Race One: Melandri takes maiden victory on the RSV4 in Race 1
The first ever race at Sepang for the eni FIM Superbike World Championship was a thriller, with Aprilia Racing Team’s Marco Melandri and Sylvain Guintoli locked in a titanic battle for victory until the flag. The race was incident packed from the start as Loris Baz tangled with his Kawasaki racing team mate Tom Sykes, both riders falling and taking with them Alex Lowes (Voltcom Crescent Suzuki).
With the incident creating a gap at the front of the race, Sylvain Guintoli and Marco Melandri exchanged places at the front with Melandri eventually coming out as the victor and claiming his first win as a factory Aprilia rider. Guintoli was second.
Behind the leading two, a three way fight raged with Eugene Laverty (Voltcom Crescent Suzuki) claiming the final podium spot ahead of Chaz Davies (Ducati Superbike Team) and Toni Elias (Red Devils Roma Aprilia) who were 4th and 5th respectively.
Sixth at the end of the first 16 lap encounter of the day went to Jonathan Rea (Pata Honda World Superbike Team) who recovered from a bad start to get the better of his team mate Leon Haslam.
David Salom (Kawasaki Racing Team) claimed the EVO honours with a spirited ride to 9th overall ahead of Leon Camier (BMW Motorrad Italia) who was 10th. Bryan Staring (Iron Brain Grillini Kawasaki) scored points with 13th on his first Superbike start of the year.
Race One Results: 1. Melandri (Aprilia) 16 Laps/88.768 km in 33’42.359 average 158.016 kph; 2. Guintoli (Aprilia) 0.620; 3. Laverty (Suzuki) 12.865; 4. Davies (Ducati) 15.437; 5. Elias (Aprilia) 15.723; 6. Rea (Honda) 31.304; 7. Haslam (Honda) 34.093; 8. Giugliano (Ducati) 35.804; 9. Salom (Kawasaki) 42.031; 10. Camier (BMW) 49.465; 11. Guarnoni (Kawasaki) 53.715; 12. Andreozzi (Kawasaki) 1’07.783; 13. Staring (Kawasaki) 1’10.746; 14. Toth (BMW) 1’18.143; 15. Lanusse (Kawasaki) 1’21.026; 16. Yates (EBR) 1’49.054; RT. Canepa (Ducati); RT. Morais (Kawasaki); RT. Sebestyen (BMW); RT. Corti (MV Agusta); RT. Foret (Kawasaki); RT. Lowes (Suzuki); RT. Baz (Kawasaki); RT. Sykes (Kawasaki); SH. Badovini (Bimota) 55.683; SH. Iddon (Bimota).
Race Two – Melandri makes it a double
Marco Melandri (Aprilia Racing Team) claimed a double victory for Aprilia overnight, winning round six of the world superbike championship in the category’s debut at the Sepang International circuit in Malyasia.
Both races proved a titanic battle to the flag between Melandri and his teammate Sylvain Guintoli. The two Aprilia riders raced tooth and nail to the finish, with Italian Melandri pipping Guintoli on both occasions. Today’s victories were Melandri’s first for Aprilia, since joining the team this season.
It was the second double of Melandri’s career after the one he scored in Brno two years ago, aboard the factory BMW machinery he was riding at the time.
Australia’s Bryan Staring made his race debut for Kawasaki Grillini, taking an encouraging 13th and 16th on the EVO bike.
Marco Melandri: “We really needed this double! We never gave up despite the difficulties we went through, we kept working hard and fighting. I found a good feeling here astride my RSV4. Conditions were difficult in race one, but I managed to close the gap to Sylvain anyway. After overtaking him I was able to pull away just enough to win. Race two was even harder, as I had to make my way through the Kawasaki’s and then try and catch my teammate. During the last lap I tried everything I could to the finish line. A lot of respect should be paid to all riders for today’s races, because it was really tough to ride in these conditions. I would like to dedicate this double to my girlfriend Manu who is due to give birth soon and to the team.”
Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team) made amends in race two after being taken out in race one to take the final spot on the podium, despite a painful wrist. The Brit still leads the standings after the sixth round whilst Guintoli now lies second in the title race, only 13 points behind the reigning champion.
Tom Sykes: “We got a podium and we are still leading the championship, which is very important. We made a change to the machine after Superpole and in warm-up I was very happy. I had a bit of a limitation in race two which created a little bit of instability with the bike because I was not able to use my right hand to its full potential. It was difficult to see the two guys up front get away, because if I was riding fit then I think we could have tried to give them something to think about. My crew chief had a good chat with me before race two, and he said we needed to try and do the best we could.”
Race two was initially red flagged after the MV Agusta of Claudio Corti expired resulting in a small fire that needed to be extinguished by the track side marshals.
With only three full laps completed the grid for the restart was determined by the positions at the end of the third revolution, meaning Sylvain Guintoli (Aprilia Racing Team) was on pole ahead of Toni Elias (Red Devils Roma Aprilia) and Marco Melandri (Aprilia Racing Team). The restart, over 10 laps of the Sepang International Circuit did not disappoint, with the leading five riders locked together until the two factory Aprilia riders eased clear.
Marco Melandri had to take avoiding action as he misjudged his braking point on the second lap, narrowly missing the back of his team mate Guintoli and Toni Elias. Thankfully everyone stayed aboard treating the fans to one of the closest race finishes of the year. Melandri and Guintoli exchanged places several times on the final lap with the Italian getting the better of his team mate once again to take a double win on the championship’s first visit to Sepang.
Toni Elias (Red Devils Roma Aprilia) edged Loris Baz (Kawasaki Racing Team) for fourth, with Jonathan Rea (Pata Honda World Superbike) finishing in sixth place.
Leon Camier (BMW Motorrad Italia) was the best classified EVO rider, racing to 12th at the end of the race ahead of David Salom (Kawasaki Racing Team).
Australia’s Bryan Staring, in his race debut for Grillini Kawasaki took 16th in the second battle, to add to his 13th earlier in the day – a good start for the EVO class rider.
Alessandro Andreozzi (Pedercini Kawasaki), and his team mate Romain Lanusse both crashed out, thankfully without injury.
Race two Results: 1. Melandri (Aprilia) 10 Laps/55.480 km in 21’00.424 average 158.461 kph; 2. Guintoli (Aprilia) 0.166; 3. Sykes (Kawasaki) 2.689; 4. Elias (Aprilia) 5.386; 5. Baz (Kawasaki) 5.514; 6. Rea (Honda) 7.073; 7. Laverty (Suzuki) 7.476; 8. Davies (Ducati) 11.057; 9. Lowes (Suzuki) 15.866; 10. Giugliano (Ducati) 16.206; 11. Haslam (Honda) 16.488; 12. Camier (BMW) 23.820; 13. Salom (Kawasaki) 30.653; 14. Guarnoni (Kawasaki) 31.266; 15. Canepa (Ducati) 43.009; 16. Staring (Kawasaki) 46.127; 17. Morais (Kawasaki) 58.167; 18. Toth (BMW) 1’00.017; 19. Sebestyen (BMW) 1’03.574; 20. Yates (EBR) 1’13.522; RT. Lanusse (Kawasaki); RT. Andreozzi (Kawasaki); RT. Foret (Kawasaki); SH. Badovini (Bimota) 29.094; SH. Iddon (Bimota) 36.354.
Standings (Round 6 of 13): 1. Sykes 201; 2. Guintoli 188; 3. Rea 179; 4. Baz 170; 5. Melandri 147; 6. Davies 130; 7. Giugliano 96; 8. Laverty 90; 9. Elias 89; 10. Haslam 89; 11. Lowes 80; 12. Salom 56; 13. Canepa 39; 14. Camier 30; 15. Guarnoni 19; 16. Scassa 16; 17. Foret 14; 18. Corti 10; 19. Morais 10; 20. Andreozzi 8; 21. Allerton 6; 22. Bos 5; 23. Staring 3; 24. Toth 2; 25. Fabrizio 2; 26. Lanusse 1. Manufacturers: 1. Kawasaki 216; 2. Aprilia 212; 3. Honda 179; 4. Ducati 158; 5. Suzuki 140; 6. BMW 36; 7. MV Agusta 10.
