2009 World Superbike Championship Round 1, Phillip Island

[tha_jackal]

Phillip Island preview

Thursday 26th of February 2009

Team Stiggy Racing Honda ready for the 2009 season

After a successful two day test at Phillip Island circuit last week (17-18 Feb), Team Stiggy Racing Honda have enjoyed a few days rest before the season gets underway this weekend, on Friday. The 4.445 kms circuit, located on Phillip Island, is a few hours drive from Melbourne, and is one of the most spectacular circuits in the race calendar and loved by riders and fans alike.

Superbike World Championship

Roby:
Im happy the start of the season is finally here. We had a really good test last week and made lots of progress with the bike. The bike and team are showing great potential and Im hoping to be able to use all that tomorrow onwards. To start the season here in Phillip Island is very exciting. There are a lot of good riders this year and this is going to be a very competitive championship. Well have to see how it all goes tomorrow.

Leon:
We have had a couple of days off since the test and that has been really nice. We've been shark fishing, playing golf, visiting the penguin parade and the wildlife park, learning to surf and doing a bit of diving, but now Im ready to go and cant wait to get on the track tomorrow.

Supersport World Championship

Anthony:
I'm really looking forward to riding the bike again and getting the first round under my belt. We know, from the last test, that we have a pretty good base set-up for this track and hopefully that will be an advantage unless the conditions change too much. It's good to be back in Australia again and ride in front of my home crowd. As usual, my goal is to be on the podium or, better still, win! We will see how the weekend goes, but I'm sure it will be a good one.

Gianluca:
It will be a lot of fun getting the season started. I like this track a lot and think it will be a good weekend for us. The test we had last week was very positive, so Im confident well make good results here. We had a couple of days off since the test and it's been good for me because I have been able to do some sight-seeing as well as training.

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Sterilgarda set for exciting season with Byrne

Update: February 26, 2009, 00.00 PM ET

The Sterilgarda Racing Team is set for an exciting new season and the squad managed by Marco Borciani aims to shine once again.

In an ever-changing scenario, team Sterilgarda aims to establish itself and have the same level of performance as last season. The team's main rider will be British SBK champion Shane "Shakey" Byrne who has proven at the Portimao testing that he is definitely one of the most valuable riders out there.

Marco Borciani (team manager): "We are very confident ahead of the first round. In fact, Shane has been the fastest rider at the official testing in Portimao last month and we hope he will be out there fighting for the top spot in Australia as well. He is very comfortable with the bike and the Ducatis have proven to be very competitive. The only regret is we couldn't have Alex Polita compete in the first round."

Shane Byrne: "I know the Phillip Island circuit as I did a test there in 2004 while I was still competing for Aprilia in MotoGP and I have to say I really like it. As far as I'm concerned, I will be the underdog because other riders have recently had the opportunity to test on this particular track. Nevertheless, I have confidence in my team who have done a great job setting up the bike during the Portimao tests and I rely on the very fast Ducati 1098. Besides, my goal for the new season is to fight for the top spot."

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Chassis Improvements The Key For Neukirchner's 2009 Campaign

Update: February 26, 2009, 06.55 PM ET

Max Neukirchner has been promoted from satellite Suzuki rider in 2008 to full factory Alstare Suzuki rider in 2009, after winning two races and putting in a more than creditable championship campaign last year. Neukirchner has a new bike this year and for the German rider the main improvement is in the chassis, as the engine performance was already a strong suit on the previous Suzuki machine.

The new GSX-R is a more densely packed unit than the outgoing model, making the chassis design more modern, which in turn allows the entire machine to be nimble and manoeuvrable. As Neukirchner was a potent race-winning force last year, this improvement in key areas bodes well for Max's attempt at the world championship title in 2009.

"We are very happy with the new model from Suzuki and we have tested it a lot in the winter, in Portimao, South Africa and here in Australia as well," said Max. "The new bike is already fast in a straight line, but the handling is much better and I feel much more comfortable on the bike. Last year it was good and my team was perfect, but this year I am a real factory rider and I like that very much."

