James Ellison - Airwaves Yamaha 2009

This weekend sees the final round of the British Superbike Championship of 2009 taking place at Oulton Park with crowned champion Leon Camier aiming for another victory.

This weekends triple-header consists of one race on the Saturday with two further races on the Sunday at the Cheshire circuit.

The second Airwaves Yamaha rider James Ellison, will be aiming for maximum points to become runner-up in the championship against rival Hydrex Honda rider Stuart Easton.  Ellison has a 51 point advantage over Easton but if he fails to finish in the points at this round Easton will take the second place.

Although the pressure has eased off slightly for Camier, he feels that this weekend will see his team-mate riding his socks off and also expects to be challenged by the HM Plant Honda rider Josh Brookes.

Camier said;

“These past couple of weeks have been pretty hectic so I’ve not had a chance to sit down and really let the Championship sink in. But it does feel as though the pressure is off to some extent. The motivation to win is as strong as ever, although I know it’s not going to be easy. My teammate James is going to be fast straight away, as will Josh Brookes. The GSE Racing team has been incredible all year, so I know they’ll give me the best possible package once again.”

Ellison said;

“I’m so excited about this weekend, but also disappointed it’s the final round. The past three race meetings have gone better and better for me. We’ve made small changes here and there, and now the Airwaves Yamaha is really working for me. It’s a shame we couldn’t have got to this point earlier, but the Championship now belongs to Leon and all I can do is go out there, top Practice, and try and win all three races.”

Not only is it the end of the BSB series this weekend but also the end of the five-year partnership between the GSE Racing team and sponsors Wrigley’s Airwaves

Alastair Seeley will be on a full Relentless Suzuki by TAS this weekend after making his British Superbike debut at the last round at Silverstone.  The machine he rode at the Northampton circuit however, was the Suzuki specified to the newly introduced ‘Evo’ regulations, to be used in 2010, whereas this time out he will be riding the same machine as ridden by Ian Lowry and Atsushi Watanabe this season.

Leon Haslam - Stiggy Honda 2009

Leon Haslam and the Stiggy Honda World Superbike team are parting company at the end of the 2009 season due to the teams ongoing financial problems.

The Stiggy Honda team, earlier quit their relationship with their backer S2 Racing, which has led to the pair parting ways to pursue their own projects for the 2010 season.

Johan Stigefelt, the team owner said;

“After the S2 Racing financial issues and complications it was clear that we had to address the future alone.  Our plans involved Leon but we are not fully in a position to commit for 2010 at this stage therefore its better for Leon to pursue his career elsewhere.

Overall, with Leon, it has been a great year. We didn’t know each other too well at the start but the experience has been thoroughly enjoyable and I hope we can work together again one day”.

Leon Haslam said;

“I think it’s fair to say that we started the year as complete underdogs and outsiders but I knew we had the potential with Johan’s team when I saw the guys he’d brought in for me.

My crew and the rest of the guys have done an excellent job and the results confirm their ability as a team. I want to thank Stiggy for this opportunity, for believing in me and getting me back in the top level of racing again. I hope Stiggy manages to regroup quickly as the team is still young and clearly has huge potential.”

Running sixth in the current championship, Haslam is rumoured to be making a move to the Alstare Suzuki team for 2010.

Robert Kubica

The Renault F1 team have confirmed that Robert Kubica will be replacing Fernando Alonso for the 2010 season as their lead driver.

The 24-year-old has been rumoured to be going to Renualt since the BMW Sauber team announced that it would be withdrawing from the series at the end of the year.

Team principle Bob Bell said;

“We are very excited to have signed Robert.  Ever since he made his grand prix debut in 2006, he has been on our radar as one of the most naturally talented drivers of his generation and he has delivered on that promise, so it’s great to have secured him in one of our cars next season.  Renault has high ambitions and hopes for the future of the team and we feel that Robert can play a big role in fulfilling them.”

Kubica said;

“I am very happy that I will be joining Renault in 2010.  I feel I have a special connection with this team because, in 2005, I won the World Series by Renault, which gave me the chance to test with the team in Barcelona, which, in turn, led to my debut in F1.

I share with Renault a strong winning mentality and feel comfortable with their friendly and open attitude. I’m highly motivated and optimistic that, together, we can be at the front of the grid next year and, hopefully, fighting for the world title.”

There is still no confirmation on who the second driver for the team is likely to be, after it was suggested that Romain Grosjean is unlikely to hold his seat with the team.

MotoGP Pramac Racing 2009

The Spanish rider Aleix Espargaró has signed to race for the Pramac Racing team for the 2010 season, riding alongside Mika Kallio.

