KTM celebrates another double IDM Superbike victory with the RC8 R! KTM RC8 R Superbike riders were on top of their game on Sunday at the Oschersleben circuit in Germany when a double pole on Saturday from Matej Smrz and Stefan Nebel of the Inghart KTM Superbike Team Germany set the stage for a double victory in Sunday’s races by Smrz of the Czech Republic.With Martin Bauer of KTM Motorex having won both races in the opening event at the Lausitzring, the riders and the Austrian manufacturing company has hands firmly on the lead of competition and Manufacturer’s Standings. Smrz set the tone for the weekend in the opening timed training on Saturday when he put in the fastest ever lap on the circuit by a motorcycle. But it was to be a weekend with mixed fortunes for the other Orange riders. The first race of the day was stopped after six laps when Dario Giuseppetti of Germany high-sided. Nebel was unable to avoid the fallen rider, crashed himself and injured his shoulder. At the time of the accident Martin Bauer (KTM Motorex) was in the lead 1.9 seconds ahead of Smrz and Nebel was fourth and it looked like a possible triple orange podium. Bauer continued to lead after the race was restarted and had put distance between himself and Smrz but four laps before the close he had technical problems and had to retire. The way was then clear for KTM’s new Czech rider to take the glory. The second race was less complicated for Smrz who led from start to checkered flag. Bauer made a heroic attack on the front of the pack after missing the start thanks to clutch problems and eventually finished in third to add some more valuable points to his double victory on the opening IDM race weekend at Lausnitz. The three riders on the podium were only separated by one second. KTM Superbike riders have had a sensational start to the International German superbike championship series with four straight victories from four races to take a lead in the rider standings and the Manufacturer’s title. Matej Smrz: “The first race was very difficult. I didn’t get a good start and I was caught up in a group of fast riders. They there as the crash and its not nice when a team mate gets injured. When the race s started again I kept a bit of distance from Martin (Bauer) and then he dropped out of the race and I was able to go on and win. In the second race I attacked right from the beginning and was able to defend my lead right up to the finish. Martin Bauer: I was in front in the first race right up to a handful of laps before the end. Then there was a technical problem that began in the start finish straight. I held up my hand and rolled into the chicane and I can be lucky that I didn’t crash because the back wheel blocked. I was naturally very disappointed and I thought about how it was at Hockenheim last year when a possible triumph slipped through my fingers. In the second race there was a problem with the clutch on my second bike so I had a bad start. I thought ‘this cant be possible!’ but then I fought back and I gave it everything. In the end I just had Smrz and Muggeridge in front of me and with a cramp in my right thigh I wasn’t able to manage anything else.” Stefan Nebel: I was in fourth place after a few rounds and then the guy in front of me crashed and I wasn’t able to avoid him. I crashed too but I managed to roll into the pit area but I had pain in my shoulder and at the Magdelburg hospital they said I have broken my collarbone. The IDM 125 race was also one of mixed fortunes with KTM rider Toni Finsterbusch crashing out while in the lead to leave it to Sweden’s Alexander Kristiansson to be the fastest KTM on the track in third place. The Swedish rider was also third at Lausnitz and is third in the standings. Other creditable performances by KTM riders came from Austria’s Deni Cudic in sixth place while Germany’s Philipp Oettl was eighth. Results Race One Superbike 1, Matej Smrz, Czech Republic, INGHART KTM SUPERBIKE Team Germany, 2, Michael Ranseder. Austria, BMW 3, Damian Cudin, Australia, BMW 4, Karl Muggeridge, Australia, Honda 5, Sascha Hommel Germany, Yamaha Race Two Superbike 1, Matej Smrz, Czech Republic, INGHART KTM SUPERBIKE Team Germany 2, Karl Muggeridge, Australian, Honda 3, Martin Bauer, Austria, KTM Motorex DNS Stefan Nebel IDM Superbike Championship