After dramatic finishes in both Race 1 and 2, BMW Motorrad’s Marco Melandri earned a perfect weekend at Brno. In doing so, he gave BMW its first and second victories at the Czech circuit, reports Byron Wilson of Motorcycle USA.com. Melandri outpaced Kawasaki’s Tom Sykes in both contests, frustrating the British rider’s campaign for his first dry Superbike win. Sykes’ teammate Loris Baz earned his first podium in Race 1 and stayed in the top ten in Race 2.
Race 1
Melandri took the win in Race 1, making it to the front in the final laps of the contest, and beating out race leader Tom Sykes. Sykes’ teammate Loris Baz earned his first top three finish of the season and only his third finish in the top ten since filling in for the injured Joan Lascorz. The session was declared wet, though just a handful of damp patches remained on track at the opening of the race and by the end most of the wet spots had dried out.
Melandri came through the first lap in sixth, falling soon after to eighth in a tight battle for position between himself, his teammate Leon Haslam, Honda’s Jonathan Rea and Liberty Racing Team Effenbert’s Jakub Smrz.. After half the race, Melandri staged his comeback, powering through until he’d reached third on Lap 17. Rea had already was battling Sykes for the lead, then late in the race the two collided, sending Rea flying off his bike and allowing Melandri to get past Sykes with just two laps remaining. Rea was able to walk away from the incident, but was visibly shaken.
"At the beginning the conditions were very difficult as it was wet," said Melandri. "As we were riding with slicks we just tried not to lose too many positions, but in the first few laps I struggled a lot. While I was trying to improve my position I made two mistakes because I still was not feeling comfortable. When I saw I was eighth I said to myself I needed to be quiet and keep my rhythm to catch the front guys. It was not easy to overtake them, but when I took the lead with one lap to go I knew I just needed to keep pushing as much as I could. I knew I was faster than the others."
"The conditions were unpredictable at the start, but I found a rhythm and some pace and was battling for the lead," said Rea. "Tom Sykes ran wide and I was on the inside when he cut back and I got ejected, which was unfortunate because we were in a good podium position."
Baz staged one of his best performances of the season, coming out in fifth through Lap 1 and holding in the top five for the entire contest. Once Rea went down, he battled with Althea Racing’s Carlos Checa for the final spot on the rostrum, beating out the 2011 world champion in the final two laps.
Following Checa in fifth was Aprilia Racing’s Eugene Laverty and teammate Max Biaggi in sixth. The RSV4 riders struggled through the entire contest, sitting as far back as ninth and tenth through a number of the opening laps. Laverty forged ahead mid-race, getting to fifth on Lap 11 and holding steady. Biaggi made the jump from seventh to sixth in the final laps after Rea crashed out.
Haslam came in seventh, followed by BMW Motorrad Italia GoldBet’s Miche; Fabrizio in eighth and Team Effenbert Liberty Racing’s Maxime Berger in ninth. Berger had one of his finest moments so far this season, leading the pack through four laps early in the contest. He soon slipped back, falling to fifth by mid-race and finally to 10th for much of the second half. He too jumped up one position as a result of Rea’s fall. Smrz rounded out the top ten.
Besides Rea, Checa’s teammate Davide Giugliano also crashed during the contest. Giugliano was fastest during Friday’s practice and timed sessions and came off the start in Race 1 challenging for the lead. Just three laps in though, the Ducati rider went down. He scrambled to rejoin the action but soon after had to head to the pits with issues stemming from his accident.
World Superbike Brno Race 1 Results 2012:
1. Marco Melandri (BMW)
2. Tom Sykes (Kawasaki)
3. Loris Baz (Kawasaki)
4. Carlos Checa (Ducati)
5. Eugene Laverty (Aprilia)
6. Max Biaggi (Aprilia)
7. Leon Haslam (BMW)
8. Michel Fabrizio (BMW)
9. Maxime Berger (Ducati)
10. Jakub Smrz (Ducati)
11. Chaz Davies (Aprilia)
12. Alessandro Polita (Ducati)
13. Norino Brignola (BMW)
14. Leon Camier (Suzuki)
15. John Hopkins (Suzuki)
16. Lorenzo Zanetti (Ducati)
17. Viktor Kispataki (Honda)
18. David Salom (Kawasaki)
Race 2
Melandri came out on top once again in Race 2, besting Sykes on the final lap. Sykes had been on pace to earn his first dry track win, leading 19 of 20 laps, but Melandri pressed on the Kawasaki rider’s rear tire the entire race and made the pass on the final lap. Checa earned the final step on the podium, trailing Sykes by over six seconds.
"Race 2 was even more difficult, as Tom was having a great race and I had to spend a lot of energy trying to catch him," said Melandri. "The tire was working very well today, and I was able to keep the gap very small. Every time I tried to pass Tom he was braking so hard that it was nearly impossible. Once I finally passed him, I made a mistake and Tom passed me back. It was really tough to catch him again."
There was much less movement out front in Race 2, as Sykes and Melandri took to the front on Lap 3 and proceeded to build a gap on Checa. Biaggi, who came across the finish in fourth, settled into position on Lap 6 and fifth place finisher Laverty held his ground from Lap 8 on, slipping to sixth for just one lap late in the contest.
"Unfortunately we couldn't do any better than we did today," said Biaggi. "We had some big problems with chattering which compromised every move I made. In Race 2 I tried not to lose touch with the front pack, but I just couldn't maintain their pace. I was already at the limit as if it were the last lap."
ParkinGo’s Chaz Davies took sixth, followed by Haslam in seventh and Baz in eighth. FIXI Crescent Suzuki’s Leon Camier finished in ninth with Fabrizio rounding out the top ten. Rea was able to return to the grid after his crash late in Race 1, but was unable to advance beyond 12th by the end. Giugliano outpaced Rea in 11th by just under one second.
Biaggi remains in the points lead, but finished behind riders in both races looking to challenge for the lead. Melandri, currently in second overall, cut the gap between first and second by over half, coming into Brno with a deficit of 48 on Biaggi and leaving just 21 behind. Sykes closed in on the lead as well, jumping from fifth overall to third and now 59 points short of the front. Checa continues to challenge for third overall, eight points behind the Kawasaki rider. Rea's disappointing weekend dropped him from third to fifth. ––Paul Duchene
World Superbike Brno Race 2 Results 2012:
1. Marco Melandri (BMW)
2. Tom Sykes (Kawasaki)
3. Carlos Checa (Ducati)
4. Max Biaggi (Aprilia)
5. Eugene Laverty (Aprilia)
6. Chaz Davies (Aprilia)
7. Leon Haslam (BMW)
8. Loris Baz (Kawasaki)
9. Leon Camier (Suzuki)
10. Michel Fabrizio (BMW)
11. Davide Giugliano (Ducati)
12. Jonathan Rea (Honda)
13. Jakub Smrz (Ducati)
14. John Hopkins (Suzuki)
15. Maxime Berger (Ducati)
16. Lorenzo Zanetti (Ducati)
17. Norino Brignola (BMW)
18. Viktor Kispataki (Honda)
World Superbike Championship Points:
1. Max Biaggi, 271.5
2. Marco Melandri, 250.5
3. Tom Sykes, 212.5
4. Carlos Checa, 204.5
5. Jonathan Rea, 187
6. Leon Haslam, 160
7. Eugene Laverty, 148
8. Sylvain Guintoli, 110
9. Davide Giugliano, 99
10. Chaz Davies, 93
