#AssenWorldSBK: “MY RIDING WAS REALLY STRONG”
The 27-year-old Honda rider stormed to sixth place in Saturady’s first Assen race which means his best WorldSBK result thus far. Despite nice sunshine on Saturday in the northern part of the Netherlands, warm winter clothing’s were necessary because the temperatures were cold again all day long. A fact that didn’t affect Stefan Bradl. On the contrary, he showed up really hot in an action-packed and competitive race. Whereas things didn’t go to his expectations in Superpole1, Bradl qualified for 16th down the order, he shone at the start and found himself racing in ninth position just after a couple of corner during the opening lap. From this point, the WorldSBK rookie was out for a top 8 finish at any time. The decisive factor was his consistent pace and a faultless ride throughout the entire distance of 21 laps. During the final laps, Bradl gained two more positions from other riders and crossed the line in a remarkable sixth place, his best race result in FIM Superbike World Championship so far. This success give some extra boost and motivation for the second race on Sunday at lunch time at the world-famous TT Circuit in Assen, especially since Bradl will start in third from the front row due to the new regulations. The season’s eight race is also to watch live via Austrian’s broadcaster ServusTV. Whilst the start of the race is scheduled for 1:00 pm again, the channel’s programme starts with extensive pre-reports 30 minutes’ earlier. #6 Stefan BRADL (Red Bull Honda World Superbike Team, Honda CBR1000RR SP2), 6th – World Championship position 11th (29 points): “I’m very happy with today’s sixth place and I’m also pleased with my performance in terms of riding, which was really very strong. The race started with a good start as I left the line in such a great way, as well as I was very strong and aggressive during the early stages. I was riding over the limits, more than the bike permitted actually. But these risks and all efforts have paid off so, I was able to open a gap to the riders behind me and could control it till the line. I’m very happy about this result which is also enormously important with regard to the starting position in the front row for tomorrow.” “This feeling of success came at the right time, even if it happened a bit unexpected actually. In addition, I’ve benefited a bit from the race, honestly. Nevertheless, I take this sixth place and these ten points. Hopefully we can take another step forward tomorrow too. There has been a lot happening recently, as well as a lot of things are going not the right way in the background. We had some meetings that hopefully will bring more clarity for the future. But first I look forward to race two tomorrow. Hopefully we’re able to take benefits from our front row start.” #AssenWorldSBK – Race 1 Classification after 21 Laps: 1 Jonathan REA / GBR / Kawasaki Racing Team / Kawasaki ZX-10R / 33´37.082 2 Tom SYKES / GBR / Kawasaki Racing Team / Kawasaku ZX-10R / +4.501 3 Marco MELANDRI / ITA / Aruba.it Racing – Ducati / Ducati Panigale R / +17.673 6 #6 Stefan BRADL / GER / Red Bull Honda World Superbike Team / Honda CBR1000RR SP2 / +33.530 WorldSBK Standings: 1 Jonathan REA / GBR / Kawasaki Racing Team / 170 2 Tom SYKES / GBR / Kawasaki Racing Team / 111 3 Marco MELANDRI / ITA / Aruba.it Racing – Ducati / Ducati Panigale R / 97 11 #6 Stefan BRADL / GER / Red Bull Honda World Superbike Team / 29 Next race: April 30th, Assen / Netherlands#AssenWorldSBK: LOOKING FOR IMPROVEMENTS AFTER OPENING DAY
