Best ever Polish result by Szkopek at Assen Pawel Szkopek’s 13th place finish today equaled his best ever World Supersport result and a best ever finish by a Polish rider, but the Bogdanka PTR Honda rider goes one further after the Italian, Roberto Tamburini, was disqualified from today’s race at Assen for an underweight bike. This means that Pawel’s 12th position today is the best ever result scored by a Polish rider in the World Supersport Championship with the Polish ace looking to bring the Bogdanka PTR Honda Team even more joy in the rounds to come. World Supersport Race Results – Updated 1. Chaz Davies 26’37.029 Yamaha YZF R6 (Yamaha ParkinGO Team) 2. Fabien Foret 26’44.265 Honda CBR600RR (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda) 3. Broc Parkes 26’45.113 Kawasaki ZX-6R (Kawasaki Motocard.com) 4. Robbin Harms 26’45.220 Honda CBR600RR (Harms Benjan Racing Team) 5. David Salom 26’46.151 Kawasaki ZX-6R (Kawasaki Motocard.com) 6. Massimo Roccoli 26’46.251 Kawasaki ZX-6R (Lorenzini by Leoni) 7. James Ellison 26’51.645 Honda CBR600RR (Bogdanka PTR Honda) 8. Miguel Praia 27’09.652 Honda CBR600RR (Parkalgar Honda) 9. Vladimir Ivanov 27’17.697 Honda CBR600RR (Step Racing Team) 10. Balazs Nemeth 27’17.756 Honda CBR600RR (Team Hungary Toth) 11. Imre Toth 27’18.468 Honda CBR600RR (Team Hungary Toth) 12. Pawel Szkopek 27’31.068 Honda CBR600RR (Bogdanka PTR Honda) 13. Bastien Chesaux 27’33.778 Honda CBR600RR (MACH Racing) 14. Danilo Dell’Omo 27’34.374 Triumph Daytona 675 (Suriano Racing Team) 15. Robert Andrei Muresan 27’40.922 Honda CBR600RR (PTR Romania Honda) Overall standings, updated: 1. Luca Scassa 50 2. Broc Parkes 47 3. Chaz Davies 45 4. Robbin Harms 37 5. David Salom 34 6. Fabien Foret 20 7. Massimo Roccoli 19 8. James Ellison 19 9. Florian Marino 17 10. Gino Rea 16 22. Pawel Szkopek 4 More, from a press release issued by Supersonic Racing Team: First championship points for Maxime Berger at the historic Assen Despair in the Supersonic Team garage when Maxime Berger was forced to retire in race one and joy for the first three World Championship points earned by the French rider in the second round. Maxime started from the fifth row with the seventeenth position, but unfortunately the same technical problem appear that forced him to retire at Donington. Finally solved the problem, the team made the right choice about using tires and this allowed Berger to fight up to the thirteenth position and earned the first three points in the drivers standings. Maxime is now much more comfortable riding the Supersonic Team Ducati and this is promising for the upcoming races starting with the next round on the historic Monza circuit. “The temple of speed”. Maxime Berger: “Unfortunately, the first race was ruined by a clutch problem. Immediately after the start I began to feel problems, but seemed to been resolved after some laps. Then, suddenly the clutch stopped working completely and I was forced to pit. Race two went much better, as I won my first points in World Superbike. After the problems at Donington and Phillip Island, I finally finished the race in a positive way. We decided to use a harder tire than the one used in race one. Of course at first I struggled a little because I could not push as I wanted. As soon as I realized that the tire had the right grip, I increased my pace finishing in thirteenth place. A good moral injection for me and my team and I thank them all for all work done here in Holland.” Danilo Soncini: “The stop from Maxime in race one surprised us a lot. It’s a type of clutch, which usually works very well, but we could not risk anything for the second race so we used a Ducati clutch. Although they advised us to ride the soft rubber tyre in the second round, we started with a hard rubber, as the temperature was higher than in the morning. This has affected us in the early stages of the race, but finally the first World Championship points came for Maxime. Rider and team are continue growing and with some luck we believe we can do much better during the next race at Monza.” Stefano Tacconi: “Exciting day! After the bad luck that we had this morning, the three points in the second round brought us moral, when drawing a comparison with football, we can say that he has collected a good draw away from home. We could do more and without the technical problem from the morning the points could have been much higher. Before the second race Maxime had promised me he would go for points and look what happened. I love the environment of Superbike and sure I will follow the Supersonic Racing Team at Monza.” More, from a press release issued by Ten Kate Honda: Fabien Foret finished second in today’s third round and crash-strewn World Supersport championship race at Assen in the Netherlands. The Frenchman finished seven seconds behind race winner, Chaz Davies, after tyre problems forced him to ease off in the closing laps The race was red flagged twice, initially after Honda rider Sam Lowes crashed out of contention on lap four. The restart was barely a lap old before two other riders crashed at the final chicane, bringing out another red flag. In the second re-start, Foret’s Hannspree Ten Kate Honda team-mate, Florian Marino, was taken out of a podium position by Italian rider, Luca Scassa, who careered into the rear of Marino’s Honda CBR600RR on lap seven of the revised 16-lap encounter around the 4.542km Assen circuit. Foret had started the race from the outside of the front row and fell back to sixth place in the early stages