High speed hopes for PTR at Aragon PTR HONDA’S Jules Cluzel is hoping to use the top speed advantage of his CBR600RR to challenge for the podium at the seventh round of the World Supersport Championship at Aragon in Spain this Sunday, July 1st. As the season enters its second half Jules is second in the standings and focused on scoring as many points as possible and maintaining his title challenge. His teammate Ronan Quarmby is on top form and raring to score another podium finish and improve on his 9th in the standings overall. Martin Jessopp on the Riders PTR Honda is looking for a return to the points after suffering a broken collarbone in May. There are practice and qualifying sessions on Friday and Saturday before the race starts at 1330 CET on Sunday July 1st. To buy GBRacing engine case covers and bullet sliders from PTR visit www.performancetechnicalracing.co.uk. Jules: “I raced at Aragon in Moto2 for two years and I think the circuit is long with fast corners, big downs and big up-hills. I really like it. The last three corners are different from the Moto2 circuit but I will learn quickly. I want to continue my recent form and stay on the podium – that would be good for the Championship. I also want to try to improve a little bit and catch Sofuoglu. At the Silverstone test we learnt more about tyres and it was good to be riding my bike, that always helps.” Ronan: “I had a really positive event at Misano right up until the race and then crashed out while challenging inside the top 10. My PTR Honda is brilliant, I feel absolutely great and I cannot wait to get to Aragon and racing again. I want to get a good haul of points this weekend and think the circuit will suit my bike and riding style well.” Martin: “My collarbone is getting there but it is not as far along as I had hoped. I have an old MX injury that is confusing matters with a bit of nerve damage so we are not sure where the problem is. The good news is that I am in much better shape than I was at Misano and not anticipating issues riding the bike. I have only raced Aragon on the Playstation before but it is due to be a hot, hard, long race and I think that will favour my fitness over some of the other riders. I’m looking forward to it.” Simon Buckmaster, PTR Honda Team Manager: “Jules just missed out on the win at Misano but it was another good podium for him. He’s getting better every round and we are confident he will be challenging again at Aragon. Ronan qualified on the second row for the first time at Misano but unfortunately made a mistake and crashed. Ronan is getting stronger as well and we look forward to a strong race from him at Aragon. Martin rode through the pain barrier at Misano and we are proud he was able to finish and is much fitter now. He should be in a position to score best result of the season.” More, from a press release issued by Bogdanka PTR Honda: Lowes aims high at Aragon BOGDANKA PTR HONDA’s Sam Lowes is looking to challenge on the podium in this weekend’s round seven of the World Supersport Championship at the Motorland Aragon circuit in Spain. The Briton is third in the overall standings and is looking forward to racing at a circuit where he finished a close second in his rookie season last year. His teammate, the rookie South African, Mathew Scholtz aims to turn his fortunes around after showing great promise onboard the Bogdanka PTR Honda in his first World Supersport season but failing to finish the last few races. Bogdanka Honda PTR’s Pawel Szkopek will be making his return to action following an early season leg injury with the Pole hoping for a strong weekend after a good race at Aragon last year. The Sunday’s race will start at 13:30 CET. Sam Lowes: “I’m really looking forward to the weekend at a track I love. I have a good feeling after last season at Aragon, where we took a front row start and a close second in the race, so I can’t wait to get the weekend started. Misano was upsetting but I take many positives from there and look forward to the weekend.” Mathew Scholtz: “I’ve been training hard recently and can’t wait to get out on track. The last few races haven’t gone quite according to the plan so I hope to make up for it this weekend and get a good result on Sunday. Aragon is a circuit that I’ve rode on a 600 before. I really like it and think it should suit us well, so I’m really looking forward to the weekend.” Pawel Szkopek: “I’m feeling a lot better than three weeks ago at Misano and I can’t wait to get back on my Bogdanka Honda PTR bike. I’m still not a 100% but fit enough to ride and on track my leg won’t be a problem. Aragon is a circuit that I really like and where I had a very good race last year so I hope to come back with style this weekend.” Simon