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Corser fit to race despite getting the bird at the Island

Update: February 25, 2009, 05.55 PM ET

After a lucky escape from serious injury when he hit a plover at 230km/h in final testing last Sunday, Australia's Troy Corser has declared himself in great shape for the opening round of the Superbike World Championship at Phillip Island this weekend.

Corser, who will ride BMW's all-new S 1000 RR four-cylinder machine in the 2009 championship, was taking part in a two-day private test session at Phillip Island with a number of other factory teams when he collided with the bird, but the Wollongong star was able to remain upright and cruise back to the pits.

After initial treatment at the circuit's medical centre for bruising, Corser is now on the road to full fitness for Sunday's two 22-lap races.

"The tests went very well, though it's a real shame that I had to finish early because we still had lots more to try out," said Corser after testing. "But I guess I'm lucky that I didn't crash and hurt myself badly when I hit the bird. I'm really not sure how I managed to stay on the bike, because it's not easy when you've only got one hand on the bars, but somehow I was able to recover.

"We have learnt a lot in these two days and I've been able to get a better idea of how the bike works in different conditions and set-ups. What I can say though, is that my S 1000 RR feels as good as any other bike I've ever ridden round here."

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Battle commences for Ducati Xerox Team

Update: February 25, 2009, 00.45 PM ET

The Ducati Xerox Team flew half way around the world last week to land in Australia for Round 1 of the 2009 World Superbike Championship. The 14-round series recommences this weekend at Phillip Island, the historic track that has featured on the calendar every year since 1990, with more World Superbike events having been held here than anywhere else.

New Ducati rider Noriyuki Haga will line up on the grid for the first time on board his Ducati 1198 and alongside team-mate Michel Fabrizio, now in his second season with the factory squad. Both riders are eager to make an impact on the championship standings right from the very first race and have trained hard all winter to be in the best possible shape for this, Round 1 of what is sure to be a challenging and exciting season.

Last weekend the Ducati factory riders took part in a useful two-day test session here at the Island, using the time to work on bike settings with their teams. Both riders were satisfied with the progress they made and were able to clock up some fast laps in preparation for the upcoming race.

Noriyuki's best result at this track was a third place finish in 2007. In his first race on board the factory Ducati 1198, he is ready to make an immediate impact on the 2009 championship.

"I have to say it's a track that I like but I have had very mixed results here over the years. In the last few years my best result was a third in 2007 but in 1998 I won Race 2. Since then I haven't had so much luck but I am hoping that I can change this this year! The tests last weekend went well and we'll continue to test various things on Friday in preparation for Sunday's races."

Michel stepped on to the podium at Phillip Island last year and is keen to kick off the 2009 season in a similar fashion.

"Last year I felt that some teams weren't totally ready for the start of the season while this year we all seem to be more prepared which means that on Sunday I think we'll be seeing a real fight up at the front for those podium places. I'm happy with how we've been progressing in winter testing and the tests here this weekend were definitely beneficial too. I like this track and am ready to get this championship started."

[tha_jackal]

Aprilia WSB Pedigree A Spur For RSV4 Squad

Update: February 24, 2009, 23.45 PM ET

After a strong showing in recent testing the exquisite vee-four Aprilia RSV4 has already demonstrated some of its more obvious capabilities early in its development cycle. With riders of the calibre of Max Biaggi and Shinya Nakano already making great strides on track, the prospect of Aprilia podium finishes sooner rather than later is a real possibility. And given Aprilia's previous exploits in a short but glorious period of factory WSB racing between 1999 and 2002, it's easy to see why everyone is getting excited by the return of the 'men in black'.

Aprilia Racing has, in fact, a glorious past in WSB, with Troy Corser going third in the championship standings in 2000 and fourth in 2001, on the vee-twin RSV 1000. In total, Aprilia riders secured a remarkable 26 podiums. Of those top three finishes, 18 went to Corser, one to Regis Laconi and seven to Noriyuki Haga. An Aprilia race victory total of eight came almost exclusively from Corser between 2000 and 2001, but Regis Laconi took a famous win at the final round of the 2001 season, at Imola.

