Brno puts Hartog back amongst the top 12
A new track bought a new challenge for Team Hartog - Against Cancer rider Rob Hartog at the weekend, with Round 7 of the 2018 FIM World Supersport Championship held at the Automotodrome in Brno. However results speak volumes, and the Dutchman left on Sunday with a top 12 finish and a fistful of points.
A hard week had already been spent rebuilding Hartog's Kawasaki ZX-6R with Front Row Components after the high-speed crash during Round 6 at Donington Park saw the Supersport machine written-off. Fortunately, with Hartog unhurt, the work was duly rewarded when he claimed the next race eleventh at the chequered flag.
The World Supersport race started from the fifth row on the grid for the Dutch rider - with a satisfactory precedent on lap speed set by Saturday's Qualifying Sessions. Hartog had, in fact, the race pace to fight for a spot amongst the top ten riders in Brno, but lost precious seconds in the opening stage to be on the back foot and fighting to catch up.
Close to qualifying amongst the fastest twelve of Superpole 2, Hartog first showed his speed again during warm-up on Sunday, and it was only due to an uncharacteristically slow start as the lights went out that saw the Abbekerk native play catch-up and battle it out with amongst the pack as he fluctuated between P13 and P16.
After six laps of the Czech circuit, Hartog had P13 in the bag and could set his target on World racers Hannes Soomer and Hikari Okubo to take P11. The Netherlands rider was successful in his mission, but with a 5-second gap between himself and tenth, it turned into an uphill battle with not enough laps left to complete the task. Hartog managed to retake a few seconds from the deficit before the chequered flag and instead secured second place for the ESS Cup and eleventh fastest overall.
Not completely satisfied with this result, as impressive as it is in the fierce competition that is the Supersport Class, Brno was the first race of the season at which Hartog had not graced the top step of the ESS Cup podium. The win this time around went to Eemeli Lathi, who finished the WorkdSSP race in 9th position overall. Team Hartog now have 24 points and are thirteenth on the World Supersport Championship ladder. With a 13 point lead over Lathi in the ESS Cup standings, it will be Hartog's goal to ensure he is back on the top step where he belongs come Round 8 in Misano, Italy.
Rob Hartog: "The start was not super, but I was able to maintain my starting position. However, on the third lap, I was attempting to overtake a rider and went wide, losing three places. I was then working from where I started, and it took a lot of time. It was also difficult to overtake, and it was only once I had an open stretch in front of me that I could ride faster. From P11, I came much closer to the rider in front - I had the pace, but the race was just too short for me to overtake him. It came down to losing so much time in the initial phase, and it was a real pity that I couldn't make it back quick enough. We managed to limit the damage to the Championship by taking five points, but lost two in the European Cup."
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Hartog goes down during difficult weekend at Donington Park
Team Hartog - Against Cancer - rider Rob Hartog has not reached the finish for the first time this season after a fierce battle saw the Dutchman down with only five laps remaining of the Prosecco DOC UK Round for the FIM WorldSSP Championship at the weekend.
Unharmed but understandably disappointed to be out of Round 6 points contention, Hartog walked away from the highspeed crash that saw his Kawasaki ZX-6 destroyed. While battling for P13 after starting Sunday's race from the sixth row on the grid, the rider from Abberkerk lost control of his motorcycle - making Donington Park a problematic weekend two years running for the talented top ranker of the European Supersport Cup.
The English circuit was soaking wet on Friday morning at the start of the first free practice; however, Hartog commenced the session well on board his Kawasaki with Front Row Components. At the beginning of the second stint, things began to go awry for the Dutchman though, and Hartog crashed in his first flying lap. Fortunately, there was little damage to both the rider and the bike - with the afternoon's track time utilised instead to master the narrow circuit. Hartog regained his composure to record a twelfth fastest time in the wet/dry conditions and narrowly missed out on a direct qualification into Superpole 2.
During Superpole 1 on Saturday morning, Hartog was unable to show the pace of Friday's free practice and although there was some improvement the final sector was challenging for the Dutch rider with a small mistake seeing him land in P17 for the Round 6 race.
