REA FOURTH IN RACE TWO AS AOYAMA TAKES A TOP TEN

2012-09-09 12:32
FIM Superbike World Championship competitor Jonathan Rea (Honda World Superbike Team) left the Nürburgring circuit in Germany with one fourth place race finish to his credit and fifth place overall in the championship fight.

Hiroshi Aoyama (Honda World Superbike Team) recorded a tenth place in race one and was the top Honda rider after Rea had fallen early in the race while pushing in the front group. Hiroshi also scored a point for 15th in race two. Hiroshi is 18th in the championship rankings, on 51.5 points.

Max Biaggi and Chaz Davies (both Aprilia) won the races in Germany, with Biaggi back in the overall lead on 318 points. Double faller in Germany Marco Melandri (BMW) has an unchanged 308.5 in second place and Tom Sykes (Kawasaki) is on 291.5 in third. Carlos Checa is fourth overall on 247.5 points and Rea is just behind on 225.5.

In qualifying Rea was had been fifth on the grid after superpole while Aoyama had been 19th in qualifying. Track conditions were dry and warm all weekend, for one of the very few times in the 2012 season so far.

Rea looked set for two good results in Germany until he became one of many top riders to lose the front at this tricky 5.137Km circuit while negotiating turn six of lap three during the opening race. In race two Rea had to fight hard with Eugene Laverty (Aprilia) for the second weekend in succession, before dropping back to finish a couple of seconds from a podium finish.

The next race is at a modern classic of circuit design, Portimao in Portugal, on September 23.

CLUZEL FIGHTS ALL THE WAY FOR PODIUM FINISH

Jules Cluzel (PTR Honda) was unable to convert his fifth pole position of the season into a race win, but came very close to it in his pursuit of eventual race winner Kenan Sofuoglu (Kawasaki) at the Nürburgring.

Cluzel was in the hunt for the victory in the 19-lap race, for the whole race distance, but only a couple of small errors late on, and the relentless push of Sofuoglu, stopped Jules from making a last lap passing attempt. Jules was only 0.541 seconds down at the flag and is still second in the championship itself. He trails Sofuoglu by 38 points with two rounds remaining and is now the only rider still capable of overhauling the Turkish rider before the season end. The final podium place went to Fabien Foret (Kawasaki) today.

Broc Parkes (Ten Kate Racing Products Honda) rode to a lonely fourth place after some fast early laps. He could not keep in contention with the leading group as the race timed out and rode on his own to score as many points as possible.

Sam Lowes (Bogdanka PTR Honda) fell while fighting to stay in the podium positions. He had also fallen in warm-up this morning, but he restarted in the race to finish an eventual 13th, after Russian rider Vladimir Leonov (Yamaha) was disqualified from fifth, and all the riders behind him moved up one place. Lowes dropped to fourth in the points today, on 141.

Gabor Talmacsi (PRORACE Honda) was once more in the fight at the sharp end, trailing the leading group for some time at the beginning. He finished sixth; his best single result to date and is 13th in the rankings.

Ronan Quarmby (PTR Honda) was ninth, one up on his original finishing place, after a race spent fighting an imperfect set-up.

No other Honda riders scored points today, but single-race stand-in rider for the Bogdanka Honda PTR team, Miguel Praia, was close to it, in 16th place. Balazs Nemeth (Racing Team Toth Honda), Dino Lombardi (Team Lorini Honda), Martin Jessopp (Riders PTR Honda) and Imre Toth (Racing Team Toth Honda) finished in that order behind Praia.

Danilo Marrancone (Kuja Racing Honda) was 22nd, Luca Hansen (SMS Racing Honda) 23rd. Roberto Tamburini (Lorini Honda) and Mathew Scholtz (Bogdanka PTR Honda) both fell and no-scored today.


