The second round of the 2014 eni FIM Superbike World Championship was taken by storm by Japanese manufacturer Kawasaki, that claimed the first two steps of the podium in both World Superbike races, as well as coming out on top in World Supersport. and with the best classified EVO rider in race 2.
Tom Sykes took the double on the team’s home round, in front of the 24,255 spectators attending the event, whilst Loris Baz ended up twice second. The Kawasaki Racing Team pairing are now on top of the riders standings, with Sykes (75 points) leading and Baz just four points shy of his teammate. Aprilia Racing Team duo Sylvain Guintoli and Marco Melandri lie currently in third and fourth position respectively, with the Italian rider able to finish within the top 3 in the second and last race of the day.
Jonathan Rea (Pata Honda World Superbike) stepped on the podium for the first time since the 2013 UK round at Silverstone, as the British rider was third in Race 1.
The next round of the eni FIM Superbike World Championship will take place at the Assen TT Circuit on April 27th.
Tom Sykes: “We scored two race wins today but after four or five laps of race two it felt far from perfect! Race one was very good and we had a good set-up that gave us a consistent pace on a cold track. I thought race two was going to be more straightforward in hot conditions so I went for the same SC0 as race one. The two guys behind me for sure had more grip than me but we were for sure able to put the Ninja ZX-10R on the pieces of tarmac those guys were looking for. I had a plan on the last lap to keep them behind me – and it worked.”
Jonathan Rea: “It’s been a really positive weekend for us to go back on the podium this early in the season. I really enjoy riding the bike at this circuit and we’ve made a lot of improvements since Phillip Island. In race one I ran into some rear tyre problems, but in race two we went with the softer option, which most of the grid changed to. We deserved two solid top fives today and I feel we can now take some momentum to Assen where we know the bike is good and build on this at a circuit I really enjoy.
Race One: The opening race at MotorLand Aragon has been won by Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team) after a masterful of performance the reigning World Champion.
Sykes, who led from turn one was never headed, coming home seconds ahead of Loris Baz (Kawasaki Racing Team), with Jonathan Rea (Pata Honda World Superbike) completing the podium. Davide Giugliano (Ducati Superbike Team) crashed during the final lap whilst in second place, but the Italian rider was able to rejoin, eventually crossing the line in eighth place.
Other factory Ducati rider Chaz Davies was fourth ahead of Eugene Laverty (Voltcom Crescent Suzuki), Sylvain Guintoli (Aprilia Racing Team) and Toni Elias (Red Devils Aprilia).
Twelfth place Leon Camier (BMW Motorrad Italia Superbike) was the EVO Category best classified after a thrilling 17 lap race left the crowd enthralled in the Spanish sun, just ahead of local rider and other EVO entrant David Salom (Kawasaki Racing Team).
Guintoli still leads the standings, but he is now tied up in points with Baz, whilst Sykes is just one point shy of the French duo.
Results Race One: 1. Sykes (Kawasaki) 17 Laps/90.848 km in 33’38.583 average 162.021 kph; 2. Baz (Kawasaki) 4.275; 3. Rea (Honda) 8.418; 4. Davies (Ducati) 15.715; 5. Laverty (Suzuki) 19.305; 6. Guintoli (Aprilia) 21.998; 7. Elias (Aprilia) 24.018; 8. Giugliano (Ducati) 27.894; 9. Haslam (Honda) 29.077; 10. Lowes (Suzuki) 29.863; 11. Melandri (Aprilia) 34.820; 12. Camier (BMW) 35.255; 13. Salom (Kawasaki) 43.975; 14. Guarnoni (Kawasaki) 46.721; 15. Morais (Kawasaki) 56.619; 16. Scassa (Kawasaki) 1’16.469; 17. Yates (EBR) 1’35.047; 18. Toth (BMW) 1’48.427; 19. Andreozzi (Kawasaki) 1’51.222; 20. Sebestyen (BMW) 2’01.152; RT. Fabrizio (Kawasaki); RT. Canepa (Ducati); RT. May (EBR); RT. Corti (MV Agusta); RT. Foret (Kawasaki); EX. Badovini (Bimota) 43.934; EX. Iddon (Bimota) 58.222.
