FIM Supersport World Championship Assen, Netherlands April 27, 2008 Race Results (all on Pirelli tires): 1. Andrew PITT (Hon CBR600RR), 21 laps 2. Jonathan REA (Hon CBR600RR), -0.014 second 3. Joan LASCORZ (Hon CBR600RR), -0.150 4. Fabien FORET (Yam YZF-R6), -0.201 5. Broc PARKES (Yam YZF-R6), -0.283 6. Josh BROOKES (Hon CBR600RR), -0.447 7. Barry VENEMAN (Suz GSX-R600), -2.050 seconds 8. Gianluca VIZZIELLO (Hon CBR600RR), -2.346 9. Craig JONES (Hon CBR600RR), -2.714 10. Matthieu LAGRIVE (Hon CBR600RR), -3.073 11. Mark AITCHISON (Tri Daytona 675), -4.070 12. Chris WALKER (Kaw ZX-6R), -4.863 13. Robbin HARMS (Hon CBR600RR), -5.088 14. Ivan CLEMENTI (Tri Daytona 675), -16.644 15. Ilario DIONISI (Tri Daytona 675), -21.630 16. David SALOM (Yam YZF-R6), -27.619 17. Miguel PRAIA (Hon CBR600RR), -27.773 18. Vesa KALLIO (Hon CBR600RR), -27.898 19. Graeme GOWLAND (Hon CBR600RR), -39.320 20. Mirko GIANSANTI (Hon CBR600RR), -39.321 30. Katsuaki FUJIWARA (Kaw ZX-6R), -7 laps, DNF, retired 32. Garry MCCOY (Tri Daytona 675), -9 laps, DNF, retired 34. Angel RODRIGUEZ (Yam YZF-R6), -13 laps, DNF, crash 35. Massimo ROCCOLI (Yam YZF-R6), -20 laps, DNF, crash Championship Point Standings (after 4 of 13 races): 1. Lascorz, 70 points 2. Pitt, 50 3. Parkes, 49 4. Foret, 46 5. Brookes, 43 6. Rea, 41 7. Jones, 39 8. Harms, 28 9. Vizziello, 26 10. TIE, Lagrive/Walker, 20 More, from a press release issued by HANNspree Ten Kate Honda: HANNspree Ten Kate Honda dominates Supersport podium in home race The HANNspree Ten Kate Honda team managed to take top honours in a close Supersport battle at their home track in Assen. Jonathan Rea immediately lead the race after his start from the front row and showed how quickly he has familiarised himself with the fast Dutch circuit. Andrew Pitt, who started on the third row, also made his way forward in the field quickly and took the lead from Jonathan in the 3rd lap. Pitt and Rea were neck on neck coming through the last Geert Timmer chicane, but Pitt managed to outpace his teammate with less then a bike length and claimed his second Supersport victory this season. Jonathan Rea claimed his first ever WSS podium in what was easily his best race weekend in the competition so far. Ronald ten Kate, Team Manager; “What an amazing race. I don’t think we have ever participated in an exciting battle like this and I can sure tell you its not good for my heart! What a result, it is so good to see both our riders on top of the rostrum in our home race.” “Jonathan and Andrew dominated the race and were challenging each other in one of the most exciting races I’ve watched so far. It was close racing up at the front of the field but all riders were riding competitive and fair race. “ “I want to give my big compliments to the team who have been working hard all weekend and prepared the winning Honda’s that got both riders on the podium today. I am really looking forward to the next race in Monza.” Andrew Pitt, 1st place; “I was trying to keep myself up front as much as possible like I did in Phillip Island. Jonathan was very strong and riding smoothly, but at some parts of the track I was faster, on other parts he was, so we kept overtaking each other and swapping positions.” “I want to say thanks to my mechanics, we had a tough weekend during the practice sessions and tried to solve the issues we faced after the last race in Valencia.” “Jonathan and I had a couple of close overtakes, maybe too close at some points, but we both got through it and managed to set a great result for the team’s home race. Now bring on Monza!” Jonathan Rea, 2nd place; “First I want to congratulated Andrew who rode a great race.” “The bike has been pretty good all weekend, it was a big challenge for me to come onto this new circuit and made a pretty good job of learning it. We were banging on the door in the top 3 all weekend.” “For me the race was a good example of Supersport racing, I’ve improved my riding by racing so close and have learnt a lot in the first laps.” “We also made break through with the front tire this weekend, we chose a different one then we used at the other races previous. For most part of the race I felt I had it under control until the last lap. I got on the breaks as late as I could, but Andrew was just coming in on the inside. We were both on the limit and had to let the breaks off. That’s when I ran wide and got on the wrong line.” “I am happy for the team and the team’s sponsors to have the results we’ve achieved today. I am really looking forward to the next race in Monza now.” More, from a press release issued by Parkalgar Honda: Top 10 for Jones at Assen PARKALGAR HONDA racer Craig Jones fought for victory at the fourth round of the World Supersport Championship at Assen in Holland today, eventually ending up ninth in an exciting race where anyone in the top 10 could have taken the honours. On lap 16 of 21 Jones took the lead but ran off the 4.55km track shortly afterwards – and despite rejoining in third place, the hard-riding Brit slowly slipped back to ninth by the chequered flag. Parkalgar Honda’s Miguel Praia suffered a high-speed