The seventh race of the 2018 MotoGP Championship season will have the teams and riders busy on the Catalunya Circuit, just a few kilometres from Barcelona. A modern and spectacular track, it has been resurfaced and modified in its final section.

The Aprilia Racing Team Gresini riders have already had a chance to try out the changes with a test session that was useful in preparation for the Spanish round.

Aleix Espargarò has plenty of motivation. Having just become a father to Max and Mia, Aleix will take on his home race even more determined to do well with his RS-GP. For Scott Redding, the Barcelona race could be the perfect opportunity to find the right confidence with the Italian bike and to take a further step forward.


ALEIX ESPARGARO'
"I really worked hard preparing for my home race in Barcelona. I am keen to do well. Unfortunately, the first part of the season did not go as we had hoped, but there are clear signs of our competitiveness. This will be my first weekend as a father. It is very emotional and extra motivation."

SCOTT REDDING
"Montmelò is a nice track. The new asphalt is excellent, as we were able to test a couple of weeks ago. My goals for the rest of the season have not changed. We need to work hard, just as we have been until now, and achieve the best possible results."

The Honda Racing team is signing off after a positive Isle of Man TT campaign; although the results do not reflect the performance of the riders Ian Hutchinson and Lee Johnston, the squad is leaving this year’s event pleased with progress and on-going development of the Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade SP2.

Hutchinson continued to impress as he made his return to the TT after breaking his leg in an accident last year. With inspirational drive and determination the ‘Bingley Bullet’ completed a total of 39 laps aboard the CBR during practice and race week, just one month after having his external frame removed.

‘Hutchy’ improved his lap times and feeling aboard the Fireblade during each session and although he didn’t finish the Senior TT, feeling he wasn’t able to complete the full race distance after the second pit stop, the Honda team are proud of his efforts this week and know it’s only a matter of time before he’s back to full speed.

Meanwhile teammate Johnston went into today’s Senior TT confident after a six-place finish in Saturday’s opening Superbike race aboard the Fireblade. With glorious conditions once again around the 37.73-mile Mountain circuit, ‘The General’ had made his way into the top-ten. However at the end of the second lap he retired with a technical issue.

With the data and information collected from the TT, the team will now start looking towards the Ulster GP, which takes place 5-11 August.

The Red Bull Honda World Superbike Team concluded their Czech WorldSBK adventure with a double point-scoring finish as Leon Camier crossed the finish line in seventh place and a resurgent Jake Gagne took twelfth in hot conditions at Brno.

Camier started Race 2 in P6 on the grid but needed a couple of laps to find his feet, settling into P9 in the opening laps. As other riders struggled in the warm conditions, Camier adapted and was able to improve his pace to work his way ahead of his competitors and climbed to seventh place with five laps remaining, the position he held until the chequered flag.

Further back, Gagne got a good start from the seventh row of the grid and quickened his pace as the race went on, setting his quickest lap of the race on lap 9. A last lap push nearly brought the American his first top-ten finish in WorldSBK, but ultimately he just missed out although he still equalled his best result of the year with P12.

The Race 2 result sees Camier move up one place in the championship standings to tenth on 72 points, while Gagne stays in seventeenth overall but increases his points tally to 24.
The United States hosts the next WorldSBK round at Gagne’s home circuit of Laguna Seca from June 22-24.

Ryan Kneen has been awarded the 2018 PokerStars Spirit of the TT Award following brother Dan’s accident during this year’s TT Races.

The Kneen family have close links with the road racing community and Ryan, who was also competing in this year’s TT Races meeting, went out at the back of Thursday’s qualifying session wearing his brother’s helmet, following Dan’s death in Wednesday’s Superbike practice.

The PokerStars Spirit of the TT Award is given annually to the person or persons who best represent the ethos and values of the TT Races including decency, honesty, generosity, courage, compassion, integrity, respect, teamwork and commitment to the development of the races.

The presentation of the award was made on Friday – Senior Race Day - on the Grandstand podium ahead of the PokerStars Senior TT Race.

Guy Templer, Chief Operating Officer, The Stars Group, who presented the award commented:

“The Kneen family has shown incredible resilience and spirit and this was typified by Ryan’s gesture in his tribute practice lap to his brother that received such an incredible reaction from the fans at the event and a remarkable surge of support on-line as well.”

Rob Callister, MHK, Isle of Man Government’s Tourism and Motorsport representative said:

"Everyone in the local community and the broader road racing scene, was affected by Dan’s death. He was a hugely popular figure on the Isle of Man and made a great impact on everybody that met him. He will be sorely missed.”

He continued:

“It is entirely appropriate that this year’s PokerStars Spirit of the TT award goes to Ryan whose spirit and dignity is a shining example of the values and ethos of the event. I personally attend the legacy lap on Sunday and it was incredibly moving to see Ryan and his father Richard leading around eight thousand bikers around the TT course.”

Representatives from the Isle of Man Government's Motorsport team including Rob Callister MHK, TT rider liaison officers Richard Quayle and John Barton, ACU Clerk of the Course Gary Thompson and the Stars Group Chief Operating Officer Guy Templer judged the award. Nominations were invited from members of the public and from officials associated with the TT.

Previous winners have included Paul Owen, Conor Cummins, the Birchall Brothers, TT Marshal Eric Alexander and TTRA secretary Frances Thorp. The then ninety-one year old Harold Leece who opened up his garden to visitors every year and 8 year old fundraiser Cici Reed received the award in 2015 and the 2016 winner was TT rider Paul Shoesmith. Last year’s award was shared between the three organisers of the TT facebook helpline page - Barbara Keene, Margaret Cain and Sandra Diamond - which was set up to help visitors to the Isle of Man with travel and accommodation emergency issues.

