VALENCIA TEST OFFERS EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES FOR ALL IN SBK One Down: An early start to the 2005 Corona Extra World Superbike season has seen the first two races already decided, at Qatar on 26th February. After Suzuki riders monopolised the top step of each podium at the Losail International Circuit, the forthcoming test session at Valencia offers the rest of the 30-rider SBK grid the chance to prepare their next challenges to this early Suzuki supremacy. World Tour: The first two races in the 12-round/24-race World Superbike season were taken by Alstare Corona Extra Suzuki riders Troy Corser and Yukio Kagayama respectively, with the lone Xerox Ducati of 2004 season runner-up Regis Laconi interjecting a vee-twin boom into the 1000cc four-cylinder wails. With so many strong entries from the main Japanese manufacturers, and Ducati fielding six competitive riders – including world Champion James Toseland (Xerox Ducati) – the competition for wins will be the greatest ever no mean feat for a championship now in its 18th year. Closest Ever: World Superbike’s outstanding level of competitiveness this season is the result of not only an invigorated gridful of world class riders, but the balanced technical rules, which allow universal competitiveness of machinery, irrespective of engine configuration. Spec Pirelli tyres for all competitors have also helped make World Superbike increasingly accessible and popular, with manufacturers and teams alike. Leading Off: With one win apiece after round one, 1996 World Champion Troy Corser and his Alstare Corona Extra Suzuki team-mate Yukio Kagayama, have been fastest out of their starting blocks. Nonetheless, they face a solid wall of competitors at this test, all determined to catch up before the season moves on to round two, at Phillip Island in Australia on April 3. The Valencia circuit, a stadium style 4.005km venue much used for testing in all classes of global Motorsport, has been the site of many an official World Superbike shakedown session and race in previous years. The teams will use their track time as a valuable opportunity to make preparations, not only for the Phillip Island race, but also for the third round, at Valencia itself, on 24 April. Old World, New Order: The youngest ever World Champion is also the current number one plate holder, James Toseland (Xerox Ducati 999F05). After a tough first round in Qatar, Toseland sits equal fifth in the series, thanks to two sixth place race finishes. His team-mate Laconi had a much more successful time, and is third overall, behind Kagayama and Corser. Ducati’s factory runners will relish the chance to make further set-up improvements on their heavily revamped factory 999F05 machines. Works in Progress: For riders like the Winston Ten Kate Honda duo of Chris Vermeulen and Karl Muggeridge the first round at Qatar was a fight against illness and occasional misfortune. Other Honda riders will also be thankful for more track time before the next race and the ability to make a comparison with other riders’ lap times in their quests to fine tune their 2005 CBR1000RRs. Pierfrancesco Chili and Max Neukirchner (Klaffi Honda), plus Ben Bostrom (Renegade Honda Koji) are other top Honda runners in the high class 2005 rider line-up. Yamaha Step Changes: Numerically strong this year, Yamaha riders have good reasons to look forward to the Valencia tests. The leading Yamaha rider thus far is 2001 World Supersport Champion Andrew Pitt (Yamaha Motor Italia), equal fifth after his Qatar experiences. His team-mate Noriyuki Haga is in more need of testing than most riders at this stage, having not had the same amount of track time as Pitt. Two leading Yamaha riders with great experience of race-spec Yamaha R1s are Jose-Luis Cardoso (Yamaha DFX Extreme Sterilgarda) and Sebastien Gimbert (Yamaha Motor France). The ten-strong regular Yamaha line-up also includes GP winner Norick Abe (Yamaha Motor France) in its ranks. Kawasaki Thrust: PSG-1 Kawasaki rider Chris Walker, teamed up with Mauro Sanchini in 2005, enjoyed some strong performances in round one, if little good fortune overall, and will be looking to Valencia as an opportunity to enhance the consistency of his machine set-up. The Bertocchi Kawasaki riders, Giovanni Bussei and Ivan Clementi, have the comparative luxury of their team’s 2004 season experiences of the ZX-10 Kawasaki. Private Ducatis: Among the private Ducati entries this season, the Scuderia Caracchi pairing of Fonsi Nieto and Lorenzo Lanzi stand out as two potential