PARKALGAR HONDA’S Eugene Laverty is only two points behind the World Supersport Championship lead after finishing a brilliant second in today’s 12th round of the World Championship at Imola in Italy; while Parkalgar Honda racer Miguel Praia finished a career best ninth.

Oil on the track forced a two-part aggregate race and then with just three laps to go Championship leader Cal Crutchlow crashed out of the race, leaving Honda’s Kenan Sofuoglu to win. There are only 50-points and two races left in the Championship, meaning Laverty is assured of second place in the title race or better. The penultimate round of the series is at Magny Cours in France next Sunday, October 4th.

Eugene: “I wasn’t able to show the Parkalgar Honda or my own true potential this weekend because of arm and leg pains that stemmed back to Friday’s delayed timings. I have an old injury in my left arm and a problem with my leg that means I have to stretch a lot on Thursday and Friday but this weekend the sessions on Friday were so interrupted I didn’t get a chance. The result was a lot of pain and this morning I had 10-injections in my arm and leg each – I was worried about even finishing the race so to get second when I could have been much stronger is excellent. I can’t believe I am back in the fight for the title, this is the closest I’ve been all year and I’ll be going to Magny Cours and then Portimao doing my best to win the World Championship at our home track.”

Miguel: “I am happy, ninth is my best ever result and the racing is getting closer to Portimao which is just as we planned. I actually crashed on the oil on the circuit when the first part of the race was red-flagged but got back on and to the garage. The second part of the race was good and my lap times were only a little bit behind the leaders. I was lapping faster than the group in front and if I had made a better start who knows what could have happened. My bike is good and the Parkalgar Honda team has done a great job.”

Simon Buckmaster, Parkalgar Honda Team Manager: “Eugene was so much better in the race than practice and qualifying, his head was in the right place and he got the reward – he cannot be beaten for second in the Championship and has a real chance at winning it. There are only two rounds left with two points in it; that just goes to show the pressure of fighting for a World Championship, today it was Crutchlow that made an unforced error and scored no points. It’s now a two round Championship and the final round is at our circuit in Portugal which gives us a lot of encouragement. It was a good job by Miguel to finish in ninth. Honestly, I have never seen him ride better than he is right now; he’s stepped up a level. Well done to the whole team, it’s been a fantastic effort from absolutely everyone.”

Race Result

1 54 Sofuoglu K. (TUR) Honda CBR600RR 35′51.342 (156,936 kph)
2 50 Laverty E. (IRL) PARKALGAR HONDA CBR600RR 5.372
3 99 Foret F. (FRA) Yamaha YZF R6 6.450
4 23 Davies C. (GBR) Triumph Daytona 675 15.847
5 24 McCoy G. (AUS) Triumph Daytona 675 15.944
6 1 Pitt A. (AUS) Honda CBR600RR 16.001
7 21 Fujiwara K. (JPN) Kawasaki ZX-6R 27.097
8 13 West A. (AUS) Honda CBR600RR 27.835
9 117 Praia M. (POR) PARKALGAR HONDA CBR600RR 32.846
10 9 Dell’Omo D. (ITA) Honda CBR600RR 33.315

Championship Positions (after 12 of 14 rounds)

1: Crutchlow 210
2: Laverty (PARKALGAR HONDA) 208
3: Sofuoglu 153
4: Lascorz 138
5: Foret 115
6: West 104
7: Pitt 104
8: McCoy 82
9: Aitchison 71
10: Roccoli 62
17: Praia (PARKALGAR HONDA) 30.

PARKALGAR HONDA’S Eugene Laverty will start from seventh and Miguel Praia from 13th in tomorrow’s 12th round of the World Supersport Championship at Imola in Italy.

The race starts at 1325CET at the 4.959km circuit and will be shown on Eurosport as well as www.worldsbk.com.

Eugene: “We are quite a long way off and I was trying hard. I want more confidence in the front end of my Parkalgar Honda to allow me to brake right to the apex. Conditions are different and cooler since the test so we know what we need to do in order to achieve that. I need to be lapping in the 1m51secs and hopefully we will get it sorted in morning warm up. If the temperature is hot in the morning it will help as it will mimic the expected race conditions and we can use warm up as a proper test session. We aren’t where we want to be but we’ll keep working at it overnight and in the morning.”

Miguel: “I thought it was possible for the third row and 12th was my target – it would have been mega but everything was so close that I am not disappointed with 13th. Because of the poor grip at the circuit, today was really our first and only track session so to beat the time from testing is good and we made improvements. I am comfortable on my Parkalgar Honda which shows what a fantastic job Phil and my crew have done, it is hard to set up a chassis for such a rough track so quickly. My realistic target is to get inside the top 10 in the race.”

