Round eleven of the FIM World Superbike Championship is to be run in Moscow, Russia at the Moscow Raceway. This is the first ever SBK race in Russia. Herman Tilke designed this track. He's a legendary racetrack designer. Max Biaggi still has the championship lead over Marco Melandri. BMW leads the manufacturers cup right now. This new track is going to be small, but interesting. It'll add to excitement, according to Carlos Checa. It's rained again at this race. So, there might be another rainy race for World Superbike. There are very few overtaking zones. Just one in the last corner is the most prominent spot.
The track is indeed wet. John Hopkins is starting to improve again in these races. Carlos Checa and Marco Melandri will start on the dry line. That's good for them as they go into the first corner, while other riders start on the wet line. Dave McFadden from South Africa will also start this event. He's a wildcard. The track is real smooth, but there are bumps into one of the s curves. The ability to pass might be compromised. The Ducati's are 3/10ths slower than the four cylinder bikes. The gear ratios have been changed quite a bit for this new track.
At the start of race one, Tom Sykes gets the hole shot as Leon Haslam and Carlos Checa both move up. The bikes are set up on slick tires. Eugene Laverty has third. The three Brits are well used to these conditions. Davide Giugliano is trying to pass Max Biaggi. Loris Baz and Niccolo Canepa also run well. These bikes are flying and Sykes stretches his advantage over Leon Haslam. Sylvain Guintoli loses grip as Laverty passes Haslam, holding the spot. Giugliano is seventh. Guintoli, eleventh. Carlos Checa is going for it as the track begins to dry. This race will be 25 laps.
Davide Giugliano moves up. Haslam is battling Laverty. The Aprilia is slightly faster than the BMW. It's VERY quick in a straight line. Checa's down! The world champ got clipped! No red flag. But, he's probably seen his championship totally busted. Johnny Rea slams into Checa on the dry line. Handlebar to handlebar contact. So, Checa's out. Davide Giugliano is really going after Leon Haslam and he can't quite make the move work. Eugene Laverty has more opportunities now. Chaz Davies is sixth. He's carving his way into the top of the field. Laverty is now third with Giugliano following. Tom Sykes is checking out with a 3.3 second lead. He's got a real feel for the Kawasaki.
Leon Haslam runs wide, losing three spots. Behind Jonny Rea, is Chaz Davies who won the FIM World Super Sport championship. Melandri and Biaggi run seventh and eighth. Johnny Rea runs fast lap at 1:38.3. Johnny Rea and Chaz Davies pass Davide Giugliano. Davies runs a 1:38 flat. He's fastest of all right now. Tom Sykes is pushing very hard though. Carlos Checa is out of this race and probably out of contention for the championship, too. Sykes is flying! Rea scraps with Laverty. But, his Honda is not as quick as the Aprilia. This race is really starting to sizzle now.
The Pirelli slick tires are working well. But, Leon Camier has issues and is being lapped. He's on full wet tires. The Aprilia is the quickest bike of all on the straightaway. Johnny Rea gets passed by Davide Giugliano. Rea tries to pass Laverty, but tries a bit too hard. Rea passes the Ducati of Giugliano. There's a lot of action. But this race is so long. The riders will just need to be patient. Tom Sykes might get a good deal of points after race one. Chaz Davies sets a lap record. Not sure of the time. Marco Melandri is catching this bunch.
Rea crashes! A low side into the dirt. His front end washes out. He's fine, but out of the race. He hits the brakes and the front end washes out. He's right ahead of Davies. Eugene Laverty is now running 3/10ths quicker than Sykes. Leon Haslam passes Giugliano. Tom Sykes might have some issues with tire wear. The Kawasaki with Sykes on it is as fast as a speeding bullet. But, will the tires hold up? Davide Giugliano crashes! He low sides it into turn eleven. He pushes into the off camber corner that turns around on itself. Not good.
Chaz Davies is looking to get second. It's Davies vs. Laverty. These guys are going for it. Laverty's rear tire is sliding a lot. No changes in the gap. Niccolo Canepa is also moving up nicely. Melandri is right on top of Leon Haslam. He'll fight his team mate for sure. Just don't take each other out, boys. This track has a big requirement for concentration. Physically, it's not too bad. But, you need to be a disciplined rider. Haslam and Melandri pass Laverty. He got swamped! Chaz Davies also passed. Two BMW's and two Aprilia's.
Chaz Davies from Wales has a good pass. It depends on how tall or short you are as a rider for the aerodynamic advantage. Davies is slightly quicker than Sykes. Haslam has crashed! Chaz Davies is involved. There was a gap he shouldn't have gone for. Haslam got the worst of it, smashing into the gravel! Biaggi goes to fifth place. We could have a new points leader at the end of this race. Three top riders have ditched their bikes. Michele Fabrizio battles Niccolo Canepa. John Hopkins has made his way to tenth spot. Tom Sykes has a near four second lead over Marco Melandri.
