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Category: Superbikes
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Michael van der Mark completed a stellar recovery in today’s 21-lap FIM Superbike World Championship race one at Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours to take second place in spectacular fashion in front of the French crowd. After a promising start, his Honda WorldSBK team mate Nicky Hayden was forced into an early retirement at the end of lap 10 due to a technical problem.
The race got underway on a wet – but drying – track, with both Hayden and van der Mark able to get a great launch off sixth and seventh places on the grid. In the early laps, they ran as high as third and fourth, while swapping positions between themselves several times. After losing one place to Leon Camier, on lap six Hayden was the first rider to opt for a tyre change. After a couple of tentative laps, the American rider started to settle into a good rhythm and made up several places; unfortunately, by the end of the tenth lap he had to make his way back to the garage after suffering a technical problem, which put an end to a promising performance.
Van der Mark’s choice to pit at the end of lap 8 proved to be an excellent one: the 23-year-old from Rotterdam made perfect use of Pirelli’s slick tyres to storm past his rivals and, during the penultimate lap, he overtook Savadori for second place. He then managed to hold his position up to the chequered flag despite a resurgent Tom Sykes and crossed the line with a 0.347s margin over his rival.
Courtesy of his sixth podium finish of the season, van der Mark consolidates his fourth place in the championship standings.
Race two will take place tomorrow at 1pm local time (GMT +2) after the traditional 15-minute warm up scheduled at 9:25am.
Van der Mark takes second place in thrilling race one at Magny-Cours
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Q2 AND FOURTH ROW FOR STEFAN BRADL, FIFTH ROW FOR BAUTISTA
The RS-GP machines confirm their progress once again in the Aragón qualifiers, with Stefan Bradl good enough to go through to Q2 and Alvaro Bautista just missing the second session by 3 tenths. The Aprilia Racing Team Gresini riders will therefore start from the fourth (twelfth best time for Bradl) and fifth row (fourteenth for Bautista).
Stefan and Alvaro continued their hard work in the two practice sessions, searching for the best race pace on a track that had already highlighted the close times yesterday using a new tyre, but significant drops in pace lap by lap. This is a situation that makes it essential on one hand, to choose the most suitable tyre of the available options and on the other, to constantly fine tune the electronic and chassis configurations. During morning FP3, Alvaro was also involved in a harmless crash during a session that was noted for the many falls because of the rather cold asphalt.
In Q1, Bradl and Bautista started off enthusiastically, putting good times on the sheets from the first outing. Back in pit lane to change tyres, they then went after the top two spots, the ones that would send them through to Q2. Stefan earned the privilege with the second best time, 1'48.622, just 26 thousandths behind the best. Alvaro, on the other hand, just missed the second qualifying session by less than 3 tenths with a time of 1'48.904.
In Q2, Stefan Bradl gave it his all, not having new tyres available, but taking a promising twelfth place.
ALVARO BAUTISTA
"The conditions this morning were not the best. I crashed without pushing particularly hard, losing a bit of confidence. In the afternoon we picked up where we had left off. In FP4 especially, I did a lot of laps on a used tyre, maintaining a good pace and that makes me very hopeful for the race. In qualifying, during my fast lap I made a small mistake on the last corner that surely cost me a few tenths. In any case, we are starting from a good position as we have for the last few races and this demonstrates our progress. We can say that we are reaping the benefits of what we have done so far on the RS-GP. Tomorrow we have all our papers in order to set our sights on a good result".
STEFAN BRADL
"A great day for us. Going through to Q2 is an important achievement. We have not made any big changes compared with yesterday. We simply fine-tuned the setup since the sensations were already good. This morning was not easy. We saw many crashes and I almost had a sliding crash myself at a certain point. In the afternoon the situation improved. I had a good feeling with my Aprilia and we were able to do a fast lap to go through to Q2. At that point I did not have any new front tyre to use, but my starting position makes me confident anyway. We have prepared for the race as best we can. If the conditions are like they were today we will be able to do well".
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The Grand Prix of San Marino and Riviera di Rimini held last September 11 at the Misano World Circuit represented the perfect backdrop for the consolidation of the partnership between Mactac and Gresini Racing, started last June. All graphic decorations of the Gresini Racing teams participating in all the three classes of the MotoGP World Championship are in fact made with Mactac materials, a company with a great experience in the wrapping field, able to provide a wide range of adhesive films for any graphics application: from the sponsor logos on the fairings to the graphic layout of the garage panels, through the liveries of trucks and of the hospitality unit at the races.
A racing bike is an example of maximum customization and extreme application for wrapping films. The surfaces are slightly curved, the liveries are complex and the time to approve and implement the graphics projects, before the action starts, it’s always very little. Thanks to Mactac colored films, colors of the team and sponsor logos can be easily applied avoiding long painting processes.
