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What to Wear and Not to Wear to Miller USA World Superbike!
Salt Lake City, UT, May 28-31st - Please excuse us if coverage of the United States World Superbike round from Salt Lake City, Utah, is a little late this week. FastDates will be on location at the race to photograph the next edition of the official SBK Fast Dates World Superbike Calendar with all the top factory race bikes!
Above, newest Calendar Kitten Laya Bella helps us test out our All Access SBK Track Passes just to make sure we'll be able to get through airport and track security. We don't expect any problems, or should we? We also just hooked up Bella for her dream job to shoot with Playboy this month. Look for Bella in Playboy and the FastDates.com Calendars very soon, Ciao Bella!
Playboy's hottest new Playmates become FastDates.com Calendar Kittens
and Team Ducati Corse Grid Girls at Miller USA World Superbike
Jamie and Heather appearing at 2010's Miller USA World Superbike May 29-31st
with team Ducati Corse and at the LA Calendar Motorcycle Show July 18th!
April 1st, 2010 - Playboy magazine's hottest, sexiest, most beautiful new 2010 Playmates, Miss January Jamie Faith Edmonson, and Miss February Heather Rae Young, have been confirmed by FastDates.com Calender producer Jim Gianatsis to be the official SBK World Superbike Fast Dates Calendar Kittens at the Miller Motorsports USA World Superbike round May 29-31st 2010 to photograph the next Fast Dates World Superbike PinUp Calendar with all the top factory team race bikes. Both Calendar Kittens have also been confirmed by multi-time SBK World Championship winning team Ducati Corse to be their official grid girls on race day for their two factory riders, Noriyuki Haga and Michel Fabrizio.
Playboy Playmates, red haired Jamie Edmonson left, and blond Heather Rae Young right, are FastDates.com's newest Calendar Kittens headed for World Superbike at Miller Motorsports Park this month. Photo by Josh Ryan.
WARNING: DO NOT CLICK ON THIS PICTURE!
Hannspree World Superbike Championship, Miller USA Round 7 of 13
America the halfway point of the 2010 World Superbike Season
Miller, Wednesday 26 May 2010 - The HANNspree FIM Superbike World Championship will soon arrive at the Miller Motorsports Park in Utah, USA, for its annual American adventure. This year the meeting will be unique as raceday takes place on Monday May 31st - the Memorial Day Holiday - rather than the usual Sunday, with first practice on Saturday 29th and Superpole qualifying on Sunday 30th. As round seven of a 13 round season, Miller will be the halfway point for what has already been a thrilling period of competition in the Superbike class. Once again the Supersport World Championship will run alongside the bigger bikes when action gets going on Saturday.
Seven different manufacturers will once more be represented by official teams this coming race, with several other top-flight privateers also capable of race wins, in what is turning out to be an intensely competitive season. From double World Champions like Troy Corser and James Toseland to complete rookies in the class like American Roger Lee Hayden, World Superbike in 2010 is a massive melting pot of rider experience and machinery, making predictions about possible winners a difficult business week-to-week. So far six riders have won races in 2010, and few think that total will not increase before the end of the year. At Miller, a track virtually no one has tested at or ridden on since last year’s race, the uncertainty about who will be in a position to win come raceday is all the more intense.
Leon with his dad, former motorcycle Superbike GP star Ron Haslem
At the top of the World Championship fight since the first round, Leon Haslam (Suzuki Alstare) reasserted his victorious pace in South Africa during round six, winning race two after fighting to a podium finish in race one. He extended his lead over Max Biaggi (Aprilia Alitalia) to 15 points in the process. Double race winner at Assen, Jonathan Rea (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda) and Phillip Island race winner Carlos Checa (Althea Ducati) are third and fourth now on identical points scores. Checa is the only current WSB rider to taste victory at Miller, scoring a double when he was a Honda rider in 2008.
We had a new 2010 race winner at Kyalami, Michel Fabrizio for Ducati Xerox, while Noriyuki Haga (Ducati Xerox) is looking to get back to his best, having won in Valencia but still struggling by his own high standards elsewhere. Currently Haga is sixth and Fabrizio eighth overall. All the Ducati riders will have a three kilogramme weight reduction to their machines from the Miller round onwards, after a recent change in the balancing rules between the 1200cc twins and the 1000cc four-cylinder machines.
It can surely only be a matter of time before James Toseland (Yamaha Sterilgarda) and his team-mate Cal Crutchlow take their first wins of 2010, as each has scored more than one podium already. They sit fifth and ninth respectively. Toseland being in that position means that there are five different manufacturers’ machinery inside the top five places - Suzuki, Aprilia, Honda, Ducati and Yamaha. Two Aprilia Alitalia machines feature in the top ten, with full season rookie Leon Camier having already scored a podium on his way to a current ranking of tenth.
The BMW Motorrad Motorsport team, led by riders Troy Corser and Ruben Xaus, has already had a 2010 podium finish for Corser to celebrate, at Monza, as they work their way to full competitiveness. Kawasaki Racing Team riders Tom Sykes and Chris Vermeulen are working hard on getting further up the leader board, with a fifth place for Sykes at Monza the high water mark so far.
Many other top name regulars are fired up for Miller, including Sylvain Guintoli (Suzuki Alstare), Max Neukirchner (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda), Shane Byrne (Althea Ducati), Jakub Smrz (Pata B&G Ducati), Luca Scassa (Supersonic), ECHO CRS Honda rider Broc Parkes, plus Roger Lee Hayden and Matteo Baiocco (both Pedercini Kawasaki).
Superbike Riders Points (after 6 rounds of 13): 1. Haslam 222; 2. Biaggi 207; 3. Rea 141; 4. Checa 141; 5. Toseland 125; 6. Haga 106; 7. Corser 105; 8 Fabrizio 95; 9. Crutchlow 86; 10. Camier 82. Manufacturers: 1. Suzuki 222; 2. Aprilia 213; 3. Ducati 185; 4. Honda 150; 5. Yamaha 135; 6. BMW 108; 7. Kawasaki 39.
World Supersport Preview
In the 600cc Supersport World Championship a whole five points separate leading trio Kenan Sofuoglu (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda), Eugene Laverty (Parkalgar Honda) and Joan Lascorz (Kawasaki Motocard.com) on the eve of the Miller race weekend. Despite having won four races so far, Laverty finds himself second in the rankings, with Sofuoglu leading by one point only. Both Sofuoglu and Lascorz have won a race apiece in 2010, while last year Sofuoglu won the Miller round of the series. ParkinGO Triumph BE-1 rider Chaz Davies has scored two podiums this year, in Spain and South Africa, helping put him fourth; one place up on his team-mate David Salom. No fewer than five home-grown wildcard or one-event riders will be present at the Miller round; Melissa Paris (who raced here last year), Tyler Odom, Dylon Husband, Chip Yates and Jason Farrell.
