Category: Superbikes

1. BAUTISTA AND MELANDRI, BOTH AT THE FINISH LINE

   Posted on 8:00am Monday 20th Apr 2015

   ...CONTINUE TO IMPROVE WITH THEIR RS-GP BIKES AND REDUCE THE GAP BEHIND THE PACK

   Termas de Rio Hondo (Argentina), 19 April 2015 - In the second American race on the Argentinian Termas de Rio Hondo circuit, Aprilia Racing Team Gresini confirmed the progress demonstrated in Austin. The two RS-GP bikes, for the first time both crossing the finish line, significantly reduced the gap behind the leaders and the middle pack.

   Some conservative riding in the first part of the race kept the two riders from being able to battle for positions in the points with Bautista finishing 19th ahead of Melandri in 20th, both coming back in the final stages of the race. But the times (just over 4 seconds from 11th place) in the end reward the hard work they and the entire team have done on development.
   
   
   ROMANO ALBESIANO (Aprilia Racing Manager)
   "Today's result in terms of times is quite positive. We finished with Alvaro at 4.672 seconds from eleventh place and about 44 seconds from the leader. I would have liked a better final placement but perhaps we were too careful in the first part of the race. But our overall pace, both Alvaro's and Marco's, was very close to that of the riders in the middle pack. An encouraging performance and Marco also confirmed that by now he has come quite close to his team mate's performance."
   
   FAUSTO GRESINI (Team Manager)
   "Beyond the final placement, which without a doubt could have been better, we ran a good race, lapping with the group that battles consistently for points. With a faster first part a better final placement was definitely within our reach. But we'll head home having taken a step forward with both riders. Marco has evidently also found some confidence and feeling here. We can be optimistic as we look forward."
   
   ALVARO BAUTISTA
   "In the first part of the race I was too calm. I wanted to conserve the tyres, but I actually noticed less wear, probably because the track conditions were better. At the end I tried to push harder even though at that point the group of riders ahead of me had already created a gap that I was unable to close. In any case, we finished another important race, also reducing the gap behind the winner compared to how we did in Texas. No we are already looking forward toward Jerez, the location of the first European race, with the goal of improving further. I want to thank the team which is always working very hard: we take a small step forward every time and we are able to better identify what we need to do to improve."
   
   MARCO MELANDRI
   "To be honest today I had hoped to keep up with the group of riders ahead of me, but at the beginning of the race I lost a lot of time, struggling with the lack of stability at the front and poor grip at the rear. It's a shame because I had even gotten off the line well and from the mid-race point on the bike felt like it had been feeling these last few days, letting me lap at a good pace, staying around 1'41.5."

2. MOTOGP SATURDAY QUALIFIERS IN ARGENTINA

   Posted on 10:57pm Saturday 18th Apr 2015

   Bautista does his best qualifying for a spot on the seventh row with the nineteenth best time. Eighth row for Melandri
   
   Termas de Rio Hondo (Argentina), 18 April 2015 - Saturday qualifiers for Aprilia Racing Team Gresini leading up to the Argentinian GP.
   After the last two free practice sessions which both Melandri and Bautista spent looking for the best setups for the race tomorrow, the Spaniard rode his RS-GP to the 19th best time in qualifiers that determine the starting order on the grid. This is his best result in this early phase of the season which has the V4 from Noale making its début and it earns him the best spot on the seventh row. Marco Melandri, who closed the gap behind the pack throughout the weekend, finished with the 24th best time, placing himself on the eighth row.
   
   
   ROMANO ALBESIANO (Aprilia Racing Manager)
   "It was a good day. We lapped the entire day with good times, improving the bikes compared to yesterday and also identifying directions for development of the chassis. I would say that the qualifiers were good for both riders. Both Alvaro and Marco were a bit disappointed because of a few tenths of a second lost during their good laps, but at the moment it is encouraging to see the gaps closing behind those who are in front of us. I'm also pleased that Marco is gradually closing the gap behind his team mate. That is very important for us."
   
   FAUSTO GRESINI (Team Manager)
   "We worked a lot in various directions. Both to improve performance and to have the most possible data to work with when we get back home. All in all I'm pleased with the qualifiers. Tomorrow will be a difficult race to manage in terms of tyre wear and I think that we'll even be able to improve compared to the practice sessions. I'm happy that Marco has gotten significantly closer to the pack in front of him. It is encouraging even if we know how much work we need to do to improve."
   