Motorcycles, vehicles and facilities of the Gresini Racing teams are decorated with all the best Mactac materials, combined with the relative lamination for added protection and durability. The adhesive film Tuning Film, for example, UV-resistant and color loss, allows quick and easy customization thanks to a wide range of textures and finishes, difficult to reproduce with paint. With regard to the colored cut-out films, it’s used the top-of-the-range MACal 9800 Pro, with its 98 gloss and 2 matt colors, lasting 10 years outdoors (B/W).
The valuable partnership with Mactac is also allowing Gresini Racing to create all the graphics internally and independently in the laboratory set up inside the Racing Department in Faenza, equipped with Roland equipment for printing and cutting.
COMPANY PROFILE
Thanks to the constant innovation and improvement of its production, after more than half a century of history Mactac is now a leader in the graphic and decoration field. The foundation of Mactac dates back to the 40s, when the entrepreneur Burt Morgan started to produce tapes intended for the use in the medical sector. Currently the production facilities and distribution centers of Morgan Adhesives Company (MACtac) are present all over the world including the United States, Belgium, Canada, Mexico and Singapore. Mactac Europe distributes its products through wholly owned subsidiaries (France, UK, Germany, Italy, Sweden, Benelux, Switzerland, Spain and Singapore), and through an international network of specialized distributors located in other geographic areas, which are able to provide a sales service and highly professional assistance to companies of any size and sector of activity.
For more information, please visit:
www.mactac.eu
LUISA PETRUOLO (Mactac Italy Marketing Manager)
“At Misano we found a lot of passion, energy, professionalism and friendliness. We are proud to announce the partnership with Gresini Racing and we are pleased to provide them our material, as well as our experience. In these early months of collaboration our films for wrapping gave excellent results and that’s why all the team’s decorations from now on will be realized with Mactac materials. This is only the beginning of a great partnership, for sure!”.
FAUSTO GRESINI
“I’m very happy to count on a partner like Mactac to ‘dress up’ our bikes and all our facilities. Our teams need to show their colors and logos on the circuits around the world with a strong and well-finished image, and the Mactac materials allow us to fully meet this need, ensuring excellent quality and durability. An important collaboration that also allows us to manage the many custom graphics throughout the season in a simple and fast way. At our headquarters in Faenza we have also set up a laboratory dedicated to produce independently all our graphics and in this context the help of Mactac is undoubtedly essential”.
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THE BIKES WILL BE RIDDEN BY ITALIAN LORENZO SAVADORI AND NORTHERN IRISHMAN EUGENE LAVERTY IN THE RACES
Two Aprilia RSV4 bikes will be on the track in the 2017 World Superbike Championship with the Milwaukee Aprilia Racing Team colours.
This is a two-year contract, so it will also be valid for 2018.
The agreement specifies that technical material and related direct assistance and support will be provided by Aprilia Racing, including bike development, which classifies Milwaukee as a Supported Factory Team.
This means that Aprilia Racing - the Piaggio Group racing department and technological point of excellence in the Italian motorcycle industry - is confirming its high level presence in the premier competition for factory derivative bikes, alongside its important efforts in MotoGP.
The goal is to compete at top levels in World SBK in order to emphasize the competitiveness of the Aprilia RSV4, capable of taking no less than seven World Titles (three Rider and four Manufacturer) between 2010 and 2014, proving to be the most victorious bike in recent WSBK history.
The result of a project intended to create a true racing bike that any enthusiast could have, the RSV4 astonished from its rookie season, winning a race in its maiden year and then racking up repeated championship wins in both the Manufacturer and Rider competitions (twice with Max Biaggi and once with Sylvain Guintoli). All this while the street version - obviously also characterized by an exclusive narrow 1.0 litre V4 - continued to win comparative reviews year after year with the best competitors in the world, both European and Japanese.
The team run by Shaun Muir, which boasts two British titles, will be able to count on a top shelf rider lineup: in addition to the 2015 Superstock Champion Lorenzo Savadori, who quickly drew attention this year in his rookie World Superbike season, Northern Irishman Eugene Laverty will be back in WSBK, 2013 runner up astride none other than an Aprilia RSV4.
Romano Albesiano - Aprilia Racing Manager
"Shaun Muir's team, after making a good name for themselves in the British championship, wants to get to the top of a world category. Our agreement includes, in addition to providing bikes and materials, support from Aprilia Racing personnel to manage and develop the RSV4, within a Factory Support type relationship.
The birth of the Milwaukee Aprilia Racing Team also marks Eugene Laverty's return to WSBK, a rider who we know well and whose professional and personal qualities have our utmost respect. He will have Lorenzo Savadori working alongside him, a young rider who has been part of our sports project for two seasons in which he won the Superstock 1000 title first and then drew attention in WSBK with an extremely positive rookie year".
