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Home of the Official SBK Fast Dates Calendar Kittens April 2012 Page 2 Assen World Superbike to Guintoli and Rea
AMA Superbike at Road Atlanta
2012 Ducati 1199S Panigale Track Test!
The podium after RaceTwo with winner Rea (middle) and 2nd Guintoli (left) and 3rs Laverty (right).
Superbike Championship, Round 3 of 14, Assen, Netherlands
Guintoli and Rea share the wins amid the rain
and another traditionally dramatic Assen raceday Assen, Netherlands, April 20-22nd,2011 – Changeable weather conditions played a major part in proceedings during raceday at Assen, with the first race stopped and then re-run over only nine laps, and the second race bringing forth a variety of tyre choices on a damp initial track surface that saw the podium places change frequently. In race one Sylvain Guintoli (Effenbert-Liberty Ducati) took his first ever race win in SBK and the first for his team, while in race two a bad tire choice for 2011 champion Carlos Checa (Althea Racing Ducati) saw him out of the points. Honda World Superbike team rider Jonathan Rea took his first win of the year in the second full 22-lap race.
Championship points leader Checa checks in at Assen in a wet Friday Practice and Qualifying.
Preview: World Superbike Arrives at Assen Assen (Netherlands), Tuesday 17 April 2012 – The eni FIM Superbike World Championship returns to the track this coming weekend at Assen in the Netherlands. It will be the third of 14 rounds this season and the 300th round overall for the production-based series that made its debut in 1988. In the previous round at Imola, Carlos Checa (Althea Racing) took his Ducati back to the top of the table at the Italian manufacturer’s home circuit, overhauling Max Biaggi (Aprilia Racing) who dominated the opener in Australia. The points gap at the top is tight, with six riders (representing five manufacturers: Ducati, Aprilia, Kawasaki, BMW and Honda) currently separated by 35 points.
The Assen TT Circuit, 180 kms north of Amsterdam, has been a Superbike venue since 1992. In the 40 races held so far Ducati have won 24 times but since the track was radically modified in 2006, Honda has had the lion’s share of the wins (four), three of which have come in the last four races with Jonathan Rea at the helm. For the talented northern Irishman and Honda it is an important race for a variety of reasons: Assen is the home circuit for Ten Kate, the technical structure that prepares the CBR1000RR machines, based just 50 kms away from the track, while Rea needs a couple of good results to put his difficult start to the season behind him and cut the gap to Checa. These two riders shared the victories in 2011 with Max Biaggi twice finishing second, the best Aprilia performances on this track.
At the Dutch circuit the rain could play a key role, with poor weather forecast for the weekend. The last wet race at Assen was in 2006 and it was dominated by Chris Walker and his Kawasaki. With Tom Sykes rapidly emerging as a contender the Akashi manufacturer’s bike will be a force to reckon with both in the dry (the British rider has been on the podium in the last three races and his worst result this year is a fourth) and in the wet. Sykes has a bit of a reputation as a wet weather expert and scored his only WSB win so far in these conditions last September in Germany. Kawasaki are also aiming to change history: if Sykes scores good results they could be back on the top of the table for the first time since Scott Russell in 1994. Sykes will be singleton KRT rider this weekend, following the injury to his Spanish team-mate Joan Lascorz in Imola testing.
BMW are yet to take a WSB win but they are getting closer all the time; Leon Haslam and Marco Melandri are always amongst the front runners and will be after some more good results at Assen. The German manufacturer has been on the podium three times out of four with its S 1000 RR machine which now looks to be competitive in all conditions. At Assen Melandri won in 250GP in 2002 and has twice been on the podium in MotoGP. Last year, on his first Assen appearance in Superbike with Yamaha, he finished fourth in race 1 then crashed out in the second.
The final manufacturer representative on the grid, Suzuki, has had a tough time of things so far, but American John Hopkins has been back in America on an intensive training programme to get him back up to full fitness and both he and Leon Camier will be aiming to make good use of a new-spec engine in order to capitalize on their Yoshimura-Suzuki’s positive form in the recent tests.
World Supersport 600
Kawasaki has dominated the start of this year’s World Supersport championship with wins by Kenan Sofuoglu in Australia and Fabien Foret at Imola. The 39 year-old Frenchman is also the current championship leader, but in the Netherlands the bike to beat may be the Honda, which has won nine of the last ten races on this track. That record will surely be going through the mind of Australian Broc Parkes, one of the favourites for the title but who has to overcome the handicap of a poor start to the season: third place at home and a DNF at Imola, where however he smashed the lap record in post-race testing. Parkes is currently on 16 points in the table, which is headed by Foret (Kawasaki Intermoto Step) on 45 points. Another potential Honda winner is the 22 year-old British rider Sam Lowes (Bogdanka PTR Honda) on 31 points, while it remains to be seen how fit Kawasaki DeltaFin Lorenzini rider Kenan Sofouglu is after his troubles at Imola. The Triumph brand is represented by the all-Italian Power Team by Suriano and the experienced Vittorio Iannuzzo, who is currently lying in an encouraging sixth place on 18 points.
European Superstock 1000
The two Superstock classes reserved for the champions of tomorrow are also now well underway. The first round of the FIM Superstock 1000 Cup for under-26 riders was won by BMW Motorrad Italia GoldBet’s French rider Sylvain Barrier, but the brand-new Ducati 1199 Panigale was immediately competitive in the hands of the rapidly emerging Eddi La Marra (Barni Racing Team Italia), who was third at Imola. Sandwiched in between was another promising young Frenchman, Loris Baz (Kawasaki MRS), the 18-year-old former European Superstock 600 champion who is eventually hoping to make the leap up into Superbike.
European Superstock 600
In the European Championship reserved for riders under 22 years of age the man to beat is the 18 year-old Italian Riccardo Russo (Yamaha Team Italia FMI) who dominated the scene at Imola. Russo is also leading the Italian series with two wins from two races. In the Netherlands his main rival will surely be Michael van der Mark who is favourite on his home track and with his Dutch-based EAB Ten Kate Junior Team Honda CBR600R. Spain’s Nacho Calero Perez (Yamaha Team Trasimeno) also looks a good bet for the win, following his runner-up finish in Italy.
Points (after 1 of 10 rounds): 1. Russo 25; 2. Calero Perez 20; 3. Van der Mark 16; Morrentino 13; 5. Egea 11; 6. Chesaux 10; etc.
KTM European Junior Cup
Assen will also see the start of the second edition of the European Junior Cup, this year a one-make championship using KTM machines, set up between the prestigious Austrian manufacturer and WSB promoter Infront Motor Sports. The series has been devised for 14 to 19 year-olds and offers a good opportunity for them to test their ability in eight European rounds accompanying World Superbike. The best riders will have a chance to move into Superstock and eventually on to the world championship. The entry list is made up of 24 permanent riders from 14 different countries. They will be in the care of a prestigious ‘coach’: New Zealander Simon Crafar, an ex-star of World Superbike. All the youngsters will race on identical race-spec KTM 690 Duke bikes, provided by the Austrian manufacturer.
Sylvain, quickest in Practive and 3rd in Superpole, with beautiful SBK girl Eufrat
Guintoli quickest rider in Practice on the Assen storm
Practice Friday April 20th – Sylvain Guintoli (Ducati Effenbert Liberty Racing) set the quickest time in this afternoon’s first qualifying session at Assen, which was finally conditioned by bad weather. The riders first went out on slicks but soon after it began to rain, making the track slippery and holding back ultimate lap times. The competitors just about managed to get back to the pits in reasonable conditions and then just a few riders ventured out at the end in the wet. Guintoli was a fraction of a second ahead of Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team), with an impressive Leon Camier (Crescent FIXI Suzuki) and championship leader Carlos Checa (Ducati Althea Racing) completing the provisional front row.
