Motourage

Paul Denning

With the start of the 2012 World Superbike season less than eight weeks away, Team Suzuki Racing caught up with Paul Denning, team principal at the Crescent-Yoshimura backed Suzuki World Superbike Team.

The former Rizla Suzuki MotoGP Team Manager has put together a strong two-man team of British Superbike Championship runner-up John Hopkins and Suzuki newcomer Leon Camier in the squad run by long-standing Suzuki BSB Team Manager Jack Valentine.

What are your initial thoughts about the World Superbike Championship and what are your feelings about the level of competition?

Paul Denning: “The series looks very interesting for 2012 and even with Yamaha’s withdrawal, the level of manufacturer representation is very positive – Suzuki, Honda, Kawasaki, Ducati, BMW and Aprilia all have strong teams, whether “factory” or privately operated and all have very fast riders. The combination of the Pirelli tyres and Superbike specification machine is an “easier” package to access the limits of performance compared to the MotoGP bikes and therefore more riders can battle for the top positions. I say that with complete respect to all the riders in SBK, who fight like animals to win, but the Superbike specification bikes generally permit closer racing and different riders going for the podium week-to-week which is great for the fans. In Superbike, the rider can still make the difference. That said – the highest quality riders, bikes and teams are the ones who always end up battling for the title and we hope to be amongst them.”

How much difference is there between your GSX-R1000 in BSB and WSBK?

Paul Denning: “The 2012 GSX-R will look pretty much the same but very few components will be shared – the whole bike has been seriously updated. Yoshimura is working very hard on the motor and we are sharing a lot of development ideas together; the suspension and brakes are all new, the Motec electronics package is updated and every single detail on the GSX-R is being carefully considered. The Suzuki is a great all-round package – we have to make sure we allow the riders to use 100% of the bike’s abilities by refining the GSX-R to be as good as it can be.”

Who are your main competitors in 2012?

Paul Denning: “It’s a much shorter list to say who won’t be. There are so many strong riders and teams and it’s up to us to maximize our potential and do our best, not to second-guess who else will be quick because they all are. As Crescent Suzuki, we are the new guys in SBK and we are entering with a “quiet” attitude; we have to respect all the top teams and riders and focus on our own performance.”

Will John be fully recovered and fit for the first race? Read more…

After two winter test sessions in Spain, at Aragon and more recently Valencia, Kawasaki Racing Team riders Tom Sykes and Joan Lascorz enter the enforced winter break in good spirits after posting strong performances. The three-day Valencia test finished today, just before the new testing ban kicks in for all World Superbike Championship teams. Sykes, using race tires, set a best lap of 1’33.1s, which is a tenth or so faster than the best Superpole lap ever recorded at the former WSBK venue.

Overhead conditions on the first day at Valencia started out cloudy, but the afternoon and the final two days provided good track conditions, allowing Sykes and Lascorz to make improvements that saw them set consistently strong lap times, whether on fresh race rubber or nearing the end of a long run.

There were many developments to the race-winning Ninja ZX-10R for both riders to test, including suspension, linkages, electronics, chassis geometry and the latest ride-by-wire system.

With more direct control of the entire KRT Superbike World Championship project once more evident at these tests, there were several Japanese engineers in the pit garages as all the team members refined their working methods and strategies.

After the test ban is lifted in mid-January the team will take to the track once more in Spain, at Almeria, to make further steps down the road toward the start of the new WSBK season. The 14-round/28-race campaign commences at Phillip Island in Australia on February 26, 2012.

Tom Sykes:
“The tests went well and we ended up doing a 1’33.1 lap time on a race tire. We have worked through a lot of different things, we are working well in the garage and I am relaxed. It is no secret that when I’m relaxed I work my best. We have had some good weather – consistent weather – in Valencia and that made it better to work through all we needed to do. We have a new electronics package and found a better overall machine balance for me. We also went well at Aragon even though we only really had half a good day there, because of weather and some car tire rubber laid on the track surface. Once the conditions improved it took us only four outings of four laps each to beat the kind of lap times I set at the race last summer. Right now we are on a package that we have not changed so much between the two tests. We have a fairly good base setting that works for race distance and, when we put new tires in, for a fast lap time as well. I think we have come a long way even since the post-season Portimao test. The bike tells me what it is doing quite a lot better than before, and the improved feedback tells me when I am arriving at the limit.”

Joan Lascorz:
“I am very happy the way the test went because I set good lap times and I was very happy with the performance of the bike and the team. We made a lot of changes to the bike, changed a lot of general settings and worked on the suspension. Some are now much different from last year. All the staff worked well together again. I think I learned most from this test in terms of finding out more about our latest machine settings and then finding a more consistent good pace. These things should allow us to challenge closer to the top in 2012. Tom was very fast and we both worked well with race tires.”

