Category: Superbikes

1. Shakey retains his championship lead at TT Circuit Assen with two podium finishes

   Posted on 5:00pm Sunday 2nd Oct 2016

   • Shane ‘Shakey’ Byrne finishes 2nd in both races
   • Rookie Glenn Irwin scores more solid points
   • Alex Polita gets up to speed with his new Lloyds British MotoRapido BSB Team

   Two 2nd place finishes by Shane ‘Shakey’ Byrne at the TT Circuit Assen keeps the Be Wiser Ducati Team rider at the top of the championship with just one round to left to decide the 2016 British Superbike champion.

    

   Race 1

    

   Shane ‘Shakey’ Byrne (Be Wiser Ducati) started from pole after setting a new lap record in qualifying yesterday but James Ellison (JG Speedfit Kawasaki) got the better of him as the riders entered the first corner, before he was then passed by Luke Mossey (Quattro Plant Kawasaki).

    

   By Lap 2 it was the six showdown riders who were the top 6 on track and it wasn’t long before Shakey made his way back up to the front of the pack.

    

   On Lap 10 Leon Haslam (JG Speedfit Kawasaki) had taken the lead from Shakey and went on to swap places with his teammate Ellison with Shakey being dropped down to third once again.

    

   On Lap 12 Shakey passed Ellsion for 2nd and then made a lunge on Haslam to lead once more. Haslam was looking to make amends for his disappointing home round at Donington and passed Shakey once more. The two riders entertained with plenty of close racing with Shakey eventually finishing the race just one hundredth of a second behind Haslam.

    

   Shakeys’ teammate Glenn Irwin had lined up in 12th and despite a poor start managed to cross the line in 11th place.

    

   In his first race of the season for the Lloyds British MotoRapido Ducati Team, Alex Polita stalled his bike on the grid, dropping him to the back of the field. But the Italian regained his composure to move up the field, eventually finishing in 23rd.

    

    

   Race 2

    

   A poor start from the second row of the grid saw Shakey languishing in 12th place with title rival Haslam at the front of the leading pack.  On the second lap he had moved up to 11th and by the end of lap 4 was up to 8th behind Billy McConnell (FS-3 racing). After passing McConnell Shakey caught up to the leading group of riders, finding himself behind Richard Cooper (Buildbase BMW Motorrad) in 7th.

    

   Irwin had started from 17th position and at this point was now running in 15th, while Polita had moved from 24th up to 21st.

    

   At two-thirds race distance Polita was up to 18th, but out at the front Shakey was finally able to get past Cooper, before going on to take Luke Mossey (Quattro Plant Teccare Kawasaki) for 5th place.

    

   Shakey was now on a charge, passing Dan Linfoot (Honda Racing), Jason O’Halloran (Honda Racing), and then Ellison before hunting down the race leader. Despite his best efforts Shakey finished just behind Haslam, ensuring he minimised any reduction in championship lead between the two title contenders.

    

   Irwin finished in the points again in 12th position, while Polita wrapped up his first race weekend with a new team and bike in 18th position.

    

   Following his two 2nd place finishes, Shakey heads into the final round at Brands Hatch GP continuing to lead the championship, the Be Wiser Ducati rider now holding a 17 points advantage over rival Haslam.

    

   Shane ‘Shakey’ Byrne

   “The first race was good for me because we have not used the hard tyre in the Ducati before. We had an 8 lap run with the bike on the Friday but I had no idea what the tyre would do over a race distance. With the temperature being so cold we had no choice but to run the harder tyre, so to use a tyre that doesn’t work so well and run Leon (Haslam) so close to the line gives me a lot of confidence.

    

   I think I had the worst start in my career [Race 2], I let go of the clutch and the bike bulked so much so that I had to have another stab at the clutch. The bike reared up so I had to roll off again, so before I knew it I was back in 12th. It was a disastrous start but I made some passes and got to the back of Richard Cooper. Richard is a small guy on a rocket ship so I struggled to get by. At one point I realised I had only five or six laps to go and I could see I still had six guys in front of me and I needed to at least be second behind Leon. I got past Richard and then made a move towards the front and got on to the back of Leon, but he was incredibly strong. I am really happy with the result because the cold weather here in Assen forced us to use the hard tyre for the first time hopefully we can get some warmer weather at Brands and we might be able to run on our preferred tyres. We have a learnt a lot from Assen so I look forward to Brands Hatch and three races but I definitely don’t want to finish second in all those races.”

