FIM Supersport World Championship Santamonica Circuit Misano, San Marino June 29, 2008 Race Results: 1. Andrew PITT (Honda CBR600RR), 22 laps, 37:08.387 2. Craig JONES (Honda CBR600RR), -5.347 seconds 3. Jonathan REA (Honda CBR600RR), -9.183 4. Fabien FORET (Yamaha YZF-R6), -13.784 5. Robbin HARMS (Honda CBR600RR), -15.863 6. Mark AITCHISON (Triumph Daytona 675), -15.967 7. Massimo ROCCOLI (Yamaha YZF-R6), -21.689 8. Barry VENEMAN (Suzuki GSX-R600), -24.070 9. Ivan CLEMENTI (Triumph Daytona 675), -26.075 10. Broc PARKES (Yamaha YZF-R6), -30.387 Supersport World Championship Point Standings (After 7 of 13 races): 1. Pitt, 113 points 2. Foret, 97 3. Parkes, 87 4. Brookes, 85 5. Lascorz, 81 6. Jones, 80 7. Rea, 67 8. Harms, 50 9. Roccoli, 34 10. Vizzielo, 33 More, from a press release issued by HANNspree Racing: Perfect performance for Pitt at Misano HANNspree Ten Kate Honda’s Andrew Pitt and Jonathan Rea gave the team a reason to celebrate at the seventh round of the World Supersport Championship at Misano today, by scoring victory and another podium finish respectively. Although Pitt’s win was achieved by a convincing 5.3-second advantage over second-placed Brit rider Craig Jones, the 22-lap race hadn’t started as smoothly. After clinching the holeshot from second position on the grid, Australian Pitt was unable to prevent polesitter Broc Parkes from snatching back the lead by the end of the first lap. An exciting two-way battle between the two riders then commenced until Parkes crashed out of contention on lap nine. Having resumed his place at the front of the pack, Pitt remained determined to clinch the victory and had pulled out a 3.1-second margin over Jones by the 14th lap. Pitt’s race time of 37’08.387 at the chequered flag earns him another 25 points to add to his championship tally and keeps him at the top of the standings with 113 points. Pitt’s team-mate Jonathan Rea also claimed a good result at the San Marino circuit. The young Ulsterman made a good start from the second row of the grid and rode consistently to score third place at the chequered flag. The 21-year-old has made significant progress in his debut year in the world series so far and is currently seventh overall. Meanwhile, HANNspree Stiggy Motorsport’s Robbin Harms also had a good day and finished fifth in the race. However, his team-mate Joshua Brookes had less luck, and was only able to finish 14th aboard the Honda CBR600RR. HANNspree Honda Althea’s Gianluca Nannelli finished 13th at the Italian event. Round seven result 1 Pitt A. Honda CBR600RR 37’08.387 2 Jones C. Honda CBR600RR +5.347 3 Rea J. Honda CBR600RR +9.183 4 Foret F. Yamaha YZF-R6 +13.784 5 Harms R. Honda CBR600RR +15.863 6 Aitchison M. Triumph 675 +15.967 7 Roccoli M. Yamaha YZF-R6 +21.689 8 Veneman B. Suzuki GSX-R600 +24.070 9 Clementi I. Triumph 675 +26.075 10 Parkes B. Yamaha YZF-R6 +30.387 13 Nannelli G. Honda CBR600RR +36.040 14 Brookes J. Honda CBR600RR +37.896 Standings after seven rounds 1. A. Pitt 113 2. F. Foret 97 3. B. Parkes 87 4. J. Brookes 85 5. J. Lascorz 81 6. C. Jones 80 7. J. Rea 67 8. R. Harms 50 9. M. Roccoli 34 10. G. Vizziello 33 15. G. Nannelli 23 More, from a press release issued by Scuderia Triumph-SC: UNLUCKY DAY FOR TEAM TRIUMPH SC AT MISANO ROUND (Misano Italy 2008, June 29) Actually bad day today at Misano circuit for the Team TriumphSC. Nevertheless thing were running well in the first half race, with Garry McCoy in a great recovery after a quite bad start. Then the Aussie rejoined unhappy the pit lane when the top ten group was an easy goal. Garry is a bit disappointed for the final result of this unlucky race: “In the morning warm up we found a quite good set up that solved most of yesterday troubles, so I was confident in a good result, as well to start from the back of the grid couldn’t allow us to fight for the positions of excellence. The start made things more complicated, because I got pushed wide in the first corner and that put me way back in the order, just 23th at the end of the first lap. But the bike was performing very well and I started to recover positions and positions. About at the middle of the race I was in 12th position and I had in my sight a position in the top ten group, when suddenly something started to run wrongly. That’s a pity because the engine was pushing very hard, we recorded one of the best top speed, and I was catching the riders in front of me. Today has been actually an unlucky day, during the developing of a new bike we must wait for such bad moments, however today we made a great jump ahead.” Also Ruggero Scambia was contesting a very good race after a difficult start that put him in the last position at the end of the first lap, recovering several positions. Unfortunately just in the last corner of the final lap his bike throw him away and the rider did hurt the asphalt violently. At the first careful control by the Clinica Mobile staff any fracture has been found, just an heavy pelvis contusion. Scambia has been for safety hospitalized for a TAC examination to avoid the presence of internal damages. “I was actually satisfied for my race.” said with a whisper Ruggero “After the good practices of yesterday maybe I put too much pressure on myself, I