The 2016 ASBK Battle is Go for Crankt Protein Honda Racing
1st March 2016 – Round 1 of the Australian Superbike Championship (ASBK) is done and dusted after some extremely close racing at Phillip Island over the weekend and the battle is only just beginning.
Crankt Protein Honda Racing departs the season opener with #17 Troy Herfoss in 4th place and #27 Jamie Stauffer in 11th place in the championship.
The World Superbike event was not without incident for the Honda team. In Race 1 on Saturday a moment of instability from Mike Jones at the front of the tightly packed group caused an unavoidable chain reaction. It ended in disaster for Stauffer when he hurtled into the back tyre of Herfoss who had quickly shut off his throttle to avoid the bike in front. The resulting impact threw Stauffer from his motorcycle only to slide at high speed down the front straight. Luckily, the other riders avoided Stauffer and he was able to limp to Racesafe for medical attention. Stauffer will possibly require skin grafts to his forearm in the coming days.
Battered, burned and with a number of bruises, Stauffer nonetheless lined up on the grid the following day for Races 2 and 3 ready to do battle again. The impact also damaged the rear tyre on Herfoss’ bike although he still managed to finish Race 1 in 5th place with a fastest lap of 1:33.527 sec.
In Race 2 on Sunday Herfoss recorded his fastest lap of the weekend, a 1:33.123 sec to finish in 5th place and Stauffer finished Race 2 in 7th place.
Race 3 saw Herfoss battle it out for the lead onboard his CBR1000RR SP only to have to settle for 2nd place by just .033 sec, placing him 4th overall for the event.
Herfoss is looking forward to Round 2, saying “Fourth position for the opening round of the ASBK is obviously not where wanted to start the season, but it is just the first event and we still come away with valuable points. My pace over the weekend was good on the Crankt Protein Honda and I am really looking forward to racing at my home circuit, Wakefield Park this month. A massive thanks to Crankt Protein Honda Racing for all their efforts this weekend, a great job done by all!”
Stauffer finished Race 3 in 7th place and took 11th place overall for Round 1. He will now focus on recovery. “I feel fairly lucky to walk away after that crash although I am pretty sore. It was just unlucky that I was tucked in so close behind Troy when it happened and had no time to react. I’ll be focusing on getting my forearm looked at now and making sure I’m good to go for Round 2. Considering the crash, I am pleased to come away with some solid points. It’s only Round 1 and the bike feels really good so I know we’ll come back strongly at Wakefield Park.”
Round 2 ASBK will be held 26th – 27th March at Wakefield Park in New South Wales.
More, from a press release issued by Pirelli:
Pirelli Riders Confirm Performance of New Tire in Superbike Race 2 as Jonathon Rea Brings Home Double Win for Kawasaki and Swiss Rookie Krummenacher Wins Supersport
In the Second Superbike Race Almost All Racers Chose U0794 Tire Option as Kawasaki is Victorious With Wins in Superbike and Supersport Classes
PHILLIP ISLAND (Australia), February 29, 2016 – The second day of racing at the Motul FIM World Superbike Championship held at the Australian Phillip Island circuit, once again witnessed Pirelli riders continue their dominating performances from Superbike Race 1. Racers in both, Superbike and Supersport classes would race to impressive finishes to wrap up a successful weekend at the season opening round.
In Superbike, reigning champion Jonathon Rea demonstrated that he is ready to defend his championship, which saw him back up his Race 1 win with another victory in Race 2. He brought home a double win for Kawasaki at the first race of the young season. The manufacturer’s success carried over into the Supersport class where Kawasaki Pucceti Team rider Randy Krummenacher brought home the win aboard his ZX-6R in his Supersport debut.
In Superbike race 2, Kawasaki Racing Team’s Tom Sykes used his pole position to get a good start and lead early, followed by teammate Jonathon Rea, Aruba.it Racing Ducati‘s Davide Giugliano, Honda World Superbike’s Michael Van Der Mark, and Ducati rider Chaz Davies. On lap 13, Sykes made a mistake by going wide in a turn, losing three spots and allowing Rea to takeover the lead, however, he was quickly overtaken on the next lap by Van Der Mark.
American Nicky Hayden moved through the field aboard his Honda World Superbike machine, passing both Sykes and Giugliano as he moved into fourth place on lap 16. The race finale provided plenty of excitement, as Davies overtook Van Der Mark and Rea for the lead on the second to last lap, but a late race charge by Rea allowed him to steal back the lead.
Davies made one last attempt to fight back for the top position on the final lap, but lost control and crashed out of the race. Rea would ride to another victory, giving him a double win on the weekend, followed by Van Der Mark and Giugliano who managed to get past Hayden toward the end of the final lap for third position.
Race 2 standings:
1) Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team)
2) Michael Van Der Mark (Honda World Superbike Team)
3) Davide Giugliano (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati)
4) Nicky Hayden (Honda World Superbike Team)
5) Sylvain Guintoli (Pata Yamaha Official WSBK Team)
6) Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team)
7) Jordi Torres (Althea BMW Racing Team)
8) Michael Reiterberger (Althea BMW Racing Team)
9) Joshua Brookes (Milwaukee BMW)
10) Chaz Davies (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati)
The FIM Supersport World Championship race was packed with plenty of action, featuring various riders leading laps throughout the race. At the start a three-way battled ensued between Honda World Supersport’s Patrick Jacobsen, Tribeca Racing’s Anthony West, and MV Agusta Reparto Corse rider Jules Cluzel. On the ninth lap, Cluzel moved past West to take over the race lead, but unfortunately a lap later the Frenchman made a mistake and crashed into the barriers. Shortly after, his teammate Lorenzo Zanetti also crashed due to contact with another rider. Kawasaki Puccetti Racing’s Kenan Sofuoglu temporarily moved into the race lead with West and Jacobsen in tow.
