From a press release issued by Harley-Davidson:

Harley-Davidson INTRODUCES Training Course for Current MOTORCYCLE Riders

Rider’s Edge Skilled Rider Course offers motorcyclists the chance to hone skills

MILWAUKEE – Rider’s Edge, the Harley-Davidson Academy of Motorcycling, introduces a new course aimed at further developing the riding skills of current motorcyclists. The Rider’s Edge Skilled Rider Course offers motorcyclists additional training and practice to give riders more confidence and make the riding experience more enjoyable.

“Every motorcycle rider can benefit from additional training and development of riding skills,” said Dave Koenings, Harley-Davidson director of Rider’s Edge. “Whether you’re an existing rider, a returning rider or a newer rider, the Skilled Rider Course gives all motorcyclists a way to improve riding skills in a controlled setting.”

Several Harley-Davidson dealers, who currently offer the Rider’s Edge New Rider Course, are preparing to offer the Skilled Rider Course starting this summer. Similar to the Rider’s Edge New Rider Course, the Skilled Rider Course uses the proven curriculum of the Motorcycle Safety Foundation’s (MSF) Experienced Rider Course (ERC) Suite. Additionally, all Skilled Rider Course instructors are MSF and Harley-Davidson certified.

“Harley-Davidson wants to help equip riders at every skill level for a safe riding experience,” said Koenings. “Offering continued rider training is one of the steps the company has taken to accomplish that end.”

The Rider’s Edge Skilled Rider Course takes place in the dealership and at nearby range facilities, with class sizes ranging from six to twelve students. Lasting approximately seven hours, the course includes interactive exercises and plenty of riding practice.

To enroll in the course, riders must have access to a motorcycle to use for training, their own protective riding gear, such as a helmet and footwear and be able to demonstrate basic motorcycle control skills. Other requirements for enrollment vary by state. Students who complete the course will be issued MSF completion cards, and may be eligible for a discount on motorcycle insurance coverage, depending on their state of residence and insurance provider. The cost to participate in the Skilled Rider Course is determined by each participating dealership.

Rider’s Edge, the Harley-Davidson Academy of Motorcycling, currently offers three training courses: the New Rider Course, the Skilled Rider Course and the Group Riding Course. For more information on Rider’s Edge courses throughout the country, please visit www.ridersedge.com.

Harley-Davidson Motor Company, the only major U.S.-based motorcycle manufacturer, produces heavyweight motorcycles and a complete line of motorcycle parts, accessories and general merchandise. For more information, visit Harley-Davidson’s web site at www.harley-davidson.com

Copyright 2004, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Talented but trouble-prone racer Anthony Gobert may not race his Erion Honda CBR1000RR in the AMA Superstock race at Daytona International Speedway due to visa troubles.

“I understand he hasn’t got his visa stuff straightened out,” Erion Honda team owner Kevin Erion told Roadracingworld.com Tuesday morning in the Daytona paddock. “We knew when we put the deal together that he hadn’t gotten his visa and that he may or may not have it for here. We were obviously hoping he would.”

Erion said he believed Gobert was still in Australia and said he needed to arrive in Daytona by Wednesday morning, the start of AMA practice, to be able to race.

Erion said he did not know if he would put a replacement rider on Gobert’s machines if the Aussie did not make it to Florida in time.

From a press release issued by FGSport Group:

Toseland and Haga Share Spoils in Round One

With bizarre weather conditions affecting the morning of raceday at Valencia Regis Laconi (Ducati Fila 999F04) took an early lead in the first race, only to fall and lose a possible 25 points. His team-mate James Toseland was the man to capitalize most and he duly took the win in the first 23-lap contest. In the second race Laconi’s luck continued on its downward spiral, as his chain jumped the sprockets and he had to pull out of the second contest in one day. Noriyuki Haga, from the Renegade Ducati team, rookies in SBK as they are, duly rode like his old self to win the second race convincingly, from second place Toseland.

