Fantasy Racer launches free Fantasy Leagues

West Covina, CA – Leading motorcycle fantasy game provider Fantasy Racer announced today the launch of its 2005 Fantasy Superbike League.  The league features your favorite road racing riders in the AMA Superbike, Supersport, Formula Xtreme and Superstock classes.  The 2005 Fantasy Superbike League is free for all participants and signups have just started at www.FantasyRacer.com.

Fantasy Racer leagues allow you to become a team manager of riders that you pick throughout season.  Each rider is given a Fantasy Salary and a budget is provided to each team to hire a group of riders. Team managers score points based on actual finishes of the riders that are on his/her team and points are accumulated throughout the season.

Other free leagues currently running on www.FantasyRacer.com are Flat Track and GNCC. The 2005 Fantasy Motocross League will also be launched soon so stay tuned for more information. 

About Fantasy Racer

Fantasy Racer is a company offering fantasy racing leagues for the motorcycle racing enthusiast at www.FantasyRacer.com. FRC does not limit itself to one form of racing but instead offers a diverse range of racing disciplines like Supercross, Motocross, Superbike, Flat Track and GNCC fantasy leagues.  FantasyRacer.com is the place to go if you want to play a fantasy motorcycle racing league. If you are interested in sponsoring one of our growing leagues, please contact us through the web site.

For more information please visit www.fantasyracer.com.

SECOND FASTEST TIME FOR MARCO MELANDRI AT LOSAIL FOR THE FIRST DAY OF TEST IN QATAR

Doha, Qatar, 1st March 2005
Temperatures: 28°C the air temperature, 35°C the asphalt temperature

After the test in Malaysia and Australia, the motoGP teams are back to work at Losail in Qatar, where the riders of the Telefonica Movistar Honda team triumphed during the last GP. The Telefonica riders are sharing the track with all Honda riders and Ducati.

Unfortunately Sete Gibernau, the winner of the GP of Qatar 2004, couldn’t test today because he is suffering from fever that he has since his arrival here in Qatar. His conditions have improved during the day and he will probably test tomorrow.

Positive debut for Marco Melandri with the RCV211V here in Qatar, he run consistently on 1:58, scoring the second fastest lap time of the day.

MARCO MELANDRI 1:58.48, 72 laps:
“I’m very satisfied of the work done today. I have lapped more relaxed and focused on myself without the pressure of making a good time and things have been easier. Today the track conditions were quite good even if I expected more grip. This afternoon the wind has disturbed a bit but at the end of the session conditions have improved. Today we made some tyre testing and small changes on the bike to understand better the bike and see how small regulations can affect it. I’m impressed by my RC211V because the bike doesn’t need many changes from one track to the other and my feeling with the bike is improving every time.”

UNOFFICIAL LAP TIMES
1. Nicky Hayden 1:58.36
2. Marco Melandri 1:58.48
3. Loris Capirossi 1:58.94
4. Carlos Checa 1:59.11
5. Max Biaggi 1:59.20
6. Alex Barros 1:59.20
7. Makoto Tamada 1:59.50
8. Troy Baylis 2:00.60
9. Roberto Rolfo 2:03.50

Losail, track details
Opened: 2004
Length: 5.400 mt
Width: 12 mt
Pole position: left
Right turns: 10
Left turns: 6
Longest straight: 1068 mt

RECORD:
pole position: Checa (Yamaha – 2004) 1:58.988
fastest lap (race): Edwards (Honda 2004) 1:59.293
2004 race: 1st Gibernau (Honda), 2nd Edwards (Honda), 3rd Xaus (Ducati)

More, from a press release issued by Camel Honda:

Ideal weather in Qatar for first day of tests for Camel Honda

Qatar today hosted MotoGP teams for the first of three test days at the Losail International Circuit, with pleasant 25ºC conditions compared to the habitual scorching weather which hits the deserts of Doha. Despite the late arrival of fuel, and thanks to the kind help from Honda colleagues Team Gresini who lent some of their supply, the Camel Honda team began their work after the lunch break, working hard on a set-up for the Losail track, both with Alex, who was quickly amongst the fastest riders, and with Troy who continues to improve his feelings with the RC211V.

