From a press release issued by MSS Discovery Kawasaki Team:

British Supersport/National Superstock Championships
Round three ­
Snetterton, April 25 2004

MSS DISCOVERY ACES CHASE GLORY IN NORFOLK

The MSS Discovery Kawasaki team is looking to its trio of Pere Riba, Rob Frost and Steve Allan to secure success in Sunday’s third round of the British Supersport and National Superstock Championships at the Snetterton circuit in Norfolk.

The team’s British Supersport title hopes are firmly with Pere Riba presently after two solid fourth place finishes have left the Spaniard second in the series and just seven points from the lead.

Riba believes: “Snetterton could well be a circuit for us to at least climb the podium for the first time. It’s not that much of a technical circuit and I’m really hoping to take a victory.

“We’ve got two rounds out of the way and scored about the amount of points we may have accepted to get our season under way. Now it’s time to get the ZX-6RR dialled in and go for the win.”

Rob Frost, Riba’s team-mate in the MSS Discovery Supersport side of the team, is looking for his first finish of the year after twice becoming entangled with other riders and crashing out, in the Silverstone and Brands Hatch races.

“I’ve had a nightmare start to the year,” admits Frost. “But I’ve had a lot of success at Snetterton before and I’m looking to be up with the leaders on Sunday. Staying out of trouble is important but I know this weekend provides a really good chance for me.”

The MSS Discovery team’s Superstock rider Steve Allan is out to make amends. Allan crashed out of the last round at Brands Hatch, all after a fantastic pole position and third place finish at the opening Silverstone round four weeks ago.

“The Brands Hatch crash was a major blow,” recalls Allan. “I needed points but I’m still very confident about the ability of the ZX-10R ­ especially at high speed circuits like Snetterton.”

Allan adds: “We’re definitely improving the machine every time I’m out on it and there’s an awful long way to go in the championship so we’re well aware that getting back into contention for the title is easily possible.”

Team owners Stuart Simmonds and Nick Morgan continue their quest for a British Championship victory and are optimistic about their Snetterton prospects.

Simmonds believes: “We’ve put an immense effort into the 2004 season and we¹ve already seen the result of that ­ coupled with the experience and ability of Pere. Now we need to move up another gear and ensure our prominence becomes more evident in both classes ­ Nick and myself are confident of achieving that with the ZX-6RR and ZX-10R Kawasakis.”



British Supersport Championship points after two of 13 rounds: 1 Jay Vincent, Honda 33, 2 Pere Riba, Kawasaki and Michael Laverty, Ducati 26, 4 Karl Harris, Honda and Luke Quigley, Suzuki 25, 6 Craig Jones, Triumph 20, 7 Kieran Murphy, Honda 19, 8 Simon Andrews, Yamaha 16, 9 Tom Tunstall, Honda 14, 10 Leon Camier, Honda 11.

National Superstock Championship points after two of 13 rounds: 1 Andy Tinsley, Suzuki 45, 2 Ben Wilson, Suzuki 38, 3 Tristan Palmer, Suzuki and Danny Beaumont, Yamaha 29, 5 Les Shand, Yamaha 20, 6 Steve Allan, Kawasaki and Mark Heckles, Yamaha 16, 8 Kelvin Reilly, Ducati 15, 9 Craig Fitzpatrick, Suzuki 14, 10 Darren Mitchell, Suzuki 11.



2004 British Supersport / National Superstock Championship calendars


1 March 28 Silverstone, Northants.

2 April 12 Brands Hatch, Kent

3 April 25 Snetterton, Norfolk

4 May 3 Oulton Park, Cheshire

5 May 23 Mondello Park, Ireland*

6 June 6 Thruxton, Hants.

7 June 20 Brands Hatch, Kent

8 July 4 Knockhill, Fife

9 July 18 Mallory Park, Leics**

10 August 15 Croft, North Yorks

11 August 30 Cadwell Park, Lincs.

12 September 12 Oulton Park, Cheshire

13 September 19 Donington Park, Derbys.


* No Superstock round
** Two Superstock races

From a press release issued by AMA Pro Racing:

Hayden heads Pro Honda Oils Supersport Championship Presented by Shoei for the first time

Oldest of the racing Hayden brothers likes his chances at Infineon Raceway

PICKERINGTON, Ohio (April 23, 2004) — Tommy Hayden is in his ninth year of racing in the Pro Honda Oils Supersport Championship presented by Shoei. The oldest of the famous trio of Hayden brothers, Tommy has finished in the top five in the AMA Supersport Championship a total of five times and was runner-up twice. Hayden is ranked sixth on the all-time AMA Supersport wins list and he has the distinction of winning an AMA Supersport race by one of the largest margins in the history of the series when he smoked the rest of the field by over 16 seconds in the rain at Laguna Seca in 1999. In spite of his impressive accomplishments, the one thing Hayden has never done is lead the series point standings – until now. Hayden finds himself atop the championship as it moves to round three on April 30-May 2, as part of the Kawasaki AMA Superbike Showdown at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, Calif.

