Gino Rea battles in top 12 in his 2013 Moto2 Wildcard Debut at Le Mans Gino Rea’s return to Moto2 championship at the Monster Energy Grand Prix de France proved why he is worthy of a full time position in one of the world’s most competitive motorcycle series. Despite a technical issue forcing Rea to pit in, his trademark ‘Speedy G’ start saw him rocket from 31st on the grid to 15th by the end of the first lap. By lap four Gino had battled his way into 12th place and was mixing it up with former world champions Julian Simon and Toni Elias as well as Moto2 race winner Alex de Angelis. Gino maintained a points scoring position for a third of the race before a technical issue forced him to enter the pits. Although Rea’s race came to a premature end, he proved he could run with some of the best in the world in dry conditions. This was a great accomplishment for Gino and his Gino Rea Race Team (GRR8T). The brand new team ran by Gino and his father David was created in the eight weeks prior to Le Mans after Rea lost his ride with the ESGP Team due to a lack of funding. Despite ESGP pulling out at the final hour, the British FTR manufacturer agreed to support Gino’s wildcard campaign and Rea’s performance at Le Mans rewarded their faith in him. Impressively, Gino had to work on his own bike throughout the weekend from setting up the chassis, fuel mapping and suspension due to not having a crew chief in Le Mans. Gino had this to say following Sunday’s race: “We were guessing a little bit with race set up because of our lack of dry track time. I’m actually glad that I had to work on setting up the bike myself because I’ve learnt so much about how the bike works. It’s a great opportunity to learn how the bike reacts and what crew chiefs normally do, at Le Mans I was basically my own crew chief. I’m impressed with the FTR chassis, I feel at home on it and it gives me confidence. “I knew I had to get a good start from 31st on the grid and I managed to make up a lot of positions during the first lap, moving into 15th. I got up to 12th position and was battling with Simon, Elias and that group but my bike started to cut out like it was out of fuel. I immediately lost positions and then had to pull over because of the danger it presented to myself and those around me. The bike was bogging on the exit of the corners and riders were almost hitting me from behind so I entered the pits. I re-joined the race towards the end to check it again and it did the same thing. It’s frustrating to not finish because of a technical issue as we are here running our own private team on a shoe-string budget against all the big teams. I know we could have finished the race with a strong points scoring result. We were mixing it up with the best in the world inside the points and that’s big accomplishment for us. It’s nice to make that kind of progress in the dry conditions; that’s the biggest positive to take from this. “We accomplished a lot and it’s all thanks to everyone who has helped us over the past months. I want to extend a special thanks to my Dad David, all at FTR, MotoBreaks, the Crawfords, Kev Horne, the Dunphys, ThroughTheWallPaint, Pole Position Travel, ImageDesignCustom, Jap4Performance and AGV. I also want to thank everyone who has supported me through GinoReaClub.com. I am looking forward to getting back out on track at Assen!” Gino will be missing the next two rounds of the Moto2 Championship at Mugello and Catalunya due to a lack of sponsorship. Making the strategic decision to compete at tracks at which he is more familiar, Gino will be returning for the Dutch GP at Assen in 5 weeks’ time. Gino’s performance last weekend demonstrated great promise and potential sponsors are encouraged to support the efforts of Rea, a Moto2 podium finisher. Fans can help Gino by purchasing Gino Rea merchandise at GinoReaClub.com. Gino will be selling updated photographs and t-shirts soon. Interested sponsors are urged to contact Gino Rea Race Team at [email protected]. More, from a press release issued by Bel-Ray: Bel-Ray Racer Aleix Espargaro Top CRT Finisher in French MotoGP Folger 4th in Moto3 Competition FARMINGDALE, N.J. ? Unsettled weather impacted the results of the Bel-Ray racers at this weekend’s World Championship events, which were held at the famous LeMans circuit in Northern France. Bel-Ray-powered Team Aspar entered racers in each of the three championship classes during the event. In the MotoGP class racing, Bel-Ray-supported Power Electronics Aspar experienced mixed results, with Aleix Espargaro again topping the CRT field with a 13th place finish, while teammate Randy DePuniet suffered a crash just past the mid-way