Points 1, Smrz, KTM 73 points 2, Bauer, KTM 66 3, Muggeridge, 62 4, Ranseder, 50 5, Cudlin, 48 8, Nebel, KTM, 26 points *After four from 16 races, KTM leads the Manufacturers title with 145 points ahead of BMW with 98 and Honda with 76 IDM 125 1, Luca Amato, Germany, Aprilia 2, Jack Miller, Australia, Aprilia 3, Alexander Kristiansson, Sweden, KTM (also third in standings after 2 races) 4, Bryan Schouten, Netherlands, Honda 5, Max Eckner, Germany, Aprilia 6, Deni Cudic, Austria, KTM 8, Philipp Oettl, Germany, KTM (KTM rider Toni Finsterbusch crashed out while in the lead) More, from a press release issued by Ryan Farquhar’s publicist: More success for Farquhar at Tandragee Ryan Farquhar’s successful start to the 2011 road racing season continued on Saturday when the KMR Kawasaki rider took a double victory at the Tandragee 100 road races. The Dungannon rider took the wins in the Super Twins and Moto 450 races whilst he also scored a brace of close seconds in the Open and Supersport 600 races before heavy rain caused the final Tandragee 100 feature race to be abandoned. Despite heavy rain the evening before, that saw practice curtailed, conditions were good for the Open race and a good start saw Ryan take an early lead before Michael Dunlop, having his first outing on his Superbike, nosed ahead a lap later. There was little to choose between the two around the demanding 5.3-mile circuit and Ryan closed right in on Dunlop with two laps to go but, try as he might, he was unable to find a way through and had to settle for second on this occasion. Meanwhile, fellow KMR Kawasaki teamster Sandor Bitter took a creditable 17th place on his Tandragee debut. It was an almost identical story in the Supersport race too, with Ryan and Dunlop again going head to head. Dunlop took the lead on the opening lap before Ryan took over for the next couple of laps but Dunlop wasn’t to be denied his 2nd race win and Ryan had to again accept second place. As the clouds rolled in, Ryan was soon back out on his 450 Kawasaki for the Moto 450 race and he was able to take a comfortable start to finish victory in the 4-lap race, aided by a new lap record of 93.917mph. By mid-afternoon, light drizzle had begun to fall but it had stopped when the Super Twins race came to the line and it saw Ryan enjoy a terrific battle with team-mate Adrian Archibald. There was little between the two over the 4 laps but, despite Archibald setting a new class lap record of 101.146mph, Ryan held on by just 0.186s for his second win of the day with Adrian in second and the third KMR Kawasaki of Trevor Ferguson in 8th. That proved to be the last of the race action though as heavy rain caused the feature Tandragee 100 race to be abandoned. Speaking later Ryan said; “It’s been another busy weekend and another good meeting for myself and the team. The evening and overnight rain meant there were a few damp patches on race day but Michael and myself had a good battle in the Open race. It was a close race and there wasn’t much difference in the speed of the Superbike and Superstock machines whilst we were both riding hard. I had a wee problem with the clutch but rode as hard as I could but it just wasn’t good enough to win. Meanwhile, Sandor rode well for a good finish so it was a good ride and a good experience for him. The 600cc race was another hard race and it was a similar story to the Open event – Michael just beat me fair and square, it’s as simple as that!” “The 450 was a straightforward, enjoyable race whilst the Super Twins race panned out exactly as I’d hoped. Adrian and myself were wheel to wheel all the way through the race and the two 650s were working really well. I think it was the first time we’d lapped quicker than the 250s and I really enjoyed the race. I just managed to hold Adrian off on the run in to the line and to get the first 1-2 for KMR Kawasaki was brilliant. When the rain came, it just wasn’t possible to continue racing though. The organisers have a done a great job with the circuit but there’s a couple of places around Tandragee where the tar is really shiny and when it gets wet, it’s like ice so it was the right decision to call it a day. We’ve got a lot of work to do now between now and the North West and my priority is to get my Superbike finished so, hopefully, we