As they saw it – Kyalami | World SBK
- From: 'the Wire' | Published: May 19th, 2009 - 1:54 pm
Rea On The Podium For The First Time In 2009
The most positive weekend of the year so far for Jonathan Rea (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR) saw him take fourth place in the first race at Kyalami, then follow that up with his first podium of the 2009 season, in third place in race two. The 24-lap races at the bumpy and physical 4.246km circuit were a challenge for all riders, but Rea was in the vanguard throughout, qualifying fifth in Superpole and up as high as second in race two. He had to fight off pressure from behind, in the shape of Leon Haslam (Stiggy Racing Honda CBR1000RR), to take his third place, riding tactically on occasion, but in doing so he went fifth in the championship table, only one place behind Leon Haslam.
Leon had a crash on lap 15 of race one, simply by pushing too hard on an imperfect front set-up in an effort to recover from a starting position of tenth on the grid. In the second 24-lap contest his pace was sufficient to hold off Max Biaggi, if not quite enough to pass Rea. In taking fourth and 13 points, he is still the top ranked Honda rider in the standings, fourth, with 116 points to Rea’s 106.
Carlos Checa (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR) made significant set-up changes to his machine during this race weekend and found rewards, earning seventh in Superpole and then sixth in each race. He displaced his Ten Kate team-mate Ryuichi Kiyonari (Ten Kate Honda Racing CBR1000RR) by moving to tenth place in the championship standings, 73 points to 72.
‘Kiyo’ had a tough time at Kyalami, in qualifying as in the race, starting from12th and riding to 12th in the opener and 13th in race two, never really able to match his riding style to the peculiarities of Kyalami.
Tommy Hill (Honda Althea CBR1000RR) was disappointed not to be able to make the required set-up changes he needed to be a points scoring force in either race. He was the last rider who qualified into the top 20 for Superpole, then 19th in race one and 17th in race two.
Noriyuki Haga left Kyalami as the double race winner, and now he has 250 championship points to Michel Fabrizo’s 165, after the Italian rider placed second in each Kyalami race. Ben Spies was third in race one and was forced to retire in race two, and is now third overall, on 162.
The next round is at Miller Motorsports Park, in Utah, USA, on May 31.
WSS:
Laverty’s Triple Treat Reduces Crutchlow’s Championship Lead
Eugene Laverty (Parkalgar Honda CBR600RR) today took his third World Supersport win from the six races held to date this season, leading for all but the first of 23 laps of the 4.246km Kyalami circuit in South Africa.
The race was held in dry conditions, allowing Laverty to capitalize on his third place grid slot, and the work put in by rider and team to find a strong race set-up to cope with the bumpy track conditions.
He set a new lap record on the recently altered circuit near Johannesburg, a 1m 41.053s, taken on lap three as he made an escape from the frequently warring factions behind him.
Laverty is still second in the championship, but made up some ground on championship leader Cal Crutchlow, who was second in the Kyalami race. Crutchlow has 119 points, Laverty 106, with eight rounds remaining.
Mark Aitchison (Althea Honda CBR600RR) went from eighth in qualifying to third in the race, capitalizing on a coming together on the final lap between Kenan Sofuoglu (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda CBR600RR) and Joan Lascorz to record his first podium.
Sofuoglu recovered for fifth place, not the podium he was in line for, while his team-mate Andrew Pitt (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda CBR600RR) slipped back down the order from an early second place to finish a disappointed sixth. Both Ten Kate riders had been on the front row, Sofuoglu second and Pitt fourth.
A tough time in qualifying left Anthony West (Stiggy Racing Honda CBR600RR) in 16th place but a battling ride took him to eighth in the race. The top ten order in today’s race was completed by 13th place qualifier Matthieu Lagrive (Althea Honda CBR600RR).
Miguel Praia (Parkalgar Honda CBR600RR) just missed a single point by finishing 16th; Gianluca Vizziello (Stiggy Racing Honda CBR600RR) was 17th in a day when all the supported Honda riders finished the race at this bumpy, intense, circuit.
Behind the series top two, Sofuoglu has 83 points, Pitt 64 and West, now in sixth place overall, has 60.
WSB Rider Quotes:
Jonathan Rea said:
“This feels really good and I was hoping it might have come sooner but we had a pretty slow start to the season. In fact, you could say the season started three rounds before we did. But the development is going really well now and I’d like to thank the whole team for working so hard to move things in the right direction. I’d also like to apologise to all their wives for the late nights they’ve been putting in at the workshop. The crew were giving me great signals through the second race and I knew I was coming under a bit of pressure. I actually knocked the pace off a bit to keep Haslam and Biaggi behind me so that I had a bit in reserve in the last few laps. It’s a great feeling and the first of many, I hope.”
Leon Haslam said:
“It was a bit of a gamble to go out on my second bike today after crashing my number one bike in the first race. My first race was really strange, I don’t know whether is was the front tire, but from the first lap in the first race I kept losing the front, resulting in a crash. The second bike has a totally different gearbox and suspension set-up to the other bike, but it worked straight away. I was a lot happier now that I could battle with the front group, but for whatever reason there was nothing left in my rear tire, and I couldn’t fight with Johnny Rea for third.”
