Points and progress for Ray and Buildbase Suzuki on WSBK debut

Bradley Ray and the Buildbase Suzuki team enjoyed a positive wildcard appearance in this weekend’s World Superbike round at Donington Park, utilising the experience to gain more track time and improve the GSX-R1000 superbike, and coming away with a some world championship points to boot.

The weekend started strongly, firstly with wet free practice giving the team chance to work on wet weather setup, before Ray posted a time that saw him progress straight to Superpole 2.

From his 10th placed grid spot, the 21-year-old diced with a number of experienced riders on full World Superbike spec machines in both races, coming away with two points-scoring finishes. After battling for the top 10, rear tyre wear saw Ray surrender a few positions, but he still came away with a 14th and 15th.

Bradley Ray, “We had a really enjoyable and also productive weekend. Honestly, the important thing for us was more track time and to really treat the whole thing as a big test first and foremost. We couldn’t compare ourselves to the world superbike teams we had to compare our performance to when we were last at Donington for the opening BSB round, and we can safely say we’ve found some real improvements. That said, I’d be lying if I said we didn’t also want to give a good account of ourselves and show what we could do against the best superbike riders and teams in the world, and given our bike is built to a different specification, I think we can be really happy with two point-scoring finishes. I’ve got to say thank you to the team for giving me the opportunity, and I’m looking forward to Snetterton for the next BSB round.”

Team manager, Steve Hicken, “We’re definitely happy with our performances this weekend. Practice went well and Brad did a great job of going straight through to SP2 and set a good lap time in qualifying. In the races he made two good starts and was battling for the top 10, but as the races went on you could see the difference between BSB-spec and WSBK-spec machines, and we couldn’t quite save the rear tyre as much as they could – we were just spinning it up a bit too much. But the results are something to be proud of, and more importantly we were able to try some new things with the bike and improve in some key areas, ready for when we return to BSB action next month.”

Race one result: 1. Michael van der Mark, 2. Jonathan Rea, 3. Tom Sykes, 14. Bradley Ray

Race two result: 1. Michael van der Mark, 2. Toprak Razgatlioglu, 3. Jonathan Rea, 15. Bradley Ray

More, from a press release issued by EAB AntWest Racing World Supersport Team:

GRITTY PERFORMANCE FROM WEST REWARDED WITH POINTS SCORING FINISH

Round 6 United Kingdom

Donington Park, England

The EAB antwest Racing World Supersport Team arrived in the UK encouraged by Ant West’s brave performance and result in Italy following his highspeed crash in Assen and subsequent wrist fracture and surgical repair.

With another ten days of recuperation between Imola and the UK round, Ant was looking forward to getting back on his Kawasaki ZX6-R. Before the weekend started, Ant was expecting to struggle physically in the Fogarty esses and the final two one hundred and eighty degree turns that finish the lap. Riding the bike, Ant found that although those braking areas were difficult, they were far easier to deal with than the highspeed direction changes required for achieving a fast lap around the circuit.

Free Practice 1 started with full wet conditions and a steady rain. Ant’s prowess on the wet and slippery track was on display for the crowd and rewarded on the timing sheets. Although wet conditions require more mental focus, the physical effort required is reduced. At the end of the fifty minute session, he was third behind Mahias and Cluzel.

Free Practice 2 started under gray skies and a wet track. The bike was setup for the wet at the beginning of the session and a full dry setting was prepared and ready to be installed should the track conditions change. Ant started the session on rain tires and quickly resumed where he left off in FP1—at the front. Conditions changed quicker than anticipated and a dry line developed, bringing competitors in for slicks. With slicks installed and suspension adjusted to a full dry setup, Ant was back on track. His first flying lap was five seconds faster than his previous fastest. He was holding his position well within the coveted top ten positions that advance to SP2. With less than ten minutes to go in the session, competitors were installing fresh slick rear tires for a final time attack. The team miscalculated the track drying and a second rear slick was not prepared. Without a fresh rear slick, Ant was unable to respond to the improving track conditions and tumbled down the order in the last few minutes and falling out of the top ten.