Simon Buckmaster, Team Manager: “Eugene is currently in second place in the Championship standings and needs to put pressure on Cal in the race and beat him. He has had a bad day at the office and we need to improve in warm up and the race – there are no other options. It is an impressive qualifying position from Miguel, it is an honest 13th and he is competing with the riders around him. His lap times are good and if he gets with the group in front tomorrow then he has a real chance of improving on his best ever result of 10th, he certainly has a bike capable of passing those in front of him.”

Qualifying

1 Crutchlow C. (GBR) Yamaha YZF R6 1′50.680
2 Sofuoglu K. (TUR) Honda CBR600RR 1′51.260
3 Lascorz J. (ESP) Kawasaki ZX-6R 1′51.955
4 Roccoli M. (ITA) Honda CBR600RR 1′52.280
5 McCoy G. (AUS) Triumph Daytona 675 1′52.400
6 Aitchison M. (AUS) Honda CBR600RR 1′52.443
7 Laverty E. (IRL) PARKALGAR HONDA CBR600RR 1′52.599
8 Foret F. (FRA) Yamaha YZF R6 1′52.789
9 Pitt A. (AUS) Honda CBR600RR 1′52.856
10 Pirro M. (ITA) Yamaha YZF R6 1′53.039
13 Praia M. (POR) PARKALGAR HONDA CBR600RR 1′53.292.

THE PARKALGAR HONDA team, along with the rest of the World Supersport paddock, faced a delayed free practice session today ahead of round 12 of the Championship at Imola, due to the track having a problem with grip.

Lack of adhesion saw all sessions delayed and it wasn’t until some rubber had been tentatively laid down that the circuit started to become usable. Despite this lack of feel both Parkalgar Honda riders headed out on track.

Eugene Laverty, who is currently second in the Championship chase, completed the session in fourth place, while his team-mate Miguel Praia rode to 15th. Cal Crutchlow was fastest. The race takes place at 1325CET on Sunday, September 27th.

Simon Buckmaster, Parkalgar Honda Team Manager: “We’ve played the waiting game today and the track finally started to come good. We have already tested here so I know we have good pace, once the track gets more rubber laid down and has more feel I know the results will start to come in. Eugene finished in fourth which we know we can improve on and Miguel was 15th. We know which direction to go in so I’m looking forward to tomorrow.”

Free practice results

1. Crutchlow C GBR Yamaha YZF R6 1′52.751

2. Sofuoglu K TUR Honda CBR600RR 1′53.234

3. Lascorz J ESP Kawasaki ZX-6R 1′54.897

4. Laverty E IRL Parkalgar Honda CBR600RR 1′55.270

5. Pirro M ITA Yamaha YZF R6 1′55.354

6. Aitchison M AUS Honda CBR600RR 1′55.499

7. Roccoli M ITA Honda CBR600RR 1′55.564

8. Pitt A AUS Honda CBR600RR 1′56.198

9. West A AUS Honda CBR600RR 1′56.443

10. Davies C GBR Triumph Daytona 1′56.537

15. Praia M POR Parkalgar Honda CBR600RR 1′57.662

PARKALGAR HONDA ace Eugene Laverty goes to the 12th round of the World Supersport Championship at Imola in Italy knowing he needs to beat Championship leader and title rival Cal Crutchlow.

Portuguese Parkalgar Honda racer Miguel Praia is riding well and hoping to challenge for the top 10 again. He is building his confidence ahead of the final round of the Championship at his and the team’s home track of Portimao in Portugal. There is one practice session on Friday, followed by another on Saturday along with qualification. The race takes place at 1325CET on Sunday, September 27th.

Eugene: “Imola is a very important round. We tested at the circuit in July and had the same pace as Crutchlow and now we need to beat him. It is time to knock Crutchlow down a peg and get back into the title fight for the last two rounds.”

Miguel: “I am now focussed on improving my results, these are the last three races of the season and I want to try and get into the top 10 again. I think we have the pace and the Parkalgar Honda is a very good bike.”

Simon Buckmaster, Parkalgar Honda Team Manager: “We had a good test at Imola earlier in the year and Eugene was on the leading pace. We have been working hard on the Parkalgar Honda CBR600RR since then and have improved the package a bit more. We have full confidence in Eugene and we all need him to win the race. Miguel is riding well and very focussed on improving his best ever result of 10th. He has the bike and package to challenge in the top 10.”

