Indonesia's Doni Tata Pradita Scores His First WSS Point

Yamaha Team YZF rider Doni Pradita scored his first point in the Supersport World Championship at Valencia last weekend, as he finds his feet in a category of racing which is new for him.

Still only 19-years old, Pradita jumped up five places from his previous WSS best, and secured the last point on offer at Valencia, for 15th place. In 20th position at the end of the first lap, Pradita made gradual improvements until he got into the points-scoring places on lap 12, beating six riders home in only his third race in this closely contested category.

After his latest jump up the learning curve Pradita said, "After the first three races I got a point and that's not so bad. This race was started in difficult conditions. After five laps, I pushed more and more but it was difficult in the beginning of the race because the surface was wet, yet because practice was dry we did not have any rain settings. It was a good experience and now I want more points."

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Spies (Yamaha) does Qatar double at Losail

Yamaha's WSBK rookie rider Ben Spies took a spectacular double win in the second round of the Hannspree FIM Superbike World Championship at the Losail circuit in Qatar. The 24 year-old Texan powered to his third win in the opening four races, dominating both today's 18-lappers and twice finishing ahead of Noriyuki Haga (Ducati) and Max Biaggi (Aprilia), who were classified second and third to make up identical podiums.

Race 1

Poleman Spies made his attack six laps from the end, and immediately pulled out a gap that allowed him to administer his lead until the flag. There was a great scrap for the runner-up slot between Haga and Biaggi, with the Japanese rider getting the nod. For Aprilia it was their first podium since returning to WSBK, and the Italian manufacturer's competitiveness was confirmed by fourth place for Shinya Nakano. Fifth went to Carlos Checa (Hannspree Ten Kate), the first Honda rider to the flag, who managed to hold off the attacks of the determined British duo of Shane Byrne (Sterilgarda Ducati) and Tom Sykes (Yamaha World Superbike). Troy Corser scored an encouraging ninth place for BMW, while Kawasaki notched up their first points in this year's championship with a 14th place for Broc Parkes. Max Neukirchner (Suzuki Alstare) and Michel Fabrizio (Ducati Xerox) had disappointing races, both riders crashing out.

Ben Spies (Yamaha World Superbike): "It was an extremely tough race, I had an OK start and when I got to the back of Nori and Max, we were all very strong on separate parts of the track. I was lacking a little bit off the last corner and it was very hard to make the pass, but once past, I put my head down and was able to keep it clean for the win despite a couple of mistakes."

Noriyuki Haga (Ducati Xerox): "It was quite hard at the end, I got a good start and after a few laps I was able to pass Max on the straight. A few laps more and he passed me again and it was difficult for me to catch up. I pushed on the last lap and did it and was very happy with the result."

Max Biaggi (Aprilia Racing): "I tried to keep up and have a good rhythm without losing concentration. We have a new bike and every session we try to improve, but it's not easy to win right away. These guys did a great job, I rode very hard and today I was comfy, both front and rear, and looking good."

Results: 1. Spies B. (USA) Yamaha YZF R1 36'06.304 (160,93 kph); 2. Haga N. (JPN) Ducati 1098R 1.893; 3. Biaggi M. (ITA) Aprilia RSV4 2.168; 4. Nakano S. (JPN) Aprilia RSV4 12.061; 5. Checa C. (ESP) Honda CBR1000RR 12.597; 6. Byrne S. (GBR) Ducati 1098R 12.971; 7. Sykes T. (GBR) Yamaha YZF R1 13.570; 8. Kiyonari R. (JPN) Honda CBR1000RR 19.306; 9. Corser T. (AUS) BMW S1000 RR 19.388; 10. Laconi R. (FRA) Ducati 1098R 20.981; 11. Haslam L. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 21.164; 12. Rea J. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 21.994; 13. Xaus R. (ESP) BMW S1000 RR 22.917; 14. Parkes B. (AUS) Kawasaki ZX 10R 27.218; 15. Hill T. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 31.602

Race 2

Spies also went on to take the win in race 2, confirming himself and his Yamaha to be the strongest combination in this early part of the season. This time the Texan had a different strategy, taking control in the early laps of the race and then gradually pulling away. Behind there was another terrific scrap for the runner-up slot between Haga and Biaggi, and once again second place went to the Japanese rider, who holds on to his points lead in the table. Ryuichi Kiyonari (Ten Kate Honda Racing) scored an excellent fourth place, but was unable to get in amongst the podium battle. Fifth place went to Sykes, while Neukirchner just got the edge over Nakano in a photo-finish. BMW made a major leap forward with Corser running fifth in the early stages, both the Australian and Xaus scoring top 10 points finishes. Michel Fabrizio (Ducati Xerox) had a day to forget with a second DNF finish in two races.

