2012 Superbike World Championship

[Jay Adgie]

Sykes takes third pole in a row

By Liam Marsden - MCN
World Superbikes

Brit Tom Sykes has made it three pole positions from three, setting the fastest time in tricky conditions during superpole at Assen today.
Superpole was run under wet conditions, meaning there were only two sessions instead of the usual three. Only the top eight riders went through to superpole 2.
The second session was almost completely dry, allowing Sykes to set the fastest time of the weekend and get within half a second of the track best.
Factory Honda rider Jonathan Rea will start from second on the grid ahead of Jakub Smrz and Sylvain Guintoli who set the fastest time in superpole 1.
Current champion Carlos Checa will start from the front of the second row in fifth, ahead of BMW Motorrad Italia rider Michel Fabrizio, Leon Haslam and John Hopkins.
Surprise absentees from superpole 2 included Marco Melandri, Leon Camier and Eugene Laverty. Camier crashed during free practice, while Laverty crashed his factory Aprilia in the closing stages of superpole 1.
Max Biaggi failed to make superpole after getting caught out by the wet conditions during yesterday's qualifying session.

1. Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team) Kawasaki ZX-10R 1'35.399
2. Jonathan Rea (Honda World Superbike Team) Honda CBR1000RR 1'36.432
3. Jakub Smrz (Liberty Racing Team Effenbert) Ducati 1098R 1'36.566
4. Sylvain Guintoli (Team Effenbert Liberty Racing) Ducati 1098R 1'36.875
5. Carlos Checa (Althea Racing) Ducati 1098R 1'37.156
6. Michel Fabrizio (BMW Motorrad Italia GoldBet) BMW S1000 RR 1'37.311
7. Leon Haslam (BMW Motorrad Motorsport) BMW S1000 RR 1'37.592
8. John Hopkins (Crescent Fixi Suzuki) Suzuki GSX-R1000 1'37.913
9. Marco Melandri (BMW Motorrad Motorsport) BMW S1000 RR 1'40.516
10. David Salom (Team Pedercini) Kawasaki ZX-10R 1'40.523
11. Chaz Davies (ParkinGO MTC Racing) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 1'40.627
12. Leon Camier (Crescent Fixi Suzuki) Suzuki GSX-R1000 1'40.681
13. Brett McCormick (Liberty Racing Team Effenbert) Ducati 1098R 1'41.962
14. Eugene Laverty (Aprilia Racing Team) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 1'43.947
15. Maxime Berger (Team Effenbert Liberty Racing) Ducati 1098R 1'44.022
16. Ayrton Badovini (BMW Motorrad Italia GoldBet) BMW S1000 RR 1'44.500
17. Max Biaggi (Aprilia Racing Team) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 1'40.231
18. Niccolò Canepa (Red Devils Roma) Ducati 1098R 1'40.859
19. Davide Giugliano (Althea Racing) Ducati 1098R 1'41.161
20. Leandro Mercado (Team Pedercini) Kawasaki ZX-10R 1'41.693
21. Hiroshi Aoyama (Honda World Superbike Team) Honda CBR1000RR 1'41.768
22. Mark Aitchison (Grillini Progea Superbike Team) BMW S1000 RR 1'43.144
23. Lorenzo Zanetti (PATA Racing Team) Ducati 1098R 1'50.808

 

[Jay Adgie]

Guintoli takes first win in two part wet race

By Liam Marsden - MCN
World Superbikes

Effenbert Liberty Ducati rider Sylvain Guintoli has taken his first ever WSB win in a two part race one, with the restart run in torrential conditions.
Guintoli started from second on the grid for the restart, but was down in eighth position after the end of the first lap. Guintoli patiently worked his way through to the front and was rewarded when Ayrton Badovini crashed out of the lead, handing the lead to Guintoli with two laps remaining.
Factory Ducati rider Davide Giugliano finished second after a brave move on team-mate Carlos Checa in the final chicane.
Factory BMW rider Leon Haslam and Honda rider Jonathan Rea broke away at the restart, but Jonathan Rea crashed out of second place before the end of the first lap.
Haslam then dominated, riding three seconds a lap faster than anybody else, but crashed out on lap two at the same corner as the multi-bike crash from the original race.
Suzuki rider Leon Camier's run of bad luck continued when he high-sided during the warm-up lap for the restart and was unable to make it to the grid. Team-mate John Hopkins didn't have much more luck, the American crashing out on lap two of the restart.
Welshman Chaz Davie crashed out of 11th at the end of lap three.
Tom Sykes again led from pole position during the dry first half of the race, and looked to be comfortably leading when a water hose broke on lap 11, forcing him to retire from the race and robbing him of his first win of 2012.
Two laps later Marco Melandri, Jakub Smrz and several other riders crashed at the same corner, forcing the race to be red flagged due to rain.