Ramon Forcada Camel Honda (Alex Barros’s Technical Director)
“We have only been to this track once before, for last year’s GP, and the conditions were completely different back then, both in terms of the weather and the track itself. Nevertheless we began from the settings from October, and continued with the work on the forks which we had begun in Australia. We also tried two new fronts from Michelin and tomorrow we will do tyre tests and more set-up work.”

Alex Barros Camel Honda 1:58.90 (27 laps) 3rd fastest
“We didn’t do that many laps today, because we didn’t have that much fuel, but we still began well. The conditions are definitely better than when we came here for the race, also because the Superbikes raced here on Saturday which laid some good rubber down on the track. I felt comfortable pretty much straight away, the bike is set-up well and we went quickly straight away, even though 28 laps doesn’t give you much opportunity to test too much.”

Santiago Mulero Camel Honda (Troy Bayliss’s Technical Director)
“Today was quite a good day, Troy is already riding at his race pace from last year and he doesn’t have too bad a feeling with the bike. We started from the position we were in Australia as regards base set-up and tomorrow we will continue to work in that direction.”

Troy Bayliss Camel Honda 2:00.68  (26 laps) 8th fastest
“I’m quite satisfied with the first sensations at this track, even though we couldn’t ride too much. We have been lucky to get such good conditions, but there is still a little bit of wind around. If only it could be like this when we come back here to race, but I don’t think it will be. However we will try to make the most of these days here and tomorrow apart from the set-up work, we will work alongside Michelin to try some new tyres.”

Official Times
1. Hayden (Honda) 1:58.38; 2. Melandri (Honda) 1:58.52; 3. Barros (Camel Honda) 1:58.90; 4. Capirossi (Ducati) 1:58.94; 5. Checa (Ducati) 1:59.11; 6. Biaggi (Honda) 1:59.20; 7. Tamada (Honda) 1:59.50; 8. Bayliss (Camel Honda) 2:00.68; 9. Rolfo (Ducati) 2:03.50.

More, from a press release issued by Marlboro Ducati:

DUCATI MARLBORO TEAM BACK IN TESTING ACTION IN QATAR

Loris Capirossi and Carlos Checa concentrate on the front end of their Desmosedici GP5. Testing continues tomorrow and Thursday.

Doha (Qatar), 1 March 2005 – After returning home from Australia, Loris Capirossi, Carlos Checa and the Italian team’s engineers returned to the track for more testing today in Qatar. This is the final test of the team’s winter schedule, and comes just a couple of weeks before the first of two official 2005 MotoGP championship IRTA tests scheduled for Barcelona on March 18-20.

Development work on the Ducati Demosedici GP5 is continuing non-stop and the Ducati Marlboro Team has concluded positively the first of the three scheduled days of testing at the new Losail circuit, which was inaugurated last year.

A milder climate (27° air/47° track) than that recorded in the 2004 GP helped Loris Capirossi and Carlos Checa get the best out of the session, but strong winds along the long Losail straight inevitably conditioned the work of all the riders.

The circuit, which continues to offer little grip, is made up of a series of linked curves and requires high cornering speed: for this reason the Ducati Marlboro Team engineers focussed mainly on the front end set-up of the bike.

Numerous tests were carried out with different suspension and front geometry settings. Loris and Carlos also shared the work with the front race tyres brought by Bridgestone, each rider trying out several different types.

Loris Capirossi ended the first day of testing in Qatar with a best time of 1:58.92 in his total of 45 laps. 
“I have to admit that it wasn’t bad for the first day of testing” commented the Italian rider. “Today we concentrated on different suspension set-ups, in particular at the front of the bike. The track is in virtually the same condition as it was during last year’s GP and I hope that it will improve in the next couple of days”.