Ben Spies (Yamaha World Superbike): "Nori set a really good pace the first few laps. We were lacking just a little in acceleration and it was hard to race with him, but I put my head down and closed up, kept the same rhythm and passed him. It was a better race for me than the first one because I could concentrate on my lines, but it's going to be hard making up points on him if he keeps finishing second. It was a perfect weekend, they're not always going to be like that but we'll take them when we can."

Noriyuki Haga (Ducati Xerox): "I am really tired but happy for the result in race 2. When Ben passed me, I tried to stay with him but he is very fast. In one second he was going to 100 metres so I could not catch him! We made a good job, and I am leading the championship. Today, for me, Ben is ten years younger than me so that's why I lose!"

Max Biaggi (Aprilia Racing): "It was a great race, we confirmed our potential and the feeling we have on this track, which has always been good to me. I think the bike works well, we still have to improve but we are very pleased with the result. For sure we know these guys are a little bit quicker, they run hard and deserve what they did, but I am confident to improve during the season and get some good points."

Results: 1. Spies B. (USA) Yamaha YZF R1 36'02.126 (161,241 kph); 2. Haga N. (JPN) Ducati 1098R 1.274; 3. Biaggi M. (ITA) Aprilia RSV4 1.622; 4. Kiyonari R. (JPN) Honda CBR1000RR 1.845; 5. Sykes T. (GBR) Yamaha YZF R1 5.117; 6. Neukirchner M. (GER) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 9.512; 7. Nakano S. (JPN) Aprilia RSV4 9.514; 8. Rea J. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 12.621; 9. Corser T. (AUS) BMW S1000 RR 13.842; 10. Xaus R. (ESP) BMW S1000 RR 13.884; 11. Haslam L. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 13.888; 12. Byrne S. (GBR) Ducati 1098R 14.913; 13. Checa C. (ESP) Honda CBR1000RR 15.762; 14. Laconi R. (FRA) Ducati 1098R 15.920; 15. Kagayama Y. (JPN) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 19.565

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Brawn on pole for title bombshell

The newly-rescued Brawn GP on Thursday continued to astound its rivals at Barcelona, on the last day of the final group test of the winter.

Not only was Rubens Barrichello atop the timesheets, he bettered team-mate Jenson Button's astonishing time of Wednesday and was nearly a full second clear of the quickest of his dumbfounded rivals.

The cynics are not now wondering if the BGP001 is fuelled light, but how much below the mandatory 605kg minimum weight it is circulating.

Up and down the pitlane, however, the message is clear: if Brawn is running representative fuel and a legal weight, the car is the runaway favourite to win in Australia.

Asked by La Gazzetta dello Sport who he would put his money on for Melbourne, BMW's Robert Kubica laughed: "Button!"

"Seeing a truly competitive car again really excites me," said Barrichello, who switched from Ferrari to Brawn's previous guise Honda in 2006.

"I feel bursting with energy. After two or three not so good seasons I'm feeling positive again. And I'm back to win," the Brazilian added.

Felipe Massa, Barrichello's younger countryman, agrees that on current form, Ferrari is no longer leading the field.

"We are still very competitive but behind the Brawn," he acknowledged. "I would say their lap times are just much quicker than anyone can do.”

"I'm not an engineer so I cannot say they have ballast or not, but even if they have no ballast and they put ballast (in) they will be quick anyway.”

"It is very surprising," added Massa, the 2008 championship runner-up.

Button, to occupy the sister Mercedes-powered Brawn in 2009, beamed as he told reporters the real test will be at Albert Park in two weeks.

"This is fun but we have a long way to go and we still don't know where we stand," the Briton insisted. "It's a quick car and there is also room for improvement."

Quoted by Italy's La Gazzetta dello Sport, the 29-year-old added: "For sure we will be fast at the first race but I don't know about after four or five races."

Button said the F1 fraternity should not be surprised about Brawn's form.

