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Category: Superbikes
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SOLID RACE FOR SCOTT WHO FINISHES IN THE POINTS WITH FOURTEENTH PLACE, JUST BEHIND HIS TEAMMATE
Both of the Aprilia machines finished in the points in a spectacular race on the Dutch Assen track, the eighth round of the MotoGP Championship It was a race that, as the practice and qualifying days had foreshadowed, was characterised by a spectacular balance, so much that Espargaró and Redding missed the top ten even though they finished only 16 seconds behind the winner, Marquez.
For Aleix it was a disappointment explained by the conservative choice of putting a hard rear tyre on for the race. Off the line well from the third row – earned thanks to a brilliant qualifying session – Aleix was eighth at the end of the first lap, but then he lost five positions due to contact with Zarco. Clawing his way back up to thirteenth place was made difficult by the poor grip conditions his tyres provided throughout the race and he finished in that position, 15.986 seconds behind the leader.
Scott rode his best race yet astride the RS-GP on the historic Dutch track. Starting from the sixth row, Scott was seventeenth at the end of the first lap. Finding a good pace, he moved up through the pack until catching up, and on one occasion overtaking, his teammate. The fourteenth place finish, 16 seconds behind the winner, is a good result that shows the progress the English rider has made in the last two races.
ALEIX ESPARGARO'
"I am not happy. Unfortunately, I made the wrong choice for the rear tyre. My Aprilia worked extremely well throughout the weekend on the soft, even if we were at the limit with wear. Precisely for this reason and after the wear problems at Mugello and the crash in Barcelona, I opted for the hard, thinking that it would be a safer choice. In reality, I did not have grip from the start, so all I could do was simply try to finish the race. A pity because we really worked well in all the sessions and then the worst came right at the decisive moment, where the points are earned."
SCOTT REDDING
"I am happy especially with the consistency I was able to maintain in the race. We made the right tyre choice. After warm up, I considered the hard option on the rear, thinking about duration, but after lapping well with the soft in practice, it was smart to ride the race with that one as well. I had fun, staying close to Pol and Aleix and managing to fend on Pedrosa's attacks. We worked well, calmly and without pressure and the results are clear. It is a small step forward. Now we need to continue in this direction."
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The seventh race of the 2018 MotoGP Championship season will have the teams and riders busy on the Catalunya Circuit, just a few kilometres from Barcelona. A modern and spectacular track, it has been resurfaced and modified in its final section.
The Aprilia Racing Team Gresini riders have already had a chance to try out the changes with a test session that was useful in preparation for the Spanish round.
Aleix Espargarò has plenty of motivation. Having just become a father to Max and Mia, Aleix will take on his home race even more determined to do well with his RS-GP. For Scott Redding, the Barcelona race could be the perfect opportunity to find the right confidence with the Italian bike and to take a further step forward.
ALEIX ESPARGARO'
"I really worked hard preparing for my home race in Barcelona. I am keen to do well. Unfortunately, the first part of the season did not go as we had hoped, but there are clear signs of our competitiveness. This will be my first weekend as a father. It is very emotional and extra motivation."
SCOTT REDDING
"Montmelò is a nice track. The new asphalt is excellent, as we were able to test a couple of weeks ago. My goals for the rest of the season have not changed. We need to work hard, just as we have been until now, and achieve the best possible results."
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The Red Bull Honda World Superbike Team concluded their Czech WorldSBK adventure with a double point-scoring finish as Leon Camier crossed the finish line in seventh place and a resurgent Jake Gagne took twelfth in hot conditions at Brno.
Camier started Race 2 in P6 on the grid but needed a couple of laps to find his feet, settling into P9 in the opening laps. As other riders struggled in the warm conditions, Camier adapted and was able to improve his pace to work his way ahead of his competitors and climbed to seventh place with five laps remaining, the position he held until the chequered flag.
