Category: World Superbikes

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Exclusive: Steve Parrish Q&A: 20 Minutes with Britain’s Fastest Prankster

I was lucky enough to know that Steve Parrish would be at Snetterton a few weeks back for the BSB meeting, so I decided that after giving him a remote control rat to play around with at home, to get an interview with one of Barry Sheene’s best friends. So, in this exclusive interview, Parrish reveals his racing career highlights, the best race he ever commentated on, the British Talent Cup, why he voted to Remain in the EU and what the easiest prank to play on someone is.

Main highlights of your motorcycle racing career?

Having lots of fun and causing chaos. I suppose you could say, ‘enjoying living the dream’. I guess however that I peaked early; 1977 was my best year in the Grand Prix paddock. I had a cracking bike, it was the old Sheene bike from the previous season and I ended up fifth in the World Championship on it. I had lots of races against the heroes that I used to have posters on my bedroom wall of, such as Giacomo Agostini and Phil Read.

I carried on in British Championship’s and just being involved after that was great. It’s a lovely sport we are in and I met a lot of good friends via the sport, whilst also losing quite a few friends via the sport, as it was probably a lot more dangerous back then. However, I look at it as the best part of my life really and had the best part of 10-12 years racing motorcycles, which were massively exhilarating to ride, although a little bit dangerous and painful at times! I will always look back on my career and I’m often asked, ‘what is your favourite form of racing?’ and it would be motorcycle racing. I have more admiration for motorcycle racers than anyone else.

Who was your fiercest competitor back then?

I have to say Barry Sheene. At the time, he was the guy to beat. He was on the same bikes as I was on and he was pretty special. He beat me a lot more times than I beat him, I grant you!

How about your media career highlights?

One of the best races I have ever commentated on was Colin Edwards vs Troy Bayliss at Imola, for the 2002 World Superbike championship. Two guys, duking it out, whoever took the win, took the title, or near enough to that. It was very, very special and was probably one of the greatest motorcycle races we have ever seen.

Another one was Valentino Rossi beating Jorge Lorenzo on the final corner at Catalunya in 2009, which was very special. Generally, the highlights have been covering MotoGP for a number of years. Watching, admiring and meeting heroes of my world.

The 2017 North West 200 race was one of the greatest too, with Glenn Irwin beating Alistair Seeley. I really rate Seeley, he’s been Mr. North West 200 for a number of years now but for the fans and also for the media, it was nice to see someone else take a win there. I never realised how much Glenn actually expected to win that race. Personally, I didn’t think he had a chance because he had to relearn the circuit and he’d only ever ridden it on a 600cc machine. He came there on a bike that you wouldn’t necessarily say was the ultimate bike for the NW200 but he endured the weird conditions we had. It’s a shame he’s injured now because I think his success at the NW 200 would’ve propelled him to greater things at BSB.

Do you think the NW200 deserves more media coverage?

I don’t think you could say it “deserves” it because if it deserves it would generally get it. In Northern Ireland, it gets more media coverage than what the British Grand Prix gets here in mainland Britain. It is wall to wall coverage over there and I’d say that Seeley, Irwin and Michael Dunlop are all just as famous as any premier league footballer over in NI. You couldn’t consider saying the same for Shakey Byrne or James Ellison over here because not as many people know who they are. Over in NI, motorcycle racing is on the front page of all the major newspapers. It would be nice if it got more over here but then again, we see nothing but women’s rugby and women’s cricket and it annoys me quite frankly.

What would you say to the people who want road racing banned? 

I think they need to go first. They need to know someone who does it, who gets the sensation and the satisfaction they get from doing it, the amount of fun they have doing it and the adrenalin rush they get from doing it. Unless they’ve done it, they’re not qualified to say that it should be banned and I doubt that people who have done it would want it banned either!

What about your career in general, what was the hardest part?

I’d say that the hardest part of my career is the travel that you do. I don’t do as much now but at one point I’d be away between 6-8 months a year. It takes a tole on your family, on your marriage – which they all went out the window – it’s difficult to carry that through. I travelled a lot with my racing, then with my team ownership, then truck racing and then the media work. I had 40 years of going all around the world.

Sitting in hospital with broken legs and arms and not knowing who or where you are isn’t much fun either. But I think if it was easy then everyone would do it. Truthfully, compared to many people in this world, I haven’t had a lot of hard things to deal with. It’s been hard in my own little world but I’ve been lucky and I don’t think anything I’ve done has been mega, mega tough.

If you could choose one race circuit from your time (except the TT), which would you consider the most dangerous?

The Nordscheife Nurburgring circuit, when the German Grand Prix was held there. I found that very dangerous because it was difficult to learn, similar to TT for foreigners going there. I didn’t think it was right to have the GP at the Nurburgring because Barry Sheene was still battling for the title and it was wrong to try and get people to learn a circuit as long as that, as all the locals had been there before and knew it better than us. Imatra was pretty dangerous in Finland, as was the Czechoslovakian Grand Prix on the old street circuit at Brno. Spa’s old street circuit in Belgium was fierce too.

If you could go back to one race circuit to ride again, which would it be?

I’d probably choose somewhere nice and safe, like Mugello. You get to the stage where you’ve gone through a lot of accidents, so you don’t really want to continue doing the hard stuff. That’s why as you get older, you generally get slower. I’ve ridden a road bike around Mugello but I wouldn’t mind riding a race bike round there. I rode a 500cc two-stroke round there in the 70s but it has changed a bit since then! I wouldn’t mind a blast round on an RCV!

