World Superbike: Nurburgring

September 2, 2009 by admin
Filed under 2010 Race Calendar

NEWEST AT TOP

SPIES TAKES WORLD SUPERBIKE CHAMPIONSHIP LEAD

First and Second in Germany for the Yamaha Ace

Nürburg, Germany (Sept. 6, 2009) – You might say it was a red-letter weekend for Ben Spies. The Texan having re-upped with Yamaha for two more years, he then hit the Nurburgring in Germany and came away with the lead in the World Superbike Championship. Overcoming a slow start early in the weekend Ben Spies charged back to win the first leg of the German round of the World Superbike Championship in a classic battle with rival Nori Haga. In the second leg Spies worked his way through to the front pack after a poor start and ended the day with second to Jonathan Rea. Spies’ 1-2 finishes, combined with a crash by Haga in the second race, means that Spies has taken an 18-point lead (364-346) in the championship standings.

Race one at the world-renowned Nurburgring was an instant classic. After a slew of pole positions and front row starts, Spies was starting from the second row for the first time this season. He immediately put his Yamaha R1 Superbike into third on the first lap and was looking for more. On lap five Spies made his pass on Rea and moved into second and immediately began chipping away at Haga’s lead. Haga matched Spies’ pace making it tough for the American to make inroads on his Japanese rival. On lap 11 of 20 Spies tucked into Haga’s draft and out-braked him going into the Esses to take over the lead. Haga kept the pressure on and the duo ran wheel to wheel until with two laps to go Spies made a strong surge to pull away and win by 3.85 seconds.

“I got caught up in a tough battle with Rea,” Spies explained of the early part of race one. “Then I used up my tires a bit reeling in Nori. He was tough in the first section of the track and that made it hard for me to get by and once I did I wasn’t able to shake him. I did my best on the other sections of the track to get a gap and fortunately I was able to click off some really good lap times to finish off the race.”

The final lap of the race was the fastest of the day for Spies. The victory was his 12^th of the season, doubling the win tally of Haga and moving Spies to within two points of the series lead.

The second race did not get off to a good start for Spies.

“I didn’t get off the line well and then a bunch of guys came together in the first turn,” Spies explained. “Once everything settled I was able to start clicking in some good laps. The difference in the second race was that the track was cooler and everyone was turning in quick laps. Once I came to the front I found I didn’t quite have the rear grip that I needed to make a move on Jonathan. He was riding strong and I congratulate him on a great ride and win.”

Spies takes over the championship lead, this after having fallen to third, 88 points out of first just five rounds ago in South Africa.

“There were some pretty tough moments earlier in the season when I just couldn’t seem to string together good races,” Spies said. “I’m happy that my team has worked hard and helped me get back in a good position to fight for the championship. It’s great to have the series lead, but as we’ve seen this championship has a lot of ups and downs so I’m not taking anything for granted. It’s way too early to think about anything but doing what we’ve been doing all season. I’m going to the next round in Imola with the goal of winning.”

The last time an American led the World Superbike Championship was in 2002 when Colin Edwards won the title.

In the U.S. both legs of World Superbike from Germany will be shown back to back in primetime tonight (Sunday, Sept. 6) starting at 8:00 pm Eastern on SPEED.

Ben Spies is sponsored by Yamaha, HJC, Alpinestars, Specialized and Parts Europe.

****************************

Day two and the second qualifying session at the Nurburgring saw Yamaha World Superbike rider Ben Spies improve dramatically on his time of yesterday as he experienced the track in the dry for the first time. The American rider managed to finish the session in second position, less than one tenth of a second from leader Haga. The afternoon’s free practice was a frustrating one, a small crash at a difficult to access section of the circuit meant Spies lost over 20 minutes of valuable track time returning to the pit, leaving him with a less than perfect set up for the subsequent Superpole sessions. He made it through all three sessions, using a Qualifier in the second and third heats and will start tomorrow on the second row of the grid in fifth position.

Team-mate Tom Sykes continued to show his consistent fast form of the weekend in the second qualifying heat, the British rider ended the session in fifth place, less than half a second adrift of Spies. Sykes flew through the first Superpole session, again in fifth place, however a faulty qualifying tyre in the second session left him unable to lay down a competitive time, and subsequently he will start on the third row of the grid in ninth position behind his team mate.

Ben Spies, Yamaha World Superbike Team (5th 1′56.489)
“I didn’t do us any favours by falling in the second practice and missing out on valuable track time, so we’re still looking for the right set up. We seem to be struggling a bit for grip on the bumpy sections and that’s what we’re trying to deal with. Combine that with the rain when we arrived and the lost time in free practice means we’ve only really had an hour of dry time here to find our set up. We’ve got the warm up and two races to figure it out so we’re on it.”

Tom Sykes, Yamaha World Superbike Team (9th 1′56.950)
“we’ve been up in the top five all weekend and feeling really good in the dry and the wet but when it came to using the Qualifier in the second heat of Superpole it felt wrong. It felt like a used race tyre when I went out, so I thought I’d try another lap. I improved on my lap time but it didn’t feel remotely like a Qualifier tyre. On the third lap I was undecided whether to come in or not and couldn’t see a timer anywhere. By the time I got back it was too late to get out again which was really frustrating. It’s a shame as I certainly felt like we could have been front row tomorrow for the start. Still, we’ve got a good race pace and it’s a long race so we’ll see what we can do.”

Massimo Meregalli, Yamaha World Superbike Team Manager
“the rain yesterday really made our approach to the weekend complicated. We still have the warm up tomorrow to try some settings and tonight we will see if we can find any other improvements on the bike as well. I think we can still make a good challenge tomorrow. We’ve lost nearly three sessions this weekend which means it is normal not to have the bike set up ready. I feel really sorry for Tom, he’s been having a really good weekend and been consistently fast in all the sessions but he had a rear tyre that didn’t work properly and unfortunately stayed out one lap too long so didn’t have the opportunity to change to his second Qualifier tyre. I think he will have a good race tomorrow as he’s shown a really good pace all weekend.”

