Eugene Laverty wins Heat 2 in Monza

Posted on May 13, 2013 by Udo

 

Aprilia Racing was the star player at Monza in the fourth World SBK round and finished the Italian weekend with its two standard bearers, Guintoli and Eugene Laverty, respectively in first and second place for the championship standings. Aprilia strengthens its hold on the Manufacturer World Championship lead (172 points) in front of BMW (144), Kawasaki (127), Honda (78), Suzuki (68) and Ducati (52).

In both races the four riders – Laverty, Guintoli, Melandri and Sykes – left the others behind, leap frogging in and out of the lead several times, battling down to the last turn for victory. In the first race, after a spectacular flying finish and after having led the race for a large portion of the time, the two Aprilia riders finished in third (Laverty) and fourth place (Guintoli) behind Melandri and Sykes.

The second, extremely fast race, which ended with an average speed of more than 201 kph, followed the same script with the quartet running away at the front. The Aprilia riders stayed in the lead: first Laverty for seven laps and then Guintoli in the next eight and then Laverty again, taking the lead in the last two laps to then defend down to the wire and win in front of Melandri, Sykes and Guintoli. This is a result that is enriched by the presence of all four RSV4s in the top six places (Fabrizio fifth, Giugliano sixth).

With this victory, the third of the season after the one in Phillip Island and the last round at Assen, Laverty is now lying in second place in the championship which is led by his team mate, Sylvain Guintoli. The French Aprilia Racing rider was a protagonist today, leading in both races. The double fourth place finishes are not a complete satisfaction for him, but they are important results for championship points.

Eugene Laverty: “This was a great day for me. After the podium in Race 1 it was nice to end the weekend with a victory. Especially since I was a bit disappointed because I had a shot at the top step of the podium in the first race as well if I had managed the end differently. We showed that we can be fast and consistent on two very different tracks like Assen and Monza. My RSV4 did extremely well for me. On this track the speed and balance of the bike in braking are essential. The points situation is excellent if you consider the double dnf in Aragon, but I’ve already left those difficulties behind and I count on doing well at the next round in Donington as well. Even though it will be an ‘almost’ home round, it has never been a particularly favourable track for me, but I think this year I’ve got everything in order to bridge this gap as well”.

Overall – WSBK round Monza/I
1. Marco Melandri BMW 45 points
2. Eugene Laverty Aprilia 41 points
3. Tom Sykes Kawasaki 36 points
4. Sylvain Guintoli Aprilia 26 points
5. Michel Fabrizio Aprilia 21 points

Standings WSBK Championship 2013 after 4 from 15 rounds
1. Sylvain Guintoli Aprilia 137 points
2. Eugene Laverty Aprilia 124 points
3. Tom Sykes Kawasaki 119 points
4. Marco Melandri BMW 96 points
5. Chaz Davies BMW 94 points

Text/Photo: PR Aprilia Racing

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Walkner dominates in Troyan

Posted on May 6, 2013 by Udo

 

The 2013 Motocross MX3 World Championship is heating up as the current MX3 world champion Matthias Walkner returns to his winning ways, taking two from two race wins at the magnificent circuit of Troyan, Bulgaria.

Top qualifier Klemen Gercar got off to a brilliant start in race one, claiming the holeshot and the early lead. Gercar was in command for most of the race but in the closing stages was up against a tough challenger in the form of Matthias Walkner. Walkner didn’t get off to the best of starts, making his race more difficult than it needed to be, but the Austrian was determined to fight until the finish in order to take his first victory of the season. Meanwhile Klemen Gercar managed to finish the race comfortably in second ahead of a consistent Timur Muratov in third.

Riders Martin Michek and Pier Filippo Bertuzzo had a fierce battle for fourth tossinng back and forth the position but in the end it was Michek who won out forcing Bertuzzo to settle for fifth.

Dominant performance from Matthias Walkner in Bulgaria

Fresh off his win in race one Matthias Walkner came out swinging in race two, taking the holeshot and dominating from start to finish ahead of Martin Michek who rode comfortably the entire race in second. Meanwhile behind them Pier Filippo Bertuzzo and Christian Brockel engaged in a fierce battle for the third position but in the end it was Bertuzzo who managed to acquire and hold the third place forcing Brockel to settle for fourth ahead of Klemen Gercar in fifth.