It felt good to be back racing in Germany after such a long break, too long in my opinion. There really is no need to shut up shop for a month and a half with just four rounds remaining but that’s how it is. I was back on the rostrum at the Nurburgring which was important after two lowly fifth places at Donington and Brno. Yamaha were too fast for us again but I was pretty pleased to finish in the runner-up spot ahead of Lascorz. It proved a terribly difficult weekend for us as our best engine blew on Saturday morning and the bike went on fire. I believe we can challenge Yamaha at Imola where we tested back in July; the Honda chassis is very precise and so the more tracktime we get, the better.

It was so bloody cold at the Nurburgring. Friday was wet and miserable and although the weather picked up over the weekend the temperature remained baltic. I spent a few days in Dusseldorf after the race and I couldn’t believe how much better the weather was. I was cycling in 32℃ on Tuesday just 150km from the circuit where the temperature had been in the mid-teens. Strange thing geography.

Did anyone see Alex De Angelis’ Friday practice crash? I don’t like to criticise but my God man, sort it out! He turned too tightly at the first corner and crashed on the grass on the inside, that’s just not on for a guy who’s racing at the pinnacle of the sport. His race crash wasn’t much better.

I’m going to Croft on Friday to watch BSB practice then I’ll head back to Ireland to enjoy the weekend at home. It would be nice to see John land a podium before the season’s out, he’s got six opportunities left and I reckon he can do it. By the way, Michael was really strong all weekend in Germany but unfortunately he fell early in the race. Here’s a tip for you if you like a spot of gambling. Get down the bookies and bet on Michael Laverty finishing in the top six at Imola, you’ll get some good odds on that un! Don’t say I never give you anything.

Eugene

PARKALGAR HONDA’S Eugene Laverty finished runner-up behind title leader Cal Crutchlow at the 11th round of the World Supersport Championship at the Nurburgring in Germany today and is only 22-points behind him with three races remaining; while Miguel Praia raced in the top 10 before finishing a credible 11th.

The next round of the World Supersport Championship is at Imola in Italy on Sunday 27th September and Parkalgar Honda will be going for victory after enjoying a successful test there previously.

Eugene: “That wasn’t an easy race with Joan Lascorz pushing right to the end. Second place was the best I could do today and we are only 22-points behind in the Championship table so we still have it all to play for. I am going to keep fighting to beat Cal and at the Imola test we had similar pace so I’ll be going there and pushing for the win.”

Miguel: “It was a good race and in reality I should have finished in the top 10 but I was simply not fit enough to last the whole race distance – I have the flu. On the last lap I tried to overtake Dell’Omo but went too deep on the brakes and ran on to the grass – I tried all I could. After two non-finishes this is a good result and I think normally if I am fit I could have fought with the group battling over seventh and eighth, which is a real positive going into the last three races.”

Simon Buckmaster, Parkalgar Honda Team Manager: “Eugene dug deep on the last lap to keep second place under a lot of pressure and in doing so consolidated second place in the Championship. Hats off to Cal Crutchlow, he has been the fastest rider this weekend – realistically Eugene is the only rider who can now beat him to the title and 22-points behind means we are still in there fighting. Miguel was inside the top 10 which is excellent and 11th is his second best ever result, so we are all happy with him. He is showing good form towards the end of the season and in the run up to his and the team’s home round at Parkalgar near Portimao in Portugal, in October.”

Race Result

1 Crutchlow C. (GBR) Yamaha YZF R6 37′56.481 (154,348 kph)
2 Laverty E. (IRL) PARKALGAR HONDA CBR600RR 10.109
3 Lascorz J. (ESP) Kawasaki ZX-6R 10.250
4 Roccoli M. (ITA) Honda CBR600RR 31.980
5 Foret F. (FRA) Yamaha YZF R6 34.575
6 Aitchison M. (AUS) Honda CBR600RR 34.724
7 Pitt A. (AUS) Honda CBR600RR 36.352
8 McCoy G. (AUS) Triumph Daytona 675 36.391
9 Harms R. (DEN) Honda CBR600RR 38.871
10 Dell’Omo D. (ITA) Honda CBR600RR 52.944
11 Praia M. (POR) PARKALGAR HONDA CBR600RR 54.368

Championship Positions (After 11 of 14 rounds)

1: Crutchlow 210
2: Laverty (PARKALGAR HONDA) 188
3: Lascorz 138
4: Sofuoglu 128
5: Foret 99
6: West 96
7: Pitt 94
8: Aitchison 71
9: McCoy 71
10: Roccoli 62
18: Praia (PARKALGAR HONDA) 23.

