FIM Supersport World Championship Vallelunga, Italy September 21, 2008 Race Results (all on Pirelli tires): 1. Jonthan REA (Honda CBR600RR), 22 laps, 36:48.656 2. Broc PARKES (Yamaha YZF-R6), -2.971 seconds 3. Eugene LAVERTY (Yamaha YZF-R6), -6.461 4. Joan LASCORZ (Honda CBR600RR), -7.135 5. Barry VENEMAN (Suzuki GSX-R600), -10.945 6. Robbin HARMS (Honda CBR600RR), -14.412 7. Gianluca NANNELLI (Honda CBR600RR), -14.557 8. Didier VAN KEYMEULEBNEL (Suzuki GSX-R600), -19.286 9. Mark AITCHISON (Triumph Daytona 675), -23.854 10. Josh HAYES (Honda CBR600RR), -31.193 11. Ivan CLEMENTI (Triumph Daytona 675), -31.327 12. Josh BROOKES (Honda CBR600RR), -39.771 cut chicane/ride-through penalty 13. Miguel PRAIA (Honda CBR600RR), -40.957 14. Terence TOTI (Suzuki GSX-R600), -41.196 15. Gianluca VIZZIELLO (Honda CBR600RR), -41.337 16. Russel HOLLAND (Honda CBR600RR), -43.421 17. Massimo ROCCOLI (Yamaha YZF-R6), -44.790 18. Katsuaki FUJIWARA (Kawasaki ZX-6R), -45.564 19. David SALOM (Yamaha YZF-R6), -54.098 20. Chris MARTIN (Kawasaki ZX-6R), -58.063 28. Andrew PITT (Honda CBR600RR), -4 laps, DNF, crash 30. Matthieu LAGRIVE (Honda CBR600RR), -13 laps, DNF, retired World Championship Point Standings (after 11 of 13 races): 1. Pitt, 169 points 2. Rea, 158 3. Brookes, 141 4. Parkes, 139 5. Lascorz, 105 6. Craig Jones, 100 7. Fabien Foret, 97 8. Veneman, 72 9. Harms, 70 10. Nannelli, 51 29. Hayes, 6 More, from a press release issued by HANNspree Ten Kate Honda: Rea wins Italian thriller HANNspree Ten Kate Honda World Supersport Championship, round 11 Vallelunga, Italy 21 September 2008 Jonathan Rea won today’s 11th round World Supersport race at Vallelunga, his third win in his debut season. The 21-year-old from Northern Ireland, cruised to an emphatic victory by three seconds over Yamaha’s Broc Parkes to take second place in the championship standings. Starting from third on the grid, Rea grabbed the holeshot and, by mid-race distance, had opened a four-second lead, breaking Kenan Sofuoglu’s lap record twice on his way to a lights-to-flag victory. His HANNspree Ten Kate Honda team-mate, Andrew Pitt, is still heading the title chase, despite crashing out of today’s 22-lap encounter at the 4.1km Vallelunga circuit. The Australian was battling with Irishman, Eugene Laverty, when the pair collided on lap 19, sending Pitt into the gravel and out of contention. Pitt still holds an 11-point lead over his Honda team-mate as the duo head for the penultimate round at Magny-Cours in France next month. Jonathan Rea 1st For the first five laps, I could hear everyone battling behind me but then I was able to put the hammer down. Big credit to the team for giving me such a brilliant CBR600RR to ride. I managed to open enough of a lead to be able to watch the battle behind me on the big TV screens and it looked like a lot of fun! But it’s a fantastic result for me and the team. The championship is still a possibility, and I relish the challenge, but we’ll just take the last two races as they come and see what happens. Andrew Pitt DNF I’m quite angry for obvious reasons. I didn’t have the pace to match Jonathan today, but I felt reasonably comfortable dealing with the two Yamahas. When (Eugene) Laverty ran wide into a right-hander, I simply rode underneath him. But he just came right back on top of me and that was it. If I’d made a mistake or crashed on my own, then fair enough, but it’s not the way I’d like to lose a load of points. Ronald ten Kate team manager My feelings couldn’t be more mixed right now. Seeing Andrew end up in the gravel was a real shock to watch. However, he still has a healthy championship lead and his closest rival is Jonathan, who showed us all a really mature ride today. He settled down when he had the chance and rode fast towards the end when he needed to. The team is now first and second in the championship. Hopefully, it’ll stay that way until the end of the season, and may the best man win. More, from a press release issued by Scuderia Triumph-SC: VALLELUNGA BAD DAY FOR TRIUMPH-SC (Vallelunga Italia September 21, 2008) Vallelunga’s week end has not been happy for Team Triumph-SC. Alex Cudlin finished his race without any shining moment while Andrea Zappa has been forced to join the pit after a few laps. Disappointed the comment of Alex Cudlin: “After the warm up session, when I improved more as half second my qualifying lap time, I was hoping something better. I got a good start and during the early laps I had also some duel, I improved once more my lap time, but that wasn’t enough.” Also Andrea Zappa has a bitter mouth: “I got an excellent start, earning