MotoGP, Moto2, Moto3 The MotoGP tour continued this weekend after a week break in racing action. The Hertz British Grand Prix took place at the historic Silverstone Circuit in the heart of the United Kingdom. MotoGP The Bel-Ray backed Power Electronics Aspar racers Aleix Espargaro and Randy DePuniet have been the top CRT racers each weekend and this weekend in Silverstone was no different. Espargaro finished a strong 11th place, while teammate DePuniet was close on his heels in 12th, as they continue to lead this new class of Moto GP machines. The two racers traded positions during the event and Espargaro made his pass just 2 laps from the end to secure his finish. Espargaro was very excited about the race and his friendly teammate rivalry. “I’m happier than ever today, as both my brother Pol (Espargaro) and I got good results here at Silverstone. I started well and tried to follow the satellite bikes, but they kept leaving me behind on the straights. I was able to pull away from the other CRT riders, but little by little, Randy caught me back up. I let him set the pace once he had passed. Two laps from the end, I took over in front and broke away, just as I did at Montmeló. I outbroke him on the first chicane, gritted my teeth and did what I needed to do in order to finish ahead. I have never had a more competitive rival who I get on so well with at the same time. I love this atmosphere that we have in POWER ELECTRONICS Aspar. It is very difficult for me to beat him over the course of a single hot lap in practice, especially when we work more on the race, but I am getting good results recently.” The series veteran DePuniet spoke about what he will need to do in order to beat his teammate this season. “I didn’t get a very good start and I had to get past (Michele) Pirro and make up ground in order to get back in touch with Aleix. Once I caught up with him, I made a pass and stayed in front for practically the whole race, but I was having a lot of problems with the rear tire. I felt a lot of movement and I was lacking grip. I tried to put up with this throughout the course of the race and shake off Aleix’s moves, but in the end he must have seen that he was faster than me at certain points on the track. Once he’d got past, he managed to open up a gap, and whilst I was able to pull it back on the final laps, it wasn’t enough to try and regain the position. I am annoyed, because we did a good job and yet, still didn’t find the best chassis setting. In the warmup, we improved the feel on the front, but it was the rear that gave us the most scares and affected us most in the race. We will have to keep on working in order to perfect the bike and be more consistent.” Moto2 Under threatening skies the Moto2 class got underway at Silverstone on Sunday. The Bel-Ray sponsored Mapfre Aspar Team of Toni Elias and Nico Terol competed two top 20 finishes with Elias in 12th and Terol in 20th. Elias spoke about his results at the end of the day’s events.”Yesterday we had a morning crash that meant I didn’t feel comfortable in qualifying, so that’s why I was so far down on the grid. We changed the chassis for today and I felt better this morning. We improved our pace and our fastest lap in the race, and I gained a lot of places on the opening lap. However, starting from so far back meant that I got embroiled in the typical tussles of Moto2, which all end up costing you time. We knew that this could happen before we started, but we fought well for twelfth. It is a shame about qualifying, as maybe I could have been part of the second group and taken sixth or seventh.” Terol was disappointed with his results, but is looking to the next round for improvement. He spoke about the weekend and the future following the race. “The team has supported me the entire weekend, but I still found it hard to go fast here; the wind was a big factor. In the warm-up, I gained more confidence and we put on a front tire for the race that we hadn’t tried before. On the opening laps, I was lacking a little pace with this new rubber and I didn’t have the right feel when I opened the throttle. I felt better when it had warmed up and I am satisfied with my pace during the second half of the race. I passed a few riders, but wasn’t able to get into the points. It is a pity to end this weekend so low down in the standings. We have to be positive and focus on Assen now, which is a track that I love. We will get back into the points.” Moto3 The British Grand Prix at Silverstone took place this past weekend and Bel-Ray sponsored Bankia Aspar riders Hector Faubel and Alberto Moncayo raced to excellent top 15 finishes in this highly competitive Moto3 class. Despite a 23rd place