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2011
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ARCHIVE NOVEMBER - DECEMBER 2009 WORLD ENDURANCE ROUND 6 _ DOHA, QATAR WORLD ENDURANCE ROUND 5 - BOL d'OR, FRANCE WORLD ENDURANCE ROUND 4 - SUZUKA, JAPAN WORLD ENDURANCE ROUND 3 - ALBACETE, SPAIN AN ELECTRIC ATMOSPHERE FOR 2010 WORLD ENDURANCE CHAMPIONSHIP
Concerned about the preparation for the future of motorcycle sport and in order to promote Alternative Energies, the FIM is pleased to announce the launch of its new Electric Motorcycles Championship: the FIM e-Power International Championship. The events will be held during the opening race of a few rounds of our prestigious championships as of 2010.
Vito Ippolito, FIM President stated: "The FIM, as the governing body of motorcycle sport, must take into account current environmental problems. This is why, in the framework of our agreement with the United Nations Environmental Programme, we put in place every year initiatives aimed at making the motorcycle world aware and reminding us of our duties towards our planet. With the same goal and in order to promote new energies, the FIM is pleased about and proud of the creation of the FIM e-Power International Championship that will be managed by the Road Racing Commission (CCR). We hope to gather many teams around this project in preparation for the future of our sport."
Claude Danis, Road Racing Commission President added: "The CCR is enthusiastic to support this new championship. We have already seen the interest of the organisers, who like us, are concerned about environmental issues and who want to be involved in competitions using new energy for the benefit of the motorcycle racing of tomorrow. Details on the organisation of this championship will be announced in the coming weeks and other dates should be added to the 2010 provisional calendar."
AUSTRALIA'S ORAN PARK RACEWAY - THE FINAL RACE - 6 HOUR ENDURANCE
WARWICK'S REPORT: The LeMans style start procedure for Endurance racing is rarely seen in Australia and created a lot of excitement as the start time of 10.30am drew closer. The start, which was signaled by the national flag being dropped, was in the almighty hands of former factory Yamaha and Suzuki 500cc Grand Prix star, and past 6 Hour winner, Kevin Magee. At 10.30am, the flag dropped and the 31 bike field stormed away for the 6 hour marathon. My former team mate Damian Cudlin took charge blasting past pole position man Zac Davies and leading the first lap. For me, the start was terrible! I just didn’t anticipate Kevin Magee’s arm movement well enough! I had a little bit of catching up to do and after a few laps I settled down and started to move forward. By the time I was up to 4th place, I started to lose the front 3 guys in the traffic even though my lap times were very similar. I decided to conserve a little and let the race unfold... I knew it was going to be a strange race because of the weather. My team mate Dave Johnson did a great job but our other rider, and the man who did far too many things all weekend, James Spence struggled and made an early pit stop. This slowed us down a little and James decided he couldn’t help us so he wouldn’t ride anymore. It was good of James to admit that and we all understood. Hey, there was only 4 hours to go, it should be ok I thought! Normally it would have been ok but I have never raced in such hot and windy conditions. I have been in a position (whilst on the bike) and had to ask the safety car to stop the race, but that was because of torrential rain and lightning (Oschersleben 24 hour, Germany 2002). I’ve raced at 3am with sleet falling and an ambient temperature of -3 degrees (LeMans 24 hour, France 2004). And of course Suzuka’s heat is always difficult. But yesterday was sickening. The organisers were keeping an eye on everyone as they moved around the pit garages. Even the younger riders, who are very fit, looked pale. The front 2 teams of Daniel Stauffer (Yamaha) and Craig Coxhell (Honda) did a fantastic job and we were unable to catch them. We did close the gap at one point but our re-fuelling was quite long during one stop and we also made the additional pit stop when James came in early. The final step on the podium would be between the number 1 bike of Damian and Alex Cudlin and our number 6 Yamaha of Dave Johnson and myself. We swapped places with those guys during the pit stops and it was a nervous time for us. No one in my team wanted to finish off the podium. I had great support from Dunlop for this race and we had to ensure it was a 1-2-3 for Dunlop on the podium. Marty Dowd, our crew chief from Yamaha Australia, did a fantastic job along with our mechanics. Our team of 4 mechanics only met each other on Saturday morning but enjoyed what they were doing and wanted to be on the podium. We were fortunate to have the Factory Yamaha transporter at the back of our garage so when I wasn’t on the bike, I could lay down in the air conditioned room in the truck. For me it was a case of doing what I do. I try and lie as still as possible on my back and let everything rest and recover. I think about letting all the aches go and sort of shut down. I knew the last 2 hours would be the time to race. I preserved myself as much as