five-six positions, but when I found a good pace and I was almost a second quicker as in qualifying the bike started to fail and I must rejoin the pit.” More, from a press release issued by Parkalgar Honda: Double points haul for Parkalgar Honda PARKALGAR HONDA racers Josh Hayes and Miguel Praia both scored solid points in today’s 11th round of the World Supersport Championship at Vallelunga in Italy. Hayes on his debut for the Parkalgar Honda team rode well as he continued to learn the circuit, bike and unfamiliar Pirelli tyres. He scored an impressive 10th and leaves the track wiser and with a direction for bike set-up that will help him during the final two rounds of the Championship. Praia suffered a terrible start when another rider collided with him on the grid, leaving him languishing in 23rd at the end of the first lap. He showed tenacity and determination to cut through the field and get up to 13th at the chequered flag equalling his best results of the season to date. The race was won by Honda’s Jonathan Rea. The Parkalgar Honda team is back in action again on October 5th at the penultimate round of the World Championship at Magny Cours in France. Josh: “I was thrown to the wolves a bit on Friday when the first sessions were in the wet. After that we tried a few things with the motorcycle and about learning the track so to end up with 10th is not too bad. The race went as expected, the first few laps were crazy and fun and by the end of the race I’d learnt a lot about Pirelli tyres. “I am a little disappointed not to be closer to the front and 1.5secs a lap off the pace but we are still working on things and the guys in the team have some ideas and so do I. We’ll be in better shape at the next round because of what we learnt here today.” Miguel: “I think if I had not suffered a collision from another rider on the start line I might have been able to score a better result and challenged Josh for the top 10. While that is slightly disappointing, I am pleased with how I rode and for coming through from 23rd to 13th. “I feel very good and my Parkalgar Honda is better than ever, the team has really helped me and I want to say a big thank you to them. My target for a top 10 result by the end of the season feels very close and I can’t wait to get racing again.” Simon Buckmaster, Parkalgar Honda Team Manager: “It’s been a good day for the Parkalgar Honda riders and I think both of them rode well. Josh did a great job getting into the top 10 on his debut and with so little dry track time behind him. The fact he did it while taking a tyre gamble that only one other rider tried (and didn’t finish) makes it all the more impressive. We look forward to seeing what he can achieve at the next round. “I am a bit gutted for Miguel, who I think would have taken his clear best result of the year if he hadn’t been hit by another rider on the grid. He showed true fighting spirit to come back from so far and get 13th. His confidence in his bike and his own riding ability is rising and he is going to finish the season strongly.” More, from a press release issued by Honda: Gain for Rea But Pain for Pitt in Vallelunga Jonathan Rea (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda CBR600RR) took off from his third place grid sport at Vallelunga and put on a textbook display of front running to lead every one of the 22-laps and secure his third win of his rookie season. With his team-mate Andrew Pitt (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda CBR600RR) falling after colliding with Eugene Laverty, the world championship fight is wide open again, with Pitt now only 11 points up on Rea. The 4.110km Vallelunga circuit was the backdrop for an outstanding fight for second and third for much of the race, but pole man Broc Parkes finally scored a clear second and Eugene Laverty third. Donington race winner Josh Brookes (Hannspree Stiggy Motorsports Honda CBR600RR) only qualified 19th, but cut through the pack to go 10th, before suffering a ride through penalty for cutting the chicane. He only lost two places and finished the race 12th, earning four points and leaving him third in the overall championship fight, 28 points behind Pitt. Honda rider Joan Lascorz was fourth, almost catching Laverty on the last lap, while one time podium challenger Robbin Harms (Hannspree Stiggy Motorsports Honda CBR600RR) scored sixth, an improvement of three places on his qualifying pace. Front row qualifier Gianluca Nannelli (Hannspree Althea Honda CBR600RR) faded to seventh in his home race, while new WSS rider Josh Hayes, (Parkalgar Honda CBR600RR) was tenth; putting