HASLAM LOOKS FOR FINAL ROUND HIGH POINT

2013-10-16 13:15
The 14th and final round of the FIM Superbike
World Championship will take place at the Jerez
circuit in Spain this coming weekend and will be
the culmination of a season that started way back
in late February in Australia.

For Leon Haslam (Pata Honda World Superbike Team)
this will be his final chance to get to his much
desired podium place on the CBR1000RR after
suffering a serious leg injury at round three in
April. After advances in the set-up of his
machine at the previous round in France, Haslam
is now preparing to shoot for his best results of
the year, despite the lingering effects of his leg injury.

Jonathan Rea (Pata Honda World Superbike Team) is
currently recovering from a broken femur suffered
at the German round of the championship in early
September and talented Italian rider Michel
Fabrizio will once more replace him.

In the championship standings Leon is 13th, with
Jonathan ninth and Michel 7th, the latter having
spent most of the season riding for another team.

This is the first time since 1990 that the Jerez
circuit has been used for World Superbike racing.
The regular MotoGP circuit now finishes off an
SBK season that was originally scheduled for 15
rounds, until the Indian event, intended for November 17, was cancelled.

Most of the top teams tested at Jerez in the
winter so despite last being used for SBK racing
23 years ago it will be a known quantity for most
competitors in its current format. The mix of
fast and slow corners, and absence of giant
straights along Jerez’s 4.423km length, mean that
it should offer chances of success to many different riders and machines.

This weekend will be the championship decider.
Points leader Tom Sykes (Kawasaki) is being
chased from a distance of 37 points by Aprilia’s
Eugene Laverty, and 38 points by another Aprilia rider, Sylvain Guintoli.

VAN DER MARK AND ZANETTI SET TO FINISH ON A HIGH

The 2013 FIM Supersport World Championship
reaches its final round this weekend with Michael
van der Mark (Pata Honda World Supersport Team)
and Lorenzo Zanetti (Pata Honda World Supersport
Team) sitting fourth and fifth in the championship, respectively.

Each rider has had their highs and lows this
season and both aim to finish their season on a
high in Spain, with a podium finish. For Michael,
three podiums have been achieved already and he
is looking to score his best result yet to get
third in the championship before the season has
been completed. He is now 17 points from the
highly experienced Fabien Foret (Kawasaki), which
makes his task a challenging one.

Despite his impressive rookie season
performances, Michael has yet to score either a
front row start in qualifying or a race win, so
he will start the Jerez weekend looking for a top
three qualifying position first of all. He will
ride for his 2013 team again next year, alongside
his current team-mate Lorenzo.

Lorenzo’s own rookie season has included a podium
finish at his home race in Monza, plus four
fourth places, just one place from his second
taste of champagne. He is well versed in the
secrets of a fast lap time at Jerez, having spent
some of his previous career in GP racing at the Spanish track in Andalusia.

Jack Kennedy (Rivamoto Honda) unusually now finds
himself about to face a track that he has ridden
at before, in a wet and dry winter test with his
team. Another rookie, and not on an official
bike, Kennedy has yet to score a podium but he
has been impressive in sixth in the championship,
14 points ahead of his nearest challenger after almost a full season.

Roberto Tamburini (Team Lorini Honda) is
currently 16th in the championship and has been a
real force to be reckoned with in the fight for
top ten finishes at the most recent WSS rounds.

Raffaele De Rosa (Team Lorini Honda) remains 19th
overall in the points but as the Spanish race
approaches he is keen to have a better result
than his season best of ninth so far, which he
scored at Portimao in June. Luca Marconi (PTR
Honda) is attempting to get back to his full race
pace after suffering a painful arm injury
mid-season. A top ten in Jerez, to mirror those
he set in Aragon and Monza, would be a strong end
to a tough season for the Italian rider.

The Czech-based PRORACE Honda team will once more
field South African Ronan Quarmby, as he tries to
get into the top ten in Spain like he did at Istanbul.

