Race 2 Podium Phillip Island
Sun 26th Feb- Race 2- Carlos Checa (Althea Racing) recovered from his big race one crash to post his first win of the year but arguably an even greater performance came from second place finisher Max Biaggi (Aprilia Racing).
Checa hit the front early on but Biaggi had run of track on lap one, kept his bike upright and restarted last, then fought through to take a second place and a clear championship lead with a total of 45 points.
Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team) overhauled a slowing Jonathan Rea (Honda World Superbike Team) in a breathtaking final lap to get his first dry weather Kawasaki podium.
Tom Sykes: “In race one I got a good start and over race distance I had been feeling really strong all week. It was a very difficult race with the wind blowing me and the bike around but to be honest I had to use my head a bit and not get sucked into too much fighting. I was just trying to manage the gap behind, but to come away with a fourth, on a track like this, using the same tyres as the guys on the podium, is a bit of a first for us. It shows the progress Kawasaki has made over the winter. To take the podium on the last lap was really satisfying and the bike has been working really well in winter testing so big thanks to the team; they were very focused. Race two was even more windy than race one but my crew chief and team changed the balance of the bike and compensated for some things. For sure we arrived at the limit but we were able to maintain a consistent pace right to the end. I had a good fight with Max for a couple of laps and a few corners. So to come away with pole position, third and fourth in the races? I am over the moon, because this circuit has never been a strong one for us in the past.”
The injured Leon Haslam (BMW Motorrad Motorsport) put in a gritty ride to secure fifth place while his team-mate Marco Melandri was one place behind.
Melandri is second in the points to Biaggi with 30, one point ahead of Sykes in overall third. Checa is fourth with 25 points.
Carlos Checa: “In race one I had the worst crash that I’ve ever had with the Ducati. I was under pressure and pushed a little too hard. It’s extremely difficult to find the exact limit with the bike, the track, and with myself and today I exceeded that limit and fell. The team made a fantastic job of preparing a bike that allowed me to win in race two. In that race, I started strong and when I saw that Max had gone off track, I pushed hard to get ahead and win the race. Max made a good recovery but I was able to maintain a strong pace and bring home what is a very important win for me and for the team.”
Race 1
Max Biaggi (Aprilia Racing) won the first raceof theyear by seven seconds from Marco Melandri (BMW Motorrad Motorsport) and third was a closely following Sylvian Guintoli (Team Effenbert Liberty Racing) after a dramatic contest held over 22-laps.
Carlos Checa (Althea Racing) crashed out of the race while leading, suffering a fast high-side fall on the final corner early in the race. Spots of rain appeared at two separate stages but to no real effect for the majority of the riders and it continued as a dry race.
Jonathan Rea in race action at Phillip Island
Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team) took fourth place after leading early on, with Jakub Smrz fifth on his Liberty Racing Team Effenbert Ducati.
2012 World Superbike championship, round one
Phillip Island, Australia – 4.445km, 22 laps
Race 1 results:
1 Max Biaggi (ITA) Aprilia 34m13.963s
2 Marco Melandri (ITA) BMW +7.104s
3 Sylvain Guintoli (FRA) Ducati +7.378s
4 Tom Sykes (GBR) Kawasaki +12.189s
5 Jakub Smrz (CZE) Ducati +16.424s
6 Michel Fabrizio (ITA) BMW +20.200s
7 Jonathan Rea (GBR) Honda World Superbike Team +20.223s
8 Hiroshi Aoyama (JPN) Honda World Superbike Team +24.108s
Race 2 results:
1 Carlos Checa (ESP) Ducati 34m26.728s
2 Max Biaggi (ITA) Aprilia +5.707s
3 Tom Sykes (GBR) Kawasaki +12.521s
4 Jonathan Rea (GBR) Honda World Superbike +12.665s
5 Leon Haslam (GBR) BMW +18.179s
6 Marco Melandri (ITA) BMW +18.831s
9 Hiroshi Aoyama (JPN) Honda World Superbike Team +19.554s
Championship points after one of 14 rounds:
1 Biaggi 45, 2 Melandri 30, 3 Sykes 29, 4 Checa 25, 5 Rea 22, 6 Guintoli 16, 9 Aoyama 15
Next round: Imola, Italy – 30 March – 1 April
