Laverty at the double as Biaggi loses chance of first 2011 race win
Monza lived up to its reputation for thrills and excitement yet again as a crowd of 116,500 watched Eugene Laverty win both 18-lap races in sun-kissed conditions. Laverty was a clear winner in race one, upsetting the pre-race form that had Max Biaggi down as a strong favourite for a double race victory. In race two Biaggi was on for the win at his home track but in making a misjudgment and cutting the first chicane he did not follow the rules about keeping to a certain line and re-entering the track only at permitted areas. For this infringement he was given a ride through penalty. His hopes of the win were over after losing significant amounts of time because of his ride-through, and he ended up eighth.
Biaggi’s misfortune allowed the two Yamaha World Superbike riders Marco Melandri and Laverty to fight it out right to the flag, with Laverty winning and Melandri second after an audacious pass into the Parabolica. Michel Fabrizio was third in race two, on his Alstare Suzuki. World Championship leader Carlos Checa also had a dramatic day, as he scored points in each race, but was lucky to finish the second as he went from sixth to tenth when his machine developed a sudden technical problems and a trail of blue smoke was visible from its exhaust. He had been ninth in race one.
Behind the podium places, Melandri, Fabrizio and Rea filled the top six in race one, with Noriyuki Haga, Troy Corser and a jubilant Ayrton Badovini inside the top six in race two.
Sylvain Guintoli was seventh in race two for his Effenbert Liberty Ducati Team, the top single race Ducati finisher on the day. Checa is still the leader of the championship, but the riders immediately behind him also had changeable fortunes after Monza. Leon Haslam was a podium man in race one, but a faller in race two, along with Jonathan Rea and Ruben Xaus. Leon Camier (Aprilia Alitalia) was on course for a podium but fell at high speed in race two.
In the championship standings Carlos Checa (Althea Racing Ducati) has 145 points, Melandri 118 and Biaggi 117. Rea is fourth with 89 points and Laverty is now fifth, on 85.
Race 1
A close race at times was turned into a cool-headed race win for Laverty as he stretched his rivals to breaking point in the final laps. Biaggi and Haslam took the other podium places, after some tough passes and fights between that duo and fourth place rider Melandri. Fabrizio had a strong ride on his Suzuki Alstare machine and set the fastest lap on his way to fifth place. Jonathan Rea (Castrol Honda) held off Troy Corser to earn himself a top six finish, 12 seconds from the winner.
Eugene Laverty: “That was a great race, definitely not one of the easiest but I enjoyed it nonetheless. I just kept pushing to the top and my first win couldn’t have come at a better place, the Yamaha team is based at Lesmo and everyone’s here to celebrate!”
Max Biaggi: “Second place is better than nothing but I was hoping to do a bit better. I got a good start but made some mistakes and then I was bothered with Leon, Eugene started to go away then I made another mistake so at the end of the day I settled for second place.”
Leon Haslam: “We didn’t get the best of starts and made a few mistakes. I felt like I could run the pace, and then I got into a battle where me and Max were passing each other a few times. We were holding each other up a bit which meant that Eugene got away. It was a tough race, the last part I was defending from Marco but I’ve got a lot more feel out of the BMW now and I’m actually looking forward to the races in the future.”
Race 2
Laverty won a last corner battle with his team-mate Melandri in the second 18-lap race at Monza but the bigger drama was the award of a ride-through penalty for long-time race leader Biaggi, for cutting a chicane in an incorrect fashion. He recovered to finish eighth. Third was Fabrizio, but only after a massive fight with Pata Aprilia rider Noriyuki Haga, who went fourth.
Fifth with a strong ride was Corser, Badovini a brilliant sixth and only ten seconds from Laverty, with the luckless Biaggi eighth. Joan Lascorz recovered from a race one crash to give Kawasaki ninth in race two, the best result of the day for the guys in green.
Eugene Laverty: “I can’t believe I got a double victory here today. My aim coming here this weekend was to get a podium and I came away with two wins. In race 2 I made an average start and two of the guys closed me in and I had to go back. There was a big crash in front of me, it was a hectic race, I was having trouble with the front tyre, but when it came to the last few laps it was between me and Marco and I just couldn’t believe it.”
