Bou wins to regain series lead

Courtesy of FIM NEWS

Toni Bou – Repsol Montesa is back at the top of the 2013 FIM Trial World Championship standings after he recorded a convincing and dominant win at his home Grand Prix held in Pobladura, Spain.

The reigning champion took control of today’s Trial on the first lap and then maintained his supremacy over the closing two laps of twelve sections to take his victory by twenty-six clear marks. Previous series leader Adam Raga – Gas Gas can count himself lucky to have eventually finished as runner-up as he languished down in eighth place after the initial tour. Raga finally demoted his compatriot Albert Cabestany – Sherco into third spot by virtue of a most cleans tie-decider, as once again it was an all-Spanish podium lock out, this time at their home GP.

On a day when the sun shone warmly overhead, the competition amongst the front runners was as hot as ever with Takahisa Fujinami – Repsol Montesa missing out on a rostrum place by just six marks in what was a relatively high scoring event as many of the riders fell foul of the new no-stop rules. Today’s course offering a mixture of dry and dusty hazards plus four sections in a slippery river. Italy’s Matteo Grattarola – Gas Gas showed his liking for the conditions as he recorded his best ever result in fifth position, although someway off the leading pace. Matteo’s previous highest finish being seventh spot in Germany back in 2011. Jeroni Fajardo – Beta was disappointed to find himself down in sixth place and gave his home fans little to cheer about from his point of view.

France’s Loris Gubian – Gas Gas, Daniel Oliveras – Ossa, Jack Challoner – Beta and James Dabill – Beta rounded out the top ten in seventh, eighth, ninth and tenth places respectively. Dabill was another rider like his team-mate Fajardo who failed to shine on the day, after having just missed out on a podium last weekend in Andorra. Bou will take a two point lead in the general standings when battle resumes in Italy in two weeks time, with Raga now playing catch up. Behind the leading duo Fujinami is just about hanging onto third position, but is now tied on points with Cabestany who has had the better of the Japanese rider over recent events.

Maintaining the winning Spanish theme Pol Tarres – Sherco also romped to a convincing win, his success coming in the Junior class, and this being his first victory of the season to date. Tarres’ winning score of twenty-eight marks was some twenty-two marks better than that of runner-up Francesc Moret – Gas Gas. Moret who currently sits third in the championship standings had to resist the challenge of Britain’s Jonathan Richardson – Ossa who produced his best performance of the year with a well deserved third position. With Maxime Warenghien – Sherco in fourth spot, series front-runners Jorge Casales – Gas Gas and Jack Sheppard – Beta were left to scrap it out for fifth and sixth places. Casales now heads Sheppard by four points in the general standings, with Moret only three points off the British rider thanks to his runners-up result today.

French rider Quentin Carles de Caudemberg – Beta took his third straight win in the Youth category, which marked his fourth win in total this season. Although now dominant in the general standings, Carles de Caudemberg holds a twenty-eight point cushion over his nearest title rivals, he had to fend off Italy’s Gabriele Giarba – Beta who finished in second spot today. Britain’s Bradley Cox – Beta completed the podium, but lost further ground to his French rival in the title race by finishing in third spot. Timo Myohanen – Beta from Finland continued his good run of form by slotting into fourth position today.

The 2013 FIM Trial World Championship will take a short break before bursting back into life in Barzio, Italy on Sunday 7th July.

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Yamaha Prepare for Historic TT Assen

Courtesy of Yamaha Factory Racing

 

 

Gerno di Lesmo (Italy), 25th June 2013
Yamaha Factory Racing arrives in the Netherlands this week for the Historic TT at the Assen circuit. Reigning World Champion Jorge Lorenzo arrives having won the last two consecutive races in Mugello and Catalunya and looking for a third victory as he closes in on Championship leader Dani Pedrosa. The Dutch circuit is a favourite of his having taken a 125cc victory in 2004, 250cc wins in 2006 and 2007 and a premier class win in 2010.

Valentino Rossi arrives in the Netherlands for the Dutch TT in confident mood and keen to take advantage of positive results taken from the two days of recent testing in Barcelona and Aragon. With improved braking stability into corners and general set up Rossi is confident at making a step forward in the quick fire qualifying heat on Friday to challenge for the front of the grid. The nine-time champion can also claim wins in all three classes with a 125cc victory in 1997, a 250cc victory in 1998 and an incredible five premier class victories in 2002, 2004, 2005, 2007 and 2009.