point of the event and was forced to retire. Espargaro’s 13th place keeps him inside the top 10 in the points standings with a 9th place position. Espargaro was pleased with the weekend’s results, and he spoke about this following the checkered flag. “We still hadn’t ridden in the wet this year, however. That meant that we had a few surprises in the rain today and, although everything went ok, I had to fight against my bike for a large part of the race because the electronics weren’t working as I had expected. The bike was sliding around a lot, and the traction control was hampering me, but we were able to stay upright and finish as the best CRT. We are 9th overall after four races, are doing a fabulous job, and I am very happy. I hope that we continue this way.” Although disappointed with his crash, DePuniet spoke optimistically, looking forward to the next round. “On lap sixteen, going into a corner, I lost the front and crashed. I wasn’t going any faster than on the previous lap, but I suppose I must have hit a damp patch that I hadn’t seen. I am annoyed because I think that we could have been the top CRT today. Instead, we’re on a run of two races without a point. It is tough, but we have to move on and focus on the next race.” The weather caused disappointment for both of the Bel-Ray Moto2 racers in the competition, with both Nico Terol and Jordi Torres crashing in the wet conditions and withdrawing from the race. Terol’s crash came after he ran wide in a corner and contacted the wet grass surrounding the circuit. “I ran slightly wide on a corner, hit a damp patch and lost grip. It is a shame because today, considering the condition of the asphalt, we should have tried to preserve as many points as possible. We should still be optimistic, and happy with the great job we did all weekend. I am sure that the energy I have within will be useful for the next race.” Torres is also looking past this weekend to the next event in Mugello. “On the second lap, I wanted to get so tight behind the rider who was in front that I clipped the astroturf on the home straight and the bike spat me off. I am ok after the crash and focusing on Mugello.” Bel-Ray’s Moto3 entry, Jonas Folger, grabbed the early lead from the front row and lead for the first eight laps. However, going off track on the 11th meant that he slipped off a podium position. “I started strong in today’s race,” said Folger. “I felt really good and wanted to push from the beginning in order to escape. Despite the track conditions, I felt secure. After the midway point, with the balance between the chassis and the tires lost, my feeling with the bike deteriorated. It was very hard to stay upright, and I ran off track at one point. I got back on, but had lost touch with the lead group. I pushed hard and didn’t want to give up, but it was difficult to get back into the fight for the podium. The positive point is that we were still able to finish fourth.” All five racers rely on Bel-Ray products to protect their machines and to perform at the highest level. The same products used by the team can be found on dealers’ shelves worldwide. Bel-Ray Super Clean Chain Lube is one of the products chosen by the teams to keep their machines performing their best. Bel-Ray® Super Clean Chain Lube is an aerosol chain lube that utilizes the latest innovation in chain lubricant technology, combining unsurpassed anti-wear protection for long chain and sprocket life with an outer protective coating that will not attract dirt, sand or grit and ABSOLUTELY WILL NOT FLING OFF when used as directed. The series continues June 2nd in Mugello, Italy, for the Gran Premio d’Italia. To learn more about Bel-Ray specialty powersports lubricants, visit www.belray.com/powersports or call (732) 938-2421. Follow Bel-Ray racers all season long at www.belray.com More, from a press release issued by Bridgestone: French MotoGP™ debrief with Shinji Aoki Tuesday 21 May 2013 Bridgestone slick compounds available: Front: Extra-soft, Soft Rear: Extra-soft (Symmetric), Soft, Medium (Asymmetric) Bridgestone wet tyre compounds available: Soft (Main), Hard (Alternative) Repsol Honda’s Dani Pedrosa won a wet and wild French Grand Prix ahead of second-placed Cal Crutchlow on the Monster Yamaha Tech 3 M1 and teammate Marc Marquez who was third. The riders were met with extremely challenging conditions at Le Mans for the fourth Grand Prix of the year, with wet asphalt and a track temperature of just 14°C at the beginning of the race, and a rapidly drying track surface which caused variable grip conditions towards the end of the twenty-eight lap contest. Q&A with Shinji Aoki – Manager, Bridgestone