World Superbike News

Ian Lowry

Following his wild-card ride at Brands Hatch for the Kawasaki team in the British Superbike series, Ian Lowry has now been given the chance to debut in the World Superbike championship at the Nurburgring.

The Irish rider is the latest replacement for the injured rider Chris Vermeulen and said;

“I am really grateful for this opportunity to ride for the Factory Kawasaki squad. It was always a dream of mine to compete in the World Superbike Championship and now this is becoming a reality. I enjoyed my outing at Brands Hatch  and working with such a professional team, and was surprised at how comfortable I felt on the Kawasaki.

“I know how competitive the World Superbike Championship is and I intend to make the most of this opportunity and repay the team with two strong finishes. I’m really looking forward to getting a full spin out in the bike again and am really excited about the race. ”

Max Neukirchner - Hanspree Ten Kate Honda 2010

The World Superbike rider Max Neukirchner will be a wild-card rider at the German Superbike series in Assen later this month with the Ten Kate Racing Products team.

The IDM German Superbike round will take place on the weekend of the 20-22 of August where Max will debut for his one-off outing on a CBR1000RR in the customer race division of the 2010 championship.

Neukirchner said;

“I’m really happy to have an opportunity to ride again at Assen – it’s a fantastic circuit and I enjoy riding there. It should be a good weekend because I know quite a few of the IDM guys very well. I know Assen well, too, and we’ve done a lot of laps there this season testing and racing. However, I know for sure it won’t be an easy weekend because the level in IDM is very high.”

“There are factory teams and very good privateer teams, all with almost a season of racing this year. We will start on Friday with a completely new bike and a new team but the Ten Kate guys are very experienced and I’m sure we’ll be able to find a good way forward very quickly. It will be a fun weekend.”

Cal Crutchlow - Sterilgarda Yamaha 2010

Cal Crutchlow dominated both races at the Silverstone circuit yesterday on the Sterilgarda Yamaha after battling with Jonathan Rea to take the double victory.

Race One

Cal Crutchlow started in pole position for the opening race of the day but it was the Hanspree Ten Kate Honda rider Jonathan Rea that took to the front as the race got underway followed by the Aprilia of Max Biaggi.

Crutchlow soon got ahead of Biaggi and was on the tail of Rea as the leading pair created a gap between themselves and the rest of the field.

The pair first traded places on lap 7 before Crutchlow made it stick on lap 12 and began to set a blistering pace that no other rider could match.

Leon Haslam was sitting in third place on his Suzuki Alstare which is where he finished making it an all British podium at the British round of the World Superbike series.

Michel Fabrizio finished in fourth place for the Ducati Xerox team ahead of Max Biaggi in fifth, Leon Camier in sixth, Carlos Checa in seventh, James Toseland in eighth, Shane Byrne in ninth and Troy Corser in tenth.

Here are the results;

1. Cal Crutchlow GBR Yamaha Sterilgarda YZF R1 18 laps
2. Jonathan Rea GBR Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR +1.621s
3. Leon Haslam GBR Alstare Suzuki GSX-R1000 +11.433s
4. Michel Fabrizio ITA Ducati Xerox 1198 +15.874s
5. Max Biaggi ITA Aprilia Alitalia Racing RSV-4 +17.085s
6. Leon Camier GBR Aprilia Alitalia Racing RSV-4 +17.532s
7. Carlos Checa ESP Althea Ducati 1198 +18.250s
8. James Toseland GBR Yamaha Sterilgarda YZF R1 +18.938s
9. Shane Byrne GBR Althea Ducati 1198 +22.997s
10. Troy Corser AUS BMW Motorrad S1000RR +25.830s
11. Max Neukirchner GER Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR +30.972s
12. Sylvain Guintoli FRA Alstare Suzuki GSX-R1000 +31.808s
13. Jakub Smrz CZE PATA B&G Racing Aprilia RSV-4 +32.193s
14. Noriyuki Haga JPN Ducati Xerox 1198 +33.206s
15. Lorenzo Lanzi ITA DFX Ducati 1198 +34.207s

Luca Scassa ITA Supersonic Ducati 1198

Race Two

Crutchlow ended his weekend with his second win of the day which saw him once again fight off the advancing Jonathan Rea.

