Hot weather and dry track conditions today at the Vallelunga circuit for the seventh round of the Superbike and Superstock 1000 CIV Italian championship. In Superbike Fulvio Faccietti started from the fourth row of the grid after yesterday’s difficult qualifying sessions. Faccietti crashed yesterday in the last few minutes of the final qualifying session and due to this crash he was unable to move up any further than sixteenth. Faccietti’s start was not so bad but unfortunately he soon started to suffer from some gear problems. As the race went on, the problem with the gears got progressively worse and close to mid-race the gears jammed and he was forced to renter the pits and unfortunately end his race prematurely. Superbike Vallelunga race : 1) Sandi (Ducati) 2) Baiocco (Ducati) 3) Polita (Ducati) 4) Conforti (Ducati) – 5) Mandatori (Aprilia) “¦”¦”¦ Ret) Faccietti (Kawasaki) Fulvio Faccietti : “Today’s was a race to forget. My start was not so bad but I immediately felt some problems coming from the gear box and it was difficult for me to ride my Kawasaki. Unfortunately close to the middle of the race the gears stopped working and I was forced to pull in. I hope for a better result in Mugello at the ext CIV race”. In Superstock 1000, a third row start for team Pedercini’s riders Marco Bussolotti and Tati Mercado. During the qualifying sessions both riders suffered from a lack of grip, mostly down to yesterday’s very hot temperatures. After a quick start Bussolotti and Mercado remained in the center of the pack, losing some positions through the first curve of the circuit. Bussolotti very soon found a good race pace that allowed him to recover a lot of positions and to finish the race in an excellent fifth position. Mercado’s start was also fast but starting from the first laps he suffered from some clutch problems. Tati finished the race in ninth position. Superstock 1000 Vallelunga race : 1) Petrucci (Ducati) 2) Clementi (BMW) 3) Antonelli (Honda) 4) Perotti (BMW) 5) Bussolotti (Kawasaki) “¦”¦.. 9) Mercado (Kawasaki) Marco Bussolotti: “I started quickly from the third row of the grid but unfortunately I lost a lot of positions due to traffic through the first corner. To catch up from so far back was not easy, but right from the first few laps I pushed very hard. I found a very fast pace and was able to overtake a lot of riders. I’m pretty happy with fifth position and I want to thank my crew for doing such a good job this weekend”. Leandro “Tati” Mercado: “There is not much to say. My start was fast but unfortunately starting from the first few laps my bike’s clutch did not work properly and I was forced to reduce my rhythm. As the race went on, the problem with the clutch got progressively worse and it was difficult for me to finish the race. I am looking forward to the next race at Mugello”. More, from a press release issued by Honda: MCE INSURANCE BRITISH SUPERBIKE CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND 10 SUNDAY 11 SEPTEMBER DONINGTON PARK Weather: Cloudy, blustery Temperature: Ambient 18 degrees C / Track 24 degrees C Attendance: Weekend 20,000 BYRNE AND KIYONARI HAVE DIFFICULT START TO SHOWDOWN SEQUENCE. Ryuichi Kiyonari and his HM Plant Honda team-mate Shane Byrne had a difficult start to the Showdown for the Title sequence at Donington Park’s tenth round of the MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship. Reigning champion Kiyonari was forced to retire from the opening race because of an engine problem while Byrne, fourth in the opener recovered to finish eighth next time out after going down as he and Yamaha’s Michael Laverty collided at the first corner of the first lap. The two races at the Leicestershire circuit were won by Suzuki’s John Hopkins who was riding through the pain of broken fingers sustained during his “wild-card” appearance in last month’s Brno round of MotoGP. Hopkins took the lead in the title chase three points up on Yamaha’s Hill with Byrne a further 12 points down. Laverty and Brookes were fourth and fifth with Kiyonari sixth, 50 points down on Hopkins. Kiyonari had struggled for pace across free practice, working on engine and machine settings and after Friday’s two periods of free practice was languishing back in 20th place on the leaderboard over three seconds down on the pace-setting Hill. The Japanese rider improved in the final free practice session on Saturday, halving his time deficit and moving tenth fastest. Byrne was forging on, running fourth and looking confident while Kiyonari was