Alex Cudlin seals 2013 Qatar International Road Race Championship Australia’s Alex Cudlin has taken his third straight Qatar International Road Race Championship (QIRRC) title after an eventful penultimate round of the series at the Losail Circuit in Qatar over 7-8 June. Cudlin’s week started off with the announcement that his QMMF team would not be riding a Suzuki GSX-R1000and would instead be riding a untested Kawasaki ZX-10R for the first time. He also would be lining up against 5 times World Champion Anthony Delhalle who was making a return to Qatar as a Wild card riding Cudlin’s now vacant GSX-R1000. Cudlin put his head down and immediately impressed on the near stock ZX-10R, setting a 2m04.389s lap in qualifying to sit third on the grid behind championship rivals Al Malki (BMW – 2m03.679) in pole position and Al Naimi (Honda – 2m04.369s) in second. Cudlin’s other championship rival Prinz (Suzuki), started from fifth with a 2m05.978s lap, while Delhalle the Wild Card would start fourth with a 2m05.157s lap. The race was scheduled to get underway on Saturday night but due to massive winds and huge dust clouds proceedings were delayed while the weather calmed down. Finally after a 4 hour delay racing got underway and Alex Cudlin got off to a good start in race slotting into 2ndposition. Cudlin then started to experience Chatter problems with the bike and decided 2nd place was good enough rather then crashing. Eventually Alex finished behind race winner Al Malki, who took the flag with 4.1second lead. Alex was happy with the result as he still getting used to the personality of the ZX-10R, which had vastly different engine and chassis characteristics to his usual GSX-R1000. Al Naimi, Delhalle and Prinz finished in that order behind Cudlin. That result netted the Aussie the 2013 title, making it Cudlin’s 3rd Straight title in a row with three races still left to go in the championship. Alex Cudlin: “That was a tough meeting, Firstly the weather was really bad and we had a few set up problems with the new bike but I’m so happy to have wrapped up the championship for a 3rd time. It’s been an amazing 3 years racing here in Qatar and to win it in 2011, 2012 and now 2013 is really special. My team worked so hard all season and it shows just how good they are. In the 11 races we have done so far this season I haven’t had one DNF. No mechanicals or faults, and to win 7 of those 11 races shows how good the season was for me. It was an interesting decision to switch to the Kawasaki at this late stage of the championship, but the bike went really well so I don’t have any complaints. “We didn’t have the right gearing or suspension for the ZX-10R, so we just had to work with what we had, but the team did a great job so it was just a matter of bringing the title home. For the next round when we have the right springs and gearing I will be a lot faster so I’m really positive about the next round. It was also good to have Anthony Delhalle here too. He is 5 times World Champion and also I’m his team mate at SERT (Suzuki Endurance Race Team) – I’m used to racing with him over 24 hours, not against him for 30 minutes so I’m happy I was able to beat him this weekend. “Now I’ll turn my attention to the remaining round of the Qatar Championship in 2 weeks. I don’t have to stress about the title now so I can just enjoy the racing and hopefully win the 3 races. I want to thank my team QMMF for putting their faith in me. I have had a great run with them winning the Superstock Endurance World Cup in 2010 and three straight Qatar championships, so I think it’s fair to say we work pretty well together. I also want to thank my Sponsors, Family and fans. Everyone was part of this title. 2013 QATAR INTERNATIONAL ROUND 6 RACE RESULTS 1ST Nasser Al Maiki 2nd Alex Cudlin + 4.411 sec 3rd Mashel Al Niami + 5.748 sec 4th Anthony Delhalle +25.457 sec More, from a press release issued by Yamaha Racing: Lowes and Yamaha Make it Four Wins in a Row After Portimao Battle Sam Lowes delivered his fourth consecutive World Supersport victory yesterday on his Yakhnich Yamaha Motorsport YZF-R6 at the Portimao Circuit in Portugal for round six of the 2013 Championship. Lowes had again made his intentions clear early in the weekend, flying to his fifth pole position start of the season in qualifying, his tenth career pole. Only two other riders were able to get within a second of the Yamaha’s qualifying time and even then second placed rider Kenan Sofuoglu was over half a second away. The World Supersport race proved