WSBK – Videos, statements and analysis of SBK in Imola – Statements by Superbike riders in Italy

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SBK Videos, Statements and Analysis in Imola

WSBK - Videos, statements and analysis of SBK in Imola - Statements by Superbike riders in Italy

The second round of the World SBK 2012 took place yesterday in Imola. To complete our live reports, here are the statements of the SBK riders, our analyzes and the video summaries of the Superbike and Supersport races..

Statements by Superbike riders in Italy

Carlos Checa, 1st (x 2):

"It’s an amazing new day, one more that I will never forget! At the start of the first race I could see that Sykes had a very good pace but I stuck to him. When I realized that he was starting to have problems in some places, I made the decision to pass him. Then, I was able to forge myself a small advantage which allowed me to finish comfortably in the lead. It was the unknown today with these much colder conditions, we didn’t know which tire to use, but we took the risk of using the one we had tested during the practice sessions (but on a track much warmer): it was daring, but it paid off. The second race was very similar to the first. I made a small mistake at first, but I managed to find my rhythm later. I thank my team, the sponsor and the fans of course: it’s always great to win in Italy and I thank the spectators with whom I shared these great emotions".

Tom Sykes, 2nd (x 2):

"The plan was to have a good start in the first heat and we did well. In the first nine or so laps it was just Carlos and I, then a big ditch behind us. Carlos had a great race, I take my hat off to him, he knew exactly what he was doing. In the second run I was under a lot of pressure from Leon (Haslam, NDLR) and Biaggi (Max!) for the last third of the race I then had to pull away a bit and it worked. I heard Leon’s engine for a few laps, but realized I was a bit ahead on the last loop. Getting second was great. Overall I think the weekend has been very good for me and Kawasaki. The Ninja ZX-10R was awesome again: pole position and two second places in the race, I don’t think we could ask for much more".

Leon Haslam, 3rd (x 2):

"This weekend has been good. We had a good first race and managed to get a place on the podium, my first at Imola. I made a mistake at the start so third was the best result we could get. In 2010 Max beat me in the world championship here in Imola, so it was nice to win (against Biaggi always, Editor’s note)this battle for the podium. In the second run, I got off to a better start, but the top three fled again. I managed to catch up and really felt like I could beat Tom, but towards the end I made some mistakes again. Every time I pushed, I felt the bike jerk and I lost my line. We are making progress overall and the areas where we still need to improve are well known, but I am really happy with this first double podium for BMW. We have really made good progress: a big, big thank you to all the guys at BMW. We’re definitely going to celebrate tonight, but not too much, since we’re doing testing tomorrow. My ankle was a little sore after the second race but for Assen I should be 100% back".

Max Biaggi, 4th (x 2):

"We could not have done better today and the math proves it! Two identical rankings, just off the podium, I can say that I am quite satisfied. My only regret is in the second race, as my team and I had managed to make some improvements over the first race, unfortunately not enough to stay in the Top 3. We knew we would have a hard time here and the low temperature didn’t did not help. We are now focusing on Assen and how to react in order to destabilize the leaders".

Eugene Laverty, 5th then 6th:

"Fifth and sixth place isn’t bad at all given yesterday’s Superpole, but I have to admit that I would have liked to fight with the guys up front. I got off to a good start in both races and in the second run we made some progress on the RSV4, but the pace of the lead group was just too fast. We must continue to work. These two races were useful to gather a lot of information on the bike, we will be working on this during the tests tomorrow hoping that this helps us from the next event.".

Jonathan Rea, 9th then 5th:

"Well we finished better than we started for sure. For the first race, we started by choosing the wrong tire: we hadn’t done that much work on the hard tire under test, so we were reluctant to put it on. It was also the first big temperature change of the season, it got really cold. This weekend has been a little frustrating honestly, as our pace here last year was good enough to clinch a victory. We had the same this year but two or three guys in front went faster. All in all, I’m happy to have scored points in both races, and I’m really happy with the way I rode in the second run. My pace was fucked up in the first few laps after some guys pulled me out of the chicane, but I buried my head in the bubble and got back on that group, positioning myself comfortably in front of them at the end. I’m happy with my riding and happy that we have a test here tomorrow, then a two-day test in Assen to try to find the feeling I’m lacking in the front axle".

Marco Melandri, 6th then 10th:

" I think I can say it was a bad day for me. We struggled with the gearbox and in the first run I went straight into the pit entrance. I worked hard then to catch up. My pace was not too far from the three leading men. In the second heat I had a lot of problems with the "chattering", as was the case on Phillip Island. I couldn’t attack properly, and I destroyed the tires a lot more than in the first race. I could not do anything. We don’t yet know why the bike is changing like this. We will address this issue tomorrow and I hope we will be able to take a few steps forward.".

Leon Camier, DNF then 8th:

"I don’t know if my mishap with Lascorz was my fault or if it was just a racing incident. I got off to a pretty good start and tried to progress quickly, passing a lot of people in the first corner. At the fifth corner, I went outside to Giugliano and when I got back on the line, Lascorz and I collided: it was the end of my race. I managed to bring the bike back to the pits, but the damage prevented me from getting out. I’m very happy to have got eighth in the second run today and I think I could have finished even higher if I hadn’t been so bad on the grid. I started off aggressively, then hit a good pace. I was riding hard at the end and was getting back on the group in front of me, so who knows what would have happened with a better position on the grid. The level of this category is very high, you have to be on the first two rows of the grid if you want to have a chance to fight for a podium. So all things considered, finishing eighth is good enough".

Sylvain Guintoli, DNF then 11th:

NC

Maxime Berger, 12th (x 2):

NC

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