ROAD RACING Superbike
ROAD RACING Superbike World Championship Leon Camier shows he has the heart of a fighter The Crescent Suzuki team experienced a year of highs and lows in the Superbike World Championship. Britain’s Leon Camier delivered a few highlights such as his fourth-place finish in Portimão and third place on his home turf in Silverstone. But the 2009 British Superbike champion also met heavy setbacks like breaking his right foot in seven places in Istanbul. Down but not out, the 27-year-old proved his fighting spirit by returning for the season finale in Jerez, capturing two clean top-ten rankings. His teammate Jules Cluzel has also had a tough year, but the Frenchman managed to claw his way one spot ahead of Camier to a tenth overall place in the world championship. Cluzel took second place in Silverstone to mark his first appearance on the SBK podium. Photo:© Roger Lohrer Next year will see extensive changes in the Crescent Suzuki lineup. Team manager Paul Denning is counting on Eugene Laverty of Northern Ireland to carry the team back into the lead for a world championship. Endurance World Championship Team Bolliger – Kings of the night The Endurance World Championship without Bolliger Team Switzerland and its manager Hanspeter „Hämpu“ Bolliger is as unthinkable as Paris without the Eiffel Tower. For years the Kawasaki amateur team has held its own in long-distance races against the manufacturers’ professionals. This year the legendary starting number 8 reached sixth place overall in the world championship rankings. Since the Endurance calendar consisted of only four events (including two 24-hour races), the Bolliger team also took part in the eighthour race in Suzuka, Japan, where the Japanese factory teams traditionally spare no effort in the fight for the podium. At its „home“ race in Oschersleben, Germany, the Swiss team just missed the podium by coming in fourth. Due to injuries and conflicting schedules, a total of eight riders competed this season: Horst Saiger, Roman Stamm, Marc Wildisen, José Manuel Luis Rita, Gaston Garcia, Daniel Sutter, David Morillon and Julien Enjolras. 14 Photos:© Roger Lohrer
ROAD RACING IDM Superbike Michael Ranseder is runner-up again on a Honda Since leaving what was then the 125cc world championship in 2009, Michael Ranseder has always competed in the International German Championship (IDM). But whether the Austrian competed in the IDM Supersport or the IDM Superbike premier class, the result was always the same. Ranseder was runner-up four years in a row, behind a different opponent each time! For the 2013 season, the 27-year-old moved to the Holzhauer Honda Racing Promotion team to enter the title race on a Honda CBR1000RR. This year Markus Reiterberger proved to be Ranseder’s toughest opponent. The Austrian made it into the top three seven times, winning the first race on the Schleizer Dreieck track. At the finale at the Lausitzring, the Honda rider managed to overtake Damian Cudlin, who had switched to the MotoGP World Championship, to become runner-up for the fourth time in a row. His next title attempt will take place in 2014. Photo:© www.michi-ranseder.at US-Superbike, Yoshimura Suzuki Martin Cardenas takes his chance After taking the American SportBike title with Geico Suzuki, Martin Cardenas advanced to the US Superbike Championship. It came as a bit of a surprise when Cardenas was chosen to replace Blake Young on the Yoshimura Suzuki Factory Racing team, but the 31-yearold Colombian soon proved his mettle. Cardenas had a chance of the title up to the final race of the season, but his first washout of the year – and in the finale too! – left him in third place in the standings at the close. However, Cardenas had appeared on the podium eleven times in 14 races, usually next to future champion Josh Herrin and dethroned champ Josh Hayes. The Suzuki factory rider’s season highlights were two victories, at Daytona and at the Miller Motorsport Park. Photo:© www.suzuki-racing.com 15
