturday Superbike It was one of those races where I just worked as hard as I could the whole race. I mean I was really trying. I saw exactly what you were seeing; I’m going to catch them the next lap, I’m going to catch them. I’d make some time, then make a little mistake and drop back and come back on them. I just wanted to get up there and I wanted those guys to start messing around a little bit so I could get back into that draft. Some areas of the racetrack I was pretty fast, but I wasn’t able to get around, get close to them. It was unfortunate. Jake Zemke, DNF, Saturday Superbike I’m not quite sure yet what the problem was. Something electrical, I believe, because in the warm-up something didn’t feel quite right on it. I got a few laps in and the same thing started happening. We’ve got something in there. I think they call them gremlins. There’s something in that and they’re looking right now trying to figure out what it is and hopefully they can find it before tomorrow. Jake Zemke, 1st , Formula Xtreme The whole race was really good. Even early I wasn’t trying to go very fast, I was just cruising around. I kept watching Miguel’s (Duhamel) board and I could see that Vincent (Haskovec) was right there, right there. When you get three guys going it changes everything as far as race strategy. Boy, that last lap was a lot of fun. We were back and forth, back and forth. Luckily I was the guy who was able to sit on top today and close some points on Miguel some of the points I lost at Daytona. Miguel Duhamel, 2nd, Formula Xtreme It was a great race. This is a perfect example of a terrific race and I guess with my experience I’m able to appreciate it even though I got second. Today Jake couldn’t be denied. He was riding really good. Sunday Superbike; 1. Mat Mladin (Suzuki) 2. Neil Hodgson (Ducati) 3. Ben Spies (Suzuki) 4. Miguel Duhamel (Honda) 5. Eric Bostrom (Ducati) 6. Josh Hayes (Kawasaki) 7. Vincent Haskovec (Suzuki) 8. Aaron Yates (Suzuki) 9. Marty Craggill (Suzuki) 10. John Haner (Suzuki) Saturday Superbike: 1. Mat Mladin (Suzuki) 2. Aaron Yates (Suzuki) 3. Ben Spies (Suzuki) 4. Neil Hodgson (Ducati) 5. Miguel Duhamel (Honda) 6. Jason Pridmore (Suzuki) 7. Steve Rapp (Suzuki) 8. Eric Bostrom (Ducati) 9. Vincent Haskovec (Suzuki) 10. Marty Craggill (Suzuki) Formula Xtreme; 1. Jake Zemke (Honda) 2. Miguel Duhamel (Honda) 3. Vincent Haskovec (Suzuki) 4. Ben Attard (Kawasaki) 5. Chris Peris (Yamaha) 6. Pascal Picotte (Yamaha) 7. Steve Crevier (Honda) 8. Nicky Moore (Yamaha) 9. Chris Caylor (Suzuki) 10. Ryan Andrews (Ducati)

KAWASAKI IN NEW MOTOGP ADVENTURE TO CHINA The Kawasaki Racing Team will be part of a history-making MotoGP race in China at the Shanghai International Circuit on Sunday 1st May. The Chinese Grand Prix, which will deliver the glamour and excitement of MotoGP to the world’s most populous nation, is a significant milestone in the global expansion of motorcycle grand prix racing. This will be the first-ever FIM Road Race GP to be staged in China since the world championship began in 1949. The race opens a potential market of 1.7 billion people to MotoGP, which continues an impressive rise upwards in worldwide spectator and television audience figures. The 5.45 km Shanghai circuit is the most modern motorsport facility in the world, designed by renowned racetrack architect Hermann Tilke, who was also responsible for the circuits in Malaysia and Bahrain. Joining the Kawasaki Ninja ZX-RR squad for the China adventure is French rider Olivier Jacque, who will be re-united with former 250cc teammate Shinya Nakano. Jacque, 31, replaces regular team rider Alex Hofmann, who is out for five weeks as he recovers from fractures to the ulna and scaphoid bones in his left wrist. Jacque won the 250cc world championship in 2000. He scored 34 podiums, including seven victories, in an outstanding 250cc career before stepping back from full-time MotoGP racing in 2004. Meanwhile Kawasaki’s main man Nakano goes to China holding sixth place in the championship standings, and is the first Bridgestone rider in the points after two rounds. Since being called-up to the Kawasaki team Jacque has quickly adapted to the latest ZX-RR, having previously tested the 2004 model at Valencia last November. With no previous test data available from the Shanghai circuit this race will be a steep learning curve for riders and engineers, both from Kawasaki and tyre supplier Bridgestone. Shinya Nakano: #56 “This will be my first visit to Shanghai and all I know about the track is from watching the Formula One race on TV last year. For me the race in China is very interesting, it is just a two hour flight from Japan, and is part of Asia and I’m always happy to racing in this part of the world. I think the Kawasaki team has a good chance here because nobody has tested at this track and the conditions will be the same for everyone. We had a very productive test in Portugal, so I’m aiming to stay in the top six of the championship points.” Olivier Jacque: # 19 “I’m looking forward to the challenge of China and the Shanghai circuit in my first race for Kawasaki. After the test at Estoril I’m feeling more comfortable on the bike, although it takes time get back up to speed after being away from racing. One advantage for me is that the Shanghai track is new for everyone. The 2005 ZX-RR is clearly a step forward compared to the ’04 model I tested last November and being part of the new China event is an unexpected, but timely opportunity for me.” Harald Eckl: Team Manager “The Chinese GP is a very important stage in the global expansion of MotoGP, it is a significant opportunity for everyone in the sport, especially the major manufacturers. The Shanghai race is a new market and it is exciting to be part of this adventure. But it will be a big challenge, a new track with no previous test data for our riders and engineers. It is a pity that Alex Hofmann cannot be with the team for this race although we have a very capable replacement in Olivier Jacque, who like everyone else will have to learn the track from the beginning of practice. Based on recent races and test sessions I’m sure both Shinya and Olivier are going to be competitive in Shanghai.”