An outstanding weekend of action at the Autodromo Nazionale di Monza, played out in front of 115,000 people, culminated in a remarkable double win for Max Biaggi and his Aprilia Alitalia team, and pulled Max up to within three points of championship leader Leon Haslam (Alstare Suzuki). Biaggi made some radical changes to his rear suspension after his race one win and eventually ran out the clear winner of race two. This was Max’s second double of the year, the first coming in Portimao.
— SBK Race 1
Biaggi scored the race one win with a well-judged front running ride, albeit with several riders for company through all 18 laps. He kept his pace and consistency on his vee four machine to lead Yamaha Sterilgarda duo James Toseland and Cal Crutchlow across the line, finishing 0.247 seconds ahead of Toseland. Leon Haslam was only 0.958 seconds behind Biaggi, in fourth, with Leon Camier, Biaggi’s team-mate, fifth. Ruben Xaus (BMW) was sixth, Michel Fabrizio seventh for Ducati Xerox. Troy Corser went eighth and Tom Sykes ninth on his Kawasaki Racing Team machine.
Max Biaggi: “That was a special result, because it is special to win at Monza and because this is a special track with a very high top speed. We worked very hard for this race weekend so it was a perfect performance by all the team. The Yamaha guys running together means they could be quicker than me in the final lap but we held it together and took our first win here at Monza.”
James Toseland: “Another second place, it’s a bit frustrating, but it was a good strong race. I want to congratulate the team for getting two bikes on the podium. Congratulations to Max, he didn’t put a foot wrong. On that last lap I was hoping he was going to make a slight mistake to allow me to get alongside but he didn’t. They were strong round here, but we’re getting better all the time, but as I said second and third all the time is a bit frustrating.”
Cal Crutchlow: “I felt like I put together a solid race, but we never got the best of starts again, the bike is hard to get off the line, but all credit to Yamaha, we came to their home round and second and third for me and James is a strong result. We knew we would struggle a bit for speed, but to be honest I struggled throughout with gear shifting, I had a leaky engine oil cover. I was struggling to change gear up the box, but I feel I rode well.”
— World Superposrt
The Supersport race, held over 16 laps, was won by a flag-to-flag show of speed and consistency from Parkalgar Honda rider Eugene Laverty. He won by 2.8 seconds from Hannspree Ten Kate Honda rider Kenan Sofuoglu. Third, and only just behind Sofuoglu after he made a mistake on the penultimate lap, was Joan Lascorz (Motocard.com Kawasaki). Sofuoglu’s team-mate Michele Pirro was the first Italian rider home, in fourth place, holding off Katsuaki Fujiwara (Kawasaki Motocard.com) and French rider Matthieu Lagrive, who was the first Triumph rider in the classification. In the championship, things are now very tight, with Lascorz still leading, on 101 points, while Sofuoglu has 97 and Laverty 91.
— SBK Race Two
Biaggi took his second win of the day in fine style after closest challenger Crutchlow suffered an oil leak and crashed. Max’s eventually clear win, by 4.5 seconds from Leon Haslam, was an important one and sends the WSB paddock to Kyalami confident of more close action between this year’s two most consistently fast riders. Haslam now has 181 points to Biaggi’s 178 as he struggled with a sore wrist from a couple of hairy moments in the second race. Third place for Troy Corser was a historic first podium for BMW in WSB racing, in only the second season of full-on competition for the S 1000RR in the production-based series. Corser is now seventh in the championship. Leon Camier was a lonely fourth for Aprilia in race two and an aggressive fifth from Kawasaki rider Tom Sykes rounded out a day of new high points for many riders and teams. James Toseland was taken to hospital to have a CT scan after suffering concussion in a high-speed crash, with Jonathan Rea spraining his ankle and Ruben Xaus escaping the turn one collision without injury. In contrast to Biaggi’s great day some leading lights suffered in the final analysis, with Carlos Checa 14th and 11th in the races, as he ties for fourth place on 110 points with Rea, who did not score today. Toseland is fifth on 106, Haga sixth on 100.
Max Biaggi: “This track is very long and it’s very easy to make a little mistake plus when you have your rhythm you stay with it, and it’s difficult to go faster and easier to go slower. Anyway I’m happy with the result, it was a close race. I’m happy for me and my team. It’s an unbelievable result, it looks like we are achieving our goal. Here there is also the President of our group and it’s been a great weekend for everyone.”
