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Category: Superbikes
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Santander Consumer Finance UK has been announced as the new title sponsor of the upcoming KTM RC 390-powered race series, which will support the 2015 MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship.
The Santander Consumer Finance KTM British Junior Cup will be open to riders 13-18-years old, and every rider will line up on an identical ‘Cup’ variation of the recently-launched KTM RC 390. The series gives equal opportunity and a level playing field for emerging talent. The series will be promoted by MSVR across eight events incorporating 20 points-scoring races. KTM UK already enjoys a successful relationship with Santander Consumer Finance UK - this division of the Spanish bank provides consumer finance for its network of dealers to allow its customers a broad portfolio of competitive finance for the purchase of new machines along with the option to include KTM PowerParts and PowerWear, under the ‘KTM Finance’ banner.
Paul Munns, National Sales Manager – Leisure Finance, from Santander Consumer Finance UK, said: “We’re very excited to play a part in what will no doubt be a very exciting and successful championship. Santander Consumer Finance UK already enjoys a great working relationship with KTM UK and the opportunity to work with them to help bolster future motorcycle racing talent, while helping to promote this area of the business within the best domestic motorcycle racing championship, was an opportunity that couldn’t be missed.”
In standard production form, the RC 390 is an exciting, light and practical sports bike with a 44hp, 375cc single-cylinder four-stroke engine housed in a steel trellis chassis and fitted with top-level components. The ‘Cup’ version, shown in its new race livery for the first time at Motorcycle Live in November, takes this already energetic machine and focuses it solely for track use, using a whole host of official KTM PowerParts that will also be publically available.
The fully adjustable suspension package not only allows for individual set up for each race; it is also a valuable learning tool for suspension set-ups. The bike has adjustable foot pegs and handlebar levers to create personalised ergonomics, making it ideal for young racers who are still growing. Interested parties who would like more information on the race series next year, should email [email protected] and in the subject line put RC 390 Cup 2015 and include name, address, post code, age, riding experience and preferred KTM dealer. We will then
send details when they have been confirmed.
For more information on the series visit www.ktm.com/gb or register at www.bsbteams.com
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British Superbike Championship front-runners GBmoto Racing will be undertaking a Kawasaki backed campaign on the 'road' circuits in 2015, with Isle of Man TT winner Gary Johnson. The team is building Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10R race bikes in Superbike and Superstock specification to attack the Isle of Man TT Races as well as the North West 200 and Ulster Grand Prix events.
Following their debut season as an officially supported Kawasaki team in the MCE British Superbike Championship in 2014, GBmoto are further strengthening their relationship with the Akashi based manufacturer by supporting their Road Racing programme. Signing the talented and ever popular Gary Johnson, the team will be building and running a new high spec ZX-10R Superbike, as well as a Superstock version for the three 'international' events. The team will undertake a full testing programme supported with Japanese technical personnel.
Having previously ridden for the GBmoto Racing outfit in the final two rounds of the National Superstock 1000 Championship in 2011, Gary has gone on to establish himself as one of the strongest road racers in the world. After winning the 2005 British Supersport Cup Championship, he made his debut 'between the hedges' in 2007 - taking his first Roads podium just two years later with a stunning ride to third in the blue riband Senior TT, before following it up with a second place in Superbike race at the Ulster Grand Prix.
Gary joined the illustrious list of TT winners in 2011, when he claimed his first win, taking the second Monster Energy Supersport race while further podiums came in the Superbike TT and Superstock race at the Ulster Grand Prix. A fuel problem prevented him from taking a second TT Supersport win in 2012, but he was able to secure two second places at the Ulster.
2013 would prove to be his most successful season to date, with podiums coming at the North West 200, Isle of Man TT, Ulster Grand Prix and the Macau Grand Prix. He started 2014 even stronger, with two podiums at the North West 200, a second TT victory in the Supersport class, before a crash in the RL 360 Superstock race saw him break a collarbone, shoulder, and vertebrae. Bouncing back just five months later, Gary took a remarkable fourth place in the Macau Grand Prix.