It was the Jonathan Rea that once again led the field from the first corner while Crutchlow stuck with the Hanspree Ten Kate Honda rider until he finally made it past on lap 16.  Rea battled to regain the lead as the pair headed down the Hangar Straight but ran wide, losing time and allowing the Sterilgarda Yamaha rider to re-claim his place at the front.

Leon Haslam looked as if he would take the final step of the podium but an impressive ride from the Aprilia rider Leon Camier blew his race out of the water.

Camier starting from sixteenth place on the grid moved to sixth and then third in the space of just 4 laps, while his team-mate Biaggi lost a further two places after running wide in an attempt to pass Haslam on lap 13.

With just two laps to go Toseland managed to get ahead but Haslam wasn’t going to let it go and attempted once again to get in front.  The two riders almost touched as they rode side-by-side with Toseland clinching that fifth place ahead of Biaggi in sixth.

Sylvain Guintoli finished in seventh position followed by Shane Byrne in eighth, Jakub Smurz in ninth and Carlos Checa completing the top ten riders.

Troy Corser crashed his BMW on lap 2 of the race while running in fourth spot while Michel Fabrizio retired his Ducati with technical problems.

Here are the results;

1. Cal Crutchlow GBR Yamaha Sterilgarda YZF R1 18 laps
2. Jonathan Rea GBR Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR +2.070s
3. Leon Camier GBR Aprilia Alitalia Racing RSV-4 +8.834s
4. Leon Haslam GBR Alstare Suzuki GSX-R1000 +13.232s
5. James Toseland GBR Yamaha Sterilgarda YZF R1 +13.258s
6. Max Biaggi ITA Aprilia Alitalia Racing RSV-4 +13.568s
7. Sylvain Guintoli FRA Alstare Suzuki GSX-R1000 +13.963s
8. Shane Byrne GBR Althea Ducati 1198 +14.432s
9. Jakub Smrz CZE PATA B&G Racing Aprilia RSV-4 +16.399s
10. Carlos Checa ESP Althea Ducati 1198 +19.874s
11. Ruben Xaus ESP BMW Motorrad S1000RR +26.268s
12. Josh Brookes AUS HM Plant Honda CBR1000RR +28.003s
13. Noriyuki Haga JPN Ducati Xerox 1198 +28.550s
14. Tom Sykes GBR Kawasaki SRT ZX-10R +30.117s
15. Lorenzo Lanzi ITA DFX Ducati 1198 +30.415s

Luca Scassa ITA Supersonic Ducati 1198

Kawasaki WSB - 2010

Akira Yanagawa is returning to the World Superbike series this weekend aboard the Kawasaki as a wild-card rider at Silverstone for the British round of the championship.

The Japanese rider has been called on as a replacement rider for the injured Chris Vermeulen and has said he is looking forward to the event although he expects it to be tough.

Yanagawa began racing for the World Superbike Kawasaki team way back in 1997 and rewarded his team with three race wins and finishing in fourth place overall in the 1997 championship.

The last time that Yanagawa was on a World Superbike was at Sugo back in 2002 before the team decided to concentrate more on the MotoGP series.

Yanagawa still races in the All-Japan Superbike series which he was leading in 2007 until he finally lost out to Atsushi Watanabe.

Leon Haslam 2010

The North Yorkshire Road Racing Supporters Club are delighted to announce that they have the father and son motorcycle riders Ron and Leon Haslam with them for a chat night.

The event takes place on Tuesday 3rd August following the British round of the World Superbike series at Silverstone where Leon will be competing on the Alstare Suzuki, currently running in second place in the World Superbike championship.

The talk night will take place at The Yorkshire Suite of the Golden Lion Hotel in Northallerton with the doors opening at 7.30pm and the event beginning at 8.15pm.

There is a bar at the event along with a raffle and TV highlights to be shown all for only £6 or £4 if you are a NYRRSC member.