To confirm the progression During the last event at Assen, Shinichi Nakatomi had his best result so far this year. This is a positive situation, and there should be confirmation on the Monza race track that the performances now are better and better. The beginning of the season was made uneasy by the lack of winter testing, but Shinichi Nakatomi and Martial Garcia’s Team YZF Yamaha know now how to make a better use of the new R1 that was introduced on the market this year; For this Monza race, the Yamaha of the Japanese rider with receive some new parts for the chassis (including the swinging arm) and for the engine. “We hope to keep on progressing at Monza after the situation has been better during the last event at Assen, says team manager Martial Garcia. We shall be looking for better results. On the track, the top speed is very important and we are confident because we had the second top speed at Assen.” The fastest track of the Championship Monza is the quickest of the tracks used for the 2007 Superbike World Championship. The fastest lap was done last year by Troy Corser on a Suzuki, with the average speed of 196.636 kph. This is not the quickest lap ever, as Pierfrancesco Chili on a 750 Suzuki averaged 203.960 kph at Hockenheim on June 4th, 2000. A track with a great history Monza was built in 1922 (in only 100 days!) by the Milan Automobile Club. The “Autodromo Nazionale di Monza” is only 15 km from Milan. It is the oldest permanent racing circuit still used in Europe and the third such circuit to have been built after Brooklands (GB / 1907) and Indianapolis (USA 1909). The track is 5.793 km long and features a 2.405 km long oval, which is no longer used. The main straight is 1.195 km long. The first Grand Prix of the Nations (September 8, 1922) was won by Amadeo Ruggeri on a 1000 cc Harley-Davidson. In the 500 class, the winner was Italian Gnesa on 2-stroke 350 Garelli. A very special circuit Monza is the fastest circuit on the World Superbike calendar. The track has two very slow chicanes, the “Prima variante” and the “Variante della Roggia”. It also has a long right-hander called the “Curva Parabolica”. Monza only has one real left-hander, the “Curva del Serraglio” after the Lesmo double right-hander. Monza is different because the bike is upright for so much of the lap, during acceleration, top speed and braking phases. Monza is unique in that the bikes are running more often in a straight line than in a corner, the opposite of the other World Superbike circuits. World Championship standings: 1-Toseland (Honda) 196 points, 2-Biaggi (Suzuki) 164, 3-Haga (Yamaha) 144, 4-Bayliss (Ducati) 128, 5-Corser (Yamaha) 114 –¦16-Nakatomi (Yamaha) 19 Monza stats Practice record (2006): 1:46.058 Troy Corser (Suzuki) 196.636 kph Lap record (best race time 2006): 1:46.815 Troy Bayliss (Ducati) 195.242 kph 2006 Yamaha Motor France practice times: Nakatomi: 1:48.414 / 20th; Abe: 1:49.497 / 27th; Gimbert: 1:48.208 / 18th Race 1 result 2006: 1- Bayliss (Ducati), 2-Barros (Honda), 3-Corser (Suzuki), 4-Haga (Yamaha), 5- Pitt (Yamaha) 2006 Yamaha Motor France race 1 results: Nakatomi: 10th; Abe: DNF; Gimbert: 12th Race 2 results 2006: 1- Bayliss (Ducati), 2-Corser (Suzuki), 3-Haga (Yamaha), 4-Barros (Honda), 5-Toseland (Honda) 2006 Yamaha Motor France race 2 results: Nakatomi: 12th; Abe: 16th; Gimbert: DNF 7th round of the Superbike World Championship: May 27th at Silverstone (United Kingdom)