Assen to complete WorldSBK back-to-back events

A favourite circuit for Rea, but his rivals are looking to stop him.

Round 4 sees the eni FIM Superbike World Championship return to ‘The Cathedral’ of Assen for the Dutch Round. Present on the championship calendar since 1992, the Dutch track opened in 1926 which makes it one of the oldest in the world. 2015 marks the 24th staging of a WorldSBK event at the venue, which is second only to Australia’s Phillip Island as the circuit to have hosted most rounds in the series.

Located a stone’s throw from Assen itself, the track has been shortened over the years and in its current configuration measures 4.542 kilometres, with six left turns and 11 right-handers, featuring a distinctly tight start to the lap which can provide drama early on in races.

The rider on the grid with most success to his name at Assen is Jonathan Rea, who now returns to The Netherlands not on a Honda but with Kawasaki machinery at his disposal. The Northern Irishman has stepped atop the podium four times, including an impressive victory in last year’s second race. He now heads back there as a four-time race winner from the six encounters to have been witnessed so far this year. This added to a couple of second places means Rea has amassed a staggering 93% of the possible maximum 150 points to have been up for grabs thus far. The Kawasaki Racing Team man leads Leon Haslam (Aprilia Racing Team – Red Devils) by 26 points, while third different race winner of 2015 Chaz Davies (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati Superbike Team) sits third overall.

Aragon Race 2 saw things turn around in dramatic fashion for Tom Sykes, who spectacularly highsided out of action following a rostrum finish in Race 1. The 2013 World Champion is now looking to put this to the back of his mind, with positivity in Round 4.

If Haslam pulled off a successful damage limitation exercise in Spain last weekend and his team mate Jordi Torres continued to impress with two top-5 finishes, for Chaz Davies it was even better. The Ducati rider sealed the marque’s first victory since the 2012 season and the first for the Panigale model which debuted at the start of 2013. He will remain alongside eyebrow-raising Spaniard Xavi Fores, while Davide Giugliano is back up to his full training regime and is expected to return to action for the next round at Imola. Incidentally, Fores knows Assen well from his time in the German Superbike Championship.

Perhaps those most looking for a turnaround in fortunes are the riders of Pata Honda World Superbike Team. Michael van der Mark heads to his home circuit hoping for at least a podium finish, having won the World Supersport race en route to the title last season. For World Champion team-mate Sylvain Guintoli, he is also looking for positivity after his Aragon Race 2 crash brought an end to a record run of 43 consecutive points finishes.

As for Voltcom Crescent Suzuki riders Alex Lowes and Randy de Puniet, plus MV Agusta Reparto Corse’s Leon Camier and Team Pedercini’s David Salom, all four riders will be continuing to set up their new electronics packages which first made appearances in Aragon, while Ayrton Badovini aims for more strong results following a ninth place last time out on what was his return to the World Championship with BMW Motorrad Italia. Althea Racing’s Nico Terol and Matteo Baiocco were locked together in the last race, while Niccolò Canepa picked up his first point for Team Hero EBR. He and team-mate Larry Pegram now hope for double top 15 finishes at Assen.

The very first Assen World Superbike race was won by Doug Polen in what remains the most dominant season on record. Can Rea’s opponents prevent a similar situation in 2015? With three different manufacturers having won the opening six races, recent history says they can…

2015 eni FIM Superbike World Championship (3 of 13 rounds completed)

1 – Jonathan Rea Kawasaki Racing Team – 140

2 – Leon Haslam Aprilia Racing Team – Red Devils – 114

3 – Chaz Davies Aruba.it Racing – Ducati Superbike Team – 83

4 – Tom Sykes Kawasaki Racing Team – 66

5 – Jordi Torres Aprilia Racing Team – Red Devils – 63

Sofuoglu returns to Assen as World Supersport leader

Just five days after the Aragon race, World Supersport will be practicing for Round 4 of 2015 at Assen. Having returned to winning ways almost exactly a year after his last race victory, three-time World Champion Kenan Sofuoglu (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) is now looking to extend the championship lead as newly-born son Hamza first attends a WorldSBK round. Sofuoglu has won twice at Assen, including his first ever World Supersport victory in 2006.

The closest rival to Sofuoglu in the standings also rides a Kawasaki ZX-6R, as the United States’ PJ Jacobsen picked up a second consecutive podium in Spain. The same could not be said for Jules Cluzel, as the MV Agusta rider again retired from a potentially race-winning situation. Having won the season-opener at Phillip Island, the more recently luckless Frenchman now finds himself only eighth in the championship and 30 points in arrears.

Buriram hero Ratthapark Wilairot (CORE’’ Motorsport Thailand Honda) also retired in Aragon, continuing a run that has seen the championship leader heading into each round failing to make the end of the race; he crashed at Turn 14 with Marco Faccani (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) and Lucas Mahias (Intermoto Pontexpres Kawasaki, team-mate to Jacobsen).