Leon Haslam: “We had a few big moments in that race and I’m nursing my wrist because one of them sent me off the back of the bike when I was with Max and Cal at the time. This weekend’s been tough, we’ve been a little bit down on speed, which is unlike the Suzuki, but the boys have worked fantastic. To get on the podium here in Monza is always special so I’m really happy for that. The battle for the title is definitely closing in, we knew Max was going to be strong here, but hopefully we can get back to our winning ways because each race is getting tougher and tougher.”
Troy Corser: “I’m so happy, the team has put a lot of hard work into the project not just this year but last year and sometimes it’s been difficult and frustrating. But this weekend we’ve worked really hard and have been progressively getting better and better, just struggling a bit with braking, but we made a change for the second race and it made the bike easier to stop. We had the speed, our bike was as fast as anything out there, and it just took me a few laps to get used to the brakes in the second race. Thanks to all the boys at BMW, it’s been a long time coming, let’s hope it’s not going to be the last one!”
| SBK Race One | SBK Race Two | SBK Points |
| 1. Biaggi M. (ITA) Aprilia RSV4 1000 2. Toseland J. (GBR) Yamaha YZF R1 0.247 3. Crutchlow C. (GBR) Yamaha YZF R1 0.297 4. Haslam L. (GBR) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 0.958 5. Camier L. (FRA) Aprilia RSV4 1000 4.493 6. Xaus R. (ESP) BMW S1000 RR 7.343 7. Fabrizio M. (ITA) Ducati 1198 7.369 8. Corser T. (AUS) BMW S 1000 RR 9.344 9. Sykes T. (GBR) Yamaha YZF R1 15.338 10. Guintoli S. (FRA) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 16.761 11. Haga N. (JPN) Ducati 1198 16.921 12. Neukirchner M. (GER) Honda CBR 1000 RR 22.231 13. Byrne S. (GBR) Ducati 1198 22.602 14. Checa C. (ESP) Ducati 1198 22.742 15. Smrz J. (CZE) Ducati 1198 26.266 16. Scassa L. (ITA) Ducati 1198 26.415 17. Lanzi L. (ITA) Ducati 1198 26.968 18. Vermeulen C. (AUS) 36.964 19. Hayden R. (USA) Kawasaki ZX-10R 61.646 | 1. Biaggi M.(ITA) Aprilia RSV4 1000 2. Haslam L. (GBR) Suzuki GSX R 4.547 3. Corser T. (AUS) BMW S 1000 RR 5.469 4. Camier L. (FRA) Aprilia RSV4 1000 10.267 5. Sykes T. (GBR) Kawasaki ZX-10 R 15.561 6. Haga N. (JPN) Ducati 1198 15.816 7. Guintoli S. (FRA) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 15.861 8. Smrz J. (CZE) Ducati 1198 20.977 9. Byrne S. (GBR) Ducati 1198 21.920 10. Scassa L. (ITA) Ducati 1198 21.974 11. Checa C. (ESP) Ducati 1198 27.152 12. Neukirchner M. (GER) Honda CBR 1000 RR 29.315 13. Vermeulen C. (AUS) Kawasaki ZX-10R 30.858 14. Hayden N. (USA) Kawasaki ZX 10 R 47.160 15. Parkes B. (AUS) Honda CBR 1000 RR 48.824 | 1. Leon Haslam Suzuki GBR 181 2. Max Biaggi Aprilia ITA 178 3. Carlos Checa Ducati ESP 110 4. Jonathan Rea Honda GBR 110 5. James Toseland Yamaha GBR 106 6. Noriyuki Haga Ducati JPN 100 7. Troy Corser BMW AUS 92 8. Leon Camier Aprilia GBR 72 9. Sylvain Guintoli Suzuki FRA 70 10. Cal Crutchlow Yamaha GBR 65 11. Michel Fabrizio Ducati ITA 62 12. Shane Byrne Ducati GBR 58 13. Jakub Smrz Ducati CZE 47 14. Ruben Xaus BMW ESP 35 15. Tom Sykes Kawasaki GBR 35 Manufacturers: |
| SS Race | SS Points | |
| 1. Laverty E. (GBR) Honda CBR 600 RR 2. Sofuoglu K. (TUR) Honda CBR 600 RR 2.817 3. Lascorz J. (ESP) Kawasaki ZX-6R 3.043 4. Pirro M. (ITA) Honda CBR 600 RR 21.238 5. Fujiwara K. (JAP) Kawasaki ZX-6R 22.003 6. Lagrive M. (FRA) Triumph 675 Daytona 22.056 7. Davies C. (GBR) Triumph 675 Daytona 30.724 8. Salom D. (ESP) Triumph 675 Daytona 30.730 | 1. Lascorz 101 2. Sofuoglu 97 3. Laverty 91 4. Davies 55 5. Salom 40 6. Rea 40 7. Harms 35 8. Pirro 34 9. Fujiwara 34 10. Lagrive 30 Manufacturers: 1. Honda 120; 2. Kawasaki 101; 3. Triumph 65 |
