2012 Nurburgring World Superbike And World Supersport Friday Press Releases

Press releases from the World Superbike and World Supersport teams after the first day of practice in Germany:

---

Jules learning fast in Germany

PTR HONDA'S Jules Cluzel got up to speed quickly on his first visit to the Nurburgring in Germany for the 11th round of the World Supersport Championship, securing provisional second place on the grid while learning the track.

Ronan Quarmby on his PTR Honda had posted the fourth fastest time in the morning but couldn't match his pace in the afternoon and slipped to 12th. Martin Jessopp on the Riders PTR Honda improved his lap times and is 27th on the provisional grid. Bogdanka PTR Honda's Sam Lowes is on provisional pole position for the race that starts on Sunday 9th September at 1330CET.

Jules: "Yeah everything is OK. The first corner is difficult and strange as it is a big downhill and then narrows. The last part of the lap is strange as well with a not normal chicane. Now everything is OK and I can do a fast lap time but it is not automatic. I will sleep on this and tomorrow I think we can go faster."

Ronan: "I was struggling for grip the whole qualifying session and didn't match my morning times. We will look at what changes we need to make to fix that for tomorrow. It was a good start this morning and I know I can get there."

Martin: "We found something towards the end of qualifying that knocked 1.3secs off in our lap time. It was something we did on the bike and I also benefited from getting behind people. This is a big track and following other riders I was able to see how I should be riding it. Overall it is quite promising and we will see if we can find more tomorrow and get up there."

Simon Buckmaster, PTR Honda Team Manager: "Great first day for Jules, he's never been here before but is straight on the pace and is in good shape for tomorrow. We are working on the bike for balance and tyre life so there are improvements to come as well. Ronan struggled for rear grip and although only 12th, the times are close and he will move up tomorrow. Martin is improving and getting better. He needs to work hard with his crew to improve his qualifying to give him a chance to run in the points in the race."

---

Lowes on provisional pole in Germany

BOGDANKA PTR HONDA's Sam Lowes took provisional pole in Friday's first qualifying for round 11 of the World Supersport Championship at the famous Nurburgring circuit in Germany, as he aims for another strong result on Sunday.

Lowes was also fastest in the morning free practice with his rookie teammate Mathew Scholtz in a solid ninth position. The South African had only done two laps in the qualifying session before crashing out unharmed at the chicane. Unable to go back out, Scholtz ended the day in 23rd on the provisional grid, but he's confident of a significant improvement tomorrow.

Miguel Praia, who joins the Bogdanka Honda PTR squad this weekend, finished the opening day just behind Scholtz, in 24th position as he too aims for more improvement on Saturday as well as a strong result in Sunday's race.

Sam Lowes: "It was a good start to the weekend. We had a good pace today and ended the first qualifying with a series of five fast times inside the 1:59 bracket, while everyone else had only done some one off laps in the end, so I'm happy. We have a few bits to change and work on tomorrow but I'm feeling good and looking forward to the race already. I like Nurburgring. It's fun to ride. I really enjoyed myself today and can't wait for tomorrow and of course the race on Sunday."

Mathew Scholtz: "The first practice went really well. I had to learn the track first but we kept the same tyres on to get a rough idea of what sort of race pace we're on and just went faster and faster. We were confident about going faster in the qualifying but on my third lap, coming into the chicane, I was a little bit too fast and lost the front. I was perfectly fine but the handlebar snapped off and I couldn't continue. Anyway, I'm feeling confident that we can make a big improvement with our qualifying position, so I can't wait to get back on the bike."

Miguel Praia: "It's like going back to school after the holidays. The first days are always hard but today was actually very good. It's all about confidence and consistency and to get that, you just need track time. I've tried to do as many laps as possible without making any big changes to the bike. We need to keep improving, but I'm confident that with more laps I can go much quicker. The bike and the team are working well so it's up to me."

Simon Buckmaster, Bogdanka PTR Honda Team Manager: "Sam had a great run on his second tyre in qualifying, he is on the pace and can improve more - things are looking good for him. Mathew crashed after his third lap and didn't get out again - but we will fix his bike and give him every opportunity to qualify well tomorrow."