can have another good meeting there.” Ryan and the team will next head to the Causeway Coast for the International North West 200 road races, with first practice taking place on Tuesday 17th May. More, from a press release issued by Alex Cudlin’s publicist: CUDLIN UNSTOPPABLE IN SEASON FINALE (6th of May 2011) Taree’s Alex Cudlin has blitzed the field in the final round of the Qatar International Road Racing Championships at the weekend, giving him his 13th win of the season. Recently crowned as the Qatar International Champion for 2011, Alex wanted to put on a good show in the final race of the season, held under lights in Qatar. The weekend started well when Alex topped the time sheets in practice and then stormed to pole position for the following days races. On race day in morning warm up, Alex showed his dominance by lapping 1 second faster then his rivals but on the final lap of warm up, Alex’s motorcycle’s engine had a major technical problem, forcing him back into the pits. The team quickly determined that the engine needed to be completely replaced before Race One. With just 45 minutes to remove the complete engine and replace it with a new one, the QMMF racing team mechanics rallied together and began the difficult task at hand. With time fast running out, Alex was forced to watch the other riders take to the track for their warm up lap in Race One. The mechanics continued to work frantically to ensure that Alex would make the starting grid, and unbelievably managed to have the bike ready in time for the sighting lap. Unfortunately that meant that Alex would start from last position on the grid, even though he had achieved pole position in qualifying. The rules are clear that if a rider doesn’t complete the warm up and sighting lap, they must start the race from last position. Unfazed, Alex was determined to prove that he deserved the title of Champion, starting from last spot on the grid or not. When the starting lights went out, Alex was unbelievably fast off the line, carving through the field to be in 1st position by the end of lap one. Alex then proceeded to lap consistantly fast times to take the chequered flag as the winner. “That was one of the best races I have ever had. I had to start from last position and I knew it would be tough, but I was determined and by the end of the first lap I was in 1st position and took the win. I couldn’t believe I had even made it onto the grid, let alone won the race! When the engine let go in warm up and with such little time to replace the motor,I felt sure I was going to miss Race One, but the QMMF mechanics were amazing. To replace an engine in 45 minutes on a Superbike is pretty unbelievable actually. I was totally impressed. These guys are some of the best mechanics in the world and they proved that they deserved to have that reputation. They put so much into getting me onto the starting line, I knew I had to reward them with a win, so I pushed as hard as I could. This win is for them,” said a relieved and happy Cudlin. The celebrations were cut short as just under an hour later Alex lined up on the grid for Race 2. This time though, Alex made both the sighting and warm up laps and started from his qualifying position of pole or number one spot. Alex leapt away from the pack right from the start and was unstoppable throughout. Alex’s position wasn’t threatened at all during the race and he comfortably crossed the line as winner of Race 2, finishing the championship in as dominant a fashion as he began, with yet another race win. “This was the final race of the Qatar International Championship for the 2011 series and I wanted to impress with a win. I wanted to leave here this weekend not only as the Qatar Champion, but with the winners trophy for the final round. Apart from the incident with the engine just before race one, the bike performed perfectly all weekend, and it felt really special to win under lights as well. To top it off, as I rode down pit lane on the cool down lap, my mechanics were standing there with the Number 1 plate for my bike. It was nice to celebrate this win with my team and I feel proud to be able to ride with that Number 1 plate in next year’s Qatar Championship!” said Cudlin. Alex’s campaign in Qatar this year was one of the most dominant the