crash and injured his shoulder in the morning warm-up due to oil on the track. Despite the pain and riding his spare bike, the Portuguese racer started 23rd and finished a very creditable 17th. Honda’s Andrew Pitt won the race. The fifth round of the 13-round World Supersport Championship takes place at Monza in Italy on May 11th. Craig Jones: “That was a very hard race with a lot of close passing and tactics right from start to finish. There were always 10-or more riders in with a chance of taking the win and right from the first lap I was fighting to hold position as well as pass the racers in front. “I am disappointed in ninth place, especially after having the pace to stay at the front for 18 of the 21-laps. I will sit down with my Parkalgar Honda team and we will examine how we lost the race and make a plan so it will not happen again.” Miguel Praia: “I am in a lot of pain in my shoulder after a big crash in the morning warm up that was not my fault. I am pleased to have improved on my qualifying position in the race but would have preferred to score points, maybe if I had been completely fit it would have been possible. “I have time now to fully recover my fitness before Monza. My Parkalgar Honda team will need to rebuild my number one bike also, so we will notch this race to experience and move forward.” Simon Buckmaster, Team Manager: “Craig rode a lot better than ninth and deserved to finish higher up but the racing was so close and hard-fought that the slightest loss of lap time led to big penalties with the top 10 separated by only three seconds there was no breathing room. “The Parkalgar Honda race bikes are fast and Craig has the talent and ability to win races. We will focus on those positives and do our best to make sure the tailing off in competitiveness at the end of a race does not happen again. “Miguel had a difficult race with an injury and did very well to finish ahead of his qualifying position. I think he would have been well into the points if he had been fully fit and on his number one bike rather than his spare. That is encouraging for the future. “Parkalgar Honda had a positive weekend right up until the last five laps of the race. We’ll get that sorted and Monza is the next opportunity for us to win a race and it can’t come quick enough.” More, from a press release issued by HANNspree Racing: Home run! The fourth round of the World Supersport Championship at Assen proved successful all round for the HANNspree Ten Kate Honda team. The Holland-based team were determined to achieve a good result at their home circuit and didn’t disappoint the Dutch fans with a superb victory and second-placed finish in today’s 21-lap race. A fantastic start from second place on the grid enabled HANNspree Ten Kate Honda’s Jonathan Rea to grab the holeshot. The 21-year-old Ulsterman maintained his position at the front of the pack, until he was overtaken by team-mate Andrew Pitt on lap two. The HANNspree Ten Kate Honda duo rode consistently at the Netherlands circuit and regularly swapped and changed places as they battled for the lead. Joan Lascorz, Broc Parkes and British rider Craig Jones and were also among the frontrunners but it was determined Australian Pitt who came out on top, narrowly beating Rea to his debut World Supersport win. Pitt’s race time was just 0.014 seconds faster than Rea, while third-placed Lascorz was just 0.150 seconds behind. Meanwhile, HANNspree Stiggy Motorsport’s Josh Brookes and Robbin Harms also enjoyed a good result at Assen. Brookes maintained consistency throughout race distance to score sixth place, while team-mate Harms finished in 13th place. Pitt is second in the championship overall, with Brookes and Rea in fifth and sixth places respectively. More, from a press release issued by KTM: Tough racing weekend in Assen for Rene Maehr and the RC8 Following a first impressive appearance in Valencia, Spain, which unfortunately ended in a crash, Rene Maehr suffered a difficult Superstock racing weekend in at the Dutch racing circuit in Assen and was only able to finish in sixteenth place. Even in training Rene was not 100 percent satisfied. The motorcycle had lived completely up to expectations and he felt very confident but in the deciding moments of qualifying he faced heavy and at times chaotic traffic on the circuit. He did not manage a good clean lap, finishing in only nineteenth start slot. Tough Race Weekend Rene got a good start in the race at the tradition rich Dutch circuit and completed the first 4.555 km lap in sixteenth place. But in the following 12 laps the young Austrian, who was suffering from an extreme dose of the flu had to fight tooth and nail to cross the finishing line with this same result. In the second race he did not have a 100% good feeling about the bike’s front wheel. The result was that the RC8 was unable to pick up its first points in the FIM Superstock 1000 World Cup by a narrow margin of less than a second to the fifteenth place. Looking forward to Monza Rene Maehr “The first 16th place naturally doesn’t make me happy. In addition the motorcycle felt extremely