| — Ducati Report The Ducati Xerox team faced two challenging races today at the Monza circuit and at the end of the day riders Noriyuki Haga and Michel Fabrizio were satisfied to come away with more valuable points, their best results today being a hard-fought sixth place in Race 2 for Haga and a seventh place finish in Race 1 for his team-mate Fabrizio. Race 1. Michel started from third on the grid but lost a few positions in the first laps, as the two Yamahas and Rea’s Honda got past him. When Rea crashed out mid-race, Fabrizio moved temporarily back up into fifth position but was soon passed by Camier, at an evident advantage on the Aprilia when it comes to top speed. The Ducati Xerox rider subsequently held sixth position until the very last corner of the final lap when Xaus on the BMW sneaked past, with Michel crossing the line in seventh position. Team-mate Noriyuki meanwhile spent the best part of the race battling with Ducati privateer Scassa and then, in the second half of the race, with Guintoli on the Suzuki. From sixteenth on the grid, the Japanese rider immediately made up three positions before moving up to eleventh place when Rea fell. Noriyuki held eleventh position for the remainder of the race; although managing to pass Guintoli on two occasions, the Frenchman quickly regained the advantage to take tenth position ahead of Noriyuki. Race 2 got off to a dramatic start when Toseland, Rea and Xaus crashed out at the first chicane. Michel’s bike, knocked in the ensuing confusion, ran off track, causing Michel to lose a few positions; after this collision Michel suffered from a malfunction with the electronic gear shifter. Fabrizio tried to ride around the gearing problem but found himself in difficulty and at the start of the second lap he slipped, losing the rear of his 1198, and unable to rejoin the race. Noriyuki meanwhile gained, immediately progressing from sixteenth to seventh position, with Michel just behind him in eighth. Noriyuki battled for sixth position against Sykes on the Kawasaki for the remainder of the race, unfortunately losing out to the Englishman in the final stages, although a crash for Crutchlow up ahead of them meant that Haga eventually concluded the race in sixth place. Noriyuki still lies in sixth position in the overall standings with 100 points; Michel is eleventh with 62 points. Ducati remains in third position in the manufacturers classification (149 points) behind Suzuki (181) and Aprilia with 184. Michel Fabrizio (Race 1 – 7th, Race 2 – DNF) Noriyuki Haga (Race 1 – 11th, Race 2 – 6th) Filippo Preziosi – General Director, Ducati Corse — Althea Ducati Monza today played host to the first Italian races of the 2010 Superbike Championship. The Althea Racing team’s overall performance was positive, and, thanks to the hard work of riders Shane Byrne and Carlos Checa, the team remains in fourth position in the team standings, just behind Team Suzuki Alstare, Aprilia Alitalia Racing and the Yamaha Sterilgarda Team; Althea Racing is the first Ducati team in the classification. After a thirteenth place finish in Race 1 this morning, English rider Shane Byrne managed to finish within the top ten in the afternoon’s second race, closing in ninth, having made good progress from fifteenth position on the grid. “We knew it would be difficult but in the end, thanks to my team’s hard work in the garage, we took a good result and I had fun, especially in Race 2”, said “Shakey”. “On Friday we were a long way off but today we were not so far behind the competition. I’m sorry for Genesio and for the team because I know they would have liked to do better at their “home” track but I did my best and gave 110%. I know we can do better at Kyalami.” Carlos Checa, on the other hand, finished outside of the top ten, concluding the two races in fourteenth and eleventh position. Thanks to the points obtained today, the Spanish rider now has the same points total as Rea (110). “It was a difficult weekend and probably, if we consider the gap between us and the four cylinders, it’s true to say that I wasn’t very motivated here. The fact that we haven’t managed to find the right balance with the bike has definitely impacted on the results. Fortunately we now go to Kyalami, a track that suits our bike. The engine power doesn’t count as much and we’ll strive to get back on form.” Genesio Bevilacqua, General Manager, declared, “It’s evident that at Monza there is a significant difference between the performance of the two and the four cylinders. This regulation means that there is a risk of “falsifying” a show that, thanks to the performances of such talented riders, could be even more spectacular and enthralling. There is a defect in the regulation and something should change, because we have no chance to fight, on a level playing field, with the other bikes. We enjoy to battle it out on track but we must also speak to the FIM and the championship organiSers, who need to find a solution. We have two of the strongest Superbike riders