****************************

Yamaha World Superbike rider Tom Sykes looked immediately at home in familiar weather conditions on the Nurburgring circuit today. Although an issue in the first free practice session meant missing out on some lap time, the British rider made up for it in the afternoon, and despite a small crash he moved quickly up the ranks to finish the first qualifying session in second place, half a second off provisional pole man Jonathan Rea.

Team-mate Ben Spies worked to find the right set up today, taking his time to understand how his bike performed in the wet conditions and hunting the perfect combination of bike set up and tyre choice. By the end of qualifying he was confident that the right combination had been found and was looking forward to bringing his lap times down in tomorrow’s second qualifying session and following Superpole.

Tom Sykes, Yamaha World Superbike Team (2nd, 2′11.781)
“We started off steady this morning, we knew we had a couple of issues to sort out which took some time. We were also struggling for grip to start with but we made changes which worked. I went back out on a new tyre with all the changes in place and unfortunately the tyre wasn’t up to temperature so I lost the back end. I managed to low side it gently and had no damage so got back on and carried on. We had a good gap in the weather so I chipped away at the time. I think maybe we can improve a bit more but I was really impressed with how much grip we were finding.”

Ben Spies, Yamaha World Superbike Team (13th, 2′13.898)
“Today went ok, we weren’t as high up in the time sheets as we wanted to be but it’s always hard coming to a track and learning it in the wet when you don’t know how the tarmac works in the rain. We worked on some set up stuff and towards the end of the session we started to get down to some better times than what we had been doing before. By the time we got to a really good set up we realized we had the wrong tyres on at the end of the session, there’s pretty much one set of tyres that are working well in the rain and we weren’t on them. We learnt a lot about the bike in the rain, we’ve found something pretty good so we just need to try some different rubber tomorrow and I’m sure the lap times will start to tumble.”

Massimo Meregalli, Yamaha World Superbike Team Manager
“For sure the conditions we had today are the worst for learning a track. We have to wait for tomorrow’s weather and hope it is better, but still we remain confident. Tom achieved some great results, I think the typical English weather helped him! He’s showed us that he’s always focusing on improving so we’re happy.”

*****************************

HASLAM CLAIMS FRONT ROW START IN GERMANY

Stiggy Racing Honda rider Leon Haslam claimed an impressive third place on the second day of qualifying for the eleventh round of the World Superbike Championship at the Nurburgring in Germany today.

After he only made his first appearance at the track yesterday, Englishman Leon Haslam quickly found his pace and superbly worked himself through the three 12-minute Superpole shoot-outs today that determine the positions on the grid. He took the number three slot for tomorrow’s two 20-lap races behind fellow countryman and Honda rider Jonathan Rea and current championship leader and pole-sitter Noriyuki Haga.

A minor electronic problem reduced valuable time on track for John Hopkins today, and the American rider had to work hard to string a consistent series of fast laps together in the second qualifying practice to enter the Superpole session. He was pushed out of the first shoot-out and will start the German round of the championship from a 19th place at the grid. Hopkins will use Sunday’s 20-minute warm up session to chase the speed he will be needing to compete with the front of the field in the two superbike races around the 5.137km long German track.

Leon Haslam – P3 – 1′55.776s:
“I am really happy with my results today. I had a very good summer break, and then to come back to the championship and put the machine on the front row is just fantastic. I will be starting from the front row for the first time this season so I am over the moon. I am really looking forward to racing tomorrow. I had a good wet practice on Friday and after today’s results I am feeling really confident I can ride a good race tomorrow.”

John Hopkins – P19 – 1′57.523s:
“I had some minor technical problems that kept me in the garage a lot. I could not put as many consistent laps as I would have wanted to. Without that consistence it was hard to push for a good lap time. It left us too far behind from where we would like to be. Leon has shown what the bike is capable of and has definitely set the bench mark. I will try to get into a good rhythm in the warm-up sessions and try to get off the line as best as possible to improve the situation we are in now.”

Johan Stigefelt – Team Manager:
“Today has been a fantastic day for our Superbike team. I am very happy with the qualifying result we achieved here. It is the starting position we have had so far this season. I am glad to see Leon starting from the front row. It’s definitely what we needed after coming back from our summer break. I think it will be an interesting race for Leon tomorrow. John has been dealing with a technical problem all weekend and I think he would have done a lot better, if we had been able to give him a machine that performed consistently. If he gets off the line fast tomorrow, then I am confident that he can ride a good race as well.”

DIFFICULT SECOND DAY OF QUALIFYING FOR SUPERSPORT TEAM

The second day of qualifying at the Nurburgring in Germany today proved a tough one for Stiggy Racing Honda Supersport riders Anthony West and Gianluca Vizziello.

Yesterday’s opening session seemed a promise that the new parts for their Honda CBR600RR machines would bring them a much desired front row place on the grid for tomorrow’s 19-lap race around the 5.137km long German track.

In spite of improved and milder weather conditions today, Anthony West suffered a tough day of qualifying at the German track and crashed out on his number one machine in the morning’s 45-minute free practice.

He re-joined and chased the optimum setting for his second machine, but struggled to set a fast lap in the timed practice and qualified a disappointing 17th place on the grid.

Gianluca Vizziello will join his team mate on the fifth row at the grid and will start tomorrow’s eleventh race in the World Supersport Championship from a 19th place.

Anthony West, P17 – 2′02.820s:
“After my crash I am far off from where I would like to be. I have no idea why it is so hard to find the connection with the front. We seemed to be getting there yesterday, but I was too far off the lap times today and lost confidence in the bike after the crash. There appears to be no major problem but I just can’t go as fast as I should be going.”

Gianluca Vizziello, P19 – 2′02.877s:
“I have found the right compromise for the machine at the this track. I had some problems with the gearing, but I am far behind from where I would have liked to be and will have to make up for this tomorrow. It will be hard starting from a fifth row at the grid, and I hope I can make the connection with a fast group to improve in the race.”

