ALVARO BAUTISTA: “A DIFFICULT TRACK BUT TOP-10 IS POSSIBLE" STEFAN BRADL: "SPECIAL TRACK AND SPECIAL FANS"

One of the most exciting tracks on the MotoGP calendar is the setting for the first Italian race, an incredible round and long awaited by the fans. The Mugello Circuit, nestled among the Tuscan hills, will also be the first home race for the Aprilia RS-GP 2016, a project that has grown consistently over the first five rounds of the season and that shows great room for improvement.

Alvaro Bautista and Stefan Bradl will have some upgrades available to them, but above all they will be able to benefit from the hard work done during recent race weekends. In fact, thanks to the information gathered, they will be able to focus on finding the best setup solutions for their Aprilias, striving for the best possible result on a rather demanding track.
The Aprilia Racing Team Gresini will therefore be attacking Mugello with an obvious dose of pressure, a positive element for an expert team working with a new and developing project.

ROMANO ALBESIANO - RESPONSABILE APRILIA RACING
“For the Mugello weekend we will once again have new upgrades available, especially in terms of electronics, but more than anything, we want to take on each individual session effectively, focusing on the best possible performance straight away. In fact, up to now we have spent a lot of time during race weekends testing setups, often making drastic changes, and this is a necessary process for exploring the potential of the RS-GP and understanding the way the bike reacts to the various changes. This weekend, on the other hand, we will be starting from a stable base and focusing on the setup straight away on a track where smooth riding and agility are absolutely essential and where painstaking work on the chassis and electronics can really make the difference”.

FAUSTO GRESINI - TEAM MANAGER
“For us, the Italian Grand Prix is a very important round. We are particularly keen to make a good impression and to further improve the RS-GP. Unfortunately, because of the rain, the day of tests at Mugello was just about useless. In any case, the important thing is that our development work is progressing well. This is an effort that we hope will allow us to recover 3 to 5 tenths of a second per lap, which would mean shaving 10 to 12 seconds off of race time”.

ALVARO BAUTISTA
“We are coming to a very special race, playing on Aprilia's home pitch, where we'll be able to count on new developments for the bike. After the Le Mans race we will be able to start with a better base. In particular, on the race Sunday in France we found the direction we need to go in order to be faster. We will work on that setting and on the new components, that way we'll be able to have a bike that is fast in direction changes and stable at the front end. Battling for a top 10 finish will be hard on such a difficult track, but we are willing to try”.

STEFAN BRADL
“Mugello is a track where we riders have fun racing. The circuit is fantastic, but most of all, the atmosphere and the Italian fans are really welcoming. In terms of layout, it has everything we need: direction changes, slope changes and a long straight stretch. This will be an important race for Aprilia - the first home race - so all eyes will be on us, but I am confident that if we stay focused and patient, we'll continue to demonstrate how our potential is growing”.

After a fantastic weekend at The MCN Festival of Bikes we are even more excited about The National Bikesafe Show and Track Experience coming to Rockingham in just 7 weeks!

The National BikeSafe Show and Track Experience is taking place on Saturday 16th July 2016 at Rockingham Motor Speedway.

The event, which is this year sponsored by Northamptonshire Highways, will again bring riders the chance to take an assessed ride with highly respected police riders followed by a 15 minute track experience with California Super Bikes. All for just £35.

Are you booked for our track experience? Pre booking essential.

Sessions running throughout the day and booking up fast, particularly 10am to 2pm. Book now to reserve your space. Available 8am to 4pm.

£35 which includes a 2 to 1 assessment with a friendly police motorcyclist PLUS a 15 minute track experience under the guidance of California Superbike School!

The experience

•  Takes between 2 ½ – 3 hours INCLUDES: •  Hour long 2 to 1 assessment with police motorcyclist •  Safety briefing and 15 minute circuit ride with California Superbike School in groups of 16 or less.

Observed ride only- just £10

www.bikesafe.co.uk

Saturday July 16th

Where: Rockingham Circuit, Mitchell Road, Corby, Northamptonshire. NN17 5AF

Time: 10am – 5pm

In addition to this there will be plenty to do for other visitors including the chance for non-riders to have a go on a motorcycle in the Get On area. The paddock will be full of things for visitors to see and do.

The event is just £1 to enter payable on the gate.

Register for information on the event by emailing [email protected]

www.bikesafe.co.uk

PJ Jacobsen finished today’s sixth-round FIM Supersport World Championship race in fourth place at the Sepang International Circuit after running out of laps following an outstanding comeback in the latter stages of the 14-lap wet encounter. Despite missing out on a podium finish by less than three tenths of a second, the Honda WorldSSP Team’s rider moves up one place in the championship standings and now sits fifth.

After a by-the-book initial starting procedure, with a wet race declared and drops of rain falling in sector two, the rain intensified and all riders chose to change the rear tyre according to the new weather conditions. The overall length of the race was reduced by one lap (from 14 to 13) and the riders went for a second warm-up lap, before red flags were deployed when the rain then came down heavily.

The race finally got underway at 17:15, almost three hours later, as it was scheduled after the World Superbike race 2. Jacobsen lost a couple of places on the opening lap and struggled with a lack of visibility, especially in the early part of the encounter. After getting the better of Kenan Sofuoglu for fourth place, in the final three laps the 22-year-old American put together an outstanding recovery as he bridged the gap to the front-runners by lapping one second faster than his rivals ahead. On the final lap, Jacobsen was simply just not close enough to get in the mix for podium placings.

Just a quick message to say thanks so much for the tickets for Haynes Motor Museum which we finally got around to visiting last month.

We really enjoyed the day and whilst there wasn't that many bikes in the current exhibition they did have a really good speedway section which brought back fond memories of family trips to Belle Vue circuit back in the 70s!

Thanks again and keep up the good work at THE BIKER GUIDE.

Best wishes Jude Steele & Stuart Wood xx

The North West 200 has been a positive outing for the Honda Racing team and its duo John McGuinness and Conor Cummins, which has seen both riders and the Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade SP competitive throughout the week.

This afternoon the first Superbike race of the day got underway as weather conditions around the 8.9-mile triangle circuit continued with glorious sunshine. McGuinness started from eighth on the grid, while team-mate Cummins was just behind in 12th.

Both Honda riders got away from the start and managed to slot themselves into the leading top-ten group where the pace was strong. Cummins made a move on McGuinness and the team-mates were running eighth and ninth by the end of lap one.

By the third rotation the order had swapped and the ‘Morecambe-missile’ had passed the ‘Ramsey Rocket’ and the pair were chasing down the front-runners sitting seventh and eighth respectively.

At the end of the fourth lap, with three laps remaining, the race was red flagged due to an incident with Padgetts Honda’s Bruce Anstey, who was left unhurt from his fall. The race was declared just as the leading group crossed the line going into the fifth lap, which saw McGuinness home sixth and Cummins seventh.

Unfortunately the rest of the North West 200 has been cancelled due to an incident in the Supertwin race. The Honda Racing team would like to extend its thoughts and prayers to the competitors’ family, friends and team at this difficult time.

The Honda Racing squad will now return to its Louth-based workshop and prepare both of the Fireblade machines for the Isle of Man TT, which sees practice start on Saturday 28 May and race week start with the Superbike race on Saturday 4 June and the Senior TT on Friday 10 June. Where both McGuinness and Cummins will compete on the Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade SP machines.