Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme : Red Bull FIM MotoGP Rookies Cup

Stoner announces retirement at end of 2012

Thu, 17 May 2012 18:48:00 +0200

Reigning MotoGP World Champion Casey Stoner confirmed on Thursday that he would retire from the sport at the end of the 2012 season. Stoner had previously dismissed his retirement plans as rumours, however he has now publicly stated that he will not continue racing past the end of the 2012 season. He said: "After a long time thinking, a lot of time talking with my family and my wife, this has been coming for a couple of years now but at the end of this 2012 season I will be not racing in the 2013 Championship. I will be finishing my career at the end of this season in MotoGP, and go forward in different things in my life. "After so many years of doing this sport which I love, and which myself and my family made so many sacrifices for, after so many years of trying to get to where we have gotten to at this point, this sport has changed a lot and it has changed to the point where I am not enjoying it." "There are a lot of things that have disappointed me, and also a lot of things I have loved about this sport, but unfortunately the balance has gone in the wrong direction. And so, basically, we won't be continuing any more. It would be nice if I could say I would stay one more year, but then where does it stop? So we decided to finish everything as we are now." As for the race in Le Mans, Stoner hopes to resolve the chatter issues which have plagued him throughout the season so far: "The last two races we've struggled a little bit with chatter, especially the last two, and it's something we want to really reduce so we have to work hard here." Yamaha Factory Racing's Jorge Lorenzo, who lies just one point behind the reigning world champion was shocked by the Australian's announcement: "It's a surprise for me, for everyone. I didn't expect it. I heard the rumours and I thought there was a possibility, but I thought he would continue next year. Now he has told us, it's not good news for MotoGP I think, but his decision is to live quietly with his family and we must respect his decision." He will be looking to snatch back the lead in the championship this Sunday at a track he really enjoys: "Le Mans is one of my favourite tracks. Since my first ever-front row in 2003 I have always had good results, so I'm happy to be here." Monster Yamaha Tech 3's Cal Crutchlow saw the lighter side of Stoner's announcement: "With Casey making that announcement, maybe he can slow down and let me have a place in the top three. They [the aliens] don't make many mistakes. Maybe they need to change what they have for dinner the night before or something." And following a race to forget at Le Mans last year for the team, Crutchlow is looking to carry his good form this season into this round: "I'm looking forward to it, yet it can always throw a few things with the weather. I think we've had some not so bad performances this year, although Estoril was disappointing. We really struggled a little bit with the set-up, and maybe a little bit with myself. But hopefully we can get on with it this weekend at Le Mans." Valentino Rossi also had some big news as he announced he would continue racing a further two years past 2012, yet not before commenting on Stoner: "Yes, it's a big surprise. I think it's bad news for all the MotoGP world because at the end of the season maybe we're losing one of the great riders and a great rival. Is negative, but it's his own decision. For me it's very difficult to understand where my retirement news started from, as I never spoke about my retirement. I want to race in MotoGP for the next two years for sure." Le Mans was the place of his only podium with Ducati last year, which he is taking confidence from: "I have had some bad results in Le Mans, but also good memories from the past. We had a not so bad weekend in Portugal and we'll try and continue on that way and try to improve our performance to try and get closer to the guys in front of us. Last year was the best result with the Ducati, so we are optimistic." Rounding out the event was local CRT rider Randy de Puniet: "It's a very important race for me, even if this year I don't have the bike to be at the top. But top CRT. I think for the CRTs it will be a difficult track because you have two or three big accelerations, like on the back straight, but you never know what happens with the weather conditions. I hope to be 100% on the bike after my crash at Estoril, because I still have a lot of pain in my ribs. I really hope to be the first CRT this weekend in front of my home crowd."

Double-interview with Marco Melandri and Leon Haslam

Wed, 16 May 2012 10:58:00 +0200

They made history: The two BMW Motorrad Motorsport factory riders speak about the milestone they achieved at Donington.

There was endless jubilation in the BMW Motorrad Motorsport garage. When factory riders Marco Melandri (ITA) and Leon Haslam (GBR) crossed the finish line of race one at Donington (GBR), they gave BMW Motorrad its long awaited milestone – not only the first ever victory for the Bavarian manufacturer in the FIM Superbike World Championship, but also the first one-two win. While both riders were fighting at the very top from start to finish, it was Marco that took the honour of being the first winner on the BMW S 1000 RR. Leon completed the triumph being second, just 0.7 seconds behind the Italian. In a double interview, the two factory riders speak about this historic day.

"Marco, in an exciting first race at Donington, you and Leon achieved the first ever one-two victory for BMW Motorrad Motorsport. What does this historic success mean to you?"

Marco Melandri: "It is something really special. When I joined BMW Motorrad, my target was to help to make the RR a winning bike and to get the first victory ever and this is what we, the team and the people at the factory achieved. I have to thank all the people involved in the project; the management of BMW Motorrad, the race department and the people at the track, just to name a few. We had some difficult times, but we never gave up and were very focused on our job. We concentrated on progressing step by step and now I am very proud that my name is in the BMW history book."

"What were your feelings and thoughts during the last laps and especially when you were crossing the finish line?"

Marco Melandri: "It was unbelievable. So many things were going around in my head. I was thinking about all the people in Germany who were watching the race on TV, all my family, all the team members. I was thinking of the time from my first test on the RR in winter until now. It is difficult to explain. I had so many thoughts and emotions in that short period of time."

"Leon, during the whole season, the team constantly made progress with you and Marco consistently in the top positions. Was it just a question of time that this double victory would come – and what was the key to that success?"

Leon Haslam: "We have made great progress from last season. From the first test onwards, we had made a lot of improvements to the bike. Since then, with the new team structure and staff, we have improved race by race so for me it was just a matter of time to get the result."

"Marco, has the team now reached a level where it can be competitive at every race weekend?

Marco Melandri: "I think that we have a very good level but now it is going to be even more difficult for us. To reach the top is difficult but to stay at the top is an even bigger challenge. Our rivals are waiting and will try to beat us. We are aware of the challenge and know that for sure we will have some difficult races but we are very focused. We want to stay at the top."

"Leon, in the second race at Donington you were only a few metres away from your home victory, when you were robbed that dream result in the last corner. We know you are a fighter – does this give you even more motivation to get your first win on the RR as soon as possible?"

Leon Haslam: "Donington was very disappointing for me. We could have had two victories there. Assen was another missed opportunity for the win. But yes – this makes me even more determined and confident. We can still win this championship. We just need some luck."

"And a question to both of you: What are your targets now for the rest of the season?"

Marco Melandri: "To continue having fun and to do my best. The championship still has a long way to go – and it is very open. We have to think from race to race and to always try to get maximum points, because we need to follow the top guys in the championship. We need to catch up the points that we lost in the last corner of the second race."

Leon Haslam: "My target as always is to give 110 per cent and to try and win as many races as possible to try and get the championship for BMW Motorrad."

Ducati Team heads to “stop-and-go” Le Mans circuit

Wed, 16 May 2012 09:48:00 +0200

Having encountered at least one day of rain during every winter test and in every race so far except for Qatar, the two Ducati Team riders hope for a weekend with stable weather conditions at Le Mans as they continue working on the setup of the GP12.

Friday will find Valentino Rossi back on the track where he finished on the podium last year, and with the Portuguese post-race test having been cancelled due to bad weather, he'll start with the settings he used at Estoril race, with the goal of improving upon his seventh-place finish there.

Nicky Hayden also hopes to do better than in Portugal, and although he doesn't count the French circuit among his favourites, he thinks some of its characteristics could be a good match for his Ducati.

VALENTINO ROSSI:
"It's a shame that we lost the post-race test in Portugal because we would have continued our development work, and as we had very recent data from the race, we could have made some interesting comparisons. Still, this won't influence us much from a technical point of view at Le Mans, as any updates would have arrived later anyway. In France, we'll prepare for the race by working on the bike like we did at Estoril, starting from the base setup that we're now a bit more familiar with and trying to continue with the settings one step at a time, in such a way that we reach Sunday at the maximum of our current potential. Le Mans is another place where the weather can be challenging, particularly at this time of year, but it's also the track where I had my best result with the Ducati last year. We'll see how it goes, but we'd like to do a little better than we did in Portugal."

NICKY HAYDEN:
"I certainly wouldn't say Le Mans is my favourite track on the calendar, but there are some things that I like about it. Sometimes it lacks grip somewhat, which I don't like so much. On the other hand, it has a fair amount of hard braking, and I think some of those parts should suit our bike well. It will also be interesting to be at a different type of track compared to what we've seen so far this year. It's a shame we didn't get to test in Portugal because it certainly would have been nice to try a few things, but we'll get to France, see what kind of weather we get, and try to get a good result."

VITTORIANO GUARESCHI, Team Manager
"Le Mans is a bit strange, a classic stop-and-go track that's very different from Estoril. This will give us an opportunity to check the work that we're doing on the GP12's setup: Valentino used it all weekend at the last GP, so we'll continue like that in an effort to also make progress at Le Mans, where he had a really nice race last year. Though this isn't one of Nicky's preferred circuits, he'll also use the experience he has gathered while using this setup on the GP12 since the start of the championship."