before fighting his way through and then be nefiting from the exit of Marino and Scassa. However, tyre problems similar to those which forced his exit from the opening round in Australia, meant the French rider was unable to push and, with a big gap behind him, he rolled off the throttle to ensure his first points of the season. Fabien Foret 2nd It was a tough day but I’m happy with 20 points, but we had some pretty bad tyre issues with about four or five laps to go. I had to try to save the tyre and finish the race so I was lucky that there was a good gap to Broc Parkes in third. I had to ride really slowly just to finish the race but at the end of the day it turned into quite a good weekend. Between the tyre issue and the fact that I am still not quite 100%, it’s good to get some points and I hope for Monza to be in really good shape to fight for a win. Florian Marino DNF Of course I&rsq uo;m really disappointed. After all the work that we did as a team over this weekend, it’s a very tough way to finish a race. I know these things can happen in a race sometimes, but I’m not happy that it happened to me today. Everything was OK in the race and I was just waiting to see how Gino Rea was going in front of me. But I have shown that I can fight for podium positions and I’m looking forward to Monza to do that again. Ronald ten Kate team manager We had quite a difficult weekend here until Sunday morning. On Saturday night we found a breakthrough with setup which needed a lot of extra hours working from everyone involved with the team. So a big thanks must go to them for today’s results. Florian was riding at his best ever for us and was very unfortunate to be taken out. But things like that happen when there’s an intense battle up front and, for sure, being as young as he is, ther e will be more days for him. Fabien also had troubles this weekend. Injuries have not been holding him back so much and the Sunday morning set-up really allowed him to propel himself forward in the race. However, he encountered a similar tyre problem to Phillip Island, and he had to close down the throttle towards the end of the race. We need to work on his starts, which are not so good, but apart from that I must give him big compliments for staying calm all weekend. When the bike was good, he was really fast so we’re really looking forward to Monza and carrying this momentum forward. We’re not so far behind in the championship so we’ll take it race-by-race and get the maximum we can from each weekend. 2011 World Supersport championship, round three Assen, Netherlands” Results (16 laps): 1 Chaz Davies (GBR) Yamaha 26m37.029s 2 Fabien Foret (FRA) Hannspree Ten Kate Honda +7.236s 3 Broc Parkes (AUS) Kawasaki +8.084s 4 Robbin Harms (DEN) Honda +8.191s DNF Florian Marino (FRA) Hannspree Ten Kate Honda Championship points after three of 12 rounds: 1 Luca Scassa (ITA) Yamaha 50, 2 Parkes 47, 3 Davies 45, 4 Harms 37, 5 Salom 34, 6 Foret 20, 9 Marino 17 Next round: Monza, Italy 6-8 May. More, from a press release issued by Pirelli: REA AND CHECA SCORE WINS AT ASSEN AS WSBK SERIES HEATS UP ASSEN, NETHERLANDS – Jonathan Rea and Carlos Checa scored a win apiece at Assen today, in races held in dry and occasionally sunny conditions at this classic Dutch track. Rea was particularly happy to see his first victory arrive at his team’s home circuit, after some tough times early in the season. It is Checa, however, who can leave with the greatest satisfaction as he now has a clear points lead over Max Biaggi, 132 – 89. Max, the reigning champion, recovered from all his dramas at Donington last month with two assured second place finishes today and he got the reward of second in the championship overall with his home race of Monza next up. Donington race winner Marco Melandri just missed out on a podium finish in race one at Assen but fell in race two and is now in third place overall and is four points behind Biaggi. Rea is now fourth with 79 points as he and Checa swapped wins and third-places with Checa taking the final spot in race one and Rea third in race two. Leon Haslam had two hard fights on his hands today, but he scored good points in race two for fifth place, the same position he holds in the championship fight with his new total of 68 points. Leon Camier (Aprilia Alitalia) set the fastest lap in race two to help him take fourth – he is now sixth in the championship. “Assen is a fantastically flowing circuit with smooth asphalt for which Pirelli made available 4 front and 4 rear Diablo Superbike tires to the SBK class, including both Soft and Medium options for cold and warmer conditions,” said Pirelli Moto Racing Director Giorgio Barbier. “The overall allotment of 4,604 tires included those to support the first round of the STK classes. “The focuses at Assen were durability and stability rather than pure performance, offered through an increased mechanical grip that requires slightly more setup time,” Pirelli’s Barbier continued. “Throughout practice and qualifying, it never exceeded 68°F on the asphalt whilst on race day we saw nearly 86°F, making tire choice very critical.” Race 1 Rea overcame the early battles at Assen to record his and Honda’s first win of the 2011 season, beating Biaggi by 0.7 seconds and championship leader Checa by 3.5 seconds in race one. Melandri (Yamaha World Superbike) overcame a slow start to claw his way back to fourth, just ahead of Michel Fabrizio (Suzuki Alstare). With Troy Corser (BMW Motorrad Motorsport) behind Fabrizio there were six different