With all riders on the same spec Pirelli tyres this season the competition in each race, the frequently wet first race and the dry second, the competition was levelled out to a great degree, with riding talent and machine set-up the determining factors overall.

In the first race, some riders opted for slicks, a combination of wets and slicks, or full wets with most of the quickest riders proving to have opted for the full wet combo. Pierfrancesco Chili (PSG-1 Ducati) ripped his way to an immensely satisfying second place after a winter of extreme discontent, and rode his ‘old’ 998 Ducati to second place in race one, fourth in race two. Steve Martin (DFX Ducati) was desperately unhappy to be dropped out of contention by a mechanical problem in race one, but made up for his disappointment to secure a career best third place in race two.

A historic moment came to Chris Walker and the Petronas team, with the English rider delivering them their first podium finish, third in race one. Walker went seventh in the dry race two, while his team-mate Troy Corser fell while making a charge in the leading position in race one, easing his way to 11th in the final leg.

Chris Vermeulen had an eventful induction into World Superbike, as did his Ten Kate Honda team, after he had to pit in wet conditions, restart and finish 12th. In race two a terrible start saw him well down the order, only for him to charge back into contention and finish fifth on his CBR1000RR.

A great day in many ways for race two winner Noriyuki Haga started badly in race one, as he was forced to retire with gear selection problems. His team-mate Leon Haslam made up for it in some regards by finishing a battling fifth. He ran off track in race two fighting back to ninth place.

A brilliant result in the changeable race one conditions delivered a sixth place to class rookie Gianluca Nannelli (Pedercini Ducati). Running slick tyres in race one Garry McCoy (Xerox Ducati NCR 999RS) went seventh and then sixth on his SBK debut. Local rider Sergio Fuertes sent the local fans’ hearts a flutter with his strong front running in the first race, and his eventual eighth place was a personal best for the Spaniard.

In the World Championship itself, Toseland is a clear leader, 45 points to Chili’s 33. Haga’s win and DNF scored him 25 points, for joint third with Chris Walker.

Van Den Goorbergh Takes Supersport Win – In the first round of the World Supersport Championship, a 1-2 finish for the Yamaha Italia team gave Jurgen van den Goorbergh the race win, and Fabien Foret second place, after an outstgandingly unpredictable 23-lap race. Held in the dry after the rains of the morning, the competition was intense, with multiple changes of the lead and a waxing and waning in fortunes for many of the top contenders. Broc Parkes (Ten Kate Honda) fell from an early leading position, and after a Honda-Honda fight between pole man Karl Muggeridge and Klaffi Honda rider Sebastien Charpentier, the Yamaha riders came to the fore at just the right time. The all-new Suzuki of Katsuaki Fujiwara took third place after working his way up as other riders slipped back. An outstanding ride from Lorenzo Lanzi pushed the Ducati 749R rider from a lowly qualifying position to fourth place.

From a press release issued by Mat Mladin Motorsports:

MLADIN’S CHASE FOR FIFTH AMERICAN SUPERBIKE TITLE COMMENCES THIS WEEKEND AT DAYTONA

Daytona Beach, Florida, USA (Tuesday, 2 March) – The famed high speed banks of the Daytona International Speedway will this Saturday (March 6) play host to the opening round of the 2004 American AMA Chevrolet Superbike Championship and will become the starting point for Mat Mladin’s quest of winning an unprecedented fifth AMA Superbike crown.

Mladin and his Yoshimura Suzuki team arrive in Florida as the defending series champion but the 63rd running of the Daytona 200 by Arai will bring with it a different focus to that of years gone past.

A winner at Daytona in 2000 and 2001, Mladin acknowledges the importance of the race, but knows it is just one race on the championship calendar.

“Daytona is the first race of eighteen in this championship and that’s the way my planning for this event has been,” said a relaxed, yet confident Mladin. “It is a very unique racetrack and one that is completely different in requirements to all of the other tracks that make up the championship. A lot of people will put a lot of importance on this one race, but our team is focused on the result we want at the end of the year and that’s the championship.”

