From a press release issued by Pirelli’s advertising and public relations agency, Plummer Menapace Group:

PIRELLI’S RACE MOMENTUM CONTINUES IN U.S., CHINA, GERMANY

Pirelli Is 4th, 5th, And 6th In AMA Superbike Points After Infineon; Earns Multiple WERA Victories in Nashville; Captures World Endurance Roadrace Win In China; Sweeps World MX GP Podium In Germany

(Rome, GA) Pirelli’s momentum continued this past weekend, gaining speed in race action in the United States, China, and Germany, in both road racing and motocross.

Prieto Racing’s Geoff May continued to impress fans and competitors alike with two more Superbike top-tens at Infineon. (He also caught the attention of the folks in AMA Tech Inspection who wanted a closer look into how the young, second-year AMA privateer could be going that fast that far up the racing order. Reportedly, all they found was a very tired, stock GSX-R1000 motor that had already done three races over the weekend.) May stands in fourth place in AMA Superbike points after five rounds. Fifth and sixth places also belong to Pirelli racers, with Empire Racing’s Lee Acree and Triangle Cycle’s Larry Pegram respectively. Pegram had two eighth-place finishes at Infineon; Acree, a 13th and an 11th .

Meanwhile, over on the right coast, reigning WERA National Endurance Series champions, and longtime Pirelli team, Vesrah Racing owned the top of the box after the four-hour National Endurance Series race at Nashville Superspeedway with riders Mark Junge, Tray Batey, and John Jacobi. Batey also won the 750 Superstock and Heavyweight Twins Superstock races in the National Challenge series. Other Pirelli race winners included Logan Young in 750cc Superbike (who finally bested Keith Marshall, also on Pirellis, after a race-long dogfight), Mark Biletnikoff in Formula Two, and Matt Furtek in Lightweight Twins Superstock.

Further east – much further east, in fact – the Pirelli-sponsored Yamaha GMT94 FIM World Endurance team won the first-ever “internationally-sanctioned motorsport championship to visit the People’s Republic of China”. They beat arch rivals Suzuki Castrol in the six-hour battle at the Zhuhai circuit, Suzuki Castrol unfortunately crashing out near the end.

In the weekend’s world motocross action, Pirelli racers swept the top four places in the MX1-class at the German round of the World MX GP championships in Teutschenthal. Brian Jorgensen won both motos to take the GP win. Current champion Stefan Everts was second, Cedric Melotte third, and Joel Smets fourth. Pirelli’s Mickael Pichon could do no better than eighth following a crash in qualifying. Everts and Melotte currently hold first and second respectively in the points standings; Pichon is fourth, and Smets is sixth.

It should also be noted that the Victory Gods smiled on Pirelli racers last weekend, too, as all three winners on Sunday’s shortened Formula USA National races at a cold and foggy Road America were on Pirelli tires. Michael Barnes lit things up by winning both the Sportbike and Superbike finals on his Pirelli-equipped Championsline.com/Prieto Racing Yamaha R6. Shawn Conrad, the former AMA Pro Thunder champion, finished third behind Barnes in Superbike, and won the Formula Sportbike race on his Lake County Powersports Suzuki GSX-R750. And Dan Bilansky won the Thunderbike final on his Hal’s Performance Buell Firebolt, going wire to wire for the win. And to finish off where we started, Geoff May – there he is again – Barnes’ Prieto Racing teammate, won the Unlimited Grand Prix Suzuki-contingency CCS race by over eight seconds on Saturday on his GSX-R1000 on Pirellis.



More, from a press release issued by Joe Rocket:

MIGUEL, MAT AND BEN LEAD ROCKET DOMINATION!!!

The AMA Superbike Championship returned to action this weekend for round 3 at Infineon Raceway, in sunny Sonoma, California. While the venue may have changed, the results did not as the Rocket Racing Team followed up on their success at California Speedway last month to put on an absolutely dominating performance and take eleven of the possible fifteen-podium position.

Four time AMA Superbike Champion Mat Mladin started the weekend where he left off, breaking the Infineon Raceway Superbike lap record on his way to his 35th career pole and his 28th AMA Superbike win on Saturday aboard his Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000. Mat was followed to the checkered flag by his Rocket Racing teammates Miguel Duhamel and Superbike rookie sensation Jake Zemke, aboard their factory Honda CBR1000RR’s. On Sunday’s Superbike event, Miguel showed why he’s called the “Living Legend”, charging back from a distant second on the last lap to slip by team mate Zemke for his 27th career Superbike win. The top spot of the podium must have felt pretty good to Miguel as he also rode his factory Honda CBR600RR to his third straight Formula Xtreme win of the season. Again Miguel was followed to the finish line by Zemke and Rocket Racing’s six time Canadian Superbike Champion Steve Crevier, in fourth.