Supersport Riders Points (after 6 rounds of 13): 1. Sofuoglu 117; 2. Laverty 116; 3. Lascorz 112; 4. Davies 71; 5. Salom 49; 6. Pirro 47; 7. G. Re 47; 8. Harms 43; 9. Lagrive 40; 10. Fujiwara 38; Manufacturers: 1. Honda 145; 2. Kawasaki 112; 3. Triumph 81
THE CIRCUIT: Miller Motorsports Park is a fascinating venue, built near Salt Lake City in the high desert of Utah. It should be completely flat in layout, but in fact there were several points of elevation built into its original design, making it a real challenge for riders in all classes. The 4.907km track skirts around the perimeter of the facility for the World Superbike meeting, but nonetheless it is one of the longer circuits on the 2010 calendar.
Miller is, like Kyalami last time out, a high altitude circuit (elevation 1341m) which means the awesome WSBK machines will be down on power in the thin air of the Utah plains. This is the third visit of World Superbike to Miller in three years, and Miller is the most recent of three American venues to host World Superbike racing.
MEMORIAL DAY FESTIVITIES: Memorial Day is a United States federal holiday observed on the last Monday of May (May 31 in 2010). Formerly known as Decoration Day, it commemorates US men and women who died while in the military service. During the Lucas Oil Utah USA Round of the FIM Superbike World Championship presented by HANNspree, Miller Motorsports Park is expanding upon that theme to also honour all active-duty and veteran military personnel, as well as civilian-service personnel such as policemen, firemen, paramedics and teachers, who serve and protect American communities. There will be a significant display of military exhibits and hardware, a Tribute Field of 2,010 American flags erected in the track’s infield and military flyovers during opening ceremonies on both Sunday and Monday.
 Yamaha teammates Rossi and Lorenzo on the LeMans Podium
MotoGP World Championship, LeMans Round 3 of 18
Monster Enery Grand Prix of France, May 21-23rd 2010 - Jorge Lorenzo stormed clear of Valentino Rossi to take his second win in a row in Le Mans this afternoon, making it three victories from three races for the Fiat Yamaha Team this year. Rossi overcame a few problems with both his bike and his shoulder to finish second, with Spaniard Andrea Dovizioso third.
Rossi started from pole and got a brilliant start to lead out of the first turn, in front of some 80,000 fans delighting in the balmy weather. Lorenzo has suffered lately when starting but recent work in testing paid off as the 23-year-old slipped just one place to third, before passing Pedrosa back soon after to retake second. The Italian and the two Spaniards soon stretched out a gap from the chasing pack and Lorenzo started to look menacing on his team-mate's rear wheel, trying to pass a few times but failing as Rossi braked deeper and deeper.
It was not until lap twelve that the 23-year-old got by his team-mate and he quickly began to pull away, as the World Champion struggled to find enough grip on acceleration to stay with Lorenzo. The young Mallorcan eventually crossed the line 5.672 seconds ahead to take his first back-to-back wins in MotoGP and stand on top of the Le Mans podium for the second year running.
Lorenzo extends his championship lead to nine points from Rossi, whilst the Fiat Yamaha lead the Team standings and Yamaha the Constructors'. The next round comes at Rossi's home fortress of Mugello, in two week's time.
 Rossi topped the time sheets on Saturday to claim Pole.
Valentino on Pole at Scorching Hot LeMans MotoGP
Qualifying Saturday May 22nd - Reigning MotoGP World Champion Valentino Rossi topped a frantic qualifying session to take pole position for Sunday’s Monster Energy Grand Prix de France. The final ten minutes of Saturday’s hour-long session saw the top spot on the timesheet change hands a number of times as the MotoGP riders pushed hard under the searing Le Mans sunshine. The Italian snatched top spot in a time of 1’33.408, quicker than the existing race lap record, and with it took his first pole position of the 2010 season, and his first at the French circuit since 2005.
Jorge Lorenzo made it a Fiat Yamaha one-two in the session as he went round just 0.054s off Rossi’s pace, having consistently lapped amongst the fastest times, whilst Dani Pedrosa completed the front row of the starting grid with a fine effort late on as well.
Casey Stoner had been one of those competing for pole throughout the session but the Ducati Marlboro man had to settle for the first slot on the second row, unable to make the most of the soft option tyre. The Australian’s team-mate Nicky Hayden was just two-hundredths behind, and joined him as the final rider under the 1’34” mark as he registered the fifth best time.
LCR Honda rider Randy de Puniet will start his home GP from the second row as well after an impressive session placed him sixth. Repsol Honda’s Andrea Dovizioso pushed himself to the front of row three with his final lap, whilst Colin Edwards and Loris Capirossi were eighth and ninth fastest respectively. Completing the top ten times of the session was Aleix Espargaró, who despite running off at turn seven, did well to stay on his Pramac Ducati and went on to set his best time with his last lap of the session and seal his best ever MotoGP qualification.
Ben Spies and Mika Kallio were both back on track after their crashes in free practice earlier in the day, and set the 12th and 16th fastest times respectively in qualifying. Meanwhile Alvaro Bautista sat out qualifying and ruled himself out of tomorrow’s race after a huge high-side this morning aggravated his existing shoulder injuries.
Moto 2 Qualifying - American Kenny Noyes on Pole
Kenny Noyes rode a storming Moto2 qualifying session to take pole position for Sunday’s race, posting a best lap of 1’39.234 to place his Promoharris machine team at the head of the grid. Noyes is the first American to take pole in the intermediate GP class since John Kocinski at the Australian 250cc GP in 1990.
As was the case in the earlier practice session there was little separating a large number of riders, with the top 27 all within a second of one another. Second fastest, at just 0.031s behind Noyes, was Yuki Takahashi who will ensure that his Tech3 team start their home race from an encouraging spot. Alex Debón joins them on the front row, as will Frenchman Jules Cluzel. Fonsi Nieto and Sergio Gadea maintained their consistency from practice to take the fifth and sixth fastest times respectively, whilst Toni Elías recovered from an early crash to record the seventh quickest lap. Simone Corsi will complete the second row.
 Lorenzo moves into the race lead ahead of Rossi.
Lorenzo Extends His Championship Lead with LeMans Victory
Race Day Sunday May 23rd - Jorge Lorenzo’s lead at the top of the FIM MotoGP World Championship stretched to nine points after the Spaniard won the third round at Le Mans, his second victory of the season, triumphing in the Monster Energy Grand Prix de France ahead of Valentino Rossi and Andrea Dovizioso. Lorenzo’s success also made it three Yamaha wins in the opening three races of the season for the first time since 1980.
A superb start from Rossi from his pole position saw the Italian lead into the first turn ahead of Dani Pedrosa and Lorenzo, but the latter quickly moved into second and set his sights on his Fiat Yamaha team-mate. The early race order saw Ducati Marlboro pair Nicky Hayden and Casey Stoner and Dovizioso inside the top five, whilst San Carlo Honda Gresini rider Marco Melandri shot up from 11th on the grid to sixth.
A decisive moment in the race came on only the second lap when Stoner slid out at turn six, and the Australian was unable to remount his Desmosedici GP10 machine as he experienced the second non-finish of his stuttering season. Shortly afterwards, the race of Ben Spies was ended prematurely with a fall, and Loris Capirossi was forced to retire too after damaging his bike when he went down.
