Hannspree Ten Kate Honda riders, Jonathan Rea and Max Neukirchner, will be hoping for better results than last weekend when they take to the Kyalami circuit near Johannesburg in South Africa this Sunday (16th May) for round six of the 2010 World Superbike championship.

After promising much at Monza last weekend by running near the top of the timing sheets in all sessions, Rea endured a frustrating raceday. The 23-year-old crashed out of both races, thankfully without any serious injury. He is looking to get back to winning ways this weekend, at least to repeat his performance in race two of the 2009 Kyalami event, which marked his debut podium in World Superbike.

However, despite retaining third place in the overall points standings after the Monza races, Rea’s main championship rivals, Leon Haslam and Max Biaggi, have opened a significant gap which the young Northern Irish rider is determined to overhaul over the rest of the season.

Neukirchner, meanwhile, was unable to maintain the progress made at the previous Assen round, which has required a change in the German’s riding style, as well as the continual fine-tuning of his Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade.

Because of injury last year, Neukirchner has not raced at the tight and twisty 4.2km Kyalami circuit, which lies 22km north of Johannesburg. However, he tested there at the end of the 2008 World Superbike championship season and the 27-year-old is determined to find two further solid finishes in this weekend’s races.

Jonathan Rea

I was a little sore when I woke up on Monday morning, but everything’s fine and I’ll be 100% for the weekend. I’m trying to forget about Monza because I think we were in a really good position to make up some ground on our rivals with the speed we had and the momentum we were carrying from Assen. Instead, they’ve opened a bit of a gap because of a mistake from me in race one and someone else’s error in race two. But I know the bike is strong and it’s not like we won’t be in a position to fight for more wins this season. People like Colin Edwards and Ben Spies spring to mind and we’re not even halfway through yet – there will be a lot of opportunities to bridge the gap over the coming races. We’ll try to start this weekend at Kyalami, which is a real riders circuit where you need to work hard to go fast. I got my first Superbike podium here last year, so I’ll be looking for at least two more this weekend.

Max Neukirchner

The results last weekend were quite disappointing after the progress we had made in the second race at Assen. But the bike definitely felt better in race two at Monza so we will try to build on that when we start work in South Africa on Friday. I wasn’t able to race there last year but I did tes t there at the end of the previous season. I like the track very much and Jonathan showed last year that the Honda can work quite well there. I’ll try as hard as possible with my team again this weekend to continue getting my riding style to match the changes we have made to the bike.

Ronald ten Kate – team-manager

Last Sunday’s results at Monza were very hard to swallow, especially after the euphoria of the previous race at Assen. However, these ups and downs are often a big part of racing and what is important is that we come back strong again this weekend. Jonathan showed that he had good speed in all sessions at Monza and we will start on Friday in Kyalami to build on that. Unfortunately, Max was not able to consolidate in Italy the step forward he made in the previous round, so our focus will be on getting his momentum going again.

It wasn’t a perfect weekend for Max Biaggi this week at Monza, Jonathan Rea did get fastest lap… of course Max got everything else!

In race one of the World Superbike Monza round Max Biaggi celebrates his first victory in the temple of speed.  Max, astride his Aprilia Alitalia RSV4, he preceded the British Yamaha flag bearers Crutchlow and Toseland. Leon Haslam, leader of the world rankings, came in fourth. But the three British riders made the race extremely uncertain, highlighting even more Max’s skill in resisting all of their attacks. Launching out in front from the beginning, Biaggi led the race practically the entire time and earned his first victory at Monza. With this affirmation Max has recovered 12 points on Haslam and is not just 8 points from the top position in the rankings.

Leon Camier, in his first race in Monza, leapt forward from thirteenth place and rode an excellent race, recovering position after position and ending in fifth place. With these results Aprilia strengthens their hold on second place in the world manufacturer standings, widening the gap from Ducati by 20 points and closing in on Suzuki, only two points ahead at the top.

Max Biaggi, descending from the podium, stated: “I am truly pleased. It was a great race. I felt the pressure of the Brits behind me. Monza is a long circuit where it’s just as easy to be fast as it is to make decisive mistakes. Thanks goes, obviously, to all of the Aprilia Alitalia Racing Team who always work their hardest. My bike has been fast all weekend. It’s still a bit edgy. We’ll have to see whether or not to change something for race 2.

The result is particularly special because Mr. Roberto Colaninno, the Chairman and CEO of our Group, my girlfriend and my little daughter were in our pit”.

Troy took his first ever podium for BMW in the second Superbike World Championship race in Monza today. It was a superb performance by Troy and his team and just reward for all the hard work and effort they’ve put in over a year and five races.
Recently, Troy has been knocking on the door and this afternoon he was able to give the BMW S 1000 R its first Superbike World Championship podium. After some small problems in race one, which caused Troy to finish eighth, he and team decided to make some radical changes to the bike for race two. It was a bit of a gamble, but it paid off big time!

Max Biaggi started on pole and dominated both races today, winning by just two tenths of a second in race one and by a healthier four and a half seconds in race two. Yamaha teamsters James Toseland and Cal Crutchlow took second and third in race one and Crutchlow was in contention for the runner-up spot in race two before a fall put him out of the reckoning. Leon Haslam (Suzuki) then inherited second place, but had to fight off Troy for the last six laps.

Troy said – “I knew that a podium was possible after Assen. The bike has been working better for me recently and I expected a podium here or at the next round. I’m extremely happy with the bike’s performance today, particularly in the second race. I was able to race the track and not think about what I was doing. ”

The bike was spinning quite a lot in the first race, so we made some radical changes for race two. It’s not the thing we’d normally do, but I felt we had nothing to lose and our gamble paid off!

After a fourth place in the first race, Team Suzuki Alstare rider Leon Haslam fought tooth and nail to take a podium in race two. He was charging after Crutchlow in second place, but then inherited runner-up spot when Crutchlow slid off at the first chicane. Corser (BMW) was in Leon’s wheeltracks for the last few laps, but Leon held him off to take his seventh podium of the season and maintain his championship lead. Leon’s team mate Sylvain Guintoli finished tenth in race one, but then improved in race two.

He was on course for a terrific sixth place, but the smallest of mistakes in the last turn allowed Noriyuki Haga (Ducati) through. Max Biaggi (Aprilia) won both races today, with Yamaha team mates James Toseland and Cal Crutchlow taking second and third in race one.

Leon – Race 1: 4th, Race 2: 2nd
Today was a hard day and I’m happy to leave Monza still leading the title race. Max was strong here and I knew it was going to be tough pair of races. The podium in race two was very hard work, but I didn’t want to miss out on a podium today and kept battling away. I had a really big ‘moment’ in race two and was way out of the saddle twice in the space of a fraction of a second. Somehow I stayed on the bike, but it was a very close thing! After Cal crashed, Troy kept me on my toes, but Max was too far in front for me to catch so I just made sure of runner-up spot. I did something to my wrist when I had my ‘moment’ and it felt pretty sore, but I managed to carry one to the end. In race one, I lost contact with the leaders and then had a bit of a grip problem for the last four or five laps and couldn’t get out of the corners as fast as I wanted. We made some little suspension changes (just a few clicks here and there) for race two and the bike was definitely better to ride.

Sylvain – Race 1: 10th, Race 2: 7th
Generally the weekend has ended not so badly. I enjoyed the second race because I was involved in a really good fight with Nori (Haga) and Tom (Sykes). I managed to pass Nori right towards the end, but then I made a very small mistake in the last turn and he got me back. Seventh is not so bad after how the weekend began, but I have learnt that I (or me and my team) have to manage practice and qualifying better and get into a good, consistent rhythm as soon as we can. Not doing that means a low grid position and this championship has so many good riders and bikes that you cannot afford to be way down the grid if you want to be a contender.
I think I probably could’ve got fifth today if it hadn’t been for a crash right in front of me on the opening lap. I had to take avoiding action and go straight on at the first chicane and lost time in the process. But I fought hard and caught up the guys ahead, before my good battle with Tom and Nori. I am happy with my performance in race two and now I want to build on that and be much better at the start of a race weekend.

Troy Corser: “The braking performance was much better today and I felt confident stopping the bike. The only area where we lost out on today is exiting the chicanes. There, some of the other’s can get on the gas a lot quicker than me. This afternoon, my bike was a complete package and I felt in control and could run consistently fast – especially once I got used to the way the brakes were working.”

“For me, race two today was one of my best ever rides. I made a good start and for a moment I thought I was going to get all the way to the front. I was smart going into the first chicane and made sure I got through it safely. Later, when I was behind Leon, I got water on my visor and thought it was raining. I used all my tear-offs before I realised that the water was coming from Leon’s bike! I thought his bike might blow up, so I eased up a little because I didn’t want to get caught up in any crash, but that allowed him to just pull away a little. I chased after him as best I could in the last couple of laps and we had a really good fight. In the end, he just had enough to beat me to the line, but it was pretty close. ”

“Today has been a fantastic day for us all at BMW and I want to thank everybody involved, including the people back at the workshop. I knew this bike had potential and now that we’ve taken our first podium, I’m sure that there’ll be more to come.”

With just four hundredths of a second between them, James Toseland and Cal Crutchlow shot out of the legendary Parabolica curve on the final lap of race one today in second and third respectively to deliver Yamaha Sterilgarda’s first double podium of the year. Crutchlow, having qualified second, had initially got off the line in fifth with Toseland two places behind in seventh. They worked their way up as a pair, passing Fabrizio and Corser to take third and fourth by lap three. Toseland then passed his team mate for third on lap four at the end of the high speed start-finish straight, then closed down on Haslam and Biaggi at the front. A brief fight with Haslam with some heart stopping passes saw Toseland take second where he stayed tucked up behind race leader Biaggi. Team mate Crutchlow took second from him briefly on lap 14 having caught up again after a missed chicane dropped him to fourth. Toseland was quick to recover position however and got as far as a look up the inside of Biaggi coming out of Parabolica before settling for second less than three tenths from the front at the chequered flag.

Race two was brought short for both riders. Another rider collided with Toseland going into the first chicane on the opening lap, causing a big crash leaving him with light concussion. He was awake following the incident but taken to hospital for a check up to assess if there was further injury. Team mate Crutchlow made a good start and was chasing Biaggi in second place just 0.1 seconds behind the leader. On lap 11 stones from Biaggi’s rear wheel were flicked up, peppering Crutchlow’s helmet, with one piercing his oil cooler. This caused him to low side going into the first chicane on lap 12. He was uninjured in the fall but unable to continue.

After the Monza round Toseland remains in fifth position in the championship on 106 points, now just four points away from Rea in third. Crutchlow remains in tenth position on 65 points, just seven behind Sylvain Guintoli in eighth.

James Toseland, Yamaha Sterilgarda World Superbike Team, (2nd, DNF)
” The first race was a good strong race, I just want to congratulate the team, it’s their home race and to get two of us on the podium is great. Max Biaggi rode a great race, he had a strong bike here and we expected him to go well, he didn’t put a foot wrong. I was hoping on the last lap he was going to make a slight mistake, just enough for me to get alongside but he didn’t so fair play to him. We’re getting better with each race, moving in the right direction and it’s getting frustrating finishing in second and third now!”

Cal Crutchlow, Yamaha Sterilgarda World Superbike Team, (3rd, DNF)
“I felt like I put together a really solid first race, we didn’t get the best of starts but made up for it and got stuck in. All credit to Yamaha, they’ve done a good job to give James and I a competitive package so it was great for us both to deliver them the podiums here for their home round. It was a strong result and we rode well so I was looking forward to the second race. I started really well and didn’t take long to get tucked in behind Max, I knew exactly what I was doing and had my strategy sorted to pass him on the last lap. Incredibly some stones flew up off his back wheel, I was so close behind I felt some hit my helmet and unfortunately a big one made a hole in my oil cooler. I made it through another lap, but coming into the first chicane it must have reached my back tire and I went straight down.”

