Here are the highlights of World Superbike round six, race number one from Miller Motorsports Park. Four races have been run at Miller Motorsports Park.
On the pole it's Jakub Smrz. Three wildcard riders are in the race including AMA star Jake Holden, Shane Turpin (a local Utah rider), and John Hopkins returns. Hopkins was injured for a while. Race one is on deck. Race two highlights will follow in another post. The bikes roll off on their warmup lap. Jakub Smrz has not had a pole in World Superbike since 2008 at the Misano track in Italy. Sometimes, the winner of the first race at Miller Motorsports Park will win the second race if they play their cards right.
At the start, Tom Sykes on the Kawasaki takes the race lead. This race will be 21 laps. Carlos Checa is second. Jakub Smrz falls to fifth spot. Marco Melandri is third with Johnny Rea fourth on the Honda #65. The bikes swing down through a section of track called The Attitudes. There is a straightaway that's almost a mile long. Chaz Davies got a good jump. Marco Melandri passes Checa and Max Biagi is also right there. The BMW is quicker than the Ducati is. Tom Sykes has taken the lead. Sykes has had four poles but has one victory in those wild races back at Monza. Johnny Rea passes Carlos Checa.
Checa dips inside Rea. Eugene Laverty is moving up. Laverty is team mate to Max Biaggi on the Aprilia. Eugene Laverty went wide and Chaz Davies was held back from making a pass. This track has many corners that are fast, wide sweepers and riders need to be careful how much power they apply. Biaggi passes Checa and Max Biaggi overcooked a corner. But also, Melandri passes Sykes. Checa moves past Sykes. These guys are very aggressive. Sykes is third and now fourth as Biaggi slides by. His Kawasaki's tires are fading. Eugene Laverty also wants by Sykes.
Johnny Rea battles Checa. Checa will not let Rea get by. All this racing in the pack helps Melandri extend his lead. It's now a battle between Checa and Melandri. The American riders (Holden, Turpin and Hopkins), are well behind. Turpin said that the turning and cornering skills or setting up the bike is what the pros have an advantage in. A rider is down in the Attitudes. Niccolo Canepa was the rider who fell down. Seven laps are complete in this first race. Checa continues to dominate. He's won on a Honda and a Ducati. Can he win on a BMW?
John Hopkins crashes his Suzuki on the entry to the Attitudes. These guys just have one bike. They'll have to fix them in the break between races. Jakub Smrz has faded from pole back to seventh. Johnny Rea is up to third as Max Biaggi is still battling Checa. Checa is quite a bit slower than some of the other bikes as the race is at halfway (race one at least). The Aprilia is a very rigid bike, but, tracks that are a bit bumpy, won't help that. Eugene Laverty, Jakub Smrz, Chaz Davies, Leon Haslam, and others, run back in the pack. Lorenzo Zanetti ditches his bike.
Meanwhile, Jake Holden has moved to 20th with Shane Turpin right behind. Checa and Melandri for BMW are still out in front. Chaz Davies has run in America before. Leon Camier is also at the sharp end. Checa dominates. But, Biaggi needs to get around Johnny Rea. Jake Holden dumps his bike. Not sure he'll re-enter this race. He'll prep for race two coming up a little later on. Seven laps remain. Checa goes through Clubhouse and then, into the corners known as Windup and Release. Biaggi moves inside Rea and makes it stick.
Laverty and Smrz battle for fifth place. Just five laps remain in the first race. Jake Holden runs slowly while Biaggi and Rey keep battling. With the horsepower these bikes produce, that means the tires shred easily. The tire wears down, but it won't come apart. Shane Turpin goes a lap down. He might score a point which would be a big deal. He's eighteenth. But, if he gets to sixteenth, he can score a point. Just three laps or so left to run in the first race. The Ducati is better through the longer corners compared to the BMW. The Ducati is an older bike. They are building a new bike that has less low end torque and revs higher than most of them do.
Just two laps left. Johnny Rea is gaining on Max Biaggi. We saw how competitive Rea was at the previous round in England at Donington Park. It's the last lap of race one. Checa dives into The Attitudes one last time. Rea wants to pass Biaggi. Checa wins it in the first race! Melandri takes second and Biaggi holds on for third over Rea.
#7 Carlos Checa ESP Ducati 1098R
Race two is coming up shortly. Will have the highlights when it happens. Coming up is AMA Superbike.
No comments:
Post a Comment