The fight for the win started on lap seven when Lorenzo took the lead from Rossi, only to see the Italian immediately reclaim it. Undeterred, Lorenzo pushed again on lap ten, this time making his move stick as he moved into first and began to open up an advantage.
As the Yamaha duo occupied the top two spots, the battle for third was also extremely engrossing, and involved another pair of team-mates. Repsol Honda’s Pedrosa and Dovizioso were tight in third and fourth, with Hayden refusing to lose touch in fifth as well.
Lorenzo’s lead over Rossi at the front had stretched to over four seconds with four laps to go, and Pedrosa and Dovizioso were by now locked in a marvellous duel for the final podium spot. Marco Simoncelli, Colin Edwards and Héctor Barberá were involved in another tricky encounter for eighth position, as was Hiroshi Aoyama until a moment on his bike saw him lose valuable seconds.
A thrilling last lap played out as Dovizioso forced his way through on Pedrosa to take third, and Hayden also squeezed past the Spaniard after he ran wide. Lorenzo crossed the line to take victory by a gap of 5.672s from Rossi, with Dovizioso taking his second podium of the season in third place.
Hayden finished fourth for the third consecutive race, with Pedrosa ending the race in fifth. Melandri was sixth as a pre-race switch of suspension paid off for him, with Randy de Puniet taking seventh in his home GP. The top ten was completed by Barberá, Aleix Espargaró and Simoncelli. Aoyama took 11th place, and was followed by Edwards and Mika Kallio.
Jorge Lorenzo - Position: 1stTime: 44'29.114 - "I am so happy to win for the second race in a row, it's the first time for me in MotoGP and it makes me feel very confident in myself. Finally I did a good start, which I'm really happy about, then I easily got past Pedrosa. Passing Valentino wasn't so easy because he was braking so deep and I had to be very patient, something that I might not have managed one year ago! Finally I overtook him but I didn't expect to be able to go away in that way, my bike and Bridgestone tyres just felt so good and it wasn't difficult for me to keep this pace up. I have had a good time in Le Mans since I joined Yamaha; one second and two victories, so I think I can say I enjoy racing here in France! It is fantastic to be leading the championship but there is a long way to go and now we go to Mugello, a track that I love but where my rivals are very strong. Thank you to my team and everyone at Yamaha for this great weekend."
Valentino Rossi - Position: 2ndTime: +5.672 - "I got a very good start but I knew from the beginning that we lacked some pace compared to Lorenzo and we had some unexpected problems in the race, mainly to do with grip on exit and acceleration from the corners. I expected to be faster but it wasn't the case today. I tried to stay in front of Lorenzo but it wasn't possible and I couldn't go with him once he was past, congratulations to him because he was very strong today! I can't blame my shoulder, I had expected it to be a bigger problem but in fact it was okay until six or seven laps from the end and by then the race was over for me. I knew it was important to finish and take the 20 points, it's a long championship and we are only nine points behind. Now I am looking forward to being back on top form for Mugello, my home race."
Andrea Dovizioso - Repsol Honda: 3rd - “I’m so happy to have made the podium here. It was very important because I wanted to confirm that the result in Qatar was not a one-off. We have improved a lot during the winter, so this is another important step forward. I wanted a good result for the team, to thank them and also because of last year when Dani came from 10 seconds behind to overtake me on the very last lap. Also, I’m very pleased to be going to Mugello third in the championship. It was a tough race. At the beginning I took a lot of risks to recover from starting on the third row. I made up some places and then I was able to match the leaders’ pace in the early stages. Once I caught Dani it was hard to get past and I knew Nicky was very close behind so I had to find a way by. Dani has really good acceleration so it was difficult to make the overtake. I waited for four laps, worked out my strategy and I made my move on the last lap at the corner I’d planned. This is a good start to the season, we worked a lot during the winter and Honda keeps working hard. We are close to the leaders – though still not close enough because our target is to fight for wins. We’ll go to Mugello with a lot of confidence as this a special race for me.”
Race Classification MotoGP: (28 laps = 117.18 km)
Pos / Rider / Nat / Team / Motorcycle / Time/ KM/H / Gap
1 / Jorge LORENZO / SPA / Fiat Yamaha Team / YAMAHA / 44'29.114 / 158.047 /
2 / Valentino ROSSI / ITA / Fiat Yamaha Team / YAMAHA / 44'34.786 / 157.712 / 5.672
3 / Andrea DOVIZIOSO / ITA / Repsol Honda Team / HONDA / 44'36.986 / 157.583 / 7.872
4 / Nicky HAYDEN / USA / Ducati Marlboro Team / DUCATI / 44'38.460 / 157.496 / 9.346
5 / Dani PEDROSA / SPA / Repsol Honda Team / HONDA / 44'41.727 / 157.304 / 12.613
6 / Marco MELANDRI / ITA / San Carlo Honda Gresini / HONDA / 44'51.032 / 156.760 / 21.918
7 / Randy DE PUNIET / FRA / LCR Honda MotoGP / HONDA / 44'58.402 / 156.332 / 29.288
8 / Hector BARBERA / SPA / Paginas Amarillas Aspar / DUCATI / 45'02.242 / 156.110 / 33.128
9 / Aleix ESPARGARO / SPA / Pramac Racing Team / DUCATI / 45'02.607 / 156.089 / 33.493
10 / Marco SIMONCELLI / ITA / San Carlo Honda Gresini / HONDA / 45'02.919 / 156.071 / 33.805
11 / Hiroshi AOYAMA / JPN / Interwetten Honda MotoGP / HONDA / 45'03.460 / 156.040 / 34.346
12 / Colin EDWARDS / USA / Monster Yamaha Tech 3 / YAMAHA / 45'06.237 / 155.879 / 37.123
13 / Mika KALLIO / FIN / Pramac Racing Team / DUCATI / 45'24.175 / 154.853 / 55.061
Pole Position: Valentino ROSSI 1'33.408 161.292 Km/h
Fastest Lap: Jorge LORENZO 1'34.545 159.352 Km/h Lap 15
Circuit Record Lap: 2008 Valentino ROSSI 1'34.215 159.910 Km/h
Circuit Best Lap: Dani PEDROSA 1'32.647 162.617 Km/h 2008
World Championship Positions:
1 LORENZO 70, 2 ROSSI 61, 3 DOVIZIOSO 42, 4 PEDROSA 40, 5 HAYDEN 39,
6 DE PUNIET 26, 7 MELANDRI 21, 8 EDWARDS 16, 9 SIMONCELLI 16, 10 BARBERA 15,
11 AOYAMA 13, 12 KALLIO 12, 13 STONER 11, 14 SPIES 11, 15 ESPARGARO 8.
 Tony Elias pulls away from Julian Simon
Elias Extends His Championship Lead in Moto2
Toni Elías opened up an 18-point lead at the top of the Moto2 World Championship standings with his second win of the season. The Spanish rider led a podium completed by Julián Simón and Simone Corsi, in a race that was extremely eventful in its opening stages.
Elías made a rapid start from seventh on the grid and took the early lead, but Alex Debón was soon in front. However, the Valencian rider was penalised for a jump-start and had to take a ride through penalty as he lost first position. Yuki Takahashi crashed out from fourth, and pole position man Kenny Noyes suffered the same disappointment.