The 27-year-old WorldSBK rookie completed Friday’s free practice sessions in P13. Round four of this year’s FIM Superbike World Championship got underway in dry but too cold temperatures for this season. Stefan Bradl got an updated version of the Honda engine though which was initially planned for a later date this year. However, an engine break down during the Aragon warm up earlier this month caused this early action. Apart from this, the Honda rider endured a difficult start into the weekend in the northern part of the Netherlands. Towards the end of FP1 this morning, Bradl crashed as the rear wheel suddenly slipped away. By the afternoon, however, he already had checked off this setback and Bradl was able to improve his feeling with the Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade SP2 Superbike slightly which was underlined by a significantly improved lap time although he missed to go through Superpole2 by just 0.189 seconds. Both races of the weekend will be broadcasted live on Austrian’s channel ServusTV. The programme is available on FreeTV in the entire German speaking area and starts on Saturday and Sunday at 12:30 pm respectively. #6 Stefan BRADL (Red Bull Honda World Superbike Team, Honda CBR1000RR SP2), FP1: P14 – 1´37.274 / FP2: P12 – 1´36.459: “This morning we started with a new engine version into the weekend but we endured a few issues that required some extra work. We were able to sort them out for the afternoon session but we now have to work on the feeling and confidence with the rear which I miss at the moment. Of course, that’s not the way we wanted to start into the weekend but hopefully we’ll able to make some more progress tomorrow.” #AssenWorldSBK – Combined Free Practice Times FP1/FP2: 1 Jonathan REA / GBR / Kawasaki Racing Team / Kawasaki ZX-10R / 1´35.383 (FP2) 2 Chaz DAVIES / GBR / Aruba.it Racing – Ducati / Ducati Panigale R / 1´35.495 +0.112 (FP2) 3 Tom SYKES / GBR / Kawasaki Racing Team / Kawasaki ZX-10R / 1´35.532 +0.149 (FP2) 13 #6 Stefan BRADL / GER / Red Bull Honda World Superbike Team / 1´36.459 +1.076 (FP2) #AssenWorldSBK Time Schedule for Saturday, April 29th 2017 (CET) 08:45 – 09:10 FP3 10:30 – 10:45 Superpole 1 10:55 – 11:10 Superpole 2 13:00 – Race 1 (21 Laps – 81.786 km)#AssenWorldSBK: “”ASSEN IS ALWAYS VERY SPECIAL”
The German WorldSBK rider looks forward to the Dutch event, a destination which is particular for him. This weekend’s round four in the northern part of the Netherlands is somewhat of a second home race for Stefan Bradl. First, of course, due to its close location to Germany but foremost since his Red Bull Honda WorldSBK Team is based in the Netherlands. For Bradl, the Aragon round earlier this month ended with mixed emotions. After a brave ride to ninth during Saturday’s race he finished in twelfth the day after. A one-day testing on Monday straight after the race weekend has brought some positive findings. Meanwhile, the 27-year-old Honda rider heads now to Assen where he knows the track very well as well as he can look back to some glory days there when qualified for a Moto2™ pole position and for front row starts in MotoGP™ two times. His best race result at the famous TT Circuit was a sixth place aboard the MotoGP™ Honda back in 2013. The FIM Superbike World Championship’s calendar includes 13 events, each with one race on Saturday and Sunday. The bikes are based on production Superbikes with 1000cc. All races of the series will be broadcasted live on Austrian’s channel ServusTV, available in Free-TV in the entire German speaking area. #6 Stefan BRADL (Red Bull Honda World Superbike Team, Honda CBR1000RR SP2): “I’ve always liked Assen. Therefore, I’m looking forward to round four this weekend. In addition, it will be again an important race, not only for the team, but also for us riders. Our intention is to do better than last time and after the somewhat longer break it’s good to jump on the bike again. But, hopefully, the weather will not too unfriendly to us in order to take most benefit from practice sessions to set up the bike for this fast and flowing track. Assen is completely different track to that ones where we already raced this year. Let’s see how it will work at all. Nevertheless, I hope that we will take a step forward.” TT Circuit – Track facts: Länge: 4.542 Meter Kurven: 18 (6 Links / 12 Rechts) Website: www.ttcircuit.com WorldSBK Beste Superpole: 1´34.357 (2014) WorldSBK Rundenrekord: 