Sykes Piles On More Points

Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team) scored a fourth and a fifth place finish today to gain valuable championship points and retain third place overall. KRT rider Loris Baz went eighth in race two.

Sykes had high hopes of repeating his recent race winning form in what were perfect riding conditions at the Nürburgring but despite the hard work and long runs the team did using the softer rear compound tyre in practice Tom lost rear traction midway through the first race and was forced to drop positions, finishing a distant but battling fourth. Baz had fallen with only three laps remaining, losing his chance of a definite dry weather top five finish, just behind his team-mate.

Historic hat-trick for team Kawasaki SRC at Le Mans 24 Hours race

Kawasaki SRC team has written history this weekend, winning the prestigious 24 hours race in Le Mans for the third consecutive time.

Kawasaki is now the first manufacturer in ten years time to win this race three times in a row. Let alone winning the race, the team also set a new distance record, which is the icing on the cake.

Davies takes his and his team's first SBK race win

Chaz Davies (ParkinGO MTC Racing Aprilia) claimed his and his team's first ever SBK race victory with an impressive display over 20-laps, winning by over three seconds easing up, after top contenders Marco Melandri (BMW Motorrad Motorsport) and Max Biaggi (Aprilia Racing Team) had crashed out of podium positions.

Camier podiums at Nurburgring WSB

FIXI Crescent Suzuki's Leon Camier raced to the team's maiden WSB podium during race two of this afternoon's 12th round of the eni FIM Superbike World Championship event from Nurburgring in Germany.

Camier didn't get a good start from seventh on the grid in the second race and was in 12th position at the end of the first lap, but the Englishman kept his head and clinically and methodically picked his way through the field to move up into a podium position by lap 13. Camier then made a pass on the Aprilia of Eugene Laverty to take second place from the Irishman, a position that Camier held for the next four laps. Laverty made his way past the FIXI Crescent Suzuki rider, after Camier nearly high-sided at the final chicane and lost ground, but the Suzuki star never gave up and challenged for second place all the way to the line in the final two laps. He finished just 0.200 seconds from P2, but was delighted to have given the team its first podium of the season, which is an indication of the hard work the whole crew have put in this year.

Front-runner Sofuoglu wins in Germany

Kenan Sofuoglu (Kawasaki Lorenzini) won his fourth race of the season today, securing victory by 0.541 seconds over second place rider Jules Cluzel (PTR Honda) in the 19-lap FIM Supersport World Championship race at the Nürburgring.

Sofuoglu's win was of the start-to-finish variety as he extended his championship lead over Cluzel, with Kenan now sitting on 198 points to the French rider's 160. Third in the race was Fabien Foret (Kawasaki Intermoto Step Racing) who moved to third in the championship after podium challenger Sam Lowes (Bogdanka PTR Honda) fell. Lowes restarted to finish 14th but he is now fourth overall in the points, four behind Foret. Broc Parkes (Ten Kate Racing Products Honda) was fourth today, 2012 rising star Vladimir Leonov (Yakhnich Motorsports Yamaha) went fifth but was disqualified post-race for a technical infringement.

Fourth for Rea at Nurburgring

Jonathan Rea finished fourth in today’s second World Superbike championship race at the Nurburgring in Germany after crashing out of race one unhurt. The races were won by Max Biaggi and Chaz Davies as Rea’s Honda World Superbike team-mate Hiroshi Aoyama took two points-scoring finishes.

Starting from the outside of row two, Rea made a good start to race one but lost the front end of his Honda CBR1000RR at turn six early in the race. In race two, the 25-year-old became embroiled in a battle for a podium slot but was unable to sustain his challenge in the closing laps.

Aoyama benefitted from several riders crashing out of race one but still maintained his steady improvements on his first race weekend at the 5.137km Nurbugring circuit to take a top ten finish.

A small change to his bike for race two did not bring the additional rear grip he was seeking for the second 20-lap outing, however, and the 30-year-old Japanese rider finished in 15th place.

Effenbert Liberty Racing Team

The Wsbk Championship was staged on the trilling track at the Nürburgring giving fans even during the 12th round a lot of emotions and adrenaline. The Effenbert Liberty Racing Team back on track after having used the weeks following the race at Silverstone to reorganize its human, technical and logistical resources, and for this purpose it chose not to take part in the Moscow Grand Prix, also in view of programming the 2013 season, has once again demonstrated its tenacity and determination.