Jonathan Rea (Honda World Superbike Team) was fifth ahead of Michel Fabrizio (BMW Motorrad Italia GoldBet), the first BMW runner in the timesheets. Even in these difficult weather conditions, five different manufacturers are in the top six positions.
Two more BMWs were next up, Marco Melandri (BMW Motorrad) in eighth ahead of Ayrton Badovini with the Italian team’s S1000RR. Melandri had been fastest in the first practice session in the morning, run in dry conditions.Team Effenbert Liberty Racing Ducati rider Maxime Berger was ninth fastest, Chaz Davies (MTC ParkinGO Aprilia) rounded out the top ten. The factory Aprilia machine of Eugene Laverty ended up one place behind Davies.
Suzuki's Leon Camier had this dramatic lowside, turned highside in Practice that nearly destroyed his bike. Note how the bike's rear rim was smashed so hard on the pavement the tire came completely off, then the rim broke in half. With the one-bike rule imposed this year in WSBK, his Cresent Yoshimura team had to completely rebuild the bike in time for Saturday's Superpole where Leon returned to place 12th on the grid.
With the top 16 positions likely to stay the same should it rain in tomorrow morning’s final session, the first rider to be excluded will be Max Biaggi (Aprilia Racing). The Italian has to hope for an improvement in the weather otherwise he will be forced to start from the fifth row of the grid.
Times: 1. Guintoli S. (FRA) Ducati 1098R 1'37.600; 2. Sykes T. (GBR) Kawasaki ZX-10R 1'37.630; 3. Camier L. (GBR) Suzuki GSX-R1000 1'38.468; 4. Checa C. (ESP) Ducati 1098R 1'38.665; 5. Rea J. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 1'38.873; 6. Fabrizio M. (ITA) BMW S1000 RR 1'39.062; 7. Badovini A. (ITA) BMW S1000 RR 1'39.125; 8. Melandri M. (ITA) BMW S1000 RR 1'39.127; 9. Berger M. (FRA) Ducati 1098R 1'39.286; 10. Davies C. (GBR) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 1'39.362; 11. Laverty E. (IRL) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 1'39.485; 12. Smrz J. (CZE) Ducati 1098R 1'39.605; 13. Hopkins J. (USA) Suzuki GSX-R1000 1'39.625; 14. Haslam L. (GBR) BMW S1000 RR 1'39.770; 15. McCormick B. (CAN) Ducati 1098R 1'39.915; 16. Salom D. (ESP) Kawasaki ZX-10R 1'40.124; etc.
Sam Lowes
World Supersport
Honda CBR600RR machines dominated the first Supersport qualifying session, with British rider Sam Lowes (Bogdanka PTR Honda) going top with a time of 1 minute 38.900 seconds. Lowes was just 0.039 quicker than Australian Broc Parkes (Honda Ten Kate Racing Products), who went well in post-Imola testing two weeks back. The Honda trio up front was completed by 23 year-old Frenchman Jules Cluzel, a new Supersport face and so far always at the top this year on his PTR Honda.
Kawasaki ZX-6R riders took the next two places, fourth going to points leader Fabien Foret (Kawasaki Intermoto Step) ahead of Kenan Sofuoglu on the sister DeltaFin Lorenzini bike. Imre Toth was a competitive sixth on his Racing Team Toth Honda, while Sheridan Morais (Kawasaki DeltaFin Lorenzini) and Massimo Roccoli (Yamaha Bike Service WTR Ten 10) completed the second row.
Three Supersport newcomers also had promising sessions: Jed Metcher (Rivamoto Junior Yamaha) in tenth, Vladimir Leonov (Yakhnich Motorsport Yamaha) in eleventh and 18 year-old American PJ Jacobsen (Bogdanka Honda PTR) twentieth on his first appearance at the Assen track.
Times: 1. Lowes S. (GBR) Honda CBR600RR 1'38.900; 2. Parkes B. (AUS) Honda CBR600RR 1'38.939; 3. Cluzel J. (FRA) Honda CBR600RR 1'39.589; 4. Foret F. (FRA) Kawasaki ZX-6R 1'39.730; 5. Sofuoglu K. (TUR) Kawasaki ZX-6R 1'39.735; 6. Toth I. (HUN) Honda CBR600RR 1'40.040; 7. Morais S. (RSA) Kawasaki ZX-6R 1'40.266; 8. Roccoli M. (ITA) Yamaha YZF R6 1'40.326; etc.
Superstock 1000
The BMW Italia team powered to the top of Superstock 1000 qualifying today as round 1 winner Sylvain Barrier went quickest with a time of 1 minute 39.580 seconds, half a second slower than his own circuit best lap set last year. Barrier was three-tenths faster than Australian Bryan Staring, the surprise of the day on a Team Pedercini Kawasaki. Third quickest was Barrier's Italian team-mate Lorenzo Baroni.
The provisional front row is completed by Eddi La Marra with a Barni Racing Team Italia Ducati 1199 Panigale, which made its Superstock 1000 debut at Imola. Frenchman Loris Baz (Kawasaki MRS) continued his good form with fifth quickest time today to follow on from his Imola runner-up slot.
Times: 1. Barrier S. (FRA) BMW S1000 RR 1'39.580; 2. Staring B. (AUS) Kawasaki ZX-10R 1'39.873; 3. Baroni L. (ITA) BMW S1000 RR 1'40.205; 4. La Marra E. (ITA) Ducati 1199 Panigale 1'40.394; 5. Baz L. (FRA) Kawasaki ZX-10R 1'40.563; 6. Massei F. (ITA) Honda CBR1000RR 1'40.890; 7. Savadori L. (ITA) Ducati 1199 Panigale 1'40.909; 8. Guarnoni J. (FRA) Kawasaki ZX-10R 1'41.250; etc.
Tom Sykes on Pole
Sykes once more unstoppable in Tissot-Superpole Superpole Saturday April 21st – Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team) was over a second faster than any of his rivals in a Tissot-Superpole contest run under ‘wet’ conditions. The wet Superpole rules dictated that there were two twenty-minute sessions only with the top eight riders only from Superpole 1 moving on to Superpole 2.
Despite being declared wet, the track surface during the second session in particular was almost completely dry, allowing Sykes to get to within less than half-a-second of the track best on his Ninja ZX-10R. This was his third Superpole win in succession this season, and Sykes’ fifth career Superpole win. Second fastest overall was the Honda of Jonathan Rea (Honda World Superbike Team) from Jakub Smrz (Liberty Racing – Team Effenbert) and Sylvain Guintoli (Team Effenbert – Liberty Ducati).
Tom Sykes: “A lot has gone on since the Imola test with Joan and so on, so hopefully this is making him smile. What can I say? A massive thanks to Kawasaki, three on the bounce is a fantastic feeling. I went out on my second qualifier today, saw I had some pressure from Jonathan so I dug deep and it paid off. We’ve got a good race setting, both wet and dry, third time lucky so hopefully we can covert this one to a race win tomorrow.”
Jonathan Rea: “It’s the first time I’ve been up here this year and I’m pretty happy. That was a massive lap from Tom; we couldn’t match it today. When we put a qualifier on the bike, it transformed the front and I got a lot of chatter, but the good thing is tomorrow is that we use the race tyre. A big thanks to all the team for their continued hard work, it’s nice to come back and this result is for them.”
Jakub Smrz: “I am happy for the third place because we had a problem yesterday with the engine, so I only made a few laps in the dry. Today was really strange and conditions were mixed but in the end I got the front row. We did a great job: fast in the rain and fast in the dry!”
World Championship leader Carlos Checa (Althea Racing Ducati) was fifth fastest, with the first BMW rider, Michel Fabrizio (BMW Motorrad Team Italia Gold Bet) in sixth. Official BMW Motorrad Motorsport rider Leon Haslam was seventh and Crescent FIXI Suzuki rider John Hopkins placed eighth, with Hopkins now the last rider on the second row of the grid.
