First season podium finish for Kevin Strijbos

Posted on May 21, 2013 by Udo

Rockstar Energy Suzuki World MX1 rider Kevin Strijbos grabbed third position overall on his RM-Z450s at an overcast Beto Carrero/BRA for round seven of 17 in the FIM Motocross World Championship in front of 45,000 spectators.

Cloudy, humid and rainy conditions affected the meeting at the impressive facility north of Florianopolis. Showers throughout the night and also light downpours during race day kept the red terrain slick and clumpy. The layout itself was a tight and twisty combination of jumps, waves and off-cambers where overtaking needed a considered move.

Strijbos maintained his positive run of results in Brazil: The Belgian took a modest and solitary sixth place in the first moto but his fiery start into the lead of the Superfinal was electric stuff. He fronted 16 of the 19 laps ahead of the best 20 MX1 and MX2 riders in the world and was just edged out from victory by Cairoli in the closing stages. His second position was still enough to ensure his second podium in Brazil (the first in 2012) and first in yellow since 2007.

Strijbos will now head to the United States to contest the second and third races of the Lucas Oil Pro MX Championship at Thunder Valley at Lakewood, Colorado; and then Blountville in Tennessee the following Saturday before flying back to Europe.

The next Grand Prix appointment will be in Ernee, France on June 8th-9th.

Kevin Strijbos: “I felt really good out there, especially in the second moto! We had a good weekend in terms of getting the set-up right and we made the right choice with my rear shock and then made another change for the second moto. I enjoyed that holeshot and I pushed really hard in the beginning because I knew I would need a gap over Tony when I saw he was in second place. Later on he came closer and closer and I got a bit tired, Tony passed me in a corner and I couldn’t really follow him and he made the gap quickly with just two laps to go. In the end I’m really happy to be on the podium again and to take the first one of the season. We worked really hard in the winter and I hope there will be more trophies ahead!”

MX1 Moto1: 1. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 39:15.493; 2. Maximilian Nagl (GER, Honda), +0:03.017; 3. Clement Desalle (BEL, Rockstar Energy Suzuki World MX1), +0:04.748; 4. Gautier Paulin (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:24.442; 5. Jeremy van Horebeek (BEL, Kawasaki), +0:30.333; 6. Kevin Strijbos (BEL, Rockstar Energy Suzuki World MX1), +0:36.445

Superfinal classification: 1. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 40:49.230; 2. Kevin Strijbos (BEL, Rockstar Energy Suzuki World MX1), +0:02.830; 3. Clement Desalle (BEL, Rockstar Energy Suzuki World MX1), +0:25.606; 4. Gautier Paulin (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:31.078; 5. Ken de Dycker (BEL, KTM), +0:41.121

MX1 Overall result: 1. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 50 points; 2. Clement Desalle (BEL, Rockstar Energy Suzuki World MX1), 40 p.; 3. Kevin Strijbos (BEL, Rockstar Energy Suzuki World MX1), 37 p.; 4. Maximilian Nagl (GER, Honda), 37 p.; 5. Gautier Paulin (FRA, Kawasaki), 36 p.

MX1 World Championship Standings (after 7 of 17 rounds): 1. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 330 points; 2. Gautier Paulin (FRA, Kawasaki), 278 p.; 3. Clement Desalle (BEL, Rockstar Energy Suzuki World MX1), 267 p.; 4. Ken de Dycker (BEL, KTM), 245 p.; 5. Kevin Strijbos (BEL, Rockstar Energy Suzuki World MX1), 220 p.

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Another podium finish for Marc Marquez in France

Posted on May 21, 2013 by Udo

 

Dani Pedrosa won French Grand Prix to break past 3000 career points in the World Championship, adding 25 to his tally with his latest victory. The Repsol Honda rider had an extraordinary race at the historic Le Mans circuit, tackling a tricky track that had been made slippery by rainfall minutes before the start. He was joined on the podium by Cal Crutchlow and Marc Márquez, who made a spectacular comeback from ninth place to finish third.

Starting from sixth position on a cold, wet track, Dani Pedrosa overtook three riders off the start and pegged onto Andrea Dovizioso and Jorge Lorenzo. He was able to get past them on the opening laps, but had to make another move on Dovizioso later on when he had a couple of scares to let the Italian through. After making his definitive pass, he crossed the finish line more than 4 seconds ahead of second-placed Crutchlow.

