Stefan Bradl and his Red Bull Honda World Superbike Team endured a so-so opening day at this weekend’s round seven in Italy.

The FIM Superbike World Championship was welcomed for its second visit to Italy this year by great summer weather at Rimini’s Adriatic coast line. Temperatures with almost 30 degrees in the air and 46 degrees on the tarmac caused grip issues at the 4.2 kilometres long Misano World Circuit in general.

But a private test here two weeks ago paid off for Stefan Bradl and his team so far as the 27-year-old German performed strong during Friday morning’s first free practice. Lap times were good enough to found himself in the range of the top ten for most of the one-hour long session though Bradl improved by 0.4 seconds with a few minutes to go. In the afternoon, however, the track was more slippery due to increased temperatures which caused a spinning rear on his Honda Superbike. In addition, electronic problems forced Bradl for a longer break in the pits which was why he couldn’t improve his lap time from FP1 finally. So, for Bradl qualifying starts with Superpole1 on Saturday morning.

Both races of the weekend are broadcasted by Austrian’s channel ServusTV. The programme, which is by the way to see in Central Europe’s entire German speaking area in Free-TV, is set to start on Saturday and Sunday 30 minutes earlier than the races get underway at 1:00 pm, including a detailed pre-show.

#6 Stefan BRADL (Red Bull Honda World Superbike Team, Honda CBR1000RR SP2), FP1: P13 – 1´36.548 / FP2: P18 – 1´37.730:

“The weekend began quite busy for us. This morning, the feeling with the bike wasn’t too bad. I could feel that our test two weeks ago was helpful. Actually, we made some progress in terms of the electronics and throttle connection on the rear. This afternoon, however, we started with used tyres and obviously the lack of grip was an issue in general. But then we suffered an electronic problem which forced us to stay in the garage for a long time so, I couldn’t do as many laps. We lost many valuable time and this was why we couldn’t improve. Our potential is definitely higher because my feeling with the bike was very positive this morning. Hopefully we’re able to turn this fact in a better performance tomorrow!”

#RiminiWorldSBK – Free Practice Combined Results (FP1/FP2):
1 Jonathan REA / GBR / Kawasaki Racing Team / Kawasaki ZX-10R / 1´34.901 (FP2)
2 Tom SYKES / GBR / Kawasaki Racing Team / Kawasaki ZX-10R / 1´34.931 +0.030 (FP1)
3 Marco MELANDRI / ITA / Aruba.it Racing – Ducati / Ducati Panigale R / 1´35.151 +0.250 (FP1)
17 #6 Stefan BRADL / GER / Red Bull Honda World Superbike Team / 1´36.548 +1.647 (FP2)

The 27-year-old German and his Red Bull Honda World Superbike Team are looking forward with confidence to this weekend’s round seven at the Italian Misano circuit.

On the occasion of a two-day test two weeks ago, Stefan Bradl was able to familiarize himself aboard his Honda Superbike with Misano World Circuit. In addition, this test also proved out valuable findings which will ease the start into the weekend on Friday as very similar conditions are to be expect. In 2011, Bradl started the Moto2™ race from pole position and finished second.

Bradl and his team are still mourning the loss of Nicky Hayden, so he is again the sole rider to represent the Dutch based outfit this weekend.

The current calendar of the FIM Superbike World Championship includes 13 events, each with one race on Saturday and Sunday. The race bikes are based on production Superbikes. All races of the series will be broadcasted live by Austrian channel ServusTV. The coverage is to be received in Free-TV in Central Europe’s entire German speaking area.

#6 Stefan BRADL (Red Bull Honda World Superbike Team, Honda CBR1000RR SP2):

“The signs for a better race weekend here in Misano are good. Our test two weeks ago actually should help to move further forwards. During this test, we were able to do many laps and try many things thanks to the good conditions. We have collected a lot of information that will be valuable for the remaining season. Mainly we were working on the throttle connection and the rideability of the engine, as well as the team brought a new tank. With this, my seating position on the bike is more comfortable now. Unfortunately, there was not enough time to work more with a new swingarm.”

