Suzuki’s 2011 new-model GSX-R600 Supersport machine continues to set race tracks alight across the globe with its first double-race win in the British Supersport Championship, its first podium in the AMA Pro SuperSport Championship; and an impressive first-time debut in the Australian Supersport series that resulted in the team moving into a title-challenging position. Following on from his close-fought-for second place at the Knockhill British Supersport round in Scotland on June 19th, Relentless Suzuki by TAS Racing’s Alastair Seeley raced to two exciting victories at the inaugural Snetterton 300 at the beginning of July – an historic victory at the brand-new Norfolk circuit that has closed down his series second-placed points-gap at the half-way stage in the Championship. Said Seeley: “That’s what we came here to do – win races! It has been a perfect weekend for us with poles, fastest laps and two wins. Now we’ve just got to keep chipping away at the lead, but I have to say, the boys in the team have done a great job with the bike. It’s making my job that bit easier and I’m sure my GSX-R600 will be even stronger as the season goes on.” Team Manager Philip Neill added: “It’s hard to describe how good he is to watch in that sort of mood. We have improved the bike, but the rider is always the final ingredient and even we as a team are surprised to see how he dominated such a quality field. We know how good the new GSX-R600 is and with the improvements, we can make it even better for Alastair.” In America, 17-year-old Team SuzukiScoopFans’ Elena Myers rode a flawless AMA Pro SuperSport race to capture her first podium of the 2011 season in the first race at Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, Alabama on June 19th, posting the fastest lap of the race. She said: “I got a good start on my SuzukiScoopFans Suzuki GSX-R600 and I was starting on the second row from the fifth spot – that’s my best qualifying this year – and I felt pretty good about that. I was second off the line and then we had a red flag. In the restart, I had another good start and was trying to put my head down and I led for a few laps, and even went back-and-forth with the lead guys, but they ended up pulling a gap. I made my way home in third place and I’m really excited about that. It’s my first podium of the year and this was my first podium since my win last year. It’s definitely a big confidence-booster for me.” In Australia, the new GSX-R600 made its debut at the fourth round of the Supersport Championship on June 5th at Queensland Raceway in the hands of 19-year-old Brodie Waters. Although he just finished off the podium, his fifth place overall on the brand-new machine leapfrogged the team from fourth to second place and just 21 points off the Championship lead. Said Waters: “To come here this weekend with a brand new bike for the first time was a new experience for me. The new 2011 Suzuki GSX-R600 was great straight out of the box, but we needed just a bit more track time and set-up time to get it dialled-in for the races.” Team Manager Phil Tainton added: “It was a tough weekend for Brodie in Supersport as we weren’t able to do much testing of the new 2011 GSX-R600 before this meeting. The recent tragedy in Japan delayed the race parts we were waiting on, so set-up time has been limited. But I’m confident this new GSX-R600 will be a winner – it’s got a lot of improvements over the 2010 model.” More, from a press release issued by Bridgestone: Italian Grand Prix and Official Test debrief with Hirohide Hamashima Round 8: Italian GP Post-race debrief Mugello Circuit, Tuesday 5 July 2011 Bridgestone slick compounds available: Front: Medium, Hard. Rear (asymmetric): Medium, Hard Wet compounds available: Front: Soft. Rear: Soft The Italian Grand Prix was the eighth round of the season and the sixth to have at least one MotoGP session interrupted by rain. After dry and hot starts to Friday and Saturday, each afternoon brought rain that cut short both the second free practice and the qualifying session. The race however was run in dry conditions. This year Mugello has been completely resurfaced and the new tarmac is very good high grip and also much smoother with all the bumps of the old surface removed completely. This, coupled with the fact that Bridgestone brought asymmetric rear slicks to Mugello for the first time in the single tyre era, meant that the laptimes were fast and a new lap record and total race time record were set. Jorge Lorenzo overcame an initial lead by Casey Stoner to take his second victory of the season and his first at the Italian venue in the premier class. Andrea Dovizioso was second and Casey Stoner third, meaning that now the championship points standings have gotten a little closer. The Grand Prix was followed by an Official IRTA one-day test at the venue on Monday. Hirohide Hamashima Assistant to Director, Motorsport Tyre Development Division Bridgestone selected asymmetric rear slicks for Mugello this year what was the feedback? “Rider comments about our asymmetric tyres at Mugello over the weekend were positive. At this circuit in the past we have seen that it isn’t strictly necessary to have asymmetric tyres, evidenced by the lap record that Dani Pedrosa set last year on symmetric rear tyres which means both shoulders are the same compound. However, we also know that the riders like our asymmetric tyres and the improved feeling offered by the use of the softer compound in one shoulder, and this is why we have increased our usage of them year-on-year. “Warm-up performance here was never going to be a real issue because of the temperature and the level of abrasion of the tarmac, so our choice to bring asymmetric rears was more for grip performance and rider feeling rather than safety. The softer left shoulder gave the riders better feeling and grip through the left-handers, of which there are six as opposed nine rights, and this gave