FIM Superbike World Championship Donington Park, England March 27, 2011 Race Two Results (all on Pirelli tires): 1. Carlos Checa, Spain (Duc 1098R), 23 laps, 34:21.537, 100.402 mph 2. Marco Melandri, Italy (Yam YZF-R1), -3.397 seconds 3. Leon Camier, Great Britain (Apr RSV4 Factory), -5.902 4. Leon Haslam, Great Britain (BMW S1000RR), -13.842, ran off track 5. Joan Lascorz, Spain (Kaw ZX-10R), -14.253 6. Jonathan Rea, Great Britain (Hon CBR1000RR), -19.413 7. Michel Fabrizio, Italy (Suz GSX-R1000), -20.278 8. Jakub Smrz, Czech Republic (Duc 1098R), -21.160 9. Ayrton Badovini, Italy (BMW S1000RR), -24.298 10. Ruben Xaus, Spain (Hon CBR1000RR), -24.907 11. Sylvain Guintoli, France (Duc 1098R), -32.440 12. Tom Sykes, Great Britain (Kaw ZX-10R), -32.679 13. Troy Corser, Australia (BMW S1000RR), -34.070 14. Eugene Laverty, Ireland (Yam YZF-R1), -36.418 15. Roberto Rolfo, Italy (Kaw ZX-10R), -44.037 16. Mark Aitchison, Australia (Kaw ZX-10R), -52.412 17. Noriyuki Haga, Japan (Apr RSV4 Factory), -56.634, crash 18. Maxime Berger, France (Duc 1098R), -22 laps, DNF, retired 19. Max Biaggi, Italy (Apr RSV4 Factory), -14 laps, DQ* * Max Biaggi was called for a jump start and was then disqualified for not serving a ride-through penalty. Superbike World Championship Point Standings (After 4 of 26 races): 1. Checa, 91 points 2. Melandri, 72 points 3. Haslam, 53 points 4. Biaggi, 49 points 5. Smrz, 42 points 6. Rea, 38 points 7. Camier, 37 points 8. Fabrizio, 27 points 9. Haga, 26 points 10. Sykes, 19 points 11. Lascorz, 17 points 12. TIE, Laverty/Corser/Xaus, 16 points 15. TIE, Badovini/Rolfo, 12 points 17. Guintoli, 10 points 18. Josh Waters, 3 points 19. James Toseland, 2 points 20. TIE, Aitchison/Bryan Staring, 1 point More, from a press release issued by Paul Bird Motorsports Kawasaki: Kawasaki World Superbike team riders Tom Sykes and Joan Lascorz were unlucky not to come away with some silverware after a strong performance at round two of the World Superbike Championship at Donington Park today. The Paul Bird Motorsport duo proved the potential of the 2011 Kawasaki ZX-10R with a pair of great rides which saw Spaniard Lascorz just pipped for fourth position by Leon Haslam’s BMW on the last lap of race two whereas earlier in the day, Sykes had been challenging for a podium in race one when he slid off with just six laps remaining. Yorkshireman Sykes, who qualified on the front row in third position, was looking strong in race one when he crashed at the Foggy Esses without injury as Lascorz came home in tenth position. In race two, a mechanical problem thwarted Sykes’ bid and he battled to twelfth place as World Superbike rookie Lascorz, in only his fourth race was in with a chance of a podium but had to settle for fifth. Chris Vermeulen was hoping to return to race action at Donington Park but after Friday’s qualifying, the team took the decision to withdraw him to allow his injured knee to heal further. Tom Sykes: “I was delighted to qualify on the front row and prove the potential of the Kawasaki ZX-10R and had real hopes of a podium. I had a minor problem with downshifting and was disappointed to crash out in race one and then the problem re-occurred in race two and I just had to bring the bike home. But we’ve been strong this weekend and we will take this into Assen next time.” Joan Lascorz: “I went for a safe setting in race one as it was important I scored some points but for race two, we were more aggressive and it paid off. I was strong early on and knew I’d drop back with my tyre choice but I’m pleased to be battling inside the top five.” Paul Risbridger, Team Manager: “Despite perhaps not getting the results we deserved, it has been a strong weekend for us. Tom qualifying on the front row was great and I’m disappointed that he had some problems which prevented him getting a good result. Joan has been plugging away all weekend and to see him dicing with the likes of last year’s runner up Leon Haslam is encouraging.” The next round takes place at Assen on 17th April. More, from a press release issued by Infront Motor Sports: Melandri and Checa share the biggest spoils at Donington Donington (UK), Sunday 27 March 2011 The two riders who won races at Donington today, Carlos Checa and Marco Melandri, are the two who leave at the head of the championship chase, with Checa now on 91 points and Melandri on 72. Superpole winner Checa (Althea Racing Ducati) used his experience to change his rear tyre choice for race two and improve from a third place to be a clear winner, while Melandri (Yamaha World Superbike Team) made two great recoveries from a third row start to post a win and a second place. Jakub Smrz (Effenbert Liberty Racing Ducati) nearly won the first race, with the local fans having something to cheer about as Leon Camier (Aprilia Alitalia) went third in race two, to make up for a hard first round in Australia that was badly affected by illness. 2010 World Champion Max Biaggi (Aprilia Alitalia) had his drama-laden weekend turn into a mini-crisis as he finished only seventh in race one, and was excluded from race two after jump starting and failing to come in for a ride-through penalty. In the overall championship third place belongs to Leon Haslam (BMW Motorrad Motorsport) on 53 points after two fourths today, while Biaggi has 49 points in fourth overall. Race 1 New rider to WSBK racing Melandri took only three races to record his first win, finally overhauling long time leader Smrz to win by 2.455 seconds. The last podium place went to Checa after he passed local hero Haslam with two corners to go. Jonathan Rea (Castrol Honda) scored fifth and Noriyuki Haga (Pata Racing Aprilia) was sixth, one place up on the factory bike of Biaggi. A potentially great finish for Tom Sykes and his Kawasaki Racing Team Superbike machine ended in a crash at the redesigned Esses section, but the home crowd were to have a podium star to cheer for in race two. Marco Melandri: “It has been an awesome race for me, very tough and at the start many guys were very aggressive. I kept my rhythm and when I got on my own I caught Camier and some others then it took some time to get to Haslam. After that it was only a few laps to go and Kuba was pretty far ahead. I just kept the best pace I could and in the end Smrz’s pace was gone and I passed him. We missed a little bit of top speed but the package was very balanced, we won and I had a lot of fun.” Jakub Smrz: “Of course I am disappointed to not win the race but it was really nice and I am back on the podium, which is important. The feeling all the race was very good and the bike was perfect, in the end my rear tyre was gone and I could not push any more. Marco passed me and I did not want to risk anything in the end.” Carlos Checa: “I had some issues with the rear tyre grip at the beginning of the race, and I lost some positions, touched with other riders and it ended up as one of my most exciting races from the back to the front. Finally I arrived to Haslam after I had pushed to my maximum and I passed him when I had the opportunity. It was the last lap and I got third position.” Results: 1. Melandri M. (ITA) Yamaha YZF R1 34’33.189 (160,673 kph); 2. Smrz J. (CZE) Ducati 1098R 2.455; 3. Checa C. (ESP) Ducati 1098R 5.839; 4. Haslam L. (GBR) BMW S1000 RR 6.176; 5. Rea J. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 9.039; 6. Haga N. (JPN) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 9.215; 7. Biaggi M. (ITA) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 9.960; 8. Camier L. (GBR) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 14.860; 9. Corser T. (AUS) BMW S1000 RR 14.877; 10. Lascorz J. (ESP) Kawasaki ZX-10R 16.182; 11. Guintoli S. (FRA) Ducati 1098R 25.820; 12. Xaus R. (ESP) Honda CBR1000RR 28.378; 13. Badovini A. (ITA) BMW S1000 RR 31.869; 14. Rolfo R. (ITA) Kawasaki ZX-10R 40.015; 15. Aitchison M. (AUS) Kawasaki ZX-10R 1’00.128; etc. Race 2 Checa controlled race two from the early laps and won by 3.397 seconds from race one victor Melandri. Camier was a contender for second for long periods, before Melandri upped the pace and left him behind. Another Leon, this time Haslam went fourth for the second time today, despite running off track at one point. Joan Lascorz (Kawasaki Racing Team) was a great fifth on the new ZX-10R machine, despite not yet being at full fitness. With Rea sixth for Honda and race one retiree Michel Fabrizio (Suzuki Alstare) seventh in race two there were seven different manufacturers represented in the top seven places, proving how competitive the 2011 season is after only two rounds. Carlos Checa: “It is a fantastic beginning to the season, especially this victory in Donington, which is something special. Basically we decided to put on a different tyre with better grip at the beginning, so now I was stable and had good grip. At the end the tyre dropped down a little but it was good enough. Everybody knows what happened here to me many years ago, when I lost something so now I’m quite satisfied to win at Donington!” Marco Melandri: “It was a pretty good race for me. Leon was very fast, about 50% of the race I was coughing in my helmet and finding it hard to breathe so I lost my concentration. After that I recovered, I did my best and passed Leon again but Carlos was just too fast for me.” Leon Camier: “I can’t believe it’s happened. I started the year with glandular fever, which got me down a bit after all the hard work over the winter and to come here and get a podium at my home race is absolutely awesome. In the first race we had a few problems with the settings, so we changed it for the second one and it seemed to work well. It was a good battle with Marco, he was very strong, but to get third place is great.” Results: 1. Checa C. (ESP) Ducati 1098R 34’21.537 (161,581 kph); 2. Melandri M. (ITA) Yamaha YZF R1 3.397; 3. Camier L. (GBR) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 5.902; 4. Haslam L. (GBR) BMW S1000 RR 13.842; 5. Lascorz J. (ESP) Kawasaki ZX-10R 14.253; 6. Rea J. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 19.413; 7. Fabrizio M. (ITA) Suzuki GSX-R1000 20.278; 8. Smrz J. (CZE) Ducati 1098R 21.160; 9. Badovini A. (ITA) BMW S1000 RR 24.298; 10. Xaus R. (ESP) Honda CBR1000RR 24.907; 11. Guintoli S. (FRA) Ducati 1098R 32.440; 12. Sykes T. (GBR) Kawasaki ZX-10R 32.679; 13. Corser T. (AUS) BMW S1000 RR 34.070; 14. Laverty E. (IRL) Yamaha YZF R1 36.418; 15. Rolfo R. (ITA) Kawasaki ZX-10R 44.037; 16. Aitchison M. (AUS) Kawasaki ZX-10R 52.412; etc. Points (after 2 rounds of 13): 1. Checa 91; 2. Melandri 72; 3. Haslam 53; 4. Biaggi 49; 5. Smrz 42; 6. Rea 38; 7. Camier 37; 8. Fabrizio 27; 9. Haga 26; 10. Sykes 19; etc. Manufacturers: 1. Ducati 95; 2. Yamaha 74; 3. Aprilia 66; 4. BMW 53; 5. Honda 38; 6. Kawasaki 32; 7. Suzuki 27. More, from a press release issued by Pata Racing Team: Noriyuki Haga and the PATA Racing team are the protagonist of a great race 1, that show the japanese rider end up at the sixth place after a fight for the podium. a duel that Nitro Nori wanted to take part to even during the second manche but a “way-along” at the fouth lap put him out of the games. Back on track on last place with almost one minute late from the others he ended the race to gain useful informations and to prepare the next round. At the green light of race 1 Haga was able to slip into the right way getting the second position snatched out from Leon Camier. But Haga didn’t give himself up striking the best lap of the race, then at the fifth one he did attack with the brand mate. He was overtaken by Smrz and Sykes losing a few seconds that after half of the race he immediately gained back getting himself in the head-groud fighting for the podium. Then Sykes fall stopped the fight forcing the riders to loose a few second’s fraction to avoid his bike. At that point Haga fight until the end for the fifth place with Rea that preceded the Yamaha rider only for two tenths’ fractions. Noriyuki Haga – Aprilia RSV4R #41 – “During the firsts laps of race 1 I’ve been efficent, but unfortunately later due to some forearm ache I couldn’t express myself at my best to fight for the podium. Is the first time during my whole career that happen to have this pain and now I have some time to solve it and show myself at the top at the next round. Compared with Australia we did a good step forward and we are trustful to do the same in Assen. During race 2 while I was into the fight with the head-group I went along because I wasn’t in gear. I put it back but once on the grass the bike laid down. The race was compromised but I decided to finish it to grow experience with this bike and check the changes between race 1 and 2.” Marco Borciani – team manager – “We’ve been constantly between the firsts both during qualifying and race 1. We can’t be disappointed even though now our goal for the next round is to improve ourselves in every way.” More, from a press release issued by BMW Motorrad Motorsport: Weather conditions: Cloudy, but dry. Temperature: Air: 7 10 °C, Track: 6 16 °C Number of riders participating: 19 from 12 teams Fastest lap Race 1: Noriyuki Haga (PATA Racing Team Aprilia) 1:29.137 min Fastest lap Race 2: Carlos Checa (Althea Racing) 1:28.988 min Team BMW Motorrad Motorsport had an exciting Sunday at the second round of the 2011 FIM Superbike World Championship in Donington (GBR). In the riders’ championship