WSBK – Videos, statements and analysis of the SBK in Imola – Analysis of the World Superbike in Imola

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SBK Videos, Statements and Analysis in Imola

WSBK - Videos, statements and analysis of the SBK in Imola - Analysis of the World Superbike in Imola

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..

Analysis of the World Superbike in Imola

For three years, the Imola event had been held at the very end of the season. Thus, it is on the circuit "Enzo and Dino Ferrari" that Max Biaggi had won his world title in 2010, and still at Imola that Carlos Checa had locked his coronation last year..

This year, the World Superbike riders traveled to the province of Ducati Bologna much earlier! And if the weather conditions turned out to be ideal for testing, they were much more tricky yesterday, day of the two races….

Very early on Sunday morning, the circuit was besieged by a thick layer of fog: the photos tweeted – yes, "tweeted" – by the official Honda team gave a lot of cold in the back … and in the tires! Admittedly, the sun did eventually rise, but the mercury remained nestled at the bottom of the thermometer.

The temperatures published by the BMW Motorrad team are startling: while the German engineers recorded Saturday between 20 and 26 ° C in the air, and between 24 and 42 ° C on the track, these temperatures fell respectively – and suddenly! – between 13 and 15 ° C, and only 11 to 18 ° C on the ground Sunday !

Also, some teams do not hesitate to blame this upheaval when analyzing the (poor) performance of their drivers. This is particularly the case of Pieter Breddels, technical coordinator within the official Honda team….

"In the first round, our two pilots had problems choosing tires", testifies the manager Ten Kate,"we were hoping the new tire would work in the cooler conditions but it didn’t".

Hiroshi Aoyama suffered particularly yesterday: starting from 23rd place on the grid, the Japanese rider managed to climb up to 11th place – turning almost a second faster than in qualifying! – but could not maintain his pace thereafter, falling to 18th and last place (Salom 19th completed five laps less than these little comrades)…

"The tire performance fell apart and I started to miss a few gears", declares helpless and disappointed the last Samurai of the GP 250, betrayed by his engine during his second race – of his entire career! – to Imola.

His teammate Jonathan Rea was not much better on Sunday, especially since he had to recover from an ugly highside that occurred the day before at the end of the Superpole event … The winner of the first round l last year (JR was deprived of the double because of a "two-ball play", read) records as the best result this year at Imola a 5th place in the second round.

The wheel turns, as they say … Or as Joan Lascorz (7th then 9th) illustrated it even better last night: "I ran against a guy who won last year (Jonathan Rea of ​​course, Editor’s note) so it shows how difficult this discipline is".

Watching Carlos Checa evolve, however, driving a Superbike at Imola seemed hopelessly obvious! Without ever giving the impression of forcing his 1198, the Spaniard managed his two races perfectly, outflanking the English Ninja at the desired moment, then "quietly" managing his lead..

The impressive fall in the first Australian round was definitely digested by Carlos. Bringing a smile back to Preziosi himself, El Toro signs his second and third consecutive victories on Ducati’s land at the very start of the 2012 season..

The King Carlos (worthy heir to the "King Carl" Fogarty) also took the opportunity to equal the number of victories of a certain Raymond Roche in the World Superbike, that is to say 23 successes. Next target: the first 27 steps of the podium climbed by Doug Polen, the sixth most victorious driver in WSBK history after Edwards (31), Corser (33), Haga (43, but no world title!), Bayliss ( 52) and Fogarty (59)…

Thanks to the three victories in a row for the No.7 Ducati and third place for the No.50 in the very first race of the year, Ducati is therefore well ahead of the manufacturers’ standings with 91 points (out of a maximum of 100). ) against 71 for Aprilia, 69 for Kawasaki, 63 for BMW, 40 for Honda and 15 for Suzuki…

While he complained about the incredible rise – impossible according to him? – from Biaggi during the second Australian round (from last to second place!), Ducati Althea’s big boss, Genesio Bevilacqua, is now worried about the introduction of bridles on the 1198…

"We fight with what we have available (a world champion motorcycle weighted six kilograms, editor’s note) and are quite satisfied, but of course we are anxious about a possible increase in weight and restriction of the air intake".

