Great Britain Grand Prix debrief with Tohru Ubukata Round 10: Great Britain GP Post-race debrief Donington Park, Tuesday 28 July 2009 Bridgestone compounds available: Front and rear: Wets Soft Slicks Soft, Medium This year the British Grand Prix was held for the last time at Donington Park before it makes the move to Silverstone next season. During the race weekend, weather and tyres were the talk of the paddock as it gave the riders and Bridgestone’s tyres a range of conditions to deal with. Friday’s practice started wet but was almost dry by the finish, though riders used Bridgestone’s wets for the whole session. Saturday was dry all day allowing the use of slicks and Sunday was in between; a wet warm-up followed by a damp race. Despite light rain throughout the race, Andrea Dovizioso took his first win using Bridgestone’s soft compound slicks. Only two riders chose to start the race on the wet tyres. Q&A with Tohru Ubukata – Bridgestone Motorsport Manager, Motorcycle Race Tyre Development The conditions for the British GP were very changeable; what did this mean for tyre performance? From Bridgestone’s perspective, it meant that we were able to show the broad range of track and weather conditions that we are able to effectively deal with using just two compounds of slick tyre and a single wet compound. It was a difficult race, but I am very happy with the outcome. It is always very tricky to deal with conditions that are right on the fine line between wet and dry, and correct tyre choice is a crucial but hard decision. On Friday we saw that our wet tyres performed on what was a drying track, and on Sunday during the race we saw that our slick tyres performed impressively on a damp track: the race was declared wet but it was won on slick tyres so for us this is a great achievement for the performance of the 2009 Bridgestone tyres. I also want to congratulate the riders for their demonstration of great skill in very tricky conditions. Riding technique is even more important with conditions like these, and without such effort from the riders we would not have seen such a good race. They were able to use all of the performance of our tyres on a very slippery track because of their great talent. During the race, the track and air temperatures actually fell so this meant that tyre temperatures and therefore grip became harder to maintain. In conditions like these, it is not a question of tyre durability but of ensuring that the tyres are able to work well at a low temperature, especially as the rain both reduces the coefficient of grip of the tarmac and serves to actively cool the temperature of the tyres further. I am pleased that even using our medium compound front slick tyre Randy de Puniet finished the race in third in these conditions. Towards the end of the race, after four riders had entered the pits to change to Bridgestone’s wet tyres, riders on the slick tyres and the wet tyres were able to lap at the same pace which is the best indication of the overlap of their operating ranges we have seen all year. How will you prepare for the next British GP at a circuit of which Bridgestone has no MotoGP experience? It is correct that we have no MotoGP experience of the Silverstone circuit because it was last used by the premier class in 1986. We only entered MotoGP in 2002 but since then have shown that we learn fast. Bridgestone also has a wealth of detailed tyre and track information on the Silverstone circuit thanks to our involvement with the Formula One World Championship since 1997. This gives us an in-depth understanding of factors such as the condition and grip levels of the tarmac at the track. We will continue to study carefully the circuit’s proposed layout amends, taking into account information such as the very fast predicted average lap speed, and build a detailed profile of Silverstone. We know the operating ranges of tyre compounds, so when we combine all this information we will be able to select the most suitable slick and wet Bridgestone tyre compounds accordingly. More, from a press release issued by Garnier Racing Team Junior: Superstock 1000 FIM Cup Round 6 Brno (Czech Republic) July 26, 2009 Very good 4th place for Sylvain Barrier Sylvain did a brilliant race at Brno, trying as much as he could to score good points. He finished in 4th, first of the Yamaha riders. Gregg Black was not lucky and he had to retire with a technical problem. Sylvain Barrier fought with a good group of high level riders, trying