Results from The Nurburgring Round 12 of the 2012 eni SBK World Championship

Biaggi back in front after Nürburgring dramas unfold

 

Nürburgring (Germany), Sunday 9 September, 2012 – Max Biaggi (Aprilia Racing Team) once more heads the points table in the eni FIM Superbike World Championship, after two races in Germany laden with incident and frequent accidents for the top two championship runners. Biaggi won race one in impressive style, taking his 21^st career win and his fifth of the year. In race two Chaz Davies (ParkinGO MTC Team Aprilia) won his first ever SBK race and in doing so became the eighth rider to take a victory in what is proving to be a remarkable 2012 season.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After taking the win in race one at the Nurburgring round on the #3 Aprilia Racing Team RSV4 Factory mount, Mad Max Biaggi crashed out in race two only to remount and finish in the 13th-place spot to take the championship points lead back from title rival Marco Melandri, who crashed out out of both races.  Photo courtesy of the eni SBK World Championship.

 

 

Marco Melandri (BMW Motorrad Motorsport) lost the championship lead he had worked so hard for in the previous round in Russia when he fell in both 20-lap races. The second crash happened while he was leading. Biaggi had already crashed on the first lap of race two but restarted to battle back to take what may well be three important points.

 

The event in Germany brought forward a number of firsts, all of which unfolded under brilliant blue skies and sunshine in front of a weekend crowd of 46,000 spectators.

 

Aprilia riders went 1-2-3 in the opening race for the first time ever. British rider Leon Camier (FIXI Crescent Suzuki) gave his team its first podium finish of the season with a fine third place in race two. Second place rider in each race was Eugene Laverty (Aprilia Racing Team) taking his first double podium for the Italian manufacturer.

 

Davies’ race win gave riders from the UK a combined victory total of 118 in individual SBK contests, joining the USA and Australia on the same record total of 118 victories each.

 

In the championship Biaggi now has 381 points, Melandri 308.5 and Sykes 291.5, making the fight for the overall title closer between the top three yet again, with only 26.5 points separating them all. Two rounds and four races remain, with everything to play for.

 

Race 1

 

In the first race Biaggi pulled off one of his coolest and most assured wins to re-take the lead in the championship fight. His victory came after he took the lead from a slowing Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team), and before the end of the 20 laps both Laverty and Davies had also passed Sykes, making it a 1-2-3 for riders on Aprilias. Camier was a battling fifth after a last minute glitch on the starting grid, while Melandri crashed out on lap six.

 

Max Biaggi: “It’s just a happy moment to be here. The result is the best that we can do, so we can be proud of all the work we did during the weekend. We keep improving the bike especially in the set-up. Overall I could ride well, even though it was slippery basically I could set good lap times. Sykes impressed me with his pace in the first half, and finally he started to lose concentration and maybe grip and I could take him and keep my lap time.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Aprilia riders went 1-2-3 in race one today at the Nurburgring round, and Eugene Laverty, Max Biaggi and Chaz Davies celebrate on the podium after their hard-earned efforts.  Photo courtesy of the eni SBK World Championship.

 

 

Results: 1. Biaggi (Aprilia) 20 Laps/102.740 km in 38'52.751 average 158.553 kph; 2. Laverty (Aprilia) 3.027; 3. Davies (Aprilia) 3.127; 4. Sykes (Kawasaki) 12.306; 5. Camier (Suzuki) 14.131; 6. Guintoli (Ducati) 19.523; 7. Haslam (BMW) 27.017; 8.Zanetti (Ducati) 33.116; 9. Badovini (BMW) 34.937; 10. Aoyama (Honda) 39.132; etc.

 

Race 2

 

Davies claimed his and his team’s first win with an impressive display of eventual front-running, winning by over three seconds and easing up, after top contenders Melandri and Biaggi found the gravel traps. In a festival of points for British and Irish riders, Laverty was second, and a great ride from Camier saw him recover from a less than perfect start to go third, only losing second place to a late push from Laverty. Jonathan Rea (Honda World Superbike Team) was fourth, and one-time race leader Sykes was fifth. Biaggi recovered to finish 13^th, half a minute down on the winner.

 

Chaz Davies: “What a feeling! I got an average start and went the long way round at the first corner. It was risky but it worked and I was fourth. I was comfortable all race, and knew if I could just get away with the front guys I thought I could stay and that was the case, but I didn’t expect them the mistakes from Marco and Max! In the end it was just a concentration game with myself, keeping the lap times consistent. What a way to repay the ParkinGo team for their efforts!”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chaz Davies celebrates after taking the win in race two at the Nurburgring round on the #19 ParkinGO MTC Racing Aprilia RSV4 Factory mount for his first-ever win in the premier class in his rookie season.  Photo courtesy of the eni SBK World Championship.