Buckmaster, Bogdanka PTR Honda Team Manager: “Sam has been consistently the fastest rider all year and I am sure he will be at the sharp end challenging for the podium again at Aragon. I know I keep saying this but Mathew does have the speed and ability but needs to maintain focus and finish races to score points and then we will see his true potential shine through.” More, from a press release issued by Kawasaki: Second Half Begins For KRT At Motorland Aragon WSBK, Motorland Aragon, Spain, 26 June 2012 For Tom Sykes and Loris Baz the final seven rounds of the SBK season come laden with opportunity, starting with a circuit they have both just completed successful tests at, Motorland Aragon. The Spanish track will play host to a Superbike World Championship round for the second time when action gets underway with first practice on Friday 29 June but the beautifully-appointed circuit is already a preferred testing venue for many teams, including KRT’s official squad. A planned two-day test for Sykes and Baz last week turned into a three-day test, to make up for an opening session lost to rain. Both Sykes (currently third in the championship) and Baz (about to ride in only his fourth ever SBK event) found improvements to their race distance set-ups and fully intend to put them to good use on raceday on Sunday. Sykes has been a race winner in 2012 already, taking victory at the historic Monza circuit. At Motorland Aragon, a superb example of modern track design, Sykes is keen to get back to winning ways and peg back both the current championship leader Max Biaggi and second place rider Jonathan Rea. Baz, still a teenager, has scored points in four races so far, with a personal best of eighth place, a feat he has pulled off twice already. He qualified for Superpole last time out at Misano and his immediate aim at Aragon is to get back into the top 16 qualifiers in regulation practice and join the Superpole fight one again. Tom Sykes: “Aragon has a great track layout, one that I really enjoy riding on. We go there on the back of a test that we did there last week. It was very positive and unofficially it seems we were the fastest there. If we can carry that on into this and weekend I will be happy. We did a lot of laps in testing and I am confident we have closed the gap on the leader. All the testing we did at Aragon was definitely worthwhile and we confirmed two main things, each of which should make a difference to performance. It was good to focus our minds on the job in hand and make some real progress.” Loris Baz: “I still have no definite, firm, objectives just to learn and improve on the bike. If I can have the same objectives as I had going into the previous round at Misano that would be good. If I can be in Superpole and score two top 12 or 13 results, I would be happy. Then after that, more can be better. We had a good base to start with in our recent tests but we made some good work to find more feedback from the bike and to feel where the limit is some more.” More, from another press release issued by Kawasaki: Sofuoglu And Morais Aim For The Podium WSS, Motorland Aragon, Spain, 26 June 2012 Kawasaki DeltaFin Lorenzini Supersport World Championship riders Kenan Sofuoglu and Sheridan Morais are about to face the seventh round of the championship this weekend, at Aragon in Spain. Championship leader Sofuoglu became the first rider to win two races this year when he added the Misano laurels to the victory he took in the opening race in Australia. His brilliant form since he joined Kawasaki this year has seen him score a podium in every race bar one so far. He now enjoys a 22-point lead over Jules Cluzel and a 30-point lead over Sam Lowes, with the Turkish rider looking to extend that still further in Spain. Kenan is the all-time class leader in terms of WSS wins with 19, and has two championships in his locker from earlier stages in his career. Morais is a multiple South African champion, often when riding for Kawasaki. This is his first full WSS season and his best result so far is sixth a result he has secured three times. Sheridan is eighth overall, only a single point from seventh place in the rankings. For both Kenan and Sheridan seven more rounds remain, including at the 5.344km Aragon circuit this weekend coming. Kenan Sofuoglu: “I am all ready for Aragon and as usual I have been doing a lot of training back home in Turkey. I did not race at Argon last year in Moto2 but I have done some testing there on my Kawasaki. I think it is a good track but I cannot compare myself with anyone around there right now. We will see how it goes in practice but I do not think it will be a big problem. Our bike is good, it was very good in San Marino and I think it will