FIM Superbike World Championship Motorland Aragon, Spain June 19 Race Two Results (all on Pirelli tires): 1. Max BIAGGI, Italy (Aprilia RSV4 Factory), 20 laps, 40:04.407 2. Marco MELANDRI, Italy (Yamaha YZF-R1), -4.809 seconds 3. Carlos CHECA, Spain (Ducati 1098R), -6.944 4. Michel FABRIZIO, Italy (Suzuki GSX-R1000), -9.001 5. Joan LASCORZ, Spain (Kawasaki ZX-10R), -11.562 6. Eugene LAVERTY, Ireland (Yamaha YZF-R1), -14.288 7. Noriyuki HAGA, Japan (Aprilia RSV4 Factory), -15.138 8. Leon CAMIER, Great Britain (Aprilia RSV4 Factory), -17.660 9. Leon HASLAM, Great Britain (BMW S1000RR), -24.184 10. Ayrton BADOVINI, Italy (BMW S1000RR), -24.676 11. Sylvain GUINTOLI, France (Ducati 1098R), -29.300 12. Mark AITCHISON, Australia (Kawasaki ZX-10R), -33.163 13. Roberto ROLFO, Italy (Kawasaki ZX-10R), -38.080 14. Chris VERMEULEN, Australia (Kawasaki ZX-10R), -49.042 15. Lorenzo LANZI, Italy (BMW S1000RR), -53.156 16. Ruben XAUS, Spain (Honda CBR1000RR), -10 laps, DNF, retired 17. Tom SYKES, Great Britain (Kawasaki ZX-10R), -14 laps, DNF, crash 18. Jakub SMRZ, Czech Republic (Ducati 1098R), -16 laps, DNF, crash 19. Maxime BERGER, France (Ducati 1098R), -20 laps, DNF, crash 20. Troy CORSER, Australia (BMW S1000RR), -20 laps, DNF, crash World Championship Point Standings (after 14 of 26 races): 1. Checa, 261 points 2. Biaggi, 218 3. Melandri, 195 4. Laverty, 146 5. Camier, 125 6. Haslam, 120 7. Fabrizio, 108 8. Rea, 94 9. Haga, 89 10. Badovini, 86 11. Smrz, 83 12. Guintoli, 82 13. Sykes, 76 14. Lascorz, 73 15. Corser, 55 16. Xaus, 44 17. Rolfo, 24 18. Berger, 21 19. TIE, Vermeulen/Aitchison, 14 More, from a press release issued by Castrol Honda: Fruitless home round for Xaus Ruben Xaus is happy to be looking forward to round eight of the World Superbike championship after his home round at Motorland Aragon this weekend yielded no points and a disappointing weekend for his Castrol Honda team. The two 20 lap races were won by Marco Melandri and Max Biaggi, while series leader Carlos Checa crashed out of race one but fought back for third in the second outing to retain a diminished championship advantage. Without team-mate Jonathan Rea on the other side of the garage, Xaus and his crew worked hard all weekend to find a setting to suit his riding style and the undulating Aragon circuit, which is new to the World Superbike calendar this season. However, despite the efforts of his team, the 32-year-old Spaniard was not able to fix on the right direction and ultimately recorded two no scores. Ruben Xaus DNF It’s been incredibly difficult this week end, which is, of course, very disappointing for the team and especially for me as I wanted to put on a good performance for all my family, friends and fans who have some to support me here this weekend. There has not really been one individual issue this weekend more a combination of different problems and I can only say that we’ll work tirelessly to start and finish at Brno in a better way than we were able to here. Ronald ten Kate team manager Ruben has had a number of set-up problems here at Aragon, which were not helped by our winter test here yielding no useful data whatsoever, because it was so cold. Apart from the dramatic change in weather conditions, we need to look at the issues that have affected his performance here and we will focus strongly on those between now and the next round at Brno, where things can only get better. More, from a press release issued by BMW Motorrad Motorsport: Another injury to works rider, Troy Corser (AUS), overshadows this race day at Motorland Aragón (ESP) for Team BMW Motorrad Motorsport. On the first lap of the second race, Troy was hit by a competitor and fell. As his left arm was painful, he was taken to the Medical Centre. The x-ray showed that he had broken both the ulna and radius in his left forearm. Troy will now return to the United Kingdom for further examinations and treatment. In today’s first race, the team was able to make the best of its difficult situation. After experiencing bad luck and some issues in yesterday’s Superpole qualifying, works riders, Leon Haslam (GBR) and Troy, had to start from 14th and 16th positions respectively. Troy had a very good start and made up six places so was up to tenth, while Leon improved to 12th. Both were able to do very consistent lap times with their BMW S 1000 RRs. In the latter stages of race one Leon and Troy enjoyed an exciting battle, crossing the line in ninth and tenth. In the second heat his 100th race in the FIM Superbike World Championship Leon made a brilliant start and moved up to seventh. This time he had a good, long fight with Ayrton Badovini (BMW Motorrad Italia SBK Team), crossing the line in front of the Italian in ninth position. The races were won by Marco Melandri and Max Biaggi. After seven rounds of the 2011 season, Leon is currently sixth in the riders’ championship (120 points), Troy lies in 15th (55 points). In the manufacturers’ standings BMW is fourth with 153 points. BMW Motorrad congratulates BMW S 1000 RR rider Lorenzo Zanetti (ITA) for another podium in the FIM Superstock 1000 Cup race. The rider from the BMW Motorrad Italia Superstock Team fought for victory until the last corner and finished second. In all, four BMW riders finished in the top ten: Lorenzo, his team mate Sylvain Barrier (FRA / fifth), Markus Reiterberger (GER / seventh) from the Garnier Alpha Racing Team and Fabio Massei (ITA / tenth) from Team Piellemoto. Leon Haslam: Result Race 1: 9th / Gap to 1st: 00:24.205 min / Fastest Lap Race 2: 2:00.084 min Result Race 2: 9th / Gap to 1st: 00:24.184 min / Fastest Lap Race 2: 2:00.783 min “It has been another tough weekend for us. In race one I did not get a good start and left myself with a lot of work to do. I felt like I had the pace to run with the second group of riders who were fighting for fourth, but I made a mistake on lap one and was not able to bridge the gap. However, I worked hard, made up some places and finished the race in ninth. In race two I got a better start, the one I was hoping for in the first race. Sadly I did not have a good feeling on the bike, as we went for a softer tyre and I did not have the same level of grip, but I had a good battle with Ayrton. We just have to go through the data now and get ready for the next one.” Troy Corser: Result Race 1: 10th / Gap to 1st: 00:24.694 min / Fastest Lap Race 2: 2:00.603 min Result Race 2: DNF “I braked at the end of the back straight, passed two other riders and braked a bit late. I overshot the last corner and went straight for a bit. When I turned in I saw Maxime Berger coming. I could see that his rear wheel was off the ground when he was braking and he just went straight into me. I am not blaming him. It was my fault for being off the track. It was just unlucky, really. But I am happy that I only suffered a broken arm, after the injury that I just suffered a week ago. I do not have any bruises, nothing