but with our Ducatis we have had a disappointing day. This is wrong…” — Yamaha Report With just four hundredths of a second between them, James Toseland and Cal Crutchlow shot out of the legendary Parabolica curve on the final lap of race one today in second and third respectively to deliver Yamaha Sterilgarda’s first double podium of the year. Crutchlow, having qualified second, had initially got off the line in fifth with Toseland two places behind in seventh. They worked their way up as a pair, passing Fabrizio and Corser to take third and fourth by lap three. Toseland then passed his team mate for third on lap four at the end of the high speed start-finish straight, then closed down on Haslam and Biaggi at the front. A brief fight with Haslam with some heart stopping passes saw Toseland take second where he stayed tucked up behind race leader Biaggi. Team mate Crutchlow took second from him briefly on lap 14 having caught up again after a missed chicane dropped him to fourth. Toseland was quick to recover position however and got as far as a look up the inside of Biaggi coming out of Parabolica before settling for second less than three tenths from the front at the chequered flag. Race two was brought short for both riders. Another rider collided with Toseland going into the first chicane on the opening lap, causing a big crash leaving him with light concussion. He was awake following the incident but taken to hospital for a check up to assess if there was further injury. Team mate Crutchlow made a good start and was chasing Biaggi in second place just 0.1 seconds behind the leader. On lap 11 stones from Biaggi’s rear wheel were flicked up, peppering Crutchlow’s helmet, with one piercing his oil cooler. This caused him to low side going into the first chicane on lap 12. He was uninjured in the fall but unable to continue. After the Monza round Toseland remains in fifth position in the championship on 106 points, now just four points away from Rea in third. Crutchlow remains in tenth position on 65 points, just seven behind Sylvain Guintoli in eighth. James Toseland, Yamaha Sterilgarda World Superbike Team, (2nd, DNF) Cal Crutchlow, Yamaha Sterilgarda World Superbike Team, (3rd, DNF) Massimo Meregalli, Yamaha Sterilgarda World Superbike Team Manager — BMW Report It has been a historic weekend for Team BMW Motorrad Motorsport with Troy Corser (AUS) achieving the team’s first ever podium finish in the second FIM Superbike World Championship race in Monza. Furthermore, Ruben Xaus (ESP) secured his personal best ever race result with the young team, finishing sixth in the first race. In total, Team BMW Motorrad Motorsport scored 26 points in the manufacturers’ standings. Hendrik von Kuenheim, General Director BMW Motorrad said: “This weekend has been a historic one for BMW Motorrad. Not only did we prove the BMW S 1000 RR’s quality with the fourth consecutive win in the FIM Superstock 1000 Cup, we also achieved our first ever podium in the FIM Superbike World Championship. We have reached our season goal quite early. Of course, we will now set new goals to achieve one step at a time. Congratulations to the entire team.” Troy Corser: Bike: BMW S 1000 RR Ruben Xaus: Bike: BMW S 1000 RR Berthold Hauser (BMW Motorrad Motorsport Director): In the FIM Superstock 1000 Cup, BMW Motorrad Italia leave their home race with a perfect record of four wins from four races. Ayrton Badovini (ITA) won the race, while team mate Daniele Beretta finished the race third. Hendrik von Kuenheim, General Director BMW Motorrad said: “Four wins from Ayrton Badovini in four races, and a podium for Daniele Beretta is a convincing performance. Congratulations to BMW Motorrad Italia’s Superstock team. So far, the BMW S 1000 RR is in a class of its own in the FIM Superstock 1000 Cup.” Ayrton Badovini now leads the overall riders’ standings with the maximum possible 100 points, ahead of compatriot Michele Magnoni (47) and Frenchman Maxime Berger (46). In the manufacturers’ standings, BMW also leads with 100 points ahead of Honda (73). — Suzuki Report After a fourth place in the first race, Team Suzuki Alstare rider Leon Haslam fought tooth-and-nail to take a podium in the second race at the Monza World Superbike Championship fifth round in Italy to keep his series lead intact. Haslam was charging after Cal Crutchlow in second place, but then inherited