Category: Superbikes

1. Shakey moves into the Top 6 after scoring a double podium finish at Knockhill

   Posted on 12:00pm Wednesday 21st Jun 2017

    

   • Shane ‘Shakey’ Byrne scores two podium finishes
   • Shakey moves into a Showdown position
   • Glenn Irwin injured following a crash on Friday

    

   Two podium finishes at Knockhill from Shane ‘Shakey’ Byrne brought some good news for his Be Wiser Ducati team after they suffered a bad start to the weekend when Glenn Irwin crashed out of the first Friday session at the Arnold Clarke chicane.

    

   Irwin, who won the North West 200 in his last race on board his Ducati Panigale R, suffered a ‘suspected dislocated shoulder and elbow' and has returned home for rest and further treatment.

    

   Race 1

   Starting from the front of the second row, Shane ‘Shakey’ Byrne’s race could have easily been all over at the first corner. Jason O’Halloran (Honda Racing) ran in too hot at Duffus Dip with Shakey having to avoid clipping the Honda rider’s rear wheel, subsequently moving the Be Wiser Ducati Team rider several positions down in to 7th place.

    

   By half race distance Shakey was up into 4th and starting to pressure O’Halloran for 3rd, eventually making a move in the inside into Taylor’s Hairpin and finishing behind Jake Dixon (RAF Regular and Reserves Kawasaki) and Luke Mossey (JG Speedfit Kawasaki) for a valuable podium position.

    

   John ‘Hopper’ Hopkins (Moto Rapido Ducati) had started towards the rear of the grid in 18th after suffering technical issues during qualifying. But the American made several passes on the opening laps as he cut his way through the field and was running up in 9th by half race distance. Bradley Ray (Buildbase Suzuki) then crashed out while making a pass on Sylvain Guintoli (Bennetts Suzuki) meant an impressive 7th place finish.

    

   Race 2

   Shakey got a clean getaway as the lights went out for the second race of the day at Knockhill, holding on to his 5th place grid position. A couple of laps later he had got the better of Dan Linfoot (Honda Racing) into Taylor’s Hairpin for 4th. By 1/3 race distance the Be Wiser Ducati Team rider had passed Mossey and was now in 3rd, a position he held for almost half the race.

   On Lap 23 of 30, Dixon took 3rd from Shakey on his charge to his second win of the day. But Shakey was not to be outdone and capitalised on the penultimate lap when Mossey went wide at Taylor’s Hairpin, taking 3rd from him again and claiming his second podium finish of the day.

   Hopper had a much-improved grid position for Race 2, starting mid-pack in 11th. Sadly, the Moto Rapido Ducati rider suffered a lack of rear grip throughout his race - halting any progress and denying him an improvement on his earlier 7th place finish. Hopper passed the chequered flag in 17th.

   Shakey now stands 3rd in the British Superbike Championship with 90 points, while his Be Wiser Ducati teammate Glenn Irwin (absent following his Friday crash) moves out of the Top 6 down to 9th with 63 points. Hopper is currently 14th with 31 points.

    

   Shane ‘Shakey’ Byrne (Be Wiser Ducati #67) – 3rd “It’s been a very difficult weekend. Incredibly difficult. It was only until morning Warm Up today that I got to within 1 tenth to the time I did here last year. So, in some ways I guess you could say we’ve taken a step backwards which is really frustrating because I know how much effort the guys have put in and how hard I’ve tried this weekend.

   We’ve just not been there this weekend. We’ve been thereabouts in lap times and we’ve been top of the time sheets but from a feeling point of view it just hasn’t been right. We’ve searched and searched and searched. We’ve probably made more changes this weekend then we do in 3 or 4 normal race weekends put together. We’ve had new forks in, we’ve had different pivot positions, we’ve had different offsets in it, we’ve had different springs in it. We’ve done literally everything and combinations of all of those as well. There’s no lack of effort from the boys and certainly no lack of effort from me. I feel like I’ve done two 24 hour races back to back. I never get tired riding this bike and I train really hard to make sure I’m always fit and always strong and I’ve trained especially hard just lately.