A weekend to remember for the Aprilia Racing Team at the Nürburgring.

The “single-brand” podium in Race 1 was the result of the perfect performance that the mechanics and riders put in during all the sessions.

Pole man Max Biaggi got off to a brilliant start, staying locked onto Sykes in the first few laps. With a furious pace, the Corsair overtook the Brit, succeeding in creating a significant lead which he maintained all the way to the chequered flag. The podium was completed with Laverty and Davies' Aprilias, a first for the Italian brand. With Melandri's crash contributing to the situation, Max started the second race as leader in the rider standings.

In Race 2, after a good start, Max took a devastating slide into the stones, but he managed to keep his RSV4 running and rejoined the race with his bike visibly damaged, trailing his rivals from a distance (26 seconds) in dead last position. From that moment on Max Biaggi dug deep and gave it his best, breathing life into a race from times gone by and coming back with courage and skill place after place to finish in thirteenth, adding three precious points to his championship. This now places him 9.5 points in front of Melandri, the closest contender who had a DNF in Race 2 due to a crash.

Eugene Laverty also leaves the Nürburgring with a smile on his face. Two second places (in Race 1 behind his team mate and in Race 2 behind ParkinGO Aprilia rider Chaz Davies) mean that Eugene is now lying in a solid sixth place in the championship. The rider from Toomebridge demonstrated stability and speed, contributing to Aprilia taking the lead in the manufacturer rankings.

Aprilia podium lockout gives Biaggi 21st career win

In the eni FIM Superbike World Championship round at the Nürburgring in Germany Max Biaggi (Aprilia Racing Team) pulled off one of his coolest and most assured wins to re-take the lead in the championship fight.

Top competitors fall leaving Barrier the clear winner

Sylvain Barrier (BMW Motorrad Italia GoldBet STK Team) was always in competition for the win at the Nürburgring but was finally gifted the victory after three of his main rivals fell one-by-one.

First off was Eddi La Marra (Barni Racing Team Italia Ducati) then Jeremy Guarnoni (MRS Kawasaki) and finally pole man Bryan Staring (Team Pedercini Kawasaki).

Kevin Coghlan (DMC Racing Ducati) capitalised on the bad luck up front to take a second place finish, with Markus Reiterberger (Team alpha Racing BMW) third.

In the championship La Marra leads on 119 points, Barrier has 113, Staring 86 and Guarnoni 82.

Van der Mark takes the lead after strong win

Michael Van der Mark (EAB Ten Kate Junior Team Honda) set a new lap record of 2 minutes 02.736 seconds to win the ten-lap UEM Superstock 600 European Championship race at the Nürburgring, and in doing so take the lead in the championship, all despite riding with a plate and screws in his recently injured collarbone.

Van der Mark now leads Riccardo Russo (Team Italia FMI Yamaha) by two points in the championship, 169 to 167. Russo was second in the German round, 1.814 seconds back on front-runner van der Mark, while Franco Morbidelli (Bike Service R.T. Yamaha) took the last podium place on offer.

In the thick of the battle for the world championship

After the Superbike début in Russia, the factory derivatives head for the round at the Nürburgring, the historic name that brings to mind the undertakings achieved by great champions on the old Nordschleife track. For Max Biaggi this will be a decidedly particular round, both due to the Championship situation and because it was precisely on this German asphalt that the Corsair suffered an injury in 2011 which effected the rest of his season.

With three rounds left in the Championship, Max is in the thick of the battle for the final victory. The difficulties of Silverstone and Moscow reopened the top end of the championship standings, but they were unable to dampen the tenacity of the five time world champion. At the Nürburgring Max Biaggi wants to get back to battling for the win.

The Russian weekend ended with a crash, but Eugene Laverty garnered a good feeling in the races at Moscow Raceway. His sights ever set on the podium, the rider from Toomebridge seems to have reached a promising feeling with his RSV4 in the various conditions, and in Germany he will put forth his best effort to confirm this impression.

BMW Motorrad Motorsport on top for home round

BMW Motorrad Motorsport heads to its ‘home’ round at the Nürburgring this weekend in a position of real strength in the 2012 Superbike World Championship, with a commanding lead in both the Riders’ and the Manufacturers’ standings.

