Rossi celebrates atop the podium at Indianapolis with Hayden and Lorenzo.

FIM 2008 MotoGP World Championship, Indianapolis, USA Round 14 of 18

Rossi sweeps thru like a Hurricane to make history at Indianapolis
Indianapolis Motor Speedway,In, Sept 12-14th - Valentino Rossi wrote another chapter in his ever-expanding history book, today at Indianapolis claiming his 69th premier-class win and becoming the most successful rider in premier-class history in the process. His hat trick of pole position, fastest lap and race victory made for a perfect first Indianapolis Grand Prix for the Italian, with the runner up spot going to American Nicky Hayden, and third place for Jorge Lorenzo rounded off an exceptional weekend for motorccyle racing in America.

Despite the remnants of Hurricane Ike engulfing the legendary Indianapolis Motor Speedway in a huge downpour of rain for 2 days of the 4-day festival weekend, as fans turned out nearly 100,000 strong for the first return of motorcycle racing to the facility in 100 years, making it possiby the higgest attend motorcyclerace ever in America. The innagual MotoGP at legendary Indy drew more than twice number the fans of at the inital MotoGP held across the county at Laguna Seca, 3 years earlier, despite the terrible weather and there now being two MotoGPs held in Ameica just 8 weeks apart.

More bad weather in the early afternoon led to the 250cc race being abandoned and the early part of the MotoGP race was run on a very wet track. Rossi dropped to fourth at the start and then surrendered another place to Lorenzo on the next lap, but he soon found his rhythm and made his way back past Casey Stoner, Lorenzo and Andrea Dovizioso into second behind Nicky Hayden by lap six. Passing Hayden was no mean feat and it took the seven-time world champion another eight laps to finally get by the American, at which point he quickly began to pull away. Hurricane Ike was not finished with Indianapolis however and on lap 16 of 28 it started to rain heavily once again, accompanied by strong gusts of wind which became very dangerous. The race was eventually red-flagged after 20 laps and, after a few minutes confusion as to whether there would be a restart, Rossi was confirmed as the first ever MotoGP winner at the Brickyard.

Rossi's 69th win takes him ahead of his fellow countryman Giacomo Agostini to the top of the all-time premier class winners list, a record which has stood for more than 30 years. Agostini claimed the 1975 500cc title with Yamaha and won six of his 68 victories with the Japanese factory.

Rossi is now 87 points clear of Stoner, who finished fourth today, which means he is able to win the championship at the next round in Motegi by finishing fourth or above.

Motorcycles make their first return to Indianapolis in 100 Years with the Red Bull U.S. MotoGP September 14th Weekend
PREVIEW, Indianapolis, IN, September 12-14th 2009 - The first motorized race at the new Indianapolis Motor Speedway backon Aug 14th 1909 was was a motorcycle race, on Aug. 14, 1909. A.G. Chapple won the first race, a 5-mile event with seven competitors, on an Indian motorcycle. The race distance was two laps on the 2.5-mile IMS oval.

This September when te world's top riders in the MotoGO World Championship mark th first return of motorccyles to the legendary Speedwayy in 100 years. Nineteen MotoGP riders will race 28 laps on the 2.621-mile road course at IMS during the Red Bull Indianapolis GP on Sept. 14, 2008.

There will be approximately four hours of action on Race Day at the Red Bull Indianapolis GP on Sunday, Sept. 14, more on-track Race Day activity than either of the other two events this year at IMS? Four classes - MotoGP, 250cc, 125cc and Red Bull Riders Cup - will race Sunday, with warm-up sessions for MotoGP, 250cc and 125cc. It will be a full day of two-wheel racing action from 8:40 a.m.-4 p.m. at the Brickyard!

Rain dampened Indy MotoGP Practice on Friday as Casey Stoner takes his Duck to water.

Thursday Report
Thursday 11th September - On the eve of the first Red Bull Indianapolis Grand Prix the famous Indianapolis Motor Speedway circuit was bathed in sunshine on Thursday morning, though the weather forecast for the coming days suggests storms and rain could feature in this historic event.

Whatever lies ahead in terms of weather did not dampen the spirits on Thursday, however, with all this weekend´s 19 premier class competitors all playing a part in the preliminary activities. Each and every MotoGP rider made a 15-minute appearance on the IMS ?Plaza? stage for a Q & A session with the fans, as the ambience grew in this exciting new chapter of Grand Prix history.

Shortly before the customary afternoon press conference the entire MotoGP field gathered together for an iconic group photograph, at the IMS? famous Yard of Bricks finish line - the first time they have grouped together collectively in such a fashion since the opening round of the season in Qatar. In the pre-event press meeting, World Championship front runners Valentino Rossi, Casey Stoner and Dani Pedrosa were joined by American stars Nicky Hayden and Colin Edwards in previewing what promises to be an enthralling weekend.

