Motourage

The Yamaha Sterilgarda World Superbike Team headed straight off to Imola following last weekend’s race at Misano, and today completed a two day test in the sweltering Italian sunshine. The team spent the two days testing further areas of electronics, including traction control, wheelie control and launch control. They also worked to find improvements in the chassis, in particular the balance of the bike.

At the end of the test it was Cal Crutchlow who came out fastest of the World Superbike riders, recording a time nearly half a second faster than closest rivals.

Cal Crutchlow, Yamaha Sterilgarda World Superbike Team (1st, 1’47.478, 125laps):
“I’m happy with result of the test but we’ve got to win the races as well. We’ve tried a lot of different settings here, finally the best are close to how we started at the beginning. Hopefully over the summer break we’ll get some new parts and make more of a difference. We’re going to Brno with good confidence and we’ll take away from this test some good positives.”

James Toseland, Yamaha Sterilgarda World Superbike Team (11th, 1’49.031, 127laps):
“It’s been a bit of a frustrating test for me. We’ve been concentrating over the two days on trying various different settings to try and maximize the grip on the bike as opposed to focusing on getting the fastest lap time. At the end of it I don’t feel I’ve managed to get closer so I’ve been struggling a bit.”

Massimo Meregalli, Yamaha Sterilgarda World Superbike Team:
“We tested quite a lot of different things here at Imola, including various areas of electronics, we’ve also looked at the chassis to see what we can do to improve the balance. Both riders also spent some time testing some new tires that Pirelli bought to the test. Cal finished fastest at the end and put in an impressive performance. James was not as fast so we need to look at our data and see what we can do to improve this.”

The Swan Honda team head to Fife, Scotland this weekend for the sixth round of the MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship north of the border at Knockhill Circuit. Stuart Easton will be targeting victory at his home round while teammate James Ellison is determined to build on his impressive point scoring finishes at Mallory Park.

Easton has his sights firmly set on becoming the first Scottish rider to win a BSB race at Knockhill since former BSB champion Steve Hislop in 2002 and get himself back inside the top six following a challenging weekend at Mallory Park.

Ellison marked his return to the championship at Mallory Park with two solid point-scoring results, and this weekend is determined to raise the bar again with expectations of scoring two top ten finishes.

Stuart Easton:
“I had a disappointing weekend at Mallory Park, but then it has never been my strongest circuit. However I love Knockhill and I want to turn things around this weekend for my home fans as it is the only chance they get to see me race in Scotland. My mind is already on the weekend and what we can do to put us back inside that all important top six again as that is where we need to be and it is critical to have a strong weekend and get back on the podium on Sunday. I have yet to win at my home round so that is definitely the aim for the weekend, especially as I missed out last year with a second place.”

James Ellison:
“I am looking forward to Knockhill as last weekend was a real test for me and now I know what to expect. I am going there with the same mentality I did for Mallory Park – to go out and give it everything to score as many points as I possibly can. I am desperate to just get back up there and put the Swan Honda where it deserves to be, especially for everyone that has supported me. I think I can improve on Sunday as in the second race at Mallory Park I could battle with Dan Linfoot and Gary Mason and my lap times at that point of the race were the third fastest on the circuit, so that was a boost for me. I am heading back to the hyperbaric chamber again before Knockhill and every day I am getting stronger so the top ten is my aim.”

Álvaro Bautista and the Rizla Suzuki team are heading to Spain for his home MotoGP event to be held this weekend at Montmelo near Barcelona.

Bautista comes from Talavera de la Reina near Madrid and although there will be four Grands Prix held in Spain this year; the 25-year-old is focusing on the next race as his local event. He is sure to have plenty of home support at a circuit where he has tasted success with two victories in the last four years in the 125cc and 250cc classes.

Loris Capirossi has an equally impressive record at the Spanish circuit. He finished fifth there last season in Rizla Suzuki colors and has only once completed a race lower than sixth place. Capirossi is in a determined mood to put recent events behind him and get the Suzuki GSV-R back to a competitive package as soon as possible.

