WSBK – WSBK Miller Videos, Statements & Analysis – Superbike Riders’ Statements

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Videos, statements and analysis from WSBK to Miller

WSBK - WSBK Miller Videos, Statements & Analysis - Superbike Riders' Statements

The fifth round of the World SBK 2011 was played last night in Miller. To complement our live reports, here are the Superbike riders’ statements, our analyzes and the video summaries of the Superbike races..

Superbike rider statements

Carlos Checa, 1st (x 2) :
"Two great wins today, especially after what happened to us last year (read, NDLR). I took my precautions in the first run during the first laps given the somewhat uncertain track conditions, but after a while I felt good with the bike and I was able to really attack. The machine behaved well despite the slightly strange conditions. I was able to pass those in front, it was not easy, then I tried to widen the gap. Towards the end I stayed calm, I controlled my lead and it did! It was really funny because on my return to the parc ferme, I saw fans handing me a flag so I went "off track" to reach them. I only found thick mud and ended up falling: the happiest fall of my career! My feeling with the bike improved in the second run and I really enjoyed the race. It’s a wonderful day, especially for my team and for Ducati. I want to thank everyone, my team, Ducati and the sponsors. It was not a simple double victory, but also a moral victory".

Jakub Smrz, 2nd then 8th :
"I am extremely satisfied today, the team did a good job preparing me an excellent bike which allowed me to reach a second podium this season. Unfortunately, I had problems with the rear tire in the second run and I couldn’t attack as I wanted. We will carefully analyze the causes of this problem, but the results remain very positive. We are now heading towards Misano, a track that I really appreciate and where I have already secured a prime spot in the Superpole. I plan to do even better !"

Leon Camier, 4th then 2nd :
"This is what we needed, a weekend that ends well! I was quick in the first run and certainly could have fought for the podium. It’s a shame that a gearbox problem made me lose precious seconds, forcing me to settle for 4th place. I got off to a good start in the second heat, well behind Checa from the start, and I maintained a good pace without being able to catch up. I have to thank the guys from the team and from Aprilia, they deserve to be congratulated for this result. We must now look to the future. The goal is to keep this direction".

Sylvain Guintoli, 3rd then 7th :
"I am delighted to have secured the first podium of my Superbike career, and I am very happy to have reached it with this bike and with this team. I could have reached it sooner if I had not suffered this big fall in Australia (read, NDLR) which influenced my results for a few races. My physical condition is now near optimal and the results are immediately palpable. I thank everyone for their excellent work. I’m sorry I wasn’t able to go faster in the second run, but like Jakub, my rear tire grip felt worse. I expect interesting performances for the races to come, starting with those of Misano, a circuit which definitely matches our bike.".

Max Biaggi, DNF then 3rd :
"It’s a shame for the first race … Rea unfortunately touched me and I couldn’t avoid the crash. I have a few bruises that bother me, I will have to take care of them carefully and check that nothing is serious. In the second run I got off to a good start, but I wasn’t very aggressive in the first corner. The others slipped in front of me and I had to gain ground to settle in 3rd position. My compliments to Checa who was really unbeatable here, but I think we were able to show ourselves too. I am sure we will be able to express our potential in Misano. The championship is certainly far from over !"

Eugene Laverty, 5th then 4th :
"I managed to get off to a great start in both races and maintain my starting position on the first curve. In the first run, I made a mistake changing gears, which dropped me back to 15th place. I moved up to second place at the halfway point, but then I started to suffer from the advanced wear on my tires. We improved the chassis setup before the second race and I was much more careful with the tires. I was posted in third place from the start, but I didn’t want to push too hard on Max to make sure the tires last until the end. I’m quite happy to have finished fifth and fourth. I’m now fourth in the provisional standings and that’s fine with me !"

Michel Fabrizio, DNF then 5th :
"I’m furious because the day could have been a lot better for us … I couldn’t do anything about my crash in the first run because I didn’t know what was going on until I felt a big blow. The impact made me fly through the air and I fell very heavily on the left side. Ruben (Xaus, NDLR) was a little too hot, he just hit me and it was over … He came to our box to apologize. The team fixed the bike and I used it for the second race. I didn’t take any painkillers until the second round, because I wanted the pain to turn into positive energy! I didn’t have a particularly good start and had a lot of work in the first few laps. Little by little, I got back through the peloton and on lap 11 I was fifth, but far behind Laverty. I kept pushing the pace and managed to catch up with it. I knew I was faster than him and was confident I could pass him in the last loop. Unfortunately I ran out of time: if there had been one more lap, I’m sure I would have passed it to finish fourth. So I’m happy to have got fifth place starting from fifteenth on the grid, but a little angry because with one more lap I finished fourth"…

Tom Sykes, 6th then 10th :
"Sixth place in the first heat was a good result, a real improvement over last year (read, NDLR). We were strong at the end of the race and I set my best time three laps before the end, it was definitely a click. We started from the third row and after a bad start, we landed a Top 6. In the second run we didn’t make any real change in the settings because we wanted nothing to upset this weekend. In the end, I got a better start for the second race but there were the guys fighting on my right, then Camier made a maneuver, beautiful and powerful, and unfortunately I got pushed into the first corner. The whole race was faster than the first one, but unfortunately I found myself a bit blocked by Jonathan Rea which allowed Ayrton Badovini to catch up with us and pass me. I am convinced that we can go further and make further progress. I really want to thank the whole team and Kawasaki. We worked together, even more closely, and it showed throughout the weekend".

Ayrton Badovini, 7th then 9th :
NC.

Leon Haslam, 8th then 13th :
"It’s a racing weekend to forget … We have identified a few issues that we need to fix. I have no doubts that the whole team will work hard to push us up the rankings soon. We have to get out of here and pull ourselves together if we are to be strong in the next races. Now we have to go ahead with the motorcycle"…

Maxime Berger, 11th then 14th :
"If someone had told me after qualifying yesterday that I would get my best performance of the season, I wouldn’t have believed them. But on the dry track I found a very good feeling with my Ducati. After a fairly quick start, I maintained a very high pace throughout the race. I managed to overtake many drivers until the eleventh place in the final. In the second run, while I was constantly turning in good times, I could not do better than fourteenth. We are now returning to Europe with seven additional points and the certainty that we still have a good margin of improvement. I want to thank my team who did a great job. I’ll do my best for the guys from my team at the next meeting in Misano: it’s their home race !"

Jonathan Rea, DNF then 11th :
"Frustratingly, it’s a word we’ve used a lot this weekend, but it’s a bit of a stretch. We just didn’t have the set to compete and I couldn’t claim a better result than the second run. Obviously, the day was not made any easier by the absence of data from the 21 laps of the first race. From the first lap I was the victim of a very daring overtaking attempt that went wrong and we both fell. I’m disappointed with how things turned out this weekend, especially since the guys on the team had worked really hard to make it work … we just couldn’t find the little trick on the bike for this track, and scoring four points is not enough. We cannot leave here with our heads held high. The only consolation is that I will not come home wrapped up like a mummy like I did last year. (read, NDLR). Although everyone else has done tests there, I hope we can start the weekend in Misano relatively close to them, because I have fond memories from two years ago. (read, NDLR), like I had from Miller … but not from this weekend".

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