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HONDA RACING INFORMATION
ZitatAlles anzeigenFIM SUPERBIKE / SUPERSPORT WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND 07 SUNDAY JUNE 30 IMOLA, ITALY PREVIEW
REA AND HASLAM HEAD TO IMOLA READY TO MAKE A STRONG SHOWING
The seventh round of the FIM Superbike World Championship takes place at the undulating and challenging Imola circuit between 28 and 30 June, with current top Honda rider Jonathan Rea (Pata Honda World Superbike Team) aiming for his first win of the current season.
After posting a third place in race two at the previous round in Portugal in early June, Rea is out to maintain his upward progress on his CBR1000RR and add to his career podium haul of 31, ideally by repeating the win he scored at Imola on a Honda in 2011. He is currently seventh in the championship, looking to make up a 14-point gap to the rider ahead of him.
Leon Haslam (Pata Honda World Superbike Team) continues to recover from his double left leg break, suffered at Assen in April, and like his team-mate Rea is also keen to record his best result of the year at Imola this coming weekend.
Haslam also has a good record at Imola in recent times, having scored two podium finishes last year when competing for another team and manufacturer. He is a fan of the layout of the Imola circuit, which features almost every kind of corner and chicane along its 4.936km length. Haslam, now 15th overall after missing chances to score points due to his injury, sees the Imola weekend as a real opportunity to start posting strong results.
The original fast and flowing nature of the Imola layout, which in recent years been punctuated with chicanes, features some of the most evocative corners in world motorcycling, such as Acque Minerali, Rivazza and Piratella. Heavily modified over the years, its long and narrow paddock area is bounded by a river at one side and hemmed in by the track itself on the other, adding to its unique atmosphere and design.
When the Imola race weekend completes there will be an official Pirelli tyre test on 1 July, and after that the Superbike and Supersport teams head east for the eighth round of the season at Moscow Raceway on July 21.
IMOLA A KEY ROUND FOR MANY TOP HONDA SUPERSPORT RIDERS
Top-ranked CBR600RR riders Michael van der Mark (Pata Honda World Supersport Team) and Lorenzo Zanetti (Pata Honda World Supersport
Team) have every reason to be confident entering the seventh round of the 2013 FIM Supersport World Championship at Imola this coming weekend.The rookie riders in this class have each had podium highpoints to celebrate so far, although in van Der Mark's case two fourth place finishes, after epic recoveries to get in final contact with the leading group at Assen and Portimao, were arguably even better individual performances. Michael, champion in the Superstock 600 European Cup class before moving up to WSS this year, is fourth overall at present as he goes for his first win in this category of racing.
Zanetti, making the transition from the Superbike class to WSS this year, has already impressed with his determination to learn the secrets of riding a 600 and he will be hoping that home ground brings him the same kind of result that saw him finish third at Monza in May, shortly after putting in his first front row qualifying performance. Last year, when riding a big V-twin in the SBK class, Lorenzo was eighth at Imola, after spending much of the race in fifth place, proving he has no lack of intimate and effective track knowledge.
In a good year for emerging talents in the WSS class Jack Kennedy (Rivamoto Honda) has exceeded some of his and his team's expectations already. Despite a non-finish at Monza he is eighth in the rankings and has put in two equal best sixth places in the most recent races, at Donington and Portimao.
Sheridan Morais (PTR Honda) had his best rides of the season so far at the previous round as he continues his recovery from a right shoulder injury at an ever-accelerating pace. Currently sitting in 11th place Morais is now looking for his first Honda podium in the WSS class.
Luca Marconi (PTR Honda) faces a home race at Imola as he tries to get back to the level that saw him a top ten runner in some of the early rounds of the season. Another Italian rider for Honda, Raffaele De Rosa (Team Lorini Honda), is looking to home ground to keep up his points scoring form, with a ninth place finish last time out his best ride of the year so far. British rider Tommy Bridewell will join De Rosa in the Lorini team at Imola.
Gabor Talmacsi (PRORACE Honda) will not be riding at the Imola round as he suffered a leg injury at the previous event in Portugal and his place will be taken by Valentin Debise for the Italian race.
David Linortner (Team Honda PTR) will be hunting more points this weekend, while Imre Toth (Racing Team Toth Honda) and his team-mate Alex Schacht, Eduard Blokhin (Rivamoto Honda), Nacho Calero Perez (Honda PTR) and Matt Davies (Team Honda PTR) are all looking for their first points of 2013.
HONDA RIDER COMMENTS:
Jonathan Rea (Pata Honda World Superbike Team) "We've had a few frustrating rounds lately, with little problems affecting our results. The bike is competitive though, so hopefully the guys have had some time back at the workshop, analysing the data with my comments, to make some progress. I'm looking forward to seeing that progress this weekend at a circuit that I really enjoy.
Imola has a bit of everything and we get really close to the fans in some places, which really adds to the special atmosphere. I've had a good break to recharge the batteries and reflect on the first half of the season. Hopefully, we can maintain our podium form and develop the package so we can start to really challenge for race wins."Leon Haslam (Pata Honda World Superbike Team) "It's been a long and really repetitive road trying to get my leg back in the kind of shape that I can ride with it, but we've definitely made some more progress since Portugal. I had one of the screws removed last week and that's reduced the pain when I'm on the bike. I did a race school at Donington soon afterwards and it definitely felt a lot better. I'm confident that I'll be able to race at Imola, which I'm really looking forward to. It's given me mixed results over the years - my engine blew in 2010 when I was chasing the championship, but I got a double podium there last year. I love the place, so I'm really looking forward to riding there."
Michael van Der Mark (Pata Honda World Supersport Team) "I am ready and cannot wait to go to Italy again. My previous foot injury is almost completely gone and I only have pain when it sits in some positions. In Superstock 600 last year I was third and I can say that Imola is a track I really like, so I look forward to riding it again. It is really old school and in some parts it is a little tight but there is always something special about it."
Lorenzo Zanetti (Pata Honda World Supersport Team) "Another Italian round and for me this fantastic. Every time you race at home it is like that. I had a good ride at Imola in the Superbike class last year so I have good memories of that to take into this year. The 600 feels natural now, but although we did not finish with a good result the last time out we know my potential is more than that, for sure. In other races, Monza or Donington I finished in good positions and my feeling on the bike is all OK as we head to Imola."
Jack Kennedy (Rivamoto Honda)
"Imola is another new track for me to learn this year and as usual I have been using my computer game a lot to learn which way it goes.
Everybody tells me how much like a British track the layout is but also that it is very atmospheric and historic kind of racetrack. The only issue for me is my right knee, which I hit really hard on a kerbstone in the previous round. It is still bruised and swollen but it will be OK for the practice and the race."Sheridan Morais (PTR Honda)
"At the last round in Portugal we qualified on the front row and finished fifth. The aim for Imola is to improve on that race result and get on the podium. I think as a package we are getting faster and stronger at every race and everyone can see that. I know I can win races on this bike and Imola is my next opportunity to prove that."