Category: World Superbikes

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WSBK Misano Preview: Kawasaki Party… Again?

Gareth Davies of Full Factory Photography

 

World Superbikes stumble into Italy this weekend for the 2nd time this year. This time however, it is at the historic Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli, in Rimini on the Adriatic Coast. Having his lead chopped down by 20 points at Donington Park, Jonathan Rea will be feeling the heat that former champion and teammate Tom Sykes is putting on him.

Reigning champion Rea crashed out for the first time this season in race one at Donington Park, the first time he’s been outside the top 2, too. The Kawasaki rider has 55 points over teammate Sykes although that may well change this weekend. It was a confident double win last year for Rea at Misano, fending off pressure from Sykes in race one before dominating on Sunday. A repeat performance perhaps, or will it be an in form Tom Sykes to spoil a Northern Irish party?

Sykes’ victory at Donington Park was his first of the year, astonishingly. The Huddersfielder has only finished off the podium three times this season but too many third place finishes explain the gargantuan gap between him and his teammate. Last year, Sykes came away from Misano with two second places but he knows this year he has to beat teammate Rea. It all depends on how many bikes can get in between the two all conquering Kawasakis.

Chaz Davies made another mistake at Donington Park. Crashing out of the lead at Goddard’s in the first race, Davies sits a massive 75 points behind Jonny Rea. Two retirements have put Davies’ title surge on the back foot for now but if anyone can overturn, the Welshman can. We are coming to the circuits at which he dominated last year and it only takes a mistake from the Kawasaki pairing and Davies will be there to pick up the scraps. His best result at Misano remains a third place but he has crashed out three times from ten races.

Marco Melandri hasn’t looked like a serious championship threat all season and he completes the leading four in the championship, some 123 points behind Rea. Barring miracles, Melandri doesn’t look like a challenger for the top three however, stranger things have happened. The former MotoGP race winner hasn’t had a podium since race one at Imola and is yet to win a race on his WSBK return. The last time he visited Misano, he came away with two third-place finishes but like Davies, he has never won there. The new Panigale is yet to win there too, with the last Ducati victory at Misano coming from a Carlos Checa double in 2011.

Britain’s Alex Lowes put in a stirling effort to take his first podium in over two years at Donington Park. It was also Yamaha’s first of the year. Just one DNF all season, the former British Superbike champion is starting to surge forward and now with the pressure of his home round out the way, he can focus on trying to catch Melandri for 4th (he is only 16 points behind). Alex has had a best finish 8th at Misano, which he matched last year but nothing less than a top five will suffice for the Lincolnshire rider.

Teammate Michael van der Mark is in 6th place as he continue to work through his schedule of adapting to his new Yamaha. The Dutchman is yet to take a podium this year but you get the feeling it isn’t far away. Having been usurped out of 3rd in the closing stages of race two at Donington Park, he will come to Misano – like his teammate – with a bundle of confidence. He took a podium in the first race last year at the track on a dog-slow Honda but hasn’t won there – even in his Supersport days. Could Michael be an upset? Nothing will spur him on more than being just 19 points away from his teammate.

Keep your eyes open on other movers and shakers, such as Xavi Fores and Leon Camier, but also on Stefan Bradl, who recently completed a test at the track as the team continue to gain valuable data. Jordi Torres will always be in the top 10 but could spring a surprise in the races whilst the Aprilia pairing of Eugene Laverty and Lorenzo Savadori will be desperate to make up for an apocalyptically disastrous Donington Park.

Kiko Giles @MotoGPKiko

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Raw Emotion

Prosperity. Positivity. Hope. Many things were bought to the MotoGP and World Superbike paddocks but it was Nicky Hayden who did it better than anyone else. From long hair to man-buns, hardcore riding to effortless speed, Nicky Hayden brought a breath of fresh air with him wherever he ended up. From his first MotoGP race at Suzuka in 2003, to his last WSBK race at Imola in 2017, the effervescent American was a charmer in every sense of the word. The world of sport warmed to him and now the world of sport mourns him.