World Supersport
After 14 exciting laps, Michael van der Mark (Pata Honda World Supersport Team) has taken victory in the first ever World Supersport race in Sepang and with it extended his lead in the championship after an enthralling battle in the hottest Supersport race of the year, both on and off the track.
After taking the lead at turn one former champion Kenan Sofuoglu (Mahi Team India Kawasaki) was put under intense pressure from Jules Cluzel (MV Agusta RC – Yakhnich Motorsport), Michael van der Mark (Pata Honda World Supersport Team), Robert Rolfo (Go Eleven Kawasaki) and Lorenzo Zanetti (Pata Honda World Supersport Team), with the top 5 riders easing slowly away from the chasing pack.
As the race progressed Sofuoglu dropped slowly back as did Rolfo and Zanetti leaving championship leader Van der Mark and Jules Cluzel to fight to the flag with the the Dutchman getting the better of the Frenchman in the final turn.
Kenan Sofuoglu took the final podium place in 3rd after getting the better of Roberto Rolfo, with Lorenzo Zanetti and Ratthapark Wilairot (Core PTR Honda) completing the top six.
Wildcard rider Zaqhwan Zaidi (SIC Racing Team) rode superbly to claim a well deserved 9th in front of a very enthusiastic local crowd.
Both DMC-Panavto riders, Alexey Ivanov and Kev Coghlan crashed out early on as did Fraser Rogers (SMS Complus Honda), Fabio Menghi (VFT Racing Yamaha) before Jack Kennedy (CIA Insurance Honda) took out Roberto Tamburini (San Carlo Puccetti Kawasaki), with Florian Marino (Intermoto Kawasaki Ponyexpres) falling at the same corner seconds later. All riders were uninjured.
Results: 1. Vd Mark (Honda) 14 Laps/77.672 km in 30’23.854 average 153.312 kph; 2. Cluzel (MV Agusta) 0.018; 3. Sofuoglu (Kawasaki) 4.526; 4. Rolfo (Kawasaki) 4.651; 5. Zanetti (Honda) 9.187; 6. Wilairot (Honda) 12.494; 7. De Rosa (Honda) 13.515; 8. Jacobsen (Kawasaki) 20.400; 9. Zaidi (Honda) 20.579; 10. Bussolotti (Honda) 29.038; 11. Gamarino (Kawasaki) 33.204; 12. Russo (Honda) 39.729; 13. Nocco (Kawasaki) 48.739; 14. Leonov (MV Agusta) 50.260; 15. Coveña (Kawasaki) 1’02.471; etc.
Standings (Round 6 of 12): 1. Vd Mark 115; 2. Cluzel 82; 3. Marino 76; 4. Zanetti 60; 5. Coghlan 60; 6. Sofuoglu 54; 7. De Rosa 54; 8. Rolfo 49; 9. Jacobsen 40; 10. Tamburini 37; 11. Bussolotti 27; 12. Russo 25; 13. Wahr 23; 14. Wilairot 23; 15. Gamarino 21; 16. Menghi 19; 17. Kennedy 19; 18. Leonov 15; 19. Nocco 11; 20. Gowland 9; 21. Zaidi 7; 22. Coveña 7; 23. Schmitter 3; 24. Calero 3; 25. Rogers 1. Manufacturers: 1. Honda 136; 2. Kawasaki 103; 3. MV Agusta 90; 4. Yamaha 70; 5. Triumph 9.
MV Agusta Report
A weekend of success and satisfaction for MV Agusta. Just a few hours after French rider Jules Cluzel clinched his second pole position of the season in the Supersport race at Sepang, the rider Massimo Roccoli (Team Laguna Moto Racing) raced his F3 675 to a clear victory at Imola in the fifth round of the Campionato Italiano Velocità.
