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M O T O R S P O R T N E W S 2016 International Edition - February 2016

ITALY

A new exciting season with the Althea BMW Racing team For the first time of its history, Althea Racing team signed a partnership with BMW for the 14 races of the season. The three official riders will be Markus Reiterberger (Germany), Jordi Torres (Spain) and Raffaele De Rosa (Italy). They will contest the entire championship on BMW S1000RR motorbikes. The whole story of these exciting competitions on page 7.

GREAT BRITAIN

New look Mercedes-Benz A-class for BTCC 2016 FUCHS sponsored British Touring Car Cham-pionship Race team Ciceley Motorsport unveiled their new 2016 livery at the Autosport International show, and it looks even more spectacular than ever. Driver Adam Morgan will again be competing in his reliable Mercedes-Benz A-class, which remains in the popular yellow and black colors that gained so many fans throughout the 2015 race season. As a key sponsor to the ever improving team, FUCHS branding will be displayed on each corner of the new livery which is sure to get even more podium exposure than in previous years.

CZECH REPUBLIC

FUCHS renews its commitment to Supermoto For the tenth year, FUCHS will be represented on the Supermoto circuits by the FUCHS Czech National Supermoto team. Supermoto, a mix of cross and speed, is very spectacular. Thousands of fans come to each race fascinated by the performance of these skilled riders. Read the full article on page 9.

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M O T O R S P O R T N E W S M O T O R S P O R T N E W S

FRANCE

A strong program for Bud Racing Energy Kawasaki team in 2016

Created in 2007 with two riders, the team consisting of up-and-coming as well as seasoned riders has developed well and has won numerous national, European and world championship titles. In 2016, the team has welcomed its eight riders engaged in 45 races in ten different championships, in a building of over 3,000m². Having dominated the French circuits in 2015, Xavier Boog (Elite MX1 and Supercross SX1), Maxime Desprey (Elite MX2) and Brian Moreau (Young Hopefuls) won a title each. This season, there will be a few changes for two of these winners: Maxime Desprey will contest the French Elite MX1 and Supercross SX1 Championships with a Kawasaki 450cc and Brian Moreau will ride a 125cc bike in the Junior category of the French and European championships. For the second season, the team will be represented in the 85cc category by the young Spanish

rider David Braceras (French and Spanish Championships) and also by newcomer Thibault Benistant. The talented Finn and new team member, Kim Savaste, will come to boost his teammate and not least his rival, Brian Moreau – 2015 World Vice-champion – in the 125cc European Championship. This Finnish rider, spotted by the KTM factory, has a big potential and will be one of the favorites of the season. The US rider, Darian Sanayei, who participated in the 250cc European Championship in 2015, will drive for the whole season together with Nicolas Dercourt. To manage this team of 20 people, the team manager, Stephane Dassé, will be assisted by the famous coach Thierry Van Den Bosch (former MX rider and multiple Supermoto World champion) for the European championships. “We have to take care of many riders but we love our sport and this challenge. We’re lucky to have the backing of such strong partners and a skilled technical staff to manage these huge programs. So we’re confident and optimistic for the coming season”, he said with full conviction.

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M O T O R S P O R T N E W S M O T O R S P O R T N E W S

FRANCE

Boldness, courage and

victories!

The story began in December 1999 following the terrible storm, which had hit south-west France and devastated parts of the Atlantic coast. Vincent Locmane, Toyota car dealer in Cognac in the Charente, was trying to repair the roof of his showroom himself due to a shortage of roofers. He fell off the roof and was seriously injured. In 2010, after a long therapy, this bold and dynamic businessman used his experience as manager and technician to obtain a concession for the quad brands Can Am and Polaris and became one of the largest distributors in France. In 2015, along with his friend and teammate Jean-François Palissier, he won the French Quad Championship in the S.S.V category. For several months, his son Roman, responsible for marketing and sales, and Eric, his foreman, had been working on the preparation of a Can Am Maverick Turbo quad to shine once again in the 2016 French Quad Championship. SARL Vincent Locmane distributes the full range of FUCHS and FUCHS Silkolene lubricants in the shop called Quad Bike Evasion.

FUCHS lubricants: Silkolene QUAD ATV SAE 5W-40, TITAN SINTOPOID LS

SAE 75W-140, MAINTAIN FRICOFIN

The team will participate in all races of the 2016 French Quad

Championship.