Danny Webb (PTR Honda), Corey Alexander (Team PTR
Honda), Lee Johnson (Team PTR Honda), Eduard
Blokhin (Rivamoto Honda), Imre Toth (Racing Team
Toth Honda), Alex Schacht (Racing Team Toth
Honda) and Nacho Calero Perez (Honda PTR) are all
out to score their first points of the year at
Jerez this weekend. Brodie Waters (AARK Racing
Honda) joins the WSS ranks again, while Fraser
Rogers rides for the Complus SMS Racing Honda squad.

HONDA RIDER COMMENTS:

Leon Haslam (Pata Honda World Superbike Team)
“We tested at Jerez at the end of last season and
did some back-to-back comparisons between last
year’s electronics and the new package, which was
at a very early stage of development. It’ll be
difficult to use any of the data we got back then
but it’s a great track and I’ve always loved
riding here since I was in GPs. We found a pretty
significant thing on the CBR at the end of the
last round in Magny Cours, so I’m really looking
forward to getting out on the Jerez circuit on
Friday and giving it a go. It’s the last round of
the series and I would just like it to be the one
where all the pieces fall in the right order and
we can get a chance to show what we’re capable
of. There are lots of things to improve before
the beginning of next season – both with me and
the bike – but I’d like to finish this one by
challenging the top guys this weekend.”

Michel Fabrizio (Pata Honda World Superbike Team)
“Jerez will be the last race of the season and my
last race with the Pata Honda team, so I want to
continue the positive direction that we found at
Magny-Cours and to finish with some good results.
I found a good confidence in the bike and in my
riding in France so I want to take this to Spain
and finish this year in a good way. I have never
raced at Jerez but I tested there last year on a
different machine and I was very fast, so I know
that the circuit suits my riding style. I wish
Jonathan a good recovery and I would like to
thank Honda and the Pata Honda team for this
opportunity. I hope to put on a good show for everyone this weekend.”

Michael van der Mark (Pata Honda World Supersport Team)
"The last round already so I can say it has been
a fast year! Jerez is one of my favourite tracks
and we had a good preseason test there, so I am
excited about it. Some of the corners are quite
fast and I really like it there so I want to be
closer to the front this week. I will aim for the
podium this weekend and I think that will be
possible. I am all signed up again with the team
for 2014 so at Jerez we will race to finish the best way I can.”

Lorenzo Zanetti (Pata Honda World Supersport Team)
“The last race of 2013 now and the fact that I
have signed with the team for next year again
makes me happy and relaxed. I just want to race
in Spain to make sure I finish in fourth place in
the championship, if possible. I want to finish
on the podium in the final race and then start to
work immediately for 2014 after the weekend. For
sure Jerez is a technical track, and feels quite
long, but I know it well from when I was riding in 125cc GPs.”

Jack Kennedy (Rivamoto Honda)
"It’s great to know the track this time so I
should be able to use each full session to try
and go fast straight away without having to learn
everything. We should have a decent enough set-up
from when we tested there, in wet and dry
conditions. We have not got a top set-up for the
dry but a good one to start with and an OK set-up
for the wet. I am not sure if it is going to rain
but the Jerez surface has good grip in the wet
anyway. I really enjoyed the track when I tested
there so I can’t wait to get out there and defend
my sixth place in the championship. The team seem
happy that we are in sixth place in our first year together.”

Ronan Quarmby (PRORACE Honda)
“I had two falls at the previous round, one crash
that was quite big last time out in France, but
in the past few days I have been training hard
for the last round. I have to get a good result
because my team are looking for it. It is also
important for me and I think it will be good
round if we start well. I think there was
something not quite right with the bike in the
French race after the crashes in practice so the
team has built me a new bike for this round. I
think for a weekend to be great we have to start
off good and stay quite consistent. I want to be
top five in first practice and on the grid. A lot
of guys have been to this track before but I have
not, so I have been spending a lot of time on the
X-box learning the basic layout before I get there and ride for real.”

Source: Honda Pro Image

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