WSBK – WSBK Europe: a memorable weekend for BMW … –

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WSBK Europe: a memorable weekend for BMW…

WSBK - WSBK Europe: a memorable weekend for BMW ... -

A week after the disastrous Monza event, the World Superbike returns to the spectacle on the track – dry! – from Donington Park. The S1000RR takes its first victory there and just misses the double…

A week after the disastrous Monza event, the World Superbike returns to the spectacle on the track – dry! – from Donington Park. The S1000RR takes its first victory there and just misses the double…

The two races of the European round of the 2012 World Superbike were certainly not lacking in action and excitement. In the first round, the two official BMW riders, Marco Melandri and Leon Haslam, dominated their opponents to give the BMW Superbike its first World Cup success. !

The double was even within reach for the Munich firm, but the incredible fight at the end of the second round decided otherwise: Jonathan Rea finally pocketed the 25 points of the victory, ahead on the finish line Tom Sykes and Max Biaggi…

In Supersport, the fifth race of the year is won by a fifth different driver: after the double champion Kenan Sofuoglu, the champion Fabien Foret, the wild card Lorenzo Lanzi and the rookie Jules Cluzel, it is the turn of Sam Lowes to win for the first time in this category, at home in England !

First Superbike race

Marco Melandri got off to a great start but it was Leon Haslam who stole the lead from Tom Sykes in the first corner with a masterful outside !

Behind the Kawa ‘n ° 66 and the BMW n ° 33, Guintoli posts his Ducati n ° 50 in front of the Aprilia n ° 3 of Biaggi, the Honda n ° 65 of Rea, the Aprilia n ° 58 of Laverty, the Suzuki n ° 2 from Camier, Ducati n ° 7 from Checa and Aprilia n ° 19 from Davies. Berger and Baz are respectively 13th and 19th at the end of the first round.

The leading drivers roll in close formation during the first two laps but do not threaten each other. Only Checa gained a place by overtaking Camier before starting the 3rd loop. Giugliano, the Spaniard’s teammate, is the fastest on the track and in turn overtakes the English GSX-R.

Straight ahead, our Guintoli was overtaken in quick succession by Biaggi in the Esses de Foggy and then by Rea in the penultimate chicane. Max and Johnny do well to be active because the leading trio gradually move away and have a small second in advance.

Leon Haslam widens in the final hairpin on the 5th lap. Tom, who did not seem to want to take the controls given his rather careful trajectories, is therefore invited to – forced to ?! – take matters in hand. And the Ninja instantly raises the pitch.

Guintoli unfortunately lets go of the leading group and is joined by Checa. Behind the reigning world champion, the rookie Giugliano continues his recovery and overtakes Laverty, really not in the game this afternoon! Maxime Berger Loris Baz are still in 13th and 19th position.

Tom Sykes no longer spares his Kawasaki but, despite all his efforts, does not manage to get rid of the S1000RR n ° 91 and 33 … Worse, the RSV4 n ° 3 returns to contact while the Fireblade n ° 65 is at less than a second from the Roman.

In the background, the two Ducati Althea overtake Sylvain Guintoli’s Ducati Liberty. But our favorite Frenchie defends his roast beef dearly and goes back to 7th at the cost of a big attack on Davide Giugliano !

Sykes still leads the race on the 9th lap. He managed to keep a few steps ahead of Haslam in the very fast first part of the circuit, but the BMW rider climbed back up in the slower section. Leon is a hint faster than Melandri and Biaggi, but the two Italians do not admit defeat…

Jonathan Rea still drives alone in fifth position: on lap 11, the Honda rider is two seconds behind the 2010 world champion Biaggi and one second ahead of the 2011 champion Checa !

Two laps from halfway, Biaggi and Melandri bicker but lose little time against the leading men … Haslam goes on the attack at the midpoint of the race: he brakes Sykes on the outskirts of the Esses and decides to pick up the pace. Behind Tom, the two Italians Max and Marco hang on.