Carlos Checa said:
“In race two I could not use all the grip I had at the beginning because I had a bit of jumping from the rear wheel, but a few laps later I could move forward. As the grip decreased I was able to go faster, made up a lot of time on the other guys in front, and then of course Johnny pushed a lot to keep his position. Considering our year so far, I think this is our best weekend, the most positive one. But, we are not doing the best, because Johnny is in front of us. For us he is our closest reference. But this race was a good one to get our confidence back and now we will try to catch-up.”
Ryuichi Kiyonari said:
“It’s been a difficult day and a difficult weekend. We changed the tire for race two but really we knew that this was not the problem. Kyalami is a very difficult circuit for me, very bumpy and it needs a completely different riding style to Monza last week. I guess I didn’t quite find the right style. We had a lot of problems so it’s difficult for me to know which one we should really concentrate on. I can only hope Miller will be better for me. It was not so good last year, but we will try hard again and hope for better things.”
Tommy Hill said:
“We start out OK at the beginning of weekends, even on the tracks that are all new for me, and we are around 14, 15th. But then we don’t make any progress. In race two my grip went after about ten laps and it was very difficult from then on. I am doing all I can to move forward but we don’t seem to resolve the problems.”
WSS Rider Quotes:
Eugene Laverty said:
“Thank you to my Parkalgar Honda team for giving me a bike that was simply perfect. After warm-up this morning I knew we had the capability to win and that’s down to the team effort. During the race I was aware of the gap between Cal and myself and it wasn’t as easy to maintain as it may have looked. With someone like Cal behind pushing as hard as he does, on the limit to win, you can never relax. The gap went back and forward and it was a hard race – it was difficult to control because Cal had the same pace as me, if he hadn’t been held up at the start then it would have been a fight. It’s nice to keep the 50 per cent win record.”
Mark Aitchison said:
“It was my luck that I was able to pass Sofuoglu and Lascorz in the last lap but we actually put a couple of good laps down in the last few laps, and I was already hoping that I could bridge the gap to them. I hoped they might get in the way of each other and it worked out that way. Obviously you don’t want to get on the podium like that, but at the moment – I’ll take it.”
Kenan Sofuoglu said:
“Lascorz made an attack on me and before the last corner he made a mistake, he lost the corner and I looked to pass him. But he leaned towards me and I had to avoid him, taking a completely different line and I missed the podium. But for me the bigger problem was that there was quite a big gap between us and the top two riders, which is not normal. It’s just not normal to be slow like this, because nothing changed from yesterday when everything was OK.”
Andrew Pitt said:
“We seem to be finishing our tires too quickly for some reason. We were pushing the front even from the early laps and I couldn’t go with Eugene’s pace. He was doing qualifying pace all race and we needed it to be a bit slower than qualifying pace, but it wasn’t. We just can’t fight the way it is at the moment and Eugene was in a class of his own today. We’ve got to somehow get to that level.”
Anthony West said:
“The team seems happy with my results today, but I’m rather disappointed myself. I expected to do a lot better here, and hoped to put the tough times of the last races behind me, but it didn’t really work out. Hopefully, for America we can change everything around, and start from the front again. It is a bit ridiculous finding myself in the position I am in at the moment, I can do a lot better. It’s rather embarrassing. I am happy with the work the team have put in, we are still trying and will try and find the improvement for the next race.”
Matthieu Lagrive said:
“I got boxed in at the start and it was impossible to break out of the group of slower riders for some time. When I got away I was immediately four tenths faster than them, and West came with me. I was surprised that he passed me but when he did he held me up a bit as well. I was slower than him in one section of the track, the last one, and I can’t understand why when I was faster everywhere else.”
Miguel Praia said:
“We tried many things in warm-up this morning to find an extra half-second of pace to get into the top 10, but nothing worked. We went back to yesterday’s settings and we should have been able to compete for 12th or so but mid-race, when normally we get stronger, this time we lost pace for some reason. It has been a tough weekend and now I want to forget it and move on.”
Gianluca Vizziello said:
“I was struggling with my tires today. I couldn’t really control the bike sliding on the track, and had to close the gas too soon. I was rather angry with myself after the qualifying sessions, and am not very happy with the results of the race. We just couldn’t work out what was wrong and where we had to find the improvement. I hope that I can make a step forward in the next round in America.”
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Kiyonari takes Kyalami points
After his double podium last weekend at Monza in Italy, Ten Kate Honda Racing’s Ryuichi Kiyonari was frustrated to finish in 12th and 13th place in today’s two sixth round World Superbike championship races at Kyalami in South Africa.
The two races were won by series leader Noriyuki Haga, but, starting from 12th place on the grid, Kiyonari never settled into a comfortable rhythm on his Honda Genuine Accessories-backed CBR1000RR Fireblade.
The Japanese ace struggled to find a comfortable setting during the championship’s first visit to Kyalami in seven years, despite testing at the 4.24km circuit near Johannesburg with the rest of the Ten Kate team last December.
Ryuichi Kiyonari – 12th & 13th
It’s been a difficult day and a difficult weekend. We changed the tire for race two but really we knew that this was not the problem. Kyalami is a very difficult circuit for me – very bumpy and it needs a completely different riding style to Monza last week. I guess I didn’t quite find the right style. We had a lot of problems so it’s difficult for me to know which one we should really concentrate on. I can only hope Miller will be better for me – it was not so good last year, but we will try hard again and hope for better things.