FP3 started and Ant was eager to get up to speed and take that momentum into SP1. The dry setting from the day before was working well and Ant finished in seventh position and top Kawasaki.

SP1 was also dry and the track temperature had increased from 16 degrees to almost 32 degrees. Ant and the crew were focused on a time attack and worked out a strategy for three flying laps on a new slick and then a second run of three flying laps on another new slick, the additional flying lap made possible by the short four kilometer distance of the track. Although the lap strategy worked, the rising temperatures saw a decrease in rear grip and the physical nature of the track hampered Ant’s ability to match his time from FP3. Finishing fifth in SP1, Ant would be gridded on the fifth row in fifteenth.

After a few minor changes for the Kawasaki ZX-6R in morning warm-up, including moving the shifter down to accommodate Ant’s compromised riding position, it was time to race. Ant got a decent start went the lights went out and was able to make up a position and cross the line in fourteenth after the first lap. By the end of lap three he was up to twelfth. Lap six and he was up to tenth and had completed as many laps in a row that he had done all weekend. After briefly getting as high as eighth position, Ant was struggling to hold on to the bike through the fast direction changes and losing time. Instead of pulling in to the pits, he adjusted his body position and was trying to hold on with his legs. When the checkered flag flew, he was eleventh across the line. When he arrived in parc ferme, he got off the bike and nearly collapsed on the floor, all the color was drained out of his face—a testament to how he fought through the pain and discomfort of the twenty lap race.

Anthony West 13, P11

That was hard. I really thought my arm would be stronger by now. Before riding here this weekend, I thought I’d be ok in the first sector and struggle in the hard braking zones in the last sector. The first dry session and I realized the opposite was true. I was struggling to stay on line and change direction in the fast first sector. I kept missing my downshifts because my leg felt dead. I wasn’t sure if I was going to be able to finish the race but I’m glad I did to keep my position as top Kawasaki rider in the championship. I wish I could rest before Brno, but I’m flying tomorrow to Japan to race the Asian championship.

EAB antwest Racing is a critically underfunded yet competitive team competing in the World Supersport championship comprised of Australian, American and Dutch members. EAB antwest Racing is supported by EAB, Accent Timber Flooring, Putoline, National Tiles, Race-Pro, Riva Moto, FuSport, Arai, Furygan,

Danske Frargtmeand. Unique season long and one event sponsorship opportunities are available.

For more information contact Murph at Syndicate Motorsport Management.

+1.831.464.3458 or [email protected]

More, from a press release issued by Yamaha Racing:

bLU cRU Riders Battle Hard at Donington for WorldSSP300 Round 4

Race

The five Yamaha R3 bLU cRU Challenge riders gave it their all for Round 4 of the 2018 FIM Supersport 300 World Championship at Donington Park this weekend with Galang Hendra Pratama leading the Yamaha charge. The 19-year-old Indonesian was the stand out rider once again after finishing Sunday’s race in ninth, but all five showcased their talent on their first visit to the UK circuit. Luca Bernardi mounted a superb charge from 28th on the grid to cross the line in 14th, Dennis Koopman was 19th ahead of Hugo de Cancellis in 21st, while Joep Overbeeke was unlucky to have his chain break in the latter stages of the race and was forced to retire.

19-year-old Indonesian rider Galang Hendra Pratama (Yamaha Pata | Semakin di Depan | Biblion Motoxracing Team) was on fire on Friday, despite a crash on his out-lap in FP1 that saw him miss the entire session. Making up for lost time in FP2, he ended Friday in a sensational second on the combined timesheets, but a technical issue with his quickshifter during SP2 had meant that he could only qualify in 11th on the grid for Sunday’s race. The man from Yogyakarta was being cheered on by thousands of his passionate Indonesian fans, speaking to them live via a video call first and then the WorldSSP300 race was shown on a big screen at the Yamaha Indonesia booth at the Pekan Raya in Jakarta.