The 20-year-old, made his debut in the MotoGP series for the team, replacing Kallio who was drafted into the Marlboro Ducati team to ride for the ailing Casey Stoner.  He rode in the Indianapolis round, finishing thirteenth and then again at the Misano circuit, finishing in eleventh.

Espargaró looked to moving onto the new Moto2 machine next season after spending the majority of the year working on the development of the machine but said when this chance came along he couldn’t turn it down.

The new satellite Ducati rider said;

“I am very happy to be arriving in MotoGP after the time I have had this year. It is better news to be riding for Ducati all through next season than to be riding in the final few races of this year, which could have happened. The two races that I did for Ducati this year were good, I was very comfortable on the bike and with the team. I think I adapt well to MotoGP because I’m quite tall and the bikes suit me better than Moto2 machines. 2010 could be a good year for me.”

“I performed well in the two MotoGP races I did but now I will have the whole winter to practice with the bike, get the set-up right and prepare for 2010. I will be able to prepare calmly and precisely for racing in MotoGP.”

On the final lap of race two, the Airwaves Yamaha of Camier began to smoke while he was leading the race and he was shown the black flag with an orange spot, meaning that he must leave the circuit immediately.  Camier believed the flag meant that he had to leave the circuit within one lap, seeing him stripped of his race win and the victory going to team-mate James Ellison instead.

At the Croft round of the championship in September, the British rider was given a quick lesson by the track marshal’s just to make certain that he knew what the flags meant, watch the clip below.

The Japanese Grand Prix 2009

The Red Bull Racing driver Sebastian Vettel, dominated the Japanese Grand Prix yesterday after qualifying in pole position.

Vettel lined-up on the grid ahead of the Toyota of Jarno Trulli and Lewis Hamilton in the McLaren, but as the lights changed it was Hamilton that moved into the second place spot, using his KERS to get ahead of Trulli. The German Red Bull driver had been fastest in all the qualifying sessions and has now kept his dream alive of being the 2009 World Champion.

Brawn GP driver Jenson Button, started in seventh place on the grid but after a terrible start was down in twelfth place behind the Ferrari of Giancarlo Fisichella.

Trulli managed to pass the McLaren of Lewis Hamilton in his final pit stop, taking a well deserved second position for the Toyota team.

In fourth place was Kimi Raikkonen in the Ferrari followed by the Williams of Nico Rosberg after Nick Heidfeld was held up in the pits when a wheel nut on his BMW Sauber stuck.

Rubens Barrichello crossed the line in seventh place for the Brawn GP team followed by his team-mate Jenson Button in eighth.

Just as the race looked to be a foregone conclusion, the Toro Rosso driver Jaime Alguersuari spun exiting the 130º right-hand corner on lap 44.  The safety car was deployed closing the gap as the cars bunched up behind until it came in on lap 49.

Robert Kubica took the ninth position in the second BMW Sauber followed by Fernando Alonso in the Renault in tenth place after starting in sixteenth place.

Sebastien Buemi was the only other retirement in the race after coming to a halt in his Toro Rosso on the starting grid and retiring shortly afterwards with a clutch problem.

Second Toyota driver Timo Glock did not start the race after a huge crash during the Saturday qualifying session left him with a 5cm cut on his lower leg which had been stitched at the local hospital.

Here are the results;

1. Sebastian Vettel Germany Red Bull-Renault 53 laps 1hr 28m 20.443s
2. Jarno Trulli Italy Toyota-Toyota +00m 04.8s
3. Lewis Hamilton Britain McLaren-Mercedes +00m 06.4s
4. Kimi Raikkonen Finland Ferrari-Ferrari +00m 07.9s
5. Nico Rosberg Germany Williams-Toyota +00m 08.7s
6. Nick Heidfeld Germany BMW Sauber +00m 09.5s
7. Rubens Barrichello Brazil Brawn-Mercedes +00m 10.6s
8. Jenson Button Britain Brawn-Mercedes +00m 11.4s

all results unofficial

Noriyuki Haga - Ducati Xerox 2009

The World Superbike series headed to France this weekend with Ben Spies and Noriyuki Haga sharing the wins at the Magny-Cours circuit.

Race One

It was Ben Spies on the Yamaha World Superbike that led into the first corner of race one with Max Biaggi, Jonathan Rea, Leon Haslam and Michel Fabrizio, all fighting for second place.

