FIM Superbike World Championship Monza, Italy May 8 Race Two Results (all on Pirelli tires): 1. Eugene LAVERTY, Ireland (Yamaha YZF-R1), 18 laps, 31:19.948 2. Marco MELANDRI, Italy (Yamaha YZF-R1), -0.327 second 3. Michel FABRIZIO, Italy (Suzuki GSX-R1000), -2.466 seconds 4. Noriyuki HAGA, Japan (Aprilia RSV4 Factory), -2.583 5. Troy CORSER, Australia (BMW S1000RR), -4.502 6. Ayrton BADOVINI, Italy (BMW S1000RR), -10.865 7. Sylvain GUINTOLI, France (Ducati 1098R), -11.038 8. Max BIAGGI, Italy (Aprilia RSV4 Factory), -18.724, ride-through penalty 9. Joan LASCORZ, Spain (Kawasaki ZX-10R), -20.093 10. Carlos CHECA, Spain (Ducati 1098R), -20.376 11. Tom SYKES, Great Britain (Kawasaki ZX-10R), -21.111 12. Ruben XAUS, Spain (Honda CBR1000RR), -28.608 13. Roberto ROLFO, Italy (Kawasaki ZX-10R), -33.459 14. Mark AITCHISON, Australia (Kawasaki ZX-10R), -42.810 15. Fabrizio LAI, Italy (Honda CBR1000RR), -55.759 16. Maxime BERGER, France (Ducati 1098R), -5 laps, DNF, retired 17. Leon CAMIER, Great Britain (Aprilia RSV4 Factory), -11 laps, DNF, crash 18. Jakub SMRZ, Czech Republic (Ducati 1098R), -18 laps, DNF, crash 19. Leon HASLAM, Great Britain (BMW S1000RR), -18 laps, DNF, crash 20. Jonathan REA, Great Britain (Honda CBR1000RR), -18 laps, DNF crash 21. James TOSELAND, Great Britain (BMW S1000RR), DNS 22. Chris VERMEULEN, Australia (Kawasaki ZX-10R), DNS World Championship Point Standings (after 8 of 26 races): 1. Checa, 145 points 2. Melandri, 118 points 3. Biaggi, 117 points 4. Rea, 89 points 5. Laverty, 85 points 6. Haslam, 84 points 7. Fabrizio, 74 points 8. Camier, 58 points 9. Smrz, 55 points 10. Haga, 47 points 11. Corser, 46 points 12. Badovini, 35 points 13. Sykes, 34 points 14. Lascorz, 33 points 15. Xaus, 31 points 16. Guintoli, 29 points 17. Rolfo, 15 points 18. Aitchison, 9 points 19. Berger, 5 points 20. TIE, Barry Veneman/Josh Waters, 3 points 22. Toseland, 2 points 23. TIE, Lai/Bryan Staring, 1 point More, from a press release issued by Alitalia Aprilia: A DECISION FROM RACE OFFICIALS DEPRIVES MAX BIAGGI OF VICTORY AT MONZA. The clear superiority of Max Biaggi and Aprilia at the Monza round of World Superbike was rendered futile by a severe decision by Race Officials. A ride-through penalty deprives rider and team of certain victory and heavily influences championship standings. Monza, May 8th, 2011 – After the positive outcome of Race 1 with a second place finish behind an excellent Eugene Laverty, a place which in any case brought home important points to close the gap behind the ranking leader, Carlos, Checa, Max Biaggi started Race 2 determined not to miss out on this opportunity for victory. In just a few laps Biaggi widened a gap behind him leaving his competitors to battle it out for the secondary positions. But a cut across the first turn by Biaggi in the eleventh round convinced the Race Officials to levy a ride-through penalty against the number one rider. This decision relegated Max to twelfth place, depriving him of a certain and well deserved victory. Max then ended with a courageous comeback in eighth place. “At the moment I am feeling only great disappointment, for me and for the entire team. We prepared to the best of our ability and I think we showed that on the track. I have to accept this severe decision, blaming myself for not having been shrewd enough not to have touched that line. Now we have to regroup and focus on the next races. There is still a long season ahead”. This was the comment on a weekend which, in any case, saw the Aprilia Alitalia Racing Team confirming its strength as the reigning Champion team, entrusted to the leadership of Gigi Dall’Igna, Aprilia technical and sports director: “The judging officials are there to take decisions. It’s our job to respect them and so we must accept the penalty which the judges enforced. However, we cannot keep quiet about the fact that, from a strictly sporting point of view, Max drew no time advantage from cutting the turn. A problem which forced Max to avoid crashing and return to the track at 330 km/h: a very difficult condition also in trying to avoid a stripe painted on the track. Our disappointment is made even more bitter in consideration of the work that the entire team did in order to perform as best as possible for this round. Now we’ll continue to work hard concluded Dall’Igna as we have always done, in order to keep this championship open until the end”. An unfortunate weekend for Leon Camier as well who, after finishing Race 2 with an insignificant eighth place, started off very strong in Race 2, taking position in second place behind Biaggi. The Englishman defended this position with authority until the seventh lap when a slide in the second Lesmo curve took him out of the race. “Start was good, first corner was good, I felt good – said Leon – I got past a couple more to move up into 2nd and everything was fine. I wasn’t particularly pushing, just trying to get everything to flow and then in Turn 6 I let the brake off mid-turn and the front folded. I have to say sorry to all of my team. A podium was definitely on the cards, which would have been a great end to a couple of races where we’ve had nothing but bad luck. We’ve just got to look ahead to Miller at the end of the month and hope our luck changes.” More, from a press release issued by Castrol Honda: Frustrating Monza weekend for Rea Jonathan Rea was only able to achieve one sixth place finish in today’s two fourth round World Superbike championship races at Monza in Italy, both of which were won by Irishman, Eugene Laverty. Despite starting on the front row of the grid, Rea could not get away with the leading group in the first 18-lap race at the 5.777km Monza circuit. However, the 24-year-old Ulsterman fought his way past Australia’s Troy Corser in the final laps and was closing