Marco Melandri (BMW Motorrad Motorsport), David Salom (Team Pedercini Kawasaki), Chaz Davies (ParkinGO MTC Racing Aprilia) and Leon Camier (Crescent Fixi Suzuki) filled the third row of the grid.
Championship second place rider Max Biaggi (Aprilia Racing) missed out on Superpole qualification and will start from 17th place on the grid. A fall for Biaggi’s team-mate Eugene Laverty ruled him out of progression beyond Superpole one, and he went 14th on the grid, one place behind Canadian rookie Brett McCormick (Liberty Racing Team Effenbert).
Tom Sykes, Jonthan Rea, Jacob Smrz on the Superpole Podium with beautiful SBK girls Annete and Eufrat. The new SBK uniform dress look so much better than the previous 1-piece cat suits.
Superbike Superpole Times: 1. Sykes T. (GBR) Kawasaki ZX-10R 1'35.399; 2. Rea J. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 1'36.432; 3. Smrz J. (CZE) Ducati 1098R 1'36.566; 4. Guintoli S. (FRA) Ducati 1098R 1'36.875; 5. Checa C. (ESP) Ducati 1098R 1'37.156; 6. Fabrizio M. (ITA) BMW S1000 RR 1'37.311; 7. Haslam L. (GBR) BMW S1000 RR 1'37.592; 8. Hopkins J. (USA) Suzuki GSX-R1000 1'37.913; 9. Melandri M. (ITA) BMW S1000 RR 1'40.516; 10. Salom D. (ESP) Kawasaki ZX-10R 1'40.523; 11. Davies C. (GBR) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 1'40.627; 12. Camier L. (GBR) Suzuki GSX-R1000 1'40.681; 13. McCormick B. (CAN) Ducati 1098R 1'41.962; 14. Laverty E. (IRL) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 1'43.947; 15. Berger M. (FRA) Ducati 1098R 1'44.022; 16. Badovini A. (ITA) BMW S1000 RR 1'44.500; 17. Biaggi M. (ITA) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 1'40.231; 18. Canepa N. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 1'40.859; 19. Giugliano D. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 1'41.161; 20. Mercado L. (ARG) Kawasaki ZX-10R 1'41.693; 21. Aoyama H. (JPN) Honda CBR1000RR 1'41.768; 22. Aitchison M. (AUS) BMW S1000 RR 1'43.144; 23. Zanetti L. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 1'50.808.
World Supersport
Sam Lowes (Bogdanka PTR Honda) had his Friday best qualifying time to thank for his pole position at Assen, while second place rider Broc Parkes (Honda Ten Kate Racing Products) was another who could not improve his opening day pace in today’s final session. Jules Cluzel (PTR Honda) left it late to make sure he got third place on the grid, one ahead of top Kawasaki qualifier, Kenan Sofuoglu (DeltaFin Lorenzini).
Championship leader Fabien Foret (Kawasaki Intermoto Step) will start from row two after going fifth overall in qualifying, and Imre Toth (Racing Team Toth Honda) held onto his more than respectable sixth. Sheridan Morais (Kawasaki DeltaFin Lorenzini) and Vladimir Leonov (Yakhnich Motorsport Yamaha) complete the second row for Sunday’s 21-lap race.
Times: 1. Lowes S. (GBR) Honda CBR600RR 1'38.900; 2. Parkes B. (AUS) Honda CBR600RR 1'38.939; 3. Cluzel J. (FRA) Honda CBR600RR 1'39.450; 4. Sofuoglu K. (TUR) Kawasaki ZX-6R 1'39.548; 5. Foret F. (FRA) Kawasaki ZX-6R 1'39.730; 6. Toth I. (HUN) Honda CBR600RR 1'40.040; 7. Morais S. (RSA) Kawasaki ZX-6R 1'40.090; 8. Leonov V. (RUS) Yamaha YZF R6 1'40.289; etc.
Superstock 1000
Sylvain Barrier (BMW Motorrad Italia Gold Bet) improved on his Friday best to take pole at Assen, as Team Pedercini Kawasaki rider Bryan Staring went second overall. Barrier's Italian team-mate Lorenzo Baroni was third, as he had been on day one, while Loris Baz (Kawasaki MRS) continued the front row symmetry of machines by putting a ZX-10R into fourth place. The first Ducati on the grid, in fifth, belongs to Barni Racing Team rider Eddi La Marra. Fabio Massei (EAB Ten Kate Junior Honda) added another machine to the top six mix on his CBR1000RR.
Times: 1. Barrier S. (FRA) BMW S1000 RR 1'39.566; 2. Staring B. (AUS) Kawasaki ZX-10R 1'39.873; 3. Baroni L. (ITA) BMW S1000 RR 1'39.888; 4. Baz L. (FRA) Kawasaki ZX-10R 1'40.201; 5. La Marra E. (ITA) Ducati 1199 Panigale 1'40.394; 6. Massei F. (ITA) Honda CBR1000RR 1'40.621; 7. Savadori L. (ITA) Ducati 1199 Panigale 1'40.759; 8. Bussolotti M. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 1'41.080; etc.
Three wide through Turn One for Race One's first start with Checa (7), Camier (2) and Biaggi (3)!
Guintoli and Rea share the wins amid the rain and another dramatic Assen raceday Race Day Sunday 22nd – Changeable weather conditions played a major part in proceedings during raceday at Assen, with the first race stopped and then re-run over only nine laps, and the second race bringing forth a variety of tyre choices on a damp initial track surface that saw the podium places change frequently. In race one Sylvain Guintoli (Effenbert-Liberty Ducati) took his first ever race win in SBK and the first for his team, while in race two a bad choice for 2011 champion Carlos Checa (Althea Racing Ducati) saw him out of the points. Honda World Superbike team rider Jonathan Rea took his first win of the year in the second full 22-lap race.
Max Biaggi (Aprilia Racing) now leads the championship with 92 points even though he was fourth and eighth today. Checa is second but only one point behind, while third ranked rider Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team) had to retire from race one, and dropped from a potential podium to sixth in race two, leaving him 13 points from the lead. The weekend crowd of 56,000 were treated to some incredible action, particularly in the abandoned part of the first race and again for the final podium spot in race two, when a photo finish was required to separate fourth and fifth place riders. A day of firsts and landmarks for the podium finishers saw Davide Giugliano (Althea Racing Ducati) take second in race one, ahead of Checa, and Eugene Laverty (Aprilia Racing Team) take his first Aprilia podium.
Sylvain and the great tasting Effenbert beer sponsored Ducati 1198RS
Race One: Guintoli / Effenbert Take their Fist Superbike Vistory as Rain Causes Crashes and a Restart
The first race got underway in dry conditions and Effenbert Ducati teammates Jakob Smrz and Sylvain Guintoli took to the lead. Checa made a good start and was Carlos fourth at the end of the first lap. Around lap ten it started to rain with all the riders on slick tires and afrer number of crashes, a red flag stopped the race on lap 12. A restart was required as the riders had only completed 12 of the planned 22 laps. In the second race, Carlos once again started from fifth while Giugliano got away from the tenth spot on the grid thanks to the work he’d done during the first ‘heat’. This time both Althea men had to face pouring rain and a cold wind. At the end of the first (of nine) laps, Checa was third, followed by Giugliano in fourth. Carlos then passed Badovini, taking command of the race when Haslam, ahead of him, crashed. In the final phase Carlos lost a little ground but, not wanting to take unnecessary risks, was satisfied with final third place. Davide meanwhile battled it out first with Laverty and then with Biaggi, projecting himself up into second position, a position that he held until the line to take his first ever Superbike podium, just behind race winner Guintoli and ahead of team-mate Checa.