machines inside the top six places. Top Kawasaki runner was Mark Aitchison (Pedercini Team Kawasaki) in tenth. Leon Haslam, Corser’s team-mate, survived a fast early crash to recover to a top-12 finish. Race one saw many falls and retirements, and only 14 riders finished the race, but in race two only two riders failed to finish. In the first race, Sykes (Kawasaki), Xaus (Honda) and Guintoli (Ducati) opted for the Soft (A) rear tire with bike setup finding trouble managing tire wear, compared to Fabrizio’s (Suzuki), whose team’s bike setup was focused on the Soft and brought home a 5th and 7th place. Rea (Honda) had a great performance on the Soft (SC1) front and Medium rear at his team’s home track, adding to his double-win here last year. “First and foremost I’m proud to give Castrol Honda their first podium in the world championship this year,” said Race 1 winner Jonathan Rea. “My crew worked really hard all weekend and we really made the right decision to develop a specific bike for the race because it paid off. I lead from the start, (and) was wondering whether to let Max pass, but made the right decision and won the race.” Race 1 Podium Results: 1. Rea J. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 35’46.486 (167,589 kph); 2. Biaggi M. (ITA) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 0.739; 3. Checa C. (ESP) Ducati 1098R 3.572. Race 2 A delayed start to the second Assen race made no difference to the outcome as Checa and Biaggi played a high-speed game of cat-and-mouse. Biaggi looked to have it wrapped up as he passed long time leader Checa, only for the Spanish rider to reassert himself on the final lap and win his fourth race of the year. A battle between Rea and Melandri ended when the Italian star fell, leaving Rea on the podium in third. Leon Camier (Aprilia Alitalia) was fourth, while a multiple rider fight for fifth went to Leon Haslam (BMW Motorrad Motorsport), from Laverty, Fabrizio, Haga, Smrz and Guintoli. In the points standings Checa now leads by 132 to Biaggi’s 89. Melandri is third on 85, Rea jumping to fourth with his new total of 79 points. Race 2 featured a seven seconds faster race time (35’38.693) vs. 2010, where Checa (Duc) demonstrated an ideal usage of the Soft (A) rear tire he changed to for the second race. “It’s a fantastic result, the win was amazing,” said Race 2 winner Carlos Checa. “I put a soft tire in for the second to get that that extra grip and at the end the tire was good and responsive, this was the question mark. I was trying to put some gap between me and Max, but he was strong. I made a mistake and he passed me but then I overtook him again for the win.” Race 2 Podium Results: 1. Checa C. (ESP) Ducati 1098R 35’38.693 (168,199 kph); 2. Biaggi M. (ITA) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 0.524; 3. Rea J. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 3.584. Points (after 3 rounds of 13): 1. Checa 132; 2. Biaggi 89; 3. Melandri 85; 4. Rea 79; 5. Haslam 68; 6. Camier 50; 7. Smrz 49; 8. Fabrizio 47; 9. Laverty 35; 10. Haga 34; etc. Manufacturers: 1. Ducati 136; 2. Aprilia 106; 3. Yamaha 97; 4. Honda 79; BMW 74; 5. 38; 6. Suzuki 47; 7. Kawasaki 43. World Supersport Chaz Davies (Yamaha ParkinGO) took his first win in the WSS category after heading up a 16-lap race that was restarted twice after red flag incidents. Second was Fabien Foret (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda) some seven seconds back. Third was closely contested but eventually taken by Broc Parkes (Kawasaki Motocard.com). Robbin Harms (Harms Benjan Racing Honda) went fourth, David Salom, Parkes’ team-mate, was fifth, and Lorenzini by Leoni Kawasaki rider Massimo Roccoli ended up a fine sixth. James Ellison (Bogdanka PTR Honda) pushed himself to seventh. Only 19 riders crossed the line from a field of 30, with three riders injured in two separate accidents that brought out the red flags. Sam Lowes (Parkalgar Honda) suffered concussion and an injured shoulder, while Alex Lundh (Cresto Guide Honda) broke his wrist in a fall involving Marko Jerman (MD Team Jerman), who suffered many contusions and abrasions. In the championship standings, crashes from some of the leading contenders also closed up the points totals, with Davies’ team-mate Luca Scassa still leading on 50, Parkes on 47, and Davies on 45. “The SSP race saw a few rider errors and red flags,” continued Barbier, “leaving Scassa (Yamaha) unable to finish but gave a chance to Parkes (Kawasaki), who switched to the Soft (SC1) rear after the red flag to find podium performances, behind Davies (Yamaha) and Foret (Honda).” Podium Results: 1. Davies C. (GBR) Yamaha YZF R6 26’37.029 (163,816 kph); 2. Foret F. (FRA) Honda CBR600RR 7.236; 3. Parkes B. (AUS) Kawasaki ZX-6R 8.084. Points (after 3 rounds of 12): 1. Scassa 50; 2. Parkes 47; 3. Davies 45; 4. Harms 37; Salom 34; Foret 20; Roccoli 19; Ellison 19; etc. Manufacturers: 1. Yamaha 75; Honda 52; Kawasaki 47; Triumph 9. Superstock 1000 FIM Cup In the opening race of the Superstock season Davide Giugliano (Althea Racing Ducati) held off a strong challenge from Danilo Petrucci (Barni Racing Team Ducati) to secure the win at Assen. Pole man Sylvain Barrier (BMW Motorrad Italia Superstock) slid (Althea Racing Ducati) back from his early challenge to take third. Lorenzo Baroni had an eventual clear fourth but Bryan Staring (Pedercini Team Kawasaki) had an impressive ride through from 12th place on lap one to give the new Kawasaki Ninja a fifth in its race debut. Andrea Antonelli (Team