Category: Superbikes

1. Honda Racing completes North West 200 qualifying‏

   Posted on 9:02am Friday 16th May 2014

   Following the second and final qualifying session for the 2014 North West 200 in Northern Ireland today, Honda Racing’s Conor Cummins and John McGuinness will start Saturday’s Superbike races from seventh and 15th respectively on the grid.

   The 45-minute session took place in warm and sunny conditions as the riders headed out on the 8.9-mile circuit in an attempt to improve on yesterday’s times. Cummins was able to climb to seventh on the grid after posting a 4:26.638 lap, 2.5 seconds behind pole sitter Michael Dunlop.

   McGuinness – who is celebrating his 20th North West 200 – struggled in today’s session as he continues to recover from a broken scaphoid sustained in training two months ago. The six-time NW200 winner did manage to improve his lap time and will start from 15th position. Just five seconds separate the top 15 riders on the highly-competitive Superbike grid.

   Saturday’s race order is below, with roads closing at 10.30am BST. Cummins and McGuinness will complete for Honda Racing in the two Superbike outings:

   Supersport race (6 laps)

   Superbike race (7 laps)

   Supertwin race (4 laps)

   Superstock race (6 laps)

   NW200 Superbike race (7 laps)

2. Mitas announces sponsorship of speedway rider Matej Žagar

   Posted on 8:42am Thursday 15th May 2014

   Mitas is delighted to announce the launch of a new sponsorship agreement with Slovenian speedway rider Matej Žagar for the 2014 season.

   In this year's season, Žagar will compete in the Grand Prix, the Czech League, the Polish Ekstraliga and the British Elite League. Žagar's bike will be fitted with Mitas' SW-07 and SW-02 tyres, which were developed according to FIM rules through close cooperation with TOP speedway riders.

   “Mitas' association with speedway goes a long way back. In a long tradition, Mitas has produced special motorcycle tyres for speedway since 1947. Since then, we have been dedicated to the development and improvement of speedway and other motorcycle tyres for extreme motorcycle sports,” said Andrew Mabin, Mitas’ marketing and sales director.

3. Fifth place for day in Superstock 1000 Cup at Imola‏

   Posted on 9:05am Monday 12th May 2014

   Josh Day took his Agro-On WIL Racedays Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade SP to fifth place in today's third round of the Superstock 1000 FIM Cup at Imola in Italy. It was another good result that allows to the new team to take positives out of what was otherwise a difficult weekend.

   Hopes were high for the team’s two Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade SP-mounted riders, Day and Kyle Smith, who qualified in seventh and eighth places respectively. American Day (main picture) rode well to take fifth place after 14 laps of Imola’s 4.936km Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari, but Smith crashed out of contention, remounting to finish in 16th place at the flag.

   In the European Superstock 600 championship race on Saturday evening, Italian rider Kevin Manfredi put in a dazzling ride on his Honda CBR600RR machine after starting from 15th place on the grid. The diminutive Italian carved his way through to sixth place before crashing out on the penultimate lap of the 12-lap race.

   His New Zealand team-mate Jake Lewis finished just outside the points in 16th place but the team’s third rider, Harry Stafford, was taken to hospital after a qualifying crash left him with a broken nose and a right arm fractured in three places.

   The Superstock championships now have a six-week break before re-assembling for the second Italian round at Misano on 20-22 June.

   Rider quotes:  

   Josh Day – Superstock 1000 FIM Cup, 5th

   “We’ve had a good weekend and the bike is beginning to feel like it’s mine every time I get on it. We made quite a bit of headway with suspension so we didn’t lose so much time in the practice session. It really paid off with good qualifying and a good race result. We didn’t chase a set-up this weekend, just did laps and got a feel for the bike and the track conditions. The race was a bit up and down, but I was happy with fifth; thanks to the whole team and we’ll just see how it goes at Misano.”

   Kyle Smith – Superstock 1000 FIM Cup, 16th

   “We struggled with set-up a bit but finally got a decent setting for qualifying. In the race I had some problems which were pushing me into corners and eventually it pushed a bit too far. It’s a problem that we’ve had in testing, but not during a race before. I hope we can fix it for the next race and be up there again.”

   Kevin Manfredi – European Superstock 600, DNF

   “I really enjoyed the weekend until the last moment. I had a good race and I had fourth place in sight, which would have been a good result after my qualifying. Unfortunately, I crashed so I was very disappointed to be unable to bring the bike home, but I just wanted to keep pushing. I’m sorry for the team but we will try to come back stronger at Misano.”

