Category: Superbikes

1. Manx Racing Legend Conor Cummins to Compete in 50th Annual Macau Motorcycle Grand Prix

   Posted on 12:00pm Thursday 27th Oct 2016

   When the 28-man field lines up for the 2016 Macau Motorcyle Grand Prix this November, Manx road racer Conor Cummins will be representing the Honda Racing Team alongside John McGuinness. The race’s qualifying stage takes place on Friday, 18th November at Guia Circuit, and the race itself will be held the following day.

   Cummins joins Stuart Easton, Michael Rutter, Martin Jessopp, Ben Wylie, his teammate McGuinness, and the race’s defending champion Peter Hickman among the U.K.’s well-represented contingent of world-class road racers heading to Macau.

   The 30-year old favourite of his fellow Manx, along with motorcycle racing fans everywhere, Cummins’ legend is steeped in the history of his homeland’s most famous contest: the Isle of Man TT. A grueling 37-mile journey through the hilly Manx countryside’s Snaefell Mountain Course, which was once dubbed “37 miles of stone walls and telegraph poles” by former world champion racer Barry Sheene. The Isle of Man TT blends pure road racing with jaunts through local landmarks like Alpine Cottage to create one of the world’s most highly competitive, and highly anticipated, motorcycle races.     

   Conor’s father William “Billy” Cummins raced in the Tourist Trophy in his day, and Conor himself was born during TT week back in 1986. Both of the Cummins lads are still racing today, but for Connor, the road didn't always run so smoothly.

   In 2009 the younger Cummins sibling found himself on top of the racing world. He claimed the crown of Fastest Man on Earth that year, winning the Dundrod 150 Superbike race during Ulster Grand Prix Bike week by posting a final lap speed of 133.284 mph aboard his McAdoo Kawasaki, while also securing his first Isle of Man TT podium finish as runner up in the Senior TT. But on the second lap of very same race one year later, he fell victim to a horrific crash that went viral around the world. He broke five vertebrae, his left arm was completely shattered, and to top off the laundry list of injuries, Cummins suffered dislocation and ligament damage in his knee. The crash was featured in the 2011 documentary Closer to the Edge, which chronicled the 2010 Isle of Man TT through the eyes of Cummins, McGuinness, and fellow U.K. racers Guy Martin and Ian Hutchinson.

   Cummins isn’t shy in talking about the impact that the crash played on his career, and his life. Befitting his family’s long road racing lineage, he returned to the sport just one year later to begin a comeback from what many believed would be career-ending injuries. He finished third in the Lightweight TT in 2013, but from there the hunt for podium finishes has been fruitless. Nonetheless, in light of a recent change from Preston-based sponsor Jackson Racing to the Padgetts team out of Batley, ahead of this year’s Isle of Man TT, Cummins will be looking to ensure a Manx presence on the podium in Macau.

   Along with Cummins, the U.K. will be represented well by a stellar cast of former Macau Grand Prix champions.

   Peter Hickman of Burton-upon-Trent conquered the Guia Circuit, a 6.2km street course, last year.

   Michael Rutter of Wordsley is an eight-time champion renowned as the “Two Wheel King of Macau”, and he’s searching for a ninth checkered flag after winning the race in 1998, 2000, 2002, 2003 2004, 2005, 2011, and 2012.

   Stuart Easton of Hawick, Scotland was the Macau Motorcycle Grand Prix champion in 2008, 2009, 2010, and 2014.

   Ian Hutchinson of Bingley was the winner in 2013, and Isle of Man TT legend John McGuinness – Cummins’ Honda Racing teammate – took top honors in Macau in 2001.

   With such a stacked field for this year’s Macau Motorcycle Grand Prix, an appearance of the podium would be a surprise for Cummins, especially considering his three-year drought.

   He wasn’t expected to race again though, so to see Cummins’ name among the 28-racer field in November represents a win in its own right. And this is motorcycle road racing after all, so a superb run coupled with a little luck could very well see Cummins enjoy the kind of improbable finish that makes this sport so special.

    

    

    

   article supplied

2. Mika Perez, the year of a great champion

   Posted on 11:00am Thursday 20th Oct 2016

   Mika Perez is the winner of the 2016 Wil Sport European Junior Cup, powered by Honda. With a fourth place finish in today’s second race of the double-header season finale at Jerez, the recently turned 17-year-old from Altea, a town located on the south eastern coast of Spain near Alicante, sealed the ultimate prize of what is the last-ever edition of the series. 

   After racing minibikes in the Valencian Championship in 2007 at the age of eight, Perez quickly rose through the ranks and by 2012 he had already won the national ‘Cuna de Campeones’ MiniGP140 title. In 2013, he made a one-off appearance in the European Junior Cup as a wildcard lined up by Honda Spain. The following year, Perez impressed many by finishing sixth in his first full EJC season, which was followed by a difficult second campaign in the championship.