championship has ever seen, with Alex winning 13 from 14 races and making a 100% podium score rate for the season, proving just how good the QMMF team and Cudlin’s form were in the 2011 season. “I want to thank the Nation of Qatar and QMMF(Qatar Motor and Motorcycle Federation) Board members, and in particular the President of QMMF, Mr Nasser bin Khalifa Al Attiyah, for giving me this opportunity and for providing me with such a professional team to work with. They provided everything I needed to win and they put a lot of trust in me to do the job well. I was so pleased that I could repay them with a Championship win. Since I joined this team in late 2009, the QMMF and the Nation of Qatar have treated me like one of their own. I feel I’m firmly part of their family now and this is an important component of my success. I was comfortable with my team and in my surroundings and I’m proud to say I’m the Champion of Qatar. Hopefully there is more to come in the future,” gushed a proud Cudlin. More, from a press release issued by Supersonic Racing Team: New World Championship points for Maxime Berger in race one, mechanical failure in the second race. Difficult weekend for the Supersonic Team at the Monza track. After the good results during the qualifying and gaining two points and a fourteenth place for Maxime in the first race, the luck turned in race two with a withdrawal due to a technical problem. A real shame for the team from Danilo Soncini, after the entire job done for the Monza races this weekend. Both races were held under a hot sun and high temperature of the asphalt, about 45-46 degrees. Maxime Berger started pretty well in race one and finished fourteenth. Gained another points thanks to his a good race pace. In race two, after only a few laps, the French rider returned to the pit due to a technical problem. The disappointment could be read on the face of Maxime and his engineers, but they look now with great determination to the next race in Salt Lake City. Maxime Berger: “In race one I gritted my teeth and I forced my pace to remain in the points and bring home a result that would reward my commitment and that of my team. In the second race, after a few laps I felt the engine problems of my Ducati and returned to the pits. Until now, no one can say that we were lucky, but this certainly does not change my idea. Monza is a unfavourable track for Ducati, but we entered Superpole and we got two points. Now we go to Salt Lake City with a strong desire to gain again points.” Danilo Soncini: “It seems incredible, but it is the beginning of the season and we suffer some technical problems. Compared to last year, we use all new parts that we control carefully. The whole team works the best they can, but we were stopped by a technical problem that our technicians are now investigating. We knew that Monza was not the track for the twin-cylinder Ducati, but we are equipped to try to do good results. Now we think about the next race in the U.S.A. We are ready to for it and with a bit of luck we return from the US with great satisfaction.” More, from a press release issued by Paul Bird Motorsport: Challenging Weekend for PBM Penrith-based Paul Bird Motorsport was left rueing their luck once again after a weekend which promised so much but left them empty handed. Team owner Paul Bird was hoping to become the first man in history to claim three successive Manx National Rally wins but slid off the road in his Ford Focus WRC when leading and the planned improvements for his Kawasaki Superbike Racing Team didn’t work out in round four of the World Superbike Championship which took place at Monza. In the scorching Italian sun, British rider Tom Sykes could only manage an 11th and 13th place finish aboard the Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10R with Spanish team-mate Joan Lascorz bouncing back from a race one crash to claim a best result of ninth in the day’s second race for the team. Australian Chris Vermeulen crashed out during Friday’s free practice session injuring his arm which resulted in him not racing. The results leave Sykes in 13th place in the title race, one point and one place ahead of his team-mate Lascorz going into the next round which takes place in Miller Motorsports Park in the USA on May 30th. Tom Sykes: “We didn’t