on fifth placed Michel Fabrizio at the flag. In race two, Rea was the victim of a first corner crash for the second year running as he was hit on the right hand side in the middle of the first part of Monza’s Prima Variante. Despite remounting and making his way back to the pits, his Castrol Honda crew were unable to repair his CBR1000RR in time for him to rejoin the race. Rea’s Castrol Honda team-mate, Ruben Xaus, could not find an improvement to his set up for today’s two races and cited lack of grip and brake issues as his main problems. The Castrol Honda team now heads to its nominated test track at Miller Motorsports Park in the USA for a two-day test ahead of round five of the WSBK series which takes place on Monday 30 May. Jonathan Rea 6th and DNF Frustrating really is the word, especially in race one when we just didn’t have the speed on the straight. I could match the lap times when I was on my own and able to run the right lines. But as soon as I got involved in a race with anyone who slowed me down in the places I was fast, I got forced off the line and lost the speed. Sixth was OK but certainly not what I’d hoped for. I’ll have to see the footage of race two to find out what really happened, but I feel like I got clipped from the inside which forced me up and into the guy on the outside. We’re going to Miller next, which has anothe r long straight, so I hope the guys back at base can find something. Luckily, we’re testing there the week before the race so I hope that gives us at least a chance to do better than last year. Ruben Xaus 15th and 12th It has not been a very positive weekend at Monza which is a pity for all the guys in my team who have been working very hard. I have had some braking problems this weekend and stopping the bike has been hard. Today we also had some grip problems on the corner exits, which then makes it difficult to carry the speed down the Monza straights. We will approach the test and races at Miller in a positive way and see what more we can learn from the experience of this weekend. Ronald ten Kate team manager Of course we all feel very sorry for Jonathan because we could see he did not have the speed in the bike today that is required at Monza. Everyone in the te am felt his frustration in race one and to have his second race ended at the first corner just like last year did not improve things at all. Thankfully, he is completely uninjured and will be fit enough to test some new parts that we have to try at Miller. It was not a good weekend for us there last season, so the test is very important for us. It will also be an opportunity for Ruben to get some more time on the bike outside a race weekend because his results here at Monza are clearly not where we want to be. More, from a press release issued by BMW Motorrad Motorsport: Weather conditions: Sunny. Temperature: Air: 24 30 °C, Track: 40 48 °C Number of riders participating: 20 from 13 teams Fastest lap Race 1: Michel Fabrizio (Team Suzuki Alstare) 1:43.275 min Fastest lap Race 2: Max Biaggi (Aprilia Alitalia Racing Team) 1:43.023 min Team BMW Motorrad Motorsport celebrates another podium in the FIM Superbike World Championship. In the fourth round of the 2011 season at Monza (ITA), works rider, Leon Haslam (GBR), finished third in race one. In the second race Leon was involved in a crash involving several riders in the first chicane, and was forced to retire. His team mate, Troy Corser (AUS), finished the races in seventh and fifth respectively. In the riders’ championship Leon Haslam is now sixth (84 points), while Troy has moved up to 11th (46 points). In the manufacturers’ standings BMW has moved up to fourth with 101 points. In race one, Leon fought his way up to third after starting from sixth. He had thrilling battles with Marco Melandri and Max Biaggi and defended his podium position until the chequered flag. His second race ended in the first chicane. Another competitor crashed and hit Leon’s bike. Leon fell off and hurt his right foot. Troy had an excellent start in both races and was actually leading both of them. In the first race he had issues with tyre wear and fell back. In the second race he was overtaken by a competitor and struggled to make up the gap. However, he crossed the finish line only 4,5 seconds behind Eugene Laverty, who won both races. BMW Motorrad congratulates Team BMW Motorrad Italia Superstock and its rider Lorenzo Zanetti (ITA) for their victory, and the other customer teams for their successes in the FIM Superstock 1000 Cup race. With Michele Magnoni (ITA / third) from the Baru Racing Team also on the podium, Fabio Massei (ITA / fifth) from the Team Piellemoto and Markus Reiterberger (GER / sixth) from the the Garnier Alpha Racing Team four BMW S 1000 RR riders were placed in the top six. Leon Haslam: Result Race 1: 3rd, Gap to 1st: 00:03.078 min / Fastest Lap Race 1: 1:43.361 min Result Race 2: DNF “To be honest, in race one I didn’t get the best of starts. I also made a few mistakes in the early laps, which meant I had some work to do to catch the leading bunch. Still I felt like I had the pace to run with the leading guys. Max and I held each other up slightly, which saw Eugene get away at the front, but on the whole I was happy with the race and the bike. In race two I was hit from behind at the first corner on lap one. I am not a hundred per cent sure what happened, but I crashed out of the race after getting a much better start. Following the crash I was taken to the medical centre where it was confirmed that I have broken a toe on my right foot. I don’t see it being a problem for our forthcoming test or the races in Salt Lake.” Troy Corser: Result Race 1: 7th, Gap to 1st: 00:13.280 min / Fastest Lap Race 1: 1:43.589 min Result Race 2: 5th / Gap to 1st: 00:04.502 min / Fastest Lap