Ronald ten Kate – team manager
On the Hannspree side of the garage, we have had a good result with Jonathan Rea on the podium today and, of course, Kiyo-san was there himself last week in Monza. It’s strange that on some tracks he is flying and on others he seems to struggle. We’ll regroup before travelling to the USA and everyone will work as hard as they can to give him a bike that he is comfortable with there.
Debut podium delight for Rea
Jonathan Rea scored his debut World Superbike podium in race two of the sixth round at Kyalami in South Africa today. It was also the Hannspree Ten Kate Honda team’s first visit to the rostrum this season.
Both of today’s 24-lap races at the 4.24km circuit near Johannesburg were won by Ducati’s Noriyuki Haga, with Rea also taking an impressive fourth place in race one, absorbing pressure all the way from Aprilia rider, Max Biaggi.
In race two, Rea got another good start from fifth place on the grid and ran in second place behind Haga before the Japanese rider’s team-mate, Michel Fabrizio slid past. In the latter stages of the race, Rea held off the attentions of fellow Honda CBR1000RR-mounted Leon Haslam before crossing the line for his first podium in his rookie WSBK season.
Rea’s Hannspree Ten Kate Honda team-mate, Carlos Checa, put in two solid performances today for a pair of sixth place finishes. Starting from seventh on the grid, the Spaniard battled rear grip problems and chatter to record his best overall results of the season thus far.
Jonathan Rea – 4th and 3rd
This feels really good and I was hoping it might have come sooner but we had a pretty slow start to the season. In fact, you could say the season started three rounds before we did. But the development is going really well now and I’d like to thank the whole team for working so hard to move things in the right direction. I’d also like to apologise to all their wives for the late nights they’ve been putting in at the workshop. The crew were giving me great signals through the second race and I knew I was coming under a bit of pressure. I actually knocked the pace off a bit to keep Haslam and Biaggi behind me so that I had a bit in reserve in the last few laps. It’s a great feeling and the first of many, I hope.
Carlos Checa – 6th and 6th
It’s not easy seeing your team-mates getting this success – Kiyo in Monza last week and Jonathan today. But I must say that this is probably the most positive weekend we have had this season. We’re now a bit closer to something we can work with to move in the right direction, which is back to the front. It’s good timing for Miller in the US where we go next and I have some good memories of winning there last year. Today’s results are, of course, really positive for the team and congratulations to Johnny who rode very well today.
Ronald ten Kate – team manager
It’s nothing new to say that we’ve had a rough and tough start to the season. The route we have taken since Valencia has taken a few rounds to dial in but it’s clear to see that we’re on the up again. Today’s podium for Johnny is a big bonus and reward for the whole team effort. On a twisty and bumpy track like Kyalami, it shows the great work of everyone involved. Big compliments to Johnny, who rode very intelligently today. Carlos is definitely moving forward again, too, and hopefully the steps we’ve made will give him a good confidence boost as we head to Miller where we have good memories from last year.
No joy for Ten Kate Supersport team
Kenan Sofuoglu and Andrew Pitt finished in fifth and sixth places respectively in today’s sixth round World Supersport race at Kyalami. The race was won by fellow Honda-mounted Eugene Laverty in emphatic style.
Starting from the front row, Sofuoglu leaped into an early lead but very quickly found himself lacking grip both at the front and rear of his CBR600RR. Pitt, too, made a good start and ran in third place before forcing his way past his Hannspree Ten Kate Honda team-mate on lap three.
Sofuoglu slipped down the leading pack to sixth but rallied later in the race and looked like achieving a podium finish after Fabien Foret crashed out of third place. However, the Turkish ace clashed with Joan Lascorz in the last two corners – allowing Honda rider Mark Aitchison to snatch third.
Pitt meanwhile suffered the same grip problems as his team-mate from early in the race and could only manager sixth place at the flag.
Kenan Sofuoglu – fifth
I had a good start and the first lap or two was not so bad. But I started to lose grip very quickly and, when Andrew came past, I lost some rhythm and went backwards. It wasn’t a very good move from Lascorz at the end and it cost me third place, but we were very slow today and maybe didn’t deserve a podium. It’s just not normal to be slow like this, because nothing changed from yesterday when everything was OK.
Andrew Pitt – sixth
I saw after a couple laps that Laverty was disappearing and had to put a move on Kenan, but even then I nearly crashed I had so little grip. It was like that every lap for the rest of the race – like riding on ice. I was losing the front everywhere, the back was coming round on me under braking. We tried something different in warm-up this morning, but that didn’t work so we went back to yesterday, which was pretty good. I don’t know what’s happened since then, but it was all I could do to bring it home.
Ronald ten Kate – team manager
We are obviously quite upset by these results, because yesterday both riders managed to do a lot of 1m41s laps. Today, in the race, Kenan and Andrew had to give everything just to stay in the 42s. If you’re off the pace all weekend, you cannot expect podium finishes. But this is quite the opposite and it just doesn’t reflect the pace that we have shown in free practice and qualifying.
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Mixed fortunes for Yamaha riders Spies and Sykes in Kyalami
The first race saw Yamaha rider Ben Spies drop back to fourth from the pole position start as they left the line. He recovered quickly and took second position back as they turned into the first corner, diving up the inside of Biaggi to tuck up behind championship rival Noriyuki Haga. Halfway round the first lap he was passed by Michele Fabrizio and settled into third position behind the two Ducatis as they battled for the lead for the majority of the race.