Following Marco Melandri’s successful exploits at the inaugural WSBK round at the Moscow Raceway just a fortnight ago – where he celebrated a double podium and his sixth race win of the year – the hard-charging Italian took over the lead in the overall classification from rival Max Biaggi and now heads up the rider standings by a healthy 18.5 points.

With a 26.5 points lead in the Manufacturers’ Standings, it is a great time for BMW Motorrad Motorsport to celebrate its home round at the Nürburgring. However, according to Head of Race Operations Andrea Dosoli, it will be ‘business as usual’ for the team, as it aims to consolidate its advantage in both championships as the series enters these important final three rounds.

Nurburgring beckons Honda riders

Jonathan Rea and Hiroshi Aoyama will take different approaches to this weekend’s (7-9 September) 12th round of the 2012 World Superbike championship at the Nurburgring in Germany.

For Rea, the 5.137km circuit nestling in the Eifel mountains has been a happy hunting ground since his SBK debut in 2009 and the 25-year-old took three podiums, including two wins, in his first four races there. Last year marked Rea’s return to racing following a three-month injury layoff, but he still took a fourth place in atrocious conditions in race two.

FIXI Crescent Suzuki set for 'THE RING'

FIXI Crescent Suzuki has made a cross-European road-trip to the famous Nürburgring in Germany for the 12th round of the eni FIM Superbike World Championship this coming weekend.

Leon Camier and John Hopkins will both be heading to the German circuit aiming to build on the promising performances last time out in Russia. Camier is still suffering the after-effects of a huge crash from the last event, but is determined to not let this hamper him at the 5,137m track, whilst Hopkins is planning on improving on his recent best results, by going for top-fives in Germany on his Yoshimura-powered GSX-R1000.

Sykes boosted by latest race win and memories of his first

WSBK, Nürburgring, Germany, 3 September 2012

Tom Sykes and Loris Baz (Kawasaki Racing Team) have each won races this season with the most recent going to Sykes at the previous round. Tom now returns to Germany, the site of his first SBK win.

Win for Melandri and crash from Biaggi sees the lead change hands

Marco Melandri (BMW Motorrad Motorsport) was never under serious challenge after he eventually took the lead in the second eni FIM Superbike World Championship race at Moscow Raceway, heading up race one winner Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team) by less than a second after another 25-laps of full on drama and incident.

Chaz Davies (ParkinGO MTC Racing Aprilia) was third after the three riders in front of him on the last lap were affected by a highside from Eugene Laverty (Aprilia Racing). Laverty was to retire but Jonathan Rea (Honda World Superbike Team) recovered from his collision with Laverty's machine, and subsequent crash, to go seventh. The following Carlos Checa (Althea Racing Ducati) was pushed off track and dropped back to finish fourth. Leon Camier was a strong fifth for the FIXI Crescent Suzuki team.

Max Biaggi (Aprilia Racing) had a collision under braking with Leon Haslam (BMW Motorrad Motorsport) and neither rider finished the race, which means that Melandri is now in the lead of the championship - 308.5 points to Biaggi's 290, with Sykes third on 267.5.

Kawasaki man untouchable at Russian track

The fine weather that welcomed the FIM Supersport Championship racers to the Moscow Raceway provided perfect conditions for Kenan Sofuoglu (Kawasaki Lorenzini) to win his third race of the 2012 season and extend his championship lead to 33 points. The Turkish rider had Jules Cluzel (PTR Honda) as a shadow for most of the race but his pace at the end was enough to draw him over five seconds ahead at the flag.

An amazingly popular third place for Vladimir Leonov (Yakhnich Motorsports Yamaha) was a pleasing spectacle for the new Moscow Raceway crowd. Fourth was Sofuoglu's team-mate Sheridan Morais, with Broc Parkes (Ten Kate Racing Products) fifth.

In the championship Sofuoglu has 173 points, Cluzel 140 and the luckless Sam Lowes (Bogdanka PTR Honda) 138, after he jump started and dropped to 12th in the race after taking a ride-through penalty.

Sykes win his second of 2012 and first ever Russian race

Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team) scored the first ever race win at the new circuit of Moscow Raceway in the eni FIM Superbike World Championship, after a faultless display of front running at a high pace. His instant speed from second on the grid kept him away from the troubles many other top riders endured behind him, with crashes helping Marco Melandri (BMW Motorrad Motorsport) finish second in an incident-packed race.