Johnny Rea, on the other hand, is 4 seconds behind the new leader and must above all defend his fifth place against Carlos Checa. Sylvain Guintoli failed to get rid of Davide Giugliano, who is even ahead of the Frenchman !

In the penultimate chicane of the 13th lap, Melandri took second place by diving under Sykes’ ZX-10R. Marco fits into his teammate’s wheel. Sykes and Biaggi continue their efforts, as does Checa who just passed Rea !

Seven laps from the end, the n ° 33 BMW takes the reins of the race from n ° 91. Kawa ‘n ° 66 did not keep pace and Aprilia ended up attacking it in the "Foggy Esses". But Tom gets back on Max on the next braking and quickly recovers his third place !

In front, Haslam took back first place from Melandri … Sykes and Biaggi are in their aspiration, Checa grabs a few tenths in the leading quartet but is surprised by Rea who still does not consider himself out of the race !

Melandri takes the lead again on the 19th lap … Haslam gets out of the chicane and Biaggi follows him in the gravel! Marco was therefore offered a 1.5 second lead over Sykes. Leon joins the track in Tom’s wheel and Max must work to join them.

Jonathan Rea is only one second from the podium! Checa has suddenly slowed down and is two seconds from the Honda. The champion will have to settle for ten points for sixth place … Unless there is a new blunder ahead ?!

Melandri at the moment is not making any mistakes. Isolated in the lead, he started the penultimate lap with the firm intention of giving the S1000RR its very first World Superbike victory! Sykes remains in 2nd position, closely followed by Haslam and Biaggi.

Leon and his BMW go twice to get past Tom and his Ninja. Johnny has returned to Biaggi’s wheel but cannot attack! The last lap is launched with beating drums between the four men who play the two steps of the podium behind Melandri.

Rea takes advantage of a slight gap from Biaggi to secure fourth place. Haslam for his part is giving everything to get back to Melandri. This final assault allows him to drop Sykes but Marco is too far away. It is therefore to the Italian that the honor of winning the first victory in the BMW Superbike goes. !

Haslam crossed the finish line seven tenths behind his teammate and the podium was completed by Sykes. Rea finished in 4th place in the Kawasaki wheel and three tenths ahead of Biaggi. Checa finished 6th, far ahead of the Ducatis of Giugliano and Guintoli.

The gaps are considerably reduced in the general classification, but the time is not yet to take stock: the World Superbike riders will have the right to a second round this afternoon. Hopefully the ominous sky won’t fall on their heads !

Supersport Race

Jules Cluzel took the lead ahead of Glen Richards, Broc Parkes, Sam Lowes, Kenan Sofuoglu and Valentin Debise. This group of six drivers comes off slightly in the first lap while Fabien Foret, who unfortunately missed his start, is in fourteenth position.

Broc attacks and passes Triumph n ° 45 in the penultimate hairpin of the second lap. Jules takes his ease in mind as Sam runs into Glen Richards. At the end of the 2nd lap, however, Cluzel can again hear the Honda n ° 23 roar behind him … Foret begins his ascent: he is 12th.

Lowes passes Richards at the start of the third round and joins the fight for 1st place. Sofuoglu is the first Kawa ‘pilot, fourth in the "scratch". The Turk happily sweeps the track and is slow to overtake the Australian pilot posted in front of him. Valentin Debise appears in sixth place 2.5 seconds behind his – our – compatriot in the lead.

Jules takes advantage of the incredible fight between Lowes, Parkes and Richards to isolate himself. Sofuoglu also benefits from this struggle to grab fourth place at the start of the 5th lap. Fabien Foret climbs to tenth place, still six seconds behind Cluzel, but in the wheel of McConnell’s Triumph.

The gap is widening between Lowes – chasing Cluzel – and Parkes, chased by Sofuoglu! The Turk, with a particularly generous style, climbs on the third step of the podium in the 6th loop and aims for the backsplash of the n ° 11.