LE MANS CIRCUIT RECORDS
Circuit Record: Dani Pedrosa (Honda – 2011), 1:33.617 – 160.932 Km/h (99.999 mph)
Best Pole: Dani Pedrosa (Honda – 2008), 1:32.647 – 162.617 Km/h (101.045 mph)
Circuit Length: 4.185 km
MotoGP Race 2012: 28 laps (117.180 km)
MotoGP Schedule 2012: 2 p.m. local time
PODIUM 2011: 1st Casey Stoner, 2nd Andrea Dovizioso, 3rd Valentino Rossi
POLE 2011: Casey Stoner (Honda), 1:33.153 – 161.733 Km/h (100.496 mph)

DUCATI TEAM'S BEST RESULTS AT LE MANS
2011: 3rd (Rossi)
2010: 4th (Hayden)
2009: 5th (Stoner)
2008: 15th (Melandri)
2007: 3rd (Stoner)
2006: 2nd (Capirossi)
2005: 7th (Capirossi)
2004: 8th (Bayliss)
2003: DNF

MotoGP returns to Legendary Le Mans

Tue, 15 May 2012 10:56:00 +0200

Yamaha Factory Racing heads to France this week to prepare for round four of the Championship, the Monster Energy Grand Prix de France at the legendary Le Mans circuit. Jorge Lorenzo arrives trailing Championship leader Casey Stoner by just a single point in the standings and looking to take back the lead. Le Mans has delivered some great results for Lorenzo, the Mallorcan claiming two premier class wins plus one a 250cc GP victory.

Fellow Yamaha Factory rider Ben Spies heads to Le Mans determined to shake off a run of mixed results and get his 2012 Championship firmly back on track. A solid sixth last year marks his best result yet at the French track, something he will be looking to improve on this weekend.

The perfect Le Mans set up requires optimum balance and control under repeated hard braking. The challenging circuit requires riders to dispatch several tight chicanes before attacking the short straights and tight hairpins that form the remainder of the track. Le Mans is this year hosting the Grand Prix for the 55th time and is sure to attract a huge crowd of passionate race fans as always.

Jorge Lorenzo
"We arrive in good shape having always been in the first two positions in the three races of the year so far, I want to keep this going in Le Mans. Last year we struggled, especially in acceleration but I feel that this year is going to be a little different. It's a good track for my riding style so we will try to fight for the win again but always thinking about the Championship."

Ben Spies
"I'm looking forward to getting back on the bike again this week. My confidence has been rebuilding well now we've found a good set up that works so I think we can make another step and improve our performance again at Le Mans. It's not my favourite track but I'm going to give it 100% as always to achieve a good result on Sunday."

Greatest MotoGP™ rivalry continues at historic Le Mans

Mon, 14 May 2012 14:07:00 +0200

MotoGP™ returns this weekend at the Monster Energy Grand Prix de France, where Repsol Honda's Casey Stoner will look to extend his lead at the top of the championship standings.

He will face stiff competition from his teammate Dani Pedrosa and Yamaha Factory Racing's Jorge Lorenzo, who have been the only three racers to stand on the podium this season. They have already cemented themselves as one of the greatest rivalries in the 64-year history of the sport, having shared the podium a record 16 times – four more than any other trio in the past.

Le Mans, which will host the Grand Prix for the 55th time this weekend, also sees Stoner chasing his 19th successive podium. Having won the last two races, and showing clear signs of recovery from his arm pump problem, he remains the man to beat. Lorenzo, only one point behind the Australian in the standings, has been the most consistent challenger so far and will be looking to get one over on the current World Champion at a track where he has won twice already in the premier class.

Pedrosa on the other hand, who recorded his 100th podium finish last time out at Estoril, will be looking to get his first win of the season at a track where he has not yet won in the top category. Monster Yamaha Tech 3 pair Cal Crutchlow and Andrea Dovizioso have so far provided some great inter-team battles and will be aiming to not only out-do one another once again, but to find that extra bit of pace to catch up to the front three.

Ducati Team pair Valentino Rossi and Nicky Hayden, who both had mixed fortunes last time out, will be heading to the French track with optimism after Rossi recorded his best Ducati result this season in seventh. Having finished 26 seconds behind race winner Stoner, this was the closest any Ducati rider has finished to the race winner since Rossi's seventh place finish at Misano last year. The Italian will also hold fond memories of the French track, as Le Mans was the setting for Rossi's sole podium last year.

Honda satellite riders, San Carlo Honda Gresini's Álvaro Bautista and LCR Honda MotoGP's rookie Stefan Bradl will look to build on their solid performances so far this year, while Pramac Racing's Héctor Barberá on-board his satellite Ducati will look to improve on his 10th place at Estoril. Cardion AB Racing's Karel Abraham has not finished a race this season so far and will hope to turn his fortunes around.

After suffering a broken left collarbone in Estoril qualifying, NGM Mobile Forward Racing's Colin Edwards will be replaced by 2007 Le Mans race-winner Chris Vermeulen, making his first MotoGP appearance since 2009. Power Electronics Aspar pair Randy de Puniet and Aleix Espargaró will be gunning for top CRT honour once more, with de Puniet having the added motivation of Le Mans being his home track.

San Carlo Honda Gresini's Michele Pirro and Came IodaRacing Project's Danilo Petrucci will once again hope for a solid performance, while Speed Master's Mattia Pasini, Paul Bird Motorsport's James Ellison and Avintia Blusens pair Yonny Hernandez and Iván Silva will look to reverse their fortunes this time out and complete the race.

World Championship Standings MotoGP™

1- Casey Stoner - AUS - Honda - 66
2- Jorge Lorenzo - SPA - Yamaha - 65
3- Dani Pedrosa - SPA - Honda - 52
4- Cal Cructhlow - GBR - Yamaha - 37
5- Andrea Dovizioso - ITA - Yamaha - 35

Márquez will continue his quest at the top of the Moto2™ championship this weekend

Mon, 14 May 2012 14:05:00 +0200

Team CatalunyaCaixa Repsol's Marc Márquez will continue his quest at the top of the Moto2™ championship at the Monster Energy Grand Prix de France in Le Mans this weekend, a track where he took his first ever intermediate-class victory last year, as Toni Elías makes his 200th GP start.

Márquez, who has so far won two out of three races, will once again be looking to hold off the challenge from Pons 40 HP Tuenti compatriot Pol Espargaró, who has been in tremendous form this season, providing one of the most thrilling last-lap battles ever with Márquez last time out in Estoril.

Hot on their heels will be Interwetten-Paddock's Tom Lüthi, who has been consistently on the pace, yet not quite able to pip the Spanish pair to a win. However, all eyes will be on JiR Moto2's French rookie Johann Zarco, who has shone since entering the class this year. His performances in the wet, and a fourth place finish at Estoril will no doubt have the crowd hoping for that next step onto the podium.

One Frenchman who knows about winning at Le Mans in S/Master Speed Up's Mike Di Meglio, who was the last French winner at the track in 2008 aboard a 125cc Derbi machine. After crashing out in the last race, Di Meglio will be hoping to recapture some of that 2008 form.

2010 Moto2 World Champion, Mapfre Aspar Team' Toni Elías, will be setting a significant milestone this weekend, as the race marks his 200th GP start, while Tech3 Racing's Bradley Smith will reach 100. Both riders have not been as high up the order as they had hoped so far this season, but with a seventh for Elías and a 10th place for Smith at Estoril, both will be looking to build on those results.

Others to watch will be Speed Master's Andrea Iannone, who has had mixed performances since his close second at the opening round in Qatar, as well as Marc VDS Racing Team pair Scott Redding and Mika Kallio, NGM Mobile Forward Racing's Alex de Angelis and Tech3's Xavier Simeon.

World Championship Standings Moto2™

1- Marc Márquez - SPA - Suter - 70
2- Pol Espargaró - SPA - Kalex - 61
3- Thomas Luthi - SWI - Suter - 43
4- Andrea Iannone - ITA - Speed Up - 33
5- Scott Redding - GBR - Kalex - 28

Sandro Cortese will look to increase his lead in Le Mans

Mon, 14 May 2012 14:01:00 +0200

After taking KTM's first ever win in the Moto3™ class last time out at Estoril, Red Bull KTM Ajo's Sandro Cortese will look to increase his lead at the top of the championship with another strong showing at this weekend's Monster Energy Grand Prix de France in Le Mans.

Having been the strongest qualifier this season, and having come off best in a fairing to fairing contest with title rival Maverick Viñales, Cortese is in buoyant mood ahead of the French round. However, Blusens Avintia's Viñales will look to snatch back the lead at a track where he took his first ever Grand Prix win in the 125cc class last year.

RW Racing GP's Luis Salom, who has finished twice on the podium this year, equalling the number of podium finishes in his 43 previous race starts, will once again be setting out to stay with the leading pack, and perhaps secure his first race win. He will most likely have another strong rider to compete with in the form of Team Italia FMI's Romano Fenati, who after starting the season with a second place and a race-win, failed to finish in Estoril due to a crash.

AirAsia-SIC-Ajo's Zulfahmi Khairuddin, who made Malaysian motorcycle racing history with his fourth place in Estoril, will once again be looking to take his career to the next step and secure that first ever podium finish. Having only missed out on third place by a fraction, he is no doubt in a confident mood.

JHK T-Shirt Laglisse's Efrén Vázquez, who finished third at Le Mans last year, has been in solid form, and will be hoping to repeat his previous feat. San Carlo Gresini Moto3´s Niccolo Antonelli, who has improved significantly throughout the season will be one to watch after his sixth place at Estoril, while the French contingent made up of Caretta Technology's Alexis Masbou, Racing Team Germany's Louis Rossi and Technomag-CIP-TSR's Alan Techer will look to put on a show in front of their home crowd.

World Championship Standings Moto3™

1- Sandro Cortese - GER - KTM - 57
2- Maverick Viñales - SPA - FTR Honda - 55
3- Luis Salom - SPA - Kalex KTM - 49
4- Romano Fenati - ITA - FTR Honda - 45
5- Zulfahmi Khairuddin - MAL - KTM - 29

History for BMW and Melandri, dramatic win for Rea

Sun, 13 May 2012 21:09:00 +0200

Donington Park (UK), Sunday 13 May 2012 – A 48,500 strong crowd saw some astounding race action at Donington in two sun-blessed 23-lap races, which culminated in a moment of history for one of the world's most important motorcycle manufacturers, some of the best SBK racing ever seen and changes near the top of the eni FIM Superbike World Championship table.