Race Two: The second race of the day at MotorLand Aragon was a carbon copy of race 1, with Kawasaki Racing Team riders Tom Sykes and Loris Baz dominating in the Spanish sun.
Baz who had been unable to stick with his team mate in the opening race looked a lot more comfortable this afternoon as did Marco Melandri (Aprilia Racing Team) who was incredibly fast at the end of the race, closing down the two green machines rapidly to put himself in the hunt for the victory.
In a spectacular final three laps the three riders exchanged places a number of times with the deciding move coming at the final hairpin at the Aprilia of Melandri went wide allowing Sykes and Baz to claim a 1-2 finish for the second time today. Melandri finished 3rd .
Sylvain Guintoli (Aprilia Racing Team) was 4th, with race one podium finisher Jonathan Rea (Pata Honda World Superbike Team) and Eugene Laverty (Voltcom Crescent Suzuki) completing the top 6.
Race 1 EVO best classified Leon Camier (BMW Motorrad Italia) was involved in a race long dual with Althea Racing Ducati’s Niccolo Canepa and local rider David Salom (Kawasaki Racing Team). In the end Salom took the EVO honours after a last lap mistake from the BMW rider dropped him to 12th overall, handing the category victory to the local rider ahead of Canepa.
Alex Lowes (Voltcom Crescent Suzuki), Chaz Davies (Ducati Superbike Team), Claudio Corti (MV Agusta RC – Yakhnich Motorsport) and Jeremy Guarnoni (MRS Kawasaki) all fell without injury.
Results Race 2: 1. Sykes (Kawasaki) 17 Laps/90.848 km in 33’37.223 average 162.130 kph; 2. Baz (Kawasaki) 0.338; 3. Melandri (Aprilia) 0.470; 4. Guintoli (Aprilia) 5.429; 5. Rea (Honda) 8.861; 6. Laverty (Suzuki) 15.986; 7. Giugliano (Ducati) 18.206; 8. Haslam (Honda) 25.513; 9. Elias (Aprilia) 25.823; 10. Salom (Kawasaki) 38.949; 11. Canepa (Ducati) 39.413; 12. Camier (BMW) 41.486; 13. Morais (Kawasaki) 1’02.587; 14. Scassa (Kawasaki) 1’09.720; 15. Foret (Kawasaki) 1’14.046; 16. Andreozzi (Kawasaki) 1’14.233; 17. Yates (EBR) 1’35.195; 18. Toth (BMW) 1’37.781; 19. Sebestyen (BMW) 1’54.547; 20. May (EBR) 1’57.166; RT. Fabrizio (Kawasaki); RT. Guarnoni (Kawasaki); RT. Corti (MV Agusta); RT. Davies (Ducati); RT. Lowes (Suzuki); EX. Badovini (Bimota) 40.915; EX. Iddon (Bimota).
Standings (Round 2 of 13): 1. Sykes 75; 2. Baz 71; 3. Guintoli 64; 4. Melandri 49; 5. Rea 48; 6. Laverty 46; 7. Giugliano 43; 8. Davies 30; 9. Haslam 25; 10. Elias 23; 11. Salom 22; 12. Canepa 16; 13. Lowes 9; 14. Foret 9; 15. Camier 8; 16. Morais 7; 17. Allerton 6; 18. Guarnoni 4; 19. Corti 3; 20. Scassa 2. Manufacturers: 1. Kawasaki 81; 2. Aprilia 71; 3. Suzuki 49; 4. Honda 48; 5. Ducati 48; 6. BMW 14; 7. MV Agusta 3.
“It’s been a really positive weekend for us to go back on the podium this early in the season. It hasn’t really been a trend for us recently so it’s given everyone a bit of a boost. We just really need to build on this. I really enjoy riding the bike at this circuit and we’ve made a lot of improvements since Phillip Island. In race one I ran into some rear tyre problems in the latter stages of the race, but in race two we went with the softer option, which most of the grid changed to. It was working OK but unfortunately we also used the softer front for the higher temperature. I had a few engine brake problems, which pushed me into the slower corners and, with the lack of feeling from the front, I felt a bit like a passenger. I had a warning or two around mid-race, so I was kind of nursing it a bit. But we deserved two solid top fives today and I feel we can now take some momentum to Assen where we know the bike is good and build on this at a circuit I really enjoy.”
