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HONDA RACING INFORMATION
ZitatAlles anzeigen2013 FIM SUPERBIKE / SUPERSPORT WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND 14, JEREZ, SPAIN SUNDAY, 20 OCTOBER 2013 PREVIEW
HASLAM LOOKS FOR FINAL ROUND HIGH POINT
The 14th and final round of the FIM Superbike World Championship will take place at the Jerez circuit in Spain this coming weekend and will be the culmination of a season that started way back in late February in Australia.
For Leon Haslam (Pata Honda World Superbike Team) this will be his final chance to get to his much desired podium place on the CBR1000RR after suffering a serious leg injury at round three in April. After advances in the set-up of his machine at the previous round in France, Haslam is now preparing to shoot for his best results of the year, despite the lingering effects of his leg injury.
Jonathan Rea (Pata Honda World Superbike Team) is currently recovering from a broken femur suffered at the German round of the championship in early September and talented Italian rider Michel Fabrizio will once more replace him.
In the championship standings Leon is 13th, with Jonathan ninth and Michel 7th, the latter having spent most of the season riding for another team.
This is the first time since 1990 that the Jerez circuit has been used for World Superbike racing.
The regular MotoGP circuit now finishes off an SBK season that was originally scheduled for 15 rounds, until the Indian event, intended for November 17, was cancelled.Most of the top teams tested at Jerez in the winter so despite last being used for SBK racing
23 years ago it will be a known quantity for most competitors in its current format. The mix of fast and slow corners, and absence of giant straights along Jerez’s 4.423km length, mean that it should offer chances of success to many different riders and machines.This weekend will be the championship decider.
Points leader Tom Sykes (Kawasaki) is being chased from a distance of 37 points by Aprilia’s Eugene Laverty, and 38 points by another Aprilia rider, Sylvain Guintoli.VAN DER MARK AND ZANETTI SET TO FINISH ON A HIGH
The 2013 FIM Supersport World Championship reaches its final round this weekend with Michael van der Mark (Pata Honda World Supersport Team) and Lorenzo Zanetti (Pata Honda World Supersport
Team) sitting fourth and fifth in the championship, respectively.Each rider has had their highs and lows this season and both aim to finish their season on a high in Spain, with a podium finish. For Michael, three podiums have been achieved already and he is looking to score his best result yet to get third in the championship before the season has been completed. He is now 17 points from the highly experienced Fabien Foret (Kawasaki), which makes his task a challenging one.
Despite his impressive rookie season
performances, Michael has yet to score either a front row start in qualifying or a race win, so he will start the Jerez weekend looking for a top three qualifying position first of all. He will ride for his 2013 team again next year, alongside his current team-mate Lorenzo.Lorenzo’s own rookie season has included a podium finish at his home race in Monza, plus four fourth places, just one place from his second taste of champagne. He is well versed in the secrets of a fast lap time at Jerez, having spent some of his previous career in GP racing at the Spanish track in Andalusia.
Jack Kennedy (Rivamoto Honda) unusually now finds himself about to face a track that he has ridden at before, in a wet and dry winter test with his team. Another rookie, and not on an official bike, Kennedy has yet to score a podium but he has been impressive in sixth in the championship,
14 points ahead of his nearest challenger after almost a full season.Roberto Tamburini (Team Lorini Honda) is currently 16th in the championship and has been a real force to be reckoned with in the fight for top ten finishes at the most recent WSS rounds.
Raffaele De Rosa (Team Lorini Honda) remains 19th overall in the points but as the Spanish race approaches he is keen to have a better result than his season best of ninth so far, which he scored at Portimao in June. Luca Marconi (PTR
Honda) is attempting to get back to his full race pace after suffering a painful arm injury mid-season. A top ten in Jerez, to mirror those he set in Aragon and Monza, would be a strong end to a tough season for the Italian rider.The Czech-based PRORACE Honda team will once more field South African Ronan Quarmby, as he tries to get into the top ten in Spain like he did at Istanbul.
Danny Webb (PTR Honda), Corey Alexander (Team PTR Honda), Lee Johnson (Team PTR Honda), Eduard Blokhin (Rivamoto Honda), Imre Toth (Racing Team Toth Honda), Alex Schacht (Racing Team Toth
Honda) and Nacho Calero Perez (Honda PTR) are all out to score their first points of the year at Jerez this weekend. Brodie Waters (AARK Racing
Honda) joins the WSS ranks again, while Fraser Rogers rides for the Complus SMS Racing Honda squad.HONDA RIDER COMMENTS:
Leon Haslam (Pata Honda World Superbike Team) “We tested at Jerez at the end of last season and did some back-to-back comparisons between last year’s electronics and the new package, which was at a very early stage of development. It’ll be difficult to use any of the data we got back then but it’s a great track and I’ve always loved riding here since I was in GPs. We found a pretty significant thing on the CBR at the end of the last round in Magny Cours, so I’m really looking forward to getting out on the Jerez circuit on Friday and giving it a go. It’s the last round of the series and I would just like it to be the one where all the pieces fall in the right order and we can get a chance to show what we’re capable of. There are lots of things to improve before the beginning of next season – both with me and the bike – but I’d like to finish this one by challenging the top guys this weekend.”
Michel Fabrizio (Pata Honda World Superbike Team) “Jerez will be the last race of the season and my last race with the Pata Honda team, so I want to continue the positive direction that we found at Magny-Cours and to finish with some good results.
I found a good confidence in the bike and in my riding in France so I want to take this to Spain and finish this year in a good way. I have never raced at Jerez but I tested there last year on a different machine and I was very fast, so I know that the circuit suits my riding style. I wish Jonathan a good recovery and I would like to thank Honda and the Pata Honda team for this opportunity. I hope to put on a good show for everyone this weekend.”Michael van der Mark (Pata Honda World Supersport Team) "The last round already so I can say it has been a fast year! Jerez is one of my favourite tracks and we had a good preseason test there, so I am excited about it. Some of the corners are quite fast and I really like it there so I want to be closer to the front this week. I will aim for the podium this weekend and I think that will be possible. I am all signed up again with the team for 2014 so at Jerez we will race to finish the best way I can.”
Lorenzo Zanetti (Pata Honda World Supersport Team) “The last race of 2013 now and the fact that I have signed with the team for next year again makes me happy and relaxed. I just want to race in Spain to make sure I finish in fourth place in the championship, if possible. I want to finish on the podium in the final race and then start to work immediately for 2014 after the weekend. For sure Jerez is a technical track, and feels quite long, but I know it well from when I was riding in 125cc GPs.”
Jack Kennedy (Rivamoto Honda)
"It’s great to know the track this time so I should be able to use each full session to try and go fast straight away without having to learn everything. We should have a decent enough set-up from when we tested there, in wet and dry conditions. We have not got a top set-up for the dry but a good one to start with and an OK set-up for the wet. I am not sure if it is going to rain but the Jerez surface has good grip in the wet anyway. I really enjoyed the track when I tested there so I can’t wait to get out there and defend my sixth place in the championship. The team seem happy that we are in sixth place in our first year together.”Ronan Quarmby (PRORACE Honda)
“I had two falls at the previous round, one crash that was quite big last time out in France, but in the past few days I have been training hard for the last round. I have to get a good result because my team are looking for it. It is also important for me and I think it will be good round if we start well. I think there was something not quite right with the bike in the French race after the crashes in practice so the team has built me a new bike for this round. I think for a weekend to be great we have to start off good and stay quite consistent. I want to be top five in first practice and on the grid. A lot of guys have been to this track before but I have not, so I have been spending a lot of time on the X-box learning the basic layout before I get there and ride for real.”