Category: Superbikes

1. Fernandez wins wet EJC race at Assen

   Posted on 1:49pm Monday 28th Apr 2014

   Spaniard Augusto Fernandez won today’s second-round European Junior Cup race at Assen in the Netherlands, leading from first corner to chequered flag to narrow the lead at the top of the 2014 championship.

   Fernandez is second in a Spanish 1-2-3 at the top of the table with Marc Miralles leading the way after finishing in third place in today’s six-lap race at the 4.542km Assen circuit, adding to his first round win at Aragon in Spain two weeks ago. Javier Orellana could finish only eighth today, but still sits in championship third position.

   In damp conditions in Assen, which followed disruption to the schedule following a heavily-delayed second World Superbike championship race, Jesper Hubner finished in second place today. The Swedish rider is just one point behind Orellana in the table.

   Podium finisher in Aragon, Mika Perez, was one of several riders who fell victim to today’s wet conditions but local Dutch wildcard, Ricardo Brink, finished in a creditable fourth place, while his fellow Dutchman and the second Assen wildcard, Jamie van Sikkelerus, rounded out the top ten.

   “It was a difficult weekend,” said Fernandez after the race. “I started from sixth place on the grid but my start was OK. I was a bit nervous but went into the first corner in the lead. I thought I could push, but I had to concentrate very hard. I’m very happy with this win, though, and I look forward to Imola.”

    

   2014 European Junior Cup, powered by Honda Racing

   Round 2: Assen, Netherlands - race result:

   1 Augusto Fernandez (ESP)

   2 Jesper Hubner (SWE)

   3 Marc Miralles (ESP)

   4 Ricardo Brink (NED)

   5 Hannes Soomer (EST)

   6 Paolo Grassia (ITA)

   7 Connor London (NZL)

   8 Javier Orellana (ESP)

   9 Alex Wisdom (USA)

   10 Jamie van Sikkelerus

   Championship points after two of eight rounds:

   Miralles 41, Fernandez 38, Orellana 28, Hubner 27, Soomer 20, Grassia 18, Perez 16, Angelo Licciardi (BEL) 14, London 14, Brink 13.

   Next race: Imola, Italy – 9-11 May

2. Glorious eighth place for Lowes in Argentina

   Posted on 1:00pm Monday 28th Apr 2014

   Sam Lowes finished the Gran Premio Red Bull de la República Argentina Moto2 race in eighth place today after starting from 22nd on the grid.

   Sam showed optimism, true grit and determination to improve and build on the difficulties the Moto2 rookie and his team has encountered since arriving in Argentina.

   Storming through the warm-up session he finished in P5 and was just 0.25 seconds off the lead rider. In the race he made his way through the field and by lap-15 was with the top ten riders, and firmly in the points. With just five laps left the reigning World Supersport Champion had settled into eighth position, where he finished the race.

   Sam’s result from today sees him in tenth place in the overall rider standings, with 18 points in his debut Moto2 season.

   The next round of the Moto2 Championship takes place next weekend (2-4 May) with the series heading to Europe for the Gran Premio bwin de España in Jerez, Spain. The Spanish circuit will be familiar ground for the young Brit and the first circuit of the year he has ridden at before.

   It was a hard race and a difficult weekend overall with the bike settings, but I improved a lot in the warm up. The race was always going to be hard starting from 22nd, but I’m so happy to finish eighth and have shown we have good potential when everything is right. Jerez is up next and the first circuit of the year I know so I’m excited to race there again. Thanks to everyone for the support!

3. Manfredi climbs Superstock 600 podium in Assen

   Posted on 1:00pm Monday 28th Apr 2014

   Kevin Manfredi took his Honda CBR600RR to an impressive second place in Saturday’s second round Superstock 600 FIM European Championship yesterday at Assen in the Netherlands.

   The Agro-on WIL Racedays Honda, who graduated from last season's European Junior Cup, led for two laps and looked strong before a massive slide at the Geert Timmer chicane dropped him to second place where he eventually finished five seconds behind race winner Niki Tuuli, with local rider Wayne Tessels finishing third.