race winners. At the Valencia tests Nieto especially will have a familiar track on which to enhance his relationship with a very different machine from the ones he has been used to. Three Into Two: With two new 2005 riders in the shape of Garry McCoy and Steve Martin, the Foggy Petronas squad, armed with the technically innovative three-cylinder Petronas FP-1, are keen to make inroads into the increasingly competitive grid. Valencia has been a scene of glory for the Petronas team before, making their track time particularly revealing for their immediate prospects. Supersport: Winston Ten Kate Honda riders Katsuaki Fujiwara and Sebastien Charpentier currently head a strong leading pack in World Supersport, with riders like Kevin Curtain and Broc Parkes (Yamaha Motor Germany) out to reclaim the distance shown between the leading duo and the rest at Losail. Fabien Foret and Michel Fabrizio (Team Italia Megabike Honda), plus WSS rookie Tatu Lauslehto (Klaffi Honda) continue the Honda sweep in this largely 600cc class. From Ducati, Gianluca Nannelli (SC Caracchi Ducati) and Jurgen van den Goorbergh (Ducati Selmat) return to the scene of their initial tests in the build up to the 2005 season. Two days of testing at Valencia (12 13 March) will make way for round two of the series, at Phillip Island on 1-3 April. After Losail’s Saturday race, the regular SBK schedule of first qualifying on Friday, Superpole on Saturday and races on Sunday will be in place for the remainder of the season.

For the 11th year in a row, central Ohio race fans will gather to watch the Daytona 200 in Columbus, Ohio. This year’s party will be at Kacy’s Sports Bar, 480 E. Wilson Bridge Rd, Worthington, OH 43085, 614-847-0780. For info check www.ohiomotorcycleinfo.com, or call 614-848-9777.

GAULOISES YAMAHA TEAM TEST Phillip Island, Australia Thursday, March 10, 2005 Ambient temperature: 21 degrees Track temperature: 31 degrees Humidity: 64% YAMAHA MEN WORK HARD IN PHILLIP ISLAND DESPITE MORE RAIN The pre-season testing programme of Gauloises Yamaha Team duo Valentino Rossi and Colin Edwards was interrupted by rain again today at Austalia’s Phillip Island circuit. However, after a wet morning, higher temperatures than yesterday made for more effective testing conditions this afternoon. Both riders continued to test tyres for Michelin and work on settings and it ended as a useful day despite the poor weather. World Champion Rossi, testing alongside the Fortuna Yamaha Team of Ruben Xaus and Toni Elias as well as his team-mate, was the fastest man on the track today. He completed 74 laps with a fastest time of 1:30.65. His time was a big improvement on that recorded yesterday, and well within lap record pace (1:31.102), but it was still shy of the 1:29.68 set at the circuit three weeks ago in warmer, drier conditions. Gauloises Yamaha debutant Edwards completed 71 laps with a best lap of 1:31.00 – again, slightly slower than the 1:30.60 the American recorded last month. Spaniard Xaus was third fastest of the four, setting a time of 1:32.32 from 68 laps with his new Fortuna Yamaha Team. Team-mate and countryman Elias completed 90 laps with a best time of 1:32.70 as he continues to adapt to the MotoGP class and Yamaha’s YZR-M1. Valentino Rossi (1:30.65, 74 laps) “Unfortunately it was raining again and we lost all of the morning. We did some good work in the afternoon, but the conditions were not really right for us to do effective testing. We continued to work on the bike settings but it was difficult to judge our progress in these bad conditions. I really hope tomorrow will be better as we still have to fix some settings on the bike.” Colin Edwards (1:31.00, 71 laps) “We woke up to more rain and the track was soaked in the morning. I did a couple of laps in the wet just to check settings. It then dried up and we actually did some good work, spending most of the afternoon testing front tyres and a few rears. It was a good day despite the weather and the bike was working well; I feel a lot happier than I did two weeks ago.” Davide Brivio, Gauloises Yamaha Team Director “Another wet day! We really hope that tomorrow will be better, as it’s a long way to come for most of the time to be useless! We got some work done, but not as much as we expected. Colin did some laps in the wet and then it dried out a little, but the track never got dry enough to allow us to do really good work.” More, from a press release issued by Fortuna Yamaha: RAIN HINDERS TESTING PROGRAMME FOR FORTUNA YAMAHA Fortuna Yamaha riders Rubén Xaus and Toni