Valencia, April 23 Superbike & Supersport World Championships, Superstock Cup Changes and clarifications to the 2005 Rules Following a proposal of the Superbike Commission, composed of Messrs. Paolo Flammini (FGSport), Claude Danis (FIM) and Giulio Bardi (Team representative), who met yesterday in Valencia, the Superbike Permanent Bureau, composed of Messrs Francesco Zerbi (FIM President) and Maurizio Flammini (FGSport President) approved the following modifications and clarifications to the Road Racing Superbike & Supersport World Championship and Superstock Cup Regulations (for application as from May 5 next) : TECHNICAL REGULATIONS 2.4.2 Minimum Weights (Superbike) At any time of the event, the weight of the whole machine (including the tank) must not be less than the minimum weight with a tolerance of 1%. (To delete: a 1% tolerance will be allowed at the end of each race”¦) 2.4.6.18 Engine (To add a new paragraph:) 3 and 4 cylinder engines: the sequence in which the cylinders are fired (i.e. 1-2-4-3) must remain as originally designed on the homologated model. Simultaneous (*) firing of 2 cylinders is also forbidden if not adopted on the homologated motorcycle. *: up to 5 degrees firing difference in 2 cylinders is regarded as “simultaneous firing” 2.5.2 Minimum Weights (Supersport) At any time of the event, the weight of the whole machine (including the tank) must not be less than the minimum weight with a tolerance of 1%. (To delete: a 1% tolerance will be allowed at the end of each race”¦) 2.7.2 Minimum Weights (Superstock) At any time of the event, the weight of the whole machine (including the tank) must not be less than the minimum weight with a tolerance of 1%. 2.7.6.10 Fairing/bodywork (Superstock) g) The original air ducts running between the fairing and the air box may be altered or replaced. Carbon fibre composites and other exotic materials are forbidden. Particle grills or “wire-meshes” originally installed in the openings for the air ducts may be taken away.

1. Troy CORSER (Suzuki GSX-R1000), 1’35.666 2. Karl MUGGERIDGE (Honda CBR1000RR), 1’36.143 3. Max NEUKIRCHNER (Honda CBR1000RR), 1’36.177 4. Chris WALKER (Kawasaki ZX-10R), 1’36.194 5. Chris VERMEULEN (Honda CBR1000RR), 1’36.205 6. Norick ABE (Yamaha YZF-R1), 1’36.241 7. Regis LACONI (Ducati 999RS), 1’36.279 8. Yukio KAGAYAMA (Suzuki GSX-R1000), 1’36.481 9. Pier Francesco CHILI (Honda CBR1000RR), 1’36.490 10. Sebastien GIMBERT (Yamaha YZF-R1), 1’36.589 11. David CHECA (Yamaha YZF-R1), 1’36.626 12. Andrew PITT (Yamaha YZF-R1), 1’36.714 13. Ben BOSTROM (Honda CBR1000RR), 1’36.790 14. Noriyuki HAGA (Yamaha YZF-R1), 1’36.850 15. Lorenzo LANZI (Ducati 999RS), 1’37.024 16. Steve MARTIN (Petronas (FP-1), 1’37.145 17. Jose Luis CARDOSO (Yamaha YZF-R1), 1’37.263 18. Garry MCCOY (Petronas FP-1), 1’37.281 19. Ivan CLEMENTI (Kawasaki ZX-10R), 1’37.346 20. Lorenzo ALFONSI (Yamaha YZF-R1), 1’37.482

