StoneBaker duo separated by three-hundredths of a second at Portimao
31-10-2008
2008 European Superstock 600 Championship
Rd 10 - Portimao
Qualifying 1, Friday 31st October
Just three-hundredths of a second separate the StoneBaker Yamaha pairing of Gino Rea and Dan Linfoot at the end of today's opening Qualifying session for this weekend's final round of the 2008 European Superstock 600 Championship at the new Portimao motorsports complex in Portugal.
With Rea topping the timesheets in this morning's opening Free Practice session, both riders took turns at leading the field this afternoon. A lap of one minute 53.248 seconds in the last ten minutes of the half-hour period placed the already-crowned series champion Loris Baz (Yamaha) into the eventual top slot. Gino Rea was second fastest on a time of one minute 54.312 seconds with teammate Dan Linfoot third, right in his wheel tracks at one minute 54.345 seconds.
The runner-up position in the championship is achievable for both riders. After today's mixture of showers, winds and sunshine better weather is forecast for tomorrow's second Qualifying session and Sunday's ten-lap race. As a result, today's lap times should keep falling with each outing around the 2.9-mile circuit.
Gino Rea (2nd - 1:54.312):
"Everything's going pretty much to plan. I'm on the front two rows of the grid, which is where you need to be to win a race. I think I could have gone a little bit faster on my last lap, but someone got in my way. The tyres started to go off a little bit towards the end as we used the same tyre from this morning although I don't think that will be much of an issue in the race, which is only ten laps. The new track here is really amazing. It really suits my style, a bit like the Nurburgring with all the uphills, downhills and off-corner cambers - it's really technical. There's a few little changes we can make for tomorrow's session so I think I should be able to make up the time on Baz."
Dan Linfoot (3rd - 1:54.345)
"I treated this morning as a testing session to settle in and learn the new track. This afternoon's session went well. We're a second down on Baz who I reckon should be catchable tomorrow. With all the building that's gone on laying down the track, there's really only a two foot wide line to ride on with any grip. Come off that and you're into the mud and pebbles, which makes passing a bit of a nightmare. I'm doing my best and going as fast as I can. It's a fresh sheet of paper racing at a brand new track, but here we are at the end of the first day still in the top three so there's not much to complain about really."
Andrew Stone (Joint Team Owner)
"We knew this was going to be tough. We've set our hearts on trying to dominate this meeting as our personal goodbye present to each other when the team disbands. We want to be pole, Loris Baz is a second ahead of us, it's not going to be easy catching him. Loris has already won the championship, so there's no pressure on him. We're not here for the championship, we're here to win a race and the final positions will take care of themselves. We're going the right way but ideally we want to be on pole."
2008 European Superstock 600 Championship
Rd 10 - Portimao
Qualifying 1 Result
1. Loris Baz (FRA) - Yamaha: 1:53.248
2. Gino Rea (GBR) - Yamaha: 1:54.312
3. Dan Linfoot (GBR) - Yamaha 1:54.345
StoneBaker head the field after free practice
31-10-2008
"We're here to play the game!" were the words of StoneBaker team owner Andrew Stone as rider Gino Rea crossed the finishing line 1.202 seconds ahead of the rest of the pack in the dying moments of this morning's opening Free Practice session for the final round of the 2008 European Superstock 600 Championship at Portimao, Portugal. Team mate Dan Linfoot was sixth.
The half-hour session had been dominated by Italians Daniele Beretta (Suzuki) and Marco Bussolotti (Yamaha) with Rea running in the top half-dozen. With five minutes to go, the Epsom teenager came in to the pits for adjustments to his front suspension and then after one warm-up lap blasted his way up through the field into top place with his final flying lap timed at two minutes 7.479 seconds.
Team mate Dan Linfoot stayed out on the track for the full half-hour and was rarely out of the top four. Finding the conditions slippery he was nudged back to sixth towards the end of the session with a time of two minutes 9.364 seconds but is confident there is more speed to come later today.
The riders and squad are now fired up for this afternoon's opening Qualifying session. However, local weather conditions are proving to be unpredictable. Although there was no rain during this morning's outing, the track was still damp from an earlier downpour. Cloud conditions are currently overcast, with the threat of rain never far away, making tyre selections tricky until the session actually begins.
Playing the numbers game...
30-10-2008
As we head into this weekend's final round of the 2008 European Superstock 600 Championship at Portimao, the permutations for the final series standings look to be very, very interesting...
Frenchman Loris Baz (Yamaha) is already established as Champion on 168 points. Currently second in the series on 121 points, Czech Republic rider Patrick Vostrarek (Honda) is not a factor - he will again be guest riding in the World Supersport race ahead of a planned switch to that championship in 2009.
Italian Marco Bussolotti (Yamaha) currently lies third on 118 points. If Gino Rea (fifth at the moment with 107 points) were to win Sunday's race, Dan Linfoot finish second (presently fourth on 112 points) and Bussolotti came third, then the Italian would take the runner-up spot with 134 points. Rea and Linfoot would tie on 132 points but Linfoot would take third place overall, with his two race wins to Rea's one pushing Gino back in fourth spot.
Currently sixth in the series, Daniele Beretta (Suzuki) cannot jump up in the standings as he only has 78 points.
BUT if Dan were to win, Gino come second and Bussolotti third, then Dan would be crowned runner-up on 137 points, Bussolotti would finish third overall and Gino fourth on 127 points.
But then again, don't expect Loris Baz to be hanging around at the back of the field. Bussolotti won at Donington, so why not again? Maybe Alex Lowes (Kawaaki) will repeat his form from Donington Park, where he finished second. And, of course, ALL the riders in the field want to snatch the circuit's maiden Superstock 600 win and put themselves into the record books.
Which kinda means....
....pretty much everything's up for grabs between Dan Linfoot, Marco Bussolotti and Gino Rea this weekend - should be great!
Sponsors
Team StoneBaker.
The great race at the new Portimao circuit brings an end to our season in World Superbike Superstock 600, with riders Gino Rea and Dan Linfoot.
The season has been a success with Gino third and Dan fifth in the championship standings following three victories and five additional podiums in total. The results have also acted as a stepping stone to the riders for next season, with both securing high profile, career progressing rides for 2009.
Thank you for all of the emails, calls, texts and visits throughout the year. It has been much appreciated.
