World SBK heads to Kyalami where altitude can reduce power outputs as much as 20%
With a maiden podium finish on the factory BMW still fresh in his mind, Australia’s Troy Corser gets straight back down to business this weekend when the world superbike title heads to Kyalami in South Africa.
It’s been a massive logistical exercise to move the entire world superbike caravan from Europe to the southern hemisphere in the space of four days, and when Corser arrives in South Africa he will be on on a steep learning curve.
“This Friday will be the first time I’ve been out on the Kyalami track on the BMW S 1000 RR,” said Corser. “Last year my crash at Monza put me out of the race in South Africa.
“This circuit really is one for the riders and has a lot of uphill and downhill sections. Getting the right set-up for the bike is vital here, as the track is extremely bumpy.”
Despite starting with a blank canvas, Corser takes comfort in the fact that his BMW is now a competitive unit, as emphasised by his third place in last Sunday’s race two at Monza.
“The bike is a lot further along than at this stage last year. Back then we were still getting to grips with the chassis and engine, and both Ruben and our reserve rider (Australian) Steve Martin struggled at Kyalami.
“This year things look rather different. The bike’s good and I’ve always gone well at this circuit, so I’m expecting a good result.”
Kyalami’s 4.246km circuit features dramatic elevation changes and a mix of fast and slow corners, which is a real challenge for even the most experienced competitors.
The high altitude also places a real premium on set-up, as the ‘thin’ air robs engines of outright power at the very top of the rev-range.
Last year the factory Ducati team ruled the roost at Kyalami, with Noriyuki Haga and Michel Fabrizio going one-two in both 25-lap races.
Both riders are yet to hit their straps this year, and Kyalami just might be the time to seize their opportunities, although there are a host of potential winners also ready to share in the power play.
Italian Max Biaggi (Aprilia) is one of those after he stole the show with a superb double victory at Monza to move within 3pts of championship leader Leon Haslam (Suzuki).
Meanwhile, Jonathan Rea (Honda) and Carlos Checa (Ducati) will be looking for redemption in South Africa after hapless outings at Monza, and the Yamaha duo of James Toseland and Cal Crutchlow are now consistent front runners. In fact, Crutchlow, who already has two pole positions in 2010, was stalking Biaggi in race two at Monza before he copped a hole in his oil cooler and crashed.
Kyalami will also be a first time circuit for some in world superbike, most notably Biaggi’s exceptionally fast rookie team-mate Leon Camier, while local interest should include Sheridan Morais, also on an Aprilia. Morais is the reigning South African superbike and supersport champion.
Sunshine Coast’s Chris Vermeulen (Kawasaki) is still recovering from his Phillip Island knee injury, but his strength is improving every weekend and the 10-time world superbike winner has too much competitive spirit to be languishing among the back markers for too much longer.
“After my return in Assen I was determined to make up some ground but unfortunately my knee is still not 100 per cent and I found it more difficult in Monza than I would have liked,” said Vermeulen. “I’m continuing to work hard on rehabilitation and physiotherapy and I am certain however that the more I ride, the more movement I will have in the knee.
“I have high expectations of myself but I have to be patient and work away at getting back to the platform where I think we are at.
“I have raced in Kyalami before in world supersport, but I can honestly say that I don’t have much of a memory of being here so I will more or less treat this as a new track and hope that I can bounce back to consistent point scoring finishes.”
Machinery wise, Vermeulen must have been encouraged by his team-mate Tom Sykes’ excellent fifth place in race two at Monza, which was the Japanese manufacturer’s best race result in a number of years.
Newcastle’s Broc Parkes (Honda) is the other Aussie racing, after he scored his Italian privateer team’s first world superbike point at Monza.
The Supersport World Championship went from a close fight between three riders before the previous Monza round to an even more tightly contested struggle after Eugene Laverty (Honda) took his third race win of 2010 last weekend.
Joan Lascorz (Kawasaki) and Kenan Sofuoglu (Honda) have also recorded a single win each in 2010, with the current standings showing Lascorz on 101pts, Sofuoglu on 97 and Laverty with 91.
Laverty was a convincing winner at Kyalami in 2009, but few expect anything than another close encounter of a top three kind this coming weekend.
— Ducati Preview
Just two days after returning to base from Monza’s fifth World Superbike round, the Ducati Xerox team repacks its bags and leaves for South Africa and the circuit of Kyalami.
The Ducati 1198 of the factory Ducati Xerox team proved itself a winner on the Kyalami circuit last season, with the red machines dominating a weekend that culminated in two triumphant race wins for Noriyuki Haga, and two second place finishes for team-mate Michel Fabrizio (who also registered a new lap record in the first race), with both Ducati Xerox men crossing the line more than eight seconds clear of the closest competition in Race 2.