“We definitely started here on the back foot and lost a lot of the first session on Friday. From that point we worked really well and I was feeling confident. Just before Superpole yesterday I posted the fourth fastest time and knocked time off in every session, but then I had the crash in Superpole, which wasn’t so good. I struggled in both races though – battling with throttle opening and engine braking. We had a couple of good top ten finishes but, in FP4 yesterday, I really felt I could be challenging for top five today. I’m glad this one is out of the way and we can start to focus on Assen. We’ve made big leaps with the bike in recent testing and, in my opinion, the results don’t show that and we struggled. But Jonathan had a fantastic first race and he was up there in race two. We’re coming across a few more problems at the moment but we know we’ll get on top of it.”
“Alex’s learning-curve at World Championship level continues; the Aragon track is particularly tricky and to come here with no testing and go head-to-head with the best Superbike riders in the world was never going to be easy. He made good progress across the course of the weekend and it was a shame that the crash in the second race didn’t let him continue that learning curve. We move on to Assen, Imola and Donington for the next three races, and as a team we are confident that those circuits will suit the Suzuki better and that we will be able to challenge for the podiums.”
World Supersport
A typically close World Supersport race in the Spanish sun resulted in Kenan Sofuoglu claiming his first win of the season aboard his Kawasaki.
In the early stages a group of six riders swapped places with Australia winner Jules Cluzel (MV Agusta RC – Yakhnnich Motorsport) claiming a lap record in the process.
As the race continued the leading group split with Michael van der Mark (Pata Honda World Supersport Team), former Champion Kenan Sofuoglu (Mahi India Kawasaki Team), and Cluzel joining Kev Coghlan (DMC Panavto-Yamaha) in the battle for the victory.
Lap 12 saw Cluzel and Coghlan collide at the end of the back straight resulting in both riders crashing, with Coghlan the only one able to restart. The incident handed Sofuoglu a comfortable lead over Van Der Mark who slowed as the riders ahead fell. Florian Marino (Kawasaki Intermoto Ponyexpres) claiming the final podium position.
Coghlan regrouped to finish 5th despite his late fall.
Results: 1. Sofuoglu (Kawasaki) 15 Laps/80.160 km in 30’43.276 average 156.556 kph; 2. Vd Mark (Honda) 0.869; 3. Marino (Kawasaki) 9.091; 4. Zanetti(Honda) 10.475; 5. Coghlan (Yamaha) 15.194; 6. De Rosa (Honda) 18.579; 7. Tamburini (Kawasaki) 19.059; 8. Leonov (MV Agusta) 19.666; 9. Gamarino(Kawasaki) 19.846; 10. Wilairot (Honda) 20.077; 11. Kennedy (Honda) 24.569; 12. Rolfo (Kawasaki) 25.187; 13. Schmitter (Yamaha) 25.535; 14. Jacobsen (Kawasaki) 28.843; 15. Menghi (Yamaha) 28.904; 16. Bussolotti (Honda) 33.148; 17. Coveña (Kawasaki) 43.243; 18. Rogers (Honda) 56.196;19. Ivanov (Yamaha) 56.460; 20. Calero (Honda) 1’11.373; RT. Cluzel (MV Agusta); RT. Nocco (Kawasaki); RT. Russo (Honda); RT. Wahr (Yamaha).
Standings (Round 2 of 12): 1. Coghlan 31; 2. Marino 29; 3. De Rosa 26; 4. Sofuoglu 25; 5. Cluzel 25; 6. Vd Mark 20; 7. Tamburini 20; 8. Zanetti 13; 9. Gamarino 13; 10. Wahr 10; etc. Manufacturers: 1. Kawasaki 38; 2. Honda 36; 3. MV Agusta 33; 4. Yamaha 31; 5. Triumph 9.
Superstock 1000
Argentinian Leandro Mercado (Barni Racing Team Ducati) led from start to finish to win the opening FIM Superstock 1000cc Cup race in perfect conditions this afternoon.
The 13 lap race was fast and furious with four riders involved in the fight for the final podium places.
Fabio Massei had a huge crash on lap 4, the Italian highsiding his EAB Racing Ducati without injury.