Earlier in the day 19-year-old Superstar Ben Spies put on a clinic and took his GSX-R600 to a wire-to-wire victory in the Pro Honda Oils Supersport Class. Rocket Racing’s Tommy Hayden rode his Kawasaki ZX-6RR to a third place podium finish that puts him on top of the championship chase.

The Rocket Racing Team returns to action May 14-16, 2004 at Barber MotorSports Park, Birmingham, Alabama.

From a press release issued by Fuchs Kawasaki:

TESTING CONTINUES FOR FUCHS KAWASAKI TEAM

The rain that so badly affected the Spanish Grand Prix yesterday had given way to clear skies as the Fuchs Kawasaki Racing Team arrived at the Jerez circuit this morning, for the first day of a planned two-day test.

With a promotional event taking place this morning it wasn’t until the afternoon that Shinya Nakano and Alex Hofmann were able to take to the track for their first test run. With the track still damp in places after the torrential rain over the weekend, Nakano started out evaluating revised clutch components in his Ninja ZX-RR, before switching to tyre testing as the track dried out fully towards the end of the day.

Hofmann’s focus today was on evaluating revised engine components, designed to increase torque from the 990cc, inline four Ninja ZX-RR motor. The track conditions forced the 23-year-old German to curtail the test prematurely, but not before collecting valuable performance data on the revised parts.

Shinya Nakano:
“I had some trouble getting the bike off the line in South Africa, so today we tested some new clutch components in a bid to improve both reliability and feel, and I’m happy to say that these changes have made a significant difference. We also tested four new rear tyres from Bridgestone and collected a lot of data for their development programme. Tomorrow, if the weather stays kind to us, we will concentrate on evaluating the recent revisions made to the chassis.”

Alex Hofmann:
“We had been hoping to test some revised engine components thoroughly, but the track was still damp in places, which meant that only a short test was possible. I also managed to do an endurance run on a new tyre that we had planned to test over the weekend, but couldn’t because of the weather. We weren’t sure whether this particular tyre would have lasted race distance here, but after 26 laps today we now know we can add it to our list of potential race tyres. Bridgestone have been working overtime on development since the opening race of the season at Welkom, so tomorrow’s second day of testing will concentrate on evaluating their latest selection of tyres.”

Naoya Kaneko: Technical Co-ordinator
“Although Alex was only on track for a few hours today we still managed to collect a lot of detailed data on the performance of the new engine components. The initial results have been very positive, and the data will now be sent back to Kawasaki in Japan to be incorporated into the factory’s ongoing engine development programme. Shinya tested some revised clutch components today and the results were also very positive, but it is important that we test the reliability of these components further before using them in a race. Shinya also tested four new rear tyres this afternoon, in order to provide Bridgestone with the information they require for their own tyre development process. Tomorrow we will concentrate on bringing together all the new components we’ve tested up to now, to assess how much of an improvement they offer and in which direction we need to focus further development efforts. The right direction is more apparent each time we run the bike, and this bodes well for the future.”


More, from a press release issued by Ducati Corse:

GOOD WEATHER FINALLY HELPS DUCATI MARLBORO TEAM TESTING

Day 1 of testing

Jerez (Spain), 3 May 2004 – After a difficult race weekend, which was characterised by poor weather conditions, the Ducati Marlboro Team was finally able to get down to some serious testing work this afternoon on the first day of a two-day session at the Spanish circuit. Mild temperatures helped to create an ideal climate for the development of the Desmosedici GP4, which is slightly behind schedule due to the poor weather encountered during the last tests.

After the first positive signs that emerged during Saturday qualifying and yesterday’s warm-up, the engineers and riders of the Italian squad worked hard this afternoon, carrying out tests with a series of tyres, suspension and engine components and accumulating a substantial amount of data on which to work tomorrow.

Troy Bayliss and Loris Capirossi, who took to the track at 2 o’clock this afternoon, lapped virtually non-stop until 6 o’clock, putting in a total of 48 and 30 laps respectively. Both riders concentrated on testing the components and did not aim for quick times around the Jerez circuit.
Troy worked mainly on rear suspension set-up and engine management while Loris focussed on the Michelin 16.5″ front tyre, which he had not used since pre-season testing.