GBmoto are currently undergoing negotiations with existing and new sponsors to come on board for the 2015 Road Racing campaign, which will be a separate effort from their British Superbike team. Gary will get his first ride on the Kawasaki supported ZX-10R's when he joins James Ellison and James Westmoreland at their pre-season tests, which begin at Cartagena on the 5th March.
Speaking from the new World Superbike circuit of Chang in Thailand after signing with GBmoto Kawasaki, Gary Johnson said,
"This is a fantastic opportunity to be working with such a great team and so closely with a major manufacturer, I'm really happy. I rode for GBmoto in 2011, they were one of the most professional teams I've ever worked with and they've obviously stepped up again since then. To see what they did this year in BSB by changing manufacturers and immediately getting podiums was incredible. Their infrastructure, bikes and kit is all mega and although this is their first time at the TT I know they will put all the right pieces in the right places, to be successful.
He continued:
"Hopefully I can bring my own experience to the team from both the events side and with a good reference point from riding a Kawasaki. I have to thank the guys who have worked so hard to help me in the last few years, it's because of them that I've been put in the shop window for this opportunity. With the support of GBmoto and Kawasaki and their testing schedule I'm the most confident I've ever been going into the TT Races and the other events, so bring it on!"
GBmoto Racing Team Principal Mark Smith-Halvorsen added,
"This is another big step forward for GBmoto and I'm incredibly proud that Kawasaki have chosen us to be a major part of their Road Racing campaign. The North West, Isle of Man TT and Ulster GP are three huge events in the world of motorcycling and ones I have followed closely, so I'm really excited to be heading there as a team next year.
Gary was a natural option for the team. He has ridden for us before and we have enjoyed a good relationship that has grown ever since. He's proven that he is capable of beating the best on the roads and I believe if it wasn't for his injury this year then he would have added even further wins to his tally, so I'm confident with the level of support we will have that he can battle for victories in what is now a super competitive field.
This was not a decision we've taken lightly and we want to arrive at the North West in the best possible shape. We have a full testing programme planned for Gary, which kicks off in March. In order to give him the best possible chance, we will be providing him with his own crew for the roads which will act independently of our BSB team. We are now liaising with the race organisers of the North West, TT and Ulster to ensure we are logistically prepared and can put on the professional show that people expect from GBmoto."
To learn more about the team, visit www.gbmoto.com
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THE APRILIA MOTOGP PROJECT IS DEVELOPING NICELY
THREE DAYS OF TESTING AT JEREZ, LOTS OF WORK FOR THE RIDERS AND THE TEAM AND EXCELLENT END RESULTS
MELANDRI AND BAUTISTA TOOK THE NEW V4 WITH PNEUMATIC VALVES ONTO THE TRACK
Jerez (Spain), 27 November 2014 - Three full days of work for the riders and the team marked the second time on the track for the Aprilia MotoGP project. After the Valencia tests two weeks ago Alvaro Bautista and Marco Melandri got back in the saddle of their Aprilia MotoGP bikes to prepare for the 2015 season.
Once again the weather unfortunately conditioned the progress of the testing schedule, especially on the last day (Thursday), with continuous showers and a constantly wet track.
Despite the stops and goes dictated by weather conditions, the Aprilia bike managed to confirm the fact that it "hatched well", a fundamental quality for the development schedule to proceed consistently.
At Jerez the Aprilia riders were able to gain familiarity with the new V4 powerplant for the first time, an engine characterised by pneumatic valves. The engine, which guarantees higher levels of power than the first version with conventional valves, made its début on Wednesday since the work on Tuesday centred around fine tuning the electronics and set up with the old version.
131 laps were logged in Alvaro Bautista's 'three days', with his best time stopping the clock at 1'40.6, whereas Melandri lapped 123 times, putting in a 1'41.5 for his best time.
