ROUND 5 MONZA CIRCUIT, ITALY SUNDAY, 10 MAY, 2009 RACE REVIEW Monza (Italy) At the Italian brand’s home race, Pirelli Tyres set speed records, lap records and even introduced a tyre with colored markings for better visibility into the strategies of teams during Superpole. Texan Ben Spies began the weekend with a bang with his fifth consecutive Superpole, beating the Best Lap around Monza by 0.858 with a time of 1’44.073, all under the auspice of previous qualifying record holder Troy Bayliss, who would not miss the emotion of Monza. This time was set on the 3rd Superpole session using the new 200mm DIABLO SUPERBIKE qualifying tyre, specific for this track, which features yellow stripes and white “P lunga” markings to make for a more exciting spectacle. The historically fast and demanding circuit also saw Max Biaggi prove the Aprilia’s top speed in the straights with the new Aprilia RSV4 reaching 326 km/h in Race 2 on a bike introduced just this season. Pirelli’s effective solutions for Monza were largely due to pre-season testing with four teams who had declared this location as their test facility, of which two of the different solutions resulted in a three-zone, 200mm construction which brought forth many great results. Nearly perfect weather allowed for an ideal bike setup which worked for both races, meaning few tyre changes were needed between Race 1 and Race 2. Race 1: The start of race one was marred by multiple crashes caused by contact between several riders entering turn one, resulting in a broken leg each for Max Neukirchner and Brendan Roberts, and a broken wrist for Mokoto Tamada, none of whom could participate in the restart. It was thus Michel Fabrizio of Ducati Xerox who clenched the first Superbike win of his career, riding fastest in all testing and qualifying sessions before Superpole, finding the right setup to take the win. On his ninth lap while keeping pace with and eventually passing teammate Noriyuki Haga, Michel set a new lap record for PIRELLI Tyres by over half a second with a time of 1’45.336, the previous record which Haga himself had set in 2008 with Yamaha. Michel’s win came only at a great disappointment to Yamaha rider Ben Spies who led most of the second half of the race, just a couple hundred meters from the finish, his lead quickly vanished along with the last of his fuel, finally crossing the line 15th position. Haga’s position was thus raised to second while Biaggi and his Aprilia crossed the line in third, but Biaggi’s podium was swiftly taken away as the marshal’s declared that he had cut the chicane did not successfully complete the obligatory run through the pits. Final podium position went to Japanese Ten Kate Honda rider Ryuichi Kiyonari, who was happy to put some more points on the board. Race Standings Pos. Rider Bike Team Race time 1 M. Fabrizio Ducati 1098R Ducati Xerox Team 31’50.758 2 N. Haga Ducati 1098R Ducati Xerox Team +0.239 3 R. Kiyonari Honda CBR1000RR Ten Kate Honda Racing 8.175 4 Y. Kagayama Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 Suzuki Alstare BRUX 11.001 5 J. Rea Honda CBR1000RR HANNspree Ten Kate Honda 12.447 Race 2: Race two of the first Italian round of the Superbike World Championship was Ben Spies from start to finish, using the same setup of “B” front and the three-zone “B” rear as the first race, resetting slightly the lap record set by Fabrizio in Race 1 with a 1’44.344 on the last lap of the race, even though he had a 2 second advantage over the Ducati. Fabrizio, who had chose an “A” front and “C” rear, was just behind the American the entire race and was led by Kiyonari of Ten Kate Honda for just five laps, but in the end he could not match the pace of Spies. Noriyuki Haga ran into traffic at the start of the second race and then was struck by a bird on the second lap which caused him to crash, leaving the door open for Kiyonari to take his second podium of the season and the weekend. The HANNspree Ten Kate Honda of Jonathan Rea was consistent, but just a few seconds out of reach of the front pack, making it a strong weekend for the Ten Kate Honda team. The overall race time for the second race at Monza was just over 18 seconds faster than last year’s time for the same race, an average lap time 1 second faster over just a 12 month period, demonstrating the affect the strong development efforts made by PIRELLI during pre-season testing for a more competitive environment here at Monza. Race Standings Pos. Rider Bike Team Race time 1 B. Spies Yamaha YZF-R1 Yamaha WSB 31’49.252 2 M. Fabrizio Ducati 1098R Ducati Xerox Team +2.665 3 R. Kiyonari Honda CBR1000RR Ten Kate Honda Racing 2.810 4 J. Rea Honda CBR1000RR HANNspree Ten Kate Honda 7.706 5 M. Biaggi Aprilia RSV4 Factory Aprilia Racing 7.863 Championship Standings (YTD) Pos. Rider Bike Team Points 1 Noriyuki Haga Ducati 1098R Ducati Xerox