have the speed or the race package to work with this weekend obviously there is some work to be done. We all need to pick our heads up and stay focused and positive. I will keep my head down and keep working and I am still confident we can make it work. I got caught up in the crash at the first chicane and lost time on the exit, which made things harder. I think I had a bit of a bit better pace early on if I had got latched onto a leading group.” Joan Lascorz: “All weekend we had been working with the soft race tyre then when we tested the harder tyre the bike needed a lot of adjustment. We made some changes after warm-up and found some better rear grip but lost the front and I crashed. In race two I did my best and I was reasonably satisfied with a top ten finish and we will be better in the next one. I would like to be fighting more in the front group.” Paul Bird, Team Owner: “I was hoping that this weekend might have turned our fortunes around but if anything, our luck has got worse. We just need a bit of good fortune to come our way and we’ll be fine but we need to start seeing some improvements soon as I have every confidence that the bike is good enough to challenge for podiums.” Results – Race 1 1, E Laverty (Yamaha World Superbike Team) 2, M Biaggi (Aprilia Alitalia Racing Team) 3, L Haslam (BMW Motorrad Motorsport) 4, M Melandri (Yamaha World Superbike Team) 5, M Fabrizio (Team Suzuki Alstare) 6, J Rea (Castrol Honda) 7, T Corser (BMW Motorrad Motorsport) 8, L Camier (Aprilia Alitalia Racing Team) 9, C Checa (Althea Racing) 10, J Smrz (Team Effenbert-Liberty Racing) 13, T Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team) DNF J Lascorz (Kawasaki Racing Team) Results – Race 2 1, E Laverty (Yamaha World Superbike Team) 2, M Melandri (Yamaha World Superbike Team) 3, M Fabrizio (Team Suzuki Alstare) 4, N Haga (PATA Racing Team Aprilia) 5, T Corser (BMW Motorrad Motorsport) 6, A Badovini (BMW Motorrad Italia SBK Team) 7, S Guintoli (Team Effenbert-Liberty Racing) 8, M Biaggi (Aprilia Alitalia Racing Team) 9, J Lascorz (Kawasaki Racing Team) 10, C Checa (Althea Racing) 11, T Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team) Championship Standings (after Round 4) 1, C Checa – 145pts 2, M Melandri – 118 3, M Biaggi – 117 4, J Rea – 89 5, E Laverty – 85 6, L Haslam – 84 7, M Fabrizio – 74 8, L Camier – 58 9, J Smrz – 55 10, N Haga – 47 13, T Sykes – 34 14, J Lascorz – 33 More, from a press release issued by Motorrad Competicion: Javier del Amor reaches a big comeback with the second position on the S1000RR in Motorland 9/5/2011 – Alberto López 6th equals his result in Jerez and Dani Rivas injured in the Warm-up manages to finish 7th in a great race of Motorrad´s riders. Great race weekend of Spanish Championship has been lived at Motorland Aragon. The event closed with the exciting race of StockExtreme, where the Motorrad riders have been in the head positions, emphasizing the second position of Javi Del Amor. The Sant Sadurní´s rider had a bad exit in wich has forced to move forward some riders, getting constantly to ride in a big rhythm. The last laps have turned out to be marked by the fight between Javier and Silva, solved in favor of Del Amor, which becomes strong in the second position of the provisional Classification. In the next race, which will be at Montmeló (Barcelona), at least 50km of his house, Javi will try to give fighter to Barragán, and get the first victory for BMW and his team, Motorrad this year. Alberto Lopez, has managed to repeat his best result in this year, equaling the 6th one of Jerez. The Cantabrian rider has wanted to say goodbye of his countryman Severiano Ballesteros, one of the best golf players, with a message in the starting grid.After a tight exit, Berto was managing to be located in race comfortably in sixth position, to several seconds of difference between the previous and later riders. Berto, is placed in 7th position of the championship and will try to reach the riders who him precede in the following races with the object of getting the coveted podium he is looking forward since the last race at Montmelo where stood at the gates of it. Dani Rivas, has suffered a small crash in the warm-up, which has left to him hairdo physically facing the race. His injury in the left doll was