---

CHECA AND GIUGLIANO (ALTHEA RACING) COME OUT ON TOP IN FIRST QUALIFYING TODAY AT THE NÜRBURGRING

Nürburg (Germany), Friday 7th September 2012: the Althea Racing team made the best possible start to its weekend of Superbike racing at the Nürburgring today, closing first qualifying in first and second position with its riders Carlos Checa and Davide Giugliano.

In this morning’s first free practice session, which took place in sunny and dry conditions (air temperature 20˚C, track 35˚C), both Giugliano and Checa worked efficiently with their teams, making changes to the set-up of their 1198 bikes throughout the time available to them. Checa, who won race 1 here last year, made a series of quick laps, the best of which was a 1m57.1, Thanks to this time, he closed the session in seventh position. Giugliano, after last year’s Stock 1000 win here, soon got back into the rhythm of the German track, recording some very fast laps, in under 1.57, which secured his position at the very top of the timesheets. The young Italian talent closed in first position, thanks to a best time of 1m56.3, while Biaggi and Melandri closed respectively two and three tenths of a second behind him.

The track temperature rose as high as 47˚C during the afternoon qualifying session and all riders were able to significantly improve on the times set in the morning. Both Althea men pushed hard from the start and were quickly up among the frontrunners. During the course of the session, Carlos was able to improve on his time by almost two seconds, making a series of laps in under 1m56 despite less than ideal levels of grip. His best lap – made in 1m55.3 – assured him of provisional pole position for Sunday’s races. His team-mate Davide, first in practice, further improved this afternoon, by another six tenths, to close the session in second place (1m55.7), four tenths behind leader Carlos.

Carlos Checa:

“This is a track where Ducati has often done well in the past and so today we have confirmed that tendency; then we will see what happens in the races which are another story! We’ve seen that the tyres are losing grip after a few laps so if the level of grip on track doesn’t improve over the weekend it will be like this with pretty slippery conditions for the races. Having said that I’m feeling comfortable with both the bike and the track and both Davide and I have worked hard, consolidating our top team status. We’re definitely on the right track and will continue with the work tomorrow.”

Davide Giugliano:

“We’ve worked hard today and in a calm and methodical way which is important. We’ve started on the right foot, also because we didn’t use the softer tyre solution today but the so-called ‘standard’ one so to record an interesting time with that one, seeing as it end up being the race tyre, bodes well. There’s still room for improvement as far as my general level of comfort with the bike but I’m confident. I’m getting better physically, though my neck and arm is still hurting me somewhat, I’m probably at about 70% fitness wise.”

---

Althea riders Checa and Giugliano ahead on day one

Nürburgring (Germany), Friday 7 September 2012 – Carlos Checa and Davide Giugliano from the Althea Racing Ducati team went 1-2 in the first qualifying session at the German round of the eni FIM Superbike World Championship, with Checa enjoying a small but clear four-tenths advantage in his 1 minute 55.307 seconds lap time.

Close behind Giugliano, Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team) slotted in third with Eugene Laverty (Aprilia Racing) making a good jump up to fourth. Leon Haslam (BMW Motorrad Motorsport) had a much better time than his team-mate Marco Melandri, with Haslam fifth fastest and Melandri 12th. Max Biaggi (Aprilia Racing) was sixth overall.

Jonathan Rea (Honda World Superbike Team) and Leon Camier (FIXI Crescent Suzuki) provided a cosmopolitan mix of machinery, ensuring that all manufacturers were represented by at least one rider on the front two rows of the provisional grid.

Chaz Davies (ParkinGO MTC Racing Aprilia) was ninth while Lorenzo Zanetti (Pata Racing Team Ducati) rounded out the top ten. Sylvain Guintoli, Zanetti’s team-mate, finished one place behind the young Italian, with early faller Melandri recovering to go 12th.