be good in Aragon as well. I will fight for another strong result. My conditioning is very good now. Strong training makes a rider strong in the mind. I ride a Supermotard bike a lot and I think every week I do over 500 laps, which should make me good in hot conditions. I do not like cycling or gym work I just want to ride a motorcycle for training and I think it also helps your concentration when you have to go to races.” Sheridan Morais: “For the rest of the year, realistically and ideally, I want to be on the podium and to be on it as often as possible. I do not feel the pressure from anybody else but I feel the pressure from myself. Maybe in my first year in Supersport I have been pressuring myself to go too fast too soon. There have been a lot of races where something has just happened; weather or the tyre or something else that has intervened. I want to be on the podiums in the second half of the year so that is what we are working towards now.” More, from a press release issued by Infront Motor Sports: Biaggi aiming for MotorLand Aragon breakaway Rome (Italy), 26 June 2012 The eni FIM Superbike World Championship came away from its mid-season point at Misano Adriatico with a double win for Max Biaggi (Aprilia Racing Team) and now arrives in Spain for the start of the second half: seven rounds and 14 races still remain in the run-in for the 2012 world title battle. The MotorLand Aragon circuit, 140 kms east of Zaragoza, is the venue for the production-based championship for the second time and the only previous edition last year saw Italians Marco Melandri, at the time on a Yamaha, and Max Biaggi share the glory. For Biaggi it was his first win of the year, but this time the five-time world champion comes to Aragon as points leader and with three wins to his name. The Aprilia rider has led the championship since the opening round in Australia and his double win at Misano, together with some errors by his chief rivals, have given the Roman Emperor a chance to increase his points lead. The RSV4 has already shown it can adapt well to the characteristics of the MotorLand circuit, and the Noale-based team has already tested twice here, once pre-season and then two weeks ago, perfecting the bike set-up for the race. Biaggi, who celebrates his 41st birthday today, is not yet in a position to break away from the pack because with 350 points still up for grabs anything can happen from here onwards. That is the main objective of 25-year-old Jonathan Rea (Honda World Superbike Team), who has moved into the second place slot, 38.5 points behind Biaggi. The talented young Northern Irishman did not take part in 2011 due to an injury he picked up at the previous round but following Misano Rea has also had the chance to further develop his CBR1000RR in two days of testing at Assen. The Spanish-based Kawasaki Racing Team is gearing up for its home round, with Tom Sykes having carried out three testing sessions in Spain. The Tissot-Superpole specialist (five wins out of seven so far) is 46 points behind Biaggi and will be aiming to repeat his win at Monza, the only one for the ZX-10R this season. BMW Motorrad Motorsport are looking for a good result again after Misano, where Marco Melandri could only score a DNF and a fourth place, the Italian currently lying 55 points behind his rival Biaggi. The German squad also opted for Aragon as its test-track, and Melandri and team-mate Leon Haslam both put in a lot of laps there last week. It’s home territory for Carlos Checa (Althea Racing) who has to make up for two crashes at Miller and Misano, which have set him back some 60 points from the top. The reigning world champion knows that he cannot make any errors from this point onwards if he wishes to take a second title for the Ducati team. Last year Checa crashed here while attempting to keep the pace of Melandri and Biaggi, but luckily it had no effect on his triumphant season. A few days ago at Misano, Checa tested the new Ducati 1199 Panigale for the first time, a bike he might end up by racing in the 2013 championship. All eyes will also be on his team-mate Davide Giugliano, who following a podium at Misano returns to the track where he dominated the Superstock 1000 FIM Cup round last year on his way to the title. In the Manufacturers battle reigning champions Ducati have just a 1.5 point lead over Aprilia, with BMW 25.5 points off the top. Points (after 7 of 14 rounds): 1. Biaggi 210.5; 2. Rea 172; 3. Sykes 164.5; 4. Melandri 155.5; 5. Checa 150.5; 6. Haslam 123; 7. Guintoli 103; 8. Laverty 95; 9. Giugliano 80; 10. Smrz 75.5; etc. Manufacturers: 1. Ducati 222.5; 2. Aprilia 221; 3. BMW 197; 4. Honda 176; 5. Kawasaki 170.5; 6. Suzuki 56.5. World Supersport Misano has also given a