Jonathan Rea (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda) and Noriyuki Haga (Ducati Xerox) each got back to winning ways this weekend in front of a 45,000 crowd at the Nurburgring, as Rea posted his fourth and Haga his second win of the 2010 championship campaign. It was a frustrating weekend for the two top riders in the World Superbike Championship, as they had to watch others take the glory, as Max Biaggi (Aprilia Alitalia) had his championship lead over Leon Haslam (Suzuki Alstare) cut, despite Haslam suffering a dislocated thumb and knee injuries. Biaggi now leads the series by a slightly trimmed 58 points, with two full rounds to go.
Rea’s win and then a second place, combined with a luckless race two for Carlos Checa (Althea Racing) sees the Honda man in third overall, 64 points ahead of the Spanish rider. Rea also took a new lap record, 1’55.392, in race one. Cal Crutchlow is only seven points behind Checa, in fifth place, having scored a third and a fourth place in Germany. Haga’s win sees him sixth, 15 points clear of James Toseland (Yamaha Sterilgarda) who fell in race one and was only eighth in race two. Strong rides from Sylvain Guintoli (Suzuki Alstare) put him eighth overall, ahead of injured rider Leon Camier and Michel Fabrizio.
Race 1
Jonathan Rea took an early lead in the re-started first race, and rode at full pace to lead Carlos Checa home and record his fourth win of the 2010 season. Third place went to Yamaha Sterilgarda rider Cal Crutchlow, ten seconds back on Rea. Championship leader Max Biaggi was fourth, and Kawasaki Racing Team rider Tom Sykes was a more than creditable fifth. Leon Haslam, one of the riders involved in the crash that caused the race to be stopped and then completely re-run, was sixth. Ruben Xaus was first BMW Motorrad Motorsport rider home in Germany, seventh.
Jonathan Rea: “A great race and a great weekend for the team. Already on Friday we were right on the pace, we came out with a bike that was good, really pushed hard, I felt comfortable on it and turned it into a good result so I’m really proud of my team.”
Carlos Checa: “We had a good start and fought with Haga who then fell in front of me. Then I tried to follow Jonathan but he was very strong and nothing happened to the end. We did our best and are quite satisfied with the pace and the work we did this weekend.”
Cal Crutchlow: “Nice to be back up here. Tenth on the grid is not so good into the first corner but I did the best job I could for Yamaha Sterilgarda. I thought right through that third place on this track is incredible for our bike and it was going to be difficult.”
Results (with Pirelli front/rear race tyre selection): 1. Rea J. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 38’42.640 (159,243 kph) (C/A); 2. Checa C. (ESP) Ducati 1098R 1.126 (A/A); 3. Crutchlow C. (GBR) Yamaha YZF R1 10.006 (C/A); 4.Biaggi M. (ITA) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 10.716 (B/C); 5. Sykes T. (GBR) Kawasaki ZX 10R 17.391 (C/A); 6. Haslam L. (GBR) Suzuki GSX-R1000 19.301 (A/C); 7. Xaus R. (ESP) BMW S1000 RR 19.613 (B/C); 8. Guintoli S. (FRA) Suzuki GSX-R1000 19.880 (A/C); 9. Byrne S. (GBR) Ducati 1098R 21.176 (C/A); 10. Scassa L. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 29.752 (B/A); 11. Lanzi L. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 30.156 (A/C); 12. Lowry I. (GBR) Kawasaki ZX 10R 53.622 (B/C); 13. Hayden R. (USA) Kawasaki ZX 10R 58.820 (B/A); 14. Baiocco M. (ITA) Kawasaki ZX 10R 1’25.906 (A/A)
Race 2
Noriyuki Haga, a race one faller, was an impressive winner of race two, the Japanese rider shining strongly in the German sunshine. He was an eventual 3.061 seconds ahead of Jonathan Rea. Leon Haslam (Suzuki Alstare) rode through the pain barrier to go third, with Cal Crutchlow (Yamaha Sterilgarda) ending up fourth. Max Biaggi (Aprilia Alitalia) managed to keep Sylvain Guintoli (Suzuki Alstare) behind him at the flag for fifth, in a tense 20-lap race for the championship’s top men.
Noriyuki Haga: “I’m very happy with this result and very sorry for the first race. When I had a crash, I wasn’t getting information from the front tyre and for race 2 I made just a little modification for the front suspension and that was working much better. I was able to keep a high pace until the flag. Next round is Imola, our home track and I have much pressure but I hope to do my best.”
Jonathan Rea: “The pace was similar to race 1 but Nori was fantastic, he rode an unbelievable race. It’s quite frustrating when you see someone ride away from you like that. A great job for my team this weekend, 45 points overall and I’m really very happy. I’m very consistent now but it’s so frustrating when I see my mid-season form.”
Leon Haslam: “Race 1 was a bit frustrating, it was completely my fault when I high-sided and Troy had nowhere to go, so luckily the race was red-flagged. In the second race, I only had one bike but the boys did a great job and the Clinica did a fantastic job with my knee and my thumb so thanks to them. Getting on the podium is not exactly what I wanted but we’ll take it this weekend. Anything can happen, there are four more races still to go so roll on Imola!”
