KAWASAKI RACING TEAM WINS SUPERSPORT OPENER AT DAYTONA Roger Hayden wins in Supersport, Tommy Hayden finishes fifth in Superbike debut. DAYTONA BEACH, FLA. Kawasaki Racing Team’s Road Racing contingent returned to Daytona International Speedway by claming an exciting victory at the season opener in AMA Supersport and a top five finish in AMA Superbike. In the AMA Supersport action on Thursday, Roger Hayden, who earned the AMA Supersport pole position on Wednesday with a track record pass of 1:41.552 seconds, remained continuously engaged in a four-man, 22-lap battle, before edging out Jamie Hacking to take the checkered flag. Reigning AMA Supersport champion Tommy Hayden, ran in the lead group for the duration of the race and repeatedly challenged Roger along with Hacking. As the final laps wound down it appeared that Tommy would take second behind Roger before a late draft-pass by Hacking through lapped traffic sealed his fate and forced the two-time champion to accept a third place finish. “Winning at Daytona is huge for me,” said Roger. “I’ve been coming here since I was a kid, just hanging out in the infield for as long as I can remember. Daytona has always been the biggest race. And to start out the year strong is also a big deal. And for my Kawasaki team too I really wanted to win for them because they’ve been working so hard.” Despite his disappointment with finishing third, Tommy had this to say about his brother’s victory. “I remember what it feels like to win your first race at Daytona. I am definitely happy for him and the team. It’s good to see him get a good start to his season and it’s good for the team.” Attack Kawasaki riders Damon Buckmaster and Ben Attard started the Supersport race in ninth and 11th with Buckmaster making a charge on the lead group after lap five to finish in sixth-place. Attard held his position throughout the feature to round out the top ten. In AMA Superstock action on Thursday, Attard and Buckmaster started with a considerable gap between each other after the first lap. Buckmaster crossed the stripe in sixth while Attard had his work cut out for him after starting in 17th. As the laps wound down, Attard charged ahead for a top-ten position while Buckmaster held his position during the 13-lap drafting battle to finish in sixth. Attard ended up just outside the top ten, finishing in 12th. During Saturday’s AMA Superbike race, Tommy and Roger started in third and fourth aboard their all-new Kawasaki NINJA® ZX™-10Rs and eventually settled into fourth and fifth after the fourth lap. The duo remained at the top of the grid until lap 12 where Roger high-sided his bike in turn six and crashed. Roger jumped up quickly but complained of pain in his right foot immediately following the crash. An evaluation including X-rays to his foot at the in-field medical center did not reveal any significant injuries and he is scheduled for an MRI later this week. Tommy continued the race after witnessing his brother’s crash and held his position to round out the top five for the all-new ZX-10R’s Superbike debut. “The race went pretty good,” said Tommy. “We would like to have done better but we got a good start and mixed it up for most of the race and the Kawasakis ran good. I had an open mind coming into this race because we still have a lot to learn. We’ve done a lot in a short time and we would have been pretty upset with anything else but a top-five finish, so I think we’ve got something good to start with.” Racing resumes when the teams head to Birmingham, Ala., April 21-23, for a Superbike doubleheader at Barber Motorsports Park. More, from a press release issued by Team Stargel Castrol: Team Stargel Castrol Earns Points At Daytona Daytona International Speedway is many things, historic, intimidating, vast, and for Team Stargel Castrol always presents a high degree of difficulty. The 2006 event proved to be no different. As the team decided to build a new Yamaha R6 Formula Xtreme bike for 2006, there was more preparation work than usual. Many parts for the R6 were slow to arrive, and as a result, rider Brian Stokes was not able to throw a leg over the F/X bike until the second practice session at Daytona. To further compound things, an engine problem was discovered on the Yamaha R1 superbike with no time to correct it before qualifying. Crew chief, Ward Wilson, made the call that the problem would not be terminal and sent the bike and rider out. Stokes went to work and managed to qualify with an ailing engine. Despite the engine problem, Stokes made the most of his excellent handling Yamaha and Michelin tires to finish in 18th position in Sunday morning’s superbike race. The team was a bit nervous about the Daytona 200 as they had never competed in this race, nor had ever done a pit stop. Friday was spent making minor medications to the R6 and practicing pit stop procedures. Everyone felt very confident