good, especially during training. It’s a real shame that I was not able to get a better start place during qualifying. But I am still happy that here in Holland we successfully rode out the race and again we learnt a lot from the experience. In any case I am optimistic for the next race in two weeks on my favourite racing circuit of Monza.” More, from a press release issued by Honda: Pitt and Rea Go 1-2 at Assen A true classic to rank among the best ever World Supersport races at Assen unfolded over 21-laps of the 4.555km circuit today and for Andrew Pitt (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda CBR600RR) it was a close but ultimately victorious finish, winning from his team-mate Jonathan Rea (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda CBR600RR) by only 0.014 seconds. An eight rider fight for the win for most of the race came down to a last chicane battle of wits, with Rea leading on the exit, and onto the start/finish straight, but Pitt passed him on a wide line and took his second victory of the year. Championship leader Joan Lascorz (Glaner Motocard Honda CBR600RR) was third today and extended his championship lead to 20 points, over Pitt, 70 to 50. Josh Brookes (Hannspree Stiggy Motorsports Honda CBR600RR) qualified seventh and was in the fight for the win throughout, ending up sixth only 0.447 seconds down at the flag. Craig Jones (Parkalgar Honda CBR600RR) was in line for a podium finish for much of the race but dropped back in the closing to finish ninth. Robbin Harms (Hannspree Stiggy Motorsports Honda CBR600RR) finished on the tail of a loose leading group at the end of the intense race, a seemingly lowly 13th, but only five seconds behind the victorious Pitt. After running straight on at one corner Gianluca Nannelli (Hannspree Althea Honda CBR600RR) crashed out of the race with five laps remaining. In the championship chase, Brookes is now fourth, on 43 points, Rea affirmed himself sixth on 41 points with Jones in seventh, on 37. Harms is eighth on 28 and Nannelli an unlucky 13th, with 17 points. In the Manufacturers’ Championship, Honda leads by 24 points after four rounds. Pitt said: “I was trying to keep myself up front as much as possible, like I did in Phillip Island. Jonathan was very strong and riding smoothly, but on some parts of the track I was faster. On other parts he was, so we kept overtaking each other and swapping positions. Jonathan and I had a couple of close overtakes, maybe too close at some points, but we both got through it and managed to get a great result for the team’s home race. Now bring on Monza!” Rea said: “First, I want to congratulated Andrew who rode a great race. The bike has been pretty good all weekend, it was a big challenge for me to come onto this new circuit and made a pretty good job of learning it. We were banging on the door in the top three all weekend. For me the race was a good example of Supersport racing. We also made a breakthrough with the front tyre this weekend; we chose a different one than we used at the previous rounds. For most of the race I felt I had it under control, until the last lap. I got on the brakes as late as I could, but Andrew was just coming up on the inside. We were both on the limit and had to let the bakes off. That’s when I ran wide and got on the wrong line.” Brookes said: “Finally in the warm-up the bike felt much better. The changes we made in the morning were the right ones and they gave me a good feeling and more confidence for the race. Starting from seventh place on the grid, I was up to fourth in the first couple of laps. I could keep a good and fast pace, but made a few mistakes here and there. However, I could make up for them quiet easily and got back up again. It was actually harder for me to stay behind someone than to ride alone, as it felt much better and easier riding my own pace. The race was really tight today and considering how the weekend progressed, I’m not happy with sixth place. But at least we managed to get the bike working and I was able to have a competitive race.” Jones said: “That was a very hard race with a lot of close passing and tactics right from start to finish. There were always ten or more riders in with a chance of taking the win and right from the first lap I was fighting to hold position as well as pass the racers in front. I am disappointed with ninth place, especially after having the pace to stay at the front for 18 of the 21-laps. I will sit down with my Parkalgar Honda team and we will examine how we lost the race and make a plan so it will not happen again.” Harms said: “It’s been a difficult weekend for us and not being up to speed in qualifying left me starting from 13th place on the grid. My plan was to focus on the start and the first couple of laps. Unfortunately I had a bad start and was only 15th on the first lap. I tried to make up for it by overtaking as many riders a possible, but it was not so easy. In the middle of the race, I finally caught up with the front group and was, at one stage, in seventh place. I kept on making mistakes because I was really pushing myself