Kawasaki men share Misano WorldSBK wins
The eni FIM Superbike World Championship weekend held at the Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli ended with another Kawasaki double win. The two standard bearers for the Akashi-based manufacturer, Tom Sykes and Jonathan Rea were the chief protagonists, respectively winning Race 1 and Race 2.
Chaz Davies and Leon Haslam also scoring podium results while Max Biaggi scores two sixth places in his fleeting return to WorldSBK competition with Aprilia.
Jonathan Rea extended his championship advantage over Sykes to 133 points. WorldSBK now takes a one month break before heading to America on July 19 before the series then heads to the warm climes of Malaysia on the first weekend in August. Round 11 sees the series return to Europe at Jerez on September 20 before the penultimate round at Magny-Cours at the beginning of October. The 2015 series finale will be staged in Qatar on October 18, the same weekend as the Phillip Island round of the MotoGP World Championship.
Race One
The opening race of the day at the Misano World circuit “Marco Simoncelli” was won by Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team) who converted his 27th Pole Position into his 25th career win – his third of the year in front of an enthusiastic Italian crowd. In doing so he once more tied his teammate Jonathan Rea for both number of wins and podium finishes.
Leading from the start, Sykes led all 21 laps, coming home ahead of team mate and championship leader Jonathan Rea and Chaz Davies (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati SBK Team) who delighted the Italian fans around the circuit with an incredible final lap duel for second position. Davies lunged past Rea into the final corner only to run wide, being passed again on the run to the flag by Rea.
Davide Giugliano put the second official factory Ducati into fourth, the Italian running second for the majority of the 21 lap encounter before being overhauled by the British pairing of Rea and Davies in the final two laps. He did however claim a new lap record, which he set on lap 3.
Leon Haslam (Aprilia Racing Team – Red Devils) was unable to show the pace he had in qualifying coming home fifth, 0.1s ahead of the returning Max Biaggi (Aprilia Racing Team) who had a steady ride to finish sixth. The six time World Champion survived a heart stopping moment on the opening lap when he collided with Sylvain Guintoli (Pata Honda World Superbike Team).
Guintoli would eventually finish ninth after fighting for the full 21 laps with Ayrton Badovini (BMW Motorrad Italia), Michele Pirro (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati SBK Team) who finished seventh and eighth, and his own Pata Honda team-mate Michael van der Mark who finished just behind the Frenchman in tenth.
The final point scorers in the opening bout were Leandro Mercado (Barni Racing), Alex Lowes (Voltcom Crescent Suzuki), Leon Camier (MV Agusta Reparto Corse), Roman Ramos (Team Go Eleven) and Matteo Baiocco (Althea Racing).
Jordi Torres (Aprilia Racing Team – Red Devils) was running in the leading group before crashing at turn 3 on the third lap. The WorldSBK rookie was physically annoyed with himself as he walked back to the pits.
Race Two
The second race of the PATA Riviera di Rimini round of the eni FIM Superbike World Championship was won by championship leader Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team) after a race long fight with Davide Giugliano (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati Superbike Team).
Giugliano took the lead on lap 7 where he stayed until being passed by Rea with 5 laps to go. The current points leader was kept under constant pressure by the Italian, but held on to record his 11th win of the year by 1.290s. Rea’s double podium finish equals the record set by Troy Corser in 2005 of 16 consecutive podium finishes in a season.
Behind the first two, Leon Haslam (Aprilia Racing Team – Red Devils) got the better of Chaz Davies on the second factory Ducati after their own personal race long duel to claim the final podium place.
Race one winner Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team) was strong for the first half of the second encounter before dropping back to fifth at the flag. The former champion finished just ahead of Max Biaggi and Jordi Torres, the Aprilia Racing pairing swapping places throughout the 21 laps.
Michele Pirro rode a lonely race to finish eighth on the third Aruba.it Racing Ducati, with Pata Honda team mates Sylvain Guintoli and Michael van der Mark completing the top ten.
