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Posted: 2012-04-18

PIRELLI WINS THE 2012 BOL D’OR WITH KAWASAKI SRC TEAM

Riders Julien Da Costa, Gregory Leblanc and Olivier Four on Kawasaki ZX10R bike fitted with Pirelli Diablo Superbike, Diablo Wet and Diablo Rain tyres give the victory in the competition to Akashi's factory after 15 years

 
Roissy, le 16 April 2012 – This weekend, on the famous racetrack of Nevers Magny-Cours, the Team Kawasaki SRC on its ZX10R fitted with Pirelli Diablo Superbike, Diablo Wet and Diablo Rain tyres won the 76th edition of Bol d’Or. After a second place in 2011, Pirelli are hoisted onto the first place for the first time in its history. This is with the same team and the same riders with whom Pirelli had won the two last editions of the 24h du Mans Moto 2010 and 2011, so that the Italian manufacturer has now won this new prestigious success in Endurance World Championship. All relays were done with Pirelli Diablo Superbike, Diablo Wet and Diablo Rain. The grip and the mileage of Pirelli tyres allowed extend relays, offering at the same time a constant performance to the riders all along the race duration.

At the 2nd place on the starting line after pratice, the Kawasaki No° 11 and its three tricolor riders, Julien Da Costa, Gregory Leblanc and Olivier Four announced their ambition to aim for first place. In spite of fickle weather, the Kawasaki riders managed to keep a high rhythm adapting it to the different racetrack conditions. Pirelli Diablo Superbike, Wet and Rain tyres proved their performance on dry, humid and wet racetrack conditions.

Thanks to an excellent start Julien Da Costa kept the contact with the SERT Suzuki no°1 bike ridden by Vincent Philippe during the first part of the race. Spectators watched, over the hours, a wonderful head to head between the riders that were always in contact giving a very high level relay in a duel that will leave its mark in Bol d’Or history. After 22 hours of racing, the first two were separated by less than 30 seconds!

Finally, we had to wait until the last hour of the race to see the Kawasaki n°11 take a deciding advantage relegating the SERT team to second at more than 1m 40sec and the third at 5 laps. No motorcycle would be able to catch up with The ‘green team’ who then ran to final success after 781 laps (3.268,48 km). 26 pit stops were done for a stop time cumulated of 19m46sec. The Kawasaki-SRC’s consistency and excellent pit work allowed managing the relays between riders perfectly and contributed towards this victory.  


The relation between riders, motorcycle and Pirelli Diablo Superbike, Diablo Wet and Diablo Rain tyres turned out successfully to win the Bol d’Or for the first time before the SERT-Suzuki Endurance Racing Team Suzuki GSXR n°1 and the Yamaha R1 n°7 of the Team Monster YART -Yamaha Austria Racing Team.

Posted: 2012-03-06

DJ Rally preview & results

Herewith a preview of the 2012 DJ  Rally which takes place from March 9-10.

STRONG FIELD FOR 99TH ANNIVERSARY RALLY OF DURBAN-JOHANNESBURG EPIC FOR CLASSIC MOTORCYCLES


CAPTION 1: Stewart Cunninghame, at 90 years of age, will again be the oldest competitor on the DJ Rally. He rides a 1930 Norton International

A strong field of 133 competitors on pre-1937 motorcycles will contest the 99th anniversary rally of the motorcycle epic between Durban and Johannesburg, starting from the Hillcrest Corner Centre at 06:00 on Friday, March 9 and finishing the next day at the James Hall Transport Museum at Wemmer Pan, Johannesburg.


CAPTION 2: Bev Jacobs will be one of seven women in the field of 133 for the 2012 DJ Rally. She rides a 1932 Triumph T2

Originally this famous event was a road race on public roads which was staged for the first time in 1913, with 66 entries, but in 1936 motorcycle racing on public roads was banned by the authorities on the grounds of safety. A commemorative rally, where competitors have to ride at prescribed average speeds, has been staged between the two cities since 1970.

