WSBK – Statements and analysis of the Superbike at the Nurburgring – Analysis of the World Superbike at the Nurburgring

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Superbike statements and analysis at the Nurburgring

WSBK - Statements and analysis of the Superbike at the Nurburgring - Analysis of the World Superbike at the Nurburgring

The tenth round of the World SBK 2013 took place yesterday at the Nurburgring, Germany. To complete our live reports, here are the statements of the Superbike riders as well as the Site analysis of the two German races.

Analysis of the World Superbike at the Nurburgring

The good weather was finally back on Sunday in World Superbike, the day after a German Superpole disputed in the rain and a month after two English heats run in particularly tricky and trying conditions (read our).

The air and ground temperatures nevertheless remained cool at the Nurburgring: respectively 14 and 21 ° C for the first round, then 20 and 31 ° C for the second. This allows Giorgio Barbier, director of the racing department at Pirelli Moto, to salute the progress made by his tires.

"Last year at the same time, it would have been unthinkable to race with the SC0 (softer tire, editor’s note) with asphalt temperatures of 20 degrees", assures the Italian manager."We can clearly argue that next year just two solutions – the SC0 and SC1 – will be enough to race on all circuits.".

"The hardest tire, the SC2, will remain available for smaller championships due to the excellent performance / endurance ratio it offers.", completes Giogrio Barbier.

Pirelli engineers, on the other hand, have their work cut out for their rain tires, as the ones used on Saturday clearly lacked grip when righting the bike out of the bends and sent several riders waltzing … Davies , Sykes and Cluzel flew away – fortunately without any injuries – and Guintoli was very hot…

The mercury also remained very high under the helmet of the French on Sunday! Reassured as to the behavior of his still recovering shoulder, Sylvain was unfortunately not able to fight for the podium, which has eluded him for two months now….

Powerless in the first round against the Kawasaki n ° 66 and BMW n ° 33 and 19, the n ° 50 of Aprilia had to fight hard to protect his fourth place from the attacks of Leon Camier on the Suzuki n ° 2 and those of his colleague n ° 34, Davide Giugliano. The Frenchie can also be happy that his teammate Laverty crashed !

In the second round, Sylvain Guintoli seemed more comfortable on his bike but lacked inspiration, preferring to wait for the last lap – which will never come, because of the second red flag! – to attack Tom Sykes, his rival both on the track and in the championship.

Winner of the Battle of Britain from which he left with 13 points ahead of the English Ninja, "Guinters" lost that of Germany. For the second time this season, Tom returns to Sylvain in the general classification: the war continues !

Green light for Sykes

Very careful during the two rounds at Silverstone, Sykes found the outposts yesterday at the Nurburgring. While his great rival in the championship has won only one victory this season – apart from the very first round at Phillip Island – the Kawasaki rider pocketed his sixth midday yesterday..

Ironically, it was the breakage of another ZX-10R, Federico Sandi’s n ° 23, which earned him this new success, the eleventh of his career! Indeed, at the precise moment of the raising of the red flag by the race marshals, Sykes was not first but very second, behind Melandri.

Established according to the classification of the lap preceding the incident, the classification nevertheless gives the winning English driver. A stroke of luck for the n ° 66 who could prove to be decisive at the very end of the season, the …

By then, the FIM may – finally – have given its judgment on who still opposes Kawasaki to Aprilia. For the record, if the top federal authorities (re-) reversed their decision not to penalize Tom for his "questionable maneuver"during the second Italian race, Sylvain would be credited with third place and would grab three points from his opponent !

Points, Melandri had planned to steal by handfuls from his rivals during the final laps of the two German races on Sunday … But like Guintoli, the BMW n ° 33 was late and left the Nurburgring with a taste of too little under the helmet…

Red flag for Melandri

Cut off in his momentum in the first round by the red flag, the former Grand Prix star did not hide his disappointment when commenting on his "disappointing" second place. We must admit that, knowing the thunderous ends of race of Marco, Tom Sykes did not start favorite for the victory…

Compared to the 2012 edition however, the German WSBK 2013 event went wonderfully well for the Ravenna Hedgehog! Author of two podiums yesterday, Marco had not and had ceded the lead of the championship to the future world champion, Max Biaggi.