Chaz Davies passes Eugene Laverty. Laverty is losing grip. He's got no tires left and maybe chose the wrong compound. Two laps to go in race one. But, Chaz Davies dumps his bike after hitting a wet patch. He had a transmission issue where it went to neutral between gears. Tom Sykes is flying! Max Biaggi has caught Eugene Laverty. It's a battle between two Aprilia's. But, on the last lap, Sykes has a six second lead. Davies could have continued. But, he chose not to. This will be Tom Sykes' first official win of the 2012 season.
He's dominated on this new track. Tom Sykes wins race one!
#66 Tom Sykes GBR Kawasaki ZX10R
Race two is up next.
The weather for race two will be dry and warm. Carlos Checa will make the start for race two, after his crash in the first one.
At the start. Sykes gets a huge jump! Checa falls. Eugene Laverty has a good spot with Leon Haslam and Johnny Rea are also up there. There's a big wreck. It's Michele Fabrizio falling. Max Biaggi languishes down in eighth. The BMW is trying to stay with the Aprilia of Biaggi. Davide Giugliano runs wide but there's a crash and a bike running wide. Not sure who wrecked. McFaddenand possibly, Loris Baz may have crashed.
Melandri pulls out of the slipstream trying to pass Haslam, but no. There are yellow flags. No overtaking. Laverty passes. Laverty is still trying, absolutely on the limit. Fabrizio, Baz, and Hiroshi Aoyama are all out. Hiroshi Aoyama is on a Honda. Melandri gets by Leon Haslam. The bikes run through the compression dip in one of the corners. Aoyama is at the hospital for a checkup. He'll be fine. Sykes and Biaggi run in the 1:36 range. 1:36.1 for Biaggi and 1:36.2 for Sykes. Biaggi, Melandri, and Sykes are the title combatants. Rea passes Davide Giugliano.
Marco Melandri makes a successful pass on Eugene Laverty. Haslam and Laverty go three wide around Melandri! Leon Haslam makes a good pass. It's the BMW and Aprilia show! Melandri picks up a spot with Biaggi and Checa also getting there. Melandri and Haslam run together. John Hopkins and Lorenzo Zanetti run 14th and 15th. Checa and Giugliano on the Ducati's run seventh and eighth. Laverty gets by Haslam and Melandri. But, Marco Melandri is on it, too. But, with these three guys tussling, Sykes grows his lead.
Ducati tried to use the A compound soft tire. But, it's hurting performance more than helping. Marco Melandri runs a new lap record at 1:35.8! Wow! Biaggi ran wide and was passed by Johnny Rea. Max Biaggi passes Johnny Rea but then, he ditches the bike and rakes Leon Haslam out! What on earth was that?! Rea comes across on Biaggi, off line, and then, slams Biaggi who runs into Leon Haslam! Naughty, naughty. Biaggi hit the brakes too late. He'll be fine.
Melandri is flying, all over Sykes. No double for Sykes today. Rea holds off Laverty and Checa. Max Biaggi has had his first real crash of the year. Melandri takes the lead away from Sykes. He's motoring! But, Sykes still has something. ...And yet, Sykes is falling behind Melandri. But, the Kawasaki is the quickest bike in a straight line. It ran 335 kilometers an hour at the Monza race. That's 209 miles an hour! Wow!
Melandri still leads over Sykes by 7/10ths of a second. Eugene Laverty and Chaz Davies battle. Customer Aprilia vs. factory Aprilia. Chaz Davies misses a shift and runs wide. Something went wrong. Davies is now back on track. Melandri's rear tire is starting to wear out. Melandri runs a quick lap at 1:36.4 as does Tom Sykes. The top three all run identical lap times. Johnny Rea wants to make a pass. Five laps to go. He wants to push Melandri. There are just three rounds (six races) remaining in the 2012 championship for World Superbike. Melandri runs a 1:36.6.
Laverty pushes and passes Rea. Just two laps to go. Melandri has this one signed, sealed, and delivered. With a win, Melandri can take over the championship lead as Laverty tries passing Tom Sykes but it won't work. Johnny Rea passes Laverty, or tries to, and can't get by late on the brakes. It's the last lap at Moscow Raceway. Who will win? Who will get points? Johnny Rea swoops past Eugene Laverty and he wants by Sykes. But Laverty isn't done yet either. Rea and Laverty crash! Checa barely comes through it. Melandri wins it!
#33 Marco Melandri ITA BMW S1000RR
Now, Melandri takes the points lead. Just three races to run in the 2012 FIM World Superbike season. The next one is at the Nurburgring in Germany (the new circuit, of course). It takes place in two weeks.
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