“Misano is a circuit that I really like. There is a good mix of fast corners and slow sections. Due to our positive test, I hope that we will be able to take a direction on Friday morning already that will allow us to make further progress. This last month has taken its toll on all of us, but we will do our best to stay focussed and do a good job this weekend.”

Misano World Circuit – Circuit facts:
Länge: 4.226 Meter
Kurven: 16 (6 Links / 10 Rechts)
Website: www.misanocircuit.com
WorldSBK Beste Superpole: 1´34.037 (2016)
WorldSBK Rundenrekord: 1´34.720 (2015)

Time Schedule (CET):
Freitag, 16. Juni: 09:45 – 10:45 FP1
Freitag, 16. Juni: 14:30 – 15:30 FP2
Samstag, 17. Juni: 08:45 – 09:10 FP3
Samstag, 17. Juni: 10:30 – 10:45 SP1
Samstag, 17. Juni: 10:55 – 11:10 SP2
Samstag, 17. Juni: 13:00 Rennen 1 (21 Runden – 88,746 km)
Sonntag, 18. Juni: 09:30 – 09:45 Warm Up
Sonntag, 18. Juni: 13:00 Rennen 2 (21 Runden – 88,746 km)

WorldSBK Standings:
1 Jonathan REA / GBR / Kawasaki / 260
2 Tom SYKES / GBR / Kawasaki / 205
3 Chaz DAVIES / GBR / Ducati / 185
4 Marco MELANDRI / ITA / Ducati / 137
5 Alex LOWES / GBR / Yamaha / 121
6 Michael van der MARK / NED / Yamaha / 102
7 Xavi FORES / SPA / Ducati / 99
8 Leon CAMIER / GBR / MV Agusta / 84
9 Jordi TORRES / SPA / BMW / 72
10 Eugene LAVERTY / IRL / Aprilia / 58
11 Román RAMOS / SPA / Kawasaki / 57
12 #6 Stefan BRADL / GER / Honda / 48
13 Leandro MERCADO / ARG / Aprilia / 43
14 Nicky HAYDEN / USA / Honda / 40
15 Lorenzo SAVADORI / ITA / Aprilia / 32

Sorry, this entry is only available in Deutsch.

Saturday’s eleventh race of the season brought a prematurely end for German Stefan Bradl.

With one hour before the race start was scheduled at 3:00 pm local time, teams and riders as well as many fans gathered at the main straight to pay tribute to Nicky Hayden to make a collective dedication to the late and missed American MotoGP World Champion 2006. It was a very touched farewell to the ever-popular Nicky Hayden.

This was, however, an aggravating circumstance for Bradl and his Red Bull Honda World Superbike Team to prepare on the race. Since Friday morning, irritating electronic problems have caused much headache this weekend. Because of an increasingly unmanageable handling of the bike, Bradl was forced to retire after two third of the distance.

The second race of the weekend is scheduled to get started Sunday afternoon at 3:00 pm local time. Austrian’s broadcaster ServusTV starts its live coverage 30 minutes earlier.

#6 Stefan BRADL (Red Bull Honda World Superbike Team, Honda CBR1000RR SP2), NC – Championship position 12th (43 points):

“Since the start of the weekend, we are struggling with massive electronics issues. Despite all the efforts of my technicians, the situation hardly improved for the race. It was difficult to take control on the bike’s handling as the traction control got crazy. After I had a big moment once in turn one, it didn’t make sense for me to continue. Luckily, I was able to prevent a crash after I nearly highsided but I had absolutely no idea what was going on at that moment. First, I really wanted to finish the race but the traction control didn’t work anymore properly from this moment. It was very dangerous. We have to look at the matter now, to analyse and find out what was the cause.”

#UKWorldSBK – Result Race 1 (23 Laps):
1 Tom SYKES / GBR / Kawasaki Racing Team / Kawasaki ZX-10R / 33´56.457
2 Leon HASLAM / GBR / Kawasaki Puccetti Racing Team / Kawasaki ZX-10R / +16.500
3 Alex LOWES / GBR / Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK Team / Yamaha YZF-R1 / 19.170
NC #6 Stefan BRADL / GER / Red Bull Honda World Superbike Team / Honda CBR1000RR SP2

WorldSBK Standings:
1 Jonathan REA / GBR / Kawasaki Racing Team / 235
2 Tom SYKES / GBR / Kawasaki Racing Team / 185
3 Chaz DAVIES / GBR / Aruba.it Racing – Ducati / Ducati Panigale R / 169
12 #6 Stefan BRADL / GER / Red Bull Honda World Superbike Team / 43

Sorry, this entry is only available in Deutsch.