is sore and my neck is fine.” Bernhard Gobmeier (BMW Motorrad Motorsport Director): “We have to forget this weekend as soon as possible. From the first practice session on it did not work so well for us, and the race results are not as good as we had hoped for. But on a weekend like this results are secondary. After Troy’s heavy crash all that matters is now that he recovers from his injuries and returns to full fitness as soon as possible. We will support Troy during his recovery as much as we can. After two back-to-back-races we now have two weekends without racing before we go to Brno. The whole team has worked really hard and I want to thank all of them for that.” More, from a press release issued by Team Alstare Suzuki: 2011 Superbike World Championship Round 7, Motorland Aragon, Spain, Sunday June 19th Circuit: 5.344 kms Crowd: 30,000 (weekend) Conditions: Dry, mostly sunny, 20-27C (air), 40-53C (track) SUPERB FOURTH IN RACE TWO FOR MICHEL . Team Alstare Suzuki rider Michel Fabrizio crashed in the first race in Aragon today, but then bounced back superbly to take a hard fought for fourth in race two. Michel started both races from the fourth row of the grid, but once again showed his ability to fight his way through the pack and challenge for the podium. In race one he moved up to seventh by lap nine and was pushing hard when he lost the front and fell. Fortunately he was uninjured, but the impact of the fall did not do his already damaged right hand any favours. Despite this, he came out fighting in race two and began by making a good start. He was up to fourth by lap five and soon started pressing Carlos Checa (Ducati) for third spot. For a while it looked as if he would get the better of the Spaniard but, in the end, he had to settle for fourth. Marco Melandri (Yamaha) won the first race, with the Aprilias of Max Biaggi and Leon Camier in second and third places. Race two was another battle between Biaggi and Melandri, but this time Biaggi took the win. Series leader Checa was third, just ahead of Michel. Michel – Race 1: DNF, Race 2: 4th I am happy with my performance in the second race., but obviously not happy with my crash in the first. My first race start was not so good and I was pushing very hard, trying to catch the leaders, when I lost the front and down I went. I managed to hit my injured arm again, but fortunately I didn’t do any further damage. The crash made me all the more determined to do well in race two. I made a perfect start and was up to fourth by lap five. I saw Checa ahead and closed in on him lap by lap, but although I could get near to him, his bike’s acceleration out of the corners was better than mine and so I couldn’t pass him. It was a bit frustrating seeing the way his bike blasted out of the turns, but I kept fighting in case he made a mistake. Unfortunately for me, he did not, so I ended fourth. Today I am happy because my laps times were very similar to the leaders and this proves that I can run with the best. If it hadn’t been for my poor grid position, I think I would’ve been on the podium today. If I can qualify, I’m sure I can get on the podium. The next round in Brno would be a good place to do it. More, from a press release issued by PATA Racing Team: Noriyuki Haga celebrate 300 races anniversary in the Superbike World Championship with two good performances and closing this round with a 6th and a 7th place. This take the japanese rider straight up to the 9th position with 89 points on general standing. At the starting of race 1 Haga is able to bring himself up to the 5th place fighting from this moment on with Sykes, Lascortz and Laverty. When there were 3 laps left he was forced to being overtake by Laverty and then by Sykes due to grip’s issues. In race 2 the japanese tried to repeat his previous start but being obstructed by Checa, remains on the 10th place. At this time, Haga starts a great race overtaking Leon Camier, Ayrton badovini and Leon Haslam before giving up his 6th place to Laverty on the finale. Noriyuki Haga – Aprilia RSV4R #41 – “In both of the manches I had some drive-issues. We are still looking for the best setting possible, especially for what concern the race’s finale. In race 1 I gained positions but at the end I lost a few due to my rear-tyre’s wearing. In race 2 we modified the setting and the wearing was more balanced and regular but I spent quite a lot of time overtaking and in the meanwhile the leading group managed to lenght their stride.” More, from a press release issued by Infront Motor Sports: Melandri and Biaggi cut into Checa’s championship lead Motorland Aragon (Spain), Sunday 19 June 2011 A hot afternoon of racing in every way saw Marco Melandri”ƒ(Yamaha World Superbike Team) and Max Biaggi”ƒ(Aprilia Alitalia Racing Team)”ƒtrade wins and second place finishes to squeeze the title leader Carlos Checa (Althea Racing) in the overall points standings. The Spanish rider fell in race one at his home track and then took a well-deserved podium place, third, in race two. Checa, desperate to make amends for sliding off as he chased the leading duo in race one, had to work hard to keep Michel Fabrizio”ƒ(Suzuki Alstare)”ƒbehind him for much of the race and Checa’s 16 points for third place mean that Biaggi is still 43 behind and Melandri is 66 adrift as the season clicked past its mid-point today. Spanish riders had some good and the occasional not so good results all round, with Joan Lascorz (Kawasaki Racing Team)”ƒposting seventh in race one then finishing an season best equalling fifth in race two. Irish rider Eugene Laverty”ƒ(Yamaha World Superbike Team) put in a fourth and a sixth place today, to remain fourth overall. This weekend WSB legend Noriyuki Haga”ƒ(PATA Racing Team Aprilia) took part in his 300th race and left with strong results of sixth and seventh to his credit. Tom Sykes equalled fellow Kawasaki rider Lascorz’ prowess with fifth in race one, but a fall in race two spoiled an otherwise consistent and competitive weekend, as the whole Kawasaki effort took another step up with their new bike. Once more it was a tough weekend for the BMW riders, this time from both official and satellite teams, with Leon Haslam”ƒ(BMW Motorrad Motorsport)”ƒscoring two ninth places and Ayrton Badovini”ƒ(BMW Motorrad Italia SBK Team)”ƒwas eighth and tenth. The worst experience of all came for the luckless Troy Corser (BMW Motorrad Motorsport) as an entirely accidental collision between him and Maxime Berger caused Troy’s left radius and ulna to fracture, putting him out of action in race two. He had been tenth in race one. Race 1 Melandri took his second win of the year after leading when it really counted as his rival Biaggi made a small slip a few laps from the end. The margin of victory was 1.5 seconds. Camier was a strong finisher in third, and Laverty took fourth place in a close fight with Sykes. Haga and Lascorz followed close behind those two. Checa