FIM Superbike World Championship Portimao, Portugal March 28, 2010 Race Two Results (all on Pirelli tires): 1. Max BIAGGI (Aprilia RSV4 Factory), 22 laps 2. Leon HASLAM (Suzuki GSX-R1000), -0.191 second 3. Cal CRUTCHLOW (Yamaha YZF-R1), -0.658 4. Carlos CHECA (Ducati 1098R), -1.015 seconds 5. Leon CAMIER (Aprilia RSV4 Factory), -3.123 6. James TOSELAND (Yamaha YZF-R1), -9.131 7. Shane BYRNE (Ducati 1098R), -11.033 8. Noriyuki HAGA (Ducati 1098R), -13.452 9. Sylvain GUINTOLI (Suzuki GSX-R1000), -13.964 10. Troy CORSER (BMW S1000 RR), -16.377 11. Michel FABRIZIO (Ducati 1098R), -26.351 12. Ruben XAUS (BMW S1000 RR), -27.964 13. Tom SYKES (Kawasaki ZX-10R), -33.566 14. Lorenzo LANZI (Ducati 1098R), -33.823 15. Max NEUKIRCHNER (Honda CBR1000RR), -37.372 16. Luca SCASSA (Ducati 1098R), -45.611 17. Roger HAYDEN (Kawasaki ZX-10R), -56.512 18. Matteo BAIOCCO (Kawasaki ZX-10R), -58.980 19. Makoto TAMADA (BMW S1000 RR), -75.819 20. Andrew PITT (BMW S1000 RR), -101.672 21. Sheridan MORAIS (Honda CBR1000RR), -10 laps, DNF, crash 22. Jakub SMRZ (Ducati 1098R), -12 laps, DNF, crash 23. Jonathan REA (Honda CBR1000RR), -15 laps, DNF, mechanical 24. Vittorio IANNUZZO (Honda CBR1000RR), -15 laps, DNF, mechanical Superbike World Championship Point Standings (after 4 of 26 races): 1. Haslam, 85 points 2. Biaggi, 69 3. Checa, 60 4. Fabrizio, 46 5. Haga, 43 6. Rea, 39 7. Guintoli, 33 8. Camier, 32 9. Corser, 29 10. TIE, Crutchlow/Toseland/Byrne, 25 13. Lanzi, 15 14. Xaus, 10 15. Smrz, 8 16. Sykes, 7 17. Neukirchner, 5 18. TIE, Josh Brooks/Pitt, 2 More, from a press release issued by Hannspree Ten Kate Honda: Jonathan Rea experienced mixed fortunes in today’s two second round World Superbike championship races at Portimao, taking a spectacularly well-fought podium in race one, but retiring from the second outing. Both this afternoon’s races were won by Italian Max Biaggi, as Rea’s Hannspree Ten Kate Honda team-mate, Max Neukirchner struggled with his own technical issues in the first race. The German brought his CBR1000RR home for a solitary championship point in race two. Starting from fifth place on the grid, in the first 22-lap encounter at the 4.592km Portimao circuit, Rea found himself bumped out of contention by another rider in turn one and was forced to compose himself for another fight back through the field. From 12th place, the Northern Irishman battled his way through to well-earned podium by the flag. He enjoyed a trouble-free start to race two and slotted into second place behind Biaggi before passing the Italian on lap two. On the eight lap, however, the 23-year-old was forced to retire with a technical problem. Max Neukirchner had struggled since practice began on Friday to find a good balance for his riding style and he qualified in 13th place. With some significant changes to his race bike, Neukirchner began race one with more confidence, but this was short-lived, a malfunctioning clutch forcing his retirement. In race two, his handling issues continued and the 26-year-old was frustrated to finish in 15th. Jonathan Rea 3rd and DNF I had a big crash on Friday and had to rebuild my confidence through the rest of the weekend and then some idiot let the brakes off going into turn one in the first race. I locked the front brake and went straight into the gravel which was scary. I really needed to get away with Max and Leon, but I caught up to Crutchlow and he was making quite a few mistakes when I put some pressure on him. I got third place but I don’t think it was gifted and I think would have got it anyway. In race two I was holding my own with Biaggi but messed up the last corner on lap five, I think, so Leon and Crutchlow got by. I was still feeling pretty comfortable, but then heard a funny noise going down the straight a couple of laps later, so I pulled in the clutch and that was it. It’s pretty frustrating watching the end of a race from the garage, and we need to make some in-roads to get back to the front soon. We’re testing some new electronics here tomorrow and then it’s off to Valencia, where we had a good test last December. Let’s hope for better things there. Max Neukirchner DNF and 15th We have struggled to get the right balance for the bike all weekend and, even though we’ve had some good ideas, we haven’t really found one that works. We’ll keep working though and, luckily, we have a test here tomorrow, which I hope will give us some opportunities to find a way forward. The biggest problem I have is getting the bike to turn and hold a line going into the corners. It means I’m having to brake earlier for each turn and by the end of the race”¦ well, it’s not very good. But we’ll look at things again tonight and hopefully make some progress before we go to Valencia in two weeks time. Ronald ten Kate team-manager Well, the weekend was looking promising but it just goes to show that you can’t assume anything. Jonathan had good pace all weekend and in race one he was a bit unlucky that he got hit on the way into the first corner. However, he fought back fantastically to a great third place so, when he was in second position in race two, we were ready to watch some action. Unfortunately, the sheets show that his engine was starting to lose power from early in the race and eventually he had to pull out. For Max, we made quite some changes to his bike on race day but his clutch burnt out in the first race and he clearly struggled in the second. We definitely need a weekend without all these gremlins around and hopefully it will be at Valencia. More, from a press release issued by Infront motor Sports: Biaggi doubles up after winning two tight races In front of 77.000 people, Max Biaggi (Aprilia Alitalia) won each 22-lap race at Portimao today to go second in the championship rankings, behind the rider who took two second places, Leon Haslam (Alstare Suzuki). The margin of victory for Biaggi was 0.200 seconds in race one, and 0.191 seconds in race two, as Max took his career win total to six. He scored his first SBK double win today, having started the race second on the grid. Haslam now has 85 points, Biaggi 69. pirelli Official Tyre Supplier “Back in Portimão after just five months allows for some incredible tyre developments, seen already in Race 1 when six riders on five different bikes quickened the lap record as much as 0.75 seconds and the final race time by 16 seconds. After just one year from the start of Aprilia’s renewed SBK project, Biaggi has found the ideal tyre performances to take his first double win. All these impressive results come from Diablo