World Championship leader Valentino Rossi commented: ?Of course everyone is used to seeing cars racing here so we are very curious to see what it will be like on our MotoGP bikes. It is a very historic place so it is great to bring MotoGP here. I have been in the U.S. for a few days enjoying Las Vegas and New York and it is always a good experience to be here.?

Home hero and 2006 World Champion Nicky Hayden, meanwhile, added, ?It was strange for me yesterday to be driving from home to ride in a Grand Prix. This is the closest I have ever road-raced to home in my entire career and the build-up has been great, so I hope I can put on a good show for the fans despite my foot injury.?

At the end of a busy day Yamaha Tech 3?s James Toseland rounded off proceedings with one of his virtuoso musical performances on the ?Plaza? stage.

Anthony West

Indy MotoGP Wet Friday Practice
Friday 12th - As promised by local weather forecasts, the effects of Hurricane Ike were felt as far away as Indiana today, making for a dreary debut for MotoGP at the legendary Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The opening free practice session, extended by half an hour to give the riders time to learn the track, took place under grey skies and was hampered by constant drizzle.

Stoner set the third fastest time of the session before crashing on his final lap, escaping without injury. The fall came on one of the recently laid sections of asphalt, where grip levels appear to be lower than other areas of the circuit - a problem exacerbated by the rain.

Anthony West #13, Team Kawasaki ,1st - 1'53.034 - "This is a great way to start the weekend, especially after the results we've had recently. There's a lot of water out on the circuit, and it's a bit strange as there are quite a few changes of surface, but I've found my way around here quite easily, so I'm feeling happy. In some ways this track is a bit like those I used to ride on back home in Australia, because many of the circuits there have inconsistent surfaces, and I've found it relatively easy to adapt my riding style to suit the changes throughout a lap here. The bike is working well, and although we've had a few scary moments, I'm feeling pretty confident for tomorrow. It's promising that we can come to a new track, learn the lines quickly, and be able to put in good lap times quite comfortably."

Casey Stoner, Ducati MotoGP Team, 3rd: 1'53.190" - The track conditions vary drastically between the old surface and the new. Grip is good on the old stuff but there isn't even minimum grip on the recently laid asphalt and the rain makes it much worse because it isn't draining off. As far as security is concerned there are only a couple of critical areas - in particular turn five, where the run-off is very short. There's not much we can do about that right now though - the best thing would be to stick an air-fence in. At the end of the session I crashed on the section where the grip is poorest and that's obviously not good for the wrist but thankfully it didn't create any major problems. I tried to get back on but it wasn't possible, otherwise I would have come back on the bike. In general I'm quite satisfied with how we've started."

Valentino Rossi, Fiat Yamaha Team, - Position: 11thTime: 1'54.795Laps: 59 - "So, after some worries yesterday it seems that the track is not so bad and in fact it's a lot more fun to ride than I expected; it's like Rio in places. There are some parts that have a few problems and we can definitely improve them for the future, especially turn five and turn one, but for now I think it is okay. The biggest problem is the difference in the asphalt, which changes too much, and the new asphalt doesn't drain so well; if this weather becomes worse things will be very difficult. I am really sad about the rain because it's fantastic to be here and I felt quite a strong emotion leaving the garage for the first time this morning, at such a historic place. I really hope that the weather improves so that we can have some crowds here on Sunday! I think we have good potential here and I feel like if it was dry then I could be quite fast as well, but it looks like this won't be the case at the moment. Anyway, the situation is okay, my bike and tyres are working well so far so we will try to improve again tomorrow."

Saturday Final Qualifying, Rossi Beats Stoner for Pole
Saturday Sept 13th - After a Friday deluge, today?s qualifying was held in sunshine and it was Valentino Rossi
(Yamaha) who qualified fastest denying second quickest Casey Stoner (Ducati) an eighth pole in a row. Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha) joins them on the front row for tomorrow's inaugural Indianapolis Grand Prix.

Yesterday's atrocious conditions effectively rendered Friday a track learning exercise at best. Today was when the real business began and it was Stoner who topped the sheets as the hour-long MotoGP qualifying session got underway. His early 1m 44.998s time would have more than four seconds shaved from it when the stint ended.

Randy de Puniet (LCR Honda RC212V) demonstrated his abilities as a fast learner when he went third fastest within the first ten minutes as class rookie and class act Andrea Dovizioso (JiR Scot Honda RC212V) sped into the top three with a 1m 44.130s time.

Pole sitter Valentino Rossi (left) and 3rd place qualifying teammate Jorge Lorenzo (right) will have Casey Stoner /Ducati in a Yamaha sandwich on the front row for the running of the inaugural Indianapolis MotoGP on Sunday.

Nicky Hayden (Repsol Honda RC212V) then posted a 1m 43.568s lap time to top the standings on his home soil. Things didn?t go so well however for Shinya Nakano (San Carlo Honda Gresini RC212V) who fell just after ten minutes of the hour had passed.

The recent 'form' riders soon showed they had lost none of their impetus as Toni Elias, fresh from rostrum finishes, went top with 1m 43.380s lap with De Puniet hanging onto second and Lorenzo and Hayden holding fast, third and fourth fastest.

