Team Alstare Suzuki rider Michel Fabrizio endured a tough time at today’s World Superbike Championship round at Silverstone in the UK: He crashed out of the first race and then suffered tyre problems almost from the start of the second and was forced to ride cautiously just to make the finish.
Spaniard Carlos Checa (Ducati) ran away with both races – his fourth double of the season – and took his tally of victories to 10 this year. In both today’s 18-lap races, Eugene Laverty (Yamaha) took second; with team mate Marco Melandri third.
Michel Fabrizio – Race 1: DNF, Race 2: 9th:
“I am disappointed with how things worked out today. I think the crash in race one was probably a bit my fault. I high-sided on lap one, maybe because I was pushing a bit too hard and a bit too soon. I hurt my right collarbone and gave my right hip and thigh a pretty good bang, so I was a bit battered and bruised for race two.
“Because the track temperature was quite hot, we chose a hard front tyre for the second as we felt that a soft one would get destroyed too soon. But the front was a bit too hard and I just couldn’t get any mid-corner grip after just a couple of laps. From then on, it was a struggle to maintain my position and when I got passed by a few riders I couldn’t do anything about it. I kept pushing as hard as I could and finished a frustrating ninth place. It was a pity, because I had qualified on the second row of the grid and, as I know that my race-pace is normally very good, I was looking forward to at least top-four finishes and maybe even a podium. Racing is like this sometimes and I have to put today behind me, enjoy the upcoming break; and then look forward to better times in the next round at the Nurburgring.”
Silverstone WSBK Results:
Race 1: Carlos Checa (ESP-Ducati), 2 Eugene Laverty (GBR-Yamaha), 3 Marco Melandri (ITA-Yamaha), 4 Leon Haslam (GBR-BMW), 5 John Hopkins (USA-Suzuki), 6 Sylvain Guintoli (FRA-Ducati). Michel Fabrizio (ITA-Alstare Suzuki) DNF.
Race 2: 1 Checa, 2 Laverty, 3 Melandri, 4 Max Biaggi (ITA-Aprilia), 5 Leon Camier (GBR-Aprilia), 6 Guintoli, 9 Michel Fabrizio (ITA-Alstare Suzuki).
Championship Points: 1 Carlos Checa (ESP-Ducati) 343, 2 Max Biaggi (ITA-Aprilia) 281, 3 Marco Melandri (ITA-Yamaha) 272, 4 Eugene Laverty (GBR-Yamaha) 208, 5 Leon Haslam (GBR-BMW) 158, 6 Leon Camier (GBR-Aprilia) 146, 7 Michel Fabrizio (ITA-Alstare Suzuki) 141.
