Kawasaki WSBK - Misano

[MadKaw]

Kawasaki Riders Make It A Triple For San Marino Round
WSBK, Misano, Republic of San Marino, 7 June 2011
The official Kawasaki World Superbike entry will be back to full strength for round six of the championship, as Chris Vermeulen gets set to rejoin Tom Sykes and Joan Lascorz at Misano. Vermeulen missed the previous round in America to be fully fit for this forthcoming Misano outing and he proved at a recent test at Motorland Aragon that he should be ready to complete a full race weekend in Italy, despite suffering an additional elbow injury recently.

Lascorz also had an outing on his official Kawasaki Racing Team machine at the recent Aragon tests, albeit for a short time only, after he headed back from the Miller Motorsports Park round.

Sykes approaches this Misano race fresh from a top six finish in the first race at the previous Miller Motorsports Park round, looking for more double digit points scores at a circuit which could not be more different from the American venue.

Presently, Sykes is 13th overall in the standings, Lascorz is 15th and Vermeulen has yet to score due to his long-term recovery from a knee injury. The Pedercini Team Kawasaki pairing of Mark Aitchison and Roberto Rolfo will get back to work at Misano, the second Italian based round of the season for the Italian owned and operated team. Rolfo is ranked 17th at present, Aitchison 19th.

Located almost at sea level, the Misano International Circuit is the host venue for the San Marino round of the World Championship. Tight and twisty for the most part, Misano is a favourite with many riders and fans alike, partly for its location right on Italy’s Adriatic holiday coast. Despite its obvious on and off circuit attractions it will be work all the way for all three official Kawasaki entrants until both 24-lap races are completed on Sunday 12 June. Then it will be a quick dash across southern Europe to Spain, for the Motorland Aragon event, which follows right on the heels of Misano.

Tom Sykes: “Misano was one of our least favoured tracks from 2010 but I am still confident about our chances. This year we have a better package to work with, and one which is improving with every race. There is still work to be done but every time I head to a new circuit I feel positive, so I am looking forward to Misano. After Miller we have even more ideas on how to improve the bike and bring something else to the table, both at Misano and at Aragon shortly afterwards.”

Joan Lascorz: “I had a short test at Aragon recently and it was good to ride the bike again, even if I did not do so many laps. I learned some things there but the main thing is that I have some information for when we go back there to race. I do not know what will happen at Misano but I am thinking positive and we will work hard with the team. We have good potential there, and at other tracks too.”

Chris Vermeulen: “We tested recently at Aragon, at the full Superbike track and it was good because I had never been there, which means I have learned the layout for that race which happens right after Misano. The first day I did 60 laps and the second day 72, so it wasn’t too bad. We got a lot of work done and tried a lot of parts and settings. My previously injured knee is a lot better than it has been. I am feeling more and more back to my old self on the bike. The elbow I injured recently will also be a lot better when we get to Misano. Now I am just looking forward to getting to a racetrack I know well, on a bike I have tested and ridden a lot more now.”

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High Hopes For Kawasaki’s High Fliers
WSS, Misano, Republic of San Marino, 7 June 2011
After a break in race action since Monza at the beginning of May neither Broc Parkes nor David Salom have had a WSS round to compete in - but Misano will see them return to race action afresh. Only the Superbike World championship class made the long haul to Miller Motorsports Park recently but the Provec Motocard.com WSS team has been continuing with the overall race development programme, designed to help Broc and David towards greater success.

A recent development session at the team’s designated test track of Motorland Aragon will stand them in good stead for the Spanish WSS round when it takes place there between 17 and 19 June, but the tests have also delivered improvements which will count at Misano.

Parkes has also spent some time recently staying fit and sharp at his team’s base near Barcelona by training and riding Supermotard machinery, while Salom has continued his fitness programme at home in Mallorca.

The immediate aim for both official riders at Misano is simple; to peg back the championship lead enjoyed by Chaz Davies and Luca Scassa. Broc is currently third, only ten points from the joint leaders, while David is fifth, equal on points with the fourth placed rider.

In the Lorenzini by Leoni Kawasaki Team Massimo Roccoli is now ranked eighth in the championship fight and is about to race at his favourite circuit of all, Misano. His team-mate and fellow Italian Vittorio Iannuzzo is 12th in the standings after Monza.

Broc Parkes: “We had a good break from racing and then a good test at Aragon where we got to try lots of things on the bike. We worked on a few different suspension and engine settings so we had quite a lot to test. I have been staying in Barcelona with the team for a while, doing a lot of Supermoto riding and motocross, just keeping active. I feel 100% again now and I have been doing a lot of cycling and training. I really like Misano, I’ve had some good results there in the past and I love this time of year when summer is really starting in Europe.”

David Salom: “After our test in Aragon I think we are in good shape. We had a positive test and tried new suspension and engine settings. It was a good time to have a track session. Misano, for me, is a happy circuit. It has bumps but that is no problem for me. In fact I would say it is a strong circuit for us, with a lot of corners and I think for the bike and me it could work out well.”