Further back, Gagne got a good start from the seventh row of the grid and quickened his pace as the race went on, setting his quickest lap of the race on lap 9. A last lap push nearly brought the American his first top-ten finish in WorldSBK, but ultimately he just missed out although he still equalled his best result of the year with P12.
The Race 2 result sees Camier move up one place in the championship standings to tenth on 72 points, while Gagne stays in seventeenth overall but increases his points tally to 24.
The United States hosts the next WorldSBK round at Gagne’s home circuit of Laguna Seca from June 22-24.
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Ryan Kneen has been awarded the 2018 PokerStars Spirit of the TT Award following brother Dan’s accident during this year’s TT Races.
The Kneen family have close links with the road racing community and Ryan, who was also competing in this year’s TT Races meeting, went out at the back of Thursday’s qualifying session wearing his brother’s helmet, following Dan’s death in Wednesday’s Superbike practice.
The PokerStars Spirit of the TT Award is given annually to the person or persons who best represent the ethos and values of the TT Races including decency, honesty, generosity, courage, compassion, integrity, respect, teamwork and commitment to the development of the races.
The presentation of the award was made on Friday – Senior Race Day - on the Grandstand podium ahead of the PokerStars Senior TT Race.
Guy Templer, Chief Operating Officer, The Stars Group, who presented the award commented:
“The Kneen family has shown incredible resilience and spirit and this was typified by Ryan’s gesture in his tribute practice lap to his brother that received such an incredible reaction from the fans at the event and a remarkable surge of support on-line as well.”
Rob Callister, MHK, Isle of Man Government’s Tourism and Motorsport representative said:
"Everyone in the local community and the broader road racing scene, was affected by Dan’s death. He was a hugely popular figure on the Isle of Man and made a great impact on everybody that met him. He will be sorely missed.”
He continued:
“It is entirely appropriate that this year’s PokerStars Spirit of the TT award goes to Ryan whose spirit and dignity is a shining example of the values and ethos of the event. I personally attend the legacy lap on Sunday and it was incredibly moving to see Ryan and his father Richard leading around eight thousand bikers around the TT course.”
Representatives from the Isle of Man Government's Motorsport team including Rob Callister MHK, TT rider liaison officers Richard Quayle and John Barton, ACU Clerk of the Course Gary Thompson and the Stars Group Chief Operating Officer Guy Templer judged the award. Nominations were invited from members of the public and from officials associated with the TT.
Previous winners have included Paul Owen, Conor Cummins, the Birchall Brothers, TT Marshal Eric Alexander and TTRA secretary Frances Thorp. The then ninety-one year old Harold Leece who opened up his garden to visitors every year and 8 year old fundraiser Cici Reed received the award in 2015 and the 2016 winner was TT rider Paul Shoesmith. Last year’s award was shared between the three organisers of the TT facebook helpline page - Barbara Keene, Margaret Cain and Sandra Diamond - which was set up to help visitors to the Isle of Man with travel and accommodation emergency issues.
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The first qualifying session for the 2018 Isle of Man TT Races, fuelled by Monster Energy, got underway in perfect conditions on Saturday evening. Dean Harrison and Michael Dunlop topped the Supersport and Lightweight leaderboards having lapped at 125.797mph and 120.875mph respectively, the latter inside the class lap record, albeit unofficial to lay down an early marker for the Bennetts Lightweight TT Race on Wednesday 6th June.
The session was slightly delayed due to oil being cleared between Cronk ny Mona and Signpost and it was 6.25pm when Rider Liaison Officer Richard Quayle set off with newcomers Adam Lyon, David Jackson and Davey Todd for their escorted lap although Jackson only got as far as Ballig Bridge before stopping with a machine that was reported to be smoking.
At 6.53pm, the session proper started and Martin Jessopp (Riders Motorcycles Triumph) and Peter Hickman (Trooper Beer by Smiths Triumph) were first away, swiftly followed down Glencrutchery Road by Harrison (Silicone Engineering Kawasaki) and Michael Rutter (Paton), the latter the first of the Lightweight machines away.
