ROAD RACING WORLD
ROAD RACING WORLD SUPERBIKE CHAMPIONSHIP SURPRISE WIN BY EUGENE LAVERTY The World Superbike Championship got underway with an unexpected sensation this year: Despite being up against the fullblooded Aprilia, Ducati and Kawasaki factory teams, the supposedly inferior Voltcom Crescent Suzuki Team won the opening race in Phillip Island, Australia with new recruit Eugene Laverty – runner-up in the 2013 World Superbike Championship. Lavery was soon stopped in his tracks, however. Although he also made into onto the podium in Malaysia, falls, technical problems and the sheer overpowering dominance of the competition pushed him back to a final ranking of tenth by the end of the season. Laverty still achieved his own personal goal, however, and will be riding a Honda in Team Aspar in the MotoGP next year. The second new rider on the team, Alex Lowes, also made it onto the podium twice with a second place in Assen and a third place in Donington, finally finishing the World Championship in eleventh position. © Photos: Roger Lohrer SUPERSPORT WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP KEVIN COGHLAN PUTS IN A FINE PERFORMANCE IN A LARGE FIELD The Supersport World Championship is an exciting and fiercely competed contest, and this year eight riders from five countries riding different brands opted for MOTOREX products: They were Ratthapark Wilairot, Jack Kennedy, Raffaele de Rosa, Nacho Calero, Kevin Coghlan, Alexej Ivanov, Roberto Tamburini and Alessandro Nocco. On his Yamaha, and with technical support from Kubiak & Mohr from Germany, Kevin Coghlan was actually leading the championship after two races, ultimately finishing fourth. The two former Grand Prix riders Raffaele de Rosa and Ratthapark Wilairot achieved ninth and 12th position respectively on the PTR team‘s Hondas, with Wilairot also riding in the Moto2 World Championship at the end of the season. 18
ROAD RACING WORLD ENDURANCE CHAMPIONSHIP SENSATIONAL SUCCESS FOR THE BOLLIGER TEAM If there were a special trophy for sheer tenacity and perseverance, it would have been won for years by legendary Swiss team boss Hanspeter “Hämpu“ Bolliger from Ruppoldsried. With his small but enthusiastic and experienced private team he has been competing for more than 30 years against the overpowering factory teams of the World Endurance Championship - with great success. Once again this year he was able to show the giants a thing or two with his riders Horst Saiger, Roman Stamm, Daniel Sutter and Gaston Garcia Blasco, achieving third place in the World Championship - having been runner-up in 2005 and 2010 and finishing third in 2009. The team made it on to the podium both at the famous Bol d‘Or 24- Hour Race and the 8 Hours of Oschersleben. © Photos: Roger Lohrer / Fabrizio Foiadelli / Kenji Fujime 19