Massimo Meregalli, Yamaha Sterilgarda World Superbike Team Manager
“This has been a really mixed race weekend for us. From Valencia we have been stronger and stronger, it’s clear by the podiums the riders have been delivering and the pace of both of them, especially this weekend and in Assen that we have a very competitive, strong bike. The first race was fantastic for us; to take two hard fought podiums at our home round is very special. The second race was incredibly frustrating; to have both riders out for reasons that were completely out of our control is disappointing when we have been the strongest team here. Following James’s crash and concussion he was taken to hospital for scans as he complained of a pain in his neck. The first scan revealed no injuries, we are waiting for a second for confirmation. We expect to head to South Africa to fight for more podiums.”

the Ducati Xerox team faced two challenging races today at the Monza circuit and at the end of the day riders Noriyuki Haga and Michel Fabrizio were satisfied to come away with more valuable points, their best results today being a hard-fought sixth place in Race 2 for Haga and a seventh place finish in Race 1 for his team-mate Fabrizio.

Race 1. Michel started from third on the grid but lost a few positions in the first laps, as the two Yamahas and Rea’s Honda got past him. When Rea crashed out mid-race, Fabrizio moved temporarily back up into fifth position but was soon passed by Camier, at an evident advantage on the Aprilia when it comes to top speed. The Ducati Xerox rider subsequently held sixth position until the very last corner of the final lap when Xaus on the BMW sneaked past, with Michel crossing the line in seventh position. Team-mate Noriyuki meanwhile spent the best part of the race battling with Ducati privateer Scassa and then, in the second half of the race, with Guintoli on the Suzuki. From sixteenth on the grid, the Japanese rider immediately made up three positions before moving up to eleventh place when Rea fell. Noriyuki held eleventh position for the remainder of the race; although managing to pass Guintoli on two occasions, the Frenchman quickly regained the advantage to take tenth position ahead of Noriyuki.

Race 2 got off to a dramatic start when Toseland, Rea and Xaus crashed out at the first chicane. Michel’s bike, knocked in the ensuing confusion, ran off track, causing Michel to lose a few positions; after this collision Michel suffered from a malfunction with the electronic gear shifter. Fabrizio tried to ride around the gearing problem but found himself in difficulty and at the start of the second lap he slipped, losing the rear of his 1198, and unable to rejoin the race. Noriyuki meanwhile gained, immediately progressing from sixteenth to seventh position, with Michel just behind him in eighth. Noriyuki battled for sixth position against Sykes on the Kawasaki for the remainder of the race, unfortunately losing out to the Englishman in the final stages, although a crash for Crutchlow up ahead of them meant that Haga eventually concluded the race in sixth place.

Noriyuki still lies in sixth position in the overall standings with 100 points; Michel is eleventh with 62 points. Ducati remains in third position in the manufacturers classification (149 points) behind Suzuki (181) and Aprilia with 184.

Michel Fabrizio (Race 1 – 7th, Race 2 – DNF)
“Race 1 was going quite well; it’s only a shame that we don’t have the top speed to be able to stick with the guys on the straight, with more engine power I could have done a lot better. In Race 2 I ran off when those guys crashed at the first chicane of the first lap and I tried to keep riding but I couldn’t get the bike into gear, and then I slipped. It was tough out there today but at least we take home some valuable points and hope that things go better at Kyalami.”

Noriyuki Haga (Race 1 – 11th, Race 2 – 6th)
“In both races I was having a lot of difficulty turning the bike and didn’t have enough grip at the rear. In Race 1 I was having to put it right down on its side to get it to turn as I wanted and this of course meant that I couldn’t keep pace with those ahead of me. We changed a few things before Race 2 and improved the situation a little. Grip was good in the first five laps or so but from mid-race it was really hard, as the bike was drifting wide and was hard to control. In the end I’m quite satisfied with sixth position, as it was tough here this weekend.”

Filippo Preziosi – General Director, Ducati Corse
“I’m sorry for Michel because in Race 1 he did really well considering the disadvantage we have here in terms of power and top speed; he was making up in his riding what was lost in top speed, at a track that penalizes us. I’m happy for Nori because in Race 2, in a difficult situation, both technically and personally, he fought tooth and nail and proved what a champion he is.”

The Althea Racing team’s overall performance was positive, and, thanks to the hard work of riders Shane Byrne and Carlos Checa, the team remains in fourth position in the team standings, just behind Team Suzuki Alstare, Aprilia Alitalia Racing and the Yamaha Sterilgarda Team; Althea Racing is the first Ducati team in the classification. After a thirteenth place finish in Race 1 this morning, English rider Shane Byrne managed to finish within the top ten in the afternoon’s second race, closing in ninth, having made good progress from fifteenth position on the grid.

“We knew it would be difficult but in the end, thanks to my team’s hard work in the garage, we took a good result and I had fun, especially in Race 2”, said “Shakey”. “On Friday we were a long way off but today we were not so far behind the competition. I’m sorry for Genesio and for the team because I know they would have liked to do better at their “home” track but I did my best and gave 110%. I know we can do better at Kyalami.”

Carlos Checa, on the other hand, finished outside of the top ten, concluding the two races in fourteenth and eleventh position. Thanks to the points obtained today, the Spanish rider now has the same points total as Rea (110). “It was a difficult weekend and probably, if we consider the gap between us and the four cylinders, it’s true to say that I wasn’t very motivated here. The fact that we haven’t managed to find the right balance with the bike has definitely impacted on the results. Fortunately we now go to Kyalami, a track that suits our bike. The engine power doesn’t count as much and we’ll strive to get back on form.”

Genesio Bevilacqua, General Manager, declared, “It’s evident that at Monza there is a significant difference between the performance of the two and the four cylinders. This regulation means that there is a risk of “falsifying” a show that, thanks to the performances of such talented riders, could be even more spectacular and enthralling. There is a defect in the regulation and something should change, because we have no chance to fight, on a level playing field, with the other bikes. We enjoy to battle it out on track but we must also speak to the FIM and the championship organizers, who need to find a solution. We have two of the strongest Superbike riders but with our Ducatis we have had a disappointing day. This is wrong…”

Hannspree Ten Kate Honda rider Jonathan Rea crashed out of both of today’s fifth round World Superbike championship races at Monza in Italy, ending the weekend without a single point but still retaining third place in the 2010 championship standings.

His team-mate Max Neukirchner did not enjoy a trouble-free raceday either, struggling with chatter in race one and then having to fight back from last place in race two after being forced off the circuit on the opening lap.

Starting from the front row of the grid, Rea got away slowly in the first of today’s 18-lap encounters at the 5.777km Monza circuit, ending lap one in 11th place. The 23-year-old calmly fought his way up to fourth before falling unhurt at the fast entry to the Parabolica turn on lap eight.

In race two, the Northern Irishman was caught in a first-corner melée after getting clipped by another rider. Rea was transferred back to the medical centre but n othing more than a sore left ankle was diagnosed.

After making a step forward at the final round in Holland, Max Neukirchner was unable to consolidate on improvements to his Hannspree Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR. The German qualified ninth but suffered chatter problems in race one which relegated him to a 12th place finish.

Small changes to the bike produced a better package for race two, but Neukirchner was forced into the gravel at Monza’s famous Ascari chicane on the first lap, rejoining the race in last place but fighting back for another 12th place finish.

Max Neukirchner – 12th and 12th

The chatter was really bad in race one but the changes we made improved the bike a lot for race two. Unfortunately, as we went into the Ascari chicane on the first lap, Chris Vermeulen was on the inside and made a mistake which forced me right across the gravel. When I got back on the track I was in last place, b ut the changes to the bike allowed me to brake deeper into the corners, with better grip levels and I could get on the throttle faster on the exit. It was an improvement and we’ve learned some more this weekend but the results were still not good. We need to work on braking even deeper and getting the bike upright earlier, and we’ll try to do that next weekend in South Africa.

Jonathan Rea – DNF and DNF

Well it’s been a bad weekend for our assault on the championship. I made a small mistake at the end of the back straight in the first race when I was trying to avoid Leon [Haslam] and Cal [Crutchlow]. Then race two ended before it had begun when I got skittled off going in the first corner. But I’m not down in the dumps about it. It’s times like these that you can really tell the strength of a team and I know that this team is really very strong. They gave me a good bike this weekend but we co uldn’t really make the most of it. I’m actually really excited at the challenge ahead, because we were able to make up quite a lot of points in the middle and end of last season. We’ll all pull together now and I fully intend to get back to winning ways at Kyalami next weekend.

Ronald ten Kate – team-manager

After the perfect weekend in Assen last time out, we knew that our little Hannspree Ten Kate world would not always enjoy days like that. But we certainly hit the other side of perfect today. We still remain confident, however, because the speed shown by Jonathan this weekend will surely bring him back to the front of the field at the next round. But it wasn’t just Jonathan who had difficulties today. Max had chatter problems in race one and was pushed off the track early in race two. Even so, after the step forward he enjoyed at Assen, we weren’t able to repeat it here in Monza, so there is plenty more work to do.

Max Biaggi makes the Aprilia Alitalia Racing Team happy by rocketing his number 3 RSV4 to the first Superpole with a time of 1′42.121. It is the first time for the very young RSV4 and the first time in Superbike for Max. In a day of firsts, yet another peak for Biaggi stands out: 330.2 km/h top speed, almost another prize for the guys in the Racing Division who are committed daily to taking Aprilia to the pinnacle of world motorcycling.

But all of the adversaries did very well today which shows the high level of competition: separated by only 33 thousandths from Biaggi we find Crutchlow on his Yamaha and then Fabrizio (Ducati) followed by Rea (Honda) closing out the first row of the starting grid.

An unfortunate qualifier on the other hand for Leon Camier who participated in all of the sessions this weekend. Easily making it into the second Superpole session, the young Englishman lost the bike in a slide on the ” variante Ascari ” precisely during the good lap which would have put him in the top eight.
In any case, the pace he displayed places Leon among the most feared riders for the race.

“It is a great Saturday for the team and for me – Max Biaggi commented – a Saturday which takes us to our first pole which – unfortunately – doesn’t earn any points, but it gives us great satisfaction. It is a result which gives proof of the quality of our work and which I would like to dedicate to all of the guys on our team; people who have worked hard and with great skill to help me shave hundredths off of hundredths. Today the track was better, even compared to the free practice sessions this morning and we were more aggressive than usual with the qualifying tire, so we were able to reap the fruits of the hard work we did. Now we cannot back down. There is still another test session which we will use to find the best settings to use for the races. We can’t forget that for us this is only the second time on this track while our opponents know Monza very well thanks to years of races and tests. We have a nice package but our best adversaries are all right there very close, so we know that tomorrow will be difficult, as it always is in Superbike”.

“A bad qualifier, to use politically correct terms… – stated an annoyed Leon Camier – at the beginning of pole2 I wasn’t able to take any really clean laps; I constantly had Toseland on my wheel. Then, when I came in to put on the last qualifier I was able to push hard; I had an excellent chance of getting into the top eight. Hard luck about the slide, but the front closed on me and I couldn’t stay up, even if the lap would have been compromised anyway. Fortunately we have a good race pace. Obviously I need to take advantage of a good start to avoid missing the train of leaders: everyone is fast here, so it’s important not to lose any time and let them get away”.

Yamaha riders Cal Crutchlow and James Toseland put in an impressive performance in Superpole today, with Crutchlow just missing out on pole to start from the second position on the grid for tomorrow’s two World Superbike races. The young British rider passed through each heat comfortably, fastest in the second session with an impressive 1′42.255 lap on a used race tire. The final heat saw him miss out on pole to Max Biaggi by less than a tenth of a second.

Team mate James Toseland was also on form, clearing Superpole one in fifth and Superpole two in fourth, only three tenths off Crutchlow. The final heat saw him heading for a front row start until a small mistake dropped a few tenths off his time, meaning he will start from seventh on the second row tomorrow.

