by Mark Appleton
I say round up, it’s not really, I don’t know if this round will ever truly be put to bed, but why don’t we just move on regardless, what’s done is done.
You can read the race one report here and race two report here…and then we try and get to the bottom of race two here!
However, this shouldn’t really take away from what was a fantastic race one and a superb weekend overall by Frenchman Loris Baz. The 19 year old was on fire in both races, determined to get results in both and that he did.
“It is really special to win and to win in England because I raced here in BSB last year for a while” said an elated Baz. “I would also like to thank Kawasaki for believing in me. We made no mistakes in race one and finished up front. I think in the dry we are also really fast and we can fight for the first five or seven places. I chose the slick tyre because it was the best choice in race one. The conditions in race one were crazy for a while and early on I was missing some grip but when I saw the rains coming I pushed hard even though it was quite wet but I stayed on the bike and I am really happy, as you can imagine, for this victory. I want to thank all the team and we are also thinking of Joan Lascorz, because this victory is for him now. As for race two it was amazing to be here inside the top three again. The start of race two was not so wet so I just tried to keep my tyres, and then it started to move back up to Kuba and Sylvain, passed them both and them before falling, I think it was the right decision to take the race results back to lap eight because there was a lot of fuel on the track for two laps, and a lot of water. I am really happy and thanks to all my crew and Kawasaki again.”
“The general conditions in race two I was very annoyed about” said Tom Sykes. “For sure there was some contamination on the track, it was very greasy and I saw it for two laps and had tried to get the race red flagged. Lots of people crashed and it was red flagged on the lap I crashed. Now, lots of people have been put in the results from previous laps. It could have been worse today but I am disappointed that we did not come away with more points when we could have done. We are still third in the championship so we will just forget this one and move on.”
Championship leader Max Biaggi had struggled in the free practice and qualifying sessions to produce any kind of notable result and this continued into the races.
“In Race 1 I brushed onto the white line and the bike got away from me” said Biaggi, “a passable mistake. It was a shame though, because the sixth place I was defending was a good position, considering the conditions. In my opinion stopping Race 2 was the right decision, you could see oil or petrol on some of the turns and it was too dangerous. My lead has been cut in half – that’s the outcome of the weekend, so now we’ll focus on Moscow where we’re starting from scratch on a track that is new to everyone”.
“In the first race we had a few problems” said Eugene Laverty, “but the important thing was to finish and take some points home. In Race 2 the set-up on my RSV4 wasn’t working very well with damp asphalt, but when the heavens opened my pace increased as well. I recovered several positions and I could have improved even more but the race was called. The rules were enforced correctly, although I think they could have considered the next lap as they had done initially”.
It was a frustrating weekend for Leon Camier. The British rider looked sharp over the weekend but the conditions got the better of him in race one and mechanical issues put paid to his charge in race two.
“It’s been a frustrating day really because I felt we had the pace in the wet or dry after setting the fastest lap of the weekend in free practice and the qualifying in second in the wet” said Camier. “These are both positive things for me and the team, but unfortunately the results didn’t come today. It was very difficult conditions in race one and easy to make a mistake. I didn’t think I did anything wrong, but the rear came round and high-sided me off, so that was it - which was really annoying as a podium was possible. In race two the bike felt all over the place in the drier conditions, but as it rained more the wet tyres worked better and it felt good. We had an engine problem early on and it meant that we couldn’t complete the race, which, as I said, was very frustrating. Although I took no points this weekend, I’m not too disappointed because we had really good pace, the bike has improved and we showed we have a really good chance of getting results now.”
Camier’s team mate, John Hopkins, grabbed his best result of the season so far as he continues his return to both fitness and form.
“In the first race the conditions were quite tricky and I got banged-up a bit in the first couple of corners and dropped back quite a lot” said Hopkins. “We had made some set-up changes just before the race and they might have hindered us a bit, because I never really got to grips with it and I got stuck in a group lower down the order, but then unfortunately I had an electrical issue that put me out of the race, so that was a bit disappointing. In race two we were hoping it would be either full wet or totally dry. We took the gamble with wet tyres and it rained as we got to the grid so it was the correct choice. I got off the line well enough and had a good race from the start. Then it started to rain heavily and it was carnage out there, lots of guys crashed and we were all hydroplaning, which was a shame because I felt good out there before that and the FIXI Crescent Suzuki GSX-R was going really well and I am sure we could have finished higher than 10th. The bike had huge potential here this weekend, the engine was working strong, I’d made a break-through in confidence and was feeling good, but for one reason or another it didn’t quite come together in the race, but it is what it is and that’s how racing goes. The bike is a lot better now and that is something we can take forward into the remaining races.”
Carlos Checa was one of the riders who crashed out in race two but was ‘reinstated’ after the count-back went to lap eight. We had heard Checa was one of the riders wanting the race re-started.