Behind Mercado, Lorenzo Savadori (Pedercini Kawasaki) edged clear to claim a lonely second place leaving Kyle Smith (Agro-On Wil Racedays Honda) and Christoffer Bergman (BWG Racing Kawasaki) to fight for third after Ondrej Jezek (Barni Ducati) retired with a technical problem
At the flag it was Smith who claimed a historic podium in his first race in the series, with Bergman having to settle for fourth. Federico D’Annunzio (FDA Racing Team) and Matthieu Lussiana (Team GARNIER by ASPI) completed the top 6.
Mercado kept pushing, even with a comfortable three second lead and finished the race with the added bonus of the fastest lap.
Results: 1. Mercado (Ducati) 13 Laps/69.472 km in 26’37.837 average 156.524 kph; 2. Savadori (Kawasaki) 5.218; 3. Smith (Honda) 8.818; 4. Bergman (Kawasaki) 17.974; 5. D’Annunzio (BMW) 23.182; 6. Lussiana (Kawasaki) 23.714; 7. Grotzkyj G. (Kawasaki) 25.882; 8. McFadden (Kawasaki) 28.777; 9. Valk (Kawasaki) 30.259; 10. Lanusse (Kawasaki) 30.790; 11. Day (Honda) 35.064; 12. Castellarin (BMW) 37.456; 13. Pagaud (Kawasaki) 38.300; 14. Suchet (Kawasaki) 40.403; 15. Schacht (Ducati) 43.670; etc.
Standings (Round 1 of 7): 1. Mercado 25; 2. Savadori 20; 3. Smith 16; 4. Bergman 13; 5. D’Annunzio 11; 6. Lussiana 10; 7. Grotzkyj G. 9; 8. McFadden 8; 9. Valk 7; 10. Lanusse 6; 11. Day 5; 12. Castellarin 4; 13. Pagaud 3; 14. Suchet 2; 15. Schacht 1. Manufacturers: 1. Ducati 25; 2. Kawasaki 20; 3. Honda 16; 4. BMW 11.
European Junior Cup
Local rider Marc Miralles (Honda Spain) has won the opening race of the Pata European Junior Cup, powered by Honda, at the end of a thrilling seven way battle for success. The young Spaniard was able to pull away a little in the final turns of the race, making sure his rivals could not overtake him before the finish line. The all Spanish podium was completed by Javier Orellana (Europe Food SL) and pole man Mika Perez (Cuna de Campeones).
Results: 1. Miralles 8 Laps/42.752 km in 19’33.987 average 131.098 kph; 2. Orellana 0.166; 3. Perez 0.167; 4. Fernandez 0.533; 5. Fernandez 0.888; 6. Licciardi 0.948; 7. Soomer 1.585; 8. Grassia 4.091; 9. Hubner 9.702; 10. Harland 9.740; etc.
Standings (Round 1 of 8): 1. Miralles 25; 2. Orellana 20; 3. Perez 16; 4. Fernandez 13; 5. Fernandez 11; 6. Licciardi 10; 7. Soomer 9; 8. Grassia 8; 9. Hubner 7; 10. Harland 6; 11. London 5; 12. Geissler 4; 13. Wisdom 3; 14. Patterson 2; 15. Zhu 1.
HRC Report
The second round of the FIM Superbike World Championship delivered a first podium of the season to Jonathan Rea (Pata Honda World Superbike Team) who finished third in race one and then fifth in race two. His team-mate Leon Haslam (Pata Honda World Superbike Team) was ninth and then eight after finding issues in practice at the long 5.344km Motorland Aragon circuit.
The Pata Honda team had conducted extensive tests at Cartagena and Jerez prior to this race and the work paid off for Rea, who is now sixth in the championship, with Haslam ninth overall after two rounds and four races.
In the first race Rea was never lower than fourth and after passing the Ducati of Davide Giugliano an attempted re-pass on Jonathan ended with a collision as Giugliano and he met at the end of the long straight, exiting the hairpin turn. Giugliano fell, but Rea continued to finish third. Leon’s first race was a case of making gradual progress up the rankings from his qualifying position of 12th in the first lap to finish ninth.
In the second race a front grip issue for Rea meant he could not compete for the win or a podium place, but he scored a fifth that puts him sixth in the championship overall. Haslam, battling against some issues with his corner exits and entries in race two as well as race one, was eighth, fighting to keep Toni Elias behind him at the flag after 17-tough laps.
