WSBK-Nurburgring

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Yamaha World Superbike Team Gear up for the Nurburgring

Yamaha World Superbike riders Marco Melandri and Eugene laverty are heading back on track this coming weekend after a long five week summer break. The coming weekend?s racing action will take place at the famous Nurburgring circuit situated amidst the Eifel Mountains in the West of Germany, marking round 10 of the 2011 World Superbike Championship.After the lengthy rest from racing, both Yamaha World Superbike riders are eager to get on board their YZF R1s and take up where they left off, with the success of the last round in Silverstone where Melandri and Laverty claimed an impressive double podium a head and gained valuable championship points.

With just four rounds remaining to fight for the championship title, both riders will be looking to impress and continue to battle for the championship lead. Melandri sets out for the Nurburgring for the first time in his career but he has proved in previous rounds that new tracks are not an issue for him. The Italian will take on the German circuit with the intention of pushing up to second place in the standings ahead of fellow Italian, Max Biaggi. Team-mate Laverty aims to capitalize on progress made at his home track in Silverstone and fight for another extraordinary double podium. The challenging 5.137 km German track has brought him success in the past, just last year he delivered an impressive race win in the WSS category.

The Nurburgring, also known as the ?Green Hell?, is considered to be one of the most demanding purpose ? built racing tracks in the world. There are many changes in elevation, six left turns, 11 right turns and few opportunities to overtake.

Marco Melandri
Yamaha World Superbike Team
"The Nurburgring is another new track for me this year, but I?m looking forward to experiencing it. I?m glad to be getting going again after the summer holidays and I?m determined to do my best and keep fighting until the end of the championship. I like the look of the track from what I?ve seen on TV. It?s quite technical and I?m sure it will be a lot of fun. The weather forecast doesn?t look so good for Sunday but it changes from day to day so I?m hoping between now and then it?ll improve a little. We?ll soon see."

Eugene Laverty
Yamaha World Superbike Team
"I?ve been off the bike for a long time now and I can?t wait to get riding my R1 again. Nurburgring is a track I quite like and I?ve good memories there following my win in Supersport last year. I?ve just come from a double podium in Silverstone and that?s what I?m aiming for again at the Nurburgring. It?s not out of the question to complete the season in the top three and that?s what I?d like and what I?ll be aiming for, even though it won?t be easy to reach my team-mate."
The Nurburgring, technically speaking according to Silvano Galbusera
Marco Melandri's Crew Chief

"Nurburgring is yet another new track for Marco. It?s technically very difficult, possibly the most difficult track on the 2011 calendar and will prove challenging. We?ll spend the first few sessions getting acquainted with the circuit so we can see where to go with the chassis set up ahead of Sunday?s races. I hope we find a good tyre solution to enable us to perform to our potential. Let?s hope the weather is also good and the rain holds off."
The Nurburgring, technically speaking according to Frankie Carchedi
Eugene Laverty's Crew Chief

"After another solid weekend at Silverstone we have worked hard over the summer break to further improve the bike for Eugene. We will start with one bike similar to Silverstone with a new improved rear brake system. With the other bike we will try another step in the geometry to further improve bike turning. Nurburgring is a riders favorite, many elevation changes and technically difficult. It requires very good front end feel and is as hard on brakes as Monza. There are many changes of direction so it is also important to have a good handling bike and keep corner speed up."

Andrea Dosoli - Yamaha World Superbike Team Manager
"Nurburgring is a very important race for the Yamaha World Superbike team. Following the earlier announced decision for Yamaha Motor Europe to withdraw the team at the end of this season, I?m confident that the team and riders motivation will be evident and everyone will be pushing even harder for deserved results. After such a long summer break we?re looking forward to getting back to business and have made a few technical modifications to the engine, chassis and electronics of the bike, in order to provide both riders with an even more competitive machine to fight for the race win. We expect Eugene to confirm the excellent performance evident in Silverstone, especially due to the fact that he took a race win at the Nurburgring in WSS just last year. It?s Marco?s first time on this track, but we have seen that he can quickly learn new tracks, so we?re not worried and are confident we?ll be fighting for the podium on Sunday."

 

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Jonathan Rea to return at Nurburgring

Jonathan Rea will make his long-awaited comeback to the Castrol Honda team in this weekend?s (2-4 September) tenth round World Superbike championship event at Nurburgring in Germany.

The Northern Irishman has been out of action since a raceday warm-up crash at Misano in Italy on 12 June. In addition to fractures to his arm and collarbone, Rea required complex surgery to repair ligament damage to his right wrist following the crash.

After completing a successful two-day test at Assen in the Netherlands last week, Rea, 24, has chosen a favoured circuit to make his return. In the last two visits, he has taken his Honda CBR1000RR to two wins, a second and a fourth place at the 5.137km Nurburgring, which sits 70km south of Cologne, adjacent to the famous Nordschleife road circuit.

Rea will be joined for the weekend in the Castrol Honda World Superbike Team by Japanese rider, Makoto Tamada, who returns to the series for the f irst time since riding as a replacement in the final round of last season?s championship.

Tamada will replace Ruben Xaus, who is still suffering the after effects of his race one crash at Brno in the Czech Republic in July. Despite testing on the first day at Assen last week, Xaus?s back injury prevented him from completing more than a handful of laps and the Spaniard has opted to miss Nurburgring.

Hailing from Ehime in Japan, Tamada, 34, completed two full World Superbike seasons on Kawasaki machinery in 2008 and 2009 following five years with Honda in MotoGP, which resulted in two Grand Prix victories. Earlier in his career, he also scored three wildcard World Superbike victories at Sugo in Japan in 2001 and 2002 and is a regular podium visitor in Japan?s famous Suzuka 8 Hour race.

Jonathan Rea

I can?t wait to get back on the bike in a race weekend situation at Nurburgring. The test at Assen last week was great for me to ride and work with the team again, but I?m really looking forward to doing it for real again this weekend. Assen was also good from a confidence point of view, because the lap time was pretty good and I was able to complete a lot of laps without any pain from the wrist. Unfortunately, I?ve missed a few races because of the injury, but I?ve got a new target for the end of the season and I know what I need to do to achieve that. The good thing is that the guys have been working really hard back at base since I?ve been away, and there were some good new things to test last week. I?m really looking forward to using them this weekend.

Makoto Tamada

It's great to be back racing in the World Superbike series. I want to thank Castrol Honda for giving me this opportunity. I am looking forward to working with the team and Jonathan, and I?m also looking forward to meeting my Euro pean fans.

Ronald ten Kate ? team manager

Everyone is really happy that Jonathan is back for this weekend. He did a race simulation at Assen, which showed that he?s quite fit again. It?s certainly been a troublesome mid-season with injuries, but we?ve had good results with Jonathan at Nurburgring in the last two years, so we?re all thrilled to have him back for this one. We?re also looking forward to welcoming Makoto Tamada back to the championship. His level of experience will provide good feedback on the bike since we are already looking ahead to 2012. We are working on the development of new parts for next season so it will be good to hear his opinion, too.

2011 World Superbike Championship, round ten, Nurburgring, Germany ? schedule (local times):

Friday 2 September
11.30 Free practice (60 min)
15.30 Qualifying pract ice (60 min)
Saturday 3 September
10.45 Qualifying practice (45 min)
13.45 Free practice (45 min)
15.00 Superpole 1 (14 min)
15.21 Superpole 2 (12 min)
15.40 Superpole 3 (10 min)
Sunday 4 September
09.20 Warm-up (15 min)
12.00 Race 1 (20 laps ? 102.740km)
15.30 Race 2 (20 laps ? 102.740km)

 

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BMW Motorrad Motorsport prepare for home round!

After a five-week summer break for the teams and riders of the World Superbike Championship, the weekend of 2-4 September sees a welcome return of the series, with BMW Motorrad Motorsport looking forward to their home race at the infamous N?rburgring circuit. With everyone feeling fully focused and refreshed, the picturesque Eifel mountains will once again provide an ideal setting for an amazing weekend of racing as the championship enters its final stages, with just four rounds remaining.

The N?rburgring was originally opened in 1927 and is one of Europe?s most iconic racetracks. The legendary circuit is renowned as the ultimate test for both man and machine, with undulations, blind crests and fast, sweeping corners making up the 5.137 km layout. With factory riders Troy Corser and Leon Haslam both boasting successful results in recent years at the ?Ring?, the duo will be hoping for more of the same in Sunday?s two races.