Sorry, this entry is only available in Deutsch.

During Sunday’s race two at Imola, Stefan Bradl was slowed by massive gearbox issues.

The 27-year-old Superbike rookie from Germany experiences a frustrating season so far. After crashing on Saturday morning, where Bradl escaped harmless but his bike including the new more powerful engine were total damaged, he was able to bring home another top ten finish. On Sunday morning, however, when the weather was fine again, the world looked gloomy again. He endured already during the 15-minutes long warm up session niggling gearing problems, which despite intensive efforts could not sort out untill the race’s starting time at 1:00 pm. The fact that the race was stopped by red flags just during the opening lap because of an engine breakdown by another rider’s bike and restarted after 40-minutes interruption didn’t matter at all. By the way, the organizers and track marshals did a great job during the entire weekend in terms of safety after that many interruptions due to engine issues.

The Superbike World Championship is set to continue in two week with its visit to the English circuit at Donington Park.

#6 Stefan BRADL (Red Bull Honda World Superbike Team, Honda CBR1000RR SP2), 14th – Championship position 12th (43 points):

“It was again a race, about which is not much to say. My start and the first lap were ok. But under breaking for the chicane in lap two, I made a mistake because I didn’t know in which gear I was in this moment. So, for this my race was gone because I had to struggle all distance long with these gearbox issues. Every time in gearing, I had to push the gear in, as well as in down shifting the gearbox went into neutral. Yesterday, the same gearbox worked faultless, but these problems appeared already during warm up this morning.”

“We tried to fix it during the break till the race by the electronics in order to extend somehow the endurance of the gearbox but unfortunate without any success. This engine, which we must use for the completely rebuild bike, already lasts since four events. So, no one can be accused of this. After such an durability, the gearbox is simply worn out. In the end, it was a bad race for us during which I never was able to set decent lap times due to these problems as well as many mistakes in my riding were logical consequences. With P14 and two more points we come out of it partly well.”

#ItalianWorldSBK – Results Race 2 (18 Laps):
1 Chaz DAVIES / GBR / Aruba.it Racing – Ducati / Ducati Panigale R / 32´12.361
2 Jonathan REA / GBR / Kawasaki Racing Team / Kawasaki ZX-10R / +3.739
3 Tom SYKES / GBR / Kawasaki Racing Team / Kawasaki ZX-10R / +4.342
14 #6 Stefan BRADL / GER / Red Bull Honda World Superbike Team / Honda CBR1000RR SP2 / +54.649

WorldSBK Standings:
1 Jonathan REA / GBR / Kawasaki Racing Team / 235
2 Chaz DAVIES / GBR / Aruba.it Racing – Ducati / Ducati Panigale R / 161
3 Tom SYKES / GBR / Kawasaki Racing Team / 160
12 #6 Stefan BRADL / GER / Red Bull Honda World Superbike Team / 43

Next race: 27/28 Mai, Donington Park / Great Britain

After a turbulent Saturday with the weekend’s first race, the Honda rider didn’t make it more than to tenth.

The series´ ninth race took place under good conditions but with increasingly warmer temperatures on Saturday at lunch time. For Stefan Bradl, however, the day started with a fright when he crashed during FP3 in the morning. Fortunate, he escaped harmless but on the other hand, his bike had only scrap value. So, this means once again a lot of work for the team’s mechanics to rebuild a completely new bike during the short break until Superpole1.

During this 15-minutes long time hunt for the last chance to qualify for Superpole2, which is to decide the top spots on the grids in the first four rows, the 27-year-old German showed up quite unimpressed by the previous happenings as he posted fastest lap time in Superpole1. This was why he made the leap into Superpole2 for the second time in his rookie season in FIM Superbike World Championship. Bradl qualified for twelfth on the grid finally. Race 1 itself didn’t went as spectacular for him. Lacking track knowledge and in acceleration were obviously his handicap to finish better than in tenth place. The race was red-flagged due to an incident involving Irish rider Eugene Laverty after twelve laps.