HONDA RIDER COMMENTS:

Jonathan Rea (Honda World Superbike Team):
Race result: DNF / 4th Championship position: 5th
“It’s been frustrating again because we had top five pace for race one, but looking at the data, I made a mistake in the corner before the crash. I arrived at a slower speed, but I was carrying a bit more lean angle than on the previous lap. It was a strange crash, but it was a mistake. Race two was OK at the beginning and we were fortunate that two of the front guys crashed out, which gifted us a couple of positions. But we still need to work on the throttle connection and the rideability of the bike off the corner because chassis-wise we’re almost in the ballpark at every race. But getting off the corner, especially when the tyre drops, is our biggest problem and that affects our top speed. It’s been a positive weekend for my riding and the guys are working really hard in the box but, like the previous few rounds, we haven’t been able to convert it into two solid results, so that’s frustrating. Today wasn’t helped by the fact that I spent more time in the bathroom last night than in bed after picking up a stomach complaint, so I didn’t start the day in a good way. But I felt much stronger for race two.”

Hiroshi Aoyama (Honda World Superbike Team):
Race result: 10th / 15th Championship position: 18th
“In the first race we still had the same problem that we’ve had all season, which is out of the corner I cannot open the throttle as I want. The race was critical for the front, as well, and I didn’t have such a good feeling here. But maybe there was another problem because many riders crash on the front. It was difficult and we managed to finish the race in tenth. For race two, the conditions were different and the grip levels went down. I had a big problem out of the corners and I could not go faster than this morning. I struggled a bit, but this was my first race at the Nürburgring and we improved in every session. In the end, we could not reach our potential, but we have some data so I hope we can find some new solutions for the next race in Portugal, which will be another new track for me.”

Jules Cluzel (PTR Honda):
Race result: 2nd Championship position: 2nd
“I am happy for second place in the championship and I was able to enjoy the race. I was able to pass Sofuoglu, but I did two mistakes in the last two laps and it was too much to try and make up to be in a position to pass him on the last corner. I had a great bike I just lost time in the first split, and then came back in the last sectors. I could have passed him, but I finished second, so obviously I am a little bit disappointed. The track was not easy, but very enjoyable. It was my first time here and it was possible to win the race.”

Sam Lowes (Bogdanka PTR Honda):
Race result: 14th Championship position: 4th
“All weekend we have been having a few little issues. Not big, but just missing that last little bit. For the race it was the best it had been all weekend. I had lots of problems in the rear, but not many on the front. I made on mistake and it costs me. It has been a difficult weekend for me and I hurt my arm when I fell this morning, but I felt I was in with a shout. I have two races to go, the next one at Portimao, which is a track I love, so I will be going there to ride hard.”

Broc Parkes (Ten Kate Racing Products Honda):
Race result: 4th Championship position: 5th
“I was hoping to run with the front guys. I got a good start and went with them, but it was difficult to say up front and I was just missing something. I could not stay up front mostly in needing a little bit of punch out of corners. I dropped back and then it was just a lonely race. I pushed my limits to see what I could do but unfortunately we could not be at the front, which is where we want to be.”

Gabor Talmacsi (PRORACE Honda):
Race result: 6th Championship position: 13th
“My best race result and our best weekend all round because we qualified on the second row in seventh and finished sixth, which was an excellent result for us. I am so happy because every time we have improved the bike and we still have two more rounds to go, so I am very confident.”

Ronan Quarmby (PTR Honda):
Race result: 9th Championship position: 8th
“It was OK in the race, but we just never had the right set-up all weekend. We never got it done and we did not quite know which way to go. I was struggling for grip in the race and I could not turn the bike and not getting drive out of the corners so I though to myself that I just needed to get some points. I finished ninth and took some points and it all counts towards the championship total. I gained a few points and hopefully by the end I can get up to sixth position in the championship.”

Mathew Scholtz (Bogdanka PTR Honda):
Race result: DNF Championship position: 24th
“What can I say? It seems that the bad luck keeps following us this season. Another rider tried to pass me and clipped my handlebar and that was it. Anyway, I'm already looking forward to Portimao and can't wait to see what the track is like there.”

