SportBiKeZ

Jonas Folger claimed points for the Red Bull MotoGP Academy by opening his tally at Misano.

Red Bull MotoGP Academy rider Jonas Folger took home his first World Championship points at Misano, in only his second race in the 125cc class.

The German made his debut at the previous round in Brno, and this
time out was able to finish a creditable fifteenth from the seventh row
on the grid. Folger´s cause was aided by a number of crashes in front
of him and a mature ride for the youngster, whose lap times got faster
as the race went on.

The 15 year-old will now continue his unique preparation project for
an eventual full-time arrival to the World Championship, with the
possibility of participation in some of the remaining five races of the
2008 season.

Australian rider Russell Holland has proved to be fast and competitive since the start of his new experience in World Supersport, despite having to learn a new track every weekend in his rookie season. After three races and one test session in Vallelunga with the experienced HANNspree Honda Althea team, Russell Holland illustrates his season so far and what the future holds for this promising young Australian rider.

"This year is certainly an initiation for me... new tracks and a new lifestyle in living in Europe by myself on top of World Championship competition has been a real challenge but I'm trying to appreciate this experience as I know everyone here has had to go through it and in the future I'll be laughing about the challenges along the way".

Tell us about the latest round at Brands Hatch, England..

"Well, this was a weekend to forget in many ways. For our team it is incredible the bad luck we had. But the circuit was amazing and I can say I really enjoyed riding it although it's a track that takes some time to link the turns together and get a flow going. On Saturday afternoon we caught the worst of a small rain shower that interrupted qualifying. I was on my best lap when the rain came and then in the final 5 minutes when the track had dried we just couldn't find a gap in the traffic and couldn't improve. So on Sunday we were set to start from 15th but on the warm-up lap I had a clutch failure, just pure bad luck. This forced us to start from the spare bike and from the back of the grid in 37th place. We got a great start in the race but from the third lap it began to rain and got heavier in the next 5 laps. On the 8th lap the race leader Robbin Harms crashed then I crashed on the same turn whilst in 15th place... The race was red-flagged immediately after this, my bike was too badly damaged to return to the pits as the rule says you must. Because of this I could not restart even on my spare bike. A frustrating end really".

About the loss of Craig Jones

"After retiring from the race in Brands I witnessed Craig's crash and you cannot imagine a crash like that happening, it was very strange. I knew him reasonably well and he was one of the boys and a nice guy. It is sobering when something like this hits someone you know. My heart goes out for the family and close friends of Craig".

Back to business, how did the partnership with HANNspree Honda Althea come about?

"I started the year in the Superbike class and we achieved some promising results early on when we had a chance to test on the circuits. I'm proud that we finished in the top ten (9th) at the 2nd round, my home race in Australia. It was not so easy as the championship moved back to Europe but we did manage three more point scoring finishes before the mid-season (13th Valencia, 13th Monza, 15th Utah). I'm now really happy to be competing in the Supersport class with HANNspree Honda Althea. It was strange to change classes mid season but my superbike team's future was not clear and the Althea team needed a rider after Tommy Hill was injured. This change was a positive one for sure because I can continue with Honda and the Althea team has experience running at the front in Supersport".

What was your debut like? How did you feel about the new experience?

"I think the debut at Misano was a good lesson in Supersport. Launching straight into a race meet and learning a new bike is pretty exciting. I was riding with too much of a superbike style initially. We just kept chipping away and by the finish of qualifying we were 7th... ok for the first go. Unfortunately in the race I crashed out being too eager to catch the leaders after a bad start. I lost the front end on a turn we'd had trouble with all weekend. Had I been more patient we probably could have made a great result there as the race pace was not so fast".

What about the Vallelunga Test, how much did it help?

"Obviously every track this year is new to me and Vallelunga was a very challenging circuit so I'm glad we could test there. The first part of the track reminds me of Assen a little with fast change of directions. We achieved a lot there with me adjusting to the bike better and just general set-up too".

Let's talk about Brno, your best finish so far this season...

"This year has been full of 'frustrating Fridays' for me as I learn a new track every weekend whilst trying to give constructive feedback to the team. Brno was just like this so it was really good to finish the race and get a good result for the team and myself (7th place). I didn't really get a good feeling with the front there but we made a fairly smooth race and moved forward in the final laps, to finish 7th in the second race with HANNspree Honda Althea was fairly satisfying and I feel it has set us up to finish the year well".

What are your expectations for next year and the rest of this season?

"This year was always going to be a learning curve. The rest of the year will be no different but I believe I can continue to improve my performances and I will be working hard to get on the podium this year! I know I can make a strong championship next year whether in Supersport or Superbike. I have not made plans for next season yet. I have a great team right now and I'll do my best to use that to my advantage".