in the motorcycle, but wished they had more time to sort it out. Stokes, relying on years of endurance racing experience, and excellent physical conditioning began working his way through the pack and turning consistent lap times. Team Stargel Castrol was running as high as 10th place at one point in the race. A small problem in the second pit stop, combined with some bad luck with the timing of the pace car, moved the team back a bit. At the end, Stokes took the checked flag in 16th position concluding the team’s first Daytona 200. More, from a press release issued by Michael Jordan Motorsports Suzuki: Michael Jordan Motorsports Suzuki Celebrates Top-10 Finish at Daytona Superstock Season-Opener DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (March 13, 2006) -Jordan Suzuki’s Jason Pridmore celebrated a ninth-place finish at the season-opening round of AMA Repsol Superstock at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Fla., on Thursday, March 9, 2006. Teammate Jake Holden finished close behind in 11the place, while Steve Rapp suffered a mechanical failure and did not finish. “Admittedly we had a few issues this weekend,” said Pridmore. “But a top-10 finish is a good start to the season and we’re looking to improve on that at the next round at Barber next month.” Pridmore started from the 10th position on the grid, rode an extremely consistent race on his Jordan Suzuki GSX-R1000 and finished up ninth. Team newcomer Holden got a better start and moved up as high as sixth before finishing 11th. “I’ve never gone up and down in positions so much before,” said Holden. “The Jordan Suzuki was running great but I just made a lot of mistakes toward the end of the race. I’m looking forward to racing the Superbike race on Saturday.” The Jordan Suzuki team will compete in the second round of AMA Repsol Superstock at Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, Ala., April 21 -23, 2006. Jason Pridmore, Jordan Suzuki GSX-R1000, #43 9th Place – AMA Repsol Superstock 9th Place – Overall Jake Holden, Jordan Suzuki GSX-R1000, #59 11th Place – AMA Repsol Superstock 11th Place – Overall Steve Rapp, Jordan Suzuki GSX-R1000, #15 DNF – AMA Repsol Superstock 34th Place – Overall More, from another press release issued by Michael Jordan Motorsports Suzuki: Michael Jordan Motorsports Suzuki Scores Two Top-10 Daytona Superbike Finishes DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (March 13, 2006) – Michael Jordan Motorsports Suzuki riders Jason Pridmore and Jake Holden finished ninth and 10th, respectively, at the season-opening round of the AMA Superbike Championship at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Fla., on Saturday. Teammate Steve Rapp was unable to finish the race. “I’m happy,” said Pridmore. “We’ve made a lot of progress with the motorcycle and I feel really positive about its potential. Unfortunately, we just had a few problems in the race.” In Thursday’s Superbike qualifying session, newly signed Holden won a spot on the third row, thanks to a best time of 1:40.470. One row back, Rapp was slated to start from 13th (1:41.048) and Pridmore from 14th (1:41.064). In the 15-lap race, Pridmore and Holden ran together for much of the event. Each put in consistent laps on their Jordan Suzuki GSX-R1000s, swapping positions several times throughout the race. Rapp, meanwhile, hit a cone, which damaged his bike, and was forced to retire from the race. All three riders are looking forward to the next round of AMA Superbike at Barber Motorsports Park in Alabama. “I’m looking forward to getting to Barber,” said Pridmore. “We’re going to try something new. We’re going to use a street-shift pattern there instead of race-shift and see if that helps me.” Rapp and Holden are also looking forward to the Barber event. “I’ve done pretty well there,” said Holden. “I haven’t got a lot of experience there but I’ve cut some good laps there so I’m feeling pretty confident.” Added Rapp: “I like that track a lot and I’m looking forward to the next race. We’re testing there in a few weeks and overall the bikes are handling well so I’m looking forward to the race.” The Jordan Suzuki team will compete in the second round of AMA Superbike at Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, Ala., April 21 -23, 2006. Jason Pridmore, Jordan Suzuki GSX-R1000, #43 9th Place – AMA Superbike 9th Place – Overall Jake Holden, Jordan Suzuki GSX-R1000, #59 10th Place – AMA Superbike 10th Place – Overall Steve Rapp, Jordan Suzuki GSX-R1000, #15 DNF – AMA Superbike N/A – Overall Legendary NBA star Michael Jordan formed Michael Jordan Motorsports in 2004 as a result of his passion for motorcycle racing. His mission is to bring a new level of excellence and style to the motorcycle racing industry. For more information on the team, visit the race team website at www.23RACE.com and the Jumpman website at www.Jumpman23.com More, from a