Motourage

The Paul Bird Kawasaki Racing Team heads to Portimao in Portugal for round two of the World Superbike Championship determined to post strong results after experiencing mixed fortunes in the opening round in Australia.

Tom Sykes hopes a new bike setup will help him at Portimao

Tom Sykes scored points last time out but Chris Vermeulen fell at high speed in race two, injuring his right knee, and now approaches this weekend with characteristic determination to be fit to race on Sunday.

Until misfortune struck, both Vermeulen and Sykes looked to be heading towards good results in each Australian race, a factor that gives the whole team confidence that Portimao will be a good weekend and more of a reward for everyone’s hard work in the winter.

Part of those winter preparations was an official test at Portimao in January, although poor weather was a frequent visitor at that time. Those January track sessions were particularly valuable for Chris, who had not ridden at Portimao prior to then.

Weather conditions are expected to be largely dry for all concerned on race weekend on the Algarve coast, which would allow Tom and Chris consistent track conditions to find an optimal raceday set-up.

Tom Sykes:
“I’m really looking forward to the race in Portugal. We’ve learned a lot with the bike since Phillip Island and to be honest I’m really happy with the team set-up and how we are working together. I’m feeling positive about the bike as we have a completely different machine set-up and made valuable progress since we last tested in Portimao in January, which adds to my confidence for a decent result here. I have high expectations for myself and the team and I hope we can deliver a good result.”

Chris Vermeulen:
“The doctors at the Clinica Mobile have already said it is OK for me to race. On Sunday it is going to be four weeks since the accident and really I need two months for everything to heal properly. I sat on the bike today for the first time and it is a little difficult to get my knee into position, but we can lower the footpeg and raise the seat, do whatever we can to help that. The Clinica Mobile will tape up my knee and give me some injections for the pain. I am going out for practice on Friday morning to see what I can do. I am sure it is going to be possible to ride.”

The paddock sets down at Autódromo Internacional do Algarve in Portimao, Portugal this week for the first of the European rounds of the 2010 World Superbike Championship season. This will be the third outing for Superbikes at the Portuguese circuit, and the first race there for the Sterilgarda Yamaha team since they secured the 2009 WSBK title at the end of last season with rider Ben Spies. The track also has a special significance for Cal Crutchlow, as it was here at the end of the season last year that he crossed the line to take the World Supersport Championship title for Yamaha. The team also enjoyed a very positive test here in January, wrapping up with Cal Crutchlow fourth fastest and James Toseland sixth, both delivering fast, consistent and competitive lap times.

James Toseland is still not 100% after injuring his hand at Phillip Island

After solving unexpected chatter problems in the race weekend during the first round, the team then also found difficulties in the electronics area in combination with the increased power found during the winter and low grip levels at the Phillip Island circuit. The team have continued to work hard to further develop the 2010 R1 including a short test at the Misano circuit in San Marino last week. Riders James Toseland and Cal Crutchlow are now keen to get straight onto the track and close the points deficit to current championship leader Leon Haslam.

Round one at Phillip Island saw both riders fall in the first race, regrouping for race two with Crutchlow scoring a ninth place finish and Toseland right behind in tenth. The month break following has given Toseland’s hand injury, sustained in Phillip Island, a chance to recover ahead of Friday’s first sessions on track.

In 2009, Cal Crutchlow won at Portimao, securing the Supersport title

Cal Crutchlow:
“I’m really keen to get to Portugal and get back on the bike.  Last time I raced here I won the world title in Supersport so I have good feelings for the track. I’m going to put 100% into my efforts this weekend as always and we’ll see what happens with the progress the guys have made over the last couple of weeks.”

James Toseland:
“I’m really looking forward to it. We had a tough time in Australia, but I believe the team has been working really hard in the meantime and the test went well in Misano. My hand is nearly back to normal although there’s still a bit of pain. I’m basically looking forward to getting out on track and seeing what progress we’ve made to catch up.”

Read more…

After success in Australia, Team Suzuki Alstare riders Leon Haslam and Sylvain Guintoli are looking forward to getting back on track at round two of the World Superbike Championship at Portimao in Portugal this weekend and chasing the podium again.