Motorsport Tyre Development Department Cold and wet conditions were forecast for the weekend of the French Grand Prix and this is indeed what happened, can you explain how these conditions affected tyre performance at Le Mans? “Yes the conditions were as expected but this didn’t make it any easier for the riders! Track temperatures were very cool, as low as 13°C and although we brought our softest tyre compounds to this race, the track didn’t provide the best grip levels, particularly in the morning sessions. The consensus from rider feedback was that tyre warm-up performance over the weekend was good, but even so the cool ambient temperatures and strong breeze meant some riders got caught out during practice and qualifying. The cold conditions also meant that very few riders tried the harder rear slick options as they wanted the best rear grip and warm-up performance possible, which is especially important at Le Mans which has a stop-and-go layout with a lot of acceleration zones. “Sunday presented a different kind of challenge for the riders as the only time during the race weekend when track conditions were fully wet was at the beginning of the MotoGP race. Although morning warm up was declared wet, it wasn’t raining, so the level of standing water on track was less than at the beginning of the race. With such limited time to find a wet setup and considering that Le Mans requires good levels of rear grip, every rider ended up choosing the softer wet tyres for the race. No riders selected the harder compound wet tyres for the race, but would this option have worked better towards the end of the race when the track was drier? “Some riders actually did try the front and rear hard compound wet tyres in morning warm up, and other riders also scrubbed in a set of hard wet weather tyres on the sighting lap just before the race. However, because it was so cold which made the grip level of the circuit very low, every rider decided the soft compound wet tyre was the best choice, and I think this was the right choice given the conditions. Even though the track began to dry towards the end of the race, the rate of abrasion on the soft wet tyre was still within the acceptable range, so I don’t think the harder wet tyre would have given a performance advantage at the latter stages of the race. However, if the track temperature was say, five degrees warmer then I believe we would have seen some riders select the harder wet tyre for the race and this option may have given riders a performance advantage in some areas, particularly when braking.” Jorge Lorenzo said he had a lack of rear grip during the race; did this have anything to do with his tyre? “It was clear during the race that Jorge had an issue as he couldn’t keep the same pace as the leading group. Immediately after the race he had a debrief session with his tyre engineer where he explained his lack of rear grip. As is always the case in these situations, his engineer thoroughly examined Jorge’s race tyres which were found to be in good working condition. In addition, I examined the tyre myself and personally discussed the matter with the Yamaha engineers and we all agreed that Jorge’s lack of rear grip was not attributable to his tyre. We received many different comments from the riders after the race on the feeling on the track, even though they all used the same specification of wet tyre and endured the same track conditions. In these low grip situations, machine set up is critical as the smallest setting change can have a big effect on performance. In any case it was a shame for Jorge as he was so strong in morning warm-up and we all expected a better result from him, but he is a champion and I know he will be back to his competitive best at the next race.” More, from a press release issued by Waznie Racing: Brantford ON Canada – May 20th 2013 Szoke Chalks up his First Win of the Season Jordan Szoke shook down his new BMWS1000RR’s at the RACE Round One regional event this weekend held at the Shannonville Motorsport 1.5 mile “Pro Track” located just east of Belleville Ontario Canada. Jordan walked off not only with some solid laps on his new 2013 equipment, but also with a win in the Pro Superbike class. “It was really great to be able to get some time on these bikes before the national.” claims Szoke. “We are still waiting on a few more parts that will hopefully make a big difference in the next event.” The competitors that participated in the Pro Superbike Class were a handful of the national favorites. The Shannonville fans enjoyed an exciting race and a good prequel to the Mopar Canadian Superbike National season opener. This weekend Szoke was able to