Just before the halfway stage Rossi made his presence felt with a 1m 42.967s time. He then improved this to 1m 42.945s as Nicky moved to second quickest ahead of Stoner, Elias and the resilient De Puniet. These were the riders who adapted quickest to the singular demands of this virgin track.

But with the destructive Hurricane Ike in full effect in the locale there is a question mark hanging over whether this race will take place at all with torrential rain or perhaps worse forecast for tomorrow. Hayden, however, was in no mood to be swayed by these serious doubts about the weather. He went top with 22 minutes to go with a 1m 42.206s lap, rear tyre smokin' all the way around an anti-clockwise track that not only suits his dirt-track oval derived riding style but also favours his "good" left foot over the right heel he broke on 1 August riding in the LA X Games.

Neither was De Puniet finished here yet. The flying Frenchman put a 1m 42.027s lap on the board within the final 20 minutes as Toni Elias tried perhaps a bit too hard to stay in the hunt, parting company with his Ducati without injury to return to the pits and emerge on his number two machine. De Puniet again made the running with a 1m 41.570s lap to go top as Suzuki rider Chris Vermeulen bit the dust with 14 minutes of the hour remaining. Then it was Lorenzo?s turn to hit the front with a 1m 41.488s time. But the final ten minutes was where the pattern would be set.

Nicky looked good with seven minutes left before Rossi put in a 1m 41.031s time. Rossi then set a 1m 40.776s time that could not be bettered despite Hayden electrifying the crowd with tyre smoking efforts on the ragged edge of effort and adhesion. Less spectacular but no less impressive was Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda RC212V) riding the pneumatic-valve engine and on Bridgestone tyres for the first time in qualifying. He notched eighth place on the grid.

Nicky, fourth fastest, and just under half a second off the pole time, said: "That was nearly the front row but outside on the second row ain?t a bad spot. I feel this is the best race pace I?ve had in a while. I had a lot more fun today, the bike was working a lot better, we made some geometry tweaks to make it feel better and I was
more consistent. The bike certainly felt good and the Michelin tyres too. For the race it?s surely looking wet. It would be awesome to catch a break and get in a dry race, because I feel this is the best race package I?ve had in a while. We?ll see what happens tomorrow, try to have a bit of fun, see how it goes."

Rizla Suzuki MotoGP wildcard rider Ben Spies recorded the fifth fastest time during this afternoon’s qualifying practice for tomorrow’s Indianapolis Grand Prix, to give him a second row start in only his third MotoGP race.Spies (1’41.464, 25 laps) worked closely with the same team that attended this year’s earlier test at Indianapolis, to continually improve on his lap-times throughout both the dry practice session this morning and this afternoon’s qualifying. Spies’s time was only 0.287 seconds from a front row start and gives the AMA Superbike Champion a great chance to capitalise during tomorrow’s 28-lap race.

Rossi takes leads the 15th lap acrss the finsih line ahead of Hayden, Stoner, Lorenzo and the rest of the field.

Rossi Claims the Inaugural Red Bull Indianapolis MotoGP
Race Day, Sept 14th - Valentino Rossi (Fiat Yamaha Team) extended his lead in the MotoGP World Championship with victory at the first ever Red Bull Indianapolis Grand Prix, cut short with just 8 laps remaining owing to safety concerns caused by high winds, excessive and a flooded track.

The race started at 3pm local time in day-long rain soaked conditions, and ran for 20 laps bfore being red flaged for safetly concerns. The riders waited in their garages to see if the race would be restated again, but the FIM decided that track conditions would not improve over the remainder of the afternoon and decide the race as "Completed".

Rossi was targeting 69 in two different forms in the early stages of the race, looking to claim the new record for premier class wins by chasing down the rider assigned to that same number. Local hero Nicky Hayden, the man who had inaugurated the Indianapolis circuit back in April and who debuted the other American track on the calendar ?Laguna Seca- with a victory back in 2005, was giving no quarter as he set a fearsome pace at the front.

The Repsol Honda rider took the lead on the second lap, and set the fastest laps of the race in a continuous attempt at breaking free from Rossi. The race started in drizzling rain with a strong wind, and Hayden was on Michelin"Full Wet" tires which gave him an advantage from the start if the rain continued. It was believed that Rossi started on a harder Bridgestone "Intermediate" rain tires, forcing Val to begin the race more cautiously and hold his 6th place exit through Turn One until the rain diminished and the track began to dry around lap 10.

Rossi reelled in on Hayden as the track dried.

As the track dried, MotoGP series leader Rossi was able to catch the 2006 World Champion Hayden, and made the inevitable overtaking maneuver for the lead on lap 14. Then rain began to fall hard again, and the blustery storm force winds left over from Hurricane Ike were making its effect known on both the fans and riders. Hayden had destroyed his soft rain tires, meanwhile, during the brief dry period and had no water expelling tread left as the rain resumed. From then on it was a case of holding on until the race was haulted a few laps later. Rossi took his fourth consecutive victory, the premier class milestone, the first Indianapolis MotoGP win and, most importantly, an almost insurmountable 87 point lead at the head of the standings.