fell while in a potential podium position, on lap eight. He had just set the fastest lap of the race and was pushing on to try and stay with the leading riders. Marco Melandri: “It’s been an awesome race for me. Max was strong and consistent at the start and it was difficult to follow him. But in the end it was going to be tough for me to pass him so thanks to him that he made a mistake! Otherwise it would have been difficult. The team has been working very hard and I was very confident all weekend.” Max Biaggi: “I cannot say I am super-happy for the result but I had a good rhythm and just at the end the bike was a little more difficult to ride. We need to work more on the bike to improve it towards the end of the race, and hopefully we can do that for race 2.” Leon Camier: “I was struggling a bit at the beginning to get into the rhythm, but I’m happy with the result and happy for Aprilia, everyone’s worked hard this weekend. It’ll now make me try and go better at the beginning of the next race really.” Results: 1. Melandri M. (ITA) Yamaha YZF R1 40’01.968 (160,189 kph); 2. Biaggi M. (ITA) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 1.572; 3. Camier L. (GBR) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 2.432; 4. Laverty E. (IRL) Yamaha YZF R1 10.799; 5. Sykes T. (GBR) Kawasaki ZX-10R 10.847; 6. Haga N. (JPN) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 11.931; 7. Lascorz J. (ESP) Kawasaki ZX-10R 12.591; 8. Badovini A. (ITA) BMW S1000 RR 16.954; 9. Haslam L. (GBR) BMW S1000 RR 24.205; 10. Corser T. (AUS) BMW S1000 RR 24.694; etc. Race 2 Biaggi took his long awaited first win of the 2011 season after an immaculate display of front running, heading Melandri by 4.809 seconds, after he ran off track at one point, with a few laps to go. Checa completed a damage limitation exercise after his fall in race one, scoring third in the second 20-lap contest, from the impressive Fabrizio. Lascorz was a ‘hometown’ top five finisher, from Laverty and Haga. Biaggi’s victory made him the fifth different rider, from the fourth different manufacturer, to win at least one race in 2011. Max Biaggi: “I’m very happy of course, this is my first win of 2011. I didn’t get one before because the other guys did a better job than me. This win came after a very strong race, I had a good pace all the way to the end, so the changes we made to the bike’s suspension made it work better than race 1. We should have done it before for race 1 but I’m happy with today’s results.” Marco Melandri: “The conditions were a little bit different to race 1 and Max had a bit better pace. I was braking so hard to recover what we lost in acceleration, so I lost the front, the tyre locked and I lost the position on the bike and went off. I’m disappointed, it wasn’t easy to try and pass like in race 1, but I’m happy anyway.” Carlos Checa: “What a weekend with a crash in race 1 and struggling to catch Marco and Max in race 2, but it was impossible. After reaching third I felt it was the best situation to stay in third. Honestly, it was quite acceptable and I am quite satisfied for race 2, it was a shame because it was my home race, we wanted to be at the top but here was not the place.” Results: 1. Biaggi M. (ITA) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 40’04.407 (160,026 kph); 2. Melandri M. (ITA) Yamaha YZF R1 4.809; 3. Checa C. (ESP) Ducati 1098R 6.944; 4. Fabrizio M. (ITA) Suzuki GSX-R1000 9.001; 5. Lascorz J. (ESP) Kawasaki ZX-10R 11.562; 6. Laverty E. (IRL) Yamaha YZF R1 14.288; 7. Haga N. (JPN) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 15.138; 8. Camier L. (GBR) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 17.660; 9. Haslam L. (GBR) BMW S1000 RR 24.184; 10. Badovini A. (ITA) BMW S1000 RR 24.676; etc. Points (after 7 of 13 rounds): 1. Checa 261; 2. Biaggi 218; 3. Melandri 195; 4. Laverty 146; 5. Camier 125; 6. Haslam 120; 7. Fabrizio 108; 8. Rea 94. Manufacturers: 1. Ducati 273; 2. Aprilia 257; 3. Yamaha 235; 4. BMW 153; 5. Suzuki 112; 6. Honda and Kawasaki 111. World Supersport Chaz Davies (Yamaha ParkinGO) won his third race of the year and took the championship lead after a dramatic race at Motorland. Sam Lowes (Parkalgar Honda) was a close second but was unable to get into the slipstream of Davies to mount a last lap pass. David Salom (Kawasaki Motocard.com) and Massimo Roccoli (Lorenzini by Leoni Kawasaki) finished third and forth respectively, in a race where two top contenders fell out of leading positions. Poleman Broc Parkes (Kawasaki Motocard.com) and Luca Scassa (Yamaha ParkinGO) no scored after separate crashes near the end. Results: 1. Davies C. (GBR) Yamaha YZF R6 37’06.751 (155,514 kph); 2. Lowes S. (GBR) Honda CBR600RR 0.564; 3. Salom D. (ESP) Kawasaki ZX-6R 4.645; 4. Roccoli M. (ITA) Kawasaki ZX-6R 10.984; 5. Tamburini R. (ITA) Yamaha YZF R6 23.792; 6. Rea G. (GBR) Honda CBR600RR 24.009; 7. Foret F. (FRA) Honda CBR600RR 24.297; 8. Harms R. (DEN) Honda CBR600RR 33.850; etc. Points (after 6 rounds of 12): 1. Davies 105; 2. Parkes 85; 3. Salom 71; 4. Scassa 70; 5. Foret 65; 6. Lowes 63; 7. Harms 59; 8. Roccoli 39; etc. Manufacturers: 1. Yamaha 135; 2. Honda 108; 3. Kawasaki 101; 4. Triumph 16. Superstock 1000 Davide Giugliano (Althea Racing Ducati) took his third win in the 1000cc Superstock category this year but he had to work hard out front for it. He was pushed in the final sector of the 12-lap race by second place rider Lorenzo Zanetti”ƒ(BMW Motorrad Italia Superstock), who tried on the final two laps to pass the Roman rider, after Davide had made a mistake and lost his yet small race-long advantage. Danilo Petrucci (Barni Racing Team) went third, winning a sprint to the line from Niccolò Canepa”ƒ(Lazio MotorSport). The top four were well ahead of fifth place man, Sylvain Barrier (BMW Motorrad Italia Superstock). Results: 1. Giugliano D. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 24’25.762 (157,502 kph); 2. Zanetti L. (ITA) BMW S1000 RR 1.078; 3. Petrucci D. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 2.785; 4.Canepa N. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 2.790; 5. Barrier S. (FRA) BMW S1000 RR 8.806; 6.Antonelli A. (ITA) Honda CBR1000RR 16.656; 7. Reiterberger M. (GER) BMW S1000 RR 16.881; 8. Staring B. (AUS) Kawasaki ZX-10R 20.834; etc. Points (after 4 of 10 rounds): 1. Giugliano 95; 2. Petrucci 69; 3. Zanetti 68; 4. Barrier 40; 5. Canepa 37; 6. Antonelli 28; 7. Magnoni 26; 8. Massei 26; etc. Manufacturers: 1. Ducati 95; 2. BMW 77; 3. Kawasaki 39; 4. Honda 36; 5. Yamaha 9. Motorland Aragon also hosted the third round of the European Junior Cup, which saw a second successive win for Matt Davies. The Australian took the flag ahead of Germany’s Tom Busch and Spain’s Ruben Fenoll. Busch leads the table with seven points advantage over Davies. More, from a press release issued by Althea Racing: CHECA (ALTHEA RACING) DEFENDS HIS SBK LEADERSHIP STATUS WITH A THIRD PLACE FINISH IN RACE 2 AT HOME TRACK ARAGON Alcaniz (Spain), Sunday 19th June 2011: the Althea Racing team and rider Carlos Checa gave their all this afternoon at Motorland Aragon, taking a third place finish in Race 2 that was particularly appreciated by the Spanish fans at Carlos’ home track. In Race 1 Althea Racing’s rider found himself in third place through the first corners. Even though his pace in the opening laps was not particularly quick, he improved a lot from the third lap onwards, finding his rhythm and recording very fast times, each lap quicker than the last. Chasing down Melandri and Biaggi, who had an advantage of around 1.5 seconds but a pace slightly slower than that of the Spaniard, Carlos made the quickest lap of the race overall on the seventh lap (1m58.862), a new lap record. Unfortunately in the second split of the eighth lap Checa was victim of a highside that signified the end of his race, though the rider was fortunately unhurt in the incident and able to participate in the second race of the day. In the second race, even though he lost a couple of positions off the line, he immediately made them back up by passing Camier, Fabrizio and Sykes in the space of two laps, to place himself third at the fifth lap. Unfortunately the distance between him and race leaders, Biaggi and Melandri, was too big and despite his best efforts Checa was unable to reach them. In the final stages he began to suffer from a drop in tyre performance; the bike slid around, his times increased as a result and the Spanish rider had to content himself with third position. After the seventh round of the championship, Team Althea Racing and Carlos Checa continue to lead; Checa holds 261 points and an advantage of 43 over Biaggi in second. Ducati leads the manufacturer’s championship with 273 points to Aprilia’s 257. Carlos Checa: “I am disappointed because it would have been fantastic to win here in front of the Spanish fans. We didn’t need the Race 1 crash. I was pushing hard to close the gap between me and the leader and I slipped. I was slowly catching them and so I’m sorry because it could have been a great race. I don’t know if I would have been able to win but I wanted to at least catch them. Anyway this is racing and I was lucky to be able to take part in race 2, despite some shoulder pain. This was a lesson today and I will learn from it. We changed the tyre for Race 2 and this was an intelligent decision but I wasn’t able to close the gap that opened between me and the leaders. In the final stages the bike began to move around and I couldn’t gain any more ground. I am however satisfied. We know that we’re in great shape, me, the team, the bike and we’ll go the the next round at Brno where we’ll continue to fight for race wins and for the championship.” Genesio Bevilacqua, General Manager of Althea Racing “It was a bit of a difficult weekend, unforeseen. Unfortunately we suffered a DNF in race one when Carlos slipped and he also injured his shoulder which probably made a difference to his race 2 performance too. We made a strong choice with regard to tyres for the first race and I think we would have had a good chance. The crash came at an important point of the season but these things happen, also to our rivals. We trust that Carlos will bounce back quickly, particularly physically speaking. The season is still long but I believe that we can fight back from Brno onwards and make our best races yet because we will be even more motivated.” More, from a press release issued by Aprilia: WORLD SBK: MAX BIAGGI WINS IN THE SPANISH ROUND. VICTORY IN RACE 2 AND SECOND PLACE IN RACE 1. GAP BEHIND CHECA REDUCED BY 29 POINTS. NICE PODIUM FOR LEON CAMIER, THIRD PLACE IN RACE 1. Aragon Motorland (Spain), June 19th 2011 – From the Aragon Circuit (Spain) the first victory of the 2011 World SBK season arrives for Max Biaggi. After taking second place in Race 1 behind Marco Melandri (a result which earned the World Champion 20 points toward closing the gap behind the ranking leader, Checa, who crashed in the seventh lap), Biaggi outdid himself in the second race. Off to a splendid start, Max stayed out front from the first to the last lap, with Melandri once more breathing down his pipes. The two soon left the rest of the pack behind them. Max pushed hard without any hesitation all the way to the finish line, forcing Melandri to go wide in a turn on the fifteenth lap in his attempts to keep up the same pace. Exactly the opposite of what had happened in the first race when it was Max who gave the rider from Ravenna an opening with a similar error after leading for the first three-quarters of the race. The proof of Max’s strength this weekend is summed up by the fact that he was in the lead for 35 out of a total of 40 laps. “I am truly happy. This is the first victory with the number 1 on the fairing. I think it could have happened a lot sooner. Unfortunately there was always some circumstance that kept it from us, but we deserve it and I will enjoy it with my team. I must thank the team. We worked very hard and between the two races we were also able to change something on my RSV4 which allowed me to push even harder and to be fast and consistent all the way to the end. These are very close races where any slight hesitation can compromise everything. But I dare say that this was a decisive victory, in front from the first metre to the last”. With this statement, and with the nice placing in Race 1, Biaggi significantly reduces the gap (29 points) behind Checa, who crashed in the first race today and came in third for the second. The two are now separated by 43 points (261 to 218). “I am certainly not celebrating because of the points I earned – admonished Biaggi – I did not overtake anyone and there is little to celebrate where the standings are concerned. What matters to me is to have truly won. Now I want to ride good races and keep winning, but we need to make the entire bike-tyres package competitive. It hasn’t always been so up to now, so I hope that from here on we can change something”. Leon Camier had a bitter-sweet weekend with a bitter Race 2 (eighth place at more than 17 seconds behind the winner) contrasting a nice rostrum (third) in the first race). Leon captured the third step of the podium crossing the finish line right behind Melandri and Biaggi and riding with the same pace as the leaders for two-thirds of the race. “I’m happy for myself and for Aprilia – commented Camier at the end – it certainly didn’t go badly, but I’m a bit disappointed that I didn’t have a good pace from the start. I struggled at least until the seventh lap and then I pushed hard, but Max and Melandri had more or less the same pace I did, so I wasn’t able to get too close. Too bad!”