Superbike SC2 front and SC1 rear tyres recently inserted in the Pirelli racing range, based on confirmed solutions from the previous season. The eventful races and diverse podiums filled by the four manufacturer’s bikes of Aprilia, Suzuki, Honda and Yamaha were no surprise, as starting from the 2nd Superbike practice, the first 18 riders were seperated by only 1.27 seconds. The FIM Superstock 1000 was also notable as congratulations to BMW Motorrad Italia on their first win in the class, to Berger (Honda) who brought down the Lap Record by 1 second, and the final podium filled with three different manufacturers – BMW Honda Yamaha -” Giorgio Barbier, Racing Director, Pirelli Moto Race 1 Max Biaggi held off Haslam for the race one win but only after a strong man-to-man fight throughout. Jonathan Rea went third for Hannspree Ten Kate Honda, when Cal Crutchlow fell off his Sterilgarda Yamaha late in the race, remounting to go 14th. Carlos Checa (Althea Ducati) had to work hard to keep Leon Camier (Aprilia Alitalia) behind as he scored fourth place. Shane Byrne (Althea Ducati) rode through the pain of a big crash on Saturday to take sixth. Noriyuki Haga recovered from his fifth row start to take eighth and the first BMW Motorrad machine home belonged to Troy Corser, ninth. Race 2 A close four-rider fight for the win went to Biaggi again, from Leon Haslam, who was not quite able to overtake Biaggi and make it stick, as Max used his superior drive out of the final corner to pass Leon when it mattered. Cal Crutchlow scored his second career SBK podium, and his first as a series regular, running his Yamaha to third. Carlos Checa was fourth – and only 1.015 seconds covered the whole top four after another tense race. In the championship Haslam leads with 85 points, Biaggi is second on 69 and Checa third with 60. FOUR MANUFACTURERS IN EACH TOP FOUR In each race today there were four different manufacturers in the top four – Aprilia, Suzuki, Honda and Ducati in race one, and Aprilia, Suzuki, Yamaha and Ducati in race two. The second race saw a vee-four, a conventional ‘screamer’ four, a cross-plane crankshaft four and a 1200cc vee-twin fill the top four places – all the engine configurations competing in SBK this year within a second of each other after 22 laps and almost 160km of close racing. VAST IMPROVEMENT It was only last October that the previous Portimao round was run, but in those short months the progress has been amazing. Race one today was 16 seconds faster than it’s equivalent in October and race two was 13 seconds faster this year compared to last. RIDER COMMENTS Max Biaggi: “It is great to get my first double win in World Superbike. The feeling is great and the first double win of anybody this year so I feel confident and we are in a good rhythm. We go to Valencia next and we will ask very much of ourselves there as well. We had good speed down the straight today but if you saw how fast we could exit the last corner then you would know it was not just the engine. Our bike is fast but other bikes are also fast.” Leon Haslam: “I was trying everything to pass Max and in race two I timed it so I could be in the lead with a few laps to go and make a break, but Max came back past me on the straight. It was hard racing today from lap one right to the end. We got two podiums and although I was disappointed not to get another win, we are still leading the championship. That puts a smile back on my face.” Jonathan Rea: “Somebody ran me a bit wide on the first turn of race one and I was held up a lot after that, so when I picked up some pace it opened my eyes to what I could do. In race one I think I made one mistake and had to catch up quite a few riders, but I still finished third.” Cal Crutchlow: “The places where I was losing time where the places I was using the tyre a lot, and I was making a few small mistakes as well. I had Carlos right behind me for most of the second race and that kept me on my toes. Fortunately Max and Leon made a few little mistakes running wide and that allowed me to hang on in there until the end.” Championship standing (after 2 Rounds of 13): 1. Haslam 85; 2. Biaggi 69; 3. Checa 60; 4. Fabrizio 46; 5. Haga 43; 6. Rea 39; 7. Guintoli 33; 8. Camier 32; 9. Corser 29; 10. Crutchlow 25 Manufacturers standing: 1. Suzuki 85; 2. Ducati 71; 3. Aprilia 69; 4. Honda 40; 5. Yamaha 32; 6. BMW 29; 7. Kawasaki 7 World Supersport Sofuoglu supreme in Portugal Kenan Sofuoglu (Ten Kate Honda) won a thrilling Supersport race by 0.031 seconds from Joan Lascorz (Motocard.com Kawasaki) and Sofuoglu’s team-mate Michele Pirro. Long time leader Eugene Laverty was caught and passed by both Sofuoglu and Lascorz with a few laps left to run and soon after lost the front, falling but restarting to finish 11th. Chas Davies (ParkinGO Triumph BE1) was fourth on his three-cylinder machine. Local rider Miguel Praia was forced to stop on his Parkalgar Honda. After the second round, Sofuoglu leads the championship, 41 points to Lascorz’ 40. Laverty has 30 points in third. Results: 1. Sofuoglu K. (TUR) Honda CBR600RR 35’21.143 (155,871 kmh); 2. Lascorz J. (ESP) Kawasaki ZX-6R 0.031; 3. Pirro M. (ITA) Honda CBR600RR 8.879; 4. Davies C. (GBR) Triumph Daytona 675 15.270; 5. Foret F. (FRA) Kawasaki ZX-6R 22.096; 6. Fujiwara K. (JPN) Kawasaki ZX-6R 23.041; 7. Harms R. (DEN) Honda CBR600RR 30.830; 8.Rea G. (GBR) Honda CBR600RR 35.171; 9.Roccoli M. (ITA) Honda CBR600RR 35.225; 10. Salom D. (ESP) Triumph Daytona 675 35.239 Championship standing (after 2 Rounds of 13): 1. Sofuoglu 41; 2. Lascorz 40; 3. Laverty 30; 4. Foret 22; 5. Salom 19; 6. Harms 18; 7. Davies 17; 8. Roccoli 17; 9. Pirro 16; 10. Fujiwara 15 Manufacturers standing: 1. Honda 50; 2. Kawasaki 40; 3. Triumph 26 Superstock 1000 FIM Cup Badovini wins debut race for BMW The arrival in Superstock 1000 of the S1000RR was an immediately successful one, as Ayrton Badovini (BMW Motorrad Italia) took the win after race long rival Maxime Berger (Ten Kate Racing Junior) ran off track and lost 2.5 seconds on the final lap. Third was Loris Baz (MRS Racing Yamaha) meaning there were three different machines on the podium. Results: 1. Badovini A. (ITA) BMW S1000 RR 21’18.245 (155,193 kmh); 2. Berger M. (FRA) Honda CBR1000RR 2.744; 3. Baz L. (FRA) Yamaha YZF R1 13.154; 4. Barrier S. (FRA) BMW S1000 RR 13.800; 5. Bussolotti M. (ITA) Honda CBR1000RR 15.304; 6.La Marra E. (ITA) Honda CBR1000RR 15.861; 7. Giugliano D. (ITA) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 16.727; 8. Antonelli A. (ITA) Honda CBR1000RR 17.334; 9. Petrucci