Giugliano (34) fights Althea teammate Checa (7) for 2nd place as Biaggi (4)watches from 3rd4th..
An incredible first race, eventually run over nine wet laps, was won by Guintoli, a rider who has threatened to win a race on many previous occasions. His margin of advantage was 2.6 seconds, from a very determined rookie, last year's Superstock 1000 Champion Giugliano and his team-mate Checa. Their fight for the podium places was just one of many highlights in the wet race, after the first attempted contest had started out dry, but was halted when several leading riders fell as the rains came down. By regulation a whole new race was declared and the only influence the first leg finishing order had was to determine grid places for the ‘real’ second race. In fourth place in an all Aprilia racing battle, Max Biaggi beat Eugene Laverty. Early leader Leon Haslam (BMW Motorrad Motorsport) fell and no-scored.
Sylvain Guintoli: “We’ve been trying to catch that first victory for a while now. Since the start of the season we have showed that we have pace, but the results haven’t come. Finally I did it today. For me it’s a fantastic feeling, this race was crazy with a lot of crashes and I nearly crashed as well. It’s the first race since the accident to Joan and I want also to dedicate this win to him as well.”
Davide Giugliano: “It’s a very emotional moment because you don’t expect to get this result in your third race. We knew that Assen was a good circuit for us and we could get a good result. For sure the conditions were not great, but I was up front, a bit ‘lost’ even because I found myself up against guys I had only seen from a distance before now. “I’m very happy with how race 1 went of course as I didn’t really expect it today, after a very difficult weekend that has been conditioned by the weather from start to finish. It wasn’t easy of course and the bike was sliding around a lot even on the straight. Of course the conditions meant it was far from a relaxing race but, having said that, I felt fairly comfortable in the total wet after the restart. I had to fight against Carlos towards the end and that wasn’t easy, as I was worried that I would make a mistake that might affect Carlos’ race too but thankfully it all went well.”
Carlos Checa: “It was very exciting at the end, we needed to conserve the position and it was not easy. For us, considering all the conditions, it was crazy weather and a crazy weekend so ending with this position is quite good. Second and third is great for the team, I’m happy for Davide as well, he deserved the second position.”
Race Two Results: 1. Guintoli S. (FRA) Ducati 1098R 18'38.395; 2. Giugliano D. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 2.633; 3. Checa C. (ESP) Ducati 1098R 3.031; 4. Biaggi M. (ITA) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 3.927; 5. Laverty E. (IRL) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 4.374; 6. Fabrizio M. (ITA) BMW S1000 RR 11.359; 7. Smrz J. (CZE) Ducati 1098R 26.412; 8. Canepa N. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 37.562; 9. Melandri M. (ITA) BMW S1000 RR 49.896; 10. Mercado L. (ARG) Kawasaki ZX-10R 1'08.847; 11. Berger M. (FRA) Ducati 1098R 1'11.760; 12. Aoyama H. (JPN) Honda CBR1000RR 1'13.988; 13. Salom D. (ESP) Kawasaki ZX-10R 1'27.019; 14. Zanetti L. (ITA) Ducati 1098R; 15. Aitchison M. (AUS) BMW S1000 RR; etc.
Rea takes the lead from First Race winner Guintoli as they head for the checkered flag in Race Two.
Race Two: A Rea / Ten Kate Honda Homecoming, Stupid Tire Choice Costs Checa the Points lead
Race 2 was declared ‘wet’ due to a damp track. A great ride from Jonthan Rea saw him overcome the pain of a hand injury suffered earlier in the day to win his first race of the year, at his team’s home track. He also scored the first win for Honda in 2012. Race one winner Guintoli was second, after passed early race lead and team-mate Jakub Smrz who dropped back from his long-time lead after choosing a wet front tyre that went off as the track dried. Then just two laps from the finsihed it was Rea who reeled in Suintoli for the win. Smrz eventually crashed while trying to pass a lapped rider.
Carlos decided to go out on a rain tyre, believing that it might come on to rain soon after but unfortunately it proved to be the wrong decision, and meant that he had to return to the garage after one lap to change the tyre. Carlos returned to the track in last position. Davide made a good start and lay in fourteenth place at the end of the first lap. He then passed first Hopkins and then Biaggi, moving up to eighth by mid-race. In the final stages the young Althea rider battled it out with both Biaggi and Badovini and closed the race in final ninth place, gaining another six championship points. Carlos was unfortunately unable to catch those ahead of him, despite a very fast pace (he recorded the fastest lap of the race – 1m38.092 - on the sixteenth lap); he closed race 2 in seventeenth position.
The battle for third went to Eugene Laverty (Aprilia Racing), his first podium of 2012. An all BMW battle right behind saw Melandri beat Haslam (the latter regretting using a front wet tyre) over the line by only 0.002 seconds.
Reigning Champ and Championship points leader Checa was the only rider to have gambled on installing full rain tires, front and rear, as the bikes grided for the start of the race on an obviously drying track. Carlos should have returned to the pits immediately and changed tires, necessitating a start of pit lane, but instead he started the race and quickly found himself nearly a quarter lap lap behind after 3 laps when he did pull in to change his wheels, returning to the track nearly a lap behind and he ended up 17th - just out of the points.
"I made a mistake and take full responsibility for it, saif Checa afterwards. "I chose to go out on a rain tyre as I though rain would come but I was wrong. I’m sorry I didn’t come straight back in to change it during the warm-up lap as, that way, I would have probably been able to close in the top ten but instead I waited and by then it was too late to be able to catch up. We turn the page and look ahead.”
After three rounds, Carlos lies in second position in the general standings with 91 points, one point behind leader Biaggi. Thanks to today’s results Giugliano moves up from seventeenth to tenth position with 37 points. Ducati continues to lead the manufacturer’s championship with 136 points to Aprilia’s 100.
Jonathan Rea: “It’s a great result for me, my team and bike. A big thanks to all the guys back in Nieuwleusen for their continued hard work. I have to get my finger stitched up right now after my race 1 crash, I’ve been using local anaesthetic for this race, but on a more serious note this win is also just to let Joan Lascorz know that we’re all thinking of you.”
Sylvain Guintoli: “For sure it’s a great weekend for us, again we started well. I thought I had the double, it was going well and I could control the gap. Then Johnny had a little extra and I was struggling and couldn’t follow. It feels really good and I think I could get used to these results!”
Eugene Laverty: “That was good to get on the podium, and a bit of a bonus because I thought I was in fourth position and somebody dropped out of the top three. It’s something to build on for the future, it’s been a tough start to the year. We worked hard this weekend, with limited dry track time we made good progress from race 1 to race 2 so I’m happy”.
Race Two Results: 1. Rea J. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 36'45.936; 2. Guintoli S. (FRA) Ducati 1098R 2.819; 3. Laverty E. (IRL) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 12.638; 4. Melandri M. (ITA) BMW S1000 RR 12.762; 5. Haslam L. (GBR) BMW S1000 RR 12.764; 6. Sykes T. (GBR) Kawasaki ZX-10R 20.393; 7. Badovini A. (ITA) BMW S1000 RR 36.317; 8. Biaggi M. (ITA) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 37.747; 9. Giugliano D. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 41.350; 10. Fabrizio M. (ITA) BMW S1000 RR 43.930; 11. Hopkins J. (USA) Suzuki GSX-R1000 57.515; 12. Salom D. (ESP) Kawasaki ZX-10R 1'32.593; 13. Aoyama H. (JPN) Honda CBR1000RR 1'33.576; 14. Camier L. (GBR) Suzuki GSX-R1000; 15. Mercado L. (ARG) Kawasaki ZX-10R; 16. Aitchison M. (AUS) BMW S1000 RR; etc.
