Copyright 2004, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Friday Morning 250cc Practice Times From Jerez:

1. Sebastian PORTO, Aprilia, 1:43.735
2. Randy DE PUNIET, Aprilia, 1:44.149
3. Roberto ROLFO, Honda, 1:45.293
4. Manuel POGGIALI, Aprilia, 1:45.327
5. Toni ELIAS, Honda, 1:45.471
6. Fonsi NIETO, Aprilia, 1:45.538
7. Daniel PEDROSA, Honda, 1:45.759
8. Hiroshi AOYAMA, Honda, 1:45.877
9. Sylvain GUINTOLI, Aprilia, 1:46.107
10. Alex DEBON, Honda, 1:46.317
11. Franco BATTAINI, Aprilia, 1:46.366
12. Alex DE ANGELIS, Aprilia, 1:46.442
13. Joan OLIVE, Aprilia, 1:46.716
14. Alex BALDOLINI, Aprilia, 1:46.928
15. Jakub SMRZ, Honda, 1:47.158
16. Chaz DAVIES, Aprilia, 1:47.322
17. Dirk HEIDOLF, Aprilia, 1:47.354
18. Hector FAUBEL, Aprilia, 1:47.362
19. Anthony WEST, Aprilia, 1:47.484
20. Christian GEMMEL, Honda, 1:47.540

Copyright 2004, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Provisional Friday Afternoon AMA Formula Xtreme Practice Times;

1. Miguel Duhamel, Honda CBR600RR, 1:39.227
2. Jake Zemke, Honda CBR600RR, 1:39.425
3. Alex Gobert, Honda CBR600RR, 1:40.767
4. Vincent Haskovec, Suzuki GSX-R600, 1:40.805
5. Larry Pegram, Yamaha YZF-R6, 1:41.752
6. Jason Pridmore, Suzuki GSX-R600, 1:42.079
7. Jake Holden, Suzuki GSX-R600, 1:42.402
8. Steve Crevier, Suzuki GSX-R600, 1:42.499
9. Mike Ciccotto, Buell XB9R, 1:42.678
10. Michael Leon, Suzuki GSX-R600, 1:42.832
11. Michael Barnes, Buell XB9R, 1:42.975
12. Jeff Williams, Suzuki GSX-R600, 1:43.003
13. Andrew Nelson, Honda CBR600RR, 1:43.104
14. Corey Eaton, Suzuki GSX-R600, 1:43.530
15. Danny Eslick, Suzuki GSX-R600, 1:44.582
16. Brien Whitlock, Suzuki GSX-R600, 1:44.628
17. Heath Small, Yamaha YZF-R6, 1:45.678
18. Mickey Lane, Honda CBR600RR, 1:45.848
19. Garth Dillon, Yamaha YZF-R6, 1:46.005
20. Nathan Hester, Yamaha YZF-R6, 1:46.239
21. Perry Melneciuc, Yamaha YZF-R6, 1:46.604
22. Tom Montano, Honda CBR600RR, 1:46.730
23. Brian Bartlow, Honda CBR600RR, 1:46.767
24. Chad Rolland, Yamaha YZF-R6, 1:47.403
25. Jay Tanner, Yamaha YZF-R6, 1:47.438
26. Mike Krynock, Ducati 748R, 1:48.770
27. Tim Knutson, Yamaha YZF-R6, 1:49.270
28. Ed Sorbo, Kawasaki ZX-6RR, 1:49.745
29. Riben Munoz, Suzuki GSX-R600, 1:49.864
30. Reno Karimian, Yamaha YZF-R6, 1:50.036
31. Kenan Rappuchi, Yamaha YZF-R6, 1:50.280

Copyright 2004, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Provisional Friday Morning AMA Superbike Practice Times:

1. Mat Mladin, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:38.029
2. Jake Zemke, Honda CBR1000RR, 1:38.173
3. Aaron Yates, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:38.514
4. Miguel Duhamel, Honda CBR1000RR, 1:38.598
5. Ben Bostrom, Honda CBR1000RR, 1:39.851
6. Josh Hayes, Kawasaki ZX-10R, 1:39.915
7. Eric Bostrom, Ducati 999F04, 1:40.771
8. Steve Crevier, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:41.820
9. Chris Caylor, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:41.832
10. Larry Pegram, Yamaha YZF-R1, 1:41.954
11. Eric Wood, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:42.008
12. Geoff May, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:42.058
13. Dave Stanton, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:42.167
14. Lee Acree, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:42.258
15. John Haner, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:42.310
16. Ken Hill, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:42.524
17. Shawn Higbee, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:42.524
18. Clint McBain, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:42.598
19. Jeff Williams, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:43.139
20. Robert Christman, Suzuki, 1:43.401
21. Jeremy Toye, Yamaha YZF-R1, 1:43.449
22. Brien Whitlock, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:43.519
23. Mark Foster, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:43.591
24. Craig Connell, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:43.629
25. Rob Mesa, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:43.727
26. Andrew Nelson, Honda CBR1000RR, 1:43.772
27. James Randolph, Yamaha YZF-R1, 1:44.020
28. Chris Siglin, Yamaha YZF-R1, 1:44.090
29. Jason Curtis, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:44.248
30. Garry Combs, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:44.287
31. Jack Pfeifer, Honda CBR1000RR, 1:44.309
32. David Bell, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:44.613
33. Tom Montano, Ducati 998S, 1:44.921
34. Cory West, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:45.608
35. Dean Mizdal, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:45.674
36. J.J. Roetlin, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:45.913
37. Kim Nakashima, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:46.029
38. John Wilson, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:46.373
39. James King, Yamaha YZF-R1, 1:46.670
40. Jeremiah Johnson, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:46.711
41. Kevin Hanson, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:47.251
42. Kenyon Kluge, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:49.369

Copyright 2004, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Friday Morning 125cc GP PRactice Times:

1. Hector BARBERA, Aprilia, 1:48.897
2. Andrea DOVIZIOSO, Honda, 1:48.949
3. Roberto LOCATELLI, Aprilia, 1:48.955
4. Alvaro BAUTISTA, Aprilia, 1:49.157
5. Casey STONER, KTM, 1:49.225
6. Mirko GIANSANTI, Aprilia, 1:49.638
7. Steve JENKNER, Aprilia, 1:49.755
8. Jorge LORENZO, Derbi, 1:49.795
9. Gabor TALMACSI, Malaguti, 1:49.798
10. Youichi UI, Aprilia, 1:49.915
11. Manuel HERNANDEZ, Aprilia, 1:49.935
12. Mattia PASINI, Aprilia, 1:49.949
13. Marco SIMONCELLI, Aprilia, 1:50.159
14. Sergio GADEA, Aprilia, 1:50.202
15. Pablo NIETO, Aprilia, 1:50.245

Copyright 2004, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

The AMA Superbike event at Infineon Raceway will not be affected by rain in 2004, according to weather.com.

The weather forecast for Sonoma, California calls for very little chance of rain over the next 10 days with high temperatures near 80 degrees Fahrenheit each day.

Rain during Friday and Saturday of the 2003 AMA event at Infineon Raceway canceled nearly all practice sessions, washed out all qualifying sessions, caused all classes to be gridded by points and order of entry and forced all races to be run on Sunday.

The effect on-going road construction on Highway 37 between the racetrack and Vallejo, California remains to be seen. Traffic on Highway 37 Friday afternoon was detoured onto surface streets Thursday evening causing long back-ups.

Traditionally, Highway 37 has had long traffic back-ups on race day under normal conditions.

Copyright 2004, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

The Valvoline EMGO Suzuki two-seat GSX-R1000 Superbike made its first appearance of the 2004 season during promoter practice Thursday at Infineon Raceway.

With Steve Rapp at the controls, the team uses the retired racebike to give general-interest and mainstream media members a better appreciation for the sport of motorcycle road racing and promote the sport in general via on-track rides at speed.

The first rider Thursday was KRON-TV San Francisco morning show reporter Liam Mayclem, who did a total of five live television spots with Rapp and the two-seater bike, in the pits and on the track.

During the lunch break in Thursday’s promoter practice, Rapp also gave a ride to “Kool” 101.9 KCCL-FM’s Dick Sisich, who does 12 motorsports reports on the Sacramento oldies station.