   ALVARO BAUTISTA
   "We worked hard and well. In the morning we tried a chassis setup which was quite different than yesterday to improve performance in turns and we were able to gain a bit. In FP4 we tested with the hard front tyre to see if it might be an option for the race, but I didn't feel very confident with it so we'll be using the medium tomorrow. In the qualifiers I just tried to be as precise as possible. It's a shame that in the two good laps I lost a few tenths, but it is still a good day. Looking after the tyres will be essential tomorrow, especially in the first laps."
   
   MARCO MELANDRI
   "I thought I would have improved more compared to yesterday, especially in the qualifiers. We need to find more grip at the rear and to improve stability in order to close out the turns better. This is a fundamental condition for me to be able to really push."

3. FIRST ROW FOR LEON HASLAM IN THE ASSEN SUPERPOLE AND BEST TIME IN RACE CONFIGURATION

   Posted on 6:00pm Saturday 18th Apr 2015

   Assen (Holland), 18 April 2015 - The Dutch Saturday for Team Aprilia Racing - Red Devils started off well with Leon Haslam's first place time in the third practice session held this morning. The English rider was fast despite the low temperatures, demonstrating that the path the mechanics have been following on the RSV4 RF throughout the weekend with the entire team is the right one.

   His race pace is also good, although Leon still wants to improve on following the ideal line for several consecutive laps. This is an idea where Haslam has a clear idea, since he has already identified the sectors where he needs to make changes in order to have a uniform feeling throughout the track on his Aprilia.

   In Superpole, as demonstration of the speed the English-Italian duo has reached, Haslam was the quickest on a race tyre. Back in the garage with the qualifier tyre mounted Leon pushed to the limit, putting the third best time on the sheets in the end, which earns him a spot on the front row for the races tomorrow.

   Leon Haslam: "As for the flying lap on a race tyre we are quite fast as we demonstrated even in Superpole, but in terms of consistency we still have some work to do in order to be able to easily repeat our performance. We are definitely making progress. Ironically, the qualifier tyre doesn't help us so in the end third place was a pleasant surprise. Just like at Aragon we are expecting a difficult mission, but considering how close we were able to get in Race 2 I think we will be able to do well here tomorrow."

   Spanish rookie Jordi Torres is still lacking the right experience to be able to take full advantage of the particular rear Pirelli qualifier tyre (exclusive to Superbike) on his RSV4. The eighth best time he took in Superpole does not fully satisfy Jordi, who on the other hand is very positive about the improvement he demonstrated today. The fourth best time in FP3 and fifth in FP4 are encouraging in view of tomorrow's races, especially if Jordi and his team can manage to shave off a few more tenths.

   Jordi Torres: "Yesterday we improved quite a bit, but today we took a definite step forward. I'm still lacking a few tenths on my race pace and here at Assen a good feeling with the front end is important, so there is still room for improvement in that area. In Superpole I was lacking experience. I still am unable to take 100% advantage of the soft tyre. I really need to change my style because with so much grip the bike reacts differently. After the first lap where I was trying to figure out how to use the qualifier tyre I tried to push hard in order to get another fast time on the boards, but I didn't have any more grip toward the end. Anyway what counts are the races tomorrow."

   Lorenzo Savadori, who rides the Team Nuova M2 Racing Aprilia RSV4 RF on Superstock 1000 FIM Cup, will start in front of the rest tomorrow after taking pole position in the qualifiers.

4. WORLD SUPERBIKE TAKES ON THE DUTCH ASSEN CIRCUIT

   Posted on 6:09pm Friday 17th Apr 2015

   Assen (Holland), 17 April 2015 - The first day of practice at Assen had the Team Aprilia Racing - Red Devils riders improving in leaps and bounds between the two sessions. More than one second improvement for Leon Haslam and an impressive second and a half for Jordi Torres are a symptom of the excellent job done in the garages on the Aprilia RSV4 RFs, a process that will continue today with the customary technical debriefing which should lead to more results tomorrow and in the races on Sunday.

   The demanding Dutch track was unable to intimidate expert rider Leon Haslam who concentrated on the job at hand without pushing too hard, leading his mechanics in the right direction. The improvement in the two timed sessions and especially the feeling Leon had on the bike are encouraging for Superpole tomorrow and the races on Sunday.

   Haslam rode his RSV4 RF to fourth place in the combined standings with his best lap stopping the clock at 1'36.48.

