World SBK 2011 – Round Nine – Silverstone
Checa doubles up at Silverstone ahead of Yamaha duo
World Championship leader Carlos Checa (Althea Racing Ducati) had a remarkable weekend in front of 64,000 fans at Silverstone, despite not expecting to be in full contention before arriving in the UK. In winning the first race Checa became the rider who gave Ducati 300 race wins in this championship, and added one to the total when he took his second win in a few hours. His race two victory was his tenth of the season. Checa is something of a century man, as he notched up 100 WSBK races in the second encounter and he was also the rider to give Honda its 100th win in WSBK, at Miller Motorsports Park in 2008.
He missed out on a Superpole victory but controlled the pace in each race, making a break away from early leader Eugene Laverty (Yamaha World Superbike Team) each time. Marco Melandri (Yamaha World Superbike Team) was third in each race, moving closer to overall second place rider Max Biaggi (Aprilia Alitalia Racing Team) who had a terrible opener but a much-improved second race.
Carlos Checa: “I didn’t know it was my hundredth race, but it’s most important I’m not 100 years old! It was also Ducati’s 300th win, a fantastic weekend, and I will remember it for these many reasons. You never know, there are still many races to go and it’s easy to lose points but now we arrive at some tracks where I feel more comfortable. I expected to have more trouble at Silverstone but we worked, planned and adapted well to make a perfect result. For sure now we go on holiday quite relaxed!”
Eugene Laverty: “I’ve got to be happy with 40 points. It’s not a victory but two seconds are going to have to do. I was pushing for the win, in particular for my brother John who’s laid up in hospital. It was a better second race for me, after Carlos rode away in the first one. For race 2 I changed the rear tyre, there was an improvement but every time I closed in on Carlos he reacted. The Yamaha has been working well around here, last year it did the double and me and Marco are on the podium this time round.”
Marco Melandri: “It’s been a good race, I changed the tyre for race 2 to get better grip on the left side, but the lap time at the beginning was faster so it was tricky for me to follow the leaders. After ten laps I started to get a better feeling with the bike and started to go faster than the guys in front of me. I caught Camier and Max was behind me but I really wanted this podium, a big thanks to all of my team.”
Behind the riders in the front positions John Hopkins delivered on his Superpole status for much of raceday only fading towards the end of each contest, as a wildcard rider arrived with interest at this round. A brace of sixth places for Sylvain Guintoli put another privateer well in the mix, while local rider Haslam worked hard for his race finishes in the points. For the other main regulars, Michel Fabrizio (Suzuki Alstare) had a high of ninth in race two, and Joan Lascorz (Kawasaki Racing Team) was seventh in race one, having started 19th on the grid. Stand-in rider Alex Lowes (Castrol Honda) did not finish either race, Ayrton Badovini (BMW Motorrad Italia SBK Team) was tenth on each occasion and his team-mate James Toseland battled hard in each race to finish 12th and 13th. Another comeback rider, Troy Corser, was ninth in race one.
Race 1
Carlos Checa took the total of Ducati race wins in WSBK history to 300 in race one. Early race leader Eugene Laverty was second and Marco Melandri third. Local hero Leon Haslam (BMW Motorrad Motorsport) was fourth, while pole man and wildcard rider John Hopkins ending up fifth and well in the points. Sylvain Guintoli got into the top six ahead of Joan Lascorz, after early fast Pedercini Kawasaki rider Mark Aitchison crashed out. Aprilia Alitalia rider Max Biaggi was a disappointed 11th, his team-mate Leon Camier distraught at losing a podium place as his bike suffered a problem that held him back in 15th place.
Race 2
Points leader Checa made it ten wins in 2011 and in his 100th WSBK race no less, when he won the second 18 lap race at Silverstone, moving further ahead in the championship chase. Laverty took his four-cylinder bike to second, with his fellow Yamaha man Melandri was third but only after a tough battle. Biaggi was with Melandri in the final few corners but could not work a way past at the flag, taking a fighting fourth place. Biaggi’s team-mate Camier was fifth, having been in a podium spot for most of the race. Wildcard Hopkins was pushed to seventh by the impressive privateer Guintoli.
