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Suzuki GSXR Motorcycle Forum
Welcome to Gixerboyz. The Suzuki GSXR Motorcycle forum. If its about GSXR's then you have come to the right place. Of course, other motorcycles also welcome...
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andyk3
Site Founder
Joined: 15 Dec 2005
Posts: 21682
Location: Widower to a Nintendo DS
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 Posted: Sat May 24, 2008 4:58 pm Post subject: Donington BSB |
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Sykes on the pace at Donington Park
TOM SYKES and Atsushi Watanabe along with their Rizla Suzuki technicians spent the two 50-minute free practice sessions today at Donington Park, dialling in both their GSX-R1000s ahead of round four of the Bennetts British Superbike Championship.
Sykes, who favours the 2.5 mile GP circuit, worked on perfecting his already excellent handling Rizla Suzuki chassis, reducing his lap times to 1min 32.718secs just 0.566secs off Leon Haslam who put in the fastest time of 1min 32.152secs.
His team-mate, Atsu also worked hard and had a productive first free practice finishing in 12th place; however his second session ended prematurely when he slipped off uninjured at Coppice corner. He had been making progress towards the top 10 as the session unfolded and that will be his target tomorrow for qualifying.
The singular 50-minute qualifying session will take place tomorrow, 25th May at 1410. Race one takes place on Monday 26th May at 1300 with race two at 1530. Live coverage of race day can be seen on Eurosport 2 from 1230 to 1630, a one hour highlights show will also broadcast on Eurosport 2 from 2045 to 2145.
Jack Valentine, Team Manager Rizla Suzuki: “I’m quite happy with today as we are in contention, we are just half a second off pole position and there is more to come tomorrow. We were making small changes to the chassis and Tom put in his fastest time on lap 18 which is full race distance. All in all I’m pleased with how things have gone.
“Atsu did well in the first session but unfortunately he stepped off during the second session which slowed his progress. His time from this morning’s session would put him 13th overall so again there is more to come and I know tomorrow he will dig deep and push hard to get into the top 10.”
Free practice results:
1: Leon Haslam (Honda) 1:32.152
2: Cal Crutchlow (Honda) +0.073
3: Karl Harris (Yamaha) +0.104
4: Shane Byrne (Ducati) +0.267
5: TOM SYKES (RIZLA SUZUKI) +0.566
6: Michael Rutter (Ducati) +0.825
7: Leon Camier (Ducati) +0.949
8: Billy McConnell (Kawasaki) +1.355
9: James Ellison (Honda) +1.418
10: Stuart Easton (Kawasaki) +1.557
13: ATSUSHI WATANABE (RIZLA SUZUKI) +2.333 |
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andyk3
Site Founder
Joined: 15 Dec 2005
Posts: 21682
Location: Widower to a Nintendo DS
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| Posted: Sun May 25, 2008 4:06 pm Post subject: |
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Difficult wet qualifying for Rizla Suzuki
TOM SYKES and Atsushi Watanabe both finished in uncharacteristic positions today following a tough wet session on track at Donington Park, ahead of round four of the Bennetts British Superbike Championship, with Sykes 13th and Watanabe 22nd.
The wet weather arrived just in time for the singular 50-minute qualifying session following a dry free practice this morning, where Sykes was running in an encouraging second place.
The Rizla Suzuki technicians worked on the chassis on both bikes to accommodate the tricky conditions; however Sykes was struggling for rear grip. Towards the end of the session he suffered a small crash at Coppice corner but walked away unhurt, unfortunately there was insufficient time left in the session for him to return to the track.
Atsu, who is still getting to grips with the 2.5 mile GP circuit, had similar concerns to his team-mate. He also fell at Coppice with just eight minutes of the session to go. He had been progressing up the time sheets until this happened.
Race one takes place on Monday 26th May at 1300 with race two at 1530. Live coverage of race day can be seen on Eurosport 2 from 1230 to 1630, a one hour highlights show will also broadcast on Eurosport 2 from 2045 to 2145.
Tom: “I know in the dry we can be competitive but it will be hard work as I‘m starting from the fourth row of the grid. My Rizla Suzuki has felt good all weekend and Donington is a circuit I enjoy so I’m hoping we can pull something out of the bag tomorrow.”
Atsu: “I’m not so happy with today. I have seen the DVD of Donington Park and lots of riders crashed in wet conditions, now I’m one of those riders. I like the track and I will work hard to get a result for my team. I don’t want to be in 22nd place that is not for me.”
Jack Valentine, Team Manager Rizla Suzuki: “It was a good day until the rain came. We had a very productive free practice three with Tom in second place just 0.486secs off pole and we were hoping for the same in qualifying. We struggled for set-up in the wet conditions and both our riders suffered crashes in the slippery conditions. We have more work to do if it does rain tomorrow as we need to find more rear grip. We will make some changes for warm-up and go from there. If it is dry we have good settings and can run at the front.”