Ducati UK has announced that Neil Hodgson will take on the role of Ambassador with Ducati to promote and support the Ducati 848 Challenge.

Hodgson won British Superbike and World Superbike championships with Ducati and also made appearances in MotoGP for the Italian brand. He contested two years in the AMA Superbike class on a Ducati before eventually finding his way to Corona Honda. In 2010 he again contested the British Superbike Championship with Motorpoint Yamaha before an aggravated shoulder injury sustained in a motocross incident eventually led to his retirement

The Lancashire, England native – and current Isle of Man resident – will make a number of appearances at British Superbike rounds and is also scheduled to be at one of the overseas rounds plus World Ducati Week in Misano. Hodgson will be on hand to give advice and mentoring to the 848 Challenge riders on and off track and pass on his knowledge of the circuits. As well as sharing his experience with the 848 Challenge riders, Neil will also be available to present trophies, media interviews and personal appearances and will be an invaluable presence in the paddock for both riders and fans alike.

Ducati UK and Neil are working together to produce a package that will offer unique opportunities to younger and more established riders competing in the Championship. Ducati UK will announce further details in due course.

Neil’s first Ducati 848 Challenge role will be a pre-season track day with the 848 Challenge riders where he will assist the teams and riders with advice and help riders shake off some pre-season rustiness.

As well as his ambassadorial role for the 848 Challenge, Neil will attend Ducati UK events and dealer openings throughout the year and you will be able to meet him at the Ducati stand at Motorcycle Live.

The QBE Australian Superbike Championship will be contested in seven rounds within four states in 2012 with the World Superbike round at Phillip Island serving as the season opener from February 24-26. Combined class grids will see Superbike/Prostock and Supersport/Superstock competitors race together in addition to the first round of the all-new 250 Production class.

Darwin’s Hidden Valley Raceway will host round 2 from April 20-22, with a full complement of feature and support classes. The first 2+4 event for the season will be held at Perth’s Barbagallo Raceway on May 4-6; the return prompted by extremely positive responses from V8 Supercars and the West Australian fans, and the second 2+4 event will follow, with the ASBK joining V8 Supercars at Phillip Island from May 18-20.

The remaining three rounds will be standalone, featuring Superbike, Supersport, Prostock, Superstock, 250 Production, Superlites and Supermoto. These rounds will be held at Queensland Raceway (June 1-3), Phillip Island (August 17-19) and Queensland Raceway (September 14-16).

The 250 Production and Superlites classes will contest an additional round, incorporated with the staging of the Victorian Road Race Championships.

2012 QBE Australian Superbike Championships calendar

Rd 1. 24-26 Feb 12, Phillip Island, WSBK, (SBK/PST, SSP/SST, SPR)
Rd 2. 20-22 Apr 12, Hidden Valley, SA, (SBK/PST, SSP, SST, SLT)
Rd 3. 4-6 May 12, Barbagallo, V8, (SBK)
Rd 4. 18-20 May 12, Phillip Island, V8, (SBK/PST)
Rd 5. 1-3 Jun 12, QLD Raceway, SA, (SBK/PST, SSP, SST, SLT, SPR, SMO)
Rd 6. 17-19 Aug 12, Phillip Island, SA, (SBK/PST, SSP, SST, SLT, SPR, SMO)
Rd 7. 14-16 Sep 12, QLD Raceway, SA, (SBK/PST, SSP, SST, SLT, SPR, SMO)

SA – Standalone round/ V8 – V8 Supercars round/ WSBK – World Superbike round

2011 BSB Championship runner up and former MotoGP and AMA man John Hopkins plans to make another go at the World Superbike Championship after signing with Crescent Suzuki, as the UK-based team makes the move from the national to the world stage. Hopkins completes the two-man lineup with his new teammate, Leon Camier, who makes the move from the Alitalia Aprilia team. Camier will begin testing the Crescent Suzuki Powered by Yoshimura GSX-R1000 at Portimao, Portugal later this month, with Hopkins joining him in the tests in early 2012. The first race of next year’s calendar is scheduled for Sunday, February 26 at Phillip Island, Australia.