   We’ve certainly got work to do, the other bikes appear to be a little more agile at these tight and twisty tracks than ours is. That said, going forward, we’ve got ourselves into the Showdown now, we got some podium credits, we’ve come away with two podiums on a bad day and we got a good run of tracks coming up for us and we can look forward to them and try and get ourselves back on the top step again.”

    

   John ‘Hopper’ Hopkins (Moto Rapido Ducati #21) – 17th “I did the best I could in Race 1, we ended up finishing 7th and from where we started I was pretty happy with that. Knowing our pace and what we could achieve here and the level of the bike and so forth I really felt like we could get a podium here.

    

   Race 2, I got off the line horribly, did a little bit of a stutter and then we ended up having some rear grip issue. I literally had no rear grip from the beginning of the race. I was skating into corners, sliding up every corner. And that combined with my hand – my breaking and throttle hand – on a circuit like this I literally could not hang on anymore. I stayed out in the chance that people would unfortunately DNF so we could salvage some points… I was hoping to get our season underway properly here, we’re going to have to roll that onto the next round and do well there. I’m still really confident we can make the showdown.”

2. DUNLOP THROWS DOWN THE GAUNTLET AHEAD OF RST SUPERBIKE TT RACE

   Posted on 10:00pm Saturday 3rd Jun 2017

   Michael Dunlop has thrown down the gauntlet ahead of tomorrow’s RST Superbike race at the 2017 Isle of Man TT Races, fuelled by Monster Energy, with a lap of 131.062mph in Saturday morning’s qualifying session.
   After the session Michael Dunlop said:
   
   "I'm happy to do the lap, but we have suffered with the lack of track time and we're still working on setup. It's the first time this bike has been round here, so we've been changing lots of things each time we go out. The time's good but we've got to ride at that pace for six laps tomorrow, so we'll see how we go."
   
   After a slight delay due to a medical issue at Glen Lough, the morning practice session got underway at 10.54am with David Johnson and Ian Hutchinson leading the field away on their Superbikes followed by James Hillier, Michael Rutter, Gary Johnson and Dean Harrison.
   
   Conditions all around the 37.73-mile Mountain Course were ideal and Hutchinson was first to complete a lap on the Tyco BMW at 129.89mph although this was upstaged by Dunlop’s 131mph+ lap on the Bennetts Suzuki.
   
   Dan Kneen was also quicker than Hutchinson with Peter Hickman and Harrison the only other riders above 129mph. Dunlop wasn’t able to improve upon his lap second time around but Hickman went second quickest on the Smiths Racing BMW with a lap of 130.629mph.
   
   Hutchinson moved up to third with 130.327mph but Kneen was only three hundredths of a second behind with a lap of 130.324mph, which was his quickest ever lap of the Mountain Course, albeit unofficially. Michael Rutter (Bathams/SMT Racing BMW) was the fifth and final rider to break the 130mph barrier with Bruce Anstey and James Hillier getting into the 129s.
   
   David Johnson and Josh Brookes both lapped at just under 127mph on the Nortons whilst impressive laps were recorded by, among others, Derek Sheils, Jamie Coward, Phil Crowe and Andrew Dudgeon.
   
   As the session wore on, the riders constantly pitted to either make changes to their Superbike or switch to their Supersport or Superstock machines and Lee Johnston was quickest in both of the latter. However, he crashed out towards the end of the session at Greeba Castle, sustaining minor injuries, and the session came to an early end.  It was later reported that Johnston would be transferred to Liverpool for further assessment and treatment. Joe Akroyd on his Superstock machine was reported off at Glentramman and was also transferred to Liverpool while Danny Webb sustained a shoulder injury in an incident at Laurel Bank.
   
   After a break for Sidecar qualifying, the solo’s were back on track at 2.20pm with a session for the Supersport and Lightweight machines but the session was soon red flagged after an incident involving Paul Jordan and Bjorn Gunnarsson at Sarah’s Cottage.  Both were taken to Nobles Hospital with Jordan sustaining a wrist injury and Gunnarsson complaining of neck pains but both were later discharged.
   
