2012 World Superbike Video Highlights
The 2012 World Superbike grid was greeted by ever-changing weather conditions Sunday at Silverstone, which is nothing unusual at the Great Britain circuit.
And before a weekend crowd of 42,000 spectators, these conditions brought about much action at round 10 of 12 in the 2012 World SBK Championship.
Two riders were especially pleased following the rain-plagued round – Kawasaki Racing Team’s Loris Baz, who won race one, and newly-signed Pata Racing Ducati rider Sylvain Guintoli, who won race two.
With his win, Baz became the second-youngest rider in World SBK history to win, the 19-year old joining the World SBK grid after starting the season in the Superstock 1000 FIM Cup. But it wasn’t a runaway victory.
Race one was halted after two separate crashes, and though the restart was declared wet, the track was somewhat dry. But light rains came and went, providing a slick surface for the riders. many riders would swap the lead, but Baz would win by a mere 0.383 of a second ahead of BMW Motorrad Italia GoldBet’s Michel Fabrizio.
Fabrizio’s teammate Ayrton Badovini took the final podium position, though he slid across the line after crashing with Honda World Superbike’s Jonathan Rea, who took fourth. Althea Ducati’s Carlos Checa took fifth. As for the current series leader, Aprilia Racing Team’s Max Biaggi suffered a DNF due to a crash.
In the second race, Guintoli was declared the winner after a shortened eight-lap race. The race was red flagged due to three riders falling on the same part of the track. Baz was in the lead on the lap the red flag was displayed, but fell shortly after. Though he crashed, Baz was credited with second. Third went to Liberty Racing Team Effenbert Ducati’s Jakub Smrz. Due to a shortened race, only half of the points were awarded to the top 15 riders.
Following Silverstone World SBK, Biaggi continues to lead with 274 points. But 11.5 points behind is BMW Motorrad’s Marco Melandri. Sykes remains in third with 222.5, and Checa in fourth with 220.5
Attached above are video highlights of race one at Silverstone; race two highlights are attached below.