World Supersport 600 first Honda ride nets Lorenzi Lanzi the Win
Lorenzo Lanzi (PRORACE Honda) took his and Honda’s first race win of the 2012 season in his first ever Honda Supersport ride. In fully wet conditions, Lanzi moved up to the lead and pulled away, lapping everyone up to 12th place. Kenan Sofuoglu (Kawasaki DeltaFin Lorenzini) was second, some 12 seconds behind Lanzi, with the first ever Russian rider to take a Supersport podium, Vladimir Leonov (Yakhnich Racing Yamaha) third. Broc Parkes (Ten Kate Honda Racing Products) was fourth, and Triumph rider Alex Baldolini (Power Team by Suriano) fifth - placing four different manufacturers inside the top five places. With many of his rivals crashing out, Sofuoglu shares the championship lead of 45 points with non-finisher Fabien Foret (Kawasaki Intermoto Step). Third on an unchanged 31 points is Sam Lowes (Bogdanka PTR Honda) who fell while leading today. Results: 1. Lanzi L. (ITA) Honda CBR600RR 42'56.376; 2. Sofuoglu K. (TUR) Kawasaki ZX-6R 12.054; 3. Leonov V. (RUS) Yamaha YZF R6 14.460; 4. Parkes B. (AUS) Honda CBR600RR 23.884; 5. Baldolini A. (ITA) Triumph Daytona 675 47.063; 6. Cluzel J. (FRA) Honda CBR600RR 49.755; 7. Antonelli A. (ITA) Honda CBR600RR 53.850; 8. Van Poppel T. (NED) Yamaha YZF R6 1'42.505; etc.
European Superstock 1000to Sylvain Barrier / BMW Italy
Sylvain Barrier (BMW Motorrad Italia GoldBet) won a tricky Superstock contest held in cold but mostly dry conditions, which was eventually red-flagged due to oil on the track. The intended 13 lap race distance therefore became eight. It was Barrier's second win of the year, after his victory at Imola. Team-mates Lorenzo Savadori (Barni Racing Team Italia) and Eddi La Marra (Barni Racing Team Italia) took their Panigale machines to second and third respectively, close behind the French rider. Loris Baz (MRS Kawasaki) went fourth in race during which some big names were forced out by falls or technical issues.
Results: 1. Barrier S. (FRA) BMW S1000 RR 13'34.645; 2. Savadori L. (ITA) Ducati 1199 Panigale 0.732; 3. La Marra E. (ITA) Ducati 1199 Panigale 0.823; 4. Reiterberger M. (GER) BMW S1000 RR 3.962; 5. Baroni L. (ITA) BMW S1000 RR 4.264; 6. Baz L. (FRA) Kawasaki ZX-10R 8.525; 7. Guarnoni J. (FRA) Kawasaki ZX-10R 10.834; 8. Bergman C. (SWE) Kawasaki ZX-10R 11.402; etc.
Taylor keeps being Reckless!
Thank God she finally turned 18 years old and we can legally think about doing nasty things with her! Our favorite beautiful rock goddess, actress Taylor Momsen / The Pretty Reckless really rocked our world at the Hollywood House of Blues last month during her latest sold-out tour. We were pretty excited to hang with Taylor after the show and get a big hug from one of the most beautiful women in the world. Her voice and her music are pretty incredible too. And always one to create a little controversey, Taylor had her new girlfriend, porn star Jenna Haze came on stage in the middel of the show, feel up Taylors breasts and crotch, then go down on her in mock oral sex (the pictues are on my Facebook page if you don't believe it). - Jim Gianatsis
Here's a brand new video from The Pretty Reckless' current album Light My Fire which you can purchase here. And they have two new songs available oniTunes from their new 2nd album due to be released in a few months. Check this out....
SBK's Paolo Ciabatti and Christina Siani organization manager welcomed Simon Crafer and Neil Hodgsonat Assen for induction into the SBK Hall of Fame.
Neil Hodgson, Simon CraferInducted into SBK Hall of Fame
As part of the celebrations for the 25th anniversary of the Superbike World Championship, two British legends of the category, Simon Crafer and neil Hodgson, were welcomed into the SBK Hall of Fame at Imola. The ceremony took place in parc fermé on Sunday just before the start of race 2, when both riders received medals from Paolo Flammini (CEO Infront Motor Sports).
Yamaha Prototype Adventure Scooter
April 15th - Pictured here is a design concept from Yamaha Motor Thailand from the 2012 Bangkok International Motor Show. The camo-painted scooter is based on the Yamaha TTX 115i scooter which was officially presented at the show. Besides the desert camo makeover, the Yamaha TTX Adventure gets hand guards, hard luggage, stubby tires, protective brush bars, a center cockpit brace, dual piggyback shocks, additional lighting and an even more aggressive-looking front “beak” fender. Further details are scarce but the Yamaha TTX 115i and it may only be just a design exercise and not due for production. But we'd rathdr ride one of these around the farm, anound town or through the pits (with street tires) than an ATV any day.
Mr T Bayliss likes it!
World Press Launch Track Ride Ducati 1199S Panigale Superbike
Excerpted from the upcoming new book The Ducati Corse World Superbikes by Alan Cathcart and Jim Gianatsis
Bottom line first. After spending a complete day riding Ducati’s radical new 1199 Panigale around the sun-drenched 5.50km Yas Marina Formula 1 circuit in Abu Dhabi – the venue for the world press launch, and a sort of modern Arabian version of the Monaco GP track, lined by six-star hotels and glitzy high-rises, as well as guard rails and concrete walls protected for us by airfence – it’s hard not to conclude the Italian manufacturer hasn’t only reinvented the twin-cylinder motorcycle by endowing it with technology worthy of a MotoGP bike, it’s also gone and shot everything else in the sportbike marketplace clean out of the water. This is the new benchmark for the Superbike category. Forza Italia! Continued....
Ducati Panigale 1199 Superbike premiers at
USA Ducati Dealers April 27th & 28th
The most anticipated Superbike of our time is finally arriving in America. The Ducati 1199 Panigale National Dealership Premiere is April 27 and 28th. To discover your nearest participating
Ducati Dealer visit: http://www.ducatiusa.com
We will be checking out the new Panigale and partying the night away with our favorite Ducati dealer, Southern California Motorcycles (at left), on Friday evening April 27th. Send them your RSVP and they'll make sure to have enough champaign, cavier and grid girls there to help you with your purchase of the most revolutiony and advanced Superbike ever!
Former Best ofr Show winner Shinya Kimura/ ChabottEngineering.com will be premier his newest custom builds like this MV Agusta cafe racer at the 2012 LA Calendar Motorccyle Show on July 22nd
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Max Biaggi retakes SBK Championship Points Lead at Assen
First Podium astride Aprilia for Laverty
Assen, 22 April 2012 – The Assen round Sunday will be long remembered for the continuous pendulum of emotions, both because of the uncertain weather and the great show on the track. The Aprilia Racing Team confirmed itself as a key player in spite of the difficulties Max Biaggi and Eugene Laverty faced throughout the weekend. The Northern Irish rider's rostrum finish in Race 2 ended a day which returns the championship's first place position to Biaggi, even if only by one point.
The first thing to note about race one is that it was red flagged due to rain with nine laps to go. After returning to the pits to put on the softer tyres for the wet, the riders lined up for a new start in the driving rain. Max and Eugene immediately demonstrated excellent pace in truly difficult grip and visibility conditions. Biaggi and Laverty rode past the chequered flag respectively in fourth and fifth place.
Race 2, on the other hand, started with no rain and quickly drying asphalt, so much that almost all the riders chose full slicks directly from the starting grid. Max, starting from the fifth row, was able to earn twelfth place within the first three laps, taking advantage of some mistakes made by the forerunners to end the race in eighth place. Eugene's race was a battle of the top 5 with overtaking and fast laps galore. The rider from Northern Ireland skilfully managed a difficult race and flew to his first podium (third place) under the Aprilia Racing colours.