Cluzel is attacked by Lowes at the very end of the same 6th lap. Sam whips his CBR and Jules takes his wheel. Only a few lengths away, Sofuoglu is following with interest the duel between the two Honda. Behind the driver Kawa ‘n ° 54 are the Australians Parkes and Richards.

The club of five stand in less than two seconds and have dropped a now shattered squad. Debise is running in 8th place, Foret was snatched his 9th place by McConnell and will not be able to make a comeback of which he has the secret.

Suddenly, while he was impeccably following Lowes’ rhythm, Cluzel found himself behind Sofuoglu! Parkes and Richards are two seconds behind the new duo, Morais (sixth) is more than ten seconds away.

Eight laps from the end, the ZX-6R n ° 54 picks up slowly but surely the CBR600RR n ° 11, accompanied by our compatriot and his own Honda at n ° 16. In the following lap, the gaps between the three men on the podium stabilize but Sam almost misses the last pin…

The Englishman attacks the 17th round with a knife still clenched between his teeth: the Briton is keen to win his first World Supersport victory in front of his home crowd !

Sofuoglu does not take it off a tire – Pirelli, what else ?! -, while Cluzel, a little more messy, is losing ground. Valentin Debise is in the middle of a fight against Quarmby for the gain of 7th place, Foret occupies 10th place, Lanusse 19th.

Three laps from the end, Lowes and Sofuoglu find themselves alone in the lead. The two-time world champion remains at a respectable distance from the young Englishman for the moment, perhaps waiting for the right moment to leap onto the highest step, for the 19th time in his career ?

But Lowes is wild: he flies on the Donington Park track for the last two laps! The Honda rider pushes his Honda and Pirelli to their limits, but is careful not to cross their limits. Kenan can therefore not attempt anything at the controls of his Ninja and escorts n ° 11 to the finish line….

The young English driver explodes with joy as he passes under the checkered flag! This first success also gives him 25 extremely important points for the championship since they allow him to come back to five lengths of Sofuoglu, second in this British race..

Jules Cluzel signs his second consecutive podium, a week after his superb victory at Monza (read). At the same time, he took advantage of Foret’s poor performance to take 3rd place in the provisional classification..

Second Superbike race

Max Biaggi and his Aprilia take off like cannonballs and take the lead while Carlos Checa crash! The front wheel of Ducati n ° 7 hit the rear wheel of Laverty’s RSV4: the Spaniard takes Smrz and Giugliano with him, the Italian being the only one to leave !

Tom Sykes recovers the lead before the end of the first lap and leads ahead of Max Biaggi, Len Haslam, Jonathan Rea, Marco Melandri, Sylvain Guintoli, Eugene Laverty, Leon Camier, Ayrton Badovini and Chaz Davies. Michel Fabrizio is penalized for a false start and must pass through the pits.

As in the first round, our Sylvain is struggling to keep up with the pace of the leading men … He lets the five pilots in front of him slip away while Laverty and Camier stick to the backsplash of his Ducati n ° 50. Maxime Berger is 12th, Loris Baz 14th !

At the end of the 3rd lap, Rea passed Melandri in the penultimate chicane, not without jostling the Italian! In front, Tom prints his rhythm, Max and Leon (Haslam) follow without difficulty and benefit from a slight lead over Johnny and Marco. Sylvain stands firm against Eugene and Leon (Camier).

Two laps later, Melandri recovers his fourth place in the very turn where Rea stamped him. Guintoli, just behind, does not miss a thing of this superb spectacle. Far behind, Maxime Berger tumbles in the standings while Baz climbs to 12th place.

In front, Sykes and Biaggi never leave each other while Haslam plays the yoyo more depending on the sections of the circuit. Melandri made an effort to get back on top of the top three, dragging the # 65 Honda into its wheel. Guintoli him, can not follow and must always watch the British who follow him … Berger returns to the pits and will not come out until two laps later in the 20th and last position..

