WSBK – Statements and Analysis of the Superbike in Istanbul – Analysis of the World Superbike in Istanbul

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Istanbul Superbike Statements and Analysis

WSBK - Statements and Analysis of the Superbike in Istanbul - Analysis of the World Superbike in Istanbul

The eleventh round of the World SBK 2013 took place yesterday in Istanbul, Turkey. To complete our live reports, here are the statements of the Superbike riders as well as the Site analysis of the two Turkish races.

Analysis of the World Superbike in Istanbul

Yesterday took place the very first World Superbike event in Turkey. This great first, awaited in priority by the triple world champion of Supersport Kenan Sofuoglu and his thousands of fans, was also awaited by the whole paddock..

The Intercity Istanbul Park is indeed one of the most beautiful routes in the world: its creator, Herman Tilke – to whom we also owe the circuits of Sepang, Shanghai, Yas Marina, Moscow, Austin, Buddh, etc. ! – did not hesitate to reproduce three cult sequences in motorsport.

Thus, the first two steep turns mimic the "Esses de Senna" in Sao Paulo, turn n ° 9 merges with the "Spoon Curve" of the Suzuka circuit and turn n ° 11 is simply nicknamed "Faux Rouge" … Spa fans will appreciate !

It was therefore long for the "Superbikers" and "Supersporters" to ride their bikes on this admirable circuit and engrave their name there, by achieving the best lap times in their category: bravo to Sykes and Sofuoglu for their poles on Saturday, Tom signing also the fastest lap in the race the next day in SBK and Sam Lowes in SSP.

Turkish delight

Other pilots have also left their mark on Turkish soil … but would gladly have done without! This is the case in particular with Leon Camier who has already tested the bitumen again. Live from his hospital bed, the pilot of the Suzuki n ° 2 testified on Saturday evening…

"I knew the grip was bad and I rode accordingly. When I got to the first left turn at the top of the hill, the rear took off suddenly, throttle cut: I really didn’t expect that to happen !"

The toll is heavy for the English champion (2009): "seven foot fractures (right, editor’s note) and wires, rods and screws all over the place", sums up Leon for whom the" horribilis "season continues inexorably." Kamir "now hopes to return for the, in a month…

But "Leon’s incredible bad luck continues", deplored his team manager Paul Denning last night:"despite a successful operation, he had to return to hospital today as he suffered from severe dehydration and some unpleasant side effects. Last I heard, he is resting and we take good care of him". Courage Leon !

Carlos Checa hasn’t been much happier this year in general, and this weekend in particular. The only official Ducati rider – a status his teammate Ayrton Badovini does not have – the 2011 world champion has struggled, in vain, all this season to make the 1199 Panigale the new machine to win in the WSBK, as were the 916 or 1098.

Like Camier, the Spaniard was surprised on Friday morning on a Turkish track that he nevertheless knew to have seen there ridden in MotoGP … Victim of an ugly highside in the second corner, the famous n ° 7 immediately forfeited.

"I have a lot of pain in my chest, on the right and left sides. I also damaged my wrist, but since I already have a screw on it, resulting from an injury that dates back to 1996, it is not yet known if I have a fracture again.", declared Checa on Friday evening.

The height of bad luck for the Bologna firm, Ayrton Badovini was uncertain for the races that same Friday evening, following a fall – from the front, him – in the 12th corner. Preferring to avoid riding in the wet on Saturday and to limit the inflammation of his crumpled left ankle, the n ° 86 courageously took the start of the first race.

Relegated to 16th and last position on the grid, the young Italian occupied a lonely 13th place when his half cowardly betrayed him … "He held this position for the first eight laps", emphasizes his team,"but he was forced to return to the garage due to a technical problem and could not join the race".

Breakdown and breakdown … of morale

Exhausted – and demotivated, would we be less ?! – by this pointless exit, Badovini chose not to repeat the experiment during the second round. Max Neukirchner also threw in the towel on Friday (fracture of the 4th and 5th metacarpals!), No Ducati therefore reached the finish line on Sunday.