British works rider, Leon Haslam, improved to third (53 points) after notching up two fourth positions. Troy Corser (AUS) moved up to 13th (16 points). In the manufacturers’ standings BMW is fourth (53 points). In race 1 Leon missed the podium by only 0.3 seconds. Starting second, he took the lead straight away and kept it until lap six. Later on he had some issues, but was still third starting the final lap. Just a few corners before the finish Leon dropped back to fourth. Troy made up some positions at the start, but struggled with low grip and finally finished ninth. At the start of race 2 Leon again stormed into the lead, and in the opening laps he had a thrilling fight at the front. But on lap eight he had a highsider and fell back. Right to the chequered flag Leon was fighting his way back through the field and made it to fourth. Troy finished another difficult race 13th. Leon Haslam: Result Race 1: 4th, Gap to 1st: 00:06.176 min / Fastest Lap Race 1: 1:29.584 min Result Race 2: 4th, Gap to 1st: 00:13.842 min / Fastest Lap Race 2: 1:29.365 min “It has again been a hard fought weekend for us, but we have definitely made clear improvements from Australia. In race 1 we had some issues, which were similar to those I experienced in Phillip Island, so we made some changes for the second race and it was a real improvement, especially in the second half. I made a mistake in the early laps of race 2, which dropped me back a number of places, but I was happy I was able to fight back and finish strong. We will now work hard to be ready for Assen.” Troy Corser: Result Race 1: 9th, Gap to 1st: 00:14.877 min / Fastest Lap Race 1: 1:29.695 min Result Race 2: 13th, Gap to 1st: 00:34.070 min / Fastest Lap Race 2: 1:30.278 min “We have improved the bike in some areas since Phillip Island, which is good, but we are still encountering some issues that we need to address. We are struggling with too much spin from the rear tyre, and it’s making it hard to set consistent times. The bike felt more settled and easier to ride with the changes we have made, but we are still having issues. We have a test coming up so hopefully we can make some good progress there and be ready for Assen.” Bernhard Gobmeier (BMW Motorrad Motorsport Director): “It was very exciting. We were able to do good lap times in practice, qualifying, Superpole and the warm-up. In the races Leon had issues trying to push to the limit. He was not able to keep the line he wanted to, but he was able to fight his way back after his highsider. We are happy he has improved to third in the riders’ classification and know the areas where we have to improve. Troy suffered all weekend from a lack of grip, which was partly due to the cool temperatures. With these conditions we were not able to get the best out of his tyres. Now we are looking forward to Assen. We will use the experiences we gained in Donington to make another step forward.” More, from a press release issued by Althea Racing: CHECA (ALTHEA RACING) CONSOLIDATES HIS CHAMPIONSHIP LEAD WITH A STUNNING RACE WIN AT DONINGTON PARK Donington Park (UK), Sunday 27th March 2011: the second round of the World Superbike Championship took place today at Donington Park and Carlos Checa and the Althea Racing team were once again protagonists, taking home 41 valuable points thanks to a third place finish in Race 1 and an amazing win in Race 2! Race 1 although starting from pole, a lack of feeling with the rear tyre caused Carlos to lose numerous positions through the first corners and he found himself down in eleventh place by the end of lap one. Finding his rhythm as time went on, he chased down the large and tightly packed leading group, passing first Corser, then Rea and also Camier. Althea Racing’s flagbearer was up to fourth place by lap 19 but, with only four laps remaining, the three second gap between him and third placed Haslam seemed like it would be hard to close. Carlos was however not put off, and his determination saw him pick up the pace for the final push; he completed the last three laps in under 1m30, lapping roughly a second faster than Haslam on the BMW, and passed the Brit in specatacular style on the very last lap. Race 2 considering the problems experienced at the start of Race 1, Carlos and his technicians opted for the softer tyre solution for race 2. The track temperature was slightly higher compared to the morning’s race and Carlos got away in much more determined fashion this time around. Immediately up in second, he quickly got past Haslam to take the lead and from there he maintained an extremely fast pae, managing his advantage and continuing to increase the gap between him and the chasing pack. Even though tyre wear became something of an issue during the final stages, Checa controlled the situation and crossed the line in first place, with a 3.3 second advantage over Melandri (Yamaha) in second. Carlos Checa “In Race 1 I was struggling at the start, I didn’t have feeling with the rear tyre and as a result I lost a lot of positions. But I have to say it was one of the most exciting races of my career, so many riders touching, crashing, everything! After the first laps I was able to build up a good rhythm and start moving up through the pack one rider at a time. It wasn’t easy but I pushed hard and then two laps from the end I realised that I could maybe get past Haslam too for third. I’m really happy because I didn’t think I’d get from 11th on lap one to the podium. We made the decision to use the hard tyre solution for the race and even thought we paid for this at the start it turned out to be the right decision in the end. We opted for the softer tyre in race two; we knew it would be very high performing although a bit less so towards the end of the race. It remained pretty consistent but towards the end I had to change my riding a little to manage the situation. My strategy was to get to the front, built up a bit of a lead and then manage that lead and today everything worked perfectly. It was great to win at Phillip Island but today meant even more to me. A lot of people may remember what happened to me here many years ago; that day I lost something here but today I can say that I found it again.” Genesio Bevilacqua, General Manager of Althea Racing “What a great performance, a great job by the team and a great job by Carlos who can adapt even to more difficult tracks like Donington. This circuit represented an enormous hurdle for him after the terrible accident he suffered during 1998’s MotoGP race and so today he could finally put this behind him. I thank him for believing in us and our advice. The performance today once again confirms the fact that we have a very solid