press release issued by Buell Motorcycle Company: BUELL DEALER TEAMS CONTEST DAYTONA 200 WITH BUELL XBRR Challenging Debut for XBRR in Formula Xtreme Season Opener DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. Four Buell dealer teams started the 65th running of the prestigious Daytona 200, marking the professional debut of the new Buell XBRR production racing motorcycle based on the Firebolt XB12R. The race was the opening round of the 2006 AMA Superbike/Lockhart Phillips USA Formula Xtreme series. The four Buell dealer entries performed well in qualifying Thursday as each team placed its rider solidly in the 71-bike field. Warr’s London H-D/Buell’s Jeremy McWilliams qualified eighth, good for a second row starting position and ran as high as seventh position during the race. Buell Hannover (Germany) rider Rico Penzkofer qualified 14th and ran as high as 11th, while Deeley H-D/Buell Canada rider Steve Crevier qualified 16th and ran as high as 12th. Hal’s H-D/Buell rider Mike Ciccotto qualified 15th. All four riders retired from the race with suspected clutch/primary drive related problems. “Some people were expecting a miracle from Buell here today,” said Erik Buell, Chairman and Chief Technical Officer, Buell Motorcycle Company. “But we know what racing is all about and this is a heck of a start. It was a thrill to have the bikes qualified so well, and it would have been great to have all of our riders finish, but the Daytona 200 is the ultimate endurance test for a racing motorcycle, and we’ve learned a lot. We will get better.” American Honda factory rider Miguel DuHamel was fast qualifier for the event, which was won by his teammate Jake Zemke. Josh Hayes (Honda) finished second and Jason DiSalvo (Yamaha) finished third, among the 47 riders who finished the race. The Buell teams racing at Daytona were supported by Pirelli Tires, Sentry Insurance, Harley-Davidson Financial Services, Harley-Davidson Visa, and Screamin’ Eagle SYN3 Synthetic Lubricant. Buell Motorcycle Company has expanded its racing support program for 2006, with more than $700,000 posted in cash contingencies for Buell racers competing in a variety of national and regional race series events and classes aboard Buell XB models and the Buell XBRR production racing motorcycle. Buell Motorcycle Company, a subsidiary of Harley-Davidson, Inc., produces sport motorcycles, motorcycle parts, accessories and apparel. To learn more about Buell motorcycles, visit your local Buell dealer today and experience the pure streetfighter attitude, style and performance only found on board a Buell. Pull into www.buell.com for the Buell dealer nearest you. More, from a press release issued by Vallely Racing: VALLELY RACING IMPROVES 12 SPOTS TO TICKLE TOP TEN Vallely racing’s Mark Crozier remained flexible yet well-paced to strategically climb 12 places to finish 13th in the 2006 Daytona 200 Presented by Honda. With Suzukis occupying only four of the top 13 final positions, Mark was proud to be the third-highest finishing Suzuki that was not a factory or satellite bike. Pre-race practice saw a brief scrub session for the team’s second set of tires and a brief round of pit stop rehearsals. With that, the team was ready to conquer the 200 mile task later in the day. Crew chief Jerry Dagget planed for two stops with fuel at both and a rear tire change at the second stop. 44 laps was a comfortable lifetime for the tires under race conditions, so the time benefit of not changing the tire in the first stop could translate to improved track position early in the race. As the race unfolded, and with the increased temperatures caused by the lifting of earlier cloud cover; the team ended up changing the rear at both stops. After the contest, when he was observed to not be tired, Mark remarked that “this is an everyday thing for me. Doing the endurance [racing] for the last five years, this is like one stint for me. I’m used to doing three of these in a day. The only thing that’s really tired or sore is my neck from getting beat around on the banking and stuff. Other than that, hey – let’s go do another 68.” Team owner Tom Vallely was disappointed that the event saw a pace car period because “all the teams we beat with our quick-change caught back up with us when the pace car came out, so it dropped us down to 13th. But out of 70 bikes, we can’t help but be happy with how the event unfolded.” Earlier in the weekend, Vallely Racing announced its support for The Paralyzed Veterans of America. The PVA – a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, congressionally chartered veterans service organization founded in 1946, has developed a unique expertise on a wide variety of issues involving the special needs of its members – veterans of the armed forces who have experienced spinal cord injury or dysfunction – all veterans and the disability communities. PVA is a leading advocate