the experienced AMA runner two places up on his qualifying spot. Russell Holland (Hannspree Althea Honda CBR600RR) was 16th, just out of the points after racing from 23rd on the grid. The championship table now has Pitt on an unchanged total of 169, Rea has 158 and Brookes 141, with two rounds left. Rea said: “I put the pace to what I knew it needed to be at the start of the race and relaxed, and at times I was watching the race on the big screen! Everything was going good and it seemed there was a lot of excitement going on behind. Parkes put a push on at the end but I responded and we won the race quite comfortably. The pace was good and the team did a great job. We don’t think about the championship, we just attack every race we can.” Pitt said: “I’m quite angry for obvious reasons. I didn’t have the pace to match Jonathan today, but I felt reasonably comfortable dealing with the two Yamahas. When Laverty ran wide into a right-hander, I simply rode underneath him. But he just came right back on top of me and that was it. If I’d made a mistake or crashed on my own, then fair enough, but it’s not the way I’d like to lose a load of points.” Brookes said: “I didn’t manage a very good start. It was quite difficult starting from nineteenth place with all the riders pushing and shoving in the first corners. But I managed to force past a few riders and got up to tenth place. I got stuck there in tenth and had a hard time keeping consistent. Cutting the chicane too many times left me with a drive through penalty, which was pretty frustrating.” Harms said: “I got a good start from ninth place and was right behind the Ten Kate boys. I was feeling really good on the bike and could keep up a good race pace. By pushing hard every lap and doing consistent lap times I got up to second place. Then, half way through the race, the level of grip reduced and all I could do at that point was to try and finish the race.” Nannelli said: “My start was not so good so I did my best to push. My pace was pretty fast at the beginning but in a few laps I understood that my rear tyre choice was wrong. I could not reach the first group of riders and I was only able to keep my seventh place. I’m really disappointed because today we lost a good opportunity for excellent results.” Holland said: “I was hoping to be safe from the beginning and have very little pain in my wrist. Unfortunately, by mid race I started to experience a lot of pain. I tried to keep a consistent pace and by the end of the race I passed one rider in front of me. I’m sorry for my team but sixteenth was the best I could do, due to my poor physical condition.” Hayes said: “I was thrown to the wolves a bit on Friday when the first sessions were held in the wet. After that we tried a few things with the motorcycle and about learning the track so to end up with 10th is not too bad. The race went as expected, the first few laps were crazy and fun and by the end of the race I’d learned a lot about the tyres.” The next round is in two weeks’ time, at Magny-Cours in France, on October 5. More, from a press release issued by Yamaha Racing: Parkes and Laverty win hard fought podiums in Italy Broc Parkes (Yamaha World Supersport Team) and Eugene Laverty (Yamaha World Supersport Team) earned a podium finish apiece after a dramatic WSS race at Vallelunga, eventually capitalising on their strong qualifying performances to go second and third respectively in the race. Parkes was 2.971 seconds from the win, with Laverty hanging on for third, despite riding with broken bones in his feet. Starting from pole, Parkes was held up by other riders in the early laps, letting eventual winner Jonathan Rea run to a clear victory, even though Parkes set a new race lap record more than once in his attempt to catch the start-to-finish leader. Parkes’ new record is 1’39.419, set on lap 19 of 22. Laverty and World Championship leader Andrew Pitt collided on lap 19 and Laverty was lucky to stay on, while Pitt slid into the gravel and was unable to restart. Laverty’s first WSS podium came in only his second WSS race, as he made a stand-in ride for injured team regular, Fabien Foret. In the overall championship, Parkes is still in with a chance of the title itself, as he sits fourth overall, 30 points from Pitt with a maximum of 50 left to play for in the final two rounds. Massimo Roccoli (Yamaha Team Italia Lorenzini by Leoni) missed points by finishing 17th, while David Salom (Yamaha Spain World Supersport) finished two places behind. Jason Crowe (Yamaha Spain World Supersport) was 24th. Broc Parkes (2nd – Yamaha World Supersport