Preview World Superbike, Laguna Seca, USA

2014-07-08 14:49
With the ninth round of the FIM Superbike World Championship taking
place only one week after the previous race, but on a different
continent, it will be a busy few days for Jonathan Rea (Pata Honda
World Superbike Team) and Leon Haslam (Pata Honda World Superbike Team).

Racing at Laguna Seca in the USA will be an all-new challenge for the
otherwise highly experienced Rea, as he was unable to ride there last
year due to a leg fracture. The rider from Northern Ireland
approaches the circuit full of ambition after securing his fourth
race win of the season, at the previous round in Portugal just a few days ago.

Rea, who led the championship for a time earlier in the year, is in
fourth place overall, but only six points from the second place rider
with a scheduled five rounds to go, including the forthcoming Laguna contests.

For Haslam Laguna is a known quantity and his knowledge came while
riding the 2013 version of his current Honda last season. Leon will
be heading to the USA looking to secure his best individual race
finishes of a sometimes frustrating year so far. He is tenth in the
current points rankings, but only six points from the eighth placed rider.

Engine and chassis updates to his machine at the previous round saw
Haslam running at a competitive pace at some points over race weekend
in Portugal and he will be keen to score his first podiums of the
year this weekend.

Both races will be run on the traditional Sunday this year, after one
was held on Saturday and one on Sunday at Laguna Seca in 2013.

After the American race weekend there will be a long summer break in
the SBK calendar, with competitive action not recommencing until
early September, with raceday on Sunday 7th at Jerez de la Frontera in Spain.

HONDA RIDER COMMENTS:

Jonathan Rea (Pata Honda World Superbike Team)
"I am excited about going to America because the track looks pretty
sweet. Unfortunately I missed the race last year due to injury but it
is a kind of a British-style track that I grew up on. Of course,
we're going there on the back of a win at Portimao which was really
good for the morale of the team and it's important that we try to
carry that momentum into the summer break which comes after this weekend."

Leon Haslam (Pata Honda World Superbike Team)
"I enjoyed riding at Laguna last year and, although the race results
weren't so great, we did have one session when everything worked and
came together OK in which we were quite competitive. I was happy with
the progress that we made with different engine specification and
chassis settings over the weekend in Portimao and I think that, when
it's dialled in, the CBR will really suit the special characteristics
of Laguna Seca. So I'm looking forward to the weekend and to
continuing the progress we've made."

Source: Honda Pro Image

Click here to visit our forums to discuss this story