to pass Fores and Jezek. He finally finished fourth, which allows him to score important points for the championship. He is the first Yamaha rider under the chequered flag, and the only R1 in the top 10. Maxime Berger led most of the race, but unfortunately he crashed close to the end. Xavier Simeon finally won the race on his Ducati. Bad luck for Gregg Black who had to retire. Sylvain Barrier: “I had a correct start and I was in good position in the first curve. I was behind Corti during two laps and I passed me. He overtook me again, but I passed him a second time. Then I tried to pass Jezek. I was braking later than him. We touched a little bit two curves from the end. I am happy with my 4th position.” Michel Garnier (team owner): “Sylvain could not do better. He was slowed down by Jezek. Sylvain was trying to catch Fores, but he had to be careful so he could score points. He finishes first Yamaha rider. I am sorry for Maxime Berger. Gregg Black did not have a good week-end.” Race result: 19 Siméon X. (BEL) Ducati 1098R 24’52.839 (156,353 kph) 2 112 Fores J. (ESP) Kawasaki ZX 10R 8.022 3 69 Jezek O. (CZE) Honda CBR1000RR 8.079 4 20 Barrier S. (FRA) Yamaha YZF R1 9.607 5 29 Beretta D. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 9.666 6 71 Corti C. (ITA) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 9.922 7 3 Lundh A. (SWE) Honda CBR1000RR 18.270 8 7 Mähr R. (AUT) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 19.494 9 34 Giugliano D. (ITA) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 24.679 10 51 Barragan S. (ESP) Honda CBR1000RR 24.936 11 30 Savary M. (SUI) Honda CBR1000RR 30.534 12 23 Sandi F. (ITA) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 30.733 13 22 Lowes A. (GBR) MV Agusta F4 312 R 30.739 14 117 Sacchetti D. (ITA) Honda CBR1000RR 32.616 15 84 Massei F. (ITA) Yamaha YZF R1 38.379 Superstock 1000 FIM Cup standings: 1-Siméon 130 points, 2-Corti 104, 3-Fores 84, 4-Berger 82, 5-Barrier 67″¦22-Black 7 More, from a press release issued by Team YZF Yamaha: Supersport World Championship Round 10 Brno (Czech Republic) July 26, 2009 Team YZF Yamaha Brilliant 6th position for Sheridan Morais The South-African rider Sheridan Morais, standing in for Doni Tata Pradita, did a superb race at Brno, finishing in 6th position in front of great riders like ex-World Champions Kenan Sofuoglu and Andrew Pitt. Sheridan started from 13th position on the grid. He was 13th at the end of the first lap, progressed to 11th on the second lap and went to the 9th place on lap 5. He then passed Kenan Sofuoglu and had a very nice battle with Italian Massimo Roccoli, who was riding for the local team Intermoto Czech. Finally Morais finished just in front of Roccoli with Garry McCoy not far behind. This is a great result for the Team YZF Yamaha, showing that the R6 is very competitive. In the race, it was the machine with the best top speed, which demonstrates the quality of the preparation of the engine. The race was won by Fabien Foret (Yamaha) after his team mate Cal Crutchlow led for most of the event but had to retire. Sheridan Morais: “This is brilliant. I had a good start and I progressed well. It was a great race with Massimo Roccoli and Kenan Sofuoglu. I really enjoyed it. Thank you to Martial and everybody in the team who did a very good job.” Team-manager Martial Garcia: « The team progressed well this week-end and the 6th position is a great result. It was a good opportunity for us to tune our new Magnetti-Marelli injection. This will be very helpful when our permanent rider Doni Tata Pradita will be shortly back with us. Thank you to Sheridan and to the whole team for the excellent quality of the work that was done.” Race result: 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 Supersport World Championship standings: 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 11th round of the Supersport World Championship: September 6 at the Nürburgring (Germany) More, from a press release issued by Gino Rea’s publicist: Hard thought podium battle leaves Gino Rea 6th at Brno- WSBK STK600 Gino Rea and Ten Kate Honda battled hard today at Brno but did not come away with the podium result they wanted. From P2 on the grid Gino started well and entered the first corner in the lead. A battle then ensued for first place through the race, with the top seven tightly bunched including Championship leader Petrucci. Gino held 2nd and 3rd places for most of the race before regaining the lead three laps from the