1. Sebastien CHARPENTIER (Honda CBR600RR), 1:37.912 2. Katsuaki FUJIWARA (Honda CBR600RR), 1:38.811 3. Michel FABRIZIO (Honda CBR600RR), 1:38.917 4. Arturo TIZON (Yamaha YZF-R6), 1:39.217 5. Fabien FORET (Honda CBR600RR), 1:39.539 6. Stephane CHAMBON (Honda CBR600RR), 1:39.623 7. Victor CARRASCO (Yamaha YZF-R6), 1:39.701 8. Broc PARKES (Yamaha YZF-R6), 1:39.732 9. Gianluca NANNELLI (Ducati 749R), 1:39.787 10. Johan STIGEFELT (Honda CBR600RR), 1:39.874 11. Kevin CURTAIN (Yamaha YZF-R6), 1:39.899 12. Christophe COGAN (Suzuki GSX-R600), 1:40.089 13. Berry VENEMAN (Suzuki GSX-R600), 1:40.109 14. Sebastien LE GRELLE (Honda CBR600RR), 1:40.218 15. Werner DAEMEN (Honda CBR600RR), 1:40.255 16. Javier FORES (Suzuki GSX-R600), 1:40.304 17. Jarno JANSEN (Suzuki GSX-R600), 1:40.449 18. Tatu Lauslehto (Honda CBR600RR), 1:40.665 19. Topi Haarala (Honda CBR600RR), 1:40.965 20. Andrea Berta (Ducati 749R), 1:41.010

1. Troy CORSER (Suzuki GSX-R1000), 1’35.669 2. Regis LACONI (Ducati 999RS), 1’36.889 3. Chris VERMEULEN (Honda CBR1000RR), 1’36.935 4. Noriyuki HAGA (Yamaha YZF-R1), 1’36.955 5. Norick ABE (Yamaha YZF-R1), 1’37.205 6. Jose Luis CARDOSO (Yamaha YZF-R1), 1’37.333 7. Andrew PITT (Yamaha YZF-R1), 1’37.337 8. Lorenzo LANZI (Ducati 999RS), 1’37.375 9. Chris WALKER (Kawasaki ZX-10R), 1’37.453 10. Ben BOSTROM (Honda CBR1000RR), 1’37.467 11. Yukio KAGAYAMA (Suzuki GSX-R1000), 1’37.485 12. David CHECA (Yamaha YZF-R1), 1’37.662 13. James TOSELAND (Suzuki GSX-R1000), 1’37.662 14. Karl MUGGERIDGE (Honda CBR1000RR), 1’37.931 15. Pier Francesco CHILI (Honda CBR1000RR), 1’37.963 16. Sebastien GIMBERT (Yamaha YZF-R1), 1’37.986 17. Max NEUKIRCHNER (Honda CBR1000RR), 1’38.193 18. Giovanni BUSSEI (Kawasaki ZX-10R), 1’38.264 19. Ivan CLEMENTI (Kawasaki ZX-10R), 1’38.298 20. Fonsi NIETO (Ducati 999RS), 1’38.512

Provisional Saturday Morning AMA Supersport Practice Times: 1. Jason DiSalvo, Yamaha, 1:28.433 2. Jamie Hacking, Yamaha, 1:28.665 3. Tommy Hayden, Kawasaki, 1:29.177 4. Damon Buckmaster, Yamaha, 1:29.299 5. Roger Lee Hayden, Kawasaki, 1:29.626 6. Geoff May, Suzuki, 1:29.679 7. Aaron Gobert, Yamaha, 1:30.068 8. Robert Jensen, Yamaha, 1:30.238 9. Ben Spies, Suzuki, 1:30.988 10. Mike Smith, Suzuki, 1:31.118 11. Ben Attard, Kawasaki, 1:31.574 12. Chris Peris, Yamaha, 1:31.643 13. Nicky Moore, Yamaha, 1:31.666 14. Steve Crevier, Honda, 1:32.279 15. Matt Furtek, Kawasaki, 1:32.372 16. Danny Eslick, Suzuki, 1:32.463 17. Blake Young, Suzuki, 1:32.802 18. Taylor Knapp, Yamaha, 1:32.838 19. Nathan Hester, Yamaha, 1:33.350 20. Keith Marshall, Suzuki, 1:33.414 21. Barrett Long, Yamaha, 1:34.939 22. Justin Filice, Honda, 1:35.073 23. Eli Edwards, Suzuki, 1:35.204 24. Dan Ortega, Yamaha, 1:35.733 25. Armando Ferrer, Yamaha, 1:36.272 26. Trey Yonce, Yamaha, 1:36.329 27. Jeremiah Johnson, Suzuki, 1:36.526 28. Chad Klock, Honda, 1:36.646 29. William Meyers, III, Yamaha, 1:36.765 30. Justin Meyer, Yamaha, 1:37.490