runner-up spot when Crutchlow slid off at the first chicane. Troy Corser (BMW) was in Haslam’s wheeltracks for the last few laps, but the GSX-R1000-mounted Briton held him off to take his seventh podium of the season. Haslam’s team mate Sylvain Guintoli finished 10th in race one, but then improved in race two: He was on course for a terrific sixth place, but the smallest of mistakes in the last turn allowed Noriyuki Haga (Ducati) through. Max Biaggi (Aprilia) won both races today with Yamaha team mates James Toseland and Cal Crutchlow taking second and third in race one. Leon Haslam – Race 1: 4th, Race 2: 2nd: “Today was a hard day and I’m happy to leave Monza still leading the title race. Max was strong here and I knew it was going to be tough pair of races. The podium in race two was very hard work, but I didn’t want to miss out on a podium today and kept battling away. “I had a really big ‘moment’ in race two and was way out of the saddle twice in the space of a fraction of a second. Somehow I stayed on the bike, but it was a very close thing! After Cal crashed, Troy kept me on my toes, but Max was too far in front for me to catch so I just made sure of runner-up spot. I did something to my wrist when I had my ‘moment’ and it felt pretty sore, but I managed to carry one to the end. “In race one, I lost contact with the leaders and then had a bit of a grip problem for the last four or five laps and couldn’t get out of the corners as fast as I wanted. We made some little suspension changes- just a few clicks here and there – for race two and the bike was definitely better to ride.” Sylvain Guintoli – Race 1: 10th, Race 2: 7th: “Generally the weekend has ended not so badly. I enjoyed the second race because I was involved in a really good fight with Nori Haga and Tom Sykes. I managed to pass Nori right towards the end, but then I made a very small mistake in the last turn and he got me back. “Seventh is not so bad after how the weekend began, but I have learnt that I – or me and my team – have to manage practice and qualifying better and get into a good, consistent rhythm as soon as we can. Not doing that means a low grid position and this Championship has so many good riders and bikes that you cannot afford to be way down the grid if you want to be a contender. I think I probably could’ve got fifth today if it hadn’t been for a crash right in front of me on the opening lap. I had to take avoiding action and go straight on at the first chicane and lost time in the process. But I fought hard and caught up the guys ahead, before my good battle with Tom and Nori. I am happy with my performance in race two and now I want to build on that and be much better at the start of a race weekend.” — HRC Hannspree Ten Kate Honda rider Jonathan Rea kept hold of third place in the Superbike World Championship this weekend despite suffering two falls in the 18-lap races at the high-speed Monza circuit. Rea’s misfortune meant that the top scoring Honda rider in Italy was his team-mate Max Neukirchner, who went 12th in each race, having qualified ninth. Each Monza race was won by Superpole winner Max Biaggi (Aprilia), the first from James Toseland and Cal Crutchlow (both Yamaha) and the second from Leon Haslam (Suzuki) and Troy Corser (BMW). The first race was one to forget for Rea, as a promising run through to the leading pack from 11th after a bad start ended when he lost the front entering the Parabolica on lap nine, his machine ending up on the trackside tyre barriers. Rea was therefore unable to remount and continue racing. Max Neukirchner was looking for a top ten finish in race one but took 12th after running on through one of Monza’s many chicanes, and neither of the other Honda riders in the race finished in the points. In the second race, Rea was involved in a collision that saw two other riders also fall, Toseland and Ruben Xaus (BMW), and Jonathan hurt his left ankle, without suffering any fractures. Neukirchner was 12th again despite being forced into the gravel at one point, and he scored points twice on raceday for the first time in 2010. ECHO CRS Honda’s Broc Parkes once more found issues with chatter in both practice and the races and despite making progress with his overall setup in only his second full race weekend of the year, he was only able to score points in race two. Squadra Corse Italia Garvie Image entrant Vittorio