Lorini Honda) was the top Honda rider, sixth, having been passed by Staring late on. Podium Results: 1. Davies C. (GBR) Yamaha YZF R6 26’37.029 (163,816 kph); 2. Foret F. (FRA) Honda CBR600RR 7.236; 3. Parkes B. (AUS) Kawasaki ZX-6R 8.084. Points (after 1 round of 10): Giugliano 25; Petrucci 20; Barrier 16; Baroni 13; Staring 11; Antonelli 10; La Marra 9; 10 Ten Napel 8; etc. Manufacturers: 1. Ducati 25 ; 2. BMW 16; 3. Kawasaki 11; 4. Honda 10; 5. Yamaha 4. The Assen weekend also saw the debut of the European Junior Cup which saw 12 riders line up at the start on identical Kawasaki Ninja 250 machines. The first race win went to German Tom Busch ahead of New Zealand’s Daniel Mettam and American Brandon Kyee. “In STK600, the first race of the season left a track record 1 sec. faster of 1’40.94 set by new Australian entrant Metcher (Yamaha) on Diablo Supercorsa tires available to our everyday dealer network.” concluded Barbier. Pirelli BEST LAP Awards: SBK Race 1 Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team Superbike), 1’36.660 (Lap 3) SBK Race 2 Leon Camier (Aprilia Alitalia Racing), 1’36.476 (Lap 3) Total BEST LAP (SBK): Biaggi M. (Aprilia Alitalia Racing): 2, Haga N. (PATA Racing Team Aprilia): 1, Checa C. (Althea Racing): 1, Sykes T. (Kawasaki Racing Team Superbike): 1, Camier L. (Aprilia Alitalia Racing): 1 WSS Luca Scassa (Yamaha ParkinGO Team), 1’39.019 (Lap 6) Total BEST LAP (WSS): Foret F. (HANNspree Ten Kate Honda): 1, Lowes S. (Parkalgar Honda): 1, Scassa L. (Yamaha ParkinGO Team): 1 STK1000 Sylvain Barrier (BMW Motorrad Italia Superstock), 1’39.050 (Lap 2) STK600 Jed Metcher (MTM-RT Motorsports Team), 1’40.949 (Lap 7) More, from a press release issued by Ryan Farquhar’s publicist: Super seven for Farquhar at Oliver’s Mount Ryan Farquhar got his 2011 road racing season underway in perfect style on Sunday when he dominated the Ian Watson Trophy races at Oliver’s Mount, Scarborough. The KMR Kawasaki rider was again in imperious form around the woodland circuit and won all 7 races that he started including the feature trophy race for the fourth consecutive year. With the 2.43-mile seaside venue bathed in glorious sunshine, Ryan’s day started with a comfortable heat win for the feature race and he followed this up with a hard fought victory in the first leg of the Supersport 600. Fellow countryman Michael Pearson pushed him hard in the opening laps but by mid race distance, he began to edge away and when he took the chequered flag at the end of the 8 laps, his winning margin was some 7.1s. It was a similar story in the first Super Twin race where this time the pressure was coming from Ivan Lintin but, again, Ryan, pulled away to take another comfortable victory, this time by 7.2s. The opening leg of the Ian Watson Trophy event saw a three-way tussle between Ryan, Pearson and Derek Shiels with little to choose between the trio in the first couple of laps. However, with the fastest lap of the race, 1m46.595s, Ryan opened up an advantage and continued to extend his lead for the remainder of the race, taking the victory by just over 4 seconds on the new ZX-10R Kawasaki Superstock machine. His fifth win of the day came in the second leg of the Supersport 600, again from Pearson, whilst he also made a double in the Super Twin event with Lintin again having to settle for second. That just left the second leg of the Ian Watson Trophy and the first four laps saw very little between Ryan, Pearson and Shiels. All the time though, Ryan was leading and doing enough to keep the other two behind him but, in the second half of the race, he increased his pace to pull over 3 seconds clear and thus take his 7th win of the day and his 74th in total around Oliver’s Mount. Speaking afterwards, a delighted Ryan said: “It’s been a really good day although I’m absolutely shattered now! With it being the first race of the season, it takes a while for the muscles to get working again whilst my races were all back to back today and I was jumping off one bike straight on to another! It’s been a very worthwhile meeting today and I’ve certainly learned a lot with the new ZX-10R. It was a bit lively over the bumps and crests around the course so we’ve got a bit of work to do with set-up but we were making changes all day and have found a good direction to work in so I’m confident we’ll get there.” “I was really happy with how the 600 was working and the improvements that we’ve made to the bike over the winter appear to have moved us forward so that was very positive although the ultimate test will, of course, come at the likes of the North West 200 and TT. The Super Twin was also working well although I’ve a few changes that I want to make before the Cookstown 100. You can’t expect everything to be 100% right at the very first race but that’s why they’re invaluable as we now know what areas we need to work on and improve in time for the next race. It’s been hard work today with the warm weather but 7 wins from 7 starts is the perfect start to the season and I’m really happy with how it’s all gone.” Ryan’s next race will be at the opening round of the Irish National Road Race Championship, the Cookstown 100 on Saturday 30th April. More, from a press release issued by John McGuinness’ publicist: McGuinness takes 5th with Honda TT Legends at Bol d’Or After months of preparation, John McGuinness got his 2011 FIM World Endurance Championship campaign underway at the weekend when he finished in an excellent 5th place in the Bol d’Or 24 Hour race. Held at Magny