Kawasaki WSBK - San Marino

[MadKaw]

Round Seven Marks Halfway Point For KRT Duo
WSBK, Misano Adriatico, Republic of San Marino, 5 June 2012
Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team) and his new team-mate Loris Baz will reach the halfway point of the SBK season when they complete the forthcoming race weekend at the popular Misano circuit. Sykes’ immediate hopes for the Adriatic coastal circuit race are to add to his impressive performances on the official Kawasaki Racing Team Ninja ZX-10R and then have an even better second half of the 14-round season than the positive first half he has already enjoyed.

In 2012 so far Sykes has scored a race win at Monza, taken six podiums in total and secured four Superpole wins, but hopes for an even better second half of the season after the San Marino round of the championship is completed at Misano.

The official Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10R SBK machine is an even more refined and sharpened device in 2012 than it was in 2011 and its capabilities have lifted Sykes to third in the championship table. He is, in fact, tied for points with second place rider Marco Melandri and they are each only 18 points away from championship leader Max Biaggi.

For relatively recent inductee to the KRT squad Loris Baz, who has replaced the injured Joan Lascorz, Misano is a circuit he knows well. He has not ridden his Ninja ZX-10R at the circuit near the Adriatic coast, however, but since he joined the team at Donington he has adopted a mature approach to riding in an official Kawasaki SBK racing team, learning his way step-by-step.

So far Baz has scored in three of his four individual SBK races and his goals for Misano include getting into Superpole qualifying and then scoring points in each race.

In the Kawasaki Team Pedercini squad Leandro Mercado and David Salom are both set to race at the third of three Italian based rounds for the locally based team.

Tom Sykes: “It has been all good since I got back from America on Friday, just getting up a bit early in the mornings because of the time difference, but I am getting there. I feel nice and relaxed. I am very much looking forward to Misano and I think it is a circuit that should suit us a little bit more than Miller. After America I was disappointed because we gave away some points to some of our closest competitors, so I hope in Misano we can get a little bit better race package and be able to fight a bit. There is no reason whey we cannot do that. The SBK spec Kawasaki has come a long, long way this year and there is no reason why we cannot make one more step. Miller was an exception in terms of our results, as we have been consistent for most of this year. We have to get it in perspective because in race two in America we were only nine seconds from the win. My crew told me that because we had a red flag in race two and changed the set-up of the bike before the restart, they learned a lot of good information from that. We are still well inside the top three and I think we have been doing quite a good job.”

Loris Baz: “I have been riding at Misano many times, not last year but many years before then, so I know the track and I think it can be good. I think the track will be a bit more difficult than Donington or Miller for me, because my problems are in the slow corners at the moment and there are a lot of slow corners at Misano. I think I can learn where I am good and not so good there so I am still confident for the weekend. I hope I can get into Superpole for the first time and then if I can score again in both races I will be very happy. It would be good to have three dry days to get to know the bike properly at this track. Everyone is really professional in the team and knows their work. It is an official team so it is good to work with them. I have a lot of things to learn but we have been going better session-by-session. After Misano we have a test in Aragon, so hopefully after that we can make a good step.”

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Positive Results The Goal For WSS Pairing
WSS, Misano Adriatico, Republic of San Marino, 5 June 2012
Kenan Sofuoglu and Sheridan Morais are both keen to get back into action as the WSS class did not take part in the recent Miller race weekend, with each looking to leave Misano with a big points haul. The performances of Kawasaki DeltaFin Lorenzini rider Sofuoglu have been so strong in 2012 that even after suffering a potentially nasty knee injury and losing points at Imola as a result he is the class leader after five of 13 rounds. Should Kenan win at Misano it will be his first victory at the San Marino round, and will extend his current championship lead of five points.

Misano was where Morais rode the official Kawasaki Ninja ZX-6R for the first time so he in particular is looking forward to the familiarity of this track in what is his first full WSS season. He is looking for his first podium finish of the year and he is currently eighth in the championship.

Class WSS act Fabien Foret (Kawasaki Intermoto Step Racing) has had some misfortune recently but he is already a race winner on his supported Ninja ZX-6R, having taken the prize at Imola in April. Fabien is fourth in the rankings now, 26 points behind Sofuoglu. He is once more joined by his young team-mate Romain Lanusse, who is in 23rd place in the rankings. Romain has scored points in two races out of five so far.