Johan Stigefelt – Team Manager:
“It has been a disappointing day for our Supersport team. It seems hard for us to qualify well this season. We are trying the best we can but the results have stayed out so far this weekend. Anthony had a small crash on his number one machine and it took him some time to restore his confidence and find the pace on his second bike. Gianluca is still working towards finding the best set up for his machine. It will be tough to start the race from the fifth row, but I remain confident we can make up for today’s loss.”

***************************

HAGA BACK TO HIS SAMURAI BEST IN SUPERPOLE AT THE NURBURGRING

Noriyuki Haga (Ducati Xerox) bounced back to his best form in today’s qualifying sessions at the Nurburgring as he took his first Superpole win of the year and his seventh overall. At a circuit where he scored a brilliant double win last year, the championship leader made up for his recent difficult period with a commanding lap time of 1 minute 55.489 seconds, despite still not being at 100% from his Donington injury. Haga’s lap time came in the final minutes of the third Superpole run, but he was unable to improve on the lap record time of Max Neukirchner (Suzuki Alstare), absent this year due to injury. Haga denied Jonathan Rea (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda) of his maiden pole by just three-tenths of a second, the British rider lining up on the front row ahead of his fellow Honda man Leon Haslam (Stiggy Racing), on the front row for the second time this season. Fourth place went to Italian Michel Fabrizio (Ducati Xerox), who pushed fellow title-chaser Ben Spies off the front row of the grid by just a whisker. The Texan, who has signed for Yamaha for the next two years, crashed in the afternoon session and didn’t look as incisive in Superpole as he had in previous races.

Noriyuki Haga: “It’s been good to get back into things yesterday and today, also I did my best lap in Superpole. The bike is really good for the feeling. I like this track but it’s my first time here with Ducati so this is a good result. I needed a result like this for the championship battle, tomorrow I will just try and do my best.”

Jonathan Rea: “I put a pretty good lap in at the start and thought it was enough so I rolled off a bit, but all credit to Nori, that was a really good lap. The bike’s working really well here, I’m glad the guys didn’t fall asleep on holiday during the summer break! We’ve come back with some development parts on the bike. I really love this circuit, but I can sleep solid tonight and look forward to things tomorrow.”

Leon Haslam: “We’ve had a tough mid-season and the last race at Brno wasn’t one of the best so to bounce back after the break with a front row start – I’ve only had one this year – is really good. I’ve really got to grips with this new circuit, which I’ve never been to, so I’m looking forward to tomorrow.”

Michel Fabrizio: “I’m not particularly satisfied with fourth position on the grid. It was a bit difficult because we made some changes to the bike in the afternoon session and were only able to find the right set-up in the second Superpole run. But it’s OK, the others are looking really strong, even the two guys next to me on the grid, so it’ll be a good battle tomorrow.”

Troy Corser again notched up a row 2 position on his BMW S1000 RR machine, confirming the German manufacturer’s upward trend, while Max Biaggi (Aprilia Racing) and Carlos Checa (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda) completed the front two rows. The first Kawasaki, the ZX-10R of Makoto Tamada was on row 3, while Yukio Kagayama placed his Suzuki Alstare BRUX GSX-R1000 on the fourth row.

Times: 1. Haga N. (JPN) Ducati 1098R 1′55.489; 2. Rea J. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 1′55.749; 3. Haslam L. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 1′55.776; 4. Fabrizio M. (ITA)Ducati 1098R 1′55.927; 5. Spies B. (USA) Yamaha YZF R1 1′55.938; 6. Corser T. (AUS) BMW S1000 RR 1′56.296; 7. Biaggi M. (ITA) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 1′56.440; 8. Checa C. (ESP) Honda CBR1000RR 1′56.699; 9. Sykes T. (GBR) Yamaha YZF R1 1′56.406; 10. Byrne S. (GBR) Ducati 1098R 1′56.663; 11. Nieto F. (ESP) Ducati 1098R 1′56.670; 12. Tamada M. (JPN) Kawasaki ZX 10R 1′56.683; 13. Kagayama Y. (JPN) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 1′56.901; 14. Smrz J. (CZE)Ducati 1098R 1′57.091; 15. Parkes B. (AUS) Kawasaki ZX 10R 1′57.098; 16. Lagrive M. (FRA) Honda CBR1000RR 1′57.293

World Supersport

Cal Crutchlow (Yamaha World Supersport) once again powered to the front in Supersport qualifying, this time at a circuit where he has never raced before. The Coventry man utterly dominated the session to take his eighth pole of the year in 11 races with a time of 1 minute 57.866 seconds, a full 1.3 seconds clear of the next runners. Second place went to Kenan Sofuoglu (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda), while the front row was completed by Eugene Laverty (Parkalgar Honda), who had an engine blow-out in the morning run, and Garry McCoy on the improving Triumph 675. His ParkinGo team-mate Gianluca Nannelli was also in eighth place on row 2, behind Michele Pirro (Yamaha Lorenzini) in fifth and the Kawasaki Motocard duo of Katsuaki Fujiwara and Joan Lascorz. Italian Massimo Roccoli (Intermoto Czech Honda) posted ninth quickest time ahead of the experienced Andrew Pitt (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda) in tenth.

Times: 1. Crutchlow C. (GBR) Yamaha YZF R6 1′57.866; 2. Sofuoglu K. (TUR) Honda CBR600RR 1′59.201; 3. Laverty E. (IRL) Honda CBR600RR 1′59.373; 4. McCoy G. (AUS) Triumph Daytona 675 1′59.716; 5. Pirro M. (ITA) Yamaha YZF R6 1′59.765; 6. Fujiwara K. (JPN) Kawasaki ZX-6R 1′59.779; 7. Lascorz J. (ESP) Kawasaki ZX-6R 2′00.103; 8. Nannelli G. (ITA) Triumph Daytona 675 2′00.176

Superstock 1000

A violent downpour marked qualifying for the Superstock 1000 FIM Cup, but the rider who managed to get the best out of the conditions was Frenchman Loriz Baz (MRS Yamaha), who bolted on a rear slick in the drying conditions to notch up his first pole in the category. Second was points leader Xavier Simeon (Ducati Xerox), quickest in the two free practice sessions. The front row is made up of Sylvain Barrier (Garnier Yamaha) and Andrea Antonelli (Yamaha Trasimeno), scoring his best result of the season so far and first Italian in the timesheets. Davide Giugliano (Celani Suzuki) was in sixth behind Austrian Rene Mahr (TKR Suzuki), while the other two title hopefuls Claudio Corti (Suzuki Alstare BRUX) and Maxime Berger (Ten Kate Honda) struggled and will start from 13th and 16th place respectively.

