The first European round of the 2014 eni FIM Superbike World Championship takes place this weekend at the MotorLand Aragon circuit. The track, located near Alcaniz in the autonomous community of Aragon, Spain, has been on the calendar since 2011. The first two editions of the Aragon Round saw Max Biaggi and Marco Melandri sharing wins, whilst last year Briton Chaz Davies stole the show by taking the double.
The 27 year old Welshman, now one half of the Ducati Superbike Team duo, has showed great pace again on the track during winter testing, while teammate Giugliano was the quickest at the latest private test at the other Spanish venue on the calendar, Jerez.
Championship leader Sylvain Guintoli (Aprilia Racing Team) had a season start very similar to last year’s, with one win and a second place at Phillip Island. The Frenchman leads the title race with a 10 point advantage over compatriot Loris Baz (Kawasaki Racing Team) and 13 points over new teammate Marco Melandri. For the first time ever Baz lies ahead in the standings of the other KRT rider and reigning Champion Tom Sykes who is one point behind fourth place Giugliano and tied in points with Eugene Laverty (Voltcom Crescent Suzuki), fifth.
First race winner of the season Laverty is looking forward to the second round of the season and hopes for a change in fortunes from last year when he finished with two DNFs, due to a technical problem which occurred in Race 1 and by an early crash in the following one. Despite his ankle still not being 100%, Laverty’s teammate Alex Lowes hopes to post strong results on a track where he has never raced before.
After almost one week of testing between Cartagena and Jerez, the Pata Honda Team heads to Aragon with the aim of making that further step forward that would help both Jonathan Rea and Leon Haslam to compete for the top 3.
Team Hero EBR is currently performing the second day of private testing at the Alcarras circuit, located only one and a half hours drive from Aragon, with both Aaron Yates and the returning Geoff May. The official squad of the American marque continues its learning curve in the championship, hoping for an improvement in performance in its second ever WSBK round. Same target for the MV Agusta RC – Yakhnich Motorsport Team, who recently completed a one day test at the Cremona circuit mainly to practice starts.
On the EVO side of the Championship, local rider David Salom (Kawasaki Racing Team) is going to try and race despite the right hand injury suffered during the first day of testing at Jerez last week. Salom’s main challenger for the race wins at Phillip Island Niccol Canepa (Althea Racing Team Ducati) will be determined to edge out the Spaniard at his home track.
With Sylvain Barrier out due to the road accident he had three weeks ago, the BMW Motorrad Italia Superbike Team have selected former WSBK full timer Leon Camier to replace the injured Frenchman. After testing his conditions during a recent test at Imola, multiple WSBK race winner Michel Fabrizio (Iron Brain Grillini Kawasaki) will be on track for his season debut, as the Italian rider injured himself in Phillip Island’s official testing.
Italian manufacturer Bimota is set to make its comeback to World Superbike this weekend at Aragon. Bimota’s official WSBK team, run by Francis Batta’s Alstare outfit, will line up with two EVO-spec BB3 machines for Ayrton Badovini and Christian Iddon. Bimota counts 11 WSBK race wins, 10 of which came in the two year period 1988-1989. Furthermore, the first ever World Superbike race (1988, Donington Park) was won by Davide Tardozzi aboard a Bimota YB4 750 EI.
Standings (Round 1 of 14): 1. Guintoli 41; 2. Baz 31; 3. Melandri 28; 4. Giugliano 26; 5. Laverty 25; 6. Sykes 25; 7. Rea 21; 8. Davies 17; 9. Salom 13; 10. Canepa 11; 11. Haslam 10; 12. Foret 8; 13. Elias 7; 14. Allerton 6; 15. Lowes 3; 16. Corti 3; 17. Morais 3; 18. Guarnoni 2. Manufacturers: 1. Aprilia 45; 2. Kawasaki 31; 3. Suzuki 28; 4. Ducati 26; 5. Honda 21; 6. BMW 6; 7. MV Agusta 3
World Supersport
The FIM Supersport World Championship returns for the second round of the season, with Jules Cluzel (MV Agusta RC – Yakhnich Motorsport) on top of the standings ahead of Kev Coghlan (DMC-Panavto Yamaha) and Raffaele De Rosa (CIA Insurance Honda).