Spanish rider Carlos Checa, who set pole position at this circuit in 2004, ended the first day of testing with a total of 65 laps to his name, the quickest being 1:59.14.

“I lapped pretty close to the time I set last year and as it was only the first day, I was quite pleased with that” declared Carlos at the end of the day. “Today we did a lot of work on the front suspension and on my riding position. In the afternoon the track had already improved from the morning, and hopefully this trend will continue for the next two days.”

The Ducati Marlboro Team will continue testing at Qatar on Wednesday 2 and Thursday 3 March.

Via e-mail

FIRST PERSON/OPINION:

Someone broke into my trailer last night while I was sleeping and stole the
Aprilia Factory RSVR that David Nguyen sponsored me with… vin #
2D4RRV014S000153 . The bike is black/red with white # plates with 441
on them. Pictures of the bike can be seen at www.jackpfeifer.com on the
news page. They also took a Suomy Gambler, size Small, clear visor with a
big scratch on it and a pair of SIDI vertebra boots blue w/chrome. Any
info on its whereabouts would be greatly apreciated.

Thanks!

Jack

a new Pit Bull and registered gun owner!

Jack Pfeifer
Las Vegas Nv
702-808-5163
www.jackpfeifer.com

Update:

It has been found/returned!

Hey guys! Appearently some kids from in our neighborhood were the culprits the bike was found behind some bushes leaning against the side of a vacant house about 1/4 mi away by some painters who were there to paint the home, and they notified the home owner who then called the police and the officer was kool enough to call David/Sponsor the owner to come and get it instead of calling in a flatbed to haul it off. So thankfully it has been returned!! And we now have got some bullet proof locks and will be getting a big mean dog that will be sleeping in the trailer at night… the only thing I am out is a pair of leathers, boots and a helmet so I am very relieved!

Thanks for your help!

Jack 

SPEED CHANNEL IS HOME FOR BIKE WEEK 2005

PICKERINGTON, Ohio (March 1, 2005) — With just a few days until Bike Week 2005 takes over Daytona Beach, Fla., millions of two-wheel enthusiasts are counting the hours until the start of American motorcycle racing’s biggest event. If you’re not among the lucky that will watch the action in person, SPEED Channel will once again be your home to catch the entire slate of racing.

Highlights from this year’s broadcast schedule include eight and one-half hours of live road racing coverage from Daytona International Speedway, starting with the Repsol Lubricants Superstock race on Thursday, March 10, and culminating with the 64th Daytona 200, beginning Saturday, March 12, at 2 p.m. SPEED Channel will also air same day coverage of the Daytona Supercross by Honda on Friday, March 11.

“There are several major rites of spring – the swallows returning to Capistrano, the buzzards to Hinckley, Ohio and motorcycles to Daytona Beach,” said Rick Miner, SPEED Channel’s Sr. VP of Programming/Production and Executive Producer. “There is no greater icon in the world of motorcycles than Bike Week in Daytona Beach and SPEED Channel is honored to be a part of it.”

AMA Pro Racing’s Vice President, Director of Communications, Kerry Graeber agreed. “With events like the Daytona 200 and Daytona Supercross by Honda, Bike Week is really part of the American motorcycling culture,” said Graeber “We’re pleased that SPEED Channel and AMA Pro Racing can continue bringing all the racing action of Daytona to millions of homes across the country.”

Tuesday, March 8

SPEED Channel’s coverage from Daytona begins with 2 Wheel Tuesday, hosted by Greg White (9 p.m. EST). The hour-long show will prepare viewers for the week ahead with previews of the upcoming AMA events and interviews with the sport’s top competitors.

