TWO TOP SIX FINISHES FOR REA AT SUPERHEATED SEPANG
. By Bikeland Staff
Jonathan Rea (Pata Honda World Superbike Team)
overcame the high heat and humidity at Sepang to
record two sixth place finishes at the sixth
round of the FIM Superbike World Championship in Malaysia.
Leon Haslam (Pata Honda World Superbike Team)
found two different set-ups on his machine gave
him two different race results, going seventh in
race one and then 11th in race two, finding
different issues to deal with in each race.
Race one witnessed a three-rider crash at the
second corner and this incident pushed Rea wide
and off track, putting him at the back of the
pack. He rode through as strongly as he could and
finished in a more than creditable sixth place.
His team-mate Haslam was one place and just under
three seconds behind him after the first ever SBK
race at the 5.548km Sepang International Circuit.
Race two was stopped on lap four of the scheduled
16 by a red flag when Claudio Corti’s machine
lost oil and burst into flames. After the track
surface was cleaned a ten-lap race was held, in
which Rea was much closer to the double race
winner Marco Melandri (Aprilia) but again in
sixth place. Leon found a different set-up issue
to deal with in race two and finished 11th, but
also closer to the winner than he had been in race one.
In the championship fight Rea is now third with
179 points, 11 down on Sylvain Guintoli, who
scored two very close second places behind his
Aprilia team-mate Melandri at Sepang today.
Reigning World Champion Tom Sykes (Kawasaki) tops
the points table with 201. Leon Haslam is now
tenth, sharing 89 points with Toni Elias (Aprilia).
The Superbike series now returns to Europe for
round seven, at the Misano circuit in Italy from 20 to 22 June.
VAN DER MARK TAKES THIRD RACE WIN OF THE SEASON
Michael van der Mark (Pata Honda World Supersport
Team) took a close race victory in the first ever
round of the FIM Supersport World Championship to
be held at the Sepang circuit in Malaysia,
fending off Jules Cluzel (MV Agusta) by 0.018
seconds after 14 laps of intense competition.
Van Der mark, who has won races at Assen and
Donington Park already this year, scored his win
in Malaysia by overhauling the early race leader
Kenan Sofuoglu (Kawasaki) at half race distance
and pushing hard to try and make a break.
He took out a lead of one second but was reeled
back in again by the hard charging Cluzel after
the heat took a toll on his rear tyre
performance. Van der Mark and Cluzel were joined
on the Sepang podium by Sofuoglu who ended his
day 4.5 seconds back from the leading pair.
The Dutch rider’s latest win puts him on a total
of 115 points, with one no-score in the opening
race in Australia and either a first or second
place in each race from then on. He now enjoys a
strong 33-point lead over Cluzel.
Italian rider Lorenzo Zanetti (Pata Honda World
Supersport Team) was in a clear fourth place at
the flag, fighting against an imperfect set-up
that did not allow him to stay with the leaders,
despite ending the first lap in third position.
After two DNFs in his season the Imola race
winner is now fourth in the standings and second
highest ranked Honda rider, with 60 points.
In what amounted to his local race meeting
Thailand’s Ratthapark Wilairot (Core PTR Honda)
had a battling race, like many others in the heat
of Sepang, but he finished sixth and scored
easily his best finish of his rookie WSS season so far.
Wilairot was just over a second up on seventh
placed finisher Raffaele De Rosa (CIA Insurance
Honda) who had to start from 13th place on the
grid after a tough qualifying session on
Saturday. In the championship De Rosa is placed
seventh, although tied on points with sixth placed Kenan Sofuoglu.
Local wild card rider Zaqhwan Zaidi (SIC Racing
Team Honda) was combative and effective on his
home circuit, taking his Ten Kate-prepared
CBR600RR to a very respectable ninth place finish
in a field of regular WSS competitors.
Marco Bussolotti (Team Lorini Honda) was the last
rider inside the top ten, with his team-mate
Riccardo Russo (Team Lorini Honda) 12th. The
final Honda finisher was Fraser Rogers (Com Plus SMS Racing), in 16th place.
