HONDA RACING INFORMATION:
KIYONARI TAKES FIRST WORLD SUPERBIKE PODIUM

Italian World Superbike at Monza
Sunday 11 May, 2008
World Superbike and World Supersport race report

Crowd: 112,000 claimed all weekend
Temperature Air: 22 to 21
Temperature Ground: 36 to 40


Ryuichi Kiyonari (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR) secured his first ever WSB podium finish today, taking third in race two, after a contest that he could have won. He led the last lap but was passed by eventual winner Noriyuki Haga, who then pushed Kiyonari onto a tight line exiting the Parabolica, preventing him from re-passing. The following rider, Max Neukirchner, therefore took second from Kiyo also, with the time difference from Haga to Kiyonari in third only 0.051 seconds.

Neukirchner had won the first race, from Haga and Troy Bayliss, with Kiyonari sixth. Front row qualifier Carlos Checa (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR) had to fight through to finish eight, after being dropped off the start to 19th on lap one. Checa would crash out of race two, having already run off the track after an earlier incident at the first chicane. He is still second in the championship rankings, but lost points on overall leader Bayliss. Bayliss has 194 to Checa’s 116, while race two winner Haga is now third, on 112.

Kenan Sofuoglu (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda Jnr CBR1000RR) had to withdraw from the Monza race after the first day of qualifying after his brother Sinan was killed in a racing accident at home in Turkey. The whole WSB paddock and all Kenan’s racing friends send their condolences to Kenan and his family.

Gregorio Lavilla (Vent Axia VK Honda CBR1000RR) was 11th, in race one, despite running out of fuel towards the end,  and Russell Holland (DFX Corse Honda CBR1000RR) was just out of the points in 16th.

Lavilla had to start the second leg from pitlane but made up ground, in a race littered by crashes, to secure a top ten finish. Lavilla is now 10th overall, on 59 points. Karl Muggeridge (DFX Corse Honda CBR1000RR) did not finish the first race after his machine suffered a technical problem. He made genuine progress in race two, running in the top ten throughout and finishing sixth, equalling his season best. His machine was trapped at over 200mph in qualifying.

Honda’s hopes of more points at Monza were dealt a blow when regular rider Roberto Rolfo (Hannspree Althea Honda CBR1000RR) was injured in a training accident, and his eventual replacement, Giovanni Bussei, qualified 27th but had to rule himself out after the effect of his own arm recent injury began to make themselves felt.

Alto Evolution Honda CBR1000RR rider Shuhei Aoyama rode strongly for periods of each race, but dropped off the pace to finish 18th in race one and 16th in race two, having to pit in race two to repair his machine.

Luca Morelli (Alto Evolution Honda CBR1000RR) was 17th in race one and a non-finisher in race two.

Checa said: “In the first race I had a problem when I touched with another rider off the start and I was way down the field. I had a good pace but I was so far back I could only recover a few places. In the second race I was in a better position but then another rider hit me at the entrance to the first chicane, under braking, and that maybe bent something at the back of the bike. I fell at the Parabolica but I still don’t know why, maybe something to do with the earlier collision.”

Kiyonari, now ninth on 65 points, said: “I was too slow at the start of race one so in race two I concentrated on getting a good start and pushed hard, right from the beginning. I was able to catch Neukirchner and Haga, although they were riding really well. At one stage I thought I could win, but I knew I had to brake late into the Parabolica and I nearly lost the front, which made me run wide on the entry. But I’m really happy with my first podium.”

Lavilla said: “I lost two positions in race one because the bike was running out of fuel. I was ninth and trying to pass Checa at the time. Our bike didn’t start on the grid before race two and I had to take my second bike and start from pitlane. Your second bike never works like the first but I pushed hard and I knew that some riders would not finish. Even if I scored a single point, that was something. At the end of the day I got tenth, which was pretty good.”

Muggeridge said: “In the first race I was a bit nervous off the start, because we have to run such a long first gear here. I bogged it off the start and was about 20th, then got trapped by the Ducatis. Race two was good, that is more our real level, and I know we can do even better than that. Just starting from so far back is a handicap. In race two, our bike was pretty good.”

