FIM Supersport World Championship Donington Park, England March 27, 2011 Race Results (all on Pirelli tires): 1. Luca Scassa, Italy (Yam YZF-R6), 22 laps, 33:40.762, 97.974 mph 2. Chaz Davies, Great Britain (Yam YZF-R6), -0.270 second 3. Gino Rea, Great Britain (Hon CBR600RR), -20.374 seconds 4. Robbin Harms, Denmark (Hon CBR600RR), -23.469, ran off track 5. Broc Parkes, Australia (Kaw ZX-6R), -24.872 6. David Salom, Spain (Kaw ZX-6R), -32.001 7. Massimo Roccoli, Italy (Kaw ZX-6R), -42.128 8. Florian Marino, France (Hon CBR600RR), -43.826 9. Vittorio Iannuzzo, Italy (Kaw ZX-6R), -52.936 10. Alexander Lundh, Sweden (Hon CBR600RR), -55.956 11. Miguel Praia, Portugal (Hon CBR600RR), -60.717 12. Roberto Tamburini, Italy (Yam YZF-R6), -61.807 13. Ondrej Jezek, Czech Republic (Hon CBR600RR), -66.106 14. Balazs Nemeth, Hungary (Hon CBR600RR), -68.528 15. Marko Jerman, Slovania (Tri Daytona 675), -92.599 16. Imre Toth, Hungary (Hon CBR600RR), -1 lap 17. Mitchell Pirotta, Australia (Hon CBR600RR), -1 lap 18. James Ellison, Great Britain (Hon CBR600RR), -1 lap, DNF, mechanical 19. Pawel Szkopek, Poland (Hon CBR600RR), -4 laps, DNF, crash 20. Jack Kennedy, Ireland (Yam YZF-R6), -7 laps, DNF, mechanical 21. Bastien Chesaux, Switzerland (Hon CBR600RR), -8 laps, DNF, mechanical 22. Sam Lowes, Great Britain (Hon CBR600RR), -10 laps, DNF, mechanical 23. Luca Marconi, Italy (Yam YZF-R6), -13 laps, DNF, retired 24. Ronan Quarmby, South Africa (Tri Daytona 675), -15 laps, DNF, retired 25. Vladimir Ivanov, Ukraine (Hon CBR600RR), -19 laps, DNF, crash 26. Danilo Dell’Omo, Italy (Tri Daytona 675), -22 laps, DNF, mechanical 27. Robert Muresan, Romania (Hon CBR600RR), -22 laps, DNS Supersport World Championship Point Standings (After 2 of 13 races): 1. Scassa, 50 points 2. Parkes, 31 points 3. Harms, 24 points 4. Salom, 23 points 5. Davies, 20 points 6. Marino, 17 points 7. TIE, Rea/Lowes, 16 points 9. Iannuzzo, 15 points 10. Lundh, 13 points More, from a press release issued by PTR Romania Honda: Muresan looks forward to Assen PTR Romania Honda racer Robert Muresan is setting his sights on the third round of the World Supersport Championship at Assen on 17th April after being forced to miss the Donington Park race when his bike was destroyed in a high-speed crash during morning warm-up. Robert was running in the top 15 in warm-up when he lost the front of the bike at more than 100-mph at Craner Curves. He slid safely to a halt and is uninjured but his bike dug into the ground and then barrel-rolled several times, writing off the bike in the process. With a one-bike rule in World Supersport in 2011 that left the team no chance to rebuild the bike in time for the race. Robert: “I was enjoying warm-up and my lap times were good and getting better. I was caught in some traffic so I backed off to let them get away and the left side of the tyre cooled, then when I went fast again it simply washed away from me. A lot of riders have crashed at the same place in all classes here this weekend, the temperature is cold and the left side of the tyre is always hard to keep warm. I am disappointed, it is a costly mistake that means I cannot race but I am already looking forward to Assen and getting back on my bike. I have learnt a lot this weekend with the team and about the bike, so for sure at Assen I will be in better shape and will be looking to challenge in the top 10 straight away.” Simon Buckmaster, PTR Romania Team Manager: “We are very disappointed that Robert cannot race at Donington but the fact is his crash was huge and there was not enough time to rebuild his bike in time for the race. On a positive note he has shown real talent and speed during his short time with the team and we have learnt a lot more about each other. He will be back at Assen and will be stronger for this experience.” More, from a press release issued by Parkalgar Honda: Praia shows true colours PARKALGAR HONDA’S Miguel Praia set his fastest laps of the weekend to take a superb 11th place at the second round of the World Supersport Championship at Donington Park after starting from 20th on grid. Sam Lowes on the other Parkalgar Honda was forced to retire from third place during the race due to a clutch problem. The third round of the World Supersport Championship is at Assen in Holland on 17th April. Miguel: “That was a strange race with riders falling off and engines blowing up in front of me – I had to take avoiding action both times. Then I settled down and we started making some good lap times that we knew we were capable of. In the last five laps my tyre was gone but I kept riding hard and from 20th on the grid I am happy with 11th as the result. More importantly we know we have good pace and this is something to take to the next round and build on.” Sam: “It is a real shame that I had a clutch problem as I was closing in on the two leaders and feel sure that I could have won the race – I got the lap record just before retiring. I was upset, I really wanted to win here in front of my home crowd. On the positive front we have shown how fast we are and now I am looking forward to making amends at Assen.” Simon Buckmaster, Parkalgar Honda Team Manager: “Well done to Miguel for finishing 11th from a 20th place start. If he had