A packed trackside crowd were treated to one of the greatest races in the TT’s long illustrious history as Peter Hickman won a sensational PokerStars Senior TT race at the Isle of Man TT races, fuelled by Monster Energy, on Friday when he set a new outright lap record of 135.452mph on the final lap to defeat Dean Harrison by just two seconds.

The pair featured on the cover of the Official TT Programme and the ‘H-Bomb’ feature only hinted at the spectacular race that was to unfold at the climax of this year’s TT meeting as lap, race and sector records were all obliterated as the pair battled for the historic trophy.

Harrison had led the race for five and a half of the six laps but Hickman reeled him on the sixth lap and, having been quicker over the Mountain all race, he turned a 3.7s deficit at Glen Helen into a lead of 0.8s at the Bungalow and he smashed the race record by 48.064s to take his second win. Harrison took second with Conor Cummins in third.

After the race Hickman paid respect to Harrison and revealed that he had targeted the Mountain section of the Course as an opportunity to make up time;

“I knew that Dean was going to be fast but I’d always been strong on the Mountain section throughout the week. It’s a bit like a short circuit and I came into my own on it. I thought it if I was within five or six seconds on the last lap I could have a go over the Mountain.”

Harrison led Hickman by 1.2s through Glen Helen on the opening lap with Dunlop a further second back in third as Hillier, Cummins and David Johnson completed the top six and by Ramsey, the Kawasaki rider had doubled his advantage to 2.4s. Dunlop remained in third but was some 8.4s behind Hickman. Hillier’s strong week ended though with a retirement at Westwood.

Cummins led on the road with a lap of 131.754mph but it was Harrison who led with a lap of 133.678mph. However, Hickman was only 1.4s behind although Dunlop’s challenge looked to be already over as he was almost 13 seconds behind his fellow BMW rider. Cummins, David Johnson and Josh Brookes completed the top six but Johnson pulled into the pits to retire promoting namesake Gary Johnson into sixth.

Leading privateer Sam West was close to his maiden 130mph lap in eighth with newcomer Davey Todd performing superbly in tenth.

Through Glen Helen on lap two and Harrison had edged away from Hickman again to the tune of 3.5s with Cummins now third as Dunlop slipped further back. Brookes was up to fifth and West now a superb sixth and Todd a stunning eighth.

Harrison had added another second to his lead as he rounded Ramsey Hairpin and he came into his first pit stop at the end of lap two having lapped at 133.704mph. His lead had been slashed though with Hickman now only 1.4s in arrears once more. Cummins, Dunlop, Brookes and West rounded out the top six. Todd was now in eighth.

After the pit stop and through Glen Helen for the third time, Harrison’s lead had crept out to 4.8s and the duo were over half a minute clear of Cummins who was now coming under pressure from Dunlop with the gap just over half a second.

Throughout the first half of lap three, Harrison continued to pull away, with his lead at Ramsey over eight seconds, but Hickman was again quicker over the Mountain and as they started lap four, the difference between the two was back down to 5.8s. Cummins was looking more comfortable in third with Dunlop now 13.6s behind in fourth as Brookes and West held onto fifth and sixth.

At Ramsey Hairpin on lap four, Harrison had stretched his lead over Hickman to 6.9s but Hickman again showed his strength over the Mountain reducing the deficit at the Bungalow to 4.4s. And he wasn’t done there either, setting a new outright lap record of 134.456mph on his way into the second pit stop, the gap now just 1.402s. The order behind stayed constant as Cummins pulled further away from Dunlop with Brookes looking comfortable in fifth but Gary Johnson had overhauled West for sixth.

The second and final pit stop saw changes though as by Glen Helen on lap five Harrison’s lead had shot back up to 6.2s although by Ramsey Hickman had shaved 1.2s off despite his engine sounding significantly louder than how it started.

It was down to 3.6s at the Bungalow, 2.5s at Cronk ny Mona and as Hickman crossed the line to start the final, thrilling lap, his deficit to Harrison was only 1.9s. Harrison’s superiority over the first nine miles saw him open up the margin to 3.7s as traffic also came into play on the final lap and he pulled even further away on the high speed run to Ballaugh, his advantage now 5.7s.

However, Hickman really flew on the run to Ramsey bringing the lead down to just two seconds and by the Bungalow, he’d taken the lead for the first time by the slender margin of 0.834s. He doubled that at Cronk ny Mona but all eyes were on the chequered flag and Harrison crossed the line with a new lap record of 134.918mph/ 16:46.742 which he held for forty five seconds before Hickman crossed the line in a sensational, new outright lap record of 135.452mph, pipping Harrison to the race win by two seconds.

Cummins was over a minute and a half back in third with Dunlop, Brookes and Johnson finishing in fourth to sixth, Brookes’ final lap of 131.745mph the fastest by Norton and by an Australian.

West’s superb ride ended on lap five and although that promoted Phil Crowe up into seventh, the Lincolnshire also went out after coming off at Whitegates on the final lap, fortunately without injury, and the eventual seventh place finisher was Martin Jessopp with Jamie Coward, Todd and Brian McCormack completing the top ten. 

Dunlop’s fourth place was enough for him to pick up the Joey Dunlop TT Championship with 94 points, with Hickman (86) and Harrison (81) taking second and third.

Todd’s brilliant week saw him pick up the TT Privateer’s Championship as well as the Newcomer’s Trophy.

Swedish rider Bjorn Gunnarsson had an accident at Glen Tramman and was taken by airmed to Nobles hospital and treated for bruising while Dom Herbertson (Laurel Bank), Mike Norbury (Keppel Gate), Michael Mylchreest (Gorse Lea) and Philip Crowe (Whitegates) also came off their machines during the race but all were reported as unhurt.