The first time Nicky Hayden was a name amongst the racing world was in 2001, after a stellar season in the AMA Superbike championship. Finishing 3rd behind the likes of championship victor Mat Mladin and runner-up Eric Bostrom was by no means something to be ashamed of – and of course, Nicky being Nicky, he wasn’t. The 20 year old Kentucky rider was starting to become a bit of a pest within the AMA hierarchy. But it was welcome. His warm personality and constant smile was something that disguised his fierce, tenacious nature on circuit. The reason for the number 69 was because he crashed so much as a kid, he needed a number that he could read upside down. If that wasn’t a personality, then seriously, what was?

In 2002, Hayden became AMA Superbike champion, beating Mat Mladin to take his first big championship victory. Not only did he win the championship, but he won the Daytona 200, the motorcycle racing world’s answer to the Indy 500 or the Monaco Grand Prix. His efforts were rewarded with an outing in World Superbikes, at his home round at Laguna Seca, California. Finishing a strong 4th in race one before a collision in race two saw him finish in 13th, us as motorcycle fans knew we were witnessing something special. This young rider was sending shockwaves in all championships, rocketing through every paddock he welcomely stepped foot in.

2003 would see Nicky Hayden make the big time. Not only had he joined the MotoGP family but he joined the Repsol Honda Team and Valentino Rossi in a season that would be remembered for a variety of reasons. Finishing the season in 5th position meant that not only had he become Rookie of the Year, but he had beaten proven talent such as former WSBK champion Troy Bayliss, reigning WSBK champion and fellow countryman Colin Edwards, WSBK superstar Noriyuki Haga, Alex Barros, reigning 250cc champion Marco Melandri and fellow American John Hopkins. Hayden was ruffling feathers in the biggest possible way. Taking his first podium at Motegi and following it up two races later at Phillip Island, the talent had been showcased in great quantity.

Despite another two podiums in 2004, Hayden slipped down the leaderboard to 8th. But, it would be 2005 when The Kentucky Kid earned his corn. A return to Laguna Seca for the American Grand Prix would see Nicky Hayden dominate. Having not had a podium all season, times were looking hard. Pole position followed up by a classy, exuberant race win gave him America’s first win in the MotoGP era and Honda’s first ever at Laguna Seca. It was this race where a zest of Kevin Schwantz would come in, with the wild celebrations at the crowd’s demand. He was a hero. Hayden would go on and take five more podiums that season, finishing in the bronze medallist position at just his third attempt.

2006 was always going to be special. Hayden started the season with four podiums and never dropped below 5th before his first race win of a truly unforgettable campaign. A last lap dual with Colin Edwards will go down as the day that America conquered The Netherlands. Taking his 2nd ever win after a rare Colin Edwards crash on the last lap at the chicane, we once more saw that emotion which Nicky emitted every single time he achieved his goal. Three races later and he did it again, his third and final MotoGP win at home again. 2006 was turning into a Nicky Hayden year but in Portugal, we saw emotion that Nicky had never shown before.

Rookie teammate Dani Pedrosa wanted good results and needed them to stay in the fight for a top three placing. A pass on Nicky Hayden at the parabolica interior would send Repsol Honda spiralling to the ground, both on track and off. Management watched on in disbelief. All the effort of 2006. All the graft of the team. Every droplet of sweat and molecule of tear shed. It had all come to seemingly nothing. Dani Pedrosa wiped out his teammate with just one race left after Portugal. The swearing erupted from championship challenger Hayden. Fingers pointing and feet stomping. Tears streaming. Hayden wished he was only dreaming. A little boys dream to reign supreme was lying amongst the bits Repsol Honda in the gravel. Would this be his last chance?

