Team KTM Maehr Superstock riders may have come away from the FIM Superstock 1000 World Cup series at Donington empty-handed on Sunday but were still upbeat and with plenty of positive racing experience.
Racers had to contend with downpours of rain for the past three days at the tradition-rich Donington park Raceway so it was not without trepidation that the large field of more than 40 riders lined up to contest the 12-lap, highly competitive race.
KTM's Pauli Pekkanen had worked hard in qualifying and earned himself a very creditable eleventh grid place while teammate Rene Maehr started at twentieth. Both riders survived the first corner chaos. Maehr charged right into the action and was looking very solid right through the first half of the race. But with just three laps to go, he completely lost tyre grip on his rear tyre.
He was forced to slow and quickly slipped back through the field. With the rear tyre completely ruined, he had to nurse his KTM RC8 back into the pits, experiencing even more wheel spin on the straight than the other riders contending with the wet track. "Even if I didn't finish the race I can still take away some good experience," Rene said. "I was right up in the points from lap two but the problems with the rear tyre eventually forced me out of the race."
Pekkanen had a somewhat slower start but he picked up speed and was lying ninth in the fourth lap. By lap five he was clocking lap times quicker than the factory Ducati of the championship leader, which at that stage was lying fourth and he seemed set for a top result. Right from the beginning of the race, Pekkanen sensed he had a slight technical problem right from lap one and it continued to deteriorate as the race progressed. Eventually the Finn was forced to end his bid and park the bike on the edge of the track in the ninth of 12 laps.
Pauli was also positive, if disappointed: "I am disappointed because this weekend I could show that I really had the speed to be up with the top 10 riders. In general the bike was incredibly good even if I did burn out the clutch in the early part of the race.
I just have to take away with me the knowledge that I was very fast and competitive this weekend and I have to remember that this kind of thing is simply a part of racing.
- KTM-Sportmotorcycles, Mattighofen-
Pirro Sixth After Donington Superstock Battle
08.09.2008
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Michele Pirro (Yamaha Lorenzini by Leoni) was one of several fallers in the 12-lap 1000cc Superstock race, exiting after highsiding at the final hairpin on lap two, and restarting to finish 19th, out of the points.
Pirro remains fifth in the championship chase, with 83 points.
Claudio Corti (Yamaha Motor Italia Junior Team) fell in a first corner multiple-rider ... mehr |
Parkes into the top ten as Laverty scores points
08.09.2008
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Broc Parkes (Yamaha World Supersport Team) and Eugene Laverty (Yamaha World Supersport Team) had to race on untried settings at Donington, after all practice and warm-up sessions were damp to some degree, but nonetheless each improved form their lowly starting places to record points scoring finishes.
Parkes went tenth from 20th on the grid, with Laverty taking his time ... mehr |
Troy Corser scores miracle podium in tough Donington weekend
08.09.2008
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Troy Corser (Yamaha Motor Italia WSB Team) secured a fine third place in the second race at Donington, in what was otherwise a particularly challenging weekend of action at a wet and dry Donington Park.
Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha Motor Italia WSB Team) was ruled out of each Donington race after a technical issue in race one saw him penalised for not stopping his machine in ti ... mehr |
Confused final session puts Parkes and Laverty back
07.09.2008
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QUALIFYING 2 YAMAHA 06/09/2008
Broc Parkes (Yamaha World Supersport Team) lost dry track time in a tough final qualifying session at Donington Park and despite moving up the order at the mid-point of the session he is now 20th on the starting grid.
A crash in the final session for Eugene Laverty (Yamaha World Supersport Team) meant he had to ride with a c ... mehr |
Troy Corser eighth after wet Donington qualifying
07.09.2008
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QUALIFYING 2 YAMAHA DONINGTON PARK 06/09/2008
Troy Corser (Yamaha Motor Italia WSB Team) and Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha Motor Italia WSB Team) will line up eighth and 11th respectively on the grid for Sunday's WSB races at Donington, after a wet Superpole contest full of drama and incident.
Corser fell at Craner Curves with only 15 minutes and five of his perm ... mehr |
Wet weather determines all in Supersport practice at Donington Park
05.09.2008
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QUALIFYING 1 REPORT 05/09/2008
Atrociously wet weather conditions made early qualifying a miserable experience for most on the first day at Donington Park, with Broc Parkes (Yamaha World Supersport Team) finishing 29th. Parkes has not had much previous experience of Donington Park, having fallen early and broken his collarbone in 2007, and finding the cir ... mehr |
Corser and Haga see out the first day
05.09.2008
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QUALIFYING 1 REPORT 05/09/2008
Troy Corser (Yamaha Motor Italia WSB Team) and Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha Motor Italia WSB Team) negotiated the first day of practice at a soaking wet Donington Park largely to evaluate their wet weather settings, with varying degrees of success.
