FIM Supersport World Championship Brno, Czech Republic July 26, 2009 Race Results (all on Pirelli tires): 1. Fabien FORET (Yamaha YZF-R6), 18 laps, 37:14.367 2. Anthony WEST (Honda CBR600RR), -0.148 second 3. Joan LASCORZ (Kawasaki ZX-6R), -0.289 second 4. Katsuaki FUJIWARA (Kawasaki ZX-6R), -0.400 second 5. Eugene LAVERTY (Honda CBR600RR), -6.823 seconds 6. Sheridan MORAIS (Yamaha YZF-R6), -14.896 7. Massimo ROCCOLI (Honda CBR600RR), -15.092 8. Garry MCCOY (Triumph Daytona 675), -15.634 9. Kenan SOFUOGLU (Honda CBR600RR), -18.592 10. Andrew PITT (Honda CBR600RR), -29.679 11. Barry VENEMAN (Honda CBR600RR), -29.803 12. Danilo DELL’OMO (Honda CBR600RR), -30.215 13. Michael LAVERTY (Honda CBR600RR), -30.517 14. Gianluca VIZZIELLO (Honda CBR600RR), -40.163 15. Jesco GÃœNTHER (Honda CBR600RR), -46.026 16. Robert MURESAN (Triumph Daytona 675), -52.714 17. Arie VOS (Honda CBR600RR), -54.285 18. Sam LOWES (Honda CBR600RR), -86.735 19. Yannick GUERRA (Yamaha YZF-R6), -90.289 20. Jiri BROZ (Honda CBR600RR), -117.684 21. Cal CRUTCHLOW (Yamaha YZF-R6), -2 laps, DNF, retired/mechanical 22. Jason O’HALLORAN (Honda CBR600RR), -3 laps, DNF, crash Championship Point Standings (after 10 of 14 races): 1. Crutchlow, 185 2. Laverty, 168 3. Sofuoglu, 128 4. Lascorz, 122 5. West, 95 6. Foret, 88 7. Pitt, 85 8. McCoy, 63 9. Mark Aitchison, 61 10. Fujiwara, 52 More, from a press release issued by Parkalgar Honda: Laverty gains points on Crutchlow Eugene Laverty aboard his Parkalgar Honda raced to fifth position at round 10 of the World Supersport Championship at Brno in the Czech Republic, where he pulled back 11 points on Championship leader Cal Crutchlow. Laverty crashed whilst pushing hard during morning warm-up and that set the team back readying his Parkalgar Honda for the race. The team worked hard to get the bike ready on time and Laverty concentrated on gaining as many points as possible for his title challenge. Miguel Praia, team-mate to Laverty, suffered a technical problem which the team is currently looking into. Until that point Praia had been on a roll with his best ever qualifying and had been determined to battle well into the top ten. The 11th round of the World Supersport Championship will take place on the 4th-6th September at the Nurburgring in Germany. Eugene: “It’s not the result I had hoped for but at least I’ve pulled some points back on Cal. My crash this morning left us with a lot of work to do and although my Parkalgar Honda was ready for the race it didn’t feel quite the same. We have a bit of a break now so we can put this behind us and get ready for Germany.” Miguel: “It is a shame I had a technical problem as I felt really good all weekend I was definitely on for a personal best finish. I feel we achieved a lot and can build on it for the next race. I’m a little disappointed not to finish the race but I know there is a lot more to come.” Simon Buckmaster, Parkalgar Honda Team Manager: “We are here to try and win the World title and today we pulled back points on Cal which is what counts. The crash this morning cost us set-up time as we had been aiming for a race win. We still got fifth place and there are four rounds to go so it’s not over yet. Miguel was riding really well all weekend; he put in his best qualifying and wanted to achieve his best race finish. There is a six week break now so we can take stock and work hard for the remaining four rounds.” More, from a press release issued by HANNspree Ten Kate Honda: Hannspree Ten Kate Honda riders, Kenan Sofuoglu and Andrew Pitt, finished in ninth and tenth places respectively today in round ten of the World Supersport championship at Brno in the Czech Republic. It was a frustrating finish to a difficult weekend in which both riders struggled during practice and yesterday’s qualifying session. Sofuoglu started the 18-lap race around the undulating 5.4km Brno circuit in 14th place, with his team-mate a further ten places back on the grid. Despite strong starts from both riders, neither was able to press further in the latter stages of the race, which was won by Frenchman Fabien Foret after series leader, Cal Crutchlow, retired from the lead with two laps to go. Kenan Sofuoglu – 9th It was very disappointing to finish in ninth because we all felt that we had made a big step forward after qualifying badly yesterday. We continued with the direction we found for warm-up this morning and everything felt fine. But then, in the race, with the same bike, same tyres, same everything, it felt like a different machine. I had grip issues from about lap four and the engine felt different, too. We have some more work to do before the next round in Germany. Andrew Pitt 10th Considering where I started on the grid, I suppose that picking up some points was about all we could have hoped for. But we’re here to do more