“We need to leave here with the most amount of points that we can and if a win comes our way, great. That will then give us a basis to work from not only the second round at Fontana, but for the rest of the season.”

The off-season has proven to be very productive for Mladin’s team. Rule changes for this year’s championship have seen them working overtime to ensure their championship winning Suzuki GSX-R1000 remains competitive throughout the season. Changes to fuel injection throttle bodies and air boxes will witness a drop in horsepower and to counter that loss, the team will ensure they have the best possible chassis set up that will allow Mladin to put together consistent fast laps in any conditions.

“Yes we head into the weekend with a bike that has a season’s worth of development done to it and proved it was a championship winner, but the rule changes which have been applied for the year will see it perform differently, especially here at Daytona. We have worked hard in the pre-season getting our chassis set up as best we can and we feel we have some very good suspension settings that will get us around the racetrack in the best possible time.”

For the first time, the 57-lap Daytona 200 mile classic will be conducted on a Saturday. Rain delays in recent years have forced race organisers to bring the race forward as a precaution, and to allow the rescheduling of television and spectator ticketing.

Qualifying for the Daytona 200 begins on Wednesday with the opening sessions determining pole position and the front row of the grid, while Thursday’s qualifying will determine the starting grid for the remainder of the field.

From a press release issued by Ten Kate Honda:

Ten Kate Honda continues testing

Superbike rookie Chris Vermeulen continued his testing programme with the new Honda CBR1000RR on Monday at the Valencia circuit.

Weather conditions were the same as during race 2, and Vermeulen set a best lap of 1:37.2.

Chris Vermeulen commented;”During the weekend we didn’t want to test too much complete new settings since we wanted to concentrate on the race. The test on Monday was perfect, we tried various settings and parts and we improved our laptimes. It appears to me that we are using more and more of the Fireblade’s potential. We just need to continue step by step and that takes time. My technical crew has plenty of information to work with now and hopefully that will allow us to be with the front runners at Phillip Island.”

Copyright 2004, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

All of the major AMA teams are present and accounted for on a warm and sunny Tuesday morning at Daytona International Speedway.

American Honda appeared the best prepared, casually attending to details on CBR1000RR Superbikes and CBR600RR Formula Xtreme machines, which have new carbon-fiber rear subframes.

Team Manager Chuck Miller reported that the team was not able to hold a shakedown test with the new Superbikes before coming to Daytona, but the new bikes had been broken in on dynamometers and ridden by HRC test riders in Japan before being shipped stateside.

In what has become an annual tradition, Ben Bostrom, Miguel Duhamel and Jake Zemke recently spent time in HRC’s wind tunnel and riding on Honda’s high-speed test track in Japan, working on improving the aerodynamics of their tucked-in riding position and drafting techniques.

Aside from dealing with the possibility that Anthony Gobert may not show up to race at Daytona due to visa problems, Erion Honda looked ready to go and was seen applying the last sponsor stickers on the Superstock and Formula Xtreme CBRs of Alex Gobert and the FX bike of Zemke.

The Honda Canada factory team of Jordan Szoke and Andrew Nelson is also at Daytona, with CBR1000RRs.

Yoshimura Suzuki Team Manager Don Sakakura reported that his team was installing just-arrived suspension parts from Showa, the same parts that they found to be improved while testing at California Speedway in February.

Sakakura’s crew was also, like every team, getting tires mounted for Mat Mladin, Aaron Yates and Ben Spies to use in Wednesday morning’s practice.

Kawasaki looked well-prepared, leisurely attending to details on Tommy and Roger Lee Hayden’s ZX-6RR Supersport and ZX-10R Superstock racebikes Tuesday.

Attack Kawasaki just did arrive Tuesday morning, somewhat later than the other teams. Asked about the late arrival, Team Owner Richard Stanboli said, “It’s (ZX-10R) a new motorcycle, so we’re doing a lot of development. We wanted to stay at the shop as long as possible to work on the bikes. Honda gets their bikes in a crate. We get a stock motorcycle and have to build it ourselves.”