    

   Glenn Irwin

   “We’ve shown that we’ve got good pace. Definitely. And I’m really happy with after where we were with the last race and not being well and the difficult round at Oulton. We’ve kept it upright all weekend and we’ve been quick. I’ll be the first to admit it I’ve been feeling the pressure a bit about trying to secure my deal next year, so I know I’m not riding the way I can. If I had that pressure off me it might help me a little bit. I don’t think we’ve run as much fuel at other circuits, I’m learning all this. It’s a heavy fuel load here and it’s something that I struggle to brake deep with at the beginning of the race. Once we get past that bit it’s like a different race. It’s nothing to do with tyre wear or anything like that. If you look at my tyre in parc fermé my tyres were maybe worse than some of the ones that passed. It’s a lot to learn for me, I’m a rookie still and I need to understand a heavier bike.”

2. Van der Mark takes second place in thrilling race one at Magny-Cours

   Posted on 5:00pm Saturday 1st Oct 2016

   Michael van der Mark completed a stellar recovery in today’s 21-lap FIM Superbike World Championship race one at Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours to take second place in spectacular fashion in front of the French crowd. After a promising start, his Honda WorldSBK team mate Nicky Hayden was forced into an early retirement at the end of lap 10 due to a technical problem.

   The race got underway on a wet – but drying – track, with both Hayden and van der Mark able to get a great launch off sixth and seventh places on the grid. In the early laps, they ran as high as third and fourth, while swapping positions between themselves several times. After losing one place to Leon Camier, on lap six Hayden was the first rider to opt for a tyre change. After a couple of tentative laps, the American rider started to settle into a good rhythm and made up several places; unfortunately, by the end of the tenth lap he had to make his way back to the garage after suffering a technical problem, which put an end to a promising performance.

   Van der Mark’s choice to pit at the end of lap 8 proved to be an excellent one: the 23-year-old from Rotterdam made perfect use of Pirelli’s slick tyres to storm past his rivals and, during the penultimate lap, he overtook Savadori for second place. He then managed to hold his position up to the chequered flag despite a resurgent Tom Sykes and crossed the line with a 0.347s margin over his rival.

   Courtesy of his sixth podium finish of the season, van der Mark consolidates his fourth place in the championship standings.

   Race two will take place tomorrow at 1pm local time (GMT +2) after the traditional 15-minute warm up scheduled at 9:25am.

   

    

   Van der Mark takes second place in thrilling race one at Magny-Cours

3. APRILIA CONTINUES TO IMPROVE AT ARAGÓN

   Posted on 5:00pm Saturday 24th Sep 2016

   Q2 AND FOURTH ROW FOR STEFAN BRADL, FIFTH ROW FOR BAUTISTA
   
   The RS-GP machines confirm their progress once again in the Aragón qualifiers, with Stefan Bradl good enough to go through to Q2 and Alvaro Bautista just missing the second session by 3 tenths. The Aprilia Racing Team Gresini riders will therefore start from the fourth (twelfth best time for Bradl) and fifth row (fourteenth for Bautista).

   Stefan and Alvaro continued their hard work in the two practice sessions, searching for the best race pace on a track that had already highlighted the close times yesterday using a new tyre, but significant drops in pace lap by lap. This is a situation that makes it essential on one hand, to choose the most suitable tyre of the available options and on the other, to constantly fine tune the electronic and chassis configurations. During morning FP3, Alvaro was also involved in a harmless crash during a session that was noted for the many falls because of the rather cold asphalt.

   In Q1, Bradl and Bautista started off enthusiastically, putting good times on the sheets from the first outing. Back in pit lane to change tyres, they then went after the top two spots, the ones that would send them through to Q2. Stefan earned the privilege with the second best time, 1'48.622, just 26 thousandths behind the best. Alvaro, on the other hand, just missed the second qualifying session by less than 3 tenths with a time of 1'48.904.
   In Q2, Stefan Bradl gave it his all, not having new tyres available, but taking a promising twelfth place.
   
   ALVARO BAUTISTA
   "The conditions this morning were not the best. I crashed without pushing particularly hard, losing a bit of confidence. In the afternoon we picked up where we had left off. In FP4 especially, I did a lot of laps on a used tyre, maintaining a good pace and that makes me very hopeful for the race. In qualifying, during my fast lap I made a small mistake on the last corner that surely cost me a few tenths. In any case, we are starting from a good position as we have for the last few races and this demonstrates our progress. We can say that we are reaping the benefits of what we have done so far on the RS-GP. Tomorrow we have all our papers in order to set our sights on a good result".
   