. More, from a press release issued by Honda: FIM SUPERBIKE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND 07 SUNDAY JUNE 19 MOTORLAND ARAGON, SPAIN Weather: Dry, sunny Temperature: Ambient 20/27 degrees C / Track 40/53 degrees C Attendance: ??,000 XAUS OUT OF LUCK AND POINTS AT HIS HOME RACE Ruben Xaus (Castrol Honda) endured a tough weekend as the FIM Superbike World Championship visited the Motorland Aragon circuit in Spain for the first time. The Spanish rider was out of luck and the points at his home round. Max Biaggi (Aprilia) and Marco Melandri (Yamaha) shared the honours on the day as they went 2-1 and 1-2 respectively. Xaus just failed to make superpole qualifying on Saturday and his fortunes did not improve early on race day as he finished race one ranked in 16th position, thanks to an off track excursion. He pulled out of race two with issues that affected traction from the rear and grip from the front on the extremely hot track surface, which reached 53 degrees Celsius. Much of the data the team had gathered during a short winter test at Motorland proved to be of very little use as the conditions were so different in the heat of race day. Finding workable solutions to allow Ruben to compete at the level he and his CBR1000RR are capable of were not helped by the team being without his regular team-mate, and Assen race winner, Jonathan Rea. The team now heads to Brno for the eighth round with expectations to improve the base set-up to allow Ruben to ride to the maximum and score more valuable points in the championship. Ruben is 16th overall, on 44 points. Rea, recuperating from injuries picked up at Misano, maintained his overall eighth position in the points table. World Championship leader Carlos Checa (Ducati) lost some ground to chasing riders Max Biaggi (Aprilia) and Marco Melandri (Yamaha) as each took one Aragon win and one second place respectively. Biaggi’s team-mate Leon Camier was third in race one, as Checa crashed out, but the points leader finished race two in third place. In the championship, Checa now has 261 points, Biaggi 218 and Melandri 195. SECOND PLACE FOR LOWES MOVES HIM TO SIXTH OVERALL Sam Lowes (Parkalgar Honda) got to within 0.564 seconds of the race win at Motorland Aragon, but still gained 20 points for second place and moved into sixth place in the overall standings, one place behind his fellow CBR600RR rider Fabien Foret (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda). Fabien was seventh today, finding some set-up issues holding him back, and leaving him in the same position he had qualified in. Fabien now sits fifth in the championship and the top ranked Honda rider, two points ahead of Sam. Second place was Lowes personal best so far and his third career podium. He had been third on the grid. After race long leader and pole man Broc Parkes (Kawasaki) had crashed out, Chaz Davies (Yamaha) won his third race of the year to take the championship lead with 105 points. David Salom (Kawasaki) was third in his home race and he is also now third in the championship, just behind Parkes. A solid block of Honda riders were ranged out between sixth and 13th in the race results at the 5.344km long Motorland circuit. Gino Rea (Step Racing Honda) finished sixth, his best placing since his podium finish of third at Donington Park in late March. Behind seventh place finisher Foret, privateer Robbin Harms (Harms Benjan Racing Team Honda) battled against faster machines on the long straight to take eighth place and go seventh in the championship. Despite the continuing pain and weakness from a recent shoulder injury, Miguel Praia (Parkalgar Honda) posted ninth, only just heading off young talent from the Hannspree Ten Kate Honda team, Florian Marino. Ever-improving riders Vladimir Ivanov (Step Racing Team Honda) and Balazs Nemeth (Team Hungary Toth Honda) went 11h and 12th respectively, while Pawel Szkopek (Bogdanka PTR Honda) posted his own strong result in 13th place, equalling his previous best. The last point on offer went to Imre Toth (Team Hungary Toth Honda). Alexander Lundh (Cresto Guide Racing Team Honda) just missed out on scoring points, finishing in 16th place. James Ellison (Bogdanka PTR Honda) was the first rider to retire with braking problems causing him to overshoot and then lose force and feel from his brake lever. The next round for both Superbike and Supersport classes is at Brno, in the Czech Republic, on July 10th. Honda rider comments: Ruben Xaus (Castrol Honda) Race result: 16th / DNF Championship position: 16th “It’s been incredibly difficult this weekend, which is, of course, very disappointing for the team and especially for me as I wanted to put on a good performance for all my family, friends and fans who have come to support me here. There has not really been one individual issue this weekend more a combination of different problems and I can only say that we’ll work tirelessly to start and finish at Brno in a better way than we were able to here.” SUPERSPORT Sam Lowes (Parkalgar Honda) Race result: 2nd. Championship position: 6th “I fell in warm-up and hurt my shoulder again, but it did not affect me too much in the race. After the flag it was hurting a lot, but it is not an excuse. The team did a fantastic job because in the first session I was struggling here. The bike set-up was a long way off and I did not have a good feeling, but we just worked more and more. I knew I would have to hang on in there for the first half of the race because the bike was not working mega on fresh tyres. As soon as they bedded in I knew we were in with a chance. The leaders upped the pace and I could do the times, but I just couldn’t make a pass. I’m really happy and massive thank you to the team. I am really enjoying my racing. To have a third and a second in these past two races is great.” Fabien Foret (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda) Race result: 7th. Championship position: 5th “This weekend has been pretty much like a nightmare, as we didn’t find the settings to suit the track or to suit my riding style. I thought we had found a solution in the warm-up but, maybe it is because of the heat this afternoon, the little change we made meant I had no feeling. I tried hard anyway, but I could not make it and my lap times were not so good. I just want to move on.” Gino Rea (Step Racing Team Honda) Race result: 6th. Championship position: 10th “Rubbing is racing but it was a bit annoying that a last hairpin incident lost me a place. I made a clean pass up the inside and hardly ran wide but then Tamburini used me as a berm and there was nothing I could do to get him back. It was frustrating because we could have been in the top five. Even if we were not, we should be a lot higher up; we should be on the podium. We are still coming into the races a bit blind after qualifying. We are scoring points again but I want to be closer to the front.” Robbin Harms (Harms Benjan Racing Team Honda) Race result: 8th. Championship position: 7th “I really wanted to catch some of the fast riders today, which I managed with Foret and some others, but