Italian Grand Prix debrief with Tohru Ubukata Round 4: Italian GP Post-race debrief Mugello, Tuesday 8 June 2010 Bridgestone slick compounds available: Front: Medium, Hard. Rear: Medium, Hard The Italian Grand Prix provided the most variety of the season in terms of riders’ rear tyre compound selections for the race. Whilst every rider chose the hard compound front tyre because of the hot conditions and the heavy braking seen at Mugello, seven riders opted for the softer option rear slick and nine for the harder option. This provided a direct comparison between the performance of the two rear tyre specifications, and proved that both could work well in identical conditions this weekend. Dani Pedrosa of the Repsol Honda Team was the runaway winner followed by Jorge Lorenzo and Andrea Dovizioso. Valentino Rossi was sidelined from the Italian Grand Prix following his crash during free practice on Saturday morning. Q&A with Tohru Ubukata – Manager, Bridgestone Motorcycle Tyre Development Department What can you say about tyre performance after this grand prix? “Generally I am very happy about two main points. Firstly Dani was able to set a new lap record by half a second using our hard compound rear slick tyre despite the high track temperature. This is the second new lap record set on our tyres from the first four races of this season, which is an achievement I am proud of. Although his best lap came on lap five, he also broke the lap record on only the fourth lap of the race which indicates good performance from the start. The new fastest total race time at this circuit demonstrates good consistency from our tyres over race distance. “Secondly, during the race we saw that almost half the riders chose to use the softer option rear tyre, our medium compound, which shows their confidence in its performance and durability even at Mugello which is a very tough circuit for tyres because of the heat, the abrasiveness of the tarmac and the top speed, which this weekend reached a high of 345.7km/h. Casey and Marco Melandri were two of the riders to use the softer option rear, and they finished fourth and fifth which proves they were good over race distance. What’s more, Casey and Marco were also in a long battle with Randy de Puniet who used a hard rear tyre and all three riders did very similar laptimes throughout.” Why did rear tyre choices differ so much during the race at Mugello? “Rear tyre choices were varied because of our improved medium compound which has a wider temperature operating range and therefore offers a greater performance overlap with our hard compound. The track temperature during the weekend was high but our two slick tyre compound choices could both cope with the conditions well, so it became a decision based on riding style, machine setup and rider preference. “Dani, Jorge and Andrea chose the hard compound rear because they could get good grip from it with their individual setups and it gave better stability because the rubber is stiffer. Casey and Marco, for example, chose the softer option rear because it gave more edge grip, and for their styles and setups durability was not a concern even with the high track temperature.” More, from a press release issued by John McGuinness’ publicist: Solid day on the Island for McGuinness John McGuinness got his 2010 Isle of Man TT campaign up and running on Tuesday when he had two strong rides in the 4-lap Supersport and Superstock races. Riding the Padgetts Honda’s, John took a fighting seventh in the morning’s Supersport race and followed this up with an even better fourth place in the Superstock encounter, results that went some way to making up for the disappointment of retiring from Saturday’s Superbike race. It was the Supersport race that got proceedings underway and with an opening lap of 124.154mph, John was holding on to eighth place but such was the closeness of the racing he was only 2.04s off fourth! A quicker lap of 124.691mph on lap two saw him jump up to sixth place as he came in to refuel, only three seconds down on fifth placed William Dunlop. A charging Keith Amor relegated him to seventh place on the third lap around the Mountain Course and with another 124mph+ lap, John was able to hold on for his place at the chequered flag for yet another silver replica. Just over two hours later, John was back on Glencrutchery Road for the Superstock race, again held over four laps, where he lined up on his usual British Superstock Championship mount. Hoping for a good showing on the bike he rides all year, a lap of 127.709mph saw John lie in sixth place after the first 37.73-miles and he maintained this position second time