Team 200 2 Ben Spies Yamaha YZF-R1 Yamaha WSB 146 3 Michel Fabrizio Ducati 1098R Ducati Xerox Team 125 4 Leon Haslam Honda CBR1000RR Stiggy Racing Honda 103 5 Tom Sykes Yamaha YZF-R1 Yamaha WSB 90 6 Max Biaggi Aprilia RSV4 Factory Aprilia Racing 81 7 Regis Laconi Ducati 1098R DFX Corse 77 8 Jonathan Rea Honda CBR1000RR HANNspree Ten Kate Honda 77 9 Max Neukirchner Suzuki GSX-R1000 Suzuki Alstare BRUX 75 10 Ryuichi Kiyonari Honda CBR1000RR Ten Kate Honda Racing 65 Supersport World Championship PIRELLI tyres set a Best Lap and Lap Record in the Supersport race, all at the hands of English rider and race winner Cal Crutchlow (Yamaha WSS). In qualifying, Crutchlow bettered the 2008 qualifying record of Superbike rider Broc Parkes by just a tenth, but on the fourth to last lap of the race, he reset this time again by 0.7 seconds on the sixteenth lap for record of 1’49.706. Crutchlow’s win was challenged throughout the entire race, with high-speed drafting passes being made by fellow Yamaha squad member Fabien Foret and Supersport newcomer Eugene Laverty of Parkalgar Honda. A late push was made by Joan Lascorz on the Kawasaki as he rose two positions from fourth for his second podium of the season, having crossed the line together with Foret and Laverty, the three separated by just over 0.05 seconds. In the end, four different bikes colored the top five positions and even saw a fifth manufacturer, Triumph, grabbing two top ten finishes to truly diversify the data which Pirelli gathered from this high-speed circuit for current and future development of DIABLO SUPERCORSA. Race Standings Pos. Rider Bike Team Race time 1 C. Crutchlow Yamaha YZF-R6 Yamaha World Supersport 29’34.605 2 J. Lascorz Kawasaki ZX-6R Kawasaki Motocard.com +2.660 3 F. Foret Yamaha YZF-R6 Yamaha World Supersport 2.716 4 E. Laverty Honda CBR600RR Parkalgar Honda 2.780 5 A. Pitt Honda CBR600RR HANNspree Ten Kate Honda 9.270 Championship Standings (YTD) Pos. Rider Bike Team Points 1 Cal Crutchlow Yamaha YZF-R6 Yamaha World Supersport 99 2 Eugene Laverty Honda CBR600RR Parkalgar Honda 81 3 Kenan Sofuoglu Honda CBR600RR HANNspree Ten Kate Honda 72 4 Andrew Pitt Honda CBR600RR HANNspree Ten Kate Honda 54 5 Anthony West Honda CBR600RR Stiggy Racing Honda 52 6 Joan Lascorz Kawasaki ZX-6R Kawasaki Motocard.com 47 7 Fabien Foret Yamaha YZF-R6 Yamaha World Supersport 44 8 Mark Aitchison Honda CBR600RR Honda Althea Racing 34 9 Michele Pirro Yamaha YZF-R6 Yamaha Lorenzini by Leoni 33 10 Barry Veneman Suzuki GSX-R600 Hoegee Suzuki Team 28 Superstock FIM Cup 1000 After losing out on some points in Assen with his fifth place finish, Italian Claudio Corti on his Suzuki was back with a vengeance at Monza, swapping positions four times throughout the highspeed race with Xavier Simeon, who is battling him fiercely this season aboard the 2008 championship-winning Ducati. Corti seemed to be losing his lead at lap 8, having been passed also by Italian wildcard Colucci, but recovered his position quickly with a record-setting lap time of 1’49.233. One the very last corner, Corti passed Simeon on the inside to finish with just one hundredth of a second advantage. Fores and his Kawasaki of Team Pedercini finished the diverse three-manufacturer podium in third, improving his best result of 4th place this season. The Monza circuit is among the more demanding of in the championship for the DIABLO SUPERCORSA SC2, a standard production tyre capable to handle the highly demanding braking forces close to as riders brake from at over 300 km/h to 60 km/h in just a few seconds. With his win, Corti (Suz) takes the lead in the championship with 61 points; just one point below him is Simeon (Duc) with 60, followed by Fores (Kaw) in third with 42 points, and again just one point behind is Berger (Honda) with 41 points, leaving four manufacturers in the top four spots. Race Standings Superstock 1000 Pos. Rider Bike Team Race time 1 C. Corti Suzuki GSXR-1000 K9 Suzuki Alstare BRUX 20’10.356 2 X. Simeon Ducati 1098R Ducati Xerox Junior Team +0.010 3 J. Fores Kawasaki ZX-10R Team Pedercini 4.560 4 D. Beretta Ducati 1098R Ducati Xerox Junior Team 6.777 5 S. Barrier Yamaha YZF R1 Garnier Junior Racing Team 7.406 Championship Standings (YTD) Superstock 1000 Pos. Rider Bike Team Points 1 Claudio Corti Suzuki GSXR-1000 K9 Suzuki Alstare BRUX 61 2 Xavier Simeon Ducati 1098R Ducati Xerox Junior Team 60 3 Javier Fores Kawasaki ZX-10R Team Pedercini 42 4 Maxime Berger Honda CBR1000RR Ten Kate Honda Racing 41 5 Daniele Beretta Ducati 1098R Ducati Xerox Junior Team 28 Superstock European Championship 600 The Superstock 600 race was won by local superstock regular for the Italian championship, Danilo Petrucci, who also registered the fourth and final Lap Record of the day for PIRELLI on the fifth lap of the race, when he dropped 0.5 seconds off his teammate’s