   At 3.25pm, the action resumed and William Dunlop was quickest out the blocks with a lap of 125.297mph to go to the top of the Supersport leaderboard. Dean Harrison wasn’t far behind with 125.188mph with Ian Hutchinson, James Hillier and Peter Hickman also over 124mph.
   
   However, the session was stopped due to a non-racing incident at Union Mills eventually restarting just after 4pm.
   
   Hutchinson went slightly quicker to maintain his third place with Gary Johnson improving to 123.336mph and seventh overall. A superb performance came from newcomer Adam McLean with a lap of 120.499mph whilst fellow debutante Joey Thompson also improved, his best lap being 117.287mph.
   
   In the Lightweight class, Martin Jessopp set the fastest lap of the week with a speed of 116.535mph on the Riders Motorcycles Kawasaki. 2015 and 2016 winner Ivan Lintin was less than half a second behind in second with Hickman’s final lap of 116.239mph seeing him jump up to third on the KMR/IEG Kawasaki.
   
   Dan Cooper also lapped in excess of 116mph to place fourth ahead of Stefano Bonetti with Michael Dunlop putting in his first laps of the week on the McAdoo Racing Kawasaki to go sixth at 115.572mph. Gary Johnson, Josh Brookes and James Cowton were the other riders to lap at more than 115mph whilst McLean was again flying in tenth.
   
   Tomorrow’s schedule, the first race day of the 2017 Isle of Man TT Races fuelled by Monster Energy is as follows:
   
   12.45                                      -           Road closed Barrule Park, Ramsey to Bungalow
   13.00                                      -           Road closed Bungalow to Creg Ny Baa
   13.30                                      -           Roads closed rest of the course
   14.00                                      -           RST Superbike Race (6 laps)
   16.25                                      -           Sidecar Qualifying (1 lap)
   16.40                                      -           TT Zero Qualifying (1 lap)
   17.30                                  -  Roads scheduled to be open except mountain section
   18.30                                      -           Roads scheduled to be open around the course

3. Anstey tops Superbike board but Hutchinson fastest on the night on his stocker

   Posted on 11:00pm Friday 2nd Jun 2017

   - Bonetti puts Paton on top of the Lightweight board and Harrison pips Dunlop in Supersport qualifier while ‘Moly’ continues to dominate sidecar qualifying
   
   Conditions were finally perfect for qualifying at the 2017 Isle of Man TT Races, fuelled by Monster Energy, and Ian Hutchinson and Bruce Anstey set the pace with both averaging laps of over 129mph.
   
   Hutchinson’s lap of 129.535mph came on his Superstock BMW after stopping at Governor’s Bridge on his opening lap on the Superbike with Anstey posting a time of 129.212mph on the RC213-VS padgettsmotorcycles.com Honda.
   
   Hutchinson was first to leave the line at 6.23pm alongside Peter Hickman on the Smiths Racing Superstock BMW.  Gary Johnson and James Hillier, Steve Mercer and Lee Johnston and Dan Kneen and Michael Dunlop quickly followed the opening pair down Glencrutchery Road.
   
   Kneen was reported to have stopped at Quarter Bridge but he was soon back out on his Superstock mount while the Norton pairing of David Johnson and Josh Brookes were out of luck, retiring at the Bottom of Barregarrow and Ballaugh respectively.
   
   Hickman was first to complete a lap with 128.028mph but Hutchinson had stopped at Governor’s. Johnson and Hillier had no such problems, and both were above the 127mph mark. Dunlop was quickest on the lap though with an opening lap of 128.576mph with Hillier, Conor Cummins, Michael Rutter, Dean Harrison and Bruce Anstey also over 127mph.
   
   On the second lap Hickman was slightly slower at 127.63mph but Anstey had upped the pace considerably to 129.212mph, which made him the evening’s quickest Superbike. Mercer and Rutter were over 125mph but further back on the road, Hutchinson was getting back in the groove and sure enough a lap of 129.535mph not only made him the fastest Superstock machine but also the fastest on the night.
   
