Crescent
Fixi Suzuki raced to its first World Superbike
Championship points at the 2012 WSBK season-opener
at Phillip Island in Australia today.
Although the results
were not what they were looking for from Leon
Camier and temporary stand-in Josh Brookes,
the positive feedback and amount of valuable
information gained will be invaluable for the
next round of the series at Imola in a month's
time.
Leon Camier - Race 1 - 17th, Race 2
- 12th:
"I wanted
better results today but we've gathered masses
of information in the team's first-ever WSBK
race and I'm positive that we'll see a big improvement
in Imola. I can't tell you how happy I am with
the GSX-R's chassis - for me it has the potential
to win races. The bike brakes really well, is
stable in mid-corner; and I'm perfectly happy
with its character. If we can get a bit more
power, we'll be contenders for sure. In race
one, I got pushed off the track by Giugliano
and lost ground. I started chasing back to catch
up, but as the race went on the tyre wore out
completely and I couldn't push any harder.
"In the second
race, I got hemmed-in going into turn one, lost
ground and was 14th at the end of lap one. I
was able to pass a lot of people on the brakes,
but lost out on acceleration and top speed and
again the way I had to ride to compensate destroyed
the tyre at the end. This was a tough day but
the potential is huge."
Josh Brookes
- Race 1 - 16th, Race 2 - 15th:
"I feel better
about today than the rest of the weekend. For
race two, we went back to front-end ride height
we used yesterday plus some softer springs.
The changes made a huge difference to how the
front end felt and the bike braked and turned
better. We turned down the traction control
for race two and although I was happier with
the feel of the bike, it resulted in destroying
the tyres more quickly. I'd like to thank Crescent
Fixi Suzuki for giving me the chance to ride
the bike. I have learnt a lot this weekend and
my mind has been opened as to the potential
of the Suzuki I'll be riding in the British
Superbike Championship."
Jack Valentine
- Team Manager:
"Race two
was much better for Leon and his lap times when
he was playing catch up from 14th were excellent
- good enough to run in the top four or five.
We need to find a bit more power and hopefully
this will come with the next-step Yoshimura
GSX-R engines. I'm pleased that Josh got into
the points. He has worked hard throughout the
tests and this weekend and we really appreciate
his efforts standing in for Hopper. Overall
I am happier with the second race potential
and generally we've gained a lot of good, useful
information to take to the next round in Imola.
Paul Denning
- Team Principal:
"Phillip Island
is a brutal track if you don't have a perfect
set-up and we also missed John's speed and experience
with the Suzuki, so our backs were up against
it right from the start. Leon's results today
didn't demonstrate his potential, but his race
pace in the second 22-lapper showed that he
can run with the top group - but a combination
of being 14th at the end of lap one and tyre-wear
issues made it hard for him to get back into
contention.
"I'd like
to thank Josh for joining the team at short
notice and working as hard as he did in the
tests and this weekend. I'd also like to thank
Fujio, Yohei and all the guys at Yoshimura.
We need their help to go forward and we're all
looking forward to the next-spec engines. This
is a World Championship and it's tough at this
level but we are determined to fight for good
results!"
WSB Results:
Race 1:
1 Biaggi, 2 Melandri, 3 Guintoli, 4 Sykes, 5
Smrz. 16 Josh Brookes (Crescent Fixi Suzuki).
17 Leon Camier (Crescent Fixi Suzuki).
Race 2:
1 Checa, 2 Biaggi, 3 Sykes, 4 Rea, 5 Haslam,
6 Melandri. 12 Leon Camier (Crescent Fixi Suzuki).
15 Josh Brookes (Crescent Fixi Suzuki).
World
Championship Points: 1 Biaggi 45, 2
Melandri 30, 3 Sykes 29, 4 Checa 25, 5 Rea 22,
6 Guintoli 16. 17 Leon Camier 4. 19 Josh Brookes
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