   STEFAN BRADL
   "A great day for us. Going through to Q2 is an important achievement. We have not made any big changes compared with yesterday. We simply fine-tuned the setup since the sensations were already good. This morning was not easy. We saw many crashes and I almost had a sliding crash myself at a certain point. In the afternoon the situation improved. I had a good feeling with my Aprilia and we were able to do a fast lap to go through to Q2. At that point I did not have any new front tyre to use, but my starting position makes me confident anyway. We have prepared for the race as best we can. If the conditions are like they were today we will be able to do well".

4. Gresini Racing "wears" Mactac

   Posted on 12:00pm Friday 23rd Sep 2016

   The Grand Prix of San Marino and Riviera di Rimini held last September 11 at the Misano World Circuit represented the perfect backdrop for the consolidation of the partnership between Mactac and Gresini Racing, started last June. All graphic decorations of the Gresini Racing teams participating in all the three classes of the MotoGP World Championship are in fact made with Mactac materials, a company with a great experience in the wrapping field, able to provide a wide range of adhesive films for any graphics application: from the sponsor logos on the fairings to the graphic layout of the garage panels, through the liveries of trucks and of the hospitality unit at the races.
   
   A racing bike is an example of maximum customization and extreme application for wrapping films. The surfaces are slightly curved, the liveries are complex and the time to approve and implement the graphics projects, before the action starts, it’s always very little. Thanks to Mactac colored films, colors of the team and sponsor logos can be easily applied avoiding long painting processes.
   
   Motorcycles, vehicles and facilities of the Gresini Racing teams are decorated with all the best Mactac materials, combined with the relative lamination for added protection and durability. The adhesive film Tuning Film, for example, UV-resistant and color loss, allows quick and easy customization thanks to a wide range of textures and finishes, difficult to reproduce with paint. With regard to the colored cut-out films, it’s used the top-of-the-range MACal 9800 Pro, with its 98 gloss and 2 matt colors, lasting 10 years outdoors (B/W).
   
   The valuable partnership with Mactac is also allowing Gresini Racing to create all the graphics internally and independently in the laboratory set up inside the Racing Department in Faenza, equipped with Roland equipment for printing and cutting.
   
   COMPANY PROFILE
   Thanks to the constant innovation and improvement of its production, after more than half a century of history Mactac is now a leader in the graphic and decoration field. The foundation of Mactac dates back to the 40s, when the entrepreneur Burt Morgan started to produce tapes intended for the use in the medical sector. Currently the production facilities and distribution centers of Morgan Adhesives Company (MACtac) are present all over the world including the United States, Belgium, Canada, Mexico and Singapore. Mactac Europe distributes its products through wholly owned subsidiaries (France, UK, Germany, Italy, Sweden, Benelux, Switzerland, Spain and Singapore), and through an international network of specialized distributors located in other geographic areas, which are able to provide a sales service and highly professional assistance to companies of any size and sector of activity.

   For more information, please visit:
   www.mactac.eu
   
   LUISA PETRUOLO (Mactac Italy Marketing Manager)
   “At Misano we found a lot of passion, energy, professionalism and friendliness. We are proud to announce the partnership with Gresini Racing and we are pleased to provide them our material, as well as our experience. In these early months of collaboration our films for wrapping gave excellent results and that’s why all the team’s decorations from now on will be realized with Mactac materials. This is only the beginning of a great partnership, for sure!”.
   
   FAUSTO GRESINI
   “I’m very happy to count on a partner like Mactac to ‘dress up’ our bikes and all our facilities. Our teams need to show their colors and logos on the circuits around the world with a strong and well-finished image, and the Mactac materials allow us to fully meet this need, ensuring excellent quality and durability. An important collaboration that also allows us to manage the many custom graphics throughout the season in a simple and fast way. At our headquarters in Faenza we have also set up a laboratory dedicated to produce independently all our graphics and in this context the help of Mactac is undoubtedly essential”.

