Toseland and Crutchlow prepare for their home race at Silverstone

Yamaha Sterilgarda riders James Toseland and Cal Crutchlow are geared up and determined to give it their all this weekend for their home race in front of the British fans at Silverstone for round 10 of the World Superbike Championship. The Silverstone circuit, which has gone undergone major restructuring this year, was last visited by the World Superbike paddock in 2007. With the changes this year, the circuit will be new to all riders who will be riding on its 5.9km (3.7 Mile) track for the first time on Friday.

Seven British riders - including Toseland and his teammate, Cal Crutchlow - will be on the Superbike grid to help baptize the new Silverstone Circuit this weekend

“The home race is no different to any other race,” said Cal Crutchlow. “I always want to do well and give it my best shot. Last year in World Supersport at Donington I did the same. I especially hope that we put on a good show for all the fans that turn out to see the seven Brits in action. We had some tire issues at Brno; hopefully these won’t be repeated this round and we can focus on being fastest all weekend and delivering two race wins.”

“We had a decent second race coming from last to finish fourth at Brno which wasn’t a bad result although fourth isn’t where I want to be,” commented James Toseland. “All the little problems we’ve had this year has meant the championship has gone away a little bit. I’m going to Silverstone with nothing to lose; the icing on the cake would be to win at home. The track looks really good; I did a PR event to launch it last week and had a look round. With seven British riders there’s every chance the podium will be all British which would be great. It should be a great event for the UK.”

Marcus Eschenbacher, Cal Crutchlow’s Crew Chief:
“Silverstone is a completely new track for us so we have to evaluate a new gearbox, chassis and electronic setup. The track has all kinds of character, a fast part and also a very tight infield. The challenge will be to find the best compromise in a very short timeframe. We will start the weekend with our base setup that we’ve developed bit by bit. We also have some new chassis setups to try; this will be introduced in the spare bike. So we hope to find the best gearbox and base setup on Friday and start fine tuning on Saturday.”

Frankie Carchedi, James Toseland’s Crew Chief:
“Silverstone could be one of the most exiting races of the year with James eager to carry on from Brno where he battled through from last to fourth in extreme track temperatures. We had good race pace in Brno but our problem area was both race starts. We have some new parts and strategies to improve this and we will be testing before the race weekend. The factory MotoGP team have provided us with some valuable information so we can get a head start on a good gearing, as this is a new track for all teams. The track looks a little bumpy in places, but with plenty of overtaking opportunities. During the weekend we will work hard on the set-up to suit the new Pirelli tires which will be used for the first time at Silverstone.”

Massimo Meregalli, Yamaha Sterilgarda World Superbike Team Manager:
“It’s the only ‘new’ track we visit on the 2010 World Superbike calendar so we don’t have any data at all to prepare ourselves. With the exception of the information from the GP team everything has to be discovered by us on Friday in the first session. We are going to Cal and James’s home country so we are really motivated because it’s like a home race for us. We are looking forward to Sunday and believe we can give a good performance for the British fans.”

Yamaha Sterilgarda riders Cal Crutchlow and James Toseland ended the first World Superbike qualifying session at Brno today satisfied with a good base setup. Despite suffering earlier in the day with a severe lack of grip on the track, the afternoon’s qualifying saw both improve their times as they fine tuned the set up. Starting qualifying with a setup that didn’t suit the track so well, Crutchlow spent some time in the session waiting in the pit while it was changed. Despite the lack of track time he came out in the dying minutes to take second fastest on the board, less than three tenths off the lead.

Teammate James Toseland was also looking comfortable in the session despite suffering from a chest infection. The first 20 minutes saw Toseland lapping comfortably and consistently inside the top four, only dropping to ninth towards the end and finishing just three tenths off fourth.

