Category: Superbikes

1. Red Bull Honda World Superbike Team back to full strength at Laguna Seca

   Posted on 6:00pm Thursday 6th Jul 2017

   The Red Bull Honda World Superbike team is currently in northern California preparing for the eighth round of the 2017 FIM Superbike World Championship, which gets underway tomorrow at the Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. Full time team rider Stefan Bradl is joined for the US round by 24-year-old American Jake Gagne, who prepares for his WorldSBK debut in front of his home crowd.

   The spectacular 3.610km track located between the American cities of Monterey and Salinas is well known to both riders. Bradl raced at Laguna Seca in the last two editions of the US Grand Prix held there in 2012 and 2013, with the latter being a very successful one for the 27-year-old German. Not only did he secure pole position on his Honda MotoGP machine, but he was also second at the chequered flag behind fellow Honda rider Marc Marquez.

   Jake Gagne will jump on the team’s Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade SP2 machine for the first time tomorrow morning for the first free practice session of the World Superbike class, scheduled at 9:45 local time (GMT -7). The 24-year-old from Ramona, California, who is currently taking part in the MotoAmerica Superbike Championship with the Genuine Broaster Chicken Honda team, will focus solely on his one-off World Superbike adventure this time around.

2. Double podium for SHARK-supported Neave twins at Snetterton 

   Posted on 12:00pm Tuesday 4th Jul 2017

   Twenty-two-year-old Kawasaki rider, Tom Neave, achieved his debut Pirelli National Superstock 600 win at Snetterton this weekend - with an impressive lead of over six and a half seconds - but what made the win so special was that he was joined on the podium by his twin brother, Tim, who finished the race in second place.

   “That’s what made it for me to be honest”, said Lincolnshire lad, Tom. “It’s the sort of thing you dream about - identical twins getting a one-two on the podium. To be honest, I couldn’t see who had come second so I didn’t know he was no the podium. He pulled up beside me on the cool down lap and indicated second place. It was a dream weekend. I was so close to beating the lap record too, but I can’t grumble!” 

   The previous round at Knockhill, Scotland, had seen Tom achieve his maiden pole position. 

   “We’ve not had the best start to the season to be honest but everything has started coming together now and our plan is to keep our heads down and carry on. The team is working like clockwork now, so hopefully we can maintain this momentum. We’re really looking forward to our local round at Cadwell Park in August so we’ll keep the ball rolling and hopefully both be top of the standings at the end of the season.” 

   Tim and Tom, both from Lincoln, were born on 28 May 1995. Their first experience of motorsport came at just nine years old, when their grandfather bought them a 50cc quad bike. Beginning their two-wheeled racing career aged 16, Tim started Flat Track racing and was followed the year after by Tom. In 2010 Tim was crowned ACU British Junior Flat Track Champion and Tom was British Junior Flat Track Champion in 2011.

   It was Tom who got the opportunity to go road racing first, aged 17 when he competed in the Thundersport GB Minitwin series. Tim made his road racing debut the following year and Tom progressed onto a supertwin machine.

   Both Tom and Tim were invited to the iconic Superprestigio event in 2014 where they raced against top racers, including 2013, 2014 and 2016 MotoGP World Champion Marc Marquez. 

   The brothers are currently competing in the Pirelli National Superstock 600 Championship. Tim is currently fifth in the Championship standings with 56 points, with his brother Tom is in eighth place with 43. 

   It was straight back to work on the family farm for them both following their podium performance...

   “I went from winning a race on Sunday, to mucking out the cows at 7am on Monday morning! After the race, we stayed at watched more racing and celebrated with our friends and family. It was really nice as there were a lot of people at Snetterton who have supported us since we first started racing, so it was lovely to get such an amazing result.” 