Elías concluded their second day of tests at the Phillip Island circuit in Australia today in difficult weather conditions which, for the second day running, interrupted their testing programme. Fortuna Yamaha rider Rubén Xaus completed 68 laps with a best time of 1:32.32. Rubén concentrated on his front suspension and tested different configurations related to the set-up of his YZR M1. His team-mate Toni Elías took the opportunity to gather some wet experience on the bike and clocked up 90 laps with a best time of 1:32.70. The Spaniard was very satisfied with the performance of his Yamaha in these conditions. Gauloises Yamaha rider Valentino Rossi completed 74 laps and set the best time of the day with a lap of 1:30.65. His team-mate Colin Edwards completed 71 laps and set a best time of 1:31.00. Rubén Xaus, (1:32.32, 68 laps) “I am happy because we have set a rhythm in low 1’32 over the course of the day. I didn’t even get on the bike until 1pm because of the weather conditions, which have messed up our plans a little. We tested a new configuration for the front suspension with very positive results. I’m happy because we’re doing a great job and we’re making progress. We’re making the bike a little longer and, even though it is heavier, I like it. I’m happy.” Toni Elías (1:32.70, 90 laps) “We’ve tested some different technical aspects in general although I think the most positive thing to come out of today was the fact that I could test the way the bike reacts in the wet and I liked it. We’ve also tried some different suspension settings but it’s still too early to draw any conclusions. We’re improving every day thanks to the great job being done by the whole team I’m really happy. In any case, we’ve still got a full day to go and we have to keep working as we have done up to now to make sure we continue evolving”.

Team M4 EMGO Suzuki displayed tremendous form in the opening action of the 2005 AMA road racing season on Wednesday at Daytona International Speedway. Showing impressive speed in all four classes, they served notice to their rivals that the new-look squad will be a force to be reckoned with before rainfall brought about an early end to the day. Even while getting used to working with several new technical partners, the team played heavily near the top of the charts in the season’s opening practice sessions. Squad newcomer Geoff May showed his potential early, finishing up the morning Superstock practice ranked third. The Georgian made his way around the revised 2.95-mile Daytona circuit aboard his GSX-R1000 with a best time of 1:41.742 despite cold and slick morning conditions. Vincent Haskovec was not far behind his new teammate on the charts; the Czech-born racer ended the Superstock session seventh best with a fast lap of 1:43.166 on his Pirelli-shod GSX-R. May followed up his Superstock performance by setting the ninth best time aboard his GSX-R600 in the Supersport practice. He then topped that by running seventh fastest in the Superbike free session. While using the Superbike practice to experiment with suspension settings, May put in a 1:42.011, which put him well ahead of several factory Superbike stars, including the polesitter for last year’s Daytona 200. Haskovec finished a rain-shortened Formula Xtreme practice in sixth at 1:45.291. Unfortunately, the rainfall did not let up, forcing the afternoon’s schedule to be scrapped. As a result, the grid positions for Thursday’s 13-lap Superstock race and 22-lap Supersport race will be set based on the final 2004 point standings and order of entry. The turn of fate will cost Team M4 Suzuki greatly. Instead of fighting for front row starting spots, Haskovec will open the Superstock final from the outside of row three in twelfth, while May will be on the inside of row five in seventeenth. May was hit even harder in the Supersport class. As a result of not competing in the class last season, he’ll start from 42nd. Despite the twist, the team is ready for the challenge. Although last weekend’s practice and race sessions were not especially lengthy ones, the decision to run at Daytona last weekend in Formula USA competition looks to at least give the riders some track time. Speaking about an exciting and frustrating opening day, Team M4 EMGO Suzuki Crew Chief Keith Perry said, “It looks good that we had the time that we got Saturday and Sunday. We’re ready to go — everybody is running well. Geoff ran really, really strong this morning in the practice session, and we we’re preparing to earn a spot on the front row in qualifying. Looks