World Superbikes
Silverstone track works nearing completion
Source: Latest News Articles from ACU.org.uk - Wednesday, 17th March 2010, 23:24 GMTWORK on the new Grand Prix Circuit at Silverstone is nearing completion as the Northamptonshire venue’s multi-million pound investment in a new track layout and improved spectator facilities remains on schedule to be finished by the end of March. The new circuit will host a number of world class events in 2010, including the blue-riband MotoGP and World Superbike motorcycle races on 18-20 June and 31 July - 01 August respectively. The first major international event to test out the new circuit will be the Silverstone Supercar featuring the FIA GT1 World Championship, on 01-02 May. Richard Phillips, Managing Director of Silverstone Circuits Limited, said, “Work on the circuit and venue is on schedule. The team has been working around the clock, through some pretty terrible weather conditions, to make sure the circuit is ready on time. The track works at Brooklands and Woodcote are now complete, including the new run-off area for the fast entry into Pits Straight, while the major new development – the new section of circuit from Abbey, up to the Arena Complex and round to the National Straight – is also coming along nicely. “There is still a considerable amount of work going on at Silverstone, including the new elevated banks and spectator viewing areas, which will continue beyond March. Conference and hospitality buildings are also being built on the new Stowe Complex.” Click on the following link to access the latest images, highlighting work that has been carried out at Silverstone (to date): http://www.flickr.com/photos/48246033@N08/sets/72157623578111068/detail. ACU Business Development Manager Dave Luscombe said: “It is great to see Silverstone coming on so quickly and everything is on schedule for the MotoGP round in June. It is nice to be sharing the same venue as the British Formula One round and the facilities I am sure will be second to none for the bikes. Well done to Silverstone for listening to the bike racers and making the changes requested to turn it into one of the best motorcycle tracks in the world.” Read article
Leon Haslam On Suzukis, WSBK vs Moto2 vs MotoGP And US Road Trips
Source: MotoMatters.com | Kropotkin Thinks - ... that MZ in Moto2 has a nice ring to it - Wednesday, 17th March 2010, 21:37 GMTIn the run up to the 2010 US World Superbike round in Utah, Miller Motorsports Park has been organizing a series of telephone press conferences with riders participating in the World Superbike and World Supersport series this season. Yesterday, it was the turn of Alstare Suzuki's Leon Haslam, son of Rocket Ron and current championship leader after the first two races at Phillip Island. Haslam is always an interesting interview subject, as the excellent interview which Jim Race of MotoGPOD did a couple of weeks' ago proved, and Tuesday's conference was no exception. Among the subjects Haslam touches upon are how he got into roadracing; the benefits of riding a range of machinery before landing a factory ride; the relative merits of good rides in Moto2, MotoGP and World Superbikes; and last but not least the quality of Virgin Airlines complimentary pyjamas. Find out all about it in the transcript below: read more Read article
Kyalami WSBK Round To Be Canceled After 2010
Source: MotoMatters.com | Kropotkin Thinks - ... that MZ in Moto2 has a nice ring to it - Wednesday, 17th March 2010, 13:42 GMTWorld Superbike's return to South Africa in 2009 after an absence of seven years was to be the first attempt to restore the long history which South Africa has with international motorcycle racing. The initial race at Kyalami was judged to be a success - with the exception of Regis Laconi's terrible injury on his first full lap out of the pits - and the paddock and fans were all eagerly anticipating further visits to the spectacular South African circuit. Their pleasure is to be short-lived, however. The 2010 round of World Superbikes at Kyalami will be the last visit the series pays to the South African circuit for the foreseeable future, it emerged last week. The culprit - as ever - is the global economic crisis. The financial meltdown has forced the Gauteng economic development to cut costs, and one of the areas it decided to cut was in the investment the council had made in international motorsports through the Gauteng Motorsports Company. According to reports in the South African newspaper The Star, the contracts with the organizers of the World Superbike round and the V8 Superstars races had been settled amicably, with penalty payments totalling 115 million Rand (US$ 18 million). By canceling the contracts - due to run through 2013 - the Gauteng province would reportedly save 796 million Rand (US$ 109 million). read more Read article