them a little more confidence in the tyres and in edge grip.” What can you say about the new surface at Mugello from a tyre perspective? “The new tarmac makes the circuit much smoother than it used to be with less undulation, and it is also high grip. The reduction in bumps means that generally the bikes are less unsettled and the tyre contact patch is more constant, so the bike feels more stable. This is one contributing factor to the faster lap times. Another is that the tarmac is high grip, the benefits of which are clear in terms of corner speed and braking and acceleration forces. This means though that the stress and loads on our tyres were much higher this year, but still tyre wear was as we expected and in general I am pleased with tyre performance. Our usage of asymmetric rear slicks this year was a third contributing factor to the laptime improvements, though of course bigger changes will always come from a brand new surface rather than a relatively smaller change to rubber compound.” What did Bridgestone test in the official post-race test? “We tested one new front tyre compound during the official test day, and we provided one of these new tyres to each MotoGP rider. Several riders tested this new front tyre, which is important in our development of compounds for the 1000cc era next year. Rider feedback was good, and in fact Casey and Marco set their fastest laps using this new tyre. Casey was fastest overall, with a 1m 47.326s and Marco was second fastest just 0.096s behind, so both times are much faster than the pole record set on Saturday which is a good indication of performance. The test was important for us and we collected a lot of valuable data as we continue our development of our new family of tyres.” More, from a press release issued by Deeley Harley-Davidson Canada: SHANNONVILLE, Ontario (July 5, 2011) Shannonville Motorsport Park Canada Day was marked by qualification rounds of the Harley-Davidson® XR1200® Cup, as part of the double-header Canadian Superbike Series event hosted in Shannonville, Ontario on July 2. The qualifiers saw a banged-up Darren James of Ruthless Racing shake off the pain of a late practice session crash on Friday and bravely soldier on, with surprisingly good lap times. As MotoSport Plus of Kingston rider, Steve Crevier, and Privateers Harley-Davidson® of Nova Scotia rider, Cody Matechuk, resumed hostilities, Sherbrooke Harley-Davidson® rider, Samuel Proulx, continued his push to the front of the XR1200® ranks with some impressive lap times, getting the second fastest lap times of the morning session, thus setting the stage for the race battle scheduled in the early afternoon. Going into race one, pole position holder, Steve Crevier, was awarded the Tactical Products of Canada Luminox watch. As advertised, Round two on Saturday turned out to be a barn-burner, with spectators in the grandstands on the edge of their seats for the entire race. Right off the start, an early four-way battle ensued with Crevier and Matechuk taking the lead in the 16-lap final. The best seat in the house went to Samuel Proulx, who pushed his way into third, ahead of Darren James, who refused to show any signs of letting up. Olivier Spilbourghs, riding for Trev Deeley Motorcycles, got involved in a three-rider battle with Harley-Davidson® de L’Outaouais rider, Elie Daccache, and Vision Harley-Davidson® rider, Chris Harmon. Just behind them, John Ross McRae, riding for the Ruthless Racing Camp, pulled away from Kitchener Harley-Davidson® rider, Steve Hoffarth. Matechuk continued to show Crevier a wheel at every corner, but in the end was unable to make good on his threat to get around and he handed first place to Crevier. This left Matechuk and Crevier leading the series in a points tie. Proulx held his position for third and Darren James earned a hard-fought fourth place finish in the race, as well as the Performance Under Gear “Performance of the Race” Award. As soon as the start lights flashed the second half of the double-header weekend at Shannonville Motorsports Park was off to an exciting start with Privateers Harley-Davidson® of Nova Scotia rider, Matechuk, jumping into the early lead of Round three. But hot on his tail was MotoSport Plus of Kingston rider, Crevier. Sherbrooke Harley-Davidson® rider, Proulx, had his hands full as Darren James pushed the young rider through every corner of the tight Shannonville Pro track until technical issues forced James to silence his engine. When the chequered fabric was aired out at the finish line, it was Steve Crevier with the deciding win in the weekend event. Matechuk chased him all the way to the line for a hard-earned second. Proulx held off the advances of the battling trio behind him to grab his rightful third spot on the podium where he was rewarded for his efforts with the Performance Under Gear “Performance of the Race” Award. A jubilant Crevier said after the race, “It was a lot of fun. I know a young guy like Cody has a lot of MotoCross experience and he was getting out of the hairpin a lot faster than I was, so I just had to get back around him and do a little blocking so he couldn’t get by me again. I thank Pete Snell for building me a good bike with great brakes and of course, MotoSport Plus of Kingston for making it happen.” Round four will be held at the Autodrome in Saint-Eustache, Quebec from July 8 to 10. For further information on the series, please refer to www.csbk.ca. About Deeley Harley-Davidson® Canada Deeley Harley-Davidson® Canada is the exclusive Canadian distributor of Harley-Davidson® motorcycles, Genuine Motor Parts and Accessories, and MotorClothes® apparel, which are provided through a national network of authorized Harley-Davidson® Retailers. Office and distribution warehouse facilities are located in Richmond, British Columbia, and Concord, Ontario. Please visit www.harleycanada.com for further information on Harley-Davidson® products in Canada.