The earlier qualifying session saw the riders work through and finalise their set ups. Toseland’s heat was disrupted with a small technical problem, forcing him to return to the pits and head out on his second bike. Crutchlow finished in tenth, Toseland in 13th.

Cal Crutchlow, Yamaha Sterilgarda World Superbike Team, (2nd, 1′42.154)
“It was a shame to miss out on pole by less than a tenth of a second but all credit to Max for a good lap. We seemed to do a very good lap in Superpole two on a seven lap old race tire with a 42.2, then put two qualifiers in during the last session and I didn’t feel like I had the same level of grip from them. It’s going to be tough racing tomorrow, I’m looking forward to it and I think it’ll be close. Being part of an Italian team and having our workshop literally a stone’s throw from the Lesmo corner it’s been good to deliver good results so far this weekend. They’ve put in a good effort, James has ridden to two fantastic podiums recently at Assen.”

James Toseland, Yamaha Sterilgarda World Superbike Team, (7th, 1′42.789)
“We used both our qualifiers in the second Superpole heat and unfortunately didn’t have one for the last session, however I would have done a mid 42 but I made a mistake at Lesmo on my first lap, and being a race tire I really needed to get it in on that lap so I lost a few tenths there. That would have put me on the front row, and to say you can get there on a race tire is encouraging. We had a problem with an engine this morning in qualifying and a different gearbox in the other bike which meant we couldn’t run with the best gearing in Superpole. If it can stay dry tonight then we can try a few things in tomorrow’s warm up and I’m quietly confident we can do well in the races.”

Massimo Meregalli, Yamaha Sterilgarda World Superbike Team Manager
“To start our home race from the first and second row of the grid is a good result. For sure tomorrow we will enjoy two really good races here, there is a lot of fun to be had for the riders on the long straights. I’m confident that the set up is good for both riders so I’m looking forward to seeing what they can do tomorrow.”

Michel Fabrizio and his team worked hard today and were rewarded with a front row place on tomorrow’s grid at the Autodromo Nazionale of Monza; Michel will line up in third position, the spot that he had already provisionally secured yesterday.
This morning’s second qualifying proved to be an extremely successful session for Michel Fabrizio, on board his 1198. Despite an initially damp track, with conditions very similar to yesterday, times began to drop later in the session and, after substituting used slicks with new ones, the Italian rider was able to push hard, recording an impressive 1’43.737 on his penultimate lap to take overall first position at the end of qualifying, three tenths of a second faster than Rea (Honda) in second. By the close of the session, Noriyuki had also made progress, improving on yesterdays qualifying time by almost a second and a half, to qualify in overall twelfth position for the afternoon’s Superpole.

In the early afternoon’s final free practice session, times improved once again and Michel impressed once more, ducking under the 1’43 barrier to make two very fast laps right at the end of the session, recording the fastest overall time of this practice session at the very last minute (1’42.6). Noriyuki continued to lose valuable tenths, particularly through the first sector of track, and closed in fourteenth.

Superpole 1 – both Fabrizio and Haga made two exits during the fourteen-minute session. Michel chose not to use a qualifier in this first phase and closed in a solid eighth place, assuring himself of passage to the next phase. Noriyuki ,on the other hand, made his second exit with the qualifier and, like Michel, finished inside the top sixteen, in fourteenth position.

Superpole 2 – Noriyuki’s technicians provided him with a new qualifier for this session but unfortunately the Japanese rider did not find the grip necessary to make a fast lap and thus concluded today’s Superpole in sixteenth position, equating to the fourth row of tomorrow’s grid. Michel, also on a “Q”, had more success and recorded a 1’42.7, enough to finish in second place, and progressing comfortably to the final phase.

Superpole 3 – Michel made two fast laps, the second of which temporarily propelled him into pole position, but was subsequently beaten by Biaggi and Crutchlow in the final minute of this last phase, meaning an eventual third place finish for the Ducati Xerox rider. He will therefore line up on the front row of the grid in tomorrow’s races, in the position that he had provisionally secured already yesterday.

Michel Fabrizio
“Today’s result is the best response to the gossip that was circulating in the paddock yesterday. Within the team we are working well together, are united, and together will be protagonists once more. I’m of course very happy with today’s results. We needed to get back on track with a result like this, after three rounds in which I’ve not really been present, at least not at the front where I think the factory riders should be! I’m also pleased that, after successful tests at Misano last week, we are doing well – so far – in front of the Italian crowd. It’s the first of the “home” races and so of course Ducati and myself would love to take two great race results here.”

Noriyuki Haga
“This morning conditions were pretty much the same as yesterday and I was finding it difficult, especially through the first part of the track.Then in the Superpole I found that I had better grip on the race tire than with the qualifier. I was lacking grip at the rear and, though I pushed as hard as I can, it was impossible to make a very fast lap. I’m fairly happy with the race set-up but it’s going to be another tough race day.”

Jonathan Rea will start tomorrow’s two fifth round World Superbike championship races from the front row of the grid after setting the fourth fastest time in today’s Superpole qualifying sessions at Monza in Italy.

After being near the top of the timing sheets in both yesterday’s and today’s practice and qualifying, the 23-year-old from Northern Ireland was unable to repeat his Assen pole position, the honour going instead to local rider Max Biaggi.

Rea’s Hannspree Ten Kate Honda team-mate, Max Neukirchner, meanwhile continues to adapt to his CBR1000RR and improve its set-up for the historic 5.777km Monza circuit, setting the ninth fastest time today for a third row start.

This afternoon’s Superpole sessions were held in dry conditions after a wet start to the day at Monza. Further rain showers are forecast for tomorrow, when the first of the day’s two Superbike races goes at 12.00 local time , the second at 15.30.

Jonathan Rea – P4 1’42.566s

I guess it was quite good and I’m happy with the front row because I’m not really much of a qualifier – Assen must have been a one-lap wonder! As long as I get off the line well tomorrow, I’ve got some good race pace, the bike’s working good and I’m quite confident, so we’ll have to see. I’m really excited about the races and I intend to dig deep; there’ll be a load of slipstreaming going on. It’s going to be fun and games tomorrow for sure, and to be honest I wouldn’t mind being the grandstands watching!

Max Neukirchner – P9 1’43.410s

So, ninth is not so bad, but I made a little mistake on my quick lap and got in the wrong gear at the chicane, otherwise I might have been on the second row, which would have been better. But I’m really happy that we’ve been able to make more progress with the bike here this weekend. I am able to brake deeper into the corner, pick the bike up more quickly and accelerate out better. We’ve got one or two other ideas to try in warm-up tomorrow; we might go a little softer at the front and then I just need a good start. I’ve practised quite a lot this weekend already.

Ronald ten Kate – team-manager

Being on the front row was always the aim for Jonathan. He’s been quick in all sessions and in all conditions, so we are prepared for any weather tomorrow, although we all hope for sun and a dry track. Max has definitely continued his move forward and the second row would have been a good reward for all the hard work that he and his crew have put in recently. At least he can see the start lights now, which have been out of sight in previous races! We’ll make a few small changes tomorrow morning and then I w ould advise everyone watching to hold on to their seats!!

Team Suzuki Alstare rider Leon Haslam endured mixed conditions on the opening day of qualifying at Monza, but ended fifth quickest and happy enough with his day’s work.

The track was hit by torrential rain yesterday and although today dawned dry, it was not long before it began raining again. This afternoon’s qualifying session began with a damp track and the first half of the session saw many unfamiliar names at the top of the leaderboard. The track then began to dry out and by the end, there was virtually a dry line round the whole of the 5.777 kilometre circuit. Briton Cal Crutchlow (Yamaha) posted the fastest lap, with fellow countryman Jonathan Rea (Honda) second. Third went to Michel Fabrizio (Ducati) third, with Troy Corser (BMW) fourth.

Leon – 5th, 1:45.303

The morning was good and really all today was pretty good, though there were a few small problems in the afternoon session and some of it was a bit of a waste of time. We had some sort of strange clutch problem with both bikes for a while, so to get fifth was not so bad, especially considering the changing conditions. This afternoon’s qualifying started with a wet track and then it began to dry. By the end, there was almost a dry line round the whole track, but there were still some places where you had to keep a look out. The new chicane is a bit safer and it makes the track flow better, but we’ll have to wait and see what happens when the whole pack is charging into it in a race before we can say that it is a success. For me though, the track is now more enjoyable to ride, particularly when you are by yourself. Slipstreaming round here is crucial and will be a big factor in the races. So far, I’ve not had a tow from anybody, so I’m looking forward to that tomorrow. Come raceday though, I’d prefer to be a long way out in front and not have to worry about anybody drafting me. That’s my plan anyway.

Sylvain – 16th. 1:46.588

I’ve not been here before, so the new chicane means nothing to me. Today, my first job was to learn the track and that’s what I tried to do. The track is quite technical and there are a lot of high speeds and fast corners and so it’s important to be very accurate if you want to go fast. Conditions were changing a lot in this afternoon’s qualifying session and I think I was a bit too cautious in the first chicane and that’s where I lost a lot of time. If I had been more aggressive there, I would’ve been quite a bit further up the leaderboard for sure.I know that slipstreaming is going to very important here – especially in the races of course – but there are a lot of opportunities to do that round here. However, it’ll also be very easy to get done, so I’ll have to watch out for that.

Althea Racing riders Carlos Checa and Shane Byrne were among the protagonists. On board their Ducati 1198 machines, both riders qualified comfortably for the Superpole. Spanish rider Carlos Checa, fourth in the overall standings, improved on the time he set yesterday by more than three seconds to close Superpole in eleventh position, securing a place on the third row of the grid with a best time of 1’43”506. “Today went a lot better than first qualifying”, said Carlos. “We’ve made some steps forward with regard to the bike’s rideability and we were able to better understand why we were having problems through certain sections of the track. Tomorrow will be difficult and to get into the top ten will be hard but we’ll try to take home as many points as possible.”

Carlos’ team-mate Shane Byrne also made good progress today, dropping his lap time by nearly four seconds. “Shakey” finished fifteenth, with a time of 1’43”813 and will line up tomorrow on the fourth row. “To start from fifteenth will be hard but I’ll give it my all and try to make a good race”, said the English rider. “We have done some good work in the garage over these two days and tomorrow it will be important to start well and stick with the guys ahead of us.”

Genesio Bevilacqua, General Manager, declared, “As I predicted, both riders improved today. Carlos wanted to wait until the last minute, for all the little problems to be resolved so that he could push to the limit and understand how to ride through the trickiest parts of the track. He has a good feeling with the bike and thanks to the team’s hard work he has the advantage of a strong set-up. Shane had a few difficulties but in the end he made good progress too and did a lot better than in yesterday’s sessions. I am confident; tomorrow we will ride a dignified race and try to limit the damage at a track that is not a real friend of ours.”

Troy Corser suffered brake problems today and was unable to push as hard as he wanted in Superpole 1 and 2 and so failed to qualify for Superpole 3. In the end, Troy finished with the 12th quickest time and so will start tomorrow’s pair of 18 lap races from the third row of the grid.

Troy Corser – 12th, 1:43.508
“I’m a bit disappointed because we’ve been there or thereabouts most of the weekend and would’ve been quicker if it had not been for some brake problems. Today I found it difficult getting the bike to stop. If I braked in the normal place, the bike would run wide and I’d miss the corner. When I braked early, to make sure I did the turn OK, I obviously lost time. On race tires everything is more or less OK, but the braking problem is a nuisance because the chicanes are very important here. For a lot of today, I felt I was back to like the bike was before, in that I was able to do one or two fast laps but not be able to do a string of consistently fast laps.
The mechanics will look at all the data tonight and see if they can identify the problems and come up with some ideas to try in the warm-up tomorrow morning. The first turn is a long way away so as long as I make a couple of good starts I think I can be with the leaders by the time we hit turn one. It’s going to be a new experience for us all and the first time we all get there, it’s going to be like going into a funnel. Hopefully we’ll all get through OK. It will be a disaster if somebody crashes in the middle of the turn because there’s a good chance that they’d skittle half the pack if they hit the damp grass on the inside of the second part of the chicane.”

