Honda Superbike pilots seek Spanish success

Honda’s supported World Superbike championship riders will be at Valencia in Spain this weekend (3-5 April) for round three of the 2009 championship.

After the two opening flyaway rounds in Australia and Qatar, Leon Haslam of the Stiggy Racing team is the highest placed Honda rider in fifth place, thanks mainly to his impressive podium finish at Phillip Island. The British rider will be joined in the team for the first time at Valencia by ex-MotoGP rider, John Hopkins, who completed his first test on the Honda CBR1000RR at Almeria in Spain earlier this week.

Hannspree Ten Kate Honda’s Jonathan Rea is just six points behind Haslam in the standings, and the young Northern Ireland ace has been running at the front in all practice and qualifying sessions to date. However, like his team-mate, Spain’s Carlos Checa, Rea has thus far been unable to convert practice form into race results.

Ten Kate Honda Racing’s Ryuichi Kiyonari, with support this year from Honda Genuine Accessories, just missed out on a podium finish with fourth place in race two at Qatar last time out. The Japanese ace scored three victories in his rookie year last season and is desperate to climb the podium again in Valencia this weekend.

Meanwhile, Tommy Hill, the young British rider in Althea Honda Racing’s team, will be aiming for further points as he gets to grip with Honda’s CBR1000RR in his debut SBK season.

Leon Haslam – Stiggy Racing Honda
The last time I raced in Valencia in WSBK I qualified on the front row and was challenging for a podium. I'm looking forward to getting out there on the Honda now. We have tested some new parts for the bike in our one-day test in Almeria and have been able to test a wet set-up for the first time this year. All in all I am really happy with the progress we made so far and feel confident for the next race. If I can have some good practice time on the track and qualify well, we can definitely set some good results in Valencia.

John Hopkins – Stiggy Racing Honda
I am really happy with the testing we have done in Almeria. The first impression of the bike and my new team is really good. The size of the motorcycle makes a big difference, it feels good to be able to move around on the bike again. After my disappointing season last year, it's great to get out on track and enjoy riding a bike again. I've never been on a superbike in my life but the size of the motorcycle makes a big difference and suits my style. I am looking forward to racing in Valencia this weekend and feel I am coming well prepared, despite not having had a lot of time on-track yet. I know the Valencia track well and should be able to put in a good performance.

Jonathan Rea – Hannspree Ten Kate Honda
I had a good few days rest after Qatar before getting right back into my training programme. I also went to see my younger brother, Richard, in his first Irish Superbike race at Mondello Park in Dublin – I need to watch him or he’ll be after my job! I think we’ve all had a chance to gather our thoughts for Valencia though, and to concentrate on improving our results after a less than perfect start to the season. I’m pretty sure we’ll be able to rely on some better tyre consistency now we’re back in Europe, and that will suit the CBR much better. So, we’ll continue to work hard and I’ll be aiming for the podium this weekend.

Carlos Checa – Hannspree Ten Kate Honda
I’ve been working hard on my shoulder after spending a few days at my place in London. The shoulder is still not perfect but I’ve been able to do a lot of running and cycling to keep strong. I’m very optimistic for Valencia and hope that we can get a little more performance from the tyres there. I think this is what was causing the problem with the chatter during the races at Qatar, because we didn’t change anything else on the bike after practice and qualifying, when we were near the front. Anyway, we will work very closely with Pirelli to achieve a consistent performance and I will aim for strong results in front of my friends and family.

Ryuichi Kiyonari – Ten Kate Honda Racing
I went back to Japan after the Qatar races and found some time to relax and prepare for this next race. I like Valencia – in fact, I like all Spanish circuits – and finished fourth in race two last year. But the results this season have not been good enough, even though I was able to match the pace of the leaders in Qatar, so I will be trying hard to get on the podium this weekend. I know that if I get qualifying well and get two good starts, a good result is possible.

Tommy Hill – Honda Althea Racing
Now returning back into Europe I am really looking forward to the Valencia race. I have now been home for nearly two weeks, and have managed to reset, and get back into my pre-race routine. Looking at the Valencia circuit, I hope this will suit our bike, as it has tighter more technical corners where my bike has worked well this year. Now it’s not a case of hoping for better results, it’s a must, I want to progress forward and reach the position I feel we can run as a team.

Circuito Ricardo Tormo, Valencia - 4.005km / 2.489miles
Fastest lap - 1m33.805s (153,702Km/h) Max Neukirchner, Suzuki, 2008
Lap record (race) - 1m35.007s (151,057Km/h) Neil Hodgson, Ducati, 2003

2008 winner – Race 1 - Lorenzo Lanzi (ITA) Ducati)

2008 winner – Race 2 - Noriyuki Haga (JPN) Yamaha