Jack Kennedy (CIA Insurance Honda) moved from
ninth on the grid to a possible top seven placing
but fell as he tried to pass Roberto Tamburini
(Kawasaki) and his bike hit the back wheel of his
Italian rival. Neither rider finished the race
and Kennedy has slipped to 17th place overall in
the standings. Nacho Calero (CIA Insurance Honda)
was also a non-finisher in the Sepang race.
The next round takes place at Misano in Italy, with raceday on Sunday 22 June.
HONDA RIDER COMMENTS:
Jonathan Rea (Pata Honda World Superbike Team)
Race result: 6th / 6th Championship position: 3rd
“It's been a very tough weekend and it's not
where we want to be. But we kind of made some
steps forward when it mattered, especially in
race two when I was able to carry a much better
pace than I have all weekend in the heat. But it
seems our engine braking system is too sensitive
to different conditions and different circuits,
which is frustrating because when I had grip at
the beginning I had no problem entering the
corners but at the end of the race I had a lot of
chatter from the rear when the grip went down.
But I really enjoyed riding this track, even
though we didn't get the full potential out of
the CBR this weekend. I look forward to the next
race at Misano because it's a circuit that I love.”
Leon Haslam (Pata Honda World Superbike Team)
Race result: 7th / 11th Championship position: 10th
“I think we've both struggled this weekend, and
I'm not sure whether it's the hot conditions or
the low grip levels. We made a different plan for
this weekend on the chassis and it's definitely
showed up some positives. We have a couple of
technical issues which set us back a little but
in the race it was quite difficult with me and
Jonathan riding around for the lesser points
positions which is not ideal. Hopefully we can
learn a lot from this weekend and take that to Misano.”
Michael van der Mark (Pata Honda World Supersport Team)
Race result: 1st Championship position: 1st
“From the first practice we were quite fast and
yesterday morning in FP3 we showed that we had a
really good race pace. I qualified third and my
start was quite good, although I braked a bit too
early for turn one. I tried to get away when I
took the lead after a few laps but it was not
possible. The grip went down very fast because it
was so hot. I could not push any harder so I did
not want to take any risks. When Jules passed me
near the end I just braked early because at that
point I was not strong, and I knew he would
overtake me at turn nine. Then I had all of the
back straight to take his slipstream and I was
hoping that he would brake late again and he did,
so I was able to take a tight line. The bike spun
up a lot towards the finish line and that is why
the gap was so close. Thanks to the team as it
was their first time here at Sepang and they did
an amazing job with the bike. The championship gap is even better now as well.”
Lorenzo Zanetti (Pata Honda World Supersport Team)
Race result: 5th Championship position: 4th
“I wanted to be fighting for the win but all
weekend I have had some problems with the setup
and not having a good feeling. We improved the
bike but just not enough. In the first part of
the race when the tyre was new I was pushing over
the limit to try and fight for the win. I stayed
with the first group, but then the tyre dropped a
bit, moved around a bit, and I lost two or three
tenths in some places. I started to make some
mistakes and I lost the group that fought for the
podium. I finished fifth and I think I could not
have taken more today. It is not too bad for the
championship and I needed the points because I have two no scores now.”
Raffaele De Rosa (CIA Insurance Honda)
Race result: 7th Championship position: 7th
“I am a little bit disappointed because even
though I did not feel I could have raced for the
win or a podium I felt I could stay with the
second group because I had a good pace in the
morning warm-up. I did my best today from 13th on
the grid. I made a small mistake in qualifying
and need to work hard to qualify better because
in the race I have the speed to compete at the
front but lose too much time trying to get
through the pack. My fastest lap time was
competitive with the leaders, so I know I can
race with them. I took some good points in the race so it is not so bad.”
Ratthapark Wilairot (Core PTR Honda)
Race result: 6th Championship position: 14th
"I felt good on the bike with the suspension but
I felt a little bit with the engine that I could
not follow people so easily. I was happy with the
set-up and the bike was turning really well, but
I could be doing with a bit more top end. I
really enjoyed riding in the corners and I could
brake later than some other riders because it was
working so well in the corners.”