“We are quite satisfied with this afternoon’s testing and in particular with the improvement made by Troy, who on race tyres and without pushing really hard recorded quicker times than over the weekend,” commented Ducati Marlboro Team technical director Corrado Cecchinelli. “We preferred to let Loris focus on getting used to the 16.5″ front tyre. This evening we will analyse all the information accumulated and let’s hope that tomorrow’s weather will be as good as it has been today because we’ve got a lot of work to get through.”


More, from a press release issued by Telefonica Movistar Honda/Gresini Racing:

JEREZ DE LA FRONTERA – test session nr 1

After a spectacular race on wet that saw Sete Gibernau to score the first position of the podium, the Team Telefonica Movistar Honda MotoGP went back to work on the andalusian racetrack today for a two-day test session.

On a dry track Colin Edwards shared the track with other MotoGP teams (HRC, Camel Honda Pons, Yamaha and Ducati). Sete Gibernau preferred to rest and he will test tomorrow and Wednesday.

#45 COLIN EDWARDS – 38 laps 1:42.4 his best time

“I’m happy with today’s work. We made some progress with the bike setting. We went out for almost forty laps this afternoon trying to find a good feeling.”

FABRIZIO CECCHINI, Edwards’ Chief Mechanic
We are working on the suspensions in order to reduce the chattering. We are still trying to find a good feeling with the bike.

The Team Telefonica MoviStar Honda MotoGp will continue to test tomorrow at Jerez de la Frontiera with Colin Edwards and Sete Gibernau.

From a press release issued by MonsterMob Ducati:

THINK! British Superbike Championship
Rounds 7/8
Oulton Park, Cheshire
2nd/3rd May

LAVERTY MAINTAINS CHAMPIONSHIP LEAD AT OULTON PARK

MonsterMob Ducati British Supersport rider Michael Laverty maintained the lead of the championship with a superb second place finish in front of a massive bank holiday crowd at Oulton Park, Cheshire today.

The 22 year old Ulsterman qualified the 749 MonsterMob Ducati in fourth position before leading the race early on as he and Honda rider Karl Harris battled for the race win.

Laverty was poised to take his second successive victory but a backmarker prevented the pass on the final corner meaning he had to settle for second place and in doing so he maintained a one point lead from Harris going into round five of the thirteen race series.

“I’m a bit disappointed I didn’t win but I rode a sensible race and I didn’t want to throw it away. I still think I could have won it and I thought I’d leave it until the last lap and catch Karl by surprise. I’m kicking myself now for not trying two laps before as a backmarker just messed me up but I’m still leading the championship and that is what matters” said Laverty.

Meanwhile it was a weekend to forget for Superbike rider Sean Emmett who ended up retiring from the second THINK! British Superbike Championship race after posting eighth place in race one aboard the 999 F04. Emmett struggled with a number of problems throughout the entire meeting and despite a number of radical changes for the second race he was forced to retire early on leaving him to languish in fifth in the championship.

Team owner Paul Bird had some tough words to say afterwards:
“This is the worst superbike weekend we have ever had and it is just not acceptable. Things will have to change from now on and I need to see some more improvement and effort from Sean’s side. Regarding Michael, I’m absolutely chuffed to bits for him. He’s leading the championship and had a great race and I’m just over the moon with his performance. We know he is going to go from strength to strength.”

The action moves on to Mondello Park in County Kildare, Ireland in three weeks time with hopes of a return to winning ways for the defending double British Superbike Champions.

Superbike Race One Result
1, Yukio Kagayama (Suzuki) 26:14.357, 2, John Reynolds (Suzuki) +0.122s, 3, Michael Rutter (Honda) +19.521s, 4, Dean Thomas (Ducati) +21.156s, 5, Scott Smart (Kawasaki) +29.181s, 6, Glen Richards (Kawasaki) +29.658s, 7, Gary Mason (Yamaha) +30.031s, 8, Sean Emmett (MonsterMob Ducati) +34.898s, 9, Tommy Hill (Yamaha) + 1 lap, 10, James Ellison (Yamaha) + 1 lap.

