2012 Superbike World Championship

[Jay Adgie]

Sykes claims Superpole number five

By Michael Guy MCN

Tom Sykes secured a brilliant Superpole win at Misano after dominating the second twenty minute session this afternoon. The factory Kawasaki rider cruised through Superpole 1 after making big changes to his ZX-10R to cope with the hot track conditions and was the man in total control in Superpole 2. At one stage he enjoyed a full second advantage to his closet rival, but his advantage was finally reduced to 0.6s.
Speaking to MCN, he said: “There is no question it’s been a difficult weekend so far so to come from where we were on the first day to this is a good result. Our bike works well on the qualifying tyres, the Superpole win is good, I just wish it was a race win.”
Second place went to Jonathan Rea who has been in sparkling form all weekend onboard his Honda Superbike. The 25 year old set a best lap of 1.35.991 and is well placed to build upon his win and podium in the last two rounds.
He said: “Second place was the best we could do today because Tom really was out of reach. I’m excited about tomorrow though, the temperature should be hotter and that should suit us.”
Goldbet BMW Italia rider Ayrton Badovini secured a surprise third place after timing his final run and use of his second qualifying tyre to perfection. He finished ahead of hard charging Italian Davide Giugliano.
The second row is made up of Effenbert Liberty Ducati rider Jakub Smrz with Brit Leon Haslam in sixth place onboard his factory BMW. Eugene Laverty secured his best qualifying performance of 2012 following a weekend that has gone progressively better each time he has been out on track.
Following rain moments before the start of Superpole it was declared wet meaning that it was run over two 20 minute sessions with eight riders going out at the end of Superpole 1.
The biggest losers of the revised format were the three most experienced riders on the grid - Max Biaggi, Marco Melandri and Carlos Checa who all failed to make the cut. It remains unclear exactly what happened but Checa came into the pits, presumably to fit a qualifying tyre, but there wasn’t enough time for him to get back out on track meaning that he was unable to improve his time and slumped to 16th place.
Biaggi was also a big loser when he got bumped out of the top eight in the final seconds of the session to tenth and Melandri never showed the expected pace and will start the race in 13th place and on the fourth row of the grid.

Misano Adriatico - FIM Superbike World Championship - Superpole 2

1. Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team) Kawasaki ZX-10R 1'35.375
2. Jonathan Rea (Honda World Superbike Team) Honda CBR1000RR 1'35.991
3. Ayrton Badovini (BMW Motorrad Italia GoldBet) BMW S1000 RR 1'36.083
4. Davide Giugliano (Althea Racing) Ducati 1098R 1'36.147
5. Jakub Smrz (Liberty Racing Team Effenbert) Ducati 1098R 1'36.183
6. Leon Haslam (BMW Motorrad Motorsport) BMW S1000 RR 1'36.283
7. Eugene Laverty (Aprilia Racing Team) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 1'36.365
8. Sylvain Guintoli (Team Effenbert Liberty Racing) Ducati 1098R 1'36.559
9. Matteo Baiocco (Barni Racing Team Italia) Ducati 1098R 1'37.509
10. Max Biaggi (Aprilia Racing Team) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 1'37.686
11. Loris Baz (Kawasaki Racing Team) Kawasaki ZX-10R 1'37.704
12. Michel Fabrizio (BMW Motorrad Italia GoldBet) BMW S1000 RR 1'37.796
13. Marco Melandri (BMW Motorrad Motorsport) BMW S1000 RR 1'37.806
14. Leon Camier (FIXI Crescent Suzuki) Suzuki GSX-R1000 1'37.985
15. Lorenzo Zanetti (PATA Racing Team) Ducati 1098R 1'38.078
16. Carlos Checa (Althea Racing) Ducati 1098R 1'38.977
17. Maxime Berger (Team Effenbert Liberty Racing) Ducati 1098R 1'36.934
18. John Hopkins (FIXI Crescent Suzuki) Suzuki GSX-R1000 1'37.168
19. Niccolò Canepa (Red Devils Roma) Ducati 1098R 1'37.202
20. Hiroshi Aoyama (Honda World Superbike Team) Honda CBR1000RR 1'37.250
21. Chaz Davies (ParkinGO MTC Racing) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 1'37.312
22. David Salom (Team Pedercini) Kawasaki ZX-10R 1'37.688
23. Leandro Mercado (Team Pedercini) Kawasaki ZX-10R 1'38.674
24. Federico Sandi (Grillini Progea Superbike Team) BMW S1000 RR 1'40.251