then I made a mistake in one corner and had to run wide. I came back and caught them again but when I came to the straight everything I caught up from the first to 15th corners I lost on the straight. In the corners I felt I could be with every rider in front of me but when it comes to the fast corner exits and top speed, I lose everything. That is the situation. So in one way we have to be happy because we have good corner speed and chassis set-up.” Florian Marino (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda) Race result: 10th. Championship position: 9th “It’s the second bad weekend for us and I’m so sorry for my mechanics and the whole team. It’s a shame because we don’t deserve this result our place is at the front. We changed the setting a little for warm-up and the race but it still wasn’t going how I want. The start was OK but I made a big mistake at the hairpin and I lost a lot of time. Then I got into a group just behind Fabien but I could only stay with them for five or six laps. I was having to push so hard that I got quite tired towards the end.” James Ellison (Bogdanka PTR Honda) Race result: DNF. Championship position: 12th “I felt good and was passing riders when my brakes faded and I was forced to retire. We had found some pace for the race and I think if I had been able to finish, the top five was possible. It is disappointing but we will get stronger from here.” Miguel Praia (Parkalgar Honda) Race result: 9th. Championship position: 13th “It went quite well but I did not have the pace to go with them straight away. Especially in turn one and in the hairpin, I had some problems with strength in my injured shoulder, so I knew I had to brake a little before. That was definitely slowing my lap times. I had to wait for the race and then I caught Marino at the end. I wanted to be battling with Gino, Foret and Tamburini, but they were just too far in front. With my shoulder like this I could not hold that pace.” More, from a press release issued by Kawasaki: Ups And Downs For Top Ninja ZX-10R Riders WSBK, Motorland Aragon, Spain, 19 June 2011 Joan Lascorz celebrated the first race meeting at his home circuit of Aragon with a seventh and a fifth place, his best combined points score of the season so far. Joan matched his personal best individual race score of fifth in race two, a 20-lap contest that was held in much warmer conditions than race one. Also well in the mix was fast man in practice and qualifying Tom Sykes, who started from fifth place on the grid and took fifth in race one. He was to slip off and be unable to restart in race two, but he was pushing hard for his second strong result at the culmination of a race weekend where more progress was made with the set-up and real race performance of the new Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10R. Chris Vermeulen also found his first race meeting at the impressive new WSBK facility of Motorland Aragon a game of two contrasting halves. He scored 12th in race one despite losing many places in the early laps, then found his race two set-up far from ideal in the much hotter mid afternoon conditions, ending up 14th but still in the points scoring places. In the championship, Tom is 13th, Lascorz 14th (only three points behind) and Chris is 19th. After an intense weekend at Aragon the work rate of the official Kawasaki team shows no let-up, as the squad will test with all three riders at Motorland tomorrow, Monday 20th June. For the Pedercini Team Kawasaki riders, raceday was an opportunity to score more points, with Roby Rolfo 14th then 13th, and Mark Aitchison 15th and 12th. Brno is the next race venue for all the WSBK classes, with track action held between July 8 and July 10. Tom Sykes: “Again there are some positives and negatives but I am going to ignore the latter. The positive side is that we have been top five all weekend, and in race one, and in race two I went down but we were still racing in a good position. Unfortunately I went down, but I went down trying. We came away with good levels of performance during a dry weekend, which is another big positive. We will get a test in Aragon to be ready for the Brno race, and we have a lot to test. Maybe too much for one day, so we’ll prioritise things and make it count. Brno is a fantastic circuit that I love and hopefully the new Ninja ZX-10R will work well there as well.” Joan Lascorz: “I was fifth in race two and the same position I took at Donington. Very good, but I was much closer to the top positions here. We had some laps of testing but not many so this was really a new circuit for me in qualifying, so we did a good job. I like it but it is not easy. My crew chief gave me a good setting for the second race, and persuaded me not to go for the softer rear tyre, so I used the same B tyre in each race. It was a good decision in race two. The tyre was destroyed in race one, more than Tom’s but this race it looks better. We were only five seconds from the podium in race two, and not only me, Tom was also very fast this weekend.” Chris Vermeulen: “Race one was so bad, got quite a good start but then boxed in on the first lap, and I actually went back to last place. But we passed quite a few of them and our pace was quite good in he middle of the race same as that of the fifth to seventh place guys. I managed to get up to 12th and in the last couple of laps the tyres dropped off, but we still managed to pass Rolfo. In race two our set-up and tyre choice was exactly the same and I had no grip from the start, so I was riding along two seconds a lap slower in the hot conditions. It was frustrating when you know the package under you can do to do it but for some reason we were unable to do it. “ More, from a press release issued by Effenbert Liberty Racing Team: 7 th ROUND – Motorland Aragon – 19.6.2011 RACES The great heat was expected on the eve , and the great heat came ! If at Misano (San Marino GP) the variable rainfalls, seven days ago,conditioned the Superpole and the settings of the bike, In Spain, at the Aragon Motorland in Alcaniz, the temperature has been very hot, especially the one of the asphalt, and it has been the protagonist of all tactics and predictions. Already in the morning warm-up each team had already taken the first steps to evaluate the wear of the tires. After the qualifyings and the Superpole, not particularly optimal for our team, the warm up session, even though disturbed by the interruption due to the cleaning of the track subsequent to the engine break down of Roberto Rolfo’s Kawasaki in the middle of the pit straight, confirms the not positive sensations : Smrz snaps the seventh fastest time (2’00 .094), while the Frenchman Guintoli stopped the clock at 2’00 .322 with the twelfth. The World Champion Max Biaggi , on his Aprilia RSV4 Factory had the fastest in 1’58 “981 and kept the Spanish Carlos Checa ,on his Ducati Althea, at distance . Race 1 – It ‘still