Martin Jessopp (Riders PTR Honda):
Race result: 19th Championship position: 39th
“Starting at the back I took the gamble of going round the outside and got past a few guys. It took me a couple of laps to get past the next rider, but the group in front had got away. I was matching their times and kept the same gap. It would have been nice to qualify better as I have the same pace as the lads in front and my end of race pace was good. We'll work on qualifying at Portimao.”

Miguel Praia (Bogdanka Honda PTR):
Race result: 16th Championship Position: N/A
"It was a good, but hard race. I was fighting for a point, but in the end had to settle with 17th after a very hard battle right until the end. We've made progress all through the weekend and I'm happy with my World Supersport return. I'd like to say thank you to Bogdanka and Mike Piasecki. It was a pleasure to work together. The team worked very well and it's just a shame I wasn't able to say thanks with some points but we've all done our best and it was a good weekend."


RESULTS

SUPERSPORT
RACE : (Laps 19 = 97,603 Km)
POS / RIDER / NAT. / TEAM / MOTORCYCLE / GAP
1 / K. SOFUOGLU / TUR / Kawasaki Lorenzini / Kawasaki ZX-6R / 38'13.709
2 / J. CLUZEL / FRA / PTR Honda / Honda CBR600RR / 0.541
3 / F. FORET / FRA / Kawasaki Intermoto Step / Kawasaki ZX-6R / 6.258
4 / B. PARKES / AUS / Ten Kate Racing Products / Honda CBR600RR / 10.345
5 / A. BALDOLINI / ITA / Power Team by Suriano / Triumph Daytona 675 / 18.303
6 / G. TALMACSI / HUN / PRORACE / Honda CBR600RR / 22.366
7 / V. IANNUZZO / ITA / Power Team by Suriano / Triumph Daytona 675 / 27.23
8 / D. LINORTNER / AUT / Gerin-Skm Racing Team / Yamaha YZF R6 / 33.213
9 / R. QUARMBY / RSA / PTR Honda / Honda CBR600RR / 33.526
10 / M. ROCCOLI / ITA / Team PATA by Martini / Yamaha YZF R6 / 35.932
11 / R. LANUSSE / FRA / Kawasaki Intermoto Step / Kawasaki ZX-6R / 36.146
12 / F. MARINO / FRA / MSD R-N Racing Team India / Kawasaki ZX-6R / 39.446
13 / S. LOWES / GBR / Bogdanka PTR Honda / Honda CBR600RR / 41.099
14 / A. ANTONELLI / ITA / Bike Service R.T. / Yamaha YZF R6 / 47.345
15 / J. METCHER / AUS / Rivamoto Junior Team / Yamaha YZF R6 / 47.477

Fastest Lap: 12° Sam Lowes 2'00.222 153,825 Km/h
Lap Record: 2009 C. Crutchlow 1'58.726 155,760 Km/h
Best Lap: 2009 C. Crutchlow 1'57.866 156,900

CHAMPIONSHIP POSITIONS TO DATE:
1 SOFUOGLU 198, 2 CLUZEL 160, 3 FORET 144, 4 LOWES 141, 5 PARKES 122,
6 MORAIS 84, 7 BALDOLINI 78, 8 QUARMBY 77, 9 IANNUZZO 60, 10 TAMBURINI 50,
11 ANTONELLI 49, 12 LEONOV 48, 13 TALMACSI 36, 14 METCHER 32, 15 LANZI 25.