At the head of the race Elías, Jules Cluzel and Simón established a break, but disaster struck from the Frenchman Cluzel when he lost the front of his bike. Championship leader at the start of the race, Shoya Tomizawa ran off twice, first as the result of De Rosa’s crash which forced him wide, then of his own accord, bringing down Mattia Pasini too. As Elías stretched out his lead and Simón shored up second, Andrea Iannone and Corsi scrapped for third behind, with the latter coming out on top to claim his first Moto2 podium.
Race Classification Moto2: (26 laps = 108.81 km)
Pos / Rider / Nat / Team / Motorcycle / Time/ KM/H / Gap
1 / Toni ELIAS / SPA / Gresini Racing Moto2 / MORIWAKI / 43'29.277 / 150.124 /
2 / Julian SIMON / SPA / Mapfre Aspar Team / SUTER / 43'30.613 / 150.047 / 1.336
3 / Simone CORSI / ITA / JIR Moto2 / MOTOBI / 43'32.108 / 149.961 / 2.831
4 / Andrea IANNONE / ITA / Fimmco Speed Up / SPEED UP / 43'34.157 / 149.844 / 4.880
5 / Gabor TALMACSI / HUN / Fimmco Speed Up / SPEED UP / 43'42.570 / 149.363 / 13.293
6 / Sergio GADEA / SPA / Tenerife 40 Pons / PONS KALEX / 43'42.692 / 149.356 / 13.415
7 / Ratthapark WILAIROT / THA / Thai Honda PTT Singha SAG / BIMOTA / 43'43.571 / 149.306 / 14.294
8 / Fonsi NIETO / SPA / Holiday Gym G22 / MORIWAKI / 43'43.831 / 149.291 / 14.554
9 / Stefan BRADL / GER / Viessmann Kiefer Racing / SUTER / 43'52.780 / 148.784 / 23.503
10 / Roberto ROLFO / ITA / Italtrans S.T.R. / SUTER / 43'52.964 / 148.773 / 23.687
11 / Scott REDDING / GBR / Marc VDS Racing Team / SUTER / 43'53.236 / 148.758 / 23.959
12 / Yonny HERNANDEZ / COL / Blusens-STX / BQR-MOTO2 / 43'54.232 / 148.702 / 24.955
13 / Lukas PESEK / CZE / Matteoni CP Racing / MORIWAKI / 43'54.345 / 148.695 / 25.068
14 / Alex BALDOLINI / ITA / Caretta Technology Race Dept / I.C.P. / 43'55.300 / 148.641 / 26.023
15 / Claudio CORTI / ITA / Forward Racing / SUTER / 43'58.042 / 148.487 / 28.765
Pole Position: Kenny NOYES 1'39.234 151.822 Km/h
Fastest Lap (New record) : Jules CLUZEL 1'39.169 151.922 Km/h Lap 3
Circuit Record Lap: New catagory
Circuit Best Lap: Jules CLUZEL 1'39.169 151.922 Km/h 2010
World Championship Positions:
1 ELIAS 63, 2 TOMIZAWA 45, 3 CORSI 35, 4 SIMON 28, 5 GADEA 26, 6 LUTHI 25,
7 TALMACSI 25, 8 CLUZEL 21, 9 ROLFO 21, 10 DEBON 20, 11 IANNONE 13,
12 TAKAHASHI 13, 13 NIETO 11, 14 PASINI 10, 15 HERNANDEZ 10.
 The Monster Yamaha Team had a hot tub full of Monster Girls waiting for the back in the pits. Double reinforced bikibi tops were a necessity!
Aprilia RSV4 Max Biaggi Race Replica
May 10th - With the occasion of Max Biaggi’s double win at the Monza WSBK round in Italy, Aprilia took the wraps off their all-new racing replica RSV4 superbike. The bike is targeted for the racing track and can be used as a entry-level WSBK and National Championship race machine as it offers a serious performance over the production street version and also meets FIM regulations.
Claiming 200bhp and 92lb/ft of torque (that’s an impressive 20bhp and 7.4lb/ft over the production RSV4) from the 65-degree V4 motor, Aprilia sure seems to have done their homework when creating this proper Ducati Corse 1198RS competitor, with Ducati being the only other manufacturer offering a race prepared World Superbike. Details on the RSV4 Max Biaggi Replica include a six gear transmission with a multi-disk oil bath clutch with a mechanical anti-skipping system, ride-by-wire throttle control system, QuickShift assisted shifting, an Akrapovich 4-2-1 titanium exhaust and carbon fiber fairing.
All in all, the bike weighs in at 385.8 lbs (dry), which is definitely an achievement over the standard version’s 405.6 lbs., but still is some 30 pounds over the SBK wet weight minimum. You also get production (not SBK race spec) Ohlins suspension, Brembo brakes and Marchesini forged magnesium alloy wheels before being hit you with the price: 50,000 euros (US $64,142). The Race Replica bike is available in Biaggi’s Alitalia Aprilia livery or in bare carbon. This is Ducati Desmosedicci RR pricing territority, but unlike the RR which is street legal, the RSV4 Race Replica comes without street lighting equipment so you won't be able to impess your sportbike buddies up at the Rock Store.
We think Aprila may have missed their marketing opportunity here to offer a street legal version of the bike they could sell in profitable volume to wealthy collectors like Ducati did with the 'Decci RR. While club racers won't be lining up for this $64K bike which makes the same horsepower as the $15,000 street legal BMW 1000RR, which should also weights the same as th RSV4 Race Replica once the lighting equipment is removed.
Gigi Dall’lgna, technical and sport manager of Aprilia Racing says, “With the RSV4 Biaggi Replica we offer the sports enthusiast a motorcycle which is as close as you can get to the RSV4 that Max rides on the track in World Superbike. In this project, which was developed in parallel to our re-entry into SBK, we poured out all of our knowledge and years of experience on tracks all over the world. This is the bike which came out of it, conceived and developed within Aprilia Racing to offer unique sensations to the shrewd user.”
 Tommy Hill gets the Worx Suzuki airborne on the roller coaster Caldwell track.
British Superbike Championship, Caldwell Park Round 4 of 12
Home victories for Honda's Kiyonari and Brookes at Caldwell Park
Cadwell Park, Lincolnshire, GB, May 23rd - Ryuichi Kiyonari beat his Cadwell Park jinx by taking the victory in the opening race of the fourth round of the MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship – the Lincolnshire circuit had been the only one on the calendar that the former two times winner of the crown had previously not conquered and he did it in style in a thriller.
Kiyonari is Brilliant in Race One
The Japanese rider, starting from the second row of the grid made a brilliant get-away to be heading the pack, with series leading Tommy Hill in hot pursuit for Suzuki as Michael Rutter ran third for Ducati ahead of Swan Honda’s Stuart Easton. The Flying Scot was the lone rider for the Swan team as his team-mate James Ellison who had hoped to make a remarkable come-back, six weeks on from breaking his right femur, failed a fitness test at the circuit and was not allowed to compete.