Zaqhwan Zaidi (SIC Honda)
Race result: 9th Championship position: 21st
“I am so lucky today to have this ride and to
have a top ten position I think we all did a good
job. The machine was really good and I was able
to fight. It was exciting riding in front of my
home crowd and I pushed, pushed, pushed. In the
early laps I thought it would be so difficult to
get a top ten but with the support of the crowd I was able to do it.”
Riccardo Russo (Team Lorini Honda)
Race result: 12th Championship position: 12th
“All weekend I have had a problem with the
suspension set-up and the engine power delivery
and that affected my chances of making a good
result. I qualified 17th so I made up five
places, but I did not have the set up to do more today.”
Jack Kennedy (CIA Insurance Honda)
Race result: DNF Championship position: 17th
“I just wanted to get past Tamburini and it was
frustrating sitting behind because his bike was
fast in a straight line, but he did not have so
much pace. I went for the pass and the door
closed and I was already committed. Unfortunately
I took him out and it is not what I wanted to do.
I went down as well and I was lucky not to get
hit by another bike that came flying in behind
us, into the gravel. I got a mediocre start but I
feel we could have had a top five or six. It was so hot and slippy as well.”
RESULTS
SUPERSPORT
RACE : (Laps 14 = 77,672 Km)
POS / RIDER / NAT. / TEAM / MOTORCYCLE / GAP
1 / M. VD MARK / NED / PATA Honda World Supersport / Honda CBR600RR / 30'23.854
2 / J. CLUZEL / FRA / MV Agusta RC-Yakhnich M. / MV Agusta F3 675 / 0.018
3 / K. SOFUOGLU / TUR / MAHI Racing Team India / Kawasaki ZX-6R / 4.526
4 / R. ROLFO / ITA / Team GO Eleven / Kawasaki ZX-6R / 4.651
5 / L. ZANETTI / ITA / PATA Honda World Supersport / Honda CBR600RR / 9.187
6 / R. WILAIROT / THA / Core PTR Honda / Honda CBR600RR / 12.494
7 / R. DE ROSA / ITA / CIA Insurance Honda / Honda CBR600RR / 13.515
8 / P. JACOBSEN / USA / Kawasaki Intermoto Ponyexpres / Kawasaki ZX-6R / 20.400
9 / Z. ZAIDI / MAS / SIC Racing Team / Honda CBR600RR / 20.579
10 / M. BUSSOLOTTI / ITA / Team Lorini / Honda CBR600RR / 29.038
11 / C. GAMARINO / ITA / Team GO Eleven / Kawasaki ZX-6R / 33.204
12 / R. RUSSO / ITA / Team Lorini / Honda CBR600RR / 39.729
13 / A. NOCCO / ITA / San Carlo Puccetti Racing / Kawasaki ZX-6R / 48.739
14 / V. LEONOV / RUS / MV Agusta RC-Yakhnich M. / MV Agusta F3 675 / 50.260
15 / T. COVEÑA / NED / Kawasaki Intermoto
Ponyexpres / Kawasaki ZX-6R / 1'02.471
16 / F. ROGERS / GBR / Com Plus SMS Racing / Honda CBR600RR / 1'17.358
Fastest Lap: 2° Kev Coghlan 2'09.178 154,615 Km/h
Lap Record: New circuit
Best Lap: 2014 K.Sofuoglu 2'08.185 155,810 Km/h
SUPERBIKE
RACE1: (Laps 16 = 88,768 Km)
POS / RIDER / NAT. / TEAM / MOTORCYCLE / GAP
1 / M. MELANDRI / ITA / Aprilia Racing Team / Aprilia RSV4 Factory / 33'42.359