package bike, rider and team and we will continue to fight for the title. It’s still early and the championship is long but we are on the right road. I would like to thank all of our sponsors for supporting us and Ducati for having provided such great material. Finally I thank everyone who has believed and continues to believe in a small but passionate team like ours.” More, from a press release issued by Team Suzuki Alstare: 2011 Superbike World Championship Round 2, Donington, GB Crowd: 51,000 (3-day). Circuit: 4.023 kms. Conditions: Dry, overcast, 7-10C (air), 6-16C (track) Sunday 27th March MICHEL REBOUNDS TO TAKE SUPERB SEVENTH. After being forced to DNF in the first race at Donington today, Team Suzuki Alstare rider Michel Fabrizio rebounded superbly to take a gritty seventh in the second 23-lapper. If it had not have been for a third row grid position and a poor start, Michel would’ve been able to challenge for third spot, but the Italian at least was able to enjoy the race – unlike race one. In that, a slide going into Coppice corner forced Michel into the gravel, but fortunately he was able to keep the bike upright and not crash. He got the bike back to the pits, where the team changed the rear from a hard to a medium. His first lap on the new tyre was a good one and the second was not too bad, but by lap three there was no grip at all. Because he was having difficulty controlling the bike and also did not want to crash, he pulled out of the race. The conditions today were almost as bad as yesterday, but the wind was less so it didn’t feel quite as cold. Marco Melandri (Yamaha) won the first race, with Jakub Smrz (Ducati) second and Carlos Checa (Ducati) third. Checa then comfortably won race two – to make it three wins out of four- with Melandri second and Leon Camier (Aprilia) third. Michel – Race 1: DNF, Race 2: 7th Today was a bit mixed, but I was happy with my performance in race two and I really enjoyed all the fights I had in that one. It’s just a shame about the first race. I’m not exactly sure what happened. All I know was that suddenly I had no rear grip at all going into Coppice. I went into the gravel, but managed not to crash. I thought there was something wrong with the rear tyre, so I pitted and changed the rear to a medium. My first lap was in the 1:30s, the second was pretty good also, but the third was way off the pace. From then, it got worse. I was dead last with no chance of catching anybody and, because I didn’t feel safe carrying on, I pulled into the pits. When we looked at the rear tyre, it was completely destroyed. I didn’t make the best of starts in race two and when you are on the third row of the grid, good starts are needed. I was 14th at the end of the first lap and then I began to fight my way up. I improved my position lap by lap and had some great battles with Xaus, Biaggi, Corser and Smrz. At the end Rea was not far ahead of me and I thoughjt I could catch him, but I ran out of laps and finished seventh, which is not so bad from the third row of the grid. Who knows what might have happened if I had managed to get off the line better, but I was happy enough with my performance. More, from a press release issued by Castrol Honda: Top six for Rea at Donington Castrol Honda’s Jonathan Rea was not entirely satisfied with the fifth and sixth place finishes he achieved in today’s two second-round World Superbike championship races at Donington Park in the UK but believes they were the best he could achieve. This afternoon’s two 23-lap races at the 4.023km (2.5 mile) Donington circuit were won by Marco Melandri and championship leader Carlos Checa, as Rea’s Castrol Honda team-mate, Ruben Xaus, took another top ten finish in race two. Opting for the harder rear tyre in race one, Rea was involved in a number of battles but ran across the Esses on lap eleven, dropping back to ninth place before fighting his way back to fifth at the flag. His crew adjusted the engine mapping on his Honda CBR1000RR for the second outing to provide more punch out of Donington’s hairpin at turn 11, but it wasn’t enough to improve traction and Rea was forced to settle for sixth. Xaus, too, struggled in Donington’s stop-go Melbourne loop section, which contains two hairpins and, with the harder rear to guarantee race distance, the Spaniard could only manage 12th place in race one. He opted for the softer tyre option in the second outing and enjoyed battles for seventh and eighth places before dramatically losing grip towards the end. Jonathan Rea 5th and 6th We got through the weekend OK but five and six is not what we came here for and, by my own standards, “OK” is not good enough. I’ve tried my best all weekend but I got duffed up a bit in race one and maybe could’ve finished a bit higher. In race two, I didn’t make any mistakes and rode as well as I could so it was frustrating when the other guys came past. They seemed to be able to ride away from me quite easily while I was on the maximum. We tried to use the softer tyre during the weekend but it tore u p after ten or 12 laps so I’m not sure if it would have made any difference. We’ve got some work to do, I think especially on the electronics side of things to get driveability off slower corners. Luckily for us, Assen hasn’t got the stop-go slower section that we have here, so I’m looking forward to getting there for a bit of flow. At the end of the day we were sort of ‘on par’ here, but we need to be better than that, especially at this stage in the season. We don’t want the guys at the front to be opening this much of a gap, so we need to be on it from the next round. Ruben Xaus 12th and 10th We went for the harder tyre in race one for safety reasons but I’m not a big lover of hard tyres and I don’t really have enough experience with the bike yet. It was also really cold and I was struggling for a good feeling with the front brake and the gas. We’ve come fro m Australia, where it was much warmer, I had a month off the bike, and then we come here where it’s been cold, so it’s not been easy. I just wanted to learn in race one and get some points. In race two I went with the A tyre, the one I like that allows me to play a bit more with the bike. I didn’t have such a good start and I think if I could have gone with Lascorz maybe seventh would be my position. I saw Jonathan with five laps to go and wanted to get behind him to have the two Castrol Hondas coming in together. But the tyre was by then destroyed and I got passed by three or four riders, so I had to just keep the tyre together to get home. At the end of this weekend I have had four races, four finishes with points and I’m getting closer to the top guys and my team-mate, so