After round two of the FIM Motocross MX3 World Championship Klemen Gercar is for the first time ever in his career the red plate holder, one point ahead of last year’s champion Matthias Walkner. The red plate holder leading into this round Gert Krestinov will drop back to third after his problematic weekend here in Troyan.

MX3 Race 1: 1. Matthias Walkner (AUT, KTM), 35:06.578; 2. Klemen Gercar (SLO, Honda), +0:06.706; 3. Timur Muratov (RUS, KTM), +0:08.410; 4. Martin Michek (CZE, KTM), +0:14.316; 5. Pier Filippo Bertuzzo (ITA, Yamaha), +0:16.518

MX3 Race 2: 1. Matthias Walkner (AUT, KTM), 34:54.628; 2. Martin Michek (CZE, KTM), +0:06.263; 3. Pier Filippo Bertuzzo (ITA, Yamaha), +0:14.506; 4. Christian Brockel (GER, KTM), +0:19.946; 5. Klemen Gercar (SLO, Honda), +0:33.855

MX3 Overall: 1. Matthias Walkner (AUT, KTM), 50 points; 2. Martin Michek (CZE, KTM), 40 p.; 3. Klemen Gercar (SLO, Honda), 38 p.; 4. Pier Filippo Bertuzzo (ITA, Yamaha), 36 p.; 5. Christian Brockel (GER, KTM), 32 p.

MX3 Championship: 1. Klemen Gercar (SLO, Honda), 72 points; 2. Matthias Walkner (AUT, KTM), 71 p.; 3. Gert Krestinov (EST, Kawasaki), 65 p.; 4. Martin Michek (CZE, KTM), 62 p.; 5. Timur Muratov (RUS, KTM), 60 p.

Text/Photos: PR Youthstream

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Marquez maintains championship lead in Jerez

Posted on May 6, 2013 by Udo

 

111,259 spectators filled the Circuito de Jerez for a Spanish motorcycling party on Sunday: The Grand Prix of Spain. They witnessed a thrilling race in which Dani Pedrosa and Marc Marquez took a Repsol one-two. Pedrosa was the victor, ahead of his young teammate in a reversal of results from a fortnight ago at Austin. Marquez continues to lead the World Championship with 61 points with Pedrosa 3 points behind his teammate.

Dani Pedrosa imposed his authority on the Spanish Grand Prix early on, passing Jorge Lorenzo on Lap 5 and then storming to his 46th career victory (8 in 125cc, 15 in 250cc and 23 in MotoGP). He is now the rider with the seventh most wins in Grand Prix racing. The controversy of the race involved Marc Marquez on the final lap. After much grit and effort throughout the second half of the contest, the Repsol rider caught Lorenzo with half a lap remaining. Without thinking twice, he tried to overtake him. A failed attempt at Turn 6 limited his options to the last corner, where he slipped through a gap when Lorenzo took a wide line. The two made contact but both finished the race, with Marquez taking second place.

The result puts Marquez ahead in the World Championship standings with 61 points, followed by Pedrosa on 58 and Lorenzo on 57.

Thrilling fight between Lorenzo and Marquez, which ended up at last turn

Marc Marquez: “It was a very good race. I gave 100% from the first lap through to the last. At some points in the race I felt better than at others, but I never gave up. I tried to stick as close as possible to Lorenzo, although it was very difficult. I couldn’t quite close the gap, but I didn’t let him get away either. It was a very hard race, because if you get one or two seconds difference between you, you relax a bit. I didn’t relax though, and I am very happy. I think that, above all, the end of the race was really good for the fans. I want to apologise to Jorge, because it was a racing incident –a last lap move that happens when you are on the limit. The most important thing is that we both finished the race, and I hope that that’s the end of it”

Classification
1. Dani Pedrosa Repsol Honda 45:17.632
2. Marc Marquez Repsol Honda +2.487
3. Jorge Lorenzo Yamaha +5.089
4. Valentino Rossi Yamaha +8.914
5. Cal Crutchlow Yamaha +12.663

World Championship
1. Marc Marquez Repsol Honda 61 points
2. Dani Pedrosa Repsol Honda 58 points
3. Jorge Lorenzo Yamaha 57 points
4. Valentino Rossi Yamaha 43 points
5. Cal Crutchlow Yamaha 35 points

Text/Photos: Repsol Media Service

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Eugene wins at Assen

Posted on April 29, 2013 by roebbeling

Eugene Laverty, starting from the front row for the seventh consecutive time, triumphed in Race 2 after a nail biting duel with English rider Tom Sykes, earning Aprilia’s first win on the Dutch circuit in World Superbike. This win, combined with his fourth place finish in Race 1, takes the Irish rider to second place in the standings, just behind team mate Sylvain Guintoli.

