Category: Superbikes

1. SAROLEA ANNOUNCES NEW SP7 ELECTRIC SUPERBIKE

   Posted on 9:22am Friday 10th Apr 2015

   Belgium outfit Sarolea has launched its new 2015 Saroléa Electric Superbike at Autoworld, the vintage car museum in the centre of Brussels.

   The new Saroléa is an evolution of the 2014 model and has been modified and enhanced on a number of levels. The Belgian team is now targeting a podium place at this year's SES TT Zero Race on the Isle of Man. The talented Scottish rider Robert Wilson, who flew over for the presentation, will once again ride the Saroléa SP7.

   Team Saroléa are using the data obtained during last year's race and testing to optimize and improve its motorcycle. The new design has improved aerodynamics, which will provide higher top speeds. The motorcycle is considerably slimmer which also enhances the position for the rider.

   Modifications to shift the centre of gravity will also increase the bikes handling. Saroléa has also managed to reduce the bike's weight. The modifications are mainly related to the use of more Carbon Fibre and more Titanium parts as well as the use of 3D printed parts.

   A proprietary Vehicle Control Unit and Battery Management System have been implemented. All communication is now flowing through fibre optics.

   The biggest improvement however is the new motor. It has been entirely developed in house and it has a major increase in torque. Early tests by Saroléa are demonstrating a 50% increase.

   With the launch of the new SP7, it is clear Saroléa wants to become one of the major brands on the electric motorcycle racing scene. Saroléa is using the extreme racing conditions presented by the TT Mountain Course as a research and development platform for its propriety Saroléa Electric Drivetrain.

   

    

   Bike specifications

   
   SAROLEA SP7 ELECTRIC SUPERBIKE

   Total Weight (kg) - 190
   Acceleration 0-100 kph (0-60 mph) - 2.8 sec
   Maximum Speed (kph [mph]) - 270 [168]

   
   TYRES:
   Front - Bridgestone Racing Battlax V02 120/600R17
   Rear - Bridgestone Racing Battlax V02 200/655R17

   
   BRAKES:
   Front - Beringer 320mm Aeronal discs with Aerotec Radial Calipers
   Rear - Beringer Aerotec 2D1 caliper

   
   Maximum Output (KW [hp]) - 110 [150]
   (Isle of Man configuration)
   Maximum Torque (Nm) - 900
   Battery Output Voltage (V) - 370 or more

   
   PARTNERS

   Bridgestone Europe
   Beta Tools
   DQ Advocates
   Punch
   Motokouture
   Seco Tools
   Beringer
   Autoworld Brussels
   Benton Apps
   Atelier Noterman
   Stoddart Racing

2. Smith seeks ‘home’ success in Spain‏

   Posted on 8:32am Friday 10th Apr 2015

   Pata Honda World Supersport rider Kyle Smith returns to Europe this weekend for round three of the 2015 World Supersport championship at Motorland Aragon in Spain.

   Although born in Huddersfield in the UK, Smith, 23, has lived in Spain since the age of six and knows the 5.077km Aragon circuit well having scored a podium finish in last season's Superstock 1000 series on a Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade.

   For this season he has switched to the World Supersport Pata Honda CBR600RR and just missed out on a debut podium during the opening race at Phillip Island in Australia. Smith crashed out of the last round at Buriram in Thailand so will be looking to make amends during Sunday’s 16-lap third-round encounter.

3. Honda Racing leaves the official pre-Le Mans test positive‏

   Posted on 9:38am Thursday 2nd Apr 2015

   Honda Racing has completed a two-day pre-Le Mans test at the Bugatti circuit in preparation for the 24 Hours of Le Mans race, which will take place in a few weeks time on 18-19 April.

   All the main contenders were in Le Mans for this dress rehearsal before the 2015 season kicks off - there was no official timing for the test. The first day began on a wet track before the sun appeared in the afternoon, but cold weather conditions made the track very tricky.