Enjoying a first ever podium finish, on the other hand, was Pata Honda World Supersport rider Kyle Smith as the Englishman overcame early weekend setup problems to finish third in what has been his home country since six years of age. Elsewhere, former MotoGP rider Luigi Morciano joins Roberto Rolfo at Team Lorini, as Alessandro Nocco remains injured.

2015 FIM Supersport World Championship (3 of 12 rounds completed)

1 – Kenan Sofuoglu Kawasaki Puccetti Racing – 55

2 – PJ Jacobsen Intermoto Ponyexpres Kawasaki – 42

3 – Ratthapark Wilairot CORE” Motorsport Thailand Honda – 36

Superstock 1000 straight back to business at The Cathedral

After an incident-filled opener in Aragon last weekend, the Superstock 1000 FIM Cup now rocks on into The Netherlands and Assen.

Roberto Tamburini clinched his first race victory in Spain, as the Team MotoxRacing BMW rider blasted into the class in style. He fought off 2014 championship runner-up Lorenzo Savadori of New M2 Racing Aprilia, with the latter having been overtaken at the last corner. Third on the Aragon rostrum was Scotland’s Kev Coghlan, signalling a strong start to the new campaign for the Team MRS Yamaha crew.

Last year’s Assen race was very much weather-oriented, with home rider Kevin Valk (MTM – Kawasaki HS) making the most of his track knowledge in the testing conditions. However, to do that again he will be required to fend off challenges from the likes of Raffaele de Rosa, Ondrej Jezek and Bryan Staring who were all fighting for top five positions in Aragon.

Further back in the pack, riders will be looking to avoid drama after the Aragon race witnessed a multiple first corner collision which meant no less than nine failed to make the end of the first lap.

2015 FIM Superstock 1000 Cup (1 of 8 rounds completed)

1 – Roberto Tamburini Team MotoxRacing BMW – 25

2 – Lorenzo Savadori Nuova M2 Racing Aprillia – 20

3 – Kev Coghlan MRS Yamaha – 16

Superstock 600: More Turkish delight in The Netherlands?

An apparent phenomenon controlled Superstock 600 proceedings in Aragon, either running away from the pack or forcing his rivals into mistakes as they pushed too hard to keep up. Toprak Razgatlioglu has taken the series by storm, with his Magny-Cours 2014 win and Aragon 2015 double meaning he has won each of the three races he has entered to date.

Mentored by three-time World Supersport Champion Kenan Sofuoglu, Razgatlioglu leads the way for the Puccetti Racing Kawasaki squad. The 18-year-old hails from Sakarya, overlooking the black sea and 150 kilometres from Istanbul. He now aims to return there with Dutch silverware, buoyed by the fact that he knows Assen from his experience last year in the Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup.

Who is most likely to halt the Turkish march? One may look first to Federico Caricasulo (Pata Honda Junior Team), considering the Italian was the only other rider to collect two podiums in Aragon. The other pair of rostrum finishers were Belgium’s Gauthier Duwelz and Italy’s Michael Ruben Rinaldi, although the latter blew any chance of overhauling Razgatlioglu when he crashed out on the last lap of the second race. Incidentally, from Assen onwards Superstock 600 returns to its usual format of one race per weekend.

Last year’s Assen winner was Niki Tuuli, collecting his first and so far only victory. Two places behind, Marco Faccani finished third en route to the Superstock 600 crown.

2015 FIM Europe European Superstock 600 Championship (2 of 8 rounds completed)

1 – Toprak Razgatlioglu Kawasaki Puccetti Racing – 50

2 – Federico Caricasulo Pata Honda Junior Team – 36

3 – Gauthier Duwelz MVR-Racing Yamaha – 29

More, from a press release issued by Kawasaki:

Assen The Next Opportunity For Rea And Sykes

KRT’s Jonathan Rea and Tom Sykes will arrive at one of their joint favourite circuits this coming weekend as the fourth round of the FIM Superbike World Championship is set to take place at historic Assen, located in the north of the Netherlands.

Both riders have won races there before – Rea five times and Sykes once in his championship winning year of 2013. And both are keen to add to their haul of race wins at the unique Circuit van Drenthe on the latest-specification Ninja ZX-10R.

Rea enters Assen hot on the heels of another strong display at the front of the field since he joined Kawasaki this winter. He took a win and then a second place at Motorland Aragon last weekend to extend his championship lead over Leon Haslam to 26 points. He has four wins and two second places in all so far in 2015 and a career total of 19 WSB race victories.

Sykes, now fourth in the championship standings, had one third place and then a heavy highside crash at Motorland but he escaped uninjured and is now focusing all his energies to getting his bike ready for the challenge of the iconic Assen circuit. With two third places in 2015, and 22 race victories on his career record, long-term Kawasaki rider Sykes is making continual improvements to his machine set-up after extensive technical rule changes came into force over the winter.

Assen has been the scene of many redesigns and renewals over the decades but it still features the heart and soul of its original format as a roads circuit, albeit with modern levels of runoff and gravel traps. Featuring strong cambers, fast sweeps and many corners that feed into one and other, Assen is an all-time classic venue for bike race fans and riders of all generations.