Race two on Sunday is also scheduled for 1:00 pm and can be viewed in Free-TV in Central Europe via Austrian’s broadcaster ServusTV. It’s programme, however, starts already 30 minutes earlier.

#6 Stefan BRADL (Red Bull Honda World Superbike Team, Honda CBR1000RR SP2), 10th – Championship position 11th (41 points):

“Things didn’t go quite well again today, honestly. The crash this morning, of course, did affect a little bit my confidence, as well as we had to use the old engine when rebuilding the bike. So, the handling was completely different during the race for which it took some laps to find my rhythm. The race itself was rather boring from the start. I didn’t really have a chance to take action into the happenings. Mostly I was riding alone and I made too many mistakes.”

“Shortly before the race was red-flagged, I lost one position on Roman (Ramos). In the end, however, this was a help for me to follow another rider. So, I was able to see something and find the way how to ride more consistent throughout a lap. But our main problem was still present. In corner exit, our bike is not good enough in acceleration. Therefore, I tried to make up this disadvantage under breaking. Unfortunately, this target did not work out completely because I have made some mistakes. Hopefully, I’m able to convert all this things during tomorrow’s race in a better way in order to be faster out there. One half of a second in terms of lap times is clearly the minimum.”

#ItalianWorldSBK – Results Race 1 (12 Laps):
1 Chaz DAVIES / GBR / Aruba.it Racing – Ducati / Ducati Panigale R / 21´21.371
2 Jonathan REA / GBR / Kawasaki Racing Team / Kawasaki ZX-10R / +6.696
3 Marco MELANDRI / ITA / Aruba-it Racing – Ducati / Ducati Panigale R / +9.287
10 #6 Stefan BRADL / GER / Red Bull Honda World Superbike Team / Honda CBR1000RR SP2 / +34.585

WorldSBK Standings:
1 Jonathan REA / GBR / Kawasaki Racing Team / 215
2 Tom SYKES / GBR / Kawasaki Racing Team / 144
3 Chaz DAVIES / GBR / Aruba.it Racing – Ducati / Ducati Panigale R / 136
11 #6 Stefan BRADL / GER / Red Bull Honda World Superbike Team / 41

After the opening day, the 27-year-old Superbike rookie is enthusiastic about the track’s varying layout in Imola.

The 4.9 kilometres long circuit at the Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari differs in so many aspects to the world’s most other race tracks. Most obvious is the location of the circuit in the middle of Imola. From the paddock, it is only a few minutes’ walk to the city centre. But the layout itself has a lot more to offer, as Stefan Bradl had to learn.

Round five got started in good conditions with nice weather. At the challenging circuit in the Emiglia-Romagna, it was not easy for Bradl to set decent lap times straight away so, Friday morning’s FP1 was therefore to get familiarized with the track at the famous named Autodromo . During the second session, however, the Honda rider was able to improve his lap times significantly, but he still faces the challenge to qualify for Superpole 2 going through the first timed session on Saturday.

As usual, both races of the weekend will be broadcasted by Austrian channel ServusTV. The show starts on Saturday and Sunday at 12:30 pm respectively with a detailed pre-reporting from the Italian round.

#6 Stefan BRADL (Red Bull Honda World Superbike Team, Honda CBR1000RR SP2), FP1: P14 – 1´49.616 / FP2: P12 – 1´48.766:

“My first impressions about this track aboard my race bike are pretty much ok. I like the layout very much, because it is just completely different to many other race tracks. Nevertheless, it is hard for me to really enjoy riding for the moment. Of course, it took some laps to find the way around here because one lap is enormously varied. There are many high-speed parts, followed by hard breaking points. Compared to Thailand, it is much harder to get around quickly.”

“But apart from the fact that I must improve my riding first, we have massive problems in accelerating. It is frustrating, to wrap up the opening day with a 2.5 seconds’ gap to the front runners. There are many places where you are gearing from first gear and in these parts of the track, we lose a lot of time. In this area, we must improve significantly for tomorrow. Hopefully we are able to sort out some of these weak points to qualify for Superpole 2. For the race, however, I still have to learn a lot at this track.”

