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FastDates.com
January 2005
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"Rockin
Robin" Cunningham
evalutes the new
Mamba and Ago with sexy
SCREENSAVERS!
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Not yet fully developed and a hodge podge of mixed parts
from last season's bike, Matt Mladin
aboard the new 2005 Suzuki GSXR1000RR decimated
the rest of the field in just the first 2 days of the 3-day
test.
AMA
2005 Pre-Season Test, Daytona International Speedway, Daytona
Beach, Florida, USA
Redesigned
Daytona Track Still Not Safe?
Maladin
on All-New 2005 Yoshimura 2005 GSXR
is 1-sec Quicker Than His Rivals!
Matt
Then Crashes into Dangerous Daytona Walls,
Injured and Knocked Unconscious, Misses Final Day of Test
Daytona
Beach, Florida, USA (Wednesday, January 5) –-
Defending American Superbike champion Mat Mladin has sent
an early warning to his rivals competing in this year’s
championship by setting the fastest time on each of the
opening two days of the scheduled three-day test at the
world famous Daytona International Speedway.
With one day remaining at the test, Mladin has posted the
fastest time so far with a 1-min 40.309-sec lap of the revised
2.95-mile circuit. His pace setting times were overshadowed
by a late afternoon crash on the second day, resulting in
the 32-year-old Australian being transported to nearby Halifax
Medical Centre for observation.
After
initially saving a ferrous rear wheel slide on the exit
of the new Turn Five section of the course, Mladin was unable
to regain full control of his Yoshimura Suzuki and was forced
to jump clear before striking a trackside safety barrier.
“Essentially
I got the thing sideways exiting one of the new turns, changing
up from first to second for a short amount of time and it
was at that point when I clicked second that it went sideways
and spat me over the top,” said Mladin, as he prepared
to leave Daytona and return to LA.
“I
actually got it back under control, but as soon as I looked
up I realised that there was a wall approaching and I was
forced to jump off it. From what I've been told they said
I impacted the wall pretty hard, somewhere in the region
of 80mph. It was a wall that was on the outside of one of
the existing turns that used to be part of the race track.”
“I
was unconscious for quite a while and didn't start to become
coherent until I arrived at the hospital. As a result I've
got a bit of concussion and the headaches that go with that,
along with a swollen left ankle as a result of a small fracture.”
“I'm
heading back to LA now and hope to be seeing a specialist
first thing tomorrow. At this stage I'm planning on being
back in Australia by Saturday, unless the doctor has other
ideas. I'm hoping that no surgery will be required so that
the recovery time is minimal. Other than that I feel okay.
The foot is fairly swollen after taking a good hit.”
“Aside
from this incident, the opening two days of the test were
very promising for us. The new ’'05 Suzuki GSX-R1000
was very good and was quick through the speed trap there,
so itss all shaping up very nicely in that regard at present.
We were quickest at the end of each day which is always
good. As with any of these tests where you are preparing
a new bike there are lots of things to work through and
so far so good. "
 Above:
The newly revised Daytona motorcycle course for 2005 is
still among the most unprofessional and overly dangerous
racetracks in Ameirca. But The Speedway won't justify the
expense to build a properly designed infield course for
a once a year race that draws so few paying spectators.
While the AMA won't give up it's biggest source of income
from the multitude of classes which run there throughout
Bike Week.
Complete
details HERE
Mladin returned to the circuit briefly on Wednesday morning,
moving about on crutches before heading to the airport and
returning to California.
This weeks test gave competitors in this year's American
Superbike Championship, their first look at the revised
layout. The changes to the famous circuits infield has taken
the NASCAR Turns One and Two out of play, leaving the riders
with a tight, yet demanding addition to the infield, while
the overall length of the motorcycle course has decreased
by over half a mile. The changes were met with general appreciation
from the riders in attendance. Fine-tuning of the changes
will continue as riders provide circuit staff and race officials
with additional information.
Mladin commenced the test riding a hybrid machine made up
of components from his last year's championship-winning
bike and his brand new 2005 model Suzuki GSX-R1000. Day
two saw him switch to one of his new 2005 machines, as his
team went through the regime of machine setup and preparations
that will form the basis of Mladin’s mount for his
championship defence.
The
opening day saw the five-time American Superbike champion
post a time of 1:42.107. A day later and aboard his latest
spec machine, Mladin dropped his times by almost two seconds
as his worked his way through the latest batch of tyres
made available by Dunlop and designed to suit the unique
demands of the ultra fast Florida circuit.