Corser was 12th in the afternoon official session having survived two crashes in the ... mehr |
Yamaha riders aim for victory at favoured venue
04.09.2008
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As the five-week summer break in the World Superbike Championship calendar comes to an end this coming weekend at Donington Park, Noriyuki Haga and Troy Corser (Yamaha Motor Italia WSB Team) will each have particularly good recent memories to draw on. Haga won race two at this classic venue last year and Corser scored a double podium, each riding for the current Yamaha squad. ... mehr |
Eugene Laverty replaces Fabien Foret for Donington
21.08.2008
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Eugene Laverty, the young 22 yr old Northern Irish 250 GP rider has been picked by the Yamaha World Supersport Team to replace injured rider Fabien Foret for the next two rounds of the World Supersport Championship at Donington and Vallelunga.
Laverty is no stranger to the Supersport class, having raced successfully in British Supersport previously. He gave a strong perf ... mehr |
Pirro fights hard for sixth place
04.08.2008
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A four way fight in a race that started wet but finished dry saw Michele Pirro (Yamaha Lorenzini by Leoni) take a sixth place finish in the Superstock 1000 class.
Pirro's 83 championship points put him fifth overall, with Brands race winner and new championship leader Maxime Berger now on 109 points.
Claudio Corti (Yamaha Motor Italia Junior Team) was eighth tod ... mehr |
Broc Parkes fourth after a confused WSS race
04.08.2008
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Broc Parkes (Yamaha World Supersport Team) finished in fourth position in what was an aggregated race at Brands Hatch - started late because of an earlier race delay, stopped at one stage due to rain, with the second leg finally also halted early after a red flag due to a high-speed crash.
In the aggregate results Parkes was just off the podium, in a race won by Jonathan ... mehr |
Haga and Corser on the Brands Hatch podium
04.08.2008
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Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha Motor Italia WSB Team) ... mehr |
Parkes in the top four as Harris goes fifth fastest
03.08.2008
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Broc Parkes (Yamaha World Supersport Team) will make a start from the first row for Sunday's Brands Hatch World Supersport race after finishing fourth fastest in combined qualifying.
His team-mate for the Brands Hatch round, Karl Harris, was a superb fifth in his first WSS race for the team, and has also found what he thinks will be a good set-up for the 23-lap race on S ... mehr |
Haga close to a Superpole win
03.08.2008
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Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha Motor Italia WSB Team) was only 0.023 seconds from a Superpole win at Brands Hatch, after a very confused 'wet' Superpole contest, which was eventually decided on a completely dry racetrack.
Despite the confusion caused by a late switch from a regular 'dry' Superpole to a wet session, Troy Corser (Yamaha Motor Italia WSB Team) secured fifth place an ... mehr |
Haga on provisional front row with Corser seventh in Brands Hatch
02.08.2008
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QUALIFYING 1
Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha Motor Italia WSB Team) was the fastest man in the early unofficial laps at Brands Hatch and continued his strong form in the first qualifying period, taking second best time overall with a 1'26.144, only 0.127 seconds from provisional pole.
Haga came close to the previous track best in final qualifying, despite ... mehr |
Haga and Corser ready for more brands success
30.07.2008
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Noriyuki Haga and Troy Corser (Yamaha Motor Italia WSB Team) are no strangers to the podium in the World Superbike Championship, Corser having taken 122 career top three finishes and Haga 82. As their winning records show, each of Yamaha's lead 2008 season riders has a special affinity with Brands Hatch, having scored seven race wins between them at the sinuous and flowing Englis ... mehr |
Karl Harris replaces Fabien Foret in World Supersport for Brands Hatch
24.07.2008
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Three time British Supersport champion Karl Harris has signed up to the Yamaha World Supersport Team for the British round of the 2008 World Supersport Championship at Brands Hatch on 2nd August. With proven previous Supersport experience and currently riding for the Rob Mac Yamaha British Superbike team, he was a natural choice for the ride.
Karl steps in to replace rid ... mehr |
Yamaha's Michele Pirro sixth after Brno Superstock battle
21.07.2008
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Michele Pirro (Yamaha Lorenzini by Leoni) was the top scoring Yamaha rider in the 12-lap Superstock 1000 Cup event, as he took sixth in a lonely race after a bright start.