1. Sylvain Guintoli (Team Effenbert Liberty Racing) Ducati 1098R 18'38.395
2. Davide Giugliano (Althea Racing) Ducati 1098R 18'41.028
3. Carlos Checa (Althea Racing) Ducati 1098R 18'41.426
4. Max Biaggi (Aprilia Racing Team) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 18'42.322
5. Eugene Laverty (Aprilia Racing Team) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 18'42.769
6. Michel Fabrizio (BMW Motorrad Italia GoldBet) BMW S1000 RR 18'49.754
7. Jakub Smrz (Liberty Racing Team Effenbert) Ducati 1098R 19'04.807
8. Niccolò Canepa (Red Devils Roma) Ducati 1098R 19'15.957
9. Marco Melandri (BMW Motorrad Motorsport) BMW S1000 RR 19'28.291
10. Leandro Mercado (Team Pedercini) Kawasaki ZX-10R 19'47.242
11. Maxime Berger (Team Effenbert Liberty Racing) Ducati 1098R 19'50.155
12. Hiroshi Aoyama (Honda World Superbike Team) Honda CBR1000RR 19'52.383
13. David Salom (Team Pedercini) Kawasaki ZX-10R 20'05.414
14. Lorenzo Zanetti (PATA Racing Team) Ducati 1098R 19'33.081
15. Mark Aitchison (Grillini Progea Superbike Team) BMW S1000 RR 19'45.779
RT. Ayrton Badovini (BMW Motorrad Italia GoldBet) BMW S1000 RR 12'40.295
RT. Chaz Davies (ParkinGO MTC Racing) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 6'43.300
RT. Leon Haslam (BMW Motorrad Motorsport) BMW S1000 RR 4'16.738
RT. John Hopkins (Crescent Fixi Suzuki) Suzuki GSX-R1000 2'26.685
RT. Leon Camier (Crescent Fixi Suzuki) Suzuki GSX-R1000 
RT. Jonathan Rea (Honda World Superbike Team) Honda CBR1000RR 

 

[Jay Adgie]

Rea takes first win of 2012

By Liam Marsden - MCN
World Superbikes

Ten Kate Honda rider Jonathan Rea has taken his first race win of 2012 in drying conditions during the second superbike race at Assen.
The drying conditions meant tyre choice would be critical, with Rea opting for hard slick tyres, which improved towards the end of the race enabling Rea to push through to the front.
Effenbert Liberty Ducati rider Jakub Smrz took the lead at the start and opened up a gap of over four seconds, but the Czech rider was using intermediate tyres, and his pace dropped significantly in the latter stages of the race, enabling race one winner Sylvain Guintoli and Rea through.
Once Rea made it to first place he was able to comfortably pull away from Guintoli
Smrz though looked like he could still secure third place, but he crashed after running on to the as tro turf while trying to pass a back marker.
World champion Carlos Checa made a mistake with his tyre choice, opting for full wets both front and rear. Checa pulled in to the pits at the end of lap three to change to slicks after dropping back to last place. He finished 17th.
Tom Sykes was unable to capitalise on his pole position, the Kawasaki rider struggling with the drying conditions and finishing sixth. Fellow Brit Leon Camier finished 14th.
Chaz Davies was battling for a potential podium finish when he crashed at the second turn on lap 12.