Times: 1. Baz L. (FRA) Yamaha YZF R1 2′12.833; 2. Simeon X. (BEL) Ducati 1098R 2′14.283;
3. Barrier S. (FRA) Yamaha YZF R1 2′14.867; 4. Antonelli A. (ITA) Yamaha YZF R1 2′16.218; 5. Mähr R. (AUT) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 2′17.434; 6. Giugliano D. (ITA) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 2′17.584; 7. Beretta D. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 2′17.795; 8. Jezek O. (CZE) Honda CBR1000RR 2′18.901

Superstock 600

Vincent Lonbois’ run of form continues as the MTM Yamaha man followed up his first pole position at Brno with the same result at the Nurburgring. The Belgian’s time came right at the end of the session and he was the only one to dip under 2 minutes 06 seconds. Second place went to Italian Eddi La Marra (Honda Lorini), who qualified ahead of two more Italians, the Yamaha Trasimeno duo of points leader Danilo Petrucci and Marco Bussolotti, while the other two title chasers, Jeremy Guarnoni (MRS Yamaha) and Gino Rea (Ten Kate Honda) are on row 2.

Times: 1. Lonbois V. (BEL) Yamaha YZF R6 2′05.924; 2. La Marra E. (ITA) Honda CBR600RR 2′06.841; 3. Petrucci D. (ITA) Yamaha YZF R6 2′06.966; 4. Bussolotti M. (ITA) Yamaha YZF R6 2′07.452; 5. Karlsen F. (NOR) Yamaha YZF R6 2′08.441; 6. Guarnoni J. (FRA) Yamaha YZF R6 2′08.541; 7. Rea G. (GBR) Honda CBR600RR 2′08.655; 8. Guittet B. (FRA) Honda CBR600RR 2′08.849

*******************************

SPIES FIFTH IN QUALIFYING AT NURBURGRING
No. 19 will start from the second row on Sunday

NÜRBURG, Germany (Sept. 5, 2009) – For the Yamaha ace who is used to starting from the front of the field, Ben Spies will get his first taste of starting from the second row Sunday in the German World Superbike round. Spies, the qualifying leader this season with nine Superpoles, qualified fifth today in Superpole with a time of one minute, 55.938 seconds on the challenging 3.2-mile, 17-turn circuit. That time was just about a half-second off Nori Haga’s pole-winning pace.

Spies trails Haga by just seven points in the championship standings coming into Germany. The chase for the title is fully on with Haga showing he’s made a full recovery from injuries suffered earlier this season.

While fifth is a sub-par qualifying outing for Spies, he’s happy about the direction things are going after a tough opening day at the Nurburgring. One a wet and cool Friday Spies ended the day in 13th and 2.6 seconds off the top pace turned by Jonathan Rea.

Saturday dawned dry and the Yamaha Superbike squad and Spies went to work. He quickly got up to speed turning in the second best time in Saturday’s timed qualifying practice session. But then Spies crashed in free practice, the final session before Superpole, and ran the wrong way back to the pits allowing the team precious few laps to make critical final fine-tuning of the machine before Superpole.

“I didn’t do myself or the team any favors by crashing and missing most of that session,” Spies said. “It was just a low-side that threw me in the gravel trap pretty good over in the Dunlop hairpin. The biggest problem is it gave us so few laps in the dry before Superpole that we ran out of time to get the bike right.”

Spies ran seventh in the first Superpole session, third in the second session to make the final Superpole cut and ultimately ending the day in fifth in the third and final Superpole session.

“We’re making progress, but there’s a bit of an issue with the bike that we have to address,” Spies explained. “Knowing the problem is one thing, getting it corrected is another. It’s been an uphill battle here. The track is not that difficult to learn. Tomorrow’s practice session will be important for use to make final adjustments to be ready for the race, but I’m confident the team will come through and we’ll be competitive come race time.”

Things were considerably better off the track for Spies this weekend. It was announced that he has re-signed with Yamaha for two more seasons.

“It’s great to be back with Yamaha,” Spies said. “This company has such a strong commitment to racing and giving its riders top-notch equipment. I’m looking forward to the challenge and expecting more good things to come in the future.”

In the U.S. both legs of World Superbike from Germany will be shown back to back in primetime starting at 8:00 pm Eastern on SPEED.

Ben Spies is sponsored by Yamaha, HJC, Alpinestars, Specialized and Parts Europe.

*****************************

NORIYUKI HAGA (DUCATI XEROX) TAKES FIRST POLE OF THE SEASON AT NURBURGRING; FABRIZIO FOURTH

Nürburgring (Germany) Saturday 5th September: Noriyuki Haga and his Ducati Xerox squad this afternoon celebrated their first pole of the season at the Nurburgring circuit. Quick in every session so far, the Japanese rider exited for the Superpole with a steely determination, to register the fastest time in each of the three phases. The track temperature was significantly higher (26°C) than it had been in the morning and fortunately for the Superbike riders the all-important Superpole took place in dry conditions. Despite such a long career, this is only the seventh time that Haga has taken the pole and it came at just the right moment, with only four rounds of the championship left to run. After the physical problems he has suffered over the last two months, this result demonstrates that Nitro-Nori is back in shape and ready to fight for the world title. Team-mate Michel Fabrizio is also on the pace this weekend and, despite an error during his fast lap in the final Superpole session, he nevertheless secured a place on the front row of the grid for tomorrow’s races, fourth behind the two Hondas of Rea and Haslam.

