Fabio Quartararo has just turned fourteen and will make his debut this year in Moto3. Phillipe Le Gallo, meanwhile is fifty-five and has been competed for several seasons in the Stock Extreme Class. He says racing his his passion and he hopes to continue for years to come!

This season, rider Mark Aitchison has been competing on behalf of the team onboard a Ducati 1098R. He took part in the first three rounds of the championship, but has now seen his efforts come to nothing.

Since their entry in 2010, Effenbert Liberty has had an eventful time in World Superbikes. Last year, they blamed organisers  after an awful Monza round, claiming they weren’t being listened to. In that same year, they controversially sacked rider Sylvain Guintoli, citing poor results, even though he was their most successful rider. Guintoli has since joined with the Aprilia Racing Team and is at the top of the standings with 137 points.

It also seems that French riders and drivers have decided to get rid of diesel, with figures dropping significantly from 2011, going from 45% to 20%. Not bad. So, what do you think, would you head out and buy an eco-friendly bike like our French counterparts if the bank manager allowed it? Or are you happy to stick with your old faithful? Leave us a comment and let us know!

Currently, Tom sits 18 points from the top of the Championship leader board, with a race win at Assen and five podium finishes from the eight races so far. Tom said;

‘I am really looking forward to Donington…It’s always been a favourite of mine and I am very excited to go there with a fast and consistent package on the bike.’

Fixi Crescent Suzuki’s Leon Haslam is still recovering from a leg injury he sustained at the Assen round, but he has said he will do all he can to take part in the Donington round. Aprilia Racing Team’s Sylvain Guintoli and Eugene Laverty meanwhile are sitting first and second in the Rider’s standings, but neither rider has ever managed a top three position at Donington. Laverty has crashed out in two of the four World Superbike races there, while Guintoli has only ever managed fifth at the UK circuit.

Kawasaki Racing Team’s Tom Sykes has his best results in 2008, when he raced as a wildcard from British Superbikes and managed a second place finish. His teammate Loris Baz made his WSBK debut that same year. Team Ducati Alstare will be welcoming Niccolo Canepa for the Donington round as a one-off participation. The Superstock 1000 man will join regular riders Carlos Checa and Ayrton Badovini.

Rider Marco Melandri gave BMW its first ever Championship victory in 2012′s Race One at Donington – the circuit was also the home of Melandri’s maiden win in the series in 2011. He said;

‘I really love Donington. Here I got my first Superbike win with Yamaha in 2011 and the first victory in the history of BMW last year…The race will be very open and hard fought and if it does not rain, it will be very exciting.’

Marco’s teammate, Chaz Davies, also had fond memories of the track which gave him his first ‘real’ circuit experience when he was younger;

‘I’m looking forward to my first home round. It’s always good to meet up with friends and family and feel the support of your home crowd…I will try to do a good qualifier and then we’ll see.’

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In 1926 three brothers, Adriano, Marcello and Bruno Ducati, founded a company in Bologna, Italy manufacturing electrical components. After being taken over by the Italian Government during the Second World War, the company started developing motorcycles.
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Based on a training course Keith Code invented for the US Marine Corps, ART focusses on teaching riders to learn and understand fundamental techniques of riding, so they can stay in control. Since its introduction to the UK last year, the course has proved popular with new riders, and those who are returning to riding after a break.

The session itself takes half a day to complete, either in the morning or the afternoon. There’s a total of three modules in each session, focussing on throttle control, turn entry speed and co-ordination of throttle versus leaning. All you need to take part is a full UK license. The day costs £99 and you can either use your own motorbike or hire a Yamaha FZ8 for £99. For more information on the day and to find out how to book, click here.

Dovi managed to grab the top spot front the front row and kept hold of it for eight laps, fending off eventual winner Dani Pedrosa for as long as he could. In the later stages, Dovi began to slip back, but despite losing podium contention in the final few laps, he later said he was pleased to have ran a steady race;

‘It’s always nice to be at the front of the pack! I’m really happy with my feeling with the bike and as long as the tyres were decent, I was able to manage the situation well.’

Teammate Nicky Hayden did just as well, racing up from the fourth row on the grid to be in sixth place by the end of lap one. He managed as high as fourth, before slipping to fifth at the end. He said;

‘I got a great start and picked up some positions in the first few corners. I didn’t feel great at first, but I began to improve and was closing on the lead group when they were battling with each other…there were moments this weekend when we showed more potential than we have all year, and I’m really looking forward to Mugello.’

Despite the damp conditions, Dani fought hard with Andrea Dovizioso, with both riders swapping the lead until lap fourteen; it was then that the Spanish rider made his move and slipped ahead, holding his position to win the race by a fantastic margin of 4.863 seconds – taking his first ever French MotoGP victory while he was at it!

A very well deserved second place went to Monster Yamaha Tech 3′s Cal Crutchlow, who overcame a leg injury and ran an unbelievable race to take the highest ever place in his MotoGP career to date. Cal came in ahead of Dani’s teammate, Marc Marquez who claimed the final podium position.

The combination of cool temperatures and a damp track meant all riders went for the softer wet tyre option on the day for both front and rear. Fortunately, as the day progressed, the sun decided to make an appearance, clearing up some slippery patches.

