Our Clients Fantastic Experience at the WBSK First race at Philip Island

After hearing the great news that Our Sponsor team Voltcom Crescent Suzuki Team were victorious in the first race in Philip Island, we thought we would contact our clients who went to the race to find out all about the exciting event!

Below is the testimonial from the group of our clients we invited along, written by Minnie Tabilog, this was their experience…

“It's a pleasure to share our experience as guests of Objektum and the Crescent Suzuki team at the recently concluded World Superbike Championship in Phillip Island.

Most of us who attended have not been to a motorbike racing event before and so were pleasantly surprised at how well-organised the event was. Collecting our passes, parking the car, and finding the Suzuki team's garage was a breeze. 


We first met Christina Bulpett, who kindly went looking for Tim Walpole and brought him over to meet us. They look after Crescent Suzuki's WSBK sponsors and PR. Then Paul Denning (Team Manager) came out to say hello, which was really nice of him given that the race was starting in less than two hours.


After the introductions, Tim took us inside the garage for a tour. The team were very busy preparing for the first race but they gave us a very warm welcome. The atmosphere was very collegial and pretty relaxed, but there's definitely an underlying sense of excitement. We were very impressed with how well the guys worked together, each one calmly going about their tasks.

Tim patiently answered all our questions, and allowed us to take photos of the bikes as they were being put together. He thanked us again and again for supporting the team. We were pretty stoked to be able to personally wish Eugene and Alex good luck for the race. 





With the tour over, we decided to grab something to eat before finding the best spot to watch the race. We ended up on the pit garage roof, overlooking the start/finish line. We were very quiet, initially, but cheered louder and louder as Eugene climbed his way up from seventh to lead the pack. 

The other spectators definitely knew which team we were supporting when the race ended. Lots of hugs and high-fives to go around. It really made the trip quite special. Their first World Championship win since 2010 and we were there to see that happen! Awesome!!!

  
Next on our agenda was to look around the expo.  On our way there, we bumped into Christina bearing flowers and champagne for the team. She stopped for a chat and we enquired about Alex because we were quite worried after seeing him crash. More photos and congratulatory messages for the guys, then we set off again.

 
The expo was like an Aladdin’s cave, well, for bikers. It was fun looking at the superbikes and accessories on display. Some folks got a bit carried away with their wish list for their dream superbike(s). I can see a shopping trip coming up soon! The talk was quite animated and carried on until we reached our chosen spot for the second race.





We settled down with our picnic blankets on a grassy bank just before the final turn, where you can get very close to the action at ground level. Other, more energetic, members of the party went to explore further around the circuit. We knew they just wanted to keep debating bike purchase options.

The atmosphere was even more exciting at the start of the second race. All the teams were doubly fired up for their last chance of a win at Phillip. We were so relieved to see Alex and his bike were okay to race again. He certainly won a lot of admirers that day. It was incredible watching Eugene advance from fifth to first, and remained confident even when he dropped to second on lap fourteen. So imagine how bad we felt for him when heard the engine blow up and the red cards come out. 

We made our way back to the garages to thank Tim and Christina, and pass on our well wishes to the rest of the team. We had a fantastic time and didn't let our disappointment at the outcome of the second race keep us from celebrating the win. The team showed us that they can take on their much bigger competitors and come out on top.
 
We'd like to thank Objektum for inviting us to attend the opening event, and wish the Crescent Suzuki team all the best for the rest of the 2014 WSBK season. "

Victorious win for the Crescent Suzuki Team

A huge congratulations to our Sponsor team, all their hard work paid off in their first race!

We would like to give an enormous thank you to the team. The clients we sent to the race had a fantastic time, Paul Denning the team manager and all the mechanics really made our guests feel welcome.

Eugene Laverty stormed to victory on his Voltcom Crescent Suzuki debut in race one at Phillip Island in Australia on Sunday afternoon, securing the first World Championship win for the Japanese manufacturer since 2010.  

Fighting back from a difficult start, a determined Laverty made his way through from seventh to hunt down the leading pack of Giugliano, Melandri and Guintoli by lap seven. Biding his time, the Irishman advanced on the leaders, making his break for the lead on lap 17 and not looking back. The Yoshimura-powered GSX-R firmly controlled the pace for the remaining five laps bringing the first victory for Crescent Suzuki on the world stage. Race two continued to find Laverty challenging for the lead, a brief battle in the opening laps resulted in the Suzuki GSX-R again dominating the mid-race before a mechanical issue – causing a visible engine failure - bought about an early end to the weekend’s activities.

