Motourage

The third round of the 2010 MotoGP World Championship will see Rizla Suzuki riders Loris Capirossi and Álvaro Bautista competing at the famous Le Mans circuit in France this weekend.

Following the floodlit extravaganza of Qatar and the hedonistic atmosphere of Jerez, the MotoGP cavalcade now heads to one of the most heritage-laden tracks on any motor-racing calendar. The 4,185m Bugatti circuit that is used for MotoGP was completed in 1966 and uses a part of the world-famous Circuit de la Sarthe that has hosted the 24-hour race since 1923. The twisty layout of the circuit is in complete contrast to an incredibly fast first turn that is taken almost flat-out in top-gear. The French GP is always a colorful and lively affair with as many events happening off-track as there are on.

Capirossi and Bautista have both had limited success at Le Mans and will be looking to make amends for that this weekend. Capirossi was on the podium at the French circuit in 2006, and has never finished outside the top 10 in a completed race there. Bautista has never scored a podium finish at Le Mans – the only track on the calendar that he has raced at where he has failed to achieve such a feat.

Bautista will hopefully be fit enough to race at Le Mans on Sunday despite breaking his clavicle bone in a training accident last week. He underwent a successful hour-long operation and his surgeons have given him the all-clear to compete in France.

Rizla Suzuki takes to the track on Friday, May 21 for the first free practice session of the weekend. This will be followed by a second session on Saturday morning, with an hour of qualifying in the afternoon. Sunday’s 28-lap race will get underway at 1400hrs local time.

Álvaro Bautista:
“It seems like it has been a long time between the Jerez race and now and I want to get going again. Unfortunately for me I had a small accident last week and broke a bone in my shoulder. It has been repaired and although it is quite painful I am totally focused on the weekend ahead. Le Mans is not one of my favorite tracks and it is the only one that I have not had a podium at, so it would be great to change that as soon as possible. I was on pole there in 2009, but only finished fourth, so I need to try and break that record. I was 10th at Jerez and although I was top rookie I still want to do better. I didn’t get a very good start in Spain and I have to work on that, I did some practice in the test so I hope I will be able to improve in time for the race. Anyway, these are details – the most important thing is just to ride the bike, I will do my best.”

Loris Capirossi:
“I really need to get on track again as it seems like the season is yet to get going, it’s amazing to think we’re almost in June and we’ve only done two races. With such little action it is difficult to judge where we are at the moment, but the one-day test after the last race in Jerez was very good for us and we made some positive steps. Le Mans is always a gamble because you never know what weather to expect – we have heard it should be good but you can’t always guarantee that so we will need to be ready for anything. On thing is for sure, I am ready to get back to work and excited about the prospects we have ahead – and I hope Alvaro is ready to ride, he is improving all the time and we need two strong riders.”

Considering the total disregard for motorcycle events in the US, we have a relatively full week of television coverage coming up.

Plenty of chances to catch this past weekend’s American Superbike and Daytona Sportbike races from the AMA Pro Racing West Coast Moto Jam at Infineon Raceway are on the menu, as well as Isle of Man TT Senior and 600 Superstock races (there’s usually a few seconds of sidecar coverage thrown in for good measure).

If you haven’t checked out the Supersport Class race of the FIM World Superbike Championship from Kyalami, South Africa, make a point to set your DVR for 2pm on Tuesday, as it marked a brilliant performance by former AMA Aprilia and Attack Kawasaki rider Chaz Davies.

One of the most well-produced motorcycle programs on television, Twist the Throttle on Discover HD Theater, covers Ducati motorcycles this week. The episode is a must-see for any desmo enthusiast.

If we’re missing coverage on one of the lesser-known channels, or if you’d like to add any non-US television schedules, please shoot us a message at info@motourage.net.

Thanks for watching, and please, if you’re planning on sitting down to catch a race in front of the tube, grab the phone and invite a friend who’s never seen a race. If we can add one more fan this week, we’re on our way to accomplishing our mission.