Superbike Race Two Result
1, Yukio Kagayama (Suzuki) 29:27.256, 2, John Reynolds (Suzuki) +0.124s, 3, Michael Rutter (Honda) +13.571s, 4, Dean Thomas (Ducati) +14.920s, 5, Scott Smart (Kawasaki) +22.068s, 6, Leon Haslam (Ducati) +23.188s, 7, Gary Mason (Yamaha) +23.366s, 8, James Ellison (Yamaha) +25.724s, 9, Glen Richards (Kawasaki) +29.215s, 10, Noriyuki Haga (Ducati) +34.001s. DNF Sean Emmett (MonsterMob Ducati)

Supersport Race Result
1, Karl Harris (Honda) 26:59.802, 2, Michael Laverty (MonsterMob Ducati) +0.535s, 3, Jay Vincent (Honda) +9.880s, 4, Simon Andrews (Yamaha) +10.185s, 5, Cal Crutchlow (Honda) +18.312s, 6, Leon Camier (Honda) +19.815s, 7, Pere Riba (Kawasaki) +21.059s, 8, Craig Jones (Triumph) +21.478s, 9, Luke Quigley (Suzuki) +21.634s, 10, Adrian Coates (Suzuki) +24.856s.


THINK! British Superbike Championship Standings (after Round 8)
1, John Reynolds (Suzuki) 167 pts
2, Michael Rutter (Honda) 149 pts
3, Yukio Kagayama (Suzuki) 128 pts
4, Scott Smart (Kawasaki) 90 pts
5, Sean Emmett (MonsterMob Ducati) 86 pts
6, Ryuichi Kiyonari (Honda) 76 pts
7, Dean Thomas (Ducati) 74 pts
8, Tommy Hill (Yamaha) 51 pts
8, Glen Richards (Kawasaki) 51 pts
10, Gary Mason (Yamaha) 49 pts


Supersport Championship Standings (after Round 4)
1, Michael Laverty (MonsterMob Ducati) 71 pts
2, Karl Harris (Honda) 70 pts
3, Jay Vincent (Honda) 59 pts
4, Pere Riba (Kawasaki) 51 pts
5, Luke Quigley (Suzuki) 45 pts
6, Simon Andrews (Yamaha) 40 pts
7, Craig Jones (Triumph) 35 pts
8, Kieran Murphy (Honda) 23 pts
9, Adrian Coates (Suzuki) 21 pts
9, Leon Camier (Honda) 21 pts



More, from a press release issued by MSS Discovery Kawasaki Team:

British Supersport/National Superstock Championships
Round four
Oulton Park
Monday, May 3 2004

MSS DISCOVERY’S RIBA FOURTH IN TITLE CHASE AFTER OULTON PARK BATTLE

MSS Discovery’s Pere Riba took a solid seventh place finish on his Oulton Park debut in round four of the British Supersport championship at the Cheshire circuit on Monday.

Kawasaki ZX-6RR-mounted Riba was involved in battles throughout the 16-lap race as he tackled the 2.69-mile circuit for the first time.

“I had two different parts to the race,” explained Riba. “I was held up with riders diving in front of me then going sideways into the corners so I was never going to make that much progress from the battle I was having for sixth place.

“And I was losing about half a second a lap just through not knowing my way around the circuit. I’m not happy with seventh place but realistically we knew I would struggle to challenge for victory on my first visit here.”

Riba concluded: “Now we have a three-week break before the next round and I’m sure we will improve the ZX-6RR even more ­ people forget this is a completely new machine we’re dealing with a to be fourth in the championship is acceptable.”

Riba’s fellow MSS Discovery rider Rob Frost retired from the race at the halfway stage, all after making a stunning start from his 20th place on the grid.

Frost said: “I was up to about 12th place on the first lap before I was shunted onto the grass. I rejoined in 28th place and made it up to 16th before the machine went off song. I¹m not sure yet what the problem was, the team are looking into it.”

MSS Discovery’s Steve Allan finished sixth after a determined ride from ninth place on the grid in the 15-lap National Superstock championship race.

Allan powered the ZX-10R into a comfortable sixth place with three laps to go and the Scotsman now believes regular podium finishes in the series are not too far away.

Allan explained: “The ZX-10R worked really well in the race here at Oulton and it just gets better and better. As the machine gets better I’m feeling stronger and stronger in races. We¹ve now reached a consistent level with the machine’s set-up.

“I’m happy enough with sixth place. I got held up for a while and once I was into sixth place I realised that I could have lived with the two riders in front and maybe got fourth but I ran out of laps.”