D. (ITA)Kawasaki ZX 10R 20.558; 10. Savary M. (SUI) BMW S1000 RR 22.386 Championship standing (after 1 Round of 10): 1. Badovini 25; 2. Berger 20; 3. Baz 16; 4. Barrier 13; 5. Bussolotti 11; 6. La Marra 10; 7. Giugliano 9; 8. Antonelli 8; 9. Petrucci 7; 10. Savary 6 Manufacturers standing: 1. BMW 25; 2. Honda 20; 3. Yamaha 16; 4. Suzuki 9; 5. Kawasaki 7; 6. KTM 5; 8. Aprilia 4 More, from a press release issued by Althea Racing: A dry track and warm conditions at Portimao today for the second round of the World Superbike championship. Thanks to the strong results achieved during the qualifying sessions and yesterday’s Superpole, Checa started from the front row and Byrne from the second. In the first race both Althea Racing riders were immediately among the frontrunners and after a few laps, Byrne was up in fourth position, followed by Checa in fifth. Soon after however Carlos and Shakey lost contact with the leading group and battled on as part of the chasing group. Checa pushed right to the end to reach the podium places but concluded a hard-fought race in fourth position, with Byrne behind in sixth. In the second race both Checa and Byrne made a good start and were in seventh and eighth place respectively during the initial laps. A good race pace allowed Checa to reach the leading pack, moving into fifth and then quickly into fourth position, while Shakey unfortunately remained in eighth. In the last laps Carlos picked up his pace as he did everything to try to reach third position but he was unable to pass Crutchlow and finished once more in fourth position while Byrne crossed the line seventh. Race 1 : 1) Biaggi (Aprilia) 2) Haslam (Suzuki) – 3) Rea (Honda) – 4) Checa (Ducati) 5) Camier (Aprilia) 6) Byrne (Ducati) 7) Toseland (Yamaha) 8) Haga (Ducati) Race 2 : 1) Biaggi (Aprilia) 2) Haslam (Suzuki) – 3) Crutchlow (Yamaha) – 4) Checa (Ducati) 5) Camier (Aprilia) 6) Toseland (Yamaha) 7) Byrne (Ducati) 8) Haga (Ducati) Carlos Checa : “I am happy with the great job we’ve done this weekend and the two fourth place finishes. Of course getting onto the podium would have been better but I don’t think that we could have done better than we did today. In race 1 I didn’t make a good start and I wasn’t part of the leading pack. Race 2 went better, even though my start again was not great, but at least I was able to stay with the fastest guys. Unfortunately what I gained through the corners, I was then losing on the straight and so it would have been useless to take risks. Now we go to Valencia, a track where we tested a few months ago and where I’d like to do extremely well in front of my home crowd of course.” Shane Byrne : “In race 1 the setting of my 1198 was not quite right and I was not able to push to the max, also because I’m still not 100% fit. Before race two my technicians worked hard on my Ducati and it was a lot better for that race. I am satisfied with the results even though I know that me and my bike have the potential to do better and to push for race wins. Now we move on to Valencia. We tested there over the winter and I am sure that we will be able to further improve and fight for the positions that count.” Genesio Bevilacqua General Manager : “Unfortunately the difference between our bikes and the four cylinders is very apparent here and so we are of course happy with these positive results. Checa has proved to be in great shape and had two fantastic races today. Shakey has been suffering a little after yesterday’s crash but is getting back to achieving the kids of results that we know he is capable of obtaining. We hope that in Valencia we will not suffer quite so much against the four cylinders, which really caused us a problem here.” More, from a press release issued by Paul Bird Motorsports Kawasaki: DOUBLE POINTS HAUL FOR SYKES IN PORTUGAL The Kawasaki Racing Team might have been down to just one rider for round two of the 2010 Hannspree World Superbike Championship at Portimao this weekend but it turned out to be a double points haul for Yorkshireman Tom Sykes who recorded a 13th place in race two to go with his 15th place in the opening race. With Australian Chris Vermeulen only able to do one lap of Friday morning’s free practice due to difficulties in bending his right knee after his big Phillip Island crash a month ago, and despite a huge effort by rider, team and the medics, the 27-year-old from Brisbane was subsequently withdrawn from the meeting leaving 24-year-old Sykes from Huddersfield as the Paul Bird Team’s only representative in Portugal. Aboard the factory Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10R, Sykes showed good speed during the practice sessions inside the top ten and eventually managed to qualify in 12th position and on row three of the grid after Superpole. In the opening race, Tom maintained his 12th place early on but a mistake saw him drop back to 16th where he battled for most of the race before grabbing 15th at the flag after a battle with pole-setter Cal Crutchlow who had crashed and remounted. Race two saw Sykes get a poor start and was again relegated to 16th position where he ran for most of the race once again. Despite setting good lap times, he couldn’t get a clear run and was held up by several riders in front but as the race progressed, he managed to claw some places back to finish in a respectable 13th position for the Penrith-based team, thus scoring his second points of the day. Tom Sykes: “I qualified more or less where I expected to and was happy to start on the third row once again. We didn’t have the perfect set-up but we’d made steady progress all weekend so it was unfortunate to have not made the step up in the races. I struggled with my starts and found it difficult to get past the traffic in front of me. I’m a bit frustrated in myself to be honest as I was trying hard to overtake but just couldn’t get the grip coming into the corners or on the brakes to make the move. We still have work to do but I’m confident in the team and the package of the ZX-10R and with a bit more time we can hopefully start to close the gap and work towards a few more points.” Chris Vermeulen: “I came into Portimao with the intention of riding but unfortunately that wasn’t the case. Friday morning’s practice was the first time I’ve had the chance to jump on the bike since my crash at Phillip Island where I did some damage to my right knee. I tried to go out on the bike for free practice but the movement in my right knee was really restricted and I couldn’t quite get my leg onto the footpeg. I tried pain killing injections