After Marco Melandri (BMW Motorrad Motorsport) won the first race, the German manufacturer added its name to the list of race-winning makes for the very first time. In race two a classic multi-rider battle ended up in joy and heartbreak for some top riders, as Jonathan Rea (Honda World Superbike Team) came out on top after a final corner melee.

The end result of one of the best days of racing imaginable is that Max Biaggi (Aprilia Racing Team) leads the championship with 128.5 points, from double podium man Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team) on 123, and Rea on 108. Carlos Checa (Althea Racing Ducati) is fourth on 105.5. The top four championship places are now covered by only 23 points, after five rounds and nine individual races.

Race 1

A truly historic 1-2 for BMW saw Melandri win the opening race with his team-mate Leon Haslam only 0.728 seconds behind. An eventual five rider fight for the podium places provided overtaking and personal duels aplenty as the race order changed multiple times. Tissot-Superpole winner Sykes won a tense battle to go third, with Rea making up places in the final laps to overhaul Biaggi and take fourth.

The leading five were covered by only 2.102 seconds at the end of the race. Checa was sixth, four seconds from the win, making it five different manufacturers in the top six at the flag. Melandri's win also means that six different riders have now won races this year, representing five different manufacturers – and all with nine rounds and 18 races left to go.

Marco Melandri: "It means a lot to me to win this for such a good factory like BMW, it's history and something I could not dream about when I was young. I just want to say thanks to BMW in Germany, the team on track and everybody involved in the project. We have been working so hard and we never give up even when we found some difficulties. We are working still right now to stay at the top and I am so happy to be here. I had good race pace yesterday and today the tyres have been working very good until the end. We managed the situation well but at the beginning I was not so fast, but fortunately Tom and Leon were fighting a lot so they lost a bit of time and we could catch them again. We are so happy for this win."

Leon Haslam: "I found myself on the wrong side of Marco, on the right side of him into the Esses and I nearly went into the back off him so I had to let off the brakes and I am disappointed because I did feel quite good up to that point. Fair play to Marco and we got a BMW 1-2 which is fantastic. Hopefully we can make amends in the next one and not make that mistake. I want to dedicate this result to the late Robert Fearnall, who was a big, big friend of the family and Donington."

Tom Sykes: "A fantastic race, I really enjoyed it and it certainly felt like a long, seemed to go on for many laps. Overall I think we had a very good show, lots of passing, and a little bit too much at some corners, especially at the Foggy Esses, which seemed to claim a few victims. Overall I am very happy to be on the podium and collecting some good solid points again with the Ninja ZX-10R. Unfortunately we seemed to struggle at one particular part of the track and that definitely affected our race performance, but hopefully we can improve on that very small sector and go better in race two. As for now a podium is good enough."

Results: 1. Melandri M. (ITA) BMW S1000 RR 34'26.736; 2. Haslam L. (GBR) BMW S1000 RR 0.728; 3. Sykes T. (GBR) Kawasaki ZX-10R 1.609; 4. Rea J. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 1.819; 5. Biaggi M. (ITA) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 2.102; 6. Checa C. (ESP) Ducati 1098R 4.820; 7. Giugliano D. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 7.520; 8. Guintoli S. (FRA) Ducati 1098R 7.927; 9. Camier L. (GBR) Suzuki GSX-R1000 15.144; 10. Fabrizio M. (ITA) BMW S1000 RR 16.065; 11. Badovini A. (ITA) BMW S1000 RR 19.805; 12. Davies C. (GBR) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 20.170; 13. Berger M. (FRA) Ducati 1098R 21.274; 14. Smrz J. (CZE) Ducati 1098R 21.517; 15. Laverty E. (IRL) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 26.920; 16. Baz L. (FRA) Kawasaki ZX-10R 35.025; etc.

Race 2

Rea took his second win of the season after an incident-strewn Race 2 at Donington. On the first corner Checa and Eugene Laverty (Aprilia Racing Team) touched and Checa went down, taking out Jakub Smrz (Liberty Racing Team Effenbert Ducati) and Checa's team-mate Davide Giugliano. Then Laverty himself crashed heading down Craner Curves as eventual third place man Sykes led for most of race distance. He was finally overhauled by a warring faction which included eventual second place man Biaggi plus Haslam and Melandri.

After a multitude of overtakes and riders running off track on occasion, Haslam looked to have it won until both he and Melandri ran wide as the Italian attempted a pass into the very last corner and Rea pushed inside as a gap opened up. He and Haslam collided and Haslam fell, knocking off Melandri with his stricken bike as he slid across the track. Rea held on to win by just over half a second from Biaggi, with Sykes two second back in third place. Leon Camier (Fixi Crescent Suzuki) was an impressive fourth.

Jonathan Rea: "In the last corner there were five guys out there wanting to win a race, most of all Melandri came from a long way back on Leon to create a gap that I went for, me and Leon touched and I'm really sorry that he crashed. But more importantly we've won, taken 25 points and I've given my team a great reward for giving me a great bike this weekend."

Max Biaggi: "In race 2 the bike was a little better, I could keep up and race with the guys more than before. When the tyre went off I was struggling and then the last lap was simple, everyone tried to go inside and take my position: Melandri, Jonathan, everybody! I didn't give up, stayed cool and second place came automatically. I cannot say I'm very happy but the result is OK."

Tom Sykes: "Yet again we got the holeshot and led for a number of laps, but I was missing a bit of feeling with the wind, which was unfortunate. I managed to stay out front but made one mistake and all the other guys came past at a rate of knots. We didn't quite have the best setting this weekend but a pole position and two podiums is great for myself and the Kawasaki team. I had the best seat in the house for the last couple of laps, but for me five minus two equals a podium so I'm very happy!"

Results: 1. Rea J. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 34'31.847; 2. Biaggi M. (ITA) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 0.508; 3. Sykes T. (GBR) Kawasaki ZX-10R 2.029; 4. Camier L. (GBR) Suzuki GSX-R1000 4.245; 5. Guintoli S. (FRA) Ducati 1098R 6.595; 6. Badovini A. (ITA) BMW S1000 RR 17.469; 7. Davies C. (GBR) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 17.788; 8. Baz L. (FRA) Kawasaki ZX-10R 21.093; 9. Hickman P. (GBR) Suzuki GSX-R1000 21.866; 10. Aoyama H. (JPN) Honda CBR1000RR 22.620; 11. Canepa N. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 26.764; 12. Zanetti L. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 27.043; 13.Fabrizio M. (ITA) BMW S1000 RR 28.390; 14. Aitchison M. (AUS) BMW S1000 RR 56.618; 15. Haslam L. (GBR) BMW S1000 RR 1'20.196; etc.

Points (after 5 of 14 rounds): 1. Biaggi 128.5; 2. Sykes 123.5; 3. Rea 108; 4. Checa 105.5; 5. Melandri 97.5; 6. Haslam 89; 7. Guintoli 85; 8. Laverty 65; 9. Giugliano 50; 10. Smrz 44.5; etc.
Manufacturers: 1. Ducati 161.5; 2. Aprilia 139; 3. BMW 131; 4. Kawasaki 129.5; 5. Honda 112; 6. Suzuki 40.5.

World Supersport

In winning his first ever WSS race British rider Sam Lowes (Bogdanka PTR Honda) became the fifth different winner in five races this season and the third in a row on a Honda machine.

Having struggled on with a stomach bug of some kind since Friday, and suffering a serious finger injury in a fall on Saturday, Lowes had to work hard to resist a late push from eventual second place finisher, Kenan Sofuoglu (Kawasaki DeltaFin Lorenzini). Lowes came within 0.003 seconds of setting a new lap record in his efforts to keep the Turkish rider behind him on the penultimate lap, and is now only six points from Sofuoglu in the championship.

Third place today was taken by third ranked rider overall, Jules Cluzel (PTR Honda). Broc Parkes (Ten Kate Racing Products Honda) was in the early fight for the podium places but dropped back to fourth, while Glen Richards (Smiths Gloucester Triumph) finished fifth today and Sheridan Morais (Kawasaki DeltaFin Lorenzini) sixth.

Results: 1. Lowes S. (GBR) Honda CBR600RR 33'43.603; 2. Sofuoglu K. (TUR) Kawasaki ZX-6R 0.678; 3. Cluzel J. (FRA) Honda CBR600RR 3.987; 4. Parkes B. (AUS) Honda CBR600RR 8.088; 5. Richards G. (AUS) Triumph Daytona 675 11.786; 6. Morais S. (RSA) Kawasaki ZX-6R 20.849; 7. Quarmby R. (RSA) Honda CBR600RR 23.795; 8. Debise V. (FRA) Honda CBR600RR 24.094; etc.

Points (after 5 of 13 rounds): 1. Sofuoglu 81; 2. Lowes 76; 3. Cluzel 64; 4. Foret 55; 5. Parkes 42; 6. Baldolini 38; 7. Quarmby 34; 8. Morais 27; etc.

Manufacturers: 1. Honda 111; 2. Kawasaki 106; 3. Triumph 51; 4. Yamaha 43; 5. Suzuki 6.

Sykes goes on the rampage with new track best

Sat, 12 May 2012 19:28:00 +0200

Donington (UK), 12 May 2012 - Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team) went over 0.3 seconds faster than the existing track best in the third Superpole run, with a 1 minute 27.716 second lap that gave him his fourth Tissot-Superpole win of 2012. Close behind was his fellow Englishman Leon Haslam (BMW Motorrad Motorsport), the only other rider inside the 1'27 bracket.