This is the third time that the Autodromo do Algarve is hosting a round of the championship, though this year the race takes place in the spring instead of its usual end-of-season date.

Following the opening round at Phillip Island, Haslam is leading the World Championship by nine points with Guintoli fifth, and both are determined to do well at the 4.592 kilometer circuit. Haslam was in superb form in the pre-season tests at the track in January, and Guintoli too showed that he had become very comfortable with the 2010 GSX-R1000 Suzuki Alstare bike. Both riders are eager to continue their attack on the championship and also keep Suzuki at the top of the manufacturer standings.

Leon Haslam:
“Portimao is a fantastic circuit and probably the most demanding one on the calendar. I think all riders like it because it is such a challenge and when you do a good lap there, the feeling is fantastic. From the very first time I jumped onto the Suzuki I knew that the bike could be a contender and so far, I think we have proved that. The whole team has given me tremendous support and we are all now looking forward to another good weekend in Portimao. I went well there in the pre-season tests and I will be chasing two more podiums for sure.”

Sylvain Guintoli:
“I am very pleased with my start to the season and I cannot tell you how happy and comfortable I am with my bike. Of course, every time I go out on it I learn a bit more, but already I am thinking of podiums and that is a good feeling to have. It has been a long break since the first race and I am itching to get back in the saddle and racing again. Portimao is a great track, but very, very challenging. I think it is one of the best race tracks in the series and I will be doing my very best to get on the podium there.”

It has been a few weeks since Phillip Island, but the 2010 motorcycle racing season is finally getting ready to heat up.
Round Two of the Motourage Fantasy Riders League will again be a one-series weekend as the World Superbike Series heads to Portimao, Portugal.  If your results from round one were worse than expected, you have until 17:00GMT/12:00EST on Friday, March 26 to make your WSBK rider substitutions. You may also make BSB and MotoGP transfers during that time frame.  Remember, points are scored the same for all three eligible series, BSB, MotoGP and WSBK.

Good luck in round two!

The standings after Round One of the Motourage Fantasy Riders League are as follows.

1st Swamphole Racing, Noel Nunkovich, 46
2nd MinellaSpeed, Dave Minella, 45
3rd Team Motorious, Ivan Lo, 35
4th East Coast Racing, Brad Boutilier, 33
5th Flying Monkeys, Jeff Ritter, 29
6th team carbonated, Rebecca Saclolo,27
7th BNG Racing, Bridget Kirkland, 27
8th Motherless Goats, Jared Koch, 27
9th Dark Energy, Camila Restrepo, 27
10th Team Rig, Lee Lilly, 27
11th CornerSpeedPhoto, Dan Lo, 27
12th Spieswise, A. Van Donselaar, 24
13th Pretty.2010, Pretty Pretty, 16
14th irishlad, Dave Kelly, 9
15th Uttley Allstars, Richard Uttley, 6
16th JJ’s M1 Super Scooters, Jennifer Jabbusch, 6
17th ducatinewstoday.com, Mark Morrison, 0
18th Desmodromic Demonoids, Aaron Boyle    , 0
19th rozlanbgsp, Rozlan Abdullah, 0
20th MotoGPNewsBlog, Chris Lykins, 0
21st MotoGPBlog, Rob Jones, 0
22nd Ow My Freakin’ Ears!, Leigh Berwick, 0
23rd Blue Galaxy, Alun Edwards, 0
24th gp1malaysia, Nazarie Francis, 0
25th luckyguess, N. Van Donselaar, 0

Riders Cal Crutchlow and James Toseland completed their final day of testing today at the Portimao circuit in Portugal. The two British riders have worked hard over the three days, experiencing a variety of weather conditions from dry to wet to intermediate as they and the team worked through various electronic and bike set ups ahead of the 2010 season.

The final session saw Cal fall victim to the drastically reduced grip of the track following yesterday’s rain. Fifty minutes from the end he lost the front of the bike on the slippery surface on the last corner before the home straight. In typical form he was back on his spare bike shortly afterwards for the remainder of the session. Team-mate James was consistently fast all day, ending the last test day just outside the top five in sixth position.