Cal Crutchlow, Yamaha Sterilgarda World Superbike Team (2nd, 1′59.571)
“It wasn’t too bad today considering we all struggled for grip at the start of the sessions, it came a bit better later on. From my point of view we’ve got a lot of work to do chassis set up wise. We tried the set up we had in Imola but it didn’t work here, so we didn’t get many laps in the qualifying session as we were changing the bike. We’ve gone back to our old base set up and it seems to be working better here. We’re struggling for side grip a bit but the lap times towards the end of the fifteen laps I did weren’t so bad. We’ll see for tomorrow, and I hope Troy Corser is OK and back with us tomorrow.”

James Toseland, Yamaha Sterilgarda World Superbike Team (9th, 2′00.451)
“I’m not feeling very well at the moment, I’ve got a chest infection so it’s been a tough day today. Consistency wise I think we’re there and I’m quite pleased with the way the bike has been round the track today. I like the circuit a lot and we seem to be working pretty well. I just hope I’m feeling a bit better tomorrow.”

Massimo Meregalli, Yamaha Sterilgarda World Superbike Team
“For the first day it was ok today. Pirelli bought some new tires that we tested in Imola to run here as well. For sure the bike set up for both riders is pretty much there now so the main job we have is to find the right race tire for both James and Cal. We also need to fix some small details as both riders have some things they want to improve. Overall we are quite satisfied.”

The Yamaha Sterilgarda World Superbike Team arrive in the Czech Republic this week in preparation for round nine of the 2010 championship at the Brno circuit. British riders Cal Crutchlow and James Toseland will be looking to build on their current point standings in advance of their home race at Silverstone at the beginning of August.

The 5.403km Automotodrom Brno circuit features constant elevation changes and an incredibly steep 7.5% gradient towards the last chicane of the track. The track also features one of the fastest chicanes on the WSB calendar. Both Yamaha Sterilgarda riders know the circuit well, Crutchlow taking pole in qualifying in World Supersport last year, an incredible eight tenths of a second faster than his closest rival. Team mate Toseland enjoyed great success on his last World Superbike outing to Brno, taking a first and a second place finish in 2007.

“I’ve got unfinished business at Brno,” said Cal Crutchlow. “I had a really strong qualifying there in Supersport last year and was only two laps from winning the race when an unfortunate mechanical issue forced retirement. I love the track; it’s fast and flowing and should suit our bike really well.”

“I’m looking forward to the weekend,” said James Toseland. “Brno is a track I’ve always had good results on. Everyone knows its Max Biaggi’s favorite circuit so it’s going to be difficult for everyone here as it’s probably going to be a strong weekend for Aprilia. Having said that, we worked hard at last week’s test in Imola so I’m looking forward to getting out on the track on Friday to see where we stand.”

Marcus Eschenbacher, Cal Crutchlow’s Crew Chief
“Brno is a traditional old-style track with a lot of character, it’s more or less like a rollercoaster with fast flowing corners. It’s really important to have a good flow with the bike, the gearbox has to work very smoothly with the track. Gear changes have to be perfect or you have to change gear in a lean angle which isn’t as efficient for the rider. The Chassis has to be set up to cope with braking hard downhill as a lot of overtaking places are on downhill braking spots, so stability is the key on the chassis. Grip level is not too bad at Brno so we shouldn’t have an issue there. Tire wear can sometimes be abrasive if there’s a lot of rain but usually it’s ok. The track is pretty wide so the riders can have some really different lines through some areas, especially the fast chicane. We will try to have one bike as it was in the Misano race and one bike with the changes we made at the Imola test to start on Friday and see how Cal gets on.”

Frankie Carchedi, James Toseland’s Crew Chief
“Brno is a track with constant elevation changes, wide corners, and a smooth surface. There is an equal number of left and right turns and plenty of overtaking opportunities. During the recent test at Imola we tested numerous different settings mainly in making the Yamaha more absorbent over the bumps with the new Pirelli tires, especially in high temperatures, as this has been the weak point this year. The team are looking forward to Brno as the smooth surface and fast flow of the track should suit the bike well.”

Massimo Meregalli, Yamaha Sterilgarda World Superbike Team Manager
“We are ready as always. James has proven he is good here previously in Superbike and Cal was very impressive last year in Supersport. We will start on Friday with the set up we found at the Imola test, and will make some changes depending on how the riders find the circuit. The test went pretty well overall so we are optimistic that we can use the new Pirelli tire at the weekend and chase some good results.”