This Week’s Motorcycle TV Listings:

Monday, May 17

Isle of Man TT, Isle of Man
Pokerstars Senior TT Race
9:00pm-10:00pm
Discovery HD Theater

Tuesday, May 18

Isle of Man TT, Isle of Man
Pokerstars Senior TT Race
12:00am-1:00am
Discovery HD Theater

Twist the Throttle, Ducati
1:00am-2:00am
Discovery HD Theater

AMA Pro Road Racing, Infineon Raceway, Sonoma, CA
3:00am-4:00am – Daytona Sportbike
4:00am-5:00am – American Superbike
Speed

Isle of Man TT, Isle of Man
Pokerstars Senior TT Race
4:00am-5:00am
Discovery HD Theater

Twist the Throttle, Ducati
5:00am-6:00am
Discovery HD Theater

AMA Pro Racing, Infineon Raceway, Sonoma, CA
American Superbike
1:00pm-2:00pm
Speed

FIM World Superbike Championship, Kyalami, South Africa
2:00pm-3:00pm – Supersport
Speed

Isle of Man TT, Isle of Man
600cc Supersport Race 2
2:00pm-3:00pm
Discovery HD Theater

Sunday, May 23

MotoGP World Championship
Monster Energy Grand Prix de France, Le Mans, France
2:00pm-3:00pm – MotoGP
3:00pm-4:00pm – Moto2
Speed

Suzuki Alstare’s Leon Haslam extended his World Superbike points lead on Max Biaggi after a third- and first-place finish at Kyalami this past weekend.  Xerox Ducati’s Michel Fabrizio scored his first win of the season while Carlos Checa, Jonny Rea and Max Biaggi also climbed the podium in South Africa.

A 70-point round this weekend by the top three Motourage Fantasy Riders Race League teams made it difficult to catch the leaders, while less than 100 points separates fourth through 11th places.

The next round of the Motourage Fantasy Riders Race League will score next weekend with MotoGP round four, the Monster Energy Grand Prix de France in Le Mans.

All selections will be frozen on May 21 at Noon EDT in the US ( 17:00 BST, 16:00 GMT), so make sure your lineup is finalized before this time.

Notes:

• Rizla Suzuki’s Alvaro Bautista suffered a broken collarbone in a motocross training crash, and although he is slated to compete this weekend, don’t expect him to be 100%.
• Last year’s Le Mans results were: 1-Jorge Lorenzo, 2-Marco Melandri, 3-Dani Pedrosa. Valentino Rossi and Mika Kallio both scored DNFs
• Results for the last MotoGP race, the Gran Premio Bwin de Espana at Jerez, May 2: 1-Jorge Lorenzo, 2-Dani Pedrosa, 3-Valentino Rossi

Current standings for the Motourage Fantasy Riders Race League:

Swan Honda’s Stuart Easton is celebrating after securing his best-ever finish at the International North West 200, finishing second in the feature Superbike class race of the day after a race-long duel with fellow BSB rival Alastair Seeley and John McGuinness.

On his return to the event, Easton got off to a flying start, setting the fastest time through the speed traps between Station Corner and University in practice (Tuesday) with a top speed of 204mph.  On race day (Saturday) he started the day with a consistent fifth place in the opening Superbike race and was eleventh in the Superstock class, despite only completing one flying lap in practice earlier in the week and having to fight through from the second wave of riders.

Easton started from fourth on the Superbike grid and got off to one of his customary lightning starts to lead the four-lap feature race, before he dropped to third. Easton was determined to fight back, and on the next lap the Swan Honda rider was back in the lead. Seeley later took the advantage at the front, and despite Easton attacking back he finished the race second to score his best ever finish at the event.

Easton said: “It has been a good event for the Swan Honda team; I hadn’t really set myself any expectations before we arrived so to finish second was a good result. It is the best finish I have ever had at the event it is great to give the team their first podium with Swan.
The Superstock race was always going to be tough with the lack of time in practice as I only really had one flying lap due to the conditions but despite being in the second group I came through to eleventh. In the first Superbike race fifth wasn’t what I wanted so to finish second in race two was a much better result for me. Alastair Seeley was really strong along certain parts of the track and rode a great race so I was happy to be second. I now only have one place to improve when I come back again and that is to win.”