Having used the five-week break to restore himself back to full fitness following the injuries sustained in Aragon, Troy Corser is fired up and ready to go at a circuit where he looked strong last year.

?The summer break has really helped me get my strength back to where it was before the injury,? says Corser. ?I managed to ride in Silverstone and felt pretty comfortable on the bike but I wasn?t quite where I needed to be. Now I feel good and I am ready to go. The N?rburgring is an amazing circuit and has a great history, and I always enjoy racing there. It offers a lot of overtaking opportunities and is quite undulating, which generally offers some thrilling and spectacular action. Last year I was well on my way to our best result of the year. Having been fastest in all practice and qualifying sessions I fell during the Superpole shoot-out and ended up back in the fourth row. And then I got tangled up in a crash in the first race. But it is a track that I like, so I hope we can now go and get a result there.?

After running close to the front in Silverstone, fellow factory rider Leon Haslam will be hoping for more of the same as he looks to do the business for BMW Motorrad at its home circuit.

?I am looking forward to the N?rburgring. After a long break you are always quite keen to get back on the bike,? says Haslam. ?The track has a lot of changes of direction. It is quite fast in places and has plenty of heavy braking, especially at Turn 1. It?s always been a good circuit for me ? last year I was on the podium there ? and obviously this is the home race for BMW so of course we?ll be trying to come back strong and be on the podium where we need to be. The last race weekend we just missed out on the podium, so it would be nice to make a return to the rostrum in Germany.?

The final say must go to BMW Motorrad Motorsport Director Bernhard Gobmeier, who has experienced the highs and lows of life in the WSBK paddock this year. But with four rounds and eight races remaining, all is left to play for and optimism is high among the team.

?After the long break without races we are happy that the competition starts again ? even more so because it?s our home round,? enthuses Gobmeier. ?The races at the N?rburgring are obviously special for us as a German manufacturer. On top of that is the fact that this is a fantastic track in terms of its history and its unique layout.

?Last year we had a very promising start to the race weekend there. Troy was doing top times in all practice and qualifying sessions. Unfortunately he then had bad luck in Superpole and fell, otherwise it surely would have been a very successful weekend. But these positive preconditions leave us optimistic that the circuit suits both us and our BMW S 1000 RR. On top of that we made very good progress at the last race weekend at Silverstone, where we just missed out the podium. We are confident to continue this upward trend at our home race.?

 

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Joan And Tom Ready To Breathe Mountain Air

The hilltop circuit of The N?rburgring hosts the tenth round of WSBK this season with both Joan Lascorz and Tom Sykes ready and willing to meet the latest points scoring opportunity at full pace.
Joan And Tom Ready To Breathe Mountain Air
Germany?s most evocative and famous circuit, located in the Eifel Mountains in the north west of the country, was the venue chosen to showcase the first public appearance of the latest Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10R last year, before its competitive debut came along at the start of this season in Australia.

Both Lascorz and Sykes have had some positive results this year and each has proved to be competitive when set-up and tyre choices are in synch. Lascorz has scored two top fives in his rookie WSBK season and Sykes won the Superpole contest at Misano, then only just missed out on a podium finish by one place at the same venue.

Currently Lascorz is an upwardly mobile 11th in the championship standings while Tom is only 15 points from a top ten spot, in 14th place.

Third official Kawasaki rider Chris Vermeulen is still working on recovering full strength in his injured left elbow and will miss the German race. The 11th round of the championship takes place at Imola on 25 September, giving Chris more time to get back to fighting fitness.

Sykes is returning to action from injury, after a big fall in practice at Silverstone saw him badly beaten and suffering a chipped bone in his right ankle. He rates himself ready to race at the 5.137km long circuit in Germany, having had a month off from race action while working to get back to full fitness.

Joan took part in a British Superbike Championship round at former WSBK venue Brands Hatch, shortly after the Silverstone weekend, to keep himself race fit and get more valuable track time during his debut WSBK season. Without the pressure of trying to score championship points he learned more lessons he hopes to put into action at N?rburgring this weekend.

Kawasaki Pedercini Team riders Mark Aitchison and Roberto Rolfo will once more be out in race action this weekend as they look for season-best results again on their ever-improving Ninja ZX-10R machines.

Joan Lascorz: ?It was interesting to race at Brands Hatch in the BSB series recently but finding the right bike set-up was a little more difficult compared to some other circuits. It was not so easy to control on the gas but steering and going in the corners was very good. It was just a very intense circuit and I think it was good preparation for the N?rburgring race, which we come to this weekend. It gave me the chance to practice more on the bike and feel good for the German race. We will see how things go in Germany as this will be my first time there on a Superbike, but I think if we can have a good period of practice we can make good results.?

Tom Sykes: ?My ankle is getting stronger all the time, so I will be ready for Germany. The N?rburgring is definitely one of my favourite circuits - one of two or three I particularly like on the current calendar. It is quite unique in some ways. It goes up and down a lot, it is quite flowing and I like those sections where the corners roll into each other. When you get the 'Schumacher S' right-hander nailed it is very rewarding as a rider. Also, in the fifth gear right kink you can make up quite a bit of time. That part takes quite a bit of courage in some ways and the circuit in general lends itself to my style of riding a bit more than some. I hope I can pick up where we left off before my injury at Silverstone.?

 

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Yamaha World Superbike Riders Get off to a Flying Start at the Nurburgring

Yamaha World Superbike riders, Marco Melandri and Eugene Laverty didn?t delay in getting straight down to business today at the Nurburgring and shaking off the dust after the long five week summer break from racing. Melandri encountered the track for the first time in his career while team-mate Laverty was familiar with ?the Ring? but enjoyed experiencing the demanding track on his YZF R1 Superbike machine.

Melandri spent the morning?s free practice session getting acquainted with the historic German circuit and getting back into the swing of things. The wet weather did not damper his spirits despite losing some valuable time in the initial stages of the Free practice session. A gradually drying track provided more ideal conditions and the Italian was able to make constant progress and proceed to complete the afternoon?s first qualifying session in third place. Laverty was also on impressive form throughout the day. After completing just two laps on a set of wet tyres in the morning?s free practice session, the Northern Irish rider swapped over to a set of slicks for the rapidly drying track. Due to a slight lack of grip, Laverty made some minor modifications to his chassis set up prior to the afternoon?s qualifying session where he put in a series of consistent lap times to finish up in fifth place.

Marco Melandri
Yamaha World Superbike Team , 3rd - 1'55.819
"It was a good first day today. I was a bit concerned this morning as it?s a difficult and technical track and time to learn the lines is valuable. I lost some time during the free practice session due to the wet conditions. As it was drying off, I improved and gained more confidence. The team and I worked hard and made progress and this afternoon?s qualifying session went much better. There are a few areas of the track where I am not totally confident but hopefully tomorrow will be another dry day and we can work towards improving further ahead of Sunday?s race."

Eugene Laverty
Yamaha World Superbike Team - 5th -1'56.197
"Today was a good first day to the weekend. I wasn?t worried about the position in the morning?s free practice, I was just getting a feel of the bike. I expected some areas to be very tough but in the end I found them less difficult on the Superbike than on the Supersport machine. The Yamahas are up there and can be strong on Sunday. A top five finish on a Friday is a very positive result. I am aiming for a front row tomorrow and a race win on Sunday."

Andrea Dosoli - Yamaha World Superbike Team Manager
"The weekend got off to a good start today for both riders. Marco learned the track really fast even if he did lose some time this morning due to the wet track conditions. He made progress and improved his lines this in the afternoon?s session. He is struggling a little with the first and fourth sectors and still has to discover some of the tricks of "the Ring". Eugene did very well also. He struggled with grip in the morning?s free practice but changed tyre compound and resolved the issue by the first qualifying session. He also experienced some difficulty in the first sector of the track. Overall both riders did very well today but need to be more consistent to be as competitive as their competitors, Checa and Biaggi."