I will take that happily to Assen. Ronald ten Kate team manager Of course we can’t be happy with the results we’ve had here. All weekend we’ve been struggling in that last sector and we weren’t able to fix the bike to improve that situation. On the positive side, we have Assen coming next, which is fast and flowing and will suit our bike a lot better. We have to look into the problems we’ve had here and try to address them. In the second race, Ruben had the soft tyre which proved to be a good choice and he was able to run nearer the front for another solid finish. He has gelled with the bike more here and is having some fun riding, which always helps. Jonathan’s tyre in race two just gave him a bit less grip than we expected and this made his problems a bit bigger because he could hardly stay with the front guys in the first three sectors and was then losing more in the slower section. We’re not happy, but we’re confident that we’re going to do better at our home round. More, from a press release issued by Honda: WORLD SUPERBIKE AND SUPERSPORT WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND TWO SUNDAY MARCH 27 DONINGTON PARK, EUROPEAN ROUND Weather: dry, overcast, cold Temperature: Ambient 7/10 degrees C / Track 6/16 degrees C Attendance: 51,500 all weekend REA TOP FIVE AT HIS FIRST HOME ROUND OF THE YEAR Jonathan Rea (Castrol Honda CBR1000RR) started each 23-lap Donington World Superbike race from eighth place on the grid and improved on this in each race, going fifth in race one and sixth in race two. Marco Melandri (Yamaha) and Carlos Checa (Ducati) took a win apiece, with Jakub Smrz (Ducati) almost the winner in race one, and Leon Camier (Aprilia) third in race two. Checa was third in race one, Melandri second in race two. In the first outing of the day Rea pushed on to finish fifth, nine seconds from the winner, after a race long-battle with a variety of riders, in particular Max Biaggi and eventual sixth place rider Noriyuki Haga. During the race Jonathan had been as low as ninth, as some top riders disputed almost every metre of track for all 23-laps. Ruben Xaus (Castrol Honda) was 12th in the first race, clicking off laps and scoring points despite having a less than ideal tyre choice for the extremely cold track conditions. Ruben had qualified 16th, the last rider to make it into the new look Superpole. In the second race, with the track temperature raised by ten degrees, Rea finished sixth and Xaus tenth, only five seconds behind Rea. Ruben had chosen a softer tyre to handle the slightly higher track temperatures and it paid off, giving him his second top ten finish of the season so far. Checa now leads the championship on 91 points, Melandri is second on 72 and Leon Haslam is third for BMW, on 53 points. Rea is still sixth overall, now on 38 points after two rounds and four individual races. Ruben moved up one place to 12th overall, on 16 points. The next round is at Assen, on Sunday 17 April. Honda rider comments: Jonathan Rea (Castrol Honda CBR1000RR) Race result: 5th / 6th. Championship position: 6th “Two points scores and a top five but the results are not what I was looking for, it’s not where we want to be. I feel like something is missing, and the bike requires a lot more rider input, especially with the throttle. I need a little bit more support when I am on the circuit. When some other riders came past they seemed to have more driveability, so I struggled with that a bit today. We were also working to turn in better in some slower corners but basically the bike is so fast it causes a bit of upset sometimes. I have not put my Donington woes behind me and jumped on the podium box yet, but onwards and upwards. We know we are quite strong at Assen and have good data for that track.” Ruben Xaus ­ (Castrol Honda CBR1000RR) Race result: 12th / 10th. Championship position: 14th “Now we have had four races and I have had four finishes, and each time is better, closer to the top, and closing the gap to my team-mate with the same bike. It was not the best weekend for the bike itself so I need to take that into consideration. I showed up a little today, made big slides and passes, and race two was better than the first. I was asked to use the harder tyre for the first race, which was run in cool conditions. I could not play with the bike, so I could not go fast. In race two I chose a softer tyre and attacked, but I had not so good a start. Without that I could have gone away with some faster riders and maybe got a better result.” GINO REA ON THE PODIUM FOR HONDA AT HIS HOME ROUND Step Racing Honda rider Gino Rea took a podium finish against the odds as he secured third place at his home round in Donington. He rode hard and aggressively despite a left thumb injury picked up in the previous round in Australia, but he could do nothing about runaway race winner Luca Scassa (Yamaha) or second place rider Chaz Davies (Yamaha). Gino had been down in sixth place mid-race, until some riders either broke down or ran off track, allowing him to take third and keep it for the last seven laps. Robbin Harms (Harms Benjan Racing Honda) survived some scary moments, including a tough duel with Rea and an off-track excursion to finish fourth in the race. He now sits third in the championship, the top ranked Honda rider, with 24 points. He had qualified seventh and was a contender for the podium places for long periods of the race. The championship leader is Scassa on 50 points, with Kawasaki man Broc Parkes on 31 points after he scored fifth today. Florian Marino (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda) took eighth place despite an early scare, with Alexander Lundh (Cresto Guide Racing Team Honda) tenth and well in the points. Marino had qualified ninth, Lundh 15th. Miguel Praia (Parkalgar Honda), like many of his peers, survived a fast practice crash on the left-hander down Craner Curves to post an 11th place finish. He had been a lowly 20th on the grid and showed grit as well as pace to recover lots of ground on race-day in what was another dramatic WSS event all round. Ondrej Jezek (SMS Racing Honda) and Balazs Nemeth (Team Hungary Toth Honda) finished in the points, in 13th and 14th place respectively. Third place qualifier Sam Lowes (Parkalgar Honda) and second row starter James Ellison (Bogdanka PTR Honda) were each forced out of potential podium finishes by clutch slip problems, with neither able to complete the race. Ellison finally stopped on the penultimate lap, having nursed his machine around since he dropped from third place on lap eight. Lowes set the new lap record on lap six, 1’31.094, but retired on lap 14. Fabien Foret (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda) was