Stanboli said lead rider Josh Hayes’ broken foot was getting better everyday and that his ZX-10R Superbike was ready to go for the Daytona 200. Tony Meiring also rides for the Attack Kawasaki team, which hopes for him to do some Formula Xtreme races, in addition to his primary mission in Supersport, in 2004.

It was all systems go over at the Yamaha garage for Jamie Hacking, Damon Buckmaster, Aaron Gobert and Jason DiSalvo. Their garage was decorated with several life-size cardboard cutouts of 2003 AMA Supersport Champion Hacking doing a wheelie on his YZF-R6.

2003 Canadian Superbike and Supersport Champion Pascal Picotte is at Daytona with his new Yamaha YZF-R1 Superstocker and YZF-R6 Supersport racers. Picotte also reported that he has a new sponsor, DXS Diablo, whose support will allow him to develop and race an AMA Superbike at 6-8 events starting as soon as California Speedway.

Brooklin Cycle Yamaha’s Frank Trombino, another Canadian Superbike regular, is also at Daytona.

Team Valvoline EMGO Suzuki was freshening the GSX-Rs of Steve Rapp, Vincent Haskovec and Chris Peris Tuesday morning, after a weekend of successful racing with CCS and Formula USA at Daytona.

Other American Suzuki support teams, like No Limit Suzuki (Jason Pridmore, Jimmy Moore, Jason Curtis) and Empire Racing Suzuki (Lee Acree, Chris “Opie” Caylor), were busy fitting bodywork to their late-arriving GSX-R600s. Both teams’ GSX-R600s will roll onto the racetrack for the first time tomorrow morning.

Due to tire testing for Michelin, Parts Unlimited Ducati Austin has been at Daytona since last Tuesday. The team spent its down time over the CCS/F-USA race weekend installing quick-change wheel hardware on Eric Bostrom’s 999Rs Superbikes. As reported earlier, the team will be without the services of Lead Mechanic Vic Fasola due to personal reasons.

Among the many privateers at Daytona, former AMA 250cc Grand Prix front-runner Perry Melneciuc has switched to the Formula Xtreme class on a pair of Mach 1 EMA (European Motorcycle Accessories) Yamaha YZF-R6s. After telling Roadracingworld.com about his new team, Melneciuc went to finalize his tire deal, which will be with either Dunlop or Pirelli.

According to Weather.com, the weather forecast for Daytona Beach is very good with high temperatures expected to hover around 80 degrees F each day with only a slight chance of rain over the weekend. But in Florida forecasting weather is tricky business at best, as racers found out when high temperatures failed to exceed 45 degrees F last week.


More, from a press release issued by Ducati North america:

PARTS UNLIMITED DUCATI AUSTIN’S ERIC BOSTROM READY FOR DAYTONA

The AMA series swings back into action this weekend at Daytona International Speedway with Eric Bostrom prepared to do battle in the 63rd running of the Daytona 200 aboard the factory-supported Parts Unlimited Ducati Austin 999. Las Vegas resident Bostrom, who has four US National titles to his name, finished seventh overall in the 2003 AMA Superbike championship but would surely have finished higher had a pile-up during the opening lap of the Laguna Seca World Superbike race not cut his season short with an injury.

Having tested at Daytona on the 999 in early December 2003 and again at the start of this year, Bostrom has shown tremendous progress and promise on the Ducati twin. During the January test session, Bostrom set a personal best lap time at Daytona with a 1.47.90 – only a handful of riders have dipped below the 1.48 mark.

The Parts Unlimited Ducati Austin team is the first factory-supported Ducati effort since 1994 to make a run for the AMA title. Michelin has also thrown its weight behind the effort by providing the team with the same tires that were available to World Superbike teams. “I’m really excited about having the chance to run up front at Daytona,” said Bostrom. “The tests we’ve done on Michelins confirmed what we’re capable of and there’s no reason why we can’t be in the hunt.”