“Valencia 2006” – a sentence that every MotoGP fan gets goosebumps thinking about. All Valentino Rossi had to do was beat Hayden, or make sure Hayden did not finish in a position that was worth nine points more than him. But even five time champions make mistakes. Rossi crashed in the race, all but gifting Nicky Hayden the title. Whilst the Ducatis of Troy Bayliss and Loris Capirossi took first and second, Nicky Hayden finished third, enough for him to take the crown and the crowd by storm. Screaming his name they were, in awe at what they just witnessed. One of MotoGP’s finest 45 minutes. As former commentator Charlie Cox would say, “the only thing predictable about MotoGP is that it is completely, unpredictable!”.

Defying the odds after despondently marching through the gravel across the border in tears of dejection two weeks previous, Nicky Hayden now celebrated in front of the longest continuous grandstand in the world, basking in the Spanish sun as the burnouts came surplus to requirement. And instead of tears of dejection, it was tears of joy. From the dirt tracks of Owensboro to the Grand Prix circus on the world stage, The Kentucky Kid had accomplished his childhood dream and ambition in becoming MotoGP world champion.

Never once did he give up or question his ability. He never once was put off by Valentino Rossi’s hoards of fans or by the status of the man he was battling with. Nicky displayed one of MotoGP’s most determined rides ever, with his natural charismatic style blending with his on track resilience to conquer the world and reign the two-wheeled King.

And that is how I want to remember Nicky Hayden. Not as someone who would only go on to achieve a handful more podiums. Not as a rider who was struggling on uncompetitive machinery in World Superbike. But as the champion of our hearts. The champion who was as common as the rest of us, just with that flamboyancy and individualism only Nicky could make work. A people’s racer with just one desire, he leaves us with some fantastic, irreplaceable and unforgettable memories. His ‘happy-go-lucky’ aura captivated millions of fans from across the planet as we watched one rider chase a dream before watching the same rider realise his dream had become a reality. Living on in our hearts and riding on above with some other stern opposition, you can be sure that Nicky Hayden will be remembered as a true legend, both on track and off it. The Kentucky Kid will never be forgotten, even if his visor has come down for the final time.

Kiko Giles @MotoGPKiko

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WSBK Aragon: What We Learned

The spectacular Motorland circuit, in the heart of the Aragon desert, provided the backdrop to the opening round of the European leg of the 2017 World Superbike championship. The first round back on the continent is often remarked as the ‘second start’ to the season, as teams traditionally bring a host of upgrades and revisions to their machines.

Ducati Bring The Fight To Kawasaki

Aruba.it-Ducati’s Chaz Davies finally managed to open his account in this year’s championship by claiming victory in the second Superbike race, on Sunday. It so nearly could have been a brace and a full 50-points for the Welshman, had he not suffered the cruelest of blows on the penultimate lap of Saturday’s race and high-sided off the track. Nevertheless, a stunning ride the following day ensured that Jonathan Rea’s (KRT) incredible early season run of victories was ended. The championship standings may still firmly be in the favour of the triple world champion, but Davies has now marked himself as his chief rival in the duel for the highest honour in production bike circuit racing.

Resurgence At Yamaha

Whilst the green and red machines currently have a stranglehold on the race victories, Pata-Yamaha have emerged from this weekend as undoubtedly ‘best of the rest’. The Japanese manufacturer have made no secret that they are concentrating more resources into their World Superbike challenger. The team now work in close proximity to the Yamaha-M1 MotoGP factory outfit in Italy. Whilst limited in what upgrades they can produce for the R1, the team have vowed to make the championship a three-way shootout at the top. With Suzuka 8-hour winner Alex Lowes leading their on-track efforts, the Aragon round proved to be a real step forward for them with a consistently strong showing across the weekend. Indeed, Lowes was keeping pace with the front runners during Sunday’s race before out-braking himself into the T13/14 chicane and dropping back. Nevertheless, the promises of improvement have clear substance, and it surely will not be long before the team find themselves on the podium.