   Kneen’s good week in the Superstock class continued with a lap of 127.23mph but this was upstaged on the third lap by Rutter and Harrison who lapped at 128.588mph and 128.477mph respectively to go second and third in the Superstock class behind Hutchinson.
   
   Meanwhile, the newcomers were also making good progress with Adam McLean putting in a superb lap at 119.06mph. Paul Jordan jumped up to 114.88mph with Joey Thompson on 112.91mph.
   
   Just after 7.10pm, the 1000cc machines were short lapped and the course became the sole domain of the Supersport and Lightweight machines.  Hutchinson set the initial pace on the McAMS Yamaha at 123.19mph but this was bettered by Harrison on the Silicone Engineering Kawasaki with a speed of 123.323mph.
   
   However, towards the end of the session, Michael Dunlop just edged out Harrison with a speed of 123.325mph but the Bradford rider wasn’t to be outdone and a 124.35mph lap sent him to the top of the leaderboard. Hillier slotted into fourth at 122.93 with Hickman, Cummins, Jamie Coward, William Dunlop, Anstey and Kneen also above 121mph.
   
   In the Lightweight class, Italian Stefano Bonetti set the fastest lap of the week to date with a speed of 115.69mph on the Paton with Rutter, also on a Paton, on 114.28mph. Hickman on the KMR/IEG Kawasaki, was second with a lap of 114.86mph from Dan Cooper (114.79) and Lee Johnston (114.73).
   
   Steve Mercer was reported to have had an accident at the 11th milestone and was taken by airmed to Nobles with what were initially described as minor injuries while Frank Gallagher suffered broken teeth at the Gooseneck and was taken back to the paddock in a course car.
   
   After a short delay due to the incidents in the solo’s session, the Formula Two Sidecars were back out on the Mountain Course at 8.10pm with Ben and Tom Birchall leading the field away only to retire at Crosby.
   
   That gave Dave Molyneux/Dan Sayle a clear road and their opening lap of 113.001mph was just over 1mph quicker than Tim Reeves/Mark Wilkes on 111.999mph. Karl Bennett/Maxime Vasseur (109.51), Alan Founds/Jake Lowther (109.04), Lewis Blackstock/Patrick Rosney (107.95) and Estelle Leblond/Melanie Farnier (106.59).
   
   Second time around and the leading duo both upped their pace but Molyneux/Sayle held onto the top spot with the fastest lap of the week at 114.74mph. Reeves/Wilkes weren’t too far behind though and improved to 114.35mph, the fastest ever lap by a newcomer passenger albeit unofficially.  John Holden/Lee Cain got a clear run on their second lap with a speed of 112.085mph putting them third quickest.
   
   Some of the TT Zero machines opted for an early look at the track at the end of the evening and the Mugen pair of Anstey (109.520) and Martin (108.413) were predictably quickest although there was a notable performance by Adam Child in completing the first production electric bike lap (74.786) on the Energica machine.
   Following the loss of earlier sessions during the week, tomorrow’s schedule is now a full dedicated day of qualifying with the RST Superbike now scheduled for Sunday 4th June, the first race of TT 2017:
   
   FULL SCHEDULE SATURDAY 3RD JUNE 2017
   09.15                          Road closed Barrule Park, Ramsey to Bungalow
   09.30                          Road closed Bungalow to Creg Ny Baa
   10.00                          Roads closed rest of the course
   10.40 – 12.00            Superbike/Superstock/Supersport/Newcomers (all Classes except Lightweight) Qualifying
   12.05 – 13.05                        Sidecar Qualifying
   14.10 – 15.30                        Supersport/Lightweight/Newcomers (all classes) Qualifying
   15.40 – 16.30                        Sidecar Qualifying
   16.35                          Superbike/Superstock/Supersport Qualifying (1 lap)
   17.00                          TT Zero Qualifying (1 lap)
   17.40                          Roads scheduled to be open except mountain section
   18.40                          Roads scheduled to be open around the course