at the Clinica Mobile but it didn’t seem to make any difference. For some reason or another, the knee just won’t bend that far, I can go around left-hand corners but I can’t get my foot or my knee into position to go right. So unfortunately both the team and I decided to call it quits for this weekend and to try and focus on improving my knee hopefully for the next race in Valencia in two weeks time. From now until Valencia my aim is to source additional medical advice and to get on with an intensive physiotherapy program to try and get as much movement in that knee as possible. I’m obviously disappointed I missed the race at Portimao, not just because it’s the start of the season with a new team and bike but also because it’s the first race in my racing career that I’ve actually had to withdraw from a meeting. The team and I have been continually making positive progress so fingers crossed I am going to be fit for Valencia.” Paul Risbridger, Team Manager: “It was a big blow to the team losing Chris for this meeting on Friday and we hope that he can make a speedy recovery and be with us again for the Valencia race in a couple of weeks time. We continued to make progress during free practice and qualifying and were pleased with Tom’s qualifying position where he started on the third row of the grid for the second consecutive race. Unfortunately Tom wasn’t able to improve his position from his starts in both races and we did not show the pace we’d seen in the practice sessions and therefore it was disappointing to finish outside the top ten. However with two point scoring finishes, we are showing consistency and we are looking forward to a productive test this week prior to Valencia where we hope we can grab a few more points which I feel that we deserve.” The next round is at Valencia in Spain over the weekend of 9/11th April 2010. More, from a press release issued by Yamaha: Yamaha Sterilgarda World Superbike rider Cal Crutchlow showed solid race craft in the second superbike race today, confidently sticking with race leaders Max Biaggi and Leon Haslam to stand on the World Superbike podium for the first time. After dropping to fourth initially Crutchlow capitalised on his opportunity to move up when Johnny Rea was pushed wide by Haslam going into the first corner on lap three. He was never more than 0.3 seconds from the lead, taking his well earned podium in third at the finish line. Team-mate James Toseland wrapped up the day in race two with style, charging through the pack from 15th, overcoming a number of competitive riders to cross the line in sixth, nearly ten places up from the start. Race one proved to be a display of consistency and determination from British rider Toseland. Starting from a less than perfect 15th on the grid, Toseland gradually worked his way through the pack. The final lap saw him close down a half second gap, taking Haga on the last corner to steal a well deserved seventh place finish at the line. His team-mate Crutchlow spent the majority of the race in third until an unfortunate low-side crash three laps from the end dropped him to 15th. He managed to pass 14th placed rider Tom Sykes on the last lap to stay in the points. Crutchlow heads to Valencia in tenth position with 25 points, Toseland heads to the third round in Spain in 11th, tied on points with his team-mate with 25. Cal Crutchlow, Yamaha Sterilgarda World Superbike Team (14th, 3rd) “It was a tough day today from the first race, I made a stupid mistake, my own fault I was pushing too hard. We’ve made big steps from Australia, all credit to Yamaha they’ve done a fantastic job. We came here fighting but unfortunately in the first race I went down and Johnny Rea got through and got the podium. I’m looking forward to the next weekend in Valencia, if we can continue doing a good job and getting the success we’re starting to experience it’ll be a good season, let’s keep the ball rolling. The team have put in a sterling effort this weekend. Well done to Max Biaggi and Leon Camier as well.” James Toseland, Yamaha Sterilgarda World Superbike Team (7th, 6th) “We’ve still got a lot of work to do but we’ve made massive improvements. We really deserved the third and sixth in that last race, After Cal’s Superpole he was unlucky to crash in the first race so I’m really pleased with his result in the second. The potential of the bike is very good, once we use the full power of the engine we’re right up there. It was only my crash that stopped me being on the front row I think. I was a bit sore today and my head was bit fuzzy after its knock yesterday so I wasn’t completely on form. Considering that and starting from 15th on the grid we achieved some good results. It’s a shame we started on the back foot this year but we’re moving on and we’re keeping on pushing.” Massimo Meregalli, Yamaha Sterilgarda World Superbike Team Manager “For sure we’ve made a great improvement after Australia, we got a Superpole and we got our first podium. I think this will be helpful in continuing to improve. I’m optimistic that what Cal achieved today can be what we expect to have for the next races. James is also improving, I’m sure that without the crash in Superpole he would have been starting from the first or second row and would have achieved even more during the races. He showed us that he’s finding his rhythm with the bike. A big thanks to all the guys in the team who have done a great job getting us back to being competitive, it’s something I really appreciate.” More, from a press release issued by Xerox Ducati: A TOUGH DAY FOR THE DUCATI XEROX TEAM AND RIDERS HAGA AND FABRIZIO Portimao (Portugal), Sunday 28th March : Racing at Portimao today proved difficult for the Ducati Xerox riders Noriyuki Haga and Michel Fabrizio, who had to fight hard for points, having started the races from the fifth row of the grid; the two races brought identical results for the factory riders, two eighth place finishes for Nori, two 11th places for Michel. In the morning warm-up Noriyuki had picked up his pace with respect to yesterday, completing eight fast laps and concluding the short session in third position. Michel, still working to improve grip, finished in fifteenth place. Race 1 – Both riders were aware that they needed a blistering start in order to help their chances of carving their way through the pack from the fifth row, and Nori was able to do this in Race 1, rocketing from eighteenth to ninth position straight off the line. Michel, caught up in traffic, remained in sixteenth position for the first lap but