Determined to put on a show for his loyal supporters, when the lights went out he had a tricky start and dropped down to 14th during the early stages of the race. Fighting back hard and showing true Semakin di Depan spirit, Galang passed rider after rider and showed excellent consistency at a track he had never ridden before FP1 on Friday. Battling all the way to the chequered flag, he crossed the line in ninth as the leading Yamaha to record his second top-ten finish in 2018 and secure seven championship points. This sees Galang now 12th in the overall standings with 18 points after five races and leading the Yamaha R3 bLU cRU Challenge.

Luca Bernardi (Yamaha Pata | Trasimeno Team) had a tricky SP1 that saw him forced to start the race from 28th on the grid but when the lights went out for the race, he showed everyone the true bLU cRU fighting spirit, making up fourteen places to finish in 14th place. It was the 16-year-old Italians second points-scoring finish in a row and he is now 19th in the WorldSSP300 Championship standings with six points and second overall in the challenge.

21-year-old Dutch rider Dennis Koopman (Yamaha Pata | Semakin di Depan | GRT Team) gave it his all during Sunday’s race from 25th on the grid to cross the line in 19th and he occupies 23rd in the overall standings and is third in the challenge with 3 points.

Hugo de Cancellis (Yamaha Pata | Toth – YART Team) had another encouraging result in Sunday’s race. Starting from 22nd on the grid, the 16-year-old French rider managed to secure 21st at the line as he continues the hunt for his first championship point.

It was a disappointing end to the weekend for 18-year-old Dutch rider Joep Overbeeke (Yamaha Pata | Trasimeno Team) as was he was forced to retire with just two laps to go in the race when his chain snapped after starting from 29th on the grid.

The Yamaha R3 bLU cRU challenge riders are next in action at Round 5 of the 2018 WorldSSP300 Championship at Brno in the Czech Republic on the 8th-10th of June.

Galang Hendra Pratama

Yamaha R3 bLU cRU Challenge Rider – 9th +10.006s

“Today in the race I started from 11th because yesterday I had a technical issue during SP2. During the race, I tried to reach the top group but the other bikes were simply too fast compared to mine. I am now focused on the next race in Brno where I will do my best to fight at the front!”

Luca Bernardi

Yamaha R3 bLU cRU Challenge Rider – 14th +26.514s

“The race went well! I’m happy to have finished in 14th place but I’m not happy with my qualifying because I had to start from P28 on the grid. I really enjoyed the Donington Park track and I had a good feeling with my Yamaha R3 around the circuit. In the race, I made up a lot of places and enjoyed lots of good battles and it was great to record my second points-scoring finish. I would like to thank the whole of my Trasimeno team and, of course, Yamaha for this incredible opportunity.”

Dennis Koopman

Yamaha R3 bLU cRU Challenge Rider – 19th +27.697s

“Again for me, this was a new track for me and after a track walk with the team, I had a good feeling about the circuit! In FP1, it was completely wet. I love the wet conditions and topped the timesheets right from the beginning. I got a little bit too much confidence and I lost the rear in Turn 1 and when I was back in pit lane there were only 10 minutes left in the session. After a quick check from my mechanics, they sent me out and within 2 laps I kept improving my lap time. In FP2, the conditions were difficult because the track was not wet but there were some damp patches and a lot of wind. I wanted to go straight into Superpole 2 but I didn’t make it. I had to set a time in Superpole 1 but I got mixed up in the wrong group and ended up in P25. I wasn’t too happy about it but it could’ve been worse. After a decent start in the race, I made up some places and was eventually fighting for P13. I was on the tale of the group and couldn’t make up more places. I am happy with P19 but I’m eager to get some better results! A big thank you to my team and sponsors!”

Hugo de Cancellis

Yamaha R3 bLU cRU Challenge Rider – 21st +45.124s

“The beginning of the weekend was okay, I was happy with qualifying in 23rd. The race was tricky for me, because I had a bad start and I missed out on being in the front group. I fought hard and did the best I could to finish in 21st. Now I turn my focus to Brno where I hope to I can finish in the points!