[redzedx7r]

Here's hoping Chris the 'V' comes up with a decent result

[redzedx7r]

Wahoo Tom Sykes on the green machine takes out Superpole!

[MadKaw]

Sykes Takes First Pole For 2011 Ninja ZX-10R
WSBK, Misano, Republic of San Marino, 11 June 2011
Tom Sykes proved the master of wet conditions at Misano to overcome his rivals and win the first Superpole prize for the awesome Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10R in only its sixth competitive WSBK race weekend. Tom had been seventh fastest after the dry combined qualifying sessions had been completed and when the rains appeared just as Superpole One was due to start, Tom and his Kawasaki Racing Team Superbike crew made good set-up choices and Tom was second quickest at that point. He repeated that feat once again in Superpole Two, then kept his best for last to head Superpole three and secure the best possible starting place for Sunday’s 24-lap WSBK races.

This was the second time that Tom has scored a pole position start, both in his WSBK career and for Kawasaki, as he took top slot at the Imola round last year in similar conditions, on the 2010 model Ninja ZX-10R machine. Sykes now hopes to get off the start line cleanly and head the field into the first corners at this generally tight and twisty circuit located close to the Adriatic coast.

Wet Superpole was not so kind to fourth fastest qualifier in the pre-Superpole session, Joan Lascorz. The Kawasaki Racing Team rider was eventually 12th, and will start the races from the third row, having made it into Superpole Two. He had been fourth in combined qualifying, before Superpole started, overcoming some set-up issues he experienced through qualifying.

Chris Vermeulen got back into action and lapped the tight and twisty Misano circuit at a more than respectable pace in his comeback race. His ranking in the time sheets, 22nd, hides the fact that he was only 1.611 seconds from the dry race pre-qualifying best lap. His best lap time was only a second from fourth place in combined qualifying.

Pedercini Team Kawasaki riders Roberto Rolfo and Mark Aitchison were 21st and 23rd fastest respectively, sandwiching Vermeulen in the time sheets.

Tom Sykes: “That just makes it a little bit sweeter for me, having struggled to get a good dry set-up at some points this weekend. I took this pole in exactly the same conditions as last year at Imola. I want to give massive credit to Kawasaki Racing and Paul Bird Motorsport, because in those conditions we have a strong electronics package and that helped us today. Conditions we so slippery and we found the maximum. Tomorrow is another day but I am optimistic. I want to get a good start and go as fast as I can for 24 laps. I want to have a top six again, like in America, and today’s Superpole win was just a kind of added extra.”

Joan Lascorz: “In dry conditions in the morning session today I set a good lap time but I was not as comfortable as I wanted to be and I crashed at one point. I wanted to be faster and more comfortable while setting good lap times today, and I managed to set a good lap time this morning for sure. In the wet of Superpole I could not find the grip I wanted when I opened the throttle, so that held me back a little. I hope for two good races tomorrow, and dry weather.”

Chris Vermeulen: “It has been good to come back to a race situation for all of us. We have a little bit of work to do with the bike and the times are so close here. We have improved every session and my gap to the front has been getting closer. It’s only 1.6 to the front after dry qualifying but only a second up to fourth place. It is very tight and I just need a little bit more confidence. Kawasaki has been working hard and the improvements can be seen because of Joan and Tom, but we just need to get a base setting and an understanding of the bike from our side."

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Front Row Starts For Kawasaki WSS Duo
WSS, Misano, Republic of San Marino, 11 June 2011
David Salom and Broc Parkes approached Misano full of confidence and it has proven to be well placed in qualifying, with David third on the grid and Broc fourth. The first day of qualifying was held in dry conditions but today the heavens opened and the final qualifying session was held under full wet conditions. That means that the final grid positions were based on Friday’s performance, not today’s, rewarding the quick set-up work the Provec Motocard.com team had done on day one.

Sunday’s race will be held over 22-laps and conditions are expected to be dry, which would be the ideal conditions for a field which numbered 37 in qualifying.

Lorenzini by Leoni Kawasaki team riders Massimo Roccoli and Vittorio Iannuzzo finished ninth and 19th respectively, with Roccoli just over a second off pole man Sam Lowes.

David Salom: “A qualifying place on the front row is not so bad at all. I would have liked to have had a dry session today so that I could try some other things but for tomorrow we should be able to have a good race. I have a strong race pace and I am happy with the work we have done for the tyre choice. We had a good day yesterday and if it is dry we should be in good shape tomorrow. I am alongside Broc so we have made a good team effort.”

Broc Parkes: “We are quite happy today and we will check the suspension set-up again tomorrow in warm-up. A front row for David as well, so I it is not a bad way to start. We made some changes to the bike before the opening qualifying session and I feel a lot better, more comfortable and faster. It would have been good to have some dry track time to fine-tune today but we have warm-up to work with tomorrow.”

[fezzick]

Even allowing for the wet conditions, it's great to see Sykes'y get some reward for all the hard development work he's done on this bike.

[MadKaw]

Parkes wins supersport on the ZX6R.!!!

[Blurr]

Fark yeah

[Naked Twin]

And leads the championship too