 

[Travis]

Go Sykes! Let's hope the ZX-10R can manage its rear tyre and they get a win.

Checa looked really pee'd off after superpole 1 and Melandri and Biaggi are also way down the order. Should be excellent races.

 

[Jay Adgie]

Biaggi wins thrilling race to extend championship lead

By Michael Guy - MCN

Max Biaggi secured a brilliant win in the opening WSB race of the day after an epic battle with Carlos Checa and his Davide Giugliano. The Factory Aprilia rider who’d only qualified in tenth place fought hard all race and after tough battles with Melandri and Checa on route to the front, he eventually took the lead from Giugliano on lap 22. Despite coming under pressure from Checa in the final two laps he held on to take the win to extend his championship lead to 30 points.
Biaggi said: “I’m very very happy. It was a hard race to go from tenth to first because there are not many place to overtake at this track. In the past this has been a Ducati track and they have dominated us, but not today – I am happy to be here.”
Carlos Checa was another man that made a brilliant recovery from his disastrous Superpole after going from 16th on the grid to second place.
“It’s a fantastic result for myself, Giugliano and the team. Before the race I would have thought it was impossible for myself and Max to be fighting for the win given our grid position, but the racing in WSB is unexpected!”
Davide Giugliano secured his second podium of his rookie year in WSB with a brilliant race long ride that saw him keep both Checa and Biaggi behind him in the closing laps.
Tom Sykes secured fourth place after making a strong start, dropping off the pace and then mounting an impressive fight back to pass Haslam, Melandri and Rea.
Jonathan Rea’s early dominance of the race ended when he lost grip dramatically from his rear tyre. Having led for 16 laps and enjoying a 1.8 second lead, the Honda Superbike rider eventually finished in fifth place over 11 seconds behind the winner.
Chaz Davies was the surprise package of the day having gone from 21st on the grid to sixth onboard his ParkinGO Aprilia. He beat Eugene Laverty who struggled with front grip issues and ended the race in seventh place.
Leon Camier claimed tenth place onboard his Fixi Crescent Suzuki with Leon Haslam in 12th after struggling dramatically with rear tyre problems. His BMW team-mate Marco Melandri was forced to pull into the pits with a similar tyre issue.

