Yamaha World Superbike riders Marco Melandri and Eugene Laverty are geared up and all set for Silverstone this coming weekend, the second British round of the 2011 World Superbike calendar. This can be considered as the second “Home race” for Eugene Laverty. The rider from Northern Ireland is determined to impress on his home turf and make up for the less than perfect results obtained in the first of the two British stop offs, earlier this season in Donington Park. Laverty has fond memories of the British track due to his spectacular victory in the 2010 World Supersport category and sets out determined to repeat this performance in his debut year in World Superbikes. Teammate Marco Melandri, fresh from two victories in the last two rounds of the championship, Aragon and Brno, heads to the U.K stronger and more optimistic than ever. The Italian has his sights on success and a place on what was a British dominated podium last year.
Silverstone is possibly the most historical and internationally famous circuit on the calendar and is host to some of the world’s most prestigious sporting events. The track underwent major reconstruction prior to last year’s WSB event. Renovations consisted in remodeling a new layout complex which rendered the fast flowing track even more challenging and rewarding. Many high speed and fast corners such as Copse, Abbey and Stowe are characteristic of the British track.
Marco Melandri
Yamaha World Superbike Team
“I think Silverstone is one of the best tracks of the season. I really enjoyed riding there last year with the GP and I’m looking forward to riding it with my R1. It’s a nice flowing track with some fast corners and these characteristics should be suitable for my bike. Crutchlow came away with two race wins last year and I’m confident the yamaha will be strong there this year also. I’m looking forward to the weekend and I’m optimistic we can get some good results.”
Eugene Laverty
Yamaha World Superbike Team
“Silverstone is one of my favourite tracks on the calendar following the best victory of my career in the World Supersport category, last season. The fast nature of the track really suits my style and there’s many passing opportunities if it comes down to a last lap fight. The start/finish line has been moved for 2011 and so I’m going to have to rethink my race strategy. Last year I made my race-winning overtake into Abbey on the last lap but it’s now the first corner which changes things quite a bit. I’m looking forward to the new challenge though and I’d love nothing more than to walk away with a victory, or two, at my home round.”
Silverstone technically speaking according to Silvano Galbusera
Marco Melandri’s crew chief
“Silverstone is usually a good track for the R1. We intend starting with the set-up we used in Brno but we need to pay particular attention to tyre life. Silverstone is a track with very poor grip so we need to use a soft compound tyre. We have studied the data from Cal’s set up last year and know what to do to improve on tyre performance. In the last two races we made improvements with the engine brake of the machine. Marco likes to have a consistent bike, with the same behavior from the beginning of the race to the end but the soft tyre deteriorates quickly and it’s difficult to keep the pace for the last five or six laps. We need to work on improving this.”
Silverstone technically speaking according to Frankie Carchedi
Eugene Laverty’s crew chief
“At Brno we attained more solid top five finishes. The team has worked hard since then to find those final tenths we were missing mainly on the straights. Silverstone is one of the fastest race tracks on the calendar, also very flowing, which will suit the Yamaha and also Eugene’s riding style. We will start with our base set-up on bike 1, and work from there. The weather forecast looks like it could be a hot weekend, and Silverstone can be notoriously slippy the hotter the track temperature gets, so we will work on the chassis to maximize grip.”
Andrea Dosoli – Yamaha World Superbike Team Manager
“I’m very much looking forward to the next round. Last year went really well for us when Cal won both races, showing how the R1 performs well on the flowing British track. Following the strong race and positive results in Brno, we are heading to Silverstone optimistic. I expect good results from both riders as this kind of track is ideal for Marco’s style of riding and Eugene came away victorious last year in Supersport. We’ve a special link with England as Marco got his first ever win in WSB in Donington and it’s also Eugene’s home race. We are confident and are looking forward to enjoying the races together with the crowd of British fans.”
2011 World Superbike United Kingdom
Silverstone 26/07/2011
Circuit Length:
5900
Lap Record:
2’05.259
(Cal Crutchlow, 01/01/2010)
Fastest Lap Ever:
2’04.091
(Cal Crutchlow, 27/05/2010)
Last Years Winner:
Cal Crutchlow
Davies Gears up for Home Race at Silverstone
This coming weekend’s race at Silverstone, U.K marks the eighth round of the 2011 World Supersport Championship. The first of the two British stop offs on this year’s calendar (Donington Park), saw the Yamaha ParkinGO Team claim a spectacular one-two race win. Yamaha ParkinGO are now setting out for the historical track at Silverstone, intent on repeating that outstanding performance and returning to the podium for the seventh time this season.
Brit, Chaz Davies is geared up and confident ahead of Sunday’s race where he aims for victory on his home soil to further secure his position at the top of the standings, on the road to the championship title. Davies has proved to be the strongest contender of the Championship, powering his R6 to victory on three occasions and claiming a further two podiums, to date.
After two less than perfect rounds, Luca Scassa is also eager to head to the British track. The Italian is optimistic that the fast flowing characteristics of Silverstone are ideal for his powerful R6 machine and will enable him to fight for a podium and climb back up the championship standings. Scassa is currently in fifth place with 79 points, just six points off Parkes in second.
2011 World Supersport United Kingdom
Silverstone 26/07/2011
Circuit Length:
5900
Lap Record:
2’08.717
(Kenan Sofuoglu, 01/01/2010)
Fastest Lap Ever:
2’08.717
(Kenan Sofuoglu, 27/05/2010)