to be one of the most exciting of the season, building to an intense four-way battle over the last laps with Lowes initially pitted against Sofuoglu and Fabien Foret before late comer Michael van der Mark joined the party to put himself into contention for podium honours. Lowes, Sofuoglu and Foret would all take turns to lead the race until the last lap, Lowes making a race-winning pass on Foret into turn ten and holding it to the line for his fourth win of the year on the Yamaha R6. The victory strengthens the young British rider’s lead in the Championship standings, bringing the points tally to 120, a clear 39 ahead of closest rival Sofuoglu. The Championship now heads to Imola in Italy for round seven on 30th June. The European Superstock 600 Championship race saw the production spec Yamaha YZF-R6 continuing to show it’s class leading performance with Gauthier Duwelz storming to second place in Portimao. The podium finish extends Duwelz’s lead in the standings with 77 points, 21 clear of closest rival Bastien Chesaux. Sam Lowes: “This weekend I found a really nice feeling with the bike and had a really good pace. In the race I struggled a bit with the front feeling but felt good and the bike worked good. When I got to the front I made good pace but not enough to pull away. We ended up in a nice battle and hope everyone at home could enjoy it. I’m really happy to get that win. The next race in Imola Fabien has won the last two years and I’ve been second so I hope we can change that this time. This weekend and this race has been great, really good fun and I’m looking forward to the next one. I love racing bikes and I love winning so I’m going to keep trying my best, do the best job I can every race I’d like to thank the team and Yamaha who gave me a great bike again to race with.” For high-resolution images from last weekend’s World Supersport action in Portimao please visit www.yamaha-racing.com World Supersport Portimao Race Results: 1. Sam Lowes GBR Yakhnich Yamaha YZF-R6 20 laps 2. Fabien Foret FRA Mahi India Kawasaki ZX-6R +0.380s 3. Kenan Sofuoglu TUR Mahi India Kawasaki ZX-6R +0.502s 4. Michael van der Mark NED Pata Honda CBR600RR +1.322s 5. Sherian Morais RSA PTR Honda CBR600RR +9.537s 6. Jack Kennedy IRL RivaMoto Honda CBR600RR +11.772s 7. Andrea Antonelli ITA Go Eleven Kawasaki ZX-6R +13.535s 8. Luca Scassa ITA Intermoto PonyExpres Kawasaki ZX-6R +13.953s 9. Raffaele de Rosa ITA Lorini Honda CBR600RR +14.728s 10. Christian Iddon GBR ParkinGO MV Agusta F3 +18.756s 11. Vladimir Leonov RUS Yakhnich Yamaha YZF-R6 +18.909s 12. Massimo Roccoli ITA Pata by Martini Yamaha YZF-R6 +32.012s 13. Alex Baldolini ITA Suriano Suzuki GSX-R600 +32.039s 14. Lorenzo Zanetti ITA Pata Honda CBR600RR +32.118s 15. Luca Marconi ITA PTR Honda CBR600RR +33.152s World Supersport Standings 1 Sam Lowes Yakhnich Yamaha 120 2 Fabien Foret Mahi Kawasaki 81 = Kenan Sofuoglu Mahi Kawasaki 81 3 Michael van der Mark Pata Honda 62 4 Lorenzo Zanetti Pata Honda 55 5 Luca Scassa Intermoto Kawasaki 53 6 Andrea Antonelli Go Eleven Kawasaki 46 7 Jack Kennedy RivaMoto Honda 44 8 Roberto Rolfo ParkinGO MV Agusta 38 9 Florian Marino Intermoto Kawasaki 31 = Vladimir Leonov Yakhnich Yamaha 31 10 Sheridan Morais PTR Honda 30 More, from a press release issued by Ivan Lintin’s publicist: Superb TT results for Lintin Lincolnshire’s Ivan Lintin enjoyed his best Isle of Man TT Races campaign to date last week, recording not just his best ever finish but also his best ever lap of the 37 and 3/4 mile Mountain Course. The Bardney-based rider took a stunning fourth place in the Lightweight race on the McKinstry Racing 650cc Kawasaki, missing out on a podium place by just 4.2s, whilst he also lapped at 121.501mph on board the Taylor Lindsey 600cc Kawasaki in the second Supersport 600cc race. Practice week on the Island was blighted by poor weather but when conditions were good, Ivan was on the pace immediately, lapping as quick on the first night as what he did during the entire 2012 event. That enabled him to spend time focussing on the set-up of the two bikes, notably the gearing and suspension and, with a good base setting for both bikes, Ivan was able put in as many laps as possible when the weather improved at the end of the week. Indeed, he ended practice week with best laps of 119.254mph on the Supersport machine and 114.341mph on the Lightweight, the latter making him third quickest. Monday’s four-lap Supersport race got off to a good start with an opening lap of 120.280mph placing Ivan in a solid 16th