2008 Suzuki GSX-R Cup
Round 1, Valencia, Spain
Circuit: 4.005 kms. Crowd: 60,000 (3-day). Conditions: Dry,
mostly sunny 27C.
Sunday 6th April
NOYES WINS, ORTEGA LEADS.
Spanish resident Kenny Noyes continued his domination of the
opening round of this year’s Suzuki GSX-R Cup at Valencia
with a faultless start to finish victory in the 11-lap race.
Despite strong winds, he controlled the race from the front
and ran out the winner by over four and a half seconds. But
Noyes is a ‘wild card’, so although he had the
glory of standing on the top step of the podium, it is runner-up
Ismael Ortega who gets the 25 points. Third place in the race
was Austrian Roland Resch, with Spaniard Arturo Tizon third
and Italian Simone Saltarelli fourth.
Kenny Noyes
I got a good start, managed to pull out a bit of a gap quite
soon and then maintained it to cruise home at the end. The
biggest problem I had was the wind! It was so strong that
it made it difficult to get the bike to turn in some of the
corners. I had to really keep my concentration up because
it would’ve been so easy to crash. I have enjoyed myself
a lot over the three days and it’s been a great experience
for all of us racing in front of a World Superbike crowd.
The atmosphere has been great throughout and I hope I get
another chance to do it again sometime.
Ismael Ortega
Kenny made a good start and once he was away, I concentrated
on my own race because I knew he was a ‘wild card’
and couldn’t score any points. I had a good fight with
Tizon and Resch and then moved into second place after four
laps. The wind was very strong and it was hard to keep the
bike heading in the right direction in quite a few corners,
but I was determined to take second spot. The Suzuki Cup is
a very enjoyable series and it’s good to race in front
of so many fans. Already, I am looking forward to the next
round.
Points standing (after 1 round)
1 Ortega 25, 2 Resch 20, 3 Tizon 16, 4 Saltarelli 13, 5 De
Carolis 11, 6 Colatosti 10, 7 Bridewell 9, 8 Gieseler 8, 9
Juhasz 7, 10 Jonchiere 6,
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