“The organising team is delighted with the size and quality of the entry for this year’s event, both in terms of numbers and quality,” commented clerk of the course, Pierre Cronje, of the Classic Motorcycle Club (CMC), who heads up a committee of members from several clubs that organises the event on behalf of the Vintage and Veteran Club of SA (VVC).


CAPTION 2: Bev Jacobs will be one of seven women in the field of 133 for the 2012 DJ Rally. She rides a 1932 Triumph T2

The DJ Rally has international status and is the most important annual event of its kind in SA, which has once again resulted in several entrants from across the borders. There are three from Australia and one each from the United Kingdom, Ireland and Zimbabwe. The rider coming from the UK is in fact SA-born Alastair Gibson, who was formerly the chief mechanic with the Honda Formula 1 racing team.

All the entrants from outside SA are riding motorcycles provided by local enthusiasts. In the case of Alastair Gibson this will be his father’s 1936 BMW R5.


CAPTION 3: The scene at a refuel on the 2011 DJ Rally.

History will be made at the start in Hillcrest when a woman will be first off on the ride to Johannesburg. The rider is Samantha Anderson who has done several DJ Rallies previously. She will be riding the oldest motorcycle in the field, being a 1909 Humber pedal cycle, which will require plenty of leg power to help the single-cylinder engine climb the steeper hills.

The oldest rider will again be Stewart Cunninghame, who is now 90 years of age. He will ride a 1930 Norton International. His son, Allan, is also in the field. He will ride a 1936 Velocette MSS.

Fourteen of the riders will be taking part in the DJ Rally for the first time, which is encouraging for the future of this popular event.

There is a marvellous array of different makes of motorcycles in the entry list – 25 of them in fact. Most are of British origin, but there are also BMWs, a Zundapp and a DKW from Germany as well as Indians and Harley Davidsons from the US. The British makes represented are: Humber, Ariel, Matchless, BSA, Velocette, Sunbeam, Norton, Panther, AJS, Triumph, Scott, OK Supreme, Coventry Eagle, Levis, New Imperial, Zenith, Excelsior, Rudge, Royal Enfield and Calthorpe.

The route has had to be altered to take into account several areas where road works are under way. This will include the start of the second day being moved from Newcastle to Ngogo. On the first day the route bypasses Ladysmith as it goes from Hillcrest to Pietermaritzburg and then on to Mooi River, Estcourt, Colenso, Ezakheni, Glencoe, Dundee, Dannhauser and then via the road behind the Chelmsford Dam to the overnight stop at Mortimer Motors, in Newcastle.

This will be a very tough ride, both in terms of time in the saddle and the hills that have to be climbed, with the potential of high temperatures a strong possibility. The first riders to start, which are in the slowest speed group, will take 11 hours to get from Hillcrest to Newcastle, but the ride will be broken by four fuel stops and a 40-minute lunch stop in Victoria Street, Estcourt..

The second day starts from Ngogo at 07:00 and goes from Ingogo to Volksrust and then on the Standerton, Greylingstad and a lunch stop in Apsey Road, Heidelberg, before the finish in Johannesburg, with the first competitor expected at about 14:30.

“Although it is vastly different from the race conditions which those intrepid riders faced in the events staged between 1913 and 1936 this subsequent regularity rally remains an important feature of classic motorcycling in South Africa each year,” said the chairman of the VVC, Ian Holmes. “It is not only the largest and most prestigious event for classic motorcycles locally but also one of the biggest rallies of its kind in the Southern Hemisphere,”

Organising an event of this scope is a major undertaking and requires months of work, as well as the services of about 40 people to act as officials on the event itself. It also requires a substantial amount of money and resources in terms of sponsorships and here Pierre Cronje and his team are fortunate in having a number of businesses, organisations and individuals prepared to assist.

BMW, which is represented by seven machines in this year’s DJ Rally, has come to the assistance of the organisers with the loan of one of its latest motorcycles, a 1600GT for the use of travelling Doctor Frank Persson-Bonfils.