At Imola, however, it was above all a question of managing the wear of the Pirelli gums, rather than extracting the maximum horsepower from the engines … Compared to Checa’s rear tire, moreover, Haslam’s was really painful – limit fear! – to see in the parc ferme after the second race…

However, it must be borne in mind that the young Englishman did not spare his tires, nor his S1000RR in general, to stay in contact with the very best – Checa and Sykes -, as well as to protect himself from the Corsair’s last minute attacks. and his RSV4 n ° 3.

Unlike Marco Melandri, the "Pocket Rocket" n ° 91 (in homage to his father Ron "Rocket" Haslam) did not hesitate to martyr the front end of his BMW. Visibly less sensitive to the ugly twitching of the fork than his new Italian teammate, Leon wins a third place "double" for the Munich firm.

This is a great first for the S1000RR, which has climbed the podium six times since its debut in 2009. After the 2nd place of the No. 33 during the opening round in Australia, Leon‘s two results confirm the excellent health of the German Superbike.

Haslam, who is barely suffering from his right ankle anymore, will he soon be able to offer his first victory to the Behemian clan, or will he be given priority by his teammate Melandri? The suspense is at its height … Much more than with the Greens.

Author of the first two pole positions this season and regularly at the top of the timesheets in practice (as today even in post-race tests!), Tom Sykes is undoubtedly the fastest Ninja.

And it is not the heavy fall of his teammate Joan Lascorz at the very beginning of the afternoon (always this Monday) which risks changing things … "The pilot was immediately taken care of by the Circuit Medical Center where first aid was given to him. A probable double fracture of the vertebrae has been diagnosed", unfortunately report the organizers.

"Doctor Giancarlo Caroli, medical director of the Imola circuit thus made the decision to transfer the pilot by helicopter to the Maggiore hospital in Bologna.", where he will be taken care of by a specialized care unit (closely watch the" Twiter conversation "on the right column to keep up to date live …).

The smiling – until then … – Tom Sykes will undoubtedly be keen to shine in three weeks at Assen, and to dedicate, if necessary, his first victory in WSBK to his teammate! Constantly progressing since the start of this season, the n ° 66 has only one step to climb…

The Suzuki team, on the other hand, finds itself in front of a sacred staircase: poorly qualified, "Leon (Camier) could hope for a Top 6 in view of his lap times", regrets the team manager Jack Valentine."In the second heat, he found himself in the pack but turned in small 1 ’49 at the end of the race, finishing in a solid 8th place".

John Hopkins for his part was competing in his first event of the year and was able to realize that he was not in enough shape to do well: the Anglo-American finished the first Italian round in a courageous 13th place, despite the pain in his right arm.

I thought it would be fine for the second race", explains # 21,"but I had cramps almost from the start and I quickly realized that I could not hold the handlebars properly". Careful," Hopper "preferred to return to the pits.

Sylvain Guintoli him, endured the exact opposite: forced to give up after his fall in the first round, the n ° 50 (hit in the chest) had to grit his teeth all the second round to score six points … A very thin loot for the second fastest Superpole time on Saturday !

The Frenchie therefore descends three places in the provisional classification – from 6th to 9th position – and finds himself just in front of his teammate and compatriot Maxime Berger. Our "Mad Max" totals 20 points, thanks to his "double" from 12th places in Imola.

The Italian "Mad Max" meanwhile, loses the championship lead but remains in the aspiration of Carlos Checa (71 points against 75). Author of two 4th places in Imola, Biaggi has not lost any of his Australian ardor – the kicks of his RSV4 have also attested to it – but he was much less domineering than during the second round of Phillip Island.

The Roman Emperor is leaving Italy without having tasted the drink-full of bubbles … It will undoubtedly be different on the super fast track of Monza, on May 6. Before that, however, the World Superbike riders have an appointment on April 22 for the first round of the presidential third round of the World Superbike, in Assen in the Netherlands! Stay connected…

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