North West 200, Yoko Superbike race one result:

1. John McGuinness (Honda) 17:58.937
2. Connor Cummins (Kawasaki) +0.217s
3. Alastair Seeley (Suzuki) +0.553s
4. Keith Amor (Honda) +7.520s
5. Stuart Easton (Swan Honda) +16.668s

North West 200, Greenline Superbike race two result:

1. Alastair Seeley (Suzuki) 17:41.186
2. Stuart Easton (Swan Honda) +1.143s
3. John McGuinness (Honda) +1.294s
4. Guy Martin (Honda) +7.214s
5. Ian Hutchinson (Honda) +9.809s

Suzuki Australian Superbike Champion Josh Waters, multiple Suzuki Australian Superbike Champion Shawn Giles, multiple Suzuki New Zealand Superbike Champion Robbie Budgen and Suzuki Supersport Rider Troy Herfoss will be available at Springwood Suzuki to meet and sign autographs for fans.

Meet Robbie Budgen and other Suzuki champions at Springwood Suzuki in Underwood, Queensland on June 3

Venue: Springwood Suzuki

Address: 112 Kingston Road, Underwood QLD

Date: Thursday 3 June 2010

Time: 7:00pm to 8:00pm

You can also register to win a Suzuki Superbike two-up Ride with Shawn Giles on Saturday 5 June and general admission passes for Australian Superbike Championship Round 3, taking place in Queensland Raceway for the same weekend.

Team M4 Monster Energy Suzuki had a mixed Sunday to round out the AMA Pro Road Racing weekend at Infineon Raceway, as the squad picked up two more strong Superbike results but suffered a stinging disappointment in the Daytona Sportbike final.

Martin Cardenas pulled off a win on Saturday, but a DNF in Sunday's Sportbike race leaves him third in points

Coming off Saturday’s thrilling victory, Martin Cardenas had aspirations of pulling off yet another doubleheader sweep aboard his GSX-R600 at Infineon Raceway, but those hopes were dashed early when the Colombian crashed out of the race on the second lap. Martin made contact with another rider and ended up in the dirt. Despite his difficult day, Cardenas leaves Infineon Raceway third in the Daytona SportBike title race with 133 points.

Jake Holden and Chris Ulrich put together similar outings compared with Saturday, the two once again claiming the checkered flag while running in seventh and eighth positions, respectively.

Holden, riding in place of the injured John Hopkins, stuck with the front pack during the contest’s early stages again before accepting a relatively lonely seventh. Ulrich, meanwhile, upped his pace aboard his GSX-R1000 and kept the lead group in sight for an extended period as well before securing his seventh top-ten result of the season.

Ulrich, who retains his seventh-place ranking in the American Superbike championship standings, said, “Today’s race was similar to yesterday’s but our split was better today. I held onto the lead group a lot longer today. We made some small changes to the front and I went faster today than I qualified. It was key to get in a strong first lap and cling onto the lead group and they pulled me into the ’37s and I stayed there as long as I could. I was at my limit and I feel good about my race. It was a big improvement from last year where we could ride at a good pace for half-distance or so where now I’m able to push at the limit for the entire race.
The bike is getting better every week and so am I. Let’s be honest, we struggled at Atlanta, but we got down to business here and went pretty good. We have Road America coming up and I’m looking forward to going there.”

Team M4 Monster Energy Crew Chief Keith Perry remarked, “It seems like in SportBike we’re either going to be on top of the podium or throwing it down, one or the other. Martin is such a competitor and such a hard runner there’s no doubt he’s going to bounce back and be running for the front again at Road America. We’ll just go into the next one and see how it shakes out.
We had very solid Superbike results today,” added Perry. “I know both of them would like to be a couple positions higher than that, but we worked some things out that will allow us to make some progress with the big bikes and we’re looking forward to Elkhart Lake for sure.”

Team M4 Monster Energy Suzuki will be back in action on June 4-6 at Road America in Elkhart Lake, WI.