Joep Overbeeke

Yamaha R3 bLU cRU Challenge Rider – DNF

“FP1 was tricky because of the weather, also it was the first time for me riding on the R3 in heavy rain. After five minutes I crashed in Turn 5 at full throttle but, luckily, myself and the bike were okay. FP2 was much better for me. We made a few changes to the bike, a different sprocket and some suspension tweaks and, even though it was my first time in Donington in dry conditions, I had a really good feeling with the track and bike. I was doing some good lap times but the sprocket we used was a little bit too long for the straight. We needed to fix it on Saturday, so we took a gamble in SP1 and used a shorter sprocket but it was a little bit too short. I qualified in 22nd and I was only two seconds slower than the quickest rider, which was good. During the race, I had to avoid a crash and I lost touch with the group I was in and dropped back a bit. I then locked my rear wheel while avoiding another bike and lost five places, so I tried to push to make up the time but in the Fogarty Esses my chain broke while I was at full throttle and I only just managed to save a big crash and get the bike stopped, but that was, unfortunately, race over for me. I hope for better luck in Brno!”

Alberto Barozzi

Yamaha Motor Europe bLU cRU Racing Manager

“At this iconic circuit, unknown to all the 5 bLU cRU boys, it was another interesting performance for all the group. They are gaining experience during every session and their progress has getting better and better. After four races, we have reach the halfway point of the season and it’s time to do a sum up of the project. Overall, all riders have started the season in the correct way, improving their skills and knowledge race by race, plus their professional attitude and behaviour have been in line with what is expected in the world championship. It has not been easy for them, with the issues with the technical regulations being balanced, so their results are actually a lot better than they seem on paper. Galang has shown his talent to the world and has been consistently going about 2s a lap quicker than the riders last year. Dennis has improved his race approach and is showing a lot more consistency now. Joep is getting to grips with the championship well and he is gaining a good understanding of what it takes to ride at this level and has also shown great attitude. The two youngest riders have been super as well. Luca has been superb in the races and is learning his race craft very quickly, he just needs to work on his qualifying. Hugo has so much potential, it is a case of just learning to be patient and to focus his passion and determination and I think we are starting to see this. I am excited to continue working with them all and I am very proud of all the teams too. I would like to say thank you Motoxracing, YART, GRT and Trasimeno for all of their excellent work, and to all of the staff related to the project for providing such good support for the riders.”

More, from a press release issued by Finn Motorsports:

Challenging Weekend for Finn at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya

After a tough weekend Jonathan Finn looks forward to coming home to Canada for a couple of weeks to regroup and come back even stronger.

Montmeló, Spain – Persevering in the face of adversity was a recurring theme this past weekend for the 14-year-old Canadian RFME PreMoto3 Championship rider Jonathan Finn, who finished 16th in Sunday’s race.

Leading up to Saturday’s qualifying session Finn picked up right where the previous weekend testing finished in Thursday’s free practice sessions. Finn got limited seat time in Friday’s free practice sessions due to early morning thunderstorms and periodic light rain resulting in a wet track conditions up until the last free practice session. Pushing hard, Finn was able to continue to lower his lap times and was confident with the bike’s set up and his pace.

Prior to Saturday’s Qualifying Sessions an early morning thunderstorm once again saturated the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya track.

The XCtech team wanted Finn take advantage of the wet conditions and saw Finn hold P1 for the first half of the session.

“I was the first rider out of the pits when the track went green. The track was soaked but there was no rain falling. They wanted me to get some laps in to shake down the bike as well as try and set a fast time in the wet, knowing that not many riders would go out in these conditions. “

During the second session, Finn had to contend with a new challenge; chatter on fresh tires. The setup seemed to work best with tires that had about 5-6 laps on them, posing the question of whether to keep the setup and have Finn deal with the chatter for the opening laps and wait for the tires to work-in, allowing Jonathan to push hard for the last half of the race. Finn would eventually qualify 12th on the grid for the first race of the doubleheader weekend.

