Following the Dakar organisers press release that said: "For the first time in its history, the Dakar is, as of July, full in all categories: cars, bikes, trucks and assistance. After the bikes filling up at the end of June, with more than 350 demands for 230 places, now it is the turn of the cars, trucks and assistance vehicles: 180 cars, 75 trucks and 240 assistance vehicles. A total of 725 vehicles, of which 485 are entered in the race, which represents approximately 1700 people, from an ever increasing number of countries." Norwegian rally rider Pål Anders Ullevalseter still had not booked his place in the 2006 rally. The professionals has until September to enrol so this press release was a shock to the Scandinavian camp. Luckily the organisers had reserved a place for Ullevalseter that has finished in the top ten twice in the last three years. But not for his crucial service truck. Pål Anders stated that he almost fell off his chair when he got these news. Lets hope it all works out with the service truck.

Kenneth Gundersen has made good progress after his second knee operation and is back riding. The Norwegian, who has not ridden a full Grand Prix moto since Germany 2004, will travel to Austria next week and spend a month near the factory undergoing medical examinations and consultations while also testing 2006 KTM machinery and materials. Gundersen is optimistic of a Grand Prix return at Nismes at the end of July. Photographer: R. Archer

Check out the MX link for news and results about the Swedish GP. Estonian Kawasaki rider Tanel Leok were fastest in the timed practise. The track was hard and dusty under warm Swedish sunshine.

Kai Borre Andersen is Norway's most successful road racer. He has done several races in World Supersport, but now only races his ZX-6RR in the German IDM series. Points IDM Supersport: 1. Andersen (Kawasaki): 70 Points. 2. Tode (Honda): 48 Points. 3. Daemen (Honda): 40 Points. Kai Borre after winning at Nurnburg in Norwegian: - Det var et t?t l?. Jeg kom ut som nummer to i starten bak Werner Daemen. Etter en runde var jeg forbi ham, og vi hadde en fight som varte i tolv runder. Da hadde ikke belgieren mer aa gi, og jeg dro i fra. Ved maalpassering var jeg fire og et halvt sekund foran, gliser en fornoyd Kai Borre. - Men selv om jeg naa har en solid poengledelse, kan jeg ikke ta noe paa forskudd. Vi har bare kjort tre l? i serien, og fem gjenstaar. Konkurransen er hard og det gaar innmari fort. I ? kjorer jeg faktisk hele to sekunder raskere enn jeg gjorde i fjor. Bestetiden min i racet i dag er banerekord for Supersport 600 her paa "Ringen"!

The Danish Yamaha MX1 rider was fast all weekend in the Italian GP. Brian Jorgensen (Yamaha L&M Motocross Team) - fourth overall "I had two great starts today and that made things a little bit easier. I was happy with my points score in the first race, but I was really upset how I finally lost the race. The second heat was a little strange because again I had the hole shot and I felt good on the track, but my speed was just not sufficient. I tried to stay with the front runners, but gradually I lost some ground. Anyway I feel like I'm getting back into the groove after all the bad luck I had lately, so I can't wait to back this up with good results in France."

Unfortunately the IoM TT has once again been struck with tragedy. This is the release from realroadracing.se in memory of Joakim Karlsson: We are sad to inform that our beloved father, partner, son, brother, best friend, colleague and driver Joakim has died. This happened the 30th of May when he was on Isle of Man to complete his life's dream, to drive the classic Isle of Man TT. The accident happened on the first lap during the second qualification." Joakim was 39 years old and lived in Habo, Sweden. The crash is under investigation. RIP