2011 World Superbike Germany
Nurburgring 02/09/2011
1 Max Biaggi Aprilia ITA 1'55.524
2 Carlos Checa Ducati ESP 1'55.673
3 Marco Melandri Yamaha ITA 1'55.819
4 Michel Fabrizio Suzuki ITA 1'56.085
5 Eugene Laverty Yamaha GBR 1'56.197
6 Sylvain Guintoli Ducati FRA 1'56.319
7 Jonathan Rea Honda GBR 1'56.325
8 Maxime Berger Ducati FRA 1'56.338
9 Tom Sykes Kawasaki GBR 1'56.353
10 Leon Haslam BMW GBR 1'56.354
11 Joan Lascorz Kawasaki ESP 1'56.444
12 Jakub Smrz Ducati CZE 1'56.470

 

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Rea content with Nurburgring return

Castrol Honda rider Jonathan Rea has declared himself happy with his return to the World Superbike championship after today?s opening practice and qualifying sessions for Sunday?s tenth round races at the Nurburgring in Germany.

With the morning free practice starting in wet conditions, Rea ended the session on a fully dry track in seventh place and held the same position after this afternoon?s qualifying session, which was headed by Max Biaggi.

After a two-day test at Assen in the Netherlands last week, Rea suffered no ill effects from the wrist injury that has kept him out of action for almost three months, but the 24-year-old from Northern Ireland says he needs a little more time to find a good rhythm on his Castrol Honda CBR1000RR.

His team-mate for this weekend, Makoto Tamada, rode a Pirelli-shod Honda Fireblade for the first time today and the Japanese rider finished the day in 20th position, but he an d his crew are confident of an improvement in his lap times tomorrow.

Jonathan Rea ? P7

Today was OK but we ran into some problems with the weather this morning when no-one was quite up to speed, which made it difficult to define where we were. This afternoon was fully dry and we were able to get down to some respectable lap times. I?ve been using some new softer rubber from Pirelli for the first time, although I think it?s been available for the other riders at a couple of races already. It was much better straight away but we still need to see what the tyre life is like at these temperatures. I was disappointed to make a few mistakes during the last stint, which prevented me from improving the lap time further, but I?m not quite back into a rhythm yet. I am pretty confident that we can improve more tomorrow with some changes to the engine braking. My wrist feels good, though and I?m looking forward to anothe r full day on it tomorrow.

Makoto Tamada ? P20

Well the position is not so good and the lap time can definitely improve, but today was my first time on the bike here so there is very much to learn. The team has helped me to look for a good setting on the CBR today, but the wet start this morning did not help us very much. I hope tomorrow the weather will be dry so I can complete as many laps as possible and find the opportunity to make some good changes to the bike. I think I can improve my riding, too, so if we can do both these things I will be happy!

2011 World Superbike championship, round ten ? Nurburgring, Germany
First qualifying results:

1 Max Biaggi (ITA) Aprilia 1m55.524s
2 Carlos Checa (ESP) Ducati 1m55.673s
3 Marco Melandri (ITA) Yamaha 1m55.819s
4 Michel Fabrizio (ITA) Suzuki 1m56.085s
7 Jonathan Rea (GBR) Castrol Honda 1m56.325s
20 Makoto Tamada (JPN) Ca strol Honda 1m58.016

 

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Rea heads row three on Nurburgring grid

Jonathan Rea will start tomorrow?s two tenth round World Superbike championship races from the head of the third row after setting the ninth fastest time in this afternoon?s Superpole at Nurburgring in Germany.

The 24-year-old from Northern Ireland is racing his Castrol Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade for the first time in three months this weekend after injuring his wrist at Misano in Italy in June. However, Rea suffered no ill-effects from the injury as series leader Carlos Checa took pole position today.

Rea?s Castrol Honda team-mate for the Nurburgring weekend, Makoto Tamada, was unable to set a time to put him into the 16-rider Superpole shootout. The 34-year-old Japanese rider will start tomorrow?s two 20-lap races at the 5.137km circuit from 20th place on the grid.

Jonathan Rea ? P9

To be honest, it?s about where I thought I might be ? inside the top t en ? but I had hoped for a little better. It would have been nice to be on the second row tomorrow, but it?s not the case and we just missed out on Superpole 3 by a small margin. We had a little bit of trouble getting the tyre to work well in the higher temperature today so we?ve got a bit of work to do tonight. Tomorrow the conditions are said to be a lot different, cooler with maybe even some rain, but it doesn?t satisfy us that we haven?t got over the temperature issues today. Come what may tomorrow, my aim is to finish strong in both races. I?ve been a long time off the bike now, but I?m slowly getting back into a rhythm. Hopefully we?ll find the right settings to get two solid results, whatever the weather?s doing.

Makoto Tamada ? P20

It has been quite tough riding again in such a competitive championship after some time away. I had a small crash this afternoon but I was trying very hard to improve my lap time. The team has worked very hard these two days to give me a good feeling on the bike, but still it is very tough to improve. Of course, I will work with the team tonight to see if there is anywhere we can improve the setting and I will try my best in both the races tomorrow.

Ronald ten Kate ? team manager

As much as we were all hoping to see Jonathan in the top eight, he just missed out on Superpole 3 and finished ninth. However, that doesn?t leave us completely dissatisfied, because it?s only one place and less than a tenth behind the target. Jonathan doesn?t quite have the rhythm after such a long time off the bike, but lap by lap things are improving. If we can give him a slightly better bike tomorrow I think he could have two solid finishes. For Tamada-San it was always going to be difficult getting on the bike for the first time during a race weekend. Also, he&r squo;s coming from riding the Suzuka 8 Hour machine, which is quite different. We?ve been testing a few parts here with him and the feeling is getting better. We have a direction to follow now, but in the hot and intense competition of World Superbikes, it?s not easy to come straight in and mix it up at the front.

2011 World Superbike championship, round ten ? Nurburgring, Germany
Final qualifying results:
1 Carlos Checa (ESP) Ducati 1m54.144s
2 Eugene Laverty (IRL) Yamaha 1m54.512s
3 Max Biaggi (ITA) Aprilia 1m54.743s
4 Marco Melandri (ITA) Yamaha 1m54.818s
9 Jonathan Rea (GBR) Castrol Honda 1m55.321s
20 Makoto Tamada (JPN) Castrol Honda 1m57.950s

 

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Sykes Goes Top Six In Superpole

Tom Sykes overcame the effects of his recent ankle injury to post a top six finish in Superpole while his fellow official Kawasaki rider Joan Lascorz battled hard to go 16th in the pre-race rankings
Sykes Goes Top Six In Superpole
Despite pain and stiffness in his right ankle Sykes made a strong push from the first sessions in Germany, only outside the top ten in one session, when trying out various tyre options. Tom took his Ninja ZX-10R to a top five place before Superpole and then progressed in confident fashion through each of the three stages of Superpole, which allocates the top 16 grid positions.

Tom was finally sixth after he had to use his qualifying tyre allocation earlier than he wanted to, but he still earned a valuable second row starting spot for Sunday?s two 20-lap races.

Lascorz had some challenging times as he tried to get on terms with the set-up of his machine in his first Superbike visit to this tricky circuit but he still qualified for Superpole one and he is confident that he can improve on his qualifying performances in real race situations.

Pedercini Team rider Mark Aitchison was once more on strong and impressive form in his rookie season, getting into Superpole and then qualifying 11th from 20 riders. Roberto Rolfo went 19th in qualifying.

After a warm and dry period of qualifying today, raceday may well turn out to be wet at some point. That will mean a quick reassessment for all the Kawasaki runners who met a damp track surface for a short period on the first day of qualifying.

Tom Sykes: ?We progressed through Superpole in a good fashion and the only struggle we had was when we tried out different tyres in the second free practice. When we went back to our race setting it worked out well and we did a 1?55.6 on race tyres. We had our hand forced to use a qualifier in the first session but I am happy to come back from that big crash in Silverstone and be in the middle of the second row. I am confident we can stay there or thereabouts in the race but I have heard there is a chance of some English weather rolling in tomorrow.?

Joan Lascorz: ?We could not find the best set-up in practice but we got into Superpole, which was important. We could not make the best use of our tyres in Superpole one and could not improve to get into the next session. It will not be easy starting from the fourth row but I am sure we can improve our position in each race. We all hope it does not rain because some people seem to think it will tomorrow.?

 

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Yamaha WSB Team Shine at The Ring to Secure Front Row Starts on Tomorrow?s Grid

Yamaha World Superbike riders, Eugene Laverty and Marco Melandri delivered impressive performances today to secure two front row starts ahead of tomorrow?s races on the demanding German circuit at the Nurburgring. The Yamaha riders were on top form, being the strongest team performers throughout the qualifying day, confirming the current leading status for Yamaha on the WSB Team standing.

