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Courtesy of Kawasaki Racing Team
WSS, Nürburgring, Germany, 27 August 2013
Kawasaki Mahi Racing Team India riders Kenan Sofuoglu and Fabien Foret aim for more podium success as the WSS championship heads to Germany and a circuit that brings back recent good memories for each
Sofuoglu is still well in the hunt for the championship title after winning the most recent two races in the series, and three in total so far in 2013. He is 29 points behind Sam Lowes in the championship standings. With the cancelation of the final championship round in India and no Laguna Seca WSS round scheduled alongside the SBK class for 2013, Sofuoglu has four races left in which to shine, starting with the Nürburgring on September 1.
Fabien Foret was a podium placer at Silverstone, and at the Nürburgring in 2012 as well, so he has his own reasons to be looking forward to the next race in Germany. He has an impressive career total of 43 podiums in WSS racing to his credit, including a win and three other podiums this season so far. He is third overall in the rankings, 30 points behind Sofuoglu.
David Salom (Kawasaki Intermoto Ponyexpres) is entered in the German race alongside his team regular Luca Scassa (Kawasaki Intermoto Ponyexpres), with Florian Marino (Kawasaki Intermoto Ponyexpres) entered as a one-event rider at this round. Scassa is currently sixth overall, Marino 11th and Salom 21st.
Kevin Coghlan (Kawasaki DMC-Lorenzini) is out to make another good impression after his recent top four finish at Silverstone, while Sheridan Morais joins the GoEleven Kawasaki team at this round.
Kenan Sofuoglu: “I have good expectations for the race in Germany, which is not a bad track for me. We won the race there last year and hopefully I can win again. We have one less race in the championship this year than we were supposed to so this is an important stage because we have four races left and I am closing the gap to Sam Lowes in the championship. In the past few days I have been training on my Supermoto track and I reached a strong pace. I am happy about that because I hurt my ribs in an accident on holiday recently but it has not slowed me down. I am ready to race and I have a big resolve to do as much winning as possible before the end of the year.”
Fabien Foret: “The batteries are recharged after such a long summer break and I am happy to go back to the Nürburgring. I finished on the podium, and was fighting for the win until two laps to go, last year. I hope to be on the same kind of page again this year and fight again for the podium places. We were third last time out this season at Silverstone and I feel a little more confident going to the Nürburgring because that track has some good memories for me. I hope to carry my Silverstone podium scoring momentum on into Germany.”
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Courtesy of FIM NEWS
Following the Warm-Up that took place amid distinctly overcast conditions, riders feared for a wet Grand Prix on Sunday afternoon. Although spots of rain did briefly fall, prompting the white flags to fly on Lap 14, there proved to be no major changes in the weather. On the front row of the grid, Monster Yamaha Tech3’s Cal Crutchlow started from pole position for the second time this season.
Marquez’s ride was a mixture of patience, aggression and defence. The 20-year-old had been annoyed during qualifying, but ran second behind Lorenzo as the reigning champion scorched off the start line. The pair would proceed to swap places on various occasions, with the final pass coming at Turn 3 with just under four laps to go. Pedrosa also dispatched of Lorenzo, but two final tours was not enough for last year’s winner to hunt down his teammate who won by three tenths of a second.
In fourth place, Lorenzo’s teammate Valentino Rossi ultimately came out on top after a race-long duel with GO&FUN Honda Gresini’s Alvaro Bautista, whereas LCR Honda MotoGP’s Stefan Bradl experienced a quiet ride to sixth spot from Ducati Team duo Andrea Dovizioso and Nicky Hayden, locked together once again. The top ten was completed by Energy T.I. Pramac Racing’s Andrea Iannone and Power Electronics Aspar’s Aleix Espargaro, just one second ahead of CRT rival Colin Edwards (NGM Mobile Forward Racing) who had started in front of him.
A second lap collision between Avintia Blusens’ Hector Barbera and NGM Mobile Forward Racing’s Claudio Corti saw both riders retire, with the Italian later undergoing an x-ray to his right hand. The other two retirements were Came IodaRacing Project’s Lukas Pesek – from his home Grand Prix – and Tech3’s Bradley Smith, who were both out of action on the third lap. There was also frustration for pole man Crutchlow, who crashed out of fourth place on Lap 8, as well as for Czech Karel Abraham (Cardion AB Motoracing) who was unable to score points at home. Wildcard Martin Bauer (Remus Racing Team) succeeded in completing the distance.
The final race in the ongoing triple-header will be the Hertz British Grand Prix at Silverstone, to which Marquez heads with 213 points, 26 – and more than the equivalent of one race win – ahead of Pedrosa and 44 in front of Lorenzo.
Courtesy of Bel Ray Company Inc.,
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Courtesy of FIM NEWS
If all goes to plan Toni Bou – Repsol Montesa will wrap up his seventh successive FIM Trial World Championship at the French Grand Prix this weekend to add to the seven FIM Indoor / X-Trial World Championships he already has to his name. A seventh outdoor title for Bou will confirm him as one of the three great riders of the modern era, with him having every opportunity to go on to surpass the seven FIM Trial World Championships won by both Jordi Tarres and then Dougie Lampkin. If Bou reaches his goal this weekend he will also match Lampkin not only in the total number of outdoor titles, but also by having won all seven in a row as Lampkin did up until 2003.
The debate regarding Bou being the best rider of all time will continue amongst those in the paddock and his many thousands of fans around the World, and whilst that particular point remains subjective his winning record can not be disputed in any way. Since Toni joined the FIM Trial World Championship aged sixteen years, five months and eighteen days at the Irish GP back in 2003 he has always recorded point scoring rides, his debut outing earning him a single point as he finished in fifteenth place. The following season Bou had established himself as a regular top ten finisher with his highest placing coming at the final round in Switzerland on route to him being ranked ninth overall.
Just a year later and Bou had moved into the top five in the World and was showing great consistency including achieving his first podium places in America and Germany, which was to serve as an early warning to the higher ranking riders. The start of the 2006 season saw Toni claim his maiden GP win at his home round, a feat he was to repeat in Japan later in the year as he maintained fifth place in the general standings for the second season in a row. A move to the mighty Repsol Montesa squad during the winter of 2006 shocked many and some in the paddock questioned if the four stroke machine would hinder Bou’s progress.
Five back to back GP wins to open his 2007 campaign soon silenced those critics, as Bou marched on to take the first of his FIM Trial World Championships as he was only twice defeated during his victorious run. Although Adam Raga – Gas Gas managed to disrupt Toni’s winning ways on a more regular basis in 2008, he could not stop Bou taking his second outdoor title. It was a similar story throughout 2009, 2010 and 2011 although Raga did push Bou to the wire in the latter of these three battles, but ultimately had to watch on as Bou collected his fifth straight FIM Trial World Championship.
Bou was simply in a class of his own during 2012, as he only lost out twice, once to Raga and once to Cabestany before eventually collecting his sixth outdoor crown by a massive sixty-three points. However things were about to change within the sport as no-stop rules were re-introduced for this year’s FIM Trial World Championship. The new rules have certainly upset Bou’s consistency this season as he has fought a season long battle with Raga, which he only really got the upper hand with following his two wins at the previous GP in Great Britain.
A point Bou was quick to acknowledge ahead of this weekend’s final encounter. “It has been difficult for me this year with the new rules. Many times I have felt very nervous and this has shown in my results especially when the Trials have been easy. Adam (Raga) has been very strong this year and maybe has adapted to the rules better than me. Finally thanks to the results at the last GP I have my best advantage of the season. There is still work to do in France, but I now feel the most confident I have done all year, so hopefully it will be a good weekend for me.”
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