Hayden returned to the podium on his comeback race after missing two Grands Prix with a foot injury. He held his nerve in spite of some wobbly moments to come home second and make his rostrum comeback ?a first of the year for the `Kentucky Kid´. The American had lost almost all of a five second advantage to second Fiat Yamaha rider Jorge Lorenzo on the twentieth lap of the race, in which the decision was made to bring the Red Bull Indianapolis Grand Prix to an early conclusion.

Lorenzo took a podium for the second consecutive race, having been untroubled by the chasing pack during the middle stages. Almost nineteen seconds behind, reigning titlist Casey Stoner came home in fourth place, albeit now with only the smallest of chances to retain his crown in 2008.

After leading a MotoGP race for the first time in his career, Andrea Dovizioso brought his JiR Team Scot Honda home less than a second behind Stoner, with home rider and AMA Superbike champion Ben Spies rounding off the top six. Sylvain Guintoli, Dani Pedrosa, Chris Vermeulen and Alex de Angelis were the final riders in the top ten.

Rossi's team victory photo on the Indy finish line later Sunday evening.

Valentino Ross, Race Winner - "This is fantastic because it's been a long time since I won in the rain and even longer since I won four in a row! To win the first race here at Indianapolis is a great emotion and to beat Agostini's record is also incredible, now I hope my record will stand for 30 years like his! It was an amazing race and, once I was able to pass Stoner, I knew I had the chance to win so I pushed very hard. I had a great race with Nicky; he was really hard to pass so congratulations to him.

When the wind and rain came it became very hard, I think I could have kept going for another eight laps okay but there were things flying through the air - beer cans, plastic glasses - so really I think it was the right decision to stop the race! Sincerely I don't think I've ever ridden in conditions like these and I was lucky because I was far in front and therefore didn't have to take any big risks. It's been a perfect weekend for us despite the weather because we made the pole position, the fastest lap and we won, so I want to congratulate my team once again for a fantastic job, today and all year. Also thanks to Bridgestone because my tyres were very good today. I've really enjoyed racing here in Indy and I am looking forward to coming back next year. Now we have a big advantage and it would be great to win the championship in Motegi, but it's not over yet so we will keep our concentration and keep working! Finally I want to dedicate this victory to my Grandfather Dario, who sadly died today aged 82."

Nicky Hayden, Repsol Honda: 2nd. - “Man, it felt really good to be in the lead and I felt quite comfortable. It’s been a long time. I was thinking ‘this only happens in the movies’: your home race, missing the last two and coming back to win. I was able to stay focused but Valentino came past and he had a little more speed, especially in section three. Then when he touched the line onto the back straightaway I was able to make up a little more ground and I thought maybe I was okay. But when it started raining heavy I was in trouble because when it had dried I’d used up a lot of the left side of the tyre, so it got pretty gnarly with all the water.

“Sure, you dream about winning your home race, but honestly I shouldn’t be too greedy with how things have been. I’ll take this second and enjoy it. I’d just like to say a big thanks to my team, all my guys, my friends, my family, everyone who’s stuck with me through tough times. Also, thanks to Indy and everyone for making this race happen. It’s a great feeling to be able to race so close to home, I enjoyed it.

“I gave the maximum today, I can’t say I left much on the table and that’s how it’s supposed to be. When they stopped the race it was pretty treacherous. It was the right thing to do. Conditions were really tough, especially with the winds because you’d be on a dry line and all of a sudden it’d blow you onto the wet. When they said we were going to do another eight laps, part of me thought ‘hey, let’s line back up and try again’. But I’m not leading the championship, so I’ve got nothing to worry about. A big thanks to the fans too, we only had to be out in the wet for an hour, they’ve been out there since Thursday.”

Results MotoGP
Race Classification MotoGP : (20 laps = 84.32 km)
Pos/ Rider / Nat / Team / Motorcycle / Time/ KM/H / Gap
1 / Valentino ROSSI / ITA / Fiat Yamaha Team / YAMAHA / 37'20.095 / 135.508 /
2 / Nicky HAYDEN / USA / Repsol Honda Team / HONDA / 37'26.067 / 135.148 / 5.972
3 / Jorge LORENZO / SPA / Fiat Yamaha Team / YAMAHA / 37'27.953 / 135.034 / 7.858
4 / Casey STONER / AUS / Ducati Team / DUCATI / 37'48.257 / 133.826 / 28.162
5 / Andrea DOVIZIOSO / ITA / JiR Team Scot MotoGP / HONDA / 37'48.919 / 133.787 / 28.824
6 / Ben SPIES / USA / Rizla Suzuki MotoGP / SUZUKI / 37'49.740 / 133.738 / 29.645
7 / Sylvain GUINTOLI / FRA / Alice Team / DUCATI / 37'56.318 / 133.352 / 36.223
8 / Dani PEDROSA / SPA / Repsol Honda Team / HONDA / 37'57.353 / 133.291 / 37.258
9 / Chris VERMEULEN / AUS / Rizla Suzuki MotoGP / SUZUKI / 37'58.537 / 133.222 / 38.442
10 / Alex DE ANGELIS / RSM / San Carlo Honda Gresini / HONDA / 38'02.532 / 132.989 / 42.437
11 / Anthony WEST / AUS / Kawasaki Racing Team / KAWASAKI / 38'07.274 / 132.713 / 47.179
12 / Toni ELIAS / SPA / Alice Team / DUCATI / 38'16.057 / 132.205 / 55.962
13 / Randy DE PUNIET / FRA / LCR Honda MotoGP / HONDA / 38'17.461 / 132.124 / 57.366
14 / John HOPKINS / USA / Kawasaki Racing Team / KAWASAKI / 38'18.448 / 132.068 / 58.353
15 / Colin EDWARDS / USA / Tech 3 Yamaha / YAMAHA / 38'20.708 / 131.938 / 1'00.613