Checa's seventeenth place in Race 2 returned the championship lead spot to Max Biaggi, albeit only one point in front of the Spaniard. The Aprilia Racing Team is also at the top of the team standings
American Hopkins Battles to Season Best at Assen SBK
Team Suzuki Press Office -, April 22 -Crescent FIXI Suzuki's John Hopkins battled changeable weather, red flags, crashes and treacherous racing conditions at today's third round of the World Superbike Championship at Assen in The Netherlands to record his best finish of the season so far.
Hopkins and the rest of the field had to make a difficult choice at the start of the second race as a damp, but drying track was declared wet for the race - so tyre selection was an important factor. Hopkins and his crew made a decision to use the intermediate tyres in the unpredictable conditions, but unfortunately the track started to dry quickly and the threatened rain never materialised, leaving Hopkins to battle on with a lack of feel and confidence in the tyres and try to get the best result possible. He brought his machine home in 11th place to take his best result so far this season and obtain valuable data for the team to work on.
In the first race Hopkins was well placed to battle for a top-six finish as the race reached just over half-way distance, but a sudden and torrential rainstorm caused the race to be red-flagged. The re-started race was a nine-lap contest in the treacherous conditions and Hopkins was one of many casualties as he slid off his Crescent FIXI Yoshimura-powered GSX-R1000 after only one lap. Fortunately he was uninjured and was able to take his place in the second race.
Team-mate Leon Camier had to pit in the initial race due to tyre degradation and in the re-run second part of the race he was a victim of the conditions and crashed on the sighting lap and was unable to make the re-start. Luckily he didn't cause any further damage to himself on top of the injuries he received from yesterday's huge crash in practice. The second race was less eventful for Camier, as he too chose the intermediate tyres and was also unable to put them to good use. He safely made his way to the finish without too many incidents to claim some valuable championship points and will now aim to get himself fully fit for the next event.
Today's first race was won by Frenchman Sylvain Guintoli on a Ducati, with victory in the second event going to Jonathan Rea onboard his Factory Honda, despite the British rider sustaining a severe finger injury after crashing in the first race. Max Biaggi took over at the head of the Championship standings after former leader Carlos Checa failed to score in the second race.
Crescent FIXI Suzuki will next be in action in Italy when the World Superbike paddock heads to Monza for the fourth round of the season on Sunday May 6th.
John Hopkins - Race 1: DNF, Race 2: 11th - "The conditions today were very difficult for all of us. I got a decent start in race one, but got bottled in at the first turn and lost a few positions. I began to make my way back up the field and was just getting in touch with the back of the lead group when the rain fell and the race was stopped. Up until then, I had settled into a good rhythm and was feeling confident at the thought of mixing it with the leaders. When the race began again in the wet, I just had no grip at all and, like many others, slipped off on the soaking track. We basically made the wrong decision regarding tyre choice for race two and suffered because of that. It was a gamble that didn't work and I was sliding around, both front and rear, but was determined to bring the bike home and get some points."
Leon Camier - Race 1: DNF, Race 2: 14th - For race one, our settings were a bit of a gamble and my tyre was shredded by nine laps. The race was then stopped a few laps later and we all went on full wets. I have no idea why I crashed on the warm-up lap because I was hardly touching the throttle. One minute I was OK and the next minute I was on my backside. We didn't know what tyres to use for race two because although the track was mostly dry, the clouds seemed to be on their way again. I wasn't feeling too confident, so went for what seemed the safe choice - intermediates - but our choice didn't work out because the track dried. The guys on slicks could lap so much quicker and I couldn't do anything about it. All I could do was ride as best I could, not crash and get to the finish line."
Jack Valentine - Team Manager:- "Today was a really tough day at the office, not helped by not having a good wet weather set-up. We never had big grip issues in the wet last year in BSB, but we were definitely missing mechanical grip here today and that's a shame because both John and Leon usually go well in the wet. We made some changes to the bikes for race two but the track dried and our plans went out of the window. Both riders were a bit low on confidence after their earlier crashes so we went for the safe option of intermediate tyres. If we'd chosen slicks, the story might have been very different, but we weren't the only ones to get caught out.
"On a positive note, both John and Leon are happy with the chassis in dry conditions and the recent engine improvements by Yoshimura are definitely heading in the right direction. I'm also happy that John and Leon both brought their bikes home in the second race. It wasn't easy but they knuckled down, crossed the finish line and scored some points."
The Official SBK
2011-2012 Yearbook These SBK Yearbooks are the Best Books Ever about World Superbike
They feature wesome color photography of the riders, bike and racing action. The feature a deailed revue of the past season in pictures and stactics, awith a detailed look at the bikes and riders.
Plus a technical look data all the bikes, a preview of the upcoming season's Championship!
We buy this every year ourselves and highly recommend it!
SBK World Superbike Video Game
Lascorz remains in Intensive Care after
Imola SBK crash
April 12th - Joan Lascorz is still being kept in the Intensive Care unit at the Vall d'Hebron Hospital in Barcelona. The Spanish rider was the victim of a serious crash during official testing at Imola on April 2 in which he suffered damage to the C6 vertebra, leading to a lengthy and delicate operation to reposition his spine at Bologna's Maggiore Hospital. Lascorz was then transferred back home to Spain.
With doctors still evaluating the situation regarding the possibility of Lascorz recovering his mobility, a press release was issued by the Provec Racing team yesterday, saying that vital support systems would be removed today to allow the Spanish rider to breathe autonomously.
As reported in the official note, "Lascorz is starting to wake up". Soon the doctors will carry out an appraisal of the situation on a muscular level to get a better understanding of the rider's condition and to be able to plan his ‘short and medium term' recovery programme.
Meet 2012 Calendar Kitten
Sara Balint
The Devil Made Us Do It! Testing the Ducati Diavel in Italy
Sudco High Performance & OEM Replacement Parts
High Speed - the Movie The best motorcycle racing movie ever made! Filmed on location at the World Superbike races , this an exciting romantic drama staring beautiful British actress Sienna Miller.
LANZI TAKES FIRST HONDA WIN IN ATROCIOUS CONDITIONS
Lorenzo Lanzi (PRORACE Honda) won a rain-affected 21-lap Supersport 600cc World Championship race at Assen in his first race for Honda in this class; from a lowly start position of 21st. This was the first win for a CBR600RR rider in 2012.
Lanzi, a former SBK race winner and Ducati Supersport rider, was only drafted into the PRORACE team shortly before the start of race weekend, but made his CBR600RR debut in peerless style, splashing his way through changeable, but constantly wet track conditions to pick off the top riders one by one. He won by a remarkable 12.054 seconds in the end, and is now sixth overall with his 25 points for the win. Lanzi's pace in the wet was such that he lapped everybody up to 12th place.
Pole man Sam Lowes (Bogdanka PTR Honda) had led the race from a while, but fell while well clear of the chasing pack, finding a slippery patch of tarmac under braking which caused the rear end of his bike to come round on him. He restarted, but with bent control levers and handlebars he was to fall again and then retire.
Such was the unpredictable nature of the Assen race weekend for many other top competitors that Lowes is still third overall and only 14 points from the lead, which is shared between Kawasaki riders Kenan Sofuoglu and Fabien Foret.
Broc Parkes (Ten Kate Racing Products Honda) also led the race on the opening lap, but had to drop back as the conditions changed through the race. He was to finish fourth, having started second on the grid, and was happy in the end result to score points after missing out at the previous round. He is now fourth, only two points behind Lowes.
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AMA Pro Roadracing
Black Young / Suzuki Wins Saturday Superbike
BRASELTON, Ga. (April 21, 2012) - Blake Young scored one of the more improbable and remarkable victories in AMA Pro National Guard SuperBike history on Saturday at Road Atlanta in the opening half of the Triumph Big Kahuna Atlanta presented by Dunlop Tire and LeoVince.