Kenan Sofuoglu: “I have been training at home in Turkey and it has been very good preparation for Misano because it has been hot, around 33 degrees, and Misano is also usually hot. I have done so many laps of my training track, so it is looking good now. Also in the championship I am in first position and obviously I want to keep that in Misano. My previous knee injury is feeling really good now and I am hoping to take away a positive result from the San Marino round. This will be the first time for me racing at Misano on the Kawasaki Ninja ZX-6R but I think the base of the bike is strong and I think I can earn a good result. On Friday we will try out our bike set-up and gearbox settings. If we have a good package early in the practice sessions we will have a real chance in the race again.”

Sheridan Morais: “I just got back from home in South Africa and I’m feeling very fit. At Donington, last time out, I was still bashed up a bit after my crash at the previous round but I am back into the swing of things. I cannot wait for Misano because I did a two day test there on the Ninja ZX-6R last year, which was the first time I rode the bike. I like the track and know the layout and I am looking forward to race weekend now. There have been earthquakes in Italy recently and near my team base there have been cracked buildings and so on, but it seems to be improving now.”

[MadKaw]

Sykes Blasts To Superpole Number Five
WSBK, Misano Adriatico, Republic of San Marino, 9 June 2012
Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team) secured his seventh career pole and his fifth this season when he set the fastest lap at Misano. Loris Baz joined Tom in Superpole and qualified an impressive 11th. Sykes did not find the early sessions at Misano an easy challenge but his team made some changes to his set-up that allowed him to go fastest after regulation qualifying and lead the pack of 16 competing riders into what was declared a ‘Wet Superpole’.

By the time Superpole one was underway the track was nearly dry, then almost completely dry by the end of Superpole two, allowing Sykes to get come to the outright track best, but not better it.

On his Kawasaki Racing Team Ninja ZX-10R Sykes was quickest in Superpole one before repeating that feat in the second session, posting a 1’35.375, which was a time that his closest competitors could not get close to.

Loris Baz set out with the ambition to take a Superpole start and managed that feat, then went on to secure an 11th place starting position. He felt he could have even improved on that had he had a clear track and more of a chance to get used to the qualifying tyre he had his first experience of today. He still exceeded his and his team’s main pre-race expectations.

Kawasaki Team Pedercini riders Leandro Mercado and David Salom had difficult days at their team’s home circuit, with Salom 22nd and Mercado 23rd in qualifying. In Superstock 1000 combined qualifying times Jeremy Guarnoni (MRS Kawasaki) was an impressive second.

Tom Sykes: “It looks like the qualifying tyres change the balance of the bike and we have been working in a similar set-up direction all weekend. So it looks like when we get to qualifying the softer tyres really benefit our package. It is really valuable information and the data is something we can use to build on for the future. I used all but one of the five available rear tyre options they have here, maybe saving one to try tomorrow. I am quite happy with two of the tyres for race use right now so let’s see what tomorrow’s track conditions bring. I had a big moment at the end of Superpole one when I think I hit a little puddle of water on the rumple strip and the back end stepped out. There was no mistake on my part but just a bit of a puddle of water. I managed to hold tight on the handlebars and got through the moment OK.”

Loris Baz: “I was able to be faster during Superpole but I got stuck behind another rider when I had a qualifying tyre on. Also, the conditions over the back of the track were peculiar as there was a wet corner there for a while. My objective was to be in Superpole and I got up to the third row so that is good. Second row was possible but I am happy with the way things have been going this weekend. We made a really big step with the new tyres, and also in race pace, so I am confident for the race tomorrow. I think I found something to help me in the more stop-and-go corners by changing my style but it is not east to change your style from one hour to another. The team and mechanics have all done a good job to let me ride well on the bike and be comfortable. I am really happy because everything is going really good.”