BMW insist Ruben Xaus will race at Portimao
Source: Insidebikes | Carole Nash » Bike News - Friday, 12th March 2010, 14:07 GMTThe team manager at BMW has insisted that rider Ruben Xaus will return to racing at the Portimao World Superbike competition, despite having missed the opening race in Australia. Xaus decided to sit out of the season opener at Phillip Island after being in four different accidents, including a high speed collision with Noriyuki Haha, and a speculated lack of confidence in the BMW S1000RR. Rumour has been rife that Xaus’ failure to participate in the first race has put his position with the BMW team in jeopardy but team manager Davide Tardozzi quashed those rumours by insisting that the Spanish rider will be racing at Portimao. “The main issue at this moment is to have Ruben on form in Portimao,” Tardozzi said. “We are working on that, it is my priority so far.” Tardozzi has commented that his priority is for Xaus to regain his confidence on the bike so that he is ready to race, and after their recent meeting the manager thinks he is ready to do so. “Ruben is not so bad so far. I am in Spain now and I spoke to him here. I think Ruben still thinks he can be fast and do well, and I have seen he is very well in these two days, so I think he will be ready for Portimao.” Tardozzi added. BMW have enjoyed a good start to the season, despite only having one rider, with Troy Corser in the top ten at both races. “On the technical side we will have another step on the bike,” Tardozzi continued. “We are making progress step by step, not looking for a huge step. You can’t pass from seventh to first immediately; you first have to be consistently close to the top guys. Houses are built stone-by-stone.” Read article
Win an exclusive Leon Camier signed Pirelli BSB book
Source: British Superbikes 2009 - BSB Blog - Mirror.co.uk - Wednesday, 10th March 2010, 12:08 GMTWe've teamed up with Pirelli, the sole tyre supplier for British Superbikes, to offer an exclusive Leon Camier signed Pirelli BSB book, packed full of facts, news and beautiful photography from the 2009 season. We have two of these glossy official BSB books to give away. See below for details on how to enter. Leon Camier had a stellar year in 2009 and almost made his his first BSB title look easy! He's been nabbed by the World Superbike series to partner Max Biaggi in the Italian Aprilia Racing team, a real baptism of fire but at least he has the benefit of 2 years on Pirelli tyres. You can follow the exploits of all the BSB riders and the Brits in World Superbikes (Camier, Haslam, Byrne, Rea, Sykes) here at mirror.co.uk Pirelli have been the sole tyre supplier for BSB for three years now and the aim of the organisers was to level the field by introducing one tyre, for fair and close racing. Whilst there will always be other factors like electronics and team budgets, tyres were the single biggest source of frustration for riders and fans as rival brands tried to get one rider up to the front with 'special' tyres. Pirelli are at every race with a promo truck where fans can find out more and put their questions. Click here to enter the competition Read article
BSB: BMW set for BSB debut in 2010
Source: British Superbikes 2009 - BSB Blog - Mirror.co.uk - Wednesday, 10th March 2010, 12:08 GMTIconic German manufacturer BMW will be represented for the first time in the MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship this year in both the BSB Evo and Metzeler National Superstock 1000 Championship classes. BMW enters BSB for the first time following their debut season in the World Superbike Championship in 2009, officially supporting the Jentin Racing team who have previously helped to launch the careers of riders like James Ellison and Simon Andrews. The Jentin Racing BMW squad will run two riders onboard the BMW S1000 RR, with Steve Brogan aiming for the inaugural Evo title whilst Richard Cooper will be seeking championship glory in the Superstock class. Brogan said: "I have raced in BSB before but this is my first real opportunity to be out there for the whole season working with a competitive team and on a bike