Rea on the Hanspree Ten Kate Honda passed the Aprilia of Biaggi going into the hairpin while Haga on the Ducati Xerox slipped past the Stiggy Honda of Haslam, but not for long as Haslam soon retook his position.

Tom Sykes crashed out on the fast, downhill section to Lycee at the Magny-Cours circuit on the second Yamaha World Superbike but managed to walk away from the accident.

With 19 laps of the race to run, Fabrizio put his Ducati Xerox ahead of Haslam to take fifth position while just two laps later, Jonathan Rea suffered some sort of technical problem and drove into the pit lane to retire.

Haga continued to hassle the Italian rider but couldn’t find a way past the Aprilia until on lap 17, Biaggi made the mistake of leaving a gap wide enough for Haga to get through and beginning to chase down the American, who by now had made a gap of 1.3 seconds.

With only 6 laps of the race remaining and Haga was realising that only a mistake by the Yamaha rider would see him in the lead,and unusually the error occurred with Spies running wide and letting Haga slip up the inside and at the front.  Spies soon retook his spot and cut up the inside at the corner exit.  The two riders were racing side-by-side heading down to Lycee but it was Spies who was first at the bend.

Biaggi took the final step of the podium finishing in third place ahead of Fabrizio in fourth and Stiggy Honda rider Leon Haslam in fifth.  In sixth place was Carlos Checa on the second Hanspree Ten Kate Honda, after qualifying in twelfth on the grid, followed by the Suzuki Alstare rider Yukio Kagayama in seventh, Shane Byrne on the Sterilgarda Ducati in eighth, Troy Corser on the BMW Motorrad in ninth and Jakub Smrz on the Guandalini Ducati in tenth.

Here are the results;

1. Ben Spies USA Yamaha WSB YZF R1 37mins 57.110secs 23 laps
2. Noriyuki Haga JPN Ducati Xerox 1198R +0.181s
3. Max Biaggi ITA Aprilia Racing RSV-4 +5.009s
4. Michel Fabrizio ITA Ducati Xerox 1198R +16.347s
5. Leon Haslam GBR Stiggy Motorsport Honda CBR1000RR +22.622s
6. Carlos Checa ESP HANNspree Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR +24.948s
7. Yukio Kagayama JPN Alstare Suzuki GSX-R 1000K9 +27.144s
8. Shane Byrne GBR Sterilgarda Ducati 1098R +27.578s
9. Troy Corser AUS BMW Motorrad S1000RR +28.486s
10. Jakub Smrz CZE Guandalini Racing Ducati 1098R +28.716s
11. Ruben Xaus ESP BMW Motorrad S1000RR +52.680s
12. Matteo Baiocco ITA Guandalini Racing Ducati 1098R +1min 01.372s
13. Luca Scassa ITA Team Pedercini Kawasaki ZX-10R +1min 05.123s
14. David Salom ESP Team Pedercini Kawasaki ZX-10R +1min 05.483s
15. David Checa ESP Yamaha France GMT 94 YZF R1 +1min 05.672s

18. Leon Camier GBR Aprilia Racing RSV-4 20 laps completred
19. Sheridan Morais RSA Kawasaki SRT ZX-10R 13 laps completed
20. Fonsi Nieto ESP DFX Corse Ducati 1098R 12 laps completed
21. Broc Parkes AUS Kawasaki SRT ZX-0R 10 laps completed
22. Jonathan Rea GBR HANNspree Ten Kate Honda CBR1000 7 laps completed
23. Vittorio Iannuzzo ITA SCI Honda CBR1000RR 5 laps completed
24. Ryuichi Kiyonari JPN Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR 3 laps completed
25. Karl Muggeridge AUS Alstare Suzuki GSX-R 1000K9 3 laps completed
26. Tom Sykes GBR Yamaha WSB YZF R1 1 lap completed

Race Two

In race two it was Noriyuki Haga on the Ducati Xerox that took the chequered flag, with his eighth win of the season and now leads the championship by 10 points over the Yamaha World Superbike rider Ben Spies.

Haga took the lead from the start while Ben Spies struggled with his machine for the entire race.  After losing the lead to Haga, Max Biaggi was all over the Ducati, making a pass on lap 5 which Haga soon took back.  Biaggi then tried the same move again two laps later, running wide and allowing Jonathan Rea to slip through on the Hanspree Ten Kate Honda.

Rea was soon on the tail of the Ducati and the three top riders swapped places several times over the following laps.  The Hanspree Honda rider finally left enough of a gap to allow the Aprilia through and was forced wide as Biaggi retook his second place.