1´35.889 (2015) Time Schedule (CET): Freitag, 28. April: 09:45 – 10:45 FP1 Freitag, 28. April: 14:30 – 15:30 FP2 Samstag, 29. April: 08:45 – 09:10 FP3 Samstag, 29. April: 10:30 – 10:45 SP1 Samstag, 29. April: 10:55 – 11:10 SP2 Samstag, 29. April: 13:00 Rennen 1 (21 Runden – 95,382 km) Sonntag, 30. April: 09:30 – 09:45 Warm Up Sonntag, 30. April: 13:00 Rennen 2 (21 Runden – 95,382 km) WorldSBK Standings 2017: 1 Jonathan REA / GBR / Kawasaki / 145 2 Chaz DAVIES / GBR / Ducati / 95 3 Tom SYKES / GBR Kawasaki / 91 4 Marco MELANDRI / ITA / Ducati / 81 5 Alex LOWES / GBR / Yamaha / 65 6 Michael van der MARK / NED / Yamaha / 49 7 Jordi TORRES / SPA / BMW / 48 8 Xavis FORÈS / SPA / Ducati / 44 9 Leon CAMIER / GBR / MV Agusta / 38 10 Eugene LAVERTY / IRL / Aprilia / 30 11 Nicky HAYDEN / USA / Honda / 27 12 Stefan BRADL / GER / Honda / 19 13 Markus REITERBERGER / GER / BMW / 19 14 Román RAMOS / SPA / Kawasaki / 18 15 Leandro MERCADO / ARG / Aprilia / 17#AragonWorldSBK Post-race Test: ENCOURAGING RESULTS
An official one-day testing at Spain’s MotorLand Aragón circuit on Monday did draw to a positive conclusion of the first race weekend on European soil. As well as almost the entire Superbike grid, Stefan Bradl and his Red Bull Honda World Superbike Team remained for the second official test. Blessed by great weather conditions and in contrast to the previous days without strong winds, ideal circumstances for a busy day of testing were given. Bradl and his Crew had a clear idea for this test, mainly to work on a better turning with less stress to the tyres at the same time. Therefore, their schedule contained to evaluate different settings to the Honda Fireblade Superbike’s geometrie, weight distribution and suspension. The 27-year-old posted a best effort in 1´50.685 which was 0.3 seconds faster than his fastest lap time during the previous race weekend, set during Saturday’s Superpole1 session with race tyres. Before the series continues with the Dutch round later this month, Bradl and his team will head for a two-day private testing at the Portuguese Portimao race track in two weeks. #6 Stefan BRADL (Red Bull Honda World Superbike Team, Honda CBR1000RR SP2), 1´50.685 (74 Laps): “It was a long and busy day. The weather conditions were perfect and we were able to do a lot of laps. Mainly we were working on the bike’s geometry as well to try and test many different suspension settings because we have to improve our pace. Finally, we have also found some more grip on the rear. This fact was also underlined during our race simulation we did also today with more than two third of the full distance here. Lap times were constant faster. In addition, my fastest lap time during today’s test was faster than during the weekend. Beyond that, we were able to make progress in respect to the front’s setting which means that the tyre is less stressed now. In the end, we found a setting of which we can say that we have made a small step forward. Therefore, it was definitely a positive day but we still face a lot of work ahead of us. Therefore, I look forward to our next test in Portimao in two weeks already.” Official WorldSBK Test – MotorLand Aragón: 1 Tom SYKES / GBR / Kawasaki Racing Team / Kawasaki ZX-10R / 1´49.368 2 Jonathan REA / GBR / Kawasaki Racing Team / Kawasaki ZX-10R / 1´49.388 +0.020 3 Chaz DAVIES / GBR / Aruba.it Racing – Ducati / Ducati Panigale R / 1´49.536 +0.168 7 #6 Stefan BRADL / GER / Red Bull Honda World Superbike Team / Honda CBR1000RR SP2 / 1´50.685 +1.317#AragonWorldSBK: SUNDAY’S PLAN NOT QUITE THAT SUCCESSFUL