Iannuzzo had no reason to celebrate at his home race, finishing neither race due to technical issues. In the overall championship standings, Haslam has 181 points, Biaggi 178, and Rea is level with Checa on an unchanged 110 points – but ranked above the Spanish rider as Jonathan has two race wins so far and Checa only one. Laverty Victorious As He Closes Championship Gap Monza delivered the third race win of the year for Parkalgar Honda’s Eugene Laverty, and his second in succession, meaning his maximum points score drew him to within ten points of the Championship leader Joan Lascorz. Second in qualifying, behind pole man Kenan Sofuoglu (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda) Laverty made an audacious and almost immediately decisive overtaking move into the new first chicane, sweeping around all the other front row starters to take a lead he would keep for all 16 laps of the race. Sofuoglu ended up second but almost lost his place in the final couple of laps, when he ran wide into the Ascari chicane. He held off Lascorz to keep his place and move closer to the championship lead. In the overall points’ standings now, Lascorz has 101, Sofuoglu has 97 and Laverty is on 91. Thanks to the combined push of Laverty and Sofuoglu today, Honda now leads Kawasaki by 19 points, 120 to 101, in the Manufacturers’ Standings. Hannspree Ten Kate Honda rider Michele Pirro replicated his qualifying result of fourth in the race, 21 seconds from Laverty but winning a personal battle with Katsuaki Fujiwara and, eventually, the rapidly advancing Mathieu Lagrive. Gino Rea from the Intermoto Czech Honda team was fighting for seventh in the race, but was ranked ninth after a close finish. Parkalgar Honda’s Miguel Praia had a tough qualifying session but recovered from 13th on the grid to finish tenth, riding without any pain for the first time since his big crash at Valencia. He remains 13th in the overall rankings. SBK Rider Quotes Max Neukirchner, Hannspree Ten Kate Honda: 12th and 12th – 17th overall. “In race one I had a lot of chatter going into corners with the rear tyre. The chatter was really bad but the changes we made improved the bike a lot for race two. Broc Parkes, ECHO CRS Honda: 20th and 15th – 23rd overall. “We were still struggling with lots of chatter. We improved the bike a little bit for the races but in race one we ran through the chicane twice and had to take a ride through penalty. But I stayed out there. We got a point in race two, which was something.” Vittorio Iannuzzo, SCI Garvie Image Honda: DNF and DNF – No ranking overall. “In race one my clutch was slipping from the start and then we changed the bike for race two. In second I had a problem with the handlebar and I could not ride properly, so I had to pull in.” WSS Rider Comments Eugene Laverty, Parkalgar Honda 1st – 3rd overall. “I am delighted to have had two back-to-back wins. I started the year well in Phillip Island, then made a big slip-up in Portimao and crashed. I am still suffering from that weekend, being ten points behind Joan, but I am getting closer. It seems to be the same three riders in contention every weekend, and it is going to be fun all year.” Kenan Sofuoglu, Hannspree Ten Kate Honda: 2nd – 2nd overall. “At the beginning of the race I lost too much time behind Lascorz and in the second part I pushed hard until the end. I made a mistake near the end and that allowed Lascorz to catch me. I held him off until the end and I did my best. We wanted to have a better weekend, but I am happy to have made some ground up today in the championship. My bike was good enough to win the race today. Eugene did very well and did not make any mistakes.” — Kawasaki Report Kawasaki Racing Team rider Tom Sykes saw his hard work rewarded with a superb fifth placing at round five of the 2010 Hannspree World Superbike Championship which took place at Monza in Italy today. Riding the factory Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10R, the Yorkshireman set the scene by qualifying on the second row during yesterday’s Superpole and in race one around the historic track near Milan, Sykes got a good start and was in ninth place coming out of turn one. At the end of lap one, Tom was in eighth spot but was overtaken by Jonathan Rea and Ruben Xaus to maintain tenth spot for most of the race before grabbing a deserved ninth at the flag. Race two saw the