The Superbike riders also escaped rain in the morning’s second qualifying session and so lap times dropped considerably with respect to yesterday. Fourth and fifth at the end of play yesterday, the Ducati Xerox men Michel and Noriyuki today made the progress that both had envisaged, qualifying easily for the afternoon Superpole session. Noriyuki was the fastest rider on track while Michel was two tenths of a second behind in third, Yamaha’s Ben Spies closing in second.

Noriyuki Haga 1m55.4s
“You can see that I’m back in shape after the holidays and I’m very happy to have taken the pole today. It’s my first pole position with Ducati and it comes just at the right time, as the championship reaches the final stages. I’ve been feeling comfortable on the bike all weekend and this bodes well for tomorrow. I like the track a lot and, having gone well here last year, I’m looking forward to racing.”

Michel Fabrizio 1m55.9s
“I am fairly happy with the result; it’s just a shame I made a small mistake on the last corner because I think if I had nailed that I could have finished second or third. Anyway the important thing is that I’m starting from the front row and I am more than ready to fight for the win tomorrow. I predict a close battle between us on the Ducatis and the two Hondas.”

TIMES (Superpole): 1. Haga (Ducati Xerox); 2. Rea (Honda); 3. Haslam (Honda); 4. Fabrizio (Ducati Xerox); 5. Spies (Yamaha); 6. Corser (BMW); 7. Biaggi (Aprilia); 8. Checa (Honda)

********************************

Parkalgar Honda ready to race Parkalgar Honda’s Eugene Laverty is determined to continue with his World Supersport title challenge this weekend at the Nurburgring in Germany.

The talented Irishman is just 17 points behind Cal Crutchlow, the Championship leader, and he is determined to pull as many points back on him as possible. Miguel Praia, team-mate to Laverty, raced to 13th place last year at the Nurburgring. This time around he is determined to finish inside the top ten at the challenging 5.137km track.

The race takes place at 1325CET on Sunday 6th September and can be viewed on Eurosport.

Eugene: “It’s been a long lay-off but it was good to do a track day at the Nurburgring. It was beneficial as I can now go out and be on the pace. It’s an important round for us as I got an opportunity at Brno to get back some points and I’ve now got to make the most of it and start reeling Crutchlow back in. It’s a fun track to ride but it is very bumpy for a world championship circuit. I’ll be going out for the win as that is what we need.”

Miguel: “There has been a big gap in the season which has been good for me as I’ve not been fully fit at the last few rounds thanks to some small injuries from my crashes. The team has been working on developing the bike so I should see the benefit of their hard work. I finished 13th at the Nurburgring last year so this time round my aim is top ten for sure. It is a hard track so it will take a couple of laps to get into it but it is good fun.”

Simon Buckmaster, Parkalgar Honda Team Manager: “We have been working hard on further development of our Parkalgar Hondas which I’m sure will pay off. We are now coming into the last four rounds and there are just 17 points in it. If we can beat Cal here then it will be game on. Miguel has already competed at the Nurburgring last year and got a good result, this year he wants to go a few places better and finish well inside the top ten. As for Eugene, he needs a win to continue his title challenge.

You have been sent this e-mail as a registered contact of the www.parkalgar-honda.com fan club or press list. If you do not wish to receive these e-mails in the future, please visit our web site, log in using your user name and password and update your profile.

*********************************

NURBURGRING – 11 ROUND –4th, 5th and 6th SEPTEMBER 2009

The Ring gets ready to Rock with renewed Haga-Spies duel

The 2009 Hannspree FIM Superbike World Championship is back in action following the summer break with the eleventh round of the championship taking place at Germany’s legendary Nurburgring circuit, an hour or so from Bonn. The German Round is the first in a series of the final four (the others being Imola, Magny-Cours and Portimao), which will lead to the crowning of the 2009 world champion. The eventual winner will now come from a short-list of three: points leader Noriyuki Haga (Ducati Xerox), Ben Spies (Yamaha World Superbike) and Michel Fabrizio (Ducati Xerox).

The Nurburgring circuit is one of the most spectacular in the world, with its 5.137 km layout offering numerous unique features. Each lap is made up of 17 curves, some of which, in particular the three after the start-finish line, are extremely tricky from a technical point of view, while the track surface is exceptional in both wet and dry conditions.

World Superbike has been to the Nurburgring three times: twice before the track underwent modifications (1998-1999) and then last year. The winners were Aaron Slight (Honda) and Pierfrancesco Chili (Ducati) in 1998, while the following year Ducati scored a double with Carl Fogarty and Troy Corser. Nine years later the German track was witness to another double win, this time by Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha Motor Italia), who pulled off this incredible feat just two weeks after breaking his collarbone in the previous US Round at Miller Motorsports Park.

STAR WARS – The memories of Haga’s amazing performance twelve months ago could be just what the Ducati rider needs to galvanize him into action, as he arrives in Germany in a similar position due to his recovery from the injury he suffered two races back at Donington. The Japanese rider will have to be on top form indeed to hold off his closest rival Ben Spies, who is currently on the crest of a wave with three wins in the last four races. There are just 7 points between the two at the moment and the German Round could see a sensational changeover at the top. Ducati Xerox team-mate Michel Fabrizio could also play a key role in proceedings this weekend. Not only is the young Italian in the midst of the title battle, albeit 53 points behind Haga and 46 behind the Texan (with 200 points still up for grabs), but team strategy could also play a major role. At Brno he unwittingly took Spies out of the action thus allowing Haga to keep the championship lead, but in Germany he could easily take away points from the American with careful race tactics.

APRILIA ON THE MOVE – After the last round Max Biaggi and Aprilia will now surely be key players at the German track. The win at Brno helped to boost morale in the Italian team and even though it came at a circuit where the RSV4 had already been tested, it goes without saying that the four-cylinder machine from the Noale factory is making major progress towards the top in its return season in WSB. Biaggi raced here last year and can undoubtedly give the right indications to the Aprilia engineers to get the RSV4 machine to the top this time around.

