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June 18th, 2013
Franco Morbidelli (San Carlo Team Italia Kawasaki) enjoyed his maiden Superstock 600 European Championship win 9 days ago at Portimao, after a thrilling and spectacular battle up front. The Rome-born kept his head towards the closing stages and found the right time to take the lead, eventually crossing the line with just 0.062 seconds over Gauthier Duwelz.
"I'm really happy about the win" said Franco Morbidelli. "I think it has quite sunk in now, as I'm already focussing on the next round at Imola. I think it's a great reward for the outstanding effort by everyone, especially by the team. We knew we could have raced for the top-3 straight away, as I was second in every session before the race. We were aware of our potential but we didn't know if that'd have been enough for the win, but everything went smooth and we were able to finish on top."
A perfect timing for his first victory in the series as the home round at Imola is next, a venue Morbidelli knows like the back of the hand. Despite the fresh confidence, Morbidelli is not thinking about the Title chase: "I know Imola very well as I've been racing the Italian Championship for several years now, even though in the past seasons I was on a different bike. We did a pre-season test there and, although the weather was not good, we were able to get some data for the upcoming round. I like to take every race as it comes, not thinking about the ultimate goal. If we find ourselves in contention for the title, we'll be making our own strategy, but right now we still need to figure out whether we'll be competitive on every track."
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June 18th, 2013
Third place finish is usually considered as a good race result, but that's not the case of Kenan Sofuoglu (Mahi Racing Team India Kawasaki). The three-time and current defending World Supersport Champion hasn't been on the top step of the podium since Phillip Island and, with two DNFs on the way, he lies now 2nd in the standings with a 39-point gap from Championship leader Sam Lowes.
"I can't say I was happy after the race at Portimao" said Sofuoglu. "I felt I could win the race but I wanted my team mate to be in the battle up front too. The agreed tactic worked the wrong way for us. Now it's time to focus on the next round at Imola, it's my favourite track despite I never had good luck there so far, last year I even injured my knee. I hope this time out everything will go smooth as I need to win, there is no room for just podium finishes anymore."
The last time Sofuoglu had five rounds with no race wins dates back to 2009, in his opinion the toughest season he's ever contested. No surprise that the strong-willed Turkish rider is aiming for full points starting from the next round, scheduled for 30 June at Imola.
"This is not the hardest competition I've ever faced" he continued "not as in 2009 with Crutchlow and Laverty. I know I'm 39 points behind now but I've had two DNFs, so without bad luck I would have probably been leading by now. I've never won a race at Imola before but I'm looking forward to get my maiden victory there, I must be on top of the podium as much as possible until the end of the season. From now on the real fight starts for me, I have all the support from Kawasaki and even though we're still not able to take the full potential out the ZX-6R, I know we have the best 600 cc bike."
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June 17th, 2013
The eni FIM Superbike World Championship would like to express its support to Alessia Polita and her family through this difficult time.
Following the dramatic crash that involved the 27 year old Italian during the first qualifying session of the Italian Superstock 600 at Misano, the two-time Italian Champion had been transferred to Cesena's Bufalini hospital. The neurosurgical operation she underwent for a broken 12th vertebra was carried out successfully, although the spinal cord injury had been confirmed.
Alessia Polita recently took part as substitute rider for Team VFT Racing in the Italian Round of World Supersport at Monza.
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June 17th, 2013
Hungarian motorcycle racing star Gabor Talmacsi (Prorace Honda) sustained a painful injury in his left leg, after an unusual and unfortunate technical problem occurred during the World Supersport Championship race at Portimao, that will keep the 2007 125 cc World Champion away from racing for months to come.
"I don't know what to say" commented a disappointed Gabor Talmacsi. "I don't think anyone on the grid has had as much bad luck as my team and me. The motor engine exploded in the 12th lap, and it hit my left leg, which broke."
As soon as Talmacsi arrived safely to Hungary, his first stop was the hospital, where he was already expected by a group of doctors. After numerous tests, the doctors decided to go ahead with the surgery, which would help Gabor recover quicker. Throughout the 3-hour surgery, Dr. Varga Marcell successfully screwed the broken bones together, and inserted a metal plate as well. Talmacsi will need around 6-8 weeks to recover, and after that, he will be able to begin his rehab. The Hungarian rider said he still has enormous pain, but is hoping for a quicker than usually recovery.
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June 17th, 2013
The Kawasaki Racing Team made another step forward in the development of the Ninja ZX-10R SBK race package by conducting a two-day test at Motorland Aragon on 13 and 14 June. Regular KRT riders Tom Sykes and Loris Baz lapped strongly in generally hot weather conditions as they each completed their planned test schedules without a hitch.