Cours, France, John was riding as part of the Honda TT Legends team alongside Steve Plater and Keith Amor and it was a more than encouraging start for the newly formed team. The opening qualifying session on Thursday saw good conditions with the three riders taking to the track separately for 30 minutes each. As expected, Plater was the quickest of the trio but, crucially, both John and Keith were within a second of his time and, when the times were averaged, they were in a provisional 8th place on the grid. Friday saw similar conditions and whilst Plater went quicker again, John was able to consolidate his lap times and they were able to move up one slot with an average lap time of 1m42.879s to end qualifying as the seventh fastest team. The 24-Hour race got underway at 3pm on Saturday afternoon and it was Morecambe man McGuinness that had the honour of starting the race and his steady, conservative first set of laps helped the team get into a good, early rhythm and maintain a strong position in the first few hours. By the end of the second hour, the team were up into a superb 6th place and although they were pushed back to 7th three hours into the race, the next portion of the race went without any dramas and they were able to maintain this position right up until the early hours of the morning. Battling closely with 4 other teams, John, Steve and Keith were stringing together some strong lap times during their individual stints and their hard work and effort saw them rewarded in the early morning. The private French Honda team National Motos, who the Honda TT Legends were close to, dropped back a couple of laps with brake trouble and there was more drama when the Yamaha Endurance Racing Team retired from 3rd place. This all happened within the space of an hour and the end result was that the Honda TT Legends were elevated to fifth place. There were still 7 hours of the race to negotiate though, almost a third race distance, but the three riders remained steady for the rest of the race, eventually finishing 18 laps behind the winning Suzuki team to achieve their aim of finishing the 75th annual Bol d’Or. Speaking afterwards, a pleased John said: “I was hoping to be a bit faster in qualifying but we had a few little problems along the way and at the end of the day, we bought the bike home safe at a reasonable pace. We definitely learned a lot in preparation for the race and with the Le Mans style start, it doesn’t matter so much if you’re fourth, fifth, sixth or seventh in this game but it was nice to be in the top ten that’s for sure.” “Come the race, I wanted to set a good, consistent pace right from the start to try and set the tone and that’s what happened. It’s only the second time I’ve ever competed in a 24-Hour race so I’m pretty happy with fifth and to finish inside the top 5 at our very first attempt is absolutely brilliant. It’s been like a war not a battle, incredible really, and it’s a testament to the Hondas and to the hard work of all the team, maintaining the bike through the race that we finished where we did. The atmosphere here has been amazing, right through the day and through the night what an event, what a festival and what an experience. Like I say, it’s a really encouraging start for us and it bodes well for the rest of the season so we’re all eagerly looking forward to the next round in May.” The meetings come thick and fast for John now with the opening round of the National Superstock 1000cc Championship getting underway this Easter weekend at Brands Hatch, Kent. More, from a press release issued by TwoThree Public Relations: Nick Waters races to solid fourth overall in ASBK Supersport at Hidden Valley Talented Mildura rising star Nick Waters claimed fourth overall at Hidden Valley’s third round of the Australian Supersport Championship in Darwin on Sunday. The Waters Racing/Sunstate Racing Suzuki rookie finished fourth for the weekend in his best overall performance to date, qualifying third on the grid in Superpole and then scoring fifth in race one and third in race two. Waters lead the early running of Sunday’s opening 17-lap affair before eventually crossing the line in fifth position just 3.882 seconds from victory. He backed it up with a superb second race with a third place finish, just 2.055 off overall winner and former world number two Kevin Curtain. “It was one of the best rounds I’ve had this year, that’s for sure,” the 17-year-old beamed. “I was able to get on the front row again, which makes it two in a row now, so maybe next time we can challenge for the pole position. “For the next round I’m hoping to get the new 2011 model GSX-R600, so we’ll do a bit of testing before then and hopefully come out really strong in Queensland. “I’ve done a few races in Supersport now and I know I can run with the top guys, so it’s pretty good at the minute. With more time on the bike I’m confident that we can gain some speed and get it handling even better.” Waters’ result has boosted him to eighth in the championship standings with just two rounds remaining, the series set to continue on 3-5 June at Queensland Raceway. 