Kawasaki rider
BSS: Brands Hatch-Conor Cummins off to a flyer at Brands Hatch
Source: bikeracenews.com - Tuesday, 6th April 2010, 10:57 GMTManxman Conor Cummins got his 2010 season off to a flying start on Easter Monday when he took fourth place in the opening round of the Metzeler National 1000cc Superstock Championship at Brands Hatch The Team Blackhorse Kawasaki rider was in fine form throughout the weekend, never out of the top 5 in the practice and [...] Read article
Hill leads BSB title assault
Source: British Superbikes - BSB Blog - Mirror.co.uk - Monday, 5th April 2010, 19:49 GMTTommy Hill won the opening race of the new MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship season and he followed that up with a closely fought second place to James Ellison next time out on the short, fast Brands Hatch Indy circuit. It was the perfect start for Hill to his first full campaign with the Worx Crescent Suzuki team and one that lays to rest his painful memories of two years blighted by serious injuries. "The last two years have been full of drama, but now I am back and working well - this is my return for real," said Hill. "I am just over the moon to be leading the series after this opening round at my local circuit and am delighted for my team who have worked so hard to help me achieve this." Hill had to work hard in the opening race as he took on the returning force of former two times title winner Ryuichi Kiyonari who had put his HM Plant Honda onto pole position which he used to good effect as he led for the first two thirds of the race. The Japanese rider was always under pressure from Hill who timed his move to perfection with eight laps remaining as he powered ahead into Surtees, and then held on to take the race by 0.723secs. Behind them James Ellison, shrugging aside his third row start after a machine problem in qualifying, was opening up the power of his Swan Honda to take third place from Alastair Seeley with Josh Brookes in fifth. Stuart Easton, riding through the pain of the badly gashed left leg sustained in pre-season testing, took a brave sixth for Swan Honda while Liverpudlian Steve Brogan was underlining the competitiveness of the new Mirror.co.uk BSB-EVO class bikes by taking his Jentin BMW to 14th place overall, and winning that category from MAR Kawasaki rider Hudson Kennaugh. The changes to the championship regulations that re-shuffled the starting grid for the second race based on the fastest laps from race one recorded by the riders saw Brookes take pole ahead of Ellison, Hill and Kiyonari, and that paved the way for another thriller. "My brother Dean told me to get out front straightaway and then stay consistent - so I did," reflected Ellison as he discussed his race tactics. He had stormed clear from the start with Hill and Brookes tucked in behind while Kiyonari, sluggish away, was soon sidelined by an electrical problem. Ellison led throughout, unaware of the dramas behind as Chris Walker and Dan Linfoot tangled, then Tommy Bridewell slid off and Brookes tumbled out of third place. Hill, meanwhile, was riding hard and closing in on Ellison, and at one point running inches adrift, but the Cumbrian re-asserted himself taking the victory by 0.186secs. Seeley took third, the first ever BSB podium for the Relentless Suzuki team, who had Michael Laverty running fourth from Easton and RidersMotorcycles.com Ducati rider Michael Rutter. Brogan was again strong, completing an EVO class winning double as he finished in an impressive tenth place overall. Kennaugh was second, ahead of Chris Burns. MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship, Brands Hatch, race one result: 1.Tommy Hill (Worx Crescent Suzuki) 2. Ryuichi Kiyonari (HM Plant Honda) +0.723s 3. James Ellison (Swan Honda) +4.607s 4. Alastair Seeley (Relentless Suzuki by TAS) +4.655s 5. Josh Brookes (HM Plant Honda) +8.785s Race two: 1. James Ellison (Swan Honda) 2. Tommy Hill (Worx Crescent Suzuki) +0.186s 3. Alastair Seeley (Relentless Suzuki by TAS) +4.925s 4. Michael Laverty (Relentless Suzuki by TAS) +6.711s 5. Stuart Easton (Swan Honda) +22.060s MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship, standings after round one: 1. Tommy Hill (Worx Crescent Suzuki) 45 2. James Ellison (Swan Honda) 41 3. Alastair Seeley (Relentless Suzuki by TAS) 29 4. Stuart Easton (Swan Honda) 21 5. Ryuichi Kiyonari (HM Plant Honda) 20 Read article
WSBK: Vermeulen To Miss Valencia – Simon Andrews To Sub?