More, from a press release issued by Team Suzuki:

SUZUKI DOMINATES BRITISH SUPERBIKES!

Team Suzuki Press Office – May 3, 2004.
Yukio Kagayama and John Reynolds dominated today’s British Superbike fourth round at Oulton Park with one-two victories in both races.

Rizla Suzuki’s Kagayama won both races ahead of team mate Reynolds with less than a tenth-of-a-second separating them at the flag.

Yuki followed JR for most of the first race before passing and taking the win. Then in the second race, he made a break for the line with four laps to go; barely holding off JR at the chequered flag.

Reynolds extended his Championship lead over Honda’s Michael Rutter to 18-points while Yuki is looking ominous in third place and chasing hard.

Rizla Suzuki has now won six of the first eight races of the 2004 season, with each rider sharing three wins.

Yukio Kagayama:

“Today is good result, I am so happy. First race I follow John-san and study his riding. On the last lap I know where to overtake and win the race.

“In the second race I pass John-san with some laps to go. I try to break away and make many mistakes. I give too much gas and my body is tired, but I try my all and am so happy to win. After the race I am maximum tired, so much that I cannot stand up by myself. But good news is that now I return to Japan for small holiday with my family and will come home to Britain stronger. I can win – I have number one team. I have learnt new English words – piece of cake!”

John Reynolds:

“From a team perspective, it has been a fantastic day. On a personal level, I have been out-ridden and it isn’t often that happens.

“In the first race, Yuki snatched the win from me at the end, but in the second race he beat me fair and square. Yuki is proving he is going to be a big rival for me in 2004. He is a world-class rider and it is a privilege to be racing against him. It’s great that Rizla Suzuki is dominating but maybe I’m respecting Yuki a bit too much; next time, I plan to be the one with the double win.”

Paul Denning, team manager:

“As team owner, I am finding new levels of stress I didn’t think possible. Watching your two riders dicing for the victory at lap-record pace raises the heartbeat I can tell you…

“This is Crescent and Rizla Suzuki’s first ever double 1-2. Congratulations to both riders and the whole team; from mechanics to data acquisition; Dunlop tyre technicians to hospitality staff. They are the ones who have made this fantastic result possible.

“Rizla Suzuki has the GSX-R1000 and the overall package to win. Yuki leaves for Japan and a two-week break with the best possible results and we are off to Mondello Park next, a happy hunting ground for the team and in particular JR.

“Thanks to all our fans for their support. Today is dedicated to you all. We won’t be resting on our laurels, but this is a new peak for us all, and this evening, I will be sharing a few beers with the boys before getting back to work in the morning.”

Race One Result: 1: YUKIO KAGAYAMA (RIZLA SUZUKI) 26:14.357, 2: JOHN REYNOLDS (RIZLA SUZUKI) +0.122, 3: Michael Rutter (Honda) +19.521, 4: Dean Thomas (Ducati) +21.156, 5: Scott Smart (Kawasaki) +29.181, 6: Glen Richards (Kawasaki) +29.658, 7: Gary Mason (Yamaha) +30.031, 8: Sean Emmett (Ducati) +34.898, 9: Tommy Hill (Yamaha) +1lap, 10: James Ellison (Yamaha) +1lap.

Race Two Result: 1: YUKIO KAGAYAMA (RIZLA SUZUKI) 29:27.256, 2: JOHN REYNOLDS (RIZLA SUZUKI) +0.124, 3: Rutter +13.571, 4: Thomas +14.920, 5: Smart +22.068, 6: Leon Haslam (Ducati) +23.188, 7: Mason +23.366, 8: Ellison +25.724, 9: Richards +29.215, 10: Noriyuki Haga (Ducati) +34.001.

Championship Positions: 1: JOHN REYNOLDS (RIZLA SUZUKI) 167, 2: Rutter 149, 3: YUKIO KAGAYAMA (RIZLA SUZUKI) 128, 4: Smart 90, 5: Emmett 86, 6: Ryuichi Kiyonari (Honda) 76, 7: Thomas 74, 8: Hill 51, 9: Richards 51, 10: Mason 49.

Suzuki racing round-up:

Andy Tinsley won the National Superstock race for Suzuki on a GSX-R1000 and is leading the Championship.

Race Result:

Andy Tinsley (Suzuki) 25:34.257, 2: Mark Heckles (Yamaha) +0.624, 3: Tristan Palmer (Suzuki).