Jonathan Rea: “I am really excited about Assen because it is a circuit I really enjoy and I have had some good success at in the past. This year with a new team and a new bike we need to see how we perform on Friday but Assen is somewhere I think we can try and win again. There is always close racing there, which I am looking forward to. It is cool to go there each year because there are always a lot of British fans that make the trip over to watch the race. I have some family coming as well. Aside from Phillip Island this is going to be the race that most feels a little bit like home because I have spent so much time there in the past.”

Tom Sykes: “I’m now looking forward to a track that we have gone well at in previous years. The layout is really exciting from a rider’s point of view. Obviously I was not fortunate enough to use the old layout but basically on most of the track, if we exclude the relatively new early section, it has real nice cambered corners and gives you a great feeling with the bike. The cambers add to the speed and feel through the corners. There are some real fast flowing sections. We had a big knock last Sunday at Motorland Aragon but to be honest I came out of it pretty well. I feel better already.”

David Salom (Kawasaki Team Pedercini) posted his best race finish of the season with sixth at Motorland Aragon last weekend and is out for another two good results in the Netherlands. The 2014 SBK Evo Champion for KRT last year, Salom is currently 12th after missing the first round in Australia through injury.

More, from a press release issued by Ducati Corse:

From Aragón to Assen for the Aruba.it Racing – Ducati Superbike Team

Arezzo/Borgo Panigale (Italy), Wednesday 15 April 2015 – Just three days after scoring a historic win at Motorland Aragón, Chaz Davies and the Aruba.it Racing – Ducati Superbike Team head onwards to the TT Circuit of Assen, in the Netherlands, where Davies will once again be joined on track by Javier Forés, substituting for Davide Giugliano for the second time.

At the recent Spanish round, factory rider Davies was caught up a great battle with Rea in race 1, missing out on the win by just 0.051 of a second to cross the line second. The win was nevertheless imminent and in the day’s second race, the Welshman dominated from start to finish, powering his Ducati Panigale R over the line in first position, more than 3 seconds ahead of the second-placed rider. This marks a very important win – the first for the Aruba.it Racing – Ducati Superbike Team, Chaz’s first win since joining forces with the Borgo Panigale-based manufacturer, and also the maiden win for the Panigale R in World Superbikes. Forés, competing in his very first races of the 2015 season, also scored positive results in his home country, battling hard against many of this year’s top riders to conclude the two races in fifth and sixth place.

Races at the TT Circuit of Assen are often conditioned by wet weather which can often shake things up in terms of results. Davies, having raced in the Superbike category for the last three seasons, has achieved a best of 5th at the Dutch track, in 2013, while Forés last raced at Assen last year in the IDM Superbike championship, winning his race.

As the team heads into this fourth round of the 2015 championship, Davies now positions third in the general standings, with 83 points, while Forés is thirteenth with 21 points. Ducati lies third in the manufacturer’s classification (95 points).

Comments ahead of the event:

Chaz Davies (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati Superbike Team #7)

“Assen’s enjoyable to ride but it’s always a challenge to get the bike to work well around the entire track, with some quite different sections. I’ve never been able to make the best of it in Superbike, and my results have been fairly average, while in Supersport I took a win. My aim this weekend, and every weekend, is to be on the podium, and then we’ll try to pick up wins where we can. I feel that we’ve learned a lot over the last couple of weekends, even when things have not been going so well, and I think that this will be important this weekend; we know where we stand in terms the chassis and that is particularly relevant at Assen I think.”

Javier Forés (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati Superbike Team #112)

“I’ve only raced a few times at Assen but last year we had an IDM round there and I won the race so I can say that I really like the track, I’ve always ridden well at Assen and have some good memories. After the Aragón races, my aim this weekend will be to continue to work in the same direction to be able to improve in the races and stick closer to the guys in front. Last season’s IDM race took place in dry conditions and that’s what I’d prefer this weekend too but I don’t think I’d have particular problems if it were wet. The weather’s always an unknown anyway, but we’ll see what we can do…”

More, from a press release issued by Pata Honda:

Pata Honda team heads home to Holland

The Pata Honda team is gearing up for this weekend’s fourth-round World Superbike championship races at Assen in the Netherlands with riders Sylvain Guintoli and Michael van der Mark on their Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade SP machines.

The historic 4.542km TT Circuit at Assen is just 70km from the Pata Honda workshop at Nieuwleusen and the Dutch round is traditionally the busiest of the year for the team with many guests, colleagues, friends and family members visiting.

However, in the coming days, Guintoli, van der Mark and their respective crews will be intently focused on improving results and targeting a visit to the World Superbike podium that has eluded the team in the opening three rounds of the 2015 season.

Assen is a happy hunting ground for both Pata Honda riders, with reigning champion Guintoli scoring his first World Superbike victory in a wet race at the circuit in 2012. The 32-year-old French rider took his second Assen win at the corresponding round last season.