comparing the two riding styles of himself and his team-mate, suggesting that was a contributory factor to his lack of pace. Both however were left on the back foot after the grid deciding session for the first of the two races, as they both started from the second row. Byrne saw his hopes of challenging for pole ended as he pitted with a couple of minutes remaining, leaving him fifth fastest and he explained: “What seems to have been a tyre problem caused us serious vibrations on the rear and it just ruined the session for us. I came in because I was having moments everywhere out on the track and I knew I couldn’t push any harder without a crash.” Kiyonari continuing to make changes to his bike during the first two elements of that grid deciding session believed that he had found a working set-up as he qualified in seventh place . Byrne made a strong start to the first race, taking the lead from Michael Laverty on the third lap and holding off first the determined Ulsterman and then his Yamaha team-mate Tommy Hill until the latter made a lunging move on him on the eleventh lap. Both ran marginally wide, as Laverty and John Hopkins went through. Kiyonari who was running in eighth place at half distance pulled off shortly afterwards with what was described as an engine braking problem. The team changed the engine between races. Byrne, suffering with a lack of grip and rear wheel chatter, in the closing stages, had to settle for fourth place. The grid for the second race was formed on the basis of fastest race laps in the earlier event, with Byrne starting on the front row, second fastest, with Kiyonari, seventh and with it another second row start. Byrne made a strong start, but going into the first corner, Redgate, Laverty tried to take him on the inside. They both tumbled, but re-joined at the back of the pack with Byrne shattering the lap record with a damage limitation ride that took him into eighth place. Laverty came in a further six places back. Kiyonari was running in third place for the first half of the race, but dropped back to take sixth place complaining of front vibrations to his bike. Graeme Gowland won both BSB-EVO class races ahead of his WFR Honda team-mate James Westmoreland with Glen Richards, third and fourth, moving nearer to taking the title. Honda rider / personnel quotes after the races: Shane Byrne (HM Plant Honda): “The crash in the second race was nobody’s fault. I got a good start and was alongside John Hopkins. I waited till he braked and I was thinking this is going to be touch and go. Next thing I hear is a crashing noise on the inside. I don’t hold anything against Michael Laverty as no-one takes unnecessary risks. There is no malice. We all want to win the championship.” Ryuichi Kiyonari (HM Plant Honda): In the first race we had an engine problem which was disappointing for us. In the second race we had more problems. After five laps I had chatter at the front and we still do not know how to solve that. It is very difficult now to win the championship, but we will never give up.” Havier Beltran (Team Manager HM Plant Honda): “It’s been a difficult weekend, issues in race one, and first corner issues in race two. But, looking at the way Shane came back through the pack after going down to take eighth place, he was running good lap times, had a good pace and I like to think that but for the incident he would have given Hopkins and Hill a good run for their money. Kiyo was not happy with certain areas of the bike, but unfortunately some of those are out of our control due to the technical rules. But, he showed signs that he is able to run at the pace, though as tyre degradation sets in it is harder for him to maintain the pace.” RESULTS BRITISH SUPERBIKE RACE1: POS / RIDER / NAT / MOTORCYCLE / TIME / GAP 1 / John HOPKINS / USA / Suzuki – Samsung Crescent Racing / 30:17.023 / 2 / Michael LAVERTY / GBR / Yamaha – Swan Yamaha / 30:17.503 / 0.480 3 / Tommy HILL / GBR / Yamaha – Swan Yamaha / 30:17.804 / 0.781 4 / Shane BYRNE / GBR / Honda – HM Plant Honda / 30:20.943 / 3.920 5 / Jon KIRKHAM / GBR / Suzuki – Samsung Crescent Racing / 30:23.368 / 6.345 6 / Josh BROOKES / AUS / Suzuki – Relentless Suzuki by TAS / 30:27.304 / 10.281 7 / Peter HICKMAN / GBR / Honda – Tyco Honda / 30:30.164 / 13.141 8 / James ELLISON / GBR / Honda – Team SorryMate.com / 30:35.601 / 18.578 9 / Martin JESSOPP / GBR / Ducati – Rapid Solicitors Bathams Ducati / 30:39.177 / 22.154 10 / Graeme GOWLAND / GBR / Honda – Team WFR / 30:39.566 / 22.543 11 / James WESTMORELAND / GBR / Honda – Team WFR / 30:50.313 / 33.290 12 / Ian LOWRY / GBR / Kawasaki – MSS Colchester Kawasaki / 30:50.517 / 33.494 13 / Glen RICHARDS / AUS / Honda – Team WFR / 30:51.456 / 34.433 14 / Tommy BRIDEWELL / GBR / Yamaha – Motorpoint Yamaha / 30:58.638 / 41.615 15 / Barry BURRELL / GBR / BMW – Buildbase BMW Motorrad / 31:00.085 / 43.062 Fastest lap: John HOPKINS Suzuki – Samsung Crescent Racing Lap 2 1:30.109 159.92 Km/h RACE2: POS / RIDER / NAT / MOTORCYCLE / TIME / GAP 1 / John HOPKINS / USA / Suzuki – Samsung Crescent Racing / 30:15.777 / 2 / Tommy HILL / GBR / Yamaha – Swan Yamaha / 30:17.763 / 1.986 3 / Jon KIRKHAM / GBR / Suzuki – Samsung Crescent Racing / 30:19.092 / 3.315 4 / Martin JESSOPP / GBR / Ducati – Rapid Solicitors Bathams Ducati / 30:21.755 / 5.978 5 / Josh BROOKES / AUS / Suzuki – Relentless Suzuki by TAS / 30:24.101 / 8.324 6 / Ryuichi KIYONARI / JPN / Honda – HM Plant Honda / 30:28.013 / 12.236 7 / James ELLISON / GBR / Honda – Team SorryMate.com / 30:28.318 / 12.541 8 / Shane BYRNE / GBR / Honda – HM Plant Honda / 30:39.222 / 23.445 9 / Chris WALKER / GBR / Kawasaki – Pr1mo Racing / 30:42.085 / 26.308 10 / Graeme GOWLAND / GBR / Honda – Team WFR / 30:42.523 / 26.746 11 / Tommy BRIDEWELL / GBR / Yamaha – Motorpoint Yamaha / 30:44.828 / 29.051 12 / James WESTMORELAND / GBR / Honda – Team WFR / 30:45.475 / 29.698 13 / Barry BURRELL / GBR / BMW – Buildbase BMW Motorrad / 30:51.408 / 35.631 14 / Michael LAVERTY / GBR / Yamaha – Swan Yamaha / 30:53.677 / 37.900 15 / Glen RICHARDS / AUS / Honda – Team WFR / 30:54.583 / 38.806 Fastest lap: Michael LAVERTY Yamaha – Swan Yamaha Lap 4 1:29.680 160.69 Km/h SHOWDOWN POSITIONS TO DATE:: 1 HOPKINS 568, 2 HILL 565, 3 BYRNE 543, 4 LAVERTY 532, 5 BROOKES 530, 6 KIYONARI 518, 7 KIRKHAM 172, 8 HICKMAN 137, 9 MASON 135, 10 RUTTER 130, 11 JESSOPP 94, 12 WALKER 90, 13 BAZ 88, 14 EASTON 69, 15 WESTMORELAND 68. NEXT EVENT: ROUND 11 SUNDAY SEPTEMBER 25, SILVERSTONE More, from a press release issued by Tyco Racing Quay Garage: Peter Hickman front row and seventh at Donington Peter Hickman was impressive throughout the weekend as BSB returned to Donington Park for the 10th round of the championship.He qualified the Quay Garage Honda fourth on the grid and was running with the leaders in fifth place in the early stages of the race but at mid-distance he started to drop back with a tyre problem. Hickman said: “The tyre spun on the rim on the tenth lap. It wasn’t just a little bit out but a full 180 degrees so the tyre was suddenly completely out of balance. It made the bike vibrate badly and gave really terrible chatter so it was very difficult to get the bike stopped on the brakes and into corners.” From trackside it was obvious Hickman had a problem as his lap times dropped from consistent mid 1:30s the same pace at the leaders) to mid 1:31s and he had to be content with seventh place after he had been looking a potential podium finisher. In race two, he was again among the front runners when the electronic throttle blipper system, which aids engine braking, malfunctioned and he was forced to withdraw from the race. Hickman’s teammate Patric Muff had yet another track to learn but the Donington rookie finished fifth in the Evo class in both races and is still fourth overall in the Evo championship with two rounds and five races remaining. Patric said: “Donington is a much more conventional race track than some of the BSB venues we’ve been to but it’s also one of the most difficult to learn because the section from Redgate to Coppice, it’s so fast and flowing and you have to get every single corner perfect because they all lead into one another.” Team owner Ian Woollacott added: “Overall it’s been a good weekend for the team. Peter was on the pace from the very first practice session on Friday and qualified front row. It was just a shame the tyre spun on the rim in race one but he still got a great result and showed once again that he has developed into one of the regular front-runners in BSB. “He was bang on the pace in race two until the drive by wire system malfunctioned but we’re looking forward now to Silverstone in two weeks time because it’s another track that will really suit him and our bike. “For Patric is was another tough weekend of learning a new track but he made some good progress this weekend. He has an unusual riding style, using a lot of back brake, so we’ve been changing the bike to suit him but he’s also been changing his style too. We’re meeting half way and can see the improvements coming and