had a bad start but quickly I had a good reaction earning positions. Today the temperature was terrible, 53°C on the track, and just a few meter to go the bike had the most classic high side and I flied away, with a terrible knock of my back on the track.” More, from a press release issued by Yamaha Racing: Foret fights hard for fourth Despite finishing the first lap in 15th position, after being run wide in the first chicane by another rider, Fabien Foret (Yamaha World Supersport Team) battled back to finish fourth and retain his second place in the championship after seven rounds. Broc Parkes looked like a sure podium finisher until he lost the front end on lap nine of the Misano World Supersport race, dropping from second to 17th, before re-starting his stricken machine. Each of the two top Yamaha riders had started from the front row, but in a race littered with crashes and retirements, and conducted in temperatures of 33°C, few pre-race plans came to a satisfactory climax in the Misano cauldron. Parkes leaves the Misano round with both the circuit best WSS lap, set in qualifying, and the new official lap record, 1’40.187, set on lap three of the race. Massimo Roccoli (Yamaha Team Italia Lorenzini by Leoni) had work to do after qualifying on the fourth row, but recovered his speed and composure in front of his home fans to record seventh in the race, and jump up to ninth in the championship. David Salom (Yamaha Spain World Supersport Team) fell on lap three, after tangling with another rider. Fabien Foret (4th – Yamaha World Supersport Team) “I got pushed wide by another rider in the first corner and that put me way back in the order. Things could have been much better because I didn’t come here to finish fourth. This morning our set-up was good but it was a little bit more difficult this afternoon. I think the bike may have been a bit more sensitive in the heat. I could not find the same rhythm after the first chicane incident. The biggest problem was at that point, but in the traffic you slow down and afterwards it was difficult to get a good rhythm again.” Broc Parkes (10th -Yamaha World Supersport Team) “We got out of the gate good and put some laps together but I didn’t want to keep pulling Andrew along. When I went into the last right on the ninth lap I crashed as I released the brake, and the bike was gone very quickly. I thought it was just a small front-end slide but when I got on the gas I was already on my way to the ground. I picked the bike up and the handlebar was out of position, but I continued to get as many points as possible.” Wilco Zeelenberg (Team Manager, Yamaha World Supersport Team) “This is Misano, we know there is a narrow line here and a few people crossed it. Fabien was pushed wide by another rider in turn one after his start had been not that bad. Lascorz went into him and hit him really hard so Fabien was quite angry. I think he went to 15th place but he rode a good race from then on to get fourth. Fabien is second overall still and Broc third but it’s hard to say anything about today except that we are disappointed with the results, after such good qualifying performances.” Massimo Roccoli (7th – Yamaha Team Italia Lorenzini by Leoni) “I had a hard time at the start because of my qualifying position, then getting involved in a fight with another rider. When I got past him I could make up ground. From a row further forward I really think I could have got a top five or maybe even top four finish today.” David Salom: (DNF – Yamaha Spain) “I started quite good and in the second lap I was behind Foret, so I wanted to go with him. Suddenly Lagrive passed me, but he crashed and hit my bike.I couldn´t avoid crashing. It’s a real pity because I am sure we could fight for a top ten finish. Luck is not with us this season.” More, from a press release issued by HANNspree Ten Kate Honda: Pitt dominates Misano race, Rea claims third HANNspree Ten Kate Honda rider Andrew Pitt collected another impressive win today at the World Superbike round at Misano today. After two successful days of qualifying Pitt was the man on a mission today and eager to turn his second place on the grid into a top spot on the podium. After a good start Pitt took the lead for the best part of the 22-lap race over rivals Parkes and Foret. In what looked like an easy race for the front runner, Pitt kept his rivals at distance and claimed his fourth Supersport victory of the season. Jonathan Rea faced some issues with the gearbox of his bike minutes before the start of the race and had to go out on his second bike. Despite problems with his machine throughout the qualifying sessions, the talented young Brit was determined to chase his rivals and battle for top honours and turn his sixth place on the grid into a podium finish. After a good start Rea came through in fifth position. A crash from Brookes in the first lap and Parkes in lap nine, saw Rea moving into third position. He stayed put aboard his Honda CBR600RR for the rest of the session and completed the team’s successful day of Supersport racing by putting the second Ten Kate Honda on the podium. Andrew Pitt, 1st; “I am very happy to win this race. It wasn’t as hard work as I thought it would be. We