2012 DJ Rally Sponsors: Anderson Engineering, Classic Motorcycle Club, BMW Motorrad, Nevsway Conveyers, CeeBee Debt Management, Castrol, Wynns, Ultra Reconditioners, PPE Technologies, Stick a Tile, Cape Crane, African Electroplating. Maizey’s Plastics, Consolidated Auctioneers, Randburg Coin, Bike SA, Hillcrest Corner Centre and various individuals

 

CAPTION 4: Well-known Dakar Rally competitor Ralph Pitchford (1926 Triumph) at the start of the 2011 DJ Rally at Hillcrest Corner Centre.

Pic 4781: Ryan Duncan (left) on a Sunbeam, and Gerry Bothma, on a BSA Blue
Star, wait for their turn to restart from the refuel stop at Smit Motors in
Volksrust.

Pic 4791:  It took only three litres to fill the tank of Dakar Rally
competitor Ralph Pitchford's 1926 Triumph after the trip from Newcastle to
Volksrust.

Pic. 4795: Hans Coertse uses the oil can on his 1911 Humber pedal cycle.

Pic 4817: Samanatha Anderson rode the oldest motorcycle on this year's DJ
Rally, a 1910 Humber pedal cycle. It has no gearbox or clutch and has pedal
to help on the uphills.


Pic 4819: The open road – albeit often in bad repair -  fresh air and the love of classic motorcycles were again the ingredients of the 2012 DJ Rally from Durban to Johannesburg.

 

Pic 4822: Enjoying the rally on his immaculate 1936 Triumph was Donovan Wessels.

 

Pic 4877:  Hans Coertse enjoys the scenery near Greylingstad as he rides his 1911 Humber pedal cycle.

 

Pic 4882: Anthony Beswick had a bit on the side with his 1936 Ariel Red Hunter combination.


Pic 4887: Racing against the train used to be a challenge when the DJ was run as a race from Durban to Johannesburg between 1913 and 1936

 

Pic 4912: Lunch break In Heidelberg for the DJ Rally competitors

 

Pic 4927: Martin Davis and his 1930 Sunbeam finished third overall.

 

Pic 4964: The two oldest motorcycles on the event, Humber pedal cycles that are both more than 100 years old, finished the tough route, ridden by Samantha Anderson (No. 1) and Hans |Coertse (No. 2)

 

Pic DJ Awards 06: 2012 DJ Rally winners Kevin Robertson (left) receives the historic Schlesinger Vase from Peter Elliott of the Rand Motoring Club.

 

Pic DJ Awarders 02: The oldest and youngest finishers on the 2012 DJ Rally: 90-year-old Stewart Cunninghame and 21-year-old Donovan Wessel.  Cunninghame finished 16th overall on a 1930 Norton International and Wessel placed 74th on a 1936 Triumph.


report on the 2012 DJ Rally by Roger Houghton and a selection of
photos taken by Ian Groat.


Posted: 2012-02-28

Biaggi and Checa share wins as opening day provides thrills aplenty

Phillip Island (Australia), Sunday 26 February 2012 – A truly remarkable day of racing at the opening round of the FIM Superbike World Championship season saw two former World Champions win races, four manufacturers propel their machines onto the podium and the 4.445km Australian circuit provide some classic moments for the 64,500 strong weekend crowd as the championship begins its 25th Anniversary celebrations in earnest.

2010 champion Max Biaggi Max Biaggi (Aprilia Racing) and 2011 title winner Carlos Checa (Althea Racing Ducati) were the two dominant figures in each 22-lap race, but each had dramatic moments in the other races, one more costly than the other. Biaggi leaves as the points leader after fighting back from last in race two to second place, finding himself five points shy of perfection on the opening weekend.

Despite some troubled times in recent testing Marco Melandri (BMW Motorrad Motorsport) punched above his pre-race weight to jump onto the podium in race one, while pole winner Tom Sykes carried on his strong testing and qualifying form with a podium place in race two. Sylvain Guintoli (Team Effenbert Liberty Racing) put his 2011 Phillip Island nightmare raceday behind him with a particularly sweet third in the opener, finishing right on Melandri’s tail.

In the championship standings, Melandri is 15 points behind Biaggi’s total of 45, and one point ahead of Sykes, who has 29 points. Checa is fourth with 25 points.