starting position, Faubel was able to slice past his rivals and finish in 12th place. He spoke about his race following the event. “The race was a tricky one, because I started from very far back. I knew that I had to get a good start and that the three opening laps would be very important. I moved up three or four places off the line, but on the third lap, a rider crashed right in front of me and cut me off from the group. I started to push and caught up with the second group, ending up getting a decent pace going. At the end of the race, I pushed hard to break away, but a couple of other riders kept with me, ending with me finishing twelfth. Teammate Alberto Moncayo was testing new bike setups this weekend in hopes of getting the handling he was looking for. The team was successful and scored a 15th place finish at the checkered flag. Moncayo was happy with the changes he made and spoke about them following the race.”We had the opportunity to try out the new chassis this weekend. We really like it and it has helped us to improve a lot. However, we still need to improve our engine setting, because we have been having some small problems for a while now. On the opening laps I felt good and was not having trouble maintaining my position. We don’t know why, but later on the tire went off completely. We can’t make excuses though and should keep working hard to resolve the problems that we have had and be more competitive for the next race.” World Motocross The 2012 FIM World Motocross Championship Series will cross the halfway point this weekend as the series continues in Bastogne, Belgium for the GP of Belgium. MX1 Bel-Ray backed CP377 Monster Energy Kawasaki Pro Circuit rider Christophe Pourcel grabbed his fifth podium of the season with 5-2 moto finishes. The talented Frenchman’s third place overall allowed him to move up into third in the standings, just 6 points away from second place. He spoke about his first moto struggles and overcoming them for another podium result. “I didn’t choose the best position on the grid in the first race, and my start was not so good; I came back to fourth, but lost time when I crashed as a lapper destroyed a rut just when I was coming! I got the holeshot in the second race and battled first with Bobryshev and later with Desalle. We passed each other several times, but it was costing all of us time and allowed Cairoli to catch us. But I got another podium and that’s important for the series.” Teammate Sebastein Pourcel competed to another top 10 overall result with consistent 8-11 moto scores for 9th overall. He spoke about his results following the event. “I’m happy as I have now finished the last six races in the top thirteen, and, if I hadn’t crashed in the second race, it could have been even better today. I had a good start in the first moto and soon found a good rhythm. Then, in the second, I was fighting with Gonçalves when I crashed in the waves after the finish line; I got back on in sixteenth place and recovered to eleventh. Despite the crash, it was my second best GP of the year.” MX2 Bel-Ray backed Floride Monster Energy Kawasaki Pro Circuit team rider Tommy Searle scored his third victory of the season and cemented himself firmly in the chase for the 2012 World Championship. Just days after his 23rd birthday, Searle grabbed the holeshot in both motos and raced to a second place in moto one followed by the victory in moto two, for the overall grand prix victory. Searle spoke with confidence following the second moto. “My Kawasaki got me out of the gate first in both motos today and that is really important in my battles with Herlings. I was a little too cautious on the first lap of the first race, but the track was really tricky and I didn’t want to take any risks. I knew I was the fastest and I soon caught him up again, but we were both using the same lines, so I had to search for new ones, but they were not so good; I nearly crashed and lost a lot of time, but I knew I could still win the GP on the second moto. The track was better in the second race and I just concentrated on keeping him off my rear wheel. The points gap is still 24 points, but we are only halfway through the series and I have again proved that I am the fastest.” Teammate Roelants came to his home Grand Prix with confidence and finished just off the podium in fourth overall. He is improving from his major crash that occurred earlier this season and as the series reached the halfway point, he is still in contention for a top finish in the 2012 standings. Roelants spoke about the race following the checkered flag. “I’m still not 100%, but this weekend I felt better than in France and Portugal and I think that in