   For more information on the Neave twins, visit their website: www.neavetwins.com

   

    

3. A NICE SEVENTH PLACE RACE FINISH FOR ALEIX ESPARGARÓ WHO CLOSES OUT THE WEEKEND AS A PROTAGONIST

   Posted on 4:00pm Sunday 2nd Jul 2017

   SAM LOWES CRASHES OUT WHILE BATTLING FOR POINTS ALBESIANO: “APRILIA CLOSER AND CLOSER TO THE LEADERS AND WE WILL CONTINUE TO GROW”

   It was an excellent race for Aleix Espargaró who rode his Aprilia RS-GP to seventh place. With this nice race result, the Spaniard closes out a weekend where he was consistently among the protagonists. Starting from the third row (eighth best time qualifying), Aleix quickly moved in the group of riders battling for the top five. In this stage of the race he battled fearlessly with some of the riders who are leading the championship standings, supported well by his RS-GP which once again confirmed the great progress that the Aprilia MotoGP project has demonstrated in this first half of the season. After a few failed assaults, Aleix clinched his final pass at the end of the penultimate lap, overtaking Dovizioso to finish with a nice seventh place. The fifth best race lap time set by Espargaró (1’21.981) adds concrete confirmation and an element of satisfaction to a result that send the entire Aprilia Racing Team Gresini into the holiday break with a smile. Sam Lowes crashed out without any physical consequences during the thirteenth lap while, after making up several positions, he was on the hunt to earn championship points.

   ALEIX ESPARGARO' "A good result, but to be honest I expected something even more. With the exception of Jonas and Marc, who did an extraordinary race, I thought that I could have been closer to the podium. Unfortunately, at the beginning I had to force a lot to overtake, stressing the front tyre and losing a few tenths. In any case, it was a positive weekend for us. We are progressing step by step. Staying with the strongest riders for almost the entire race is positive. Now I am thinking about relaxing during the break and being ready when we turn up at Brno."

   SAM LOWES "A small mistake cost me the race today. It's a pity because I had overtaken a few riders and I was making up ground. My pace was good even compared with that of Aleix who really did an outstanding job today. The improvements are there. I am starting to ride well and the signs are encouraging. The summer break arrived at the right time. I know that I can still improve a lot and I feel positive about the second half of the season."

   ROMANO ALBESIANO - APRILIA RACING MANAGER “A nice race for Aleix. He was a contender on equal ground with bikes and riders who are battling for the championship. We are truly very close to staying with the leaders. We were among the best throughout the weekend and that is extremely positive, especially in the dry. If it had not rained on Saturday, Aleix would have been able to start even farther forward on the grid and that would have helped him to stress the front tyre less while battling in the early laps, but we are truly pleased with how things went. Some important technical innovations will arrive now so that we can continue growing and going beyond this good level that our project has reached.”

   FAUSTO GRESINI - TEAM MANAGER “We were with the riders who are battling for the title for the entire race. This is a fantastic result that demonstrates the level of competitiveness we have reached. Now we are truly close to making a consistent play for the top positions. At mid-season our result is decidedly positive and we will continue to grow. Credit goes to Aleix, Aprilia who is working very well and the entire team that has skilfully managed the RS-GP.”

4. James Hillier goes back to the future with Oxford Team Ducati

   Posted on 12:00pm Friday 30th Jun 2017

   Oxford Products and Celeres Racing are proud to announce that James Hillier will be campaigning their Ducati 888 in the Motorsport Merchandise Superbike Classic TT Race at this year’s Classic TT presented by Bennetts meeting on the Isle of Man.
   
   Fresh from another successful TT campaign, where he secured a 2nd and two 4th places on the 37.73 mile Mountain Circuit, Hillier remains the 5th fastest rider in TT history. He will be riding the Celeres Racing Ducati 888 that celebrates the 25th anniversary of Oxford’s last TT campaign. To fully authenticate this replica the bike, with the support of Oxford Products, has been painted in classic 1992/3 Oxford livery, as used by Trevor Nation, Robert Dunlop and Mark Farmer.
   
   The Ducati 888 was built last year by Stafford Evans of Celeres Racing to compete in the 2016 Superbike F1 Classic TT race. Wearing Ducati red, Dave Hewson rode the bike to 11th place, with a best lap of 115.769mph.  Modifications were made to an original 1991 road frame and an abundance of carbon fibre parts were fitted to replicate the original machine. 
   
   Hillier will run race number 5 in 2017, the same number as Trevor Nation did 25 years ago and he will also wear replica leathers for the event. He was upbeat about his prospects.
   
   ‘I have a real ambition to win the Superbike race of course, but I will also make every effort to be the fastest man around the Island on a Ducati 888.’
   