Shaun Muir - SMR General Manager
"For SMR, collaboration with Aprilia Racing for 2017 and 2018 means a real chance to fight for the win. Aprilia has a strong and victorious history in World Superbike and we are determined to continue on the same path. Having Eugene and Lorenzo on board makes this a dream team. Without a doubt, Eugene is coming back to WSBK for one reason only - to win. Lorenzo, on the other hand, is the fastest rookie and a sure protagonist. I wish to thank Milwaukee, Gulf and all of the partners who are supporting our project".
Eugene Laverty
"I'm excited to return to Superbike with Aprilia and the RSV4, a bike with which I took ten wins and second place overall in the championship. I hope to be able to pick up where I left off with those results, thanks to the support of Aprilia and a fantastic team like Shaun Muir's. Everything is in place for us to be competitive straight away".
Lorenzo Savadori
"I am very happy to continue my adventure in World Superbike with Aprilia. This is another chance to achieve great results, with one more year of experience on the RSV4 for me. In a demanding rookie season I was already able to express a good performance level, learning a lot, both about race management and working in the garage, but I do not want to stop here. We will definitely be highly motivated at the start, with an ambitious project and a great desire to do well".
Jason Chiswell - Vice President of Marketing Milwaukee Tools
"At Milwaukee Power tools our vision is always to win and that same mentality is shared with the SMR team. We see the next year with Aprilia as being an exciting and a new winning chapter in our World Superbike program”.
Frank Rutten - Vice President of Gulf Oil International
"As the world’s fastest growing oil brand we are very excited by the prospect of moving forwards with what we believe will be one of the most rapid teams in SBK next year. We have been extremely impressed by the way SMR has entered the World Superbike arena. They are one of the best organized and most professional outfits in the paddock and we have developed an excellent working relationship with both them and the team’s title sponsor, Milwaukee Tools.
We are very excited by the prospect of moving forwards with them as team sponsor and official lubricant partners”.
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FAUSTO GRESINI
“Twenty years of activity is a major milestone and we are proud of it: it means that Gresini Racing can now be considered a piece of motorcycling history. The competitions have always been part of my life: first as a mechanic, then as a rider and now as a team manager. In tackling this job I have always tried to put the determination and the passion I had when I was wearing leathers and helmet, and the results were no less exciting. It’s difficult to describe the mix of emotions that I have experienced in all these years: the joys, the wins, but also difficult moments. I would first like to thank all those who have supported us over the years and who have helped to make Gresini Racing what it is today: a much more organized structure compared to the past, racing in all the three categories of the World Championship. This is our pride and it’s the completion of a project that I really wanted. I can see the future of Gresini Racing just like that: a team involved all-round in the Grand Prix World Championship, able to offer to the young riders a path to the pinnacle of motorcycle racing. It’s an exciting challenge for me, and who knows that it can’t continue for the next twenty years!”.
1997 - A MEMORABLE DEBUT
The debut of the Gresini Racing team in the 500cc class has the flavor of motorcycling of the past: the team is set up in less than two months and in the opening GP, aboard a very private Honda NSR500 V-twin machine, Alex Barros is fighting for the top positions before being forced to slow down due to technical problems.
1997 - THE JOY OF THE FIRST PODIUM
Donington, British Grand Prix: in his eleventh Grand Prix start, Gresini Racing enters already in the Olympus of motorcycling. Alex Barros is third behind the factory Hondas of Doohan and Okada, collecting thus the first in a long series of podium finishes.
1999 - THE FIRST VICTORY WITH CAPIREX
In 1999 the team debuted in the 250cc class with a factory Honda NSR for Loris Capirossi, former teammate of Fausto Gresini when he was racing in 125cc. Capirex claims the first victory of the team in the Malaysian Grand Prix, and finished the season in third place.
2001 - KATO RECORDMAN IN 250cc
2001 is the perfect season of Daijiro Kato: riding his Honda the little Japanese star breaks all records in the 250cc class, winning 11 of the 16 Grand Prix races on the calendar, clinching Gresini Racing’s first World Title.
2002 - RIGHT AT THE TOP WITH THE NEW HONDA RC211V
Gresini Racing team is back in the premier class with rising star Kato: from the Czech Republic GP, Honda gives the new, five-cylinder four-stroke RC211V jewel to the Japanese rider and Daijiro is immediately at the top, climbing the second step of the podium.
2003 - GIBERNAU IN THE NAME OF KATO
In the opening round of the season at Suzuka, the star of Daijiro Kato turns off forever: through a great difficulty time, the team and Sete Gibernau find the strength to continue to fight, dedicating him four wins and finishing the year second in the Championship.