“That was an incredible ride. I’ve been around this track before several times in cars, but it’s a totally different perspective when you’re on a motorcycle,” said Sisich, a motorcycle rookie and former race car driver. “Steve is an unbelieveable rider. You can’t even tell when he shifts, he’s so smooth. A fantastic experience. I really enjoyed it.

“I certainly have more of an appreciation for what the riders do, the skill set that is required. I just can’t believe the way that bike sticks, the way it brakes and the acceleration, of course.”

From a press release issued by Ducati North america:

CENTOPASSI —THE EXTREME MOTORCYCLING EVENT —RETURNS THIS SUMMER FROM JULY 21- 25, 2004. BROUGHT TO YOU BY DUCATI AND DREAM ENGINE, REGISTRATION IS NOW OPEN.

Participants can test their riding skills and endurance on the demanding mountain roads of Italy and France. Organized by Dream Engine, Ducati Motor is the main sponsor of the event for the second consecutive year.

Bologna, April 2004. Following the success of the 2003 edition, Dream Engine and Ducati are excited to announce the second edition of CENTOPASSI –the extreme two wheeled adventure tailored for passionate motorcyclists who want to test their driving skills, push their endurance on some of the most demanding roads and mountain passes, and have a great time.

While last year’s route ran long and wide through the eastern alpine region of Italy, this summer’s itinerary runs along the opposite side—swerving over the western border of Italy, in and out of France. The itinerary sweeps through exquisite alpine locations along enjoyable roads. The 5-day event will depart from Côte d’Azur (France) on the 21st of July, and the route will take participants through the towns of Sospe (FR), Limone Piemonte (IT), Barcelonette (FR), Cesana Torinese (Piedmonte, IT), Albertville (FR), l’Alpe d’Huez (FR), and Morgex (Vallle d’Aosta, IT), finishing in the Italian town of Saint Vincent (Vallle d’Aosta, IT) on the 25th July.



The 2004 CENTOPASSI has been designed to challenge riders even more than the 2003 edition. Each leg has been carefully studied to render the route more captivating and entertaining than ever. As in 2003, the event is open to motorbikes of all brands and all years and the participation categories – Competition and Iron Biker – are characterized as follows:

Competition Class Participants may choose to take part individually or as part of a team of 5 riders. They will ride an estimated 300/400 kilometres per day, covering numerous mountain passes. Although CENTOPASSI is not a test of speed, participants are requested to ride a very demanding route, designed for experienced riders. Each day, riders in this class will be subjected to ability tests to evaluate their riding skills and motorcycle performance.

Iron Biker Class
This class is for those riders who prefer a non-competitive experience, taking in the stunning scenery, historic villages and overall flavour of the Italian and French mountain experience. Expert motorcycle guides from the Curve&Tornanti Team will accompany this group, offering tips on mountain riding.

The limit of participants for the Competition Class is fixed at 140 riders, whilst there is no number limit for the Iron Biker Class.

Again this year, the motorcyclist who proves to be the best overall rider in the Competition Class will be awarded a Ducati Multistrada during the prize giving ceremony held on the last night of the event.

Ducati Motor for the second consecutive year is the main sponsor of CENTOPASSI. The Multistrada Challenge celebrates the versatility of the company’s recently launched best selling bike, the Multistrada—a bike designed by the Bologna based motorbike manufacturer to confront every possible road condition, from tortuous mountain curves, to highspeed highways and traffic filled urban centers.

Superga, the specialist sports shoes and clothing company, has recently confirmed that it will be technical sponsor, providing clothing for staff and participants and in doing so linking itself to the excitement and challenging spirit of the event. Centopassi is also made possible by the support of APT Servizi – Emilia Romagna Tourist Board.

From a press release issued by Ducati North America:

DUCATI MOTOR COLLABORATES WITH PARSONS SCHOOL OF DESIGN TO CREATE INNOVATIVE MOTORCYCLE APPAREL

Collection will premier in New York on May 10 at Parsons Benefit and Fashion Show, with special appearance by Eric Bostrom, Ducati AMA Superbike race. Collection will also be on display in Italy from May 17 to May 23 at the World Ducati Week at the Santa Monica track in Misano.