The 4,727m Circuit de Catalunya is situated at Montmelo near Granollers, about an hour’s drive from the city centre of Barcelona. It is a modern circuit and has all the ingredients you could want for a fantastic Grand Prix event. A kilometer-long straight where speeds in excess of 300kp/h will be achieved, fast right-handers, elevation changes and a huge fan-base of highly excited and colorful Spanish fans. The Catalan Grand Prix is certainly a highlight on the MotoGP calendar and one not to be missed.

Rizla Suzuki will take to the track for one practice session on Friday afternoon, followed by another on Saturday morning. An hour of qualifying on Saturday afternoon will decide grid positions for Bautista, Capirossi and the rest of the field for Sunday’s 25-lap race.

Álvaro Bautista:
“I have had a couple of days rest and my arm feels a lot better than it did in Assen and I am sure it will be much stronger this weekend. Barcelona is a very good track for me to go to next, because it is very long and very fast so it won’t be as physically demanding as Assen. It is a very special place for all the Spanish riders because you can feel every fan pushing you and wanting you to go fast, so it is a very good feeling to be there. I won in 2006 in 125 and 2009 in the 250, so I have very good memories of the circuit and with it being my home Grand Prix I will be trying to get a good result for myself and the whole team – we really need one now so this will be a good place to start.”

Loris Capirossi:
“We need to get back on track quickly to try and find a solution to what has been holding us back in the recent races. Barcelona is a good circuit for me and I know can go well there and that the GSV-R can perform there. The whole crew has been working hard at every race, but we just can’t find the answers we need at the moment and with a back-to-back race like this and so little testing in the season now, it doesn’t give you much time to make many major changes to work out what the problem is. These results are not good enough for anyone, but we are still focused on what we have to do and everybody in the team is still motivated that we will be able to turn things around very quickly.”

Defending Viking Group Australian Superbike Champion Josh Waters will have the opportunity to showcase skills honed at a local level when he jets to the United States to ride for Team Rockstar Makita Suzuki at rounds 6 and 7 of the AMA Pro Superbike Championship. Waters will race the factory machine at round 6, Mid Ohio and round 7, Laguna Seca, which are separated by just a week in late July. ASBK Team Suzuki manager Phil Tainton will accompany the Aussie young gun.

Rockstar Makita Suzuki has been the dominant team in the US series, having won seven consecutive Superbike titles since 2003. The Mildura, Victoria-based talent impressed the team at a recent test following the local Queensland Raceway round and received the call up when regular rider Blake Young was injured.

“Firstly I would like to wish Blake a speedy recovery,” Waters said. “When I got the call up I was blown away that the team thought of me to fill in. I know it’s not going to be easy as the next two tracks are quite hard, but I know I have the best team behind me. I also want to thank my Team Manager, Phil Tainton, for again coming with me.”

Waters is one of three current Viking Group ASBK riders making their mark abroad.

Demolition Plus GAS Honda Racing’s Wayne Maxwell finished fifth in a recent guest ride with the Honda Dream RT team at the Suzuka 300 in Japan. He will suit up during July to take part in the challenging Suzuka 8-Hour also.

Valvoline Superbike Team star and 2008 ASBK champion Glenn Allerton is currently placed second in the premier class of the Asian Road Racing Championships with a race win and a second place among his top results.

On home soil riders will be preparing for the next round of the ASBK which will be held at Queensland Raceway from August 20-22.

Cougar Bourbon Honda Racing’s Bryan Staring is the current championship leader heading Maxwell by 4.5 points. Waters is a further 5 points adrift after three rounds.

Worx Crescent Suzuki came away from the British Superbike Championship fifth round at Mallory Park with just eight points in the bag after misfortune beset both Championship leader Tommy Hill and teammate Yukio Kagayama today.

The day started well with both riders setting good times in warm-up and Kagayama was particularly pleased with his revised bike set-up that took him to the fifth-fastest time.

Worx Crescent rider Tommy Hill could only manage a weekend-best eighth-place finish at Mallory Park

But problems came thick and fast in the opening race: Hill was immediately in trouble as his bike gave all the indications of clutch slip, while Kagayama struggled to push through the pack from his fourth-row start position. However, the race was red flagged after three laps following an incident and this allowed the team to replace the clutch in Hill’s bike before the restart. Unfortunately the problem wasn’t cured and Hill was forced to retire. Kagayama then crashed out on lap two at Charlie’s chicane and was bruised and quite shaken up so the decision was taken that he stand down from race two.