Yamaha Sterilgarda World Superbike rider Cal Crutchlow made an impressive start to the Monza race weekend, fastest in both the first free practice session and then the first qualifying session of the weekend that followed. Team mate James Toseland made a slower start, finishing fifth in the free practice and then taking ninth in the first qualifying as he and the team tested a number of set up options.

The afternoon’s qualifying was complicated by weather, rain before the session meant the superbike riders had to contend with an initially wet but drying track, gradually changing from intermediate to slick tires as the session went on. The nature of the Monza circuit with its tree lined track meant some areas including chicanes remained greasy and damp throughout.

Cal Crutchlow, Yamaha Sterilgarda World Superbike Team (1st, 1′43.758)
“It was nice to top the time sheets in both sessions today. We’re still looking for better grip a bit on the bike and also need to improve when pushing going into the corners, I think we can work on that. We tried a couple of things today which is good and I’m looking forward to tomorrow. It’s great that it’s the team’s home race and we’ll have lots of fans here and Yamaha guests so it’s nice to be on top today for them.”

James Toseland, Yamaha Sterilgarda World Superbike Team (9th, 1′46.019)
“It was one of those sessions today where it starts wet then just dries up continually over the heat. We were trying a few different suspension settings over the session but obviously the track was never fully dry, a couple of corners were still quite damp at the end and really quite greasy. With the trees around here in the park it doesn’t dry out too well. All in all we’ve tried some interesting things, and were pretty quick in the free practice, coming in fifth in the dry. We’ve got some work to do tonight, some big things to improve on which is encouraging so I’m optimistic that the changes we’re going to make later which were too long to do today will bring the next step. Fingers crossed again for the weather tomorrow.”

Massimo Meregalli, Yamaha Sterilgarda World Superbike Team Manager
“A good start for us today. The weather gave us some trouble but in the end we finished the day in good shape. Hopefully tomorrow will be dry to finalise the set up and tire choice ahead of Superpole and Sunday’s races.”

Jonathan Rea was second fastest in today’s opening qualifying session for round five of the 2010 World Superbike championship at Monza in Italy, just two tenths of a second behind provisional pole sitter, Cal Crutchlow.

Despite a dry opening free practice session earlier in the day, the revised 5.777km Monza circuit was damp following afternoon rain as Rea and his Hannspree Ten Kate Honda team-mate, Max Neukirchner, began this afternoon’s hour-long qualifying period.

After his double win at Assen two weeks ago, Rea concentrated on further developing the revised chassis settings on his Honda CBR1000RR while Neukirchner continued to adapt his riding style to suit the bike’s handling characteristics.

Jonathan Rea – P2 1’44.789s

I’m having a lot of fun here, actually! The bike is really good and that’s allowing me to enjoy the circuit. I’m especially pleased with t he long run I did in this morning’s free practice. This afternoon’s session had mixed conditions and we’ve still got some work to do to get the final sector nailed. But luckily the Assen set-up is working well, although there’s still some fine-tuning to be done to get it right for Monza. We’ll study the data later and see what we can do to improve it for tomorrow.

Max Neukirchner – P13 1’46.402s

Everything’s OK at the moment, but the first sector stayed quite wet during the qualifying session and I was stuck behind Xaus for a while. The other sectors seem to be not too bad and my riding style is still improving. It’s quite good through most of the corners, but in others I’m probably concentrating on the exit a bit too much. The team’s working really well, though, and the bike is pretty good too. I probably need to wake myself up a bit for tomorrow, so maybe I&rsq uo;ll take an extra coffee in the morning!

Ronald ten Kate – team-manager

The changing conditions made today’s qualifying session very different from a normal Friday and we decided to go out early in the session to see how the intermediate front tire would behave. Towards the end we should have probably put in a new rear tire as well, but at least we now have an extra tire for tomorrow. Both riders are in a position to qualify for Superpole, so we’ll go through everything tonight, improve where we can for tomorrow’s sessions and look forward to the rest of the weekend.

A mixed first day at the Autodromo Nazionale of Monza, with meteorological conditions conditioning performances to a certain extent. Ducati Xerox rider Michel Fabrizio nonetheless put in a very strong performance and concluded first qualifying in third position, reserving a provisional spot on the front row of Sunday’s grid. Noriyuki Haga, still losing time in the last sections of the track, closed this first day fifteenth.

Earlier today, in the weekend’s first free practice session, the Ducati Xerox riders got straight to work and it was Michel who made an immediate impression, lapping consistently fast and placing in the top five for almost the duration of the hour-long session. Light rain fell intermittently throughout but this didn’t stop Michel from setting a 1′43.8, in the latter stages of the session, which projected him to the top of the timesheets where he remained right up until the final seconds, when Crutchlow managed to shave a tenth of a second off the Italian rider’s best time. Michel thus closed in a solid second position, while team-mate Noriyuki closed the opening session in twelfth place.

Later in the afternoon, after further rainfall, the first qualifying session was declared wet. The track quickly began to dry out however and during the second half of the session times started to tumble. With around twenty minutes to go, both Michel and Noriyuki exchanged their intermediate tires for slicks and Michel’s lap times in particular continued to drop his until he achieved his final, and best, time of the session in the very last minutes, a 1’45.1, to reserve a provisional third position on Sunday’s grid. Noriyuki meanwhile had a few problems, losing valuable time particularly through the last section of the track and, with more work to do tomorrow, finished in fifteenth position today.

Michel Fabrizio

“At the start of the session I was not wanting to take too many risks as some of the corners were pretty slippery so I stayed calm and then began to push as the track dried out. It’s a shame the conditions were so mixed because there were a few things we wanted to work on today but this wet weather didn’t give us the chance. Anyway, it’s been a positive first day. I think the testing at Misano last week helped us to get back on the right track and I’m feeling confident.”

Noriyuki Haga

“Although the lap times were not so great, I’ve actually got quite a good feeling with my 1198. I’m losing time in the last part of the track, from the Ascari corners to the Parabolica, and I need to concentrate on that section tomorrow. We’ll be making a few changes before tomorrow’s sessions and we’ll see how we go, the weather will surely make the difference too.”

Troy ended a day of mixed conditions with the fourth fastest lap in qualifying at Monza and was happy with the way his BMW S 1000 RR is progressing. Monza has a much revised first chicane, which has cut the lap times and although the new design is theoretically safer (according to Troy) there is still the possibility of a pile-up on the exit.

This afternoon’s qualifying session started with a damp track and the first half saw the lead change hands several times and unfamiliar names often at the top of the leaderboard. As the track dried, more or less normal service was resumed.
At the end, there was virtually a dry line round the whole of the 5.777 kilometre circuit and it was Briton Cal Crutchlow (Yamaha) who posted the fastest lap. Second was fellow countryman Jonathan Rea (Honda), with Michel Fabrizio (Ducati) third and Troy fourth.

Troy Corser – 4th, 1:45.134
I’m happy with how things went today and once again I can just go out and ride the bike instead of testing, like we’ve had to do in the past. It was good for the team that we had some damp and some dry conditions here today and they were able to collect a lot of useful data as a result. The bike feels good and I haven’t had to ride beyond myself today at all. The top speed is pretty good and the acceleration also feels strong.

The new chicane is not too bad and it’s safer when you are by yourself. But it’s maybe not so safe in a race situation because if somebody outbrakes himself and goes straight on then there is a chance that they will T-bone you when they come back on to the track. To me, it looks like it has been designed for F1 and us bikes just have to put up with it.

Monza is a track where slipstreaming is all important. In the old days, when the finish line was further up the track, you could be fifth going into the Parabolica on the last lap and still win the race. Now, because the flag is closer to the Parabolica, if you are fifth going in you will not win the race. Now it’s better to be fifth or so exiting the Ascari and then be leading going into the Parabolica. Normally, if you do that, then you will not be beaten.

Expectations are high for the two Althea Racing riders, who will do their utmost to consolidate the solid results already attained in the first part of the season. This afternoon the Ducati riders were out on track for the first official qualifying session, conditioned in the initial stages by the wet asphalt. A provisional seventeenth position for Carlos Checa; the Spaniard is fourth in the championship standings and on Sunday will aim to take a first ever podium place at Monza.

“We need to improve in two sections mainly, at the first chicane and through the long corner – said Carlos – Tomorrow we’re continue to work, concentrating on the gear box set-up, which is one of the tricky issues. Even though it won’t be easy, we know that we must, and can, improve. I’m ready and will do my best to close the gap that separates me from the leaders.”

Fifth row too for Shane Byrne, who closed this first session in eighteenth position and who will be looking for an improvement on his unlucky outing at this track in 2009.

“This morning we had a problem with bike one and so, this afternoon, on a dry track, I went out on the second bike that was set-up for the wet – said Shakey – I’m confident however and am sure that tomorrow, with both my Ducatis and both set-ups available, we will able to improve. I’m ready to make a great race at my team’s home racetrack.”

Genesio Bevilacqua, team owner, declared. “I don’t think we have any particular technical problems and so I’d say that today’s performances were conditioned more by the uncertain track conditions and the riders’ caution; perhaps the situation distracted them slightly. Tomorrow we’ll be back on track, focused from the word go, with the goal being to work hard, to get into the Superpole and to find the ideal set-up ready for race day.”

Tomorrow’s programme at Monza begins at 10:45 with the second qualifying session; then at 15.00, straight after free practice, the Superpole.

Autodromo Nazionale Monza
Country: Italy
Circuit length: 5.777 km
Pole position: Left
Corners left: 5
Corners right: 8
Length of race: 18 laps = 103.986 km

LAP RECORDS: Best lap – Fabrizio (Ducati Xerox) 1′45.336 (2009). Superpole – Spies (Yamaha) 1′44.073 (2009).

2009 RESULTS:
Race 1 – 1. Fabrizio (Ducati Xerox) 2. Haga (Ducati Xerox); 3. Kiyonari (Honda).
Race 2 – 1. Spies (Yamaha); 2. Fabrizio (Ducati Xerox); 3. Kiyonari (Honda)

The circuit itself was first constructed in 1922 and has undergone various changes from then to its current set up. Its 5.7km layout is characterised by long high speed straights and chicanes, with three main corners, the Curvone di Biassono, Curva di Lesmo and the Curva Parabolica. For 2010 the first chicane at the end of the start / finish straight has been modified. The current and previous lap records were both taken on Yamaha R1s, the current last year by Ben Spies, the previous in 2007 by Noriyuki Haga.

With four of the 2010 World Superbike rounds already completed, Ducati Xerox riders Noriyuki Haga and Michel Fabrizio are now mentally and physically preparing for the first of three Italian appointments, to take place this weekend at Monza’s Autodromo Nazionale.

Monza has hosted the Superbikes since 1992 (the only year that didn’t see a Monza round was 1994) and last year provided the setting for Michel’s first ever Superbike win, achieved in Race 1 and consolidated by a second place finish in the second of the day’s races. Noriyuki too had a strong first race and crossed the line second, just two tenths behind team-mate Michel, but was subsequently involved in an unlikely, and extremely unlucky, collision with a pigeon which put a dramatic end to his Race 2.

Just over a week ago the TT Circuit of Assen played host to the Superbikes and at the end of a very difficult weekend, Noriyuki lies in sixth position in the riders classification and Michel in ninth. Ducati is third in the manufacturers standings at this point, four points behind Aprilia and eighteen behind leader Suzuki.

Straight after Assen the factory team carried out two days of testing at Misano and, although Noriyuki was suffering from a high fever, some very useful work was completed by both riders and at the end of the sessions Michel proved to be the fastest rider on track.

