Noriyuki Haga and Troy Corser (Yamaha Motor Italia WSB Team) are no strangers to the podium in the World Superbike Championship, Corser having taken 122 career top three finishes and Haga 82. As their winning records show, each of Yamaha's lead 2008 season riders has a special affinity with Brands Hatch, having scored seven race wins between them at the sinuous and flowing English circuit.

Corser is sitting in overall third in the points' standings after a Brno race weekend that placed him second and then fourth. Corser's pre-Brands confidence is boosted by the fact that he is currently only 12 points behind the second place rider, Max Neukirchner.

Haga is only eight points behind Corser despite a tough weekend at Brno last time out. With four race wins to his credit this season already, and four previous WSB victories at Brands Hatch, he is one of the favourites for more podium glory at one of his favourite racing venues.

Kawasaki's substitute MotoGP rider, Jamie Hacking, brought his borrowed Ninja ZX-RR home in an impressive eleventh place on his premier class debut at Laguna Seca this afternoon.

The 37-year-old AMA Superbike star, deputising this weekend for injured compatriot John Hopkins, started today's 33-lap USGP from the last row of the grid, but was quick to make up places in the early stages of the race.

Hacking fought his way past Colin Edwards and Loris Capirossi on lap 12, then put in a pass on Toni Elias on the next lap to move into tenth place behind AMA Superbike rival, and good friend, Ben Spies.

The Hacker spent a number of laps looking for a way past his fellow countryman, until the Suzuki pilot looked back and realised just who it was putting him under pressure.

The US Grand Prix at Laguna Seca will mark the MotoGP debut of AMA Superbike contender Jamie Hacking, who will deputise for the injured John Hopkins aboard Kawasaki's Ninja ZX-RR this weekend.

Hacking, who received the call-up to MotoGP during his 37th birthday celebrations two weeks ago, has already impressed aboard the Ninja ZX-RR during a two-day, pre-race test at the Autopolis circuit in Japan, where he broke the lap record.

The three-time AMA champion arrives in Laguna determined to match, or even exceed, the performance of his Kawasaki teammate, Roger Lee Hayden, who finished tenth as a wild card rider in this race twelve months ago.

Hacking will make his MotoGP debut off the back of six consecutive podium finishes in the AMA Superbike class, which he will also contest at Laguna Seca, making for a very busy weekend for the British born rider.

Sportbikes are for the road, yes, but let's face if, manufacturers build them with a large percent of track/racing in mind, so they have a good base to work with, Suzuki built the best sportbike in existence in 2005, with a slight improvement in the Suzuki GSX-R1000 K7, and nothing has troubled it since.

As a road bike, the Suzuki GSX-R1000 K series has been hugely successful, but why has it been struggling on the track? Troy Corser won WSB in 2005 on a GSX-R1000, but ever since then, Suzuki has struggled to get the results that the new generation Gixer had promised.

The Crescent Rizla team had a 'mare from day one, with new riders each year, and no development dedication. Only the American Suzuki team have enjoyed Superbike success.

How does a rider define his optimum racing line at the track? Why do the MotoGP riders use a different line to the 250cc and 125cc riders? Is it just about weight and corner speed? Are there other factors involved? It there is only one perfect line, then why do you see so many lines being used?

Like a lot of observations, you end up with more questions the more you look into it. This is why I love watching racing and guys on trackdays and even riders who overtake on the road, then pitch their bikes into a roundabout ahead.

I'm always watching and asking - why? Why did it look like that? What did he do different to me and again, why? The line a rider chooses will dictate his throttle application, but equally, his throttle application will dictate his line.

John Hopkins demonstrated true grit and determination today at the Grand Prix of Catalunya to bring his Ninja ZX-RR home in 10th position, despite carrying a back injury sustained in Friday's practice.

Hopkins got a steady start to the 25-lap race and pushed as hard as possible, despite being unable to move around easily on his race machine, to make up positions around the 4.727km circuit. The 25-year-old Kawasaki pilot settled into a rhythm and circulated on his own for most of the race, riding through the pain barrier, to cross the line with a very creditable top ten finish.

Teammate Anthony West, who set his fastest lap of the entire weekend in the opening stages, endured a hard, race long fight with Marco Melandri to finish in a points-scoring 12th position.

Just five days after his thrilling home victory at Mugello, Valentino Rossi was back on board at the Montmelo circuit in Catalunya today, running a one-off livery on his M1 in celebration of the Italian national football team, the 'Azzurri', and their impending European Championship campaign. Rossi's bike was complemented by his leathers, which have been designed to make him look like an 'Azzurro' himself, complete with football shorts, shirt and socks.

After heavy rain overnight the track was still wet in places this morning, especially on the long start/finish straight, which is overshadowed by the huge Montmelo grandstand. The rain meant that the notoriously slippery track had even less grip than usual and Rossi spent the day testing Bridgestone tyres and refining the setting of his M1 to suit the demands of the circuit, with improving traction a priority. He was consistently fast throughout the day, finishing second in first practice and third this afternoon, when the drier surface meant that times were well over half a second quicker than this morning.

Following a painful crash last weekend at the Salt Lake City circuit, Noriyuki Haga went on to astound doctors and race fans by climbing back on his Yamaha R1 and taking a ten point chunk out of Troy Bayliss's championship lead.

Yamaha Motor Italia rider Noriyuki Haga fell heavily on the Saturday morning practice session, coming off after a collision with another rider at the Black Rock hairpin. After an examination by the circuit doctor it was revealed he had broken his collarbone in no less than three places and was advised that it was unlikely he would be able to manage any more than one or two laps in the next free practice session.

In a clear demonstration not only of Haga's commitment to the championship and determination to win, but also the outstanding support of the Yamaha Motor Italia Team, Haga went on to not only ride Superpole but also race on the Sunday and take points away with him from round 06.

Suzuki Rockstar Energy OTSFF's Tyler Medaglia claimed his first ever national motocross victory on Sunday at Gopher Dunes in Courtland, Ontario aboard his RM-Z450.

Medaglia devoured the heavy sand to register 3-1 motos and the overall for the day to climb from third in the points ranking to first.

"This was a great weekend for me and Team Suzuki. I felt strong all weekend, and after recording the fastest qualifying time, I was confident that winning the overall was going to be a really good possibility. It's been a while in coming but I knew it would come because no matter where I actually finish, I always race for first place," said Medaglia. "My bike performed simply amazingly in the deep wet sand and I knew I could count on it to see me through to the end. Everybody on the team did a great job for me. Without them the results could have been a lot different. I'm thrilled with the outcome."

Team Alstare Suzuki rider Max Neukirchner continued his good run of form with a hard-fought fourth place in race one at the Miller Motorsports Park today before following it up runner-up spot in race two.

He was at the forefront in both races; had to give way to Carlos Checa (Honda) both times; but knows that his next victory is only a matter of time.

Troy Corser (Yamaha) and Michel Fabrizio (Ducati) were second and third in race one and Fabrizio again took third spot in race two behind Checa and the Alstare Suzuki rider.

Team Suzuki Alstare riders Fonsi Nieto and Yukio Kagayama finished fifth and eighth respectively in race one and then reversed the positions in race two.