The final 5 point scoring riders were Ayrton Badovini (BMW Motorrad Italia), Niccolo Canepa (Althea Racing), Markus Reiterberger (VanZon Rehema BMW), Roman Ramos (Team Go Eleven Kawasaki) and David Salom (Team Pedercini Kawasaki).
Leandro Mercado’s run of point scoring finishes in every race came to an end, the Argentine rider retiring his Barni Racing Ducati at the end of lap 3. Alex Lowes (Voltcom Crescent Suzuki) was another of the riders to retire, on lap 9, while Matteo Baiocco (Althea Racing Ducati) fell off his Panigale R machine to end as the local rider’s racing weekend drew to a close on a low.
Jonathan Rea #65 – Kawasaki Racing Team – Race 1 – 2nd Race 2 – 1st – “Obviously we have to start to think about the championship now but I wanted to win today. In race two Davide Giugliano was a good marker to understand my pace and then with a few laps left I made a move to pass. We made a great race and I think at the end we are using our rear tyres better than some others. We changed our rear tyre choice from race one and that was always the plan, as the morning was a bit cooler. Kawasaki has given us a bike to win and they proved that today with Tom winning race one and me winning race two. I am so grateful to be in this position.”
Tom Sykes #66 – Kawasaki Racing Team – Race 1 – 1st Race 2 – 5th – “A lot of people would dream about a weekend with a pole position, a win and a fifth place but we were just not able to do it in race two. I do not think I started very well in race two but from the beginning I was lacking some grip and it was very difficult to recover. When I started fighting with other riders I was not able to be strong where I needed to be but we tried everything we could. I knew both races would be difficult today but we had a great race one. We were just not able to repeat it in race two. We have had positives and negatives this weekend and we will move on to America now.”
Davide Giugliano (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati Superbike Team #34) – 4th, 2nd – “We were so close to the podium in race 1 and then got there in race 2 but I’m a little disappointed because I wanted to win here. Unfortunately Friday’s session and the fact I couldn’t work effectively due to my physical condition didn’t help us. Today I was missing a little grip in both races, the rear tyre was sliding around and that made it difficult to ride as I wanted in the final laps. But all in all, I’m pleased because I was able to hold the lead for many laps in race 2 and, seeing that I only came back at Imola, this shows that the bike has developed and that we are working really well.”
Chaz Davies (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati Superbike Team #7) – 3rd, 4th – “It’s nice to know that I’ve given Ducati its 800th Superbike podium. Race 1 was really enjoyable. I knew it was important to get away well, considering my grid position, and I was able to do that, before getting into a real battle with Rea. We both had good pace and, despite a few hairy moments, it was a clean, fair race, one of the best of the year actually, and so I’m pleased with that result. I’m disappointed that I didn’t reach the podium in race 2, but I suffered more with a lack of grip and couldn’t find a way past Haslam. Anyway, we have to be pleased with today’s results and now look ahead to Laguna Seca.”
Ernesto Marinelli – Ducati SBK Project Director – “We’ve had a positive weekend. Both Davide and Chaz have completed two great races, further reducing the gap that has kept us from victory in recent events. These two rostrum finishes are important in that we have scored the 800th and 801st Superbike podium finishes for Ducati, a significant milestone that repays the work carried out by everyone at Borgo Panigale and the support shown by the many Ducatisti who came to Misano this weekend. Michele also did well considering the fact that he only rode from Saturday onwards and had some problems off the line. It was a real shame about Luca Scassa and we of course wish him a speedy recovery. We won’t rest, as our objective remains to win, so we must continue to work in order to find those few tenths that we are missing in the final phase of the race.”
Max Biaggi finished both Race 1 and Race 2 in sixth place. Despite hindrances due to tyre wear problems, Biaggi raced an exceptional second race, keeping pace with the leading protagonists of the World Superbike championship and finishing just 2 tenths of a second behind Sykes and about 5 seconds behind the winner.