forced to miss the Donington race after re-injuring his middle and right ring finger in a Friday crash. He had an operation on Friday, his third in the past month, this time to screw together a fractured knuckle on his ring finger back into position. It allowed him to ride again this weekend but it was decided he should not race quite yet, to be back to near full fitness at the next round in Assen. Despite all his problems he had qualified 12th. Honda rider comments: Gino Rea (Step Racing Team Honda) Race result: 3rd ­ Championship position: 7th “We got a bit lucky but that is racing. We went into the race so blind and had lost so much time in practice. We just wanted to get into the race and get some points in the bag after the DNF at Phillip Island. I do not know what to say about ending up third, this is just amazing. Huge thanks to the team for all the hard work they have done this weekend, and they picking things up from some low points this weekend. I feel just great.” Robbin Harms (Benjan Racing Team Honda) CBR600RR Race result: 4th. Championship position: 3rd “I am the lead Honda rider in the championship, which is nice, but I wanted the podium more! It is a shame to miss out on the top three, but I just went wide in one corner and I had to run through the gravel, dropped to sixth and fought back to fifth then fourth. I was catching the podium again too. I had the podium in my hands today but still I am happy about the work we did and this is the best result for my team.” Florian Marino (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda) CBR600RR Race result: 8th. Championship position: 6th “I expected it to be a hard weekend and that’s what it has been. We found a good balance in qualifying and the bike felt OK, but we used a different tyre today and it wasn’t the same feeling in warm-up. I couldn’t gas as quickly as I wanted because the grip level was not so good. My start was not so bad but I nearly highsided out of turn 11 on the first two laps and very nearly crashed in the first one and banged my arms quite a bit. I tried to follow the guys in front but couldn’t push so hard without the risk of crashing, so I thought I would bring the bike home as fast as I could to get some points.” Miguel Praia (Parkalgar Honda) CBR600RR Race result: 11th. Championship position: 15th “That was a strange race with riders falling off and engines blowing up in front of me – I had to take avoiding action both times. Then I settled down and we started making some good lap times that we knew we were capable of. In the last five laps my tyre was gone but I kept riding hard and from 20th on the grid I am happy with 11th as the result. More importantly we know we have good pace and this is something to take to the next round and build on.” Sam Lowes (Parkalgar Honda) CBR600RR Race result: DNF. Championship position: 8th “I got boxed in at the start and after that I wanted to ease into the race. I made some good moves to get up there near the front. I was catching the leaders steadily and I felt I was going to get with them but when the clutch went I tried to adjust it at first but then I had to pull in.” James Ellison (Bogdanka PTR Honda) CBR600RR Race result: DNF. Championship position: 11th “My clutch went but I tried to keep going. With about nine laps to go I started dropping off but I tried to nurse it back. If I kept it below a certain rpm it would still drive. But on the approach to the very last lap I had to pull in. I just wanted a few points for the championship.” Fabien Foret (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda) CBR600RR Race result: DNS ­ Championship position: No score “I have a big problem with my hand and it is the throttle hand. Last night they put two screws in one bone of my finger because it was an open fracture, and one piece was gone. Basically I can ride but not fast enough to race. I am now working to be ready to race and race well at Assen.” More, from a press release issued by Alitalia Aprilia: DIFFICULT WEEKEND FOR APRILIA ALITALIA RACING TEAM AT DONINGTON PARK. EXCELLENT PERFORMANCE BY LEON CAMIER, ON THE PODIUM IN RACE 2, CONTRASTED BY TWO UPHILL RACES FOR REIGNING CHAMPION MAX BIAGGI. Donington Park (UK), 27 March 2011 The two races on the English track at Donington Park demonstrated all of the difficulties and treachery of a difficult world championship such as WSBK to the reigning world champion Italian team. Race 1 saw both Aprilia Alitalia Racing Team riders off to a good start from the second row, so much so that Leon Camier found himself battling for the podium until the halfway point. Max Biaggi, on the other hand, was troubled by a series of small mistakes which kept him from catching up the leading group, finishing the race in seventh place just ahead of his team mate. “ª The second race became an immediate uphill battle for the world champion, with a false start and therefore, by regulation, a compulsory ride-through. Preoccupied with his attempts to mount a comeback, Max didn’t see the boards and had to return to the pit disqualified, bringing his weekend to an early close. Leon Camier, on the other hand, battled with the front runners, maintaining a consistent pace after a good start, reaching second place behind Checa. After a winning battle with Marco Melandri, a probably wear on the brakes kept him from being able to fight it out down to the last turn for the second place position. The third step final result is in any case encouraging for the season to come. “I realised that I had moved on the grid were Max’s first words after race 2 so I was well aware that my race had been compromised. I tried to push right away to recover, but I lost my concentration because of that mistake, losing several positions. Unfortunately I didn’t see the boards when you’re in the pack that can happen. I’m extremely sorry for the Team, two results below expectations that must not ruin the good that has been done thus far. To the contrary, this is the time when we need to be united, learning even from these bad days. The season is long, we’ll have the opportunity to make amends”. Leon Camier was visibly satisfied with his fourth podium astride the Aprilia RSV4: “It was truly a good weekend for me, after the rough start in Australia. It’s hard after doing so much preparation during the winter not be in the best conditions then for the start of the season. Fortunately I was feeling well right from the start here. I worked well with my Team to prepare for these two races and the results prove it. It was a shame that in Race 2 a small problem with the brakes kept me from making a play for it with Marco Melandri, but that doesn’t ruin the joy