Viñales scraps his way back from the twenty-eighth up to the sixth position in a chaotic race Jerez de la Frontera. The ubiquitous rain eventually subsided during the Moto3 session which started in the dry. As a matter of fact many riders crashed throughout the race. Mack who started from the third row on the starting grid – made a great lap 1 as he managed to avoid riky situations and accidents. The first “victims” of the state of the track were Kent, Miller and Grotzkyj who did not make it through lap 1. On lap 2 Viñales avoided a crash after “sliding” which forced him to stand on position 28. Lap after lap he managed to battle his rivals until the end. The Avintia Blusens rider managed to scrap his way up up to the sixth position of the race and the second of the world championship. Which is really positive for such a complicated day. 25 Maverick Viñales (6º +55.857): “It was a difficult race that we have managed as best as we could. I don’t understand why I felt so strange on the bike but I lost a great deal of time at the very start and I lagged behind. I was 28th then. I went on full throttle to fight my way back up but I also wanted to finish off the race. You always want to do better at home and I would have liked to be on the podium but the result is all right anyhow. The world championship has just begun I am on 2nd position and everything is doing fine. No rush…” More, from a press release issued by Avintia Racing: Julián Simón finishes 23 after a difficult weekend Jerez de la Frontera, 29 April 2012. Julián Simón and the Avintia Blusens team went through a hard time at the G.P of Jerez. Climatology and a crash on Saturday were not really helpful for him to help set up his new chassis as he has hardly ever been able to take it out on the dry. Subsequently very little was to be expected from a race in the dry as he had not had the opportunity to ride his bike in such conditions. Finally most of the race occured in the dry although it started to rain nine laps before finish and Julián has always remained in the top 20 even after sporadically dropping out of the race. Next round next week in Estoril. Ricard Jové (Team Manager Moto2): ” Obviously we are all disappointed. Both Julián and the team has made a lof of effort lately to change the day but we haven’t been able to make it. Things weren’t appropriate for us to get ahead in this race sure thing. We have only been able to take out the bike in the dry three times throughout the weekend. That´s why Julián has not managed to adapt especially as he crashed yesterday. The page has to be turned, and support must be given to Julián as he deserves it he does not deserve such results and he knows that we will do everything we can to get out of here. Nobody neither the rider nor the team nor the sponsors – like this situation but I can assure you that we will work hard to sort it as atypical as it might sound. 60 Julián Simón (23º +46.782): ” I am disappointed. It was worse than expected. The new bike was lacking running in I was lacking pace and of top of it I went off the track a couple of times. It is true that I have hardly ever been able to take it out in the dry and I still have bad reflexes from the old bike but I have to move on anyhow. I am not feeling fine as my team deserves better but I am already thinking about Estoril as this G.P is already for me to forget.” More, from a press release issued by Avintia Racing: Iván Silva manages to score. Yonny Hernández drops out because of technical problems. Jerez de la Frontera, 29 Apri 2012. The wheel of fortune has been spinning throughout the MotoGP race today in Jerez. Iván Silvá managed to score his first points today and he managed to get he Inmotec through the finish for its first race. For his part Yonny experienced technical issues on the starting grid which forced him to go through the boxes. Unfortunately he was forced to drop out after lap 1. This weekend´s climatology has not been helpful in terms of setting up the bikes but this must be considered positive for the future.” Raúl Romero (MotoGP Team Manager): “One can’t get the best of both worlds. The Hospitality was fantastic and our friends and sponsors really had a good time good food and good races. Unfortunately on the sport level it was not that satisfactory but it was very difficult. Yonny experienced a technical issue on the very starting grid and he had to drop out. Fortunately Iván managed to finish off the race with the the carbon chassis bike and scored a point. Anyway it is a good debut for the first Spanish bike to take part in the MotoGP world championship.” 