Today’s WSBK round at the Motorland Aragon circuit saw two Italians who did it better than anyone else and splitted the top of the podium, Yamaha’s Marco Melandri in race 1 and Aprilia’s Max Biaggi in race 2.
It was Melandri’s second win of the season after race 1 at Donington and for reigning World Champion Max Biaggi it was actually his first victory after eight second-place finishes and a lot of dumb moves that has made him his worst enemy in defending his title so far this year.
Check out what some of riders had to say after round 7 of the championship.
Marco Melandri (1st and 2nd)“I had a pretty amazing day.
Max was very strong and consistent so it wasn’t easy to pass him in either races but thankfully I managed to succeed in race one.
I felt good on the bike and gained confidence which was very important.
In race two the track was hotter than in race one, making it more difficult for the tyres.
Towards the end I felt I was about to lose the front and while trying to avoid going wide my foot slipped on the pedal.
It was a really good race though, I’m happy.
I want to thank my team and Yamaha for doing a great job again this weekend.
” Max Biaggi (2nd and 1st)“I am truly happy.
This is the first victory with the number 1 on the fairing.
I think it could have happened a lot sooner.
Unfortunately there was always some circumstance that kept it from us, but we deserve it and I will enjoy it with my team.
I must thank the team.
We worked very hard and between the two races we were also able to change something on my RSV4 which allowed me to push even harder and to be fast and consistent all the way to the end.
These are very close races where any slight hesitation can compromise everything.
But I dare say that this was a decisive victory, in front from the first metre to the last.
I am certainly not celebrating because of the points I earned – admonished Biaggi – I did not overtake anyone and there is little to celebrate where the standings are concerned.
What matters to me is to have truly won.
Now I want to ride good races and keep winning, but we need to make the entire bike-tyres package competitive.
It hasn’t always been so up to now, so I hope that from here on we can change something”.
Leon Camier (3rd and 8th)“I’m happy for myself and for Aprilia it certainly didn’t go badly, but I’m a bit disappointed that I didn’t have a good pace from the start.
I struggled at least until the seventh lap and then I pushed hard, but Max and Melandri had more or less the same pace I did, so I wasn’t able to get too close.
Too bad!”.
Eugene Laverty (4th and 6th)“In race one I wasn’t brave enough on the first corner, which was usually my strongest point and I ended up getting bottle necked.
I came through in the end and was very happy with my result.
Something similar happened in race two but I felt the rear wheel locking and went wide causing me to lose sveral places.
Had I gotten off to a better start, I know I could have been stronger.
Considering the difficult weekend I had, I think we made a great breakthrough which will help us for every track.
We’ll take the experience to the future and hopefully be stronger in Brno.
”Tom Sykes (5th and DNF) “Again there are some positives and negatives but I am going to ignore the latter.
The positive side is that we have been top five all weekend, and in race one, and in race two I went down but we were still racing in a good position.
Unfortunately I went down, but I went down trying.
We came away with good levels of performance during a dry weekend, which is another big positive.
We will get a test in Aragon to be ready for the Brno race, and we have a lot to test.
Maybe too much for one day, so we’ll prioritise things and make it count.
Brno is a fantastic circuit that I love and hopefully the new Ninja ZX-10R will work well there as well.
”Noriyuki Haga (6th and 7th)“In both of the manches I had some drive-issues.
We are still looking for the best setting possible, especially for what concern the race’s finale.
In race 1 I gained positions but at the end I lost a few due to my rear-tyre’s wearing.
In race 2 we modified the setting and the wearing was more balanced and regular but I spent quite a lot of time overtaking and in the meanwhile the leading group managed to length their stride.
”Joan Lascorz (7th and 5th)“I was fifth in race two and the same position I took at Donington.
Very good, but I was much closer to the top positions here.
We had some laps of testing but not many so this was really a new circuit for me in qualifying, so we did a good job.
I like it but it is not easy.
My crew chief gave me a good setting for the second race, and persuaded me not to go for the softer rear tyre, so I used the same B tyre in each race.
It was a good decision in race two.
The tyre was destroyed in race one, more than Tom’s but this race it looks better.
We were only five seconds from the podium in race two, and not only me, Tom was also very fast this weekend.
”Ayrton Badovini (8th and 10th)“I am pleased with the weekend because we have improved and we have grown steadily.
We were also able to improve on our weak point of the race start.
Race 1 went pretty well, while in 2 we made choices that didn’t deliver what we expected.
This gave us more experience of the bike with these conditions, hopefully helping us for the future.
”Leon Haslam (9th and 9th)“It has been another tough weekend for us.