Hill, as a consequence of his race one woes, had to start race two from the fourth row and had a huge fight on to regain places; finally finishing in eighth.

Tommy Hill:
“Today’s been quite a disappointment after having enjoyed very productive tests here and going so well through practice and qualifying. After dropping out of race one with technical issues I was looking forward to getting my head down and chasing a top-six result in race two. But I got shut down in the first turn and after that it was a long race trying to make up places. Obviously I’m not happy with my results, but racing always has its ups and downs. So we’re off to Knockhill next weekend and I’ll be looking for a return to podium finishes and podium points – and looking to rebuild my championship lead.”

Yukio Kagayama:
“Not a good weekend for me. I was happy after warm-up – good lap times. Then in the race I lost grip leaving the corner – it all happens very fast – and I crashed. I am okay but the crash was quite hard and so I was not able to ride the second race. So again I need to rest injuries to be ready for the next round.”

Jack Valentine – Team Manager:
“Not a good day for us. We had every reason to feel optimistic at the start of the day and were pleased to see Yuki back on the pace in warm-up. Tommy’s problem in the first race turned out to be a rear wheel speed sensor issue which confused the ECU. Tommy then had to ride in damage limitation mode in the second race to bring home the points to maintain his championship lead. Yuki suffered more bad luck, and after two crashes, the second quite a hard one, we felt it was prudent he stood down from the second race and rested his body so that he’ll be able to come out fighting fit again for Knockhill.

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Simon Andrews bounced back to form yesterday with two seventh place finishes for the MSS Colchester Kawasaki at round five of the British Superbike Championship at Mallory Park. Gary Mason was less fortunate as he struggled with setup but came away with two solid point-scoring rides.

Simon Andrews holds off Swan Honda's Stuart Easton

As track temperatures hit 50°C (122°F) and fans’ attention was split between the Superbikes and the World Cup on a giant TV screen, it soon became apparent which discipline produces real heroes as a grid of battered riders ground out results.

At a super-physical track, Simon Andrews battled with pain and a massively swollen ankle to best many top-name riders and resurrect his campaign after missing two of the four events. The tight and tricky Mallory Park can throw up strange results as last year’s event saw Andrews lead the race, only to be taken out in the closing stages in a mass pile-up, but he kept out of trouble this time around.

Mason was left frustrated after starting practice strongly, immediately finding the pace but then hitting a wall on setup in the later stages. The team made a late gamble in qualifying throwing an ultra-soft tire on Andrew’s bike to hoist him several places up the leader board and giving him a useful third row start. Mason had continual setup woes leaving him with a mountain to climb from 18th on the grid.

Simon Andrews(7th and 7th):
“I’m really happy, I was hoping for two top ten’s and at one point I was down in twentieth in practice but it all came together well with the team. Rode in fifth for most of race one on a very demanding track. It’s my first go back on the Superbike so I feel really positive to be honest.”

Gary Mason (13th and 12th):
“Well that was pretty frustrating all round. We tried some changes but ultimately I didn’t have the confidence in the bike that I have had at other tracks. Saying that we only have a few days till Knockhill and so we can immediately put that result to bed I’m sure of it.”

MSS Colchester Kawasaki team boss Nick Morgan:
“Overall I’m pleased with the weekend, I’ve got both my lads back and their entourage, so team morale is good. We made fairly steady progress all weekend but Simon really pulled it out of the bag on race day. That was impressive considering he still has a foot like a balloon. Gary got down to the times quickly but then hit a bit of a wall and would have liked to have found another half a second for the race, he’s looking forward to Knockhill, and so am I except for the drive.”

Leon Haslam maintained his run of podiums at every World Superbike round this year with a second place in yesterday’s World Superbike Championship eighth round at Misano.

The Suzuki Alstare rider struggled with problems in race one but carried on fighting hard and took eighth place. The team came up with some ideas to improve his GSX-R1000s settings for race two; they worked; and he battled from seventh on the grid to second place and his 11th podium of the season in front of 69,000 race fans.