Not All About The Factories

Aragon was not all about the factory powered teams. There was a strong showing from the smaller, privateer teams. Jordi Torres, spearheading the efforts of the Althea-BMW outfit, was one of the standouts of the weekend. The Spaniard provided more than just pride and consolation for the home crowd by securing finishes inside the top ten for both races. It should come as little surprise that it is Torres who is effectively leading a resurgence in among the privateers – he is the former Spanish Moto2 champion, and has a CV loaded with victories across a multitude of categories. During the run up to the 2017 season, there had been open concerns amongst teams and supporters alike that the factory dominance of Kawasaki and Ducati in recent years had rendered the privateers uncompetitive. There is still an undeniable gap in outright performance of the machines, but riders like Torres are keeping the likes of Yamaha and Honda more than honest.

Honda On The Long Road Back

The first round on European soil also produced some good news for the Red-Bull Honda team. With two former world champions and MotoGP contenders piloting the new ‘Fireblade’, Aragon showcased the progress the troubled factory outfit. With a raft of upgrades including a new engine map and stiffer suspension, both Nicky Hayden and Stefan Bradl made it into the second Superpole qualifying session. Whilst the races still proved difficult and only minor points were all that the team could secure, there is potential in the bike. The riders have the quality to deliver the results. They just need the team to provide the upgrades.

Eddie Hocknull @EddieHocknull

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Davies Leaves It Late to Take Pole

Superpole 1

Having failed to make it through automatically to the Superpole 2, both Red-Bull Honda’s of Nicky Hayden and Stefan Bradl put on a commanding display in the opening session. The former MotoGP riders were imperious, with the next best contender (BMW’s Markus Reiterberger) over half a second slower.

It has been a difficult week so far for the Grillini-Racing Team, who have had to endure a very uncompetitive meeting so far, as both Ondrej Jezek and Ayrton Badovini could not qualify beyond the last two spots on the grid, more than two seconds off the pace of the Hondas.

Superpole 2

There was drama almost as soon as the second qualifying session began as Pata-Yamaha’s Alex Lowes ran off the circuit on entry to the final corner. The 2016 Suzuka 8-hours winner was left unable to set a time, and will have to start from P12 on the fourth row for Race 1. The off-track excursions continued throughout the session – most notably was Stefan Bradl who’s Honda machine caught fire at the end of his first run, and had to be content with P11.

With Lowes out of contention, the battle for pole position was left exclusively between the works Kawasaki and Ducati outfits. Reigning champion Jonathan Rea set the early pace, and looked his usual metronomic self throughout the session. However, a stunning effort from Aruba.It-Ducati’s Chaz Davies in the dying moments, was enough to steal the top spot with a time of 1’49.319, pipping the Kawasaki man by 0.043 seconds. Tom Sykes (KRT) and Marco Melandri (Aruba.it-Ducati) completed the top four.

Davies was quick to play down his chances for Race One, saying “The bike still isn’t quite there” having lost an entire practice session yesterday due to a technical fault.

Front Three Rows:

Pole: Davies (AI-Ducati) P2: Rea (KRT) P3: Sykes (KRT)

P4: Melandri (AI-Ducati) P5: Forres (BARNI-Ducati) P6: Torres (BMW)

P7: Van-der-Mark (Yamaha) P8: Mercado (IODA-Aprilia) P9: Laverty (Milwaukee-Aprilia)

Eddie Hocknull @EddieHocknull

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Five-in-a-Row for Jonathan Rea

Venue: Motorland-Aragon, Spain

Weather: Dry, Sunny, Windy.

Front-Row: Pole – Chaz Davies (Aruba.it-Ducati), P2 – Jonathan Rea (KRT), P3 – Tom Sykes (KRT)

All riders got away well off the line, but it was Jonathan Rea (KRT), forcing his way past Chaz Davies (Aruba.it-Ducati). The two began to pull away from the chasing pack, and engage in a ferocious race-long duel for top honours – tussling back and forth, swapping places at the front almost as regularly as the lap counter kept ticking down. However, April fools day had the cruellest of stings, as on the the penultimate lap, Davies was launched off his bike in a vicious highside at the final corner. Everyone was relieved to see him pick himself off the deck, as he had been trapped under the Ducati as the bike slid across the run-off area.