Pole Position: Valentino ROSSI 1'40.776 150.607 Km/h
Fastest Lap (New record): Valentino ROSSI 1'49.668 138.395 Km/h Lap 15
Circuit Record Lap: New Circuit
Circuit Best Lap: Valentino ROSSI 1'40.776 150.607 Km/h 2008

World Championship Positions:
1 ROSSI 287, 2 STONER 200, 3 PEDROSA 193, 4 LORENZO 156, 5 DOVIZIOSO 129,
6 VERMEULEN 117, 7 EDWARDS 109, 8 HAYDEN 104, 9 NAKANO 87, 10 ELIAS 86,
11 CAPIROSSI 86, 12 TOSELAND 85, 13 GUINTOLI 56, 14 DE ANGELIS 55, 15 MELANDRI 48.

250cc GP
Race Cancelled due to bad weather

Spies Repeats his 3rd Title in the Last AMA Superbike Championship
Sept 5th - Ben Spies was unceremoniously handed his 3rd consecutive crown for the 2008 AMA Superbike Crown this past week with one round yet to be run in the last ever AMA Superbike Class, with the AMA upholding its ruling to disqualify his Yoshimura Suzuki team mate Matt Mladin's double race win at Virginia International Race on August 17th for running an illegal crankshaft. Spies's 2nd place team bike probably had the same illegal crankshaft as Mladin, but only the race winner's bike was checked.

A New Professional National Roadrace Series for Factory Teams and Riders
Motocycle Industry Council to Launch the
United States Superbike Championship

IRVINE, Calif., Sep. 10, 2008 - The Motorcycle Industry Council, the national trade association representing top motorcycle manufacturers and 300-plus other members, will launch a new professional road racing series next year in the United States.

The MIC has formally established USSB, Inc., and already is at work creating a national championship for 2009 that will take place at major racing facilities, feature factory superbike teams and rules similar to those now in place - rules encouraging technological development that advances motorcycle engineering.

The USSBSM Championship is being designed to carry on America's tradition, spanning more than two decades, of world-class superbike racing that showcases the nation's best riders on the best motorcycles in the country. The premier class, U.S. Super Bike, will invite teams running the highly developed, factory-backed, fan-favorite racing motorcycles (1,000cc fours and larger-displacement twins) that have long been the basis for superbike racing. The inaugural USSB series will include U.S. Sport Bike, a 600cc category similar to the World Supersport Championship and others.

"We initiated USSB because next year it will offer the only racing series in America for unrestrained factory superbikes and their teams, as well as those who aspire to join their ranks and compete with them," said MIC President Tim Buche. "We recognize the strong support for this level of racing, among enthusiasts, among manufacturers and among riders. With the other series set to abandon superbikes as we've come to know them, USSB will fill that void."

Buche said the MIC engaged in a development process for USSB that takes into consideration the various needs of industry members, manufacturers, track owners, sponsors, racing fans and riders, as well as the desire to grow the sport of road racing. In particular, there is a need to allow manufacturers to use road racing to advance research and development and improve future production motorcycles available to consumers. Buche said that the MIC possesses the resources, the capabilities, the access to talent, and the ability to contract with various groups and firms, to meet all of those needs and wishes.

"This is America, a big country with a big motorcycle market that deserves a world-class championship with full-on factory bikes raced by star riders," said Ty van Hooydonk, USSB managing director. "The USSB Championship is our answer. We want to steer away from engine restrictors, away from mandated power-to-weight ratios, spec tires and spec ECUs. We want to set the stage for racing teams to compete, on the track, in the R&D shops, in the way they develop their bikes and help develop production bikes, in how they develop their engineering staffs and crews, and their riders, too. Let them do what they do best and go racing."

Organization
The not-for-profit MIC has established USSB, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary, to be the owner-operator of the series. As the sole shareholder for the subsidiary, the MIC board will appoint the USSB Board of Directors that will then function independently and guide the series.