Rally des Colines d’Arzacq (64), March 4 to 6 - Rally of Labourd (64), April 8 to

10 - Rally Terres Gatinaises (45), April 29 to May 1 - Rally Jean de la Fontaine

(02), May 27 to 29 - Rally Gers Armagnac (32), July 2 and 3 - Rally Orthez Béarn

(64), July 29 to 31- Rally des Cimes (64), September 2 to 4 - Rally Dunes et

Marais (17), October 7 to 9 - Rally 7 Vallées de l’Artois (62), October 28 to 30 -

Rally Plaines et Vallées (27), November 25 to 27

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Franky Zorn sets the tone at Weissenbach

Before a spellbound audience, the seventeen Ice Speedway riders were dueling mercilessly. Franky Zorn, who presented himself in excellent shape, was dominating the races winning all rounds and the final. Acclaimed by his fans, the incredibly talented FUCHS rider stepped on the top of the podium. “Weissenbach is a very technical track and an extremely important event in the world of Ice Speedway. It is a great success for our team who did a great job”, Franky Zorn said full of praise. “The tests were promising with highly gifted and motivated riders and exciting battles.” A thrilling race, in which Franky Zorn was fighting against big names such as Ice Speedway rookie Manfred Seifter who won 2nd place and the German Günther Bauer ranked 3rd. Franky recognized that they were very fast. Good omens for the upcoming races!

Next races:

March 5-6, 2016: Berlin – Ice Speedway Gladiators GP 5 + 6 – GER March 12-13, 2016: Assen – Ice Speedway Gladia-tors GP 7 + 8 – NL March 19-20, 2016: Inzell – Ice Speedway Gladiators GP 9 + 10 – GER

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AUSTRIA

VPDR team striving for another successful season in 2016 Following a year jam-packed with excellent results, Austrian-based kart racing team VPDR is preparing to take on the competition on a positive note as they continue to roll-out their current winter test program in Italy. With a full driver line-up set to take to the track with the FUCHS’-supported outfit in 2016, the groundwork is essential to ensure a confident start to the year. Located in Central Europe, the chilly weather forces VPDR to pursue their on-track work during the off-season at venues that offer more suitable driving conditions, which means lots of travelling. The initial training began in the United Arab Emirates prior to the New Year and moved south to Italy from January to specific circuits used in the 2016 race schedule. This gives the competitors and the technicians an opportunity to work together testing the latest material and components, whilst working to find the ideal set-up in the expected cooler temperatures too. VPDR will contest the highly competitive Rotax Max Euro Challenge series as the mainstream top-end level today, which remains one of the strongest events worldwide primarily running the one-make Rotax engine classes.

The four-round series will be hosted by selected CIK-FIA homologated circuits throughout Europe, with the first edition kicking-off in Belgium at the end of March. In addition, the team will participate in the Central Eastern European Zone series plus both the German and Austrian combined National Rotax Max Challenge Championships, where their drivers secured titles in the senior categories in 2015, as well as vice-champions in the CEE/CEZ and Austrian RMC in the Rotax DD2 and Max classes. This takes VPDR abroad to Belgium, Italy, Germany, Hungary, Czech Republic, Spain and France in the next eight months. Several events have been added to the calendar, the Benelux season-opener and Rotax International Open. Now, 12 years after the small private team was established, their ongoing success has led to new business growth in sales, authorised Rotax engine service with an increase in hobby customers. VPDR is the official Rotax race team for Italian manufacturer Danilo Rossi and the DR Racing Kart brand for chassis development as the Central European importer. Having valuable long-term product partners – like FUCHS – has clearly contributed to the success of VPDR in the last decade.

Visit: www.vpdracing.com or follow VPD Racing GMBH on Facebook or @vpdracing on Twitter

FUCHS lubricants: Silkolene PRO 2, Silkolene PRO KR2, Silkolene ALL-IN-ONE, Silkolene CHAIN LUBE, Silkolene PRO PREP, Silkolene CARB CLEANER

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M O T O R S P O R T N E W S M O T O R S P O R T N E W S

AUSTRIA

FUCHS and IGFC Classic present at the Bike Linz 2016 From February 5 to 7, Linz was the capital of two wheels and hosted importers of leading motorcycle brands on 10,000m² of exhibition space. All well-known manufacturers and more than 60 other companies were represented by their importers. For this major event in the world of motorcycles, FUCHS AUSTRIA SCHMIERSTOFFE had teamed up with IGFC Classic, a partner who had been supporting the brand for over eleven years. At this trade fair, IGFC Classic was represented by Wolfgang Stropek (three-time participant in the Isle of Man Rally) and Markus Kollenz, Application Engineer from FUCHS AUSTRIA SCHMIERSTOFFE. On three days, over 30,000 visitors came to admire and discover the 2016 novelties. Bikes, accessories, safety innovations, clothing and equipment were presented to the public. One of the highlights of this event were the MotoGP bikes of Valentino Rossi and Dani Pedrosa, which fascinated the visitors.