With Davies down, the battle for second was led by his teammate, Marco Melandri. Such is the difference in performance between the factory works outfits and the privateers, the battle for the remainder of the podium was between Marco Melandri (Aruba.it-Ducati) and Tom Sykes (KRT). The duo spent the first half of the race in a similar manner to their team-mates, before the Italian was finally able to open up a significant gap and hold it.

Pata-Yamaha’s Alex Lowes produced a solid recovery ride, having had to start in P12 following an engine failure during the morning’s Qualifying session. The 2016 Suzuka 8-hours winner carved his way through the field up to fifth place, taking considerable satisfaction from mugging his team-mate, Michael Van der Mark, in the closing laps.

Further down the field, the Red-Bull Honda duo of Stefan Bradl and Nicky Hayden confirmed the improvements made to the bike, by both finishing inside the top ten. They finished just behind The Milwaukee-Aprilia machine of Eugene Laverty in P8.

There were a number of fallers who failed to see the chequered flag. Aside from Davies, the most disappointed of these will be Xavi Forres. The Spaniard, had been having such a good weekend so far on the privateer BARNI-Ducati, but crashed on the sixth lap of the race, having been in fifth position at the time and bearing down on KRT’s Tom Sykes. Although he remounted, he spent the remainder of the race circulating at the back until his bike caught fire on the final lap. The others to tumble were GoEleven-Kawasaki’s Roman Ramos (Lap 4) and Ayrton Badovini (Grillini-Kawasaki) on the opening lap.

The result means that Jonathan Rea continues his astonishing form going, having taken victory in all five of the season’s races so far, and claimed 125 points. With team-mate Tom Sykes in second place but 47 points adrift, it is now hard to look beyond Rea for the Championship.

Race Result:

1: Jonathan Rea (KRT) 33’24.302 2: Marco Melandri (Aruba.it-Ducati) 3: Tom Sykes (KRT)

Eddie Hocknull @EddieHocknull

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Lowes looking for podiums as Aragon approaches

Pata Yamaha’s Alex Lowes has shown much optimism ahead of this weekend’s Aragon World Superbike round, which kick-starts the European section of the championship. Lowes is currently 4th in the championship with 49 points and is just 13 behind Kawasaki rider Tom Sykes.

“I’m really looking forward to getting back on my R1 and kick-starting the European season. Aragon is a track I really enjoy, and I believe we can continue our good start to the season there”, said Lowes, whose best result there is an 8th place picked up last season.

“My goal is no less than to be challenging for the podiums now, I am confident that if the Pata Yamaha team and I do our job in the Friday practices then we have a good chance to be there!”.

Lowes got a double top 10 finish at the track last season and with a new found confidence in the Yamaha for 2017, a partly reversed grid could propel him to his first podium in WSBK for over a year.

Yamaha haven’t particularly gone well at Aragon in the past, with just one win in the first ever WSBK race held at the venue back in 2011 when Marco Melandri won from pole position.

Kiko Giles @MotoGPKiko

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Davies Primed For Aragon

With the European leg of the World Superbike season commencing this weekend at Aragon, one rider in particular will be looking forward to this round more than most – Aruba.it-Ducati’s Chaz Davies.

The Welshman has a truly imperious record around the Motorland circuit, having secured victory at the venue for the last three races (two in 2016 and the final race of the 2015 round). When he hasn’t managed to take the victory, Davies has not finished outside of the top five in any of the six races between 2014-16 and done the double in 2013 on the Goldbet BMW. As such, it came as no surprise to anyone when Davies announced that he would use this weekend to “reset” his campaign.

The 2017 campaign has not been a disaster so far, by any stretch of the imagination. Davies heads into the third round of the World Superbike championship in second place having scored 70 points and three podium finishes from the Australian and Thai rounds. Although he is a distant second – some 30 points behind Kawasaki’s Jonathan Rea – in the championship, a brace of wins at Aragon will go a long way to cancelling out that deficit.

