Carlos Checa added to his...
Carlos Checa added to his considerable points lead by winning Race One at the Nürburgring easily.
Althea Racing Ducati’s Carlos Checa added to his considerable points lead in the World Superbike Championship by winning the first race at the Nürburgring going away, while torrential rains in the second race forced organizers to call a halt to the proceedings at 13 of a planned 19 laps. Leading at the time of the race being called complete was Kawasaki’s Tom Sykes, giving the British rider his first WSBK victory. With Checa’s nearest title rival Max Biaggi sitting out the event due to a foot injury sustained during Friday’s practice, the veteran Spaniard opened up his points lead to 76 points over new second-place rider Marco Melandri.
Race One was basically a Checa runaway, with Pata Aprilia’s Nori Haga briefly challenging for a few laps before giving way to Melandri. But neither were able to put any semblance of pressure on Checa, who gradually pulled away to an easy win. Melandri handed the runner-up spot to Haga for a time midway through the race when he had an off-track excursion, but the Italian quickly regrouped and caught back up and passed Haga three laps from the finish. Coming in fourth was Melandri’s Yamaha teammate Eugene Laverty, with BMW’s Leon Haslam fifth.
Kawasaki's Tom Sykes managed...
Kawasaki's Tom Sykes managed to survive a rain-drenched Race Two that was halted with 13 laps run due to safety concerns after seven of 20 competitors had crashed out of the race.
The second race was a rain-drenched affair, with inclement weather soaking the track just before the start of what was to be a dry race. The field was given 10 minutes to switch to rain tires, but even then the conditions became bad enough that organizers called a red flag stoppage after so many riders fell that only 13 motorcycles were on the track when the race was halted. Haga led for the vast majority of the race until he fell on the 11th lap, handing the lead to Sykes, who held it until the race was called two laps later. The Team Effenbert-Liberty Racing Ducati duo of Sylvain Guintoli and Jakub Smrz took the remaining podium placings, with Castrol Honda’s Jonathan Rea managing to survive a high-speed fall to remount and finish fourth, and Laverty fifth. Checa was smartly in survival mode, and stayed out of trouble to finish eighth.
“Today’s first race was very special for me, and signifies my first ever SBK win at the Nürburgring,” said Race One winner Checa. “I would like to dedicate this result to Claudio Castiglioni; he was an extremely important figure in the motorcyling world and it is also in part thanks to him that we are here racing these bikes today. The Race 1 result was very important in terms of the championship. I knew that it was important to increase the gap between me and Noriyuki in the first half of the race and this small advantage proved useful in the final stages when I began to suffer from a lack of grip. Race 2 on the other hand was one of the hardest races I’ve ever run. We were obliged to try to finish it of course but I was really suffering due to the sheer quantity of water and track conditions, and couldn’t even see as far as the next corner! I’m sorry for those who took risks and I’m also sorry that Biaggi was not racing with us today. I hope he gets better and that we’ll see him back at Imola. But for us it was a very positive day and I’m very happy with the outcome.”
Race One results:
1. Carlos Checa (SPA) Ducati
2. Marco Melandri (ITA) Yamaha
3. Nori Haga (JPN) Aprilia
4. Eugene Laverty (IRL) Yamaha
5. Leon Haslam (GBR) BMW
6. Sylvain Guintoli (FRA) Ducati
7. Joan Lascorz (SPA) Kawasaki
8. Leon Camier (GBR) Aprilia
9. Ayrton Badovini (ITA) BMW
10. Jonathan Rea (GBR) Honda
Race Two results:
1. Tom Sykes (GBR) Kawasaki
2. Sylvain Guintoli (FRA) Ducati
3. Jakub Smrz (CZE) Ducati
4. Jonathan Rea (GBR) Honda
5. Eugene Laverty (IRL) Yamaha
6. Marco Melandri (ITA) Yamaha
7. Ayrton Badovini (ITA) BMW
8. Carlos Checa (SPA) Ducati
9. Leon Haslam (GBR) BMW
10. Maxime Berger (FRA) Ducati