After riding to the foot of the podium in Race 1, Eugene Laverty took the track for the second race extremely focused and well motivated not to let Tom Sykes run away at the front and dominate as he had in the first race. Sykes and Laverty quickly pulled ahead of the pack, but the Irishman and his RSV4 never let up even a metre. The gap between the two was never more than a few tenths of a second and 4 laps from the end Laverty made his move and then fought off Sykes’ final assault in the last turns before the finish.

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Sofuoglu second at Supersport round in Assen

Posted on April 29, 2013 by Udo

 

Kawasaki Mahi Racing Team India rider Kenan Sofuoglu were once more in the leading mix, with Kenan second at the Assen round.

After it looked like a three rider fight to the finish Sofuoglu and eventual race winner Sam Lowes ended up together on the approach to the final corners, with Lowes making a move that left Kenan just behind and only 0.026 seconds from his second race win of the year. This was Kenan’s second podium finish in three rounds and puts him on equal points with officially third placed rider Lowes.

Kenan Sofuoglu: “I think the championship will be a fight between the three riders we have seen on the podium here today. I had a hard fight right to the last lap and I expected to win it. Today Sam was better than me, and this I have to accept sometimes. Always I try to win but sometimes it is not possible. Also racing is about the package and I think we did not get the very best set-up possible on the bike because we lost one day to the rain on Friday. I have two podiums so far and equal third position so it is not so bad.”

WSS results of Assen
1 Sam Lowes Yamaha YZF R6
2 Kenan Sofuoglu Kawasaki ZX-6R
3 Fabien Foret Kawasaki ZX-6R
4 Michael Vd Mark Honda CBR600RR
5 Florian Marino Kawasaki Ninja

WSS standings after Assen
1 Fabien Foret Kawasaki ZX-6R 54 points
2 Michael Vd Mark Honda CBR600RR 49 points
3 Sam Lowes Yamaha YZF R6 45 points
4 Kenan Sofuoglu Kawasaki ZX-6R 45 points
5 Andrea Antonelli Kawasaki Ninja ZX-6R 29 points

Text and Photos: PR Kawasaki

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Goncalves finishes runner-up at Sealine CC Rally

Posted on April 26, 2013 by Udo

 

It doesn´t get closer than this. In one of the most dramatic finishes in rally history, Speedbrain rider Paulo Goncalves misses the win at the Sealine Cross Country Rally by a heartbeat. The Portuguese offroad ace finishes the four-day desert race in Qatar behind Marc Coma and by one of the smallest margins imaginable in this endurance sport.

Goncalves and Coma fought tooth and nail at this second round of the FIM Cross Country Rally World Championship. After more than 14 hours of timed special stages and over 1,600 kilometres of race distance the final decision came down to the wire. Goncalves started the day lying 2:04 minutes behind Coma in the overall standings. Coma was scheduled to open Friday´s decisive proceedings, with Goncalves following two minutes behind.

And indeed the long-time Speedbrain pilot could close the gap under once again tricky navigation circumstances. The two Iberians powered their bikes to the limit and all the way to finish line. Ultimately, after 286 additional kilometres of special stage on Friday, both took the chequered flag at the Sealine Beach Resort side by side – with Goncalves missing out on the overall victory by just four seconds.

Paulo ´Speedy´ Goncalves: “I am extremely happy about this top result for my Speedbrain team. It has been a very difficult and close race. Marc Coma and I battled tooth and nail, fair and square. Congratulations to him for this narrow victory. We have shown that the Speedbrain 450 Rally bike is capable of winning and competitive in all types of terrain. The world´s best are riding on the same level nowadays. To finish this race without major mistakes and without technical problems is an achievement in itself. It´s a confirmation of our intensive work. I´m already looking forward to the next race and feel motivated to battle for the win again.”

