Checa and Biaggi win at PI World Superbikes
The weekend was marred by tragedy, following the death of a rider in the Australian Supersport/Superstock 600 category. 17-year-old Queenslander Oscar McIntyre was competing in the first national Supersport race of the weekend when he was involved in an incident on the opening laps. Despite attempts by medical staff, McIntyre was pronounced dead at the scene. Two other riders involved in the incident received minor injuries. JUST BIKES extends its condolences to the McIntyre family, friends and the Gross Racing Team.
With the incident happening early on Saturday afternoon, the subsequent investigation forced a reshuffling of the schedule. As such, Superpole did not go ahead, and the Superbike grid was determined by times from the the qualifying session ran earlier on Saturday. This put Tom Sykes (Kawasaki) on pole, ahead of defending SBK champion Carlos Checa (Ducati), with Max Biaggi (Aprilia) and Jakub Smrz (Ducati) completing the front row. Of the Australians competing in this round, Bryan Staring (Kawasaki) was the best qualifier in 17th. Josh Brookes (Suzuki), Mark Aitchison (BMW), and David Johnson (BMW) qualified 21st, 22nd and 24th respectively.
WORLD SUPERBIKES RACE 1
Sunday's first World Superbike race went the way of Max Biaggi, after Carlos Checa crashed out of the race at turn 12 on lap 6, but was unhurt. Sykes held the lead for the first two laps, but couldn't match the starightline speed of Biaggi's Aprilia RSV4. As the Italian stretched out a comfortable lead, the battle was on for the minor placings, with Sykes, Marco Melandri (BMW), Sylvain Guintoli (Ducati) and Smrz all in the mix early.
As the race progressed, Melandri and Guintoli pulled away. The appearance of the rain flag with a few laps to go added drama to the opening race, but the precipitation was confined to part of the circuit, and wasn't heavy enough to seriously affect lap times. At the head of the field, Biaggi had pulled away to a comfortable 9+ second lead, only backing off on the final lap due to tyre wear. Melandri and Guintoli eventually finished second and third behind the dominant Biaggi.
Of the Aussies, Staring was the top finisher, after a late charge on lap 15 saw him move from 14th to finish tenth at the chequered flag. Brookes, Aitchison and Johnson finished 16th, 18th and 19th respectively.
"It was a very nice race, at the start with Carlos battling for the lead," Biaggi said afterward. "I had to stay focused towards the end, with three laps to go my front tyre was sliding. But it's a great result, it's a new team with new people, my motivation is very high, the team did a great job."
Race 1 results
1. Max Biaggi 34'13.963 Aprilia RSV4 Factory (Aprilia Racing Team)
2. Marco Melandri 34'21.067 BMW S1000RR (BMW Motorrad Motorsport)
3. Sylvain Guintoli 34'21.341 Ducati 1098R (Team Effenbert Liberty Racing)
4. Tom Sykes 34'26.152 Kawasaki ZX-10R (Kawasaki Racing Team)
5. Jakub Smrz 34'30.387 Ducati 1098R (Liberty Racing Team Effenbert)
6. Michel Fabrizio 34'34.163 BMW S1000RR (BMW Motorrad Italia GoldBet)
7. Jonathan Rea 34'34.186 Honda CBR1000RR (Honda World Superbike Team)
8. Hiroshi Aoyama 34'38.071 Honda CBR1000RR (Honda World Superbike Team)
9. Davide Giugliano 34'42.035 Ducati 1098R (Althea Racing)
10. Bryan Staring 34'48.195 Kawasaki ZX-10R (Team Pedercini)
16. Joshua Brookes 34'56.568 Suzuki GSX-R1000 (Crescent Fixi Suzuki)
18. Mark Aitchison 34'59.188 BMW S1000 RR (Grillini Progea Superbike Team)
19. David Johnson 35'22.745 BMW S1000 RR (Rossair AEP Racing)
WORLD SUPERBIKES RACE 2
Despite a spectacular-looking highside accident in race 1, Carlos Checa lined up on the grid for race 2. As in race 1, polesitter Sykes was the early leader, and bumped Biaggi off the track at turn one. The Italian managed to keep it upright through the infield, before rejoining in last place. From there, Biaggi put on one of the most impressive rides of the whole weekend, carving through the field to be in a podium position with four laps remaining. At the head of the field, Checa's dominance mirrored that of Biaggi's from the first race.
Checa's lead was over seven seconds in the race's closing stages, but the Spaniard eased off at the finish to finish 5.7 seconds ahead of Biaggi, who had made a remarkable effort to pass the rest of the field. Behind them, Sykes and Jonathon Rea (Honda) battled out for the final podium position, with Sykes prevailing over Rea thanks to a last lap lunge.
The results for the Aussies in race 2 again reflected the unfamiliar and unproven machinery they were working with. Brookes was the best finisher in fifteenth, one place ahead of Staring. Aitchison and Johnson failed to finish.
"I'm really satisfied now, even more so after the crash in race 1," Checa said in the post-race press conference. "I'm OK now after winning, I think it's the best anti-inflammatory I can take today! It wasn't easy in race 2, I was pushing hard but I did not know where Biaggi was and I knew he had a strong pace to catch me. Shame about the crash but we are happy here to be winning!"
Race 2 results
1. Carlos Checa 34'26.728 Ducati 1098R (Althea Racing)
2. Max Biaggi 34'32.435 Aprilia RSV4 (Aprilia Racing Team)
3. Tom Sykes 34'39.249 Kawasaki ZX-10R (Kawasaki Racing Team)
4. Jonathan Rea 34'39.383 Honda CBR1000RR (Honda World Superbike Team)
5. Leon Haslam 34'44.907 BMW S1000 RR (BMW Motorrad Motorsport)
6. Marco Melandri 34'45.559 BMW S1000 RR (BMW Motorrad Motorsport)
7. Maxime Berger 34'45.667 Ducati 1098R (Team Effenbert Liberty Racing)
8. Eugene Laverty 34'46.206 Aprilia RSV4 Factory (Aprilia Racing Team)
9. Hiroshi Aoyama 34'46.282 Honda CBR1000RR (Honda World Superbike Team)
10. Niccolò Canepa 34'53.017 Ducati 1098R (Red Devils Roma)
15. Joshua Brookes 35'09.962 Suzuki GSX-R1000 (Crescent Fixi Suzuki)
16. Bryan Staring 35'10.254 Kawasaki ZX-10R (Team Pedercini)
RT. David Johnson BMW S1000 RR (Rossair AEP Racing)
RT. Mark Aitchison BMW S1000 RR (Grillini Progea Superbike Team)
As a mark of respect following the death of Oliver McIntyre, the traditional champagne spray on the podium did not go ahead.
At the conclusion of round 1 of the 2012 World Superbike championsip, Biaggi leads the championship with 45 points, from Melandri (30), Sykes (29), Checa (25), and Rea (22).
The next round is at Imola, Italy on April 1.