Kenan Sofuoglu (Mahi Racing Team India Kawasaki) and Michael van der Mark (Pata Honda World Supersport) are looking for redemption after leaving Australia with no points. Both riders crashed out in the early stages of the shortened five lap World Supersport race, whilst trying to pull away from the rest of the field.
Last year van der Mark had the best result of his rookie WSS season at Aragon, finishing second behind race winner Fabien Foret. On the other hand, three time World Supersport Champion Sofuoglu has never had an easy time on the Spanish track, with his top finish being a fifth place in 2012
Jack Kennedy (CIA Insurance Honda) has spent the long break recovering from the ankle injury sustained during the official test at Phillip Island. The Irishman, who rode through the pain before being forced out of the race due to a technical problem, is anxious to get back on track.
Last year’s STK600 runner-up Alessandro Nocco will make his World Supersport debut this weekend after signing a deal with the San Carlo Puccetti Racing Team. Nocco will join fellow Italian Roberto Tamburini, who started the season on a high note by scoring a top 5 finish in the opening race of the year, as well as setting the fastest lap of the race.
Team Rivamoto Honda will not attend the Aragon Round. The Russian squad is still looking for a new rider and sponsors after recently parting ways with Australia’s Bryan Staring.
Standings (Round 1 of 13): 1. Cluzel 25; 2. Coghlan 20; 3. De Rosa 16; 4. Marino 13; 5. Tamburini 11; 6. Wahr 10; 7. Gowland 9; 8. Russo 8; 9. Menghi 7; 10. Gamarino 6; 11. Rolfo 5; 12. Covea 4; 13. Calero 3; 14. Bussolotti 2; 15. Rogers 1. Manufacturers: 1. MV Agusta 25; 2. Yamaha 20; 3. Honda 16; 4. Kawasaki 13; 5. Triumph 9.
Superstock 1000
Twenty six permanent riders have subscribed to be part of the 10th running of the FIM Superstock 1000 Cup, with a number of past riders looking to claim the ultimate prize. Add into the mix a number of new riders, coupled with a number of established regulars switching teams and the scene is set for another epic title fight.
On paper, the Barni Racing team should feature strongly once again with Leandro ‘Tati’ Mercado being joined by Czech Ondrej Jezek in a new look team. Pedercini Kawasaki should also be amongst the front runners, the Italian team retaining the services of Lorenzo Savadori, whilst adding former Supersport point scorer Balazs Nemeth (Hungary) and Frenchman Romain Lanusse to their squad.
Honda are putting their faith in the Agro-On WIL Racedays for 2014, with American rider Josh Day returning to the World Superbike paddock after a season racing in IDM. He is joined by British rider Kyle Smith, who remains with the Honda outfit after taking an emphatic victory in the STK600 race at Jerez last year. Another interesting change to proceedings concerns the EAB Team who have switched from Honda to Ducati machinery this season. Italian Fabio Massei and Dane Alex Schacht will pilot the beautifully turned out EAB 1199 Panigale machines.
Superstock 600
For nine years, the newly named FIM Europe Superstock 600 Championship has attracted riders from all over the world, and in 2014 the trend is set to continue. As in previous years the category to showcase the best up and coming talent is almost over subscribed with riders from all over the globe relishing in the opportunity to compete alongside the stars of Superbike.
There are a few recognisable names on the entry list. Belgian Gauthier Duwelz returns once again, sticking with the MTM team. He is joined for 2014 by German Julian Puffe with both riders favouring Kawasaki machinery. VFT Racing will be looking to build on their end of season success last year and retain Italian Stefano Casalotti. He will be joined by fellow Italian Christopher Gobbi.