PARKALGAR HONDA’S Eugene Laverty took third on the front row of the grid to give himself a chance of victory in tomorrow’s 11th round of the World Supersport Championship at the Nurburgring in Germany; while team mate Miguel Praia will start from 16th on the fourth row.
Laverty showed an impressive and consistent turn of speed in the dry conditions to secure third and put pressure on title rival Cal Crutchlow on a Yamaha, who eventually took pole position at the 5.137km track. The race takes place at 1325CET on Sunday, September 6th and can be watched on Eurosport.

Eugene: “Everything with my Parkalgar Honda is working well. I have a strong race pace and hopefully in morning warm-up we can find a little bit more. I am concentrating on my own performance and if I can run in the 1m59s or even ‘58s then we will see what happens. I learnt at Brno that pushing too hard doesn’t work for me and this weekend everything is better and I haven’t crashed. If I can get in front of Cal at the start then I’ll try to stay there and play it by ear.”

Miguel: “My lap times are much faster this year than last year. I am on the same second of qualifying as previous race winner Lascorz in seventh, so it is all very close. I am able to do my lap times many times but some other riders are only able to do one quick lap, so if I get a good start tomorrow then I am sure I will be near the top 10.”

Simon Buckmaster, Parkalgar Honda Team Manager: “The race for the title is on and it is getting interesting. Eugene is comfortable and able to run his lap times consistently – and I am sure the team will find some more improvements for him before the race. He is putting the pressure on Cal who knows he will have a fight on his hands tomorrow. In my opinion either Eugene or Cal will win, Kenan Sofuoglu is thereabouts but looks right on the ragged edge. Miguel is 1.6secs faster this year than last and is happy with his Parkalgar Honda. We are all confident he can get close to the top 10 in the race as he is a better racer than qualifier.”

Qualifying

1 Crutchlow C. (GBR) Yamaha YZF R6 1′57.866
2 Sofuoglu K. (TUR) Honda CBR600RR 1′59.201
3 Laverty E. (IRL) PARKALGAR HONDA CBR600RR 1′59.373
4 McCoy G. (AUS) Triumph Daytona 675 1′59.716
5 Pirro M. (ITA) Yamaha YZF R6 1′59.765
6 Fujiwara K. (JPN) Kawasaki ZX-6R 1′59.779
7 Lascorz J. (ESP) Kawasaki ZX-6R 2′00.103
8 Nannelli G. (ITA) Triumph Daytona 675 2′00.176
9 Roccoli M. (ITA) Honda CBR600RR 2′00.290
10 Pitt A. (AUS) Honda CBR600RR 2′00.455
16 Praia M. (POR) PARKALGAR HONDA CBR600RR 2′00.981

Well, after the long gap since the last round we have worked hard with our bikes and have made some improvements for the last four rounds to bolster our title challenge (obviously I am not going to say what they are our track performance will do the talking).

We also did a track day here at the Nurburgring so Eugene could learn the track. We did not run with Miguel as he already knows this circuit and with the tight budgets we are all working to now and the fact that it really was only a learning day with a lot of slow riders at the same time we decided it would not be a great gain for him. The track day went well and after it finished Eugene and I did a lap of the old track in our hire car just for the craic. I offered Eugene the chance to drive but he decided against this after his experience spinning a Ferrari at Portimao when we went there for a meeting. Anyway I was happy to drive while Eugene filmed it on his camera.

We did not close the gap as much as we could have at Brno after Eugene had crashed in warm up and only finished 5th in the race - but with only 17 points in it going into the last four races we need to beat Cal here and it will be game on.

We are all up for it as a team and I am confident we can do the business here and put some pressure on Cal. Eugene and I agreed we will not talk about 2010 at the moment as we need to concentrate on winning races and the rest will just fall into place. Hopefully all the talk about Cal and Moto 2 will be a slight distraction to him which will be to our advantage. Eugene and I both know if we pull it off the rest will just happen. Our team have done a great job this year and we are all keen to work together again next year and this sort of solidarity is what makes a winning team. Just look at GSE and how dominant it is in BSB.

On that front I went to Cadwell Park over the Bank Holiday weekend and it was good to catch up with some old friends and not have to think about the normal concerns of a race weekend. Some people have said that Leon Camier has had it easy this year and whilst that is true he has gone out there and beaten everyone hands down, what more can he do!

I caught up with my old mate series director Stuart Higgs and we had a good laugh about things - that was good as I had heard he was off with me because I had said before the season started that GSE would be the only strong force this year. Oh well it is nice to be right some of the time. It was also good to have a look at the young riders in Supersport to see who has the potential to be the next Eugene or Cal. Billy McConnell rode well to win the race comfortably and James Westmoreland looks like a good prospect as he is very light (important for Supersport with the competition so tight here).