“Today Max did something wonderful for us at Aprilia and for all motorcycle racing fans” commented Romano Albesiano, Aprilia Racing Manager. “His domination on Friday was understandable, even if it was extraordinary. But today Max battled on the same level as the riders who fight for the World Championship in every race and he did it at a fantastic race pace. I’m pleased with the way everyone here at Aprilia, from the first to the last, interpreted this occasion. There were no problems, the riders and mechanics did great and Max had fun battling even with Leon and Jordi, our factory riders. We wanted to give ourselves, and everyone, a brilliant moment which has already gone down in Superbike history.”
Max Biaggi: “I’m happy with this weekend. Everything went well and we didn’t make any mistakes. Once again I’d like to thank the Piaggio Group, Aprilia and the guys from Noale who helped me take perfect advantage of this fantastic opportunity. Race 2 went better than the first. I finished about 5 seconds behind the winner, which is really not much at all. It’s a shame about the first laps when you find yourself following from behind it’s a struggle. I am still unable to take full advantage of the tyres straight away, whereas from mid-race I felt fast but struggling to overtake I lost a few tenths every lap. This type of return is definitely not easy, but it was a great weekend, tackled with a different spirit than someone who races full time in the championship. Now I’m hoping for the cherry on the top: Sepang. This round was sort of a running-in and we can consider it to be truly satisfactory. Next time we’ll be able to do well.”
Leon Haslam – once the tyre wear problem that hindered him in the first race was solved – rode the second race as a key player, battling with Davis for third place and finishing on the podium at just under 2 second behind the leader. Jordi Torres finished his Adriatic weekend with seventh place in Race 2 (battling with Biaggi) which is excellent in consideration of the tiny gaps behind the leaders, and thereby redeeming himself for his sliding crash that put him out of Race 1 in the third lap.
Leon Haslam: “In Race 2 we took a big step forward, especially thanks to the higher temperature where my Aprilia RSV4 RF performs really well. It was a shame about the first phases. We were all very close and I lost a few precious metres in traffic. In Race 1, on the other hand, I made a few small mistakes. Grip wasn’t the best and even though I felt fast on most of the track I lost ground at some points. Of the two available rear tyre options we went with the one that gave us more confidence even if the second, used by a few rivals, proved to work well in the this morning’s conditions. All things considered I’m pleased with the two results. A podium in front of Italian fans is always a nice feeling. We were able to grow consistently throughout the weekend, improving precisely those critical points of our package. In hotter races like Malaysia and the USA we’ll be able to do well.”
Jordi Torres: In Race 1 I made a small mistake and unfortunately I crashed. In the second race, on the other hand, I learned from my mistakes and didn’t repeat them. I started well and I wanted to stay with the leaders, but I was hindered by a strange vibration from the front wheel only at maximum lean in the left-handers that kept me from riding the way I wanted to, taking advantage of my best riding quality which is the way I ride in turns. In any case I think it was a positive weekend for me where we took a good step forward to stay with the leaders for the entire race.”
Michele Pirro (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati Superbike Team #55) – 8th, 8th – “Firstly I want to thank both the team and Ducati. As always I felt very much at home with the guys and it’s been a great experience to ride the Superbike here, with Pirelli tyres. I’m just disappointed that my races were both conditioned by my starts because if I’d got away faster I could have scored better results. So that’s a shame because I know we had good potential. Having said that, considering I only got here on Saturday and had never ridden with these tyres or the Superpole qualifying tyre, I think the overall outcome is a positive one.”
Pata Honda riders Sylvain Guintoli and Michael van der Mark finished in ninth and tenth places respectively in both races. Guintoli enjoyed good starts but, despite running as high as seventh in the early stages, the French rider was unable to hook up with the leading groups, instead becoming embroiled in battles with local rider Ayrton Badovini and his own Pata Honda team-mate, van der Mark.
Sylvain Guintoli – 9th & 9th – “I had to fight hard today in both races; all I saw on my board was +0 – I was being hunted down by everyone! In race one, with the colder track, we had some significant tyre wear in the second half of the race and the rhythm went a little. Race two was more consistent but we’re still missing some pace from the guys at the front. I gave everything I could today and won my personal battles in each race. We have a bit of time now before the next race to try to make some different plans and strategies for the second half of the season, but we need to find something because there is still some pace missing.”