Ben Spies finished in fourth place followed by Leon Haslam, taking his second fifth position of the day for the Stiggy Honda team.  In sixth place was the Suzuki Alstare rider Yukio Kagayama ahead of Shane Byrne of the Sterilgarda Ducati, Karl Muggeridge on the second Suzuki Alstare, Carlos Checa on the Hanspree Ten Kate Honda and Troy Corser on the BMW Motorrad in tenth.

The two leading riders seemed a bit confused as they crossed the line, both Spies and Biaggi continued racing for another lap, oblivious that the race was over.

The British Superbike rider Leon Camier was denied a finish in both races for the Aprilia team after suffering technical difficulties with his machine.

Here are the results;

1. Noriyuki Haga JPN Ducati Xerox 1198R 38mins 00.282s 23 laps
2. Max Biaggi ITA Aprilia Racing RSV-4 +1.480s
3. Jonathan Rea GBR HANNspree Ten Kate Honda CBR1000 +6.024s
4. Ben Spies USA Yamaha WSB YZF R1 +18.135s
5. Leon Haslam GBR Stiggy Motorsport Honda CBR1000RR +21.236s
6. Yukio Kagayama JPN Alstare Suzuki GSX-R 1000K9 +23.647s
7. Shane Byrne GBR Sterilgarda Ducati 1098R +23.701s
8. Karl Muggeridge AUS Alstare Suzuki GSX-R 1000K9 +24.838s
9. Carlos Checa ESP HANNspree Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR +31.455s
10. Troy Corser AUS BMW Motorrad S1000RR +32.507s
11. Fonsi Nieto ESP DFX Corse Ducati 1098R +37.594s
12. Ruben Xaus ESP BMW Motorrad S1000RR +44.727s
13. Michel Fabrizio ITA Ducati Xerox 1198R +49.782s
14. Matteo Baiocco ITA Guandalini Racing Ducati 1098R +50.345s
15. Broc Parkes AUS Kawasaki SRT ZX-0R +56.209s

DNS Ryuichi Kiyonari JPN Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR
DNS Flavio Gentile ITA Althea Honda CBR1000RR

Jorge Lorenzo - Assen TT 2009

Jorge Lorenzo took the victory in the Portuguese Grand Prix of Estoril yesterday for the Fiat Yamaha team followed in second place by the returning Marlboro Ducati rider Casey Stoner and Dani Pedrosa on the Repsol Honda in third.

The Spanish rider has now slashed his team-mates lead from 30 to just 18 points after claiming his fourth win of the season.

It was Pedrosa that took to the front of the pack as the race got underway but by the end of lap 1, Lorenzo took the number one slot and stayed there until the end of the race to take the chequered flag.

Stoner had moved back to fifth spot as the riders went into turn one but was soon past the Monster Yamaha Tech 3 rider Colin Edwards, before chasing down Rossi and finally slotting into third place.  On the following lap, the Marlboro Ducati rider made his move on his fellow Spaniard Pedrosa, and was into second place behind Lorenzo.

By mid-race point, Lorenzo had managed to build-up a lead of 2.3 seconds over the Australian, followed by Pedrosa and Rossi an unbelievable 7.7 seconds behind his team-mate.

Rossi finally took his Fiat Yamaha across the line in fourth place, 23.428 seconds after Lorenzo having suffered with  no grip on his rear wheel.  Rossi had been off the pace all weekend with his Yamaha and thinks the problem may also have been to do with the set-up of his machine.

Colin Edwards finished in fifth with Toni Elias on the San Carlo Honda Gresini followed in sixth as he battled the challenging Andrea Dovizioso on the second Repsol Honda.  Nicky Hayden took eighth on the second Ducati Marlboro bike followed by James Toseland on the second Monster Yamaha Tech 3 and Chris Vermeulen on the Rizla Suzuki in tenth.

The Pramac Ducati rider Mika Kallio, who was on his return to the series, crashed out early in the race at the long final turn.  Loris Capirossi suffered engine problems on his Rizla Suzuki and was forced to retire from the race along with Alex de Angelis on the second San Carlo Honda Gresini who also suffered a mechanical problem.

Lorenzo celebrated his race with a mock moonwalk as he placed his flag in the Estoril gravel pit.  The Fiat Yamaha team were sporting a special silver/white livery on their machines to promote the Fiat Punto this weekend and Lorenzo had a specially designed crash helmet in the style of an astronaut.

Here are the results;

250CC

The  reigning 250cc World Champion Marco Simoncelli took the win in the 250cc category yesterday for the fifth time this season for the Metis Gilera team.