Seeley's NW200 Superbike win breaks a 13-year streak for Irish riders

Relentless by TAS Suzuki and its in-form British Superbike rider Alastair Seeley made history at the Relentless-sponsored International North West 200, winning the feature Superbike event – a first for an Irish rider in 13 years.

The 30-year-old reigning British Superstock champion also took the opening Supersport race victory, a Superbike race one podium and two other fourth-placed finishes – on a day when Relentless by TAS Suzuki posted four podiums from five races, including two tops steps.

The team started their day with third place in the opening Superbike event, again heralded by that man Seeley, who fought his way from the third row of the grid to stand on the podium. On the opening lap it was Bruce Anstey who led the Relentless Suzuki effort, coming from his row five grid slot up to fourth place, but he was soon overhauled by his diminutive team-mate, who closed down a five second gap to the leaders for his opening podium of the day.

Such was Seeley’s pace; he set a new lap record for the 8.9-mile circuit at 120.985mph [4mins 26.909sec]. Anstey eventually finished fifth with Cameron Donald eighth, just ahead of Adrian Archibald, also on a GSX-R1000 Superbike.

In the opening Supersport race, Anstey led the Relentless Suzuki charge on the opening lap in sixth, with Seeley two places further behind in eighth on his GSX-R600. But Seeley was hungry for a debut middleweight division victory at the NW200, forcing his way into the leading group of four on lap three, with some aggressive but safe passing maneuvers.

On the final lap into the penultimate chicane at Juniper Hill, Seeley produced one of the best moves ever witnessed at the North West 200 Triangle, sliding in between Ian Hutchinson and Keith Amor – and after leaving his braking later than his rivals, Seeley dropped his GSX-R600 into the chicane ahead of both Hondas, and from there he was never headed to the flag, giving TAS Racing their fifth victory in the Supersport class at the North West 200.

Cameron Donald was the next Relentless Suzuki home in seventh with Anstey 14th. Seeley again set a new class lap record at 115.582mph [4mins 39.386sec]

Bruce Anstey and Alastair Seeley had shared the last four Superstock wins at the NW200, but Anstey opted out of yesterday’s race due to a difficult grid position after qualifying, preferring to keep his powder dry for the final Supersport race.

In true Superstock style, it took three laps before the leading contenders could shake off the pretenders to the crown, with Seeley soon in the mix with the front four. Unfortunately on the final lap, he just could not find the grip required to drive hard out of the slower turns with his rivals and settled for fourth place, albeit only 0.9sec behind eventual winner Keith Amor.

When the feature NW200 Superbike event was cut from six laps to four, the odds were stacked against all three Relentless by TAS Suzuki riders, positioned on rows three, four and five.

Anstey again got the better start of the trio but Seeley, holding the expectations of an 100,000-strong local crowd, forced his way through, and onto the back of Honda duo Easton and McGuinness at mid distance, guaranteeing a grandstand finish.

Seeley led onto the final nine-mile lap but Easton took up the initiative on the brakes into Metropole with only the two-mile Coast Road section to conquer. Seeley, as we have come to expect, wasn’t prepared to settle for second place, putting the nose of his GSX-R1000 Suzuki under the Scotsman at the very next turn before demonstrating his pure road racing prowess to take a very famous victory.

In pursuit of the Honda pair, the Relentless by TAS Suzuki rider also upped the lap record to a staggering 121.875mmmph [4mins 24.960sec] on lap three.

In the final race of the day – the second Supersport 600 encounter – Seeley followed teammate Bruce Anstey across the line in fourth place; the Kiwi justifying his decision to sit-out the Superstock race with a fine third place on his Relentless by TAS Suzuki GSX-R600. Cameron Donald was eighth.

Read more…

Haslam passes fellow Englishman Jonny Rea for the win in race two

Team Suzuki Alstare rider Leon Haslam extended his World Superbike Championship lead to 15 points after a thrilling victory in the second race at Kyalami in South Africa this past weekend.