2011 Australian Supersport Championship Round Three Hidden Valley, NT Round Results: 1. Kevin CURTAIN 45 2. Mitchell CARR 43 3. Rick OLSON 38 4. Nicholas WATERS (Waters Racing/Sunstate Racing Suzuki) 34 5. Christan CASELLA 31 Championship Standings (after 2 of 5 rounds): 1. Mitchell CARR 110 2. Christan CASELLA 108 3. Kevin CURTAIN 105 4. Brodie WATERS 103 5. Aaron GOBERT 99 8. Nick Waters (Waters Racing/Sunstate Racing Suzuki) 66 More, from a press release issued by TwoThree Public Relations: McLaren gains momentum at Hidden Valley ASBK round in Darwin McLaren Motorsports privateer Kris McLaren has enjoyed his best weekend yet in the 2011 Australian Superbike Championship with a strong seventh overall on Sunday at Hidden Valley Raceway in the Northern Territory. McLaren rode his Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade to eighth in race one and seventh in race two, a promising result as he completed both 17-lap races in consistent fashion. Despite still recovering from a scary high-speed incident at Phillip Island’s season opener in late February, the Kirk McCarthy Memorial Award recipient is confident that his season is heading in the right direction as the halfway mark approaches. “My weekend started off pretty bad with some set-up difficulties, we basically made a couple of small mistakes in the settings and that lead to a big incident in qualifying two,” 24-year-old McLaren reflected. “We made some changes for races one and two so we were able to improve both times. At least we know where we stand now. “To make up the gap to the leaders will be tough, but I believe before the end of the season we should be able to. In all honesty to finish seventh overall is good enough at the minute. “We’re doing everything off our own back, so I would like to thank Paul Free form Team Honda Racing for transporting my equipment to Darwin and also to Perth in two weeks time. My team’s really working hard and I’m enjoying it.” McLaren now sits 11th in the standings following three of nine rounds, the series set to continue at Barbagallo Raceway in Western Australia on 29 April-1 May. McLaren Motorsports is proudly supported by Peter Stevens Motorcycles, Kittens, RST, Megacycle, Alpinestars, LBR Racing, Wurth, TM Performance, Wiz, Techspec and Cumagutsa. 2011 Australian Superbike Championship Round Three Hidden Valley, NT Round Results: 1. Joshua WATERS 46 2. Glenn ALLERTON 45 3. Ben ATTARD 35 4. Craig COXHELL 32 5. Troy HERFOSS 31 7. Kris McLAREN (McLaren Motorsports Honda) 27 Championship Standings (after 3 of 8 rounds): 1. Glenn ALLERTON 138 2. Troy HERFOSS 101 3. Ben ATTARD 100 4. Craig COXHELL 90 5. Joshua WATERS 88 11. Kris McLAREN (McLaren Motorsports Honda) 52 More, from a press release issued by Paul Bird Motorsports Kawasaki: Assen Disappointment For PBM Kawasaki It was a case of what might have been for the Kawasaki Superbike Racing Team in round three of the World Superbike Championship which took place at Assen this weekend whereby none of the team’s three riders could manage a top ten placing between them. Despite a promising qualifying session which saw British rider Tom Sykes grab a row two start on the Paul Bird Motorsport Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10R after Superpole, Spanish team-mate Joan Lascorz slotted in on row three with Aussie Chris Vermeulen still struggling with injury to claim a row five start. With high expectations for good results around the Dutch track, and a confident set-up, both Sykes and Lascorz ran strongly in the early stages of race one with Sykes up to third at one point and Lascorz also well placed until he was forced off track when Leon Haslam crashed. However, after around seven laps, Sykes started to fall back due to tyre problems with Lascorz also suffering from the same issues and at the end of the 22-lap race around the 4.542km circuit, Lascorz could only manage an 11th place finish with Sykes being able to do no better than 14th. To pile even more misery on the Penrith-based team, Vermeulen retired after only eight laps. For race two, the team went with a harder option tyre in the hope of lasting the race distance but the pace of race two was much faster and Sykes had to settle for a disappointing 11th place with Lascorz following him over the line in 12th after Vermeulen didn’t start the race. The results leave Sykes and Lascorz tied on 26 points in 11th place in the title race and needing an improved performance at the next round which takes place in Monza on May 8th. Tom Sykes: “I was really confident going into today’s races and we had chosen a set-up and tyre which we felt confident with and I was really comfortable running up front with the leaders. Then the grip levels started to disappear and it was a case of just trying to bring the bike home so for race two, we tried a few different things but it wasn’t our weekend. We need to put these results behind us and look to a significant improvement at Monza.” Joan Lascorz: “In race one, I felt I had the pace but it was unfortunate that I got tangled up with Haslam’s crash and from then onwards I had to concentrate on fighting for the best position I could. In race two, we tried some changes and it was better but I’m disappointed with the results this weekend.” Paul Bird, Team Owner: “It goes without saying I’m not happy with our performance this weekend and we are looking at what went wrong. We need to learn from our mistakes and put it right as it’s one of the most disappointing weekends we have had in a long time. We aim to make some major changes in time for Monza whereby I’m hoping for a vast improvement in the results all round.” Results – Race One 1, J Rea, Castrol Honda 2, M Biaggi, Aprilia Alitalia Racing Team 3, C Checa, Althea Racing 4, M Melandri, Yamaha World Superbike Team 5, M Fabrizio, Team Suzuki Alstare 6, T Corser, BMW Motorrad Motorsport 7, E Laverty, Yamaha World Superbike Team 8, R Xaus, Castrol