Pirro is now fifth in the championship table on 73 points, 23 points from new leader Brendan Roberts. Brno race winner Maxime Berger was away and clear after Xavier Simeon enjoyed an early lead, with R ... mehr |
Broc Parkes fourth in tight Brno race
21.07.2008
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Broc Parkes (Yamaha World Supersport Team) fought hard for a podium finish at Brno but had to settle for a fourth place, and third in the championship standings overall.
Parkes did not get his customary strong start from pole position, dropping back to 7th in the pack at the start of the race. He then had to expend energy in the early laps making up places to make sure h ... mehr |
Troy Corser goes third after dramatic Brno races
21.07.2008
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Troy Corser (Yamaha Motor Italia WSB Team) moved from fourth to third in the championship standings after securing a second and a fourth place finish at Brno, as his team-mate Noriyuki Haga rode with all his spirit and skill to take sixth in race one and salvage a seventh from a pitlane start in race two.
Corser was on top form once more on raceday and in the 500th World ... mehr |
Superstock place 19 and 22 for KTM duo Maehr and Pekkanen in Brno
21.07.2008
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Rene Maehr finished his sixth race in the FIM Superstock 1000 World Cup series in Brno, Czech Republic in 19th place while team newcomer Pauli Pekkanen rode to twenty second place in his first race with the team.
The two riders of the Team KTM Maehr Superstock tackled the hilly and challenging racing circuit in Brno on the KTM 1190 RC8, the machine that was laun ... mehr |
Broc Parkes takes fifth pole position in a row
20.07.2008
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BRNO QUALIFYING
Broc Parkes consistently brilliant performances in qualifying in the 2008 season continued at the Brno meeting when he took a remarkable fifth consecutive pole position. His pre-race successes at Assen, Monza, Nürburgring and Misano grew to five after Parkes scored a 2'03.203 second lap towards the end of a busy afternoon session.
... mehr |
Troy Corser just misses Superpole win
20.07.2008
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QUALIFYING 2 BRNO WSB YAMAHA
Troy Corser (Yamaha Motor Italia WSB Team) missed out on his 43rd career Superpole win by a mere 0.106 seconds at the 5.403km Brno circuit today, with only his fellow Australian Troy Bayliss able to beat his time.
The fight for the new absolute track record was played out in warm and dry conditions and on qualifying tyres. Cors ... mehr |
Broc Parkes under the outright lap record on day one in Brno
19.07.2008
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QUALIFYING 1 18/07/2008
The brilliant 2008 qualifying record of Broc Parkes continued at Brno on the first day of track action, as the Australian Supersport Superstar slotted in a 2'03.604 to create a new track best. He beat the previous record by 1.2 seconds, with one more day of qualifying to go. ... mehr |
Troy Corser an early contender on day one in Brno
19.07.2008
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QUALIFYING 1 18/07/2008
Troy Corser (Yamaha ... mehr |
Yamaha riders out to score big in Brno
16.07.2008
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After a successful two-day test at Vallelunga between 8th and 9th July both Noriyuki Haga and Troy Corser (Yamaha Motor Italia WSB Team) are fully prepared to meet the challenge of a resurfaced Brno circuit on Sunday 20th July.
The 9th round of the 2008 season sees Haga arrive in fourth place in the overall championship fight, only six points ahead of his team-mate Corse ... mehr |
BMW Motorrad Motorsport: Superbike Projekt nimmt Fahrt auf.
16.07.2008
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8 Monate nach der offiziellen Ankündigung des Einstiges in die Superbike Weltmeisterschaft fällt die Zwischenbilanz von BMW Motorrad mehr als positiv aus. Viele Fans des Straßenrennsports konnten sich bereits mit eigenen Augen vom Fortschritt des ehrgeizigen Pr ... mehr |
Haga and Corser make real progress in testing at Vallelunga
11.07.2008
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Noriyuki Haga and Troy Corser (Yamaha Motor Italia WSB Team) used their two days of official testing time at the Vallelunga circuit to prepare for the next races, and came away from Vallelunga with positive results all round.
The sessions were a combined official FGSport outing and a Development Teams Test for Pirelli, and both Noriyuki and Troy found some advantages in ... mehr |
Pirro second at Misano
30.06.2008
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Michele Pirro (Yamaha Lorenzini by Leoni) remains the top Yamaha YZF-R1 rider in the championship after a fine second place at his home round in Misano. He sits on 63 points, 21 points from leader Xavier Simeon. Race winner Alessandro Polita is only four points up on Pirro, who led the first lap and was always in contention for the podium places over all 14 laps.
... mehr |