Alex Lowes, battling the injury sustained in Saturday’s free practice, looked to be finding a strong rhythm in his debut race in the eni FIM Superbike World Championship, before a crash at turn one saw his efforts halted prematurely. Regrouping for race two, the Englishman’s team worked tirelessly to rebuild the Voltcom Crescent Suzuki GSX-R1000. Despite running on at turn four in the opening lap, Lowes’ determination saw him charging through the field and into the top 10, from 21st, in just five laps. Scoring his fastest lap of the race on his second revolution, Lowes held the fastest time for a further 10. The ankle injury ultimately compromising his race, and causing a further mistake at turn four, Lowes finished his debut weekend with three points and a top 13 finish to show for his brave efforts.

Sunshine, blue skies and a pleasant 22°C greeted the growing crowd as the track temperature fluctuated by more than 10 degrees between the two races, peaking at 48°C for the afternoon’s event. As the championship prepares to travel back to Europe, Aprilia’s Sylvain Guintoli heads the standings with 41 points, Laverty’s win positions him in fifth and Lowes begins his rookie campaign in 15th.

Voltcom Crescent Suzuki will now use the month-long break to re-evaluate the data from this weekend’s racing before preparing for the first European leg of the World Championship with a private test at Jerez on 31st March ahead of the second round of competition at Aragon in Spain on Sunday 13th April.

Below is response from the fantastic racers and the Team manager on the action packed day!

Eugene Laverty:

“A day of highs and lows! The first race was incredible! To be so far back on the first lap and come through to win, it was the perfect race for us and a nice way to pay back the whole team for the belief they’ve shown in me. Paul Denning worked hard to get me on board and he delivered everything I needed. He brought in my Crew Chief Phil Marron, Davide Gentile to work on the electronics, and Stan, who I’ve worked with before. All the rest of the boys have welcomed me, so it was nice to be able to reward them with the win right away, and it’s a win that means more to me than any so far in my WSBK career. The second race was a disappointment for everyone. We didn’t deserve that, that’s for sure but that’s racing and unfortunately that’s how it goes sometimes.”

Alex Lowes:

“I’m frustrated with today. I tried really hard and don’t have a lot to show for it really. The first race crash, and in the second race the run on, on the first lap and then the crash later was all because I was struggling to change gear with my foot. I had a numbing injection, lost a bit of feeling and I couldn’t change gear so it was hard work! I was riding through the pain, so to just get three points has upset me a bit because we had such good pace all through the test. I’ve never been here before and we were still looking like we could run at the front and challenge for a podium so I’m really disappointed, but I’m going to come back fitter and stronger and we should be ok for Aragon.”

Paul Denning – Team Manager:

“It’s very strange to have won our first ever World Superbike race - and in such a dominant fashion - and still be leaving Phillip Island feeling very disappointed! As a team we are very sorry to have let Eugene down in race two when another podium - and quite possibly another win - was on the cards. We will do everything in our power to ensure it’s the last time!

“The additional disappointment is for Alex who was so unlucky to dislocate his ankle in the Saturday morning crash, many other riders crashed heavily and got away with it. The injury made it impossible to enter the corners properly, and inevitably the difficulty in down-shifting gears caused the mistakes in the races. The frustrating thing is that he was still so fast and could have joined the fight at the front.

“I have to once again thank the team and all our partners for getting us and the Suzuki GSX-R back in to the winner’s circle and on top of that, thank Eugene for believing in this project and for riding with such aggression, precision and outright desire to win.”

Phillip Island – eni FIM Superbike World Championship – Race One:

1. EUGENE LAVERTY (VOLTCOM CRESCENT SUZUKI) 33’39.440: 2. Marco Melandri (Aprilia) +2.959: 3. Sylvain Guintoli (Aprilia) +3.034: 4. Davide Giugliano (Ducati) +6.972: 5. Loris Baz (Kawasaki) +11.132: DNF. ALEX LOWES (VOLTCOM CRESCENT SUZUKI):

Phillip Island – eni FIM Superbike World Championship – Race Two:

1. Guintoli (Aprilia) 21’34.034: 2. Baz (Kawasaki) +0.283: 3. Tom Sykes (Kawasaki) +1.103: 4. Giugliano (Ducati) +2.052: 5. Jonathan Rea (Honda) +4.951: 13. ALEX LOWES (VOLTCOM CRESCENT SUZUKI) +19.694: DNF. EUGENE LAVERTY (VOLTCOM CRESCENT SUZUKI):

World Championship Classification:

1. Guintoli 41: 2. Baz 31: 3. Melandri 28: 4. Giugliano 26: 5. EUGENE LAVERTY (VOLTCOM CRESCENT SUZUKI) 25: 15. ALEX LOWES (VOLTCOM CRESCENT SUZUKI) 3:

Good luck to Crescent Suzuki with the next race in Aragon, Spain on 13^th April!
Objektum Modernization are cheering you on!

Thanks for reading

The Objektum Team

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