Sweden, it will be OK. Here in Belgium, my starts were not so good; I lost several positions at the first corner, but then fought hard for fourth and fifth place, so that’s not so bad.” The 2012 World Motocross Championship series will continue in Sweden on July 1st. AMA Motocross The 2012 AMA National Motocross Championship continued on Saturday afternoon at the Red Bull Budd’s Creek National. In 250 class racing, Bel-Ray backed Rockstar Energy Racing Suzuki riders Jason Anderson, Blake Wharton and Hunter Hewitt all scored top twenty overall results despite obstacles along the way. Anderson was the top finisher for the team with a 6th overall, followed by Wharton in 12th and Hewitt in 18th. Bel-Ray Elite racers Lowell Spangler and Steve Roman also put in commendable results with Spangler in 27th and Roman in 28th overall. In the 450 class, Bel-Ray backed L&Mc Racing’s Andrew Short finished 6-10 for 9th overall, while Elite racers Derek Anderson finished 26th, Ronnie Stewart finished 28th and Dakota Kessler was 36th overall. The series will take a break before resuming on July 7th in Michigan. ATV Motocross The 2012 ATV Motocross Championship series came to Mt. Morris, Pennsylvania this past weekend for round six of the ten race series. Bel-Ray racer Josh Upperman has been consistently putting the Baldwin Motorsports Honda near the front of the pack each race. Despite a couple of mistakes that lead to crashes, Upperman was still able to score 5-4 moto finishes for fourth overall in the final results. Upperman is currently fourth place in the series’ standings, just five points away from the third place racer. The series will enjoy a week break before resuming at Sunday Creek Raceway in Millfield, Ohio the last weekend of June. Follow Bel-Ray racers in action all season long on www.belray.com and www.belrayracing.com. Bel Ray Company Inc was founded in 1946 and is a privately held, woman owned business serving the lubrication needs of powersports, industrial and mining customers worldwide. Bel-Ray is recognized as the leader in the specialty lubricants industry for setting high standards of quality and performance with products formulated for the motorcycle, automotive, aviation, energy, food, marine, military, mining, OEM, Industrial steel, and textile industries. “Flex Your Engine” with Bel-Ray’s superior Powersports line that delivers top quality Made-in-the-USA products to motorcycle and recreational vehicle enthusiasts around the world. Bel-Ray products are available at powersports dealers worldwide. Visit Bel-Ray.com for a complete dealer listing. Like us on Facebook.com/BelRay or follow us on Twitter/Bel_Ray More, from a press release issued by Tim Reeves’ publicist: Dominant Reeves takes World Championship lead Tim Reeves and passenger Ashley Hawes dominated round three of the World F1 Sidecar Championship at the weekend with the duo winning both races at the Rijeka circuit in Croatia. There was further reason for celebration too with the victories, Reeves’ first since Magny Cours in September 2010, elevating them to the top of the World Championship table. Having qualified in second place, Tim and Ashley were in confident mood going into Saturday’s 10-lap ‘Sprint’ race and with a lightning start, they duly completed the opening lap in first place. As the race wore on, they continually extended their lead and in the end crossed the line for a comfortable win with Markus Schlosser in second and reigning World Champion Pekka Paivarinta in third. Sunday’s longer 18-lap race would be a lot tougher in the searing heat and it was Schlosser who grabbed the holeshot this time but by the end of the lap, Tim and Ashley were in front and the duo soon left the rest of the field behind. Finding a good rhythm, Tim never allowed his German rival to get close enough to try a pass and he wrapped up his and Ashley’s second win of the weekend in superb style. Third place was taken by Jorg Steinhausen some 22 seconds further back. A week earlier at Hungaroring, Hungary, Tim and Ashley took a solid third in a race interrupted by rain. Lying in third place at the time of the stoppage, Tim and Ashley found themselves battling with Ben and Tom Birchall in the restart and that allowed Steinhausen and Paivarinta to escape. However, they successfully saw off the challenge of their English rivals to take yet another podium and with four rostrums from the four races held so far, the only team to achieve this feat, they’ve moved onto 82 points to lead the Championship by 8 points from Paivarinta. Speaking after the Croatia round, a delighted Tim said: “It’s been a great week on the continent for me and to be fair it couldn’t have gone much better. The