   Endurance specialists Freddy Foray, Julien Da Costa and Sébastien Gimbert mainly worked on the performance of the Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade SP in race conditions. The squad also made the most of the test to perfect its tactical plan for the 24 Hour race in a few weeks time.

   This test was ahead of the 24 Hours Motos launch that will be hosted in Paris tomorrow (2 April) at Goodyear Dunlop Tyres France. Freddy Foray and Julien Da Costa will attend the press conference where the teams Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade SP will also be displayed. 

4. CONTACT WITH MARQUEZ KNOCKS BAUTISTA OUT OF THE GAME

   Posted on 11:00pm Sunday 29th Mar 2015

   MELANDRI RIDES HIS RS-GP ACROSS THE WIRE TO FINISH ITS FIRST RACE

   Losail (Qatar), 29 March 2015 - The first race for the RS-GP was long-awaited by the entire Aprilia Racing Team Gresini as an essential test to assess how far development has come on the young project in an actual competition.

   But contact with Marc Marquez in turn 6 of the first lap put Alvaro Bautista - the rider who had shown the most encouraging progress throughout the weekend - out of the game, damaging the front left brake lines and the sensors.

   Marco Melandri rode his Aprilia across the wire, accumulating laps, information and sensations that will be important for the RS-GP growth process.
   
   
   ROMANO ALBESIANO (Aprilia Racing Manager)
   "It's a shame about what happened to Alvaro because of everything this weekend, this was the most long-awaited test. The most important. It would have been truly essential to see where Alvaro would have placed in comparison to that big pack he was fighting in through the first turns of the race, but unfortunately the move Marquez made damaged the bike too badly for it to continue. This was our spirit taking on the first race because it was a test, and this is how it will be in this initial phase of the season, both for the bike and the entire team. Now we need to analyse all the data Marco collected, since he rode his RS-GP all the way to the finish."
   
   FAUSTO GRESINI (Team Manager)
   "What happened in the first race was an important experience for Alvaro and for the entire team, especially in order to bring home all that information that only a race can provide. It's a good sign that Marco finished his race. Of course that isn't enough and we have a lot of work to do in order to improve, but it is a first signal to start from."
   
   ALVARO BAUTISTA
   "Unfortunately the race test that we had planned ended straight away: Marquez got off to a bad start and he wanted to make up positions quickly, but without considering the fact that there were other riders on the track. In turn 6 he squeezed between Barbera and me, I have no idea how, hitting me and ruining the front brake area, lines and sensors. It was impossible to continue. I'm sorry because Marc is a good guy, but he has been too aggressive in the past in these types of situations. I think it is only right to point it out to him because it's risky. Today I was lucky because I didn't crash, but it doesn't take much to get hurt out there. So, like I said, we weren't able to complete our test today but we must not forget this episode and we need to be thinking about the next round in Austin already. It is a very different track than this one where we'll have the opportunity to check all the data gathered this weekend to develop the bike and look for ways to improve."
   
   MARCO MELANDRI
   "It wasn't the fastest race of my life, but on a new bike in a new category it's what we expected. On the other hand, we finished the race, our first true long run, and we gathered a lot of data that will be essential to our development process. We need time. When the bike starts working well my riding style will also improve and we'll be able to take a decisive step. Now it's up to the guys at Aprilia to interpret my sensations and translate them into changes to the RS-GP. We have some more complicated races ahead of us, since I am unfamiliar with the Austin and Argentina tracks, but they will give us more pointers to work on."

5. THE 2015 MOTOGP SEASON STARTS IN QATAR

   Posted on 12:09pm Tuesday 24th Mar 2015

   The first Grand Prix of the year marks Aprilia's return to the top World Championship category
   
   Losail (Qatar), 24 March 2015 - The night races at the Qatar Grand Prix will launch the 2015 MotoGP season and mark Aprilia's return to the top world championship motorcycling competition with Gresini Racing. This is a courageous choice, move up one year ahead of the originally announced schedule, driven by the desire to grow more quickly, accepting the challenge of the track.
   