Luca Salvadori has been fast in winter testing and lines up aboard a Kawasaki under the Team 10 LAP Racing banner. Dutchman Wayne Tessels will ride the only Suzuki in the field and could spring a surprise or two, as could Finland’s Niki Tuuli (Kallio Racing Yamaha), Mathieu Marchal (MOUSS Racing Team) and Australian Adrian Nestorovic (MVR Racing) who all return for another shot at the title.
Honda Preview
The second round of the FIM Superbike World Championship takes place at Motorland Aragon this coming weekend with Leon Haslam (Pata Honda World Superbike Team) and Jonathan Rea (Pata Honda World Superbike Team) hoping to benefit from the work done in recent tests.
Having successfully completed two on track tests at Cartagena and Jerez in Spain during the extended period since round one at Phillip Island in Australia back in February, the Pata Honda pair return to the Iberian peninsula with their full SBK spec CBR1000RR Hondas for the Motorland races. Both riders will try and improve on their opening weekend results, which delivered Rea to seventh in the championship standings, and Haslam into 11th overall. Each rider scored top six race results at the opening round, with Rea sixth and then fifth. Haslam made up for a first race non-finish with a sixth place in race two.
Frenchman Sylvain Guintoli (Aprilia) left Australia with a third place and a win in the opening races to lead the Championship with 41 points.
At the recent test sessions in Spain, Pata Honda’s British riding duo concentrated on chassis settings and new electronics strategies and plan to make sure that these advances will allow full competitiveness over a scheduled 14-round, 28-race, season. These tests were particularly important because after the second round of the year private testing will be banned. The next available tests will consist of a singe day at Imola after the race in May, and then a dedicated two day test at Portimao in Portugal, between July 21 and 22.
The 2014 Superbike World Championship season features varied machinery from a greater number of manufacturers than ever before and also has SBK Evo class machines on the grid; machines which have Superstock engine and electronics systems, but a full Superbike rolling chassis.
The 5.344km Motorland SBK circuit has been on the schedule for three years and provides one of the longest straights in modern-day motorsport, as well as corners of a great variety, particularly in terms of camber and elevation changes. A challenging and beautifully appointed venue, it has delivered race wins for three different manufacturers so far, with Honda looking for its first podium finishes on this layout.
The long wait for the second round of the championship after the opening races in Australia on February 23rd has seemed interminable for some riders. Now the action comes thick and fast, with a round every second weekend after Aragon for six consecutive rounds up until the Portuguese event at Portimao in July. The USA race at Laguna Seca takes place only one weekend after that to cap off first half of the season.
Next up after Motorland Aragon is the Pata Honda team’s home round, at Assen in the Netherlands, on 27th April.
A host of Honda CBR600RR riders will be present at Motorland Aragon this weekend for the second round of the 2014 FIM Supersport World Championship, with Michael van der Mark (Pata Honda World Supersport Team) and Lorenzo Zanetti (Pata Honda World Supersport Team) determined to get into the fight for podium places after suffering bad luck at the first round in Australia in late February.
With van Der Mark no scoring in his eagerness to try and win the first round, and his team-mate Zanetti eventually ruled out of the race with a left middle finger injury that required a skin graft to repair, neither scored points first time out. The Pata Honda riders are keen to get back to a track that holds no fears for them, especially after a good test at the end of last year. Michael was second in the Aragon race in his WSS rookie season in 2013, while Lorenzo was sixth in only his second ever WSS race.
Top Honda rider at the present time in the 2014 WSS championship is one-off rider at Phillip Island, Raffaele De Rosa (CIA Insurance Honda), who scored third in an intense five-lap sprint in round one. In doing so De Rosa earned a full time spot with his team for the remainder of the season. He now looks to maintain his top CBR rider status at Motorland, as he joins Jack Kennedy (CIA Insurance Honda) and Nacho Calero (CIA Insurance Honda).
Kennedy will return to action still suffering the effects of a broken and pinned right ankle, suffered after a crash in testing before the Phillip Island round. He raced at Phillip Island but was forced out with a technical issue. Calero scored his first points in Australia and is now 13th in the championship, as he looks to advance his career again at his home round in Spain.
