Category: Superbikes

1. FRANCE GP - FRIDAY

   Posted on 7:00pm Friday 13th May 2022

   ALEIX ESPARGARÓ IS FAST ONCE AGAIN IN LE MANS AND FINISHES THE FIRST DAY OF PRACTICE IN SECOND PLACE

   MAVERICK VIÑALES IS CONSISTENTLY AMONG THE LEADERS BUT NOT QUITE IN THE PROVISIONAL TOP TEN AT THE END OF THE SECOND SESSION

   Aleix Espargaró is once again among the season protagonists and on the French Le Mans track, traditionally not very friendly to the RS-GP, he finished the day with an outstanding second place that also confirms the solid progress of the Aprilia MotoGP project. Concrete and confident, Aleix was in the top spots from the first session, which he finished in fifth place before doing a brilliant flying lap at the end of FP2. His time of 1’31.350 provisionally puts him straight through to Q2, depending on what happens in tomorrow’s sessions.

   Maverick Maverick missed the top ten after being with the leaders in the morning session, eighth when the chequered flag came out, and consistently staying in the top spots of the standings. He finished twelfth just 137 thousandths from tenth place and a provisional spot in Q2, since he didn’t take advantage of the last run to try and improve his time. If the weather permits, always an unpredictable factor in Northeast France, he’ll have FP3 on Saturday morning to make up positions.

   ALEIX ESPARGARÓ
   "First of all, I have to say that riding here in Le Mans with this perfect weather and the grandstands full of fans is fantastic. I’m pleased with the day today. I knew I had a much-improved Aprilia but this is historically not a friendly track for me. But things went well and in the time attack on the soft tyre the feeling was maybe even better than in Jerez".

   MAVERICK VIÑALES
   "Today I managed to be fast straight away, but when I tried to take the next step, I couldn’t find the right confidence to push. We’re working on that and it’s important because if we can find the benefits in the time attack on the soft tyre, our pace will also benefit. It will be important tomorrow to do well in FP3 to go through and compete with the top ten. I’ll have to stay focused and give it my all."

2. LAP RECORD FOR BASTIANINI AT LE MANS

   Posted on 5:00pm Friday 13th May 2022

   #FrenchGP free practice. The start to the third European event of the season has been an excellent one with Enea Bastianini the fastest rider in today’s combined Free Practice time. IT was far from an easy Friday for the rider #23, who crashed twice (once per session), but was still able to put together the quickest-ever lap for a MotoGP bike at the Bugatti circuit.
   
   The Italian star was indeed able to find a positive feeling with his Ducati machine, as especially in the first sector he proved to be extremely competitive. His 1’31.148secs lap-time was two and three tenths of a second faster than the ones set by Quartararo and Rins, respectively.
   
   It was a good opening day for Fabio Di Giannantonio as well: the series rookie started with the base set-up found with the team during the Jerez test – and built on it. His 1’32.275secs tresulted in a provisional 15thplace.

   1st - ENEA BASTIANINI #23 (1’31.148s)
   “Too bad for the two crashes, especially the second one. I would have loved to finish the day a few seconds earlier. It’s been a very positive day nonetheless: we were very quick and comfortable in T1 from the get-go and it’s honestly the area where we have to work the least on. Things have changed compared to yesterday, where maybe we did not fully understand what happened… It happens sometimes. We are quick again and we have the right feeling.”
   
   15th - FABIO DI GIANNANTONIO #49 (1’32.275s)
   “This is maybe the first real positive day of the year. We surely made an important step forward feeling-wise on the bike and I was kind of expecting it after the test we had in Jerez. We’re starting to break hard, and we only need to find a bit more grip: there’s plenty on the track, to be honest, but we still have a bit too much spin and it’ll be important to fix this issue also with regards to qualifying.”

3. Suzuki Live set for Cadwell Park

   Posted on 12:00pm Wednesday 11th May 2022

   Suzuki is set to welcome owners and enthusiasts to Cadwell Park on Friday 10 June for Suzuki Live, where the Japanese firm will celebrate both new and old models alike.

   The day will bring together track sessions for bikes of all ages, test rides, special guests, classic bike displays, and a special parade lap for five of Barry Sheene’s iconic race bikes, recently restored by Suzuki’s Vintage Parts Programme.

   Among others, celebrity special guests will include three-time British Superbike champion John Reynolds and World Superbike and EWC champion and MotoGP test rider-extraordinaire Sylvain Guintoli, and Danny Webb, who will be out on the RG500 he campaigned at the Classic TT for Team Classic Suzuki.

   Key models from Suzuki’s on-road product range – including the new GSX-S1000GT sports tourer, GSX-S1000 naked, and third generation Hayabusa – will be available to test ride on the day on the stunning roads surrounding Cadwell Park. Those wishing to take a test ride must present a valid licence and produce a DVLA check code or National Insurance number.