Adding to the team’s woes, Easton crashed heavily on the second lap, escaping injury but severely damaging his bike, then on the fourth lap, Hill, trying everything he knew to catch Kiyonari tipped off at Hall Bends.
Michael Laverty began to pose problems for Kiyonari, briefly snatching the lead with two laps to go, but the Honda rider used the power of his CBR1000RR to quickly regain the advantage and take his first victory of the season. Rutter ran third to Laverty with Tommy Bridewell fourth on the Quay Garage Honda from Brookes who had overcome a dreadful start, having missed a gear, to charge through the pack into fifth place.
Ryuichi Kiyonari (HM Plant Honda): “For me, very special, the team’s home track, my home track, I live nearby. I try many times for this – in earlier years, the team have private tests, help me a lot, but no wins, till this one. The race was very hard, very hot and this is the perfect week for me – my baby Koma was born six days ago, now I win the race for him and my wife Madoka. I kept my pace, but then made little mistake after the Mountain, run wide, touch grass, rear end goes wide, nearly high-side, but hold on though Laverty comes past me. Then I pass him and take victory, my first here after many times trying – very, very happy.”
British Superbike Results Race 1
POS / NAME / NAT / BIKE / TIME / GAP
1 / Ryuichi KIYONARI / JPN / Honda - HM Plant Honda / 27:35.356 /
2 / Michael LAVERTY / GBR / Suzuki - Relentless Suzuki by TAS / 27:35.853 / 0,497
3 / Michael RUTTER / GBR / Ducati - RidersMotorcycles.Com / 27:37.233 / 1,877
4 / Tommy BRIDEWELL / GBR / Honda - Quay Garage Honda / 27:37.884 / 2,528
5 / Josh BROOKES / AUS / Honda - HM Plant Honda / 27:40.524 / 5,168
6 / John LAVERTY / GBR / Kawasaki - Buildbase Kawasaki / 27:43.110 / 7,754
7 / Chris WALKER / GBR / Kawasaki - MSS Colchester Kawasaki / 27:45.428 / 10,072
8 / Martin JESSOPP / GBR / Ducati - RidersMotorcycles.Com / 27:46.398 / 11,042
9 / Alastair SEELEY / GBR / Suzuki - Relentless Suzuki by TAS / 27:47.309 / 11,953
10 / Dan LINFOOT / GBR / Yamaha - Motorpoint Yamaha / 27:48.534 / 13,178
11 / Ian LOWRY / GBR / Yamaha - Motorpoint Yamaha / 27:49.291 / 13,935
12 / Adam JENKINSON / GBR / Kawasaki - Buildbase Kawasaki / 27:55.407 / 20,051
13 / Peter HICKMAN / GBR / Yamaha - Ultimate Racing / 27:55.646 / 0.020
14 / Steve BROGAN / GBR / BMW - Jentin Racing - BMW Motorrad / 28:01.929 / 26,573
15 / Tom TUNSTALL / GBR / Honda - Doodson Motorsport / 28:03.876 / 0.029
Fastest lap: Lap 10 Ryuichi KIYONARI 1:28.288 88.89 mph 143.05 kph
Australian Josh Brooks tops the Race Two podium with Hill (left) and Laverty (right).
Brookes Takes Race Two as Teammate Kiyonari Sufferes Woes
Kiyonari’s first race joy turned to despair ahead of the second race when he ran off the track at Charlies, then stopped at the Gooseneck, on the warm-up lap with a technical problem which his team are investigating.
Brookes, keen to avenge his earlier error, was up for the challenge, and he quickly reeled in Laverty to take the lead at Hall Bends on the second lap with an audacious move at Hall Bends. The Aussie, once ahead, was able to dictate terms at the front of the pack, en route to his second victory of the season.
Behind him, Hill moved through from fourth to be running second ahead of Laverty and Rutter in a race that was stopped three laps early when Dan Linfoot fell heavily ascending the Mountain section.
Easton was struggling back in tenth place, salvaging a handful of points in a damage limitation exercise and giving his team some rewards for their hard work to rebuild his bike in between race. Brookes however was the man of the moment, moving second in the title standings 146-110 to Hill.
Josh Brookes (HM Plant Honda) “I made a good start and made passes while the tyres were still fresh – I was good and smooth which you have to be around here. If I am not on the top spot of the podium, then I get a bit annoyed but that is the racer in me. It was only me that made a mistake in the first race but the win goes some way to making up for that.”
British Superbike Results Race 2
POS / NAME / NAT / BIKE / LAPS / TIME / GAP
1 / Josh BROOKES / AUS / Honda - HM Plant Honda / 22:15.411 /
2 / Tommy HILL / GBR / Suzuki - Worx Crescent Suzuki / 22:19.809 / 4,398
3 / Michael LAVERTY / GBR / Suzuki - Relentless Suzuki by TAS / 22:21.086 / 5,675
4 / Michael RUTTER / GBR / Ducati - RidersMotorcycles.Com / 22:21.332 / 5,921
5 / John LAVERTY / GBR / Kawasaki - Buildbase Kawasaki / 22:25.876 / 10,465
6 / Tommy BRIDEWELL / GBR / Honda - Quay Garage Honda / 22:26.142 / 10,731
7 / Alastair SEELEY / GBR / Suzuki - Relentless Suzuki by TAS / 22:29.074 / 13,663
8 / Chris WALKER / GBR / Kawasaki - MSS Colchester Kawasaki / 22:34.979 / 19,568
9 / Martin JESSOPP / GBR / Ducati - RidersMotorcycles.Com / 21:06.937 / 1 lap
10 / Stuart EASTON / GBR / Honda - Swan Honda / 21:11.509 / 1 lap
11 / Adam JENKINSON / GBR / Kawasaki - Buildbase Kawasaki / 21:11.979 / 1 lap
12 / Ian LOWRY / GBR / Yamaha - Motorpoint Yamaha / 21:12.190 / 1 lap
13 / Peter HICKMAN / GBR / Yamaha - Ultimate Racing / 21:12.606 / 1 lap
14 / Steve BROGAN / GBR / BMW - Jentin Racing - BMW Motorrad / 21:23.616 / 1 lap
15 / Alex LOWES / GBR / KTM - Redline KTM / 21:37.904 / 1 lap
Fastest lap: Lap 4 Josh BROOKES AUS 1:28.166 89.01 mph 143.25 kph
BSB Championship points after 4 rounds
1 Tommy HILL 146, 2 Josh BROOKES 110, 3 Michael LAVERTY 101, 4 Michael RUTTER 88,
5 Stuart EASTON 81, 6 John LAVERTY 80, 7 Alastair SEELEY 79, 8 Ryuichi KIYONARI 78,
9 Martin JESSOPP 57, 10 James ELLISON 41, 11 Chris WALKER 38,
12 Tommy BRIDEWELL 38, 13 Dan LINFOOT 27, 14 Gary MASON 26,
15 Yukio KAGAYAMA 25.
Elena Elena Myers
AMA National Rodracing Championship, Infinion Round 4 of 10
Elena Myers takes historic first female win
in AMA Pro Road Racing 600cc Supersport on Saturday
600c Supersport Race 1, Sonoma, CA, Saturday May 15, 2010 - With a motorcycle racing history going back to 1934 and the formation of the AMA racing category called Class C, May 15, 2010 is the day that 16 year old Elena Myers put her name permanently in the history books with the very first AMA Pro Road Racing victory for a female rider. Myers, from nearby Discovery Bay, California, took an exciting and popular victory at Infineon Raceway during the West Coast Moto Jam AMA Pro Racing SuperSport event.