Hopkins is currently at his U.S. home in California, recovering from surgery to correct a finger injury he sustained at Brno while riding as a wild card for the Rizla Suzuki MotoGP team. He had a successful first season with Crescent Suzuki in the British national series, narrowly missing out on the championship at the last race of the year to Swan Yamaha’s Tommy Hill. Hopkins contested the World Superbike Series in 2009 as a mid-season replacement for Robbie Rolfo at the ill-fated Stiggy Honda team, but injuries – and a horrific crash at the Nurburgring – coupled with Stiggy’s decision to pull out of the series, ended Hopkins WSBK hopes. He signed with John Ulrich’s team in AMA Superbike the following year but was again hampered by injuries. Earlier this season, he captured Superpole at the Silverstone WSBK weekend before finishing fifth in race 1 and seventh in race 2 as a wild card.

John Hopkins:
“I am really happy to be joining up with the Crescent guys again. We had a great year in British Superbike and I’m sure we can continue that in WSB. I wanted to get back into world championship racing and this is a natural progression from last year. The difference this time is that I will be going to tracks that I already know and have some reference from, so that should make some things a bit easier.

Read more…

Nürburgring race winner Tom Sykes has signed to ride for the official Kawasaki Racing Team in 2012, joining existing rider Joan Lascorz. Sykes, who has been an official Kawasaki rider for the past two seasons and a key figure in the development of the current Ninja ZX-10R racebike, has already won a world championship race for Kawasaki, at the German WSBK round in early September.

Tom Sykes

Lascorz and Sykes had their first test in preparation for the 2012 season at the Portimao Algarve Race Circuit in Portugal on Tuesday, October 18, only two days after the end of the 2011 campaign, and it was a test that turned out well for both riders.

The team’s European logistical base will be in Spain but with overall control coming direct from Japan, as the Superbike World Championship program is a full Kawasaki Heavy Industries project.

“I’m very happy to be continuing with Kawasaki and the Ninja ZX-10R in 2012,” said Sykes. “I believe the bike has good potential and we saw some of that come through in 2011 with a race win in Germany and superpole at Misano. These are the kind of results I am looking to achieve in the coming season on a regular basis and I really believe we can do this. I have a lot of confidence in Kawasaki and the team around me, so if we can improve a couple of points with the set-up of the bike on the track which I feel are restricting performance this would be a big step forward for us in the final results. I am looking forward to re-starting our test program again very soon.”

“We are very happy to run with Tom in 2012,” said Guim Roda, Team Manager. “Kawasaki always tries to keep the people it has in place and Tom has been making a good job in the last two years with Kawasaki. He has the potential to go fast, as he has shown in 2011, and now we have to repeat that for full race distance at each round. He is young and determined, which are good combinations for a fast rider. I’m sure working closer with Marcel, his new crew chief, and taking part in all the tests we have planned means he will take one step more and he will be able to fight for the podium places at every race. Let’s see what he can show us all next year.”

“It’s great that Tom’s with us again for 2012 in the World Superbike Championship,” added Steve Guttridge, Kawasaki Europe Race Planning Manager. “He’s worked hard within the project over the past two years and has always dug deep when it mattered to give us our first pole and race win with the new Ninja ZX-10R. [Paul Bird Motorsport] had good insight to hold onto him this year as part of the three-rider team, and now Tom has justifiably been rewarded with a full KHI factory rider contract for next year and being part our new WSB project. With a year under his belt on the new bike and a strong test plan being coordinated from Japan, I’m sure we will get to see Tom on the top step of that podium far more regularly in 2012.”

2011 Superbike World Champion Carlos Checa

The Althea Racing Team have already secured four championship titles, scooping the World Superbike and Superstock 1000 rider and manufacturer titles in spectacular style – and all in the space of a few hours – at the last round in Magny-Cours, France. The squad, still on an emotional high after such a successful 2011 season, hope to close the year in similar style. All three of Althea Racing’s riders – Carlos Checa, Davide Giugliano and Lorenzo Baroni – will be aiming for the top at the closing round of their respective championships, taking place at Autodromo Internacional do Algarve in Portimao, Portugal this coming weekend.

Checa, in his last appearance at the Portimao track late last year, just missed out on the podium, finishing both races in fourth position. He will certainly be looking to improve on that this time around. He will be joined in the garage this weekend by Davide Giugliano who, having taken the STK 1000 title for Althea at the previous round, will wildcard in the SBK category. Ernesto Marinelli, SBK Project Director for Ducati will return to his role of race engineer to support Giugliano in the Althea garage over the weekend.

Lorenzo Baroni will hold down the fort in the STK 1000 category, looking to improve on his overall points total. Currently lying in sixth position in the standings, mathematics shows that he cannot reach fifth ,but he will nevertheless be doing his best to finish the year in the best possible way.

The Althea Racing Team will formally receive the championship trophies at Sunday’s championship ceremony.