place, having already caught Olie Linsdell and Simon Andrews on the roads. However, on the second lap, the bike cut out at Quarry Bends, half way round the lap, and again at Ginger Hall, so Ivan pulled in to retire at Whitegates. With a new wiring loom and ECU fitted to the Taylor Lindsey Kawasaki for the second race two days later, an even better opening lap of 120.871mph saw Ivan slot into 15th place. With the bike working perfectly, and Ivan riding better than ever, he held onto his position throughout the four laps and with a new personal best lap on lap four, 121.501mph, he secured 15th place a and a bronze replica. That just left Friday’s 3-lap Lightweight race where hopes were high of a strong result. Sure enough, with perfect weather conditions an opening lap of 116.584mph placed Ivan in third place and whilst a number of riders pulled in to refuel at the end of the lap, he carried on and took over the lead as the riders went through Glen Helen. A second lap of 117.032mph saw Ivan lie in second place as eventual race winner James Hillier overhauled him and his subsequent pit stop dropped him back to fourth behind Conor Cummins. Try as he might though, Ivan was unable to pull back the ten seconds and had to settle for fourth and a silver replica, just 4.2s behind the Manxman. Speaking later, a pleased Ivan said; “Overall, I’m really happy with how this year’s TT has gone as I’ve secured my best ever finish and lapped faster than ever before. I knew we would be in the mix in the Lightweight race as the bike was flying all week and although I felt I was capable of lapping in excess of 116mph, to lap at over 117mph was excellent. I felt comfortable with the pace so fair play to James at the head of the field, he was on fire, but there wasn’t much between the rest of us. I’d always planned to stop for fuel at the end of lap two as I wanted to have a clear road on the second lap. It almost worked but Conor just had that bit extra and whilst I’d obviously have loved to have got on the podium, I’m still over the moon with fourth.” “I got plenty of laps in on the Taylor Lindsey Kawasaki during practice, especially during Saturday’s extra session, and it was just one of those things in the first race that no-one could have foreseen. When I pulled in to retire, I didn’t realise Jamie Coward was on the outside of me so nearly took us both down but Wednesday’s race went really well. The bike went really well and I had a good battle on the roads for the second half of the race with Jamie Hamilton which was a lot of fun. I’d have loved a silver replica but I posted a strong lap well in excess of 121mph and it’s been an excellent meeting. I’ve gained a lot more experience, more TV coverage and bettered my previous results and speeds so I’ve got to be happy. A big thank you to Taylor Lindsey Racing, McKinstry Racing, B&C Express, the Nags Head and all my other sponsors who’ve helped make it a successful TT2013.” Ivan ended his week with a successful visit to the Post-TT race meeting at the 4.25-mile Billown course in the south of the island, going on to finish 3rd in the Supertwins race and 5th in the Supersport 600. He’ll return to the venue in mid-July for the International Southern 100. More, from a press release issued by TOBC Racing: TOBC Racing: Two Entries, Two Classes and Two 1st Place finishes at WERA’s National Endurance Series Round 2 at Road Atlanta. This past weekend, WERA held the second round of their National Endurance Series. This time, the event was a 6-hour round at Road Atlanta and, like in round 1, TOBC Racing entered the race with both a GSXR600 in the Middleweight Superbike Class and as well as an SV650 in the Lightweight Superbike class. After finishing round 1 in 2nd place overall on the 600, the team had their sights set on another overall podium finish. The challenge would prove difficult as the long stretches on the famed 2.5 mile circuit notoriously favor the liter bikes, but the team added local 600 specialist Jimmy Merck to team up with regular riders Curtis Murray and Nick McFadden to see if they could put the 600 on the box. TOBC Racing’s 600 Team did not disappoint with a first place finish in the Middleweight Class. Despite the fast riders and flawless pit-stops and despite holding on to 3rd Overall for portions of the Race, the bigger 1000cc machines held off the Team from an Overall Podium Finish by one spot, finishing 4th place out of the 22 teams who started the race. The Lightweight Superbike class always proves to be one of the most closely