World Superbike rookie Eugene Laverty won both races at Monza today. The Yamaha rider started second on the grid and showed incredible race craft in battling pole sitter Max Biaggi for the lead in race one. Biaggi’s Aprilia RSV4 was clearly the faster machine in the straights but Laverty won the battle in the corners by capitalizing on a mistake made by the defending champion with seven laps remaining. Biaggi settled for second while BMW’s Leon Haslam held off Marco Melandri for the final podium spot.
Race two saw Laverty falling back early in the race after getting caught behind a pile up off the top, but the Irishman eventually worked his way back to the front and moved ahead of Biaggi, when the Roman Emperor (who had lead the race for 13 laps), received a ride-through penalty for cutting a corner in the chicane — his second penalty in just the first four rounds of the season. From then on Laverty chased Marco Melandri hard and was able to squeak by his Yamaha team-mate for the win on the last turn of the final lap. Suzuki’s Michel Fabrizio finished third. Championship points leader Carlos Checa finished the races ninth and tenth respectively, but remains on top, 27 points ahead of Melandri and 28 ahead of Biaggi. Following his double race win Laverty has jumped up to fifth in the series and now trails Jonathan Rea by just four points.
The next race is at Miller Motosports Park in Utah on May 30.
WSBK Monza – Race 1 results
1. Eugene Laverty IRL Yamaha WSBK YZF R1 31mins 09.584secs
2. Max Biaggi ITA Aprilia Alitalia Racing RSV-4 +1.575s
3. Leon Haslam GBR BMW Motorrad S1000RR +3.078s
4. Marco Melandri ITA Yamaha WSBK YZF R1 +3.255s
5. Michel Fabrizio ITA Suzuki Alstare GSX-R1000 +11.812s
6. Jonathan Rea GBR Castrol Honda CBR1000RR +12.371s
7. Troy Corser AUS BMW Motorrad S1000RR +13.280s
8. Leon Camier GBR Aprilia Alitalia Racing RSV-4 +17.419s
9. Carlos Checa ESP Althea Ducati 1098R +17.569s
10. Jakub Smrz CZE Effenbert Liberty Ducati 1098R +18.420s
11. Ayrton Badovini ITA BMW Italia S1000RR +20.031s
12. Sylvain Guintoli FRA Effenbert Liberty Ducati 1098R +20.405s
13. Tom Sykes GBR Kawasaki RTS ZX-10R +26.693s
14. Maxime Berger FRA Supersonic Ducati 1098R +38.429s
15. Ruben Xaus ESP Castrol Honda CBR1000RR +40.164s
16. Noriyuki Haga JPN PATA Aprilia RSV-4 +49.081s
17. Mark Aitchison AUS Pedercini Kawasaki ZX-10R +57.930s
18. Fabrizio Lai ITA Echo CRS Honda CBR1000RR +1min 03.039s
DNF
19. Joan Lascorz ESP Kawasaki Racing ZX-10R 9 laps completed
20. Roberto Rolfo ITA Pedercini Kawasaki ZX-10R 6 laps completed
DNS
James Toseland GBR BMW Italia S1000RR
Chris Vermeulen AUS Kawasaki Racing ZX-10R
WSBK Monza – Race 2 results
1. Eugene Laverty IRL Yamaha WSBK YZF R1 31mins 19.948secs
2. Marco Melandri ITA Yamaha WSBK YZF R1 +0.327s
3. Michel Fabrizio ITA Suzuki Alstare GSX-R1000 +2.466s
4. Noriyuki Haga JPN PATA Aprilia RSV-4 +2.583s
5. Troy Corser AUS BMW Motorrad S1000RR +4.202s
6. Ayrton Badovini ITA BMW Italia S1000RR +10.865s
7. Sylvain Guintoli FRA Effenbert Liberty Ducati 1098R +11.038s
8. Max Biaggi ITA Aprilia Alitalia Racing RSV-4 +18.724s
9. Joan Lascorz ESP Kawasaki Racing ZX-10R +20.093
10. Carlos Checa ESP Althea Ducati 1098R +20.376s
11. Tom Sykes GBR Kawasaki RTS ZX-10R +21.111s
12. Ruben Xaus ESP Castrol Honda CBR1000RR +28.608s
13. Roberto Rolfo ITA Pedercini Kawasaki ZX-10R +33.459s
14. Mark Aitchison AUS Pedercini Kawasaki ZX-10R +42.810s
15. Fabrizio Lai ITA Echo CRS Honda CBR1000RR +55.759s
DNF
16. Maxime Berger FRA Supersonic Ducati 1098R 13 laps completed
17. Leon Camier GBR Aprilia Alitalia Racing RSV-4 7 laps completed
18. Leon Haslam GBR BMW Motorrad S1000RR 0 laps completed
19. Jonathan Rea GBR Castrol Honda CBR1000RR 0 laps completed
20. Jakub Smrz CZE Effenbert Liberty Ducati 1098R 0 laps completed
DNS
James Toseland GBR BMW Italia S1000RR
Chris Vermeulen AUS Kawasaki Racing ZX-10R
2011 WSBK Championship Standings
1 Carlos Checa Althea Ducati 145
2 Marco Melandri Yamaha WSBK 118
3 Max Biaggi Aprilia Alitalia Racing 117
4 Jonathan Rea Castrol Honda 89
5 Eugene Laverty Yamaha WSBK 85
6 Leon Haslam BMW Motorrad Motorsport 84
7 Michel Fabrizio Team Suzuki Alstare 74
8 Leon Camier Aprilia Alitalia Racing 58
9 Jakub Smrz Effenbert Liberty Ducati 55
10 Noriyuki Haga PATA Aprilia Racing Team 47
11 Troy Corser BMW Motorrad Motorsport 46
12 Ayrton Badovini BMW Italia 35
13 Tom Skyes Kawasaki Racing Team 34
14 Joan Lascorz Kawasaki Racing Team 33
15 Rubén Xaus Castrol Honda 31
16 Sylvain Guintoli Effenbert Liberty Ducati 29
17 Roberto Rolfo Team Pedercini Kawasaki 15
18 Mark Aitchison Team Pedercini Kawasaki 9
19 Maxime Berger Supersonic Ducati 5
20 Josh Waters Yoshimura Suzuki 3
= Barry Veneman BMW Italia 3
22 James Toseland BMW Italia 2
23 Fabrizio Lai Echo CRS Honda 1
= Bryan Staring Team Pedercini Kawasaki 1
25 Chris Vermeulen Kawasaki Racing Team 0