Two Scandinavian road racers hope to make their debuts at this year's Isle of Man TT Races, having spent the weekend on the Island as guests of the Mike Hailwood Foundation, learning the 37 and ? mile circuit. Iceman Sport Extreme International Racing team mates Joakim Karlsson and Christer Miinin spent four days on the Island receiving expert tuition from TT Rider Liaison Officer and former TT winner Richard ?Milky? Quayle and Senior TT podium finisher Gary Carswell. The two Swedish riders have a colourful CV in road racing, and both hold strong ambitions to race around the world famous Mountain Circuit. Karlsson has raced in the Swedish national championships on and off for two decades and in 2004 made his real road race debut at the Ulster Grand Prix in Ireland. Team mate Miinin is a highly successful rider and current Scandinavian Superbike and Production 600cc Champion, who broke the lap record at every circuit he raced on during 2004! Speaking after three laps in the car with Milky Quayle, both riders appeared optimistic about the task facing them. Joakim Karlsson commented: ?It is fantastic to see all the famous landmarks in real life, which I have only ever seen on video. The circuit is amazing, and obviously very difficult to learn, but Milky's advice has been very helpful, and everything he says makes sense. We filmed a lap in the car with his commentary to take back to Sweden to study and we also have several on board laps to keep watching, and hopefully we will be able to begin to piece the track together.? Team mate Christer Miinin was just as enthusiastic as Karlsson after his first visit to the Isle of Man and said: ?I was surprised to see just how bumpy the circuit is but in Sweden I work as a suspension technician and have a lot of experience of setting a racing bike up for the different conditions, so hopefully that will come in useful here. It is going to take a long time to learn the circuit but the advice Milky has given us has probably sped up the learning process considerably. The circuit is everything I thought it would be though, and I can't wait to try it for myself.? Recently appointed TT Team and Rider Liaison Officer Richard ?Milky? Quayle commented: ?It's always difficult for a foreign rider to come and learn the Mountain Circuit, because they have no real feel for what goes on at the TT, as there is nothing remotely like it on the continent. Both the lads seem to be going about it the right way though, and are doing everything they can to learn the circuit which is the most important thing when you do the TT. If they keep that up, they should do alright and hopefully will go on to become regular visitors to the event in the years ahead.? David Cretney MHK, Minister for the Department of Tourism and Leisure on the Isle of Man added: ?The TT has always been an International event, and it is great to see the trend continuing of talented overseas competitors showing an interest in our race meeting. Thanks to the sterling work of the Mike Hailwood Foundation we regularly play host to riders from all around the world and Joakim and Christer are two more names to add to that list. I wish them both the best of luck when they compete in this years TT and I hope that they will return for many years to come, and spread the word about the TT back home in Sweden.? There is to be a documentary DVD produced about the teams exploits this season which will be shown on Scandinavia television, as well as distributed all over Europe. For more information visit www.realroadracing.se. Photo: Paul Phillips at www.realroadracing.com

Below is the press release of Norway's and the worlds best rock/punk band. What we especially love here at R&R is the nice Simpson Bandit helmet on the front cover and the excellent guitar work from Euroboy. Turbonegro will release their new album ?Party Animals? throughout Europe on the 9th of May, consolidating their position as the biggest underground rock'n'roll band (or, as they themselves call it: "the smallest mainstream band in the world"). Party Animals is the follow-up to 2003?s ?Scandinavian Leather?, and is produced by Steve McDonald, known for his work with The White Stripes, Beck and Redd Kross. ?We've got 11 hits, all of them beautifully negative switchblade serenades?, says Guitarist Euroboy. Bassist Happy Tom says ?It's like the best bits of The Rolling Stones mixed with the best bits of Black Flag, but composed by Shostakovich, Stalin's in-house composer? World, put your helmet on and get ready for the weekend! For current tour dates check out burningheart.com tour page or theagencygroup.se tour page! For Turbonegro albums and merch, go to: www.turbonegro.com! You can also sample a free taste of the album in the shape of the song "All my friends are dead". We like it a lot! TURBONEGRO ON TOUR 06.may NO Notodden Tapperiet 07.may NO Larvik Sliperiet 09.may NO Oslo Rockefeller (sold out) 10.may SWE Stockholm Nalen 11.may SWE Goteborg in-store-gig 12.may Ger Berlin Huxley's 13.may Ger Leipzig Haus Aunsee 14.may Ger Muenster Jovel 15.may Ger Wiesbaden Schlachthof 16.may Ger Munich G Elser Halle 18.may NL Amsterdam Paradiso 19.may UK London Islington 20.may UK Leeds Cockpit (special guest: Mondo Generator) 22.may UK Morcambe Wasted Festival 26.may AU Vienna Aerodrome 27.may SP Madrid Festimad 28.may PT Lisboa Superrock bock 29.may UK Birmingham Kerrang Radio Show 10. june GER Scheessel Hurricane-Festival 11. june GER Luckau Berlinova Festva 12. june GER Neuhausen o.E. Southside-Festival 16. june SWE Hulstfred Festival 17. June FIN Sein?oki Provinsirock 24. June FRA Furia Festival 25. June FRA Le Mans Fury Fest 26. June CH Interlaken Greenfield 29. June SWE Sandefjord, Baderock 02. July GER M?ster - M?ster Monster Mastership 30. July SWE ?tersund more festivals to come