The Le Mans victory now puts Dani at the top of the Championship standings, where he sits six points ahead of teammate Marc Marquez. Nine points behind Marc is defending champ, Jorge Lorenzo, in third.

All the talk was about Cal Crutchlow’s amazing 2nd Place but it was Dani Pedrosa who made it back-to-back victories after a masterful performance in wet conditions at Le Mans today, a performance that sees the him move to the top of the MotoGP™ rider standings.

With rain falling at the start of the race, it was Ducati’s Andrea Dovizioso who got the holeshot to lead into the first corner ahead of Pedrosa, the two riders swapping the lead a few times before Pedrosa made his race-winning pass on lap fourteen. Once in the lead Pedrosa held his position at the front to win the race by 4.863 seconds – his first MotoGP victory in France. In second place was Monster Yamaha Tech 3’s Cal Crutchlow, the British rider overcoming the pain of a leg injury to claim his highest ever placing in MotoGP ahead of Repsol Honda’s Marc Marquez, who made a great comeback after a slow start to take the final podium position. First of the CRT riders across the finish line was Power Electronics Aspar’s Aleix Espargaro in thirteenth place.

Cool and wet conditions greeted the grid for the French Grand Prix, with a track temperature of just 14°C recorded at the start of the twenty-eight lap race. The conditions resulted in all twenty-four riders selecting the softer wet tyre options front and rear for the highest level of warm-up performance, although some riders went out on the sighting lap with the harder option wets, before changing to the soft option on the grid due to the cold conditions. As the race progressed the rain ceased and the sun started to shine, causing a dry line to appear on turns two, seven and eight which caused variable grip levels in different sections of the circuit.

Pedrosa now leads his Repsol Honda teammate Marquez in the MotoGP championship standings by six points, while a further nine points back and third in the standings is Yamaha Factory Racing’s Jorge Lorenzo.

Enjoy the photo’s and remember The Bike Insurer when it comes to renewing your Motorbike Insurance

Qualifying in 19th, Andrews had to deal with low sun and a mixture of both wet and dry patches. It wasn’t long before his bike experienced problems and he was quickly pulled into the pits, with his team immediately getting to work. In no time, he was able to return to the sighting lap in time to take his spot on the grid.

Despite his troubles, Andrews got off to a fantastic start,beginning a duel with five riders. After almost half an hour, and six high-speed laps, he finished in thirteenth, just behind Honda’s Cameron Donald.

The six-lap Superbike race, scheduled to take place on Saturday 1st June, will once again be named the ‘Dainese Superbike Race’, and trackside branding will be present all along the circuit. In addition, travelling marshals will be kitted out with Dainese leather suits, boots and gloves.

As ever, Dainese will continue to support riders, Guy Martin, Connor Cummins, James Hillier and Cheung Wai On.

It seems that the young Spanish rider has been in talks with Yamaha to join them in the Premier Class next year, and Cal’s seat is the only one free, especially now that Bradley Smith, Jorge Lorenzo and Valentino Rossi have signed on the dotted line for two year contracts. When he was asked about the rumours, Cal said;

‘I have nothing to say on it. There’s not anything I know at the minute, so we can concentrate on the job in hand, which is to race this weekend and next weekend until Herve (Yamaha boss) tells me something. Until Herve tells me I’m not riding the bike, I won’t not get on it.’

Watch this space…

Currently, Canepa is leading the Superstock 1000 Championship but is available for Donington because the Stock motorbikes don’t compete at the UK circuit.

As far as Ducati Alstare goes, riders Carlos Checa and Aytron Badovini managed sixth position overall at Donington last year; although, it’s fair to say Carlos has good form at the track, winning there in 2011. He will be returning, fighting fit at Donington, after a shoulder injury saw him forced to miss out the Monza round. He said;

‘Having been forced to sit out the Monza races, I’m really looking forward to being back on the bike at Donington. I’ve been working hard to get back to full fitness and have carried on with the treatments recommended to me…I’m feeling stronger and much more optimistic ahead of next week’s races.’

The actual days of the strike will be announced seven days in advance, but they will be timed to create as much disruption as possible. According to Bobby Morton, Unite’s national officer for passenger transport;

‘We’ve got disputes scheduled for the last week in May and first in June.The drivers will be trying to cause as much disappointment as possible, otherwise there is no point.’

He went on to say that the TT had been chosen because it was the most profitable time of the year for the government-owned bus service, Bus Vannin. This will be the drivers fifth walkout since December in a dispute over plans to cut  wages by £3000.

]]> 0 http://www.thebikeinsurer.co.uk/motorbike-pictures/wsb/monza-round-4-2013/ http://www.thebikeinsurer.co.uk/motorbike-pictures/wsb/monza-round-4-2013/#comments Wed, 15 May 2013 17:13:48 +0000 http://www.thebikeinsurer.co.uk/?post_type=photo_album&p=13750 The fourth round of the World Superbike Chamionship 2013 took place at Monza yesterday, with Marco Melandri (BMW Motorrad GoldBet) and Eugene Laverty (Aprilia Racing Team) taking a race win each. It wasn’t all plain sailing however, with Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team) and Sylvain Guintoli (Aprilia Racing Team) keen to keep the winners on their toes from the off!