22 Iván Silva (15º, +1.32.478): “We decided to take it to the track with the Inmotec so we can focus on how it evolved while Yonny was working on the FTR. I think it is a good way to work and it is positive for the team. Electronics is not up to the standards yet and today it was very difficult to ride fast. It was a long and physically difficult race. Anyway scoring a point on a moto debut is quite positive for me and the team.” 68 Yonny Hernández (NF): “I have hardly been able to complete a lap but that´s how it goes. We experienced a technical issue and once again I was the one who made a mistake. It is a pity because I am sure that we could have made a good race and be able to fight with the CRTs. This G.P is now to forget. Now I am going to have my hand checked because of yesterdya’s crash and I will prepare for Estoril.” More, from a press release issued by KMR Kawasaki: Fantastic Farquhar dominates again at Cookstown 100 Ryan Farquhar opened his Irish road racing season in fantastic style on Saturday when he again dominated the Cookstown 100 road races. The KMR Kawasaki rider was in scintillating form around the 2.1-mile Orritor circuit and took 4 wins during the day including the feature Superbike event, extending his record number of wins at the event to 27. Indeed, it was a great day all round for the team with Jamie Hamilton finishing in 2nd place, behind Ryan, in the Supertwins race and also claiming two top ten results in the Superbike races. The meeting didn’t get off to the greatest of starts for Ryan though as an incident in Friday evening’s practice session saw him catch his knee on a sandbag and be pulled off the side of the bike. As he fought to keep control, he also clipped a recticel barrier and not only did he hurt his knee he also bent the bottom yoke of the bike, his 2009 Superstock machine. Fortunately, it didn’t stop him from racing on Saturday and, once the organisers had resolved a dispute with a local farmer, the day got off to a good start with a solid second place in the opening Superbike race behind Guy Martin. It would prove to be his only defeat of the day and after taking a comfortable win, and new lap record, in the Moto 450 race, he led from start to finish in the Supersport 600cc race to win from William Dunlop by 4.1s. Next up was the main event of the day, the Cookstown 100 Superbike race, and the early stages saw Ryan go head to head with Martin once more although this time Ryan led the way. At half race distance his Suzuki-mounted rival outbraked himself and that allowed Ryan to complete his hat-trick and take another four second win, this time ahead of Michael Dunlop. The day then ended for Ryan with another start to finish victory, and another lap record, this time in the Supertwins race where his winning margin over team-mate Hamilton was 7.5s, another 1-2 for the team after the same result at Scarborough the previous weekend. Hamilton also took two ninth place finishes in the two Superbike races thus meaning it was another excellent circuit debut for the 21-year old. Speaking afterwards a delighted Ryan said: “What can I say, it’s been another great day and everything’s gone to plan so it’s a fantastic start to the Irish road racing season. I could have done without Friday’s wee mishap but it didn’t create any issue for race day and we started the day with a good second. I was slightly disappointed though as there were yellow flags being shown where the farmer had the dispute with the organisers about his land and it was here where Guy overtook me so that was a shame as the rest of us were all obeying the flags. I then got stuck for a bit behind William and by the time I’d got by him, Guy was too far ahead for me to be able to do anything about him. The 450cc race was faultless and then with a great start in the 600cc race I was never headed. William came by off the line but he overshot the first corner and after that I never saw anyone again.” “I got a really good start in the main event and had Guy right on my tail for a few laps. He tried to overtake on about lap 5 but I was braking as late as possible so when he came up the inside, I knew he was never going to make it. After that, I was able to bring the bike home and it’s great to beat all the Superbikes once more. I decided to ride my ’09 Superstock bike as I know it inside out and I feel so comfortable on it that I can put it where I want to out on track. I’ve won tons of races on it and it never lets me down so we’ll get plenty more races out of it this season. Jamie had yet another great day too and he’s impressing everyone with his results, not just on the Supertwin but also on the big bike. He’s been a great addition to the team and it’s been a great day all round for KMR Kawasaki. There’s not much time now before Tandragee so there’s a lot of work to be done on the bikes whilst I also hope to be out on my Superbike for the first time this year and get a good run on it before the North West 200.” The action now moves to the Tandragee 100 road races, the meeting taking place on Saturday May 5. More, from a press release issued by Kawasaki: Team Kawasaki SRC extend their lead in French Superbike championship Newsflash, 30 April 2012 At the second “rendez-vous” of the French Superbike Championship, at the Nogaro circuit, team Kawasaki SRC took a double win in the Superbike class and a brilliant 1-2 in Supersport. After this second race of the season, Grégory Leblanc (Kawasaki ZX-6R) and Julien Da Costa (Kawasaki ZX-10R) are leading both classes. It’s been a really tough week-end due to the changing and unpredictable weather conditions, but Team Kawasaki SRC didn’t struggle as much as its opponents and scored a lot of valuable points. The result couldn’t have been better, dominating both series. Grégory Leblanc performed outstandingly in both races of the Supersport class. In the first race, Leblanc was patiently waiting on his Kawasaki Ninja ZX-6R until the last two laps were there, to then take the lead to the chequered flag. In race two, Leblanc had a good start but lost the lead by lap 2. After a