Team) “It was a great race but at the start of it I was not able to push hard enough to get through the pack quickly enough and there were a few crazy guys in the bunch! I should have probably got past them and away with Jonathan a bit quicker. My bike felt better when it was a bit lighter, but I was a little too far back right at the end to get to Jonathan. Second was great anyway today and the Yamaha worked really well this weekend. We pulled the bike out of the box this weekend and it was great from the start.” Eugene Laverty (3rd – Yamaha World Supersport Team) “I had a little bit more pace on me than Andrew in some places and on one corner I had run a little bit deeper than normal. When I had come back Andrew was there. It was just a racing accident but I am sorry for Andrew. It’s brilliant to be on the podium so thanks to the Yamaha team for giving me this opportunity and I have been able to make the most of it.” Wilco Zeelenberg (Team Manager, Yamaha World Supersport Team) “Two good results for us today and it was a pity that Jonathan managed to get away because of all the traffic and overtaking, but we were able to keep the package together for both riders. Broc’s feeling became better at the end off the race, he was put under pressure after his team mate past him and I believe that made him sharper as well. Near the finish he was doing 1’39s, faster than the beginning. Eugene did really well to get on the podium and I know we will hear a lot about him in the future. After Andrew’s unfortunate crash, we are 30 points behind the leader, so the championship is not over yet. All in all a good weekend for us.” Massimo Roccoli (17th – Yamaha Team Italia Lorenzini by Leoni) “It is very disappointing not to get any points this weekend, because I had no feeling on the bike today. I felt fast, and the bike felt fast, but the time was not competitive and I could not push hard at the front or the rear. I will improve my mind before the next WS race, as I will race in the Italian series next week at Misano before we go to Magny-Cours.” More, from a press release issued by Triumph Italia Be1 Racing: Triumph Italia Be1 Racing leaves Vallunga with a smile on its lips. Mark Aitchison and Ivan Clementi powered to two great races in which they passed the chequered flag respectively in ninth and eleventh position. The two riders of the team leaded by Giuliano Rovelli have performed two different kind of strategies in front of a large number of followers which crowded Vallunga track. Clementi was one of the best riders of the warm-up where he recorded the forth best time, but he ran into some issue on the start of the race and he was relegated to the 22nd position. Then he started a thrilling recovery which took him up to the tenth position, recording the same times of the leaders for several laps. Unfortunately Hayes attacked him one lap to go and he was not able to defend the position due to the tyre wear, finishing his race behind the rival. As well Mark Aitchison, who is still recovering from the injury occurred at Brands Hatch, was able to keep his position after the first lap, recording both very quick and slower laps because of a not perfect physical conditions. Nevertheless he was able to finish once again into the top-10 of the WSS. IVAN CLEMENTI | Triumph 675 | 11th Classified: “I had a lot of fun! This morning, during the warm-up, we further improved the setting of the motorbike. Unfortunately during the start I had a little collision with Fujiwara and I lost a lot of positions. I did not want to give up because I knew to be in a good form and I started to open the gas. At the end of the race I tried to recover on Hayes although my tyres were over, but the American was able to defend his position and he passed the chequered flag just one tenth of second ahead me”. MARK AITCHISON | Triumph 675 | 9th Classified: “Everything has gone fine today, sometimes also my leg which is recovering from the injury little by little. Unfortunately after some laps at the limit I had to slow down in order to get some breath to the muscles. That influenced all my race and I was not able to be continuous, which is one of my peculiarities. Anyhow I took a good result and I wish it will be the prelude to a great season ending”. GIULIANO ROVELLI: “We reached our goal. I would like to thank the team for the hard job they’ve done and Mark and Ivan for their excellent race. That rises up our spirits in order to always set more prestigious targets. The next week I will meet the Triumph project leader in order to schedule the motorbikes development plan for the next season”.