Lowes a close second at Imola BOGDANKA PTR HONDA’s Sam Lowes scored a brilliant first podium of the season by finishing a close second at Imola in Italy and moves up to second overall after the second round of the World Supersport Championship. Mathew Scholtz on the other Bogdanka PTR Honda was in a great seventh position when shown a black flag on lap 11 for failing to do a ride through penalty after cutting the chicane early in the race. Bogdanka Honda PTR’s Pawel Szkopek didn’t take the start after breaking his right leg on Saturday but the Polish rider hopes to be fit in time for round three at Assen in the Netherlands in three weeks time. Sam Lowes: “I made a good start from pole and had to control the race from the front. Fabien is a fantastic rider and he’s always good at this circuit so well done to him for the win. We’re getting closer and I feel good and confident. I didn’t make any mistakes in the race and the bike and tyres were working well until the end. We’re now second in the championship so I’m really looking forward to Assen.” Mathew Scholtz: “I made a bad start and dropped down a bit but quickly recovered a few positions. Then I tried to pass another rider and had to go straight through the last chicane which dropped me down to 17th. I worked my way up to seventh again and was closing up on the riders ahead but then I saw the black flag. I never saw the penalty board and it’s a pity because I had a really good pace and I was very happy with the race until then. Overall it was still a good weekend and I hope that we can go to Assen now and show what we can do.” Simon Buckmaster, Bogdanka PTR Honda Team Manager: “That was a great ride by Sam; he wants to win and we want him to win. He rode a fantastic race and Foret was just able to beat us on the day. Assen is another race and there are 11 rounds left in the Championship and Sam is showing great maturity. Mathew did not see his board and was black flagged. It’s a shame as he was riding well and challenging for the top six. He’s got to look at his board, he has top 10 pace and will take the positives from here.” Race results: 1. Fabien Foret (Kawasaki Intermoto Step) Kawasaki ZX-6R 35’44.653 2. Sam Lowes (Bogdanka PTR Honda) Honda CBR600RR +0,574 3. Ronan Quarmby (PTR Honda) Honda CBR600RR +17.266 4. Roberto Tamburini (Team Lorini) Honda CBR600RR +17.270 5. Vittorio Iannuzzo (Power Team by Suriano) Triumph Daytona 675 +22.953 6. Vladimir Leonov (Yakhnich Motorsport) Yamaha YZF R6 +25.509 7. Balazs Nemeth (Racing Team Toth) Honda CBR600RR +30.042 8. Andrea Antonelli (Team Lorini) Honda CBR600RR +32.429 9. Massimo Roccoli (Bike Service – WTR TEN 10) Yamaha YZF R6 +37.894 10. Sheridan Morais (Kawasaki DeltaFin Lorenzini) Kawasaki ZX-6R +39.265 DSQ Mathew Scholtz (Bogdanka PTR Honda) Honda CBR600RR DNS Pawel Szkopek (Bogdanka Honda PTR) Honda CRT600RR Overall standings: 1. Fabien Foret 45 2. Sam Lowes 31 3. Kenan Sofuoglu 25 4. Ronan Quarmby 25 5. Vittorio Iannuzzo 18 6. Broc Parkes 16 7. Sheridan Morais 16 8. Roberto Tamburini 13 9. Jules Cluzel 13 10. Alex Baldolini 13 20. Mathew Scholtz 2 Pawel Szkopek 0 More, from a press release issued by PTR Honda: Ronan scores first ever podium PTR HONDA’S Ronan Quarmby took an inspired third place and his career first podium finish at the second round of the World Supersport Championship at Imola in Italy and is joint fourth in the series standings. Jules Cluzel on his PTR Honda was in contention early on in the race but slid off on the final corner on lap six while fourth, snapping a handlebar and unable to continue. Riders PTR Honda racer Martin Jessopp was 16th and looking good for points when he received a ride through penalty and ended up 17th, matching his result from the opening round. The third round of the World Supersport Championship is at Assen in Holland on Sunday 22nd April. Ronan: “That was amazing and I loved every second of it. It got difficult at the end so I had to get my head down and I knew Tamburini was close. I block passed him on the last corner and came out in the wrong gear so had to get my weight forward and try to get to the line in front of him which I did – just. The team worked really well this weekend and Chris, my Chief Mechanic had a plan and it worked. I can’t believe I am fourth in the Championship as well – it is brilliant.” Martin: ” I am disappointed