1. Jonathan Rea (Honda World Superbike Team) Honda CBR1000RR 36'45.936
2. Sylvain Guintoli (Team Effenbert Liberty Racing) Ducati 1098R 36'48.755
3. Eugene Laverty (Aprilia Racing Team) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 36'58.574
4. Marco Melandri (BMW Motorrad Motorsport) BMW S1000 RR 36'58.698
5. Leon Haslam (BMW Motorrad Motorsport) BMW S1000 RR 36'58.700
6. Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team) Kawasaki ZX-10R 37'06.329
7. Ayrton Badovini (BMW Motorrad Italia GoldBet) BMW S1000 RR 37'22.253
8. Max Biaggi (Aprilia Racing Team) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 37'23.683
9. Davide Giugliano (Althea Racing) Ducati 1098R 37'27.286
10. Michel Fabrizio (BMW Motorrad Italia GoldBet) BMW S1000 RR 37'29.866
11. John Hopkins (Crescent Fixi Suzuki) Suzuki GSX-R1000 37'43.451
12. David Salom (Team Pedercini) Kawasaki ZX-10R 38'18.529
13. Hiroshi Aoyama (Honda World Superbike Team) Honda CBR1000RR 38'19.512
14. Leon Camier (Crescent Fixi Suzuki) Suzuki GSX-R1000 36'50.679
15. Leandro Mercado (Team Pedercini) Kawasaki ZX-10R 36'51.166
16. Mark Aitchison (Grillini Progea Superbike Team) BMW S1000 RR 37'03.892
17. Carlos Checa (Althea Racing) Ducati 1098R 37'08.183
RT. Lorenzo Zanetti (PATA Racing Team) Ducati 1098R 34'19.554
RT. Jakub Smrz (Liberty Racing Team Effenbert) Ducati 1098R 30'10.158
RT. Chaz Davies (ParkinGO MTC Racing) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 18'38.070
RT. Maxime Berger (Team Effenbert Liberty Racing) Ducati 1098R 18'42.162
RT. Brett McCormick (Liberty Racing Team Effenbert) Ducati 1098R 15'33.182
RT. Niccolò Canepa (Red Devils Roma) Ducati 1098R 12'21.167

 

[Ross Balfour]

So happy for Jonny taking that win, he is clearly out doing himself on that Honda, no one else on a Honda can get anywhere the top of the grid. Give him a decent bike and you have a future world champion.

 

[Travis]

Great racing, race one was one of the best races I've seen in quite a while. Just a shame the GT1 series runs usually on the same weekend

 

[Randy Wagner]

It's a disease right? Speed, the thrill of dragging your knee on the ground at a high rate of speeding grinning from ear to ear for there is no better place to be BUT how do you know you got it?

My wife asked me one time if I could choose between making love to her (she's gorgeous by the way) or racing a bike which would I choose?

In an instant I smile real big look her in the eyes and say "which bike and which track?"

Truth Hurts Sometimes

Be Well

 

[Randy Wagner]

 

[Randy Wagner]

 

[Randy Wagner]

Now if your in here your gonna understand what I'm about to say. A Moto Gp Bike can go from 0-140 faster than you can say it and if you are given the ability to run one like it's an automatic wityh no ned to back off since the computer is doing it for you Fug makes sure it can turn give me some good brakes and call it a day But notice I said quick,this design is for quickness not speed it simply helps you get faster quicker.

I know a guy thats got one of those Z1R Corvettes and it's nice mind you BUT he paid like 70,000 for the damn thing and was bragging about how fast it is and it's won this and won that. lucxkily one of my buddies pulled up on his Gsxr 1000 that he paid 6,000 for.

I looked at my car friend and asked him do you realize what that 6,000 buys you with this thing? He's said the usual yeah a crotch rocket I reply with no sir that's a missle.

FACT

Take the Vette and the Gsxr put them at the line and say GO. The Gsxr will go from 0-100-0 b4 the Vette reaches 100... so then I took him out and I was able to do it b4 he got to 80 lol lol lol.

This gearbox guys is beyond the future and is so amazing in how it works and how they were able to get it to the track so quickly. I thought last year sure next year everyone's gonna have one but not yet.

All I know is I love me some Rossi but he's on a wounded Duck that's comparable for about 9 laps no matter where they go but give Stoner 1/2 a second lap and He'd be hard to beat even if he was on a Tech 3 bike.

 

[William Levesque]

Seeing as they make **** cars (now), they surely have to make good bikes and lawnmowers... (Hear that Toyota !?)

 

[William Levesque]

And euh... A ZR1 with a proper driver can do the 1/4 mile in 10.5, not too shabby and I reckon a stock GSX-R won't be quicker

Now, try it around corners, that's where it gets interesting... Don't compare bikes and cars, two different worlds and different interests

 

[Travis]

Motorcyclist magazine has a YouTube channel (Motor Trend links to it) in which a stock Honda CBR 1000RR completes the standing quarter mile in 9.9 seconds at 141 mp/h and that has the weakest engine output of the 3 1000cc Japanese sports bikes currently in production. The current king of race replicas the BMW S1000RR puts down 170+ RWHP in stock trim and smokes all four Japanese bikes.