definitive shape to the World Supersport mid-sized category with a second win of the year for Kenan Sofuoglu (Kawasaki DeltaFin Lorenzini), who now has a 22-point lead over his closest rival Jules Cluzel (PTR Honda). The Aragon round, which for Supersport is the seventh of 13, could be a decisive one for Sam Lowes, the 22-year-old Brit from the PTR Bogdanka Honda team who is always quick in races but who slipped 30 points down due to a crash at Misano that ruined his third pole position of the year. Sofuoglu, who has already won the title twice, is back on perfect form again following his early season mishaps: his rivals will now have to give twice as much, without making any mistakes, if they want to catch the Turkish champion. It’s a positive moment also for Alex Baldolini, the former Moto2 rider who at Misano gave the Power Team by Suriano its maiden podium and Triumph its first in a couple of years. Points (after 6 of 13 rounds): 1.Sofuoglu 106; 2. Cluzel 84; 3. Lowes 76; 4. Foret 63; 5. Baldolini 54; 6. Parkes 53; 7. Tamburini 38; 8. Morais 37; 9. Quarmby 34; 10. Iannuzzo 32; etc. Manufacturers: 1. Kawasaki 131; 2. Honda 131; 3. Triumph 67; 4. Yamaha 52; 5. Suzuki 6. Superstock 1000 Aragon will be the fifth of 10 rounds in the calendar for the FIM Superstock 1000 Cup contenders. Frenchman Sylvain Barrier has taken control at the top again by winning at Misano and thus allowing the BMW Motorrad Italia GoldBet team to regain ground on Barni Racing Team Italia, which runs the new Ducati 1199 Panigale. Lorenzo Savadori and Eddi La Marra, two youngsters backed by the Italian Federation have not been able to capitalize on home advantage in the three Italian rounds so far and are 11 and 14 points respectively behind the Frenchman. This Italo-German battle could also include the young 18-year-old Markus Reiterberger of the BMW Alpha Racing team, who is yet to get onto the podium. Points (after 4 of 10 rounds): 1. Barrier 75; 2. Savadori 64; 3. La Marra 61; 4. Reiterberger 41; 5. Baroni 40; 6. Bergman 33; 7. Baz 30; 8. Massei 30; 9. Guarnoni 26; 10. Coghlan 22; etc. Manufacturers: 1. BMW 84; 2. Ducati 74; 3. Kawasaki 60; 4. Honda 30; 5. Aprilia 15. Superstock 600 In the Superstock category reserved for under-22s the battle is raging at the top between the 19-year-old Italian Riccardo Russo (Team Italia FMI Yamaha) and his Dutch rival of the same age Michael van der Mark (EAB Ten Kate Junior Honda Team) who closed the gap with a win at Misano. With six rounds still to go Russo and van der Mark are separated by just two points and it’s all to play for between the two of them. Russo has been limbering up by winning round 4 of the Italian CIV domestic series and is now close to the title, but he’ll have his work cut out to hold off the flying Dutchman. The other podium finishers, Nacho Calero Perez, Gaulthier Duwelz, Bastien Chesaux and Christian Gamarino have all shown potential on occasions, but have failed to string together a series of positive results. Points (after 4 of 10 rounds): 1. Russo 81; 2. Vd Mark 79; 3. Calero Perez 50; 4. Duwelz 42; 5. Vitali 33; 6. Gamarino 27; 7. Chesaux 26; 8. Egea 24; 9. Coveña 23; 10. Schacht 18; etc. KTM European Junior Cup The Aragon programme will be completed with the fourth round of the European Junior Cup, the one-make trophy reserved for under-19s racing with KTM 690 machines provided directly by the Mattighofen-based manufacturer. Christian Vidal arrives at his home round as leader with 26 points to his name, but not far behind are the two race winners so far, Austrian Lukas Wimmer (Misano) and Poland’s Adrian Pasek who won the opening encounter at Assen. The race at Monza was cancelled due to appalling weather conditions. Points (after 3 of 8 rounds): 1. Vidal 26; 2. Wimmer 25; 3. Pasek 25; 4. Demoulin 24; 5. Orellana 21; 6. Hartog 20; 7. Wielebski 20; 8. Lewis 19; etc. More, from a press release issued by Honda: FIM SUPERBIKE / SUPERSPORT WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND 08 SUNDAY JULY 1 MOTORLAND ARAGON, SPAIN PREVIEW ASSEN TESTS PREPARE REA AND AOYAMA FOR SPANISH ROUND After the previous round of the FIM Superbike World Championship at the Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli Jonathan Rea (Honda World Superbike Team) and his team-mate Hiroshi Aoyama (Honda World Superbike Team) headed to their team’s home track of Assen to try out new settings and strategies on their Honda CBR1000RR machinery. For Rea, now a ten time race winner and 27-time podium finisher in this class, the tests at the classic Dutch circuit were a useful guide to how his overall race package has improved in recent times. Even more useful may have been the advances in the electronics and potential new pathways of