we think he’ll go really well at Silverstone.” More, from a press release issued by Graves Motorsports: Kennesaw, Georgia September 12, 2011 What a weekend for Team Zyvax and S.G.A. Racing / Yweride.com / Yamaha Champions Riding School Team! Last weekend’s WERA National at Barber Motorsports Park was the perfect stage for these Graves Motorsports-partnered teams to shine. Just as all through their 2010 championship season, Zyvax and Graves proved yet again to be a winning combination. The Zyvax effort and their Graves spec Yamaha R6 was first overall to the checker. AMA Superbike rider Chris Clark and Graves Yamaha supported rider Garrett Gerloff were the Zyvax pilots at the Barber WERA National. Gerloff may be new to Team Zyvax and to big bike endurance racing, but he’s no stranger to the Yamaha R6 or Graves-prepped machinery. “Those liter bikes just couldn’t keep up!” laughed Gerloff, “Even after lots of seat time on a Graves R6 it still blows my mind how fast the R6 is! I really appreciate JB (Layman) allowing me to ride for him and help put their #1 Graves-prepped Team Zyvax R6 back on the podium.” On his first 600 ride in two years, Clark set the fastest lap of the race to help open the gap on the other competitors. Of the weekend’s race results Zyvax team owner JB Layman was thrilled. “We worked together to make the plan for the race and the team executed the plan perfectly,” said Layman, “All the parts came together and we achieved our goal. The Graves Motorsports prepped Yamaha R6 performed perfectly all weekend, the riders were consistent and made zero mistakes and the crew was flawless in their pit stop execution!” Layman’s enthusiasm was shared by another Graves-partnered team in the WERA National Endurance paddock; Charlie Grannon’s brand new team S.G.A. Racing / Yweride.com / Yamaha Champions Riding School Team didn’t just finish well, they took second in the Medium Weight division and third overall! “What an incredible start for this team,” said Grannon with a big smile, “Thanks to Chuck (Graves), Shane (McCoy) and the entire Graves crew for helping to make my dream come true.” When Grannon decided he wanted to go endurance racing he knew he needed talented riders, fast bikes and a seasoned crew in the pits. Given the Barber WERA endurance race results, it seems Grannon chose wisely in each category. The combination of riders Dale Kieffer, instructor at the Yamaha Champions Riding School and Mr. Daytona Scott Russell on a Graves spec Yamaha R6 with pit stop assistance from seasoned AMA veterans from Graves Motorsports / Monster Energy Graves Yamaha proved to be the right formula for a front-running team. “I know when this whole idea of me and Scott (Russell) running a four-hour endurance race together at Barber came across the table, everybody probably thought ‘What kind of old-school circus act is this going turn out to be?'” said Kieffer, “Well I hope we proved that even though we are no young guns, we’re still hungry for a win! I want to extend a big ‘Thank you’ to Charlie Grannon for putting this effort together with Graves Motorsports. This was a first class effort right from the beginning and I’m grateful to be part of it.” Russell too was grateful for the opportunity and enjoyed the experience. In classic form Mr. Daytona knocked off nearly twenty seconds while chasing down the second place liter bike on the S.G.A. Racing / Yweride.com / Yamaha Champions Riding School Team R6, but ran out of time to capture the overall second place. Deal-making architect and team owner Chuck Graves of Graves Motorsports / Monster Energy Graves Yamaha was pleased with the performance of both teams. “The race went as expected,” said Graves, “We hoped to have the (Yamaha) R6 finish first and second, and S.G.A. ended up just fourteen seconds behind the second place liter bike. It was great to see Zyvax back on the track. All the riders rode exceptionally and the Graves crew lived up to the expectations of the Zyvax and S.G.A. team owners.” Team Zyvax is sponsored by Zyvax, Inc, and Graves Motorsports www.teamzyvax.com S.G.A. Racing is sponsored by S.G.A. Racing LLC and Yweride.com Yamaha Champions Riding School www.millermotorsportspark.com/riding-school/yamaha-champions-riding-school.html In addition to instructing at the Yamaha Champions Riding School, Dale Kieffer also does private coaching – check out Dale’s website www.racersedgeperformance.com Graves Motorsports is a leading motorcycle sport bike parts and accessories manufacturer. Graves Motorsports produces