- Offizieller Beitrag
HONDA RACING INFORMATION
ZitatAlles anzeigenFIM SUPERBIKE / SUPERSPORT WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND 07 SUNDAY JUNE 10 MISANO ADRIATICO, ITALY PREVIEW
OPTIMISM FOR REA AND AOYAMA AS MISANO APPROACHES
Jonathan Rea (Honda World Superbike Team) will be aiming for his third win of the season on his CBR1000RR at the seventh round of the
2012 Superbike World Championship, to be held at the Misano Adriatico circuit this coming weekend. Rea's two race wins and a further podium finish have driven him up the rankings of late and he is now fourth overall, only 19.5 points behind the leader Max Biaggi (Aprilia).Misano is the site of Rea's first career Superbike race win, which came while riding for Honda in 2009. Jonathan is currently on a total of ten race wins, the most recent coming at Donington Park, with his most recent podium arriving last time out in the USA. When the Misano race weekend culminates seven of the 14 championship rounds will have been completed, breaching the halfway point of a series that ends in France in early October.
Hiroshi Aoyama (Honda World Superbike Team) is no stranger to Misano after spending so many years racing in the GP paddock. In many ways this may be the perfect place for him to start to rebuild after his first experience of racing at Miller Motorsports Park in the USA delivered him no points and a no-start in the re-run race two. In the points standings Hiroshi is 16th, with 30.5 points.
The round after Misano will be at Motorland Aragon in Spain, but before that the team will head to Assen for a test at the classic circuit in the Netherlands, in order to continue the relentless pace of development.
LOWES AND CLUZEL HEAD TO MISANO ON A HIGH
The 2012 FIM Supersport World Championship will continue with round six taking place this coming weekend at Misano, not round seven as in the Superbike class. The Supersport category was not on the calendar at the recent Miller Motorsports Park round in the USA, as was the plan at the start of the year, so recent Honda race winners Sam Lowes (Bogdanka PTR Honda) and Jules Cluzel (PTR Honda) have had almost a month off to ready themselves for the San Marino round.
Lowes is both grateful to have had some time to allow his seriously injured little finger to heal after a practice accident at the previous Donington round, but also frustrated that he could not get an earlier chance to keep his winning momentum going after his gritty win. The English rider made his breakthrough first WSS career full point score despite suffering illness and injury but hopes to be in fine form for the Misano race. Sam is only five points from the championship lead now, second overall.
Cluzel, also a race winner this season for Honda, at Monza in round four, was pole man at Donington. A rookie in this class in 2012, but a more experienced rider in the GP paddock in previous season, Cluzel knows the Misano circuit well and is confident he can have another good weekend and move even closer to the championship lead. He is currently third, only 17 points from leading competitor Kenan Sofuoglu (Kawasaki).
Broc Parkes (Ten Kate Racing Products Honda) is currently fifth in the championship this year, but is looking forward to going for his first podium since the opening round in Australia, and ideally his first race win of the year. He was the victor at Misano last season, when riding for a different manufacturer, so he knows his way around the track near the Adriatic Sea as well as anyone in the field.
Honda riders fill half of the top ten places in the championship, and the top seven at this point also features Imola podium rider, Ronan Quarmby (PTR Honda) from South Africa. He is currently four points from sixth place.
Roberto Tamburini (Team Lorini Honda) is 11th overall and also permanently teamed with Raffaele De Rosa (Team Lorini Honda) after the exit of one-time Lorini rider, Andrea Antonelli. Tamburini almost took a podium at Imola, so is hoping for another front-running ride to break into the top ten in the points. De Rosa is 26th currently, having not started the season in this class.
Imre Toth (Racing Team Toth Honda) is another Honda rider with a best of fourth so far, at Monza. His team-mate Balazs Nemeth (Racing Team Toth Honda) started his season brightly, but has dropped away in recent times, so he will be out to make more of an impact again at Misano. Toth is 16th and Nemeth 20th. Valentine Debise (SMS Honda) is currently 21st in the rankings, only one point behind Nemeth.
Mathew Scholtz (Bogdanka PTR Honda) and Martin Jessopp (Riders PTR
Honda) will be out to score points again, but Jessop is as yet unsure if his recent injuries will allow him to compete properly at Misano.
He will go out with the intention of racing a full weekend in any case.Polish rider Pawel Szkopek (Bogdanka Honda PTR) returns to the fray this weekend, after missing several races after seriously fracturing his right leg at the Imola round.