Laverty and Melandri completed the afternoon?s knockout Superpole sessions in second and fourth place respectively. Both Yamaha riders sailed through the first Superpole, comfortably qualifying for the second heat of the day with Laverty in second place and his team-mate in fifth having recorded an impressive high speed of 282.7 km/h. The Yamaha riders were on equally impressive form in the second heat with Laverty shooting straight into the lead while his Italian team-mate was just behind in second place before Checa stole the top position by just 0.016. Using the last set of qualifiers Laverty and Melandri proceeded to complete the third and final session in second and fourth place, guaranteeing a front row start for tomorrow?s races. As the typically wet German weather is forecast to make a come-back tomorrow, the Yamaha WSB riders are confident they can make the most of the front row advantage to get ahead of their competitors in what could prove to be a challenging race.

Splendid sunshine over the Eifel mountains this morning provided a picturesque setting for the Yamaha riders to work through various potential race set-ups on their R1 machines. Eugene Laverty was quick off the mark in this morning?s second qualifying session, storming straight to the top of the time sheets, a position he maintained until the very end of the session before being bumped to second by Carlos Checa on the last lap. Team-mate Melandri concentrated on further improving from yesterday?s progress in search of a suitable race set up and qualified for the Superpole heats in 6th place.

Eugene Laverty
Yamaha World Superbike Team, 2nd - 1'54.512
"I?m very satisfied with today?s result. I usually spend the few sessions working on chassis set ups but this weekend I had a good feeling from the beginning and was up there in the time sheets since yesterday, so that?s a great start for me and hopefully I can keep it up tomorrow. Carlos was that bit stronger today and he?ll be the guy to catch in tomorrow?s races. It won?t be easy but I?ll give it my best shot. It?s important to be starting on the front row especially considering we don?t know what to expect with the weather. As we can see, also with Marco?s front row position, the Yamaha is working well once again on this track so I?m confident we can do two good races tomorrow. I?m aiming for two podiums finishes!"

Marco Melandri
Yamaha World Superbike Team, 4th - 1'54.818
"It wasn?t an easy qualifying day but I?m really pleased as I reached my highest objective which was to be on the front row for tomorrow?s races. I really hope the weather will be good and it won?t rain. That will make a huge difference as we spent today working on a suitable race set up. We haven?t decided what tyres to use so we need to work on that in the morning. Rain will make things very difficult, the few laps we did on wets yesterday was not easy. It?s an enjoyable track but quite difficult, especially the first corner which is particularly demanding."

Andrea Dosoli - Yamaha World Superbike Team Manager
"Today was a very positive second qualifying day. To have both riders starting from the front row tomorrow is very important. Marco, Eugene and their teams worked hard throughout the day. In Eugene?s case, they worked on improving the bike handling in order to be able to make up time he was losing in certain areas of the track. Marco gained more confidence in the afternoon?s free practice. He has made progress since yesterday and we are confident ahead of tomorrow?s races.If the weather forecast is true and it rains tomorrow it will definitely change everything so it?s important that the riders can take advantage of being on the front row."

2011 World Superbike Germany
Nurburgring 03/09/2011
1 Carlos Checa Ducati ESP 1'55.144
2 Eugene Laverty Yamaha GBR 1'54.512
3 Max Biaggi Aprilia ITA 1'54.743
4 Marco Melandri Yamaha ITA 1'54.818
5 Noriyuki Haga Aprilia JPN 1'55.113
6 Tom Sykes Kawasaki GBR 1'55.223
7 Leon Haslam BMW GBR 1'55.237
8 Sylvain Guintoli Ducati FRA 1'55.249
9 Jonathan Rea Honda GBR 1'55.321
10 Jakub Smrz Ducati CZE 1'55.598
11 Mark Aitchison Kawasaki AUS 1'55.625
12 Michel Fabrizio Suzuki ITA 1'56.177
13 Leon Camier Aprilia GBR 1'55.633
14 Maxime Berger Ducati FRA 1'55.811
15 Ayrton Badovini BMW ITA 1'56.101


Circuit Length:
4556

Weather:
Sunny

Fastest Lap Ever:
1'54.595
(Max Biaggi, 9/5/2010)

Last Years Winner:
Noriyuki Haga

Qualifying 1 & Qualifying 2
I II
1 Carlos Checa Ducati ESP 1'55.673 1'55.030
2 Eugene Laverty Yamaha GBR 1'56.197 1'55.428
3 Noriyuki Haga Aprilia JPN 1'56.517 1'55.479
4 Max Biaggi Aprilia ITA 1'55.524 1'56.103
5 Tom Sykes Kawasaki GBR 1'56.353 1'55.781
6 Marco Melandri Yamaha ITA 1'55.819 1'56.096
7 Sylvain Guintoli Ducati FRA 1'56.319 1'55.827
8 Jonathan Rea Honda GBR 1'56.325 1'55.842
9 Leon Camier Aprilia GBR 1'56.571 1'55.856
10 Leon Haslam BMW GBR 1'56.354 1'55.887
11 Michel Fabrizio Suzuki ITA 1'56.085 1'55.927
12 Jakub Smrz Ducati CZE 1'56.470 1'55.933
13 Joan Lascorz Kawasaki ESP 1'56.444 1'55.994
14 Mark Aitchison Kawasaki AUS 1'56.820 1'56.273
15 Maxime Berger Ducati FRA 1'56.338 1'56.355
Impressive Second Qualifying for Yamaha ParkinGO Team

Yamaha ParkinGO riders Chaz Davies and Luca Scassa were on top form today in the glorious sunshine at the Nurburgring to complete the second qualifying session in second and seventh places respectively.

Both Yamaha WSS riders took up where they left off yesterday and continued to make constant progress, working through various settings on their powerful R6 machines, in search of the perfect set up ahead of tomorrow?s race day at the German circuit. Chaz Davies made the most of the day to get more familiar with the track while team-mate Luca Scassa made some minor adjustments to the electronics of his machine in search of a little extra speed.

Welshman, Chaz Davies worked on his race pace in the second qualifying session this afternoon. Confident with the consistent lap times, he proceeded to produce a faster lap time towards at the final stages of the session to secure second position on the front row of tomorrow?s grid. Scassa was on equally impressive form this afternoon. Despite having swapped to a softer tyre in the dying minutes, the Italian was unable to set a flying lap due to getting caught up in traffic and was forced to settle for seventh place.

Chaz Davies
Yamaha ParkinGO Team, 2nd - 1'59.334
"I?m happy with today?s result. The bike is working very well and we haven?t had to change much, which is great. It seems to be going smoothly, similar to at Monza. I did a few consistent laps and felt good overall so I will leave the bike untouched and see again tomorrow. I?m a little concerned about the weather. I lost a lot of time on the only wet session yesterday, so I hope the rain holds off. I?m confident in general and hope to be back on a winner again in tomorrow?s race."

Luca Scassa
Yamaha parkinGO Team, 7th - 1'59.929
"It didn?t go too bad today but I expected to do a bit better. I put in a soft tyre towards the end of the session in order to produce a flying lap but I caught up in traffic and was unable to improve my times. That was disappointing as I had hoped to be on the front row. I have a good feeling with the bike, even on today?s hot track temperatures, which has been an issue on some tracks this season. The weather is due to change for tomorrow but I?m not too concerned, I?m confident I can do well anyway."