around despite going quicker at 128.148mph. However, the Padgetts team did a great job at the refuelling stop and he was soon on his way, jumping up to fourth as the riders swept through Glen Helen, the first timing point on the lap, for the third time. A final lap of 127.903mph saw him comfortably hold on to fourth place and, with team-mate Ian Hutchinson winning both of the day’s races, it was a great day for the hard-working Padgetts team. Talking later, a satisfied John said: “It’s really good to get two full race distances under my belt and I’d say the morning’s 600cc race was one of the best Supersport races I’ve ever ridden. I felt really good out there and when I saw ‘P7′ on my pit board, I couldn’t believe it as I was riding the wheels off the bike. I enjoyed the race but some of the other boys were absolutely flying so there’s no excuses from me, I was just beaten by better people on the day. The bike was awesome, as Hutchy proved, so I’ll just have to dig that little bit deeper on Wednesday.” “I was really looking forward to the Superstock race as it’s the bike I ride all year round and was desperate to get a good start to give myself the best opportunity. I did close to 128mph from a standing start, which, a couple of years ago, would have got you the lead, but it was only good enough for sixth although the times between us all were ridiculously close. I had a better second lap and the boys did a great job at the pit stop and with two strong laps I was able to jump up to fourth. It was a shame to just miss out on a podium but it was a solid day’s racing and I’m really looking forward to the final two races.” John will be back out on the 600cc Padgetts Honda in Wednesday’s second Supersport race, with the race scheduled to get underway at 10.45am. More, from a press release issued by Team Roadracingworld.com Suzuki: VILLA RETURNS TO ACTION AT ROAD AMERICA Team Roadracingworld.com Suzuki’s Santiago Villa made his return to AMA Pro Daytona SportBike action last weekend at Road America in Elkhart Lake, WI after missing the previous three rounds of the 2010 season due to a collarbone injury suffered in the opening practice at Auto Club Speedway. The multi-time Colombian champion worked hard to regain his confidence aboard the team’s GSX-R600 racebike. Qualifying on the outside of the fifth row in 20th position with a best time of 2:26.041, Villa improved upon his grid position both times out. He claimed 15th in Saturday’s tricky wet race and came back on Sunday to register a 17th-place ride. “It was good to be back out there,” Villa remarked. “I wasn’t as quick as I would have liked to have been but I got in the points in both races and I managed to do a good time at the end. I wasn’t completely comfortable on the bike — perhaps I was a little bit nervous because I didn’t want to do something wrong and get hurt again. But my confidence will come back, I’m very sure about that. “Of course, Saturday’s conditions were very difficult and that didn’t help but I felt much better on Sunday. We made some changes on the bike that didn’t pan out as hoped. It was my decision and we made a change in the gearing and I made a bit of a miscalculation. But we’ll learn from that and we’re ready to go to Mid-Ohio and Laguna Seca and put on a good show. “I’ll keep training as hard as I can. I’m going to VIR to train in a couple of weekends. I just want to get better and better and better and give my crew and my team the best result possible.” Despite missing most of the season to date, Villa is ranked 23rd in the championship standings with 16 points. Meanwhile, Daniel Guevara added points to his AMA Pro SuperSport East Division championship effort. Like Colombian Villa, the Venezuela native outperformed his qualifying effort in each race. Lining up 14th with a best time of 2:32.052 aboard his SuperSport-spec GSX-R600, Guevara raced his way up to a pair of top-ten results, finishing eighth in Saturday’s race and backing that up with a Sunday ninth as the young rider continues to improve. Guevara is ranked fifth in the East Region title standings with 61 points. Roadracingworld.com Suzuki will be back in action following the series’ summer break on July 16-18 at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington, OH. More, from a press release issued by Miles Thornton Racing: Miles Thornton was back in action this past weekend competing in his second AMA SuperSport round of the 2010 season. After qualifying seventh and starting from the second row, Miles was unable to break away with the lead pack. He was locked in a battle for sixth place during the entire 10 lap race until the last