Thursday, March 10

Road racing fans can tune in Thursday, March 10, beginning at 3 p.m. EST for three straight hours of live programming. Coverage starts with the final portions of Daytona 200 qualifying before switching into race mode with the Repsol Lubricants Superstock final at 3:45 EST. Last year’s Repsol Lubricants Superstock Series championship was the closest title hunt in the paddock as Aaron Gobert edged Yamaha teammate Jamie Hacking by just three points. Beginning at Daytona, the 2005 edition could prove to be just as close, with Yamaha, Kawasaki and Suzuki all fielding factory efforts.

The Pro Honda Oils Supersport Championship presented by Shoei is set for live coverage at 4:45 EST. The race will be Tommy Hayden’s first as a defending series champion, following last year’s Supersport season crown.

The three-hour block concludes with recaps of the Daytona 200 and AMA Superbike Championship qualifying sessions.

Friday, March 11

Beginning at 11 p.m. EST on Friday, March 11, SPEED Channel will carry three hours of same day coverage from the Daytona Supercross by Honda. Under Daytona’s tri-oval lights for the first time last year, Yamaha’s Chad Reed added his name to the who’s who list of Daytona Supercross winners. This year, fellow Supercross stars Ricky Carmichael, Kevin Windham, Mike LaRocco and others will join Reed for another shot at the most grueling race on the schedule. 

Saturday, March 12

Race fans can settle in for nearly a full day of action on Saturday, March 12, with five and one-half continuous hours of live coverage from Daytona International Speedway beginning at 11 a.m. EST.

Kicking off Saturday’s action is the opening round of the AMA Superbike Championship presented by Parts Unlimited. With the deepest field in years, five-time series champ and Yoshimura Suzuki rider Mat Mladin will have to hold off teammates Aaron Yates and Ben Spies, American Honda’s Miguel Duhamel and Jake Zemke, Erion Honda’s Kurtis Roberts and Ducati Austin’s Eric Bostrom and Neil Hodgson for a shot at this year’s title. Look for Attack Kawasaki’s Josh Hayes, Diablo Performance Racing’s Steve Crevier and Francis Martin, Michael Jordan Motorsports’ teammates Jason Pridmore and Steve Rapp, and others to join the mix as well.

During a break in the on-track action, at-home viewers will get to see taped coverage of the AMA Ford Quality Checked Flat Track Championship race from Thursday, March 10. Six-time AMA Grand National champ Chris Carr will lead a competitive field as he looks to become the first four-time winner at Daytona Beach’s Municipal Stadium.

The Daytona 200 kicks into high gear beginning with the pre-race show at approximately 1:30 p.m. EST. The SPEED Channel announcer team will update fans with rider interviews, race facts and up-to-the-minute news before the 64th edition of the Daytona 200 gets underway at 2 p.m. EST. A win by Honda’s Miguel Duhamel could etch his name next to yet another record by tying Scott Russell’s mark of five career victories in the big race.

Tuesday, March 15

2 Wheel Tuesday (9 p.m. EST) will bring viewers recaps of all the action, including race results, interviews, event observations and more.

About AMA Pro Racing

AMA Pro Racing is the leading sanctioning body for motorcycle sport in the United States. Its properties include the THQ AMA Supercross Series, the AMA Motocross Championship, the AMA Superbike Championship, the AMA Ford Quality Checked Flat Track Championship and the AMA Supermoto Championship. For more information about AMA Pro Racing, visit www.amaproracing.com. Accredited media outlets can also access AMA Pro Racing’s online Press Room at www.amaproracing.com/pressroom.

About SPEED Channel

SPEED Channel is the nation’s first and foremost cable network dedicated to motor sports and the passion for everything automotive. From racing to restoration, motorcycles to movies, SPEED Channel delivers quality programming from the track to the garage. Now available in more than 68 million homes in North America, SPEED Channel is among the fastest growing sports cable networks in the country. For more information, please visit www.speedtv.com.

MotoGP test Losail, Qatar. Day one of a three-day test. March 1, 2005.