Holland said; “it feels much better fighting in with everyone else than running on your own. We had good speed from the bike this weekend, and we really made some progress.”

Aoyama said: "During race one I didn't have a good feeling with the bike and we didn't make a good race. We had problems with the rear tyre and almost did not finish the race because of a lack of fuel. We made some changes for race two and I made a good start. I started 13th then I tried to follow the other riders. We had an electrical problem and had to pull in but because so many riders crashed out we carried on, hoping to score a point. But we just missed out."


The World Superbike series moves to Miller Motorsports Park in Utah, USA, for round six on
June 1.



World Supersport Championship


Brookes Takes Podium Place at Monza

After 16 laps of the classic 5.793km Monza circuit near Milan Josh Brookes (Hannspree Stiggy Motorsports Honda CBR600RR) secured a fine second place, repeating his qualifying result, and going fifth in the championship fight overall. Brookes was only 1.199 seconds from the win, but five seconds clear of third.

In fourth place, in the race and in the championship fight, Andrew Pitt (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda CBR600RR) overcame a seventh place qualifying performance to go fourth in the race. He was unable to get on terms with the three leading riders due to a lack of traction exiting some key corners. The podium places went to winner Fabien Foret, Brookes and Broc Parkes.

After the fifth round of the year, Honda privateer Joan Lascorz still leads the championship, 77 points to Foret’s 71. Lascorz was outgunned at Monza, and finished a brave ninth. Parkes has 65 and Pitt and Brookes are tied on 63, in fourth and fifth places respectively.

Pitt’s team-mate Jonathan Rea (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda CBR600RR) burned his clutch from the start and had to finish his race early. He is now seventh overall, on 41 points. He had qualified 5th, and was looking for another podium to add to his recent Assen success.

Craig Jones (Parkalgar Honda CBR600RR) had to ride with a broken bone in his left hand after a practice crash but he toughed it out to go sixth in the race, after qualifying only 12th. He battled in Pitt’s group on the last few laps, one place behind an aggressive Robbin Harms (Hannspree Stiggy Motorsports Honda CBR600RR). Harms was a second row starter, and did well to eradicate memories of a big crash in last year’s Monza race. Harms is now 8th in the rankings, on 39 points.

Gianluca Nannelli (Hannspree Althea Honda CBR600RR) was 13th in the race after experiencing unexpected problems with front end vibration, and is now 12th overall. His temporary team-mate, Gianluca Vizziello, had his gear change pedal tip knocked off by another rider, and had to pull in. Vizziello had been sixth in qualifying, at his home track.

In the Manufacturers’ Championship, Honda leads Yamaha by 19 points.

Pitt said: “I just couldn’t get any grip in the race. I didn’t get off the start because my clutch started to spin and someone hit me in the first turn, so that left me a lot of work to do. I thought I was going to get up there to the leaders but I just couldn’t get the traction coming out of the Parabolica. That was more a case of salvaging fourth place than gaining it.”

Brookes said: “I had a great start from second place and was in the lead for the first two laps. As it has been some time since I’ve been in the lead, I got a bit anxious and lost my rhythm. Parkes came past me and pulled away a little. Foret also passed me but I was able to take advantage of his slipstream to catch Parkes up again and then pass him. I finished the race in second place. I’m satisfied, if not entirely happy, but I know I put in a good effort and rode as hard as I could. The whole weekend has been working really well for us, so I was hoping for a win. The championship has really closed up after this race and I’m now in joint fourth place, so that’s good.”

Jones said: “It wasn’t so much the pain that gave me a problem in the race, but rather the lack of feel from my hand on the bars. I gave it my best effort in the circumstances and am pleased to have taken sixth, that is a decent result, all things considered.”

Rea said: “I got off the line really well then the clutch lever popped out and the bike did a wheelie. I got to the first chicane OK and then the clutch started slipping, I started losing drive and I couldn’t finish the lap.”