Stiggy finished 13th in the Supersport race at Monza in Italy. Swedish Johan Stigefelt races for the Dark Dog Supersport team and is truly one of the underdogs in the WSS championship. Watch out for the Swede, we might see him more in the future.

Da er det klart for selv de tregeste til ?ta ut motorsykkelen for jomfru turen. Mjosa rundt er det storste eventyret men det finnes mange andre muligheter til ?f? luftet maskinen i hele Norge ogsaa

The Swedish Veterinary Institute reports that between 250-300 animals a year are treated for sexual abuse. In Norway: NFAP Nordland's leader, Ann-Carin Torrissen has tried to get other politicians to raise the issue in parliament without success, and believes they are afraid of ridicule. Bastesen and the Coast Party have had a high profile of viewing animals as natural objects to hunt and eat, but the party leader said that this did not rule out treating animals with respect. Torrissen took up the fight to outlaw bestiality after getting a phone call from a young girl who had fantasies about having sex with her horse and asked if it was illegal. Current Norwegian regulation is limited to laws prohibiting behaviour that causes animals unnecessary suffering, which leaves the matter outside of the existing penal code. "In Nordland a few years ago a fellow was convicted of sexually assaulting hens in a henhouse but he was charged with criminal damage of property," Torrissen said. While working to chart the extent of animal pornography Torrissen noted that an Internet search on the term produced 2.5 million results, and she has downloaded and sent images to parliament's Justice Committee as evidence. Nevertheless, the incidence of real life sex between humans and animals is largely uncharted. "The Swedish Veterinary Institute reports that between 250-300 animals a year are treated for sexual abuse. I do not think that the extent in Norway is so very different from Sweden," Torrissen said. Here at R&R we would like to know what the village idiot in England, Wales, NI, Ireland and Scotland has got to say about this. info@raptorsandrockets.com facsimile: Aftenposten/NTB

---------------------------------------- MOTOCROSS Gundersen aiming for British Grand Prix comeback (23.04.2005) ---------------------------------------- Factory MX1 KTM rider Kenneth Gundersen has pencilled in a return to World Championship action on June 5th at Matchams Park, the scene of the British Grand Prix and round seven of the FIM series. The Norwegian is currently riding in Germany and getting back to speed but the cartilage operation he underwent last year still needs time to fully heal before he can take a step into the competitive arena. The 23 year old will visit the same Swedish specialist who has been assisting with his rehabilitation on Monday 2nd May for a keyhole examination. With an expected positive verdict Gundersen can then press onwards with his plans to be ready for Great Britain. Gundersen was injured at the Grand Prix of Germany almost one year ago. “Kenneth has been improving every day both with the knee and also with his speed on the bike,” said Team Manager Toby Gustafson. “I think Namur will come a bit too soon after the medical check, and with Teutschenthal and Japan close afterwards it makes sense for him to look at Matchams at the beginning of June. Kenneth has been training like mad and is in really good physical condition; he is very dedicated. We want to make sure that he comes back at the right time and has every chance of starting off with some good results.”

MC kriminalitet. S? mange som 71 prosent av de norske medlemmene i Hells Angels har dommer mot seg, hevder Europol. Det kriminelle MC-milj?t f?ges tett, men blir if?ge politiet bedre organisert melder Dagsavisen.