1. Sebastien CHARPENTIER (Honda CBR600RR), 1:38.351 2. Katsuaki FUJIWARA (Honda CBR600RR), 1:38.634 3. Fabien FORET (Honda CBR600RR), 1:38.884 4. Kevin CURTAIN (Yamaha YZF-R6), 1:39.083 5. Michel FABRIZIO (Honda CBR600RR), 1:39.449 6. Broc PARKES (Yamaha YZF-R6), 1:39.605 7. Victor CARRASCO (Yamaha YZF-R6), 1:39.751 8. Johan STIGEFELT (Honda CBR600RR), 1:39.953 9. Stephane CHAMBON (Honda CBR600RR), 1:40.121 10. Berry VENEMAN (Suzuki GSX-R600), 1:40.135 11. Javier FORES (Suzuki GSX-R600), 1:40.220 12. Gianluca NANNELLI (Ducati 749R), 1:40.228 13. Werner DAEMEN (Honda CBR600RR), 1:40.323 14. Sebastien LE GRELLE (Honda CBR600RR), 1:40.365 15. Arturo TIZON (Yamaha YZF-R6), 1:40.461 16. Tatu LAUSLEHTO (Honda CBR600RR), 1:40.554 17. Christophe COGAN (Suzuki GSX-R600), 1:40.617 18. Jarno JANSEN (Suzuki GSX-R600), 1:40.775 19. Antonello ANTONELLO (Kawasaki ZX-6RR), 1:40.784 20. Julien ENJOLRAS (Yamaha YZF-R6), 1:41.772 More, from a press release issued by Ten Kate Honda: CHARPENTIER GRABS SPANISH POLE POSITION A crash, with twenty minutes remaining in this afternoon’s final qualifying session for the third round World Supersport race at Valencia in Spain, did not prevent Winston Ten Kate Honda’s Sébastien Charpentier securing his third consecutive pole position. Team-mate Katsuaki Fujiwara will start the 23-lap (91km) next to him on the grid after setting the second fastest time. Frenchman Charpentier had already switched to his spare CBR600RR when he crashed, after a technical problem with his number one machine. Despite extensive damage, however, he was able to restart the bike and return to his pit box as his team quickly repaired the main bike. Ronald ten Kate team manager: “That was a very busy qualifying session in the box let alone out on the track. Sébastien’s number one bike broke a thermostat which sprayed water onto the screen. Crashing the spare bike was not in the plan really, but the boys worked very hard to fix the problem and get Sébastien out again. They’ll have a few blisters later because everything was very hot. Other than that, we are all very happy with another fantastic qualifying performance. Kats got held up a bit on his fast lap but is still performing very well. We have a couple of small things to try in warm-up tomorrow but we are ready to race and hope for another good result.” Sébastien Charpentier fastest, 1m38.351s “As I came out of the fast left at turn three, the back of the bike started to slide. I half expected to be high-sided but it just kept on sliding. By the time it stopped I just wasn’t in a position to make the next right and lost the front. The bike went over about four times so I was amazed to be able to ride it back. The team were working very fast to fix the number one bike so a big thanks to all the guys for getting me out again. I was hoping to go faster this afternoon after I set a 37.9 in this morning’s practice but the track seems to change and become more slippery in the afternoons as the temperature rises. The bike is working great now, although I am still not sure about tyre choice. We’ll have to see what the temperature is like in the morning.” Katsuaki Fujiwara second fastest, 1m38.634s “Everything was going to plan, the bike was running very well and I was comfortable with everything this afternoon. I was on a very fast lap and had a clear track in front of me. On the back of the circuit I saw two bikes about half the length of the straight in front of me but, by the time I reached the next corner, I was on top of them. Unfortunately, they slowed me and that was my lap ruined. I screamed very loud in my helmet! I desperately want to win another race after not such a good result in Australia but Sébastien is riding so well at the moment. However, I am very happy with the CBR so I’ll have to try and win from second on the grid.”