The opening 13 laps of the battle went exactly to script; title rivals Josh Hayes on the Monster Energy Graves Yamaha YZF-R1 and Young aboard the Yoshimura Racing Suzuki GSX-R1000 made a rapid escape from the field and once again settled in for what seemed likely to be a race-long showdown to the checkered flag.
Young sat in Hayes' tow for much of the race's first half before making his move on lap 10 of 20. The two then engaged in repeated duels entering Turn 10a and heading down the hill to Turn 12 with the lap leader point still up for grabs.
Young was able to enter 10a on either the inside or outside with success, but Hayes proved capable of countering by swinging back under to out-accelerate Young heading down the hill in order to reclaim the advantage.
The two did precisely that on lap 13 but disaster struck during the lap-14 encore. The leaders came together heading down the hill as Hayes overtook Young; the Wisconsin native was slammed down to the pavement as their bikes got hung up together with Young's front wheel in the air. Blake's year-plus streak without a crash was ended in an instant, along with his title hopes -- or so it seemed.
A red flag was immediately thrown as the Suzuki star rolled around in obvious pain. However, Young gritted it out, refused medical attention, and limped back to his fallen machine and rode it back into the pitlane to prepare for the restart. At the same time Hayes stopped and waited to check on his rival's condition.
Forced to regrid at the very back of the field, Young somehow sliced his way up to fourth by the completion of the opening lap of the restart. The fall didn't temper Young's aggressiveness in the least -- if anything, he was only more determined. He quickly ripped past National Guard Jordan Suzuki's Roger Hayden and Hayes' teammate (and two-time holeshot winner), Josh Herrin, to glue himself right back on his nemesis' rear wheel.
Young and Hayes resumed their earlier heavyweight tilt, trading inside and outside overtakings to the final lap. The Suzuki pilot made a slingshot maneuver into the lead on the backstraight and then heavily defended through the chicane and down the hill.
Hayes made a last-gasp attempt up the inside of the race's final corner, but Young squared him up and leapt back past as they accelerated to the stripe, winning by 0.293-seconds at the checkered flag. Herrin and Hayden did an admirable job to stick with the leading duo in the post-red flag sprint. Rookie Herrin ultimately scored the first SuperBike podium of his career, finishing less than a second behind the win.
"At the first start I just didn't have the pace to race with Josh and Blake -- they were riding really good," Herrin admitted. "When the red flag came out, it gave me a second chance and I decided to take advantage of it. I felt really good going back out and just gave it everything I had. I didn't give up at all. I was hoping for (the win). It didn't come but I got on the podium, which was my main goal for the weekend."
Hayden came home in fourth while Team Amsoil/Hero EBR's Geoff May picked up an impressive top-five at his home circuit.
Chris Fillmore (KTM/HMC) finished in sixth, with Steve Rapp (Attack Performance Kawasaki), Ben Bostrom (Jordan Suzuki), Chris Clark (Yoshimura Racing Suzuki) and Danny Eslick (Team Hero EBR) rounding out the top ten.
Josh Hayes / Yamaha Recovers to taken Sundays Superbike Win
Braselton Ga. (April 22, 2012) - Reigning AMA Pro National Guard SuperBike Champion Josh Hayes responded to rival Blake Young's shocking Saturday victory with a Road Atlanta triumph of his own to conclude the Triumph Big Kahuna Atlanta presented by Dunlop Tire and LeoVince.
While Young's wins are almost always taken in dramatic fashion (and none more so than yesterday's), Hayes' more often come in the form of domination.
The Monster Energy Graves Yamaha star imposed his will on the field on Sunday early, breaking the Yoshimura Racing Suzuki pilot's pursuit with a string of blisteringly quick laps while still in the race's developing stages. Hayes pushed his No. 1 Yamaha YZF-R1 around the 2.55-mile circuit with a string of laps faster than his pole time, including a 1:24.922, which stood as nearly a half-second better than his qualifying best.
Hayes worked his advantage up at a clip around a half-second per lap during the stretch, ultimately pushing his margin of victory to 5.214 seconds in the one-sided affair.
After scoring Yamaha's first-ever AMA Pro National Guard SuperBike victory at Road Atlanta, the weekend's 'Big Kahuna' said, "I'm excited about it. This has always been a pretty good track for me and I've always had pretty good speed here. I'm glad to be able to put one together this afternoon and put some good strong laps down.
"Yesterday's race was the first time we came in and did a good debrief and tried to make some improvements. This morning I rode the bike and thought it was the right direction to go. We decided to stick with it for the race and we were able to put down some good laps.
"It's not how I expected the race to go -- I expected a race a lot like yesterday. It's a lot easier on my ticker to be able to get away a little bit and ride by myself."
Young was pulled free of the remainder of the group in his early chase of Hayes and rode a lonely race from there. He did his best to stay in touch with his title rival and was rewarded with a second-placed points haul in the end. The result was a relatively welcome one considering Young's Sunday chances came under threat when he felt something wrong with his racebike on the warm-up lap.
"I was a little bit sore when I woke up this morning, but I got warmed up and stretched out and felt pretty good by the time I got on the bike this morning," Young said. "I was ready for the race but we had a little bit of drama with the bike when I rolled out. I had to come in and get the other bike and was just happy they let me grid up in the second spot this time instead of putting me on the back row.
"I found it a little difficult to settle in and it just took a minute for Josh to click off some quick laps and get his gap. There wasn't much I could really do with it then."
A spirited battle raged behind to decide the final podium position. Hayes' Monster Energy Graves Yamaha teammate, Josh Herrin, held down third pretty much throughout the 20-lap content, but never with any significant breathing space as he felt the constant pressure of National Guard Jordan Suzuki's Roger Hayden.
Hayden made an attempt on the brakes entering Turn 10 at the end of the back straight on the penultimate lap, but Herrin held strong and solidified third as he came out on top of a side-by-side swing through the chicane.
"I didn't see Roger until the second-to-last lap in Turn 10," Herrin said. "That gave me a little boost for the last lap because I knew he was right there. It was a really good race -- I had fun just keeping Josh and Blake in my sights for the first seven laps or so. That felt good. I'll go home and work on my strength -- I just need to be a little stronger to throw these bikes around."
Another showdown decided fifth. A big pack of riders aboard varied machinery contested the spot with Larry Pegram narrowly laying claim to it aboard the Foremost Insurance Pegram Racing BMW S1000RR. The National Guard SuperBike vet finished fractions of a second ahead of RidersDiscount.com/Vesrah Suzuki's Taylor Knapp, KTM/HMC's Chris Fillmore, and Attack Performance Kawasaki's Steve Rapp.
AMA Pro GoPro Daytona SportBike
Former series champion Martin Cardenas won his first AMA Pro GoPro Daytona SportBike contest of the year on Saturday. The GEICO Suzuki rider set pole and ran away with the 20-lap race, although it was not without two drama-filled moments he experienced while riding alone. The second near-miss saw Cardenas, then with a five-second lead, run through the grass to keep from crashing. The Colombian quickly regrouped and set his quick lap of the race the following time around, though.
"It was enough to win this race. I thought it was going to be a big battle like always," said Cardenas, surprised to have run much of the race by himself.
Dane Westby earned second with a brilliant ride. Westby, on board the M4 Broaster Chicken Suzuki, got a poor start and charged through the top 10 to second place. The Oklahoman's race was reminiscent of his Mid-Ohio victory last season as he continued to gain momentum throughout.
Tommy Hayden earned third in his substitute ride on the Y.E.S. Graves Yamaha. Hayden had a race-long battle with Benny Solis (Riders Discount Vesrah Suzuki) who crashed at turn 10 on the penultimate lap. Jake Zemke, riding for the local Ducshop Ducati team, followed. Cory West (Riders Discount Vesrah Suzuki) was solid on his way to fifth place, ahead of former AMA Pro GoPro Daytona SportBike race-winner Bobby Fong (Meen Motorsports) and Huntley Nash in his best ever GoPro Daytona SportBike result for LTD Racing.