Teammate Sylvain Guintoli had his best result of the year since the opening round in Australia in February: The French rider took fifth in race one and sixth in race two.

Local favorite Max Biaggi (Aprilia) won both races: In race one, he narrowly beat Carlos Checa (Ducati) with Troy Corser (BMW) third, but race two was much more comfortable. He took his second checkered flag of the day, over four seconds ahead of Haslam, with Michel Fabrizio (Ducati) third.

Leon Haslam – Race 1: 8th, Race 2: 2nd:
“After the issues we’ve had this weekend to do with the clutch and electronics, I thought that 8th in race one was probably the best we’d get this weekend. But, all credit to the team – because they went back to a setting that we used in USA and South Africa – the bike was much better in the second race. Race two felt like normal and the bike felt a million times better than race one, but I’ve got so many blisters on my hands because I was trying so hard. I took a lap or two too long to pass Troy Corser and Michel Fabrizio in the second race and by then Max was too far ahead to catch. Max is riding well, and the Aprilia is currently the package to beat, but I’m confident that – as long as we all work hard – we can beat him. We do all our own development work and it’s because of all the hard work that we are competitive. I’m going to keeping fighting for more podiums; that was my aim before the season began, and it’s still the same now.

Sylvain Guintoli – Race 1: 5th, Race 2: 6th:
“Well this has been a pretty good weekend for me and I feel I am now becoming a better Superbike rider. This Championship is so competitive that you have to be right on your game in every practice, qualifying and race and it’s not something that comes easily – it requires a lot of work, from me and the team. That’s not say that we have not been working hard up to now, because we have been working hard. It’s just that WSBK is different to BSB and I have to work in a different way. Today, I had a better feeling with the bike in race one, but funnily enough my lap times were better in race two! The good news though, is that today I had the podium-pace and I really enjoyed my racing. Now, I just need to keep this feeling up and be even more competitive next time. Next up is Brno. It is a track I know and like a lot, so I am expecting a lot.”

Misano Results:

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Michael Laverty continued his impressive run of form in the British Superbike Championship yesterday with the Relentless by TAS Suzuki team, posting his fourth and fifth BSB podiums of the season and taking third place in both races.

Laverty also maintained third place in the Championship standing and now sits on 133 points, just 21 behind series leader and fellow Suzuki rider Tommy Hill, with Australia’s Josh Brookes wedged in between them.

Alastair Seeley scored 11 points on his Mallory Park BSB debut with 10th and 11th placed finishes and the current National Superstock champion is just eight points outside the top six.

Michael Laverty:
“I’m reasonably happy with two third-placed finishes today as it’s good for the Championship. But if I’m being honest I had expected to get a win following the pace we had shown throughout practice on the Relentless Suzuki GSX-R1000 Superbike. The other boys found something extra today and I wasn’t able to respond, but we will move on to Knockhill next weekend in a confident frame of mind. We are in good shape in the championship following a run of five consecutive podiums, and although my consistency is paying off, I want to win some races. The team has done a good job again this weekend and gave me a very capable bike, so thanks to them for the effort.”

Alastair Seeley:
“My goal was to score solid points today and from fourth and third row grid positions I think we did okay, but it was a tough day at the office. I would have been happier to be well inside the top 10, but we battled hard and stay within fighting distance of the top six leaving Mallory. I was closing down on ninth in the first race and just ran out of laps and in race two I had a few small problems that I had to work around. All in all we’ve kept in on track and scored points, so I’m now looking forward to Knockhill where I’ve had some success in the past on the Superstock GSX-R1000.”

Philip Neill – Team Manager:
“I’m pleased enough with the weekend and it really is nice to be back in the BSB paddock. In saying that, it seems like we are stuck on third placed finishes, with two at the TT followed by two here at Mallory. I’m pretty satisfied though with another couple of podiums – Michael’s fourth and fifth in a row – and it’s also good for the Championship, but I know we can win races. We know as a team where we can improve and Michael knows where he can improve as a rider, but I was impressed with his fitness today. Alastair did what we expected and battled hard and he scored points when others didn’t, so that will set him up well for Knockhill next week.” Read more…

MRS Racing’s Jeremy Guarnoni took another step towards winning the Superstock 600 European Championship on his Yamaha YZF R6 this weekend. Guarnoni was on top form all weekend, scoring his fifth consecutive pole position start of the season to start from the front of the grid. The young French rider battled closely with championship rival Florian Marino, repeatedly touching fairings on the last lap, before gaining a half second advantage to the line to claim his third win of the season. Guarnoni was one of two Yamaha R6s on the podium and one of sixteen of Yamaha’s Supersport machines that made up the grid start.