Misano Adriatico - FIM Superbike World Championship - Race 1

1. Max Biaggi (Aprilia Racing Team) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 38'58.471
2. Carlos Checa (Althea Racing) Ducati 1098R 38'58.776
3. Davide Giugliano (Althea Racing) Ducati 1098R 39'02.974
4. Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team) Kawasaki ZX-10R 39'07.329
5. Jonathan Rea (Honda World Superbike Team) Honda CBR1000RR 39'10.098
6. Chaz Davies (ParkinGO MTC Racing) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 39'10.729
7. Eugene Laverty (Aprilia Racing Team) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 39'11.022
8. Sylvain Guintoli (Team Effenbert Liberty Racing) Ducati 1098R 39'12.032
9. Jakub Smrz (Liberty Racing Team Effenbert) Ducati 1098R 39'15.485
10. Leon Camier (FIXI Crescent Suzuki) Suzuki GSX-R1000 39'16.832
11. Ayrton Badovini (BMW Motorrad Italia GoldBet) BMW S1000 RR 39'18.500
12. Leon Haslam (BMW Motorrad Motorsport) BMW S1000 RR 39'20.553
13. Maxime Berger (Team Effenbert Liberty Racing) Ducati 1098R 39'21.437
14. Michel Fabrizio (BMW Motorrad Italia GoldBet) BMW S1000 RR 39'25.485
15. Matteo Baiocco (Barni Racing Team Italia) Ducati 1098R 39'29.604
16. Hiroshi Aoyama (Honda World Superbike Team) Honda CBR1000RR 39'30.190
17. John Hopkins (FIXI Crescent Suzuki) Suzuki GSX-R1000 39'30.373
18. Niccolò Canepa (Red Devils Roma) Ducati 1098R 39'42.241
19. Leandro Mercado (Team Pedercini) Kawasaki ZX-10R 39'53.542
20. Federico Sandi (Grillini Progea Superbike Team) BMW S1000 RR 39'04.464
RT. Marco Melandri (BMW Motorrad Motorsport) BMW S1000 RR 34'29.084
RT. Loris Baz (Kawasaki Racing Team) Kawasaki ZX-10R 21'15.803
RT. David Salom (Team Pedercini) Kawasaki ZX-10R 26'56.581
RT. Lorenzo Zanetti (PATA Racing Team) Ducati 1098R 9'54.565

 

[Jay Adgie]

Biaggi secures emphatic double

By Michael Guy - MCN

Max Biaggi stormed to his second race win of the day with a dominant performance in race two at Misano. The factory Aprilia rider was clearly buoyed by his race one win wasted no time getting to the front and after passing Tom Sykes and Jonathan Rea eased away and pulled out a commanding lead.
He said: “To take the double win is all I could ask. Once again my team got the maximum out of my bike. I worked all weekend on a race tyre which meant we struggled in qualifying but it worked well in the race.”
Biaggi’s double win sees him extend his championship lead to 38.5 points at the top of the standings.
Jonathan Rea bounced back from the disappointment of not winning race one to secure an impressive second place podium in race two.
He said: “I’m disappointed with the race one result because I had a good lead, but when the tyre dropped off it really dropped. I tried to manage it but by the end I didn’t have a lot of grip. Race two was good, it was a hard race with Leon and I could see he was with me every step of the way. I was getting +0 on my pit board for the last nine laps so I had to ride inch perfect.”
Leon Haslam finished in third place after tyre wear wrecked hi opening race. The BMW man pushed Rea all the way and was ultimately satisfied with another podium in 2012.
Marco Melandri was once again the subject of controversy after colliding with both Sylvan Guintoli and Carlos Checa in the second race. In both incidents Guintoli and Checa crashed out. Melandri went on to finish in fourth place.
Brits Chaz Davies. Leon Camier and Irishman Eugene Laverty all crashed out of the race. Camier was able to re-join and claimed 15th place and a single championship point for his efforts.

Misano Adriatico - FIM Superbike World Championship - Race 2

1. Max Biaggi (Aprilia Racing Team) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 39'01.869
2. Jonathan Rea (Honda World Superbike Team) Honda CBR1000RR 39'07.224
3. Leon Haslam (BMW Motorrad Motorsport) BMW S1000 RR 39'07.600
4. Marco Melandri (BMW Motorrad Motorsport) BMW S1000 RR 39'08.873
5. Ayrton Badovini (BMW Motorrad Italia GoldBet) BMW S1000 RR 39'09.790
6. Michel Fabrizio (BMW Motorrad Italia GoldBet) BMW S1000 RR 39'19.160
7. Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team) Kawasaki ZX-10R 39'19.220
8. Loris Baz (Kawasaki Racing Team) Kawasaki ZX-10R 39'19.499
9. Jakub Smrz (Liberty Racing Team Effenbert) Ducati 1098R 39'20.080
10. Matteo Baiocco (Barni Racing Team Italia) Ducati 1098R 39'30.000
11. Maxime Berger (Team Effenbert Liberty Racing) Ducati 1098R 39'30.276
12. Hiroshi Aoyama (Honda World Superbike Team) Honda CBR1000RR 39'39.929
13. Niccolò Canepa (Red Devils Roma) Ducati 1098R 39'50.872
14. John Hopkins (FIXI Crescent Suzuki) Suzuki GSX-R1000 39'53.750
15. Leon Camier (FIXI Crescent Suzuki) Suzuki GSX-R1000 39'57.371
16. Leandro Mercado (Team Pedercini) Kawasaki ZX-10R 40'08.230
17. Federico Sandi (Grillini Progea Superbike Team) BMW S1000 RR 40'31.787
RT. Eugene Laverty (Aprilia Racing Team) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 32'16.723
RT. Chaz Davies (ParkinGO MTC Racing) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 24'34.477
RT. David Salom (Team Pedercini) Kawasaki ZX-10R 11'39.370
RT. Davide Giugliano (Althea Racing) Ducati 1098R 8'12.161
RT. Carlos Checa (Althea Racing) Ducati 1098R 4'58.038
RT. Lorenzo Zanetti (PATA Racing Team) Ducati 1098R 3'23.618
RT. Sylvain Guintoli (Team Effenbert Liberty Racing) Ducati 1098R 1'43.649