Myers has been competitive from the very first race this year at Daytona International Speedway, taking a pair of seventh place finishes aboard her Lucas Oil/RoadRacingWorld.com/RMR Suzuki. She showed further improvement at the next round at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California with a stirring fourth place finish in the second of two races, after suffering an accident moments after the start of race one.
Myers again showed her mettle at the next race at Road Atlanta, when she again had the misfortune of getting caught up in someone else's problem on the race warm-up lap, which again prevented her from starting, but she came back to finish fifth in the second race.
Today, she again showed her ability by racing hard when it counted and took a well deserved win after battling with a number of her competitors during today's action packed AMA Pro Racing SuperSport race at 2.32-mile, 11-turn Infineon Raceway. Myers qualified on the outside of the second row in eighth place. She jumped up to fifth place at the start and began her day mixing it up once again with the excellent field in this year's production-based SuperSport class.
Myers moves into the race lead.
The race was red flagged on lap 10 with Myers leading Beaubier for 2nd place. By virtue of the rules, the running order reverts back to lap 9, the halfway point and the last completed green flag lap, which showed rider Pascarella leading. As Pascarella's crash was the cause of the red flag, he was moved to the end of the running order.
An emotional and overwhelmed Myers, the first female winner in the history of AMA Pro Road Racing, celebrated with the many happy fans and industry personnel present for this historic achievement. Myers commented, "When they told me the race was called, they said, 'You got second, but wait, Joey crashed and you got first,' and I looked at my Dad and he was crying."
Later on, she talked about her race, "I got a great start off the front row, which worked out really well for me. I was in second and Tyler was in first and I passed Tyler and Joey was still ahead of me...Sorry, I'm just on another planet right now." She continued, "The race went really good for me, and some people made mistakes and I took advantage of it. I don't think it's quite sunk in yet. It's crazy."
Beaubier congratulated Myers and saluted her win. O'Hara commented, "I think it's huge for the sport. Elena just broke the barrier as far as women on a motorcycle at the top level. I'm proud of her and happy and I like racing with her."
Ducati Launches Assault on Pikes Peak Hill Climb
New Multistrada 1200 as its weapon of choice to race in the prestigious event
Cupertino, CA, May 19th - Ducati North America is excited to announce its participation in the 2010 Pikes Peak international Hill Climb. It will enter two Multstrada 1200’s in the Race to the Clouds, set to take place June 26-27 in Colorado.
2010 represents Ducati’s second attempt to win the prestigious hill climb, following a 2008 “skunk works” effort in which Ducati won the 1200cc class with the Hypermotard 1100. This year Ducati has organized an official effort surrounding the new Multistrada 1200, partnering with Spider Grips of Southern California to run the team.
“We are excited to partner with Ducati for this year’s Pike Peak International Hill Climb,” said Spider Grips Principal Paul Livingston. “The new Multistrada 1200 caught our eye when Ducati unveiled it in Milan last November, and we have been dying to race one since. We are really looking forward to getting out there in June!”
“Considering the success we had with the Livingstons in 2008, we’ve been plotting a return to the mountain in 2010 since the early days of developing the new Multistrada 1200.” Said Ducati North America’s Sales and Marketing Director, Jason Chinnock.
Team Spider Grips Ducati will field a two bike team with riders Greg Trachy and Alexander Smith. Greg and Alexander are no strangers to riding Ducatis up the mountain, both having raced the Hypermotard in 2008. Alexander and Greg are enthusiastic to race the Multistrada, planning to put its traction control, ride by wire throttle and other electronic revelations to good use.
The Pikes Peak international Hill Climb will take place June 26-27 in Colorado. For more information on the Ducati Multistradas that will be racing, as well as team news and updates please visit www.ducatiusa.com.
The Making of the FastDates.com Calendars now on DVD!
Sure, we may be slow getting around to some things, one of those being the re mastering of our infamous Making of the FastDates.com Calendars movies from VHS tape to high definition DVD. But now thanks to the help of Amazon.com we've entered the 21st century and you can stuff into your Computer or Big Screen DVD player the fastest, hottest, wettest, sexiest motorcycle movies ever made!
 The making of the FasDates.com Calendars DVD movies are available from Amazon.com and in the FastDates.com Video Store.
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Twin-cylinder machines to undergo weight reduction from the next SBK round at Miller Motorsports Park.
WSBK Press Release, May 16th - For the first time in the two and a half years since the regulation was introduced, there will be a change in the new minimum weights applied to the bikes competing in the FIM Superbike World Championship.
Following the official results of Race 2 held at Kyalami (South Africa), the FIM SBK Technical Director has informed that the average value of the event averages over the first six events of the 2010 SBK championship favours the 1000cc 4-cylinder motorcycles by more than 5 points (see the attached document issued by the official time keeping).
As a result, from the next SBK event at Miller Motorsports Park (USA) on 29-30-31 May, the new minimum weight for 1200cc 2-cylinder motorcycles is decreased to 165 Kg / 363 lbs., a reduction of 3 Kg as stipulated in Article 2.4.4.2 of the FIM rulebook.
The minimum weight for 1000cc 4-cylinder motorcycles will remain unchanged (162 Kg / 356 lbs.).
HASLAM EXTENDS SUPERBIKE SERIES LEAD IN KYALAMI
Team Suzuki Press Office - May 16. -Team Suzuki Alstare rider Leon Haslam extended his World Superbike Championship lead to 15 points after a thrilling victory in the second race at Kyalami in South Africa today.
After racing to third place in the opening race, in front of 54,000 spectators, race two was particularly dramatic and action-packed; and one of the best battles of the season so far: Throughout the race the Briton fought tooth and nail with fellow countryman Jonathan Rea (Honda), with Haslam taking the lead several times only to get overtaken again. The battle went right down to the wire; Haslam making an audacious passing move one lap from the end. This time he made it stick and went on to take the chequered flag by half a second put Suzuki back at the top of the Manufacturer Standings. It was his third win and ninth podium of the season and one of hardest victories of his career.
Team mate Sylvain Guintoli endured another average day at the office and ended with 10th in race one and 15th in race two. It was the Frenchman's first visit to Kyalami and one that he will not remember with much fondness.
Leon Haslam - Race 1: 3rd, Race 2: 1st: "What an amazing day! The second race was one of the best races I've ever been involved in and definitely one of the hardest. Jonny and I had a real ding-dong and it was bar-to-bar stuff for almost the whole race. I passed him a few times, but he always got me back and the longer the race went on I could feel him working out where I'd pass and how he'd stop me. In the end, I had to pass at a different place and this time I made it stick and held on to the flag. To win a race like that is quite an emotional thing and I have to give a big thank you to the whole team for all their work this weekend.