like we’re not going to have that opportunity. That’s just the way the cookie crumbles.” He continued, commenting on May’s 7th best showing in the Superbike session. “We used that to test a couple of shock settings. Working with the Öhlins guys this weekend has been really nice. We’ve really made some good progress and the riders are happy. We’re ready to show the product.” In addition to Öhlins, the team is also getting accustomed to other major changes to their racebikes, including a brand-new GSX-R1000 from Suzuki, new title sponsor M4 exhaust, and a change to Pirelli tires. The short amount of time available to dial the new machinery in just makes the team’s solid start to the season all the more remarkable. Perry remarked, “We changed every which way our bike was hooked to the ground –tires, shocks, everything. That’s been quite a challenge. To start off the year with so many new things, that’s a lot of unknowns that you’re not comfortable with until you get some time with it. We came here with no base settings whatsoever and have established something pretty quickly. That makes us feel pretty good.” The Supersport and Superstock races will be held on Thursday afternoon. Vincent Haskovec will race the Daytona 200 on Saturday. More, from a press release issued by Parts Unlimited Ducati Austin: HODGSON QUICK DESPITE DAYTONA PRACTICE WASHOUT Parts Unlimited Ducati Austin riders Neil Hodgson and Eric Bostrom saw their track time limited by rain to just a single session on the opening day of the AMA Superbike season at Daytona on Wednesday. Hodgson and Bostrom practiced in the morning session, held in cool and overcast weather, before the rain (and the red flag) forced the team to park their Ducati 999s for the day. Neil was fourth with a time of 1:41.425 and Eric was 11th at 1:42.434. Neil got in 19 laps during the session and his factory Ducati 999 clocked the trap speeds at 194.97 miles per hour on the banking. “You’re always looking to improve the bike over the weekend, to make the bike faster, to handle better. Once you’re really comfortable, then you get even more out of the bike as a rider,” said Neil Hodgson. “We have a good direction from where I want to go with the bike, to better the feel just a little bit that can make all the difference on Saturday.” “I was pleased to get one dry testing session in today, anyway. The bike was good, but like I said we’re always looking to make it better. We’d like to have the track time tomorrow morning to keep improving it,” said the former World Superbike champion. “I felt a little wooden out there today, with all the time off after the last test at Laguna Seca. No excuses from me, but I think I can do better, too.” Hodgson said he hopes for better weather tomorrow. “We’re supposed to practice at 8:45 a.m. in the morning, so who knows if the track will be ready to go then? We hope so. Daytona is an unusual circuit, with the high speeds of the banking and not much grip in the infield. Any track time you can get helps here.” Eric Bostrom, last year’s pole winner for this race, said going into the event that he wanted to turn as many laps as possible in practice at Daytona. Unfortunately, the weather didn’t cooperate. “We had a few problems in the session,” said Eric. “We were trying some new suspension settings and it took us basically most of the practice time to get things to where we needed to be. I turned a couple of laps in the 1:42 range and then the session ended. The weather tomorrow will determine a lot for us. We need some more laps and if it rains in the morning and we have to go straight out and qualify tomorrow afternoon, we’ll have to really go under the gun for qualifying.” “The bike’s good on the high speed stuff, very fast. It’s also good on the old pavement. It’s the new section where we lost a little time today,” said Bostrom. “I think the day went well for just one short practice session,” said team owner Terry Gregoricka. “Neil was right there on the pace. He was within just a few tenths of the fastest time until some of the others went quicker on the last lap. We’re really pleased with how well Neil is doing. Eric and his crew are working up to speed, too, and they could have used a few breaks today. Too bad about the rain.” Tomorrow’s schedule includes practice in the morning and qualifying for Saturday’s race in the afternoon. TIMES: 1. Ben Spies (Suzuki) 1:40.505; 2. Mat Mladin (Suzuki) 1:40.954; 3. Aaron Yates (Suzuki) 1:41.167; 4. NEIL HODGSON (Ducati 999) 1:41.425; … 11. ERIC BOSTROM (Ducati 999) 1:42.434.