2011 World Supersport Germany
Nurburgring 03/09/2011


Circuit Length:
4556

Weather:
Sunny

Fastest Lap Ever:
1'57.866
(Cal Crutchlow, 9/6/2009)

Qualifying 1 & Qualifying 2
I II
1 Fabien Foret Honda FRA 2'01.096 1'59.258
2 Chaz Davies Yamaha GBR 2'00.305 1'59.334
3 Gino Rea Honda GBR 2'01.104 1'59.738
4 Sam Lowes Honda GBR 1'59.771 2'00.726
5 James Ellison Honda GBR 2'01.119 1'59.785
6 Massimo Roccoli Kawasaki ITA 2'01.197 1'59.905
7 Luca Scassa Yamaha ITA 2'01.236 1'59.929
8 David Salom Kawasaki ESP 2'00.522 2'00.250
9 Broc Parkes Kawasaki AUS 2'01.011 2'00.339
10 Florian Marino Honda FRA 2'00.990 2'00.407
11 Miguel Praia Honda POR 2'02.480 2'00.802
12 Robbin Harms Honda DNK 2'00.974 2'00.844
13 Marc Moser Yamaha GER 2'02.311 2'00.889
14 Ronan Quarmby Triumph RSA 2'02.021 2'00.967
15 Alexander Lundh Honda SWE 2'02.551 2'01.105
16 Roberto Tamburini Yamaha ITA 2'03.955 2'01.335
29 Yves Polzer Yamaha AUT 2'07.250 2'04.678
31 Oleg Pozdneev Yamaha RUS 2'07.757 2'07.468
32 Eduard Blokhin Yamaha RUS 2'09.631 2'08.346

 

[KUCIAR666]

Rewards and tough luck for brave Haslam at the ?Ring

2011 Superbike World Championship, round 10 race report, Nurburgring, Germany

In two completely contrasting races at the Nurburgring today, BMW Motorrad Motorsport?s Leon Haslam battled back from off-track excursions in each race to fight his way to achieve two respectable results on his S 1000 RR, finishing fifth and ninth respectively at the challenging German circuit.

In sunny conditions for race one, Haslam made a good start to the 20-lap race, slotting into seventh place after the first corner and then fighting his way up to fifth place in the early stages. As he set off after the top four in front of him, Haslam was visibly pushing hard but unfortunately ran off the track on lap six, eventually re-joining the race but sadly down in 14th place.

However, the hard-charging Brit was determined to make amends for his mistake, and started to claw his way back through the pack, moving up to 12th by half-race distance, and then skilfully passing Tom Sykes, Jonathan Rea, Joan Lascorz, Michel Fabrizio and Leon Camier within the space of a couple of laps to move up to sixth place. With Sylvain Guintoli several seconds in front of him, it took Haslam the remainder of the race to ?reel-in? his former team-mate, eventually passing him on the very last lap to secure fifth place on his S 1000 RR, a remarkable achievement considering his earlier misfortune.

BMW Motorrad Italia?s Ayrton Badovini scored yet another strong finish on his RR in ninth place, while James Toseland finished in 13th on his 200th WSBK race, two places in front of BMW Motorrad Motorsport?s Troy Corser, who finished his 370th WSBK race in the points in 15th place.

Race two couldn?t have been more different. The start was delayed by 10 minutes due to heavy rain in the Eifel Mountains, which saturated the circuit. Starting from sixth on the grid (due to the omission of the injured Max Biaggi from the starting line-up) a brave Leon Haslam made a reasonable start in the treacherous conditions, feeling his way around the circuit to determine grip levels. From seventh position, Haslam passed Marco Melandri and Eugene Laverty on lap 2, but just pushed too hard on lap 3 and crashed while closing down Sylvain Guintoli.

Haslam remounted, albeit it in last place, while the rain continued incessantly. James Toseland then crashed out of contention on lap 9, while his BMW Motorrad Italia team-mate Ayrton Badovini again made his way into the top ten, despite the atrocious conditions. The second half of the race saw Ayrton move up to ninth, as he saw Australian Mark Aitchison crash in front of him, with Leon moving up into 13th, behind team-mate Corser.

Moving past Corser into 12th place, the ?never-say-die? Derbyshireman gained another place when Leon Camier crashed out on lap 12. Then it was leader Noriyuki Haga who was the next victim, crashing his Aprilia out of the lead after having had a lead of over eight seconds. Then it was the turn of Tom Sykes to enjoy a spell out in front.

At this point, with riders gesticulating at the organisers to stop proceedings for safety reasons, as soon as the race reached two-thirds distance, the red flags came out and Sykes was indeed declared the winner, with Guintoli and Eugene Laverty completing the podium. Top BMW rider was Ayrton Badovini, who finished in seventh, while Haslam was awarded ninth, after having bravely remounted and battled through the adverse conditions. Troy Corser finished race two in 12th place, with only 13 riders making it through to the finish. After today?s results, Haslam remains fifth in the championship standings, Badovini ninth and Corser rounds out the top 15.

Leon Haslam: ?In race one I got a good start and managed to pass two guys. Then I tried to bridge the gap to Eugene Laverty but just pushed a little bit too hard. I got a false neutral and ran off the track. To be fair, I thought the race was over. But I got my head down and managed to get back to fifth. I am happy to have managed that, but disappointed that I ran off. But the battling was fun for sure.


?I felt real good to be honest in race two. The crash was my fault as I clipped a white line which in these conditions is not good and I went down. But I managed to get back going and climb all the way up to seventh, but the race was stopped before I crossed the line and the results were taken from the lap before. The conditions out there were really bad and it probably should have been stopped earlier. I think I could have got on the podium today because my times at the end were really good. But it was the right decision to stop the race for sure.?

Troy Corser: ?Today has been difficult for sure. The low starting position made life very difficult because the first corner tends to spread the field out and you just cannot make the time back. Race two was just so wet and I could hardly see what was going on. The rain was causing me to aquaplane everywhere and I was having some big slides. The rain kept coming and going, making life very difficult, and I just wanted to finish the race. I saw James Toseland crash in front of me and then I decided to just keep it upright and finish the best I could. It was the right decision to stop the race because it was becoming very hard to ride safely out there but I am just happy to bring it home and score some points.?

Head of BMW Motorrad Motorsport Bernhard Gobmeier: ?The first race was very exciting. Initially, we had Leon?s run-off that cost him a few seconds. And in the end he missed the podium exactly by this margin. On top of that comes the fact that in the closing stages he was doing the fastest lap times. That showed that we are heading in a very good direction and are able to race at the front. In the second race we proved that we are very strong also in the wet. In these conditions we did top lap times, but the poor visibility and the extremely difficult conditions lead to the crash and prevented Leon getting better results. Maybe it would have been a different story if the race would have been stopped earlier and restarted. To sum it up: not amazing results, but a positive weekend because we proved that we are able to compete at the front.?

Race one
1. Carlos Checa (ESP ? Ducati), 2. Marco Melandri (ITA ? Yamaha), 3. Noriyuki Haga (JPN ? Aprilia), 5. Leon Haslam (GBR - BMW Motorrad Motorsport), 9. Ayrton Badovini (ITA - BMW Motorrad Italia), 13. James Toseland (GBR - BMW Motorrad Italia), 15. Troy Corser (AUS - BMW Motorrad Motorsport)

Race two
1. Tom Sykes (GBR ? Kawasaki), 2. Sylvain Guintoli (FRA ? Ducati), 3 Jakub Smrz (CZE ? Ducati), 7. Ayrton Badovini (ITA - BMW Motorrad Italia), 9. Leon Haslam (GBR - BMW Motorrad Motorsport), 12. Troy Corser (AUS - BMW Motorrad Motorsport), DNF - James Toseland (GBR - BMW Motorrad Italia)

Points
1.Checa ? 376, 2.Melandri ? 302, 3.Biaggi ? 281, 5.Haslam ? 176, 9.Badovini ? 134, 15.Corser ? 67, 22.Toseland ? 13

 

[KUCIAR666]

Solid return for Rea at Nurburgring

Jonathan Rea took a tenth and a fourth place finish in today?s two tenth-round World Superbike championship races at Nurburgring in Germany, marking his comeback to racing after three months off through injury.

The dry first race was won by series leader, Carlos Checa, with Tom Sykes claiming his maiden World Superbike victory in race two which was declared wet just minutes before the start.

Rea started race one from ninth place on the grid and fought his way up to sixth before a lack of drive out of corners dropped him to tenth at the flag. His Castrol Honda team-mate for the German round, Makoto Tamada, suffered from handling issues to finish in 17th position.

As torrential rain fell on the 5.137km Nurburgring circuit, Rea began race two from the second row following the withdrawal of Max Biaggi. A good start put the 24-year-old up into second place but clutch issues did not allow him to hold a line into Nurburgring?s tight first corner and he dropped to fourth.

Rea crashed heavily into turn 1 on lap 12 but managed to remount in fifth position before race leader, Noriyuki Haga, crashed out with the race ultimately being red flagged after two thirds distance.