At the end of the 8th lap, Haslam directly threatens Biaggi, still posted in the wake of Kawa ‘n ° 66. The Italian does not launch an attack and slightly clogs his pursuers. Melandri also took the opportunity to temporarily steal Haslam his 3rd place.

Manhandled by Leon Camier in the fight for 7th place, Eugene Laverty overdoes it and falls … This is particularly the business of Loris Baz, who enters the Top 10 for his second World Superbike race! Michel Fabrizio, despite his penalty, enters the Top 15.

In the lead since the first lap, Sykes opens the track. Melandri tried two attacks on Biaggi in the two successive hairpins but Biaggi was unperturbed, kept the best trajectory and always came out second. In the next round, Marco finally manages to win.

Ten laps from the end, the BMW n ° 33 – victorious in the first round – is now aiming for the Kawa ‘. But Aprilia n ° 3 comes back and climbs back to the second step of the podium! Phlegmatic, Haslam and Rea are content to observe the fight of the two ex-stars of the Grands Prix.

In the next round, Biaggi is dislocated by Melandri. This time, Haslam and Rea took the opportunity to overtake the 2010 champion: Mad Max has just lost three places in just two turns! Legitimately irritated, Biaggi attempts an attack on Johnny in the Esses but does not pass in front of him and even loses contact..

Then it was Rea’s turn to miss – completely -: in the last pin, the Honda rider bites into the grass and starts again in 5th position, a big second behind Biaggi. Sykes still leads but both BMWs attack at the same time, one lap later in the final pin !

Haslam found himself at the helm of the race six laps from the end ahead of Melandri, Sykes, Biaggi and Rea. Max surprises Tom in the chicane. At the start of the 19th lap, Melandri dives under the BMW n ° 91 at the end of the straight line and takes the lead.

Haslam takes the lead at the end of the same lap and Biaggi steals 2nd place from Melandri. Sykes is overtaken by Rea and the English Ninja seems to be losing ground. There are only four laps left to go and Johnny stealthily passes Melandri.

At the head of the race, Biaggi pretends to dislodge Haslam at the end of the straight line but takes 2nd place to properly attack the big descent of Donington Park…

The end of the race is simply mind-blowing: the four leading men embark on a real Superpole lap. Melandri is particularly excited and tries extremely late braking to get the double at the expense of his teammate !

In the final corner, Marco Melandri found himself completely out of line. Leon Haslam won the race but his compatriot Jonathan Rea took advantage of the confusion to slip his Honda under the BMW n ° 91 … The two machines made contact and Haslam fell !

The "race" of the S1000RR n ° 91 does not stop right in the middle of the last hairpin: Leon’s motorbike quickly slides outwards and mows down n ° 33, causing Melandri to fall! Jonathan Rea wins this second round ahead of Max Biaggi and Tom Sykes !

Leon Camier and Sylvain Guintoli completed this unexpected Top 5, while Loris Baz finished in a very good 8th place! Michel Fabrizio crossed the finish line in 13th position, nearly 30 seconds after Rea. One minute and twenty seconds after the same Jonathan Rea, Leon Haslam scores the point for 15th – and last – place in the race, pushed by the marshals !

Max Biaggi therefore retains the lead in the championship with 128.5 points, 5 more than Tom Sykes now 2nd. Jonathan Rea takes advantage of Carlos Checa’s fall to overtake him too: the Englishman has 108 points, against 105.5 for the Spaniard.

Marco Melandri loses a place despite his victory in the first round: he has 8 units less than Checa and 8.5 more than Leon Haslam. Sylvain Guintoli emerges in 7th place in the provisional. The next World Superbike meeting is scheduled for May 28 in Salt Lake City: beware, it will be a Monday and the races will be held in the evening, time difference with the USA requires !

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