Source: MotoMatters.com | Kropotkin Thinks - ... that mayhem will be unleashed in the first corner of the Moto2 race at Qatar - Saturday, 3rd April 2010, 13:16 GMTChris Vermeulen's crash at his home World Superbike round at Phillip Island is having more serious consequences than he at first thought. The PBM Kawasaki rider badly damaged his knee in the incident, and has faced a long road to recovery ever since. Vermeulen's plans to make a return at Portimao were thwarted after just one lap, after the Australian tried to ride, but found he couldn't put any weight on the pegs. He pulled back into the pits after one lap and pulled out. With just two weeks between Portimao and Valencia, the Australian had hoped to return to racing in Spain, but after consulting with doctors recommended by former Motocross World Champions Joel Smets and Stefan Everts, Vermeulen has been forced to pull out of Valencia as well. In a video posted on his Youtube channel, Vermeulen explained that the arthroscopic surgery Vermeulen had performed turned up a lot more damage than had been previously spotted, ruling out any chance of racing at Valencia. So serious is the damage that it is likely to require major surgery to repair fully, which Vermeulen hopes to put off until he finishes racing. But the Australian still has high hopes that the damage will repair itself naturally.read more Read article
Crutchlow takes first pole and new best lap
Source: WORLDSBK.COM | NEWS - Saturday, 27th March 2010, 20:20 GMTCal Crutchlow (Sterilgarda Yamaha) took his first career pole at Portimao with a new best lap, 1'42.092, beating Ben Spies' previous record in the last session of Superpole qualifying. Crutchlow even had a qualifying tyre left in his pit box as he had completed the first two Superpole sessions using race tyres, having spent most of practice riding on worn tyres to find a strong set-up for raceday. Aprilia Alitalia rider Max Biaggi went second quickest on his vee-four machine in a session when the top five riders were competing with five different makes of machinery - Yamaha, Aprilia, Ducati, Suzuki and Honda. With both factory Ducati Xerox machines ruled out early from the reckoning, after a Superpole 1 crash for Michel Fabrizio and a tough Superpole 1 session in general for Noriyuki Haga, Carlos Checa was once more best Ducati rider, taking his private Althea machine to third-best grid placing. Leon Haslam (Suzuki Alstare) could not make the most of his qualifying tyres and was fourth on the grid, but still starts from the front row for Sunday's 22-lap races. Jonathan Rea (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda) was a battling fifth, ahead of Pata B&G Ducati rider Jakub Smrz, and Checa's fast team-mate Shane Byrne. The last place on the second row went to Troy Corser, who recovered from a technical problem in Superpole 1 to finish eighth overall. Top Kawasaki starting slot belongs to Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team) after he was 12th in Superpole. James Toseland (Sterilgarda Yamaha) crashed in Superpole two, and Max Neukirchner also had a fast fall, destroying his number one bike. He finished 13th, Toseland 15th. Chris Vermeulen (Kawasaki Racing Team) will not race at Portimao, still suffering effects from his Phillip Island crash. Cal Crutchlow: "We made some changes since the last race. Yamaha has worked really hard in the last month to work out our problems as well. The track here is better and better and our bike is also improving. I was quietly confident I could get pole and we even had one qualifying tyre left at the end because we used