   A classic bike display will comprise a 1985 GSX-R750F, the TL1000s built brand new by the Vintage Parts Programme in 2014, a 1991 GSX-R1100L, and the Team Classic Suzuki Katana endurance racer.

   Split into three groups, there are 111 track day spaces available on the day, costing £135 per person. However, access is free to those wishing to watch the action and the parades, or take a test ride.

   Suzuki GB head of motorcycle marketing, Ian Bland, said, “It’s going to be a great celebration of Suzukis of all ages and at a circuit that is a firm favourite with many riders. Suzuki track days have been a regular feature of our events calendars in the past, however, for obvious reasons, they’ve been more difficult over the last couple of years. But this is shaping up to be a great event, with some great bikes and special guests too. We’re looking forward to seeing everyone and enjoying the action.”

   Riders will be split into three groups on the day, based on their level of experience and the bike they are riding: Classic Novice for those new to track days or riding older classic machines, Classic Intermediate for those more familiar with track days or riding a classic model, and Open Advanced for the experienced riders on the latest Suzuki machinery.

4. MOTOGP ROUND 7: HERE COMES LE MANS

   Posted on 12:00pm Monday 9th May 2022

   Le Mans preview. MotoGP make its return to French soil, for what has become through the years a classic in the series. Enea Bastianini and Fabio Di Giannantonio will be racing at the home track of current championship leader Quartararo with very different goals, albeit both with ambitious goals.
   
   The rider #23 wants to return to the time of form shown in the extra-European races earlier this year, even though the main goal is to find back that feeling with his Ducati machine that he was never able to get at Jerez a fortnight ago. The post-race Spanish test gave him some fresh confidence, with the Italian star eager to fly again – hopefully with some favourable weather.
   For Di Giannantonio it is time to raise the bar and score his first MotoGP points. The base set-up he found with the team at Jerez may be a good starting point to well-perform in France already.
   
   Historical recurrences: Le Mans is among the most challenging tracks on the MotoGP calendar, but Gresini Racing was able to secure several podium finishes at this track throughout the years. Two wins and a second for Sete Gibernau (in 2003, 2004 and 2005, respectively) and a win and a second place for Marco Melandri in 2006 and 2007, but not only.
   
   Both Enea Bastianini and Fabio Di Giannantonio have had their ‘podium taste’ with the Faenza-based team before: ‘Bestia’ managed to do so in 2015 as he finished second in the Moto3 class, while Diggia did the same two years later. This is their best career result in France, at least so far. 😏
   
   ENEA BASTIANINI #23 (3º in the championship standings with 69 points)
   “Le Mans is quite an unusual track, but a very good one nonetheless. Usually the track, and therefore track conditions, are a key variable, but let’s hope it will be different this time. I would like to find back that feeling with the bike that we kind of lost a bit at Jerez: let’s say being back to the one we had in Portimao, where only the result was unkind to us.”
   
   FABIO DI GIANNANTONIO #49
   “Le Mans is a tough track, temperature and weather wise. We always had very unique conditions, but we’re coming from a positive test in which we found a good direction to follow in terms of set-up, so I’m curious to see if it’ll work at this track.”

5. TEST COMPLETED FOR TEAM GRESINI MOTOGP AT JEREZ

   Posted on 12:00pm Tuesday 3rd May 2022

   Team Gresini MotoGP has completed the back-to-back trip Portimao-Jerez today as the official post-race test drew to a close at the Andalusian track, for what was another positive day for the team’s standard bearers.
   
   Fabio Di Giannantonio continued the set-up work started on Friday as he also focused on the ergonomics of the bike. At the end of 64 laps, the Rome-born rider showed good feeling aboard the bike and logged a personal-best time of 1’38.271.
   
   On the other side of the garage, there were more updates for Enea Bastianini, who managed to concentrate on the front-end of the bike in order to recover the right feeling he was not able to find in Jerez while also trying the new Ducati 2022 fairings.
   
   MotoGP will return to action at Le Mans in less than two weeks.

   10th - ENEA BASTIANINI #23 (1’37.802 – 45 laps)
   “We tried many things and maybe we did make a step forward, despite the track being very different today. With medium tyres we improved our pace by 2-3 tenths of a second, so overall this is good news. The wind came in the afternoon and I chose to not take any unnecessary risk. The new fairing has pro and cons surely, and we’ll take out time to evaluate it, then we’ll decide on whether to use it at Le Mans or not.”
   
   19th - FABIO DI GIANNANTONIO #49 (1’38.271 – 64 laps)
   “We needed this test and we made the most of it. The work done during the weekend has naturally carried over to today; we concentrated on the feeling with the bike and I think it was a good day. Even though the times don’t show it (the wind affected his outing on soft tyres), I feel the bike a bit more mine. I was also able to try a new tank, a little bit more slender: as it often happens, I liked it on some aspects and liked it less on others.”