The races, each 17 laps as opposed to last year’s scheduled 20, were won by new championship leader Tom Sykes (Kawasaki) from his team-mate Loris Baz in each event. Marco Melandri (Aprilia) secured the only other podium place on offer in race two.
Michael van Der Mark secured his first points of the FIM Supersport World championship campaign with a second place finish at Motorland Aragon, having led the 15-lap contest for six laps at one time. Michael had been fifth on the grid but made a great start to mix it with the early race leaders.
He had to give best to eventual winner Kenan Sofuoglu (Kawasaki) after two riders who were contesting the lead, Jules Cluzel (MV Agusta) and Kev Coghlan (Yamaha), collided following an attempted pass by Cluzel and both fell. Coghlan got back on to claim fifth place and take the championship lead. Van Der Mark pushed hard on the closing laps but could not catch Sofuoglu and finished only 0.869 seconds from the race win. Florian Marino (Kawasaki) took the final podium place.
Lorenzo Zanetti (Pata Honda World Supersport Team) enjoyed his comeback ride after injuring his finger at the first round finishing fourth, having qualified seventh in the new look single qualifying session on Saturday. He took his first points and is now eighth in the table with almost an entire season in front of him.
Phillip Island podium rider Raffaele De Rosa (Core PTR Honda) put in a hard ride from 12th place on the grid to sixth, and went third in the championship table. He is the best-ranked Honda rider so far, after two rounds.
Ratthapark Wilairot (Core PTR Honda) learned more about WSS racing in only his second race in this class, and finished in the top ten after outbraking himself at the end of the long back straight at Motorland. His tenth place put him just one place ahead of another rider returning from injury, Jack Kennedy (CIA Insurance Honda) who was 11th today, he had to battle against the pain of his recently broken ankle and despite dropping back in the race after making a mistake he recovered strongly at the end.
Marco Bussolotti (Team Lorini Honda) finished out of the points by one position in 16th, while his team-mate Riccardo Russo (Team Lorini Honda) did not score, retiring after running into the gravel traps. Fraser Rogers (Com Plus SMS Racing) was 19th and Nacho Calero (CIA Insurance Honda) was 20th of the 20 finishers.
The next round for all categories in the SBK paddock is at the classic circuit of Assen, with raceday on Sunday 27th April.
Jonathan Rea (Pata Honda World Superbike Team) Race result: 3rd / 5th Championship position: 6th – “It’s been a really positive weekend for us to go back on the podium this early in the season. It hasn’t really been a trend for us recently so it’s given everyone a bit of a boost. We just really need to build on this. I really enjoy riding the bike at this circuit and we’ve made a lot of improvements since Phillip Island. In race one I ran into some rear tyre problems in the latter stages of the race, but in race two we went with the softer option, which most of the grid changed to. It was working OK but unfortunately we also used the softer front for the higher temperature. I had a few engine brake problems, which pushed me into the slower corners and, with the lack of feeling from the front, I felt a bit like a passenger. I had a warning or two around mid-race, so I was kind of nursing it a bit. But we deserved two solid top fives today and I feel we can now take some momentum to Assen where we know the bike is good and build on this at a circuit I really enjoy.”
Leon Haslam (Pata Honda World Superbike Team) Race result: 9th / 8th Championship position: 9th – “We definitely started here on the back foot and lost a lot of the first session on Friday. From that point we worked really well and I was feeling confident. Just before Superpole yesterday I posted the fourth fastest time and knocked time off in every session, but then I had the crash in Superpole, which wasn’t so good. I struggled in both races though – battling with throttle opening and engine braking. We had a couple of good top ten finishes but, in FP4 yesterday, I really felt I could be challenging for top five today. I’m glad this one is out of the way and we can start to focus on Assen. We’ve made big leaps with the bike in recent testing and, in my opinion, the results don’t show that and we struggled. But Jonathan had a fantastic first race and he was up there in race two. We’re coming across a few more problems at the moment but we know we’ll get on top of it.”
