FREE TIRES FOR TOP AMATEUR TORONTO, ON International Motorcycle SUPERSHOW Amateur 600 Sport Bike champion Karl Daigle will have access to up to $12,000 of Pirelli tires in 2007 thanks to a new bonus program introduced by the Parts Canada Superbike Championship, its spec tire supplier and participating motorcycle manufacturers. The Pirelli Amateur Champion Bonus will award $2,000 in Pirelli DOT rubber to the previous season’s top Amateur 600 national class finisher for use in the Hindle Exhaust Pro 600 Sport Bike Championship at each of the six rounds of the series. As the 2006 champion, Daigle will have first right to this bonus at each 2007 series event. Should the Amateur champion not appear at any round of the following season, the Pirelli Amateur Champion Bonus will go to the series runner-up at that event. If that rider doesn’t attend either, the tires will go to the next highest finisher from the previous season’s Amateur championship at that race. “One of our toughest challenges is finding ways to make the step up from Amateur to Pro more accessible to our talented young racers,” said Colin Fraser of Professional Motorsports Productions, which administers the Parts Canada Superbike Championship. “Thanks to the co-operation of Honda, Kawasaki, Suzuki and Yamaha, and our spec tire supplier Pirelli, we now have a bonus that will help relieve some of the financial pressures from our Amateur champion.” If the previous year’s International Motorcycle SUPERSHOW Amateur 600 Sport Bike champion lands a ride as a full factory racer in their rookie Pro season, they will not be eligible for the Pirelli bonus. “What makes this program especially exciting is that, if the Amateur champion is forced to miss a round or is fortunate enough to find a factory ride, the bonus will not go to waste,” said Brian Williams, Director of Competition for the Parts Canada Superbike Championship. “At every series round someone will stand to benefit, and that’s good for our rookie Pro racers as a whole.” Funding for the new program will be providing equally through Yamaha, Suzuki, Kawasaki, Honda, Canadian Pirelli race tire distributor Orion Motorsports and PMP. When the Amateur 600 Sport Bike program was launched in 2003 the top prize for the champion included the use of a manufacturer-supplied bike for their rookie Pro season. That arrangement will be discontinued, making Daigle the last rider to potentially take advantage of this offer. The Roxton Pond, Que. teenager won the 2006 title at the final round aboard a Honda CBR600RR. Pirelli began a three-year contract as the spec tire supplier to all classes of the Parts Canada Superbike Championship last season. Its products are distributed at all series rounds by Orion Motorsports. The full schedule for the 2007 Parts Canada Superbike Championship as well as rules changes for the new season will be announced shortly.