FIM World Superbike has three supporting championships for their race weekends. Haven't covered these events yet. But, here is the first, of what might be, oh, two updates for the season as the second half has already gotten well underway.
Four races will be highlighted from Monza, in Italy as well as Donington Park in England, and Misano in Italy, before another update, later on in the year. The classes covered will be Super Sport, Superstock 1000 and Superstock 600.
At Monza, here's how things went.
In Supersport, pole went to bike #54, the Kawasaki of Kenan Sofuoglu in a wet race. It was so wet in fact that Sofuoglu fell down on the formation lap! Fortunately, he continued back to the starting grid. As the race gets underway, a battle hots up between bikes #11 of Brit Sam Lowes on a Honda CBR600 and #16 Jules Cluzel of France on an identical bike. Lowes and Cluzel are team mates and Lowes makes a successful pass. Lowes runs wide though through the Parabolica, allowing Cluzel to pass again.
Lowe's can't do anything, and Cluzel wins.
#16 Jules Cluzel FRA Honda CBR600 RR
Now, on to the Super Stock 1000 Cup. Sylvain Barrier of France on a BMW S1000RR has pole. Barrier has to deal with a dislocated shoulder after crashing in the practice session. The #32 Ducati 1199 Paginale for Lorenzo Savadori takes the race lead. The Italian rides for Barni Racing Team Italia, obviously. Italian rider, team, and bike. Savadori was followed in second by team mate and fellow Italian, Eddi La Mara. Barrier crashed, and La Mara had a slight slip up. Savadori wins the race.
#32 Lorenzo Savadori ITA Ducati 1199 Panigale
In Superstock 600, there was a wet race. It had been postponed the day before and rescheduled for Sunday. But the track was still REALLY wet. It would be just a six lap shootout. Gauthier Duwelz of Belgium is the early race leader. He got it after Ricardo Russo bogged down at the start. Swiss rider Sebastien Suchet crashes out on his #39 Honda CBR600 and eventually, Russo clawed his way back, to win.
#84 Ricardo Russo ITA Yamaha YZF R6
The next round at Donington Park in England, in Super Sport, saw Sam Lowes as the favorite. It's one of his home races. He is second to Kenan Sofuoglu who is on pole on the Kawasaki. The Turkish rider seems to be the man to beat in this class. The battle ensued during the race between these two riders with Lowes taking the advantage in the race's second half. Lowes won it with Sofuoglu second. Jules Cluzel had a fraught race.
#11 Sam Lowes GBR Honda CBR600 RR
The lower classes for FIM under Super Bike, did not race in the United States at Miller Motorsports Park as their American counterparts in the AMA provided the support events. So, the next race was Misano Adriatico in San Marino. The Super Sport race, after a month off from racing, there had been five different race winners, and the championship? Well, it is wide open. The three major names are on the front row of the grid. It's Lowe's, Cluzel, and Sofuoglu. Sofuoglu and Cluzel scrapped mightily during the race.
Sam Lowes had a dreadful race, languishing the back of the pack in 18th place, after dropping like a rock. Sofuoglu won the race with Cluzel second, and in third, a welcome podium for Triumph (who also races in America). Their rider in Super Sport is Italian Alex Baldolini on bike #25.
#54 Kenan Sofuoglu TUR Kawasaki ZX-6R
In Superstock 1000 at Misano, there was oil on the track before the start. But, when the race got underway, Ducati looked to have an early advantage with Eddi La Marra and Lorenzo Savadori. However, BMW was not going to just lay back and take things easy. Sylvain Barrier and team mate Lorenzo Baroni were on a charge. Despite his injuries, Barrier won the race. He also holds the lead in the championship after these races have been run.
#20 Sylvain Barrier FRA BMW S1000RR
Finally, in the Superstock 600 class race at Misano, Federico Morbidelli (a part time competitor) took the early race lead. Dutchman Michael van der Mark on another Honda took it over soon after. van der Mark won the race and Ricardo Russo kept his lead in the championship for the Superstock 600 class.
#60 Michael van der Mark NLD Honda CBR600RR
More racing in the support championships for World Superbike will come your way soon. Stay tuned for further details as the rest of the season unfolds.
