Leon Camier - BSB Airwaves Yamaha 2009

The 2009 British Superbike champion Leon Camier has been confirmed as the rider to race alongside Max Biaggi for the Aprilia team in the World Superbike series for the 2010 season.

Camier dominated the 2009 season on the Airwaves Yamaha, taking the victory on 19 out of the 26 races and with 22 podium finishes.

The 23-year-old made his debut in the World Superbike series as a wild-card at Donington before replacing the injured rider Shinya Nakano for Aprilia at the Portimao finale where he finished the day with an impressive sixth place in race one and seventh in race two.

Camier will now be riding for the team full-time alongside veteran rider Max Biaggi who finished the 2009 season in fourth place overall.

February 28                                 Australia                                                               Phillip Island

March 28                                       Portugal                                                               Portimão

April 11                                             Spain                                                                   Valencia (*)

April 25                                          Netherlands                                                           Assen

May 9                                               Italy                                                                          Monza

May 16                                            South Africa                                                          Kyalami

May 31                                            United States                                                        Salt Lake City

June 27                                          San Marino                                                            Misano

July 11                                             Czech Repub.                                                        Brno

August 1                                         Great Britain                                                         Donington Park

September 5                                Germany                                                                  Nürburgring

September 26                              Italy                                                                            Imola (*)/(**)

October 3                                        France                                                                       Magny Cours

(*) = To be confirmed

(**) = Subject to homologation

Sylvain Guintoli - BSB Worx Crescent Suzuki 2009

The Suzuki Alstare team have confirmed that Sylvain Guintoli will be making an early World Superbike debut at the seasons finale at Portimao alongside Leon Haslam.

Guintoli has spent the season riding for the British Superbike team Worx Crescent Suzuki as their sole rider until he was injured in the accident with Josh Brookes at the Donington Park round.  The French rider suffered a broken tibia and fibia of the right leg.

The HM Plant Honda rider collided with Guintoli at the Melbourne hairpin on the sighting lap in the run-up to the opening race, claiming a problem with his brakes.  After an investigation into the incident, no mechanical problem was found and Brookes received a two race ban.

Although not back to full fitness after only having the screw removed from the plate in his leg last week, Guintoli feels that his recovery is going well and is looking forward to getting back on-board a superbike.

The American began his career in the late 70’s before reaching the top of the American Road Racing  series in the early 80’s.  He decided to retire from the sport in the Summer of 1982 to concentrate on business commitments.

In 1986, he was talked into coming out of retirement and rode for Suzuki team in the GSXR National Cup series where by the end of the season he had racked-up 45 wins out of 51 races.  He joined the Kosar Racing Team for 1987 and competed in the AMA Superbike championship where he finished in fourth place overall, riding against the likes of Wayne Rainey and Kevin Schwantz.

The American got his big break in 1988 when he was signed by the team Yoshimura R&D of America, allowing him also to ride in it’s parent company Yoshimura of Japan in 1989, seeing him win both of the championships.

Doug then went onto the Ducati team, allowing him to race in not only the World Superbike Championship but also the AMA Championship.  He not only won the World Superbike Championship by 150 points but also made history by winning a record 17 victories during the season and claimed the title of AMA Pro Twins Championship.

Taking the crown for the second year running in the WSB Championship of 1992, he finished third in the AMA Superbike series.

In 1993, Doug rode exclusively for the Ducati Italy squad in the AMA Superbike series and claimed the title with two rounds still to run.

In 1994, Doug was given the chance to ride for the Honda Racing Corporation (HRC) on their new RC45 Superbike, finishing fourth in the championship. He only rode a handful of races for the team in the following year.

After leaving the Honda, Doug  joined the Suzuki Endurance Racing team riding a 750cc and also riding a 1100cc in the AMA Superteams series for Team Ebsco Suzuki.   He won the World Endurance Championship of 1997 alongside his team-mate Peter Goddard on the GSXR 750cc.  He won the World Endurance Championship again in 1998 but this time riding for the Honda Racing team on the RC45.

Doug, now 49,  has raced in various events throughout the years and is now offering his services to help others as an instructor at track days and day events in the United States.