For van der Mark, a grid position of 15th following problems during qualifying yesterday was a difficult place to start the two 21-lap races. However, the 22-year-old Dutch rider enjoyed flying starts in both outings, with an intermittent electrical issue hindering his progress in the opening race.
Michael van der Mark – 10th & 10th – “In race one I had a really good start and made up some places early on. I had a good feeling and was quite fast, closing the gap to the guys in front of me. I passed Sylvain but then I had an issue which seems to have happened quite a lot this season. In the end I finished 10th just behind Sylvain, which was quite disappointing. I got another good start in race two but I was missing a lot of grip from the start. It was difficult to maintain the lap times but in the last couple of laps I was able to close the gap again to Sylvain and had a nice battle with him and Badovini. Sylvain passed Badovini and I went with him and I wanted to attack in the last lap but he was strong and in the end he finished in front of me. I think this is the best we can do at the moment because we are both doing very similar lap times.”
Pieter Breddels – Pata Honda technical co-ordinator – “It was not an easy day, that’s for sure. Michael didn’t qualify that well but he had two really good starts, which is not always the case! He fought his way to the back wheel of his team-mate again and that was the maximum for this round I think. Sylvain started further ahead and had two reasonable starts but the pace of the front guys was just too fast for us today. I think both riders are getting the best out of the package at the moment, so it’s up to us to see how we can improve the package for the guys.”
A challenging day for Suzuki at Misano with Alex Lowes scoring just four points and a 12th place to show from his efforts in the first World Superbike race, but the team and riders remain positive for the next round at Laguna Seca in America.
A difficult start saw Lowes drop out of the top-10 from his seventh-place grid position in the morning’s battle on his Yoshimura-powered GSX-R, where despite pushing to the maximum over the 21-lap encounter the British racer could not achieve better than 12th position, a clutch issue causing his eventual retirement six laps later. Lowes leaves Italy 11th in the Championship with 84 points and desperate to make amends in the USA in July.
Alex Lowes: “Misano was a really difficult track for the whole team last year and this year wasn’t any different. The GSX-R is a lovely bike to ride. For the second race we made a change that should have helped us move forward but the clutch dragged off the line and overheated so I stopped in the end. I really feel I’m riding well, and the team is doing everything it can to be competitive, but maybe at this track our level just wasn’t good enough. Laguna should be better, I love the track so I’ll arrive there with a positive attitude and we’ll give it 100%.”
Team-mate Randy de Puniet completed the afternoon race taking 17th at the flag, after retiring from the opening action with braking problems.
Randy de Puniet: “It has been a hard Sunday. In race one I had a problem with the front brake so I stopped to try a different system but there was not the improvement I was looking for. In race two we changed everything; it was better for four laps but after that I struggled again. Now we need to focus on Laguna Seca, resolve the brake issue and improve the chassis setting. I’m disappointed because after the Portimao test I was more confident for this race but unfortunately it was not to be.”
Paul Denning – Suzuki Team Manager: “I think the riders have said it all – a tough weekend and we struggled here a lot, as we did in 2014. Alex was able to ride around the performance deficiencies in qualifying and be quite competitive, but to do the same over 21 laps is impossible. The bike is working quite well in isolation – the new ECU system is behaving normally, control is good but entry grip, drive-off the slippery corners and outright performance were simply lacking compared to the top competitor machines. We will not give up at all, the guys in the team are committed to further increases in performance – we wish Laguna was next week so that we could make amends and move forward quickly.”
