1. Runde GSX-R Cup 2008 Valencia
 

Spanish resident Kenny Noyes continued his domination of the opening round of this year’s Suzuki GSX-R Cup at Valencia with a faultless start to finish victory in the 11-lap race. Despite strong winds, he controlled the race from the front and ran out the winner by over four and a half seconds. But Noyes is a ‘wild card’, so although he had the glory of standing on the top step of the podium, it is runner-up Ismael Ortega who gets the 25 points. Third place in the race was Austrian Roland Resch, with Spaniard Arturo Tizon third and Italian Simone Saltarelli fourth.

Kenny Noyes
“I got a good start, managed to pull out a bit of a gap quite soon and then maintained it to cruise home at the end. The biggest problem I had was the wind! It was so strong that it made it difficult to get the bike to turn in some of the corners. I had to really keep my concentration up because it would’ve been so easy to crash. I have enjoyed myself a lot over the three days and it’s been a great experience for all of us racing in front of a World Superbike crowd. The atmosphere has been great throughout and I hope I get another chance to do it again sometime.”

Ismael Ortega
“Kenny made a good start and once he was away, I concentrated on my own race because I knew he was a ‘wild card’ and couldn’t score any points. I had a good fight with Tizon and Resch and then moved into second place after four laps. The wind was very strong and it was hard to keep the bike heading in the right direction in quite a few corners, but I was determined to take second spot. The Suzuki Cup is a very enjoyable series and it’s good to race in front of so many fans. Already, I am looking forward to the next round.”

Points standing (after 1 round)
01. Ismael Ortega - 25
02. Roland Resch - 20
03. Arturo Tizon - 16
04- Simone Saltarelli - 13
05. Lucas De Carolis - 11
06. Alessandro Colatosti - 10
07, Tom Bridewell - 9
08. Timo Gieseler - 8
09. David Juhasz - 7
10. Emeric Jonchiere - 6
11. Valerio Vitiello - 5
12. Nicholas F. Ferreira - 4
13. Grant Molloy - 3