Not at all convinced that Saturday's qualifying time was the limit of his potential at Donington Park, Sunday morning in the warm-up saw Hartog able to demonstrate that his pace was stronger and was sitting back in eleventh fastest overall by the end of the session. After another great start as the lights went out, Hartog only required ten laps to catch up with a large group of riders vying for ninth.
After passing current season rival Luke Stapleford for thirteenth, Hartog was hard pressed to close a gap of over one and a half seconds to the riders ahead while he simultaneously battled alongside Brit Kyle Smith. During a heated attempt to gain some distance on Smith, the 26-year-old Dutch rider had his unsavable high side.
Although the Europe Cup contender walked away from the British Round without WorldSPP points, Hartog still holds on to a top 15th placing within the Supersport Class of the World Championship. Team Hartog - Against Cancer's rider scored points during the first three races of the season with a tenth, eighth and eleventh place respectively in the European rounds - which means the young man from Abbekerk has a current lead of fifteen points for the FIM Europe SuperSport Cup.
In two weeks time, running from June 8 to June 10, the FIM WorldSSP Championship will be held at the Automotodrom Brno, with the Acerbis Czech Round delivering a new circuit for the Netherlands native.
Rob Hartog: "In the first corner I could see I had a bit of a problem being so far back in the group. But then it went pretty well, and I was able to pass some riders. I arrived at P13 and tried to close the gap to the riders in front, but I was also fighting with Kyle Smith. I wanted more and gave too much when I came out of a fast corner, which caused the crash. Fortunately, I walked away, but unfortunately, the engine has a lot of damage. Of course, the team would have preferred to go home with points, but something like this can happen to anyone. Wounds licked, and in two weeks we'll be back at it in Brno!"
Hartog heats up the season battling with WorldSSP top-five
Rob Hartog (Team Hartog - Against Cancer) finished up a hot and heady Italian Round with an outstanding 11th place finish for the FIM World Supersport Class in Imola at the weekend.
The Dutch native was to start Sunday's World Supersport race from the second row on the grid after a well crafted Superpole 2 qualification during unpredictable weather conditions. From fifth place, Hartog had an excellent start and had already jumped ahead one place into P4 as the race entered the first corner. After a long fought battle amongst the top-five, Hartog retained the pace until the mid-pack pushed up the tempo in the final laps and Team Hartog - Against Cancer's rider met the chequered flag in P11.
Rob Hartog scored a 12th fastest time on Friday after two Free Practice Sessions; missing out on moving directly into Superpole 2 by just two-tenths. On Saturday morning, the Kawasaki rider had some concerns with engine adjustments and did not complete a quality third Free Practice on the Italian Circuit. However, modifications made in time for Superpole 1 Qualification meant that Hartog regained his confidence on the Kawasaki ZX-6R with Front Row Components. Settling back into the robust pace set by intense competition, Hartog's lap time rocketed the young rider to second place in the session and enabled a move through into Superpole 2 for the second time this year.
The second part of Saturday's qualification became an intense waiting game, as rain left riders undecided over track conditions. Requiring a well-placed sprint very early in the session, Hartog flew through his second lap to land in P5 overall. During lap three rain began at the circuit in earnest, and meant that the cool-headed rider had successfully earned his career-best start position for Sunday's main event.
Having now scored Championship points for the third time this season, Hartog remains undefeated in the FIM Europe Supersport Cup. With another five points to his name, the 26-year-old from Abbekerk sits comfortably in 12th place overall within the World Championship standings and is already 15 points ahead of the FIM Europe Supersport Cup number two rider. In two weeks we come to the mid-way point of this thrilling 2018 season - with the next round to be held at Donington Park, United Kingdom.
Rob Hartog: "I tried to make a good start to the race, and I knew I succeeded because I was fourth into the first corner. But I also knew that front runners would be faster, so I tried to get into my own rhythm. Until the middle of the race it went well and I fought for fifth place. In the final phase I unfortunately could not keep my pace and dropped to eleventh. Overall we can be satisfied with the weekend. We have shown that the speed is there, and we have got great results in the European Championship!"