Indeed, it is hard to look beyond the possibility of Davies securing another brace of victories at the circuit. As with its MotoGP counterpart, the Ducati Panigale superbike comes into its own when given a chance to demonstrate its straight-line speed, although Davies’ weight does have a negative effect on him. With its combination of long straights and numerous heavy braking and acceleration zones, the Motorland venue is therefore a perfect place for the Ducati to shine.

Given this, it can be expected that we may witness the first in-house battle for top honours between Davies and team-mate Marco Melandri. The Italian has secured two rostrums from the opening flyaway races, but is still very much adapting to the demands of the Superbike setup. Davies, has been with the outfit for since the 2014 season and, as such, knows the machine inside and out. A factor that will surely come to the fore should the two fight it out in the final laps.

Eddie Hocknull @EddieHocknull

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Buriram WSBK – What We Learnt

The Thai WSBK round was an explosive one – quite literally if you are Leon Camier and Lorenzo Savadori. But what else did we learn in the Far East, apart from the fans are crazy and the weather is hot and humid?

One thing we learnt is that Jonathan Rea is in fine form (as if that was ever doubted). The Ulsterman took his 2nd consecutive double and became the first rider since Neil Hodgson in 2003 to win the first four races of the season. The Kawasaki rider is the man to beat, although he goes to a circuit which he hasn’t won at since 2015, with Aragon next up. On the other side of the Kawasaki garage, Tom Sykes took a double podium, with 3rd in race one and 2nd in race two. The former champion is already 38 points back from his teammate and at this early stage in the championship, that is a worrying sign. But then again, it is only early.

The Ducati team had a mixed weekend at Buriram. Firstly, Chaz Davies took a remarkable 2nd in the first race, after picking his way through the field early doors. The former World Supersport champion was in 2nd place in race two before crashing at turn 3 in race two. A red flag did help him recover from the back of the grid to achieve 6th in come the chequered flag. Chaz is 2nd in the championship but 30 points back – but don’t worry – he is actually 10 points nearer to Rea after 4 races than he was last year and he scored 10 points more than Rea in the 2nd half of the championship. I’ll leave it down to you to derive from that what you will. All is not lost yet. As for teammate Melandri, he came away with a great 4th and 3rd after his first visit to the Chang International Circuit. The Italian was mugged on the final corner by Tom Sykes in both races on the final lap. One thing is for sure though, Marco is competitive and if anyone is going to upset the Kawasaki dinner party and turn it red, Melandri could be the rider to do just that.

On the whole, the Yamaha’s performance from Australia definitely looks like it was carried into Thailand. Michael van der Mark found form, finishing in the top 5 in race 1, whilst Alex Lowes picked up his third 4th of the season in race two. Paul Denning’s Crescent Racing squad have figured out how to get the speed out of the Yamaha, adding an interesting dynamic to the season. If the Yamaha can keep the pace with Ducati and Kawasaki, could we see more upsets amongst the front men? There’s no doubting Lowes’ ability, and van der Mark will only get stronger and stronger as the season unfolds.

One thing we did learn is that Honda, despite being nowhere near where they’d like to be, are making progress. Nicky Hayden’s 9th place in race one was a solid performance, putting him on the 2nd row for race two, propelling the Statesider to 7th. Moto2 champion from 2011, Stefan Bradl, endured a trickier brace of races, although it was his first time at the track. The German took a hard earned 10th in the first race, before crashing at the final corner in race two. His results are a drastic improvement on his pair of 15th place finishes at Phillip Island and the next circuit is Aragon, one that he knows well. Testing at the circuit may also give Honda an advantage over some riders. The wins and podiums will come, it will just take a lot of perseverance and effort – but they will come.

On the contrary, Milwaukee Aprilia had a woeful time of things in Thailand. Like BT Sport commentator Keith Huewen said last season, “Laverty will find it more difficult than some are saying”. Never has a better prediction been made. The Irishman retired on the final lap of the first race before crashing late on in the 2nd outing. Teammate Lorenzo Savadori plummeted in race one to 13th and was the reason behind the red flag in race two, after his Aprilia burst into a cloud of smoke on approach to the final turn, throwing the former European Superstock 1000 rider off the bike, landing awkwardly on his neck. Shaun Muir’s team have a lot of work to do in the three weeks between now and Aragon. However, I’m an optimist and believe that by Misano in June, the team will be a regular podium threat. Whether or not this transfers into actual podiums or wins will depend on a variety of things, luck being one of them.

