Round twelve of the FIM World Superbike Championship takes place at the legendary Nurburgring in Nurburg, Germany, located in the Eiffel Mountains.
Three rounds remain in the championship for 2012. The bikes are coming to the grid for race one. This is BMW's home track of course. Max Biaggi is on pole for the race. Here we go.
At the start, Tom Sykes and Max Biaggi both get good starts for this 20 lap race. Michele Fabrizio high sides the bike and is out. Tom Sykes is in the lead. Marco Melandri is fourth now. Sykes is followed by Biaggi and Carlos Checa. Checa won at the Nurburgring last year in a wet race. Marco Melandri is fifth with Johnny Rea sixth. Sykes runs a lap of 1:57.2. Eugene Laverty is also moving forward as he wants to get by Biaggi, his Aprilia team mate. The tire situation seems as if it will be a mix between soft and hard compound tires. There would also be a choice of medium compounds. The Ducati's can run with a soft rear tire, but it's uncertain about the other bikes like the BMW's for instance.
Max Biaggi is holding on with Johnny Rea following. But, Carlos Checa crashes! The champ tries to get around Johnny Rea and ditches the bike. Johnny Rea also loses his bike. He's out of it. They are dropping like flies as Sykes and Biaggi are the two tussling for the lead. Sykes runs a 1:55.4 and Biaggi is two tenths quicker. Davide Giugliano battles Leon Haslam and Loris Baz is also in it. That 1:55.2 time for Biaggi is a new record. Davide Giugliano ditches his bike, too. It's a low side crash. The grip level makes the track fast, and the riders will sometimes lose hold on the bikes.
Four laps completed out of 20 scheduled. Bret McCormick is doing well after being injured with a broken neck at the beginning of the season. There's talk that Chaz Davies will run for BMW next year, replacing Leon Haslam. He makes a move on Eugene Laverty. Will Davies pull away from his fellow Aprilia rider? Uh oh. Davies almost loses the bike! But, he held on! Phew! He got up on the handlebars. But, Melandri has crashed! He's gone down and BMW will be beside themselves! They're leading the championship in their home race! Not anymore.
Sykes and Biaggi are continuing their battle. Biaggi will pick up points with Melandri's retirement. The championship lead will undoubtedly change. Biaggi will have a one and a half point lead over Melandri going into race two and for the final two races in Portugal and France. It's Kawasaki vs. Aprilia now. Biaggi passes on the inside but Sykes gets him right back. It's Yorkshire vs. Rome. Biaggi must focus on the Kawasaki. Some of the other riders might not be in contention. It's a two bike race right now. Two laps to halfway in race one. The battle ensues between Chaz Davies and Eugene Laverty. There's also speculation for next year. Should Max Biaggi retire, Eugene Laverty could be number one at Aprilia next year.
It seems that Max Biaggi has a smoother riding style than Tom Sykes. Kawasaki tends to ear their tires down as Loris Baz makes a good move. Sykes and Biaggi are running identical lap times. Biaggi looks up the inside of Sykes, but Sykes shuts the door into the Mercedes Arena section of the track. This race is half over now. Guintoli, Haslam, Baz, and Camier are battling for sixth spot. Kawasaki is searching for another title. They've had one in World Superbike with Scott Russell back in 1993. Biaggi goes around Sykes again, taking the lead. But, Sykes might not be done yet.
Chaz Davies has not passed Eugene Laverty yet. Max Biaggi will indeed take over the championship lead from Marco Melandri. BMW leads Aprilia in the manufacturer's cup as well. Sykes is losing his tires. He struggles to stay with Biaggi and is being reeled in by both Laverty and Davies. Leon Camier chases Leon Haslam. Can the Suzuki get around the BMW? The Suzuki's have struggled all season. But, they could be coming around on their setup. Sykes, unfortunately, will drop two positions in the points, should Biaggi win this race.
Leon Camier passes Leon Haslam and looks to pass Sylvain Guintoli. Carlos Checa is still running even though he's not in contention. But, with two laps to go, it looks like Biaggi has this race in the bag. There's still seven laps to go yet. Biaggi runs a 1:56.7 and Sykes does a 1:57.9. Laverty goes to second and Chaz Davies will also get around Tom Sykes. Davies passes Sykes. But, don't count out Loris Baz. He's still coming. Baz, Guintoli, and Camier all are quicker than Tom Sykes. Leon Camier passes Sylvain Guintoli. Jakub Smrz is not in this race. Laverty is faster than Davies by five kilometers per hour. 271 km/h vs. 266 km/h.
John Hopkins has had a bad race and a lackluster season in a way. Hopkins used to run MotoGP. Davies is not quite close enough to get around Eugene Laverty. It's crunch time in a way for both of these guys to show what they've got. Loris Baz spills his bike! He's still not gotten a result for a good while. So, Leon Camier moves up. Three laps to go. It's going to be a 1-2-3 finish for Aprilia more than likely. But also, don't forget that Leon Camier might just pass Tom Sykes. Camier is quicker. 1:57.4 compared to 1:58.7. People wrote Biaggi off after the Brno race. But, he's back now.
It's the last lap of race one. Chaz Davies still wants by Laverty. Laverty is in control right now over Davies. What will happen? Biaggi is going to win the race and take over the championship lead. Leon Camier will get fifth and Sylvain Guintoli sixth. Biaggi will win it and Aprilia get's their 1-2-3 with Laverty second and Davis third. Factory Aprilia's get a 1-2.