Bologna (IT), April 2004: Famous for its racing-inspired motorcycles characterized by unique engine features, innovative design, advanced engineering and overall technical excellence, Ducati has partnered with the Parson’s School of Design in New York to create a collection of motorcycle-inspired apparel and accessories. The six month project has resulted in a collection which will be unveiled on May 10th at the 56th Annual Parsons Benefit and Fashion Show. Eric Bostrom, the Ducati AMA Superbike racer, will make his catwalk debut at the show, wearing select items from the collection.

The Ducati/Parsons project was initiated in Autumn 2003 by Ducati Creative Director, David Gross, who challenged Parsons Fashion Design students to create a new line of motorcycle-inspired apparel and accessories for the premium Italian motorbike manufacturer. With its unbeatable racetrack record, Ducati has long been known for its high performance sport motorcycles. In 1998, the company ventured into the apparel industry and today, apparel and accessories represent areas of tremendous growth for Ducati. Ducati’s expertise in protective gear and body armor complements Parsons’ creative insight on current fashion trends, resulting in an exciting new dimension in motorcycle gear. With additional support from the Italian Trade Commission, which supplied leather and high-tech fabrics for the project, the Parsons students have created impressive results.

Ducati has long been known for the premium it places on design. In the past decade, Ducati designers have created distinct modern masterpieces of industrial design: the Ducati Monster, the 916, the MH900e, and most recently, Pierre Terblanche’s new 999, Multistrada 1000 and the Sport Classic retro-futuristic dream bikes. Today, Ducati motorbikes are icons of industrial design and have been included as works of art in various museums, including the Guggenheim in New York and the Museum of Modern Art in San Francisco.

The students of Parsons have created an impressive collection, ranging from intimate wear to accessories and on-road gear. Student Jane Choi has created a line of sports bags and shoes that harness the wild, sleek energy of the bikes, while Nery Vargas focused on t-shirt style dresses inspired by the clean lines of the open road. Wing Sze Luk’s watches, jewelry and underwear bring the style to an intimate level, and Kristina Fuchs and June Keltaneh focused on a futuristic line of outerwear.

“Gorgeous, impressive and incredible! The collection anticipates many of the apparel and accessories trends in the high performance motorcycle world and adds an element of contemporary fashion that is truly exciting and avant-garde, “says Gross.

The Ducati/Parsons collection will premiere at the Parsons Benefit and Fashion show on Monday, May 10, 2004. This year’s event honors Parsons alumnus Marc Jacobs, and will take place at Pier 60, Chelsea Piers, New York. The show will showcase the best of the graduating seniors’ collection and feature student work for two other themes, including Italian textiles arranged by the Italian Trade Commission and new designs incorporating SAGA Furs. The Gold Thimble Awards and the Designer of the Year Award will also be presented, and about 700 fashion industry leaders are expected to be in attendance at the benefit and show, which raises funds for scholarships and academic program needs.

In addition, the collection will be on display in Italy from May 17 to May 23 at the World Ducati Week at the Santa Monica track in Misano Adriatico, where over 30,000 Ducati enthusiasts are expected. A huge event attended by press and celebrities from all over the world, the show promises international exposure on a grand level.

The Parsons School of Design is the alma mater of many fashion luminaries, including Donna Karan, Tom Ford and Fernandez Rodriguez. The school currently enrolls about 2,400 undergraduate students, 500 graduate students, and 2,500 non-degree students from the USA and 60 countries.

Copyright 2004, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Several Parts Canada Superbike Championship teams are at Infineon Raceway for a final warm-up before their season begins in May but with one key rider missing.

Present during Thursday’s promoter practice were Coors Light Blackfoot Suzuki’s Craig Connell and Clint McBain, DXS Diablo Suzuki’s Steve Crevier and Jeff Williams and Honda Canada’s Andrew Nelson.

Honda Canada’s Jordan Szoke, a two-time Canadian Superbike Champion and former AMA regular, was not at Infineon Raceway Thursday and may not make it to the track due to trouble entering the United States, according to a crew member who asked to remain anonymous.

Neither Szoke nor Honda Canda Team Owner Alan Labrosse could be reached at post time.

Then riding for the Corona Extra Suzuki AMA team, Szoke ran into visa troubles while attempting to enter the United States in May of 2002 (during a period of increased border security, following the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks) and had to finish that season in the Canadian series.

Szoke raced in the AMA event at Daytona International Speedway this past March.