The BMW team were again consistent. Jordi Torres bringing his Althea BMW home in both races, 7th and 5th respectively. Teammate Markus Reiterberger also finished both races, breaking into the top 10 in the 2nd. The team went well at the track last season, so it was to be expected that they perform well. However, you can’t help but feel that the team have reached their maximum and will stay a mid-table outfit, possibly with the odd podium. That’s not so much a criticism of the team, but more a fault on BMW’s behalf. A manufacturer with a relative amount of success should be giving the Althea team some more factory support. Then again, what do I know? Times are hard back in Europe, with uncertainty being a leading factor. At least they have two solid riders.

A few shout outs now. Great ride from Ricardo Russo on the Guandalini Yamaha, taking his first points of the season with a 12th in race two. Roman Ramos’ point scoring run continues, now stretching 26 consecutive races that he has started (he missed Imola and Sepang through injury last year). He took his first top 10 of the year in race two, with 9th. Jamie Whitham also gets a mention, after his “how do you damage a tyre” comment spontaneously came over the air during Eurosport’s qualifying coverage in the typical, Yorkshire accent which he fashions oh so well.

In conclusion, the Thai WSBK round proved many things. Rea is fast as usual. Chaz is serious about ‘win it or bin it’. Honda are growing steadily. Aprilia are stuck in a rut. Yamaha are improving lap on lap. But most of all, the WSBK crowd is back. And whilst some people may say that the level of competition isn’t there, I’d counter that. The level of competition is there, it’s just harder than ever before to be able to compete for a podium because the guys at the front have such serious pace.

And off to Spain we trek…

Kiko Giles @MotoGPKiko

You can follow us on Twitter @PitCrew_Online and you can give me a follow @MotoGPKiko. Let me know what you think of our stuff and don’t forget to share or RT to your friends and followers!

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Phillip Island WSBK – What We Learned

After a long winter break we finally have bike racing back on our screens, and the World Superbike boys certainly didn’t disappoint.

A rider and fan favourite, Phillip Island played host to the opening round of the season which looks like it will be one of the most competitive campaigns to date.

The rider who was always going to be the man to beat this year is Jonathan Rea, gunning for a hat trick of world championships on board his Kawasaki machine. The Ulsterman had the perfect weekend as he was able to covert his pole position into victory on Saturday, fending off team mate Tom Sykes, Ducati man Chaz Davies and potentially the most impressive man over the weekend, Alex Lowes.

Then on the Sunday he was able to withhold a challenge from the two Aruba.it Racing Ducati’s of Davies and Marco Melandri. A hugely impressive start to the season for the reigning champion, who looks like he will be taking his defence of the title right down to the wire.

Let’s hope that fellow Kawasaki rider Sykes can challenge his team mate for the crown. Sykes managed to stick with the leading group in race one, eventually taking the final spot on the podium, just over a second behind Rea and Davies.

Unfortunately for Sykes, the new grid rules for race two hindered his race on Sunday. This meant he was unable to stick with the likes of Rea and Davies as they expertly carved their way through the field. Sykes eventually had to settle for 6th place, leaving him 24 points behind championship leader Rea. Nevertheless, we can definitely expect to see the Englishman fighting for race wins throughout the season as he aims to get his second title under his belt.

Davies, who is expected to be Rea’s closest challenger, indicated that his Ducati team are going to be a huge thorn in the side of the Kawasakis this year. Two spirited rides from the Welshman earned him two 2nd places, ended both races less than half a tenth behind Rea. Those fine margins could be the slim difference as to which way the title will be decided this year and as Davies will agree, it’s about time his talent was rewarded with a world title.