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.”

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

Following a successful test last week where the Yamaha Sterilgarda riders recorded fast times and were the most competitive team pairing, both Cal Crutchlow and James Toseland are geared up and ready to take the fight to the competition this weekend.

James Toseland is hoping for better luck than he had in the USA in May where he recorded a 9th place and a DNF

The eighth round of the World Superbike Championship at the Misano Circuit in Rimini, bordering the small sovereign state of  San Marino, will start with an impressive street display; James Toseland will pilot his full race-spec YZF-R1 along with other WSB riders through the historic streets of San Marino for the assembled international media and race fans on Thursday morning. The Misano round is the first race back in Europe following races in South Africa and the USA. The circuit, on Italy’s Adriatic coast, was overhauled in 2007, including a change of direction to run clockwise, and a succession of right-handers at the end of the main straight. Having tested here twice this year both riders are familiar with the layout and have set ups prepared to be immediately competitive.

“I had a pole here in 2006 in Superbike,” said James Toseland, “and although there were circuit changes in 2007 I’ve tested twice here this year so I know the circuit well. That combined with all the hard work my crew chief Frankie and the Yamaha Team have been doing to get the best possible set up for the track gives me confidence that we’re on for a good result. We’ve proved we can be very fast here even on used race tires so I can’t wait to get on the bike and kick off the weekend.”

“I really enjoyed racing here last year even though it was a red flag race,” said Cal Crutchlow. “I know what it’s like to fight and win here on a Supersport bike so I’m looking forward to finding out what the battle is like on a Superbike! We’ve been working hard to get a really good set up for the track, so we have every reason to believe we’ll both be up there fighting at the front.”

Misano technically speaking according to Frankie Carchedi, James Toseland’s Crew Chief
“We’ve worked hard on tire life in the recent tests, doing a couple of race runs in different temperatures. We will be using a different link system for the Misano race to preserve the tire life, we’re going to start on Friday with the setting we finished with at the test and the other bike has a slightly different swing arm which we’ll be testing as it’s a little more rigid and stronger. It’s quite a twisty track so it’s important the bike changes direction well but also accelerates between the corners well without compromising the tires. Pirelli are bringing a new batch of tires to use so hopefully all the work we did in the test will prove valuable with the new rubber! Following our results in the test, expectations are high.” Read more…

The Yamaha Sterilgarda World Superbike Team completed a two-day test this afternoon at the San Marino circuit ahead of next week’s eighth round of the Superbike World Championship in Misano. At the close of the test riders Cal Crutchlow and James Toseland were the fastest riders on the board. The team spent the two days testing some different linkages on the bikes along with various electronic settings and also a new radiator design to aid cooling.

The first day started well with both riders posting competitive times – James Toseland in particular ending the morning session second fastest with a 1”36.7, and teammate Cal Crutchlow not far behind in fourth with a 1”36.8. The afternoon saw rainfall, which disrupted the test and made the track conditions slower this morning. The day gave very hot temperatures for most of the session, but cooled towards the end allowing the riders to post their fastest times.

Cal Crutchlow, Yamaha Sterilgarda World Superbike Team (1st, 1”36.2 90 laps)
“It’s been a pretty good test for us, the weather’s been difficult, either really hot or wet which has been challenging. Still, we managed to get down to the fastest time here and I did that on a used tire which should stand us in good stead for next week’s races. I’m looking forward to getting stuck into it again.”

James Toseland, Yamaha Sterilgarda World Superbike Team (2nd, 1”36.3, 90 laps)
“We tried a lot with the electronics; all in all it’s been a good test for Yamaha. I’m putting a lot of time into the bike to try and find some extra time in the second half of the race and be more consistent. Everyone is doing a great job but we’re busy trying to catch up with the Aprilia.”

Massimo Meregalli, Yamaha Sterilgarda World Superbike Team Manager
“I am satisfied as the riders made their best times with used tires. If the race was tomorrow we are ready. I’m looking forward to the race weekend, it has been a very productive test and we are optimistic that we can build on this and produce some good results.”