Noriyuki Haga (6th in championship, 85 points)
The Japanese rider has celebrated numerous race wins and podiums at this track in recent years and lists it among his favourites.
“It was unfortunate that I was sick after Assen and so couldn’t make the most of last week’s Misano testing session. The work I did do there went well and now we have to see what happens at Monza. This weekend will be tough; I like the Monza track but at the same time I know that my 1198 does not have the top speed of some of the other bikes and with Monza’s long straights, it will be hard for us I think. Nevertheless, I’ll be opening the gas and giving 200%.”

Michel Fabrizio (9th in championship, 53 points)
Michel put on a great performance here last season, winning Race 1 and finishing Race 2 in second. For this reason, Michel too cites Monza as one of his favourite circuits. “I had a good weekend here last year and am very happy that my first ever Superbike race win came in front of my home crowd, at Monza. We’ve not had an easy run of things recently but testing went well at Misano last week and I’ll be doing everything to put on a great performance this weekend. We need to start to make up lost ground.”

Two good podium finishes by James Toseland at Assen followed by a successful two day test in Misano last week have given the Yamaha Sterilgarda World Superbike Team extra motivation for the team’s home race. Riders Toseland and Crutchlow head to Monza for round five of the World Championship this weekend, the first of three Italian races this year, intent on capitalising on the steps taken recently in development. These include steps forward in electronics and chassis set-up, making the bike even more competitive and making the British pairing serious contenders for victory at the legendary high speed circuit.

Hannspree Ten Kate Honda riders, Jonathan Rea and Max Neukirchner, are preparing for round five of the 2010 World Superbike championship at Monza in Italy this weekend (7-9 May), looking to build on their performances in the last round at Assen.

For Rea, Assen marked a perfect weekend with a full-house of pole position, two race wins and the fastest lap, elevating him to third in the championship standings; but the 23-year-old from Northern Ireland is certainly not resting on his hard-won laurels.

Rea, who enjoyed two top five finishes at Monza in his rookie Superbike season last year, is eager to develop further the new base setting on his Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade. He and his crew plan on fine tuning it to suit the high-speed duels that the historic Monza circuit has traditionally thrown up in its first 20 years of World Superbikes.

The revised 5.777km circuit, set in a royal park just north of Milan, holds particular memories for Rea’s team-mate, Max Neukirchner. The 27-year-old German took a win and a second place finish at Monza in 2008, but after qualifying on the front row last year was injured in a pile-up at the first chicane – the Prima Variante. It is this corner that has now been opened up to prevent a bottleneck on the opening laps.

Neukirchner ultimately missed the remainder of the 2009 season and good results thus far in 2010 have proved hard to find. However, after adapting both his bike and his riding style for the last round, he and his team were buoyed by impressive lap times and a season-best finish in race two at Assen.

Jonathan Rea

It’s been a really busy time since I got back from Assen – I moved into a new apartment last weekend and then went to watch my motocross team and afterwards saw my brother in the British Superstock championship. I’m really looking forward to Monza, though, and the results last year were not so bad. We know the bike works there because Kiyo (Ryuichi Kiyonari) got on the podium twice, but I can’t wait to see how the new base setting transfers to Monza. It could have been easy to get carried away after the double win at Assen, but we’re not naïve enough to think that our rivals haven’t been working very hard since then. We certainly have, because we know how tough it is to get to the front and stay there. I’ll aim for another steady start this weekend; building momentum on Friday and Saturday. You need a bit of fight and determination at Monza, as well as a fast bike, and I’m planning on bringing both this weekend.

Max Neukirchner

I’m feeling very positive as we go to Monza because I really feel that we made a big step forward in the second race at Assen. We’ve changed the bike quite a bit and made it stiffer for race two, but the biggest change I&rsq uo;ve made is in my riding style. I need to brake differently into the corners to help me get out faster and, although Monza is known as a very fast circuit, I think we can still make some steps forward there on braking into the chicanes. It’s a very special place, but obviously I have some bad memories from last year. I will just be concentrating on improving the bike and my style and this, I think, will help me to close the book on last season’s problems.

Ronald ten Kate – team manager

After the perfect weekend in Assen with Jonathan’s clean sweep we have to get our feet firmly back on the ground and get straight back to business at Monza. The Assen races were pretty close, but I believe that this weekend they may be even closer, so the smallest details will make all the difference. Max made a big step forward in race two at Assen and, although his new riding style feels slow to him, it definitely make s him go faster. I’m hoping he’ll make another step up towards the leading group at Monza, where the revised first corner will be new to everyone since no-one has tested there. But in theory, it’ll be better than the bus-stop chicane that was there before.

James Toseland, Yamaha Sterilgarda World Superbike Team
“The test last week was encouraging, I think I ended up second and third. I am particularly looking forward to Monza; I’ve always loved riding there, as we didn’t in Moto GP I’m happy to be going back. It’s got an ambience in the park, to hear the engines resonating through the trees is really special and you can feel the history. The high speed circuit is also pretty special; to hold it flat out in top gear for 7 or 8 seconds is something you don’t do anywhere else. I’m really pleased with the way things are progressing with package and the team and as it’s the home race for them it also adds something extra to the weekend.”

Cal Crutchlow, Yamaha Sterilgarda World Superbike Team
“I’m looking forward to putting the Assen weekend behind me and getting back to the front at Monza. We’ve been working hard as a team to keep improving the bike and it was really useful to spend the two days at Misano working on a set up for me. I’m confident both James and I can be at the front this weekend and fighting for podiums on Sunday. I love the high speed Monza circuit and enjoyed racing there on the Supersport bike last year, I can’t wait to tackle it with the R1.”

Monza technically speaking according to Frankie Carchedi, James Toseland’s Crew Chief
“At Assen we were able to make more steps forward with the electronics and chassis, and more importantly close the gap on the championship lead. Since then we have had a successful test at Misano where we were able to evaluate different links and further improvements to the power delivery. Monza is the fastest track on the calendar and requires good top end speed, strong brakes and good at changing direction as it has three chicanes, also tire life for the famous Parabolica corner which dictates the speed on to the main straight. We are hopeful that with the further improvements we have made, and the strong Yamaha engine, James can again fight for the win and close the gap for the championship.”

Monza technically speaking according to Marcus Eschenbacher, Cal Crutchlow’s Crew Chief
“The Misano test was really interesting for us using different approaches to chassis set up. We’ve improved our mid corner grip and stability and also our straight line traction and drive coming out of the corners. Monza has the highest average speed of any circuit we visit this year, with chicanes in between the high speed sections so we will be setting up for high speed stability as well as working on a bike that can change direction quickly and drive out of the chicanes.”

Massimo Meregalli, Yamaha Sterilgarda World Superbike Team Manager
“For me Monza is something special, it was the same when I was racing here. In the past we have traditionally had good results in all race categories at the track, and after the last two races and the test in Misano we are arriving with good expectations. Unfortunately the weather forecast is bad for this weekend so that is a question mark but hopefully it is wrong!”

Yamaha Sterilgarda World Superbike team sponsor FIMER will tomorrow (5th May) launch a new division dedicated to renewable energy at the SOLAREXPO in Verona. To mark this occasion the bikes of both James Toseland and Cal Crutchlow will have green FIMER logos on the fairings instead of their usual red colour for the Monza race weekend.

This weekend at the Monza circuit is a very important one, not only because it’s the first Italian round of the 2010 World Superbike championship but also because it represents one of the key points of the season.

The two Althea Racing riders come to the track holding fourth and twelfth position in the overall classification.

Carlos Checa is, currently, the higher placed rider, thanks to a great victory at Phillip Island and a podium finish at Valencia. The Spaniard hasn’t been on the podium at Monza in the last two years but this year he is very determined and capable of turning that trend around.

Shane Byrne has accumulated points in all of the races so far (except Race 1 at Valencia) and seems to have found a good pace, as demonstrated by his recent race results. In 2009 the Monza track wasn’t particularly kind to the Englishman either; he took home just two points.

Genesio Bevilacqua, team owner, declared: “We’ve reached a critical point in the season and our team, also in light of our latest results, is ready to be a main player at Monza too. Even though the Lombardy track doesn’t seem to favour the Ducatis, it’s worth noting that the Bolognese bike has still won 18 of the 36 races held there and this gives us confidence. Carlos is in great shape and seems determined to put on a great show in front of the Italian crowd. Shane on the other hand will have the chance to prove that he’s back to being the “Shakey” that we know and love.”

The Superbike schedule at Monza starts on Friday with the first free practice at 12.45, followed by the first qualifying session at 15.45. On Saturday, after the second qualifying session at 10.45 and the second free practice at 13.50, the Superpole gets underway at 15.00. On Sunday morning warm-up begins at 9.20, while Race 1 kicks off at 12.00 and Race 2 at 15.30 – both races are 18 laps in length, equal to 103.986 km.

The lap record for Superbikes at Monza is no longer valid as the first chicane has been modified, changing the parameters. The “old” record, that referred to the previous layout, was set by Fabrizio (Ducati) in 2009, in 1m45.336 at an average of 197,980 km/h, while Ben Spies (Yamaha) set a 1′44″073 (at an average of 200,390 km/h) in practice in 2009.

Supersport

Kenan Sofuoglu and his Hannspree Ten Kate Honda team-mate, Michele Pirro, will be seeking improvement at this weekend’s (7-9 May) fifth round World Supersport championship race at Monza in Italy.

Sofuoglu currently lies in second place in the championship standings after finishing on the podium in all four rounds this year, including a win at Portimao in March. However, the 25-year-old 2007 world champion from Turkey was disappointed to miss out on victory at the previous Assen round, after dominating practice and starting from pole position.

Pirro, who took his first World Supersport podium at Portimao, will also be looking for improvement, particularly after crashing out of the last two rounds. The 23-year-old from San Giovanni Rotondo in south-west Italy is particularly keen to perform at the first of three ‘home’ rounds this season.

As two-time Italian Superstock champion and reigning Italian Supersport champion , Pirro has plenty of Monza experience and placed seventh in last year’s World Supersport race. Sofuoglu, meanwhile, has enjoyed mixed Monza results, winning in his 2007 championship year, but struggling with set-up problems to finish ninth in last season’s race.

The ultra-fast Monza circuit has been revised for the 2010 season, with the Prima Variante chicane at the end of the start-finish straight now opened up slightly to avoid the bottleneck situations of previous years. The circuit length is consequently shortened by 16m to 5.777km.

Kenan Sofuoglu

Although I finished third and got some more points for the championship, I was very disappointed with the result at Assen. I had planned to go back to Turkey after the race but instead I stayed behind with the team to analyse the result and to try to find out what happened. The bike was probably set up too much to do fast lap times and might have been a bit too soft to battle hard with Laverty and Lascorz, who were very strong in the race. The base setting on the bike is very good though, and we will go to Monza to try to improve more and get back on top of the championship by winning again.

Michele Pirro

It was very disappointing for me to crash at Assen, especially after my team worked so hard to give me a good bike that I was able to put on the front row of the grid. They should have had a better reward at their home race. Kenan is showing with his results how good the CBR600RR is now and I know, after Portimao, that I am able to achieve good results with it, too. I am now even more determined to get back on the podium and it would be great to do it in Italy this weekend.

Ronald ten Kate – team manager

Monza has historically produced good slipstream fighting in Superbikes, but I think we’ll see the same thing in Supersport this weekend with the leading three to five riders battling it out. For the moment, there are three riders who are clearly outstanding but I am quite sure that Michele Pirro wants to start mixing with them as soon as he can this weekend – especially as this race is in Italy.

The traditional post-Spanish Grand Prix one day test session for MotoGP teams at the 4.423km Jerez circuit was run in perfect weather conditions and the Honda RC212V riders and team technicians worked non-stop from 10.00. until 18.00. testing new parts and as many set up options as time permitted. All six RCV riders improved upon their race performances of yesterday with Dani Pedrosa, Repsol Honda, who finished second in the grand prix, topping the time sheets today.

