WSBK Race 2 Report
For the second time this season, Max Biaggi doubled, taking both race 1 and 2 at Monza for Round 5 of the 2010 World Superbike season, just as he did in Portimao.
But unlike the tightness in Race 1 when the top three finishers were divided by less than three-tenths of a second, Biaggi would arrive to the checkered flag on his Aprilia RSVR 4.546 seconds ahead of Team Alstare Suzuki rider Leon Haslam.
Like Race 1, Biaggi got off the line quickly, leading the pack into the first chicane. He was followed by Yamaha Sterilgarda rider Cal Crutchlow, who was quickly shoved back to fourth by PBM Kawasaki rider Tom Sykes and BMW Motorrad rider Troy Corser.
But unlike Race 1, the pack behind the leaders didn’t make it through Prima Variante, the first chicane of the circuit. Crutchlow’s teammate James Toseland crashed, taking down BMW Motorrad rider Ruben Xaus and HANNspree Ten Kate Honda rider Jonathan Rea, who also crashed his CBR 1000RR out of in Race 1; Toseland finished second in Race 1.
Sykes ZX-10R was soon passed by Haslam and Corser, as Crutchlow was making his way to the front on his YZF-R1. Meanwhile Haslam passed Biaggi for a brief moment, only to get pushed back into second on the long straight away where the RSV4 dominated all weekend.
But on lap 9, Haslam would fall back to third after almost crashing his GSX-R 1000 exiting the first chicane, giving second to Crutchlow. The Yamaha rider began chasing down Biaggi, but his engine blew, spewing oil on his rear tire, causing the bike to go down.
With Crutchlow out of the battle, Biaggi would remain unchallenged, and go onto to take the win. He was followed by Haslam and Corser, whose third-place finish was BMW’s first-ever podium in World Superbike racing. Rounding out the top five were Biaggi’s teammate Leon Camier and Sykes, respectively.
Max Biaggi says: "That was a special result, because it is special to win at Monza and because this is a special track with a very high top speed. We worked very hard for this race weekend so it was a perfect performance by all the team. The Yamaha guys running together means they could be quicker than me in the final lap but we held it together and took our first win here at Monza."
With his double-win, Biaggi is now 3 points behind series’ leader Haslam, who has 181 points. Sitting in third with 110 points is Rea.
As well, it has been a historic weekend for Team BMW Motorrad Motorsport with Troy Corser (AUS) achieving the team’s first ever World SBK podium. Click here for WSBK Race 1 Results
World Superbike Race 2 Results, Monza
1. 3 Biaggi M. (ITA) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 31:07.122 (200.496 kph)
2. 91 Haslam L. (GBR) Suzuki GSX-R1000 -4.547
3. 11 Corser T. (AUS) BMW S1000 RR -5.469
4. 2 Camier L. (GBR) Aprilia RSV4 Factory -10.267
5. 66 Sykes T. (GBR) Kawasaki ZX 10R -15.561
6. 41 Haga N. (JPN) Ducati 1098R -15.816
7. 50 Guintoli S. (FRA) Suzuki GSX-R1000 -15.861
8. 96 Smrz J. (CZE) Ducati 1098R -20.977
9. 67 Byrne S. (GBR) Ducati 1098R -21.920
10. 99 Scassa L. (ITA) Ducati 1098R -21.974
11. 7 Checa C. (ESP) Ducati 1098R -27.152
12. 76 Neukirchner M. (GER) Honda CBR1000RR -29.315
13. 77 Vermeulen C. (AUS) Kawasaki ZX 10R -30.858
14. 95 Hayden R. (USA) Kawasaki ZX 10R -47.160
15. 23 Parkes B. (AUS) Honda CBR1000RR -48.824
RET 35 Crutchlow C. (GBR) Yamaha YZF R1
RET 15 Baiocco M. (ITA) Kawasaki ZX 10R
RET 57 Lanzi L. (ITA) Ducati 1098R
RET 31 Iannuzzo V. (ITA) Honda CBR1000RR
RET 84 Fabrizio M. (ITA) Ducati 1098R
RET 52 Toseland J. (GBR) Yamaha YZF R1
RET 111 Xaus R. (ESP) BMW S1000 RR
RET 65 Rea J. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR
World Superbike Point Standings after Round 5
1. Leon Haslam, Suzuki, 181
2. Max Biaggi, Aprilia, 178
3. Jonathan Rea, Honda, 110
4. Carlos Checa, Ducati, 110
5. James Toseland, Yamaha, 106
6. Noriyuki Haga, Ducati, 100
7. Troy Corser, BMW, 92
8. Leon Camier, Aprilia, 72
9. Sylvain Guintoli, Suzuki, 70
10. Cal Crutchlow, Yamaha, 65
11. Michel Fabrizio, Ducati, 62
12. Shane Byrne, Ducati, 58
13. Jakub Smrz, Ducati, 47
14. Tom Sykes, Kawasaki, 35
15. Ruben Xaus, BMW, 35
16. Lorenzo Lanzi, Ducati, 26
17. Max Neukirchner, Honda, 23
18. Luca Scassa, Ducati, 16
19. Chris Vermeulen, Kawasaki, 5
20. Andrew Pitt, BMW, 3
21. Roger Lee Hayden, Kawasaki, 2
22. Joshua Brookes, Honda, 2
23. Broc Parkes, Honda, 1
24. Matteo Baiocco, Kawasaki, 1