#3 Max Biaggi ITA Aprilia RSV4 Factory
Race two is on deck. Suzuki will make some changes for next year to try and get the GSXR1000 more competitive as that bike has been around for quite a while now. It will be interesting to see what they can do.
Max Biaggi has pole after winning race one. At the start, Tom Sykes and Max Biaggi get a good start, but Eugene Laverty gets the lead. Johnny Rea is in contention already for this 20 lap race. Marco Melandri is fourth ahead of Chaz Davies. John Hopkins runs in the top ten. Marco Melandri has to beat Biaggi and Tom Sykes has to win this race. A very simple scenario. Leon Camier got swamped. But, Max Biaggi has crashed! How on earth did that happen? Biaggi gets back on the bike. Has he got damage? Marco Melandri is now second with Chaz Davies third. Laverty ran wide and Biaggi lost the bike over the bumps in one of the corners.
Laverty is now down in seventh place. Davies runs quickest lap at 1:56.2. Carlos Checa is tenth. Davide Giugliano passes Johnny Rea. Biaggi runs a 1:58.1. Melandri might go quicker towards the end of the race. Giugliano battles Rea and Leon Haslam moves around Laverty. Then, the positions swap. Eugene Laverty passes him back. Rea runs fourth. Max Biaggi is way down in 22nd spot. He battles the privateer BMW of Italy's Norino Brignola. Checa runs fast lap at 1:56.3. He's slower than Biaggi was in race one. Rea and Giugliano still scrap and Eugene Laverty is also there. Coming into the downhill left hander, there's a five bike scrap going on into another hairpin before going uphill.
Four laps complete in race two. Chaz Davies can go for it as he's not in contention for the title. Johnny Rea runs wide and loses out to Davide Giugliano and Eugene Laverty. The top three bikes are a half second quicker than everyone else. Melandri passes Tom Sykes for the lead. Melandri can gain points now that Biaggi is down the order as Leon Camier passes Carlos Checa. Johnny Rea is 3.8 seconds behind the lead battle. Marco Melandri is opening a gap. Melandri runs a 1:56.6. Chaz Davies has gone to second now, passing Tom Sykes. Davies is beginning to move in on Melandri now, too.
Carlos Checa runs a 1:56.6 in sixth spot. Leon Camier runs another quick lap. But, Melandri is out with ANOTHER crash! Say what! Leon Haslam passes Checa. Chaz Davies could win this thing. He's in the lead over Tom Sykes. Biaggi is behind Laverty and can pass Brett McCormick, too. One lap to halfway as Haslam dumps his bike, too. Another BMW, gone! BMW has had a nightmare weekend on their home turf. Johnny Rea might also get on the podium. Laverty passes Rea but Rea won't have it. This is a good scrap! Carlos Checa and Davide Giugliano still are in contention as Biaggi moves to sixteenth.
Biaggi has damage. But he's still going. Halfway home in race two now. It's Davies, Sykes, Laverty and Rea. Laverty is closing up on Sykes half a second a lap. Biaggi passes both Jakub Smrz and Maxime Berger for Effenbert Liberty Racing. Chaz Davies runs another quick lap. Tom Sykes could get a top six finish as he runs a 1:57.3. Biaggi could have trouble with a wire on his gearshift after that fall. Leon Camier is in a battle and Carlos Checa is also moving rapidly. Seven laps to go. Johnny Rea runs a 1:57 flat while other riders are in the 1:56 range.
Chaz Davies could very well win. Not sure if the Welshman has won a Superbike race yet. Leon Camier will finish this race. Tom Sykes is losing ground. He's not had the race he's wanted. Just six laps left to run now. Johnny Rea runs fifth. Leon Camier passes Tom Sykes. Eugene Laverty almost runs into Tom Sykes. Bret McCormick slides onto the gravel but stays on the bike. Eugene Laverty passes Tom Sykes. Johnny Rea will also be lurking behind the Kawasaki. Max Biaggi is now fourteenth, passing Hiroshi Aoyama. Chaz Davies wants his first win in WSBK on the Park & Go privateer Aprilia RSV4. He could have a factory ride for either Aprilia, BMW, or Honda, ahead of him.
Four laps left. Biaggi has to pass Maxime Berger in thirteenth. Biaggi might have an eight and a half point gap going into the next race weekend. Loris Baz and Sylvain Guintoli are battling and Biaggi passes Berger. Meanwhile, Biaggi now needs to catch John Hopkins and should easily do so. In the meantime, Chaz Davies could very well win this race. Carlos Checa is battling Tom Sykes. But, Sykes is quicker on the Kawasaki than Checa's Ducati. Leon Camier battles Eugene Laverty and Laverty makes the pass. Biaggi is now three seconds behind John Hopkins. Laverty wants a podium and Camier wants a win.
Tom Sykes passes Checa back. But, with one lap to go, Davies runs a 1:57.4. and he'll likely win this. Laverty is quicker than Camier. Davies' team is called Park & Go. Well, forget the park part. Just go! Biaggi is up by a second a half over Hopkins. These have been some really good races. Chaz Davies is going to win the Superbike race in Germany. He's won the World Supersport championship. But, he'll win his first ever Superbike race! Davies wins it! Laverty is second with Camier third!
#19 Chaz Davies GBR Aprilia RSV4 Factory
Aprilia wins both races in Germany with two different riders. Just two races remain in the 2012 FIM World Superbike Championship. The penultimate race of the season will be at the Portimao circuit in Portimao, Portugal coming up in less than two weeks.
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