Haslam's team-mate Marco Melandri was third and the front row for tomorrow's races was completed by Max Biaggi (Aprilia Racing), who came good after some challenging times in earlier practice sessions. Sylvain Guintoli (Team Effenbert-Liberty Racing) earned a top five place on the grid, with Jonathan Rea (Honda World Superbike Team) sixth.

Tom Sykes: "It's always nice to tick these things like Superpole wins off my check list, but having said that I wasn't expecting to be so fast. I was missing a bit of feeling with the ZX-10R but we kept working in Superpole 1 and 2, making some very small changes and finally in Superpole 3 those changes made all the difference. I'm confident with the race set-up, and hopefully we can have some good consistent weather and put on a good show for spectators. It was also nice to get the pole award from Roger Burnett, the first-ever WSB poleman; 25 years on it's happened to me!"

Leon Haslam: "We had similar problems to Marco, the race tyres were working really good and the Qs were struggling with a bit of chatter but had a lot of grip. We decided to use a Q right at the end, but I made a big mistake and it was really close between me and Tom. He keeps getting these pole positions, but I'm very happy to be on the front row and I'm sure it'll be a close race tomorrow."

Marco Melandri: "I'm very happy because the team and the BMW factory have made a good job and to be on the front row in dry qualifying here after Monza is very important for us. I was happy about my race pace but wasn't sure about my qualifying lap, but right from Superpole 1 I got a very good feeling. I was able to keep two qualifying tyres for the last Superpole but unfortunately had a bit of chattering with the first and the second didn't work so well. Now I hope to be with Leon on the podium."

Leon Camier (FIXI Crescent Suzuki) scored seventh place on the grid and will be joined on the second row by Jakub Smrz (Liberty Racing Team Effenbert Ducati). 2011 world champion Carlos Checa (Althea Racing Ducati) will start Sunday's race from the third row, in ninth place.

Ayrton Badovini (BMW Motorrad Italia Gold Bet) fell earlier today but bounced back to finish tenth, alongside his team-mate Michel Fabrizio, who was 11th. A difficult weekend of qualifying for Eugene Laverty culminated in 12th place in Superpole. Another Aprilia rider, Chaz Davies (ParkinGO MTC Aprilia), went 16th in qualifying, while new Kawasaki Racing Team rider Loris Baz was 18th.

Times: 1. Sykes T. (GBR) Kawasaki ZX-10R 1'27.716; 2. Haslam L. (GBR) BMW S1000 RR 1'27.864; 3. Melandri M. (ITA) BMW S1000 RR 1'28.177; 4. Biaggi M. (ITA) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 1'28.340; 5. Guintoli S. (FRA) Ducati 1098R 1'28.420; 6. Rea J. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 1'28.546; 7. Camier L. (GBR) Suzuki GSX-R1000 1'28.551; 8. Smrz J. (CZE) Ducati 1098R 1'28.785; 9. Checa C. (ESP) Ducati 1098R 1'28.497; 10. Badovini A. (ITA) BMW S1000 RR 1'28.614; 11. Fabrizio M. (ITA) BMW S1000 RR 1'28.683; 12. Laverty E. (IRL) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 1'29.032; 13. Giugliano D. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 1'29.236; 14. Canepa N. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 1'29.319; 15. Berger M. (FRA) Ducati 1098R 1'29.371; 16. Davies C. (GBR) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 1'29.493; etc.

World Supersport

Monza winner Jules Cluzel (PTR Honda) posted the fastest time in the second qualifying session to head the combined time sheets and take his first ever WSS pole with a 1 minute 30.931 seconds lap. This is the new best lap time in this class. Sam Lowes (Bogdanka PTR Honda) fell early in the session and was unable to improve on his first day best and thus he finishes second in the overall rankings.

Broc Parkes (Ten Kate Racing Products Honda) made it a 1-2-3 for Honda riders, with Kenan Sofuoglu (Kawasaki DeltaFin Lorenzini) going fourth. Wildcard Glen Richards (Smiths Gloucester Triumph) was a strong top five rider, while Sheridan Morais (Kawasaki DeltaFin Lorenzini) posted a top six place. Fabien Foret (Intermoto Step Racing) suffered a bang on the head in a practice crash but still went out and improved his best lap to go tenth on the grid.

Times: 1. Cluzel J. (FRA) Honda CBR600RR 1'30.931; 2. Lowes S. (GBR) Honda CBR600RR 1'31.155; 3. Parkes B. (AUS) Honda CBR600RR 1'31.320; 4. Sofuoglu K. (TUR) Kawasaki ZX-6R 1'31.338; 5. Richards G. (AUS) Triumph Daytona 675 1'31.496; 6. Morais S. (RSA) Kawasaki ZX-6R 1'31.615; 7. McConnell B. (AUS) Triumph Daytona 675 1'31.668; 8. Roccoli M. (ITA) Yamaha YZF R6 1'32.005; etc.

Smrz the smartest out of the blocks

Fri, 11 May 2012 19:37:00 +0200

Jakub Smrz (Liberty Racing Team Effenbert Ducati) loves Donington Park and today it loved him right back as he took provisional pole after posting the fastest lap in the opening qualifying session.

After the rain flags came out momentarily at the start of the 45-minute session track conditions improved and a flurry of fast times in the last few minutes of qualifying put Jonathan Rea (Honda World Superbike Team) second, Carlos Checa (Althea Racing Ducati) third and true home boy Leon Haslam (BMW Motorrad Motorsport) fourth. Rea had two falls today, one shortly after the start of this morning's free session and one at the end of this afternoon's qualifying run, without injury.

British riders were, predictably, to the fore, as Leon Camier (FIXI Crescent Suzuki) was fifth and Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Racing team) sixth. Sykes had headed up the first unofficial practice session in the morning.

The overnight second row was completed by Michel Fabrizio's BMW Motorrad Italia GoldBet machine, and the first Aprilia Racing entry in the rankings, ridden by 2010 champion Max Biaggi.

Two local riders were given the opportunity to run as wildcards at Donington, with Peter Hickman (FIXI Crescent Suzuki) in 17th place and Gary Mason (Kawasaki Team Pedercini) 23rd. New Kawasaki Racing Team rider Loris Baz was 20th in his first ever SBK qualifying session.

One more regulation qualifying session remains tomorrow, before the top 16 riders move on to Tissot-Superpole.

Times: 1. Smrz J. (CZE) Ducati 1098R 1'29.336; 2. Rea J. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 1'29.394; 3. Checa C. (ESP) Ducati 1098R 1'29.507; 4. Haslam L. (GBR) BMW S1000 RR 1'29.604; 5. Camier L. (GBR) Suzuki GSX-R1000 1'29.614; 6. Sykes T. (GBR) Kawasaki ZX-10R 1'29.719; 7. Fabrizio M. (ITA) BMW S1000 RR 1'29.918; 8. Biaggi M. (ITA) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 1'29.973; 9. Giugliano D. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 1'29.977; 10. Badovini A. (ITA) BMW S1000 RR 1'29.986; 11. Guintoli S. (FRA) Ducati 1098R 1'30.225; 12. Melandri M. (ITA) BMW S1000 RR 1'30.245; 13. Davies C. (GBR) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 1'30.392; 14. Aoyama H. (JPN) Honda CBR1000RR 1'30.522; 15. Berger M. (FRA) Ducati 1098R 1'30.539; 16. Laverty E. (IRL) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 1'30.577; etc.

World Supersport

Sam Lowes (Bogdanka PTR Honda) came close to setting a new best lap in the Supersport World Championship class during the first qualifying session at Donington. By grabbing provisional pole with his 1 minute 31.155 second lap time he was almost a second ahead of Kenan Sofuoglu (Kawasaki DeltaFin Lorenzini) and just over a second ahead of Monza race winner Jules Cluzel (Honda PTR). Wildcard Australian team-mates Glen Richards and Billy McConnell (Smiths Gloucester Triumph) were fourth and fifth respectively. Ronan Quarmby (PTR Honda) and Broc Parkes (Ten Kate Racing Products Honda) were the last riders into the 1 minute 32 seconds lap times.

Times: 1. Lowes S. (GBR) Honda CBR600RR 1'31.155; 2. Sofuoglu K. (TUR) Kawasaki ZX-6R 1'32.053; 3. Cluzel J. (FRA) Honda CBR600RR 1'32.281; 4. Richards G. (AUS) Triumph Daytona 675 1'32.397; 5. McConnell B. (AUS) Triumph Daytona 675 1'32.505; 6. Quarmby R. (RSA) Honda CBR600RR 1'32.724; 7. Parkes B. (AUS) Honda CBR600RR 1'32.856; 8. Morais S. (RSA) Kawasaki ZX-6R 1'33.064; etc.

World Superbike heads cross-channel and Donington-bound

Wed, 09 May 2012 08:46:00 +0200

The 2012 eni FIM Superbike World Championship continues its first European leg of races this coming weekend at the Donington Park circuit in the UK, where it all began back in 1988, the year of the very first round of the production-based series. 25 years and 301 rounds further on, the East Midlands track 180 kms north of London is getting ready to offer even more excitement at what will be the fifth of 14 rounds this season and races number 598 and 599 in its history.

The complicated Monza weekend left the points standings virtually unchanged, Max Biaggi (Aprilia Racing) still in control but with a two-point lead over Carlos Checa (Althea Racing Ducati). With his triumph at the fastest circuit on the calendar Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team) is now just six points away from the top slot and ready to make the most of home advantage. Donington is ideal ground for another great race by Sykes, who first emerged on the world scene in 2008 when he finished second on a Suzuki as a wild-card rider behind the three-times champion Troy Bayliss.