Photo: Wolfgang Stropek (right) and Markus Kollenz (left)

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ITALY

FUCHS bet on the Althea BMW Racing team FUCHS LUBRIFICANTI S.P.A. signed an agreement with the new Althea BMW Racing team for the 2016 season. The official presentation of the team was held in the famous “Moto dei Miti” Museum owned by Genesio Bevilacqua and located next to the Racing Department. This season, Althea Racing team will compete with BMW S1000RR bikes, which are placed in the hands of the young German talent Markus Reiterberger, the Spanish rider Jordi Torres in the Superbike World Championship and the Italian rider Raffaele De Rosa in the Superstock 1000 FIM Cup. The technical management of the team is handled by the Dutch engineer Jan Witteveen, a very well-known name in the sector and already a part of motorcycling history. Despite the winter break imposed by the race calendar, the Althea BMW Racing team has not stopped working since the 2015 final in Qatar. Althea Racing’s award-winning technicians had a first chance to work together with technical staff provided by BMW Motorrad Motorsport during two days of private testing at Jerez de la Frontera and at their home track of Vallelunga. Markus Reiterberger and Jordi Torres got to grips with their BMW S1000RR bikes, with results that left the whole team optimistic. The two official test days will take place in Philip Island (Australia) prior to the opening round of the season.

Last season, Markus Reiterberger who won the IDM Superbike Championship, had the chance to compete in the Superbike World Championship and participate as a wildcard entry at both Magny-Cours and Misano. Jordi Torres meanwhile arrived from an extraordinary World Superbike race win, achieved at the final round in Qatar, and a solid 5th place finish in the overall standings. Raffaele De Rosa, who had already been an Althea Racing rider, begins the 2016 season strengthened by the six podiums he achieved over eight races in the 2015 edition of the Superstock 1000 FIM Cup.

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M O T O R S P O R T N E W S M O T O R S P O R T N E W S

GREAT BRITAIN

PBM Ducati team launch Following the announcement at the end of last season that four-time MCE BSB champion Shane ‘Shakey’ Byrne will remain with the Paul Bird Motorsport team for the 2016 MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship, whereby he will be joined by promising Ulsterman Glenn Irwin, the Penrith-based team officially launched the Be Wiser Ducati team in London and their fully factory-supported Ducati Panigale R’s. The association with Ducati also heralds a return to the marque on which Steve Hislop and Shane Byrne both claimed British Superbike Championships for the Italian manufacturer under the MonsterMob Ducati branding in the early 2000s. A hectic pre-season testing schedule both in the UK and Spain will continue later this month in preparation for the 2016 MCE Insurance British Championship season, which gets underway at Silverstone on April 10th 2016. Speaking to both drivers in Spain fuels confidence of a successful 2016 campaign. Paul Bird, team owner said: “We are deadly serious about winning the 2016 MCE British Superbike Championship. We have no other distractions away from BSB this year so we can fully concentrate on the job in hand and we are in good shape to win back the title that we so narrowly missed out on retaining last season. Shane and Glenn have been in constant training and we have had some good testing on the bikes already, with loads of potential still to come. We won't be doing a lot of talking this year; we will leave our results to do that for us on the track.”

GREAT BRITAIN

Murray Motorsport reveals new livery

Murray Motorsport have unveiled Gavin Murray's new livery for the #95 truck in preparation for his 3rd year in the Pickup Truck Championship. The new livery is as a result of FUCHS LUBRICANTS re-signing a sponsorship deal after a successful 2015 season where Gavin finished 5th in the championship after missing a round late in the season. Murray Motorsport will be aiming to compete for the championship title after a busy winter rebuilding and checking over all the components on the race truck. The 2.3 Ford Duratec engine has undergone a complete rebuild and new modifications in line with championship rules and regulations. Gavin will be competing at the UK's top circuits throughout 2016 including Brands Hatch, Rockingham Motor Speedway, Silverstone and Donington Park.