SUPERBIKE
RACE1: (Laps 20 = 102,740 Km)
POS / RIDER / NAT. / TEAM / MOTORCYCLE / GAP
1 / M. BIAGGI / ITA / Aprilia Racing Team / Aprilia RSV4 Factory / 38'52.751
2 / E. LAVERTY / IRL / Aprilia Racing Team / Aprilia RSV4 Factory / 3.027
3 / C. DAVIES / GBR / ParkinGO MTC Racing / Aprilia RSV4 Factory / 3.127
4 / T. SYKES / GBR / Kawasaki Racing Team / Kawasaki ZX-10R / 12.306
5 / L. CAMIER / GBR / FIXI Crescent Suzuki / Suzuki GSX-R1000 / 14.131
6 / S. GUINTOLI / FRA / PATA Racing Team / Ducati 1098R / 19.523
7 / L. HASLAM / GBR / BMW Motorrad Motorsport / BMW S1000 RR / 27.017
8 / L. ZANETTI / ITA / PATA Racing Team / Ducati 1098R / 33.116
9 / A. BADOVINI / ITA / BMW Motorrad Italia GoldBet / BMW S1000 RR / 34.937
10 / H. AOYAMA / JPN / Honda World Superbike Team / Honda CBR1000RR / 39.132
11 / M. BERGER / FRA / Team Effenbert Liberty Racing / Ducati 1098R / 41
12 / C. CHECA / ESP / Althea Racing / Ducati 1098R / 41.125
13 / J. HOPKINS / USA / FIXI Crescent Suzuki / Suzuki GSX-R1000 / 46.925
14 / L. LANZI / ITA / Liberty Racing Team Effenbert / Ducati 1098R / 54.659
15 / B. MCCORMICK / CAN / Team Effenbert Liberty Racing / Ducati 1098R / 56.342

Fastest Lap: 3° Max Biaggi 1'55.267 160,438 Km/h
Lap Record: 2010 J. Rea 1'55.392 160,260 Km/h
Best Lap: 2012 M. Biaggi 1'53.855 162,430 Km/h


RACE2: (Laps 20 = 102,740 Km)
POS / RIDER / NAT. / TEAM / MOTORCYCLE / GAP
1 / C. DAVIES / GBR / ParkinGO MTC Racing / Aprilia RSV4 Factory / 39'00.327
2 / E. LAVERTY / IRL / Aprilia Racing Team / Aprilia RSV4 Factory / 3.022
3 / L. CAMIER / GBR / FIXI Crescent Suzuki / Suzuki GSX-R1000 / 3.222
4 / J. REA / GBR / Honda World Superbike Team / Honda CBR1000RR / 5.705
5 / T. SYKES / GBR / Kawasaki Racing Team / Kawasaki ZX-10R / 7.304
6 / C. CHECA / ESP / Althea Racing / Ducati 1098R / 7.541
7 / D. GIUGLIANO / ITA / Althea Racing / Ducati 1098R / 14.709
8 / L. BAZ / FRA / Kawasaki Racing Team / Kawasaki ZX-10R / 19.782
9 / A. BADOVINI / ITA / BMW Motorrad Italia GoldBet / BMW S1000 RR / 19.925
10 / S. GUINTOLI / FRA / PATA Racing Team / Ducati 1098R / 20.028
11 / L. ZANETTI / ITA / PATA Racing Team / Ducati 1098R / 25.653
12 / J. HOPKINS / USA / FIXI Crescent Suzuki / Suzuki GSX-R1000 / 29.142
13 / M. BIAGGI / ITA / Aprilia Racing Team / Aprilia RSV4 Factory / 29.579
14 / M. BERGER / FRA / Team Effenbert Liberty Racing / Ducati 1098R / 36.09
15 / H. AOYAMA / JPN / Honda World Superbike Team / Honda CBR1000RR / 40.912

Fastest Lap: 4° Carlos Checa 1'56.148 159,221 Km/h
Lap Record: 2012 M. Biaggi 1'55.267 160,440 Km/h
Best Lap: 2012 M. Biaggi 1'53.855 162,430

CHAMPIONSHIP POSITIONS TO DATE:
1 BIAGGI 318, 2 MELANDRI 308.5, 3 SYKES 291.5, 4 CHECA 247.5, 5 REA 225.5,
6 LAVERTY 213.5, 7 HASLAM 189, 8 DAVIES 156.5, 9 GUINTOLI 143.5, 10 GIUGLIANO 125,
11 FABRIZIO 119.5, 12 CAMIER 104.5, 13 BADOVINI 99, 14 BAZ 98, 15 SMRZ 92.5.


NEXT EVENT: ROUND12 SEPTEMBER 23 PORTIMAO, PORTUGAL.

Source: Honda Pro Image

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