Guintoli, also in Spain, to carry on the flag for the Effenbert Liberty Racing Team. The Frenchman, with a clean and careful riding, placed himself in eleventh position, separated by a few thousandths of second from Troy Corser. Another sad performance by Jakub Smrz , who crashed after only 5 laps, falling in Turn 1 and leaving the race prematurely. Marco Melandri (Yamaha World Superbike) wins Race1 beating Max Biaggi (Aprilia Alitalia) after a race that saw Max in the lead and losing it because of an error (long off in turn 16). Surprisingly the World rchampionship reopens due to the crash of it’s leader Carlos Checa who finished in the gravel at turn 10 during the eighth lap. Leon Camier closed the podium standings. Race 2 – The factors changed , but the result did not change. The one to win race 2 at the Motorland Aragon circuit in Alcaniz, Spain, is again Max Biaggi (first victory in 2011, the fifteenth in his career in the Superbike World Championship) dominating from start to end, ahead of Marco Melandri. Closes the podium, with the third place, Carlos Checa on Ducati. Fourth prize for Michel Fabrizio, ahead of Joan Lascorz, Eugene Laverty and Noriyuki Haga. Guintoli did not change his performance, confirming the eleventh position at the end of the second race and did not find the grip to achieve a better result from this Spanish Grand Prix. For the Frenchman it has been a race, at times, in solitary and well distanced by those who preceeded him in the standings. Not comforting notes regarding Jakub Smrz, who unfortunately fell also in race 2, for his fourth consecutive crash between Misano and Aragon, and now, being the rider obviously nervous, it is the union of the whole team that will help to seek the motivations in the Czech rider and help him to recover the necessary confidence and have him at his best for what will be for him, and for all of the Effenbert Liberty Racing Team ,the home round in Brno , on July the 10th. There is a new service , Live from the Box of the Effenbert Liberty Racing Team, – At the Aragon Motorland circuit in Alcaniz (Spain) the Liberty Team has offered a new service, exclusively for professionals and fans, through their official website liberty-racing.com. It has been an immediate success , bringing news, curiosities, the first direct insights and rumors from the box, in addition to the timings of both of the riders of the team, Smrz and Guintoli , during the Superpole competition on Saturday and the two races on Sunday . Through a new and dynamic interface, Liberty-racing.com has communicated with all the fans right with the voice of the Ducati engines of the Effenbert Liberty Racing motorbikes. In combination, the team has implemented its service with live photos and video through the social network Facebook with the profile from which you can interact to keep up to date (www.facebook.com / liberty.racing) with its links to the official website . Here are the statements of our riders: Smrz: “Unfortunately after Misano I find myself having to comment another extremely negative day. I’m going through a bad time and after the good results at Miller’s circuit, I never expected something like this. Probably the two crashes in Misano have influenced today in me, preventing me from finding the right feeling with the bike and with the track, and certainly the complicated situations in which I was involved during the races did not improve the situation. This break of three weeks comes in the right moment for me to relax and gain the right peace of mind for the next race, our home race for which, of course, I really care ” Guintoli:” Today I am speechless, I cannot explain the results we have obtained , we have a good team that puts at my disposal a competitive pack, but unfortunately today I just could not push in the right way. It ‘ s true that I was involved in a couple of unlucky situations where I lost some positions, but after, despite my best efforts , I have not been able to recover the distance between me and who I had in front ” We would like to point out a very nice initiative by the Aragon organizers who, when all the races of the day finished, have let the fans that came to watch the race on their motorbikes, to experience the thrill of being able to ride on this beautiful track for two laps, following the safety car. Seeing the circuit crossed by hundreds of motorcycles was really a very pleasant view. More, from a press release issued by Team Pedercini: A sunny and warm day in Alcaniz for the seventh round of the Superbike world championship and the fourth race of the Superstock 1000 FIM Cup. During the morning warm up, Rolfo had a technical problem and the team worked hard to prepare his bike in time for the first race. After yesterday’s excellent performance Aitchison started from the third row of the grid while Rolfo lined up from the fifth. Race one was unlucky for both Team Pedercini riders. After making a quick start, Aitchison reached tenth position while teammate Rolfo was in fourteenth. Aitchison was fighting for ninth place but towards the end of the race, with worn out tyres, his bike started to slide a lot and Mark unfortunately lost some positions, closing in fifteenth place. Rolfo started to make up positions right from the first few laps but unfortunately in the last lap he run out of fuel and was lucky to be able to end the race fourteenth. In race two both riders made a good start and fought throughout the entire race to reach the points zone. Aitchison reached the twelfth position while Rolfo followed him across the line in thirteenth. Superbike race 1 : 1) Melandri (Yamaha) 2) Biaggi (Aprilia) – 3) Camier (Aprilia) 4) Laverty (Yamaha) 5) Sykes (Kawasaki)”¦14) Rolfo (Kawasaki) 15) Aitchison (Kawasaki) Superbike race 2 1) Biaggi (Aprilia) 2) Melandri (Yamaha) 3) Checa (Ducati) 4) Fabrizio (Suzuki) 5) Lascorz (Kawasaki) “¦.. 12) Aitchison (Kawasaki) 13) Rolfo (Kawasaki) Roberto Rolfo :”This morning’s warm-up was very important in that we made a big change in terms of bike set-up that proved to be successful, as I was immediately able to make my best lap of the weekend so far. In race one I made a good start and was able to maintain good rhythm for the entire race. I lost positions only at the end when I ran out of fuel. In race two I had to slow down through the corner where other riders had crashed and I lost a lot of positions. Also the tyres became worn very quickly and I had trouble closing in thirteenth. A difficult weekend but an important and positive one. Thanks to the team’s great work and to Andreani’s technicians we now have a valid set-up on which to work and this gives me confidence ahead of the upcoming races.” Mark Aitchison : “I think overall I can be happy with my two races today. The first started well and I was running as high as tenth before we had some major tyre problems. I lost all grip after about seven laps and could not do any more than I did. In