Bar Matchless in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, NY will be showing the Daytona 200 live this coming Saturday, March 12, 2005. Come for bagels and coffee at 10:30 am. Racing coverage begins at 11:00 am. Free pizza at noon. Refreshments available. www.barmatchless.com 718.383.5333 557 Manhattan Ave Brooklyn, NY 11222 (corner of Manhattan and Driggs) Bike Parking: On the sidewalk

Advanced Kawasaki will be fielding Robbie Dowie in the AMA Superstock class in select rounds on the West Coast on a 2005 Kawasaki ZX-10R. Dowie won the WSMC Toyota Cup Formula One championship in 2004. Advanced Kawasaki is Orange/L.A. County’s newest performance-oriented Kawasaki dealership, and is located in Buena Park, California. They can be reached at (714) 521-2420. Interested sponsors should contact Steve Biganski of Extreme Lean at (310) 902-0968.

Michael Jordan Breaths New Life Into Pridmore’s AMA Superbike Career Rain Washes Out Practice, Qualifying At DIS DAYTONA BEACH, Fla., (March 9, 2005) – Mid-way through the 2004 racing season Jason Pridmore was ready to hang up his racing leathers and pursue a professional golfing career. Basketball star Michael Jordan stepped in and changed all that. “Four races in, I was over the whole thing,” Pridmore admitted as he sat under a hospitality tent after rain washed out Wednesday’s practice and qualifying at historic Daytona International Speedway. “The only reason I hung around was because of my sponsors and the people that stood by me. But I got my golf game really sharp over the summer and that was my plan. There are so many good tours out there. “But then I met MJ (Michael Jordan) at Road America and we got to be really good friends. We played golf a ton during the summer and I struck up a friendship. He kind of heard some things about what was going on. I told him I was going to miss the final two races because we just didn’t have the funding. He helped me out for the last two. From that point on, we just thought how we could blend something.” As a result of those early talks Pridmore became a member of the Michael Jordan Motorsports Suzuki squad. With Pridmore’s contacts in the industry and the financial backing of Jordan, the team is perhaps the strongest independent in the history of AMA Superbike. “We went from no resources last year to all of the sudden now I’ve got one of the better crew chiefs in the paddock in Ammar Bazzaz and I’ve got this unbelievable great people around me,” said Pridmore, a two-time AMA road racing titlist and the son of three-time AMA Superbike champ Reg Pridmore. “This team is amazing. I’m with Suzuki and this team for two years. We’re going to build a foundation right now. If there’s anybody around that knows teamwork, it’s Michael Jordan.” Pridmore was 10th fastest in the first AMA Superbike practice session Wednesday morning on the new 2.95-mile DIS motorcycle course. He thinks having such a major celebrity like Jordan can only help raise the exposure of Superbike racing in the United States. “We want to let everyone know that MJ is in this for the long run,” Pridmore said. “He’s doing this as a business. It’s not just him coming in and playing around. He loves our sport and wants to help it grow. I’m just happy to be a part of it.” Jordan is expected in town this week to watch his second-year team, made up of Pridmore, Steve Rapp and Montez Stewart, compete in this year’s Daytona motorcycle races. Even though Pridmore is thankful for his new lease on life in racing, he explains being so closely associated Michael Jordan has its benefits and drawbacks. “You end up finding you had a lot more friends than you thought you did,” he says with a smile. “All of the sudden, you’re phone is ringing. It’s gotten to the point of being ridiculous for me because I have three movie scripts on my desk at work. I don’t even know how they got a hold of me.” So for now the pro golf tour will have to wait. Thanks to Jordan’s backing Pridmore is happily pursuing his road racing dreams for at least a few more years. Wednesday’s activities at the Speedway will not be rescheduled. Fans with a ticket for Wednesday’s AMA events may: — Present Wednesday AMA Superbike Practice ticket at the Grandstand gates for general admission seating for Thursday’s Qualifying and Superstock/Supersport events at Daytona International Speedway. — Exchange and upgrade ticket for $15, at Tunnel 1 or 4 on Thursday, for an infield ticket for Thursday’s Qualifying and Superstock/Supersport events at Daytona International Speedway — Visit the Daytona International Speedway Box Office to complete a refund offer and receive a full refund by mail. Tickets for any of the motorcycle events at Daytona International Speedway are available at http://www.daytonainternationalspeedway.com or by calling 1-800-PITSHOP.