To maintain the integrity of the competition, USSB, Inc. also will establish an affiliated, but independent sanctioning body, USSB Sanctioning, Inc., which will employ the series commissioner, a racing CEO who will have ultimate responsibility for all competition-related aspects of the series. USSB, Inc. will serve as the series promoter responsible for developing series sponsors, managing series communications and partnering with stakeholders and others to present the series.

Four stakeholder groups will each have a voice and participate in series governance: riders, manufacturers, sanctioning and promoters.

USSB will help establish a riders association that will then operate independently as it represents all of the on-track competitors in the series. Participating manufacturers will form their own committee through the MIC and represent factories. Sanctioning will oversee tech inspection, rules and regulations and will manage race organization and administration. Promoters will include individual promoters and a racetrack association in collaboration with USSB, Inc.

Marketing and Communication
"We're going to have a compelling story to share," van Hooydonk said. "The USSB Championship will feature the nation's top level of motorcycle racing, with phenomenal riders capable of competing in any league, and high-tech superbikes that are among the fastest on Earth. We have a great deal of experience with marketing the story of motorcycling, and we will apply all of it to road racing." USSB news and updates will be available 24/7 at USSBCHAMPIONSHIP.COM. The site will be live Friday September 12, 2008.

USSB, Inc. will establish a communications campaign to improve visibility and interest in road racing, include all types of media, and bring in new fans while maintaining its enthusiast base. For 20 years, the MIC has generated major mainstream media coverage through Discover Today's Motorcycling. DTM promotes responsible riding by generating positive print, broadcast and online coverage, and through a responsive news bureau that annually fields thousands of inquiries from journalists nationwide.

DTM staff regularly work with national media, based in New York and other key markets, on dozens of motorcycle stories every year. Recent DTM placements include coverage with "Good Morning America," the New York Times, USA Today, Popular Mechanics, Maxim, Playboy, and even La Opinion, the nation's largest Hispanic newspaper. DTM generated major media for the landmark "Art of the Motorcycle" exhibit at the Guggenheim Museum in New York City, and hosted its own "Rockefeller Center Motorcycle Shows," seen by tens of thousands of visitors in Midtown Manhattan.

The USSB Championship Series
"The USSB Championship Series" will be the premier professional road racing series in the United States. Racers will include both world-class riders and upcoming stars. USSB is a factory supported pro-level series. It is designed to feature many brands, to attract the best riders, to develop and employ the most advanced technology the industry has to offer, with the nation's fastest bikes, all at traditional racing venues. In addition to providing the highest level of road racing in the country, which hard-core enthusiasts will appreciate, USSB will attract new fans through marketing efforts that will generate mainstream media coverage and also directly reach out to consumers.

Classes & Rules In The USSB Championship Series
The premier class, U.S. Super Bike, will invite teams running the highly developed, factory-backed, fan-favorite racing motorcycles (1,000cc fours and larger-displacement twins) that have long been the basis for superbike racing. The inaugural USSB series will also include U.S. Sport Bike, a 600cc category similar to the World Supersport Championship, among others.
What are the 2009 Rules?

When finalized, the rules will be substantially similar to the rules used for the 2008 AMA season. In future years, the intention is to develop rules compatible with World Superbike and other national superbike series around the globe, which will encourage innovation and technological development, yet reduce manufacturing and testing costs involved in creating different-spec bikes for different series.

The Reason for Creating The USSB Championship Series
The AMA road racing series was sold to the Daytona Motorsports Group (DMG). When initial reports of DMG's plans for the series became known, many of those with years or even decades of racing experience voiced concerns that the series failed to meet the needs of riders, road racing enthusiasts, motorcycle manufacturers as well as gear, performance parts and other aftermarket suppliers. Rather, the plans seemed primarily focused on a radical alteration in motorcycle racing limited to severely restrictive motorcycles in place of the branded racing that stakeholders prefer. Numerous industry participants were concerned that unless key needs and expectations were addressed and improvements made, the AMA series as outlined would not serve the best interests of the sport and would severely limit their ability to participate. The USSB Championship Series is committed to addressing these key industry concerns.
USSB was developed by a team of industry veterans committed to carrying on the true tradition of U.S. superbike racing and producing a championship series that is exciting beyond great racing, which is a given. Manufacturer participation in the series will promote innovation and new technology that will ultimately find their way to production motorcycles. USSB will not restrict motorcycles to highly specified configurations and it will be the only series for unrestrained superbikes and their teams. USSB will focus on racing that best promotes rider safety, competition and innovation, racetrack attendance, television coverage, electronic viewership and ridership.

The Operating Structure of The USSB Championship Series
The operating structure is based on several other successful series operations and best practices within professional racing. USSB, Inc. will be governed by executive management and a Board of Directors and will be responsible for promotions and communications, ensuring that the series remains responsive to the changing demands of technology and consumer preference. USSB, Inc. also will create an affiliated, but independent sanctioning body

* USSB Sanctioning, Inc., which will govern the competition and employ the Series Commissioner who will be responsible for all competition-related decisions.