This weekend is also the home round for van der Mark, 22, who took his debut World Supersport laurels at Assen last year on his way to the 2014 title. The Dutch ace will be hoping for a similar World Superbike debut in the Netherlands this weekend.

2015 World Superbike championship, round four

TT Circuit – Assen, Netherlands

Event schedule (local times GMT +2):

Friday 17 April

11.45-12.30 – Free practice 1

15.00-15.45 – Free practice 2

Saturday 18 April

09.45-10.30 – Free practice 3

12.30-13.00 – Free practice 4

15.00-15.15 – Superpole 1

15.25-15.40 – Superpole 2

Sunday 19 April

08.40-08.55 – Warm-up

10.30 – Race 1 (21 laps, 95.382km)

13.10 – Race 2 (21 laps, 95.382km)

Sylvain Guintoli

There is no disguising the fact that results have not been what we wanted so far and we’ve had a difficult start to the season. But the whole team is working really hard and totally focused on improving the results. We seem to be able to get into good lap times quite quickly but then we find it more difficult to get those last few tenths that really matter. But the fact that this is the team’s home round will focus our efforts even more because it’s important to get good results and it’s always special to get to the podium in front of friends and family at a home race. Whatever happens, we’ll all be working hard to put on a good show.

Michael van der Mark

I’m feeling quite confident ahead of the home race for me and the team and I’m really looking forward to it. We know from results in previous years that, without a really long straight, Assen suits the CBR a little better than other circuits but we’re still going to have to work as hard as we can and do our very best to get the most out of the package. It would be so good to be able to challenge for the podium but we have to be realistic because I’m still learning in this class. Your home race is always really special and it’s going to be a very busy weekend. But it’s only once a year and I’ve got somewhere to go and chill when I need to!

More, from a press release issued by Team Hero EBR:

Round Four Preview – Assen, the Netherlands 17-19th April 2015

ASSEN WELCOMES THE EVER-IMPROVING HERO EBR WSB SQUAD

After a confidence-boosting upturn in their fortunes during the recent 2015 FIM Superbike World Championship races in Spain Team Hero EBR riders Larry Pegram and Niccolò Canepa now have a quick turnaround from one of the newest circuits on the calendar to one of the most established – Assen in the Netherlands.

Italy’s Canepa scored his first point of the year on the EBR 1190 RX a few days ago, finishing both races after reaching Superpole 1 with relative ease. Now he and Pegram expect to shoot for more and bigger points scores from here on in, starting at the sweeping, cambered and simply unique Circuit van Drenthe in Assen.

With so little time between the previous round on Sunday 12th April and Assen raceday on Sunday 19th April, all in the Italian-based American team are experiencing a particularly busy period right now.

Motivation is high after both riders finished each 18-lap Motorland Aragon race in good order, with Niccolò now appearing on the championship points table just behind Larry.

Combined team manager and rider Pegram has ridden at Assen before, in the Supersport World Championship category. This is an unusual situation for Larry in his first full season in the Superbike World Championship, but he competed on a longer layout back in 1999, before the North Loop section was removed.

The immediate aim for both riders and team at Assen is to find machine settings to improve outright performance on track, in both qualifying and race modes.

After Assen the team will continue their development programme through the season to maximise the great potential of the Hero EBR 1190 RX – all the way to the final round at Losail in Qatar in mid-October.

Larry Pegram

“I actually raced at Assen way back in 1999, on a factory Ducati WSS machine in place of injured regular rider Paolo Casoli. So I have ridden at the venue before but on the old track and quite honestly I don’t remember so much about it. I am excited to race there again as it is such a historic circuit and the fans that go there are so passionate. I think after Aragon we are on the right track and we can look forward to improving at Assen. I know this will be a better circuit layout for our bike as well.”

Niccolò Canepa

“I like Assen and last year I won two World SBK Evo Superbike races, one in dry conditions and one in the wet, so I cannot wait to race there. Assen gave me the best memory of last year. I think it could also be a good track for our bike because there is only one medium size straight, not so long, and the track has a lot of medium to high-speed corners. These are the kind of corners we like and that are good for the bike. I think we can do better than in Aragon. Maybe Assen and then Imola could be the best tracks for us. It is always amazing to race at Assen because there are a lot of spectators, and it is like the university of motorcycle racing. Going fast there is very important and more difficult than other tracks.”

More, from a press release issued by Althea Racing:

Superbike Round 4 – Assen – Althea Racing Preview

The fourth round of the World Superbikes, and the second to take place in Europe, is taking place this weekend at Assen, in The Netherlands, immediately after the Motorland Aragon event held on 12 April.

Team Althea Racing arrives at the TT Circuit intent on obtaining positive results in line with those scored up until now, as well as continuing with the constant progress that it has made race after race, with the aim of fighting for important positions and collecting useful points for the championship standings.

Nico Terol, having completed two good races in Spain, is continuing with his work, striving to improve feeling with his bike in the production-derived series, where he has already demonstrated that he is fast, consistent and able to compete against his rivals. The podium is well within Nico’s reach and he will arrive at the TT Circuit with the intention of working with the team to bring home an important result.