Lorenzo Lanzi (Liberty Racing Team Effenbert) was a late replacement for the outgoing former regular team rider Jakub Smrz in Germany. Lanzi was 21st today, from 24 riders.

Times: 1. Checa (Ducati) 1'55.307 average 160.382 kph; 2. Giugliano (Ducati) 1'55.750; 3. Sykes (Kawasaki) 1'55.802; 4. Laverty (Aprilia) 1'55.813; 5. Haslam (BMW) 1'55.828; 6. Biaggi (Aprilia) 1'55.838; 7. Rea (Honda) 1'55.891; 8. Camier (Suzuki) 1'55.949; 9. Davies (Aprilia) 1'56.399; 10. Zanetti (Ducati) 1'56.461; 11. Guintoli (Ducati) 1'56.465; 12. Melandri (BMW) 1'56.497; 13. Baz (Kawasaki) 1'56.981; 14. Badovini (BMW) 1'57.024; 15. Fabrizio (BMW) 1'57.077; 16. Canepa (Ducati) 1'57.434; etc.

World Supersport

Sam Lowes (Bogdanka PTR Honda) scored the fastest lap of 1 minute 59.210 seconds in first qualifying to lead a pack of top riders chasing on behind, with his closest challenger another PTR Honda man, Frenchman Jules Cluzel. Fabien Foret (Kawasaki Intermoto Step) was third and Broc Parkes (Ten Kate Racing Products Honda) fourth. Points leader Kenan Sofuoglu (Kawasaki Lorenzini) was around a second behind Lowes, with proven podium finisher Vladimir Leonov (Yakhnich Motorsport) once more in the top mix, going sixth on day one. Imre Toth (Racing Team Toth Honda) had a good start to his weekend, seventh. Top wildcard rider was David Linortner (Gerin-Skm Racing Team) in ninth place from 33 runners.

Times: 1. Lowes (Honda) 1'59.210 average 155.131 kph; 2. Cluzel (Honda) 1'59.453; 3. Foret (Kawasaki) 1'59.637; 4. Parkes (Honda) 2'00.183; 5. Sofuoglu (Kawasaki) 2'00.222; 6. Leonov (Yamaha) 2'00.236; 7. Toth (Honda) 2'00.455; 8. Tamburini (Honda) 2'00.510; etc.

Superstock 1000

Jeremy Guarnoni (MRS Kawasaki) led the way in Superstock 1000 with a time of 1 minute 59.968 seconds as the Frenchman became the only rider to dip under the two-minute mark in first qualifying, only just heading off the early best of Eddi La Marra (Barni Racing Team Italia Ducati). The battle for third fastest time was also a close fight, with two of this year’s race winners Sylvain Barrier (BMW Motorrad Italia GoldBet) and Bryan Staring (Pedercini Kawasaki) third and fourth.

Times: 1. Guarnoni (Kawasaki) 1'59.968 average 154.151 kph; 2. La Marra (Ducati) 2'00.017; 3. Barrier (BMW) 2'00.403; 4. Staring (Kawasaki) 2'00.431; 5. Bergman (Kawasaki) 2'00.942; 6. Massei (Honda) 2'00.967; 7. Jezek (Ducati) 2'01.160; 8. Bussolotti (Ducati) 2'01.241; etc.

Superstock 600

Michael van der Mark (EAB Ten Kate Junior Team Honda) got his weekend off to a good start by taking the fastest lap of the first qualifying session, with his time of 2 minutes 02.989 seconds also a new track best. The Dutchman is still recovering from a broken collarbone he picked up in Supersport practice two weeks ago at Moscow Raceway. Only 0.007 seconds behind is Belgian rider Gauthier Duwelz (MTM Yamaha) in second place, with Duwelz’s Aussie team-mate Adrian Nestorovic third and Franco Morbidelli (Bike Service RT Yamaha) fourth. Championship high-flier Riccardo Russo (Team Italia FMI Yamaha) was fifth fastest as he and van der Mark set out on another weekend of close competition for the championship title itself.