Hayden is coming off a victory on his Kawasaki ZX-6RR at California Speedway earlier this month. That win moved him past Daytona winner Jason DiSalvo into the championship lead. His younger brother Roger Lee Hayden is third in the series, also riding a Kawasaki. While the elder Hayden is happy with his position at this point in the year, he’s not thinking too far ahead.

“Yeah, it’s great to be on top of the series, but it’s not like I’m going to celebrate yet,” Hayden said. “It’s really early and there’s a lot of racing to be done. I am happy because it seems in the past I’ve always started the year slow in Supersport and have had to charge back to get into the championship race. This year I’ve gotten off to a good start so I need to keep my momentum going.”

Hayden tested a couple of times at Infineon and feels he has as much of an opportunity as anyone to win.

“I comfortable with the bike,” Hayden added. “The handling is great and we now have the power we didn’t have last year. Now I can just concentrate on riding the bike and not worry about anything else. My ZX-6RR is dialed in and it seems to work well on any type of track so I like my chances at Sears (Infineon Raceway).”

The one thing working against Hayden at Infineon is history. In the years he’s raced Supersport there Hayden has never finished better than fifth, plus a Kawasaki rider has not won at the track in Supersport since 1996 when Thomas Stevens rode a Kawasaki to victory. Then again, history was against Jamie Hacking last year. He’d suffered a miserable past at Infineon only to finally break through and earn a victory last year. He went on to win the AMA Supersport title.

Hacking will be one of the favorites again this year. The No. 1 Yamaha rider comes into this weekend tied for fourth in the standings, but is only 12 points out of first. It’s a tight race overall in Supersport with the top seven riders separated by only 20 points.

Local hero Steve Rapp of Valvoline EMGO Suzuki leads Suzuki in the points. Rapp, an Oakland native, is seventh in the series after scoring a pair of top-10 finishes in the first two rounds. Yoshimura Suzuki’s Ben Spies also figures to make a big leap from his current 11th-place in the point standings this week. After blowing out a shock and not scoring a single point at Daytona, Spies charged back to finish second at California Speedway. Look for the talented Texan to be a serious contender.

Privateer Michael Barnes is experiencing resurgence this year. The Floridian veteran has raced AMA Supersport since its inception and finds himself in a solid sixth in the standings. Those who like to root for the underdog need to look no further than Barnes to find a favorite.

Call 800-870-RACE, or visit www.infineonraceway.com or www.ticketmaster.com for additional information on the Kawasaki AMA Superbike Showdown. The Infineon Supersport race will shown live at 4 p.m. Eastern on SPEED Channel on Sunday, May 2.

Copyright 2004, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

A Renton, Washington motorcycle dealership has moved into a 120,000-square-foot building formerly occupied by a HomeBase store and has built an indoor track run by former AMA short track great Mickey Fay.

The new home of Renton Motorcycles, (which sells Honda, Yamaha, Suzuki, Kawasaki, Polaris, Indian and Swift products) also includes a cafe and bar and meeting rooms available for use by local clubs.

The indoor track can be configured for either short track or motocross racing and has seating for 1000 spectators. The track is open seven days a week for practice, and which configuration will be in use at any given time is posted on a website, www.wideopensportsarena.com.

The dealership and its service department are also open seven days a week, and an area above the service department features a display of Vintage motorcycles.

Renton Motorcycles is celebrating its grand opening through April 25th.

More information is available at www.rmcmotorsports.com or by calling (503) 572-6635.

Copyright 2004, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.


Total purse for the AMA Chevrolet Superbike Championship Presented By Parts Unlimited, AMA Kawasaki Showdown, Presented by Cycle Gear, featuring Sunday’s Supercuts Superbike Challenge, April 30-May 2 at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, California is $105,000.

