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Category: Superbikes
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Jonathan Rea converted his pole position start into two hard-earned podium finishes in today’s final two races of the 2011 World Superbike championship season at Portimao in Portugal.
The 24-year-old Castrol Honda rider was in confident mood heading into today’s two 22-lap races around the undulating 4.592km Portimao circuit and duly took the lead into the first turn in both outings.
In race one, Rea opted for a medium compound tyre which did not allow him to put in faster laps earlier in the race. He was passed initially by Sylvain Guintoli and then Carlos Checa, who went on to take the race one win.
For the second race, Rea opted for a harder compound Pirelli and again took the lead but was passed by Eugene Laverty and Marco Melandri, leaving Rea in third place as Melandri took the victory.
Karl Muggeridge, who replaced the injured Ruben Xaus for the final round at Portimao, continued to improve his feeling for the unfamiliar bike, tyres and circuit in today’s two races, eventually finishing in 18th and 17th places.
The Castrol Honda team would like to thank Karl for his hard work this weekend and Ruben for his own contribution to the 2011 season.
Rea’s two podiums today marked a strong end to a troublesome season in which he missed three months through injury. However, his Castrol Honda team continued development of the current CBR1000RR Fireblade, including particular elements that can be transferred to a new model which will be available for the 2012 season.
Jonathan Rea – 3rd and 3rd
I felt I rode race one just about as well as I could have, but Sylvain showed massive pace at the start before Carlos came by too, so well done to them for their results. It was nice to be able to challenge for victory in both races, although I think in race two it was pretty clear where we were losing out to the others. I felt I rode well and the bike was working great in some sectors, but not in others where we needed it to. This year’s been such a journey for me, with a lot of ups and downs, so it’s just great to go into the off season with no injuries and the bike on the podium here. I’d like to thank everyone who has made the journey with me this season and to the team and all its partners for their support. I can’t wait for 2012 to start now.
Karl Muggeridge – 18th and 17th
It’s been very tough for me this weekend. On Friday I was just trying to remember which way the track went and we had a couple of technical issues on the first two days which restricted our track time as well. In warm-up this morning I was still struggling to find some harmony out there so in the first race I just kind of sat there and did the laps. It paid off because I had a better feeling for the second race after we made some suspension changes so the bike worked a little better on grip and turning. We also adjusted the electronics slightly to soften the throttle response off a bit. It all helped and I was a lot more comfortable in race two – I was still too slow though. I also lacked a bit of confidence in the tyres but that’s only going to come with time. It was fun to be back working with the guys though, and to be in this paddock where I still have a lot of friends.
Ronald ten Kate – team-manager
After a roller coaster season, in which we’ve had some good highs but also hit rock bottom at times, we’ve managed to get to the last three rounds fighting for podiums and race wins. I want to give credit to all the riders who have been involved this season, especially those who have worked on the development of the bike in recent weeks, also to the staff who have done a tremendous job. It may be the most revolutionary comeback ever, so well done to everyone. The end of the season means a big winter testing programme, and our development work in areas other than electronics has already started and we intend to bring those parts to the track soon. So the work doesn’t stop and we’re planning a private test at Qatar in the next few weeks. We’re looking forward to 2012, to welcoming Hiroshi Aoyama to the team and to working with Jonathan for the fifth consecutive year.
2011 World Superbike championship, final round
Portimao, Portugal (4.592km), 22 laps - results, race one:
1 Carlos Checa (ESP) Ducati 38m13.293s
2 Sylvain Guintoli (FRA) Ducati +2.860s
3 Jonathan Rea (GBR) Castrol Honda +8.481s
4 Max Biaggi (ITA) Aprilia +11.963s
5 Joan Lascorz (ESP) Kawasaki +13.333s
6 Marco Melandri (ITA) Yamaha +18.960s
18 Karl Muggeridge (AUS) Castrol Honda +1m06.213s
Race two:
1 Marco Melandri (ITA) Yamaha 38m11.326s
2 Eugene Laverty (IRL) Yamaha +1.075s
3 Jonathan Rea (GBR) Castrol Honda +1.363s
4 Carlos Checa (ESP) Ducati +2.648s
5 Sylvain Guintoli (FRA) Ducati +3.355s
6 Leon Camier (GBR) Aprilia +4.709s
17 Karl Muggeridge (AUS) Castrol Honda +57.941s
Final championship points:
1 Checa 505, 2 Melandri 395, 3 Biaggi 303, 4 Laverty 303, 5 Leon Haslam (GBR) BMW 224, 6 Guintoli 210, 7 Camier 208, 8 Noriyuki Haga (JPN) Aprilia 176, 9 Rea 170, 10 Ayrton Badovini (ITA) BMW 165.