Wednesday, August 15, 2012
FIM World Endurance Championship
There is also an endurance series for road racing motorcycles. It is the FIM World Endurance Championship. Two rounds of four in the season have already been run in France and Japan. Look for highlights of those races to come as more ideas for the 2 Wheelin' blog are discovered.
Tuesday, August 14, 2012
Bike Road Racing Series
The Bike Road Racing Series is another interesting championship. What these riders do is, instead of running a permanently closed in track, they run along country roads at blinding speeds. But, they have no walls or gravel traps to catch them if they fall. So, there is added danger to this type of fast racing. In the very near future, four races will be highlighted from this series. The Cookstown, Ireland race, the North West 200, and the Isle of Man TT. Stay tuned for action from the Bike Road Racing Series.
Thursday, August 9, 2012
World Superbike Silverstone video, (continued)
Here is race two, if you are up for more wild antics from the World Superbike superheroes.
World Superbike Silverstone, race video
OK. So, you've read my blog entries trying to explain in words how action packed the FIM World Superbike Championship is. Well, now you can see it for yourself. Here are highlights of the most recent race at Silverstone (one of them), with Italian commentary. You might not understand what the announcers are saying. But, trust me, watching these guys races is a sight to behold!
Both races are on video, actually. I advise readers and fans, check this stuff out. You WILL NOT be disappointed.
Both races are on video, actually. I advise readers and fans, check this stuff out. You WILL NOT be disappointed.
Wednesday, August 8, 2012
entry lists for the MotoGP weekend at Indianapolis Motor Speedway
The Indianapolis Grand Prix for MotoGP is coming up in less than two weeks. This will be the fourth or fifth time MotoGP has run at Indianapolis Motor Speedway and will be the first race yours truly has seen (on TV of course). But, beside that point, here are the official entry lists for each competing category. MotoGP, Moto 2, and Moto 3 will be joined by the AMA XR1200 series which uses identical, Harley Davidson racing motorcycles. Here are the links to the entry lists for each division.
MotoGP
http://www.indianapolismotorspeedway.com:8080/var/assets/2012_MotoGPEntry.pdf
Moto 2
http://www.indianapolismotorspeedway.com:8080/var/assets/2012_Moto2Entry.pdf
Moto 3
http://www.indianapolismotorspeedway.com:8080/var/assets/2012_Moto3Entry.pdf
XR1200
http://www.indianapolismotorspeedway.com:8080/var/assets/2012_XR1200Entry.pdf
MotoGP
http://www.indianapolismotorspeedway.com:8080/var/assets/2012_MotoGPEntry.pdf
Moto 2
http://www.indianapolismotorspeedway.com:8080/var/assets/2012_Moto2Entry.pdf
Moto 3
http://www.indianapolismotorspeedway.com:8080/var/assets/2012_Moto3Entry.pdf
XR1200
http://www.indianapolismotorspeedway.com:8080/var/assets/2012_XR1200Entry.pdf
Sunday, August 5, 2012
FIM World Superbike Round 10: Silverstone
The teams and riders of the FIM World Superbike Championship are back in England this weekend. The races are at the Silverstone circuit after the bikes ran at another British track (Donington Park) earlier in the season.
Race one is ready to go. The championship is a big deal. Now, the weather could be tough to figure out. Jakub Smrz has pole for this first race. Weather conditions change in England, a lot. So, we'll see what happens. Everyone is starting on slick tires. Max Biaggi has the points lead but his competition is coming including Marco Melandri, Tom Sykes, and Carlos Checa. BMW has the manufacturers championship lead. The three European makes lead the Japanese bikes. There's a wildcard rider from Australia in the race on a Kawasaki as well. Dave Johnson is the rider.
At the start, Smrz and Leon Haslam had great starts. Haslam leads through the first corner of this eighteen lap race. The bikes head through Brooklands and Woodcote corners. There is a specific Pirelli tire for the British tracks being used here. Leon Camier got a bad start. Tom Sykes flies by Leon Haslam coming through Wellington. Johnson crashes his Kawasaki. The weather is getting ugly and there's weather rolling in. Dave Johnson, Maxime Berger, and polesitter, Jakub Smrz have all crashed. Smrz went down taking Maxime Berger down as well and I think Johnson's bike was clobbered by Smrz! Ugh!