SBK Race 1 | SBK Race 2 | SBK Series Points |
1 Carlos Checa Ducati ESP 38’06.477 2 Eugene Laverty Yamaha GBR 0’03.304 3 Marco Melandri Yamaha ITA 0’04.782 4 Leon Haslam BMW GBR 0’07.116 5 John Hopkins Suzuki USA 0’11.057 6 Sylvain Guintoli Ducati FRA 0’21.899 7 Joan Lascorz Kawasaki ESP 0’22.308 8 Maxime Berger Ducati FRA 0’22.734 9 Troy Corser BMW AUS 0’25.491 10 Ayrton Badovini BMW ITA 0’25.725 11 Max Biaggi Aprilia ITA 0’25.844 12 James Toseland BMW GBR 0’45.578 13 Roberto Rolfo Kawasaki ITA 0’51.650 14 Jon Kirkham Yamaha GBR 0’57.310 15 Leon Camier Aprilia GBR 1’36.457 | 1 Carlos Checa Ducati ESP 38’03.361 2 Eugene Laverty Yamaha GBR 0’02.274 3 Marco Melandri Yamaha ITA 0’03.675 4 Max Biaggi Aprilia ITA 0’03.960 5 Leon Camier Aprilia GBR 0’04.405 6 Sylvain Guintoli Ducati FRA 0’10.958 7 John Hopkins Suzuki USA 0’11.387 8 Leon Haslam BMW GBR 0’11.496 9 Michel Fabrizio Suzuki ITA 0’12.247 10 Ayrton Badovini BMW ITA 0’19.705 11 Jakub Smrz Ducati CZE 0’19.753 12 Maxime Berger Ducati FRA 0’21.582 13 James Toseland BMW GBR 0’27.235 14 Mark Aitchison Kawasaki AUS 0’30.702 15 Jon Kirkham Yamaha GBR 0’42.579 | 1 Checa 343 2 Biaggi 281 3 Melandri 272 4 Laverty 208 5 Haslam 158 6 Camier 146 7 Fabrizio 141 8 Badovini 118 9 Guintoli 109 10 Haga 99 |
— World Supersport
Chaz Davies (Yamaha ParkinGO) Gino Rea (Step Racing Team) held off the race long challenge of David Salom (Kawasaki Motocard.com) to take his fourth win of the season and extend his championship lead to 42 points. Fabien Foret (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda) finished third, 2.449 seconds from Davies, but the late challenge of the luckless Gino Rea (Step Racing Honda) ended in the gravel as he ran on trying to pass Foret, and he finished 11th.
Roberto Tamburini (Bike Service R.T. Yamaha) put memories of a big Silverstone crash last year behind him with fourth place, one position up on Massimo Roccoli (Lorenzini by Leoni Kawasaki). Broc Parkes, Salom’s team-mate was sixth. Sam Lowes (Parkalgar Honda) fell after a collision early in the race with Rea. Davies is now leading the championship with 141 points, Salom is second on 104, Foret has 101 and Parkes is fourth with 95.