Biaggi has never won at Donington but he does have a 50% podium record, four times out of eight. His compatriot Marco Melandri, currently fourth in the table 25 points behind the leader, has gone better in the UK, taking his first win in Superbike last year and sharing the day with Carlos Checa.

In 2011 the Spaniard picked up the most points (45 out of 50 with a win and a second place) on a Ducati, a bike that in all of its different versions has won at Donington 17 times in 38 races. Another rider to keep an eye on will be Jonathan Rea, fifth in the points table but 27.5 points behind Biaggi: the spectacular northern Irishman has never been on the podium at Donington while Honda have not won a race here since 2008 when Ryuichi Kiyonari scored the double in a wet race.

The numerous UK fans expected to pack into Donington will also be cheering on their local hero Leon Haslam, the BMW Motorrad man who hails from just down the road near Derby. Frenchman Sylvain Guintoli (Effenbert-Liberty Racing Ducati), who scored his first win in the wet at Assen but then had to take a rain check from pole at Monza due to a problem in the warm-up lap, is also sure to be back on the ball this weekend.

It will also be a home round for the Crescent FIXI Suzuki team, which will line up with Leon Camier, podium finisher in 2011 with Aprilia and American John Hopkins who will probably not be in perfect form after picking up a broken bone in his foot at Monza. With the possibility of utilizing reference data accumulated in recent editions of the BSB championship, the Suzuki GSX-R might be in with a chance of gate-crashing the WSB regulars' party.

Good news comes on the weather front, with a sunny weekend on the cards: after the rain that has ruined the last two rounds at Assen and Monza, the British crowd will be hoping for some true Superbike action at their home event.

Points (after 4 of 14 rounds): 1. Biaggi 97.5; 2. Checa 95.5; 3. Sykes 91.5; 4. Melandri 72.5; 5. Rea 70; 6. Haslam 68; 7. Guintoli 66; 8. Laverty 64; 9. Smrz 42.5; 10. Giugliano 41; etc. Manufacturers: 1. Ducati 140.5; 2. Aprilia 108; 3. Kawasaki 97.5; 4. BMW 96; 5. Honda 74; 6. Suzuki 20.5.

World Supersport

The Supersport World Championship for the medium cylinder sector bikes continues its unpredictable run with four different winners in four rounds and a spectacular start to the season. The group is headed by former double champ, Turkey's Kenan Sofuoglu (Kawasaki DeltaFin Lorenzini) who after claiming the opening round win has proved to be the most consistent rider in terms of results and placements. The chasing group is led by Sam Lowes (Bogdanka PTR Honda), who is yet to win a race but who provided such a great spectacle to finish runner-up at Monza, a result that allowed him to cut the gap to the Turk to just ten points. Unlike Superbike, Supersport is run over a single race format and each win assigns 25 points.

The biggest step forward in this sense has been made by series newcomer Jules Cluzel (PTR Honda) who was brilliant in the wet to conquer his first win in the category and move to within 13 points of Sofuoglu. Just one point ahead of Cluzel is his fellow Frenchman Fabien Foret (Kawasaki Intermoto Step) who is still up in the leading positions despite only notching up four points in the last two outings.

Alex Baldolini (Power Team by Suriano Triumph) is the leading Italian in the points, in fifth place and the only man capable of keeping up with the front-runners, if one excludes Lorenzo Lanzi who dominated in the wet at Assen in a one-off outing. Baldolini knows Donington well, having raced there in Moto2, while right behind him is Australian Broc Parkes (Ten Kate Racing Products Honda) whose season has gone from bad to worse recently after he crashed out of the lead at Monza.

The Donington weekend event schedule will not include the two Superstock categories or the KTM European Junior Cup which now take a break until the next round at Misano on June 8-10.

Points (after 4 of 13 rounds): 1. Sofuoglu 61; 2. Lowes 51; 3. Foret 49; 4. Cluzel 48; 5. Baldolini 34; 6. Parkes 29; 7. Leonov 26; 8. Lanzi 25; etc. Manufacturers: 1. Honda 86; 2. Kawasaki 86; 3. Yamaha 40; 4. Triumph 40; 5. Suzuki 6.

First in-season MotoGP™ test at Estoril cancelled due to rain

Mon, 07 May 2012 13:47:00 +0200

Following a successful and dry weekend of racing, the majority of the MotoGP™ grid had planned to be back out on the Estoril track once again today for their first in-season test, yet wet conditions saw the test cancelled on safety grounds before it could get underway.

After three rounds of intense racing in the new 1000cc era, during which teams have collected a raft of valuable data about their new machines, the session was intended for riders to test not only new parts, but also to confirm certain set-up choices. However, following heavy downpours resulting in poor visibility and unfavourable track conditions, it was decided by the governing bodies to cancel the day's activities on safety grounds. A meeting will be held between the teams and Bridgestone to discuss possible alternatives for the test to be carried out at a convenient time elsewhere.

Stoner hails ''fantastic weekend"

Sun, 06 May 2012 20:49:00 +0200

Today Casey today took his 42nd win in all classes in Grand Prix racing equalling the record of Max Biaggi and Tony Mang. After his win in Estoril today, Casey has now won at every circuit on the current GP calendar. This podium has also been very special for Dani because with this third place finish, he joins an elite club of only six riders with 100 career podiums to their name.

The Australian rider attacked hard from the beginning, setting a first lap of 1'42.369 which put a one second gap between him and Jorge Lorenzo and Dani Pedrosa. The current World Champion led every lap of the 28-lap race and maintained a high pace for the duration with Jorge and Dani also riding consistently in the 1'37's.

Casey also took the lead in the World Championship standings with 66 points, followed by Lorenzo with 65 and Dani in third with 52 points.

Casey Stoner : "In the end it was another fantastic weekend for us. This morning we were more confident but also a little concerned because yesterday afternoon when we had a very similar setting to FP3 the bike was a little bit worse in the warm conditions. In warm up we didn't have a big problem with chatter but then for the race, under the warmer conditions, we struggled a lot more. This was very difficult to ride with, in the first part of the race I was confident and attacking the track but I closed the front twice due to the chatter. From this point I backed of a little, tried to stay smooth and just wanted to stay in front of Jorge and Dani, but Jorge was coming strong. I had to try and keep my pace and not make too many mistakes, I was changing t he mapping to try and reduce the chatter problem. Towards the end of the race I began to understand how to ride around it, this made things smoother and I found some more pace and was able to bring it home for a great race win."Dani Pedrosa : "It's been a really tough race from the beginning, the pace was very very high from the first lap to the final one. Casey did a good race, unbelievably strong. I had a big shake in the first braking area, Casey and Jorge overtook me and I lost 1.5 seconds on the first lap. During the race I had some issues in the middle of the corner, I was not fast with corner speed; each lap I tried to get a little better, to try and modify my riding style, the mapping, braking later, I tried everything, I managed to match the lap times but not to close the gap. Three races on the podium is very good overall, but in three races we missed something, so let's try it again in the next one."