preventing him from holding well his BMW in the numerous brakings to lefts of the Aragonese tracing, preventing him to done his best laps made in the free and qualified practices during the weekend. Despite of Dani has obtained a meritorious 7th position with all physically problems, it serves to him to be in 4th place in the provisional standings. The Galician rider will check his wrist injury, because after the race effort has detected a major injury. However Rivas have enough time to recover until the next test at Montmelo in June. The next appointment of the CEV Buckler will be in the Montmelo circuit, where the Motorrad riders and the S1000RR will have a test the week before the race. More, from a press release issued by Yamaha Racing: Lanusse Takes Maiden Victory in Monza Romain Lanusse (MRS Yamaha Racing France), put on a spectacular display of racing under the Italian sunshine in Monza yesterday, to take the first victory of his Superstock 600 European Championship career. The young Frenchman got off to a perfect start from his pole position on the grid and continued to impress throughout the 10 lap race before powering his Yamaha R6 to victory. Lanusse was shortly followed by the Italian Dino Lombardi (Martini Corse Racing Team), also riding a Yamaha YZF-R6, crossing the finish line to take a second place on the podium. Lanusse heads to round three in Misano leading the Championship standings on 45 points, Lombardi in second place on 33 points. The Yamaha protagonists of the Superstock 600 category are riding Yamaha YZF-R6’s which are almost identical to the R6 “off the shelf” production seriesversion. The above mentioned impressive Superstock 600 performances, clearly demonstrates, yet again, the strength of the bike that has dominated the category in the previous years, with Jeremy Guarnoni taking the championship title in 2010. More, from a press release issued by Team Garnier Alpha Racing: FIM Cup Superstock 1000 Round 2 Monza (Italy) May 8, 2011 Brilliant 6th place for Reiterberger Markus Reiterberger did at Monza, on a track that he was discovering like his two team mates, a superb race with the most prestigious riders of the category. Beau Beaton scored his first point while Randy Pagaud was lucky enough not to get hurt when he was involved in a big collective crash. The original race started for 11 laps, but a broken engine in the Curva Grande at about half distance of the event had five riders crashing, happily without being hurt. There was a lot of oil on the tarmac and the race was stopped with a red flag. Then the riders restarted for what appeared to be a five lap sprint, where Markus Reiterberger was really good. Lorenzo Zanetti (BMW) was the final winner in front of Davide Giugliano (Ducati) and Michele Magnoni (BMW). Markus finished in sixth position, just in front of Marco Bussolotti on his Kawasaki Pedercini. Randy Pagaud, with his bike destroyed, could not restart. Beau Beaton had a good race. He was thirteenth on lap 3 and finished fifteenth, which is fine for a rider who discovers the championship and the European circuits. Michel Garnier (team owner): “We had a good weekend. Randy was not lucky: Sylvain Barrier broke his engine and Randy crashed on the oil. The bike is destroyed, but what is important is that he is not hurt at all. He is fine and we are happy about that. He progressed well and we are sorry for him because maybe he could have done something nice. Beau scores his first point. It’s a little bit hard also, but he didn’t know the track. Markus’ result doesn’t come as a surprise. As soon as he joined our team, I saw immediately that he was fast. He progresses and he will have to be watched this season. I am really happy because he is a good rider, and because the crew did a good job.” Beau Beaton: “There was this carnage in the beginning of the race and I ran off twice on the third lap and when Randy crashed, and he is OK so that’s good. In the second part of the race I got a good start and then on the fourth lap, with a little bit more than one lap to go I think, I was in twelfth or thirteenth, I had a little bit of a moment in the second chicane, put me back to fifteenth, it’s where we finished. We learned a bit more, we made a few changes and I think we can get forward from here.” Markus