Max Biaggi (Aprilia Racing) overhauled his team-mate Eugene Laverty on the very last lap to take third place. Potential podium riders Carlos Checa (Althea Racing Ducati), his team-mate Davide Giugliano, Chaz Davies (ParkinGO MTC Racing Aprilia), Jonathan Rea (Honda World Superbike Team) and Sylvain Guintoli (Pata Racing Team Ducati) all crashed out, with Leon Haslam (BMW Motorrad Motorsport) also falling then restarting to finish sixth.

A disappointing race day for Checa and Giugliano at the Moscow Raceway

Team Althea Racing did not have the kind of day it was expecting today at the new Moscow Raceway. The two Superbike races were marked by a series of collisions and DNFs; unfortunately both Carlos Checa and Davide Giugliano crashed out of race 1 but were able to ride around the incidents in race two to score solid points with a fourth and sixth place finish respectively.

2012 Yamaha YZF-R6

One ride on the R6 lets you know that this bike was born on the racetrack. Its MotoGP-bred technology is tuned to give you the kind of outstanding engine and chassis performance usually reserved for professional riders. Its ultra-high-revving short-stroke engine unleashes dazzling power, made even more responsive by the state-of-the-art YCC-I (Yamaha Chip Controlled-Intake) and YCC-T (Yamaha Chip Controlled-Throttle). Everything about the R6 is geared towards ultimate cornering, and getting rider and machine working as one. The chassis gives you razor sharp, ultra-responsive handling, and adjustable front forks for optimal track performance.

Rossi signs two-year Yamaha MotoGP deal

To absolutely no-one's surprise, Yamaha have this morning announced that Valentino Rossi has returned to their team and will partner Jorge Lorenzo in the 2013 MotoGP World Championship as part of a two-year deal.

2013 Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10R

The 2013 Ninja ZX-10R superbike continues to astound passionate motorcyclists with its level of technology, reliability, and the intense feelings that envelope anyone throwing a leg over this potent literbike. It represents what can be achieved by the finest engineers when an appreciation of speed and design are applied to a motorcycle, without the desire to be anything other than the absolute best.

These are some of the key features of the new Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10R:

Guintoli declared the race winner after red flag

Sylvain Guintoli (Pata Racing Ducati) was declared the winner of an eight lap second Superbike race after the rains fell so hard that three riders fell on the same part of the track, and the red flag was shown. Half points were awarded to the top 15 riders. Loris Baz (Kawasaki Racing Team) had been in the lead on the lap that the flag was shown but he had fallen shortly before, so on the count back he was credited with second.

Third went to long time second place rider Jakub Smrz (Liberty Racing Team Effenbert) with Aprilia Racing rider Eugene Laverty, who was 16 seconds behind rain master Guintoli when the flag went out, fourth. Maxime Berger (Team Effenbert Liberty Racing Ducati) was fifth, Chaz Davies (ParkinGO MTC Aprilia) was eventually classified seventh, one place behind late crasher Carlos Checa (Althea Racing Ducati). Marco Melandri (BMW Motorrad Motorsport) was eighth. With Max Biaggi (Aprilia Racing) 11th, the championship table leaving has Biaggi on 274 points, Melandri on 263.5 and Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team) on 222.5, two points ahead of Checa.

Fantastic Supersport race at Silverstone

A thrilling race long fight between three PTR Honda riders ended up on a man-to-man fight between eventual winner Jules Cluzel (PTR Honda) and Sam Lowes (Bogdanka PTR Honda). The contest was so close that they touched on the final corners but the French rider was not to be denied and won the race by only 0.157 seconds.

Broc Parkes (Ten Kate Racing Products Honda) came from slightly behind the PTR runners to take third, 0.591 seconds back, while Ronan Quarmby (PTR Honda) hung in with the leading group almost throughout the restarted race and was an impressive fourth. Kenan Sofuoglu (Kawasaki Lorenzini).

Ran off track early on but recovered to score fifth place, ahead of two more Kawasaki riders, Fabien Foret (Kawasaki Intermoto Step) and Sofuoglu's Lorenzini team-mate, Sheridan Morais, who was seventh. In the championship fight, Sofuoglu has 148 points, Lowes 134, Cluzel 120, Foret 118 and Parkes 98.