5. APRILIA RSV4 MACHINES ON THE TRACK NEXT YEAR IN WORLD SBK WITH MILWAUKEE APRILIA RACING TEAM

   Posted on 8:20am Thursday 22nd Sep 2016

   THE BIKES WILL BE RIDDEN BY ITALIAN LORENZO SAVADORI AND NORTHERN IRISHMAN EUGENE LAVERTY IN THE RACES

   Two Aprilia RSV4 bikes will be on the track in the 2017 World Superbike Championship with the Milwaukee Aprilia Racing Team colours.

   This is a two-year contract, so it will also be valid for 2018.

   The agreement specifies that technical material and related direct assistance and support will be provided by Aprilia Racing, including bike development, which classifies Milwaukee as a Supported Factory Team.

   This means that Aprilia Racing - the Piaggio Group racing department and technological point of excellence in the Italian motorcycle industry - is confirming its high level presence in the premier competition for factory derivative bikes, alongside its important efforts in MotoGP.

   The goal is to compete at top levels in World SBK in order to emphasize the competitiveness of the Aprilia RSV4, capable of taking no less than seven World Titles (three Rider and four Manufacturer) between 2010 and 2014, proving to be the most victorious bike in recent WSBK history.

   The result of a project intended to create a true racing bike that any enthusiast could have, the RSV4 astonished from its rookie season, winning a race in its maiden year and then racking up repeated championship wins in both the Manufacturer and Rider competitions (twice with Max Biaggi and once with Sylvain Guintoli). All this while the street version - obviously also characterized by an exclusive narrow 1.0 litre V4 - continued to win comparative reviews year after year with the best competitors in the world, both European and Japanese.

   The team run by Shaun Muir, which boasts two British titles, will be able to count on a top shelf rider lineup: in addition to the 2015 Superstock Champion Lorenzo Savadori, who quickly drew attention this year in his rookie World Superbike season, Northern Irishman Eugene Laverty will be back in WSBK, 2013 runner up astride none other than an Aprilia RSV4.

   Romano Albesiano - Aprilia Racing Manager

   "Shaun Muir's team, after making a good name for themselves in the British championship, wants to get to the top of a world category. Our agreement includes, in addition to providing bikes and materials, support from Aprilia Racing personnel to manage and develop the RSV4, within a Factory Support type relationship.

   The birth of the Milwaukee Aprilia Racing Team also marks Eugene Laverty's return to WSBK, a rider who we know well and whose professional and personal qualities have our utmost respect. He will have Lorenzo Savadori working alongside him, a young rider who has been part of our sports project for two seasons in which he won the Superstock 1000 title first and then drew attention in WSBK with an extremely positive rookie year".

   Shaun Muir - SMR General Manager

   "For SMR, collaboration with Aprilia Racing for 2017 and 2018 means a real chance to fight for the win. Aprilia has a strong and victorious history in World Superbike and we are determined to continue on the same path. Having Eugene and Lorenzo on board makes this a dream team. Without a doubt, Eugene is coming back to WSBK for one reason only - to win. Lorenzo, on the other hand, is the fastest rookie and a sure protagonist. I wish to thank Milwaukee, Gulf and all of the partners who are supporting our project".

   Eugene Laverty

   "I'm excited to return to Superbike with Aprilia and the RSV4, a bike with which I took ten wins and second place overall in the championship. I hope to be able to pick up where I left off with those results, thanks to the support of Aprilia and a fantastic team like Shaun Muir's. Everything is in place for us to be competitive straight away".

   Lorenzo Savadori

   "I am very happy to continue my adventure in World Superbike with Aprilia. This is another chance to achieve great results, with one more year of experience on the RSV4 for me. In a demanding rookie season I was already able to express a good performance level, learning a lot, both about race management and working in the garage, but I do not want to stop here. We will definitely be highly motivated at the start, with an ambitious project and a great desire to do well".

   Jason Chiswell - Vice President of Marketing Milwaukee Tools

   "At Milwaukee Power tools our vision is always to win and that same mentality is shared with the SMR team. We see the next year with Aprilia as being an exciting and a new winning chapter in our World Superbike program”.

   Frank Rutten - Vice President of Gulf Oil International

   "As the world’s fastest growing oil brand we are very excited by the prospect of moving forwards with what we believe will be one of the most rapid teams in SBK next year. We have been extremely impressed by the way SMR has entered the World Superbike arena. They are one of the best organized and most professional outfits in the paddock and we have developed an excellent working relationship with both them and the team’s title sponsor, Milwaukee Tools.

   We are very excited by the prospect of moving forwards with them as team sponsor and official lubricant partners”.