What price more victories being added to the Aprilia total in 2009?

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My predictions..

WSB 1:
1. Haga
2. Neukirchner
3. Fabrizio

WSS:
1. Pitt
2. West
3. Crutchlow

WSB 2:
1. Fabrizio
2. Byrne
3. Corser

Cannot wait, seriously.. Im just dieing for this weekend lol..

[leopard]

Reliability seems to be a problem in question new manufacturers have to answer if they want to claim podiums or win a race, despite superiority they have demonstrated during testing period.
I would rather put aside them from the top three finisher, until witnessing how strong they can perform at the real race. However if this happens, I will give double thumbs up for that riders...

[tha_jackal]

http://www.mcnews.com.au/MotorcycleR...Interviews.htm

some nice audio clips from today's press conference..

[Wim_Impreza]

My predictions:
WSBK Race 1:
1 Haga
2 Byrne
3 Kiyonari

WSS:
1 Pitt
2 Sofuoğlu
3 West

WSBK Race 2:
1 Spies
2 Fabrizio
3 Rea

[The Phantom]

WSB race 1:

1. Haga
2. Fabrizio
3. Rea

WSS:

1. Pitt
2. Sofuoglo
3. McCoy

WSB Race 2:

1. Spies
2. Haga
3. Corser

[tha_jackal]

WSS FP1 Results

Pos# Rider Bike Last lap Best lap Sep Lap
1 54 Sofuoglu K. TUR Honda CBR600RRPIT IN 1'35.482 18
2 35 Crutchlow C. GBR Yamaha YZF R6PIT IN 1'35.652 0.170 19
3 8 Aitchison M. AUS Honda CBR600RRPIT IN 1'35.758 0.276 19
4 24 McCoy G. AUS Triumph Daytona 675PIT IN 1'35.804 0.322 18
5 1 Pitt A. AUS Honda CBR600RRPIT IN 1'35.867 0.385 23
6 99 Foret F. FRA Yamaha YZF R6PIT IN 1'35.893 0.411 16
7 26 Lascorz J. ESP Kawasaki ZX-6RPIT IN 1'35.965 0.483 18
8 13 West A. AUS Honda CBR600RRPIT IN 1'36.056 0.574 19
9 14 Lagrive M. FRA Honda CBR600RRPIT IN 1'36.061 0.579 20
10 77 Veneman B. NED Suzuki GSX-R600PIT IN 1'36.182 0.700 20
11 50 Laverty E. IRL Honda CBR600RRPIT IN 1'36.547 1.065 22
12 96 Smrz M. CZE Triumph Daytona 675PIT IN 1'36.650 1.168 14
13 21 Fujiwara K. JPN Kawasaki ZX-6RPIT IN 1'36.722 1.240 18
14 127 Harms R. DEN Honda CBR600RRPIT IN 1'36.735 1.253 17
15 69 Nannelli G. ITA Triumph Daytona 675PIT IN 1'36.827 1.345 10
16 117 Praia M. POR Honda CBR600RRPIT IN 1'36.936 1.454 20
17 51 Pirro M. ITA Yamaha YZF R6PIT IN 1'36.955 1.473 17
18 55 Roccoli M. ITA Honda CBR600RRPIT IN 1'36.957 1.475 19
19 19 Szkopek P. POL Triumph Daytona 675PIT IN 1'37.071 1.589 16
20 105 Vizziello G. ITA Honda CBR600RRPIT IN 1'37.225 1.743 18
21 5 Pradita T. INA Yamaha YZF R6PIT IN 1'37.853 2.371 19
22 30 G?nther J. GER Honda CBR600RRPIT IN 1'37.989 2.507 16
23 7 Vost?rek P. CZE Honda CBR600RRPIT IN 1'38.470 2.988 22
24 9 Dell'Omo D. ITA Honda CBR600RRPIT IN 1'38.508 3.026 19
25 83 Holland R. AUS Honda CBR600RRPIT IN 1'38.957 3.475 14
26 32 Lai F. ITA Honda CBR600RRPIT IN 1'39.664 4.182 17
27 28 Vos A. NED Honda CBR600RRPIT IN 1'40.712 5.230 14
28 71 Morillas J. ESP Yamaha YZF R6PIT IN 1'40.771 5.289 15
29 78 Geronimi S. AUS Suzuki GSX-R600PIT IN 1'41.257 5.775 16
30 88 Guerra Y. ESP Yamaha YZF R6PIT IN 1'42.086 6.604 17