Mladin and his Yoshimura Suzuki team will undertake a number
of further pre-season tests before the series heads back
to Daytona for the opening round of the championship on
March 12.
Miguel
and crew chief Rick check the latest sportbike news and
lap times on FastDates.com before taking the econo racer
CBR1000RR Superbike out on the track. Budget cutbacks at
America Honda have Miguel's wife working on the bike.
Quickest
Overall Times at the end of the 3 Day Test:
1.
Matt Mladin, Suzuki GSXR1000, 1:40.309
2. B. Spies, Suzuki GSXR1000, 1:40.411
3. Miguel DuHamel, Honda CBR1000RR, 1:40.987
3. Neil Hodgsonm Ducati 999, 1:41.027
4. Eric Bostrom, Ducati 999, 1:41.078
5. Aaron Yates, Suzuki GSXR1000, 1:41.106
6. Jake Zemke, Honda CBR1000RR, 1:41.386
7. Jason Disalvo, Yamaha YZFR1, 1:41.498
8. Tommy Hayden, Kawasaki ZX10, 1:42.084 |
9.
Damon Buckmaster, YamahaYZF-R1, 1:42.117
10. Jason Pridmore, Suzuki GSXR1000, 1:42.150
11. Geof May, Suzuki GSXR1000, 1:42.334
12. Steve Rapp, Suzuki GSXR1000, 1:42.540
13. Vincent Haskovec, Suzuki GSXR1000, 1:42.719
14. Josh Hayes, Kawasaki ZX10, 1:42.945
15. Aaron Gobert, Yamaha YZF-R1, 1:42.268 |
World
Champion Neil Hodgson weaves and dodges around the walls,
tire barriers and traffic cones that make the newly revised
Daytona motorcycle course still among the most unprofessional
and overly dangerous racetracks in Ameirca.
World
Champ Hodgson & Eric Bostrom Report on Daytona Tests
Ducati Corse Press Department, Daytona International
Speedway (Florida), Thurs, Jan 6th: Parts Unlimited
Ducati Austin riders Neil Hodgson and Eric Bostrom completed
three promising days of testing with their Ducati 999s at
the Daytona International Speedway on Wednesday. The duo
began preparations for the 2005 AMA Superbike campaign which
is scheduled to begin at Daytona in March. Both riders recorded
impressive top speeds on the recently revised 3.0 mile (4.8
km) circuit. Hodgson's Ducati 999 was the fastest bike at
the test, having motored through the speed trap at 194.635
mph according to the AMA's timing equipment.
Neil
was particularly impressive in his first US test as an AMA
Superbike regular, the British rider turning in a positive
1m40.711s on the final day, which was good enough for third
quickest overall. The former World Superbike champion got
up to speed on the unique Daytona speed bowl best known
for its fearsome banked sections.
"It's
really good to be here. I love Daytona and its history and
I like racing on classic circuits like this," said
the 31-year old Isle of Man resident. "It was a bit
of an eye-opener, coming here. It looks a lot easier on
television, that's all I can say -- you know, (with) the
banking and everything. But it's exciting!"
"It was going really well working with Neil. He gave
us a good direction with the bike and his lap times continued
to drop after the riders lapped enough to clean off the
circuit and give more grip," said Parts Unlimited Ducati
Austin race engineer Luca Ferraccioli.
Eric
Bostrom turned in a best lap of 1m41.1s late on Wednesday,
although the lap was credited to his teammate on the AMA's
timing monitors. His lap time was good for fifth quickest
over the course of the three-day test.
Bostrom,
who set pole and was a contender for the win in last year's
200-mile race at the Speedway, saw his lap times remarkably
drop by over a second in the morning session on Wednesday.
In the afternoon, Eric rode Neil's 999 to set his quickest
time of the day as he continued to improve.
"I'm
happy with the way things are going. It was definitely a
good test for us. The Dunlop tires were good, I'm still
learning the front and I'm still looking for one more second,"
said Eric. "The new suspension link we tried seemed
to really help on the banking and my confidence is just
getting better with each lap."
Eric continued: "We learned some things when I rode
Neil's bike. His settings did some things a little better
than mine and we'll have to see if that can translate to
my set-up or not. I think there's a lot to learn from having
a teammate and I look forward to it this year."
"I
think it was very positive," said chief mechanic Gary
Medley of the test. "We got a lot of information from
Eric over the three days and the team worked well together.
With a few more tests, we will be ready for the season."
The
Parts Unlimited Ducati Austin team will test again this
spring before the 2005 AMA championship begins at Daytona
on March 13th.