* In addition, four stakeholder groups will have a voice and participate in governance, similar to other series such as MotoGP:

1. Riders Association representing the interests of all the on-track competitors.
2. Manufacturers Committee representing factory interests and consisting of representatives from manufacturers fielding factory teams in the series.
3. Sanctioning responsible to oversee tech inspection, rules and regulations and will manage race organization and administration.
4. Promoters including individual promoters and a group representing them in collaboration with the USSB, Inc.
A Race Direction Commission and a Rules Commission, consisting of representatives of each stakeholder group, will be formed to contribute to series direction.

With Manufacturer, Sanctioning Body, Promoter and
Rider Input into USSB, won't it just be run by Committee?
Input from all stakeholders is vitally important in order to produce world-class events. It is critical that riders, manufacturers, sanctioning body and promoters are working together towards the same goal - producing the premier U.S. road racing series. But the Series Commissioner, who is in essence the series CEO, will have the ultimate authority and final say on all competition-related issues in The USSB Championship Series.

Will This Hurt 2-Wheel Racing
LIke the split between the Champ Car World Series and Indy Racing?
While initially the situations may appear to be similar, actually it's really like comparing apples and oranges.
With the auto racing series, team owners were having difficulty making money and thought a breakaway series controlled by the owners would rectify the situation. Motorcycling's top teams are in the sport to market their brands, and to do so, manufacturers want to continue to spend money on racing. That's a major difference.

On the auto racing side, the ownership of the most important racetrack and the biggest race in the series, Indianapolis, wished to purchase the entire series and change its direction. In the case of superbikes, the industry, the manufacturers, the riders and the fans all want to maintain the level of unrestricted racing currently enjoyed and build on it.

There has been no call for heavily restricted superbike racing, other than from the AMA series new ownership. The teams of the manufacturers and their supporters want to go racing. They don't want to manufacture the racing. We may see no split among the major teams between the various series because USSB is the only series designed to meet the needs of major teams. However, teams always have the option to participate in USSB and other series.

At USSB races, superbike racing fans can expect to see factory rider stars on the factory bikes on many of the familiar tracks, watch them on TV and read about them in their favorite enthusiast publications and Web sites.
What is the 2009 schedule and what tracks will host the races? USSB will seek dates on many of the same tracks AMA has raced on in the last few years. We expect the 2009 series to run from April through September. Updates and news about the series can be found 24/7 at the USSB Championship official website www.USSBCHAMPIONSHIP.com.

The Managing Organization for USSB
The USSB Championship Series or USSB is owned and operated by USSB, Inc., a subsidiary of the Motorcycle Industry Council. The MIC is a not-for-profit, national trade association created to promote, protect and preserve motorcycling and the U.S. motorcycle industry.
As an industry association, the MIC is uniquely qualified to leverage its more than four decades of industry experience to help create, operate and produce USSB. MIC staff and a team of experienced industry veterans conducted the initial work on USSB. USSB, Inc. will retain additional professional staff to handle race operations, sanctioning functions and promotion services as needed.

Why did the MIC get involved in this?
The MIC was not looking for any direct involvement in racing. However, MIC has been associated with racing for many, many years since great racing events in this country serve as an impressive venue for industry business activities. They can be a draw for the major mainstream media that motorcycling needs to progress, and also for the celebrities who can help promote the sport and are now "media" in their own right.
But since the AMA series is headed away from decades of American Superbike tradition with a radically changed series formula it is time for the MIC to become more involved.

Many years of effort by factory teams, from mechanics to crew chiefs, to engineers and designers in faraway R&D shops are at risk of being simply wasted. America's best riders, and the competitors who came here to race against our best, all of whom had developed powerful working partnerships with these teams, faced an uncertain future. Several of the country's most respected professional riders spoke out loudly against these sudden changes. Some talked about leaving to race overseas.

Even teams who had not recently won the Superbike championship, or even a race over the past few years, expressed the view that they did not want to lose the current racing formula. They wanted an opportunity to rise up and beat the defending champions with the existing rules left in place. They wanted to show that they had the ability to build stronger teams and develop faster riders. They wanted to continue to race, under the current rules, for the challenge and for the sake of pride. The desire to compete is part of their corporate DNA and the top superbike riders and teams could be ranked among the best in the world. They are that skilled, that accomplished.

There are a good number of factory, manufacturer-supported teams in today's Superbike series. There are four full-factory teams now racing and not long ago there were five. The manufacturers spent millions upon millions of dollars supporting these teams, and additional money sponsoring individual races across the country. By the manufacturers' own words, the new AMA series was not going to meet their companies' needs.

And reaction among most fans, as judged by letters to enthusiast publications and Web sites, was almost universally negative. They said they wanted to see the best riders on the fastest bikes. Many of them stated that they did not want to see, either in person, or on TV, highly restricted bikes, or what they feared would be glorified club racing.