Never discount just how fast a standard road bike is in a straight like

 

[Randy Wagner]

Don't compare bikes and cars, two different worlds and different interests

No sir would not dare was simply trying to give the 2 wheel guys a giggle for we all know someone like the one I mentioned.

 

[Randy Wagner]

Motorcyclist magazine has a YouTube channel (Motor Trend links to it) in which a stock Honda CBR 1000RR completes the standing quarter mile in 9.9 seconds at 141 mp/h and that has the weakest engine output of the 3 1000cc Japanese sports bikes currently in production. The current king of race replicas the BMW S1000RR puts down 170+ RWHP in stock trim and smokes all four Japanese bikes.

Never discount just how fast a standard road bike is in a straight like

A full dressed Honda Goldwing from top gear roll on is still one of the best in times so yes you are correct.

 

[William Levesque]

No sir would not dare was simply trying to give the 2 wheel guys a giggle for we all know someone like the one I mentioned.

lol, fair enough

Personally I'm a driver more than a rider, although I quite like watching bike racing

Unfortunately though the same thing that happened to car racing is happening to bike racing... Massive arrival of traction control, auto-blip downshifts, etc... A shame really

 

[Randy Wagner]

Yes sir I must agree with you. It's taking the Plus Factor a Team has away from the driver and putting it into the hands of a Computer Programmer.

The years we spend honing are skills to learn apexes and braking points is all for not if for some reason they install the wrong program for the wrong track and to me that's just crazy.

 

[Jay Adgie]

Guintoli takes pole

By MCN

Team Effenbert Liberty Ducati rider Sylvain Guintoli will start tomorrow's WSB races at Monza from pole position after coping with the difficult track conditions during superpole.
Superpole was declared wet, meaning there were only two 20 minute sessions.
Brit Tom Sykes set the second fastest time, not setting pole for the first time this season. Factory BMW rider Marco Melandri was third fastest. Current champion Carlos Checa completes the front row in fourth.
Jonathan Rea heads the second row ahead of 2010 champion Max Biaggi. Biaggi's team-mate Eugene Laverty set the 10th fastest time.
Brits Leon Camier, Leon Haslam and Chaz Davies will start from12th, 14th and 16th respectively.

1. Sylvain Guintoli (Team Effenbert Liberty Racing) Ducati 1098R 1'54.276
2. Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team) Kawasaki ZX-10R 1'54.990
3. Marco Melandri (BMW Motorrad Motorsport) BMW S1000 RR 1'55.971
4. Carlos Checa (Althea Racing) Ducati 1098R 1'56.793
5. Jonathan Rea (Honda World Superbike Team) Honda CBR1000RR 1'57.630
6. Max Biaggi (Aprilia Racing Team) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 1'58.666
7. Jakub Smrz (Liberty Racing Team Effenbert) Ducati 1098R 1'59.718
8. Davide Giugliano (Althea Racing) Ducati 1098R 2'00.645
9. John Hopkins (Crescent Fixi Suzuki) Suzuki GSX-R1000 1'59.489
10. Eugene Laverty (Aprilia Racing Team) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 1'59.680
11. Michel Fabrizio (BMW Motorrad Italia GoldBet) BMW S1000 RR 1'59.681
12. Leon Camier (Crescent Fixi Suzuki) Suzuki GSX-R1000 1'59.845
13. Ayrton Badovini (BMW Motorrad Italia GoldBet) BMW S1000 RR 1'59.978
14. Leon Haslam (BMW Motorrad Motorsport) BMW S1000 RR 2'00.093
15. David Salom (Team Pedercini) Kawasaki ZX-10R 2'00.602
16. Chaz Davies (ParkinGO MTC Racing) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 2'01.772
17. Lorenzo Zanetti (PATA Racing Team) Ducati 1098R 1'44.203
18. Niccolò Canepa (Red Devils Roma) Ducati 1098R 1'44.321
19. Maxime Berger (Team Effenbert Liberty Racing) Ducati 1098R 1'44.489
20. Hiroshi Aoyama (Honda World Superbike Team) Honda CBR1000RR 1'44.686
21. Leandro Mercado (Team Pedercini) Kawasaki ZX-10R 1'45.156
22. Mark Aitchison (Grillini Progea Superbike Team) BMW S1000 RR 1'45.841
23. Sergio Gadea (Kawasaki Racing Team) Kawasaki ZX-10R 1'48.085

 

[Travis]

A full dressed Honda Goldwing from top gear roll on is still one of the best in times so yes you are correct.