Pedrosa, and Repsol Honda team mate Andrea Dovizioso, had a full day testing a variety of updated engine and chassis parts brought to Jerez by the HRC engineers. Both men improved upon their best lap times posted in Sunday’s grand prix, Pedrosa’s best time of 1m 39.425s was three-tenths of a second inside the track record he established in the race.

Pedrosa has struggled to adapt to the Ohlins suspension system that the Honda factory team has chosen to run this season but today he finally made the sort of progress he has been chasing all season. Dovizioso has more experience with Ohlins and he was on the pace from the outset today. The Italian was very pleased with the new swinging arm and chassis specifications which, together with updated engine performance, particularly the increased acceleration, allowed him to slash seven-tenths off his best race lap with a time of 1m 39.760s.

LCR Honda rider Randy de Puniet was disappointed with his performance in Sunday’s 27 lap race. The Frenchman started the race form sixth on the grid but a bad start and traffic restricted him to a ninth place finish in the race. De Puniet was consistently fast all day today his best lap one second better than his best race lap yesterday.

The San Carlo Honda Gresini duo of Marco Melandri and Marco Simoncelli put their track time to good use today with both men setting faster lap times than during Sunday’s race. More importantly the test allowed the Gresini team technicians the time they need to test the multipule chassis and suspension options available to them in order to get the best out of the overall set up on the Bridgestone control tires.

Melandri was stronger today than during the race weekend, his race simulation was the most encouraging result and the team made progress on set up while using the softer Bridgestone tire compound, something that has plagued Melandri from the beginning of the season.

MotoGP Rookie Simoncelli has suffered with rear grip problems since he first rode the RCV and still has much work if he is to improve his rolling chassis set up to a point where he is completely comfortable. He made progress in some areas and was almost half a second faster during the test than in the race.

Hiro Aoyama, Interwetten Honda, put in a marathon session today running 97 laps of the Andalucian circuit. The Japanese MotoGP Rookie still has much to learn about the RC212V and spent the day working on general machine set up trying several alternative configurations and was pleased with the results having set lap times faster than during the GP on Sunday, his best over one second faster than his best race lap..

Dani Pedrosa, Repsol Honda: 1st. 1m 39.425s – 60 laps.
“This was a useful day of testing and we spent some time working in detail on suspension adjustments – some of the things we didn’t have the time to test in the pre-season because we were focusing on other issues. We also tried a modified spec engine and collected some information for the development engineers, but it’s too early to say whether it’s a step forward yet because we only had two runs out of the pits with it. The crash was a little strange and I wasn’t expecting it, but the important thing is that I’m not hurt and I can look forward to Le Mans which is a circuit I’ve raced well at before. I’m looking forward to the next round.”

Randy de Puniet, LCR Honda: 4th. 1m 39.609s – 63 laps.
“Well … I am happy about the further improvements we got today but in the mean time this testing session was very tough for me because last night I suffered a bad stomach pain and still feel weak. Anyway we are pleased with the chassis and suspension adjustments we have developed today. After two races we had a few things to fix but we did not have the time to do it during the race week ends so it was a good day to clear some points. We have been working on the start because my result was affected mainly by my bad start and my lap time have been consistent throughout the whole session both on used and new tires so we have ended this first testing with a promising progress”.

Andrea Dovizioso, Repsol Honda: 5th. 1m 39.760s – 71 laps.
“I’m happy with my lap time today and, although the track conditions were better than yesterday, 39.7 is a good time on the Bridgestone harder option tire and it’s only two tenths behind the fastest time set with that tire, so I’m pretty satisfied with that. Our machine lacks a bit of stability so it’s not easy to be consistent but I’m really happy with the new parts Honda has brought here. We tried the new chassis and swingarm which have improved the last part of the braking area and corner entry. The new specification engine has improved the acceleration slightly and we’ll look at the data and decide if we’ll use it in the upcoming races.”

Marco Melandri, San Carlo Gresini Honda: 11th. 1m 40.129s – 84 laps.
“It has been a really positive day which we have spent working on our race pace, having suffered a little yesterday after a few laps with a full tank. We made some changes and completed a race simulation to see if they had the desired effect and I’m quite happy with what we found. I also tried for a fast time on a soft tire but I ran into too many riders on track and didn’t manage to improve by the few tenths that I could have but really that wasn’t the priority today. Things are progressing now and although we are still some way short of the top guys we still have to take things step by step. My pace today was noticeably stronger than yesterday, when I only managed two laps in the 1’40s and spent the rest of the time in the mid-1’41s. Today I was consistently in the 1’40s so I’m confident about going to Le M ans, where I hope we can take another step forward.”

Marco Simoncelli, San Carlo Gresini Honda: 12th. 1m 40.370s – 83 laps.
“I’m quite happy because we found a few positive things today. We haven’t completely resolved the problem I had in the race but we reduced it and I managed to improve my pace on a consistent basis on hard tires so I’m happy. We didn’t manage to find any more rear grip but we took other steps forward, like improving my speed on a soft tire, so we go to Le Mans with high hopes of doing well. With time to sit down and analyse the data we gathered here, working out what worked and what didn’t, I’m sure we can improve even more in time for the next race. We could do with test days like these more often!”

Hiro Aoyama, Interwetten Honda: 15th. 1m 40.470s – 97 laps
“We did a lot of testing today and we were able to find some positive things. I could gain some more experience because of this test and I have some ideas for the upcoming Grand Prix. The average lap times were better than in the race, this means we improved and that is good. I would have loved to be even faster, but I will keep that for the next time.”

The Fiat Yamaha Team made the most of a rare day’s testing at Jerez, one of the few post-race tests they will have this season. Valentino Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo had a busy and successful day, finishing second and third respectively in the standings behind Dani Pedrosa.

Rossi, who finished third in the race on Sunday, worked with his crew to improve the M1 race setting, trying to understand the problems that had hampered them during the weekend. It was a largely successful day as his fastest time was an improvement on his best time from the weekend. He also tried a new engine evolution, which it is hoped will improve acceleration, reporting a small improvement. The Italian had one upset during the day when he had a low-speed crash at turn two, luckily causing no further damage to his recovering shoulder.

After his incredible home win, Lorenzo had to delay the celebrations one day more in order to get back on board yesterday. The main aim for his side of the garage was to try to improve his starts and his early race performance, and the Spaniard did over 20 practice starts during the day. He too had some new parts to try, including a chassis development, electronics and the modified engine. Lorenzo, who turns 23 today, finished the day in third, just behind his team-mate.

Valentino Rossi – Position: 2nd Time: 1′39.480 Laps: 61
“We improved our race setting a bit and found better stability and grip, so we arrived at the right place finally, even if we were too late for the race! We tried a new front tire for Bridgestone, which was good and also a slightly different engine from Japan, trying to improve the acceleration. The difference was small but important, although we don’t know yet when we will be able to use it in a race. My lap times were fast and apart from the small crash, when I just put a bit too much lean on and lost the front, it was a good day. I was only doing 65 km/h so luckily it wasn’t a problem. Now we have a long rest and I want to fully recover so I’m back to full strength in Le Mans.”

Jorge Lorenzo – Position: 3rd Time: 1′39.506 Laps: 71
“It was an interesting day. Most of all we worked on our starts; I think I did something like 25 starts! I do find it quite difficult because the clutch and acceleration aren’t always the best parts of our package, but today was good to understand how we can improve. We also tried some new electronics, including traction control, and chassis parts, as well as trying a slightly different engine. The difference wasn’t big but I did notice it, so I think this is the right way. Today is my birthday and I am looking forward to finally celebrating my win!”

Davide Brivio – Team Manager
“This was a very positive test because we tried many things and got some good information. The first important thing was to try to improve the setting of the weekend and understand where we went wrong, and this was more or less successful. Then we tried some different electronic maps and a new front Bridgestone which was very promising. Finally we tested a slightly different engine; a developed model that we may not see soon but our feedback will be very valuable for Yamaha in their future work. An important day’s work.”

Wilco Zeelenberg – Team Manager
“Today was very interesting, especially because we don’t have many tests this year. We worked largely on trying to understand why Jorge is so much faster later in the race and also we worked on starts, because we need to improve them too. We found out some interesting information, which will help us to understand how to have the same speed throughout the race. We need to go to another track now to get a better idea of the situation but hopefully the work we’ve done will be very useful.”

The Ducati Marlboro Team were back on track in breezy but pretty warm conditions at Jerez today for the first of two post-race test days planned for this season. Casey Stoner and Nicky Hayden took the opportunity to try a variety of different set-up options, clocking the sixth and seventh fastest times respectively.

Casey Stoner (Ducati Marlboro Team) 6th fastest 1:39.786 (66 laps)
“Today was quite productive because we found a race set-up for this track that was better than yesterday, with improved front feeling which is what we had been looking for all weekend. We went for quite a radical change and it did the trick but we’ll have to wait and see if it works at other circuits because this place tends to put more pressure on front tires than a lot of places and it requires a particular approach. Anyway, we go to Le Mans with a lot of useful data and hopefully it can help us there too.”

Nicky Hayden (Ducati Marlboro Team) 7th fastest 1:39.906 (70 laps)
“It has been a useful day even though we haven’t found anything spectacular. That’s to be expected because we have taken huge steps forward to get to this point and it’s always going to be more tricky to find those last couple of tenths. We changed some things with the geometry, suspension settings and a few general areas that we hadn’t had time to try over the weekend. We got a lot of data which will be useful because we don’t have another chance to test until after Brno.”

Dani Pedrosa produced a sublime display of riding at sun-drenched Jerez this afternoon to claim his first pole position of the year, ahead of fellow Spaniard Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha). This was the 24-year-old’s 14th premier-class pole and his first at Jerez since 2007.

Pedrosa who is making the most of a revised RCV chassis has an enviable Jerez record to build on tomorrow. Since graduating to MotoGP in 2006 he has never finished lower than second here. Race winner in 2008, the former 125 and 250 World Champion was Jerez runner-up in 2006, 2007 and 2009. He also won the 250 GP here in 2005.

Pedrosa’s best lap cheered all the way by a massive and patriotic crowd was a stunning 0.285 seconds faster than the rest, an impressive advantage in modern-day MotoGP racing. But the next five riders were covered by just 0.104 seconds, suggesting that tomorrow’s second round of the 2010 MotoGP series should be a close and thrilling race.

Privateer Randy de Puniet (LCR Honda RC212V) rode another dazzling qualifying session to claim a second-row start at the tail end of that five-strong group, despite sliding off at Turn Ten this morning. The Frenchman who finished fourth at Jerez last year will be gunning for a podium tomorrow.

Andrea Dovizioso (Repsol Honda RC212V) had expected great things this afternoon after lapping within four tenths of the fastest time this morning. But in the quest for an even better pace, Dovi tried some modifications this afternoon which actually took him back a step. Nonetheless, while his grid position isn’t what he would have wanted, Dovizioso’s pace is fast enough for him to be in the hunt for a podium, so long as he gets away with the front-runners. His best lap was less than half a second off fourth-quickest Valentino Rossi (Yamaha).

Marco Melandri (San Carlo Honda Gresini RC212V) was a morale-boosting tenth fastest, sixth thousands of a second behind Dovizioso. Melandri’s performance indicates that he is starting to gel with his RC212V after a challenging start to the season in Qatar three weeks ago. He looked rejuvenated on the bike and may well have scored a better grid slot if he hadn’t made a minor error during the final sector during his best lap.

Hiroshi Aoyama (Interwetten Honda MotoGP RC212V) was second best rookie of the day in 12th place, just behind Loris Capirossi (Suzuki) who will start his 301st GP tomorrow. The reigning 250 World Champion continuing his intelligent, step-by-step progress of acclimatisation into MotoGP, improving today from 14th this morning to make the top dozen this afternoon.