of third place. I’d like to thank my Team, obviously, as well as my good friend Keith Code who helped me out a lot”. More, from a press release issued by Kawasaki: Best Result Yet For New Ninja ZX-10R And Lascorz Joan Lascorz and Tom Sykes each ran at a competitive pace at Donington Park this weekend, with Lascorz posting a fifth place in the second race to secure the best single result of the season so far. Lascorz, starting from 12th place in each race, was unable to make a strong push in race one because of the mix of tyre choice and track temperature, plus arm pump in his right forearm. He still finished in a more than respectable tenth. His run to fifth in race two wowed the onlookers at the English circuit, after he had been able to make a better tyre choice in the slightly warmer track conditions. The locals were highly vocal in their support of Tom Sykes, who has sent them into raptures on Saturday by qualifying third. He was sitting in a confident top four position in race one when he fell at the remodelled Esses section. In race two Tom was not able to use his favoured machine after his earlier crash and he was unable to match his best pace from race one. He finished 12th and is now tenth in the championship, one place ahead of his team-mate Lascorz. Roby Rolfo and Mark Aithchison from Team Pedercini each scored points today, with Aitchison scoring his first of the year in race one. The next round at Assen should see the return of the third official Kawasaki rider, Chris Vermeulen, who practiced at Donington but did not race. Joan Lascorz: “Things were better in the second race than the first. I made a change for the second race and from the beginning the bike was very easy and the tyre did not want to spin so much. The team did a good job so I am very happy to take a fifth place. It was also easier for me to ride in the second race, despite my old shoulder injury, because my physical trainer worked on it, loosened it up and I had no arm pump in race two. There has obviously been a big improvement since Australia. Two races in the points and a top five, not a bad end to the weekend.” Tom Sykes: “Not what I was expecting going into the day after a front row start. I was quietly confident of coming away with top three or top four results. Race one was going to plan but I had a bit of an issue and it was mainly my mistake that I had a crash at the Esses while lying fourth on lap 18. I was still looking forward to race two, but I had to use the spare bike, which wasn’t in the script. Things did not go to plan again but I got tipped into on lap one, and didn’t really have anywhere to go, lost some ground and I finished 12th. I look forward to Assen now and I think we have done good positive work this weekend in any case.” More, from a press release issued by Yamaha: Spectacular First Race Victory for Marco Melandri Spectacular First Race Victory for Marco Melandri Yamaha World Superbike rider Marco Melandri provided an extraordinary performance today in Donington Park delivering his first race victory and second podium of the 2011 season. Melandri got straight down to business in race one, working his way through the pack to secure a well-deserved first win of his WSBK career. With a less than perfect third row and ninth position start off the grid, he skillfully closed in on his adversaries, taking him into second position by lap 17. He overtook Jakob Smrz to take the lead with just two laps to go to the chequered flag. Melandri proved to be just as determined and consistent in race two, moving up to third just five laps into the race and proceeding to battle his way through for second on the podium. Fellow Teammate Eugene Laverty was less fortunate in race one however and suffered a significant crash on turn eight of the fourth lap. Laverty was able to jump back on his bike in race two and complete the race in the points. Marco Melandri heads to round three of the 2011 WSBK Championship in Assen second on the overall standings with 72 points, just 19 points behind Carlos Checa. Teammate Laverty holds 16 points and is in 12th position. Yamaha are currently second in the Manufacturers standings with a total of 74 points. Marco Melandri, Yamaha World Superbike Team 1st, 2nd “I had a great win in race one. I was just behind a very aggressive bunch of riders so I had to work hard to keep my rhythm and push through. I managed to close in on Smrz with five laps to go and take my first win. Race two was a little more difficult. I was suffering from a head cold and lost concentration a little mid way. I am very pleased to be on the podium again. We have been working very hard in preparation for today’s races and we did very well, I had a lot of fun and I think we proved that we have a very good package. I’m looking forward to the rest of the season. Thanks to Yamaha, my team and my sponsors.” Eugene Laverty, Yamaha World Superbike Team DNF, 14th “Not a good day today. The race one crash was bizarre; I don’t really know what happened. I almost crashed in the corner before and lost a little bit of confidence afterwards. Race two started well but I had to push really hard. We still haven’t found the right settings for me; we need to fine tune to suit my riding style. I know I’ve got potential, so do the bike and the team, we just need to work hard to combine it all. ” Yamaha World Superbike Team Manager – Andrea Dosoli “This was a fantastic result for Marco, he provided a very impressive first race. He proved yet again to be a very talented rider, overtaking the pack from so far back and winning. I’ve always been sure that we have a competitive package and today Marco confirmed this. He had to push very hard in race two and had difficulty closing in on Checa. We need to improve on qualifying results in order to get a better position on the grid and avoid the handicap of starting so far back. We decided to keep exactly the same set up and tyre choice between the two races, the decision clearly paid off. I’m extremely sorry for Eugene. He suffered quite a bad crash in race one but thankfully was not hurt. He had difficulty delivering the results we’d hoped for in race two, I believe he has a lot of potential and can be much faster. We need to work hard with him in order demonstrate what he’s made of. Overall it was very difficult to race in such extreme weather conditions as in race one. I’m looking forward to Assen where I strongly believe we can show how competitive the bike is and have both our riders in the top where they they should be.” More, from a press release issued by Team Pedercini: Cold and cloudy weather, but a dry track surface today at Donington Park for the second round of the World