lap. Two riders went down on the final lap resulting in a fourth place finish for Miles. Sunday’s race began with Miles determined to get a better start and improve on his previous day’s fourth place finishing position. As the field settled into the race, Miles was clearly in the hunt for a podium finish. With multiple changes in position around the track during the entirety of the race, it came down to an exciting final lap with the top six riders all with a chance to take the win. Miles secured his second fourth place finish of the weekend with the six rider battle all within two seconds at the checkered flag. Miles would like to thank Arai, Markbilt Race Bikes, RS Taichi, Held USA, Sidi, Orient Express Racing, Impact Safe-T Armor, Pauleez Race Painting, therotater.com, RM Racing, Howard B & B, and A & J Screen Printers for their support and is looking forward to the next round at Mid-Ohio, July 16th-18th. More, from a press release issued by Ducati Motologic Racing: A MIXED WEEKEND FOR DUCATI MOTOLOGIC RACING In what can only be described as a mixed weekend at the track for Ducati Motologic Racing the factory Ducati team finished Round 3 of the Australian Superbike Championship without a result for #27 Jamie Stauffer after he did not finish either race on Sunday despite racing competitively in both races, even recording the fastest lap time in Race 1. Stauffer’s rookie team mate, #33 Jordan Burgess had a more successful weekend of racing overall as the developing rider finished 11th in Race 1 of the day, placing him amongst some very experienced riders. Although recording faster lap times in practice on Thursday on the 1198R, Burgess was still competitive in Race 1 recording a lap time of 1:12.847 seconds. The developing Ducati team began the weekend strongly, leading the timesheets in practice. Qualifying on Saturday also placed the Ducati 1198R in a strong position to challenge for first place. Race day on Sunday appeared promising as the starter’s flag fell on Race 1 and within 3 laps Stauffer had recorded the fastest lap time of the whole race at 1:10.470 seconds. It was then that the two-time Australian Superbike Champion encountered an electrical gremlin causing his bike to stop. Stauffer was forced to return to the pits. It was Bryan Staring that took first place with his fastest lap time being 1:10.523 seconds. The mixed results of Race 1 did nothing to deter the technicians as they set about preparing Stauffer’s spare bike to compete in the second race of the day. Stauffer himself was eager to move forward from the first race and remain focused. Stauffer was again extremely competitive in Race 2 recording his fastest lap at 1:10.456 sec on lap 6; however it simply was not his day. The #27 was again unable to finish the race on his spare bike when a clutch plate fractured causing the clutch to slip. Jordan Burgess finished Race 2 in 16th place and has used the event as a significant learning experience. #33 Jordan Burgess: “My weekend had some definite highlights as I recorded some strong lap times in practice and was able to finish 11th in Race 1 which was a solid improvement after my injury in Darwin. The second race did not go quite as well after we tried a different setting in the bike, only to finish in 16th place. I have learned a lot this weekend particularly from the team’s experience overall so I have some very definite points to work on and discuss both with my technicians and my trainer.” #27 Jamie Stauffer: “I’m really disappointed this weekend, of course. No rider wants to come away from an event without points, but I know the entire team put their heart and soul into everything at the track and it really was just a string of bad luck for us on race day. My times in practice were the fastest of the day and I recorded the fastest lap time of Race 1 so I was going strong. I’m disappointed not to have gained more points in the series, but I really have to thank the team for their dedication. When things got tough, the team came together really well and just got to work. It was disappointing for everyone that we couldn’t come away from the event as strongly as we began. There were some positives though and we will focus on those and look to the next round in Qld in August.” Team Owner and Manager Paul Free: “Our weekend began positively as both Jamie and Jordan were posting fast times in the early part of the weekend. It was just a shame that the momentum in Jamie’s case was cut short. It was great to see Jordan get up into 11th place in Race 1 especially in his first event since his injury. Overall, we learned a lot about the motorbike and tested many new ideas. We