- Offizieller Beitrag
HONDA RACING INFORMATION
ZitatAlles anzeigenFIM SUPERBIKE / SUPERSPORT WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND 08 SUNDAY JULY 1 MOTORLAND ARAGON, SPAIN PREVIEW
ASSEN TESTS PREPARE REA AND AOYAMA FOR SPANISH ROUND
After the previous round of the FIM Superbike World Championship at the Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli Jonathan Rea (Honda World Superbike Team) and his team-mate Hiroshi Aoyama (Honda World Superbike Team) headed to their team's home track of Assen to try out new settings and strategies on their Honda CBR1000RR machinery.
For Rea, now a ten time race winner and 27-time podium finisher in this class, the tests at the classic Dutch circuit were a useful guide to how his overall race package has improved in recent times.
Even more useful may have been the advances in the electronics and potential new pathways of overall development the team also tried out without the pressure of a race weekend around them. Rea did not race at Aragon last year because of injury, but he has been around the circuit a few times, in wintry and cold conditions, a couple of years ago.Rea has won two races this year already and is second overall, 38.5 points behind championship leader Max Biaggi (Aprilia) at the halfway stage of the season. Aragon begins the second half of the 14-round campaign, which will culminate in France in early October.
Aoyama was unlucky to fall at high speed in the recent Assen test, but declared himself to be much more comfortable on his machine by the end of the test after making changes in set-up. Hiroshi, the 2009 season 250cc Grand Prix World Champion, is expecting to be at full fitness and back to full pace for the Aragon round of the championship, which takes place close to his European base in Barcelona.
The Motorland Aragon circuit is an impressive design, already popular with riders in all classes. It features a wide variety of corners and several elevation changes along its 5.344Km length. It has a slightly different layout of hairpin and final chicane trajectory in SBK guise when compared to that used in the MotoGP championship race. Weather conditions are predicted to be hot for the two 20-lap races on Sunday July 1, with the possibility of temperatures over 40 degrees C to start off race weekend.
Following the Aragon race the next round is at Brno, in the Czech Republic, on Sunday July 22.
THE CLUZEL AND LOWES CHALLENGE HEADS TOWARDS SPAIN
Since the start of the 2012 FIM Supersport World Championship Honda riders have been to the fore as usual and in the most recent rounds the Jules Cluzel (PTR Honda) and Sam Lowes (Bogdanka PTR Honda) pairing have been the biggest threat to championship leader Kenan Sofuoglu (Kawasaki).
Both Cluzel (at Monza) and Lowes (at Donington) have won races in 2012, but after a no-score from Lowes at the previous San Marino round and a second place for Cluzel, the French rider has moved into second place. Sofuoglu is 22 points ahead of Cluzel, and 30 points ahead of Lowes. With only six rounds of the championship gone and seven remaining, there is very much all to play for, and not only for the current top Honda duo.
Perennial WSS force Broc Parkes (Ten Kate Racing Products Honda) is sixth in the rankings, but only ten points from a top four placing. A podium at his home race in Australia has been Broc's highlight this season, but his goal from now on is to make more regular podium appearances and move up the championship table.
Roberto Tamburini (Team Lorini Honda) has impressed so far, having come close to the podium more than once on his way to a seventh place in the championship rankings at mid-season point. Ronan Quarmby (PTR
Honda) has reached the podium step in 2012, in round two at Imola, and now that he knows it is more than possible he is out to finish every race and get into the top five positions more often.Imre Toth (Racing Team Toth Honda) and his team-mate Balazs Nemeth (Racing Team Toth Honda) sit 16th and 17th in the current rankings, with Imre three points ahead. Toth travelled with the team to test at Aragon last week, to find a solution to some chassis set-up issues that had been affecting the results. The Hungarian rider was happy with the outcome and hopes he and his team-mate will benefit from the test, from the first session of practice until the last corner of the scheduled 18-lap race in Spain.
Raffaele De Rosa (Team Lorini Honda) has made a speedy transition to the Supersport class, taking two good points scores already and moving himself to 20th place, despite only riding in half the races held so far. Another rider who has not done all the season's events, Valentine Debise (SMS Honda), has slotted into 22nd place after only four rounds.