Harms said: “I made a good start and was in third place on the first lap. The bike was working well and I was pushing to stay in third, but lost some places because I had problems shifting down. But that problem seemed to go away and I managed a good pace again. Pitt came past and I stayed behind him for a few laps, but I knew I could easily pass him on the straights. I had a battle with a group of four riders for fourth place and towards the end of the race I had a few moments, but it still felt good and controllable. I’m quite happy with fifth but, as always, I want to finish on the podium so that’s my goal for the next race for sure.”

Nannelli said: “It’s unbelievable. I changed my bike on the grid, but on my
second bike, starting from the first lap, I felt some vibration coming from my front wheel. I couldn’t really chase the riders in front of me and the only thing I could do was try and finish the race.”

The next race is at the Nürburgring, Germany, on June 14, as the World Supersport Championship will not follow the World Superbike class to Miller in the USA.


Results

SUPERSPORT:
RACE : (Laps 16 = 92,688 Km)
Pos / Rider /Nat. / Team / Gap
1 / F. FORET / FRA / Yamaha YZF-R6 / Yamaha World Supersport / 29'38.261
2 / J. BROOKES / AUS / Honda Honda CBR600RR / Hannspree Stiggy Motors. / 1.199
3 / B. PARKES / AUS / Yamaha YZF-R6 / Yamaha World Supersport / 6.736
4 / A. PITT / AUS / Honda CBR600RR / Hannspree Ten Kate Honda / 11.398
5 / R.HARMS / DEN / Honda Honda CBR600RR / Hannspree Stiggy Motors. / 11.477
6 / C. JONES / GBR / Honda CBR600RR / Parkalgar Racing Team / 11.716
7 / M.ROCCOLI / ITA / Yamaha YZF-R6 / Yamaha Lorenzini by Leoni / 11.757
8 / M.LAGRIVE / FRA / Honda CBR600RR / Intermoto Czech / 12.186
9 / J. LASCORZ / ESP / Honda CBR600RR / Glaner Motocard.com / 14.847
10 / A. RODRIGUEZ / ESP / Yamaha YZF-R6 / Yamaha Spain / 15.175
11 / M.AITCHISON / AUS / Triumph 675 / Triumph Italia BE1 Racing / 21.256
12 / C. MIGLIORATI / ITA / Kawasaki ZX-6R / Puccetti Racing Kawasaki / 24.899
13 / G.NANNELLI / ITA / Honda CBR600RR / Hannspree Honda Althea / 25.077
14 / V. KALLIO / FIN / Honda CBR600RR / Benjan Racing Team / 25.160
15 / K. FUJIWARA / JPN / Kawasaki ZX-6R / Kawasaki Gil Motor Sport / 26.429
Fastest Lap 5° Fabien Foret 1'50.430 188,851 Km/h
Lap record: 2007 K. Sofuoglu 1'50.550 188,650 Km/h
Best Lap: 2008 B.Parkes 1'49.868 189,820 Km/h

Riders Championship Standings:
1 LASCORZ 77, 2 FORET 71, 3 PARKES 65, 4 PITT 63, 5 BROOKES 63, 6 JONES 49,
7 REA 41, 8 HARMS 39, 9 LAGRIVE 28, 10 VIZZIELLO 26, 11 ROCCOLI 25, 12 NANNELLI 20,
13 WALKER 20, 14 AITCHISON 20, 15 VENEMAN 19.