2 / S. GUINTOLI / FRA / Aprilia Racing Team / Aprilia RSV4 Factory / 0.620
3 / E. LAVERTY / IRL / Voltcom Crescent Suzuki / Suzuki GSX-R1000 / 12.865
4 / C. DAVIES / GBR / Ducati Superbike Team / Ducati 1199 Panigale R / 15.437
5 / T. ELIAS / ESP / Red Devils Roma / Aprilia RSV4 Factory / 15.723
6 / J. REA / GBR / PATA Honda World Superbike / Honda CBR1000RR / 31.304
7 / L. HASLAM / GBR / PATA Honda World Superbike / Honda CBR1000RR / 34.093
8 / D. GIUGLIANO / ITA / Ducati Superbike Team /
Ducati 1199 Panigale R / 35.804
9 / D. SALOM / ESP / Kawasaki Racing Team / Kawasaki ZX-10R EVO / 42.031
10 / L. CAMIER / GBR / BMW Motorrad Italia SBK / BMW S1000 RR EVO / 49.465
11 / J. GUARNONI / FRA / MRS Kawasaki / Kawasaki ZX-10R EVO / 53.715
12 / A. ANDREOZZI / ITA / Team Pedercini / Kawasaki ZX-10R EVO / 1'07.783
13 / B. STARING / AUS / IRON BRAIN Grillini
Kawasaki / Kawasaki ZX-10R EVO / 1'10.746
14 / I. TOTH / HUN / BMW Team Toth / BMW S1000 RR / 1'18.143
15 / R. LANUSSE / FRA / Team Pedercini / Kawasaki ZX-10R EVO / 1'21.026
16 / A. YATES / USA / Team Hero EBR / EBR 1190 RX / 1'49.054
Fastest Lap: 2° Marco Melandri 2'04.884 159,931 Km/h
Lap Record: New circuit
Best Lap: 2014 S.Guintoli 2'03.002 162,380 Km/h
RACE2: (Laps 10 = 55,480 Km)
POS / RIDER / NAT. / TEAM / MOTORCYCLE / GAP
1 / M. MELANDRI / ITA / Aprilia Racing Team / Aprilia RSV4 Factory / 21'00.424
2 / S. GUINTOLI / FRA / Aprilia Racing Team / Aprilia RSV4 Factory / 0.166
3 / T. SYKES / GBR / Kawasaki Racing Team / Kawasaki ZX-10R / 2.689
4 / T. ELIAS / ESP / Red Devils Roma / Aprilia RSV4 Factory / 5.386
5 / L. BAZ / FRA / Kawasaki Racing Team / Kawasaki ZX-10R / 5.514
6 / J. REA / GBR / PATA Honda World Superbike / Honda CBR1000RR / 7.073
7 / E. LAVERTY / IRL / Voltcom Crescent Suzuki / Suzuki GSX-R1000 / 7.476
8 / C. DAVIES / GBR / Ducati Superbike Team / Ducati 1199 Panigale R / 11.057
9 / A. LOWES / GBR / Voltcom Crescent Suzuki / Suzuki GSX-R1000 / 15.866
10 / D. GIUGLIANO / ITA / Ducati Superbike Team /
Ducati 1199 Panigale R / 16.206
11 / L. HASLAM / GBR / PATA Honda World Superbike / Honda CBR1000RR / 16.488
12 / L. CAMIER / GBR / BMW Motorrad Italia SBK / BMW S1000 RR EVO / 23.820
13 / D. SALOM / ESP / Kawasaki Racing Team / Kawasaki ZX-10R EVO / 30.653
14 / J. GUARNONI / FRA / MRS Kawasaki / Kawasaki ZX-10R EVO / 31.266
15 / N. CANEPA / ITA / Althea Racing / Ducati 1199 Panigale R EVO / 43.009
16 / B. STARING / AUS / IRON BRAIN Grillini
Kawasaki / Kawasaki ZX-10R EVO / 46.127
17 / S. MORAIS / RSA / IRON BRAIN Grillini
Kawasaki / Kawasaki ZX-10R EVO / 58.167
18 / I. TOTH / HUN / BMW Team Toth / BMW S1000 RR / 1'00.017
19 / P. SEBESTYEN / HUN / BMW Team Toth / BMW S1000 RR EVO / 1'03.574
20 / A. YATES / USA / Team Hero EBR / EBR 1190 RX / 1'13.522
Fastest Lap: 6° Marco Melandri 2'04.991 159,794 Km/h
Lap Record: 2014 M.Melandri 2'04.884 159,930 Km/h
Best Lap: 2014 S.Guintoli 2'03.002 162,380 Km/h