Individual class payouts follow:

Superbike
$70,500 purse
Half paid for each of two races
1. $6500
2. $5400
3. $4300
4. $3700
5. $3300
6. $3000
7. $2800
8. $2700
9. $2600
10. $2500
11. $2400
12. $2300
13. $2200
14. $2100
15. $2050
16. $2000
17. $1950
18. $1900
19. $1850
20. $1750
21. $1650
22. $1550
23. $1450
24. $1350
25. $1250
26. $1000
27. $900
28. $800
29. $650
30. $600
31. $500
32. $450
33. $400
34. $350
35. $300


Formula Xtreme, Supersport, Superstock
$11,500 purse per class
1. $1600
2. $1400
3. $1100
4. $900
5. $775
6. $700
7. $650
8. $600
9. $550
10. $500
11. $450
12. $375
13. $325
14. $300
15. $275
16. $250
17. $225
18. $200
19. $175
20. $150

From a press release issued by Ducati North America:

DUCATI CONFIRMS INTEREST IN MOTO GUZZI

Bologna, Italy, April 22, 2004 – Ducati Motor Holding S.p.A. (NYSE: DMH and Borsa Italiana S.p.A: DMH), a leading manufacturer of high performance motorcycles, in response to news recently published in the press, today confirmed – as it has done in the past – its interest in Moto Guzzi.

At the end of the due diligence process, Ducati will formally make an offer in the next few weeks. Any additional information published in the press is without foundation.

Founded in 1926, Ducati builds racing-inspired motorcycles characterized by unique engine features, innovative design, advanced engineering and overall technical excellence. Ducati has won twelve of the last fourteen World Superbike Championship titles and more individual victories than the competition put together. The Company produces motorcycles in five market segments which vary in their technical and design features and intended customers: Superbike, Supersport, Monster, Sport Touring and Multistrada. The Company’s motorcycles are sold in more than 40 countries worldwide, with a primary focus in the Western European and North American markets. For more information about the Company, please visit our web site at http://www.ducati.com.

This press release contains statements that are forward-looking and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated, as described in documents previously filed by the Company with CONSOB and with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

From a press release issued by Ducati Corse:

Ducati Marlboro Team GP preview
MARLBORO SPANISH GRAND PRIX
Jerez, April 30/May 1/2 2004

DUCATI MARLBORO MEN ENTER EUROPEAN CAMPAIGN

The Ducati Marlboro Team comes to Spain looking forward to making more progress with its new-for-2004 Desmosedici GP4. Riders Loris Capirossi and Troy Bayliss gave the bike a promising race debut in South Africa two weeks ago, with plenty more to come from the 230-plus horsepower machine.

A new bike’s debut race is always a learning exercise, and Ducati Marlboro Team engineers learned plenty at Welkom, knowledge that they aim to use to good effect at Jerez, traditionally the first European GP of the season. The team was particularly pleased with how the GP4 used its tyres over full-race distance, one of the major aims of the 2004 redesign.

“At this stage of the season we are just learning how to work with the new bike in a race scenario,” says Ducati Marlboro Team director Livio Suppo. “The first race showed some of the bike’s potential and gave us a lot of data. Both our guys were happy with the way the bike worked with the tyres at the end of the race. We’ve made a big improvement in this area, and that was one of the main goals of the GP4. The bike’s heat management is also much better, which was another of the big ideas for 2004. This weekend the machine will be basically the same as it was at Welkom, then we stay on at the track to continue development on Monday and Tuesday.”

Ducati Marlboro Team technical director Corrado Cecchinelli believes that Jerez is a well-balanced circuit, where tyre management is crucial.

“It’s not an easy track for the right side of the tyres, but it’s less demanding than Welkom, and our rear tyres finished that race in perfect condition,” he reveals. “It seems that the new bike uses its tyres more consistently over race distance, and we’re pleased about that. Jerez is difficult because it’s full of fast corners. Riders need a lot of confidence to go through these turns quickly, plus they need good power delivery because you use a lot of gas through these corners. Riders also need big confidence in the front end so they can attack the turns. The track is a good mix – it’s got no long straights but plenty of fast turns and some hairpins, so you need a well balanced bike.”