Michael van der Mark (Pata Honda World Supersport Team) Race result: 2nd Championship position: 6th – “It was a real tough weekend to be honest. In practice we were not hard enough but we did a lot of thinking and the guys in the garage worked so hard to find a solution because we had some strange issues. This morning in warm up I showed that the race pace we had was quite good so I knew we would be all right. The start was good and I was really aggressive in the first few laps. The bike was really fast and I tried to pull away when I took the lead. I did not get a bigger gap than 0.3 so I had to keep pushing. I made a mistake and then some guys came past me and made another mistake again. But I knew I had the pace for the podium. Jules and Kev crashed so it was just Kenan and I left in it at the end and I tried to push but Kenan had the same pace as me up ahead. I am really happy for this podium because we just needed it after Australia!”
Lorenzo Zanetti (Pata Honda World Supersport Team) Race result: 4th Championship position: 8th – “I’m happy to come back to racing with this result. I started not too bad and was immediately with the leading group. My strategy was to stay with them, not to fight and get into a good rhythm and that was going OK until I made a mistake. It changed the rhythm a bit and when Cluzel and Coghlan crashed I tried to pressurise Marino but he pushed a bit more. Fourth place is not so bad for my condition but I need to work now on podium finishes. I finished too many times in fourth place last year so it’s necessary to go to the next step. The target is the podium.”
Raffaele De Rosa (CIA Insurance Honda) – Race result 6th Championship Position 3rd – “It was always going to be difficult from 12th on the grid and top six was my target. I got held up slightly at the start and then the group fighting for the lead got away. Once I got some clear track I was able to ride and set good competitive lap times. Next time at Assen we need to qualify better so we can race at the front again.”
Ratthapark Wilairot (Core PTR Honda) – Race result: 10th Championship position: 16th – “I understand more about the bike but today I felt the engine was a little bit slower than de Rosa’s bike. When I caught him in the back straight I had to brake later than him for the same line. I think I tried to brake a little too late at one corner, could not stop the bike, and went out for a short time. I tried to finish the race the best I could. I am happy about the chassis and the work we are doing on the front and back and I know the limit on the front. This is the first race we have finished in WSS but we are a bit far from the top, so we will have to work hard in Assen.”
Jack Kennedy (CIA Insurance Honda) – Race result: 11th Championship position: 17th – “My start wasn’t too bad and I held my own position. I was on a group fighting for the top eight or top ten positions and I felt I could push on to the front of that group. Then I made a little mistake and ran on at the end of the back straight, going into the hairpin. I cost myself a lot of time there and went back to about 15th place with five laps to go. I dug deep and wanted some points out of today so I got back up to 11th place. We have been a bit behind with my ankle injury so we can take all the positives from this and go to Assen strong.”
Suzuki Report
Voltcom Crescent Suzuki’s Eugene Laverty laid last year’s demons to rest at the Motorland Aragon circuit in Spain today with an impressive comeback ride to fifth in race one of the eni World Superbike Championship second round.
Laverty initially suffered a poor start to the morning race, dropping to 12th at the end of the first lap. Running wide in the early stages to relegate himself further, the Irishman dug deep on his Yoshimura-powered GSX-R to regain his pace, closing the gap to the front-group to hold eighth by lap 11. The latter-third of the race saw Laverty reignite the charge further, swapping positions to take fifth on the final lap.
Race two initially saw more potential, before a clash with another rider resulted in a drop to 11th. He regrouped and took just four-laps to improve on his qualifying position, holding seventh for the majority of the race before setting his fastest time of the race on lap 15 to cross-the-line in a well-deserved sixth.
Team-mate Alex Lowes continued his progression on the world stage with a debut top-10 at the Spanish circuit. A steady start allowed Lowes to circulate in eighth for the opening half of the race, before being taken by a battling-group and demoting him to 11th. The British rider held his own for the closing stages, overtaking the Aprilia of Marco Melandri on the penultimate lap to finish 10th. A high-side at turn 13 on the second lap of the afternoon’s second race denied the rookie a chance to progress his world championship education aboard the Suzuki GSX-R1000, but Lowes remains confident that he will come back fighting at the next round.
The new-look 2014 eni FIM Superbike World Championship’s early schedule saw the races held in bright and pleasant conditions at the Alcaniz circuit, with the afternoon race reaching a high of just 19°C. Reigning champion Tom Sykes won both races.