Tom Bodenbach, Parts Unlimited Ducati Austin’s team manager, feels ready for the challenge ahead of them. “We gained a lot of experience from running this event the past couple of years. This year, with the factory’s support, we know Eric can be a front-runner. The team’s pretty excited about having a chance to put Ducati into the Daytona history books.”

The Circuit
“Bike Week” is a 10-day motorcycle festival that has been a tradition in Daytona Beach since January 24, 1937 when the inaugural running of the Daytona 200 was held. In the beginning the race was a much shorter and simpler affair: 3.2 miles on a mix of hard-pack sand and pavement. Because of the beach section, starting times for the event were dictated by the local tide tables.

In 1961, the event moved to Daytona International Speedway. There were concerns that the motorcycles would not be able to sustain the speeds needed to deal with the 31-degree banking in the turns of the 2.5 mile trioval, so a two-mile course using the infield and a part of the front stretch became the motorcycle racers’ circuit. Over the years minor changes to the infield were made, with today’s track at 3.56 miles.


More, from a press release issued by Proforma:

HAS/SHOGUN RACING READY FOR DAYTONA

HAS/Shogun Racing heads into the 2004 AMA Chevy Trucks U.S. Superbike Championship season with its primary focus on rider Heath Small. After the team’s successful debut in 2003 with two riders, they will concentrate their efforts on the development of the Yamaha R6s that Heath will use in the Pro Honda Oils Supersport and Lockhart Phillips Formula Xtreme classes throughout the year.

With two successful pre-season tests and an opportunity to race at the CCS/Formula event at Daytona, Heath is confident and comfortable that he is ready to start the season. “I’ve been training hard all winter, and getting the bikes sorted out prior to Daytona was a huge deal,” said Heath. “We’ve got a good baseline already with the suspension and the engine on both bikes, so now we just have to fine tune them for here at Daytona.”

Heath won the CCS Middleweight Grand Prix event at the speedway and was running sixth in Sunday’s Formula USA Superbike event when he fell in the fast infield kink. Heath was uninjured, but the bike suffered extensive damage. The team was confident that they would be able to re-build the bike in time for the start of AMA practice on Wednesday, March 3rd.

The team returns in 2004 with continued support from Shogun Motorsports and Motion CycleSports. Steve Upchurch will continue to do the engine development while David Sanders and Lance Small will tune and maintain the machines. Joey Israel with Ohlins USA will provide technical support with chassis development and suspension.


More, from a press release issued by Proforma:

EMPIRE RACING PUTTING FINAL TOUCHES ON RACEBIKES AT DAYTONA

It’s crunch time at Daytona, with the Empire Racing team working hard to finish preparing their Suzuki GSX-Rs, as the start of the 2004 AMA Chevy Trucks U.S. Superbike Championship looms on Wednesday morning. The team escaped the snow and cold weather at their North Carolina base, preferring to work in the warm Daytona paddock. The team chose not to compete in last weekend’s CCS and Formula USA races.

Riders Lee Acree and Chris “Opie” Caylor will both compete in the new 1000cc-based Repsol Superstock class on their Suzuki GSX-R1000s, which the team received at the beginning of February. However, with the late-February delivery of the Suzuki GSX-R600, the team has had to focus on preparing the 600s at Daytona. Lee will compete in the AMA Pro Honda Oils Supersport class throughout the 2004 season.

“We thought we’d add the challenge of preparing our racebikes at the racetrack,” kidded team manager Noel VanVeld. “Actually, our sponsors have really come through for us. We were already planning to be down here, and a lot of our parts were scheduled to be delivered here, so it worked out just fine. We’ll be ready!”

Empire Racing Suzuki is proud to be partnering with American Suzuki, Pirelli Tires, Leo Vince SBK Exhausts, The XFactory Store, Hotbodies Racing Bodywork, 1-888-FASTLAP, EBC Brakes, Silkolene Lubricants, Thermosman Suspension/Ohlins USA, Teknic Leathers, Pitbull Stands, Vortex Racing, Dynojet Tuning and the Kevin Schwantz Suzuki School.