Cal Crutchlow, Yamaha Sterilgarda World Superbike Team, (4th, 1’42.9)
“It was frustrating to fall today, the track so was so slippery it was unavoidable, but it cost me some time on the track. Having said that we’ve had a really good test, we’ve worked through a lot of things and I think we’ve got closer to a good set-up for the first race. I’m really keen to get to Australia and start the next test before we kick-off racing.”

James Toseland, Yamaha Sterilgarda World Superbike Team, (6th, 1’43.1)
“I’m really pleased overall. We’ve worked through a lot of stuff over the last three days and I feel I’ve got a lot more understanding of the bike. The team has worked really well and I’m pleased we’ve managed to keep consistent fast pace over the test. I think there’s more to come so I’m looking forward to getting started again!”

Massimo Meregalli, Yamaha Sterilgarda World Superbike Team Manager
“Unfortunately the grip level was much less than Friday, so until the soft tires went on the lap times were not as fast as when we started the test. All the riders struggled to find good grip, so the problem was with the track, not the riders. Cal lost some time after his fall, he switched bikes but had no experience on the tire on the second bike so couldn’t push so hard. James rode really well today, he is always consistent and was definitely fast enough for the conditions out there. Overall we go to Australia feeling confident and with a good spirit. We’ve had a really successful test, we’ve got some great feedback and have made a good start to 2010.”

The all-British line up of Cal Crutchlow and James Toseland wrapped up a successful final day of testing in Valencia this afternoon. Both Crutchlow and Toseland had spent the two day test at the Ricardo Tormo circuit working through electronic and chassis settings on their R1 superbikes ahead of the 2010 season next year.

Day two saw big improvements from both riders as the times came down, covering some 60 laps each, despite neither of them getting the opportunity to take advantage of the faster tires towards the end of the day. They will now head home for Christmas before joining up with their new team again in Portugal in January for the first test of 2010 at the Portimao circuit in the Algarve.

Cal Crutchlow, Yamaha Sterilgarda World Superbike Team (1’34.1)
“Today was even better than the first day, we worked through a lot more settings in the sessions. I’m disappointed with my final time though as I think I could have been fastest at the end of the day but I didn’t get a chance to use the fastest tire. I’m happy enough with my overall pace and consistency. We’ve still more to do so I’m looking forward to getting back on the bike in January and keeping up the development.”

James Toseland, Yamaha Sterilgarda World Superbike Team (1’34.3)
“A really encouraging test for me, again I’m happy being on a track I know so I can concentrate on the bike set up. I feel we’ve come on quite a bit with the bike over the last two days. I didn’t utilize the quick tire to its full potential as I got held up which is a shame as I was quite confident of getting into the 33s. I ended up on 34.3, which was a good pace. I’m getting used to the way of riding the bike and getting confident with the team as well. I think if we had a race tomorrow we’d be in with a shout!”

Massimo Meregalli, Yamaha Sterilgarda World Superbike Team Manager
“For the second test for both riders and last test of the season I’m very satisfied. We’ve made some good improvements to the feel of the electronics and suspension, with some very useful feedback from the riders. We’ll take a break now and come back to it in January in Portimao and I think we will achieve even more.”

2010 Yamaha World Superbike riders James Toseland and Cal Crutchlow wasted no time today, getting straight down to business with their first ride on the championship winning R1. Both riders were working with their new teams for the first time, but gelled quickly and had got down to under the race pace of Sunday’s championship final before the end of the first sessions.

Today’s session was the first step in adapting the bikes to their new riders, both Toseland and Crutchlow will start again tomorrow morning to make further changes and close in on the perfect set up for their 2010 race season. Despite a high speed high side in the morning session, Cal Crutchlow showed no signs of slowing down and continued to make significant time improvements over the afternoon’s practice time. New team mate and fellow British rider James Toseland also showed solid improvement over the day, despite being new to the bike and track he quickly got down to business and continued to shave time off his laps over the course of the sessions.

Having achieved an incredible victory on Sunday and lifted the World Superbike title for the first time, the Yamaha team were straight to business today, working hard to develop championship winning riders for the next season.