fought battles in any Endurance Race, and Round 2 did not disappoint. TOBC Racing added another young hotshot, Palmer Kling, to ride the team’s SV650 entry to complement round 1 winning riders Brian Kcraget and Chris Crosslin. At just 12 years old, Palmer earned his spot on the rider list as a reward for winning the 2012 NextMotoChampion WERA National Moto 3 championship. With no prior endurance racing experience, Palmer’s stamina was an unknown, and his small stature would possibly be a challenge to wrestle the full-size SV650 around the track for potentially 1.5 hours on a tank of fuel. Brian Kcraget took his usual spot as lead rider and knew he needed to build up as big a lead as possible against the other Lightweight bikes, to help take some pressure off of the “kids”. A malfunction with a fuel light upset the plan as Brian unfortunately ran out of fuel an hour and 20 minutes into the race, just before the uphill entrance onto pit road. Exhausted but determined, the endurance veteran pushed the bike up the hill so he could coast the bike on to pit lane. This misfortune resulted in the 650 entry dropping out of the Lightweight Class Lead and behind the new Lightweight Leader by 2 laps. Chris Crosslin and Palmer Kling took the next two spots in the Lightweight line-up… and stepped up to new challenge and held off the other competitors with consistent and solid lap times… and gave Brian a much needed break before his second stint. The three rider combination recovered the laps in the second half of the race and the TOBC Racing 650 Entry won the Lightweight Superbike Class as and finished 8th Place Overall against many 600 and 1000cc bikes. Many thanks to the support by Dunlop. Both TOBC Endurance bikes completed the race using only one front tire each, while the 600 used 3 rear tires and the 650 needed only two. Congratulations to the team and the riders for another awesome result. TOBC Racing heads to VIR this weekend for the ASRA Pro Team Challenge Event as well as some Sprint races in the combined ASRA Pro and CCS Racing series. The team is using the additional track time in preparation for the next round of the AMA Pro Series races at Barber Motorsports Park in two weeks. TOBC Racing encourages everyone to stop by the TOBC pits at Barber! Stop in to meet Nick McFadden, Curtis Murray, Brian Kcraget, Palmer Kling, Chris Crosslin, and all the other TOBC Team members. TOBC Racing is a privately funded team focused on the support of Amateur Road Racing and the development of younger racers through the National Endurance, Team Challenge, and Sprint Series hosted by CCS, WERA, CMRA, ASRA, and now AMA Pro. Follow us on Facebook at facebook.com/tobc.racing or on the web at www.tobcracing.com. More, from a press release issued by Jimmy Merck’s publicist: JIMMY MERCK REMAINS CONSISTENT AT THE WERA CYCLE JAM Atlanta, Georgia’s Jimmy Merck enjoyed a fantastic weekend of racing at Road Atlanta during WERA’s Cycle Jam on board his Vesrah-sponsored GSX-R600, as well as his new for the weekend 2013 Vesrah-sponsored GSX-R750 with six sprint race podiums, including three wins, in as many starts. WERA held its second round of the National Endurance Series presented by Lucas Oil, a round of the WERA National Vintage Series, multi-regional Pirelli WERA Sportsman Sprints, and the third round of Michelin National Challenge Series Sprints during four action-packed race days culminating the WERA Cycle Jam 2013 event at Road Atlanta in Braselton, Georgia, this past weekend. With Thursday’s sketchy weather came limited track time – Jimmy ended up with a total of seven laps for the day. Not to worry – the great folks at TOBC – John Couch, Curtis Murray, and Scott Harwell – invited Merck to compete on board the TOBC GSX-R600 Endurance Bike for the 6 hour Endurance race on Friday. After a brief 30-minute practice session Friday morning, Jimmy, Curtis Murray, and Nick McFadden were ready to battle in the six-hour Endurance race. Smooth and fast pit stops along with consistent laps resulted in a fourth place overall finish and the win in the Middleweight class with 185 laps completed! “Thanks again for all the support from TOBC, and I look forward to riding the bike again soon!” exclaimed Merck. Saturday brought gorgeous weather to Road Atlanta for a day of Regional Sprint races. Jimmy was set to compete in both Superstock races with a full day of riding Road Atlanta’s 2.54 mile road course. First up was C Superstock Expert. With 28 competitors over six laps, the race was on! After some great