bike’s absolutely flying and that, coupled with a lighter passenger, has been the major difference. Mind you, perhaps Ashley’s a bit too light as he fell out in practice in Hungary! He’s taken so much stick since it happened though that he’ll make sure it won’t happen again, but, being serious, he’s doing a terrific job and I’m delighted for him that he’s taken his first World Championship wins. I was pleased with third in Hungary but I think the battle Ben and I had slowed us both down and allowed the front two to escape, if it wasn’t for that, we probably could both have run at the front. It was a good podium though and set us up nicely for Croatia.” “It’s a really abrasive circuit and with the temperature being around the 35 degree mark, it all came down to who could conserve their tyres the best. In the first race, I just went for it from the start whereas everyone else seemed to take it steady to begin with and that allowed me to make a break – by the time the rest got going, we were well clear and the tyres held out for the 10 laps so it was a great start. In Sunday’s longer race, I managed to get by Schlosser towards the end of the first lap and with it being a longer race, we were all taking it steady in the early laps. I got into a good rhythm though and began to edge away and although Markus came with me, I always felt I had enough off a gap to feel secure and when I looked behind on the last lap there were 6 or 7 bike lengths between us so it was very much a case of job done. We’re the only team to finish on the podium in every race so far and I think that’s going to be crucial this year. There’s nothing between the top six crews so whoever can be the most consistent, and can keep racking up the podiums, will be the Champions – and that’s what we aim to do!” Tim and Ashley now turn their attention to Round 4 of the British F1 Sidecar Championship, which takes places at Knockhill, Scotland this weekend. Further information on the team can be found at www.davehudspethcarpets.com More, from a press release issued by Bridgestone: British MotoGP™ debrief with Shinji Aoki Silverstone, Wednesday 20 June 2012 Bridgestone slick compounds available: Front: Soft, Medium. Rear: Medium-soft, Medium (Asymmetric) Bridgestone wet tyre compounds available: Soft (Main), Hard (Alternative) Last weekend’s British Grand Prix at Silverstone was a thrilling encounter where Yamaha Factory Racing’s Jorge Lorenzo claimed his third MotoGP™ win in a row ahead of the Repsol Honda duo of Casey Stoner and Dani Pedrosa who placed second and third respectively. After a cold and blustery start to the race weekend, weather conditions for Sunday’s race were more favourable with track temps in the mid 20°C mark, though some light drizzle as the riders lined up on the grid meant tyre choices for the race weren’t confirmed until moments before the action got underway. Q&A with Shinji Aoki Manager, Bridgestone Motorsport Tyre Development Department For the first time, the new specification front slick was available to riders in more than one compound option at Silverstone. Which compound was the preferred option for the race? “The new specification front slick was developed for improved rider feel and warm-up performance and both these characteristics were welcomed by riders in the unsettled conditions we had at Silverstone. “Though the harder front slick was the preferred option over the race weekend, perhaps owing to its slight advantage in braking stability, both front slick options performed well at Silverstone and six of the twenty riders taking part in Sunday’s race went for the softer front slick, including Repsol Honda’s Casey Stoner who placed second just three seconds behind race winner Jorge Lorenzo. Also, it was pleasing that both Repsol Honda riders were on the podium at Silverstone as this was the first time they used the new specification front slick in a race.” The weather conditions for much of the race weekend were quite severe. How did this affect tyre performance? “Such conditions as those experienced at Silverstone this weekend were anticipated by Bridgestone, hence our decision to revise the compounds in our rear slick tyres and provide front slick tyres in the soft and medium compounds to maximise warm-up performance. “Track temperatures during some of the MotoGP sessions were as low as 14°C, but our data indicates both front and rear tyres quickly reached their operating temperature window so the compounds we selected were doing their job. There was light drizzle before the start of the race, but the ability of our 2012 specification tyres to get up to temperature quickly allowed riders to settle in a very fast pace from the