Time to hit the reset button on race one. It's been declared a wet race. Leon Camier does well in the wet. Camier? Yes. Leon Camier might have a shot at getting something here. Sylvain Guintoli has a wet tire and so does Jakub Smrz. Wow! Team Effenberg is taking a big gamble. Sylvain Guintoli of France gets the lead as Davide Giugliano and Carlos Checa are both going for it. Biaggi is charging now. He's fourth as Johnny Rea slides wide through Wellington. Checa, Haslam, Sykes, Biaggi, the top four. Carlos Checa runs on slick tires. Coming towards Copse, Loris Baz is coming now, too.
He's second. Knock, knock. Loris Baz takes the lead! Leon Camier for Suzuki is also coming, Tom Sykes now wants it into Stowe as Camier runs wide. The bikes come to Vale and Club. Checa and Camier run wide! Checa almost crashes! Yikes! Marco Melandri has sunk to eleventh. Say what! Leon Haslam slides past Sykes through Brooklands and Baz still has the fire stoked. Leon Haslam leads out of Becketts and Chapel, down Hangar Straight and into Stowe.
Johnny Rea is two seconds off the lead. But this lead battle is insane! Ten bikes are in it at least. It's lap two as the lead battle continues between Baz and Haslam. Maxime Berger is back on track. Eugene Laverty slides by another bike on the sister Aprilia to Max Biaggi. Guintoli and Smrz are falling back. Davide Giugliano sets fast lap at 2:08.293. There's a mix of sun and clouds as Leon Haslam still leads over Baz. Tom Sykes and Carlos Checa could still have a shot for the championship. But it seems less likely for them both.
Lorenzo Zanetti makes his way to twelfth place. Biaggi battles Camier through Stowe. Carlos Checa slides up the inside of Haslam. Checa is ahead now. Johnny Rea is now up to ninth spot. This is lap 13. Five laps to go in race one. Loris Baz passes the BMW's but they get him right back! Tom Sykes passes Loris Baz. Baz is no quitter. Melandri is now coming back into the picture. Max Biaggi is atching the battle in front and then comes Baz and one of the BMW's. Johnny Rea passes Ayrton Badovini. Carlos Checa flies with a gap of 2.9 seconds in hand.
He's got to judge how the pace goes if rain falls. Rain is coming. Eugene Laverty battles Davide Giugliano. John Hopkins is out of the race. Johnny Rea is trying to pass. Ayrton Badovini has his sights on Biaggi. Checa extends his lead, but Biaggi is falling like Melandri did earlier. There's still ten bikes that can win this race. Rea and Melandri are coming back while Biaggi falls. Seven laps left in race one with the #7 bike currently ahead. Tom Sykes is moving up again.
Michele Fabrizio is also getting into this scrap. He needs to know where he's going to be for next year. The gap has gone way down. Leon Haslam, Tom Sykes, Leon Camier and others could all contend for this win. Carlos Checa runs a 2:10.8 and is losing some time. Can Checa up his pace? He's slower than he was earlier as the bikes fly onto Hangar straight again. Leon Haslam flies by Checa. Checa is a sitting duck. This is real drama in England. This isn't Shakespeare. Down Wellington Straight, it's a battle between Haslam and Sykes. It's raining, so, Loris Baz turns on the afterburners again and is third.
Sykes is slowing down because of the wet pavement. Leon Haslam wants a win. But, Loris Baz makes another banzai move even though it's getting wetter out there. Conditions are getting worse. The race will run to the end. Haslam has a lead of less than a second. Leon Camier is coming and Loris Baz is third. But, Camier is the only one who can get there. But no! Camier is down at Beckett's! Loris Baz is now second. This is Assen, revisited. The wet weather and the fact that Haslam is in the lead. Max Biaggi has to get by Melandri but can't. Look at the rain! This is nuts!
Ayrton Badovini could get on the podium! Where did Baz and Badovini come from?! Checa is now fourth. Ayrton Badovini is coming quickly. Leon Haslam wants his first win of 2012. But, he's got competition. Badovini tries passing for a bMW 1-2. He does it! Baz said no. Badovini said, "not so fast, buddy". Haslam and Badovini slide. It's a three bike race, or more. Loris Baz takes the lead with two laps to go. Who dares to win? Will it be Baz? Will it be Checa? Haslam is falling.