The scores of the pilots of Panigale therefore do not vary: still 107 points for Ayrton Badovini, 84 for the "private" Max Neukirchner and only 80 for Carlos Checa. The three men remain respectively 12th, 13th and 14th in the provisional ranking.

In the constructors’ standings, if we exclude Yamaha, whose R1s only made a furtive appearance at the Nurburgring, Ducati serves as a red lantern and could well total three times fewer points than its great rival and compatriot Aprilia at the end of the season.

Fortunately for top officials at Ducati (and Audi, who owns the Bologna brand!), A ray of hope has recently appeared: in the years to come, World Superbike machines will increasingly be "stocked". "…

However, in its Superstock 1000 configuration, the Panigale R is more competitive against 4-cylinders. The two Barni Racing Team drivers, Niccolo Canepa and Eddi La Marra – victim of a serious accident at the end of August during private testing in Misano – are in the Top 5 and fight regularly for the podium and victory.

Brand absent

Besides Camier, Checa, Badovini and Neukirchner, two other holders of the 2013 championship were missing – and the fans – on Sunday: Jonathan Rea and Loris Baz, still respectively 6th and 7th in the provisional classification of the 2013 WSBK drivers.

Rea’s absence was foreseen: Johnny being injured during the, the Honda Pata team had entrusted his Fireblade to a Michel Fabrizio removed from the Aprilia Red Devils Roma team, and himself replaced by Toni Elias !

Removed from the circuits for several more weeks, number 65 yesterday posted an encouraging message on Twitter: "15 days ago, I broke my femur in an accident in Germany. Today I am going up the stairs without assistance! Victory".

The day before, while his little comrades were enjoying a first 90-minute free practice session to take their bearings on their new playground, Jonathan was walking on "his" Isle of Man by bike, "thinking about 2014"…

Concentrated 100% on 2013, Loris Baz fully expected to participate in this first Turkish event, but our national "Bazooka" did not draw this weekend: fell on his back during the German warm-up, the n ° 76 of the Kawasaki team did not receive the green light from the medical profession.

"Unfortunately I wouldn’t ride here in Istanbul", signaled Friday 13 (!) our" Green Giant "…"No one can be sure of the date of my fracture and it would be too risky to drive if the fracture dates from the Nurburgring.".

Last night, Loris put it into perspective: "I have already missed two weekends and four races, but I still have 6th place in the championship. Hope I can keep her !"As for the spectators, we especially hope that Baz will be back as soon as possible to spice up the last races. !

And the same goes for Rea, Camier, Checa or Badovini, whose absence was slightly felt yesterday during the races. While the layout lent itself to intense fights and numerous overtaking, the two heats were relatively wise, as dominated by the four drivers still in contention for the 2013 title….

Under pressure, Tom Sykes, Sylvain Guintoli, Marco Melandri and Eugene Laverty – in that order in the general classification when they arrived in Turkey – whipped their mounts and quickly isolated all four at the forefront, thus limiting the passes of weapons with their "challengers"…

Double Square Aces

The fastest driver on Friday, Sylvain Guintoli set a time almost as good as that of poleman Sykes and settled on the first row of the grid, which had not happened since the .

In the race unfortunately, "Guinters" did not manage to transform his tests. Lacking a hint of speed – especially when it came to dislodging Sykes at the very end of the first run! – and endurance – his shoulder is not quite recovered yet – the n ° 50 had to settle for a fourth and a third place yesterday.

"A new step taken in Istanbul in the recovery of my shoulder, first row in SP and first podium since Imola", Sylvain pointed out all the same, once the disappointment of seeing his great rival Sykes climbed the podium twice and his teammate signing the double…

At the end of this eleventh round, the Frenchman is 8 points behind the English Ninja. And it is now useless to count on a "little bonus": has been officially and definitively classified !

As a reminder, Sylvain and his Aprilia team lodged an appeal with the International Disciplinary Court (CDI) of the Federation Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM) following the decision taken by the FIM Stewards to cancel the sanction imposed on Tom during the second Monza race on May 12.

Move around, there is (more) nothing to see !