With seven laps to go, Spies dived passed Fabrizio on the last corner coming on to the start finish straight to take second. As the lap unfolded Fabrizio passed briefly but was taken straight again by Spies as the powerful Yamaha out dragged the Ducati from the corner. An unfortunate tank slapper coming out of Clubhouse allowed Fabrizio passed again, and as the tires had now gone off it was impossible for Spies to catch up so he settled for third and a well deserved podium.
Race two saw disaster strike for Spies, having dropped to third off the start, he again passed Biaggi on the inside for the second place spot and coming round for lap three took Haga in a fantastic move for the lead. No sooner had he done this than his shit linkage broke, making it impossible to change gear and forcing him to retire from the race.
Team-mate Tom Sykes had a less than perfect start to race one, dropping from his eighth position start on the grid to 16th as they headed into the first corner. With ten laps to go he’d moved up to 11th position with a steady race pace and then swiftly took Lavilla for the tenth spot. Although maintaining a good race pace he couldn’t get up to ninth so settled for 10th. Race two saw a better start, dropping initially to 10th, he worked hard to take two places and move up to the eighth spot which he held until briefly before the finish when Suzuki rider Kagayama took back the spot, relegating him to ninth.
Ben Spies, Yamaha World Superbike Team, (3rd,DNF)
“We were struggling to hang in there in race one, it was a good race for all three of us up at the front. When I passed Michel I tried to reel in Nori and then unfortunately made a mistake. I was really strong in parts of the track but giving up too much time in some corners and couldn’t get in there. The second race was very unfortunate, I was feeling good and had secured an early lead, then obviously had the technical problem and had to retire, I’m really disappointed about it. I’m looking forward to going home to the USA for the next round and seeing if we can make it up.”
Tom Sykes, Yamaha World Superbike Team, (10th, 9th )
“I got away badly in the first race and initially dropped down to sixteenth which was a shame as I felt I could have been more consistent. The second race I got away ok from the start and was closing in on Checa and a couple of the boys, but the last five laps or so I was really struggling. If we could have found a bit more grip it would have been better. We struggled on the power this weekend as well which was tough on this circuit. I’m looking forward to getting to Miller as I think the track will suit the R1 really well, and I want to close the gap and get up into fourth place as I think it’s possible.”
Massimo Meregalli, Yamaha World Superbike Team Manager
“Both riders did really well in the first race as we have been having issues here with the tires, making it hard to be consistent throughout the race. For Ben in race two we had a problem with the shift linkage so he was unable to change gear and had to retire. We knew from practice that it was going to be tough racing here but both Ben and Tom did their best. The Ducati engine was stronger here on the day. ”
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Crutchlow maintains championship lead in South Africa
Yamaha World Supersport rider Cal Crutchlow had a tough race in Kyalami today missing out on the race win after being held up by the pack at the start of the race. The British rider initially dropped to sixth position from the start, behind team-mate Fabien Foret. The pair stayed together, following Sofuoglu until a mistake by the Honda rider on the 3rd lap allowed Crutchlow past. He then passed his team-mate on the fifth lap, before swiftly taking Lascorz and Pitt to move into second behind race leader Laverty. By this point Laverty had extended a considerable lead, and although Crutchlow worked hard to close the gap he had to settle for a second place finish and another podium.
Team-mate Fabien Foret had a better start and lead Crutchlow for a while before following him through to take up third place. He gradually built up a good lead over fourth placed rider Lascorz but a momentary lapse of concentration going into a corner too hot four laps from the end saw the French rider lose the front end and crash out.
Crutchlow leaves South Africa still leading the championship on 119 points, 13 ahead of second placed Laverty. Foret is in eighth on 44 points.
Cal Crutchlow, Yamaha World Supersport Team (2nd)
“It was a really tough race, the beginning was a proper dog fight. It took me a long time to get through the pack and start working on breaking down Laverty’s lead. By the time I got clear in second he had a big gap and I just couldn’t keep it consistently quick enough to catch him. I made a couple of small mistakes which cost me some time so had to settle for the second spot on the podium. A big thank you to the Yamaha team again for working so hard this weekend.”
Fabien Foret, Yamaha World Supersport Team, (DNF)
“I’m really disappointed with myself. It was a big fight at the beginning of the race and I did well to get through. I had a really good race pace and was feeling confident to keep pushing on. I had built up a good lead in third but just lost a moment’s concentration going into the corner and went down on the front.”
Wilco Zeelenberg, Yamaha World Supersport Team
“We lost the fight for the race win two seconds into the first lap when both riders got held up by the main pack, by the second lap Eugene was too far away to challenge. Cal was looking like he was able to catch him but he had to push hard and made one or too small mistakes. At the moment the championship lead is very close and podiums are very important. It was very disappointing not to have two podiums, Fabien had a good pace and was as fast as Cal but was a bit too hot into the corner and crashed. It was a shame as he had a good lead and didn’t need to push so hard.”
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Haslam fourth in Kyalami race
After an unfortunate crash in the first race, Stiggy Racing Honda’s Leon Haslam mounted another fresh charge at a top position in the second race, and took a well earned fourth place at the South African track of Kyalami today.
Haslam had firmly placed himself in the top 5 of the timing sheets throughout the qualifying session at the 4.246m Kyalami track.
Despite his misfortune in the first race, Haslam made a competitive performance in the second Superbike race while out on his second bike.
Haslam came through the first lap in seventh place from his tenth position on the grid, and quickly made a pass on Carlos Checa, before moving up another place as Spies took and early retirement from the race due to a technical problem.