In Sepang, instead, Cluzel spent the entire race on the attack, the battle continuing all the way to the finish line. It was a photo finish, but championship leader Michael van der Mark just had the edge.
The heart-stopping battle was initially a four-way affair involving not just Cluzel and van der Mark but also Sofuoglu and Rolfo. In the final laps, though, Cluzel and van der Mark managed to pull away and ended up duelling right down to the last few metres.
Going into the final corner Cluzel braked as late as possible, going a little wide and giving his rival the chance to slip through on the inside. They took the chequered flag side by side, with van der Mark winning by a wafer-thin 0.018 seconds.
Jules Cluzel: “The rear tyre was starting to lose grip, so I tried not to push it too hard and save something for a late attack. I made a mistake on the last lap, and it cost me first place. Nevertheless, we’ve improved a lot over the last few races and I’m confident we can raise our game even higher”.
Thanks to today’s outstanding performance the young French rider has risen up the rankings and now lies in second place with 82 points, 33 behind the man at the top of the leaderboard, van der Mark.
His teammate Vladimir Leonov finished fourteenth.
In the Superbike category, instead, Claudio Corti had an unlucky day and was forced to retire from both races.
Voltcom Crescent Suzuki Report
Voltcom Crescent Suzuki racer Eugene Laverty stormed to third position at the Sepang International Circuit today in the opening race of the eni FIM Superbike World Championship round in Malaysia.
After starting from seventh on the grid, Laverty avoided the second-corner collision, which brought down three riders including his team-mate Alex Lowes, and got up-to-speed quickly to pursue the front-running pack of four riders. The Irishman held fifth place for the initial eight laps before advancing on Aprilia’s Toni Elias and then Ducati’s Chaz Davies three laps later. He maintained consistent speed on his Yoshimura-powered GSX-R and held third to the line to take a well-deserved podium and 16 championship points.
Race two got underway at 16:30hrs local time and after a red flag four laps in, the 10-lap sprint restart did little to dampen the momentum. Resuming from his previous race position of ninth, Laverty rode a determined race, catching Honda’s Leon Haslam and the Ducati pairing of Davide Giugliano and Davies before running out of laps to catch the next group and taking his GSX-R1000 across the line for seventh.
Despite the collision in the first lap ending his race one campaign early, Lowes regrouped for the second outing, taking his ninth-place spot on the grid for the late afternoon contest. After the brief interruption of the red flag, he restarted the race from 11th and then held 10th for the majority of the shortened 10 lap race; the British racer pushing his Suzuki GSX-R past Giugliano to take ninth on the final lap.
Air temperatures of 32°C left the track a blisteringly hot 52°C for the opening race, rising to 36°C and 59°C respectively for the later outing. Aprilia’s Marco Melandri got the better of his team-mate for the race one win, with a similar manoeuvre on the last lap of the day granting him the double.
Voltcom Crescent Suzuki now travels back to its UK headquarters to continue the motivation in preparation for the Riviera de Rimini round at the Misano World Circuit “Marco Simoncelli” in Italy on June 22nd.
Eugene Laverty: “It was fantastic to get back on the podium in race one – a nice reward for all the guys because they deserved it in Donington but I threw it away in race one, so we are back where we belong I think. Race two, with the shorter distance, didn’t suit my Suzuki because we were better on old tyres but it’s been a positive weekend in all and it’s nice to finally be back in the top-three for the first time since Phillip Island.”
Alex Lowes: “There’s not much I can say about race one, but I definitely learnt something in race two. I really didn’t feel good at all, it was a big impact in the race one crash, but I dug deep and it was a good experience overall on a new circuit. It is a great track here at Sepang and I wish I could have done better, but now I’m really looking forward to Misano and seeing how close we can get to the front.”