[tha_jackal]

WSBK Phillip Island - Free Practice 1

1. Ben Spies USA Yamaha Italia YZF R1 1min 32.752s
2. Max Neukirchner GER Alstare Suzuki GSX-R 1000K9 1min 32.813s
3. Leon Haslam GBR Stiggy Motorsport Honda CBR1000RR 1min 33.015s
4. Yukio Kagayama JPN Alstare Suzuki GSX-R 1000K9 1min 33.077s
5. Regis Laconi FRA DFX Corse Ducati 1098R 1min 33.140s
6. Noriyuki Haga JPN Ducati Xerox 1098R 1min 33.239s
7. Shinya Nakano JPN Aprilia Racing RSV-4 1min 33.280s
8. Michel Fabrizio ITA Ducati Xerox 1098R 1min 33.371s
9. Roberto Rolfo ITA Stiggy Motorsport Honda CBR1000RR 1min 33.433s
10. Broc Parkes AUS Kawasaki SRT ZX-0R 1min 33.496s
11. Ryuichi Kiyonari JPN Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR 1min 33.508s
12. Jonathan Rea GBR HANNspree Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR 1min 33.695s
13. Tom Sykes GBR Yamaha Italia YZF R1 1min 33.757s
14. Makoto Tamada JPN Kawasaki SRT ZX-10R 1min 33.835s
15. Tommy Hill GBR HANNspree Althea Honda CBR1000RR 1min 33.845s
16. Jakub Smrz CZE Guandalini Racing Ducati 1098R 1min 33.901s
17. Max Biaggi ITA Aprilia Racing RSV-4 1min 33.909s
18. Shane Byrne GBR Sterilgarda Ducati 1098R 1min 33.991s
19. Carlos Checa ESP HANNspree Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR 1min 34.012s
20. Troy Corser AUS BMW Motorrad S1000RR 1min 34.201s
21. Ruben Xaus ESP BMW Motorrad S1000RR 1min 34.780s
22. David Salom ESP Team Pedercini Kawasaki ZX-10R 1min 35.851s
23. Brendan Roberts AUS Guandalini Racing Ducati 1098R 1min 36.222s
24. Luca Scassa ITA Team Pedercini Kawasaki ZX-10R 1min 36.762s
25. Karl Muggeridge AUS Celani Suzuki GSX-R1000 1min 36.853s
26. Vittorio Iannuzzo ITA SCI Honda CBR1000RR 1mins 37.716s
27. Matteo Baiocco ITA PSG-1 Kawasaki ZX-10R 1min 37.866s
28. Ayrton Badovini ITA PSG-1 Kawasaki ZX-10R 1min 38.676s

[tha_jackal]

Hanspree Ten Kate boys looking very strong...

Worrying, dont wanna see a two horse race..