Biaggi tried to close the door in front of Haslam, but struggled to keep him off his tail, and found the fast Englishman flying passed him in the second half of the race. Unfortunately, further progress to the front of the field, and a place on the rostrum was halted by fellow Honda rider Johnny Rea, and a worn of rear-tire.
Haslam took no further risks and passed the checkered flag in fourth place, taking 13 valuable championship points home.
Ducati team mates Haga and Fabrizio produced a carbon copy of their first Kyalami finish, pulling away from the rest of the field to take first and second place respectively, twice over today.
Haslam leaves the sixth round of the Superbike World Championship with 116 points to his name, and currently sits best Honda at fourth place in the Standings.
Leon Haslam, Race 1 – DNF, Race 2 – 4th:
” It was a bit of a gamble to go out on my second bike today after crashing my number one bike in the first race. My first race was really strange, I don’t know whether is was a dodgy front tire, but from the first lap in the first race I kept losing the front, resulting in a crash. The second bike has a totally different gearbox and suspension set-up to the other bike, but it worked straight away. I was a lot happier now that I could battle with the front group, but for whatever reason there was nothing left in my rear tire, it felt like a piece of jelly towards the end of the race, and I couldn’t fight with Johnny [Rea] for third. I’m glad I managed to hold on till the end on that tire, and bring the bike back home safely in fourth place “.
Johan Stigefelt, Teammanager:
” Leon’s performance was unbelievable today. He suffered a big crash in the first race, and completely destroyed his bike, but managed to come back in the second race while out on hi second bike. He had not been riding that bike all weekend, and then to set a results like this is just amazing. It goes to show what a class rider and fighter he is. We are all very happy with him setting such a good result here for the team today. It feels good to leave Kyalami with a fourth place in our pocket, and prepare for the next overseas race in America “.
West battles to Eight in Kyalami Race
After a tough two days of qualifying, Stiggy Racing’s Anthony West was finally finding form again, and claimed an eight place in the sixth round of the World Supersport Championship at Kyalami today.
The sunny South African track hosted the World Supersport Championship for the first time this year, and proved the perfect scene for another battle of the 600′s. Eugene Laverty took the win today – his third one this season – , after leading most of the 23-lap race.
Anthony West faced a tough race from his 16th place on the grid, but securely made his way forward trough the pack, and tussled with Pirro for tenth position on the sixth lap. The gap to the faster group in front proved hard to close, and West seemed set in tenth position for the remainder of the race, but crashes in the ultimate laps of the race took Foret and Nannelli out, and enabled West to bring his bike through in eight place.
West is finally regaining confidence aboard his Stiggy Racing Honda CBR600RR after lack of competitiveness troubled him in the Assen and Monza rounds. His performance toady shows the Australian rider is on the up, ahead of the next fly-away round in America in two weeks time.
West took eight points home in today’s race, and currently holds a tied fifth place in the Supersport Championship Standings.
Team mate Gianluca Vizziello started the race from a disappointing 20th place on the grid, but managed to improve his position by three places, taking 17th at the line.
Anthony West, 8th:
” The team seems happy with my results today, but I’m rather disappointed myself. I expected to do a lot better here, and hoped to put the tough times of the last races behind me, but it didn’t really work out. Hopefully, for America we can change everything around, and start from the front again. It is a bit ridiculous finding myself in the position I am in at the moment, I can do a lot better. It’s rather embarrassing. I am happy with the work the team have put in, we are still trying and will try and find the improvement for the next race “.
Gianluca Vizziello, 17th:
” I was struggling with my tires today. I couldn’t really control the bike sliding on the track, and had to close the gas too soon. I was rather angry with myself after the qualifying sessions, and am not very happy with the results of the race. We just couldn’t work out what was wrong and where we had to find the improvement. I hope that I can make a step forward in the next round in America.”
Johan Stigefelt, Teammanager:
” I am happy with Anthony’s result here. At least he went out there and had a fight with some riders again, and he didn’t give up despite the tough qualifying sessions. It was another tough weekend for him, but will just keep on working and improving. We need to find the right way to set up his bike for him. His confidence is coming back step by step. Finishing in eight position is obviously not what we came here for, but he is on the right way, and am sure he will improve. Vizziello had a bad weekend and rode a disappointing race. He failed to make up any positions in the race, and we are all disappointed by his performance, and hope he will do better in the next round “.
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Points For Kawasaki Riders At Kyalami
Regular Kawasaki World Superbike Team rider Broc Parkes and stand-in rider Sheridan Morais each scored points in the sixth round of the championship, with Morais taking a best of 11th in race two. Given the fact that Parkes was still suffering with a significant degree of pain and weakness due to his recent testing crash, and that Morais was not only new to WSB but new to slick tires, their points scores in each race are highly creditable.
The Ninja ZX-10R proved to be a useful machine around the bumpy and relatively old Kyalami tarmac, with Morais making light of his first ride in such illustrious company. He was running top ten for a period then posted a 13th place in race one, followed by an even more impressive 11th.
Parkes had to admit that Kyalami was a particularly tough test for his battered body despite his determination proving strong enough to secure a 15th place in race one and then a 14th place in the second 24-lap Superbike contest.
Parkes now has 20 points in the championship, and is 18th, while Morais joins the points scoring club at this level with eight, and is 21st overall.