"The CDI held a hearing at FIM headquarters in Mies (Switzerland) on July 16, 2013, during which the parties and their representatives were duly heard", reports the federation."The CDI, in the person of the single judge Mr Jan Stovicek (Czech Republic), dismissed the appeal".

Indeed, "the CDI considered that Mr. Tom Sykes had not violated the regulations of the FIM Superbike world championship when he left the track at the "la Roggia" chicane, since he had taken the indicated route. and had returned to the track at the place provided for this purpose".

The Italian incident is therefore closed: Tom Sykes is indeed credited with 16 points from third place in Monza and Sylvain Guintoli with 13 points from fourth. Their respective scores after Istanbul are 323 points against 315, 13 podiums against 11 and six wins against a…

Marco Melandri was also disappointed with his Turkish weekend: winner of the MotoGP events contested in and on the Istanbul circuit, the Ravenna Hedgehog intended to crush the competition there, starting with Tom Sykes who did not had never put a wheel there.

Besides Sylvain Guintoli, Eugene Laverty, Chaz Davies and Jules Cluzel had all visited the Turkish circuit, once, twice and three times respectively during their "250 years" in Grand Prix. But Marco, with his three participations in the premier category, had to dominate the debates !

Too nervous and delicate to balance according to him, however, the S1000RR prevented Melandri from shining. But the analyzes and the penalties of n ° 33 are shared by his teammate n ° 19, Mister Davies! Even Andrea Dosoli’s comment tends to exonerate the Italian.

The technical director of the BMW Italia team admits that, "in the end, we have to recognize that our competitors did a better job than us today". However, the work that awaits the teams of Marco and Chaz promises to be as arduous: the American track is at least as demanding as the Turkish one, and the knowledge of the track of their two drivers alone will not be enough to fill the gap. ‘difference…

Eugene Laverty, on the other hand, will arrive in California with complete confidence. Author of a masterful double in Turkey, the Irish driver is now in third place in the general classification and is relaunched in the race for the 2013 title. !

The 2013 title race is on again

Sunday morning, the n ° 58 of the official Aprilia team solemnly declared on Twitter: "It’s now or never". A few hours later, after having let burst his joy following his two victories," Yudjine "was ironic about his situation….

"Strange feeling all the same, winning both races and looking for a new job for 2014. Someone needs a quick employee for 2014 ?", launched Laverty, whose CV was enriched this season with 13 podiums, six victories and a – first – pole position.

After congratulating Eugene on his first double of the year, Giorgio Barbier, director of Pirelli’s motorcycle competition division, welcomed the performance of a new recruit … "Congratulations also to Toni Elias on her debut in Superbike. Without knowing the bike or the tires, he turned out to be a formidable rider".

Far from being confused by this new category, its new motorcycle, its new tires, its new comrades and the new qualifying format specific to World Superbike, the former Spanish star – Moto2 world champion, por favore! – consistently featured in the Top 5 during testing.

Watching this unmistakably styled rider fight for the Top 5 in the race as well was both fun and entertaining! His final in the first round against the other private Aprilia rider Davide Giugliano was even "astounding", the No. 24 narrowly failing to mow down the No. 34 a few meters from the finish line…

Will the more flexible Pirelli carcass allow Elias to regain his best level? Site readers – who, as everyone knows, are a little more fortunate than others – remember that when Bridgestone made custom tires for MotoGP riders, Toni was able to hold on to the dragee. high at Valentino, Marco, Sete or Max !

Finally, Site agrees with the opinion of the Pirelli competition manager: "the most beautiful emotion came, on Sunday, from Kenan Sofuoglu and the Turkish public who supported his idol, accompanying him in his victory. We must also recognize the fair play of Sam Lowes, who is missing a point to be crowned Supersport world champion.".

The clamor emanating from the stands with each passing of the No.54 Kawasaki was almost unreal, and was reminiscent of the overheated atmosphere of football stadiums in Turkey. The images of the two top names in the WSSP category kissing in the parc ferme could not then better represent the "biker" spirit … We want more !

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