Here’s a little clip of Doug winning the 1991 first race at Donington Park;

Noriyuki Haga - Ducati Xerox Team 2009

The next round of the World Superbike Championship takes place at Brno in the Czech Republic on the 26th July, and some of the top riders are set to return after suffering injuries in earlier rounds.

The Xerox Ducati ride Noiryuki Haga, is expected to be on the starting grid after his crash in race 2 at the Donington circuit.  He suffered a fracture to his right arm and cracks to his left scapula and spent the next three days in hospital before returning to his home in Milan.

Haga is leading the Championship ahead of Yamaha World Superbike rider Ben Spies, but by a mere 14 points and is eager to get back on his bike and battle with the American.

Suzuki Alstare rider Max Neukirchner, and Kawasaki Superbike Racing Team rider Makoto Tamada were both injured during the same accident at Monza in April, but are now ready to return to work at Brno.

Neukirchner suffered a broken right femur, a double fracture to the fibula and dislocated his foot.  He had to endure a six-hour operation to have a pin inserted into his right thigh while the fibula was left to heal naturally.  The operation was a success and the German rider eventually returned to his home in the back of a camper-van, propped-up by cushions as he was advised not to fly.

Makoto Tamada received a broken wrist in the carnage at the first corner at Monza, after hitting the back of the Brendan Roberts Guandalini Ducati. After further examinations in Japan, Tamada was also found to have fractures in two of his fingers and had to have a wire inserted to stabilise the fractures.  The Japanese rider is now fully recovered from his injuries and is also eager to get back on the grid.

Ben Spies - Donington Park

The Yamaha World Superbike rider Ben Spies, won both races in round nine of the World Superbike Championship at Donington Park on Sunday.

Race 1

Spies dominated the qualifying session on Saturday and continued by winning the race on Sunday shadowed by the Aprilia Racing rider Max Biaggi.

On the final lap of the race it looked like all the hard work from Biaggi had been wasted as his machine came almost to a halt, just a couple of hundred yards from the chequered flag.  However, after a bit of weaving by the Italian he picked up speed and shot across the line to take his place on the podium, it was later confirmed that he had some sort of fuel problem.

Noriyuki Haga on the Ducati Xerox bike took the final step of the podium followed in fourth place by Leon Haslam on the Stiggy Motorsport Honda.

Shane Byrne was right on the tail of Haslam for the Sterilgarda Ducati team ahead of the second Aprilia Racing bike ridden by Shinya Nakano in sixth.

Jonathan Rea on the Hanspree Ten Kate Honda took seventh followed by John Hopkins on the second Stiggy Honda, Jakub Smrz on the Guandalini Racing bike was in ninth and Ryuichi Kiyonari on the Ten Kate Honda Racing bike to complete the top ten riders.

Here are the results;

1  19 Spies B. (USA) Yamaha YZF R1 34′57.230 (158,831 kph)
2   3 Biaggi M. (ITA) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 7.156
3  41 Haga N. (JPN) Ducati 1098R 10.968
4  91 Haslam L. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 18.843
5  67 Byrne S. (GBR) Ducati 1098R 19.125
6  56 Nakano S. (JPN) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 21.286
7  65 Rea J. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 23.644
8 121 Hopkins J. (USA) Honda CBR1000RR 32.849
9  96 Smrz J. (CZE) Ducati 1098R 32.904
10   9 Kiyonari R. (JPN) Honda CBR1000RR 33.192
11   7 Checa C. (ESP) Honda CBR1000RR 34.535
12  84 Fabrizio M. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 35.093
13  22 Camier L. (GBR) Yamaha YZF R1 35.441
14  57 Lanzi L. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 39.034
15 111 Xaus R. (ESP) BMW S1000 RR 41.067
16  14 Lagrive M. (FRA) Honda CBR1000RR 46.452
17  71 Kagayama Y. (JPN) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 47.924
18  23 Parkes B. (AUS) Kawasaki ZX 10R 48.246
19  99 Scassa L. (ITA) Kawasaki ZX 10R 50.932
20 117 Andrews S. (GBR) Kawasaki ZX 10R 55.032
21   2 Hacking J. (USA) Kawasaki ZX 10R 55.216
22  53 Polita A. (ITA) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 1′02.758
23  25 Salom D. (ESP) Kawasaki ZX 10R 1′02.977
24  94 Checa D. (ESP) Yamaha YZF R1 1′12.255
25  79 Young B. (USA) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 1′12.531
RET  11 Corser T. (AUS) BMW S1000 RR
RET  27 Ellison J. (GBR) Yamaha YZF R1
RET  88 Resch R. (AUT) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9
RET  66 Sykes T. (GBR) Yamaha YZF R1
RET  36 Lavilla G. (ESP) Ducati 1098R
RET  77 Iannuzzo V. (ITA) Honda CBR1000RR