Cal Crutchlow earned the SuperSport world championship for Yamaha and has been rewarded with a move to the premier liter bike class

Cal Crutchlow, Yamaha World Superbike Team (1’42.7)
“It was a good enough day apart from a stupid crash this morning after about 30 laps, there seemed to be something wrong with my rear tire which caused me to high side. I hit my head and have had a few headaches today but ok apart from that. The testing has gone well, we’ve done quite reasonable times, all credit to the guys who’ve worked really hard. We haven’t changed much on the bike today, just tried to make it my bike a bit, tomorrow we’ll do some more and see how we go.”

Former World Superbike champion James Toseland hopes to achieve equal success for Yamaha in 2010

James Toseland, Yamaha World Superbike Team (1’43.7)
“I’m feeling really positive, it’s obviously my first time on the bike, it felt a bit alien after two years on a GP bike but the balance of the bike felt good and I’m really impressed with how the team’s working, I’ve got an old friend of mine as a chief engineer. I’ve been really impressed to work with him today and Silvano Galbusera (Yamaha World Superbike Team Technical coordinator) looking over him with his experience has been great. What’s been nice is the changes we’ve been making have always been in a positive direction, so to say we’ve got down to more or less race pace on a brand new track and a brand new bike is good, I’m pretty pleased with it.”

Massimo Meregalli, Yamaha World Superbike Team
“Cal’s first day went pretty well, it was easier for him compared to James as he already knew the track, but it was still a really good first test session for him. For James everything was new today, the bike, the track, tires, many things! I think tomorrow he will make another step. For the first day we are very satisfied with both riders.”

Yamaha Setup Report – Portimao, Purtugal  21/10/2009

Spies prepares for the big showdown in Portimao

Ben Spies could become the first American World Superbike champion since Colin Edwards won the title in 2002

The clock is ticking down to the 14th and final round of the 2009 World Superbike Championship at the Portimao circuit in Portugal. With just ten points separating championship leader Haga from Yamaha World Superbike rider Ben Spies everything is to play for on race day. If Spies can secure two race wins, he will walk away with not just the championship title, but a well earned place in the World Superbike history books. Spies can already claim the title of greatest rookie of all time, taking the championship by storm in his first year on his R1, racking up an incredible 13 race wins, six fastest lap records and 16 podiums on mostly unknown circuits.

Teammate Tom Sykes heads to the final round of the year determined to reach the elusive podium he has worked so hard for this season. Sykes has had a challenging year, however has displayed good race pace at most tracks and was a consistent top ten finisher for the most part. He has proved to have good speed at Portimao having performed well in the tests so will be looking to hold on to his eighth position in the championship come race day. Sykes currently sits on 176 points, 24 behind Carlos Checa in seventh.

This will be the second outing for the World Superbike Championship on the Portimao circuit which was completed last year just before the final round of the 2008 Championship. The track proved to be a major hit with riders and fans alike with swooping corners, corkscrews, blind corners and multiple elevation changes ensuring exciting racing from the lights.

Despite learning many of the WSBK tracks by playing video games, Spies has established himself as possibly the greatetst rookie in World Superbike history

“I can’t wait to get to the circuit and get set up for Sunday’s races,” said Ben Spies. “We’ve been fighting hard for race wins all year, and as a rookie on a new bike I think we’ve achieved some pretty good results. My focus is completely on going for two race wins on Sunday, I would love to be able to deliver the title for the team as they really deserve it and have worked so hard to make it possible. We do go well on the Portimao circuit, so I’m going to give it everything I’ve got to challenge Nori for the wins. There will be a few fast guys up there as always so it should be an exciting race day.”

“I’m obviously very much looking forward to this weekend,” said Tom Sykes. “We’ve had good tests there in the past so we’re going there on a good base setting and looking to finish the season on a high; I certainly feel it’s achievable. The only concern I have at the moment is the fitness in my shoulder after France, although hopefully I will be able to get on the bike and put that behind me. I would like to finish strong for Yamaha and repay my team for all their hard work they’ve put in this year.”

Read more…