 

[Craig Hume]

Must give a massive up to local SA rider, David Mcfaddin.
Big effort from his and local Cape Town peeps side to get him there to show what he can do. First time on the bike and at a brand new track and he showed his quality.
Qualified 10th for the Superstock 1000 race. Then quickest in morning Practice.
But a up and down race ended with him in the dirt. Still a great showing and i seriously hope he gets another chance to show his natural talent. Must actually give props to all the SA guys. For all of them these tracks are basically new, and need to be learnt over a race weekend. So to still be in the top 10 is excellent. Would be nice if SBK came back to SA sometime soon.

 

[Lee Ross]

Little follow up montage to the one i did last year for my other channel Racingflicks. It's had over 800,000 views now, so am really happy. This year was as good and exciting as ever. At one point, just 0.2 secs covered 1st and 2nd and when you consider the track is over 37 miles, then 0.2 between the riders is nothing short of astonishing! Really do respect these guys and just love the TT. Next year can't come soon enough!​

​

Watch full screen 1080p​

​

 

[William Levesque]

 

[Bram Hengeveld]

Fantastic vid Lee!

 

[Lee Ross]

Thanks Bram

 

[Nick Newcombe]

Great vid Lee, always match the content with a great feel for music to draw you in even more. Great stuff..

 

[Jay Adgie]

Top job Lee...

 

[Lee Ross]

Thanks guys! Nick how you doing matey? Not seen you around for a while, still racing over at NAGP or FO? Hopefully see you around on track soon man.

 

[Hampus Andersson]

Brilliant stuff, i´m getting more and more respect from these guys the more i learn about Isle of Man.

 

[Randy Wagner]

Mr Ross I simply must say ty for that moment in time we witnessed in that video. I have sadly never been there but had traded paint with those that came over here and tried there luck and gotta say they are in fact a different breed of rider.

Balls of Steel you say imo them boys balls are so huge I don't see how they get them in their suits. The things that I was able to see them do on 2 wheels made me wonder how they were still alive and yet they did it lap after lap and never skipped a beat. Braking points apexes exit speeds were all different but the thing that I thought was the most amazing was the way they consistently did it new tires old tires they didn't care BUT when they crashed OH GOD MAN did they crash.

Bottom Line: If you live in the good ole USA and think your fast I got a dollar or 2 that says somewhere across the pond there is someone no one has ever even heard of that's a second or so faster

 

[Lee Ross]

Brilliant stuff, i´m getting more and more respect from these guys the more i learn about Isle of Man.