Marco Melandri: “It’s been a very tough weekend for me, we’ve been trying to find a good set-up to make the bike stable. In the second race we made a big step further but the bike was very nervous at the end so I couldn’t race for the win. I tried to do my best but at the last corner I struggled with the gearbox, the rear tyre locked and I lost.”
Michel Fabrizio: “It was a battle with Haga like the ones of a couple of years back, I wanted the podium at all costs and we would surely have deserved it. Max had already gone away from the rest of the field, so I was settling for fourth place, but in racing it often happens that you can get a podium like that.“
SBK Race 1 | SBK Race 2 | SBK Series Points |
|
| 1 Checa 145 2 Melandri 118 3 Biaggi 117 4 Rea 89 5 Laverty 85 6 Haslam 84 7 Fabrizio 74 8 Camier 58 9 Smrz 55 10 Haga 47 |
World Supersport
Chaz Davies (Yamaha ParkinGO) won his second career WSS race in succession by leading home his team-mate Luca Scassa after 16 laps of the Monza circuit. Behind the flying duo from the Italian based Yamaha team, Fabien Foret (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda) had an eventually lonely but impressive third place finish, some 7.9 seconds from Davies.
Behind the podium places, a race-long fight between four riders saw Broc Parkes (Kawasaki Motocard.com), Sam Lowes (Parkalgar Honda), Roberto Tamburini (Bike Service RT Yamaha) and Florian Marino (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda) completed the top seven places. David Salom took an impressive eighth despite not having his best engine available, from another Kawasaki rider Massimo Roccoli.
SS Race | SS Series Points |
1 Chaz Davies Yamaha GBR 2 Luca Scassa Yamaha ITA 0’04.734 3 Fabien Foret Honda FRA 0’07.977 4 Broc Parkes Kawasaki AUS 0’19.246 5 Sam Lowes Honda GBR 0’19.882 6 Roberto Tamburini Yamaha ITA 0’20.148 7 Florian Marino Honda FRA 0’21.090 8 David Salom Kawasaki ESP 0’31.595 9 Massimo Roccoli Kawasaki ITA 0’31.599 10 Robbin Harms Honda DNK 0’35.406 11 Danilo Dell’omo Triumph ITA 0’35.564 12 Mirko Giansanti Honda ITA 0’35.946 13 Marko Jerman Honda SVK 1’00.245 14 Balazs Nemeth Honda HUN 1’00.256 15 Luca Marconi Yamaha ITA 1’00.528 | 1 Davies 70 2 Scassa 70 3 Parkes 60 4 Harms 43 5 Salom 42 6 Foret 36 7 Lowes 27 8 Roccoli 26 9 Marino 26 10 Ellison 19 |
Superstock 1000 FIM Cup
Lorenzo Zanetti (BMW Motorrad Italia Superstock) took a close win by only 0.065 seconds at Monza in a stopped and restarted race cut to only five laps duration. Michele Magnoni (Baru Racing Team BMW) was third and Danilo Petrucci (Barni Racing Team Ducati) fourth. It was Zanetti’s first race win in this class.
A blown engine in the first race start, from Sylvain Barrier’s BMW Motorrad Italia machine, saw several riders crash at high speed on the spilled oil, with none seriously injured, but Andrea Boscoscuro suffered a broken collarbone.
Results: 1. Zanetti L. (ITA) BMW S1000 RR 8’56.130 (193,957 kph); 2. Giugliano D. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 0.065; 3. Magnoni M. (ITA) BMW S1000 RR 1.728; 4. Petrucci D. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 3.634; 5. Massei F. (ITA) BMW S1000 RR 4.750; 6.Reiterberger M. (GER) BMW S1000 RR 9.341; 7. Bussolotti M. (ITA) Kawasaki ZX-10R 9.418; 8. Antonelli A. (ITA) Honda CBR1000RR 10.734; etc.
Points (after 2 rounds of 10): 1. Giugliano 45; 2. Petrucci 33; 3. Zanetti 32; 4. Antonelli 18; 5. Magnoni 16; 6. Barrier 16; 7. Baroni1 3; 8. Canepa 13; etc. Manufacturers: 1. Ducati 45; 2. BMW 41; 3. Kawasaki 20; 4. Honda 18; 5. Yamaha 4.