Supersport Race | Supersport Points |
1 Chaz Davies Yamaha GBR 34’55.198 2 David Salom Kawasaki ESP 0’01.085 3 Fabien Foret Honda FRA 0’02.449 4 Roberto Tamburini Yamaha ITA 0’08.319 5 Massimo Roccoli Kawasaki ITA 0’11.283 6 Broc Parkes Kawasaki AUS 0’12.308 7 Balazs Nemeth Honda HUN 0’14.011 8 Miguel Praia Honda POR 0’14.814 9 Florian Marino Honda FRA 0’14.906 10 James Ellison Honda GBR 0’17.635 11 Gino Rea Honda GBR 0’25.109 12 Luca Scassa Yamaha ITA 0’25.230 13 Alexander Lundh Honda SWE 0’25.430 14 Ronan Quarmby Triumph RSA 0’33.084 15 Vittorio Iannuzzo Kawasaki ITA 0’43.631 | 1. Chaz Davies Yamaha GBR 146 2. David Salom Kawasaki ESP 104 3. Fabien Foret Honda FRA 101 4. Broc Parkes Kawasaki AUS 95 5. Luca Scassa Yamaha ITA 83 6. Sam Lowes Honda GBR 73 7. Gino Rea Honda GBR 62 8. Robbin Harms Honda DNK 59 9. Roberto Tamburini Yamaha ITA 56 10. Massimo Roccoli Kawasaki ITA 51 11. Florian Marino Honda FRA 51 12. James Ellison Honda GBR 42 13. Miguel Praia Honda POR 32 14. Balazs Nemeth Honda HUN 25 15. Vittorio Iannuzzo Kawasaki ITA 22 |
— Superstock 1000
Danilo Petrucci (Barni Racing Ducati) won a ten-lap race by over three seconds from the warring duo of Lorenzo Zanetti (BMW Motorrad Italia Superstock) and Niccolo Canepa (Lazio Motorsport Ducati). The fight for the lead was eventually contested by Petrucci and championship leader Davide Giugliano (Althea Racing Ducati) until Giugliano crashed out of contention on lap nine, leaving Petrucci a clear run to the flag. This was Petrucci’s first win in this class. Sylvain Barrier (BMW Motorrad Italia Superstock) also crashed out. In the championship fight, Giugliano has an unchanged 115 points, Zanetti 104, Petrucci 94 and Barrier 65.
Results: 1. Petrucci D. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 21’36.434 (163,89 kph); 2. Zanetti L. (ITA) BMW S1000 RR 3.431; 3. Canepa N. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 3.465; 4. Baroni L. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 12.047; 5. Mercado L. (ARG) Kawasaki ZX-10R 14.270; 6. Reiterberger M. (GER) BMW S1000 RR 14.715; 7. Antonelli A. (ITA) Honda CBR1000RR 18.739; 8. Morais S. (RSA) Kawasaki ZX-10R 19.371; etc.
Points (after 6 of 10 rounds): 1. Giugliano 115; 2. Zanetti 104: 3. Petrucci 94; 4. Barrier 65; 5. Canepa 64; 6. Baroni 46; 7. Antonelli 44; 8. Reiterberger 42; etc. Manufacturers: 1. Ducati 140; 2. BMW 122; 3. Kawasaki 58; 4. Honda 52; 5. Yamaha 15.
— Superstock 600
The European Superstock 600 race provided a spectacular end to the UK Round held at Silverstone. The race win went to American Joshua Day (Revolution Racedays Kawasaki), who became the sixth different winner this year. In a sprint finish to the line Day got the edge on Australian Jed Metcher (MTM-RT Motorsports Yamaha) and Italian Riccardo Russo (Trasimeno Yamaha), who stepped onto the podium for the first time in his debut STK600 season. Romain Lanusse (MRS Yamaha Racing France) again failed to score a win but held off the challenge of Daniele Beretta (Trasimeno Yamaha) in the last few metres to keep his points lead intact. Brno winner Lombardi had an off day for the Martini Corse Yamaha team, the Italian finishing thirteenth and dropping to fourth in the table.
Race: 1. Day J. (USA) Kawasaki ZX-6R 20’14.620 (157,436 kph); 2. Metcher J. (AUS) Yamaha YZF R6 0.187; 3. Russo R. (ITA) Yamaha YZF R6 0.245; 4. Lanusse R. (FRA) Yamaha YZF R6 0.425; 5. Beretta D. (ITA) Yamaha YZF R6 0.816; 6. Egea S. (FRA) Yamaha YZF R6 5.074; 7. Schacht A. (DEN) Honda CBR600RR 6.703; 8. Covena T. (NED) Yamaha YZF R6 7.124; etc.
Points (after 6 of 10 rounds): 1. Lanusse 94; 2. Metcher 81; 3. Day 76; 4. Lombardi 74; 5. Russo 54; 6. Vd Mark 51; 7. Duwelz 51; 8. Gregorini 35; etc.
— Althea Ducati Report
The Althea Racing team and rider Carlos Checa had several reasons to celebrate today at the Silverstone circuit; the team has achieved the 300th Superbike race win for Ducati, followed by the 301st in race 2! The second race also gave the Spanish rider another reason to smile as it was his 100th Superbike start.