"I like surprising people, but I really want to surprise people at the races. Perhaps people forgot that we have good facilities and talented people who can make competitive cars. Before we went on the track many people in the factory knew we had done a good job.” "When I went to the factory after the (Honda withdrawal) announcement I found everyone at work as usual. The results show that we kept our heads down on our goals.” "We seem quick at the moment but we don't know about the others: Trulli looks excellent, and Ferrari. There are many people who with little fuel can do very quick lap times," said Button. The 2009 pre-season has now concluded for many teams, with the exception of Brawn, Renault, McLaren and Williams, whose last winter outing will be at Jerez next week. Source: GMM © CAPSIS International F1-live.com

Spies (Yamaha) notches up second Superpole win in two races

After dominating the two WSBK qualifying sessions, Ben Spies (Yamaha World Superbike) powered to the same result in Superpole with his second success in two races. The 24 year-old Texan lapped the 5.380 km Losail desert circuit in a time of 1 minute 57.280 seconds, almost eight-tenths of a second quicker than Troy Corser's best mark from 2008. The starting-grid was similar to the opening round in Australia, but this time Jakub Smrz on a customer Guandalini Ducati 1098R placed second, a fraction of a second behind Spies, and ahead of Max Biaggi (Aprilia Racing) in third. The front row of the grid was completed by Noriyuki Haga (Ducati Xerox), who managed to move up to a fourth place slot following two below-par qualifying sessions.

Ben Spies (Yamaha World Superbike): "The most important thing is being on the front row with this many fast guys. I almost ruined my lap but we eventually got the job done. Race pace is looking promising, which is important but I feel sure it's going to be a hard race tomorrow. You still have to search for the speed and find the limit in Superpole, I don't know anything different, it's the only one I've done but it's working well for me so far."

Jakub Smrz (Guandalini Ducati): "We have made a really good weekend, now we still have the race to do, but we have a good set-up and for us the times are very positive. I was also working well in Superpole because there wasn't much traffic, I didn't catch anyone and I was able to do my best."

Max Biaggi (Aprilia Racing): "I'm very happy again to be fighting for the pole position, I think we did a very good job today. We tried to find the best set-up on both bikes, and I'm going to chose the one that feels the most comfortable. I have already made my tyre choice and feel quite comfortable so thanks again to my squad, they are great guys."

Noriyuki Haga (Ducati Xerox): "It was a much better Superpole for me than in Australia and I am very happy to be on the front row of the grid. We had a little problem today but managed to sort that and now I am sure that tomorrow we will go very well in the races."

With fifth place on the grid, Tom Sykes (Yamaha World Superbike) confirmed that the four-cylinder Japanese R1 machine is proving to be a very competitive machine indeed this year, and the British rider will start tomorrow's two 18-lap races with Japan's Shinya Nakano (Aprilia Racing), Spain's Carlos Checa (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda) and Shane Byrne (Sterilgarda Ducati) from the UK alongside.

The new Superpole format again produced a few surprises. The first run saw the elimination of two of the stars of Phillip Island, Max Neukirchner (Suzuki Alstare) and Jonathan Rea (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda), who will now start from row 5; while neither Ruben Xaus and Troy Corser (BMW) nor Michel Fabrizio (Ducati Xerox) made the final cut after the second knock-out session.

Times: 1. Spies B. (USA) Yamaha YZF R1 1'57.280; 2. Smrz J. (CZE) Ducati 1098R 1'57.384; 3. Biaggi M. (ITA) Aprilia RSV4 1'57.694; 4. Haga N. (JPN) Ducati 1098R 1'57.850; 5. Sykes T. (GBR) Yamaha YZF R1 1'57.878; 6. Nakano S. (JPN) Aprilia RSV4 1'58.755; 7. Checa C. (ESP) Honda CBR1000RR 1'59.090; 8. Byrne S. (GBR) Ducati 1098R 2'00.021; ... 9. Rolfo R. (ITA) Honda CBR1000RR 1'58.734; 10. Fabrizio M. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 1'58.919; 11. Laconi R. (FRA) Ducati 1098R 1'59.044; 12. Kiyonari R. (JPN) Honda CBR1000RR 1'59.055; 13. Parkes B. (AUS) Kawasaki ZX 10R 1'59.074; 14. Kagayama Y. (JPN) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 1'59.134; 15. Xaus R. (ESP) BMW S1000 RR 1'59.435; 16. Corser T. (AUS) BMW S1000 RR 1'59.454; ... 17. Rea J. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 1'59.713; 18. Haslam L. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 1'59.882; 19. Neukirchner M. (GER) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 1'59.926; 20. Hill T. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 2'00.108

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Barricello Keeps Brawn on Top

The final day of the group test at Circuit de Catalunya was briefly delayed this morning due to the foggy conditions. The ten runners were however soon out on the 4.655km Spanish Grand Prix circuit, and once again it was a Brawn Mercedes that ended the day at the top of the timesheets.

Rubens Barrichello took over testing duties of the new BGP001 today from Jenson Button, the Brazilian veteran proving every bit as effective as his British team-mate. Barrichello completed 110 laps, his best time of 1:18.926s coming on his 102nd tour.

Barrichello’s time eclipses Button’s Wednesday best by just over two-tenths of a second and while undoubtedly the time was recorded on a low fuel run, it underlines the raw pace of the new challenger.

