FIM Supersport World Championship Motorland Aragon, Spain July 1, 2012 Race Results (all on Pirelli tires): 1. Sam LOWES, UK (Honda CBR600RR), 18 laps, 37:14.284 2. Fabien FORET, France (Kawasaki ZX-6R), -1.446 seconds 3. Sheridan MORAIS, South Africa (Kawasaki ZX-6R), -4.322, ran off track 4. Broc PARKES, Australia (Honda CBR600RR), -5.924 5. Kenan SOFUOGLU, Turkey (Kawasaki ZX-6R), -6.377, penalized three positions 6. Ronan QUARMBY, South Africa (Honda CBR600RR), -16.333 7. Vittorio IANNUZZO, Italy (Triumph Daytona 675), -19.948 8. Jed METCHER, Australia (Yamaha YZF-R6), -22.663 9. Gabor TALMACSI, Hungary (Honda CBR600RR), -22.889 10. Josh DAY, USA (Kawasaki ZX-6R), -26.923 11. Romain LANUSSE, France (Kawasaki ZX-6R), -35.991 12. Luca MARCONI, Italy (Yamaha YZF-R6), -42.337 13. Raffaele DE ROSA, Italy (Honda CBR600RR), -42.597 14. Fabio MENGHI, Italy (Yamaha YZF-R6), -70.910 15. Roberto TAMBURINI, Italy (Honda CBR600RR), -76.813, crash 16. Roberto ANASTASIA, Italy (Honda CBR600RR), -113.578 17. Dino LOMBARDI, Italy (Yamaha YZF-R6), -147.755 18. Oleg POZDNEEV, Russia (Yamaha YZF-R6), -1 lap 19. Eduard BLOKHIN, Russia (Yamaha YZF-R6), -1 lap, crash 20. Alex BALDOLINI, Italy (Triumph Daytona 675), -8 laps, DNF, crash 21. Imre TOTH, Hungary (Honda CBR600RR), -9 laps, DNF, retired 22. Andrea ANTONELLI, Italy (Yamaha YZF-R6), -11 laps, DNF, crash 23. Vladimir LEONOV, Russia (Yamaha YZF-R6), -11 laps, DNF, retired 24. Balazs NEMETH, Hungary (Honda CBR600RR), -12 laps, DNF, crash 25. Pawel SZKOPEK, Poland (Honda CBR600RR), -15 laps, DNF, retired 26. Jules CLUZEL, France (Honda CBR600RR), -16 laps, DNF, crash 27. Yves POLZER, Austria (Yamaha YZF-R6), -18 laps, DNF 28. Valentin DEBISE, France (Honda CBR600RR), -18 laps, DNF 29. Mathew SCHOLTZ, South Africa (Honda CBR600RR), -18 laps, DNF World Championship Point Standings (After 7 out of 13 races): 1. Sofuoglu, 117 points 2. Lowes, 101 3. Cluzel, 84 4. Foret, 83 5. Parkes, 66 6. Baldolini, 54 7. Morais, 53 8. Quarmby, 44 9. Iannuzzo, 41 10. Tamburini, 39 17. TIE, De Rosa/Day/Marconi, 14 More, from a press release issued by Power Team by Suriano: A bitter-sweet weekend for Power Team by Suriano, that leaves the Spanish track of Aragon with a good seventh place conquered by Vittorio Iannuzzo. On the other side of the medal, the withdraw of Alex Baldolini. Iannuzzo, first among the Italian riders, step up on the ninth place on the general ranking with 41 points. A race began in the best way. He kicked off from the second row and immediately placed himself fourth. He then held on among the leaders until the sixth lap, when lost contact due to a “straight”. In the meanwhile Alex Baldolini, that kicked off from the third row, took over dictating the rhythm and was shortening the gap on Parkes, who was last among the leading group. But unfortunately, due to a technical issue he had to give up and go back at the box. Iannuzzo kept on his race fighting until the end with Ronan Quarmby, that eventually came first at the finishing line. Vittorio Iannuzzo Triumph Daytona 675 #31 “I’m a 95% satisfied by my race. At the start, I tried to remain among the leaders but I made a mistake and lost contact. I was getting nervous but I kept on doing my rhythm and I was going fast. I remained with Quarmby for quite a long time because I was hoping to attack him at the second last lap but I went slightly long. At that point I was focusing on keeping this seventh place on a track on which I’ve never been really fast. We are working hard and the results are paying off. I want to thank Ninetto and the whole team.” Alex Baldolini Triumph Daytona 675 #25 – “I’m really disappointed because I could have fight for the first places. Unfortunately, after a great start during which I gained quite a few placings, I had to give up. I’m sorry that I’ve not been able to strike some scores but I’m ready to take it all back from the next round in Brno, on a track that I like and that fits my features.” More, from a press release issued by Bogdanka PTR