Matteo Baiocco is already making his mark, despite not having competed in such a high level championship in recent years. He has already obtained positive results and has continued to grow right from the opening round at Phillip Island. After two good races at Aragon last weekend, Matteo will tried to find the right solutions in order to be as well prepared as possible for Sunday’s races.

The Team’s Superstock 1000 riders will also be on track at Assen for their second championship round after the opening Spanish event which served to better understand the squad’s potential. They will now work as hard as possible to score positive results.

Raffaele de Rosa will be aiming for victory, having demonstrated at Motorland Aragon that this result is within his grasp. The championship is of a very high level and involves some experienced riders but Raffaele is very motivated, especially after completing his first race, to reach the highest step of the podium. The Ducati Panigale R is a great product with which the Italian rider has immediately found good feeling and with which he would like to start scoring the right results from the outset.

Luca Salvadori, debuting in this category, completed a solid race in Aragon though he was unlucky at the start when an accident meant that he had to go off track in order to avoid being caught up in it. He returned to the track in last position but although he had lost a lot of time, he didn’t give up and was nevertheless able to close inside the top 15.

The TT Circuit Assen, also known as the Circuit van Drenthe, taken from the name of the province in which it is located, has long been considered one of the most difficult of the championship, due to its very high average speeds. Despite recent modifications that have altered it considerably, the circuit still puts both bikes and riders to the test.

More, from a press release issued by Aprilia:

APRILIA V4 DAYS: LEON HASLAM AND JORDI TORRES CHRISTEN THE NEW APRILIA RSV4 AND TUONO 1100.

LEON: “EXTRAORDINARY BIKES, HARD TO CONVINCE ME NOT TO TAKE THEM OUT FOR A RIDE”

JORDI: “I’M ASTONISHED AT THE LEVEL OF THE V4-MP MULTIMEDIA PLATFORM”

LEON HASLAM AND JORDI TORRES ARE READY TO TAKE ON THE DEMANDING ASSEN CIRCUIT: “IT’S A TRACK I LIKE”, SAYS THE BRITISH RIDER. “A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT TRACK THAN ARAGON, BUT SUITED TO MY RIDING STYLE” SAID THE SPANIARD.

Misano Adriatico, 15 April 2015 – Special guest testimonials are at Misano Adriatico for the V4 Days where Aprilia is introducing the brand new RSV4 RF and RR and the Tuono 1100 Factory e RR to the international press and customers.

Leon Haslam and Jordi Torres, Aprilia Racing Team – Red Devils standard bearers in the World Superbike championship, made a stop at the Misano World Circuit to christen the brand new V4 street bikes from Noale. On their way back from Aragon and just twenty-four hours from departing for Assen, the British rider and his Spanish colleague found themselves in the spotlight for a technical briefing before the participating journalists got onto the track and then commented on the progress in WSBK after the first three rounds.

“Assen is a track that I like and I think it will suit the characteristics of the RSV4 RF well” stated Leon Haslam. “The experience gained at Aragon will also be fundamental Session after session we are learning how the new bike reacts to our changes and figuring out how to adapt the settings to various conditions. I couldn’t pass up the chance to come to Misano to introduce the new street version of my RSV4 and I really had to struggle to resist getting on and taking it for a ride! The level that these bikes have reached is extraordinary. A customer with the Aprilia RSV4 can take advantage of a chassis, electronic controls and top shelf performance which are very close to an authentic Superbike.”

Jordi Torres was also positive and determined: “We did a great job at Aragon. The track is long and hard and I learned a lot. Now we are off to Assen, a completely different circuit but one that suits my riding style well. I need to continue learning the secrets of this bike and this category. We are very close to the faster riders in the championship but I need to manage to keep up with them all the way to the end of the race. Today I had fun being a “teacher” for the journalists, explaining the characteristics of the Misano track and seeing the street version of the RSV4 RF in action I was surprised at the unmistakeable sound of the V4. I’m also amazed by the hypernaked of this bike, the Tuono 1100: now the problem is that I want a Tuono for myself to ride on the street!”

The two World Superbike riders also had positive things to say about the fantastic new technology that Aprilia has launched, the Aprilia V4-MP multimedia platform which transforms the customer’s smartphone into an exceptionally capable informative instrument. “Because of my age I was basically born with the smartphone – said Jordi – but Aprilia has developed something truly different than any other app in the motorcycle world. This application is really close to the professional instruments that we riders use.” For Leon the V4-MP was also a pleasant surprise: “You open it and you are immediately localised in the Misano garages, but that is normal in this day and age” said the British rider. “What makes the difference is that the smartphone dialogues with the bike’s control unit and the possibility of setting, turn by turn – on any circuit – the traction control and anti-wheeling sensitivity, to then analyse your performance at the end of the session and try to improve to find the best lap.”

