Haslam looking for improvement at Monza
Added on Thursday, May 6th, 2010 by Carole Nash Editor
Haslam looking for improvement at Monza
Leon Haslam is aiming for an improved performance at Monza this weekend as he looks to strengthen his lead on the World Superbike Championship.
Haslam sits 20 points clear at the top of the rider’s standings having picked up a second place in race two at Assen, his sixth podium from eight races so far this season, and the Brit is in confident mood heading into this weekend.
But the Alstare Suzuki rider knows that he needs to improve on his performance at Monza twelve months ago when, then with Stiggy Honda, Haslam finished a lowly 17th in race one before recovering to claim seventh in race two.
“Monza is steeped in history and it is always a pleasure going there and seeing the remnants of its past,” he said. “The old banking is amazing and it’s hard to believe how people got round it so fast! Fortunately, we don’t have to try and do that, but the track we race on is pretty fast also.
“It’s a track where tactics are very important and you have to be able to get your slipstreaming just right. It’s easy to be leading a pack of riders going into the Parabolica just before the start-finish straight and end up second, third or fourth!
“Although there are some very fast bits, there are also some slowish corners where hard braking is called for, so it’s important to get a good set-up on the bike.
” Last year I was on a different bike: I qualified 17th, scored no points in race one and got seventh in race two, so I will certainly be looking for a big improvement this time.”