"The bike in the second race was an improvement over race one. We had a few issues in race one, so changed the balance by making a bit lower in the front and higher in the rear. I still had some issues with it, but it was better and allowed me to fight for the win. After the drama of race two, it's hard to remember what happened in race one. I didn't get a good start and had to make up a lot of ground as best I could. I wasn't completely confident in the front end, so could not push hard enough to catch Michel Fabrizio and Carlos Checa, but I was happy to get on the podium. Today was a tough day, but I'm very happy to have extended my Championship lead and I'm looking forward to the next round in America."
Injured Bautista out of
the French Grand Prix
Saturday, May 22, 2010 - Álvaro Bautista has been forced to withdraw from the rest of this weekend’s proceedings at the French Grand Prix in Le Mans after a crash in practice caused him further injuries.
Bautista suffered from a big high-side on only the third lap of this morning’s practice session He landed hard on the asphalt and sustained some more minor injuries, as well as aggravating the broken collarbone that he sustained only a week ago. Bautista was one of three riders to all crash on the same lap this morning, all caught out by the low track temperatures. He was treated by Dr. Costa’s staff straight after the session and after careful consideration and discussions with the team, took the decision to abandon any further attempts to race this weekend.
Rizla Suzuki will not replace Bautista with another rider for the French Grand Prix, so the team will field a one-man attack as Loris Capirossi takes on the responsibility for the squad. Bautista will return to Spain for further treatment - as well as rest and recuperation - to make sure he is 100% fit for the next round of the season at Mugello in Italy in two weeks’ time
Contrasting Fortunrs for Ducati Riders at LeMans MotoGP
Ducati Corse Press Release, Lemans May 23rd - Nicky Hayden produced another valiant challenge for a podium position in the Grand Prix de France at Le Mans this afternoon, finishing fourth in a race that saw his Ducati Marlboro team-mate Casey Stoner suffer the misfortune of a crash while trying to close the gap to the front three.
It was an early and disappointing end to a tough weekend for the Australian, who lost the front end of his Desmosedici on the third lap. However, there was still plenty of excitement for the Ducatisti amongst a 82,000 crowd to enjoy as Hayden took the fight to the frontrunners, passing Dani Pedrosa to take fourth place on the final lap, crossing the line just 1.5 seconds behind Andrea Dovizioso in third. The race was won by Jorge Lorenzo ahead of Valentino Rossi.
NICKY HAYDEN – (Ducati Marlboro Team) 4th
“I’m about as happy with fourth as you could wish to be because I’ve struggled this weekend and once the race got started I went backwards pretty quickly. I just dug in and started going a little faster. I was pushing so hard to try and get those guys and finish on the podium but I couldn’t get close enough. As we say in America ‘close only counts in horseshoes and washers’ but I know I couldn’t have ridden any harder today and the team did a great job, so my heartfelt thanks go to them. Fourth place is okay here but it won’t be good enough at Mugello so we have more work to do there. I feel sorry for Casey today and his side of the garage because I see how hard they work, he is an unbelievably fast rider and he’ll be feeling disappointed right now, but you can be sure he will bounce back, he is very strong. It’s a long season so hopefully we can both have something to smile about next time.”
CASEY STONER (Ducati Marlboro Team) DNF
"I’m really disappointed because the bike has felt great all weekend, I’ve been pushing the front wherever I wanted but for some reason when the race has come around it felt like it was going to fold. It’s something we have to get to the bottom of and we need to do it soon because it is not good to start the season with only one finish from three races. I haven’t changed anything with my riding style but if I need to do something then we have to work out what and I can do it. Maybe it’s because when I’m behind slower riders in the race I’m not able to put the same pressure on the front. I’m not sure at the moment, to be honest, so we need to sit down and work out what’s best for the next race.”
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Ducati Factory Riders to fight it out at massive World Ducati Week 2010
Celebration with Playboy Bunny Bike Wash!
World Ducati Weekís Saturday night (12 June) will feature an all-star Drag Race along Misanoís start/finish straight on asphalt-ripping Ducati Streetfighters. The knockout challenge will line-up factory riders Nicky Hayden and Casey Stoner from the Ducati MotoGP Team and Michel Fabrizio and Noriyuki Haga from the Ducati Xerox Superbike Team, as well as Ducati guest stars Carlos Checa, Shane Byrne, Ducati MotoGP test rider, Franco Battaini and the legendary Troy Bayliss.
With tens of thousands of passionate fans already signed-up to attend the sixth edition of World Ducati Week, titled ìThe Red Planet Returnsî, final details for the massive event at the Misano World Circuit in Italy are now being put into place. Celebrating the soul and community spirit of Ducati motorcycles, World Ducati Week 2010 is sure to be one of the biggest motorcycling parties ever along the riviera of Italyís Emilia Romagna region.
Attracting a record number of entrants, the Ducati Garage Contest is set to pitch bike-builders against each other in a customised shoot-out of Trellis frames, dry clutches and special swingarms on show for mass admiration. The 10 best specials, selected by a panel of judges, will remain on display for everyone to see throughout the WDW event.
A Test Ride area for the entire 2010 Ducati range is also likely to be a huge hit, as riders will be able to test any one of the bikes in the current line-up, including the brand new ë4-bikes-in-1í Multistrada 1200. In fact, lucky holders of a 4-Day Pass will be entered into a fantastic prize draw with the magnificent Multistrada 1200 going to the first name pulled out of the hat. A Travel Experience holiday will be up for grabs for the second name and a thrilling AMG-Mercedes Driving Academy safe driving course at the Imola race track for the third.
The Ducati Vintage Contest will remember the prestigious history of the Ducati factory and provide a moment of pure glory for the beautiful classic bikes that always attract huge crowds at WDW. Any visitor can present their own vintage Ducati at the event, with eligible categories being single-cylinder models produced between 1946 and 1978, and twin-cylinder models from 1971 to 1990. A special team of judges, including Livio Lodi, Curator of the Ducati Museum, and Gianluigi Mengoli, Chairman of the Ducati Foundation, will choose the best restored and maintained machines and the winning owner will be crowned King or Queen of the Red Planet.
A special round of the exciting Ducati Desmo Challenge championship will also take place at Misano and offer all Elite license-holder enthusiasts the excitement of a single-brand race series in front of a huge crowd. Following the great success of this event in 2007, both the British and Dutch Ducati series will join the Italian Ducati championship for the WDW2010 event. The Dutch Ducati Dealer Cup championship consists of eight races held on legendary circuits across Europe and is open to all Ducati models including 1098, 848, 998 and 749 as well as special models like the Pierobon or the NCR Millona. The British-based 848 Challenge, organised by Ducati UK and the New Era Motorcycle Club, will be divided into two races in which entrants will compete with Ducati 848 and 848 Dark models in standard form apart from race fairings, tyres and exhausts. From Friday to Sunday the track will form the perfect venue for the hotly contested races in these major national trophies.
ìThe Red Planet Returnsî event will even present some big screen action with a genuine cinematic spaceship ready to transport everyone to an incredible selection of movie thrills in pure Ducati style. Showing non-stop screenings of all the Desmo scenes from memorable films, visitors will also get a chance to view the trailers from all upcoming releases.
