2012 PATA Racing sign Zanetti

Lorenzo Zanetti will step up to World Superbikes in 2012 after PATA Racing confirmed the Italian's signing. 

Zanetti, who shone in last season's Superstock 1000 championship, will replace Noriyuki Haga and ride an Aprilia RSV-4.

PATA ran a bike for the Japanese rider in 2011 but have opted to go with Zanetti this time out after the 24-year-old won his first race in Superstock at Monza and impressed on his way to a third-placed finish overall.

Haga remains just one of two full-time WSBK competitors without a ride for 2012.

Eurosport

Bimota Motor set to Re-launch racing plans

In the early days of WSBK racing Bimota was a famous name with many victories to their credit thanks to Davide Tardozzi, Giancarlo Falappa and Stephane Mertens, and the most recent being with Anthony Gobert in a wet race at Phillip Island in 2000. Launched in the 1970s, the brand has always been a protagonist introducing new technologies that were later incorporated into the design of its own models.

Bimota today has officially set up the Bimota Research Development Department, thanks to a joint venture with EDO Racing that will manage the marketing and development area. This is a first step for what concerns the SBK project as well, since the brand is willing to work on a World Superbike machine in the near future and is absolutely open to the possibility that in the not too distant future, the bike could arrive at one round. Obviously the Rimini-based company must first reach the production numbers stipulated in the FIM regulations and request homologation. 

WSBK legend and recent competitor Ruben Xaus is the new team manager, and he said of the whole initiative, "I've been part of Bimota for a few months and I'm trying to bring my whole experience as a world-known rider. I decided to create a development project, a joint venture with Edo Racing that could allow more flexibility and a faster service so the company can fully concentrate on the planning and prototyping. SBK is at its beginnings. In our recent test at Almeria, we just had to check different solutions about the chassis and from the next step forward we'll get to know better which is our project-competitiveness level."　　　www.worldsbk.com

Lorenzo boss: ‘＃27 Stoner took Honda to another level’

The talent of Casey Stoner lifted the performance of Honda’s factory RC212V machine to a new level in 2011, according to Jorge Lorenzo’s Yamaha boss Wilco Zeelenberg.
Zeelenberg reckons Honda’s 2011 bike changed very little from the RC212V that ended the 2010 campaign but it was the Australian’s skill and raw speed that made the HRC contender the dominant force last season.

Stoner won his second premier class world title with 10 race wins and frequently outclassed Dani Pedrosa and Andrea Dovizioso, who were riding identical machinery.
In a recent interview with MCN, Spaniard Lorenzo explained the three main reasons he felt had contributed to him surrendering his world title in 2011.

He said: "The first one is that Honda made a big step at the end of last season (2010) and this year they have this new gearbox system, which makes them very competitive. Then Honda took Casey and I can't say anything new that I have not said about him. He is very talented and he can ride the bike to the limit in every situation.

"Casey's presence made all the other Honda riders stronger because the limit they must reach is now higher. There is more pressure so they get faster. Yamaha made a big effort to improve the bike but we couldn't improve so much, so these three things makes us a little bit slower with less options to win races."

Zeelenberg though believes Stoner’s impact at HRC was pivotal and he told MCN: "The big change was that Casey on the Honda took it to another level. We knew the Honda had made a step last August in Brno because Jorge even then was saying ‘mayday, mayday’ and urging Yamaha to make a step. To make that step we have our own philosophy and you can’t change too much otherwise you’re jumping in the same boat as Ducati. We didn’t want to jump in that boat so it looks simple that we didn’t do enough work.

"But that is not the case. The bike was still capable of fighting for the championship but sure the Honda was strong this year with Casey. For me at the moment the two guys that are a step up from everybody are Casey and Jorge. Dani sometimes is spectacularly fast but the two guys for me in MotoGP are Casey and Jorge. That’s quite clear and with the difference in our bikes, Jorge is able to beat the rest."        www.motorcyclenews.com

THE LITEUL TOURIST TROPHY

Repsol Honda Toni Bou changes to four wheels

The Repsol rider unveiled today the car he will use to participate in the Endurance Spanish Championship in Alcañiz

Toni Bou, who yesterday won the Spanish Trial Championship, will be part of the Repsol team that will participate in the Alcañiz 500 kilometres race next December at the Motorland Aragón Circuit.

It is one of the toughest endurance race in Spain due to its length, the low temperatures and the bad weather. Repsol will debut in this competition with the first racing car modified in Spain to run with AutoGas. Bou will drive a Fiat 500 with 205cv power that runs with alternative fuel which helps improving the quality of the air due to minimum emissions and also offers an economical advantage for the users compared to traditional fuel due to its higher efficiency.

That is the reason why three riders of different disciplines have been chosen: Dani Solá (Junior World Rally Champion), Toni Bou (Trial World Champion), both making their debut in circuit, and Jaime Hernández (driver and journalist specialist on circuits). In brief, a pioneer event, both for the use of AutoGas, a fuel used by 5.000 vehicles in Spain and more than 8 millions around the world, and for the driver line-up.

On the occasion of this competition, today the car that will be driven by Toni Bou was unveiled. It is a vehicle adapted to work with Spanish technology provided by Difisa, the biggest Fiat dealer in Cataluña. Several journalists had the privilege to accompany Bou as codrivers in a short stint near Palau Sant Jordi

Furthermore, Takahisa Fujinami, Bou's team mate at the Repsol Montesa Honda Team, also attended the event to support the rider from Piera. The Japanese rider had a ‘duel’ with Bou, making some impressive jumps and tricks with his bike.

Toni Bou:

"After a fantastic season, for me it is a prize that Repsol gives me the opportunity to run the Alcañiz 500 km in a circuit such as Motorland, which is amazing. The car I will drive has special features. It works with a fuel named AutoGas, which contributes to improve the quality of the air and has a much lower consumption. This will allow us to do more laps and to be more competitive".    www.fim-live.com