the second race I did not make such a good start, but managed to push my way through a little into eleventh. We changed the tyres for the second race and even through I did not have the same initial grip at the beginning, I was able to maintain more consistent times. I finished twelfth at the end, but if it were not for a first lap encounter with another rider, where I was pushed off the circuit, maybe we could have done more. In any case I’m happy and I would like to thank my technicians who have done a wonderful job and supported me so much”. Third row start for Staring and Mercado and fifth for Bussolotti in today’s Superstock 1000 FIM Cup race at the sunny circuit of Motorland Aragon. During the morning warm up all three riders worked with their team to make final adjustments so as to be ready for the race. All three Pedercini riders made quite a good start to the race. After a few laps Staring was tenth, Mercado fourteenth and Bussolotti followed him in sixteenth place. As the race went on, Staring reached eighth place, Mercado gained one place and Bussolotti remained in the same position. The race ended with Staring in eighth position, Mercado in fourteenth and Bussolotti in sixteenth. Some good points for Staring and Mercado while Bussolotti missed the points zone by just one position. Superstock 1000 race : 1) Giugliano (Ducati) 2) Zanetti (BMW) 3) Petrucci (Ducati) 4) Canepa (Ducati) 5) Barrier (BMW) “¦.. 8) Staring (Kawasaki) “¦… 14) Mercado (Kawasaki)”¦”¦ 16) Bussolotti (Kawasaki) Marco Bussolotti : “This has been a weekend to forget. I started from the fifth row and I did not find the right feeling with the bike also because, after the problem we had yesterday, my bike set up was not good enough for me to be able to reach the riders in front of me. I want to look forward to the next race in Brno where I hope to obtain a better result”. Brian Staring: “Not so bad, and not so good. I did the best I could in the race and I improved on my lap time by one second. I’m really only disappointed about yesterday’s qualifying. I was not able to reach a good position on the starting grid and it’s difficult to start from the third row if you want to reach the first positions. Eighth place is not what I wanted but we improved a little bit and I’m confident for the next race in Brno”. Leandro “Tati” Mercado: “My start was quick and I was able to recover some positions. During the race I fought in a group of three or four riders but I suffered so me chattering problems at the front of the bike and could not obtain a better result. I think it was important to finish the race and to gain some points for the championship standings and I’m sure I’ll be able to do better in the next races”. More, from a press release issued by Yamaha: Spectacular One Two for Melandri in Spain Yamaha World Superbike rider, Marco Melandri powered his R1 to two extraordinary podium finishes on the new Spanish track in Aragon today. Impeccable race craft and performance was on display in both races as Melandri claimed an impressive one two under sweltering sunshine and on a hot track. In the opening race of the day, Melandri got off to a perfect start from pole position to tuck neatly behind Biaggi in second place. Constantly on his tail, the WSB Rookie cleverly played the waiting game, in search for the opportune moment to pass and take the lead. With just five laps to go Biaggi made a mistake and Melandri grasped the chance to overtake and proceeded to power his R1 to the finish line, crossing the chequered flag with over one and a half seconds advantage on the runner up. Team-mate Eugene Laverty had a less than perfect start from his sixth place position on this morning’s grid, falling back to eight place in the first turn. Caught up in traffic the Irish Rookie held position for a further five laps before gradually working his way through the pack to cross the line in an impressive fourth place just 0.048 of a second ahead of Sykes. Race two was almost a replicate performance for Marco Melandri . Unfortunately with just five laps to go the Italian slipped up, presenting Biaggi with the opportunity to create a significant gap. Melandri fought hard for the second victory of the day before settling for second place on the afternoon’s podium. Laverty struggled as the rear wheel of his machine locked in the first turn of lap one causing him to run wide and fall back to sixteenth place. The Irish man proved to be strong and consistent yet again as he put his head down, working his way through the bunch of riders ahead to claim a remarkable sixth place. To add to the weekend’s list of achievements, Marco Melandri was presented with the Pirelli fastest lap of the race award having recorded a lap time of 1’59.159 in race two and reaching the highest speed of 322.1 Km/ph. Following today’s outstanding performance Melandri has reduced the gap on the leader in the World Superbike standings by 29 points. Heading to the next round in Brno on 10thJuly, the Italian is in third place on 195 points, now 66 points behind Checa in the lead. Laverty leaves Aragon with a total of 146 points and with a firm hold of fourth place in the classification, 21 points ahead of Camier. Marco Melandri Yamaha World Superbike Team- 1st, 2nd “I had a pretty amazing day. Max was very strong and consistent so it wasn’t easy to pass him in either races but thankfully I managed to succeed in race one. I felt good on the bike and gained confidence which was very important. In race two the track was hotter than in race one, making it more difficult for the tyres. Towards the end I felt I was about to lose the front and while trying to avoid going wide my foot slipped on the pedal. It was a really good race though, I’m happy. I want to thank my team and Yamaha for doing a great job again this weekend.” Eugene Laverty Yamaha World Superbike Team – 4th, 6th “In race one I wasn’t brave enough on the first corner, which was usually my strongest point and I ended up getting bottle necked. I came through in the end and was very happy with my result. Something similar happened in race two but I felt the rear wheel locking and went wide causing me to lose sveral places. Had I gotten off to a better start, I know I could have been stronger. Considering the difficult weekend I had, I think we made a great breakthrough which will help us for every track. We’ll take the experience to the future and hopefully be stronger in Brno.” Andrea Dosoli – Yamaha World Superbike Team Manager “Marco had a fantastic weekend, fast and consistent throughout. He played his cards well, managing the tyres to ensure they’d resist to the end and comes away with two great results. Eugene did a great job to make up so many places lost in the initial stages of both races. He has made progress this weekend but still has some more work to do especially with the steering of the bike in order to be as competitive as the top three.”