Sykes takes first win

Sun, 06 May 2012 20:37:00 +0200

Thanks to poor weather conditions that came and went all day at Monza the first race had to be cancelled and only one SBK contest took place, which was then unavoidably shortened to half distance. On a day of uncertainties and unpredictable track conditions Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team) provided an emphatic win out of all proportion to the short eight laps the race lasted before the rains came back to spoil the party yet again. His margin of victory was 9.709 seconds, more than a second per lap faster than his main rivals in damp but drying track conditions. An overall crowd figure of 85,000 was recorded at the Autodromo Nazionale for this weekend's event. Tom Sykes : "There's been a lot of commotion today, but to get the win for Kawasaki and the ZX-10R is great for us. The bike was awesome in the race, there were a lot of damp patches, but I had such good feedback I was able to get my head down and go about business in a good way. It's a shame the race couldn't go two-thirds distance but, hopefully now we can move on to a very sunny England and have some consistent weather for a change!." Leon Haslam : "I think we made the best of a bad day, 14th on the grid wasn't ideal. It was quite difficult to overtake coming off the dry line, but it worked out perfect. We managed to get second, Tom was too quick from the get-go and by the time I got second he had already gone. A big credit to BMW, I'm happy to just get back onto the podium." Eugene Laverty : "We've been strong all weekend here at Monza in these conditions but I think we're all just relieved to get that race over. I'm happy to be on the podium, home safe and sound. When I saw Leon go in front of me because he's very experienced, I was happy to follow him and let him lead the way because there were some damp patches. Pleased for the podium after a tough day." As the race was so short, but beyond the lap count that would mean a restart, only half points were awarded to all the top 15 finishers. Tissot-Superpole winner Sylvain Guintoli (Effenbert-Liberty Ducati) looked like he would be the man to challenge Sykes but his bike stalled on the final warm-up lap and he could not get back to the grid in time to make the start. Leon Haslam (BMW Motorrad Motorsport) and Eugene Laverty (Aprilia Racing Team) headed up a warring group of six potential podium riders, with Max Biaggi (Aprilia Racing Team) fifth and Carlos Checa (Althea Racing Ducati) seventh. Sykes is the fifth different race winner of the year and race victories have now been taken by Aprilia, Ducati, Honda and Kawasaki riders, after only seven individual race finishes. Results : 1. Sykes T. (GBR) Kawasaki ZX-10R 14'08.800; 2. Haslam L. (GBR) BMW S1000 RR 9.709; 3. Laverty E. (IRL) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 10.119; 4. Melandri M. (ITA) BMW S1000 RR 10.294; 5. Biaggi M. (ITA) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 10.527; 6. Rea J. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 10.638; 7. Checa C. (ESP) Ducati 1098R 10.899; 8. Giugliano D. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 12.195; 9. Smrz J. (CZE) Ducati 1098R 13.199; 10. Badovini A. (ITA) BMW S1000 RR 19.372; 11. Aoyama H. (JPN) Honda CBR1000RR 24.551; 12. Davies C. (GBR) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 24.655; 13. Berger M. (FRA) Ducati 1098R 24.662; 14. Zanetti L. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 24.668; 15. Camier L. (GBR) Suzuki GSX-R1000 24.810; 16. Mercado L. (ARG) Kawasaki ZX-10R 24.935; etc. Points (after 4 of 14 rounds) : 1. Biaggi 97.5; 2. Checa 95.5; 3. Sykes 91.5; 4. Melandri 72.5; 5. Rea 70; 6. Haslam 68; 7. Guintoli 66; 8. Laverty 64; 9. Smrz 42.5; 10. Giugliano 41; etc. Manufacturers: 1. Ducati 140.5; 2. Aprilia 108; 3. Kawasaki 97.5; 4. BMW 96; 5. Honda 74; 6. Suzuki 20.5. World Supersport Jules Cluzel (PTR Honda) won what was only his fourth ever Supersport race, in wet conditions at Monza. He finally held off an exciting late challenge from Sam Lowes (Bogdanka PTR Honda) who passed him going into the final corner, but was forced wide to allow Cluzel to duck inside and claim the prize. Some way back, Kenan Sofuoglu (Kawasaki DeltaFin Lorenzini) was a safe third, ahead of the impressive wet-weather abilities of Imre Toth (Racing Team Toth). Fifth was wild card rider Stefano Cruciani (Puccetti Racing Kawasaki Italia). Results : 1. Cluzel J. (FRA) Honda CBR600RR 33'08.897; 2. Lowes S. (GBR) Honda CBR600RR 0.312; 3. Sofuoglu K. (TUR) Kawasaki ZX-6R 17.369; 4. Toth I. (HUN) Honda CBR600RR 21.528; 5. Cruciani S. (ITA) Kawasaki ZX-6R 29.469; 6. Baldolini A. (ITA) Triumph Daytona 675 32.214; 7. Roccoli M. (ITA) Yamaha YZF R6 43.577; 8. Antonelli A. (ITA) Honda CBR600RR 43.949; etc. Points (after 4 of 13 rounds) : 1. Sofuoglu 61; 2. Lowes 51; 3. Foret 49; 4. Cluzel 48; 5. Baldolini 34; 6. Parkes 29; 7. Leonov 26; 8. Lanzi 25; etc. Manufacturers: 1. Honda 86; 2. Kawasaki 86; 3. Yamaha 40; 4. Triumph 40; 5. Suzuki 6. Superstock 1000 Lorenzo Savadori (Barni Racing Team Italia) took the all-new Ducati 1199 Panigale to its first win in this class of racing, on a drying track at Monza. With the previous championship leader Sylvain Barrier (BMW Motorrad Italia GoldBet) falling late in the race the championship lead was taken over by Savadori, who has 53 points to Barrier's unchanged 50. Christoffer Bergman (BWG Racing Kawasaki) was an impressive second, only 1.65 seconds behind, with Eddi La Marra (Barni Racing Team Italia) right behind him. Fabio Massei (EAB Ten Kate Junior Team) was fourth in the 11-lap race with Marco Bussolotti (SK Energy Racing Team Ducati). With his third place La Mara is now only five points from the leader Savadori and two behind Barrier. Results : 1. Savadori L. (ITA) Ducati 1199 Panigale 21'21.255; 2. Bergman C. (SWE) Kawasaki ZX-10R 1.651; 3. La Marra E. (ITA) Ducati 1199 Panigale 1.884; 4. Massei F. (ITA) Honda CBR1000RR 3.071; 5. Bussolotti M. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 11.194; 6. Gyorfi A. (HUN) Honda CBR1000RR 21.378; 7. Reiterberger M. (GER) BMW S1000 RR 26.047; 8. Baroni L. (ITA) BMW S1000 RR 30.259; etc. Points (after 3 of 10 rounds) : 1. Savadori 53; 2. Barrier 50; 3. La Marra 48; 4. Reiterberger 35; 5. Baz 30; 6. Bergman 28; 7. Massei 23; 8. Baroni 20; etc. Manufacturers: 1. Ducati 61; 2. BMW 59; 3. Kawasaki 50; 4. Honda 23; 5 Aprilia 11. Superstock 600 Riccardo Russo (Team Italia FMI Yamaha) won the Superstock 600 class in fully wet conditions on his R6, after a deluge of rain forced the start of the race to be put back as full rain tyres were fitted. It was his second win of the year. Gauthier Duwelz (Team MTM Racing) was second on another Yamaha with the first Honda home being the EAB Ten Kate Junior Team CBR600RR of Bastien Chesaux. Michael van der Mark, Chesaux's team-mate, was fourth and only 3.5 seconds from Russo. Results : 1. Russo R. (ITA) Yamaha YZF R6 13'18.546; 2. Duwelz G. (BEL) Yamaha YZF R6 1.694; 3. Chesaux B. (SUI) Honda CBR600RR 2.307; 4. Vd Mark M. (NED) Honda CBR600RR 3.509; 5. Vitali L. (ITA) Yamaha YZF R6 6.211; 6. Calero Perez N. (ESP) Yamaha YZF R6 6.254; 7. Cove�a T. (NED) Kawasaki ZX-6R 10.982; 8. Schacht A. (DEN) Honda CBR600RR 16.186; etc. Points (after 3 of 10 rounds) : 1. Russo 61; 2. Vd Mark 54; 3. Calero Perez 50; 4. Duwelz 42; 5. Chesaux 26; 6. Egea 24; 7. Vitali 20; 8. Schacht 18; etc.

Cortese masters Estoril

Sun, 06 May 2012 20:13:00 +0200

Red Bull KTM Ajo's Sandro Cortese took victory in a thrilling battle to the line with rival Maverick Viñales in the Moto3 class at the Grande Prémio de Portugal Circuito Estoril. It was Cortese who got the holeshot and led into the first corner, ahead of Blusens Avintia's Viñales. After the typical Moto3 melee of 34 bikes swapping places in the opening laps, a leading group containing Cortese, RW Racing GP's Luis Salom, JHK T-Shirt Laglisse's Efrén Vázquez, Viñales and Cortese's teammate Danny Kent started to pull away early on. In the latter stages of the race, Cortese moved past Viñales at the end of the straight to take the lead, though could not shake the young Spaniard, as the two were wheel to wheel for the final three laps. Salom, then lying in fourth, also took the fight to Air-Asia-SIC-Ajo's Zulfahmi Khairuddin in front, as he pushed past him on the first bend with two laps to go. The last lap was a nail-biting affair as Viñales and Cortese touched fairings throughout, yet it was the German who won the drag to the line after the final bend, to take his first victory of the season and the lead in the championship. The last step on the podium went to Salom, who manage to hold Khairuddin at bay to secure third. The top ten were rounded out by Efrén Vázquez, San Carlo Gresini Moto3's Niccolo Antonelli, Estrella Galicia 0,0's Alex Rins, Danny Kent, Caretta-Technology's Alexis Masbou and Redox-Ongetta-Centro Seta's Jakub Kornfeil.

Marquez takes Portugal win

Sun, 06 May 2012 19:43:00 +0200

Team CatalunyaCaixa Repsol's Marc Marquez took victory at the Grande Prémio de Portugal Circuito Estoril after a phenomenal last-lap battle with compatriot Pol Espargaró. Márquez took the holeshot and led the opening stages from Interwetten-Paddock's Tom Lüthi, as Pons 40 HP Tuenti's Espargaró and JiR Moto2's Johann Zarco made their way to the front. It was however Lüthi who took the lead early on, which he held for most of the race. The relentless efforts of Spanish pair Marquez and Espargaró meant that they soon re-caught the Swiss rider, and went past his for the lead. They went on to provided one of the best last-lap battles seen in Moto2, as the pair swapped positions numerous times in the final minute, with Marquez coming out on top after a mistake by Espargaró going into the final chicane. This makes it two wins from three races for Márquez to extend his championship lead. Lüthi took the final spot on the podium, followed by Zarco, Speed Master's Andrea Iannone and NGM Mobile Forward Racing's Alex De Angelis. Rounding out the top ten are Mapfre Aspar Team's Toni Elías, Blusens Avintia´s Julián Simón, Marc VDS Racing Team's Mika Kallio and Tech 3 Racing's Bradley Smith. There were numerous crashed throughout the race including NGM Mobile Forward Racing's Yuki Takahashi, Pons 40 HP Tuenti's Axel Pons, his teammate Esteve Rabat, Came IodaRacing Project's Simone Corsi and S/Master Speed Up's Mike Di Meglio. Federal Oil Gresini Moto2's Gino Rea went into the pits with an electrical problem, and subsequently had to retire.