The historic Dutch ‘Tourist Trophy’ race has been run since 1925, originally on the roads around Assen before being moved closer to a road racing circuit in 1955. The track experience a major re-design in 2006 however the finish line remains the original and is unchanged in position. The YZR-M1s of Lorenzo and Rossi will need to be set up to optimize performance on the ‘Cathedral’s’ fast sweeping corners.

Jorge Lorenzo   “Well, I’m quite happy after winning at Mugello and also Montmeló, two important victories for both me and the team for the Championship. We were in a very good shape these last two races and I feel stronger than ever and really hungry to win. I think in the last two races we made a quite big step on the bike to get the consistency on race pace. Assen has been my favourite track ever. I love the circuit, historic, quick and very flowing, but also I love the landscape, the ambience and I have always liked the country. I am very motivated to go there and try to keep this line of winning, even more after our good test at Barcelona and Aragon, when we achieved some improvements for the future.”

Valentino Rossi   “I am very happy about the test in Aragon and I’m looking forward to going to Assen. The settings that we tested were positive and now I feel more feeling with the bike, especially when braking. For me it is an important step and I really want to try the new set-up in another track. I hope that this improvement will help me also to get a better starting position as it is so important to make the best qualification possible. Assen is a great track, I love it and it brings to mind a lot of good memories. We’ll try to leave this good feeling with the track and the bike to improve our results”.     Profile

Wilco Zeelenberg Team Manager

“I hope Assen is giving us a little bit more than last year, the race was very short! We have to forget that now; last season at Assen we learnt that you might also need a bit of luck during races. This year we have to keep smooth and calm and I think we can possibly win three in a row although it is not easy as we know. Jorge likes Assen a lot and of course he has a special feeling there. I have the same feeling with the crowd because it is my country. Hopefully we can close the gap with Dani there and see another top fight at the front.”

Massimo Meregalli Team Director

“Following the last two days of testing, where we really found good and interesting things, we are now going to approach the next race with a lot of enthusiasm and positivity. We were finally able to try the set up that at first we could not due to the short time available. Finally, in the two days of testing in Spain we could focus in the search for an optimal set-up and we had excellent feedback. In Assen we will try to start the weekend in the best way, from the first day and I think it will be a very interesting weekend for us.”

Jorge Lorenzo Age 26 Lives Barcelona (Spain) Bike Yamaha GP victories 47 (26 x MotoGP, 17 x 250cc, 4 x 125cc) First GP victory Brazil, 2003 (125cc) First GP Jerez, Spain, 2002 (125cc) GP starts 185 (91 x MotoGP, 48 x 250cc, 46 x 125cc) Pole position 53 (27 x MotoGP, 23 x 250cc, 3 x 125cc) World Championships 4 (MotoGP 2010/12, 250cc, 2006/7)
	Valentino Rossi Age 34 Lives Tavullia (Italy) Bike Yamaha GP victories 105 (79 x MotoGP/500cc, 14 x 250cc, 12 x 125cc) First GP victory Czec Republic, 1996 (125cc) First GP Malaysia, 1996 (125cc) GP starts 282 (222 x MotoGP/500cc, 30 x 250cc, 30 x 125cc) Pole position 59 (49 x MotoGP/500cc, 5 x 250cc, 5 x 125cc) World Championships 9 (MotoGP 2009/08/05/04/03/02, 500cc 2001, 250cc 1999, 125cc 1997)
	Circuit informations Technical Informations Circuit Assen Location Assen, The Netherlands Length (m) 4542 Width (m) 14 Turns 18 Turns righ 12 Turns left 6 Pole position left Record Lap Time 1’34.548 Rider D.Pedrosa Bike Honda Year 2012 Best Lap Time 1’33.713 Rider C.Stoner Bike Honda Year 2012 2012 Results 1st C.Stoner (Honda): 41’19.855 2nd D.Pedrosa (Honda): +4.965 3rd A.Dovizioso (Yamaha): +11.994

KRT Superbike Duo Head To Imola For Round Seven

Courtesy of Kawasaki Racing Team

Kawasaki Racing Team riders Tom Sykes and Loris Baz enter the seventh round of the SBK championship in confident mood after finding even more improvements in testing with their Ninja ZX-10R machines.

 

 

A two-day test session at Motorland Aragon, shortly after the most recent race of the season at Portimao, showed both riders that there are still untapped areas of potential in their machines’ capabilities and overall race set-up.

With both Tom and Loris already operating in the upper echelons of the championship table, with Sykes second and Baz sixth, Imola is a definite opportunity for each rider to narrow the points gap and aim for silverware in the process.