2004 - SETE CHALLENGES VALENTINO
Four wins, eight podium finishes and six pole positions: Gresini Racing confirms itself at the top of the MotoGP and Sete Gibernau, who stars in memorable battles with Valentino Rossi, is once again runner-up in the World Championship.
2004 - A ONE-TWO TO ENTER THE ÉLITE
Sete Gibernau first, Colin Edwards second: in the 2004 Grand Prix of Qatar, the Gresini Racing team puts their two bikes in front of everyone, thus entering the restricted élite of teams that can boast a one-two in the premier class.
2005 - ITALY WINNING WITH MARCO MELANDRI
Another dream of Fausto Gresini comes true: to bring at the top of MotoGP an Italian rider. With two wins and seven podium finishes, Marco Melandri surprises everyone closing the season as runner-up in the World Championship.
2006 - STILL THE BEST AMONG THE SATELLITE TEAMS
In 2006 come four more victories in MotoGP, three with Marco Melandri and one with Toni Elias in a spectacular Portuguese GP at Estoril, won in a sprint finish on Valentino Rossi. Fausto Gresini’s team is therefore once again the best satellite team in a category which has become increasingly competitive.
2007 - THE LAGUNA MONSTER
2007 is not an easy season, but Marco Melandri, fifth at end of the year, is still protagonist of memorable races: on the strip of asphalt that winds around the famous “Corkscrew” at Laguna Seca, the Italian takes a sensational podium despite a sore ankle after a big crash in Qualifying.
2008 - THE BEGINNING OF THE LONG PARTNERSHIP WITH SAN CARLO
San Carlo joins the team in 2008: a long partnership that will accompany the team in MotoGP for five years, until 2012. In 2009, Toni Elias and Alex De Angelis get two consecutive podiums, at Brno and Indianapolis, closing the season in seventh and eighth position in the standings, respectively.
2010 - THE SEVEN WONDERS OF ELIAS
Seven wins, four of which consecutive, give to the Gresini Racing team and Toni Elias the first World Title in Moto2, the new four-stroke intermediate class. An overwhelming supremacy for the Spanish, who is crowned champion with three races to go.
2011 - SIC, A GREAT FAIRY TALE
2011 is the season which consecrates Marco Simoncelli among the MotoGP top riders: a wonderful story started in Barcelona with a stunning pole position in Spaniards’ home race, continued with the two podium finishes at Brno and Phillip Island and unfortunately interrupted on that very sad 23 October in Sepang.
2011 - THE TRIUMPH OF PIRRO IN THE NAME OF SIMONCELLI
In the race after the terrible Malaysian GP, at Valencia, Michele Pirro gets a thrilling victory in Moto2. A very touching moment for the entire team, racing in the memory of SIC.
2012 - TRIPLE COMMITMENT
In the newly formed Moto3 category, Fausto Gresini recognizes the ideal ground for a project aimed at the promotion of young Italian talents. The commitment in the smaller displacement, which is added to those in the Moto2 and MotoGP classes, starts with a Honda entrusted to the young Niccolò Antonelli.
2012/2013/2014 - THREE GREAT SEASONS WITH BAUTISTA
In the three seasons 2012, 2013 and 2014 Alvaro Bautista is one of the undisputed protagonists of the premier class, with 28 placements in the top six in total, including three podiums. The Gresini Racing team is also racing in the CRT class, then “Open”: in 2014 rookie Scott Redding is the best among the riders aboard the Honda RCV1000R machine.
2015 - THE NEW ADVENTURE WITH APRILIA
After 18 years with Honda, the 2015 season marks the beginning of a new exciting chapter in the history of Gresini Racing: the Piaggio Group chooses the team manager by Fausto Gresini to return to MotoGP with his glorious brand Aprilia. A great reward for the work done since 1997.
2015 - GRAND SLAM
By winning the Grand Prix of San Marino and Riviera di Rimini with Enea Bastianini, Gresini Racing become the only team to have won at least one Grand Prix in all the three classes - Moto3, Moto2, MotoGP - in the new four-stroke MotoGP era. A real “grand slam” that no other team can boast.
2016 - FIVE YEARS WITH FEDERAL OIL
The intermediate class of the World Championship has always given great satisfaction to Gresini Racing, with two World Titles in 2001 and 2010. Since 2012, Gresini Racing in Moto2 stands for Federal Oil, a major Indonesian partner that in 2016 reached five years of collaboration. And it’s not over…
SPORTS RESULTS
2 World Titles
20 Seasons
43 GP Wins
136 Podiums
41 Pole Positions
547 Grand Prix Starts
6489 World Championship Points
40 Riders
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