Michele Fabrizio is now in this thing, too. Wow. Johnny Rea and Max Biaggi are sixth and seventh. Where's Haslam? He's mired behind Rea and Biaggi! Carlos Checa is coming back, too! What the... It's the last lap. Michele Fabrizio goes to the lead and Johnny Rea is now up to second with Ayrton Badovini. What happened to Baz? It's the last lap. Max Biaggi has a savage crash! It's anyone's race now. Biaggi should be OK. Who will win? Biaggi high sided on the rumble strips. Johnny Rea is up there as Fabrizio comes to the lead.
Five riders could win race one! Baz takes the lead into Stowe! Who wins it? Rea is second. Fabrizio is third. Rea crashes! But, Kawasaki wins with Loris Baz!
#76 Loris Baz FRA Kawasaki ZX 10 R
Race two is on deck. Will it be as crazy as race one? We'll see. Keep in mind, Baz was brought in to replace injured rider Joan Lascorz.
Rain, hail, wind, sleet etc, still exist for race two. Another beautiful, sunny day in England. Not! Dream on, man! Anyhow, onto race two for SBK.
After Biaggi's crash in race one, he's got less of a gap in points over Marco Melandri. Rain could come for race two. Effenberg gambled. Ayrton Badovini and Jakub Smrz are their riders of course. Jakub Smrz has pole for race two.
It's beginning to rain again as the bikes are on their warmup lap. Cal Crutchlow has the lap record at Silverstone. Crutchlow rides in MotoGP now of course. This will be a dry race even though rain could come. If it rains, the riders can change tires. But, it's a dry race. The start is delayed. No, it's now a wet race. OK.
Tom Sykes was in the pit to adjust the bike. At the start, Davide Giugliano almost got the lead but Leon Haslam gets it and Biaggi got squeezed as Eugene Laverty came up. Sylvain Guintoli gets the lead. This race is 17 laps. Chaz Davies is moving up[ as there is lightning on the track. Carlos Checa got swamped. He's in fourteenth. Watch Loris Baz. He might just do the double. The bikes head down Hangar straight. Checa languishes. Sylvain Guintoli opens a gap over Eugene Laverty. Loris Baz is on the move. Guintoli and Smrz have the proper tires now. No jumped starts. But, these cats are flying! Into Brooklands, the bikes are double file down the order.
Tom Sykes gambled on intermediate tires and changed to wets. Davide Giugliano passes another bike. John Hopkins and Leon Haslam are nearby. Giugliano passes Haslam. Sylvain Guintoli runs 2:25.3. Baz is coming, but it looks like a two bike race. Loris Baz passes Eugene Laverty as Davide Giugliano makes a pass over Marco Melandri. Baz is third and Chaz Davies is moving up. John Hopkins on the sister Suzuki to Leon Camier is moving up. Aha. The Suzuki's are doing much better than usual. The older Ducati's are running well in the rain.
Davide Giugliano passes Eugene Laverty. Then, he goes after and slides by Chaz Davies. Sylvain Guintoli still leads. Some of the heavy hitters are farther down the order. Biaggi has the championship lead to lose. He has to motor. Loris Baz has fast lap at 2:27 something. Not sure of the second numbers after the decimal point. Smrz wants by Guintoli. Baz is coming quickly. It's starting to rain hard now, too. Maxime Berger passes Marco Melandri. The rain is only getting heavier as the two Ducati's battle each other. Don't cross the white line. Leon Camier loses an engine on the Suzuki. Ka blammo! He's exploded the valves at the top end of the motor.
Loris Baz runs a 1:26.8. Davide Giugliano is on the same pace with a 1:26.9. The conditions are only getting worse five laps into the race. There are tricks for riders to defog their helmets. Wear a mask over your nose so hot air doesn't steam it up and find something to keep water out. Sylvain Guintoli gets too close to the white line. Giugliano sets fastest lap. Davide Giugliano is catching Loris Baz. Johnny Rea passes Leon Haslam. Giugliano fishtails and thank heavens he holds onto the bike! Woodcote corner is very wet right now. Loris Baz runs fastest lap now. He runs a 2:24.3. Baz brings Giugliano with him. Johnny Rea is falling behind. But, Michele Fabrizio is also coming up, passing Lorenzo Zanetti.
