Track Conditions Prove Challenging For Moto2 Teams At Jerez

FOGI Racing manages adverse weather conditions to complete round one of Spanish Buckler CEV Championship

Jerez, Spain Canadian motorcycle road racing team FOGI Racing had a successful showing in round one of the CEV Buckler Championship in Spain this weekend. Tommy Aquino piloted the FTR Moto2 machine for the very first time this weekend and took advantage of every possible track condition. Friday morning Aquino was able to reacquaint himself with the popular Jerez circuit. The practice on Friday would be the only dry conditions for the weekend, with weather constantly changing throughout the weekend it was very difficult to take advantage of the limited track time.

FOGI Racing’s Andrew Murray was asked about the weekend, and replied “We had a great dry setup and a great wet setup but even with these factors in place the conditions would change throughout the session making it difficult to choose the best setup to give us the advantage.”

On race day, morning practice saw a wet tarmac but following race one the track was quickly drying. While half the teams were choosing wet tires and the others choosing dry slick tires, FOGI Racing’s Crew Chief Toni Gruschka was prepared to change tires from wet to dry on the grid if necessary but the decision was to stay with the wet tires for the race. FOGI Racing’s Pilot Tommy Aquino had an incredible start gaining 9 positions by the completion of lap one and was continuing to gain positions when the race was halted with a red flag due to a crash in the final turn of the circuit. With all riders now back in pit lane most opted to switch from rain tires to dry slicks considering the track was now almost completely dry. FOGI Racing quickly changed tires on the FTR M211 and the race was restarted from the original grid positions of what would now be a shortened 9 lap race. With almost all riders on dry slick tires during the warm up lap the weather changed yet again bringing massive amounts of rain to the track surface just before the restart. With the race restarted, on lap one many riders chose to come into the pits to change back to rain tires with the extremely wet conditions now in place. Aquino also chose to come into the pits and exchange tires, but this left him one lap down from those riders who managed to stay out on the existing tire choices.

Once back on the track Aquino worked hard to regain his positions running very good lap times given the conditions, and managed to finish 21st overall during the race. Gruschka was asked for his thoughts on the race and replied “I have never seen conditions like this in Spain for 7 years, but we are very happy with Tommy’s decisions throughout the race, and we have been very happy with his progress throughout the weekend even though this result may not reflect it. We are excited to be going to Navarra where we will get more valuable seat time and hopefully more stable track conditions.”

Aquino made a lot of positive progress throughout the entire weekend and the chemistry within the team was great. With a test at the new Navarra circuit just outside Pamplona, Spain on April 12th, and Round two of the series on April 22nd FOGI Racing is excited to get back on the bike and bring home a strong finish.

For further information on the FOGI Racing team and how you can be a part of the CEV Buckler program please contact Andrew Murray at (902) 499-3610 or [email protected]

More, from a press release issued by Brandon Cretu’s publicist:

C & H Racing by Continental Tires Gets Back On Track At Heartland Park

This past weekend saw C & H Racing teammates Brandon Cretu and Dennie Huff back on track at round two of the ASRA Team Challenge series at Heartland Park in Topeka, KS.

This was Huff’s second time at the track and Cretu’s first time. Both riders were keen to get in a good result after their unfortunate crash at round one. The competition was fierce all weekend with a few riders running at a simply blistering pace. The team had to remedy some minor mechanical gremlins after putting the bike back together so they were unable to get in much practice during Friday.

Cretu had the better pace throughout the weekend so they decided he would start the race and try to latch onto the leaders from practice. He didn’t get the start they hoped for but rode a solid first hour putting team into a comfortable fifth place position overall and in class. Huff took over the reigns of their CBR1000RR for the last half of the race and brought the team home in the same position.

“We didn’t finish the race where we wanted but considering the start to the season we are happy to come to a relatively unknown track and finish in the top 5. Our Continental Race Attack slicks held up through the entire two hour race without the need to change the rear tire. I tried to push at the beginning when the top 4 teams got by me on the start but struggled for the first few laps which had me lose sight of the teams in 3rd and 4th position. Our next race is at CMP in South Carolina which we have a bit more experience at so we are hoping to further improve upon our performance,” says team rider Brandon Cretu.