As rain began to fall on the 13th lap, officials decided to wave the red flag until the weather passed. Once racing resumed, Bardahl Evan Bros. Honda Racing rider Federico Caricasulo found his way around Jacobsen to take over the fourth position, which on the same lap marked the end of the race for Sofuoglu. His departure from the race left teammate and Swiss rookie Krummenacher in the perfect position to slide into the lead and capture the win. Crossing the checkered flag just behind him was Caricasulo in second and West in third place.
Supersport Standings:
1) Randy Krummenacher (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing)
2) Federico Caricasulo (Bardahl Evan Bros. Honda Racing)
3) Anthony West (Tribeca Racing)
4) Christian Gamarino (Team GoEleven)
5) Patrick Jacobsen (Honda World Supersport Team)
6) Alex Baldolini (Race Department ATK#25)
7) Gino Rea (GRT Racing Team)
8) Ondrej Jezek (Team GoEleven)
9) Roberto Rolfo (Team Factory Vamag)
10) Aiden Wagner (GRT Racing Team)
The Pirelli tire selections chosen by riders for Superbike Race 2 and Supersport:
Despite a temperature increase of almost 10 degrees Celsius, the new U0794 SC1 rear tire option proved to be the winning selection in Superbike Race 2, which backed up its performance from Superbike Race 1. 20 out of 22 riders on the grid selected the tire, including those who had opted to use the T1105 in Race 1. Sylvain Barrier and Roman Ramos remained with the T1105 as their preferred choice.
On the front, rider preferences were split evenly between the S1699 SC1 and the standard SC2 tires.
The vast majority of the riders in Supersport elected to run the standard SC1, with only Jacobsen choosing to use the standard SC2 compound. For the rear, two-thirds of the field used the new U1149 SC1, which provided strong many benefits such as its larger size (190/60) and ability to adapt to high temperatures. The remaining riders used a different SC1 option, the U1148.
Pirelli statistics for Race 2:
Pirelli statistics for Supersport:
More, from a press release issued by Motorcycling Australia:
The first round of the 2016 FIM Superbike World Championship, brought to fans by Yamaha Financial Services, and Round 1 of the 2016 Yamaha Motor Finance Australian Superbike Championship presented by Motul Pirelli held at Phillip Island over the weekend, has been hailed as one of the most successful road racing events in years.
With more than 61,000 spectators streaming through the gates at the Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit throughout the course of the weekend, fans were treated to warm weather conditions, and plenty of action on the race track.
Motorcycling Australia’s Chief Executive Officer David Cottee was on the ground with the spectators at Phillip Island for the entire weekend, and spoke today of the collective success of the world class event.
“The WSBK round at Phillip Island was nothing short of spectacular – if you were a fan you were treated to outstanding performances from both the international and Australian competitors, and if you were a team, rider or a member of the event staff you were well taken care of by the Phillip Island Circuit crew,” he said.
“We had hundreds of dedicated volunteers acting as MA officials for the weekend, who gave their time to ensure the event ran smoothly and without them the event simply wouldn’t have been possible.
“The feedback Motorcycling Australia received as an organisation over the course of the weekend was fantastic. There was a 7% increase from last year in spectators at the event, and it was great to see so many motorcycling fans eager to be a part of the action.
“The fact that one of our World Supersport Wildcards finished on the podium, was a huge bonus, and it was evident that the crowd was well and truly behind all of our Australian competitors. As an organisation we are very proud of what was achieved by all involved on the weekend.”
Today Cottee also made comment on the outstanding performances at Round 1 of the Australian Superbike Championship at Phillip Island.
“The racing from the Australian Superbike Championship was a huge highlight for not only Motorcycling Australia, but the entire Australian road racing community on the weekend,” he said.
“So much hard work has gone on behind the scenes to get the ASBK Championship to where it is now, and it was fantastic to be able to reward the riders, their families, fans, and ASBK partners with a product that measured up to the WSBK.
“It is fantastic that both Yamaha Financial Services and Motul who supported the WSBK on the weekend, have also committed to our ASBK Championship for the rest of the year. We are very proud to be aligning the series with leading world brands.
“The future is looking bright for our sport, and with the depth of talent in the ASBK this year, the Championship is just going to go from strength to strength.
“As a whole the weekend exceeded all of our expectations, so now we’re looking forward to carrying that into the remaining five rounds of ASBK Championship, and of course in to next year’s WSBK round at Phillip Island.”
Motorcycling Australia would like to congratulate all who made the 2016 WSBK Round at Phillip Island a great success.
For all of the news and results from the weekend, head to www.ma.org.au or www.ma.org.au
More, from a press release issued by K-Tech Suspension:
Phillip Island, Round 1 of the World Superbike Championship.
The Ten Kate Honda World Supersport team produces a positive start to the season with PJ Jacobsen at Phillip Island. His K-Tech equipped Honda CBR600RR World Supersport bike was first into the daunting turn one allowing PJ to be up at the sharp end of the leading group.
Reigning Champion Kenen Sofuoglu took the lead from him at Lukey heights, with team mate and newcomer to World Supersport Championship, Randy Krummenacher and Italian Caricasulo following closely behind. The Honda rider was far from finished though, showing the determination he had last year he continued to swap places with Sofuoglu for the lead throughout the first half of the race. A hungry pack was waiting behind including hard-charging MV rider Jules Cluzel, Brit Gino Rea and the experienced Australian, Anthony West.
Jacobsen was consistently the bravest into turn one, showing the confidence he has in the handling and precision of his CBR600RR. Entry into the Honda hairpin, a favourite place to overtake had PJ trying a number of different techniques and styles to either attack or defend.