Race 2: 1:44.040 min “On one hand I am happy with the way the two races have gone today, but on the other hand I am slightly frustrated. I got a great start in both races and led the early laps. The bike felt good on the whole. We had a few tyre issues in race one, which saw me slip back, and in race two I was pretty happy until I was squeezed out at the first corner by Marco Melandri. From there I lost some time and I just couldn’t get that back. The pace we showed this weekend suggested we could push for the podium, but sadly that didn’t happen today. We have a test now before Salt Lake so hopefully we can continue to improve on what we have done already.” Bernhard Gobmeier (BMW Motorrad Motorsport Director): “On the whole we are happy with today. We are glad we could achieve our second podium of the season. Obviously we were expecting a little bit more, but unfortunately Leon’s second race was finished early. With Troy we had some issue with the tyres as they seemed to wear quite quickly, but still we are happy. It was clear in both races that we were able to do similar lap times and be as strong as the Yamahas. This means we have the speed. We just need to be a bit more consistent and fine tune some of our race strategies. Now we are looking forward to the next races in the USA. I also want to congratulate Team BMW Motorrad Italia Superbike for their sixth position with Ayrton Badovini. This is a strong performance.” More, from a press release issued by PATA Racing Team: Noriyuki Haga almost hit the podium in Monza. The PATA Racing team rider is the author of a great race 2, in which fail the first win of the season only by a whisker in favour of Michel Fabrizio. The japanese rider’s been the protagonist since the beginning, fighting with Melandri, Laverty and Fabrizio, with Biaggi leading alone. On the race finale the Yamaha riders were getting away while Biaggi was forced to a ride-through for cutting a chicane. Was a duel with Haga that was looking for a gap and Fabrizio busy defending himself, with the japanese trying an attack at the parabolica but that ouldn’t him to the podium. During race 1 Haga had the same penalty served by Biaggi. Noriyuki Haga – Aprilia RSV4R #41 – “In race 2 I had fun, unluckily we didn’t get a braking fitting my way of ride and it prevent me from more determined attacks to Michel Fabrizio. We still have done another step forward and we’re really close to aim a great result. Now we’ll focus on the tests in Misano, next week, trying to keep improving in the bike’s setting, with which face the next round at the end of the month on Miller Park circuit.” Marco Borciani – team manager – “Nori run a really good race, honestly I believed he could’ve overtake Fabrizio. The Suzuki rider did an amazing job closing every single gap defending his podium. I’m sure, seeing our progress, we’ll make it up.” More, from a press release issued by Team Alstare Suzuki: 2011 Superbike World Championship Round 4, Monza, Italy Sunday 8th May Circuit: 5.777 kms. Crowd: 116,500 (3-day) Conditions: Dry, sunny 24-30C (air), 40-45C (track) TREMENDOUS PODIUM FOR MICHEL Team Alstare Suzuki rider Michel Fabrizio took a tremendous third place in the second Superbike World Championship race at Monza today. It was his first podium for the team and just reward for all the hard work he and the team have been putting in since the start of the season. His third place in Race 2, followed a hard-fought for fifth in Race 1, during which he set the fastest lap despite his bike being down on top speed compared to his rivals. Briton Eugene Laverty (Yamaha) opened his World Superbike account by winning the first race, with Max Biaggi (Aprilia) second and Leon Haslam (BMW) third. He then followed it up by winning race two, after leader Biaggi was forced to take a ride through penalty after failing to take the correct line after cutting the first chicane. This time Marco Melandri (Yamaha) was second, with Michel not far behind in third. Michel – Race 1: 5th, Race 2: 3rd I am very happy with my podium this afternoon, especially as I was in fourth for a long time at the end and that’s where I thought I’d end up. When the race leader (Biaggi) had to do a ride-through penalty that moved the two Yamahas and me up a place. Racing is like that – sometimes you win and sometimes you lose. My bike was the same for both race and my only problem today was that its top speed and acceleration was not as good as my rivals. That meant that I had to push a lot and and brake harder than them in many places. It was a bit of a shame that I didn’t make better starts in the two races today and that’s something that I will have to work on. At the moment I am probably giving myself too much work to do in the first part of the race and this series is so competitive that once you give way an advantage, it’s very hard to get it back. Even though I didn’t get on the podium in Race 1, I am happy that I set the fastest lap of the race – especially as Biaggi’s bike was nearly seven kph faster. I think our team is working really well and I am very pleased with how things are going. I am very happy to get my first podium of the season and hopefully there will be more to come. More, from a press release issued by Althea Racing: CHECA AND THE ALTHEA RACING TEAM LIMIT THE DAMAGE IN TODAY’S SBK RACES AT THE MONZA CIRCUIT Monza (Italy), Sunday 8th May 2011: Carlos Checa and the Althea Racing team were able to limit the damage and defend their position well during today’s World Superbike races at the Monza track, the characteristics of which favour the four cycliner bikes. Checa returns home still holding a 27-point advantage in the general standings. Today’s races were far from easy for the Althea team. In Race 1 Carlos was stuck in traffic through the first corners, finding