Our favorite
tag team, SBK Fast Dates World Superbike girls (left to
right) Andra Cobb, Taylor McKegney and Chandi Mason got
together with us last month for the shooting of the 2006
Garage Girls calendar sponsored by Feelin' Lucky. All three
girls are profiled in FastDates.com's Meet
the Models and featured in Members
Corner.
Our
SBK
Fast Dates World Superbike Angels are Feelin' Lucky
SBK Corona World
Superbike Championship
Renews Fast Dates Calendar Endorsement
Feelin' Lucky apparel sponsors Garage Girls
Los Angeles, CA, Jan 1st 2005: The FastDates.com
Calendars and Website is proud to announce that FGSport
has renewed its SBK World Superbike Championship's
endorsement of the the Fast Dates Racebike
Pinup Calendar for 2005 to cover the upcoming 2006 Fast
Dates Calendar, currently in production. The endorsement
is part of a mutual promotion between SBK and FastDates.com
in which the new 2005 SBK Corona Extra Superbike World Championship
logo and the top factory superbikes will be featured in
the 2006 Fast Dates Calendar, on the FastDates.com Website
and in all related advertising for the calendar.
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In
return, along with SBK's endorsement of the Fast
Dates Calendar,
the beautiful FastDates.com Calendar Angeles calendar
models are the officially SBK Fast Dates Calendar
Girls. And the Fast Dates Calendar and FastDates.com
Website featuring in Pit Lane News its excellent
coverage of World Superbike coverage will continue
to bea featured banner link on the official SBK
webite at WorldSBK.com.
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Along
with SBK, the Fast Dates Calendar is sponsored by Performance
Machine, the leader in aftermaket billet machined
wheels and controls for motorcycles; and Jardine
Performance, manufacturer of high performance motorcycle
exhaust systems as used by Team American Honda.
The
mutual endorsement between The SBK World Superbike Championship
and Fast Dates continues the friendship between both parties
which first began with the 1997 Fast Dates Calendar, as
explained by FastDates.com Calendar publisher Jim
Gianatsis.
"We
are excited to continue our close relationship with the
world's most excing and important production based roadracing
series," said Jim. "The upcoming 2005 SBK World
Superbike Championship is already shaping up to be one of
the most exciting season's ever with the return of all the
major Japanese factory supported teams. It's unfortunate
there will not be an SBK round in America this year, but
we look forward to World Superbike returning to America
for 2006.
In
the meantime, it gives us a great reason this year to travel
to one of the other international rounds of the SBK World
Championship to photograph the next Fast Dates Calendar.
I'm looking at getting our crew together for the Brands
Hatch, British round on August 5-7th. It should be pretty
wild as the race there draws close to 100,000 fans. I'll
have to remember to get an air horn, and keep the models
out of the pubs"
While SBK superbike fans can still look forward to complete
race coverage throughout 2005 on the FastDates.com and WorldSBK.com
websites, on SpeedTV with same day broadcast, while enjoying
the top factory superbikes and beautiful SBK Fast Dates
Angels featured in the Fast Dates Calendar.
We
are also excited to announce that Feelin' Lucky apparel
will be the title sponsor of the upcoming 2006 Garage Girls
Calendar. Feelin' Lucky is a well known manufacturer and
retailer of motorcycle event apparel which is a favorite
at major street bike events like Laughlin, Daytona and Sturgis.
Sponshorship of the popular FastDates.com Garage Calendar
will provide Feelin' Lucky with lots of additional promotional
exposure as they continue to grow in all sections of the
motorcycle market.
Gianatsis
Design Associates just concluded the photo shoot
for the 2006 Feelin' Lucky Garage Girls Calendar
featuring 3 very beautiful current and former SBK Fast Dates
Calendar Angels: Andra Cobb (2006),
Chandi Mason (2005) and Taylor McKegney
(2000). The shoot took place on a garage style set in the
Gianatsis Design studio with photographer Jim Gianatsis,
makeup and hair by Lisa Rukus, adhearing to the reknown
Garage Girls theme of sweaty and grimey, yet very beautiful
pinup models in skimpy apparel "...hard at work without
the motorcycles getting in the way!"
Pit
Gear
How
to go really Fast without falling off.
2Wheel
Tuner joins LA Calendar Motorcycle Show as Associate
Media Sponsor
Jan 1st:
The hot new extreme sportbike magazine 2Wheel
Tuner has joined our Los Angeles Calendar
Motorcycle Show as an Associate Media sponsor.
