Checa and Sykes win at Nurburgring
Added on Sunday, September 4th, 2011 by Carole Nash Editor | No Comments
Checa and Sykes win at Nurburgring
Carlos Checa and Tom Sykes shared the victories in the World Superbike Championship visit to the Nurburgring today.
Race one saw pole sitter Checa exchange his embedded advantage into victory, despite fierce pressure early on in the encounter. Noriyuki Haga launched an attack for potential honours in the early phase of the outing, however as time progressed Checa was able to hold his advantage at the front.
Haga eventually finished in third place, after Marco Melandri romped to second on his Yamaha World Superbike machine. Wih the three podium places taken care of, attentions turned to fourth place with Eugene Laverty taking the position to complete a strong run for the Yamaha World Superbike outfit.
Leon Haslam endured an eventful adventure, when an early fifth place disappeared after an off track excursion. After dropping to 14th he clawed his way back to a respectable fifth place, which he held until the chequered flag. Sylvain Guintoli followed Haslam in sixth place, ahead of Joan Lascorz in seventh. Leon Camier secured an eighth place finish, whilst Ayrton Badovini and Jonathan Rea completed the top ten.
Race two was as eventful as ever, as the weather intervened in tremendous fashion. After being deemed a wet race it was Haga who slotted into control for much of the outing.
A variation of weather conditions hit the Nurburgring circuit during the race, before a heavy downpour called for a shortened race. As Haga fell in what became the closing stages, Tom Sykes slipped into the lead to take Kawasaki’s first victory since 2006.
Sylvain Guintoli and his Team Effenbert-Liberty Racing teammate Jakub Smrz followed Sykes to score a double podium finish for their team, ahead of Rea in a strong fourth place. Laverty and Melandri were next up in fifth and sixth, for the Yamaha World Superbike Team, whilst Badovini crossed the finish line in seventh.
Championship leader Checa followed up his race one win with eighth in this second race, while Haslam finished ninth in this shortened race distance. Maxime Berger rounded out the top ten as the championship chase stepped up another notch at the front.
Checa now has 376 points at the top of the championship standings, whilst Marco Melandri is second with 302 points. Max Biaggi has held onto third place, despite missing today’s races after sustaining a foot injury on Friday. The next round takes place at Imola on the 25th September.
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