NEW APRILIA RSV4 AND TUONO 1100: PROFOUND EVOLUTION

The new Aprilia RSV4 introduced over the last few days at Misano Adriatico – a track where the RSV4 has taken 4 wins and 4 podiums in the last five seasons – represents the most important and profound evolution ever achieved on this extraordinary model that has one 7 world titles in just 5 years of participation in WSBK, adding 54 championship wreaths to the Aprilia trophy case. The main goals of the new V4 project are clear: increase power across the board, exceeding the threshold of 200 HP maximum peak and at the same time increase the already generous torque at all engine speeds.

The new Aprilia is also the only Superbike that allows the rider to adjust the engine position in the frame, the headstock angle, the swingarm pivot and the rear end height, naturally in addition to the fully adjustable suspension.

APRC (Aprilia Performance Ride Control) is the well-known control systems package derived directly from the winning technology in the World Superbike championship, the most complete of its kind available on the market today. It also has the advanced and safe Race ABS system that can be set to 3 different settings. To distinguish the RF from the RR model there are parts such as the Öhlins suspension, forged aluminium wheels and a dedicated livery. And to complete the racing approach of this extraordinary bike, the rider has the option of connecting his or her smartphone to the vehicle through the Aprilia V4-MP platform.

The new Tuono V4 1100 is an exclusive excitement and fun generator in its purest state. New 175 HP engine, taken from 1,000 to 1,100 cc, with a powerful maximum torque of 121 Nm, revamped chassis setup to achieve better agility, fine tuned APRC, new look, the possibility of connecting your smartphone to the vehicle through the V4-MP platform and two distinctly outfitted versions (Factory and RR) that have the same, strictly Aprilia character in common.

More, from a press release issued by Voltcom Crescent Suzuki:

Voltcom Crescent Suzuki to regroup in Assen

Voltcom Crescent Suzuki departs Aragon directly for Assen’s ‘Cathedral of Speed’ this week as the World Championship hosts back-to-back races in Western Europe.

After a difficult weekend in Spain, Alex Lowes is looking forward to returning to the Dutch track and the scene of his debut WSBK podium on his Yoshimura-powered Suzuki – the number 22 rider claimed second position in the day’s second race with a 2.222 second margin from victory. With two race’s worth of data and experience with the new Marelli electronics in the bank from Aragon, Lowes is keen to get down to work at a track he knows so well as his Voltcom Crescent Suzuki team continue to develop the new system.

Randy de Puniet is just as eager for the up-coming visit to the TT circuit and the chance to progress with the GSX-R1000 on the technically challenging track. Having fought a determined battle in last Sunday’s race two – overcoming many of the issues that had plagued the Frenchman over the course of the Spanish weekend – Assen brings the opportunity to maintain the momentum.

A hugely popular track with both fans and riders alike, the Assen TT Circuit’s 4,542m layout is famous for its high speed corners, providing breath-taking racing and an electric atmosphere that keeps the spectators and championships coming back year-on-year. Located 170kms from Netherland’s capital Amsterdam, in the northeast of the country, the track is made up of 6 left and 11 right-hand corners, with the circuit regularly accommodating a 100,000 strong crowd.

Voltcom Crescent Suzuki will be ready for action at 11:15hrs local time (10:15BST) on Friday 17th April, for the opening 45 minute timed-for-qualifying free practice, with the afternoon session scheduled for 15:00hrs (14:00BST). Saturday’s track action starts at 09:45hrs (08:45BST) with the final timed practice and a 30 minute non-timed practice at 12:30hrs (11:30BST) before the Superpole sessions commence at 15:00hrs (14:00BST). Sunday’s races begin at 10:30hrs (09:30BST) and 13:10hrs (12:10BST) respectively.

Alex Lowes:

“I’ve always enjoyed the Assen TT Circuit. Last year it was the first track that I knew on the WSBK calendar and it gave me my first podium on the Suzuki! I’m looking forward to getting back out there, it’s such a fast and technical track but I’ve been training hard and can’t wait to put the GSX-R through its paces again. We had a tough weekend in Spain with the new electronics but we will continue to work hard and get the bike back to what we know is capable.”

Randy de Puniet:

“For me, Assen is one of the best tracks on the calendar, even with the modifications year-on-year. It is a very technical track so even if your bike is not perfect, you can still be at the front with a good chassis and suspension. The GSX-R is good for that so I’m really confident and looking forward to the Assen races. We started from zero at Aragon but with the data from last weekend to develop our understanding of the new systems we can begin to push forward again.”

More, from a press release issued by Pirelli:

Fourth round of the eni FIM Superbike World Championship: Pirelli to “The Cathedral” of motorcycling with a new front solution dedicated to the premier class riders

On the occasion of the Assen round the tire company seeks confirmation on new solutions introduced last weekend at Aragón and proposes a new front tire in SC1 compound

The historic circuit that hosts the championship of the production derived series since 1992, the Monday after the race weekend will welcome riders for the third round of the Pirelli SBK Track Days.

Assen (The Netherlands), April 16, 2015 – Filed recently the round on Spanish soil, the eni FIM Superbike World Championship makes a stop next weekend in The Netherlands, on the historic Assen circuit hosting the Championship of the derived series since 1992.