CAPIROSSI IS READY TO UP THE ANTE
Loris Capirossi goes into round two with some confidence after his promising ride to sixth at Welkom. The Italian Ducati Marlboro Team man came back from a sluggish start to set the fifth fastest lap of the race and finish just 0.28 seconds behind fifth-placed Nicky Hayden (Honda).
“We are working hard,” he says. “I would say the new bike is at 85 to 90 per cent of its potential, but we need to be at 110 per cent to battle with the guys at the front. Jerez was great for our team last year, even though I fell in the race. We were first and second on the grid and Troy made the podium. I like the track a lot, it’s got a lot of fast corners and it rises and falls. But what I really like about Jerez is the people – the fans are fantastic! And it’s always the first race in Europe, so it’s the first time the paddock really gets together.”

BAYLISS RETURNS TO HAPPY HUNTING GROUND
Third at Jerez last year, Troy Bayliss had a tough start to his second MotoGP season at Welkom, but still came away with two crucial points for 14th. The Aussie had decided to make major changes to his Desmosedici GP4 before heading to South Africa, so he spent much of the Welkom weekend sorting out a new set-up.
“It’s like my year started when we began practice on the Friday,” says the Ducati Marlboro Team rider. “But the bike got better every day at Welkom, so I’m looking forward to getting to Jerez. We did well last time – I was second to Loris in qualifying, finished third in the race and came away with a real good feeling. I like the track because it’s really flowing, especially the section from turn two to turn five, you’ve got some really fast lefts that lead into a fast right, where you use all the ripple strip on the exit.”

THE TRACK
Constructed in 1986, Jerez hosted its first Grand Prix the following year and has remained on the World Championship calendar ever since. Through the nineties the event grew to become the most popular GP of all. Last year it attracted a crowd of 203,324 fans.

Riders love the Andalucian venue because it’s a track that rewards rider talent over machine performance. Many of the circuit’s 13 corners flow into one another, placing the emphasis on smooth, neat riding and stable, all-round machine performance. The circuit character places particular emphasis on front-tyre grip, though the many slow-speed turns also require MotoGP riders to control wheelspin as they power out of the corners. Two years ago the track underwent resurfacing and total reconstruction of its infrastructure.

JEREZ: 4.423km/2.748 miles
Lap record: Valentino Rossi (Honda) 1m 42.788s, 154.909kmh/96.256mph
Pole position 2003: Loris Capirossi (Ducati Marlboro Team), 1m 41.983s

DUCATI MARLBORO TEAM DATA LOGS
LORIS CAPIROSSI
Age: 31 (April 4, 1973)
Lives: Monaco
Bike: Ducati Marlboro Team Desmosedici GP4
GP victories: 23 (1xMotoGP, 2×500, 12×250, 8×125)
First GP victory: Britain, 1990 (125)
First GP: Japan, 1990 (125)
GP starts: 201 (31xMotoGP, 59×500, 84×250, 27×125)
Pole positions: 36 (3xMotoGP, 5×500, 23×250, 5×125)
First pole: Australia, 1991 (125)
World Championships: 3 (125: 1990, 1991, 250: 1998)
Jerez 2003 results. Grid: pole. Race: DNF

TROY BAYLISS
Age: 35 (March 30, 1969)
Lives: Monaco
Bike: Ducati Marlboro Team Desmosedici GP4
First GP: Australia, 1997 (250)
GP starts: 18 (17xMotoGP, 1×250)
World Superbike victories: 22
World Championships: 1 (Superbike: 2001)
Jerez 2003 results. Grid: 2nd. Race: 3rd.

From yeat another press release issued by Ducati North America:

DUCATI ANNOUNCES THE WINNERS OF THE COMPETITION ‘DESIGN YOUR DREAM DUCATI’

Our panel of judges has just announced the winners of Design Your Dream Ducati, the competition launched one year ago to offer all enthusiasts of the marque the chance to submit their own interpretation of the Ducati bike of the future.

Bologna, April 2004 – Ducati Motor Holding S.p.A. (NYSE: DMH, Borsa Italiana S.p.A. DMH), the motorcycle manufacturer, is proud to announce the winners of ‘Design Your Dream Ducati’ , the first ever national competition dedicated to the passion, talent and imagination of Ducati fans all over the world.

The overall winners of the two categorise “bike” and “non bike” are:

Bike – ‘Flat Red’ by Jems Von Brauck



Non bike – ‘Artificial Heart’, by Steve Gummer, a small, strong, lightweight, highly tuned and perfectly engineered artificial organ built around Ducati’s desmodromic system, capable of exhilarating performance.