After racing to third place in the opening race in front of 54,000 spectators, race two was particularly dramatic and action-packed; and one of the best battles of the season so far. Throughout the race the Briton fought tooth and nail with fellow countryman, Ten Kate Honda’s Jonathan Rea, with Haslam taking the lead several times only to get overtaken again. The battle went right down to the wire; Haslam making an audacious passing move one lap from the end. This time he made it stick and went on to take the checkered flag by half a second put Suzuki back at the top of the Manufacturer Standings. It was his third win and ninth podium of the season and one of hardest victories of his career.

Teammate Sylvain Guintoli endured another average day at the office and ended with 10th in race one and 15th in race two. It was the Frenchman’s first visit to Kyalami and one that he will not remember with much fondness.

Leon Haslam – Race 1: 3rd, Race 2: 1st:
“What an amazing day! The second race was one of the best races I’ve ever been involved in and definitely one of the hardest. Jonny and I had a real ding-dong and it was bar-to-bar stuff for almost the whole race. I passed him a few times, but he always got me back and the longer the race went on I could feel him working out where I’d pass and how he’d stop me. In the end, I had to pass at a different place and this time I made it stick and held on to the flag. To win a race like that is quite an emotional thing and I have to give a big thank you to the whole team for all their work this weekend.
The bike in the second race was an improvement over race one. We had a few issues in race one, so changed the balance by making a bit lower in the front and higher in the rear. I still had some issues with it, but it was better and allowed me to fight for the win. After the drama of race two, it’s hard to remember what happened in race one. I didn’t get a good start and had to make up a lot of ground as best I could. I wasn’t completely confident in the front end, so could not push hard enough to catch Michel Fabrizio and Carlos Checa, but I was happy to get on the podium. Today was a tough day, but I’m very happy to have extended my Championship lead and I’m looking forward to the next round in America.”

Sylvain Guintoli – Race 1: 10th, Race 2: 15th:
“Well today should’ve been a lot better than it turned out and I am very disappointed. The first race was not so bad, except that I lost a lot of time in two particular corners and could not catch the front guys. Ok, this is new track for me, but I think I should’ve been able to cope with it better. The second race was a disaster! I had no grip and no feeling in the brakes. I had made a good start, but Sykes touched me and I lost position. Then I started having problems with the brakes. It felt as if they had no power and that’s not a good feeling to have when you racing at high speed at a track like this. It’s been a weekend to forget and I hope that I will be able to get on the pace at the next race, though it will once again be a new track for me.”

WSB Results:

Race 1: 1 Fabrizio (ITA-Ducati), 2 Checa (ESP-Ducati), 3 Leon Haslam (GBR-Suzuki Alstare), 4 Biaggi (ITA-Aprilia), 5 Rea (GBR-Honda), 6 Camier (GBR-Aprilia). 10 Sylvain Guintoli (FRA-Suzuki Alstare).

Race 2: Race 2: 1 Leon Haslam (GBR-Suzuki Alstare), 2 Rea, 3 Biaggi, 4 Crutchlow (GBR-Yamaha), 5 Checa, 6 Toseland (GBR-Yamaha). 15 Sylvain Guintoli (FRA-Suzuki Alstare).

Championship Points: 1 Leon Haslam (Suzuki Alstare) 222, 2 Biaggi 207, 3 Rea 141, 4 Checa 141, 5 Toseland 125, 6 Haga 106. 11 Sylvain Guintoli (FRA-Suzuki Alstare) 77.

Manufacturers Standings: 1 Suzuki 222, 2 Aprilia 213, 3 Ducati 185, 4 Honda 150, 5 Yamaha 135, 6 BMW 108, 7 Kawasaki 39.

Despite extremely limited practice time Gary Mason took the honors of top newcomer at the testing North West 200 road race course. Gary’s skilled roads specialist teammate, Ryan Farquhar, took a hard-fought Superstock podium, but was plagued with handling issues in Superbike.