From a press release issued by MSMA:

MSMA to propose a MotoGP rule change from 2007

At the start of the third year of the new era of MotoGP, with continuously growing interest in the series, the Motorcycle Sports Manufacturers’ Association has decided to propose to the GP commission (composed of FIM, Dorna, IRTA and MSMA) a technical rule change for the near future.

In the interests of safety, the manufacturers have unanimously decided that it is necessary to place a limit on the increase in motorcycle performance. This will already start in the year 2005 when fuel tank capacity will be reduced from 24 to 22 litres, but in the long term this measure would not have been sufficient.

For this reason the MSMA has decided to propose a reduction in engine capacity from 990 cc to 900 cc, starting from 2007.

The intention is not to reduce performance but to prevent a continuous improvement in speed and lap times.

It has been proposed also a new weight rule from 2007 which is as follow:

2 Cylinders: 133 kg.
3 Cylinders: 140.5 kg.
4 Cylinders: 148 kg.
5 Cylinders: 155.5 kg.
6 Cylinders: 163 kg.

A possible reduction of the 22 litres fuel tank capacity will be defined during 2005.

MSMA wishes to express its gratitude to FIM, IRTA and DORNA for everything that has been done in the interests of safety in Motorcycle Grand Prix.

Thank you very much.
Takanao Tsubouchi
Secretary General of Motorcycle Sports Manufacturers’ Association

Copyright 2004, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

MotoGP Race Results From Jerez:

1. Sete GIBERNAU, Honda, 27 laps, 52:01.293
2. Max BIAGGI, Honda, -5.452 seconds
3. Alex BARROS, Honda, -52.570
4. Valentino ROSSI, Yamaha, -58.556
5. Nicky HAYDEN, Honda, -59.283
6. Carlos CHECA, Yamaha, -67.184
7. Colin EDWARDS, Honda, -79.539
8. Kenny ROBERTS, Suzuki, -105.057
9. Shinya NAKANO, Kawasaki, -1 lap
10. Michel FABRIZIO, Harris WCM, -1 lap, crash
11. Norick Abe, Yamaha, -1 lap
12. Loris CAPIROSSI, Ducati, -1 lap
13. Alex HOFMANN, Kawasaki, -1 lap
14. Nobuatsu AOKI, Proton, -1 lap
15. John HOPKINS, Suzuki, -1 lap
16. Marco MELANDRI, Yamaha, -9 laps, DNF, crashed
17. Neil HODGSON, Ducati, -10 laps, DNF, retired
18. Kurtis ROBERTS, Proton, -14 laps, DNF, retired
19. Makoto TAMADA, Honda, -16 laps, DNF, retired
20. Jeremy McWILLIAMS, Aprilia, -17 laps, DNF, retired
21. Ruben XAUS, Ducati, -26 laps, DNF, crash
22. Troy BAYLISS, Ducati, -26 laps, DNF, crash
23. Shane BYRNE, Aprilia, -27 laps, DNF, crash


MotoGP World Championship Standings:

1. GIBERNAU, 41 points
2. BIAGGI, 40 points
3. ROSSI, 38 points
4. BARROS, 29 points
5. HAYDEN, 22 points
6. EDWARDS, 18 points
7. CHECA, 16 points
8. CAPIROSSI, 14 points
9. ABE, 12 points
10. NAKANO, 11 points
11. TIE, KENNY ROBERTS/TAMADA, 8 points
13. FABRIZIO, 6 points
14. MELANDRI, 5 points
15. HOPKINS, 4 points
16. HOFMANN, 3 points
17. TIE, AOKI/BAYLISS, 2 points
19. BYRNE, 1 point

Copyright 2004, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Provisional Sunday Morning AMA Formula Xtreme Practice Times:

1. Jake Zemke, Honda CBR600RR, 1:39.377
2. Miguel Duhamel, Honda CBR600RR, 1:39.490
3. Vincent Haskovec, Suzuki GSX-R600, 1:40.422
4. Alex Gobert, Honda CBR600RR, 1:40.688
5. Jason Pridmore, Suzuki GSX-R600RR, 1:40.736
6. Jake Holden, Suzuki GSX-R600, 1:41.642
7. Larry Pegram, Yamaha YZF-R6, 1:41.681
8. Andrew Nelson, Honda CBR600RR, 1:41.962
9. Danny Eslick, Suzuki GSX-R600, 1:42.700
10. Jeff Williams, Suzuki GSX-R600, 1:42.872
11. Heath Small, Yamaha YZF-R6, 1:43.050
12. Michael Barnes, Buell XB9R, 1:43.226
13. Steve Crevier, Suzuki GSX-R600, 1:43.211
14. Mike Ciccotto, Buell XB9R, 1:43.851
15. Brien Whitlock, Suzuki GSX-R600, 1:44.004