Paul Denning – Team Manager: “Following Alex’s superb podium at Donington, to follow that up with a podium for Eugene in very difficult conditions here at Sepang is a positive sign that we have got the GSX-R in the ball park and hopefully we can create further positive momentum from here on. Eugene’s not in the best of conditions with a broken bone in his right foot and is generally a bit battered after a testing accident last week, but he did very well to not let that affect him and to push forward so strongly and get to the podium in race one. Seventh was disappointing in race two, in that the potential was much better and I believe it was very possible to finish fourth if the race hadn’t been cut to such a short distance of only 10 laps.
“For Alex it has been a tough first visit to Sepang but we could have seen a very strong performance today. Only making one corner in race one before being violently taken out in the accident triggered by Loris Baz’s very rash move caused Alex a fair few injuries and a very severe bang on the head. All things considered he did very well to ride the bike in race two and even better to find a good pace, especially over the final five laps and fight his way up into the top 10. We are looking forward to the next three races at circuits we feel could be very positive for the bike and hope to arrive in Misano with two fit riders and some luck on our side.”
Aprilia Racing Report
The first ever World Superbike Championship round at Sepang bore the Aprilia signature, dominator in both races. Marco Melandri’s double win and Sylvain Guintoli’s double second place confirmed the supremacy demonstrated from the first practice laps of the weekend where the RSV4, including the “satellite” bike ridden by Toni Elias, showed just how much they liked the Malaysian track.
Race 1 had the two RSV4s ridden by Marco Melandri and Sylvain Guintoli pulling away at the front from the very first lap to battle for the win. It was the rider from Ravenna who brought it home in the end, skilfully bridging the gap that had been created after a crashing pileup in the first few turns. Once he had caught up with his team mate, Marco overtook him in one of the braking sections on the tenth lap, holding onto the lead until the chequered flag.
Race 2 changed in form but not in substance. A red flag in the third lap decreed a restart for a race now shortened to 10 laps and the starting grid based on the riders’ positions at the time the race had been stopped, which put the three RSV4s on the front row. Sylvain Guintoli took the lead straight away while Marco Melandri battled to chase down his team mate.
In the final lap the two Aprilia riders made a series of passes that were as spectacular as they were clean, with Marco Melandri prevailing after Sylvain’s last ditch attempt in the turn right before the finish line. It was a flying finish, the second one-two of the day and overall standings that were radically changed. This brings Melandri up to fifth place in the rider standings, whereas only 13 points separate Guintoli from current leader, Tom Sykes. Aprilia shortens the gap in the Manufacturer standings as well, where they lie in second place just 4 points from the top.
Marco Melandri: “A double win that was just what we needed! Despite the difficulties we never gave up. We kept working and fighting. I had a good feeling straight away with my RSV4 here. The conditions in Race 1 were difficult but I managed to catch up to Sylvain. After overtaking him I set my own pace. I knew I could defend well in the braking sections and I was able to manage the race to the end. Race 2 was even harder because I also had to battle with the Kawasakis before catching Sylvain. In the last tap I thought I would give it a try. I had to give 100 percent down to the chequered flag. Anyway, all the riders deserve admiration today because riding in these conditions is not easy at all. I want to dedicate this win to Manu, her belly and all the guys on the Team. See you at Misano!”
Sylvain Guintoli: “In Race 1 I thought I had implemented my strategy well, but unfortunately toward the end Marco just had a really good pace and forced me into a few mistakes. I think I did better in Race 2, trying to pull the pin straight away, but toward the end Marco quite simply had just a little more. I tried to fight back and I think we gave anybody watching the race plenty of entertainment in that last lap! We earned some important points in the championship and showed that Aprilia is back out front with a great day. Now we’ll get some rest after this really tiring weekend.”
Team Hero EBR
After the disappointing news that Geoff was unable to take part in either of today’s two races in Sepang due to an ongoing electrical problem, Aaron Yates was the sole rider representing Team Hero EBR in the heat and humidity of Sepang bringing his EBR1190RX machine claiming a pair of encouraging results.
Race one saw Aaron dicing with several riders, eventually finishing in 16th at the flag, our best result of the season and just missing out on our first championship point.