look forward to our next event on the Ducati armed with the information gained from Round 3 and to continuing the development path of the 1198R. The bike showed so much potential at Round 3 and good overall speed so I’m sure once we can get over some of these niggling problems Jamie will be the one to beat.” The next event in the series will be Round 4 at Queensland Raceway August 19-22. The Ducati Motologic Race Team will be there with a stronger team spirit than ever as we continue developing the Ducati 1198R. More, from a press release issued by Shandra Crawford: Lenny Hale Finishes 12th in Both Daytona Sportbike Races at Road America At Road America, privateer Lenny Hale showed that he could run in the top 10 in the intensely-contested, factory-supported AMA Pro Racing Daytona SportBike class and scored a pair of 12th-place finishes. Despite rain and a shortened qualifying practice on Friday, Hale got up to speed quickly, qualifying 16th on his Yamaha YZF-R6. In the races, Hale improved on his qualifying position, placing 12th in Race 1 and Race 2. On Saturday, Hale finished just behind Michael Beck on Saturday, and on Sunday turned the tables on the youngster, finishing ahead of Beck by .09 seconds. “Saturday’s race was a little rough. It was my first time at this track, so I was still trying to learn it and pick up some speed,” Hale says. “I was just getting into the rhythm of the track when it started raining. At that point, I just tried to be really smooth and steady, and finish the race well. I was chasing down Michael Beck, but at the end, he got away from me.” “On Sunday, I got a great start and made it up to 9th. I hung on as long as I could, but I was just getting out motored on the straights. I was having a really good battle with Fernando Amantini. He would pull me on the straights, and I would catch him in the corners. It was a really good race and I had a lot of fun racing with Fernando.” Hale’s sponsors include Dunlop, PSR, Garage Endeavors, Factory Bodyworks, Pacific Track Time, Repsol Oil, Arai Helmets, NJK leathers. The next round of AMA competition for Hale will be Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Mansfield, Ohio on July 16-18. More, from a press release issued by Acorn Woods Communications, on behalf of Yoshimura Racing: Yoshimura Takes Three Podium Spots at Road America Chino, Calif. June 8, 2010 Yoshimura R&D of America earned three podium spots at Round 5 of the AMA American SuperBike series at the Road America doubleheader in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin. Tommy Hayden got his second career SuperBike victory on Sunday after a spectacular race to the finish line. Hayden also made it to the podium on Saturday with a second-place photo finish where he nearly made it across the finish line first. His teammate Blake Young also made an appearance on the podium on Saturday, taking the third spot. Hayden has his Yoshimura-prepped GSX-R1000 finetuned and it showed on Saturday when he put in the second-fastest qualifying time. Young qualified third, so both Yoshimura riders were on the front row of the grid for both races. Saturday’s race went down to the wire with a photo finish, and Hayden came in just shy of first place, taking second place by a mere fraction of a second. “The race was just a little bit too long for me,” Hayden said after the race. “This is the third time this year I’ve been on the backend of a close finish, but I have some ideas for changes to get out front tomorrow.” Young was not far behind the leaders and put himself in position to take the third spot on the podium. On Sunday, Hayden and his crew did make some small changes to the bike’s setup that proved worthy. Hayden again battled for the lead with the pole sitter, but this time was able to push his Yoshimura-powered GSX-R1000 across the finish line first. “I can say that it feels better to be on the winning end of a close one,” Hayden said. “We’re going to keep working to get back up here again.” The win marks Hayden’s second victory of the 2010 season and his SuperBike career, and puts him in the lead of the series at the halfway point of the season. Blake Young battled on Sunday with other racers and was in third on the technical course. After a slight miscalculation in a turn, Young lost his position and succumbed to the pack, ending his day in seventh place. Young is still holding the fourth spot in the series standings and is looking forward to Mid-Ohio in July for another chance at the podium. Look for the Yoshimura racers to be vying for more podium appearances July 16-18 in Lexington, Ohio, for Round 6 of the AMA American SuperBike series.