After Saturday’s first good race at Aragón, Stefan Bradl finished in twelfth position, collecting more points, however, he was less satisfied with this outcome. The second race day during round three of the FIM Superbike World Championship at Spain’s MotorLand Aragón circuit got started in unusual cool temperatures last Sunday. In addition, strong winds made conditions more difficult. So, the 15 minutes long Warm Up session didn’t allow to get a taste of what teams and riders would expect for the race at lunch time. By the time the red lights went out for race two at 1:00 pm, temperatures raised to normal values, whereas the winds were still strong. Thanks to his ninth position in Saturday’s race, Bradl started from sixth in the second row into the sixth points haul this season. Meanwhile, for Sunday’s race the 27-year-old and his crew had chosen a different strategy. This was intended to compensate the ongoing main issue with too much spinning on the rear in acceleration. But a too aggressive riding under breaking was costly to the front tyre. Bradl and his Red Bull Honda World Superbike Team remain for an official one-day test on Monday at the MotorLand. #6 Stefan BRADL (Red Bull Honda World Superbike Team, Honda CBR1000RR SP2), 12th – World Championship position 12 (19 points): “We can’t be satisfied by the outcome of the second race. But I must admit that we went with a different strategy into today’s race. We tried to make the bike’s handling a bit smoother by changing the front’s setting slightly. This meant, that we tried to achieve a better turning. Unfortunately, however, this attempt did not been worked out. During the last laps, I struggled a lot because the front tyre was too much stressed obviously. Our plan behind was to be more aggressive under breaking which was truly in case but towards the end of the race I didn’t have any reserves. In any case, we tried to compensate our spinning by a slightly modified adjustment to the steering head angle to get a better drive whilst accelerating in corner exit. “The idea basically was good as I was able to break later and therefore I could better use the strengths of our bike. But I always must ride in great lean-angle to achieve this better drive in corner exit – otherwise I will lose everything. By the way, my start was good today in general, but in the first corners I was in a poor position and therefore I lost a few positions. Subsequently, I just tried to make up ground by riding more aggressively under breaking, pushing the front harder, but this, as said, didn’t quite work out.” WorldSBK Aragón – Result Race 2 (18 Laps): 1 Chaz DAVIES / GBR / Aruba.it Racing – Ducati / Ducati Panigale R / 33´30.906 2 Jonathan REA /GBR / Kawasaki Racing Team / Kawasaki ZX-10R / +0.483 3 Marco MELANDRI / ITA / Aruba.it Racing – Ducati / Ducati Panigale R / +2.479 12 #6 Stefan BRADL / GER / Red Bull Honda World Superbike Team / Honda CBR1000RR SP2 / +25.829 WorldSBK Standings: 1 Jonathan REA / GBR / Kawasaki Racing Team / 145 2 Chaz DAVIES / GBR / Aruba.it Racing – Ducati / 95 3 Tom SYKES / GBR / Kawasaki Racing Team / 91 12 #6 Stefan BRADL / GER / Red Bull Honda World Superbike Team / 19 Next Race: 29/30 April, Assen / Netherlands#AragonWorldSBK: SECOND TOP TEN FINISH THIS SEASON
Stefan Bradl experienced a very turbulent race day one in Spain. After heavy thunderstorms last night, temperatures dropped down significantly on Saturday but strong winds dried out the 5 kilometres long track at MotorLand Aragón quickly. Meanwhile, Stefan Bradl showed up in determined fashion during this morning’s Superpole 1 to post second fastest lap time during this session which means that he qualified for Superpole 2 for the first time this season. But an engine breakdown did end his time attack abruptly. Therefore, Bradl started from eleventh on the grid into the race one this weekend. During the short break until race one, his crew had a busy job to build up and prepare another bike in time. Bradl, then left the line well to finish the opening lap in eight position. However, soon after he found himself fighting for positions in a strong group, including three riders with his team mate Nicky Hayden and Aprilia’s Eugene Laverty. It was a great battle till the line, changing positions many times. Finally, Bradl came home in ninth which is his season best thus far. Due to the new regulations, Sunday’s grid sees a new order. Today’s fourth to