overall development the team also tried out without the pressure of a race weekend around them. Rea did not race at Aragon last year because of injury, but he has been around the circuit a few times, in wintry and cold conditions, a couple of years ago. Rea has won two races this year already and is second overall, 38.5 points behind championship leader Max Biaggi (Aprilia) at the halfway stage of the season. Aragon begins the second half of the 14-round campaign, which will culminate in France in early October. Aoyama was unlucky to fall at high speed in the recent Assen test, but declared himself to be much more comfortable on his machine by the end of the test after making changes in set-up. Hiroshi, the 2009 season 250cc Grand Prix World Champion, is expecting to be at full fitness and back to full pace for the Aragon round of the championship, which takes place close to his European base in Barcelona. The Motorland Aragon circuit is an impressive design, already popular with riders in all classes. It features a wide variety of corners and several elevation changes along its 5.344Km length. It has a slightly different layout of hairpin and final chicane trajectory in SBK guise when compared to that used in the MotoGP championship race. Weather conditions are predicted to be hot for the two 20-lap races on Sunday July 1, with the possibility of temperatures over 40 degrees C to start off race weekend. Following the Aragon race the next round is at Brno, in the Czech Republic, on Sunday July 22. THE CLUZEL AND LOWES CHALLENGE HEADS TOWARDS SPAIN Since the start of the 2012 FIM Supersport World Championship Honda riders have been to the fore as usual and in the most recent rounds the Jules Cluzel (PTR Honda) and Sam Lowes (Bogdanka PTR Honda) pairing have been the biggest threat to championship leader Kenan Sofuoglu (Kawasaki). Both Cluzel (at Monza) and Lowes (at Donington) have won races in 2012, but after a no-score from Lowes at the previous San Marino round and a second place for Cluzel, the French rider has moved into second place. Sofuoglu is 22 points ahead of Cluzel, and 30 points ahead of Lowes. With only six rounds of the championship gone and seven remaining, there is very much all to play for, and not only for the current top Honda duo. Perennial WSS force Broc Parkes (Ten Kate Racing Products Honda) is sixth in the rankings, but only ten points from a top four placing. A podium at his home race in Australia has been Broc’s highlight this season, but his goal from now on is to make more regular podium appearances and move up the championship table. Roberto Tamburini (Team Lorini Honda) has impressed so far, having come close to the podium more than once on his way to a seventh place in the championship rankings at mid-season point. Ronan Quarmby (PTR Honda) has reached the podium step in 2012, in round two at Imola, and now that he knows it is more than possible he is out to finish every race and get into the top five positions more often. Imre Toth (Racing Team Toth Honda) and his team-mate Balazs Nemeth (Racing Team Toth Honda) sit 16th and 17th in the current rankings, with Imre three points ahead. Toth travelled with the team to test at Aragon last week, to find a solution to some chassis set-up issues that had been affecting the results. The Hungarian rider was happy with the outcome and hopes he and his team-mate will benefit from the test, from the first session of practice until the last corner of the scheduled 18-lap race in Spain. Raffaele De Rosa (Team Lorini Honda) has made a speedy transition to the Supersport class, taking two good points scores already and moving himself to 20th place, despite only riding in half the races held so far. Another rider who has not done all the season’s events, Valentine Debise (SMS Honda), has slotted into 22nd place after only four rounds. Mathew Scholtz (Bogdanka PTR Honda) and Martin Jessopp (Riders PTR Honda) hope to make up ground they have lost in recent rounds, with Jessopp still suffering from the lingering effects of a collarbone injury. Polish rider Pawel Szkopek (Bogdanka Honda PTR) hopes to be fit enough to race for real at Aragon on Sunday, having tried bravely but unsuccessfully to do so at the previous round. HONDA RIDER COMMENTS Jonathan Rea (Honda World Superbike Team): “I have never raced at Aragon before, but I was fortunate enough to get only a few laps of testing in at the start of the 2011 season. But the weather was not good enough to even make a half-day test. While it is exciting to go to a new track and my motivation is high, we have to be realistic. In the first sessions we will have to will be gathering a lot of information and working towards the race. I know the track looks pretty