Broc Parkes: “My body has had enough. I knew it would be tough here but I also struggled all weekend with set-up. I think a lot of my problems have come down to fitness because of my crash in testing and a recent operation on my shoulder. I have a few more problems that way than I thought I would. We had a better second race, but it was a little bit like Monza, my body is still not ready. I have short break before the next round at Miller and I think that is going to do me the world of good. I tried my best but I just didn’t have the strength at the end. Even at the start I could not put my body on the line like I want to. To come out of here with points is not a bad effort, I think.”
Sheridan Morais: “That was a race! The first one I was fighting but went backwards. Such small changes on these World Superbikes obviously make a crucial difference. We made like a tiny adjustment to the bike for race two and it was a different bike to ride. So I could really race. I missed a top ten by one place but I absolutely rode my heart out. The team did a fantastic job and I am pretty happy.”
Fourth Place For Lascorz In Africa
Joan Lascorz found himself battling for a podium spot at Kyalami but had to settle for fourth after a last lap packed with drama in the only World Supersport round to be held in Africa this season. The Spanish rider was looking set for fourth place at best before Fabien Foret crashed out, suddenly making Lascorz’s man-to-man fight with Kenan Sofuoglu a podium struggle.
As Lascorz and Sofuoglu attempted to gain the advantage in an action-packed last few corners, they were caught by following rider Mark Aitchison, who took the final podium place, behind race winner Eugene Laverty and Cal Crutchlow.
Lascorz improved his current overall championship placing to fifth, on 60 points.
Lascorz’ Provec Motocard.com Kawasaki team mate Katsuaki Fujiwara rode his Ninja ZX-6R to 13th in the race, having chosen the wrong gearing for raceday. He is now 13th, on 26 points.
Joan Lascorz: “The last lap was a very big fight and Sofuoglu got past me again, then I went inside, only for Aitchison to come past us both. I did not know Aitchison was so close behind. The bike was pretty much like yesterday, because we tried a new thing in the warm-up this morning, but it didn’t work, so we went back to what we knew. It’s a shame to miss out on the podium when we got a chance late in the race.”
Katsuaki Fujiwara: “Our bike was a bit better today and the engine was stronger. We changed the gearing a bit because we were running too high revs a lot yesterday but we went a bit too long with it and it did not push so hard up the hills. The start of the race wasn’t so bad but then the rear started chattering and then it was difficult to keep the line. It was also tough under hard braking.”
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Team Sterilgarda:
Team Sterilgarda takes ninth place in South Africa after a great recovery by Shane Byrne in race 1. The British rider started fourteenth on the grid but at the second corner got in the eleventh position and kept it until lap 12. However, by the half of the race the bike started chattering in the back due to the tire spinning on the wheel. He kept his cool as he managed to gain two more positions and finished the race ninth after overtaking the other English rider, Sykes but was first among the non-official riders.
In race 2 the Englishman was forced to return to the pits as the accelerator wire unbelievably broke and prevented him from scoring another good result. In spite of that, the team is confident and hopes to improve in the next round when the WSBK will move to the USA, on the Miller Park track in fifteen days time.
SHANE BYRNE – Ducati 1098R – 9th, retired: “I’m satisified with race 1 although my performance was influenced by a problem I had with the back tire that was chattering. It was completely destroyed at the end of the race!!! I did however score a good result that I could’ ve replicated in race 2. Unfortunately, another problem forced me to get back to the pits”.
MARCO BORCIANI – team manager: “In this early stage of the season, it seems like we’re not lucky at all. I’ve never heard of an accelerator wire to break in the middle of the race but it did happen today and so we couldn’t finish race 2. However, Shane has proven once again he is a great rider despite the fact that he returned to the pits with a completely destroyed tire. We did well today but we just hope to get rid of the bad lucky we keep having lately”.
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Yukio fights for a pair of eights. Fonsi gets a 15th
Team Suzuki Alstare Brux rider Yukio Kagayama battled his way to two eighth places in the sixth round of this year’s Superbike World Championship today in Kyalami, RSA. Despite problems with the bumpy track, Yukio kept attacking and managed to bring his GSX-R1000 K9 home not so far from the leaders in both 24-lappers.
His team mate Fonsi Nieto, standing in for the injured Max Neukirchner, has never raced at Kyalami before, but managed to finish 16th in race one and 15th in race two.
Today’s races took place in superb conditions and were both won by Noriyuki Haga (Ducati). In race one, he was a comfortable winner, nearly a second ahead of team mate Michel Fabrizio, with Ben Spies (Yamaha) third. After taking the lead on lap three of race two, he was never headed on the way to his double. Fabrizio pushed him hard, but ended just three tenths of a second behind at the flag. Jonathan Rea (Honda) took third place after holding off Leon Haslam (Honda) and Max Biaggi (Aprilia) in the closing stages.
Yukio – Race 1: 8th, Race 2: 8th
This weekend, I had trouble with the bumps at this racetrack and we were not able to find a good solution to make the bike easier to ride over these bumps. We tried many things, but it is not so easy to understand the character of this bike and I would like more testing time.This bike is all new this year and so we have had to start to work with it and try and understand it. If we could understand the bike completely, we could improve it quickly and that would mean that I could challenge for the podium in every race. I am hoping that Miller will be good for us and I am looking forward to fighting for the top spots again.
