Yamaha’s Jordi Torres claims the UEM European Supersport Championship title at Albacete
Yamaha dominated the 2011 UEM European Road Racing championship which took place on Sunday 9th October at the Spanish circuit of Albacete, with Jordi Torres snatching the European Supersport Championship title.
Only great racing was on display at Albacete with the top five riders from the Spanish, French, German, Italian and Dutch national championships and the top four to complete the Scandinavian, Eastern Europe and Alpe-Adrian Championship contending for the UEM Road Racing titles at the circuito de Albacete in front of 13,000 spectators.
Jordi Torres, the Spaniard of Gigaset Mapfre Laglise Racing Team topped the time sheets all weekend and was the first to reach the finish line in Sunday’s race. Despite his lack of experience in the Supersport category, in Saturday’s second qualifying session Torres lapped the track in an impressive 1’30” 815 to secure a comfortable pole position. Dominating the race from start to finish, Torres held off advances from Gomez on the first lap, and then proceeded to circulate alone in the lead until the very end. The Spaniard rode his R6 to the chequered flag in a clear win to clinch the gold medal and his first ever European Championship title.
Joining him on the podium was the Dutchman Jos Van De Raa (Vice Versa AAracing Team) in third place, also powered by the YZF-R6. Yamaha continued to dominate the Supersport score sheets with six R6 machines appearing in the top ten, while there were four Yamaha R6s in the top five in the Supersport 600 cc Junior class with Niko Makinen and Jiri Klejch taking second and third places respectively on Sunday’s podium.
More, from a press release issued by Quay Garage Tyco Honda:
Muff on Podium at Brands,Fourth in BSB Evo series
Quay Garage Tyco Honda rider Patric Muff finished fourth in the BSB Evo championship in his rookie season of racing in the British series.
Muff had the best weekend of his year, finishing third in Sunday’s first race and fourth in the other two races of the triple-header meeting at Brands Hatch that concluded the series.
The highlight of Sunday’s first race, which was held in very testing damp conditions with a very narrow dry racing line, was also finishing 11th overall among the fully-tuned BSB bikes his best finish all year.
Muff said: “I’m really happy with this weekend. We had already raced on the Brands GP circuit so we had a good base setting with the bike to start the weekend and I felt confident we could do some good races.”
Peter Hickman finished a highly creditable ninth in the championship but had a difficult final meeting with two crank sensor failures on Saturday, one in qualifying and again the race.
He was also one of many riders caught out by the greasy wet conditions in Sunday’s first but after crashing at Paddock, he remounted to score two points.
In the final race he finished ninth but then crashed on the cool down lap.
Dan Linfoot continued his good progress with the team, finishing ninth overall in Sunday’s first race but was plagued with some drive-by-wire set-up issues on Saturday and suffered arm-pump in each of the races. He said: “I felt like we made some good headway with the bike this weekend and I had a good ride early in in both of Sunday’s races but each time I had arm pump and had to pull out of the final race because it was becoming dangerous when my right arm went completely numb and I couldn’t feel the front brake lever.”
Team owner Ian Woollacott said: “I’m delighted with Patric’s performance this weekend. He rode well all weekend and made a blinding start in the last race and had a good ride but the tyre spun on the rim towards the end of the race and he had all sorts of problems with tyre vibration and a lack of grip.
“Peter also rode well but the crash after the race had finished was unfortunate and wrote the bike off.
“Dan also had some good races but pulled out of the final one when his arm-pump problem made it dangerous to continue. He’s now looking how to cure the problem and may have surgery before the start of next year.
“Overall it’s been a great season for the Quay Garage Tyco Honda team. We upped our game massively this year from a small one-man team to have a major presence in the championship. “Peter has consistently run at the front end of the field to show what he and the team are capable of and it’s something to build on for next year.
More, from a press release issued by Doodson Motorsport/Tom Tunstall Racing:
Brands Hatch GP
The final round of the 2011 British Superbike Championship was brought to a premature end for Australian David Anthony, after a crash in race one meant he was unable to race in the season finale at Brands Hatch.
With good momentum from the previous outings at Donington and Silverstone, Doodson Motorsport racer Anthony started the weekend strongly and continued to make improvements to the bike on the 2.4mile Kent circuit.