Tamada was one of five riders to crash out of race two ? the Japanese rider having been on course to take championship points in 14th place before high-siding out of contention at turn 11.

Jonathan Rea ? 10th and 4th
I was really excited to get back on the bike on Friday after three months off but I struggled to get a rhythm in race one and I had some front grip problems and felt a lack of acceleration out of corners. In race two it rained right on the start, which was then delayed. I crashed out of fourth going into turn one, which was really unfortunate, but luckily I was able to pick the bike up and rejoin in fifth place. When Nori Haga crashed out of the lead I got back to fourth so I was happy with the result. I?m especially happy for the team and, although it?s not a podium or a win, it?s something for the guys who haven?t had a lot to cheer about recently. It?s a bit of motivation to take to the next race, at least!

Makoto Tamada ? 17th and DNF
It has been quite a difficult weekend to learn the bike and we have had some problems with chatter since Friday. Unfortunately, we still had some problems in the first race today, which stopped me from getting a better result. In race two the conditions were very bad and sometimes it was very hard to see because the rain was so heavy. I was riding very carefully and trying very hard not to crash but near the end, the rear just let go and then gripped again ? I was not even on the gas ? so I?m very sorry for the team. It is a pity because I have enjoyed riding here with the team very much.

Ronald ten Kate ? team manager
Of course this was a special weekend for us with Jonathan coming back to ride again. He rode pretty well, but we could all have used some more laps to find some rhythm for him and to resolve the last few set-up issues. He had a solid finish in the first race and it looked as though race two was going to be a really nice topping on a good comeback weekend. It clearly wasn?t meant to be, but he handled the situation really well by picking up the bike, which shows his level of determination. It?s definitely something we can build on for Imola. We were sorry we couldn?t do a test with Makoto Tamada before the weekend here because it was all kind of a last-minute call. In the changing conditions we?ve had over the weekend it was quite difficult for him to find his way round here on a new bike. We?ve really enjoyed working with him though. Now the team will head to Misano for a two-day test where we?ll bring quite a few new parts for the machine to continue preparing for 2012.
Pole position : 1m54.144s (162,016Km/h) Carlos Checa, Ducati
Fastest lap : Race 1 - Lap 4- 1m55.971s (159.464Km/h) Carlos Checa, Ducati
Circuit record lap : 1m55.392s (160.264Km/h) Jonathan Rea, Honda, 2010
Circuit Best Lap : 1m54.144s (162,016Km/h) Carlos Checa, Ducati, 2011
Event results - Round 10 - Race 1
1 Carlos Checa 38m59.779s SPA DUCATI Althea Racing
2 Marco Melandri +1.855s ITA YAMAHA Yamaha World Superbike Team
3 Noriyuki Haga +2.322s JPN APRILIA PATA Racing Team Aprilia
4 Eugene Laverty +7.789s IR YAMAHA Yamaha World Superbike Team
5 Leon Haslam +9.727s GBR BMW BMW Motorrad Motosport
6 Sylvain Guintoli +10.113s FRA DUCATI Team Effenbert - Liberty Racing
7 Joan Lascorz +17.226s ESP KAWASAKI Kawasaki Racing Team
8 Leon Camier +17.228s GBR APRILIA Aprilia Alitalia Racing Team
9 Ayrton Badovini +18.166s ITA BMW BMW Motorrad Italia SBK Team
10 Jonathan Rea +19.457s GBR HONDA Castrol Honda SBK Team
11 Tom Sykes +22.136s GBR KAWASAKI Kawasaki Racing Team
12 Mark Aitchison +25.346s AUS KAWASAKI Team Pedercini
13 James Toseland +31.617s GBR BMW BMW Motorrad Italia SBK Team
14 Roberto Rolfo +31.796s ITA KAWASAKI Team Pedercini
15 Troy Corser +33.320s AUS BMW BMW Motorrad Motosport
16 Michel Fabrizio +38.149s ITA SUZUKI Team Suzuki Alstare
17 Makoto Tamada +1m16.143s JPN HONDA Castrol Honda SBK Team
18 Jakub Smrz DNF - 8 Laps CZE DUCATI Team Effenbert - Liberty Racing
19 Maxime Berger DNF - 18 Laps ITA DUCATI Supersonic Racing Team
20 Max Biaggi DNF - DNS ITA APRILIA Aprilia Alitalia Racing Team
Event results - Round 10 - Race 2
1 Tom Sykes 29m49.337s GBR KAWASAKI Kawasaki Racing Team
2 Sylvain Guintoli +4.063s FRA DUCATI Team Effenbert - Liberty Racing
3 Jakub Smrz +22.759s CZE DUCATI Team Effenbert - Liberty Racing
4 Jonathan Rea +28.497s GBR HONDA Castrol Honda SBK Team
5 Eugene Laverty +38.374s IR YAMAHA Yamaha World Superbike Team
6 Marco Melandri +45.326s ITA YAMAHA Yamaha World Superbike Team
7 Ayrton Badovini +47.030s ITA BMW BMW Motorrad Italia SBK Team
8 Carlos Checa +50.032s SPA DUCATI Althea Racing
9 Leon Haslam +53.586s GBR BMW BMW Motorrad Motosport
10 Maxime Berger +55.261s ITA DUCATI Supersonic Racing Team
11 Joan Lascorz +1m12.805s ESP KAWASAKI Kawasaki Racing Team
12 Troy Corser +1m15.468s AUS BMW BMW Motorrad Motosport
13 Roberto Rolfo +1m40.323s ITA KAWASAKI Team Pedercini
14 Noriyuki Haga DNF - 1 Lap JPN APRILIA PATA Racing Team Aprilia
15 Makoto Tamada DNF - 1 Lap JPN HONDA Castrol Honda SBK Team
16 Leon Camier DNF - 2 Laps GBR APRILIA Aprilia Alitalia Racing Team
17 Mark Aitchison DNF - 3 Laps AUS KAWASAKI Team Pedercini
18 James Toseland DNF - 5 Laps GBR BMW BMW Motorrad Italia SBK Team
19 Michel Fabrizio DNF - 8 Laps ITA SUZUKI Team Suzuki Alstare
Championship standings
1 Carlos Checa 376 pts SPA DUCATI Althea Racing
2 Marco Melandri 302 pts ITA YAMAHA Yamaha World Superbike Team
3 Max Biaggi 281 pts ITA APRILIA Aprilia Alitalia Racing Team
4 Eugene Laverty 232 pts IR YAMAHA Yamaha World Superbike Team
5 Leon Haslam 176 pts GBR BMW BMW Motorrad Motosport
6 Leon Camier 154 pts GBR APRILIA Aprilia Alitalia Racing Team
7 Michel Fabrizio 141 pts ITA SUZUKI Team Suzuki Alstare
8 Sylvain Guintoli 139 pts FRA DUCATI Team Effenbert - Liberty Racing
9 Ayrton Badovini 134 pts ITA BMW BMW Motorrad Italia SBK Team
10 Noriyuki Haga 115 pts JPN APRILIA PATA Racing Team Aprilia
11 Tom Sykes 114 pts GBR KAWASAKI Kawasaki Racing Team
12 Jonathan Rea 113 pts GBR HONDA Castrol Honda SBK Team
13 Joan Lascorz 111 pts ESP KAWASAKI Kawasaki Racing Team
14 Jakub Smrz 109 pts CZE DUCATI Team Effenbert - Liberty Racing
15 Troy Corser 67 pts AUS BMW BMW Motorrad Motosport
16 Ruben Xaus 44 pts SPA HONDA Castrol Honda SBK Team
17 Maxime Berger 42 pts ITA DUCATI Supersonic Racing Team
18 Roberto Rolfo 39 pts ITA KAWASAKI Team Pedercini
19 Mark Aitchison 24 pts AUS KAWASAKI Team Pedercini
20 John Hopkins 20 pts USA SUZUKI Samsung Crescent Racing
21 Chris Vermeulen 14 pts AUS KAWASAKI Kawasaki Racing Team
22 James Toseland 13 pts GBR BMW BMW Motorrad Italia SBK Team
23 Lorenzo Lanzi 10 pts ITA BMW BMW Motorrad Italia SBK Team
24 Joshua Waters 8 pts AUS SUZUKI Yoshimura Suzuki
25 Matteo Baiocco 4 pts ITA DUCATI Barni Racing Team S.N.C.
26 Jon Kirkham 3 pts GBR SUZUKI Samsung Crescent Racing
27 Barry Veneman 3 pts NED BMW BMW Motorrad Italia SBK Team
28 Alessandro Polita 3 pts ITA DUCATI Barni Racing Team S.N.C.
29 Viktor Kispataki 1 pts HUN HONDA Prop-tech ltd.
30 Fabrizio Lai 1 pts ITA HONDA Castrol Honda SBK Team
31 Bryan Staring 1 pts AUS KAWASAKI Team Pedercini
32 Alex Lowes 1 pts GBR HONDA Castrol Honda SBK Team
33 Makoto Tamada 0 pts JPN HONDA Castrol Honda SBK Team

Rea and Honda together in 2012

Jonathan Rea will ride a Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade in the 2012 World Superbike championship following an announcement from the Castrol Honda team at Nurburgring in Germany today.

