2012 World Superbike Results
Spoiler Alert: 2012 World Superbike results from Phillip Island, Australia, listed below
The 25th year of World Superbike began Sunday in Phillip Island, Australia, with two familiar names taking wins.
And both winners are recent champions – Aprilia Racing Team’s Max Biaggi (2010) and Althea Ducati’s Carlos Checa (1198).
In Race 1, Kawasaki Racing Team’s Tom Sykes made the best of his pole-position start, arriving first at turn 1 of 12 on the 2.761-mile circuit. Following closely, though, was Biaggi aboard the RSV4 and Checa on the 1198.
But on the third lap, Biaggi, who started from second on the grid, overtook Sykes to take the number-one spot. Checa also passed Sykes, and began chasing down Biaggi. But on the sixth lap, Checa lost the rear on his Ducati, high-siding into the gravel. Luckily, Checa was able to remount his Desmo and finish the race, although 23rd.
This left Biaggi alone up front, who put in a lap record of 1:31.785 en route to taking the first race-win in 2012 World SBK. Sykes gradually lost time as his tire wore during the 22-lap event, allowing BMW Motorrad’s Marco Melandri and Effenbert-Liberty Ducati’s Jakub Smrz to pass.
Biaggi would finish by 7.104 seconds over Melandri, with Smrz taking the final podium position. Sykes finished fourth, and Honda World Superbike’s Jonathan Rea took fifth.
Although the race-1 crash was looming in the Althea Ducati paddock, Checa wasted now time in race 2 to take the win. Sykes once again got to turn one first, with Checa and Rea in tow. But on lap four, Checa took the lead, and began a dominating performance. The Spaniard would be the fastest in race-2, posting the quickest lap of 1:32.8.
By the mid-way point, he was almost three seconds ahead of the man who moved into second, Honda CBR1000RR rider Rea. But Biaggi was again on a charge, although he ran off the track following some contact with Sykes at the start of race.
During the collision, Biaggi’s brake-lever was a bit re-arranged. Regardless, he re-entered the race in last place, but stormed through the field to eventually finish second in the 22-lap event. The Italian would finish 5.707 seconds behind Checa.
Taking the final podium position was Sykes, who made an amazing pass on Rea on the final turn, his ZX-10R out-pacing Rea’s CBR 1000 RR. Finishing fifth was BMW Motorrad’s Leon Haslam.
With his first- and second-place finishes, Biaggi leads the championship with 45 points, 15 ahead of Melandri. In third with 29 points is Sykes, with Checa in fourth with 25 points.
The 2012 World Superbike Championship now takes a month-long break before resuming at Imola for round two of 14.
Phillip Island World Superbike Winner Quotes:
Carlos Checa (Althea Ducati 1198 Superbike) says: “In race one I had the worst crash that I’ve ever had with the Ducati. I was under pressure and pushed a little too hard. It’s extremely difficult to find the exact limit with the bike, the track, and with myself and today I exceeded that limit and fell.
“The team made a fantastic job of preparing a bike that allowed me to win in race two. In that race, I started strong and when I saw that Max had gone off track, I pushed hard to get ahead and win the race. Max made a good recovery but I was able to maintain a strong pace and bring home what is a very important win for me and for the team.”
Max Biaggi (Aprilia RSV4 Superbike) says: “After such a difficult winter this is extremely satisfying for me. I worked without sparing myself and during the testing here at Phillip Island we truly tried a lot of things and the results prove us right.
“The first weekend with my new Team puts us out front and I have to thank both my guys and Aprilia for that. Race 1 was great, and the second one maybe even better. After running off the track I only thought about focusing and giving my all, because coming back from last place is always risky. We succeeded. We’re taking home two good results and now there is nothing left to do but keep the tension high to confirm our strength at Imola. I am leaving for Montecarlo so Monday I’ll be home and I’ll begin to prepare for the next round.”