Times: 1. Vd Mark (Honda) 2'02.989 average 150.365 kph; 2. Duwelz (Yamaha) 2'02.996; 3. Nestorovic (Yamaha) 2'03.545; 4. Morbidelli (Yamaha) 2'03.642; 5. Russo (Yamaha) 2'03.714; 6. Chesaux (Honda) 2'03.982; 7. Cecchini (Honda) 2'04.235; 8. Gamarino (Kawasaki) 2'04.465; etc.

KTM European Junior Cup

Lukas Wimmer (MSC Schalchen) took the early advantage in the one-make KTM series in Germany, setting the fastest time of the first free session. Adrian Pesek and Artur Wielebski (Bogdanka Junior Team Poland) second and third respectively. KTM EspanaF1A rider Gaston Garcia was fourth for Spain.

Times: 1. Wimmer (AUT) 2'13.036; 2. Pasek (POL) 2'14.250; 3. Wielebski (POL) 2'14.310; 4. Garcia (ESP) 2'15.179; 5. De Lange (RSA) 2'15.227; 6. Demoulin J. (FRA) 2'15.700; 7. Vidal (ESP) 2'16.148; 8. Orellana (ESP) 2'16.941; etc.

---

BMW Motorrad Motorsport - WSBK - Nürburgring - Qualifying Practice 1

Team BMW Motorrad Motorsport had a difficult but productive day as it started into its home event at the Nürburgring (GER). The iconic race track hosts the third from last round of the 2012 FIM Superbike World Championship. Factory rider Leon Haslam (GBR) finished today’s first qualifying practice in fifth on the provisional second row. Leon is ignoring a lot of pain caused by the injury to his left shoulder he suffered two weeks ago when he crashed in race two at “Moscow Raceway” (RUS). Unfortunately, due to the pain, he could not ride as many laps as planned. His team-mate, Marco Melandri (ITA), qualified a provisional 12th. Marco had a crash in the early stages of the first qualifying practice when he lost control of his front tyre. However, his BMW S 1000 RR was not significantly damaged; Marco was able to ride back to the garage and continued the session after his bike was checked by his crew. Ayrton Badovini and Michel Fabrizio (both ITA) of the BMW Motorrad Italia GoldBet SBK Team finished 14th and 15th respectively.

Leon Haslam:

Fastest lap Free Practice: 1:57.354 min (P9)/Fastest lap Qualifying Practice 1: 1:55.828 min (P5)

“This morning I had some problems with my arm, which was strange because the injury was quite okay all last week. It was just a little sore, which is normal, but for some reason when I got on the bike this morning it was really painful. I had some treatment in between the sessions, and I then had some reaction on the tendon. It was difficult as the pain was quite bad, but hopefully in 12 hours’ time it will be better. When I suffered the injury initially they thought it was just muscle damage, but maybe now it is the tendon that I have torn. This is something that I need to sort out. From the sporting aspect the day was good. I was P5 and felt fine with the lap times. We did a good run on race tyres and, even if I could not do so many laps, I am pretty happy.”

Marco Melandri:

Fastest lap Free Practice: 1:56.601 min (P3)/Fastest lap Qualifying Practice 1: 1:56.497 min (P12)

“This was a difficult day for me. In the afternoon I did not have a good feeling for the bike at all. This has never happened before this season. On top of that I had a strange crash in the first corner of my first flying lap. I had new brakes and did not want to brake too hard, so I went a little wide and crashed. Happily nothing serious happened to me or the bike. From then on my feeling for the bike was even worse. When we went for the softer tyre, chattering came back big time. I am confident we can improve tomorrow.”

Andrea Dosoli (Head of Race Operations):

“Today was a difficult start into the weekend. Both riders are still struggling with the grip and the front feeling of their RRs. Marco had a good start to the day but was not happy with the feeling for the bike in the afternoon. We have to work hard to improve it. He lost the front of his S 1000 RR in the first corner of his first flying lap of today’s qualifying practice. This crash compromised his entire session. I have to congratulate Leon today. He is still suffering from pain in his left shoulder as a consequence of the crash in Moscow. As well as that just before qualifying practice, due to his medical treatment, this became worse. Still, Leon was able to score consistent good lap times. We are all proud of his efforts.”