Reiterberger: “The first start was not as good as I would have liked. I was only in fifteenth position, but I was fast and had a good speed like the front men. Then there was a broken engine from Barrier and a new start. This start was very good; I was in eighth position, and at the end in sixth position. I am quite happy. I am looking forward to Misano to push a little more and we’ll see.” Randy Pagaud: “I had a good start which put me immediately in a good group. I was twentieth, not very far from Matthieu Lussiana, so I was quite happy. But on the sixth lap Sylvain’s engine broke and I was in the middle of the disaster. Five riders crashed and it was too bad because I think I could have scored my first point(s). I went faster than during the qualifying. It’s not that bad, I stay motivated.” Race result: 1- Lorenzo Zanetti BMW Motorrad Italia BMW S1000RR 2- Davide Giugliano Althea Racing Ducati 1098R + 0.065 3- Michele Magnoni Baru Racing Team BMW S1000RR + 1.728 4- Danilo Petrucci Barni Racing Team Ducati 1098R + 3.634 5- Fabio Massei Team Piellemoto BMW S1000RR + 4.750 6- Markus Reiterberger Garnier Alpha Racing Team BMW S1000RR + 9.341 7- Marco Bussolotti Team Pedercini Kawasaki ZX-10R + 9.418 8- Andrea Antonelli Team Lorini Honda CBR 1000RR + 10.734 9- Niccolò Canepa GoEleven Kawasaki ZX-10R + 10.845 10- Matthieu Lussiana Team ASPI BMW S1000RR + 10.915 11- Luca Verdini Ten Kate Junior Team Honda CBR 1000RR + 12.033 12- Riccardo Fusco EFFE Racing BMW S1000RR + 16.451 13- Lorenzo Savadori Lorenzini by Leoni Kawasaki ZX-10R + 16.750 14- Daniele Beretta Team Lorini Honda CBR 1000RR + 16.792 15- Beau Beaton Garnier Alpha Racing Team BMW S1000RR + 19.120 Superstock 1000 FIM Cup provisional standings: 1. Giugliano 45 points; 2. Petrucci 33; 3. Zanetti 32; 4. Antonelli 18; 5. Magnoni 16; 6. Barrier 16; 7. Baroni 13; 8. Canepa 13″¦12. Reiterberger 10 3rd round of the Superstock 1000 FIM Cup: Misano (Italy) on June 12 More, from a press release issued by Racedays Promotions: AUSTRALIAN DAVIES TAKES EUROPEAN JUNIOR CUP WIN AT MONZA The second round of the 2011 European Junior Cup took place under clear blue skies and high temperatures at Italy’s legendary Monza circuit this weekend, and joined the other World Superbike championship races in producing a spectacular battle for the passionate crowd. From the start, pole position setter Matt Davies pushed hard to establish a 2 second lead in the first flying lap. However Assen winner – Germany’s Tom Busch, was determined to stick with the young Australian and broke from the pack in a bid to chase him down. Mid point of the race saw seven riders battling to claim 3rd position, riding wheel to wheel aboard their identical Kawasaki Ninja 250 R’s in a classic Monza slipstream race. South Africa’s Themba Khumalo was unlucky to run wide at the Ascari chicane whilst Spain’s Miguel Aranda set the fastest lap of the race but could not find a way through the pack. Brandon Kyee, the sole USA rider in the series, proved he has adapted quickly to the larger bike and produced the pass of the day as he rode clean around the outside into Ascari. With two laps to go Busch had closed the gap to Davies. But the young Australian showed great race craft to defend his position and despite Busch’s best efforts the last lap battle finally came down to a run for the line through the fast Parabolica curve. A small slide from Davies saw him go slightly wide and Busch seized his chance, turning tighter in an effort to pass the current British 125 championship leader. Both riders were neck and neck on the final charge to the flag, but in the end Davies was able to take the win by 0.046 seconds from the German rider. The chase for third place was no less intense heading into the last turn, with the seven rider group still separated by only one second. In the end South Africa’s Sylvano De Aguiar carried the best speed to take his first podium ahead of fellow countryman Khumalo and California’s Kyee. Race Results European Junior Cup – Monza 1 – 44 DAVIES M AUS 2 – 7 BUSCH T GER 3 – 90 DE AGUIAR S RSA 4 – 18 KHUMALO T RSA 5 – 68 KYEE B USA 6 – 34 METTAM D NZL 7 – 99 FENOLL R ESP 8 – 46 TEIXEIRA D RSA 9 – 77 ARANDA M ESP 10 – 6 PATTERSON R GBR 11 – 9 DEMOULIN A FRA 12 – 11 HASHMI Q PAK 13 – 65 HUNT L GBR RET – 2 DEMOULIN J FRA Retired