Mathew Scholtz (Bogdanka PTR Honda) and Martin Jessopp (Riders PTR
Honda) hope to make up ground they have lost in recent rounds, with Jessopp still suffering from the lingering effects of a collarbone injury. Polish rider Pawel Szkopek (Bogdanka Honda PTR) hopes to be fit enough to race for real at Aragon on Sunday, having tried bravely but unsuccessfully to do so at the previous round.HONDA RIDER COMMENTS
Jonathan Rea (Honda World Superbike Team):
"I have never raced at Aragon before, but I was fortunate enough to get only a few laps of testing in at the start of the 2011 season.
But the weather was not good enough to even make a half-day test.
While it is exciting to go to a new track and my motivation is high, we have to be realistic. In the first sessions we will have to will be gathering a lot of information and working towards the race. I know the track looks pretty fun to ride and it seems a good layout. I am looking forward to the challenge. It is supposed to be very hot at the start of the weekend and that will be crucial to tyres over race distance. I will be back in the sauna tonight to get myself ready!"Hiroshi Aoyama (Honda World Superbike Team):
"This track is very close to my house in Barcelona so it is like a home race. I am happy to go there. I know the track, but in Superbike they use a slightly different layout, a little bit different, but most of it I know. Also I had a positive test recently in Assen. I felt a bit more comfortable on the bike and we found the way to work.
I had a little crash, but physically I am OK. I went back to Barcelona and I have been training and preparing to the race so I am very much looking forward to doing my first laps there on the CBR1000RR. It will be hot at Aragon, but I am used to it now, so I am looking forward to this weekend."Jules Cluzel (PTR Honda):
"I raced at Aragon in Moto2 for two years and I think the circuit is long with fast corners, big downhill and big uphill sections. I really like it. The last three corners are different from the Moto2 circuit, but I will learn quickly. I want to continue my recent form and stay on the podium - that would be good for the Championship. I also want to try to improve a little bit and catch Sofuoglu. At the Silverstone test we did recently we learnt more about tyres and it was good to be riding my bike, that always helps."Sam Lowes (Bogdanka PTR Honda):
"I'm really looking forward to the weekend at a track I love. I have a good feeling after last season at Aragon, where we took a front row start and a close second in the race, so I can't wait to get the weekend started. Misano's result was upsetting, but I take many positives from there and look forward to the weekend."
Broc Parkes (Ten Kate Racing Products Honda):
"I was a little bit sick in Misano and at our recent test at Assen and it took me about a week to get better, but now I am back on track. I think at the test we improved a lot, and we tried things at the test that we have not been able to on race weekends. I am confident we have improved the bike as a package, especially on the electronics side. I hope we have a strong enough engine for Aragon as it is such a big open track, but I am confident we have made some big improvements on suspension and electronics side on the bike. I am not where I am in the championship but we are going to keep going and keep going for podiums to the end of the championship."Ronan Quarmby (PTR Honda):
"I was enjoying a really positive event at Misano right up until the race and then I crashed out while challenging inside the top ten. My PTR Honda is brilliant, I feel absolutely great and I cannot wait to get to Aragon and racing again. I want to get a good haul of points this weekend and think the circuit will suit my bike and riding style well."Imre Toth (Racing Team Toth Honda):
"We had some problems with the chassis set-up this year and especially during races, so it was good to go and test at Aragon recently. We lost one day because of the rain, but on the second day it was good and we made progress. For the second half of the season we hope to finish inside the top ten in all the races. That was our plan from the beginning of the year, but we have had some technical problems in some events. Maybe at certain circuits, or if there is rain or other difficult conditions, we can do better than that."Mathew Scholtz (Bogdanka PTR Honda):
"I've been training hard recently and can't wait to get out on track.
The last few races haven't gone quite according to the plan so I hope to make up for it this weekend and get a good result on Sunday.
Aragon is a circuit that I've ridden on a 600 before. I really like it and think it should suit us well, so I'm really looking forward to the weekend."Martin Jessopp (Riders PTR Honda):
"My collarbone is getting there, but it is not as far along as I had hoped. I have an old MX injury that is confusing matters with a bit of nerve damage so we are not sure where the problem is. The good news is that I am in much better shape than I was at Misano and not anticipating issues riding the bike. I have only raced Aragon on the Playstation before, but it is due to be a hot, hard, long race and I think that will favour my fitness over some of the other riders."Pawel Szkopek (Bogdanka Honda PTR)
"I'm feeling a lot better than three weeks ago at Misano and I can't wait to get back on my Bogdanka Honda PTR bike. I'm still not 100%, but fit enough to ride and on track my leg won't be a problem. Aragon is a circuit that I really like and where I had a very good race last year so I hope to come back with style this weekend."