The 24-year-old from Northern Ireland chose his comeback weekend after three months out through injury to sign a year-long extension to his long association with Honda that has seen him ride at Supersport and Superbike level in both British and World championships.

Rea has ridden with the Honda Motor Europe-supported team run by the Ten Kate organization in the Netherlands for the past four seasons, the last three of which have been on Honda?s CBR1000RR Fireblade.

The 2012 season will mark the 20th anniversary of the Fireblade?s introduction and Rea and his team are looking forward to competing once more against some of the world?s best riders and manufacturers in the World Superbike championship.

Jonathan Rea

We started talking quite early this season and it was clear to me that everyone was aware that we were struggling with the bike in some areas. After four years with this team, and even more with Honda, it was refreshing and inspiring to see how intent everyone was on addressing the problems. These are difficult economic times everywhere, but Honda and the team have increased their commitment and ticked all the boxes for me, so I?m really, really happy. There?s no championship left to fight for this season, but that won?t stop us trying as hard as ever for race wins. And the fact that we?re not battling for a title means that we can also continue our development work for next year. I?d like to thank Honda for the continued support and the team for everything they do for me. Together, we all have unfinished business in the World Superbike championship.

Ronald ten Kate ? team manager

We are really happy to have Jonathan with us for a fifth year, especially after all his time on Honda machinery. We don?t need to explain how this year did not bring what we all hoped for, but, for both rider and team, there is a very big ambition for 2012. With ongoing and new development on the bike and a new drive within the team, we are totally committed to repaying Jonathan?s unwavering loyalty to us and Honda in the best way possible.

Carlo Fiorani ? Honda Motor Europe

Of course, we are very proud that Jonathan has decided to stay with Honda for the 2012 World Superbike championship. He is one of the fastest riders in the paddock and this decision, which is based on a mutually satisfactory relationship, is very important for us and for the championship. After a lot of bad luck in 2011, we really want to come back strongly next season and this decision will help us to do that.

 

[KUCIAR666]

Sykes Takes First WSBK Race Win On Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10R!

Having qualified sixth at the N?rburgring Tom Sykes secured a brilliant debut win for the latest Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10R and himself in a wet race two, finally red-flagged after 13 soaking laps.
Sykes Takes First WSBK Race Win On Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10R!
This was Kawasaki?s first WSBK race win since 2006, when Chris Walker took full points at Assen. This was also Tom?s first career WSBK race win and his success in Germany puts him 11th overall in the championship, just one point from the top ten.

Tom had a dramatic day all round, running well in the early laps of a dry race one before slipping back to 11th as he lost rear grip. His right ankle was still not feeling 100% back to normal after his big Silverstone crash, but in a wet race two he rode with composure and controlled aggression in ever-changing track conditions, capitalising when previous race leader Noriyuki Haga fell from the lead. Sykes also repelled occasional pressure from second place finisher Sylvain Guintoli, to win by four seconds.

Joan Lascorz had a strong race one on his Ninja ZX-10R, going seventh after starting from the fourth row as he pulled through the pack in impressive fashion. He did not have the same kind of feel in the rain as Tom in race two and finished 11th. He is 13th in the championship, only three points behind Sykes.

Pedercini Team rider Mark Aitchison was 12th in race one then a faller in race two, after running in high positions for much of the time. His team-mate Roberto Rolfo secured points in each race; 13th in race one then 14th in race two.

Tom Sykes: ?To get a first World Superbike win under my belt is fantastic, also with the new Kawasaki. Everybody in the team knows every time I put my leg over the bike it is all or nothing; that is the way I ride, and fortunately today that commitment paid off in race two. I got a gap behind me in the worst conditions but as the track had less water on it for a time, unfortunately our times seemed to tail off and I came under pressure from Sylvain. But as the standing water increased again we found our pace. In race one everything went to plan at the start but both the wrong tyre choice and my physical condition did not help, so when it started raining I had a bit of a grin to myself. We changed the bike quite a lot from the last time in Misano when we got pole position so obviously it was a little bit of a gamble in wet conditions. The guys gave me a great package today.?

Joan Lascorz: ?Race one was not so bad, especially given our starting position. I made good pace to come forward. I chose the soft tyre options in race one and I was going to change the some things on the bike for the second race but it proved to be wet anyway. In race two it was difficult in the wet conditions but I am happy for Tom and Kawasaki as this was the best result for the team.?

 

[KUCIAR666]

Impressive Performance for Yamaha WSB Riders in Contrasting Race Conditions

Yamaha World Superbike riders encountered a challenging and eventful race day at the Nurburgring today as the dramatic second race was performed in treacherous conditions on extremely wet asphalt.

Melandri and Laverty completed the first race of the day, held on a dry track, in second and fourth places respectively. The opening laps of the race saw the two Yamaha WSB riders interchange their third and fourth positions on several occasions. An error on Laverty?s behalf at the "Warsteiner bend" on lap 6 caused him to go wide, allowing Melandri to take possession of third place, before closing in on Haga and climbing to second. Two laps later on the same corner Melandri made a similar mistake, causing him to fall back to fourth place and preventing him from battling for the victory. The Italian put his head down and battled it out with Laverty and then Haga to re- claim second place by the 16th lap. Determined, he fought hard to keep his Japanese competitor at bay before crossing the finish line and claiming a spectacular second place on the podium.

The second race of the day was held in treacherous conditions. A difficult start from front row on the grid saw Melandri fall back to seventh place while team-mate Laverty sat in fourth. As heavy rain drenched the German circuit rendering poor visibility and an extreme lack of grip, six riders; Fabrizio, Toseland, Aitchison, Camier, Tamada and finally race leader Haga, crashed out of contention. The Yamaha World Superbike riders prudently completed a race that seemed like a battle to remain standing. Despite the adverse track, the race was not red flagged until the 14th lap. Eugene Laverty successfully reached the finish line in fifth place with his team-mate close behind in sixth.

Marco Melandri leaves the Nurburgring having jumped up to second place on the championship standings with 302 points, 74 behind Checa in the lead and holding a 21 point advantage over Biaggi, who was unable to race today due to injury. Laverty has maintained his fourth position with a total of 232 points. With this weekend?s impressive results, Yamaha are still second in the Manufacurer?s standings having further extended the gap from third place by 15 points and the Yamaha World Superbike Team have confirmed the lead in the Team standings and hold a 99 point advantage.

Marco Melandri
Yamaha World Superbike Team - 2nd, 6th
"Race 1 wasn?t easy so I?m very happy with my podium. I got off to a good start but I wasn?t so fast for the first few laps. I made a mistake and lost the front while braking and went wide so I lost a lot of time. I then caught Eugene and eventually Noriyuki but Carlos was too far ahead. I have to thank my team, they worked hard again and did a great job all weekend! I tried to keep going and finish without crashing. I had an issue with the electronics on the bike and the display wasn?t working well so I was extra cautious in order to stay up. I feel it was an incorrect judgment of the rider?s safety to complete two thirds of the race in these conditions. I am very disappointed, in my opinion the race should have been stopped at the beginning for safety reasons."

Eugene Laverty
Yamaha World Superbike Team - 4th, 5th
"I was unfortunate in race one because my pace was good all weekend. I didn?t have as good a feeling on the bike as I had yesterday and the low track temperature didn?t? help to improve the grip on the rear tyre. The second race was treacherous and on safety grounds I think it should have been stopped. I got the impression there was oil on the track after Rea came off his bike and re-joined so everyone was crashing out. We did well that all the riders are coming away without major injuries but I?m upset that we had to risk so much."

