Rea and Biaggi soar at Brno
Added on Sunday, July 11th, 2010 by Carole Nash Editor | No Comments
Rea and Biaggi soar at Brno
Jonathan Rea and Max Biaggi shared the top step of the podium at Brno this afternoon, each proving dominant in the World Superbike Championship.
As race one got underway, a fast starting Biaggi made full use of his quick Aprilia Alitalia machine to automatically steal the lead for pole sitter Cal Crutchlow. Rea also enjoyed a quick getaway, joining Biaggi up at the front as his 2010 championship campaign resumed with a bang.
As the field weaved around the first corner chaos struck as Max Neukirchner, Chris Vermeulen and Jakub Smrz were caught up in a crash. All three riders were immediately out of the race, however seemingly uninjured.
Further along the opening lap Rea made a bid for the lead, when he swept around the outside of Biaggi. Luckily for him the brave move came off and he was soon in control of the race. Whilst Biaggi chased down his rival at the front, Noriyuki Haga had worked his way up to sixth, where he was right in the thick of the action.
After a slow start, Crutchlow had soon fought his way back through the field, and it wasn’t long before he wrestled second place away from Biaggi. From here Biaggi was the target, as Ruben Xaus then tried to follow Crutchlow through. Despite running side by side with Biaggi for the better part of a lap, it was the Italian who kept his foot in to stake his claim to the third place.
With sixteen laps to go the drama came once more, as Luca Scassa was the next crash victim, followed by a retirement from Leon Camier. Some way down the line, Michel Fabrizio was the next retirement, as he rode into the pits and straight into his garage.
As the closing stages approached, the final three laps saw the battle for second really hot up. After losing ground earlier on Biaggi was right on the tail of Crutchlow, determined to regain his second spot, however the Yamaha rider wasn’t keen on handing over the position. After swapping places for a short while, it was Biaggi who held the position, leaving Crutchlow to follow him home.
All of the action behind allowed Rea to extend his lead, when he swept passed the chequered flag a few seconds ahead. Biaggi followed, with Crutchlow completing the podium in third. Sylvain Guintoli was next in fourth, just ahead of Xaus, Haga and James Toseland. The remainder of the top ten saw Leon Haslam, Carlos Checa and Lorenzo Lanzi all make an appearance.
Race two got underway with a Biaggi resurgence, as he tried for the second time today to take the top step of the podium. Holding the advantage at the front saw Biaggi come under pressure from Rea, as the roles were reversed.
Not too far adrift Fabrizio and Xaus were engaged in a fierce battle for third and fourth, with the latter finally getting the better of the Italian at the half way stage. Despite being so close to securing a podium finish, Xaus crashed with six laps to go, ending his Brno dream.
After struggling with the rear tyre during the weekend, Crutchlow was forced to pit during this second race, seemingly to retire. Whilst examining the rear tyre it was thought the tyre pressures might be low, and so after some minor work from his Yamaha Sterilgarda team, he rejoined the race to get a few sample laps in.
The final incident of the race came with three laps to go, when Smrz crashed out for the second time today. Regardless of the many incidents through the weekend, Biaggi managed to come away unscaithed, riding to his tenth victory at his favourite circuit. This time it was Rea who played second fiddle, while Fabrizio finished third.
James Toseland quietly fought his way through the pack, picking off riders one by one to finish a stunning fourth place by the chequered flag. Haga followed just behind in fifth, with Checa sixth and Guintoli seventh. Camier fought back from a race one defeat to take the flag in eighth, ahead of Shane Byrne and Leon Haslam in ninth and tenth, respectively.
Biaggi told the WSB website: “Knowing the track quite well here and the passion of the fans in the Czech Republic, we tried something really special and made some changes on the bike, weight distribution and gearbox and the result was very good so I’m happy. For me it’s the tenth victory here, and this is my second home country. I love this place!”
Biaggi still holds his advantage at the top of the championship table. The next round at the newly refurbished Silverstone circuit takes place on 30th July-1st August, where Biaggi will be hoping to expand upon his sixty-eight point lead.
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