Kate Honda
Kenan conquers on the first day
Source: WORLDSBK.COM | NEWS - Friday, 3rd September 2010, 16:11 GMTWorld Championship leader Kenan Sofuoglu (HANNspree Ten Kate Honda) set a 1 minute 59.276 seconds lap on the first day of competitive action in Germany, but Spanish rider David Salom (ParkinGO BE1 Triumph) was only 1/1000th of a second behind. Silverstone podium finisher Gino Rea (Intermoto Czech) went third on his Honda, and Katsuaki Fujiwara (Kawasaki Motocard.com) fourth on the official Ninja ZX-6R. Championship challenger Eugene Laverty (Parkalgar Honda) was fifth. One more qualifying session remains to determine final grid positions. Read article
2010 Nurburgring WSBK FP1 Result – Biaggi Edges The Ducati Hordes
Source: MotoMatters.com | Kropotkin Thinks - ... that Ducati out of WSBK is almost as big as Rossi to Ducati - Friday, 3rd September 2010, 11:50 GMTThe two days of practice that the Ducati team had at Mugello earlier this week appears to have paid off, and not just for Michel Fabrizio and Noriyuki Haga. The top of the timesheets was awash with Ducatis during the first session of free practice at the Nurburgring, with four of them in the top five positions. But it was not a Ducati in the very top spot, Max Biaggi setting the fastest time on the Alitalia Aprilia, and looking in good shape to lock down the World Superbike title as the series enters its final stages. Fabrizio was 2nd fastest, and just over five hundredths off Biaggi, while Althea Ducati's Carlos Checa interposed himself between Fabrizio and Haga in 4th. Places 5 through 8 were taken by the British contingent. Althea Ducati's Shane Byrne was the fastest Brit, ahead of Ten Kate Honda's Johnny Rea and Sterilgarda Yamaha's Cal Crutchlow in 7th. Championship contender Leon Haslam could only manage the 8th fastest time on the Alstare Suzuki, nearly two thirds of a second slower than Biaggi. Results: read more Read article
Honda Previews The German World Superbike & Supersport Races
Source: The Latest Motorcycle News - Thursday, 2nd September 2010, 13:18 GMTHannspree Ten Kate Honda rider Jonathan Rea enjoyed a winning feeling at the iconic Nürburgring circuit last year, taking Superbike race two for his Honda team. This year more ofthe same would be more than welcome, to add to Jonathan’s current win tally of three. Read article
Historic circuit gets WSBK machine back into gear
Source: WORLDSBK.COM | NEWS - Wednesday, 1st September 2010, 10:42 GMTThe 2010 HANNspree FIM Superbike World Championship approaches the final stretch this weekend, with the 11th round of the series taking place at the Nürburgring between 3 and 5 September. Only two subsequent rounds will remain after the restart of action in Germany - Imola on September 26 and Magny-Cours on 3 October. Located in western Germany, the Nürburgring is one of the most popular circuits for the riders, as it offers a series of challenges along its 5.137km length, and a high degree of rider satisfaction if a ‘perfect' lap is achieved. Competition in the World Superbike Championship is far from slowing down as the season begins to wind up, as current leader Max Biaggi (Aprilia Alitalia) has Leon Haslam (Suzuki Alstare) 60 points behind him, but with 150 points up for grabs for any rider who wins the final six individual races. Both of these riders raced at the Nürburgring last year but neither managed to post a podium finish. They have no shortage of immediate competitors who did in, however, with championship third place rider Jonathan Rea (HANNspree Ten Kate Honda) winning the second race in ‘09, Noriyuki Haga (Ducati Xerox) going second in race one and Carlos Checa, now riding for Althea Ducati, third in each German race. Rea is currently third on 243 points, 130 behind the lead. Checa is fourth, on 204 points. The long summer break during August has been a welcome one for some riders, but with valuable points up for grabs the mass of WSB riders will be keen to get back into full race mode this weekend. Cal Crutchlow (Yamaha Sterilgarda) pushed himself up to fifth in the championship with his first two wins in WSBK racing last time out at Silverstone. He knows his machine can win at Nürburgring, as eventual champion Ben Spies was victorious on the same model of machine in race one last year. Crutchlow's team-mate James Toseland is a two-time World Superbike Champion, but still looking for his first race success in Yamaha colours. He is sixth in the rankings, only nine points behind Crutchlow. The fight for the last