DAYTONA® 200 Winner Joey Pascarella earned eighth in his first race for SGA Racing. J.D.Beach was ninth for RoadRace Factory/Red Bull and Michael Beck (Full Tuck Racing) rounded out the top 10.
Jim Gianatsis Editorial Director
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Past Season News, Races and Feature Stories are Indexed
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2012 RACE CALENDAR
and EVENT COVERAGE
2012 World Superbike Season Preview DATE/REPORT TRACK LINK Feb 26 Phillip Island AUS April 1Italy Imola
April 22 Assen Netherlands
May 6 Italy Monza
May 13 Donnington, GB
May 28 Miller USA
June 10 Misano San Marino
July 1 Motorland Aragon SP
July 22 Brno Czech Republic
Aug 5 Silverstone GB
Aug 26 Moscow Raceway RF
Sept 9 Nurburgring Germany
Sept 23 Portimao Portugal
Oct 7 Magny Cours France
All Rounds include Superbike and 600cc Superstock except Miller USA is Superbike only
European rounds also Include 1000cc Superstock
exception Donnington
2012 MotoGP DATE/REPORT TRACK LINK Apr 8 - Qatar – Doha Losail
April 29 - Spain, Jerez Frontera
May 6 - Portugal, Estoril
May 20 - France, Le Mans
June 3 - Catalunya, Catalunya
June 17 - UK, Silverstone
June 30 - Netherlands, Assen (Saturday Race)
July 8 - Germany,Sachsenring
July 15 - Italy, Mugello
July 29 - USA, Laguna Seca (Only MotoGP class)
Aug 19 - USA, Indianapolis
Aug 26 - Czech Rep, Brno
Sept 16 - SanMarino Misano
Sept 30 - Aragon Motorland
Oct 14 - Japan, Motegi
Oct 21 - Malaysia, Sepang
Oct 28 - Australia, Phillip Is
Nov 11- Valencia, Ricardo
2012 AMA Superbike DATE/REPORT TRACK LINK Mar 15-17 Daytona FL
May 4-6 Infineon CA
Apr 20-22 Road Atlanta, GA
May 25-28 Miller Mtrsports UT
June 1-2 Road America WI
June 22-24 Bartber, AL
July 13-15 Mid-Ohios
July 27-29 Laguna Seca CA
Sept 7-9 New Jersey MSports
Sept 21-23 Homestead-Miami
Oct 5 - 7 NOLA Motorsports Park, New Orleans
2012 British Superbike Click Date for Race Report DATE/REPORT TRACK LINK
April 6-9 Brands Hatch Indy
Apr 13-15 Thruxton May 5-7 Oulton Park May 25-27 Snetterton
June 22-24 Knockhill
July 01-03 Snetterton
July 6-8 Oulton Park
July 20-22 Brands Hatch GP
Aug 25-27 Cadwell Park
Sept 7-9 Donnington Park
Sept 21-23 Assen
Sept 28-30 Silverstone GP
Oct 12-14 Brands Hatch GP
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Fourth Annual The Quail Motorcycle Gathering To Feature Marty Dickerson’s ‘Blue Bike’ and Dan Gurney’s ‘Alligator Bike’
CARMEL, CA – February 23, 2012 – (Motor Sports Newswire) - Quail Lodge Golf Club announced today that two iconic motorcycles, Marty Dickerson’s “Blue Bike” and Dan Gurney’s “Alligator Bike,” will be on display at the fourth annual The Quail Motorcycle Gathering, taking place on Saturday, May 5, 2012, at Quail Lodge Golf Club in Carmel, Calif. This year, the day-long event will pay tribute to the Evolution of the Motorcycle, featuring Indian Motorcycles, while also showcasing legendary motorcycles from the past, present and concepts for the future.
The Quail Motorcycle Gathering, a celebration of motorcycling heritage and performance, will offer attendees a rare opportunity to view the world’s finest pre- and post-war sports and racing bikes as well as the latest products from leading motorcycle manufacturers, dealerships, accessories and lifestyle brands. For the first time, The Quail Motorcycle Gathering will feature a Superbike Class that will highlight famous GP racers of the past and present, paying tribute to the history of the motorcycle and celebrating innovative designs. The event will also feature bikes in classic Concours Classes. Complementing the extensive showcase of bikes will be an All-American barbeque picnic lunch and live musical entertainment that’s fun for the entire family.
“We are thrilled to continue our tradition of bringing collectors and enthusiasts from around the world together in Carmel for a day-long celebration of some of the most iconic and innovative motorcycles in history,” said Gordon McCall, cofounder of The Quail. “With The Quail Motorcycle Gathering, we’re able to not only showcase legendary motorcycles of the past, but also spotlight new motorcycle designs and engineering innovations. For motorcycle lovers, it will be a feast for the eyes.”
Featured motorcycles include:
Marty Dickerson’s 1948 Vincent Rapide Racer (known as The Blue Bike) – An integral part of a lengthy chapter of Speed Week history at the Bonneville Salt Flats, this iconic Bonneville record-breaker is a stunning piece of motorcycling history that is claimed to be in “as last raced” condition, with all timekeepers’ seals intact.
Dan Gurney’s All American Racers Gurney Alligator Motorcycle – The legendary race car driver and builder’s revolutionary Alligator design is a highly innovative concept that features a low center of gravity and feet-forward design for more than conventional stability.
To kick off The Quail Motorcycle Gathering, guests are invited to hit the road with their fellow enthusiasts and join in The Quail Ride on Friday, May 4, 2012. Limited to 70 participants, the one-day ride will wind through 100 miles of Carmel and Salinas Valley back roads and conclude with a private dinner. The fee to participate in The Quail Ride is $295 per rider, and includes a gift bag, lunch, parade laps at the legendary Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, and admission to an intimate dinner reception featuring special guest speakers. Ride participants will also receive a ticket to The Quail Motorcycle Gathering and an invitation to display their motorcycle as an entrant.
Tickets to The Quail Motorcycle Gathering are $65 per person, $15 for children 12 and under, and include lunch and live musical entertainment. To purchase event tickets, visit www.quaillodgetickets.com.
Edelweiss High Alpine Motorcycle Tour NARROW TWISTIES AND HAIRPIN TURNS ARE SOME FEATURES OF THIS HIGH ALPINE MOTORCYCLE TOUR.
If you’re looking for a one week get-away to the most demanding roads in the Alps, this motorcycle tour is made for you! Experience the excitement of serpentine roads, mammoth mountains, and Alpine, Disney-like villages on the roads between Munich, Germany and the Grossglockner Pass in Austria!
A session of Alps Riding Training will acquaint you with traffic rules and how best to negotiate those hairpin turns. On our first day of our motorcycle tour we ride from Munich to the Grossglockner Pass where we contend with our first switchbacks. Jagged rock formations that soar to the sky are framed by twisting, well-maintained roads, that you can see for miles while climbing the next pass. Our second day brings you to a riding loop through the Dolomites, a region in the Italian Alps noted for its spectacular scenery.
Day three delivers the road you’ve come to Europe to ride: Stilfser Joch/Passo di Stelvio. Often referred to by European motorcyclists as “the Mother Road,” this pass has 39 switchbacks on one side and 48 on the other! Set your own pace with your new found friends on this tour. Sweeping through three countries; Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Austria, the next day’s ride will thrill you with its spectacular views and a fabulous Edelweiss picnic, served in a beautiful area surrounded by the soaring peaks of the Alps. On your last riding day, you visit Neuschwanstein, the fairy tale castle of King Ludwig. This week goes by quickly, but the memories will stay with you for a lifetime! DETAILS HERE
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