end. Unfortunately on the penultimate lap Gino got caught through a series of corners pushing Gino back to 4th place in the bunch going into the last lap. A last lap push from Gino looked to be succeeding but the bike ran onto the grass at the edge of the track and Gino was not able to make his push stick finishing the race 6th. In Gino’s words: “For us, we have to take the positives from this race as it was a bit frustrating, I had the pace to win the race, I was fast on the infield part of the track and was being held up whenever I was behind. But everytime I got into the lead I couldnt stay infront on the start straight and up the hill to be able to gap them on the infield. I was battling in the top 3 for the whole race, it was just a shame that I touched the grass on the last lap as I think I could have podiumed at least. After I touched the grass I had a big moment and went back to 7th, I managed to get past Bussolutti on the last corner for 6th. The team have worked hard all weekend and I really wanted to bring them another win or podium, but at least we know we have the pace to win races now. As for the championship, im 14 points off the lead, its still very possible to win the title and we have a few tracks left that I like, so as usual il be trying my hardest to claw back the points!” Gino will have wanted a higher position from the race but the 6th place points keep him well in the running for the championship in 3rd place. For the Championship top ten and the full results from the race today, please click here. The next race is at Nurburgring, Germany after the summer break on 6th Sept. More, from a press release issued by Buell: RICHARDSON RUNNER-UP IN NEW JERSEY PRO THUNDERBIKE RACE Bilansky Maintains Lead in ASRA Season Points Battle East Troy, WI (July 28, 2009) Ray Price Harley-Davidson/Buell rider Jordon Richardson rode a Buell XB12R to a second-place finish in the Pro Thunderbike National at the ASRA Michelin Pro Series event at New Jersey Motorsports Park. The race was won by Nate Kern on a BMW. The result was a career-best finish in ASRA Pro Thunderbike for the 23-year-old Richardson, who is from Fuquay Varina, N.C., and is in his first full season of motorcycle road racing competing as an amateur in a class dominated by riders with expert ratings. “Before the season I said that my goal was to get on the podium in an ASRA race, so it’s great to be here so soon,” said Richardson. “I was right with Kern but just could not get by him. It was a lot of fun and I learned a lot just by following a veteran rider like Nate.” Richardson qualified second to Kern for the race, and it was Kern that led the field away at the start of the nine-lap Pro Thunderbike National on the 1.9-mile Lightning circuit. Richardson stayed with Kern, dogging the defending Thunderbike champion for the entire race, but was never able to pass him. Robert Buroker finished third on a Ducati, followed by Buell racers Sam Rozynski (Soundwaves.com/H-D/Buell of Frederick), Joe Rozynski (Soundwaves.com/H-D/Buell of Frederick), and James Delk (Roanoke Valley H-D/Buell). The 2009 ASRA Thunderbike points leader, Hal’s H-D/Buell/Hal’s Speed Shop rider Dan Bilansky, started the race on a Buell XB12R he borrowed from the Soundwaves.com/H-D/Buell of Frederick team after his primary bike suffered an engine failure on Friday. Bilansky finished 12th in the Thunderbike race after running off course, but maintained his lead in series points because his closest rival, Hal’s Harley-Davidson/Buell/Hal’s Speed Shop rider Joel Spalding, did not attend the race in New Jersey. After six events on the nine-race 2009 ASRA Michelin Pro Series Thunderbike schedule, Buell riders continue to top the season-points standings. Bilansky leads with 170 points, followed by Spalding with 150 points, Joe Rozynski with 137, Sam Rozynski with 124, Kern with 93, and Richardson in sixth place with 68 points. The next event on the 10-race ASRA Michelin Pro Series schedule is the Barber Festival of Speed, August 15-16 at Barber Motorsports Park in Leeds, AL. Founded by visionary motorcycle designer and former privateer racer Erik Buell in 1983, Buell Motorcycle Company, a subsidiary of Harley-Davidson, Inc., produces sport motorcycles, motorcycle parts, accessories and apparel, including the 1125R superbike, 1125CR café racer and air-cooled XB-series Ulysses, Firebolt, and Lightning. To learn more about Buell motorcycles, or to locate the dealer nearest you, log onto www.buell.com.