Honda 9, A Badovini, BMW Motorrad Italia SBK Team 10, M Aitchison, Team Pedercini 11, J Lascorz, Kawasaki Racing Team 14, T Sykes, Kawasaki Racing Team C Vermeulen, Kawasaki Racing Team DNF Results – Race Two 1, C Checa, Althea Racing 2, M Biaggi, Aprilia Alitalia Racing Team 3, J Rea, Castrol Honda 4, L Camier, Aprilia Alitalia Racing Team 5, L Haslam, BMW Motorrad Motorsport 6, E Laverty, Yamaha World Superbike Team 7, M Fabrizio, Team Suzuki Alstare 8, N Haga, PATA Racing Team Aprilia 9, J Smrz, Team Effenbert-Liberty Racing 10, S Guintoli, Team Effenbert-Liberty Racing 11, T Sykes, Kawasaki Racing Team 12, J Lascorz, Kawasaki Racing Team C Vermeulen, Kawasaki Racing Team DNS Championship Standings (after round 3) 1, C Checa – 132pts 2, M Biaggi – 89 3, M Melandri – 85 4, J Rea – 79 5, L Haslam – 68 6, L Camier – 50 7, J Smrz – 49 8, M Fabrizio – 47 9, E Laverty – 35 10, N Haga – 34 11, J Lascorz – 26 11, T Sykes – 26 More, from a press release issued by Muench Racing Team: Himmelmann places second in Championship race Successful start into the 2011 season for MUENCH racing team on Circuit de Nevers Free of charge photographs for editorial purposes can be found via the following link: http://medienkontor.net/index.php?id=94 This upcoming season is promised to be very suspenseful. During the first race of the FIM e-Power International Championship MUENCH racing driver Matthias Himmelmann placed second after Alessandro Brannetti from Italy (CRP Racing). MUENCH already proofed their outstanding talent and ambition during the qualification runs on Thursday and Friday by racing a new minimum time and capturing the pole position for the race on the legendary Circuit de Nevers in Magny Cours (France). Winner Alessandro Brannetti placed second in the qualification. “During practice we were able to improve our minimum lap time from 2,11 down to 1,58 minutes”, said Ralf Ernst, Spokesmen of MUENCH Racing Team. “We are very happy with the qualification run and except for one minor technical error with the energy supply everything went well during today’s race as well.” Due to the technical error of the TTE-1.2’s battery Matthias Himmelmann was forced to drive very carefully for the rest of the race. “Thanks to Himmelmann’s experience we were able to avoid fusing and safe the second place”, continues Ernst not forgetting to mention the winning team from Italy. “For CRP-Racing it was the first e-Power success in their team history. I want to congratulate Alessandro for this big historic achievement.” Now it is time for MUENCH to locate the cause of the technical error. The team assumes that a minor technical detail was the reason for the defect. It probably cannot be detected on first sight but the team is absolutely sure that the problem will be resolved until the next competition. The second race of the FIM e-Power International Championship takes place on May 15th, 2011 on the Schleizer Dreieck in Germany. “For us it is extra important to join in the battle for victory. After all we do want to provide our German fans with a very special racing day”, promises Ralf Ernst. Further information as well as the full racing calendar can be found via: www.muenchmotorbikes.com More, from a press release issued by Gino Rea’s publicist: Gino crashes while battling for second position after problematic weekend at Assen After facing troubles during practice and qualifying sessions, Gino looked like he was about to turn the weekend around with a stunning ride up to 2nd place after qualifying 11th. Gino got his trademark ‘Speedy G’ start and moved from 11th on the grid to 3rd at the first corner, although he was pushed out onto the astroturf, he slotted back into 7th. He settled in at a good pace and after making his was past Ellison, he closed up to Ten Kate’s Marino and Kawasaki’s Parkes, but while looking for a way past the race was red flagged due to Lowes’ incident. The restart saw Gino start in 5th and up to 2nd at the first turn. This time Gino looked strong, scraping elbows down and all, he went with the leading Yamaha of Davies, only for the race to be red flagged again. The next restart saw another Speedy G start up to 2nd again. This time Rea was forced to run a different tyre due to using the best options in the first two race starts. Although it didn’t give him the grip he demanded, Gino charged hard at the front in 2nd position. Ten Kate’s Marino got past on the home straight but soon after Gino made his way back past on the inside of the long turn 3. Rea rode hard in 2nd until a small mistake let Ten Kate’s Foret past, they both pushed hard and maintained a 2.4 second gap to Davies. Gino tried hard to overcome some bike problems with clutch and engine to stay with Foret and was looking confident for a challenge in the last 5 laps; until the problems became too much and he crashed at turn 8. Gino remounted with a broken handlebar but was only able to manage 17th. Gino comments: “There’s some huge positives to take from here but unfortunately some big negatives. We know where we need to work with the bike to allow me to ride at the front without being so on-the edge. “We had a clutch problem in the race and it got worse with the restarts. As I was releasing the clutch on downshifts, the thing was vibrating and chattering its head off. It was unpredictable and made it very hard to ride, especially at that pace. It’s not the clutch we normally use and we missed lots of track time in the practices, so I was learning the bike in the race, while trying to go