| | Biker News - Regularly updated
Category: Superbikes
-
Honda’s new World Superbike Championship pairing of Jonathan Rea and Hiroshi Aoyama kick off their preparations for the 2012 season with a three-day test at Phillip Island in Australia this week (17-19 January).
The team will be running the SBK race specification 2012 CBR1000RR Fireblade for the first time since the 20th anniversary version of Honda’s iconic sports machine was launched last September.
The team will start its 2012 campaign boosted by news that, following a year as title sponsor, Castrol will remain as a key secondary partner until the end of the 2013 season.
The global lubricants manufacturer used Honda’s World Superbike effort as part of a worldwide marketing campaign to re-launch its Power 1 brand in 2011. Its continued support of the team extends a commercial and technical partnership between Honda and Castrol which dates back to 1959, when the Japanese manufacturer first started world championship racing.
Robert Watherston, motorcycle racing manager at Honda Motor Europe, said: “We’re delighted that Castrol has decided to continue its long-standing association with Honda and, in particular, our World Superbike campaign. We are especially please to have signed a two-year agreement, which takes us to the end of the 2013 season.”
Donald Smith, sponsorship manager in Castrol's Global Marketing Unit commented: “We are pleased to confirm the continuation of our long-standing relationship and support of Honda and motorcycle racing. World Superbikes is the ideal proving ground for the development of our advanced range of Castrol Power 1 lubricants and we look forward to the future of our continued relationship with Honda.”
-
One lucky visitor at this year’s Motorcycle Live could become the proud owner of the Yamaha R1 machine ridden and signed by Jorge Lorenzo during his parade lap at the 2010 Isle of Man TT.
The bike – which was recently ridden from the UK to Spain as part of the Viva Valencia! charity trip by BBC’s Matt Roberts – will be up for grabs in the Riders for Health auction supported by Arai.
The Yamaha will be one of the star lots in the auction, which will take place at 12.30pm on Sunday 20 November with the help of Arai-sponsored riders Cal Crutchlow, Jonathan Rea and Leon Haslam. Visitors will also have a chance to bid for an exclusive behind-the-scenes experience at the Riders for Health Day of Champions at the 2012 Silverstone MotoGP, including the opportunity to meet and greet top riders from the championship.
Other one-of-a-kind lots will include a ride in the pace car at the Silverstone MotoGP, a signed Mick Doohan replica Arai helmet, signed Arai side pods from Ian Hutchinson and Kevin Schwantz, a signed Rossi cap and a signed canvas print of Crutchlow at the 2011 Misano MotoGP. All proceeds will go to Riders for Health, which makes sure that millions of people in rural communities in Africa have the health care they need by managing and maintaining reliable vehicles for health workers.
The ticket price for Motorcycle Live 2011 is completely all-inclusive, meaning visitors can enjoy everything the show has to offer at no extra cost. Tickets are £16 in advance* for adults, £10 for seniors, £6 for children aged 6-16 and kids 5 and under accompanied by a paying adult go free.
www.motorcyclelive.co.uk
www.facebook.com/motorcyclelive
or follow @motorcyclelive on Twitter
-
MotoGP star Dani Pedrosa will head up a star-studded roll call of racers attending this year’s Motorcycle Live at The NEC Birmingham from 19-27 November. The Repsol Honda rider will appear on Monday 21 November as a guest of Arai, joining a long list of riders already confirmed for the nine-day show.
The World Superbike stars will be out in force with Castrol Honda’s Jonathan Rea, BMW Motorrad’s Leon Haslam, Kawasaki's Tom Sykes, newly-signed Crescent Suzuki rider Leon Camier and Effenbert Liberty Racing’s Sylvain Guintoli all making an appearance. Rea will attend on Sunday 20 November, Haslam will make a two-day visit on Saturday 19 and Sunday 20 November, Sykes and Camier will appear on Saturday 19 November and Guintoli will be present on Monday 21 November.
The Brits in the opening day line-up will take part in a celebration of the best of British racing talent to open the show, alongside 2011 World Supersport Champion Chaz Davies, 2011 British Superbike Champion Tommy Hill, Moto2 star Bradley Smith and MotoGP star Cal Crutchlow, who will be firing up his Yamaha M1 live on the Blackhorse Stage at 10.30am on Saturday 19 November.
Other stars to appear throughout the nine-day show include 125GP title contender Johann Zarco (Monday 21 November), young Brits Sam and Alex Lowes (Monday 21 November), road racing favourites John McGuinness (Sunday 27 November) and Guy Martin (Sunday 20 November) and MX stars Zach Osbourne and Arnaud Tonus (Saturday 26 November).
A full listing of riders attending the show can be found at www.motorcyclelive.co.uk/visitor-information/celebrities
The ticket price for Motorcycle Live 2011 is completely all-inclusive, meaning visitors can enjoy everything the show has to offer at no extra cost. Tickets are £16 in advance* for adults, £10 for seniors, £6 for children aged 6-16 and kids 5 and under accompanied by a paying adult go free. Visit www.motorcyclelive.co.uk or call 0844 5812345. Visit www.facebook.com/motorcyclelive or follow @motorcyclelive on Twitter.
-
Jonathan Rea converted his pole position start into two hard-earned podium finishes in today’s final two races of the 2011 World Superbike championship season at Portimao in Portugal.