Riccardo Russo (Team Lorini Honda) was eighth in his first ever Honda WSS ride in this racing division, while his new team-mate Marco Bussolotti (Team Lorini Honda) also took a points score, in 14th place. Bussolotti tested at Imola recently, to get more familiar with his WSS machine after spending the last three years on a Superstock 1000 bike.
Fraser Rogers (Com Plus SMS Racing) was another one of the five Honda riders who finished inside the top 15 at Phillip Island, and he scored a single point for his efforts. He heads to Aragon on the hunt for more points.
Experienced ex-Moto2 rider Ratthapark Wilairot (Core PTR Honda) showed a lot of promise and pace in Australia, but fell in the race itself and was unable to score any points, a situation he intends to put right at Motorland on raceday.
The Rivamoto Honda team has announced its withdrawal from the Motorland Aragon race as no replacement for the outgoing Bryan Staring has been found.
Jonathan Rea (Pata Honda World Superbike Team) – “I had a great test at Aragon at the tail end of last season, just after I had started to feel healthy again on my injured leg. I am looking forward to going back there because it is a circuit I really enjoy. I struggled a little bit in the first laps there last year, but my pace in the middle and end of the race was good. The base of our bike compared to last year, and even compared to the test last winter, is quite a lot higher. I am excited and I feel quite optimistic to go back there. In Australia we did not show our full potential partly because of the nature of the circuit there. Aragon is more of a conventional European style circuit, which is more my style. It suits the bike. We cannot talk about any big goals but we should aim for the podium there at this point of the year. I have done a lot of test laps recently and it is clear the boys are working hard and are 100% behind it all.”
Leon Haslam (Pata Honda World Superbike Team) – “Aragon has not been an awesome track for me in the past but I am looking forward to it because we made some good progress in our electronics since round one. We have made some good steps in the tests we did in Spain. I am looking forward to see how much we have progressed when we get to Aragon and where we can go from there. The circuit penalises us a little bit because of its long straight but there are also lots of corners so there is no reason why we cannot be battling at the front. Aragon takes a little bit of a different riding style compared to what I normally have, so I have to actually adapt myself more rather than change any settings on the bike. We did a little bit of testing there in November and we got down to a good pace then.”
Michael van der Mark (Pata Honda World Supersport Team) – “We did a few laps of Assen recently just to get a little bit of track time in but Lorenzo was not there. In Australia we were really competitive and fell in the race because I tried to win. In Aragon we tested there last winter and we have a good set-up. I am looking forward to it because it is a track I like. Given the improvements we made in the winter they should work really well at Aragon so I think we should be able to fight strongly there. We have improved much more because it is easier to ride because of the electronics and software updates we have had. The ride-ability is much better than last year. Everything feels much safer because it is easier to go fast. It is a really big improvement, we have a good basic set-up now and compared to last year the bike feels better everywhere.”
Lorenzo Zanetti (Pata Honda World Supersport Team) – “I am feeling a bit better now and I had a short ride on my friend’s bike just to see how the movement of my injured hand would be. I will not be 100% for Aragon but I am healing quickly and I am keen to get back on my bike. I want to get back to a good feeling very soon and then try to fight for a podium. That is my target, although I know it will be difficult after a month and a half off my bike and after surgery on my left middle finger. I was lucky not to break my finger but I lost a lot of skin so I had to have a skin graft. Fortunately in Melbourne there is one of the best clinics for hand surgery and that was important. We tested at Aragon last year and it went well so I just need to come back, regain my feeling, and fight for the podium if it is possible.”
Raffaele De Rosa (CIA Insurance Honda) – “I am really happy to be with CIA Insurance Honda and looking forward to challenging for the podium again at Aragon. It will not be easy as there are many good riders and I am still learning my bike and team. But for now I want to try and stay on the tails of the guys at the front and get the best result I can.”