---

WSBK - Team Italia FMI riders back at work in Germany

In the Stk1000 qualifiers, Barni Racing Team Italia riders close in the Top 10. Russo is 5th in the Stk600, Vitali 22nd.

In the FMI Cup Superstock1000, championship leader Eddi La Marra wraps up day 1 with the second best time behind Guarnoni, the only rider to break the two-minute wall (1'59"968). La Marra improved by more than one second during the afternoon session, closing with a 2'00"017 and preceding Barrier, his number 1 rival in the standings, and Staring.

Lorenzo Savadori closed ahead of his teammate in the morning but had a few small issues that did not allow him to improve in the afternoon. His 2'01"378 puts him in 10th provisional position.

In the UEM European Championship Supertock600, the qualifying session confirmed the duel that characterized the season so far. On the Nurburgring track, Riccardo Russo (Team Italia FMI Yamaha#84) posted the fifth-best time with a 2'03"714, 7 tenths behind his rival VD Mark (the fastest man on track today with a 2'02"989).

His teammate Luca Vitali (Team Italia FMI Yamaha#70) stopped the clock on 2'06"377. At his debut on the historic German track, Vitali took 1''5 off his morning time but had to settle for 22nd position.

The narrow gaps among the frontrunners lay the ground for a hard-fought battle for pole position and a close race.

Cristiano Migliorati (FMI Technical Coordinator)

"In the Stock1000 La Marra posted a great time without pushing too much. He already found the right gear ratios and he's happy. We changed the engine on Savadori's bike between turns, and he couldn't find the feeling with the balance of the bike right away. He can still fight for first row. In the Stock600 Russo still has some rear grip issues. Vitali is far but can still recover. We'll work on his suspension settings and fight for the top positions on the grid."

---

Rea seventh on return to the Ring

Jonathan Rea posted the seventh fastest time in this afternoon’s opening qualifying session for Sunday’s World Superbike championship races at the Nurburgring in Germany.

The 25-year-old Honda World Superbike Team rider returned to his familiar CBR1000RR Fireblade after spending two days testing with the Repsol Honda MotoGP team in Spain earlier this week. However, Rea was quickly back into the groove and was less than a tenth of a second from a provisional front row slot.

Carlos Checa took provisional pole position today in preparation for Sunday’s two 20-lap races at the 5.137km Nurburgring circuit as Rea’s Honda team-mate, Hiroshi Aoyama, rode at the historic circuit for the first time.

The 30-year-old Japanese enjoyed the circuit very much but admitted that he needs further laps to familiarise himself with the undulating and bumpy layout.

Jonathan Rea – P7, 1m55.891s

Things are rolling along OK. I’ve been doing a lot of laps and familiarising myself with my CBR1000RR but we’re just lacking a little bit of control off the corner. It’s a bit to do with the electronics, which need to be a little smoother, and the chassis setting, which needs to improve. Tomorrow morning we’ll focus on that and try to put some laps on a tyre in free practice to confirm our race choice, which is between two right now. So we’re kind of on target – it’s very, very close at the top and I’ve no doubt that we can make the right settings to challenge tomorrow.

Hiroshi Aoyama – P20, 1m58.286s

The racetrack is very nice and I like it a lot. At the same time, it’s very difficult, because there are a lot of ups and downs and some corners you cannot see. Some corners are very fast and some are very bumpy, so there are a lot of different corners here. It’s interesting and fun but to find a good way is not so easy. We improved 1.5 seconds from this morning to the afternoon and I hope we can do the same tomorrow. Then we can hope for Superpole again in the afternoon.

Pieter Breddels – technical co-ordinator

It’s a new circuit for Hiroshi and he just needs laps. He asked us not to change the bike very much and to let him do laps. He’s improving every time he goes out and hopefully he can improve more tomorrow because we need to make some time up. Jonathan had quite a good session this morning and the bike felt pretty good and he did a reasonable time. We struggled a little this afternoon and we’re still looking for a better setting at the front. Also the mapping needs a little work and these things stopped us improving and being consistent this afternoon. With a soft set of tyres we’re as fast as anyone and there were a lot of 55.8s out there today!