The 6x yearly magazine based out of Motor City with
cool dude Todd Lamb at the throttle is the only American
sportbike magazine at present which has the coolness
to feature hot chicks on the cover and inside their
magazine, along with the extreame stunt bikes. Naturally
we had to get them together with FastDates.com and the
"world's biggest custom and performance streetbike
show!"
If
you've got a wild street modified metric sportbike
you'll defintely want to bring it to our Show on
July 17th to get a shot at the very special 2Wheel
Tuner Best Sportbike trophy. The above LA Calendar
Motorcycle Show ad will now begin running in Wheel
Tuner through to our July, Show and features our
own SBK
Fast Dates World Superbike Girl and Bike Show hostess
with the mostess "Rockin'
Robin" Cunningham. The former Miss
Texas and Hawaiian Tropic Interntional winner doesn't
know it yet (and don't tell her), but she's scored
the cover of the next 2006 Fast Dates Racebike Pinup
Calendar which will premier at the Show. Meanwhile,
you can find out more about 2Wheel Tuner magazine
and subscribe on their website: 2WheelTuner.com
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Genre(s):
Sports Idol,
Future Supermodel
Chicks
That Kick Ass
Maria Sharapova
We were
on hand at the WTA World Championship Final to see
beautiful 17-year old 6-foot tall sensation Maria
Sharapova collect a $1 Million Dollar check and
a brand new Porche SUV for her win over Serena Willams
in the tournament finale.
Maria
follows in the footsteps of previous women's tennis
superstars Martina Hingis and Anna Kourkonova in
returning a beautiful woman to the fore front in
world sports. And she has done them one better by
proving her ability as a top athlete by winning
the 2 most prestegious events of the 2004 season,
the WTA Final, and Wimbledon earlier this year.
This
year with her tournamet wins and placing, along
with product endorsements for major companies incluiding
Nike and Motorola, Maria has probably earned somewhere
between 5 and 10 million dollars. Equivalent to
the top men of motorsports, inlcluding Valentino
Rossi in MotoGP.
More SHARAPOVA |
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New
MotoGP Regulations for 2005 feature no Rain
haulted Races
Jan 1st, 2005: Here is the
breakdown of new regulations appropriate to
the MotoGP class for 2005 released by the
Grand Prix Commission in Barcelona on December
14th 2004. Most significant is that a race
will no longer be stopped by rain. In the
past the race leader could stop the race at
any point because of rain, and if the race
had run 2/3rds distance the leader would be
declared the winner. Otherwise the bikes returned
to the pits for a change to rain tires, and
then lined up for a restart in the order they
were running when the race stopped. Now it
is up to the rider alone to decide if he wants
to continue to race with slicks once it starts
raining, or if he needs to make a pit stop
during the race to change to rain tires in
order to finish the remaining race distance.
MotoGP Schedule reduced to one official
qualifying session
* Friday Free Practice: 10h00 - 11h00
* Friday Free Practice: 14h00 - 15h00
* Saturday Free Practice: 10h00 - 11h00
* Saturday Qualifying Practice: 14h00 - 15h00
* Sunday Warm Up: 09h45 - 10h05
* Sunday Race: 14h00
No more MotoGP races stopped by rain
* A race will not be interrupted for climatic
reasons and riders who wish to change tyres
or make adjustments must enter the pits and
do so during the actual race.
Fuel Tanks
* Fuel tanks of all construction types must
be filled with fire retardant material or
be lined with a fuel cell bladder. In the
MotoGP class, fuel tanks made of non-metallic
composite materials (carbon fibre, aramid
fibre, fibreglass, etc.) must be fitted with
a fuel cell bladder, or have passed the FIM
test standards for composite material fuel
tanks as described in the FIM Fuel.
* In defining fuel tank capacity all containers
of the motorcycle capable of supplying fuel
to the carburettors/injectors may be taking
into account.
* Refuelling may only be carried out from
an unpressurised container, and the motorcycle
fuel tank may not be pressurised above atmospheric
pressure at any time, other than the small
pressure increase due to normal tank ventilation
to the atmosphere on the moving motorcycle.
* No fuel on the motorcycle may be more than
15°C below ambient temperature. The use
of any device on the motorcycle to artificially
decrease the temperature of the fuel below
ambient temperature is forbidden.
There's
more! Go to Pit Lane News Next
Page
Hot Calendar Girl and Bike News! Go
to: Fast Dates
• Berm Busters
• Iron &
Lace
click to see much more ...
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