Voltcom Crescent Suzuki’s championship contention continues in a fortnight’s time when track-action returns to the iconic ‘Cathedral’ of Assen in The Netherlands on April 27th.
Eugene Laverty: “We salvaged two decent results today. Worst-case scenario, we need to be top-six in any race this year; it was a difficult weekend and we achieved that. In the first race we had the potential to fight for third, but unfortunately I ran off the track twice because we are having problems with a full tank of fuel and the engine-braking control at the beginning. I had the same problem in the second race but I just had to be more careful. At the end of race one, we were really strong; race two I had a good pace, but on lap one Toni Elias hit me and I moved from eighth back to 12th position. That hurt my race a lot so I had to fight back to finish sixth, but I can at least have a smile at that.”
Alex Lowes: “I have struggled with the bike and the track all weekend. The first eight laps of the morning race I felt pretty good but then the tyre dropped-off quite a lot so I just made sure I finished. We made some improvements to the bike in the break and I actually felt better in the first lap of the second race, until the crash, and the rest is history. I scored three points in my first race, I scored five here so at least I’m getting better! We go to a track that I know next, which is really good for me. Obviously it’s going to be easier for me to improve when I know the track and hopefully it will be easier to get the bike set-up as well, so I’m looking forward to it.”
Paul Denning – Team Manager: “Two difficult races today for the team, but a fifth and a sixth for Eugene were not such bad results in terms of points, and it could have been a lot worse based-on the early race positions. Eugene did very well to claw his way back into contention, and what he scored today will hopefully be very important to us as the season progresses.
“Alex’s learning-curve at World Championship level continues; the Aragon track is particularly tricky and to come here with no testing and go head-to-head with the best Superbike riders in the world was never going to be easy. He made good progress across the course of the weekend and it was a shame that the crash in the second race didn’t let him continue that learning curve. We move on to Assen, Imola and Donington for the next three races, and as a team we are confident that those circuits will suit the Suzuki better and that we will be able to challenge for the podiums.”
Team Althea Racing
The second round of the Superbike world championship took place today at the Motorland Aragon circuit in Spain. After a solid performance in practice, Niccolò Canepa lined up on the fifth row, in thirteenth position, for today’s two 17-lap races, which ran in warm and sunny conditions.
Unfortunately race one lasted only five laps for Canepa, who was forced to retire due to a technical problem. Niccolò had made a strong start and was lapping in around tenth place, when he had to stop due to a technical issue that his technicians are still investigating.
In race two Canepa made a great start and he was soon fighting against the leading Evo riders, Salom and Camier. Despite the fact that the Aragon track is not the easiest for the 1199 Panigale, the Italian rider fought right to the end to be the first Evo finisher, closing the race in eleventh position, second among the riders in his category.
In the championship standings, Canepa is lying second, six points behind leader Salom. The next round of the Superbike World championship will take place in Assen in The Netherlands over the weekend of 25-27 April.
Niccolò Canepa: “This is clearly one of the most difficult tracks for us. We have worked well over the weekend and the start of race one went perfectly. I was lapping very fast and would have been able to finish first among the Evo riders when unfortunately I had to stop due to a technical problem. In race two I was consistently fast and this is important, because we were lacking that consistency in Australia. The afternoon head penalized us a little but I was still able to battle with the leading Evo guys and finished second. For now this is ok, also because we now head to tracks that better suit our bike, in which I plan to push hard for the win in my category.”
Genesio Bevilacqua: “In race one, we were unlucky but in the second Canepa put in a great performance and I’m really pleased about that. On a difficult track for us we nevertheless fought with the fastest Evo riders. Let’s not forget that this is only our second round, which was useful in terms of collecting data that were unable to collate in Australia, where we rode for the first time. Here at Aragon we were looking for consistency that we can say we’ve achieved that – an important factor in the next races, in which we will aim for the win which is definitely within our reach.”
Aprilia Racing Report
Race Sunday did not get off to the best of starts for Aprilia Racing in the second World SBK round on the Spanish Aragon track.
In the first race, hindered by a sudden drop in tyre performance, Marco Melandri and Sylvain Guintoli progressively lost contact with the leading pack and were forced to run a brave, albeit defensive race. After a good start the Aprilia standard bearers gradually lost positions and although Guintoli managed to finish in 6th place, Melandri dropped down to 11th.