– Yamaha Report
World Superbike Rookie, Eugene Laverty, put on a sensational display of race craft today to take a well earned double victory on his team’s home track in Monza. Today’s success signified not only Laverty’s maiden win but also his first podium finish to date in the 2011 World Superbike Championship.
Laverty got off to a perfect start from second position on the grid to immediately take the lead in race one. The World Superbike rookie temporarily surrendered the lead in lap six on entering the “ Prima Variante” but hastened to repossess first place on exiting the “Biassono curve”, leaving Max Biaggi second. Race two saw a masterful display of race craft. Laverty initially fell back to ninth position after encountering a three rider collision in the early stages of the first lap. Putting his head down, he got straight to work, making his way through the bunch of riders ahead to sit behind team-mate Melandri until the final lap where he snatched the chequered flag.
Marco Melandri was also on flying form in the hot temperatures the historic track in Monza had to offer. The Italian completed the first race of the day in fourth position just missing out on a podium by 0.009 of a second. In race two, a good start off fifth position on the grid saw Melandri push up to third place by lap seven. The determined Italian gradually closed in on fellow contenders ahead, until mid race when the leader, Biaggi made a mistake at the first chicane resulting in a ride through penalty by the race direction. This gave Melandri the lead on the 14th lap. The final laps of the adrenalin filled second race saw the two Yamaha World Superbike riders battling it out for the win. Melandri completed the race crossing the finish line in second place, while Laverty just beat him by three tenths of a second. Both Yamaha riders, Melandri and Laverty, scored the fastest speed of the second race reaching a high of 333Km/h.
Eugene Laverty leaves Monza with a total of 85 points having jumped up from ninth to sixth place in the Championship standings after today’s impressive performance. Marco Melandri is now sitting second in the classification with 118 points, just 27 points behind the current leader, Carlos Checa.
Eugene Laverty / Yamaha World Superbike Team – 1st, 1st
“I can’t believe I got a double victory today. I came here aiming for a podium and now I’m coming away with two incredible race wins. It’s fantastic. I didn’t get off to a good start in the second race. I had to avoid a collision on the first corner, causing me to lose time. I also struggled a little with the tyres in the hot conditions. When it came to the last few laps, I couldn’t believe my luck that it was just me and Marco in the lead. This double victory was particularly special to me, being the team’s home track.”
Marco Melandri / Yamaha World Superbike Team – 5th, 2nd
“It’s been a tough but still quite a good weekend. I had difficulty finding the right set-up in order to provide more stability. We made progress before the second race but the bike was still quite agitated towards the end. In the last corner I struggled with the gears and the rear tyre locked causing me to go slightly wide. I’m really pleased to be on the podium and I really enjoyed riding the track. We have gained some important points but I’d like to get more next time!”
Andrea Dosoli – Yamaha World Superbike Team Manager
“It was a pretty amazing weekend. We knew after the two qualifying sessions that we had a good race pace with both riders and could definitely get a good result today. What we saw today is also the result of the hard work the team has done in the last month. I’d like to say a special thanks to everyone who made this happen! Eugene did a great job especially in race two. He initially lost time coming into the first chicane but he still managed to come back and win the race. We expected some difficulty for Marco seeing as the track was new to him but he proved to be extremely competitive. Both riders had some challenges with the set-up of their R1’s over the weekend, especially Marco. Even though we got a double victory here we still know there is plenty of work to be done. We are heading to Aragon for tests this week and hopefully we will come back even more prepared for the upcoming race in Miller.”
Four out of Four for Yamaha ParkinGO Team
Chaz Davies and Luca Scassa put in sensational performances in the melting sunshine in Monza to take the second one two podium of the season on their Yamaha R6 machines and secure a four out of four race victory for the Yamaha ParkinGO Team in the 2011 World Supersport season.