Checa made a strong start to race one and was fourth at the end of lap one. He fought with Haga for third position through the first laps and passed both him and Hopkins on the third. Giving chase to Laverty, he got past him on lap six to take the lead. By mid-race he had built up a two second lead over the Yamaha rider but did not slow his pace for anyone, continuing to put in some extremely fast lap times all the way to the line, to win with a 3.3 second advantage. Carlos also made the fastest lap of the race, obtaining his sixth Pirelli prize of the season.
The second race was also significant for the fact that is was championship leader Checa’s 100th race in World Superbike. The Althea Racing rider was fifth at the first corner but up to second by the end of the first lap. In the initial stages he battled hard to reach leader Laverty and was able to get by him on lap six, just as he had done in race one. From that point on, he worked hard to slowly increase his advantage and he defended his position perfectly. He crossed the line 2.2 seconds ahead of Laverty, to take another 25 points for the championship.
Thanks to today’s fantastic double win, Checa has extended his championship advantage to 62 points. He holds a total of 343 points to second-place Biaggi’s 281. Ducati continues to lead the manufacturer’s championship with 355 points to 320 of Yamaha and Aprilia.
Carlos Checa: “It was a wonderful day. I didn’t believe that it would be possible to win here, but we managed to do it twice over! To achieve the 300th win for Ducati is an important result and we are all very happy to have been able to repeat this in race two. I thank everyone involved, my team, Ducati and all the sponsors. I also heard that I have now completed 100 SBK races. I didn’t know this but the important thing is that I still feel young and am not yet 100 years old! We have a good advantage for now but as we all know, it is hard to build up points and easy to lose them. We now head to tracks where I have had some good results in the past but we are taking it one step at a time; nothing is a given. It’s been a fantastic weekend that I will remember forever. Now the team can go on holiday in a more relaxed state of mind.”
Genesio Bevilacqua, General Manager dof Althea Racing: “A double win that gives us great satisfaction. We’ve achieved two wins at just the right time and they help increase our championship advantage. A true demonstration of strength by our rider who made the most of everything we have given him on a technical level. I would like to underline that it has been a difficult weekend from a media point of view; I think that our rivals should clarify their declarations as they continue to insist that they believe us to be at an advantage when the opposite is in fact true. What we bring to the floor is our strength as a team, a great rider and a bike that has less acceleration. We also lose at least 12km/h of top speed at every track. I would therefore like to see more respect being paid when it comes to the hard work of our team and our rider. We will continue to work to achieve our objectives and Ducati’s objective.”
Ernesto Marinelli, Superbike Project Director in Ducati
“Today was a memorable day for Ducati and for everyone that has shared in the years of passion, races and wins. We have crossed a line that no other manufacturer has every reached – 300 SBK wins… And now 301… In thanking all of the teams and riders that have made Ducati history, I also thank Carlos who, with his enormous talent, has added the victory that we needed in order to reach this milestone. Another big thank-you goes to Genesio and the entire Althea team for their passion, determination and professionalism that has led to such great results this year.”
— Yamaha Report
Yamaha World Superbike Team riders Eugene Laverty and Marco Melandri were on top form at Silverstone today claiming an impressive double podium a head in the warm British sunshine. Laverty and Melandri completed two solid races in second and third places respectively at the historic track where the Yamaha R1 has proved it’s strength yet again.
In race one, Eugene Laverty shot off his second place on the grid to immediately take the lead, a position he proceeded to hold until the last turn of the sixth lap when he surrendered to the championship leader, Checa. The 25 year old World Superbike rookie pushed hard, holding off advances from Hopkins and Camier behind to complete the first race of this home round in second place, in front of an enthusiastic crowd. Fellow Teammate Marco Melandri was on equally impressive form, moving up to fifth place off the grid. A strong battle with Hopkins and Camier mid race saw the Italian interchange positions with his adversaries on several occasions. Melandri was shadowing Camier and preparing to make his move when the Brit was forced to prematurely retire due to engine failure with just three laps to go. The Italian then proceeded to complete the race in third place, joining his Yamaha World Superbike teammate on the podium.