and the bike to the limit. With just a few laps to go I made a mistake and dropped to 13th and that’s where I finished.” Nannelli said: “Because of a very bad start I pushed extremely hard from the beginning and I was able to reach the riders in front of me. After only a few laps, I felt pain in my right shoulder due to my fall in Valencia and I was unable to ride in a precise way. I tried to move forward, fighting with Foret but I ran on in a corner and crashed.” More, from a press release issued by Yamaha Racing: Foret and Parkes Almost There At Assen Fabien Foret and Broc Parkes, both from the Yamaha World Supersport Team, were tantalisingly close to a podium finish apiece at Assen, after a classic high-speed multi-rider battle for the win, which finally went to Andrew Pitt. Foret was only 0.201 seconds from victory itself, in fourth place after 21-laps. He had fought through from a bad start, completing the first lap down in 13th place. Parkes finished only 0.283 seconds from the win and his fifth place means that both riders scored good points in the championship chase, after starting from the front row of the race. Parkes had to ride with a fractured left hand, after a Friday practice crash, and battled manfully in the first few places for almost the entire race, even after losing power from his left hand as the race progressed. In the championship Parkes is third on 49 points, Foret is fourth on 46 points, with leader Joan Lascorz on 70, after taking third place today. Massimo Roccoli (Yamaha Team Italia Lorenzini by Leoni) fell from his machine on lap two, while sitting inside the top ten places. Yamaha Spain riders Angel Rodriguez and David Salom left Assen without any points, as Rodriguez crashed on lap 9, while ranked 11th, and Salom just missed a point by finishing 16th. Fabien Foret (4th – +0’0.201 – Yamaha World Supersport Team) “I had another bad start and my fault, I don’t know why. I had to push very hard and that made the tyres wear more. I don’t think I found the perfect machine settings, and I am not sure if I made the right choice of front tyre. It may have been better with the other one I considered today, but it is always easy to speak about what could have been after the race. The fourth place is not so bad, and the championship is long. It will be better in the next tracks. No big drama today but I expected something better.” Broc Parkes (5th – +0’0.203 – Yamaha World Supersport Team) “It was chaos out there today and everyone just wanted to go at each other. At one stage, lap ten maybe, I felt not too bad then after that my hand just started to get more and painful and once the tyres started to go I couldn’t move around like I wanted to, I just had to sit on and ride it. Even with a painkiller you just can’t use your hand properly when it’s injured. The worst parts were during braking. I just couldn’t do what I wanted to. A good race, but we always want to be on the podium. I actually thought there were a couple of more laps to go because everyone had their pit boards out at the same time, so I could hardly see my own one!” Wilco Zeelenberg (Team Manager, Yamaha World Supersport Team) “Some race for sure, and a there was a big line up of riders fighting for the win. We are little bit disappointed not to be on the podium, but our main rivals were fast all the time in the whole race so we have to accept that we were fourth and fifth. Fabien still struggled a bit settings wise, and Broc with a broken hand, so what can we say about finishing so close to the podium places? A lot of good riders finished behind us. David Salom: (16th- +0’27.619 – Yamaha Spain World Supersport Team) “In the start I’ve been beaten by two riders. It was like starting all over again from the 19th position. I didn’t feel comfortable during the race, I couldn’t find my rhythm. It´s a pity because this is my third race just out of the points” Massimo Roccoli (DNF – Yamaha Team Italia Lorenzini by Leoni) “I was happy with the way the bike was set-up after the warm-up this morning. I was running well after the first lap and feeling calm and ready for a long race. Then I lost the front on one of the fast right-handers and that was me finished, because the bike went ever and over in the gravel.” Angel Rodriguez: (DNF – Yamaha Spain World Supersport Team) “My start was not so bad, I was fightingwith the riders ahead but in the final line I´ve braked too strong and I crashed. It´s a shame because I had a good rhythm and my bike, my tyres and team had worked very strong to achieved a better result” More, from a press release issued by Triumph Italia BE1: Nice day for the team Triumph Italia BE1 Racing which place both its rider into the top-15. At the end of the forth race of the season, Mark Aitchison and Ivan Clementi take respectively the 11th and 14th final positions. The two riders of the team leaded by Giuliano Rovelli ran a very different kind of race. After a very good start from the sixth row, Aitchison passed several rivals and reached the heading pack; then he fought hard to keep the position to the chequered flag, passed just 4 seconds