SYKES HEADS FOR SOUTH AFRICA IN GOOD FORM The Kawasaki Racing Team heads for round six of the Hannspree World Superbike Championship at Kyalami, South Africa this weekend where riders Tom Sykes and Chris Vermeulen are looking to continue the good form shown at Monza last weekend. Aboard the Paul Bird Motorsport Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10R Sykes recorded a season’s best 5th place in the second of the two races in Italy whereas Vermeulen battled against injury to claim more points for the team also. The Kyalami circuit holds good memories for the Penrith based team after an impressive performance last year by riders Broc Parkes and Sheridan Morais and both Yorkshireman Sykes and Australian Vermeulen will be hoping to repeat the feat this weekend. Whereas Sykes is upbeat following eight points scoring rides in the last ten races, former MotoGP winner Vermeulen is still troubled by a persistent knee injury which he sustained in the opening round, but hopefully the pair can continue the good work in recent rounds. Tom Sykes: “I’m really looking forward to this weekend in Kyalami as it’s coming straight off the back of a good weekend in Monza for us which gave the team and myself a big boost in time for the busy part of the race calendar. We have been making steady progress over the past few races and we were over the moon to have come away with a top five and inside the top ten finishes at the last race. The Kawasaki appeared to do fairly well here last year with Sheridan and Broc so I’m looking forward to jumping on the bike again and facing the challenge of this old-school circuit. The key now is to continue our consistency and maintain the level of results from the previous few races.” Chris Vermeulen: “After my return in Assen I was determined to make up some ground but unfortunately my knee is still not 100% and I found it more difficult in Monza than I would have liked. I’m continuing to work hard on rehabilitation and physiotherapy and I am certain however that the more I ride, the more movement I will have in the knee. I have high expectations of myself but I have to be patient and work away at getting back to the platform where I think we are at. I have raced in Kyalami before in World Supersport but I can honestly say that I don’t have much of a memory of being here so I will more or less treat this as a new track and hope that I can bounce back to consistent point scoring finishes.” More, from a press release issued by Infront Motorsports: World Superbike arrives at popular African venue for round six The HANNspree FIM Superbike World Championship makes its second visit to the southern hemisphere in 2010 for the Kyalami round in South Africa, from May 15-16. Having seven different manufacturers and a host of potential winners on show this coming weekend, the local spectators can expect the same kind of high-speed, high quality, action which has made the 2010 edition of WSBK a must-see for racing enthusiasts all over the world. Kyalami’s 4.246 km circuit features dramatic elevation changes and mix of fast and slow corners and is therefore a real challenge for even the most experienced competitors. The teams and technical support staff also have an almost unique challenge this weekend, as the high altitude of the venue requires a change of approach towards set-up, simply because the thin air robs the engines of outright power at the very top of the rev-range. After the double win for Max Biaggi and Aprilia Alitalia at home at the super-fast Monza last weekend, the gap between Max and championship leader Leon Haslam (Suzuki Alstare) is down to three points. Last year in South Africa the factory Ducati duo of Noriyuki Haga and Michel Fabrizio ruled the roost in each race as the four-cylinder machines struggling to keep in contact with double winner Haga and close second Fabrizio. This year the factory Ducati riders have been struggling by their own high standards and Kyalami may well be the ideal place for them to re-sharpen their competitive edges. The previous round at Monza displayed that the power-balance in World Superbike is still a very fluid dynamic, as the BMW Motorrad Motorsport team took its first ever podium thanks to Troy Corser. His team-mate Ruben Xaus also had a personal BMW best of sixth at Monza. The Kawasaki Racing Team made a breakthrough with Tom Sykes, who posted a top five finish and was in the leading hunt from qualifying onwards. Chris Vermeulen, Sykes’ KRT team-mate, is still trying to overcome the effects of his Phillip Island knee injury, but his strength is improving every weekend. With top class riders like 2009 Kyalami podium finisher Jonathan Rea and his team-mate Max Neukirchner running for the Hannspree Ten Kate Honda team, and proven World Champions James Toseland and Cal Crutchlow competing for the official Yamaha Sterilgarda team, there are boundless possibilities to look at in terms of podium finishers. Crutchlow and Toseland have already been inside the top three this year and Cal has taken two Superpole wins in his rookie season