---

CAMIER ON THE PACE AT NURBURGRING

Team Suzuki Press Office - September 7.

FIXI Crescent Suzuki racer Leon Camier finished in eighth place during today's first free practice and qualifying sessions for the 12th round of the eni FIM Superbike World Championship from Nurburgring in Germany.

Camier is still suffering from the stiffness and bruising related to the huge crash he had in Russia, but the Englishman didn't let that bother him today on his Yoshimura-powered Suzuki GSX-R as he regularly challenged the top positions. In this morning's first free practice Camier twice led the timesheets and following his 14-laps in the first qualifying position he sits in a comfortable position to make his way into tomorrow's Superpole, after recording a time of 1'55.949 which was only 0.642 seconds away from provisional pole-setter Carlos Checa.

John Hopkins still has a bit of work to confirm and consolidate his position in Superpole during tomorrow's final qualifying session. The Anglo-American has little knowledge of the technically-demanding 5,137m German circuit and spent the majority of today's two sessions finding his lines and braking markers, as well as working with his crew to get the set-up right for his FIXI Crescent Suzuki GSX-R1000 around this difficult track. With the added information from today and after having time to acquaint himself with the layout, Hopkins is certain that he will improve tomorrow and be in there challenging on Sunday.

The FIXI Crescent Suzuki duo will have a final qualifying session tomorrow morning to try and claim their positions in the afternoon Superpole session, where they plan to join 14 other riders to battle for the best grid positions in Sunday's two races, the first of which gets underway at 12.00hrs local time (11.00hrs BST).

Leon Camier:

"It was quite a good day for us, but there's definitely room for improvement and I expect the lap times to fall quite a bit. We struggled for grip a bit today, but once we got it, we were able to go faster. This track is not all about horsepower - like some other tracks - and I think the FIXI Crescent Suzuki will be pretty good round here.

"At the end of the day, my right hip was cramping up a bit, so I'll get some ice and a massage this evening to loosen it up. I'm sure that it's not going to be a problem tomorrow or race-day and I'm looking forward to qualifying well and then fighting with the leaders on Sunday."

John Hopkins:

"I have no memory of this track from the last time I was here, so I had to relearn it today. We tried many different settings and threw every possible tyre at the FIXI Crescent Suzuki today to see if we could find some solutions to our chatter problems this year. Unfortunately, the tyre combination we had at the end of today's qualifying was not the right one and I couldn't lap as fast as I wanted, but the good news is that we have made improvements and tomorrow will be a lot better. This is a fun track to ride and I am enjoying it a lot, so I expect to safely get into Superpole and then take it from there."

Jack Valentine -Team Manager:

"It's been a really good day at the office and I'm very pleased that Leon is just 0.136 seconds off the front row. His lap times were good and he was the fastest rider through sector four, so hopefully he will nail the other areas tomorrow and go even quicker. John had more work to do today, but I am confident that he will improve and progress into Superpole. It's been a consistent and good day and all of us at FIXI Crescent Suzuki are looking forward to tomorrow."

---

FOURTH FASTEST LAP FOR EUGENE LAVERTY

THE GERMAN WEEKEND STARTS OFF WELL FOR THE APRILIA RACING TEAM.

MAX BIAGGI, SECOND IN THE FREE PRACTICE SESSION AND SIXTH IN THE QUALIFIERS, LOOKS FORWARD TO TOMORROW'S SESSIONS WITH CONFIDENCE.

FRIDAY ENDS WITH THE FOURTH FASTEST LAP FOR EUGENE LAVERTY AT THE NÜRBURGRING.

Nürburgring, 7 September 2012 – The Aprilia Racing Team's German Friday gives the Italian team confidence for the rest of the weekend. On a sunny day that was just as pleasant as it was unusual for this latitude, Max Biaggi and Eugene Laverty got in some excellent sessions.