time from last year with a 1’53.737. The Yamaha Italia Jr. rider had been closely followed and often led by Ferruccio Lambourghini, who was disqualified even after finishing the race 0.05 seconds behind the leader. The rest of the pack seemed to finish all at once, and the crowd looked to the scoreboard for verification of places. From the Supersport race, it was clear that Yamaha faired well at this track, and thus the Superstock race ended with Yamaha in the first four positions. Petrucci of Yamaha Italia and Rea of Ten Kate Honda are now tied for the championship, with the MRS Racing Yamaha of Jeremy Guarnoni just 7 points behind, and thus we look to the next second race in Misano to see who will take the advantage. Race Standings Superstock 600 Pos. Rider Bike Team Race time 1 D. Petrucci Yamaha YZF-R6 Yamaha Italia Jr. Transimeno 15’17.215 2 V. Lonbois Yamaha YZF-R6 MTM Racing Team +5.375 3 J. Guarnoni Yamaha YZF-R6 MRS Racing 5.429 4 M. Bussolotti Yamaha YZF-R6 Yamaha Italia Jr. Transimeno 5.457 5 E. La Marra Honda CBR600RR Team Lorini 5.709 Championship Standings (YTD) Pos. Rider Bike Team Points 1 Danilo Petrucci Yamaha YZF-R6 Yamaha Italia Jr. Trasimeno 50 2 Gino Rea Honda CBR600RR Ten Kate Honda Racing 50 3 Jeremy Guarnoni Yamaha YZF-R6 MRS Racing 43 4 Vincent Lonbois Yamaha YZF-R6 MTM Racing Team 40 5 Joey Litjens Yamaha YZF-R6 VD Heyden Motors Yamaha 38 More, from a press release issued by Birchall Brothers Racing: BIRCHALL BROTHERS WIN IN GERMANY Ben and Tom Birchall set the standard for the FIM F1 Sidecar World championship when they won the sprint race and finished a very close second in the Gold race in the first of the five round world sidecar championship races at Schleiz in Germany over the weekend. The Birchall Brothers from Mansfield in Nottinghamshire dominated practice and qualifying, claiming pole position for the two races with a time of 1.28.434s, just under half a second ahead of current world champion Pekka Paivarinta who this year is partnered by Adolf Hanni. As the short sprint race got underway on Saturday, the Mitchells of Mansfield sponsored brothers slotted into second place taking their time to settle into the pace before hitting the front after three laps. They held station throughout the remainder of the 11-lap affair to take the victory ahead of Paivarinta and Hanni by a margin of three and a half seconds. The two teams dominated the race, completing the 11 laps over half a minute ahead of the rest of the field with The Birchall Brothers again setting the fastest lap of the race in a time of 1m 28.289s. It would be a tall order for Ben and Tom to take the victory in the second race as they were given a 10kg victors weight penalty but the Mansfield pair were up for the challenge and took their place at the front of the grid for the feature race of the weekend, the Gold race that was to take place over 22 laps of the German circuit. Again there was a close battle for supremacy between the Birchall brothers and Paivarinta/Hanni and they battled throughout the entirety of the 22 laps. Ben and Tom hit the front at the midway stage of the race and began to pull clear of their rivals in search of the second victory of the weekend. But as they began to mix with the backmarkers they didn’t get a clear run through the pack and were held up for a few vital seconds. Paivarinta made good progress and was able to make up ground to eventually regain the lead. Ben and Tom posted the fastest lap of the race (1m 28.909s) in an effort to get back on terms with the flying Finns but ran out of time and had to be content with second place. As they crossed the finish line there was just a second separating the two outfits and with both teams taking a win and second place apiece in the two races they share the series lead. “We lapped all the field except the three outfits behind us,” said Ben. “We are delighted to be sharing the championship lead and to have got a second world championship race win under our belts. The outfit ran like a dream, we didn’t encounter any problems whatsoever. We didn’t have the best of times passing the backmarkers which really lost the race for us. But that’s how it goes; they were running their own race, which is fair enough. “We had to contend with the winners ballast of 10kg for the second race. But now we have passed that over to Pekka who, as race winner in the gold race, will carry it into the next round. If we had won that race we would have found it doubled to 20kg which could have caused a few problems with stability.” The next round is at Albacete in Spain on July 4 when the team will contest just one race but prior to that Ben and Tom will make their debut at the Isle of Man TT races in early June with the F11 outfit. Practice begins on May 30 with the two three-lap sidecar races taking place on June 6 and June 10.