 

 

Results: 1. Davies (Aprilia) 20 Laps/102.740 km in 39'00.327 average 158.039 kph; 2. Laverty (Aprilia) 3.022; 3. Camier (Suzuki) 3.222; 4. Rea (Honda) 5.705; 5. Sykes (Kawasaki) 7.304; 6. Checa (Ducati) 7.541; 7. Giugliano (Ducati) 14.709; 8. Baz (Kawasaki) 19.782; 9. Badovini (BMW) 19.925; 10. Guintoli (Ducati) 20.028; etc.

 

 

Points (after 12 of 14 rounds): 1. Biaggi 318; 2.Melandri 308,5; 3. Sykes 291,5; 4. Checa 247,5; 5. Rea 225,5; 6. Laverty 213,5; 7. Haslam 189; 8. Davies 156,5; 9. Guintoli 143,5; 10. Giugliano 125; etc.Manufacturers: 1. Aprilia 384.5; 2. BMW 377; 3. Ducati 342; 4. Kawasaki 322.5; 5. Honda 240.5; 6. Suzuki 120.5.

 

World Supersport

 

Kenan Sofuoglu (Kawasaki Lorenzini) won his fourth race of the season today, securing victory by 0.541 seconds over second place rider Jules Cluzel (PTR Honda) in the 19-lap FIM Supersport World Championship race at the Nürburgring. Sofuoglu’s win was of the start-to-finish variety as he extended his championship lead over Cluzel, with Kenan now sitting on 198 points to the French rider’s 160. Third in the race was Fabien Foret (Kawasaki Intermoto Step Racing) who moved to third in the championship after podium challenger Sam Lowes (Bogdanka PTR Honda) fell. Lowes restarted to finish 14^th but he is now fourth overall in the points, four behind Foret. Broc Parkes (Ten Kate racing Products Honda) was fourth today, 2012 rising star Vladimir Leonov (Yakhnich Motorsports Yamaha) went fifth but was disqualified post-race for a technical infringement.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Kenan Sofuoglu won the World Supersport race at The Ring on the #54 Kawasaki Lorenzini ZX-6R  by just .541 seconds over Jules Cluzel.  Photo courtesy of the eni SBK World Championship.

 

 

Results: 1. Sofuoglu (Kawasaki) 19 Laps/97.603 km in 38'13.709 average 153.189 kph; 2. Cluzel (Honda) 0.541; 3. Foret (Kawasaki) 6.258; 4. Parkes (Honda) 10.345; 5. Baldolini (Triumph) 18.303; 6. Talmacsi (Honda) 22.366; 7. Iannuzzo (Triumph) 27.230; 8. Linortner (Yamaha) 33.213; 9. Quarmby (Honda) 33.526; 10. Roccoli (Yamaha) 35.932; etc.

 

Points (after 11 of 13 rounds): 1. Sofuoglu 198; 2. Cluzel 160; 3. Foret 144; 4. Lowes 141; 5. Parkes 122; 6. Morais 84; 7. Baldolini 78; 8. Quarmby 77; 9. Iannuzzo 60; 10. Tamburini 50; etc.Manufacturers: 1. Kawasaki 237; 2. Honda 237; 3. Triumph 107; 4. Yamaha 97; 5. Suzuki 6.

 

Superstock 1000

 

Sylvain Barrier (BMW Motorrad Italia GoldBet) was always in contention for the win at the Nürburgring but was finally gifted the victory after three of his main rivals fell one-by-one. First off was Eddi La Marra (Barni Racing Team Italia Ducati) then Jeremy Guarnoni (MRS Kawasaki) and finally pole man Bryan Staring (Team Pedercini Kawasaki). Kevin Coghlan (DMC Racing Ducati) capitalised on the bad luck up front to take a second place finish, with Markus Reiterberger (Team Alpha Racing BMW) third. In the championship La Marra leads on 119 points, Barrier has 113, Staring 86 and Guarnoni 82.

 

Results: 1. Barrier (BMW) 11 Laps/56.507 km in 21'56.069 average 154.570 kph; 2. Coghlan (Ducati) 11.212; 3. Reiterberger (BMW) 13.096; 4. Mercado (Kawasaki) 14.954; 5. Savadori (Ducati) 15.775; 6. Massei (Honda) 16.757; 7.Bergman (Kawasaki) 20.619; 8. Jezek (Ducati) 21.972; 9. Bussolotti (Ducati) 22.043; 10. Lussiana (Kawasaki) 22.358; etc.

 

Points (after 8 rounds of 10): 1.La Marra 119; 2. Barrier 113; 3. Staring 86; 4. Guarnoni 82; 5.Savadori 78; 6. Reiterberger 78; 7. Coghlan 68; 8. Bergman 68; etc.Manufacturers: 1. Ducati 152; 2. Kawasaki 143; 3. BMW 141; 4. Honda 62; 5. Aprilia 17.