Laverty and Melandri proved to be just as determined and consistent in race two, which was almost a replica of the first race of the day. Laverty performed flawlessly, holding the lead until the sixth lap before finally powering his YZF-R1 to the chequered flag in second place while his teammate followed close behind to claim the third spot on the second podium of the day. From a perfect second row start off the grid, Melandri shot up to fourth place. The Italian, bottled necked in traffic was caused to fall back to fifth and then sixth place before regaining fourth by lap 10. While holding off advances from Biaggi, Melandri proceeded to battle his way up to third place.
Following today’s incredible performance and four podiums, Yamaha is now holding second place in the Manufacturers standings. Melandri leaves Silverstone with 272 points and sitting in third place in the standings, having succeeded in closing the gap to Biaggi in second place, to just 9 points and 71 points short of Checa in the lead. Laverty is sitting in a solid fourth place on 158 points, 64 behind his teammate and 50 ahead of Haslam in fifth. With four rounds left to go and eight races, there are still a total of 200 points up for graps.
Eugene Laverty – Yamaha World Superbike Team – 2nd, 2nd
“Yes I’m happy with the 40 points today. Not a victory but two second places are quite good. In race one Carlos went by me and pushed on but I had some limits with the bike so I couldn’t really catch up. In the end, second place was more than enough. In race two I really wanted to push for a victory, especially to cheer up my brother John in hospital, but I’m sure he’s happy with my results. I had a better second race, I changed the tyre and there was an improvement. In the later part of the race I tried to move my body position on the bike and began to close in on Carlos, but when I did, he reacted. He had the edge on us today so he would have been extremely difficult to beat”.
Marco Melandri – Yamaha World Superbike Team – 3rd, 3rd
“In race one, I had a very unstable bike, I didn’t have a good feeling from the beginning of the race and struggled with a lack of rear grip. I lost a lot of time with Hopkins and Haga in front of me and it wasn’t easy to get by. We changed the tyre before race two to get better grip on the left side, but I hit a stone with my knee on the straight and it caused me to lose a lot of time on that lap. I started to improve then and saw I could catch Camier . I was struggling to keep Max at bay but I pushed to stay ahead. I’m happy with my double podium today. Now I’m looking forward to some holidays and I hope to come back stronger than ever.”
Andrea Dosoli – Yamaha World Superbike Team Manager
“Two great races today! Four podiums in an event is an amazing result. Eugene did a fantastic job, at his home round in front of his many fans. He managed both races perfectly, with two great starts off the grid, sitting in the lead before Checa overtook him, then following him to the flag. Great job! Marco got a good start from his second row on the grid but got held up with Hopkins and lost precious seconds trying to get away from his adversaries, especially in the second race. Well done to both sides of the garage, they worked really hard yet again. We highlighted once again the strength of the R1, which has taken Yamaha into the second place in the manufacturer’s standings and consolidated the lead in the 2011 Team standings.”
— HRC Report
In his second meeting as a replacement for the injured Jonathan Rea, Alex Lowes (Castrol Honda) was unable to finish a race at round nine of the FIM Superbike World Championship held at Silverstone. In contrast World championship leader Carlos Checa (Ducati) extended his lead in the points standings with a double win, while Eugene Laverty (Yamaha) and his team-mate Marco Melandri took identical double podium finishes of second and third respectively.
Lowes started each 18-lap race in 18th position on the grid, but Lowes was to fall on lap six of race one, and then retire in race two after finding he could not lap competitively on his spare bike, which had some different settings from his crashed number one machine.
Regular rider Ruben Xaus was unable to compete at Silverstone due to injury, and when original planned replacement Karl Muggeridge was ruled out of the running, Fabrizio Lai (Castrol Honda) was drafted in as a late substitute.
He worked diligently in practice and qualified 21st, but was to fall in race one at turn six after losing the front. He posted a finish in 16th place in race two, but just missed out on a point by one place.
With Max Biaggi only 11th and then fourth today, Checa extended his championship lead to 62 points over Biaggi, 343 to 281. Melandri has 272 points, Laverty 208. Jonathan Rea is now 12th overall with 94 points, Xaus 16th with 44 points.