Provisional Saturday Morning AMA Superstock Practice Times: 1. Jamie Hacking, Yamaha, 1:26.922 2. Jason DiSalvo, Yamaha, 1:27.848 3. Damon Buckmaster, Yamaha, 1:28.234 4. Steve Rapp, Suzuki, 1:28.274 5. Geoff May, Suzuki, 1:28.300 6. Aaron Yates, Suzuki, 1:28.307 7. Jason Pridmore, Suzuki, 1:28.685 8. Aaron Gobert, Yamaha, 1:28.725 9. John Haner, Suzuki, 1:28.854 10. Tommy Hayden, Kawasaki, 1:28.892 11. Roger Lee Hayden, Kawasaki, 1:29.280 12. Jake Holden, Suzuki, 1:29.723 13. Eric Wood, Suzuki, 1:29.964 14. Lee Acree, Suzuki, 1:30.706 15. Blake Young, Suzuki, 1:30.743 16. Brent George, Suzuki, 1:30.775 17. Francis Martin, Suzuki, 1:30.973 18. Tony Meiring, Suzuki, 1:31.315 19. Chris Ulrich, Suzuki, 1:31.531 20. James Stroud, Honda, 1:32.229 21. J.J. Roetlin, Suzuki, 1:32.394 22. Jimmy Moore, Suzuki, 1:32.406 23. Matt Lynn, Suzuki, 1:33.457 24. Eli Edwards, Suzuki, 1:33.683 25. Montez Stewart, Suzuki, 1:35.143 26. Sean Wray, Yamaha, 1:36.154 27. Reno Karimian, Suzuki, 1:36.747 28. Jessica Zalusky, Kawasaki, 1:38.373 29. Brad Puetz, Suzuki, 1:38.602 30. Jeremy Haiduk, Yamaha, 1:39.125 31. William Bush, Honda, 1:39.361 32. Vincent Haskovec, Suzuki, did not ride

SCOTT SMART was fifth and John Reynolds 10th for Rizla Suzuki in today’s practice sessions for the third round of the British Superbike Championship at Mallory Park in Leicestershire. Scott was consistently in the top five throughout the day and was one of only a handful of riders to get below a 52seconds lap time for the 1.39-mile long picturesque circuit. British Superbike Champion JR was as high as third on the timing screens at one point, but elected to remain on track testing Dunlop tyres for race distance rather than putting in a qualifying tyre and going for an outright lap time. Both sessions took place in glorious sunshine with light winds. Honda’s Ryuichi Kiyonari was fastest. There are two qualifying sessions tomorrow to determine the race grid positions. Superbike racing starts at 13:15 on Sunday, April 24th and will be covered live on Sky Sports. A highlights programme will be broadcast by Channel 4 the following Sunday. Scott: “We have started here where we left off at Thruxton – basically we have a good base set-up and we are now refining it for the demands of a tight, twisty and bumpy Mallory Park circuit. “I am looking for more stability under braking and working on the suspension of my Rizla Suzuki to give me more speed through the corners. We will be trying different rear tyres and some changes to the front suspension tomorrow to try and cut our lap times.” JR: “We worked on the balance of my GSX-R1000 and made big improvements as the day progressed. We have lengthened the wheelbase to add stability and that allows me to drive out of corners quicker. “Backmarkers were a real issue for me today, I just couldn’t get a single clear lap. It didn’t feel like a closed circuit, it was more like the M25 on a Friday afternoon out there!” Niall Mackenzie, Team Performance Coordinator: “It’s great to see both JR and Scott riding aggressively on their Rizla Suzuki GSX-R1000s. With Scott, he is gaining in confidence on the bike and riding it the way he wants. With JR you can see his attitude becoming more focused as his leg heals. “Practice was good for both riders – they got through a lot of set-up and tyre testing and are in strong positions to improve and attack the top of the time sheets in qualifying.” Practice Times: 1: Ryuichi Kiyonari (Honda) 51:415s, 2: Dean Thomas (Kawasaki) +0.113, 3: Karl Harris (Honda) +0.271, 4: Glen Richards (Kawasaki) +0.495, 5: SCOTT SMART (RIZLA SUZUKI) +0.553, 6: Leon Haslam (Ducati) +0.594, 7: Michael Rutter (Honda) +0.618, 8: Gregorio Lavilla (Ducati) +0.939, 9: Ben Wilson (Kawasaki) +0.991, 10: JOHN REYNOLDS (RIZLA SUZUKI) +1.068.