More than 1000 people turned out to pay their last respects to racer Craig Jones at his funeral today with dozens of famous racers also there.

Jones, 23, was injured after an accident at Brands Hatch on August 3rd when he suffered severe head injuries, he died the next morning.

Jones’ coffin was decorated in the colours of the St George’s cross and marked with his racing number 18. His Parkalgar Honda CBR600RR was also brought to the church in Fotheringhay, Northants where speakers had to be set up outside the church due to the extensive crowds.

Riders who were there included Carl Fogarty, James Whitham, Troy Corser, Shane Byrne, Chris Walker, Broc Parkes and good friends Tommy Hill and Cal Crutchlow.

During the service tributes were paid by TV commentator and family friend Keith Huewen, Jones’ manager Steve Chick and a poem written by Jones’ younger sister Cassie was read out by Doris Valentine, wife of his former team boss Jack Valentine. Jones’ leaves long term partner Karen Atkins.

Britain's James Ellison will be lining up as a wild-card ride at this weekend's Donington Park round of the HANNspree FIM Superbike World Championship despite still feeling the effects of a recent wrist injury that forced him to sit out the last round of the Bennetts British Superbike Championship at Cadwell Park.

The 27 year-old from Kendal had scored points in every round of the BSB championship on his Shaun Muir Racing 1000cc Honda Fireblade, but had to miss Cadwell, and is now looking forward to racing in World Superbike once again, after two years in MotoGP and a year in AMA Superbike.

"I'm so looking forward to racing at Donington, it's unreal!" declared Ellison. "I was so frustrated at Cadwell but my wrist is fine and I have no concerns about it at all now. All it needed was a little bit of rest and now I'm raring to go. We had a good run in the BSB races at Donington and I'm hopeful we can give a good account of ourselves once again. We know our bike is good, we have got the electronics working a lot better and I'm really up for this one. Top ten would be a great result, but I'm hoping for a top six if I'm being honest and despite it being probably the strongest field of the year what with all the British wild cards, I'm feeling very confident".

Ellison is familiar with the World Superbike paddock, having won the European Superstock Championship in 2000 and 2001, before embarking on a season in World Supersport in 2002. He scored his best WSB results in 2004, taking his Yamaha to fifth and sixth at Brands Hatch.

In the eight months since BMW’s announcement that they would
enter the Superbike World Championship in 2009, the project has
gathered pace and race fans everywhere have now been able to see the
tangible aspects of the project properly for the first time. The new
BMW S 1000 RR has been tested at various racetracks in Spain, but it
has now had its first test at a track used by the Superbike World
Championship - the Eurospeedway Lausitzring.

The German
circuit was on the WSBK calendar up to last season and the recent two
day test gave the team a chance to compare their lap times and
performance with last year’s race weekend. At the end of the
test, the team and the three test riders were all happy with the
progress of the bike and eager to work on analysing all the data before
moving on to the next stage in the bike’s development.

The three riders, Steve Martin, Kevin Curtain and Jeremy McWilliams, said;

“The
basics of the S 1000 RR are very good, the engine has good power, the
chassis and suspension are working well and the bike has the basis of a
Superbike racer already.”

This sentiment was echoed by BMW Motorrad Motorsport’s General Manager Berti Hauser, who added;

“I
am very happy with the professional way all three riders worked and the
amount of feedback they have given us. We are under no illusions of the
amount of work we have to do before the start of the season next year,
but we are ready and looking forward to facing this huge challenge. Up
to now, we have done very little work on the electronics and have
preferred to get the bike’s basics working well and I think we
have achieved that. If our project continues at this good pace, I think
we could surprise a few people next year.”

Whilst the main
focus of attention has been at the track, a lot of work has been going
on near Rosenheim, a small town about sixty or so kilometres south east
of BMW’s headquarters in Munich. It is here that BMW Motorrad and
their partners, Alpha Technik, will prepare the Superbike racebikes in
a brand new state of the art facility, incorporating 7,000 square
metres of workshops and offices. The main workshop area is split into
three parts and has two dynos - one for the whole bike and another
which can simulate any racetrack in the world. One of the three
buildings will house BMW Motorrad´s Off-Road and Enduro team,
whilst the other two will be for the Superbike project and for spares
and parts. The progress of the facility's construction has been rapid
and eight months ago there was nothing but grassland where there are
now workshops, offices, meeting rooms and a canteen for all the
employees.

The new facility marks just another step of BMW
Motorrad and Alpha Technik on their way towards the 2009 Superbike
World Championship season.