Six laps into the race. Melandri is eighth. Biaggi is thirteenth. The standing water on Hangar straight into Stowe is getting worse. Into Vale, it's really wet. Jakub Smrz has to get by Guintoli. But, Giugliano spills the bike. He's OK. He's just surprised that he fell off. Eugene Laverty and Chaz Davies gain spots. Carlos Checa is also moving up. Loris Baz needs to slow down slightly. He has to be very careful. Baz wants by Smrz. Baz is now second. He will now go after Sylvain Guintoli. The race is half over. The track is getting much wetter now. Johnny Rea goes down and so does Jakub Smrz! He's out!
Eugene Laverty is now third. Baz is chasing Guintoli through Maggots/Becketts. Don't aquaplane. Guintoli goes by Baz. This is going to be the lead battle. Baz is about to move on Guintoli. Guintoli wiggles. Eight laps left. This is a two man race. Eugene Laverty is farther back (sixteen seconds off the pace). Carlos Checa crashes. Same thing happened to Giugliano. Maxime Berger, down and out. Loris Baz takes the lead!
Baz crashes! Don't speak too soon. Sykes has also crashed. Stop this race! It's too wet. The red flag comes out. Johnny Rea loses his bike in replay. Also, replayed are Smrz's and Berger's crashes. Race two is now over. There's no real point in restarting. Who has won? The track is being cleaned for other races. No one is on the podium yet. Apparently, Sylvain Guintoli is the winner and Loris Baz gets fast lap.
#50 Sylvain Guintoli FRA Ducati 1098 R
The next race on the World Superbike schedule is in Moscow, Russia for the first time, at Moscow Raceway, in three weeks.
Race one is ready to go. The championship is a big deal. Now, the weather could be tough to figure out. Jakub Smrz has pole for this first race. Weather conditions change in England, a lot. So, we'll see what happens. Everyone is starting on slick tires. Max Biaggi has the points lead but his competition is coming including Marco Melandri, Tom Sykes, and Carlos Checa. BMW has the manufacturers championship lead. The three European makes lead the Japanese bikes. There's a wildcard rider from Australia in the race on a Kawasaki as well. Dave Johnson is the rider.
At the start, Smrz and Leon Haslam had great starts. Haslam leads through the first corner of this eighteen lap race. The bikes head through Brooklands and Woodcote corners. There is a specific Pirelli tire for the British tracks being used here. Leon Camier got a bad start. Tom Sykes flies by Leon Haslam coming through Wellington. Johnson crashes his Kawasaki. The weather is getting ugly and there's weather rolling in. Dave Johnson, Maxime Berger, and polesitter, Jakub Smrz have all crashed. Smrz went down taking Maxime Berger down as well and I think Johnson's bike was clobbered by Smrz! Ugh!
Time to hit the reset button on race one. It's been declared a wet race. Leon Camier does well in the wet. Camier? Yes. Leon Camier might have a shot at getting something here. Sylvain Guintoli has a wet tire and so does Jakub Smrz. Wow! Team Effenberg is taking a big gamble. Sylvain Guintoli of France gets the lead as Davide Giugliano and Carlos Checa are both going for it. Biaggi is charging now. He's fourth as Johnny Rea slides wide through Wellington. Checa, Haslam, Sykes, Biaggi, the top four. Carlos Checa runs on slick tires. Coming towards Copse, Loris Baz is coming now, too.
He's second. Knock, knock. Loris Baz takes the lead! Leon Camier for Suzuki is also coming, Tom Sykes now wants it into Stowe as Camier runs wide. The bikes come to Vale and Club. Checa and Camier run wide! Checa almost crashes! Yikes! Marco Melandri has sunk to eleventh. Say what! Leon Haslam slides past Sykes through Brooklands and Baz still has the fire stoked. Leon Haslam leads out of Becketts and Chapel, down Hangar Straight and into Stowe.
Johnny Rea is two seconds off the lead. But this lead battle is insane! Ten bikes are in it at least. It's lap two as the lead battle continues between Baz and Haslam. Maxime Berger is back on track. Eugene Laverty slides by another bike on the sister Aprilia to Max Biaggi. Guintoli and Smrz are falling back. Davide Giugliano sets fast lap at 2:08.293. There's a mix of sun and clouds as Leon Haslam still leads over Baz. Tom Sykes and Carlos Checa could still have a shot for the championship. But it seems less likely for them both.
