Pata Honda ready for WSBK’s 2014 European finale

The Pata Honda team is heading for this weekend’s (3-5 October) final European round of the 2014 World Superbike championship season at Magny-Cours in France.

Jonathan Rea, currently sitting in third place in the championship standings, is looking forward to battling with his rivals once more on his Pata Honda CBR1000RR machine and targeting an eighth rostrum finish of the 2014 season having twice visited the Magny-Cours podium in the past.

The 27-year-old British rider is 36 points behind second-placed Sylvain Guintoli and, with the final round scheduled to take place at Losail in Qatar on 2 November, both riders still have a mathematical chance to overhaul leader Tom Sykes, who is a further 31 points ahead of Guintoli.

Similarly, Rea’s Pata Honda team-mate Leon Haslam is intent on maintaining his challenge for improved results. The 31-year-old currently lies in tenth place in the points table but has shown steady progress in the last five races with a string of consistent top eight finishes.

Haslam, who has not enjoyed podium champagne at Magny-Cours since the 2010 season, will be targeting a stronger qualifying performance at the French circuit this weekend in order to mount a sustained challenge for further podium places.

The 4.411km Magny-Cours circuit lies in central France, approximately 260km south of the capital Paris. The scene of James Toseland’s World Superbike championship title victory for Honda in 2007, it features 20 corners – nine lefts and eleven rights – with one of the tightest hairpins (Turn 5) seen on any world championship circuit.

Jonathan Rea

I’m really excited to be going back to Magny-Cours – I enjoy the circuit layout a lot and its fast direction changes seem to suit our package really well. We’ve also had some good results there in the past. To be honest, I’m just looking forward to riding the bike again; these long gaps between the last few races of the season are not good or helpful for maintaining any kind of rhythm. I’ve been doing a lot of training on my CRF450R motocrosser, just to keep my levels of concentration as high as possible. Last time out in Jerez we had some really good pace at the end of the races – probably among the strongest. Now we need to work on getting that pace earlier in the race to allow us to challenge for podiums and wins. But we’ll be starting in Magny-Cours with what we know and concentrate through the weekend on getting the best possible set-up for Sunday.

Leon Haslam

Yeah, I’m looking forward to getting back on the bike at Magny-Cours this weekend. Another month off since the last race has not been ideal in terms of keeping recent momentum going but it is what is it. I like the circuit and I’ve had some pretty good results there in the past, even though last year’s races were not great. The weather can always play its part at Magny-Cours as well – it might suit us if it’s wet but, either way, I’m looking forward to getting out there again.

Pieter Breddels – technical co-ordinator

Magny-Cours has not been a bad circuit for us in the past so we plan to go into full-attack mode that will allow Jonathan to retain his third place in the standings and even to improve his position, if possible. His recent results have been good for his confidence so we’re looking forward to the weekend. We’ll keep pushing with Leon, too, and try our best to give him a setting with which he is comfortable and can target the podium in Sunday’s two races.

More, from another press release issued by Pata Honda:

New champion van der Mark back to racing action

One month after securing the 2014 World Supersport championship, Pata Honda’s Michael van der Mark is heading to Magny-Cours in France, together with team-mate Lorenzo Zanetti, for the penultimate round of the season.

Van der Mark celebrated the title in style by winning the last round at Jerez in Spain to stand on top of the podium for the fifth time this season. This weekend he returns to the circuit where he won the FIM European Superstock 600 championship two years ago with another race victory on Honda’s CBR600RR.

Since his impressive race and championship win in Jerez, it has been announced that the 21-year-old Dutch flyer will ride for the Pata Honda team in the World Superbike championship for the next two years, but in the short term, van der Mark has nothing but another World Supersport race win in his sights for Magny-Cours.

Lorenzo Zanetti, is also hoping to add to his single race victory this season, taken at his home race in Imola in Italy in May. The 27-year-old currently sits in fourth place in the World Supersport championship standings and, although the title has gone to his Pata Honda team-mate, the runner-up spot is still a possibility.

Michael van der Mark

The championship is over now but I am a racer and I still want to win. I really like Magny-Cours and I think we have proven at every circuit we have a good base setting, so I cannot wait to go out on track. Magny-Cours was already special for me because I won my first title, in European Superstock, at this track two years ago. Now I have taken the next step and will arrive there as the Supersport champion. I have signed for two years with Pata Honda to race in World Superbike so I think that with everything fixed this could be one of the most relaxed weekends we have had this year. We only have the race itself to think about at this round and I will try to win it.

Lorenzo Zanetti

The last race in Europe and the track is OK for me; I like it. The weather in France at this time of year can be a factor but in any case I want to push. I was strong all weekend in the previous round but at the end of the race I lost some pace because I used a lot of my rear tyre on the first few laps trying to win. I was disappointed about this because I have the potential to fight for a podium every race, but I am only looking to Magny-Cours now. I want to have a good weekend like I did in Jerez but try to finish on the podium this time. In the championship I could finish in overall second place but also seventh, so I need to have a great result if I want to finish inside the top three.

Pieter Breddels – technical co-ordinator

There’s no pressure for Michael this weekend – the championship is his and he has signed a two-year contract to race with us in World Superbike from next year. But the plan is still simple and we hope to be fighting for another race win for him. We will also be looking to help Lorenzo to get back to the podium. The potential is always there and was as strong as ever at Jerez in the last race. All his finishes have been top six this season and he has been close to the podium many times. We’ll be targeting it again this weekend in Magny-Cours.