Next round, for SBK and WSS classes, is at Motorland Aragon, Spain, on July 1
HONDA RIDER COMMENTS
Jonathan Rea (Honda World Superbike Team):
"The circuits we struggled at least year, the mean circuits, were Donington, Miller and Misano and I have managed to step on the podium of two of them now. I have got to be a little bit optimistic to be honest, because the bike is in a good area now and we have not moved too far away from the base setting that we have come to after the season started. The atmosphere inside the team is good and the past results over the last few races have given the boys some extra motivation. While we know the bike is working well there are other areas we need to work on. I am looking forward to getting back to Misano because it is where I got my first Superbike win. The track, the fans and countryside are amazing there, so I am just looking forward to it."Hiroshi Aoyama (Honda World Superbike Team):
"I know the racetrack at Misano, which is good for me. I have not seen the weather prediction, but the weather is usually good in this part of Italy at this time of year so I hope it is again. I am looking forward to starting on Friday because unfortunately at the last race I crashed at Miller and I could not end up in a good way.
This time I want to change my mind and start again from zero. I want to build up a good feeling with the bike and the tyres and all other things. Every time want to make a good result, but this time especially, because of the not nice weekend in the United States."Sam Lowes (Bogdanka PTR Honda):
"It's been nice to have a couple of weeks off and recover after Donington, which was a strong result. Misano was good to me last year. I took my first World Supersport pole position there and got on the podium in the race. It's a track that I like and it suits my bike, so I'm really looking forward to it. My finger is a lot better.
It's not perfect, but it won't affect my riding. It's still a bit dodgy but Clinica Mobile will sort me out and it will be good to go.
The championship is quite close and my aim for Misano, and for every other race, is to get as many points as we can - but after the victory at Donington Park I'd love to go out and do that again."Jules Cluzel (PTR Honda):
"It has been a long time since we raced in WSS, too long, so I am keen to get back to Misano and ride again. I did not have the chance to test or ride on track since the last round at Donington, but I have been keeping fit by running, riding my bicycle and also doing some karting. I like Misano, and I have been there quite a few times, but my favourite part is the three right hand corners on the fast part. We have found rain quite a lot this year, so we will see how the weather is - but it is usually really good at this time of year.
The action on track is as serious as at any other race, but the ambience is a little like a holiday sometimes, because we are so close to the seaside."Broc Parkes (Ten Kate Racing Products Honda):
"I've been doing heaps of cycling in the time we've had off since Donington - more than usual, so I'm feeling pretty fit and I can't wait to get back on the bike again this weekend at Misano. I'm hoping I can be the sixth World Supersport winner this year because I won at Misano last year and I've had some other good results there in the past. I've been talking to the guys back at the workshop and I know they've been working hard on engines and electronics. I'm hoping that we can turn that into a podium this weekend and get our season started again."Ronan Quarmby (PTR Honda):
"At Donington we got a fair result in seventh as there were no DNFs and some strong wild card riders. I have always struggled at Misano in recent year, but definitely think with the PTR Honda and my technicians we can get a good set up and have a strong result. If the weather turns out the same as Monza then a podium is possible. If it is dry then the top five is the target."Martin Jessopp (Riders PTR Honda):
"My collarbone is healing way ahead of any normal schedule thanks to the specialist treatment I am getting. I will be riding at Misano, but won't know how competitive I can be until I am on the bike. I will leave as much resting time as possible before the event. I am training on my bicycle to keep fit, but I do hate cycling. It will be my first time at the circuit so I am getting a few Playstation laps in right now."Mathew Scholtz (Bogdanka PTR Honda):
"I've been working very hard since Donington Park and training a lot so I'm pretty confident we can have a good race at Misano. I never raced there, but I've been watching a lot of videos and onboard footage. The track looks really difficult to learn and technical, but it has a fast part too at the end of the back straight, so I'm really looking forward to going there and riding my Bogdanka PTR Honda.
After the last few races I'm looking for a strong weekend and some championship points on Sunday."Pawel Szkopek (Bogdanka Honda PTR)
"After a long two months, I'm going to Misano ready to race again.
I'm still not a 100%, and will be visiting Clinica Mobile once I arrive - but while I'm still using crutches while walking, this won't affect me at all on a bike. I can't wait to ride again and while I'll be taking it steady, I won't just ride around and I want to battle for a point scoring position on Sunday."