Pirelli, the sole supplier of all the classes of the Championship, both for the Superbike as well as for the Supersport confirms the solutions chosen for the Aragón round with the clear goal to check if the new solutions that debuted a few days ago on the Spanish circuit are actually valid.

But this will also be the possibility for Pirelli to introduce a new front solution dedicated to Superbike riders, the T1467, which uses a medium-soft compound as the SC1 but, unlike the S1699, is more protected from wear and at the same time should be more stable than the SC2.

In addition, the Dutch circuit will host the third round of the Pirelli SBK Track Days (Monday following the race weekend), as happened in Thailand in March and, three days ago, at Aragón, Spain.

TT Circuit Assen from tire point of view: technique and speed for “The Cathedral” of motorcycling

The TT Circuit Assen is a circuit that has been designed since the beginning to be used by the motorcycles. It’s unanimously recognized as one of the most challenging circuits of the championship and is also known as “The Cathedral” or “The University of Motorcycling” due to the the high average speed and since that, despite the recent modifications which have partially changed its fame, the circuit remains among those that most puts a strain on both the bikes, the riders and the tires.

The TT Circuit Assen was built in 1925 but in the first 30 years was a path open to traffic during the year and where sometimes took place races on country roads. At the time the track was even 28 kilometers long and only in 1955 was built the circuit more modern and similar to what we know nowadays; no longer open to traffic, with a total length reduced to 7705 meters. More recently, in 2006, the first part of the circuit very fast was eliminated by reducing the length of the track of nearly 1500 meters. In that area new stands roomiest than the previous ones were built, overlooking the new group of first slow turns. Today, as a result of the many changes made over the years, the track is 4542 meters long with the longest straight measuring 970 meters, 11 right hand turns and 6 left-handers.

On this track the tires are not very stressed from the thermal point of view, but must still provide great precision and a lot of directional stability to the pilot. A key role is also played by the weather: in April it is not difficult to come across weather conditions which are often unpredictable and rather cold temperatures.

The asphalt of this circuit, made up of a very high bituminous percentage, has a strong correlation between how aggressive the track is and the air temperature, therefore, with low temperatures, the rear solutions can suffer from problems with tearing, in particular if you use soft solutions and when the track is still poorly rubberized, typically during the Friday sessions.

Analyzing the circuit, it starts with a first right hand turn which is very long, taking about 15 seconds to get through it in which it is important that the front and rear tires are well balanced so as to maintain a perfect trajectory even at an average speed of more than 100 kph. Then we arrive to the following left hairpin, which has a curvature radius of less than 20 meters and in which the rider has to change the lean angle of the bike at a speed of 70 degrees per second, so from a leaning position of about 40° on the cold left side of the tires, he has to brake hard, comes out of the curve at the maximum speed guaranteed by the front tire and then accelerate almost from a standstill taking maximum advantage of the grip provided by the rear tire. This sudden change from an extremely long turn to a high and constant speed to a sudden hairpin in the opposite direction, characterized by a braking section from a leaned position, is very demanding on both tire and rider.

Then there is an extremely fast flip-flop at a high speed of about 150 kph, first to the left and then about 110 kph on the right-hander, and the rider has to move quickly from a maximum left hand lean to maximum right hand lean, changing angle at an astonishing speed of about 90° per second. The rear and front tires must reach an extremely demanding balance in order to allow the rider to get through the chicane as quickly as possible. Subsequently it has a reversed situation with respect to the first turn: first there is a tight turn to the left with a curvature radius of about 50 meters, followed by a wide right-hander where the bike maintains a 50° lean angle for about 8 seconds. The rear tire must guarantee the best possible acceleration coming out of the turn, allowing the rider to speed up from 90 to 150 kph as quickly as possible.

The Pirelli solutions for Superbike and Supersport classes:

4524 are the tires that Pirelli brings to Assen for the fourth round of the eni FIM Superbike World Championship. Also in this case, like in Aragon, this quantity is necessary to service the needs of the four classes which are part of the World Championship and those of the European Junior Cup.

In total for the Superbike class there are 1855 tires and every Superbike rider has a total of 34 front and 37 rear, for Supersport riders the amount is 22 front and 25 rear per pilot for a total of 1269 tires which were brought for this class. For the Superstock 1000 the amount is 640 tires, 560 those for the Superstock 600. Finally, the riders of the European Junior Cup will have available 200 tires.

For the premier class each rider has 3 dry solutions for the front and the same amount at the rear plus the intermediate and full wet tires and the rear qualifier tire that pilots can use in the two sessions of Superpole on Saturday.

Here, as well as at Aragón, there will also be a new development rear wet tire, the solution T1161, which should offer greater straight-line and braking stability.

At the front in addition to the standard SC2 and the development SC1 S1699 Pirelli brings a brand new solution, the specific T1467, which uses a medium-soft compound as the SC1 but which, unlike the S1699, is more protected from wear and at the same time should be more stable than the SC2.