exhaust systems, fender eliminator kits, frame sliders, velocity stacks, engine case covers, engine performance and the leading resource for Dynojet Power Commander + accessories. Graves Motorsports has two locations: Van Nuys, California and Kennesaw, Georgia. www.gravesport.com More, from a press release issued by Ryan Farquhar’s publicist: Farquhar ends Irish road race season with hat-trick at Killalane Ryan Farquhar finished his 2011 Irish road race season with another haul of wins, this time claiming a hat-trick at the Killalane road races. The meeting went ahead after the removal of a controversial chicane but, when it did, Ryan claimed victories on the KMR Kawasaki’s in the Superbike, Supertwin and 450cc races also adding a brace of seconds to his results for the day. After the problems with the aforementioned chicane, grid positions were decided on Championship positions and so Ryan lined up on the second row for the opening Superbike race although it was only a couple of laps old when it was red flagged after Michael Dunlop crashed out, fortuntaely without injury. On the re-start, Ryan took full advantage and after shadowing John Burrows on the opening lap, he moved into the lead on lap 2 and held the lead until the end for his first win of the day. Next up was the 600cc race and it proved to be an excellent three-way battle between Ryan and the two Dunlop brothers, Michael and William. On this occasion, Ryan was able to push them all the way and although he got the better of William, Michael was able to keep him at bay and so Ryan had to settle for second, just 0.206s adrift. For the 125cc/450cc race, Ryan started from the back row of the grid but at the beginning of the second lap, he found a way past William Dunlop and, once in front, he was able to gradually edge away, eventually taking the victory by over four seconds. Ryan’s penultimate race of the day was the Grand Final and after the organisers delayed the start to allow a rain shower to pass, it again turned out to be a Ryan versus Michael Dunlop battle. Again, Ryan pushed Michael all the way and although he was able to get alongside on a couple of occasions, he didn’t quite have the pace to overhaul Dunlop and so again had to settle for second. However, his day ended on a winning note with a comfortable 10.7s win in the Supertwins race. Meanwhile, there was further joy for the team when Jamie Hamilton rode brilliantly from the second wave to secure second in the Junior Support race, a superb effort in his first outing at the venue. Speaking afterwards, a pleased Ryan said: “Aye, it’s been a good weekend and once all the hassle over the chicane had been sorted out, it was a good meeting and I really enjoyed the races. The problem with the chicane was that the bales were obstructing the corner too much and you couldn’t see your apex or through the corner so there was the potential for you to approach way quicker than you should have been and there’d have been no chance of avoiding a crash. It got altered once and then a second time after which myself and Michael had a look at it and it was a lot better. I’d have been happy to race with it but, eventually, the organisers decided to scrap it altogether and, fortuantely, there were no serious incidents on the day.” “I made a poor start in the first Superbike race but Michae’s spill gave me a second chance and I made a much better start so once I’d got past John Burrows, I just did enough to keep him at bay and hold on for the win although Michael being out on his 600 made it that little bit easier. I’d done some work on the 600 and it was definitely the best it had been all year so it was very pleasing to beat William and push Michael all the way as I haven’t been able to do that as much as I’d have liked this season. In the Grand Final, the track had dried up and I made a good start and was again right with Michael but although I was able to draw alongside him a couple of times, I just didn’t quite have the legs to get by but I was happy enough with second. The other two races also went well whilst I was again very impressed with young Jamie. He’s approaching everything in exactly the right manner and rode a very mature race, working his way through the pack for an excellent finish. It was my first meeting in Southern Ireland this year and it was great to be back so it was a very good weekend for all of the team.” Ryan now heads to Oliver’s Mount, Scarborough for the International Gold Cup races, the meeting taking place this forthcoming weekend.