2012 World Superbikes - Round 12

After going into the Nurburgring's round 12 with the championship lead, BMW Motorrad's Marco Melandri had a weekend from hell, crashing out of both races, and losing the championship lead to Aprilia's Max Biaggi. The round also tossed up a first time winner in Chaz Davies.

In qualifying, Melandri, Carlos Checa (Althea Racing Ducati), Davide Giugliano (Althea Racing Ducati) and Jonathan Rea (Honda WSBK Team) were the early front runners, but come Superpole, Aprilia Racing's Max Biaggi excelled, putting the RSV4R on pole ahead of Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team), Melandri and Eugene Laverty (Aprilia Racing Team). Checa joined Rea, Leon Camier (Crescent Fixi Suzuki) and Loris Baz (Kawasaki Racing team) on the second row of the grid.

Both David Salom (Team Pedercini Kawasaki) and Niccolo Canepa (Red Devils Roma Ducati) were non-starters after crashing out of qualifying, the former with a concussion, the latter with a broken right tibia.

RACE 1
Mechanical problems on the out lap saw Camier's Superpole pace undone, and he had to start the race from the back of the grid. Despite near perfect racing conditions, Michel Fabrizio (BMW Motorrad Italia GoldBet) crashed out on the first lap, followed by Checa a lap later, but the Spaniard was able to remount and rejoin at the back of the pack.

At the front of the field, Sykes led the way, with Biaggi right on his rear wheel and Melandri not far behind. On lap 6, the BMW rider crashed out, opening a gap between the leading pair and Laverty and Davies, who were having their own battle. On lap 12 Biaggi made his move, passing Sykes, then opening a gap on the Kawasaki rider. Three laps later, Sykes had a moment as his tyres started to deteriorate, allowing both Laverty and Davies through.

In the closing laps, Biaggi started to wind out a solid lead over his team mate Laverty and Davies, with Sykes a further 5+ seconds back. Baz's early form evaporated when he crashed three laps from the finish. With the win assured, Biaggi eased off to record a 3.027 second win over Laverty, with Davies in third, making it an all-Aprilia podium for the first time in Superbike history. Sykes held on to fourth ahead of Camier, who made up an impressive 19 places to finish fifth, while Checa recovered to finish 12th.

RACE 2
Sykes' early race form was replicated in race 2, with the Brit leading the pack for the opening laps. Biaggi crashed out on the opener, but was able to remount and rejoin the field. Melandri had a much better start this time around, and stuck close to Sykes before taking the lead on lap 8. A lap later, the Italian went down and was out of the race, while Davies took the lead ahead of Sykes.

Checa was slowly working his way through the field after a poor start, but Camier was the rider on a charge. In 12th at the end of the first lap, the Suzuki rider was up to fifth by mid-race distance, passing both Laverty and Rea a couple of laps later to be in line for his first podium of 2012.

In the closing laps, Sykes tyre woes struck again, and he dropped from second to fifth. Ahead of him, Davies was taking advantage of the battle between Camier and Laverty to open a 3+ second lead at the head of the field. At the finish line, Davies scored his and ParkinGO MTC Aprilia's first Superbike win, becoming the eighth different race winner in this year's championship. Behind him, Laverty prevailed by two tenths of a second over Camier. Rea finished fourth, while Sykes held off a fast-finishing Checa for fifth.

For Superbike rookie Davies, it was a near perfect weekend. His debut win coming on the back of news that the Aprilia rider would be joining the factory BMW team in 2013, replacing Leon Haslam, who is rumoured to be switching to the Honda WSBK Team.

After enjoying the highs of a double win at Moscow, Melandri suffered the lows of a double DNF at the Nurburgring, and has lost the championship lead.

"Today was my first time getting a double zero (in WSBK)," said Melandri. "I am very disappointed for the team that is working so hard. In race one I struggled a lot with the rear grip and was losing a lot compared to the guys in front of me so I was trying to catch them in braking.

"I was braking very hard every time but in corner eight I took a bump and just lost the front. I don't know what caused my crash in race two yet. I was on the straight and lost the front. That was strange. Now I will recharge my batteries and fight back in Portugal."

The results from the Nurburgring have now tightened the race for the 2012 Championship, with Sykes arguably the greatest beneficiary, slashing his deficit from 41 points to 26.5. If the remaining two rounds throw up the kind of results that this one did, the race for the championship is well and truly open!

2012 WORLD SUPERBIKE RESULTS - NURBURGRING

Race one: 20 laps
1 Max Biaggi Aprilia 38'52.751
2 Eugene Laverty Aprilia +3.027
3 Chaz Davies Aprilia +3.127
4 Tom Sykes Kawasaki +12.306
5 Leon Camier Suzuki +14.131
6 Sylvain Guintoli Ducati +19.523
7 Leon Haslam BMW +27.017
8 Lorenzo Zanetti Ducati +33.116
9 Ayrton Badovini BMW +34.937
10 Hiroshi Aoyama Honda +39.132
Fastest lap and new record: Biaggi - 1:55.267

Race two: 20 laps
1 Chaz Davies Aprilia
2 Eugene Laverty Aprilia +3.022
3 Leon Camier Suzuki +3.222
4 Jonathan Rea Honda +5.705
5 Tom Sykes Kawasaki +7.304
6 Carlos Checa Ducati +7.541
7 Davide Giugliano Ducati +14.709
8 Loris Baz Kawasaki +19.782
9 Ayrton Badovini BMW +19.925
10 Sylvain Guintoli BMW +20.028
Fastest lap: Checa - 1:56.148

CURRENT WORLD SUPERBIKE STANDINGS (AFTER 12 OF 14 ROUNDS):
1 Biaggi 318
2 Melandri 308.5
3 Sykes 291.5
4 Checa 247.5
5 Rea 225.5
6 Laverty 213.5
7 Haslam 189
8 Davies 156.5
9 Guintoli 143.5
10 Giugliano 125

Next round of the 2012 eni World Superbike Championship will be held at Portimao, Portugal, September 21-23.

Images: 2SNAP, courtesy of IRPR