Happy with the performance and the reliability race two saw an equally satisfying race with Aaron finishing a respectable 16th, and narrowly missing the team’s first ever World Championship point after another gruelling race in the heat and humidity. The race was initially red flagged after 3 laps after Claudio Corti’s MV Agusta expired by which time Aaron had moved into 25th and was involved in a fight with both of the Team Toth BMW machines.
A ten lap restart was without incident, allowing Aaron to claim a double finish with 20th at the flag.
The entire team are buoyed by this double result, and whilst of course disappointed that Geoff had to miss both races they move to Misano in a fortnight with optimism.
Aaron Yates: “It’s hard to keep focused with nobody to follow, but after the riders I was fighting with in race one stopped I was left on my own. 16th is the best result of the year but it would have been nice to get the elusive first point. Race two I had a good battle with the BMW’s and we can go to Misano satisfied with our double top 20 finishes and ready to push for the next step forward.”
Despite being unable to compete in the races, Geoff was still buoyant about his Malaysian experience.
Geoff May: “The track is so much fun to ride, obviously I am disappointed at not being able to ride but we have to keep in mind that this is a new campaign, a new bike and our development year! We know what the issue is and we have things coming over the next few races. Things don’t happen overnight but we will get there and we have to keep focused like we have been and moving forward.”
Pata Honda Report
Pata Honda riders Jonathan Rea and Leon Haslam scored valuable championship points in today’s two sixth-round World Superbike championship races at Sepang in Malaysia but were unable to challenge at the front of the field.
Today’s two 16-lap encounters at the fast and flowing 5.548km Sepang circuit near Kuala Lumpur were both won by Marco Melandri, with Jonathan Rea finishing the two races in sixth position as he battled his Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade SP with temperatures in the mid-30s and the track above 50˚C.
Rea was innocently caught in a first lap crash in the first outing and was forced off the Sepang circuit at turn three before rejoining in last place. The 27-year-old quickly set about taking advantage of the absence of series leader Tom Sykes and scored ten valuable championship points at the flag
Race two was interrupted by oil on the track and restarted over ten laps, with Rea starting from seventh place. He matched the pace of riders in front of him but was not able to improve on his first race result.
Rea’s Pata Honda team-mate, Leon Haslam got a good start to race one but experienced corner entry problems on his way to seventh place. His second outing was no easier in the Sepang heat and the 30-year-old British rider could finish no better than eleventh.
Jonathan Rea – 6th and 6th – “It’s been a very tough weekend and it’s not where we want to be. But we kind of made some steps forward when it mattered, especially in race two when I was able to carry a much better pace than I have all weekend in the heat. But it seems our engine braking system is too sensitive to different conditions and different circuits, which is frustrating because when I had grip at the beginning I had no problem entering the corners but at the end of the race I had a lot of chatter from the rear when the grip went down. But I really enjoyed riding this track, even though we didn’t get the full potential out of the CBR this weekend. I look forward to the next race at Misano because it’s a circuit that I love.”
Leon Haslam – 7th and 11th – “I think we’ve both struggled this weekend, and I’m not sure whether it’s the hot conditions or the low grip levels. We made a different plan for this weekend on the chassis and it’s definitely showed up some positives. We have a couple of technical issues which set us back a little but in the race it was quite difficult with me and Jonathan riding around for the lesser points positions which is not ideal. Hopefully we can learn a lot from this weekend and take that to Misano.”
Pieter Breddels – technical co-ordinator – “Jonathan did not really have good qualifying or practice sessions and we went back to a setting from yesterday. Two sixth places were not too bad under the circumstances and probably the maximum for this track for us at the moment. We’ll be working hard to be able to fight again for the podium at Misano. Leon was able to stay with Jonathan quite well when he passed him in race one and we made some positive steps during the weekend. His position in race two was a bit of a disappointment though, so we’ll have to see what happened there. All in all it’s been quite a tough weekend so we look forward to going back to Europe and Misano.”