The jury, made up of Decio Carugati, journalist and design expert, as well as Miguel Sal, head of one of the most important Italian advertising agency, also awarded prizes in the categories listed below with their respective winners:

Ducati Corse Special Prize:
‘Ducati 1000 UL’, by Paolo De Giusti
Click to view

Design Special Prize:
‘Ducati Arc’ , by Gerard Baten
Click to view

Ducati.com Special Prize:
‘Velocità Coffee Maker’, di Garry Sammons
Click to view

Chairman Special Prize:
‘S2 Braida’, by Paolo Tesio
Click to view

Press Special Prize:
‘CD Player’, by Federico Verardi
Click to view

Ducati Finance Special Prize:
‘Cucciolo 03′, by Fabian Eilingsfeld
Click to view

Creativity Special Prize:
‘Bilancia Ducati’, by Federico Verardi
Click to view

Ducati Performance Special prize:
‘Shoes for Ducati Ladies’, by Richard Pfeiffer
Click to view

Ducati R&D Special Prize:
‘ Ducati Roadster’, by Massimo Zaniboni
Click to view

The finalists hail from a number of different countries and a variety of academic and professional backgrounds; Steve Gummer, for example, is a designer from England, 28 years old, and currently a member of the Blue Marlin team (London); Federico Verardi from Italy, who at age 23 is one of the youngest to take part in the competition, is a student at the University of Reggio Emilia and lives in Bologna; Garry Sammonsis, a thirty-year old New Zealander, is a student of industrial design at Massey University (Auckland); Richard Pfeiffer and Fabian Eilingsfeld, two forty-year olds from Germany with degrees in cybernetic and aerospace engineering. They are people from very different walks of life united by a common passion for the Ducati marque.

The competition, which was designed to foster, encourage and promote passion, talent and imagination in the world of motorcycle racing, has been an enormous success, with many thousands of designs sent in from all over the world. The two overall winners, Jems Von Brauck and Steve Gummer, will each receive a Ducati motorcycle as their prize.

The story of Ducati design is the evolution of industrial aesthetics and the experience gained on the circuits all round the world in over sixty years of building motorcycles. In recent times the Ducati design team has been led by three world famous designers: Miguel Galluzzi, Massimo Tamburini and Pierre Terblanche. Over the last decades these designers have created masterpieces of the modern art of industrial design: the Monster, the 916, the MH900e and, more recently, the new 999 and the Multistrada 1000 of Terblanche. These icons of motorcycling are the result of simple yet essential principles that lie at the heart of every Ducati: imagination, technical innovation and passion.

The winning designs will soon be on show in the pages of website www.ducati.com, and there will also be the opportunity to be seen first-hand during the World Ducati Week, the gathering of Ducati enthusiasts from all over the world to be held at the Misano circuit at the end of May, where the designs will be on display throughout the week so that everyone will get the chance to admire them.

From a press release:

Super Dave Previews Round Two in Wisconsin

Eagle, Wisconsin’s Dave Rosno will compete in the Formula USA National Road Racing Championship Series at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin April 23 ­ 25th on his Sportsman’s Park/4&6 Performance/ Michelin Yamaha R6. This is the second of eight rounds in this motorcycle road racing national championship.

“Our performance at Daytona International Speedway in February was great. I really exceeded my expectations in my placings. I didn’t think I’d be in the top ten so early, but we’re right there,” the thirty-six year old racer stated. ‘Super Dave,’ as he’s well known, competes in two classes for 600cc motorcycles, Sportbike and Superbike.

Additionally, he competes in Formula Sportbike, a class for 1000cc twin cylinder and 750cc four cylinder machines. “I’m ambitious in that I’m trying to race more classes to take home more purse money that I can apply to my program, Super Dave’s Race Against Childhood Cancer. It’s tiring, but certainly not as hard on my body as what it takes for a family to fight cancer. I¹m just trying to help with research funds to give to Midwest Athletes Against Childhood Cancer through my purse money and sales of T-shirts.”

At Daytona, “Super” Dave finished 10th in Sportbike, 11th in Superbike, and 7th in Formula Sportbike.

“With all the races I’m doing, they end up being right on top of each other. I really have to thank Michelin for making tires that go the distance.”

Qualifying for the Formula USA National Road Racing Series events will take place on Saturday, April 24th. Racing action will begin at 1PM on Sunday, April 25th.