   In 2016, Perez has been a master of consistency as he claimed one win, three second places and one third in the first six races. After a first missed title point in Magny-Cours a fortnight ago, when he was fourth at the chequered flag, Mika entered the Jerez double-header with a 25-point advantage over Paolo Grassia.

   The Italian got the better of him in race one to take another five points away from his lead, but in race two Perez smartly managed the championship situation to cross the line fourth a result that rewarded him with the final victory.

   Perez can now enjoy his well deserved EJC Championship success before embarking on the next step of his motorcycle-racing career.

   Name: Mika Perez
   2016 Racing number: 8
   Birthdate: 05/10/1999
   Birthplace: Altea (Spain)

   2016 Wil Sport European Junior Cup, powered by Honda – 1^st – 1 win, 1 pole position, 4 seconds, 2 thirds
   2015 Pata European Junior Cup, powered by Honda – 18^th
   2014 Pata European Junior Cup, powered by Honda – 6^th – 1 podium
   2013 Pata European Junior Cup, powered by Honda – 1 race

3. Jacobsen only one tenth of a second away from podium at Jerez

   Posted on 6:30pm Sunday 16th Oct 2016

   PJ Jacobsen (Honda WorldSSP Team) has finished one tenth of a second away from a podium finish in today’s FIM Supersport World Championship race at ‘Circuito de Jerez’. The 23-year-old from Montgomery, New York, crossed the line fourth behind fellow Honda rider Kyle Smith at the end of a solid 19-lap encounter around the 4.423 km fast-flowing Spanish venue.
   
   Jacobsen got a good launch off the third row of the grid, making up two places as the WorldSSP field attacked the first turns of the race. After Krummenacher crashed out of the lead on lap five, Jacobsen was promoted to fourth and, together with Smith, he was able to bridge the gap to the front. When the Briton had a moment in front of him, the two lost touch with the leading duo but kept the battle alive for third.

   The young American closed in on his rival during the last lap, although not enough to try one last move for the third step of the podium. With one race left in the season, which will be contested at the Losail International Circuit in a fortnight’s time, Jacobsen is still fourth in the standings but now only seven points away from the runner up spot.

4. Freddy Foray and Nicky Hayden unveil the brand-new 2017 Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade to the world in Cologne

   Posted on 7:30pm Tuesday 4th Oct 2016

   The Intermot motorcycle show today hosted a special event for Honda and the motorcycling world: the unveiling of the new 2017 Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade SP and SP2 models.
   
   Honda Endurance Racing’s Freddy Foray was joined on stage by Nicky Hayden (Honda WorldSBK team) – who tried it out for himself at Valencia’s Circuito Ricardo Tormo last month – to reveal the latest chapter in Honda’s epic 25-year-old Fireblade history.
   
   The development of the 2017 Fireblade has remained true to the ground-breaking spirit of the original 1992 machine, with a relentless focus on power to weight ratio. A 15kg weight reduction and 8kW top end power boost combine to give a 14% improvement in power to weight, making the 2017 Fireblade the sharpest in its 25 year history. A new electronics package includes semi-active Öhlins Electronic Control suspension, Honda Selectable Torque Control, Selectable Engine Brake and Power settings, Quickshifter, and Downshift Assist.

   A video of today’s launch is now available for viewing 
   
   For more information on the 2017 Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade SP and SP2 models visit hondanews.eu

   
   
   Freddy Foray and Nicky Hayden unveil the brand-new 2017 Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade to the world in Cologne

    

5. Grassia takes crucial maiden EJC win at Magny-Cours

   Posted on 10:57am Monday 3rd Oct 2016

   Paolo Grassia (Chiodo Moto Racing) has come out victorious at the end of the enthralling 11-lap, sixth-round race of the Wil Sport European Junior Cup, powered by Honda, which was contested today at the Magny-Cours circuit in central France. This is a crucial maiden win in the series for the 16-year-old Italian, who not only denied Mika Perez (Granshagen Racing Team) an early title win, but also dramatically improved his own chances for the ultimate prize.
   
   The opening of the race saw Hungary’s Richard Bodis (H-Moto Team) and Mika Perez swapping positions between themselves several times, with a nine-way pack locked together at the front. The battle for the win continued with Grassia trying to dictate the pace on the five rivals left for the win. It wasn’t until the penultimate lap that Grassia managed to pull away, eventually crossing the line with a two-second advantage over team mate Alfonso Coppola. Dorian Laville (Team Laville Mi&Do) completed the podium in third place, ahead of Perez and Lausitzring race winner Harun Cabuk (KNN54-TMF).
   
   Early leaders Bodis and Giuseppe de Gruttola (SK-Racing Team) crashed out at turn 13 on lap 10, while fighting for the win. Avalon Biddle (Avalon Biddle Racing) successfully retained the FIM Europe Women’s Cup title courtesy of today’s 11th overall finish.

   With only the doubleheader at Jerez left in the season, Perez still holds a healthy 25-point lead over Grassia, with Laville (-38) and Coppola (-46) still mathematically in contention for the title.