“The conditions today, especially in race 1, were dangerous; racing in the wet with slick tyres is obviously no fun for anyone” said Checa, “although it probably makes for exciting races for the spectators. Before the rain started to fall I was going really well but then once the rain came, and certain sections of the track became wetter than others, I lost a bit of confidence and slowed down a bit, thinking that maybe one or two guys would come past me but instead there were five or six of them! In the final stages, when I saw how the front group was pushing and how hard it was just to stay upright, I chose to stay put and follow them rather than push and take risks. Fifth isn’t bad considering the conditions. In race 2 I lost some ground at the start but then managed to make that up again over the subsequent laps to arrive close to Berger who was in fifth. I saw some oil on the track and went wide to avoid it – I put my hand up at that point to indicate to Race Direction that conditions were getting worse but then I fell. Anyway, we’ve made up a few points in the standings and now we have to concentrate on the Russian round.”
Davide Giugliano had a good weekend all things considered and grabbed some good results despite suffering pain in his right hand due to a crash on Friday.
“In race 1, I decided to take it easy for the first couple of laps to see what conditions were really like and then I started to push and felt quite comfortable” said Giugliano. “Unfortunately once I got up near to Badovini I had a problem with my boot and I couldn’t change gear easily. In the second race I had a strong pace and was feeling quite happy in the now full wet conditions. I was there in fourth and felt I was in a position to push and try to catch Baz for third but at a certain point I unexpectedly crashed – I don’t know it if was just me pushing too hard or if there was oil on the track but anyway there was nothing I could do. It’s a pity because I know I had the pace in that race and could have taken a good result.”
Leon Haslam was leading races over the weekend but it wasn’t to be and he summed up the weekend nicely on Twitter “Well today i had a two second lead, rode my bollocks off, slid about 200 metres on my arse all for 10 points…Mint.”.
“It was another bad race day” bemoaned Haslam. “It wasn’t the fault of the team or the bike. We could have won race one, but were unfortunate with the weather and the tyre. In race two we had an issue during the first half, and there was something strange with the centre of the tyre when it was dry. The more and more it rained the better the tyre became and I started to catch the guys again, but then I crashed on some oil. I was able to get back into the race and moved up to 14th, but then it was red flagged and the classification was based on the result after lap eight, so I was out of the points. It is really frustrating. They should have stopped the race before that.”
“This day was actually unbelievable” said Marco Melandri. “The two races were completely different, but they were both equally as difficult. It was very important to finish today. Many young riders who are not involved in the championship fight were pushing very hard, so the races were not easy. However, I am so happy because we leave here without any damage and good points. Now I am looking forward to Moscow because the track is new for everybody. I just hope the weather will be more stable there.”
The other BMW team had a similar half-and-half experience of the Silverstone weekend, with one rider having a good time, the other not so much.
“Today was a very good one” said Michel Fabrizio, “and it’s a big reward after some tough times. A huge thanks goes to the team that has always been working so well. I achieved this second place, which I think is well deserved, as I really wanted it and in the end I fought up to the chequered flag to get it. In race two I rode carefully as I saw the conditions were difficult and also many riders crashed. Unfortunately the race was stopped.”
“Obviously I’m so happy about this maiden Superbike podium” said Ayrton Badovini, “especially considering the spectacular last corner! I’m also happy for the team because, despite being very quick in several rounds, we have left empty handed. In race two there were tough conditions and I was one of many riders who crashed, but that’s racing. I want to dedicate my podium to Lorenzo, for what happened to him yesterday.”
“Race one was just crazy but I enjoyed it because I knew it would be tough to race for a win” said Honda’s Jonathan Rea, “but we genuinely had a shot at it there! I got a bit wide at turn five on the first lap and the rear came round when I hit the kerb and I was dead last. But I never gave up and it was nice to be in the hunt for the win until the last corner, which gave me motivation for race two. That was really strange starting on full wets when the track wasn’t completely wet – it was difficult for everyone though. I was looking after my tyre at the beginning, which is why I was so far back, but when the monsoon came I started to push a little bit. My crash, like pretty much everybody else’s out there happened on the rear tyre, which had no grip. There have been so many crashes in the wet like that this year - off the gas, at the apex – it’s getting a bit frustrating. Overall, we took points out of the championship leaders, so it’s not been a bad job today. To come away with a fourth and a ninth is better than I expected last night, so we’ll take these results and move on.”
“The races were made a little bit complicated by the weather and we started the first race with slick tyres like everybody” said Hiroshi Aoyama, “but in the middle of the race we got some rain. It got quite difficult when the rain was heavier, but in race two we started on rain tyres and there was no water! This was also critical, then in the middle of the race there was too much rain and everybody started to crash. In some parts of the track there was fuel or oil and it was very, very slippery. I tried to stay on the bike and finished 12th but, in the end, the result was confirmed as 14th, which was a pity. The feeling was not so bad in the wet and the dry and for the next race we got to a new racetrack in Moscow, which I look forward to.”