#ItalianWorldSBK – Free Practice Combined Results (FP1/FP2):
1 Chaz DAVIES / GBR / Aruba.it Racing – Ducati / Ducati Panigale R / 1´46.229 (FP2)
2 Jonathan REA / GBR / Kawasaki Racing Team / Kawasaki ZX-10R / 1´46.694 +0.465 (FP2)
3 Tom SYKES / GBR / Kawasaki Racing Team / Kawasaki ZX-10R / 1´47.125 +0.896 (FP2)
13 #6 Stefan BRADL / GER / Red Bull Honda World Superbike Team / 1´48.766 +2.537 (FP2)

The series’ round five, however, is an absolutely new terrority for the World Superbike rookie.

Stefan Bradl has never done a lap aboard a race bike at the Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari thus far. Therefore, the 27-year-old from Germany faces a big challenge ahead of him for this weekend’s Italian round. Over the course during one lap, the Imola track includes a mixture of fast and flowing sections and several chicanes with typical stop-and-go character. In addition, there are several blind corners and hard breaking areas in downhill sections. Bradl has been listening to his Superbikes colleagues before heading to Imola but on all sides, he just heard about the most physically demanding race track on the calendar. Therefore, Friday morning’s first free practice will be very important for the further course of the weekend.

The FIM Superbike World Championship’s calendar contains 13 rounds including one race on Saturday and Sunday each. The race bikes are based on production Superbikes. All race will be broadcasted live on Austrians channel ServusTV. The programme ist to be viewed in free TV in the entire German speaking area of Central Europe.

#6 Stefan BRADL (Red Bull Honda World Superbike Team, Honda CBR1000RR SP2):

“I’m looking forward to the Italian round this weekend. The weather here is usually nice and warm. So, I hope it will be this weekend too. I have never been in Imola before. I, therefore, have no experience at this track at all. In this respect, it will be a huge challenge because I heard that the circuit is very challenging with several blind corners and many different elevation changes. Obviously, it will not be an easy task to find the right line straight away. But as always, I will try and do my best to get familiarized to the track as quick as possible during the first session and continue in this way with every further exits.”

Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari – Streckeninformationen:
Länge: 4.936 Meter
Kurven: 22 (13 Links / 9 Rechts)
Website: www.autodromoimola.it
WorldSBK Beste Superpole: 1´46.289 (2014)
WorldSBK Rundenrekord: 1´46.707 (2015)

Zeitplan (MESZ):
Freitag, 12. Mai: 09:45 – 10:45 FP1
Freitag, 12. Mai: 14:30 – 15:30 FP2
Samstag, 13. Mai: 08:45 – 09:10 FP3
Samstag, 13. Mai: 10:30 – 10:45 SP1
Samstag, 13. Mai: 10:55 – 11:10 SP2
Samstag, 13. Mai: 13:00 Rennen 1 (19 Runden – 93,784 km)
Sonntag, 14. Mai: 09:30 – 09:45 Warm Up
Sonntag, 14. Mai: 13:00 Rennen 2 (19 Runden – 93,784 km)

WorldSBK WM-Stand 2017:
1 Jonathan REA / GBR / Kawasaki / 195
2 Tom SYKES / GBR / Kawasaki / 131
3 Chaz DAVIES / GBR / Ducati / 111
4 Marco MELANDRI / ITA / Ducati / 97
5 Alex LOWES / GBR / Yamaha / 76
6 Michael van der MARK / NED / Yamaha / 62
7 Xaxi FORES / SPA / Ducati / 60
8 Jordi TORRES / SPA / BMW / 57
9 Leon CAMIER / GBR / MV Agusta / 54
10 Eugene LAVERTY / IRL / Aprilia / 46
11 Nicky HAYDEN / USA / Honda / 36
12 Stefan BRADL / GER / Honda / 35
13 Román RAMOS / SPA / Kawasaki / 32
14 Leandro MERCADO / ARG / Aprilia / 28
15 Lorenzo SAVADORI / ITA / Aprilia / 21