Chaz Davies got straight down to business, taking the lead from pole position to deliver his second victory of the season crossing the chequered flag more than 4 seconds ahead of fellow team-mate. The Brit ended a flawless weekend’s racing in perfect manner and also recorded the fastest lap time of 1’48.526. Scassa was on equally impressive form on his home track in Monza, putting in a series of consistent laps, sitting comfortably behind his companion, to complete the race in second place. The spectacular performances provided by the Yamaha ParkinGO riders this weekend demonstrates the strength of theYZF-R6 machines that powers them to victory.
Following the impressive display of racing this weekend, both Yamaha ParkinGo riders are jointly leading the 2011 World Supersport standings with 70 points, ten points ahead of Parkes in third. Yamaha is topping the manufacturers standings by 32 points.
After the race Luca Scassa was informed by the SBK race direction that his entry will be refused for the Misano round on the 10th – 12th June. Insufficiently aware of the details of the rules concerning practice restrictions, Scassa rode ten laps on a standard R1 as a riding school instructor, three weeks ago. As the Misano circuit is not the selected testing circuit of the Yamaha ParkinGO Team, unknowingly Scassa caused an infringement of the regulations.
Chaz Davies / Yamaha ParkinGO Team – 1st
“I hadn’t won a race in World Supersport and now two in a row – that’s a pretty amazing feeling. I just can’t say enough good things about my Yamaha and my team, everything has been perfect since Friday. I was pretty confident all weekend that I had the perfect race package and I’m delighted with the win. I am really happy with my bike and the results I have achieved so far.“
Luca Scassa / Yamaha ParkinGO Team – 2nd
“Chaz was just perfect this weekend. He was too fast for me to catch up with him today so I’m very pleased with my second place finish. I made a mistake in Qualifying yesterday, so maybe if that hadn’t happened I could possibly have done better today, but who knows! The team did a great job all weekend. I sincerely want to apologize to my team, Yamaha and Infront Motorsports for making the mistake of riding the Misano circuit while not being allowed according to the rules. I didn’t get any advantage from it, but now I realize it is clearly not allowed and was a stupid mistake to make. The only thing I can do now is concentrate on race wins in the rounds to come and compensate for not being able to score points in Misano.”
– Althea Ducati Report
Carlos Checa and the Althea Racing team were able to limit the damage and defend their position well during today’s World Superbike races at the Monza track, the characteristics of which favour the four cycliner bikes. Checa returns home still holding a 27-point advantage in the general standings.
Today’s races were far from easy for the Althea team. In Race 1 Carlos was stuck in traffic through the first corners, finding himself down in thirteenth position after one lap. With a faster pace than the riders immediately ahead of him he was able to quickly make up four positions in the first four laps. Althea man Checa then lost some time battling it out with Camier and this prevented him from reaching the leading group. In the final laps a sudden drop in tyre performance meant he was unable to make any further improvement and the Spanish rider thus crossed the line in ninth position, taking home seven important points.
In the second race Carlos made a very good start and had already made up five positions through the first corners. He was lucky to avoid being caught up in the accident that signified the end of the race for several of his rivals, and he started to build up a good rhythm from that point on. Checa’s times remained fast until three laps from the end when he suffered unexpected engine trouble. This problem slowed him down a great deal and he lost four positions in the final two laps. Althea’ flagbearer finished the second of today’s races in eventual tenth position.
Despite today’s results Carlos still holds a 27 point advantage in the riders’ standings (ahead of Melandri in second place) and Ducati continues to lead in the manufacturers’ championship. The next race is Miller, a track that Checa enjoys and where he has obtained strong results in the past.
Carlos Checa – “We’re satisfied because we were aware of our limitations before we arrived here at Monza we knew that it would be difficult to reach the podium. In race 1 I had to push so hard on the straights that it probably affected the tyre because in the last laps the performance had really dropped off and I couldn’t get ahead of Camier. In the second race we had good pace until three laps from the end when I had an engine problem. It slowed me down so much that I was lucky even to finish. I closed in ninth and tenth position today and, all things considered, these are good points for us at Monza. We leave here with a 27-point lead which surprises me to tell the truth. We’re really happy and will now concentrate on the next round at Miller, where I hope to be able to make two great races.”