WSS Session 2 Results

1 1 Pitt A. AUS Honda CBR600RR 1'34.833 16
2 54 Sofuoglu K. TUR Honda CBR600RR 1'34.895 0.062 19
3 99 Foret F. FRA Yamaha YZF R6 1'35.063 0.230 19
4 24 McCoy G. AUS Triumph Daytona 675 1'35.431 0.598 15
5 35 Crutchlow C. GBR Yamaha YZF R6 1'35.469 0.636 18
6 8 Aitchison M. AUS Honda CBR600RR 1'35.589 0.756 17
7 13 West A. AUS Honda CBR600RR 1'35.641 0.808 19
8 69 Nannelli G. ITA Triumph Daytona 675 1'35.644 0.811 17
9 127 Harms R. DEN Honda CBR600RR 1'35.778 0.945 19
10 50 Laverty E. IRL Honda CBR600RR 1'35.833 1.000 19
11 14 Lagrive M. FRA Honda CBR600RR 1'35.885 1.052 19
12 77 Veneman B. NED Suzuki GSX-R600 1'35.947 1.114 19
13 26 Lascorz J. ESP Kawasaki ZX-6R 1'36.075 1.242 17
14 117 Praia M. POR Honda CBR600RR 1'36.220 1.387 21
15 51 Pirro M. ITA Yamaha YZF R6 1'36.234 1.401 14
16 21 Fujiwara K. JPN Kawasaki ZX-6R 1'36.247 1.414 17
17 55 Roccoli M. ITA Honda CBR600RR 1'36.286 1.453 15
18 105 Vizziello G. ITA Honda CBR600RR 1'36.493 1.660 18
19 83 Holland R. AUS Honda CBR600RR 1'36.915 2.082 16
20 5 Pradita T. INA Yamaha YZF R6 1'36.918 2.085 21
21 19 Szkopek P. POL Triumph Daytona 675 1'36.972 2.139 12
22 96 Smrz M. CZE Triumph Daytona 675 1'37.045 2.212 16
23 30 G?nther J. GER Honda CBR600RR 1'37.170 2.337 19
24 9 Dell'Omo D. ITA Honda CBR600RR 1'37.210 2.377 19
25 32 Lai F. ITA Honda CBR600RR 1'37.719 2.886 17
26 7 Vost?rek P. CZE Honda CBR600RR 1'37.740 2.907 18
27 28 Vos A. NED Honda CBR600RR 1'37.914 3.081 17
28 78 Geronimi S. AUS Suzuki GSX-R600 1'39.445 4.612 20
29 88 Guerra Y. ESP Yamaha YZF R6 1'40.133 5.300 14
30 71 Morillas J. ESP Yamaha YZF R6 1'40.523 5.690 8

[Wim_Impreza]

Great to see Jakub Smrž as the fastest rider in the first qualifying.

1 96 Smrž J. (CZE) Ducati 1098R 1'32.312
2 41 Haga N. (JPN) Ducati 1098R 1'32.569
3 91 Haslam L. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 1'32.623
4 76 Neukirchner M. (GER) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 1'32.673
5 71 Kagayama Y. (JPN) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 1'32.704
6 56 Nakano S. (JPN) Aprilia RSV4 1'32.928
7 84 Fabrizio M. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 1'32.932
8 19 Spies B. (USA) Yamaha YZF R1 1'32.939
9 66 Sykes T. (GBR) Yamaha YZF R1 1'32.971
10 9 Kiyonari R. (JPN) Honda CBR1000RR 1'32.991
11 3 Biaggi M. (ITA) Aprilia RSV4 1'32.995
12 55 Laconi R. (FRA) Ducati 1098 RS 09 1'33.202
13 44 Rolfo R. (ITA) Honda CBR1000RR 1'33.206
14 7 Checa C. (ESP) Honda CBR1000RR 1'33.224
15 67 Byrne S. (GBR) Ducati 1098R 1'33.317
16 11 Corser T. (AUS) BMW S1000 RR 1'33.377
17 65 Rea J. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 1'33.418
18 100 Tamada M. (JPN) Kawasaki ZX 10R 1'33.709
19 23 Parkes B. (AUS) Kawasaki ZX 10R 1'33.911
20 111 Xaus R. (ESP) BMW S1000 RR 1'34.080
21 33 Hill T. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 1'34.123
22 25 Salom D. (ESP) Kawasaki ZX 10R 1'34.487
23 24 Roberts B. (AUS) Ducati 1098R 1'35.123
24 31 Muggeridge K. (AUS) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 1'35.716
25 99 Scassa L. (ITA) Kawasaki ZX 10R 1'35.759
26 77 Iannuzzo V. (ITA) Honda CBR1000RR 1'36.103
27 15 Baiocco M. (ITA) Kawasaki ZX 10R 1'36.514
28 86 Badovini A. (ITA) Kawasaki ZX 10R 1'37.127