that is capable of scoring strong results. "You can see how Troy Corser has impressed with the BMW in World Superbikes with the bike almost standard and Richard Cooper has also had some really good performances when he has raced BMWs before so I am feeling confident. "My aim is obviously to win the Evo title but I also want to mix it with as many of the top riders as possible and fight for positions overall. "I really think that there will be some circuits that we can go for the top ten, even if we are running in to Evo-specification. "It is a nice feeling for me to be back in BSB after racing in Superstock the past few seasons and I know that I really need to up my game now, this is a big year for me to prove myself and I know that people will be watching the progress we make with the BMW. "I want to be out there racing against the main Superbike riders as BSB is where I need to be. I will definitely be giving it my best and although we haven't started testing yet I really believe we are going to be fighting for that first Evo title." Read article
Live chat with Ruben Xaus on Yahoo! Eurosport
Source: WORLDSBK.COM | NEWS - Tuesday, 9th March 2010, 16:20 GMTFollowing Eurosport's in-depth coverage of the opening round of World Superbike at Philip Island, YAHOO! EUROSPORT will be hosting a very special live chat with Catalan rider Ruben Xaus on the popular PIROTECNICA SUPERBIKE blog, hosted by former Superbike champion Fabrizio Pirovano. The chat will take place on Friday, March 12th at 15.00 CET on the following address: http://it.eurosport.yahoo.com/altri-sport/diretta/ Bmw Motorrad Motosport rider, Ruben XAUS will be there live to answer questions from Superbike fans. This is the first in a series of live chats during the 2010 season which will enable all fans to interact live with one of the competitors of World Superbike. Read article
Silverstone development on track
Source: Insidebikes | Carole Nash » Bike News - Tuesday, 9th March 2010, 10:33 GMTSilverstone has claimed that redevelopment work is well on schedule for the start of the new season, with work on both the track and spectator facilities nearing completion. After securing the rights to host the British MotoGP and World Superbikes, Silverstone is undergoing a £7m redevelopment and remodelling to make it more suitable for motorcycle racing, with a new “Arena” section being integrated into the circuit as well as new spectator facilities being introduced for 2010. Track works completed around Woodcote and the Brooklands Complex, with the increased run-off area onto the pit straight. Work on the new Arena Complex, heading into National Straight Work on the new Arena Complex, view from Abbey Conference and hospitality buildings being built on the new Stowe Complex MotoGP arrives at Silverstone on June 18-20, with WSB being held in late July, but circuit bosses believe that the new facilities will be ready for the first event of the season, the FIA GT1 World Championship on 1-2 May. “Work on the circuit and venue is on schedule. The team has been working around the clock, through some pretty terrible weather conditions, to make sure the circuit is ready on time,” said Richard Phillips, Managing Director of Silverstone Circuits Limited. “The track works at Brooklands and Woodcote are now complete, including the new run-off area for the fast entry into Pits Straight, while the major new development - the new section of circuit from Abbey, up to the Arena Complex and round to the National Straight - is also coming along nicely. “There is still a considerable amount of work going on at Silverstone, including the new elevated banks and spectator viewing areas, which will continue beyond March. Conference and hospitality buildings are also being built on the new Stowe Complex.” Read article
Camier backs Sport Relief
Source: | Motorcycle Sport | World Superbikes - Monday, 8th March 2010, 11:39 GMTFactory Aprilia World Superbike rider, Leon Camier is making the most of his Superpole crash at Phillip Island in the opening round of the series by auctioning off his damaged screen in aid of Sport Relief. Camier crashed at Honda... Read article
Camier backs Sport Relief
Source: | Motorcycle Sport | World Superbikes - Monday, 8th March 2010, 11:39 GMTFactory Aprilia World Superbike rider, Leon Camier is making the most of his Superpole crash at Phillip Island in the opening round of the series by auctioning off his damaged screen in aid of Sport Relief. Camier crashed at Honda... Read article