Nicky Hayden fastest man on opening day of Qatar test

The Repsol Honda team riders, Nicky Hayden and Max Biaggi, together with Konica Minolta team rider Makoto Tamada, had flown to Qatar directly from Tokyo. All three plus many stars of both two and four wheeled racing had taken part in the annual Honda Motor ‘Kick off party’ where the company officially announced the Honda racing programme for the 2005 season.

Both riders set times inside the official lap record as they sought the ideal set up for their RC211V V5 990cc MotoGP machines. Hayden quickly established a good base line and went on to set a time faster than pole position time set at the Qatar GP in October of 2004. The young American ended his 82-lap stint around the 5.400kms desert circuit confident there is more to come over the next two days of testing.

Biaggi struggled to find his way early on but by the end of the day was beginning to feel comfortable with his RCV and the direction the team are working in.

The Telefonica MoviStar Honda team stole the show at the inaugural Qatar GP with a superb one – two finish for Sete Gibernau and his, now departed, teammate Colin Edwards. Gibernau has a fever and elected to sit out day one. His new teammate, Marco Melandri, did test and put in his best performance since switching to the Honda RC211V for the 2005 campaign.

Following three full test sessions prior to Qatar Melandri has worked step by step towards finding a base set up he was comfortable with before he thought about setting fast lap times. Today everything worked well for the young Italian and he was second fastest man behind Hayden, but more importantly he set consistently fast times while tyre testing.

The Camel Honda team of Alex Barros and Troy Bayliss were restricted to just 53 laps between them due to a shortage of fuel. Brazilian Barros continued his experiments with the new front fork while Bayliss chased a
sound base set up to work from for the remaining two-days of the test.

Makoto Tamada made a cautious start to the test still feeling the effects of his big crash at the last test. The Konica Minolta rider worked on confirming what the team had learned about the new RCV before getting down
to serious testing tomorrow.

Honda rider lap times and quotes:

Nicky Hayden, Repsol Honda: 1m 58.36s – 82 laps.
“Pretty happy after first day. More grip than we had here last time but still real slippery; especially off-line. The wind was the real problem today. In the morning it was hard to find a setting I felt totally comfortable with; things came much better in the afternoon. I’m looking forward to the next few days here. We raced here for the first time last year and a few days here will certainly make it easier when we come to the GP here in the fall.”

Max Biaggi, Repsol Honda: 1m 59.20s – 67 laps.
“We had big set-up problems today that effectively destroyed the tyres so we had no grip for most of the time. We tried several different shock settings but we still didn’t find the right way. Tomorrow we’ll work again on the suspension geometry. It is important to get the base right and build on that. This is what we need to do to make the rest of the test a success I have a great team around me and I am confident we will move forward!”

Marco Melandri, Telefonica MoviStar Honda: 1m 58.48s – 72 laps
“I’m very satisfied of the work done today. I have lapped more relaxed and focused on myself without the pressure of making a good time and things have been easier. Today the track conditions were quite good even if I expected more grip. This afternoon the wind has disturbed a bit but at the end of the session conditions have improved. Today we made some tyre testing and small changes on the bike to understand better the bike and see how small regulations can affect it. I’m impressed by my RC211V because the bike doesn’t need many changes from one
track to the other and my feeling with the bike is improving every time.”

Sete Gibernau, Telefonica MoviStar Honda: Gibernau is suffering from a high fever and decided to sit out day one of the test. His condition improved as the day wore on and he has high hopes of being fit to test tomorrow.

Alex Barros, Camel Honda: 1m 58.90s – 27 laps.
“We didn’t do that many laps today, because we didn’t have that much fuel, but we still began well. The conditions are definitely better than when we came here for the race, also because the Superbikes raced here on Saturday which laid some good rubber down on the track. I felt comfortable pretty much straight away, the bike is set-up well and we went quickly straight away, even though 28 laps doesn’t give you much opportunity to test too much.”