Stoner takes championship lead

Sun, 06 May 2012 19:39:00 +0200

Repsol Honda Team's Casey Stoner made it two wins in a row to take the lead in the MotoGP™ championship with victory at the Grande Prémio de Portugal Circuito Estoril. Having led from the start, the reigning World Champion never gave up the lead, as he put in another dominant performance at the Portuguese circuit, ahead of championship rival, Factory Yamaha Team's Jorge Lorenzo. Stoner's win now means he has won at every track on the current MotoGP calendar in the premier class. The Australian pulled out a gap early on, but Lorenzo and Repsol Honda's Dani Pedrosa did not give up without the fight, as they slowly closed in on the leader throughout the race. It was however Stoner who put the hammer down in the final laps, to take victory and the championship lead. Monster Yamaha Tech 3's Andrea Dovizioso fought a race-long battle with teammate Cal Crutchlow, and came out on top for the first time this season finishing in fourth. San Carlo Honda Gresini's Álvaro Bautista put in another solid performance to take sixth place, finishing ahead of Ducati Team´s Valentino Rossi, who recorded his best finish of the season. Despite still not being near the front, Rossi has stated that he is starting to feel more comfortable on-board his Desmosedici. After showing promising form all weekend, Yamaha's Ben Spies had another disappointing race, finishing down in eighth after running wide early on in the race. He displaced LCR Honda MotoGP's Stefan Bradl into ninth, ahead of Pramac Racing's Héctor Barberá in tenth. Power Electronics Aspar's Aleix Espargaró took top CRT spot for a second race in succession. Cardion AB Racing's Karel Abraham, Speed Master's Mattia Pasini and Avintia Blusens' Yonny Hernández all crashed out in the race, while Hernández's teammate Iván Silva pulled into the pits early on after suffering pain from his earlier warm-up crash. Paul Bird Motorsport's difficult start to the season continued, as Briton James Ellison retired with a mechanical issue on his ART bike.

Guintoli takes first pole

Sat, 05 May 2012 21:59:00 +0200

Sylvain Guintoli (Team Effenbert-Liberty Racing) made the best of the continuing difficult and changeable track conditions at Monza to record his first ever Tissot-Superpole win. At a circuit that was not expected to favour the twin-cylinders this was a surprise result to most but Guintoli richly deserved his pre-race success after a gamble to use a slick rear tyre on a slowly drying track paid off. Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team) was unable to quite reach the level of Guintoli, as he failed to win the pole prize for the first time this year, but in the final free qualifying session he used the slipstream provided by another rider to take his ZX-10R to a new record top speed in SBK history, 339.5 km/h, which equates to over 210mph. A wet Superpole was called which meant that there would be only two sessions, each of 20 minutes duration, with the slowest eight riders eliminated after the first session. As soon as the first part started bright sunshine dried the wet track, particularly on the main straight, but further small showers were evident around the lap before the finish. Marco Melandri (BMW Motorrad Motorsport) was third in Tissot-Superpole, Carlos Checa (Althea Racing Ducati) fourth. Sylvain Guintoli: "First pole for me and in difficult conditions! Unlike Tom and Marco I'm hoping for rain tomorrow, I'll probably do a dance before the race. Today I had to take a lot of risks, I decided to go with the slick tyres and some corners were still wet, so it was quite dangerous and the last lap was very exciting. I thought Tom had enough watches now and I could do with one for my wife!" Tom Sykes : "We've done a good job over the race weekend, we've got a good consistent race pace, and hopefully it'll be dry. Today it wasn't to be; we got outpaced by the 'snails', but I'm looking forward to tomorrow. Obviously it's great for the Kawasaki to be so fast, I had fantastic drive from the exit of the Parabolica and who better but Max to be directly in front, I had a lot of help from him! Setting a new record is just a little bit extra for the books!" Marco Melandri : "For sure it's a good result, it's been such difficult weather. I'm happy now because after Assen I was a bit worried about the wet conditions. BMW made a good job, the bike is working better and it's nice to be on the front row. We got a new engine one month ago and it's working pretty good here. I hope the weather will be a bit more stable. I hope to give a good race to Silvano (Galbusera) who is not here today." The second row of the grid for Sunday's races will be headed by Jonathan Rea (Honda World Superbike Team) with Max Biaggi (Aprilia Racing), Jakub Smrz (Liberty Racing Team Effenbert) and Davide Giugliano (Althea Racing Ducati) alongside him. John Hopkins (Crescent FIXI Suzuki) and Eugene Laverty (Aprilia Racing) completed the top ten after just missing out on qualification for Superpole 2, but the most disappointed rider on the day was local man Michel Fabrizio (BMW Motorrad Italia Gold Bet) who had been fastest in combined qualifying but only 11th after Superpole. The last place on the third row was taken by Leon Camier (Crescent FIXI Suzuki). Times: 1. Guintoli S. (FRA) Ducati 1098R 1'54.276; 2. Sykes T. (GBR) Kawasaki ZX-10R 1'54.990; 3. Melandri M. (ITA) BMW S1000 RR 1'55.971; 4. Checa C. (ESP) Ducati 1098R 1'56.793; 5. Rea J. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 1'57.630; 6. Biaggi M. (ITA) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 1'58.666; 7. Smrz J. (CZE) Ducati 1098R 1'59.718; 8. Giugliano D. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 2'00.645; 9. Hopkins J. (USA) Suzuki GSX-R1000 1'59.489; 10. Laverty E. (IRL) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 1'59.680; 11. Fabrizio M. (ITA) BMW S1000 RR 1'59.681; 12. Camier L. (GBR) Suzuki GSX-R1000 1'59.845; 13. Badovini A. (ITA) BMW S1000 RR 1'59.978; 14. Haslam L. (GBR) BMW S1000 RR 2'00.093; 15. Salom D. (ESP) Kawasaki ZX-10R 2'00.602; 16. Davies C. (GBR) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 2'01.772; etc. World Supersport The white flag with a diagonal red cross that signifies rain on track was a near constant sight on the second day of action at Monza and thus Sam Lowes (Bogdanka PTR Honda) took pole thanks to his Friday best time. It was his third straight pole position of the year, only missing out in the first round in Australia. With lap times over two minutes in the second qualifying session none of the riders improved in their opening day pace. Second on the grid for Sunday's race will be Kenan Sofuoglu (Kawasaki DeltaFin Lorenzini) who will be close to his team-mate Sheridan Morais. Another regular Kawasaki rider, Fabien Foret (Intermoto Step Racing) is fourth on the grid. Local rider Stefano Cruciani (Puccetti Racing Kawasaki Italia) takes fifth place, Roberto Tamburini (Team Lorini Honda) sixth. Times: 1. Lowes S. (GBR) Honda CBR600RR 1'47.601; 2. Sofuoglu K. (TUR) Kawasaki ZX-6R 1'48.038; 3. Morais S. (RSA) Kawasaki ZX-6R 1'48.419; 4. Foret F. (FRA) Kawasaki ZX-6R 1'48.696; 5. Cruciani S. (ITA) Kawasaki ZX-6R 1'48.808; 6. Tamburini R. (ITA) Honda CBR600RR 1'48.817; 7. Parkes B. (AUS) Honda CBR600RR 1'48.910; 8. Scholtz M. (RSA) Honda CBR600RR 1'49.188; etc. Superstock 1000 Sylvain Barrier (BMW Motorrad Italia GoldBet) will start the Superstock 1000 FIM Cup race from pole position after the final session was conducted in fully wet conditions today and therefore his Friday lap time was the fastest of all. Second on the combined qualifying sheets is Lorenzo Savadori (Barni Racing Team Italia) while Lorenzo Baroni (BMW Motorrad Italia GoldBet) will get off the line from third sport on the grid, one place higher than Savadori's team-mate Eddi La Marra (Barni Racing Team Italia). Times: 1. Barrier S. (FRA) BMW S1000 RR 1'46.340; 2. Savadori L. (ITA) Ducati 1199 Panigale 1'46.776; 3. Baroni L. (ITA) BMW S1000 RR 1'46.917; 4. La Marra E. (ITA) Ducati 1199 Panigale 1'46.973; 5. Staring B. (AUS) Kawasaki ZX-10R 1'47.237; 6. Bergman C. (SWE) Kawasaki ZX-10R 1'47.342; 7. Reiterberger M. (GER) BMW S1000 RR 1'47.792; 8. Lussiana M. (FRA) Kawasaki ZX-10R 1'47.814; etc. Superstock 600 The Superstock 600 race was postponed until Sunday, after the second Superbike race, after poor light, a flooded track and a lightning storm in very close proximity to the circuit made it unsafe to continue. European Junior Cup Poland's Adrian Pasek negotiated the tricky Monza track surface to claim pole position in the European Junior Cup class, leading Kiwi Jake Lewis by 0.488 seconds. Third was British rider Joshua Harland, then Gaston Garcia from Spain, while top Italian rider was Kevin Chili, son of Pierfrancesco. Giuseppe Scarcella from Australia scored a top six grid placing. The race takes place tomorrow afternoon. Times: 1. Pasek A. (POL) KTM Duke 690 2'15.199; 2. Lewis J. (NZL) KTM Duke 690 2'15.687; 3. Harland J. (GBR) KTM Duke 690 2'16.570; 4. Garcia G. (ESP) KTM Duke 690 2'17.638; 5. Chili K. (ITA) KTM Duke 690 2'17.696; 6. Scarcella G. (AUS) KTM Duke 690 2'17.889; 7. Wielebski A. (POL) KTM Duke 690 2'18.124; 8. Demoulin J. (FRA) KTM Duke 690 2'18.532; etc.