Race 2

The second race was again dominated by the American rider Ben Spies, who started the race as he meant to go on, creating a gap from the off, and claiming his tenth win of the 2009 season.

Noriyuki Haga crashed out from second place on lap 5 of the race while trying to bridge the gap between himself and Spies.  The Ducati rider was taken to a Derby hospital and was treated for a fracture to the ulna in his right arm.  Haga today underwent surgery to insert a plate and screws to the ulna which has been deemed a success, the multiple fractures discovered to his left shoulder will heal on their own and did not need intervention.  The team believe it would still be possible for Haga to ride at the next round at Brno but he will not take part in the test due at Imola.

British rider Leon Haslam, took the Stiggy bike across the line to claim the second step of the podium, after battling for the position with Michel Fabrizio on the Ducati Xerox and Shane Byrne on the Sterilgarda machine.  Haslam finally made his move stick with three laps of the race remaining and said that he had been spurred on by the British fans at his home track.

Fabrizio finished in third ahead of Byrne in fourth after suffering technical problems in race one.  The Italian had broken the lap record during qualifying but a gear problem saw him sliding backwards to finally finish in twelfth position, but he was back on the podium in the second race after jumping on his spare bike.

Neither of the Aprilia Racing riders finished the second race with Biaggi crashing out on lap 4 at the Melbourne hairpin.  The Italian got back on his machine only to make contact again with another rider and later x-rays showed he had received a hairline fracture to his right foot.  Fortunately, with the three week break now before Brno, Biaggi is expected to be fit to ride in the next round.

Shinya Nakano, on the second Aprilia, amazingly walked away without injury when he crashed at high speed just after the opening lap of race two.

John Hopkins was not on the grid for the second race despite finishing the first race in eighth place from thirteenth in qualifying.  Hopkins apologised to his fans and supporters for not taking part but was said to be suffering so much pain from the first race that he could not carry on.

Simon Andrews, riding as a wild-card, achieved his aim of a top ten finish in race two for the Kawasaki team after qualifying in twenty-sixth position.

Leon Camier was another wild-card rider this weekend, claiming sixth in race two after starting in twenty-second place.  The Airwaves Yamaha rider demolished his number one bike during provisional qualifying and on the spare could only manage seventeenth position.  In both races he made a terrible start but fought his way back to the top in race two.  His team-mate James Ellison, crashed out in the first race but finished an impressive eighth in race two.

Here are the results;

1 19 Spies B. (USA) Yamaha YZF R1 35′14.788 (157,512 kph)
2 91 Haslam L. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 6.622
3 84 Fabrizio M. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 6.816
4 67 Byrne S. (GBR) Ducati 1098R 7.349
5 66 Sykes T. (GBR) Yamaha YZF R1 8.145
6 22 Camier L. (GBR) Yamaha YZF R1 13.463
7 9 Kiyonari R. (JPN) Honda CBR1000RR 15.751
8 27 Ellison J. (GBR) Yamaha YZF R1 16.837
9 111 Xaus R. (ESP) BMW S1000 RR 22.891
10 117 Andrews S. (GBR) Kawasaki ZX 10R 30.347
11 57 Lanzi L. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 30.622
12 14 Lagrive M. (FRA) Honda CBR1000RR 31.562
13 71 Kagayama Y. (JPN) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 32.148
14 23 Parkes B. (AUS) Kawasaki ZX 10R 32.607
15 65 Rea J. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 32.806
16 99 Scassa L. (ITA) Kawasaki ZX 10R 34.269
17 79 Young B. (USA) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 40.644
18 36 Lavilla G. (ESP) Ducati 1098R 40.956
19 25 Salom D. (ESP) Kawasaki ZX 10R 41.302
20 11 Corser T. (AUS) BMW S1000 RR 42.856
21 3 Biaggi M. (ITA) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 47.769
RET 77 Iannuzzo V. (ITA) Honda CBR1000RR
RET 88 Resch R. (AUT) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9
RET 53 Polita A. (ITA) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9
RET 7 Checa C. (ESP) Honda CBR1000RR
RET 94 Checa D. (ESP) Yamaha YZF R1
RET 41 Haga N. (JPN) Ducati 1098R
RET 96 Smrz J. (CZE) Ducati 1098R
RET 56 Nakano S. (JPN) Aprilia RSV4 Factory
RET 2 Hacking J. (USA) Kawasaki ZX 10R