WATCH OUT FOR HONDA – The Hannspree Ten Kate Honda team have had an up and down season so far but at least they have seen the rise of Jonathan Rea, the only winner for the Japanese manufacturer this year and surely one of the men to watch in WSB in the future. Rea is a true fighter and the German track, which he is familiar with after racing here in Supersport, is another chance for him to shine. Carlos Checa has shown signs of a renaissance in recent races, while over in the Stiggy Racing Honda camp Leon Haslam aims to put in another solid performance to become top Honda man ahead of Rea. Further possible surprises could come from Shane Byrne (Sterilgarda Ducati), who is having an excellent second half of the season.

BMW PLAY AT HOME – The BMW Motorrad men showed major improvement at Brno, with Troy Corser and Ruben Xaus both capable of getting onto row 2 in Superpole and the Australian bringing home the best result of the season for the team with a fifth place finish. The German squad is working hard to close the gap on the frontrunners, and with their home round ahead BMW obviously want to make a good impression. It hasn’t been an idle summer for Kawasaki either as the Paul Bird Motorsport team raced successfully in a BSB round at Brands Hatch, giving an opportunity for Broc Parkes to try out some new material, while the injured Makoto Tamada remained at home to recover for the race. Over in Suzuki Alstare the Belgian squad cannot count on their top rider Max Neukirchner, who was injured again in Imola testing. After racing singleton at Brno, Yukio Kagayama will be flanked by Karl Muggeridge, released from his contract by the Celani team, which will not be present in Germany.

Points (after 10 of 14 rounds): 1. Haga 326; 2. Spies 319; 3. Fabrizio 273; 4. Rea 206; 5. Biaggi 200; 6. Haslam 180; 7. Sykes 150; 8. Checa 145; 9. Byrne 134; 10. Smrz 132. Manufacturers: 1. Ducati 412; 2. Yamaha 362; 3. Honda 306; 4. Aprilia 207; 5. Suzuki 133; 6. BMW 87; 7. Kawasaki 53

SUPERSPORT – Just when everything appeared to be going Cal Crutchlow’s way, the gremlin that sidelined the Yamaha man at Brno has meant the battle for the title is wide-open once again. The Coventry rider now has just a 17 points advantage over Eugene Laverty (Parkalgar Honda), the only man who can take the title away from him. Kenan Sofuoglu (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda) is still in with a mathematical chance but the 2007 champion is 57 points down with four rounds remaining and has little chance of making up that disadvantage. Crutchlow can count on the full support of his team-mate Fabien Foret, who scored his first win of the season in the Czech Republic. Another surefire frontrunner will be Spain’s Joan Lascorz (Kawasaki Provec), who is having an excellent season, while following his re-emergence at Brno, Anthony West (Stiggy Racing Honda) will be hoping to continue his good run of form. Andrew Pitt (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda) officially abdicated the title he won in 2008 one race ago, but wants to salvage something from this season in a race he won last year. Other Supersport men to watch will be evergreen Garry McCoy on the dark green Triumph ParkinGo 675 bike, and Italians Massimo Roccoli (Intermoto Czech Honda) and Michele Pirro (Yamaha Lorenzini), who comes to Germany just days after taking his first-ever domestic title in the category.

Points (after 10 of 14 rounds): 1. Crutchlow 185; 2. Laverty 168; 3. Sofuoglu 128; 4. Lascorz 122; 5. West 95; 6. Foret 88; 7. Pitt 85; 8. Mccoy 63; 9. Aitchison 61; 10. Fujiwara 52. Manufacturers: 1. Honda 211 2. Yamaha 210 3. Kawasaki 133; 4. Triumph 77; 5. Suzuki 30

SUPERSTOCK 1000 – Maxime Berger’s crash at Brno as the Ten Kate Honda man was heading for victory handed victory on a plate to Xavier Simeon (Ducati Xerox), who now has a clear run to the title with a one-win gap to second-placed Claudio Corti (Suzuki Alstare), and almost two to Berger, his chief rivals. With four rounds remaining Simeon is in a good position to administer his points lead and not make any mistakes. The Nurburgring race could also see Davide Giugliano (Suzuki Celani) up at the front, especially seeing as the talented Italian has excellent memories of the German track, seeing as he finished runner-up last year behind winner Brendan Roberts (Ducati Xerox). In his rookie Superstock 1000 season Daniele Beretta (Ducati Xerox) is also showing positive form and the Nurburgring race will be the start of a late-season effort to get onto the podium.

Points (after 6 of 10 rounds): 1. Simeon 130; 2. Corti 104; 3. Fores 84; 4. Berger 82; 5. Barrier 67; 6. Beretta 56; 7. Jezek 48: 8. Baz 33; 9. Giuliano 25; 10. Savary 23. Manufacturers: 1. Ducati 130; 2. Honda 108: 3. Suzuki 104; 4. Kawasaki 84, 5. Yamaha 75; 6. MV Augusta 21; 7. Aprilia 12

SUPERSTOCK 600 – Five riders are still in with a chance of taking the 600 title. Young Italian Danilo Petrucci (Yamaha Trasimeno) leads the way but he would have an even bigger advantage had he not been taken out twice in two races while in the lead. Petrucci now finds himself just 13 points ahead of Belgium’s Vincent Lonbois (MTM Yamaha), 14 ahead of Britain’s Gino Rea (Ten Kate Honda), 19 ahead of Frenchman Jeremy Guarnoni (MRS Yamaha) and 22 ahead of team-mate Marco Bussolotti. The German race could see a break-away by Petrucci however as the Italian has shown himself to be the strongest overall performer this year.

Points (after 6 of 10 rounds): 1. Petrucci 102; 2. Lonbois 89; 3. Rea 88: 4. Guarnoni 83; 5. Bussolotti 80; 6. La Marra 55; 7. Kerschbaumer 51; 8. Guittet 47; 9. Litjens 38; 10. Chmielewki 30

*********************************

The Stiggy Racing Honda team is ready to take on the German challenge as the World Superbike series gets back into action after a six-week summer break and starts the first of the season’s final four races at the famous Nurburgring in Germany this weekend.After the long break in the team’s superb maiden Superbike season, Leon Haslam heads into the eleventh round of the championship holding a sixth place in the standings, while John Hopkins is fighting back from his current 20th position following an injury plagued start of the season. The Stiggy Racing Honda CBR1000RR machines and their superbike riders are newcomers to the Nurburgring but are fully charged and fighting fit to launch their attack at the German rostrum this weekend.Supersport rider Anthony West entered the summer break on a high as he finished runner-up in the last race at Brno where he took his second number two slot for the Stiggy Racing Honda Team this season. With the Honda CBR600RR on the pace and morale and confidence boosted, both Anthony West and Gianluca Vizziello – the only team member who has raced the Nurburgring before – are geared up to continue their success at the Nurburgring.