It is great to see Melandri back on the World Superbike scene as Davies’ team mate. The hugely experienced Italian looks like he can spoil a Kawasaki party this year too, which is great news for us as fans and the Ducati team. Unable to finish race 1, Melandri was able to stick with Davies and Rea to take a very impressive podium on his return.

Another Ducati who might be able to cause a few upsets this year is the Spaniard Xavi Fores after he picked up a 6th place finish on Saturday, then took a 5th place finish on Sunday. Fores was only 2.3 seconds behind Rea; maybe the Barni Ducati rider can challenge for victories this year as he starts 2017 in fine form.

As previously mentioned, arguably the most impressive performance of the weekend came from Alex Lowes on board his Pata Yamaha. Thankfully, it seems like Lowes has found some serious pace on the Yamaha, which struggled throughout 2016. Two 4th place finishes proved Lowes means business this year, which consequently means there is another Brit fighting at the top end of the World Superbike grid. Let’s hope this wasn’t just a one off weekend for the Yamaha team, as Lowes and Van Der Mark will be looking to crash the Kawasaki and Ducati celebrations on more than one occasion this season.

The new Red Bull Honda Fireblades didn’t have the weekend they would have hoped for. The expectation for Nicky Hayden and Stefan Bradl probably wouldn’t have been very high, however an 11th place finish followed by a DNF for Hayden and two 15th place finishes for Bradl would have been worse than many would have foreseen. For sure the Honda’s will come good, but it is unsure as to when they can hope to fight for the top 6, let alone for podiums and victories.

The Milwaukee Aprilia RSV4’s will also be looking to improve after their Phillip Island displays. Both Eugene Laverty and Lorenzo Savadori will be expecting to fight for podiums and wins at some point this season. However, just like Honda, the question is when will they be able to do this? Both the Kawasaki and Ducati outfits look like the complete package this year, so will it be possible for Aprilia and Honda to burst their bubble by the end of the season?

Of course, we have Yamaha trying to sneak in their as well Lowes looks like the man who is the most likely to do that at this moment in time. Let’s not forget Leon Camier too, two solid top 10 finishes on ‘The Island’ for the MV Augusta rider consolidates him as another potential thorn to Ducati and Kawasaki.

The fact that there is so much to talk about after the opening round proves how exciting this season is going to be. There are so many talking points and so many possibilities that are too difficult to predict, so let’s hope for more of the same as the paddock heads to Thailand for the second round of the year, taking place on the 11th and 12th of March.

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Eliott York @journoyork

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Melandri: I couldn’t attack Rea or Davies

Returning World Superbike racer Marco Melandri labelled the 2nd race at Phillip Island on Sunday as “tough”, after falling victim to the series’ new qualifying format. The Italian crashed out of race one after contact with Alex Lowes’ Yamaha – who the Italian blamed for the incident – at the Southern Loop in race one, placing him on the 4th row in 10th place for the 2nd outing.

The 34-year-old former 250cc Grand Prix champion made great headway, and with nine laps to go, hit the front of the race. Although close at the end, Melandri’s first finish on his return to the series was a podium, of which the ex-Ducati MotoGP rider was content with.

“It was a really tough race today. I got a good start but lost positions in the traffic early on, so I had to push hard to climb back, asking a lot to both myself and the tyres. When I took the lead, I tried to impose my own rhythm but it turned out not to be the right move”, said Marco after the 2nd race.

Melandri went on to say that the full race distance can be used to indicate where to improve the bike. “With three laps to go, when Rea and Davies gave the final push, I was struggling with grip and couldn’t attack them. Still, we needed a full race to understand where to improve, and a podium shows that we’re working in the right direction with the whole team”.

Unlike Davies, it wasn’t the most productive round of his WSBK career, replicating his 2013 results at the track, with a race one retirement and a third place in the 2nd race, on his way to 4th in the title.

The team head to Thailand next, where they have yet to win a race at the new venue. It will also be Marco Melandri’s first time at the circuit. The meeting takes place across the 11th and 12th of March.

Kiko Giles @MotoGPKiko

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