The change in race times (10:30 AM for the first race), introduced for the first time during this championship round, had a profound impact on the performance of the tyres mounted on the RSV4 (the reigning Manufacturer World champion bike).
But the rider from Ravenna demonstrated the stuff of a champion and with support from the entire team he proved his character. In Race 2, with more normal temperature conditions, Melandri and his Aprilia came back into the best pace. Starting from the seventh spot on the grid, Marco began a series of battles with the riders ahead of him, leaving Guintoli, Davies, Giugliano and Rea in his exhaust, taking position after position until, four laps from the end, catching up Sykes and Baz, the pair of which had led the entire race, keeping all their adversaries at bay.
With a spectacular move Melandri overtook for second place with just over 2 laps to go. But for a rider of Melandri’s calibre, and after such a spectacular comeback, setting his sights on the win is a must. Marco mounted his attack in the last lap. Trying to stay glued to Sykes’ wheel and at the end of the last straight stretch he carried out a braking move as spectacular as it was impossible but he went too wide and wound up in third place, finishing the race in that order.
He rode a brilliant race, truly the performance of a key player in a world championship which has only just begun and promises to be exceptionally uncertain. The test of character that Melandri and his RSV4 demonstrated on the track christens this all-Italian duo as definite hopefuls for the title.
Guintoli takes home 21 points from the first European round, reconfirming his extreme consistency and the fact that anyone who wants one of the top spots in the championship standings will have to reckon with the strong French rider.
Marco Melandri: “It’s a shame that we basically wasted Race 1. From the very first laps I was struggling and wasn’t able to keep my pace. In the second race we made some changes with the team and the bike was working much better. I only lost a bit of time in the first part of the race. I had a little trouble braking going into turns but lap by lap I gained confidence until catching up the front runners. I overtook Baz and at that point, with the win within a shout, my DNA pushed me to make a go of it even if maybe I was a little too far behind Sykes. Unfortunately I went wide and finished third, but I had to prove that I could win and I will take that confidence with me to Assen to get my first win of the season.”
Sylvain Guintoli: “Race 2 definitely went a lot better. Besides the result I was able to ride more confidently whereas in Race 1 we were just trying to take home as many points as we could manage. In Race 2 when Marco overtook me I tried to follow him and catch up the front runners but I lost the front end twice, so I decided just to maintain my pace. The improvements between the two races were clear. At one point my times were in line with the leaders but I was too far back by then to be able to catch them up. We need to figure out how the low temperatures in the first race had such an impact on our performance. With the new race times making the RSV4 perform as best as possible even with low temperatures will be important.”
Team Hero EBR Report
Team Hero EBR secured another solid set of results in today’s World Superbike races at MotorLand Aragon.
Race 1 saw both riders make excellent starts, ending the opening lap several places higher than they had qualified. Comfortably ahead of the BMW machines, the EBR 1190RX machine of Aaron ran inside the top 20 eventually finishing in 17th position. Geoff on the other hand was forced to retire from 22nd position on lap 5 with a technical problem which thankfully was able to be resolved for race 2.
The opening race result is especially satisfying given the fact that Aaron had never ridden at Aragon before, and we expected the character of the circuit to make it a difficult weekend. To start 25th and finish 17th is credit to the whole team.
In race two both riders made slight adjustments to their EBR 1190RX machines in an event to close the gap to the point scoring finishers.
In slightly warmer conditions both riders finished, with Aaron once again ahead of both BMW machines. Geoff completed his first race of the season in 20th.
Geoff May: “I am sorry I was out of the game in Race 1 because I need to test as much as possible. Anyway, I am happy because I healed properly after the Phillip Island crash and I really look forward to the next race in Assen, to make a another step forward with the development of the bike.”
Aaron Yates: “I feel satisfied. I completed both the races, collecting a lot of data for the team and we also tried a couple of adjustments to the bike that will help us to be faster starting from the next race.”
Giulio Bardi – Team Manager: “We can be satisfied for this race because Aragon is a fast track and we were obviously going to suffer with the long straight. Aaron and Geoff did a great job along with our mechanics and we collected a lot of important data to better develop our EBR 1190RX. Every session on track we got an improvement and I feel confident we will do even better at the next race, in Assen.”