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M O T O R S P O R T N E W S M O T O R S P O R T N E W S

CZECH REPUBLIC

Supermoto on the wings of quality and performance

For ten years, FUCHS OIL CORPORATION (CZ) has supported FUCHS Supermoto Czech National team engaged in the Supermoto Championship. Over this decade top Czech Supermoto racers supported by FUCHS have stood three times on the podium and the entire team has always been among the top 6.

Supermoto: an event 100% fun The first Supermoto races took place in the 80s in the USA. The idea was to combine racing specials from different racing categories, such as road racing, motocross and speedway, which met with great success. The bikes seen there are derived from standard production and undergo some modifications and tuning. Such races are very attractive for spectators, as they can see similar motorcycles in daily traffic, they can even buy and ride them themselves. So, the Supermoto is a relatively young motorcycle sport and its races are really very exciting for the spectators. The fans can attend amateur races as well as top-level events. The racetracks combine smooth tarmac surfaces with bumpy gravel sections allowing the riders to excel with very long jumps. The key to success is that riders must combine high speed on tarmac with perfect off-road skills and techniques on the gravel tracks. Practice gained in Supermoto racing very often leads riders to the top level of motorcycle racing, such as MotoGP and Superbike. It is very thrilling to see top Supermoto riders performing long acceleration drifts in curves on tarmac, followed by ten-meter long jumps on gravel!

A performance lubricant for a demanding championship! To be able to demonstrate superior performance, Supermoto riders need highly tuned racing bikes and they have to be lubricated using top quality racing oil, which withstands severe stress under the harsh battle conditions on the racing track. FUCHS Supermoto riders use the well-proven FUCHS Silkolene PRO 4 SAE 10W-40 XP. This superior product provides the level of protection and power delivery which cannot be reached with standard oils. A Supermoto bike needs not only engine oil to reach top performance but also a high-tech suspension fluid such as FUCHS Silkolene RSF that ensures the perfect function of the front fork and rear suspension unit. It is necessary for a smooth suspension damping and shock absorption on demanding tracks – resulting in an excellent stability of the bike. The range of FUCHS Silkolene products also includes a racing brake fluid and a top quality racing chain lubricant.

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M O T O R S P O R T N E W S M O T O R S P O R T N E W S

ZIMBABWE

The Summer Series: a great success For the 6th consecutive year, FUCHS had been the major sponsor of the 2015 Summer Series MX1 and MX2. This event attracts riders from all over the world to compete in the two nights of Super X and the one day Motor X event. The Super X takes place at night under artificial light and attracts large crowds. The Donnybrook Park Summer Series 2015, held in Harare (Zimbabwe) in December 2015, was once again a huge spectacle for Southern Africa Motocross. Top class riders from all over the world such as The Netherlands, Germany, Great Britain, South Africa, Mozambique, Zambia and Zimbabwe had come to take part in arguably the top Motor X and Super X Series in Africa. This three-day event attracted a total of 130 riders. The motorcycle classes ranged from the peewee 50cc class, which saw riders from the tender age of four years, to the Master Class with 50+ age riders. The premier MX1 and MX2 classes, the main events, were not short of the most spectacular riders Africa had to offer. The 2015 Summer Series in the MX1 and MX2 classes were dominated by the South African MX2 National champion, Maddy Malan, showing his true dominance over a highly competitive pack of riders, Damon Strydom (UK) and Jeffrey Mews (Dutch) were 2nd and 3rd respectively. The other

classes, especially the MX125, with South African National champion Josh Mlimi, showed equally exciting racing keeping the large crowd on their feet. Two current South African champions, Dalton Venter and Cameron Derou, raced in the 85cc class. “All in all, the 2015 Summer Series was a great success, which was made possible thanks to a lot of help, support and financing by major sponsors. FUCHS Silkolene was our major sponsor once again and also for the majority of the 2015 race season in Zimbabwe. We are most grateful. I would like to thank the members of the Bogwheelers Committee who worked tirelessly to organize such a successful motorsport event. I am sure, 2016 will live up to the high expectations raised last year and ‘The Greatest Series in Africa’ will continue”, said Ashley Thixton, Zimbabwe National Captain.