On Sunday, 13 June, in a challenge that combines entertainment, travel, discovery and experience, Paolo Pirozzi, President of the Ducati Dreams Club of Naples, will blast-off from the Red Planet of Misano aboard a new Multistrada 1200 S for an amazing year-long, round-the-world trip. Stopping off at 80 Official Ducati Clubs across five continents, his trip will not only represent a great biking adventure, but also a genuine celebration of the passion shared by Ducatisti all around the world.
In what is lining-up to be the biggest World Ducati Week party ever and a celebration of everything Ducati, motorcyclists from all over the world are sure to enjoy breathing an atmosphere of pure motorcycle enthusiasm, where even the Bike Wash is a popular relaxation spot and unexpected source of entertainment with busy Playboy bunnies!
Ticket purchase and a constantly updated programme are available online on a dedicated WDW website at wdw2010.ducati.com.
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Rizla Suzuki leaves
Le Mans empty handed
Sunday, May 2rd - Rizla Suzuki ended the French Grand Prix with nothing to show for its hard work after Loris Capirossi crashed out of today’s race, adding to the disappointment of Álvaro Bautista’s withdrawal yesterday.
Capirossi started from ninth on the grid and made a steady start to the race, before finding his rhythm and starting to track down the group in front of him. He passed Colin Edwards on lap six and began to open a gap on the American, before disaster struck on the next lap and Capirossi crashed in turn three. He was able to re-mount his Suzuki GSV-R, but was unable to get the motor running again and was forced to retire. Capirossi was at odds to explain what caused the crash – similar to the one last time out in Jerez – and was very disappointed after such a positive weekend’s work to leave Le Mans pointless.
Capirossi was the only Rizla Suzuki racer today following Bautista’s early departure yesterday after a crash in free practice which aggravated his injured shoulder and caused him to return to Spain for further treatment, as well as rest and recuperation.
Today’s race was watched by 82,270 fans at trackside, who all baked in glorious French sunshine as temperatures rose above 30ºC. Jorge Lorenzo took a comprehensive victory to strengthen his lead at the top of the World Championship.
Rizla Suzuki will now travel to Mugello in Italy for round four of the MotoGP World Championship on Sunday 6th June, with the team looking to bounce back from this weekend.
Loris Capirossi: “It has again been an unlucky end to a weekend for us! It was the best we had felt at a Grand Prix this year and we had worked very hard in practice to fix everything and we made some good, positive steps. In the race I started steadily because the grip was not too good. After a couple of laps I felt a bit better and increased my rhythm and got past Colin, but in turn three I crashed. I leaned in and just lost the front, I don’t know why it happened and this is the third time I’ve crashed on the front and we will have to discover what’s causing it. During the weekend the feeling has been good and in warm-up I didn’t have any problems, but then in the race we struggled and I crashed. I am so sorry for the whole team because they all worked so hard. I am really, really upset because I feel in such good condition and we need to be getting some good results, this is no way to end the weekend, but we now must go to Mugello and try to make sure it doesn’t happen again.”
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New Premier MotorLand Aragón Circuit in Spain to host the FIM Superbike World Championship for the next three years
Rome, Wednesday 19 May 2010 -The newly-built MotorLand Aragón in Spain is set to host a round of the FIM Superbike World Championship for the next three years, following an agreement signed this morning. The circuit, which was designed by German architect Hermann Tilke, will now appear in the calendars of the two most important global motorcycling competitions; in spite of its short history, it will now be consolidated as one of the world’s elite tracks, hosting the World Superbike round in 2011, 2012 and 2013 and following on from the MotoGP round in September of this year.
This morning an agreement was signed before the international press, in the Aragón regional government headquarters between MotorLand and Infront Motor Sports in the presence of MotorLand president and Aragón Government vice-president José Angel Biel, the regional minister of commerce, tourism and industry Arturo Aliaga, the CEO of MotorLand Antonio Gasión, the CEO of Infront Motor Sports Paolo Flammini, and the Ducati Superbike rider, Carlos Checa.
Paolo Flammini declared: “Motorland is a very new circuit and it’s already at the top. To have MotoGP and Superbike in its first years of activity demonstrates that it is a top-level circuit. The Superbike World Championship requires requisites of maximum safety and top-class facilities to be in a position to guarantee the presence of high numbers of spectators and Motorland is able to offer all this.”
Carlos Checa added: “Superbike races offer a well-balanced sporting spectacle and for this reason they are spectacular, also for everyone watching on TV. Motorland is a circuit that respects all the standards to host a world-class race. I am happy to be able to race Superbike here next year and I hope to win!”
The race in Alcañiz, close to Zaragoza in northern Spain, will take place in the spring of next year and also in 2012 and 2013.
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TITLE-HUNGRY LAVERTY PODIUMS AT CADWELL PARK BSB
Team Suzuki Press Office - May 24. -Michael Laverty used Cadwell Park's undulating curves to his advantage at round four of the British Superbike Championship, forcing his way up the current standings with a brace of podiums on his Relentless by TAS Suzuki.
Laverty is now third in the BSB standings on 101 points, only nine behind second-placed man Josh Brookes with fellow Suzuki pilot Tommy Hill still on top with 146.
Alastair Seeley had a character-building weekend, but after struggling with minor set-up and confidence issues after a slip off during Saturday's Q2 session, the Ulsterman posted solid results inside the top-10 in both races and is seventh in the championship standings on 79 points.
Michael Laverty: "It's been a good day for me coming away with two podium finishes - an almost perfect day, but as a racer I always want to win and it would have been nice to put the Relentless by TAS Suzuki on the top step. I was suffering with arm-pump today and that sort of spoiled any chance I had of the victory, but I'm happy and we've now moved up to third in the Championship. I also proved that the Oulton win was no fluke and the team has also done an awesome job for me again this weekend. I really believe we have established ourselves as genuine championship contenders."
Alastair Seeley: "John Reynolds told me weekends like this are character-building and I have to agree. We struggled with set-up early in the weekend and my tip off at Charlie's in qualifying knocked my confidence a bit, but I'm not making excuses. The boys helped me a lot and we made some changes to the bike overnight, which transformed it and helped my confidence. With only three bikes to a row here at Cadwell it makes qualifying so important. I got beaten-up a bit at the start of race one by Brogie; after that I put the hammer down and picked them off for ninth. In race two I got a better start but took a while to get dialled-in, but seventh wasn't so bad and we took six-tenths off my best lap from the opening race."
Philip Neill - Team Manager: "From a Championship point of view it's been a very good weekend for us. As I've said before, time and time again, I always knew Michael had these sort of results in him and he was never outside the top five all weekend with his times. And but for the arm-pump problems I think he was strong enough to win that first race: However it's good for his Championship.
"Alastair had a tough weekend but to see him progress from the first session where he was a bit off the pace, and having crashed in qualifying, was very pleasing. He also put his confidence in the team to make some radical changes to the bike before the races today and I was personally pleased to see him set his fastest lap of the weekend in the second race, getting down in amongst the times of the top five. We are now looking forward to the next round which comes after the Isle of Man TT where we will be looking for some more success on the roads."
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