with that result. I couldn’t make the chicane and went through the gravel and lost time and position which was bad enough and then they slapped me with a ride through penalty. I’d hindered myself already and then you get a ride through as well which is the last thing you need. Looking at the time I lost with the ride through I would have been in the points around 13th – but that is always ifs and whats. I am disappointed but determined to do better next time.” Jules: “I am not so good. I made a mistake in the last chicane as I rode too much on the kerb that caused chattering and for me to lose the front. I was losing time in the chicane for the first five laps and maybe I tried too hard that time. Anyway, it is on to Assen and I hope to get a better result there.” Simon Buckmaster, PTR Honda Team Manager: “Ronan rode a great race and it is fantastic for him to grab his first class podium. This will give him great confidence for the rest of the season, he is really maturing as a rider. Martin cut a chicane and had to come in for a ride through which is a shame because he was looking good for the points. Still, he only just missed out on the points. Again he is improving all the time and is testing tomorrow and looking forward to Assen. We are disappointed for Jules as he was fighting for the top three. He took too much kerb and lost the front. Once again he has shown he has the speed and he is going to Assen and expect him to be challenging again.” More, from a press release issued by Kawasaki: Foret Wins To Make It Kawasaki Two-From-Two WSS, Imola, Italy, 1 April 2012 Fabien Foret (Intermoto Step Kawasaki) secured the win at Imola despite pressure from behind in the final laps, making it two wins from two races in 2012 for the Ninja ZX-6R. This was Fabien’s14th career win, his third for Kawasaki, the second Kawasaki win of 2012 after the Australian victory of Kenan Sofuoglu (Kawasaki DeltaFin Lorenzini) meaning Kawasaki is leading the manufacturers’ championship by 14 points. Kawasaki DeltaFin Lorenzini rider Sheridan Morais was also on course for a podium but fell at the final chicane while third, restarting to finish tenth. Kenan Sofuoglu had to use strong doses of painkillers to get into the grid but his injured left knee still caused him pain and some lack of movement. He too could have potentially won the race had he not run on while leading at the chicane opposite pitlane, be penalised with a ride through, then be disqualified for not coming into pit lane to serve his penalty. Foret’s team-mate Romain Lanusse was 13th and in the points in Imola. In the overall championship standings Fabien leads with 45 points, from Sam Lowes, who is 14 points behind. Sofuoglu is now third, on an unchanged 25, while Morais leaves Imola seventh, with 16 points. Fabien Foret: “This is a good track for me, I love Italy and we have had a great start to the season. The team worked very hard for me and gave me an excellent bike. It has not been the easiest weekend and I was sixth in qualifying, but it ended very well for me, the team and all of us.” Sheridan Morais: “I eventually lost the front and I was having a problem even when I was leading, because I made the same kind of mistake into the chicane and I there were about five or six laps where I kept running wide. That is where I crashed. I was basically struggling to stop for the chicane. I should maybe have calmed down a bit but I am here to win races, not here to finish third. I wanted to catch the two in front. I am trying hard and the only problem I was having for the race was stopping for the last chicane, otherwise the bike and the set-up were good.” Kenan Sofuoglu: “In the race my plan was to make one lap see how my knee was and if I could continue I would continue. Before the race I had a lot of painkillers and I had less feelings on the bike. They final disqualified me because I had made a mistake at the chicane. They say if you make this mistake you have to go straight on, stop in that point, then restart. But it was impossible as I was into the corner, so I could not go straight. I think it is not fair because I was in first position, then dropped back to give four positions and two seconds away. But, I am not complaining, it is a decision from the organisation. I think I was maybe not fit enough to ride for the whole race in any case.”