few top ten places is already at fever pitch, with Noriyuki Haga, Leon Camier (Alitalia Aprilia), Michel Fabrizio (Ducati Xerox), Troy Corser (BMW Motorrad Motorsport) and Sylvain Guintoli (Suzuki Alstare) closely packed together, from seventh to 11th in the rankings. Even from Crutchlow in fifth to Guintoli in 11th, there is a spread of only 37 points, making almost anything possible in the midfield before season's end. Since the last round in Silverstone, Max Neukirchner (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda) has won a race at the IDM Superbike championship. At his home circuit in Germany he will be particularly keen to make a move back up the championship rankings from his current 18th place. Shane Byrne (Althea Ducati) is a lonely 12th at present; over 50 points clear of Jakub Smrz (PATA B&G Aprilia) and Ruben Xaus (BMW Motorrad Motorsport). Ducati privateer Luca Scassa (Supersonic Team) is the last rider inside the top 15 so far, but works Kawasaki Racing Team man Tom Sykes wants to be on the march forward at this round. He will, in his turn, have Lorenzo Lanzi pushing hard to get ahead of him on his DFX Corse Ducati. Sykes has another new team-mate in the KRT squad this time out, Northern Irish rider Ian Lowry, who is standing in for the injured Chris Vermeulen. Pedercini Kawasaki team-mates Roger Lee Hayden and Matteo Baiocco will be back in the mix in Germany. Replacing Broc Parkes in the Echo CRS Honda team will be Italian WSB debutant Fabrizio Lai. WORLD SUPERSPORT: Kenan Sofuoglu (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda) now has only one realistic championship challenger, Eugene Laverty (Parkalgar Honda) after the accident suffered by Joan Lascorz (Kawasaki Motocard.com) at Silverstone. Laverty has scored a fabulous six wins so far, but he is still behind three-time race winner Sofuoglu, by 17 points. In fourth place ParkinGO Triumph BE-1's Chaz Davies is 43 points ahead of his closest challenger, Gino Rea (Intermoto Czech Honda) who scored his first podium last time round at Silverstone. Robbin Harms (Harms Benjan Racing Honda) is close behind Rea, with David Salom also right in there for fifth, on his Triumph. Michele Pirro (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda) will come back into the fray after suffering injury at the Brno round and missing out on the Silverstone round. SUPERSTOCK 1000: Ayrton Badovini (BMW Motorrad Italia STK) carried off the overall FIM Cup last time out at Silverstone, but at the home country of his machine's manufacturer he will be out to keep his perfect win record intact. Second place in the championship is still a very live fight, with Maxime Berger (Ten Kate Racing Junior Honda), Michele Magnoni (Bevilacqua Corse Honda), Andrea Antonelli (Team Lorini Honda), Davide Giugliano (Team06 Suzuki) and Loris Baz (MRS Yamaha) all set to try and claim runner-up spot by season's end. SUPERSTOCK 600: Jeremy Guarnoni (MRS Racing Yamaha) leads his fellow Frenchman Florian Marino (Ten Kate Junior Racing Honda) by 26 points, with only these two riders in the final fight for the championship now. Federico D'Annunzio (Martini Corse Yamaha) no scored last time out but is still third, on the same 70 points total as his team-mate Dino Lombardi. TRIUMPH PARKINGO SERIES: The single make Triumph ParkinGO European Series continues apace in Germany, featuring identical Triumph Street Triple R machines, raced by a mix of experienced and amateur riders. The challenge of the Nürburgring is one that all the riders are eagerly anticipating, especially championship leader Fabrizio Perotti, who could win the title this time out if results go his way. Two rounds remain, at the Nürburgring and then the season finale at Magny-Cours on October 3rd. THE CIRCUIT: The modern-day Nürburgring is a very different one from the nearby 20th century classic, the ‘Nordschleife'. Nevertheless, the 5.137km circuit that welcomes WSBK racing this weekend still has plenty of elevation changes, fast and slow corners and overtaking opportunities. WSBK racing first started at the Nürburgring in 1998 and 1999, and returned in 2008 and 2009. High drama and close competition have been the keynotes of recent races at this venue, although being located in the Eifel Mountains the track can be subject to rapid and sometimes extreme changes in weather conditions. Read article
Max takes the long way home