Ryan Farquhar took third in the Superstock race but was unable to poduim in the Superbike class

Gary had to try and learn the course as he raced due to his restricted practice with chaperoned slow laps and other sessions depleted by bad weather. He improved his lap times by more than six seconds during the two races as he got into the groove at the legendary course. He commented afterwards, “I’ve loved the event and the atmosphere; I got so little practice though and was learning where to go as I was racing. I really want to come back, and it’s also been vital extra seat time for BSB as we’re off to Cadwell next.”

Ryan Farquhar took a third on his MSS-powered Superstock machine within a second of the winner, but was frustrated in the two Superbike races not to have had a chance to battle with the leaders.

The team’s other rider, Stephen Thompson, logged two fourteenth places in what has been reckoned to be the strongest line-up for this historic event.

MSS Colchester Kawasaki Team boss Nick Morgan summed up, “We’re pleased for Ryan after his Superstock podium, but a real strange, unforeseeable technical reared its head for Superstock. So frustrating. Nice first outing for Gary as best newcomer, and he’s already talking about next year. Stephen will have wanted a stronger position, but you have to look at the grid – massive quality on depth this year. Loads of lessons for the TT, and we know we will have a stronger package for the event.”

The MSS Colchester Kawasaki squad are now gearing up for Cadwell Park British Superbikes next weekend. Howie Mainwaring lays second in Superstock, and with championship leader Steve Plater injured, he knows he has a good opportunity in front of him. Mason will again be teamed up with Chris Walker as Simon Andrews continues his comeback from injury.

There were mixed fortunes for Team Suzuki Alstare riders Leon Haslam and Sylvain Guintoli on the opening day of the sixth round of the Superbike World Championship in Kyalami: Haslam finished a comfortable fifth, but Guintoli could only manage 17th.

But this is the Frenchman’s first visit to this technically and physically-demanding track, so he has a big chance of improvement tomorrow.

Michel Fabrizio (Ducati) set the day’s best lap with a time of 1:38.477. Second was Cal Crutchlow (Yamaha) with Jonathan Rea (Honda) third and Troy Corser (BMW) fourth. Haslam’s fifth meant that five different manufacturers filled the first five places today.

Leon Haslam – 5th, 1:38.951:
“I’m pretty happy with what we did today and satisfied with the number of laps I put in. The tires felt pretty consistent and I was able to go quite quickly on a tire that was old, so that bodes well for the races. The track is very bumpy and it’s important to get a good bike set-up and one that works with the bumps. We’ve been working on getting a good bike balance and once you have that, it is easier to push hard.  After the end of a session my left wrist aches a bit, but there is no problem with it when I am on the bike. Because this circuit is so physical, if I get a slide, I certainly know about it in my wrist, but I don’t see it been a problem in Sunday’s races.  I am sure that Superpole is going to be frantic tomorrow. In the past, I haven’t made big improvements on qualifying tires, but I have always managed good grid positions and last week was the first time this season I have been off the front row. I am more concerned with the balance of the bike and the set-up than grid positions and as long as I am on the first two rows I will be happy.”

Sylvain Guintoli – 17th, 1:39.834:
“It’s my first time here and I spent most of the day learning the track and trying to work out where all the bumps are – and there a lot of them! I like this track; it’s very technical and very demanding and you don’t really get a chance to have a rest anywhere. It’s a shame that there are so many bumps and changes of tarmac because it is such a good track to ride.  We started today with the Monza bike set-up and then made changes. But most of the changes made the bike worse and I went slower, so we will have to go back to the Monza set-up and then work from there. My position in the ranking today was rubbish, but I’m actually quite pleased with my lap times and we are not so far away. I just need to put it all together and do well in Superpole.”

Friday WSB qualifying:
1 Fabrizio (ITA-Ducati) 1:38.477, 2 Crutchlow (GBR-Yamaha) 1:38.529, 3 Rea (GBR-Honda) 1:38.687, 4 Corser (AUS-BMW) 1:38.896, 5 Leon Haslam (GBR-Suzuki Alstare) 1:38.951, 6 Checa (ESP-Ducati) 1:8.954. 17 Sylvain Guintoli (FRA-Suzuki Alstare) 1:39.834.