strong battle with two other riders, Leblanc was able to grab the second place of the podium nevertheless. Leblanc’s team mate Julien Da Costa was very impressive in the Superbike class, with two consistent and brilliant races. In each race, he took the lead at the green light and stayed in front of the pack until the last lap, despite the strong pressure of direct competitors. Team Manager Gilles Stafler obviously is delighted with the results. “It’s a really good and strong result for the team. We couldn’t have expected such a perfect weekend! Under heavy rain and dry conditions we were confident, and tonight we got the result that we deserve. I would like to thank all the team for the great job done in Nogaro. We are leading both championships now, but we still have to work in order to secure this perfect start of the season for the next races.” Julien Da Costa said, “Things went very well, even if in the first race I thought that I could have been faster. Anyway, this new double win is a perfect result for me, Team Kawasaki SRC and Pirelli. Now we have to stay focused on our job and to prepare as much as we can for the next race.” Grégory Leblanc: “The target was to grab the maximum of points. I guess we were close to this. Even if the second race was a little bit frustrating, because I was sure to have taken the win if the race would have been a 16 lap race instead of the 13 we’ve had this weekend. In any case, we are leading the championship and I know that it’s going to be a tough season, so we have to prepare for the next race from now on. I wish to thank everyone in the team for this perfect and satisfactory week-end!” The next round of the French Superbike Championship will be hold at Le Vigeant, by the end of next month (27-28 May). More, from a press release issued by Rockstar: ROCKSTAR ENERGY’S JORGE LORENZO SCORES STRONG SECOND IN JEREZ LOS ANGELES, CA (April 30, 2012) Yamaha Factory Racing rider Jorge Lorenzo continued his unbroken premier class podium run at Jerez for the third year running today, taking second in the Grand Prix of Spain. Starting from pole, Rockstar Energy’s Lorenzo initially dropped to third, then swiftly moved up to second by lap three behind race leader Casey Stoner. The gap never grew to more than a second, then closed to just over 0.2 seconds in the last laps. Unfortunately by this point the soft front tyre choice left Lorenzo unable to make a pass. He crossed the line 0.947 seconds behind Stoner, taking 20 Championship points and as a result heads to Estoril leading the Championship by four points with a total of 45. “Today I knew it would be a very important decision on the grid to choose the right front tyre,” said Rockstar Energy’s Lorenzo. “Finally we chose the soft one, unfortunately we were wrong and had a lot of problems during the race, I wasn’t as confident as in practice. Without good feelings to finish second is not so bad, we are still leading the Championship and have good motivation for Estoril.” The next event for Rockstar Energy’s Jorge Lorenzo is round three of the 2012 MotoGP Championship in Estoril at the Grand Prix of Portugal on May 6th. About Rockstar: ROCKSTAR is the world’s most powerful Energy Drink. Enhanced with the potent herbal blend of Guarana, Ginkgo, Ginseng and Milk Thistle, ROCKSTAR is formulated to provide an incredible energy boost for those who lead active and exhausting lifestyles – from athletes to rock stars. ROCKSTAR Energy Drink is available in nineteen amazing flavors and worldwide in 25 countries. For more information visit www.rockstar69.com. More, from a press release issued by Team Suzuki News Service: Tyco Suzuki’s Guy Martin raced his GSX-R1000 to a Superbike victory and two fastest laps at Saturday’s Cookstown 100 Road Races in Northern Ireland. Despite completing a handful of laps at the Thruxton circuit a fortnight ago, Cookstown was Martin’s first time on a motorcycle since his win at the Ulster Grand Prix in August last year, proving that despite a varied and often criticised schedule, the Kirmington truck mechanic has kept himself in top-top condition. Guy Martin: “Yeah that was alright. It could have been better but a win’s a win and we weren’t a million miles away with where we needed to be. The big Suzuki is right there on the ball and only for a little mistake we could have given the Tyco Suzuki boys a double today – I’m disappointed at that. It’s good though. I’ve enjoyed the run out, blown the cobwebs out and we’ll be back now for the North West in a couple of weeks and hopefully we can climb a few steps there as well.” Philip Neill – Team Manager: “As much as Cookstown is an opportunity to run some final tests with our 2012 road racing bikes prior to the NW200 and TT, it is of course our local road race and one we like to support. To gain a win in the Superbike class this early in the season is fantastic and very positive for the upcoming events. “Together with the race win and the fastest lap in both races was very satisfying. Guy made a small mistake or would have had a certain double as he had already reeled in leader Ryan Farquhar, who is a circuit specialist, and he did it fairly easily. After that performance both Guy and the team are looking forward to our next outing on the roads where we can add Alastair Seeley and Conor Cummins to our line-up at the North West 200.”