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Hartog Attacks in Assen
A fantastic weekend for Rob Hartog (Team Hartog - Against Cancer) saw the rider from the Netherlands send his Kawasaki ZX-6R to an impressive top ten finish in the FIM World Supersport race at the TT Circuit Assen. Round two also saw Hartog secure back to back victories for the 2018 FIM Europe Supersport Cup.
The rider from Abbekerk started the Dutch race from eleventh on the grid after an intense day of Free Practice and qualification with a ninth fastest time after the Friday sessions -giving him the right to participate directly in Superpole 2. It was a defining session for the young rider, as he clocked his first ever lap in the 1'38s on the Dutch track.
Hartog had another excellent start as the lights went out on Sunday, and was up three places by the first turn. The 26-year-old lost some race pace in an attempt to stick with the six fastest riders, falling back one position as Randy Krummenacher charged to the front. However, he ended the final stages of the 18 lap race well, fighting for eighth with Niki Tuuli and Thomas Gradinger.
Due to a crash amongst riders in the leading group, Hartog fought for sixth in the final stage, and the star from Abbekerk crossed the finish line in eighth to score his best result ever in the World Supersport. After two races, Hartog has already collected fourteen World Supersport points - sitting thirteenth overall for SSP.
Rob Hartog: "I had a good start, and I found the connection early with the fastest seven riders. The first laps were good, but then I struggled to keep my pace. It was a nice, hard fight though. I thought a sixth-place finish would be in my favour during the last lap when I knocked out Tuuli in the GT corner. However, in the second kink, he cut the corner and took back the position. To get my best result ever in my home round though is fantastic! It is great to see how many people are here to support the local riders. I also want to thank the team because we all had a great weekend!"
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Hartog with a strong opener in Aragon
Finally, the season for Team Hartog - Against Cancer begins, after a heart-stopping opening round in Aragon at the weekend. The north holland native placed 16th on a grid of 28 World Supersport riders - which made the odds of making up more than a few places seemingly insurmountable. However, a solid start off the line was the fuel to Hartog’s fire, and the Dutchman fought from the third corner of lap one with nine other riders straight for the lead.
Five laps into the thrilling 16 lap race, Hartog was only 2.5 seconds off the front-runner and still fighting to cement his spot in the top ten. With an eight position amongst the leading pack, the young Dutch rider managed to maintain his race pace in a group of eight that all drove hard for sixth place.
Finishing Round 1 in tenth place overall, Hartog now takes the advantage on his Kawasaki Ninja as the current leader of the European Supersport Cup Championship after race one with 6 points. The 2018 ESS Cup rides again in conjunction with the FIM World Supersport rounds, where it is already the third race of the season.
Last year Rob Hartog's season started on the Aragon circuit, with the Kawasaki rider scoring a neat twelfth place - but he also had the luck with a number of dropouts. This year, after four days of productive testing in the off-season, Rob Hartog began the weekend at Motorland Aragon with plenty of confidence.
Friday Free Practice 2 saw Hartog only 0.02 off going directly into Superpole 2. However, the eleventh placing lap time still put him in a top spot for Superpole 1. The 26-year-old rider managed to improve his time by three tenths in the session overall and put Hartog as fastest in the FIM Europe Supersport Cup after free practice and qualifying.
It will be Round 2 to remember as the rider from Abbekerk finds his rhythm, and the thrill of the World Supersport competition continues next Sunday (April 22) with a home race at the TT Circuit Assen!
Rob Hartog: "My start was great, and I had already moved into ninth place after the first lap. I was then able to settle well within the group of the top ten and was on the hunt to grab a few positions. Halfway through the race though, I was overtaken by three riders and lost the connection to the middle pack. In the end, I was just short of winning some more positions, but this tenth place is a great start of the season! The team has worked incredibly well, and we are already looking forward to Assen!"
Robin Duyzers (Crew Chief): "The new formation of the team worked very well. Rob made no mistakes, and the atmosphere in the team is great. Everyone worked hard for these results in race 1, and the result proves this. With two new mechanics, who have done their job well, it puts the team in a great position. The team are living for the next race weekend!"
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