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 Viva Valencia! is the name given to the charity motorcycle ride being undertaken by Danny John-Jules (Red Dwarf's The Cat), Matt Roberts (BBC MotoGP presenter) and Steve Keys (owner of the first UK Yamaha dealership) in order to raise money for Riders for Health, an organisation that provides and maintains reliable motorcycles so that health workers can reach people in remote parts of Africa to treat diseases that needlessly kill millions.
Clad in pink helmets and leathers to match the pink Yamaha R1 bikes, the distinctive Viva Valencia! team will be present at various events, shows and races throughout the year to help raise awareness for the charity and for their 1200 mile trip, leaving on October 30 from the Ace Cafe, London, to Valencia, Spain, for the final round of the MotoGP championship.
The entire team will also be present at the final British Superbike round this Sunday (October 9, 2011) at Brands Hatch, where they will conduct a parade lap of the circuit and be part of the Pit Lane Walk.
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Fabien Foret won today’s tenth round World Supersport championship race after a typically gutsy and flamboyant ride took him from 12th place on the grid to victory at Imola in italy.
Problems during qualifying yesterday left the French Hannspree Ten Kate Honda rider starting from the outside of the third row, as his team-mate, Florian Marino started the race in second place trying to chase down series and race leader Chaz Davies.
Davies led for the first 14 of 19 laps around the 4.936km Imola circuit, but the engine on his Yamaha expired on lap fifteen leaving Honda-mounted Sam Lowes in charge and Marino well-place in second place.
As Marino’s podium challenge began to fade, however, his Hannspree Ten Kate Honda team-mate continued his charge through the field and, by lap 15, Foret was in second place behind Lowes.
Foret timed his move to the front to perfection with three laps to go and finished just 0.166s ah ead of Lowes, with Marino crossing just off the podium in fourth place for his best result of the season.
Fabien Foret – 1st
We made a big change for the race and I couldn’t push hard at the beginning because I didn’t really have the feeling. It felt like a new bike, but as soon as I got used to the new feeling I pushed and pushed and managed to catch the leading group. I was feeling pretty strong but I was pushing very hard, so I am very happy to win again today. I want to say a special thanks to the team because it’s been a strange weekend. Everything was good on Friday but yesterday was a tough day. They stayed with me though and gave me the bike I could win on today.
Florian Marino – 4th
I am very happy because I pushed as hard as I could on the limit throughout the whole race – I could not do any more. So many times I nearly ran off the track an d I knew that after Fabien came past me I could not go with him. But I stayed near the front for the whole race so thanks to the team for giving me back a good feeling with the bike. I have two more chances to get on to the podium this season and we will try as hard as we can to achieve this goal.
Ronald ten Kate – team-manager
That was certainly a dramatic Supersport race, and one that I think will hit the history books. We changed the setting quite a bit for Fabien so, apparently, for the first laps he was trying to get used to the bike. Then, all of a sudden, he was the quickest man on the track – the quickest man ever, in fact, as he set a new record on lap 11. He propelled himself forward and brought the win for us. There was a big battle going on for the final podium slot, which unfortunately did not go Florian’s way. However, this was his best result for us and he’s really beginning to understand how to push the bike to its limit over the full race distance. I’ve already been asked about the championship, but Davies still has quite a big lead with two races left. For sure there is still some pressure on him because he and his team cannot afford any mistakes.