Your thoughts on the British Talent Cup?

I think it is great. I think any championship for youngsters to build up their talent in the kind of country we live in is good. It’s a bit like an academy. The Red Bull Rookies has been brilliant, so many riders of today have come through that, such as Zarco. There can never be enough cups, simply because we need to give chances to kids who don’t necessarily come from privileged families. It’s an expensive sport and if you come from a not – so – privileged family, then you’ll probably end up playing football or rugby or cricket, which you can do down on the village green. However, with motorcycle racing, you need a wealthy parent to get you a motorcycle. If you can get more riders then it’s good because the bigger championships will be choosing from a bigger pocket of people.

I am a believer in the fact that if you can ride a motorbike, you can ride a motorbike, whether that be on a GP bike or Superbike. Danny Kent may be an exception to that and going back to my era, then Angel Nieto never could ride a big bike. Jonny Rea, Ben Spies and Cal Crutchlow have all proved that they can win or do well on either prototypes or road-go bikes. I don’t think it will take away from riders coming to the British championship.

Will Brexit effect British motorcycle racing, or motorcycle racing on a whole?

I think it will effect the country. I voted to remain in the EU because I feel we are bigger and better and a lot easier together. I travel a lot and a lot of people do the same, so I don’t really see the point in Brexit. For me, we’ve gone the wrong way. I’ll get my shoulder behind it like everyone else however. It could, in theory, hinder international based British companies that want to trade with the EU, however I really don’t know. I come from a period where, when I wanted to drive to Italy, I had to get stamps in France, Belgium, Germany, Switzerland etc. Open Europe has been a Godsend for everyone and lets hope it stays that way.

The state of other national championships. 

They lost their way a bit. We are sat here on a sunny day at Snetterton and the amount of teams, sponsors, motorhomes, personnel etc is huge. I’ve walked around just now with Matt Robert’s and I think it is as good as any WSBK event, if not bigger. I suspect their series’ aren’t as healthy as ours because half the good guys come here anyway. BSB is unquestionably the strongest domestic championship in the world.

What are your favourite pranks?

Oh God. There’s been so many of them! The easiest one to do and anyone can do this at home – it sounds like one of these Blue Peter programmes!  If you get they keys to someone’s car, then just wind the window down and put a brick and some shattered glass on the seat. You need some broken glass of course – I always keep a dustbin full of broken glass which I get from Autoglass. Then, when the person comes out, all you have to say is that they’ve had problems with the gypsies or the neighbours. Lend them some tape to try stick it together and then they generally drive down to a garage or Autoglass to get it replaced, when the actual window itself is just wound down! I got my daughter not long ago – she should know better!

Now, with this remote control rat, it looks like it could be quite good for ladies toilets. You have to get in there in the first place and whizz it under and then listen for the scrambling of feet and the screaming.  In a restaurant would probably be good too. I know you used yours in KFC. If you do it in the right restaurant then you might be able to get a discount with your meal but then again, I might end up in the shit!

I would like to say a massive thank you to Steve for his time, as I know he was pushed for time as his Plummet Airways flight back to South Cambridgeshire was departing very shortly. We wish Steve all the best and look forward to seeing or hearing him in his various forms across the TV.

Interview by Kiko Giles – @MotoGPKiko

 

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Misano WSBK: What We Learnt

World Superbikes soared back into life at Misano last weekend. With an attendance across the three days of 68,000, it would be fair to say that WSBK is slowly bringing fans back. The other Italian round saw attendance reach 75,000 across the three days and whilst it has a long way to go before the numbers of 10-15 years ago are met, we can only hope that this incline continues.

Marco Melandri was the rider who took Ducati to their first win at Misano since Carlos Checa in 2011. He became the first Italian rider to win on a Ducati at Misano since Frankie Chili, way back in 2004. Melandri proved to the doubters that despite being mired down in 4th in the standings, he can still, and will still, win races. Although teammate Chaz Davies didn’t start, there’s the well known phrase that starts like, “to finish first…”.

Michael van der Mark demonstrated that he has gelled with the Yamaha. Despite being caught by championship leader Jonathan Rea, his tyre delimitation cost him a podium at the very least. Keep your eyes on the Dutchman, who has found a bit of confidence with the Yamaha. Could he be the rider to take the manufacturer to their first win since Portimao 2011, with Marco Melandri.

Something else we learnt was that Jonny Rea is beatable. I can hear you all screaming at me saying, ‘well we know that’, but what I mean is, even when his main rival was out, he didn’t win. The two Italian rounds are the only circuits at which he has not won at this season, so Carluccio’s is definitely off the ‘date-night’ options for him.

We also learns that despite plans for a controlled ECU to make racing closer, Jordi Torres’ BMW was more than capable of sticking it to the leaders in the 2nd outing. The Spaniard led for part of the race and with just three laps to go, retired due to a technical problem. World Superbike fans can hope and pray that this wasn’t a flash in the pan and that actually, this could be a big turning point, where we see more than just Kawasaki and Ducati dominating. Yamaha are edging closer, BMW aren’t far behind and we’ve already seen MV Agusta and Aprilia make strides. Give Honda until next year to be competitive and we might have an almighty brawl at the top of the championship tree.

The final thing we learnt was that Misano would stay on the calendar until 2020. The circuit has been on the calendar ever since it’s introduction in 1994 and has seen some top notch races. 2001 race one with Troy Bayliss and Ben Bostrom going head to head and in 1998 when both Hondas went at it for a double victory.

Kiko Giles @MotoGPKiko

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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

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