   The race start was delayed as heavy rain fell on the Assen circuit and, as the race finally got underway, several riders fell victim to the difficult riding conditions. Among them were Manfredi’s team-mates Jake Lewis – a fellow European Junior Cup graduate – and young British rider Harry Stafford, both of whom crashed out unhurt.

   Similar conditions greeted the Agro-on WIL Racedays Honda Superstock CBR1000RR Fireblade SP riders, Kyle Smith and Josh Day, when they took to the Assen circuit for today’s second round championship race.

   Starting from ninth place on the grid, Smith got a remarkable start that saw him in a strong second place before he crashed out unhurt mid-race. Josh Day enjoyed only a slightly less eventful race, finishing in 11th place.

   Rider quotes:

   Kevin Manfredi – STK600:

   We didn’t have a good grid position because of some problems in qualifying, but I felt confident in the rain. I thought it might be possible to win but I made some mistakes when I was leading the race and then had that big moment at the last chicane. I tried to close the gap again but decided that second place was a good result in those conditions.

   Jake Lewis – STK600:

   They were really difficult conditions, going out to the grid when it started raining heavily. It was a bit of a surprise but I made my way up through the field at a good pace. Unfortunately, I made a small mistake and ended up highsiding, but we were in the points which is pretty good. We’ve just got to move on to Imola now and keeping going forward. I know the team will keep pushing to have us fighting at the front so I’m looking forward to it.

   Josh Day – STK1000:

   I was really hoping for dry weather conditions after we made a little bit of headway in the setting on the CBR1000RR Fireblade SP in practice. Unfortunately, it ended up raining and those aren’t usually my best conditions. I was happy to finish and to come home with some points. Hopefully, Imola will be a lot better where we’ll aim to keep moving forward with the bike and get in the top five, which is where I need to be.

   Kyle Smith – STK1000

   I normally like riding in the wet and managed to get a good start. We had struggled with bike set-up all weekend, especially with rear grip but we made a few changes for warm-up which felt a bit better. But because it was wet for the race, we went softer again to something we thought would be better for the wet. These are all things we’re learning because everything is so new – it’s just a bummer that I had to crash out of the race.

    

   2014 Superstock 600 FIM European Cup – round two

   Assen, Netherlands – results:

   1 Niki Tuuli (FIN)

   2 Kevin Manfredi (ITA)

   3 Wayne Tessels (NED)

   4 Rob Hartog (NED)

   5 Andrea Tucci (ITA)

   6 Gauthier Duwelz (BEL)

   7 Eemeli Lahti (FIN)

   8 Luca Salvadori (ITA)

   9 Ilya Mikhalchik (UKR)

   10 Marco Faccani (ITA)

   Championship points after two of seven rounds:

   Tuuli 38, Tessels 32, Faccani 31, Tucci 31, Manfredi 27, Mikhalchik 18, Duwelz 18, Salvadori 18, Hartog 13, Lahti 10.

   Next round: Imola, Italy – 9-11 May

   2014 Superstock 1000 FIM Cup – round two

   Assen, Netherlands – results:

   1 Kevin Valk (NED)

   2 Ondrei Jezek (CZE) 3 Matthieu Lussiana (FRA) 4 Lorenzo Savadori (ITA) 5 Leandro Mercado (ARG) 6 David McFadden (RSA)

   Championship points after two of seven rounds:

   1 Mercado 36, 2 Savadori 33, 3 Valk 32, 4 Lussiana 26, 5 Jezek 20, 6 McFadden 18, 7 Kyle Smith (GRB) Honda 16, 11 Josh Day (USA) Honda 10.

   Next round: Imola, Italy – 9-11 May

4. APRILIA WINS AT ASSEN

   Posted on 10:00am Monday 28th Apr 2014

   SYLVAIN GUINTOLI COMES CLOSE TO A SENSATIONAL DOUBLE WIN: AFTER VICTORY IN RACE 1 AND RACE 2 SUSPENDED WHILE HE WAS DOMINATING A FALL DEPRIVES HIM OF ANOTHER WIN AFTER THE RESTART OF THE SECOND RACE.