Ramon Forcada, Camel Honda: Alex Barros’s Technical Director.
“We have only been to this track once before, for last year’s GP, and the conditions were completely different back then, both in terms of the weather and the track itself. Nevertheless we began from the settings from October, and continued with the work on the forks which we had begun in Australia. We also tried two new fronts from Michelin and tomorrow we will do tyre tests and more set-up work.”

Troy Bayliss, Camel Honda: 2m00.68 – 26 laps. 8
“I’m quite satisfied with the first sensations at this track, even though we couldn’t ride too much. We have been lucky to get such good conditions, but there is still a little bit of wind around. If only it could be like this when we come back here to race, but I don’t think it will be. However we will try to make the most of these days here and tomorrow apart from the set-up work, we will work alongside Michelin to try some new tyres.”

Santiago Mulero – Camel Honda (Troy Bayliss’s Technical Director)
“Today was quite a good day, Troy is already riding at his race pace from last year and he doesn’t have too bad a feeling with the bike. We started from the position we were in Australia as regards base set-up and tomorrow we will continue to work in that direction.”

Konica Minolta Honda:
Makoto Tamada, Konica Minolta Honda: 1m 59.47s – 60 laps.
“We have started pretty calm this morning since I had to find back the right feeling with the bike after the unlucky slip in Phillip Island. I still feel pain in the parts of my body that I have hit in the fall in Australia, but I can consider my self satisfied on how the day has gone, because I immediately perceived every permutation that has been made to the setting of the bike, and this means that we can concentrate on the tweak of the bike by working on every single detail.”

Giulio Bernardelle – Konica Minolta Honda Technical Director
“Since on this circuit we didn’t achieve great results during the past season, today we decided to develop the bike as we were competing here for the first time. This solution permitted us to reach at the end of the day a good setting of the bike’s suspension and frame. Makoto really helped us out during this developments, as it seem like he found a good feeling with the Honda RC211V 2005 and the Michelin Tyre, and this have allowed us to make changes with great precision after hearing what the rider told us.”

Palatine, IL – StarNet, a leading provider of telephony products and services throughout North America, announced today that it has agreed to sponsor SafetyFirst Racing on behalf of its VoiceEclipse Broadband telephone service. The sponsorship will cover the entire racing season for 2005, including all American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) races and SafetyFirst appearances to promote bicycle safety and helmet usage for children.

“We are impressed with the commitment SafetyFirst has made to communities across the United States with their helmet program and safety demonstrations,” said Russ Intravartolo, president of StarNet. “We’re thrilled to be aboard and we look forward to being out front with VoiceEclipse as a major sponsor of SafetyFirst Racing.”

Kevin Hanson, president of SafetyFirst, added, “Our partnership with StarNet and VoiceEclipse lets us take our program to the next level. In addition to the racing sponsorship for our 2005 season, StarNet is supporting SafetyFirst’s helmet program for kids, an effort we know saves lives.  StarNet’s corporate sponsorship will also include a number of promotional appearances at races, malls, movie theaters, and elementary schools throughout the country.”

About StarNet

StarNet, a service of US LEC, is a leading provider of telephony products and services throughout North America. The MegaPOP® network is designed to help ISPs become more competitive in the marketplace by providing consistency in high speed, quality, and extensive area coverage for dial-up access.  StarNet is poised to repeat its tremendous success in the wholesale dialup access market with the introduction of VoiceEclipse and vePipe services to deliver comprehensive broadband VoIP phone services.  Fore more information about VoiceEclipse contact Dave Zortea 847-963-0116 or go to www.voiceeclipse.com

About SafetyFirst Racing

SafetyFirst Racing is a professional motorcycle racing team and safety services company headed by founder and President Kevin Hanson. Committed to saving children’s lives through the promotion of its Bicycle Helmet for Kids program, SafetyFirst has been putting helmets on kids and giving safety talks as the race team makes its way around the U.S. on the televised AMA roadracing circuit. For more information about SafetyFirst, contact Kevin Hanson 217-493-3811 or [email protected].