Superbike Championship. Team Pedercini’s riders worked hard with their technicians to make some last minute adjustments to the Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10R bikes during the morning warm-up, in order to be ready for the races. Due to their difficult qualifying session yesterday, Mark Aitchison and Roberto Rolfo lined up on the fifth row of the grid. In race one, and having made a good start, Rolfo and Aitchison were unable to find good race pace due to some setting problems, meaning that they finished in fourteenth and fifteenth position respectively, collecting a total of three championship points. In race two, the riders and the team’s technical staff decided to make extensive changes to both the bikes. The new solutions helped the bikes’ overall performance but were not enough to give the riders the right feeling so as to be able to fight against the fastest riders. Rolfo obtained the fifteenth position while Aitchison closed in sixteenth. Superbike Race one : 1) Melandri (Yamaha) 2) Smrz Ducati) 3) Checa (Ducati) 4) Haslam (BMW) – 5) Rea (Honda) “¦. 14) Rolfo (Kawasaki) 15) Aitchison (Kawasaki) Superbike Race two: 1) Checa (Ducati) 2) Melandri (BMW ) 3) Camier (Aprilia) 4) Haslam (BMW) 5) Lascorz (Kawasaki) “¦. 15) Rolfo (Kawasaki) 16) Aitchison (Kawasaki) Roberto Rolfo: “Of course I’m not satisfied with my results today even though I collected three points for the championship. In race one it was really very difficult for me to ride my bike with worn tyres. I was not able to keep up my race pace and I lost contact with the riders in front of me. For race two we decided to make extensive changes to the bike and because of this decision the first laps of the second race were very difficult too. I lost some time understanding how best to control my Kawasaki, but then from mid-race I was able to increase my pace and I think it was a good solution. We’ll start working on this new set up at the next round in Assen. I want to thank my whole team. They are doing a fantastic job especially considering the short time we’ve had”. Mark Aitchison: “Today was a day that has been very difficult. In both races we experimented with slightly different geometry setting to find a better direction and feeling, but unfortunately we have not found the best solution at this point. During the weekend it was important for us to test some new solution and to collect valuable data for the future races. I enjoyed my second race and look forward to improving our position for the upcoming races in Assen. I would like to thank my team for working so hard over the entire weekend”. More, from a press release issued by Liberty Racing Team Effenbert: PODIUM ….!!!!! Finally, after the bad luck in Phillip Island, the Liberty Racing Team Effenbert showed that they have the strength to race for the victory … Today, Sunday, March 27 were held in Donington in England the two races of the Grand Prix of Europe of the World Superbike Championship 2011. In Race 1, Jakub Smrz maintained, after the start,the position obtained in Superpole, and then, in few laps, he managed to overtake the riders ahead of him and take the lead. The pace kept by the Czech rider was very fast for many laps when he continued to gain ground on his pursuers. Unfortunately,the Italian champion Marco Melandri, riding a Yamaha, using a drop of our rear tire grip in the last laps, managed to catch first and later overtake Smrz, which in anyway finished the race in second place, which is the best result of his career, his first podium finish for the team and proving to have finally achieved the condition and maturity that can help him fight in each race for the Superpole and for the victory. The third place was for another Ducati rider, the spanish Carlos Checa-Team Ducati Racing Althea. The result obtained by Smrz in race two was also positive, although not as exciting as the morning. In fact, due to a start that has been less positive and above all to a technical problem with the clutch, he couldn´t manage to find the rhythm of the morninghe and could not fight for the podium anymore, finishing the race in eighth position. For the records, the afternoon race was won by Carlos Checa, ahead of Marco Melandri and of the British rider Leon Camier- Aprilia. With the results obtained during this weekend, Jakub Smrz climbs the ranking of the World Superbike Championship, ranking him fifth overall, just 7 points behind world champion Max Biaggi, who occupies the fourth position. Here are the declarations of Jakub: “I’m obviously very happy with the results of the weekend, I thank all members of the team who worked hard for me to achieve this goal, I could certainly do better in Race 2, but was slowed by a clutch problem that didn´t allowed me to stay with the first ones, without this problem my feelings were that, given the temperature higher temperature, I could be even faster than in the morning. We are already working with the Ducati engineers to solve this problem so that we can be more competitive in Assen, which is known as a track that I like very much A different question has been today’s performance of the other rider Effenbert Liberty Racing Team, Sylvain Guintoli. The French, as is well known, is coming from a disastrous crash in Race 1 in the Australian Grand Prix a month ago and is still suffering serious pains on his right hand and at the ankle. In particular the ankle pain is very intense, of course due to the use of the gear lever. After the necessary medical tests that confirmed that participation in today’s race would not negatively affect the full recovery for the race in Assen, Guintoli, with the consent of the team management, decided to take part in this race which is run a few miles from his home (the Frenchman is living in England with his family since a few years), ending in the eleventh position in both races, an outstanding result for a rider in his physical condition. These is Sylvain´s statement: “It was definitely the most difficult race weekend of my career,the fractured hand and the ankle pain has affected my performance, despite everything I have achieved a good result and I earned valuable points for the championship. From tomorrow I will continue even more intensively the recovery work to improve my physical condition and be at hundred percent for the next race in Assen. I am very pleased with the team that is working well, as we saw with the results achieved by Smrz in race one, I like the bike, the championship has only just begun and I am sure that in the future we can have fun and still achieve some interesting results. Here are today’s official classification of the two races and of the championship updated.