Max Neukirchner - Assen 2009

Blake Young, 21, will be riding the Suzuki Alstare machine this weekend at Donington Park replacing injured rider Max Neukirchner for this World Superbike Championship round.

Young is currently negotiating a ride with American Suzuki for the Rockstar Makita Suzuki Team in the American Superbike series and had gone along to the Misano World Superbike race with his mentor, former World Champion Kevin Schwantz when he was approached by the team.

Fonsi Nieto has replaced Neukirchner at the last three round of the championship but it will be Young who will be on the grid at Donington after getting approval from American Suzuki.

Neukirchner is not expected to return until the Brno round on the 24-26 July as he recuperates from his horrendous injuries suffered at Monza.  He is currently undergoing several physiotherapy treatments, focusing on the upper body and his left leg while his right leg is given time to heal fully.

Brendan Roberts - Guandalini Racing 2009

Gregorio Lavilla will be continuing his ride with the Guandalini Ducati team after it was decided that Brendan Roberts is not back to 100% fitness and will sit out the next two rounds.

The Australian suffered injuries at the Monza circuit when he was hit from behind on the first corner of the first lap, which then pushed his bike into the back of  Max Neukirchner wiping him out with a broken leg.

Roberts main problem is a torn quad muscle which is refusing to heal, leaving the rider struggling to walk.   He has been told that if the injury does not heal itself soon he may have to undergo surgery to correct the problem.

Lavilla will once again be on the grid at Misano and Donington before the team decide, in July, if Roberts is fit to return to work.

March 1             Phillip Island                 Australia

March 14           Doha/Losail                 Qatar

April   5             Valencia                       Spain

April   26           Assen                          Holland

May    10           Monza                          Italy

May    17           Kyalami                        South Africa

May    31           Salt Lake City               USA

June    21          Misano                         San Marino

June    28          Donington Park           Great Britain

July     26          Brno                            Czech Republic

Sep.      6          Nurburgring                Germany

Sep.     27         Imola                          Italy

Oct.       4         Magny Cours              France

Oct.      25        Portimao                    Portugal

Ryuichi Kiyonari

Troy Bayliss and Ryuichi Kiyonari took the victories at Donington for round eleven of the World Superbike Championship yesterday.

Race One

In atrocious weather conditions, Troy Bayliss took the chequered flag at the Leicestershire circuit for the first time in his World Superbike career.

Bayliss has been racing at the track since 1998, but after incidents and accidents throughout his career at Donington, including last year when he lost his finger, the victory has always eluded him.

On a drying track for race one, the Xerox Ducati rider took the race by aggregate followed by Tom Sykes, the Rizla Suzuki, British Superbike Wild-Card rider in second.

Ryuichi Kiyonari on the Hanspree Ten Kate Honda, took the lead at the start of the race until he crashed out on lap two handing the lead to Bayliss.

Tom Sykes followed Bayliss and then passed him putting a gap of 3.9 seconds between himself and  Bayliss until the red flag was waved after Noriyuki Haga’s Yamaha blew-up, dumping oil on the track.

A host of riders went down on the slippery surface including, Max Neukirchner, Carlos Checa and Troy Corser.

The race was restarted with 14 laps to run, at the end of which the times from both parts of the rece would be added together to determine the winner.

Sykes was in the lead for the restart on aggregate but both him and Leon Haslam mistook a rain flag for the safety car and slowed down while Bayliss shot off to claim his prize.

Leon Haslam was taken out by Roberto Rolfo when he tried to get past on the esses to take third place ending Haslam’s race.