Honda: Lowes takes second win at Aragon BOGDANKA PTR HONDA’s Sam Lowes took his second win of the season and moved back to second in the overall World Supersport Championship standings after a dramatic race at the Motorland Aragon circuit in Spain. Lowes crossed the line in second position, but knowing the race leader, Kenan Sofuoglu, would be dropped down the order after a penalty for aggressive riding. Sam had taken the sensible decision to stay out of trouble and follow the Turkish rider to the flag, before being declared the race winner. The Briton is now just 16 point away from series leader Sofuoglu. Mathew Scholtz on the other Bogdanka PTR Honda was looking for his best result of the season after qualifying in tenth position but was taken out by another rider on the starting grid. Luckily the South African avoided any serious injury but wasn’t able to take to the restart of the race. Bogdanka Honda PTR’s Pawel Szkopek, returning to action after a leg injury, had to retire from the race on lap three due to a clutch problem. All three riders are now looking forward to round eight and Bogdanka’s home-away-from-home race at Brno in the Czech Republic in three weeks time. Sam Lowes: “I’d like to say a massive thank you to my team. It was difficult in the end because I knew Kenan had a penalty and I was actually in first position but I rode my race and it was good. Already yesterday I knew I had a good race pace and just needed to get a good start from fifth and then hang in there. I just put my head down and got into my rhythm. I took my time because I knew it was going to be a long race. We’re back in second overall, and I’m looking forward to fighting for more victories and the championship. We’ve got Brno next which I like a lot and Silverstone which is my second home race, so I’m really looking forward to that.” Mathew Scholtz: “The bike cut off at the start and I tried to warn everyone at the back but one rider didn’t see me and hit me from the back. Luckily I don’t have any broken bones. I’m in a bit of a pain but I’ll be fine for Brno. It’s a track I know and I’ve actually won in another class there in the past so I’m really looking forward to the next round.” Pawel Szkopek: “We had a problem with the clutch which meant I had to pull in after three laps. It’s a pity because only 19 riders finished the race and we could’ve got some points today, but that’s racing. More importantly, it was a good return to action following my injury. I got up to speed pretty quickly and was competitive all weekend long which is a big confidence boost ahead of my home race at Brno. We have a bit of a break now and I’ll be working hard on getting back to full fitness.” Simon Buckmaster, Bogdanka PTR Honda Team Manager: “Sam rode a brilliant well controlled race and did what we all knew he could – win. He has had the pace all weekend, congratulations to Sam and his Bogdanka PTR Honda crew. Mathew is lucky not to be badly injured after another rider hit him on the start line and we will look for him to realise his undoubted potential at Brno in three weeks time.” More, from a press release issued by PTR Honda: Super sixth for Ronan at Aragon PTR HONDA’S Ronan Quarmby took a fantastic sixth place finish to score his second best result of the year at the seventh round of the World Supersport Championship at Aragon in Spain. Jules Cluzel led the race on the opening two laps but lost the front and crashed out on the third lap. Due to crash damage he was unable to continue. Riders PTR Honda’s Martin Jessopp crashed yesterday and was not permitted to race today. The race was won by Bogdanka PTR Honda’s Sam Lowes who moves into second place in the Championship, with Jules now in third overall. The next round of the World Supersport Championship is at Brno in the Czech Republic on Sunday, 22nd July. Ronan: “I am happy with sixth. I just had to ride controlled and think about what I was doing for the whole race. Well done to my PTR Honda team on helping me this weekend. I find this