Marco Bussolotti (Team Lorini Honda) – “I am very pleased with the work done at a recent Imola test which allowed us to take a big step forward with regard to both the chassis and the feeling with the bike. Moreover, we were able to improve the delivery of the engine while I continue to adapt more and more to the riding style that the 600 requires. At Aragon it will be important to use our new reference points on the track but once that is done, given the progress we have made, I think we can look to better results.”
Ratthapark Wilairot (Core PTR Honda) – “I was disappointed to crash out of the opening round, especially when a good finish seemed possible. I want to make this right in Spain. I am still learning my Core PTR Honda, it is different to a Moto2 machine, but already I am fast. Now I need to understand the limits and tyres better. I want to finish at Aragon and I want to finish high up the points.”
Jack Kennedy (CIA Insurance Honda) – “My recovery is a bit slower than I had hoped and my physiotherapy is actually very painful. I think it is because the bone I broke is the main anklebone. After the crash at Phillip Island I had the option of having surgery and recover quickly or not have surgery and take a much longer recovery. Two screws were fitted through my ankle this time. We are not going to do any testing before the round, but I’m back at the gym, and training in the pool as well. I feel well physically and I don’t think the ankle will give me any trouble at Aragon.”
Suzuki Preview
Voltcom Crescent Suzuki is eager to get back into competitive action as it finally takes to the track this weekend for the second round of the eni FIM Superbike World Championship after a seven-week break.
Spain’s Motorland Aragon is the destination for the opening European round of the Championship; while another new circuit for rookie Alex Lowes, the track holds a chequered history for team-mate Eugene Laverty. A podium, a front row start and two DNF’s sum-up Laverty’s past two-seasons at the Spanish track, and the latter’s demons are certainly something he is hoping to put to rest aboard his new Yoshimura-powered GSX-R.
Laverty and Lowes have both continued to make progress with the British-based Suzuki squad, after Laverty’s first round victory at Phillip Island in Australia in late February. A recent test in Jerez, though frustrating at times, continued to yield the results the Voltcom Crescent Suzuki team were aiming for. Lowes has been working tirelessly to rehabilitate the injury suffered at the Australian circuit, and is confident that his fitness has returned to the standard he needs, to learn the track quickly, and be competitive this weekend.
The Motorland Aragon race and leisure complex is located just outside Alcaniz, approximately 250kms from both Barcelona and Valencia. Built in 2009, and based on the historic street-racing legacy of the area, the track has hosted the World Superbike Championship for the past three years. Comprising four main layout options, the FIM designated circuit measures 5,078m, and features seven right-hand, and 10 left-hand corners throughout its undulating Herman Tilke design, with the longest straight reaching 968m. The track’s blind crests, downhill turns, and 50m gradient changes, make it a thrilling, but challenging venue for riders, machines, and tyres; and a perfect showcase for the championship’s first round on European soil.
Voltcom Crescent Suzuki’s first track session is scheduled for 11:45hrs local time (10:45BST) on Friday morning. The first three free-practice sessions will be timed for qualifying, with a final non-timed 30-minutes on track, ahead of Saturday’s Superpole contests starting at 15:00hrs local time (14:00BST). The two Superbike World Championship races will be held earlier than in previous years, under a new-look race programme for 2014, running at 10:30hrs (09:30BST) and 13:10hrs (12:10BST) on Sunday April 13th.
Eugene Laverty: “We enjoyed a fantastic start to the season, but we’ll need to continue our form to stay at the sharp-end of the title fight. Phillip Island has always been kind to the GSX-R, but the real test will come at Aragon. My aim is to stand on the rostrum on Sunday and if we can do that then it will be a job well done. We’ve been improving the bike over the past few months but it’s still a work in progress. Rome was not built in a day!”
Alex Lowes: “I can’t wait for Aragon; this is where my season starts! I’m really looking forward to learning the track on the Suzuki GSX-R1000. My plan is to start to build-up some solid results here, that we can improve-on as we progress through the season. My fitness is good, and I’ve been working really hard since Australia; I still don’t have 100% movement in my ankle but it is improving all the time and I’m confident I can do a good job this weekend.”
