LEON HASLAM, BMW MOTORRAD MOTORSPORT
Race One: 3rd Race Two: DNF Championship Position: 6th
“I HAD THE PACE TO RUN WITH THE LEADERS…”
The World Superbike round from atmospheric Monza, in Milan, Italy was packed full of drama, with Leon Haslam scoring a podium finish in race one and then getting knocked off his BMW on the very first lap of race two. In the first outing Haslam had fought his way from sixth up to fourth, in pursuit of the leading trio of Laverty, Biaggi and Marco Melandri. As Laverty took a commanding lead on the way to his first WSBK victory, a dramatic and entertaining race-long battle ensued between Haslam, Biaggi and Melandri. Haslam gave as good as he got, and fought his way up into third place despite a late charge by former 250cc world champion Marco Melandri. Unfortunately for Leon his race two came to a premature end when he was knocked off at the very first turn; Laverty went on to win that one too, producing a maiden WSBK double in his rookie year.
“In race one I didn’t get the best of starts and I also made a few mistakes in the early laps which meant I had some work to do to catch the leading bunch. Still, I felt like I had the pace to run with the leaders. Max and I held each other up slightly which saw Eugene get away at the front but on the whole I was happy with the race and the bike. In race two I was hit from behind at the first corner on lap one. I am not 100% sure what happened but I crashed out of the race after getting a much better start. Following the crash I was taken to the medical centre where it was confirmed that I have broken a toe on my right foot, but I don’t see it being a problem for our forthcoming test, or the races in Salt Lake.”
JONATHAN REA, CASTROL HONDA
Race One: 6th Race Two: DNF Championship Position: 4th
“FRUSTRATING!”
Jonathan Rea was only able to achieve a single sixth place finish at Monza. Despite starting on the front row of the grid, Rea could not get away with the leading group in the first 18-lap race at the 5.777km Monza circuit. However, the 24-year-old Ulsterman fought his way past Troy Corser in the final laps and was closing on fifth placed Michel Fabrizio at the flag. In race two, Rea was also the victim of the first corner melee (for the second year running!) as he was hit on the right hand side in the middle of the first part of Monza’s Prima Variante. Despite remounting and making his way back to the pits, his crew were unable to repair his CBR1000RR in time for him to rejoin the race.
“Frustrating really is the word, especially in race one when we just didn’t have the speed on the straight. I could match the lap times when I was on my own and able to run the right lines. But as soon as I got involved in a race with anyone who slowed me down in the places I was fast, I got forced off the line and lost the speed. Sixth was OK but certainly not what I’d hoped for. I’ll have to see the footage of race two to find out what really happened, but I feel like I got clipped from the inside which forced me up and into the guy on the outside. We’re going to Miller next, which has another long straight, so I hope the guys back at base can find something. Luckily, we’re testing there the week before the race so I hope that gives us at least a chance to do better than last year.”
Noriyuki Haga and his PATA Aprilia finished up race one a distant 16th, but a right-in-contention 4th in race two, just over 2.5s behind Laverty at the flag; he lies 10th in the championship. Jakub Smrz (Effenbert Liberty Racing Ducati) wound up 10th the first time out, and scored a DNF in the second race. Placed 9th in the title chase, he was philosophical as ever; “In the first race I had a good start and even a good race pace, but unfortunately I could not fight long straights with faster bikes. I could beat Checa, but I lacked a little luck. In the second race I unfortunately could not avoid two riders who slipped in front of me. Luckily I suffered no serious physical consequences, and in addition we hope for a better result at Miller Motorsports Park circuit as this circuit is far more suited to the characteristics of our bike.”
World Supersport charger Broc Parkes made a good start and looked capable of staying with the group immediately behind runaway early leader and eventual race victor Chaz Davies, but the Kawasaki Motocard rider ended up in a battle for fourth at the end. He used all his experience to control that fight in the final sector of the race and got a good points haul as a reward. Parkes is third in the rankings, on 60 points compared to the joint leaders Davies and Luca Scassa on 70, so still well in contention after four rounds. He was ok with his result overall; “I was pretty happy because I got away good from the line. I was a little bit concerned about my pace after morning warm-up. It is so important to have a good top speed here but also pace in other areas. Two guys came past me and then I ended went fourth. I could see that this probably going to be my battle so I tried to stay there. Every time I tried to break the guys behind they could slipstream me so I sat on the back until I felt I could go and then I tried in the last three or four laps and I broke them to get fourth place. I think that was the best I could do today in the circumstances.”
The next Word Superbike championship round is at Miller Motorsports Park, with racing taking place on May 30.
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