Fabien Foret (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda) got involved in a fight for the World Supersport podium places at Silverstone after qualifying sixth on the grid and finished 2.449 seconds from his first win of the season, in a race taken by championship leader Chaz Davies (Yamaha) from David Salom (Kawasaki). This was Foret’s fifth podium of 2011.
Some top riders, including Brno race winner Gino Rea (Step Racing Honda) were to fall during the usual intense supersport contest, with Rea particularly unfortunate to first collide with fellow CBR600RR rider Sam Lowes (Parkalgar Honda) in the early laps and then work his way back to a potential podium, only to crash trying to pass Foret.
Gino remounted to take 11th in the race, and go seventh in the championship standings. He had qualified fourth, for a front row start. Lowes crashed out after his collision with Rea, rejoining for a time, but being forced to retire with a damaged machine.
Balasz Nemeth (Team Hungary Toth Honda) made a remarkable run through the field from his 21st place on the grid, going seventh at the flag and in doing so proving to be second best Honda rider on the day. The 26-year-old Hungarian rider jumped up to 14th in the championship with his best finish to date.
Robbin Harms (Harms Benjan Racing Honda) set the fastest lap of the day on the second circuit, but fell from third place on lap four. The Dane had been fifth in qualifying.
Silverstone is a favourite circuit of Miguel Praia (Parkalgar Honda) and he went eighth in the race, one place up on young French rider Florian Marino (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda). Marino had been impressive in the lead in the early laps, but lost traction and several positions as the race counted out over all 16-laps. He had qualified an impressive third.
Chaz Davies is now in a strong championship position with 146 points, Salom has 104, Foret 101 and Broc Parkes (sixth today on a Kawasaki) 95.
Alex Lowes (Castrol Honda) – “Race one was going OK, even though I made a bad start. I made some passes on other riders, was really enjoying it. I went into one of the corners a little bit fast, and slowed down too much in the middle of the corner, then got on the gas too much on the exit, so it was really my fault. It was a big crash and I felt pretty beaten up. In race two I had not much confidence and feeling on the second bike. The team worked really well and in some parts of the weekend we were pretty fast, but at the end of the weekend crashing out never helps a lot. The team and bike deserve to be a lot higher up, but I am taking some positives away because we had some positives.”
Fabrizio Lai (Castrol Honda) – “It was a very difficult weekend because it is the first time at Silverstone, first time with this team this bike and all of it was very complicated. Today in race one I used a soft tyre and, before I fell, it was not giving me the best grip even after three laps. In race two I chose a harder tyre and it as very good in the corners, but then the problems was in the rear and I did not have the traction I wanted. I used more traction control to finish the race. I am sorry for this result for the team, all the people and myself.”
SUPERSPORT
Fabien Foret (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda) – “The bike was OK, obviously good enough to take a podium, and my team worked hard. We did not find the best base setting ever this weekend, but the bike was good. It was really good in some areas in others I was struggling a bit. I think maybe I took the wrong tactics, as I felt I could have gone out in front at one stage, but I decided to wait. Then, I could not change my rhythm again, making a few mistakes. At the end I could not make it and I am a little sorry not to perform better this race, even if the bike set-up was not as good as I would have liked.”
Balasz Nemeth (Team Hungary Toth Honda) – “We started quite far back because I had some problems in qualifying with my set up so I could not do one good fast lap. In the race I made a good start and I could gain some positions in every lap. In the last few laps I saw I had some chances to catch the riders before me and I pushed more. In the last two laps it was a bit hard with some overtaking and I was on the gravel sometimes, but in the end it was a very good result.”
— BMW Report
Team BMW Motorrad Motorsport leaves the Silverstone race weekend with mixed emotions. At the last race weekend before the summer break, factory rider Leon Haslam (GBR) secured the squad another top five finish in the 2011 season of the FIM Superbike World Championship. On the other hand, Troy Corser (AUS) had to retire from the second race due to a technical issue. In the championship standings, Leon is fifth (158 points) and Troy is still 15th (62 points). In the manufacturer standings, BMW lies fourth with 194 points.