   Leon Haslam: "We made some good progress today. I also used the softer tyre for the first time. We are working well in terms of race strategy rather than on our flying lap. There are still various things we need to work out to get past a few situations that we still need to iron out. We aren't far from the front runners and slowly but surely we're improving, so that means we are on the right path. Tomorrow I think we'll achieve our goal in terms of performance."

   One of the particularities of Assen is that there are no real reference points. It is a flat track where any mistake setting up a line can penalise the rider for an entire sector. Precisely for this reason Jordi Torres, in his rookie year on the Aprilia V4 reigning world champion bike, had to adjust his braking points and adapt to the Superbike lines. This was the focus for the morning session, where Jordi put in a lot of consecutive laps precisely to get comfortable on the track, whereas in the afternoon he concentrated on the actual setup, ending the day in sixth place.

   Jordi Torres: "Our biggest step today was definitely the rider. I used the first session to get my bearings. Here at Assen I had only lapped in Moto2 and I realised quickly that the braking points and the lines are completely different. In terms of the settings I think the RSV4 is already at a good level. I'm sure we can still improve but it will be up to me to make the difference. Today was a good day."

5. The Pata European Junior Cup gets underway at Motorland Aragon‏

   Posted on 8:29am Monday 13th Apr 2015

   This weekend the Pata European Junior Cup, powered by Honda Racing kicked off its opening round at Motorland Aragon in Spain.

   Javier Orellana took the win in a thrilling race from start to finish. Orellana placed second overall in last year’s championship and pushed hard to secure today’s win. In a close field of talented young riders Orellana battled with eventual second place finisher Paolo Grassia to the very end in a nail-biting eight-lap race.

   Grassia started the race from third on the grid and was one of the front-runners throughout the whole race. Emanuele Pusceddu completed the EJC podium in third place. During practice on Friday Pusceddu suffered a massive crash and although was declared fit to race was carrying an injury going into today, but was still able to be challenging for the win.

   Fourth place finisher Mika Perez had an impressive ride and led the pack for most of the race and looked to be taking the win. With three laps left the pack at the front closed and the Spaniard lost time and settled to fourth. Fifth place went to Hannes Soomer and the fastest Brit during the race was Stefan Hill who crossed the line in 14th place.

   Meanwhile in the FIM Europe Women’s European Championship Avalon Biddle took the win and finished overall in 13th position. Biddle was also the fastest female in qualifying in 17th. At the start of the race the New Zealand rider was caught up in a first corner crash and lost time but soon made her way up the pack to win the women’s race and overall placed 13th.

   Anastassia Kovalenko was the second fastest female and finished overall in 21st, and Laura Rodriguez finished one place behind in 22nd. Rodriguez had a brave race after crashing out in yesterdays qualifying and was still in some pain during the race. Viktoria Kis had a promising ride before crashing out on the fourth lap, where she was holding 18th position. Kis had qualified in 26th place.

   The next round of the Pata European Junior Cup, powered by Honda Racing takes place next weekend at Assen, the Netherlands 17-19 April.

   Javier Orellana – 1st

   It’s been a really good weekend here at Aragon for the first round of the year. We started free practice well and I qualified fifth. Every EJC race is crazy with seven strong riders leading the group. I knew coming into the last turn I was strong and I braked late and got the win.

   Paolo Grassia – 2nd

   The race was fantastic and I am very happy to finish second, but also a little disappointed as I lost the win by 0.028s. I would like to say thank you to my mechanic and father and I look forward to the race at Assen.

   Emanuele Pusceddu - 3rd

   I was really happy to finish on the podium today at Aragon. I had a big crash on Friday so I was feeling a little sore from that, but for sure I will be fit for Assen and looking to win.

   Avalon Biddle – 13th

   I’m pretty happy to come away with the victory in the women’s class, it’s my first race competing at this level so I really nervous coming into the weekend and thinking don’t crash, which is unusual for me but I wanted to score the points for the women’s championship and that’s what I did. I was hoping for a top-ten overall and finished 13th, there was a big crash at the start and I ran wide and lost a few positions so had to pass the rest of the girls and make my way back up. I’m looking forward to Assen and hopefully a top-ten.

   Gerry Bryce – Pata European Junior Cup director

   It was an absolutely fantastic race and to have had that many riders so close at the end was a real display of some great riders and talent. We’re really happy to have Javier at the top: the pass he made at the end of the straight to take the win was phenomenal. Throughout the whole weekend all the riders have behaved professionally and shown immense talent, we’re very proud of them all and look forward to next weekend at Assen.