Race 1

Biaggi won the first encounter by seven seconds from Melandri and third was a closely following Sylvian Guintoli after a dramatic contest on many levels. Checa crashed out of the race while leading, suffering a fast high-side fall on the final corner early in the race. He was uninjured but bruised and took no points. Spots of rain appeared on the riders’ visors and TV camera lenses at two separate stages of the race but to no real effect for the majority of the riders and it continued as a dry race. Sykes took fourth place after leading early on, with Jakub Smrz fifth on his Liberty Racing Team Effenbert Ducati. Michel Fabrizio (BMW Motorrad Italia GoldBet) was sixth, from a fading Jonathan Rea (Honda World Superbike Team). Biaggi set a new lap record of 1 minute 31.785 seconds, finally beating Troy Corser’s previous raceday best, which was set way back in 2007.

Max Biaggi: “It was a very nice race, at the start with Carlos battling for the lead. Then suddenly he high-sided. When I was behind him a big stone hit my windscreen and then it started to do a little shower in one corner. So I had to stayed focused towards the end and with three laps to go my front tyre was sliding. But it’s a great result, it’s a new team with new people, my motivation is very high, the team did a great job.”

Marco Melandri: “I’m so happy with the result and happy to give BMW their best result. I didn’t think it was possible before the race. I knew we were struggling more in practice than in the race but I have never made a long-run so far in the season so I wasn’t sure. The team have been working awesome and in the race the rear tyre did a really good job.”

Sylvain Guintoli: “I didn’t even think about what happened to me last year here. In the race I knew I had the bike set-up to get a podium. I sort of stepped back a bit in the early part to save the tyres then when I saw Tom was slowing down I thought now’s the time to push hard. He was very hard to overtake. In the last two laps I was sliding all over the place but I really enjoyed that race.”

Results:

1. Biaggi M. (ITA) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 34'13.963 (171,397 kph);

2. Melandri M. (ITA)BMW S1000 RR 7.104;

3. Guintoli S. (FRA) Ducati 1098R 7.378;

4. Sykes T. (GBR) Kawasaki ZX-10R 12.189;

5. Smrz J. (CZE) Ducati 1098R 16.424;

6. Fabrizio M. (ITA) BMW S1000 RR 20.200;

7. Rea J. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 20.223;

8. Aoyama H. (JPN) Honda CBR1000RR 24.108;

9. Giugliano D. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 28.072;

10. Staring B. (AUS) Kawasaki ZX-10R 34.232;

11. Zanetti L. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 34.450;

12 Haslam L. (GBR) BMW S1000 RR 35.648;

13. Berger M. (FRA) Ducati 1098R 36.392;

14. Salom D. (ESP) Kawasaki ZX-10R 41.500;

15. Lascorz J. (ESP) Kawasaki ZX-10R 42.086; etc.

Race 2

Checa recovered from his big race one crash to post his first win of the year but arguably an even greater performance came from second place man Biaggi. Checa hit the front early on but Biaggi had run off track on lap one, kept his bike upright and rejoined last. He then fought through to take a second place and a clear championship lead. Sykes overhauled a slowing Rea in a breathtaking final lap to get his first dry weather Kawasaki podium, after Rea’s tyres had been used up. Race two was held in track conditions twelve degrees hotter than race one. The injured Leon Haslam (BMW Motorrad Motorsport) put in a gritty ride to secure fifth place while his team-mate Melandri was one place behind.

Carlos Checa: “I’m really satisfied, even more so after the crash in race 1. I’m OK now after winning, I think it’s the best anti-inflammatory I can take today! The team worked hard many days in Australia preparing for the race and to leave this country and track with a crash was not the best result. It wasn’t easy in race 2, I was pushing hard but I did not know where Biaggi was and I knew he had a strong pace to catch me. Shame about the crash but we are happy here to be winning!”