 

KTM European Junior Cup

 

Lukas Wimmer (MSC Schalchen) put in a strong performance to win the seven-lap KTM Junior Cup race by over six seconds, and extend his championship lead in the process. Gaston Garcia (KTM Spain) was second in the race and the championship, with Wimmer now on 95 points and Garcia on 78. Artur Wielebski (Bogdanka Junior Team Poland) was third in the race today, ahead of Javier Orellana (Europ Foods). One round remains, at Magny-Cours in France.

 

Results: 1. Wimmer (KTM) 7 Laps/35.959 km in 15'39.133 average 137.842 kph; 2. Garcia (KTM) 6.441; 3. Wielebski (KTM) 6.657; 4. Orellana (KTM) 6.834; 5. De Lange (KTM) 6.873; 6. Vidal (KTM) 6.917; 7.Fazzina (KTM) 14.699; 8. Pasek (KTM) 14.861; 9. Odegard (KTM) 23.864; 10. Kaczmarek (KTM) 23.946; etc.

 

Points (after 7 rounds of 8): 1.Wimmer 95; 2. Garcia 78; 3. Orellana 75; 4. Vidal 64; 5. Wielebski 59; 6.Patterson 57; 7. Pasek 54; 8. Demoulin 48; etc.

 

 

Official Tyre Supplier   "This year, unlike in 2011, the Nürburgring track provided a weekend of decidedly pleasant temperatures which favoured some particularly spectacular races. With just two rounds left in the World Superbike season, the Championship is still wide open and anything could happen with 5 riders astride bikes from 5 different manufacturers, all mathematically still within a shout of the title. Realistically, however, the circle is closing in around Max Biaggi (Aprilia Racing Team), Marco Melandri (BMW Motorrad Motorsport) and Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team). The weekend just ended was definitely a favourable one for the Aprilia Racing Team factory bikes and the satellite Aprilia ridden under the ParkinGo MTC Racing colours, which managed to pull off a historic hat-trick in Race1 and a one-two in Race 2. My congratulations to them for a job well done. Leon Camier and the Fixi Crescent Suzuki team also put in a noteworthy performance, taking an important third place in Race2. As regards the tyres Pirelli provided for the riders this round, it is interesting to see how all 3 solutions which were brought for the rear (1 SC0 and 2 SC1) were used in both Race1 and Race2, with an overall preference for the P1060, the reference 2012 SC1 which is also available on the market for end users. Pirelli also obtained two important victories today in the racing world which we are very proud of: the MX1 Motocross World Championship with Tony Cairoli and the MX2 Championship with Jeffrey Herlings, which bring the number of titles the Milan-based manufacturer has won in this discipline to 58. On top of this there is the success achieved in the 24 Hour Le Mans with the Kawasaki SRC team which repeats the Bol D’Or victory from April, allowing Pirelli to win the Masters of Endurance, the only non control tyre world motorcycle championship, in confirmation or our supremacy over our competitors." -Giorgio Barbier, Racing Director Pirelli Moto    Pirelli BEST LAP Awards:   SBK Race 1 – Max Biaggi (Aprilia Racing Team), 1'55.267 (Lap 3) SBK Race 2 – Carlos Checa (Althea Racing), 1'56.148 (Lap 4)   Total BEST LAP (SBK): Checa C. (Althea Racing): 7, Biaggi M. (Aprilia Racing Team): 5; Melandri M. (BMW Motorrad Motorsport): 4; Sykes T. (Kawasaki Racing Team): 3; Guintoli S. (Team Effenbert Liberty Racing): 1; Baz L. (Kawasaki Racing Team): 1; Ayrton Badovini (BMW Mottorad Italia Goldbet): 1; Leon Haslam (BMW Motorrad Motorsport): 1    WSS – Sam Lowes (PTR Honda), 2' 00.222 (Lap 12)    Total BEST LAP (WSS): Lowes S. (Bogdanka PTR Honda): 3; Foret F. (Kawasaki Intermoto Step): 2; Parkes B. (Ten Kate Racing Products): 2; Cluzel J. (PTR Honda): 2; Lanzi L. (Prorace): 1; Morais S. (Kawasaki Lorenzini): 1    STK1000 – Sylvain Barrier (BMW Motorrad Italia GoldBet), 1’58.994 (Lap 5) STK600 – Michael VD Mark (EAB Ten Kate Junior Team), 2'02.736 (Lap 7)

For further information:

 

Julian Thomas
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Email: julian.thomas@infrontsports.com

 

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Valentina Conti
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In 2011 the FIM Superbike World Championship achieved the following:

- A worldwide TV audience of 462 million
- Live broadcasts on 95 television networks covering 173 countries
- 3,106 broadcast hours
- Approximately 1,000,000 race spectators
- 3,779,237 contacts on the official website www.worldsbk.com