drama unfold from the start when a turn one pile up involving a number of the leading riders saw Sykes take advantage and move into third spot. For the remainder of the race, he was locked in battle but at the chequered flag, he’d done enough to claim a fantastic fifth spot which was the team’s best result of the season. There was reward of a different kind for Australian team-mate Chris Vermeulen who was still struggling with the movement in his right knee following the Phillip Island crash. Despite the injury not improving as much as he would have liked, he gamely battled on through the weekend. The former World Supersport Champion qualified on row five of the grid before battling to 18th in race one but a dogged performance in race two saw him add to the points he scored at the previous round at Assen with a hard-fought 13th place to make it a successful race for the Penrith-based Paul Bird Motorsport team. Sykes has now scored in eight out of the ten races so far and holds 14th place in the standings with Vermeulen occupying 19th after two successive points scoring meetings. The next round takes place next weekend when the team heads to Kyalami in South Africa for round six of the thirteen round series. Tom Sykes: “I made two good race starts this weekend and stayed out of trouble, which has really paid off. I was a bit frustrated at the start of race two as I was unable to maintain a place early on in the race, but I knew it was important to keep consistent on the tyres. Every time I passed the pit board and saw my positions creeping up, it really encouraged me. I had a good battle with Haga and I went to make the pass and we kept coming past each other for a few laps. With two laps to go, I really went for it and it paid off. I rode defensively to keep my position and I am thrilled to finish in fifth place in race two and to have two top ten race finishes under my belt. All credit to the team, these results are well deserved. It’s given us all a confidence boost, now we just have to keep on it!” Chris Vermeulen: “I got a good start in race one as we made a few small changes to the bike before the race, unfortunately, the changes weren’t in the right direction. My right knee was also giving me some problems, so race one was a bit of a struggle for me. In race two we went back to the original settings which really improved the bike. We had another good start, however I made a mistake on the Ascari chicane on lap one and came very close to Max Neukirchner and Shakey Byrne and ran off the track. I got back on and picked up my pace for the final laps. I’m really pleased to be racing closely with Max Neukirchner under the circumstances and I’m happy with my 13th place. Paul Risbridger, Team Manager: “It has been a fabulous weekend for the team. Tom’s performance has been strong from the first session and he has continued to improve all weekend. To achieve two top ten results puts us right on target for our 2010 objectives. We are really pleased with both riders’ performances, especially in the second race with Tom fighting back for fifth place and to see Chris racing strongly with some fast lap times towards the end of race two. This weekend has been a real confidence boost for the whole team.” |
| Superstock Race Ayrton Badovini (BMW Motorrad Italia) secured the race win from pole but only after a fight with early fast man, Sylvain Barrier. The Frenchman was to crash his Garnier racing BMW and lose any chance of points, leaving Badovini ahead of eventual second place rider Michele Magnoni (SCI Honda Garvie Image) second and Daniele Berretta, Badovini’s team-mate, third. In the championship, Badovini has 100 points, Magnoni 47 and Maxime Berger 46. Results: 1. Badovini A. (ITA) BMW S1000 RR 21’44.147 (192,848 kmh); 2. Magnoni M. (ITA) Honda CBR 1000 RR 6.101; 3. Beretta D. (ITA) BMW S 1000 RR 6.371; 4. Lussiana M. (FRA) BMW S 1000 RR 6.522; 5. Petrucci D. (ITA) Kawasaki ZX-10R 18.222; 6. Savary M. (SVI) BMW S 1000 RR 19.518; 7. Baroni L. (ITA) Ducati 1198 21.971; 8. Bussolotti M. (ITA) Honda CBR 1000 RR 22.147; etc. Points (after 4 rounds of 10): 1. Badovini 100; 2. Magnoni 47; 3. Berger 46; 4.Giugliano 45; 5. Barrier 40; 6. Petrucci 30; 7. Antonelli 28; 8. Baz 27; 9. Bussolotti 26; 10. Tutusaus 25. Manufacturers: 1. BMW 100; 2. Honda 73; 3. Suzuki 52; 4. Kawasaki 30; 5. Yamaha 29; 6. KTM 25; 7. Ducati 22; 8. Aprilia 13 |
