TOMMY HAYDEN WINS SUPERSPORT OPENER IN DAYTONA DAYTONA BEACH, FLA. (March 14, 2005) – Kawasaki Road Racing returned to Daytona International Speedway by claming an exciting victory at the season opener. In the Supersport action on Thursday, Tommy Hayden completely dominated the field aboard his new Kawasaki NINJAR ZX-6RR. The reigning Supersport champion proved he is still the man to beat by claiming the pole, leading every lap, and breaking away to win by a stunning 3.723-second margin over second-place rider Jamie Hacking. The win was largest margin of victory in the Daytona Supersport race since 1998. “My Kawasaki was really good,” said Hayden during the post-race press conference. “I definitely couldn’t ask more out of my bike. I mean the thing was unbelievable — easy to ride and super fast. I got the pole, and I think I led every lap, so I couldn’t ask for anything better,” Hayden continued. “You come in with a new track and a new bike and you never know what to expect. Obviously, this is how I wanted it to turn out. I’ve been here many times on slow bikes so it felt really good when I got out there and had the fastest bike.” Roger Hayden showed valiant determination to make it on the podium as he drafted behind his older brother for a few laps near the halfway point. However, the elder Hayden eventually pulled ahead by two bike lengths and Roger dropped back into a third-place war with Jason DiSalvo and Ben Spies. Unfortunately, Roger was forced to pull off the track on the last lap with mechanical difficulties. He would ultimately end up in the 21st position. Attack Kawasaki racer Ben Attard finished 12th. In Superstock action on Thursday, both Tommy and Roger started strong but eventually settled back in the pack with Tommy running in eighth and Roger in ninth. The pair maintained a consistent pace on their NINJAR ZX-10R motorcycles for a majority of the 12-lap race with Tommy inching up to finish in seventh. Roger ended up just outside the top ten, finishing in 11th. During Saturday’s Superbike race, Attack Kawasaki rider Josh Hayes endured mechanical problems during the first few laps and was forced to pull out of the race. Hayes’ misfortune would continue straight into the Formula Xtreme event after he encountered electrical problems on lap four and was done for the day. Unfortunately, his teammate Ben Attard also suffered mechanical problems immediately following the start and was forced to pull out of the race before the end of the first lap. Racing resumes when the teams head to Birmingham, Ala., April 22-24, for a Superbike doubleheader at Barber Motorsports Park. More, from a press release issued by National City Motorcycle: National City Motorcycle’s Tim Knutson Makes Strong Showing In Daytona 200 National City Motorcycle’s Tim Knutson riding a 2003 Yamaha YZF R6 shod with Bridgestone tires captured 17th place in the 2005 Daytona 200. Starting 45th on the grid, Tim ran as high as 14th place. This was an unbelievable success story considering just a year ago Tim took his first steps unassisted after spending nearly 4 months in a wheel chair; the result of a highside at the 2003 Willow Springs Toyota 200 that shattered and dislocated his hip. Bike Week started off slowly for this rising privateer. While the team was still trying to sort out his Formula Extreme motorcycle, Tim borrowed teammate Joe Pollard’s stock YZF R6 to run in the Supersport class on Thursday. A snafu prevented Joe from running the race. In practice and qualifying, Tim was barely able to run in the 1:51’s, qualifying 41st overall. Midway through the race the bike began to experience problems which forced Tim to pull off the track in the infield during lap 12. The crew worked tirelessly all week on the Formula Extreme bike in the search of extra horse power and get rid of head shake Tim was experiencing on the high banks of Daytona. In qualifying Tim was only able to manage a disappointing 45th place on the grid. Finally during Saturday morning practice Tim began to get into rhythm, finishing the session 25th fastest. As the green flag dropped on the 64th Daytona 200, Tim got a good start and quickly made his way through the field. By mid race, Tim had already moved up into the top 20. There he settled in and battled other top privateers like Nicky Moore, Derek Keyes, and Mike Sullivan. Throughout the race Tim was able to up the pace, putting in his fasted time of 1:48.459 on the 51st lap. Nearly 200 people came out to National City Motorcycle to watch the race and cheer Tim on as he picked off riders lap by lap. The fans roared as Tim diced his way through the field. The Hooters Girls were on hand to kick the festivities into high gear as the laps counted down, enjoying photo opportunities with many of the guests. More, from a press release issued by Jason DiSalvo’s publicist: PODIUM AND POINTS AT DAYTONA FOR DISALVO Daytona International Speedway hosted the AMA SuperBike races during bike week March 7th through 12th. Jason DiSalvo of Stafford NY took part in the SuperSport 600 and SuperStock 1000 classes. With practice on Wed the 9th and the races on Thursday the 10th the teams were rushing to get the bikes setup for this first race of the season. In the 1000 SuperStock Jason appeared to have the pole position, with less than a minute left another rider put in a fast lap moving Jason to 2nd position for the start of the race. A typical Daytona start saw five riders move in a group to attempt a breakaway with Jason running with the lead group. At the wire Jason finished 5th with a strong race. The 600 SuperSport class saw Jason again starting from the front row with the 4th fastest time in qualifying. The race saw a small group