Yamaha Sterilgarda rider Cal Crutchlow got straight down to business in the first qualifying session of the Kyalami race weekend today. Crutchlow spent the session in the top two positions, only losing out to leader Fabrizio at the end by less than a tenth of a second. The British rider had been on a hot lap at the end on track to take the fastest time but was unfortunately held up and unable to complete.

Crutchlow’s teammate James Toseland had a slower start to the South African weekend. Fresh off the back of a big crash last weekend and having not ridden the Kyalami circuit for a number of years, Toseland spent the qualifying renewing his knowledge of the track as he worked on his set-up.

Cal Crutchlow, Yamaha Sterilgarda World Superbike Team (2nd, 1′38.529)
“I think today went OK, I’m pretty pleased to be honest. I should have been fastest but I got held up on my last hot lap. I think it’s going to be difficult in race conditions; tire wear is a big issue as the track is very abrasive. Overall second fastest isn’t too bad on the first day, we’ll go away now and will look at more improvements for tomorrow with the team.”

James Toseland, Yamaha Sterilgarda World Superbike Team (15th, 1′39.656)
“It’s my first day back on the bike since my crash last week and it’s also my first time back on this track for ten years, it’s very technical and I’d forgotten how bumpy it is. Unfortunately the base setting we started the session with wasn’t right so we had a lot of work to do to get the bike working well. At the end we found something that worked better and got down to good race times, so tomorrow we’ll improve on that some more and we will get down to the faster times they’re running at the front today. Given everything I’m only just over a second off after the first day so I’m not displeased with that and we’ve got a lot more to give tomorrow.”

Massimo Meregalli, Yamaha Sterilgarda World Superbike Team Manager
“I was a little bit worried today, this is not traditionally a good track for us, but finally the results were good. Tomorrow I believe James will move up as he gets used to the track again and improves his set up. Last year the track was the most difficult for us, but after all our development the situation is completely different, to be second fastest with Cal and James only a second off after a big crash when hasn’t been here for ten years is pretty good, and taking into account our strong performance at Monza I am quite optimistic for tomorrow.”

Circuit Length: 4263
Lap Record: 1′42.178 (Noriyuki Haga, 01/01/2002)
Fastest Lap Ever: 1′37.288 (Ben Spies, 17/05/2009)
Last Year’s Winner: Noriyuki Haga

With just four hundredths of a second between them, James Toseland and Cal Crutchlow shot out of the legendary Parabolica curve on the final lap of race one today in second and third respectively to deliver Yamaha Sterilgarda’s first double podium of the year. Crutchlow, having qualified second, had initially got off the line in fifth with Toseland two places behind in seventh. They worked their way up as a pair, passing Fabrizio and Corser to take third and fourth by lap three. Toseland then passed his team mate for third on lap four at the end of the high speed start-finish straight, then closed down on Haslam and Biaggi at the front. A brief fight with Haslam with some heart stopping passes saw Toseland take second where he stayed tucked up behind race leader Biaggi. Team mate Crutchlow took second from him briefly on lap 14 having caught up again after a missed chicane dropped him to fourth. Toseland was quick to recover position however and got as far as a look up the inside of Biaggi coming out of Parabolica before settling for second less than three tenths from the front at the checkered flag.

Race two was brought short for both riders. Another rider collided with Toseland going into the first chicane on the opening lap, causing a big crash leaving him with light concussion. He was awake following the incident but taken to hospital for a check up to assess if there was further injury. Team mate Crutchlow made a good start and was chasing Biaggi in second place just 0.1 seconds behind the leader. On lap 11 stones from Biaggi’s rear wheel were flicked up, peppering Crutchlow’s helmet, with one piercing his oil cooler. This caused him to low side going into the first chicane on lap 12. He was uninjured in the fall but unable to continue.

After the Monza round Toseland remains in fifth position in the championship on 106 points, now just four points away from Rea in third. Crutchlow remains in tenth position on 65 points, just seven behind Sylvain Guintoli in eighth.