himself down in thirteenth position after one lap. With a faster pace than the riders immediately ahead of him he was able to quickly make up four positions in the first four laps. Althea man Checa then lost some time battling it out with Camier and this prevented him from reaching the leading group. In the final laps a sudden drop in tyre performance meant he was unable to make any further improvement and the Spanish rider thus crossed the line in ninth position, taking home seven important points. In the second race Carlos made a very good start and had already made up five positions through the first corners. He was lucky to avoid being caught up in the accident that signified the end of the race for several of his rivals, and he started to build up a good rhythm from that point on. Checa’s times remained fast until three laps from the end when he suffered unexpected engine trouble. This problem slowed him down a great deal and he lost four positions in the final two laps. Althea’ flagbearer finished the second of today’s races in eventual tenth position. Despite today’s results Carlos still holds a 27 point advantage in the riders’ standings (ahead of Melandri in second place) and Ducati continues to lead in the manufacturers’ championship. The next race is Miller, a track that Checa enjoys and where he has obtained strong results in the past. Carlos Checa “We’re satisfied because we were aware of our limitations before we arrived here at Monza e we knew that it would be difficult to reach the podium. In race 1 I had to push so hard on the straights that it probably affected the tyre because in the last laps the performance had really dropped off and I couldn’t get ahead of Camier. In the second race we had good pace until three laps from the end when I had an engine problem. It slowed me down so much that I was lucky even to finish. I closed in ninth and tenth position today and, all things considered, these are good points for us at Monza. We leave here with a 27-point lead which surprises me to tell the truth. We’re really happy and will now concentrate on the next round at Miller, where I hope to be able to make two great races.” More, from a press release issued by Infront Motor Sports: Monza (Italy), Sunday 8 May 2011 Monza lived up to its reputation for thrills and excitement yet again as a crowd of 116,500 watched Eugene Laverty win both 18-lap races in sun-kissed conditions. Laverty was a clear winner in race one, upsetting the pre-race form that had Max Biaggi down as a strong favourite for a double race victory. In race two Biaggi was on for the win at his home track but in making a misjudgment and cutting the first chicane he did not follow the rules about keeping to a certain line and re-entering the track only at permitted areas. For this infringement he was given a ride through penalty. His hopes of the win were over after losing significant amounts of time because of his ride-through, and he ended up eighth. Biaggi’s misfortune allowed the two Yamaha World Superbike riders Marco Melandri and Laverty to fight it out right to the flag, with Laverty winning and Melandri second after an audacious pass into the Parabolica. Michel Fabrizio was third in race two, on his Alstare Suzuki. World Championship leader Carlos Checa also had a dramatic day, as he scored points in each race, but was lucky to finish the second as he went from sixth to tenth when his machine developed a sudden technical problems and a trail of blue smoke was visible from its exhaust. He had been ninth in race one. Behind the podium places, Melandri, Fabrizio and Rea filled the top six in race one, with Noriyuki Haga, Troy Corser and a jubilant Ayrton Badovini inside the top six in race two. Sylvain Guintoli was seventh in race two for his Effenbert Liberty Ducati Team, the top single race Ducati finisher on the day. Checa is still the leader of the championship, but the riders immediately behind him also had changeable fortunes after Monza. Leon Haslam was a podium man in race one, but a faller in race two, along with Jonathan Rea and Ruben Xaus. Leon Camier (Aprilia Alitalia) was on course for a podium but fell at high speed in race two. In the championship standings Carlos Checa (Althea Racing Ducati) has 145 points, Melandri 118 and Biaggi 117. Rea is fourth with 89 points and Laverty is now fifth, on 85. Race 1 A close race at times was turned into a cool-headed race win for Laverty as he stretched his rivals to breaking point in the final laps. Biaggi and Haslam took the other podium places, after some tough passes and fights between that duo and fourth place rider Melandri. Fabrizio had a strong ride on his Suzuki Alstare machine and set the fastest lap on his way to fifth place. Jonathan Rea (Castrol Honda) held off Troy Corser to earn himself a top six finish, 12 seconds from the winner. Eugene Laverty: “That was a great race, definitely not one of the easiest but I enjoyed it nonetheless. I just kept pushing to the top and my first win couldn’t have come at a better place, the Yamaha team is based at Lesmo and everyone’s here to celebrate!” Max Biaggi: “Second place is better than nothing but I was hoping to do a bit better. I got a good start but made some mistakes and then I was bothered with Leon, Eugene started to go away then I made another mistake so at the end of the day I settled for second place.” Leon Haslam: “We didn’t get the best of starts and made a few mistakes. I felt like I could run the pace, and then I got into a battle where me and Max were passing each other a few times. We were holding each other up a bit which meant that Eugene got away. It was a tough race, the last part I was defending from Marco but I’ve got a lot more feel out of the BMW now and I’m actually looking forward to the races in the future.” Results: 1. Laverty E. (IRL) Yamaha YZF R1 31’09.584 (200,232 kph); 2. Biaggi M. (ITA) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 1.575; 3. Haslam L. (GBR) BMW S1000 RR 3.078; 4. Melandri M. (ITA) Yamaha YZF R1 3.255; 5. Fabrizio M. (ITA) Suzuki GSX-R1000 11.812; 6. Rea J. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 12.371; 7. Corser T. (AUS) BMW S1000 RR 13.280; 8. Camier L. (GBR) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 17.419; 9. Checa C. (ESP) Ducati 1098R 17.569; 10. Smrz J. (CZE) Ducati 1098R 18.420; etc. Race 2 Laverty won a last corner battle with his team-mate Melandri in the second 18-lap race at Monza but the bigger drama was the award of a ride-through penalty for long-time race leader Biaggi, for cutting a chicane in an incorrect fashion. He recovered to finish eighth. Third was Fabrizio, but only after a massive fight with Pata Aprilia rider Noriyuki Haga, who went fourth. Fifth with a strong ride was Corser, Badovini a brilliant sixth and only ten seconds from Laverty, with the luckless Biaggi eighth. Joan Lascorz recovered from a race one crash to give Kawasaki ninth in race two, the best result of the day for the guys in green. Eugene Laverty: “I can’t believe I got a double victory here today. My aim coming here this weekend was to get a podium and I came away with two wins. In race 2 I made an average start and two of the guys closed me in and I had to go back. There was a big crash in front of me, it was a hectic race, I was having trouble with the front tyre, but when it came to the last few laps it was between me and Marco and I just couldn’t believe it.” Marco Melandri: “It’s been a very tough weekend for me, we’ve been trying to find a good set-up to make the bike stable. In the second race we made a big step further but the bike was very nervous at the end so I couldn’t race for the win. I tried to do my best but at the last corner I struggled with the gearbox, the rear tyre locked and I lost.” Michel Fabrizio: “It was a battle with Haga like the ones of a couple of years back, I wanted the podium at all costs and we would surely have deserved it. Max had already gone away from the rest of the field, so I was settling for fourth place, but in racing it often happens that you can get a podium like that.” Results: 1. Laverty E. (IRL) Yamaha YZF R1 31’19.948 (199,128 kph); 2. Melandri M. (ITA) Yamaha YZF R1 0.327; 3. Fabrizio M. (ITA) Suzuki GSX-R1000 2.466; 4. Haga N. (JPN) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 2.583; 5. Corser T. (AUS) BMW S1000 RR 4.502; 6. Badovini A. (ITA) BMW S1000 RR 10.865; 7. Guintoli S. (FRA) Ducati 1098R 11.038; 8. Biaggi M. (ITA) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 18.724; 9. Lascorz J. (ESP) Kawasaki ZX-10R 20.093; 10. Checa C. (ESP) Ducati 1098R 20.376; etc. Points (after 4 of 13 rounds): 1. Checa 145; 2. Melandri 118; 3. Biaggi 117; 4. Rea 89; 5. Laverty 85; 6. Haslam 84; 7. Fabrizio 74; 8. Camier 58; 9. Smrz 55; 10. Haga 47; etc. Manufacturers: 1. Ducati 152; 2. Yamaha 147; 3. Aprilia 139; 4. BMW 101; 5. Honda 93; 6. Suzuki 74; 7. Kawasaki 53. World Supersport Chaz Davies (Yamaha ParkinGO) won his second career WSS race in succession by leading home his team-mate Luca Scassa after 16 laps of the Monza circuit. Behind the flying duo from the Italian based Yamaha team, Fabien Foret (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda) had an eventually lonely but impressive third place finish, some 7.9 seconds from Davies. Behind the podium places, a race-long fight between four riders saw Broc Parkes (Kawasaki Motocard.com), Sam Lowes (Parkalgar Honda), Roberto Tamburini (Bike Service RT Yamaha) and Florian Marino (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda) completed the top seven places. David Salom took an impressive eighth despite not having his best engine available, from another Kawasaki rider Massimo Roccoli. Results: 1. Davies C. (GBR) Yamaha YZF R6 29’05.363 (190,651 kph); 2. Scassa L. (ITA) Yamaha YZF R6 4.734; 3. Foret F. (FRA) Honda CBR600RR 7.977; 4. Parkes B. (AUS) Kawasaki ZX-6R 19.246; 5. Lowes S. (GBR) Honda CBR600RR 19.882; 6. Tamburini R. (ITA) Yamaha YZF R6 20.148; 7. Marino F. (FRA) Honda CBR600RR 21.090; 8. Salom D. (ESP) Kawasaki ZX-6R 31.595; etc. Points (after 4 rounds of 12): 1. Davies 70; 2. Scassa 70; 3. Parkes 60; 4. Harms 43; 5. Salom 42; 6. Foret 36; 7. Lowes 27; 8. Roccoli 26; etc. Manufacturers: 1. Yamaha 100; 2. Honda 68; 3. Kawasaki 60; 4. Triumph 14. Superstock 1000 Lorenzo Zanetti (BMW Motorrad Italia Superstock) took a close win by only 0.065 seconds at Monza in a stopped and restarted race cut to only five laps duration. Michele Magnoni (Baru Racing Team BMW) was third and Danilo Petrucci (Barni Racing Team Ducati) fourth. It was Zanetti’s first race win in this class. A blown engine in the first race start, from Sylvain Barrier’s BMW Motorrad Italia machine, saw several riders crash at high speed on the spilled oil, with none seriously injured, but Andrea Boscoscuro suffered a broken collarbone. Results: 1. Zanetti L. (ITA) BMW S1000 RR 8’56.130 (193,957 kph); 2. Giugliano D. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 0.065; 3. Magnoni M. (ITA) BMW S1000 RR 1.728; 4. Petrucci D. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 3.634; 5. Massei F. (ITA) BMW S1000 RR 4.750; 6.Reiterberger M. (GER) BMW S1000 RR 9.341; 7. Bussolotti M. (ITA) Kawasaki ZX-10R 9.418; 8. Antonelli A. (ITA) Honda CBR1000RR 10.734; etc. Points (after 2 rounds of 10): 1. Giugliano 45; 2. Petrucci 33; 3. Zanetti 32; 4. Antonelli 18; 5. Magnoni 16; 6. Barrier 16; 7. Baroni1 3; 8. Canepa 13; etc. Manufacturers: 1. Ducati 45; 2. BMW 41; 3. Kawasaki 20; 4. Honda 18; 5. Yamaha 4. More, from a press release issued by Team Pedercini: Fifth row starts for both of team Pedercini’s riders today at Monza for the fourth round of the Superbike World Championship. Due to yesterday’s difficult qualifying session, Rolfo started from eighteenth position and teammate Aitchison from twentieth. Roberto Rolfo hopes of a good result went up in smoke this morning after just a few laps of the race one when the Italian rider was forced to re-enter the box because of a technical problem. After a good start Mark Aitchison started to suffer for some rear grip problems and in the last lap he ran out fuel. Fortunately he was able to finish the race in seventeenth position. In race two Rolfo and Aitchison reached the points zone, obtaining respectively the thirteenth and the fourteenth places. Superbike Race one : 1) Laverty (Yamaha) 2) Biaggi (Aprilia) 3) Haslam (BMW) 4) Melandri (Yamaha) 5) Fabrizio (Suzuki).”¦..17) Aitchison (Kawasaki)”¦”¦. RET. Rolfo (Kawasaki) Superbike Race two : 1) Laverty (Yamaha) 2) Melandri (Yamaha) 3) Fabrizio (Suzuki) 4) Haga (Aprilia) .”¦..13) Rolfo (Kawasaki) 14) Aitchison (Kawasaki) Roberto Rolfo :” In the first race I was forced to retire because I was suffering from some set up problems and I was not able to ride my bike effectively, especially through the chicane and so I preferred to stop my race. For race two my technicians changed the setting and I soon found a better feeling with the bike. The rear grip was not sufficient enough to allow me to push and improve my race pace but near to the end of the race I was able to improve my lap times reaching the thirteenth position. I’m confident for the next races because the bike’s performance improved here in Monza and this is a difficult track for the Kawasaki which means that at the other circuits we can obtain better results”. Mark Aitchison: “Today I have had a very difficult day in Monza. Both our races started well and I was hoping to move forward with the front rider, but after a few laps the grip level from the rear tyre decreased quite quickly. In the first race after our rear grip seemed to go away, I experienced some problems with the bike being nervous, causing some arm pump. I was able to manage this well enough but than on the final lap I also ran out of fuel. Luckily I was able to roll across the finish line in seventeenth position. During the second race we attempted to fix a few of our problems with grip by making some small modification to the bike. Unfortunately our situation didn’t really improve and I could not maintain a consistent lap time in the final six-eight laps. I would like to thank my team for all their hard work over the weekend and we will work hard to make the results I know we are capable of in Salt Lake City”. More, from a press release issued by Kawasaki: Lascorz Top Ten At A Sunny Monza WSBK, Monza, Italy, 8 May 2011 Joan Lascorz left the Monza round of the Superbike World Championship with the best Kawasaki finish, ninth in race two, in what was a challenging raceday under the hot Italian sun. Tom Sykes was 13th in race one and then 11th in race two, keeping him top Kawasaki rider in the overall points rankings, one place ahead of Joan. Lascorz was to fall in race one, but he was unhurt and learned from the experience to post his top ten finish in race two, despite not being able to use his favoured soft rear tyre. This is still only Joan’s fourth WSBK meeting on the all-new Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10R race machine. Tom had two difficult races partly due to the softer choice race tyre that the team had used most in practice being taken from the allocation, due to concerns about the possible effects of the hot 45 degree track temperatures around Monza’s many high speed curves. Third official Kawasaki regular Chris Vermeulen did not ride at Monza due to a nasty gash in his elbow, suffered when he fell in practice on Friday. Roberto Rolfo and Mark Aitchison scored 13th and 14th places respectively in race two for the Team Pedercini Kawasaki squad in its home race. Marco Bussolotti (Team Pedercini Kawasaki) was the top Kawasaki finisher in the Superstock 1000 FIM Cup class, going seventh. Joan Lascorz: “All weekend we had been working with the soft race tyre then this morning when we tested the harder tyre, which we had to use, the bike needed a lot of adjustment. We are still developing and understanding the bike because it is still quite new. We made some changes after warm-up and found some better rear grip, but lost it in the front and I crashed. In race two I did my best and I was reasonably satisfied with a top ten finish and we will be better in the next one. I would like to be fighting more in the front group.” Tom Sykes: “We didn’t have the speed or the race package to work with this weekend obviously there is some work to be done. We all need to pick our heads up and stay focused and positive. I think people may expect a lot of us very early in the season with a new bike and I think that is putting a bit of pressure on. I will keep my head down and keep working and I am still confident we can make it work. I got caught up in the crash at the first chicane and lost time on the exit, which made things harder. I think I had a bit of a bit better pace early on if I had got latched onto a leading group.” More, from a press release issued by TEAM EFFENBERT – LIBERTY RACING Race day quite positive for Team Effenbert – Liberty Racing that, despite the lack of adaptability of motorbykes to the Lombard circuit, in the race has managed to improve on the achievements during the qualifying session, despite the usual component of misfortune that has characterized the start in race 2: In race one the two riders have realized a good start, recovering some positions, and have maintained interesting race timing, although limited top speed of minors who have made it difficult to counter