Circuit Information:
Length: 4.936 Km
Pole Position: Left
Corners: 22
Left Corners: 10
Right Corners: 6
Corner Radius: 6
Max Slope: down 6.22% - up 7.81%
Finish Length:358 m
Risk Takers and Play Makers
You can tell that moto-sports aren't like the stick and ball variety in how people respond to the closing minutes of a race. While fans of other sports may depart their seats, heading for nearest exit, the moto-fan remains to watch the final seconds of drama unfold. Will the race leader truly maintain his impressive advantage over the field, or will he succumb to some mechanical failure or freak incident? Will the hard charging competitor close the gap to make up position, or will he fall beneath the pressure. Until the checkered flag is fluttering in the wind the world is anyone's oyster, and so the fan waits; and so the fan hopes.
The riders, too, wait. In the business world they call it "hurry up and wait" and that is just what they do on the track. They hurry to make up every thousandth of a second, hurry to claim every inch of track that hurts an opponent, hurry to take every place and every position and every point. And they wait, wait for the man in front to make a mistake so they can pounce or the man behind so that they can take a breather. They risk everything in every second in the hopes that the outcome will be as satisfactory for them as it is for the fans.
For that risk, sometimes there is reward.
Aprilia Racing Team
Sylvain Guintoli #50 - Down but not out, Sylvain put quite a bit on the line last time out. In 2013 he had just one race win at the opening round and spent the remainder of the season chasing that finish. This season he had already equaled that heading into round 3, and a lightning start put him in the position to best it. Sylvain didn't just take the lead, he took command of the race by riding out to an impressive 5 second lead clear of the pack. That was when Tom Sykes decided that his tires were up to temperature and began to make his move. Tom's ability to scythe through a gaggle of world class riders is nothing short of demoralizing, and when he had a clear line of sight to the number 50 there a feeling of impending doom. 4.7 seconds.... 4.5 seconds.... 4.3 seconds. Lap by lap the gap between the two protagonists began to fall. 3.9 seconds... 3.5 seconds.... Tom didn't just eat into Guintoli's lead, he gouged huge chunks out of it. Sadly for Tom, it wasn't enough. Instead of falling under the pressure Guintoli kept his head and kept his lead. End result: one blown motor and a red flag later, and Guintoli racks in his second win of the year. Then he almost threw it all away with a crash right at the start of race 1. It's hard to fault Guintoli for pushing so hard so early, as much criticism as he came under for his finishes last year, yet the risk he took almost completely derailed his charge to reclaim the lead in the championship. Fortunately for him and the fans there seems to be a fire in his belly, and he recovered to salvage valuable points. Now in Imola he will need to build on his second win of the year and try to put the fear of Italy into Sykes and Kawasaki.
2013 - Aprilia RSV4 Factory
- Race 1 - DNF
- Race 2 - 3rd
2012 - Ducati 1098R Customer
- Race 1 - DNF
- Race 2 - 11th
2011 - Ducati 1098R Customer
- Race 1 - 6th
- Race 2 - 7th
Pata Honda World Superbike Team
Jonathan Rea #65 - Loyalty is a hard thing to come by sometimes, and few in the paddock are as loyal as Rea has proven to be to Honda. Updates to the British rider's CBR1000RR have been slow in coming, however the newly released SP has proven a formidable weapon for 2014. In somewhat mixed conditions during race 1 at Assen the bike was fast, but more importantly it was stable. So stable in fact that Rea was able to put it on the podium, his second in 3 rounds. It was in the second race, however, that Rea proved his mettle. To say that conditions were difficult would be an understatement, as the body count of riders is a testament to. All of the top riders faltered, even fell. Yet right from the start Rea was on the boil. While other riders slipped and slid he rocketed to the front and held of an early charge by championship hopeful Guintoli. By mid-way through a shortened, but lively, second race Rea had built up a hard fought but very comfortable lead. Recognizing the opportunity presented he put it all on the line and by race's end cruised to his first victory of 2014.
2013 - Honda CBR1000RR
- Race 1 - DNF
- Race 2 - 2nd
2012 - Honda CBR1000RR
- Race 1 - 9th
- Race 2 - 5th
2011 - Honda CBR1000RR
- Race 1 - 1st
- Race 2 - DNF