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Sofuoglu And Morais Ready For Misano Race
WSS, Misano Adriatico, Republic of San Marino, 9 June 2012
Kenan Sofuoglu took his Kawasaki DeltaFin Lorenzini Ninja ZX-6R to third in qualifying at Misano, with his team-mate Sheridan Morais eventually making it to the second row for Sunday’s WSS race. Sofuoglu rode assuredly throughout the qualifying sessions, concentrating on setup not absolute pace and was set to improve best lap time in the final session but just ran out of time when running on the softest rear tyre.

The Turkish star has qualified on the front row for every one of the races in the 2012 season and on Sunday he will be out to score his second race win to extend his current championship lead of five points.

The early practice sessions were not kind to Morais as he tried to get on terms with the Misano circuit once more as some niggling technical issues held him back for a time. It took until this afternoon before he could show more pace and qualify eighth from 33 riders and go to the end of the second row for Sunday’s race.

Fabien Foret (Kawasaki Intermoto Step Racing) qualified sixth at Misano, only 0.581 seconds from Sofuoglu. In the Superstock 600 race, Christian Gamarino (Team GO Eleven) was third.

Kenan Sofuoglu: “As always I really wanted to take a start on the front row so now I am really ready for the race. The lap times I am doing are not difficult and I am doing the same times with the hard or soft tyres, which is good for me and for tomorrow I think we have a big chance of winning. I never won a race at San Marino so I really want to win this time. In the last second I could put on an SC0 tyre which I used for just one lap but I understood it right away. I just needed three or four more laps to try for pole but personally I really do not care about taking pole. I can see that we are really strong and ready for the race.”

Sheridan Morais: “A lot better today than yesterday morning when we had a small electrical problem, also in Friday qualifying. As much as I was disappointed to lose the chance to set fast early lap times I could see how much work the guys were doing so I knew it would work out. They got the bike ready for today and although it has been pretty rough at times this weekend I am really pleased to be on the second row. The pace has been pretty hot and I think I only got in a few laps before qualifying. We got some decent laps during qualifying and we also did quite a few fast laps, so I think we should be OK for the race, and I have a good squad of guys on my side.”

[Baddie]

Go Tom you good thing....

[HeWasANinja]

Gotta love what Sykes and his team have done with the bike this season.. A complete turn around from last year... Just gotta work on the race tyre and setup to get a whole race up the pointy end... He's in awesome form this year go on Tommy...

[Gosling1]

Looking forward to the racing tonight !!

Go Tom kick arse mate

[kawadave]

The first race was a beaut....poor Sykesy....shame they cant get the tires to last the distance.

[Blurr]

Maybe Sykes should stop farking them after 10 laps. Not using traction control has its downsides

[Gosling1]

he just can't seem to keep the speed up at all.

That bloke who came 3rd was as loose as a goose, but good on him for finishing - I thought for sure he would have binned it inside 10 laps !

[Baddie]

I think Steve Martin send an interesting comment about the kawa being to aggressive out of the corners.
Id like to know are the bikes running around on the track roughly the same price??..as if the average joe walked into a shop and brought a kawa for under $20k and a Ducati being over $30k both end up with the same bike at the end.
Or is it a case of twins against 4 stoke engines.??

[MadKaw]

Tom Fights Hard And Leaves Misano Third Overall
WSBK, Misano Adriatico, Republic of San Marino, 10 June 2012
Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team) had a highpoint of fourth in race one at Misano today but kept his third position overall. Loris Baz was unlucky in race one but rode well to go eighth in race two. Sykes, who once again started raceday from pole position, took an early lead in race one, only for Jonathan Rea to pass him. Tom was in contention for the win for a few laps but as rear tyre grip issues on the warming tarmac played their part he had to drop back. He was as low as seventh on lap 13 of 24, but battled back to fourth at the flag, only eight seconds from the race winner Max Biaggi.

As Biaggi doubled up his wins in race two, and as the temperatures climbed in the Adriatic coastal sun, Sykes and his team chose a tyre that was unable to handle the great increase in track temperatures and Tom had to ride hard as his rear traction dropped off, finishing seventh.

The end result for Sykes and KRT is that Tom remained third in the championship, with Biaggi on moving clear of new overall second place rider Rea.

On his Kawasaki Racing Team Ninja ZX-10R Loris Baz was unlucky to be forced out in race one when the electronic part of his gearshift started to fail. He had qualified well in Superpole and was able to make up ground in race two, finishing right in the wheel tracks of his team-mate Sykes, for an eighth place finish. This equalled his best finish in SBK racing so far, and put him to 19th in the championship.