Andrea Dosoli - Yamaha World Superbike Team Manager
"Marco did really well on this track which he was unfamiliar with before now. He achieved an important podium but it?s a shame that an error on lap 8 prevented him from battling with Carlos for the victory, a target which he could have reached. Eugene was also on top form even if he could not display his full potential in the race. He did not have the same feeling with the bike that he had yesterday. The second race was dramatic. The riders completed 14 laps over the limits of security. From the 11th lap onwards the weather got worse and as a consequence it was even riskier for the riders. I?m relieved that both riders managed the dangerous situation so well without getting injured and gained important points for the championship. For the future we need to find a way to avoid these risks for the rider?s safety. I am satisfied to be leaving Nurburgring in second place in both the riders and manufacturers standings and have further increased our advantage in the team standings."

2011 World Superbike Germany
Nurburgring 04/09/2011 14 Laps
race I
1 Carlos Checa Ducati ESP 38'59.779
2 Marco Melandri Yamaha ITA 0'01.855
3 Noriyuki Haga Aprilia JPN 0'02.322
4 Eugene Laverty Yamaha GBR 0'07.789
5 Leon Haslam BMW GBR 0'09.727
6 Sylvain Guintoli Ducati FRA 0'10.113
7 Joan Lascorz Kawasaki ESP 0'17.226
8 Leon Camier Aprilia GBR 0'17.228
9 Ayrton Badovini BMW ITA 0'18.166
10 Jonathan Rea Honda GBR 0'19.457
11 Tom Sykes Kawasaki GBR 0'22.136
12 Mark Aitchison Kawasaki AUS 0'25.346
13 James Toseland BMW GBR 0'31.617
14 Roberto Rolfo Kawasaki ITA 0'31.796
15 Troy Corser BMW AUS 0'33.320
race II
1 Tom Sykes Kawasaki GBR 29'49.337
2 Sylvain Guintoli Ducati FRA 0'04.063
3 Jakub Smrz Ducati CZE 0'22.759
4 Jonathan Rea Honda GBR 0'28.497
5 Eugene Laverty Yamaha GBR 0'38.374
6 Marco Melandri Yamaha ITA 0'45.326
7 Ayrton Badovini BMW ITA 0'47.030
8 Carlos Checa Ducati ESP 0'50.032
9 Leon Haslam BMW GBR 0'53.586
10 Maxime Berger Ducati FRA 0'55.261
11 Joan Lascorz Kawasaki ESP 1'12.805
12 Troy Corser BMW AUS 1'15.468
13 Roberto Rolfo Kawasaki ITA 1'40.323

Best Lap
Noriyuki Haga Aprilia JPN 2'14.619
World Superbike World Standing
Rider Standings After Race 10 of 13
1. Carlos Checa Ducati ESP 376
2. Marco Melandri Yamaha ITA 302
3. Max Biaggi Aprilia ITA 281
4. Eugene Laverty Yamaha GBR 232
5. Leon Haslam BMW GBR 176
6. Leon Camier Aprilia GBR 154
7. Michel Fabrizio Suzuki ITA 141
8. Sylvain Guintoli Ducati FRA 139
9. Ayrton Badovini BMW ITA 134
10. Noriyuki Haga Aprilia JPN 115
11. Tom Sykes Kawasaki GBR 114
12. Jonathan Rea Honda GBR 113
13. Joan Lascorz Kawasaki ESP 111
14. Jakub Smrz Ducati CZE 109
15. Troy Corser BMW AUS 67
16. Ruben Xaus Honda ESP 44


Circuit Length:
4556

Weather:
Very Wet

Fastest Lap Ever:
1'54.595
(Max Biaggi, 9/5/2010)

Last Years Winner:
Noriyuki Haga
Manufacturer Standings
04/09/2011
1 Ducati 400
2 Yamaha 351
3 Aprilia 336
4 BMW 214
5 Kawasaki 171
6 Suzuki 158
7 Honda 132
Another Spectacular Victory for Davies at the Nurburgring

Chaz Davies performed spectacularly in today?s race at the historic German circuit to deliver his fifth victory and eighth podium of the 2011 World Supersport Championship.

After a less than perfect start off second place on this afternoon?s grid, Davies fell back to seventh position. The Welshman made short work of the bunch of competitors just ahead and climbed to fourth place by the end of the second lap. Driven with determination, Davies put his head down and proceeded to close in on and overtake Foret, Rea and Ellison to take the lead by lap six. Fighting hard to hold off a feisty Ellison, title contender Davies drove his powerful R6 to the finish line and snatched the chequered flag just 0.091 seconds ahead of fellow Brit.

Team-mate Luca Scassa was also on flying form today. Falling back to 10th place off the grid, the Italian gradually worked his way back up through the pack. Scassa completed the race in fourth place after a tough battle at times with Roccoli in fifth place and Fabien Foret in sixth.

Chaz Davies has a strong hold on his championship lead and leaves Nurburgring with 171 points, 59 ahead of Salom in second place, with a potential of just 75 points to be gained in the remaining three rounds. Scassa is in fifth place with 96 points, just 16 points from second. Yamaha are leading the Manufacturers standings on 201 points with a 32 point advantage.

Chaz Davies
Yamaha ParkinGO Team - 1st
"I?m extremely happy with the win. Unfortunately I got off to a bad start and lost quite a few places. I put my head down and worked my way back up and enjoyed a close battle with Gino and James. I could hear James tailing me, hoped to break away and lead the race all the way, but that wasn?t easy. I was pleased to see it was James behind me, it is his first podium of the year. I?d like to dedicate this victory to my special friend Claire Barlow, who very sadly passed away a few weeks ago."

Luca Scassa
Yamaha ParkinGO Team - 4th
"I?m satisfied with the race because I had a good pace. Unfortunately I didn?t take the first corner well and didn?t want to collide with Chaz. I wanted to get ahead and tried to pass him on the inside, which probably wasn?t a good idea. I apologize to him for this incident. Then when I opened the throttle it was too slow and everyone passed me out. I eventually managed to put in better lap times and made up some positions. From mid race I was coming back nicely. Now I?m just 16 points from second place in the championship, so I?m satisfied and will work hard to climb back up there in the next three races."

2011 World Supersport Germany
Nurburgring 03/09/2011 19 Laps
race I
1 Chaz Davies Yamaha GBR 38'10.466
2 James Ellison Honda GBR 0'00.091
3 Sam Lowes Honda GBR 0'03.749
4 Luca Scassa Yamaha ITA 0'06.269
5 Massimo Roccoli Kawasaki ITA 0'08.702
6 Fabien Foret Honda FRA 0'14.034
7 Broc Parkes Kawasaki AUS 0'25.943
8 David Salom Kawasaki ESP 0'29.696
9 Florian Marino Honda FRA 0'30.886
10 Balazs Nemeth Honda HUN 0'37.555
11 Roberto Tamburini Yamaha ITA 0'37.960
12 Vittorio Iannuzzo Kawasaki ITA 0'39.129
13 Alexander Lundh Honda SWE 0'38.804
14 Imre Toth Honda HUN 0'44.892
15 Ronan Quarmby Triumph RSA 0'48.634
18 Marc Moser Yamaha GER 0'52.839
24 Oleg Pozdneev Yamaha RUS 2'00.000

Best Lap
James Ellison Honda GBR 1'59.795
World Supersport World Standing
Rider Standings After Race 9 of 12
1. Chaz Davies Yamaha GBR 171
2. David Salom Kawasaki ESP 112
3. Fabien Foret Honda FRA 111
4. Broc Parkes Kawasaki AUS 104
5. Luca Scassa Yamaha ITA 96
6. Sam Lowes Honda GBR 89
7. Gino Rea Honda GBR 62
8. Massimo Roccoli Kawasaki ITA 62
9. James Ellison Honda GBR 62
10. Roberto Tamburini Yamaha ITA 61
11. Robbin Harms Honda DNK 59
12. Florian Marino Honda FRA 58
13. Miguel Praia Honda POR 32
14. Balazs Nemeth Honda HUN 31
15. Vittorio Iannuzzo Kawasaki ITA 26
16. Alexander Lundh Honda SWE 24
27. Alessio Velini Yamaha ITA 3
28. Luca Marconi Yamaha ITA 3