Stoner storms to pole

Sat, 05 May 2012 21:28:00 +0200

Amid mostly sunny conditions near the Atlantic coast, it was Repsol Honda Team´s Casey Stoner who got his first pole position of the season in the MotoGP™ qualifying session for the Grande Prémio de Portugal Circuito Estoril ahead of teammate Dani Pedrosa. In a frantic final four minutes, Stoner´s time of 1.37´188 was enough to oust Pedrosa into second place on the grid, who will be looking to repeat his win here last year. Finishing off the front row of the grid is Monster Yamaha Tech 3´s revelation of the season Cal Crutchlow, who secured his second front-row start in three races. Heading the second row is Yamaha Factory Racing´s Jorge Lorenzo, who was very unhappy with his performance in the session, as it is the first time in his MotoGP career that he has not started on the front row at Estoril. Behind him in fifth, his teammate Ben Spies left it late to put in his fast lap, after struggling with traffic throughout the session, which saw him almost collide with Speed Master´s Mattia Pasini. Rounding out the second row is San Carlo Honda Gresini´s Álvaro Bautista, who has been the quiet performer this weekend, getting ever more comfortable on his Honda. Seventh place went to Crutchlow´s teammate Andrea Dovizioso, who has been out-qualified by the Brit for the third time in a row. Behind him, Pramac Racing´s Héctor Barberá took the honours for top Ducati in eighth place, in front of Ducati Team rider Valentino Rossi in ninth. While this position will be hardly satisfying for Rossi, he will take heart from being less than a second off the front. Rounding out the top ten is Rossi´s teammate Nicky Hayden, who could not repeat his front-row heroics from Jerez. Top CRT finisher was Power Electronics Aspar´s Aleix Espargaró in 12th. The session was red flagged 11 minutes before the end as Power Electronics Aspar´s Randy de Puniet lost the front end of his bike, taking out Colin Edwards on his NGM Mobile Forward Racing bike. Edwards suffered a broken collarbone, while de Puniet has abrasion to one of his fingers and contusions to his left shoulder. The session was resumed shortly after. Avintia Blusens' Iván Silva fortunately saved his near crash, by pulling off a tremendous save on his CRT bike late on in the session, as it tried to buck him off. Team CatalunyaCaixa Repsol´s Marc Márquez securely cemented his favourite tag with a dominant qualifying performance to take pole position at the Grande Prémio de Portugal Circuito Estoril. In dry and sunny conditions the Spanish championship leader stormed to top spot with a time of 1.40´934, beating close rival, Interwetten-Paddock´s Tom Lüthi, into second by just over two tenths. Marc VDS Racing Team´s Briton Scott Redding continued his good form of the weekend by taking the final spot on the front row. JiR Moto2´s rookie Johann Zarco, who has impressed all season, heads up the second row of the grid, a mere three hundredths off Redding, while Jerez race-winner, Pons 40 HP Tuenti´s Pol Espargaró sits outside of him in fifth. Resurgent Italian Andrea Iannone overcame yesterday´s bike issues, to round out the second row in sixth on his Speed Master machine. Blusens Avintia´s Julián Simón is starting to gel with his Suter chassis, finishing just over five-tenths off the front, in front of 2010 Moto2 World Champion Toni Elías aboard his Mapfre Aspar Team machine. NGM Mobile Forward Racing´s Alex de Angelis low-sided his bike with 18 minutes to go in the session, but had already set the ninth fastest time. He walked away unscathed. Rounding out the top ten is Technomag-CIP´s Dominique Aegerter. S/Master Speed Up´s Mike Di Meglio suffered his second crash of the day as he was pushing for a fast lap late in the final minute, yet suffered no ill effects. Moto3™ qualifying at Grande Prémio de Portugal Circuito Estoril got underway in sunny conditions with Red Bull KTM Ajo´s Sandro Cortese taking his second pole position of the season ahead of Maverick Viñales. With a lap of 1.47´145, Cortese confirmed himself as one of the favourites for tomorrow´s race, starting in front of Blusens Avintia´s championship favourite Maverick Viñales, who was just over three tenths behind. Rounding out the front row of grid is Estrella Galicia 0,0´s local hero Miguel Oliveira, who gave the home crowd something to celebrate. Fourth on the grid is Red Bull KMT Ajo rider Danny Kent, who has found his confidence again after his Jerez crash. He starts ahead of AirAsia-Sic-Ajo´s Zulfahmi Khairuddin, who is starting to make headway after a subdued start to the season. The second row is completed by championship leader, Team Italia FMI´s Romano Fenati, who continues to impress in his maiden year. RW Racing GP´s Luis Salom starts tomorrow´s race in seventh, having set a time just over a second off the front, ousting JHK T-Shirt Laglisse´s Efrén Vázquez into eighth. Vázquez crashed out in turn nine on his final hot-lap, yet walked away unscathed. Finishing off the third row is Bankia Aspar Team´s Héctor Faubel, while Caretta Technology´s Alexis Masbou rounds out the top ten. Bankia Aspar Team´s Alberto Moncayo had a difficult session with his bike stopping at the end of pit lane with a mechanical problem towards the end of the session. He starts from 17th. The Moto3™ class has some notable absentees, as IodaRacing Project´s Jonas Folger is still suffering from glandular fever and has been replaced this weekend by Italian rider Armando Pontone, while TT Motion Events Racing´s Niklas Ajo is replaced by Spain´s Joan Olive, after the Finn was banned following an altercation with a race official at the last round. Italian Manuel Tatasciore replaces Caretta Technology´s Jack Miller this weekend, after the Australian fractured his collarbone in Jerez.

Stoner throws down gauntlet at Estoril GP

Fri, 04 May 2012 20:14:00 +0200

After early damp conditions threatened to throw the day´s practice sessions into disarray, the weather steadied and the track dried out to play host to some fantastic free practice action in the afternoon across all three MotoGP™ classes at the Grande Prémio de Portugal Circuito Estoril. It was reigning World Champion Casey Stoner who threw down the gauntlet for this weekend by setting the fastest time of the day in the second MotoGP practice session. Stoner´s lap of 1.38´396 put him just three tenths ahead of Yamaha Factory Racing´s Ben Spies, who has worked tirelessly all day to get his season back on track, after some disappointing performances in the previous rounds. Rounding out the top three is Monster Yamaha Tech 3´s Cal Crutchlow, who continues to impress on his satellite Yamaha, finishing just over two-hundredths off Spies. Stoner´s team mate Dani Pedrosa set the fourth fastest time of the day, as he looks to repeat his victory at the track from the previous year. In fifth, Yamaha´s birthday-boy Jorge Lorenzo was having a subdued session at the track where he has taken three victories in the past four outings. Behind him, San Carlo Honda Gresini´s Álvaro Bautista set the sixth fastest time just over half a second off Stoner, as he continues to get to grips with his satellite Honda. Ducati Team´s Nicky Hayden, who will be looking to repeat his front row start last time out at Jerez, occupies seventh place. He finished in front of Pramac Racing´s Héctor Barberá, who once again got the better of Hayden´s teammate Valentino Rossi, who could not finish any higher than ninth, despite a good showing in the morning session. Completing the top ten is Tech 3´s Andrea Dovizioso, who remained in the pits for quite some time with a bike issue. Top CRT honour went to Power Electronics Aspar rider Randy de Puniet, who is looking to improve on his DNF in Jerez. Came IodaRacing Project´s Danilo Petrucci had to end his session early with a mechanical issue as well. In the second practice session of the Grande Prémio de Portugal Circuito Estoril it was Marc VDS Racing Team´s Scott Redding who set the weekend´s benchmark by topping the combined Moto2™ timesheets ahead of Marc Márquez. With a time of 1.41´775, the consistently lapping Redding set the fastest time of the day, in front of Team CatalunyaCaixa Repsol´s Márquez, just two tenths behind. Third place is occupied by Interwetten-Paddock´s Tom Lüthi, who is looking for his first win of the season at the Portuguese track. Behind him in fourth is the surprise of the day in the form of Mapfre Aspar Team´s 2010 Moto2 World Champion Toni Elías, who is beginning to rekindle some of his previous form. Jerez race-winner, Pons 40 HP Tuenti rider Pol Espargaró, could not repeat his feat in the morning session where he finished first, yet still managed a strong showing in fifth, just over half a second behind Redding. He finished in front of Tech 3 Racing´s Bradley Smith, who will be looking for a stronger performance this weekend after a slightly disappointing outing in Jerez. Seventh place went to NGM Mobile Forward Racing´s Alex de Angelis, ahead of Technomag-CIP´s Dominique Aegerter and JiR Moto2´s French rookie Johann Zarco. Rounding out the top ten is Redding´s teammate Mika Kallio, just under a second off the top. Thai Honda Gresini Moto2´s Ratthapark Wilairot crashed with 22 minutes remaining, while S/Master Speed Up´s Mike Di Meglio followed suit with seven minutes to go. Both were unhurt and managed to return to the pits. The Moto3™ class enjoyed a dry, but windy afternoon free practice session at the Grande Prémio de Portugal Circuito Estoril, where Estrella Galicia 0,0´s local rider Miguel Oliveira topped the timesheets ahead of Red Bull KMT Ajo´s Sandro Cortese. With a time of 1.48´497, Oliveira laid down the marker for the weekend and gave home fans something to cheer about, with Germany´s Cortese closely behind by less than two hundredths. RW Racing GP´s Luis Salom, who has been consistently fast this season so far, set the third fastest time of the session just under four tenths behind Cortese. He managed to oust Blusens Avintia´s pre-season championship favourite Maverick Viñales into fourth. Fifth spot is occupied by Caretta Racing´s Alexis Masbou, with Team Italia FMI´s championship leader and rookie sensation Romano Fenati in sixth. Cortese´s teammate Danny Kent managed seventh, sitting just over a second off the front. Completing the top ten are Racing Team Germany´s Louis Rossi, JHK T-Shirt Laglisse´s Adrian Martín and Kent´s teammate Arthur Sissis. Wild card entry, Thomas Sabo GP Team´s Kevin Hanus from Germany, crashed out of the session with 15 minutes to go, yet walked away unhurt. IodaRacing Project´s Jonas Folger is still suffering from glandular fever and has been replaced this weekend by Italian rider Armando Pontone, while TT Motion Events Racing´s Niklas Ajo is replaced by Spain´s Joan Olivé, after the Finn was banned following an altercation with a race official at the last round. Caretta Technology´s Jack Miller is replaced this weekend by Italian Manuel Tatasciore, after the Australian fractured his collarbone in Jerez.