race tyres in the first two sessions. Pole is a bonus." Max Biaggi: "We made a good race here last year so we know what our level would be. Now we are back where we should be, fighting with the best guys on the top. We did not make many changes just got the set-up to work as best we can. The layout of the track and the tarmac just means that our bike is working better." Carlos Checa: "I think it is open tomorrow, because many riders have good pace with a chance to win and be at the front. We will see how the race turns out, but hopefully we will be there at the end and have a chance." Times: 1. Crutchlow C. (GBR) Yamaha YZF R1 1'42.092; 2. Biaggi M. (ITA) Aprilia RSV4 1000 F. 1'42.513; 3. Checa C. (ESP) Ducati 1098 R 1'42.586; 4. Haslam L. (GBR) Suzuki GSX-R1000 1'42.596; 5. Rea J. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 1'42.807; 6. Smrz J. (CZE) Ducati 1098R 1'42.8897. Byrne S. (GBR) Ducati 1098R 1'42.960; 8. Corser T. (AUS) BMW S1000 RR 1'43.152; 9. Guintoli S. (FRA) Suzuki GSX-R1000 1'42.984; 10. Xaus R. (ESP) BMW S1000 RR 1'42.999; 11. Camier L. (GBR) Aprilia RSV4 1000 F. 1'43.039; 12. Sykes T. (GBR) Kawasaki ZX 10R 1'43.199; 13. Neukirchner M. (GER) Honda CBR1000RR 1'43.380; 14. Lanzi L. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 1'43.568; 15. Toseland J. (GBR) Yamaha YZF R11'49.401; 16. Scassa L. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 1'44.249 Supersport World Championship - Laverty on pole at his team's home track Eugene Laverty (Parkalgar Honda) pushed his way to the pole time at Portimao, with Hannspree Ten Kate Honda riders Kenan Sofuoglu and Michele Pirro second and third. Top Kawasaki rider was Joan Lascorz in fourth, with the best Triumph BE1 machine under the control of Chaz Davies, sixth on the timesheets. Local rider Miguel Praia (Parkalgar Honda) was eighth and now starts from the second row. Times: 1. Laverty E. (IRL) Honda CBR600RR 1'45.169; 2. Sofuoglu K. (TUR) Honda CBR600RR 1'45.313; 3. Pirro M. (ITA) Honda CBR600RR 1'45.828; 4. Lascorz J. (ESP) Kawasaki ZX-6R 1'45.903; 5. Foret F. (FRA) Kawasaki ZX-6R 1'46.082; 6. Davies C. (GBR) Triumph Daytona 675 1'46.161; 7. Fujiwara K. (JPN) Kawasaki ZX-6R 1'46.415; 8. Praia M. (POR) Honda CBR600RR 1'46.566 Superstock 1000 FIM Cup Ayrton Badovini (BMW Motorrad Italia) will start Sunday's race from pole position, having held off the push of Maxime Berger (Ten Kate Race Junior) in combined qualifying. Marco Bussolotti (All Service System Honda) went third and Eddie La Marra (Team Lorini Honda) was fourth, each having moved up from Superstock 600 racing this year. Times: 1. Badovini A. (ITA) BMW S1000 RR 1'45.773; 2. Berger M. (FRA) Honda CBR1000RR 1'46.241; 3. Bussolotti M. (ITA) Honda CBR1000RR 1'46.609; 4. La Marra E. (ITA) Honda CBR1000RR 1'46.759; 5. Baz L. (FRA) Yamaha YZF R1 1'46.821; 6. Magnoni M. (ITA) Honda CBR1000RR 1'46.839; 7. Antonelli A. (ITA) Honda CBR1000RR 1'46.884; 8. Baroni L. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 1'46.895 Superstock 600 Race - 10 Laps In the first race of the season for the Superstock 600 riders pole man Florian Marino (Ten Kate Junior Honda) was a first lap faller, leaving Jeremy Guarnoni (MRS Racing Yamaha) a clear run to the win. Second was Romain Lanusse (MRS Racing Yamaha) and third Frederik Karlsen (MTM Racing Yamaha). Times: 1. Guarnoni J. (FRA) Yamaha YZF R6 18'18.901 (150,434 kph); 2. Lanusse R. (FRA) Yamaha YZF R6 6.101; 3. Karlsen F. (NOR) Yamaha YZF R6 6.277; 4. Calero Perez N. (ESP) Yamaha YZF R6 6.527; 5. Fanelli D. (ITA) Honda CBR600RR 7.916; 6. Cecchini R. (ITA) Triumph Daytona 675 10.090; 7. Lombardi B. (ITA) Yamaha YZF R6 10.724; 8. Major N. (FRA) Yamaha YZF R6 14.105 Read article