pull away from the field with Jason finishing third for the final podium position. Jason viewed the races as good with a podium and points going into the first part of the season. With testing at Infineon next week Jason will fly to his home in Las Vegas for a couple of days of rest then testing prior to the next race at Barber Motorsports Park April 22nd through 24th More, from a press release issued on behalf of Team Embry Racing: Team Embry’s Matt Lynn 14th Before Crash in his First Daytona 200 DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. Team Embry’s Matt Lynn traveled to Daytona International Speedway last week for the opening round of his first full season in AMA Pro Racing competition, running as high as 14th in the Daytona 200 before a late-race crash. Lynn had a busy schedule at Daytona, participating in both Superstock and Formula Xtreme, the featured class in the historic Daytona 200. It was the 20-year-old’s first time to race at the challenging track, where qualifying for the Superstock race was rained out. Instead, the race was gridded according to practice times, and Lynn was slated to start 16th for the 13-lap race. The Repsol Lubricants Superstock race got underway on the afternoon of Thursday, March 11. Lynn went to the outside of turn one on his Suzuki GSX-R1000, but the bottleneck of riders pushed him wide into the grass and he fell back to the rear of the field. Lynn worked his way back up to eventually finish 19th. “I worked my way up to Jimmy Moore, and we had a good battle going,” said Lynn. “I tried to pass him on the outside of turn one, but I went wide and he went back underneath me. On the white flag lap I drafted by him on the finish line and got him going into turn one, then held him off to finish 19th.” Lynn qualified 34th for Saturday’s 68-lap Daytona 200. After taking the green flag on his Suzuki GSX-R600, he began working his way toward the front. He made his first scheduled pit stop, opting to replace just his rear Michelin tire, and returned to the track. Lynn was soon in 14th, a position he held down until shortly past the halfway point when disaster struck. “The first couple of laps were really tight in the new section. I worked my way up and I felt really good,” commented Lynn. “I was pushing toward the beginning but then I got into a really good rhythm. The guys did a great job with my pit stop, and the bike was working well. Unfortunately, I was going into the chicane and a guy in front of me checked up. I applied too much front brake to keep from hitting him, and combined with the bumps on the track the front end tucked, and that was it.” Despite his disappointing finish, Lynn is optimistic about the remainder of the season and his return to the Daytona 200 next year. “The 200 was really fun, especially on the 600. I had a good time and am looking forward to getting a good finish in it next year,” said the Ballground, Georgia resident. The next event for Lynn and Team Embry will be round two of the AMA Pro Racing season at Barber Motorsports Park, April 22-24. He plans to concentrate on the Superbike and Superstock Series for the remainder of the season. More, from a press release issued by GPR Stabilizer: GPR STABILIZER CONGRATULATES DAYTONA SUPERSTOCK WINNER VINCENT HASKOVEC GPR Stabilizer is proud to be part of Vincent Haskovec’s victory in the Repsol Lubricants Superstock race at Daytona on March 10th, as well as Team M4 EMGO Suzuki teammate Geoff May’s fine sixth place ride. Geoff also finished an impressive eighth in the Daytona Superbike race on the same Superstock-spec GSX-R1000, beating several factory riders, and Vincent was running in fourth place in the Daytona 200 on his GSX-R600 when a mechanical problem forced him out of the race. “We’re thrilled to be a part of such a great win,” said Jeff Norman of GPR Stabilizer. “We’re happy for Vincent, Geoff and the whole team. GPR Stabilizer came on board as a sponsor and technical partner with Team M4 EMGO Suzuki for the 2005 road race season. Both Vincent and Geoff use the same off-the-shelf GPR V1 stabilizers that are available through dealers everywhere.” With their background in aerospace design and machining, GPR Stabilizer manufactures and sells the world’s finest steering dampers and accessories. All design, machining, laser engraving, packaging and shipping of the finished kits is done in-house in San Diego, California. GPR Stabilizer kits are available through local dealers, and are distributed in the U.S. by Lockhart Phillips USA, Parts Unlimited, Tucker Rocky and White Brothers. For more information, please call (619) 422-5771 or visit www.gprstabilizer.com. In the U.K. and Europe, please call GPR Stabilizer U.K. at 44-01945-58-58-42. More, from a press release issued by Goodridge: Goodridge USA partners with Mat Mladin Motorsports AMA Race Team TORRANCE, CA — Goodridge USA is proud to announce a partnership with Mat Mladin Motorsports and multi-time Australian Superbike Champion Marty Craggill for the 2005 AMA Superbike Championship season. “Goodridge USA is very excited about providing Marty and Mat Mladin Motorsports with our braking components. The partnership with Mat Mladin Motorsports further solidifies Goodridge as the choice of Champions like Marty and Mat who demand the best products for their race bikes. We look forward to building on our relationship with Mat Mladin Motorsports and carrying over the credibility and momentum of this partnership into Sportbike community,” said Adrian Limon. Goodridge USA supplies high performance products to the motor racing and automotive industry. We offer a broad range of braking applications and products for Sportbikes, Cruisers and American Big Twins.