BMW Motorrad Motorsport - WSBK - Silverstone - Races
Silverstone – Races.
Sunday, 5th August 2012.
Weather conditions: Cloudy with rain showers, thunderstorms and some sun.
Temperature: Air: 17 – 19 °C, Track: 27 – 34 °C
Number of riders participating: 23/21 from 13 teams
Fastest lap Race 1: Ayrton Badovini (BMW Motorrad Italia GoldBet SBK Team) 2:06.764 min
Fastest lap Race 2: Loris Baz (Kawasaki Racing Team) 2:24.324 min
At the tenth round of the 2012 FIM Superbike World Championship, BMW Motorrad extended its lead in the Manufacturers’ Classification of the FIM Superbike World Championship. In the Riders’ Standings factory rider Marco Melandri (ITA) reduced his gap to leader Max Biaggi (ITA). Despite this Team BMW Motorrad Motorsport experienced a difficult Sunday with extra tricky conditions at Silverstone (GBR). Rain showers and thunderstorms made racing a lottery. Marco finished the difficult races in seventh and eighth respectively, securing important points. His team-mate, local hero Leon Haslam (GBR), was on course to win race one, but once again had bad luck and had to settle with sixth and 17th in the two races.
Race one started in dry conditions, although black clouds were already hanging over the track. At the start Leon took the lead, coming from fourth. But the race had to be red flagged during the first lap as it had started to rain and several riders crashed. More than half an hour later the race was restarted as a “wet race”. The rain had stopped, but the track was still damp. Most of the riders opted for slicks, including Leon and Marco. Leon took the lead on lap two, but slipped back to second behind Carlos Checa (ESP) on lap five. After that the Englishman was involved in an exciting fight for the podium places, and fought his way back into the lead on lap 13. He was then able to open a gap to the rest of the field. However, the rain became heavier, making the conditions tricky for the riders on slicks, and second placed Leon Camier (GBR) crashed on lap 15. As the race continued in the rain, Leon was struggling with grip as the temperature of his rear tyre went down and he was not able to defend his lead against the closely packed field that was chasing him. He finished the race in sixth. Marco was struggling with the conditions from the start, but rode a steady race and crossed the line in seventh. Michel Fabrizio and Ayrton Badovini (both ITA) finished second and third respectively, so securing the first podium positions in the Superbike World Championship for the BMW Motorrad Italia GoldBet SBK Team.
There was even more drama in race two. On the warm-up lap it started to rain lightly while a thunderstorm was getting nearer the track. The start was delayed and the race reduced to 17 laps. This time, Leon and Marco opted for rain tyres and, in fact, the rain became heavier with every lap and the conditions worsened. In addition on lap eight there was oil on the track causing one rider after another to crash. Leon also fell, but was able to continue. When the leaders were on their tenth lap the race was red flagged after several crashes. At this point, Marco was sixth and Leon had fought his way back to 14th. As some riders had not completed their ninth lap when the red flag was shown, the result was declared as the positions after lap eight. Marco was classified eighth and Leon 17th. Fabrizio was 13th, while Badovini also crashed on lap eight. For this race only half points were awarded.
In the Riders’ Championship, second placed Marco now has 263.5 points and has reduced his gap to leader Biaggi to 10.5 points. Leon is sixth with 170 points. In the Manufacturers’ Standings BMW now has 316 points and has extended its lead to 13.5 points over Aprilia. The races were won by Loris Baz and Sylvain Guintoli (both FRA).
Leon Haslam:
Result Race 1: 6th / Gap to 1st: 00:02.619 min / Fastest Lap Race 1: 2:07.524 min
Result Race 2: 17th/ Gap to 1st: 00:58.530 min / Fastest Lap Race 2: 2:27.850 min
“It was another bad race day. It wasn’t the fault of the team or the bike. We could have won race one, but were unfortunate with the weather and the tyre. In race two we had an issue during the first half, and there was something strange with the centre of the tyre when it was dry. The more and more it rained the better the tyre became and I started to catch the guys again, but then I crashed on some oil. I was able to get back into the race and moved up to 14th, but then it was red flagged and the classification was based on the result after lap eight, so I was out of the points. It is really frustrating. They should have stopped the race before that.”
Marco Melandri:
Result Race 1: 7th / Gap to 1st: 00:06.123 min / Fastest Lap Race 1: 2:07.596 min
Result Race 2: 8th / Gap to 1st: 00:26.197 min / Fastest Lap Race 1: 2:28.664 min
“This day was actually unbelievable. The two races were completely different, but they were both equally as difficult. It was very important to finish today. Many young riders who are not involved in the championship fight were pushing very hard, so the races were not easy. However, I am so happy because we leave here without any damage and good points. Now I am looking forward to Moscow because the track is new for everybody. I just hope the weather will be more stable there.”
Andrea Dosoli (Head of Race Operations):
“Overall we are happy because BMW increased its lead in the Manufacturers’ Championship, and that was also thanks to the good job done by Michel Fabrizio and Ayrton Badovini. On top of that we reduced Marco’s gap to Max Biaggi, but we would have preferred to achieve these results in a fair competition with proper track conditions. The conditions were extreme and dangerous for the riders. I am happy with the job done by Leon and Marco because they were able to manage two very difficult races. Marco realised under these extreme circumstances there was nothing to be gained by taking any unnecessary risk. He took the right decision in the fight for the World Championship. Unfortunately Leon crashed in the second race on some oil on the wet track, otherwise he would have been much further up in the results. In race one Leon deserved a better result because he was able to lead the race. We are sure he can soon achieve his target and get this top result he deserves.”