Kawasaki Team Pedercini competitors Leandro Mercado and David Salom found no good fortune on raceday, with Salom having a technical issue in the opener and Mercado finishing 19th. Salom fell in race two and re-injured his right shoulder, while Mercado was 16th and one place away from scoring points in the second race. In the Superstock 1000 race Jeremy Guarnoni (MRS Kawasaki) was sixth and Bryan Staring (Team Pedercini Kawasaki) seventh. New Team Pedercini Superstock rider David McFadden fell in the race and no scored, after qualifying tenth.

Tom Sykes: “To be honest race one was not too bad after we have had a difficult weekend trying to find traction with the bike in hot conditions. We have done a great job in the first part of the year and we know where we can improve. In race one we did what we needed to do to finish top four. I’m satisfied with race one best four and eight seconds off. It was certainly good compared to last year. Track temperatures went up considerably for race two and unfortunately because we have been struggling with bike setting we had to concentrate on this. We were very limited on track time for tyres and the main focus for us was to improve the bike to get the result. In race two we made the wrong tyre selection. We did not have the tyre experience to gamble on another tyre choice. Rea chose a different tyre and look what happened to him. If we had done the same we would still be in the same ballpark. Others made bigger mistakes today. So, we lost a few points but I'm still third in the championship after a bit of a hard weekend.”

Loris Baz: “I had a problem in race one, with the electronics in the gear shifter, after five laps. I tried to ride without it for ten laps but it became a bit risky, so I came in. I knew I had a good race pace so I think in race one I could have finished between tenth and 12th, something like that. In race two I tried to start a bit better, which I did not do! Then I tried to go faster in the first few laps and then our race pace was really good, so I could come back to Laverty, Tom and some other riders. I was comfortable where I was so I did not want to make a stupid mistake trying to overtake Tom. For me eighth is really good. I would have like to try and pass Tom but I did not want to take any risks.”

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Sofuoglu Wins Second Race And Extends His Lead
WSS, Misano Adriatico, Republic of San Marino, 10 June 2012
Kenan Sofuoglu rode his Kawasaki DeltaFin Lorenzini Ninja ZX-6R the race win at Misano today and in doing so put himself into a 22 point lead. Sheridan Morais was sixth in the final race results. Sofuoglu became the only rider to win more than a single race in the 2012 championship when he beat Honda rider Jules Cluzel by 1.288 seconds at a warm and humid Misano. His win was a front running effort, with the Turkish star passing over the startline in the lead for all 22 laps.

Sheridan was involved in the mid-pack action from an early stage and in fighting his way up to an eventual sixth he had to come back from being 12th on lap 12. Making the most of his available grip as he climbed back through the field had a cost in ultimate traction and Sheridan was unable to get further forward than the top six at the end. He felt he could have taken a podium, had other things gone his way. With the third placed rider 20 seconds from Sofuoglu at the end, logic was on his side. Sheridan is overall eighth in the rankings, with 37 points from six races.

Fabien Foret (Kawasaki Intermoto Step Racing) had a torrid raceday going from a potential podium finisher to eighth after he had to drop two places and then take a ride through penalty after being pushed out over the run-off area at turn one and missing the escape lane. He did well to get back to a top ten finishing place in the circumstances and is now fourth in the championship, on 63 points.

Kenan Sofuoglu: “I am very happy to have won here because I have not taken a win at Misano before. I have raced here for many years but this time it happened. The win and the points for the championship are good but, really, I am so happy for Kawasaki. They are really giving me what I want and what I need and it has brought me the leading position in the championship and given me the chance to win races.”

Sheridan Morais: “I had a really good start but we were bumping fairings in the first lap. In the beginning and middle of the race it was all good, up until five laps to go. My tyre worked well and I think the soft tyre was the right option but, because of the way things were at the start, and being hit a few times, I lost a lot of places. I think I just used up the tyre trying to get through traffic. I had a good race but I am disappointed because I am think without having to ride so hard to get back near the front and using up the tyre we could have scored a podium.”