Michael Dunlop (MD Racing Honda) and Conor Cummins and Ian Hutchinson (both Padgetts Racing Honda) were also away early in the Supersport class with Lintin (Dafabet Devitt Racing Kawasaki), Danny Webb (IEG/KMR Kawasaki) and Ian Lougher (Paton) going out on their Lightweight mounts. Also out on a Lightweight David Johnson was also out on a lightweight bike, the Aussie a late-replacement for Ian Hutchinson on the RST/KMR Kawasaki.
Cummins was first to complete a lap and he was fastest with 123.207mph swiftly followed across the line by Dunlop (122.607mph), Harrison (121.793) and James Hillier (121.356). However, late starter Dan Kneen slotted into second as he lapped at 122.700mph on the Jackson Racing Honda. Hutchinson eased his way back in with a lap of 118.030 but Gary Johnson was out of luck though and stopped at Crosby Crossroads.
Ivan Lintin was comfortably fastest in the Lightweight class at 118.196mph on the first lap followed by David Johnson (115.253), Rutter (114.684), Lougher (114.394) and Derek McGee (113.919). Joey Thompson was an early retirement at Ballacraine.
Second time around and Cummins upped the pace to an impressive 125.152mph with Harrison moving up to second on the timesheets with 124.587. He was closely followed by Hickman (124.313) and Kneen (124.319) with Hutchinson upping his speed slightly to 119.734.
Meanwhile, in the Lightweight class David Johnson improved to 117.029mph no mean feat given this evening was the first time he’d sat on the bike with team-mate McGee going equally well at 117.571 and Italian Stefano Bonetti just behind on 117.119. Lougher and Webb had also lapped in excess of 116mph but Gary Johnson’s woes continued as, having made it back to the paddock, he stopped at Quarter Bridge on the WK Moto.
At the head of the field Hillier improved his speed to 122.769mph on his third lap but Michael Dunlop went quicker at 123.715mph whilst Lintin (121.918) and William Dunlop (121.249) were also quickening their pace.
However, it was Harrison who was making all the headlines on his fourth lap and he flashed across the line at 125.797mph to go to the top of the leaderboard although Michael Dunlop was only half a second slower at 125.741mph. Kneen was another rider to post an impressive fourth lap as he improved to 124.703mph to go fourth quickest with Hutchinson setting his first 120mph+ lap of TT2018 with 121.327mph.
Lintin was also flying having gone back out on his Lightweight machine and his lap of 119.908mph put him some 23 seconds clear of second-placed McGee. The Southern Irishman was eventually bumped back down to third though as Michael Dunlop lapped at 118.952mph on the Paton. But Lintin left it late to go even quicker still at 120.660mph only for Michael Dunlop to upstage that with his 120.875mph lap, which was just inside James Hillier’s lap record from 2015.
The newcomers also impressed during the course of the evening and although Lyon was initially the quickest at 114.793mph on his Honda Superbike, he was upstaged by Todd who posted a speed of 116.044mph on his Superstock mount. Not to be out done though, Lyon went quicker still, this time on his 600cc Yamaha at 116.45mph.
The sidecar newcomers also had their speed controlled lap at the head of the field with John Holden, Tony Baker and Dave Molyneux leading Francois Leblond/Marlene Couillard, John Saunders/James Saunders, Darryl Rayner/Wendy Campbell, Brian Alflatt/Aaron Gorman, Paul Leglise/Ben McBride, John Shipley/Andrew Haynes and Mike Roscher/Shaun Parker around.
Japan’s Masayuki Yamanaka was reported to be off in the Supersport session at Whitegates but after being assessed at Ramsey Cottage Hospital and transferred by airmed to Nobles, he was reported to have sustained a minor ankle injury.
Monday’s schedule with open up with the first appearance of the Superbikes and Superstock machines at 18.20 with Supersport and Newcomers except Lightweight also part of the session. At 19.25 it will be the turn of the Supersport, Lightweight and Newcomers all classes before the sidecars open their qualifying programme at 20.00.
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