Marco Simoncelli (San Carlo Honda Gresini RC212V) had another tough day, ending the hour-long session in 16th place, but the Italian rookie already proved in Qatar that he can find plenty more speed when it comes to the race.

Weather conditions for tomorrow are expected to be slightly cooler than today, which should add an interesting twist to today’s performances in both MotoGP and Moto2.

The new Honda-powered Moto2 World Championship produced a breathtakingly close qualifying session today; the fastest 20 riders separated by just 0.811 seconds! The pack was headed by Shoya Tomizawa (Technomag-CIP, Suter), the man who made history in Qatar by winning the inaugural Moto2 race. The 19-year-old Japanese rider set the fastest lap with 22 minutes to go, then slid off his Suter MMX machine two minutes later. Despite that hiccup, the 19-year-old held onto pole position by just two thousands of a second from reigning 125 World Champion Julian Simon (Mapfre Aspar Team, RSV).

Toni Elias (Gresini Racing Moto2, Moriwaki) made it two Spaniards on the front row by recording the third fastest time, a further five hundredths of a second behind his compatriot. Elias – winner of the 2003 250 GP here and Moto2 pole position man in Qatar three weeks ago – is still riding in some discomfort, suffering from a nasty left-hand injury he sustained during a hefty crash at Jerez during preseason testing.

Last man on the front row was Yuki Takahashi (Tech 3 Racing, Tech 3), who was less than three hundredths of a second behind Elias and only one hundredth in front of second-row leader Thomas Luthi (Interwetten Moriwaki Moto2, Moriwaki).

Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda RC212V), pole position at 1m 39.202s,
“It’s always nice to get pole position and especially here because it is my home race and the support from the fans is amazing, so I’m very happy for them. I really didn’t expect this pole to be honest, but I was pushing very hard so I’m very happy about it. Actually though, it’s not so significant for me because the important thing is the performance in the race and we still need to work very hard on this area. The new frame is delivering some improvements but we’re still not all the way there and we must continue to work on the stability because this is very important in order to be competitive over race distance. Our rivals are also showing a lot of potential so we can’t relax in any way because this will be a long, tough race. Obviously I will start the race thinking about the win, and I know there will be a lot of fans out there cheering for me so I hope we can give them something special.”

Randy de Puniet (LCR Honda RC212V), sixth at 1m 39.591s,
“I am very happy because it has been a very good qualifying session. I am just eight hundredths off the front row and the adjustments we have made to the bike work well especially in race trim. This afternoon we concentrated to obtain the second row and we are delighted with this result as we are the first independent team on the grid for the second time after Qatar GP. My target is to keep this placement in tomorrow’s race to repeat the positive result we gained in Qatar, but I know it won’t be so easy.”

Andrea Dovizioso (Repsol Honda RC212V), ninth at 1m 40.021s,
“I actually think we could have made it onto the second row today so I’m a little disappointed with the result this afternoon because it can be very important to start from the first two rows. We showed our full potential in the morning session where we were four tenths behind the fastest rider, so it’s a shame we couldn’t repeat that in qualifying. For the afternoon we made some adjustments to the electronics and machine set-up and this actually took us back a step, so tomorrow we will return to this morning’s set-up and I’m confident that will give us an improvement. Starting from the third row it will be important to make a good getaway and stay glued to the front riders because this is key to having a good race – as we saw in Qatar.”

Marco Melandri (San Carlo Honda Gresini RC212V), tenth at 1m 40.027s,
“We had a great session today, setting an excellent race pace and I’m really confident about the race. We’re struggling a bit for rear grip but we’re working to improve and I think with a small step forward we can make a big improvement. It is a shame about the qualifying lap because I made a small mistake on my last effort and it cost me a lot of time in the final sector. Anyway, I think that with a good start we can have a fun race tomorrow. I’m happy because we’ve done a good job together, everybody in the team is highly motivated and I think we have created the right atmosphere to improve.”

Hiroshi Aoyama (Interwetten Honda MotoGP RC212V), 12th at 1m 40.322s,
“My lap times in the qualifying session were not bad today, but the starting position for the race could have been better and therefore I am not 100 per cent satisfied. I am not happy that we are not closer to the front. In general we worked a lot on the setup and it worked out. Tomorrow we want to improve the setup in the warm-up and then I hope we will have a good race.”

Marco Simoncelli (San Carlo Honda Gresini RC212V), 16th at 1m 40.586s,
“After this morning’s session I was hoping for better this afternoon but we’re still struggling a little and I can’t ride how I want. The reality is that we’re not that far off the top guys – 1.3 seconds isn’t a big gap but I am still in sixteenth. All we can do is try to improve a little more before tomorrow and then do our best to make up positions in the race.”

Hannspree Ten Kate Honda’s Jonathan Rea stamped an indelible mark on the 2010 World Superbike championship today by winning both fourth round races at Assen in Holland – his third and fourth championship wins, the first of this season and his debut double.

Rea’s stunning weekend performance also included his maiden world championship pole position after yesterday’s Superpole and the fastest lap of the weekend in a dramatic and thrilling race two – setting a new lap record for the revised 4.452km Dutch circuit.

In race one, Rea battled with Troy Corser and Leon Camier in the early laps before stretching out a lead from James Toseland, who finished second, with Camier third. Race two was a stunning Assen classic, as the 23-year-old Rea traded places with Corser, Camier and series leader Leon Haslam, eventually leading Haslam home by almost two seconds.

Rea’s results today have leapfrogged him from fi fth to third in the championship points standings, with 18 points separating him from second placed Max Biaggi.

It was an encouraging weekend, too, for Rea’s Hannspree Ten Kate Honda team-mate, Max Neukirchner. The German, who celebrated his birthday just a few days ago, bounced back from a race one crash to record his best result of the season with ninth in race two.

Neukirchner has altered the set up of his Honda CBR1000RR significantly recently and has had to adapted his riding style as well. Starting from 16th place on the grid, the 27-year-old was encouraged to be matching the lap times of the leading riders throughout race two.

Jonathan Rea – 1st and 1st

You know, it’s been great, but I couldn’t have done it without my team; they gave me a fantastic bike today, so thanks to everyone – my crew chief, data guy, suspension guy, everyone involved. We changed the balance of the b ike quite a lot for this weekend and it’s made it more comfortable to ride. I guess you could say that today’s two races were probably the smartest I’ve ever ridden; I never got frustrated or caught in traffic and, when it was time to pull the pin, I did, and I’m really, really happy with the double. It’s a clean sweep with pole position, a double win and, I think the fastest lap, so I’m as proud as punch and I can’t wait to take this home. I’m looking forward to getting back into the swing of things and going to Monza but we’ll definitely savour the moment and I’ll stick around the hospitality this evening and definitely by the big boss a drink!

Max Neukirchner – 20th and 9th

We have changed the bike a lot this week and I adapted my riding style a bit better this morning in warm-up so we thought we could improve more in the race. The problem was that, although the settings were the same I hadn’t ridden this new style, which requires braking further into the corner, with a full tank. Anyway, I ended up losing the front, but brought the bike home. We went harder at the front and the rear for race two and it worked for me, so it feels like a great step forward today. I can’t wait to get to Monza – not only to close the book there after last year’s crash, but to improve the bike further. I’m also very happy for Johnny, who did a great job here this weekend. In fact, it’s been a good step forward for the whole team.

Ronald ten Kate – team-manager

It’s quite difficult to describe our feelings at the moment. Jonathan’s clean sweep this weekend happened to be completed in one of the most exciting races we’ve seen. His victories also put us back in contention for the championship race. The second outing also showed a breakthrough fo r Max who has been working so hard to change his riding style this weekend. It’s paid off with his best result of the season and the whole performance of the team gives us something solid to build on as we head into the middle part of the season.

Another podium for Max Biaggi in race 2 of the World Superbike Valencia round. After the second place in race 1, Max engaged in another splendid battle with Haga (Ducati) and Checa (Ducati). A struggle carried out on the thin wire of hundredths, considering the fact that the order of the final arrivals springs from the “combined” classification which summed the times of the two fractions in which race 2 was split, due to an accident in the third lap which forced a new start.

At the second start it was Leon Camier with his Aprilia Alitalia RSV4 who took charge followed by team mate Max. The Brit’s fantastic attempt ended in the 12th lap in a slide without consequences. But with those laps out front Leon showed great progress in riding the 4 cylinder Aprilia.

From that point on Haga, Biaggi and Checa took off in a race of their own. Max surpassed Checa several times, even approaching Haga in the sum of the times. He crossed the finish line in second place, but the classification which combined the times of the two fragments of the race “relegated” him to third place. A very important placing because it was obtained in front of Leon Haslam, in lead in the world classifications (123 points) now 18 points in front of Max, in a solid second place with 105 points.

Max Biaggi stated: “It was a beautiful race, entertaining as race 1 was also, there was a bit of confusion at the restart due to the filler left on the asphalt to clean up after the accident. I gave my best and we lost second place by next to nothing, maybe because of a wobble in the very last lap. I tried to resist against the Ducati but toward the end of the race with the tires worn, the two cylinders had an evident advantage, especially Haga’s. This is a positive result in the championship scenario. We’ll see what happens in Holland: one thing is certain, as always we will give it our all”.

“I still have a lot to figure out – said Leon Camier – I especially need to improve the feeling with my RSV4, above all I need to understand were and how to intervene to stay consistently out front with the leaders. There are a lot of little things that need to be adjusted and they are decisive in order to be quick. I believe that this weekend we took some important steps in this direction.
A good result is not far off”.

The streak of positive results continues for Max Biaggi and the Aprilia Alitalia Racing Team. In fact, the Roman rider, astride his RSV4, took second place in race 1 on the Valencia circuit. Max, who rocketed out of the third box of the grid, maintained his starting position, then engaging in a tight and passionate duel with James Toseland (Yamaha) to take second place behind the Brit Haslam who, taking advantage of the battle behind him, was able to decisively increase the gap.

An unfortunate race for the other Aprilia Alitalia rider, Leon Camier, who got caught in a slide (without any physical consequences) in the seventh lap after an excellent start which found him gaining several positions until he reached and kept fifth place. The young Englishman’s progress is quite evident.

“It was a tough race – commented Max Biaggi – right from the beginning when I didn’t feel entirely comfortable. I battled and passed Corser and found myself in a battle with Toseland. James defended very well. It was difficult to pass him and when I finally did I was able to find my lines and my pace, but Haslam was too far up front and we were only a few laps from the finish. But it is a nice second place and these are important points”.

Leon Camier: “I was pushing quite hard when I fell. I braked hard over a depression and I lost the front end. There is work to be done if we want to compete with the leaders, especially in braking and covering the turns”.

Team Suzuki Alstare rider Leon Haslam bounced back from a disappointing eleventh place in race one to take a superb runner-up spot in race two in Assen today.

His main rivals, Max Biaggi (Aprilia) and Noriyuki Haga (Ducati) were unable to fully capitalise on Leon’s eleventh in the first race and Biaggi now trails Leon by twenty points in the standings. Leon’s lowly eleventh in the first race was a result of a loss of air pressure in his front tire and that meant he couldn’t push hard at all. At first he thought it was a brake problem, but he kept going somehow and collected five valuable points. Jonathan Rea (Honda) won the race, with fellow Britons James Toseland (Yamaha) second and Leon Camier (Aprilia) third.

Race two was an absolute scorcher – one of the best in World Superbike history. Rea won it, but only after the ‘mother of battles’ with Leon, Troy Corser and Toseland, which saw plenty of close contact involving elbows and handlebars.While Leon was able to celebrate extending his lead in the series, it was not such a good day for team mate Sylvain Guintoli. The Frenchman hardly recovered from his position in qualifying and never found his rhythm in either of today’s 22-lap races, finishing in 14th in race one and 13th in race two.