than collect a few points. I struggled for power and ended up in a bit of a battle with Barry Veneman who is riding my bike from last year. Hopefully, the extended break will give the guys a chance to look at everything in the calm atmosphere of the workshop and we’ll aim to come out fighting again at Nurburgring in September. Ronald ten Kate team manager After the problems that both riders suffered during yesterday’s qualifying, we really thought we had found something better for the race. This was confirmed after warm-up this morning but, for some reason, the feeling has changed between the end of warm-up and the start of the race. It’s frustrating for everyone and we’ll be doing everything we can to sort these problems out in the time that we have before the next race. More, from a press release issued by ParkinGO Triumph BE1 Racing: Team ParkinGo Triumph BE1 Racing’s Nannelli and McCoy were not able to repeat the good performance displayed in practice who enabled them to start fifth and sixth on the grid respectively. Both riders had the same problem: they suffered a significant traction drop-off compared to yesterday and as a consequence their racing pace was not the same. The team will now have to analyze the data concerning all the season’s rounds during the summer break in order to detect the problem that both Nannelli and McCoy were confronted with. In this situation, the Australian rider had to use all of his experience in the race and managed to finish eighth under the chequered flag. On the other hand, Nannelli had to retire due to gear lever problems. GIANLUCA NANNELLI | Triumph Daytona 675 | retired: “I felt from the start that the machine was not responding well and as soon as I was pushing the gas, the bike reacted in a fashion that I couldn’t ride effectively. While I was trying to recover some positions, I crashed over the handlebars. While getting back on the saddle, I hit the gear lever which got damaged and I couldn’t change gears so I had to get back to the pits”. GARRY McCOY | Triumph Daytona 675 | 8th: “I tried to do my best but I only finished eighth. I’m not happy with the result, I know I could’ve done better but I had the same problem as my teammate. By the end of the race, the tyres were all worn out and both Morais and Roccoli overtook me in the last lap”. More, from a press release issued by Stiggy Racing Honda: Stiggy Racing Honda rider Anthony West was back on form in Brno today, and showed his true form again as he impressively carved his bike through the pack to a well-earned second place at the podium. West came through the first lap in sixth from his seventh place on the grid and stayed put, unable to make a pass on his closest rivals. Changes opened up in the ultimate minutes of the 18-lap race as Cal Crutchlow handed over his lead following an engine failure and West subsequently moved into the fourth slot. With the Brno podium now firmly within reach, the Australian – who last took a podium finish six races ago – used the ultimate laps of the race to pass Fujiwara and Lascorz and securely parked his bike at the second spot of the podium. Team mate Gianluca Vizziello struggled to shed the issues that plagued him through the qualifying sessions and finished the supersport race in 14th place. Anthony West took his third supersport podium for his team this season and moves up to fifth place in the championship standings. Gianluca Vizziello sits in 16th place. Anthony West – 2nd: “I am really happy with my race today. I am very pleased that I have been able to reward the hard work the team has put in over the last couple of weeks. It is a great thing for the whole team to have a result like this and it will certainly lift the spirits. It was good to be up front again and brought the joy back in my riding. I am looking forward to our break now and want to come back stronger for the next couple of races. I want to do well and finish the year off with some good results.” Gianluca Vizziello – 2’05.395s: “I was hoping to do a lot better here, specially with the new parts we got for the bike. I had a bad start in the race which made it hard to stay with a faster group. The bike felt a lot faster all weekend, but I struggled to get to grips with the track here at Brno. I have put a lot of effort in without getting the results I had hoped for. I hope we can make some progress at the Nurburgring after our summer break. Johan Stigefelt – Team Manager: “It was a long time ago since we set such a good result with our supersport team. Anthony rode a fantastic race here. That is the way he should be riding and we waited a long time to see that again. It is good to be able to take the summer break now so we are all charged again for the next rounds. Vizziello rode a disappointing race here. We had some new parts for his machine and were