For more information, contact Empire Racing at (336) 343-4059 or visit their website at www.empireracingmx.com.


More, from a press release issued by Proforma:

MILLENNIUM TECHNOLOGIES SUZUKI TESTS NEW BIKES AT DAYTONA

Millennium Technologies Suzuki riders Shawn Higbee and Danny Eslick had a successful shakedown of their Suzuki GSX-Rs during CCS/Formula USA action at Daytona International Speedway February 27-29, in preparation for round one of the 2004 AMA Chevy Trucks U.S. Superbike Championship series at the speedway coming up March 3-6.

Higbee finished second in Formula USA Unlimited Grand Prix on Sunday, February 29th and 5th in the 30-minute GTO final on Friday while working on the set-up of his Suzuki GSX-R1000. “This was the first time we turned a wheel on the new bike,” said Higbee, the 2003 Top Privateer in the Superbike class. “We had to come up with a baseline set-up, and get used to working with the stock suspension pieces compared to last year’s Superbike stuff. By Sunday, we figured out a few things that will help us in the AMA Superstock race.”

Danny finished tenth in the 12-lap Formula USA Sportbike class after qualifying 17th on Saturday. Danny dropped another three seconds on his GSX-R600 during the race and got more uninterrupted laps than he had all weekend. “I was finally able to get in a groove and work on a couple of parts of the track where I could really make some time,” said Eslick. “I was getting more confident on the bike, able to brake deeper and carry more corner speed.”

Look for Shawn Higbee on his # 114 Suzuki GSX-R1000 in the Repsol Superstock event, which will be televised live on SPEED Channel at 3:00pm Eastern on Thursday March 4th. Danny will compete on the # 69 GSX-R600 in the Pro Honda Oils Supersport race, which will also be televised live on Saturday, March 6th at 10:30 am Eastern.

KWS Motorsports Suzuki is proud to be sponsored by Millennium Technologies, American Suzuki, KWS Motorsports, Yoshimura R&D, Vortex Racing, Dunlop Tires, EBC Brakes, Hotbodies Racing Bodywork, Nutec Fuel, EK Chain, Shoei Helmets, Teknic Leathers, Pit Bull Stands, Penske Suspensions, Traxxion Dynamics, Web-Cam, Baker Race Gear, Kaufman Trailers, Inc., HSA and BG Lubricants.

For more information, contact KWS Motorsports at (843) 552-7177 or visit their website at www.kwsmotorsports.com.

From a press release issued by Daytona International Speedway:

New Dates, Same Great Dirt Track Races

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla., (March 1, 2004) — Among the new twists in the new 2004 Daytona 200 Week schedule are the new race dates for the AMA HotShoe Series and the AMA Progressive Insurance Grand National Championship at Daytona Beach Municipal Stadium.

Traditionally held on Friday and Saturday nights respectively, the AMA HotShoe Series now moves to Wednesday night, March 3 while the AMA Progressive Insurance Grand National Championship is slated for Thursday, March 4.

“We’re racers. I don’t care if were racing on Monday morning, we want to race,” said Chris Carr, who’ll compete in Thursday’s AMA Progressive Insurance Grand National Championship race. “I think it’s great for all the fans who want to have the opportunity to see all that there is to offer when it comes to racing. We’re not conflicting with any major races on Thursday. I think having the two short track races Wednesday and Thursday is a good deal for fans of all motorcycle racing.”

In 2003, the 36-year-old Carr, who resides in Fleetwood, Pa., held off Johnny Murphree and Jay Springsteen to earn his third Grand National win at Daytona, tying the late Will Davis.

This year, he’ll try to become the first rider to win four Grand National races at Daytona and he knows it won’t be an easy task.

Carr will have to battle the usual suspects such as Murphree, Brett Landes and Terry Poovey. But he’ll also have to lookout for the dark horse favorite. The AMA Grand National race at Daytona has the knack to produce first-time winners, most recently Richard Winsett in 2002.