Source: WORLDSBK.COM | NEWS - Tuesday, 31st August 2010, 14:54 GMTMax Neukirchner (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda) is as motivated and expectant as any rider approaching his home race could be, especially as he arrives fresh from a win in the IDM Championship at Assen a couple of weeks ago. For Max his home race is, however, located quite far away from his base in the far east of Germany. The Nürburgring is almost in Luxembourg, in the far west of Germany, making it a much longer journey for many of his fans than another race on the calendar, Brno. "Nürburgring is my home race and you always have more motivation to race in your own country,' said Max. "But its location is far away from my hometown, 500 or 600kms from here, so it is not really so close to where I live. It is strange to think about it, but Brno is much closer, maybe 300ks, so there are always a lot of fans supporting me there as well. I hope to have a good result and good support in the Nürburgring. I really want to do well for all my fans in Germany." Max did not race in Germany last year due to injury, but he does enjoy the layout of the hilly circuit, and took two podiums there in 2008. "I like the track, it is nice to ride around, and I know the track even if the last time I raced there was two years ago," said Max. "I have also gone around the Nordschleife, the old long circuit, but as a passenger in a car a couple of years ago. It was just in a regular car, but with a professional driver. It was strange being a racer but not being in control of the vehicle, but it was fun." Read article
Supersport: Three into two will go
Source: WORLDSBK.COM | NEWS - Monday, 23rd August 2010, 15:06 GMTIn the Supersport World Championship recent developments at Silverstone mean that the fight for the overall championship is now, realistically, between points leader Kenan Sofuoglu (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda) and second place rider Eugene Laverty (Parkalgar Honda). Such was the severity of his Silverstone crash, there is little chance of third ranked rider Joan Lascorz (Kawasaki Motoacard.com) getting back into the real fight for the championship at full fitness. He is 35 points behind Sofuoglu as it stands, a fact which would indicate that the only man who can displace Kenan now is Laverty. The Irish rider still has an uphill battle on his hands because even if he wins the last three races, Sofuoglu will win the title by placing second each time. Behind the three riders in 2010 who have monopolised the race wins between them in 2010, Chaz Davies (Triumph ParkinGO BE-1) has been the most consistent, having taken three podiums and five fourth places, gapping the rider behind by 43 points with three rounds remaining. Behind Chaz the fight for a top five place is astoundingly close, promising action all the way to the finish at Magny-Cours in October. Gino Rea's first podium on his Intermoto Czech Honda pushed him to fifth in the standings, but Harms Benjan rider Robin Harms is only a point behind, Davies' team-mate Davide Salom only a further two points back. From Matthieu Lagrive (Triumph BE-1) in eighth place to Massimo Roccoli in 13th overall position right now, there are only eight points, leaving it all to play for in the 600 Supersport division. Next year the rules in WSS racing will be slightly different to this year, mainly to limit costs for all. In Supersport there will only be one bike per rider and a new minimum weight (between 161 and 163 kg) is to be decided upon soon. Carbon fibre fairing will be banned, again to cut costs. Read article
WorldSBK.com takes a break
Source: WORLDSBK.COM | NEWS - Friday, 6th August 2010, 11:01 GMTWith the teams and riders taking a well-earned summer break to recharge their batteries, WorldSBK.com also follows the trend and as a result will be shutting down for the next couple of weeks. When racing resumes in September three more rounds in Germany, Italy and France remain to wrap up the other three championship titles still to be decided. In World Superbike, the battle will be between Max Biaggi (Aprilia Alitalia) and Leon Haslam (Suzuki Alstare), while Kenan Sofuoglu (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda) and Eugene Laverty (Parkalgar Honda) are now the only two realistic contenders for the Supersport crown. Ayrton Badovini (BMW Motorrad Italia STK) has already wrapped up the Superstock 1000 FIM Cup, but European Superstock 600 honours are still to be played out in an all-French tussle, between youngsters Jeremy Guarnoni (MRS Racing Yamaha) and Florian Marino (Ten Kate Race Junior Honda). So join us again in a short while for the final three exciting rounds of these championships and enjoy your holidays! Read article