Sealine Cross Country Rally 2013
Result Final Stage:
1. Lopez (CHL, KTM) 2h31m56s
2. Przygonski (POL, KTM) +00:01:50
3. Paulo Goncalves (PRT, Speedbrain) +00:02:42
4. Coma-Camps (ESP, KTM) +00:04:42
5. Salvatierra (BOL, Honda) +00:09:03
6. Quinn Cody (USA, Speedbrain) +00:15:06

Overall Result:
1. Coma-Camps (ESP, KTM) 14h33m19s
2. Paulo Goncalves (PRT, Speedbrain) +00:00:04
3. Przygonski (POL, KTM) +00:03:16
4. Lopez (CHL, KTM) +00:07:45
5. Salvatierra (BOL, Honda) +01:37:05
7. Quinn Cody (USA, Speedbrain) +02:25:34

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Marc Marquez arrives back in Barcelona

Posted on April 24, 2013 by Udo

 

The winner of the Grand Prix of the Americas has arrived in Barcelona from the United States, where he set a new MotoGP record.

Marc Marquez has arrived home after a long flight from the United States, in which he spent part of the journey watching the video of Sunday’s race. His victory in Austin continues to attract attention and make headlines.

Several media outlets sent journalists to Barcelona-El Prat to listen to the young rider’s first impressions upon arrival back in Spain. The 2010 125cc World Champion and 2012 Moto2 champ last Sunday became the youngest rider in history to take a win in the premier class, aged 20 years and 63 days.

PR: Repsol Media Service

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Taka Higashino wins Moto X Freestyle Gold

Posted on April 22, 2013 by Udo

 

Taka Higashino, the X Games Los Angeles 2012 Moto X Freestyle gold medalist, grabbed his second gold medal on Sunday, closing out X Games Foz do Iguaçu with a win over Australian rider Rob Adelberg and X Games rookie Wes Agee. The Japanese rider wore an Eigo Sato patch on his pants, in honor of his friend who died in February while training for this year’s competition season.

“I feel like it’s not true, like I’m still sleeping,” Higashino said in a breathless podium interview after the competition. “It’s crazy. This is fantastic.”

Higashino led after the first of two runs in the nine-man finals, with a little help from the rock-solid backflip, double-grab combo that earned him a Best Trick silver medal last year in Los Angeles. He had the lead over Adelberg, Agee, French rider David Rinaldo (the current leader on the 2013 FIM Freestyle MX World Championship circuit), Czech rider Libor Podmol (who won bronze, his first X Games medal, in the Moto X Step Up competition on Friday), Brazilian riders Gilmar Flores and Fred Kyrillos, and Australian rider Jackson “Jacko” Strong.

On his first hit, Strong landed a corked front flip, the trick that won him Best Trick gold in 2011, and Sunday was the first time the trick ever had been seen in Moto X Freestyle competition at X Games. On his third hit, Strong crashed after under-rotating a cliffhanger backflip. He was carried out on a backboard but managed to wave to his fans on the way out. X Games medical staff confirmed that he was conscious, moving and alert. Strong was transported to a hospital where he was diagnosed with a concussion, but a CT scan came back negative, according to X Games medical. He also broke the tibia in his right leg, and X Games medical reported he would be released later Sunday night.

The top spots on the leaderboard remained unchanged through Run 2, with Adelberg taking silver — his first X Games medal in three appearances — and Agee winning bronze, leaving Higashino to take a victory lap for his new fans in Brazil and in front of his new wife, who he proposed to during a podium interview last year at X Games Los Angeles.

“Obrigado,” Higashino said — Portuguese for thank you — pressing his palms together and bowing as he addressed the crowd to uproarious applause. Higashino’s winning run included a backflip Cordova, a rowdova, the backflip rock solid combo that has become his signature, a backflip seatgrab barhop, a holy grab combo, a backflip seatgrab Indian air look-back, and a backflip kiss of death look-back.

Moto X Freestyle Final
1 Taka Higashino 91.66
2 Rob Adelberg 88.66
3 Wes Agee 87.33
4 Libor Podmol 85.66
5 David Rinaldo 85.66
6 Mat Rebeaud 78.00
7 Fred Kyrillos 75.66
8 Gilmar Flores 75.33
9 Jackson Strong 60.66

Text: PR ESPN.com

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Barcia gets win #2 in Seattle

Posted on April 22, 2013 by Udo

 

Congratulations to Justin Barcia on his second win of the season in last weekend’s 450 Supercross Main Event from Seattle!