the straight Aorilia Yamaha BMW and Suzuki At the end of the round Jakum Smrz won tenth place, only a short distance from the other Ducati’s championship leader Carlos Checa, while Sylvain Guintoli, who has finally recovered a nearly perfect physical shape, was ranked twelfth. Unfortunately during the start of race two, Jakub Smrz, who realized a good shot at the green light at the first chicane was involved, without any responsibility, in the crash of Haslam and Rea that were in the positions immediately before, ending its race, fortunately without serious physical consequences. Sylvain Guintoli has fortunately managed to avoid the crach, finding himself at the end of the first chicane in eighth place. The race of the French driver was certainly very consistent, which is characterized by a good consistent lap times and a very beautiful fight with BMW driver Badovini, with a lot of overtaking and finally resolved in favor of the pilot of BMW Italy , with a bike very fast on the straights. At the end Guintoli ranked seventh, the first Ducati on the track. The race was also characterized by a penalty drive trough “imposed on Max Biaggi, who was the lead author of a cutting the chicane at the end of the pit straight, and some engine problems that have involved the championship leader Carlos Checa. For the record, was a great day for Eugene Laverty, who won in both races, in frontvof Max Biaggi and Leon Haslam in race 1 and in race 2, after a duel enthusiastic with Melandri and Suzuki rider Michel Fabrizio, who scored his first podium of the season. These are statements of our two drivers: Jakub Smrz “In race 1 I had a good start, taking in any case a good race rhytm, but unfortunately, despite the excellent work of the team, on the long straights I could not fight with the fastest bike , I think I could overcome the Checa Ducati, but I had no luck with Camier who would not let me on the right opportunity, no comment about race 2 where I’ve been very unlucky to get us in any way to avoid the drivers who slipped in front of me, Luckily I have not suffered serious physical consequences, we hope for a better result in Miller where the circuit is more suitable to our characteristics ” Sylvain Guintoli “I’m quite satisfied with the results today in race one I lost a bit of time behind the Kawasaki Sykes and I have been a long time to wake my teammate passed me at the last Badovini that was faster on straight, in the second race went much better, I have maintained good lap times and I was able, on a track not conducive for us to get the best finish of the season. I really enjoyed the fight with Badovini, characterized by a lot of overtaking. ” More, from a press release issued by Honda: Weather: Dry, Sunny Temperature: Ambient 24/30 degrees C / Track 40/45 degrees C Attendance: 116,500 REA STILL INSIDE THE TOP FOUR DESPITE BAD LUCK AT MONZA Jonathan Rea (Castrol Honda) competed with all the determination he could summon on race day at the ultra-fast 5.777km Monza circuit and was rewarded with a top six finish in race one, but punished for another rider’s error in race two when he was taken out at the first chicane. Jonathan had qualified in third place after superpole but was not able to get away with the leading riders in race one, and was prevented from making any further improvements by his fall in race two. Both Monza WSBK races were won by Eugene Laverty (Yamaha) on a day when the championship leader Carlos Checa (Ducati) had his advantage cut to 27 points. Rea now has 89 points, third place rider Max Biaggi (Aprilia) 117 just one point behind overall second placed rider, Marco Melandri (Yamaha). Laverty’s double win takes him fifth, only four points from Rea. Jonathan is one of four riders to have taken at least one win this year, in the four rounds held so far. Checa, Melandri and Laverty are the others. Castrol Honda rider Ruben Xaus scored a single point in race one, and was 12th in race two. Ruben is now 15th in the rankings, on 31 points. He had just missed out on superpole qualification and was 17th on the grid. THIRD PLACE FOR FORET AFTER TOUGH MONZA RACE WEEKEND Fabien Foret (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda) was unable to get on terms with eventual Monza race winner Chaz Davies (Yamaha) after being held up in the early laps but his impressive push through to a clear third place sees Fabien ranked sixth in the championship table. Foret had been fourth on the grid after qualifying and finished three seconds from second placed rider Luca Scassa (Yamaha) in the 16-lap race. As usual the Monza race weekend proved tough and unforgiving for riders and machines alike, with a fast top speed as well as a good overall set-up required to stay on terms with other riders at this unique circuit, where slipstreaming is still king. Robbin Harms (Harms Benjan Racing Team Honda could not stay with many other Honda machines on the straights at Monza and had to settle for 11th, one place up on his qualifying position. He is still top Honda rider in the standings, fourth, on 42 points. Davies and Luca Scassa (Yamaha) are tied on 70 points each, Broc Parkes if third on 60 points, and his Kawasaki team-mate David Salom shares 42 points with Harms. Sam Lowes (Parkalgar Honda) knew his weekend would be particularly challenging as he was riding with a still fractured left collarbone, the result of a heavy crash last time out at Assen. The gritty English rider posted a superb fifth place, right on the heels of fourth place finisher Broc Parkes (Kawasaki). Florian Marino (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda) battled hard for a top four place at one stage but had to settle for seventh, losing out on an eventual fight with local man Roberto Tamburini (Yamaha). A first top ten finish in this class of racing