Copyright 2004, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Provisional Sunday Morning AMA Supersport Practice Times:

1. Aaron Gobert, Yamaha, 1:38.756
2. Tommy Hayden, Kawasaki, 1:39.294
3. Jamie Hacking, Yamaha, 1:39.321
4. Ben Spies, Suzuki, 1:39.432
5. Damon Buckmaster, Yamaha, 1:39.441
6. Jason DiSalvo, Yamaha, 1:39.460
7. Aaron Yates, Suzuki, 1:39.860
8. Roger Lee Hayden, Kawasaki, 1:41.334
9. Steve Rapp, Suzuki, 1:41.444
10. Tony Meiring, Kawasaki, 1:41.630
11. Michael Barnes, Yamaha, 1:41.637
12. Craig Connell, Suzuki, 1:41.998
13. Jason Perez, Yamaha, 1:42.055
14. Clint McBain, Suzuki, 1:42.097
15. Chris Peris, Suzuki, 1:42.253

Copyright 2004, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Provisional Sunday Morning AMA Superbike Practice Times:

1. Mat Mladin, Suzuki, 1:37.683
2. Jake Zemke, Honda, 1:37.714
3. Aaron Yates, Suzuki, 1:38.260
4. Miguel Duhamel, Honda, 1:38.553
5. Ben Bostrom, Honda, 1:39.031
6. Eric Bostrom, Ducati, 1:39.338
7. Josh Hayes, Kawasaki, 1:30.997
8. Geoff May, Suzuki, 1:30.551
9. Larry Pegram, Yamaha, 1:30.644
10. Dave Stanton, Suzuki, 1:30.935
11. John Haner, Suzuki, 1:31.361
12. Chris Caylor, Suzuki, 1:31.623
13. Ken Hill, Suzuki, 1:31.777
14. Jim Randolph, Yamaha, 1:32.102
15. Clint McBain, Suzuki, 1:32.150
16. Jeremy Toye, Yamaha, 1:32.332
17. Mark Foster, Suzuki, 1:32.360
18. Steve Crevier, Suzuki, 1:32.678
19. Craig Connell, Suzuki, 1:32.987
20. Jack Pfeifer, Honda, 1:33.124

Chris Caylor crashed during the sesssion. He was seen walking away from the incident.

Shawn Higbee did not record a time during the session.

Copyright 2004, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

By Beth Wyse

Butler Machinery’s Robert Jensen came into round two of the WERA National Challenge Series with no points, but he was able to work his way from the back of the grid to first in three races Sunday at Nashville Superspeedway.

Jensen started the day by winning Open Superstock on his Michelin-equipped Yamaha YZF-R1. Vesrah Suzuki’s Mark Junge led until Jensen worked his way up and passed Junge for the lead just before the finish line.

In 600cc Superstock, Jensen took the lead halfway through the race on his Yamaha YZF-R6 and pulled away for his second win. Completing his trifecta, Jensen took the lead in the opening laps of 600cc Superbike and was never challenged.

Vesrah Suzuki’s Tray Batey led the 750cc Superstock race from start to finish on his Suzuki GSX-R750. Batey also won the Heavyweight Twins Superstock race by a margin of 21.035 seconds on his SV1000S.

Riding his Team Embry Suzuki GSX-R1000, Matt Lynn chased Batey in the Formula One race, before taking the lead in the last turn of the last lap, setting a new lap record of 1:01.796 in the process. It was Lynn’s first win as an Expert.

The 750cc Superbike race featured a race-long battle between Logan Young and Keith Marshall. Young took the lead at the start of the last lap, then Marshall passed him into turn two. Young managed to re-take the lead and hold on for the win on his Racersupply.com Suzuki GSX-R600.

Matt Furtek won Lightweight Twins Superstock on his Vesrah Suzuki SV650. Furtek took the lead at the start. The only other rider in the Expert class crashed late in the race.

Mark Biletnikoff won Formula Two on his Suzuki SV650, and Frank Shockley won Heavyweight Twins Superbike on an Aprilia RSV1000 Mille.