had worked his way up to twelfth by lap two. During the fifth lap Haga was able to pass Corser and on the same lap team-mate Fabrizio passed Corser’s team-mate Xaus. From mid-race on, and now in eighth position, Noriyuki remained there, with Corser and Toseland chasing him down, until three laps from the finish where he briefly moved up to seventh place before Toseland, on the very last lap, pushed him back down to a final eighth position. In the second half of the race, Michel made a couple of mistakes, going off track twice and allowing both Smrz and Xaus to take advantage and move ahead of him. Smrz later crashed but Michel was unable to catch Xaus, thus closing the first race in eleventh place. Race 2 and the Ducati Xerox pair made a carbon copy start, with Noriyuki slicing through the pack from eighteenth to ninth position and Michel in sixteenth. The Italian then made up five positions within the first three laps before tucking in, in eleventh position, behind team-mate Haga. The two Ducati 1198s had trouble catching the Suzuki of Guintoli, and although Nori closed the gap two-third of the way through the race, getting past Corser in the process, he didn’t manage to pass the Frenchman, and make it stick, until the very last lap, to take eighth position overall, exactly as he did in race 1. Although Michel held eleventh position from lap 8 right until the end of the race, he lost a little ground to Nori in the final laps, citing difficulty in braking. Noriyuki Haga (Race 1 8th , Race 2 8th) “We’ve worked hard all weekend and today finally I had slightly better feeling with the bike but it was very difficult to score great results from the fifth row. In race 1 I made a good start, which I knew was essential if I wanted to make some good points. I tried to push as hard as possible but by the last five laps or so I was lacking rear grip and this meant that my traction was very much affected. The second race was quite similar, the tyre performed better but I had a hard time getting past Guintoli, and again finished eighth. I apologise to the team, the fans and the sponsors for my poor results but at least I was able to make up a few positions and take some points. Now we look to start challenging for the podium every weekend from Valencia onwards. The important thing is not to crash, and to take as many points as possible each race. Biaggi and Haslam have demonstrated their strength both here and at Phillip Island and we hope we can be back up there on the podium at Valencia.” Michel Fabrizio (Race 1 11th , Race 2 -11th) “Let’s say that this weekend we were not able to refine the set up of my 1198 as we had hoped to. I continued to have the same problem, the same lack of feeling at the front, in both races. We made many modifications over the weekend but it didn’t make much difference; I just never felt right on the bike. At the start of race 2 I managed to make up a few places straight away by pushing as hard as I could but after a few laps it became more and more difficult to turn; I went off track a couple of times in race 1 and then I went straight two or three times in the next race. We of course hope for much better results at Valencia, where I need to start from the front rows.” More, from a press release issued by Team PATA B&G Racing: It was a weekend to forget for team Pata B&G Racing. After solid performances from both riders, the team could not replicate that. The racing day started with the Superstock 1000, where Lorenzo Baroni, who had started from the second row, finished the race after five laps, due to a crash caused by the back wheel. Later in the day, Jakub Smrz in Superbike lost a few positions after making a mistake at the first corner but then recovered. Unfortunately, after sixteen laps a damaged fuel pump forced him to retire from the race. In race 2, the Czech rider went in search for redemption, but did not get a good start and dropped to sixteenth place. He pulled off a great recovery but crashed after 10 laps in the third corner of the track and finished the race. LORENZO BARONI | Ducati 1098R | retired: “I lost control of the back wheel and crashed to the ground. I’m disappointed because I was battling with the front runners and could’ve easily finished in the top 5”. JAKUB SMRZ | Ducati 1098R | retired, retired: “In race 1, I didn’t enter the first corner as I wanted to and lost a few positions. I fought back but the fuel pump got damaged and I finished the race. I wanted to redeem myself in race 2 and so we did some changes to get more grip. Unfortunately, we didn’t get the expected result and while I was pushing to overtake Fabrizio’s factory Ducati, I crashed”. Marco Borciani: “We have to work harder before race day. We’ll develop a new work method starting from the next round, in order to rectify the mistakes made, which prevented us from performing at our best”. Mirco Guandalini: “We proved again that we have great potential both in Superbike and Superstock, which are two top class categories. We made some mistakes in race, but I’m sure we’ll soon start gathering some points”. More, from a press release issued by Aprilia: SUPERBIKE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS: MAX BIAGGI AND APRILIA TRIUMPH AT THE PORTIMAO TRACK WITH A SECOND VICTORY Max Biaggi’s first dual victory in the Superbike World Championships arrived after a tense and exciting Race 2 that saw the Roman champ duel it out with his proud and speedy rival, Leon Haslam on his Suzuki. So it was a repeat of the first race won today by Max, in which he also beat out Haslam for the victory. Jumping into the lead from the start, Biaggi was pursued by Haslam, but unlike in the first race, they were unable to break away from the rest of the crowd: Cal Crutchlow (Yamaha), Carlos Checa (Ducati) and up until the point when his engine failed, Jonathan Rea (Honda) remained close behind the two leaders, making the race even more uncertain. A mistake just four laps before the end of the race seemed to have compromised Biaggi’s run. Biaggi, in the span of a curve, found himself relegated to third place, having been passed by both Haslam and Crutchlow. The Roman’s will to win was exceptional, and he immediately regained ground over the Brit on his Yamaha and took off after Haslam, who he managed two pass just two laps before the end of the race. Resisting the Suzuki bishop’s attempt to regain the lead, Biaggi crossed the finish line in first place. Not since 1998 has an Italian driver (Pierfrancesco Chili at Kyalami) won a dual victory on an Italian motorcycle. With this double win Biaggi moves up to second place in the world classification with 69 points, behind his rival Haslam (85 points). Aprilia Alitalia Racing Team’s triumphant day was completed by two fifth place finishes from the English driver, Leon Camier, who seemed to be improving continuously, and is by now quite comfortable on his Aprilia RSV4 and able to race for extended periods with the leaders. “It’s a pleasure to be back on top after the problems we had in Australia,” said Biaggi. “We’ve improved with respect to last year. The pace was a bit slower in Race 2 and we were all quite close. It was really a great battle with a lot of passes and a few mistakes. I’m really very happy for this dual victory because it is truly a great outcome, both for me and my team, as well as Aprilia, which is really doing a great job.” “I am very happy,” said Camier. “We did well in both races and set excellent paces. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to find my rhythm during the initial laps and this penalized me quite a bit. Now I also need to make improvements in this area. The familiarity with my RSV4 is improving with this new suspension and we’ve got a lot of work to do to keep moving forward.” More, from a press release issued by Team Reitwagen BMW: The second round of this year’s Superbike World Championship will not be fondly remembered by Team Reitwagen BMW. Some small technical problems and a crash put paid to any thought of top fifteen finishes today, but the team are positive that improvements can be made and are looking forward to the next round in Valencia and getting back to making progress. Neither Andrew nor Makoto finished race one, but they both managed finishes in race two despite technical problems. Italian Max BIaggi (Aprilia) won both races today, after terrific battles with Briton Leon Haslam (Suzuki), with the victories going down to the wire in both 22-lappers. Jonathan Rea (Honda) took third in race one and fellow countryman Cal Crutchlow (Yamaha) took third in race two. Andrew Pitt – Race 1: DNF, Race 2: 20th: “Well, not the best of days, but sometimes racing is like that and you just have to put it to one side and get on with. I was actually pretty happy in race one – up to the crash – and felt I was lapping pretty consistently and at a good pace. I had a good battle with Sykes and Lanzi, but Sykes was holding me up and I could see the group ahead pulling away, so I thought I’d better pass him. I went to outbrake him, but hit some bumps and lost it instead. We had to use the second bike in race two and there was a problem with the speed sensor or something touching it and the bike kept cutting out on the inspection lap. So we had to pit and the mechanics changed a wheel and that meant I had to start the race from the pit-lane and half a lap down. It was a very lonely race and I did wonder what I was doing out there, but by staying out I was able to give the team information on how the bike had been. I feel we’re getting to the limit of what this bike can do in its current condition, so we need to push ahead with some new stuff as soon as possible and carry on the progress again. We’ll have some stuff to try in Valencia and I’m hoping that we don’t have any technical problems and I can battle for points again.” Makoto Tamada – Race 1: DNF, Race 2: 19th: “We needed to try and get good settings and keep making progress, but I believe that this bike has potential and we will improve quite a lot. The bike had an electronic problem in race one and I had no choice but to pull in. It was a shame, because my start was not so bad. My start in race two was not so bad, but there was a lot of pushing and shoving into the first couple of turns. I had some problems with the traction control and also the setting of the engine braking was not quite right, so it was difficult to go any faster. But, like Andrew, I stayed out on the track so that I could give as much information as possible to the team.” Andy Werth (Sporting Director): “Of course we are all a bit disappointed, but we need to be better prepared technically. Despite some problems (software and hardware), both riders stayed out. By doing so we gained some useful information and that is always good. In the end, today was more like a test session than a race, but that’s not the way we intended it to be. We struggled (as many privateers do) but it’s up to us to work hard and improve and that’s what we’ll do in Valencia.” More, from a press release issued by Team Suzuki News Service: Team Suzuki Alstare’s Leon Haslam took a pair of superb runner-up spots in today’s second round of the Superbike World Championship in Portimao in Portugal and increased his series lead at the same time. Haslam fought tooth-and-nail with Max Biaggi (Aprilia) in both 22-lappers and lost out on victory by the narrowest of margins – two 10ths-of-a-second in race one and just over a 10th in race two. Haslam’s tally of 40 points keeps him top of the standings, 16 ahead of second-placed Biaggi. It was always going to be a hard day for Suzuki Alstare team-mate Sylvain Guintoli, who started from the third row of the grid, but the Frenchman put in a pair of solid performances, finishing 13th in the first race and ninth in the second. Leon Haslam – Race 1: 2nd, Race 2: 2nd: “If anybody had told me before the start of the season that I would’ve won one race and taken three podiums in the first four races, I would not have believed them. It’s a great feeling to win a race, take three runner-up spots; and be leading the championship and my aim is to try and maintain this kind of consistency as long as I can. “Today’s races were very hard and I had a lot of fun battling with Max: His bike is fast and there were a couple of places where he could get on the gas quicker than me, but my bike was good on the brakes. I did pass him quite a few times, but making it stick was a different matter. The grip-level was down in race two, but it was the same for everybody, and the lap times were generally down on race one. “The first time I jumped on the Suzuki Alstare bike I thought it was a good package and all the good work the team has done has proved how good it is. Of course, there are always some areas to improve and we’ll be going to the next round in Valencia hoping to put one over Max and all the other riders. “I’ve had one victory and now I want more!” Sylvain Guintoli – Race 1: 13th, Race 2: 9th: “To be honest, I feel like I messed up the weekend a bit. Race one was a complete disaster and it all started when I braked too late for turn one on lap two and had to go straight on. That cost me a lot of positions and time and I was in 22nd place at the end of that lap and had a lot of catching up to do. After that, I never really found my rhythm and perhaps 13th was not too bad considering. “The second race was better, but in this championship you cannot afford to be average. You have to be on your game at all times. I don’t know why, but I feel that I didn’t start the weekend quite right and then it was always going to be difficult. The bike is really good, so it’s me who has to raise the bar and perform. But I intend to attack Valencia right from the start of the weekend and be in a good position come race day.” Portimao WSBK Results: Race 1: 1 Biaggi (ITA-Aprilia), 2 Leon Haslam (GBR-Suzuki Alstare), 3 Rea (GBR-Honda), 4 Checa (ESP-Ducati), 5 Camier (GBR-Aprilia), 6 Byrne (GBR-Ducati). 