later the winner. On the other hand, Clementi sprinted at the green light taking the seventh position after the first lap. Unfortunately, lap by lap he lost the feeling with the front of his bike, increasing the gap from the leading riders. Since that moment he played a defensive game in order to keep the position until the finishing line. MARK AITCHISON | Triumph 675 | 11th classified: “I can not explain the problems that usually I run into during the qualifying, especially compared to the race performances. Today I have had a lot of fun. I have fought for all the 21 laps and if I have had the chance to start forward I would have battled against the best ones. I’m really satisfied with the little gap from the podium. From the second to the twenty-first lap I got a gap of only 1,7 seconds from the winner”. IVAN CLEMENTI | Triumph 675 | 14th classified: “I finished another time into the points but I’m not satisfied. I started well today but after some lap I lost control with the front. I tried to carry on my game but I did a couple of mistakes once attacked by my rivals. In the second part of the race I tried to manage the result keeping the position in order to collect precious points for the ranking”. GIULIANO ROVELLI | Team Manager: “I hoped to get a better result. I felt confident to finish into the top-10 but I’m satisfied anyway. Aitchison took the 11th position and his gap from the winner is really thin, less than half a second per lap. I’m pretty sorry about Clementi’s performance. I though he could power to a great race but his set-up worked better during the qualifying than in the race. However I’m really happy. Triumph is third on manufacturers ranking, followed by more experienced company as Kawasaki and Suzuki, and I like to think that this result is also thanks to our work”. More, from a press release issued by GIL Kawasaki: Assen, Netherlands, 27 April 2008 Chris Walker described his Assen performance as his best race of the year so far, as he took his Kawasaki GIL Kawasaki Ninja ZX-6R to 12th place, less than five seconds from winner Andrew Pitt. Walker Within Five Seconds of Victory Walker, who had qualified only 20th, got a good start and was 14th at the end of lap one, latching onto the second group of riders behind the leading eight. He had made good progress with his machine set up in race conditions and felt confident throughout the race. Katsuaki Fujiwara, 18th in qualifying, was disappointed to find his raceday set-up affected by chatter, and he slid down the order before pulling in after 14 laps. Walker is now 11th in the championship rankings, with 20 points, Fujiwara is 20th, with six points. The next WSS race, round four, will take place at Monza, May 11th. Chris Walker: “That’s the best I have ridden the bike all year, by far, even though I have finished higher. That was a fighting 12th, and less than five seconds from the winner. I could see the leaders for the whole race and it was a strange to see P14 on the pit board and yet still see the winner up ahead. Every corner, every lap I was able to ride the bike as hard as I could. It was hard to pass people, and had to wait for the riders up front to make mistakes – but the riders at the front aren’t making many mistakes. We made a big step this week but we need some more top end power.” Katsuaki Fujiwara: “I had really bad chatter from the machine and decided it was better to stop in the pits than carry on with no chance to score points. It’s not how we wanted this weekend to finish.” More, from a press release issued by Scuderia Triumph-SC: DELUSION FOR THE TEAM TRIUMPH-SC IN ASSEN (Assen The Netherlands April 27, 2008) The hope of a good result today in the fourth round of World Supersport at Assen did early fly away for the Team Triumph-SC. Despite a good starting spurt Garry McCoy remained imprisoned by the group at the first corner and he is not been able to rush off because an electrical trouble in the early laps that forced him to join the pit after half race. Ilario Dionisi grabbed his first world championship point after a fighting race to close the initial gap, when in the first ten laps he remained closed in the same group of his teammate. Ilario Dionisi said: “I have been forced to stay in the group behind for too much time, the slower riders were closing all the door to escape. When I let the group then I earned quickly some position, but it was too late and the gap too hard. For sure the final result could be better, but we have to start from a better grid position, the Supersport fight is too fired to make a present of such starting advantage to your rivals. The bike was good, as well not very fast, but such a bad start did ruined everything. I’m happy for the world point earned, but I was waiting something better!” Rather disappointed Garry McCoy: “We get a new engine to be sure and in the morning warm up everything was running well. I got a good start, but at the first corner in front of us someone has done a bit confusion and we have been damaged. Then the electrical equipment started to fail and after about ten laps I must rejoin the pit.”