Malcolm
Administrator
Posts: 20,579
Threads: 18,390
Joined: Oct 2005
Reputation:
0
|
MRS Yamaha Prepares for Portugal
Following their visit to Donington Park a fortnight ago, the MRS Yamaha team is back on the road and heading to the seventh round of the eni FIM Superbike World Championship held at the Autódromo Internacional Algarve this weekend.
After an exciting home race, Kev Coghlan looks forward to riding his YZF-R1M at the technical Portuguese track. He has kept up with the frontrunners throughout the first four rounds, scoring a brilliant third place podium finish at Aragón, sixth in Assen, fourth in Imola and fifth at Donington Park and currently holds fourth position in the overall standings with a 50 point total.
Despite sustaining a small fracture to the fifth bone in his right hand during testing earlier this week, the Scotsman is still positive. Coghlan is confident he can start the second half of the 2015 FIM Superstock 1000 Cup season with another strong finish as he looks to bridge the three-points gap to third place.
Teammate Florian Marino also showed a competitive pace at the start of the season. The Frenchman scored two promising seventh places in Aragon and Assen, before a crash in Imola saw him injure his left arm, forcing him to sit out the round in the United Kingdom.
The 22 year old is on the road to recovery and is set to make his comeback this weekend, just four weeks after the incident. He is eager to get back out on track, which he considers the best birthday present he could have asked for. He will be looking to add valuable championship points to his 18 points total and climb up from 12th place in the rankings.
Algarve, commonly referred to as Portimão Circuit, was first added to the eni FIM Superbike World Championship calendar at the end of 2008, shortly after the circuit's inauguration. Its date has since been moved to the middle of the season making the chance of perfect weather conditions for some hot racing action all the bigger.
Kev Coghlan - Championship: 4th
"I was testing with the team on Monday and Tuesday and had a crash at the end of the second day. I have a fracture in the fifth bone in my right hand, but it's that small that I don't think it will be too big a bother this weekend. It's a case of getting the swelling down first for Portimão. We are heading there today and I'm looking forward to the race weekend, it's a track that I've always enjoyed riding at. It's a really interesting circuit, but it's going to be challenging as well, because it's a bit like Imola with a lot of changes and elevation, which is something we struggled with. I think that we will have a lot of work to do, but we should be alright. For my hand it will be a bit of taping in the clinica mobile and see what they can do to help for the weekend."
Florian Marino - Championship: 12th
"We have already tested at Portimão in the winter and I know that the guys from the team have been working really hard on improving the bike. From my side, the only thing I could do was to recover as fast as I could, keep training and keep believing that I could come back for Portimão, which is what I'm going to do. It will be a challenge because there will be some pain, but for me it's the best option; I can come there, ride the bike and to see where we are now. I have been riding an YZF-R1 on the road and I could already feel that I could manage the machine. On the track it will be different situation, but I have set my mind on this weekend and I think that I'll be ok."
|
|
03-06-2015, 06:01 PM |
|