was a welcome reward for Czech rider Ondrej Jezek (SMS Racing Honda), as some more established names struggled with either misfortune or a simple lack of pure pace at the fastest circuit on the entire WSBK calendar. Balazs Nemeth (Team Hungary Toth Honda) scored a point again, and he is overall 18th in the standings. James Ellison (Bogdanka PTR Honda) failed to score points, but would have been well inside the top ten but for a last lap crash directly in front of him that pushed him off the circuit. He restarted after falling but was only 17th. Alexander Lundh (Cresto Guide Racing Team Honda) was 20th, one place behind Aussie rider Mitchell Pirotta (Kuja Racing Honda). Vladimir Ivanov (Step Racing Team Honda) and Vittorio Iannuzzo (Kawasaki) collided on the final lap and neither scored points. Miguel Praia (Parkalgar Honda) and Gino Rea (Step Racing Team Honda) each fell at high speed and were unable to restart their machines. Imre Toth (Team Hungary Toth Honda) also no-scored today after entering the pits while Robert Muresan (PTR Romania Honda) and Pawel Szkopek (Bogdanka PTR Honda) also retired. Honda rider comments: Jonathan Rea (Castrol Honda) Race result: 6th / DNF Championship position: 4th “Frustrating really is the word, especially in race one when we just didn’t have the speed on the straight. I could match the lap times when I was on my own and able to run the right lines. But as soon as I got involved in a race with anyone who slowed me down in the places I was fast, I got forced off the line and lost the speed. Sixth was OK but certainly not what I’d hoped for. I’ll have to see the footage of race two to find out what really happened, but I feel like I got clipped from the inside, which forced me up and into the guy on the outside. We’re going to Miller next, which has another long straight, so I hope the guys back at base can find something. Luckily, we’re testing there the week before the race so I hope that gives us at least a chance to do better than last year.” Ruben Xaus (Castrol Honda) Race result: 15th / 12th Championship position: 15th “It has not been a very positive weekend at Monza which is a pity for all the guys in my team who have been working very hard. I have had some braking problems this weekend and stopping the bike has been hard. Today we also had some grip problems on the corner exits, which then makes it difficult to carry the speed down the Monza straights. We will approach the test and races at Miller in a positive way and see what more we can learn from the experience of this weekend.” SUPERPORT Fabien Foret (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda) Race result: 3rd Championship position: 6th “I messed up everything in the first chicane when Tamburini went a bit wide and pushed me off track. That was that; I could already see Chaz was far ahead and by the time I passed Broc and some other it was just too late. I tried to catch Scassa but it was hard by myself with no slipstream. I wanted to be safe at the end, score 16 points, and try to do even better at the next round in Misano.” Sam Lowes (Parkalgar Honda) Race result: 5th. Championship position: 7th “My shoulder was really sore in the race and that was the hardest race of my life. I am not making excuses and the opposition rode well but I could not do what I wanted to do on the bike because of my shoulder. I ran a harder tyre to make it a bit easier for me near the end of the race. I would have taken fifth if you offered me it at the start of the weekend and I dug deep and gave it everything. Now I am just looking forward to Misano.” Robbin Harms (Harms Benjan Racing Team Honda) Race result: 11th. Championship position: 4th “I had so much trouble with a lack of speed and every time I was in the group another rider would pass me on the straight. I would outbrake him again, but then there would be two riders passing me, and that is just the story of my race. I would get overtaken by riders on the straight each time I moved up. It was one step forward and two back on the next straight. I was not expecting this much trouble here.” Florian Marino (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda) Race result: 7th. Championship position: 9th “I could not get the rhythm I wanted and could not push on the tyre the way I needed to. I could not get it turning like I want. I was quite hard because I was fighting so much with the bike that on the last three laps I was exhausted. Compared to this morning in warm-up the feeling was not as good. To finish seventh means I take some good points and I hope for a better result at Misano.” James Ellison (Bogdanka PTR Honda) Race result: 17th. Championship position: 10th “I had a bad first corner but a good recovery. I caught right up with Sam Lowes at one point but then the bike started cutting out. A few people got past and I turned the ignition off to reset the electronics but it was still an issue. I tried a few more things and I even put my hand up at one time because I thought I would be better to come instead of risking an accident. Things started working again so I carried on, and then I was forced off track and eventually toppled over on the final lap, when two riders crashed in front of me. I am disappointed not to have scored points when I was eighth going into the last lap.” Ondrej Jezek (SMS Racing Team Honda) Race result: 10th. Championship position: 16th “My first top ten in WSS racing. I was in a group and in a hard race. I had a good start, went from 15th to 13th and then I got in a group for seventh place, fighting with David Salom. With five laps to go I had a weak part in my race and some riders overtook me but then I passed Giansanti and Harms. It was tough battle all through and then in the last lap Iannuzzo, Ivanov and Ellison crashed, so I finished tenth.”