Round four of the World Superbike championship is now over and Carlos Checa is still the points leader with 145 points even with his finishing only in 9th and 10th today, but Marco Melandri is now second in the standings with 128 points followed by a very bitter Max Biaggi with 127.
Here’s what some of the riders had to say after today’s two exciting races at Monza complete with highlight videos.
Eugene Laverty (1st and 1st)“I can’t believe I got a double victory today.
I came here aiming for a podium and now I’m coming away with two incredible race wins.
It’s fantastic.
I didn’t get off to a good start in the second race.
I had to avoid a collision on the first corner, causing me to lose time.
I also struggled a little with the tyres in the hot conditions.
When it came to the last few laps, I couldn’t believe my luck that it was just me and Marco in the lead.
This double victory was particularly special to me, being the team’s home track.
” Marco Melandri (5th and 2nd)“It’s been a tough but still quite a good weekend.
I had difficulty finding the right set-up in order to provide more stability.
We made progress before the second race but the bike was still quite agitated towards the end.
In the last corner I struggled with the gears and the rear tyre locked causing me to go slightly wide.
I’m really pleased to be on the podium and I really enjoyed riding the track.
We have gained some important points but I’d like to get more next time!”Max Biaggi (2nd and (8th)“At the moment I am feeling only great disappointment, for me and for the entire team.
We prepared to the best of our ability and I think we showed that on the track.
I have to accept this severe decision, blaming myself for not having been shrewd enough not to have touched that line.
Now we have to regroup and focus on the next races.
There is still a long season ahead”.
Leon Haslam (3rd and DNF)“In race one I didn’t get the best of starts and I also made a few mistakes in the early laps which meant I had some work to do to catch the leading bunch.
Still, I felt like I had the pace to run with the leaders.
Max and I held each other up slightly which saw Eugene get away at the front but on the whole I was happy with the race and the bike.
In race two I was hit from behind at the first corner on lap one.
I am not 100% sure what happened but I crashed out of the race after getting a much better start.
Following the crash I was taken to the medical centre where it was confirmed that I have broken a toe on my right foot, but I don’t see it being a problem for our forthcoming test, or the races in Salt Lake.
”Troy Corser (7th and 5th)“On one hand I am happy with the way the two races have gone today but on the other hand I am slightly frustrated.
I got a great start in both races and led the early laps.
The bike felt good on the whole, we had a few tyre issues in race one which saw me slip back, and in race two I was pretty happy until I was squeezed out at the first corner by Marco Melandri.
From there I lost some time and I just couldn’t get that back.
The pace we showed this weekend suggested that we could push for the podium, but sadly that didn’t happen with me today.
We have a test now before Salt Lake so hopefully we can continue to improve on what we have done already.
”Jonathan Rea (6th and DNF)Frustrating really is the word, especially in race one when we just didn’t have the speed on the straight.
I could match the lap times when I was on my own and able to run the right lines.
But as soon as I got involved in a race with anyone who slowed me down in the places I was fast, I got forced off the line and lost the speed.
Sixth was OK but certainly not what I’d hoped for.
I’ll have to see the footage of race two to find out what really happened, but I feel like I got clipped from the inside which forced me up and into the guy on the outside.
We’re going to Miller next, which has anothe r long straight, so I hope the guys back at base can find something.
Luckily, we’re testing there the week before the race so I hope that gives us at least a chance to do better than last year.
Leon Camier (8th and DNF)“Start was good, first corner was good, I felt good.
I got past a couple more to move up into 2nd and everything was fine.
I wasn’t particularly pushing, just trying to get everything to flow and then in Turn 6 I let the brake off mid-turn and the front folded.
I have to say sorry to all of my team.
A podium was definitely on the cards, which would have been a great end to a couple of races where we’ve had nothing but bad luck.
We’ve just got to look ahead to Miller at the end of the month and hope our luck changes.
”Carlos Checa ( 9th and 10th)“We’re satisfied because we were aware of our limitations before we arrived here at Monza e we knew that it would be difficult to reach the podium.
In race 1 I had to push so hard on the straights that it probably affected the tyre because in the last laps the performance had really dropped off and I couldn’t get ahead of Camier.
In the second race we had good pace until three laps from the end when I had an engine problem.
It slowed me down so much that I was lucky even to finish.
I closed in ninth and tenth position today and, all things considered, these are good points for us at Monza.
We leave here with a 27-point lead which surprises me to tell the truth.
We’re really happy and will now concentrate on the next round at Miller, where I hope to be able to make two great races.
”Tom Sykes (13th and 11th)“We didn’t have the speed or the race package to work with this weekend obviously there is some work to be done.
We all need to pick our heads up and stay focused and positive.
I think people may expect a lot of us very early in the season with a new bike and I think that is putting a bit of pressure on.
I will keep my head down and keep working and I am still confident we can make it work.
I got caught up in the crash at the first chicane and lost time on the exit, which made things harder.
I think I had a bit of a bit better pace early on if I had got latched onto a leading group.
”Joan Lascorz (DNF and 10th) “All weekend we had been working with the soft race tyre then this morning when we tested the harder tyre, which we had to use, the bike needed a lot of adjustment.
We are still developing and understanding the bike because it is still quite new.
We made some changes after warm-up and found some better rear grip, but lost it in the front and I crashed.
In race two I did my best and I was reasonably satisfied with a top ten finish and we will be better in the next one.
I would like to be fighting more in the front group.
”Ayrton Badovini (11th and 6th)“I am not happy, or perhaps not completely satisfied.
On the straight in race one of the first lap I was penalized a lot, and it was hard to stay focused to finish the race.
In race two, I lost several positions, and contact with the lead group, while avoiding the falling riders.
I got back to sixth position but made up with the times during the race.
I could have fought for a few positions ahead without problems.
We take this result this weekend as a reference point from where we can improve and be more competitive.
”Ruben Xaus (15th and 12th)It has not been a very positive weekend at Monza which is a pity for all the guys in my team who have been working very hard.
I have had some braking problems this weekend and stopping the bike has been hard.
Today we also had some grip problems on the corner exits, which then makes it difficult to carry the speed down the Monza straights.
We will approach the test and races at Miller in a positive way and see what more we can learn from the experience of this weekend.
Noriyuki Haga ( 16th and 4th)In race 2 I had fun, unluckily we didn’t get a braking fitting my way of ride and it prevent me from more determined attacks to Michel Fabrizio.
We still have done another step forward and we’re really close to aim a great result.
Now we’ll focus on the tests in Misano, next week, trying to keep improving in the bike’s setting, with which face the next round at the end of the month on Miller Park circuit.
”