Aprilia dominates at 2013 Phillip Island World Superbikes

QUALIFYING
With Phillip Island's freshly laid surface and riders on new Pirelli 17-inch tyres for this round, qualifying times were always going to be quick, but Carlos Checa (Ducati Alstare) was the star. In hot, dry conditions, a number of riders had dipped into the 1 minute 31 second bracket across the earlier qualifying sessions, but the Spanish veteran put in a blinder of a lap during Superpole 3, his 1'30.234 almost two tenths of a second quicker than Laverty, with Michel Fabrizio (Red Devils Roma Aprilia) completing the front row.

Last year's championship runner-up, Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Racing team), qualified on the second row, alongside Marco Melandri (BMW Motorrad GoldBet SBK) and Guintoli. Of the two Aussie wildcards entered for this round, Jamie Stauffer (Team Honda Racing) and Glenn Allerton (Next Gen Motorsports BMW) qualified 14th and 16th respectively.

RACE 1
Laverty bolted from the start, opening up a small, but solid lead on the chasing pack led by Sykes. Checa, Melandri and Leon Haslam (Pata Honda World Superbike) were also battling for position. Checa had moved up to second behind Laverty by lap 6, but the man on a move was Guintoli. The Frenchman, who was debuting with the Aprilia squad at Phillip Island, moved up from seventh in the opening laps to be in second by the lap 11 midpoint of the 22 lap race.

The most dramatic moment of the race came two laps later on lap 13, when Checa attempted a late braking pass on Melandri at Honda corner. Clipping the back of Melandri, Checa went down, knocking himself unconscious in the fall and taking the Italian down with him. While Melandri was able to remount and continue, Checa was taken to the circuit medical centre and took no further part in the day's action.

At the head of the field, Guintoli closed on Laverty, then passed the Irishman on lap 15. Laverty, who later admitted he was riding too conservatively, then fell into the clutches of Fabrizio, dropping back to third before a last lap effort saw him pip the Italian for second by a mere seven one thousandths of a second.

Guintoli's winning margin was 1.352 seconds, but perhaps more importantly, the win was achieved in dry conditions. Previously, the Frenchman has only won in wet conditions. Some consolation for Fabrizio came with a new Phillip Island lap record of 1:31.323 set on lap 7.

Behind the podium trio, the four-way arm wrestle for fourth was just as intense, with Chaz Davies (BMW Motorrad GoldBet SBK) eventually working his way to the front of the pack. Sykes, Loris Baz (Kawasaki Racing Team) and Haslam filled positions five to seven. Allerton and Stauffer each scored world championship points, finishing 14th and 15th respectively.

RESULTS - World Superbikes Race One

1. Guintoli (Aprilia) 22 Laps/97.790 km in 33'47.109 average 173.668 kph; 2. Laverty (Aprilia) 1.352; 3. Fabrizio (Aprilia) 1.359; 4. Davies (BMW) 5.702; 5. Sykes (Kawasaki) 5.753; 6. Baz (Kawasaki) 6.769; 7. Haslam (Honda) 6.830; 8. Rea (Honda) 17.944; 9. Camier (Suzuki) 19.152; 10. Neukirchner (Ducati) 26.557; 11. Cluzel (Suzuki) 30.305; 12. Clementi (BMW) 30.411; 13. Lundh (Kawasaki) 45.185; 14. Allerton (BMW) 48.632; 15. Stauffer (Honda) 53.453; 16. Sandi (Kawasaki) 1'22.730; 17. Iannuzzo (BMW) 4 Laps; RT. Checa (Ducati); RT. Melandri (BMW); RT. Giugliano (Aprilia).

Fastest Lap: Fabrizio in 1'31.323 average 175.224 kph.


RACE 2
With the absence of Checa, Laverty moved into pole, but couldn't replicate his race 1 start. Sykes was the opening lap leader, but had Laverty, Guintoli and Melandri close behind. A lap later, both Laverty and Guintoli had passed Sykes, setting up a race long battle between the Aprilia team mates.

An early casualty was Loris Baz (Kawasaki Racing Team), who crashed at turn 10 of the opening lap after a collision with another rider, believed to be Leon Camier (FIXI Crescent Suzuki).

After riding conservatively in race 1, Laverty maintained the pace in race 2, and 'kept watch' on the leading Guintoli for much of the 22-lapper, before making his move close to the finish.

Guintoli's lead was never huge, but he gained a few valuable tenths when Melandri passed Laverty for second place on lap 16. On lap 20, Laverty made his move past Melandri, setting a new lap record of 1'31.168 in the process. On the next lap, Laverty took the lead from Guintoli and held it to the finish.

At the chequered flag, Guintoli finished 0.418s behind Laverty, while Melandri completed the battle in third - but not before a minor scare when Fabrizio tapped the back of his bike at turn nine on the last lap.

Fabrizio remained upright to finish fourth, with the top eight was completed by Sykes, Davide Giugliano (Althea Racing Aprilia), WSBK rookie Jules Cluzel (FIXI Crescent Suzuki) and Jonathan Rea (Pata Honda World Superbike). Rea's team-mate Leon Haslam was ninth, but had to fight his way back through the pack after a lap one melee with Baz and Davies. Allerton and Stauffer were 12th and 13th respectively

"I think we have got the best package this year, and it's a great way to start the year," said Laverty. "Sylvain was using the tyre a lot different to me in race one, so I got a little bit of a lesson then on how to get the best out of a tyre.

"I looked after it too much and was riding the bike like it was 50 laps instead of 22, so in race two I gave it some and then waited to the last few laps and then turned the power up and got past Marco and Sylvain. It was a perfect race."


RESULTS - World Superbikes Race Two

1. Laverty (Aprilia) 22 Laps/97.790 km in 33'45.938 average 173.768 kph; 2. Guintoli (Aprilia) 0.418; 3. Melandri (BMW) 1.382; 4. Fabrizio (Aprilia) 2.282; 5. Sykes (Kawasaki) 11.545; 6. Giugliano (Aprilia) 12.508; 7. Cluzel (Suzuki) 17.330; 8. Rea (Honda) 17.339; 9. Camier (Suzuki) 19.886; 10. Haslam (Honda) 19.996; 11. Neukirchner (Ducati) 27.629; 12. Allerton (BMW) 42.809; 13. Stauffer (Honda) 42.893; 14. Sandi (Kawasaki) 44.899; 15. Lundh (Kawasaki) 57.824; 16. Iannuzzo (BMW) 1'22.574; 17. Davies (BMW) 2 Laps; RT. Clementi (BMW); RT. Baz (Kawasaki).

Fastest Lap: Laverty in 1'31.168 average 175.522 kph.

Images: JUST BIKES and IRPR

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