James Toseland, Yamaha Sterilgarda World Superbike Team, (2nd, DNF)
“The first race was a good strong race, I just want to congratulate the team, it’s their home race and to get two of us on the podium is great. Max Biaggi rode a great race, he had a strong bike here and we expected him to go well, he didn’t put a foot wrong. I was hoping on the last lap he was going to make a slight mistake, just enough for me to get alongside but he didn’t so fair play to him. We’re getting better with each race, moving in the right direction and it’s getting frustrating finishing in second and third now!”

Cal Crutchlow, Yamaha Sterilgarda World Superbike Team, (3rd, DNF)
“I felt like I put together a really solid first race, we didn’t get the best of starts but made up for it and got stuck in. All credit to Yamaha; they’ve done a good job to give James and me a competitive package so it was great for us both to deliver them the podiums here for their home round. It was a strong result and we rode well so I was looking forward to the second race. I started really well and didn’t take long to get tucked in behind Max, I knew exactly what I was doing and had my strategy sorted to pass him on the last lap. Incredibly some stones flew up off his back wheel, I was so close behind I felt some hit my helmet and unfortunately a big one made a hole in my oil cooler. I made it through another lap, but coming into the first chicane it must have reached my back tire and I went straight down.”

Massimo Meregalli, Yamaha Sterilgarda World Superbike Team Manager
“This has been a really mixed race weekend for us. From Valencia we have been stronger and stronger, it’s clear by the podiums the riders have been delivering and the pace of both of them, especially this weekend and in Assen that we have a very competitive, strong bike. The first race was fantastic for us; to take two hard fought podiums at our home round is very special. The second race was incredibly frustrating; to have both riders out for reasons that were completely out of our control is disappointing when we have been the strongest team here. Following James’s crash and concussion he was taken to hospital for scans as he complained of a pain in his neck. The first scan revealed no injuries, we are waiting for a second for confirmation. We expect to head to South Africa to fight for more podiums.”

Crutchlow takes provisional pole at Monza

Yamaha Sterilgarda World Superbike rider Cal Crutchlow made an impressive start to the Monza race weekend, fastest in both the first free practice session and then the first qualifying session of the weekend that followed. Team mate James Toseland made a slower start, finishing fifth in the free practice and then taking ninth in the first qualifying as he and the team tested a number of set up options.

The afternoon’s qualifying was complicated by weather, rain before the session meant the superbike riders had to contend with an initially wet but drying track, gradually changing from intermediate to slick tires as the session went on. The nature of the Monza circuit with its tree lined track meant some areas including chicanes remained greasy and damp throughout.

Cal Crutchlow, Yamaha Sterilgarda World Superbike Team (1st, 1′43.758)
“It was nice to top the time sheets in both sessions today. We’re still looking for better grip a bit on the bike and also need to improve when pushing going into the corners, I think we can work on that. We tried a couple of things today which is good and I’m looking forward to tomorrow. It’s great that it’s the team’s home race and we’ll have lots of fans here and Yamaha guests so it’s nice to be on top today for them.”

James Toseland, Yamaha Sterilgarda World Superbike Team (9th, 1′46.019)
“It was one of those sessions today where it starts wet then just dries up continually over the heat. We were trying a few different suspension settings over the session but obviously the track was never fully dry, a couple of corners were still quite damp at the end and really quite greasy. With the trees around here in the park it doesn’t dry out too well. All in all we’ve tried some interesting things, and were pretty quick in the free practice, coming in fifth in the dry. We’ve got some work to do tonight, some big things to improve on which is encouraging so I’m optimistic that the changes we’re going to make later which were too long to do today will bring the next step. Fingers crossed again for the weather tomorrow.”

Massimo Meregalli, Yamaha Sterilgarda World Superbike Team Manager
“A good start for us today. The weather gave us some trouble but in the end we finished the day in good shape. Hopefully tomorrow will be dry to finalize the set up and tire choice ahead of Superpole and Sunday’s races.”