Kawasaki rider Loris Baz wins after final lap drama

Kawasaki Racing team rider Loris Baz won his first SBK race after weather conditions played an ever-changing role in the first 18-lap race of the day. The first attempt to run it was halted after two separate crashes, and the restart was declared wet, but with a mostly dry track surface visible over the length of the circuit. Light rains came and went as the lead changed a bewildering number of times, but with a few laps to go the rains got even heavier and riders movements forward and back got even more frenzied.

Over the line for the last time, Baz won by 0.383 seconds, with BMW Motorrad Italia GoldBet duo Michel Fabrizio and Ayrton Badovini second and third respectively and Jonathan Rea (Honda World Superbike Team) was fourth. As Badovini crossed the line he fell on the edge of the track and the following Rea also crashed into Badovini's machine, but after each had crossed the line. Carlos Checa (Althea Racing Ducati) was fifth, but championship leader Max Biaggi (Aprilia Racing) was a late faller and he no-scored.

La Marra puts in the win from Guarnoni

A race-long fight between Eddi La Marra (Barni Racing Team Italia Ducati) and Jeremy Guarnoni (MRS Kawasaki) finally went the way of La Marra, by only 0.241 seconds after ten intense laps at Silverstone. Spots of rain on lap one had no real effect on the track surface as La Marra and Guranoni made a break, with eventual third place rider Bryan Staring (Pedercini Kawasaki) and fourth placed Sylvain Barrier (BMW Motorrad Italia GoldBet) having a real figth at the end. Fifth was British rider Kev Coghlan (DMC Ducati Panigale).

In the points La Marra took a clear advantage after this race, on 119 points, with Barrier on 88 and Staring 86. Guarnoni now has 82.

How to gain horsepower without doing engine work

A lot of people would like to know how can I gain horsepower from my bike without doing drastic engine work? It's quit simple, actually it's more simple than you think. What I'm about to tell you is so easy that even you can do all the work and not even pay anyone to do it unless you have no mechanical skills what so ever. What some people don't realize is when you put a different exhaust on your bike you're not only gaining horsepower just from your change of air to fuel ratio but you're changing your power to weight ratio as well. We will come back to that in a bit. For the horse power section of this articles most people almost always start with a slip on exhaust of some sort.

To gain the most horsepower it all varies on the exhaust and what kind of bike it is. Different pipes give different bikes more power. As far as pipes are concerned it depends if you're racing our just regular street riding and want sound or just a little more boost. When it comes to racing I would recommend a full exhaust system of some sort and preferably titanium. Titanium is the lightest of all exhaust systems is why I referred that particular one. Some Top of the line exhaust systems are Akropovic, Termignoni, Yoshimura, Arata, etc. Once you get whatever exhaust you've researched and makes you happy now would be a good time to purchase a power commander. A power commander is a fuel injection module, which is specifically designed to even out your air to fuel ratio which plays a huge factor in how lean or rich your bike will run. All power commanders come with a bunch of makes that you can pick from depending on the year, make, and model of your bike and the type of exhaust that you have that way you can get the most power and use from your map so your bike will run correctly.

To further your power gainings from these two items which just from these additions you should gain between 4-9hp. The next step you can easily take is getting your bike professionally mapped. Meaning taking your bike to a authorized power commander dyno in or around your local area and get it custom mapped. Peoples sometimes gain between 8-15hp depending on how good the dyno guys are. Those two little additions will help make a difference and and also help your bike run smoother. To the power to weight ratio. There are simple ways to take care of this. We just finished discussing one of them and that wast the after market exhaust which are all pounds lighter than the stock with is a power to weight ratio change. The average stock exhaust is about 14-18.5plbs. Most after market exhaust are around 8-9.5lbs. Doesn't sound like much but every little bit helps. The biggest weight savings come from the wheels. Yes people the wheels. When you change your wheels with aftermarket wheels you save total about 15 pounds or so if not more. I say if not more because you have to factor in the rotational mass in the equation.

It doesn't take as much force to stop or to get going. The power to weight ratio is very very important. I hope you guys and ladies learned a few things from this article and always remember to ride safe and have fun.