Fonsi – Race 1: 16th, Race 2: 15th
I am happy to be here, but I am not happy about the results. The team have been great and it’s as if I have never been away. The bike is new to me and so is the track, but I don’t like this track because of all the bumps. This bike is not working so well with the tires we have and if we could improve in that area, we would be able to fight for better results for sure. Now I have some time to think about the bike and talk to the team about some ideas for the next race in USA. At least I have raced at that track before, so I will not be starting with such a big disadvantage as this weekend.
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KYALAMI, RACE 2: BIAGGI FIFTH AGAIN AND NAKANO SEVENTH
The temperature dropped for Race 2 of the South African Superbike round. The numerous spectators who came to Kyalami participated in a grand show with great warmth. Haga makes it a double win, at his sixth victory of the season, hounded right down to the last turn by his team mate Fabrizio and Rea, third, on the Honda at a gap of 8″936.
Haga started off fast followed by Spies and Biaggi. The Japanese and the American try to begin the chase straight off, but in the third lap Spies breaks his gear shifter and is forced to pull out. From behind the fight for the podium heats up with Fabrizio, starting off badly, recovering positions, together with Rea, Biaggi and Haslam trying to catch up the leader. But the Ducati rider is keeping another pace and at the halfway point he manages to join his team mate and stay with him straight through to the final push. So only three are left to battle for the third step of the podium. Rea leads the pack, managing to fend off Biaggi’s attacks with Haslam awaiting the right moment, which arrives in the thirteenth lap when he slips the RSV4 past with an impossible manoeuvre. The situation did not change until four laps from the end when Rea increased his advantage slightly; Haslam isn’t able to respond as he tries to hold off Biaggi’s continuous attacks, defending fourth position until the finish, while Max is unable to slipstream past him, finishing with the same position as Race 1.
A good race for Nakano who, after having missed the train at the start, is able to find a decent pace until arriving only two seconds behind Biaggi’s pack in the final laps, finishing once again in seventh place.
“These two fifth positions are the most we could have gotten – stated Biaggi – The result is good enough, but we suffered quite a bit with the vibrations in the turns and coming out of them we didn’t have a lot of grip and that forced us to use softer tires. Compared to November, the RSV4 has grown quite a bit, but the competition here in Superbike is merciless”.
“I did much better in the last two rounds – said Nakano – where I had some bad trials and inconsistent races. This time it went much better, even if I still need to improve my feeling with the bike in the first five laps where I lose quite a lot. Anyway, I’m happy to have come back up front and I hope to improve even more in the race in the USA”.
KYALAMI, RACE 1: BIAGGI FINISHES IN FIFTH PLACE, NAKANO IN SEVENTH
The sun shines brightly on the Kyalami racetrack for Race 1 of the South African Superbike round. Haga wins, on the official Ducati, in front of his team mate Fabrizio, Ben Spies third on his Yamaha.
Haga starts off well from fourth position and straight away forms a train of 6 riders which begins a chase including Fabrizio, Spies, Rea, Checa and Biaggi, with Nakano trying to catch up. In the second lap Fabrizio takes the lead and increases the pace, and in the sixth lap the group begins to break up. Halfway through the race, Haga takes command and begins to widen the gap, riding all alone until the chequered flag; behind him, Spies and Fabrizio are locked in a heated fencing match for second place, with the Ducati rider getting the better of the American, pulling away four laps from the end.
Biaggi, starting off well from the third row, stays in the lead group in sixth place until Fabrizio’s push. In the eighth lap, Biaggi engages Checa, slower than he, in a duel and manages to overtake him only two laps later. Max throws himself into chasing down Rea, in fourth place, with an impressing pace, equalling that of the three lead riders. In the nineteenth lap, Max catches up the American, who is visibly slower, and tries to attack him any way possible on this stretch where it is extremely difficult to overtake. Rea closes all the doors and Biaggi tries anything and everything in the last turn, but goes too wide and has to settle for fifth place at a disadvantage of only 0″105.
Nakano, starting from the ninth row, recovers two positions straight away at the start and tries to stay with the lead group, but in the second lap he is already more than a second behind. Shinya fends off attacks by Morais and Kagayama with a good pace, pulling away from them halfway through the race and trying to catch Checa and Biaggi. Five laps from the end he is able to catch up the Spaniard, attempting repeatedly to overtake him. Unfortunately, his attempts are in vain and he crosses the finish line in seventh place.
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DISAPPOINTMENT FOR TEAM BMW MOTORRAD MOTORSPORT IN KYALAMI.
The sixth round of this year’s Superbike World Championship in Kyalami will not be remembered with much affection by Team BMW Motorrad Motorsport. The weekend had started with promise, but ended without either or Ruben or Steve scoring any points in the two twenty-four lap races. Ruben was pushed off the track twice and completed just three laps in total. Steve managed to finish both races, ending 22nd in race one and 18th in race two.
Both today’s races, which took place in superb conditions, were won by Noriyuki Haga (Ducati). In race one, he was a comfortable winner, nearly a second ahead of team mate Michel Fabrizio, with Ben Spies (Yamaha) third. After taking the lead on lap three of race two, he was never headed on the way to his double. Fabrizio pushed him hard at the end, but ended just three tenths of a second behind at the flag. Jonathan Rea (Honda) took third place after holding off Leon Haslam (Honda) and Max Biaggi (Aprilia) in the closing stages.