Portimao Supersport – Qualifying 2nd Session
Source: WORLDSBK.COM | NEWS - Saturday, 27th March 2010, 17:03 GMTEugene Laverty (Parkalgar Honda) pushed his way to the pole time at Portimao, with Hannspree Ten Kate Honda riders Kenan Sofuoglu and Michele Pirro second and third. Top Kawasaki rider was Joan Lascorz in fourth, with the best Triumph BE1 machine under the control of Chaz Davies, sixth on the timesheets. Local rider Miguel Praia (Parkalgar Honda) was eighth and now starts from the second row. 1 50 Laverty E. (IRL) Honda CBR600RR 1'45.1692 54 Sofuoglu K. (TUR) Honda CBR600RR 1'45.3133 51 Pirro M. (ITA) Honda CBR600RR 1'45.8284 26 Lascorz J. (ESP) Kawasaki ZX-6R 1'45.9035 99 Foret F. (FRA) Kawasaki ZX-6R 1'46.0826 7 Davies C. (GBR) Triumph Daytona 675 1'46.1617 37 Fujiwara K. (JPN) Kawasaki ZX-6R 1'46.4158 117 Praia M. (POR) Honda CBR600RR 1'46.5669 25 Salom D. (ESP) Triumph Daytona 675 1'46.65410 40 DiSalvo J. (USA) Triumph Daytona 675 1'46.77911 14 Lagrive M. (FRA) Triumph Daytona 675 1'46.87912 4 Rea G. (GBR) Honda CBR600RR 1'46.92413 127 Harms R. (DEN) Honda CBR600RR 1'46.94714 55 Roccoli M. (ITA) Honda CBR600RR 1'47.32715 5 Lundh A. (SWE) Honda CBR600RR 1'48.68016 8 Chesaux B. (SUI) Honda CBR600RR 1'48.77517 9 Dell'Omo D. (ITA) Honda CBR600RR 1'48.90518 33 Cazzola P. (ITA) Honda CBR600RR 1'50.59719 36 Hunt M. (GBR) Yamaha YZF R6 1'51.46420 24 Blokhin E. (RUS) Yamaha YZF R6 1'52.592 Read article
BSS: Connor Cummins happy with Spanish tests
Source: bikeracenews.com - Saturday, 20th March 2010, 9:52 GMTThe Manxman consistently on the pace of the other top BSB 1000cc Superstock riders who were present at the circuit Team Blackhorse Kawasaki rider Conor Cummins recently concluded his major pre-season testing programme ahead of the new British Superstock 1000cc Championship, with the Manxman now turning his focus towards the opening round of the campaign at [...] Read article
West secures place on Moto2 grid
Source: MOTOGP news - autosport.com - Wednesday, 17th March 2010, 21:30 GMTFormer works Kawasaki rider Anthony West has become the latest former MotoGP racer to secure a place in the Moto2 field Read article
Checa the early leader at a hot Phillip Island
Source: WORLDSBK.COM | NEWS - Friday, 26th February 2010, 7:26 GMTScorching weather conditions for the first qualifying session at Phillip Island saw Carlos Checa (Ducati Althea) continue his good testing form with a 1'32.155 lap, leading Michel Fabrizio (Ducati Xerox) and Leon Haslam (Suzuki Alstare). Checa was only 0.007 seconds ahead of Fabrizio, 0.218 ahead of Englishman Haslam. The air temperature in qualifying was 33°C, the track temperature a very high 51°C, which made the hour-long session hard work for all competitors. Checa's team-mate Shane Byrne went fourth fastest but suffered a fast highside crash at the final corners of his last lap, while trying to improve his ranking still further. Several riders fell in what was an expectedly close and intense period of qualifying. Noriyuki Haga (Ducati Xerox) was fifth today, Max Biaggi (Aprilia Alitalia Racing) went sixth fastest but was also a faller in the final session of the day. Jonathan Rea (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda) was top Honda rider in the opening qualifying battle, seventh, with Sylvain Guintoli's Suzuki eighth. Jakub Smrz was ninth fastest on his privateer Pata B&G Racing Ducati, and the top ten was rounded out by Cal Crutchlow (Yamaha World Superbike) the top Yamaha rider. Chris Vermeulen scored 12th on his