– BMW Report
Team BMW Motorrad Motorsport celebrates another podium in the FIM Superbike World Championship. In the fourth round of the 2011 season at Monza (ITA), works rider, Leon Haslam (GBR), finished third in race one. In the second race Leon was involved in a crash involving several riders in the first chicane, and was forced to retire. His team mate, Troy Corser (AUS), finished the races in seventh and fifth respectively. In the riders’ championship Leon Haslam is now sixth (84 points), while Troy has moved up to 11th (46 points). In the manufacturers’ standings BMW has moved up to fourth with 101 points.
In race one, Leon fought his way up to third after starting from sixth. He had thrilling battles with Marco Melandri and Max Biaggi and defended his podium position until the chequered flag. His second race ended in the first chicane. Another competitor crashed and hit Leon’s bike. Leon fell off and hurt his right foot. Troy had an excellent start in both races and was actually leading both of them. In the first race he had issues with tyre wear and fell back. In the second race he was overtaken by a competitor and struggled to make up the gap. However, he crossed the finish line only 4,5 seconds behind Eugene Laverty, who won both races.
BMW Motorrad congratulates Team BMW Motorrad Italia Superstock and its rider Lorenzo Zanetti (ITA) for their victory, and the other customer teams for their successes in the FIM Superstock 1000 Cup race. With Michele Magnoni (ITA / third) from the Baru Racing Team also on the podium, Fabio Massei (ITA / fifth) from the Team Piellemoto and Markus Reiterberger (GER / sixth) from the the Garnier Alpha Racing Team four BMW S 1000 RR riders were placed in the top six.
Leon Haslam: Result Race 1: 3rd, / Result Race 2: DNF
“To be honest, in race one I didn’t get the best of starts. I also made a few mistakes in the early laps, which meant I had some work to do to catch the leading bunch. Still I felt like I had the pace to run with the leading guys. Max and I held each other up slightly, which saw Eugene get away at the front, but on the whole I was happy with the race and the bike. In race two I was hit from behind at the first corner on lap one. I am not a hundred per cent sure what happened, but I crashed out of the race after getting a much better start. Following the crash I was taken to the medical centre where it was confirmed that I have broken a toe on my right foot. I don’t see it being a problem for our forthcoming test or the races in Salt Lake.”
Troy Corser: Result Race 1: 7th, / Result Race 2: 5th
“On one hand I am happy with the way the two races have gone today, but on the other hand I am slightly frustrated. I got a great start in both races and led the early laps. The bike felt good on the whole. We had a few tyre issues in race one, which saw me slip back, and in race two I was pretty happy until I was squeezed out at the first corner by Marco Melandri. From there I lost some time and I just couldn’t get that back. The pace we showed this weekend suggested we could push for the podium, but sadly that didn’t happen today. We have a test now before Salt Lake so hopefully we can continue to improve on what we have done already.”
Bernhard Gobmeier (BMW Motorrad Motorsport Director):
“On the whole we are happy with today. We are glad we could achieve our second podium of the season. Obviously we were expecting a little bit more, but unfortunately Leon’s second race was finished early. With Troy we had some issue with the tyres as they seemed to wear quite quickly, but still we are happy. It was clear in both races that we were able to do similar lap times and be as strong as the Yamahas. This means we have the speed. We just need to be a bit more consistent and fine tune some of our race strategies. Now we are looking forward to the next races in the USA. I also want to congratulate Team BMW Motorrad Italia Superbike for their sixth position with Ayrton Badovini. This is a strong performance.”
– HRC Report
Jonathan Rea (Castrol Honda) competed with all the determination he could summon on race day at the ultra-fast 5.777km Monza circuit and was rewarded with a top six finish in race one, but punished for another rider’s error in race two when he was taken out at the first chicane. Jonathan had qualified in third place after superpole but was not able to get away with the leading riders in race one, and was prevented from making any further improvements by his fall in race two.
Both Monza WSBK races were won by Eugene Laverty (Yamaha) on a day when the championship leader Carlos Checa (Ducati) had his advantage cut to 27 points. Rea now has 89 points, third place rider Max Biaggi (Aprilia) 117 just one point behind overall second placed rider, Marco Melandri (Yamaha). Laverty’s double win takes him fifth, only four points from Rea.