for quality health care, research and education, veterans benefits and civil rights which maximize the independence of all people with disabilities. For more information or to make a donation, visit www.SupportVeterans.org or call 800-555-9140. With the first event behind the team, focus now turns to preparing for its next AMA round at Barber Motorsports park. More, from a presss release issued by Safety First Suzuki: Safety First Suzuki put in a solid performance at Daytona aboard the all new 2006 Suzuki GSX-R 600 with stock engines. Team owner, Kevin Hanson, commented on how proud he was of his new crew and riders, Tony Meiring and Opie Caylor. “We got the new GSX-R 600 only eight days before we left for Daytona,” explained Hanson. “I can’t tell you how proud I am of this team. Two thirds of our crew is new along with brand new riders. The crew worked their butts off under the guidance of veteran AMA crew chief, Jim Rashid, to get the bikes ready and Tony and Opie didn’t throw a leg over the bikes until Wednesday morning practice!” exclaimed Hanson. “We didn’t have time to do any engine work to the motors and ran them bone stock with a pipe that Hindle made for us in only 4 days,” commented Hanson. “Tony qualified 32nd and Opie qualified 33rd for the 200. For Tony to finish 12th and Opie to finish 23rd in the 200″¦.that just shows you how good this new GSXR 600 is and how hard these two guys rode the bikes,” related Hanson. “It took a lot of people working together to pull this weekend off from Lee/Lang at Hindle, Dave/Chip at Gp Suspension, Tim at Penske and Lee/Wayne from Komodo getting us our new leathers and custom crew shirts and all the guys on the team..I’m really proud of the effort from everyone and looking forward to Barber and the rest of the season,” exclaimed Hanson. Tony Meiring finished 12th in Formula Extreme and 19th in Supersport. “I can’t tell you what a great group of guys the Safety First crew is to work with. These guys did a great job getting the bikes ready and we had flawless pit stops during the 200, ” commented Meiring. “My first impression of the new bike was really good, the thing handles great and we didn’t make hardly any suspension adjustments all weekend, I just needed to get more seat time on it. Now that we have time to do some motorwork, the new Suzuki will be awesome by the time we get to Barber”¦so everybody look out!” commented Meiring. Chris “Opie” Caylor finished 23rd in Formula Extreme and 24th in Supersport. “Man”¦the whole crew from my lead mechanic Huey to Jim, Mark, Brian and Rikki did a great job getting the bikes ready in a short amount of time. We knew going in we were going to be down on power, but the new GSX-R 600 handles awesome! I can’t wait to get to Barber now that Jim has some time to work his magic on the motors and we’ll be rollin,” exclaimed Caylor. More, from a press release issued by KWS Motorsports: Millennium/KWS Suzuki upbeat about the first race weekend of the 2006 season The Millennium/KWS Suzuki team had an up and down start to the 2006 season. Daytona luck hampered the CCS and AMA race weekends but John Haner and Matt Lynn rode brilliantly on the Millennium/KWS Suzuki GSX-R1000’s. The Superstock race was the first of the AMA weekend. Both riders got excellent starts on their Pirelli mounted Suzuki GSX-R1000’s but Haner was hit by another rider going into the chicane on the first lap and was knocked back to the 21st position. Haner rode hard and fought his way back through the field to finish in 13th. Lynn rode a smooth and consistent race to finish in the 16th position. The Superbike race was a mixture of highs and lows with John Haner retiring from the race. Matt Lynn rode a smart race with smooth, consistent lap times that netted Lynn a 15th place finish, his best ever finish in Superbike. John Haner “The results don’t show it, but overall the week was very positive.” said Haner. “The team chemistry was great and I look forward to moving on to Barber. Thanks to my mechanics Michael Godin and Owen Garnett. We had a lot of issues that where beyond our control and those guys gave me great motorcycles all week.” Matt Lynn – “I think the CCS and AMA weekends went really well” said Lynn. “I set some goals for myself before I turned a wheel on the track, and I met all of them. Daytona is kind of a weird place, it’s like a whole championship in itself just to survive the track and the week’s worth of racing there. Thanks to my mechanic Rick Matheny, Brian Stricker, Thermosman and the whole KWS Millennium team, we survived.” Kevin Hunt, Team Owner “We are in the best position mechanically that we have been in years. The GSX-R1000 is the bike to have in Superstock and Superbike and our sponsors are going above and beyond to make sure we have everything we need” said Hunt. “We have the riders, we have the bikes, and we will see it all coming together at Barber.”