Round 10 of this year’s World Superbike Championship takes place at the Automotodrom Brno circuit in the Czech Republic and marks the final stop before the five week summer break in the WSB Schedule. Since the previous round at Donington in late June, many of the top teams and riders have had the opportunity to participate in the official testing sessions at Imola, which will return to the 2009 World Superbike calendar as Round 12. Michael Frabrizio (Ducati), Ben Spies (Yamaha), and Jonathan Rea (Honda) topped the charts during the practice, while championship points leader Noriyuki Haga sat out the session to recover from injuries sustained during the UK round.
Haga was thankful to have time off following a dramatic crash at Donington that fractured his right ulna bone and cracked his left scapula in three places. Since leaving Derby City Hospital three weeks ago ‘Nitro Nori’ has concentrated on intense physiotherapy sessions in order to be ready to return to the fray this coming weekend. Noriyuki has fared fairly well at Brno over the years, winning a race there in 2005, but will not be at 100% come this weekend.
Bayliss took an impressive sweep at the Brno World Superbike last year, with his Ducati Xerox teammate Michel Fabrizio scoring a double-podium in a standout performance.
Meanwhile, Haga’s Xerox Ducati teammate, Michel Fabrizio, showed the Ducati
1098R was one of the fastest bikes at Imola, with consistently fast lap times over the two days. Michel Fabrizio scored a podium finish in the UK but believes he can take the victory at Brno. Ducati ended Honda’s dominance at Brno last year when Troy Bayliss did the double onboard the
Ducati 1098 while Michel Fabrizio scored his best result of the 2008 season with a second- and third-place finish. Fabrizio has finished on the podium at Brno five times in the last six races, making the Czech course one of his undeniable favorites. Last year’s round also saw Fabrizio record the fastest lap at Brno during Race 2. This year he looks to add his first Czech victory to his impressive resume.
It will be the first time on the Czech Republic circuit for the two Yamaha World Superbike Team riders, Ben Spies and Tom Sykes. Both Spies and Sykes are on confident from having given their 2009 R1 racebikes a thorough shakedown and test at the official World Superbike test at Imola last week. The test gave Ben Spies some good results and the Texan feels optimistic for this weekend.
“We’ve just finished a very productive test at Imola,” said Ben Spies’ crew chief Tom Houseworth. “We were working on some suspension components, a couple of new Pirelli tires and the overall race setup of the bike. We have been having a small problem keeping the rear wheel of our
Yamaha R1 on the ground during very heavy braking, however, the combination of our fork specification along with some of the components we tested at Imola should help with this issue for Ben moving forward.”
Spies has the World Superbike title within his clutches.
Spies comes to Brno just 14 points behind Haga after narrowing his lead by 34 points with a clean sweep at Donington Park.
Hannspree Ten Kate Honda’s Jonathan Rea secured his first World Supersport Championship race win at Brno last year and the 22-year-old rider from Northern Ireland is currently the highest-placed Honda rider in World Superbike, yet has a 80 point disadvantage to third-placed Fabrizio. After his breakthrough WSB race win at Misano in June, Rea is looking to finish out his rookie WSB season with a few more successful runs on the
CBR1000RR.
Stiggy Racing Honda’s Leon Haslam posted his fourth podium of the season at Donington, and having tested at Imola as well he is ready for the challenge of Brno. The Brit is now fifth in the standings, only ten points from Rea.
Max Biaggi presently holds sixth in the championship as the lead rider on the
Aprillia RSV4. A strong second in Race 1 of Donington showed that that the Roman can still challenge the front aboard the Aprilia.
Guandalini Racing’s Jakub Smrz is eighth behind Tom Sykes. The Czech rider, who did not take part at the Imola test, will be aiming for a podium at his home circuit to improve on his strong Misano performance.
Carlos Checa (Hannspree Ten Kate) is ninth overall, with Ryuichi Kiyonari (Ten Kate) 11th, but only two points behind his fellow Honda rider.
Hopkins will like to show his colors in the final rounds of a debut World Superbike year that has seen the American sitting out most of the races with an injured hip.
John Hopkins will make his second race return on the Stiggy Racing Honda, after sitting out Race 2 at Donington due to pain from his previously injured hip. The American will arrive at the Brno race with positive MRI scan results to bolster his confidence levels after a brief scare during the Imola test. Despite his late arrival in the series and pain from his injured hip, he was able to claim eighth in Race 1 in the UK.
The season has not been an easy one for the debut BMW Motorrad Motorsport World Superbike team of Ruben Xaus and Troy Corser. Xaus was one of the top runners during the recent Imola tests and both riders hope data collected can be implemented to improve the
BMW S1000RR results in the Czech Republic.
A multiple rider crash on Lap 1 at the Monza race put Makoto Tamada out of action for two months, but after coming through a recent Imola test in good form he will be back in race action at Brno. Tamada, alongside his regular Kawasaki teammate, Broc Parkes, tried out several new parts and some new set-up options at the recent tests that might give them an edge at Brno.
Max Neukirchner, back on his Alstare
Suzuki for the first time since being injured along with Tamada at Monza, high-sided on the second day of tests at Imola causing a fracture in his twelfth thoracic vertebrae and first through third lumbar vertebrae. The German will once again be sidelined for 30 days as he recuperates from the injury.
After the long summer break the championship restarts at the Nürburgring, Germany, September 4-6, at what will be the 11th round of the 14 round season. But first, Brno.