turn a 1.05.3 on his self prepared BMWS1000RR. “I have been very lucky to have worked with the best throughout my career, I paid attention and have prepared my bikes myself. I think I’ve done a pretty good job, and hope to come within sniffing distance to that old track record in a few weeks.” “Hats off to my crew as always,” says Szoke “They are the same group of guys we had last season, and we work really well together. Without them around I wouldn’t be as prepared as I am to head out on the track.” The Canadian Superbike National Season Opener will be held at Shannonville Motorsport Park June 7-9. For ticket information visit: www.csbk.ca Jordan Szoke would like to thank: Waznie Racing Inc, BMW Motorrad, Parts Canada, Alpinestars, HJC, Pirelli, Motul, BlackfootDirect.com, Yoshimura, Vortex, Hotbodies, RobbieO Enterprises, DID, NGK, BK Designs, Oakley, Ohlins, Moto-Mod Suspension, ViSalusSport.com, Stomp Grip, Chickenhawk, Strodes, Bicycle Works, photobOb, Fonthill Art and Home, Ossa Canada Motorcycles More, from a press release issued by Ivan Lintin’s publicist: Lintin impresses at rain affected North West 200 Lincolnshire’s Ivan Lintin produced three high-class performances at a rain-affected International North West 200 road race meeting last week, securing a best finish of fourth in Thursday’s Supertwins race aboard the McKinstry Racing Kawasaki. The Bardney rider also impressed greatly on the Taylor Lindsey Kawasaki in the two Supersport 600cc races to further enhance his road racing credentials. Having just his second outing (and first since 2008) around the 8.9-mile circuit linking the towns of Portstewart, Coleraine and Portrush, Lintin soon got dialled back into the high-speed course and qualified strongly before lining up for two races on Thursday evening. With wet, but drying, conditions the 5-lap Supersport event was the first to come to the line and a solid start on the Taylor Lindsey Kawasaki saw Ivan maintain his starting position. Enjoying a good battle with leading riders Cameron Donald, William Dunlop, Conor Cummins and Simon Andrews, he was able to get the better of all bar the last-named for a very strong 14th at the chequered flag. That set him up nicely for the following 4-lap Supertwins event that saw the rain stop and the sun begin to break through. Part of a four-man group that were battling for the final podium spot, Ivan was in contention throughout and by the final lap, he’d managed to move up to fourth and be in with a great chance of his first International rostrum. He had to give best in the end to former Grand Prix winner Jeremy McWilliams, James Hillier and Jamie Hamilton but fourth, just 3.1s adrift of the race victor, was an excellent finish. Sadly, torrential rain hit the Causeway Coast on Saturday meaning all but one race was cancelled and the Supersport race had only completed two laps when proceedings were called to a halt. Despite the terrible weather, Ivan again acquitted himself well with a 19th place finish. Speaking afterwards, Ivan commented: “It’s a real shame the weather ruined everything on Saturday but there was simply no way it could’ve continued, conditions were dreadful. I could barely see a thing in the Supersport race and there was hardly any grip at all so I just concentrated on bringing the bike home. Thursday’s race went well though and we’ve found a good base setting with the bike, ironing out a few little issues along the way so it’s still been a valuable week. There was some tough competition out there and if you look at the riders who finished just in front of me, and some of those behind, I was able to run with some extremely good company.” “In the Supertwins race, the wind had changed direction on the run from Station to University between practice and the race so I was under-geared. The bike was on the rev-limiter so although I was able to run the pace of the leading trio, I couldn’t get close enough to pass. Had it not been for that, I think I could’ve have made it on to the podium but whilst it’s a bit disappointing to have missed out, I was the third highest finisher of all the TT competitors so it bodes well.” “It would have been nice to have got out there on Saturday and tried again for the podium but overall it’s been a good week so a big thanks to all my sponsors especially Taylor Lindsey Racing, McKinstry Racing, B and C Express and The Other Bike Shop. I’m happy with the bikes so it puts us in a strong position heading to the Island.” Practice for the Isle of Man TT Races gets underway on Saturday with Ivan contesting the Supersport races on Monday 3rd June and Wednesday 5th June and the Supertwins event on Friday June 7th.