Kawasaki’s Tommy Hayden earned pole position for the Pro Honda Oils Supersport race during a rescheduled qualifying session Thursday morning at Daytona International Speedway. Riding his all-new ZX-6RR, Hayden turned a 1:43.510 to claim pole and set a new Supersport lap record for the revised 2.95-mile course. Yoshimura Suzuki’s Ben Spies (1:43.905) was second-fastest on his GSX-R600, well clear of Yamaha factory riders Jamie Hacking (1:44.637) and Jason DiSalvo (1:44.691). Aaron Gobert crashed his factory Yamaha YZF-R6 on the out-lap of the re-started session, ran back to the pits, got on his back-up bike (which he hadn’t ridden yet at Daytona) and qualified fifth with a 1:44.733. The 35-minute session was stopped approximately 15 minutes in due to a crash and oil spill in the chicane. Representatives from the Yamaha and Kawasaki factory teams were very critical of AMA Pro Racing converting Thursday morning’s Supersport practice seesion into a qualifying session, saying they had 10 minutes of notice, that they were not prepared for a qualifying session and that the track (which still had damp patches) was not in good enough condition for a qualifying session. Yesterday, AMA Pro Racing announced that the 600cc Supersport grid would be set by 2004 points, order of pre-entry and order of post entry. The change to setting the grid by times in what was originally scheduled to be a practice session was announced just before the session started. The session was not split into two groups of slower and faster riders, as has been standard qualifying procedure for the past year. Rain disrupted yesterday’s schedule, eliminating planned Supersport and Superstock qualifying sessions. AMA Pro Racing does not conduct qualifying sessions, practice sessions or races in the rain on Superspeedway courses, although F-USA/CCS and AHRMA run rain or shine at Daytona. Provisional AMA Supersport Qualifying Results: 1. Tommy Hayden, Kaw, 1:43.510 2. Ben Spies, Suz, 1:43.905 3. Jamie Hacking, Yam, 1:44.637 4. Jason DiSalvo, Yam, 1:44.691 5. Aaron Gobert, Yam, 1:44.733 6. Danny Eslick, Suz, 1:44.878 7. Roger Lee Hayden, Kaw, 1:45.006 8. Michael Barnes, Yam, 1:45.111 9. Scott Greenwood, Kaw, 1:45.437 10. Chris Peris, Yam, 1:45.628 11. Robert Jensen, Yam, 1:45.812 12. Geoff May, Suz, 1:46.054 13. Mike Smith, Yam, 1:46.188 14. Blake Young, Suz, 1:46.705 15. Pascal Picotte, Yam, 1:46.981 16. Ben Attard, Kaw, 1:47.011 17. Nicky Moore, Yam, 1:47.366 18. Matt Furtek, Kaw, 1:47.396 19. Ryan Elleby, Suz, 1:47.424 20. Ty Howard, Yam, 1:47.433

Thursday morning’s AMA Supersport and Superstock practice sessions at Daytona International Speedway (DIS) have been changed to qualifying sessions, according to an announcement made by AMA Pro Racing Superbike Media Manager Donnie Clark moments ago in the Daytona Media Center. This reverses the ruling–made after the Supersport and Superstock classes’ originally-scheduled qualifying sessions were rained out Wednesday afternoon–that grids for those classes would be determined by 2004 Championship point standings, order of pre-entries and order of post entries. At post time, AMA Pro Racing has not providing any reasoning for this sudden reversal. Thursday’s first session was delayed due to various clean-ups around the track.