The 24-year-old Castrol Honda rider was in confident mood heading into today’s two 22-lap races around the undulating 4.592km Portimao circuit and duly took the lead into the first turn in both outings.
In race one, Rea opted for a medium compound tyre which did not allow him to put in faster laps earlier in the race. He was passed initially by Sylvain Guintoli and then Carlos Checa, who went on to take the race one win.
For the second race, Rea opted for a harder compound Pirelli and again took the lead but was passed by Eugene Laverty and Marco Melandri, leaving Rea in third place as Melandri took the victory.
Karl Muggeridge, who replaced the injured Ruben Xaus for the final round at Portimao, continued to improve his feeling for the unfamiliar bike, tyres and circuit in today’s two races, eventually finishing in 18th and 17th places.
The Castrol Honda team would like to thank Karl for his hard work this weekend and Ruben for his own contribution to the 2011 season.
Rea’s two podiums today marked a strong end to a troublesome season in which he missed three months through injury. However, his Castrol Honda team continued development of the current CBR1000RR Fireblade, including particular elements that can be transferred to a new model which will be available for the 2012 season.
Jonathan Rea – 3rd and 3rd
I felt I rode race one just about as well as I could have, but Sylvain showed massive pace at the start before Carlos came by too, so well done to them for their results. It was nice to be able to challenge for victory in both races, although I think in race two it was pretty clear where we were losing out to the others. I felt I rode well and the bike was working great in some sectors, but not in others where we needed it to. This year’s been such a journey for me, with a lot of ups and downs, so it’s just great to go into the off season with no injuries and the bike on the podium here. I’d like to thank everyone who has made the journey with me this season and to the team and all its partners for their support. I can’t wait for 2012 to start now.
Karl Muggeridge – 18th and 17th
It’s been very tough for me this weekend. On Friday I was just trying to remember which way the track went and we had a couple of technical issues on the first two days which restricted our track time as well. In warm-up this morning I was still struggling to find some harmony out there so in the first race I just kind of sat there and did the laps. It paid off because I had a better feeling for the second race after we made some suspension changes so the bike worked a little better on grip and turning. We also adjusted the electronics slightly to soften the throttle response off a bit. It all helped and I was a lot more comfortable in race two – I was still too slow though. I also lacked a bit of confidence in the tyres but that’s only going to come with time. It was fun to be back working with the guys though, and to be in this paddock where I still have a lot of friends.
Ronald ten Kate – team-manager
After a roller coaster season, in which we’ve had some good highs but also hit rock bottom at times, we’ve managed to get to the last three rounds fighting for podiums and race wins. I want to give credit to all the riders who have been involved this season, especially those who have worked on the development of the bike in recent weeks, also to the staff who have done a tremendous job. It may be the most revolutionary comeback ever, so well done to everyone. The end of the season means a big winter testing programme, and our development work in areas other than electronics has already started and we intend to bring those parts to the track soon. So the work doesn’t stop and we’re planning a private test at Qatar in the next few weeks. We’re looking forward to 2012, to welcoming Hiroshi Aoyama to the team and to working with Jonathan for the fifth consecutive year.
2011 World Superbike championship, final round
Portimao, Portugal (4.592km), 22 laps - results, race one:
1 Carlos Checa (ESP) Ducati 38m13.293s
2 Sylvain Guintoli (FRA) Ducati +2.860s
3 Jonathan Rea (GBR) Castrol Honda +8.481s
4 Max Biaggi (ITA) Aprilia +11.963s
5 Joan Lascorz (ESP) Kawasaki +13.333s
6 Marco Melandri (ITA) Yamaha +18.960s
18 Karl Muggeridge (AUS) Castrol Honda +1m06.213s
Race two:
1 Marco Melandri (ITA) Yamaha 38m11.326s
2 Eugene Laverty (IRL) Yamaha +1.075s
3 Jonathan Rea (GBR) Castrol Honda +1.363s
4 Carlos Checa (ESP) Ducati +2.648s
5 Sylvain Guintoli (FRA) Ducati +3.355s
6 Leon Camier (GBR) Aprilia +4.709s
17 Karl Muggeridge (AUS) Castrol Honda +57.941s
Final championship points:
1 Checa 505, 2 Melandri 395, 3 Biaggi 303, 4 Laverty 303, 5 Leon Haslam (GBR) BMW 224, 6 Guintoli 210, 7 Camier 208, 8 Noriyuki Haga (JPN) Aprilia 176, 9 Rea 170, 10 Ayrton Badovini (ITA) BMW 165.
-
 Viva Valencia! is the name given to the charity motorcycle ride being undertaken by Danny John-Jules (Red Dwarf's The Cat), Matt Roberts (BBC MotoGP presenter) and Steve Keys (owner of the first UK Yamaha dealership) in order to raise money for Riders for Health, an organisation that provides and maintains reliable motorcycles so that health workers can reach people in remote parts of Africa to treat diseases that needlessly kill millions.
Clad in pink helmets and leathers to match the pink Yamaha R1 bikes, the distinctive Viva Valencia! team will be present at various events, shows and races throughout the year to help raise awareness for the charity and for their 1200 mile trip, leaving on October 30 from the Ace Cafe, London, to Valencia, Spain, for the final round of the MotoGP championship.
The entire team will also be present at the final British Superbike round this Sunday (October 9, 2011) at Brands Hatch, where they will conduct a parade lap of the circuit and be part of the Pit Lane Walk.
|