Track temperatures ended up over 50°C for long periods of the test, making it a tough one for the riders in a physical sense. Nonetheless, Sykes posted over 150 laps, setting many in the 1'57 bracket, and Baz put in over 90 laps, with many in the 1'58s. The French rider opted to stop riding in the afternoon of day two after successfully completing his entire test plan earlier than he and his team had expected.
Even the arrival of some rain on the afternoon of the first day did not hold back the positive work done on both engine development and chassis settings at this test, in which both riders consistently improved on the already strong pace they set at the Motorland Aragon race in mid-April. The next race is at Imola, Italy, on Sunday 30 June, where the team will have the first chance to make the most of their latest batch of KHI's technical improvements.
Tom Sykes: "Testing went really well. It was typical of Kawasaki's positive approach that they have been responsive to my comments and we had a very well structured test plan. On the final day I did over 90 laps and I can tell you, after that many laps of Aragon you feel like you have worked a little bit! It was a good test in preparation for a hot summer of racing as we had more than 30 degrees air temperature and over 50°C on the track, but we still set good lap times. It was good for me to get on the bike and refresh my mind after falling on the sighting lap at the last race in Portimao. I have been very hard on myself since then, thinking too much about it, to be honest. It was a freak accident in Portugal and the trick is to learn from the mistake. So it was good to go out in Aragon and get some fast laps in. It was a bit of a remedy as well as a good test, so it could not have come at a better time. Now I am only thinking about how positive the test was and how good the Ninja ZX-10R will be at the next round."
Loris Baz: "We made some more big improvements at this test and we did all the jobs we needed to do in less than the full two days, so I did not ride on the second afternoon. We tried everything we wanted to and all the things that my crew chief Pere Riba had in his mind. We worked mostly on the general feeling with the bike on race settings and I was definitely faster than I had been in the race at Aragon a couple of months ago. It was cool to lap faster than before and I am even more confident with the bike. We spent two important days at Aragon and we did everything we had to do. We tried a lot of things so we did not need to do more than the 90 laps I finally set."
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June 14th, 2013
Roberto Rolfo (ParkinGO MV Agusta Corse) is targeting a strong result for the next round on the calendar, scheduled for June 28-30 at Imola's Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari. Following the difficult weekend at Portimao, the Italian is looking forward to being back at the level he showed in the fifth round of the season - at Donington Park - when he achieved the first podium finish for MV in a World Championship race after 37 years.
It was not an easy weekend for you at Portimao...
"I was unlucky at Portimao, as I had to retire with 4 laps to go due to a technical problem that started hampering my performance few laps before and made me lose a lot of ground. It's a shame because I started off well from the 13th place on the grid and at Turn 1 I was with the pack that battling for 6th. I think an 8th place was in my range."
What about the next round at Imola?
"I really like the track, it's a very technical one with a lot of elevation changes. I have to say it's not one of the tracks I know best, as I raced there only in 2011. I'm happy to be racing in front of my home crowd and I'm sure Imola will suit the F3 well. I want to stay with the front runners as much as I did at Donington."
What's your opinion about your rivals?
"The competition is very high this year, we're all very close. The only one who's able to make the difference right now, especially on race pace, is Sam Lowes."
Are you happy with the bike? And how's working with MV?
"The bike is beautiful and has a huge potential, I'm really happy to be part of such an ambitious project and about the responsibility that comes with it. MV is giving us a lot of support, it's great to ride for such an iconic brand. I like the direct approach and the 'family business' approach."
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June 14th, 2013
Following the mixed emotions of Portimao, Marco Melandri (BMW Motorrad GoldBet) is aiming to score some important results in the upcoming Round 7 of the eni FIM Superbike World Championship, that will take place at Imola's Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari on June 28-30. The Italian rider is currently fourth in the points, with a 57 gap from leader Sylvain Giuntoli.
"The season hasn't been an easy one so far" he told WorldSBK.com "due to the injury sustained at Phillip Island and the time needed by the new team to gel together. Once we managed to improve our results some unfortunate events - that were impossible to foresee - have hampered our efforts. Now we need to be up there in every race, of course it'll be tough but there is still a long way until the end of the season."
Despite the difficult results of the past seasons in his home round, Melandri is confident about the next event, as he always like the track on which he scored a 2nd place and a race win in his first two years racing at international level (125cc World Championship, 1998 and 1999).