The Corsair, stopping the clock with the second fastest lap in free practice and sixth fastest in the afternoon qualifiers, worked on his race pace, garnering comforting sensations.

There is still room for improvement and Max knows that it will have to be filled down to the last tenth of a second. The final rankings after the two sessions showed an extremely tight gap in the top ten times. This is a situation which, especially during Superpole, will force the riders to push to the limits. The changes that the five time world champion and his team are planning will be aimed precisely at improving race pace so he can battle with the front runners.

"The sessions went pretty well today – confirmed Max Biaggi – We worked with a view to the races, trying to find the right pace. We didn't make any drastic changes between the morning and afternoon sessions, and even with the changes we made we didn't see any big differences. So to get even better tomorrow we'll opt for some bigger changes and see what that does to our times. We still need to shave a bit more off, because that's what our rivals will be doing".

Eugene Laverty didn't let a harmless slide in one of his first laps on the Nürburgring break his concentration. The Team continued working without further obstacles, showing consistent improvements which led to the fourth fastest time in the afternoon qualifying session. Eugene is confident, especially with the feeling he has achieved on his RSV4 and the weather forecast, finally dry and without any surprises.

“The first session didn't get off to the best of starts with a crash in the first laps. I cleared my mind and went back to work, finishing with the fourth fastest lap this afternoon. We have improved the feeling quite a bit as well as front tyre grip, which is something that had caused some problems. Now the bike's working well, so we just need to fine tune the set up in order to get a spot on the front row and ride two good races on Sunday”.

---

Chaz Davies and ParkinGO MTC Racing straight into top ten at Nurburgring

Nurburgring, Friday 7th September 2012

Hard day of work for Chaz Davies and ParkinGO MTC Racing Team, busy from this morning searching the right set up on a track that has seen the them winning in 2011 in Supersport; new this season though, for the Aprilia RSV4 ParkinGO in Superbike.

Chaz Davies, after getting the 12th best time on the morning free practice, has improved his position entering top ten with the 9th best time on the afternoon qualifying, with a promising 1.56.399.

Position that could have been improved if it wasn't for the soft tire that right at the end of the session, didn't give him the right feeling on his bike.

However, for tomorrow, the Team and the Bristish rider, hope for a good time to get into Superpole and a great position on the grid.

---

Bel-Ray Press Release- Bel-Ray Performance Lubricants Weekend Racing Preview

World Superbike

The Bel-Ray sponsored Althea Ducati team comes to the historic Nurburgring race track in Nurburg, Germany, for the twelfth round of the 2012 World Championship series. With only fourteen rounds in the series, this event will help set the stage for the final two races that will close out the championship. 2011 champion Carlos Checa has suffered from unfortunate incidents this season and finds himself fourth place in the series, seventy-five points behind the championship leader. Strong results in the remaining races will help him close that gap as he hopes to finish on the podium in the championship results. Teammate Davide Giugliano has performed well in his rookie season in the World Superbike class and is currently tenth-place in the series points standings. Both racers have won at the German track in the past, a result they hope to repeat this weekend.

Checa spoke about his previous results in Moscow and his optimism for a good race this weekend. “Unfortunately Moscow didn’t exactly go to plan and now we need to make up for that at the Nurburgring. I feel prepared and ready for the challenge and hope that data from last year’s race will be able to he help us do equally well this year. We’ve seen a lot of wet weather this season and will probably have rain in Germany too – the important thing is to adapt to the weather and track conditions, and do our job at the highest possible level.”

Giugliano considers this track one of his favorites with fine memories, something he spoke about prior to this weekend’s event. “I’ve always liked the German track and have some good memories, particularly of last year when I won the Stock 1,000 race. During recent rounds we’ve worked really well during the practice sessions but then in the races I haven’t been able to put it all together and score the kind of results that I know I am capable of. So I hope that I can use everything I’ve learned until now to get back on the right path and take some solid results in this final phase of the championship, starting this Sunday.”

---