“There are more entries for the Daytona race than there is any other round,” Carr said. “Making the program is an accomplishment in itself and then getting in the feature is an accomplishment. Everybody has got to work hard at staying on top of their game from the first practice on. You have to not make mistakes in the early rounds that can cost you positions later on.”

Carr hopes a victory in the season opening Grand National race at Daytona can deliver some much-needed momentum as he pursues his sixth Grand National championship.

“Whenever you can perform at your best during this week, it carries a lot more weight, especially in our series,” said Carr, who owns both the qualifying and race records in the Grand National event. “If you win at Daytona, you get to brag about it for two more months because that’s when the next round is.

“It’s a good time to come down here and kick off the season. Daytona is the place to be the first weekend of March. We always want to do well because a lot of the industry is here and represented. I just like the atmosphere and the ambiance of Daytona 200 Week.”

Tickets for the Dirt Track races at Daytona Beach Municipal Stadium are available online at http://www.daytonainternationalspeedway.com or by calling 1-800-PITSHOP.

From a press release issued by SPEED Channel:

SPEED CHANNEL TAKES WIND TUNNEL WITH DAVE DESPAIN TO DAYTONA BIKE WEEK

Dave Despain is packing his bobbleheads and heading to Daytona Beach, as Wind Tunnel will be LIVE from Bike Week at 10 p.m. ET on Wednesday and Thursday.

“I haven’t missed a Bike Week since 1972, so I’m glad that I didn’t have to miss this one just because I had a real job,” said Despain, whose first-ever television appearance came with ABC’s Wide World of Sports as an analyst for the 1975 Daytona 200. “We are putting together a killer guest list and it’s great to get motorcycle racing cranked up again.”

In addition, SPEED Channel will carry six Bike Week events LIVE or on same-day delay. SPEED Channel motorcycle programming, including American Thunder, Corbin’s Ride On and 2 Wheel Tuesday also will focus on Bike Week events and festivities.

SPEED Channel’s Bike Week schedule:

Superstock & Formula Xtreme
March 4 (3 – 5:30 p.m. ET, LIVE)

Supercross
March 5 (9 p.m. – midnight ET, SDD)

Supersport & Boxer Cup
March 6 (10:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. ET, LIVE)

Superbike: The Daytona 200
March 6 (1:30 – 4:30 p.m. ET, LIVE)

In 2004, SPEED Channel is the exclusive U.S. cable home for many of the top motor sports series in the world. In addition, SPEED’s weekly programming schedule brings car enthusiast television to Prime Time Monday through Thursday. Now available in more the 65 million homes in North America, SPEED Channel is among the fastest growing sports cable networks in the country and the home to NASCAR TV.

From a press release issued by Honda Racing:

American Honda 2004 Road Race Preview

After sweeping the top three spots in the 2003 running of America’s most prestigious motorcycle race, the American Superbike season-opening Daytona 200, what do you do for an encore? That’s the pleasant problem facing the American Honda team as they gear up to repeat their success at Daytona and for the rest of the championship, a championship that continues to grow in importance on the world stage.

“What’s really exciting is that AMA road racing has moved up on the scale in the world of racing,” American Honda team manager Chuck Miller said. Miller has chosen three riders for the Honda assault on the Superbike crown and has added to the arsenal with a new weapon, the all new Honda CBR1000RR, the fastest motorcycle ever to hit the high banks of Daytona International Speedway. In its very first shakedown, the CBR-1000RR, a direct and clear descendant of the MotoGP World Championship winning Honda RC211V, shocked the radar gun with a terminal velocity of 192 mph, the fastest a motorcycle’s ever run at Daytona. It was done under the control of Ben Bostrom, one of the champions Honda hopes will add to their seven Superbike titles.

Bostrom, 29, the 1998 AMA Superbike Champion, is looking forward to a clean start in his second year on the American race scene after a stellar World Superbike career. The charismatic Californian was troubled with carpal tunnel syndrome for the second half of the 2003 season.