Isle of Man TT is something that is very big in the UK, i grew up watching it and just find it astonishing how they do it. Over the last year or so i have had so many PM's on Youtube thanking me for doing the video as they had never heard of the TT before and were just stunned that races like this are allowed to happen in todays day and age. Watch some old Joey Dunlop laps, just amazing

IMO there is no other motorsport occassion that can touch the TT. Also check out the North West 200 if you like this kind of thing. Much like the TT but they actually race together all at once rather than being let loose in dribs and drabs like the TT

 

[Lee Ross]

Mr Ross I simply must say ty for that moment in time we witnessed in that video. I have sadly never been there but had traded paint with those that came over here and tried there luck and gotta say they are in fact a different breed of rider.

Balls of Steel you say imo them boys balls are so huge I don't see how they get them in their suits. The things that I was able to see them do on 2 wheels made me wonder how they were still alive and yet they did it lap after lap and never skipped a beat. Braking points apexes exit speeds were all different but the thing that I thought was the most amazing was the way they consistently did it new tires old tires they didn't care BUT when they crashed OH GOD MAN did they crash.

Bottom Line: If you live in the good ole USA and think your fast I got a dollar or 2 that says somewhere across the pond there is someone no one has ever even heard of that's a second or so faster

So true mate, the concentration it takes to do 6 laps of the 37 mile track is just on a completely different level to anything else out there. They are hitting going on 200mph on the fast parts and cornering at insane speeds, whilst at any one point a mistake could lead to certain death. I love speed but just can not fathom what sort of man and balls it takes to do this race, seriously they are real men.

Saying that though mate, alot of americans do race it, so they are just as crazy if they want to be. I just think it's great races like this can still take place in parts of the world today.

Good video below with an american rider.

 

[Thilo Falkenberg]

With Dorna becoming the new promoter of the FIM World Superbike Championship, they were keen on increasing the difference between the "prototype" world championship of MotoGP and the Superbikes. Now they released their drastic rulechanges for 2014.

From 2014 on the Superbike World Championship organization will be reduced to three classes. The top class SBK will then be equiped with what is now Superstock 1000 bikes, the SSP with Superstock 600. The third class will be a quater liter class also based on bikes you can buy at your local dealer.

For 2013 some rules are already changing, which are all confirmed by FIM:

• If it starts raining during a race it will not be stopped. Teams will have to come to pitlane and change tyres.
• Only one bike per rider will be allowed.
• The rims increas to 17'' and have to be made of aluminium.
• Sticker Lights have to be featured on the bike in size and form equal to the road machine's counterpart.
• Only three riders per row on the starting grid.
• In case of rain or bad sight, a red light must be activated, placed at the back of the machine.
• The break lever needs to be covered.

Many riders are quoted that the move to less powerfull machines was logical. Eugene Leverty said "We're technically very close [to MotoGP] and are hardly slower. We would fool ourselves if we think we can continue two nearly identical championships." Cal Crutchlow: "If you put the Bridgestone tyres on a Superbike, you are as fast as we are in MotoGP." However most if not all of them are not happy with how drastic the decision turned out. Tom Sykes: "I'm against it. [...] The Standard-ZX-10R has traction control and features different engine mappings. These are things we developed in World Superbikes. I don't think the electronics make us faster, but they make the racing much safer."

Source: Red Bull Media House Schweiz AG, Speedweek, 2012, 45

 

[Bram Hengeveld]

Excellent rule change. Especially the quarter liter class will be very interesting.

 

[Lee Knight]

Hmmm....I wonder what the quarter liter rules will be exactly...
I mean, whats to stop a manufacturer to start building 2stroke 250's again with power to weight ratio's similar to a 600 4stroke?
I'm sure Aprilia still have all the tools for their RS250 -anyone for a 250 GP bike with lights for the road?
Maybe the old 2stroke could make a comeback yet!
Then again, there was some noises a couple of years back about Norton to start building their 588cc Rotary again, now surely THAT would fit strait into Super Sport category if they did!
And wouldn't that get up a few noses & I don't just mean the blue trails streaming from behind them....LoL
Whatever the hypotheticals, WSB looks like the place for some good racing for the next few years as apposed to the GP & it's constantly changing rules making it as boring as watching paint dry at times....