Carlos Checa:
“I won’t be changing anything this weekend, even if the situation has changed slightly in that I’ve won the title. The challenge for me is to treat this like any other race. I will be a little more relaxed of course but not too relaxed. I really like the track and think that we arrive there with the right ingredients to be able to make two great races. I will give it my all in order to take the greatest possible satisfaction at the end of the day. If we can win one of the races that that would of course be the perfect end to what has been, for me, a perfect season.”

Checa’s Superbike form at Portimao:
2010: Race 1- 4th, Race 2 – 4th
2009: Race 1 – 7th, Race 2 – DNF
2008: Race 1 – 2nd, Race 2 – 7th

Davide Giugliano:
“We go to Portimao prepared for this new experience. It won’t be easy but I know I have a team behind me that is 100 percent supportive, and this gives me confidence. The team is very motivated, having won the Superbike title, and to be in the garage with Carlos will give me even more motivation. I’m also very happy to have Marinelli as my engineer this weekend – to have the chance to work with him and other technicians who have in the past worked with greats such as Bayliss, is a real opportunity for me and I want to make the most of it. With regard to possible results, I prefer to keep quiet, but I think we can make two good races.”

Ernesto Marinelli:
“I am very happy to make a one-off return to a role that I love, to help Davide in what will surely be a high pressure event for him and in recognition of the title that he has brought to Ducati. I hope that my experience will help him in the next step along a career path that I trust will be long and as full of success as this year has been.”

After a season full of successes, race wins, podiums, fastest laps and pole positions, Carlos Checa and the Althea Ducati Racing Team received the ultimate prize at the Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours in Nevers, France, as the Spanish racing veteran was crowned 2011 World Superbike Champion at the penultimate round of the championship. This was not all, as, thanks to Checa’s brilliant results throughout the 2011 season, Ducati was today celebrating its 17th win in the manufacturer’s championship at the end of Race 2.

In Race 1, and starting from third position on the grid, Checa was in third by the end of lap one, behind Alitalia Aprilia’s Camier and Factory Yamaha’s Eugene Laverty. Within a couple of laps he had reached and passed Camier, recording the fastest lap of the race (1:38.643) on lap 4. Pushing hard, Checa began to close the gap between himself and race leader Laverty and on the ninth lap he was able to get ahead and take control of the race. By the end of the fifteenth lap he had a two-second advantage over the Irishman and, wanting to clinch the title in the best possible way, he did not slow up even for a second, crossing the line in first place and claiming the World Championship title as his own.

Despite the fact that emotions were already running high, Carlos got straight back to work in the second race of the day. Fourth at the end of lap one, he got past first Kawasaki’s Tom Sykes and then Camier, making the fastest lap of the race on lap two, a 1:39.136. With this fast lap, his tenth fastest lap of the 2011 season, he also picked up the Pirelli best lap award. A few laps later, Checa made a small error while trying to pass Laverty and lost a couple of positions as a result. He soon made up for this however, and by the eighth lap he was back up to third and only one second from race leader Laverty. On lap 12 he got in front of Honda’s Jonathan Rea, and on the very next lap he was leading the race. Extremely fast all the way to the line, Carlos managed his race to perfection, closing in first place once again, to secure his 14th win of the season.

Having led the 2011 championship right from the opening round, Carlos Checa’s win is extremely well deserved. He brought home the 2011 World SBK title ahead of schedule, with three races still to run. Highlights (and lowlights) of the season have included double wins at Phillip Island, Salt Lake City, Misano, Silverstone and Magny-Cours, a crash at home track Aragon and the stunning win at Ducati’s home track of Imola last weekend.

The season has brought huge success, with the team clocking up 14 race wins and a total of 20 podium finishes over the 12 events held so far. At Silverstone, Carlos also reached the milestone of 100 WSBK race starts while simultaneously scoring the 300th race win for Ducati. Carlos has thus far attained 39 podiums from 106 SBK race starts.

Read more…

Team Alstare Suzuki rider Michel Fabrizio endured a frustrating race at this weekend’s 12th round of the World Superbike Championship at the Magny Cours Circuit in Nevers, France.

In race one, he attempted a pass on Tom Sykes (Kawasaki) on lap 17, but clipped the rear end of the Briton’s bike and crashed, remounting to eventually finish 12th. Fabrizio’s second race lasted just two laps, as he fell off at turn seven and was unable to continue.

It was a disappointing end to a weekend that had seen Fabrizio and the team struggle to find a good setup throughout the three days.

Carlos Checa (Ducati) won both races in style, and also took the 2011 World Superbike title. Marco Melandri (Yamaha) took second in the first race, with Leon Haslam (BMW) third. Melandri also took runner-up spot in race two with his teammate Eugene Laverty in third.