At the rear the same three solutions already brought to Spain: standard SC0 and SC1 plus the development solution T1392, which differs from the standard SC1 for a different construction system that guarantees a more homogeneous and constant behavior throughout the duration of the race.

For the Supersport solutions already seen in action at Aragón the last weekend will be back: for the front the standard SC1 and development SC1 S1485, which made its debut at Misano in 2014 and has also been taken to Portimao and Magny-Cours last year. This second option usually provides more support in the approach to the curves in favor of a better steering precision and this year has been brought as far as now only to Australia.

At the rear the standard SC0 and SC1 and the soft solution T0957 which debuted precisely at Aragón and which differs from the standard SC0 for a different construction system that guarantees a behavior more homogeneous and constant throughout the duration of the race.

Also in this round, as in those of the current season, the Superstock 1000 FIM Cup and Superstock600 UEM European Championship will use DIABLO™ Supercorsa in standard solutions: SC1 front and SC2 rear for the Superstock 600, SC2 front and SC1 rear for the Superstock 1000. The European Junior Cup is run instead with SC1 front and SC2 rear.

The 2014 Pirelli statistics for TT Circuit Assen:

• Total number of tires Pirelli brought: 4619

• Number of solutions (dry, intermediate and wet) for the Superbike class: 5 front and 7 rear

• Number of tires available for each Superbike rider: 35 front and 41 rear

• Number of solutions for the Supersport class (dry, intermediate and wet): 4 front and 5 rear

• Number of tires available for each Supersport rider: 23 front and 28 rear

• Superbike Best Lap Awards won by: Sylvain Guintoli (Aprilia Racing Team), 1’36.440 (Race 1, 3rd lap) and Alex Lowes (Voltcom Crescent Suzuki), 1’52.975 (Race 2, 9th lap)

• Supersport Best Lap Awards won by: Michael Vd Mark (Pata Honda World Supersport Team), 1’38.587 (7th lap)

• Temperature in Race 1: air 15° C, asphalt 14° C

• Temperature in Race 2: air 17° C, asphalt 16° C

• Maximum race speed reached by Pirelli DIABLO™ Superbike tires: 291.7 km/h, Eugene Laverty (Voltcom Crescent Suzuki) in Race 1 at 7th lap

• Maximum race speed reached by Pirelli DIABLO™ Supercorsa SC tires in Supersport race: 255.7 km/h, Lorenzo Zanetti (Pata Honda World Supersport Team) at 11th lap.

More, from a press release issued by Dorna WSBK Press Office:

Dutch expectations revealed on the eve of WorldSBK Round 4

Riders are confident but local hopes rest with van der Mark

The Official Press Conference for the Dutch Round of the eni FIM Superbike World Championship took place in front of a good crowd at the TT Circuit Assen today. Some of the protagonists of this year’s series spoke ahead of Sunday’s races, which are expected to play an already very important part in the unfolding season.

Two of the riders to receive the biggest attention from the crowd were the Aragon race winners Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team) and Chaz Davies (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati Superbike Team), both were asked a number of questions via Twitter (#askWorldSBK) and from the floor.

“The biggest difference between the bike I rode last year and the Kawasaki is the colour” joked Rea. Meanwhile Davies explained the way he celebrated his and Ducati’s first win of the Panigale era, with one single glass of red wine. “There will be a party in garage 18” he added, “if it’s another good result on Sunday.”

Naturally the spotlight was also on local hero Michael van der Mark (Pata Honda World Superbike), who carries the hopes of Holland on his shoulders. The reigning World Supersport champion was also asked a number of questions. “If I had to choose between winning on Sunday or being WorldSBK champion at the end of this year, I would choose the latter. But having said that, I will try to win the race anyway.”

Van der Mark’s teammate Sylvain Guintoli reaffirmed that there is still work to do in the Pata Honda garage, while on the other hand Ayrton Badovini was pleased with his performance aboard the BMW Motorrad Italia machine in Spain and thus he is confident of another solid result in the Netherlands.

The opening day’s free practice session for the World Superbike class will start at 11:15am local time.

Former Dutch champion Jan Dekker, nicknamed ‘DoubleDekker’ led a darts masterclass in the paddock as a prelude to the fourth round of the eni FIM Superbike World Championship.

Michael van der Mark (Pata Honda World Superbike Team), Randy de Puniet (Voltcom Crescent Suzuki), Leon Haslam (Aprilia Racing Team), Chaz Davies (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati Superbike Team), Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team), Ayrton Badovini (BMW Motorrad Italia), and Larry Pegram (Team Hero EBR) joined Dekker, going head to head to see who come out on top in the first competition of the weekend.

The WorldSBK stars were cheered on by a vast crowd that were enjoying the open paddock at the Cathedral of Speed.

Larry Pegram had the attendants laughing boasting that he was the 3 times Ohio State champion before being the only rider hit the bullseye.

At the end of a fun filled pre-event it was the Aragon race 2 winner Chaz Davies who was triumphant against his on-track rivals and was awarded with a personalised set of darts for his trouble.