Race 1 Results
1 Tom Sykes 33m30.813s GBR KAWASAKI Kawasaki Racing Team
2 Jonathan Rea +3.613s GBR KAWASAKI Kawasaki Racing Team
3 Chaz Davies +4.178s GBR DUCATI Aruba.it Racing-Ducati Superbike Team
4 Davide Guigliano +5.944s ITA DUCATI Aruba.it Racing-Ducati Superbike Team
5 Leon Haslam +12.155s GBR APRILIA Aprilia Racing Team – Red Devils
6 Max Biaggi +12.352s ITA APRILIA Aprilia Racing Team – Red Devils
7 Ayrton Badovini +18.145s ITA BMW JR Racing Team
8 Michele Pirro +18.328s ITA DUCATI Aruba.it Racing-Ducati Superbike Team
9 Sylvain Guintoli +20.088s FRA HONDA Pata Honda World Superbike Team
10 Michael van der Mark +20.282s NED HONDA Pata Honda World Superbike Team
Race 2 Results
1 Jonathan Rea 33m31.716s GBR KAWASAKI Kawasaki Racing Team
2 Davide Guigliano +1.290s ITA DUCATI Aruba.it Racing-Ducati Superbike Team
3 Leon Haslam +2.436s GBR APRILIA Aprilia Racing Team – Red Devils
4 Chaz Davies +2.514s GBR DUCATI Aruba.it Racing-Ducati Superbike Team
5 Tom Sykes +5.694s GBR KAWASAKI Kawasaki Racing Team
6 Max Biaggi +5.911s ITA APRILIA Aprilia Racing Team – Red Devils
7 Jordi Torres +7.075s ESP APRILIA Aprilia Racing Team – Red Devils
8 Michele Pirro +10.159s ITA DUCATI Aruba.it Racing-Ducati Superbike Team
9 Sylvain Guintoli +17.476s FRA HONDA Pata Honda World Superbike Team
10 Michael van der Mark +17.589s NED HONDA Pata Honda World Superbike Team
Championship Standings
1 Jonathan Rea 375 pts GBR KAWASAKI Kawasaki Racing Team
2 Tom Sykes 242 pts GBR KAWASAKI Kawasaki Racing Team
3 Leon Haslam 226 pts GBR APRILIA Aprilia Racing Team – Red Devils
4 Chaz Davies 213 pts GBR DUCATI Aruba.it Racing-Ducati Superbike Team
5 Jordi Torres 140 pts ESP APRILIA Aprilia Racing Team – Red Devils
6 Sylvain Guintoli 127 pts FRA HONDA Pata Honda World Superbike Team
7 Davide Guigliano 106 pts ITA DUCATI Aruba.it Racing-Ducati Superbike Team
8 Michael van der Mark 97 pts NED HONDA Pata Honda World Superbike Team
9 Leandro Mercado 90 pts ARG DUCATI BARNI Racing Team
10 Matteo Baiocco 89 pts ITA DUCATI Althea Racing
World Supersport – Cluzel halves points gap to Sofuoglu with Misano win
The World Supersport race in Misano was won in style by Jules Cluzel (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) who converted Pole Position into his 3rd win of 2015, the 10th of his WSS career. The Frenchman smashed the lap record for the MIsano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli by over half a second on his way to victory by 1.525s at the flag.
Kenan Sofuoglu (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) finished 11th after crashing out of third on the final lap. The championship leader was lucky to be able to remount to salvage what could be an important 5 points, but his lead is now half of what it was entering the PATA Riviera di Rimini Round.
At the end of 19 laps, Cluzel was joined on the podium by PJ Jacobsen (CORE Motorsport Thailand) and Lorenzo Zanetti (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) who were second and third respectively.
Gino Rea (CIA Landlords Insurance Honda) finished fourth ahead of an elated Alex Baldolini (Race Department ATK#25 MV Agusta) who snatched fifth from Fabio Menghi (VFT Racing Yamaha) on the final lap.
Christian Gamarino was seventh on the Team Go Eleven Kawasaki, just edging Riccardo Russo (CIA Landlords Insurance Honda), Marco Faccani (San Carlo Puccetti Racing Kawasaki) and Martin Cardenas (CIA Landlords Insurance Honda).
Kenan Sofuoglu (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) finished 11th after crashing out of third on the final lap. The championship leader was lucky to be able to remount to salvage what could be an important 5 points.
Kenan Sofuoglu: “I found out in the race that the rear was spinning a lot and everybody around me had better acceleration than me. I tried to do everything on the front brake and front tyre but for 20 laps you cannot do it every time. Finally I crashed but got some points after I restarted. If you want to be the champion you cannot accept fourth place in races and today it was only possible to finish third.”