had a good rhythm and when Broc (Parkes) didn’t want to lead I didn’t need to be asked twice and took the lead from there. When Broc made a mistake and crashed out I kept it comfortable till the end of the race and took the win. “It has just been one of those days where everything worked well. My mechanics gave me a bike that I could ride fast for the whole race. We kept the speed and kept it consistent.” “Also congratulations to Jonathan, it’s a good team result having both the Ten Kate Honda’s on the podium.” Jonathan Rea, 3rd; “I want to thank my mechanics for all the work they have done over the weekend. I had a problem all weekend and the guys worked night and day to resolve them. We started the race with a bit of a problem. But to finish third on a bad day is not a bad thing. Some of our rivals had some bad luck. It has giving me the motivation for the next round in Brno. I really like the circuit here and think we should have capitalised a bit more but third is not a bad result. I want to congratulate Andrew on his win. Two bikes on the podium is a good result for us and shows.” Ronald ten Kate, Team manager; “The pace at the beginning of the race was almost unbelievable. We had been strong through qualifying but Andrew was just dominating here today. It was good to bring both guys to the podium again. We have worked hard over the last couple of months and have succeeded in making the bike more competitive. We’re looking forward to the next test in Vallelunga. “My compliments to both riders. I think Andrew had the perfect set-up here today and has been riding very well. Jonathan had some issues with his number 1bike and had to start the race on his second. He already misfired this morning, to bring it back home in third position shows how fast he is.” More, from a press release issued by Team Triumph Italia Be1 Racing: Team Triumph Italia Be1 Racing takes its best season result so far on Misano track, bringing both its riders into the top-10 at the end of a perfect race. Mark Aitchison ends in sixth place with just a six seconds gap from the winner, while Clementi passed the chequered flag in 9th position after showing to have found back the shine of the season beginning. Both the riders was able to make a good start, while the Aussie rider kept the position, the Italian finished the first lap in sixteenth position. Then ‘Atcho’ didn’t loose the touch with the leading pack, up to get the 4th position just behind Rea who got the podium. Unfortunately in the last laps worn tyres forced Aitchison to slow down, giving to Harms and Foret the chance to pass him. In the meanwhile Clementi kept his position in the following pack taking his best seasonal result so far. MARK AITCHISON | Triumph 675 | 6th classified: “It has been a great day. I rode among the bests for the two-thirds of the race. I was able to got a never reached level but in the last laps tyres got really damaged and I was not able to defend. Now the top-ten ranking positions are just 3 points far from me. I will have the opportunity to fill the gap in the next rounds”. IVAN CLEMENTI | Triumph 675 | 9th classified: “The morning warm-up gave me the opportunity to move a further step forward in the feeling with the motorbike and it gave me the chance to be on the starting grid full of determination. I played an attacking race and I would have had the chance to finish a couple of positions ahead if I were able to be more effective in the last laps. I look forward to Vallelunga testing in order to test new solutions which should give me the possibility to improve further, in order to get everything perfectly ready for the next round at Brno, on the end of July”. GIULIANO ROVELLI: “I’m really satisfied. This week-end everything has worked perfectly and we got our best seasonal result. Our performance concurs to strengthen the ranking position of Triumph and it confirms that we are doing a good work which allows us to improve race by race. We do not have to forget that both the team and the bike are experiencing their first year in Supersport and we have already gone a long way. This result fosters us to start to plan the 2009 in which we want to get a place among the bests of the contest”. More, from a press release issued by GIL Kawasaki: Chris Walker made a vast improvement on his qualifying performance to finish 12th in the San Marino WSS race on his GIL Kawasaki, pushing hard throughout to make up for a 24th grid placing. Katsuaki Fujiwara had an unsatisfactory raceday, finishing his race on lap ten, while sitting 21st at the time. His machine had developed a technical problem and he had to pit before retiring. Even in the high temperatures of 33°C that afflicted the race, Waker kept a strong pace to the end, and was rewarded by more points and retention of his overall 11th place in the championship. For the whole team Brno presents the next chance for improvement in the 2008 fortunes, on July 20th. Chris Walker: “I tried every single lap every single time and did one of my fastest laps with one lap to go. But I just couldn’t push any harder than I did. At the start, like normal, I got away OK. So to finish 12th from 24th on the grid can’t be too bad really. I was consistent all race we