ninth placed riders will start in this order from the first two rows tomorrow whereas the podium finishers must tackle race two from seventh to ninth grid position respectively. So, this means that Bradl will start into the second points haul at Aragón from sixth. Starting time on Sunday is scheduled for 1:00 pm again. Austrian broadcaster ServusTV starts its Live coverage at 12:30 am which is to watch in Free-TV in Central Europe. #6 Stefan BRADL (Red Bull Honda World Superbike Team, Honda CBR1000RR SP2), 9th – World Championship position 13 (15 points): “Of course, the engine breakdown did affect our race performance today. We had to use an engine which we used already last time in Thailand so obviously, there was a lack of horse power. At the start, however, I left the line quite well and I tried to stay with the guys, who were next to me on the grid. But, I soon had to realize that this task is very difficult to cope. These guys were just too fast and after my mistake last time in Thailand, I did not want to make the next one right now. But on the other hand, the race itself was very entertaining. I had an interesting battle with Eugene (Laverty) throughout the entire race distance. I was able to pass him several times but I could not open a gap at any time. “During the last few laps, I was very focussed because I wanted to finish the race in front of him. But this has been failed because I got passed by Nicky (Hayden) during the final lap. Luckily, I could re-pass him at least. However, given to today’s problem we must be happy with this ninth position. Our main issue is still a too much spinning. In this respect, we soon need an inspiring idea to be able to accelerate properly in corner exit. Regarding the electronics, things are going without any serious problems this weekend so far. Of course, it would be desirable if it would be working even more smooth. But, for this there is also something to be patient. “Due to today’s ninth position, I will start from second row tomorrow. But frankly, I do not need making any great hopes for a better outcome in the second race. Realistically, today’s top three riders, who are to start from behind now, will soon have passed me.” WorldSBK Aragón – Results Race 1 (18 Laps): 1 Jonathan REA /GBR / Kawasaki Racing Team / Kawasaki ZX-10R / 33´24.302 2 Marco MELANDRI / ITA / Aruba.it Racing – Ducati / Ducati Panigale R / +4.058 3 Tom SYKES / GBR / Kawasaki Racing Team / Kawasaki ZX-10R / +7.512 9 #6 Stefan BRADL / GER / Red Bull Honda World Superbike Team / Honda CBR1000RR SP2 / +27.488 WorldSBK Standings: 1 Jonathan REA / GBR / Kawasaki Racing Team / 125 2 Tom SYKES / GBR / Kawasaki Racing Team / 78 3 Chaz DAVIES / GBR / Aruba.it Racing – Ducati / 70 13 #6 Stefan BRADL / GER / Red Bull Honda World Superbike Team / 15#AragonWorldSBK: GOING THROUGH SUPERPOLE 2 NARROWLY MISSED
For Stefan Bradl, the opening day at the Spanish circuit MotorLand Aragón brought mixed results. Round three of this year’s FIM Superbike World Championship got underway with Friday morning’s FP1 under dry weather conditions but cool temperatures. Meanwhile, everything began well for the 27-year-old German with a pleasingly start into the weekend in Spain’s outback. Bradl concluded the first free practice session tenth fastest, just 0.6 seconds off the pace. But during the afternoon session he could not take benefit by the softer tyres. On-track action continues Saturday morning with the third and final free practice before the Superpole sessions will decide the starting grid for race one which is scheduled to get started at 1:00 pm. #6 Stefan BRADL (Red Bull Honda World Superbike Team, Honda CBR1000RR SP2), FP1: P9 – 1´51.177 / FP2: P10 – 1´51.686: “Our summary after day one of practice here at Motorland sees mixed results. Whilst we were happy with FP1 this morning, things didn’t go that well in the afternoon. In any case, the first session was good start into the weekend. There were not many upgrades or new parts to the