The level is not what it was in British Supersport at the moment so it is not easy to see if these riders along with Dan Linfoot could make the step up into World Supersport but as a partisan type of person I would like to see more young Brits making the step as Eugene, Cal, Johnny Rea and Tom Sykes have done. I know Leon Camier is chasing some leads into WSB and I wish him all the best as he has nothing left to prove in BSB.

Well that is about it for now so let’s see what comes out of this round and I will keep working on putting together all the pieces for an even stronger team for 2010.

See you next time

Simon

TODAY’S wet first practice session for the 11th round of the World Supersport Championship at the Nurburgring in Germany proved a tough test for the Parkalgar duo of Eugene Laverty and Miguel Praia who finished ninth and 18th with plenty of room for improvement.

Championship leader Cal Crutchlow on a Yamaha was fastest around the 5.137km Nurburgring circuit in the tricky conditions. There is a practice and qualifying session tomorrow before the race takes place at 1325CET on Sunday, September 6th.

Miguel: “My Parkalgar Honda is good but the weather conditions are very wet and cold. I took my time to settle in to the track in the rain, there is no sense pushing too hard in these conditions during practice. I am focussed on improving and challenging the top 10 again this weekend – and I hope the sunshine returns for tomorrow and the race on Sunday.”

Eugene: “I was trying relatively hard in that session but I couldn’t get a good sensation with the tyres as they were squirming; we need to look at pressures and I think that will solve the problem. The circuit seems less bumpy in the wet which is good but I would prefer it to be dry for the rest of the weekend. Don’t read too much into today’s position, we have work to do and will be better tomorrow.”

Simon Buckmaster, Parkalgar Honda Team Manager: “Both riders played it safe in the treacherous wet conditions - there are no points awarded today. Eugene needs to be closer to the front tomorrow and to put pressure on Cal Crutchlow; he needs to take the fight to the head of the timesheets. Miguel rode within himself and as he has proved in the last few races, he is better than 18th and we will be looking for him to improve as well. The forecast is for rain on Saturday and dry on Sunday so we will need to be sharp and on it from the off to get the best results this weekend.”

Friday Practice Times

1 Crutchlow C. (GBR) Yamaha YZF R6 2′13.170
2 Sofuoglu K. (TUR) Honda CBR600RR 2′13.480
3 McCoy G. (AUS) Triumph Daytona 675 2′15.119
4 Pirro M. (ITA) Yamaha YZF R6 2′15.120
5 Aitchison M. (AUS) Honda CBR600RR 2′15.675
6 Lascorz J. (ESP) Kawasaki ZX-6R 2′15.688
7 West A. (AUS) Honda CBR600RR 2′15.861
8 Pitt A. (AUS) Honda CBR600RR 2′15.863
9 Laverty E. (IRL) PARKALGAR HONDA CBR600RR 2′16.423
10 Veneman B. (NED) Honda CBR600RR 2′17.314
18 Praia M. (POR) PARKALGAR HONDA CBR600RR 2′19.150.

Parkalgar Honda’s Eugene Laverty is determined to continue with his World Supersport title challenge this weekend at the Nurburgring in Germany.

The talented Irishman is just 17 points behind Cal Crutchlow, the Championship leader, and he is determined to pull as many points back on him as possible. Miguel Praia, team-mate to Laverty, raced to 13th place last year at the Nurburgring. This time around he is determined to finish inside the top ten at the challenging 5.137km track.The race takes place at 1325CET on Sunday 6th September and can be viewed on Eurosport.

Eugene: “It’s been a long lay-off but it was good to do a track day at the Nurburgring. It was beneficial as I can now go out and be on the pace. It’s an important round for us as I got an opportunity at Brno to get back some points and I’ve now got to make the most of it and start reeling Crutchlow back in. It’s a fun track to ride but it is very bumpy for a world championship circuit. I’ll be going out for the win as that is what we need.”

Miguel: “There has been a big gap in the season which has been good for me as I’ve not been fully fit at the last few rounds thanks to some small injuries from my crashes. The team has been working on developing the bike so I should see the benefit of their hard work. I finished 13th at the Nurburgring last year so this time round my aim is top ten for sure. It is a hard track so it will take a couple of laps to get into it but it is good fun.”

Simon Buckmaster, Parkalgar Honda Team Manager: “We have been working hard on further development of our Parkalgar Hondas which I’m sure will pay off. We are now coming into the last four rounds and there are just 17 points in it. If we can beat Cal here then it will be game on. Miguel has already competed at the Nurburgring last year and got a good result, this year he wants to go a few places better and finish well inside the top ten. As for Eugene, he needs a win to continue his title challenge.”