13 Sylvain Guintoli (FRA-Suzuki Alstare). Race 2: 1 Biaggi, 2 Leon Haslam (GBR-Suzuki Alstare), 3 Crutchlow (GBR-Yamaha), 4 Checa, 5 Camier, 6 Toseland (GBR-Yamaha). 9 Sylvain Guintoli (FRA-Suzuki Alstare). Championship Points (after 2 rounds): 1 Leon Haslam (GBR-Suzuki Alstare) 85, 2 Biaggi 69, 3 Checa 60, 4 Fabrizio 46, 5 Haga 43, 6 Rea, 7 Sylvain Guintoli (FRA-Suzuki Alstare) 33. More, from a press release issued by Kawasaki: Points In Each Portuguese Race For Tom Sykes Kawasaki Racing Team rider Tom Sykes left the 4.592km long Portimao circuit in Portugal with points from both races and a determination to find more for the next meeting at Valencia. In the first race Tom lost places on the second lap, starting 12th but being pushed down to 16th soon afterwards. He collected a point for 15th in the first 22-lap race. In the second leg he was 13th and took three more points, to end his day 16th in the overall rankings after two championship rounds. Tom was a lone official Kawasaki rider today after his regular team-mate Chris Vermeulen had to withdraw due the effects of his right knee injury. Chris is seeing a knee specialist in Belgium at the moment, in an effort to get fit to race two weeks from now. Tom Sykes: “I qualified more or less where I expected to and was happy to start on the third row once again. We didn’t have the perfect set-up but we’d made steady progress all weekend so it was unfortunate to have not made the step-up in the races. I struggled with my starts and found it difficult to get past the traffic in front of me. I’m a bit frustrated to be honest as I was trying hard to overtake but just couldn’t get the grip coming into the corners, and on the brakes, to make the move. We still have work to do but I’m confident in the team and the package of the Ninja ZX-10R and with a bit more time we can hopefully start to close the gap.” More, from a press release issued by Troy Corser’s publicist: PAIR OF TOP TENS FOR TROY Troy took a ninth in race one and a tenth in race two, but left the Autodromo do Algarve with a certain amount of frustration. He started well in both races (third at the end of lap one in the first race and fifth at the end of the opening lap in the second), but as his BMW’s grip deteriorated, he was unable to push as hard as he wanted and began to slip down the order, finishing in the top ten both times. Italian Max BIaggi (Aprilia) won both races today, after terrific battles with Briton Leon Haslam (Suzuki), with the victories going down to the wire in both 22-lappers. Jonathan Rea (Honda) took third in race one and fellow countryman Cal Crutchlow (Yamaha) took third in race two. Troy – Race 1: 9th, Race 2: 10th I suppose you could say that I am a bit frustrated with today’s results because it could’ve been so much better. After qualifying on the second row of the grid, I felt that today could’ve been our best day so far, but it wasn’t to be. I made a good start in the first race and was third at the end of the first lap. For the first four or five laps, I was in touch with the leaders and everything felt pretty easy and I didn’t even think I was going fast. But, as the grip went down, I began having problems with the bike and I couldn’t push as hard as I wanted to. It’s a bit strange, because the worsening grip seemed to cause quite a few problems and I felt as if I was riding a different bike! It didn’t get any better after that and I ended having to physically muscle the bike around, so it’s a good job that I’m really fit at the moment. In race two, all was OK up until about lap 12 and then I began to have braking problems and then the bike started moving around when I shifted gears when it should’ve been stable. It’s taking a lot of work riding this bike at the moment and it seems that once the grip goes down, the bike doesn’t get out of the corners so well and other problems occur. The bike has a good engine, the top speed is good and we’re just missing a little something somewhere. I hope that we find that piece of the jigsaw and then Ruben and I will be able to really show the potential of this bike. More, from a press release issued by Honda: REA TAKES A PODIUM FINISH AND GOES SIXTH OVERALL Jonathan Rea (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR) looked on course for two podium finishes at Portimao but had to settle for one, securing third in the opener then being forced out of the second 22-lap contest. Rea earned his podium place by a combination of determination and a little good fortune when Cal Crutchlow fell while trying to stay ahead of Rea, with two complete laps to go. Jonathan was still the top Honda scorer today and his 16 points from race one gave him 39 points in total, moving him to sixth in the championship rankings. He had qualified fifth in Superpole. Max Biaggi won each race for Aprilia, with championship leader Leon Haslam second on both occasions for Suzuki. Haslam has 85 points, Biaggi 69 after four races and two rounds. In the second race of the day in Portugal the only Honda scorer was Max Neukirchner (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR) who posted 15th in the race, after qualifying 13th. He had struggled in qualifying and like Rea, had suffered a high-speed fall before raceday. Vittorio Iannuzzo (Squadra Corse Italia Garvie Image CBR1000RR) finished one race, the first, as did substitute rider for Broc Parkes; Sheridan Morais (ECHO CRS Honda CBR1000RR). Iannuzzo was 23rd on the grid, Morais 21st, meaning he just missed Superpole qualifying. Sofuoglu Back To Winning Ways In Second Round Kenan Sofuoglu (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda CBR600RR) went from second on the starting grid