Max Biaggi: “I’m very happy, we did so much hard work to get into the top 5. When you are down in 15th or 16th position your bike is moving around all over the place. Once again we are first and second, we did a good job. Tom is a difficult man to pass! He touched my brake lever, which turned up so lucky I stayed on the bike. I cut all the way through turn 1, jumped into turn 2 and said ‘OK, let’s go!’. I was very motivated and did a good result.” 

Tom Sykes: “Let’s be honest, Kawasaki have done a fantastic job over the winter and the ZX-10R has worked well during testing and over the full race weekend. Unfortunately today the high winds definitely affected us more than the other guys but other than that it’s a very strong weekend for myself and Kawasaki to come away with a third and fourth at what is not one of our best circuits. It’s all very promising, now we’re looking forward to Europe and hopefully I can stay strong there.”

Results: 1. Checa C. (ESP) Ducati 1098R 34'26.728 (170,339 kph);

2. Biaggi M. (ITA) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 5.707;

3. Sykes T. (GBR) Kawasaki ZX-10R 12.521;

4. Rea J. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR; 12.655;

5. Haslam L. (GBR) BMW S1000 RR 18.179;

6. Melandri M. (ITA) BMW S1000 RR 18.831;

7. Berger M. (FRA) Ducati 1098R 18.939;

8.Laverty E. (IRL) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 19.478;

9. Aoyama H. (JPN); Honda CBR1000RR 19.554;

10. Canepa N. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 26.289;

11. Smrz J. (CZE) Ducati 1098R 26.479;

12. Camier L. (GBR) Suzuki GSX-R1000 29.145;

13. Giugliano D. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 36.482;

14. Zanetti L. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 38.113;

15. Brookes J. (AUS) Suzuki GSX-R1000 43.234; etc.

Points (after 1 of 14 rounds):

1. Biaggi 40;

2. Melandri 30;

3. Sykes 29;

4. Checa 25;

5. Rea 22;

6. Guintoli 16;

7. Smrz 16;

8. Haslam 15;

9. Aoyama 15;

10. Berger 12; etc.

Manufacturers:

1. Aprilia 45;

2. Ducati 41;

3. BMW 31;

4. Kawasaki 29;

5. Honda 22;

6. Suzuki 4.

World Supersport

Kenan Sofuoglu (Kawasaki DeltaFin Lorenzini) returned to the Supersport World Championship in the best form possible as he took the race win from his old rival Fabien Foret (Kawasaki Intermoto Step Racing). The leading fight had up to seven riders in it for most of the 15-lap race distance, until Sofuoglu stretched out a lead that Foret could not quite run down on the final lap.

Slow starting pole man Broc Parkes (Ten Kate Racing Products Honda) battled to third, ahead of impressive rookie Jules Cluzel (PTR Honda) and Sam Lowes (Bogdanka PTR Honda). Sofuoglu’s team-mate Sheridan Morais (Kawasaki DeltaFin Lorenzini) was sixth. Power team by Suriano Triumph riders Alex Baldolini and Vittorio Iannuzzo were eighth and ninth respectively. As this is the first round of the championship, the points standings follow the race order.

Results:

1. Sofuoglu K. (TUR) Kawasaki ZX-6R 24'08.130 (165,752 kph);

2. Foret F. (FRA) Kawasaki ZX-6R 0.078;

3.Parkes B. (AUS) Honda CBR600RR 2.038;

4. Cluzel J. (FRA) Honda CBR600RR 2.113;

5. Lowes S. (GBR) Honda CBR600RR 4.955;

6. Morais S. (RSA) Kawasaki ZX-6R 6.812;

7. Quarmby R. (RSA) Honda CBR600RR 11.592;

8. Baldolini A. (ITA) Triumph Daytona 675 16.761; etc.

Points (after 1 of 13 rounds):

1. Sofuoglu 25;

2. Foret 20;

3. Parkes 16;

4. Cluzel 13;

5. Lowes 11;

6. Morais 10;

7. Quarmby 9;

8. Baldolini 8; etc.

Manufacturers:

1. Kawasaki 25;

2. Honda 16;

3. Triumph 8;

4. Yamaha 5.

Khanyi Mamba
Consumer Marketing Co-ordinator
 Pirelli Tyre (Pty) Ltd