Leon Haslam – Race 1: 11th, Race 2: 2nd

Today was very, very hard, but I am happy because I have extended my lead in the series. In race one I had a problem with the front end and was struggling in 16th after five laps. I wasn’t sure if it was a brake problem, but when the bike was checked over after the race, the team discovered that air had escaped from the front tire. It was a real struggle to keep going especially when I was with a couple of other riders, but I was determined to bring the bike home one way or another. The team changed the front discs and pads (in case they were part of the problem) for race two and I was able to do a normal race. It was a fantastic race, with plenty of close contact. Elbows were everywhere and we were close enough to touch each other’s handelbars. It was very hard, but fair, and we all enjoyed it a lot. It must have been great for the fans and of course, having both podiums filled by Brits was also great.

Sylvain – Race 1: 14th, Race 2: 13th

This was a weekend to forget and I don’t really even want to think about it anymore. It didn’t start well and never really improved. It did get a bit better yesterday and I might have been able to rescue something if I had managed to find my rhythm today. But I didn’t, and having a problem with another rider in race two didn’t help either. I’m not sure if it was Sykes or Lanzi but there was an impact and that affected the steering of my bike. I was lucky not to crash, but I thought I might as well keep going and see what happened. The steering felt strange and I just could push any harder. I think it’s better I forget today and start thinking about the next race in Monza, because that is something positive.

A positive day here in Holland for the Althea Racing team with both of the riders finishing inside the top ten in both races.

Carlos Checa was again a protagonist of the day’s races, finishing fourth in race 1 and sixth in the second race, in what was a difficult weekend for the Ducatis, at a disadvantage with regard to acceleration and top speed compared to the four cylinders.

“It was great to see Race 2 from my position!” declared Carlos. “Unfortunately there was an obvious difference in acceleration between us and the four cylinders and we weren’t 100% there with regard to the rideability of the bike. Anyway the overall balance was not bad when you look at my results. We have a good package but we are lacking acceleration and speed compared to the four cylinders. I couldn’t do more than I did but I’m still fourth in the standings, in what will be a long championship.”

Shane Byrne was also satisfied with his results, maintaining interesting lap times in both races. “The pace was unrelenting”, said the Englishman, “and the races were extremely hard-fought. I couldn’t reach the leading group but I’m fairly happy with the results of the two races.”

Genesio Bevilacqua, team owner, commented at the end of the two races, “Today we saw the difference in speed between us and the four cylinders. I believe that with the current regulations it is almost impossible to do more with regard to acceleration and, above all, with regard to top speed. The rules penalize the twins. Carlos amazed me again in Race 1 while in Race 2, after a bad start, he rode another great race. Shane, in the first race, showed that he hadn’t yet found the necessary pace but then in the second he found a good balance. Looking at the times, he can improve further.”

Yamaha Sterilgarda World Superbike rider James Toseland made every lap count in Assen today, storming to two podium finishes and claiming hard earned points which move him up the championship table. The first race saw the British rider tear through the pack from his tenth place grid start position, making short work of his competitors with clean decisive overtakes, making up eight places to sit in second by just past mid-race point behind leader Jonathan Rea. An inspired overtake three laps to the end on the penultimate corner saw him temporarily lead the race, however Rea was able to get past at the end of the start straight, securing the win just 1.1 seconds ahead of Toseland. Team-mate Cal Crutchlow had a great start, making it up to sixth on the first corner before a bunched up pack of riders pushed him wide, dropping him to 13th initially. He fought back with a determined push and was the fastest lapping rider mid way through. He finally crossed the line in eighth having made up five positions on the tricky to overtake circuit.

Race two and again Toseland charged through the pack, making fifth position by lap seven. He spent several laps following a furious battle in the top four between Haslam, Rea, Corser and Camier before slipping through and fighting his own battle to take third. Positions changed several times in the tightly bunched pack however he held onto third over the line for his second podium of the day. Team mate Crutchlow had a less fortunate race, with a technical issue with the rear suspension forcing an early retirement. Toseland now heads to the next round in Monza having climbed to fifth position in the standings on 86 points, just 17 behind Carlos Checa in fourth. Team-mate Crutchlow remains in tenth position just four points behind Michel Fabrizio in ninth.

James Toseland, Yamaha Sterilgarda World Superbike Team, (2nd, 3rd)
“We’ve had another tough weekend, especially Friday and Saturday, but we’ve pulled through. Once again the team has worked fantastically well, especially this morning, we had a new linkage system on the rear end just to try and sort some issues and it seems to have worked. It’s been a long weekend but to come from tenth on the grid and get a second and a third, two podiums is just a great result for me and the team. It’s been coming slowly, we’ve come from far behind in the first two races so it’s fantastic to be up there at the front and fighting. There are a lot of Brits out there, and we’re all racing at the front and doing a great job, everybody deserves to be in it. I’ve had great support from my family and friends and want to thank everyone for supporting me in getting back to where I should be.”

Cal Crutchlow, Yamaha Sterilgarda World Superbike Team, (8th, DNF )
“It’s been a very frustrating end to the weekend for me, I know I had the pace to achieve really good results and be up there fighting with the front guys in both races. I made a good start in the first but lost a lot of places on the first corner when the pack pushed me wide, but fought back and was one of the fastest riders on the track mid-race. Race two was even more frustrating as I was determined and ready to fight for a podium. Unfortunately the technical issue was out of my control so there was nothing I could do.”

Massimo Meregalli, Yamaha Sterilgarda World Superbike Team Manager
“We had a great result today, especially considering how we got it, after a lot of challenges over the last two days. James also put all his heart into his racing today. I’m sorry for Cal, I think he had the ability to have a great two races, especially in the second one. Unfortunately we had a technical issue, we don’t know what yet but we will figure it out. We’ve made big advances with our electronics and also with our chassis which could be seen with James’s performance. We are now getting to a point where we have a very competitive bike with a set up that works on different tracks, but obviously we will continue to work for the next level. We head to Misano for testing next week motivated to keep on improving. A big thank you to all the team and the riders who worked so hard this weekend.”

In the European Superstock 600 Championship MRS Racing rider Jeremy Guarnoni took an impressive second place podium finish, less than two hundredths of a second off the front and earning 20 championship points on his Yamaha R6. He maintains his position as the championship leader, 11 points ahead of his closest rival after three rounds.

Troy Corser left Assen today, happy with two fifth places on his BMW S 1000 RR and is already looking forward to his next race. After what seems a long time Troy now has a bike that can compete with the best, thanks to the recent good work done by the team. Troy got the holeshot, led the first race for ten laps and looked in command until his tires started going off five or six laps or so before the end. He didn’t get the holeshot in race two, but charged past Jonathan Rea (Honda) after seven laps and once again controlled things from the front. This time his lead lasted four laps, but at least he showed that he and the bike can run at the front for more than just one lap. Rea won both 22-lap races today, much to the huge delight of his team who are based nearby. He had to fight for his first ever double and the second race will go down as one of the closest fought races in World Superbike history. James Toseland (Yamaha) took second in race one, with Leon Camier (Aprilia) third, making it a clean sweep of British riders. The second race saw another all-Brit podium, with Leon Haslam (Suzuki) second and Toseland third.

The podium was not far off, but I’m really happy how today and this weekend has gone. It was really good to lead a race again – and not just for one lap! I felt very comfortable in the lead both times and enjoyed riding the bike without thinking about it. Now, I’m looking forward to getting back on the bike again and going racing! I always knew that we would get to this stage, but I didn’t know when it would happen. Our bike is as fast as anything out there, except for maybe the Aprilias, and the only thing I am missing now is getting out of the turns as quickly as some of my competitors. I suffered a bit in the final chicane, but was pretty much a match for everybody else in the rest of the track. The rear tire didn’t last long enough in race one, so I had to adjust the electronics to compensate for it and that slowed me a little in the second part of the race.

In race two, the rear was pretty chewed up at the end, but I was happy in both races because I felt I was actually racing for a podium, not just riding around for points. The racing was really close today and many times we nearly touched elbows or handlebars and it must have great viewing for the fans at the track and on TV. I got pushed out a few times, but it was all pretty fair and just normal for this series. Now that I am comfortable on the bike I don’t mind the cut and thrust because it is part of the package and I can give as good as I get. I know I probably don’t say this often, and probably not this season so far, but today I am very happy!

A difficult fourth World Superbike round for Ducati Xerox riders Noriyuki Haga and Michel Fabrizio at the TT Circuit of Assen. In Race 1 neither Noriyuki or Michel got off the line particularly fast, Noriyuki in 13th and Michel dropping to 14th position from eighth on the grid. For the first half of the race the Ducati Xerox riders oscillated between 13th and 16th position and by mid-race they found themselves in a duel with the two Suzukis of Haslam and Guintoli. When the Suzuki riders made some mistakes, Nori was able to pass both of them and Michel too got by Guintoli. Over the 22 laps Noriyuki made up several places, to move from sixteenth at the end of lap two to tenth, the position he held from lap seventeen until the finish line. Michel closed Race 1 in thirteenth position.

The Ducati Xerox men made similar starts to Race 2. Noriyuki went wide at the first corner when he tried to pass riders by going around the outside. Feeling strong vibrations from the engine of his 1198, which only became worse during the first couple of laps, and realizing there was an engine problem, Noriyuki was forced to return to the box, thus retiring from the race. Michel, in the first half of the race, had a good pace which allowed him to make up a few positions but he then suffered from a sudden drop in the performance of the rear tire which badly affected his lap times; he concluded the race in twelfth position.

After this fourth round of the World Superbike Championship, Japanese rider Noriyuki lies in sixth position in the general standings, with 85 points. His team-mate Michel is in ninth with 53 points. Ducati is in third position in the manufacturers classification, with 130 points to Aprilia’s 134 and Suzuki’s 148.

Noriyuki Haga (Race 1 – 10th , Race 2 – DNF)
“It was a very difficult day for us today. In Race 1 I didn’t make the good start that I needed to, and from the fourth row I had to push very hard even to make up one or two positions. In Race 2, I realized already during the warm-up lap that the engine vibrations I was feeling were maybe stronger than normal. I hoped it wouldn’t be a problem and started the race but it became worse as I rode and I knew there was something wrong technically. It’s very disappointing of course because this year, more than ever, it’s important to be consistent – there are so many of us fighting for the positions that count and it’s becoming more and more of a battle.”

Michel Fabrizio (Race 1 – 13th , Race 2 – 12th)
“In Race 1 I got off to a bad start and it was difficult to match the pace of those ahead of me. We made a few changes to my 1198 between the two races and for the first half of race 2 it was better; I was able to push hard and make up a few places. But then, in the second half of the race, practically from one lap to the next, the rear tire performance dropped dramatically. I risked falling a couple of times and realized I had to take it easy if I wanted to finish the race. I’m looking forward to Monza where I hope we can perform a lot better in front of my home crowd.”

The Hannspree Ten Kate Honda team has announced that its World Superbike championship rider Jonathan Rea will compete in the 2010 Suzuka 8 Hour race in Japan on 25th July.

The iconic race forms part of the five-round World Endurance championship and during its 32-year history has featured some of the greatest ever riders in world championship motorcycle racing, from both GPs and the World Superbike championship.

Rea will also contest the 300km Suzuka race on 13th June – a race he won with former team-mate Ryuichi Kiyonari in 2007 – before competing in the 8 Hour in July, a week before round 10 of the World Superbike championship at Silverstone in the UK on 1st August.

His team and team-mate have yet to be announced but Honda has confirmed that Rea will ride for one of the satellite Honda teams on an HRC (Honda Racing Corporation) CBR1000RR Fireblade with support from the factory.

“I’m absolutely thrill ed to be given a chance to go back to Suzuka and compete in the 8 Hour race,” said Rea. “I raced there in 2007 in the 300km and was hoping for a chance to do the 8 Hour that year, but it didn’t happen.

“The winners list reads like a ‘who’s who’ of racing,” he added, “and I’d love to add my name to that list. But there are also some fantastic riders who have raced there and never won. It’ll be a big thrill for me and I can’t wait!”