There is still a long road of growth ahead, but the indications that came out during the tests on the Andalusian track left the entire Aprilia team satisfied and feeling positive as they head into the winter break. Testing will resume on 4 February with the official session in Malaysia on the Sepang track.
Romano Albesiano: "Despite the poor weather we collected a lot of information, mostly positive. This was our first chance to get in some extensive use of the new pneumatic valves engine which proved to be quite promising both in terms of maximum power and manageability, despite all the work that still needs to be done on a mapping level. Alvaro continues to increase his engagement with Aprilia in a positive way, in terms of performance as well, although there is still plenty of room for improvement. As for Marco, he is continuing his apprenticeship on the Bridgestone tyres, a rather complex issue that would have needed the full three days of testing so one that will have to be postponed to the next tests in Sepang."
Alvaro Bautista: "We can be satisfied with the way things went, even if the foul weather slowed down our work. During the first day I continued using the bike in the same configuration as the recent tests in Valencia. We concentrated on the chassis set up, finding a few solutions that I liked and the allowed us to get to know the bike fully. On the second day I was able to use the new pneumatic valve engine. It has a lot of power but there is still a lot of work to do in terms of distributing it. Today we took a few laps in the wet which were useful in any case to assess the characteristics of the new engine in these conditions. Now we will start the winter break. I'll take a bit of a rest to recover from this long season, after which I'll get back to training so that I'm ready for the tests in February. In the meantime I will definitely be paying a visit to Aprilia to see the hard work the engineers are doing on the bike up close and in person."
Marco Melandri: "These were three interesting and very demanding days at the same time. Lap after lap I am figuring out more and more where I need to improve and what I need in order to feel at ease. I still feel quite self-conscious. I think we'll need to put in a few kilometres to find the right feeling. The new engine had a few growing pains, which is normal in this phase, but we have already seen what its positive sides are and where we will need to concentrate on improving it. We have a long period of down time ahead of use which we'll use for development so that we're ready for the Sepang tests. All the guys are working hard and the whole team is very enthusiastic. This is an atmosphere that gives me high hopes."
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MARCO MELANDRI TO RACE WITH APRILIA IN MOTOGP
THE RIDER FROM RAVENNA WILL RACE UNDER THE ITALIAN TEAM'S COLOURS IN 2015
ROMANO ALBESIANO: "AN ITALIAN DUO TO TAKE ON APRILIA'S NEW CHALLENGE"
MARCO MELANDRI: "A VERY AMBITIOUS GOAL, BUT WE'RE READY"
Valencia, 10 November 2014 - The lineup is complete for the team that will take Aprilia into its rookie year in the 2015 MotoGP World Championship. After the announcement about Alvaro Bautista, today Marco Melandri has officially been signed, fresh from the conclusion of the 2014 Superbike season, also with Aprilia Racing, where he took 6 wins and another 5 podiums that contributed significantly to the WSBK Manufacturer Title that the Italian Brand won.
With these two new world titles earned in the recently ended WSBK season under its belt - Rider and Manufacturer - Aprilia now enters MotoGP a year ahead of the earlier announced schedule. As announced at the beginning of September, Aprilia Racing has signed an agreement with Gresini Racing, based on which Gresini Racing will mange the Aprilia bikes on the track in the MotoGP class for four years beginning with the 2015 season.
Born in 1982, Marco Melandri began his career at a very young age in minimoto, winning the Italian Championship in 1992 and 1994. Moving to 125 he became Italian Champion for the category in 1997, a title which allowed him to début in the "eighth litre" MotoGP class. Third in 1998 and second in 1999, Marco moved up a category to ride a powerful 250 two-stroke with Aprilia. This was the beginning of a Melandri-Aprilia match up where he finished fifth in the rider standings in 2000, third in 2001 and World Champion (with 9 wins and 2 podiums out of 16 races) in 2002.
Rising to the premier MotoGP category, Melandri immediately confirmed his competitiveness, finishing out the year in second place. In the various MotoGP categories Melandri has won 22 races and been on the podium 62 times.