In race one I did not get a good start and left myself with a lot of work to do.
I felt like I had the pace to run with the second group of riders who were fighting for fourth, but I made a mistake on lap one and was not able to bridge the gap.
However, I worked hard, made up some places and finished the race in ninth.
In race two I got a better start, the one I was hoping for in the first race.
Sadly I did not have a good feeling on the bike, as we went for a softer tyre and I did not have the same level of grip, but I had a good battle with Ayrton.
We just have to go through the data now and get ready for the next one.
”Troy Corser (10th and DNF)“I braked at the end of the back straight, passed two other riders and braked a bit late.
I overshot the last corner and went straight for a bit.
When I turned in I saw Maxime Berger coming.
I could see that his rear wheel was off the ground when he was braking and he just went straight into me.
I am not blaming him.
It was my fault for being off the track.
It was just unlucky, really.
But I am happy that I only suffered a broken arm, after the injury that I just suffered a week ago.
I do not have any bruises, nothing is sore and my neck is fine.
”Sylvain Guintoli (11th and 11th)” Today I am speechless, I cannot explain the results we have obtained, we have a good team that puts at my disposal a competitive pack, but unfortunately today, I just could not push in the right way.
It’ s true that I was involved in a couple of unlucky situations where I lost some positions, but after, despite my best efforts, I have not been able to recover the distance between me and who I had in front”Chris Vermeulen (12th and 14th) “Race one was so bad, got quite a good start but then boxed in on the first lap, and I actually went back to last place.
But we passed quite a few of them and our pace was quite good in he middle of the race same as that of the fifth to seventh place guys.
I managed to get up to 12th and in the last couple of laps the tyres dropped off, but we still managed to pass Rolfo.
In race two our set-up and tyre choice was exactly the same and I had no grip from the start, so I was riding along two seconds a lap slower in the hot conditions.
It was frustrating when you know the package under you can do to do it but for some reason we were unable to do it.
”Carlos Checa (DNF and 3rd) “I am disappointed because it would have been fantastic to win here in front of the Spanish fans.
We didn’t need the Race 1 crash.
I was pushing hard to close the gap between me and the leader and I slipped.
I was slowly catching them and so I’m sorry because it could have been a great race.
I don’t know if I would have been able to win but I wanted to at least catch them.
Anyway this is racing and I was lucky to be able to take part in race 2, despite some shoulder pain.
This was a lesson today and I will learn from it.
We changed the tyre for Race 2 and this was an intelligent decision but I wasn’t able to close the gap that opened between me and the leaders.
In the final stages the bike began to move around and I couldn’t gain any more ground.
I am however satisfied.
We know that we’re in great shape, me, the team, the bike and we’ll go the the next round at Brno where we’ll continue to fight for race wins and for the championship.
”Michel Fabrizio (DNF and 4th)“I am happy with my performance in the second race.
, but obviously not happy with my crash in the first.
My first race start was not so good and I was pushing very hard, trying to catch the leaders, when I lost the front and down I went.
I managed to hit my injured arm again, but fortunately I didn’t do any further damage.
The crash made me all the more determined to do well in race two.
I made a perfect start and was up to fourth by lap five.
I saw Checa ahead and closed in on him lap by lap, but although I could get near to him, his bike’s acceleration out of the corners was better than mine and so I couldn’t pass him.
It was a bit frustrating seeing the way his bike blasted out of the turns, but I kept fighting in case he made a mistake.
Unfortunately for me, he did not, so I ended fourth.
Today I am happy because my laps times were very similar to the leaders and this proves that I can run with the best.
If it hadn’t been for my poor grid position, I think I would’ve been on the podium today.
If I can qualify, I’m sure I can get on the podium.
The next round in Brno would be a good place to do it.
”Ruben Xaus (16th and DNF)“It’s been incredibly difficult this week end, which is, of course, very disappointing for the team and especially for me as I wanted to put on a good performance for all my family, friends and fans who have some to support me here this weekend.
There has not really been one individual issue this weekend – more a combination of different problems and I can only say that we’ll work tirelessly to start and finish at Brno in a better way than we were able to here.
”Jakub Smrz (DNF and DNF)“Unfortunately after Misano, I find myself in another extremely negative day.
I’m going through a bad time and after the good results at Miller’s circuit, I never expected something like this.
Probably, the two crashes in Misano have influenced today in me, preventing me from finding the right feeling with the bike and with the track, and certainly the complicated situations in which I was involved during the races did not improve the situation.
This break of three weeks comes in the right moment for me to relax and gain the right peace of mind for the next race, our home race for which, of course, I really care ”