True. Had to believe how long Honda have been making the Goldwing; it is a very comfortable armchair on wheels.

 

[Jay Adgie]

Monza WSB race one cancelled for safety reasons

There was some amazing footage of the tyre delaminating down the front straight...


By Michael Guy -MCN

The opening World Superbike race at Monza has been cancelled for safety reasons following heavy rain at the Italian circuit.

The race initially got underway in dry conditions with Tom Sykes and Sylvan Guintoli leading the way, but was red flagged on lap three when it began raining.

The circuit was then hit by torrential rain and after on-going discussions between the riders and a subsequent track inspection the race was cancelled as it was deemed to wet to start.

SBK Director Paolo Ciabatti said: “We cancelled it because it is unsafe in these conditions, it is flooded on the other side of the circuit and here would be aquaplaning, so we hope that the weather will be stable, hopefully dry for race two. We will go on with Supersport if the weather conditions are improving.”

An additional consideration for the riders and organisers, remains the life of the Pirelli full wet tyres. In Superpole on a part wet, part dry track the full wet tyres were only lasting a single flying lap. While Pirelli maintain that their tyres will last the full race distance if the track is completely wet some teams claim that the tyres will only last between three and four laps.

 

[Jay Adgie]

Sykes secures first dry WSB win at Monza


What a ride from Tom to take his first win n1.....

By Michael Guy -MCN

Kawasaki man Tom Sykes secured his maiden WSB win in dry conditions in a shortened second race at Monza today. The 27 year old who started on the front row made a blistering start and was never headed during the shortened eight lap race.

With a clear track, Sykes lapped over a second faster than his rivals and enjoyed a massive ten second lead when rain began to fall at the Italian circuit and the race was red-flagged.

Sykes said: “I’ve finally done it and it feels good after all the commotion today. There were damp patches around the track, but had such a good feeling from the bike I was able to get my head down from the start. “

Unfortunately for Sykes because the race was declared at half race distance he was only awarded half points for the win.

Second place went to Leon Haslam who rode brilliantly after qualifying in 14th place. He finished ahead of last years double winner Eugene Laverty who secured his second third place podium in a row.

Marco Melandri, Max Biaggi, Jonathan Rea and Carlos Ceca were all in the battle for second position and were covered by just over one second at the finish.

Monza - FIM Superbike World Championship - Race 2
1. Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team) Kawasaki ZX-10R 14'08.800
2. Leon Haslam (BMW Motorrad Motorsport) BMW S1000 RR 14'18.509
3. Eugene Laverty (Aprilia Racing Team) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 14'18.919
4. Marco Melandri (BMW Motorrad Motorsport) BMW S1000 RR 14'19.094
5. Max Biaggi (Aprilia Racing Team) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 14'19.327
6. Jonathan Rea (Honda World Superbike Team) Honda CBR1000RR 14'19.438
7. Carlos Checa (Althea Racing) Ducati 1098R 14'19.699
8. Davide Giugliano (Althea Racing) Ducati 1098R 14'20.995
9. Jakub Smrz (Liberty Racing Team Effenbert) Ducati 1098R 14'21.999
10. Ayrton Badovini (BMW Motorrad Italia GoldBet) BMW S1000 RR 14'28.172
11. Hiroshi Aoyama (Honda World Superbike Team) Honda CBR1000RR 14'33.351
12. Chaz Davies (ParkinGO MTC Racing) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 14'33.455
13. Maxime Berger (Team Effenbert Liberty Racing) Ducati 1098R 14'33.462
14. Lorenzo Zanetti (PATA Racing Team) Ducati 1098R 14'33.468
15. Leon Camier (Crescent Fixi Suzuki) Suzuki GSX-R1000 14'33.610
16. Leandro Mercado (Team Pedercini) Kawasaki ZX-10R 14'33.735
17. Niccolò Canepa (Red Devils Roma) Ducati 1098R 14'34.078
NS. Michel Fabrizio (BMW Motorrad Italia GoldBet) BMW S1000 RR 
NS. Sylvain Guintoli (Team Effenbert Liberty Racing) Ducati 1098R 
NS. Sergio Gadea (Kawasaki Racing Team) Kawasaki ZX-10R 
NS. Mark Aitchison (Grillini Progea Superbike Team) BMW S1000 RR