"Even though the results I had so far at Imola in WSBK, I must say really like the track. It's a very demanding one, as it has a lot of changes of directions and little time to rest, maybe a couple of seconds on the straight. In order to do well you need a bike that's both quick in changing direction and stable under braking. The starting position is also crucial, as there are not many spots for overtaking, because the ideal racing line is basically just one."
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June 13th, 2013
Cooperation between team mates is usually a key factor for bike development in testing and in finding the right set-up for the race. Once Sunday comes, the "every man for himself" situation becomes the rule, as every rider aims for the best result at the chequered flag.
This didn't apply last time out at Portimao for the Mahi Racing Team India Kawasaki, as Kenan Sofuoglu and Fabien Foret had worked out a plan to make sure they could both stay in contention with pole man Sam Lowes (Yakhnich Motorsport Yamaha). It worked well for a time, with each applying pressure, taking the lead and then controlling the pace, but in the very final stages the Brit was able to regain the lead and to cross the finish line as the winner, while Foret and Sofuoglu completed the podium in second and third respectively.
"I got a podium and after two difficult rounds I will take it with pleasure" said Fabien Foret. "To be honest we had a plan together with Kenan and during the race I could see that it may work out OK as we were all together. I think van der Mark came along quite late in the race and disturbed our plan quite a bit and I was also surprised to see him there. When you are suddenly four guys together you have more things to think about. I am quite upset with the little mistake I made in the last lap, as I could have had the race win but maybe next time in Imola I will."
The defending Champion Kenan Sofuoglu added: "I think today Sam (Lowes) deserved to win the race, he was the fastest all weekend but also in the race. We were all fighting hard and anyone of four of us could have won the race. We will keep working as we are, Kawasaki is fully behind me to improve the bike even more and hopefully in Imola we will be better."
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June 12th, 2013
FIXI Crescent Suzuki's Leon Camier fought his way to a fourth place during Sunday's first race at the eni FIM Superbike World Championship event at Portimao in Portugal. Camier's result was his and FIXI Crescent Suzuki's best result of the season so far and shows the race potential of the Yoshimura-powered Suzuki GSX-R.
"I got an ok start in the first race and made a bit of progress" said Camier "but as I went past Haslam on the inside - and was well past him - he let the brake off in the turn and punted into me. I lost some time and dropped back some places and had the job of trying to catch-up and get through the field, so from 15th to 4th is a pretty good result. The bike felt good, I felt like I could pass really well and the speed of the FIXI Crescent Suzuki has definitely improved. This showed on the straight because I could exit on the last turn and keep the momentum going so I could pass at the end of the straight, which I haven't been able to do before, so I was really happy about that."
Unfortunately for Camier he didn't fare as well in race two, when a simple mechanical issue on lap-12 caused the Englishman to retire from the race as he was making progress through the field and was closing on the fight for sixth place.
"At the start of the second race I had a problem with the electronics" he added "and the bike didn't pull away as it should. I made a few places up, but didn't feel quite as strong as I did in the first race, but I kept pushing and I was getting in a good rhythm when a problem with the bike didn't allow me to continue. I was hoping that I could have made up some more places, because I could see the group in front coming back to me, so I think that fourth or fifth was achievable, but we will never know now!"
FIXI Crescent Suzuki is back to the UK before it prepares to travel to the next round of the series, which is scheduled for Imola in Italy on Sunday 30th June.
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June 12th, 2013
Michael van der Mark (Pata Honda World Supersport) rode a great WSS race at the 4.592km Autodromo Internacional do Algarve in Portugal, getting his season back on track following two difficult races.
Starting from sixth place on the grid, the 20-year-old Dutch World Supersport rookie consolidated his starting position in the early laps but, with consistent lap times, he began to reduce the gap to the eventual winner, Sam Lowes and rivals Fabien Foret and Kenan Sofuoglu. Just four weeks after breaking his foot at Monza in Italy, van der Mark caught the leading trio in the closing stages of the 20-lap race, at one point holding second place, before eventually having to settle for fourth, just half a second off the podium.
"I think we have to be really happy with Sunday's result" said Michael van der Mark. "The start wasn't that great and I lost a few places early on. I finally passed some guys and managed to settle into a really consistent pace. I couldn't go any faster so just tried to do the same lap times all through the race. I could see the group in front and I knew that at some point they would start to fight for first position. I was hoping that, when that started, they would lose some time and they did. I kept doing the same lap times and made it up to the group. I passed them a few times but one time I went a little bit wide and Kenan (Sofuoglu) missed a gear and the others passed me again. I kept pushing but in the last lap I lost the front a bit, but after two disappointments at Monza and Donington, we are really happy with the weekend."
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