With regard to the 2010 season, Noriyuki and Michel currently lie in sixth and eleventh position respectively in the general standings of what is turning out to be an extremely close championship, based on what we have seen during the first five rounds. Ducati is third in the manufacturers classification behind Suzuki and Aprilia. Last weekend at Monza, the first of the season’s Italian Superbike events, the riders battled not only against the competition but also against the elements in what was a mixed weekend. At a track where Ducati was at more of a disadvantage compared to previous years in terms of top speed, aggravated by the extra weight and 50mm air-restrictors that limit the maximum power, both Haga and Fabrizio fought for as many points as possible, their best results being a sixth and seventh place finish respectively.
Noriyuki Haga (6th in championship, 100 points)
Returning to Kyalami after a six year absence, Haga scored a perfect double win here in 2009.
“I’m happy to go back to South Africa, a track where I did well last year. We’ll see if any more security measures have been put into place after Regis’s terrible accident last year; I hope so as I really like the track but it was pretty dangerous there last time. I’d like to think we’ll be in a position to fight for the podium once more.”
Michel Fabrizio (11th in championship, 62 points)
Michel took great points home from Kyalami last year, and set a new lap record in the process.
“As long as we don’t have any travel problems in getting there, the public should look forward to some great racing. The next two rounds, Kyalami and Salt Lake, went very well for me last season and so I’m confident I can be competitive there again. It will be good to ride at a track where we’re not as disadvantaged as we were at Monza this last weekend.”
— HRC Preview
Jonathan Rea from the Hannspree Ten Kate Honda team held onto third overall in the Superbike World Championship standings despite a double DNF at last weekend’s Monza round, and he now heads to Kyalami determined to challenge for wins once again.
Rea took a fabulous double at Assen in late April and knows his CBR1000RR machine is capable of more success at Kyalami. He took his first ever WSBK podium in South Africa last year in his rookie season, and has found further improvements in his overall machine set-up since that time. Championship leader Leon Haslam (Suzuki) is now three points ahead of double Monza race winner Max Biaggi (Aprilia), with Haslam 71 points up on Rea, who ties on 110 points with Carlos Checa (Ducati).
Eugene Laverty took his Parkalgar Honda to his third Supersport World Championship win of the 2010 season at Monza last weekend, adding to his Phillip Island and Assen victories. Having won in South Africa last year, he now has a high level of confidence as he goes out to score his third race victory in a row this coming weekend.
In the Supersport table Joan Lascorz (Kawasaki) leads on 101 points, but after Kenan Sofuoglu scored a strong second behind Laverty at Monza, the Hannspree Ten Kate Honda rider moved to within four points of the lead. Laverty is now only ten points from Lascorz, in what is shaping up to be a close contest between the top three riders over the entire 2010 season.
Honda is still in the lead in the Manufacturers’ Championship, heading up Kawasaki by 19 points and Triumph by 55.
Monza race two provided a late confidence boost for Hannspree Ten Kate Superbike rider Max Neukirchner but the Kyalami circuit will be a new exam for him to pass this weekend. Max tested at the Kyalami circuit with another manufacturer a year before he joined Honda for the 2010 season, but he has yet to encounter the track close to Johannesburg in a full race situation, or on his CBR1000RR.
For ECHO CRS Honda’s Broc Parkes Kyalami will be another chance to find an ideal set-up on his Superbike, having encountered chatter that slowed his progress at last weekend’s race. Parkes missed the first three races of the year through an injury picked up in training, but he is all out to continue scoring points for his privateer team from this weekend on.
Squadra Corse Italia Garvie Image Honda entrant Vittorio Iannuzzo will not race at Kyalami as his team has opted not to run at this flyway race.
Gino Rea has enjoyed his good early season form for the Intermoto Czech Honda team, having scored top ten finishes each time out in his rookie season. This consistency and pace has netted him 40 points and he is sixth overall, on the same current total as fifth placed rider Davide Salom (Triumph).
Hannspree Ten Kate Honda rider Michele Pirro has undergone a season of contrasts so far, taking his first ever podium in this class at Portimao but having two DNFs against his name in the first five rounds. His championship position was improved to eighth at Monza, after he finished the race fourth. He has raced at Kyalami before and he is determined to get back into the leading group in Sunday’s race.
Pirro is the fourth Honda rider in the top eight championship places.
Gino Rea’s team-mate Massimo Roccoli had a less than satisfying 11th place finish at his home round in Monza, but with recent experience of Kyalami he is determined to get further up the field in South Africa.
Parkalgar Honda rider Miguel Praia has now made a full recovery from his hard crash in practice at Valencia and has scored two top ten finishes in a row.
The Kyalami circuit is the same length as it was in 2009, but a new pitlane exit has made more run off available, and there is a new spectator area outside turns two and three.
