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HONDA RACING INFORMATION
ZitatAlles anzeigenFIM SUPERBIKE / SUPERSPORT WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND 09 SUNDAY AUGUST 4 SILVERSTONE, GREAT BRITAIN PREVIEW
SILVERSTONE A KEY HOME EVENT FOR BOTH REA AND HASLAM
The ninth round of the FIM Superbike World Championship takes place on Sunday August 4, at Silverstone in the English Midlands, shortly before the start of the summer break in the 15-round SBK calendar.
It has been a busy period running up to this event for team-mates Jonathan Rea (Pata Honda World Superbike Team) and Leon Haslam (Pata Honda World Superbike Team). They competed in the eighth round of the SBK championship at Moscow Raceway on July 21, and then took part in the Suzuka 8 Hour race on July 28, with contrasting fortunes. Now they each return to home soil in the UK to take on the challenge of SBK racing once again.
Rea, who was unable to finish the Suzuka 8 Hour race because of a crash involving his team-mate, now turns his attentions to moving onwards and upwards from his current seventh place in the SBK points table. Jonathan has scored three podiums in 2013 so far on his CBR1000RR but is looking for his first win of the year to add to his career total of ten. He has enjoyed some good experiences at Silverstone, having scored podium finishes there in the recent past.
Despite still being in the recuperation stages after badly breaking his left lower leg at Assen way back in April, Leon Haslam has shown that he is well on the way to recovery with his recent joint win at the Suzuka 8 Hour endurance race.
The SBK races at Silverstone offer Leon a real opportunity to test his recent level of improvement; particularly at a circuit he too has scored podium finishes at in previous seasons.After the long summer break, which follows the British weekend, the SBK paddock will reconvene at another iconic circuit for round ten at the Nürburgring in Germany, between August 30 and September 1.
VAN DER MARK AND ZANETTI PREPARE FOR ANOTHER BRITISH ROUND
The ninth round of the FIM Supersport World Championship will take place at the fast and flat Silverstone circuit in the UK on Sunday August 4, with Dutchman Michael van der Mark (Pata Honda World Supersport Team) and Italian Lorenzo Zanetti (Pata Honda World Supersport Team) each ready to push for podium finishes.
For Van der Mark, an impressive winning ride alongside Leon Haslam and Takumi Takahashi at the Suzuka 8 Hour race sets him up in good shape for the Silverstone WSS round. Michael aims to close the points gap in the championship standings to promote himself from his current placing of fourth. In his rookie WSS season Michael has already scored two podium places and three other top five finishes, to give him a current points total of 73.
One place behind Michael is his team-mate Lorenzo Zanetti. Battered and bruised during a fast crash in what was an eventually abandoned Moscow Raceway WSS race, Lorenzo is hoping to move on from the previous round in Russia, which was eventually cancelled after his Italian compatriot Andrea Antonelli was fatally injured.
Silverstone, one of the most famous names in all of motorsport, has been a rewarding venue for Van der Mark, who was pole man in his championship winning Superstock 600 European Championship season in 2012 for Honda. He went on to finish second in the race last year, before taking the championship itself at the final round.
Zanetti, an SBK rider last season but a Superstock 1000 FIM Cup runner in 2011, was second at Silverstone in 2011’s FIM Cup race. A result of that magnitude this year would be mission accomplished for the 25-year-old rider from Brescia, who like his team-mate is also a full-season rookie in the WSS class.
Other Honda riders have real reason to look forward to Silverstone, not least former British Supersport challenger Jack Kennedy (Rivamoto Honda). His best result of his rookie WSS season has been sixth in a race, which he has now posted on two occasions. Irishman Kennedy is currently eighth overall. Unlike some other circuits on the WSS trail, Kennedy has intimate knowledge of the Silverstone track.
Sheridan Morais (PTR Honda) comes back to the WSS class at Silverstone after missing the Russian round to recover from a painful right shoulder injury that has dogged most of his 2013 season so far.
Another recently injured rider, Luca Marconi (PTR
Honda) is set to rejoin the action in England, as the young Italian rider goes for more top ten race success at what is a home round for his PTR team. He has had an operation on his broken right forearm, with a steel plate now reinforcing the fractured areas.Another Italian rider, Raffaele De Rosa (Team Lorini Honda), moves on to the UK with a personal best of ninth so far, as he sits in 19th position overall.