Kawasaki Racing Team bike, Troy Corser, another late faller, put his BMW Motorrad Motorsport S1000RR 16th, but was on course for a vast improvement in lap time before his fall. James Toseland was a faller in the session, while Ruben Xaus crashed three times today, but recovered each time and went 19th in the ranking. One more session remains for riders to try and qualifying for Superpole on Saturday, with Superpole determining the final top 20 grid places. The top 20 riders were all within 1.910 seconds, the top ten within 0.883 seconds today. Carlos Checa: "I know what I can do. I have to confirm my time tomorrow but I know that I wish we had the same weather as today for the race. The crash in qualifying was not a problem. Ducati's work very well at Phillip Island and my pace at the moment is very good. I do not know yet if it is good enough for the race." Michel Fabrizio: "We tried different tyre solutions this morning and various small things that my engineer wanted to test. I had a fall, losing the front, but without causing myself, or my bike, too much damage thankfully. Then in the qualifying session we sorted a lot of things out and with the tyre solution that may well be the one to choose for the race many riders were able to drop their times. During my fast lap I lost a couple of tenths through the last corner but I'm fairly happy anyway; we've worked well and I'm satisfied with the results. We have a good race pace but a lot will depend on Sunday's weather." World Supersport Championship - Lascorz leads on day one of new school The first qualifying session of the year proved to be the property of Kawasaki Provec Motocard.com rider Joan Lascorz, who was also fastest man in the official tests a few days ago. Second was the perennially powerful Eugene Laverty (Parkalgar Honda), who left it very late to move up. Kenan Sofuoglu (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda) posted third while another old stager in this class, Katsuaki Fujiwara (Kawasaki) was fourth. Sofuoglu's team-mate Michele Pirro secured fifth best lap time, while changes in set-up allowed Chaz Davies to jump up the order to sixth on his Triumph BE1 triple, ahead of another Kawasaki rider, Fabien Foret. The top six riders were within only 0.310 seconds of each other. Read article
Lascorz leads on day one of new school
Source: WORLDSBK.COM | NEWS - Friday, 26th February 2010, 7:07 GMTThe first qualifying session of the year proved to be the property of Kawasaki Provec Motocard.com rider Joan Lascorz, who was also fastest man in the official tests a few days ago. Second was the perennially powerful Eugene Laverty (Parkalgar Honda), who left it very late to move up. Kenan Sofuoglu (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda) posted third while another old stager in this class, Katsuaki Fujiwara (Kawasaki) was fourth. Sofuoglu’s team-mate Michele Pirro secured fifth best lap time, while changes in set-up allowed Chaz Davies to jump up the order to sixth on his Triumph BE1 triple, ahead of another Kawasaki rider, Fabien Foret. The top six riders were within 0.310 seconds of each other. Read article
WSBK: Vermeulen top Kawasaki rider at final pre-season tests
Source: bikeracenews.com - Tuesday, 23rd February 2010, 19:42 GMTChris Vermeulen ended up only 1.220 seconds from the fastest rider after an official two-day test at Phillip Island, the last shakedowns before the 2010 season starts for real next weekend Tom Sykes was just a little behind his team-mate in testing, setting a 1’33.202 second lap compared to Vermeulen’s 1’32.870, as both riders [...] Read article