Glenn Scott took 15th place on the AARK Honda.
Kyle Smith was unable to start the race after a technical problem on the sighting lap sidelined the Pata Honda rider.
World Supersport Misano – Race
1 Jules Cluzel 31m19.621s FRA MV MV Agusta Reparto Corse
2 Patrick Jacobson +1.525s USA HONDA CORE Motorsport Thailand
3 Lorenzo Zanetti +8.513s ITA MV MV Agusta Reparto Corse
4 Gino Rea +23.153s GBR HONDA CIA Landlords Insurance Honda
5 Alex Baldolini +23.846s ITA MV Race Department ATK#25
6 Fabio Menghi +23.851s ITA YAMAHA VFT Racing
7 Christian Gamarino +23.978s ITA KAWASAKI Team GO Eleven
8 Riccardo Russo +24.691s ITA HONDA CIA Landlords Insurance Honda
9 Marco Faccani +25.068s ITA KAWASAKI Kawasaki Puccetti Racing
10 Martin Cardenas +25.279s COL HONDA CIA Landlords Insurance Honda
World Supersport Misano Championship Standings
1 Kenan Sofuoglu 155 pts TUR KAWASAKI Kawasaki Puccetti Racing
2 Jules Cluzel 135 pts FRA MV MV Agusta Reparto Corse
3 Patrick Jacobson 115 pts USA HONDA CORE Motorsport Thailand
4 Lorenzo Zanetti 97 pts ITA MV MV Agusta Reparto Corse
5 Gino Rea 80 pts GBR HONDA CIA Landlords Insurance Honda
6 Roberto Rolfo 58 pts ITA HONDA Team Lorini
7 Kyle Smith 56 pts GBR HONDA Pata Honda World Supersport Team
8 Ratthapark Wilairot 46 pts THA HONDA CORE Motorsport Thailand
9 Alex Baldolini 44 pts ITA MV Race Department ATK#25
10 Marco Faccani 43 pts ITA KAWASAKI Kawasaki Puccetti Racing
Savadori wins action-packed STK1000 race at Misano
Lorenzo Savadori (Nuova M2 Racing Aprilia) took a hard-fought win in the sixth race of the 2015 FIM Superstock 1000 Cup at the Misano World Circuit “Marco Simoncelli”, his fourth victory of the season. The tall Italian rider took advantage of the battle for second place storming behind him, which saw Raffaele De Rosa (Althea Racing Ducati) successfully defend his position despite the numerous attempts by Roberto Tamburini (Team MotoxRacing BMW) to edge out his fellow Italian rival.
Kevin Calia (Nuova M2 Racing Aprilia) managed to stick with the leading trio but was unable to get into the mix for a podium finish, likewise Kev Coghlan (MRS Yamaha) who dropped back in the latter stages of the encounter after running in second for a handful of laps. The experienced Scottish rider claimed fifth place ahead of team mate Jeremy Guarnoni as Christoffer Bergman (MG Competition Yamaha), Ondrej Jezek (Triple-M by Barni Ducati), Bryan Staring (Team Pedercini Kawasaki) and Fabio Massei (EAB Racing Ducati) rounded out the top 10. After getting to grip with his third new bike in as many rounds, Aiden Wagner showed promise but ultimately failed to finish after crashing out of 19th place with one lap remaning.
With only two races to go, Savadori holds a 34-point lead over Tamburini. The FIM Superstock 1000 Cup action will resume in Jerez on September 20th.