Leon Haslam – Superbike:

“Brno was a tough weekend for us and we ran into a few issues, so we are looking to eliminate a lot of them this weekend. The Nurburgring will be a new circuit to learn for me, but from what I have seen on TV it looks like it should be a good track for the Honda. The summer break was needed, but it went on a bit too long. I am looking forward to getting back on the bike in Germany and get back on the podium.”

John Hopkins – Superbike:

“I have never been to the Nurburgring before but have seen the racing there on television. I have tried to learn the track by playing video games and will hopefully adapt to the track as quick as I can this weekend. It looks like a cool track to ride, and I would definitely like to get a good result for my team and prove the Honda can work well there.

Anthony West- Supersport:

“The Nurburgring is a new track to me and I’m looking forward to riding it this weekend. It will be a new challenge. After our success at Brno it will be interesting to see if we can repeat that in Germany. After my break in Australia I am fully charged again and confidently looking forward to the next race.”

Gianluca Vizziello – Supersport:

“I am looking forward to the next round in Germany. We have some new materials for the Nurburgring which can hopefully help me to move forward this weekend. I have worked hard over the last weeks to re-charge myself and want to ride a good race this weekend.”

Johan Stigefelt – Team Manager:

“The summer break was pretty much needed by everyone in our team. Our workload has been ongoing since December last year, without any real break until now. Now the plan is to enter the last four races and do the best possible. We have some new engine parts to use on the Superbikes and we have spent our time refreshing all the engines and machines for the last races. We will be pushing hard in the last four races to finish as high in the championship as we can.”

*********************************
The Nürburgring (Germany), Tuesday 1st September: The Ducati Xerox Team are back from their holidays and now pack their bags for round 11 of the World Superbike Championship, the action taking place this time at Germany’s legendary Nürburgring. Since the last round at Brno, the Superbike circus has taken its traditional summer break, six weeks in length this year, giving the riders a substantial period in which to rest and recuperate in preparation for the final push. Ducati Xerox riders Noriyuki Haga and Michel Fabrizio have enjoyed the time off, Noriyuki returning home to Japan to see family and friends and Michel passing the time at home in Rome.

Both riders, who between them have put the Ducati Xerox Team on the podium in nineteen of the twenty races held so far, are fighting fit and ready for the all important final four rounds of the World Superbike Championship.

Last time out, on the Czech track of Brno more than a month ago, Michel crashed out of Race 1 but climbed onto the podium in the second race, consolidating his third place position in the overall rider classification. Noriyuki, less than 100% fit and riding with fractures to his right ulna and left shoulder blade, knew that it would be hard to fight for podiums and finished the races in eighth and sixth position, taking valuable points that means he maintains his championship lead going into the eleventh round.

The infamous Ring returned to the Superbike calendar in 2008 after an eight year absence. The June appointment saw two wet races, the first restarted and the second cut short due to the adverse weather conditions. On board the factory Yamaha, Noriyuki powered his way to the double win at the Ring last season, also taking the lap record in the process, and the Ducati Xerox squad is hopeful he can do a similar job with his Ducati 1198 this year. Michel’s first experience of the track was last year’s race weekend, and although the Italian rider came away with good points, he will be looking for a big improvement this year, to maintain the performance level that has seen him finish ten of the last twelve races on the podium.

Noriyuki Haga (1st in championship, 326 points)

“I got a great result at Nürburgring last year and hope to be able to do the same again this time around. It’s a really nice track though last year was pretty wet for race day which made things interesting! Anyway I’m feeling much stronger than I was at Brno and, after a relaxing holiday back home in Japan, I’m totally ready to continue the fight for the world title.”

Haga’s Superbike form at the Nürburgring:
2008: Race 1 – winner, Race 2 – winner
1999: Race 1 – DNF, Race 2 – 6th
1998: Race 1 – 5th, Race 2 – 7th

Michel Fabrizio (3rd in championship, 273 points)

“Brno didn’t go to plan and so in the last four races, starting at Nürburgring, I really need to make up points, with the aim to be on the podium every weekend. I’m in good shape and after the long break I’m more than ready to get back on the bike and try to maintain my recent run of podiums.”

Fabrizio’s Superbike form at the Nürburgring:
2008: Race 1 – 7th, Race 2 – 6th

*********************************

Spies charged up and ready to fight for the championship lead in Germany

Yamaha World Superbike riders Ben Spies and Tom Sykes are ready for action at the famous Nurburgring circuit in the Eifel Mountains this weekend. Following a five week break for the summer, Spies is refreshed and raring to take the fight to rival Noriyuki Haga for the championship lead with only seven points separating them after the last round in Brno.

With only four rounds remaining the closing races of the 2009 season look set to be a hotly fought contest for the championship title. Spies could potentially walk away from Germany having taken the lead from Haga should the races go his way on Sunday. As with most of the tracks this year, neither Spies or Sykes have raced on the Nurburgring circuit before, although this has long since ceased to be an issue for them as they have adapted quickly and taken valuable championship points and victories from a variety of unknown tracks.

“It has been great to have some time out to relax at home in the US”, said Ben Spies. “I’m fully recharged and really excited about getting stuck into some more racing. We’ve got nothing to lose and everything to gain so I’m just going to keep on giving it 100% and see what we can do to catch Nori this weekend.”

