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Pirelli Report - Valencia

Tuesday, 7 April 2009 14:03 GMT
Pirelli Report - Valencia


Pirelli saw improved results in both Superbike races in respect to 2008, with each race's total time lasting 17 seconds less, under similar air temperature and track conditions. The Supersport and the Superstock 600 classes also left behind new track records for the Valencia Circuit.


Starting from Superpole, the rookie America Ben Spies established a new precedent in World Superbike racing, capturing three consecutive Superpole wins from the start of the racing season, a feat which had not been realized since Scott Russell's 1994 season with Kawasaki and never before in a rider's opening season. Spies' third Superpole session resulted in a time of 1'33.27 which beat Max Neukirchner's Best Lap of 2008 by just over half of a second. Cal Crutchlow followed this example by clocking a pole time of 1'35.865, almost a second below Spanish rider Joan Lascorz's 1'36.618 from last year.


Joining Pirelli as a special guest for the weekend was 2009 Dakar champion Marc Coma, who had came to support his countrymen and see Superbike for the first time, especially neighbour and training partner Carlos Checa. Coma just last week returned from Abu Dhabi, where he took first in the UAE Desert Challenge, the second race and win for Pirelli's new Scorpion Rally tyre developed for this purpose.


Race 1:


On lap five of the first Superbike race, Ducati Xerox's Noriyuki Haga set a lap record of 1'34.862 with his Pirelli DIABLO SUPERBIKE tyres, under the previous time set six years earlier by Neil Hodgson, before Pirelli's partnership in the series. Ben Spies was fighting to keep pace with Haga Neukirchner, crashing on lap nine such that he could not continue the race. Behind Haga, Michel Fabrizio battled fiercely with Max Neukirchner for half of the race, who he was finally able to pass on the 21st lap, resulting in a 1-2 finish for the Ducati Xerox team. Haga, Fabrizio and Spies all opted for soft front, used at last year's Monza round but new to Valencia and a medium rear which was the result of winter testing in Kayalami and Portimão. Neukirchner and fourth place finisher Regis Laconi opted for the same rear but instead medium-soft front for the first race.


Surely the Ducati bikes fit well at the Valencia circuit, seeing that Regis Laconi's DFX Corse 1098R came closest to the podium. In fifth place was British rider Leon Haslam, the first of the Honda riders in race one, whose teammate in 11th was a newcomer to the series, former Moto GP rider John Hopkins. The HANNspree Honda team had difficulty finding the right bike setup, with Carlos Checa suffering a crash early in the race and Rea at the very end. Max Biaggi and the new Aprilia demonstrated concrete proof of their performances, for with a soft front and soft rear, he started from the fifth row and managed to climb to eighth position.


Race 2:


Having already won the first race of the day, Haga made only minor changes to his bike setup for race two and his lead was unchallenged for all but four laps of the race, wining with an advantage of 5 seconds. Yamaha Superbike rider Ben Spies, who took the first three Superpoles of the season and won 3 out of the previous 5 races, redeemed his unfortunate fall in Race 1 with a second place, putting necessary points on the board for the championship. Another duel ensued between Ducati Xerox's Michel Fabrizio and Regis Laconi (Ducati), with the official Xerox pilot eventually having the upper hand. Fifth place went again to Leon Haslam, once again the best Honda Pilot to cross the finish line. The first five riders utilized the same solutions of Pirelli DIABLO SUPERBIKE in the second race, soft front and medium soft rear. Max Neukirchner (Suzuki) had a more difficult time in race two finishing only 7th, and his pace block the advancement of Max Biaggi (Aprilia) whose average time had improved over race one. After an 11th earlier in the day, former Moto GP rider John Hopkins (Honda) closed the 2nd race of his World SBK career in twelfth, clearly demonstrating the immense competition in the SBK paddock, which will be anxious to see how his development throughout the year.


Supersport


Despite a light rain falling which had stopped just before the race, all the major Supersport riders opted for the dry solution Pirelli DIABLO SUPERCORSA. The race began very carefully but began to take its shape, with three drivers at the lead: Cal Crutchlow (Yamaha), Anthony West (Honda) and Kenan Sofuoglu (Honda). At the end the Turk lost contact with Crutchlow who began to attack at the beginning of the tour, attempting match the pace of the Australia former 250cc Moto GP rider. For Crutchlow, for this was the first race victory in the third world. The three riders on the podium ran the same solution, "A" front and "B" rear. Fourth place went to Mark Aitchison (Honda) who was joined in the top 5 by Katsuaki Fujiwara (Kawasaki), offsetting the bad day by Spanish favorite and teammate Joan Lascorz. Among the Italian pilots was Michele Pirro (Yamaha), who ended up in seventh after leading the race for several laps. Points were also awarded to Honda riders Gianluca Vizziello and Massimo Roccoli.


Superstock 1000


Claudio Corti (Suzuki), on a new bike and with a new team, has won the opening race of the Superstock 1000 championship. Corti kept his race pace for the first laps, then giving a more definite acceleration, accumulating a significant advantage to safely finish first. In second was his number one rival for the championship battle, Xavier Simeon who was riding the Ducati of the ex-champion. Third position went to Maxime Berger (Honda), another leader of the class. Positive performances were seen from Daniel Beretta, sixth in his first race in the category, and among the Italian pilots in the points were eighth-place finisher Michele Magnoni (Yamaha) and tenth-place Andrea Antonelli (Yamaha). The riders in the Superstock categories have at their disposal the new Pirelli Diablo Supercorsa SC2, developed in the Supersport classes throughout 2008.


Superstock 600


Having dominated the tests and won the pole position, Danilo Petrucci (Yamaha) had no problems take a victory for the day in the first European Superstock 600 race. The remaining podium positions were awarded to Belgian Lonbois (Yamaha) and the British rider Rea (Honda), whose performance kept Yamaha from taking a sweep and prevailed over Petrucci's teammate Mark Bussolotti. The Yamaha Italia junior pilot had poor circulation in his arms because of a tight fitting suit, which certainly influenced his race. Good performance also from the French rider Guarnoni (Yamaha), who ended the day in fifth.