just need to be consistently faster.” More, from a press release issued by Honda: Pitt Takes Fourth Win in Seven Races in Honda Podium Clean Sweep After qualifying second Andrew Pitt (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda CBR600RR) carried on his strong 2008 form to take his fourth win of the year as his closest rival, pole man Broc Parkes, crashed out of the podium contention at Misano. Pitt had just taken the lead and Parkes was following when the Yamaha rider fell, restarting to finish tenth, and leaving Pitt free to continue at a fast pace to win the race by 5.347 seconds. His Misano win adds to his previous victories at Phillip Island, Assen and Nürburgring. He extended his championship lead to 16 points over Fabien Foret and 26 points over Parkes. It was a successful day for most of Honda’s top runners, with Craig Jones (Parkalgar Honda CBR600RR) enjoying a lonely but welcome second place, and Jonathan Rea (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda CBR600RR) taking a podium finish in third, despite a few scares with technical issues and a bike swap shortly before the race started. Robbin Harms (Hannspree Stiggy Motorsports Honda CBR600RR) rode hard from a qualifying position of 14th to take fifth, in a race where ten riders either crashed or retired. Josh Brookes (Hannspree Stiggy Motorsports Honda CBR600RR) fell from contention on lap two, dropping to 33rd place, but recovering to finish 14th and score two championship points. He had been fifth on the grid, one place behind Jones, one place ahead of Rea and two up on Russell Holland (Hannspree Althea Honda CBR600RR) who replaced the injured Tommy Hill. Holland was on great form in the race until he crashed at post 16, on lap two. Brookes holds fourth place on 85 points, Jones is now only five points behind, Rea has 67 points in seventh place with Harms next with 50. Gianluca Nannelli (Hannspree Althea Honda CBR600RR) had an unhappy weekend at his home race, qualifying 23rd on Saturday and finishing 13th place. Pitt said: “I am very happy to win this race. It wasn’t as hard work as I thought it would be. We had a good rhythm and when Broc didn’t want to lead I didn’t need to be asked twice and took the lead from there. When Broc made a mistake and crashed I kept it comfortable until the end and took the win. It has just been one of those days where everything worked well. My mechanics gave me a bike that I could ride fast for the whole race. We kept the speed and kept it consistent. Also congratulations to Jonathan, it’s a good team result having both the Ten Kate Hondas on the podium.” Jones said: “I didn’t make a very good initial start but I got into the first corner OK and got away with Parkes and Pitt. When Parkes went down I thought I could close down on Pitt, but Andrew rode an incredible second part of the race. I saw I had a good lead over Jonathan and I was already on the limit, so I controlled the gap from where I was. I’m happy to be second I needed a podium and the points.” Rea said: “I want to thank my mechanics for all the work they have done over the weekend. I had a problem all weekend and the guys worked night and day to resolve them. We started the race with a bit of a problem. But to finish third on a bad day is not a bad thing. Some of our rivals had some bad luck. It has giving me the motivation for the next round in Brno. I really like the circuit here and think we should have capitalized a bit more, but third is not a bad result. I want to congratulate Andrew on his win. Two bikes on the podium is a good thing for us.” Harms said: “I’m really happy and satisfied with my fifth place, the bike felt very good throughout the race and my plan to stay defensive in the first part and it paid off. I knew it would be long race with a lot of riders crashing due to the hot conditions. This race result was important for me at this point as it’s been a few races now where I didn’t manage to do so well.” Brookes said: “Unfortunately I crashed on the second lap. After going wide on the first lap in a few corners I tried to change my riding style and my gear shifting a bit but instead of curing the problem it left me in the gravel. I picked up the bike and continued to race but it was a challenge as there were only a few centimeters left of the brake lever.” Nannelli said: “It was a difficult race mainly because of my bad starting position but also because after few laps I felt some muscle pain in my right shoulder after crashing on Friday. The worst parts were during braking. I just couldn’t do what I wanted to do.” “ Holland said: “My start was not so good and in the first couple of corners some riders passed me. I tried to join the first group but I still had the same problem in the last corner that I had already experienced during all of the practices. I knew it but in the second lap I just pushed a little bit too hard in that curve and I crashed. This morning we had a fantastic warm-up and I was waiting for a very good race. I’m really sorry for the team because they did an excellent job and I want to thank all of them for their great help during this weekend.” The race after Misano, round eight of the WSS series, is to be held at Brno, on July 20th 2008.