WorldSBK.com takes a break
Source: WORLDSBK.COM | NEWS - Friday, 6th August 2010, 11:01 GMTWith the teams and riders taking a well-earned summer break to recharge their batteries, WorldSBK.com also follows the trend and as a result will be shutting down for the next couple of weeks. When racing resumes in September three more rounds in Germany, Italy and France remain to wrap up the other three championship titles still to be decided. In World Superbike, the battle will be between Max Biaggi (Aprilia Alitalia) and Leon Haslam (Suzuki Alstare), while Kenan Sofuoglu (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda) and Eugene Laverty (Parkalgar Honda) are now the only two realistic contenders for the Supersport crown. Ayrton Badovini (BMW Motorrad Italia STK) has already wrapped up the Superstock 1000 FIM Cup, but European Superstock 600 honours are still to be played out in an all-French tussle, between youngsters Jeremy Guarnoni (MRS Racing Yamaha) and Florian Marino (Ten Kate Race Junior Honda). So join us again in a short while for the final three exciting rounds of these championships and enjoy your holidays! Read article
Neukirchner makes set-up breakthrough
Source: WORLDSBK.COM | NEWS - Friday, 6th August 2010, 9:49 GMTFor a rider who was on the podium as recently as Valencia in 2009, and was a strong race winner in 2008, recent times have been tough for the most successful German rider in WSB history, Max Neukirchner. Frequent serious injuries to his leg and back saw his promising 2009 season fall apart after the first big crash at Monza, and insult was added to injury by the fact that it was bad luck and not rider error that put the brakes on his climb up the ladder. A move to the Ten Kate Honda team for 2010 was a dream move, the team having taken several riders who had come to a crossroads in their careers and helping them to move upwards again. As the results of his team-mate Jonathan Rea have indicated, the Honda appears to be a top package one weekend yet a more challenging one next time, until recently at lest. Neukirchner and his team made a real breakthrough for raceday at Silverstone, going from 18th on the grid to 11th in race one. But for a technical DNF in race two he would have been on course for another finish in the points, closing in as he was on the top ten. Speaking on Sunday night Max was buoyed by his raceday change of fortune, with even his no-finish a mere addendum to his positive train of though. "Yesterday we were nowhere and we made some good improvements today," said Max. "The first race was brilliant, and I was able to ride some good laps, but in race two the bike just stopped. I think it would have been possible to get into the top ten. That was the first time this year I feel I have had a very good feeling from the bike and I could fight with some other guys." Read article
Laverty and the perfect Silverstone storm
Source: WORLDSBK.COM | NEWS - Friday, 6th August 2010, 8:57 GMTThe World Supersport race at Silverstone once again turned into another two-way battle between Irishman Eugene Laverty (Parkalgar Honda) and his Turkish rival Kenan Sofuoglu (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda), and this time, in the fluctuating fields and fortunes of this year's series, it was Laverty's turn to have a perfect weekend. Spurred on by his numerous British and Irish supporters, the Parkalgar man clinched the win on UK soil with a superb pass on the last lap, after letting Sofuoglu make all the running in the run-up to the chequered flag. This was Laverty's sixth win of the season and it shaved away a further five points from his Honda rival's lead. Said Eugene in the post-race interviews: "It is nice to win our home race and it was a tough one. My plan had to change several times through the race. First I made a break but then Kenan put in some quick laps and then I decided to drop back and see where he was weak. I spotted his weak areas but he could have been sandbagging so I passed him again on the last lap with plenty of corners to spare and found that he really was weaker and not pretending. It is especially nice to beat Kenan in this sort of race because he is not used to losing this sort of fight and that makes it an important psychological win. My Parkalgar Honda was brilliant, we ran faster lap times than I expected and it was the best bike on the day." Read article