Barcia led all 20 laps of the main event, mirroring the performance from his first 450 SX class victory at the second race of the season in Phoenix.

Justin Barcia: “I tell you what, that holeshot is so key. We made some great changes today on the bike. It was a tough track with so many lines, but there was one main line that was so much better than any other. I’ve been waiting for this since Phoenix.”.

Main Event
1. Justin Barcia (Hon)
2. Ryan Villopoto (Kaw)
3. Davi Millsaps (Suz)
4. Ryan Dungey (KTM)
5. Jake Weimer (Kaw)

450 Class Championship Points Standings (After 15 of 17 rounds)
1. Ryan Villopoto (321 points)
2. Davi Millsaps (296 points)
3. Ryan Dungey (295 points)
4. Justin Barcia (245 points)
5. Chad Reed (213 points)

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First Moto3 victory for Alex Rins

Posted on April 22, 2013 by Udo

Alex Rins takes first Grand Prix victory in a race interrupted by an accident and subsequently restarted. Alex Marquez crashes in second part of the race, after placing fifth before the red flag.

Rins took a thrilling victory in the Grand Prix of the Americas today. After dominating practice and much of the race, the Repsol rider achieved the win after a restarted contest of just five laps in duration –after the interruption of the race due to a Jasper Iwema accident. Alex Marquez, who had completed the “first race” in fifth position, crashed on the second lap of the restart while fighting for sixth. The wrong choice of rear tyre, going with one that was too soft, was the cause of the fall.

Starting from pole position, Rins dominated the race from the opening lap as part of a group containing Maverick Viñales and Luis Salom – who gradually lost ground as the laps went by. Rins’ work in breaking away was cancelled out on lap twelve, when a nasty crash for Jasper Iwema brought out the red flag. The race resumed half-an-hour later, with a five-lap shootout. Rins faced off against a resurgent Salom and again had Viñales alongside him, but an impeccable final lap gave him the win.

With this result, the Repsol rider becomes the championship leader with 41 points, tied with Salom and 1 point ahead of Viñales. The next destination is the Circuito de Jerez, where the action resumes within a fortnight at the Grand Prix of Spain.

Alex Rins: “I’m super happy about the victory today. Since Friday the team and I worked very hard to pick up the pace and be able escape at the beginning of the race. We tried to do that, but Viñales stuck with me at all times. When the red flag was shown, I thought that the race was over. I celebrated, then when I reached the pits I was told that there was going to be a restart. It was not easy to think that, for the sake of a single lap, we had to get back on track. At first I worried a bit, because I know that Salom and Viñales are very strong over the distance of a few laps, but everything went well. At the end of the second race, when Luis Salom caught up to me, I thought that there was still another twist in the story, but when I saw the chequered flag I opened the throttle like crazy to overtake and get past him.”

Alex Marquez: “During the first part of the race I was not entirely comfortable on the bike. It was hard for me to pick up the pace, but from the middle of the race I started to feel good and even started to lower my times. Unfortunately we had to stop and have a new start. This is where we made a bad decision to mount a soft rear tyre, which pushed the front too hard. Apart from this we can take away some positives, which is that during the race we got up to fifth and set a good pace. Now we go to Jerez, which is a circuit I know, convinced and motivated –knowing that we can go as fast as we did in the IRTA test.”

Classification
1. Alex Rins KTM 11:26.535
2. Maverick Viñales KTM +0.244
3. Luis Salom KTM +0.547
4. Jonas Folger Kalex KTM +1.230
5. Miguel Oliveira Mahindra +8.276
6. Jack Miller FTR Honda +8.603
7. Zulfahmi Khairuddin KTM +10.147
8. Alexis Masbou FTR Honda +12.037
9. Brad Binder Suter Honda +12.263
10. Jakub Kornfeil Kalex KTM +12.737
-. Alex Marquez KTM -

World Championship
1. Alex Rins KTM 41 points
2. Luis Salom KTM 41 points
3. Maverick Viñales KTM 40 points
4. Jonas Folger Kalex KTM 24 points
5. Miguel Oliveira Mahindra 20 points
6. Zulfahmi Khairuddin KTM 19 points
7. Alex Marquez KTM 13 points
8. Arthur Sissis KTM 12 points
9. Brad Binder Suter Honda 11 points
10. Jack Miller FTR Honda 10 points

Text and Photos: PR Repsol Honda Media

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