Lorenzo Zanetti makes his way to twelfth place. Biaggi battles Camier through Stowe. Carlos Checa slides up the inside of Haslam. Checa is ahead now. Johnny Rea is now up to ninth spot. This is lap 13. Five laps to go in race one. Loris Baz passes the BMW's but they get him right back! Tom Sykes passes Loris Baz. Baz is no quitter. Melandri is now coming back into the picture. Max Biaggi is atching the battle in front and then comes Baz and one of the BMW's. Johnny Rea passes Ayrton Badovini. Carlos Checa flies with a gap of 2.9 seconds in hand.
He's got to judge how the pace goes if rain falls. Rain is coming. Eugene Laverty battles Davide Giugliano. John Hopkins is out of the race. Johnny Rea is trying to pass. Ayrton Badovini has his sights on Biaggi. Checa extends his lead, but Biaggi is falling like Melandri did earlier. There's still ten bikes that can win this race. Rea and Melandri are coming back while Biaggi falls. Seven laps left in race one with the #7 bike currently ahead. Tom Sykes is moving up again.
Michele Fabrizio is also getting into this scrap. He needs to know where he's going to be for next year. The gap has gone way down. Leon Haslam, Tom Sykes, Leon Camier and others could all contend for this win. Carlos Checa runs a 2:10.8 and is losing some time. Can Checa up his pace? He's slower than he was earlier as the bikes fly onto Hangar straight again. Leon Haslam flies by Checa. Checa is a sitting duck. This is real drama in England. This isn't Shakespeare. Down Wellington Straight, it's a battle between Haslam and Sykes. It's raining, so, Loris Baz turns on the afterburners again and is third.
Sykes is slowing down because of the wet pavement. Leon Haslam wants a win. But, Loris Baz makes another banzai move even though it's getting wetter out there. Conditions are getting worse. The race will run to the end. Haslam has a lead of less than a second. Leon Camier is coming and Loris Baz is third. But, Camier is the only one who can get there. But no! Camier is down at Beckett's! Loris Baz is now second. This is Assen, revisited. The wet weather and the fact that Haslam is in the lead. Max Biaggi has to get by Melandri but can't. Look at the rain! This is nuts!
Ayrton Badovini could get on the podium! Where did Baz and Badovini come from?! Checa is now fourth. Ayrton Badovini is coming quickly. Leon Haslam wants his first win of 2012. But, he's got competition. Badovini tries passing for a bMW 1-2. He does it! Baz said no. Badovini said, "not so fast, buddy". Haslam and Badovini slide. It's a three bike race, or more. Loris Baz takes the lead with two laps to go. Who dares to win? Will it be Baz? Will it be Checa? Haslam is falling.
Michele Fabrizio is now in this thing, too. Wow. Johnny Rea and Max Biaggi are sixth and seventh. Where's Haslam? He's mired behind Rea and Biaggi! Carlos Checa is coming back, too! What the... It's the last lap. Michele Fabrizio goes to the lead and Johnny Rea is now up to second with Ayrton Badovini. What happened to Baz? It's the last lap. Max Biaggi has a savage crash! It's anyone's race now. Biaggi should be OK. Who will win? Biaggi high sided on the rumble strips. Johnny Rea is up there as Fabrizio comes to the lead.
Five riders could win race one! Baz takes the lead into Stowe! Who wins it? Rea is second. Fabrizio is third. Rea crashes! But, Kawasaki wins with Loris Baz!
#76 Loris Baz FRA Kawasaki ZX 10 R
Race two is on deck. Will it be as crazy as race one? We'll see. Keep in mind, Baz was brought in to replace injured rider Joan Lascorz.
Rain, hail, wind, sleet etc, still exist for race two. Another beautiful, sunny day in England. Not! Dream on, man! Anyhow, onto race two for SBK.
After Biaggi's crash in race one, he's got less of a gap in points over Marco Melandri. Rain could come for race two. Effenberg gambled. Ayrton Badovini and Jakub Smrz are their riders of course. Jakub Smrz has pole for race two.
It's beginning to rain again as the bikes are on their warmup lap. Cal Crutchlow has the lap record at Silverstone. Crutchlow rides in MotoGP now of course. This will be a dry race even though rain could come. If it rains, the riders can change tires. But, it's a dry race. The start is delayed. No, it's now a wet race. OK.