SUPERBIKE
Race 1 : (Laps 18 = 104,274 Km)
Pos / Rider / Nat. / Team / Gap
1 / M.NEUKIRCHNER / GER / Suzuki GSX-R1000 / Team Alstare Suzuki / 32'02.851
2 / N.HAGA / JPN / Yamaha YZF-R1 / Yamaha Motor Italia WSB / 0.058
3 / T. BAYLISS / AUS / Ducati 1098 F08 / Ducati Xerox Team / 0.672
4 / Y. KAGAYAMA / JPN / Suzuki GSX-R1000 / Team Suzuki Alstare / 0.771
5 / M.BIAGGI / ITA / Ducati 1098 RS 08 / Sterilgarda Go Eleven / 3.869
6 / R. KIYONARI / JPN / Honda CBR1000RR / Hannspree Ten Kate Honda / 5.995
7 / F. NIETO / ESP / Suzuki GSX-R1000 / Team Suzuki Alstare / 8.788
8 / C. CHECA / ESP / Honda CBR1000RR / Hannspree Ten Kate Honda / 9.374
9 / M.FABRIZIO / ITA / Ducati 1098 F08 / Ducati Xerox Team / 10.667
10 / J. SMRZ / CZE / Ducati 1098 RS 08 / Guandalini Racing by Grifo's / 10.771
11 / G.LAVILLA / ESP / Honda CBR1000RR / Ventaxia VK Honda / 12.180
12 / T. CORSER / AUS / Yamaha YZF-R1 / Yamaha Motor Italia WSB / 14.719
13 / S. NAKATOMI / JPN / Yamaha YZF-R1 / YZF Yamaha / 32.734
14 / L. LANZI / ITA / Ducati 1098 RS 08 / R.G. Team / 36.550
15 / S. GIMBERT / FRA / Yamaha YZF-R1 / Yamaha France Ipone GMT / 36.607
Fastest Lap 3° Noriyuki Haga 1'45.882 196,963 Km/h


Race 2: (Laps 18 = 104,274 Km)
Pos / Rider / Nat. / Team / Gap
1 / N.HAGA / JPN / Yamaha YZF-R1 / Yamaha Motor Italia WSB / 32'07.576
2 / M.NEUKIRCHNER / GER / Suzuki GSX-R1000 / Team Alstare Suzuki / 0.009
3 / R. KIYONARI / JPN / Honda CBR1000RR / Hannspree Ten Kate Honda / 0.051
4 / F. NIETO / ESP / Suzuki GSX-R1000 / Team Suzuki Alstare / 4.489
5 / M.FABRIZIO / ITA / Ducati 1098 F08 / Ducati Xerox Team / 10.272
6 / K. MUGGERIDGE / AUS / Honda CBR1000RR / D.F. Racing / 10.376
7 / R. XAUS / ESP / Ducati 1098 RS 08 / Sterilgarda Go Eleven / 10.496
8 / T. CORSER / AUS / Yamaha YZF-R1 / Yamaha Motor Italia WSB / 12.498
9 / A. BADOVINI / ITA / Kawasaki ZX-10R / Team Pedercini / 19.429
10 / G.LAVILLA / ESP / Honda CBR1000RR / Ventaxia VK Honda / 26.373
11 / L. LANZI / ITA / Ducati 1098 RS 08 / R.G. Team / 26.544
12 / S. NAKATOMI / JPN / Yamaha YZF-R1 / YZF Yamaha / 26.895
13 / R. HOLLAND / AUS / Honda CBR1000RR / D.F. Racing - Bertocchi / 27.761
14 / S. GIMBERT / FRA / Yamaha YZF-R1 / Yamaha France Ipone GMT / 29.661
15 / M.BECK / USA / Yamaha YZF-R1 / Yamaha France Ipone GMT / 1'29.001
Fastest Lap 10° Noriyuki Haga 1'46.363 196,072 Km/h
Lap record: 2008 N. Haga 1'45.882 196,960 Km/h
Best Lap: 2008 T.Bayliss 1'44.931 198,750 Km/h

Riders Championship Standings:
1 BAYLISS 194, 2 CHECA 116, 3 HAGA 112, 4 NEUKIRCHNER 111, 5 NIETO 107,
6 CORSER 101, 7 XAUS 90, 8 BIAGGI 65, 9 KIYONARI 65, 10 LAVILLA 59, 11 FABRIZIO 55,
12 KAGAYAMA 54, 13 LANZI 49, 14 SMRZ 41, 15 MUGGERIDGE 35.