Sykes has already shown that Imola is a circuit he can race well at, having scored second in both races at the Italian city centre venue in 2012 while riding his Ninja ZX-10R for the official team. On the back of a podium finish and a no-score at the previous Portimao race, Sykes is keen to get back into action to push for more race wins to add to his total of three in the season so far.

Baz is also ready for the challenge of Imola, as he aims to got on the podium once again in 2013, which is in effect his first full season of competition at full SBK level. He rode for the KRT team for half of last year and this year he has been not only fast but consistently so, as he frequently finds himself reaching his and his team’s target of top five places or better.

Federico Sandi (Kawasaki Team Pedercini) and Sweden’s Alex Lundh (Kawasaki Team Pedercini) will be in action once again, at what is a home round for their team and for Sandi.

The Superstock 1000 FIM Cup Jeremy Guarnoni (MRS Kawasaki), Lorenzo Savadori (Team Pedercini Kawasaki), Romain Lanusse (MRS Kawasaki) and Leandro Mercado (Team Pedercini Kawasaki) are just some of the top riders who will once more use Ninja ZX-10R power to take on all comers in this exciting category of racing.

Tom Sykes: “Imola is a track where even on the older model of Ninja ZX-10R I was competitive. Last year the bike was working great and even though we used a harder tyre than race winner Carlos Checa we pushed him quite a lot. We all have many reasons to have memories of Imola, partly because we have had good results there in the past, but also because my previous team-mate Joan Lascorz suffered a serious injury there last year. I met him at a recent test and it was very nice to see him again. Overall Imola is a circuit I hope we can be strong at once again. I think the riders that have been battling at the front so far for most of this year will be battling it out at Imola again.”

Loris Baz: “I have been training to be ready for Imola and I think we have done a good job since the beginning of the year. We are always fighting for the top five. I want to be in this position again but be a bit closer to the front, with the front group. I am not exactly sure how many more improvements we made in our bike in a recent Aragon test, but there were definitely some good improvements. I will try to fight for the podium in this race but if it is not possible then I will try to stay inside the top five, which is always our target.”

Sofuoglu And Foret Look To Win Again In WSS

Courtesy of Kawasaki Racing Team

Kawasaki Mahi Racing Team India competitors Kenan Sofuoglu and Fabien Foret are looking to get back to winning ways this weekend to strengthen their championship challenges in the second part of 2013.

 

 

The Ninja ZX-6R riders have each taken a win apiece this season and are out to taste victory again as they aim to stop their great 2013 rival Sam Lowes from extending his current championship advantage. Both Kenan and Fabien are on 81 points, while Lowes is on 120. With eight races still to go, including Imola, the halfway mark has yet to be reached in what looks like being a three-way fight for the title.

Foret has particularly happy memories of recent Imola race days, having won the WSS event at the classic Italian circuit in both 2011 and 2012. Kenan is also a proven winner at Imola, from his campaign in the 2009 season.

David Salom (Kawasaki Intermoto Ponyexpres) will team-up with Luca Scassa (Kawasaki Intermoto Ponyexpres) once again at Imola. Scassa is now sixth in the championship standings as Salom continues his recovery from an early season hand injury.

Andrea Antonelli (Goeleven Kawasaki) has moved to seventh overall in the points standings while Riccardo Russo (Puccetti Racing Kawasaki) moved one place back to 12th after the previous Portimao round.

Team-mates Kevin Coghlan (Kawasaki DMC-Lorenzini Team) and Vladimir Ivanov (Kawasaki DMC-Lorenzini Team) are now 14th and 15th respectively in the points table.

Kenan Sofuoglu: “We had a test at Jerez recently and I did more than 100 laps on my Ninja ZX-6R. Because we were testing we made a lot of changes in many areas and we tried many things on the bike. We worked to get more grip on the rear and we found something good under braking. At Imola we will work to find the best combination of settings on the bike for that track. We also have a test after Imola and we will continue working on the bike because for sure it has a lot of potential we can still make the most of.”

Fabien Foret: “After the race in Portimao we had a test at Jerez and we worked on the electronics and found some interesting things. Unfortunately I had a crash, but I am OK, and all we lost was a bit of time on the track. It was very good to be testing and we worked on improving engine braking and traction control. I would like to win Imola three times in a row because I won there in 2011 and 2012. I would not mind repeating that result again this year. It is always difficult in this class but obviously we will try hard to win. I feel more confidence when I get to a track where I have had good performances in the past and I really want to win races again soon.”