Provisional Starting Orders Supersport: 1. Tommy Hayden, Kaw 2. Roger Lee Hayden, Kaw 3. Aaron Gobert, Yam 4. Ben Spies, Suz 5. Jason DiSalvo, Yam 6. Michael Barnes, Yam 7. Jamie Hacking, Yam 8. Ben Attard, Kaw 9. Chris Peris, Yam 10. Danny Eslick, Suz 11. Giovanni Rojas, Suz 12. Blake Young, Suz 13. Nicky Moore, Yam 14. Nathan Hester, Yam 15. Damon Buckmaster, Yam 16. Pedro Valiente, Yam 17. William Meyers, III, Yam 18. Chad Klock, Hon 19. Joseph Ford, Yam 20. Alan Schmidt, Yam 21. Taylor Knapp, Yam 22. Ty Howard, Yam 23. Dirk Sanchez, Kaw 24. Scott Greenwood, Kaw 25. Jeremy Haiduk, Yam 26. Jason Moss, Yam 27. Dan Ortega, Yam 28. Barrett Long, Yam 29. Jason Mathiason, Yam 30. Justin Meyer, Yam 31. Russ Intravartolo, Kaw 32. R. Todd Keesee, Yam 33. Johnny Rock Page, Yam 34. Jesse Janisch, Suz 35. Jeremiah Johnson, Suz 36. Matt Furtek, Kaw 37. Brian Hall, Kaw 38. Craig Montgomery, Yam 39. Trey Yonce, Yam 40. Donny Kelley, Suz 41. Keith Marshall, Suz 42. Darin Scherer, Yam 43. Geoff May, Suz 44. Leslie Gerber, Kaw 45. Mark McCormick, Yam 46. David McPherson, Yam 47. Justin Filice, Hon 48. Ricky Orlando, Kaw 49. Declan Swanton, Yam 50. Kristipher Lillegard, Yam 51. Mike Smith, Yam 52. Robert Jensen, Yam 53. Pedro Bravo, Kaw 54. William Sheridan, Yam 55. Paul Vitale, Yam 56. M. Ivan Garza, Suz 57. Pascal Picotte, Yam 58. Bostjan Skubic, Hon 59. Nahun Alvarez, Hon 60. Benjamin DeLeon, Hon 61. Ryan Elleby, Suz 62. Myron Bell, Suz 63. Tim Knutson, Yam 64. Jason Farrell, Suz 65. Victor Chirinos, Yam 66. Armando Ferrer, Yam 67. J.C. Gibbs, Kaw Superstock: 1. Aaron Gobert, Yam YZF-R1 2. Jamie Hacking, Yam YZF-R1 3. Tommy Hayden, Kaw ZX-10R 4. Jason DiSalvo, Yam YZF-R1 5. Roger Lee Hayden, Kaw ZX-10R 6. Steve Rapp, Suz GSX-R1000 7. Jake Holden, Suz GSX-R1000 8. Jason Pridmore, Suz GSX-R1000 9. Eric Wood, Suz GSX-R1000 10. Damon Buckmaster, Yam YZF-R1 11. J.J. Roetlin, Suz GSX-R1000 12. Geoff May, Suz GSX-R1000 13. James Kerker, Hon CBR1000RR 14. Montez Stewart. Suz GSX-R1000 15. Lee Acree, Suz GSX-R1000 16. Sean Wray, Yam YZF-R1 17. Jimmy Moore, Suz GSX-R1000 18. M. Ivan Garza, Suz GSX-R1000 19. Brian Boyd, Suz GSX-R1000 20. Eric Haugo, Suz GSX-R1000 21. Johnny Rock Page, Yam YZF-R1 22. Blake Young, Suz GSX-R1000 23. Brent George, Suz GSX-R1000 24. James McConnell, Suz GSX-R1000 25. Aaron Yates, Suz GSX-R1000 26. Mark Vandal, Hon CBR1000RR 27. Jason Perez, Yam YZF-R1 28. Tony Meiring, Suz GSX-R1000 29. James Lee, Suz GSX-R1000 30. Matt Lynn, Suz GSX-R1000 31. Jeremy Haiduk, Yam YZF-R1 32. David Loikits, Suz GSX-R1000 33. Reno Karimian, Suz GSX-R1000 34. Vincent Haskovec, Suz GSX-R1000 35. John Haner, Suz GSX-R1000

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