In 2011 Marco Melandri moved over to World Superbike and was immediately a key player, so much that he was battling for the title from his rookie season, finishing the year in second place. Finishing third in the 2012 season, the rider from Ravenna was also a contender for the title in 2013, finishing out the season in fourth place. In SBK he has taken 19 wins and 31 podiums.
In its brief history, Aprilia boasts 54 World Titles (38 in MotoGP, 7 in Superbike and 9 in off-road disciplines) which make it one of the most victorious brands on a global level in motorcycle racing. Many recent protagonists in the motorcycle racing world have raced and won with Aprilia such as Biaggi, Capirossi, Rossi, Melandri, Simoncelli, Stoner and Lorenzo.
Romano Albesiano, Aprilia Racing Director: "With Marco Melandri the last piece of the puzzle has been put into place for Aprilia's participation in next year's MotoGP season. These have been very intense and exciting days where in just a few hours we went from the last round of Superbike at Losail to this new adventure in MotoGP. We are very pleased to announce Marco's signing because this completes our team in the best way possible on the eve of a great challenge: with Melandri we now have an all-Italian bike-rider duo. We are moving into MotoGP a year ahead of schedule on wings of enthusiasm because of the double world Superbike championships we have just won. We moved our schedule up because we want the most demanding tracks and the most competitive championship in the world to gauge the quality of our work. Aprilia's 54 world titles, the hundreds of wins on tracks all over the world give proof of technical skills and a winning attitude that deserve the limelight of the most prestigious stage."
Marco Melandri: "I was offered the chance to develop a completely new project and it is something that I have not yet done in my career since I have always had 'inherited' bikes. Precisely for this reason I am very intrigued by this challenge. I am working with a company and a racing department which sought me out and with which I want to continue to work in order to develop and grow a great project. Aprilia Racing has always demonstrated their ability to make great bikes and make them fast. I'll put in my efforts. Our goal is quite ambitious: to grow a bike and at the same time to develop a new prototype that will race in 2016. It will be a demanding season and a lot of work but we are ready to take on these challenges."
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Last Sunday's thrilling end to the 2014 World Superbike championship season in Qatar also marked the conclusion of one of the longest and most successful racing partnerships that the series has ever seen.
After six seasons with the official Honda World Superbike team, run from the Ten Kate Racing workshops in the Netherlands – plus a year in the World Supersport championship with the same outfit – Jonathan Rea will begin the 2015 season with a new challenge.
Year one of the partnership between Rea and the Ten Kate Honda team yielded six World Supersport podiums and three race wins. When he stepped up to World Superbikes and the Honda Fireblade in 2009, Rea began a remarkable record that has seen him take at least one race victory every year.
With the culmination of the 2014 season, that win tally stands at 15, with a total of 41 podium finishes. Rea currently sits 12th in the all-time World Superbike championship win list, with all those victories having been achieved with one team on Honda’s CBR1000RR Fireblade.
Indeed, Rea’s entire road racing career to date has been on Honda machinery, beginning with the Red Bull Rookies programme and, in 2003 at the age of 16, competing in the British 125cc championship.
After an injury-blighted season in British Supersport in 2004, Rea progressed to the British Superbike championship in which he finished as runner-up to Honda team-mate Ryuichi Kiyonari in 2007, before stepping up to the World Supersport championship with the Hannspree Ten Kate Honda team.
Rea's Honda career has also taken him to the Suzuka 8Hours race in Japan, which, in 2012, he became the first British rider to win. Later that year, Rea also stood in for the injured Casey Stoner on the Repsol Honda RC213V at the Misano and Aragon MotoGP rounds.
At a recent World Superbike championship round, representatives from title partner Pata, Honda Motor Europe and the Ten Kate Racing organisation took an opportunity to acknowledge Rea’s contribution with a specially-designed montage representing his Honda career. It seemed a fitting way to thank the 27-year-old for his services to Honda and to the team, and to wish him and his family the best for the future.
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