Ruben – Race 1: DNF, Race 2: DNF
There’s not much to say when you have only done three laps in two races and I am disappointed for myself and the whole team because we had the potential to get goods results today. I am a bit angry because I know I did a good job this weekend and it’s not good getting nothing back. In race one I think I was nudged off by Smrz and I have got a funny feeling that he was also involved in the race two crash as well. In that race, I was just going into the last turn and suddenly my bike shot out from under me. I am not sure exactly what happened, but it was crash number two and a big shame because the bike is improving and I’m sure I could’ve got a couple of top ten finishes.
Steve – Race 1: 22, Race 2: 18th
It has been a great honour to be on the S 1000 RR this weekend. I never expected to race at the top level in WSBK again but I am very grateful to get the chance. My job this weekend was not to be Troy (Corser), but to try things the team do not normally get the chance to try during a race weekend and give us much info and feedback as possible. The team gave me 100% this weekend and helped me really enjoy the whole experience. Of course, I am not happy with the results, but I’m happy to be on the track in a WSBK race and happy to help the team.
Rainer Baeumel (Team Manager-BMW Motorrad Motorsport)
The dramas started yesterday in Superpole when we had the potential to be on the second or third row of the grid. When you start from the fourth or fifth row, there are always going to problems getting through the pack and it’s easy to get pushed or shoved. One of our objectives must be to qualify better and try and avoid these kind of problems. I think we are all a bit disappointed because Ruben had the potential to finish seventh, eighth or ninth.
Steve gave us a lot of information and feedback and it was definitely the right decision asking to him the race here this weekend. On a positive note, we’ve found some good ideas and directions to use in the next race.
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Pirelli:
At 1465 Metres above sea level, the 4.246km long Kyalami circuit offered the World Superbike and Supersport competitors a unique challenge in several ways. It is a new track for most, as it was last used by WSBK in 2002, although many of the top Superbike teams and one World Supersport Team tested at the circuit in the Gauteng region of South Africa last December, during tire and machine development session. Since then the removal of the final chicane, to be replaced with a right-hander over the crest of a hill, has changed the track length to 4.246km, and made it naturally faster, but the sheer pace of the qualifying sessions at Kyalami was impressive all the same.
Ben Spies, who has been making headlines and history since he first arrived in WSB this year, wrote his name into granite in the record books again in qualifying, and he now shares the record for six consecutive pole position wins with his fellow Texan, Doug Polen. He set a new track best of 1’37.288 in Superpole three to head up a front row qualifying order of Michel Fabrizio (Ducati Xerox), Max Biaggi (Aprilia Racing) and championship leader, Noriyuki Haga (Ducati Xerox). Spies was only one thousandth of a second ahead of Fabrizio in Superpole three.
Several riders were replaced for this race, because of injury, with Fonsi Nieto, Gregorio Lavilla, Sheridan Morais, Steve Martin and Shaun Whyte taking their place on the grid for the first time this year. Regis Laconi (DFX Ducati) crashed at high speed in the first session of the weekend, and suffered serious head, spinal and lung injuries. He condition is now improving and he is set to have an operation on Tuesday to fix his broken vertebrae in place, and the other neurological problems resulting from the crash are also showing positive results.
After the feedback received from the tests in December, Pirelli shipped 4,365 tires from Europe in February, to suit the needs of Kyalami racetrack. The old, scarred and bumpy asphalt at Kyalami means the riders need a lot of grip to recover their ideal racing lines. The track temperature during the current South African winter has been less warm than the extremes of over 50°C experienced in testing. That has allowed the use of softer tires than a normal WSB weekend.
RACE 1
AIR HUMIDITY 31% AIR TEMPERATURE 21°C
TRACK TEMPERATURE 25°C TRACK CONDITION Dry
Haga and his team-mate Fabrizio disputed the race one win at Kyalami with Spies and his Yamaha, until the later stages of the race, when Haga asserted his authority and Spies dropped off to finish 3.391 seconds from the win. Fabrizio leaves the new Kyalami layout with the new lap record, which also survived race two, a 1’38.548, set on lap three. The Ducati-Yamaha battle was joined by a Honda and an Aprilia in fourth and fifth places, with Jonathan Rea ahead of Max Biaggi. The pace of the various leaders was high throughout, as the Kyalami circuit proved quite suitable for the leading twin cylinder riders than those on fours.
RACE 2
AIR HUMIDITY 26% AIR TEMPERATURE 20°C
TRACK TEMPERATURE 31°C TRACK CONDITION Dry
Haga scored his second double win of the 2009 season when he won a last lap battle with his team-mate Fabrizio, even although the Italian rider seeming determined to take another race win to add to his recent Monza success. Haga took an early lead, only to be passed by Spies, but on lap three the American rider was forced out of contention, with a broken gear linkage. That left Haga free at the front but he was pressurised from behind by Fabrizio and on the last lap Haga had to re-pass Fabrizio to exit the final corner ahead, and take a win by only 0.322 seconds. Rea held off Haslam for third place, his first podium of the 2009 season, Max Biaggi went fifth on the top Aprilia, as he had in race one. The top riders were once more able to race to competitiveness with a different set of tire solutions, with Haga opting for a soft ‘A’ front and a medium ‘B’ rear. His team-mate started with medium front and back in race one, before swapping to a softer front to almost win race two. Spies and Biaggi each went for a ‘B’ front and rear solution, while Rea was even able to use a ‘C’ front and a ‘B’ rear to take his podium.