4. APRILIA READY FOR MUGELLO

   Posted on 6:00pm Wednesday 31st May 2017

   ESPARGARÓ AND LOWES CONFIDENT THAT THEY CAN DEMONSTRATE THE PROGRESS SHOWN IN THE FIRST RACES
   
   The first Italian MotoGP round is an event not to be missed for Italian fans. Aprilia, playing on their home turf, intends to confirm the positive trend shown in the first part of the season with a good result. An important result seems to be within a shout, given the clear progress that the RS-GP machines demonstrated in the first races compared with last year, the Italian V4's début year in the premier category. The sixth place finish in Qatar, the ninth place in Jerez, but especially the race pace shown on several occasions are an excellent start for the Tuscan race.

   Aleix Espargaró will take on Mugello with renewed ambitions after just missing a great result in the last race at Le Mans. Prepared by two days of testing in Barcelona, the Italian GP is the perfect chance for the Spanish rider to make it to the positions that count.

   For Sam Lowes, the Italian weekend began earlier than usual, with a spectacular procession astride his RS-GP along the charming streets of the historic centre in Florence. The event this morning was certainly a unique change to hear the sound of the Aprilia V4 off the track, even rumbling through the streets and by the monuments that have written the pages of our civilization. The Aprilia Racing Team Gresini rookie, after taking his first championship points in France, has set his sights on a top 10 position in the standings. This is a difficult challenge, but he is encouraged by the excellent job he had done so far together with the team, as well as by his positive sensations in recent rounds.
   
   ALEIX ESPARGARO'
   "After the recent tests in Barcelona, I am even more motivated here at Mugello. It is definitely a very special race for us. Aprilia is playing on home turf and I really want to get back to earning important points. We have shown that we are at a good level, especially in the race. Now we need to confirm the hard work we have done on the track in this first part of the season."
   
   SAM LOWES
   "I can't wait to race at Mugello. I have had a lot of good results on this track and I have always managed to be fast. The feelings are positive. I feel like the team and I are working in the right direction and we are ready for another step forward. Especially in Aprilia's home round."
   
   ROMANO ALBESIANO - APRILIA RACING MANAGER
   “Mugello is our home race and it is a circuit that both of our riders really like. The recent tests have helped us to further understand the way the bike works with different settings, both electronics and chassis architecture. Compared with last year, we have taken huge steps forward in terms of handling and this is progress that should let us be more competitive this weekend. I hope to be able to celebrate a good result on Sunday and maybe have a pinch more luck than in recent races.”
   
   FAUSTO GRESINI - TEAM MANAGER
   "Mugello is our first home race and Italian teams are always quite motivated here. There are high expectations to do well and we really want to bring home a good result. We are working well and we have already demonstrated that we have the potential to aim for important goals. Aleix is positive and full of energy. Same is improving his approach race after race and the team is working to give them full support. Now all that's left is to wait for the response on the track."

5. Eleventh place for Bradl in closing WorldSBK race of the UK Round

   Posted on 11:00pm Sunday 28th May 2017

   The UK Round of the 2017 FIM Superbike World Championship has come to a close with the second WorldSBK race of the weekend, which took place today under sunny skies at Donington Park. Stefan Bradl was eleventh at the chequered flag on board his Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade SP2 machine.

   The outcome of the race for the 27-year-old German rider was largely dictated at the start by a crash in front of him at turn one. When the rider fell ahead of him, it forced Stefan almost to a stop to which naturally cost him a lot of ground to the leaders. From the very back of the field, Bradl fought back as he went from 21st place to 14th in the first third of the race. Then, with a big gap to bridge from the riders ahead, Bradl rode a lonely race to cross the finish line in 11th at the end of the 23-lap encounter.

   The Red Bull Honda World Superbike Team will now be on the road to Misano, where a two-day private test will be carried out from Wednesday with Stefan Bradl and test rider Michele Magnoni. The next round of the 2017 FIM Superbike World Championship will take place at the same track in three weekends time.