first lap.” It seems almost all riders selected the softer rear slick for the race, what were the factors behind this decision? “As the bikes lined up on the grid before the race, some light rain started to fall and it was hard to say if this would continue during the race. This meant many riders made a late decision to swap to the softer rear slick as it would provide better grip if conditions deteriorated, though at a slight expense to durability. “Though the harder rear slick has more durable rubber on the left shoulder, tyre wear for the softer rear slick was well within the acceptable range and lap times for many riders varied over the race distance, rather than continually getting slower. This suggests that although tyre degradation was experienced by some riders, the grip levels changed in a predictable manner and riders could adapt their riding style to suit.” More, from a press release issued by Team Suzuki News Service: Swiss Team Suzuki Mayer rider Roman Stamm raced his GSX-R600 to second and fourth places at the third round of the German IDM Supersport Championship at Nürburgring at the weekend. Stamm (pictured) claimed his first Pole Position of the year in a wet qualifying, finding the perfect chassis set-up for the Suzuki GSX-R600. By the half-way point of the wet 20-lap opening race, Stamm was head-to-head in a battle for the top three positions, eventually just losing out to Austrian David Linortner (Yamaha). In the second race on Sunday, run in contrasting hot and sunny weather, Stamm was awarded fourth after the race was red-flagged due to a multi-bike accident and team mate Jesco Gunther picked-up seventh to add to his fourth place on Saturday. In the IDM Superbikes class, Roland Resch of Team Reitwagen Suzuki was the sole Suzuki representative after Team HPC Power Racing’s Sascha Hommel broke his collarbone in qualifying. Resch got off to a strong start in the first race from seventh on the grid. But his hope of securing a top-10 position came to an abrupt end on first lap after a clash with Jörg Teuchert that ended with Resch needing stitches to his elbow. Resch took pain killers to take part in race two, bringing home his GSX-R1000 in 12th position after struggling with his injury. Roman Stamm (2nd/ 4th): “In the run up to the event we did some testing in Oschersleben which helped us a lot. In the first race I didn’t do myself any favours with my choice of tyres; with different ones I might have been able to get past David Linortner, but I’m satisfied all the same and I’ve managed to move up four places in the overall rankings.” Jesco Günther (4th/ 7th): “It wasn’t enough for a place on the podium this time but it is just as important that we have made progress in terms of chassis tuning. You can’t put a figure on everything but it’s certainly a step forward.” Roland Resch (DNF/ 12th): “I’m just so disappointed. After training I thought I had a chance of a top-eight position in the race. It could have been my best IDM weekend to date but it was quite the opposite. Jörg Teuchert should’ve stepped off the gas, he had to have seen that I was moving to the inside in front of him, otherwise I would’ve gone onto the grass. Instead he wiped me out.” The next IDM event is scheduled to take place on June 30th- July 1st at the Red Bull Ring in Austria. IDM Supersport: Race 1: 1 David Linortner (A), Yamaha, 34:30.220 min. 2 Roman Stamm (CH), Suzuki, 34:34.729 min. 3 Kevin Wahr (D), Yamaha, 34:38.746 min. 4 Jesco Günther (D), Suzuki, 34:40.257 min. 5 Dominic Schmitter (CH), Yamaha, 34:47.440 min. 7 Marc Neumann (D), Suzuki, 34:52.851 min. Race 2: 1 Daniel Sutter (CH), Kawasaki, 27:16.209 min. 2 Leon Bovee (NL), Yamaha, 27:16.769 min. 3 David Linortner (A), Yamaha, 27:17.100 min. 4 Roman Stamm (CH), Suzuki, 27:17.305 min. 5 Tatu Lausletho (FIN), Yamaha, 27:19.585 min. 7 Jesco Günther (D), Suzuki, 27:27.324 min. Championship Points (after 6 of 16 races): 1. Sutter 89, 2. Lausletho 88, 3. Günther 78, 4. Linortner 76, 5. Wahr 72. 7. Stamm 54. 13. Walther 21. 17. Neumann 12. 25. Heide 4. IDM Superbikes: Race 1: 1 Michael Ranseder (A), BMW, 30:42.815 min. 2 Gareth Jones (AUS), BMW, 30:43.135 min. 3 Jörg Teuchert (D), BMW, 30:43.700 min. 4 Erwan Nigon (FRA), BMW, 30:44.241 min. 5 Ghisbert van Ginhoven (NL), BMW, 30:56.741 min. Race 2: 1 Michael Ranseder (A), BMW, 30:42.326 min. 2 Troy Herfoss (AUS), BMW, 30:42.740 min. 3 Gareth Jones (AUS), BMW, 30:46.288 min. 4 Erwan Nigon (FRA), BMW, 30:46.971 min. 5 Matej Smrz (CZ), Yamaha, 30:50.650 min. 12 Roland Resch (A), Suzuki, 31:25.097 min. Championship Points (after 6 of 16 races): 1. Ranseder 106, 2. Teuchert 98, 3. Nigon 92, 4. Jones 91, 5. Smrz 81. 10. Resch 31. 13. Hommel 23.