The championship is now at the halfway mark, with five races completed and five to run. The riders now move to Brno in two weeks for round six. Guarnoni leads with 111 points, 25 points ahead of closest rival Marino.

The European Superstock 600 Championship is a support class to the Superbike World Championship at the European rounds. The championship uses 600 cc production motorcycles and is reserved for riders between 15 and 20 years of age

Crutchlow fights hard for fourth in a hot second race at Misano

There were no easy points to be had today for the Yamaha Sterilgarda team as a hot track surface and rapidly disappearing grip tested the skills of both riders. Despite being mobbed by riders in the first corner of race two, Cal Crutchlow fought back with an inspired push, coming from ninth all the way up to take third from Michel Fabrizio by lap 19. He held for a further three laps but was passed back with two laps to go, taking fourth at the line. Race one had seen Crutchlow lose the front early on as he pushed on to catch the leaders, forcing retirement from the race. Race two also saw Crutchlow make the new lap record as he worked his way through the pack, scoring an impressive 1’36.546. Teammate James Toseland also experienced a tough race day at the Misano circuit. Starting from a less than perfect 13th on the grid on the hard to overtake track, Toseland fought to pass several riders, taking tenth at the line. Race two saw him losing the front end going into a corner on the tenth lap and forcing early retirement. Crutchlow leaves Misano in tenth place in the championship standings on 120 points, just ten behind Leon Camier in ninth. Team mate Toseland sits in seventh on 138 points, just 23 points adrift of Checa in fifth as they head to Brno in two weeks time.

Cal Crutchlow, Yamaha Sterilgarda World Superbike Team (DNF, 4th)
“I had an ok start in race two, but got beaten up a bit in the first corner on the first lap and basically had to recover from then on. I was disappointed to lose out to Fabrizio at the end, I just lost a bit of drive out of the corner and he managed to get back under me. To come here and do the race pace we did at these grip levels was incredible, hopefully we can make some improvements at this week’s Imola test and be even better. Race one was a stupid mistake, I had a full tank of fuel and just pushed the front a bit too hard trying to catch the front runners and lost the front, but I think I redeemed myself in race two.”

James Toseland, Yamaha Sterilgarda World Superbike Team, (10th, DNF)
“What can you say, another tough weekend. I’ve got the pace when the tire grip is good but just find it difficult when losing the grip on the bike to keep with the other bikes coming off the corners. We need to work hard on this area as it’s so important. We’ll meet about it tonight, if we can improve that it’ll be a big help. The time I’m losing on the corners to the others means I have to keep catching up on the brakes which means pushing the front, which is why I crashed in the second. Brno is a little bit faster and flowing so if we can keep the revs high we shouldn’t have too many problems.”

Massimo Meregalli, Yamaha Sterilgarda World Superbike Team Manager
“After the test last week we were expecting better results. By Friday we realized this weekend was going to be tougher than we thought. Cal did a good job in the second race, although unfortunately he crashed in the first. He didn’t have the best start in the second and he was pushing really hard to catch the front pack. Unfortunately this meant he destroyed his rear tire which meant at the end the rear grip was suffering but he pushed to the line for fourth. James had a difficult weekend, for sure starting from the fourth row is always hard. He did what he could and unfortunately he didn’t finish the second race due to a crash. Fortunately he is not hurt. Tuesday and Wednesday we will go to Imola to test and hopefully we can fix some of the issues we have.”

Circuit Length: 4060
Weather: Hot and Sunny

Lap Record: 1’37.135 (Noriyuki Haga, 01/01/2009)
Fastest Lap Ever: 1’35.001 (Troy Corser, 27/06/2010)
Last Year’s Winner: Jonathan Rea