   The steps in the project include this first year dedicated entirely to development, even and especially in race conditions, before introducing a Full Factory configuration prototype bike in 2016.
   
   This is an ambitious plan, but well within the ability of the designers, engineers and structure of Aprilia Racing at Noale, which boasts 54 world championship wreaths, 28 of which from 2006 to the present, after Aprilia joined the Piaggio Group. The Manufacturer from Noale also skilfully demonstrated its competitiveness in World Superbike, where it quickly became a genuine dominator, earning an impressive seven world titles in the last five years.
   
   The two riders who will be accompanying development of the RS-GP are a part of Aprilia's victorious history: Italian Marco Melandri, already a World Champion on his Aprilia in 2002 (250 Class), MotoGP runner-up champion in 2005 and one of the stars of the World Superbike scene; and Alvaro Bautista, Spaniard, World Champion in 2006 in the 250 class, also on a bike from Noale, and busy in the MotoGP class for the last five years.
   
   It is an exciting challenge which has been taken on thanks to partnership between Aprilia and Gresini Racing, a structure founded and led by two-time World Champion Fausto Gresini and one of the most skilled and successful teams in recent MotoGP history that boasts an extraordinary presence in Grand Prix Motorcycle Racing, where it has been a key player since 1997 without interruption, having won two world titles and taking home 40 race wins.
   
   ROMANO ALBESIANO (Aprilia Racing Manager)
   “With the Qatar round Aprilia's MotoGP adventure begins. We are well aware that we will be sizing ourselves up against the highest technical and sports level in motorcycling, but we are doing it confident that we have all the means to develop a successful project. Aprilia's sports history demonstrates this. The purpose of the upcoming season for us is to gather data and know-how on MotoGP specific technologies, to strengthen the work group at home and on the track and simultaneously it will allow us to design a prototype and put it on the track in 2016. The constant competition with our rivals, definitely fierce and difficult for us at the moment, will allow us to speed up our growth process in the category, as has already happened during the winter tests.”
   
   FAUSTO GRESINI (Team Manager)
   “For Gresini Racing this will be season number 19 in Grand Prix Motorcycle Racing, but it is always very exciting when we finally get back on the track. For the first time we'll be coming to MotoGP as a ‘Factory’ team, proud to be taking on an exciting challenge alongside a glorious brand like Aprilia which has all the skill and know-how that this category demands. It will take time to develop our project, but I agree with Aprilia's decision to move their début up to compete with stronger rivals, even if that means that there may not be immediate results. We like this challenge and we also like our riders: Alvaro and Marco are highly skilled experts and their contribution will be essential, beginning with this first Grand Prix race where we will continue working hard, experimenting and testing, with the goal of growing and achieving a good level of competitiveness as quickly as possible.”
   
   ALVARO BAUTISTA
   “After the winter tests it's finally time to get back to racing! Every time a new season begins it is very exciting and in this case it's even more so because it is also the beginning of our challenge together with Aprilia. This first round actually represents the natural continuation of testing for us: in fact, our primary goal is to develop the bike, no matter what the results are on the track, and it's pointless to focus on those right now. The tests were important for identifying the basic technique to start with. We'll take on the Grand Prix resuming our hard work to keep growing and improving my sensations in the saddle. There is a lot of work to be done, but that doesn't frighten us. To the contrary, the whole team is very united and motivated to make progress. I like the Losail track and I obviously also hope to have fun this weekend!”
   
   MARCO MELANDRI
   “For me this weekend is the start of a new challenge: returning the MotoGP after several years of absence will not be a walk in the park and I am well aware that the first Grand Prix races will not be simple for me, but I am confident that I'll be able to make progress throughout the season until I find the right feeling to be fast. Unfortunately, besides the time needed to adapt to a completely new technical package compared to the one I was accustomed to, my winter tests were also hindered by physical problems. I had been taking antibiotics until three days ago because of a pesky flu and I still haven't fully recovered. But in any case I hope to be fit for the race weekend where I will give it 100% as always along with my team which is supporting me in the best possible way.”