in WSBK, which he entered as reigning Supersport World Champion. The pre-race complication is all the more intriguing in 2010 as unlike last year there was no official winter test at Kyalami, so everyone should at least start the weekend on level terms. Kyalami will also be a first time circuit for some in World Superbike, most notably Leon Camier, a full-season rookie on his Aprilia Alitalia RSV-4 but already on the podium at Assen, while local interest should include Sheridan Morais, on an EmTek Aprilia. Privateers have already had a great influence in the 2010 championship, with Althea Ducati rider Carlos Checa having won a race in Australia. His team-mate Shane Byrne is a talented rider looking for his first 2010 podium at a track that may suit his Ducati very well. Jakub Smrz (Pata B&G Ducati) and Luca Scassa (Supersonic) are also riders to watch on twin-cylinder machinery. Kawasaki fields two privateers in the Pedercini team, American Roger Lee Hayden and Italian Matteo Baiocco, while ECHO CRS Honda makes its first Kyalami date with rider Broc Parkes, after scoring its first WSBK point last weekend. Points (after 5 rounds of 13): 1. Haslam 181; 2. Biaggi 178; 3. Rea 110; 4. Checa 110; 5. Toseland 106; 6. Haga 100; 7. Corser 92; 8 Camier; 72; 9. Guintoli 70; 10. Crutchlow 65. Manufacturers: 1. Aprilia 184; 2. Suzuki 181; 3. Ducati 149; 4. Honda 119; 5. Yamaha 113; 6. BMW 95; 7. Kawasaki 37. World Supersport The Supersport World Championship went from a close fight between three riders before the previous Monza round to an even more tightly contested struggle after Eugene Laverty (Parkalgar Honda) took his third race win of 2010 last weekend. Joan Lascorz (Kawasaki Motocard.com) and Kenan Sofuoglu (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda) have also recorded a single win each in 2010, with the current points standings showing Lascorz on 101, Sofuoglu on 97 and Laverty with 91. Laverty was a convincing winner at Kyalami in 2009, but few expect anything but another close encounter of a top three kind this coming weekend. Triumph have had ParkinGO BE-1 rider Chaz Davies on the podium already, at Portimao. With this race meeting taking place outside of the European theatre of operations, there will be no Superstock Championship classes, but there will be local 1000 and 600 races on Sunday. Points (after 5 rounds of 13): 1. Lascorz 101; 2. Sofuoglu 97; 3. Laverty 91; 4. Davies 55; 5. Salom 40; 6. G.Rea 40; 7. Harms 35; 8. Pirro 34; 9. Fujiwara 34; 10. Lagrive 30. Manufacturers: 1. Honda 120; 2. Kawasaki 101; 3. Triumph 65 THE CIRCUIT: Kyalami is no stranger to World Superbike and this is the seventh weekend of South African action for WSBK since the first visit in 1998. This year some widening of run-off areas at turns two and three, and a modified pit exit, will be welcome novelties for the Superbike and Supersport riders to encounter. The bumpy and venerable tarmac surface is another characteristic the teams will have to allow for. A traditionally large and enthusiastic crowd can get close to the action all around the circuit, thanks in part to its many contours, making for a special atmosphere on raceday at this icon of African Motorsports. A new spectator area has been created at turns two and three, using materials removed from the area around the new pitlane exit. More, from a press release issued by Team Pedercini: The sixth round of the Superbike World Championship will take place over the weekend of May 14-15-16 at the Kyalami Grand Prix Circuit in South Africa. The Kyalami Grand Prix Circuit is a world famous motorsport venue with a rich international and national motorsport heritage. The word Kyalami means ‘my home’ in Zulu language. Since it’s opening in 1961 the circuit played host to numerous Grand Prix, Moto GP, World Superbike and 9 hour endurance events. Today the circuit hosts 10 National motorsport events with international events planned for 2009 and beyond. The last round, held at Monza circuit, saw a nice performance for Roger Lee Hayden. The young American rider had his best overall race of the season so far at the previous Monza round, taking 14th place finishes in the second race, after making progress with his overall machine set-up. Team mate Matteo Baiocco hopes for better fortune in round sixth than he experienced at Monza. Roger Lee Hayden : “Kyalami Grand Prix circuit is another track that I don’t know at all, so again we will have to learn as we progress through the weekend in order to arrive at the best set-up for the races. I haven’t heard too much about the track but the layout looks good and after my good performance in Monza’s second race I’m fully fit and ready for South Africa”. Matteo Baiocco : “ I am really looking forward to beginning the South Africa race weekend. I came away from the last round in Monza extremely disappointed and so I’m hoping to have a much more positive weekend in Kyalami. The track is new for us and we know the bike performances must be improved but we are confident we can find soon a good set-up for the race weekend”.