It was Hiroshi Aoyama on the Scot Racing bike that took to the front as the race got underway but before the end of the lap he was going backward and had moved down to eighth place by lap 3, while Alvaro Bautista led the pack on the Mapfre Aspar bike.

On lap 4, Bautista was dramatically thrown from his bike after an apparent engine seizure as he was under braking heading into turn 6.

Simoncelli was followed by Hector Barbera on the Pepe World Team bike and Mike di Meglio on the Mapfre Aspar machine, with only 1 second between them until mid-race when Simoncelli began to widen the gap.

The Italian rider finished the race 5.317 seconds ahead of the photo-finish battle for second place, given to di Meglio with Barbera in third.  Barbera was initially given the place but after a review of the finish it was given to the Frenchman instead.

Aoyama finished the race in fourth place ahead of the Matteoni Racing rider Jules Cluzel in fifth and Ratthapark Wilairot on the Thai Honda PTT SAG machine in sixth.  In seventh place was Thomas Luthi on the Emmi-Caffe Latte bike followed by Mattia Pasini for Team Toth Aprilia, Alex Debon on the Aeroopuerto-Castello-Blusens in ninth and Karel Abraham on the Cardion AB Motoracing machine in tenth.

Here are the results;

125CC

The Derbi Racing Team rider Pol Espargaro, took the victory at the Estoril circuit yesterday after championship leader Julian Simon crashed out.

Bradley Smith on the Bancaja Aspar bike was leading the race when he ran wide heading into turn six, forcing him to the outside of the track as other riders went through.  Nicholas Terol on the Jack & Jones machine clipped the back of the British riders machine and was sent flying across the circuit but rejoined at the back of the pack before retiring.

Simon had increased the gap to almost 5 seconds at the front of the pack when he made his error under braking on lap 16, leaving Smith, Sandro Cortese and Espargaro to fight for the lead.

On the final lap of the race, it was Espargaro who led followed by Smith and Cortese.  Cortese snatched second place from Smith into turn one leaving the British rider to take the third and final step on the podium.

Stefan Bradl finished in fourth place for Viesmann Kiefer Racing ahead of Joan Olive for the Derbi Racing team, Sergio Gadea on the Fontana Racing machine and Esteve Rabat on the Blusens Aprilia in seventh.  Dominique Aegerter finished in eighth for the Ajo Interwetten team followed by Johann Zarco on the WTR San Marino Team bike in ninth and Randy Krummenacher on the Degraaf Grand Prix Aprilia in tenth.

The Red Bull KTM Motorsport rider Marc Marquez crashed out early on in the race along with previous championship leader, Ongetta Team I.S.P.A. rider Andrea Iannone.

Here are the results:

Relentless Suzuki by TAS 2009

After his impressive ride at the Silverstone British Superbike round last weekend, Alastair Seeley will be back on the Relentless Suzuki by TAS for the seasons finale at Oulton Park.

The 2009 National Supestock Champion, made his debut in the British Superbike series aboard the new Evo specification GSX-R1000 for the Relentless Suzuki by TAS. The specifically built 2010 machine featured a Superstock engine fitted into the full British Superbike spec. rolling chassis, with a Yoshimura EM Pro kit ECU.

Seeley retired from race one due to a bolt breaking on the rear shock absorber but scored a tenth place in race two on his first outing in BSB, with team owner Philip Neill saying;

“The job is done with the Evo bike,” team owner Philip Neill said. “Alastair proved a point that the new rules will work. Let’s park that now and see what he can do on the Superbike.”

The Irish man has now been offered the opportunity to impress the team boss on the same bike ridden by Ian Lowry and Atsushi Watanabe at the Northamptonshire circuit.

Max Neukirchner - Suzuki Alstare 2009

The Suzuki Alstare rider Max Neukirchner will not be returning to the circuit this season after it was decided that it would be too dangerous for him to ride at the final two rounds due to the injuries he has suffered this year.

The German rider was hoping to be back on-board his Suzuki at the Magny Cours round this weekend, but after a check-up on his back at the Clinica Mobile on Saturday, the decision was taken that it would be too much of a risk for the young rider.

Neukirchner is now aiming to be back on his seat for the Portimao test session, where he can work alongside the engineers on the revised GSX-R 1000 for the 2010 season.

Max said;

“Of course I am very disappointed. I really wanted to step in again on the race events this season, this would have been very important for me. Even now where we are already about to sort out a lot at the bike for the next year. Logically the doctors don’t want to take any risk. Of course I can understand this and finally it’s all about my health. The healing process is going well and I feel better from day to day!“