Tom Sykes was in the pit to adjust the bike. At the start, Davide Giugliano almost got the lead but Leon Haslam gets it and Biaggi got squeezed as Eugene Laverty came up. Sylvain Guintoli gets the lead. This race is 17 laps. Chaz Davies is moving up[ as there is lightning on the track. Carlos Checa got swamped. He's in fourteenth. Watch Loris Baz. He might just do the double. The bikes head down Hangar straight. Checa languishes. Sylvain Guintoli opens a gap over Eugene Laverty. Loris Baz is on the move. Guintoli and Smrz have the proper tires now. No jumped starts. But, these cats are flying! Into Brooklands, the bikes are double file down the order.
Tom Sykes gambled on intermediate tires and changed to wets. Davide Giugliano passes another bike. John Hopkins and Leon Haslam are nearby. Giugliano passes Haslam. Sylvain Guintoli runs 2:25.3. Baz is coming, but it looks like a two bike race. Loris Baz passes Eugene Laverty as Davide Giugliano makes a pass over Marco Melandri. Baz is third and Chaz Davies is moving up. John Hopkins on the sister Suzuki to Leon Camier is moving up. Aha. The Suzuki's are doing much better than usual. The older Ducati's are running well in the rain.
Davide Giugliano passes Eugene Laverty. Then, he goes after and slides by Chaz Davies. Sylvain Guintoli still leads. Some of the heavy hitters are farther down the order. Biaggi has the championship lead to lose. He has to motor. Loris Baz has fast lap at 2:27 something. Not sure of the second numbers after the decimal point. Smrz wants by Guintoli. Baz is coming quickly. It's starting to rain hard now, too. Maxime Berger passes Marco Melandri. The rain is only getting heavier as the two Ducati's battle each other. Don't cross the white line. Leon Camier loses an engine on the Suzuki. Ka blammo! He's exploded the valves at the top end of the motor.
Loris Baz runs a 1:26.8. Davide Giugliano is on the same pace with a 1:26.9. The conditions are only getting worse five laps into the race. There are tricks for riders to defog their helmets. Wear a mask over your nose so hot air doesn't steam it up and find something to keep water out. Sylvain Guintoli gets too close to the white line. Giugliano sets fastest lap. Davide Giugliano is catching Loris Baz. Johnny Rea passes Leon Haslam. Giugliano fishtails and thank heavens he holds onto the bike! Woodcote corner is very wet right now. Loris Baz runs fastest lap now. He runs a 2:24.3. Baz brings Giugliano with him. Johnny Rea is falling behind. But, Michele Fabrizio is also coming up, passing Lorenzo Zanetti.
Six laps into the race. Melandri is eighth. Biaggi is thirteenth. The standing water on Hangar straight into Stowe is getting worse. Into Vale, it's really wet. Jakub Smrz has to get by Guintoli. But, Giugliano spills the bike. He's OK. He's just surprised that he fell off. Eugene Laverty and Chaz Davies gain spots. Carlos Checa is also moving up. Loris Baz needs to slow down slightly. He has to be very careful. Baz wants by Smrz. Baz is now second. He will now go after Sylvain Guintoli. The race is half over. The track is getting much wetter now. Johnny Rea goes down and so does Jakub Smrz! He's out!
Eugene Laverty is now third. Baz is chasing Guintoli through Maggots/Becketts. Don't aquaplane. Guintoli goes by Baz. This is going to be the lead battle. Baz is about to move on Guintoli. Guintoli wiggles. Eight laps left. This is a two man race. Eugene Laverty is farther back (sixteen seconds off the pace). Carlos Checa crashes. Same thing happened to Giugliano. Maxime Berger, down and out. Loris Baz takes the lead!
Baz crashes! Don't speak too soon. Sykes has also crashed. Stop this race! It's too wet. The red flag comes out. Johnny Rea loses his bike in replay. Also, replayed are Smrz's and Berger's crashes. Race two is now over. There's no real point in restarting. Who has won? The track is being cleaned for other races. No one is on the podium yet. Apparently, Sylvain Guintoli is the winner and Loris Baz gets fast lap.
#50 Sylvain Guintoli FRA Ducati 1098 R
The next race on the World Superbike schedule is in Moscow, Russia for the first time, at Moscow Raceway, in three weeks.
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