hoping for some better results. Anthony’s success made up for the struggling and fighting the team has been going through. I am pleased that we can take such a good result back home today.” More, from a press release issued by Yamaha: It was a day of triumph and loss for Yamaha riders Fabien Foret and Cal Crutchlow in Brno today. Crutchlow led the entire race from the start, displaying his usual incredible pace when a mechanical problem forced him to retire three laps from the end. Fabien Foret put on a determined performance in the Supersport race, fighting off the two Kawasaki riders of Lascorz and Fujiwara for the entire race to hold onto third and then second place. Three laps from the end, when disaster struck for team mate Cal Crutchlow, this put Foret into the lead, which he held until the last lap only to drop to fourth three corners from the end. The French rider pulled an incredible pass to take the lead back on the last corner to take the chequered flag. It was a perfect return to Brno for Foret following his crash here twelve months ago. Crutchlow leaves Brno still ahead in the championship, leading Laverty by seventeen points. Team mate Foret moves up to sixth in the standings with 88 points, ahead of 2008 champion Pitt on 85. Fabien Foret, Yamaha World Supersport Team (1st) “Today was very special as last year here I had a big injury and I also haven’t started this season very well. I found it quite difficult to come back so I’m really happy to be back on form. I’d like to thank my team and Yamaha as today the bike was amazing. It was a very hard race and I’m sorry for Cal, I know how it feels when that happens. I’m really happy to be back on the podium and the win is very special for me.” Cal Crutchlow, Yamaha World Supersport Team (DNF) “I’m really disappointed, I should have been 25 points more in the bag today and taken more points away from Eugene. I’ve got a long six weeks now but will relax and come back ready for Nurburgring.” Wilco Zeelenberg, Yamaha World Supersport Team Manager “it’s been a difficult race day. It was great that Fabien managed to win the race for Yamaha and the team. It’s a difficult one to swallow for Cal, to give it away with a five or six second lead like that, especially when you’re leading the championship. You can be as fast as you want in practice but it’s all down to the race. So the championship is wide open again as we go to Germany for the next round.” More, from a press release issued by Kawasaki: Impressive Third And Fourth Places For Ninja ZX-6R Riders WSS, Brno, Czech Republic, 26 July 2009 After posting third and fourth place finishes in qualifying Joan Lascorz and Katsuaki Fujiwara repeated those results in a dramatic Supersport race that any of the four top riders could have won. Impressive Third And Fourth Places For Ninja ZX-6R Riders Lascorz led the first lap, but Cal Crutchlow passed him and ran into a clear lead before retiring on lap 16. Lascorz, Fujiwara, Fabien Foret and Anthony West battled it out for the win, with Foret the eventual victory by passing West and Lascorz on the final corner, West was second and Lascorz third, only 0.289 seconds from victory. Fujiwara was just behind, 0.400 seconds from Foret after 18 laps in contention for a podium slot. The increasing competitiveness of the machine was particularly evident this weekend, and after some small suspension tweaks to his machine in warm-up, Lascorz was particularly impressive as he set off in pursuit of Crutchlow, at a very high pace. Fourth is Fujiwara’s best result of the year so far, and finishing so close to the podium was both a positive outcome and a slightly frustrating end to a great weekend. In the championship, Lascorz now has 122 points, and closed to within six points of third place rider Kenan Sofuoglu, who was only ninth today. Fujiwara jumped into the top ten, with 52 points, in a season that has included three unlucky no-scores. The team now enters the five-weekend summer break full of confidence that their ever-improving machine can power them on to even greater things at the Nürburgring, on September 6. Joan Lascorz: “It was good to take a podium at this race and third place is a good result, but we were only a small way from the win. We made some improvements in the bike again in the morning warm-up so I could do fast laps and feel comfortable in the race. The team is working well with the bike and we are improving it all the time.” Katsuaki Fujiwara: “Very close to the podium today and it was a good team performance to finish third and fourth. But it would have been even better to have two Kawasakis on the podium! We have been making improvements all year and the bike is better every race. My set-up was good for exiting corners today but under braking and corner entry I could not hold as tight a line as Joan.”