qualified higher up then the result could have been much better. He has shown his true colours and we will build on this performance. “Sam suffered a clutch problem when he was in third and looking like he could challenge for the victory. It is immensely disappointing for all of us. The team will be looking hard into what caused the problem to minimise the chance of it happening again. However, Sam has again shown a level of maturity and speed that marks him out as something special and we look forward to seeing what he can achieve at Assen in three weeks time.” More, from a press release issued by Hannspree Ten Kate Honda: Hannspree Ten Kate Honda rider Florian Marino rode to eighth place in today’s second round World Supersport race at Donington Park in the UK. The race was won by Italian Luca Scassa. Marino’s team-mate Fabien Foret was withdrawn from the race before warm-up this morning following consultation between his Hannspree Ten Kate Honda team and medical staff. The French rider’s right hand was too sore to ride after his crash and subsequent operation on Friday. Marino enjoyed a better start to the race than in the opening round at Phillip Island in Australia four weeks ago, but almost crashed at Donington’s Melbourne hairpin on both of the opening two laps. The 18-year-old from Cannes in the south of France settled into a battle for his second top consecutive ten finish in his debut World Supersport season. Florian Marino P8 I expected it to be a hard weekend and that&rs quo;s what it has been. We found a good balance in qualifying and the bike felt OK, but we used a different tyre today and it wasn’t the same feeling in warm-up. I couldn’t gas as quickly as I wanted because the grip level was not so good. My start was not so bad but I nearly highsided out of turn 11 on the first two laps and very nearly crashed in the first one and banged my arms quite a bit. I tried to follow the guys in front but couldn’t push so hard without the risk of crashing so I thought I would bring the bike home as fast as I could to get some points. Assen is the home race for the team and one of my favourite tracks so I’ll go there to do a lot better. Fabien Foret DNS You can guess how disappointed I was to miss out on the race here and to have another weekend with no points. But it is better to go to Assen with the possibility of fighting for 25 points, rather than pick up two or thr ee points here with the risk of further damage to my hand. I wanted to race, of course, but I realise that this was probably the right decision. Ronald ten Kate team manager Of course we feel sorry for Fabien that he was not able to race today but it was a mutual decision to secure future rounds instead of looking at this particular Sunday at Donington. He should be good again for Assen. We changed Florian’s set up a bit for the race but unfortunately that didn’t work out as planned so he had no chance to move forward. But, we have to realise that he’s a young rider in his learning year so another top eight finish was a good result. We’ll now head to our home round which is one of both riders’ favourite tracks, as well as the team’s. More, from a press release issued by Bogdanka PTR Honda: Ellison shows podium potential BOGDANKA PTR HONDA’S James Ellison was on course for a podium finish at the second round of the World Supersport Championship at Donington Park before clutch problems forced him to retire. After an impressive start, Polish racer Pawel Szkopek was fighting for a point scoring finish before crashing out on lap 19 – fortunately without any major injuries. Luca Scassa won the World Supersport race and leads the standings with 50 points. Ellison is 11th overall with 10 points. Round three will take place at Assen on the 17th of April. James Ellison: “I really wanted that podium. We’ve worked hard for it all weekend and I knew I would be a contender in the race. I was very confident but unfortunately the clutch broke. I was trying to preserve it as much as I could in the second half of the race but with one lap to go the bike just wouldn’t accelerate and I had to pull into the pits.” Pawel Szkopek: “My right collarbone is in quite a bit of pain but it’s not broken and I should be fine for Assen. I’m a bit annoyed because I was feeling really good before the start and doing really well in the first half of the race – but then struggled a bit on used tyres. I’ve tried to ride more smoothly after the first 10 laps and hold on to Nemeth, but high-sided just a few laps from the end so I’ll need to work on my pace on used tyres at Assen.” Simon Buckmaster: “We were on course for a great race with James running in third and Pawel fighting for points but it didn’t quite turn out our way in the end. James did a great job trying to get to the finish but couldn’t quite make it – he has shown his podium potential. Unfortunately Pawel crashed as well but we’re glad he’s OK. We’ve still shown a very good potential today. We will come back stronger for the next round and get the job right there.” More, from a press release issued by Infront Motor Sports: Yamaha ParkinGO riders Luca Scassa and Chaz Davies contested the win in the 22-lap Supersport race, with Davies 0.270 seconds down at the flag. Behind, Gino