His team-mate Chaz Davies, on the other hand, confirmed his affection for the German track. It was on this circuit that the then rookie had won his first World Superbike success at the controls of his Aprilia prepared by the team of Giuliano Rovelli, which led him to the World Supersport title in 2011..

The young – but very experienced – Welshman also took advantage of this stopover in Germany to sign with the semi-official BMW team. A team which will be dissolved at the end of this year, but will have offered before that the first victory at home of the firm with the propeller !

As good on the Aprilia as on the BMW at the Nurburgring (3rd and 1st!), “Chazie” is currently one of the most brilliant drivers on the WSBK grid. But for the time being, Tom Sykes is the only rider to be stuck for the 2014 season. The n ° 19 deserves to ride a good bike next year. Certainly, but which one ?!

At the controls of the second official Aprilia, Eugene Laverty fell back into his failings after a solid performance at Silverstone … Qualified in 15th position on the Nurburgring grid, the n ° 58 was however obliged to attack like a mule to not not let the leaders fly away at the start of the race.

Do not confuse speed and haste…

This is how the over-charged Irishman fell by crashing his crankcase into a vibrator! After a pit stop, "Youdjine" could nevertheless rejoin the track and collect the point of 15th and last place. As often this season, Laverty was better in the second round and took a superb second place..

In the general classification therefore, the fantastic four of the WSBK 2013 (Sykes, Guintoli, Melandri and Laverty) are only separated by 40 points, while 200 remain to be distributed to the winners of the last eight races of the year: Istanbul, Laguna Seca, Magny-Cours and Jerez !

The "outsiders" of the championship paid a heavy price this Sunday, starting with Loris Baz! Sunday morning, the Frenchman turned as fast as his teammate, Laverty, Giugliano or Rea: third fastest time in the morning warm-up, "Bazooka" was to start Sunday from the head of the second row…

Redoubtable in his action during the two starts given at Silverstone, then during the first dry laps, the n ° 76 undoubtedly dreamed of winning at the Nurburgring. But his fall at the end of the warm-up suddenly reminded him of the harsh reality.

Assessment of his caper: two broken vertebrae, a nice destroyed Shark helmet and a nice neck brace in exchange … But it takes more to ruin the morale of a 20-year-old pilot: "i have never felt so good on the bike", even noted Loris on his Facebook page !

"Thanks to my team! This weekend was my first at the top! I will be back soon", promises the official Kawasaki rider. Live from his hospital bed, the" Green Giant "estimates his rehabilitation period between four and six weeks. Either around the French event, the .

Leon Camier and Jonathan Rea can also harbor deep regrets: without the oil spilled by the No. 23 Kawasaki of Team Pedercini, the two British riders could claim very good results at the Nurburgring..

No luck !

Johnny, in particular, was tracking Chaz Davies when his Fireblade suddenly fell on the track! Second in the only Moscow round, then 1st and 4th at Silverstone, the n ° 65 Honda rider should have continued his good series of results.

More than his situation in the championship (7th at the end of the English event), it is his CV that should have improved and allowed him to put pressure on his potential employers. Instead of which the Northern Irishman leaves Germany with the fractured femur … and operated !

"I just spoke with the surgeon who took care of my operation and he was very satisfiedJR chirped this morning.I will have new x-rays today and I hope to be able to return afterwards".

Slower than Rea, Camier was nevertheless in a very good rhythm yesterday afternoon since the n ° 2 of the Suzuki Fixi Crescent team was about to steal Sylvain Guintoli his fifth place! Propelled against the enclosure of the circuit – that his Gex flew over! -, Leon was also evacuated by helicopter…

More fear than harm finally for the "Big Blue": after having undergone a battery of scans, examinations and auscultations on the level of the neck mainly, Camier was relieved to learn that his state of health was considered good by the team clinic at Stiffungs clinic in Koblenz.

"He hopes to be able to leave the hospital later today", his team said this morning,"and will assess his condition in the coming days to decide his ability to participate in the next race", provided in .

The teammate of "Kamir", Jules Cluzel, will be present at the meeting! Eighth in the provisional standings with 123 points, the rookie was less impressive than in England. But should we remember that our vice-world champion in Supersport is only discovering this Superbike category ?

For once, our dear n ° 16 will benefit from a small advantage over several of his rivals by disembarking at: Jules already knows the route! Will this help him tune his Suzuki? Answer in two weeks: stay tuned !

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