   Jake Lewis – European Superstock 600, 16th

   “It’s not a great result, of course, and I was unhappy that I could not finish higher. Imola is a difficult circuit and I haven’t really gelled with it, either last year with the European Junior Cup, or this year on the CBR. I’ll have to hope for a better result next time.”

4. GUINTOLI ON THE PODIUM AT IMOLA

   Posted on 5:42pm Sunday 11th May 2014

   The Aprilia Racing Team leaves Imola with the third place Sylvain Guintoli took home in Race 2 which, together with his fifth place in Race 1, keeps the rider close to the top of the championship standings. Sylvain, coming off two wins and demonstrating consistent performance, now lies in third place in the championship, just 16 points behind the new leader, Rea, and 12 behind Sykes.

   In the first race, after holding onto second place for much of the race, Guintoli suffered a drop in tyre performance which forced him to a more defensive strategy in the second part of the race. These are important points in a Championship which, after only four rounds, promises to be extremely well balanced. Sylvain's redemption came in Race 2 where he played a key role, staying in the leading pack from the start and finishing in third place in front of some of his fiercest rivals in the battle for the title.

   Sylvain Guintoli: “It was a hard battle in both races. In Race 2 we managed to improve our pace quite a bit. I knew I would have to start off strong because we are struggling a bit at the moment in the second half of the race. I fought all the way to the end. I knew that the podium was within reach so I gritted my teeth and tried not to make any mistakes. A fifth and third place don't exactly make me jump for joy, but in any case they mean 27 points. I know that I put forth my best effort on this track. The test tomorrow is important because we'll be able to continue improving and looking for new solutions so that we can be incisive in any conditions”.

   The weekend at Imola was decidedly disappointing for Marco Melandri who, after two days of positive sessions, was expecting to be strong in the races. Instead, his sixth place in Race 1 and eleventh place in the second match, despite two excellent starts, kept the rider from Ravenna out of the spotlight on the track at Imola.

   Marco Melandri: “This was a very disappointing Sunday race day, definitely not up to our expectations which were quite high after such a good start to the weekend. Friday and Saturday were positive and it seemed like we were on the right track. This means that we still have a lot of work to do. I am quite capable of bringing home very different results, but that's how this sport is at these levels”.

5. GREAT START FOR THE APRILIA TEAM IN THEIR HOME ROUND

   Posted on 8:43pm Friday 9th May 2014

   PROTAGONISTS IN BOTH SESSIONS ON THE IMOLA TRACK, MARCO MELANDRI AND SYLVAIN GUINTOLI ENSURE A GOOD SPOT FOR THEMSELVES IN THE SUNDAY RACES.

   Imola, 9 May 2014 - On a decidedly summer day the World Superbike engines roared to life at the Enzo and Dino Ferrari circuit at Imola. For the Aprilia Racing Team, reigning Manufacturer World Champion, it was a very promising début: Marco Melandri and Sylvain Guintoli were protagonists straight away in the two sessions today, demonstrating great determination and an excellent pace. The only black spot on the day was a red flag 12 minutes from the end of the second session when the riders were getting ready to test the last solutions.

   Marco Melandri, playing on his home pitch, ended the day with the third best time in the combined standings. The young man from Ravenna improved consistently until arriving less than two tenths of a second from the ranking leader. Efforts will be focused on two fronts tomorrow: continuing the search for the best settings in view of the race and finding speed on the flying lap in order to do well in Superpole. In fact, one of the characteristics of the Imola track is difficulty overtaking.

   Marco Melandri: "I am really quite pleased. For us today was like a new, positive beginning. I feel good on my RSV4 and I am able to ride very smoothly. Today we did a lot of work in preparation for the race, trying to understand how the tyres behave and working on our electronics strategies. Tomorrow we'll continue in this direction, also looking for speed on the flying lap for Superpole. The interruption in the second session didn't even create any big problems for us. We already have a good base to build on".

   It was also a decidedly positive day for Sylvain Guintoli, winner at Assen and fourth best time today. The Frenchman put in a lot of laps at Imola and showed that he is consistently fast. There are a few regrets about the time lost in the last session, which could have led to further improvements. For Sylvain and his team tomorrow promises to be a rather intense day.

   Sylvain Guintoli: "We started off well. As usual we are working on race pace, but my initial feeling with my RSV4 is very good. With all the red flags that interrupted the practice sessions there are still a few things left to test. I hope we can get some consistent time to work tomorrow and finish what we have planned. In any case our times are promising and I'm confident that starting from the good work we did today we'll be able to improve even more".