Rea took the final podium place for his Step Racing Honda team, as Robbin Harms (Harms Benjan Racing Honda) went fourth and Kawasaki Motocard.com rider Broc Parkes secured fifth place. Broc’s team-mate David Salom went sixth and the leading Kawasaki interest in the championship extended to a trio when Massimo Roccoli (Lorenzini by Leoni) went seventh. Rookie Florian Mario (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda) was eighth, one place up on Roccoli’s team-mate Vittorio Iannuzzo. The top ten was rounded out by Swedish rider Alex Lundh (Cresto Guide Racing Team Honda). Results: 1. Scassa L. (ITA) Yamaha YZF R6 33’40.762 (157,674 kph); 2. Davies C. (GBR) Yamaha YZF R6 0.270; 3. Rea G. (GBR) Honda CBR600RR 20.374; 4. Harms R. (DEN) Honda CBR600RR 23.469; 5. Parkes B. (AUS) Kawasaki ZX-6R 24.872; 6. Salom D. (ESP) Kawasaki ZX-6R 32.001; 7. Roccoli M. (ITA) Kawasaki ZX-6R 42.128; 8. Marino F. (FRA) Honda CBR600RR 43.826; etc. More, from a press release issued by Yamaha ParkinGO Racing Team: Luca Scassa and Chaz Davies were the protagonist of the second round of the Supersport World Championship ended today on the track of Donington Park. The two riders push off since the green light with Scassa leading ahead and Chaz Davies to follow. The italian managed to gain a little more than a second over his team-mate that was busy trying to detach himself from the competitors. A lead that Chaz Davies lowered first, then managed to annul reaching his mate at four laps left. During that, the gap of the two Yamaha riders grown at 17 seconds, with Lowes (third at that moment) drawning back for some technical issues leaving the fight for the third place to Rea and Harms. The last four laps were really thrilling. Davies forced himself to create a good chance to attack, Scassa was great not easing off keeping himself those few metres ahead. Davies during the last lap was ready to risk it all and with a powerful outstrip tried to take over his team-mate. But again, Scassa was able to close his way keeping the lead until the end. With this success Scassa duplicate the opening round leading the ranking at full score 19 points ahead over Broc Parkes (KAWASAKI). Luca Scassa – Yamaha YZF R6 #9 – It’s just been a perfect weekend where every single thing came naturally. I wanted to win again and I made it. I did took good advantage of my first starting place and, getting a great lead during the first lap, that I then manage until the end. I knew would have been hard to hold Chaz back. I want to thank the whole Yamaha ParkinGO Team for the amazing job done along the weekend.” Chaz Davies – Yamaha YZF R6 #7 – “I achieved a good result but I can’t be totally satisfyed. I was so close to the win that when there were four laps left I was thinking to get it. On the other hand, Luca was extremely able to defend himself preventing me to gain my first victory of the season in Supersport.” Giuliano Rovelli – team owner – “With this team I’d opt to leave the races . I’m guaranteed with a trophy for every round…” More, from a press release issued by Kawasaki: Parkes Still Second In The Points Standings Broc Parkes and David Salom had to work hard for their top six race finishes at Donington, but remain second and fourth overall after the second round of the championship came to a close. Broc, second in the first race of 2011 in his native Australia, simply struggled to replicate his best race pace at Donington, during a meeting eventually held in cold and overcast conditions after fantastic spring weather on the first day of practice on Friday. He had qualified on the front row and unlike some other riders was untroubled with significant technical issues in the race, although he lost traction from his rear tyre in the later stages. His top five finish left him in a good second place overall. Salom had a difficult day in the UK, finding some of the problems that held him back in second qualifying cropping up in the race, but still battling on to a top six finish in a race that had nine non-finishers. He is ranked fourth overall, only one point from third. Massimo Roccoli and Vittorio Iannuzzo from the Lorenzini by Leoni Team were on good form, with Roccoli seventh and Iannuzzo ninth. Broc Parkes: “Second in the championship overall and it was good to get some points again. We just didn’t have the pace form the start and I tried to conserve the tyre a little bit, because we were a bit concerned about tyre wear pre-race. I had a go and when I tried to press I just didn’t seem to have the pace. I could see the group in front of me and I tried to stick with them but at the end I could not battle for a podium position. I just didn’t have the grip by that time. Harms had a little bit more pace at the end and he re-passed me. We are second overall, so that’s a good thing for all of us after the first two rounds.” David Salom: “I had a little problem when I crashed on Saturday morning and I think that caused us some issues today. But I raced as hard as I could when it started but after five laps I had chatter and had to change my riding style to compensate for it, just to keep up my pace. I got a top six and I am fourth in the championship so we have had a more successful weekend than many other riders.”