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High Speed Monza Welcomes Sykes And Vermeulen
WSBK, Monza, Italy, 3 May 2010
The fast straights and heavy braking zones of Monza are the challenges facing the Kawasaki Racing Team pairing of Chris Vermeulen and Tom Sykes this coming weekend, at the historic parkland circuit. Monza, like the previous circuit of Assen in the Netherlands, is an iconic venue, and one that has high average speed at the centre of its character, despite the presence of several chicanes to slow down the 200bhp-plus World Superbike machines.

A classic venue in every sense, Monza is an essential stopping off point for any fan that wishes to understand the passion and heritage that underpins Italian Motorsport.

The first chicane has been altered for this year’s race, making it a faster and more flowing section, which is expected to take the times down between 1.5 and two seconds per lap.

After making a breakthrough in set-up at Assen, Sykes is hoping he can carry on the aggressive form he showed there and start moving up the championship table from his current position of 16th. Tom had two top six finishes last year at the Monza circuit.

Having been forced to miss some 2010 races due to a troublesome knee injury, Vermeulen is all ready for his latest challenge at a circuit he holds dear. Chris won there in 2005, before embarking on a stint in MotoGP.

Tom Sykes: “I’m really looking forward to getting back on the bike for the Monza weekend. I feel slightly cheated that I wasn’t able to finish race two in Assen after the progress we’d made there. Each race I am getting more and more comfortable on the Ninja ZX10R and I’m learning a lot about the bike every weekend. We are making steady progress and I have full confidence in my team. I hope that I continue to bring the bike home inside the points scoring places and hopefully creep in to the top 10, which we’re all aiming for.”

Chris Vermeulen: “I’m really looking forward to the Monza event as it’s an exciting race and a special circuit, partly because it is so fast. It will be great to race there again, this time on the Kawasaki. The last time was 2005 and I had a win so it’s a positive circuit for me, with good memories and results. As for my knee, I’m still not 100% but I’m working hard on it and it’s improving each day. I still have some difficulties with movement but for sure it will be an improvement from Assen. I’m looking forward to jumping on the bike and seeing what Monza brings to us.”

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Leader Lascorz Out For Win Number Two
WSS, Monza, Italy, 3 May 2010
Joan Lascorz extended his championship lead at the previous Assen round by finishing second on his Ninja ZX-6R, just ahead of Kenan Sofuoglu. After four rounds he has 85 points to Sofuoglu’s 77. Katsuaki Fujiwara, Lascorz’ team-mate for the second year in succession, has a long history of racing at Monza, but has had good and not so good turns of fortune this year. His immediate goal is to move further into the top ten by posting a strong finish at the ultra-fast Monza circuit.

Both official Kawasaki entrants will find a new-look first chicane at Monza, making the circuit 5.777km long this time around and still one of the fastest tracks on this or any other race calendar. Lap times are expected to drop significantly due to the new chicane layout.

Lascorz has now scored three second place finishes and one win this season, his victory coming at Valencia. At the classic Monza circuit Joan will be out to make it win number two of the season, before heading to Kyalami for round six, on May 16.

Monza has been a good track for both Joan and Kats in the past, with Joan second last year and Kats a Monza winner in his earlier career. Lorenzini by Leoni Kawasaki rider Fabien Foret has also been a Monza race winner, on two previous occasions.

Joan Lascorz: “I want to have a clean qualifying result to be in the position to fight for the win at Monza. I am taking things one race at a time and just working hard with the team to go for wins and not make mistakes. We are leading the championship because we have been consistent, but also because of our speed in races, which we have been able to repeat each weekend.”

Katsuaki Fujiwara: “We have had a good pace this year but so far it is not being turned into the kind of results we all want. I want that to change at Monza. This weekend there will be a lot of slipstreaming, so it is important to get away in the leading group and be clever when overtaking. I am going for a good finishing position and want to show my fighting spirit again.”

Season Best For Sykes As He Goes Fifth In Race Two
WSBK, Monza, Italy, 9 May 2010
The best weekend of qualifying and racing for Kawasaki Racing Team rider Tom Sykes saw him ninth and fifth at Monza on his Ninja ZX-10R, as his recuperating team-mate Chris Vermeulen also scored well. Tom’s ninth place in race one came after a good start, with the Yorkshireman only losing ground in the second half of the race and riding an eventually lonely last few laps. He would have very high calibre company in race two, as he was third on lap one, then contested the final few laps with Noriyuki Haga, re-passing the Japanese star at every opportunity. Tom held him off at the line to record his best result this year for the Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10R.

Chris was once more once more held back by both his 18th place qualifying position and pain and weakness in his injured knee. The Aussie rider fought every lap as hard as he could and scored 18th and 13th place finishes in the two 18-lap races. His grit and determination place him 19th in the overall rankings.

The whole weekend was a boost for the KRT squad, as qualifying for Tom in particular went to plan and he made the final sector of Superpole. He then had the confidence to use his skill to the full for all of each race.

In the overall championship Tom is now 14th on 35 points, with the next race scheduled for Kyalami, in South Africa, next weekend.

Tom Sykes: “In race two I got a good start and stayed out of trouble but I was not quite able to make the pace early on. Obviously Nori made a few strong passes, and I let him do a little bit of the work for a while. Then my lap times improved and I had a go at passing him, but he came straight back at me, in typical Nori style. With two to go I made a pass and get my head down, then on the final corner I rode defensively and pulled off a good result in fifth. All credit to Kawasaki and the team, it is very well deserved and a good confidence booster for us for the rest of the year.”

Chris Vermeulen: “In each race I got a very good start, but in the first race we had tried to make a few small set-up changes on the bike, but it was in the wrong direction. Physically it made the bike very hard to handle, to change direction, so I was very tired after race one. My lap times were a lot better in race two and the bike was good, it was just my leg that is still the main thing stopping me from racing to my full potential. But I was happy with the progress in race two and racing with someone like Max Neukirchner, so it wasn’t too bad.”

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Lascorz Still Leads After Latest Podium Ride
WSS, Monza, Italy, 9 May 2010
Joan Lascorz was third today at Monza and his fifth podium place in succession was enough to keep him in the championship lead. Katsuaki Fujiwara was also on good form, finishing fifth after 16 laps. Third in qualifying Joan was second on lap one, then third as Eugene Laverty and Kenan Sofuoglu headed the field. On the final two laps Joan drew close to Sofuoglu but was just unable to pass him on the final tour at this high-speed circuit, which also features many chicanes.

Fujiwara was the second Kawasaki rider in the top five, after Fabien Foret (Lorenzini by Leoni Kawasaki) had to retire. Fujiwara had started seventh on the grid and as he was not quite able to stay with the leaders in the early laps he ended up in a fight with Michele Pirro, after competing at close quarters with many other competitors.

Joan now has a four-point lead over Sofuoglu, with Monza race winner Eugene Laverty third on 91 points. Katsuaki is ninth, on the same points score as Pirro, 34.

Joan Lascorz: “I saw that I had an opportunity to pass Kenan at the last chicane and I was fighting for the the pass but it did not go well. With every race it is getting more and more difficult in this class, so we will see how it goes week-by-week, race-by-race. This year the top three riders are all going well and our pace was good again this week, with another podium.”

Katsuaki Fujiwara: “I had a big fight in the race and we finished inside the top five, which was a good result after I started seventh. The track here is a very special kind and we battled hard, but maybe I did not have the front-end set-up to be able to pass other riders under the brakes easily. But I scored good points and that was what we set-out to do.”

go sykes