Off-season corrective surgery alleviated the problem and his return to form has Been instant. That, along with the continued tutelage of three-time World Champion Freddie Spencer, who works closely with all Honda riders, and the new Honda CBR1000RR has Bostrom looking forward to the start of the battle. The runner-up in last year’s Daytona 200, Bostrom turned the fastest lap of the Daytona December test on a motorcycle still in the early stages of development. The Honda CBR1000RR that Bostrom and his teammates will race at Daytona and for the remainder of the 18-race championship season will be significantly upgraded from its initial runs, with more barriers certain to be broken.

New teammate Jake Zemke turned the fastest laps on the 3.56 mile road course in a follow-on test at Daytona a little over a month later. The former dirt-tracker Zemke, 29, will ride in the colors of Erion Honda, replacing Kurtis Roberts who used his American Honda career as a springboard to MotoGP. Though 2004 will be his first full year on a Superbike, Zemke is no stranger to four-cylinder Hondas. For the past two seasons Zemke’s been the most successful pilot of the Honda CBR954RR, the precursor to the CBR1000RR, in the Formula Xtreme class. In addition to his Superbike duties, Zemke will race a Honda CBR600RR mini-Superbike in the newly formatted Formula Xtreme class. The new class allows liberal modifications of the middleweight platform, as well as including various other engine configurations.

“One thing that’s exciting for us is that it allows us to begin to set the stage for where Superbike is going and test our abilities in building competitive race machines out of production bikes,” American Honda team manager Chuck Miller said. “Most all of us have relied a lot on resources abroad to make our bikes competitive and in the future we may not have all those resources available to us. So what we’re trying to do with this Formula Xtreme project is also to test our abilities.”

Joining Zemke in Superbike and Formula Xtreme is veteran Miguel Duhamel, 35, the winningest rider in the history of the Superbike and Supersport classes. The engaging and witty French-Canadian, who Miller calls “an icon of the sport,” is back for his tenth year of service with American Honda, hoping to kickstart his season the way the 2003 year began. Last year, the former Superbike and five-time Supersport champion began the season with his fourth win in the Daytona 200, running his career win total to 26, the most in the class. A win in this year’s 200 would tie the mark of five set by “Mr. Daytona,” Scott Russell. In Supersport, Duhamel has 41 wins, 28 more than the next active rider.

“Here we got the guy who’s been there, done that, which is Ben (Bostrom), we’ve got Miguel (Duhamel), who can always be there and can always do that, and we’ve got the new up and comer Jake (Zemke), who’s hungry to get there an do it and we’ve got a little bit of all three of the worlds best there that will work to our advantage,” team manager Chuck Miller believes.

American Honda is concentrating its outside support on Erion Honda, by far the most successful satellite team in the history of AMA road racing with a record of four consecutive Formula Xtreme titles, as well as a pair of Supersport crowns. The team will feature the Gobert brothers, Alex, 20, who campaigned in the black and red of Erion Honda last year, now joined by brother Anthony, 29, whose first factory ride in his native Australia was with Honda.

“He really wanted to be back with Honda,” Kevin Erion, the owner of the Erion Honda team, said of Anthony, who can expect great things if he succeeds with Erion. Among the riders who’ve advanced from Erion Honda to the Superbike team are 2002 AMA Superbike Champion Nicky Hayden, now with Repsol Honda; Kurtis Roberts, who won three titles with Erion Honda; and now Jake Zemke.

“There’s a little bit of history that shows American Honda is willing to keep you in the family as long as the results are there,” Erion said. “It wouldn’t be a new step for a new rider to move from Erion Racing to American Honda. If that happens it means good things have happened.” The Goberts will lead Honda’s quest in the newly configured Superstock class, another class format making its debut in Florida. The 2004 rules allow lightly modified 1000cc inline four-cylinders, the perfect showcase for the new Honda CBR1000RR.

“We know Anthony’s going to be competitive, we know the bike’s going to be competitive, we’re expecting big things from him,” Chuck Miller concludes.