to his first victory of the season at Portimao, but it was a hard fought contest, with any one of four potential winners on show at one stage. After pole position rider Eugene Laverty (Parkalgar Honda CBR600RR) had led for most of the early laps Sofuoglu and Kawasaki rider Joan Lascorz caught and passed Laverty, and the Irish rider eventually pushed too hard in turn four and lost the front. He re-started to finish 11th, despite losing his front brake master cylinder and much of his bike’s bodywork in the crash. Laverty had to surrender his championship lead to Sofuoglu today, who is now on 41 points, Lascorz 40 and Laverty 30. It was a double celebration for the Hannspree Ten Kate team as third place qualifier Michele Pirro (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda CBR600RR) overcame his no-score in round one last month by earning his first Supersport podium finish in third. He was having some issues with rear grip later in the race, but on lap two he had set a new lap record of 1’45.180. Local rider Miguel Praia (Parkalgar Honda CBR600RR) was on course for a strong finish, probably a career best, when a technical issue intervened and he had to slow and eventually retire in the pits. He completed 15 laps of the 20. He had qualified eighth, for a second row start. Class rookie Gino Rea (Czech Intermoto Honda CBR600RR) improved from 12th to eighth as he battled with his own team-mate Massimo Roccoli (Czech Intermoto Honda CBR600RR) all through the race. Roccoli was simply happy to score points at an unlucky track for him and went from 14th to ninth. On 11 April the third round of the World Superbike and World Supersport championships take place at another popular venue, Valencia in Spain. WSB RIDER COMMENTS Jonathan Rae, Ten Kate Honda: “I had a big crash on Friday and had to rebuild my confidence through the rest of the weekend, and then someone let the brakes off going into turn one in the first race. I locked the front brake and went straight into the gravel, which was scary. I really needed to get away with Max and Leon, but I caught up to Crutchlow and he was making quite a few mistakes when I put some pressure on him. I got third place but I don’t think it was gifted and I think would have got it anyway. In race two I was holding my own with Biaggi but messed up the last corner on lap five, I think, so Leon and Crutchlow got by. I was still feeling pretty comfortable, but then heard a funny noise going down the straight a couple of laps later, so I pulled in the clutch and that was it.” Max Neukirchner, Ten Kate Honda: “We have struggled to get the right balance for the bike all weekend and, even though we’ve had some good ideas, we haven’t really found one that works. We’ll keep working though and, luckily, we have a test here tomorrow, which I hope will give us some opportunities to find a way forward. The biggest problem I have is getting the bike to turn and hold a line going into the corners. It means I’m having to brake earlier for each turn. We’ll look at things again tonight and hopefully make some progress before we go to Valencia in two weeks time.” Vittorio Iannuzzo, Scuderia Corse Italia: “The first race was not so bad, particularly after some problems in practice and losing some track time, but it would have been good to finish in the points and not just miss out by one place. We used more engine braking in race two but we had no time to test and it was a bit too much. We tried it because we want to improve but I had to retire.” Sheridan Morais, ECO CRS Grand Prix: “In the first race I thought I knew this track but I didn’t, because I spent the early laps just riding with the other guys, learning the way round. We started doing some good times at the end and I was happy with that. In race two we made some changes to set-up and it was looking not bad until the bike just stopped. We have made some big progress which stands us in better stead for Valencia.” WSS RIDER COMMENTS: Kenan Sofuoglu, Ten Kate Honda: “Yesterday after qualifying I told my mechanics there was only one problem and it was that I was not good enough. The bike had a lot of potential and I promised them that I would show them the potential today. In warm-up I set a new track best of 1’44.683. In the race my plan was to just look at how things went then with seven or eight laps left I took the lead and pushed a bit. I knew I would fight with someone and it was Lascorz who passed me, before I got him back. My motivation was only for the win this weekend, and finally I won. My bike is one of the best on the track and we have more improvements to come soon.” Michele Pirro, Ten Kate Honda: “I am very happy with my first podium in Supersport, especially because practice did not go that well. In the race I was not on the final pace because I did have a few grip problems later on, but it was great to run with the winners and finally get a podium. Compared to Australia, where I did not finish, this is fantastic.” Eugene Laverty, Parkalgar Honda: “I used up my tyre a bit to get away from them and I was struggling a bit with a full tank of fuel at the start. Just about the point when Lascorz passed me I was feeling comfortable so I pushed on again, but those guys had some good pace today. I was trying to keep up when they went past and I was losing some initial grip and sliding in some areas, so I had to ride hard to stay with them. I just touched the kerb on turn four a little bit, just fractionally, but that was enough.” Gino Rae, Intermoto Czech Honda: “I had a good fight and won the battle I was in, but it was not what we could have achieved. I could brake a bit later than the other guys but I did not have the mid-corner speed. I had a crash in free practice yesterday morning and lost a lot of set-up time. Now we have to work on the race setting for the chassis and electronics.” Massimo Roccoli, Intermoto Czech Honda: “A big fight, and a big fight with my team-mate as well. It was a good result for the team all round, because eighth and ninth gives us both good points. For me the weekend was difficult because we had a lot of set-up problems and made many changes to the set-up. I think the big problem is that I just don’t like this track!” Miguel Praia, Parkalgar Honda: “I was comfortable behind Fujiwara and Foret when I caught them and I wanted to attack them straight away, but I just didn’t have the tyre left. My pace came down a little bit but fifth was definitely possible, as I started to save my attack for the last few laps. Then something went wrong and I had to retire.”