Two BMW riders were again successful in the FIM Superstock 1000 Cup race: BMW Motorrad Italia Superstock Team rider Lorenzo Zanetti (ITA) celebrated a podium, finishing second. 17 years old German Markus Reiterberger (GER) from the Garnier Alpha Racing Team secured another top ten result finishing sixth.
BMW Motorrad Motorsport congratulates Erwan Nigon (FRA), Sébastien Gimbert (FRA) and Damian Cudlin (GBR) from Team BMW Motorrad France on the fourth place on its debut at the prestigious Suzuka 8-Hour race. The result catapulted Team BMW Motorrad France 99 to the top of the Endurance World Championship standings, with just two rounds of the series remaining.
Leon Haslam: “In race one I was really happy with the start. I was able to get myself into the position I wanted to be in and ran with the leaders. I was really pushing for the podium and battled to keep with Marco Melandri, but I was really struggling to pass him and stay in front. I was happy to be running close to the front and the lap times were OK. I just narrowly missed out on a podium. In race two I was having a few issues with the bike and I was forced to adapt my riding style to try and ride around it. I got to the point where I was able to run consistent lap times, but by then the leaders had gone. Now we have the summer break, so I am just looking forward to spending some time at home and preparing in the gym for the next races.”
Troy Corser: “In race one I got a great start. I actually had a little incident at the first corner – I collided with another rider which did cost me a bit of time and to be honest I was lucky not to go down. I fought hard and managed to get to the front of the group and I felt well on the bike. The grip level dropped off as the race progressed, and it caused me to slide and spin the rear tyre. I just managed the situation the best I could and brought it home. In race two we had an issue with the bike which we are currently looking into. That sadly brought an early end to the race for me. We are not sure exactly why the issue occurred at the minute but it does seem bizarre at this stage because we only made minor changes between races. The changes we did make seemed to improve the package but sadly we couldn’t take advantage of that. I have a couple of days off before going back to serious training. I still do not feel 100 per cent fit on the bike after my injury.”
Bernhard Gobmeier (BMW Motorrad Motorsport Director): “We leave Silverstone with mixed emotions. In the first race, Leon’s lap times were good enough for a podium finish. After the second race, he complained about chattering. This didn’t allow good lap times. Troy showed a really good performance in race 1 and demonstrated that he is back from his injury. In the second race he brought the bike back to the garage and retired early from the race as he had technical issues. We now will analyze the data and find out what the problem was. The entire squad in Stephanskirchen, Munich and at the race track has worked hard over the last couple of months. Everybody should now recover before we come back to our home race at Nürburgring.”
— Suzuki Report
Team Alstare Suzuki rider Michel Fabrizio endured a tough time at today’s World Superbike Championship round at Silverstone in the UK: He crashed out of the first race and then suffered tyre problems almost from the start of the second and was forced to ride cautiously just to make the finish.
Spaniard Carlos Checa (Ducati) ran away with both races – his fourth double of the season – and took his tally of victories to 10 this year. In both today’s 18-lap races, Eugene Laverty (Yamaha) took second; with team mate Marco Melandri third.
Michel Fabrizio – Race 1: DNF, Race 2: 9th: “I am disappointed with how things worked out today. I think the crash in race one was probably a bit my fault. I high-sided on lap one, maybe because I was pushing a bit too hard and a bit too soon. I hurt my right collarbone and gave my right hip and thigh a pretty good bang, so I was a bit battered and bruised for race two.
“Because the track temperature was quite hot, we chose a hard front tyre for the second as we felt that a soft one would get destroyed too soon. But the front was a bit too hard and I just couldn’t get any mid-corner grip after just a couple of laps. From then on, it was a struggle to maintain my position and when I got passed by a few riders I couldn’t do anything about it. I kept pushing as hard as I could and finished a frustrating ninth place. It was a pity, because I had qualified on the second row of the grid and, as I know that my race-pace is normally very good, I was looking forward to at least top-four finishes and maybe even a podium. Racing is like this sometimes and I have to put today behind me, enjoy the upcoming break; and then look forward to better times in the next round at the Nurburgring.”