Jonathan Rea, Hannspree Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR: “I am really looking forward to racing in South Africa as last year I had my first podium there. Our bike is working really well and I can say I’m excited to be riding it again. I guess I was top of the world one minute after two wins at Assen then had two non-finishes last weekend. But we are still third in the championship, which is some consolation. I hurt my wrist and ankle a little bit in my Monza race two crash but I will be 100% for Kyalami. It is nice to go there knowing that the bike is working well and that we had the pace to be right there at Monza. The real motivating factor for me is that the bike is working so well. I love riding this bike and now I am just concentrating on the track in South Africa.”
Max Neukirchner, Hannspree Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR: “Kyalami is very different from Monza. I only tested there at the beginning of 2009 and I have never raced there, so we will see how it is. The bike definitely felt better in race two in Italy so we will try to build on that when we start work in South Africa on Friday. I like the track very much and Jonathan showed last year that the Honda can work quite well there. I’ll try as hard as possible with my team again this weekend to continue getting my riding style to match the changes we have made to the bike.”
Broc Parkes, ECHO CRS Honda CBR1000RR: “Monza was hard because we did not get the chance to develop our set-up the way we wanted. Hopefully in Kyalami we will make another step again but we will make most steps when we can go somewhere to test and see exactly what is and isn’t working. But I’m sure we can go to Kyalami and be better again anyway.”
Kenan Sofuoglu, Hannspree Ten Kate Honda CBR600RR: “We are going to be good again at Kyalami. I think my bike is working well everywhere and I am sure we will have a good result in South Africa. I really want to win a race again. Second at Monza was not such a bad result and 20 points are good for the championship, of course. It is very close again between me and my rivals so I need to start winning again. This weekend my aim is another pole position, but this time to convert it into another win.”
Eugene Laverty, Parkalgar Honda CBR600RR: “It would be good to win in Kyalami because that would give me three race victories and a row and I have never had that in any championship. I like Kyalami because our bike worked well there in 2009. It is bumpy, but we should have a good area to start from in terms of set-up. It is a lot different to Monza. At Kyalami it should be possible to make a breakaway early on, so we will see what we can do.”
— Yamaha Preview
With just two days rest from the Monza round of the World Superbike Championship, the Yamaha Sterilgarda World Superbike Team have shipped out to South Africa for the next race of the season, round six at the Kyalami circuit. The team are looking to make up for the bad luck that struck in race two last weekend at Monza where both riders were unable to finish the race, having performed strongly all weekend and both being on the podium in race one. Toseland escaped unhurt from a big crash at the start of the race, a trip to hospital and two scans revealing no damage following his fall although still a bit bruised. Team mate Crutchlow was also blighted by bad luck, having a stone flicked up from the bike in front strike his oil cooler and force his retirement from the race.
“I just want to get back on the bike as soon as possible and race again,” said Cal Crutchlow. “I couldn’t believe how unlucky we were at Monza to get a stone in the oil cooler when we were running so well. I enjoyed racing at Kyalami last year in Supersport, I fought hard for a good second place on the podium, so this year I want to win in Superbike!”
“I think we’ve definitely had our share of bad luck for the season now!” said James Toseland. “Last weekend was very frustrating for me, the team have worked so hard and we now have an extremely competitive bike to take the fight to the front with, so to crash out on the opening lap was disappointing. It’s made it tougher to bridge the gap to the lead of the championship, but there are still sixteen races to go so I’m going to keep my head down looking for podiums.”
Kyalami technically speaking according to Frankie Carchedi, James Toseland’s Crew Chief
“Kyalami is a high altitude circuit so all bikes are down on power. It’s quite a tight and twisty track so no six gear long straights as in Monza so we’ll modify the gearbox again for this. It’s a very bumpy track so the front forks and rear shock have to be able to follow the bumps to get good traction which makes it smoother for the rider. We need a good qualifying result as it is a difficult place to pass. We tried some different settings at the Misano test purposely for this circuit, we weren’t so fast in Misano with them but we’re confident they will be perfect for here in absorbing bumps and giving good traction. The main changes are a different link and different fork and shock settings.”
Kyalami technically speaking according to Marcus Eschenbacher, Cal Crutchlow’s Crew Chief
“After the Monza race we saw that we had reached a good level of performance with Cal to bring here. We know the circuit is difficult because of the grip levels, the altitude and the bumpy track conditions. We will try to make the bike suit this by working on changing the suspension set up to be more comfortable over the bumps, we also need to find a better grip level, maybe we will have to compromise a bit of steering sharpness to get the best out of the bike for this conditions. We’ll probably go for a softer chassis set up and softer damping than normal to start with and see how we get on in the first session on Friday.”
Massimo Meregalli, Yamaha Sterilgarda World Superbike Team Manager
“This circuit was one of the more difficult ones for our bike last year. I’m confident that in one year we have made enough improvements and developments to be even better this time. We intend to start the weekend as we finished the first race in Monza. I’m really happy that James will be ready for Friday, we are lucky that he received no serious injuries last weekend. We proved in Monza with both riders that we were one of the strongest teams in the paddock, we are confident that the development undertaken over the year means we are capable of fighting at the front for race wins, every race.”