   AFTER CRASHING OUT THE FRENCH RIDER GOT BACK IN THE SADDLE AND ASTONISHED FANS WITH A SPECTACULAR COMEBACK.

   TWO SIXTH PLACE FINISHES FOR MARCO MELANDRI.    Assen, 27 April 2013 – Just one error in the first part of Race 2 deprived Aprilia rider Sylvain Guintoli of a sensational double win that seemed already to be within reach after winning the first race.

   But the Dutch round brought the Aprilia team back into the limelight of the championship with the RSV4 proving to be worthy of its title as reigning Manufacturer World Champion.

   In Race 1 the French rider started well to move out in front of the rest when the red lights went off and set an impossible pace for the rest of his rivals. Then in the second half of the race he defended his position in the lead with flying laps as Tom Sykes made a comeback.

   Sylvain carried out his duties as forerunner magnificently on a partially damp track with slick tyres, a terrible situation which did not compromise the race. As demonstrated by the record breaking lap set by his Aprilia (1’36.440) in the third lap. The race was called 4 laps from the end when the red flag came out due to a blown engine.

   Race 2 started off looking promising with Sylvain out front and clearly faster than all his rivals. The heavy rain forced the race marshals to suspend the race, restarting it later with distance shortened to 10 laps. On a treacherous track, and despite a less than perfect start, Sylvain managed to get front runner Rea in his sights within a few turns. On the last chicane the poor grip cause him to crash. In any case, able to get going again in 18th place, Guintoli resumed his pace and finished the race in ninth place after a spectacular comeback.

   Sylvain Guintoli: "It's a real shame about Race 2. Despite a less than perfect start I was making up ground without any difficulty. The slide in the second lap had nothing to do with any specific mistake. On a track that wet it simply doesn't take much at all. In spite of the blow to my back and damage to the footpeg and handlebar, I lapped fast and that really makes me angry because it's clear that I could have won Race 2 as well. In Race 1, on the other hand, I took some risks in the first few laps to try and increase the gap - a dangerous strategy but one that worked in the end. Before the race was called I was keeping an eye on Tom Sykes' comeback, trying to manage my advantage. I have to thank the entire team and the guys here at Aprilia Racing because they did a great job today. Even with the low temperatures my RSV4 was really working well. It just goes to show that everyone's efforts paid off."

   Marco Melandri had a little more difficulty, finishing sixth in both races. The rider from Ravenna showed grit and determination in Race 2 until a “long” run in a turn knocked him out of the battle for a podium finish.

5. A WORKING FRIDAY FOR THE APRILIA RACING TEAM AT ASSEN

   Posted on 7:00pm Friday 25th Apr 2014

   First practice sessions at Assen, third round of the 2914 World Superbike season. Favoured by the good weather conditions, the factory derivative riders engaged in a close battle on the track that is confirmed by the rather similar times all the top riders in the class put on the boards.
   For Marco Melandri and Sylvain Guintoli it was a day marked by hard work on tyre longevity and finding the best setup solutions. The areas they need to focus on are primarily going into turns and consistency, essential characteristics on a flowing track like the Dutch one.
    
   Eighth in the combined standings of the two sessions today, Sylvain Guintoli is focused first and foremost on working in view of the races, concentrating on tyre wear and understanding how they perform as conditions vary. The characteristics of the Dutch track, basically divided into two completely different sections, require fine tuning of both the electronics package and the chassis setup.
    
   Sylvain Guintoli: "We did quite a bit of work today. Assen is not an easy track to interpret. You have to get a clear understanding of where you need to control power and where you can push it to the limit. This is a process that takes time in order to fully understand how the tyres work and to act accordingly. It looks like the conditions for the first session tomorrow will be similar to those for Race 1. We'll have to take advantage of that so we can be ready on Sunday".
    
   The expected variable weather doesn't particularly worry Marco Melandri (in ninth place), confident that he has identified the points he needs to work on with his mechanics.
    
   Marco Melandri: "We have a lot of work left to do tomorrow but we have a clear idea of which areas we need to improve. Especially going into turns and braking the bike is very twitchy and we need to work on that. I would like to be able to get some more laps in to work toward finding a solution".