Qualifying results:
1: Shane Byrne (Ducati) 1:46.639
2: James Ellison (Honda) +1.048
3: Michael Rutter (Ducati) +1.462
4: Cal Crutchlow (Honda) +1.626
5: Michael Laverty (Suzuki) +1.628
6: Scott Smart (Kawasaki) +1.970
7: Leon Haslam (Honda) +2.190
8: Leon Camier (Ducati) +2.384
9: Gary Mason (Honda) +2.611
10: Karl Harris (Yamaha) +2.699
13: TOM SYKES (RIZLA SUZUKI) +3.276
22: ATSUSHI WATANABE (RIZLA SUZUKI) +5.810 |
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Scotty
Site Founder
Joined: 15 Dec 2005
Posts: 2329
Location: South Creake, Norfolk
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| Posted: Sun May 25, 2008 4:08 pm Post subject: |
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Ducati's dominating yet again.........  |
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andyk3
Site Founder
Joined: 15 Dec 2005
Posts: 21682
Location: Widower to a Nintendo DS
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| Posted: Sun May 25, 2008 4:12 pm Post subject: |
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well they did get there own way yet again  |
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papertech202
Dyno Man
Joined: 25 Feb 2007
Posts: 1368
Location: Staffordshire
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| Posted: Sun May 25, 2008 4:45 pm Post subject: |
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| Good to see Laverty on the TAS Suzuki up in 5th on the grid. |
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andyk3
Site Founder
Joined: 15 Dec 2005
Posts: 21682
Location: Widower to a Nintendo DS
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| Posted: Mon May 26, 2008 9:18 pm Post subject: |
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Well-earned third place finish for Sykes
TOM SYKES pulled off a spectacular third place podium finish for Rizla Suzuki after starting from 13th on the grid at round four of the Bennetts British Superbike Championship at Donington Park.
The Huddersfield rider got off the line well and immediately slotted into sixth place in the blustery conditions at the 2.5 miles GP circuit. He rode hard putting in consistently fast lap times and picking off other riders to achieve his second podium finish of the year. In race two he finished in a close sixth place after being baulked by slower riders early on.
Sykes’s team-mate, Atsushi Watanabe, starting from 22nd place on the grid finished 17th in race one and 13th in race two. The two times Japanese Superbike Champion had his work cut out for him with the high winds, but knuckled down to the job in hand and moved forward through the pack as both races unfolded.
Rizla Suzuki now travels to Snetterton in Norfolk for the fifth round of the British Superbike Championship in three weeks time on June 15th.
Tom: “I’ve got mixed feelings from today; obviously I’m delighted with my podium finish as that is where my Rizla Suzuki team and I should be finishing. Starting from the fourth row of the grid isn‘t ideal as I usually aim to be on the front row, however in the first race I got away well and battled in the lead group. As for race two, I got a bit beaten up into the first turn and then got caught behind a slower rider who was holding me up. The high winds weren’t helping matters either. The podium was encouraging but I still want to do better for myself and my Rizla Suzuki team.”
Atsu: “Today was very hard work, it was very windy and I had a lot of riders to try and pass. My aim was to be top 10 but that didn’t happen. Next time at Snetterton I hope I can get a better result in both qualifying and the race.”
Team Manager Rizla Suzuki, Jack Valentine: “Once again Tom showed what he is capable of, his Rizla Suzuki is working well and we know we have a competitive package. Where we qualified did have an impact on both our races but all in all I was impressed with Tom’s superb riding and he made the best of the situation.
“Atsu had a baptism of fire here at Donington with the difficult weather conditions and getting used to the circuit. I had high hopes for him breaking into the top 10 and with a better grid position then I’m sure it would have happened. He has a strong work ethic and will use this as a learning experience before we move on to the next round at Snetterton.”
Race one results:
1: Shane Byrne (Ducati) 32:01.058
2: Leon Haslam (Honda) +2.473
3: TOM SYKES (RIZLA SUZUKI) +3.442
4: James Ellison (Honda) +5.856
5: Leon Camier (Ducati) +6.188
6: Cal Crutchlow (Honda) +6.636
7: Karl Harris (Yamaha) +7.464
8: Michael Rutter (Ducati) +9.809
9: Michael Laverty (Suzuki) +12.627
10: Simon Andrews (Yamaha) +16.246
17: ATSUSHI WATANABE (RIZLA SUZUKI) +28.003
Race two results:
1: Shane Byrne (Ducati) 31:06.337
2: Leon Haslam (Honda) +0.355
3: Cal Crutchlow (Honda) +1.447
4: Leon Camier (Ducati) +1.596
5: James Ellison (Honda) +4.186
6: TOM SYKES (RIZLA SUZUKI) +7.446
7: Karl Harris (Yamaha) +15.703
8: Michael Rutter (Ducati) +26.794
9: Simon Andrews (Yamaha) +31.816
10: Gary Mason (Honda) +32.870
13: ATSUSHI WATANABE (RIZLA SUZUKI)
Championship Standings
1: Shane Byrne (Ducati) 190
2: Cal Crutchlow (Honda) 122
3: Leon Camier (Ducati) 107
4: Leon Haslam (Honda) 96
5: James Ellison (Honda) 88
6: Michael Rutter (Ducati) 82
7: TOM SYKES (RIZLA SUZUKI) 75
8: Stuart Easton (Kawasaki) 62
9: Michael Laverty (Suzuki) 59
10: Simon Andrews (Honda) 37
15: ATSUSHI WATANABE (RIZLA SUZUKI) 19 |
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PAUL71
wheelie God
Joined: 10 Oct 2007
Posts: 373
Location: BROMLEY
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| Posted: Thu May 29, 2008 6:18 pm Post subject: |
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Ducati win yet again soooooooooo boring think they will have to put a tea stall on the track so Shakey can have a coffee while he waits for the others !!!!!!!!!  |
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