package because the bikes were delivered directly to Spain but we got along well from the beginning. However, conditions changed for FP2 significantly, particularly due to stronger winds. Beyond that, for some oddities the softer tyre didn’t work for us. “It’s a pity because we saved two softer tyres to went out for a time attack but unfortunate I wasn’t able to improve my lap time. From my point of view, therefore, this option has less potential under conditions like this as originally assumed. Apart from that, it was difficult to improve overall. We were one half of a second off which creates some question marks. So, we need to look on it more closely. I think, that we must concentrate on the harder options tomorrow. In the end, I was pushed out of the top ten for which I’m a bit annoyed. That would have been going through Superpole 2.” #AragonWorldSBK – Free Practices Combined Results: 1 #1 Jonathan REA / GBR / Kawasaki Racing Team / Kawasaki ZX-10R / 1´50.062 (FP2) 2 #33 Marco MELANDRI / GBR / Aruba.it Racing – Ducati / Ducati Panigale R / 1´50.161 +0.099 (FP2) 3 #66 Tom SYKES / GBR / Kawasaki Racing Team / Kawasaki ZX-10R / 1´50.305 +243 (FP2) 11 #6 Stefan BRADL / GER / Red Bull Honda World Superbike Team / 1´51.177 +1.115 (FP1) WorldSBK Time Schedule for Saturday, April 1st 2017 (MESZ): 08:45 – 09:10 FP3 10:30 – 10:45 Superpole 1 10:55 – 11:10 Superpole 2 13:00 – Race 1 (18 Laps – 91.386 km)#AragonWorldSBK: LOTS OF ANTICIPATION FOR FIRST EUROPEAN ROUND
Stefan Bradl looks forward with special expectation to this weekend’s round three at the famous Spanish track. Race number five and six at the modern MotorLand Aragón complex marks the series´ first round on European soil. The 5 kilometres long circuit is no longer an unkown affair to Stefan Bradl because he knows the challenging track in the outback of Barcelona well. The distance to Catalunya’s capital is somewhat of 250 kilometres. Bradl and his Red Bull Honda World Superbike Team endured a sobering start into the new challenge with difficult races in oversea in Australia and Thailand. The all-new Honda CBR1000RR SP2 Superbike isn’t still fully developed to compete at top level in this highly competitive championship that is why engineers and technicians were working tireless during the break since the last race to try and further develope entire package. The FIM Superbike World Championship calendar contains 13 events with one race on Saturday and Sunday each time. The machines are based on production Superbikes. TV viewers in Central Europa may watch all races live on Free-TV via Austrian channel ServusTV. #6 Stefan BRADL (Red Bull Honda World Superbike Team, Honda CBR1000RR SP2): “This weekend’s Aragón round is for several reasons very important for me. First, because it is the first European race and on the other hand, I’m really looking forward to race there because Aragón is a track I like lot since the first time I was there. I think we can improve our result from the first two round this time because in my opinion, the track suites more to our package which we have at the moment. I really hope that we can make progress and close the gap to the top guys. I eagerly to achieve strong results soon. Monday’s testing makes this weekend even more interesting for us. During this test, we have to take the right path for the central part of the championship.” MotorLand Aragón – Circuit Information: Length: 5.077 meters Corners: 17 (10 left / 7 right) Pole-Position: right Website: www.motorlandaragon.com Time Schedule (CET): Friday, 31. March: 09:45 – 10:45 FP1 Friday, 31. March: 14:30 – 15:30 FP2 Saturday, 1. April 08:45 – 09:10 FP3 Saturday, 1. April: 10:30 – 10:45 SP1 Saturday, 1. April: 10:55 – 11:10 SP2 Saturday, 1. April: 13:00 Race 1 (18 Laps – 91,386 km) Sunday, 2. April: 09:30 – 09:45 Warm Up Sunday, 2. April: 13:00 Race 2 (18 Laps – 91,386 km)(Deutsch) #THAIWorldSBK Race2 Report: ÜNGLÜCKLICHER ABSCHLUSS DES WOCHENENDES
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