Camier and Gagne return to WorldSBK action at Imola

The Red Bull Honda World Superbike Team is looking forward to welcoming back Leon Camier and Jake Gagne to WorldSBK action this weekend at round 5 of the 2018 FIM World Superbike Championship season at the revered Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari in Imola, Italy.

After both Camier and Gagne were unable to participate in the races at the previous round at Assen, both riders have made the trip to Imola with the aim of returning to action on their CBR1000RR Fireblade SP2 machines.

Camier has been cleared by medical staff to take part in tomorrow’s Free Practice 1 session and his condition will be reviewed after the session to determine whether he will continue for the rest of the race weekend. In case Camier is unable to continue after FP1, the Red Bull Honda World Superbike Team has drafted in Australian rider Jason O’Halloran as a reserve rider for the remainder of the race weekend.

The good news on Gagne’s side of the garage is that the American rider has recovered from the injuries sustained at Assen and has been passed fit giving him the opportunity to race for at the iconic Imola circuit for the first time.

What awaits both riders on their return to action is the challenging Imola circuit which features a mix of slow chicanes, fast corners and elevation changes over 22 corners comprising its 4.936 kilometre length.

The first session of the Imola WorldSBK round is Free Practice 1 at 0945 local time (GMT +2) tomorrow with the twenty-three lap races starting at 1300 local time on Saturday and Sunday.

Leon Camier

Leon Camier 2

It’s been a long road but my recovery has gone really well and the medical staff have given me the all clear to ride the bike tomorrow in Free Practice 1. In some ways, the recovery has been more tiring than doing normal race weekends as I’ve tried every kind of treatment to give myself the best chance of being ready for this round and hopefully all the hard work has paid off. I’m still in a bit of pain and although I’ve been given the all clear to participate in FP1, the real test will be going out on the bike so we’ll review my condition after the session to see if I can continue for the rest of the race weekend. I’ve had a good recovery to this point and made it to Imola, so I’ll see how I get on tomorrow!

Red Bull Honda World Superbike Team

Jake Gagne

Jake Gagne 45

I’m really excited to get back on the bike for Imola. After a tough weekend at Assen it was a shame to miss the races but I feel fully fit and motivated to get back on the Fireblade. Imola is a new circuit for me but it looks to be unique and fun, I’ve been watching previous WorldSBK races to get an idea of the track and I look forward to getting practice underway. I’m sure we’ll be able to make some good progress again this weekend!

Red Bull Honda World Superbike Team

Kervin Bos

Kervin Bos

Team Manager

It’s good to have both our riders back for Imola this weekend and it’s always a pleasure racing at this famous circuit. Although Leon has been cleared to ride in Free Practice 1 on Friday,, we will monitor his situation closely and the medical staff will review his condition after that session. If he’s unable to continue, we have Jason O’Halloran with us on standby as a reserve rider who has lots of experience on the Fireblade. For Jake, he’s had a good rest at home to recover after his crash at Assen and he has passed his medical check and will get to have his first experience racing at Imola so that is good news for us. With both riders returning from injury, it will be a rebuilding weekend for us, our goal is to get our riders comfortable on the bike again, make progress and then we can resume our push for results at Donington and beyond.

Red Bull Honda World Superbike Team

Italian Round

Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari, Italy

WorldSBK 2018, Round 5

Rider Standings
Sunday, 22 Apr 2018 – Open world standings grid
# Rider Num Nationality Nat. Points Pts. Team Constructor Constr.
1 Jonathan REA 65 GBR 159 Kawasaki Racing Team Kawasaki
2 Chaz DAVIES 7 GBR 129 Aruba.it Racing Ducati
3 Marco MELANDRI 33 ITA 115 Aruba.it Racing Ducati
4 Michael VAN DER MARK 60 NDL 103 Pata Yamaha Yamaha
5 Tom SYKES 66 GBR 101 Kawasaki Racing Team Kawasaki
6 Xavi FORES 12 SPA 100 BARNI Racing Team Ducati
7 Alex LOWES 22 GBR 76 Pata Yamaha Yamaha
8 Toprak RAZGATLIOGLU 54 TUR 45 Grillini Racing Team Kawasaki
9 Loris BAZ 76 FRA 44 Althea BMW Racing Team BMW
10 Leon CAMIER 2 GBR 42 Red Bull Honda World Superbike Team Honda
11 Jordi TORRES 81 SPA 39 MV Agusta Reparto Corse MV Agusta
12 Román RAMOS 40 SPA 28 Team Go Eleven Kawasaki
13 Lorenzo SAVADORI 32 ITA 25 Milwaukee Aprilia Aprilia
14 Leandro MERCADO 36 ARG 24 IodaRacing Team Aprilia
15 Michael RINALDI ITA 21 Aruba.it Racing Ducati
16 Jake GAGNE 45 USA 17 Red Bull Honda World Superbike Team Honda
17 Eugene LAVERTY 50 GBR 16 Milwaukee Aprilia Aprilia
18 PJ JACOBSEN 99 USA 15 Triple M Honda World Superbike Team Honda
19 Davide GIUGLIANO 34 ITA 11 Milwaukee Aprilia Aprilia
20 Yonny HERNANDEZ 68 COL 7 Team Pedercini Kawasaki
21 Ondrej JEZEK 37 CZE 2 Grillini Racing Team Kawasaki
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