World Superbike Brno Pre-Race Rider Quotes
Noriyuki Haga – Ducati Xerox - 1st, 308 points
“After the crash at Donington I've been doing a lot of physiotherapy in order to get back into shape as quickly as possible and in time for Brno. It’s a pity I couldn’t take part in the Imola testing as that would have been very useful but it was just too soon and it’s more important to be fit to race. I'm not sure that my arm and shoulder will be 100% by the weekend but I'm confident I'll be ready for the races and will fight to take as many points as possible.”
Ben Spies – Yamaha World Superbike – 2nd, 294 points
“We had a good test at Imola last week so I’m in a confident mood. Brno is yet again another new track for us so I’m really looking forward to running around the circuit this week and then getting out on the bike on Friday to get a feel for it. We only have ten races left now to the end of the championship so we need to make every one count. Everybody is going to be working hard to be up front this weekend so it’s going to be a tough race but I’m excited about it.”
Michel Fabrizio – Duxati Xerox - 3rd, 257 points
“Brno is probably my favorite track on the calendar, mainly because it's the circuit where I've had most success! Since 2005 I’ve only failed to reach the podium once so that’s not a bad record but I know that this year I have some stiff competition. I will be looking for two more podium finishes, preferably a race win, this weekend as I need to do everything possible to close the gap between me, and Nori and Ben.”
Jonathan Rea – Hannspree Ten Kate Honda – 4th, 177 points
“Brno was the place I won my first WSS race last year and I start giggling every time people start talking about Brno! Our recent test in Italy went well, and we really didn’t change so much on the bike. The bike has a good balance and we went fastest at the test, which was a result I think we all deserved as a team. I am really looking forward to Brno and it would be nice to leave there with two strong results. I am motivated every time I ride the bike now because I know we can win.”
Leon Haslam – Stiggy Racing Honda – 5th, 167 points
“I was consistently doing fast times at Imola on race tires on the final day, so I am looking forward to Brno. We tried a lot of things there, suspension set-up, electronics and clutches, but ran out of a little time to put it all together, so we will do that at Brno in early practice.”
Tom Sykes – Yamaha World Superbike – 6th, 141 points
“I’m really looking forward to showing some more of my recent pace. I’ve been getting faster and faster all year as we’ve resolved some issues with the set up and now I feel we’ve got a package I can use to challenge and stay with the front pack. I haven’t ridden Brno before but I think we can pick it up quickly on Friday and get cracking on the bike set up.”
Carlos Checa – Hannspree Ten Kate Honda – 9th, 114 points
“We tried lots of different set-up solutions at the Imola tests, and then we moved on to tire testing. We were top five on real race pace at Imola, even in the heat, but in some areas I still feel I can improve. There are some similarities between Imola and Brno, especially the changes of direction. I think it should be a good track for us.”
Ryuichi Kiyonari – Tenk Kate Honda – 11th, 113 points
“On the second day of ours tests at Imola we found a good setting and I understood more about how the Öhlins suspension feeling is. By the end of the last session I was feeling better about it all. Brno was not that good last year but I hope this year will be better.”
Ruben Xaus – BMW Motorrad Motorsport – 16th, 50 points
“Our recent tests have gone well and the bike is definitely working better now. It is more rideable and I am much more happy about the prospect of racing it in Brno. The track is a good track and I think that all riders enjoy it a lot. Although there are some slow corners, it is a flowing track and I think that our bike will go well there. It has been a long, hard season so far, but I feel positive that Troy and I can do well in Brno. Afterwards we have five weeks or so before the next race, so it would be great to leave Brno with some good results.”
Troy Corser – BMW Motorrad Motorsport – 17th, 36 points
“After the Imola tests, I feel that the bike is more easy to ride and the things we tried are definitely in the right direction. So I am looking forward to Brno because the track should suit us and we should be able to get something positive out of the races. It’s not been an easy season so far and my injuries have not helped, but my hand is no problem now and my right shoulder is nearly fully OK. I like Brno and am hoping that we can leave there with two good results and then enjoy our summer break.”
Broc Parkes – Kawasaki World Superbike – 18th, 27 points
“We stayed on race tires at the Imola test when a lot of people chose to use qualifiers, but that allowed us to get through the whole program of tests we had to do. We found some good things and on race tires we were not too bad. I really want to finish in the top ten at Brno because I feel that this is a track where our bike is going to work particularly well. A lot of people said that Imola would be one of the most difficult tracks for us, but Brno should be OK, and I’m sure we can be more competitive. I really want some top tens.”
John Hopkins – Stiggy Racing Honda – 19th, 17 points
“I like riding the Brno track. It was my first European track after coming here in my first year of racing overseas in 2000. I have been able to set some decent results, both in qualifying and racing. It's a nice and flowing circuit to ride. After our test last week I am feeling confident for the next race. I’m working on getting a hundred percent fit again in the days leading up to the race. The bike feels great and I just want to bring it on the podium at Brno.”
Matthieu Lagrive – Honda Althea Racing – 22nd, 10 points
“We are glad to have been able to test in Imola for two days because it was good preparation for the rest of the races this season. We improved the base set-up of our bike and we found some good solutions to be used at Brno. I like Brno; it’s technical and fast and it also suits my riding style. I know that I have to work hard during practice, to be able to start in a good position.”
Makoto Tamada – Kawasaki World Superbike - 34th, 2 points
“At the Imola tests I still had a little bit of pain in my hand, and not so much power in my left arm, so it made setting more than three laps at a time a bit difficult. We tried a lot of new suspension settings and I used the new swingarm, which I liked very much. I will be ready for Brno, after the testing days showed we could set reasonable times. I have been training to get my arm ready for the full races at Brno.”