possible at the start and when the guys told me the situation on the track, I knew it was time to race. At 3pm I came out swinging! I rode like it was a 20 lap race, even though I knew I had to complete 40 laps. I just broke it down into 4 parts, 4 lots of 10 laps. My lapboard showed how many laps I was doing and our position. I had a lap timer on the bike and I was surprised, I was able to lap at qualifying pace and even in traffic I was no more than one second a lap slower. It was a great feeling. I haven’t felt strong like that since 2007. The guys did a great job with the bike and I just hit my marks every lap and the lap timer stayed the same. To do that in those conditions was really satisfying. I did feel sick for about 5 minutes when I got off the bike though! That session put us in a good position so Dave could control the race. It was very close at the end with our fuel light on for the final 5 laps but Dave knew he could use less throttle and still have enough time over 4th place. It was just what I wanted for the team. Our mechanics were thrown in at the last minute and they went about the task of each pit stop in a calm and common sense manor. It was a great way to end the year. Craig Coxhell, Russell Holland and Gareth Jones took victory with Daniel Stauffer, Zac Davies and Grant Hay finishing in second position. It was fantastic to see so many people at Oran Park. People from the past and present. Multiple Australian Superbike Champion Shawn Giles was in the paddock along with current Australian Superbike Champion Glenn Allerton. The television interviews were carried out by former racer and team manager Craig Trinder. Craig and his camera crew covered all the action in pit lane. I have already spoken to James Spence about 2010 along with some other people. There is a lot of work to do but I hope this will grow into more than just an annual event.
CUDLIN BROTHERS REPORT: “The temperature on Friday caused our engine to overheat which did some damage and lost us track time.” Damian explained. “With no spare engine, I figured we were out of it, but thankfully Dave Caprice from OzQuest stepped in and saved the day. After tracking down the parts we needed, the boys pulled an all nighter and we were back on track for qualifying on Saturday.” The Dean Evans Revolution Team progressed to the Top 10 Superpole session, where Damian, equipped with street compound Pirelli’s, set a time good enough for 3rd on the grid. With the temperature expected to be in the mid 40’s on race day, the team made their final preparations as Damian was chosen to make the Le Mans start. Showing the experience he’s gained in the World Endurance Championship, Damian blasted into the lead and set the pace for the opening part of the race until a fuel leak began hampering his efforts. Despite fuel spraying into his face and chest under breaking, Damian soldiered on and pitted in 2nd at the first round of stops behind the leading team of Davies, Hay and Stauffer. Younger brother Alex took to the controls and set off in pursuit until further leaking prompted an unplanned stop to asses the problem. Dropping down the order as the fault was tracked down, the Cudlin’s continued on regardless, battling with the heat and excess fuel spray for another 2 hours, until eventually being forced to pit again and replace the faulty petrol cap. The extra stops forced the team out of the running for overall honors; however the pair tried desperately to claim the final podium position in the final moments of the race. In a spirited final challenge which saw Damian take over 60 seconds out of the 3rd placed teams lead, the squad would ultimately fall just 36 seconds short and finish a disappointing 4th. “It was certainly a tough day for us but that’s the way it goes sometimes. Everyone worked really hard this weekend and to go home empty handed is pretty disappointing. I even missed out on the $1,000 for fastest lap of the race by a whisker!” Damian quipped. “At the end of the day, we all did our best with what we had and that’s all you can do. It was still great to race at home again and catch up with a lot of familiar faces, and I want to thank all of the gang for working so hard in the trying conditions. It was nice to play a part in Oran Park’s send off, and I hope the 6 hour will be on again next year at another venue… I’d love to get another go at it.”
Oran Park Raceway has been Sydney's favourite motor racing
venue since 1962. Oran Park Raceway is home to 3 motor racing circuits, 2 dirt
circuits, 2 four wheel drive training venues and a skid pan. The 6 Hour, the last ever motorcycle event at Oran Park, will be held next weekend 20/21/22nd of November. WHAT DO YOU WANT?...A MEDAL?...
From Northampton, the UK's best female racer was forced to resort to her favourite mode of transport to get to Buckingham Palace on time. Maria Costello, 32, jumped on a Virgin Limo motorbike and was driven to Buckingham Palace by World Endurance racer Damian Rowley to receive her MBE from the Prince of Wales in time - despite being dressed up for the occasion. Maria had no time to change into her leathers for the impromptu ride so rode on the bike in a short black skirt, matching jacket, sheer black tights and numerous strings of pearls around her neck.