fun to ride and it seems a good layout. I am looking forward to the challenge. It is supposed to be very hot at the start of the weekend and that will be crucial to tyres over race distance. I will be back in the sauna tonight to get myself ready!” Hiroshi Aoyama (Honda World Superbike Team): “This track is very close to my house in Barcelona so it is like a home race. I am happy to go there. I know the track, but in Superbike they use a slightly different layout, a little bit different, but most of it I know. Also I had a positive test recently in Assen. I felt a bit more comfortable on the bike and we found the way to work. I had a little crash, but physically I am OK. I went back to Barcelona and I have been training and preparing to the race so I am very much looking forward to doing my first laps there on the CBR1000RR. It will be hot at Aragon, but I am used to it now, so I am looking forward to this weekend.” Jules Cluzel (PTR Honda): “I raced at Aragon in Moto2 for two years and I think the circuit is long with fast corners, big downhill and big uphill sections. I really like it. The last three corners are different from the Moto2 circuit, but I will learn quickly. I want to continue my recent form and stay on the podium – that would be good for the Championship. I also want to try to improve a little bit and catch Sofuoglu. At the Silverstone test we did recently we learnt more about tyres and it was good to be riding my bike, that always helps.” Sam Lowes (Bogdanka PTR Honda): “I’m really looking forward to the weekend at a track I love. I have a good feeling after last season at Aragon, where we took a front row start and a close second in the race, so I can’t wait to get the weekend started. Misano’s result was upsetting, but I take many positives from there and look forward to the weekend.” Broc Parkes (Ten Kate Racing Products Honda): “I was a little bit sick in Misano and at our recent test at Assen and it took me about a week to get better, but now I am back on track. I think at the test we improved a lot, and we tried things at the test that we have not been able to on race weekends. I am confident we have improved the bike as a package, especially on the electronics side. I hope we have a strong enough engine for Aragon as it is such a big open track, but I am confident we have made some big improvements on suspension and electronics side on the bike. I am not where I am in the championship but we are going to keep going and keep going for podiums to the end of the championship.” Ronan Quarmby (PTR Honda): “I was enjoying a really positive event at Misano right up until the race and then I crashed out while challenging inside the top ten. My PTR Honda is brilliant, I feel absolutely great and I cannot wait to get to Aragon and racing again. I want to get a good haul of points this weekend and think the circuit will suit my bike and riding style well.” Imre Toth (Racing Team Toth Honda): “We had some problems with the chassis set-up this year and especially during races, so it was good to go and test at Aragon recently. We lost one day because of the rain, but on the second day it was good and we made progress. For the second half of the season we hope to finish inside the top ten in all the races. That was our plan from the beginning of the year, but we have had some technical problems in some events. Maybe at certain circuits, or if there is rain or other difficult conditions, we can do better than that.” Mathew Scholtz (Bogdanka PTR Honda): “I’ve been training hard recently and can’t wait to get out on track. The last few races haven’t gone quite according to the plan so I hope to make up for it this weekend and get a good result on Sunday. Aragon is a circuit that I’ve ridden on a 600 before. I really like it and think it should suit us well, so I’m really looking forward to the weekend.” Martin Jessopp (Riders PTR Honda): “My collarbone is getting there, but it is not as far along as I had hoped. I have an old MX injury that is confusing matters with a bit of nerve damage so we are not sure where the problem is. The good news is that I am in much better shape than I was at Misano and not anticipating issues riding the bike. I have only raced Aragon on the Playstation before, but it is due to be a hot, hard, long race and I think that will favour my fitness over some of the other riders.” Pawel Szkopek (Bogdanka Honda PTR) “I’m feeling a lot better than three weeks ago at Misano and I can’t wait to get back on my Bogdanka Honda PTR bike. I’m still not 100%, but fit enough to ride and on track my leg won’t be a problem. Aragon is a circuit that I really like and where I had a very good race last year so I hope to come back with style this weekend.”