There was a lot of confusion with the riders as to who had finished where as Ruben Xaus pulled into park ferme thinking he had scored third place when in fact it was Max Biaggi.

Cal Crutchlow, team-mate of Leon Haslam in the British Superbike series for HM Plant Honda, retired before the first red flag after developing a mechanical problem.

Race Two

Ryuichi Kiyonari took the win on a soaked track in torrential rain in which Troy Corser was seen several times waving his hands to get the race stopped.

Corser had an horrendous weekend in which he had crashed six times and then went on amazingly to spend most of the second race in third position.

Cal Crutchlow, however, was determined to get his foot on the podium and Corser was unable to hold him back.

Haslam was running in fourth until three laps before the end of the race he crashed out and couldn’t restart his machine.

Another British Superbike Wild-Card rider, James Ellison, finished in fourth place despite going off track at Coppice and rejoining to battle his way past Ruben Xaus, Michel Fabrizio and Max Biaggi.

Troy Bayliss crashed out on lap twelve while running in second place as Noriyuki Haga had to retire after being black flagged.

Haga was black flagged as he continued to ride while his bike was leaking oil and then he was caught speeding in the pit lane.

Chris Walker only completed five laps of the second race, but was lucky to have escape unscathed when he went straight on at Schwantz and nearly collided with other riders as he rejoined the race.

Here are the results;

1. Ryuichi Kiyonari JPN Hannspree Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR 23 laps
2. Cal Crutchlow GBR HM Plant Honda CBR1000RR +2.261secs
3. Troy Corser AUS Yamaha Motor Italia YZF-R1 +9.727secs
4. James Ellison GBR Hydrex Bike Animal Honda CBR1000RR +20.227secs
5. Michel Fabrizio ITA Ducati Xerox 1098 F08 +27.475secs
6. Max Biaggi ITA Sterilgarda Go Eleven 1098 RS08 +28.051secs
7. Gregorio Lavilla SPA Ventaxia VK Honda CBR1000RR +30.922secs
8. Ruben Xaus SPA Sterilgarda Go Eleven 1098 RS08 +38.353secs
9. Carlos Checa SPA Hannspree Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR +50.196secs
10. Tom Sykes GBR Rizla Suzuki GSX-R1000 +52.346secs
11. Lorenzo Lanzi ITA RG Racing 1098 RS08 +1min 03.093secs
12. Jakub Smrz CZE Guandalini Racing by Grifo’s 1098 RS08 +1min 06.697secs
13. Robert Rolfo ITA Hannspree Honda Althea CBR1000RR +1min 08.057secs
14. Max Neukirchner GER Alstare Suzuki GSX-R1000 +1min 15.276secs
15. Regis Laconi ITA PSG-1 Kawasaki Corse ZX-10R +1min 38.848secs

16 Makoto Tamada JPN PSG-1 Kawasaki Corse ZX-10R +1 lap
17. Shuhei Aoyama JPN Alto Evolution Honda CBR1000RR +1 lap
18. Shinichi Nakatomi JPN YZF Yamaha YZF-R1 +1 lap
19. Yukio Kagayama JPN Alstare Suzuki GSX-R1000 +1 lap
20. Karl Muggeridge AUS D.F. Racing CBR1000RR +2 laps
Did Not Finish

21. Leon Haslam GBR HM Plant Honda CBR1000RR 19 laps completed
22. David Checa ESP Yamaha France Ipone GMT 94 YZF-R1 17 laps completed
23. Fonsi Nieto SPA Alstare Suzuki GSX-R1000 17 laps completed
24. Matt Lynn USA Alto Evolution Honda CBR1000RR 17 laps completed
25. Chris Walker GBR Ventaxia VK Honda CBR1000RR 5 laps completed
26. Troy Bayliss AUS Ducati Xerox 1098 F08 12 laps completed
27. Christian Zaiser AUT Grillini PBR Team YZF-R1 7 laps completed
28. Ayrton Badovini ITA Team Pedercini ZX-10R 6 laps completed
29. Luca Morelli ITA D.F. Racing CBR1000RR 3 laps completed
30. Sebastien Gimbert FRA Yamaha France Ipone GMT 94 YZF-R1 2 laps completed
31. Vittorio Iannuzzo ITA Team Pedercini ZX-10R 2 laps completed