fast. “If you want to win or podium at this level you can’t afford to have problems like this, we had engine problems over the weekend too, right into qualifying. It was better in the race but we need to work on it for sure. It was making me work so much harder everywhere else on the circuit so I’m actually pleased with my riding, the chassis was good and allowed me to make time up in the long corners and the twisty parts. “Of course I could have settled for 3rd but I guess that’s not my style, I felt good but towards the end of the race it was getting harder to control and know how the bike would react. When I crashed I did’nt do anything different to the lap before, we are still not 100% sure of why the crash happened. It felt like the front wheel locked on the entrance, I wasn’t that lent over as it was while I was tipping in. “Nonetheless, I think we proved I still have the speed to challenge for race wins and podiums. We just need to get the whole package to come together, I hope we can fit in a test before Monza. “I hope you all like my new helmet design with the 4’s over it, I designed and done it myself, along with my Gino Rea merchandise!” The next World Supersport race takes place in 3 weeks time at Monza in Italy on the 8th May. More, from a press release issued by TwoThree Public Relations: Perfect score again for Halliday at Hidden Valley round of ASBK in Darwin Australian Prostock Championship leader Cru Halliday enjoyed his second perfect weekend in as many rounds with a superb clean-sweep at Darwin’s latest round of the Australian Superbike Championship on 14-17 April. The talented Yamaha-supported 22-year-old claimed pole position and won all three races at Hidden Valley to stretch his series lead to a commanding 56 points after two of four rounds. Saturday’s first eight-lap leg saw Halliday battle his way to victory in claiming the opening race honours by 0.740 of a second, before he won the 11-lap races two and three on Sunday by 6.635 seconds and 11.987 seconds respectively. Adding to Halliday’s performance in the Top End was a new race lap record for the Prostock (formerly Superstock 1000) category, his 1:09.797 set in race three eclipsing the previous benchmark of 1:10.088 around the technical 2.9-kilometre venue. “Race one didn’t go as planned I feel like I tried to override it, so I slept on it and came back today hunting for the lap record,” Halliday reflected. “I’m a bit disappointed I didn’t get the qualifying record, but I beat the race lap record and I’ve got to be happy with that. “The bike was set up perfectly, and it can be a bit tricky in these hot conditions, so I just had to focus on my riding, stay on the bike and score more points for the championship.” The national Prostock championship will now continue at Queensland Raceway during the next standalone ASBK round on 3-5 June. Halliday is supported by Calypso Travel Systems, YRD Yamaha, GYTR, Clintons Toyota, Berik Leathers, Shark Helmets, Belray Oils, Capit Tyre Warmers, MWR Air filters, Bowral Motorcycles, bike-photos.com, Carbon Imports, G.M.D Computrack, Go Boating, Xsportz.com.au, Whites Racing Products and Pit Stop Motorcycles. 2011 Australian Prostock Championship Round Two Hidden Valley, NT Round Results: 1. Cru Halliday (YRD/Carbon Imports & Accessories Yamaha) 76 2. John Ross 53 3. Scott Yates 49 4. Ryan Yanko 43 5. Matthew Walters 40 Championship Standings (after 2 of 4 rounds): 1. Cru Halliday (YRD/Carbon Imports & Accessories Yamaha) 152 2. Matthew Walters 96 3. Linden Magee 95 4. Scott Yates 89 5. Daniel Moulton 79 More, from a press release issued by TwoThree Public Relations: Gobert in line to strike as ASBK Supersport title reaches crunch time Former American Superstock Champion Aaron Gobert remains in title contention for the 2011 Australian Supersport Championship following a determined sixth place finish in Darwin on 14-17 April. The Gobert Motorsports Yamaha privateer is now fifth in the title standings with two rounds remaining following round three at Hidden Valley Raceway on Sunday, albeit just 11 points out of the series lead. Despite suffering frustrating technical problems during qualifying on Saturday, Gobert was able to secure fifth on the grid before racing to sixth in both 17-lap races on Sunday. However officials ruled that Gobert would receive a 10-second jump-start penalty in race one, dropping him down the order two positions at the race’s end in the process. “Overall it wasn’t the weekend that we were hoping for in Darwin, but the championship is still within reach and that’s definitely a positive thing for us,” Sydney-based Gobert said. “Luck hasn’t been on my side recently, although with two rounds left it’s time to regroup and try to gain some more race wins if we are to really challenge for the title. “The series is so tight this year that every point counts, so we’ll make the most of the upcoming races and do our best to bounce back in Queensland next month.” Gobert now stands a real chance at contending for the 2011 title with just two rounds remaining, the series set to continue on 3-5 June at Queensland Raceway. 2011 Australian Supersport Championship Round Three Hidden Valley, NT Round Results: 1. Kevin CURTAIN 45 2. Mitchell CARR 43 3. Rick OLSON 38 4. Nicholas WATERS 34 5. Christan CASELLA 31 6. Aaron GOBERT (Gobert Motorsports Yamaha) 28 Championship Standings (after 2 of 5 rounds): 1. Mitchell CARR 110 2. Christan CASELLA 108 3. Kevin CURTAIN 105 4. Brodie WATERS 103 5. Aaron GOBERT (Gobert Motorsports Yamaha) 99