2012 Phillip Island World Superbike: Race 1 Results
1. Max Biaggi 34m13.963s ITA APRILIA Aprilia Racing Team
2. Marco Melandri +7.104s ITA BMW BMW Motorrad Motosport
3. Sylvain Guintoli +7.378s FRA DUCATI Team Effenbert Liberty Racing
4. Tom Sykes +12.189s GBR KAWASAKI Kawasaki Racing Team
5. Jakub Smrz +16.424s CZE DUCATI Team Effenbert Liberty Racing
6. Michel Fabrizio +20.200s ITA BMW BMW Motorrad Italia GOLDBET
7. Jonathan Rea +20.223s GBR HONDA Honda World Superbike Team
8. Hiroshi Aoyama +24.108s JPN HONDA Honda World Superbike Team
9. Davide Giugliano +28.072s ITA DUCATI Althea Racing
10. Bryan Staring +34.232s AUS KAWASAKI Team Pedercini
11. Lorenzo Zanetti +34.450s ITA DUCATI PATA Racing Team
12. Leon Haslam +35.648s GBR BMW BMW Motorrad Motosport
13. Maxime Berger +36.392s ITA DUCATI Team Effenbert Liberty Racing
14. David Salom +41.500s SPA KAWASAKI Team Pedercini
15. Joan Lascorz +42.086s ESP KAWASAKI Kawasaki Racing Team
16. Josh Brookes +42.605s AUS SUZUKI Crescent Fixi Suzuki
17. Leon Camier +43.366s GBR SUZUKI Crescent Fixi Suzuki
18. Mark Aitchison +45.225s AUS BMW Grillini Progrea Superbike Team
19. David Johnson +1’08.782s AUS BMW Rossair AEP Racing
20. Niccolo Canepa +1’10.440s ITA DUCATI Red Devils Roma
21. Eugene Laverty DNF – 3 Laps IR APRILIA Aprilia Racing Team
22. Ayrton Badovini DNF – 8 Laps ITA BMW BMW Motorrad Italia GOLDBET
23. Carlos Checa DNF – 17 Laps SPA DUCATI Althea Racing
24. Raffaele De Rosa DNF ITA HONDA Team Pro Ride Real Game Honda
2012 Phillip Island World Superbike: Race 2 Results:
1. Carlos Checa 34m26.728s SPA DUCATI Althea Racing
2. Max Biaggi +5.707s ITA APRILIA Aprilia Racing Team
3. Tom Sykes +12.521s GBR KAWASAKI Kawasaki Racing Team
4. Jonathan Rea +12.655s GBR HONDA Honda World Superbike Team
5. Leon Haslam +18.179s GBR BMW BMW Motorrad Motosport
6. Marco Melandri +18.831s ITA BMW BMW Motorrad Motosport
7. Maxime Berger +18.939s ITA DUCATI Team Effenbert Liberty Racing
8. Eugene Laverty +19.478s IR APRILIA Aprilia Racing Team
9. Hiroshi Aoyama +19.554s JPN HONDA Honda World Superbike Team
10. Niccolo Canepa +26.289s ITA DUCATI Red Devils Roma
11. Jakub Smrz +26.479s CZE DUCATI Team Effenbert Liberty Racing
12. Leon Camier +29.145s GBR SUZUKI Crescent Fixi Suzuki
13. Davide Giugliano +36.482s ITA DUCATI Althea Racing
14. Lorenzo Zanetti +38.113s ITA DUCATI PATA Racing Team
15. Josh Brookes +43.234s AUS SUZUKI Crescent Fixi Suzuki
16. Bryan Staring +43.526s AUS KAWASAKI Team Pedercini
17. Raffaele De Rosa +53.929s ITA HONDA Team Pro Ride Real Game Honda
18. Ayrton Badovini DNF – 11 Laps ITA BMW BMW Motorrad Italia GOLDBET
19. Joan Lascorz DNF – 12 Laps ESP KAWASAKI Kawasaki Racing Team
20. Sylvain Guintoli DNF – 13 Laps FRA DUCATI Team Effenbert Liberty Racing
21. David Salom DNF – 14 Laps SPA KAWASAKI Team Pedercini
22. Michel Fabrizio DNF – 18 Laps ITA BMW BMW Motorrad Italia GOLDBET
23. David Johnson DNF – 18 Laps AUS BMW Rossair AEP Racing
24. Mark Aitchison DNF – 21 Laps AUS BMW Grillini Progrea Superbike Team
2012 World Superbike Point Standings (After 1 of 14 Rounds):
1. Max Biaggi 45 pts ITA APRILIA Aprilia Racing Team
2. Marco Melandri 30 pts ITA BMW BMW Motorrad Motosport
3. Tom Sykes 29 pts GBR KAWASAKI Kawasaki Racing Team
4. Carlos Checa 25 pts SPA DUCATI Althea Racing
5. Jonathan Rea 22 pts GBR HONDA Honda World Superbike Team
6. Sylvain Guintoli 16 pts FRA DUCATI Team Effenbert Liberty Racing
7. Jakub Smrz 16 pts CZE DUCATI Team Effenbert Liberty Racing
8. Leon Haslam 15 pts GBR BMW BMW Motorrad Motosport
9. Hiroshi Aoyama 15 pts JPN HONDA Honda World Superbike Team
10. Maxime Berger 12 pts ITA DUCATI Team Effenbert Liberty Racing
11. Michel Fabrizio 10 pts ITA BMW BMW Motorrad Italia GOLDBET
12. Davide Giugliano 10 pts ITA DUCATI Althea Racing
13. Eugene Laverty 8 pts IR APRILIA Aprilia Racing Team
14. Lorenzo Zanetti 7 pts ITA DUCATI PATA Racing Team
15. Niccolo Canepa 6 pts ITA DUCATI Red Devils Roma
16. Bryan Staring 6 pts AUS KAWASAKI Team Pedercini
17. Leon Camier 4 pts GBR SUZUKI Crescent Fixi Suzuki
18. David Salom 2 pts SPA KAWASAKI Team Pedercini
19. Josh Brookes 1 pts AUS SUZUKI Crescent Fixi Suzuki
20. Joan Lascorz 1 pts ESP KAWASAKI Kawasaki Racing Team
21. Raffaele De Rosa 0 pts ITA HONDA Team Pro Ride Real Game Honda
22. Mark Aitchison 0 pts AUS BMW Grillini Progrea Superbike Team
23. David Johnson 0 pts AUS BMW Rossair AEP Racing