After round eight of the championship was staged on the same GP circuit, the championship regulars had the advantage of set-up data and experience around the technical track.
A small crash in the second free practice did little to dampen Anthony’s sprits heading into qualifying, knocking a further second off his time in the 25minuite first phase.
In the first of the weekend’s three races Anthony ended lap one in sixth in the EVO class and was soon embroiled in a scrap with Karl Harris, Scott Smart, and Barry Burrell and getting held up by James Hillier. By the time he had passed the Bournemouth Kawasaki rider on lap ten Harris had pulled a four second gap.
With clear track ahead Anthony dropped down to his qualifying pace and caught Harris within four laps. As the penultimate lap started “Aussie Dave” looked to make his move. However entering Graham Hill bend he lost grip of the front tyre and crashed out of the race.
Both bike and rider landed badly and unfortunately Anthony took a knock to the head. For safety reasons the team made the difficult decision to sit out of the final two races.
Team owner and regular rider Tom Tunstall explained;
“It’s a shame for Dave and the team as he’s been getting stronger and more confident on the bike and we know he has the pace to fight for the podium.”
“Personally it’s been a challenging year with my injuries and I hope to be back on a race bike before Christmas. As a team we’ve learnt a great amount this year. Having the opportunity to work with experienced and professional riders Glenn [Allerton] and Dave [Anthony], has prepared us well for the future.”
“All our focus is now on 2012 and expanding our team to two riders. We are already working hard on options to create the best opportunity and look to start finalising our plans over the coming weeks.”
“The help and support from all our supporters and sponsors has been fantastic and I’m very grateful to everyone whose helped make 2011 happen, especially everyone at the Doodson Broking Group.”
2012 see’s a shift to an “Elite Teams Structure” and new technical rules to give more emphasis on rider ability whilst cutting costs. The changes include a control ECU thus banning electronic rider aids such as traction control. The changes should level the playing field further and create even more spectacular racing.
More, from a press release issued by MIC Engineering:
MIC125GP makes successful test at the European Championship
Last weekend MIC engineering made its first official appearance at the 125gp European Championship in Albacete, Spain. The team used again the services of the young American promise Joe Roberts.
A total of 39 riders from 16 countries got the start for the 125cc race, but 14-year-old Joe Roberts was the only representative from the USA. There were all the ingredients for a great weekend at the races: excellent organization from Dorna and the UEM and sunshine all day long.
The team used the race as a practice test to prepare the bike for next season in real racing conditions, “It was a tough weekend for us, but also very useful” said Anscari Nadal, MIC Engineering team owner. “Joe had no experience on the track, so we used Friday sessions to get him track-confident. On Saturday’s qualifying session, the suspension set-up was not good enough so we could only made it to the 32nd position, not a bad result considering that there were more than 12 riders in less than a second”.
In the race Joe made a great start and was fighting for the 24th position, he kept on improving his lap times and the bike was pulling good top speed, but with 2 laps to go an “electrical gremlin” made Joe come into the pits.
“It’s been a pity that I could not finish the race, we were doing well and the team was happy with my work. All I can say is the bike has potential to win races. It’s just a matter of time. I also want to say thanks to all sponsors that are supporting me this year,” said Joe.
Nadal ended the race with a smile on his face as a private team asked to rent the MIC125gp bike for the final round of motogp in Valencia. “This team is using Hondas at the moment, but for some reason they prefer my equipment. But the wild card is still not confirmed so we will have to wait,” Nadal said.
The winner for the 125 race was Italian rider Romano Fenati, second place was for the Spanish Alex Rins and the third for another Italian, Niccolo Antonelli
* MIC125GP stands for: Made in Catalonia 125cc Grand Prix machines.
More, from a press release issued by Vesrah Suzuki:
VESRAH SUZUKI’S NICK MCFADDEN EARNS AMA “YOUTH RIDER OF THE YEAR” HONORS.