FIM Superstock 1000 Cup Misano – Race
1 Lorenzo Savadori Aprilia ITA 24’31.034
2 Raffaele De Rosa Ducati ITA 0’00.589
3 Roberto Tamburini BMW ITA 0’00.826
4 Kevin Calia Aprilia ITA 0’00.926
5 Kev Coghlan Yamaha GBR 0’04.388
6 Jeremy Guarnoni Yamaha FRA 0’06.232
7 Christoffer Bergman Yamaha SWE 0’11.016
8 Ondrej Jezek Ducati CZE 0’13.844
9 Bryan Staring Kawasaki AUS 0’16.119
10 Fabio Massei Ducati ITA 0’23.807
11 Luca Marconi Yamaha ITA 0’24.720
12 Marc Moser Ducati DE 0’25.914
13 Matthieu Lussiana BMW FRA 0’26.223
14 David McFadden Suzuki ZAF 0’30.395
15 Robert Muresan BMW ROM 0’31.244
STK1000 World Standing – Rider Standings After Race 8 of 8
1. Lorenzo Savadori Aprilia ITA 140
2. Roberto Tamburini BMW ITA 106
3. Raffaele De Rosa Ducati ITA 85
4. Ondrej Jezek Ducati CZE 74
5. Kev Coghlan Yamaha GBR 72
6. Jeremy Guarnoni Yamaha FRA 55
7. Kevin Calia Aprilia ITA 43
8. Fabio Massei Ducati ITA 41
9. Bryan Staring Kawasaki AUS 39
10. Christoffer Bergman Yamaha SWE 32
11. Florian Marino Yamaha FRA 23
12. Tony Coveña Ducati NLD 21
13. Sylvain Barrier Yamaha FRA 17
14. Luca Salvadori Ducati ITA 16
15. Marc Moser Ducati DE 15
Superstock 600
The Superbike weekend also crowned the first world champion of the season, Turkish rider Toprak Razgatlioglu who, along with the Kawasaki Puccetti Racing team, won the FIM Superstock 600 European Championship in his rookie year in the category at just eighteen years of age.
Dramatic end to European Junior Cup race in Misano
Today’s sixth-round Pata European Junior Cup, powered by Honda, race at Misano, Italy ended in dramatic style this afternoon with race and series leader Javier Orellana getting knocked off his Honda CBR650F just three corners from clinching the 2015 title.
The Spanish rider led into the final lap knowing that victory in today’s 10-lap race at the 4.226km Misano World Circuit would allow him to secure the 2015 European Junior Cup with two rounds to spare. However, he was pursued hard by Italy’s Emanuele Pusceddu, who was placed fourth in the points table.
As the leading pair hit the fast turn 12, Pusceddu lunged for lead but, instead, collided with Orellana, sending both riders into the gravel trap, thankfully unhurt.
The race was consequently won by Italian Guiseppe de Gruttola, who celebrated his 20th birthday today in some style, with Alfonso Coppola finishing in second place, just six thousandths of a second (0.006s) behind his compatriot. French rider Guillaume Raymond, who was Orellana’s closest challenger in the title race going into today’s encounter, finished third.
New Zealand’s Avalon Biddle finished in the points in 15th place this afternoon, so taking victory in the FIM Europe Women’s European Championship.
Despite his DNF today, Orellana still retains a 34-point lead in the standings over Raymond and the 17-year-old can clinch the title at his home race in Jerez, Spain on 20 September.
Guiseppe de Gruttola – “I am so happy for this win today as it is also my birthday! It was a very beautiful race, with many overtakes. I want to thank my team for the good work they did to achieve this victory at my home race.”
Gerry Bryce – series director – “It was a fantastic race today and it’s a shame it had to end like that but these things can and do sometimes happen. It was a bit of an ambitious move and no-one wants to crash, of course, but we’re just glad that both riders are OK. Javier still has the chance to wrap up the title at his home race in Spain.”
2015 Pata European Junior Cup, powered by Honda – Round six, Misano World Circuit, Italy – Sunday, 21 June Results
1 G de Gruttola (ITA)
2 A Coppola (ITA)
3 G Raymond (FRA)
4 P Grassia (ITA)
5 H Soomer (EST)
6 D Laville (FRA)
7 H Cabuk (TUR)
8 J Harland (GBR)
9 D Loureiro (PRO)
10 T Bezuidenhout (RSA)
Championship standings after six of eight rounds
1 Orellana 116, 2 Raymond 82, 3 Grassia 77, 4 Soomer 48, 5 Laville 59, 6 Pusceddu 57, 7 Coppola 57, 8 de Gruttola 49, 9 Wilford 43, 10 Fernandez 35
