- Offizieller Beitrag
HONDA RACING INFORMATION
FIM SUPERBIKE / SUPERSPORT WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND 02 SUNDAY APRIL 14 MOTORLAND ARAGON, SPAIN PREVIEW
REA AND HASLAM WELL TESTED AS ROUND TWO APPROACHES
Jonathan Rea (Pata Honda World Superbike Team) and Leon Haslam (Pata Honda World Superbike Team) head for the second round of the 2013 FIM Superbike World Championship having completed recent tests at Motorland Aragon and at the smaller venue of Alcarras.
After the opening round of the championship the Honda duo have worked extensively on their new electronics package with their Dutch-based team to best take on the challenge of the 5.344km circuit in the north of Spain. After finding electronics issues, which took a while to trace and rectify at Aragon, a fall of rain on the final day of the first test halted any further hopes of completing the final checks and making set-up progress. It was then decided to join the riders of the new Honda European Junior Cup at Alcarras to make final pre-race preparations.
The long break since the first round has also allowed many other teams to test and some of Pata Honda's rivals shared track time with Rea and Haslam at Motorland between 2 and 4 April. Others have already tested at Jerez.
Rea, Honda's most potent SBK rider of modern times, is hoping his new electronics package can help him improve on his two eighth place finishes at the first round. The ten-times race winner in this class was fifth on one race at Aragon last year.
Haslam, a new signing for 2013, left the previous round in Australia one point behind his team-mate Rea in a overall seventh position, thanks to the combination of a seventh and a tenth place race finish in the individual outings at the classic Phillip Island track.
With the long gap between round one and round two now over, a busy 15-round SBK season gets into its stride finally with the third round coming along at Assen, in the Netherlands, on April 28th.
ROOKIES WSS RIDERS VAN DER MARK AND ZANETTI READY FOR ARAGON ROUND
FIM Supersport World Championship riders Michael van Der Mark (Pata Honda World Supersport Team) and Lorenzo Zanetti (Pata Honda World Supersport Team) lead off a strong Honda contingent as the Supersport World Championship heads for its second round of the season at Motorland Aragon in Spain this coming weekend.
Van der Mark was a revelation in the opening round, with the reigning Superstock 600 European champion for Honda making a superb full season debut in WSS in third place at Phillip Island, Australia, in late February. The 20-year-old Dutch rider has tested at Motorland last week, along with his team-mate Zanetti, which should help each of them make a good impact in the qualifying and race results.
Zanetti, until now a Superbike and Superstock 1000 rider, is learning his way around the Pata Honda CBR600RR and was glad to get some test time in as he heads towards round two. He was the second highest Honda finisher at the first round in Australia, scoring eighth place in his first ever WSS event.
A tenth place finish was a good start to his first full WSS season for Irishman Jack Kennedy (Rivamoto Honda). He had been a fifth place qualifier in Australia, delivering an instant improvement in performance after the Rivamoto team had switched to Honda power in the winter.
Potential WSS top rider Gabor Talmacsi (PRORACE Honda) suffered a broken jaw and injured ankle in practice for the previous race in Australia but tested recently at Motorland Aragon, alongside some of his peer group. He is hoping to be fit to ride at Motorland but has to undergo final medical checks before he can be passed fit to ride.
Sheridan Morais (PTR Honda) had an incredible run of bad luck first time out on a Honda to miss out on points in race day but the proven WSS podium finisher is well capable of a strong result at the same Motorland circuit he finished third at in the 2012 round of the WSS series.
Despite some issues with tyre life in Australia Alex Baldolini (Team Lorini Honda) scored a point first time out and he now looks for even better results in Spain in the second of 14-rounds for the WSS riders in 2013. His team-mate Raffaele De Rosa (Team Lorini Honda) no-scored first time out so it heading to Spain to try and earn some points.
Imre Toth (Racing Team Toth Honda), David Linortner (Team Honda PTR) and Eduard Blokhin (Rivamoto Honda) are all looking to Aragon to get their seasons heading in the right direction. Luca Marconi (PTR
Honda) is a potentially a rider to watch in this class while Matt Davies (Team Honda PTR) had a solid start to his WSS career at home in round one. The 17-year-old Aussie now looking to consolidate his new status as a WSS rider and get nearer the points scoring positions in what will be only his second race. Nacho Calero Perez (Honda PTR) is another Honda rider out to score for the first time in 2013.HONDA RIDER COMMENTS:
Jonathan Rea (Pata Honda World Superbike Team) "Things are definitely better after this Alcarras test and there were a lot more logical comments given after we tried changes, more feedback like the data guys were expecting to hear. I have more confidence because it is all more predictable and we have definitely made a step with the electronics here. We still have a lot of work to do but being at a test without our rivals there was good because we could just work on set up and were not - in the back of the mind - chasing a lap time. We did not go back to basics with the electronics in this most recent test, it is not a basic system, but we had time and space to make changes."
Leon Haslam (Pata Honda World Superbike Team) "At Aragon in testing we had a two days of riding with a problem in the system but they found that on the evening of the second day. So the third day was like the first day as we set it all up again to try out, but it rained and we only got about eight laps done in the dry.
We came to this new circuit of Alcarras and had to set-up everything in the electronics again but I feel we managed to do that. It is a lot more stable, working correctly, and the boys in the team have worked really hard. From my point of view it was exactly what we needed. We also put in some pretty good lap times at the end so that is quite positive. We ended up with a new circuit record, a 1'33.0, so from that point of view I have to be happy."Michael van Der Mark (Pata Honda World Supersport Team) "We had quite a good test at Aragon and in Australia we were fast so I hope we can stay in a good position all through the Spanish weekend. I am not saying I will be on the podium but I will hope to be in the top five again. It looks like we are quite consistent and we will be doing all we can to be in front again. Australia was something very special and everything we did was working. The best thing about Australia was that we found a good set-up and a good pace and I hope we can have the same in Motorland."
Lorenzo Zanetti (Pata Honda World Supersport Team) "I am not sure what is possible this weekend but we had a good test at Motorland and it would be good to improve my result from the Australian race. That is not so easy because Supersport demands a different style of riding compared to a Superbike but we tried a new set-up in the test at Aragon and I am happy with that, and the good work of the team. We have some work to do still but I'm confident that we can make another step here next week."
Jack Kennedy (Rivamoto Honda)
"I am confident, excited and ready to race at Aragon. It almost feels like the start of the season again because it has been such a long gap between starting the season and the next round coming along this weekend in mid-April. We managed to get a test in at Aragon two or three weeks ago but it was very cold and spitting with rain sometimes but the weather should be a lot better when we go back there to race."Sheridan Morais (PTR Honda)
"This will be pretty much my first round because I did not get to do a lot at the last race. I cannot wait to get started and I have been training pretty hard back home in South Africa. I hope everything runs smoothly. Last year I got on the podium at this event and fortunately when I tested the Honda for the first time it was at Aragon, at the end of last year, so I cannot wait to get going. I hope it all goes smoothly and we can be fighting at the front."Gabor Talmacsi (PRORACE Honda)
"I have a hard month behind me and although my injuries are healing up I'm not on 100% of my form. I am very glad that I had the opportunity to test at Aragon and Alcarras. I'll do anything to be there in the Aragon grid, but still have to be to be a mandatory check-up exams next Friday, where a final decision is taken by the doctors."Alex Baldolini (Team Lorini Honda)
"In Australia my tyres were finished and it was almost impossible to ride in the last six laps. I was very disappointed to have started the championship this way. We must look forward to Aragon where we will do our best to achieve the best possible result."