Nico Rosberg upped the pace for in his Williams Toyota, setting the second fastest time of the day eight-tenths off the ultimate pace. The time shows a big improvement with the FW31, lapping three-tenths clear of the similarly powered TF109 of Timo Glock and some 1.6 seconds quicker than yesterday.

Sebastian Vettel was back behind the wheel of the Red Bull Renault to wrap up the Milton Keynes-based team’s pre-season test programme and set the fourth fastest time ahead of Fernando Alonso in the Renault.

Alonso was however restricted to just 64 laps today as the R29 suffered an engine failure mid-afternoon bringing out the red flags due to oil being laid down from the pit lane to turn five.

Felipe Massa lapped half a second of his Wednesday best in the Ferrari F60, ending the day sixth fastest ahead of Robert Kubica in the BMW Sauber.

McLaren has struggled for pace all week in Barcelona, as they did last week at Jerez. The team will be mildly encouraged by the pace today however as it lifts them from the bottom end of the timesheets to eighth, albeit almost two seconds off Barrichello’s best time.

Sebastien Buemi and Sebastien Bourdais shared the new Toro Rosso Ferrari with the former putting in 62 laps and setting the ninth fastest time and the latter just 27 laps and the 11th best time. Giancarlo Fisichella split the STR duo in tenth in the new Force India Mercedes.

While this is the end of the Barcelona group test, Brawn Mercedes, McLaren Mercedes, Renault and Williams Toyota now travel to Jerez to start another test programme commencing Sunday morning.

Barcelona - 12/03/2009
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Hamilton honoured at Buckingham Palace

Although his attention is now firmly focused on his campaign for the forthcoming season, McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton took time to reflect on his title-winning success of 2008 on Tuesday, as he was awarded an MBE by Her Majesty The Queen at Buckingham Palace in London. World champion Hamilton was named in the New Year Honours list in January in recognition of his services to motor racing.

“To go to the Palace today and meet Her Majesty The Queen was an incredible experience, following what has been an intense, exciting and unbelievable 12 months of my life,” said the British driver after receiving his award. “I’m so proud of the reception I have received from everybody in the United Kingdom.

“People’s enthusiasm and support - even during the tough times - really kept me going and helped me through an extremely demanding year. To be recognised alongside the people who make an outstanding and selfless contribution to society, is truly humbling and I’d like to thank Her Majesty The Queen, her Government and the British public for bestowing this honour on me.

“I’d also like to thank my family for sharing my dream and helping to make it a reality. Last but not least, I’d also like to thank my team - Vodafone McLaren Mercedes - for taking a chance on me when I was 13 years old. I still can’t believe I’m in Formula One and that I’m now a world champion - it’s incredible.”

Hamilton was honoured alongside around 120 others, as the Queen officially oversaw the investiture in the Palace’s State Ballroom.

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Barcelona day four - dazzling Barrichello ends test on a high

The potent pace of the Brawn BGP 001 continued to impress at Barcelona’s Circuit de Catalunya on Thursday, as this week’s multi-team test - the last before the season opening Australian Grand Prix later this month - drew to a close.

Rubens Barrichello finished fastest in the newly-launched car, clocking a best time of 1m 18.926s to finish eight-tenths of a second ahead of Williams’ Nico Rosberg.

Third quickest was Toyota’s Timo Glock, who covered 128 laps. Glock’s programme focused on the TF109’s set-up, and even though he stopped on the circuit with a mechanical problem on his last lap, the German was pleased at the end of the session.

"That was another useful day to round off our good winter of testing,” he said. “We did more work on set-up and long runs and everything went well until the very last lap! Still, overall the car feels strong and we seem to have good pace so we can look forward to Australia. Of course we'll only see the real results on Saturday in Melbourne but everyone at Toyota can be happy with our work so far.”

More details to follow.

Unofficial Thursday times from Barcelona:
1. Rubens Barrichello, Brawn BGP 001, 1:18.926
2. Nico Rosberg, Williams FW31, 1:19.774
3. Timo Glock, Toyota TF109, 1:20.091
4. Sebastian Vettel, Red Bull RB5, 1:20.576
5. Fernando Alonso, Renault R29, 1:20.664
6. Felipe Massa, Ferrari F60, 1:20.677
7. Robert Kubica, BMW Sauber F1.09, 1:20.740
8. Lewis Hamilton, McLaren MP4-24, 1:20.869
9. Sebastien Buemi, Toro Rosso STR4, 1:21.013
10. Giancarlo Fisichella, Force India VJM02, 1:21.045
11. Sebastien Bourdais, Toro Rosso STR4, 1:21.629

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