C & H Racing by Continental Tires heads to Carolina Motorsports Park in Kershaw, SC on April 14-15 for round 3 of the ASRA Team Challenge series. Stop by the track to watch some good races and meet the team but in the meantime check out their website at www.cretu-huffracing.com.

The team would like to thank all of their sponsors for their support this year!

Continental Tires, MOTUL, RevZilla.com, REV’IT!, EBC Brakes, Bell Helmets, Drippinwet.com, MRP Motorsports, Lithium Motorsports, Supreme Protein, Blue Monkey Motorsports, HEL Performance, Moto-heaven.com, Zero Gravity, GB Racing, ANT Racing, Spyder Leatherworks, Action Motorsports of York PA, NESBA, Moto D, FP Racing

More, from a press release issued by Kawasaki:

Team Kawasaki SRC wins SBK and SSP races in first round of French SBK series

Newsflash, 3 April 2012

For the opening round of the 2012 FSBK Championship, Team Kawasaki SRC signed for an incredible season start by winning both races in the Superbike class and a superb 1/2 in the Supersport races.

By taking the wins, the Kawasaki SRC Team now leads both race classes. Julien Da Costa doubled the win in the Superbike class on his Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10R N°86. His team mate Grégory Leblanc aboard his Kawasaki Ninja ZX-6R N°38 won the first race and crossed the line in second position in the second FSS race.

In both SBK races, Kawasaki SRC rider Julien Da Costa lead from start to finish and scored the fastest lap of both races.

A very strong and consistent result for the Kawasaki SRC team and Racing manager Gilles Stafler: “It’s a really good start and we couldn’t have hoped for a better result. I’m really pleased about the job done by the team and of course by my riders. Everything went well during the weekend and Pirelli with their new tyres are a big contributor to these strong results. Now we have to focus on the next race and it will not be the easiest one, the 24H endurance Bol d’Or !”

“It’s really good to be back on the highest spot of the podium,” explained Julien Da Costa. “I could manage my 2 races without any problem and I have to thank my mechanics and all team Kawasaki SRC for the great job done. It’s my first double win in my SBK career. I hope it will continue to be like this for the remainder of the championship, but we have to be aware that each race event will be different. We have only won the first round among eight, the way to go is still long!”

Grégory Leblanc said: “For my comeback in Supersport, I’m really satisfied with the result. Races were not so easy but in first leg I took my time in order to secure my win. In the second one, I made a small mistake in the Dunlop curve and I prefered to secure the points of the second position. Anyway, it’s only the first round of the season and tonight the Kawasaki SRC Team is leading both championships, so I guess it’s a very good thing before the Bol d’Or race.”

The next races of Team Kawasaki SRC will be the famous 24H Bol d’Or in Magny-Cours in two weeks, and after that by the end of April the FSBK round at Nogaro.

You can find the actual standings in the FSBK Championship here: ~http://www.fsbk.fr/wp-content/files_mf/Situation%20Superbike.pdf~

More, from a press release issued by Team Wilmax Harris Racing:

TEAM WILMAX SURVIVE SPANISH STORM

Team Wilmax Harris Racing survived a storm-swept first round of the 2012 CEV Buckler Spanish Moto2 Championship at Jerez last Sunday, with all three riders making it to the finish in difficult weather conditions.

Although the track was wet from the start of the race, most riders chose to run with slick tyres, as the weather appeared to be holding and the track drying out, but a crash on the fourth lap stopped the race. With the re-run declared a ‘wet race’, most riders still gambled on the track drying out and chose to remain on slicks, but soon after the re-start, heavy rain flooded the track and riders were forced to decide between staying out and risking a fall, or changing to wet tyres. The Team Wilmax riders all came in to change to wets,] and although they were unable to make up for the time lost in the pits, they all managed to make it to the finish, with Federico D’Annunzio taking 10th place at the flag, Miguel Praia 14th and Carlos Cejas 24th.

“The unpredictable weather conditions made tyre choice a lottery today,” said Wilmax team manager Anna Hamkens. “It was a difficult race for everyone, but we continued to improve our machine set-up throughout qualifying and the riders and team are really working well together, which gives us confidence for the future.”

The race was won by Spanish rider Dani Rivas, from Australian Kris McLaren and American Kenny Noyes.

The next round of the 2012 CEV Buckler series is at the Circuito de Navarra on April 22nd.

For further information visit www.wilmaxracing.com and www.wilmaxracing.com