Fourth podium in a row for Marc Marquez in Le Mans

The Briton reached the chequered flag just ahead of Marc Marquez, who was unable to use the pole position start to his advantage. The Repsol Honda rider experienced wheel sliding and dropped down to ninth place within a matter of seconds. Mounting an incredible comeback, Marquez began to overtake his rivals and was able to reach the podium positions with two laps remaining. He was only 2 seconds behind Crutchlow by the end, taking 16 points for his World Championship tally.

With this result, Dani Pedrosa becomes the new leader in the class with 83 points. Marquez, on 77 points, lies second overall with an advantage of 11 points over Jorge Lorenzo. It had been 15 years since a rookie last took four podiums from his first 4 races in the premier class.

Marc Marquez: “This podium almost counts as a win as it was my first wet race in MotoGP and I wasn’t expecting to finish in the top three. Also, bearing in mind that I had dropped quite far back from the front, third place and 16 points is an important achievement for the World Championship. We can say that this was a very good weekend; we had a good setting for the dry, but when it rained it was up to me to learn from the mistakes that I made at the start of the race. I need to improve, because I was finding it hard to ride with water on the track. It will be difficult to maintain our performance at Mugello, but we will go there and try 100%. I congratulate Dani on great race and victory and I’d like to thank the whole team!”

Classification
1. Dani Pedrosa Repsol Honda 49:17.707
2. Cal Crutchlow Yamaha +4.863
3. Marc Marquez Repsol Honda +6.949
4. Andrea Dovizioso Ducati +10.087
5. Nicky Hayden Ducati +18.471

Classification
1. Dani Pedrosa Repsol Honda 83 points
2. Marc Marquez Repsol Honda 77 points
3. Jorge Lorenzo Yamaha 66 points
4. Cal Crutchlow Yamaha 55 points
5. Valentino Rossi Yamaha 47 points

Text/Photos: Repsol Media Service

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Rins makes podium return

Posted on May 21, 2013 by Udo

 

Alex Rins finishes second, with Alex Marquez fifth on his first visit to Le Mans. Low temperatures and rain increased the difficulty of the French GP.

After a downpour yesterday, expectations were for a wet race this Sunday. In the morning warmup at Le Mans, the Moto3 riders had the chance to go out on wet tyres and prepare for the new conditions, but in the end the track dried out during the race. The varying grip levels produced numerous crashes for the lower cylinder class riders.

A lead group of Viñales, Folger, Rins, Marquez, Salom and Oliveira was quickly formed. The latter then crashed out in the early stages and Marquez was left on his own at around the seven-lap mark. He completed the rest of the race shaking off the attempts of Kornfeil to catch up.

Rins took the race with calm and decided to play a waiting game. Folger made a mistake in the second half of the race and was left behind by Salom –who was also unable to keep up with the pace set by Viñales and Rins. On the final two laps, Viñales increased his advantage slightly and was able to take a comfortable win by just over a second from Rins. Salom completed the podium and Marquez placed fifth. With this result, Rins lies third in the overall standings, 29 points off Viñales. Marquez moves up to eighth.

Alex Rins: “The race was very difficult, so both myself and the team are very happy with this result even more so as we came into this GP off the back of a crash last time out. It was hardest at the start, as the track conditions weren’t very good. However, halfway through the race Jonas [Folger] and Maverick [Viñales] made a strong push. I was still able to hold onto second and latch onto Maverick’s rear wheel. I couldn’t keep up on the final laps, but the important thing is that the result is still very positive. We are now turning our attentions to Mugello.”

Alex Marquez: “It was a long and difficult race. I pegged onto the lead group at the start and thought I could stay with them, but a scare halfway through the race made me lose feel with the bike and drop down to fifth. It doesn’t matter, it was normal when I was having trouble to maintain yesterday’s pace. This is a very positive result after the crashes in Texas and Jerez –even more so considering that Le Mans was a new track for me. Now we focus on Mugello, which is another new track and somewhere at which we will try to continue working well and improving.”

Classification
1. Maverick Viñales KTM 42:05.448
2. Alex Rins KTM +1.264
3. Luis Salom KTM +1.387
4. Jonas Folger Kalex KTM +14.593
5. Alex Marquez KTM +37.949

World Championship
1. Maverick Viñales KTM 90 points
2. Luis Salom KTM 77 points
3. Alex Rins KTM 61 points
4. Jonas Folger Kalex KTM 53 points
5. Brad Binder Suter Honda 32 points
8. Alex Marquez KTM 24 points

Text/Photos: Repsol Media Service

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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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