Jonathan is one of four riders to have taken at least one win this year, in the four rounds held so far. Checa, Melandri and Laverty are the others.
Castrol Honda rider Ruben Xaus scored a single point in race one, and was 12th in race two. Ruben is now 15th in the rankings, on 31 points. He had just missed out on superpole qualification and was 17th on the grid.
Fabien Foret (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda) was unable to get on terms with eventual Monza race winner Chaz Davies (Yamaha) after being held up in the early laps but his impressive push through to a clear third place sees Fabien ranked sixth in the championship table. Foret had been fourth on the grid after qualifying and finished three seconds from second placed rider Luca Scassa (Yamaha) in the 16-lap race.
As usual the Monza race weekend proved tough and unforgiving for riders and machines alike, with a fast top speed as well as a good overall set-up required to stay on terms with other riders at this unique circuit, where slipstreaming is still king.
Robbin Harms (Harms Benjan Racing Team Honda could not stay with many other Honda machines on the straights at Monza and had to settle for 11th, one place up on his qualifying position. He is still top Honda rider in the standings, fourth, on 42 points. Davies and Luca Scassa (Yamaha) are tied on 70 points each, Broc Parkes if third on 60 points, and his Kawasaki team-mate David Salom shares 42 points with Harms.
Sam Lowes (Parkalgar Honda) knew his weekend would be particularly challenging as he was riding with a still fractured left collarbone, the result of a heavy crash last time out at Assen. The gritty English rider posted a superb fifth place, right on the heels of fourth place finisher Broc Parkes (Kawasaki).
Florian Marino (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda) battled hard for a top four place at one stage but had to settle for seventh, losing out on an eventual fight with local man Roberto Tamburini (Yamaha).
A first top ten finish in this class of racing was a welcome reward for Czech rider Ondrej Jezek (SMS Racing Honda), as some more established names struggled with either misfortune or a simple lack of pure pace at the fastest circuit on the entire WSBK calendar.
Balazs Nemeth (Team Hungary Toth Honda) scored a point again, and he is overall 18th in the standings. James Ellison (Bogdanka PTR Honda) failed to score points, but would have been well inside the top ten but for a last lap crash directly in front of him that pushed him off the circuit. He restarted after falling but was only 17th.
Alexander Lundh (Cresto Guide Racing Team Honda) was 20th, one place behind Aussie rider Mitchell Pirotta (Kuja Racing Honda).
Vladimir Ivanov (Step Racing Team Honda) and Vittorio Iannuzzo (Kawasaki) collided on the final lap and neither scored points.
Miguel Praia (Parkalgar Honda) and Gino Rea (Step Racing Team Honda) each fell at high speed and were unable to restart their machines. Imre Toth (Team Hungary Toth Honda) also no-scored today after entering the pits while Robert Muresan (PTR Romania Honda) and Pawel Szkopek (Bogdanka PTR Honda) also retired.
Jonathan Rea (Castrol Honda) Race result: 6th / DNF Championship position: 4th
“Frustrating really is the word, especially in race one when we just didn’t have the speed on the straight. I could match the lap times when I was on my own and able to run the right lines. But as soon as I got involved in a race with anyone who slowed me down in the places I was fast, I got forced off the line and lost the speed. Sixth was OK but certainly not what I’d hoped for. I’ll have to see the footage of race two to find out what really happened, but I feel like I got clipped from the inside, which forced me up and into the guy on the outside. We’re going to Miller next, which has another long straight, so I hope the guys back at base can find something. Luckily, we’re testing there the week before the race so I hope that gives us at least a chance to do better than last year.”
Ruben Xaus (Castrol Honda) Race result: 15th / 12th Championship position: 15th
“It has not been a very positive weekend at Monza which is a pity for all the guys in my team who have been working very hard. I have had some braking problems this weekend and stopping the bike has been hard. Today we also had some grip problems on the corner exits, which then makes it difficult to carry the speed down the Monza straights. We will approach the test and races at Miller in a positive way and see what more we can learn from the experience of this weekend.”