track difficult and struggled right from the off but this is a much better result than last year and we can go to Brno with a bike that is handling very well indeed.” Jules: “I am really disappointed because I lost points on a day it was possible to take points from Sofuoglu. We had good pace and before the race I felt good on the bike. I was surprised to lose the front and now we must understand why. It may have been windy or the fuel load; I will work with my team to discover the cause so we can learn from this. Anyway, this is racing and it happens sometimes, now I will focus on the next round and doing well there.” Martin: “I am disappointed not to race but I just knew it wasn’t possible. I gave it a go in warm up but couldn’t move or tuck I on the bike so there was no way I was able to ride. I woke up stiffer than yesterday – my coxic is really sore. There is a three week break before Brno so I will be back and fighting fit for that.” Simon Buckmaster, PTR Honda Team Manager: “Ronan started 11th and finished sixth which is a good result by anyone’s standard. Well done to him. Jules crashed out when he was right at the front. It was a real shame as he had good race pace and looked strong but we will all learn from this and be stronger at Brno. Martin was right to miss the race as he was so stiff, we look forward to him coming back fit and healthy at the next round.” More, from a press release issued by Kawasaki: Two Kawasakis On The Podium As Luckless Sofuoglu Keeps His Championship Lead WSS, Motorland Aragon, Spain, 1 July 2012 Kawasaki Lorenzini Supersport competitor Sheridan Morais took his first WSS podium finish today but championship leader Kenan Sofuoglu was relegated from first to fifth by race officials. A closely fought 18-lap WSS race was delayed after two riders collided on the start/finish straight and in the complete restart a top group of five riders made a break from the chasing pack. Fighting each other and the effects of high winds the leading riders knew they were in a tough race from the start. After an altercation between Sofuoglu and Fabien Foret (Kawasaki Intermoto Step) at the end of the 1.2km long straight, Race Direction penalised Sofuoglu with an order to drop three race positions. Sofuoglu continued to the flag and crossed the line ahead of all his rivals, only to be placed fifth in the final results after a penalty was handed down from race officials. Sam Lowes won the race and is now second in the championship fight but Kenan’s misfortune did not prevent him from leaving with a clear championship lead of 16 points, heading Lowes 117 to 101. After Kenan’s penalty Foret was awarded second place and Sofuoglu’s team-mate Sheridan Morais scored a podium finish for the first time, in third. The South African rider has come close to the top three places before and his 16 points helped push his total to 53, placing him only a point from sixth in the rankings. Foret’s young team-mate Romain Lanusse finished 11th, while rookie Joshua Day from the Kawasaki Team GO ELEVEN squad was a fine tenth. Kenan Sofuoglu: “I lost a lot of points today. I had many problems with my knee and I was not sure if I could even ride today, but even in this condition I feel I won the race. We made a lot of tape on my knee and I cannot move it fully so especially in the chicanes it was very difficult. I was very careful and we changed some things on the bike and I was able to ride my bike. We were very strong today in any case and still leave here with a good lead in the championship.” Sheridan Morais: “I was hoping for the race to go on a bit longer because I ran off a few laps before the end and I was coming back towards the leaders a bit. It was really windy out there but the racing was awesome and I look forward to more of this for the rest of the season.” Fabien Foret: “It was a tough race and I just did my best. I am happy with this podium place especially after losing a lot of points in Misano. We did a good job and I will try to go better next time.”