Vesrah Development rider, 14 year old Nick McFadden, had a goal of winning the Youth Rider of the Year award at the 2011 AMA Racing Road Race Grand Championships at Putnam Park Road Course in Mount Meridian, IN this past weekend. He had been primarily racing on a Suzuki GSX-R 600 and a Suzuki SV-650 this season, but not forgetting his Moriwaki MD250H that he took to a National Championship in 2010 with the USGPRU. Nick and the team planned to contend for the AMA award using the MD250H and the Suzuki SV-650. Practice sessions were going well on both bikes, clocking good times, until a terminal mechanical issue occurred with the MD250H. “My bikes almost never have mechanical problems and we were just bummed that this happened on this weekend,” said Nick. “Our team owner, Mark Junge, was here this weekend and talked to Stewart with the USGPRU, and we were able to rent a bike from them.”
Saturday’s qualifying sessions concluded with excellent results with Nick setting the pole in 3 of the 4 classes in which he was competing. Nick felt that they were set for a good race day on Sunday, and hoped that he was sitting pretty well for contending for the Youth Rider Award. The first race out was the MediumWeight GP and Nick had the pole position for the start of this race. Unfortunately during the race, an injector issue caused Nick to DNF. The next race up for Nick was the premier MD250H class where he was again starting from pole position. Nick dominated this race finishing in 1st place with a large gap back to 2nd and stood on the top of the podium. In the following race – the Heavyweight GP – he had qualified 4th and ended up finishing 4th, putting his Suzuki SV-650 up against a range of much bigger bikes.
The Lightweight GP riding the Moriwaki MD250H was his final race of the day, and it was going to be a tough race. Nick knew he had to get a good start off of the pole, but as the flag dropped, and the bike took off, there was a pop and the bike immediately slowed down. With Nick walking back up pit road, feeling that all chances of the award were over, a red flag came out and the Vesrah crew sprinted back to the pit to see if they could get it fixed. As this was a back-up bike rented from the USGPRU trailer, they rolled another bike out of their trailer and Travis Smith quickly led a crew of mechanics to get that bike ready for the restart. Nick was allowed to take the restart at the back of the grid and reached the front pack in a couple of laps, trading up the lead back and forth all through the race and he was able to bring home a podium finish crossing the finish line in 2nd place.
Mark Junge Team Owner Vesrah Suzuki
“I’m proud of Nick for his accomplishments and his perseverance this weekend when faced with every imaginable obstacle that could be thrown at him. I’m glad I was able to be there for him and be a part of his program. I also need to thank Crew Chief Travis Smith for everything he did this weekend taking care of Nick’s bikes.”
Nick McFadden #18 Vesrah Suzuki
“I felt like I gave that last race all I had”, said Nick. “I felt like I had been knocked down and had to pick myself up so many times over this weekend. I just couldn’t believe all the things that were happening on one of the most important race weekends of the season. We never have that kind of trouble with bikes – even the ones we had borrowed had problems. I knew what my goal was so I just kept trying to keep focused on the good things that were happening and take one race at a time and do my best in each one. I kept Travis extra busy all weekend, too – we both couldn’t believe what was happening. He and Mark just kept after me to focus on the next race.”
“Getting the Youth Rider of the Year Award was awesome. I am proud to share it with Andre Ochs, as he is a good competitor. I liked getting the award with Mark Junge there for the team, and for Travis Smith, and with my family there. It was also special to receive it from Joe Bromley and Ken Saliant from the AMA, as they have been there when I have won Dirt Track National Awards, and from Stewart Aiken-Cade of USGPRU, where I won the 2010 MD250H National Championship last year. A big thanks to them and their crews for a good weekend and to the Vesrah Suzuki sponsors, and my personal sponsors – ARAI Helmets, Pilot Leathers, NextMotoChampion, DVS Shoes, and West Side Heavy Hauling, Inc. – this one is for all of you!”
Vesrah Suzuki and Nick McFadden want to thank all of their sponsors for their support for the 2011 season Vesrah, American Suzuki, Rockstar Energy Drink, Nielsen Enterprises Suzuki, West Side Heavy Hauling Inc, Pirelli Tires, Traxxion Dynamics Fork Components, Arai Helmets, Pilot Leathers, NextMotoChampion, Yoshimura, Catalyst Composites, Sudco Int., Bazzaz, Factory Pro, Maxima Racing Oils, Vortex, DID Chain, Penske Racing Shocks, Pit Bull Stands, GPR Stabilizers, Trek Bicycles, GP Tech, Active & Road Rage Designs