battles, Jimmy got the win with the top three competitors within .9 seconds at the line! Next up was B Superstock, competing against the larger 750’s as well as 600’s. The battle ensued with some major slides in Turn 1 and close racing. Just 0.2 seconds was all it took to take the win – two entries and two wins for the day! Saturday night was spent putting the finishing touches on Jimmy’s new GSX-R750. “After evaluating our program for the year, in order to compete properly in the 750cc races, we figured we’d set up a 2013 GSX-R750” said Merck. In the first practice Sunday morning, Merck pulled the GSX-R750 out for its first laps around the track. “On the second lap, going into turn one, the right clip-on came loose – that was a bit scary”. Sunday’s National races were up next with 600 Superstock as Jimmy’s first event. After a great launch, Jimmy found himself in second and cruised home with lap times in the 1:32 range with a second place finish. Up next was 750 Superstock, where Jimmy would be competing for the first time on his GSX-R750. After eight laps, Jimmy had checked out by just over eight seconds for the win! Next up was 600 Superbike, with all the “fast folks” including an AMA regular and a grid of 23 racers. With the races reduced to six laps with the threat of rain, it was game on. Great battles ensued on the track, and Jimmy came up just under two seconds short for a third-place finish. Merck’s final race of the day, 750 Superbike, was reduced to six laps as well. Three laps in, rain was soaking the Turn Six/Seven area, and the race was red flagged with competitors on DOT’s. The race ended up being a two-rider battle, with Merck coming up 0.3 second behind the leader for a second-place finish and his sixth podium of the weekend! Merck is currently leading the National points in C Superstock, B Superstock, and B Superbike, and is second in C Superbike. Jimmy would like to personally thank his sponsor Dan Covington of Truck System Technologies (TST) who offer top of the line tire pressure monitoring systems. Dan came out to the track both Saturday and Sunday and is a gracious sponsor of our sport. Jimmy would additionally like to thank John McGarity for helping get his 750 dialed in. Jimmy is proud to work with Mark and Tony with Vesrah, Vesrah Brakes, Nielsens Enterprises, Dunlop and Race Tire Services, Graves Exhaust, Livengood, Traxxion Dynamics, Penske, Maxima Oils, Shoei Helmets, Pilot Leathers, Chris with MPH, DID Chains, Bazzaz, Spiegler Brake Lines, Vortex Sprockets, Pit Bull, Cycle Gear, his father Jimmy SR, and girlfriend Bobby. More, from a press release issued by Waznie Racing: Szoke Claims 41st Career Victory at Shannonville Motorsports Park After claiming pole position, defending Superbike Champion Jordan Szoke earned his 41st career superbike victory at the legendary Shannonville Motorsports Park during the opening Round of the Mopar Canadian Superbike Championship. Szoke completed the 22 lap race around Shannonville’s 2.45 km “pro track” in 24 min, 0.649 seconds averaging a speed of 134.689 km/hr. The top three riders broke away from the rest of the field after lap three and finished within a second of each other. “When I got past them I thought I had might of been able to pull away, but they stuck with me throughout the entire race.” said Jordan after his 4th career victory at Shannonville Motorsport Park. “This should provide a pretty awesome fight for the #1 plate for the rest of the season.” “I didn’t get out front during the start.” says Szoke “I didn’t panic because I knew we had a lot of laps left in us and I wanted to see how the race would go so I remained patient.” Szoke took the lead during lap 10 to finish the race a close 0.474 seconds ahead of the rest of the pack. Szoke leads the Mopar Canadian Superbike Championship with 56 points. To watch coverage of Round One of the Mopar Superbike Race held at Shannonville Motorsports Park watch CSBK TV: Superbike Race: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J-kqxdzz9Iw Follow Szoke during Round Two held at Autodrome St Eustache Quebec Canada July 5-7. For ticket information contact: (450)472-6222 www.autodrome.ca Jordan Szoke would like to thank: Waznie Racing Inc, BMW Motorrad, Parts Canada, Alpinestars, HJC, Pirelli, Motul, BlackfootDirect.com, Yoshimura, Vortex, Hotbodies, RobbieO Enterprises, DID, NGK, BK Designs, Oakley, Ohlins, Moto-Mod Suspension, ViSalusSport.com, Stomp Grip, Chickenhawk, Strodes, Bicycle Works, photobOb, Fonthill Art and Home, Ossa Canada Motorcycles