   Team owner Stafford Evans was equally optimistic.
   
   ‘It’s a real honour to be able to replicate the Oxford team of 25 years ago. I actually think that with this bike and with James at the ‘bars, we have a real shot at bringing home the top prize. I am very excited.’
   
   Hillier is no stranger to the TT course having visited the rostrum several times. These include a Lightweight TT win in 2013 and a 2nd place in the F1 Classic TT in 2014.  

5. APRILIA RACING TEAM GRESINI - MotoGP Assen Race

   Posted on 4:00pm Sunday 25th Jun 2017

   THE APRILIA RS-GP CONFIRMS GREAT POTENTIAL IN HOLLAND

   ALEIX ESPARGARÓ IS BACK IN THE TOP TEN IN A RACE RUINED BY THE RAIN. CRASH FOR SAM LOWES

   ALBESIANO: “WE HAVE WHAT IT TAKES TO STAY IN THE TOP FIVE”
   
   Aleix Espargaró is back in the points, finishing tenth in the Assen GP. This is certainly a positive result that ends Aleix's streak of zero point finishes, but the Aprilia Racing Team Gresini Spaniard's race should have ended with a much different result.

   Just after the mid-race point, the Espargaró-Aprilia package demonstrated its full potential. After a cautious start without forcing his pace too much, Aleix moved up from fifteenth to seventh, joining Crutchlow's group. An even more significant statistic is that during that part of the race (16th and 17th laps) he had lapped with the second best time and his gap behind the leader was less than seven seconds. In short, all the conditions were right for an excellent race finale, on the hunt for a top-five finish. Instead, raindrops began to fall and the altered grip conditions (Aleix had the hard tyre on the rear) ruined his pace completely. Aleix dropped back position by position to the end, in any case managing to defend a top-ten finish.

   Notwithstanding, the Aprilia RS-GP confirmed once again in this race that a top-five finish is definitely within reach of a project which has made clear progress in terms of performance over recent months.
   Sam Lowes, who had started from the fourth row for the first time thanks to outstanding qualifiers, crashed out in the ninth lap while lying fifteenth. There were no consequences for him and he can take comfort in a weekend where he demonstrated the biggest improvement of his rookie year in MotoGP.
   
   
   ALEIX ESPARGARO'
   "I cannot be entirely satisfied because our goal is still to be closer to the leaders. The race had started well. I managed the first part, successfully overtaking a lot of riders and maintaining a good pace. A few laps before the rain I had begun to visibly recover ground. The RS-GP was really working well and I was closing the gap quickly. Unfortunately, I did not have a good feeling on the damp track and I was unable to push. Today we demonstrated once again that we can be very competitive, but the weather got in the way."
   
   SAM LOWES
   "It was a difficult race for everyone. We had ridden on the dry track only on Friday and the track changed completely. I was in a good group. When Lorenzo overtook me I felt like I could stay with him and set my sights on a good position. I battled a bit with Baz. I was faster than him in some situations, but we overtook one another on practically every lap. I crashed as I was opening up the throttle. Maybe I was a bit too close to the white line, but this weekend I definitely took a step forward. I am pleased that there will be a race in a few days because we are on a positive trend."
   
   ROMANO ALBESIANO - APRILIA RACING MANAGER
   "Once again we expressed potential that is clearly worthy of the top-five which did not bear the deserved fruits due to a contingent situation. As long as the race proceeded in normal, dry track conditions, performance was very high. When it began to rain after the mid-race point, Aleix was just over six seconds from the leader. He had caught up to the group ahead of him without pushing too hard and he had a better pace than they did. Realistically, he could have aimed for the top-five. The level that Aprilia has achieved is a clear fact by now. We will keep going strong because if our potential is at these levels, we will soon be reaping the results.”
   
   FAUSTO GRESINI - TEAM MANAGER
   "With the dry track we rode a fantastic race. Aleix maintained a spectacular pace. He moved up through the ranks easily and was lapping with the same pace as the leaders. Those raindrops ruined the final result, but there are many reasons to be confident and even pleased to have finished the race in the top-ten anyway. These are points that boost morale after our recent DNFs. We draw confidence from the knowledge that we are close to the leaders in terms of performance and that is what we are taking away from this race.”