Nurburgring technically speaking according to Tom Houseworth, Ben Spies Crew Chief
“Heading into the Nurburgring we have a couple of issues to address, this will force us to change just a bit from our normal routine. By now it seems normal going to a circuit we have never seen. From what we have heard the corners are a bit slower than Brno with braking very important into them, so we will start with a different setup for our #2 machine. For the first session Ben will learn the track as quickly as possible on our #1 machine and evaluate chassis, gearbox and overall performance. The second session we are planning to start on the #2 machine to evaluate a setup targeting performance under very heavy braking. If all goes well the #2 machine will do everything the #1 machine does plus what we’re looking for under braking. Friday will be a busy first day as we have quite a bit to sort out in the two sessions including very important gearbox ratios. Saturday will provide us time to sort race rubber and try some different links or geometry depending on the mechanical grip we have and be ready for Sunday. If all goes well Sunday we hope to see ya on the box!”

“I’m very much looking forward to it”, said Tom Sykes. We’ve had a long break, after two weeks I start getting a bit bored so am fired up and ready to go for it. It’s my first time at the track so I’ve got some learning to do, it’s easy to learn a track but tricky to find the last little bit. Hopefully we’ve made some improvements over the break with the bike as well so I’m looking forward to putting them to good use.”

Nurburgring technically speaking according to Sergio Verbena, Tom Sykes Crew Chief
“Apart from the gearbox settings I don’t feel we need to start with a special setting for this circuit, we have a base setting we will be starting with that we use for all races. Based on Tom’s feedback from the first sessions we will make adjustments to the suspension, steering, geometry and braking to fit to the track. We shouldn’t need to make any big changes as the settings we’re using so far have been working ok almost everywhere. So for first practice on Friday we’ll concentrate on fine-tuning the setting for the track, and we’ll start to check tyres as well. We’ll have many options with the Pirelli tyres, so it’s important to start work on tyres from the first practice. By the first qualifying session we must understand which tyre can have the best performance, because we will need a good lap time in case it starts to rain on Saturday!”

Massimo Meregalli, Yamaha World Superbike Team Manager
“After Brno we have worked really hard during the summer break. We have increased the performance of the bike and I think we have a good possibility to catch Nori now. Both the riders have had a good rest and we are just waiting for the next weekend now to get back onto the track and race and see if we can take the championship lead.”

The 2009 Yamaha R1 has already won a European championship, having carried Jorg Teuchert to victory in the IDM German Superbike Championship.

Crutchlow looking to extend championship lead in Germany

Following the DNF at Brno, British rider Cal Crutchlow is back from his holidays and determined to make the points up at the German round of the World Supersport Championship this weekend at the Nurburgring circuit. Yamaha World Supersport rider Cal is still leading the championship with a 17 point lead over rival Eugene Laverty with four races to go. Team mate Fabien Foret was clearly back on form with an incredible win in Brno, having found the ideal set up for his bike the French rider is looking to repeat his performance in Germany and take another podium.

“I’m very keen to get back onto the track”, said Cal Crutchlow. “It was really disappointing to lose out on the points at Brno so I’m determined to get them back in Germany! It’s the home race for my team as well so I want to do well for them and see if we can extend our championship lead some more. I did a few laps testing here last month and I really like the circuit so I think it’s going to be a good weekend.”

“I hope we get ok weather in Germany”, said Fabien Foret. “Obviously I would like to have the same result as Brno, it was such a great race and I’m happy to be back on form. I want to stay on the podium again this weekend and for the rest of the season.”

Wilco Zeelenberg, Yamaha World Supersport Team Manager
“We planned a test on the 18th of August with Cal at the ring as part of a track day. It went ok, he liked the track and was fast and we adjusted the bike as best we could. We have a good set up now to start with so we’ll have no lost time looking for the right gearing and we’ll be ready to go. We’ve made some changes to resolve the problem from Brno as well. Fabien is of course delighted with the Brno win and likes Nurburgring so I hope we can give him the same feeling with his set up to be on the podium again this weekend.”

*********************************

NEW DAD PARKES CONFIDENT AS TAMADA RETURNS IN GERMANY

After a five week break, the Hannspree World Superbike Championship returns with round eleven of the fourteen round series as it heads for the iconic Nurburgring in Germany this forthcoming weekend (September 4/6).

Whilst many of the teams have been relaxing since the previous round at Brno in July, the Paul Bird Motorsport Team has been doing anything but as they look forward to building on their recent success with riders Australian Broc Parkes and Japanese Makoto Tamada hoping for another share of the points for the Penrith, Cumbria-based team.

Having scored a hat-trick of runner-up placings to runaway leader Leon Camier when guesting as a wild card rider at the British Superbike Championship round at Brands Hatch last month, 27-year-old Parkes gained valuable data and track time which should stand him in good stead for this round and following on from a hand injury sustained at Brno, Tamada, 32, is hoping to get back to the form he was showing in recent races prior to his latest injury setback aboard the

www.supercasino.com, Vent-Axia, Kick Energy and Henleys-backed Kawasaki Superbike Racing Team Ninja ZX-10Rs. Broc Parkes: ”After racing at the British Superbikes at Brands Hatch in early August, we found some really good things on the bike and came away with some great results which gave me and the team some confidence on our direction for the last four WSB races. It will be great to apply the team’s development to the Nurburgring race this weekend. I really enjoy racing at this circuit and I’ve had some successful results in the past. Last year I was unlucky not to win on the World Supersport bike as we had a problem at the end of the race. I’ve also won a race a few years back on the short circuit in the German Superbike Championship. Overall I’m really looking forward to some good results this weekend. I’m also over the moon at becoming a father this week to my new-born son, young Jesse John Parkes.”

Makoto Tamada: ”After another unfortunate crash in Brno I am happy to confirm now after the August break that my finger doesn’t hurt at all, and I am ready 100% to race this weekend. The Kawasaki ZX-10R performed much better during the Brno race and I predict that we can finish in the top ten in both races at Nurburgring. I just can’t wait to be back on the bike again and continue where we left off after some exciting developments from Brno.”

Details and profiles of the riders, team and bikes as well as championship information, pictures and calendar etc can be found at

www.kawasaki-racingteam.eu/road-race. Exclusive and copyright-free pictures are also available from each round at www.paulbirdmotorsport.com