The Isle of Man TT female world record holder paid tribute to her family, delighted that her parents Eileen and George and sister Tina made it on time to see her collect her award. "This is the payback for what I put them through - all my injuries. It's not a regular thing having a daughter who rides a motorbike. I'm just so glad my parents and sister were here to see me." Maria was awarded the MBE by Prince Charles for services to motorcycling. She said: ''The Prince said 'Did you come by motorbike?' and I said 'Yes I did'.'' Maria - "The traffic got so bad that I wasn't going to make the palace in time so Damian and his Virgin limo bike rushed to pick me up from the car I was in and saved the day - it was cool arriving on a bike ;) - he didn't hang about - I thought we were going to do a double knee-down round Marble Arch!" NEWS YOU PROBABLY KNOW ALREADY... DAVIDE TARDOZZI LEAVES DUCATI. A
CHANGE AT THE TOP FOR THE DUCATI XEROX TEAM “Davide has been part of Ducati’s recent history”, commented Claudio Domenicali, General Director of Ducati, “a friend and, at the same time, an important presence that has allowed Ducati to achieve significant successes, particularly in the World Superbike Championship where, in recent years, he has project managed with passion, competence and professionalism. We are sorry to announce that Davide will not be part of the 2010 team but, at the same time, we wish him our very best wishes for the new challenges that await him, and thank him for the many years of service during which we have won and lost together." In the Ducati Xerox Team, Ernesto Marinelli, currently technical director of the squad, will take over Davide’s role as SBK project manager PARKINGO WORLD SERIES Infront Motor Sports and ParkinGO, of the Oasi Handling Group, have signed a two-year agreement which sees the creation of a new one-make Trophy called "ParkinGO World Series". The Trophy will be held in conjunction with seven rounds of the FIM Superbike World Championship at Valencia, Assen, Monza, Misano, Brno, Donington and Nuerburgring. ParkinGO is the leading car park network in the vicinity of the principal Italian airports and is renowned in the world of two-wheel racing as the Title Sponsor of the Triumph BE1 Racing Team which took part in the 2009 Supersport World Championship. The agreement will bring even more content to an already intense calendar of events and it foresees co-marketing deals whereby ParkinGO will become the official sponsor of the three Italian rounds in both the 2010 and 2011 World Superbike seasons. The make and model of the bikes used for the Trophy will be announced shortly. (MY BETTING IS TRIUMPH) Paolo Flammini, CEO of Infront Motor Sports, declared: “We are delighted to have reached this accord with the Oasi Handling Group. We have had the opportunity to get to know Giuliano Rovelli over the years in his role as owner of the Triumph BE1 Racing team and we are sure that thanks to his dynamism and entrepreneurial skill, he will be able to give the right impulse to guarantee the success of this new trophy. A warm welcome therefore to ParkinGo who also become the Official Sponsor of the three Italian rounds of the Superbike World Championship for the next two seasons.” Giuliano Rovelli, Chairman - Oasi Handling: "The decision to sponsor the SBK was taken following our direct experience on the circuit where we witnessed first-hand the immense opportunities this fabulous context could offer our company from a commercial and marketing prospective. By investing in an internationally acclaimed sporting activity of this calibre we have chosen to highlight our company traits which we recognize in motor-cycling in general and in the Superbike World Championship in particular, values such as: courage, passion, efficiency and strength, all of which are basic components of my professional experience. Hence my desire to create a new one-make trophy and name it after my company "ParkinGO World Series". GOOD-BYE TO ONE OF AUSTRALIA'S BEST CIRCUITS The last Open Motorcycle Race Meeting has been held at the Oran Park race track, with only the 6-Hour on 21-22 November to follow to be held at the Circuit before it is closed and developed into the Oran Park Town Center. There goes another classic track... YET ANOTHER CHAMPIONSHIP WON BY YAMAHA...Sebastien Gimbert, 2009 French Superbike Champion. Over 10,000 spectators came to Albi to watch the French Championship finale. After setting his fourth straight pole position, 9/10 of a second faster than his nearest rival, Sebastien Gimbert also reset the lap record on his way to third place in the first race and clinched the 2009 French Superbike championship before the final race of the season. The new Yamaha R1 IPONE PIRELLI triumphs in its first year, adding to the successes already achieved in world championship competition and major European championships. Christophe Guyot:"I am very happy for Sebastien who really deserves this title. Our Yamaha R1 is a great motorcycle. With such a combination, we knew that the title was within our reach this year and we clinched it at Albi which represents the rebirth of a French championship on the rise with media coverage and a deep field of competitors. Spectators are now coming in droves and the competition level is very high." Sebastien Gimbert:"Yamaha could not have built me a better motorcycle. This new R1 is the perfect fit for me, combining performance and pleasure. I want to thank my mechanics and the entire GMT 94 team for their hard work this year which has allowed me to run a fantastic season with multiple wins and pole positions. I am also very happy for all our partners who have been supporting us for a long time and are enjoying this moment with us. My club and the GMT 94 club made the trip there, and seeing their happiness at the end ot race was a great moment for me" |