The AMA Superbike Championship, as we have known it through 2008, may not be ideal. But there was no MIC interest in developing another road racing championship until it was clear the AMA series would no longer exist as it has been known.

Are the U.S. Motorcycle Distributors Creating Their Own Series?
No. This is a common misperception. The Motorcycle Industry Council is initiating USSB on behalf of its members. This is the industry starting its own racing series, which will be independently operated.

The MIC will start and nurture an entirely new and independent enterprise, USSB, Inc., with the sole mission of owning and operating the nation's premier road racing series. USSB, Inc. employees, board members and business partners will be selected for the expertise they can bring in promoting and operating this racing series.
We believe there is no better entity to start a proper motorcycle racing series than the industry itself. No one can know motorcycle racing better than motorcyclists. No group has more at stake or will care more about achieving success. The MIC has but one motive: Improving the industry. Accomplished by promoting, protecting, preserving.

Note that the industry has strived toward nearly 15 years of rapid growth. Motorcycle sales in the early 1990s were a quarter of what they are today. The industry worked extensively to turn around the generally bad image of motorcycling that existed 20 years ago. Media coverage two decades ago was almost universally negative. Today, motorcycle industry representatives are welcomed inside the offices of the biggest media outlets in the country. The motorcycle industry can count among its friends more CEOs, celebrities and Capitol Hill officials than ever before.

Meanwhile, American road racing has not enjoyed similar levels of growth and increased awareness.

The MIC's Mission
MIC is initiating the series for the teams, for the manufacturers, for the riders, for the fans, all to better promote the business of motorcycling in America. It is the function of the MIC to preserve, protect and promote motorcycling. A world-class road racing series in the United States, done right, will help promote motorcycling here.

The 300-plus MIC members and their thousands of employees and all of motorcycling in America stand to gain much from a successful national championship road racing series. The MIC is a not-for-profit association that works on their behalf. A great deal of business is accomplished at world-class racing venues, which can serve as the backdrop that attracts major media, corporate and celebrity involvement in motorcycling, not necessarily just racing. And the showcases that great racing venues provide also help generate a lot of consumer sales and can inspire new riders. Win on Sunday; sell on Tuesday when the bike shop opens. USSB, Inc. was established specifically to create a sustainable, popular superbike championship that will benefit many across the industry.

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Honda Updates 2009 CBRs with Anti Lock Brakes, Repsol MotoGP Graphics
Sept 8th - Honda has just released information on its new 2009 CBR sportbike line. The CBR600RR and CBR100RR both got a complete redesign in 2008, so this year's updates mainly see just the addition of an ABS (antilock Braking system) on both model bikes. The CBR1000RR also will come in an optional Repsol MotoGP replica paint scheme. While the CBR600RR gets minor tuning tweeks to the engine to make the powerband a little torquier and more rideable.

Honda's Electronically-Controlled Combined ABS
Anti-lock brakes on motorcyles are nothing new, having first been offered by BMW on its prodeuction bikes about 10 years ago. Honda says however, demands of a braking system for a Super Sport machine are different and more exacting than those of a more conventional road-going motorcycle.
Brakes on a road-going machine will most often be used only to a moderate level of intensity, with maximum braking reserved for emergency situations or perhaps very occasional fast rides. In these circumstances a Combined ABS system can be designed to deal with extreme braking as an emergency, rather than as a regular occurrence. The upshot of this is that Combined ABS on a road-based machine can be relatively intrusive to the rider - because in theory they will only use it in an emergency situation and will not mind.

The requirements are very different for a Super Sports machine, where extreme braking can be considered as one of the bike’s regular performance requirements. A system that was insensitive or became invasive whenever a rider neared the upper limits of braking performance would be unsatisfactory. In short, for a Super Sports machine, a Combined ABS system must allow the rider to brake very close to the limit before activating, and when it does, the reduction in braking force must be very smooth in order not to unsettle the machine, or rider.
It is for this reason, along with the possibility of adding weight, that Combined ABS has not been fitted to sports machines. Until now, that is.

In addition, the extreme pitching forward of weight under braking provided by non locking brakes, actually enhances the braking ability of the front wheel as weighted is transfered forward onto it, while reducing traction from the rear. This calls for a very subtle and advanced ABS system in order to provide an acceptable level of performance from a Super Sport braking system.

"Honda’s new electronically-controlled Combined ABS provides just this level of performance. In exhaustive testing, both on the road and racetrack, development riders have found that the system exceeds their demands and out-performs the rider’s ability to brake on most occasions. An average (‘non-expert’) rider using a conventional braking system needs several braking attempts to attain braking performance approaching that of the Combined ABS. An expert rider using a conventional system will need fewer attempts to reach a similar level. However, only in an example such as a racetrack situation, where an expert rider repeatedly brakes into the same corner was it found that the tester could outperform the Combined ABS. The confidence benefits are tremendous for riders of all skill levels, especially on public roads, where riding circumstances differ vastly."

So effectively, Honda is saying this is still a street system and a skilled rider on the track can still do better without it.

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