— BMW Preview
With just under a month to go before the start of the FIFA Football World Cup in South Africa, the country is also preparing to host the next round of the FIM Superbike World Championship this coming weekend. The teams will battle it out at the Kyalami circuit outside Johannesburg for podium places and points in the leading world championship for production-based motorcycles.
Team BMW Motorrad Motorsport will travel to South Africa having put together a string of solid results over the European race weekends in Portugal, Spain, the Netherlands and having achieved the team’s first podium in Italy. The team will be aiming to continue this upward trend on the sixth race weekend of the 2010 season.
Troy Corser: “This Friday will be the first time I’ve been out on the Kyalami track on the BMW S 1000 RR. Last year my crash at Monza put me out of the race in South Africa. This circuit really is one for the riders and has a lot of uphill and downhill sections. Getting the right set-up for the bike is vital here, as the track is extremely bumpy.
The bike is a lot further along than at this stage last year. Back then we were still getting to grips with the chassis and engine, and both Ruben and our reserve rider Steve Martin struggled at Kyalami. This year things look rather different. The bike’s good and I’ve always gone well at this circuit, so I’m expecting a good result.”
Ruben Xaus: “I like the race in South Africa. The country offers an interesting mix of different cultures, the people are very hospitable and the weather is usually good. I like riding at Kyalami. I have collected some good results there in the past. I’m really looking forward to the race weekend; the team is highly motivated and the bike is much better than a year ago.
“Kyalami is a real rider’s track with some tricky sections and big changes in elevation. Actually, there isn’t a single area on the course that isn’t up or downhill. Plus, the track surface is extremely uneven and you need a very good baseline set-up to post quick lap times. The relatively high altitude of the circuit means we lose a lot of engine power over most other race tracks. We have to adapt our riding style, as we can accelerate harder into the corners.”
Berthold Hauser, BMW Motorrad Motorsport Director: “With more than a third of the season behind us, we can be pleased with the way our
World Championship campaign is going. After ten races we have already collected 95 points in the manufacturers’ standings – 36 more in total than at the same stage of last season – scored our first podium and finished in the top five three times. So the whole team deserves a lot of praise.
Everyone at Team BMW Motorrad Motorsport is looking forward to Kyalami. Back-to-back races always place a particularly heavy burden on the team, but we will be welcomed by an extremely friendly atmosphere in South Africa.
Kyalami lies 1,500 metres above sea level. The lower air pressure means that the engines produce around 20 per cent less power than at most of the other venues we visit during the season. You need a good baseline set-up in order to achieve fast lap times at Kyalami, and this time around we’re expecting to benefit from our experience here last year.”
— Kawasaki Preview
The Kawasaki Racing Team heads for round six of the Hannspree World Superbike Championship at Kyalami, South Africa this weekend where riders Tom Sykes and Chris Vermeulen are looking to continue the good form shown at Monza last weekend.
Aboard the Paul Bird Motorsport Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10R Sykes recorded a season’s best 5th place in the second of the two races in Italy whereas Vermeulen battled against injury to claim more points for the team also.
The Kyalami circuit holds good memories for the Penrith based team after an impressive performance last year by riders Broc Parkes and Sheridan Morais and both Yorkshireman Sykes and Australian Vermeulen will be hoping to repeat the feat this weekend.
Whereas Sykes is upbeat following eight points scoring rides in the last ten races, former MotoGP winner Vermeulen is still troubled by a persistent knee injury which he sustained in the opening round, but hopefully the pair can continue the good work in recent rounds.
Tom Sykes: “I’m really looking forward to this weekend in Kyalami as it’s coming straight off the back of a good weekend in Monza for us which gave the team and myself a big boost in time for the busy part of the race calendar. We have been making steady progress over the past few races and we were over the moon to have come away with a top five and inside the top ten finishes at the last race. The Kawasaki appeared to do fairly well here last year with Sheridan and Broc so I’m looking forward to jumping on the bike again and facing the challenge of this old-school circuit. The key now is to continue our consistency and maintain the level of results from the previous few races.”
Chris Vermeulen: “After my return in Assen I was determined to make up some ground but unfortunately my knee is still not 100% and I found it more difficult in Monza than I would have liked. I’m continuing to work hard on rehabilitation and physiotherapy and I am certain however that the more I ride, the more movement I will have in the knee. I have high expectations of myself but I have to be patient and work away at getting back to the platform where I think we are at. I have raced in Kyalami before in World Supersport but I can honestly say that I don’t have much of a memory of being here so I will more or less treat this as a new track and hope that I can bounce back to consistent point scoring finishes.