Results (with front/rear race tyre selection): 1.Haga N. (JPN)Ducati 1098R 8’43.565 (159,18 kph); 2.Rea J. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 3.061; 3. Haslam L. (GBR) Suzuki GSX-R1000 8.060; 4.Crutchlow C. (GBR) Yamaha YZF R1 8.457; 5. Biaggi M. (ITA) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 9.392; 6. Guintoli S. (FRA) Suzuki GSX-R1000 9.556; 7. Sykes T. (GBR) Kawasaki ZX 10R 16.819; 8. Toseland J. (GBR) Yamaha YZF R1 20.564; 9.Xaus R. (ESP) BMW S1000 RR 21.040; 10. Byrne S. (GBR) Ducati 1098R 21.168; 11.Smrz J. (CZE) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 21.734; 12.Corser T. (AUS) BMW S1000 RR 22.746; 13.Lanzi L. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 24.526; 14. Scassa L. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 28.218; 15. Neukirchner M. (GER) Honda CBR1000RR 38.406; 16. Hayden R. (USA) Kawasaki ZX 10R 1’08.039; 17. Baiocco M. (ITA) Kawasaki ZX 10R 1’21.294; 18. Lai F. (ITA) Honda CBR1000RR 1’21.362; 19. Fabrizio M. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 1’38.427
All riders on same solutions with the exception of Guintoli and Lanzi who changed to the “A” rear and Hayden who changed to the “C” rear for Race 2.
Points (after 11 rounds of 13): 1. Biaggi 397; 2. Haslam 339; 3. Rea 288; 4. Checa 224; 5. Crutchlow 217; 6. Haga 202; 7. Toseland 187; 8. Guintoli 69; 9. Camier 164; 10. Fabrizio 160. Manufacturers: 1. Aprilia 409; 2. Suzuki 360; 3. Ducati 342; 4.Honda 299; 5.Yamaha 285; 6. BMW 190; 7. Kawasaki 77
World Supersport
A close race at the front saw Eugene Laverty (Parkalgar Honda) take a win by only 0.058 seconds from Gino Rea (Intermoto Czech Honda), only for Rea to be disqualified because of a technical infraction with his machine. Laverty set the best time of the race on lap 17 to hold off the battling Rea. Kenan Sofuoglu (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda) was eventually second and thus Sofuoglu leads the championship fight by a still comfortable margin of 12 points. Top Kawasaki rider was the returning Broc Parkes (Kawasaki Motocard.com) who was finally awarded a podium place, ahead of Fabien Foret (Lorenzini by Leoni Kawasaki).
Results: 1.Laverty E. (IRL) Honda CBR600RR 37’52.893 (154,592 kph); 2.Sofuoglu K. (TUR) Honda CBR600RR 5.072; 3.Parkes B. (AUS) Kawasaki ZX-6R 15.890; 4.Foret F. (FRA) Kawasaki ZX-6R 16.911; 5. Davies C. (GBR) Triumph Daytona 675 28.380; 6.Salom D. (ESP) Triumph Daytona 675 28.495; 7.Roccoli M. (ITA) Honda CBR600RR 28.578; 8.Pirro M. (ITA) Honda CBR600RR 28.787; etc.
Points (after 11 rounds of 13): 1. Sofuoglu 223; 2. Laverty 211; 3. Lascorz 168; 4. Davies 137; 5. Salom 90;6.Harms 87;7. Rea 83; 8.Pirro 66; 9. Foret 65; 10.Lagrive 65. Manufacturers: 1. Honda 270 (2010 champions); 2. Kawasaki 185; 3. Triumph 146; 4. Yamaha 22
Superstock 1000
Ayrton Badovini (BMW Motorrad Italia STK) took his eighth successive win of the season at a sunny Nürburgring, posting a perfect 200 points total so far. Winning in BMW’s home country, Badovini was almost a second up on Maxime Berger (Ten Kate Race Junior) with Andrea Antonelli (Team Lorini) in contact and in the final podium place. Sylvain Barrier (Garnier Junior Racing) won a close fight with Loris Baz (MRS Racing) and Michele Magnoni (Bevilacqua Corse).
Results: 1. Badovini A. (ITA) BMW S1000 RR 22’02.582 (153,809 kph); 2. Berger M. (FRA) Honda CBR1000RR 0.906; 3. Antonelli A. (ITA) Honda CBR1000RR 3.058; 4. Barrier S. (FRA) BMW S1000 RR 12.078; 5. Baz L. (FRA) Yamaha YZF R1 12.328; 6. Magnoni M. (ITA) Honda CBR1000RR 12.849; 7. Giugliano D. (ITA) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 14.395; 8. La Marra E. (ITA) Honda CBR1000RR 15.560;
Points (after 8 rounds of 10): 1. Badovini 200; 2. Berger 106; 3. Magnoni 94; 4.Antonelli 89; 5. Giugliano 71; 6. Baz 65; 7. Barrier 60; 8. Petrucci 46; 9. Mahr 42; 10. Beretta 38. Manufacturers: 1. BMW 200 (2010 champions); 2. Honda 149; 3. Suzuki 87; 4.Yamaha 67; 5. Ducati 59; 6. Kawasaki 49; 7.KTM 30; 8. Aprilia 18