Michel Fabrizio – Race 1: 12th, Race 2: DNF:
“Frustrating and disappointing – that’s what the whole weekend has been for me really. We did manage to improve the bike a bit during this morning’s warm-up, but getting good results starting from the fourth-row-of-the grid was always going to be hard. The grip was definitely a bit better – thanks to the changes the team made – and I felt more-comfortable than yesterday or Friday.

“I didn’t make a particularly-good start and found myself battling with Sykes after the halfway mark. I could see that he was having some tire problems and thought I could pass him. I made my move to pass him going into Chateau D’Eau, but he went in a bit slow and I just clipped his rear end and crashed. I got back on the bike and carried on, but it was a pretty lonely ride.

“I was hoping for better luck in race two, but I didn’t get it. After two laps, I lost the front at turn seven and down I went. It happened so quickly I couldn’t do anything about it. This time, I couldn’t rejoin the race.

“I feel frustrated and disappointed. The last four rounds have not been good for me and that’s a big shame because things had gone reasonably well before then. My podium in May now seems a long time ago, but the funny thing is that I believe that I can get on the podium again. But first I have to qualify well in Superpole and give myself a chance. There is only one round – and two races – remaining and I do not want to end the season continuing this recent run of poor results. I will do everything I can to do better in Portimao and end the season on an up.”

Magny Cours WSB Results:

Race 1: 1 Carlos Checa (ESP-Ducati), 2 Marco Melandri (ITA-Yamaha), 3 Leon Haslam (GBR-BMW), 4 Leon Camier (GBR-Aprilia), 5 Eugene Laverty (GBR-Yamaha), 6 Sylvain Guintoli (FRA-Ducati). 12 Michel Fabrizio (ITA-Alstare Suzuki).

Race 2: 1 Checa, 2 Melandri, 3 Laverty, 4 Haslam, 5 Guintoli, 6 Joan Lascorz (ESP-Kawasaki). Michel Fabrizio (ITA-Alstare Suzuki) DNF.

World Championship Points: 1 Checa 467, 2 Melandri 360, 3 Laverty 283, 4 Biaggi 281, 5 Haslam 216, 6 Camier 194. 10 Michel Fabrizio (ITA-Alstare Suzuki) 145.

After his recent scoreless streak, Team Alstare Suzuki rider Michel Fabrizio is more determined than ever to secure good results at Magny-Cours in France this weekend at the 12th round of the World Superbike Championship.

The Italian finished third in the second race at the 2010 event and is hoping that he can repeat that performance this year aboard his GSX-R1000.

The 2.74-mile circuit features a mixture of fast and slow corners, and, like most tracks, it requires a good bike setup. The ‘Adelaide’ hairpin is one of the slowest corners in the World Superbike calendar, with the bike going from close to 175mph down to 30mph. With a little crest in the track just after the exit, the bike wants to wheelie, and it’s difficult to keep the front wheel on the tarmac. Although the surface is generally pretty smooth, it gets slippery when it rain,s and good track knowledge is vital.

Michel Fabrizio:
“The last time I raced in Magny-Cours I finished on the podium, so it would be really good to do that again – especially after my recent poor results. Not finishing the last four races has not been good for me, nor the team, and I really need a couple of positive results this coming weekend.

“The frustrating thing is that I know that my race pace is good and so I should be finishing races and getting top-six results or better. Maybe I have been a bit too aggressive at the start of both the first races in the last two rounds, but that’s probably because I was not high enough up the grid and knew I had to make very good starts. It’s easy to get a bit carried away at the start of a race because so much is happening and I want to be a part of the lead group, not battling for 10th position.

“I need to get a better grid position in Superpole and then not have to charge so hard at the beginning of the races. But, as you know, Superpole has been a bit of a problem for me and I have not managed a front-row grid place all year so far: That in itself is frustrating and so once again I will try and do my best in Qualifying and Superpole and give myself a good chance come race day. Time is running out for some good results, so Magny-Cours would be a good place to start and that’s what I aim to do.”

2010 results:

Race 1: 1 Cal Crutchlow (GBR-Yamaha), 2 Leon Haslam (GBR-Alstare Suzuki), 3 Carlos Checa (ESP-Ducati), 4 Max Biaggi (ITA-Aprilia), 5 Jakub Smrz (CZE-Aprilia), 6 Michel Fabrizio (ITA-Ducati).

Race 2: 1 Biaggi, 2 Crutchlow, 3 Michel Fabrizio, 4 Sylvain Guintoli (FRA-Alstare Suzuki), 5 Noriyuki Haga (JPN-Ducati), 6 Smrz.