Gabor Talmacsi (PRORACE Honda) will miss another race for his Czech team and at this event recent Honda WSS rider Ronan Quarmby will be his replacement.
Austrian rider David Linortner (Team Honda PTR) looks to add to his 2013 points total in England while Imre Toth (Racing Team Toth Honda), Eduard Blokhin (Rivamoto Honda), Nacho Calero Perez (Honda PTR) and Matt Davies (Team Honda PTR) aim to score their first points of the year against a strong line up of riders.
After the summer break the next race for the WSS riders will be held at the Nürburgring, on September 1.
HONDA RIDER COMMENTS:
Jonathan Rea (Pata Honda World Superbike Team) "I was devastated to finish the 8-hour race the way we did, but these things happen and I was happy for my Pata Honda team-mates and for Honda.
I’m feeling really good though and looking forward to getting back on my bike this weekend.
I've had mixed results at Silverstone in the past and I've had some great races there; I particularly remember a couple of second places in 2010, which I really enjoyed. We struggled a bit last year, but it's a nice circuit to ride.
The modifications made to the track in recent years have made it better but I'll attack it the same way I attack every other circuit. Of course, being a second British round, it'll be good to see a lot of friendly faces there, even if they can be quite far away in some places.”Leon Haslam (Pata Honda World Superbike Team) “Suzuka was one of those weekends where everything went to plan. I did not expect the win, because of my leg and so on, but it all went well. We have been very busy recently and I have just come back from Suzuka. Things have gone from just finishing two races at Imola to winning the
8 Hour in a short space of time. I want to continue that momentum into Silverstone. Every year we have been challenging for podiums and wins there. I had a podium in 2010 and led by two seconds last year until the rain caught us out on slick tyres. It is a track that we can be good at, even if there are a couple of big long straights. They are not going to be too handy for us but there are some big long flowing corners leading onto them. Jonathan has had good results at Silverstone in the past and that proves that the Honda can be competitive there. This will be the only chance I will get to race in front of my home crowd in 2013 so I am going to give it a good go.”Michael van Der Mark (Pata Honda World Supersport Team) “I feel great after the Suzuka 8 Hour race and I had never achieved something big like this before. It was very special. Now we go to Silverstone for WSS and it has always been one of my favourite tracks. I am hoping we can have a good result in the race there because I have had some good results in Superstock before, especially in qualifying. It should take only a few laps to get back into Supersport mode. I have ridden the CBR600RR so much this season it should not be difficult to get back on it at Silverstone. We’ll have to see how it goes on Friday and I’ll try to be near the front.”
Lorenzo Zanetti (Pata Honda World Supersport Team) “The crash in Moscow was very big – the data said it was 255kph – and, of course, it affected everybody a lot. I broke my thumb and a finger, and injured my right foot and damaged ligaments in my left knee. I had some surgery on the finger when I got home to Italy so I hope everything will be OK for this weekend at Silverstone. I want to start again immediately because I don’t think it would be good to wait a long time without riding the bike. The Silverstone circuit is OK, very fast and long, so I hope the weather is good and we can have a good weekend."
Jack Kennedy (Rivamoto Honda)
“I am back to 100% training even though my knee injury is not quite 100% right. I had an MRI scan and I just have some soft tissue damage, which may take time to recover. I still have some swelling on it. My weight is good, I’m really happy and I suppose you could say I am confident going into this round. I cannot wait to get back out there on my bike at a track that I know. I hope to be able to go for it from the first session. I know where I am from the start at this track this time around.”Sheridan Morais (PTR Honda)
“I missed Moscow so I could rest up and I feel a lot better now. I absolutely love Silverstone, so nothing was going to make me miss this round. I think a podium is possible and will be giving it my all."Luca Marconi (PTR Honda)
“I had an operation on my arm and I hope it will be OK to let me race. I think my arm is around 80% so we will have to see how it goes in the race. I am looking forward to a good result. I have a plate with several screws and because it is my right arm that I broke, that’s the one you use for the throttle and the brake. I know Silverstone but it is maybe not my favourite track. It is a home race for my team, so I hope for a good race result for myself and for them."