Finn was able to get a good start and move forward quickly finding himself in a four-way battle for 9th place. As exciting as this multi-rider battle within the top ten was, it allowed the lead group to break away leaving little opportunity for Finn catch up and join the fray at the front. Finn would cross the start-finish line in 11th Place.

Racing is all about pushing limits; physically and technologically. An unexpected limit was reveled during the post-race tech inspection, which all bikes must undergo. Finn’s bike along with two other riders’ bikes were deemed to be over the maximum horsepower limit resulting in disqualification. Finn’s bike was dyno’d at +0.2 horsepower over the maximum limit.

“When a race official came down to the garage telling me and a team representative to report to the Race Director’s office I knew this wasn’t going to be good.” Said Finn. “Team owner Xavi Jimenez and I were shocked to find out that my bike exceeded the power limits.”

The XCtech team exhausted all avenues to appeal the decision, however the decision was not overturned.

“I was disappointed for Jonathan and the entire team. We work hard and spent hours tuning Jonathan’s bike on our own team’s dyno with enough allowance that this should never have happened. This very disappointing for us.” stated Xavi Jimenez, XCtech Team Owner.

Putting the previous day’s events behind him, Finn set out to test changes the team had made to his Pre-Moto3 machine to prevent the possibility of another disqualification in the second race of the doubleheader weekend. Feeling confident with the changes, Finn set the 8th fastest time during morning warm-up.

As an added measure, the team had the #26 Team XCtech Canadian Tire – Cobourg Pre-Moto3 machine tested on the dyno immediately following the morning warmup session which it passed with no issues.

Finn knew he needed to get a good launch off the line and push forward immediately so that he wouldn’t get caught up in another mid-pack battle. Unfortunately, that was not meant to be. Finn didn’t get the start he hoped for and once again fought hard to escape, a mid-pack fight for 10th.

Finn’s misfortune continued a few laps later when he tried to draft pass going into the first turn.

“I was able to get utilize the draft and I wanted to slingshot my way to the front of the pack going into turn 1. I knew my sector 1 times were faster than the other riders in the group, so I wanted to be leading the group going into the first turn.” Said Finn. “Under heavy braking I got really loose and I had to overshoot the corner and use the paved runoff.

The first-turn runoff at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya is paved but rubber speed bumps are difficult to navigate then you also must rejoin the circuit once past painted markings beside turn 2. Running wide cost him dearly, dropping Finn back to 16th and almost eight seconds behind the group he was previously battling within. Finn would go on to finish in 16th.

“It’s hard not to be disappointed with the weekend overall. I had the pace to run further up the grid but with getting caught in battles for position in both races and the DQ in the first race was a very tough weekend for me and the team.” Said Finn.

Team owner Xavi Jimenez went on to say; “I know Jonathan is disappointed. He wants to be up front and he will be. Even Rossi has a bad race every once and a while. Jonathan is an excellent and mature rider and I know he will arrive at Circuito de Navarra in June focused ready to battle.”

Finn will be returning to Canada for a two-week break before returning to Spain in mid-June for testing with his XCtech team in preparation for Navarra

The RFME Campeonato de España Cetelem de Velocidad Championship travels to Circuito de Navarra June 21-24. Circuito de Navarra is located 350km north of Madrid near Pamplona.

Finn is thankful for the support from Canadian Tire – Cobourg, Arai Helmet Americas, Bickle Racing, Human 2.0, Impact Safe-T Armor, Marsquest, BigB Racing, VNM Sport, Infinet Motorsports and Vroom Media Ltd.

Follow Jonathan’s journey at jonathan-finn.com, on Facebook (Jonathan Finn Motorsports), Twitter, Instagram (@finnmotorsports) as well as Finn Motorsports on YouTube. For more information about Jonathan Finn or if you would like to become involved as a sponsor please contact [email protected]