2011 World Supersport championship, round ten – Imola, Italy (4.936km) - 19 laps:
1 Fabien Foret (FRA) Hannspree Ten Kate Honda 35m56.214s
2 Sam Lowes (GBR) Honda +0.166s
3 Broc Parkes (AUS) Kawasaki +2.499
4 Florian Marino (FRA) Hannspree Ten Kate Honda +3.833
Championship points after nine of 12 rounds:
1 Chaz Davies (GBR) Yamaha 171, 2 Foret 136, 3 David Salom (ESP) Kawasaki 123, 4 Parkes 120, 8 Marino 71
Next round: Magny-Cours, France – 30 September – 2 October
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James McBride from Kettering had productive weekend (15th-18th September) of testing and then racing with TANC Racing Endurance team, finishing in third place at Oulton Park Hottrax Endurance race.
The on track action started in Almeria where he tested the PB Racing BMW in readiness for the Macau GP, which will take place on the 19th November on the Guia street circuit.
He racked up 47 laps in five sessions on Friday getting used to the Michelin slicks which worked extremely well. He gradually reduced his lap time to 1min 44secs, a personal best for the well-known road racer.
McBride made a mad dash back to the UK to compete in the Hottrax Endurance event on the ex-Riba MSS ZX600R. As well as finishing with a podium position the fast Kettering man also took the fastest 600 lap of the race in the soaking wet conditions, fending off others on larger machinery.
Team-mate Chris Mason is now in a comfortable second place in the National 1000 Championship with the help of James with just one event to go at the end of October at Snetterton 300. McBride needs to borrow a bike again for this as the BMW will be en-route to Hong Kong, and the 600 would be punished at the uber-fast two-mile race circuit.
McBride said: “It has been busy but very worthwhile. The BMW is working well and I can’t wait to take it to Macau and try for another top ten finish. As for the endurance event, it was great fun and once again we took the fight to the big boys! I’ve got to thank Jez Murray for the use of the ZX6R at Oulton, it performed brilliantly. I also need to thank Pete Bleackley for the BMW for Macau, it’s going to be a great event and I now can’t wait to get out there.”
Thanks also to Michelin tyres, Spidi UK, GB Racing, Jez Murray and PBMotorsport.
The 58th Macau Grand Prix will take place on the 17th-20th November for further information visit.
If anyone can help McBride with a bike for the Snetterton 300 Endurance please contact him on 07917 175963.
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The Castrol Honda team has completed a two-day test at the Misano circuit in Italy with riders Jonathan Rea and Ruben Xaus declaring themselves happy with progress. The test was Rea’s first visit to the circuit where he crashed in June, sustaining a wrist injury that kept him out of action until two weeks ago.
With three rounds still remaining in the 2011 World Superbike season, the team has been working on developments for the current CBR1000RR. However, Rea and Xaus were also joined by Japanese rider Makoto Tamada at the Misano test and tried some development parts for next year’s racing machine.
In spite of a brief rain shower this afternoon, the test was conducted in temperatures of more than 30 degrees ahead of next week’s 11th round of the series at Imola, just an hour up the road from Misano.
Jonathan Rea
It’s been a real proper test, this, and we had a lot of stu ff to work through. On top of that, Pirelli also brought some new rubber to try so, in the end, we actually ran out of time. We probably needed the rest of this week to get through everything, but we can definitely see the potential of the fly-by-wire system that I tested for the first time today. Also, I’m able to ride a lot more in my comfort zone with this new package and it helped with engine braking, too. Going back to Misano was no problem for me and, in fact, I was going through the corner where I crashed faster than I did during the race weekend in June. Pirelli brought a lot of soft rubber and we could have used a qualifier to try for a time, but we had to keep our heads down and keep focused on the work we had to get through. The lap time is probably about where we are at the moment, but we know that the next step forward will push us back to the front.
Ruben Xaus
Well it felt good to be back on a bike again properly f or the first time since the Brno crash in July. Of course, after two days of testing, I was tired, but it felt like a naturally tiredness. We’ve been testing some different electronics and the bike is much easier to control. The feeling is much better and the bike definitely feels stronger and faster. It’s been a good two days for motivation and to give me confidence heading into Imola next week – I’m feeling like I can really go for it when we get there.
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