SUPERPORT
Fabien Foret (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda) Race result: 3rd – Championship position: 6th
“I messed up everything in the first chicane when Tamburini went a bit wide and pushed me off track. That was that; I could already see Chaz was far ahead and by the time I passed Broc and some other it was just too late. I tried to catch Scassa but it was hard by myself with no slipstream. I wanted to be safe at the end, score 16 points, and try to do even better at the next round in Misano.”
Sam Lowes (Parkalgar Honda) Race result: 5th. Championship position: 7th
“My shoulder was really sore in the race and that was the hardest race of my life. I am not making excuses and the opposition rode well but I could not do what I wanted to do on the bike because of my shoulder. I ran a harder tyre to make it a bit easier for me near the end of the race. I would have taken fifth if you offered me it at the start of the weekend and I dug deep and gave it everything. Now I am just looking forward to Misano.”
Robbin Harms (Harms Benjan Racing Team Honda) Race result: 11th. Championship position: 4th
“I had so much trouble with a lack of speed and every time I was in the group another rider would pass me on the straight. I would outbrake him again, but then there would be two riders passing me, and that is just the story of my race. I would get overtaken by riders on the straight each time I moved up. It was one step forward and two back on the next straight. I was not expecting this much trouble here.”
Florian Marino (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda) Race result: 7th. Championship position: 9th
“I could not get the rhythm I wanted and could not push on the tyre the way I needed to. I could not get it turning like I want. I was quite hard because I was fighting so much with the bike that on the last three laps I was exhausted. Compared to this morning in warm-up the feeling was not as good. To finish seventh means I take some good points and I hope for a better result at Misano.”
James Ellison (Bogdanka PTR Honda) Race result: 17th. Championship position: 10th
“I had a bad first corner but a good recovery. I caught right up with Sam Lowes at one point but then the bike started cutting out. A few people got past and I turned the ignition off to reset the electronics but it was still an issue. I tried a few more things and I even put my hand up at one time because I thought I would be better to come instead of risking an accident. Things started working again so I carried on, and then I was forced off track and eventually toppled over on the final lap, when two riders crashed in front of me. I am disappointed not to have scored points when I was eighth going into the last lap.”
Ondrej Jezek (SMS Racing Team Honda) Race result: 10th. Championship position: 16th
“My first top ten in WSS racing. I was in a group and in a hard race. I had a good start, went from 15th to 13th and then I got in a group for seventh place, fighting with David Salom. With five laps to go I had a weak part in my race and some riders overtook me but then I passed Giansanti and Harms. It was tough battle all through and then in the last lap Iannuzzo, Ivanov and Ellison crashed, so I finished tenth.”
– Team Suzuki Alstare Report
Alstare Suzuki’s Michel Fabrizio raced to his first World Superbike Championship podium with his new team in the second race at the Monza fourth round in Italy today.
It was just reward for all the hard work the Italian and Alstare Suzuki have been putting in since the start of the season and his third place in Race 2 – in front of a partisan crowd of 116,500 – followed a hard-fought-for fifth in Race 1, when he set the fastest lap.
Briton Eugene Laverty (Yamaha) opened his World Superbike account by winning the first race with Max Biaggi (Aprilia) second and Leon Haslam (BMW) third. Laverty then followed it up by winning race two, after leader Biaggi was forced to take a ride-through penalty after failing to take the correct line after cutting the first chicane. This time Marco Melandri (Yamaha) was second with Fabrizio, on his GSX-R1000, close behind.
Michel Fabrizio – Race 1: 5th, Race 2: 3rd: “I am very happy with my podium this afternoon, especially as I was in fourth for a long time at the end and that’s where I thought I’d end up. When Biaggi had to do a ride-through penalty that moved the two Yamahas and me up a place. Racing is like that – sometimes you win and sometimes you lose.
“It was a bit of a shame that I didn’t make better starts in the two races today and that’s something that I will have to work on. At the moment I am probably giving myself too much work to do in the first part of the race and this series is so competitive that once you give way an advantage, it’s very hard to get it back.
“Even though I didn’t get on the podium in Race 1, I am happy that I set the fastest lap of the race – especially as Biaggi’s bike was nearly seven kph faster. I think our team is working really well and I am very pleased with how things are going. I am very happy to get my first podium of the season and hopefully there will be more to come.”